Fourteen（2）

II
The effect was so magical that she was quite taken aback.
Haydock jumped to his feet, his face went dark purple with rage, and ina second all likeness¹ to a hearty² British sailor had vanished. She saw whatTommy had once seen—an infuriated Prussian.
He swore at her fluently in German. Then, changing to English, heshouted:
“You infernal little fool! Don’t you realise you give yourself away com-pletely answering like that? You’ve done for yourself now—you and yourprecious husband.”
Raising his voice he called:
“Anna!”
The woman who had admitted Tuppence came into the room. Haydockthrust the pistol into her hand.
“Watch her. Shoot if necessary.”
He stormed out of the room.
Tuppence looked appealingly at Anna, who stood in front of her with animpassive face.
“Would you really shoot me?” said Tuppence.
Anna answered quietly:
“You need not try to get round me. In the last war my son was killed, myOtto. I was thirty-eight, then—I am sixty-two now—but I have not forgot-ten.”
Tuppence looked at the broad, impassive face. It reminded her of thePolish woman, Vanda Polonska. That same frightening ferocity and single-ness of purpose. Motherhood—unrelenting! So, no doubt, felt many quietMrs. Joneses and Mrs. Smiths all over England. There was no arguing withthe female of the species—the mother deprived of her young.
Something stirred in the recesses³ of Tuppence’s brain—some naggingrecollection—something that she had always known but had never suc-ceeded in getting into the forefront of her mind. Solomon—Solomon cameinto it somewhere. .?.?.
The door opened. Commander Haydock came back into the room.
He howled out, beside himself with rage:
“Where is it? Where have you hidden it?”
Tuppence stared at him. She was completely taken aback. What he wassaying did not make sense to her.
She had taken nothing and hidden nothing.
Haydock said to Anna:
“Get out.”
The woman handed the pistol to him and left the room promptly⁴.
Haydock dropped into a chair and seemed to be striving to pull himselftogether. He said:
“You can’t get away with it, you know. I’ve got you—and I’ve got ways ofmaking people speak—not pretty ways. You’ll have to tell the truth in theend. Now then, what have you done with it?”
Tuppence was quick to see that here, at least, was something that gaveher the possibility of bargaining. If only she could find out what it was shewas supposed to have in her possession.
She said cautiously:
“How do you know I’ve got it?”
“From what you said, you damned little fool. You haven’t got it on you—that we know, since you changed completely into this kit⁵.”
“Suppose I posted it to someone?” said Tuppence.
“Don’t be a fool. Everything you posted since yesterday has been ex-amined. You didn’t post it. No, there’s only one thing you could have done.
Hidden it in Sans Souci before you left this morning. I give you just threeminutes to tell me where that hiding-place is.”
He put his watch down on the table.
“Three minutes, Mrs. Thomas Beresford.”
The clock on the mantelpiece ticked.
Tuppence sat quite still with a blank impassive face.
It revealed nothing of the racing⁶ thoughts behind it.
In a flash of bewildering light she saw everything—saw the whole busi-ness revealed in terms of blinding clarity and realised at last who was thecentre and pivot⁷ of the whole organisation⁸.
It came quite as a shock to her when Haydock said:
“Ten seconds more .?.?.”
Like one in a dream she watched him, saw the pistol arm rise, heardhim count:
“One, two, three, four, five—”
He had reached eight when the shot rang out and he collapsed⁹ forwardon his chair, an expression of bewilderment on his broad red face. So in-tent had he been on watching his victim that he had been unaware¹⁰ of thedoor behind him slowly opening.
In a flash Tuppence was on her feet. She pushed her way past the uni-formed men in the doorway¹¹, and seized on a tweed-clad arm.
“Mr. Grant.”
“Yes, yes, my dear, it’s all right now—you’ve been wonderful—”
Tuppence brushed aside these reassurances¹².
“Quick! There’s no time to lose. You’ve got a car here?”
“Yes.” He stared.
“A fast one? We must get to Sans Souci at once. If only we’re in time. Be-fore they telephone here, and get no answer.”
Two minutes later they were in the car, and it was threading its waythrough the streets of Leatherbarrow. Then they were out in the opencountry and the needle of the speedometer was rising.
Mr. Grant asked no questions. He was content to sit quietly whilst Tup-pence watched the speedometer in an agony of apprehension¹³. The chauf-feur had been given his orders and he drove with all the speed of whichthe car was capable.
Tuppence only spoke¹⁴ once.
“Tommy?”
“Quite all right. Released half an hour ago.”
She nodded.
Now, at last, they were nearing Leahampton. They darted¹⁵ and twistedthrough the town, up the hill.
Tuppence jumped out and she and Mr. Grant ran up the drive. The halldoor, as usual, was open. There was no one in sight. Tuppence ran lightlyup the stairs.
She just glanced inside her own room in passing, and noted¹⁶ the confu-sion of open drawers and disordered bed. She nodded and passed on,along the corridor and into the room occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Cayley.
The room was empty. It looked peaceful and smelt¹⁷ slightly of medicines.
Tuppence ran across to the bed and pulled at the coverings.
They fell to the ground and Tuppence ran her hand under the mattress¹⁸.
She turned triumphantly¹⁹ to Mr. Grant with a tattered²⁰ child’s picture bookin her hand.
“Here you are. It’s all in here—”
“What on—?”
They turned. Mrs. Sprot was standing²¹ in the doorway staring.
“And now,” said Tuppence, “let me introduce you to M! Yes. Mrs. Sprot! Iought to have known it all along.”
It was left to Mrs. Cayley arriving in the doorway a moment later to in-troduce the appropriate anticlimax²².
“Oh dear,” said Mrs. Cayley, looking with dismay at her spouse’s dis-mantled bed. “Whatever will Mr. Cayley say?”

1 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

2 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

3 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

7 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

11 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

12 reassurances   

n.消除恐惧或疑虑( reassurance的名词复数 )；恢复信心；使人消除恐惧或疑虑的事物；使人恢复信心的事物

参考例句：

• We have had some reassurances from the council that the building will be saved. 理事会保证会保留那座建筑，这使我们得到了些许安慰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everybody's reassurances have encouraged me. 大家的勉励鼓舞了我。 来自辞典例句

13 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

18 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

19 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

20 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

22 anticlimax   

n.令人扫兴的结局；突降法

参考例句：

• Travelling in Europe was something of an anticlimax after the years he'd spent in Africa.他在非洲生活了多年，到欧洲旅行真是有点太平淡了。
• It was an anticlimax when they abandoned the game.他们放弃比赛，真是扫兴。