‘Well, Tommy,’ said Tuppence, as she stretched out her feet to a pleasantwood fire which she had lit already for his return in the drawing-room,‘let’s have your news. Did you go to the Ritz Hotel Gallery to see the show?’
‘No. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t time, really.’
‘What do you mean, you hadn’t time? I thought that’s what you wentfor.’
‘Well, one doesn’t always do the things that one went for.’
‘You must have gone somewhere and done something,’ said Tuppence.
‘I found a new possible place to park a car.’
‘That’s always useful,’ said Tuppence. ‘Where was that?’
‘Near Hounslow.’
‘What on earth did you want to go to Hounslow for?’
‘Well, I didn’t actually go to Hounslow. There’s a sort of car park there,then I took a tube, you know.’
‘What, a tube to London?’
‘Yes. Yes, it seemed the easiest way.’
‘You have rather a guilty look about you,’ said Tuppence. ‘Don’t tell me Ihave a rival1 who lives in Hounslow?’
‘No,’ said Tommy. ‘You ought to be pleased with what I’ve been doing.’
‘Oh. Have you been buying me a present?’
‘No. No,’ said Tommy, ‘I’m afraid not. I never know what to give you, asa matter of fact.’
‘Well, your guesses are very good sometimes,’ said Tuppence hopefully.
‘What have you been really doing, Tommy, and why should I be pleased?’
‘Because I, too,’ said Tommy, ‘have been doing research.’
‘Everyone’s doing research nowadays,’ said Tuppence. ‘You know, allthe teenagers and all one’s nephews or cousins or other people’s sons anddaughters, they’re all doing research. I don’t know actually what they doresearch into nowadays, but they never seem to do it, whatever it is, after-wards. They just have the research and a good time doing the researchand they’re very pleased with themselves and–well, I don’t quite knowwhat does come next.’
‘Betty, our adopted daughter, went to East Africa,’ said Tommy. ‘Haveyou heard from her?’
‘Yes, she loves it there–loves poking2 into African families and writingarticles about them.’
‘Do you think the families appreciate her interest?’ asked Tommy.
‘I shouldn’t think so,’ said Tuppence. ‘In my father’s parish I remember,everyone disliked the District Visitors–Nosey Parkers they called them.’
‘You may have something there,’ said Tommy. ‘You are certainly point-ing out to me the difficulties of what I am undertaking3, or trying to under-take.’
‘Research into what? Not lawn-mowers, I hope.’
‘I don’t know why you mention lawn-mowers.’
‘Because you’re eternally4 looking at catalogues5 of them,’ said Tuppence.
‘You’re mad about getting a lawn-mower.’
‘In this house of ours it is historic6 research we are doing into things–crimes and others that seem to have happened at least sixty or seventyyears ago.’
‘Anyway, come on, tell me a little more about your research projects,Tommy.’
‘I went to London,’ said Tommy, ‘and put certain things in motion7.’
‘Ah,’ said Tuppence. ‘Research? Research in motion. In a way I’ve beendoing the same thing that you are, only our methods are different. And myperiod is very far back.’
‘Do you mean that you’re really beginning to take an interest in theproblem of Mary Jordan? So that’s how you put it on the agendanowadays,’ said Tommy. ‘It’s definitely8 taken shape has it? The mystery, orthe problem of Mary Jordan.’
‘Such a very ordinary name, too. Couldn’t have been her right name ifshe was German,’ said Tuppence, ‘and she was said to be a German spy orsomething like that, but she could have been English, I suppose.’
‘I think the German story is just a kind of legend.’
‘Do go on, Tommy. You’re not telling me anything.’
‘Well, I put certain–certain–certain–’
‘Don’t go on saying certain,’ said Tuppence. ‘I really can’t understand.’
‘Well, it’s very difficult to explain things sometimes,’ said Tommy, ‘but Imean, there are certain ways of making enquiries.’
‘You mean, things in the past?’
‘Yes. In a sense. I mean, there are things that you can find out. Thingsthat you could obtain information from. Not just by riding old toys andasking old ladies to remember things and cross- questioning an oldgardener who probably will tell you everything quite wrong or goinground to the post office and upsetting the staff by asking the girls there totell their memories of what their great-great-aunts once said.’
‘All of them have produced a little something,’ said Tuppence.
‘So will mine,’ said Tommy.
‘You’ve been making enquiries? Who do you go to to ask your ques-tions?’
‘Well, it’s not quite like that, but you must remember, Tuppence, that oc-casionally in my life I have been in connection with people who do knowhow to go about these sort of things. You know, there are people you pay acertain sum to and they do the research for you from the proper quartersso that what you get is quite authentic9.’
‘What sort of things? What sort of places?’
‘Well, there are lots of things. To begin with you can get someone tostudy deaths, births and marriages, that sort of thing.’
‘Oh, I suppose you send them to Somerset House. Do you go there fordeaths as well as marriages?’
‘And births–one needn’t go oneself, you get someone to go for you. Andfind out when someone dies or read somebody’s will, look up marriages inchurches or study birth certificates10. All those things can be enquired11 into.’
‘Have you been spending a lot of money?’ asked Tuppence. ‘I thought wewere going to try and economize12 once we’d paid the expense of moving inhere.’
‘Well, considering the interest you’re taking in problems, I consider thatthis can be regarded in the way of money well spent.’
‘Well, did you find out anything?’
‘Not as quickly as this. You have to wait until the research has beenmade. Then if they can get answers for you–’
‘You mean somebody comes up and tells you that someone called MaryJordan was born at Little Sheffield-on-the-Wold or something like that andthen you go and make enquiries there later. Is that the sort of thing?’
‘Not exactly. And then there are census13 returns and death certificatesand causes of death and, oh, quite a lot of things that you can find outabout.’
‘Well,’ said Tuppence, ‘it sounds rather interesting anyway, which is al-ways something.’
‘And there are files in newspaper offices that you can read and study.’
‘You mean accounts of something–like murders or court cases?’
‘Not necessarily14, but one has had contact with certain people from timeto time. People who know things–one can look them up–ask a few ques-tions–renew old friendships. Like the time we were being a private detect-ive firm in London. There are a few people, I expect, who could give us in-formation or tell us where to go. Things do depend a bit on who youknow.’
‘Yes,’ said Tuppence, ‘that’s quite true. I know that myself from experi-ence.’
‘Our methods aren’t the same,’ said Tommy. ‘I think yours are just asgood as mine. I’ll never forget the day I came suddenly into that boarding-house, or whatever it was, Sans Souci. The first thing I saw was you sittingthere knitting15 and calling yourself Mrs Blenkinsop.’
‘All because I hadn’t applied16 research, or getting anyone to do researchfor me,’ said Tuppence.
‘No,’ said Tommy, ‘you got inside a wardrobe next door to the roomwhere I was being interviewed in a very interesting manner, so you knewexactly where I was being sent and what I was meant to do, and you man-aged to get there first. Eavesdropping17. Neither more nor less. Most dishon-ourable.’
‘With very satisfactory18 results,’ said Tuppence.
‘Yes,’ said Tommy. ‘You have a kind of feeling for success. It seems tohappen to you.’
‘Well, some day we shall know all about everything here, only it’s allsuch years and years ago. I can’t help thinking that the idea of somethingreally important being hidden round here or owned by someone here, orsomething to do with this house or people who once lived in it being im-portant–I can’t just believe it somehow. Oh well, I see what we shall haveto do next.’
‘What?’ said Tommy.
‘Believe six impossible things before breakfast, of course,’ said Tup-pence. ‘It’s quarter to eleven now, and I want to go to bed. I’m tired. I’msleepy and extremely dirty because of playing around with all those dusty,ancient toys and things. I expect there are even more things in that placethat’s called–by the way, why is it called Kay Kay?’
‘I don’t know. Do you spell it at all?’
‘I don’t know–I think it’s spelt k-a-i. Not just KK.’
‘Because it sounds more mysterious?’
‘It sounds Japanese,’ said Tuppence doubtfully19.
‘I can’t see why it should sound to you like Japanese. It doesn’t to me. Itsounds like something you eat. A kind of rice, perhaps.’
‘I’m going to bed and to wash thoroughly20 and to get all the cobwebs offme somehow,’ said Tuppence.
‘Remember,’ said Tommy, ‘six impossible things before breakfast.’
‘I expect I shall be better at that than you would be,’ said Tuppence.
‘You’re very unexpected21 sometimes,’ said Tommy.
‘You’re more often right than I am,’ said Tuppence. ‘That’s very annoy-ing sometimes. Well, these things are sent to try us. Who used to say thatto us? Quite often, too.’
‘Never mind,’ said Tommy. ‘Go and clean the dust of bygone years offyou. Is Isaac any good at gardening?’
‘He considers he is,’ said Tuppence. ‘We might experiment with him–’
‘Unfortunately we don’t know much about gardening ourselves. Yet an-other problem.’
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收听单词发音
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1
rival
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| n.竞争对手，敌手；vt.与…相匹敌，比得上 | |
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2
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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3
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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4
eternally
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| adv. 不朽地, 永久地 | |
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5
catalogues
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| v.为…编目录( catalogue的第三人称单数 )；登记分类；记载；登记（某人、某事等的详情） | |
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6
historic
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| adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的 | |
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7
motion
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| n.打手势，示意，移动，动作，提议，大便；v.运动，向...打手势，示意 | |
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8
definitely
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| adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地 | |
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9
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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10
certificates
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| n.证明书，执照( certificate的名词复数 ) | |
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11
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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12
economize
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| v.节约，节省 | |
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13
census
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| n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查 | |
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14
necessarily
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| adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地 | |
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15
knitting
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| n.编结物；接合，联合；[外科]骨愈合v.（使）愈合( knit的现在分词)；编结，编织；（使）紧密地结合；织平针 | |
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16
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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17
eavesdropping
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| n. 偷听 | |
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18
satisfactory
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| adj.令人满意的；可喜的；恰当的 | |
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19
doubtfully
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| adv.怀疑地；含糊地 | |
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20
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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21
unexpected
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| adj.想不到的，意外的 | |
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