The following morning Tuppence was interrupted in her remarks to anelectrician who had come to adjust portions of his work which were notconsidered satisfactory.
‘Boy at the door,’ said Albert. ‘Wants to speak to you, madam.’
‘Oh. What’s his name?’
‘Didn’t ask him, he’s waiting there outside.’
Tuppence seized her garden hat, shoved it on her head and came downthe stairs.
Outside the door a boy of about twelve or thirteen was standing1. He wasrather nervous, shuffling2 his feet.
‘Hope it’s all right to come along,’ he said.
‘Let me see,’ said Tuppence, ‘you’re Henry Bodlicott, aren’t you?’
‘That’s right. That was my–oh, I suppose he was by way of being anuncle, the one I mean whose inquest was on yesterday. Never been to aninquest before, I haven’t.’
Tuppence stopped herself on the brink3 of saying ‘Did you enjoy it?’
Henry had the look of someone who was about to describe a treat.
‘It was quite a tragedy, wasn’t it?’ said Tuppence. ‘Very sad.’
‘Oh well, he was an old one,’ said Henry. ‘Couldn’t have expected to lastmuch longer I don’t think, you know. Used to cough something terrible inthe autumn. Kept us all awake in the house. I just come along to ask ifthere’s anything as you want done here. I understood–as a matter of factMom told me–as you had some lettuces4 ought to be thinned out now and Iwonder if you’d like me to do it for you. I know just where they are be-cause I used to come up sometimes and talk to old Izzy when he was atwork. I could do it now if you liked.’
‘Oh, that’s very nice of you,’ said Tuppence. ‘Come out and show me.’
They moved into the garden together and went up to the spot desig-nated.
‘That’s it, you see. They’ve been shoved in a bit tight and you’ve got tothin ’em out a bit and put ’em over there instead, you see, when you’vemade proper gaps.’
‘I don’t really know anything about lettuces,’ Tuppence admitted. ‘Iknow a little about flowers. Peas, Brussels sprouts5 and lettuces and othervegetables I’m not very good at. You don’t want a job working in thegarden, I suppose, do you?’
‘Oh no, I’m still at school, I am. I takes the papers round and I do a bit offruit picking in the summer, you know.’
‘I see,’ said Tuppence. ‘Well, if you hear of anyone and you let me know,I’ll be very glad.’
‘Yes, I will do that. Well, so long, mum.’
‘Just show me what you’re doing to the lettuces. I’d like to know.’
She stood by, watching the manipulations of Henry Bodlicott.
‘Now that’s all right. Yes, nice ones, these, aren’t they? Webb’s Wonder-ful, aren’t they? They keep a long time.’
‘We finished the Tom Thumbs,’ said Tuppence.
‘That’s right. Those are the little early ones, aren’t they? Very crisp andgood.’
‘Well, thank you very much,’ said Tuppence.
She turned away and started to walk towards the house. She noted6 she’dlost her scarf and turned back. Henry Bodlicott, just starting for home,stopped and came across to her.
‘Just the scarf,’ said Tuppence. ‘Is it–oh, there it is on that bush.’
He handed it to her, then stood looking at her, shuffling his feet. Helooked so very worried and ill at ease that Tuppence wondered what wasthe matter with him.
‘Is there anything?’ she said.
Henry shuffled8 his feet, looked at her, shuffled his feet again, picked hisnose and rubbed his left ear and then moved his feet in a kind of tattoo9.
‘Just something I–I wondered if you–I mean–if you wouldn’t mind measking you–’
‘Well?’ said Tuppence. She stopped and looked at him enquiringly.
Henry got very red in the face and continued to shuffle7 his feet.
‘Well, I didn’t like to–I don’t like to ask, but I just wondered–I mean,people have been saying–they said things…I mean, I hear them say…’
‘Yes?’ said Tuppence, wondering what had upset Henry, what he couldhave heard concerning the lives of Mr and Mrs Beresford, the new tenantsof The Laurels10. ‘Yes, you’ve heard what?’
‘Oh, just as–as how it’s you is the lady what caught spies or something inthe last war. You did it, and the gentleman too. You were in it and youfound someone who was a German spy pretending to be something else.
And you found him out and you had a lot of adventures and in the end itwas all cleared up. I mean, you were–I don’t know what to call it–I sup-pose you were one of our Secret Service people and you did that and theysaid as you’d been wonderful. Of course, some time ago now but you wasall mixed up with something–something about nursery rhymes too.’
‘That’s right,’ said Tuppence. ‘Goosey Goosey Gander was the one inquestion.’
‘Goosey Goosey Gander! I remember that. Gosh, years ago, it was.
Whither will you wander?’
‘That’s right,’ said Tuppence. ‘Upstairs, downstairs, in my lady’s cham-ber. There he found an old man who wouldn’t say his prayers and he tookhim by the left leg and threw him down the stairs. At least, I think that’sright but it may be a different nursery rhyme I’ve tacked11 on to it.’
‘Well, I never,’ said Henry. ‘Well, I mean, it’s rather wonderful to haveyou living here just like anyone else, isn’t it? But I don’t know why thenursery rhymes were in it.’
‘Oh there was a kind of code, a cypher,’ said Tuppence.
‘You mean it had to be sort of read and all that?’ said Henry.
‘Something of the kind,’ said Tuppence. ‘Anyway, it was all found out.’
‘Well now, isn’t that wonderful,’ said Henry. ‘You don’t mind if I tell myfriend, do you? My chum. Clarence, his name is. Silly name, I know. We alllaugh at him for it. But he’s a good chap, he is and he’ll be ever so thrilledto know as we’ve got you really living amongst us.’
He looked at Tuppence with the admiration12 of an affectionate spaniel.
‘Wonderful!’ he said again.
‘Oh, it was a long time ago,’ said Tuppence. ‘In the 1940s.’
‘Was it fun, or were you ever so frightened?’
‘Bits of both,’ said Tuppence. ‘Mostly, I think, I was frightened.’
‘Oh well, I expect as you would be, too. Yes, but it’s odd as you shouldcome here and get mixed up in the same sort of thing. It was a naval13 gen-tleman, wasn’t it? I mean as called himself an English commander in theNavy, but he wasn’t really. He was a German. At least, that’s what Clar-ence said.’
‘Something like that,’ said Tuppence.
‘So perhaps that’s why you come here. Because, you know, we hadsomething here once–well it was a very, very long time ago–but it was thesame thing, as you might say. He was a submarine officer. He sold plans ofsubmarines. Mind you, it’s only stories as I’ve heard people say.’
‘I see,’ said Tuppence. ‘Yes. No, it’s not the reason we came here. We justcame here because it’s a nice house to live in. I’ve heard these same ru-mours going about only I don’t know exactly what happened.’
‘Well, I’ll try and tell you some time. Of course, one doesn’t always knowwhat’s right or not but things aren’t always known properly.’
‘How did your friend Clarence manage to know so much about it?’
‘Well, he heard from Mick, you know. He used to live a short time up bywhere the blacksmith used to be. He’s been gone a long time, but he hearda lot from different people. And our uncle, old Isaac, he knew a good dealabout it. He used to tell us things sometimes.’
‘So he did know a good deal about it all?’ said Tuppence.
‘Oh yes. That’s why I wondered, you know, when he was coshed theother day if that could be the reason. That he might have known a bit toomuch and–he told it all to you. So they did him in. That’s what they donowadays. They do people in, you know, if they know too much of any-thing that’s going to involve them with the police or anything.’
‘You think your Uncle Isaac–you think he knew a good deal about it?’
‘Well, I think things got told him, you know. He heard a lot here andthere. Didn’t often talk of it but sometimes he would. Of an evening, youknow, after smoking a pipe or hearing me and Clarrie talk and my otherfriend, Tom Gillingham. He used to want to know, too, and Uncle Izzywould tell us this, that and the other. Of course we didn’t know if he wasmaking it up or not. But I think he’d found things and knew where somethings were. And he said if some people knew where they were theremight be something interesting.’
‘Did he?’ said Tuppence. ‘Well, I think that’s very interesting to us also.
You must try and remember some of the things he said or suggested sometime because, well, it might lead to finding out who killed him. Because hewas killed. It wasn’t an accident, was it?’
‘We thought at first it must have been an accident. You know, he had abit of a heart or something and he used to fall down now and again or getgiddy or have turns. But it seems– I went to the inquest, you know– asthough he’d been done in deliberate.’
‘Yes,’ said Tuppence, ‘I think he was done in deliberate.’
‘And you don’t know why?’ said Henry.
Tuppence looked at Henry. It seemed to her as though she and Henrywere for the moment two police dogs on the same scent14.
‘I think it was deliberate, and I think that you, because he was your rela-tion, and I too, would like to know who it was who did such a cruel andwicked thing. But perhaps you do know or have some idea already,Henry.’
‘I don’t have a proper idea, I don’t,’ said Henry. ‘One just hears thingsand I know people that Uncle Izzy says–said–now and then had got it infor him for some reason and he said that was because he knew a bit toomuch about them and about what they knew and about something thathappened. But it’s always someone who’s been dead so many years agothat one can’t really remember it or get at it properly.’
‘Well,’ said Tuppence, ‘I think you’ll have to help us, Henry.’
‘You mean you’ll let me sort of be in it with you? I mean, doing a bit offinding out any time?’
‘Yes,’ said Tuppence, ‘if you can hold your tongue about what you findout. I mean, tell me, but don’t go talking to all your friends about it be-cause that way things would get around.’
‘I see. And then they might tell the coshers and go for you and Mr Beres-ford, mightn’t they?’
‘They might,’ said Tuppence, ‘and I’d rather they didn’t.’
‘Well, that’s natural,’ said Henry. ‘Well, see here, if I come across any-thing or hear anything I’ll come up and offer to do a bit of work here.
How’s that? Then I can tell you what I know and nobody’d hear us and–but I don’t know anything right at the moment. But I’ve got friends.’ Hedrew himself up suddenly and put on an air clearly adopted from some-thing he’d seen on television. ‘I know things. People don’t know as I knowthings. They don’t think I’ve listened and they don’t think I’d remember,but I know sometimes–you know, they’ll say something and then they’llsay who else knows about it and then they’ll–well, you know, if you keepquiet you get to hear a lot. And I expect it’s all very important, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ said Tuppence, ‘I think it’s important. But we have to be very care-ful, Henry. You understand that?’
‘Oh, I do. Of course I’ll be careful. Careful as you know how. He knew alot about this place, you know,’ went on Henry. ‘My Uncle Isaac did.’
‘About this house, you mean, or this garden?’
‘That’s right. He knew some of the stories about it, you know. Wherepeople were seen going and what they did with things maybe, and wherethey met people. Where there were hiding-places and things. He used totalk sometimes, he did. Of course Mom, she didn’t listen much. She’d justthink it was all silly. Johnny–that’s my older brother–he thinks it’s all non-sense and he didn’t listen. But I listened and Clarence is interested in thatsort of thing. You know, he liked those kind of films and all that. He said tome, “Chuck, it’s just like a film.” So we talked about it together.’
‘Did you ever hear anyone talked about whose name was Mary Jordan?’
‘Ah yes, of course. She was the German girl who was a spy, wasn’t she?
Got naval secrets out of naval officers, didn’t she?’
‘Something of that kind, I believe,’ said Tuppence, feeling it safer to stickto that version, though in her mind apologizing to the ghost of MaryJordan.
‘I expect she was very lovely, wasn’t she? Very beautiful?’
‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Tuppence, ‘because, I mean, she probably diedwhen I was about three years old.’
‘Yes, of course, it would be so, wouldn’t it? Oh, one hears her talkedabout sometimes.’
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收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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2
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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3
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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4
lettuces
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| n.莴苣，生菜（ lettuce的名词复数 ）；生菜叶 | |
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5
sprouts
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| n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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6
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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7
shuffle
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| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
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8
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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9
tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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10
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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11
tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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12
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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13
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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14
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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