A Fine Italian Hand（10）

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　　Mary Aldin was restless. She went in and out of the house, picked off a dead dahlia head here and there, went back into the drawing-room and shifted flower vases in an unmeaning fashion.
　　From the library came a vague murmur¹ of voices. Mr. Trelawny was in there with Nevile. Kay and Audrey were nowhere to be seen.
　　Mary went out in the garden again. Down by the wall she spied Thomas Royde placidly² smoking. She went and joined him.
　　"Oh, dear." She sat down beside him with a deep, perplexed³ sigh.
　　"Anything the matter?" Thomas asked.
　　Mary laughed with a slight note of hysteria in the laugh.
　　"Nobody but you would say a thing like that. A murder in the house and you just say, 'Is anything the matter?'"Looking a little surprised, Thomas said: "I meant anything fresh?""Oh, I know what you meant. It's really a wonderful relief to find anyone so gloriously just-the-same-as-usual as you are!""Not much good, is it, getting all het up over things?" 188"No, no. You're eminently⁴ sensible. It's how you manage to do it beats me." "Well, I suppose I'm an outsider.""That's true, of course. You can't fed the relief all the rest of .us do that Nevile is cleared.""I'm very pleased he is, of course," said Royde. Mary shuddered⁵.
　　"It was a very near thing. If Camilla hadn't taken it into her head to ring the bell for Barrett after Nevile had left her -""Then old Nevile would have been for it, all right."He spoke⁶ with a certain grim satisfaction, then shook his head with a slight smile, as he met Mary's reproachful gaze.
　　"I'm not really heartless, but now that Nevile's all right I can't help being pleased he had a bit of a shaking up. He's always so damned complacent⁷.""He isn't really, Thomas.""Perhaps not. It's just his manner. Anyway, he was looking scared as Hell this morning!""What a cruel streak⁸ you have!""Anyway, it's all right now. You know, Mary, even here Nevile has had the devil's own luck. Some other poor beggar with all that evidence piled up against him mightn't have had such a break."Mary shivered again. "Don't say that. I like to think the innocent are -protected.""Do you, my dear?" His voice was gentle.
　　Mary burst out suddenly: "Thomas, I'm worried. I'm frightfully worried.""Yes.""It's about Mr. Treves."
　　Thomas dropped his pipe on the stones. His voice changed as he bent⁹ to pick it up.
　　"What about Mr. Treves?"
　　"That night he was here - that story he told - about a little murderer! I've been wondering, Thomas ... Was it just a story? Or did he tell it with a purpose?""You mean," said Royde deliberately¹⁰, "was it aimed at someone who was in the room?"Mary whispered, "Yes."Thomas said quietly: "I've been wondering, too. As a matter of fact, that was what I was thinking about when you came along just now."Mary half-closed her eyes.
　　"I've been trying to remember ... He told it, you know, so very deliberately. He almost dragged it into the conversation. And he said he would recognise the person anywhere. He emphasised that. As though he had recognised him.""M'm," said Thomas. "I've been through all that.""But why should he do it? What was the point?""I suppose," said Royde, "it was a kind of warning. Not to try anything on.""You mean that Mr. Treves knew that Camilla was going to be murdered?""No - o. I think that's too fantastic. It may have been just a general warning.""What I've been wondering is, do you think we ought to tell the police?" To that Thomas again gave his thoughtful consideration.
　　"I think not," he said at last. "I don't see that it's relevant in any way. It's not as though Treves were alive and could tell them anything.""No," said Mary. "He's dead!" She gave a quick shiver. "It's so odd, Thomas, the way he died.""Heart attack. He had a bad heart.""I mean that curious business about the lift being out of order. I don't like it.""I don't like it very much myself," said Thomas Royde.

1 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

2 placidly   

adv.平稳地，平静地

参考例句：

• Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

4 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

8 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

9 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

10 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。