BOOK 3 Seven

Seven
Mary Rees-Talbot greeted Colonel Race with a positive shriek¹ of unbelief.
“My dear, I haven’t seen you since you disappeared so mysteriously
from Allahabad that time. And why are you here now? It isn’t to see me,
I’m quite sure. You never pay social calls. Come on now, own up, you
needn’t be diplomatic about it.”
“Diplomatic methods would be a waste of time with you, Mary. I always
have appreciated your X-ray mind.”
“Cut the cackle and come to the horses, my pet.”
Race smiled.
“Is the maid who let me in Betty Archdale?” he inquired.
“So that’s it! Now don’t tell me that the girl, a pure Cockney if ever there
was one, is a well-known European spy because I simply don’t believe it.”
“No, no, nothing of the kind.”
“And don’t tell me she’s one of our counterespionage either, because I
don’t believe that.”
“Quite right. The girl is simply a parlourmaid.”
“And since when have you been interested in simple parlourmaids—not
that Betty is simple—an artful dodger² is more like it.”
“I think,” said Colonel Race, “that she might be able to tell me some-
thing.”
“If you asked her nicely? I shouldn’t be surprised if you’re right. She has
the close-to-the-door-when-there’s-anything-interesting-going-on tech-
nique very highly developed. What does M. do?”
“M. very kindly³ offers me a drink and rings for Betty and orders it.”
“And when Betty brings it?”
“By then M. has very kindly gone away.”
“To do some listening outside the door herself?”
“If she likes.”
“And after that I shall be bursting with Inside Information about the
latest European crisis?”
“I’m afraid not. There is no political situation involved in this.”
“What a disappointment! All right. I’ll play!”
Mrs. Rees-Talbot, who was a lively near-brunette of forty-nine, rang the
bell and directed her good-looking parlourmaid to bring Colonel Race a
whisky and soda⁴.
When Betty Archdale returned, with a salver and the drink upon it, Mrs.
Rees-Talbot, was standing⁵ by the far door into her own sitting room.
“Colonel Race has some questions to ask you,” she said and went out.
Betty turned her impudent⁶ eyes on the tall grey- haired soldier with
some alarm in their depths. He took the glass from the tray and smiled.
“Seen the papers today?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.” Betty eyed him warily⁷.
“Did you see that Mr. George Barton died last night at the Luxembourg
Restaurant?”
“Oh, yes, sir.” Betty’s eyes sparkled with the pleasure of public disaster.
“Wasn’t it dreadful?”
“You were in service there, weren’t you?”
“Yes, sir. I left last winter, soon after Mrs. Barton died.”
“She died at the Luxembourg, too.”
Betty nodded. “Sort of funny, that, isn’t it, sir?”
Race did not think it funny, but he knew what the words were intended
to convey. He said gravely:
“I see you’ve got brains. You can put two and two together.”
Betty clasped her hands and cast discretion⁸ to the winds.
“Was he done in, too? The papers didn’t say exactly.”
“Why do you say ‘too?’ Mrs. Barton’s death was brought in by the cor-
oner’s jury as suicide.”
She gave him a quick look out of the corner of her eye. Ever so old, she
thought, but he’s nice looking. That quiet kind. A real gentleman. Sort of
gentleman who’d have given you a gold sovereign when he was young.
Funny, I don’t even know what a sovereign looks like! What’s he after, ex-
actly?
She said demurely⁹: “Yes, sir.”
“But perhaps you never thought it was suicide?”
“Well, no, sir. I didn’t—not really.”
“That’s very interesting—very interesting indeed. Why didn’t you think
so?”
She hesitated, her fingers began pleating her apron¹⁰.
So nicely he said that, so gravely. Made you feel important and as
though you wanted to help him. And anyway she had been smart over
Rosemary Barton’s death. Never been taken in, she hadn’t!
“She was done in, sir, wasn’t she?”
“It seems possible that it may be so. But how did you come to think so?”
“Well,” Betty hesitated. “It was something I heard one day.”
“Yes?”
His tone was quietly encouraging.
“The door wasn’t shut or anything. I mean I’d never go and listen at a
door. I don’t like that sort of thing,” said Betty virtuously¹¹. “But I was going
through the hall to the dining room and carrying the silver on a tray and
they were speaking quite loud. Saying something she was—Mrs. Barton I
mean—about Anthony Browne not being his name. And then he got really
nasty, Mr. Browne did. I wouldn’t have thought he had it in him—so nice
looking and so pleasant spoken as he was as a rule. Said something about
carving¹³ up her face—ooh! and then he said if she didn’t do what he told
her he’d bump her off. Just like that! I didn’t hear any more because Miss
Iris¹⁴ was coming down the stairs, and of course I didn’t think very much of
it at the time, but after there was all the fuss about her committing suicide
at that party and I heard he’d been there at the time—well, it gave me
shivers all down my back—it did indeed!”
“But you didn’t say anything?”
The girl shook her head.
“I didn’t want to get mixed up with the police—and anyway I didn’t
know anything—not really. And perhaps if I had said anything I’d have
been bumped off too. Or taken for a ride as they call it.”
“I see.” Race paused a moment and then said in his gentlest voice: “So
you just wrote an anonymous¹⁵ letter to Mr. George Barton?”
She stared at him. He detected no uneasy guilt—nothing but pure aston-
ishment.
“Me? Write to Mr. Barton? Never.”
“Now don’t be afraid to tell about it. It was really a very good idea. It
warned him without your having to give yourself away. It was very clever
of you.”
“But I didn’t, sir. I never thought of such a thing. You mean write to Mr.
Barton and say that his wife had been done in? Why, the idea never came
into my head!”
She was so earnest in her denial that, in spite of himself, Race was
shaken. But it all fitted in so well—it could all be explained so naturally if
only the girl had written the letters. But she persisted in her denials, not
vehemently¹⁶ or uneasily, but soberly and without undue¹⁷ protestation. He
found himself reluctantly believing her.
He shifted his ground.
“Whom did you tell about this?”
She shook her head.
“I didn’t tell anyone. I’ll tell you honest, sir, I was scared. I thought I’d
better keep my mouth shut. I tried to forget it. I only brought it up once—
that was when I gave Mrs. Drake my notice—fussing terribly she’d been,
more than a girl could stand, and now wanting me to go and bury myself
in the dead of the country and not even a bus route! And then she turned
nasty about my reference, saying I broke things, and I said sarcastic-like
that at any rate I’d find a place where people didn’t get bumped off—and I
felt scared when I’d said it, but she didn’t pay any real attention. Perhaps I
ought to have spoken out at the time, but I couldn’t really tell. I mean the
whole thing might have been a joke. People do say all sorts of things, and
Mr. Browne was ever so nice really, and quite a one for joking, so I
couldn’t tell, sir, could I?”
Race agreed that she couldn’t. Then he said:
“Mrs. Barton spoke¹² of Browne not being his real name. Did she mention
what his real name was?”
“Yes, she did. Because he said, ‘Forget about Tony’—now what was it?
Tony something . . . Reminded me of the cherry jam cook had been mak-
ing.”
“Tony Cheriton? Cherable.”
She shook her head.
“More of a fancy name than that. Began with an M. And sounded for-
eign.”
“Don’t worry. It will come back to you, perhaps. If so, let me know. Here
is my card with my address. If you remember the name write to me at that
address.”
He handed her the card and a treasury¹⁸ note.
“I will, sir, thank you, sir.”
A gentleman, she thought, as she ran downstairs. A pound note, not ten
shillings. It must have been nice when there were gold sovereigns. . . .
Mary Rees-Talbot came back into the room.
“Well, successful?”
“Yes, but there’s still one snag to surmount¹⁹. Can your ingenuity²⁰ help me?
Can you think of a name that would remind you of cherry jam?”
“What an extraordinary proposition.”
“Think Mary. I’m not a domestic man. Concentrate on jam making,
cherry jam in particular.”
“One doesn’t often make cherry jam.”
“Why not?”
“Well, it’s inclined to go sugary—unless you use cooking cherries, Mo-
rello cherries.”
Race gave an exclamation²¹.
“That’s it—I bet that’s it. Good-bye, Mary, I’m endlessly grateful. Do you
mind if I ring that bell so that the girl comes and shows me out?”
Mrs. Rees-Talbot called after him as he hurried out of the room:
“Of all the ungrateful wretches²²! Aren’t you going to tell me what it’s all
about?”
He called back:
“I’ll come and tell you the whole story later.”
“Sez you,” murmured Mrs. Rees-Talbot.
Downstairs, Betty waited with Race’s hat and stick.
He thanked her and passed out. On the doorstep he paused.
“By the way,” he said, “was the name Morelli?”
Betty’s face lighted up.
“Quite right, sir. That was it. Tony Morelli that’s the name he told her to
forget. And he said he’d been in prison, too.”
Race walked down the steps smiling.
From the nearest call box he put through a call to Kemp.
Their interchange was brief but satisfactory. Kemp said:
“I’ll send off a cable at once. We ought to hear by return. I must say it
will be a great relief if you’re right.”
“I think I’m right. The sequence is pretty clear.”

1 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

2 dodger   

n.躲避者；躲闪者；广告单

参考例句：

• They are tax dodgers who hide their interest earnings.他们是隐瞒利息收入的逃税者。
• Make sure she pays her share she's a bit of a dodger.她自己的一份一定要她付清--她可是有点能赖就赖。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

5 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。

6 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

7 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

8 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

9 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分

10 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

11 virtuously   

合乎道德地，善良地

参考例句：

• Pro31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 箴31:29说，才德的女子很多，惟独你超过一切。

12 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。

13 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

14 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

15 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

16 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

17 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

18 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

19 surmount   

vt.克服；置于…顶上

参考例句：

• We have many problems to surmount before we can start the project.我们得克服许多困难才能著手做这项工作。
• We are fully confident that we can surmount these difficulties.我们完全相信我们能够克服这些困难。

20 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

21 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

22 wretches   

n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋

参考例句：

• The little wretches were all bedraggledfrom some roguery. 小淘气们由于恶作剧而弄得脏乎乎的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The best courage for us poor wretches is to fly from danger. 对我们这些可怜虫说来，最好的出路还是躲避危险。 来自辞典例句