Thirty-two
T here is little more to be told. Miss Marple’s plan succeeded. Lawrence Redding was not an innocent man, and thehint of a witness of the change of capsule did indeed cause him to do “something foolish.” Such is the power of an evilconscience.
He was, of course, peculiarly placed. His first impulse, I imagine, must have been to cut and run. But there was hisaccomplice to consider. He could not leave without getting word to her, and he dared not wait till morning. So he wentup to Old Hall that night—and two of Colonel Melchett’s most efficient officers followed him. He threw gravel¹ atAnne Protheroe’s window, aroused her, and an urgent whisper brought her down to speak with him. Doubtless theyfelt safer outside than in—with the possibility of Lettice waking. But as it happened, the two police officers were ableto overhear the conversation in full. It left the matter in no doubt. Miss Marple had been right on every count.
The trial of Lawrence Redding and Anne Protheroe is a matter of public knowledge. I do not propose to go into it. Iwill only mention that great credit was reflected upon Inspector² Slack, whose zeal³ and intelligence had resulted in thecriminals being brought to justice. Naturally, nothing was said of Miss Marple’s share in the business. She herselfwould have been horrified⁴ at the thought of such a thing.
Lettice came to see me just before the trial took place. She drifted through my study window, wraithlike⁵ as ever.
She told me then that she had all along been convinced of her stepmother’s complicity. The loss of the yellow berethad been a mere⁶ excuse for searching the study. She hoped against hope that she might find something the police hadoverlooked.
“You see,” she said in her dreamy voice, “they didn’t hate her like I did. And hate makes things easier for you.”
Disappointed in the result of her search, she had deliberately7

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1 gravel
n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石
参考例句：
We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。 More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

2 inspector
n.检查员，监察员，视察员
参考例句：
The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。 The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 zeal
n.热心，热情，热忱
参考例句：
Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。 They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

4 horrified
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。 We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

5 wraithlike
参考例句：

6 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 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。

8 earring
n.耳环，耳饰
参考例句：
How long have you worn that earring?你戴那个耳环多久了？ I have an earring but can't find its companion.我现在只有一只耳环,找不到另一只了。

9 longing
n.（for）渴望
参考例句：
Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。 His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

10 forfeited
（因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Because he broke the rules, he forfeited his winnings. 他犯规，所以丧失了奖金。 He has forfeited the right to be the leader of this nation. 他丧失了作为这个国家领导的权利。

11 brutally
adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地
参考例句：
The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。 A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

12 attic
n.顶楼，屋顶室
参考例句：
Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。 What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

13 slashed
v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减
参考例句：
Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。 He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 clement
adj.仁慈的；温和的
参考例句：
A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。 The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

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 rejuvenating
使变得年轻，使恢复活力( rejuvenate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The rejuvenating ambience of autumn is immeasurably more ancient than even the calendar. 秋天那让人恢复青春活力的气氛远比历法还要古老。 来自名作英译部分 Rhoda says that it's embarrassing to be so idolized, but also very sweet and rejuvenating. 罗达说，给人这样过份地崇拜是很发窘的，不过也是愉快惬意使人年轻的。

17 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 housekeeper
n.管理家务的主妇，女管家
参考例句：
A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。 She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

19 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。

20 contented
adj.满意的，安心的，知足的
参考例句：
He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。 The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

21 maiden
n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的
参考例句：
The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。 The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

22 aliases
n.别名，化名( alias的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Can you allow the user to enter aliases for the longer entries? 可以允许用户为过长的文字选择别名吗？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓 The criminal has several aliases. 该罪犯有数个化名。 来自辞典例句

23 cram
v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习
参考例句：
There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。 The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

24 rivalry
n.竞争，竞赛，对抗
参考例句：
The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。 He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

25 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

26 plausible
adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的
参考例句：
His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。 Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

27 discreet
adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的
参考例句：
He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。 It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

28 overdoing
v.做得过分( overdo的现在分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度
参考例句：
He's been overdoing things recently. 近来他做事过分努力。 来自辞典例句 You think I've been overdoing it with the work thing? 你认为我对工作的关注太过分了吗？ 来自电影对白

29 undoing
n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭
参考例句：
That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。 This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

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