III
Sir Stafford Nye pushed aside his cup of coffee. He picked up the newspa-per, glancing over the headlines, then he turned it carefully to the pagewhich gave Personal advertisements. He’d looked down that particularcolumn for seven days now. It was disappointing but not surprising. Whyon earth should he expect to find an answer? His eye went slowly downmiscellaneous peculiarities¹ which had always made that particular pagerather fascinating in his eyes. They were not so strictly² personal. Half ofthem or even more than half were disguised³ advertisements or offers ofthings for sale or wanted for sale. They should perhaps have been put un-der a different heading but they had found their way here consideringthat they were more likely to catch the eye that way. They included one ortwo of the hopeful variety.
‘Young man who objects to hard work and who would like an easy lifewould be glad to undertake a job that would suit him.’
‘Girl wants to travel to Cambodia. Refuses to look after children.’
‘Firearm used at Waterloo. What offers.’
‘Glorious fun-fur coat. Must be sold immediately. Owner going abroad.’
‘Do you know Jenny Capstan? Her cakes are superb⁴.
Come to 14 Lizzard Street, S.W.3.’
For a moment Stafford Nye’s finger came to a stop. Jenny Capstan. Heliked the name. Was there any Lizzard Street? He supposed so. He hadnever heard of it. With a sigh, the finger went down the column and al-most at once was arrested once more.
‘Passenger from Frankfurt, Thursday Nov. 11, Hungerford Bridge 7.20.’
Thursday, November 11th. That was–yes, that was today. Sir StaffordNye leaned back in his chair and drank more coffee. He was excited, stim-ulated. Hungerford. Hungerford Bridge. He got up and went into the kit-chenette. Mrs Worrit was cutting potatoes into strips and throwing theminto a large bowl of water. She looked up with some slight surprise.
‘Anything you want, sir?’
‘Yes,’ said Sir Stafford Nye. ‘If anyone said Hungerford Bridge to you,where would you go?’
‘Where should I go?’ Mrs Worrit considered. ‘You mean if I wanted togo, do you?’
‘We can proceed on that assumption

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1 peculiarities
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪
参考例句：
the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点 He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

2 strictly
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。 The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

3 disguised
v.假扮( disguise的过去式和过去分词 )；化装；伪装；掩盖
参考例句：
The hijackers were heavily disguised. 劫持者伪装得严严实实。 The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 superb
adj.高贵的，壮丽的，极好的
参考例句：
The large bay has a superb backdrop of mountains.大海湾背靠着庄严的山脉。 The hotel has a large dining room serving superb local cuisine.饭店有一个大餐厅供应上好的当地菜肴。

5 assumption
n.假定，臆断，担任，承担
参考例句：
We mistook assumption that the price would fall.我们错误地认为价格会下降。 I would question the validity of that assumption.我会质疑那个假设的正当性。

6 charing
n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣
参考例句：
We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句 No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网

7 tossing
v.（轻轻或漫不经心地）扔( toss的现在分词 )；（使）摇荡；摇匀；（为…）掷硬币决定
参考例句：
Poor Joan has been tossing around all night with that fever. 可怜的琼因发烧而一整夜辗转不能入睡。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The two boys agreed to decide the matter by tossing a coin. 这两个孩子同意用掷硬币的方法来决定这件事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 presumably
adv.据推测，大概，可能
参考例句：
No reply from him yet,presumably he hasn't received my letter.他没有回信，想必没有收到我的信。 Presumably she could be trusted to find a safe place.或许满可以相信她，找得到安全的所在。