II
“Of course,” murmured Tommy, “I saw at once where the hitch¹ in thisparticular case lay, and just where the police were going astray.”
“Yes?” said Tuppence eagerly.
Tommy shook his head sadly.
“I wish I did. Tuppence, it’s dead easy being the Old Man in the Cornerup to a certain point. But the solution beats me. Who did murder the beg-gar? I don’t know.”
He took some more newspaper cuttings out of his pocket.
“Further exhibits—Mr. Hollaby, his son, Mrs. Sessle, Doris Evans.”
Tuppence pounced² on the last and looked at it for some time.
“She didn’t murder him anyway,” she remarked at last. “Not with a hat-pin.”
“Why this certainty?”
“A lady Molly touch. She’s got bobbed hair. Only one woman in twentyuses hatpins nowadays, anyway—long hair or short. Hats fit tight and pullon—there’s no need for such a thing.”
“Still, she might have had one by her.”
“My dear boy, we don’t keep them as heirlooms! What on earth shouldshe have brought a hatpin down to Sunningdale for?”
“Then it must have been the other woman, the woman in brown.”
“I wish she hadn’t been tall. Then she could have been the wife. I alwayssuspect wives who are away at the time and so couldn’t have had anythingto do with it. If she found her husband carrying on with that girl, it wouldbe quite natural for her to go for him with a hatpin.”
“I shall have to be careful, I see,” remarked Tommy.
But Tuppence was deep in thought and refused to be drawn³.
“What were the Sessles like?” she asked suddenly. “What sort of thingsdid people say about them?”
“As far as I can make out, they were very popular. He and his wife weresupposed to be devoted⁴ to one another. That’s what makes the business ofthe girl so odd. It’s the last thing you’d have expected of a man like Sessle.
He was an ex-soldier, you know. Came into a good bit of money, retired,and went into this Insurance business. The last man in the world, appar-ently, whom you would have suspected of being a crook

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1 hitch
v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉
参考例句：
They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。 All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

2 pounced
v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击）
参考例句：
As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 crook
v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)
参考例句：
He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。 She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

6 hairpin
n.簪,束发夹，夹发针
参考例句：
She stuck a small flower onto the front of her hairpin.她在发簪的前端粘了一朵小花。 She has no hairpin because her hair is short.因为她头发短，所以没有束发夹。

7 hairpins
n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The price of these hairpins are about the same. 这些发夹的价格大致相同。 来自互联网 So the king gives a hundred hairpins to each of them. 所以国王送给她们每人一百个漂亮的发夹。 来自互联网

8 intimacy
n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行
参考例句：
His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。 I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

9 shingled
adj.盖木瓦的；贴有墙面板的v.用木瓦盖(shingle的过去式和过去分词形式)
参考例句：
They shingled the roof. 他们用木瓦盖屋顶。 来自互联网

10 pickup
n.拾起，获得
参考例句：
I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

11 footpath
n.小路，人行道
参考例句：
Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.主人若放任狗弄脏人行道将受处罚。 They rambled on the footpath in the woods.他俩漫步在林间蹊径上。

12 transformation
n.变化；改造；转变
参考例句：
Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。 He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

13 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。

14 tangle
n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱
参考例句：
I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。 If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

15 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

16 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。

17 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

18 bungalow
n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房
参考例句：
A bungalow does not have an upstairs.平房没有上层。 The old couple sold that large house and moved into a small bungalow.老两口卖掉了那幢大房子，搬进了小平房。

19 brandishes
v.挥舞( brandish的第三人称单数 )；炫耀
参考例句：
He never brandishes his intellect. 他从不炫耀自己有多聪明。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She brandishes twin blaster pistols in a pair of hip holsters. 她喜欢在头上戴一朵大红花。 来自互联网

20 latch
n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁
参考例句：
She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。 The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

21 irreproachable
adj.不可指责的，无过失的
参考例句：
It emerged that his past behavior was far from irreproachable.事实表明，他过去的行为绝非无可非议。 She welcomed her unexpected visitor with irreproachable politeness.她以无可指责的礼仪接待了不速之客。

22 alibi
n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口
参考例句：
Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？ The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。

23 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。

24 porcupine
n.豪猪， 箭猪
参考例句：
A porcupine is covered with prickles.箭猪身上长满了刺。 There is a philosophy parable,call philosophy of porcupine.有一个哲学寓言，叫豪猪的哲学。

25 stolid
adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的
参考例句：
Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference.她的脸上毫无表情，只有麻木的无动于衷。 He conceals his feelings behind a rather stolid manner.他装作无动于衷的样子以掩盖自己的感情。

26 martyrs
n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）
参考例句：
the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者 They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》