死亡约会 Part II Chapter 1（2）

 

Colonel Carbury’s tie was under his left ear, his socks were wrinkled, his coat stained and torn.

Yet Hercule Poirot did not smile. He saw, clearly enough, the inner neatness of Colonel Carbury’smind, his neatly¹ docketed facts, his carefully sorted impressions.

‘Yes. I’m a tidy man,’ said Carbury. He waved a vague hand. ‘Don’t like a mess. When I comeacross a mess I want to clear it up. See?’

Hercule Poirot nodded gravely. He saw.

‘There was no doctor down there?’ he asked.

‘Yes, two. One of ’em was down with malaria², though. The other’s a girl—just out of themedical student stage. Still, she knows her job, I suppose. There wasn’t anything odd about thedeath. Old woman had got a dicky heart. She’d been taking heart medicine for some time. Nothingreally surprising about her conking out suddenly like she did.’

‘Then what, my friend, is worrying you?’ asked Poirot gently.

Colonel Carbury turned a harassed³ blue eye on him.

‘Heard of a Frenchman called Gerard? Theodore Gerard?’

‘Certainly. A very distinguished⁴ man in his own line.’

‘Loony bins,’ confirmed Colonel Carbury. ‘Passion for a charwoman at the age of four makesyou insist you’re the Archbishop of Canterbury when you’re thirty-eight. Can’t see why and neverhave, but these chaps explain it very convincingly.’

‘Dr Gerard is certainly an authority on certain forms of deep-seated neurosis,’ agreed Poirot,with a smile. ‘Is—er—are—er—his views on the happening at Petra based on that line ofargument?’

Colonel Carbury shook his head vigorously.

‘No, no. Shouldn’t have worried about them if they had been! Not, mind you, that I don’tbelieve it’s all true. It’s just one of those things I don’t understand—like one of my Bedouinfellows who can get out of a car in the middle of a flat desert, feel the ground with his hand andtell you to within a mile or two where you are. It isn’t magic, but it looks like it. No, Dr Gerard’sstory is quite straightforward⁵. Just plain facts. I think, if you’re interested—you are interested?’

‘Yes, yes.’

‘Good man. Then I think I’ll just phone over and get Gerard along here, and you can hear hisstory for yourself.’

When the Colonel had dispatched an orderly on this quest, Poirot said:

‘Of what does this family consist?’

‘Name’s Boynton. There are two sons, one of ’em married. His wife’s a nice-looking girl—thequiet, sensible kind. And there are two daughters. Both of ’em quite good-looking in totallydifferent styles. Younger one a bit nervy—but that may be just shock.’

‘Boynton,’ said Poirot. His eyebrows⁶ rose. ‘That is curious—very curious.’

Carbury cocked an inquiring eye at him. But as Poirot said nothing more, he himself went on:

‘Seems pretty obvious Mother was a pest! Had to be waited on hand and foot and kept thewhole lot of them dancing attendance. And she held the purse strings⁷. None of them had a pennyof their own.’

‘Aha! All very interesting. Is it known how she left her money?’

‘I did just slip that question in—casual like, you know. It gets divided equally between the lot ofthem.’

Poirot nodded his head. Then he asked:

‘You are of the opinion that they are all in it?’

‘Don’t know. That’s where the difficulty’s going to lie. Whether it was a concerted effort, orwhether it was one bright member’s idea—I don’t know. Maybe the whole thing’s a mare’s nest!

What it comes to is this: I’d like to have your professional opinion. Ah, here comes Gerard.’

 

1 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

4 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

5 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

6 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

7 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。