死亡约会 Part II Chapter 2（1）

 

Chapter 2

The Frenchman came in with a quick yet unhurried tread. As he shook hands with ColonelCarbury he shot a keen, interested glance at Poirot. Carbury said:

‘This is M. Hercule Poirot. Staying with me. Been talking to him about this business down atPetra.’

‘Ah, yes?’ Gerard’s quick eyes looked Poirot up and down. ‘You are interested?’

Hercule Poirot threw up his hands.

‘Alas! one is always incurably² interested in one’s own subject.’

‘True,’ said Gerard.

‘Have a drink?’ said Carbury.

He poured out a whisky and soda³ and placed it by Gerard’s elbow. He held up the decanterinquiringly, but Poirot shook his head. Colonel Carbury set it down again and drew his chair alittle nearer.

‘Well,’ he said, ‘where are we?’

‘I gather,’ said Poirot to Gerard, ‘that Colonel Carbury is not satisfied.’

Gerard made an expressive⁴ gesture.

‘And that,’ he said, ‘is my fault! And I may be wrong. Remember that, Colonel Carbury, I maybe entirely⁵ wrong.’

Carbury gave a grunt⁶.

‘Give Poirot the facts,’ he said.

Dr Gerard began by a brief recapitulation of the events preceding the journey to Petra. He gavea short sketch⁷ of the various members of the Boynton family and described the condition ofemotional strain under which they were labouring.

Poirot listened with interest.

Then Gerard proceeded to the actual events of their first day at Petra, describing how he hadreturned to the camp.

‘I was in for a bad bout¹ of malaria—cerebral type,’ he explained. ‘For that I proposed to treatmyself by an intravenous injection of quinine. That is the usual method.’

Poirot nodded his comprehension.

‘The fever was on me badly. I fairly staggered into my tent. I could not at first find my case ofdrugs, someone had moved it from where I had originally placed it. Then, when I had found that, Icould not find my hypodermic syringe. I hunted for it for some time, then gave it up and took alarge dose of quinine by the mouth and flung myself on my bed.’

Gerard paused, then went on:

‘Mrs Boynton’s death was not discovered until after sunset. Owing to the way in which she wassitting and the support the chair gave to her body, no change occurred in her position and it wasnot until one of the boys went to summon her to dinner at six-thirty that it was noticed thatanything was wrong.’

He explained in full detail the position of the cave and its distance away from the big marquee.

‘Miss King, who is a qualified⁸ doctor, examined the body. She did not disturb me, knowing thatI had fever. There was, indeed, nothing that could be done. Mrs Boynton was dead—and had beendead for some little time.’

Poirot murmured: ‘How long exactly?’

Gerard said slowly:

‘I do not think that Miss King gave much attention to that point. She did not, I presume, think itof any importance.’

‘One can say, at least, when she was last definitely known to be alive?’ said Poirot.

Colonel Carbury cleared his throat and referred to an official-looking document.

‘Mrs Boynton was spoken to by Lady Westholme and Miss Pierce shortly after 4 p.m. LennoxBoynton spoke⁹ to his mother about four-thirty. Mrs Lennox Boynton had a long conversation withher about five minutes later. Carol Boynton had a word with her mother at a time she is unable tostate precisely¹⁰ — but which from the evidence of others would seem to have been about tenminutes past five.

‘Jefferson Cope, an American friend of the family, returning to the camp with Lady Westholmeand Miss Pierce, saw her asleep. He did not speak to her. That was about twenty to six. RaymondBoynton, the younger son, seems to have been the last person to see her alive. On his return from awalk he went and spoke to her at about ten minutes to six. The discovery of the body was made atsix-thirty when a servant went to tell her dinner was ready.’

‘Between the time that Mr Raymond Boynton spoke to her and half-past six did no one go nearher?’ asked Poirot.

‘I understand not.’

‘But someone might have done so?’ Poirot persisted.

‘I don’t think so. From close on six onwards servants were moving about the camp, people weregoing to and from their tents. No one can be found who saw anyone approaching the old lady.’

‘Then Raymond Boynton was definitely the last person to see his mother alive?’ said Poirot.

Dr Gerard and Colonel Carbury interchanged a quick glance. Colonel Carbury drummed on thetable with his fingers.

‘This is where we begin to get into deep waters,’ he said. ‘Go on, Gerard. This is your pigeon.’

 

1 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

2 incurably   

ad.治不好地

参考例句：

• But young people are incurably optimistic and women have a special knack of forgetting their troubles. 可是青年人，永远朝着愉快的事情想，女人们尤其容易忘记那些不痛快。
• For herself she wanted nothing. For father and myself she was incurably ambitious. 她为她自己并无所求，可为父亲和我，却有着无法遏制的野心。

3 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。

4 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

7 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 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。

10 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。