黑麦奇案43

时间：2025-10-10 08:36:01

（单词翻译:单击）

Chapter Twenty-Five
I
“The old tabby’s looking for you, sir,” said Sergeant1 Hay in a conspirat-
orial whisper, as Inspector2 Neele descended3 the stairs. “It appears as how
she’s got a lot more to say to you.”
“Hell and damnation,” said Inspector Neele.
“Yes, sir,” said Sergeant Hay, not a muscle of his face moving.
He was about to move away when Neele called him back.
“Go over those notes given us by Miss Dove, Hay, notes as to her former
employment and situations. Check up on them—and, yes, there are just
one or two other things that I would like to know. Put these inquiries4 in
hand, will you?”
He jotted5 down a few lines on a sheet of paper and gave them to Ser-
geant Hay, who said:
“I’ll get onto it at once, sir.”
Hearing a murmur6 of voices in the library as he passed, Inspector Neele
looked in. Whether Miss Marple had been looking for him or not, she was
now fully7 engaged talking to Mrs. Percival Fortescue while her knitting
needles clicked busily. The middle of the sentence which Inspector Neele
caught was:
“… I have really always thought it was a vocation8 you needed for nurs-
ing. It certainly is very noble work.”
Inspector Neele withdrew quietly. Miss Marple had noticed him, he
thought, but she had taken no notice of his presence.
She went on in her gentle, soft voice:
“I had such a charming nurse looking after me when I once broke my
wrist. She went on from me to nurse Mrs. Sparrow’s son, a very nice
young naval9 officer. Quite a romance, really, because they became en-
gaged. So romantic I thought it. They were married and were very happy
and had two dear little children.” Miss Marple sighed sentimentally10. “It
was pneumonia11, you know. So much depends on nursing in pneumonia,
does it not.”
“Oh, yes,” said Jennifer Fortescue, “nursing is nearly everything in pneu-
monia, though of course nowadays M and B works wonders, and it’s not
the long, protracted12 battle it used to be.”
“I’m sure you must have been an excellent nurse, my dear,” said Miss
Marple. “That was the beginning of your romance, was it not? I mean you
came here to nurse Mr. Percival Fortescue, did you not?”
“Yes,” said Jennifer. “Yes, yes—that’s how it did happen.”
Her voice was not encouraging, but Miss Marple seemed to take no no-
tice.
“I understand. One should not listen to servants’ gossip, of course, but
I’m afraid an old lady like myself is always interested to hear about the
people in the house. Now what was I saying? Oh, yes. There was another
nurse at first, was there not, and she got sent away—something like that.
Carelessness, I believe.”
“I don’t think it was carelessness,” said Jennifer. “I believe her father or
something was desperately13 ill, and so I came to replace her.”
“I see,” said Miss Marple. “And you fell in love and that was that. Yes,
very nice indeed, very nice.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” said Jennifer Fortescue. “I often wish”—her
voice trembled—“I often wish I was back in the wards14 again.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. You were keen on your profession.”
“I wasn’t so much at the time, but now when I think of it — life’s so
monotonous15, you know. Day after day with nothing to do, and Val so ab-
sorbed in business.”
Miss Marple shook her head.
“Gentlemen have to work so hard nowadays,” she said. “There really
doesn’t seem any leisure, no matter how much money there is.”
“Yes, it makes it very lonely and dull for a wife sometimes. I often wish
I’d never come here,” said Jennifer. “Oh, well, I dare say it serves me right.
I ought never to have done it.”
“Ought never to have done what, my dear?”
“I ought never to have married Val. Oh, well—” she sighed abruptly16.
“Don’t let’s talk of it anymore.”
Obligingly Miss Marple began to talk about the new skirts that were be-
ing worn in Paris.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官，中士
参考例句：
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？
2 inspector q6kxH     
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 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的，出身于...的
参考例句：
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
4 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听
参考例句：
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 jotted 501a1ce22e59ebb1f3016af077784ebd     
v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下
参考例句：
  • I jotted down her name. 我匆忙记下了她的名字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The policeman jotted down my address. 警察匆匆地将我的地址记下。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
6 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言
参考例句：
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
7 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
8 vocation 8h6wB     
n.职业，行业
参考例句：
  • She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
  • She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。
9 naval h1lyU     
adj.海军的，军舰的，船的
参考例句：
  • He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
  • The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
10 sentimentally oiDzqK     
adv.富情感地
参考例句：
  • I miss the good old days, ' she added sentimentally. ‘我怀念过去那些美好的日子，’她动情地补充道。 来自互联网
  • I have an emotional heart, it is sentimentally attached to you unforgettable. 我心中有一份情感，那是对你刻骨铭心的眷恋。 来自互联网
11 pneumonia s2HzQ     
n.肺炎
参考例句：
  • Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
  • Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。
12 protracted 7bbc2aee17180561523728a246b7f16b     
adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
  • The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地
参考例句：
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
14 wards 90fafe3a7d04ee1c17239fa2d768f8fc     
区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态
参考例句：
  • This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
  • It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。
15 monotonous FwQyJ     
adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的
参考例句：
  • She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
  • His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。
16 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地，出其不意地
参考例句：
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

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