黑麦奇案41

时间：2025-10-10 08:35:30

（单词翻译:单击）

Chapter Twenty-Four
I
In the train on the way down to Baydon Heath, Inspector1 Neele had singu-
larly little success doing The Times crossword2. His mind was distracted by
various possibilities. In the same way he read the news with only half his
brain taking it in. He read of an earthquake in Japan, of the discovery of
uranium deposits in Tanganyika, of the body of a merchant seaman3
washed up near Southampton, and of the imminent4 strike among the
dockers. He read of the latest victims of the cosh and of a new drug that
had achieved wonders in advanced cases of tuberculosis5.
All these items made a queer kind of pattern in the back of his mind.
Presently he returned to the crossword puzzle and was able to put down
three clues in rapid succession.
When he reached Yewtree Lodge6 he had come to a certain decision. He
said to Sergeant7 Hay:
“Where’s that old lady? Is she still there?”
“Miss Marple? Oh, yes, she’s here still. Great buddies8 with the old lady
upstairs.”
“I see.” Neele paused for a moment and then said: “Where is she now?
I’d like to see her.”
Miss Marple arrived in a few minutes’ time, looking rather flushed and
breathing fast.
“You want to see me, Inspector Neele? I do hope I haven’t kept you wait-
ing. Sergeant Hay couldn’t find me at first. I was in the kitchen, talking to
Mrs. Crump. I was congratulating her on her pastry9 and how light her
hand is, and telling her how delicious the soufflé was last night. I always
think, you know, it’s better to approach a subject gradually, don’t you? At
least, I suppose it isn’t so easy for you. You more or less have to come al-
most straight away to the questions you want to ask. But of course for an
old lady like me who has all the time in the world, as you might say, it’s
really expected of her that there should be a great deal of unnecessary talk.
And the way to a cook’s heart, as they say, is through her pastry.”
“What you really wanted to talk to her about,” said Inspector Neele,
“was Gladys Martin?”
Miss Marple nodded.
“Yes. Gladys. You see, Mrs. Crump could really tell me a lot about the
girl. Not in connection with the murder. I don’t mean that. But about her
spirits lately and the odd things she said. I don’t mean odd in the sense of
peculiar10. I mean just the odds11 and ends of conversation.”
“Did you find it helpful?” asked Inspector Neele.
“Yes,” said Miss Marple. “I found it very helpful indeed. I really think,
you know, that things are becoming very much clearer, don’t you?”
“I do and I don’t,” said Inspector Neele.
Sergeant Hay, he noticed, had left the room. He was glad of it because
what he was about to do now was, to say the least of it, slightly unortho-
dox.
“Look here, Miss Marple,” he said, “I want to talk to you seriously.”
“Yes, Inspector Neele?”
“In a way,” said Inspector Neele, “you and I represent different points of
view. I admit, Miss Marple, that I’ve heard something about you at the
Yard.” He smiled: “It seems you’re fairly well-known there.”
“I don’t know how it is,” fluttered Miss Marple, “but I so often seem to
get mixed-up in the things that are really no concern of mine. Crimes, I
mean, and peculiar happenings.”
“You’ve got a reputation,” said Inspector Neele.
“Sir Henry Clithering, of course,” said Miss Marple, “is a very old friend
of mine.”
“As I said before,” Neele went on, “you and I represent opposite points
of view. One might almost call them sanity12 and insanity13.”
Miss Marple put her head a little on one side.
“Now what exactly do you mean by that, I wonder, Inspector?”
“Well, Miss Marple, there’s a sane14 way of looking at things. This murder
benefits certain people. One person, I may say, in particular. The second
murder benefits the same person. The third murder one might call a
murder for safety.”
“But which do you call the third murder?” Miss Marple asked.
Her eyes, a very bright china blue, looked shrewdly at the inspector. He
nodded.
“Yes. You’ve got something there perhaps. You know, the other day
when the AC was speaking to me of these murders, something that he said
seemed to me to be wrong. That was it. I was thinking, of course, of the
nursery rhyme. The King in his counting-house, the Queen in the parlour
and the maid hanging out the clothes.”
“Exactly,” said Miss Marple. “A sequence in that order, but actually
Gladys must have been murdered before Mrs. Fortescue, mustn’t she?”
“I think so,” said Neele. “I take it it’s quite certainly so. Her body wasn’t
discovered till late that night, and of course it was difficult then to say ex-
actly how long she’d been dead. But I think myself that she must almost
certainly have been murdered round about five o’clock, because other-
wise… .”
Miss Marple cut in. “Because otherwise she would certainly have taken
the second tray into the drawing room?”
“Quite so. She took one tray in with the tea on it, she brought the second
tray into the hall, and then something happened. She saw something or
heard something. The question is what that something was. It might have
been Dubois coming down the stairs from Mrs. Fortescue’s room. It might
have been Elaine Fortescue’s young man, Gerald Wright, coming in at the
side door. Whoever it was lured15 her away from the tea tray and out into
the garden. And once that had happened I don’t see any possibility of her
death being long delayed. It was cold out and she was only wearing her
thin uniform.”
“Of course you’re quite right,” said Miss Marple. “I mean it was never a
case of ‘the maid was in the garden hanging up the clothes.’ She wouldn’t
be hanging up clothes at that time of the evening and she wouldn’t go out
to the clothesline without putting a coat on. That was all camouflage16, like
the clothes-peg, to make the thing fit in with the rhyme.”
“Exactly,” said Inspector Neele, “crazy. That’s where I can’t yet see eye to
eye with you. I can’t—I simply can’t swallow this nursery rhyme busi-
ness.”
“But it fits, Inspector. You must agree it fits.”
“It fits,” said Neele heavily, “but all the same the sequence is wrong. I
mean the rhyme definitely suggests that the maid was the third murder.
But we know that the Queen was the third murder. Adele Fortescue was
not killed until between twenty-five past five and five minutes to six. By
then Gladys must already have been dead.”
“And that’s all wrong, isn’t it?” said Miss Marple. “All wrong for the
nursery rhyme—that’s very significant, isn’t it?”
Inspector Neele shrugged17 his shoulders.
“It’s probably splitting hairs. The deaths fulfil the conditions of the
rhyme, and I suppose that’s all that was needed. But I’m talking now as
though I were on your side. I’m going to outline my side of the case now,
Miss Marple. I’m washing out the blackbirds and the rye and all the rest of
it. I’m going by sober facts and common sense and the reasons for which
sane people do murders. First, the death of Rex Fortescue, and who benefits
by his death. Well, it benefits quite a lot of people, but most of all it benefits
his son, Percival. His son Percival wasn’t at Yewtree Lodge that morning.
He couldn’t have put poison in his father’s coffee or in anything that he
ate for breakfast. Or that’s what we thought at first.”
“Ah,” Miss Marple’s eyes brightened. “So there was a method, was there?
I’ve been thinking about it, you know, a good deal, and I’ve had several
ideas. But of course no evidence or proof.”
“There’s no harm in my letting you know,” said Inspector Neele. “Taxine
was added to a new jar of marmalade. That jar of marmalade was placed
on the breakfast table and the top layer of it was eaten by Mr. Fortescue at
breakfast. Later that jar of marmalade was thrown out into the bushes
and a similar jar with a similar amount taken out of it was placed in the
pantry. The jar in the bushes was found and I’ve just had the result of the
analysis. It shows definite evidence of taxine.”
“So that was it,” murmured Miss Marple. “So simple and easy to do.”
“Consolidated Investments,” Neele went on, “was in a bad way. If the
firm had had to pay out a hundred thousand pounds to Adele Fortescue
under her husband’s will, it would, I think, have crashed. If Mrs. Fortescue
had survived her husband for a month that money would have had to be
paid out to her. She would have had no feeling for the firm or its diffi-
culties. But she didn’t survive her husband for a month. She died, and as a
result of her death the gainer was the residuary legatee of Rex Fortescue’s
will. In other words, Percival Fortescue again.
“Always Percival Fortescue,” the inspector continued bitterly. “And
though he could have tampered18 with the marmalade, he couldn’t have
poisoned his stepmother or strangled Gladys. According to his secretary
he was in his city office at five o’clock that afternoon, and he didn’t arrive
back here until nearly seven.”
“That makes it very difficult, doesn’t it?” said Miss Marple.
“It makes it impossible,” said Inspector Neele gloomily. “In other words,
Percival is out.” Abandoning restraint and prudence19, he spoke20 with some
bitterness, almost unaware21 of his listener. “Wherever I go, wherever I
turn, I always come up against the same person. Percival Fortescue! Yet it
can’t be Percival Fortescue.” Calming himself a little he said: “Oh, there
are other possibilities, other people who had a perfectly22 good motive23.”
“Mr. Dubois, of course,” said Miss Marple sharply. “And that young Mr.
Wright. I do so agree with you, Inspector. Wherever there is a question of
gain, one has to be very suspicious. The great thing to avoid is having in
any way a trustful mind.”
In spite of himself, Neele smiled.
“Always think the worst, eh?” he asked.
It seemed a curious doctrine24 to be proceeding25 from this charming and
fragile-looking old lady.
“Oh yes,” said Miss Marple fervently26. “I always believe the worst. What
is so sad is that one is usually justified27 in doing so.”
“All right,” said Neele, “let’s think the worst. Dubois could have done it,
Gerald Wright could have done it (that is to say if he’d been acting28 in collu-
sion with Elaine Fortescue and she tampered with the marmalade), Mrs.
Percival could have done it, I suppose. She was on the spot. But none of
the people I have mentioned tie up with the crazy angle. They don’t tie up
with blackbirds and pockets full of rye. That’s your theory and it may be
that you’re right. If so, it boils down to one person, doesn’t it? Mrs. MacK-
enzie’s in a mental home and has been for a good number of years. She
hasn’t been messing about with marmalade pots or putting cyanide in the
drawing room afternoon tea. Her son Donald was killed at Dunkirk. That
leaves the daughter, Ruby29 MacKenzie. And if your theory is correct, if this
whole series of murders arises out of the old Blackbird Mine business,
then Ruby MacKenzie must be here in this house, and there’s only one
person that Ruby MacKenzie could be.”
“I think, you know,” said Miss Marple, “that you’re being a little too dog-
matic.”
Inspector Neele paid no attention.
“Just one person,” he said grimly.
He got up and went out of the room.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 crossword VvOzBj     
n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏
参考例句：
  • He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
  • Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。
3 seaman vDGzA     
n.海员，水手，水兵
参考例句：
  • That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
  • The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。
4 imminent zc9z2     
adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的
参考例句：
  • The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
  • The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。
5 tuberculosis bprym     
n.结核病，肺结核
参考例句：
  • People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
  • Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。
6 lodge q8nzj     
v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆
参考例句：
  • Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
  • I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
7 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？
8 buddies ea4cd9ed8ce2973de7d893f64efe0596     
n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人
参考例句：
  • We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
  • The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
9 pastry Q3ozx     
n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点
参考例句：
  • The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
  • The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。
10 peculiar cinyo     
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。
11 odds n5czT     
n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别
参考例句：
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？
12 sanity sCwzH     
n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确
参考例句：
  • I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
  • She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
13 insanity H6xxf     
n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐
参考例句：
  • In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
  • He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。
14 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的
参考例句：
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
15 lured 77df5632bf83c9c64fb09403ae21e649     
吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
  • Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。
16 camouflage NsnzR     
n./v.掩饰，伪装
参考例句：
  • The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
  • The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。
17 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 tampered 07b218b924120d49a725c36b06556000     
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄
参考例句：
  • The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
  • The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句
19 prudence 9isyI     
n.谨慎，精明，节俭
参考例句：
  • A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
  • The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。
20 spoke XryyC     
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。
21 unaware Pl6w0     
a.不知道的，未意识到的
参考例句：
  • They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
  • I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
22 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
23 motive GFzxz     
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
24 doctrine Pkszt     
n.教义；主义；学说
参考例句：
  • He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
  • The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。
25 proceeding Vktzvu     
n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报
参考例句：
  • This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
  • The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。
26 fervently 8tmzPw     
adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地
参考例句：
  • "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
27 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的，有理的
参考例句：
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
28 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。
29 ruby iXixS     
n.红宝石，红宝石色
参考例句：
  • She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
  • On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

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