空幻之屋25

时间：2024-12-31 10:08:18

（单词翻译:单击）

Seventeen
Sir Henry stared curiously1 at Inspector2 Grange.
He said slowly: “I’m not quite sure that I understand you, Inspector.”
“It’s quite simple, Sir Henry. I’m asking you to check over your collection of firearms. I
presume they are catalogued and indexed?”
“Naturally. But I have already identified the revolver as part of my collection.”
“It isn’t quite so simple as that, Sir Henry.” Grange paused a moment. His instincts were always
against giving out any information, but his hand was being forced in this particular instance. Sir
Henry was a person of importance. He would doubtless comply with the request that was being
made to him, but he would also require a reason. The inspector decided3 that he had got to give him
the reason.
He said quietly:
“Dr. Christow was not shot with the revolver you identified this morning.”
Sir Henry’s eyebrows4 rose.
“Remarkable5!” he said.
Grange felt vaguely6 comforted. Remarkable was exactly what he felt himself. He was grateful
to Sir Henry for saying so, and equally grateful for his not saying any more. It was as far as they
could go at the moment. The thing was remarkable—and beyond that simply did not make sense.
Sir Henry asked:
“Have you any reason to believe that the weapon from which the fatal shot was fired comes
from my collection?”
“No reason at all. But I have got to make sure, shall we say, that it doesn’t.”
Sir Henry nodded his head in confirmation7.
“I appreciate your point. Well, we will get to work. It will take a little time.”
He opened the desk and took out a leather-bound volume.
As he opened it he repeated:
“It will take a little time to check up—”
Grange’s attention was held by something in his voice. He looked up sharply. Sir Henry’s
shoulders sagged8 a little—he seemed suddenly an older and more tired man.
Inspector Grange frowned.
He thought: “Devil if I know what to make of these people down here.”
“Ah—”
Grange spun9 round. His eyes noted10 the time by the clock, thirty minutes—twenty minutes—
since Sir Henry had said, “It will take a little time.”
Grange said sharply:
“Yes, sir?”
“A .38 Smith and Wesson is missing. It was in a brown leather holster and was at the end of the
rack in this drawer.”
“Ah!” The inspector kept his voice calm, but he was excited. “And when, sir, to your certain
knowledge, did you last see it in its proper place?”
Sir Henry reflected for a moment or two.
“That is not very easy to say, Inspector. I last had this drawer open about a week ago and I think
—I am almost certain—that if the revolver had been missing then I should have noticed the gap.
But I should not like to swear definitely that I saw it there.”
Inspector Grange nodded his head.
“Thank you, sir, I quite understand. Well, I must be getting on with things.”
He left the room, a busy, purposeful man.
Sir Henry stood motionless for a while after the inspector had gone, then he went out slowly
through the french windows on to the terrace. His wife was busy with a gardening basket and
gloves. She was pruning11 some rare shrubs12 with a pair of secateurs.
She waved to him brightly.
“What did the inspector want? I hope he is not going to worry the servants again. You know,
Henry, they don’t like it. They can’t see it as amusing or as a novelty like we do.”
“Do we see it like that?”
His tone attracted her attention. She smiled up at him sweetly.
“How tired you look, Henry. Must you let all this worry you so much?”
“Murder is worrying, Lucy.”
Lady Angkatell considered a moment, absently clipping off some branches, then her face
clouded over.
“Oh, dear—that is the worst of secateurs, they are so fascinating—one can’t stop and one
always clips off more than one means. What was it you were saying—something about murder
being worrying? But really, Henry, I have never seen why. I mean, if one has to die, it may be
cancer, or tuberculosis13 in one of those dreadful bright sanatoriums, or a stroke—horrid, with one’s
face all on one side—or else one is shot or stabbed or strangled perhaps. But the whole thing
comes to the same in the end. There one is, I mean, dead! Out of it all. And all the worry over.
And the relations have all the difficulties—money quarrels and whether to wear black or not—and
who was to have Aunt Selina’s writing desk—things like that!”
Sir Henry sat down on the stone coping. He said:
“This is all going to be more upsetting than we thought, Lucy.”
“Well, darling, we shall have to bear it. And when it’s all over we might go away somewhere.
Let’s not bother about present troubles but look forward to the future. I really am happy about that.
I’ve been wondering whether it would be nice to go to Ainswick for Christmas—or leave it until
Easter. What do you think?”
“Plenty of time to make plans for Christmas.”
“Yes, but I like to see things in my mind. Easter, perhaps…yes.” Lucy smiled happily. “She will
certainly have got over it by then.”
“Who?” Sir Henry was startled.
Lady Angkatell said calmly:
“Henrietta. I think if they were to have the wedding in October—October of next year, I mean,
then we could go and stop for that Christmas. I’ve been thinking, Henry—”
“I wish you wouldn’t, my dear. You think too much.”
“You know the barn? It will make a perfect studio. And Henrietta will need a studio. She has
real talent, you know. Edward, I am sure, will be immensely proud of her. Two boys and a girl
would be nice—or two boys and two girls.”
“Lucy—Lucy! How you run on.”
“But, darling,” Lady Angkatell opened wide, beautiful eyes. “Edward will never marry anyone
but Henrietta. He is very, very obstinate14. Rather like my father in that way. He gets an idea in his
head! So of course Henrietta must marry him—and she will now that John Christow is out of the
way. He was really the greatest misfortune that could possibly have happened to her.”
“Poor devil!”
“Why? Oh, you mean because he’s dead? Oh, well, everyone has to die sometime. I never
worry over people dying….”
He looked at her curiously.
“I always thought you liked Christow, Lucy?”
“I found him amusing. And he had charm. But I never think one ought to attach too much
importance to anybody.”
And gently, with a smiling face, Lady Angkatell clipped remorselessly at a Viburnum Carlesii.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地
参考例句：
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
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 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
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。
5 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
6 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地，暖昧地
参考例句：
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。
7 confirmation ZYMya     
n.证实，确认，批准
参考例句：
  • We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
  • We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。
8 sagged 4efd2c4ac7fe572508b0252e448a38d0     
下垂的
参考例句：
  • The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
  • He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。
9 spun kvjwT     
v.纺，杜撰，急转身
参考例句：
  • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
  • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
10 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
11 pruning 6e4e50e38fdf94b800891c532bf2f5e7     
n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分
参考例句：
  • In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍，小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 shrubs b480276f8eea44e011d42320b17c3619     
灌木( shrub的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
  • These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。
13 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。
14 obstinate m0dy6     
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
  • She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
  • The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

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