赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩26

时间：2024-12-31 11:17:24

（单词翻译:单击）

V
Hercule Poirot went to bed early. He was awakened1 some time after midnight.
Someone was fumbling2 with the lock of the door.
He sat up, putting on the light. At the same moment the lock yielded to manipulation and the
door swung open. Three men stood there, the three card-playing men. They were, Poirot thought,
slightly drunk. Their faces were foolish and yet malevolent3. He saw the gleam of a razor blade.
The big thickset man advanced. He spoke4 in a growling5
voice.
“Sacred pig of a detective! Bah!”
He burst into a torrent6 of profanity. The three of them advanced purposefully on the
defenceless man in the bed.
“We’ll carve him up, boys. Eh, little horses? We’ll slash7 Monsieur Detective’s face open for
him. He won’t be the first one tonight.”
They came on, steady, purposeful—the razor blades flashed. . . .
And then, startling in its crisp transatlantic tones, a voice said:
“Stick ’em up.”
They swerved8 round. Schwartz, dressed in a peculiarly vivid set of striped pyjamas9 stood in
the doorway10. In his hand he held an automatic.”
“Stick ’em up, guys. I’m pretty good at shooting.”
He pressed the trigger—and a bullet sang past the big man’s ear and buried itself in the
woodwork of the window.
Three pairs of hands were raised rapidly.
Schwartz said: “Can I trouble you, M. Poirier?”
Hercule Poirot was out of bed in a flash. He collected the gleaming weapons and passed his
hands over the three men’s bodies to make sure that they were not armed.
Schwartz said:
“Now then, march! There’s a big cupboard just along the corridor. No window in it. Just the
thing.”
He marched them into it and turned the key on them. He swung round to Poirot, his voice
breaking with pleasurable emotion.
“If that doesn’t just show? Do you know, M. Poirier, there were folks in Fountain Springs
who laughed at me because I said I was going to take a gun abroad with me. ‘Where do you think
you’re going?’ they asked. ‘Into the jungle?’ Well, sir, I’d say the laugh is with me. Did you ever
see such an ugly bunch of
toughs?”
Poirot said:
“My dear Mr. Schwartz, you appeared in the nick of time. It might have been a drama on the
stage! I am very much in your debt.”
“That’s nothing. Where do we go from here? We ought to turn these boys over to the police
and that’s just what we can’t do! It’s a knotty11 problem. Maybe we’d better consult the manager.”
Hercule Poirot said:
“Ah, the manager. I think first we will consult the waiter—Gustave—alias Inspector12 Drouet.
But yes—the waiter Gustave is really a detective.”
Schwartz stared at him.
“So that’s why they did it!”
“That is why who did what?”
“This bunch of crooks13 got to you second on the list. They’d already carved up Gustave.”
“What?”
“Come with me. The doc’s busy on him now.”
Drouet’s room was a small one on the top floor. Dr. Lutz, in a dressing-gown, was busy
bandaging the injured man’s face.
He turned his head as they entered.
“Ah! It is you, Mr. Schwartz? A nasty business, this. What butchers! What inhuman14
monsters!”
Drouet lay still, moaning faintly.
Schwartz asked: “Is he in danger?”
“He will not die if that is what you mean. But he must not speak—there must be no
excitement. I have dressed the wounds—there will be no risk of septicæmia.”
The three men left the room together. Schwartz said to Poirot:
“Did you say Gustave was a police officer?”
Hercule Poirot nodded.
“But what was he doing up at Rochers Neiges?”
“He was engaged in tracking down a very dangerous criminal.”
In a few words Poirot explained the situation.
Dr. Lutz said:
“Marrascaud? I read about the case in the paper. I should much like to meet that man. There
is some deep abnormality there! I should like to know the particulars of his childhood.”
“For myself,” said Hercule Poirot. “I should like to know exactly where he is at this minute.”
Schwartz said:
“Isn’t he one of the three we locked in the cupboard?”
Poirot said in a dissatisfied voice:
“It is possible—yes, but me, I am not sure . . . I have an idea—”
He broke off, staring down at the carpet. It was of a light buff colour and there were marks on
it of a deep rusty15 brown.
Hercule Poirot said:
“Footsteps—footsteps that have trodden, I think, in blood and they lead from the unused
wing of the hotel. Come—we must be quick!”
They followed him, through a swing door and along a dim, dusty corridor. They turned the
corner of it, still following the marks on the carpet until the tracks led them to a half-open
doorway.
Poirot pushed the door open and entered.
He uttered a sharp, horrified16 exclamation17.
The room was a bedroom. The bed had been slept in and there was a tray of food on the table.
In the middle of the floor lay the body of a man. He was of just over middle height and he
had been attacked with savage18 and unbelievable ferocity. There were a dozen wounds on his arms
and chest and his head and face had been battered19 almost to a pulp20.
Schwartz gave a half-stifled exclamation and turned away looking as though he might be
sick.
Dr. Lutz uttered a horrified exclamation in German.
Schwartz said faintly:
“Who is this guy? Does anyone know?”
“I fancy,” said Poirot, “that he was known here as Robert, a rather unskilful waiter. . . .”
Lutz had gone nearer, bending over the body. He pointed21 with a finger.
There was a paper pinned to the dead man’s breast. It had some words scrawled22 on it in ink.
Marrascaud will kill no more—nor will he rob his friends!
Schwartz ejaculated:
“Marrascaud? So this is Marrascaud! But what brought him up here to this out of the way
spot? And why do you say his name is Robert?”
Poirot said:
“He was here masquerading as a waiter—and by all accounts he was a very bad waiter. So
bad that no one was surprised when he was given the sack. He left—presumably to return to
Andermatt. But nobody saw him go.”
Lutz said in his slow rumbling23 voice:
“So—and what do you think happened?”
Poirot replied:
“I think we have here the explanation of a certain worried expression on the hotel manager’s
face. Marrascaud must have offered him a big bribe24 to allow him to remain hidden in the unused
part of the hotel. . . .”
He added thoughtfully: “But the manager was not happy about it. Oh no, he was not happy at
all.”
“And Marrascaud continued to live in this unused wing with no one but the manager knowing
about it?”
“So it seems. It would be quite possible, you know.”
Dr. Lutz said:
“And why was he killed? And who killed him?”
Schwartz cried:
“That’s easy. He was to share out the money with his gang. He didn’t. He double-crossed
them. He came here, to this out of the way place, to lie low for a while. He thought it was the last
place in the world they’d ever think of. He was wrong. Somehow or other they got wise to it and
followed him.” He touched the dead body with the tip of his shoe. “And they settled his account—
like this.”
Hercule Poirot murmured:
“Yes, it was not quite the kind of rendezvous25 we thought.”
Dr. Lutz said irritably26:
“These hows and whys may be very interesting, but I am concerned with our present position.
Here we have a dead man. I have a sick man on my hands and a limited amount of medical
supplies. And we are cut off from the world! For how long?”
Schwartz added:
“And we’ve got three murderers locked in a cupboard! It’s what I’d call kind of an interesting
situation.”
Dr. Lutz said:
“What do we do?”
Poirot said:
“First, we get hold of the manager. He is not a criminal, that one, only a man who was greedy
for money. He is a coward, too. He will do everything we tell him. My good friend Jacques, or his
wife, will perhaps provide some cord. Our three miscreants27 must be placed where we can guard
them in safety until the day when help comes. I think that Mr. Schwartz’s automatic will be
effective in carrying out any plans we may make.”
Dr. Lutz said:
“And I? What do I do?”
“You, doctor,” said Poirot gravely, “will do all you can for your patient. The rest of us will
employ ceaseless vigilance—and wait. There is nothing else we can do.”

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1 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到
参考例句：
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 fumbling fumbling     
n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理
参考例句：
  • If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。
  • If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。
3 malevolent G8IzV     
adj.有恶意的，恶毒的
参考例句：
  • Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒？
  • We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
4 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。
5 growling growling     
n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼
参考例句：
  • We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
  • The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。
6 torrent 7GCyH     
n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发
参考例句：
  • The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
  • Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。
7 slash Hrsyq     
vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩
参考例句：
  • The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
  • Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。
8 swerved 9abd504bfde466e8c735698b5b8e73b4     
v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯，以躲开一个骑自行车的人。
  • The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅，司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 pyjamas 5SSx4     
n.（宽大的）睡衣裤
参考例句：
  • This pyjamas has many repairs.这件睡衣有许多修补过的地方。
  • Martin was in his pyjamas.马丁穿着睡衣。
10 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
11 knotty u2Sxi     
adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的
参考例句：
  • Under his leadership,many knotty problems were smoothly solved.在他的领导下，许多伤脑筋的问题都迎刃而解。
  • She met with a lot of knotty problems.她碰上了许多棘手的问题。
12 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。
13 crooks 31060be9089be1fcdd3ac8530c248b55     
n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 inhuman F7NxW     
adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的
参考例句：
  • We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
  • It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。
15 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的
参考例句：
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。
16 horrified 8rUzZU     
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句：
  • The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
  • We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。
17 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词
参考例句：
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。
18 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人
参考例句：
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
19 battered NyezEM     
adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损
参考例句：
  • He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
  • The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
20 pulp Qt4y9     
n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆
参考例句：
  • The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
  • The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。
21 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
22 scrawled ace4673c0afd4a6c301d0b51c37c7c86     
乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • I tried to read his directions, scrawled on a piece of paper. 我尽量弄明白他草草写在一片纸上的指示。
  • Tom scrawled on his slate, "Please take it -- I got more." 汤姆在他的写字板上写了几个字：“请你收下吧，我多得是哩。”
23 rumbling 85a55a2bf439684a14a81139f0b36eb1     
n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词
参考例句：
  • The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
  • The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。
24 bribe GW8zK     
n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通
参考例句：
  • He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
  • He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。
25 rendezvous XBfzj     
n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇
参考例句：
  • She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
  • I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。
26 irritably e3uxw     
ad.易生气地
参考例句：
  • He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
  • On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
27 miscreants dd098f265e54ce1164595637a1b87294     
n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • I ordered the miscreants to let me out. 我命令这些土匪放我出去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants. 当地人要求地方法官逮捕那些歹徒。 来自辞典例句

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