赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩27

时间:2024-12-31 11:17:42

(单词翻译:单击)

VI
It was three days later that a little party of men appeared in front of the hotel in the early hours of
the morning.
It was Hercule Poirot who opened the front door to them with a flourish.
“Welcome, mon vieux.”
Monsieur Lementeuil, Commissaire of Police, seized Poirot by both hands.
“Ah, my friend, with what emotion I greet you! What stupendous events—what emotions you
have passed through! And we below, our anxiety, our fears—knowing nothing—fearing
everything. No wireless—no means of communication. To heliograph, that was indeed a stroke of
genius on your part.”
“No, no,” Poirot endeavoured to look modest. “After all, when the inventions of man fail, one
falls back upon nature. There is always the sun in the sky.”
The little party filed into the hotel. Lementeuil said:
“We are not expected?” His smile was somewhat grim.
Poirot smiled also. He said:
“But no! It is believed that the funicular is not nearly repaired yet.”
Lementeuil said with emotion:
“Ah, this is a great day. There is no doubt, you think? It is really Marrascaud?”
“It is Marrascaud all right. Come with me.”
They went up the stairs. A door opened and Schwartz came out in his dressing1 gown. He
stared when he saw the men.
“I heard voices,” he explained. “Why, what’s this?”
Hercule Poirot said grandiloquently2:
“Help has come! Accompany us, monsieur. This is a great moment.”
He started up the next flight of stairs.
Schwartz said:
“Are you going up to Drouet? How is he, by the way?”
“Dr. Lutz reported him going on well last night.”
They came to the door of Drouet’s room. Poirot flung it open. He announced:
“Here is your wild boar, gentlemen. Take him alive and see to it that he does not cheat the
guillotine.”
The man in the bed, his face still bandaged, started up. But the police officers had him by the
arms before he could move.
Schwartz cried bewildered:
“But that’s Gustave the waiter—that’s Inspector3 Drouet.”
“It is Gustave, yes—but it is not Drouet. Drouet was the first waiter, the waiter Robert who
was imprisoned4 in the unused part of the hotel and whom Marrascaud killed the same night as the
attack was made on me.”
VII
Over breakfast, Poirot explained gently to the bewildered American.
“You comprehend, there are certain things one knows—knows quite certainly in the course of
one’s profession. One knows, for instance, the difference between a detective and a murderer!
Gustave was no waiter—that I suspected at once—but equally he was not a policeman. I have
dealt with policemen all my life and I know. He could pass as a detective to an outsider—but not
to a man who was a policeman himself.
“And so, at once, I was suspicious. That evening, I did not drink my coffee. I poured it away.
And I was wise. Late that evening a man came into my room, came in with the easy confidence of
one who knows that the man whose room he is searching is drugged. He looked through my affairs
and he found the letter in my wallet—where I had left it for him to find! The next morning
Gustave comes into my room with my coffee. He greets me by name and acts his part with
complete assurance. But he is anxious—horribly anxious—for somehow or other the police have
got on his track! They have learnt where he is and that is for him a terrible disaster. It upsets all his
plans. He is caught up here like a rat in a trap.”
Schwartz said:
“The damn fool thing was ever to come here! Why did he?”
Poirot said gravely:
“It is not so foolish as you think. He had need, urgent need, of a retired5 spot, away from the
world, where he could meet a certain person, and where a certain happening could take place.”
“What person?”
“Dr. Lutz.”
“Dr. Lutz? Is he a crook6 too?”
“Dr. Lutz is really Dr. Lutz—but he is not a nerve specialist—not a psychoanalyst. He is a
surgeon, my friend, a surgeon who specializes in facial surgery. That is why he was to meet
Marrascaud here. He is poor now, turned out of his country. He was offered a huge fee to meet a
man here and change that man’s appearance by means of his surgical7 skill. He may have guessed
that that man was a criminal, but if so, he shut his eyes to the fact. Realize this, they dared not risk
a nursing home in some foreign country. No, up here, where no one ever comes so early in the
season except for an odd visit, where the manager is a man in need of money who can be bribed8,
was an ideal spot.
“But, as I say, matters went wrong. Marrascaud was betrayed. The three men, his bodyguard9,
who were to meet him here and look after him had not yet arrived, but Marrascaud acts at once.
The police officer who is pretending to be a waiter is kidnapped and Marrascaud takes his place.
The gang arrange for the funicular to be wrecked10. It is a matter of time. The following evening
Drouet is killed and a paper is pinned on the dead body. It is hoped that by the time that
communications are established with the world Drouet’s body may have been buried as that of
Marrascaud. Dr. Lutz performs his operation without delay. But one man must be silenced—
Hercule Poirot. So the gang are sent to attack me. Thanks to you, my friend—”
Hercule Poirot bowed gracefully11 to Schwartz who said:
“So you’re really Hercule Poirot?”
“Precisely.”
“And you were never fooled by that body for a minute? You knew all along that it wasn’t
Marrascaud?”
“Certainly.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
Hercule Poirot’s face was suddenly stern.
“Because I wanted to be quite sure of handing the real Marrascaud over to the police.”
He murmured below his breath:
“To capture alive the wild boar of Erymanthea. . . .”

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1 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
2 grandiloquently 044e6790bffbdfb47ee513f0eb2af0a8     
参考例句:
  • The leader announces his real intentions sufficiently frequently and grandiloquently. 这个领导人极其经常和夸张地宣布他的真正意图。 来自辞典例句
3 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。
4 imprisoned bc7d0bcdd0951055b819cfd008ef0d8d     
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁,合并执行。
  • They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。
5 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
6 crook NnuyV     
v.使弯曲;n.小偷,骗子,贼;弯曲(处)
参考例句:
  • He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子,他要我向他认错。
  • She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。
7 surgical 0hXzV3     
adj.外科的,外科医生的,手术上的
参考例句:
  • He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
  • All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前,必须消毒。
8 bribed 1382e59252debbc5bd32a2d1f691bd0f     
v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 );向(某人)行贿,贿赂
参考例句:
  • They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节,钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 bodyguard 0Rfy2     
n.护卫,保镖
参考例句:
  • She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
  • The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。
10 wrecked ze0zKI     
adj.失事的,遇难的
参考例句:
  • the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
  • the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞
11 gracefully KfYxd     
ad.大大方方地;优美地
参考例句:
  • She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

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