赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩37

时间：2024-12-31 11:21:12

（单词翻译:单击）

VIII
Harold Waring was down by the lake. He had been walking feverishly1 for over an hour, trying by
sheer physical energy to still the clamour of despair that had attacked him.
He came at last to the spot where he had first noticed the two grim women who held his life
and Elsie’s in their evil talons2. He said aloud:
“Curse them! Damn them for a pair of devilish bloodsucking harpies!”
A slight cough made him spin round. He found himself facing the luxuriantly moustached
stranger who had just come out from the shade of the trees.
Harold found it difficult to know what to say. This little man must have almost certainly
overheard what he had just said.
Harold, at a loss, said somewhat ridiculously:
“Oh—er—good afternoon.”
In perfect English the other replied:
“But for you, I fear, it is not a good afternoon?”
“Well—er—I—” Harold was in difficulties again.
The little man said:
“You are, I think, in trouble, Monsieur? Can I be of any assistance to you?”
“Oh no thanks, no thanks! Just blowing off steam, you know.”
The other said gently:
“But I think, you know, that I could help you. I am correct, am I not, in connecting your
troubles with two ladies who were sitting on the terrace just now?”
Harold stared at him.
“Do you know anything about them?” He added: “Who are you, anyway?”
As though confessing to royal birth the little man said modestly:
“I am Hercule Poirot. Shall we walk a little way into the wood and you shall tell me your
story? As I say, I think I can aid you.”
To this day, Harold is not quite certain what made him suddenly pour out the whole story to a
man to whom he had only spoken a few minutes before. Perhaps it was overstrain. Anyway, it
happened. He told Hercule Poirot the whole story.
The latter listened in silence. Once or twice he nodded his head gravely. When Harold came
to a stop the other spoke3 dreamily.
“The Stymphalean Birds, with iron beaks4, who feed on human flesh and who dwell by the
Stymphalean Lake . . . Yes, it accords very well.”
“I beg your pardon,” said Harold staring.
Perhaps, he thought, this curious-looking little man was mad!
Hercule Poirot smiled.
“I reflect, that is all. I have my own way of looking at things, you understand. Now as to this
business of yours. You are very unpleasantly placed.”
Harold said impatiently:
“I don’t need you to tell me that!”
Hercule Poirot went on:
“It is a serious business, blackmail5. These harpies will force you to pay—and pay—and pay
again! And if you defy them, well, what happens?”
Harold said bitterly:
“The whole thing comes out. My career’s ruined, and a wretched girl who’s never done
anyone any harm will be put through hell, and God knows what the end of it all will be!”
“Therefore,” said Hercule Poirot, “something must be done!”
Harold said baldly: “What?”
Hercule Poirot leaned back, half-closing his eyes. He said (and again a doubt about his sanity6
crossed Harold’s mind):
“It is the moment for the castanets of bronze.”
Harold said:
“Are you quite mad?”
The other shook his head. He said:
“Mais non! I strive only to follow the example of my great predecessor7, Hercules. Have a few
hours’ patience, my friend. By tomorrow I may be able to deliver you from your persecutors.”
IX
Harold Waring came down the following morning to find Hercule Poirot sitting alone on the
terrace. In spite of himself Harold had been impressed by Hercule Poirot’s promises.
He came up to him now and asked anxiously:
“Well?”
Hercule Poirot beamed upon him.
“It is well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everything has settled itself satisfactorily.”
“But what has happened?”
Hercule Poirot replied dreamily:
“I have employed the castanets of bronze. Or, in modern parlance8, I have caused metal wires
to hum—in short I have employed the telegraph! Your Stymphalean Birds, Monsieur, have been
removed to where they will be unable to exercise their ingenuity9 for some time to come.”
“They were wanted by the police? They have been arrested?”
“Precisely.”
Harold drew a deep breath.
“How marvellous! I never thought of that.” He got up. “I must find Mrs. Rice and Elsie and
tell them.”
“They know.”
“Oh good.” Harold sat down again. “Tell me just what—”
He broke off.
Coming up the path from the lake were two figures with flapping cloaks and profiles like
birds.
He exclaimed:
“I thought you said they had been taken away!”
Hercule Poirot followed his glance.
“Oh, those ladies? They are very harmless; Polish ladies of good family, as the porter told
you. Their appearance is, perhaps, not very pleasing but that is all.”
“But I don’t understand!”
“No, you do not understand! It is the other ladies who were wanted by the police—the
resourceful Mrs. Rice and the lachrymose10 Mrs. Clayton! It is they who are well-known birds of
prey11. Those two, they make their living by blackmail, mon cher.”
Harold had a sensation of the world spinning round him. He said faintly:
“But the man—the man who was killed?”
“No one was killed. There was no man!”
“But I saw him!”
“Oh no. The tall deep-voiced Mrs. Rice is a very successful male impersonator. It was she
who played the part of the husband—without her grey wig12 and suitably made up for the part.”
He leaned forward and tapped the other on the knee.
“You must not go through life being too credulous13, my friend. The police of a country are not
so easily bribed14—they are probably not to be bribed at all—certainly not when it is a question of
murder! These women trade on the average Englishman’s ignorance of foreign languages.
Because she speaks French or German, it is always this Mrs. Rice who interviews the manager and
takes charge of the affair. The police arrive and go to her room, yes! But what actually passes?
You do not know. Perhaps she says she has lost a brooch—something of that kind. Any excuse to
arrange for the police to come so that you shall see them. For the rest, what actually happens? You
wire for money, a lot of money, and you hand it over to Mrs. Rice who is in charge of all the
negotiations15! And that is that! But they are greedy, these birds of prey. They have seen that you
have taken an unreasonable16 aversion to these two unfortunate Polish ladies. The ladies in question
come and hold a perfectly17 innocent conversation with Mrs. Rice and she cannot resist repeating
the game. She knows you cannot understand what is being said.
“So you will have to send for more money which Mrs. Rice will pretend to distribute to a
fresh set of people.”
Harold drew a deep breath. He said:
“And Elsie—Elsie?”
Hercule Poirot averted18 his eyes.
“She played her part very well. She always does. A most accomplished19 little actress.
Everything is very pure—very innocent. She appeals, not to sex, but to chivalry20.”
Hercule Poirot added dreamily:
“That is always successful with Englishmen.”
Harold Waring drew a deep breath. He said crisply:
“I’m going to set to work and learn every European language there is! Nobody’s going to
make a fool of me a second time!”

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 feverishly 5ac95dc6539beaf41c678cd0fa6f89c7     
adv. 兴奋地
参考例句：
  • Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
  • The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。
2 talons 322566a2ccb8410b21604b31bc6569ac     
n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部
参考例句：
  • The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
  • The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句
3 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。
4 beaks 66bf69cd5b0e1dfb0c97c1245fc4fbab     
n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者
参考例句：
  • Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
  • Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网
5 blackmail rRXyl     
n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓
参考例句：
  • She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
  • The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。
6 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。
7 predecessor qP9x0     
n.前辈，前任
参考例句：
  • It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
  • The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。
8 parlance VAbyp     
n.说法；语调
参考例句：
  • The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。
  • The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。
9 ingenuity 77TxM     
n.别出心裁；善于发明创造
参考例句：
  • The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
  • I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。
10 lachrymose v2Mx9     
adj.好流泪的，引人落泪的；adv.眼泪地，哭泣地
参考例句：
  • She waxed lachrymose.她伤心起来了。
  • Maybe if you moved away from Lake Lachrymose you might feel better.也许搬离这悲哀之湖会让你好受一些。
11 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨
参考例句：
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
12 wig 1gRwR     
n.假发
参考例句：
  • The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
  • He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。
13 credulous Oacy2     
adj.轻信的，易信的
参考例句：
  • You must be credulous if she fooled you with that story.连她那种话都能把你骗倒，你一定是太容易相信别人了。
  • Credulous attitude will only make you take anything for granted.轻信的态度只会使你想当然。
14 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》
15 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过
参考例句：
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
16 unreasonable tjLwm     
adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的
参考例句：
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
17 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。
18 averted 35a87fab0bbc43636fcac41969ed458a     
防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移
参考例句：
  • A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
  • Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。
19 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的
参考例句：
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
20 chivalry wXAz6     
n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤
参考例句：
  • The Middle Ages were also the great age of chivalry.中世纪也是骑士制度盛行的时代。
  • He looked up at them with great chivalry.他非常有礼貌地抬头瞧她们。

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