赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩43

时间：2024-12-31 11:23:15

（单词翻译:单击）

Eight
THE HORSES OF DIOMEDES
The telephone rang.
“Hallo, Poirot, is that you?”
Hercule Poirot recognized the voice as that of young Dr. Stoddart. He liked Michael Stoddart,
liked the shy friendliness1 of his grin, was amused by his naïve interest in crime, and respected him
as a hardworking and shrewd man in his chosen profession.
“I don’t like bothering you—” the voice went on and hesitated.
“But something is bothering you?” suggested Hercule Poirot acutely.
“Exactly.” Michael Stoddart’s voice sounded relieved. “Hit it in one!”
“Eh bien, what can I do for you, my friend?”
Stoddart sounded diffident. He stammered2 a little when he answered.
“I suppose it would be awful c-c-cheek if I asked you to come round at this time of night . . .
B-b-but I’m in a bit of a j-j-jam.”
“Certainly I will come. To your house?”
“No—as a matter of fact I’m at the Mews that runs along behind. Conningby Mews. The
number is 17. Could you really come? I’d be no end grateful.”
“I arrive immediately,” replied Hercule Poirot.
II
Hercule Poirot walked along the dark Mews looking up at the numbers. It was past one o’clock in
the morning and for the most part the Mews appeared to have gone to bed, though there were still
lights in one or two windows.
As he reached 17, its door opened and Dr. Stoddart stood looking out.
“Good man!” he said. “Come up, will you?”
A small ladderlike stairway led to the upper floor. Here, on the right, was a fairly big room,
furnished with divans4, rugs, triangular5 silver cushions and large numbers of bottles and glasses.
Everything was more or less in confusion, cigarette ends were everywhere and there were
many broken glasses.
“Ha!” said Hercule Poirot. “Mon cher Watson, I deduce that there has been here a party!”
“There’s been a party all right,” said Stoddart grimly. “Some party, I should say!”
“You did not, then, attend it yourself?”
“No, I’m here strictly6 in my professional capacity.”
“What happened?”
Stoddart said:
“This place belongs to a woman called Patience Grace—Mrs. Patience Grace.”
“It sounds,” said Poirot, “a charming old-world name.”
“There’s nothing charming or old-world about Mrs. Grace. She’s good-looking in a tough
sort of way. She’s got through a couple of husbands, and now she’s got a boyfriend whom she
suspects of trying to run out on her. They started this party on drink and they finished it on dope—
cocaine7, to be exact. Cocaine is stuff that starts off making you feel just grand and with everything
in the garden lovely. It peps you up and you feel you can do twice as much as you usually do.
Take too much of it and you get violent mental excitement, delusions8 and delirium9. Mrs. Grace
had a violent quarrel with her boyfriend, an unpleasant person by the name of Hawker. Result, he
walked out on her then and there, and she leaned out of the window and took a potshot at him with
a brand-new revolver that someone had been fool enough to give her.”
Hercule Poirot’s eyebrows10 rose.
“Did she hit him?”
“Not she! Bullet went several yards wide, I should say. What she did hit was a miserable11
loafer who was creeping along the Mews looking in the dustbins. Got him through the fleshy part
of the arm. He raised Hell, of course, and the crowd hustled12 him in here quick, got the wind up
with all the blood that was spilling out of him and came round and got me.”
“Yes?”
“I patched him up all right. It wasn’t serious. Then one or two of the men got busy on him
and in the end he consented to accept a couple of five pound notes and say no more about it.
Suited him all right, poor devil. Marvellous stroke of luck.”
“And you?”
“I had a bit more work to do. Mrs. Grace herself was in raving13 hysterics by that time. I gave
her a shot of something and packed her off to bed. There was another girl who’d more or less
passed out—quite young she was, and I attended to her too. By that time everyone was slinking off
as fast as they could leave.”
He paused.
“And then,” said Poirot, “you had time to think over the situation.”
“Exactly,” said Stoddart. “If it was an ordinary drunken binge, well, that would be the end of
it. But dope’s different.”
“You are quite sure of your facts?”
“Oh, absolutely. No mistaking it. It’s cocaine all right. I found some in a lacquer box—they
snuff it up, you know. Question is, where does it come from? I remembered that you’d been
talking the other day about a big, new wave of drug taking and the increase of drug addicts14.”
Hercule Poirot nodded. He said:
“The police will be interested in this party tonight.”
Michael Stoddart said unhappily:
“That’s just it. . . .”
Poirot looked at him with suddenly awakened15 interest. He said:
“But you—you are not very anxious that the police should be interested?”
Michael Stoddart mumbled16:
“Innocent people get mixed up in things . . . hard lines on them.”
“Is it Mrs. Patience Grace for whom you are so solicitous17?”
“Good Lord, no. She’s as hard-boiled as they make them!”
Hercule Poirot said gently:
“It is, then, the other one—the girl?”
Dr. Stoddart said:
“Of course, she’s hard-boiled, too, in a way. I mean, she’d describe herself as hard-boiled.
But she’s really just very young—a bit wild and all that—but it’s just kid foolishness. She gets
mixed up in a racket like this because she thinks it’s smart or modern or something like that.”
A faint smile came to Poirot’s lips. He said softly:
“This girl, you have met her before tonight?”
Michael Stoddart nodded. He looked very young and embarrassed.
“Ran across her in Mertonshire. At the Hunt Ball. Her father’s a retired18 General—blood and
thunder, shoot ’em down—pukka Sahib—all that sort of thing. There are four daughters and they
are all a bit wild—driven to it with a father like that, I should say. And it’s a bad part of the county
where they live—armaments works nearby and a lot of money—none of the old-fashioned country
feeling—a rich crowd and most of them pretty vicious. The girls have got in with a bad set.”
Hercule Poirot looked at him thoughtfully for some minutes. Then he said:
“I perceive now why you desired my presence. You want me to take the affair in hand?”
“Would you? I feel I ought to do something about it—but I confess I’d like to keep Sheila
Grant out of the limelight if I could.”
“That can be managed, I fancy. I should like to see the young lady.”
“Come along.”
He led the way out of the room. A voice called fretfully from a door opposite.
“Doctor—for God’s sake, doctor, I’m going crazy.”
Stoddart went into the room. Poirot followed. It was a bedroom in a complete state of chaos19
—powder spilled on the floor—pots and jars everywhere, clothes flung about. On the bed was a
woman with unnaturally20 blonde hair and a vacant, vicious face. She called out:
“I’ve got insects crawling all over me . . . I have. I swear I have. I’m going mad . . . For
God’s sake, give me a shot of something.”
Dr. Stoddart stood by the bed, his tone was soothing—
professional.
Hercule Poirot went quietly out of the room. There was another door opposite him. He
opened that.
It was a tiny room—a mere3 slip of a room—plainly furnished. On the bed a slim, girlish
figure lay motionless.
Hercule Poirot tiptoed to the side of the bed and looked down upon the girl.
Dark hair, a long, pale face—and—yes, young—very young. . . .
A gleam of white showed between the girl’s lids. Her eyes opened, startled, frightened eyes.
She stared, sat up, tossing her head in an effort to throw back the thick mane of blue-black hair.
She looked like a frightened filly—she shrank away a little—as a wild animal shrinks when it is
suspicious of a stranger who offers it food.
She said—and her voice was young and thin and abrupt21:
“Who the hell are you?”
“Do not be afraid, Mademoiselle.”
“Where’s Dr. Stoddart?”
That young man came into the room at that minute. The girl said with a note of relief in her
voice:
“Oh! there you are! Who’s this?”
“This is a friend of mine, Sheila. How are you feeling now?”
The girl said:
“Awful. Lousy . . . Why did I take that foul22 stuff?”
Stoddart said drily:
“I shouldn’t do it again, if I were you.”
“I—I shan’t.”
Hercule Poirot said:
“Who gave it to you?”
Her eyes widened, her upper lip twitched23 a little. She said:
“It was here—at the party. We all tried it. It—it was wonderful at first.”
Hercule Poirot said gently:
“But who brought it here?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know . . . It might have been Tony—Tony Hawker. But I don’t really know anything
about it.”
Poirot said gently:
“Is it the first time you have taken cocaine, Mademoiselle?”
She nodded.
“You’d better make it the last,” said Stoddart brusquely.
“Yes—I suppose so—but it was rather marvellous.”
“Now look here, Sheila Grant,” said Stoddart. “I’m a doctor and I know what I’m talking
about. Once start this drug-taking racket and you’ll land yourself in unbelievable misery24. I’ve seen
some and I know. Drugs ruin people, body and soul. Drink’s a gentle little picnic compared to
drugs. Cut it right out from this minute. Believe me, it isn’t funny! What do you think your father
would say to tonight’s business?”
“Father?” Sheila Grant’s voice rose. “Father?” She began to laugh. “I can just see Father’s
face! He mustn’t know about it. He’d have seven fits!”
“And quite right too,” said Stoddart.
“Doctor—doctor—” the long wail25 of Mrs. Grace’s voice came from the other room.
Stoddart muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath and went out of the room.
Sheila Grant stared at Poirot again. She was puzzled. She said:
“Who are you really? You weren’t at the party.”
“No, I was not at the party. I am a friend of Dr. Stoddart’s.”
“You’re a doctor, too? You don’t look like a doctor.”
“My name,” said Poirot, contriving26 as usual to make the simple statement sound like the
curtain of the first act of a play, “my name is Hercule Poirot. . . .”
The statement did not fail of its effect. Occasionally Poirot was distressed27 to find that a
callous28 younger generation had never heard of him.
But it was evident that Sheila Grant had heard of him. She was flabbergasted—dumbfounded.
She stared and stared. . . .

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 friendliness nsHz8c     
n.友谊，亲切，亲密
参考例句：
  • Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
  • His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。
2 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
3 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
4 divans 86a6ed4369016c65918be4396dc6db43     
n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集
参考例句：
5 triangular 7m1wc     
adj.三角（形）的，三者间的
参考例句：
  • It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
  • One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。
6 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地
参考例句：
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
7 cocaine VbYy4     
n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）
参考例句：
  • That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
  • Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。
8 delusions 2aa783957a753fb9191a38d959fe2c25     
n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想
参考例句：
  • the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
  • She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句
9 delirium 99jyh     
n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋
参考例句：
  • In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
  • For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。
10 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。
11 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
12 hustled 463e6eb3bbb1480ba4bfbe23c0484460     
催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
  • The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。
13 raving c42d0882009d28726dc86bae11d3aaa7     
adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地
参考例句：
  • The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。
  • When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。
14 addicts abaa34ffd5d9e0d57b7acefcb3539d0c     
有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人
参考例句：
  • a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
  • There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
15 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》
16 mumbled 3855fd60b1f055fa928ebec8bcf3f539     
含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
17 solicitous CF8zb     
adj.热切的，挂念的
参考例句：
  • He was so solicitous of his guests.他对他的客人们非常关切。
  • I am solicitous of his help.我渴得到他的帮助。
18 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。
19 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱，无秩序
参考例句：
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
20 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地
参考例句：
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮，但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 abrupt 2fdyh     
adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的
参考例句：
  • The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
  • His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。
22 foul Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规
参考例句：
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！
23 twitched bb3f705fc01629dc121d198d54fa0904     
vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
  • The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
25 wail XMhzs     
vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸
参考例句：
  • Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
  • One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。
26 contriving 104341ff394294c813643a9fe96a99cb     
（不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到
参考例句：
  • Why may not several Deities combine in contriving and framing a world? 为什么不可能是数个神联合起来，设计和构造世界呢？ 来自哲学部分
  • The notorious drug-pusher has been contriving an escape from the prison. 臭名昭著的大毒枭一直都在图谋越狱。
27 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句：
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
28 callous Yn9yl     
adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的
参考例句：
  • He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
  • She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

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