赫尔克里·波洛的丰功伟绩59

时间：2024-12-31 11:29:23

（单词翻译:单击）

II
On the following morning Poirot paid a visit to Scotland Yard to his old friend Chief Inspector1
Japp.
Japp’s reception of his tentative inquiries2 was unexpected.
“You old fox!” said Japp affectionately. “How you get on to these things beats me!”
“But I assure you I know nothing—nothing at all! It is just idle curiosity.”
Japp said that Poirot could tell that to the Marines!
“You want to know all about this place Hell? Well, on the surface it’s just another of these
things. It’s caught on! They must be making a lot of money, though of course the expenses are
pretty high. There’s a Russian woman ostensibly running it, calls herself the Countess Something
or other—”
“I am acquainted with Countess Rossakoff,” said Poirot coldly. “We are old friends.”
“But she’s just a dummy,” Japp went on. “She didn’t put up the money. It might be the
headwaiter chap, Aristide Papopolous—he’s got an interest in it—but we don’t believe it’s really
his show either. In fact we don’t know whose show it is!”
“And Inspector Stevens goes there to find out?”
“Oh, you saw Stevens, did you? Lucky young dog landing a job like that at the taxpayer’s
expense! A fat lot he’s found out so far!”
“What do you suspect there is to find out?”
“Dope! Drug racket on a large scale. And the dope’s being paid for not in money, but in
precious stones.”
“Aha?”
“This is how it goes. Lady Blank—or the Countess of Whatnot—finds it hard to get hold of
cash—and in any case doesn’t want to draw large sums out of the Bank. But she’s got jewels—
family heirlooms sometimes! They’re taken along to a place for ‘cleaning’ or ‘resetting’—there
the stones are taken out of their settings and replaced with paste. The unset stones are sold over
here or on the Continent. It’s all plain sailing—there’s been no robbery, no hue3 and cry after them.
Say sooner or later it’s discovered that a certain tiara or necklace is a fake? Lady Blank is all
innocence4 and dismay—can’t imagine how or when the substitution can have taken place—
necklace has never been out of her possession! Sends the poor, perspiring5 police off on wild-goose
chases after dismissed maids, or doubtful butlers, or suspicious window-
cleaners.
“But we’re not quite so dumb as these social birds think! We had several cases come up one
after another—and we found a common factor—all the women showed signs of dope—nerves,
irritability—twitching, pupils of eyes dilated6, etcetera. Question was: Where were they getting the
dope from and who was running the racket?”
“And the answer, you think, is this place Hell?”
“We believe it’s the headquarters of the whole racket. We’ve discovered where the work on
the jewellery is done—a place called Golconda Ltd—respectable enough on the surface, high-
class imitation jewellery. There’s a nasty bit of work called Paul Varesco—ah, I see you know
him?”
“I have seen him—in Hell.”
“That’s where I’d like to see him—in the real place! He’s as bad as they make ’em—but
women—even decent women—eat out of his hand! He’s got some kind of connection with
Golconda Ltd and I’m pretty sure he’s the man behind Hell. It’s ideal for his purpose—everyone
goes there, society women, professional crooks—it’s the perfect meeting place.”
“You think the exchange—jewels for dope—takes place there?”
“Yes. We know the Golconda side of it—we want the other—the dope side. We want to
know who’s supplying the stuff and where it’s coming from.”
“And so far you have no idea?”
“I think it’s the Russian woman—but we’ve no evidence. A few weeks ago we thought we
were getting somewhere. Varesco went to the Golconda place, picked up some stones there and
went straight from there to Hell. Stevens was watching him, but he didn’t actually see him pass the
stuff. When Varesco left we picked him up—the stones weren’t on him. We raided the club,
rounded up everybody! Result, no stones, no dope!”
“A fiasco, in fact?”
Japp winced7. “You’re telling me! Might have got in a bit of a jam, but luckily in the round up
we got Peverel (you know, the Battersea murderer). Pure luck, he was supposed to have got away
to Scotland. One of our smart sergeants8 spotted9 him from his photos. So all’s well that ends well—
kudos10 for us—terrific boost for the club—it’s been more packed than ever since!”
Poirot said:
“But it does not advance the dope inquiry11. There is, perhaps, a place of concealment12 on the
premises13?”
“Must be. But we couldn’t find it. Went over the place with a toothcomb. And between you
and me, there’s been an unofficial search as well—” he winked14. “Strictly on the Q.T. Spot of
breaking and entering. Not a success, our ‘unofficial’ man nearly got torn to pieces by that ruddy
great dog! It sleeps on the premises.”
“Aha, Cerberus?”
“Yes. Silly name for a dog—to call it after a packet of salt.”
“Cerberus,” murmured Poirot thoughtfully.
“Suppose you try your hand at it, Poirot,” suggested Japp. “It’s a pretty problem and worth
doing. I hate the drug racket, destroys people body and soul. That really is Hell if you like!”
Poirot murmured meditatively15: “It would round off things—yes. Do you know what the
twelfth Labor16 of Hercules was?”
“No idea.”
“The Capture of Cerberus. It is appropriate, is it not?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about, old man, but remember: ‘Dog eats Man’ is news.”
And Japp leaned back roaring with laughter.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听
参考例句：
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
3 hue qdszS     
n.色度；色调；样子
参考例句：
  • The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
  • The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。
4 innocence ZbizC     
n.无罪；天真；无害
参考例句：
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
5 perspiring 0818633761fb971685d884c4c363dad6     
v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • So they "went it lively," panting and perspiring with the work. 于是他们就“痛痛快快地比一比”了，结果比得两个人气喘吁吁、汗流浃背。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
6 dilated 1f1ba799c1de4fc8b7c6c2167ba67407     
adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • Her eyes dilated with fear. 她吓得瞪大了眼睛。
  • The cat dilated its eyes. 猫瞪大了双眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 winced 7be9a27cb0995f7f6019956af354c6e4     
赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
  • He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。
8 sergeants c7d22f6a91d2c5f9f5a4fd4d5721dfa0     
警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士
参考例句：
  • Platoon sergeants fell their men in on the barrack square. 排长们在营房广场上整顿队伍。
  • The recruits were soon licked into shape by the drill sergeants. 新兵不久便被教育班长训练得象样了。
9 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
10 kudos U9Uzv     
n.荣誉，名声
参考例句：
  • He received kudos from everyone on his performance.他的表演受到大家的称赞。
  • It will acquire no kudos for translating its inner doubts into hesitation.如果由于内心疑虑不安而在行动上举棋不定，是得不到荣誉的。
11 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听，询问，调查，查问
参考例句：
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
12 concealment AvYzx1     
n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒
参考例句：
  • the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
  • Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来，待危险过去后再出来。
13 premises 6l1zWN     
n.建筑物，房屋
参考例句：
  • According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
  • All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。
14 winked af6ada503978fa80fce7e5d109333278     
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮
参考例句：
  • He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
  • He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 meditatively 1840c96c2541871bf074763dc24f786a     
adv.冥想地
参考例句：
  • The old man looked meditatively at the darts board. 老头儿沉思不语，看着那投镖板。 来自英汉文学
  • "Well,'said the foreman, scratching his ear meditatively, "we do need a stitcher. “这--"工头沉思地搔了搔耳朵。 "我们确实需要一个缝纫工。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
16 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦
参考例句：
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

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