顺水推舟21

时间：2025-01-30 17:25:22

（单词翻译:单击）

Eleven
Rowley opened the big mauve envelope with some surprise. Who on earth, he wondered, could be
writing to him, using that kind of stationery—and how did they manage to get it, anyway? These
fancy lines had surely gone right out during the war.
“Dear Mr. Rowley,” he read,
“I hope you won’t think I’m taking a liberty in writing to you this way, but
if you’ll excuse me, I do think there are things going on that you ought to know
about.”
He noted1 the underlining with a puzzled look.
“Arising out of our conversation the other evening when you came in asking
about a certain person. If you could call in at the Stag I’d be very glad to tell
you all about it. We’ve all of us felt down here what a wicked shame it was
about your Uncle dying and his money going the way it did.
“Hoping you won’t be angry with me, but I really do think you ought to
know what’s going on.
“Yours ever,
“Beatrice Lippincott.”
Rowley stared down at this missive, his mind afire with speculation2. What on earth was all this
about? Good old Bee. He’d known Beatrice all his life. Bought tobacco from her father’s shop
and passed the time of day with her behind the counter. She’d been a good-looking girl. He
remembered as a child hearing rumours3 about her during an absence of hers from Warmsley Vale.
She’d been away about a year and everybody said she’d gone away to have an illegitimate
baby. Perhaps she had, perhaps she hadn’t. But she was certainly highly respectable and refined
nowadays. Plenty of backchat and giggles4, but an almost painful propriety5.
Rowley glanced up at the clock. He’d go along to the Stag right away. To hell with all those
forms. He wanted to know what it was that Beatrice was so anxious to tell him.
It was a little after eight when he pushed open the door of the saloon bar. There were the usual
greetings, nods of the head, “Evening, sir.” Rowley edged up to the bar and asked for a
Guinness. Beatrice beamed upon him.
“Glad to see you, Mr. Rowley.”
“Evening, Beatrice. Thanks for your note.”
She gave him a quick glance.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, Mr. Rowley.”
He nodded—and drank his half pint6 meditatively7 whilst he watched Beatrice finish serving out.
She called over her shoulder and presently the girl Lily came in to relieve her. Beatrice murmured,
“If you’ll come with me, Mr. Rowley?”
She led him along a passage and in through a door marked Private. Inside it was very small and
overfurnished with plush armchairs, a blaring radio, a lot of china ornaments8 and a rather battered-
looking pierrot doll thrown across the back of a chair.
Beatrice Lippincott turned off the radio and indicated a plush armchair.
“I’m ever so glad you came up, Mr. Rowley, and I hope you didn’t mind my writing to you
—but I’ve been turning it over in my mind all over the weekend—and as I said I really felt you
ought to know what’s going on.”
She was looking happy and important, clearly pleased with herself.
Rowley asked with mild curiosity:
“What is going on?”
“Well, Mr. Rowley, you know the gentleman who’s staying here—Mr. Arden, the one you
came and asked about.”
“Yes?”
“It was the very next evening. Mr. Hunter came along and asked for him.”
“Mr. Hunter?”
Rowley sat up interestedly.
“Yes, Mr. Rowley. No. 5, I said, and Mr. Hunter nodded and went straight up. I was surprised
I must say, for this Mr. Arden hadn’t said he knew any one in Warmsley Vale and I’d kind of
taken it for granted he was a stranger here and didn’t know any one in the place. Very out of
temper Mr. Hunter looked, as though something had happened to upset him but of course I
didn’t make anything of it then.”
She paused for breath. Rowley said nothing, just listened. He never hurried people. If they liked
to take their time it suited him.
Beatrice continued with dignity:
“It was just a little later I had occasion to go up to No. 4 to see to the towels and the bed linen9.
That’s next door to No. 5, and as it happens there’s a communicating door—not that you’d
know it from No. 5 because the big wardrobe there stands right across it, so that you wouldn’t
know there was a door. Of course it’s always kept shut but as it happened this time it was just a
bit open—though who opened it I’ve no idea, I’m sure!”
Again Rowley said nothing, but just nodded his head.
Beatrice, he thought, had opened it. She had been curious and had gone up deliberately10 to No. 4
to find out what she could.
“And so you see, Mr. Rowley, I couldn’t help hearing what was going on. Really, you could
have knocked me over with a feather—”
A pretty substantial feather, thought Rowley, would be needed.
He listened, with an impassive, almost bovine11 face, to Beatrice’s succinct12 account of the
conversation she had overheard. When she had finished, she waited expectantly.
It was fully13 a couple of minutes before Rowley came out of his trance. Then he got up.
“Thanks, Beatrice,” he said. “Thanks a lot.”
And with that he went straight out of the room. Beatrice felt somewhat deflated14. She really did
think, she said to herself, that Mr. Rowley might have said something.

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1 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
2 speculation 9vGwe     
n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机
参考例句：
  • Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
  • There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
3 rumours ba6e2decd2e28dec9a80f28cb99e131d     
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传
参考例句：
  • The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
  • Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
4 giggles 0aa08b5c91758a166d13e7cd3f455951     
n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间，以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句
5 propriety oRjx4     
n.正当行为；正当；适当
参考例句：
  • We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
  • The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。
6 pint 1NNxL     
n.品脱
参考例句：
  • I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
  • In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。
7 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
8 ornaments 2bf24c2bab75a8ff45e650a1e4388dec     
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
  • Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 linen W3LyK     
n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的
参考例句：
  • The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
  • Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。
10 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
11 bovine ys5zy     
adj.牛的；n.牛
参考例句：
  • He threw off his pack and went into the rush-grass andand munching,like some bovine creature.他丢开包袱，爬到灯心草丛里，像牛似的大咬大嚼起来。
  • He was a gentle,rather bovine man.他是一位文雅而反应迟钝的人。
12 succinct YHozq     
adj.简明的，简洁的
参考例句：
  • The last paragraph is a succinct summary.最后这段话概括性很强。
  • A succinct style lends vigour to writing.措辞简练使文笔有力。
13 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
14 deflated deflated     
adj. 灰心丧气的
参考例句：
  • I was quite deflated by her lack of interest in my suggestions.他对我的建议兴趣不大，令我感到十分气馁。
  • He was deflated by the news.这消息令他泄气。

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