顺水推舟31

时间：2025-01-30 17:30:35

（单词翻译:单击）

Two
The telephone rang and Lynn went to answer it.
Rowley’s voice spoke1.
“Lynn?”
“Rowley?”
Her voice sounded depressed2. He said:
“What are you up to? I never see you these days.”
“Oh, well—it’s all chores—you know. Running round with a basket, waiting for fish and
queueing up for a bit of quite disgusting cake. All that sort of thing. Home life.”
“I want to see you. I’ve got something to tell you.”
“What sort of thing?”
He gave a chuckle3.
“Good news. Meet me by Rolland Copse. We’re ploughing up there.”
Good news? Lynn put the receiver down. What to Rowley Cloade would be good news?
Finance? Had he sold that young bull at a better price than he had hoped to get?
No, she thought, it must be more than that. As she walked up the field to Rolland Copse,
Rowley left the tractor and came to meet her.
“Hallo, Lynn.”
“Why, Rowley—you look—different, somehow?”
He laughed.
“I should think I do. Our luck’s turned, Lynn!”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember old Jeremy mentioning a chap called Hercule Poirot?”
“Hercule Poirot?” Lynn frowned. “Yes, I do remember something—”
“Quite a long time ago. When the war was on. They were in that mausoleum of a club of his
and there was an air raid.”
“Well?” Lynn demanded impatiently.
“Fellow has the wrong clothes and all that. French chap—or Belgian. Queer fellow but he’s
the goods all right.”
Lynn knit her brows.
“Wasn’t he—a detective?”
“That’s right. Well, you know, this fellow who was done in at the Stag. I didn’t tell you but
an idea was getting around that he might just possibly be Rosaleen Cloade’s first husband.”
Lynn laughed.
“Simply because he called himself Enoch Arden? What an absurd idea!”
“Not so absurd, my girl. Old Spence got Rosaleen down to have a look at him. And she swore
quite firmly that he wasn’t her husband.”
“So that finished it?”
“It might have,” said Rowley. “But for me!”
“For you? What did you do?”
“I went to this fellow Hercule Poirot. I told him we wanted another opinion. Could he rustle4 up
someone who had actually known Robert Underhay? My word, but he’s absolutely wizard that
chap! Just like rabbits out of a hat. He produced a fellow who was Underhay’s best friend in a
few hours. Old boy called Porter.” Rowley stopped. Then he chuckled5 again with that note of
excitement that had surprised and startled Lynn. “Now keep this under your hat, Lynn. The
Super swore me to secrecy—but I’d like you to know. The dead man is Robert Underhay.”
“What?” Lynn took a step back. She stared at Rowley blankly.
“Robert Underhay himself. Porter hadn’t the least doubt. So you see, Lynn”—Rowley’s
voice rose excitedly —“we’ve won! After all, we’ve won! We’ve beaten those damned
crooks6!”
“What damned crooks?”
“Hunter and his sister. They’re licked—out of it. Rosaleen doesn’t get Gordon’s money.
We get it. It’s ours! Gordon’s will that he made before he married Rosaleen holds good and
that divides it amongst us. I get a fourth share. See? If her first husband was alive when she
married Gordon, she was never married to Gordon at all!”
“Are you—are you sure of what you’re saying?”
He stared at her, for the first time he looked faintly puzzled.
“Of course I’m sure! It’s elementary. Everything’s all right now. It’s the same as
Gordon meant it to be. Everything’s the same as if that precious pair had never butted7 in.”
Everything’s the same…But you couldn’t, Lynn thought, wash out like that something that
had happened. You couldn’t pretend that it had never been. She said slowly:
“What will they do?”
“Eh?” She saw that until that moment Rowley had hardly considered that question. “I
don’t know. Go back where they came from, I suppose. I think, you know—” She could see
him slowly following it out. “Yes, I think we ought to do something for her. I mean, she married
Gordon in all good faith. I gather she really believed her first husband was dead. It’s not her
fault. Yes, we must do something about her—give her a decent allowance. Make it up between us
all.”
“You like her, don’t you?” said Lynn.
“Well, yes.” He considered. “I do in a way. She’s a nice kid. She knows a cow when she
sees it.”
“I don’t,” said Lynn.
“Oh, you’ll learn,” said Rowley kindly8.
“And what about—David?” asked Lynn.
Rowley scowled9.
“To hell with David! It was never his money anyway. He just came along and sponged on his
sister.”
“No, Rowley, it wasn’t like that—it wasn’t. He’s not a sponger. He’s—an adventurer,
perhaps—”
“And a ruddy murderer!”
She said breathlessly:
“What do you mean?”
“Well, who do you think killed Underhay?”
She cried:
“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!”
“Of course he killed Underhay! Who else could have done it? He was down here that day.
Came down by the five thirty. I was meeting some stuff at the station and caught sight of him in
the distance.”
Lynn said sharply:
“He went back to London that evening.”
“After having killed Underhay,” said Rowley triumphantly10.
“You oughtn’t to say things like that, Rowley. What time was Underhay killed?”
“Well—I don’t know exactly.” Rowley slowed up—considered. “Don’t suppose we
shall know until the inquest tomorrow. Some time between nine and ten, I imagine.”
“David caught the nine-twenty train back to London.”
“Look here, Lynn, how do you know?”
“I—I met him—he was running for it.”
“How do you know he ever caught it?”
“Because he telephoned me from London later.”
Rowley scowled angrily.
“What the hell should he telephone you for? Look here, Lynn, I’m damned if I—”
“Oh, what does it matter, Rowley? Anyway, it shows he caught that train.”
“Plenty of time to have killed Underhay and then run for the train.”
“Not if he was killed after nine o’clock.”
“Well, he may have been killed just before nine.”
But his voice was a little doubtful.
Lynn half-closed her eyes. Was that the truth of it? When, breathless, swearing, David had
emerged from the copse, had it been a murderer fresh from his crime who had taken her in his
arms? She remembered his curious excitement—the recklessness of his mood. Was that the way
that murder would affect him? It might. She had to admit it. Were David and murder so far
removed from each other? Would he kill a man who had never done him any harm—a ghost from
the past? A man whose only crime was to stand between Rosaleen and a big inheritance—between
David and the enjoyment11 of Rosaleen’s money.
She murmured:
“Why should he kill Underhay?”
“My God, Lynn, can you ask? I’ve just told you! Underhay’s being alive means that we get
Gordon’s money! Anyway, Underhay was blackmailing12 him.”
Ah, that fell more into the pattern. David might kill a blackmailer13—in fact, wasn’t it just the
way he would deal with a blackmailer? Yes, it all fell into pattern. David’s haste, his excitement
—his fierce, almost angry, lovemaking. And, later, his renouncement14 of her. “I’d better clear
out…” Yes, it fitted.
From a long way away, she heard Rowley’s voice asking:
“What’s the matter, Lynn? Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Well, for heaven’s sake, don’t look so glum15.” He turned, looking down the hillside to
Long Willows16. “Thank goodness, we can have the place smartened up a bit now—get some
labour-saving gadgets17 put in—make it right for you. I don’t want you to pig it, Lynn.”
That was to be her home—that house. Her home with Rowley….
And one morning at eight o’clock, David would swing by the neck until he was dead….

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1 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。
2 depressed xu8zp9     
adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的
参考例句：
  • When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
  • His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。
3 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑
参考例句：
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
4 rustle thPyl     
v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声
参考例句：
  • She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
  • He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。
5 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
6 crooks 31060be9089be1fcdd3ac8530c248b55     
n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 butted 6cd04b7d59e3b580de55d8a5bd6b73bb     
对接的
参考例句：
  • Two goats butted each other. 两只山羊用角顶架。
  • He butted against a tree in the dark. 他黑暗中撞上了一棵树。
8 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
9 scowled b83aa6db95e414d3ef876bc7fd16d80d     
怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
  • The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。
10 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地
参考例句：
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
11 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣；享有；享用
参考例句：
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
12 blackmailing 5179dc6fb450aa50a5119c7ec77af55f     
胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • The policemen kept blackmailing him, because they had sth. on him. 那些警察之所以经常去敲他的竹杠是因为抓住把柄了。
  • Democratic paper "nailed" an aggravated case of blackmailing to me. 民主党最主要的报纸把一桩极为严重的讹诈案件“栽”在我的头上。
13 blackmailer a031d47c9f342af0f87215f069fefc4d     
敲诈者，勒索者
参考例句：
  • The blackmailer had a hold over him. 勒索他的人控制着他。
  • The blackmailer will have to be bought off,or he'll ruin your good name. 得花些钱疏通那个敲诈者，否则他会毁坏你的声誉。
14 renouncement a573320250ac1cfbfd59cb9b8f65e232     
n.否认，拒绝
参考例句：
15 glum klXyF     
adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的
参考例句：
  • He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
  • She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。
16 willows 79355ee67d20ddbc021d3e9cb3acd236     
n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木
参考例句：
  • The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 gadgets 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4     
n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）
参考例句：
  • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

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