顺水推舟34

时间：2025-01-30 17:30:39

（单词翻译:单击）

Five
“I was afraid they’d do it,” said the coroner apologetically. “Local prejudice! Feeling rather
than logic1.”
The coroner, the Chief Constable2, Superintendent3 Spence and Hercule Poirot were all in
consultation4 together after the inquest.
“You did your best,” said the Chief Constable.
“It’s premature5, to say the least of it,” said Spence frowning. “And it hampers6 us. Do you
know M. Hercule Poirot? He was instrumental in bringing Porter forward.”
The coroner said graciously:
“I have heard of you, M. Poirot,” and Poirot made an unsuccessful attempt to look modest.
“M. Poirot’s interested in the case,” said Spence with a grin.
“Truly, that is so,” said Poirot. “I was in it, as you might say, before there was a case.”
And in answer to their interested glances he told of the queer little scene in the club when he
had first heard a mention of Robert Underhay’s name.
“That’s an additional point in Porter’s evidence when the case comes to trial,” said the
Chief Constable thoughtfully. “Underhay actually planned a pretended death—and spoke7 of
using the name of Enoch Arden.”
The Chief Constable murmured: “Ah, but will that be admissible as evidence? Words spoken
by a man who is now dead?”
“It may not be admissible as evidence,” said Poirot thoughtfully. “But it raises a very
interesting and suggestive line of thought.”
“What we want,” said Spence, “is not suggestion, but a few concrete facts. Someone who
actually saw David Hunter at the Stag or near it on Tuesday evening.”
“It ought to be easy,” said the Chief Constable, frowning.
“If it was abroad in my country it would be easy enough,” said Poirot. “There would be a
little café where someone takes the evening coffee—but in provincial8 England!” He threw up his
hands.
The Superintendent nodded.
“Some of the folks are in the pubs, and will stay in the pubs till closing time, and the rest of
the population are inside their houses listening to the nine o’clock news. If you ever go along the
main street here between eight thirty and ten it’s completely deserted9. Not a soul.”
“He counted on that?” suggested the Chief Constable.
“Maybe,” said Spence. His expression was not a happy one.
Presently the Chief Constable and the coroner departed. Spence and Poirot were left together.
“You do not like the case, no?” asked Poirot sympathetically.
“That young man worries me,” said Spence. “He’s the kind that you never know where
you are with them. When they’re most innocent of a business, they act as though they were
guilty. And when they’re guilty—why, you’d take your oath they were angels of light!”
“You think he is guilty?” asked Poirot.
“Don’t you?” Spence countered.
Poirot spread out his hands.
“I should be interested to know,” he said, “just exactly how much you have against him?”
“You don’t mean legally? You mean in the way of probability?”
Poirot nodded.
“There’s the lighter,” said Spence.
“Where did you find it?”
“Under the body.”
“Fingerprints on it?”
“None.”
“Ah,” said Poirot.
“Yes,” said Spence. “I don’t like that too much myself. Then the dead man’s watch has
stopped at 9:10. That fits in with the medical evidence quite nicely—and with Rowley Cloade’s
evidence that Underhay was expecting his client at any minute — presumably that client was
almost due.”
Poirot nodded.
“Yes—it is all very neat.”
“And the thing you can’t get away from, to my mind, M. Poirot, is that he’s the only person
(he and his sister, that is to say) who has the ghost or shadow of a motive10. Either David Hunter
killed Underhay—or else Underhay was killed by some outsider who followed him here for some
reason that we know nothing about—and that seems wildly improbable.”
“Oh, I agree, I agree.”
“You see, there’s no one in Warmsley Vale who could possibly have a motive—unless by a
coincidence someone is living here (other than the Hunters) who had a connection with Underhay
in the past. I never rule out coincidence, but there hasn’t been a hint or suggestion of anything of
the kind. The man was a stranger to every one but that brother and sister.”
Poirot nodded.
“To the Cloade family Robert Underhay would be the apple of their eye to be kept alive by
every possible precaution. Robert Underhay, alive and kicking, means the certainty of a large
fortune divided amongst them.”
“Again, mon ami, I agree with you enthusiastically. Robert Underhay, alive and kicking, is
what the Cloade family needs.”
“So back we come—Rosaleen and David Hunter are the only two people who have a motive.
Rosaleen Cloade was in London. But David, we know, was in Warmsley Vale that day. He arrived
at 5:30 at Warmsley Heath station.”
“So now we have Motive, written very big and the fact that at 5:30 and onward11 to some
unspecified time, he was on the spot.”
“Exactly. Now take Beatrice Lippincott’s story. I believe that story. She overheard what she
says she overheard, though she may have gingered it up a little, as is only human.”
“Only human as you say.”
“Apart from knowing the girl, I believe her because she couldn’t have invented some of the
things. She’d never heard of Robert Underhay before, for instance. So I believe her story of what
passed between the two men and not David Hunter’s.”
“I, too,” said Poirot. “She strikes me as a singularly truthful12 witness.”
“We’ve confirmation13 that her story is true. What do you suppose the brother and sister went
off to London for?”
“That is one of the things that has interested me most.”
“Well, the money position’s like this. Rosaleen Cloade has only a life interest in Gordon
Cloade’s estate. She can’t touch the capital—except, I believe, for about a thousand pounds.
But jewellery, etc., is hers. The first thing she did on going to town was to take some of the most
valuable pieces round to Bond Street and sell them. She wanted a large sum of cash quickly—in
other words she had to pay a blackmailer15.”
“You call that evidence against David Hunter?”
“Don’t you?”
Poirot shook his head.
“Evidence that there was blackmail14, yes. Evidence of intent to commit murder, no. You cannot
have it both ways, mon cher. Either that young man was going to pay up, or else he was planning
to kill. You have produced evidence that he was planning to pay.”
“Yes—yes, perhaps that is so. But he may have changed his mind.”
Poirot shrugged16 his shoulders.
“I know his type,” said the Superintendent thoughtfully. “It’s a type that’s done well
during the war. Any amount of physical courage. Audacity17 and a reckless disregard of personal
safety. The sort that will face any odds18. It’s the kind that is likely to win the V.C.—though, mind
you, it’s often a posthumous19 one. Yes, in wartime, a man like that is a hero. But in peace—well,
in peace such men usually end up in prison. They like excitement and they can’t run straight, and
they don’t give a damn for society—and finally they’ve no regard for human life.”
Poirot nodded.
“I tell you,” the Superintendent repeated, “I know the type.”
There was some few minutes of silence.
“Eh bien,” said Poirot at last. “We agree that we have here the type of a killer20. But that is
all. It takes us no further.”
Spence looked at him with curiosity.
“You’re taking a great interest in this business, M. Poirot?”
“Yes.”
“Why, if I may ask?”
“Frankly,” Poirot spread out his hands, “I do not quite know. Perhaps it is because when
two years ago, I am sitting very sick in my stomach (for I did not like air raids, and I am not very
brave though I endeavour to put up the good appearance) when, as I say, I am sitting with a sick
feeling here,” Poirot clasped his stomach expressively21, “in the smoking room of my friend’s
club, there, droning away, is the club bore, the good Major Porter, recounting a long history to
which nobody listens; but me, I listen, because I am wishful to distract myself from the bombs,
and because the facts he is relating seem to me interesting and suggestive. And I think to myself
that it is possible that some day something may come of the situation he recounts. And now
something has come of it.”
“The unexpected has happened, eh?”
“On the contrary,” Poirot corrected him. “It is the expected that has happened—which in
itself is sufficiently22 remarkable23.”
“You expected murder?” Spence asked sceptically.
“No, no, no! But a wife remarries. Possibility that first husband is still alive? He is alive. He
may turn up? He does turn up! There may be blackmail. There is blackmail! Possibility, therefore,
that blackmailer may be silenced? Ma foi, he is silenced!”
“Well,” said Spence, eyeing Poirot rather doubtfully. “I suppose these things run pretty
close to type. It’s a common sort of crime—blackmail resulting in murder.”
“Not interesting, you would say? Usually, no. But this case is interesting, because, you see,”
said Poirot placidly24, “it is all wrong.”
“All wrong? What do you mean by all wrong?”
“None of it is, how shall I put it, the right shape?”
Spence stared. “Chief Inspector25 Japp,” he remarked, “always said you have a tortuous26 mind.
Give me an instance of what you call wrong?”
“Well, the dead man, for instance, he is all wrong.”
Spence shook his head.
“You do not feel that?” Poirot asked. “Oh, well, perhaps I am fanciful. Then take this point.
Underhay arrives at the Stag. He writes to David Hunter. Hunter receives that letter the next
morning—at breakfast time?”
“Yes, that’s so. He admits receiving a letter from Arden then.”
“That was the first intimation, was it not, of the arrival of Underhay in Warmsley Vale? What
is the first thing he does—bundles his sister off to London!”
“That’s quite understandable,” said Spence. “He wants a clear hand to deal with things his
own way. He may have been afraid the woman would have been weak. He’s the leading spirit,
remember. Mrs. Cloade is entirely27 under his thumb.”
“Oh, yes, that shows itself plainly. So he sends her to London and calls on this Enoch Arden.
We have a pretty clear account of their conversation from Beatrice Lippincott, and the thing that
sticks out, a mile, as you say, is that David Hunter was not sure whether the man he was talking to
was Robert Underhay or not. He suspected it, but he didn’t know.”
“But there’s nothing odd about that, M. Poirot. Rosaleen Hunter married Underhay in Cape28
Town and went with him straight to Nigeria. Hunter and Underhay never met. Therefore though,
as you say, Hunter suspected that Arden was Underhay, he couldn’t know it for a fact—because
he had never met the man.”
Poirot looked at Superintendent Spence thoughtfully.
“So there is nothing there that strikes you as—peculiar?” he asked.
“I know what you’re driving at. Why didn’t Underhay say straight out that he was
Underhay? Well, I think that’s understandable, too. Respectable people who are doing something
crooked29 like to preserve appearances. They like to put things in such a way that it keeps them in
the clear—if you know what I mean. No—I don’t think that that is so very remarkable. You’ve
got to allow for human nature.”
“Yes,” said Poirot. “Human nature. That, I think, is perhaps the real answer as to why I am
interested in this case. I was looking round the Coroner’s Court, looking at all the people,
looking particularly at the Cloades—so many of them, all bound by a common interest, all so
different in their characters, in their thoughts and feelings. All of them dependent for many years
on the strong man, the power in the family, on Gordon Cloade! I do not mean, perhaps, directly
dependent. They had all their independent means of existence. But they had come, they must have
come, consciously or unconsciously, to lean on him. And what happens—I will ask you this,
Superintendent—What happens to the ivy30 when the oak round which it clings is struck down?”
“That’s hardly a question in my line,” said Spence.
“You think not? I think it is. Character, mon cher, does not stand still. It can gather strength. It
can also deteriorate31. What a person really is, is only apparent when the test comes—that is, the
moment when you stand or fall on your own feet.”
“I don’t really know what you are getting at, M. Poirot.” Spence looked bewildered.
“Anyway, the Cloades are all right now. Or will be, once the legal formalities are through.”
That, Poirot reminded him, might take some time. “There is still Mrs. Gordon Cloade’s
evidence to shake. After all, a woman should know her own husband when she sees him?”
He put his head a little on one side and gazed inquiringly at the big Superintendent.
“Isn’t it worth while to a woman not to recognize her husband if the income of a couple of
million pounds depends on it?” asked the Superintendent cynically32. “Besides, if he wasn’t
Robert Underhay, why was he killed?”
“That,” murmured Poirot, “is indeed the question.”

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1 logic j0HxI     
n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性
参考例句：
  • What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
  • I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。
2 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察，警官
参考例句：
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。
3 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长
参考例句：
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
4 consultation VZAyq     
n.咨询；商量；商议；会议
参考例句：
  • The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
  • The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。
5 premature FPfxV     
adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的
参考例句：
  • It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
  • The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。
6 hampers aedee0b9211933f51c82c37a6b8cd413     
妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
  • This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
7 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。
8 provincial Nt8ye     
adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人
参考例句：
  • City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
  • Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。
9 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
10 motive GFzxz     
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
11 onward 2ImxI     
adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先
参考例句：
  • The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
  • He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。
12 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的
参考例句：
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
13 confirmation ZYMya     
n.证实，确认，批准
参考例句：
  • We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
  • We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。
14 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。
15 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。
16 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 audacity LepyV     
n.大胆，卤莽，无礼
参考例句：
  • He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
  • He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。
18 odds n5czT     
n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别
参考例句：
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？
19 posthumous w1Ezl     
adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的
参考例句：
  • He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
  • The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。
20 killer rpLziK     
n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者
参考例句：
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
21 expressively 7tGz1k     
ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地
参考例句：
  • She gave the order to the waiter, using her hands very expressively. 她意味深长地用双手把订单递给了服务员。
  • Corleone gestured expressively, submissively, with his hands. "That is all I want." 说到这里，考利昂老头子激动而谦恭地表示：“这就是我的全部要求。” 来自教父部分
22 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
23 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
24 placidly c0c28951cb36e0d70b9b64b1d177906e     
adv.平稳地，平静地
参考例句：
  • Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
25 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。
26 tortuous 7J2za     
adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的
参考例句：
  • We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
  • They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。
27 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
28 cape ITEy6     
n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风
参考例句：
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
29 crooked xvazAv     
adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的
参考例句：
  • He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
  • You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。
30 ivy x31ys     
n.常青藤，常春藤
参考例句：
  • Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
  • The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。
31 deteriorate Zm8zW     
v.变坏；恶化；退化
参考例句：
  • Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
  • He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。
32 cynically 3e178b26da70ce04aff3ac920973009f     
adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地
参考例句：
  • "Holding down the receiver,'said Daisy cynically. “挂上话筒在讲。”黛西冷嘲热讽地说。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
  • The Democrats sensibly (if cynically) set about closing the God gap. 民主党在明智（有些讽刺）的减少宗教引起的问题。 来自互联网

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