弱者的愤怒4

"Did Sir Reuben share this feeling?" he asked.

His eyes were on the knickknacks, but doubtless he noted¹ the pause before Lady Astwell's answercame.

"With a man it's different. Of course they - they got on very well,""Thank you, Madame," said Poirot. He was smiling to himself.

"And these were the only people in the house that night?" he asked, "Excepting, of course, theservants.""Oh, there was Victor."

"Victor?"

"Yes my husband's brother, you know, and his partner.""He lived with you?""No, he had just arrived on a visit. He has been out in West Africa for the past few years.""West Africa," murmured Poirot.

He had learned that Lady Astwell could be trusted to develop a subject herself if sufficient timewas given her.

"They say it's a wonderful country, but I think it's the kind of place that has a very bad effect upona man. They drink too much and they get uncontrolled. None of the Astwells has a good temperand Victor's, since he came back from Africa, has been simply too shocking. He has frightened meonce or twice.""Did he frighten Miss Margrave, I wonder?" murmured Poirot gently.

"Lily? Oh I don't think he has seen much of Lily."Poirot made a note or two in a diminutive³ notebook; then he put the pencil back in its loop andreturned the notebook to his pocket.

"I thank you, Lady Astwell. I will now, if I may, interview Parsons.""Will you have him up here?"Lady Astwell's hand moved toward the bell. Poirot arrested the gesture quickly.

"No, no, a thousand times no. I will descend⁴ to him.""If you think it is better -"Lady Astwell was clearly disappointed at not being able to participate in the forthcoming scene.

Poirot adopted an air of secrecy⁵.

"It is essential," he said mysteriously, and left Lady Astwell duly impressed.

He found Parsons in the butler's pantry, polishing silver. Poirot opened the proceedings⁶ with oneof his funny little bows.

"I must explain myself," he said. "I am a detective agent.""Yes, sir," said Parsons, "we gathered as much."His tone was respectful but aloof⁷.

"Lady Astwell sent for me," continued Poirot. "She is not satisfied; no, she is not satisfied at all.""I have heard her Ladyship say so on several occasions," said Parsons.

"In fact," said Poirot, "I recount to you the things you already know? Eh? Let us then not wastetime on these bagatelles. Take me, if you will be so good, to your bedroom and tell me exactlywhat it was you heard there on the night of the murder."The butler's room was on the ground floor, adjoining the servants hall. It had barred windows, andthe strong room was in one corner of it. Parsons indicated the narrow bed.

"I had retired⁸, sir, at 11 o'clock. Miss Margrave had gone to bed, and Lady Astwell was with SirReuben in the Tower room.""Lady Astwell was with Sir Reuben? Ah, proceed.""The Tower room, sir, is directly over this. If people are talking in it one can hear the murmur² ofvoices but naturally not anything that is said. I must have fallen asleep about half-past eleven. Itwas just 12 o'clock when I was awakened⁹ by the sound of the front door being slammed to andknew Mr Leverson had returned. Presently I heard footsteps overhead, and a minute or two laterMr Leverson's voice talking to Sir Reuben.

"It was my fancy at the time, sir, that Mr Leverson was - I should not exactly like to say drunk, butinclined to be a little indiscreet and noisy. He was shouting at his uncle at the top of his voice. Icaught a word or two here or there but not enough to understand what it was all about, and thenthere was a sharp cry and a heavy thud."There was a pause, and Parsons repeated the last words. "A heavy thud," he said impressively.

"If I mistake not, it is a dull thud in most words of romance," murmured Poirot.

"Maybe, sir," said Parsons severely¹⁰. "It was a heavy thud I heard.""A thousand pardons," said Poirot.

"Do not mention it, sir. After the thud in the silence, I heard Mr Leverson's voice as plain as plaincan be, raised high. 'My God,' he said, 'My God,' just like that, sir."Parsons, from his first reluctance¹¹ to tell the tale, had now progressed to a thorough enjoyment¹² of it.

He fancied himself mightily¹³ as a narrator. Poirot played up to him.

"Mon Dieu," he murmured. "What emotion you must have experienced!""Yes, indeed, sir," said Parsons, "as you say, sir. Not that I thought very much of it at the time. Butit did occur to me to wonder if anything was amiss, and whether I had better go up and see. I wentto turn the electric light on, and was unfortunate enough to knock over a chair.

"I opened the door, and went through the servants' hall, and opened the other door which gives ona passage. The back stairs lead up from there, and as I stood at the bottom of them, hesitating, Iheard Mr Leverson's voice from up above, speaking hearty¹⁴ and cheery- like. 'No harm done,luckily,' he says. 'Good night,' and I heard him move off along the passage to his own room,whistling.

"Of course I went back to bed at once. Just something knocked over, that's all I thought it was. Iask you, sir, was I to think Sir Reuben was murdered, with Mr Leverson saying good night andall?""You are sure it was Mr Leverson's voice you heard?"Parsons looked at the little Belgian pityingly, and Poirot saw clearly enough that, right or wrong,Parsons' mind was made up on this point.

"Is there anything further you would like to ask me, sir?""There is one thing." said Poirot, "do you like Mr Leverson?""I - I beg your pardon, sir?""It is a simple question. Do you like Mr Leverson?"Parsons, from being startled at first, now seemed embarrassed.

"The general opinion in the servants' hall, sir," he said, and paused.

"By all means," said Poirot, "put it that way if it pleases you.""The opinion is, sir, that Mr Leverson is an open-handed young gentleman, but not, if I may sayso, particularly intelligent, sir.""Ah!" said Poirot. "Do you know, Parsons, that without having seen him, that is also precisely¹⁵ myopinion of Mr Leverson.""Indeed, sir."

"What is your opinion - I beg your pardon - the opinion of the servants' hall of the secretary?""He is a very quiet, patient gentleman, sir. Anxious to give no trouble.""Vraiment," said Poirot.

The butler coughed.

"Her ladyship, sir," he murmured, "is apt to be a little hasty in her judgments¹⁶.""Then, in the opinion of the servants' hall, Mr Leverson committed the crime?""We none of us wish to think it was Mr Leverson," said Parsons. "We - well, plainly we didn'tthink he had it in him, sir.""But he has a somewhat violent temper, has he not?" asked Poirot.

Parsons came nearer to him.

 

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