命案目睹记25

时间：2025-10-20 07:24:10

（单词翻译:单击）

II
For a moment or two Cedric stared at her as though uncomprehending.
“Martine? But who on earth—oh, you mean Martine?”
“Yes. Do you think—”
“Why on earth should it be Martine?”
“Well, her sending that telegram was odd when you come to think of it.
It must have been roughly about the same time… Do you think that she
may, after all, have come down here and—”
“Nonsense. Why should Martine come down here and find her way into
the Long Barn? What for? It seems wildly unlikely to me.”
“You don’t think, perhaps, that I ought to tell Inspector1 Bacon—or the
other one?”
“Tell him what?”
“Well—about Martine. About her letter.”
“Now don’t you go complicating2 things, sis, by bringing up a lot of irrel-
evant stuff that has nothing to do with all this. I was never very convinced
about that letter from Martine, anyway.”
“I was.”
“You’ve always been good at believing impossible things before break-
fast, old girl. My advice to you is, sit tight, and keep your mouth shut. It’s
up to the police to identify their precious corpse3. And I bet Harold would
say the same.”
“Oh, I know Harold would. And Alfred, also. But I’m worried, Cedric, I
really am worried. I don’t know what I ought to do.”
“Nothing,” said Cedric promptly4. “You keep your mouth shut, Emma.
Never go halfway5 to meet trouble, that’s my motto.”
Emma Crackenthorpe sighed. She went slowly back to the house uneasy
in her mind.
As she came into the drive, Doctor Quimper emerged from the house
and opened the door of his battered6 Austin car. He paused when he saw
her, then leaving the car he came towards her.
“Well, Emma,” he said. “Your father’s in splendid shape. Murder suits
him. It’s given him an interest in life. I must recommend it for more of my
patients.”
Emma smiled mechanically. Dr. Quimper was always quick to notice re-
actions.
“Anything particular the matter?” he asked.
Emma looked up at him. She had come to rely a lot on the kindness and
sympathy of the doctor. He had become a friend on whom to lean, not
only a medical attendant. His calculated brusqueness did not deceive her
—she knew the kindness that lay behind it.
“I am worried, yes,” she admitted.
“Care to tell me? Don’t if you don’t want to.”
“I’d like to tell you. Some of it you know already. The point is I don’t
know what to do.”
“I should say your judgment7 was usually most reliable. What’s the
trouble?”
“You remember—or perhaps you don’t—what I once told you about my
brother—the one who was killed in the war?”
“You mean about his having married—or wanting to marry—a French
girl? Something of that kind?”
“Yes. Almost immediately after I got that letter, he was killed. We never
heard anything of or about the girl. All we knew, actually, was her chris-
tian name. We always expected her to write or to turn up, but she didn’t.
We never heard anything—until about a month ago, just before Christ-
mas.”
“I remember. You got a letter, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Saying she was in England and would like to come and see us. It
was all arranged and then, at the last minute, she sent a wire that she had
to return unexpectedly to France.”
“Well?”
“The police think that this woman who was killed—was French.”
“They do, do they? She looked more of an English type to me, but one
can’t really judge. What’s worrying you then, is that just possibly the dead
woman might be your brother’s girl?”
“Yes.”
“I think it’s most unlikely,” said Dr. Quimper, adding: “But all the same, I
understand what you feel.”
“I’m wondering if I ought not to tell the police about—about it all. Cedric
and the others say it’s quite unnecessary. What do you think?”
“Hm.” Dr. Quimper pursed his lips. He was silent for a moment or two,
deep in thought. Then he said, almost unwillingly8, “It’s much simpler, of
course, if you say nothing. I can understand what your brothers feel about
it. All the same—”
“Yes?”
Quimper looked at her. His eyes had an affectionate twinkle in them.
“I’d go ahead and tell ’em,” he said. “You’ll go on worrying if you don’t. I
know you.”
Emma flushed a little.
“Perhaps I’m foolish.”
“You do what you want to do, my dear—and let the rest of the family go
hang! I’d back your judgment against the lot of them any day.”

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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 complicating 53d55ae4c858e224b98a8187fa34fb04     
使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
  • High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
  • In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。
3 corpse JYiz4     
n.尸体，死尸
参考例句：
  • What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
  • The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。
4 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
5 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途
参考例句：
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。
6 battered NyezEM     
adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损
参考例句：
  • He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
  • The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
7 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见
参考例句：
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
8 unwillingly wjjwC     
adv.不情愿地
参考例句：
  • He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
  • Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

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