死亡约会 Part II Chapter 5（2）

（单词翻译）

 

Dexterously¹, Poirot steered² the conversation away from the drink question.

‘Had her manner been very peculiar³ on this particular day? At lunch-time, for instance?’

‘N-No,’ said Lady Westholme, considering. ‘No, I should say then that her manner had beenfairly normal—for an American of that type, that is to say,’ she added condescendingly.

‘She was very abusive to that servant,’ said Miss Pierce.

‘Which one?’

‘Not very long before we started out.’

‘Oh! yes, I remember, she did seem extraordinarily⁴ annoyed with him! Of course,’ went onLady Westholme, ‘to have servants about who cannot understand a word of English is very trying,but what I say is that when one is travelling one must make allowances.’

‘What servant was this?’ asked Poirot.

‘One of the Bedouin servants attached to the camp. He went up to her—I think she must havesent him to fetch her something, and I suppose he brought the wrong thing—I don’t really knowwhat it was—but she was very angry about it. The poor man slunk away as fast as he could, andshe shook her stick at him and called out.’

‘What did she call out?’

‘We were too far away to hear. At least I didn’t hear anything distinctly, did you, Miss Pierce?’

‘No, I didn’t. I think she’d sent him to fetch something from her youngest daughter’s tent—orperhaps she was angry with him for going into her daughter’s tent—I couldn’t say exactly.’

‘What did he look like?’

Miss Pierce, to whom the question was addressed, shook her head vaguely⁵.

‘Really, I couldn’t say. He was too far away. All these Arabs look alike to me.’

‘He was a man of more than average height,’ said Lady Westholme, ‘and wore the usual nativehead-dress. He had on a pair of very torn and patched breeches—really disgraceful they were—and his puttees were wound most untidily—all anyhow! These men need discipline!’

‘You could point the man out among the camp servants?’

‘I doubt it. We didn’t see his face—it was too far away. And, as Miss Pierce says, really theseArabs look all alike.’

‘I wonder,’ said Poirot thoughtfully, ‘what it was he did to make Mrs Boynton so angry?’

‘They are very trying to the patience sometimes,’ said Lady Westholme. ‘One of them took myshoes away, though I had expressly told him—by pantomime too—that I preferred to clean myshoes myself.’

‘Always I do that, too,’ said Poirot, diverted for a moment from his interrogation. ‘I takeeverywhere my little shoe-cleaning outfit⁶. Also, I take a duster.’

‘So do I.’ Lady Westholme sounded quite human.

‘Because these Arabs they do not remove the dust from one’s belongings—’

‘Never! Of course one has to dust one’s things three or four times a day—’

‘But it is well worth it.’

‘Yes, indeed. I cannot STAND dirt!’

Lady Westholme looked positively⁷ militant⁸.

She added with feeling:

‘The flies—in the bazaars—terrible!’

‘Well, well,’ said Poirot, looking slightly guilty. ‘We can soon inquire from this man what itwas that irritated Mrs Boynton. To continue with your story?’

‘We strolled along slowly,’ said Lady Westholme. ‘And then we met Dr Gerard. He wasstaggering along and looked very ill. I could see at once he had fever.’

‘He was shaking,’ put in Miss Pierce. ‘Shaking all over.’

‘I saw at once he had an attack of malaria⁹ coming on,’ said Lady Westholme. ‘I offered to comeback with him and get him some quinine, but he said he had his own supply with him.’

‘Poor man,’ said Miss Pierce. ‘You know it always seems so dreadful to me to see a doctor ill. Itseems all wrong somehow.’

‘We strolled on,’ continued Lady Westholme. ‘And then we sat down on a rock.’

Miss Pierce murmured: ‘Really—so tired after the morning’s exertion—the climbing—’

‘I never feel fatigue,’ said Lady Westholme firmly. ‘But there was no point in going farther. Wehad a very good view of all the surrounding scenery.’

‘Were you out of sight of the camp?’

‘No, we were sitting facing towards it.’

‘So romantic,’ murmured Miss Pierce. ‘A camp pitched in the middle of a wilderness¹⁰ of rose-red rocks.’

She sighed and shook her head.

‘That camp could be much better run than it is,’ said Lady Westholme. Her rocking-horsenostrils dilated¹¹. ‘I shall take up the matter with Castle’s. I am not at all sure that the drinking wateris boiled as well as filtered. It should be. I shall point that out to them.’

Poirot coughed and led the conversation quickly away from the subject of drinking water.

‘Did you see any other members of the party?’ he inquired.

‘Yes. The elder Mr Boynton and his wife passed us on their way back to the camp.’

‘Were they together?’

‘No, Mr Boynton came first. He looked a little as though he had had a touch of the sun. He waswalking as though he were slightly dizzy.’

‘The back of the neck,’ said Miss Pierce. ‘One must protect the back of the neck! I always weara thick silk handkerchief.’

‘What did Mr Lennox Boynton do on his return to the camp?’ asked Poirot.