死亡约会 Part II Chapter 10（2）

（单词翻译）

Briefly¹, Poirot retailed² the interviews he had had that morning.

‘H’m,’ said Carbury. ‘Yes, you’ve got hold of a pointer or two, perhaps. Pity of it is they allseem to point in opposite directions. Have we got a case, that’s what I want to know?’

‘No.’

Carbury sighed again. ‘I was afraid not.’

‘But before nightfall,’ said Poirot, ‘you shall have the truth!’

‘Well, that’s all you ever promised me,’ said Colonel Carbury. ‘And I rather doubted yougetting that! Sure of it?’

‘I am very sure.’

‘Must be nice to feel like that,’ commented the other.

If there was a faint twinkle in his eye, Poirot appeared unaware³ of it. He produced his list.

‘Neat,’ said Colonel Carbury approvingly.

He bent⁴ over it.

After a minute or two he said: ‘Know what I think?’

‘I should be delighted if you would tell me.’

‘Young Raymond Boynton’s out of it.’

‘Ah! you think so?’

‘Yes. Clear as a bell what he thought. We might have known he’d be out of it. Being, as indetective stories, the most likely person. Since you practically overheard him saying he was goingto bump off the old lady—we might have known that meant he was innocent!’

‘You read the detective stories, yes?’

‘Thousands of them,’ said Colonel Carbury. He added, and his tone was that of a wistfulschoolboy: ‘I suppose you couldn’t do the things the detective does in books? Write a list ofsignificant facts—things that don’t seem to mean anything but are really frightfully important—that sort of thing.’

‘Ah,’ said Poirot kindly⁵. ‘You like that kind of detective story? But certainly, I will do it for youwith pleasure.’

He drew a sheet of paper towards him and wrote quickly and neatly⁶:

Significant points

1. Mrs Boynton was taking a mixture containing digitalis.

2. Dr Gerard missed a hypodermic syringe.

3. Mrs Boynton took definite pleasure in keeping her family from enjoying themselves with otherpeople.

4. Mrs Boynton, on the afternoon in question, encouraged her family to go away and leave her.

5. Mrs Boynton was a mental sadist.

6. The distance from the marquee to the place where Mrs Boynton was sitting is (roughly) twohundred yards.

7. Mr Lennox Boynton said at first he did not know what time he returned to the camp, but later headmitted having set his mother’s wrist-watch to the right time.

8. Dr Gerard and Miss Genevra Boynton occupied tents next door to each other.

9. At half-past six, when dinner was ready, a servant was dispatched to announce the fact to MrsBoynton.

The Colonel perused⁷ this with great satisfaction.

‘Capital!’ he said. ‘Just the thing! You’ve made it difficult — and seemingly irrelevant⁸ —absolutely the authentic⁹ touch! By the way, it seems to me there are one or two noticeableomissions. But that, I suppose, is what you tempt¹⁰ the mug with?’

Poirot’s eyes twinkled a little, but he did not answer.

‘Point two, for instance,’ said Colonel Carbury tentatively. ‘Dr Gerard missed a hypodermicsyringe—yes. He also missed a concentrated solution of digitalis—or something of that kind.’

‘The latter point,’ said Poirot, ‘is not important in the way the absence of his hypodermicsyringe is important.’

‘Splendid!’ said Colonel Carbury, his face irradiated with smiles. ‘I don’t get it at all. I shouldhave said the digitalis was much more important than the syringe! And what about that servantmotif that keeps cropping up—a servant being sent to tell her dinner was ready—and that story ofher shaking her stick at a servant earlier in the afternoon? You’re not going to tell me one of mypoor desert mutts bumped her off after all? Because,’ added Colonel Carbury sternly, ‘if so, thatwould be cheating.’

Poirot smiled, but did not answer.

As he left the office he murmured to himself:

‘Incredible! The English never grow up!’