无人生还20

时间：2026-03-19 02:57:29

（单词翻译:单击）

III
General Macarthur broke out suddenly. He exclaimed:
‘The whole thing is preposterous—preposterous! Slinging1 accusations2
about like this! Something must be done about it. This fellow Owen who-
ever he is—’
Emily Brent interrupted. She said sharply:
‘That’s just it, who is he?’
The judge interposed. He spoke3 with the authority that a lifetime in the
courts had given him. He said:
‘That is exactly what we must go into very carefully. I should suggest
that you get your wife to bed first of all, Rogers. Then come back here.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Dr Armstrong said:
‘I’ll give you a hand, Rogers.’
Leaning on the two men, Mrs Rogers tottered4 out of the room. When
they had gone Tony Marston said:
‘Don’t know about you, sir, but I could do with a drink.’
Lombard said:
‘I agree.’
Tony said:
‘I’ll go and forage5.’
He went out of the room.
He returned a second or two later.
‘Found them all waiting on a tray outside ready to be brought in.’
He set down his burden carefully. The next minute or two was spent in
dispensing6 drinks. General Macarthur had a stiff whisky and so did the
judge. Every one felt the need of a stimulant7. Only Emily Brent demanded
and obtained a glass of water.
Dr Armstrong re-entered the room.
‘She’s all right,’ he said. ‘I’ve given her a sedative8 to take. What’s that, a
drink? I could do with one.’
Several of the men refilled their glasses. A moment or two later Rogers
re-entered the room.
Mr Justice Wargrave took charge of the proceedings9. The room became
an impromptu10 court of law.
The judge said:
‘Now then, Rogers, we must get to the bottom of this. Who is this Mr
Owen?’
Rogers stared.
‘He owns this place, sir.’
‘I am aware of that fact. What I want you to tell me is what you yourself
know about the man.’
Rogers shook his head.
‘I can’t say, sir. You see, I’ve never seen him.’
There was a faint stir in the room.
General Macarthur said:
‘You’ve never seen him? What d’yer mean?’
‘We’ve only been here just under a week, sir, my wife and I. We were
engaged by letter, through an agency. The Regina Agency in Plymouth.’
Blore nodded.
‘Old established firm,’ he volunteered.
Wargrave said:
‘Have you got that letter?’
‘The letter engaging us? No, sir. I didn’t keep it.’
‘Go on with your story. You were engaged, as you say, by letter.’
‘Yes, sir. We were to arrive on a certain day. We did. Everything was in
order here. Plenty of food in stock and everything very nice. Just needed
dusting and that.’
‘What next?’
‘Nothing, sir. We got orders—by letter again—to prepare the rooms for a
house-party, and then yesterday by the afternoon post I got another letter
from Mr Owen. It said he and Mrs Owen were detained and to do the best
we could, and it gave the instructions about dinner and coffee and putting
on the gramophone record.’
The judge said sharply:
‘Surely you’ve got that letter?’
‘Yes, sir, I’ve got it here.’
He produced it from a pocket. The judge took it.
‘H’m,’ he said. ‘Headed Ritz Hotel and typewritten.’
With a quick movement Blore was beside him.
He said:
‘If you’ll just let me have a look.’
He twitched11 it out of the other’s hand, and ran his eye over it. He mur-
mured:
‘Coronation machine. Quite new—no defects. Ensign paper—the most
widely used make. You won’t get anything out of that. Might be finger-
prints, but I doubt it.’
Wargrave stared at him with sudden attention.
Anthony Marston was standing12 beside Blore looking over his shoulder.
He said:
‘Got some fancy Christian13 names, hasn’t he? Ulick Norman Owen. Quite
a mouthful.’
The old judge said with a slight start:
‘I am obliged to you, Mr Marston. You have drawn14 my attention to a
curious and suggestive point.’
He looked round at the others and thrusting his neck forward like an
angry tortoise, he said:
‘I think the time has come for us all to pool our information. It would be
well, I think, for everybody to come forward with all the information they
have regarding the owner of this house.’ He paused and then went on: ‘We
are all his guests. I think it would be profitable if each one of us were to
explain exactly how that came about.’
There was a moment’s pause and then Emily Brent spoke with decision.
‘There’s something very peculiar15 about all this,’ she said. ‘I received a
letter with a signature that was not very easy to read. It purported17 to be
from a woman I had met at a certain summer resort two or three years
ago. I took the name to be either Ogden or Oliver. I am acquainted with a
Mrs Oliver and also with a Miss Ogden. I am quite certain that I have
never met, or become friendly with any one of the name of Owen.’
Mr Justice Wargrave said:
‘You have that letter, Miss Brent?’
‘Yes, I will fetch it for you.’
She went away and returned a minute later with the letter.
The judge read it. He said:
‘I begin to understand…Miss Claythorne?’
Vera explained the circumstances of her secretarial engagement.
The judge said:
‘Marston?’
Anthony said:
‘Got a wire. From a pal18 of mine. Badger19 Berkeley. Surprised me at the
time because I had an idea the old horse had gone to Norway. Told me to
roll up here.’
Again Wargrave nodded. He said:
‘Dr Armstrong?’
‘I was called in professionally.’
‘I see. You had no previous acquaintanceship with the family?’
‘No. A colleague of mine was mentioned in the letter.’
The judge said:
‘To give verisimilitude… Yes, and that colleague, I presume, was mo-
mentarily out of touch with you?’
‘Well—er—yes.’
Lombard, who had been staring at Blore, said suddenly:
‘Look here, I’ve just thought of something—’
The judge lifted a hand.
‘In a minute—’
‘But I—’
‘We will take one thing at a time, Mr Lombard. We are at present inquir-
ing into the causes which have resulted in our being assembled here to-
night. General Macarthur?’
Pulling at his moustache, the General muttered:
‘Got a letter—from this fellow Owen—mentioned some old pals20 of mine
who were to be here—hoped I’d excuse informal invitation. Haven’t kept
the letter, I’m afraid.’
Wargrave said: ‘Mr Lombard?’
Lombard’s brain had been active. Was he to come out in the open, or
not? He made up his mind.
‘Same sort of thing,’ he said. ‘Invitation, mention of mutual21 friends—I
fell for it all right. I’ve torn up the letter.’
Mr Justice Wargrave turned his attention to Mr Blore. His forefinger22
stroked his upper lip and his voice was dangerously polite.
He said:
‘Just now we had a somewhat disturbing experience. An apparently23 dis-
embodied24 voice spoke to us all by name, uttering certain precise accusa-
tions against us. We will deal with those accusations presently. At the mo-
ment I am interested in a minor25 point. Amongst the names recited was
that of William Henry Blore. But as far as we know there is no one named
Blore amongst us. The name of Davis was not mentioned. What have you
to say about that, Mr Davis?’
Blore said sulkily:
‘Cat’s out of the bag, it seems. I suppose I’d better admit that my name
isn’t Davis.’
‘You are William Henry Blore?’
‘That’s right.’
‘I will add something,’ said Lombard. ‘Not only are you here under a
false name, Mr Blore, but in addition I’ve noticed this evening that you’re
a first-class liar16. You claim to have come from Natal26, South Africa. I know
South Africa and Natal and I’m prepared to swear that you’ve never set
foot in South Africa in your life.’
All eyes were turned on Blore. Angry suspicious eyes. Anthony Marston
moved a step nearer to him. His fists clenched27 themselves.
‘Now then, you swine,’ he said. ‘Any explanation?’
Blore flung back his head and set his square jaw28.
‘You gentlemen have got me wrong,’ he said. ‘I’ve got my credentials29 and
you can see them. I’m an ex-CID man. I run a detective agency in Ply-
mouth. I was put on this job.’
Mr Justice Wargrave asked:
‘By whom?’
‘This man Owen. Enclosed a handsome money order for expenses and
instructed me as to what he wanted done. I was to join the house-party,
posing as a guest. I was given all your names. I was to watch you all.’
‘Any reason given?’
Blore said bitterly:
‘Mrs Owen’s jewels. Mrs Owen my foot! I don’t believe there’s any such
person.’
Again the forefinger of the judge stroked his lip, this time appreciatively.
‘Your conclusions are, I think, justified,’ he said. ‘Ulick Norman Owen! In
Miss Brent’s letter, though the signature of the surname is a mere30 scrawl31
the Christian names are reasonably clear—Una Nancy—in either case you
notice, the same initials. Ulick Norman Owen—Una Nancy Owen—each
time, that is to say, U. N. Owen. Or by a slight stretch of fancy, UN-
KNOWN!’
Vera cried:
‘But this is fantastic—mad!’
The judge nodded gently.
He said:
‘Oh, yes. I’ve no doubt in my own mind that we have been invited here
by a madman—probably a dangerous homicidal lunatic.’

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 slinging 7ca88eaffd78769411edb23adfefc252     
抛( sling的现在分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往
参考例句：
  • You're slinging mud at me -- that's a pack of lies! 你血口喷人，不讲道理。
  • The boys were slinging stones into the river. 孩子们当时正往河里投石子。
2 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名
参考例句：
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
3 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。
4 tottered 60930887e634cc81d6b03c2dda74833f     
v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠
参考例句：
  • The pile of books tottered then fell. 这堆书晃了几下，然后就倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The wounded soldier tottered to his feet. 伤员摇摇晃晃地站了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 forage QgyzP     
n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻
参考例句：
  • They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
  • Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。
6 dispensing 1555b4001e7e14e0bca70a3c43102922     
v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）
参考例句：
  • A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 stimulant fFKy4     
n.刺激物，兴奋剂
参考例句：
  • It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
  • Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
8 sedative 9DgzI     
adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西
参考例句：
  • After taking a sedative she was able to get to sleep.服用了镇静剂后，她能够入睡了。
  • Amber bath oil has a sedative effect.琥珀沐浴油有镇静安神效用。
9 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
参考例句：
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
10 impromptu j4Myg     
adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)
参考例句：
  • The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
  • The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。
11 twitched bb3f705fc01629dc121d198d54fa0904     
vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
  • Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
  • The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
13 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
14 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
15 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
16 liar V1ixD     
n.说谎的人
参考例句：
  • I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
  • She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。
17 purported 31d1b921ac500fde8e1c5f9c5ed88fe1     
adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
  • The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 pal j4Fz4     
n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友
参考例句：
  • He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
  • Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。
19 badger PuNz6     
v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠
参考例句：
  • Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
  • If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。
20 pals 51a8824fc053bfaf8746439dc2b2d6d0     
n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙
参考例句：
  • We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
  • CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网
21 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的
参考例句：
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
22 forefinger pihxt     
n.食指
参考例句：
  • He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
  • He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。
23 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
24 embodied 12aaccf12ed540b26a8c02d23d463865     
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含
参考例句：
  • a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
  • The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修
参考例句：
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
26 natal U14yT     
adj.出生的，先天的
参考例句：
  • Many music-lovers make pilgrimages to Mozart's natal place.很多爱好音乐的人去访问莫扎特的出生地。
  • Since natal day,characters possess the visual elements such as dots and strokes.文字从诞生开始便具有了点画这样的视觉元素。
27 clenched clenched     
v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
  • She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
29 credentials credentials     
n.证明，资格，证明书，证件
参考例句：
  • He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
  • Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。
30 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
31 scrawl asRyE     
vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写
参考例句：
  • His signature was an illegible scrawl.他的签名潦草难以辨认。
  • Your beautiful handwriting puts my untidy scrawl to shame.你漂亮的字体把我的潦草字迹比得见不得人。

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