命案目睹记53

时间：2025-10-20 07:32:39

（单词翻译:单击）

Twenty-four
“Nobody could have made more of a muck of it than I seem to have done,”
said Dermot Craddock gloomily.
He sat, his long legs stretched out, looking somehow incongruous in
faithful Florence’s somewhat overfurnished parlour. He was thoroughly1
tired, upset and dispirited.
Miss Marple made soft, soothing3 noises of dissent4. “No, no, you’ve done
very good work, my dear boy. Very good work indeed.”
“I’ve done very good work, have I? I’ve let a whole family be poisoned.
Alfred Crackenthorpe’s dead and now Harold’s dead too. What the hell’s
going on here. That’s what I should like to know.”
“Poisoned tablets,” said Miss Marple thoughtfully.
“Yes. Devilishly cunning, really. They looked just like the tablets that
he’d been having. There was a printed slip sent in with them ‘by Doctor
Quimper’s instructions.’ Well, Quimper never ordered them. There were
chemist’s labels used. The chemist knew nothing about it, either. No. That
box of tablets came from Rutherford Hall.”
“Do you actually know it came from Rutherford Hall?”
“Yes. We’ve had a thorough check up. Actually, it’s the box that held the
sedative5 tablets prescribed for Emma.”
“Oh, I see. For Emma….”
“Yes. It’s got her fingerprints6 on it and the fingerprints of both the
nurses and the fingerprint7 of the chemist who made it up. Nobody else’s,
naturally. The person who sent them was careful.”
“And the sedative tablets were removed and something else substitu-
ted2?”
“Yes. That of course is the devil with tablets. One tablet looks exactly like
another.”
“You are so right,” agreed Miss Marple. “I remember so very well in my
young days, the black mixture and the brown mixture (the cough mixture
that was) and the white mixture, and Doctor So-and- So’s pink mixture.
People didn’t mix those up nearly as much. In fact, you know, in my vil-
lage of St. Mary Mead8 we still like that kind of medicine. It’s a bottle they
always want, not tablets. What were the tablets?” she asked.
“Aconite. They were the kind of tablets that are usually kept in a poison
bottle, diluted9 one in a hundred for outside application.”
“And so Harold took them, and died,” Miss Marple said thoughtfully.
Dermot Craddock uttered something like a groan10.
“You mustn’t mind my letting off steam to you,” he said. “Tell it all to
Aunt Jane; that’s how I feel!”
“That’s very, very nice of you,” said Miss Marple, “and I do appreciate it.
I feel towards you, as Sir Henry’s godson, quite differently from the way I
feel to any ordinary detective-inspector11.”
Dermot Craddock gave her a fleeting12 grin. “But the fact remains13 that I’ve
made the most ghastly mess of things all along the line,” he said. “The
Chief Constable14 down here calls in Scotland Yard, and what do they get?
They get me making a prize ass15 of myself!”
“No, no,” said Miss Marple.
“Yes, yes. I don’t know who poisoned Alfred, I don’t know who poisoned
Harold, and, to cap it all, I haven’t the least idea who the original
murdered woman was! This Martine business seemed a perfectly16 safe bet.
The whole thing seemed to tie up. And now what happens? The real Mar-
tine shows up and turns out, most improbably, to be the wife of Sir Robert
Stoddart-West. So, who’s the woman in the barn now? Goodness knows.
First I go all out on the idea she’s Anna Stravinska, and then she’s out of it
—”
He was arrested by Miss Marple giving one of her small peculiarly signi-
ficant coughs.
“But is she?” she murmured.
Craddock stared at her. “Well, that postcard from Jamaica—”
“Yes,” said Miss Marple; “but that isn’t really evidence, is it? I mean, any-
one can get a postcard sent from almost anywhere, I suppose. I remember
Mrs. Brierly, such a very bad nervous breakdown17. Finally, they said she
ought to go to the mental hospital for observation, and she was so worried
about the children knowing about it and so she wrote fourteen postcards
and arranged that they should be posted from different places abroad,
and told them that Mummy was going abroad on a holiday.” She added,
looking at Dermot Craddock, “You see what I mean.”
“Yes, of course,” said Craddock, staring at her. “Naturally we’d have
checked that postcard if it hadn’t been for the Martine business fitting the
bill so well.”
“So convenient,” murmured Miss Marple.
“It tied up,” said Craddock. “After all, there’s the letter Emma received
signed Martine Crackenthorpe. Lady Stoddart-West didn’t send that, but
somebody did. Somebody who was going to pretend to be Martine, and
who was going to cash in, if possible, on being Martine. You can’t deny
that.”
“No, no.”
“And then, the envelope of the letter Emma wrote to her with the Lon-
don address on it. Found at Rutherford Hall, showing she’d actually been
there.”
“But the murdered woman hadn’t been there!” Miss Marple pointed18 out.
“Not in the sense you mean. She only came to Rutherford Hall after she was
dead. Pushed out of a train on to the railway embankment.”
“Oh, yes.”
“What the envelope really proves is that the murderer was there. Pre-
sumably he took that envelope off her with her other papers and things,
and then dropped it by mistake—or—I wonder now, was it a mistake?
Surely Inspector Bacon, and your men too, made a thorough search of the
place, didn’t they, and didn’t find it. It only turned up later in the boiler19
house.”
“That’s understandable,” said Craddock. “The old gardener chap used to
spear up any odd stuff that was blowing about and shove it in there.”
“Where it was very convenient for the boys to find,” said Miss Marple
thoughtfully.
“You think we were meant to find it?”
“Well, I just wonder. After all, it would be fairly easy to know where the
boys were going to look next, or even to suggest to them… Yes, I do won-
der. It stopped you thinking about Anna Stravinska anymore, didn’t it?”
Craddock said: “And you think it really may be her all the time?”
“I think someone may have got alarmed when you started making in-
quiries about her, that’s all… I think somebody didn’t want those inquiries20
made.”
“Let’s hold on to the basic fact that someone was going to impersonate
Martine,” said Craddock. “And then for some reason—didn’t. Why?”
“That’s a very interesting question,” said Miss Marple.
“Somebody sent a note saying Martine was going back to France, then
arranged to travel down with the girl and kill her on the way. You agree so
far?”
“Not exactly,” said Miss Marple. “I don’t think, really, you’re making it
simple enough.”
“Simple!” exclaimed Craddock. “You’re mixing me up,” he complained.
Miss Marple said in a distressed21 voice that she wouldn’t think of doing
anything like that.
“Come, tell me,” said Craddock, “do you or do you not think you know
who the murdered woman was?” Miss Marple sighed. “It’s so difficult,”
she said, “to put it the right way. I mean, I don’t know who she was, but at
the same time I’m fairly sure who she was, if you know what I mean.”
Craddock threw up his head. “Know what you mean? I haven’t the
faintest idea.” He looked out through the window. “There’s your Lucy Eye-
lesbarrow coming to see you,” he said. “Well, I’ll be off. My amour propre
is very low this afternoon and having a young woman coming in, radiant
with efficiency and success, is more than I can bear.”

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
2 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒，撒，撒开
参考例句：
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
3 soothing soothing     
adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的
参考例句：
  • Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
  • His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。
4 dissent ytaxU     
n./v.不同意，持异议
参考例句：
  • It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
  • He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。
5 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。
6 fingerprints 9b456c81cc868e5bdf3958245615450b     
n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
  • They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 fingerprint 4kXxX     
n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹
参考例句：
  • The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
  • The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。
8 mead BotzAK     
n.蜂蜜酒
参考例句：
  • He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
  • He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。
9 diluted 016e8d268a5a89762de116a404413fef     
无力的，冲淡的
参考例句：
  • The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
  • This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。
10 groan LfXxU     
vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音
参考例句：
  • The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
  • The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。
11 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。
12 fleeting k7zyS     
adj.短暂的，飞逝的
参考例句：
  • The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
  • Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。
13 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
14 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察，警官
参考例句：
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。
15 ass qvyzK     
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
  • He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
  • An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
16 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
17 breakdown cS0yx     
n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌
参考例句：
  • She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
  • The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。
18 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
19 boiler OtNzI     
n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等)
参考例句：
  • That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。
  • This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。
20 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听
参考例句：
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
21 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句：
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

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