破镜谋杀案32

时间：2025-11-25 09:23:26

（单词翻译:单击）

II
“Aha!” said Dr. Haydock, “unravelling1, I see.”
He looked from Miss Marple to a pile of fluffy3 white fleecy wool.
“You advised me to try unravelling if I couldn’t knit,” said Miss Marple.
“You seem to have been very thorough about it.”
“I made a mistake in the pattern right at the beginning. That made the
whole thing go out of proportion, so I’ve had to unravel2 it all. It’s a very
elaborate pattern, you see.”
“What are elaborate patterns to you? Nothing at all.”
“I ought really, I suppose, with my bad eyesight, to stick to plain knit-
ting.”
“You’d find that very boring. Well, I’m flattered that you took my ad-
vice4.”
“Don’t I always take your advice, Doctor Haydock?”
“You do when it suits you,” said Dr. Haydock.
“Tell me, Doctor, was it really knitting you had in mind when you gave
me that advice?”
He met the twinkle in her eyes and twinkled back at her.
“How are you getting on with unravelling the murder?” he asked.
“I’m afraid my faculties5 aren’t quite what they were,” said Miss Marple,
shaking her head with a sigh.
“Nonsense,” said Dr. Haydock. “Don’t tell me you haven’t formed some
conclusions.”
“Of course I have formed conclusions. Very definite ones.”
“Such as?” asked Haydock inquiringly.
“If the cocktail6 glass was tampered7 with that day—and I don’t see quite
how that could have been done—”
“Might have had the stuff ready in an eyedropper,” suggested Haydock.
“You are so professional,” said Miss Marple admiringly. “But even then
it seems to me so very peculiar8 that nobody saw it happen.”
“Murder should not only be done, but be seen done! Is that it?”
“You know exactly what I mean,” said Miss Marple.
“That was a chance the murderer had to take,” said Haydock.
“Oh quite so. I’m not disputing that for a moment. But there were, I have
found by inquiry9 and adding up the persons, at least eighteen to twenty
people on the spot. It seems to me that amongst twenty people somebody
must have seen that action occur.”
Haydock nodded. “One would think so, certainly. But obviously no one
did.”
“I wonder,” said Miss Marple thoughtfully.
“What have you got in mind exactly?”
“Well, there are three possibilities. I’m assuming that at least one person
would have seen something. One out of twenty. I think it’s only reasonable
to assume that.”
“I think you’re begging the question,” said Haydock, “and I can see loom-
ing ahead one of those terrible exercises in probability where six men
have white hats and six men have black and you have to work it out by
mathematics how likely it is that the hats will get mixed-up and in what
proportion. If you start thinking about things like that you would go round
the bend. Let me assure you of that!”
“I wasn’t thinking of anything like that,” said Miss Marple. “I was just
thinking of what is likely—”
“Yes,” said Haydock thoughtfully, “you’re very good at that. You always
have been.”
“It is likely, you know,” said Miss Marple, “that out of twenty people one
at least should be an observant one.”
“I give in,” said Haydock. “Let’s have the three possibilities.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to put them in rather sketchily,” said Miss Marple. “I
haven’t quite thought it out. Inspector10 Craddock, and probably Frank
Cornish before him, will have questioned everybody who was there so the
natural thing would be that whoever saw anything of the kind would have
said so at once.”
“Is that one of the possibilities?”
“No, of course it isn’t,” said Miss Marple, “because it hasn’t happened.
What you have to account for is if one person did see something why
didn’t that person say so?”
“I’m listening.”
“Possibility One,” said Miss Marple, her cheeks going pink with anima-
tion. “The person who saw it didn’t realise what they had seen. That
would mean, of course, that it would have to be rather a stupid person.
Someone, let us say, who can use their eyes but not their brain. The sort of
person who, if you asked them. ‘Did you see anyone put anything in Mar-
ina Gregg’s glass?’ would answer, ‘Oh, no,’ but if you said ‘Did you see any-
one put their hand over the top of Marina Gregg’s glass?’ would say ‘Oh,
yes, of course I did.’”
Haydock laughed. “I admit,” he said, “that one never quite allows for the
moron11 in our midst. All right, I grant you Possibility One. The moron saw
it, the moron didn’t grasp what the action meant. And the second possibil-
ity?”
“This one’s far-fetched, but I do think it is just a possibility. It might have
been a person whose action in putting something in a glass was natural.”
“Wait, wait, explain that a little more clearly.”
“It seems to me nowadays,” said Miss Marple, “that people are always
adding things to what they eat and drink. In my young days it was con-
sidered to be very bad manners to take medicines with one’s meals. It was
on a par12 with blowing your nose at the dinner table. It just wasn’t done. If
you had to take pills or capsules, or a spoonful of something, you went out
of the room to do so. That’s not the case now. When staying with my
nephew Raymond, I observed some of his guests seemed to arrive with
quite a quantity of little bottles of pills and tablets. They take them with
food, or before food, or after food. They keep aspirins and such things in
their handbags and take them the whole time—with cups of tea or with
their after-dinner coffee. You understand what I mean?”
“Oh, yes,” said Dr. Haydock, “I’ve got your meaning now and it’s inter-
esting. You mean that someone—” He stopped. “Let’s have it in your own
words.”
“I meant,” said Miss Marple, “that it would be quite possible, audacious
but possible, for someone to pick up that glass which as soon as it was in
his or her hand, of course, would be assumed to be his or her own drink
and to add whatever was added quite openly. In that case, you see, people
wouldn’t think twice of it.”
“He—or she—couldn’t be sure of that, though,” Haydock pointed13 out.
“No,” agreed Miss Marple, “it would be a gamble, a risk—but it could
happen. And then,” she went on, “there’s the third possibility.”
“Possibility One, a moron,” said the doctor. “Possibility Two, a gambler
—what’s Possibility Three?”
“Somebody saw what happened, and has held their tongue deliber-
ately.”
Haydock frowned. “For what reason?” he asked. “Are you suggesting
blackmail14? If so—”
“If so,” said Miss Marple, “it’s a very dangerous thing to do.”
“Yes, indeed.” He looked sharply at the placid15 old lady with the white
fleecy garment on her lap. “Is the third possibility the one you consider
the most probable one?”
“No,” said Miss Marple, “I wouldn’t go so far as that. I have, at the mo-
ment, insufficient16 grounds. Unless,” she added carefully, “someone else
gets killed.”
“Do you think someone else is going to get killed?”
“I hope not,” said Miss Marple. “I trust and pray not. But it so often hap-
pens, Doctor Haydock. That’s the sad and frightening thing. It so often
happens.”

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 unravelling 2542a7c888d83634cd78c7dc02a27bc4     
解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚
参考例句：
  • Nail head clamp the unravelling of nail exteriorize broken nails and clean. 钉头卡钉，拆开钉头取出碎钉并清洁。
  • The ends of ropes are in good condition and secured without unravelling. 缆绳端部状况良好及牢固，并无松散脱线。
2 unravel Ajzwo     
v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开
参考例句：
  • He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
  • This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。
3 fluffy CQjzv     
adj.有绒毛的，空洞的
参考例句：
  • Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
  • The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。
4 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的
参考例句：
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
5 faculties 066198190456ba4e2b0a2bda2034dfc5     
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院
参考例句：
  • Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
  • All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 cocktail Jw8zNt     
n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物
参考例句：
  • We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
  • At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。
7 tampered 07b218b924120d49a725c36b06556000     
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄
参考例句：
  • The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
  • The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句
8 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。
9 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听，询问，调查，查问
参考例句：
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
10 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。
11 moron IEyxN     
n.极蠢之人，低能儿
参考例句：
  • I used to think that Gordon was a moron.我曾以为戈登是个白痴。
  • He's an absolute moron!他纯粹是个傻子！
12 par OK0xR     
n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的
参考例句：
  • Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
  • I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。
13 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。
14 blackmail rRXyl     
n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓
参考例句：
  • She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
  • The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。
15 placid 7A1yV     
adj.安静的，平和的
参考例句：
  • He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
  • You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
16 insufficient L5vxu     
adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的
参考例句：
  • There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
  • In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

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