chapter 3 the man with the gold tooth

it was a few days later, when we were sitting at breakfast, that poirot flung across to me a letter that he had just opened.

‘well, mon ami,’ he said. ‘what do you think of that?’

the note was from lord edgware and in stiff formal language it made an appointment for the following day at eleven.

i must say that i was very much surprised. i had taken poirot’s words uttered lightly in a convivial moment, and i had had no idea that he had actually taken steps to carry out his promise.

poirot, who was very quick-witted, read my mind and his eyes twinkled a little.

‘but yes, mon ami, it was not solely the champagne.’

‘i didn’t mean that.’

‘but yes – but yes – you thought to yourself, the poor old one, he has the spirit of the party, he promises things that he will not perform – that he has no intention of performing. but, my friend, the promises of hercule poirot are sacred.’

he drew himself up in a stately manner as he said the last words. ‘of course. of course. i know that,’ i said hastily. ‘but i thought that perhaps your judgment was slightly – what shall i say – influenced.’

‘i am not in the habit of letting my judgment be “influenced” as you call it, hastings. the best and driest of champagne, the most golden-haired and seductive of women – nothing influences the judgment of hercule poirot. no, mon ami, i am interested – that is all.’

‘in jane wilkinson’s love affair?’

‘not exactly that. her love affair, as you call it, is a very commonplace business. it is a step in the successful career of a very beautiful woman. if the duke of merton had neither a title nor wealth his romantic likeness to a dreamy monk would no longer interest the lady. no, hastings, what intrigues me is the psychology of the matter. the interplay of character. i welcome the chance of studying lord edgware at close quarters.’

‘you do not expect to be successful in your mission?’

‘pourquoi pas? every man has his weak spot. do not imagine, hastings, that because i am studying the case from a psychological standpoint, i shall not try my best to succeed in the commission entrusted to me. i always enjoy exercising my ingenuity.’

i had feared an allusion to the little grey cells and was thankful to be spared it.

‘so we go to regent gate at eleven tomorrow?’ i said.

‘we?’ poirot raised his eyebrows quizzically.

‘poirot!’ i cried. ‘you are not going to leave me behind. i always go with you.’

‘if it were a crime, a mysterious poisoning case, an assassination – ah! these are the things your soul delights in. but a mere matter of social adjustment?’

‘not another word,’ i said determinedly. ‘i’m coming.’

poirot laughed gently, and at that moment we were told that a gentleman had called.

to our great surprise our visitor proved to be bryan martin.

the actor looked older by daylight. he was still handsome, but it was a kind of ravaged handsomeness. it flashed across my mind that he might conceivably take drugs. there was a kind of nervous tension about him that suggested the possibility.

‘good morning, m. poirot,’ he said in a cheerful manner. ‘you and captain hastings breakfast at a reasonable hour, i am glad to see. by the way, i suppose you are very busy just now?’

poirot smiled at him amiably.

‘no,’ he said. ‘at the moment i have practically no business of importance on hand.’

‘come now,’ laughed bryan. ‘not called in by scotland yard? no delicate matters to investigate for royalty? i can hardly believe it.’

‘you confound fiction with reality, my friend,’ said poirot, smiling. ‘i am, i assure you, at the moment completely out of work, though not yet on the dole. dieu merci.’

‘well, that’s luck for me,’ said bryan with another laugh. ‘perhaps you’ll take on something for me.’

poirot considered the young man thoughtfully.

‘you have a problem for me – yes?’ he said in a minute or two.

‘well – it’s like this. i have and i haven’t.’

this time his laugh was rather nervous. still considering him thoughtfully, poirot indicated a chair. the young man took it. he sat facing us, for i had taken a seat by poirot’s side.

‘and now,’ said poirot, ‘let us hear all about it.’

bryan martin still seemed to have a little difficulty in getting under way.

‘the trouble is that i can’t tell you quite as much as i’d like to.’ he hesitated. ‘it’s difficult. you see, the whole business started in america.’

‘in america? yes?’

‘a mere incident first drew my attention to it. as a matter of fact, i was travelling by train and i noticed a certain fellow. ugly little chap, clean-shaven, glasses, and a gold tooth.’

‘ah! a gold tooth.’

‘exactly. that’s really the crux of the matter.’

poirot nodded his head several times.

‘i begin to comprehend. go on.’

‘well, as i say. i just noticed the fellow. i was travelling, by the way, to new york. six months later i was in los angeles, and i noticed the fellow again. don’t know why i should have – but i did. still, nothing in that.’

‘continue.’

‘a month afterwards i had occasion to go to seattle, and shortly after i got there who should i see but my friend again, only this time he wore a beard.’

‘distinctly curious.’

‘wasn’t it? of course i didn’t fancy it had anything to do with me at that time, but when i saw the man again in los angeles, beardless, in chicago with a moustache and different eyebrows and in a mountain village disguised as a hobo – well, i began to wonder.’

‘naturally.’

‘and at last – well, it seemed odd – but not a doubt about it. i was being what you call shadowed.’

‘most remarkable.’

‘wasn’t it? after that i made sure of it. wherever i was, there, somewhere near at hand, was my shadow made up in different disguises. fortunately, owing to the gold tooth, i could always spot him.’

‘ah! that gold tooth, it was a very fortunate occur-rence.’

‘it was.’

‘pardon me, m. martin, but did you never speak to the man? question him as to the reason of his persistent shadowing?’

‘no, i didn’t.’ the actor hesitated. ‘i thought of doing so once or twice, but i always decided against it. it seemed to me that i should merely put the fellow on his guard and learn nothing. possibly once they had discovered that i had spotted him, they would have put someone else on my track – someone whom i might not recognize.’

‘en effet . . . someone without that useful gold tooth.’

‘exactly. i may have been wrong – but that’s how i figured it out.’

‘now, m. martin, you referred to “they” just now. whom did you mean by “they”?’

‘it was a mere figure of speech used for convenience. i assumed – i don’t know why – a nebulous “they” in the background.’

‘have you any reason for that belief ?’

‘none.’

‘you mean you have no conception of who could want you shadowed or for what purpose?’

‘not the slightest idea. at least –’

‘continuez,’ said poirot encouragingly.

‘i have an idea,’ said bryan martin slowly. ‘it’s a mere guess on my part, mind.’

‘a guess may be very successful sometimes, monsieur.’

‘it concerns a certain incident that took place in london about two years ago. it was a slight incident, but an inexplicable and an unforgettable one. i’ve often wondered and puzzled over it. just because i could find no explanation of it at the time, i am inclined to wonder if this shadowing business might not be connected in some way with it – but for the life of me i can’t see why or how.’

‘perhaps i can.’

‘yes, but you see –’ bryan martin’s embarrassment returned. ‘the awkward thing is that i can’t tell you about it – not now, that is. in a day or so i might be able to.’

stung into further speech by poirot’s inquiring glance he continued desperately.

‘you see – a girl was concerned in it.’

‘ah! parfaitement! an english girl?’

‘yes. at least – why?’

‘very simple. you cannot tell me now, but you hope to do so in a day or two. that means that you want to obtain the consent of the young lady. therefore she is in england. also, she must have been in england during the time you were shadowed, for if she had been in america you would have sought her out then and there. therefore, since she has been in england for the last eighteen months she is probably, though not certainly, english. it is good reasoning that, eh?’

‘rather. now tell me, m. poirot, if i get her permission, will you look into the matter for me?’

there was a pause. poirot seemed to be debating the matter in his mind. finally he said:

‘why have you come to me before going to her?’

‘well, i thought –’ he hesitated. ‘i wanted to persuade her to – to clear things up – i mean to let things be cleared up by you. what i mean is, if you investigate the affair, nothing need be made public, need it?’

‘that depends,’ said poirot calmly.

‘what do you mean?’

‘if there is any question of crime –’

‘oh! there’s no crime concerned.’

‘you do not know. there may be.’

‘but you would do your best for her – for us?’

‘that, naturally.’

he was silent for a moment and then said:

‘tell me, this follower of yours – this shadow – of what age was he?’

‘oh! quite youngish. about thirty.’

‘ah!’ said poirot. ‘that is indeed remarkable. yes, that makes the whole thing very much more interesting.’

i stared at him. so did bryan martin. this remark of his was, i am sure, equally unexplicable to us both. bryan questioned me with a lift of the eyebrows. i shook my head.

‘yes,’ murmured poirot. ‘it makes the whole story very interesting.’

‘he may have been older,’ said bryan doubtfully, ‘but i don’t think so.’

‘no, no, i am sure your observation is quite accurate, m. martin. very interesting – extraordinarily interesting.’

rather taken aback by poirot’s enigmatical words, bryan martin seemed at a loss what to say or do next. he started making desultory conversation.

‘an amusing party the other night,’ he said. ‘jane wilkinson is the most high-handed woman that ever existed.’

‘she has the single vision,’ said poirot, smiling. ‘one thing at a time.’

‘she gets away with it, too,’ said martin. ‘how people stand it, i don’t know!’

‘one will stand a good deal from a beautiful woman, my friend,’ said poirot with a twinkle. ‘if she had the pug nose, the sallow skin, the greasy hair, then – ah! then she would not “get away with it” as you put it.’

‘i suppose not,’ conceded bryan. ‘but it makes me mad sometimes. all the same, i’m devoted to jane, though in some ways, mind you, i don’t think she’s quite all there.’

‘on the contrary, i should say she was very much on the spot.’

‘i don’t mean that, exactly. she can look after her interests all right. she’s got plenty of business shrewdness. no, i mean morally.’

‘ah! morally.’

‘she’s what they call amoral. right and wrong don’t exist for her.’

‘ah! i remember you said something of the kind the other evening.’

‘we were talking of crime just now –’

‘yes, my friend?’

‘well, it would never surprise me if jane committed a crime.’

‘and you should know her well,’ murmured poirot thoughtfully. ‘you have acted much with her, have you not?’

‘yes. i suppose i know her through and through and up and down. i can see her killing, and quite easily.’

‘ah! she has the hot temper, yes?’

‘no, no, not at all. cool as a cucumber. i mean if anyone were in her way she’d just remove them – without a thought. and one couldn’t really blame her – morally, i mean. she’d just think that anyone who interfered with jane wilkinson had got to go.’

there was a bitterness in his last words that had been lacking heretofore. i wondered what memory he was recalling.

‘you think she would do – murder?’

poirot watched him intently.

bryan drew a deep breath.

‘upon my soul, i do. perhaps one of these days, you’ll remember my words . . . i know her, you see. she’d kill as easily as she’d drink her morning tea. i mean it, m. poirot.’

he had risen to his feet.

‘yes,’ said poirot quietly. ‘i can see you mean it.’

‘i know her,’ said bryan martin again, ‘through and through.’

he stood frowning for a minute, then with a change of tone, he said:

‘as to this business we’ve been talking about, i’ll let you know, m. poirot, in a few days. you will undertake it, won’t you?’

poirot looked at him for a moment or two without replying.

‘yes,’ he said at last. ‘i will undertake it. i find it – interesting.’

there was something queer in the way he said the last word. i went downstairs with bryan martin. at the door he said to me:

‘did you get the hang of what he meant about that fellow’s age? i mean, why was it interesting that he should be about thirty? i didn’t get the hang of that at all.’

‘no more did i,’ i admitted.

‘it doesn’t seem to make sense. perhaps he was just having a game with me.’

‘no,’ i said. ‘poirot is not like that. depend upon it, the point has significance since he says so.’

‘well, blessed if i can see it. glad you can’t either. i’d hate to feel i was a complete nut.’

he strode away. i rejoined my friend.

‘poirot,’ i said. ‘what was the point about the age of the shadower?’

‘you do not see? my poor hastings!’ he smiled and shook his head. then he asked: ‘what did you think of our interview on the whole?’

‘there’s so little to go upon. it seems difficult to say. if we knew more –’

‘even without knowing more, do not certain ideas suggest themselves to you, mon ami?’

the telephone ringing at that moment saved me from the ignominy of admitting that no ideas whatever suggested themselves to me. i took up the receiver.

a woman’s voice spoke, a crisp, clear efficient voice.

‘this is lord edgware’s secretary speaking. lord edgware regrets that he must cancel the appointment with m. poirot for tomorrow morning. he has to go over to paris tomorrow unexpectedly. he could see m. poirot for a few minutes at a quarter-past twelve this morning if that would be convenient.’

i consulted poirot.

‘certainly, my friend, we will go there this morning.’

i repeated this into the mouthpiece.

‘very good,’ said the crisp business-like voice. ‘a quarter-past twelve this morning.’

she rang off.

第三章 镶金牙的男人

几天以后，我们正一起吃早饭的时候，波洛把一封他刚刚拆阅的信扔给我看。

“啊，我的朋友，”他说，“你对此事有何高见？”

那封短笺是埃奇韦尔男爵写来的。他以呆板正式的语凋约定第二天的十一点会面。

我必须承认我很惊讶。我原以为波洛那ˉ次所说的话是酒后一时兴起随口说的。没想到他还真的行动起来、履行他的诺旨了。

波洛是很聪明的人，他一眼看出了我的想法，眼睛略微眨了眨。

“是啊。我的朋友。我答应她可不是因为喝了点香摈酒的缘故。”

“我并不是那个意思。”

“不，是的。你就是那么想的。可怜的老伙计，吃饭的时候多喝了几杯，他就答应做自己根本做不到的事。他本来也没打算真去做的。但是，我的朋友，波洛的许诺是绝对神圣的。”

他说最后那句话时，摆出一副庄严的样子。“当然。当然，我是知道的。”我赶紧说，“我只是觉得，你的判断有点——怎么说呢——有点受外界影响。”

“我的判断力绝对不会受什么你所谓的‘外界影响’，黑斯廷斯。任何上等、最纯的香摈酒，任何金发碧眼、绝顶诱人的美女都不会影响赫尔克里·波洛的判断。不能的，老天保佑，我只是感兴趣。就是因为这个，没别的。”

“对简·威尔金森的爱情问题感兴趣？”

“不完全是因为那个。你所说的那个爱情问题是一个很平常的事情。那是一位想获取成功的女士必走之路。如果那位默顿公爵既无贵族头衔又无财产”那梦幻僧侣的浪漫又怎能引起我们这位女士的兴趣呢？不是的。黑斯廷斯，我着迷的是这件事的心理因素。性格之间的相互关系。我希望能够有机会从近处研究一下埃奇韦尔男爵。”

“那么，并非一定要完成你的使命吧？”

“为什么不呢？每个人都有他的弱点。黑斯廷斯。不要以为我因为从心理学的角度来研究这个案子就不会尽力完成别人委托我的任务了。我总是喜欢有机会施展我的聪明才智的。”

我还以为他又要扯到什么脑细胞呢，天谢地，没说这个。

“那么我们明天上午十一点去摄政门？”我问道。

“我们？”波洛挪愉地扬起眉毛。

“波洛！”我大声说道，你不会把我一个人扔下吧。我可总是和你一起办案的。”

“啊，是犯罪事件，个神秘的投毒案，是暗杀什么的。你还会感兴趣。可这只是一个社会问题。”

“你不要再说了，我坚定地说，我去定了。”

波洛宽厚地笑了。就在这个时候，人来报有一位绅士来访。

令我们惊奇的是，访者是布赖恩·马丁。

在白天这位演员就显得有些老了。他看起来还是很英俊，这种英俊带有一种颓废的感觉。我脑中突然掠过一个想法，可能用什么麻醉品。他那种神情紧张的样子真让人觉得这猜测有可能。

“早上好，洛先生。”他带着愉快的态度问候道，您和黑斯廷斯上尉吃早饭的时间真是不早不晚，好。对了，们是不是很忙？”

波洛友善地望着他。

“不是的，他说道，目前我手头还真没有什么重要的事。”

“得了，布赖恩笑着说，没被伦敦警察厅叫去？没为皇室调查什么复杂的事情？我可不相信。”

“我的朋友，把现实和想象弄混了。”波洛笑着说道，我可以向你保证，现在尽管还没靠救济金生活，也是完全没事做了。老天保佑”

“那么我的运气也不错了。”布赖思哈哈大笑地说道，“大概你可以为我办些事了。”

波洛谨慎地琢磨着这个年轻人。

“你有什么问题要我调查，是吗？”波洛过了几分钟后问道。

“晤，是这样的。可以说有，也可以说没有。”

布赖恩这时的笑就有点不安的成分了。波洛仍是谨慎地琢磨着他，示意他坐下。他坐到椅子上。正好面对我们，因为我是坐在波洛的旁边。

“那么，现在，”波洛说道，“就让我们听听吧。”

布赖恩·马丁似乎仍有些困难不能马上说出来。

“问题是我不能将事实完全讲给您听。”他犹豫了一下说，“很难讲的。您知道，事情得从美国讲起。”

“从美国？怎么了？”

“那是一件偶然发生的事，但引起了我的注意。事实上，我是正在火车上的时侯，忽然注意到一个人，一个长得很丑的家伙，脸刮得光光的，戴着眼镜，镶着一颗金牙。”

“啊！一颗金牙！”

“是的，一点儿也不错，这正是事情的关键。”

波洛不断地点着头。

“我开始有点儿明白了。说下去。”

“晤。正如我说的，我注意上了他，那时我是去纽约。而六个月之后，在洛杉矾我又注意到了他。不知道为什么，可我确实又注意到了他。当然，这也没什么。”

“接着说。”

“一个月后我去西雅图，到那不久。您猜我遇到了谁？又是那家伙，只是这时他留着胡子。”

“真奇怪！”

“很奇怪，是吧。当然那个时候我根本没想到这件事和我有什么关系。但是，后来我又在洛杉矾遇到他。没留胡子。而后在芝加哥，嘴上留着胡子。眉毛有些不同了。以后在一个山村里，我又见到了他，像个无业游民。我开始怀疑了。”

“这是很自然的。”

“后来，晤，就有点奇怪了。毫无疑问的是他像影子一样跟着我。”

“太奇怪了。”

“可不是吗。而后我知道他是在盯梢了。无论我走到哪，他都跟到哪。就在我附近，每次都化着不同的妆。幸亏有那颗金牙。我总是能认出他来。”

“啊！那颗金牙！幸亏了。”

“是啊。”

“马丁先生，恕我冒昧，你和那个人说过话吗？问过他为什么总跟着你？”

“没有。我没问过他。”那个演员犹豫了一下，“有一两次我本打算问他的，但是考虑一番后我还是决定不去问他。我觉得，如果我那样做，只会让他警惕，而我什么也问不出来。很可能他们知道我已经注意到他后，会派另一个人来跟踪——一个我不认识的人。”

“是啊！一个没镶有用的金牙的人。”

“一点不错。我可能想得不对，不过，我就是那样想的。”

“那么，马丁先生，刚才你说到“他们”。他们，是什么意思？”

“这只是顺口说说而已。我也不知为什么我就猜测隐隐约约地有。他们，在幕后操纵。”

“你有什么理由这样认为吗？”

“没有。”

“你的意思是你不知道谁在跟踪你，也不知道因为什么？”

“一点儿也不知道。至少——”

“说下去。”波洛鼓励地说道。

“我想起来了。”布赖恩慢慢地说道，“不过，您可要注意，这只是我自己的猜测。”

“先生，猜测往往是正确的。”

“这与两年前在伦敦发生的一件事情有关。尽管这是一件小事，但却很难解释，也很难让人忘怀。我对这事始终是百思不解。原因只是在那个时候我根本找不出什么恰当的解释。我就想这件事会不会和被跟踪有关系。但是我是无论如何也想不出为什么这两者有联系，又是如何有联系的。”

“也许我能知道。”

“是的”是您要知道，”布赖思又有些窘迫了，我觉得很窘，为我不能告诉您事情的原委——我是说现在还不能告诉您。但是一两天以后，许我能告诉您。”

波洛用探究的眼光看着他，得他不得不破釜沉舟地说下去。

“您知道，和一位女孩有关。”

“啊！一定是这样！是一个英国女孩吧？”

“是的，至少——您怎么知道？”

“很简单。你说现在不能告诉我，要等上一两天。也就是说你要征得这位年轻女士的同意。因为她是在英国国内。另外，当你被人跟踪时，她一定是在英国，因为如果那时她是在美国，你当时就可以就近找到她。所以。她近十八个月来是在英国，那么我不能断言，但至少她可能是英国人。这个推理还不错，是吧？”

“当然！波洛先生。现在我问您，如果我征得了她的允许，您能替我调查吗？”

接着是一阵沉默，波洛心里似乎还矛盾着。最后他说道：“为什么你不先去她那儿而来我这儿呢？”

“晤，我是想——”他犹豫了一下说，“我是想劝她把事情弄清楚，我是想让您把事情弄清楚。我的意思是说，由您来调查这事，就根本不需要太张扬了，不是吗？”

“那要视情形而定了。”波洛冷静地说。

“您是什么意思？”

“我的意思是，如果和犯罪无关的话——”

“唤！这件事与犯罪无关。”

“也许有关，你不知道。”

“但您会为她——为我们，尽力的。是吗？”

“那是自然。”

他沉默片刻后说道：“告诉我，那个跟踪你的人有多大年纪？”

“啊，还是很年轻的，大概有三十岁吧。”

“啊！”波洛说道，“这可值得注意了。对了，这使得整个事件更有意思了。”

我盯着他。布赖恩·马丁也望着他。我肯定，他说的这些话的用意，我俩都没琢磨透。布赖恩眉毛挑了挑，示意问我。我则摇了摇头。

“是的。”波洛低声地说，“这使得整个事情更有趣了。”

“他也许岁数更大一些”，布赖恩说道。“但我不这样认为。”

“是的，是的。我肯定你的观察力是很强的，马丁先生。很有趣——真是很有趣。”

马丁听了波洛令人迷惑的话一愣，茫茫然好像不知往下该说什么、该做什么。他开始讲一些无关紧要的话题。

“那天的晚宴真有趣。”马丁说，“简·威尔金森是世界上最专横的女人。”

“她很筒单地看事情。”波洛笑着说，“在某一时刻，她只能看到一样东西。”

“她还总是能够达到目的。”马丁说，“我真不知道人们是怎样忍受她的。”

“我的朋友啊，面对一个漂亮女人，人们的忍受力是极强的。”波洛眨着眼睛说道，“如果她长着扁扁的鼻子，蜡黄的面孔，油腻腻的头发，那么，她决不会像你所说的。达到目的。”

“我想不会的。”布赖恩承认道，“但有的时候，她会让我生气。虽然是这样，我对筒还是忠心的，尽管在某些方面，我得说，她有些不正常。”

“恰恰相反，我认为她是一个做事极有条理的人。”

“我并非指这个。她能够很好地维护自己的利益，她相当聪明。不，我指的是道德上的。”

“啊！道德上的。”

“她是那种所谓超道德型的。正确与错误对于她来说不存在。”

“啊！我记得那天晚上你说过这类的话。”

“我们刚才不是在谈犯罪的事吗？”

“怎么，我的朋友？”

“怎么说呢，如果简犯罪的话，我绝对不奇怪。”

“你该是很了解她的。”波洛若有所思地低声说，“你和她一起演过很多戏的，不是吗？”

“是的。我对她极为了解。我相信她会轻轻松松地去杀人。”

“啊！她脾气很坏，是不是？”

“不是的，不是的。她头脑很冷静。我的意思是说，无论谁妨碍了她，她就会毫不迟疑地除掉他。而且从道义上讲，人们还不能责备她，她只是认为任何妨碍简·威尔金森的人都要退后。”

他最后的话里面有一种原来未显露过的怨恨。我在猜测他是想起了什么事。

“你认为她会——谋杀？”

波洛目不转睛地盯着他。

布赖思深深地吸了一口气。

“从我内心深处，我觉得她会的。大概有一天，您会记起我的话的。——您知道，我了解她。她杀人就像喝早茶一样容易。我可是说真的。波洛先生。”

他站了起来。

“是的。”波洛镇静地回答说，“我明白你是认真的。”

“我了解她”，布赖恩又说道，“彻头彻尾地了解她。”

他皱了一会眉头，然后换了一种口气说道，

“关于我们刚才说的那件事，波洛先生，几天之内我会让您知道的。您会着手这件事的，是吧？”

波洛看了他一阵，没说话。

“是的”，他最后说，“我接下这活了。我发现这件事——很有趣。”

他最后的话说得怪怪的。我和布赖恩·马丁一起走下楼去。在门旁，他对我说，

“你知道他为什么问那家伙的年纪吗？我是说，为什么他三十岁就很有趣呢？我真不明白。”

“我也不明白。”我承认道。

“这实际上毫无意义。大概他是在和我开玩笑。”

“不会的，”我说道，“波洛不是那样的。他只要问了，就会有意义的。”

“哦。老天保佑我能明白这一点。我很高兴你也不明白。我最恨感觉就自己像个大傻瓜。”

他走开了。我又回到波洛那儿。

“波洛，”我说道，“你为什么要问那个跟踪者的年纪？”

“你不明白？我可怜的黑斯廷斯！”他笑着摇摇头，然后又问我道，“你怎样看我们这次会面？”

“好像没什么。很难说。如果我们知道得更多——”

“就是知道得不多。你没想到什么吗？我的朋友。”

这时电话铃响了，我拿起了听筒。

是一位女士的声音，干脆利落。

“我是埃奇韦尔男爵的秘书。很遗憾，埃奇韦尔男爵不得不取消明天上午的会面。有突发事情，他明天要去巴黎。如果波洛先生方便的话，他可以在今天十二点十五分与波洛先生见一下。”

我问波洛。

“当然可以。我的朋友，我们今天就去。”

我向话筒重复了这话。

“很好，”那人以利索、公事公办的口气说，“今天十二点十五分。”

她挂断了电话。