chapter 14 five questions

‘why did you ask miss carroll about the possibility of lord edgware’s wanting to marry again?’ i asked with some curiosity as we were driving home.

‘it just occurred to me that there was a possibility of such a thing, mon ami.’

‘why?’

‘i have been searching in my mind for something to explain lord edgware’s sudden volte face regarding the matter of divorce. there is something curious there, my friend.’

‘yes,’ i said thoughtfully. ‘it is rather odd.’

‘you see, hastings, lord edgware confirmed what madame had told us. she had employed the lawyers of all kinds, but he refused to budge an inch. no, he would not agree to the divorce. and then, all of a sudden, he yields!’

‘or so he says,’ i reminded him.

‘very true, hastings. it is very just, the observation you make there. so he says. we have no proof, whatever, that that letter was written. eh bien, on one part, ce monsieur is lying. for some reason he tells us the fabrication, the embroidery. is it not so? why, we do not know. but, on the hypothesis that he did write that letter, there must have been a reason for so doing. now the reason that presents itself most naturally to the imagination is that he has suddenly met someone whom he desires to marry. that explains perfectly his sudden change of face. and so, naturally, i make the inquiries.’

‘miss carroll turned the idea down very decisively,’ i said.

‘yes. miss carroll . . .’ said poirot in a meditative voice.

‘now what are you driving at?’ i asked in exasperation.

poirot is an adept at suggesting doubts by the tone of his voice.

‘what reason should she have for lying about it?’ i asked.

‘aucune – aucune.’

‘but, you see, hastings, it is difficult to trust her evidence.’

‘you think she’s lying? but why? she looks a most upright person.’

‘that is just it. between the deliberate falsehood and the disinterested inaccuracy it is very hard to distinguish sometimes.’

‘what do you mean?’

‘to deceive deliberately – that is one thing. but to be so sure of your facts, of your ideas and of their essential truth that the details do not matter – that, my friend, is a special characteristic of particularly honest persons. already, mark you, she has told us one lie. she said she saw jane wilkinson’s face when she could not possibly have done so. now how did that come about? look at it this way. she looks down and sees jane wilkinson in the hall. no doubt enters her head that it is jane wilkinson. she knows it is. she says she saw her face distinctly because – being so sure of her facts – exact details do not matter! it is pointed out to her that she could not have seen her face. is that so? well, what does it matter if she saw her face or not – it was jane wilkinson. and so with any other question. she knows. and so she answers questions in the light of her knowledge, not by reason of remembered facts. the positive witness should always be treated with suspicion, my friend. the uncertain witness who doesn’t remember, isn’t sure, will think a minute – ah! yes, that’s how it was – is infinitely more to be depended upon!’

‘dear me, poirot,’ i said. ‘you upset all my preconceived ideas about witnesses.’

‘in reply to my question as to lord edgware’s marrying again she ridicules the idea – simply because it has never occurred to her. she will not take the trouble to remember whether any infinitesimal signs may have pointed that way. therefore we are exactly where we were before.’

‘she certainly did not seem at all taken aback when you pointed out she could not have seen jane wilkinson’s face,’ i remarked thoughtfully.

‘no. that is why i decided that she was one of those honestly inaccurate persons, rather than a deliberate liar. i can see no motive for deliberate lying unless – true, that is an idea!’

‘what is?’ i asked eagerly.

but poirot shook his head.

‘an idea suggested itself to me. but it is too impossible – yes, much too impossible.’

and he refused to say more.

‘she seems very fond of the girl,’ i said.

‘yes. she certainly was determined to assist at our interview. what was your impression of the honourable geraldine marsh, hastings?’

‘i was sorry for her – deeply sorry for her.’

‘you have always the tender heart, hastings. beauty in distress upsets you every time.’

‘didn’t you feel the same?’

he nodded gravely.

‘yes – she has not had a happy life. that is written very clearly on her face.’

‘at any rate,’ i said warmly, ‘you realize how preposterous jane wilkinson’s suggestion was – that she should have had anything to do with the crime, i mean.’

‘doubtless her alibi is satisfactory, but japp has not communicated it to me as yet.’

‘my dear poirot – do you mean to say that even after seeing her and talking to her, you are still not satisfied and want an alibi?’

‘eh bien, my friend, what is the result of seeing and talking to her? we perceive that she has passed through great unhappiness, she admits that she hated her father and is glad that he is dead, and she is deeply uneasy about what he may have said to us yesterday morning. and after that you say – no alibi is necessary!’

‘her mere frankness proves her innocence,’ i said warmly.

‘frankness is a characteristic of the family. the new lord edgware – with what a gesture he laid his cards on the table.’

‘he did indeed,’ i said, smiling at the remembrance. ‘rather an original method.’

poirot nodded.

‘he – what do you say? – cut the ground before our feet.’

‘from under,’ i corrected. ‘yes – it made us look rather foolish.’

‘what a curious idea. you may have looked foolish. i didn’t feel foolish in the least and i do not think i looked it. on the contrary, my friend, i put him out of countenance.’

‘did you?’ i said doubtfully, not remembering having seen signs of anything of the kind.

‘si, si. i listen – and listen. and at last i ask a question about something quite different, and that, you may have noticed, disconcerts our brave monsieur very much. you do not observe, hastings.’

‘i thought his horror and astonishment at hearing of carlotta adams’ death was genuine,’ i said. ‘i suppose you will say it was a piece of clever acting.’

‘impossible to tell. i agree it seemed genuine.’

‘why do you think he flung all those facts at our head in that cynical way? just for amusement?’

‘that is always possible. you english, you have the most extraordinary notions of humour. but it may have been policy. facts that are concealed acquire a suspicious importance. facts that are frankly revealed tend to be regarded as less important than they really are.’

‘the quarrel with his uncle that morning, for instance?’

‘exactly. he knows that the fact is bound to leak out. eh bien, he will parade it.’

‘he is not so foolish as he looks.’

‘oh! he is not foolish at all. he has plenty of brains when he cares to use them. he sees exactly where he stands and, as i said, he lays his cards on the table. you play the bridge, hastings. tell me, when does one do that?’

‘you play bridge yourself,’ i said, laughing. ‘you know well enough – when all the rest of the tricks are yours and you want to save time and get on to a new hand.’

‘yes, mon ami, that is all very true. but occasionally there is another reason. i have remarked it once or twice when playing with les dames. there is perhaps a little doubt. eh bien, la dame, she throws down the cards, says “and all the rest are mine,” and gathers up the cards and cuts the new pack. and possibly the other players agree – especially if they are a little inexperienced. the thing is not obvious, mark you. it requires to be followed out. half-way through dealing the next hand, one of the players thinks: “yes, but she would have to have taken over that fourth diamond in dummy whether she wanted it or not, and then she would have had to lead a little club and my nine would have made.”’

‘so you think?’

‘i think, hastings, that too much bravado is a very interesting thing. and i also think that it is time we dined. une petite omelette, n’est ce pas? and after that, about nine o’clock, i have one more visit i wish to make.’

‘where is that?’

‘we will dine first, hastings. and until we drink our coffee, we will not discuss the case further. when engaged in eating, the brain should be the servant of the stomach.’

poirot was as good as his word. we went to a little restaurant in soho where he was well known, and there we had a delicious omelette, a sole, a chicken and a baba au rhum of which poirot was inordinately fond.

then, as we sipped our coffee, poirot smiled affectionately across the table at me.

‘my good friend,’ he said. ‘i depend upon you more than you know.’

i was confused and delighted by these unexpected words. he had never said anything of the kind to me before. sometimes, secretly, i had felt slightly hurt. he seemed almost to go out of his way to disparage my mental powers.

although i did not think his own powers were flagging, i did realize suddenly that perhaps he had come to depend on my aid more than he knew.

‘yes,’ he said dreamily. ‘you may not always comprehend just how it is so – but you do often, and often point the way.’

i could hardly believe my ears.

‘really, poirot,’ i stammered. ‘i’m awfully glad, i suppose i’ve learnt a good deal from you one way or another –’

he shook his head.

‘mais non, ce n’est pas ?a. you have learnt nothing.’

‘oh!’ i said, rather taken aback.

‘that is as it should be. no human being should learn from another. each individual should develop his own powers to the uttermost, not try to imitate those of someone else. i do not wish you to be a second and inferior poirot. i wish you to be the supreme hastings. and you are the supreme hastings. in you, hastings, i find the normal mind almost perfectly illustrated.’

‘i’m not abnormal, i hope,’ i said.

‘no, no. you are beautifully and perfectly balanced. in you sanity is personified. do you realize what that means to me? when the criminal sets out to do a crime his first effort is to deceive. who does he seek to deceive? the image in his mind is that of the normal man. there is probably no such thing actually – it is a mathematical abstraction. but you come as near to realizing it as is possible. there are moments when you have flashes of brilliance when you rise above the average, moments (i hope you will pardon me) when you descend to curious depths of obtuseness, but take it all for all, you are amazingly normal. eh bien, how does this profit me? simply in this way. as in a mirror i see reflected in your mind exactly what the criminal wishes me to believe. that is terrifically helpful and suggestive.’

i did not quite understand. it seemed to me that what poirot was saying was hardly complimentary. however, he quickly disabused me of that impression.

‘i have expressed myself badly,’ he said quickly. ‘you have an insight into the criminal mind, which i myself lack. you show me what the criminal wishes me to believe. it is a great gift.’

‘insight,’ i said thoughtfully. ‘yes, perhaps i have got insight.’

i looked across the table at him. he was smoking his tiny cigarettes and regarding me with great kindliness.

‘ce cher hastings,’ he murmured. ‘i have indeed much affection for you.’

i was pleased but embarrassed and hastened to change the subject.

‘come,’ i said in a business-like manner. ‘let us discuss the case.’

‘eh bien.’ poirot threw his head back, his eyes narrowed. he slowly puffed out smoke.

‘je me pose des questions,’ he said.

‘yes?’ i said eagerly.

‘you, too, doubtless?’

‘certainly,’ i said. and also leaning back and narrowing my own eyes i threw out:

‘who killed lord edgware?’

poirot immediately sat up and shook his head vigorously.

‘no, no. not at all. is it a question, that? you are like someone who reads the detective story and who starts guessing each of the characters in turn without rhyme or reason. once, i agree, i had to do that myself. it was a very exceptional case. i will tell you about it one of these days. it was a feather in my cap. but of what were we speaking?’

‘of the questions you were “posing” to yourself,’ i replied dryly. it was on the tip of my tongue to suggest that my real use to poirot was to provide him with a companion to whom he could boast, but i controlled myself. if he wished to instruct then let him.

‘come on,’ i said. ‘let’s hear them.’

that was all that the vanity of the man wanted. he leaned back again and resumed his former attitude.

‘the first question we have already discussed. why did lord edgware change his mind on the subject of divorce? one or two ideas suggest themselves to me on that subject. one of them you know.

‘the second question i ask myself is what happened to that letter? to whose interest was it that lord edgware and his wife should continue to be tied together?

‘three, what was the meaning of the expression on his face that you saw when you looked back yesterday morning on leaving the library? have you any answer to that, hastings?’

i shook my head.

‘i can’t understand it.’

‘you are sure that you didn’t imagine it? sometimes, hastings, you have the imagination un peu vif.’

‘no, no.’ i shook my head vigorously. ‘i’m quite sure i wasn’t mistaken.’

‘bien. then it is a fact to be explained. my fourth question concerns those pince-nez. neither jane wilkinson nor carlotta adams wore glasses. what, then, are the glasses doing in carlotta adams’ bag?

‘and for my fifth question. why did someone telephone to find out if jane wilkinson were at chiswick and who was it?

‘those, my friend, are the questions with which i am tormenting myself. if i could answer those, i should feel happier in my mind. if i could even evolve a theory that explained them satisfactorily, my amour propre would not suffer so much.’

‘there are several other questions,’ i said.

‘such as?’

‘who incited carlotta adams to this hoax? where was she that evening before and after ten o’clock? who is d who gave her the golden box?’

‘those questions are self-evident,’ said poirot. ‘there is no subtlety about them. they are simply things we do not know. they are questions of fact. we may get to know them any minute. my questions, mon ami, are psychological. the little grey cells of the brain –’

‘poirot,’ i said desperately. i felt that i must stop him at all costs. i could not bear to hear it all over again. ‘you spoke of making a visit tonight?’

poirot looked at his watch.

‘true,’ he said. ‘i will telephone and find out if it is convenient.’

he went away and returned a few minutes later.

‘come,’ he said. ‘all is well.’

‘where are we going?’ i asked.

‘to the house of sir montagu corner at chiswick. i would like to know a little more about that telephone call.’

第十四章 五个问题

“你为什么问卡罗尔小姐埃奇韦尔男爵是不是可能再娶呢？”在我们乘车回家的路上，我好奇地问他。

“我的朋友。我只是偶然想起可能有这事。”

“为什么？”

“我一直在想，埃奇韦尔男爵为什么完全改变他在离婚问题上的态度呢？我的朋友，这点很奇怪啊！”

“是的，”我也思索着说，“真是有些古怪。”

“黑斯廷斯，你看。埃奇韦尔男爵证实了他太太说的话。她请了各种律师与他交涉，但他丝毫不肯让步。他不同意离婚。但是突然间，他又让步了。”

“也许他只是这么说说。”我提醒他道。

“不错，黑斯廷斯，你的想法是正确的。他只是这么说说。不管怎么说，我们没有证据证明他写过那封信。很好，一方面，可能是我们这位光生在撒谎。因为某种原因，他只好告诉我2一些捏造、夸张的话。是不是这样呢？呃，我们也不知道。但是假定他的确写了那封信。那么他这样做，一定得有一个理由。现在我们可以想象出来一个显而易见的理由，那就是他突然遇到了如意的结婚对象。要是这么说，就可以解释他态度的突然转变了。所以，很自然的。我要查清楚啦。”

“卡罗尔小姐很坚决地否定了。”我说道。

“是的，卡罗尔小姐——”波洛带着沉思的口气说。

“你究竟想说什么？”我迫切地问道。

波洛就善于用特别的语调表示怀疑。

“她有什么理由撒谎呢？”我问道。

“没有，当然没有。”

“但是，你看，黑斯廷斯，我们很难相信她所提供的证据。”

“你认为她在撒谎？但为什么？她看起来是一个极正直的人。”

“就是因为这个。有时很难分辨是有意说谎还是因为不关心而没看准确。”

“你是什么意思呢？”

“故意欺骗——是一回事。一个诚实的人的特点就是对自己的行动、想法和主要事实有充分的把握，那么枝节问题也就不重要了。你要注意到，她己经对我们说过一次谎了。她说她看见了简·威尔金森的脸，而实际上她根本看不到。那为什么这佯呢？她向下看到简·威尔金森走进大厅，毫无疑问。她脑子里就想到是简·威尔金森了。她就断定是她了。她说清楚地看到了她的脸——是因为她对事实太确信了——枝节的东西她就不顾了。根据实际情况判断，她根本看不到她的脸，是不是？可是，她是否看到了她的脸，又有什么关系呢？她主观地认定那就是简。对于任何别的问题，也是如此。反正她以为自己己经确定了。于是无论遇到什么问题。她都按自己的想法来回答。井非根据她所看到的真相。朋友。我们对于那种说话太肯定的证人得抱有怀疑的态度。那种不肯定的证人，那种总是认不清了。或者说没有把握。必须想想才能答复的人要可靠得多一是的，情形确实如此。”

“天哪！波洛”，我说，“你把我以前对证人的观念全改变了。”

“当她听到我说埃奇韦尔男爵会不会再婚的事，便认为我的想法太可笑——原因是她根本没想过会有这种情况。她也不会费尽心思去找任何一丝此类的迹象。所以我们和她说了，也没多知道什么。”

“当你提到她不可能看到简·威尔金森的面孔时，她毫不惊奇。”我回忆着说道。

“是的，这也是为什么我认为她不是那种故意说谎的人。而只是个正直，但说得不淮确的人。我实在看不出她故意说谎的动机，除非是一真的，这倒是一个有意思的猜测。”

“什么猜测？”我急切地问。

但是波洛又摇了摇头。

“我只是突生这一想法，但这实在不太可能——是的，不太可能。”

于是他不再多说了。

“她似乎很喜欢那个女孩子。”我说。

“是的，她在我们同那女孩说话的时候，的确想从中帮忙。黑斯廷斯，你对杰拉尔丁。马什小姐印象如何？”

“我为她难过——深深地为她难过。”

“黑斯廷斯，你总是那么有同情心。每逢美人落难时，你总是为之悲哀。”

“你难道没有同感吗？”

他肃穆地点点头。

“是的——她的生活太不幸了。那些都清晰地写在她的脸上。”

“无论如何，”我热心地说，“简·威尔金森曾表示这女孩与凶杀案有关。你看她有多么荒唐。”

“毫无疑问她不在现场的说法是成立的，但是，到目前为止，贾普还没和我们联系呢。”

“我亲爱的波洛，你是说和她见面，谈过之后，你对她不是凶手的想法仍不满意，还想要找她不在现场的证据吗？”

“晤，我的朋友，我们与她见面和谈话的结果又怎么样呢？我们现她有很不幸的童年；她承认她恨她的父亲，现在他死了”可以高兴了；同时她不知道她的父亲昨天对我们讲了什么。所以很不安。经过这样的谈话。你就说不需要找证明她不在犯罪现场的证据了？”

“她坦白的态度可以证明她的滑白。”我热心地说。

“坦率可以说是他们一家人的特点。新的埃奇韦尔男爵——看他那把一切摊在桌面上的态度。”

“他确实公开一切。”我回想起刚才的情景，笑着说。“他的方式相当有独创性。”

波洛点点头。

“他——你说什么来着？让我们无法继续了。”

“是让我们站不住了。”我纠正道，“是的——让我们显得很傻。”

“这想法有多奇怪。你也许显出了傻瓜模样，但我可一点没显得那样。我认为我不会显得那样。相反，朋友，我使他下不了台了。”

“是吗？”我怀疑地说道，因为好像不记得看到过这种迹象。

“是啊！是啊！我听——只是听。最后我问了他一个完全不同的问题，你可以注意到，这使得我们那位勇敢的朋友不知所措。黑斯廷斯，你这个人老是不留心观察。”

“我以为他听说卡洛塔死亡的消息后那吃惊和恐怖的表情是真实的。”我说，“我想你也许会说他又装得很聪明。”

“是不是真的，我们并不知道。不过我同意，他的表情似乎是真的。”

“你认为他为什么用那种嘲笑的方式把事实统统倒给我们听？只是为了好玩吗？”

“那总是可能的。你们英国人都有一种特别的幽默感。但是他也许要了什么手段。事实愈是隐瞒，就愈加令人怀疑，而公开了反倒使人低估它的重要性。”

“比如说。那天早上与他叔叔的争吵？”

“一点不错，他知道这件事早晚会泄露出去。那么他索性就公开了它。”

“他并不像表面的样子那样傻。”

“啊！他根本一点也不傻。他要是动脑筋的话，是很聪明的。他能清楚地看出自己的位置，我刚才不是说过吗？他已经向我们摊牌了。黑斯廷斯，你不是会打桥牌吗？告诉我，什么时候那么做？”

“你自己也打桥牌啊，”我笑着说，“你也很清楚的。当其余的牌都归了你，而且，当你想省时间，想玩另一局的时候，你就摊牌。”

“是的，我的朋友，你说得对。但是，偶尔还会有其它原因。我过去与夫人们打牌的时候，曾经留意过一两次。不过，也许不十分肯定。那么一位夫人将牌向桌上一扔说。‘其余的牌都归我了，’然后她将牌全部收起，再另外分牌。也许其他打牌的人都同意，特别是那些没多少经验的牌友。但是你要注意，这种事是不能马上看清楚的，必须仔细迫究才可能发现。等到另一局打到中途时，其中也许有人会想：‘是的，但她应该将第四张方块牌拿过来，不管她想不想要，那么她就不得不再打一张梅花，而我就可以得到一张九了。’”

“你认为——”

“黑斯廷斯，我认为虚张声势是一件很有趣的事。同时我还觉得我们该吃饭了。一份煎蛋卷，好不好？然后在九点的时候，我还要再拜访一个人。”

“去哪儿？”

“黑斯廷斯，我们先吃饭。喝咖啡之前，我们不再谈这个案子了。吃饭的时候，大脑应该饲候我们的肠胃。”

波洛说话算话。我们去了索霍区的一家小饭店，他是那里的常客。我们在那吃了——份味美的煎蛋卷、一碟板鱼、一碟鸡肉和葡萄酒，这是波洛最喜欢的点心。

饭后我们喝咖啡的时候，波洛隔着桌子亲切地笑着望着我。

“我的好朋友，”他说。“我对你的依赖远比你想象的多。”

对于这突如其来的话我既迷惑不解，又受宠若惊。他以前从未对我说过这类的话。有时候我还暗自觉得有点难过，因为他好像瞧不起我的智力。

尽管我井不认为他自己的智力已懈怠了，但我忽然觉得他大概对我的帮助依赖比他所知道的还要强。

“是的，”他梦幻般地说，“你有的时候也许不明白这是怎么回事，但是你的确常常为我指路。”

我几乎不能相信自己的耳朵。

“真的，波洛？”我结结巴巴地说，“波洛，我真是高兴极了，我想我从你那里总归学到些东西了。”

他摇摇头。

“不是的，不是这样的，你什么也没学到。”

“噢！”我相当吃惊地说。

“这是理所当然的。没有人应该从另一个人那里学什么。每个人都应该尽量发挥自己的能力，而不应该模仿别人。我不希望你成为第二个波洛，或差一等的波洛。我希望你成为至高无上的黑斯廷斯。其实，你就是至高无上的黑斯廷斯。黑斯廷斯，我觉得从你身上。差不多可以充分表现出一个有正常头脑的人所应有的特点了。”

“我希望自己不是不正常的。”我说。

“不，不。你相当正常。两脑均衡。你就是健全心态的化身。你知道这对我有多重要吗？当罪犯着手犯罪的时候，他的第一步就是欺骗。他要打算欺骗谁呢？在他心目中，他要找的对象就是正常人。也许实际上井没这回事一这纯粹是一个数学上的抽象概念。但是，你差不多尽可能地将这个抽象概念具体化了。你有的时候会有一刹那超乎常人的才华表现（希望你原谅我这样说，有时你会陷入很奇怪的愚昧的深渊。但是大体上说来，你有惊人的正常人的头脑。那么。这怎么会对我有利呢？很简单，那就是。我可以把你当成一面镜子，在你的心里可以确切反映出那个罪犯想要我相信什么。这非常有用，非常有参考价值。”

我不大明白。我觉得波洛说的根本不是恭维我的意思。不过他很快矫正了我这种印象。

“我自己的意思表述得不好。”他很快地说，“你有对罪犯的洞察力，而我没有。你可以指出罪犯要骗我相信什么。这是一种伟大的天赋。”

“洞察力，”我思索着说，“是的，也许我有洞察力。”

我望着坐在桌子对面的波洛。他正在抽着他的小烟卷儿，带着恳切的态度望着我。

“亲爱的黑斯廷斯，”他小声地说，“我实在很喜欢你。”

我很高兴。也很难为情，于是赶紧转变话题。

“来，”我一本正经地说，“我们还是讨论这个案子吧。”

“那么。”波洛头向后一仰，眼睛眯成一条缝，慢慢地一口一口吐着烟圈。

“我就问自己几个问题。”他说道。

“什么？”我急切地问道。

“毫无疑问，你也有问题了。”

“当然啦，”我也将头向后一仰，眯着眼睛说道，“比如说，谁杀了埃奇韦尔男爵？”

“不”本不是这种间题。那是问题吗？你好像是一个看侦探小说的人，头脑地把小说中的人物一个一个地猜下去。我承认，次我不得不这样做。那是件很特殊的案子。将来有时间我会讲给你听的。当时破了那案子，很荣耀的。可是，我们刚才谈什么来着？）”

“正谈到你要问自己几个问题。”我淡淡地说道。我本想脱口说出，我的真正用途是陪着他，好让他有炫耀对象。但我还是忍住了。他既然想教导别人，就让他来吧。

“说吧，”我说道，“我洗耳恭听呢。”

他的虚荣心也就想要这个。他又将身子往后一靠，恢复了以前的态度。

“第一个问题，我们已经讨论过了。为什么在离婚问题上，埃奇韦尔男爵改变了主意？我脑子里面有一两个想法。其中一个你知道的。

“我问自己的第二个间题是，那封信怎么了？是谁还想让埃奇韦尔男爵和他的太太继续合法在一起，以便对他有利？

“第三，咋天上午离开那间书房时，你回头看了一下，你看到他脸上有一种表情，那是什么意思？黑斯廷斯，你有什么答案吗？”

我摇摇头。

“我不明白。”

“你肯定不是你自己想象的吗？黑斯廷斯，有时候，你的想象力是很敏锐的。”

“不，不”，我极力地摇着头，“我确信自己没看错。”

“好。那么这一事实还有待解释。我的第四个问题与那副夹鼻眼镜有关。简·威尔金森和卡洛塔·亚当斯都不戴眼镜。那么为什么那副眼镜在卡洛塔·亚当斯的手袋里呢？

“我的第五个问题：为什么有人打电话找筒。威尔金森以确定她是否在齐西克？那个人又是谁呢？

“我的朋友，这就是我拿来折磨自己的一些问题。要是能够解答这些问题，我可能心里会觉得舒服些。甚至于只要能推断出一种解释这些问题的理论，我的自尊心也不会损害得这么厉害了。”

“还有其它的问题呢。”我说道。“比如说——”

“是谁唆使卡洛塔·亚当斯去捉弄人？那天晚上十点左右她在哪儿？谁是d？谁给她的那只金匣子？”

“那些问题是不证自明的。”波洛说，“这些问题并不微妙，只是我们不知道的事情而已。它们只是事实问题。我们叮以随时找到答案。我的朋友，我的问题是心理方面的，这是需要运用脑细胞的——”

“波洛，”我不顾一切地打断他，我觉得无论如何。不能再让他提脑细胞了，他要再旧话重提，我可实在受不了了。“你不是说今晚要去拜访一个人吗？”

波洛看了看表。

“是啊！”他说，“我要先去打个电话，看人家方不方便。”

他去打电话，过了几分钟回来了。

“来吧，”他说，“——切顺利。”

“我们去哪儿？”我问道。

“去齐西克，蒙塔古。科纳爵士的公馆。对于那个电话，我想知道得多一些。”