chapter 22 strange behaviour of hercule poirot

we were in our rooms.

‘what on earth –’ i began.

poirot stopped me with a gesture more extravagant than any gesture i had ever seen him make. both arms whirled in the air.

‘i implore you, hastings! not now. not now.’

and upon that he seized his hat, clapped it on his head as though he had never heard of order and method, and rushed headlong from the room. he had not returned when, about an hour later, japp appeared.

‘little man gone out?’ he inquired.

i nodded.

japp sank into a seat. he dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. the day was warm.

‘what the devil took him?’ he inquired. ‘i can tell you, captain hastings, you could have knocked me down with a feather when he stepped up to the man and said: “i believe you.” for all the world as though he were acting in a romantic melodrama. it beats me.’

it beat me also, and i said so.

‘and then he marches out of the house,’ said japp.

‘what did he say about it to you?’

‘nothing,’ i replied.

‘nothing at all?’

‘absolutely nothing. when i was going to speak to him he waved me aside. i thought it best to leave him alone. when we got back here i started to question him. he waved his arms, seized his hat and rushed out again.’

we looked at each other. japp tapped his forehead significantly.

‘must be,’ he said.

for once i was disposed to agree. japp had often suggested before that poirot was what he called ‘touched’. in those cases he had simply not understood what poirot was driving at. here, i was forced to confess, i could not understand poirot’s attitude. if not touched, he was, at any rate, suspiciously changeable. here was his own private theory triumphantly confirmed and straight away he went back on it.

it was enough to dismay and distress his warmest supporters. i shook my head in a discouraged fashion.

‘he’s always been what i call peculiar,’ said japp. ‘got his own particular angle of looking at things – and a very queer one it is. he’s a kind of genius, i admit that. but they always say that geniuses are very near the border line and liable to slip over any minute. he’s always been fond of having things difficult. a straightforward case is never good enough for him. no, it’s got to be tortuous. he’s got away from real life. he plays a game of his own. it’s like an old lady playing at patience. if it doesn’t come out, she cheats. well, it’s the other way round with him. if it’s coming out too easily, he cheats to make it more difficult! that’s the way i look at it.’

i found it difficult to answer him. i, also, found poirot’s behaviour unaccountable. and since i was very attached to my strange little friend, it worried me more than i cared to express.

in the middle of a gloomy silence, poirot walked into the room.

he was, i was thankful to see, quite calm now.

very carefully he removed his hat, placed it with his stick on the table, and sat down in his accustomed chair.

‘so you are here, my good japp. i am glad. it was on my mind that i must see you as soon as possible.’

japp looked at him without replying. he saw that this was only the beginning. he waited for poirot to explain himself.

this my friend did, speaking slowly and carefully.

‘ecoutez, japp. we are wrong. we are all wrong. it is grievous to admit it, but we have made a mistake.’

‘that’s all right,’ said japp confidently.

‘but it is not all right. it is deplorable. it grieves me to the heart.’

‘you needn’t be grieved about that young man. he richly deserves all he gets.’

‘it is not he i am grieving about – it is you.’

‘me? you needn’t worry about me.’

‘but i do. see you, who was it set you on this course? it was hercule poirot. mais oui, i set you on the trail. i direct your attention to carlotta adams, i mention to you the matter of the letter to america. every step of the way it is i who point it!’

‘i was bound to get there anyway,’ said japp coldly. ‘you got a bit ahead of me, that’s all.’

‘cela ce peut. but it does not console me. if harm – if loss of prestige comes to you through listening to my little ideas – i shall blame myself bitterly.’

japp merely looked amused. i think he credited poirot with motives that were none too pure. he fancied that poirot grudged him the credit resulting from the successful elucidation of the affair.

‘that’s all right,’ he said. ‘i shan’t forget to let it be known that i owe something to you over this business.’

he winked at me.

‘oh! it is not that at all.’ poirot clicked his tongue with impatience. ‘i want no credit. and what is more, i tell you there will be no credit. it is a fiasco that you prepare for yourself, and i, hercule poirot, am the cause.’

suddenly, at poirot’s expression of extreme melancholy, japp shouted with laughter. poirot looked affronted.

‘sorry, m. poirot.’ he wiped his eyes. ‘but you did look for all the world like a dying duck in a thunder storm. now look here, let’s forget all this. i’m willing to shoulder the credit or the blame of this affair. it will make a big noise – you’re right there. well, i’m going all out to get a conviction. it may be that a clever counsel will get his lordship off – you never know with a jury. but even so, it won’t do me any harm. it will be known that we caught the right man even if we couldn’t get a conviction. and if, by any chance, the third housemaid has hysterics and owns up she did it – well, i’ll take my medicine and i won’t complain you led me up the garden. that’s fair enough.’

poirot gazed at him mildly and sadly.

‘you have the confidence – always the confidence! you never stop and say to yourself – can it be so? you never doubt – or wonder. you never think: this is too easy!’

‘you bet your life i don’t. and that’s just where, if you’ll excuse me saying so, you go off the rails every time. why shouldn’t a thing be easy? what’s the harm in a thing being easy?’

poirot looked at him, sighed, half threw up his arms, then shook his head.

‘c’est fini! i will say no more.’

‘splendid,’ said japp heartily. ‘now let’s get down to brass tacks. you’d like to hear what i’ve been doing?’

‘assuredly.’

‘well, i saw the honourable geraldine, and her story tallied exactly with his lordship’s. they may both be in it together, but i think not. it’s my opinion he bluffed her – she’s three parts sweet on him anyway. took on terribly when she found he was arrested.’

‘did she now? and the secretary – miss carroll?’

‘wasn’t too surprised, i fancy. however, that’s only my idea.’

‘what about the pearls?’ i asked. ‘was that part of the story true?’

‘absolutely. he raised the money on them early the following morning. but i don’t think that touches the main argument. as i see it, the plan came into his head when he came across his cousin at the opera. it came to him in a flash. he was desperate – here was a way out. i fancy he’d been meditating something of the kind – that’s why he had the key with him. i don’t believe that story of suddenly coming across it. well, as he talks to his cousin, he sees that by involving her he gains additional security for himself. he plays on her feelings, hints at the pearls, she plays up, and off they go. as soon as she’s in the house he follows her in and goes along to the library. maybe his lordship has dozed off in his chair. anyway, in two seconds he’s done the trick and he’s out again. i don’t fancy he meant the girl to catch him in the house. he counted on being found pacing up and down near the taxi. and i don’t think the taxi-man was meant to see him go in. the impression was to be that he was walking up and down smoking whilst he waited for the girl. the taxi was facing the opposite direction, remember.

‘of course, the next morning, he has to pledge the pearls. he must still seem to be in need of the money. then, when he hears of the crime, he frightens the girl into concealing their visit to the house. they will say that they spent that interval together at the opera house.’

‘then why did they not do so?’ asked poirot sharply.

japp shrugged his shoulders.

‘changed his mind. or judged that she wouldn’t be able to go through with it. she’s a nervous type.’

‘yes,’ said poirot meditatively. ‘she is a nervous type.’

after a minute or two, he said:

‘it does not strike you that it would have been easier and simpler for captain marsh to have left the opera during the interval by himself. to have gone in quietly with his key, killed his uncle, and returned to the opera – instead of having a taxi outside and a nervous girl coming down the stairs any minute who might lose her head and give him away.’

japp grinned.

‘that’s what you and i would have done. but then we’re a shade brighter than captain ronald marsh.’

‘i am not so sure. he strikes me as intelligent.’

‘but not so intelligent as m. hercule poirot! come now, i’m sure of that!’ japp laughed.

poirot looked at him coldly.

‘if he isn’t guilty why did he persuade the adams girl to take on that stunt?’ went on japp. ‘there can be only one reason for that stunt – to protect the real criminal.’

‘there i am of accord with you absolutely.’

‘well, i’m glad we agree about something.’

‘it might be he who actually spoke to miss adams,’ mused poirot. ‘whilst really – no, that is an imbecility.’

then, looking suddenly at japp, he rapped out a quick question.

‘what is your theory as to her death?’

japp cleared his throat.

‘i’m inclined to believe – accident. a convenient accident, i admit. i can’t see that he could have had anything to do with it. his alibi is straight enough after the opera. he was at sobranis with the dortheimers till after one o’clock. long before that she was in bed and asleep. no, i think that was an instance of the infernal luck criminals sometimes have. otherwise, if that accident hadn’t happened, i think he had his plans for dealing with her. first, he’d put the fear of the lord into her – tell her she’d be arrested for murder if she confessed the truth. and then he’d square her with a fresh lot of money.’

‘does it strike you –’ poirot stared straight in front of him. ‘does it strike you that miss adams would let another woman be hanged when she herself held evidence that would acquit her?’

‘jane wilkinson wouldn’t have been hanged. the montagu corner party evidence was too strong for that.’

‘but the murderer did not know that. he would have had to count on jane wilkinson being hanged and carlotta adams keeping silence.’

‘you love talking, don’t you, m. poirot? and you’re positively convinced now that ronald marsh is a white-headed boy who can do no wrong. do you believe that story of his about seeing a man sneak surreptitiously into the house?’

poirot shrugged his shoulders.

‘do you know who he says he thought it was?’

‘i could guess, perhaps.’

‘he says he thought it was the film star, bryan martin. what do you think of that? a man who’d never even met lord edgware.’

‘then it would certainly be curious if one saw such a man entering that house with a key.’

‘chah!’ said japp. a rich noise expressive of contempt. ‘and now i suppose it will surprise you to hear that mr bryan martin wasn’t in london that night. he took a young lady to dine down at molesey. they didn’t get back to london till midnight.’

‘ah!’ said poirot mildly. ‘no, i am not surprised. was the young lady also a member of the profession?’

‘no. girl who keeps a hat shop. as a matter of fact, it was miss adams’ friend, miss driver. i think you’ll agree her testimony is past suspicion.’

‘i am not disputing it, my friend.’

‘in fact, you’re done down and you know it, old boy,’ said japp, laughing. ‘cock and bull story trumped up on the moment, that’s what it was. nobody entered no. 17 . . . and nobody entered either of the houses either side – so what does that show? that his lord-ship’s a liar.’

poirot shook his head sadly.

japp rose to his feet – his spirits restored.

‘come, now, we’re right, you know.’

‘who was d. paris, november?’

japp shrugged his shoulders.

‘ancient history, i imagine. can’t a girl have a souvenir six months ago without its having something to do with this crime? we must have a sense of proportion.’

‘six months ago,’ murmured poirot, a sudden light in his eyes. ‘dieu, que je suis bête! ’

‘what’s he saying?’ inquired japp of me.

‘listen.’ poirot rose and tapped japp on the chest.

‘why does miss adams’ maid not recognize that box? why does miss driver not recognize it?’

‘what do you mean?’

‘because the box was new! it had only just been given to her. paris, november – that is all very well – doubtless that is the date of which the box is to be a souvenir. but it was given to her now, not then. it has just been bought! only just been bought! investigate that, i implore you, my good japp. it is a chance, decidedly a chance. it was bought not here, but abroad. probably paris. if it had been bought here, some jeweller would have come forward. it has been photographed and described in the papers. yes, yes, paris. possibly some other foreign town, but i think paris. find out, i implore you. make the inquiries. i want – i so badly want – to know who is this mysterious d.’

‘it will do no harm,’ said japp good-naturedly. ‘can’t say i’m very excited about it myself. but i’ll do what i can. the more we know the better.’

nodding cheerfully to us he departed.

第二十二章 赫尔克里·波洛的奇怪举动

我们回到住处。

“这究竟是——”我开始发问。

波洛用一个手势来阻止我。这种手势非常过分。我从未见他这样做过。他的两只胳膊在空中直摇。

“我求你了，黑斯廷斯，现在别问了，现在别问了。”

说完这话，他一把抓起帽子，往头上一戴，不顾什么方式，急匆匆地冲出门去。一个小时以后。他还没回来。而贾普却露面了。

“小老头出去了？”他问道。

我点点头。

贾普坐在一把椅子上。天气很暖和，他用手帕揩着前额。

“他究竟怎么了？”他问道，“我跟你说，黑斯廷斯上尉，当他走到男爵面前说‘我相信你’时，你用一根鸡毛就会把我扫倒。仿佛是在演一出通俗剧，让我莫名其妙。”

我说，我也是莫名其妙。

“然后他就大模大样地走出去了。”贾普说。

“他和你说了什么吗？”

“没有。”我回答道。

“一点没有？”

“绝对没有说什么。当我要和他说话的时候，他挥手不让我说。我想最好让他去吧。当我们回家后，我开始问他。他摆着胳膊。抓起帽子”急匆匆地出去了。”

我们互相望着对方，普煞有介事地敲着自己的脑门。

“一定是——”说。

这一次，真有些同意了。以前贾普总是说波洛有些“疯疯癫癫的”。有很多次，简直不知道波洛是何用意。现在，也不得不承认，不明白波洛的态度，果不是疯疯癫癫的。至少他也是多变的。现在，自己的假设被证实了，他自己又把它推翻。

这真够让他的热心支持者失望和难过的了。我灰心地摇摇头。

“用我的话讲，总是那么特别。”贾普说，他看事情的角度总是很特别——非常怪的。我得承认，是一个天才。但是人们常说天才与疯狂往往只有一步之隔，不小心就会变成另一类。他总是喜欢把事情复杂化。他对简单的事情不感兴趣。不仅如此，直是难以忍受，远离了现实生活。他在玩自己的游戏，像老太太独自玩纸牌一样，是好牌不出来，就作弊。不过，的情况正相反，是好牌来得太容易了，要想法把它变得更困难！我就是这么看的。”

我发觉很难回答他。我也觉得波洛的行为举止难以解释。我越是对这个奇怪的朋友有感情。越是为他担忧，只不过我不喜欢表现出来罢了。

就在我们闷闷不乐的时候，波洛走了进来。

我很庆幸地看到，他目前已经很镇静了。

他很小心地将帽子摘下来，同手杖一块放在桌上，然后坐在自己常坐的椅子上。

“原来是你啊，我的好贾普。我很高兴。我正想立刻见你呢。”

贾普看着他。没有说话。他知道这只是刚开始。他在等待波洛说明他自己的想法。

我的朋友慢慢地、小心地对他讲了。

“完了，贾普。我们错了。我们全都错了。承认这个真是悲哀，但我们确实犯了个错误。”

“没关系的。”贾普自信地说。

“但是并不是没关系。那是惨透了。我真是从心底里难过。”

“你没有必要为那个年轻人难过。他罪有应得。”

“我不是为他难过，而是——为你。”

“我？你不必为我担心。”

“但是，我很担心。你明白吗？是谁让你按照这个路子去查的？是赫尔克里·波洛。是我让你这样迫踪的。我让你注意卡洛塔·亚当斯，我向你说了她写到美国的一封信，每一个步骤都是我指点的。”

“我必定会达到那种结论的。”贾普冷冷地说，“不过是你捷足先登罢了。”

“有一点儿，但这并不能让我安心。如果是因为听了我的意见，而使你受损——我会很自责的。”

贾普只是露出觉得好笑的样子。我认为他是觉得波洛的动机不纯。他以为波洛是不愿意让他独占成功破案的功劳。

“好吧，”他说，“我不会忘记向大家说，这个案子能破，得部分归功于你。”

他向我眨了眨眼。

“噢！根本不是这么回事。”波洛不耐烦地啧着嘴，“我不是邀功。再者说，我告诉你。根本没有功可言。你忙了大半天，结果是彻底失败；而我呢？却是罪魁祸首。”

看着波洛发愁的样子，贾普突然放声大笑。波洛看起来很生气。

“对不起，波洛先生，”他擦着眼睛说，“但你看起来却像一只雨中奄奄一息的鸭子。现在，听我说，让我们忘记这一切。不管是功还是过，都由我一人来承担。这件事会轰动一时的，你这一点是说对了。那么，我准备让法庭定他的罪。也许会有一个聪明的律师，可以设法使男爵逃脱刑事责任——对陪审团，有谁能说得淮呢？不过即使这样也不要紧。即使没定罪，人们也会知道我们所抓的正是杀人犯。假若又突然出来个女仆，承认是她干的——那么，我们也绝对接受现实，不会抱怨说是你把我们领进误区的。这不是很公平吗？”

波洛温和而又悲哀地望着他。

“你总有信心——永远那么有信心。你从来不会停一停，问一问自己——事情会是这样吗？你从不怀疑——或者想弄明白。你从不想想，这不是太容易了！”

“你可以相信，我就是不这么想。请原谅我这么说，你每次就总是这样离谱的。为什么事情不能这样简单呢？事情简单又有什么坏处呢？”

波洛望着他，长叹一声。半举起胳膊，然后又摇了摇头。

“完了，我再也不多说了。”

“好极了，”波洛热诚地说，“现在让我们谈正事吧。你想不想听听我一直在做什么？”

“当然。”

“好吧。我见了杰拉尔丁小姐了。她讲的和男爵说的一致。他俩也许是共同策划的，但我不这样认为，我以为是他威吓她的。不管怎么说，她对他的感情是很深的。当她得知他被捕了。伤心得不得了。”

“她现在还伤心吗？那个秘书——卡罗尔小姐呢？”

“我想，她并不很惊奇。但那只是我的猜想。”

“关于首饰呢？”我问道。“那部分是真的吗？”

“完全是真的。他第二天一大早就将首饰换成了款子，但是，我认为这件事与主要的论证没关系。就我所看，他在戏院碰到他堂妹以后，他才想到那个主意。他正很绝望——毫无出路。我猜测，他正想类似的办法——那就是他为什么身上带着钥匙。他说偶然又找到了钥匙，我才不信呢。他对他堂妹说明事情，因为他知道如果把她拉进去，他更安全些。他以卑鄙的手段玩弄她的感情。暗示要借用她的首饰。后来，她决定帮他，便一同去了。她一进去后，他也进去，走人书房。也许男爵正躺在椅子上打瞌睡。不管怎么说，他是两秒钟就干完了，再走出来。我想他不想让那女孩子在房子里看到他。他本打算在那出租车附近走来走去。并且我认为他也没想让庐个出租车司机看见他进去的。他想给别人留下的印象是。抽着烟踱来踱去，在那里等着那女孩子。你要记住，那出租车是面对相反方向的。

“当然，第二天一早，他不得不去抵押那些首饰。他必须装得还需要那笔钱。后来，他听到命案消息以后，他恐吓那女孩。叫她不要把咋晚的事泄露出去。他要她说他俩在休息时间是一块在戏院里。”

“那为什么他们不那么说呢？”波洛一针见血地问道。

贾普耸了耸他的肩膀。

“又改变了主意。或者觉得那女孩并不一定能应付到底。因为她是那种神经质的人。”

“是的”，波洛思索着说，“她是那种神经质的。”

过了一两分钟。他又说。

“你从未想过，马什上尉要是在休息时间独自离开戏院，用他的钥匙将门打开，悄悄地进去，刺死他的叔叔，然后再回戏院。也不必让出租车司机在那儿等，那样不是更容易，更省事吗？因为那个神经质的女孩，随时都有下来看到他的可能。如果看见了”也许失去理智，他告发了。”

贾普冽嘴笑了。

“那是你我可能会做的事。但我们要比罗纳德。马什上尉聪明一点。”

“我不敢肯定。他给我的感觉是很聪明。”

“但不如赫尔克里。波洛聪明。得了吧，肯定他没你聪明。”普笑着说道。

波洛冷冷地望着他。

“如果不是他有罪，为什么要让那个姓亚当斯的女孩做替身呢？”贾普接着说，找替身只有一个原因，是掩护真正的罪犯。”

“这一点，与你意见一致。”

“晤，真高兴我俩还有一些方面可以意见一致的。”

“可能是他与亚当斯小姐讲的。”波洛沉思地说，不过，起来，真够傻的。”

波洛突然望着贾普，快地问了一个问题。

“你对她的死有何想法？”

贾普清了清嗓子。

“我倒以为这是件意外的事。我录认，要把它解释成意外的事倒是很方便的。我看不出他与此有俩关系。他所提出的，在看完歌剧后不在凶杀现场的证词是可信的。他同多赛默一家在索布兰尼斯饭店吃饭一直吃到凌晨一点以后。这时候，她早已上床睡觉了。我认为这就可以证明，凶手有时候的确是有运气的。否则，要是那件意外的事件没有发生，我想他也会有对付她的办法。首先，可以恐吓她一对她说，如果她说出实情就会被捕。然后再给她一些钱作补偿。”

“你有没有想到——”波洛直盯着对方问，“亚当斯小姐既然有证明自己无罪的证据，她就会让另一个女人上绞刑架的。”

“简·威尔金森不会上绞刑架的。她在蒙塔古。科纳宴会上的证据很有力。”

“但杀人者并不知道这个。他还指望着简·威尔金森会上绞刑架，而卡洛塔·亚当斯会保待缄默。”

“波洛先生，你总喜欢空谈，是不是？而且你绝对相信罗纳德。马什是一个规规矩矩的青年。他说有一个人偷偷摸摸走人埃奇韦尔男爵的公馆，你相信他的话吗？”

波洛耸耸肩膀。

“你知道他说他认为是谁吗？”

“我大概可以猜到。”

“他说他以为是那个电影明星——布赖恩·马丁。你怎么认为？一个从未见过埃奇韦尔男爵的人。”

“那么如果有人看见这么个人拿着钥匙进了门当然是很怪的事了。”

“哦！”贾普轻蔑地说。“要是现在我告诉你，布赖恩·马丁先生那一晚并不在伦敦，你一定很惊讶。他带着一个女士到莫尔赛饭店去吃饭，直到半夜才回伦敦来。”

“啊！”波洛轻轻地说，“不，我并不觉得奇怪。那位小姐与他是同行吧？”

“不是。那位女士开帽店。事实上她是亚当斯小姐的朋友，德赖弗小姐。我以为。你会同意她的证词是毫无疑问的。”

“我的朋友，我不是与你争论。”

“事实上，你被骗了，你自己也知道的，老伙计。”贾普哈哈大笑地说，“那是临时捏造的无稽之谈，对了，就是那么回事。根本没有人走进17号门——也没有人进旁边的房子。这说明什么呢？新男爵在撒谎。”

波洛悲哀地摇摇头。

贾普站了起来，又恢复了精神抖擞的样子。

“得了，你知道，我们是对的。”

“谁又是那个d，巴黎，十一月呢？”

贾普耸耸肩腊。

“我猜，是古代历史的吧。难道一个女士不能有一个六个月前、与此禀无关的纪念品吗？我们应该有比较地看待事物。”

“六个月前，”波洛低声重复道，眼睛突然一亮，“天啊，我真傻！”

“他在说什么？”贾普问我道。

“听我说。”波洛站起来，用手拍着贾普的胸。

“为什么亚当斯小姐的女仆没有认出那匣子？德赖弗小姐为什么也不认得？”

“你这话是什么意思？”

“因为那匣子是新的！是人家刚刚送给她的。十一月，于巴黎。呢，毫无疑问。按这个日期看，那匣子是要被当作‘纪念品’的。不过不是那时送的，是现在。是刚刚买的！仅仅是刚刚买的。我求你，好贾普，去调查一下这个。这可是一个机会，绝对是——个机会。那匣子不是在这里买的，是在国外。大概是在巴黎。如果是在这买的，珠宝商早就认出来了。因为报上登过照片，而且也报道过它的形状。对啦！对啦！巴黎。也许是另外一个国外的城市。不过我认为是巴黎。我求你去把这个查清楚。各方面询问一下。我实在想——非常想——知道这个神秘的d是谁。”

“当然没坏处。”贾普善意地说，“我不能说自己对此有多大兴趣。但我会尽力去查。反正我们知道得越多越好。”

他向我们愉快地点点头便走了。