chapter 36 by the sea
the mimosa was nearly over. the scent of it in the air was faintly unpleasant. there were pink geraniums twining along the
balustrade of lady tamplin's villa, and masses of carnations below sent up a sweet, heavy perfume. the mediterranean was at
its bluest. poirot sat on the terrace with lenox tamplin. he had just finished telling her the same story he had told to van aldin two days before. lenox had listened to him with absorbed attention, her brows knitted and her eyes sombre.
when he had finished she said simply: "and derek?"
"he was released yesterday."
"and he has gone - where?"
"he left nice last night."
"for st mary mead?"
"yes, for st mary mead."
there was a pause.
"i was wrong about katherine," said lenox. "i thought she did not care."
"she is very reserved. she trusts no one."
"she might have trusted me," said lenox, with a shade of bitterness.
"yes," said poirot gravely, "she might have trusted you. but mademoiselle katherine has spent a great deal of her life listening, and those who have listened do not find it easy to talk; they keep their sorrows and joys to themselves and tell no one."
"i was a fool," said lenox, "i thought she really cared for knighton. i ought to have known better. i suppose i thought so because - well, i hoped so."
poirot took her hand and gave it a little friendly squeeze.
"courage, mademoiselle," he said gently.
lenox looked very straight out across the sea, and her face, in its ugly rigidity, had for the moment a tragic beauty.
"oh, well," she said at last, "it would not have done. i am too young for derek; he is like a kid that has never grown up. he wants the madonna touch."
there was a long silence, then lenox turned to him quickly and impulsively. "but i did help, monsieur poirot - at any rate i did help."
"yes, mademoiselle. it was you who gave me the first inkling of the truth when you said that the person who committed the crime need not have been on the train at all. before that, i could not see how the thing had been done."
lenox drew a deep breath.
"i am glad," she said, "at any rate - that is something."
from far behind them there came a long-drawn scream of an engine's whistle.
"that is that damned blue train," said lenox. "trains are relentless things, aren't they, monsieur poirot? people are murdered and die, but they go on just the same. i am talking nonsense, but you know what i mean."
"yes, yes, i know. life is like a train, mademoiselle. it goes on. and it is a good thing that that is so."
"why?"
"because the train gets to its journey's end at last, and there is a proverb about that in your language, mademoiselle."
"'journeys end in lovers meeting.'" lenox laughed. "that is not going to be true for me."
"yes - yes, it is true. you are young, younger than you yourself know. trust the train, mademoiselle, for it is le bon dieu who drives it."
the whistle of the engine came again.
"trust the train, mademoiselle," murmured poirot again. "and trust hercule poirot. he knows."
第三十六章 在海滨上
合欢树的花已经凋谢了。天竺葵围簇着坦普林女士的别墅，繁茂的丁香散发出浓郁的香气。地中海比以往任何时候都蓝。波洛与雷诺斯·坦普林小姐坐在阳台上。他刚刚讲完了揭露那个神秘人物——被人称为“侯爵”的案子。雷诺斯紧张而有兴趣地、一字不漏地听着，神态有些忧郁。
当波洛结束他那故事的时候，她只问了一句：“那么德里克呢？”
“他昨天被释放了。”
“他去玛丽麦德村了吗？”
“对，去了。”
过了一会儿，这位女郎倔强地说道：
“我当时认为，卡泰丽娜对德里克的追求不会成功，我猜测错了。”
“您对谁都不相信。”
“她可以信任我。”雷诺斯以痛苦的声调小声说。
“是的。”波洛严肃地说。“她可以想信您。可是卡泰丽娜一生中大半时间是顺从别人的。如果一个人习惯于顺从别的，那么他想直抒已见就不那么容易。她把自己的忧伤和欢乐隐埋在心底，无人可与之分担。”
“我真傻。”雷诺斯自我抱怨地说。“我当时以为，她可能爱上了奈顿。我可全都是往好处想。可能这种想法完全是多余的，算了，别谈这些了。”
波洛握着她的手，紧紧地握着，友好而温和地说道：“抬起头来，小姐。”
雷诺斯望着远方的海面，她那平淡而严肃的脸上刹时间显出一层哀伤的美。
“天啊。”她最后说，“事情的结局竟是这样。我对德里克说来是太年轻了，而他则是永葆青春的青年。他需要一个象圣母玛丽亚那样的人。”
又是长时间的沉默。之后雷诺斯猛然对侦探说道：“我可是帮了您的忙啊，波洛先生？”
“正是。通过您我得到了了解真相的线索，当时您曾指出，凶手不一定是火车上的乘客。”
雷诺斯深深地吸了一口气。
“我对此感到欣慰。这是唯一的一点欣慰。”
远方传来了火车的汽笛声，声音拖得很长。
“这就是那列被人咀咒的‘蓝色特快’。”雷诺斯说。“火车总是令人恐惧，它是一种妖气的阴森可怕的东西，您说是吗，波洛？有人在火车里被暗杀了，而火车照样奔驰，按照时刻表在继续奔驰……天啊，我又在说胡话了。”
“我理解您指的是什么，年轻小姐。生活就是一列火车。它在继续前进，而继续前进总是好的。您还年轻，并且具备年轻人最优越的条件，有机会漫游人生的道路，而且，哪里中您的意，您就可以在哪里下车。但对于您来说，那种同‘蓝色特快’一样的生活的时刻也会到来。”
“我的生活中也可能发生不幸，也会过早地死去。”
“生活会把您带到光明的彼岸，带到一位您所爱的人那里。”
“您怎么知道？”
“您竟敢对我的话产生怀疑？”他突然对雷诺斯大吼一声，吓了雷诺斯一跳。
但是他的目光说明他那声吼叫是在装腔作势。赫库勒·波洛现在的眼睛不象猫的眼睛了，而一双充满了和善、聪明和谅解人的眼睛。
“请相信波洛老伯吧。我知道一切。这就是我的职业。”