06-Chapter Ⅵ 奇怪的死亡原因

Bouc stood up. "There isn’t much space in here,” he said pleasantly. “Take my seat, Monsieur MacQueen.”

布克站起来说：“这里空间不大，”他愉快地说道。“请坐我的座位，麦克奎恩先生。

He turned to the train manager.

”他转向列车经理。

“Ask everyone to leave the restaurant carriage. Monsieur Poirot can do his interviews there.”

“请让所有人离开餐车。波洛先生可以在那里进行他的采访。

"That would be the most convenient place, yes,” agreed Poirot.

” 波洛同意道：“那是最方便的地方，是的。”

“What’s going on?” MacQueen asked.

麦克奎恩问道：“发生了什么？”

“Prepare yourself for a shock," Poirot answered. “Your employer, Monsieur Ratchett, is dead.”

“做好心理准备迎接震惊吧，”波洛回答说。“你的雇主，拉切特先生，已经去世了。”

MacQueen looked surprised but he didn’t seem to be upset. "So they got him,” he said.

麦克奎恩看起来吃惊，但似乎并没有感到沮丧。“他们找到他了，”他说。

“You are right," said Poirot, “Monsieur Ratchett was murdered.”

波洛说：“你说得对，拉切特先生被谋杀了。”

Poirot explained briefly who he was and how he was helping to find the murderer.

波洛简要解释了自己是谁，以及他如何帮助找到凶手。

Then he said, “Tell me what you know.”

然后他说：“告诉我你知道的。”

“Well, I met Mr. Ratchett a year ago when I was in Persia. I’d come over from New York to find out more about a job with an oil company—the meeting went badly.

“嗯，我在一年前在波斯遇到了拉切特先生。我从纽约过来，是为了了解一份石油公司的工作——会面不顺利。

Mr. Ratchett was in the same hotel as me. He’d just had an argument with his secretary, and I was glad when he offered me the job in his place.”

拉切特先生住在和我同一家酒店。他刚刚与他的秘书吵了一架，当他提出让我接替他的工作时，我感到很高兴。”

“And since then?”

“那之后呢？”

“We’ve travelled about. Mr. Ratchett wanted to see the world. He had difficulty because he didn’t speak any languages. Honestly, I was more helpful with that than as a secretary." The young man paused.

“我们到处旅行。拉切特先生想要看看世界。他很难，因为他不会说任何语言。老实说，我在这方面比做秘书更有帮助。” 年轻人停顿了一下。

“He never spoke about himself, but the truth is, Mr. Poirot, I don’t believe Ratchett was his real name. I think he left America to escape something. And I think he was successful—until a few weeks ago.”

“他从不谈论自己，但事实是，波洛先生，我不认为拉切特是他的真名。我认为他离开美国是为了逃避某事。我认为他成功了——直到几周前。”

词汇解释：

• traveled [ˈtrævəld]：旅行，指到不同的地方参观或度假。
• languages [ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒɪz]：语言，指人们使用的沟通工具，可以是不同国家或地区的语言。
• secretary [ˈsɛkrəˌtɛri]：秘书，指在办公室或组织中负责文书工作、协助管理和安排事务的人。
• escape [ɪsˈkeɪp]：逃避，指从危险、困难或不愉快的情况中逃脱。
• successful [səkˈsɛsfəl]：成功的，指在达到目标或取得预期结果方面取得了良好的成就。

“And then?"

“然后呢？”

“He began to get letters that threatened to kill him. He destroyed one because he was so angry. But I’ve still got a couple of others. Shall I get them for you?”

“他开始收到一些威胁要杀死他的信件。因为非常生气，他摧毁了一封。但我还有其他几封信。我要拿来给您看吗？”

"Yes, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“是的，如果您不介意的话。”

MacQueen returned with two sheets of dirty paper.

麦克奎恩拿来了两张脏纸。

Poirot examined the first:" So you thought you’d escape and we wouldn’t find out, did you? No way. We’re planning to GET you, Ratchett, and we WILL get you! "

波洛检查了第一封信： 所以你以为你能逃脱，而我们不会发现，是吗？不可能的。我们打算抓住你，拉切特，我们一定会抓到你的！

Poirot picked up the second letter:"We’re going to kill you, Ratchett. We’re going to GET you, you’ll see. "

波洛拿起第二封信:我们要杀了你，拉切特。我们要抓住你，你会看到的。

Poirot put down the letters.

波洛放下了这些信件。

词汇解释：

• threatened [ˈθrɛtənd]：威胁，表示有意图对某人或某物造成伤害或不利影响。
• examined [ɪɡˈzæmɪnd]：检查，仔细观察和审查以了解其细节或特征。

“Do you know when Monsieur Ratchett received the last letter?" he asked.

“您知道拉切特先生收到最后一封信是什么时候吗？” 他问道。

“On the day we left Istanbul.”

“在我们离开伊斯坦布尔的那天。”

“Thank you, Monsieur MacQueen. One more question ~ when did you last see Monsieur Ratchett alive?”

“谢谢，麦克奎恩先生。还有一个问题——您上次看到拉切特先生还活着是什么时候？”

"Yesterday evening at about 10 pm-I was in his compartment writing a letter for him.” Poirot and the doctor went to the compartment of the murdered man.

“昨晚大约晚上10点——我在他的包厢里帮他写信。”

---

The first thing they noticed was the freezing cold. The window was wide open.

波洛和医生来到被谋杀的男子的包厢。他们注意到的第一件事是刺骨的寒冷。窗户是敞开的。

“Nobody left the carriage through the window” Poirot announced.

“没有人从窗户出去” 波洛宣布道

"Maybe the murderer wanted us to think that they did, but there are no marks in the snow.

“也许谋杀犯想让我们以为他们这样做了，但雪地上没有痕迹。

And so, he added in a cheerful voice, “we will shut the window!”

所以，”他以欢快的声音补充说道，“我们将关闭窗户！”

He turned to the bed. Ratchett lay on his back.

他转身走向床边。雷切特仰面躺在床上

His pyjama jacket(睡衣上装),covered with dark blood marks, had been opened.

他的睡衣上装被打开了，上面布满了深色的血印。

“I had to see the wounds” explained the doctor.

"医生解释说："我必须看看伤口。

Poirot nodded. “It is not pretty. How many wounds are there?”

波洛点了点头。“不好看。有几处伤口？”

“Twelve. One or two are very small. However, at least three were so deep that they could each have been the reason for death.” Something in the doctor’s voice made Poirot look at him.

"“十二处。有一两处很小。不过，至少有三处伤口很深，每处都可能是死亡的原因。” 医生的声音让波洛看着他。

“You think there’s something strange about the wounds?”

“你觉得这些伤口有些奇怪？”

"Yes. You see, these two-here and here.

"是的，你看，这两处–这里和这里。

“They’re deep—one must have cut through his body—and yet the edges aren’t open. There’s been no blood.”

“它们很深——其中一个一定切穿了他的身体——但边缘没有裂开。没有流出血来。”

“What does that mean?”

“这是什么意思？”

“That the man was already dead when they were made. But that can’t be right…”

“这意味着这些伤口造成的时候，这个人已经死了。但这不可能是正确的……”

“Hmmm,” said Poirot thoughtfully. “Anything else?”

“嗯，” 波洛沉思着说。“还有其他的吗？”

“Well, one thing. You see this wound here—under the right arm, near the shoulder? Could you strike a blow like that?”

“嗯，还有一件事。你看，这个伤口——在右臂下面，靠近肩膀？你能打出这样的一击吗？”

词汇解释：

• cut through：切穿，指刀割或切割穿越某物。
• edges [ˈɛdʒɪz]：边缘，指物体或表面的外缘。
• already [ɔlˈrɛdi]：已经，指某事发生或存在于过去的时间。
• wound [wuːnd]：伤口，指身体上的受伤或受损部位。
• strike a blow：打出一击，指用力打击或攻击。

Poirot raised his hand. “I see,” said Poirot. “With the right hand it is very difficult. But with the left hand—”

波洛举起了手。"我明白了，"波洛说。“用右手很难。但用左手 …”

“That’s right, Monsieur Poirot. That blow was struck with the left hand. But some of these other blows are obviously right-handed.”

没错，波洛先生。这一拳是用左手打的。但其他几下显然是用右手打的。"

"So,” said Poirot, "we have here a First and Second Murderer. The First Murderer stabbed his victim and left the compartment, turning off the light.

"所以，"波洛说，"我们这里有一个第一凶手和第二凶手。第一凶手刺伤受害人后离开了车厢，关上了灯。

The Second Murderer came in the dark, did not see that the work had been done, and stabbed a dead body.”

第二个凶手趁着夜色来到这里，没有发现凶手已经动手，于是刺死了一具尸体。"

词汇解释：

• stabbed [stæbd]：刺伤，指用刀、刺等尖锐物体刺入或刺伤。
• victim [/ˈvɪktɪm/] 受害者, 牺牲品,被害人
• compartment [kəmˈpɑːrtmənt]：车厢，指火车或飞机内的隔间或区域。
• turning off：关闭，指将开关、按钮等操作以停止或关闭某物。
• stabbed a dead body：刺伤了一个已经死去的尸体，指在受害者已经死亡后对其进行刺伤或攻击。

"Wonderful,” said the little doctor eagerly.

"太棒了，"小医生急切地说道。

Poirot’s eyes shone. “You think so? It sounded silly to me. Is there anything else that isn’t normal, that might suggest there are two people involved?”

波洛的眼睛闪闪发光。“你这么认为吗？听起来对我来说有点傻。还有其他不正常的事情吗，可能暗示着有两个人牵涉其中吗？”

"Yes. Some of these blows, as I have said, were struck by someone who was weak. But other blows were made by a very strong person. Do you understand my point?”

“是的。正如我所说，其中一些打击是由一个体力较差的人造成的。但其他一些打击则是由一个非常强壮的人造成的。你明白我的意思吗？”

"Indeed do,” said Poirot. “Everything is becoming beautifully clear!

"确实如此，"波洛说。“一切都变得非常清晰！”

词汇解释：

• eagerly [ˈiːɡərli]：急切地，指急切、热切地期望或迫切地做某事。
• shone [ʃoʊn]：闪烁，指明亮或有光辉地发出光。
• silly [ˈsɪli]：傻的，愚蠢的，指缺乏智慧或判断力的。
• involved [ɪnˈvɑlvd]：牵涉其中的，指与某事或情况有关联或涉及其中。

"The murderer was a very strong man, he was weak, it was a woman, it was a righthanded person, it was a left-handed person一ah, what fun! 'And the victim, meanwhile-what does he do? Does he shout for help? Does he defend himself? No!”

“凶手是个很强壮的人，他是个弱者，是个女人，是个右撇子的人，是个左撇子的人，一啊，真有趣！而受害者呢，他会怎么做？他会大声呼救吗？他会自卫吗？不！”

He put his hand under the pillow(枕头) and found the gun Ratchett had shown him.

他把手伸进枕头下面，找到了雷切特给他看的那把枪。

“You see? He could have defended himself, but he did not."

“你看到了吗？他本可以自卫，但他没有。”

They looked around. On a small table were a glass, a bottle of water, and a dish containing a cigarette end, some paper that had been burned and two used matches.

他们环顾四周。在一张小桌子上放着一个玻璃杯、一瓶水和一个盘子，盘子里有一根烟头、一些烧过的纸和两根用过的火柴。

词汇解释：

• pillow [ˈpɪloʊ]：枕头，用来支撑头部或身体的软垫物，通常放在床上使用。
• defend [dɪˈfɛnd]：辩护，保卫，指采取行动来保护自己或他人免受危险或攻击。
• cigarette end：烟蒂，指吸烟后剩下的烟卷部分，通常已经熄灭。
• burned [bɜrnd]：烧焦的，指被火烧焦或变黑的物品。
• used matches：用过的火柴，已经点燃过的火柴棒。

The doctor picked up the glass and smelled it. “Here is the explanation of the victim’s silent death” he said quietly.

医生拿起玻璃杯，闻了闻。“这就是受害者无声死亡的解释”他轻声说道。

"Was he drugged?”

“他被下药了吗？”

“Yes.”

“是的。”

因为里面有一些翻译的比较生硬，这里做个故事总结

MacQueen 之前就知道Ratchett受到别人的威胁，说会杀害他。
Poirot和一名医生来到Ratchett的床位进行检查，虽然包厢的窗户是
开着的，但他们相信凶手并没有逃走。经过一番仔细检查后，他们
一致认为凶手有两个，一男一女，而且一个左撇子一个右撇子。

Poirot nodded. He picked up the matches. “These are different. One is flatter than the other. You see?”

Poirot点了点头。他拿起了那些火柴。“这些火柴不同。一个比另一个扁平。你看到了吗？”

"They’re the kind you get on a train,” said the doctor.

“它们是在火车上拿到的那种火柴，”医生说道。

Poirot felt in the pockets of Ratchett’s coat that was hanging on the wall. After a while, he pulled out a box of matches. He compared them carefully with the matches in the dish.

Poirot伸手摸索Ratchett挂在墙上的外套的口袋。过了一会儿，他拿出了一盒火柴。他仔细地将它们与盛放火柴的盘子中的火柴进行了比较。

词汇解释：

• matches [ˈmætʃɪz]：火柴，用于点燃火的小棍子，通常涂有火药。
• flatter [ˈflætər]：扁平的，指平坦或较薄的。
• pockets [ˈpɑkɪts]：口袋，通常指衣物上的小袋子，用于放置物

“The rounder one is a match struck by Mr. Ratchett,” he said.

“较圆的那根是Ratchett先生点燃的火柴，”他说。

He looked round the compartment. With a little cry, he picked up something from the floor. A small handkerchief (手帕) with an embroidered (刺绣的) initial (首字母) “H.”

他环顾四周的车厢。他发出一声小小的喊叫，从地板上捡起了一样东西。 一个小手帕，上面刺绣着首字母“H”。

“A woman’s handkerchief,” said the doctor. “The train manager was right. There is a woman involved in this."

“这是一个女人的手帕，”医生说。“列车经理是对的。这里涉及到了一位女性。”

“And, most helpfully for us, she leaves her handkerchief!" said Poirot. “And to make things even easier, it has an initial. How lucky we are!”

“对我们来说非常有帮助的是，她留下了她的手帕！”Poirot说。“更让事情变得容易的是，它上面有一个首字母。我们真是幸运！”

词汇解释：

• compartment [kəmˈpɑːrtmənt]：车厢，火车或列车中的封闭区域，通常用于乘客乘坐。
• handkerchief [ˈhæŋkərtʃɪf]：手帕，用于擦拭或鼻涕的小巾。
• embroidered [ɪmˈbrɔɪdərd]：刺绣的，指在织物上用线进行装饰或绘制图案。
• initial [ɪˈnɪʃəl]：首字母，通常指名字或词语的开头字母。
• train manager：列车经理，负责管理和运营火车的人员。
• involved [ɪnˈvɒlvd]：涉及，参与，指与某事相关联或参与其中。

The way he spoke surprised the doctor. But Poirot had already picked up something else from the floor.

他说话的方式让医生感到惊讶。但是，Poirot已经从地板上捡起了另一样东西。

This time he held out a pipe cleaner (烟斗通条).

这次他拿出了一个烟斗通条。

" Again, this was left in a most helpful way. A male clue this time. By the way, what have you done with the knife?"

""同样，这是以非常有帮助的方式留下的。这次是一个男性线索。顺便问一下，你把刀子放在哪里了？”

“There was no knife. Ah!” the doctor had been searching the pyjama pockets of the dead man.

“没有刀子。啊！”医生一直在搜查死者的睡衣口袋。“我漏掉了这个。”

"I missed this.” From the pocket he brought out a gold watch. The case was badly damaged, and the hands pointed to 1.15.

他从口袋里拿出一块金表。表壳严重受损，指针指向1点15分。

词汇解释：

• pipe cleaner [paɪp ˈklinər]：烟斗通条，用于清洁烟斗管道的工具。
• clue [klu]：线索，指解决问题或破案的提示或信息。
• pyjama [pəˈdʒɑːmə]：睡衣，睡衣套装通常包括上衣和裤子，用于睡觉或在家中穿着。
• pointed to：指向，表示钟表的指针所指的时间。

“You see?” cried Constantine eagerly. "This shows I was right about the time of death. 1.15 am was when the crime happened.”

“你看到了吗？”Constantine急切地喊道。“这证明了我关于死亡时间的推测是正确的。凌晨1点15分是犯罪发生的时间。”

"lt is possible, yes.”

“这是可能的，是的。”

The doctor looked at him in a curious way. “Pardon me, Monsieur Poirot, but I don’t quite understand you.”

医生以一种好奇的方式看着他。“对不起，波洛先生，但我不太明白您的意思。”

“I do not understand myself,” said Poirot. “I understand nothing at all, and that makes me worried.”

“我自己也不明白，”波洛说。“我什么都不明白，这让我感到担忧。”

词汇解释：

• eagerly [ˈiːɡərli]：急切地，充满热情地。
• time of death [taɪm əv dɛθ]：死亡时间，指某人去世的具体时间。
• curious [ˈkjʊriəs]：好奇的，表示对某事感到兴趣或想要了解的状态。

He sighed and looked down at the little table and the burned bits of paper.

他叹了口气，低头看着小桌子和烧焦的纸片。

“You see, my dear doctor, this compartment is full of clues. Are they real or false? I do not know yet. But here is one clue which I believe is not false. This flat match, Monsieur le Docteur, I believe it was used by the murderer to burn a very important paper.”

“你看，亲爱的医生，这个车厢里充满了线索。它们是真实的还是虚假的？我还不知道。但是这里有一个线索，我相信它不是虚假的。这个扁平的火柴，勒博士先生，我相信它被凶手用来烧毁一份非常重要的文件。”

The doctor watched with interest as Poirot held up one small piece of burned paper.

医生兴趣盎然地看着波洛举起一小片烧焦的纸。

He could just see the pale shape of letters—one three words and part of another. “-member little Daisy Armstrong.”

他只能看到淡淡的字母形状——三个词和部分另一个词。

“Ahah!” Poirot cried out in excitement.

“啊哈！”波洛兴奋地叫了出来。

词汇解释：

• sighed [saɪd]：叹了口气，表示通过深呼吸表达失望、疲惫或沮丧。
• clues [kluːz]：线索，指可以用来解决问题或破案的信息或提示。
• piece [piːs]：片段，指从整体中分离或切割出来的部分。
• excitement [ɪkˈsaɪtmənt]：兴奋，激动，指因兴奋、喜悦或紧张而表现出的情绪。

Poirot cried out in excitement. “Ahah! I know the dead man’s real name. And I know why he had to leave America.”

波洛兴奋地喊道：“啊哈！我知道这个死者的真名字了。而且我知道他为什么不得不离开美国。”