09-Chapter Ⅸ 来自纽约的侦探

As the Countess Andrenyi entered the restaurant carriage, Poirot bowed politely.

当安德列尼伯爵夫人走进餐车时，波洛礼貌地鞠了一躬。

“Madame, I only wish to ask if you saw or heard anything last night that may help us to understand this crime?"

“夫人，我只想问 你昨晚是否看到或听到了什么” “可以帮助我们了解这起犯罪”

“Nothing, Monsieur. I had taken a drink to help me sleep.”

“没什么，先生。我喝了一杯酒来帮助我入睡。”

“Ah! And these passport details, your mother’s name and so on—they are correct?"

"啊！这些护照信息、你母亲的名字等等，都正确吗？

“Of course, Monsieur.”

“当然，先生。”

“Did you go with your husband to America, Madame?”

“夫人，您和您丈夫一起去美国了吗？”

“No, Monsieur.” Her face became a little red. “We’ve only been married for a year.”

“不，先生” 她的脸变得有点红 “我们才结婚一年”

词汇解释：

• correct [kəˈrɛkt]：正确的，指与事实或标准相符的，没有错误或偏差的。

“Ah yes. Thank you, Madame. I won’t delay you any longer. By the way, does your husband smoke a pipe?”

“啊，是啊。谢谢您，夫人。我就不耽误您了。对了，您丈夫抽烟斗吗？”

"No.”

不抽

She waited, watching him in a curious way. She had lovely dark eyes, and cheeks of smooth white skin. She looked beautiful.

她等待着，好奇地看着他。她有一双可爱的黑眼睛和光滑白皙的脸颊。她看起来很漂亮。

“Why did you ask that?" she said.

"你为什么要问这个？"她说。

“Madame,” Poirot waved a hand, "detectives have to ask all sorts of questions. For instance, perhaps you will tell me the colour of your dressing-gown?”

"夫人，"波洛挥了挥手，“侦探要问各种各样的问题。比如说，您能告诉我您的睡衣是什么颜色的吗？”

She laughed. "Yellow. Is that really important?”

她笑了，“黄色。这真的很重要吗？”

“Very important," Poirot bowed once more.

"非常重要。"波洛再次鞠躬。

She smiled and left.

她微笑着离开了。

“A charming(迷人的） lady" said Bouc.

“一位迷人的女士” 布克说。

Poirot did not reply. He was studying a grease spot on a Hungarian diplomatic passport.

波洛没有回答。他正在研究一本匈牙利外交护照上的油渍。

“Are you coming home from India on holiday—what we call en permission( [法]军休)？” Poirot asked.

你是从印度回来度假的吗–我们称之为 “军休”（en permission）？波洛问道。

Colonel Arbuthnot was not interested in what the Europeans called anything. He gave the short answer typical of a British person.

阿布特诺上校对欧洲人的叫法不感兴趣。他给出了一个典型的英国人的简短回答。

"Yes.”

是的

“But you are not coming home by boat?"

“但你不坐船回家吗？”

“No, I chose to travel across land, stopping in Baghdad to see an old friend.”

“不，我选择了穿越陆路” “在巴格达停留，去见一位老朋友”

"Miss Debenham has also come from Baghdad. Perhaps you met her there?”

"德本汉小姐也从巴格达来了 也许你在那里见过她

“No. I first met Miss Debenham a few days ago on the Taurus Express train.”

“不，我是几天前在金牛座特快列车上第一次见到德本汉小姐的。”

"Let us talk about the crime. We believe it took place at 1.15 am.”

“让我们来谈谈这起犯罪。我们认为犯罪发生在凌晨 1 点 15 分”。

“Well, at 1.15 am I was talking to the American - the secretary to the dead man - in his compartment.

“嗯，凌晨 1 点 15 分，我正在他的包厢里与美国人——死者的秘书——交谈。

“Is Monsieur MacQueen a friend?"

“麦奎恩先生是你的朋友吗？”

"No. I’d never met him before yesterday. But he was interested in India. And I was interested in the financial财务的） situation in America.

"不，昨天之前我从没见过他。但他对印度很感兴趣。而我对美国的财务） 美国的情况

Then we discussed world politics in general. I was surprised to look at my watch and find it was 1.45 am.

然后，我们讨论了世界政治。我惊讶地看了看表，发现已经是凌晨 1 点 45 分了。

词汇解释：

• financial [faɪˈnænʃəl]：财务的，与金融和经济相关的，指与财务和资金管理有关的事物。
• world politics：世界政治，指全球范围内的政治事务和国际关系。

"That is the time you went to your compartment?”

“那就是你去包厢的时间？”

“Yes.”

是的

“Where was the conductor?”

“列车员在哪儿？”

“Sitting at the end of the corridor.”

“坐在走廊尽头。”

“Now, Colonel Arbuthnot, I need to know about the time after the train left Vincovci. You got out of the train then, I think?”

“现在，阿布斯诺特上校，我需要知道火车离开温科夫奇之后的时间。我想你是在那个时候下了火车的？”

"Yes, but only for a minute. There was a snowstorm（暴风雪）.

"是的，但只有一会儿.当时下了一场暴风雪。

“请你回想一下好吗？你来到了麦昆先生的包厢里坐下。也许你抽烟？”

“Yes, a pipe for me; MacQueen smoked cigarettes.”

“是的，我抽的烟斗；麦奎因抽的是香烟。”

词汇解释：

• pipe [paɪp]：烟斗，一种用于抽烟的装置，通常用于装入烟草并点燃。
• snowstorm [ˈsnoʊˌstɔrm]：暴风雪，大风伴随着大量降雪的天气现象。
• cigarettes [ˈsɪɡəˌret] 香烟, 烟卷状的

“The train starts again. It is late now. Most people have gone to bed for the night. Does anyone pass the door?”

“火车又开了 现在已经很晚了。大多数人已经上床睡觉了。有人经过门口吗？”

Arbuthnot thought hard.

阿布斯诺特苦苦思索。

“I remember the conductor. And there was a woman, I think. I wasn’t looking that way. I just smelled some perfume(香味). It was quite strong.”

“我记得列车员。好像还有个女人 我没往那边看。我只是闻到了香味。香味很浓”。

“And tell me, have you ever been to America, Colonel Arbuthnot?”

“告诉我 你去过美国吗 阿布斯诺上校”

“Never.”

从未去过

“Did you ever know a Colonel Armstrong?"

“你认识阿姆斯特朗上校吗？”

"I’ve known two or three Armstrongs.”

“我认识两三个阿姆斯特朗”

“I mean the Colonel Armstrong whose only child was kidnapped and killed."

“是指阿姆斯特朗上校 他唯一的孩子被绑架并杀害了”

“Ah, yes, I read about that—one shocking case. Of course, I knew of him. Toby Armstrong had a very successful career.”

“啊，是的，我读到过这个令人震惊的案件。当然，我知道他。托比-阿姆斯特朗的事业非常成功。”

“Well, Colonel, the man who was killed last night was the man responsible for the murder of Colonel Armstrong’s child.”

“上校 昨晚被杀的人 就是杀害阿姆斯特朗上校孩子的凶手”

Arbuthnot’s face grew very serious. "Then the rat deserved what he got. Though I would have preferred to see him punished by the law.”

阿布斯诺特的表情变得非常严肃。“那这个坏蛋罪有应得 虽然我更希望看到他受到法律的制裁”

"You prefer the law to private revenge, Colonel?”

“比起私人复仇 你更喜欢法律吗 上校”

“Well, trial by jury(陪审团) is a good and fair method.”

“嗯，由陪审团审判是一个好的和公平的方法。”

词汇解释：

• trial by jury：由陪审团审判，指在法庭上进行的审判，其中陪审团成员由普通公民组成，他们根据法律和证据作出裁决。这被认为是一种公平和公正的法庭程序。

Mr. Hardman, the big American, was wearing a suit with a bright pattern and had a piece of chewing gum in his mouth. His face was large and friendly.

美国大个子哈德曼先生穿着一套花纹鲜艳的西装，嘴里嚼着一块口香糖。他的脸庞魁梧而亲切。

“Morning, sir. What can I do for you?”

“早上好，先生。我能为你做什么？”

Poirot looked at his passport.

波洛看了看他的护照。

“You are Cyrus Hardman, salesman, traveling from Istanbul to Paris?"

“您是赛勒斯·哈德曼（Cyrus Hardman），推销员，从伊斯坦布尔前往巴黎？”

“Yes, that’s me."

“是的，就是我”

“What can you tell us about the events of last night?”

“关于昨晚发生的事，你能告诉我们什么？”

The American thought for a minute. "I think I should tell you everything.”

美国人想了一会儿。“我想我应该把一切都告诉你”

“It will certainly be best for you to tell us all you know," said Poirot.

“你最好把你所知道的一切都告诉我们，”波洛说。

“If there was anything I did know. But I don’t. I know nothing. But I should know something. It makes me angry.”

"如果我知道什么的话 但我不知道 我什么都不知道 但我应该知道些什么 这让我很生气

Poirot looked confused. “Please explain, Monsieur Hardman.”

波洛一脸困惑。“请解释一下，哈德曼先生。”

Mr. Hardman sighed, removed the chewing gum, and put his hand in one of his pockets. He seemed to change and become more like a real person.

哈德曼先生叹了口气，取出口香糖，把手伸进口袋里。他似乎变了，变得更像一个真实的人了。

“That passport’s false,” he said, passing Poirot a business card. “This is who I really am.”

"那本护照是假的，"他说，递给波洛一张名片。“这才是真正的我。”

Poirot looked at the card carefully. Bouc looked over his shoulder.

波洛仔细地看着卡片。布克回头看了一眼。

CYRUS B. HARDMAN

MCNEIL’S DETECTIVE AGENCY（侦探社）

NEW YORK.

赛勒斯-B-哈德曼

麦克尼尔侦探社（侦探社）

纽约

Poirot knew the name. It was one of the best private detective agencies in New York.

波洛知道这个名字。那是纽约最好的私家侦探所之一。

“I came over to Europe following a couple of criminals to Istanbul. Then got this.”

“我跟着几个罪犯来到欧洲 伊斯坦布尔 然后得到了这个”

Mr. Hardman pushed a letter across the table. The paper was from the Tokatlian hotel.

哈德曼先生把一封信推过桌子。这个纸张是来自托卡特利亚酒店的纸。

Dear Sir

I have been informed that you are a detective working for MCNeil’s Detective Agency.

Please come to my room at four o’clock this afternoon.

S.E. Ratchett.

尊敬的先生，

我已经得知您是MCNeil’s侦探社的侦探。请于今天下午四点来我房间。

—— S.E. Ratchett.