加勒比海之谜(英文版)-第21部分

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ow；　it's　very　easy　to　put　about　a　story。　Very　easy。　I've　seen　a　lot　of　it　in　my　time。〃

〃I　bet　you　have；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃It　only　needs　a　murmur　here　and　there；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃You　don't　say　it　of　your　own　knowledge　you　just　say　that　Mrs。　B。　told　you　that　Colonel　C。　told　her。　It's　always　at　second　hand　or　third　hand　or　fourth　hand　and　it's　very　difficult　to　find　out　who　was　the　original　whisperer。　Oh　yes；　it　can　be　done。　And　the　people　you　say　it　to　go　on　and　repeat　it　to　others　as　if　they　know　it　of　their　own　knowledge。〃

〃Yes；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃I　think　somebody's　been　quite　clever。〃

〃This　girl　saw　something；　or　knew　something　and　tried　blackmail；　I　suppose；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃She　mayn't　have　thought　of　it　as　blackmail；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃In　these　large　hotels；　there　are　often　things　the　maids　know　that　some　people　would　rather　not　have　repeated。　And　so　they　hand　out　a　larger　tip　or　a　little　present　of　money。　The　girl　possibly　didn't　realise　at　first　the　importance　of　what　she　knew。〃

〃Still；　she　got　a　knife　in　her　back　all　right；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel　brutally。

〃Yes。　Evidently　someone　couldn't　afford　to　let　her　talk。〃

〃Well？　Let's　hear　what　you　think　about　it　all。〃

Miss　Marple　looked　at　him　thoughtfully。

〃Why　should　you　think　I　know　any　more　than　you　do；　Mr。　Rafiel？〃

〃Probably　you　don't；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel；　〃but　I'm　interested　to　hear　your　ideas　about　what　you　do　know。〃

〃But　why？〃

〃There's　not　very　much　to　do　out　here；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel；　〃except　make　money。〃

Miss　Marple　looked　slightly　surprised。

〃Make　money？　Out　here？〃

〃You　can　send　out　half　a　dozen　cables　in　code　every　day　if　you　like；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。　〃That's　how　I　amuse　myself。〃

〃Takeover　bids？〃　Miss　Marple　asked　doubtfully；　in　the　tone　of　one　who　speaks　a　foreign　language。

〃That　kind　of　thing；〃　agreed　Mr。　Rafiel。　〃Pitting　your　wits　against　other　people's　wits。　The　trouble　is　it　doesn't　occupy　enough　time；　so　I've　got　interested　in　this　business。　It's　aroused　my　curiosity。　Palgrave　spent　a　good　deal　of　his　time　talking　to　you。　Nobody　else　would　be　bothered　with　him；　I　expect。　What　did　he　say？〃

〃He　told　me　a　good　many　stories；〃　said　Miss　Marple。

〃I　know　he　did。　Damn　boring；　most　of　them。　And　you　hadn't　only　got　to　hear　them　once。　If　you　got　anywhere　within　range　you　heard　them　three　or　four　times　over。〃

〃I　know；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃I'm　afraid　that　does　happen　when　gentlemen　get　older。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　looked　at　her　very　sharply。

〃I　don't　tell　stories；〃　he　said。　〃Go　on。　It　started　with　one　of　Palgrave's　stories；　did　it？〃

〃He　said　he　knew　a　murderer；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃There's　nothing　really　special　about　that；〃　she　added　in　her　gentle　voice；　〃because　I　suppose　it　happens　to　nearly　everybody。〃

〃I　don't　follow　you；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃I　don't　mean　specifically；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃but　surely；　Mr。　Rafiel；　if　you　cast　over　in　your　mind　your　recollections　of　various　events　in　your　life；　hasn't　there　nearly　always　been　an　occasion　when　somebody　has　made　some　careless　reference　such　as　'Oh　yes　I　knew　the　SoandSo　quite　wellhe　died　very　suddenly　and　they　always　say　his　wife　did　him　in；　but　I　daresay　that's　just　gossip'。　You've　heard　people　say　something　like　that；　haven't　you？〃

'Well；　I　suppose　soyes；　something　of　the　kind。　But　not　well；　not　seriously。〃

〃Exactly；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃but　Major　Palgrave　was　a　very　serious　man。　I　think　he　enjoyed　telling　this　story。　He　said　he　had　a　snapshot　of　the　murderer。　He　was　going　to　show　it　to　me　butactuallyhe　didn't。〃

〃Why？〃

〃Because　he　saw　something；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃Saw　someone；　I　suspect。　His　face　got　very　red　and　he　shoved　back　the　snapshot　into　his　wallet　and　began　talking　on　another　subject。〃

〃Who　did　he　see？〃

〃I've　thought　about　that　a　good　deal；〃　said　Miss　Marple。　〃I　was　sitting　outside　my　bungalow；　and　he　was　sitting　nearly　opposite　me　andwhatever　he　saw；　he　saw　over　my　right　shoulder。〃

〃Someone　ing　along　the　path　then　from　behind　you　on　the　right；　the　path　from　the　creek　and　the　car　park。〃

〃Yes。〃

〃Was　anyone　ing　along　the　path？〃

〃Mr。　and　Mrs。　Dyson　and　Colonel　and　Mrs。　Hillingdon。〃

〃Anybody　else？〃

〃Not　that　I　can　find　out。　Of　course；　your　bungalow　would　also　be　in　his　line　of　vision。。。〃

〃Ah。　Then　we　includeshall　we　sayEsther　Walters　and　my　chap；　Jackson。　Is　that　right？　Either　of　them；　I　suppose；　might　have　e　out　of　the　bungalow　and　gone　back　inside　again　without　your　seeing　them。〃

〃They　might　have；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃I　didn't　turn　my　head　at　once。〃

〃The　Dysons；　the　Hillingdons；　Esther；　Jackson。　One　of　them's　a　murderer。　Or　of　course；　myself；〃　he　added；　obviously　as　an　afterthought。

Miss　Marple　smiled　faintly。

〃And　he　spoke　of　the　murderer　as　a　man？〃

〃Yes。〃

〃Right。　That　cuts　out　Evelyn　Hillingdon；　Lucky　and　Esther　Walters。　So　your　murderer；　allowing　that　all　this　farfetched　nonsense　is　true；　your　murderer　is　Dyson；　Hillingdon　or　my　smoothtongued　Jackson。〃

〃Or　yourself；〃　said　Miss　Marple。

Mr。　Rafiel　ignored　this　last　point。

〃Don't　say　things　to　irritate　me；〃　he　said。　〃I'll　tell　you　the　first　thing　that　strikes　me；　and　which　you　don't　seem　to　have　thought　of。　If　it's　one　of　those　three；　why　the　devil　didn't　old　Palgrave　recognise　him　before？　Dash　it　all；　they've　all　been　sitting　round　looking　at　each　other　for　the　last　two　weeks。　That　doesn't　seem　to　make　sense。〃

〃I　think　it　could；〃　said　Miss　Marple。

〃Well；　tell　me　how。〃

〃You　see；　in　Major　Palgrave's　story　he　hadn't　seen　this　man　himself　at　any　time。　It　was　a　story　told　to　him　by　a　doctor。　The　doctor　gave　him　the　snapshot　as　a　curiosity。　Major　Palgrave　may　have　looked　at　the　snapshot　fairly　closely　at　the　time　but　after　that　he'd　just　stuck　it　away　in　his　wallet　and　kept　it　as　a　souvenir。　Occasionally；　perhaps；　he'd　take　it　out　and　show　it　to　someone　he　was　telling　the　story　to。　And　another　thing；　Mr。　Rafiel；　we　don't　know　how　long　ago　this　happened。　He　didn't　give　me　any　indication　of　that　when　he　was　telling　the　story。　I　mean　this　may　have　been　a　story　he's　been　telling　to　people　for　years。　Five　years。　Ten　years。　Longer　still　perhaps。　Some　of　his　tiger　stories　go　back　about　twenty　years。〃

〃They　would！〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel。

〃So　I　don't　suppose　for　a　moment　that　Major　Palgrave　would　recognise　the　face　in　the　snapshot　if　he　came　across　the　man　casually。　What　I　think　happened；　what　I'm　almost　sure　must　have　happened；　is　that　as　he　told　his　story　he　fumbled　for　the　snapshot；　took　it　out；　looked　down　at　it　studying　the　face　and　then　looked　up　to　see　the　same　face；　or　one　with　a　strong　resemblance　ing　towards　him　from　a　distance　of　about　ten　or　twelve　feet　away。〃

〃Yes；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel　consideringly；　〃Yes；　that's　possible。〃

〃He　was　taken　aback；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃and　he　shoved　it　back　in　his　wallet　and　began　to　talk　loudly　about　something　else。〃

〃He　couldn't　have　been　sure；〃　said　Mr。　Rafiel；　shrewdly。

〃No；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃he　couldn't　have　been　sure。　But　of　course　afterwards　he　would　have　studied　the　snapshot　very　carefully　and　would　have　looked　at　the　man　and　tried　to　make　up　his　mind　whether　it　was　just　a　likeness　or　whether　it　could　actually　be　the　same　person。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　reflected　a　moment　or　two；　then　he　shook　his　head。　〃There's　something　wrong　here。　The　motive's　inadequate。　Absolutely　inadequate。　He　was　speaking　to　you　loudly；　was　he？〃

〃Yes；〃　said　Miss　Marple；　〃quite　loudly。　He　always　did。〃

〃True　enough。　Yes；　he　did　shout。　So　whoever　was　approaching　would　hear　what　he　said？〃

〃I　should　imagine　you　could　hear　it　for　quite　a　good　radius　round。〃

Mr。　Rafiel　shook　his　head　again。　He　said；　〃It's　fantastic；　too　fantastic。　Anybody　would　laugh　at　such　a　story。　Here's　an　old　booby　telling　a　story　about　another　story　somebody　told　him；　and　showing　a　snapshot；　and　all　of　it　centring　round　a　murder　which　had　taken　place　years　ago！　Or　at　any　rate；　a　year　or　two。　How　on　earth　can　that　worry　the　man　in　question。　No　evidence；　just　a　bit　of　hearsay；　a　story　at　third　hand。　He　could　even　admit　a　likeness；　he　could　say：　'Yes；　I　do　look　rather　like　that　fellow；　don't　I！　Ha；　ha！'　Nobody's　going　to　take　old　Palgrave's　identification　seriously。　Don't　tell　me　so；　because　I　won't　believe　it。　No；　the　chap；　if　it　was　the　chap；　had　nothing　t