The strong public interest in the Stiles case is over now, but because the case was so famous I have been asked to write an account记述 of the whole story to prevent any more sensational使人感动的 rumours谣言. This is how I, Captain Arthur Hastings, am involved包含 with the affair. I was wounded使受伤 while fighting in the great war and sent home to recover恢复. I had no close relatives or friends, and was wondering where to stay when I met my friend John Cavendish.
John was a friendly man of about forty-five, much older than me. I had not seen him for many years, but when I was a boy I often stayed at Stiles, his mother's country house in Essex. We talked about old times, and John kindly亲切地 invited me to stay at Stiles to rest. "My mother will be delighted高兴的 to see you again," he added. "Is your mother well?" I asked. "Oh, yes. Did you know she has married again?" I was surprised.
John's mother, Emily, must now be seventy years old. I remembered her as an energetic精力充沛的 woman with a strong personality个性. She married John's father after his first wife had died, leaving him with two sons, John and Lawrence. When John's father died, he left Stiles and most of his money to Emily, his second wife, and his older son John would inherit继承(传统等) Stiles only after she died. Though this was unfair, Emily was very generous慷慨的 to the two boys, and they thought and spoke of her as their own mother.
Lawrence, John's younger brother, had qualified限制 as a doctor, but then abandoned放弃 the medical profession职业. He lived at Stiles and wrote poetry诗 which was not very successful. John's profession职业 had once been the law, but now he and his wife also lived at Stiles. I suspected怀疑 he would prefer his own house, but his mother had all the money, and she liked to control控制 everyone. John noticed my surprise at the news of his mother's marriage结婚. It's making life very difficult for us, Hastings.
This man, Alfred Inglethorpe, arrived from nowhere, saying he was Evie's second cousin. Evie Howard is mother's companion同伴. Mother employed雇用 him as a secretary, but we were shocked使休克 when she married him a few months ago. He's twenty years younger than she is, and I'm sure he just wants her money. Three days later, I arrived by train at the station of Stiles St.Mary. John Cavendish was waiting on the platform, and his car was outside. He looked at his watch.
"We don't have time to collect Cynthia." "Is Cynthia your wife?" "No. Cynthia Murdock is the daughter of an old friend of my mother's. Mother rescued Cynthia when her parents died, and she's lived with us for nearly two years. She works in the hospital at Tadminster." It was a warm day in early July. As we drove, I admired the Essex countryside, green and peaceful in the sun. It was hard to believe that a war was being fought not far away.
John said, "It's very quiet here, Hastings." My wife Mary works on the land, because so many men are away fighting. She's up at five every morning to milk the cows. It's a good life, or it would be if only Alfred Inglethorpe wasn't here. We arrived at the fine old house. A lady, who was gardening, stood up as we approached向…靠近. "Hello, Evie. Here's our wounded使受伤 hero. Mr. Hastings, this is Miss Evelyn Howard. We call her Evee." Miss Howard shook my hand with a strong grip紧握.
She was a pleasant-looking woman of forty, with very blue eyes and a sun-tanned鞣（革） face. She had a large square body and a deep voice like a man's. "Come and have tea, Evee," said John. "You've done enough gardening园艺 for today?" "Yes," said Miss Howard, removing her gardening园艺 gloves. "I think you're right." She led us round the house to where tea was being served, in the shade of a large tree, and, as we approached向…靠近, John's wife Mary came to meet us.
I'll never forget my first sight of Mary Cavendish. She was tall and slim, with wonderful dark eyes. Although she was very calm静的 and quiet on the outside, I imagined that inside she was wild and free. Her voice was low and clear. Suddenly I was very glad that I had come to Stiles. As we were having tea, a white-haired old lady stepped out of the house onto the grass, followed by a younger man. Mrs. Emily Inglethor Greeted me with enthusiasm热情.
"I'm delighted高兴的 to see you again. Alfred, darling亲爱的人, this is Mr. Hastings." I looked curiously奇怪地 at Alfred, darling亲爱的人. He had a long black beard, and wore gold-framed设计 glasses and strange clothes. He didn't seem to belong there. He looked as if he should be on stage, like an actor, not here at Stiles in real life. "This is a pleasure, Mr. Hastings," said Mr. Inglethor in a deep voice. Then he said to his wife, "Emily, dearest, that cushion垫子 is damp!"
She smiled happily at him, as he brought another cushion垫子 with tender投标 care. It was clear that no one else liked, Mr. Inglethorpe. Miss Howard, in particular, could not hide her feelings. But Mrs. Inglethorpe didn't notice. She talked steadily平稳地, and her husband was very attentive注意的 to her. I disliked him immediately, and my first opinions are usually right. While we drank tea, we talked of my profession职业. After the war, I wanted a fresh start. "If you could do anything," asked Mary Cavendish, "what would you choose?" "Well," I said, "I've always wanted to be a detective侦探."
I had a friend in Belgium, a very famous detective侦探. He said that method was the key to all good detective侦探 work. He was a marvellous little man, and wonderfully令人惊讶地 clever. "I like a good detective侦探 story," remarked陈述 Miss Howard, "though they are often nonsense胡说. With a real crime, the family would know who the murderer杀人犯 was. If I was involved包含 in a murder谋杀, I would know him at once. The murderer杀人犯 might be a woman," I suggested. "Yes, but murders谋杀 a violent crime. I think of a murderer杀人犯 as a man."
"Not if it's poison毒," said Mary Cavendish. "What a horrible令人恐惧的 conversation," said, Mrs. Inglethorpe. "It makes me feel uncomfortable." "Oh, here's Cynthia!" A young girl, in hospital uniform, ran lightly轻轻地 across the lawn草地. "You're late to-day, Cynthia." "Mr. Hastings, this is Miss Murdock." Cynthia Murdock was a fresh-looking young woman, full of life and energy, with beautiful red hair. She sat down on the ground beside John, and, as I gave her a plate of sandwiches, she smiled up at me.
"You work in the hospital at Tadminster, don't you, Miss Murdock?" I said. "Yes, I work in the pharmacy, with the drugs and medicines." "How many people do you poison毒害?" I asked, smiling. Cynthia smiled, too. "Oh, hundreds!" "Cynthia," interrupted Mrs. Inglethorpe, "can you write a few notes for me?" "Certainly, Aunt Emily." Cynthia stood up quickly. I remembered that she was dependent依靠的 on Mrs. Inglethorpe, who did not let her forget it. Then Mrs. Inglethorpe turned to me. "John will show you your room, which looks out over the park. To save money because of the war, we now have a simple supper at half-past seven, and we don't waste anything at Stiles.
Even every little piece of waste paper is saved and sent away." Later on, from my window, I saw John walking and laughing with Cynthia Murdock, until Mrs. Inglethorpe impatiently called her back to the house. Just then I saw John's younger brother, Lawrence Cavendish. He was about forty, with dark hair and a sad, clean-shaven face. He seemed upset about something, and I wondered what it was. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly令人愉快地, and I dreamed that night of John's wife, Mary Cavendish.
The next day was bright and sunny. I spent an enjoyable afternoon walking in the woods with Mary, returning to the house at five. We met John Cavendish as we entered the hall. His face told me that something was wrong, and we followed him into the library. "Eve's had an argument争论 with Mother, and she's leaving," he told us. Just then Evelyn Howard entered, carrying a small suitcase. She looked excited but determined坚决的. "Emily won't forgive原谅 me for this. I told her, 'Your husband is twenty years younger than you and married you for money.
Ask your Alfred how often he visits Farmer Rakes's pretty young wife. He's a bad man,' I said, 'and I won't be surprised if he murders谋杀 you for your money.'" She was very angry. "What did Mother say?" asked John. Miss Howard frowned皱眉. "She said, 'My darling亲爱的人 Alfred, these are terrible lies. Get out of my house!' So I'm leaving now." Nothing would change her mind. So finally John went to get the car, and Mary followed him. When we were alone, Miss Howard leaned towards me.
"Look after my poor Emily, Mr. Hastings. They all want her money. Now I'm leaving. I can't protect her." "Of course, Miss Howard," I said, "I'll do everything I can." "Keep your eyes open," she said as she moved to the door, "and watch that devil魔鬼, her husband." Then Miss Howard was surrounded围绕 by people saying good-bye. The Ingle Thorpe's did not appear. As the car drove away, Mary Cavendish went to meet a tall man with a beard who was approaching向…靠近 the house.
Her face turned red as she shook his hand. "Who is that?" I asked. "I didn't trust the man from the first moment I saw him." "That's Dr. Bowerstein," said John. "He's staying in the village, recovering恢复 from an illness病. He's a top London doctor, an expert专家 on poisons毒." "And he's a great friend of Mary's," said Cynthia. John Cavendish frowned皱眉 and suggested a walk. "I hate to see E. V. Howard leave," he said, as he and I walked through the woods.
"She's a good friend." We didn't talk much, and on our way home we met a pretty young woman who smiled at us as we passed. "That's Mrs. Rakes," said John. "The one that Miss Howard—yes," said John abruptly突然地. I compared Mrs. Ingle Thorpe, a white-haired old lady, to this pretty young girl, and remembered what Evelyn Howard had said. To change the subject, I said to John, "Styles is really a wonderful old house." He nodded点(头) sadly. "Yes, it's a fine property财产. It would be mine now if my father had made a fair will意志, and then I'd have enough money."
"I'm in debt债, too, you know." "Can your brother Lawrence help?" "He's spent all his money on his poetry诗. We're all poor. Mother has been very generous慷慨的 until now, but since her marriage—结婚" He stopped, frowning皱眉. This was when I first felt uneasy心神不安的. Just for a moment, I had a feeling that something was badly wrong at Styles.