1、Chapter 1The September sun beat down hotly on Le Bourget aerodrome as the passengers crossed the ground and climbed into the air liner Prometheus, due to depart for Croydon in a few minutes time.Jane Grey was among the last to enter and take her seat, No. 16. Some of the passengers had already passe
2、d on through the center door past the tiny pantry kitchen and the two wash rooms to the front car. Most people were already seated. On the opposite side of the gangway there was a good deal of chatter - a rather shrill, high-pitched womans voice dominating it. Janes lips twisted slightly. She knew t
3、hat particular type of voice so well.My dear, its extraordinary - no idea. Where do you say?. Juan les Pins?. Oh, yes. No, Le Pinet. Yes, just the same old crowd. But of course lets sit together. Oh, cant we?. Who?. Oh, I see.And then a mans voice, foreign, polite:With the greatest of pleasure, mada
4、me.Jane stole a glance out of the corner of her eye.A little elderly man with large mustaches and an egg-shaped head was politely moving himself and his belongings from the seat corresponding to Janes on the opposite side of the gangway.Jane turned her head slightly and got a view of the two women w
5、hose unexpected meeting had occasioned this polite action on the strangers part. The mention of Le Pinet had stimulated her curiosity, for Jane, also, had been at Le Pinet.She remembered one of the women perfectly - remembered how she had seen her last, at the baccarat table, her little hands clench
6、ing and unclenching themselves; her delicately made-up, Dresden-china face flushing and paling alternately. With a little effort, Jane thought, she could have remembered her name. A friend had mentioned it; had said, Shes a peeress, she is. But not one of the proper ones; she was only some chorus gi
7、rl or other.Deep scorn in the friends voice. That had been Maisie, who had a first-class job as a masseuse, taking off flesh.The other woman, Jane thought in passing, was the real thing. The horsey county type, thought Jane, and forthwith forgot the two women and interested herself in the view obtai
8、nable through the window of Le Bourget aerodrome. Various other machines were standing about. One of them looked like a big metallic centipede.The one place she was obstinately determined not to look was straight in front of her, where, on the seat opposite, sat a young man.He was wearing a rather b
9、right periwinkle-blue pullover. Above the pullover, Jane was determined not to look. If she did, she might catch his eye. And that would never do!Mechanics shouted in French; the engine roared, relaxed, roared again; obstructions were pulled away; the plane started.Jane caught her breath. It was onl
10、y her second flight. She was still capable of being thrilled. It looked - it looked as though they must run into that fence thing - no, they were off the ground, rising, rising, sweeping round; there was Le Bourget beneath them.The midday service to Croydon had started. It contained twenty-one passe
11、ngers - ten in the forward carriage, eleven in the rear one. It had two pilots and two stewards. The noise of the engines was very skillfully deadened. There was no need to put cotton wool in the ears. Nevertheless, there was enough noise to discourage conversation and encourage thought.As the plane
12、 roared above France on its way to the Channel, the passengers in the rear compartment thought their various thoughts.Jane Grey thought: I wont look at him - I wont. Its much better not. Ill go on looking out of the window and thinking. Ill choose a definite thing to think about; thats always the be
13、st way. That will keep my mind steady. Ill begin at the beginning and go all over it.Resolutely she switched her mind back to what she called the beginning - that purchase of a ticket in the Irish Sweep. It had been an extravagance, but an exciting extravagance.A lot of laughter and teasing chatter
14、in the hairdressing establishment in which Jane and five other young ladies were employed:Whatll you do if you win it, dear?I know what Id do.Plans, castles in the air, a lot of chaff.Well, she hadnt won it - it being the big prize. But she had won a hundred pounds.A hundred pounds!You spend half of
15、 it, dear, and keep the other half for a rainy day. You never know.Id buy a fur coat, if I was you - a real tip-top one.What about a cruise?Jane had wavered at the thought of a cruise, but in the end she had remained faithful to her first idea. A week at Le Pinet. So many of her ladies had been goin
16、g to Le Pinet or just come back from Le Pinet. Jane - her clever fingers patting and manipulating the waves, her tongue uttering mechanically the usual clichs, Let me see. How long is it since you had your perm, madam?. Your hairs such an uncommon color, madam. What a wonderful summer it has been, h
17、asnt it, madam? - had thought to herself, Why the devil cant I go to Le Pinet? Well, now she could!Clothes presented small difficulty. Jane, like most London girls employed in smart places, could produce a miraculous effect of fashion for a ridiculously small outlay. Nails, make-up and hair were bey
18、ond reproach.Jane went to Le Pinet.Was it possible that now, in her thoughts, ten days at Le Pinet had dwindled down to one incident?An incident at the roulette table. Jane allowed herself a certain amount each evening for the pleasures of gambling. That sum she was determined not to exceed. Contrar
19、y to the prevalent superstition, Janes beginners luck had been bad. This was her fourth evening and the last stake of that evening. So far she had staked prudently on color or on one of the dozens; she had won a little, but lost more. Now she waited, her stake in her hand.There were two numbers on w
20、hich nobody had staked. Five and six. Should she put this, her last stake, on one of those numbers? If so, which of them? Five or six? Which did she feel?Five - five was going to turn up. The ball was spun. Jane stretched out her hand. Six - shed put it on six.Just in time. She and another player op
21、posite staked simultaneously. She on six, he on five.Rien ne va plus, said the croupier.The ball clicked, settled.Le numro cinq, rouge, impair, manque.Jane could have cried with vexation. The croupier swept away the stakes, paid out. The man opposite said: Arent you going to take up your winnings?Mi
22、ne?Yes.But I put on six.Indeed you didnt. I put on six and you put on five.He smiled - a very attractive smile. White teeth in a very brown face. Blue eyes. Crisp short hair.Half unbelievingly, Jane picked up her gains. Was it true? She felt a little muddled herself. Perhaps she had put her counters
23、 on five. She looked doubtingly at the stranger and he smiled easily back.Thats right, he said. Leave a thing lying there and somebody else will grab it who has got no right to it. Thats an old trick.Then, with a friendly little nod of the head, he had moved away. That, too, had been nice of him. Sh
24、e might have suspected otherwise that he had not let her take his winnings in order to scrape acquaintance with her. But he wasnt that kind of man. He was nice. And here he was, sitting opposite to her.And now it was all over, the money spent, a last two days - rather disappointing days - in Paris,
25、and now home on her return air ticket. And what next?Stop, said Jane in her mind. Dont think of whats going to happen next. Itll only make you nervous.The two women had stopped talking.She looked across the gangway. The Dresden-china woman exclaimed petulantly, examining a broken finger nail. She ra
26、ng the bell, and when the white-coated steward appeared she said:Send my maid to me. Shes in the other compartment.Yes, my lady.The steward, very deferential, very quick and efficient, disappeared again. A dark-haired French girl dressed in black appeared. She carried a small jewel case.Lady Horbury
27、 spoke to her in French:Madeleine, I want my red morocco case.The maid passed along the gangway. At the extreme end of the car were some piled-up rugs and cases.The girl returned with a small dressing case.Cicely Horbury took it and dismissed the maid.Thats all right, Madeleine. Ill keep it here.The
28、 maid went out again. Lady Horbury opened the case and from the beautifully fitted interior she extracted a nail file. Then she looked long and earnestly at her face in a small mirror and touched it up here and there - a little powder, more lip salve.Janes lips curled scornfully; her glance traveled
29、 farther down the car.Behind the two women was the little foreigner who had yielded his seat to the county woman. Heavily muffled up in unnecessary mufflers, he appeared to be fast asleep. Perhaps made uneasy by Janes scrutiny, his eyes opened, looked at her for a moment, then closed again.Beside hi
30、m sat a tall, gray-haired man with an authoritative face. He had a flute case open in front of him and was polishing the flute with loving care. Funny, Jane thought, he didnt look like a musician - more like a lawyer or a doctor.Behind these two were a couple of Frenchmen, one with a beard and one m
31、uch younger - perhaps his son. They were talking and gesticulating in an excited manner.On her own side of the car, Janes view was blocked by the man in the blue pullover - the man at whom, for some absurd reason, she was determined not to look.Absurd to feel so - so excited. I might be seventeen, t
32、hought Jane disgustedly.Opposite her, Norman Gale was thinking:Shes pretty - really pretty. She remembers me all right. She looked so disappointed when her stakes were swept away. It was worth a lot more than that to see her pleasure when she won. I did that rather well. Shes very attractive when sh
33、e smiles - no pyorrhoea there - healthy gums and sound teeth. Damn it, I feel quite excited. Steady, my boy.He said to the steward, who hovered at his side with the menu, Ill have cold tongue.The Countess of Horbury thought: What shall I do? Its the hell of a mess. The hell of a mess. Theres only on
34、e way out that I can see. If only I had the nerve - Can I do it? Can I bluff it out? My nerves are all to pieces! Thats the coke. Why did I ever take to coke? My face looks awful - simply awful. That cat, Venetia Kerr, being here makes it worse. She always looks at me as though I were dirt. Wanted S
35、tephen herself. Well, she didnt get him! That long face of hers gets on my nerves. Its exactly like a horse. I hate these county women. What shall I do? Ive got to make up my mind. The old hag meant what she said.She fumbled in her vanity bag for her cigarette case and fitted a cigarette into a long
36、 holder. Her hands shook slightly.The Honorable Venetia Kerr thought: Little tart! Thats what she is. Poor old Stephen! If he only could get rid of her!She, in turn, felt for her cigarette case. She accepted Cicely Horburys match.The steward said: Excuse me, ladies; no smoking.Cicely Horbury said, H
37、ell!M. Hercule Poirot thought: She is pretty, that little one over there. There is determination in that chin. Why is she so worried over something? Why is she so determined not to look at the handsome young man opposite her? She is very much aware of him and he of her. The plane dropped slightly. M
38、on estomac! thought Hercule Poirot, and closed his eyes determinedly.Beside him, Doctor Bryant, caressing his flute with nervous hands, thought: I cant decide. I simply cannot decide. This is the turning point of my career.Nervously he drew out his flute from its case, caressingly, lovingly. Music -
39、 in music there was an escape from all your cares. Half smiling, he raised the flute to his lips; then put it down again. The little man with the mustaches beside him was fast asleep. There had been a moment, when the plane had bumped a little, when he had looked distinctly green. Doctor Bryant was
40、glad he himself became neither train-sick nor sea-sick nor air-sick.M. Dupont pre turned excitedly in his seat and shouted at M. Dupont fils, sitting beside him:There is no doubt about it! They are all wrong - the Germans, the Americans, the English! They date the prehistoric pottery all wrong! Take
41、 the Samarra ware -Jean Dupont, tall, fair, with a false air of indolence, said:You must take the evidences from all sources. There is Tall Halaf, and Sakje Geuze -They prolonged the discussion.Armand Dupont wrenched open a battered attach case.Take these Kurdish pipes, such as they make today. The
42、decoration on them is almost exactly similar to that on the pottery of 5000 b.c.An eloquent gesture almost swept away the plate that a steward was placing in front of him.Mr Clancy, writer of detective stories, rose from his seat behind Norman Gale and padded to the end of the car, extracted a Conti
43、nental Bradshaw from his raincoat pocket and returned with it to work out a complicated alibi for professional purposes.Mr Ryder, in the seat behind him, thought: Ill have to keep my end up, but its not going to be easy. I dont see how Im going to raise the dibs for the next dividend. If we pass the
44、 dividend the fats in the fire. Oh, hell!Norman Gale rose and went to the wash room. As soon as he had gone, Jane drew out a mirror and surveyed her face anxiously. She also applied powder and lipstick.A steward placed coffee in front of her.Jane looked out of the window. The Channel showed blue and
45、 shining below.A wasp buzzed round Mr Clancys head just as he was dealing with 19:55 at Tsaribrod, and he struck at it absently. The wasp flew off to investigate the Duponts coffee cups.Jean Dupont slew it neatly.Peace settled down on the car. Conversation ceased, but thoughts pursued their way.Righ
46、t at the end of the car, in Seat No. 2, Madame Giselles head lolled forward a little. One might have taken her to be asleep. But she was not asleep. She neither spoke nor thought.Madame Giselle was dead.Chapter 2Henry Mitchell, the senior of the two stewards, passed swiftly from table to table, depo
47、siting bills. In half an hours time they would be at Croydon. He gathered up notes and silver, bowed, said, Thank you, sir.Thank you, madam. At the table where the two Frenchmen sat, he had to wait a minute or two; they were so busy discussing and gesticulating. And there wouldnt be much of a tip, anyway, from them, he thought gloomily. Two of the passengers were asleep - the little man with the mustaches and the old woman down at the end. She was a good tipper, though; he remembered her crossing several times. He refrained, therefore, from awaking her.The little man with the mustaches woke u
