首相绑架案 12

Twelve,THE VEILED LADY,I had noticed that for some time Poirot had been growing increasingly dissatisfied and restless. Wehad had no interesting cases of late, nothing on which my little friend could exercise his keen witsand remarkable ¹ powers of deduction ². This morning he flung down the newspaper with animpatient “Tchah!? ”—a favourite exclamation ³ of his which sounded exactly like a cat sneezing.,“They fear me, Hastings; the criminals of your England they fear me! When the cat is there,the little mice, they come no more to the cheese!
”,“I don’t suppose the greater part of them even know of your existence,” I said, laughing.,Poirot looked at me reproachfully. He always imagines that the whole world is thinking andtalking of Hercule Poirot. He had certainly made a name for himself in London, but I could hardlybelieve that his existence struck terror into the criminal world.,“A neat coup, ” said Poirot approvingly, “though not in my line. Pas de finesse ⁵, seulement del’audace! A man with a loaded cane ⁶ smashes the plate-glass window of a jeweller’s shop andgrabs a number of precious stones. Worthy ⁷ citizens immediately seize him; a policeman arrives.,He is caught red-handed with the jewels on him. He is marched off to the police, and then it isdiscovered that the stones are paste. He has passed the real ones to a confederate—one of theaforementioned worthy citizens. He will go to prison—true; but when he comes out, there will bea nice little fortune awaiting him. Yes, not badly imagined. But I could do better than that.,Sometimes, Hastings, I regret that I am of such a moral disposition ⁸. To work against the law, itwould be pleasing, for a change.
”,“Cheer up, Poirot; you know you are unique in your own line.”,“But what is there on hand in my own line? ”,These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响 。,No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资
。