古墓之谜 11

Ten,SATURDAY AFTERNOON,Mrs.?Leidner told me her story on a Friday.,On the Saturday morning there was a feeling of slight anticlimax ¹ in the air.,Mrs.?Leidner, in particular, was inclined to be very offhand ² with me and rather pointedlyavoided any possibility of a tête-à-tête. Well, that didn’t surprise me! I’ve had the same thinghappen to me again and again. Ladies tell their nurses things in a sudden burst of confidence, andthen, afterwards, they feel uncomfortable about it and wish they hadn’t! It’s only human nature.,I was very careful not to hint or remind her in any way of what she had told me. I purposelykept my conversation as matter-of-fact as possible.,Work on the dig was usually not very busy on the afternoon of payday as at three-thirty thepaying out began.,The little boy, Abdullah, whose business it was to wash pots, was established as usual in thecentre of the courtyard, and again, as usual, kept up his queer nasal chant. Dr.?Leidner andMr.?Emmott were going to put in some work on the pottery ⁴ until Mr.?Coleman returned, andMr.?Carey went up to the dig.,Mrs.?Leidner went to her room to rest. I settled her as usual and then went to my own room,taking a book with me as I did not feel sleepy. It was then about a quarter to one, and a couple ofhours passed quite pleasantly. I was reading Death in a Nursing Home—really a most excitingstory—though I don’t think the author knew much about the way nursing homes are run! At anyrate I’ve never known a nursing home like that! I really felt inclined to write to the author and puthim right about a few points.,When I put the book down at last (it was the red-haired parlourmaid and I’d never suspectedher once!) and looked at my watch I was quite surprised to find it was twenty minutes to three!,I got up, straightened my uniform, and came out into the courtyard.,It was an anticlimax when they abandoned the game.他们放弃比赛
，真是扫兴
。,I can't answer your request offhand.我不能随便答复你的要求。