Загадочное происшествие в Стайлзе
Chapter V. “It Isn’t Strychnine, Is It?”
”
Forabouttenminuteshesatindeadsilence,perfectlystill,exceptforseveralexpressivemotionsofhiseyebrows,andallthetimehiseyesgrewsteadilygreener.Atlastheheavedadeepsigh.
“Itiswell.Thebadmomenthaspassed.Nowallisarrangedandclassified.Onemustneverpermitconfusion.Thecaseisnotclearyet—no.Foritisofthemostcomplicated!Itpuzzlesme.Me,HerculePoirot!Therearetwofactsofsignificance.”
“Andwhatarethey?”
“Thefirstisthestateoftheweatheryesterday.Thatisveryimportant.”
“Butitwasagloriousday!”Iinterrupted.“Poirot,you’repullingmyleg!”
“Notatall.Thethermometerregistered80degreesintheshade.Donotforgetthat,myfriend.Itisthekeytothewholeriddle!”
“Andthesecondpoint?”Iasked.
“TheimportantfactthatMonsieurInglethorpwearsverypeculiarclothes,hasablackbeard,andusesglasses.”
“Poirot,Icannotbelieveyouareserious.”
“Iamabsolutelyserious,myfriend.”
“Butthisischildish!”
“No,itisverymomentous.”
“AndsupposingtheCoroner’sjuryreturnsaverdictofWilfulMurderagainstAlfredInglethorp.Whatbecomesofyourtheories,then?”
“Theywouldnotbeshakenbecausetwelvestupidmenhadhappenedtomakeamistake!Butthatwillnotoccur.Foronething,acountryjuryisnotanxioustotakeresponsibilityuponitself,andMr.Inglethorpstandspracticallyinthepositionoflocalsquire.Also,”headdedplacidly,“Ishouldnotallowit!”
“Youwouldnotallowit?”
“No
