Пуаро веде слідство
III. The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
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Attwelveo’clockprecisely,wecreptcautiouslyintothecoal-liftandloweredourselvestothesecondfloor.UnderPoirot’smanipulation,thewoodendoorquicklyswunginwards,andweclimbedintotheflat.Fromthescullerywepassedintothekitchenwhereweestablishedourselvescomfortablyintwochairswiththedoorintothehallajar.
“Nowwehavebuttowait,”saidPoirotcontentedly,closinghiseyes.
Tome,thewaitingappearedendless.Iwasterrifiedofgoingtosleep.JustwhenitseemedtomethatIhadbeenthereabouteighthours—andhad,asIfoundoutafterwards,inrealitybeenexactlyonehourandtwentyminutes—afaintscratchingsoundcametomyears.Poirot’shandtouchedmine.Irose,andtogetherwemovedcarefullyinthedirectionofthehall.Thenoisecamefromthere.Poirotplacedhislipstomyear.
“Outsidethefrontdoor.Theyarecuttingoutthelock.WhenIgivetheword,notbefore,falluponhimfrombehindandholdhimfast.Becareful,hewillhaveaknife.”
Presentlytherewasarendingsound,andalittlecircleoflightappearedthroughthedoor.Itwasextinguishedimmediatelyandthenthedoorwasslowlyopened.PoirotandIflattenedourselvesagainstthewall.Iheardaman’sbreathingashepassedus.Thenheflashedonhistorch,andashedidso,Poirothissedinmyear:
“Allez.”
Wesprangtogether,Poirotwithaquickmovementenvelopedtheintruder’sheadwithalightwoollenscarfwhilstIpinionedhisarms.Thewholeaffairwasquickandnoiseless.
