“You see,” he said, “we make progress.”
“你们瞧，”他说，“我们有进展了。”
“In fact you are quite certain of her guilt.”
“事实上，你非常肯定她有罪。”
When the Count and Countess had departed, Poirot looked across at the other two.
伯爵夫妇离开之后，波洛打量着另外两个人。
“My dear friend, surely there is no doubt of it? I thought your reassuring manner was only to smooth things over till we are dug out of the snow and the police take charge.”
“我亲爱的朋友——肯定是毫无疑问的吧？我看你那种让人放心的样子，好像只要等我们从雪堆里出来，警察接手此事，一切就都妥善解决了。”
“You do not believe the Count’s positive assertion — on his word of honour — that his wife is innocent?”
“你不相信伯爵明确地坚持——以他的名誉保证——他的妻子是清白的？”
“Excellent work,” said M. Bouc cordially. “For my part, I should never have dreamed of suspecting Count and Countess Andrenyi. I will admit I thought them quite hors de combat. I suppose there is no doubt that she committed the crime? It is rather sad. Still, they will not guillotine her. There are extenuating circumstances. A few years’ imprisonment — that will be all.”
“太棒了！”布克先生诚心诚意地说，“要是我，做梦也不会怀疑安德雷尼伯爵夫妇。我承认我认为他们跟此事完全无关。我想，毫无疑问是她作的案了？这真让人难过。但是，他们不会处决她的，这案子情有可原。监禁几年——仅此而已。”
“Mon cher — naturally — what else could he say? He adores his wife. He wants to save her! He tells his lie very well — quite in the grand Seigneur manner, but what else than a lie could it be?”
“我亲爱的——自然了——不然他还能说什么？他爱他的妻子。他想救她！他很会撒谎——一副贵族的样子。可是除了谎言，他还能说什么？”
M. Bouc broke off. The door at the end had opened, and Princess Dragomiroff entered the dining car. She came straight to them and all three men rose to their feet.
布克先生停住了。另一端的门打开，德拉戈米罗夫公主走进餐车，径直走向他们。三个人站了起来。
“Oh, I am not so sure about the handkerchief. You remember, I always told you that there were two possibilities as to the ownership of the handkerchief.”
“哦，我不完全相信手帕的事。你记得，我总是跟你说，关于手帕的主人，有两种可能性。”
Poirot shot a glance of triumph at the other two.
波洛朝另外两个人胜利地瞥了一眼。
“Well, you know, I had the preposterous idea that it might be the truth.”
“唔，你知道，我有个荒谬的想法，他说的可能是真的。”
“All the same –“
“反正——”
She spoke to Poirot, ignoring the others. “I believe, Monsieur,” she said, “that you have a handkerchief of mine.”
她无视其他两个人，只对波洛说道：“我相信，先生，”她说，“你有我的一块手帕。”
He produced the little square of fine cambric.
他掏出了那块精致的棉纱手帕。
“Is this it, Madame?”
“是这块吗，夫人？”
“No, no. The handkerchief, remember. The handkerchief clinches the matter.”
“不，不。别忘了，手帕。手帕可是板上钉钉的事实。”
“That is it. It has my initial in the corner.”
“就是它。角上有我名字的首字母。”
She gave him a cold stare.
她冷冷地看了他一眼。
“That is correct, Monsieur. My handkerchiefs are always initialled in the Russian characters. H is N in Russian.”
“正是这个，先生。我手帕上的首字母是俄语，在俄语中，H就是N。”
“But, Madame la Princesse, that is the letter H,” said M. Bouc. “Your Christian name — pardon me — is Natalia.”
“但是，公主，这里的字母是H，”布克先生说，“您的教名——请原谅——是娜塔丽亚（Natalia）。”
“Pray be seated, Madame,” said Poirot.
“请坐，夫人。”波洛说。
“In fact you deliberately lied to us in the matter.”
“您的确在这件事上故意对我们有所隐瞒。”
“Certainly. I would do the same again. Her mother was my friend. I believe, Messieurs, in loyalty — to one’s friends and one’s family and one’s caste.”
“当然。而且我还会这么做的。她母亲是我的朋友。先生，我相信我是忠实的——对朋友、家人、阶层。”
She sighed. “I may as well, I suppose.”
她叹了口气。“我想，好吧。”
“None whatever.”
“一无所知。”
“You did not tell us that this handkerchief was yours at the inquiry this morning.”
“今天上午问您的时候您并没有告诉我们手帕是您的。”
“You have really no idea.”
“您真的不知道吗？”
M. Bouc was somewhat taken aback. There was something about this indomitable old lady which made him feel flustered and uncomfortable.
布克先生有些惊讶。这个倔老太太身上有些东西让他觉得慌张和不自在。
She sat down.
她坐了下来。
Princess Dragomiroff answered contemptuously. “I suppose you mean because I did not tell you that Helena Andrenyi was Mrs. Armstrong’s sister?”
德拉戈米罗夫公主轻蔑地答道：“我想你的意思是，因为我没有告诉你海伦娜·安德雷尼就是阿姆斯特朗太太的妹妹？”
“You did not ask me,” said the Princess dryly.
“你没问我。”公主冷冰冰地说。
“You need not make a long business of this, Messieurs. Your next question will be — how did my handkerchief come to be lying by a murdered man’s body? My reply to that is that I have no idea.”
“不需要多费唇舌了，先生们，你们下一个问题会是——我的手帕怎么会在尸体旁边？我的回答是我不知道。”
“You will excuse me, Madame, but how much can we rely upon the truthfulness of your replies?” Poirot said the words very softly.
“请原谅，夫人，但是对于您的回答的真实性，我们能相信几分呢？”波洛说这话时语气十分柔和。
“So that was it,” murmured Poirot softly. “I noticed just a trifling hesitation when I asked the maid if she knew to whom the handkerchief belonged. She was uncertain whether or not to admit that it was her mistress’s. But how does that fit in with that strange central idea of mine? Yes, it might well be.”
“就是这样，”波洛轻声咕哝着，“我问女仆是否知道手帕是谁的，我注意到她有一点犹豫，她不确定应不应该承认是女主人的。但是怎么才能对应到我脑中那奇特的中心理论上去呢？没错，也许可以。”
“You see my difficulty, Madame. In this matter of the handkerchief, even, am I to believe you? Or are you shielding your friend’s daughter?”
“您明白我的难处，夫人。在手帕这件事上，我能相信您吗？或者您是在掩护朋友的女儿？”
“In this case I consider that justice — strict justice — has been done.”
“在这个案子中，我认为，正义——严格的正义——已经得到了伸张。”
“Have you anything further you wish to ask me?”
“你们还有什么要问的？”
With a slight inclination of her head she passed out of the dining car.
她微微一低头，走出了餐车。
“She must have done so. She saw it and said nothing? Ah, well, that shows that she too can be loyal.”
“她肯定认得。她看到了可什么都没说？啊，很好，这表示她也很忠诚。”
“You do not believe in doing your utmost to further the ends of justice?”
“难道您不认为您应该尽最大努力伸张正义吗？”
“Oh! I see what you mean.” Her face broke into a grim smile. “Well, Messieurs, this statement of mine can be easily proved. I will give you the address of the people in Paris who make my handkerchiefs. You have only to show them the one in question and they will inform you that it was made to my order over a year ago. The handkerchief is mine, Messieurs.”
“哦！我明白你的意思。”她的脸上露出了一丝冷笑，“好吧，先生，我说的话很容易证明。我会给你为我做手帕的巴黎人的地址，你只要给他们看一下那块手帕，他们就会告诉你那是我一年多前定做的。这块手帕是我的，先生。”
Poirot leaned forward.
波洛俯身向前。
She rose.
她站起身。
“Your maid, Madame, did she recognize this handkerchief when we showed it to her this morning?”
“您的女仆，夫人，上午我们给她看的时候，她认得这块手帕吗？”
“But the feebler ones?”
“但是浅一点的伤口呢？”
“Could she have murdered Ratchett?” asked Poirot of the doctor.
“她有可能谋杀雷切特吗？”医生问波洛。
He shook his head.
他摇摇头。
“Ah!” said M. Bouc with a characteristic gesture –“she is a terrible old lady, that!”
“啊！”布克先生做了个很有特色的手势，“她真是个厉害的老太太，不简单！”
“Those blows — the ones delivered with great force penetrating the muscle — never, never could anyone with so frail a physique inflict them.”
“那些刀口——用力刺入肌肉的伤口——体质虚弱的人绝对、绝对做不到。”
“I am thinking,” said Poirot, “of the incident this morning when I said to her that the strength was in her will rather than in her arm. It was in the nature of a trap, that remark. I wanted to see if she would look down at her right or her left arm. She did neither. She looked at them both. But she made a strange reply. She said, ‘No, I have no strength in these. I do not know whether to be sorry or glad.’ A curious remark that. It confirms me in my belief about the crime.”
“我正在想，”波洛说，“今天上午的事，当我跟她说力量存在于她的意志而非手臂的时候，这句话其实是个圈套。我想看看她是否会低下头去看自己的右臂或左臂。她不是只看了一个，而是两个手臂都看了。但是她的回答很奇怪，她说：‘我一点力气也没有。真不知道该高兴还是难过。’一句古怪的话。这证实了我对这个案子的看法。”
“The feebler ones, yes.”
“没错，浅一点的。”
“No. By the way, did you notice that Count Andrenyi keeps his handkerchief in his right-hand breast pocket?”
“是没有。顺便问一下，你们注意到没有，安德雷尼伯爵的手帕放在他上衣右胸的口袋里？”
“It did not settle the point about the left-handedness.”
“这并没有解决左撇子的问题啊。”
M. Bouc shook his head. His mind reverted to the astonishing revelations of the last half hour. He murmured: “Lies — and again lies — it amazes me, the amount of lies we had told to us this morning.”
布克先生摇摇头。他的思绪沉浸在刚才半小时内被揭露出来的惊人的内情中。他嘟囔着说：“谎言——还是谎言。真是惊奇，今天上午我们听到了一堆谎言。”
“It has this advantage,” said Poirot. “If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it — often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect.
“有这么一个好处，”波洛说，“如果你用真相和说谎的人对质，通常他会承认的——往往出乎意料。只要猜对了，就能产生作用。
“I shall be very disappointed if it is not so.”
“不然我会很失望的。”
“There are more still to discover,” said Poirot cheerfully.
“还会有更多发现的。”波洛兴致勃勃地说。
“And who do we tackle next?”
“那么，下一个我们要对付谁？”
“Such duplicity is terrible,” said M. Bouc. “But it seems to please you,” he added reproachfully.
“这么口是心非是可怕的，”布克先生说，“可是你好像对此挺高兴的。”他带点责怪意味地补充说。
“You think so?”
“你这么想？”
“Ah! A process of elimination.”
“啊！一种排除法。”
“We are going to tackle that pukka sahib, Colonel Arbuthnot.”
“我们要对付的是那位真正的绅士，阿巴思诺特上校。”
“Then one person, at any rate, will be completely freed from suspicion.”
“那么至少有一个人彻底摆脱嫌疑。”
“And supposing, my friend, that your guess happens to be wrong?”
“如果，我的朋友，你的猜测碰巧错了呢？”
“That is the only way to conduct this case. I select each passenger in turn, consider their evidence and say to myself, ‘If so and so is lying, on what point are they lying and what is the reason for the lie?’ And I answer if they are lying — if, you mark — it could only be for such a reason and on such a point. We have done that once very successfully with Countess Andrenyi. We shall now proceed to try the same method on several other persons.”
“这是处理这个案件唯一的方法。我依次请旅客来询问，思考他或她的证词，并且对自己说：‘如果某人在撒谎，那么他在哪一点上撒了谎，撒谎的原因又是什么？’然后我回答道：‘如果他在撒谎——请注意，是如果——只能是这个原因和在这一点上撒谎。’在安德雷尼伯爵夫人身上，这一点已经成功地得到了印证。现在我们要用相同的方法对待其他几个人。”
“Exactly.”
“正是。”
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