M. Bouc was handling the button Mrs. Hubbard had left behind her.
布克先生拿着哈巴特太太留下的纽扣。
“That button, it suggests possibilities,” said Poirot thoughtfully. “Let us interview next the Swedish lady before we discuss the evidence we have heard.”
“这个纽扣说明了几种可能性，”波洛若有所思地说，“在讨论我们所听到的证词之前，先找那位瑞典女士谈谈吧。”
M. Bouc gave directions to the restaurant attendant, and presently the lady with the yellowish-grey bun of hair and the long mild sheep-like face was ushered in. She peered shortsightedly at Poirot through her glasses, but was quite calm.
布克先生吩咐餐车服务员过去。没多久，一位盘着浅黄色发髻、长着一张和善的山羊脸的女人被领了进来。她透过眼镜匆匆看了波洛一眼，神情很平静。
“This button. I cannot understand it. Does it mean that, after all, Pierre Michel is involved in some way?” he said. He paused, then continued, as Poirot did not reply. “What have you to say, my friend?”
“这个纽扣，我真不明白。这就意味着，在某种意义上，皮埃尔·米歇尔也卷进去了吗？”他问道，顿了顿，看波洛没有回答，便又说，“你怎么看，我的朋友？”
She was, she told him, matron in a missionary school near Stamboul. She was a trained nurse.
她说她在斯坦布尔附近的一所教会学校做护士长，是受过专门训练的护士。
It transpired that she understood and spoke French, so that the conversation took place in that language. Poirot first asked her the questions to which he already knew the answers — her name, age, and address. He then asked her her occupation.
知道她懂法语，所以这场谈话就用了这种语言。波洛首先问了几个他已然知道答案的问题——姓名、年龄、住址。还问了她的职业。
He sorted through the pile of passports in front of him. “Ah! here we are. Greta Ohlsson, age forty-nine.”
他整理了一下摆在面前的一沓护照。“啊，在这儿！格丽塔·奥尔松，四十九岁。”
“I do not know. It may be so. I opened the door of his compartment by mistake. I was much ashamed. It was a most awkward mistake.”
“我不知道。可能吧。我错开了他房间的门，我觉得很羞愧。真是个让人尴尬的错误。”
“And was it?”
“闩了吗？”
“He laughed and said a few words. I — I did not quite catch them.”
“他大笑了几声，说了几句——我听得不太清楚。”
“Yes.”
“问了。”
“Yes. He was reading a book. I apologized quickly and withdrew.”
“是的。他在看一本书。我赶紧道了歉，就退出来了。”
“Did he say anything to you?”
“他跟你说什么了吗？”
“And what did you do after that, Mademoiselle?” asked Poirot, passing from the subject tactfully.
“之后你又做什么了，小姐？”波洛巧妙地转移了话题。
“Did she ask you whether the communicating door between her compartment and that of M. Ratchett was bolted?”
“她有没有问你，她和雷切特先生房间中间的连通门闩上了没有？”
“Naturally. It is very dreadful. And the American lady tells me that the murderer was actually in her compartment.”
“当然。太可怕了。那位美国太太跟我说，事实上凶手进过她的房间。”
A slight flush showed on the worthy lady’s cheek.
这位值得尊敬的女士的脸颊上飞起了一片红晕。
“After that I go back to my own compartment, I take the aspirin and lie down.”
“后来我回到自己房间，吃了阿司匹林就上床了。”
“I hear, Mademoiselle, that you were the last person to see the murdered man alive?”
“我听说，小姐，你是最后见到被害人还活着的人？”
“And after that?”
“后来呢？”
“I went in to the American lady, Mrs. Hubbard. I asked her for some aspirin and she gave it to me.”
“我去找那位美国太太了，哈巴特太太，向她要了几片阿司匹林，她给了我。”
“You actually saw him?”
“你真的看见他了？”
“Yes.”
“是的。”
“You know, of course, of what took place last night, Mademoiselle?”
“你知道昨晚发生什么了吗，小姐？”
“The lower berth, No. 10.”
“下铺，十号。”
“That would be Vincovci. Now your compartment, Mademoiselle, is this one?” he indicated it on the plan.
“应该是温科夫齐。小姐，你的房间是这一间吗？”他指着平面图问。
“Not until this morning.”
“今天早晨之前都没离开过。”
“After the train left Vincovci, did she leave the compartment?”
“火车离开温科夫齐之后，她离开过房间吗？”
“I sleep very lightly. I am used to waking at a sound. I am sure if she had come down from the berth above I would have awakened.”
“我睡觉很轻，一点声音就能把我吵醒。如果她从上铺下来，我肯定会醒过来。”
“No, I am sure she did not.”
“没有，我肯定她没有。”
“Not very quickly. My head got better, but I lay awake some time.”
“不算很快，头不那么疼了，但是过了一段时间才睡着。”
“You had the upper or the lower berth?”
“你在上铺还是下铺？”
“When I got into bed it was five minutes to eleven, because I look at my watch before I wind it up.”
“上床的时候是十一点差五分，我给表上弦的时候看过。”
“What time was all this?”
“是什么时候？”
“Did you yourself leave the compartment?”
“你离开过房间吗？”
“I do not think so. We stopped, I think, at a station, just as I was getting drowsy.”
“没有。我觉得在我昏昏欲睡的时候，火车在一个站停了。”
“Had the train come to a stop before you went to sleep?”
“你上床之前火车停下来了吗？”
“Yes, a young English lady. Very nice, very amiable. She had travelled from Baghdad.”
“有，一位年轻的英国小姐。人很好，很可爱，从巴格达上的车。”
“And you had a companion?”
“有人跟你同住一间吗？”
“That is so, yes.”
“是的，是这间。”
“Why are you sure if you were asleep?”
“可要是你睡着了，为什么还这么肯定呢？”
“Have you a scarlet silk kimono, Mademoiselle?”
“你有没有一件猩红色的丝绸睡衣，小姐？”
“Did you go to sleep quickly?”
“你很快就睡着了吗？”
She took the paper and pencil he gave her and wrote down the name and address as requested.
他递给她一张纸和一支铅笔，她按要求写下了姓名和住址。
“Do you remember hearing of the Armstrong kidnapping case?”
“你记得阿姆斯特朗绑架案吗？”
“No, what was that?”
“不知道，是怎么一回事？”
“Yes, I am going home for a holiday. But first I go to Lausanne to stay with a sister for a week or so.”
“是的，我要回家度假。不过我要先去洛桑跟我妹妹住一个星期左右。”
Greta Ohlsson was indignant. Her yellow bun of hair quivered with her emotion.
格丽塔·奥尔松很愤慨，连黄色的发髻也跟着颤抖起来。
“And the one you live with, Miss Debenham? What color is her pajamas?”
“跟你住在一起的那位——德贝纳姆小姐呢？她的睡衣是什么颜色的？”
“With pleasure.”
“当然可以。”
“Have you ever been in America, Mademoiselle?”
“你去过美国吗，小姐？”
“Perhaps you will be so amiable as to write me down the name and address of your sister?”
“你人真好，介不介意写下你妹妹的姓名和住址？”
Poirot nodded. Then he said in a friendly tone: “Why are you taking this journey? A holiday?”
波洛点点头，然后和气地问：“你为什么来旅行呢？度假吗？”
“A pale mauve abba such as you buy in the East.”
“一件淡紫色的骆驼毛材质的，在东方买的那种。”
“No. Very nearly once. I was to go with an invalid lady, but it was cancelled at the last moment. I much regretted. They are very good, the Americans. They give much money to found schools and hospitals. They are very practical.”
“没有。那次我差一点就去了。是跟一位虚弱的太太去，不过行程在最后一刻被取消了。我很遗憾。美国人都很好，他们花了很多钱办学校和医院，而且他们还很务实。”
Poirot explained.
波洛向她解释了一下。
“No, indeed. I have a good comfortable dressing gown of Jaeger material.”
“没有，真的。我有件耶格尔纯毛料的睡衣，很舒服。”
“That is very clear,” he said.
“很清楚。”他说。
About 10:00 MacQueen leaves Ratchett.
大约十点整，麦奎因离开雷切特。
“Mon cher, it is my habit to be neat and orderly. I make here a little table of chronological events.”
“亲爱的，我有整洁有序的习惯。我在写事件发生的时间表。”
About 1:17 Mrs. Hubbard thinks man is in her carriage. Rings for conductor.
大约一点十七分，哈巴特太太认为有个男人在她房里，按铃叫列车员。
Poirot was writing busily on a sheet of paper.
波洛连忙在一张纸上写了起来。
He finished writing and passed the paper to M. Bouc.
写完以后，他把纸递给了布克先生。
9:15 Train leaves Belgrade.
九点一刻，火车开出贝尔格莱德。
About 10:40 Greta Ohlsson sees Ratchett (last seen alive). N. B.– He was awake reading a book.
大约十点四十分，格丽塔·奥尔松看见雷切特（最后一个看到他活着的人）。注意：他还在看书。
“There is nothing there that strikes you as at all odd?”
“你觉得有什么奇怪的地方吗？”
“What is it you write there, my friend?” asked M. Bouc.
“朋友，你在写什么？”布克先生问。
0:10 Train leaves Vincovci (late).
零点十分，火车开出温科夫齐（晚点）。
M. Bouc nodded approval.
布克先生赞赏地点点头。
The amiable Swede departed, her kindly face flushed, her eyes suffused with tears.
那位好心的瑞典小姐，善良的脸涨得通红，眼睛饱含着泪水，离开了。
0:37 Ratchett’s bell rings. Conductor answers it. Ratchett says, “Ce n’est rien. Je me suis trompé.”
零点三十七分，雷切特的铃响了，列车员去应门，雷切特用法语说：“没事，我按错铃了。”
“That there are in the world such evil men! It tries one’s faith. The poor mother. My heart aches for her.”
“世界上居然有这么邪恶的人！简直不是人。那位可怜的妈妈——我都替她难受。”
0:30 Train runs into a snowdrift.
零点三十分，火车陷进雪堆里。
About 9:40 Valet leaves Ratchett with sleeping draught beside him.
大约九点四十分，男仆准备好安眠药，离开雷切特。
“Without a doubt, that is the solution of the mystery. Doubtless he and this Ratchett were in this kidnapping business together. Cassetti is an Italian name. In some way Ratchett did on him what they call the double-cross. The Italian tracks him down, sends him warning letters first, and finally revenges himself upon him in a brutal way. It is all quite simple.”
“不用怀疑，这就是答案。他跟这个雷切特在绑架案中显然是一伙的。卡塞蒂就是个意大利名字。后来，雷切特做了什么事，出卖了他。意大利人跟踪了他，先是给他写恐吓信，最后采取了残忍的报复手段。就这么简单。”
“No, it seems all quite clear and above board. It seems quite plain that the crime was committed at 1:15. The evidence of the watch shows us that, and Mrs. Hubbard’s story fits in. For my mind, I will make a guess at the identity of the murderer. I say, my friend, that it is the big Italian. He comes from America — from Chicago — and remember an Italian’s weapon is the knife, and he stabs not once but several times.”
“没有。一目了然。凶案发生在一点十五分，这再明白不过了。金表就是个证据，跟哈巴特太太说的也相符。根据我的想法，我能猜出凶手的特点。我的朋友，要我说就是那个意大利大块头。他来自美国——芝加哥。别忘了，意大利人的武器就是刀，而且他还刺了不止一下，而是好几下。”
“Me, I am convinced it is the truth,” said M. Bouc, becoming more and more enamoured of his theory.
“我相信这就是事实。”布克先生说，越发相信自己的推论。
“That is true.”
“没错。”
Poirot shook his head doubtfully.
波洛怀疑地摇摇头。
“It is hardly as simple as that, I fear,” he murmured.
“恐怕没那么简单。”他咕哝道。
“And what about the valet with the toothache who swears that the Italian never left the compartment?”
“那么那个牙疼的男仆发誓说意大利人从来没有离开过自己的房间，怎么解释呢？”
Poirot twinkled.
波洛眨眨眼睛。
“That is the difficulty.”
“很难解释。”
“Yes, it is annoying, that. Unlucky for your theory, and extremely lucky for our Italian friend that M. Ratchett’s valet should have had the toothache.”
“确实很烦人。雷切特的男仆居然牙疼了，这对你的推论很不利，可是对我们的意大利朋友来说，很是幸运啊。”
“It will be explained,” said M. Bouc with magnificent certainty.
“会解释得通的。”布克先生十分自信。
“No, it is hardly so simple as that,” he murmured again.
“不，没那么简单。”他又咕哝道。
Poirot shook his head again.
波洛摇摇头。
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