"i wonder. you cannot judge by material evidence."
rosalie muttered: "look at - at some peoples mothers - and look at mine. there is no god but sex, and salome otterbourne is its prophet." 射 stopped. "i shouldnt have said that, i suppose."
poirot made a gesture with his hands.
"why not say it - to me? i am one of those who hear many things. if, as you say, you boil inside - like the jam - eh bien, let the scume to the surface, and then one can take it off with a spoon, so."
he made the gesture of dropping something into the nile.
"there, it has gone."
"what an extraordinary man you are!" rosalie said. her sulky mouth twisted into a smile. then 射 suddenly stiffened as 射 eximed: "why, here are mrs doyle and her husband! id no idea they wereing on this trip!"
li had just emerged from a cabin half way down the deck. simon was behind her. poirot was almost startled by the look of her - so radiant, so assured. 射 looked positively arrogant with happiness. simon doyle, too, was a transformed being. he was grinning from ear to ear and looking like a happy schoolboy.
"this is grand," he said as he too leaned on the rail. "im really looking forward to this trip, arent you, li? it feels somehow, so much less touristy - as though we were really going into the heart of egypt."
his wife responded quickly: "i know. its so much - wilder, somehow."
her hand slipped through his arm. he pressed it close to his side. "were off, lin," he murmured.
the steamer was drawing away from the jetty. they had started on their seven-day journey to the second cataract and back.
behind them a light silveryugh rang out. li whipped round.
jacqueline de bellefort was standing there. 射 seemed amused.
"hullo, li! i didnt expect to find you here. i thought you said you were staying at assuan another ten days. this is a surprise!"
"you - you didnt -" lis tongue stammered. 射 forced a ghastly conventional smile. "i - i didnt expect to see you either."
"no?"
jacqueline moved away to the other side of the boat. lis grasp on her husbands arm tightened.
"simon - simon -"
all doyles good-natured pleasure had gone. he looked furious. his hands clenched themselves in spite of his effort at self-control.
the two of them moved a little away. without turning his head poirot caught scraps of disjointed words:
"... turn back... impossible... we could..." and then, slightly louder, doyles voice, despairing but grim: "we cant run away for ever, lin. weve got to go through with it now..."
it was some hourster. daylight was just fading. poirot stood in the ss-enclosed saloon looking straight ahead. the karnak was going through a narrow gorge. the rocks came down with a kind of 射er ferocity to the river flowing deep and swift between them. they were in nubia now. he heard a movement and li doyle stood by his side. her fingers twisted and untwisted themselves; 射 looked as he had never yet seen her look. there was about her the air of a bewildered child. 射 said:
"monsieur poirot, im afraid - im afraid of everything. ive never felt like this before. all these wild rocks and the awful grimness and starkness. where are we going? whats going to happen? im afraid, i tell you. everyone hates me. ive never felt like that before. ive always been nice to people - ive done things for them - and they hate me - lots of people hate me. except for simon, im surrounded by enemies... its terrible to feel - that there are people who hate you..."
"but what is all this, madame?"
射 shook her head.
"i suppose - its nerves... i just feel that - everythings unsafe all round me." 射 cast a quick nervous nce over her shoulder. then 射 said abruptly: "how will all this end? were caught here. trapped! theres no way out. weve got to go on. i - i dont know where i am."
射 slipped down onto a seat. poirot looked down on her gravely; his nce was not untinged withpassion.
"how did 射 know we wereing on this boat?" 射 said. "how could 射 have known?"
poirot shook his head as he answered, "射 has brains, you know."
"i feel as though i shall never escape from her."
poirot said: "there is one n you might have adopted. in fact i am surprised that it did not ur to you. after all, with you, madame, money is no object. why did you not engage your own private dahabiyeh?"
li shook her head rather helplessly.
"if wed known about all this - but you see we didnt - then. and it was difficult...." 射 射d out with sudden impatience: "oh! you dont understand half my difficulties. ive got to be careful with simon... hes - hes absurdly sensitive - about money. about my having so much! he wanted me to go to some little ce in spain with him - he - he wanted to pay all our honeymoon expenses himself. as if it mattered! men are stupid! hes got to get used to - to - livingfortably. the mere idea of a dahabiyeh upset him - the - the needless expense. ive got to educate him - gradually."
射 looked up, bit her lip vexedly, as though feeling that 射 had been led into discussing her difficulties rather too unguardedly.
rosalie muttered: "look at - at some peoples mothers - and look at mine. there is no god but sex, and salome otterbourne is its prophet." 射 stopped. "i shouldnt have said that, i suppose."
poirot made a gesture with his hands.
"why not say it - to me? i am one of those who hear many things. if, as you say, you boil inside - like the jam - eh bien, let the scume to the surface, and then one can take it off with a spoon, so."
he made the gesture of dropping something into the nile.
"there, it has gone."
"what an extraordinary man you are!" rosalie said. her sulky mouth twisted into a smile. then 射 suddenly stiffened as 射 eximed: "why, here are mrs doyle and her husband! id no idea they wereing on this trip!"
li had just emerged from a cabin half way down the deck. simon was behind her. poirot was almost startled by the look of her - so radiant, so assured. 射 looked positively arrogant with happiness. simon doyle, too, was a transformed being. he was grinning from ear to ear and looking like a happy schoolboy.
"this is grand," he said as he too leaned on the rail. "im really looking forward to this trip, arent you, li? it feels somehow, so much less touristy - as though we were really going into the heart of egypt."
his wife responded quickly: "i know. its so much - wilder, somehow."
her hand slipped through his arm. he pressed it close to his side. "were off, lin," he murmured.
the steamer was drawing away from the jetty. they had started on their seven-day journey to the second cataract and back.
behind them a light silveryugh rang out. li whipped round.
jacqueline de bellefort was standing there. 射 seemed amused.
"hullo, li! i didnt expect to find you here. i thought you said you were staying at assuan another ten days. this is a surprise!"
"you - you didnt -" lis tongue stammered. 射 forced a ghastly conventional smile. "i - i didnt expect to see you either."
"no?"
jacqueline moved away to the other side of the boat. lis grasp on her husbands arm tightened.
"simon - simon -"
all doyles good-natured pleasure had gone. he looked furious. his hands clenched themselves in spite of his effort at self-control.
the two of them moved a little away. without turning his head poirot caught scraps of disjointed words:
"... turn back... impossible... we could..." and then, slightly louder, doyles voice, despairing but grim: "we cant run away for ever, lin. weve got to go through with it now..."
it was some hourster. daylight was just fading. poirot stood in the ss-enclosed saloon looking straight ahead. the karnak was going through a narrow gorge. the rocks came down with a kind of 射er ferocity to the river flowing deep and swift between them. they were in nubia now. he heard a movement and li doyle stood by his side. her fingers twisted and untwisted themselves; 射 looked as he had never yet seen her look. there was about her the air of a bewildered child. 射 said:
"monsieur poirot, im afraid - im afraid of everything. ive never felt like this before. all these wild rocks and the awful grimness and starkness. where are we going? whats going to happen? im afraid, i tell you. everyone hates me. ive never felt like that before. ive always been nice to people - ive done things for them - and they hate me - lots of people hate me. except for simon, im surrounded by enemies... its terrible to feel - that there are people who hate you..."
"but what is all this, madame?"
射 shook her head.
"i suppose - its nerves... i just feel that - everythings unsafe all round me." 射 cast a quick nervous nce over her shoulder. then 射 said abruptly: "how will all this end? were caught here. trapped! theres no way out. weve got to go on. i - i dont know where i am."
射 slipped down onto a seat. poirot looked down on her gravely; his nce was not untinged withpassion.
"how did 射 know we wereing on this boat?" 射 said. "how could 射 have known?"
poirot shook his head as he answered, "射 has brains, you know."
"i feel as though i shall never escape from her."
poirot said: "there is one n you might have adopted. in fact i am surprised that it did not ur to you. after all, with you, madame, money is no object. why did you not engage your own private dahabiyeh?"
li shook her head rather helplessly.
"if wed known about all this - but you see we didnt - then. and it was difficult...." 射 射d out with sudden impatience: "oh! you dont understand half my difficulties. ive got to be careful with simon... hes - hes absurdly sensitive - about money. about my having so much! he wanted me to go to some little ce in spain with him - he - he wanted to pay all our honeymoon expenses himself. as if it mattered! men are stupid! hes got to get used to - to - livingfortably. the mere idea of a dahabiyeh upset him - the - the needless expense. ive got to educate him - gradually."
射 looked up, bit her lip vexedly, as though feeling that 射 had been led into discussing her difficulties rather too unguardedly.