8 THE ARMSTRONG KIDNAPPING CASE
8 阿姆斯壮绑票案
They found M. Bouc finishing an omelet.
波克先生刚要吃完一盘煎蛋卷。
“I thought it best to have lunch served immediately in the restaurant car,” he said. “Afterwards it will be cleared and M. Poirot can conduct his examination of the passengers there. In the meantime I have ordered them to bring us three some food here.”
“我想最好餐车立刻供应午餐，”他说：“饭后，将餐车清理完毕，白罗先生就可以在那边询问旅客。我已经叫了三份午餐送到这里来。”
“An excellent idea,” said Poirot.
“好极了。”白罗说。
None of the three men was hungry, and the meal was soon eaten; but not till they were sipping their coffee did M. Bouc mention the subject that was occupying all their minds.
三个人都不怎么饿，因此匆匆地就用餐完毕。在喝咖啡的时候，波克先生才又提起积压在大家心中的话题。
“Eh bien?” he asked.
“怎么样呢？”他问。
“Eh bien, I have discovered the identity of the victim. I know why it was imperative he should leave America.”
“不错，我至少发现了死者的身份，也知道他何以非得离开美国。”
“Who was he?”
“他到底是谁？”
“Do you remember reading of the Armstrong baby? This is the man who murdered little Daisy Armstrong. Cassetti.”
“你还记得在报上看过阿姆斯壮家的孩子遭绑票的案子吗？昨天遇害的死者正是当年绑架黛西·阿姆斯壮的人——卡赛提。”
“I recall it now. A shocking affair—though I cannot remember the details.”
“我现在记起来了，相当恐怖的案子。不过，详情我已经不清楚了。”
“Colonel Armstrong was an Englishman—a V.C. He was half American, his mother having been a daughter of W. K. Van der Halt, the Wall Street millionaire. He married the daughter of Linda Arden, the most famous tragic American actress of her day. They lived in America and had one child—a girl whom they idolized. When she was three years old she was kidnapped, and an impossibly high sum demanded as the price of her return. I will not weary you with all the intricacies that followed. I will come to the moment when, after the parents had paid over the enormous sum of two hundred thousand dollars, the child’s dead body was discovered; it had been dead for at least a fortnight. Public indignation rose to fever point. And there was worse to follow. Mrs. Armstrong was expecting another baby. Following the shock of the discovery, she gave birth prematurely to a dead child, and herself died. Her broken-hearted husband shot himself.”
“阿姆斯壮上校是位受过勋的名将，虽是英国籍，也可以算半个美国人，因为他母亲是纽约华尔街百万富豪W·K·范登豪的女儿。他与美国当时最红的悲剧演员琳达·艾登的女儿结婚。他们夫妇定居美国，生有一名爱女。这名掌上明珠在三岁时被人绑票，并勒索一笔奇高的赎金。我现在不必多说后来案情曲折的发展过和。我只告诉你们高潮是，小孩的父母在付出二十万美金之后，却发现了孩子的尸体，并且死了最少两周以上了。这事曾激起社会上涛然的公怒。更惨的是，当时阿姆斯壮夫人又怀了一个孩子，由于悲伤过度，生下来是个早产的死胎，她自己也因难产故世，她丈夫痛心之下举枪自戕而死。”
“Mon Dieu, what a tragedy. I remember now,” said M. Bouc. “There was also another death, if I remember rightly?”
“天呀，竟有这样的惨事。”波克先生说：“我记得那次事件中，另有一个人也死了。”
“Yes, an unfortunate French or Swiss nursemaid. The police were convinced that she had some knowledge of the crime. They refused to believe her hysterical denials. Finally, in a fit of despair the poor girl threw herself from a window andwas killed. It was proved afterwards that she had been absolutely innocent of anycomplicity in the crime.”
“是的，一个倒霉的法国或是瑞士籍带孩子的女婢。警方认定她知道绑票案的真相，拒绝相信她死命的否认。最后，她痛苦绝望得跳楼而死。后来经证实，她的确清白，与这个案子毫不相关。”
“It is not good to think of,” said M. Bouc.
“真是不提也罢。”波克先生说。
“About six months later, this man Cassetti was arrested as the head of the gang who had kidnapped the child. They had used the same methods in the past. If the police seemed likely to get on their trail, they killed their prisoner, hid the body, and continued to extract as much money as possible before the crime was discovered.
“大约六个月之后，主谋这次绑票的卡赛提落了网。他们这种阴狠手腕以前也耍过几次。果若发觉警方盯上他们了，他们就撕票，藏尸，在罪案爆发之前，先向苦主勒索一大笔巨款。
“Now, I will make clear to you this, my friend. Cassetti was the man! But by means of the enormous wealth he had piled up, and owing to the secret hold he had over various persons, he was acquitted on some technical inaccuracy. Notwithstanding that, he would have been lynched by the populace had he not been clever enough to give them the slip. It is now clear to me what happened. He changed his name and left America. Since then he has been a gentleman of leisure, travelling abroad and living on his rentes.”
“不错，我敢保证，的确是卡赛提干的，没错。但是他积屯了大笔不义之财，加上他手头又抓住了许多社会显要的把柄，利用他们的影响力，最后竟能以技术上罪证不足而脱身法外。尽管如此，若不是他狡猾多端，蒙过了社会耳目，他早被大家给万刀剐了。我现在全看清楚了，他何以隐姓埋名离开了美国，带着他的不义之财，云游名国，在海外作寓公。”
“Ah! quel animal!” M. Bouc’s tone was redolent of heartfelt disgust. “I cannot regret that he is dead—not at all!”
“真是禽兽不如！”波克先生的声音布满了痛心的憎恨：“他的被杀可说罪有应得，我一点也不感到遗憾！”
“I agree with you.”
“我有同感。”
“Tout de même, it is not necessary that he should be killed on the Orient Express. There are other places.”
“但是话说回来，他哪儿不好死，干嘛非得被人刺死在我们东方号特快车上？”
Poirot smiled a little. He realised that M. Bouc was biased in the matter.
白罗给了他一丝浅笑。他了解波克先生的处境。
“The question we have now to ask ourselves is this,” he said. “Is this murder the work of some rival gang whom Cassetti had double-crossed in the past, or is it an act of private vengeance?”
“现在我们得先搞清楚的是，”白罗说：“这是他黑社会中的对头为了惩罚他出卖江湖朋友，才下的毒手，抑或有人为报私仇而杀了他？”
He explained his discovery of the few words on the charred fragment of paper.
他以发现焚毁字条上的几个字为例解释说：
“If I am right in my assumption, then, the letter was burnt by the murderer. Why? Because it mentioned the name ‘Armstrong,’ which is the clue to the mystery.”
“如果我的假设不错，我认为那纸条是凶手焚毁的，因为上头写了‘阿姆斯壮’的字样，也正是这桩神秘命案的有力线索。”
“Are there any members of the Armstrong family living?”
“阿姆斯壮家族如今还有人活着吗？”
“That, unfortunately, I do not know. I think I remember reading of a younger sister of Mrs. Armstrong’s.”
“这点，可惜我不清楚，只记得阿姆斯壮夫人有个妹妹。”
Poirot went on to relate the joint conclusions of himself and Dr. Constantine. M. Bouc brightened at the mention of the broken watch.
白罗又将他与康斯丹丁医师讨论的共同结论向波克作了个报告。波克对于发现金表的事颇感欣然。他说：
“That seems to give us the time of the crime very exactly.”
“看来死者遇害的时刻，倒被我们算得挺准确的了。”
“Yes,” said Poirot. “It is very convenient.”
“不错，”白罗说：“倒是挺方便的。”
There was an indescribable something in his tone that made both the other two look at him curiously.
他语气中带有莫测高深的意味，使得在座的另外两人感到好奇。
“You say that you yourself heard Ratchett speak to the conductor at twenty minutes to one?” asked M. Bouc.
“你说过你本人在差廿分一点的时刻，还听见罗嘉德跟列车长说话的，是不是？”
Poirot related just what had occurred.
白罗就把发生的事向他们重复了一遍。
“Well,” said M. Bouc, “that proves at least that Cassetti—or Ratchett, as I shall continue to call him—was certainly alive at twenty minutes to one.”
“那么，”波克先生说：“至少卡赛提或是罗嘉德——我还是习惯这么叫他——在十二点四十分的时候，必定还活着的。”
“Twenty-three minutes to one, to be precise.”
“正确的时候该是差廿三分一点。”
‘Then at twelve thirty-seven, to put it formally, Mr. Ratchett was alive. That is one fact, at least.”
“好吧，准确地说，就是罗嘉德在十二点卅七分还活着。至少，这可算是一项事实。”
Poirot did not reply. He sat looking thoughtfully in front of him.
白罗没有答话，只沉默地凝视前方。
There was a tap on the door and the restaurant attendant entered.
这时，有人敲门，餐车的侍者开门进来。
“The restaurant car is free now, Monsieur,” he said.
“餐车已经清理好了，先生。”他说。
“We will go there,” said M. Bouc, rising.
“我们就过去吧。”波克先生起身说道。
“I may accompany you?” asked Constantine.
“我可以同去吗？”康斯丹丁医师问。
“Certainly, my dear doctor. Unless M. Poirot has any objection?”
“当然，亲爱的医师。白罗先生没有什么异议吧？”
“Not at all. Not at all,” said Poirot.
“没有，当然不会。”白罗说。
After a little politeness in the matter of precedence—“Après vous, Monsieur”— “Mais non, après vous”—they left the compartment.
三人“你请”、“你先请”地礼让了一番之后，才离开了波克的卧铺房间。