5. It isnt strychnine, is it? by Agatha Christie
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gardener, i_will prove it to_you .''

"Oh, of_course -- but I don't see -- -- ''

Poirot raised his hand .

" do as I ask_you .Afterwards you shall question as_much as_you please .''

" very_well .'' he rang the bell .

Dorcas answered it in due course .

"Dorcas, will_you tell Manning to_come round and speak to_me here .''

" yes, sir .''

Dorcas withdrew .

we waited in a tense silence .Poirot alone seemed perfectly at his ease, and dusted a forgotten corner of_the bookcase .

the clumping of hobnailed boots on_the gravel outside proclaimed the approach of Manning .John looked questioningly at Poirot . the latter nodded .

" come inside, Manning,'' said John, " i_want to_speak to_you .''

Manning came slowly and hesitatingly through_the French window, and stood as near it as he_could . he held his cap in_his hands, twisting it very carefully round and round . his back was much bent, though he_was probably not as old as he looked, but his eyes were sharp and intelligent, and belied his slow and rather cautious speech .

"Manning,'' said John, " this gentleman will put some questions to_you which i_want you to answer .''

"Yessir,'' mumbled Manning .

Poirot stepped forward briskly .Manning's eye swept over him with a faint contempt .

" you were planting a bed of begonias round by_the south side of_the house yesterday afternoon, were you not, Manning ? ''

" yes, sir, me and Willum .''

" and Mrs Inglethorp came to_the window and called you, did she not ? ''

" yes, sir, she did .''

" tell me in your own words exactly what happened after_that .''

" well, sir, nothing much . she just told Willum to_go on_his bicycle down to_the village, and bring back a form of will, or such- like -- I don't know what exactly -- she wrote it down for him .''

" well ? ''

" well, he_did, sir .''

" and what happened next ? ''

" we went on with_the begonias, sir .''

" did_not Mrs Inglethorp call you again ? ''

" yes, sir, both me and Willum, she called .''

" and then ? ''

" she made us come right in, and sign our names at_the bottom of a long paper -- under where she'd signed .''

" did you_see anything of what_was written above her signature ? '' asked Poirot sharply .

" no, sir, there_was a bit of blotting paper over that part .''

" and you signed where she told you ? ''

" yes, sir, first me and then Willum .''

" what did she do with it afterwards ? ''

" well, sir, she slipped it into a long envelope, and put it inside a sort of purple box that was standing on_the desk .''

" what time was_it when she first called you ? ''

" about four, i_should say, sir .''

" not earlier ? Couldn't it have_been about half- past three ? ''

" no, I shouldn't say so, sir . it would_be more likely to_be a bit after four -- not before it .''

" thank_you, Manning, that_will do,'' said Poirot pleasantly .

the gardener glanced at his master, who nodded, whereupon Manning lifted a finger to_his forehead with a low mumble, and backed cautiously out_of_the window .

we all looked at each_other .

" good heavens ! '' murmured John ." what an extraordinary coincidence .''

" how -- a coincidence ? ''

" that my mother should_have made a will on_the very day of her death ! ''

Mr Wells cleared his throat and remarked drily:

" are_you so sure it_is a coincidence, Cavendish ? ''

" what do_you_mean ? ''

" your mother, you tell me, had a violent quarrel with -- some one yesterday afternoon -- -- ''

" what do_you_mean ? '' cried John again . there_was a tremor in_his voice, and he had gone very pale .

" in consequence of_that quarrel, your mother very suddenly and hurriedly makes a new will . the contents of that_will we_shall never know . she told no one of_its provisions . this_morning, no_doubt, she would_have consulted me on_the_subject -- but she had no chance . the will disappears, and she takes its secret with her to her grave .Cavendish, I much fear there_is no coincidence there .Monsieur Poirot, I_am_sure you agree with me that_the facts are very suggestive .''

" suggestive, or not,'' interrupted John, " we_are most grateful to Monsieur Poirot for elucidating the matter . but for him, we_should never have known of this_will .I suppose, I_may not ask_you, monsieur, what first led you to suspect the fact ? ''

Poirot smiled and answered:

"A scribbled over old envelope, and a freshly planted bed of begonias .''

John, i_think, would_have pressed his questions further, but at_that moment the loud purr of a motor was audible, and we all turned to_the window as it swept past .

"Evie ! '' cried John ." excuse me, Wells .'' he went hurriedly out into_the hall .

Poirot looked inquiringly at me .

" miss Howard,'' I explained .

"Ah, I_am_glad she has_come . there_is a woman with a head and a heart too, Hastings . though the good god gave her no beauty ! ''

I followed John's example, and went out into_the hall, where miss Howard was endeavouring to extricate herself from_the voluminous mass of veils that enveloped her head . as her eyes fell on me, a sudden pang of guilt shot through me . this_was the woman who had warned me so earnestly, and to whose warning I had, alas, paid no heed ! how soon, and how contemptuously, I had dismissed it from my mind . now that she had_been proved justified in so tragic a manner, I_felt ashamed . she had known Alfred Inglethorp only too well .I wondered whether, if she had remained at Styles, the tragedy would_have taken place, or would the man have feared her watchful eyes ?

i_was relieved when she shook me by_the hand, with her well remembered painful grip . the eyes that met mine were sad, but not reproachful; that she had_been crying bitterly, I_could tell by_the redness of her eyelids, but her manner was unchanged from its old gruffness .

" started the moment I got the wire . just come off night duty . hired car . quickest way to_get here .''

" have_you had anything to eat this_morning, Evie ? '' asked John .

" no .''

" i_thought not . come along, breakfast's not cleared away yet, and_they'll make you some fresh tea .'' he turned to_me ." look after her, Hastings, will_you ? Wells is waiting for_me .Oh, here's Monsieur Poirot . he's helping us, you_know, Evie .''

miss Howard shook hands with Poirot, but glanced suspiciously over her shoulder at John .

" what do_you_mean -- helping us ? ''

" helping us to investigate .''

" nothing to investigate . have they taken him to prison yet ? ''

" taken who to prison ? ''

" who ? Alfred Inglethorp, of_course ! ''

" my dear Evie, do be careful . Lawrence is of_the opinion that my mother died from heart seizure .''

" more fool, Lawrence ! '' retorted miss Howard ." of_course Alfred Inglethorp murdered poor Emily -- as I always told you he_would .''

" my dear Evie, don't shout so . whatever we_may think or suspect, it_is better to_say as little as possible for_the_present . the inquest isn't until Friday .''

" not until fiddlesticks ! '' the snort miss Howard gave was truly magnificent ." you're all off your heads . the man will_be out_of_the country by then . if he's any sense, he won't stay here tamely and wait to_be hanged .''

John Cavendish looked at her helplessly .

" I_know what it_is,'' she accused him, " you've been listening to_the doctors . never should . what do they know ? nothing at all -- or just enough to_make them dangerous .I ought to_know -- my own father was a doctor . that little Wilkins is about_the greatest fool that even I_have ever seen . heart seizure ! sort of thing he_would say . anyone with any sense could_see at once that her husband had poisoned her .I always said he'd murder her in her bed, poor soul . now he's done it . and all you_can do is to murmur silly things about ' heart seizure' and ' inquest on Friday .' you ought_to_be ashamed of yourself, John Cavendish .''

" what do_you_want me to_do ? '' asked John, unable to help a faint smile ." dash it all, Evie, I_can't haul him down to_the local police station by_the scruff of_his neck .''

" well, you_might do something . find out how he_did it . he's a crafty beggar . dare say he soaked fly papers . ask Cook if she's missed any .''

it occurred to_me very forcibly at_that moment that to harbour miss Howard and Alfred Inglethorp under the same roof, and keep the peace between_them, was likely to_prove a Herculean task, and I_did_not envy John .I could_see by_the expression of_his face that he fully appreciated the difficulty of_the position . for_the moment, he sought refuge in retreat, and left the room precipitately .

Dorcas brought in fresh tea . as she left the room, Poirot came over from_the window where he had_been standing, and sat down facing miss Howard .

"Mademoiselle,'' he_said gravely, " i_want to ask_you something .''

" ask away,'' said the lady, eyeing him with some disfavour .

" i_want to_be_able to count upon your help .''

"I'll help_you to hang Alfred with pleasure,'' she replied gruffly ."Hanging's too good for him . ought_to_be drawn and quartered, like in good old times .''

" we_are at one then,'' said Poirot, " for I, too, want to hang the criminal .''

" Alfred Inglethorp ? ''

" him, or another .''

" no question of another . poor Emily was never murdered until he_came along .I don't say she wasn't surrounded by sharks -- she was . but it_was only her purse they were after . her life was safe enough . but along comes Mr Alfred Inglethorp -- and within two months -- hey presto ! ''

" believe me, miss Howard,'' said Poirot very earnestly, " if Mr Inglethorp is_the man, he shall_not escape me . on my honour, i_will hang him as high as Haman ! ''

" that's better,'' said miss Howard more enthusiastically .

" but I_must ask_you to trust me . now your help may_be very valuable to_me . i_will tell you why . because, in all this house of mourning, yours are the only eyes that_have wept .''

miss Howard blinked, and a new note crept into_the gruffness of her voice .

" if_you mean that i_was fond of her -- yes, i_was . you_know, Emily was a selfish old woman in her way . she was very generous, but she always wanted a return . she never let people forget what she had done for_them -- and, that way she missed love .Don't think she ever realized it, though, or felt the lack of it . hope not, anyway . i_was on a different footing . i_took my stand from_the first .' so_many pounds a year I'm worth to_you . well and good . but not a penny piece besides -- not a pair of gloves, nor atheatre ticket .' she didn't understand -- was very offended sometimes . said i_was foolishly proud . it wasn't that -- but I couldn't explain . anyway, I kept my self- respect . and so, out_of_the whole bunch, I was_the only_one who_could allow myself to_be fond of her .I watched over her .I guarded her from_the lot of_them, and then a glib- tongued scoundrel comes along, and pooh ! all my years of devotion go for nothing .''

Poirot nodded sympathetically .

"I understand, mademoiselle, I understand all you feel . it_is most natural . you_think that we_are lukewarm -- that we lack fire and energy -- but trust me, it_is_not so .''

John stuck his head in at_this juncture, and invited us both to_come up_to Mrs Inglethorp's room, as he and Mr Wells had finished looking through_the desk in_the boudoir .

as_we went up the stairs, John looked back to_the dining- room door, and lowered his voice confidentially:

" look here, what's going to happen when these two meet ? ''

I shook my head helplessly .

"I've told Mary to_keep them apart if she_can .''

" will she be_able to_do_so ? ''

" the lord only knows . there's one_thing, Inglethorp himself won't be too keen on meeting her .''

" you've got the keys still, haven't you, Poirot ? '' I asked, as_we reached the door of_the locked room .

Taking the keys from Poirot, John unlocked it, and we all passed in . the lawyer went straight to_the desk, and John followed him .

" my mother kept most of her important papers in_this despatch- case, I believe,'' he_said .

Poirot drew out the small bunch of keys .

" permit me .I locked it, out of precaution, this_morning .''

" but it's not locked now .''

" impossible ! ''

" see .'' and John lifted the lid as he spoke .

"Milles tonnerres ! '' cried Poirot, dumfounded ." and I -- who_have both the keys in my pocket ! '' he flung himself upon_the case . suddenly he stiffened ."En voilą une affaire ! this lock has_been forced .''

" what ? ''

Poirot laid down the case again .

" but who forced it ? why should they ? when ? but the door was locked ? '' these exclamations burst from_us disjointedly .

Poirot answered them categorically -- almost mechanically .

" who ? that_is_the question . why ? Ah, if I only knew . when ? since i_was here an hour ago . as_to_the door being locked, it_is a very ordinary lock . probably any_other of_the doorkeys in_this passage would fit it .''

we stared at one another blankly .Poirot had walked over to_the mantel- piece . he_was outwardly calm, but I noticed his hands, which from long force of habit were mechanically straightening the spill vases on_the mantel- piece, were shaking violently .

" see here, it_was like this,'' he_said at last ." there_was something in_that case -- some piece of evidence, slight in itself perhaps, but still enough of aclue to connect the murderer with_the crime . it_was vital to him that_it should_be destroyed before it_was discovered and its significance appreciated . therefore, he_took the risk, the great risk, of coming in here .Finding the case locked, he_was obliged to force it, thus betraying his presence . for him to_take that risk, it must_have been something of great importance .''

" but what_was it ? ''

"Ah ! '' cried Poirot, with a gesture of anger ." that, I_do_not know ! a document of some kind, without doubt, possibly the scrap of paper Dorcas saw in her hand yesterday afternoon . and I -- '' his anger burst forth freely -- " miserable animal that I_am ! I guessed nothing ! I_have behaved like an imbecile ! i_should never have left that case here . i_should_have carried it away with me .Ah, triple Pig ! and now it_is gone . it_is destroyed -- but is_it destroyed ? is_there not yet a chance -- we_must leave no stone unturned -- ''

he rushed like a madman from_the room, and I followed him as_soon_as I had sufficiently recovered my wits . but, by_the_time I had reached the top of_the stairs, he_was out of sight .

Mary Cavendish was standing where the staircase branched, staring down into_the hall in_the direction in_which he had disappeared .

" what has happened to your extraordinary little friend, Mr Hastings ? he has just rushed past me like a mad bull .''

" he's rather upset about something,'' I remarked feebly .I really did_not know how_much Poirot would wish me to disclose . as I_saw a faint smile gather on Mrs Cavendish's expressive mouth, I endeavoured to_try and turn the conversation by saying: " they haven't met yet, have they ? ''

" who ? ''

" Mr Inglethorp and miss Howard .''

she looked at me in rather adisconcerting manner .

" do_you_think it would_be such a disaster if they_did meet ? ''

" well, don't you ? '' I_said, rather taken aback .

" no .'' she was smiling in her quiet way ." i_should like to_see a good flare up .

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