‘I’ll do anything I can to help you, I’m sure,’ replied the young soldier; ‘but I’m afraid I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. You see, although Maltravers was an old friend of my people’s, I didn’t know him very well myself.’
‘You came down—when?’
‘Tuesday afternoon. I went up to town early Wednesday morning, as my boat sailed from Tilbury about twelve o’clock. But some news I got made me alter my plans, as I dare say you heard me explain to Mrs Maltravers.’
‘You were returning to East Africa, I understand?’
‘Yes. I’ve been out there ever since the War—a great country.’
‘Exactly. Now what was the talk about at dinner on Tuesday night?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. The usual odd topics. Maltravers asked after my people, and then we discussed the question of German reparations, and then Mr Maltravers asked a lot of questions about East Africa, and I told them one or two yarns, that’s about all, I think.’
‘Thank you.’
Poirot was silent for a moment, then he said gently: ‘With your permission, I should like to try a little experiment. You have told us all that your conscious self knows, I want now to question your subconscious self.’
‘Psychoanalysis, what?’ said Black, with visible alarm.
‘Oh, no,’ said Poirot reassuringly. ‘You see, it is like this, I give you a word, you answer with another, and so on. Any word, the first you think of. Shall we begin?’
‘All right,’ said Black slowly, but he looked uneasy.
‘Note down the words, please, Hastings,’ said Poirot. Then he took from his pocket his big turnip-faced watch and laid it on the table beside him. ‘We will commence. Day.’
There was a moment’s pause, and then Black replied:
‘Night.’
As Poirot proceeded, his answers came quicker.
‘Name,’ said Poirot.
‘Place.’
‘Bernard.’
‘Shaw.’
‘Tuesday.’
‘Dinner.’
‘Journey.’
‘Ship.’
‘Country.’
‘Uganda.’
‘Story.’
‘Lions.’
‘Rook Rifle.’
‘Farm.’
‘Shot.’
‘Suicide.’
‘Elephant.’
‘Tusks.’
‘Money.’
‘Lawyers.’
‘Thank you, Captain Black. Perhaps you could spare me a few minutes in about half an hour’s time?’
‘Certainly.’ The young soldier looked at him curiously and wiped his brow as he got up.
‘And now, Hastings,’ said Poirot, smiling at me as the door closed behind him. ‘You see it all, do you not?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Does that list of words tell you nothing?’
I scrutinized it, but was forced to shake my head.
‘I will assist you. To begin with, Black answered well within the normal time limit, with no pauses, so we can take it that he himself has no guilty knowledge to conceal. “Day” to “Night” and “Place” to “Name” are normal associations. I began work with “Bernard,” which might have suggested the local doctor had he come across him at all. Evidently he had not. After our recent conversation, he gave “Dinner” to my “Tuesday”, but “Journey” and “Country” were answered by “Ship” and “Uganda”, showing clearly that it was his journey abroad that was important to him and not the one which brought him down here. “Story” recalls to him one of the “Lion” stories he told at dinner. I proceeded to “Rook Rifle” and he answered with the totally unexpected word “Farm”. When I say “Shot”, he answers at once “Suicide”. The association seems clear. A man he knows committed suicide with a rook rifle on a farm somewhere. Remember, too, that his mind is still on the stories he told at dinner, and I think you will agree that I shall not be far from the truth if I recall Captain Black and ask him to repeat the particular suicide story which he told at the dinner-table on Tuesday evening.’
Black was straightforward enough over the matter.
‘Yes, I did tell them that story now that I come to think of it. Chap shot himself on a farm out there. Did it with a rook rifle through the roof of the mouth, bullet lodged in the brain. Doctors were no end puzzled over it—there was nothing to show except a little blood on the lips. But what—?’
‘What has it got to do with Mr Maltravers? You did not know, I see, that he was found with a rook rifle by his side.’
‘You mean my story suggested to him—oh, but that is awful!’
‘Do not distress yourself—it would have been one way or another. Well, I must get on the telephone to London.’
Poirot had a lengthy conversation over the wire, and came back thoughtful. He went off by himself in the afternoon, and it was not till seven o’clock that he announced that he could put it off no longer, but must break the news to the young widow. My sympathy had already gone out to her unreservedly. To be left penniless, and with the knowledge that her husband had killed himself to assure her future, was a hard burden for any woman to bear. I cherished a secret hope, however, that young Black might prove capable of consoling her after her first grief had passed. He evidently admired her enormously.
Our interview with the lady was painful. She refused vehemently to believe the facts that Poirot advanced, and when she was at last convinced broke down into bitter weeping. An examination of the body turned our suspicions into certainty. Poirot was very sorry for the poor lady, but, after all, he was employed by the Insurance Company, and what could he do? As he was preparing to leave he said gently to Mrs Maltravers:
‘Madame, you of all people should know that there are no dead!’
‘What do you mean?’ she faltered, her eyes growing wide.
‘Have you never taken part in any spiritualistic séances? You are mediumistic, you know.’
‘I have been told so. But you do not believe in Spiritualism, surely?’
‘Madame, I have seen some strange things. You know that they say in the village that this house is haunted?’
She nodded, and at that moment the parlourmaid announced that dinner was ready.
‘Won’t you just stay and have something to eat?’
We accepted gratefully, and I felt that our presence could not but help distract her a little from her own griefs.
We had just finished our soup, when there was a scream outside the door, and the sound of breaking crockery. We jumped up. The parlourmaid appeared, her hand to her heart.
‘It