Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?. Agatha Christie

the attack to a blunt instrument. I was thinking of taking a great deal of care of myself in the future. The decoy idea can be washed out.’

      ‘I was afraid you’d say that,’ said Frankie with a sigh. ‘Young men are sadly degenerate nowadays. Father says so. They don’t enjoy being uncomfortable and doing dangerous and unpleasant things any longer. It’s a pity.’

      ‘A great pity,’ said Bobby, but he spoke with firmness. ‘What’s the second plan of campaign?’

      ‘Working from the “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” clue,’ said Frankie. ‘Presumably the dead man came down here to see Evans, whoever he was. Now, if we could find Evans –’

      ‘How many Evanses,’ Bobby interrupted, ‘do you think there are in Marchbolt?’

      ‘Seven hundred, I should think,’ admitted Frankie.

      ‘At least! We might do something that way, but I’m rather doubtful.’

      ‘We could list all the Evanses and visit the likely ones.’

      ‘And ask them – what?’

      ‘That’s the difficulty,’ said Frankie.

      ‘We need to know a little more,’ said Bobby. ‘Then that idea of yours might come in useful. What’s No. 3?’

      ‘This man Bassington-ffrench. There we have got something tangible to go upon. It’s an uncommon name. I’ll ask Father. He knows all these county family names and their various branches.’

      ‘Yes,’ said Bobby. ‘We might do something that way.’

      ‘At any rate, we are going to do something?’

      ‘Of course we are. Do you think I’m going to be given eight grains of morphia and do nothing about it?’

      ‘That’s the spirit,’ said Frankie.

      ‘And besides that,’ said Bobby, ‘there’s the indignity of the stomach pump to be washed out.’

      ‘That’s enough,’ said Frankie. ‘You’ll be getting morbid and indecent again if I don’t stop you.’

      ‘You have no true womanly sympathy,’ said Bobby.