Hercule Poirots casebook. Agatha Christie
gold hair and—”
"That’s ’er,” said the porter. “Come in the Michaelmas quarter, they did. Just six months ago.”
He appeared to lose interest in us and retreated slowly up the hall. I followed Poirot outside.
“Eh bien, Hastings?” my friend demanded slyly.
“Are you so sure now that delightful women always speak the truth?” I did not reply.
Poirot had steered his way into Brompton Road before I asked him what he was going to do and where we were going.
“To the house agents, Hastings. I have a great desire to have a flat in Montagu Mansions. If I am not mistaken, several interesting things will take place there before long.”
We were fortunate in our quest. No. 8, on the fourth floor, was to be let furnished at ten guineas a week. Poirot promptly took it for a month. Outside in the street again, he silenced my protests：
‘But I make money nowadays! Why should I not indulge a whim? By the way, Hastings, have you a revolver?’ ‘
“Yes—somewhere,” I answered, slightly thrilled. “Do you think—” “hat you will need it? It is quite possible. The idea pleases you, I see. Always the spectacular and romantic appeal to you.”
The following day saw us installed in our temporary home. The flat was pleasantly furnished. It occupied the same position in the building as that of the Robinsons, but was two floors higher.
The day after our installation was a Sunday. In the afternoon, Poirot left the front door ajar, and summoned me hastily as a bang reverberated from somewhere below.
“Look over the banisters. Are those your friends? Do not let them see you.”
I craned my neck over the staircase.
“That’s them,” I declared in an ungrammatical whisper.
“Good. Wait awhile.”
About half an hour later, a young woman emerged in brilliant and varied clothing. With a sigh of satisfaction, Poirot tiptoed back into the flat.
‘C’est ca. After the master and mistress, the maid. The flat should now be empty”’
“What are we going to do?”I asked neasily.
Poirot had trotted briskly into the scullery and was hauling at the rope of the coal-lift.
“We are about to descend after the method of the dustbins,” he explained cheerfully. “No one will observe us. The Sunday concert, the Sunday “afternoon out, and finally the Sunday nap after the Sunday dinner of England_le rosbif—all these will distract attention from the doings of Hercule Poirot. Come, my friend.”
He stepped into the rough wooden contrivance and I followed him gingerly,
“Are we going to break into the flat?” I asked dubiously.
Poirot's answer was not too reassuring:
“Not precisely today” he replied.
Pulling on the rope, we descended slowly till we reached the second floor. Poirot uttered an exclamation of satisfaction as he perceived that the wooden door into the scullery was open.
“You observe? Never do they bolt these doors in the daytime. And yet anyone could mount or descend as we have done. At night yes— though not always then—and it is against that that we are going to make provision.”
He had drawn some tools from his pocket as he spoke, and at once set deftly to work, his object being to arrange the bolt so that it could be pulled back from the lift. The operation only occupied about three minutes. Then Poirot returned the tools to his pocket, and we reascended once more to our own domain.
On Monday Poirot was out all day, but when he returned in the evening he flung himself into his chair with a sigh of satisfaction.
“Hastings, shall I recount to you a little history? A story after your own heart and which will remind you of your favorite cinema?”
“Go ahead,” I laughed. “I presume that it is a true story, not one of your efforts of fancy”
“It is true enough. Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard will vouch for its accuracy, since it was through his kind offices that it came to my ears. Listen, Hastings. A little over six months ago some important naval plans were stolen from an American Government department.
They showed the position of some of the most important harbor defenses, and would be worth a considerable sum to any foreign government—that of Japan, for example. Suspicion fell upon a young man named Luigi Valdarno, an Italian by birth, who was employed in a minor capacity in the department and who was missing at the same time as the papers. Whether Luigi Valdarno was the thief or not, he was found two days later on the East Side in New York, shot dead. The papers were not on him. Now for some time past Luigi Valdarno had been going about with a Miss Elsa Hardt, a young concert singer who had recently appeared and who live with a brother in an apartment in Washington. Nothing was known of the antecedents of Miss Elsa Hardt, and she disappeared suddenly about the time of Valdarno’s death. There are reasons for believing that she was in reality an accomplished international spy who has done much nefarious work under various aliases. The American Secret Service, while doing their best to trace her, also kept an eye upon certain insignificant Japanese gentlemen living in Washington. They felt pretty certain that, when Elsa Hardt had covered her tracks sufficiently, she would approach the gentlemen in question. One of them left suddenly for England a fortnight ago. On the face of it, therefore, it would seem that Elsa Hardt is in England” Poirot paused, and then added softly： “The official description of Elsa Hardt is： Height 5 ft. 7, eyes blue, hair auburn, fair complexion, nose straight, no special distinguishing marks”
“Mrs. Robinson!” I gasped.
"Well, there is a chance of it, anyhow” amended Poirot. “Also, I learn that a swarthy man, a foreigner of some kind, was inquiring about the occupants of No. 4 only this morning. Therefore, mon ami, I fear that you must forswear your beauty sleep tonight, and join me in my all-night vigil in the flat below一armed with that excellent revolver of yours, bien entendu!p9
“Rather,” I cried with enthusiasm. “When shall we start?”
‘The hour of midnight is both solemn and suitable, I fancy. Nothing is likely to occur before then.”
At twelve o’lock precisely, we crept cautiously into the coal-lift and lowered ourselves to the second floor. Under Poirot s manipulation, the wooden door quickly swung inwards, and we climbed into the flat. From the scullery we passed into the kitchen where we established ourselves comfortably in two chairs with the door into the hall ajar.
“Now we have but to wait” said Poirot contentedly, closing his eyes.
To me, the waiting appeared endless. I was terrified of going to sleep. Just when it seemed to me that I had been there about eight hours—and had, as I found out afterwards, in reality been exactly one hour and twenty minutes—a faint scratching sound came to my ears.
Poirot’s hand touched mine. I rose, and together we moved carefully in the direction of the hall. The noise came from there. Poirot placed his lips to my ear.
“Outside the front door. They are cutting out the lock. When I gave the word, not before, fall upon him from behind and hold him fast. Be careful, he will have a knife”
Presently there was a rending sound, and a little circle of light appeared through the door. It was extinguished immediately and then the door was slowly opened. Poirot and I flattened ourselves against the wall. I heard a man’s breathing as he passed us. Then he flashed on his torch, and as he did so, Poirot hissed in my ear：
“Allez.”
We sprang together, Poirot with a quick movement enveloped the intruder s head with a light woolen scarf while I pinioned his arms. The whole affair was quick and noiseless. I twisted a dagger from his hand, and as Poirot