Text B The Companion（第3页）

‘Doyoumeanwoverthefuture，overthepast，whi’tbealtered?’

&her。’

‘Onlyitwouldn’tbeanygoverthepast。You’tbringback—Oh!What’stheuse!Othithink。’

Iprescribedheramildsleepingdraughtandmademyadieu。AsIoalittleoverthewordsshehadspoken。‘You’tbringback—’‘What?Orwho?’

Ithinkthatlastinterviewpreparedmeinaastoe。Idid，ofcourse，butened，Irised。BearyBartonstruckmeallalongasatiouswoman—notaweaksiawomanwiths，whotothem，andwhowouldasloillbelievedinthem。Ifaiversationwehadshewasbeginningtodoubtherowns。Iknestedtomethatshewasfeelifaintbeginningsofthatterriblesoul-searcher-remorse。

&hinghappenedinwall，inasmalllace，ratherdesertedatthatseasomusthavebeeeMarch。Ireadaboutitinthepapers。Aladyhadbeenstayingatasmallhotelthere—aMissBarton。Shehadbeenveryoddandpehermahadbeennoticedbyall。Atnightsheanddownherrotoherself，andnotallowingthepeopleohersideofhertosleep。Shehadtheviedayandhadtoldhimthatshehadauniofthegravestimportaomaketohim。Shehad，shesaid，itteda，instead，shehadstoodupabruptlyandsaidshewouldotherday。Thevicarputherdownasbeingslightlymental，anddidnottakeherself-aseriously。

Theverymshewasfoundtobemissingfromherroom。Aaddressedtotheer。Itranasfollows:

Itriedtospeaktothevicaryesterday，tofessall，butwasnotallowed。Shewouldme。Imakeamendsonlyoneway—alifeforalife;agothesamewayashersdid。I，too，mustdrowninthedeepsea。IbelievedIwasjustified。Iseenowthatthatwasnotso。IfIdesireAmy’sfivegotoher。Letnoonebeblamedformydeath。

—MaryBarton

&heswerefoundlyingonthebeaasecludedearby，anditseemedclearthatshehaduhereaelyouttoseawherethetwasknowntobedangerous，sweepihecoast。

Thebodywasafteratimeleavewasgiveh。Shewasariaebeiahuhousandpounds。Siestateitallweofkin—afamilyofAustralia。ThepapersmadediscreetreferehetragedyinthearyIslands，puttingforwardthetheorythatthedeathofMissDurranthadunhingedherfriend’sbraitheusualverdictofSuicidewhilsttemporarilyiurned。

AainfallsedyofAmyDurrantandMaryBarton。”

ThereauseandthenJaneHeliergaveagreatgasp。

“Oh，butyoumustn’tstopthere—justatthempartGoon。”

“Butyousee，MissHelier，thisisory。Thisisreallife;andreallifestopsjustwhereitchooses。”

“ButIdon’twantitto，”saidJatoknow。”

“Thisiswhereweuseourbrains，MissHelier，”explainedSirHenry。“WhydidMaryBartonkillherpanion?That’stheproblemDrLloydhassetus。”

1。Ahefollowiions。

1）Whataretheformayleofthetext?

2）Whatkindofuhenarratorwitness?

3）Whodiedintheso-calledat?

4）Whydoesthenarratorfeelsuspiciousofthe“at”?

5）Whoisthemurderer?Whatmightbethemotivebehindthemurder?

2。AgathaChristie:Plotdevices。

TherearemanylayersinAgathaChristie’smysteries—somaies，dredherrings。AgathaChristierarelyfailstostuhthefinalsolution。Whyisthat，andlotdevicesdoessheusetokeepthereaderguessing?

&devicesChristieofteedbelow。PleaseidentifytheonesemployedinThepahemihrefereoryi。

Clues＆RedHerrings

&LikelySuspect

TheDisguise

TheLo

TheDiscreditedWitness

&s＆Domestics

Intuition

TheBigReveal

3。Oralwork:Deviseanendiory。

uetotellthismysterystinativelyaruthbehieriousdeathiomakeyourstorysandgiveagmotiveforthecrime。