9 THE EVIDENCE OF MR. HARDMAN
9 哈德曼先生的证词
The last of the first-class passengers to be interviewed, Mr. Hardman, was the big flamboyant American who had shared a table with the Italian and the valet.
头等卧铺车旅客中最后一名被问的旅客哈德曼先生，就是与那名意大利大汉及那个男仆同桌进餐、硕大且穿着俗丽的美国人。
He wore a somewhat loud check suit, a pink shirt, and a flashy tie-pin, and was rolling something round his tongue as he entered the dining-car. He had a big, fleshy, coarse-featured face, with a good-humoured expression.
他穿一身刺眼的花格西装，粉红色衬衫，领口别了一枚闪亮的别针；进得餐车里来，舌头上不知还翻着什么东西。他那张肉多、五官粗陋的大脸上，倒是呈现着一团和气。
“Morning, gentlemen,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“早呵，各位，”他说：“有何吩咐？”
“You have heard of this murder, Mr.—er—Hardman?”
“你该已听说过这桩谋杀案了，哈——呃——哈德曼先生？”
“Sure.” He shifted the chewing gum deftly.
“当然了。”他悄悄地转了转嘴里的口香糖。
“We are of necessity interviewing all the passengers on the train.”
“照例，我们必须与车上每位旅客作一次面谈。”
“That’s all right by me. Guess that’s the only way to tackle the job.”
“这不妨事，看样子也只有如此才能解决问题。”
Poirot consulted the passport lying in front of him.
白罗查看了一下他面前的护照。
“You are Cyrus Bethman Hardman, United States subject, forty-one years of age, travelling salesman for typewriting ribbons?”
“你是赛洛斯·贝斯曼·哈德曼，美国公民，四十一岁，职业是推销打字带。对吧？”
“O.K. That’s me.”
“对了，是我。”
you are travelling from Stamboul to Paris?”
“你是从伊斯坦堡去巴黎吗？”
“That’s so.”
“对了。”
“Reason?”
“此行目的？”
“Business.”
“公事。”
“Do you always travel first-class, Mr. Hardman?”
“你一向都乘头等列车吗，哈德曼先生？”
“Yes, sir. The firm pays my travelling expenses. “ He winked.
“是的，您呐。公司代付旅费。”他挤了挤眼睛。
“Now, Mr. Hardman, we come to the events of last night.”
“好，哈德曼先生，我们现在就谈昨夜的情况。”
The American nodded.
这名美国人点了点头。
“What can you tell us about the matter?”
“对于这桩命案，你能告诉我们些什么吗？”
“Exactly nothing at all.”
“一点也没有。”
“Ah, that is a pity. Perhaps, Mr. Hardman, you will tell us exactly what you did last night from dinner onwards?”
“呵，真遗憾。或许，哈德曼先生，你可以说说昨夜用餐之后，自己的行动吧？”
For the first time the American did not seem ready with his reply. At last he said: “Excuse me, gentlemen, but just who are you? Put me wise.”
这名美国人好像第一遭未能立刻回 答问题。最后他还是开腔了：“对不起，各位，不过你们到底是什么人？可否领教一下？”
“This is M. Bouc, a director of the Compagnie des Wagons Lits. This gentleman is the doctor who examined the body.”
“这位是国际铁路公司卧车部门的主管波克先生。这位先生是验尸的医生。”
“And you yourself?”
“你本人呢？”
“I am Hercule Poirot. I am engaged by the company to investigate this matter.”
“我是赫邱里·白罗，受聘于他们的公司来调查这个案子的。”
“I’ve heard of you,” said Mr. Hardman. He reflected a minute or two longer. “Guess I’d better come clean.”
“我听说过你。”哈德曼先生说。他思索了一下，又说：“这下子，我可不能陷了进来。”
“It will certainly be advisable for you to tell us all you know,” said Poirot drily.
“你如能将自己所知全盘告诉我们，那是很明智的。”白罗冷冷地说。
“You’d have said a mouthful if there was anything I did know. But I don’t. I know nothing at all—just as I said. But I ought to know something. That’s what makes me sore. I ought to.”
“你已经问过老半天我知道什么了。可是，我不知道。我什么也不晓得——我早告诉你们了。可是，我却又应该知道一些事的，恼人的地方正在这里，我的确应该知道一点。”
“Please explain, Mr. Hardman.”
“请解释一下，哈德曼先生。”
Mr. Hardman sighed, removed the chewing gum, and dived into a pocket.
哈德曼先生叹了一口气，将口中的口香糖拿出来，顺手塞进了口袋里。
At the same time his whole personality seemed to undergo a change. He became less of a stage character and more of a real person. The resonant nasal tones of his voice became modified.
同一时刻中，他整个的人好像也在开始改变了。他变得更像个真人，而不是个怪物了，带有鼻音、宽宏声调的语气，也加了一分修润。
“That passport’s a bit of bluff,” he said. “That’s who I really am.”
“那本护照上弄了些玄虚，”他说：“这才是我的本行。”
Poirot scrutinised the card flipped across to him. M. Bouc peered over his shoulder.
白罗打量了一番哈德曼先生翻给他的一张名片。波克先生低头偷扫了一眼。
Poirot knew the name as that of one of the best-known and most reputable private detective agencies in New York.
白罗知道这是纽约一家最著名且声誉最隆的私家侦探服务公司。
“Now, Mr. Hardman,” he said, “let us hear the meaning of this.”
“那么，哈德曼先生，就请说明一下这是怎么回事吧。”
“Sure. Things came about this way. I’d come over to Europe trailing a couple of crooks—nothing to do with this business. The chase ended in Stamboul. I wired the Chief and got his instructions to return, and I would have been making my tracks back to little old New York when I got this.”
“当然，事情是这样的：我到欧洲来追踪两名歹徒——跟这档子事无关。事情到了伊斯坦堡告了一个段落。我打电报给我主管，他指示我返国。若不是为了这个，我老早就回到纽约了。”
He pushed across a letter.
他将一封信递给了白罗。
THE TOKATLLAN HOTEL
信笺是图卡德兰大饭店的。
Dear Sir: You have been pointed out to me as an operative of the McNeil Detective Agency. Kindly report at my suite at four o’clock this afternoon.
亲爱的先生：获悉先生是麦克耐尔侦探服务公司的侦探人员。烦请于本日下午四时驾临本人套房一谈为荷。
S. E. RATCHETT “Eh bien?”
S·E·罗嘉德“怎么样了？”
“I reported at the time stated, and Mr. Ratchett put me wise to the situation. He showed me a couple of letters he’d got.”
“我按时到了他的套房，罗嘉德先生将事情为我说明了一番。他还给我看了两封他收到的信件。”
“He was alarmed?”
“他有些担心吗？”
“Pretended not to be, but he was rattled, all right. He put up a proposition to me. I was to travel by the same train as he did to Parrus and see that nobody got him. Well, gentlemen, I did travel by the same train, and in spite of me, somebody did get him. I certainly feel sore about it. It doesn’t look any too good for me.”
“装做若无其事的样子，其实，他忧心得很。他聘我接受他的委托，要我陪他同车前往巴鲁斯，保卫他的安全。各位，我的确同车护卫他，可是，他仍是被人干掉了。我当然觉得尴尬得很，这对我的名声很有影响。”
“Did he give you any indication of the line you were to take?”
“他有没有暗示过你，你该如何进行你的工作？”
“Sure. He had it all taped out. It was his idea that I should travel in the compartment alongside his. Well, that blew up right at the start. The only place I could get was berth No. 16, and I had a job getting that. I guess the conductor likes to keep that compartment up his sleeve. But that’s neither here nor there. When I looked all round the situation, it seemed to me that No. 16 was a pretty good strategic position. There was only the dining-car in front of the Stamboul sleepingcar, and the door onto the platform at the front end was barred at night. The only way a thug could come was through the rear-end door to the platform, or along the train from the rear, and in either case he’d have to pass right by my compartment.”
“当然有。他全计划好了。他决定我应睡在紧邻他的卧铺房间。结果，一起程就不对了。我唯一订到的是第十六号卧铺，还费了不少事呢。我猜列车长是留下那间卧铺房来赚小钱的。我研究了一下，觉得第十六号的策略位置倒也不坏。在伊斯坦堡卧铺车之前只有餐车，前头下月台的门在晚上又是拴上的。要是有歹徒想混上车，只能从车尾下月台的门，或从列车尾沿车厢摸过来，不管他怎么来，都会经过我的卧铺房的。”
“You had no idea, I suppose, of the identity of the possible assailant?”
“我想，他大概不晓得凶嫌会是什么人吧？”
“Well, I knew what he looked like. Mr. Ratchett described him to me.”
“我知道他的长相。罗嘉德先生替我描述过。”
“What?”
“什么？”
All three men leaned forward eagerly.
三个人都精神为之一振，将身子向前倾了过来。
Hardman went on.
哈德曼又说：
“A small man—dark—with a womanish kind of voice. That’s what the old man said. Said, too, that he didn’t think it would be the first night out, More likely the second or third.”
“一个瘦小的男人——深肤色——声音尖尖地像个女人。这是那老家伙说的，他还说看情形第一晚可能没事。多半在第二或第三天。
“He knew something,” said M. Bouc.
“那么他是知道有事了？”波克先生说。
“He certainly knew more than he told his secretary,” commented Poirot thoughtfully. “Did he tell you anything about this enemy of his? Did he, for instance, say why his life was threatened?”
“他知道的起码比他告诉他秘书的事要多。”白罗费了些心思评述了一句。“他有没有跟你提起他这名仇敌的什么事？比方说，为什么有人要危害他的生命？”
“No, he was kinda reticent about that part of it. just said the fellow-was out for his blood and meant to get it.”
“没有，这点他好像守口如瓶。只说那人要致他死命，而且是下了决心的。”
“A small man—dark—with a womanish voice,” repeated Poirot thoughtfully. Then, fixing a sharp glance on Hardman, he asked: “You knew who he really was, of course?”
“一个瘦小的男人——深肤色——说话尖声像个女人，”白罗沉思着重复这句话。之后，他尖锐地瞪着哈德曼，问道：“你当然知道这人到底是谁了？”
“Which, Mister?”
“哪个？先生。”
“Ratchett. You recognised him?”
“罗嘉德。你认出他来了吧？”
“I don’t get you.”
“我不懂你这话的意思？”
“Ratchett was Cassetti, the Armstrong murderer.”
“罗嘉德就是卡赛提，阿姆斯壮绑架案的凶手。”
Mr. Hardman gave vent to a prolonged whistle.
哈德曼先生长长地吹了一声口哨。
“That certainly is some surprise!” he said. “Yes, sir! No, I didn’t recognise him. I was away out West when that case came on. I suppose I saw photos of him in the papers, but I wouldn’t recognise my own mother when a newspaper photographer got through with her. Well, I don’t doubt that a few people had it in for Cassetti all right.”
“这才真是万想不到呢！”他说：“太想不到了！没有，我没认出来。那桩案子发生的时候，我正在西部。我想我该在报上看到过他的照片，可是就是我妈的照片上了报我也很难认得出的。当然，有不少人是要报复卡塞提的了。”
Do you know of anyone connected with the Armstrong case who answers to that description: small—dark—womanish voice?”
“你可知道有任何与阿姆斯壮案子有关的人，与这名瘦小、深肤色、说话像女人声的模样相符吗？“
Hardman reflected a minute or two. “It’s hard to say. Pretty nearly everyone connected with that case is dead.”
哈德曼又想了半晌。“很难说。几乎所有与这桩案子相关的人都去世了。”
“There was the girl who threw herself out of the window, remember.”
“有个女郎跳楼自杀的，你记得吗？”
“Sure. That’s a good point, that. She was a foreigner of some kind. Maybe she had some Wop relations. But you’ve got to remember that there were other cases besides the Armstrong one. Cassetti had been running this kidnapping stunt for some time. You can’t concentrate on that only.”
“当然，你这问得很好。她好像是个外籍人，说不定她与意大利方面有什么关系。不过，你别忘了，除了阿姆斯壮之外，还有一大堆其他的案子呢。卡赛提搞绑架的勾当可不是一天了。你可不能只专注这么一桩。”
Ah, but we have reason to believe that this crime is connected with the Armstrong case.”
“嗯，不过，我们有理由相信本案与阿姆斯壮撕票案有关联。“
Mr. Hardman cocked an inquiring eye. Poirot did not respond. The American shook his head.
哈德曼不解地瞧了白罗一眼，白罗没有反应。这美国人只有摇摇头。
“I can’t call to mind anybody answering that description in the Armstrong case,” he said slowly. “But of course I wasn’t in it and didn’t know much about it.”
“我想不起来与阿姆斯壮案子相关的人中，有哪个符合这个描绘。”他缓声说道：“当然了，我自己没管那个案子，知道得也就不多了。”
“Well, continue your narrative, Mr. Hardman.”
“那么请继续叙述吧，哈德曼先生。”
“There’s very little to tell. I got my sleep in the daytime and stayed awake on the watch at night. Nothing suspicious happened the first night. Last night was the same, as far as I was concerned. I had my door a little ajar and watched. No stranger passed.”
“其实可说的也不多。我白天睡觉，晚上醒来守夜。头一天晚上没发生什么事。依我所知，昨天夜里也是平安无事。我把房门打开一条缝，往外看守的。没有生人走过。”
“You are sure of that, Mr. Hardman?”
“你准能肯定吗，哈德曼先生？”
“I’m plumb certain. Nobody got on that train from outside, and nobody came along the train from the rear carriages. I’ll take my oath on that.”
“绝对没错。没有人从外头上过车，也没有人从后头的车厢穿进来，我可以发誓。”
“Could you see the conductor from your position?”
“从你房里，你看得见列车长吗？”
“Sure. He sits on that little seat almost flush with my door.”
“当然，他坐的那只小椅子几乎可以碰上我的房门。”
“Did he leave that seat at all after the train stopped at Vincovci?”
“火车在温可齐靠站之后，他离开过座位吗？”
“That was the last station? Why, yes, he answered a couple of bells—that would be just after the train came to a halt for good. Then, after that, he went past me into the rear coach—was there about a quarter of an hour. There was a bell ringing like mad and he came back running. I stepped out into the corridor to see what it was all about—felt a mite nervous, you understand—but it was only the American dame. She was raising hell about something or other, I grinned. Then he went on to another compartment and came back and got a bottle of mineral water for someone. After that he settled down in his seat till he went up to the far end tomake somebody’s bed up. I don’t think he stirred after that until about five o’clockthis morning.”
“你是指的上一站吗？呃，有的，他去应了一两次铃，就在列车停下来之后的时刻。后来，他经过我房门，到后面车厢去了——去了大约有一刻钟。后来有人猛按铃，他就奔着跑回来了。我走到过道上，去看到底是怎么回事——有点紧张，这你当然了解——结果，不过是那位美国老太太，她不晓得为了何故在那里喊闹。我作了个苦笑。后来，他又去到另一个房间，回来后，又不知给谁送了一瓶矿泉水去。后来，他就一直坐在座位上，只到另一头去替人铺过床铺。此后，一直到今晨五点，我想他都没走动过。”
“Did he doze off at all?”
“他有没有打过盹儿？“
“That I can’t say. He may have.”
“我不敢说，也许有吧”
Poirot nodded. Automatically his hands straightened the papers on the table. He picked up the official card once more.
白罗点了点头。他双手很自然地平顺着桌上的纸张。他又拿起了那张名片”
“Be so good as just to initial this,” he said.
“麻烦你在这上面签个字。“
The other complied.
对方照做了。
“There is no one, I suppose, who can confirm your story of your identity, Mr. Hardman?”
“我想，没有人能替你证明身份吧？哈德曼先生？”
“On this train? Well, not exactly. Unless it might be young MacQueen. I know him well enough—I’ve seen him in his father’s office in New York. But that’s not to say he’ll remember me from a crowd of other operatives. No, Mr. Poirot, you’ll have to wait and cable New York when the snow lets up. But it’s O.K. I’m not telling the tale. Well, so long, gentlemen. Pleased to have met you, Mr. Poirot.”
“在这车上？嗯，该没有了。也许只有麦昆那青年人了。我认识他已久了，我在他令尊纽约的办公室里见过他。当然，在那么多侦探里头，他也不一定记得我的。没别的办法，白罗先生，您只有等风雪停了，打电报给纽约查证了。没关系，我并没有做假。好了，再见，各位。白罗先生，幸会。”
Poirot proffered his cigarette case. “But perhaps you prefer a pipe?”
白罗按开香烟盒，对他说：“也许你喜欢抽烟斗吧？”
“Not me.” He helped himself, then strode briskly off.
“我不抽那玩艺儿。”他拿了一支香烟，神采奕奕地跨出了餐车。
The three men looked at each other.
在座的三个人彼此交换了个眼神。
“You think he is genuine?” asked Dr. Constantine.
“你看他说的是实话吗？”康斯丹丁医师问。
“Yes, yes. I know the type. Besides, it is a story that would be very easy to disprove.”
“是的，是的。我很清楚他这类型的人。再说，他的话要是编的话，也是很容易拆穿的。”
“He has given us a piece of very interesting evidence,” said M. Bouc.
“他给我们的证词，的确十分有意义的。”波克先生说。
“Yes, indeed.”
“的确是的。”
“A small man—dark—with a high-pitched voice,” said M. Bouc thoughtfully.
“一个瘦小的男人——深色皮肤——说话尖声尖气的。”波克边想边说着。
“A description which applies to no one on the train,” said Poirot.
“这个描述跟我们车上的任何一个人都不相配。”白罗说。