Chapter 16 Chapter 16 The Dying Chinese

Even now, those days in March still haunt me. Poirot--Hercule Poirot, incomparable and unique in all the world--is dead!That damned touch on the matchbox, which must have caught his attention long ago, and his haste to get it right—thus causing the explosion.In fact, this disaster was caused by me, and I have been regretting and mourning, but it has not helped.As Dr. Ridgeway said, it's a miracle that I survived with just a little concussion. Although I myself felt that I regained consciousness almost immediately, when I woke up, it had been more than twenty-four hours since what had happened.Before I could make it through the second night, I staggered into an adjoining room and gazed mournfully at the unadorned elm coffin in which the world-famous Poirot lay.

From the moment I regained consciousness, there was only one idea in my heart - to avenge Poirot's unjust death and eradicate the four evil heads. I originally thought that Richie would definitely agree with me to do this, but I didn't expect this kind doctor to be very indifferent after hearing my plan. "Go back to South America." It was his advice, and he repeatedly suggested that I go back.Knowing that it can't be done, why try?To elaborate on what he meant, it would be this: —If Poirot, Poirot, the peerless Poirot, can fail, how can I succeed? However, I am stubborn.Leaving aside whether I am up to the task (and, besides, I do not share his opinion), I have worked with Poirot so long, I have his methods in mind, and I feel capable of continuing what he has left unfinished. Work; for me, it's a matter of relationship.My friend was vilely murdered.Shouldn't I try to bring this case to justice and return to South America like a bereaved dog?

I told Ridgeway this thought, and he listened intently. "It's the same," he said when I had finished. "My advice is the same, and I'm sure Poirot would have advised you to go back if he had been here. I beg you in his name, Hess." Dins, give up these unrealistic ideas, and go back to your farm." I only have one answer, he shook his head and stopped talking. It took a month for me to fully recover.At the end of April, I asked to see the Home Secretary, and was given the opportunity. Mr. Crowther's soothing disapproval made me think of Dr. Ridgway.Although he admired my loyalty and zeal for my friends, he vetoed it gently and cautiously.He already had the information Poirot had collected, and he assured me that he would take all necessary measures to guard against the looming threat.

I had to pretend to be satisfied with his polite reassurance.Mr. Crowther urged me to return to South America, and the interview was concluded, all very unsatisfactory to me. I thought I should describe Poirot's funeral objectively.The ceremony was solemn and moving, with countless people offering flowers to express their admiration.These flower givers, from all walks of life, bear witness to the deeds my friend has done in this country of sojourn.As I stand by the grave and think of our colorful experiences and joyful times together, my heart breaks with grief. At the beginning of May, I had already planned everything.I thought it better to follow Poirot's previous plan of advertising for information on Claude Darry.To this end I placed advertisements in various dailies and then judged the results in a small restaurant in Soho.A report in the newspaper made me panic.

This report is very short, and the content is that Mr. John Ingalls mysteriously disappeared on board the Shanghai steamer shortly after leaving Marseilles.Although the weather was fine and the sea was calm that day, it was speculated that the unfortunate man must have fallen into the sea.The report concludes with a brief introduction to Mr. Ingels' long and special service in China. The news is unpleasant.I think Mr. Ingalls' death was a deliberate murder.I would never believe it was an accident.Ingels was murdered, and his death was clearly the work of the damned Four Great Devils.

I sat there, stupefied, taking the shock of the unexpected, with the whole incident running through my mind.Suddenly, I noticed the strange behavior of the man sitting across from me.I hadn't noticed him, a thin, dark, middle-aged man with a bad complexion and a small goatee.He sat across from me so quietly that I didn't notice him coming at all. However, his behavior is really strange.He leaned forward and carefully salted me, pouring four small piles of salt beside my plate. "Would you forgive me for doing this?" he said sullenly. "People say that pouring salt for strangers is making trouble for others. This is also forced by circumstances, although I don't want to do it. I hope you are sensible. .”

Then he meaningfully repeated the action of pouring salt on his own plate.The meaning of four is very clear.There's no way I could be wrong.I watched him carefully.I see no resemblance between him and young Templeton, or James the manservant, or any of the characters we meet.However, I am convinced that it is the dreaded Number Four that I have avoided.He sounded a bit like the button-down guy who visited us in Paris. I looked around and didn't know what to do.He saw through my attempt, shook his head gently and smiled. "I don't think you should do that," he said. "Don't forget the consequences of your hasty actions in Paris. I assure you, my back is already arranged. I venture to say that your thoughts It's a bit reckless."

"You devil!" I was speechless angrily. "You devil!" "Remember—a little too excited. Your dead friends, if they were around, would have told you that you stand a better chance of winning if you stay calm." "You dare mention him," I yelled, "and you murdered him in a vile way. And you came here—" He cut me off. "I am here on a very good and peaceful mission. I am here to advise you to return to South America immediately. If you obey, then your relationship with the Four Great Demons will be canceled. You and your family will not be disturbed by any more. I can vouch for it."

I laughed contemptuously: "What if I refuse that unreasonable order?" "That can't be called an order. Should we call it a—warning?" His voice was cold and fierce. "This is the first warning," he said gently. "You'd better accept this warning and not ignore it." Before I could guess what he was trying to do, he stood up and walked quickly to the door.I immediately jumped up and followed him, but I was unlucky and ran into a big fat man standing between me and the next table.I managed to get away, and my target was just passing through the door, but I was bumped into by a waiter holding a tray. Finally, when I rushed to the door, the thin, dark-bearded man was gone.

The waiter kept apologizing, and the big fat man ordered food as if nothing had happened.There is little evidence that these two events were not pure accidents.However, I have my own opinion.I understand very well that the minions of the four major demons are everywhere. Needless to say, I ignored their warnings accordingly.Whether it is life or death, I will be aboveboard.The newspaper advertisement got only two responses.None of them provide information of value to anyone.They have all acted with Claude Darry, but they are not familiar with him, so they don't know his true identity and current whereabouts at all.

It was almost ten days later that I received another message from the four great demons.I was walking helplessly through Hyde Park that day when a voice with a thick foreign accent and rich inflections stopped me. "Captain Hastings, isn't it?" A large bus was parked right next to the gravel road.A woman stepped out, very smartly dressed in black, with very valuable pearls.The object immediately recognized the lady. When we first met her, she was Countess Vera Ruskoff, and later, she became a minion of the Four Devils under another name.For some reason, Poirot had an unspoken affection for the Countess.Her flamboyant qualities attracted the little man.In the frenzy, he said that she was only one woman in a thousand, and he thought it was nothing at all for her to be our enemy, our most hated enemy. "Ah, don't go!" said the countess. "I have something very important to tell you. Don't try to catch me, because, well, it would be foolish to do that. You've always been a little stupid—well, that's all. You're stupid now to ignore the warning we gave you. I'm giving you a second warning. Get out of England at once. You're doing no good here - I tell you frankly, you won't do much. of." "As it stands," I said deadpan, "it seems to me that it is all the more unusual that you want me to go so urgently." The countess shrugged her shoulders—fine shoulders and a charming pose. "I think it's stupid of you to think that, too. If I were in power, I'd let you play here happily. But the leaders, you know, are afraid that some of your words will speak to someone more than you. Smart people inspire. On the contrary—you are bound to be expelled." The Countess seemed quite distrustful of my abilities.I hid my troubles and pretended nothing had happened.There was no doubt that her attitude and words were just trying to annoy me by telling me that I didn't matter. "Of course, it's not difficult to get rid of you," she went on, "but I'm a very sentimental person sometimes. I beg you to go away quickly. You've got a very nice young lady somewhere, don't you?" That poor little dead man would be glad you didn't get killed too. You know, I've always liked him. He's smart - really smart! If it wasn't four against one, I'm sure he'd outshine Ours. I confess - he was my teacher! At his funeral, I sent a message to show my admiration for him - a large bouquet of crimson roses. Crimson roses can show my Special temperament." I listened silently, and my inner dissatisfaction was getting higher and higher. "You look like a donkey when you don't listen to other people's advice and run around. Well, I have warned you. Remember this, the Slayer will himself send a third warning—" She sighed, set foot on the station and sped away.I instinctively paid attention to the car number, but I didn't expect to gain anything.The Four Great Devils will not be sloppy in details. I went home a little sad.A fact stood out in the countess' babble.My life is literally at stake.Although I will not give up this struggle because of this, I know that I must act cautiously and take every possible precaution. While I was weighing the facts to find the best course of action, the phone rang.I cross the room and pick up the microphone. "Hello, which one?" A clear voice answered me. "This is St. Giles Hospital. We have just brought in a Chinese man who was murdered in the street. He will not live long. We found a piece of paper in his pocket with your name and address, so I said I'd be right there." I was taken aback, but, after thinking for a while, I said I'd be right there.I know that St. Giles Hospital is right by the docks, and this Chinese man may have just come off a ship. On the way to the hospital, I suddenly wondered if this was a trap?Where there are Chinese, there may be Li Changyan's minions.I remembered the baited trap from last time.Is this the enemy's strategy? After a brief moment of reflection, I thought that a trip to the hospital could never do any harm.Maybe things aren't as complicated as fraud is commonly known.This dying Chinese will reveal some secrets that I should keep, and in the end, will lead me into the hands of the Four Great Demons.At present, what I should do is to ask for advice with an open mind, pretending that I am easy to be deceived on the surface, but in private, I have to be more cautious about the news. When I arrived at St. Giles, I told my purpose and they took me right away to the bedside of a man I didn't know in the emergency room.He lay upright, his eyelids closed, and only the slight rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still breathing.A doctor was standing by the bed, feeling the Chinese man's pulse. "He's almost done," he whispered to me. "You know him, eh?" I shake my head. "I never saw him." "Then why does he have your name and address in his pocket? You're Captain Hastings, aren't you?" "I'm Captain Hastings, but I don't know why any more than you do." "What a curious thing. From his papers he appears to be the servant of a man called Ingalls—a retired civil servant. Ah! You know him, don't you?" When I was startled by the name he mentioned One jump, he added right away. Ingall's servant!Then I must have seen him.For me, I can't make out the appearance of Chinese people at all.He must have accompanied Ingalls to China, and returned to England with news after the accident.Perhaps, it was a letter of ten thousand degrees.The stakes are high, and I must hear the message. "Is he awake?" I asked. "Can he talk? Ingalls turned out to be an old friend of mine, and I thought the poor fellow might have sent me letters for him. Mr. Ingalls was said to have fell into the sea." "He's conscious, but I doubt he'll have the strength to talk. You know, he's bleeding a lot. I can give him a stimulant, and we're doing what we can." He gave him a hypodermic injection, and I stayed by the bed in the faint hope that a word—a signal—may help me a lot in my work, but time is ticking One point passed by, and he must have lost the signal. Suddenly, an ominous premonition flashed into my mind, have I fallen into a trap?Perhaps, this Chinese is just a servant of Ingels, but actually a minion of the Four Devils?Didn't I know that some Chinese Taoist priests fake their deaths?Or, to go further, Li Changyan may order some madmen to be willing to sacrifice for his master.I must be careful. When these thoughts flashed through my mind, the person on the bed moved.He opened his eyes and said something intermittently.Later, I saw him staring at me.He doesn't seem to know me, but I sense he wants to talk to me.What is he like?Is it a friend?I must hear what he has to say. I leaned over to the bed, but his staccato voice didn't mean anything to me.I heard the sound of "Hande", but I don't know what word this sound is used with.Later, he repeated it again, and this time, I heard another sound, "Laguo" (slow song).I stared blankly at him.Try to think about the possible meaning of the juxtaposition of these two sounds. "Handel's slow song?" I asked. The Chinese blinked his eyelids quickly, as if in agreement, and then added another Italian word, "carrosa".Then, murmured two or three Italian words, and then suddenly leaned back. The doctor pushed me aside.Things are over.The man is dead. I went out in a daze. "Handel's Slow Song" and "Carosa".If I remember correctly, "Carosa" means "passenger train".What do these simple nouns mean?This man is Chinese, not Italian, but why does he speak Italian?If he is really Ingels' servant, he should know English, right?The whole thing is really mysterious.I kept thinking about it on the way home.Ah, if Poirot had been there, his lightning quick wit would have settled the matter. I opened the door with the key and walked slowly to my room.There was a letter on the table, and I tore it hastily.As I read this letter, I stood there, unable to move my feet. It's a letter from a law firm. Dear Sir (so the letter reads) - Mr. Hercule Poirot, our late client, has directed us to send you the enclosed letter.It was given to us a week before his death, and he told us to give you this letter at a certain time after his accident. your faithful friend, wait I read the letter over and over.It was definitely Poirot's letter.I recognize his familiar handwriting.I opened the letter with a heavy heart and eagerness. My dear friend (so begins the letter) - I am no longer alive when you receive this letter.You don't have to cry for me, just follow my instructions.When you receive this letter, return to South America immediately.Don't be stubborn.I ask you to go back, not for emotional reasons.it is necessary!It's part of Hercule Poirot's plan!It is useless to say, sincerity to a man of the keen wit of my friend Hayes. Defeat the four demons, I salute you, my friend, I salute you under the Nine Springs. forever your friend Hercule Poirot I have read this amazing letter over and over again.Evidently, every conceivable event had been planned out by this astonishing man, so that not even his death would disturb his plans!Later, I was part of the activism—he was the genius of the conductor.Undoubtedly, overseas, I will receive detailed instructions.Meanwhile, my enemies believed that I had heeded their warnings and would take no further trouble in my affairs, so that I could come back again, unsuspecting, to wreak havoc on their schemes. Now, nothing will delay my immediate departure.I sent a telegram, bought a ticket, and a week later I was on board the Ania to Buenos Aires. A note was delivered by a waiter just as the boat left the dock.He said it had been handed to him by a tall man in a leather jacket who was the last to leave the gangway. I open.Keep it short and to the point. It said: "You are very smart." Underneath it was signed in large Arabic characters 4. I secretly laughed in my heart. There are not many waves at sea.Resolving to ignore the other passengers, I enjoyed a fairly decent supper by myself, played a game or two of bridge, and then, going into the cabin, slept like a log, as I always travel. I feel like someone has been shaking me, waking up isolated.Sleepy and dazed, I saw a ship's clerk standing in front of me.He let out a sigh of relief when I sat up. "Thank God, I finally woke you up. I have a lot of work to do. Do you always sleep this soundly?" "What's wrong?" I still haven't fully woke up, and asked in a daze. "Did something happen to the ship?" "I thought you knew better than I did." He replied blankly. "Special instructions from the Admiralty. There is a destroyer waiting to take you away." "What?" I yelled. "In the sea?" "It looks really suspenseful, but that's none of my business. They've sent a young man aboard, and he's coming to take your bed, and we'll all have to keep it a secret. Now, get up and get dressed, will you?" I did as he told me, but I couldn't hide my surprise.They let a boat go down and escorted me to the destroyer.I was well received there, but there was no further news.The mate gave instructions to release me somewhere off the Belgian coast.That's all he knows and what he should do. The whole thing is like a dream.I am convinced that these are all part of Poirot's plan.I had to trust my dead friend and follow suit. I disembarked without incident at the appointed place.There was already a car waiting there to take me across the plains of Flanders on the Flat Causeway.That night I spent the night in a small hotel in Brussels.The next day, we continued walking.The terrain gets higher and higher with more trees.I knew we were passing through the region of the Jardin Forest Plateau, and it occurred to me that Poirot had said that he had a brother who lived in Spah. However, we did not go to Shiba.We turned off the main road and gradually turned into a leafy road in the mountains. We arrived at a small village with a single white villa on the side of the mountain. The station stopped in front of the green gate of the villa. When I arrived the door was open.An old manservant stood at the door and saluted. "Captain Hastings?" he said in French. "Captain Hastings, please follow me." He led me down the hall, opened a door in the back, and stood by to let me in. The room faces west, and it is afternoon, and the eyes of the room make me blink, and then, when I see clearly, I see a man with his hand outstretched to welcome me. That's - oh, impossible, how could it be - but there's nothing wrong with that. "Poirot!" I called, and for the first time I did not escape his embrace. "Yes, yes, this is the real me! Hercule Poirot will not be killed so easily!" "But, Poirot—why?" "A ruse in war, my friends, a ruse in war. And now we have success." "But, you should have told me sooner!" "No, Hastings, I can't. Otherwise, that scene of yours at the funeral would never have been so real. It was wonderful. We must convince the Big Four." "However, when that scene—" "Don't think I'm too emotionless. In fact, I lied to you because of you. I sacrificed my life, but I felt guilty and uneasy for letting you take risks again and again. So, after the explosion, I thought A clever scheme has been contrived. That good Ridgeway helped me to carry it out. I die and you will go back to South America. But, my friend, you won't do that. In the end, I had to arrange a letter from a lawyer and It's been a long journey. But you've come at last - and that's a good thing. Now, here we are - here in seclusion - until the day of great success - when the four evils are finally wiped out."