Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Playing Mahjong

We had a little mahjong party that night.This simple recreation is very popular in King Abbot Village.After dinner, guests arrived in galoshes and raincoats, drinking coffee and then eating pastries, sandwiches, or tea. Our guests that evening were Miss Gannett and Colonel Carter, who lived near the church.In this kind of gathering, people often spread some gossip, and sometimes even interfere with the smooth progress of the game.Our game was usually bridge--we played it as we talked, and played very carelessly.We found playing mahjong to be gentler than playing cards.When playing cards, you will snap at your partner for not playing a certain card.When playing mahjong, although we will frankly criticize one or two sentences, there is absolutely no malice.

"Too cold to-night, isn't it, Shepard?" asked Colonel Carter, standing with his back to the fire.Caroline took Miss Gannett to her room and helped her take off her bulky coat. "This reminds me of Afghanistan again." "Really?" I asked politely. "Poor Ackroyd's dead is a real mystery," said the colonel, taking his coffee. "It must be the devil of fate—that's my opinion. There's something, Shepard." Don't tell anyone, I heard someone talking about blackmail!" The colonel gave me a look, and his eyes showed a man's trust in another man.

"There is no doubt that a woman is involved in this matter," he said, "and you can quite trust me that there must be a woman in it." At this moment Caroline and Miss Gannett joined our conversation.Miss Gannett drank her coffee while Caroline took out the mahjong box and dumped the tiles on the table. "Shuffle," the colonel said jokingly, "yes, it's called a shuffle, that's what we say in the Shanghai Club." Caroline and I both secretly paid attention that Colonel Carter had never been to the Shanghai Club in his life. , he has only been as far as India, and he has never been to the east.During the war he traded in canned beef and plum applesauce in India.But he was a soldier, and in King Abbot's part one could boast a little bit of credit.

"Let's go," said Caroline. We sat down around the table.No one said a word for the first five minutes, because there was a secret fight over who could sort the cards the fastest. "Let's go, James," Caroline said finally, "You are Dongfeng." I played the first card, and after a lap or two, the dull atmosphere was broken by monotonous shouts, "Three of a Kind", "Two Barrels" ,"bump".Miss Gannett used to say "Boom," but immediately changed her words to "No touch."Because she has a habit of calling "Peng" hastily without seeing the cards clearly, and then saying "I can't touch".

"I saw Flora Aykroyd this morning," said Miss Gannett. "T-no-no, I was wrong again." "Four tubes," said Caroline, "you Where did you see her?" "She didn't see me," replied Miss Gannett, as if it were a great event. "Ah!" said Caroline playfully, "Cha." "The correct way to say it now is 'eat', not 'cha'." Miss Gannett said amusedly. "Nonsense," said Caroline, "I always say 'cha'." "At the Shanghai Club," said Colonel Carter, "they all say 'cha.'" Miss Gannett said no more.

"What did you say about Flora Ackroyd?" asked Caroline suddenly, after a few minutes' attentive play. "Is she with anyone else?" "Yes," said Miss Gannett. . The two ladies looked at each other for a moment, as if they were exchanging information. "Really?" Caroline said with great interest, "Is it playing this one? Oh, I've already expected it." "Miss Caroline, we are waiting for you to play a card." The colonel said.He put on a manly candor, concentrating on his card game and dismissing gossip.But his pretentiousness can be seen through at a glance.

"If I ask me," said Miss Gannett, "my dear, did you type a note? Oh! No, I misread it—a bobbin. If you ask me, I say Flora is very Luckily, she's very lucky." "What are you playing, Miss Gannett?" asked the Colonel, "I'll take that card. How do you know that Miss Flora is lucky? The girl Charming indeed." "I don't know much about crime," Miss Gannett said, with the air of knowing everything in the world, "but I can tell you one thing, people want to The first question asked is always 'Who was the last person to see the dead person alive?' and this person is always the subject of suspicion. In this case, Flora Ackroyd was the last person to see her uncle alive .It should be said that it is not good for her-very bad.My opinion-according to the analysis is this: Ralph Paton was brought up because of her, and the purpose was to attract people's attention. Don't doubt her." "How is that possible," I retorted calmly, "do you think that a young girl like Flora Aykroyd would be ruthless to murder her uncle?" "That's not certain," said Miss Gannett. "I've been reading a book I've borrowed from the library for the past two days. It describes the conditions of the lower classes of Paris. The worst female criminals are often long A young girl with a pretty face." "It was in France," retorted Caroline quickly.

"Well, stop arguing," said the colonel, "and now I'll tell you a very rare story—a story that's been widely circulated in the bazaars of India..." The colonel's story goes on and on , This strange story made several people present listen with relish.But what happened in India many years ago cannot be viewed in the same way as what happened in Aykroyd a few days ago. Caroline was lucky enough to make her peace at last, which interrupted the Colonel's long story.Caroline didn't count correctly, and she wasn't too happy when I corrected her.Then we start shuffling again.

"East Wind's over," said Caroline, "I have my own opinion about Ralph Paton. Thirty thousand. I haven't told anyone so far." "Really, dear?" said Miss Neat. "Eat—oh, I'm wrong, it's touch." "Yes." Caroline said decisively. "Is there something wrong with the boots?" asked Miss Gannett. "I mean, is it black." "No problem," said Caroline. "How useful do you think the color is?" asked Miss Gannett. Caroline pouted and shook her head, but still put on a know-it-all attitude. "Touch," said Miss Gannett, "no—no touch. I think the doctor is on good terms with M. Poirot, and he must know all the secrets." "Knows nothing," I said.

"How modest James is," said Caroline. "Ha! A concealed bar." The colonel whistled, and the chatter broke off. "Your own wind," he said, "you've touched it twice, and we've got to be careful. Miss Caroline is playing big." For a few minutes or so we were so absorbed in our game that we didn't say a word that had nothing to do with it. . "Is this M. Poirot really a great detective?" asked Colonel Carter. "The greatest detective in the world," said Caroline solemnly, "who has come here incognito to avoid the public eye." "Eat," said Miss Gannett, "I dare say he Our little village has been brightened by the arrival of her. By the way, Clara - my maid, you know her - is good friends with Elsie, the maid of Fernley Court. You know what Elsie told her? She said a sum of money had been stolen and she thought—I mean Elsie's opinion—that the parlor maid had something to do with it. She's leaving here this month I see, and often cry at night. I see, the girl is most likely to be in the company of gangsters, and she has always been eccentric--we have no friends here. She always likes to be alone when she goes out--I think it is very strange. Normal, very suspicious. I once asked her to come to a girlfriends party, but she refused, and then I asked her about her family - from what she said and did, I can say with certainty that she Her attitude was very haughty. Outwardly, she was a respectful maid—but she was always wary of me." Miss Gannett paused to catch her breath, and the Colonel was not at all interested in servant affairs.He said that in the Shanghai club, the style of play is casual and there are no rigid rules.

We played a round of random mahjong. "That Miss Russell," said Caroline, "came here on Friday morning to see James, pretending to see a doctor. It seems to me that she is trying to find out where the poison is. Fifty thousand." "Eat," Gunny Miss Turt said, "That's an outrageous idea! I don't quite agree with it." "Speaking of poison," said the colonel, "hey, what's the matter? Haven't I played yet? Oh! Eight." "A deal!" Miss Gannett said. Caroline was very annoyed. "I've got three pair on a red hit," she said, very ruefully. "I should have two red cards when I come up." I reminded her. "Damn it, James," said Caroline reproachfully, "you don't know how to play that kind of hand." But I think I'm playing very smartly.If Caroline is allowed to make peace, I will lose a lot of money, and Miss Gannett is just peaceful, and Caroline knows this too. After the east wind passed, we started shuffling again, and no one said a word. "That's what I wanted to tell you just now," said Caroline. "What is it?" asked Miss Gannett boldly. "I mean what I think of Ralph Paton." "Tell me, dear," said Miss Gannett more courageously. "Eat!" "It's not good to eat so early," said Caroline Said solemnly, "You should be big." "I understand," said Miss Gannett, "you just said—about Ralph Paton, you forgot?" "Oh, yes. I Had a brilliant idea and knew exactly where he was." We all stopped and stared straight at her. "That's very interesting, Miss Caroline," said Colonel Carter, "did you come up with it yourself?" "Oh, not quite. Let me tell you. We have a large county map in the hall of our You should know." We all said in unison. "When Poirot came out of the back room that day, he stopped in front of the map, looked at it carefully for a while, and said a few words - I don't remember the exact words. It seemed to say that the only map in our neighborhood The big town was Cranchester, of course that was obvious. But when he was gone—it occurred to me…” “What did I remember?” Chester." That's when I knocked over the shelf that held the cards.My sister immediately blamed me for being too clumsy, but she didn't speak too seriously.She was obsessed with her logical reasoning. "He's in Cranchester, Miss Caroline?" said Colonel Carter. "Certainly not in Cranchester! That place is too near here." "There it is," cried Caroline triumphantly. Said, "It is now very clear that he did not flee by train. He must have walked to Cranchester, and I believe he is still there. No one would think he was anywhere near." The reasoning suggested several alternatives, but once an idea had taken root in her mind, nothing could dislodge it from her mind. "Do you think M. Poirot has the same idea?" said Miss Gannett thoughtfully. "It is a very curious coincidence that he came from the Drive in the direction and drive past me." Everyone looked at each other. "My God!" Miss Gannett exclaimed suddenly, "I've made it up, and I haven't noticed." Caroline recovered from the conversation, and she pointed out to Miss Gannett that this is a Mixed cards of the same color, and can eat many cards, it is not worth it to be peaceful without making cards.Miss Gannett listened calmly as she collected her chips. "Yes, honey, I know what you mean," she said, "but it depends on the cards you have when you draw, doesn't it?" Lin struggled to hold her own. "That's right, but we each have our own style of play, don't we?" Miss Gannett retorted, she lowered her head to look at her chips, "Anyway, I'm the winner so far." Caroline Yu Yu Not happy, not saying a word. Dongfeng is over, we start to shuffle again.Anne brought tea.Caroline and Miss Gannett had a bit of mutual strife, as is often the case at gay parties. When Miss Gannett hesitated a moment, Caroline said, "Please play a little faster, my dear. The Chinese play mah-jong so fast that it sounds like a bird chirping." At this time, we also played fast like the Chinese. "You haven't given us any information, Shepard," said Colonel Carter very kindly. "You are as cunning as a fox. You cooperate with the great detective to solve the case, but you don't disclose any information." "James is an eccentric man." Man," Caroline said, "he was reluctant to break up with his news." She gave me a cold look. "I swear to you, I know nothing, Poirot never told me his intentions," I said. "Smart man," said the colonel, with a chuckle. "He won't tell the secret. These foreign detectives are marvelous, and I think they must be full of tricks." "Touch," said Miss Gannett, very complacently. Said, "It's made up." The situation is getting more and more serious.Caroline was very annoyed by Miss Gannett's three fights.Caroline turned to me as I sorted the cards. "You're such a nuisance, James, to sit there like a block and say nothing!" "My dear," I retorted, "I really have nothing to say—I mean you want me to say I don't know anything about that." "I don't believe it," Caroline said as she sorted the cards, "you must know something interesting." I was silent for a while.At this time, I couldn't restrain the excitement in my heart. I had heard people talk about Tianhe - just pick up the cards and draw, but I never thought that I could play Tianhe myself. I suppressed the joy in my heart and poured the cards on the table. "At the Shanghai club, they call it 'heavenly peace'—that is, complete victory," I said. The colonel's eyes were as big as ping-pong balls and seemed about to burst out of his head. "My God!" he said, "I've never seen such a strange card!" Caroline's sarcasm, coupled with a moment of self-satisfaction, finally caused me to say it. "As for something interesting, I can tell you one thing," I said. "A wedding ring with the date engraved on the back and 'Gift of R'." I didn't say much else, but I was forced to give the exact location where the ring was found and the date engraved on it. "March 13th," said Caroline, "exactly six months to now. Ah!" There were all sorts of speculations with great excitement, from which three different opinions could be drawn: 1.Colonel Carter's opinion: Ralph and Flora have been secretly married.This explanation is the simplest and clearest. 2.Miss Gannett's opinion: Roger Ackroyd and Mrs Ferrars have been secretly married. 3.Sister's opinion: Roger Ackroy is married to the housekeeper, Miss Russell. The fourth view, or a super view, is what we bring up when we are getting ready to go home to bed. "Listen," said the sister suddenly, "I wouldn't be surprised if Geoffrey Raymond and Flora were married." "If that's the case, write 'Gift' instead 'Gift of R'." I demurred. "You don't know, some girls like to take their husband's last name. You heard what Miss Gannett said just now—about Flora's indiscretions." Strictly speaking, I didn't hear Gannett at all. Miss Tate had spoken of such things.But I admire Caroline's insinuation. "How about Hector Brent?" I suggested, "if I had to guess—" "Nonsense," said Caroline, "I daresay he likes her—maybe even in love with her. But you can take my word for it, a girl with a good-looking male secretary by her side will never love a man old enough to be a father. She drives Major Brent crazy. Girls are always cunning , but one thing I can tell you for certain is that Flora Aykroyd doesn't like Ralph Paton at all, and never has. You can take my word for it." I accepted without objection her opinion.