Chapter 11 Chapter Ten Omen

At this time, Ellery Quinn was a curious little rascal.During these few hours, his whims— He felt the vaguest longing for everything in front of him--as if he was in an unfathomable dream; but he had an intuition that another village would soon be revealed.He wandered around in the study, bumping into people, smashing the furniture, flipping through the books, in short, he had nothing to do and was annoying.Twice, he walked past the little shelf with the colander on it, and his nostrils fluttered lightly—not because he smelled any specific smell, but because he felt a less obvious pungent smell.Immediately he frowned at it, then lifted the lid of the colander and looked inside.No matter what he intended to see in it, he found nothing unusual; because all he could see was water.

Even so, when he looked up, his eyes sparkled with hope, and he played a tune with his own thoughts, which angered his father.The question posed by the Inspector was, of course, doomed to go unanswered; instead, Ellery addressed Mrs. Simms with his natural sharp tongue. "Where were the little shelf and the tea set when you found Khalkis dead last Saturday morning?" "Where? Near the desk, sir. It's not where it is now. I put it near the desk the night before according to Mr. Khalkis' orders." "So," said Ellery, turning to the group, "who moved the little shelf into the alcove after Saturday morning?"

It was Joan Bright who answered the question again, and once again a series of suspicious eyes were cast on her slender and slender body: "I moved it, Mr. Quinn." The officer frowned, but Ellery smiled at his father, and then asked, "You moved it, Miss Bright? So when and why?" She smiled a little uncontrollably: "It seems that I have a share in almost everything... You know, on the afternoon of the funeral, it was a mess here, and people came and went in the study, all looking for the will .The little shelf happened to be at the intersection, leaning against this desk, so I moved it out of the way and moved it into the alcove, and there's nothing wrong with that?"

"Of course you are," said Ellery generously, and then turned to the housekeeper. "Mrs. Simms, when you brought the tea set last Friday night, how many tea bags did you take?" "A lot, sir. Six, I think." The sergeant moved forward without saying a word, and so did Pepper, both looking at the shelf with puzzled looks.The little shelf itself was small and old—inconspicuous to both men.On it was a large silver tray; on the silver tray, near the electric colander, were three teacups and saucers, and teaspoons, and a silver sugar bowl, and a saucer containing three pieces of dry storage , unsqueezed lemons, three packs of unused teabags in another saucer, and sweet cream curdled and yellowing in a silver jug.Tea residue in each cup, dried out, and a ring of tannins around the inner rim of each cup.The three silver spoons were heavy, and each was used.Inside each of the three saucers was a used, yellowed teabag and a slice of dried, squeezed lemon.That's all the officer and Pepper saw, and nothing more.

Although the police officer was familiar with his son's eccentric and whimsical character, he couldn't understand it at this time: "I don't see anything—" "Listen to Ovid," chuckled Ellery, "'If you persevere and persevere, the present unhappiness will pay you back someday.'" He lifted the lid of the colander again, peered in, then from the pouch he always carried in his pocket, took a small glass vial and poured a few drops of stale cold water, recapped, corked the vial tightly, and stuffed it into his bulging pocket, and, under increasingly bewildered eyes, he took the entire tea tray from the little shelf On the desk, he let out a satisfied sigh of relief when he put down the tea tray.

Then he turned to another thought, and said directly to Joan Bright: "When you were moving this little shelf on Tuesday, did you touch or change anything in the tea tray?" "No, Mr. Quinn," she said respectfully. "Excellent. In fact, I can say it's wonderful." He rubbed his hands briskly. "Gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, we've all been a little tired and weary this morning. Would you like a drink?" Refreshing...?" "Ellery!" said the Inspector, raising his face, "there's a sense of propriety in everything. There's no leisure to--come--"

Ellery cast a disconsolate glance at him: "Father! Have you forgotten all that Collie Sebard has sung?" 'Tea, you are soul-stirring, you are so deep, wise, and awe-inspiring. A respectful drink, your melodious voice of warblers is pleasant to hear, and you can relieve your worries with a sweet smile, and drink happily like a good couple!'” Jongg laughed, and Ellery bowed slightly to her.A detective under Police Officer Quinn stood in a corner, raised his thick hand to the ear of another accomplice, and whispered, "It's really nonsense to investigate murders like this." The filter jug ​​was handed over together, and the police officer stopped losing his temper at this time.He gave in quietly, saying, "My son, this is your world. Do what you like."

Ellery seemed to have made up his mind.Almost rudely he said to Mrs Sims: "Bring three new tea-bags, six clean cups and saucers and teaspoons, please, and some fresh lemons and cream for me. Vitement, Madamela gouveernante! Get it at once." Bar!" The butler took a breath, sneezed, and then walked out of the study with great poise.Ellery fiddled with the wires on the colander enthusiastically, then walked around the desk looking for something, and when he found it, plugged the plug on the wire into the socket next to the desk.The water in the glass vessel above the colander was boiling when Mrs Sims returned from the kitchen.There was no sound all around, and Ellery, absorbed in his own enjoyment, did not put the teabags into the six teacups Mrs. Simms had just brought, but unscrewed the spout and poured boiling water into the cups.When the fifth cup was just about to be filled, the water in the colander had run out. Pepper didn't know what medicine he was selling in his gourd, so he said, "But, Mr. Quinn, this water has gone bad. It already has a It's been a few weeks, you can't drink it..."

Ellery smiled. "I'm a fool. Of course it is. Mrs. Simms," he whispered, "take the colander, please, fill it with fresh water, and bring six clean teacups with you. " Mrs. Simms's opinion of the young man had evidently changed entirely, and she cast a savage look at his bowed head.He picked up the colander and handed it to her.After she was gone, Ellery was serious and put the three used, yellowed teabags into the three cups of scalding stale water.Mrs. Sloane gave a little exclamation of disgust; this queer little pest would never—!Ellery continued with his mysterious tricks.He soaked the three used teabags in the scalding stale water, and then raised a used teaspoon and poked it vigorously.Mrs. Simms returned to her study with a tray on which lay a whole dozen clean cups and saucers, and the colander.

"I believe, and I pray," she said bitterly, "that's enough, Mr. Quinn. We've run out of teacups, you know!" "Wonderful, Mrs. Sims. You're a real gem. That's a good thing, huh?" Ellery paused for a moment to get the electric plug into the socket by the desk.Then he continued to play his poking tricks.Despite his nine years of hard work, those old tea bags produced nothing more than a little tea solution in the spoiled hot water.Ellery smiled and nodded, as if to signify that he had confirmed something.He waited patiently for the fresh water in the colander to boil, and poured it into the clean teacup Mrs. Simms had brought.Filling the sixth cup, he sighed and murmured, "Dear Mrs. Sims, when the colander ran out of water, it seems I shall be obliged to refill the colander—we There are plenty of teacups here, please, please." But no one wanted to join him in the frivolity of tea--including the two Englishmen, Joan Bright and Dr. Woz--and Ellery sipped alone. Drinking, looking at the table in dismay, there is a dazzling array of teacups on the table.

The hard fact is that all the glances cast on his poised body made it clearer than words: most of the people present thought that his intelligence had suddenly dropped to the level of Demi.