Chapter 10 10 Oh!good old days

At half-past eight the next morning, Miss Marple heard a soft knock at the door.Come in as she says.An old woman opened the door and came in.In her hand she held a tea-tray containing a pot of tea, a teacup, a mug of milk, and a small dish of bread and butter. Your morning tea, madam, she said pleasantly.It's a beautiful day, really.I see you have drawn the curtains.Did you sleep well at night? Very well, replied Miss Marple, putting down the little prayer-book she was reading. Yes, today is a warm day, really.It couldn't be better to go to Lucky Rock in such weather.But it's fine if you don't go.Your legs will be overwhelmed, really.

I'm very happy here, said Miss Marple.Thank you Miss Beverly Smith and Mrs. Green for inviting me. Oh, it's good for them too.They will be happier when they have guests at home.The house is pretty bleak enough right now. She closed the curtains slightly, moved a chair back, and poured a jug of hot water into the porcelain washbasin. There's a bathroom downstairs, she said, but we think it's better for the elderly to wash their faces in hot water so they don't have to climb the stairs. You are so considerate.I am sure you are familiar with this house? I've been coming here as a maid since I was a girl.At that time there were three servants here: a cook, a maid, and a parlormaid who also worked in the kitchen.At that time, the old colonel was still in charge of the house, and besides raising horses, he also hired a groom.Ah, that's life.Later, disasters came one after another, which was really tragic.The old colonel lost his wife at a young age, his son died on the battlefield, and his only daughter went to another world.She married a New Zealander who died in childbirth and the child.The sad colonel lives here alone, and so he lets the house go down.The house hadn't been repaired as it should have been.After he died, he left the place to his niece, Miss Crotty, and the three sisters. Miss Crotty and Miss Anthea moved in, and Miss Lavinia moved in after her husband died, and she sighed again. Shaking his head again.They didn't bother with the house they couldn't afford it.The same goes for the garden, just let it be.

That sounds miserable, said Miss Marple. They are all very good women.Miss Anthea has a somewhat impetuous personality; Crotty has gone to college, is very smart and can speak three languages; and Mrs. Green is very kind-hearted.When she moved in with them, I thought, this place is going to get better.But who can predict the future?Sometimes I have the feeling that the house is cursed. Miss Marple looked at her questioningly. Misfortunes came one after another.That terrible plane crash in Spain killed everyone on board.Airplanes are scary things, and I've never been on one.Two of Miss Crotty's friends were killed in this way, a married couple whose daughter was fortunately at school and escaped.Crotty brought her here to live and took care of everything for her.She took her on trips to Italy and France and treated her like her own daughter.She is also such a happy girl and very gentle.You never dreamed that something so terrible could happen.

So terrible?It is how it happened?Happened here? No, not here, thank God.Although from a certain point of view, you can also say that it happened here.It was here that she met him.He lived nearby, and the hostesses all knew his father.His father is a very rich man, and he came here to visit his father.this is the beginning Are they dating? Yes, she fell in love with him immediately.He was a handsome young man, well-spoken and well-mannered.You never imagined that she would suddenly stop and stop talking. Has he moved on?The results went wrong?So the girl committed suicide? suicide?The old maid stared at Miss Marple in surprise.Who said she committed suicide?It was murder, and it was obvious murder.She was strangled to death and her head was smashed to pieces.Miss Crotty had to go to recognize her, and came back completely changed.They had found her body thirty miles away, in the bushes of an abandoned quarry.Moreover, everyone believes that this is not the first time he has killed someone.There are other girls too.The girl disappeared six months ago and the police are looking everywhere.Oh, what a dreadful fiend he is!Since he was born, he has done all kinds of bad things.Now there is a saying that those people have no control over their behavior, that they are out of their minds, so they don't have to be responsible.I don't believe a word of it!A murderer is a murderer after all.And these days, murderers are not hanged.I know some old families with mad blood in their blood; the Derwents of Bossington, where every other generation a person or two dies in a madhouse.There was also an old lady Pollet, who always wore a diamond headband, walked up and down the path, and called herself Mary.Andonette (Marie Antoinette, queen of Louis XVI of France) was reborn and was finally locked up.But she doesn't do weird things, she's just a little silly.But this young man was, well, yes, a complete devil.

So what did they do with him? Hanging was abolished at that time or it was because he was too young, I can't remember when they found out that he committed the crime, they sent him to a place called Bur or something, I don't know if it was called Burst or Bird mulberry. What is the young man's name? Mike or something, I can't remember his last name.It's been ten years since it happened, and I've pretty much forgotten about it.It's an Italian surname, just like a painter's and a painter's surname; by the way, his surname is Raphael. Mike.Rafael? correct!Rumors were flying that his dad was rich and got him out of jail like a bank robber.However, I guess this is just a hearsay.

Turns out it wasn't suicide, it was murder.like!Elizabeth.Temple once pointed out that this was the cause of death of a girl.There was some truth to what she said.A young girl falls in love with a murderer, and because she loves him, she is murdered unsuspectingly. Miss Marple shuddered slightly.Walking down a country street yesterday, she passed a newsstand with the headline: Murder in Opsan Hills, second body of girl found.Police asked the youth to assist. It seems history is repeating itself.It follows an old pattern, an ugly pattern.A few forgotten lines popped into her mind: Youth as pure as a rose, haggard with passion,

Silent valleys, singing brooks, Ordinary stories, princes and grandchildren in fantasy, Oh, than rose-like youth, What is more fragile in life. Who can protect youth from pain and death?Youth can't, it has never been able to defend itself.Is it because they know so little, or because they know too much, that they think they know it all? Miss Marple came downstairs that morning, perhaps a little earlier than she expected, and the mistress was nowhere to be seen for a while.So she walked out the front door and wandered in the garden.It wasn't because she admired the garden, she just vaguely felt that there was something here that she should pay attention to, something that could teach her a little bit, or something that had enlightened her but she hadn't grasped it yet.Alas, to be honest, she wasn't smart enough to grasp the significance of that revelation.She just knew that she should pay attention to something, something important.

At this moment, she was not in a hurry to see the three sisters.She wished to think over a few things carefully.She and Janet had picked up a few new clues during their teatime chat. A side door was open, so she went through it and onto the village street.She walked along a row of small shops until she came to a steepleed building that marked a church and a cemetery.She pushed open the iron gate of the cemetery and walked freely among the tombs.Some of the tombstones are quite old, the tombstones near the wall are a little younger, and one or two beyond the wall are obviously new graves.Those old graves are not interesting, they are full of surnames inherited by some local people for generations.Many famous families in the village are buried here.Prince Jasper, deep condolences.Prince Margaret, Prince Odgar and Walter, and Princess Melanie, four years old, with a family tree attached.Mrs. Hiram, Ellen.Lady Jane, Lady Eliza, at ninety-one years.

She turned and noticed an old man slowly sweeping between the graves.He saluted her and said good morning. Good morning, said Miss Marple.The weather is great. It's going to rain in a while, the old man said, with the utmost certainty. It seems that many princes and nobles are buried here, Miss Marple said. Oh, yes, there have been several princes and princes here, occupying many territories.There have also been many ladies over the years. I saw a child inside.It is always sad to see a child's grave. Ah, that must be little Melanie, we all call her by her nickname Mellie.She died a terrible death, being run over by a car.She ran out into the street to buy candy from the candy store.Cars drive fast these days, and there are many such regrets.

It's sad to think about, said Miss Marple.So many people die every minute.If you didn't see the church tombstone, you really wouldn't notice it.Deaths from disease, old age, children being run over by cars, some even more grisly, like young girls being murdered I mean crimes. Ah, indeed, there are many such things.Silly girls, that's what I call them all.These days, mothers don't have time to take good care of their daughters, and many of them have gone out to work. Miss Marple agreed with him, but she didn't want to waste time discussing social manners with him. You live in the old manor, don't you?asked the old man.I see you are traveling here by tour bus.However, I think this kind of travel is quite hard for you, right?Some travelers may not be able to bear it.

I did find it a little hard, Miss Marple admitted.A very kind friend of mine, M. Raphael, wrote to some of his friends who live here, and they invited me to stay for two days. The name Raphael obviously meant nothing to the old gardener. Mrs. Green and her sisters were very nice, said Miss Marple.Have they lived here long? Not that long, maybe twenty years.The estate originally belonged to old Colonel Beverly Smith, I mean the old manor.He was nearly seventy when he died. Does he have children? One son died in the war.That's why he left the place to his three nieces.No one else can inherit. He went back to clearing the grave. Miss Marple went into the church.There's a retro feel to it and it seems like it's trying to recreate the Victorian style.The windows are bright stained glass in the Victorian style, and a brass vessel or two and a few plaques on the walls are remnants of the past. Miss Marple sank into an uncomfortable church pew and began to think. Is she on the right track?A few things are indeed related, but the connection is not at all obvious. A girl is murdered (several girls, in fact), and the suspect young man (or youth, as we call it in modern times) is summoned by the police to assist them in providing leads.It's the usual pattern, but it's old, going back ten or twelve years.Now there is nothing to discover, not even a problem to solve.It was a tragedy that had been declared over. What can she do?What might Mr. Raphael want her to do? Elizabeth.Temple.She must learn from Elizabeth.More information was obtained from Temple.Elizabeth mentioned, Mike.Rafael was engaged to a girl.But is that true?The people in the old manor don't seem to know. Miss Marple thought of a version of the story she was more familiar with.It happened a lot in her hometown, and it always started: boy meets girl, and the story went on and on. The girl found out she was pregnant, Miss Marple said to herself.She told the boy that she wanted him to marry her.But he probably didn't want to marry her and maybe never thought of marrying her.When things got to this point, he felt very embarrassed.His father would be furious if he found out, and the girl's friends and relatives insisted on his conscience.But he was tired of the girl; maybe he had a new girlfriend.So he came up with a cruel way to cut the mess quickly: strangle her to death, smash her head, so that no one would recognize her.This fits with his previous record of a brutal, bloody crime that was forgotten and allowed to go unpunished. She sat in a pew and looked around.The church looked so serene that it was hard to believe that such a wicked fact existed in the world.The gift of perceiving evil is what Mr. Raphael wants her to do.She got up and walked out of the church, and looked around the churchyard again.Here, among these steles and mottled inscriptions, she felt no sin. And yesterday, did she feel the presence of evil in the old manor?That sinking and depressing despair, the gloomy and helpless sadness.Ancia.Beverly Smith, her eyes turned back in fear, as if afraid of something looming behind her. Those three sisters should know something inside.What do they know? She thought of Elizabeth again.Temple.In her imagination, Elizabeth.At this time Temple was climbing over the hill with other traveling companions, climbing a steep path, and looking at the distant tide across the cliff. When she returns to the tour group tomorrow, she must ask Elizabeth.Temple told her more inside story. Miss Marple embarked on her way back to the old manor.She walked slowly because she was tired.She really felt like she was getting nowhere this morning.Up to now, the old manor has not given her any clear information, only a past tragedy that Janet told her.After all, these domestic servants always had some old sad story in their minds, and they treasured it and remembered it as vividly as they treasured a happy event, such as a luxurious wedding, a big feast, a successful event or some event. Man miraculously survived the accident. As she approached the gate, she saw two women standing there, one of whom immediately came to meet her, Mrs. Green. Oh, you're back, she said.You know, we've been worrying about you.I think you must have gone for a walk somewhere, and I'm afraid you're tired!If I knew that you went downstairs and went out again, I would definitely accompany you and go to some places that should be seen.But there's not much to see here. Oh, I was just hanging around, said Miss Marple.I went to the churchyard and went into the church.I have always been interested in churches.Sometimes you will see some weird epitaphs there.I have quite a collection of epitaphs.I guess the church was rebuilt in the Victorian era? Yes, they put some ugly benches in there.You know, it's made of fine wood.Strong and durable, but sadly lacking in aesthetics. Let's hope they didn't take something particularly valuable in the first place. I don't think so.The church is actually not that old. There didn't seem to be many monuments, plaques, brass, etc. in it, and Miss Marple agreed. Are you interested in church architecture? Oh, I have no research on this stuff, but in my hometown of St. Mary Mead, almost everything revolves around the church.I mean, almost every village is.This was true in my youth, but of course it is very different now.Did you grow up around here? Oh, not really.We live not too far away, about thirty miles from here, in a place called Little Herzley.My father was a veteran, an artillery major.We would occasionally come here to visit my uncle, of course, earlier it was to visit my uncle, but we came less often in those years.My two sisters moved in after my uncle died while my husband and I were abroad.He died only four or five years ago. Oh, I see. They hoped that I would come and live with them, and in fact this seemed to be the best arrangement.We lived in India for a few years and my husband was actually stationed there when he died.These days, it is not easy for a person to know where to go, I might say, to know where to put down roots. Indeed, I know very well.Of course you feel like your roots are here because your family has lived here for so long. Yes, yes, that's how I feel, of course, I've always kept in touch with my sisters, and I've seen them often.But reality and imagination are always a bit different.I bought a cottage near London, just off Hampton Square, and I spent a lot of time there, occasionally doing things for a few charities in London. So your schedule is full.Really smart. Lately I feel like I should spend more time here.I'm a little worried about my two sisters. Worried about their health?asked Miss Marple.It's a worrying time of year, especially if you have loved ones who are getting weaker or sicker and it's hard to hire the right servants to take care of them.Rheumatism and arthritis are so common these days that you can't help but worry that they're going to fall in the shower, have an accident on the way down the stairs, or whatever. Crotty has always been strong, Mrs. Green said.I should say, she was resilient.But sometimes I worry about Anthea.She was kind of dazed, you know, really dazed.Sometimes she would run around as if she didn't know where she was. Indeed, it is quite helpless to need to worry.But there are too many things to worry about. I don't think Anthea has anything to worry about. She might be worrying about income tax or money, Miss Marple said. No, it's not, she is Oh, she's too worried about the garden.She keeps remembering what the garden used to be like, and is anxious to, uh, pay for it to be restored.Crotty had to tell her plainly that we couldn't afford the money.But she kept on talking, always referring to the old greenhouse, peach trees, grapes and so on. And the perfumed herbs on the wall?Miss Marple remembered what Anthea said, and said immediately. Surprised you still remember.That's right, that kind of thing is really memorable, it is a sunflower with a good smell, and the name is nice, perfume grass, and I will never forget it.And the vines, the tiny, early-ripening, sweet grapes.Ah, we shouldn't dwell too much on the past. And the flower beds, Miss Marple said. That's right, that's right, An Xiya really hopes to make a well-cared-for big flower bed full of herbs.how can that be possible?The most we can do is get a local company to come and weed every two weeks.Those companies seem to change owners every year.An Xiya also wanted to replant the pampas grass, and carnations, the white carnation flowers that grow along the edge of the gravel in the flower bed.There are also fig trees planted outside the greenhouse.She has never forgotten these things, and she always loves to talk about them. You must be in a difficult situation. Alas, it is.Arguing with her is utterly useless.Of course, Crotty never beat around the bush.She objected bluntly and said she never wanted to hear those words again. It wasn't easy to deal with, Miss Marple said.You have to decide whether to make your attitude very firm, authoritative or even a little fierce, and you know that you still show sympathy, and you still listen quietly even though you know that the other party's request is unreasonable, so that the other party continues to have hope.Yes, it is not easy. But it's easier for me because, you know, I'm usually away for a while and come back, so I can pretend things will get better soon and we can figure something out.But one day I came home and found that Anthea was planning to hire a very expensive landscape gardening company to renovate the garden and rebuild the greenhouse!That's ridiculous, because even if the vines were replanted, they wouldn't last two or three years.Crotty didn't know anything about it, and she was furious when she found the estimate for the project on Ansia's desk.She was very rude. It's hard being a human being, said Miss Marple. This sentence is very useful, so she often uses it. I think I'll have to start early tomorrow morning, said Miss Marple.I asked the Fort Golden Hotel, and they told me that the passengers of the tour bus would meet tomorrow morning and would leave very early.As far as I know it's nine o'clock. oh my god.Hope you are not too tired. Oh, I don't think so.I think we're going to a place called uh, wait, what's it called?Oh, a place called St Mary's, Stirling.It seems to be the name. It doesn't seem to be very far from here. On the road, you can see a very interesting church and a castle.In the afternoon we are going to a pleasant garden. The garden is not big, but there are many exotic flowers and plants.I'm sure I'll be all right after this good rest.If I run to climb mountains and ridges, walk and climb these two days, I will definitely be exhausted. Oh, then you must have a good rest this afternoon, and you will be in good spirits tomorrow, Mrs. Green said when the two entered the room, and then said to Crotty: Miss Marple went to church. I'm afraid the church isn't much to see, Crotty said.Personally I think the Victorian glass is ugly and it's worth the money.I'm afraid my uncle is somewhat responsible for this, he loves the bright red and blue colors. I always thought that bright color was vulgar, Lavinia.Green said. Miss Marple took a nap after lunch, and did not go to the three hostesses until supper time.Chattering continued after dinner, until it was bedtime.Miss Marple set the topic on memory.She reminisces about her youth, her early life, places she's been, trips she's taken, and occasionally people she's known. She went to bed tired and frustrated.She didn't unearth anything perhaps because there was nothing to unearth.This time fishing, she didn't catch half of them.Is this because there are no fish in the pond at all, or is she using the wrong bait?