Chapter 9 Nine Results of Studying Elephants

Mrs. Olivier called.The servant George asked Hercule.Poirot reports. Ah, George, what did she say? She wants to come and see you after dinner today, sir. Great, Poirot said: Great, today is very boring, seeing Mrs. Olivier can cheer me up.She's always funny and often speaks amazingly.Did she mention elephants? elephant?It seems not, sir. Ah, it looks like the elephant was a disappointment. George looked at the master suspiciously. Sometimes he really didn't understand the connection between the master's words. Poirot said: Called back and said she was welcome to come. George left and reported shortly afterwards that Mrs. Olivier would arrive at about eight forty-five.

Poirot said: Coffee, coffee and small pastries ready, I just bought some from Forner & Mason. Would you like rum, sir? No, I'll just drink black currant juice. yes sir. Mrs. Olivier arrived on time, and Poirot received her with great joy. How are you, dear madam? Exhausted, Mrs. Olivier sat down on the chair indicated by Poirot: her whole body was exhausted. Oh, Qui va la Chase (French: One who hunts) I can't remember that proverb. I remember, Mrs. Olivier said: I learned it when I was a child, Qui va a la chasse perd sa place (French: those who go out to hunt lose their original place, metaphor that the gain outweighs the loss.)

I think it's not really appropriate to ask you to keep investigating visits, I mean the elephant hunt, unless you're taking it metaphorically. No, said Mrs Olivier: I've been chasing elephants like crazy, looking here and there.How much gasoline was used, how much reasoning was done, how many letters were written, how many telegrams were sent, you have no idea how exhausting it is. Then take a break and have a cup of coffee. Fragrant and delicious black coffee, just what you need. May I ask what is the gain? After hearing a lot, Mrs. Olivia said: The problem is that I don't know if it is useful.

Anyway, you got a lot of inside information? Nope, I'm hearing what they believe to be the truth, but I doubt much of it is true. Is it all just rumors? Not really, just memories.Everyone has memories, the problem is that not all memories are correct, isn't it? True, but they still count as harvests, don't they? What did you do?said Mrs Olivier. You never relax, ma'am.Poirot said: You asked me to go around, and I did something. Oh, have you looked around? I didn't run around, but I asked my fellow experts about the case. It seems easier than me.Mrs Olivier said: Oh, the coffee is great, very strong.You have no idea how tired and confused I am right now.

Come on, we are eagerly looking forward to it.What clue did you find?You must have found something. I've heard many different stories and speculations, not sure which ones are true. The story may not be quite right, but it will be useful.said Poirot. Ah, I know what you mean, said Mrs Olivier: I thought so too, that's what I thought when I was looking around.When people recall the past and tell you something, it may not be true, but it is the truth they remember. But they must have grounds.said Poirot. I made a list, and Mrs. Olivier said: Don't go into details of where I went, what I said and why.I purposefully pursued information that was not available in China, and these were all obtained from people who knew the Ravenkers, even though they were not familiar with them.

You mean, all these news come from abroad? Most of them are from abroad, some people have only heard about them here, some people's aunts, cousins ​​or friends knew them long time ago. Everything you document has a story, either about the tragedy or the people involved? exactly.Mrs Olivier said: I'll tell you straight away, okay? Okay, let's start with some cookies. Thanks.said Mrs Olivier. Mrs. Olivier took a piece of sweet, inconspicuous cookie and chewed hard. It's so sweet, it's full of energy after eating.Well, that's all I can gather, and it usually starts with oh sure, how sad the whole thing is, and I think everyone knows what happened.

Um. These people think they know the truth, but for no good reason, perhaps just from so-and-so, or from friends, servants, relatives.It is conceivable that these rumors are full of strange things.The first rumor was that General Ravenk was writing his memoirs during his stay in the Malay Peninsula, and that a young woman served as his secretary, sorting out dictation, typing, etc. for him.She was beautiful and they clearly had a relationship.The result is, uh, there seems to be two versions, one says he shot his wife because he wanted to marry the girl, and then he freaks out after doing it, so he kills himself

Poirot said: A dramatic interpretation indeed. Another rumor was that their son was ill and had dropped out of school and stayed at home for about six months, so they hired a governess to teach him, and the teacher was a handsome young man. Ah, and then the wife fell in love with the tutor, maybe there is still an ambiguous relationship? That's exactly what it is, said Mrs. Olivier: but it's unfounded, and just another dramatic guess. Then what? Then, after the general killed his wife, he committed suicide out of regret.Another story says that the general's wife found out about his affair, and she killed him before taking her own life.There are nuances every time, but no one really knows the truth, I mean, they're just talking about what could have happened, either the general had an affair with one or many women or even a married woman, or the wife had an affair with someone .The characters appearing in the story are different every time, nothing is certain, and there is no evidence. It is just a rumor that appeared twelve or three years ago and is now long forgotten.But their memories are good, they can call out some names, and the events they describe are not very different.There happened to be a irascible gardener living there at the time, and an old cook with bad hearing and eyesight, and no one would suspect her.There are many more, I have all the names and doubts, some of the names are wrong.It is indeed difficult.I think Mrs. Ravenk has been ill for some time, perhaps a fever.She must have lost a lot of hair, that's why she bought four wigs, and she has at least four new ones.

Well, I heard that too.said Poirot. Where did you hear that? A friend of the police station, he found out the autopsy report and relic records at that time, four wigs.I want to hear your opinion, ma'am, don't you think four wigs are too much? uh, yes.Mrs. Olivia said: I have an aunt who also wears a wig. She has a spare wig, and when the one she uses is sent to be repaired, she wears a spare.I've never heard of anyone with four wigs. Mrs. Olivier took out a small notebook from her purse and flipped through it quickly, looking for excerpts.Mrs. Castle, seventy-seven years old, a little confused, said: I remember the Ravenkers, ah, very loving couple.Unfortunately, got cancer.I asked her who had the cancer, and Mrs Olivier said: But Mrs Castel couldn't remember.She thought that the general's wife was in pain when she went back to London to see a doctor and had an operation, and her husband was very sad, so she killed her wife and then committed suicide.

Is this her conjecture or evidence? From what I've heard, this is pure speculation.Mrs. Olivier said: Some people always think that they have cancer when they hear that their unfamiliar friends suddenly go to the doctor.I think people who are sick think the same way. There is a person whose name I forgot. It seems to start with T. She thinks her husband has cancer. End of Life. Sad and romantic.said Poirot. True, but I don't think it's true.Mrs. Olivia said: Troubled, isn't it?I mean, people remember so many things, it feels like they made them up. They make up explanations for what they remember.Poirot said: That is to say, they remembered that someone went to London for medical treatment, or was hospitalized for two or three months, and this is a fact they know.

Yes.Mrs. Olivier said: When I want to mention these things later, I will make up an explanation.Not helpful at all, is it? Helpful, said Poirot: what you say is quite true. Word about elephants?Mrs. Olivia asked puzzledly. Yes.Poirot said: It is important to know the old things that are entwined in people's memory. Although they don't know what is true, why it happened or why, they know what others don't know or we can't know.From fragments of memory, they make up a complete story, including conjectures of infidelity, cancer, suicide, jealousy, etc., and tell you it all.We can investigate further which claim is most likely. People like to talk about the past, Mrs. Olivia said: Compared with what is in front of them or what happened last year, people seem to like to talk about the past, which can bring them back to the past.They start off with a bunch of stuff you don't want to hear, and then go on to say something that someone they know knows about someone they don't know.You see, so the news you hear is actually relayed layer by layer, just like kinship, Mrs. Olivier said: the first cousin is further away, the cousin's cousin is further away, and the rest The same is true.So, I guess what I heard was really not helpful. Don't think so.Poirot said: I am sure that your lovely purple notebook will be of great help in unraveling that tragedy.The cause of death of the pair remains a mystery in police file reports.The official verdict: They were in a good relationship, with no rumors of an affair or medical condition that would have forced them to kill themselves.What I'm talking about now is only then, you understand?But there was a time before that, much earlier. I see what you mean, said Mrs. Olivier: the old nurse said the same thing.She may be a hundred years old now, or she may only be eighty years old. I was taken care of by her when I was a child. She often told me stories about workers stationed abroad, including India, Egypt, Siam, Hong Kong and so on. Is there anything worth noting? Yes, said Mrs Olivier: she mentioned a tragedy, but wasn't sure.I don't know if that has anything to do with Ravenk, or maybe it's someone else's business, because she can't remember the name or the incident.It was a story of someone in the family who was mentally ill, a sir or wife whose sister had been in a mental institution for a few years and was told that she had killed or only attempted to kill her own child a long time ago.Later, she should have recovered or was temporarily discharged from the hospital. She came to Egypt or the Malay Peninsula to live with her family. After that, it seemed that other tragedies occurred, related to the child.Anyway, the matter was covered up.I want to know if there are mental patients in their family, whether it is the wife's family or the general's family.I think this patient does not necessarily have to be so close as a sister, maybe a cousin or something.There is already a line of objects worth investigating for me. That's right.Poirot said: There is nothing impossible in the world, and the truth that has been silent for many years will emerge from somewhere in the past. This is what someone told me: Old sins always carry a long shadow. To me, Mrs. Olivier said: it doesn't seem to be the case, and even old Marcie's nanny's recollection is not necessarily correct. Maybe there is no such person as she said, but it fits with what the woman at the literary dinner said. You mean when she mentioned Yes, she wanted me to ask the daughter directly, my goddaughter, whether her mother killed her father, or her father killed her mother. She thinks that girl knows the answer? Well, she probably knew, not that she knew at the time, she might have been kept from it at first, but she probably knew something, something that would give her insight into her parents' life and who might have killed her parents, Although she never mentioned it to anyone. You said that woman, that lady Oh, I forgot her name too, maybe it's Mrs Burton.She said that her son has a girlfriend and plans to get married. I understand that she may be very interested in knowing whether the woman's father or mother has a criminal record in the family, or whether there is a genetic inheritance of mental illness.She probably thought it would be unwise for her son to marry the girl if her mother had killed his father; if her father had killed his mother, perhaps she would have cared less. You mean, she thought heredity followed the maternal line? Well, she doesn't look smart enough, arrogant, Mrs. Olivier said: she thinks she knows a lot, but she doesn't know anything.You'd think the same if you were a woman. This idea is interesting and possible.Poirot sighed: We still have a lot to do. I also heard another indirect message.The same thing, but it was passed on in two hands. Someone said: Mr. and Mrs. Ravenkers?Was it the couple who adopted the child?After the child was adopted, the couple loved him very much.Their own children died in Peninsular Malaysia.I remember, after they adopted the child, the child's biological mother wanted to take him back.The two parties went to court, and the court awarded them custody of the child, and the child's biological mother tried to take him back. Poirot said: There are some simpler messages in your records, which I am more interested in. which ones? Wigs, those four wigs. Mrs Olivier said: Oh, that might appeal to you, but I don't understand why, it doesn't seem to make sense.Another story only talks about a mental patient.It is some mental patients who kill their own or other people's children for completely incomprehensible reasons and end up in madhouses.But I don't understand how this kind of thing can cause the general and his wife to commit suicide? Unless one of them gets involved.said Poirot. You mean, the General may have killed someone's child, perhaps her wife's or his own illegitimate child?Or did the wife kill her husband or her own illegitimate child?No way, this seems to be making up a farce. What people look like is usually what they are. you mean They seemed to be a loving couple, living happily together with no quarrels; they didn't seem to have a disease that required urgent surgery like cancer, blood cancer, etc., and they didn't have any unbearable future.Yet, somehow, we hear more of the possibility than of the certainty.What if someone else was in the house at the time?My friend, the police officer who was in charge of investigating the case, said that what everyone said was roughly in line with the facts and there was no contradiction.So for some reason, the couple didn't want to live anymore, what was the reason? During the Second World War, I knew a couple, Mrs. Olivier said: They thought the Germans were going to invade England, and they decided to kill themselves when the time came.I say it's stupid, they say it's impossible to survive then.I still find this kind of thinking stupid, you still need to work up the courage to get through it, I mean, your death is not good for others, I would like to know Well, what do you want to know? Ah, I suddenly wondered, who would benefit from the death of the General and his wife? You mean, who gets to inherit their property? Yes, maybe not so obvious benefits, maybe someone's life will be better because of it, maybe there are certain things they don't want their two children to hear or see. Poirot sighed. Your problem is that you often think that something might happen.You told me many thoughts, as if these things could happen.But why?Why did both of them have to seek death?why?In people's eyes, they are pain-free and disease-free, living a happy life.So why, on that beautiful evening, did they take the dog for a walk along the cliff What about dogs again?asked Mrs Olivier. Hmm, I wondered for a while too.Did they take the dog outside?Or did the dog follow them out?Does the dog have anything to do with the case? Like those wigs, Mrs. Olivier said: there's one more thing you don't understand and can't explain.One elephant said the dog had a crush on Mrs. Ravenk, another said it had bitten her. We always come back to the same thing, so want to know more.Poirot sighed: I want to know more about other people, but after so many years, how can it be possible to know more about people in the past? You've had that experience once or twice, haven't you?Mrs. Olivier said: You went to investigate a case where a painter was shot or poisoned. The place was near the coastal defense area. Although you didn't know them at all, you still found the murderer. True, I don't know any of them, but I know a lot about them from other people. Oh, I'm doing that too.Mrs. Olivier said: It’s just that I can’t get close to the core, and I haven’t found anyone who really knows the truth and is involved in it. Do you think we should give up? I think it would be wiser to give up.Poirot said: But sometimes people are not wise and want to find out more.I'm very interested in this nice couple now, and I think their two kids are very well behaved too? I don't know about my son, I haven't seen him.Mrs. Olivier said: Have you seen my goddaughter?I can call her to meet you. Well, I want to see her, maybe she doesn't want to come here, so I can make an appointment outside.Must be interesting.I also want to meet another person. who? That woman at the dinner party, that domineering woman, your friend. She's not my friend, said Mrs Olivier: she just came to talk to me. You should continue to engage with her. That's easy, I think she'll love it! I wanted to see her, to understand why she was asking about these things. Hmm, I guess it might help.Madame Olivier sighed: Anyway, I'm glad I don't have to look for elephants anymore.My nanny, the old nanny I just mentioned, also mentioned elephants, saying that elephants never forget.These stupid adages have been circling in my head.Ah, it's your turn to find other elephants! how about you? I might go to the swans. My God, how come there are swans again! That's what Nanny reminded me of.When I was a child I used to play with two little boys, one of whom called me Miss Elephant and the other Miss Swan.When I was Miss Swan, they just lay on the floor and pretended to swim around; when I was Miss Elephant, they rode on my back.There are no swans in this case. That's a good thing.Poirot said: Elephants are enough.