"I am still in the dark." "I do not wish to make a mystery," said he, laughing."The matter was perfectly simple. You, of course, saw that everyone in the street was an accomplice.They were all engaged for the evening." "I guessed as much.""Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in the palm of my hand.I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick.""That also I could fathom." "Then they carried me in. She was bound to have me in.What else could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room which I suspected.It lay between that and her bedroom, and I was determined to see which.They laid me on a couch, I motioned for air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your chance.""How did that help you?" "It was all-important.When a woman thinks that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most.It is a perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have more than once taken advantage of it.In the case of the Darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me, and also in the Arnsworth Castle business.A married woman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box.
"我还不大明白。""我不愿意把这个说得很神秘，"他说着笑了起来。“这件事很简单。你当然看得出来在街上的每一个人都是和咱们一伙的。他们今天晚上统统是雇来的。""我也猜到了是这么回事。""当两边争吵起来的时候，我手掌里有一小块湿的红颜料。我冲上前去，跌倒在地，把手赶紧捂在脸上，这就成为一个令人可怜的样子。这是一套老花招了。""这个我也揣摩出来了。""然后他们把我抬进去。她不得不把我弄进去。不这么办她又能怎么办？她把我放在起居室里，这正是我预料的那间屋子。那么照片就藏在这间屋子和她的卧室之间，我决定要看看到底是在哪间屋子里。他们把我放在长沙发上，我作出需要空气的动作，他们只好打开窗户，这样你的机会就来了。""这对你有什么帮助呢？""这太重要了。当一个女人一想到她的房子着火时，她就会本能地立刻抢救她最珍贵的东西。这种完全不可抗拒的冲动，我已经不止一次地利用过了。在达林顿顶替丑闻一案中，我利用了它，在阿恩沃思城堡案中也是如此。结了婚的女人赶紧抱起她的婴孩；没结过婚的女人首先把手伸向珠宝盒。
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