" А propos, have you that detailed list of the belongings of the passengers that I asked you to get me?"

Chapter 8

"I'm a man of my word, I am," said Japp.

He grinned and dived his hand into his pocket, bringing out a mass of closely typewritten paper.

"Here you are. It's all here, down to the minutest detail! And I'll admit that there is one rather curious thing in it. I'll talk to you about it when you've finished reading the stuff."

Poirot spread out the sheets on the table and began to read. Fournier moved up and read them over his shoulder.

JAMES RYDER

Pockets. Linen handkerchief marked J. Pigskin note case - seven Ј1

notes, three business cards. Letter from partner, George Elbermann, hoping "loan has been successfully negotiated... otherwise we're in Queer Street." Letter signed Maudie making appointment Trocadero following evening. Cheap paper, illiterate handwriting. Silver cigarette case. Match folder. Fountain pen. Bunch of keys. Yale door key. Loose change in French and English money.

Attaché Case. Mass of papers concerning dealings in cement. Copy of

"Bootless Cup" (banned in this country). A box of Immediate Cold Cures.

DOCTOR BRYANT

Pockets. Two linen handkerchiefs. Note case containing Ј20 and 500

francs. Loose change in French and English money. Engagement book. Cigarette case. Lighter. Fountain pen. Yale door key. Bunch of keys.

Flute in case. Carrying "Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini" and "Les Maux de l'Oreille."

NORMAN GALE

Pockets. Silk handkerchief. Wallet containing Ј1 in English money and 600 francs. Loose change. Business cards of two French firms, makers of dental instruments. Bryant & May match box, empty. Silver lighter. Briar pipe. Rubber tobacco pouch. Yale door key.

Attaché Case. White-linen coat. Two small dental mirrors. Dental rolls of cotton wool. La Vie Parisienne. The Strand Magazine. The Autocar.

ARMAND DUPONT

Pockets. Wallet containing 1000 francs and Ј10 in English. Spectacles in case. Loose change in French money. Cotton handkerchief. Packet of cigarettes, match folder. Cards in case. Toothpick.

Attaché Case. Manuscript of proposed address to Royal Asiatic Society. Two German archaeological publications. Two sheets of rough sketches of pottery. Ornamented hollow tubes - said to be Kurdish pipe stems. Small basketwork tray. Nine unmounted

photographs - all of pottery.

JEAN DUPONT

Pockets. Note case containing Ј5 in English and 300 francs. Cigarette case. Cigarette holder - ivory. Lighter. Fountain pen. Two pencils. Small notebook full of scribbled notes. Letter in English from L. Marriner, giving invitation to lunch at restaurant near Tottenham Court Road. Loose change in French.

DANIEL CLANCY

Pockets. Handkerchief - ink-stained. Fountain pen - leaking. Note case containing Ј4 and 100 francs. Three newspaper cuttings dealing with recent crimes. One poisoning by arsenic, and two embezzlement. Two letters from house agents with details of country properties. Engagement book. Four pencils. Penknife. Three receipted and four unpaid bills. Letter from "Gordon" headed "S.S. Minotaur." Half-done crossword puzzle cut from Times. Notebook containing suggestions for plots. Loose change in Italian, French, Swiss and English money. Receipted hotel bill, Naples. Large bunch of keys.