of seeing Alice Cunningham look human.

He even saw a spark of anger in her eyes.

Then she regained her attitude of smiling

contempt.

"My dear M. Poirot," she said, "I'm

afraid you're out of touch with the modem

ideology. It is fundamentals that matter - not the trappings.55

She looked up as a dark and very

beautiful young man came towards them.

"This is a most interesting type," she

murmured with zest. "Paul Varesco! Lives

on women and has strange depraved

cravings! I want him to tell me more

438

about a nursery governess who looked

after him when he was three years old."

A moment or two later she was dancing

with the young man. He danced divinely.

As they drifted near Poirot's table, Poirot

heard her say: "And after the summer at

Bognor she gave you a toy crane ? A crane

— yes, that's very suggestive."

For a moment Poirot allowed himself

to toy with the speculation that Miss

Cunningham's interest in criminal types

might lead one day to her mutilated body

being found in a lonely wood. He did not

like Alice Cunningham, but he was honest

enough to realise that the reason for his

dislike was the fact that she was so palpably

unimpressed by Hercule Poirot! His vanity

suffered!

Then he saw something that momentarily

put Alice Cunningham out of his head.

At a table on the opposite side of the floor

sat a fair-haired young man. He wore

evening dress, his whole demeanour was

that of one who lives a life of ease and

pleasure. Opposite him sat the right kind

of expensive girl. He was gazing at her in

a fatuous and foolish manner. Any one

seeing them might have murmured: "The

LOH29

439

idle rich!" Nevertheless Poirot knew very

well that the young man was neither rich

nor idle. He was, in fact. Detective Inspector

Charles Stevens, and it seemed probable

to Poirot that Detective Inspector Stevens

was here on business. . . .

On the following morning Poirot paid a

visit to Scotland Yard to his old friend

Chief Inspector Japp.

Japp's reception of his tentative inquiries

was unexpected.

"You old fox!" said Japp affectionately. "How you get on to these things beats me!"

"But I assure you I know nothing-nothing at all! It is just idle curiosity." Japp said that Poirot could tell that to the Marines!

"You want to know all about this place Hell ? Well, on the surface it's just another of these things. It's caught on! They must

be making a lot of money, though of course

the expenses are pretty high. There's a

Russian woman ostensibly running it, calls

herself the Countess Something or

other --"

"I am acquainted with Countess

440

Rossakoff," said Poirot coldly. "We are old

friends."

"But she's just a dummy," Japp went

on. "She didn't put up the money. It

might be the head waiter chap, Aristide

Papopolous --he's got an interest in it - but we don't believe it's really his show either. In fact we don't know whose show