"I fancy," said Poirot, "that he was

known here as Robert, a rather unskilful

waiter...."

Lutz had gone nearer, bending over the

body. He pointed with a finger.

There was a paper pinned to the dead

man's breast. It had some words scrawled

on it in ink.

Marrascazid will kill no more —-nor will

herob hisfriends!

163

Schwartz ejaculated:

"Marrascaud? So this is Marrascaud! But what brought him up here to this out of the way spot ? And why do you say his

name is Robert ?"

Poirot said:

"He was here masquerading as a waiter

--and by all accounts he was a very bad

waiter. So bad that no one was surprised

when he was given the sack. He left - presumably to return to Andermatt. But nobody saw him go."

Lutz said in his low rumbling voice:

"So--and what do you think happened

?"

Poirot replied:

"I think we have here the explanation

of a certain worried expression on the

hotel manager's face. Marrascaud must

have offered him a big bribe to allow him

to remain hidden in the unused part of

the hotel..."

He added thoughtfully: "But the manager

was not happy about it. Oh no, he was

not happy at all."

"And Marrascaud continued to live in

this unused wing with no one but the

manager knowing about it ?"

164

"So it seems. It would be quite possible, you know.53

Dr.Lutzsaid:

"And why was he killed ? And who killed

him?"

Schwartz cried:

"That's easy. He was to share out the

money with his gang. He didn't. He

double-crossed them. He came here, to

this out of the way place, to lie low for a

while. He thought it was the last place

in the world they'd ever think of. He was

wrong. Somehow or other they got wise

to it and followed him." He touched the

dead body with the tip of his shoe. "And

they settled his account --like this."

Hercule Poirot murmured:

"Yes, it was not quite the kind of rendezvous we thought." Dr. Lutz said irritably:

"These hows and whys may be very

interesting, but I am concerned with our

present position. Here we have a dead man.

I have a sick man on my hands and a limited

amount of medical supplies. And we are cut

off from the world! For how long ?"

Schwartz added:

"And we've got three murderers locked

165

in a cupboard! It's what I'd call kind of

an interesting situation."

Dr.Lutzsaid:

'"What do we do ?"

Poirotsaid:

"First, we get hold of the manager. He

is not a criminal, that one, only a man who

was greedy for money. He is a coward, too. He will do everything we tell him. My good friend Jacques, or his wife, will

perhaps provide some cord. Our three miscreants

must be placed where we can guard

them in safety until the day when help

comes. I think that Mr. Schwartz's automatic

will be effective in carrying out any