"John won't play," said Mrs. Clapperton.
"Most tiresome of him."
The four bridge players began shuffling the
cards.
Pam and Kitty advanced on Colonel Clapper-ton.
Each
one took an arm.
"You're coming with us!" said Pam. "To the
boat deck. There's a moon."
"Don't be foolish, John," said Mrs. Clapper-ton.
"You'll catch a chill."
"Not with us, he won't," said Kitty. "We're
hot stuff!"
He went with them, laughing.
Poirot noticed that Mrs. Clapperton said No
Bid to her initial bid of Two Clubs.
He strolled out onto the promenade deck. Miss
Henderson was standing by the rail. She looked
round expectantly as he came to stand beside her
202
Agatha Christie
and he saw the drop in her expression.
They chatted for a while. Then presently as he
fell silent she asked: "What are you thinking
about?"
Poirot replied: "I am wondering about my
knowledge of English. Mrs. Clapperton said:
'John won't play bridge.' Is not 'can't play' the
usual term?"
"She takes it as a personal insult that he