Смерть на Ниле / Death on the Nile - стр. 61

There was a shout – people running towards him waving their arms – shouting…

Simon stared stupidly for a moment. Then he sprang to his feet and dragged Linnet with him.

Not a minute too soon. A big boulder hurtling down the cliff crashed past them. If Linnet had remained where she was she would have been crushed to atoms.

White-faced they clung together. Hercule Poirot and Tim Allerton ran up to them.

‘Ma foi, Madame, that was a near thing.’

All four instinctively looked up at the cliff. There was nothing to be seen. But there was a path along the top. Poirot remembered seeing some locals walking along there when they had first come ashore.

He looked at the husband and wife. Linnet looked dazed still – bewildered. Simon, however, was inarticulate with rage.

‘God damn her!’ he ejaculated. He checked himself with a quick glance at Tim Allerton.

The latter said:

‘Phew, that was near! Did some fool bowl that thing over, or did it get detached on its own?’

Linnet was very pale. She said with difficulty:

‘I think – some fool must have done it.’

‘Might have crushed you like an eggshell. Sure you haven’t got an enemy, Linnet?’

Linnet swallowed twice and found difficulty in answering the light-hearted raillery.

Poirot said quickly: ‘Come back to the boat, Madame. You must have a restorative.’

They walked quickly, Simon still full of pent-up rage, Tim trying to talk cheerfully and distract Linnet’s mind from the danger she had run, Poirot with a grave face.

And then, just as they reached the gangplank, Simon stopped dead. A look of amazement spread over his face.

Jacqueline de Bellefort was just coming ashore. Dressed in blue gingham, she looked childish this morning.

‘Good God!’ said Simon under his breath. ‘So it was an accident, after all.’

The anger went out of his face. An overwhelming relief showed so plainly that Jacqueline noticed something amiss.

‘Good morning,’ she said. ‘I’m afraid I’m a little on the late side.’

She gave them all a nod and stepped ashore and proceeded in the direction of the temple.

Simon clutched Poirot’s arm. The other two had gone on.

‘My God, that’s a relief. I thought – I thought-’

Poirot nodded.

‘Yes, yes, I know what you thought.’ But he himself still looked grave and preoccupied. He turned his head and noted carefully what had become of the rest of the party from the ship.

Miss Van Schuyler was slowly returning on the arm of Miss Bowers.

A little farther away Mrs Allerton was standing laughing at the little row of heads. Mrs Otterbourne was with her.

The others were nowhere in sight.