A perfect alibi
原文
What was wrong with the man's story?
'At the time the murder was committed, I was travelling on the 8 o'clock train to London,' said the man.
'Do you always catch such an early train?' asked the inspector.
'Of course I do,' answered the man.
'I must be at work at 10 o'clock.
My employer will confirm that I was there on time.'
'Would a later train get you to work on time?' asked the inspector.
'I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train.'
'At what time did you arrive at the station?'
'At ten to eight. I bought a paper and waited for the train.'
'And you didn't notice anything unusual?'
'Of course not.'
'I suggest,' said the inspector,' that you are not telling the truth.
I suggest that you did not catch the 8 o'clock train,
but that you caught the 8.25 which would still get you to work on time.
You see, on the morning of the murder, the 8 o'clock train did not run at all.
It broke down at Ferngreen station and was taken off the line.'
译文
这个男人的故事有什么问题吗？
“谋杀案发生的时候，我正在乘坐早上8点的火车前往伦敦，”那名男子说道。
“你总是这么早赶火车吗？”检查员问道。
“当然了，”那个男人回答道。
我必须在10点钟去上班。
我的雇主会证实我确实准时到达了。
“晚一点的火车能让你准时到达工作地点吗？”检查员问道。
“我想应该是这样的，但我从来都赶不上晚点的火车。”
你什么时候到达车站的？
八点十分的时候，我买了一张报纸，然后等待火车的到来。
“那你没有注意到任何异常的情况吗？”
“当然不会。”
“我认为，”检查员说，“你并没有说实话。”
我认为你可能没有赶上8点的火车。
不过你赶上了8点25分的班车，这样仍然可以准时到达工作地点。
你知道吗，在谋杀案发生的那个早晨，8点的火车根本就没有运行。
它在费恩格林车站发生了故障，随后被从铁路上撤下（即不再允许列车在该站停靠或通过）。