“It is that there are moments when a great longing for my friend Hastings comes over me. That is the friend of whom I spoke to you⁠—the one who resides now in the Argentine. Always, when I have had a big case, he has been by my side. And he has helped me⁠—yes, often he has helped me. For he had a knack, that one, of stumbling over the truth unawares⁠—without noticing it himself, bien entendu . At times, he has said something particularly foolish, and behold that foolish remark has revealed the truth to me! And then, too, it was his practice to keep a written record of the cases that proved interesting.”

I gave a slightly embarrassed cough.

“As far as that goes,” I began, and then stopped.

Poirot sat upright in his chair. His eyes sparkled.

“But yes? What is it that you would say?”