“Now you no longer watch. It is an absurd thing, perhaps, that I say here, but you have the wary look of a fighter who is playing a difficult game.”

“My old lady is difficult sometimes,” said Katherine, with a smile; “but I can assure you that I don’t engage in deadly contests with her. You must go down and see her some day, Monsieur Poirot. I think you are one of the people who would appreciate her pluck and her spirit.”

There was a silence while the waiter deftly served them with chicken en casserole . When he had departed, Poirot said: “You have heard me speak of my friend Hastings?⁠—he who said that I was a human oyster. Eh bien , Mademoiselle, I have met my match in you. You, far more than I, play a lone hand.”

“Nonsense,” said Katherine lightly.