Agatha Christie The Hollow Chapter I At 6:13 a.m. ... - bzelbublive.info

"You are always willing to say anything to people if only it pleases them." "Thatalways seems to me more important.""More important than speaking thetruth?" "Much more." "Then why, in God's name, can't you lie a little moreto me?" "Do you want me to?" "Yes." "I'm sorry, John, but I can't.""You must know so often what I want you to say--" Come now, he mustn't startthinking of Henrietta. He'd be seeing her this very afternoon. The thing to do nowwas to get onwith things! Ring the bell and see this last damned woman. Another sickly creature!One tenth genuine ailment and nine tenths hypochondria! Well, why shouldn't sheenjoy ill health if she cared to pay for it? It balanced the Mrs. Crabtrees of thisworld. , But still he sat there motionless. He was tired--he was so very tired. Itseemed to him that he had been tired for a very long time. There was something hewanted--wanted badly. And there shot into his mind the thought: I want to gohome. It astonished him. Where had that thought come from? And what did itmean? Home? He had never had a home. His parents had been Anglo-Indians, hehad been brought up, bandied about from aunt to uncle, oneset of holidays with each. The first permanent home he had had, he supposed, wasthis house in Harley Street. Did he think of this house as home? He shook his head.He knew that he didn't. But his medical curiosity was aroused. What had he meantby that phrase that had flashed out suddenly in his mind? / want to go home . . .There must be something--some image ... He half closed his eyes--there must besome background. And very clearly, before his mind's eye, he saw the deep blue of theMediterranean Sea, the palms, the cactus and the prickly pear; he smelt the hotSummer dust, and remembered the cool feeling of the waterafter lying on the beach in the sun. San Miguel! He was startled--a littledisturbed. He hadn't thought of San Miguel for years. He certainly didn't want togo back there. All of that belonged to a past chapter in his life. That wastwelve--fourteen--fifteen years ago. And he'd done the right thing! His judgmenthad been absolutely right! He'd been madly in love with Veronica but it wouldn'thave done. Veronica would have swallowed him body and soul. She was the completeegoist and she had made no bones about admitting it! Veronica had grabbed mostthings that she wanted but she hadn't been able to grab him! He'd escaped. Hehad, he supposed, treated her badly from the conventional point of view. In plainwords, he hadjilted her! But the truth was that he intended to live his own life, and that was a thingthat Veronica would not have allowed him to do. She intended to live her life andcarry John along as an extra. She had been astonished when he had refused tocome with her to Hollywood. She had said disdainfully: "If you really want to be adoctor you can take a degree over there, I suppose, but it's quite unnecessary.You've got enough to live on, and / shall be making heaps of money." And he hadreplied vehemently: "But I'm keen on my profession. I'm going to work with