"I didn't want to appear vain," Miss Marple said,
"but I couldn't help being just a teeny weeny bit
pleased with myself, because, just by applying a
little common sense, I believe I really did solve
a problem that had baffled cleverer heads than
mine. Though really I should have thought the
whole thing was obvious from the beginning...
"A woman had been stabbed in her hotel room
and her husband was under suspicion. But the
situation boiled down to this--no one but the hus-band
and the chambermaid had entered the vic-tim's
room.
"I inquired about the chambermaid..."
"The champion deceiver of our time."
--NEW YORK TIMES
Berkley books by Agatha Christie
APPOINTMENT wITH DEATH
THE BIG FOUR
THE BOOMERANG CLUE
CARDS ON THE TABLE
DEAD MAN'S MIRROR
DEATH IN THE AIR
DOUBLE SIN AND OTHER STORIES
ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER
THE GOLDEN BALL AND OTHER STORIES
THE HOLLOW
THE LABORS OF HERCULES
THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT
MISS MARPLE: THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES
MR. PARKER PYNE, DETECTIVE
THE MOVING FINGER
THE MURDER AT HAZELMOOR
THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE
MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA
MURDER IN RETROSPECT
MURDER IN THREE ACTS
THE MURDER ON THE LINKS
THE MYSTERIOUS MR. QUIN
N OR M?
PARTNERS IN CRIME
THE PATRIOTIC MURDERS
POtROT LOSES A CLIENT
THE REGATTA MYSTERY AND OTHER STORIES
SAD CYPRESS
THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS
THERE 1S A TIDE...
THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD
THIRTEEN AT DINNER
THREE BLIND MICE AND OTHER STORIES
THE TUESDAY CLUB MURDERS
THE UNDER DOG AND OTHER STORIES
THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION AND OTHER STORIES
AGATHA
CHRL TIE
THE REGATTA MYSW
and Other Stories
BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK
qhis Berkley book contains the complete
text of the original hardcover edition.
it has been completely reset in a typeface
clesigned for easy reading and was printed
from new film.
THE REGATTA MYSTERY
AND OTHER STORIES
A
rkley Book / published by arrangement with
G. P. Putnam's Sons
PRINTING HISTORY
Dodd, Mead edition published 1939
Dell edition / June 1976
Berkley edition / June 1984
C
All rights reserved.
t0yright 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939
Colw ' by Agatha Christie Mallowan.
-lht renewed 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967
by Agatha Christie Mallowan.
This ' Book design by Virginia M. Smith.
by m,idok may not be reproduced in whole or in part,
,
eograph or any other means, without permission.
21) information address: G. R Putnam's Sons,
yadison Avenue, New York, New York 10016.
ISBN: 0-425-10041-3
Berkley 1 A BERKLEY BOOK ®TM 757,375
2130ks are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
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are trale iae name "BERKLEY" an the "B" logo
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tRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
0 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
The Regatta Myster
The Mystery of the
How Does Your GoI'!
Problem at Pollensa!
Yellow Iris
Miss Marple Tells
The Dream
In a Glass Darkly
Problem at Sea
Mr. Isaac Pointz removed a cigar from his lips and
said approvingly:
"Pretty little place."
Having thus set the seal of his approval upon
Dartmouth harbor, he .replaced the cigar and
looked about him with the air of a man pleased
with himself, his appearance, his surroundings
and life generally.
As regards the first of these, Mr. Isaac Pointz
was a man of fifty-eight, in good health and con-dition
with perhaps a slight tendency to liver. He
was not exactly stout, but comfortable-looking,
and a yachting costume, which he wore at the mo-ment,
is not the most kindly of attires far a
middle-aged man with a tendency to embonpoint.
Mr. Pointz was very well turned outmcorrect to
every crease and button--his dark and slightly
4
Agatha Christie
Oriental face beaming out under the peak of his
yachting cap. As regards his surroundings, these
may have been taken to mean his companions--his
partner Mr. Leo Stein, Sir George and Lady
Maroway, an American business acquaintance
Mr. Samuel Leathern and his schoolgirl daughter
Eve, Mrs. Rustington and Evan Llewellyn.
The party had just come ashore from Mr.
Pointz' yacht--the Merrirnaid. In the morning
they had watched the yacht racing and they had
now come ashore to join for a while in the fun of
the fair--Coconut shies, Fat Ladies, the Human
Spider and the Merry-go-round. It is hardly to be
doubted that these delights were relished most by
Eve Leathern. When Mr. Pointz finally suggested
that it was time to adjourn to the Royal George
for dinner hers was the only dissentient voice.
"Oh, Mr. Pointz--I did so want to have my fortune
told by the Real Gypsy in the Caravan."
Mr. Pointz had doubts of the essential Realness
of the Gypsy in question but he gave indulgent assent.
"Eve's just crazy about the fair," said her
father apologetically. "But don't you pay any attention
if you want to be getting along."
"Plenty of time," said Mr. Pointz benignantly.
"Let the little lady enjoy herself. I'll take you on
at darts, Leo."
"Twenty-five and over wins a prize," chanted
the man in charge of the darts in a high nasal
voice.
"Bet you a river my total score beats yours,"
said Pointz.
"Done," said Stein with alacrity.
THE REGATTA MYSTERY
The two men were soon whole-heartedly engaged
in their battle.
Lady Marroway murmured to Evan Llewellyn:
"Eve is not the only child in the party."
Llewellyn smiled assent but somewhat absently.
He had been absent-minded all that day. Once
or twice his answers had been wide of the point.
Pamela Marroway drew away from him and
said to her husband:
"That young man has something on his mind."
Sir George murmured:
"Or someone?"
And his glance swept
quickly over Janet Rust-ington.
Lady Marroway frowned a little. She was a tall
woman exquisitely groomed. The scarlet of her
fingernails was matched by the dark red coral
studs in her ears. Her eyes were dark and watchful.
Sir George affected a careless "hearty English
gentleman" manner--but his bright blue eyes held
the same watchful look as his wife's.
Isaac Pointz and Leo Stein were Hat'ton Garden
diamond merchants. Sir George and Lady Mar-roway
came from a different world--the world of
Antibes and Juan les Pins--of golf at St. JeandeLuz--of
bathing from the rocks at Madeira in the
winter.
In outward seeming they were as the lilies that
toiled not, neither did they spin. But perhaps this
was not quite true. There are divers ways of toiling
and also of spinning.
"Here's the kid back again," said Evan Llewellyn
to Mrs. Rustington.
He was a dark young man--there was a faintly
6
Agatha Christie
hungry wolfish look about him which some women
found attractive.
It was difficult to say whether Mrs. Rustington
found him so. She did not wear her heart on her
sleeve. She had married young--and the marriage
had ended in disaster in less than a year. Since that
time it was difficult to know what Janet Rusting-ton
thought of anyone or anything--her manner
was always the same--charming but completely
aloof.
Eve Leathern came dancing up to them, her
lank fair hair bobbing excitedly. She was fifteen--an
awkward child--but full of vitality.
"I'm going to be married by the time I'm seventeen,"
she exclaimed breathlessly. "To a very rich
man and we're going to have six children and
Tuesdays and Thursdays are my lucky days and I
ought always to wear green or blue and an emerald
is my lucky stone and--"
"Why, pet, I think we ought to be getting
along," said her father.
Mr. Leathern was a tall, fair, dyspeptic-looking
man with a somewhat mournful expression.
Mr. Pointz and Mr. Stein were turning away
from the darts. Mr. Pointz was chuckling and Mr.
Stein was looking somewhat rueful.
"It's all a matter of luck," he was saying.
Mr. Pointz slapped his pocket cheerfully. "Took a river off you all right. Skill, my boy,
skill. My old Dad was a first class dart player.
Well, folks, let's be getting along. Had your fortune
told, Eve? Did they tell you to beware of a
dark man?"
"A dark woman," corrected Eve. "She's got a
THE REGATTA MYSTERY
7
cast in her eye and she'll be real mean to me if I
give her a chance. And I'm to be married by the
time I'm seventeen..."
She ran on happily as the party steered its way
to the Royal George.
Dinner had been ordered beforehand by the
forethought of Mr. Pointz and a bowing waiter
led them upstairs and into a private room on the
first floor. Here a round table was ready laid. The
big bulging bow-window opened on the harbor
square and was open. The noise of the fair came
up to them, and the raucous squeal of three
roundabouts each blaring a different tune.
"Best shut that if we're to hear ourselves
speak," observed Mr. Pointz drily, and suited the
action to the word.
They took their seats round the table and Mr.
Pointz beamed affectionately at his guests. He felt
he was doing them well and he liked to do people
well. His eye rested on one after another. Lady
Marroway--fine woman--not quite the goods, of
course, he knew thatwhe was perfectly well aware
that what he had called all his life the crrne de ia
crrne would have very little to do with the Mar~
roways--but then the crrne de la crrne were
supremely unaware of his own existence. Anyway,
Lady Marroway was a damned smart-looking
woman--and he didn't mind if she did rook him a
bit at Bridge. Didn't enjoy it quite so much from
Sir George. Fishy eye the fellow had. Brazenly on
the make. But he wouldn't make too much out of
Isaac Pointz. He'd see to that all right.
Old Leathern wasn't a bad fellow--longwinded,
of course, like most Americans--fond of telling
8
Agatha Christie
endless long stories. And he had that disconcerting
habit of requiring precise information. What was
the population of Dartmouth? In what year had
the Naval College been built? And so on. Ex-pected
his host to be a kind of walking Baedeker.
Eve was a nice cheery kid--he enjoyed chaffing
her. Voice rather like a corncrake, but she had all
her wits about her. A bright kid.
Young Llewellyn--he seemed a bit quiet.
Looked as though he had something on his mind.
Hard up, probably. These writing fellows usually
were. Looked as though he might be keen on Janet
Rustington. A nice woman--attractive and clever,
too. But she didn't ram her writing down your
throat. Highbrow sort of stuff she wrote but
you'd never think it to hear her talk. And old Leo!
He wasn't getting younger or thinner. And bliss-fully
unaware that his partner was at that moment
thinking precisely the same thing about him, Mr.
Pointz corrected Mr. Leathern as to pilchards
being connected with Devon and not Cornwall,
and prepared to enjoy his dinner.
"Mr. Pointz," said Eve when plates of hot
mackerel had been set before them and the waiters
had left the room.
"Yes, young lady."
"Have you got that big diamond with you right
now? The one you showed us last night and said
you always took about with you?"
Mr. Pointz chuckled.
"That's right. My mascot, I call it. Yes, I've got
it with me all right."
"I think that's awfully dangerous. Somebody
THE REGATTA MYSTERY
might get it away from you in the crowd at the
fair. ' '
"Not they," said Mr. Pointz. "I'll take good
care of that."
"But they might," insisted Eve. "You've got
gangsters in England as well as we have, haven't you?"
"They won't get the Morning Star," said Mr.
Pointz. "To begin with it's in a special inner
pocket. And anyway--old Pointz knows what he's
about. Nobody's going to steal the Morning Star."
Eve laughed.
"Ugh-huh--bet I could steal it!"
"I bet you couldn't," Mr. Pointz twinkled back
at her.
"Well, I bet I could. I was thinking about it last
night in bed--after you'd handed it round the
table for us all to look at. I thought of a real cute
way to steal it."
"And what's that?"
Eve put her head on one side, her fair hair
wagged excitedly. "I'm not telling you--now.
What do you bet I couldn't?"
Memories of Mr. Pointz' youth rose in his
mind.
"Half a dozen pairs of gloves," he said.
"Gloves," cried Eve disgustedly. "Who wears
gloves?"
"Well--do you wear silk stockings?"
"Do I not? My best pair laddered this morning.''
"Very well, then. Half a dozen pairs of the
finest silk stockings--"
10
Agatha Christie
"Oo-er," said Eve blissfully. "And what about
you?"
"Well, I need a new tobacco pouch."
"Right. That's a deal. Not that you'll get your
tobacco pouch. Now I'll tell you what you've got
to do. You must hand it round like you did last
night--"
She broke off as two waiters entered to remove
the plates. When they were starting on the next
course of chicken, Mr. Pointz said:
"Remember this, young woman, if this is to
represent a real theft, I should send for the police
and you'd be searched."
"That's quite O.K. by me. You needn't be quite
so lifelike as to bring the police into it. But Lady
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories Page 1