Read "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" by Agatha Christie online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
A slight gesture from Poirot enjoined me to stay behind the rest. I obeyed, going over to the fire and thoughtfully stirring the big logs on it with the toe of my boot.
I was puzzled. For the first time I was absolutely at sea as to Poirot's meaning. For a moment I was inclined to think that the scene I had just witnessed was a gigantic piece of bombast-that he had been what he called "playing the comedy" with a view to making himself interesting and important. But, in spite of myself, I was forced to believe in an underlying reality. There had been real menace in his words-a certain indisputable sincerity. But I still believed him to be on entirely the wrong tack.