And Then There Were None by AGATHA CHRISTIE

And Then There Were None
by
AGATHA CHRISTIE

CHAPTER 1
IN THE CORNER of  a first-cl asssmoking carri age, Mr. Justi ce Wargrave,
lately  reti red  f rom the bench, puffed at a ci gar and ran an  interested eye
through the  poli t ical   news  in the Times.
He l aid the paper down and glanced out of  the window. They were running  now
through Somerset. He gl anced at hi s watch-another two hours to go.   He went
over in  his  mind all  that had appeared  in the papers about Indi an Isl and.
There had  been  i ts ori ginal  purchase by an  American milli onaire who was crazy
about yacht ing-and an account of  the  l uxuri ous modern house he had  buil t on
thi s    li ttl e  island off the Devon coast. The unfortunate fact that the new
thi rd wife   of  the American milli onaire was a bad sail or  had  l ed to the
subsequent putti ng  up of  the house and  island  for sale. Vari ous gl owing
advert i sements of   i t had  appeared in the papers. Then came the  fi rst bal d
statement that i t had been  bought-by a Mr. Owen. Af ter that the rurnours
of  the gossi p wri ters had started.   Indi an Island had really  been  bought by
Miss GabrielleTurl , the Hollywood film  star! She wanted to spend some
months there  f ree  f rom all  publici t y!  Busy Bee  had   hinted delicately that
i t was to be an abode  for Royal t y??! Mr. Merryweather had  had  i t whi spered
to him that i t had been  bought for a honeymoon-Young Lord L--  had
surrendered to Cupi d at l ast! Jonas knew  for a fact that i t had been
purchased by the Admiral t y wi t h a view to carrying out some  very  hush hush
experiments!
Defini tely, Indian Island was  news!
From  his pocket Mr. Justi ce Wargrave drew out a letter.The handwri t ing was
practi cally  illegible but words here and there stood out wi th unexpected
cl ari t y.  Dearest Lawrence. . . such  yearssince I heard anyt hing of   you
. . . must come   to Indian Isl and. . . the most enchant ing place. . . so
much to tal k over. .   . ol d days. ..
I
192
communi on wi t h Nature . . . bask  in sunshine. . . 12.40 f rom Paddington.
. .  meet you at Oakbri dge. . . and his correspondentsi gned herself wi t h
a fl ourish  his ever Constance Culmington.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave cast back  in  his  mind to remember when exactly  he  had
last   seen Lady  Constance Culmington. It must be  seven -no, ei ght years ago.
She had   then  been going to Italy to bask  in the sun and be at one wi th
Nature and the  contadi td. Later, he had  heard, she had proceeded to Syria
whereshe proposed to   bask  in  yet stronger sun and live at one wi th Nature
and the bedouin.  Constance Culmington, he reflected to himself, was exact ly
the sort of  woman who   woul d buy  an  i sland andsurround herself  wi t h
mystery! Nodding  his  head  in gent l e  approval  of   his  l ogic, Mr. Justi ce
Wargrave all owed his  head to nod.  He sl ept. . ..
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
2
Vera Cl ayt horne,  in a thi rd-cl ass carri age wi th  five other travellers  in
i t,  l eaned  her head  back andshut her eyes. How hot i t was travelling  by
train   to-day! It woul d be nice to get to the sea! Really  a great pi ece of
luck getti ng  thi s  j ob. When  you wanted a holiday  post i t nearly always
meant  l ooki ng af ter a  swarm of  children-secretarial   holiday posts were much
more difficul t to get.Even   the agency  hadn' t held out much hope.
And then the  l etter had come.
"I have received  your name  f rom the Skilled Women's Agency together wi th
thei r  recommendat i on. I understand they know you personally. I shall  be
gl ad to pay  you   the sal ary  you ask andshall expect you to take up your
duti es on  August 8th. The   train  is the 12.40 f rom  Paddington and  you will
be met at Oakbri dge stati on. I   encl ose  five pound notes for expenses.
Yours truly,
Una Nancy Owen."
And at the top was the stamped address Indian Island, Sti cklehaven,  Devon.
. . .
Indi an Isl and! Why, there had  been  nothing else  in the papers  l ately!  All
sorts of   hints and  interest ing rumours. Though probably
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
193
that was mostly untrue. But the house had certainly  been buil t  by a
milli onai re  and was said to be absol utely the  last word in  luxury.
Vera Cl ayt horne, ti red by  a recent strenuous term at school , thought to
herself-"Being a games mistress  in a thi rd-class school   isn' t much of  a
catch.  school ."
And then, wi th a col d  feeling round her heart, she thought: "But I'm  lucky
to   have even thi s. Af ter all, people don't like a Coroner' s Inquest, even
if  the  Coroner di d acqui t me of  all   blame!"
He had even complimented her on her presence of  mind and courage, she
remembered.  For an inquest i t coul dn' t have gone better. And Mrs. Hamil ton
had  been kindness  i tself  to her- Only Hugo(but she woul dn' t think of  Hugo!)
Suddenly,  in  spi te of  the heat  in the carri age sheshivered and wishedshe
wasn' t   going to the sea. A pi cture rose cl early  before her  mind. Cyril's
head, bobbing  up and down, swimming to the rock. . . . Up and down-up and
down. . . . And  herself , swimming  in easy pract i sed strokes af ter him-
cl eaving  her way through   the water but knowing, only too surely, that she
woul dn' t be  in time. . . .  The sea-i ts deep warm  blue-mornings spent lying
out on the sands-Hugo-Hugo who   had sai d  he  l oved her.
She must not think of  Hugo. . ..
She opened her eyes and  f rowned across at the man opposi te her. A tall  man
wi th  a brown face, light eyesset rather cl ose together and an arrogant
almost cruel   mouth.
She thought to herself:
"I bet he's been to some  interest ing parts of  the worl d and seen some
interest ing   things. . . ."
. If  only I coul d get a j ob at some decent
3
Philip Lombard, summing up the gi rl  opposi te  in a mere  flash of
his qui ck moving eyes thought to himself:
"Qui te attractive-a  bi t schoolmistressy perhaps.
A cool  customer, heshoul d imagine-and one who coul d  hol d  her
own-in  l ove or war. He'd rather like to take her on. . . .
He f rowned. No, cut out all that kind of  stuff. This was business. He'd got
to   keep his  mind on the j ob.
194        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
What exact ly was up, he wondered?That li tt l e Jew had been damned
mysteri ous.   "Take i t or l eave  i t, Captain Lombard."
He had sai d thoughtfully:
"A hundred guineas, eh?"
He had sai d  i t  in a casual  way as though a hundred guineas was  nothing to
him.  A hundred guineas when  he was  li terally down to hi s  last square meal!
He had  fancied, though, that the li tt l e Jew  had  not been deceived-that was
the damnable  part about Jews, you coul dn' t deceive them about money-they
knewl
He had sai d  in the same casual  tone:
"And  you can' t give me any  further informat i on?"
Mr. Isaac Morri s  hadshaken  his  li tt l e  bald head very posi tively.
"No, Captain Lombard, the matter rests there. It i s understood by my  client
that   your reputati on  is that of  a good man  in  a ti ght pl ace. I am empowered
to hand  you one hundred guineas  in return  for which  you will  travel to
Sti cklehaven,  Devon. The nearest stati on  is Oakbri dge,  you will   be met
there and motored to   Sti cklehaven where a motor launch will convey  you to
Indian Isl and. There  you  will   hol d  yourself at the di sposal  of  my client."
Lombard had said abruptly:
"For how l ong?"
"Not l onger than a week at most."
Fingering  hissmall moustache, Captain Lombard sai d:
"You understand I can't undertake anything-illegal?"
He had darted a verysharp gl ance at the other as he  had spoken. There had
been  a very  faintsmile on the thi ck Semi t ic  lips of  Mr. Morri s as  he
answered  gravely:
"If  anyt hing  illegal   is proposed, you will, of  course, be at perfect
liberty to   wi thdraw."
Damn thesmooth  li ttle brute, he hadsmiled! It was as though he knew very
well   that in Lombard' s past acti ons  legali t y  had  not always  been asine qua
non. .   Lombard's own  lips parted in a grin.
By Jove, he'd sailed pretty near the wind once or twi ce! But he'd always
got away  wi th  i t!There wasn' t much he drew the line at really. . . .
No, there wasn' t much he'd draw the  fine at. He fancied that he was going
to   enj oy  himself   at Indi an Isl and. . ..
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
4
195
In a non-smoking carri ageMiss Emily Brent sat very upright as was her
custom.   She wassixt y-five andshe di d not approve of   l ounging. Her father,
a Col onel  of   the ol d school , had  been parti cular about deportment.
The present generati on wasshamelessly  lax-in thei r carri age, and  in every
other   way.
Envel oped  in an aura of  ri ghteousness and unyielding principles, Mi ss Brent
sat   in her crowded thi rd-class carri age and tri umphed over  i ts di scomfort
and  i ts  heat. Every one made such a fuss over things  nowadays!They wanted
inject i ons  before they  had teeth pulled -they took drugs if they coul dn' t
sleep-they wanted  easy chairs and cushi ons and the gi rls all owed thei r
figures to sl op about anyhow  and lay about half   naked on the beaches  in
summer.
Miss Brent' s  lips set cl osely. She woul d  like to make an example of  certain
peopl e.
She remembered  last  year' s summer holiday. This year, however,  i t woul d be
qui te   different. Indi an Island. . . .
Mentallyshe reread the  l etter whi chshe had al ready read so many times.
Dear Miss Brent,
I do hope you remember me? We were together at Bellhaven Guest House in
August   some  years ago, and we seemed to haveso much  in common.
I am starting a guest house of  my own on an  island og the coast of  Devon.
I think   there  i s really an opening  for a pl ace where there i s good pl ain
cooking and a  ni ce ol d-fashi oned type of  person. None of  thi s  nudi t y and
gramophones  half  the  night. I shall   be very glad  if   you coul d see  your way
to spending  your summer  holiday on Indian Isl and-qui te f ree-as my guest.
Woul d early  in  August sui t you?  Perhaps the 81h.
Yourssincerely,
U. N. -
What was the name?Thesignature was rather difficul t to read.Emily Brent
thought impatiently: "So many peopl e wri te thei rsi gnatures qui te
illegibly. "
i
~ 11
~ I
11
196        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
She let her mind run  back over the peopl e at Bellhaven. She  had  been there
two   summers running. There had  been that ni ce middleaged woman-Mrs.-Mrs.-
now what was  her name?-her  father had been a Canon. And there had  been a
Miss Ol ton-Ormen- No,   surely  i t was Oliver! Yes-Oliver.
Indi an Isl and!There  had been things  in the paper about Indi an Island-
something  about a film star-or was i t an American milli onaire?
Of  course of ten those places went very cheap-islands didn' t sui t everybody.
They  thought the  i dea was romant i c but when they  came to live there they
realized the  disadvantages and were only too gl ad to sell.
Emily Brent thought to herself: "I shall  be getting a f ree holiday at any
rate."   Wi th  her  income so much reduced and so many dividends not being
pai d, that was   indeed something to take into considerati on. If  onlyshe
coul d remember a  li tt l e  more about Mrs.-or was i tMi ssOliver?
5
General  Macarthur l ooked out of  the carri age window.The train was  just
coming  into Exeter where he had to change. Damnable, thesesl ow branch  line
trains!This  place, Indian Isl and, was really  no distance at all  as the
crow flies.   He hadn' t got i t cl ear who this  fell ow  Owen was. A  f riend of
Spoof  Leggard's,  apparently-and of  Johnny Dyer's.
-One or two of   your ol d cronies are coming-would like to have a tal k over
ol d   times.
Well, he'd enj oy  a chat about ol d t imes. He'd  had  a fancy  lately that
fell ows  were rather fight ingshy of  him. All  owing to that damned rumour!
By God, i t was   pretty  hard-nearly thirt y  years ago now! Armi tage had
tal ked, he supposed. Damned    young pup! What did he know about i t? Oh, well ,
no good broodi ng about these   things! One  fancied things somet imes-fancied
a fell ow was  l ooking at you queerly. Thi s Indian  Isl and  now, he'd be
interested to see i t. A  l ot of  gossi p  flying  about. Looked as though there
might be something  in the
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
rumour that the Admiral t y or the War Office or the Ai r  Force had got hol d
of    i t. . ..
YoungElmer Robson, the Ameri can milli onai re, had actually  buil t the pl ace.
Spent thousands on  i t, so i t was sai d. Every mortal l uxury. . ..
Exeter! And an  hour to wai t! And he didn' t want to wai t. He wanted to get
on.
. ..
6
Dr. Armstrong was driving his Morris across Salisbury Pl ain. He was very
ti red.   . . . Success had  i ts penal t ies. There  had been a time when he  had
sat in his  consul t ing room  in Harl ey Street, correctly apparelled,
surrounded wi th the most   up-to-date appliances and the most l uxuri ous
furnishings and wai ted-wai ted   through the empt y  days  for hi s  venture to
succeed or fail. . . *
Well,  i t had succeeded! He'd been  l ucky! Lucky and skilful of  course. He
was a  good man at his  j ob-but that wasn' t enough for success. You had to
have  luck as  well .  And he'd  had  i t!  An accurate diagnosis, a coupl e of
grateful  women  pati ents-women wi th money  and posi t i on-and word had got
about. "You ought to try  Armstrong -qui te a  young man-but so cl ever- Pam
had  been to all   sorts of  peopl e  for years and  he put his  finger on the
trouble at once!"The  ball   had started   rolling.
And  now Dr. Armstrong had defini tely arrived. His days were  full. He had
li ttle  l eisure. And so, on thi s  August morning, he  was gl ad that he was
leaving London  and going to be for some days on an  island off  the Devon
coast. Not that i t was   exact ly a  holi day. The  letter he had received  had
been rather vague  in  i ts terms,  but there was nothing vague about the
accompanying cheque. A whacking  fee. These  Owens must be rolling  in money.
Some  li tt l e difficul t y,  i t seemed, a husband who   was worri ed about hi s
wife' s  heal t h and wanted a report on i t wi thout her being  al armed. She
woul dn' t hear of  seeing a doctor. Her nerves-
Nerves!The doctor' s eyebrows went up.These women and thei r nerves! Well,
i t was  good for business, af ter all. Half the women who consul ted him  had
nothing the  matter wi th them  but boredom, but they woul dn' t thank  you  for
telling them so!  And one coul d usually  find something.
198        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Aslight ly uncommon condi t i on of  the-some  l ong word-nothing at all
seri ous-but  i t j ust needs putting ri ght. A simple treatment."
Well, medicine was mostly  fai th-healing when  i t came to i t. And  he had a
good   manner-he coul d  inspi re  hope and belief .
Lucky that he'd managed to pull   himself  together in t ime af ter that
business  ten-no, fif teen  years ago. It had been a near thing, that! He' d
been going to   pi eces. The shock had pulled him together. He'd cut out drink
al together. By  Jove, i t had been a near thing though. . . .
Wi th a devastating ear-spli tt ing blast on the hom  an enormous Super Sports
Dalmain car rushed past him at ei ght y miles an hour. Dr. Armstrong nearly
went  into the hedge. One of  these  young  fool s who tore round the country.
He hated   them. That had been a nearshave, too. Damned  young  fool!
7
Tony Marston, roaring down  into Mere, thought to himself:
"The amount of  cars crawling about the roads is  fri ghtful .  Always  something
bl ocking  your way. And they will drive  in the  middl e of  the road! Pretty
hopel ess  driving  inEngland, anyway. . . . Not like France where  you really
coul d  let out.   . . ."
Shoul d he stop here for a drink, or push on? Heaps of  time! Only another
hundred  miles and a bi t to go. He'd have a gin and gingerbeer. Fi zzing  hot
day!Thi s  island place ought to be rather good fun-if  the weather  l asted.
Who were   these Owens, he wondered? Rich and stinking, probably. Badger was
rather good at   nosing peopl e  like that out. Of  course, he had to, poor ol d
chap, wi th  no money  of  his own. .
Hope they'd do one well   in drinks. Never knew wi t h these  fell ows who'd made
thei r  money and weren' t born to i t. Pi t y that story about GabrielleTurl
having  bought   Indian Isl and wasn' t true. He'd like to have  been  in wi t h
that film  star crowd.   Oh, well, he supposed there'd be a  few gi rls there.
. . .
Coming out of  the Hotel , he stretched himself,  yawned,  l ooked up at the
blue sky  and climbed  into the Dalmain.
Several   young women  l ooked at him admiringly-hissix  feet of  well-
proporti oned  body, his crisp hair, tanned  face, and intensely  blue eyes.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
He l et in the cl utch wi t h a roar and leapt up the narrow street. Ol d men
and  errand boys  jumped  for safety. The  latter l ooked af ter the car
admiringly.  Anthony Marston proceeded on his triumphal  progress.
8
Mr. Bl ore was  in thesl ow train  f rom Plymouth. There was only one other
person  in his carriage, an elderlyseafaring gent l eman wi th a  bleary eye.
At the present   moment he had dropped off  to sleep.
Mr. Bl ore was wri ting carefully  in  a  li ttle notebook.
"That' s the l ot," he muttered to himself . "Emily Brent, Vera Cl ayt horne,
Dr.   Armstrong, Anthony Marston, ol d Just i ce Wargrave, Philip Lombard,
General  Macarthur, C.M.G., D.S.O. Manservant and wife: Mr. and Mrs.
Rogers."   He cl osed the notebook and put i t back  in his pocket. He gl anced
over at the   comer and thesl umbering man.
"Had one over the ei ght," di agnosed Mr. Bl ore accurately.
He went over things carefully and conscient i ously  in  his  mind.
"Job ought to be easy enough,"  he ruminated. "Don't see how I canslip up
on i t.   Hope I l ook all  right."
He stood up and scrutinized  himself  anxi ously  in  the glass. The face
reflected   there was of  aslight ly  mili tary cast wi th a moustache. There was
very  li tt l e  expressi on  in  i t. The eyes were grey and set rather cl ose
together.   "Mi ght be a Maj or," sai d Mr. Bl ore. "No, I forgot.There' s that
ol d mili tary  gent. He'd spot me at once.
"South Af rica," said Mr. Bl ore, "that' s my  line! None of  these peopl e  have
anyt hing to do wi th South Af rica, and I've  j ust been reading that travel
folder  so I can tal k about i t all ri ght."
Fortunately there were all   sorts and types of  col onials.  As a man of  means
f rom  South Af rica, Mr. Bl ore fel t that he coul d enter into any  soci et y
unchallenged.   Indi an Island. He remembered Indian Island as a boy.
Smelly sort of  rock covered wi th gulls-stood about a mile  f rom the coast.
It had  got i ts name  f rom  i ts resemblance to a man's head-an  American Indian
profile.  Funny  i dea to go and build a house on i t! Awful   in  bad weather!
But milli onaires  were full of  wbims!
200        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
The ol d man  in the comer woke up and sai d:
"You can't never tell at sea-never!"
Mr. Bl ore sai d soothingly, "That' s ri ght. You can't."
The ol d man hiccuped twi ce and said plaint ively:
"There' s a squall coming."
Mr. Bl ore sai d:
"No, no, mate, i t' s a  l ovely day. "
The ol d man said angrily:
"There' s a squall ahead. I cansmell  i t."
"Maybe  you' re ri ght," sai d Mr. Bl ore pacifically.
The train stopped at a stati on and the ol d  fell ow rose unsteadily.  "Thish
where I get out." He fumbled wi th the window. Mr. Bl ore helped him. The ol d
man stood in the doorway. He rai sed a sol emn  hand and blinked  his bleary
eyes.
"Watch and pray," hesai d. "Watch and pray. The day of   j udgment  i s at
hand."  He collapsed through the doorway onto the pl atform. From a recumbent
posi t i on  he  l ooked up at Mr. Bl ore and said wi th immense di gni t y:
"I'm tal king to you, young man. The day of   judgment is very cl ose at hand."
Subsiding onto his seat Mr. Bl ore thought to himself:
"He' s  nearer the day of   j udgment than I am!"
But there, as i t happens, he was wrong. . .
CHAPTER 2
OUTSIDE OAKBRIDGE STATION a li ttl e group of  peopl e stood in momentary
uncertaint y.  Behind them stood porters wi th sui tcases. One of  these called
"Jim!"The driver of  one of  the taxi s stepped  forward.
"You'm  for Indi an Island, maybe?" he asked  in a sof t Devon voi ce. Four
voi ces  gave assent-and then  immediately af terwards gave quick surrepti t i ous
gl ances at   each other.
The driver said, addressing  his remarks to Mr. Justi ce Wargrave as the
seni or  member of  the party:
"There are two taxis here, si r. One of  them must wai t till thesl ow
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
train  f romExeter gets in-a matter of  five minutes-there' s one gent l eman
coming  by that. Perhaps one of   you woul dn' t  mind wai ting? You'd  be more
comfortable that  way."
Vera Cl ayt home, her own secretari al posi t i on clear in  her  mind, spoke at
once.   "I'll wai t,"she said, "if   you will  go on?" She  l ooked at the other
three, her   gl ance and  voi ce  had that slight suggesti on of  command  mi
i t that comes  f rom having occupi ed a posi ti on of  authori ty. She might have
been  di rect ing which tennis  sets the gi rls were to pl ay  in.
Miss Brent sai d st iffly, "Thank  you," bent her head and entered one of  the
taxi s,   the door of  which the driver was  hol ding open.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave  foll owed her.
Captain  Lombard sai d:
"I'll  wai t wi thMiss-"
"Cl ayt home," said Vera.
"My name  i s Lombard, Philip Lombard."
The porters were piling  l uggage on the taxi . Inside, Mr. Justi ce Wargrave
said  wi th due  l egal caut i on:
"Beautiful  weather we are having."
Miss Brent sai d:
"Yes, indeed."
A very dist inguished ol d gentleman, she thought to herself . Qui te unlike
the  usual  type of  man  in  seasi de guest houses. Evident ly Mrs. or Miss
Oliver had good   connect i ons. . .
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave  inquired:
"Do you know thi s part of  the worl d well?"
"I have been to Cornwall  and to Torquay, but thi s is my  first visi t to thi s
part   of  Devon."
The j udge said:
"I al so am unacquainted wi th this part of  the world."
The taxi  drove off .
The driver of  the second taxi  said:
"Li ke to si t  inside while  you' re wai t ing?"
Vera sai d decisively:
"Not at all ."
Captain  Lombardsmiled.
He sai d:
"That sunny  wall   l ooks more attractive. Unless  you'd rather go inside the
stati on?"
"No, indeed. It' s so delight ful  to get out of  that stuffy train."
He answered:
202        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Yes, travelling  by train  is rather trying  in this weather."
Vera sai d conventi onally:
"I do hope i t l asts-the weather, I mean. Our English summers are so
treacherous."  Wi th aslight l ack of  ori ginali t y Lombard asked:
"Do you know this part of  the worl d well?"
"No, I'v e  never been here  before." She added quickly, conscient i ously
determined   to make her posi t i on clear at once, "I haven' t even seen my
empl oyer  yet."  "Your empl oyer?"
"Yes, I'm Mrs. Owen' s secretary."
"Oh, I see." Just impercept ibly  his manner changed. It wasslightly more
assured-easier  in tone. He sai d: "Isn' t that rather unusual?"
Vera l aughed.
"Oh, no, I don't think so. Her own secretary wassuddenly taken  ill   andshe
wi red   to an agency  for a subst i tute and they sent me."
"So that was i t. And suppose  you don't like the post when  you've got
there?"  Vera l aughed again.
"Oh, i t's only temporary-a holiday post. I'v e got a permanent j ob at a
gi rls'   school . As a matter of   fact I'm  f rightfully thrilled at the prospect
of  seeing  Indi an Island. There's been such a  l ot about i t  in the papers.
Is i t really  very  fascinat ing?"
Lombard said:
"I don't know. I haven' t seen  i t."
"Oh, really? The Owens are  f ri ght fully keen on  i t, I suppose. What are they
like?  Do tell me."
Lombard thought: Awkward, thi s-am I supposed to have met them or not? He
said  qui ckly:
"There' s a wasp crawling up  your arm. No-keep qui te still." He made a
convincing  pounce. "There. It' s gone!"
"Oh, thank  you. There are a l ot of  wasps about this summer."
"Yes, I suppose i t' s the heat. Who are we wai ting  for, do you know?"  "I
haven' t the l east i dea."
The l oud drawn out scream of  an approaching train was  heard. Lombard said:
"That will  be the train now."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
2
It was a tall   sol dierly ol d man who appeared at the ei dt f rom the pl at form.
Hi s  grey hair was clipped cl ose and he  had a neatly trimmed whi te
moustache.  Hi s porter, staggeringslight ly under the weight of  the solid
leather sui tcase,  indicated Vera and Lombard.
Vera came  forward in a competent manner. Shesai d:
"I am Mrs. Owen's secretary. There  is a car here wai t ing." She added: "This
is  Mr. Lombard."
The faded  blue eyes, shrewd  in spi te of  thei r age, sized up Lombard. For
a moment   a j udgment showed in them-had there been any one to read i t.
"Good-l ooking  fell ow. Something  j ust a li ttl e wrong about him. . . .' )
The three of  them got i nto the wai ting taxi . They drove through thesl eepy
streets of   li ttl e Oakbridge and continued about a mile on the main Plymouth
road.   Then they pl unged  into a maze of  cross country  l anes, steep, green
and  narrow.   General Macarthur sai d:
"Don't know this part of  Devon at all . My  li ttl e place  i s  inEast Devon-
just on   the border-line of  Dorset."
Vera sai d:
"It really  is  l ovely  here. The hills and the red earth and everything so
green  and  l usci ous  l ooking."
Philip Lombard sai d cri t i cally:
"It' s a bi t shut  in. . . . I li ke open country myself. Where  you can see
what's  coming. . .."
General  Macarthur sai d to him:
"You've seen a bi t of  the worl d, I fancy?"
Lombard shrugged  hisshoul ders disparagingly.
"I'v e knocked about here and there, si r."
He thought to himself: "He'll ask me now  if  I was ol d enough to be  i n the
War. These ol d boys al ways do."
But General  Macarthur di d not ment i on the War.
204        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
3
They came up over a steep hill  and down a zi g-zag, track to Sti cklehaven-a
mere  cl uster of  cottages wi th a fishing boat or two drawn up on the beach.
Illuminated by the setting sun, they had thei r  fi rst glimpse of  Indian
Isl and    j utting up out of  the sea to the south.
Vera sai d, surprised:
"It' s a  l ong way out."
She had pi ctured i t different ly, cl ose to shore, crowned wi t h a beaut iful
whi te  house. But there was no house visible, only the bol dly  silhouetted
rock wi th  i ts  faint resemblance to a gi ant Indi an's head. There was
somethingsinister about   i t. She shivered  faint ly.
Outsi de a  li ttl e  inn, the Seven Stars, three peopl e weresi tting. There was
the  hunched el derly  figure of  the  j udge, the upri ght form ofMiss Brent,
and a thi rd  man-a  big bluff man who came  forward and  introduced himself.
"Thought we might as well  wai t  for you," he said. "Make one tri p of   i t.
All ow me   to introduce myself . Name's Davis. Natal , South Af rica' s, my  natal
spot, ha, ha!"  He laughed breezily.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave  l ooked at him wi th act ive malevol ence. He seemed to
be  wi shing that he coul d order the court to be cl eared. Miss Emily  Brent
was clearly  not sure if she  liked Col onials.
"Any one care  for a li ttle nip before we embark?" asked Mr. Davis
hospi tably.  Nobody assent ing to thi s proposi ti on, Mr. Davis turned and held
up a finger.  "Mustn't del ay, then. Our good host and hostess will  be
expecting us,"  he said.  He mi ght have  noti ced that a curi ous constraint
came over the other members of   the party. It was as though the ment i on of
thei r host and hostess had a curi ously  paralyzing  effect upon the guests.
In response to Davis'  beckoning  finger, a man detached himself  f rom a
nearby wall   against whi ch  he was  leaning and came up to them. His rolling
gai t procl aimed  hi rn a man of  the sea. He had a weather-beaten  face and
dark eyes wi t h aslight ly  evasive expressi on. Hespoke in his sof t Devon
voi ce.
I
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"Will  you be ready to be starti ng  for the island,  l adi es and gent l emen?The
boat' s wai ting. There' s two gentlemen coming  by  car, but Mr. Owen' s orders
was  not to wai t for them as they  might arrive at any t ime."
The party got up. Thei r gui de  l ed them al ong asmall   stone j etty. Al ongside
i t  a motor boat was  lying.
Emily  Brent sai d:
"That' s a very  small   boat."
The boat' s owner sai d persuasively:
"She's a  fine boat, that, Ma'am. You coul d go to Plymouth  in  her as easy
as  winking.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave saidsharply:
"There are a good many of  us."
"She'd take doubl e the number, si r."
Philip Lombard said  in  his pleasant easy  voi ce:
"It' s qui te all  right. Gl ori ous weather-no swell."
Rather doubtfully, Miss Brent permi tted herself to be helped  into the boat.
The   others  foll owed sui t. There was as  yet no f raternizing among the party.
It was   as though each member of   i t was puzzl ed  by the other members.
They were  j ust about to cast l oose when thei r guide paused, boathook in
hand.  Down the steep track into the village a car was coming. A car so
fantasti cally  powerful , so superlatively  beaut iful  that i t had all the
nature of  an appari t i on.  At the wheel sat a  young man, his  hair bl own  back
by the wind. In the blaze of   the evening  light he  looked, not a man, but
a  young God, a Hero God out of  some  Northern Saga.
He touched the hom and a great roar of  sound echoed f rom the rocks of  the
bay.  It was a fantasti c moment. In  i t, Anthony Marston seemed to be
something more   than mortal . Af terwards, more than one of  those present
remembered that moment.
4
Fred Narracott sat by the engine thinking to himself  that this was a queer
l ot. Not at all  his  idea of  what Mr. Owen' s guests were  li kely to be. He'd
expected something al together more cl assy. Togged up
206        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
women and gent l emen  in  yacht ing costume and all   very ri ch and important
l ooking.  Not at all   like Mr. Elmer Robson's parti es. A  faint grin came to
Fred Narracott' s  lips as  he remembered the milli onaire' s guests. That had
been a party  if  you  like-and the drink they'd got through!
This Mr. Owen must be a very different sort of  gent l eman. Funny  i t was,
thought   Fred, that he'd never  yet set eyes on Owen-,or hisMissus ei ther.
Never  been down  here  yet, he hadn' t.Everything ordered and pai d  for by
that Mr. Morris.   Instructi ons al ways very clear and payment prompt, but i t
was odd, all the same. The papers sai d there was some mystery about Owen.
Mr. Narracott agreed wi th   them.
Perhaps, af ter all,  i t wasMiss GabrielleTurl  who had  bought the  i sland.
But   that theory departed f rom  him as he surveyed his passengers. Not this
l ot-none   of  them  l ooked likely to have anyt hing to do wi th a  film star.
He summed them up di spassi onately.
One ol d maid-the sour kind-he knew them well enough. She was aTartar, he
coul d  bet. Ol d mili tary gent l eman-real   Army  by the  l ook of  him. Nice
l ooking  young    l ady-but the ordinary kind, not gl amourous-no Hollywood touch
about her.That   bl uff  cheery genthe wasn' t a real   gent l eman. Ret i red
tradesman, that' s what he  i s, thought Fred Narracott. The other gentl eman,
the lean hungry  l ooking  gent l eman wi th the qui ck eyes, he was a queer one,
he was. Just possible he might   have something to do wi th the pictures.
No, there was only one sat isfactory passenger  in the  boat. The  l ast
gent l eman,   the one who had arrived  in the car (and what a car! A car such
as had  never been  seen  in Sticklehaven  before. Must have cost hundreds and
hundreds, a car like  that.). He was the ri ght kind. Born to money,  he was.
If  the party  had been all  like him. he'd understand i t. . ..
Queer business when  you came to think of   i t-the whol e thing was queer-very
queer.  .
5
The boat churned  i ts way round the rock. Now at last the house
came  into vi ew. The southsi de of  the  i sland was qui te different. It shelved
gent ly down to the sea. The house was there facing south-
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
207 l ow and square and modem-l ooking
wi th                                       rounded windows  l etting  in all
the light.  An exci t ing  house-a house that lived up to expectati on!
Fred Narracott shut off  the engine, they nosed their way gent ly  into a
li ttle  natural   inlet between rocks.
Philip Lombard sai dsharply:
"Must be difficul t to l and  here  in di rt y weather."
Fred Narracott sai d cheerfully:
"Can' t l and on Indian Island when there' s a southeasterly. Somet imes ' t i s
cut off   for a week or more."
Vera Claythome thought:
"The catering must be  very difficul t. That' s the worst of  an  island. All
the  domest i c probl ems are so worrying."
The boat grated against the rocks. Fred Narracott jumped out and he and
Lombard  hel ped the others to alight. Narracott made the boat fast to a ring
in the rock.   Then  he  led the way up steps cut in the rock.
General  Macarthur sai d:
"Ha, delight ful   spot!"
But he  fel t uneasy. Damned odd sort of  pl ace.
As the party ascended the steps, and came out on a terrace above, thei r
spi ri ts  revived. In the open doorway of  the house a correct butl er was
awai t ing them, and  something about hi s gravi t y reassured them.  And then the
house  i tself was really   most attractive, the vi ew  f rom the terrace
magnificent. . . .
The butl er came  forward bowingslightly. He was a tall  lank man, grey-
haired and  very respectable. He said:
"Will   you come this way, please?"
In the wi de hall drinks stood ready. Rows of  bottl es. Anthony Marston's
spi ri ts  cheered up a  li ttl e. He'd  j ust been thinking  thi s was a rum kind
of show. None   of   his  l ot! What coul d ol d Badger have  been thinking about
to l et him  in  for   this? However the drinks were all  right. Pl ent y of   i ce,
too.
What was i t the butl er chap was saying?
Mr. Owen-unfortunately delayed-unable to get here till  to-morrow.
Instructi ons-everyt hing they wanted-if they would like to go to thei r
rooms?.   . . Dinner woul d be at 8 o'cl ock. . ..
208        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
6
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE   209
Vera had foll owed Mrs. Rogers upstai rs. The woman  had thrown open a door
at the   end of  a passage and Vera had walked  into a delightful  bedroom wi t h
a big window   that opened wi de upon the sea and  another l ooking east. She
uttered a qui ck  exclarnat i on of  pl easure.
Mrs. Rogers was saying:
"I hope you've got everything  you want, Miss?"
Vera l ooked round. Her l uggage had  been  brought up and had been unpacked.
At onesi de of  the room a door stood open into a pal e  blue tiled  bathroom.
She said quickly:
"Yes, everyt hing, I think."
"You'll  ring the bell   if   you want anyt hing, Miss?"
Mrs. Rogers had a flat monotonous voi ce. Vera  looked at her curi ously. What
a  whi te bl oodl ess ghost of  a woman! Very respectabl e  l ooking, wi th  her hair
dragged  back f rom her  face and  her black dress. Queer  li ght eyes that
shif ted the whol e  time  f rom place to pl ace.
Vera thought:
"She  l ooks f ri ghtened of  her ownshadow."
Yes, that was i t-f rightened!
She l ooked like a woman who wal ked  in mortal   fear. . ..
A li tt l eshiver passed down Vera' s  back. What on earth was the woman af rai d
of?  She said pl easant ly:
"I'm Mrs. Owen' s  new secretary. I expect you know that."
Mrs. Rogers sai d:
"No,Mi ss, I don't know anything. Just a list of  the  l adies and gentlemen
and  what rooms they  were to have."
Vera sai d:
"Mrs. Owen di dn' t menti on me?"
Mrs. Rogers'  eyelashes  flickered.
"I haven' t seen Mrs. Owen-not yet. We only came here two days ago.))
Extraordinary peopl e, these Owens, thought Vera. Al oud she said:
"What staff   is there here?"
3
I
I
I
"Just me and Rogers, Mi ss."the host and
Vera f rowned. Ei ght peopl e  in the  house-ten wi th
hostess-and only one married couple to do for them.
Mrs. Rogers sai d:
"I'm a good cook and Rogers i s  handy about the house. I di dn' t know, of
course,   that there was to be such a  large party."
Vera sai d:
"But you can manage?"
"Oh, yes, Miss, I can manage. If  there' s to be large parti es of ten, perhaps
Mrs.  Owen coul d get extra hel p  in."
Vera sai d, "I expect so."
Mrs. Rogers turned to go. Her feet moved  noi selessly over the  fl oor. She
drif ted  f rom the room  like ashadow.
Vera went over to the window and sat down on the window seat. She was
faint ly  di sturbed. Everything-somehow-was a  li ttle queer. The absence of
the Owens, the  pal e ghostlike Mrs. Rogers. And the guests! Yes, the guests
were queer too. An  oddly assorted party.
Vera thought:
"I wi sh I'd seen the Owens. . . . I wi sh I knew what they were  like."  She
got up andwal ked rest l essly  about the room.
A perfect bedroom decorated throughout in the modem st yle. Off  whi te rugs
on the  gl eaming parquet fl oor-faint ly t inted walls-a l ong  mirror surrounded
by  lights.  A mantel piece bare of  ornaments save  for an enormous bl ock of
whi te marbleshaped  like a bear, a pi ece of  modem  sculpture in which was
inset a cl ock. Over i t, in  a gl eaming chromium  f rame, was a big square of
parchment-a poem.
She stood in  f ront of  the  fi replace and read i t. It was the ol d nursery
rhyme   that she remembered  f rom  her childhood days.
Ten  li ttl e Indian  boys went out to dine; One choked his  li tt l e self  and then
there were nine.
Nine  li tt l e Indian  boys sat up very  l ate; One overslept himself  and then
there  were ei ght.
Ei ght li tt l e Indian  boys travelling  in Devon; Onesai d  he'd stay there and
then  there were seven.
Seven  li tt l e Indian  boys chopping up sti cks; One chopped himself   in halves
and  then there weresix.
Six  li tt l e Indian  boys playing wi th a hive;  A  bumblebee stung one and then
there were five.
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Five  li ttle Indian boys going  in  for  l aw; One got in Chancery and then there
were four.
Four li tt l e Indian  boys going out to sea; A red herring swall owed one and
then  there were three.
Three li tt l e Indian  boys walking  in the Zoo; A big bear  hugged one and then
there were two.
Two li ttl e Indian  boyssi tt ing  in the sun; One got fri zzled up and then
there  was one.
One  li tt l e Indian  boy  l ef t all al one; He went and hanged  himself   and then
there  were none.
Vera smiled. Of  course!This was Indian Isl and!
She went and sat again by the window  l ooking out to sea.
How bi g the sea was!  From  here there was no l and to be seen anywhere-just
a  vast expanse of  blue water ri ppling  in the evening sun.
The sea. . . . So peaceful  to-day-somet imes so cruel . . . . The sea that
dragged you down to i ts depths. Drowned. . . . Found drowned. . ..
drowned.
Drowned at sea. . . . Drowned-drowned-
No, she woul dn' t remember. . . . She woul d  not think of   i t!  All that was
over.  . ..
7
Dr. Armstrong came to Indi an Island  j ust as the sun wassinking  into the
sea. On   the way across he  had chatted to the boatman-a  l ocal  man. He was
anxi ous to find   out a li tt l e about these people who owned Indian Island,
but the man Narracott   seemed curi ously  ill M*formed, or perhaps unwilling
to tal k.
So Dr. Armstrong chatted instead of  the weather and of   fishing.
He was ti red af ter his  l ong motor drive. Hi s eyeballs ached. Driving west
you  were driving against the sun.
Yes, he was very t i red. The sea and perfect peace-that was what he needed.
He  woul d  like, really, to take a l ong holiday. But he coul dn' t afford to
do that.   He coul d afford  i t financially, of  course, but he coul dn' t afford
to drop out.   You were soon forgotten nowadays. No, now that he had arrived,
he must keep his  nose to the grindstone.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
211
He thought:
"All the same, thi s evening, I'll  imagine to myself that I'm not going
back-that   I'v e done wi th London and Harley Street and all the rest of   i t."
There was something magical about an  i sland-the mere word suggested
fantasy. You   l ost touch wi th the worl d-an  i sland was a worl d of   i ts own.
A worl d, perhaps,  f rom which  you  might never return.
He thought:
"I'm  leaving my ordinary  life  behind me."
And, smiling to himself ,  he  began to make plans, fantasti c plans  for the
future.  He was still   smiling when  he walked up the rock cut steps.
In a chai r on the terrace an ol d gent l eman wassi tting and thesi ght of  him
'Was  vaguely  familiar to Dr. Armstrong. Where had he seen that f rog-like
face, that   tortoi se-like  neck, that hunched up atti tudeyes, and those pal e
shrewd  li ttle  eyes? Of  course-ol d Wargrave. He'd given evidence once before
him.  Always  l ooked  half  asleep, but was shrewd as coul d  be when  i t came to
a point of   l aw. Had great   power wi th a  j ury-i t was sai d  he coul d make thei r
minds up  for them any day of   the week. He'd got one or two unlikely
convict i ons out of  them.  A hanging  judge,  some  peopl e said.
Funny place to meet him. . . here-out of  the worl d.
8
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave thought to himself:
"Armstrong? Remember  him  in the wi t ness box. Very correct and cauti ous. All
doctors are damned  fool s. Harl ey Street ones are the worst of  the  l ot." And
his  mind dwel t malevol ent ly on a recent interview he had  had wi th a suave
personage  in that very street.
Al oud he grunted:
"Drinks are  in the hall."
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"I must go and pay my respects to my  host and hostess."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave cl osed his eyes again,  l ooking decidedly rept ilian,
and  sai d:
"You can't do that."
212        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Dr. Armstrong was startl ed.
"Why  not?"
The  j udge said:
"No host and hostess. Very curi ous state of  affairs. Don't understand thi s
place."
Dr. Armstrong stared at him  for a minute. When  he thought the ol d gent l eman
had  actually gone tosl eep, Wargrave said suddenly:
"D'you know Constance Culmington?"
"Er-no, I'm af raid I don't."
"It' s of  no consequence," said the  j udge. "Very  vague woman-and practi cally
unreadable handwri t ing. I was j ust wondering  if  I'd come to the wrong
house."  Dr. Armstrong shook his head and went on up to the house.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave reflected on the subject of  Constance Culmington.
Undependable  like all  women.
Hi s mind went on to the two women  in the house,  the ti ght-lipped ol d maid
and the  gi rl . He di dn' t care for the gi rl , col d-bl ooded  young hussy. No,
three women, if    you counted the Rogers woman. Odd creature, she  l ooked
scared to death.   Respectabl e pair and knew thei r  job.
Rogers coming out on the terrace that minute, the j udge asked him:  "Is
Lady  Constance Culmington expected, do you know?"
Rogers stared at him.
"No, Si r, not to my knowledge."
The  j udge' s eyebrows rose. But he only grunted.
He thought:
"Indian Isl and, eh? There' s a nigger  in the woodpile."
9
Anthony Marston was  in his  bath. He  l uxuriated in the steaming water. His
limbs  had  fel t cramped af ter his  l ong drive. Very  few thoughts passed
through   hi s  head. Anthony was a creature of  sensati on-and of  act i on.
He thought to himself:
"Must go through wi th  i t, I suppose," and thereaf ter dismissed everyt hing
f rom  his  mind.
1.
I 1
1
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
213
Warm steaming water-ti red  limbs-present ly ashave-a cocktaildinner.  And
af ter-?
10
Mr. Bl ore was tying his t i e. He wasn' t very good at this sort of  thing.
Di d he  l ook all  right? He supposed so.
Nobody  had been exactly cordi al  to him. all eyed  each other-as though they
knew.
Well ,  i t was up to him.
He di dn' t mean to bungle his  j ob.
He gl anced up at the  f ramed  nursery rhyme over the mantel piece.
Neat touch, having that there!
He thought:
Remember thi s  island when I was a ki d. Never thought I'd be doing this sort
of   a j ob  in a house here. Good thing, perhaps, that one can' t foresee the
future
. . Funny the way they
11
General  Macarthur was  f rowning to himself.
Damn  i t all , the whole thing was deuced odd! Not at all what he'd  been  led
to   expect. . . .
For two pins he'd make an excuse and get away. the whol e business. . . .
But the motor boat had gone back to the mainland.
He'd have to stay.
That fell ow Lombard  now, he was a queer chap.
Not strai ght. He'd swear the man wasn' t strai ght.
12
. .Throw up
As the gong sounded, Philip Lombard came out of   his room and walked to the
head of  the stai rs. He moved  like a panther, smoothly
214
and noiselessly. There was something of  the panther about him al together.
A  beast of  prey-pleasant to the eye. He wassmiling to himself . A week-eh?
He  was goi ng to enj oy that week.
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
13
In her bedroom, Emily Brent, dressed in  blacksilk ready  for dinner, was
reading  her Bible.
Her lips moved asshe  foll owed the words:
"The heathen are sunk down  in the pi t that they made:  in the net whi ch they
hi d  is thei r own  foot taken. The Lord i s known by  the j udgment which  he
executeth: the wicked  issnared  in the work of  his  own hands. The wicked
shall  be turned  into hell."
Her ti ght lips cl osed. Sheshut the Bible.
Rising, she pinned a cai rngorm  brooch at her neck, and went down to dinner.
CHAPTER 3
DINNER WAS drawing to a cl ose.
The food had been good, the wine perfect. Rogers wai ted well .
Every one was  in  better spi ri ts. They  had  begun to tal k to each other wi th
more  f reedom and  int imacy.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave, mell owed by the excellent port, was being amusing  in
a  causti c  fashi on, Dr. Armstrong and Tony Marston were listening to him.
Miss Brent   chatted to General  Macarthur, they  had discovered some mutual
f riends. Vera   Cl ayt horne was asking Mr. Davis  intelligent questi ons about
South Af rica. Mr.   Davis was qui te fluent on the subject. Lombard  listened
to the conversati on. Once   or twice he  l ooked up qui ckly, and  his eyes
narrowed. Now and then  his eyes  pl ayed round the tabl e, studying the
others.
Anthony Marston sai d suddenly:
"Quaint, these things, aren' t they?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
215
In the centre of  the round tabl e, on a ci rcul ar glass stand, were some
li ttle  china  figures.
"Indi ans," saidTony. "Indian Isl and. I suppose that' s the  i dea."
Vera l eaned  forward.
"I wonder. How many are there?Ten?"
"Yes-ten there are."
Vera cried:
"What fun!They're the ten  li tt l e Indian boys of  the nursery rhyme, I
suppose.   In my  bedroom the rhyme  is  f ramed and hung up over the
mantel piece."  Lombard said:
"In my room, too."
"And  mine."
"And  mine."
Everybody  j oined the chorus. Vera sai d:
"It' s an amusing  i dea,  i sn' t i t?"
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave grunted:
"Remarkably childish," and  helped himself to port.
Emily Brent l ooked at Vera Cl ayt horne. Vera Cl ayt horne  l ooked atMi ss
Brent.  The two women rose.
In the drawing-room, the French windows were open onto the terrace and the
sound of  the sea murmuring against the rocks came up to them.
Emily Brent sai d: "Pl easant sound."
Vera sai dsharply: "I hate i t."
Miss Brent' s eyes  l ooked at her in surprise. Vera flushed. She said, more
composedly:
"I don't think thi s place woul d be very  agreeable  in a storm."
Emily Brent agreed.
"I'v e  no doubt the house isshut up in winter," she sai d. "You'd never get
servants to stay here  for one thing."
Vera murmured:
"It must be difficul t to get servants anyway."
Emily Brent sai d:
"Mrs. Oliver has been  l ucky to get these two. The woman' s a good cook."
Vera thou(yht:
"Funny  how el derly peopl e always get names wrong."
She sai d:
"Yes, I think Mrs. Owen  has been very  lucky  indeed."
Emily Brent had brought a small  piece of  embroidery out of  her
216        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
bag. Now, as she was about to thread her needle, she paused. She said
sharply:  "Owen? Did  you say Owen?"
"Yes."
Emily  Brent sai dsharply:
"I've never met any one called Owen  in my  life. "
Vera stared.
"But surely-"
She di d  not finish  her sentence. The door opened and the men  j oined them.
Rogers   foll owed them  into the room wi t h the coffee tray.
The j udge came and sat down by Emily  Brent. Armstrong came up to Vera. Tony
Marston strolled to the open window. Bl ore studi ed wi th  na*fve surpri se a
statuette i n  brass-wondering perhaps  if  i ts bizarre angulari t ies were really
supposed to be the female  figure. General  Macarthur stood wi th his  back to
the  mantel piece. He pulled at hi s  li tt l e whi te moustache. That had been a
damned good   dinner! His spi ri ts were ri sing. Lombard turned over the pages
of  Punch that l ay  wi th other papers on a table by the wall .
Rogers went round wi th the coffee tray. The coffee was goodreally  black and
very  hot.
The whol e part y had dined well. They were sat i sfied wi th themselves and
wi th  life. The hands of  the cl ock pointed to twenty minutes past nine.
There was a  silence-a comfortable repl etesilence.
Into thatsilence cameThe Voi ce. Wi t hout warning,  inhuman, penetrating.
. .  "Ladies and gentl emen! Silence, pl ease I"
Every one was startl ed. They  l ooked round-at each other, at the walls. Who
was  speaking?
The Voi ce went on-a hi gh clear  voice.
You are charged wi th the  foll owing  indict ments:
Edward George Armstrong, that you di d upon the 14th day of  March, 1925,
cause the  death of  Louisa Mary  Clees.
Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5th November, 1931, you were
responsible  for   the death of  Beatri ceTayl or.
William Henry Bl ore, that you brought about the death of  James Stephen
Landor on   October 10th, 1928.
Vera Elizabeth Cl ayt horne, that on the 11th day of   August, 1935, you killed
Cyril   Ogilvie Hamil ton.
Philip Lombard, that upon a date in February, 1932, you were
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
217
guil t y of  the death of  twenty-one men, members of  anEast Af rican tribe.
John Gordon Macarthur, that on the 4th of  January, 1917, you deliberately
sent   your wife' s  l over, Arthur Ri chmond, to hi s death.
Anthony  James Marston, that upon the 14th day of  November  last, you were
guil t y of  the murder of  John and  Lucy  Combes.
Thomas Rogers andEthel  Rogers, that on the 6th of  May, 1929,  you brought
about the death of  Jennifer Brady.
Lawrence John Wargrave, that upon the 10th day of  June, 1930, you were
guil t y  of  the murder ofEdward Seton.
Pri soners at the bar, have  you anything to say  in  your defence?
2
The Voi ce  had stopped.
There was a moment' s petrifiedsilence and then a resounding crash! Rogers
had  dropped the coffee tray!
At the same moment, f rom somewhere outsi de the room there came a scream and
the  sound of  a thud.
Lombard was the first to move. He  l eapt to the door and flung  i t open.
Outsi de,  lying  in a  huddled mass, was Mrs. Rogers.
Lombard called:
"Marston."
Anthony  sprang to hel p him. Between them, they  lif t ed up the woman and
carri ed  her into the drawing-room.
Dr. Armstrong came across qui ckly. He helped them to lif t  her onto the sof a
and  bent over her. He sai d qui ckly:
"It' s nothing. She's  fainted, that' s all . She'll   be round  in a  minute."
Lombard sai d to Rogers:
"Get some  brandy."
Rogers, hi s  face whi te, his  handsshaking, murmured:
"Yes, si r," andslipped quickly out of  the room.
Vera cri ed out:
"Who was that speaking? Where was  he? It sounded-i t sounded-"
General  Macarthur spl uttered out:
"What's going on here? What kind of  a practical   joke was that?"
Hi s  hand wasshaking. Hisshoul ders sagged. He  looked suddenly ten  years
ol der.  Bl ore was mopping his  face wi t h a handkerchief .
218        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Only Mr. Justi ce Wargrave andMiss Brent seemed comparat ively unmoved.
Emily  Brent sat upri ght, her head held high. In both cheeks was a spot of
hard col our.  The j udge sat  in his  habi tual pose, his head sunk down  into
his  neck. Wi t h one  hand he gent ly  scratched his ear. Only  his eyes were
active, darting round and  round the room, puzzl ed, al ert wi th  intelligence.
Again  i t was Lombard who acted. Armstrong being busy  wi th the collapsed
woman,  Lombard was  f ree once more to take the ini t iat ive.
He sai d:
"That voi ce? It sounded as though  i t were i n the room."
Vera cri ed:
"Who was  i t? Who was  i t? It wasn't one of  us."
Li ke the  j udge, Lombard' s eyes wanderedsl owly  round the room. They rested
a  minute on the open window, then heshook hi s  head decisively. Suddenly
his eyes  lighted up. He moved  forward swif t ly to where a door near the
fi replace  l ed  into   an adj oining room.
Wi th a swif t gesture, he caught the handle and  flung the door open. He
passed  through and  immediately uttered an exclamat i on of  sat i sfact i on.
He sai d:
"All ,  here we are."
The others crowded af ter him. OnlyMiss Brent remained al onesi tt ing erect
in  her  chai r.
Insi de the second room a tabl e  had  been brought up cl ose to the wall  which
adj oined the drawing-room. On the tabl e was a gramophone-an ol d-fashi oned
type  wi th a  l arge trumpet attached. The mouth of  the trumpet was against
the wall , and  Lombard, pushing  i t asi de,  indicated where two or three small
hol es had  been  unobtrusively  bored through the wall.
Adj ust ing the gramophone  he repl aced the needle on the record and
immediately  they  heard again: "You are charged wi th the  foll owing
indict ments-"  Vera cri ed:
"Turn i t off!Turn  i t off! It' s horrible!"
Lombard obeyed.
Dr. Armstrong sai d, wi th asi gh of  relief :
"A disgraceful  and  heart l ess practi cal  j oke, I suppose."
Thesmall clear voi ce of  Mr. Justi ce Wargrave murmured:
"So you think  i t ' s a  j oke, do you?"
Tile doctor stared at him.
"Wh"t ~1- -I'l   i t 1-911
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
f
219
The hand of  the  j udge gent ly  stroked hi s upper  lip.
He sai d:
"At the moment I'm not prepared to give an opini on."
AnthonyMarston broke in. He said:
"Look here, there's one thing  you've  forgotten. Who the devil turned the
thing   on and set i t going?"
Wargrave murmured:
"Yes, I think we must inquire  into that."
He l ed the way  back  into the drawing-room. The others foll owed.
Rogers had  j ust come  in wi t h a gl ass of  brandy. Miss Brent was bending over
the moaning  form of  Mrs. Rogers.
Adroi t ly  Rogersslipped between the two women.
"All ow me, Madam, I'll speak to her. Ethel -Ethel -i t ' s all  right. All  right,
do   you hear? Pull  yourself  together."
Mrs. Rogers'  breath came  in qui ck gasps. Her eyes, staring  f ri ghtened eyes,
went round and round the ring of   faces. There was urgency  in  Rogers'  tone.
"Pull   yourself together,Ethel ."
Dr. Armstrong spoke to her soothingly.
"You'll   be all  right now, Mrs. Rogers. Just a nasty turn."
She said:
"Di d I faint, si r?"
"Yes.
"It wasThe Voi ce-that awful  voi ce-like a  j udgment-"
Her face turned green again,  her eyelids  fluttered.
Dr. Armstrong sai dsharply:
"Where's that brandy?"
Rogers had put i t down on a li tt l e table. Some one handed  i t to the doctor
and  he bent over the gasping woman wi th  i t.
"Drink thi s, Mrs. Rogers."
She drank, choking a  li tt l e and gasping. The spi ri t  di d  her good.The
col our   returned to her face. She said:
"I'm all  right now. It j ust-gave me a turn."
Rogers sai d quickly:
"Of  course  i t di d. It gave me a turn too. Fai r made me drop that tray.
Wicked    lies,  i t was! I'd  like to know-"
He was interrupted. It was only a cough-a dry  li tt le cough but i t
el
had the effect of  stopping  him  in  full   cry. He stared at Mr. Justi ce
Wargrave  and the  l atter coughed again. Then  liesai d: "Who put that record
on the  gramophone?  Was  i t  you, Rogers?" Rogers cri ed:
220        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"I di dn' t know what i t was. Before God, I di dn' t know what i t was, si r. If
I   had I'd never have done  i t."
The  j udge said drily:
"That i s probably true. But I think  you'd  better expl ain, Rogers.
The butl er wi ped  his  face wi th a  handkerchief . He sai d earnest ly:
"I was j ust obeying orders, Si r, that' s all . "
"Whose orders?"
"Mr. Owen' s."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"Let me get this qui te cl ear. Mr. Owen's orders were-what exact ly?"
Rogers sai d:
"I was to put a record on the gramophone. I'd  find the record mi the drawer
and my wife was to start the gramophone when I'd gone  into the drawing-room
wi th the coffee tray."
The  j udge murmured:
"A  very remarkable story."
Rogers cri ed:
"It' s the truth, si r. I swear to God i t' s the truth. I didn' t know what i t
was-not for a moment. It had a name on  i t-I thought i t was  j ust a pi ece of
music."
Wargrave  l ooked at Lombard.
"Was there a ti t l e on  i t?"
Lombard nodded. He grinned suddenly, showing his whi te pointed teeth.   He
said:
"Qui te ri ght, Si r. It was enti t l ed Swan Song. . .."
3
General  Macarthur broke out suddenly. He exclaimed:
"The whol e thing  is preposterous-preposterous! Slinging accusat i ons about
like   this! Something must be done about i t.Thi s  fell ow Owen whoever he  is-
"Emily Brent  interrupted. She sai dsharply:
"That' s  j ust i t, who i s he?"
The j udge  interposed. He spoke wi th the authori ty that a lifet ime  in the
courts had given him. He sai d:
"That i s exact ly what we must go into very carefully. I shoul d sug-
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
gest that you get your wife to bed first of  afl , Rogers. Then come back
here."  "Yes, Si r."
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"I'll give  you a hand, Rogers."
Leaning on the two men, Mrs. Rogers tottered out of  the room. When they  had
gone  Tony Marston sai d:
"Don't know about you, Si r, but I coul d do wi th a  drink."
Lombard said:
"I agree."
Tony said:
"I'll go and  forage."
He went out of  the room.
He returned a second or two l ater.
"Found them all  wai t ing on a tray outsi de ready to be brought in." He set
down his  burden carefully. The next  minute or two was spent  in di spensing
drinks. General  Macarthur had a stiff  whiskey  and so di d the  j udge. Every
one fel t the need of  a  stimulant. Only Emily Brent demanded and obtained a
gl ass of  water.   Dr. Armstrong re-entered the room.
"She's all ri ght," he said. "I've given her a sedat ive to take. What' s
that, a   drink? I coul d do wi th one."
Several  of  the men refilled thei r glasses. A moment or two l ater Rogers
re-entered the room.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave took charge of  the proceedings. The room  became an
impromptu  court of   l aw.
The j udge said:
"Now then, Rogers, we must get to the bottom of  thi s. Who  i s this Mr.
Owen?"  Rogers stared.
"He owns thi s place, Si r."
"I am aware of  the fact. What I want you to teH me  is what you  yourself
know  about the man."
Rogers shook his head.
"I can't say, Si r. You see, I'v e  never seen him."
There was a faint st i r  in the room.
General  Macarthur sai d:
"You'v e  never seen  him? What d'yer mean?"
"We've only  been  here  j ust under a week, Si r, my wife and 1. We were
engaged by  letter, through an agency. The Regina Agency  in Plymouth."
222        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Bl ore nodded.
"Ol d established  firm,"  he  vol unteered.
Wargrave said:
"Have  you got that l etter?"
`I l etter engaging us? No, Si r. I di dn' t keep i t."
"Go on wi th  your story. You were engaged, as  you say, by  letter."
"Yes, si r. We were to arri ve on a certain day. We  di d. Everything was  in
order   here. Pl ent y of   food i n stock and everyt hing very  nice. Just needed
dusting and   that."
"What next?"
"Nothing, si r. We got orders-by  letter again-to prepare the rooms  for a
houseparty and then  yesterday by the af ternoon post I got another  l etter f rom
Mr.   Owen. It sai d  he and Mrs. Owen were detained and to do the best we
coul d and  i t  gave the  instructi ons about dinner and coffee and putting on
the gramophone  record."
The j udge saidsharply:
"Surely  you've got that l etter?"
"Yes, Si r, I'v e got i t here."
He produced i t f rom a pocket.The j udge took i t.
"H'm,"  he said. "Headed Ri tz Hotel  and t ypewri tten."
Wi th a qui ck movement Bl ore was beside him.
He sai d:
"If   you'll   just l et me have a  l ook."
He twi tched  i t out of  the other' s hand, and ran  his eye over  i t. He
murmured:  "Coronati on machine. Qui te new-no defects. Ensi gn paper-the most
wi dely used   make. You won't get anything out of   that. Mi ght be
fingerprints, but I doubt i t."   Wargrave stared at him wi t h sudden
attenti on.
Anthony Marston was standing  beside Bl ore  l ooking over hisshoul der. He
said:  "Got some  fancy  Christian names, hasn' t he? Ulick Norman Owen. Qui te
a mouthful . "The ol d  j udge said wi th aslight start:
"I am obliged to you, Mr. Marston. You have drawn my attenti on to a curi ous
and  suggest ive point."
He l ooked round at the others and thrusting his  neck forward like an angry
tortoi se, he said:
"I think the time  has come  for us all to pool  our informat i on. It woul d  be
well,  I think,  for everybody to come  forward wi th all  the  informat i on they
have  regarding the owner of  thi s  house." He paused
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
223
and then went on. "We are all  his guests. I think  i t  woul d be profi table  if
each  one of  us were to explain exactly  how that came about."
There was a moment' s pause and then Emily Brent spoke wi th decisi on.
"There' s something  very peculiar about all this,"she sai d. "I received a
letter   wi th asignature that was not very easy to read. It purported to be
f rom a woman  I had met at a certain summer resort two or three years ago.
I took the name to   be ei ther Ogden or Oliver. I am  acquainted wi th a Mrs.
Oliver and also wi th a  Miss Ogden. I am qui te certain that I have  never
met, or become  f ri endly wi t h,  anyone of  the name of  Owen."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"You have that l etter, Miss Brent?"
"Yes, I will  fetch  i t  for you."
She went away and returned a minute  l ater wi th the  letter.
The j udge read  i t. He sai d:
"I begin to understand. . . . Miss Clayt horne?"
Vera expl ained the ci rcumstances of   her secretarial  engagement. The j udge
said:  "Marston?"
Anthony  said:
"Got a wi re. From a pal  of   mine. Badger Berkeley. Surpri sed me at the time
because I had an  idea the ol d horse had gone to Norway. Tol d me to roll up
here."  Again Wargrave  nodded. He sai d:
"Dr. Armstrong?"
"I was called  in professi onally."
"I see. You had no previ ous acquaintanceship wi th the  family?" "No. A
colleague   of   mine was ment i oned  in the  l etter."
The j udge said:
"To give verisimili tude. . . . Yes, and that colleague, I presume, was
momentarily out of  touch wi th  you?"
"Well -er-yes."
Lombard, who had been staring at Bl ore, sai d suddenly:
"Look here, I'v e  just thought of  something-"
The j udge  lif ted a hand.
"In a minute-"
"But 1-1)
"We will take one thing at a time, Mr. Lombard. We are at present inqui ring
into   the causes which have resul ted  in our being assembled  here to-ni ght.
General  Macarthur?"
224        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Pulling at hi s moustache, the General  muttered:
"Got a l etter-f rom this  fell ow Owen-menti onedsome ol d pals of   mine who
were to   be here-hoped I'd excuse  informal   invi tat ion. Haven' t kept the
letter, I'm  af rai d."
Wargrave said:
"Mr. Lombard?"
Lombard's brain  had been act ive. Was  he to come out in the open, or not?
He made  up hi s mind.
"Same sort of  thing,"  he said. "Invi tat i on, ment i oned of  mutual   f riends-I
fell     for i t all ri ght. I'v e tom up the  l etter."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave turned his attenti on to Mr. Bl ore. His  forefinger
stroked   hi s upper  lip and  his  voice was dangerously poli te.
He sai d: "Just now we had a somewhat disturbing experience. An apparent ly
disembodied voice spoke to us all   by  name, utteri ng certain precise
accusat i ons  against us. We will deal  wi t h those accusat i ons present ly.  At
the moment I am    interested in a  minor point. Amongst the names reci ted was
that of  William Henry  Bl ore. But as far as we know there  i s  no one named
Bl ore amongst us. The name of   Davis was not ment i oned. What have  you to say
about that, Mr. Davi s?"  Bl ore sai d sulkily:
"Cat' s out of  the bag,  i t seems. I suppose I'd better admi t that my  name
isn' t  Davi s."
"You are William Henry Bl ore?"
"That' s ri ght."
"I will add something," said Lombard. "Not only  are  you here under a false
name,  Mr. Bl ore, but in addi t i on I've  noti ced this evening that you' re a
fi rst-cl ass    liar. You cl aim to have come  f rom Natal , South Af rica. I know
South Af rica and  Natal  and I'm prepared to swear that you've  never set foot
in South Af rica  in    your life."
All   eyes were turned on Bl ore. Angry  suspici ous eyes. Anthony Marston moved
a  step nearer to him. His  fists cl enched themselves.
"Now then,  you swine," hesai d. "Any  explanat i on?"
Bl ore flung back  his  head and set his square  j aw.
"You gentl emen  have got me wrong," he said. "I've got my  credentials and
you can  see them. I'm an ex-C.I.D. man. I run a detective agency  in
Plymouth. I was put   on this  j ob."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave asked: "By whom?"
"Thi s man Owen. Encl osed a handsome money order for expenses and  instructed
me  as to what he wanted done. I was to j oin the
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
houseparty, posing as a guest. I was given all   your names. I was to watch
you  all . "
"Any reason given?"
Bl ore sai d bi tterly:
"Mrs. Owen's  j ewels. Mrs. Owen my  foot! I don't believe there's any such
person."  Again the  forefinger of  the  j udge stroked his  lip, thi s t ime
appreci at ively.  "Your concl usi ons are, I think,  j ustified," he said. "Ulick
Norman Owen! InMiss  Brent' s  letter, though the si gnature of  the surname
is a mere scrawl  the  Christ i an names are reasonably  clear-Una Nancy -in
ei ther case,  you noti ce, the  same  ini t i als. Ulick Norman OwenUna Nancy
Owen-each time, that is to say, U. N.   Owen. Or by  aslight stretch of
fancy, UNKNOWN!"
Vera cri ed:
"But this  is  fantastic-mad!"
The  j udge nodded gent ly.
He sai d:
"Oh, yes. I've no doubt in my own  mind that we have  been  invi ted here  by
a  madman-probably a dangerous homicidal  lunat ic."
CHAPTER 4
THERE WAS a moment'ssilence-asilence of  dismay and bewilderment. Then the
judge'ssmall clear voice took up the thread once more.
"We will  now proceed to the next stage of  our inqui ry. First, however, I
will     j ust add my own credent i als to the  list."
He took a l etter f rom his pocket and tossed  i t onto the tabl e.
"Thi s purports to be  f rom an ol d  f riend of   mine,  Lady  Constance Culmington.
I   have not seen  her  for some  years. She went to theEast. It i s exact ly the
kind   of   vague  incoherent  l etter she woul d wri te, urging me to j oin her  here
and  referring to her host and hostess in the vaguest of  terms. The same
technique,  you will  observe. I only ment i on  i t because  i t agrees wi th the
other   evi dence-f rom all of  which emerges one  interesting point. Whoever  i t
was who  enti ced us  here, that person knows or has taken the troubl e to find
out a good   deal  about us all . He, whoever he may be,  i s aware of  my
f riendship  for
226
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Lady Constance-and  is  familiar wi th her epistol ary  st yle. He knows something
about  Dr. Armstrong's colleagues and thei r present whereabouts. He knows the
nickname  of  Mr. Marston's  f riend and the kind of   tel egrams  he sends. He
knows exactly whereMiss Brent was two years ago for her holiday and the
kind of  peopl eshe met there.  He knows all about General Macarthur' s ol d
croni es."
He paused. Then  he said:
"He knows, you see, a good deal .  And out of   his knowl edge concerning us,
he  has   made certain defini te accusat i ons."
Immediately a  babel  broke out.
General  Macarthur shouted:
"A pack of  damn  lies! Sl ander!"
Vera cried out:
"It' s  iniqui tous!" Her breath came  fast. "Wicked!"
Rogers sai d hoarsely:
"A  lie-a wi cked  lie. . . we never di d-nei ther of  us.
Anthony Marston growl ed:
"Don't know what the damned  fool  was getting at!"
The uprai sed hand of  Mr. Just i ce Wargrave calmed the tumul t.
He sai d, pi cking  his words wi th care:
"I wi sh to say thi s. Our unknown  f ri end accuses me of  the murder of  one
Edward   Seton. I remember Seton perfect ly well .  He came up before me  for
tri al   in  June  of  the year 1930. He was charged wi th the murder of  an
el derly woman. He was very  ably defended and made a good impressi on on the
jury  in the wi t ness box.  Nevertheless, on the evidence, he was certainly
guil t y. I summed up accordingly,  and the j ury  brought in a verdi ct of
Guil t y. In passing sentence of  death I   concurred wi th the verdict. An
appeal  was  l odged on the grounds of   misdi recti on. The appeal  was rej ected
and the man was duly  executed. I wish to say  before  you   all that my
conscience  is perfect ly clear on the matter. I di d my dut y and  nothing
more. I passed sentence on a ri ght ly convicted murderer."
Armstrong was remembering now. The Seton case!The  verdi ct had come as a
great   surpri se. He had met Matthews, K.C., on one of  the days of  the tri al
dining at   a restaurant. Matthews had  been confident. "Not a doubt of  the
verdict. Acqui ttal   practi cally certain." And then af terwards he  had  heard
comments: "Judge was dead  against him. Turned the j ury ri ght round and they
brought him  in guil t y. Qui te  l egal, though. Ol d  Wargrave knows his  law."
"i t was almost as though he had a  private down on the  fell ow."
All  these memori es rushed through the doctor' s  mind. Before he
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
coul d consider the wisdom of  the questi on  he  had asked impulsively:  "Di d
you know Seton at all? I mean previ ous to the case."
The hooded reptilian eyes met his. In a cl ear col d voi ce the  j udgesai d:
"I knew nothing of  Seton previ ous to the case."
Armstrong sai d to himself:
"The fell ow's  lying-I know he' s  lying."
2
Vera Claythorne spoke  in a trembling  voi ce. Shesai d:
"I'd like to tell  you. About that child-Cyril Hamil ton. I was nursery
governess   to him. He was  forbidden to swim out far. One day, when my
attenti on was  di stracted, he started off . I swam af t er him
I coul dn' t get there in time. . . . It was awful . . . . But i t wasn' t my
faul t.    At the inquest the Coroner exonerated me. And  his mother-she was
so kind. If   evenshe di dn' t bl ame me, whyshoul dwhyshoul d this awful
thing besai d? It' s  not f  ai r-not fair.
She broke down, weeping  bi tterly.
General  Macarthur patted her shoul der. He sai d:
) I
"There, there, my dear. Of  course i t's not true. Fell ow' s a madman. A
madman! Got   a bee  in  his  bonnet! Got hol d of  the wrong end of  the stick all
round."   He stood erect, squaring his  shoul ders. He barked out:
"Best really to leave this sort of  thing unanswered. However, feel I ought
to   say-no truth-no truth whatever  in what he said about-eryoung Arthur
Ri chmond.  Ri chmond was one of  my officers. I sent him on a reconnaissance.
He was killed.  Natural  course of  events in war time. Wish to say resent
very much-slur on my  wife. Best woman  in the worl d. Absol utely-Caesar' s
wife!"
General  Macarthur sat down. Hi sshaking hand pulled at hi s moustache. The
effort   to speak had cost him a good deal .
Lombard spoke. His eyes were amused. He sai d:
"About those natives-"
Marston sai d:
"What about them?"
Philip Lombard grinned.
228        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Story's qui te true! I l ef t 'em! Matter of  self -preservat i on. We were  l ost
in the  bush. I and a coupl e of  other fell ows took what food there was and
cl eared out."  General  Macarthur sai d sternly:
"You abandoned  your men-l ef t them to starve?"
Lombard said:
"Not qui te the act of  a pukka sahib, I'm af raid. But self -preservati on's
a man' s  first duty. And nat ives don't  mind dying, you know. They don' t feel
about i t as Europeans do."
Vera lif ted her  face  f rom  her hands. She said, staring at him:
"You lef t them-to di e?"
Lombard answered:
"I l ef t them to di e."
His amused eyes  l ooked into her horrified ones.
AnthonyMarston sai d  in asl ow puzzled voi ce:
"I'v e  just been thinking-John and Lucy  Combes. Must have been a coupl e of
ki ds  I ran over near Cambridge. Beast ly  bad  l uck. "
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said acidly:
"For them, or for you?"
Anthonysai d:
"Well , I was thinking-for me-but of  course, you' re ri ght, Si r, i t was
damned  bad  l uck on them. Of  course  i t was a pure acci dent. They rushed out
of  some cottage   or other. I had my  licence endorsed for a year. Beastly
nuisance."  Dr. Armstrong sai d warmly:
"Thi s speeding's all wrong-all wrong! Young men  like  you are a danger to
the  communi t y."
Anthonyshrugged  hisshoul ders.
He sai d:
"Speed' s come to stay. English roads are hopel ess, of  course. Can't get up
a  decent pace on them."
He l ooked round vaguely  for his glass, pi cked  i t up off  a table and went
over to   thesi de tabl e and  helped himself to another whiskey  and soda. He
said over his  shoul der:
"Well, anyway,  i t wasn' t my  faul t. Just an acci dent!"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
3
229
The manservant, Rogers, had been moistening his lips and twi st ing  his
hands. He   sai d now  in a  l ow deferent i al  voi ce:
"If  I  might j ust say a word, Si r."
Lombard said:
"Go ahead, Rogers."
Rogers cl eared his throat and passed his tongue once more over his dry
lips.  "There was a menti on, si r, of  me and Mrs. Rogers. And ofMiss Brady.
There  i sn' t  a word of  truth  in  i t, si r. My wife and I were wi thMiss Brady
till   she di ed. She  was al ways  in poor heal th, Si r, always  f rom the time we
came to her. There was   a storm, Si r, that ni ght-the night she was taken
bad. The telephone was out of    order. We coul dn' t get the doctor to her. I
went for him, si r, on foot. But he  got there too l ate. We'd done everyt hing
possible  for her, Si r. Devoted to her,   we were. Any one will  tell  you the
same. There was never a word sai d against us.   Not a word."
Lombard  l ooked thoughtfully at the man's twi tching  face, his dry  lips, the
f right  i n  his eyes. He remembered the crash of  the falling coffee tray. He
thought, but   di d  not say, "Oh,  yeah?"
Bl ore spoke-spoke in  his  heart y bullying official  manner.
He sai d:
"Came  into a li ttle something at her death, though?Eh?"
Rogers drew himself up. He sai d st iffly: -
"Mi ss Brady  lef t us a legacy  in recogni t i on of  our fai t hful   services. And
why  not, I'd  li ke to know?"
Lombard said:
"What about yourself, Mr. Bl ore?"
"What about me?"
"Your name was  included  in the  list."
Bl ore went purpl e.
"Landor, you mean?That was the bank robbery-London and Commercial . "  Mr.
Just i ce Wargrave sti rred. He sai d:
"I remember. It di dn' t come before me, but I remember the case. Landor was
convicted on  your evi dence. You were the police officer  in charge of  the
case?"
230        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Bl ore sai d:
i t i  was."
"Landor got penal  servi tude  for life and died  in Dartmoor a year  l ater. He
was  a delicate man."
Bl ore sai d:
"He was a crook. It was he who knocked out the night watchman. The case was
qui te   cl ear against him. "
Wargavesai dsl owly:
"You were complimented, I think, on your abl e  handling of  the case."
Bl ore sai d sulkily:
"I got my promoti on."
He added in a thick voi ce:
"I was only doing my dut y."
Lombard  l aughed-a sudden ringing  l augh. He said:
"What a duty-l oving,  l aw-abiding  l ot we all seem to be!Myself   excepted.
What  about you, doctor-and your li tt l e professi onal   mistake? Illegal
operati on, was  i t?"
Emily Brent gl anced at him  in  sharp distaste and drew herself away a
li ttle.  Dr. Armstrong, very much master of  himself , shook his head
goodhumouredly.  "I'm at a l oss to understand the matter," he sai d. "The
name meant nothing to me  when  i t was spoken. What was  i t-Cl ees?  Cl ose? I
really can' t remember having a  pati ent of  that name, or being connected
wi th a death  in any way. The thing's a  complete mystery to me. Of  course,
i t ' s a  l ong t ime ago. It might possibly  be one   of  my operati on cases  in
hospi tal . They come too l ate, so many of  these peopl e. Then, when the
pati ent dies, they always consi der  i t' s the surgeon's faul t."  Hesi ghed,
shaking his  head.
He thought:
Drunk-that' s what i t was-drunk. And I operated! Nerves all to pi eces-hands
shaking. I killed  her, all ri ght. Poor devil-elderly  woman-simple  j ob  if  I' d
been  sober. Lucky  for me there' s  l oyal t y  in our professi on. The Si ster
knew, of   course-but she held  her tongue. God, i t gave me ashock! Pulled
me up. But who   coul d have known about i t-af  ter all  these  years?
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
4
231
There was a silence  in the room. Everybody was  looking, covertly or openly,
at   Emily  Brent. It was a minute or two before she became aware of  the
expectati on.   Her eyebrows rose on her narrow forehead. She said:
"Are  you wai ting  for me to say something? I have nothing to say."The  j udge
said:  "Nothing, Miss Brent?"
"Nothing."
Her lips cl osed ti ght ly.
The j udge stroked his  face. He sai d mildly:
"You reserve  your defence?"
Miss Brent sai d col dly:
"There is no questi on of  defence. I have al ways acted in accordance wi th
the  di ctates of  my conscience. I have  nothing wi t h which to reproach
myself."There was an unsat i sfied  feeling  in the air. ButEmily Brent was
not one to be  swayed  by public opini on. She sat unyielding.
The j udge cleared  his throat once or twi ce. Then  he said:
"Our inqui ry rests there. Now, Rogers, who else  is there on thi s  island
besides  ourselves and  you and  your wife?"
"Nobody, Si r. Nobody at all . "
"You' re sure of  that?"
"Qui te sure, Si r."
Wargrave said:
"I am not yet cl ear as to the purpose of  our Unknown host in getting us to
assemble here. But in my opini on thi s person, whoever he may  be,  i s  not sane
in  the accepted sense of  the word.
"He may  be dangerous. In my opini on  i t woul d be well   for us to l eave this
pl ace  as soon as possible. I suggest that we l eave  to-ni ght."
Rogers sai d:
"I beg your pardon, si r, but there' s no boat on the island."
"No boat at all?"
"No,si r."
"How do you communicate wi th the mainland?"
"Fred Narracott, he comes over every morning, sir. He brings the bread and
the  milk and the post, and takes the orders."
232        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"Then  in my opini on  i t woul d be well  if we all  left to-morrow morning as
soon  as Narracott' s boat arrives."
There was a chorus of  agreement wi th only one dissent i ent voi ce. It was
Anthony Marston who disagreed wi th the maj ori t y.
"A bi t unsporting, what?" he said. "Ought to ferret out the mystery  before
we  go. Whol e thing's  like a detective story. Posi t ively thrilling."
The  j udge said acidly:
"At my t ime of   life, I have  no desi re  for ' thrills, '  as you call them. "
Anthony  said wi th a grin:
"The  l egal  life's narrowing! I'm all   for crime! Here's to i t."
He pi cked up his drink and drank  i t off  at a gul p. I
Too qui ckly, perhaps. He choked-choked badly. Hi s  face contorted, turned
purpl e. He gasped  for breath-thenslid down off   his chair, the glass  falling
f rom his  hand.
CHAPTER 5
IT WAS so sudden and so unexpected that i t took every one' s  breath away.
They  remained stupi dly staring at the crumpled  figure on the fl oor.
Then Dr. Armstrong j umped up and went over to him, kneeling beside  him.
When  he raised his  head his eyes were bewildered.
He sai d  in a  l ow awe-struck whi sper:
"My God! he's dead."
They didn' t take i t in. Not at once.
Dead? Dead?That young Norse God in the prime of   his heal t h and strength.
Struck down all  in a moment. Heal thy  young men di dn' t di e  like that, choking
over a whiskey and soda. . . .
No, they coul dn' t take i t  in.
Dr. Armstrong was peering  into the dead man's  face. He sniffed at the blue
twisted lips. Then  he picked up the gl ass  f rom which  Anthony Marston had
been  drinking.
General  Macarthur sai d:
"Dead? D'you mean the  fell ow  j ust choked and-and died?"
The physician said:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
233
"You can call  i t choking  if   you  like. He di ed of  asphyxiat i on ri ght
enough."  He was sniffing  now at the gl ass. He dipped a finger  into the
dregs and very  cauti ously  just touched the finger wi th the ti p of  his
tongue.
His expressi on al tered.
General  Macarthur sai d:
"Never knew a man coul d di e  like that-j ust of  a choking  fi t!"
Emily  Brent sai d  in a clear voice:
"In the mi dst of   life we are  in death."
Dr. Annstrong stood up. He sai d brusquely:
"No, a man doesn' t di e of  a mere choking  fi t. Marston's death wasn' t what
we call   a natural  death."
Vera sai d almost in a whisper:
"Was there-something-in the whiskey?"
Armstrong nodded.
"Yes. Can' t say exact ly. Everyt hing points to one of  the Cyanides. No
di st inct ivesmell of  Prussic  Acid, probably Potassium  Cyanide. It acts
pretty well    instantaneously. "
The  j udge saidsharply:
"It was in  his gl ass?"
"Yes.
The doctor strode to the tabl e where the drinks were. He removed the
stopper f rom   the whiskey andsmel t and tasted i t. Then he tasted the soda
water. He shook hi s  head.
"They're  both all ri ght."
Lombard said:
"You mean-he must have put the stuff   in  his glass himself?"
Armstrong nodded wi th a curi ously dissat isfied expressi on. He sai d:  "Seems
like  i t."
Bl ore sai d:
"Sui cide, eh?That's a queer go.
Vera sai dsl owly:
"You'd never think that he woul d kill  himself . He was so alive. He  was-
oh---enj oying himself! When he came down the hill   in  his car thi s evening he
l ooked-he  l ooked-oh, I can't explain!"
But they knew what she meant. Anthony Marston, in the height of   his  youth
and   manhood, had seemed  like a being who was immortal . And  now, crumpled
and  broken,   he  l ay on the fl oor.
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"Is there any possibili t y other than suicide?"
234        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Sl owly every oneshook his head. There coul d be  no other explanat i on. The
drinks   themselves were untampered wi th. They  had all   seen  AnthonyMarston
go across and  hel p himself. It foll owed therefore that any  Cyanide  in the
drink must have  been  put there by  Anthony Marston himself.
And  yet-whyshoul d  Anthony Marston commi t suicide?
Bl ore sai d thoughtfully:
"You know, doctor, i t doesn' t seem ri ght to me. Ishoul dn' t have said Mr.
Marston   was a suici dal  t ype of  gent l eman."
Armstrong answered:
"I agree."
I
2
They  had  l ef t  i t  like that. What el se was there to say?Together Armstrong
and  Lombard had carri ed the  inert body of  Anthony Marston to hi s  bedroom and
had  laid  him there covered over wi th asheet. When they came downstai rs
again, the others  were standing  in a group, shivering a  li tt l e, though the
night was not col d. Emily  Brent sai d: "We'd  better go to bed. It' s  l ate."
It was past twelve o'cl ock. The  suggesti on was a wi se one-yet every one
hesi tated. It was as though they clung to  each other' s company  for
reassurance. The  j udgesai d: "Yes, we must get somesleep." Rogers sai d: "I
haven' t cl eared  yet-in the dining-room." Lombard said  curtly: "Do i t  in the
morning."  Armstrong sai d to him: "Is  your wife all ri ght?"  "I'll go and see,
Si r." He returned a minute or two l ater. "Sl eeping  beaut iful , she  is."
"Good," sai d the doctor. "Don't di sturb her." "No, si r. I'll  just put  things
strai ght in the dining-room and make sure everyt hing' s  l ocked up ri ght, and
then I'll turn in." He went across the hall  into the dining-room.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
The others went upstai rs, asl ow unwilling processi on.
If  thi s  had been an ol d house, wi th creaking wood, and dark shadows, and
heavily  panelled walls, there might have been an  eeri e  feeling. But thi s
house was the  essence of  moderni t y. There were no dark comers-no possible
sliding panels-i t was  fl ooded wi th el ectri c  lighteverything was new and
bright and shining. There was  nothing hidden  in this  house, nothing
concealed. It had no atmosphere about i t.   Somehow, that was the most
f rightening thing of  all.
They exchanged good-ni ghts on the upper l anding. Each of  them went  into hi s
or   her own room, and each of  them automat i cally, almost wi thout consci ous
thought,   l ocked the door. . .
3
In hi s pleasant sof tly tinted room, Mr. Justi ce Wargrave removed  his
garments and  prepared himself   for bed.
He was thinking about Edward Seton.
He remembered Seton very well . His  fai r  hai r, his bl ue eyes, his  habi t of
l ooking  you strai ght in the  face wi t h a pl easant air of
strai ght forwardness. That was  what had made so good an impressi on on the
jury.
Llewellyn,  for the Crown, had bungled  i t a bi t. He had been overvehement,
had  tri ed to prove too much.
Matthews, on the other hand, for the Defence, had been good. His points had
tol d.  Hi s cross-examinat i ons had  been deadly. His handling of   his client
in the wi t ness  box had  been masterly.
And Seton had come through the ordeal  of  cross-examinat i on well . He had not
got   exci ted or over-vehement. The j ury  had been  impressed. It had seemed
to Matthews,  perhaps, as though everything  had been over bar theshouting.
The j udge wound up his watch carefully and pl aced  i t by the bed.
He remembered exactly  how he had  fel tsi tting there-listening, making
notes,   appreci at ing everyt hing, tabul at ing everyscrap of  evidence that
tol d against the  pri soner.
He'd enj oyed that case! Matthews'   final speech had been  first-cl ass.
Llewellyn,  coming af ter i t, had failed to remove the good impressi on that
the defending  counsel   had made.
And then had come  his own summing up. . .
Carefully, Mr. Just i ce Wargrave removed his  false teeth and
i
I
I
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
dropped them  into a gl ass of  water. Theshrunken  lips  fell  in. It was a
cruel   mouth now, cruel  and predatory.
Hooding his eyes, the  j udgesmiled to himself.
He'd cooked Seton's goose all  right!
Wi th aslight ly rheumat ic grunt, he climbed  into bed and turned out the
el ectri c  light.
4
Downstai rs  in the dining-room, Rogers stood puzzled. He was staring at the
china  figures  in the centre of  the tabl e. He muttered to himself: "That's a
rum  go! I coul d have sworn there were ten of  them. "
5
General  Macarthur tossed  f romside to si de.
Sl eep woul d not come to him.
In the darkness he kept seeing  Arthur Ri chmond' s face.
He'd  liked Arthur-he'd  been damned  fond of   Arthur. He'd been pl eased that
Leslie    li ked him too.
Leslie was so capri ci ous. Lots of  good fell ows that Leslie woul d turn up
her nose  at and pronounce dull . "Dull!" Just like that.
But she hadn' t found  Arthur Ri chmond dull . They'd got on well  together f rom
the  beginning. They'd tal ked of  plays and music and pictures together.
She'd teased  him, made  fun of   him, ragged him.  And  he, Macarthur, had been
delighted at the   thought that Leslie took qui te a motherly  interest  in the
boy.
Motherly  indeed! Damn  fool   not to remember that Ri chmond was twenty-eight
to   Leslie's twent y-nine.
He'd  l oved Leslie. He coul d see her  now. Her heart-shaped  face, and her
dancing  deep grey eyes, and the brown curling mass of   her hair. He'd  l oved
Leslie and  he'd believed  in  her absol utely.
Out there  in France,  in the  middle of  all  the  hell  of   i t, he'd sat thinking
of   her, taken her pi cture out of  the breast pocket of   his tunic.
And then-he'd  found out!
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
It had come about exactly  in the way things happened  in  books, The  l etter
in the  wrong envel ope. She'd been wri t ing to them  both andshe'd put her
letter to   Ri chmond  in the envel ope addressed to her husband. Even now, all
these  years  af ter, he coul d  feel  theshock of   i t-the pain. . ..
God, i t had hurt!
And the business had  been going on some time. The  letter made that cl ear.
Week-ends! Richmond' s  last  l eave. . ..
Leslie-Leslie and Arthur!
God damn the fell ow! Damn  his  smiling  face, his bri sk "Yes, si r."Liar and
hypocri te! Stealer of  another man's wife!
It had gatheredsl owly-that col d murderous rage.
He'd managed to carry on as usual -to show nothing. He'd tri ed to make his
manner   to Ri chmond  j ust the same.
Had he succeeded? He thought so. Ri chmond  hadn' t suspected. Inequali t ies
of    temper were easily accounted for out there, where men' s  nerves were
continuallysnapping under the strain.
Only  young  Armi t age had  l ooked at him  curi ously once or twice. Qui te a
young  chap, but he'd  had percept i ons, that boy.
Armi tage, perhaps, had guessed-when the time came.
He'd sent Ri chmond deliberately to death. Only a miracle coul d have brought
him  through unhurt. That mi racle di dn' t happen. Yes, he'd sent Ri chmond to
his death  and he wasn' t sorry. It had been easy enough. Mistakes were being
made all  the  time, officers  being sent to death needl essly.  All  was
confusi on, panic. Peopl e    might say af terwards, "Ol d Macarthur l ost hi s
nerve a bi t, made some col ossal   blunders, sacrificed some of   his  best men."
They coul dn' t say more.  But young  Armi tage was different. He'd l ooked at
his commanding officer very  oddly. He'd known, perhaps, that Ri chmond was
being deliberatelysent to death.   (And af ter the War was over-had Armi tage
tal ked?)
Leslie  hadn' t known. Leslie  had wept for her l over (he supposed) but her
weeping  was over by the time  he'd come back to England. He'd never tol d her
that he'd  found her out.They'd gone on together -only, somehow, she  hadn' t
seemed very  real  any more. And then, three or four years  l ater, she'd got
doubl e pneumonia  and di ed.
That had been a  l ong time ago. Fif teen  years-sixt een  years?
And  he'd  l ef t the Army and come to live  in Devon-bought the sort of   li tt l e
pl ace  he'd always meant to have. Nice neighbourspl easant part of  the worl d.
There was  a bi t of shooting and  fishing. He'd gone to church on Sundays.
(But not the day   that the  l esson
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
was read about Davi d putting Uri ah  in the  foref ront of  the battl e. Somehow
he  coul dn' t face that. Gave him an uncomfortable feeling.)
Everybody  had  been very  f riendly.  At first, that is. Later, he'd had an
uneasy    feeling that peopl e were tal king about him behind his  back. They
eyed  him  different ly, somehow. As though they'd heard something-some  lying
rumour. . . .  (Armi tage? Supposing  Armi tage  had tal ked?)
He'd avoi ded peopl e af ter that-wi thdrawn  into himself. Unpleasant to feel
that   peopl e were di scussing  you.
And all   so l ong ago. So-so purposel ess  now. Leslie  had  faded  into the
di stance  and Arthur Ri chmond, too. Nothing of  what had happened seemed to
matter any more.   It made  life  l onely, though. He'd taken to shunning his
ol d Army  f riends.  (If  Armi tage  had tal ked, they'd  know about i t.)
And  now-this evening-a  hidden voi ce  had  blared out that ol d hidden story.
Had he deal t wi th  i t all ri ght?  Kept a stiff  upper  lip? Betrayed the ri ght
amount   of   feeling-indignat i on, di sgust-but no guil t, no discomfi ture?
Difficul t to tell .  Surely  nobody coul d  have taken the accusat i on seri ously.
There had  been a pack   of  other nonsense,  j ust as far-fetched. That charming
gi rl -the  voi ce had accused  her of  drowning a child! Idi oti c! Some madman
throwing crazy accusat i ons about!   Emily Brent, too-actually  a niece of  ol d
Tom Brent of  the Regiment. It had   accused her of murder! Any one coul d see
wi th half an eye that the woman was as  pi ous as coul d be-the kind that was
hand and gl ove wi t h parsons.
Damned curi ous business the whol e thing! Crazy, nothing  l ess.
Ever since they  had got here-when was that? Why, damn  i t, i t was only this
af ternoon! Seemed a good bi t l onger than that.
He thought: "I wonder when we shall get away again."
To-morrow, of  course, when the motor boat came f rom the mainland.
Funny,  just this  minute he di dn' t want much to get away  f rom the island.
. . .   To go back to the mainland, back to his  li tt l e  house, back to all  the
troubles  and worri es. Through the open window he coul d hear the waves
breaking on the   rocks-a li tt l e  l ouder now than earlier  in the evening. Wind
was getting up, too.  He thought: Peaceful   sound. Peaceful place. . ..
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
239
He thought: Best of  an  i sland  i s once  you get there-you can' t go any
further.   .. you've come to the end of  things.
He knew, suddenly, that he di dn' t want to l eave the  i sland.
6
Vera Claythorne  lay  in  bed, wi de awake, staring up at the ceiling. The  light
beside her was on. She was  f rightened of  the dark.
She was thinking:
"Hugo . . . Hugo . . . Why do I feel   you' re so near to me toni ght?. . .
Somewhere qui te cl ose. . ..
"Where  i s  he really? I don't know. I nevershall  know. He j ust went away-
ri ght   away-out of  my  life."
It was no good trying not to think of  Hugo. He was cl ose to her. She had
to think  of  him-to remember. . .
Cornwall . . .
The bl ack rocks, thesmooth  yell ow sand. Mrs. Hamil ton, stout, good-
humoured.  Cyril, whining a  li tt l e always, pulling  at her hand.
"I want to swim out to the rock, Mi ss Clayt horne. Why can' t I swim out to
the   rock?"
Looking up-meet ing Hugo' s eyes watching  her.
The evenings af ter Cyril  was  in  bed. . .
"Come out for a stroll , Miss Claythorne."
"I think perhaps I will."
The decorous stroll  down to the beach. The moonlight-the sof t Atl ant i c air.
And then, Hugo' s arms round her.
"I l ove  you. I l ove  you. You know I l ove  you, Vera?"
Yes, she knew.
(Or thought she knew.)
"I can't ask you to marry me. I've  not got a penny.  It' s all  I can do to
keep  myself . Queer,  you know, once, for three months I had the chance of
being a ri ch  man to l ook forward to. Cyril wasn' t born unt il  three months
af ter Mauri ce di ed.  If  he'd  been a gi rl . . ."
If  the child  had been a gi rl , Hugo woul d  have come  into everything. He' d
been  di sappointed, he admi tted.
"I hadn' t buil t on  i t, of  course. But i t was a bi t of   a knock. Oh, well,
luck's  l uck! Cyril's a  nice ki d. I'm  awfully  fond of him."  And he
240        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
was fond of  him, too. Al ways ready to pl ay games or amuse  hissmall    nephew.
No rancour in Hugo' s nature.   I
Cyril  wasn' t really strong. A puny child-no stamina. The kind of  child,
perhaps, who woul dn' t live to grow up.
And then-?
"Mi ss Claythorne, why can' t I swim to the rock?"
Irri tating whiney repet i ti on.
"It' s too far, Cyril ."
"But, Mi ss Clayt horne. . .
Vera got up. She went to the dressing-table andswall owed three aspi rins.
She thought:
"I wi sh I had some propersl eeping stuff."
She thought:
"If  I were doing away wi t h myself  I'd take an overdose of  Veronal  -
something    like that-not Cyanide!"
She shuddered asshe remembered Anthony Marston's convulsed purpl e  face.
Asshe passed the mantel piece, she  l ooked up at the f ramed doggerel .
Ten  li ttl e Indian  boys went out to dine;
One choked his  li ttle self and then there were nine.
She thought to herself:
"It' s horrible-j ust like us this evening.
Why  had  Anthony Marston wanted to di e?
She di dn' t want to di e.
She coul dn' t imagine want ing to di e.
Death was for-the other peopl e. .
CHAPTER 6
DR. ARMSTRONG was dreaming. . .
It was very  hot in the operating room. . .
Surely they'd got the temperature too hi gh?Thesweat was rolling down  his
face. Hi s  hands were clammy. Difficul t to hol d the scal pel   fi rmly. . . .
How beautifullysharp  i t was. . . .
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
241
Easy to do a murder wi th a knife  like that. And of course he was doing a
murder.  The woman' s  body  l ooked different. It had been a  l arge unwieldy
body. This was  a spare meagre body. And the  face was hidden.
Who was  i t that he had to kill?
He coul dn' t remember. But he must know! Should he ask Si ster?
Si ster was watching him. No, he coul dn' t ask her. She was suspici ous, he
coul d  see that.
But who was i t on the operating tabl e?
Theyshoul dn' t have covered up the face  like that.
If  he coul d only  see the  face. . . .
Ah! that was better. A young probati oner was pulling off  the  handkerchief .
Emily  Brent, of  course. It wasEmily Brent that he had to kill. How
malici ous  her  eyes were! Her  lips were moving. What was she saying?
"In the  midst of   life we are  in death. 21
She was  l aughing now. No, nurse, don't put the handkerchief   back. I've got
to   see. I'v e got to give the anaesthetic. Where' s the ether? I must have
brought the  ether wi th me. What have  you done wi th the ether, Si ster?
ChAteau Neuf  du Pape?  Yes, that will  do qui te as well .
Take the handkerchief   away,  nurse.
Of  course! I knew  i t all the time! It' s Anthony Marston! His  face  is purpl e
and  convulsed. But he's not dead-he' s  laughing. I tell   you  he' s  laughing!
He's  shaking the operating tabl e.
Look out, man,  l ook out. Nurse, steady  i t-steady-it-
Wi th a start Dr. Armstrong woke up. It was morning. Sunlight was pouring
into the   room.
And some one was  leaning over him-shaking  him. It was Rogers. Rogers, wi th
a  whi te face, saying: "Doctor-doctor!"
Dr. Armstrong woke up completely.
He sat up in  bed. He sai dsharply:
"What is  i t?"
"It' s the wife, doctor. I can' t get her to wake. My  God! I can' t get her
to wake.   And-andshe don't  l ook ri ght to me."
Dr. Armstrong was qui ck and efficient. He wrapped himself   in  his dressing-
gown  and foll owed Rogers.
He bent over the bed where the woman was  lying peacefully on  hersi de. He
lif t ed   the col d hand, rai sed the eyelid. It was some few  minutes before be
strai ghtened  himself  and turned  f rom the bed.
Rogers whispered:
242        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Is-she-isshe-V
He passed a tongue over dry  lips.
Armstrong nodded.
"Yes, she' s gone."
Hi s eyes rested thoughtfully on the man before him. Then they went to the
tabl e  by the  bed, to the washstand, then  back to thesl eeping woman.
Rogers sai d:
"Was  i t-was  i t-'er 'eart, doctor?"
Dr. Armstrong was a  minute or two before replying. Then hesai d: "What was
her  heal th  like normally?"
Rogers sai d:
"She was a bi t rheumat i cky. "
"Any doctor been attending  her recent ly?"
"Doctor?" Rogers stared. "Not been to a doctor for years-nei t her of  us."
"You'd no reason to believeshe suffered  f rom heart trouble?"
"No, doctor. I never knew of  anyt hing."
Armstrong sai d:
"Di dshesleep well?"
Now Rogers'  eyes evaded his. The man' s  hands came together and turned and
twi sted  uneasily. He muttered.
"She di dn' tsl eep extra well-no."
The doctor sai dsharply:
"Di dshe take things to make  hersleep?"
Rogers stared at him, surpri sed.
"Take things?To make  hersl eep? Not that I knew of . I'm sureshe di dn' t."
Armstrong went over to the washstand.
There were a certain  number of  bottl es on i t. Hai r l oti on,  l avender water,
cascara, glycerine of  cucumber for the hands, a mouth wash, tooth paste and
someElliman's.
Rogers hel ped  by pulling out the drawers of  the dressing-tabl e. From there
they  moved on to the chest of  drawers. But there was nosi gn of sleeping
draughts or   tabl ets.
Rogers sai d:
"She di dn' t have nothing  l ast ni ght, si r, except what you gave her. . . ."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
2
243
When the gong sounded  for breakfast at nine o'clock i t found every one up
and  awai t ing the summons.
General  Macarthur and the  j udge had  been pacing the terrace outsi de,
exchanging desul tory comments on the poli t i calsi t uati on.
Vera Cl ayt home and Philip Lombard had  been up to the summi t of  the  i sland
behind the house. There they  had discovered William Henry Bl ore, standing
staring at the mainland.
He sai d:
"No si gn of  that motor boat yet. I'v e been watching for i t."
Vera sai d, smiling:
"Devon' s asleepy count y. Things are usually  late."
Philip Lombard was  l ooking the other way, out to sea.
He sai d abruptly:
"What d'you think of  the weather?"
Gl ancing up at the sky, Bl ore remarked:
"Looks all  right to me."
Lombard pursed up hi s mouth  into a whistl e.
He sai d:
"It will come on to bl ow before the day's out."
Bl ore sai d:
"Squally-eh?"
From  bel ow them came the boom of  a gong.
Philip Lombard sai d:
"Breakfast? Well , I coul d do wi th some."
As they went down the steep sl ope Bl ore sai d toLombard  in a ruminat ing
voi ce:  "You know, i t beats me-why that young  fell ow wanted to do himself
in! I've  been worrying about i t all   night."
Vera was a li ttl e ahead. Lombard hung backslightly. He said:
"Got any al ternative theory?"
"I'd want some proof . Motive, to begin wi t h. Well  off  Ishoul d say  he was."
Emily  Brent came out of  the drawing-room door to meet them.
She sai dsharply:
"Is the boat coming?"
"Not yet," sai d Vera.
244        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
They went in to breakfast. There was a vast di sh  of  eggs and  bacon on the
si deboard and tea and coffee.
Rogers hel d the door open  for them to pass in, thenshut i t f rom the
outsi de. Emily Brent sai d:
"That man  l ooks ill this morning."
Dr. Armstrong, who was standing by the window, cl eared  his throat. He sai d:
"You must excuse any-er-shortcomings this morning. Rogers has had to do the
best   he can  for breakfast single-handed. Mrs. Rogers has-er-not been able
to carry on   thi s morning."
Emily  Brent sai dsharply:
"What's the matter wi th the woman?"
Dr. Armstrong sai d easily:
"Let us start our breakfast. The eggs will  be col d. Af terwards, there are
several    matters I want to di scuss wi t h  you all . "
They took the hint. Pl ates were filled, coffee and tea was poured. The meal
began.
Di scussi on of  the  i sland was, by mutual  consent, tabooed.They spoke
instead  in  a desul tory  fashi on of  current events. The  news  f rom abroad,
events  in the worl d   of  sport, the  l atest reappearance of  the Loch Ness
monster.
Then, when plates were cl eared, Dr. Armstrong moved  back his chai r a
li ttle,  cl eared his throat importantly and spoke.
He sai d:
"I thought i t better to wai t until   you  had  had  your breakfast before
telling  you   of  a sad pi ece of   news. Mrs. Rogers died  in hersleep."
There were startl ed andshocked ej aculat i ons.
Vera exclaimed:
"How awful!Two deaths on this  i slandsince we arrived!"
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave, his eyes  narrowed, sai d  in  hissmall precise clear
voi ce:  "H'm-very remarkable-what was the cause of  death?"
Armstrong shrugged his  shoul ders.
"Impossible to say offhand."
"There must be an autopsy?"
"I certainly coul dn' t give a certificate. I have no knowl edge whatsoever
of  the  woman' s state of  heal t h."
Vera sai d:
"She was a very  nervous-l ooking creature. Andshe  had ashock l ast ni ght.
It   might have been  heart failure, I suppose?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Dr. Armstrong sai d drily:
"Her heart certainly  failed to beat-but what caused i t to fail   is the
questi on. "
One word fell   f rom Emily Brent. It fell  hard and  cl ear  into the listening
group.
"Conscience!"she said.
Armstrong turned to her.
"What exact ly do  you mean by that, Mi ss Brent?"
Emily  Brent, her lips ti ght and hard, said:
"You all   heard. She was accused, together wi th her husband, of
having deliberately murdered  her  former empl oyer-an ol d  l ad
"And  you think?"
Emily  Brent sai d:
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.7.
I think that that accusati on was true. You all saw her  l ast ni ght. She
broke   down completely and  fainted. Theshock of having her wickedness
brought home to   her was too much  for her. She li t erally died of   fear."
Dr. Armstrong shook his head doubtfully.
"It is a possible theory," he said. "One cannot adopt i t wi thout more exact
knowledge of  her state of  heal t h. If  there was cardiac weakness-"
Emily  Brent sai d quiet ly:
"Call  i t, if  you prefer, an Act of  God."
Every one  l ooked shocked. Mr. Bl ore sai d uneasily:
"That' s carrying things a bi t  far, Mi ss Brent."
She l ooked at them wi thshining eyes. Her chin went up. She said:
"You regard i t as impossible that a sinnershoul d be struck down
by the wrath of  God! I do not!"
The j udge stroked his chin. He murmured  in aslight ly  ironic voi ce:
"My dear  l ady,  in my experience of   ill-doing, Providence  leaves the work
of   convict i on and chast i sement to us mortal s-and  the process  i s of ten
f raught wi th  difficul t ies. There are no short cuts."
Emily  Brent shrugged  her shoul ders.
Bl ore sai dsharply:
"What di dshe  have to eat and drink I t i  h  f   bed?"
Armstrong sai d:
"Nothing. "
"She di dn' t take anything?  A cup of  tea? A drink  of  water? I'll  bet you she
had  a cup of  tea.That sort al ways does."
as n g
., L a Ler she went up to
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246        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Rogers assures meshe had  nothing whatsoever."
"Ah," sai d Bl ore. "But he  might say so!"
Hi s tone was so si gnificant that the doctor l ooked at him  sharply.  Philip
Lombard sai d:
"So that' s  your i dea?"
Bl ore sai d aggressively:
"Well , why  not? We all   heard that accusati on  last ni ght. May besheer
moonshine-just pl ain  lunacy! On the other hand,  i t may  not. All ow  for the
moment   that i t' s true. Rogers and his missus polished off  that ol d  l ady.
Well, where  does that get you?They've  been  feeling qui te safe and happy
about i t-"   Vera i nterrupted. In a  l ow voi ceshe said:
"No, I don't think Mrs. Rogers ever fel t safe."
Bl ore l ooked slight ly annoyed at the  interrupti on. "Just like a woman," his
glance said.
He resumed:
"That' s as may  be. Anyway there' s  no active danger to them as  far as they
know.  Then,  l ast night, some unknown  l unat i c spills the beans. What
happens?The woman  cracks-she goes to pi eces. Noti ce  how her husband  hung
over her as she was coming  round. Not all   husbandly  solici tude! Not on  your
life! He was  like a cat on hot   bri cks. Scared out of   his  life as to what
she  might say.
"And there' s the posi t i on  for you!They've done a murder and got away wi t h
i t.  But if the whol e thing' s going to be raked up, what's going to happen?
Ten to   one, the woman will  give theshow away. She hasn' t got the nerve to
stand up and  brazen  i t out. She' s a  living danger to her husband, that' s
what she  is. He's all  ri ght. He'll  lie wi th a strai ght face till kingdom
comes-but he can' t be sure of   her! And  if   she goes to pi eces, his  neck's
in danger! So heslips something  into   a cup of  tea and makes sure that her
mouth  isshut permanent ly. "
Armstrong sai dsl owly:
"There was no empt y cup by  her bedside-there was nothing there at all. I
l ooked."   Bl ore snorted.
"Of  course there woul dn' t be!  Fi rst thing he'd do whenshe'd drunk  i t woul d
be  to take that cup and saucer away and wash  i t up carefully."
There was a pause. Then General Macarthur sai d doubtfully:
"It may  be so. But I shoul d  hardly think  i t possible that a man woul d do
that-to   hi s wife. "
Bl ore gave ashort l augh.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
He sai d:
"When a man' s  neck's  in danger, he doesn' t stop to think too much about
sentiment."
There was a pause. Before any one coul d speak, the door opened and Rogers
came    in.
He sai d,  l ooking  f rom one to the other:
"Is there anything more I can get you? I'm  sorry there was so  li ttl e toast,
but we'v e run right out of  bread. The  new bread  hasn' t come over  f rom the
mainland  yet."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave sti rred a  li tt l e  in  his chai r. He asked:
"What time does the motor boat usually come over?"
"Between seven and eight, Si r. Somet imes  i t ' s a bi t af ter ei ght. Don't know
what Fred Narracott can be doing this morning. If  he's  ill   he'd send his
brother."
Philip Lombard sai d:
"What' s the time  now?"
"Ten  minutes to ten, si r."
Lombard's eyebrows rose. He nodded sl owly to himself .
Rogers wai ted a minute or two.
General  Macarthur spoke suddenly and expl osively.
"Sorry to hear about your wife, Rogers. Doctor' s  just been telling  US."
Rogers inclined  his head.
"Yes, si r. Thank  you, si r."
He took up the empt y  bacon dish and went out.
Again there was asilence.
3
On the terrace outsi de Philip  Lombard sai d: "About this motor boat-" Bl ore
l ooked at him. Bl ore nodded his  head. He said: "I know what you' re thinking,
Mr. Lombard. I'v e asked myself the same quest i on. Motor boat ought to have
been  here nigh on two hours ago. It hasn' t come? Why?"  "Found the answer?"
asked  Lombard.
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248        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"It' s not an acci dent-tbat' s what I say. It' s part and parcel  of  the whol e
business. It' s all  bound up together."
Philip Lombard said:
"It won't come,  you think?"
A voi ce spoke behind  him-a testy impati ent voi ce.
"The motor boat' s not coming,"  he said.
Bl ore turned his squareshoul derslight ly and viewed the l ast speaker
thoughtfully.
"You think  not too, General?"
General  Macarthur sai dsharply:
"Of  course  i t won't come. We' re counting on the motor boat to take us off
the  i sland. That' s the meaning of  the whole business. We' re  not going to
leave the  island. . . . None of  us will  ever  leave. . . . It' s the end,  you
see-the end of   everyt hing.
He hesi tated, then  he said  in a  l ow strange voi ce:
"That' s peace-real  peace. To come to the end-not to have to go on. . ..
Yes,  peace. . .."
He turned abrupt ly and walked away. Al ong the terrace, then down thesl ope
towards the sea-obliquely-to the end of  the  island where  l oose rocks went
out   into the water.
He wal ked a  li tt l e unsteadily,  like a man who was only  half  awake. Bl ore
said:  "There goes another one who' s  balmy! Looks as though i t'll end wi th
the whol e  l ot   goi ng that way."
Philip Lombard said:
"I don't fancy  you will, Bl ore."
The ex-Inspector l aughed.
"It woul d take a l ot to send me off my  head." He added drily: "And I don't
think  you'll  be going that way ei t her, Mr. Lombard."
Philip Lombard said:
"I feel  qui tesane at the minute, thank  you."
4
Dr. Armstrong came out onto the terrace. He stood there hesi tating. To his
lef t were Bl ore and Lombard. To hi s ri ght was Wargrave, sl owly pacing up and
down, his head bent down.
Armstrong, af ter a moment of   indecisi on, turned towards the latter.
I
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
249
But at that moment Rogers came quickly out of  the house.
"Coul d I have a word wi th  you, si r, pl ease?"
Armstrong turned.
He was startl ed at what he saw.
Rogers'   face was working. Its col our was greyish  green. Hi s  handsshook.
It was such a contrast to hi s restraint of  a few  minutes ago that Armstrong
was  qui te taken aback.
" Pl ease, si r,  if  I coul d  have a word wi th  you. Inside, si r."
The doctor turned back and re-entered the house wi th the  f renzied but l er.
He  sai d:
"What's the matter, man? Pull   yourself together."
"In here, si r, come  in  here."
He opened the dining-room door.The doctor passed  in. Rogers foll owed  him
and  shut the door behind  him.
"Well," said  Armstrong, "what is  i t?"
The muscles of  Rogers'  throat were worki ng. He was swall owing. He jerked
out:  "There' s things going on, si r, that I don't understand."
Armstrong sai dsharply: "Things? What things?"
"You'll think I'm crazy, si r. You'll say  i t  i sn' t anyt hing. But i t' s got
to be  expl ained, si r. It' s got to be explained. Because  i t doesn' t make any
sense."  "Well , man, tell  me what i t  i s? Don' t go on tal king  in riddles."
Rogers swall owed again.
He sai d:
"It' s those li ttle  figures, si r. In the middle of  the table. The  li tt l e
china  figures. Ten of  them, there were. I'll   swear to that, ten of  them."
Armstrong sai d:
"Yes, ten. We counted them  last night at di nner."
Rogers came  nearer.
"That' s  j ust  i t,si r. Last ni ght, when I was cl earing up, there wasn' t but
nine,  si r. I noti ced  i t and thought i t queer. But that' s all  I thought. And
now, si r,   thi s morning. I di dn' t noti ce when I l aid  the breakfast. I was
upset and all   that.
"But now,si r, when I came to cl ear away. See  for yourself  if  you don't
believe   me.
"There' s only eight, si r! Only eight! It doesn' t make sense, does i t? Only
ei ght.   . . ."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
CHAPTER 7
Af tER BREAKFAST, Emily Brent had suggested to Vera Cl ayt home that they
shoul d walk  up to the summi t again and watch  for the boat. Vera had
acqui esced. The wind  had  f reshened. Small  whi te crests were appearing on
the sea. There were   Do fishing boats out-and no sign of  the motor boat.
The actual  village of  Sticklehaven coul d not be seen, only the hill  above
i t, a   j utting out cliff of  red rock conceal ed the actual   li tt l e  bay.
Emily Brent sai d:
"The man who brought us out yesterday seemed a dependable sort of  person.
It i s  really  very odd that heshoul d  be so late thi s morning."
Vera di d not answer. She was  fight ing down a rising  feeling of  panic.  She
said to herself angrily:
"You must keep cool . This  i sn' t  like  you. You'v e  al ways  had excellent
nerves."  Al oudshe said af ter a minute or two:
"I wi sh he woul d come. I-I want to get away."
Emily Brent sai d drily:
"I'v e  no doubt we all do."
Vera sai d:
"It' s all   so extraordinary. all .))
The el derly woman beside her sai d  briskly:
"I'm very annoyed wi t h myself  for being so easily taken  in. Really that
letter   is absurd when one comes to examine  i t. But I had no doubts at the
time-none at   all . "
Vera murmured mechanically:
"I suppose not."
"One takes things  for granted too much," said Emily  Brent.
Vera drew a deep shuddering breath.
She sai d:
"Do you really think-what  you sai d at breakfast?"
"Be a li tt l e more precise, my dear. To what in parti cular are  you
referring?"  Vera sai d  in a  l ow voi ce:
. .There seems no-no meaning  in  i t
"Do you really think that Rogers and his wife di d  away wi t h that ol d  l ady?"
Emily  Brent gazed thoughtfully out to sea. Thenshe said: "Personally, I am
qui te sure of   i t. What do you think?" "I don't know what to think." Emily
Brent sai d: "Everyt hing goes to support the i dea. The way the woman  fainted.
And the man dropped the coffee tray, remember. Then the way  he spoke about
i t-i t di dn' t ring true. Oh, yes, I'm af raid they di d  i t." Vera sai d: "The
way  she  l ooked-scared of  her own shadow! I've never seen a woman  l ook so
f rightened. by  i t. . . . 11Mi ss Brent murmured:
. . She must have  been always  haunted
"I remember a text that hung  in my  nursery as a child. 'Be sure thysin
will   find   thee out.'  It' s very true, that. 'Be sure thysin will  find thee
out."'   Vera scrambled to her feet. She sai d:
"But, Mi ss Brent-Miss Brent-in that case-"
"Yes, my dear?"
"The others? What about the others?"
"I don't qui te understand  you."
"All the other accusat i ons-they-they weren' t true? But if   i t 's true about
the  Rogerses-" She stopped, unable to make her chaoti c thought cl ear.
Emily Brent' s  brow, which had  been  f rowning perpl exedly, cleared.
She sai d:
"Ali, I understand  you now. Well, there is that Mr. Lombard. He admi ts to
having  abandoned twent y men to thei r deaths."
Vera sai d:
"They were only  nat ives. . ..
Emily Brent sai dsharply:
"Bl ack or whi te, they are our brothers."
Vera thought:
"Our bl ack brothers-our bl ack  brothers. Oh, I'm going to l augh. I'm
hysteri cal.  I'm not myself . . . ."
Emily Brent continued thoughtfully:
"Of  course, some of  the other accusati ons were very  far-fetched and
ri dicul ous.  Against the j udge, for instance, who was only doing
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252        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
his duty  in  his public capaci t y.  And the ex-Scotl and Yard man. My own case,
too."   She paused and then went on:
"Naturally, considering the ci rcumstances, I was not going to say anyt hing
last   ni ght. It was not a fi t subject to discuss before gent l emen. "
"No?"
Vera listened wi th  interest. Miss Brent conti nued serenely:
"Beatri ceTayl or was  in service wi t h me. Not a nice gi rl -as I found out too
late.   I was very much deceived  in  her. She had  nice manners and was  very
cl ean and  willing. I was very pleased wi th  her. Of course all  that was the
sheerest  hypocrisy! She was a  l oose gi rl  wi t h  no morals. Disgust ing! It was
some time  before I found out that she was what they call   'in troubl e."'  She
paused, her  delicate nose wrinkling  i tself  in distaste. "It was a great
shock to me. Her   parents were decent fol k, too, who had brought her up very
stri ct ly. I'm glad to   say they di d  not condone her behavi our."
Vera sai d, staring atMi ss Brent:
"What happened?"
"Naturally I di d not keep her an hour under my roof . No one shall ever say
that   I condoned immorali t y. "
Vera sai d  in a  l ower voi ce:
"What happened-to her?"
Miss Brent sai d:
"The abandoned creature, not content wi th having onesin on her conscience,
commi tted a still  graversin. She took her own life."
Vera whi spered, horror-struck:
"She killed herself?"
"Yes, she threw herself   into the river."
Vera shivered.
She stared at the calm delicate profile ofMiss Brent. She sai d:
"What di d  you  feel   like when  you knewshe'd done that? Weren' t you sorry?
Di dn' t   you blame  yourself?"
Emily Brent drew herself  up.
"I? I had nothing wi t h which to reproach myself . "
Vera sai d:
"But if   your-hardness-drove her to
Emily Brent sai dsharply:
"Her own acti on-her ownsin-that was what drove her to i t. If  she  had
behaved  like a decent modest young woman none of  this woul d  have  happened."
i t.1)
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
253
She turned her  face to Vera.There was no self -reproach, no uneasiness  in
those eyes. They were hard and self-righteous. Emily  Brent sat on the summi t
of  Indian Island, encased  in  her own armour of  virtue.The li tt l e el derly
spinster was no l ongerslightly ri dicul ous to Vera. Suddenly-she was
terrible.
2
Dr. Armstrong came out of  the dining-room and once more came out on the
terrace.   The  j udge wassi tt ing  in a chai r  now, gazing placidly out to sea.
Lombard and Bl ore were over to the l ef t, smoking but not tal king. As before,
the  doctor hesi tated for a moment. Hi s eye restedspeculat ively on Mr.
Just i ce  Wargrave. He wanted to consul t wi th some one. He was consci ous of
the j udge' s  acute l ogi cal  brain. But nevertheless  he wavered. Mr. Justi ce
Wargrave  might have  a good brain but he was an el derly man. At thi s
juncture, Armstrong  fel t what was  needed was a man of  act i on.
He made up his mind.
"Lombard, can I speak to you  for a minute?" Philip started.
"Of  course."
The two men  l ef t the terrace. They  strolled down thesl ope towards the
water.   When they  were out of  earshot, Armstrong sai d:
"I want a consul tati on."
Lombard's eyebrows went up. He sai d:
"My dear  fell ow, I'v e  no medical  knowl edge." "No, no, I mean as to the
generalsi tuati on."
"Oh, that' s different."
Armstrong sai d:
"Frankly, what do you think of  the posi t i on?" Lombard reflected a minute.
Then  he sai d:
"It' s rather suggestive,  i sn' t  i t?"
"What are your i deas on the subject of  that woman? Do you accept Bl ore' s
theory?"  Philip puffedsmoke  into the ai r. He sai d: "It' s perfect ly
feasible-taken al one."  "Exact ly. "
254
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Armstrong' s tone sounded relieved. Philip Lombard was no fool . 'Me
latterwent on:  "That is, accepting the premise that Mr. and Mrs. Rogers
have successfully got   away wi th murder  in thei r time. And I don't see why
theyshoul dn' t. What do you   think they did exact ly? Poisoned the ol d  lady?"
Armstrong sai dsl owly:
"It might besimpler than that. I asked Rogers thi s morning what thi sMiss
Brady  had suffered  f rom. Hi s answer was enlightening. I don't need to go
into medical   details, but  in a certain  form of  cardiac troubl e, amyl
ni tri te  i s used. When an  attack comes on an ampoul e of  amyl   ni tri te  i s
broken and  i t is  inhaled. If  amyl  ni tri te were wi thheldwell, the
consequences  might easily  be  fatal ."  Philip Lombard sai d thoughtfully:
"Assimple as that. It must have been-rather tempting."
The doctor nodded.
"Yes, no posi t ive act i on. No arsenic to obtain and administernothing
defini te-j ust-negati on!  And Rogers hurried through the night to fetch a
doctor   and they both fel t confident that no one coul d ever know."
"And, even  if   any one knew, nothing coul d ever be proved against them,"
added  Philip Lombard.
He f rowned suddenly.
"Of  course-that expl ains a good deal ."
Armstrong sai d, puzzled:
"I beg  your pardon."
Lombard said:
"I mean-i t explains Indian Island. There are crimes that cannot be brought
home   to thei r perpetrators. Instance, the Rogerses' . Another instance, ol d
Wargrave,  who commi tted his murder stri ctly wi t hin the  law."
Armstrong sai dsharply:
"You believe that story?"
Philip Lombardsmiled.
"Oh, yes, I believe  i t. Wargrave murderedEdward Seton all  right, murdered
him  as surely as  if   he'd stuck a stiletto through him! But he was clever
enough to   do i t f rom the  j udge's seat in wig and gown. So in the ordinary
way  you can' t   bring his  li ttle crime home to him."
A sudden  flash passed  like  lightning through Armstrong' s mind.
"Murder in Hospi tal . Murder on the OperatingTable. Safe-yes, safe as
houses!"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
4
a
I
Philip Lombard was saying:
"Hence-Mr. Owen-hence-Indian Island!"
Armstrong drew a deep breath.
"Now we' re getting down to i t. What's the real  purpose of  getting us all
here?"  Philip Lombard said:
"What do you think?"
Armstrong sai d abruptly:
"Let' s go back a  minute to thi s woman' s death. What are the possible
theori es?  Rogers killed her because he was af raid she woul d give theshow
away. Second  possibili t y: She  l ost her nerve and took an easy  way out
herself."  Philip Lombard said:
"Sui cide, eh?"
"What do you say to that?"
Lombard said:
"It coul d have  been-yes-if   i t hadn' t been  for Marston's death. Two sui cides
wi thin twelve  hours i s a  li tt l e too much to swall ow! And  if  you tell me that
AnthonyMarston, a young  bull  wi t h no nerves and preci ous  li tt l e brains, got
the  wind up over having mowed down a coupl e of  kids and deliberately put
himself  out   of  the way-well , the  i dea's  l aughable! And anyway,  how di d  he
get hol d of  the  stuff?  From all  I've ever heard, Potassi um  Cyanide  isn' t
the kind of  stuff   you  take about wi th  you  in  your waistcoat pocket. But
that' s  your line of  country."  Armstrong sai d:
"Nobody  in their senses carri es Potassi um  Cyanide. It might be done by  some
one  who was goi ng to take a wasps'  nest."
"The ardent gardener or l andowner, in  fact?  Again, not Anthony Marston. It
stri kes me that Cyanide  is going to need a bi t of  explaining. Ei ther  Anthony
Marston meant to do away wi th himself  before he  came  here, and therefore
came  prepared-or el se-"
Armstrong prompted him.
"Or else?"
Philip Lombard grinned.
"Why make me say  i t ? When  i t ' s on the ti p of   your own tongue. Anthony
Marston was   murdered, of  course."
MASTERPIECES OP MURDER
3
Dr. Armstrong drew a deep breath.
"And Mrs. Rogers?"
Lombard saidsl owly:
"I coul d believe  in  Anthony's  suicide (wi th difficul t y)  if   i t weren' t for
Mrs.  Rogers. I coul d  believe  in Mrs. Rogers'  sui cide (easily)  if   i t weren' t
for  Anthony Marston. I can believe that Rogers put his wife out of  the way-
if   i t were  not for the unexplained death of  Anthony Marston. But what we
need  is a theory   to expl ain two deaths  foll owing rapi dly on each other."
Armstrong sai d:
"I can perhaps give  you some  help towards that theory."
And  he repeated the facts that Rogers had given hiin about the
di sappearance of   the two li ttl e china  figures.
Lombard said:
"Yes, li tt l e china Indian  figures. . . .There were certainly ten  last
night at   dinner. And now there are ei ght, you say?"
Dr. Armstrong reci ted:
"Ten  li tt l e Indian boys going out to di ne;
One went and choked himself and then there were nine.
"Nine  li tt l e Indian  boyssat up very  late;
One overslept himself   and then there were ei ght."
The two men  l ooked at each other. Philip Lombard grinned and  flung away  his
ci garette.
"Fi ts too damned well to be a coi ncidence! Anthony Marston dies of
asphyxiati on  or choking  last ni ght af ter dinner, and Mother Rogers
oversl eeps herself  wi t h a  vengeance."
"And therefore?"said Armstrong.
Lombard took him up.
"And therefore another kind of  puzzle. The Ni gger in the Woodpile! X! Mr.
Owen!  U. N. Owen. One Unknown Lunat i c at Large!"
"Ah!" Armstrong breathed asi gh of  relief . "You agree. But you see what i t
involves? Rogers swore that there was no one but ourselves and  he and his
wife   on the island."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
257
"Rogers i s wrong! Or possibly  Rogers is  lying!"
Armstrong shook his head.
"I don't think he's  lying. The man's scared. He'sscared nearly out of   his
senses."
Philip Lombard nodded.
He sai d:
"No motor boat this morning. That fi ts  in. Mr. Owen's  li tt l e arrangements
again to the fore. Indi an Island  is to be isol ated until  Mr. Owen has
finished  his  j ob."
Armstrong had gone pal e. He said:
"You realize-the man must be a raving maniac!"
Philip Lombard said, and there was a new ring  in  his  voi ce:
"There's one thing Mr. Owen di dn' t realize."
"What's that?"
"Thi s  island's more or l ess a bare rock. We shaH makeshort work of
searching  i t. We'll   soon ferret out U. N. Owen, Esq."
Dr. Armstrong sai d warningly:
"He'll   be dangerous."
Philip Lombard  l aughed.
"Dangerous? Who' s af raid of  the  bi g  bad wolf? I'll   be dangerous when I get
hol d of  him!"
He paused and said:
"We'd better rope in Bl ore to hel p us. He'll  be a good man  in a pinch.
Better   not tell  the women. As  for the others, the General's ga ga, I think,
and ol d  Wargrave's  forte i s masterly  inactivi t y. The three of  us can attend
to this  j ob."
CHAPTER 8
BLORE WAS easily roped in. He expressed  immedi ate agreement wi th thei r
arguments.   "What you've said about those china  figures, si r, makes all the
difference.   That' s crazy, that i s!There' s only one  thing. You don't think
thi s Owen's  i dea    might be to do the j ob by proxy,  as  i t were?"
"Explain  yourself , man."
"Well , I mean  like this. Af ter the racket l ast ni ght this  young Mr. Marston
gets   the wind up and poisons  himself.  And Rogers, he gets
i
258        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER                         ANDTHENTHERE
WERE  NONE       259
the wind up too and bumps off   his wife!  All according to U. N. O.' s plan."
Armstrong shook his head. He stressed the point about the Cyanide. Bl ore
agreed.   "Yes, I'd forgotten that. Not a natural  thing to be carrying about
Wi t h  you. But   how di d  i t get into his drink, si r?"
Lombard said:
"I'v e  been thinking about that. Marston had several  drinks that ni ght.
Between   the time he had  his  last one and the time he  finished the one
before  i t, there   was qui te a gap. During that time  his glass was  lying
about on some tabl e or   other. I thi nk-though I can' t be sure, i t was on the
li ttle tabl e  near the  window. The window was open. Somebody coul d  have
slipped a dose of  the Cyanide  into the gl ass.
Bl ore sai d unbelievingly:
"Wi t hout our all seeing him, sir?"
Lombard said drily:
"We were all-rather concerned elsewhere."
Armstrong sai dsl owly:
"That' s true. We'd all   been attacked. We were walking about, moving about
the   room. Arguing,  indi gnant, i ntent on our own business. I think  i t coul d
have  been  done.
Bl ore shrugged hisshoul ders.
"Fact i s,  i t must have been done! Now then, gent lemen,  l et's make a start.
Nobody's got a revolver, by any  chance? I suppose that' s too much to hope
for."  Lombard sai d:
"I've got one." He patted hi s pocket.
Bl ore' s eyes opened  very wide. He said  in an over-casual  tone:
"Always carry that about wi th  you, si r?"
Lombard said:
"Usually. I've  been  in some ti ght pl aces,  you know."
"Oh," sai d Bl ore and added: "Well,  you've probably  never been  in a t i ghter
pl ace  than  you are to-day! If  there's a  l unat i c hiding on thi s  island, he's
probably  got a young arsenal on him-to say nothing of  a knife or dagger or
two."  Armstrong coughed.
"You may  be wrong there, Bl ore. Many  homicidal   lunat i cs are very quiet,
unassuming people. Delightful  fell ows."
Bl ore sai d:
"I don't feel  this one  is going to be of  that kind, Dr. Armstrong."
2
The three men started on thei r tour of  the  i sland.
It proved unexpectedly  simple. On the northwest si de, towards the coast,
the  cliffs  f  ell   sheer to the sea bel ow, thei r surface unbroken.
On the rest of  the island there were no trees and very  li tt l e cover. The
three   men worked carefully and methodi cally, beating up and down  f rom the
highest point   to the water' s edge, narrowly  scanning the  l east i rregulari t y
in the rock whi ch    might point to the entrance to a cave. But there were no
caves.
They came at l ast, ski rt ing the water' s edge, to where General  Macarthur
sat   l ooking out to sea. It was very peaceful   here  wi th the  l ap of  the waves
breaking   over the rocks. The ol d man sat very upright, hi s eyes  fixed on
the hori zon.  He pai d  no attenti on to the approach of  the searchers. Hi s
oblivi on of  them made   one at l east  faint ly uncomfortabl e.
Bl ore thought to himself:
"'Ti sn' t natural -l ooks as though he'd gone  into a trance or something."
He cl eared  his throat and sai d  in a woul d-be conversati onal tone:
"Ni ce peaceful spot you've  found  for yourself , sir."
The General   f rowned. He cast a qui ck  l ook over hisshoul der. He sai d:
"There  is so li tt l e time-so  li ttl e t ime. I really must insist that no one
di sturbs me."
Bl ore sai d genially:
"We won't di sturb  you. We' re  just making a tour of  the  i sland, so to speak.
Just   wondered, you know, if  some one mi ght be  hiding on  i t."
The General   frowned and said:
"You don't understand-you don't understand at all. Pl ease go away."  Bl ore
retreated. He sai d, as he  j oined the other two:
"He's crazy. . . . It' s no good tal king to him."
Lombard asked wi th some curi osi t y:
"What di d he say?"
Bl ore shrugged hisshoul ders.
260        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Something about there being no time and that he di dn' t want to be
di sturbed."  Dr. Armstrong f rowned. He murmured: "I wonder now.
3
The search of  the  i sland was practi cally completed. The three men stood on
the  hi ghest point  l ooking over towards the mainland. There were no boats
out. The  wind was  f reshening. Lombard said: "No fishing  boats out. There's
a storm  coming. Damned  nuisance  you can' t see the  village  f rom  here. We
coul dsignal   or do something." Bl ore said: "We  might light a bonfi re to-
night." Lombard  sai d,  f rowning: "The devil  of   i t is that that' s all
probably  been provi ded  for." "In what way, si r?"  "How do I know? Practi cal
j oke, perhaps. We' re to be   marooned here, no attent i on  is to be pai d to
si gnals, etc. Possibly the  village has been tol d there' s a wager on. Some
damn  fool  story anyway." Bl ore  sai d dubi ously: "Think they'd swall ow that?"
Lombard sai d drily: "It' s easier  of  belief  than the truth! If  the village
were tol d that the  i sland was to be  i solated until  Mr. Unknown Owen  had
qui et ly murdered all  his guests-do you   think they'd believe that?" Dr.
Armstrong sai d: "There are moments when I  can't believe  i t myself .  And  yet-
" Philip Lombard, his  lips curling  back  f rom  his teeth, sai d: "And  yet-
that' s  j ust  i t! You'v e said  i t, doctor!" Bl ore was   gazing down  into the
water. He sai d: "Nobody coul d have cl ambered down  here, I   suppose?"
Armstrong shook hi s  head. "I doubt i t. It' s prettysheer. And where  coul d
he  hide?" Bl ore said:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
261
"There might be a hol e  in the cliff . If  we had a boat now, we coul d row
round   the  i sland."
Lombard said:
"If  we had a boat, we'd all  be halfway to the mainland  by  now!"
"True enough, si r."
Lombard said suddenly:
"We can make sure of  this cliff. There's only one pl ace where there coul d
be a  recess-j ust a li tt l e to the ri ght bel ow here. If  you  fell ows can get
hol d of  a  rope, you can  l et me down to make sure."
Bl ore sai d:
"Mi ght as well  be sure. Though  i t seems absurd-on the  face of   i t! I'll see
if   I can get hol d of  something."
He started off   briskly down to the house.
Lombard stared up at the sky. The cl ouds were beginning to mass themselves
together. The wind was  increasing.
He shot a si deways  l ook at Armstrong. He sai d:
"You' re verysilent, doctor. What are you thinking?"
Armstrong sai dsl owly:
"I was wondering exact ly  how mad ol dMacarthur was.
4
11
Vera had been restl ess all  the morning. She  had avoi ded Emily  Brent wi th
a kind   of shuddering aversi on.
Miss Brent herself  had taken a chair  j ust round the corner of  the house so
as to   be out of  the wind. She sat there kni tting.
Every t ime Vera thought of  hershe seemed to see a pal e drowned  face wi th
seaweed  entangled  in the  hai r. . . . A  face that had once been pretty-
impudent ly pretty  perhaps-and which was now beyond the reach of  pi t y or
terror.
And Emily Brent, pl acid and ri ghteous, sat kni tting.
On the main terrace, Mr. Justice Wargrave sat huddl ed  in a porter' s chair.
Hi s  head was poked down well  into hi s  neck.
When Vera  l ooked at him, she saw a man standing in the dock-a young man
wi th  fair  hai r and blue eyes and a bewildered, f rightened  face. Edward
Seton. And  in   imaginat i onshe saw the  j udge's old hands put the black cap
on his head and  begin  to pronounce sentence. . . .
Af ter a while Vera strolledsl owly down to the sea. She wal ked
262        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
al ong towards the extreme end of  the  island where an ol d man sat staring out
to  the hori zon.
General  Macarthur sti rred at her approach. Hi s  head turned-there was a
queer  mixture of  quest i oning and apprehensi on  in his  l ook. It startl ed  her.
He stared   intently at her for a minute or two.
She thought to herself:
"How queer. It' s almost as though he knew
He sai d:
"Ah!  i t' s  you! You'v e come.
Vera sat down beside  him. She said:
"Do you likesi tting  here  l ooking out to sea?"
He nodded hi s  head gent ly.
"Yes," he said. "It' s pl easant. It' s a good pl ace, I think, to wai t."  "To
wai t?" said Vera sharply. "What are you wai t ing  for?"
He sai d gent ly:
"The end. But I think  you know that, don't you? It' s true, i sn' t i t? We' re
all   wai t ing  for the end."
She said unsteadily:
"What do you mean?"
General  Macarthur sai d gravely:
"None of  us are going to l eave the  i sland. That's the plan. You know i t,
of   course, perfect ly. What, perhaps,  you can' t understand  i s the relief!"
Vera sai d wonderingly:
"The relief?"
He sai d:
"Yes. Of  course, you' re very  young. . . you haven' t got to that yet. But
i t does   come!The blessed relief when  you know that  you've done wi th  i t
all-that you  haven' t got to carry the burden any  l onger.
51
. ..
You' ll  feel  that too some day.
Vera sai d hoarsely:
"I don't understand  you."
Her fingers worked spasmodi cally. She  fel t suddenly  af raid of  this qui et
ol d  sol dier.
He sai d musingly:
"You see, I l oved Leslie. I l oved  her very much.
Vera sai d quest i oningly:
"Was Leslie  your wife?"
"Yes, my wife. . . . I l oved her-and I was very proud of   her. She was so
pretty-and so gay."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
He wassilent for a minute or two, then  he said:
"Yes, I l oved Leslie. That's why I di d  i t."
Vera sai d:
"You mean-" and paused.
General  Macarthur nodded his head gent ly.
"It' s not much good denying  i t now-not when we're all going to di e. I sent
Ri chmond to hi s death. I suppose, in a way,  i t was murder. Curi ous. Murder-
and  I've al ways  been such a  l aw-abiding man! But i t di dn' t seem  like that
at the   time. I had no regrets. 'Serves him damned well ri ght!' -that' s what
I thought.   But af terwards-"
In a hard voi ce, Vera sai d:
"Well, af terwards?"
He shook hi s  head vaguely. He  l ooked puzzl ed and a li tt l e distressed.   "I
don't know. I-don't know. It was all  different, you see. I don't know if
Leslie ever guessed. . . I don't think so. But you see, I di dn' t know about
her  any more. She'd gone  far away where I coul dn' t reach her. And thenshe
di ed-and  I was al one.
Vera sai d:
"Al one-al one-" and the echo of  her  voi ce came back to her f rom the rocks.
General Macarthur sai d:
"You'll   be glad, too, when the end comes."
Vera got up. She said sharply:
"I don't know what you mean!"
He sai d:
"I know, my child, I know.
"You don't. You don't understand at all .
General  Macarthur l ooked out to sea again. He seemed unconsci ous of   her
presence  behind  him.
He sai d very gent ly and sof t ly:
"Leslie. . .T'
5
When Bl ore returned f rom the house wi th a rope coiled over his arm,  he
found  Armstrong where he  had  l ef t him staring down into the depths.
Bl ore sai d breathlessly:
i ,
I i
I
264        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Where's Mr. Lombard?"
Armstrong sai d carelessly:
"Gone to test some theory or other. He'll   be  back  in  a  minute. Look here,
Bl ore, I'm worri ed."
"I shoul dsay we were all worri ed."
The doctor waved an impatient hand.
"Of  course-of  course. I don't mean  i t that way. I'm thinking of  ol d
Macarthur."
"What about him, Si r?"
Dr. Armstrong sai d grimly:
"What we' re  l ooking  for is a madman. What pri ce Macarthur?"
Bl ore sai d  incredul ously:
"You mean he's homicidal?"
Armstrong sai d doubtfully:
"I shoul dn' t have said so. Not for a minute. But of course I'm  not a
specialist in mental  diseases. I haven' t really  had any  conversat i on wi th
him-I  haven' t studi ed him  f rom that point of  view."
Bl ore sai d doubtfully:
"Ga ga, yes! But I woul dn' t have said-"
Armstrong cut in wi th aslight effort as of  a man  who pulls  himself
together.   "You' re probably ri ght! Damn  i t all, there must be some one
hiding on the   island. Ah!  here comes Lombard."
They  fastened the rope carefully.
Lombard said:
"I'll   hel p myself   all I can.  Keep a  l ookout for a sudden strain on the
rope."   Af ter a minute or two, while they  stood together watching Lombard's
progress,   Bl ore sai d:
"Climbs  like a cat, doesn' t he?"
There was something odd in his  voi ce.
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"I shoul d think  he must have done some mountaineering  in  his time."
"Maybe."
There was asilence and the ex-Inspector sai d:
"Funny  sort of  cove al together. D'you know what I think?"
"What?"
"He's a wrong 'un!"
Armstrong sai d doubtfully:
"In what way?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
265
Bl ore grunted. Then  he said:
"I don't know-exact ly. But I woul dn' t trust him  a  yard."
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"I suppose he' s  led an adventurous life."
Bl ore sai d:
"I bet some of  his adventures have had to be kept pretty dark." He paused
and  then went on: "Di d  you happen to bring a revolver al ong wi t h  you,
doctor?"  Armstrong stared.
"Me? Good Lord, no. Why  shoul d IT'
Bl ore sai d:
"Why di d Mr. Lombard?"
Armstrong sai d doubtfully:
"I suppose-habi t."
Bl ore snorted.
A sudden pull came on the rope. For some moments they had thei r hands  full .
Present ly, when the strain rel axed, Bl ore sai d:
"There are habi ts and  habi ts! Mr. Lombard takes a revolver to out-of -the-
way  pl aces, ri ght enough, and a primus and asl eeping-bag and a supply of
bug powder,   no doubt! But habi t woul dn' t make him  bring the whol e outfi t
down here? It' s only    in  books peopl e carry revolvers around as a matter of
course."
Dr. Armstrong shook his head perpl exedly.
They  l eaned over and watched Lombard's progress. His search was thorough
and they  coul d see at once that i t was fut ile. Present ly  he came up over
the edge of  the  cliff. He wi ped the perspi rat i on  f rom his  forehead.
"Well ,"  he said. "We' re up against  i t. It' s the house or nowhere."
6
The house was easily searched. They went through the  few outbuildings  fi rst
and  then turned thei r attenti on to the building  i tself . Mrs. Rogers'   yard
measure  di scovered  in the ki tchen dresser assisted them. But there were no
hidden spaces  lef t unaccounted for. Everything was pl ain and
strai ght forward, a modern  structure devoi d of  concealments. They went
through the ground fl oor first. As   they mounted to the bedroom  fl oor, they
saw through the  l anding window Rogers   carrying out a tray of  cocktails to
the terrace.
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266        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Philip Lombard said  light ly:
"Wonderful   animal, the good servant. Carri es on wi th an impassive
countenance."  Armstrong sai d appreciat ively:
"Rogers i s a  first-cl ass but l er, I'llsay that for him!"
Bl ore sai d:
"His wife was a pretty good cook, too.That dinner-l ast ni ght-"They turned
in  to the first bedroom.
Five  minutes  l ater they  faced each other on the  l anding. No one hiding-no
possible  hiding-pl ace.
Bl ore sai d:
"There's a  li tt l e stai r here."
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"It l eads up to the servants'  room."
Bl ore sai d:
"There must be a place under the roof -for cisterns, water tank, etc. It' s
the  best chance-and the only one!"
And  i t was then, as they stood there, that they  heard the sound f rom above.
A  sof t furtive  footfall  overhead.
They all  heard  i t. Armstrong grasped Bl ore's arm. Lombard held up an
admoni tory    finger.
"Qui et-listen."
It came again-some one moving sof t ly,  furtively, overhead.
Armstrong whispered:
"He' s actually  in the bedroom  i tself. The room where Mrs. Rogers'  body  is."
Bl ore whispered  back:
"Of  course! Best hiding-place he coul d have chosen! Nobody  likely to go
there.   Now then-qui et as  you can."
They crept steal thily upstai rs.
On the  li tt l e  l anding outsi de the door of  the bedroom they paused again.
Yes,  some one was  in the room. There was a  faint  creak f rom wi t hin.
Bl ore whispered:
"Now."
He fl ung open the door and rushed  in, the other two cl ose behind him. Then
all  three stopped dead.
Rogers was in the room, his  hands  full  of  garments.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
7
267
Bl ore recovered himself   fi rst. He sai d:
"Sorry-er-Rogers. Heard some one moving about in  here, and thought-well -"
He stopped.
Rogers sai d:
"I'm sorry, gent l emen. I was  j ust moving my things. I take i t there will
be  no   obj ect i on  if I take one of  the vacant guest chambers on the  fl oor
bel ow?The  smallest room."
It was to Armstrong that he spoke, and Armstrong replied:
"Of  course. Of  course. Get on wi th  i t."
He avoi ded  l ooking at the sheeted figure  lying on the bed.
Rogers sai d:
"Thank  you, si r."
He went out of  the room wi th  his arm  full of  bel ongings and went down the
stai rs   to the  fl oor bel ow.
Armstrong moved over to the bed and,  lif t ing the sheet, l ooked down on the
peaceful   face of  the dead woman. There was no fear there now. Just
empt iness.  Armstrong sai d:
"Wish I'd got my stuff   here. I'd  like to know what drug i t was.'
Then  he turned to the other two.
"Let' s get finished. I feel   i t  in my  bones we' re not going to find
anyt hing."  Bl ore was wrestling wi th the bol ts of  a l ow manhole.
He sai d:
"That chap moves damned qui et ly.  A  minute or two ago we saw him  in the
garden.  None of  us heard him come upstai rs."
Lombard said:
"I suppose that' s why we assumed  i t must be a stranger moving about up
here."  Bl ore di sappeared  into a cavernous darkness. Lombard pulled a torch
f rom  his  pocket and  foll owed.
Five  minutes  l ater three men stood on an upper  l anding and  l ooked at each
other.   They were di rt y and  festooned wi th cobwebs and thei r  faces were
grim. There was no one on the island but thei r ei ght selves.
I
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ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
CHAPTER 9
LOMBARD SAM Sl owly:. "So we'v e  been wrong-wrong all   al ong! Buil t up a
night mare of  superst i t i on and  fantasy all   because of  the coincidence of  two
deaths!"
Armstrong sai d gravely:
"And  yet, you know, the argument hol ds. Hang  i t all , I'm a doctor, I know
something about sui cides. Anthony Marston wasn't a suici dal  t ype."  Lombard
said doubtfully:
"It coul dn' t, I suppose, have  been an accident?"
Bl ore snorted, unconvinced.
"Damned queer sort of  acci dent," he grunted.
There was a pause, then Bl ore said:
"About the woman-" and stopped.
"Mrs. Rogers?"
"Yes. It' s possible,  isn' t i t, that that might have  been an accident?"
Philip Lombard sai d:
"An accident? In what way?"
Bl ore l ooked slight ly embarrassed. His red-brick face grew a  li ttl e deeper
in  hue. He sai d, almost blurting out the words:
"Look here, doctor, you di d give her some dope, you know."
Armstrong stared at him.
"Dope? What do you mean?"
"Last ni ght. You sai d  yourself  you'd give  her something to make  hersl eep."
"Oh, that, yes. A  harmlesssedat ive."
"What was  i t exact ly?"
"I gave her a mild dose of  tri onal. A perfect ly  harmless preparati on."
Bl ore grew redder still. He sai d:
"Look here-not to mince matters-you di dn' t give  her an overdose, di d  you?"
Dr. Armstrong sai d angrily:
"I don't know what you mean."
Bl ore sai d:
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"It' s possible,  i sn' t i t, that you may  have made a mistake?These things
do   happen once  in a while."
Armstrong sai dsharply:
"I di d nothing of  the sort. The suggest i on  is ri dicul ous." He stopped and
added  in a col d bi t ing tone: "Or do you suggest that I gave her an overdose
on   purpose?"
Philip Lombard said qui ckly:
"Look here, you two, got to keep our heads. Don't let' s start slinging
accusat i ons about."
Bl ore sai d sullenly:
"I only  suggested the doctor had made a  mistake."
Dr. Armstrongsmiled wi t h an effort. He sai d, showing his teeth  in a
somewhat   ni drthlesssmile:
"Doctors can't afford to make  mistakes of  that kind, my  friend."
Bl ore sai d deliberately:
"It woul dn' t be the  fi rst you've made-if that gramophone record i s to be
believed!"
Armstrong went whi te. Philip Lombard said quickly  and angrily to Bl ore:
"What' s the sense of  making  yourself offensive? We' re all   in the same boat.
We've  got to pull  together. What about your own pretty  li tt l e spot of
perj ury?"  Bl ore took a step forward, his hands clenched. He said  in a thi ck
voi ce:  "Perj ury  be damned!That' s a  foul   lie! You may try andshut me up,
Mr. Lombard,   but there' s things I want to know-and one of  them  is about
you!"
Lombard' s eyebrows rose.
"About me?"
"Yes. I want to know why  you brought a revolver down here on a pl easant
soci al   visi t ?"
Lombard said:
"You do, do you?"
"Yes, I do, Mr. Lombard."
Lombard said unexpectedly:
"You know, Bl ore, you' re not nearly such a  fool  as  you l ook."
"That' s as may  be. What about that revolver?"
Lombardsmiled.
"I brought i t because I expected to run  into a spot of  troubl e."
Bl ore sai d suspici ously:
"You di dn' t tell  us that l ast ni ght."
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270        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER                           ANDTHENTHERE
WERE NONE  271
Lombardshook his head.
"You were hol ding out on us?" Bl ore persisted.
"In a way,  yes," said Lombard.
"Well, come on, out wi th  i t."
Lombard saidsl owly:
"I all owed  you all  to think that I was asked here in the same way as most
of  the   others. That' s not qui te true. As a matter of  fact I was approached
by  a  li tt l e  Jewboy-Morris his  name was. He offered me a hundred guineas to
come down here and  keep my eyes open-sai d I'd got a reputati on  for being
a good man  in a t i ght   pl ace."
"Well?" Bl ore prompted impat i ent ly.
Lombard said wi th a grin:
"That' s all. ' )
Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"But surely  he tol d  you more than that?"
"Oh, no, he di dn' t. Just shut up li ke a cl am. I could take i t or l eave  i t-
those   were hi s words. I was hard up. I took i t."
Bl ore l ooked unconvinced. He sai d:
"Why di dn' t  you tell us all  this  last night?"
"My dear man-" Lombardshrugged el oquent shoul ders. "How was I to know that
last   ni ght wasn' t exact ly the eventuali t y I was  here to cope wi th? I  l ay
l ow and tol d  a noncommi ttal  story."
Dr. Armstrong sai dshrewdly:
"But now-you think different ly?"
Lombard' s  face changed. It darkened and hardened. He sai d:
"Yes. I believe now that I'm  in the same boat as the rest of   you. That
hundred  guineas was  just Mr. Owen's  li ttle bi t of  cheese to get me  into the
trap al ong  wi th the rest of   you."
He sai dsl owly:
"For we are in a trap-I'll  take my oath on that! Mrs. Rogers'  death!Tony
Marston's!The disappearing Indian boys on the dinnertable! Oh,  yes, Mr.
Owen's  hand  i s plainly to be seen-but where the devil   is Mr. Owen himself?"
Downstai rs the gong peal ed a sol emn call  to l unch.
2
Rogers was standing by the dining-room door. As the three men descended the
stai rs  he moved a step or two forward. He sai d  in  a  l ow anxi ous voi ce:
"I hope l unch will   be sat isfactory. There  is col d  ham and col d tongue, and
I've  boiled some potatoes. And there' s cheese and biscui ts and some tinned
f rui t s."  Lombard said:
"Sounds all  right. Stores are hol ding out, then?"
"There is pl ent y of   food, si r-of  a tinned vari et y. The  larder  i s  very well
stocked. A necessi t y, that, I shoul dsay, Si r, on an island where one may
be cut   off   f rom the mainland  for a considerable peri od."
Lombard nodded.
Rogers murmured as he  foll owed the three men  into the diningroom:
"It worri es me that Fred Narracott hasn' t been over to-day. It' s peculiarly
unfortunate, as you might say."
"Yes," sai d Lombard, "peculiarly unfortunate describes  i t very  well ."
Miss Brent came  into the room. She had  just dropped a ball of  wool  and was
carefully rewinding the end of   i t.
Asshe took her seat at tabl eshe remarked:
"The weather is changing. The wind  i s qui te strong and there are whi te
horses on   the sea."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave came  in. He wal ked wi t h asl ow measured tread. He
darted   qui ck  l ooks f rom under his  bushy eyebrows at the other occupants of
the  di ning-room. He sai d:
"You have had an act ive morning."
There was a faint malici ous pleasure  in  his  voi ce.
Vera Claythorne  hurri ed  in. She was a  li ttle out of breath.
She said qui ckly:
"I hope you di dn' t wai t for me. Am I  late?"
Emily  Brent sai d:
"You' re not the l ast. The General  isn' t here  yet."
They sat round the table.
Rogers addressedMiss Brent:
"Will   you  begin, Madam, or will  you wai t ?"
Vera sai d:
"General  Macarthur  i ssi tt ing ri ght down by thesea. I don't expect he
woul d hear   the gong there and anyway"-she  hesi t ated-"he' s a  li tt l e vague
to-day, I think."  Rogers sai d quickly:
"I will  go down and  inform  him  luncheon  is ready."
Dr. Armstrong j umped up.
"I'll go," he sai d. "You others start l unch."
272        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
He l ef t the room. Behind him  he heard Rogers'voice. "Will   you take col d
tongue  or col d  ham, Madam?"
3
The five peopl esi tting round the table seemed to find conversati on
difficul t.  Outsi de sudden gusts of  wind came up and died away.
Vera shivered a  li tt l e andsaid:
"There is a storm coming."
Bl ore made a contributi on to the di scourse. He said conversat i onally:
"There was an ol d  fell ow  in the train  f rom Plymouth yesterday. He kept saying
a storm was coming. Wonderful  how they know weather, these ol d sal t s."
Rogers went round the table collect ing the meat plates.
Suddenly, wi t h the pl ates held  in  his  hands, he stopped.
He sai d  in an odd scared voice:
"There' s somebody running. . .."
They coul d all   hear  i t-running  feet al ong the terrace.
In that minute, they knew-knew wi t hout being told. . . .
As by common accord, they all  rose to thei r  feet. They  stood l ooking
towards   the door.
Dr. Armstrong appeared, his breath coming  fast.
He sai d:
"General  Macarthur-"
"Dead!"The word burst f rom Vera expl osively.
Armstrong sai d:
"Yes, he's dead.
There was a pause-a l ong pause.
Seven peopl e  l ooked at each other and coul d  find no words to say.
4
The storm  broke j ust as the ol d man' s  body was borne in through the door.
The others were standing  in the  hall .
There was a sudden hiss and roar as the rai n came down.
As Bl ore and Armstrong passed up the stai rs wi th thei r  burden,
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Vera Claythorne turned suddenly and went into the deserted diningroom.  It
was as they  had  lef t  i t. The sweet course stood ready on thesi deboard
untasted.
Vera went up to the tabl e. She was there a  minute or two l ater when Rogers
came sof tly  into the room.
He started when he saw her. Then his eyes asked  a questi on.
He sai d:
"Oh, Mi ss, 1-1 j ust came to see.
In a l oud harsh  voi ce that surpri sed  herself   Verasai d:
"You' re qui te ri ght, Rogers. Look for yourself. There are only  seven. .
. .   P)
5
General  Macarthur had been  laid on his  bed.
Af ter making a  l ast examinat i on  Armstrong  l ef t the room and came
downstai rs. He   found the others assembled  in the drawingroom.
Miss Brent was kni tting. Vera Cl ayt horne was standing by the window  l ooking
out   at the hissing rain. Bl ore wassi tting squarely  in  a chair, his  hands
on his  knees. Lombard was wal king rest l essly up  and down. At the far end
of  the room Mr.  Justi ce Wargrave wassi tting  in a grandfather chai r. His
eyes were half  cl osed.   They opened as the doctor came  into the room. He
said  in a cl ear penetrating  voi ce:
"Well , doctor?"
Armstrong was very pale. He sai d:
"No questi on of  heart failure or anything  like that. Macarthur was hi t wi th
a  life preserver or some such thing on the back of the head."
A li tt l e murmur went round, but the cl ear voi ce of  the  judge was raised
once  more.
"Di d  you  find the actual  weapon used?"
'No.
"Nevertheless  you are sure of   your facts?"
"I am qui te sure."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said qui et ly:
"We know now exact ly where we are."
There was no doubt now who was in charge of  thesi tuati on. This morning
Wargrave  had sat huddl ed  in  his chair on the terrace ref rain-
276        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Unfortunately, " hesai d, "we are all  in that posi t ion. There i s only our
own  word to go upon."
He l eant forward.
"You have  none of   you  yet grasped what a very peculiarsi tuat i on thi s  is.
To my    mind there  i s only one course of  procedure to adopt. Is there any one
whom we can  defini tely eliminate f rom suspici on on ' the evidence which  is
in our possessi on?"  Dr. Armstrong sai d qui ckly:
"I am a well-known professi onal  man. The mere  idea that I can be suspected
of -"  Again a gesture of  the  j udge's hand arrested a speaker before he
finished  his  speech. Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said  in  hissmall clear voi ce:
"I, too, am a well-known person! But, my dear Sir, that proves  l ess than
nothing!  Doctors have gone mad  before now. Judges have gone mad. So," he
added, l ooking  at Bl ore, "have policemen!"
Lombard sai d:
"At any rate, I suppose you'll   leave the women out of   i t."
The j udge's eyebrows rose. He sai d  in the  famous "aci d" tone that Counsel
knew  so well:
"Do I understand  you to assert that women are not subject to homicidal
mania?"  Lombard said  i rri tably:
"Of  course not. But all the same,  i t hardly  seems  possible-"
He stopped. Mr. Justi ce Wargrave st ill   in thesame thin sour voice
addressed  Armstrong.
"I take i t, Dr. Armstrong, that a woman woul d  have  been physically capable
of   stri king the bl ow that killed poor Macarthur?"
The doctor sai d calmly:
"Perfect ly  capable-given a sui table  instrument, such as a rubber truncheon
or   cosh."
"It woul d requi re no undue exerti on of   force?"
"Not at all ."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave wri ggled his tortoi se-like neck. He sai d:
"The other two deaths have resul ted  f rom the administrati on of  drugs. That,
no   one will  dispute, i s easily compassed  by a person of  thesmallest
physical   strength."
Vera cried angrily:
"I think  you' re mad!"
Hi s eyes turnedsl owly t ill  they rested on her. It was the di spassi onate
stare   of  a man well used to wei ghing  humani t y  in the balance. She thought:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
f  t;
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"He' s  just seeing me as a-as a specimen. And"-the thought came to her wi th
real   surpri se-"he doesn' t like me much!
In measured tones the  j udge was saying:
"My dear  young  l ady, do try and restrain  your feelings. I am  not accusing
you."  He bowed toMi ss Brent. "I hope, Miss Brent, that you are not
offended by my    insistence that all of  us are equally under suspici on?"
Emily Brent was kni tting. She di d  not l ook up. In a col d  voi ceshe said:
"The  i dea that I shoul d be accused of  taking a  fellow creature' s  life-not
to   speak of  the lives of  three  fell ow creatures-i s, of  course, qui te absurd
to any  one who knows anything of  my  character. But I qui te appreciate the
fact that we   are all strangers to one another and that i n those
ci rcumstances, nobody can be  exonerated wi thout the  fullest proof. There
is, as I have said, a devil  amongst   us."
The j udge said:
"Then we are agreed. There can be  no eliminat i on on the ground of  character
or   posi t i on al one."
Lombard sai d:
"What about Rogers?"
The j udge  l ooked at him unblinkingly.
"What about him?"
Lombard sai d:
"Well , to my mind, Rogers seems pretty well rul ed out."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"Indeed, and on what grounds?"
Lombard sai d:
"He hasn' t got the brains  for one thing. And  for another his wife was one
of  the  vi ct ims."
The j udge's heavy eyebrows rose once more. Hesaid:
"In my t ime,  young man, several  people have come  before me accused of  the
murders   of  thei r wives-and  have been  found guil t y. "
"Oh! I agree. Wife murder  is perfect ly possible-almost natural , let' s say!
But   not thi s particular kind! I can  believe  in Rogers killing  his wife
because  he was  scared of  her breaking down and  giving him away, or because
he'd taken a di slike  to her, or because  he wanted to link up wi th some  nice
li ttle bi t rather less    l ong  in the tooth. But I can't see him as the
lunat i c Mr. Owen dealing out crazy  j ustice and starting on his own wife  for
a crime they  both commi tted."   Mr. Justi ce Wargravesai d:
"You are assuming  heresay to be evidence. We do not know that Rogers and
his wife  conspi red to murder thei r empl oyer. That may
278        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
have been a  false statement, made so that Rogers shoul d appear to be  in the
same  posi t i on as ourselves. Mrs. Rogers'  terror last ni ght may  have been due
to the  fact that she realized her husband was mentally unhinged."
Lombard sai d:
"Well ,  have  i t  your own way. U. N. Owen  i s one of  us. No ei cepti ons
all owed. We  all qualify."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"My point  i s that there can be  no except i ons all owed on the score of
character,   posi t i on, or probabili t y. What we must now examine  is the
possibili t y of   eliminat ing one or more persons on the facts.To put i t
simply,  i s there among  us one or more persons who coul d not possibly  have
administered ei ther Cyani de   to AnthonyMarston, or an overdose of sleeping
draught to Mrs. Rogers, and who   had no opportuni t y of  stri king the bl ow
that killed General Macarthur?"  Bl ore' s rather heavy  face  li t up. He l eant
forward.
"Now you' re tal king, Si r!" he said. "That' s the stuff!  Let's go i nto i t.
As  regards young Marston I don't think there' s anyt hing to be done. It' s
al ready  been suggested that some one  f rom outsi deslipped something  into
the dregs of  his  gl ass  before he refilled  i t for the  last time. A person
actually  in the room  coul d have done that even more easily. I can' t
remember  if   Rogers was in the  room, but any of  the rest of  us coul d
certainly  have done  i t."
He paused, then went on.
"Now take the woman Rogers. The peopl e who stand out there are her husband
and  the doctor. Ei ther of  them coul d  have done  i t as easy  as winking-"
Armstrong sprang to his  feet. He was trembling.
"I protest- This  i s absol utely uncalled  for! I swear that the dose I gave
the  woman was perfect ly-"
"Dr. Armstrong."
Thesmall  sour voice was compelling. The doctor stopped wi th a jerk  in the
middle   of  his  sentence. Thesmall   col d voi ce went on.
"Your indi gnati on  is  very  natural . Nevertheless  you must admi t that the
facts  have got to be  faced. Ei ther  you or Rogers coul d have administered
a fatal  dose  wi th the greatest ease. Let us now consider the posi ti on of
the other peopl e  present. What chance  had 1, had Inspector Bl ore, hadMi ss
Brent, hadMiss  Cl ayt horne, had Mr. Lombard of  administering poison? Can
any one of  us be  completely and enti rely eliminated?" He paused. "I think
not."
Vera sai d angrily:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"I was nowhere near the woman!  All  of   you canswear to that."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave wai ted a  minute, then he said:
"As  far as my memory  serves me the facts were these-will any one pl ease
correct   me  if I make a  misstatement? Mrs. Rogers was  lif ted onto the sof a
by  Anthony  Marston and Mr. Lombard and Dr. Armstrong went to her. He sent
Rogers for brandy. There was then a quest i on rai sed as to where the voi ce
we had  j ust heard had come  f rom. We all went into the next room wi t h the
excepti on ofMiss Brent who   remained  in this room-al one wi th the
unconsci ous woman."
A spot of  col our came  intoEmily Brent' s cheeks. She stopped kni tting. She
said:  "Thi s  is outrageous!"
The remorsel esssmall  voice went on.
"When we returned to this room,  you, Miss Brent, were bending over the
woman on   the sofa."
Emily Brent sai d:
"Is common humani t y a criminal offence?"
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"I am only  establishing  facts. Rogers then entered the room wi th the brandy
which, of  course, he coul d qui te well  have doctored before entering the
room. The  brandy was administered to the woman andshortly af terwards her
husband and Dr.  Armstrong assisted her up to bed where Dr. Armstrong gave
her a sedat ive."  Bl ore sai d:
"That' s what happened. Absol utely.  And that l ets out the  j udge, Mr.
Lombard,   myself andMiss Clayt horne."
Hi s  voi ce was  l oud and  j ubilant. Mr. Justi ce Wargrave, bringing a col d eye
to   bear upon him, murmured:
"Ah, but does i t? We must take into account every possible eventuali t y. "
Bl ore stared. He sai d:
"I don't get you."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"Upstai rs  in  her room, Mrs. Rogers is  lying  in  bed. The sedative that the
doctor   has given  her begins to take effect. She  i s vaguelysleepy and
acqui escent.   Supposing that at that moment there is a tap on the door and
some one enters  bringing her, shall  we say, a tablet, or a draught, wi th
the message that ' the   doctor says  you' re to take this. '  Do you imagine  for
one  minute that she woul d  not have swall owed  i t obedi ent ly wi thout thinking
twi ce about i t?"
280        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
There was a silence. Bl ore shif ted  his  feet and f rowned. Philip Lombard
said:  "I don't believe  in that story  for a minute. Besides  none of  us  lef t
thi s room  for hours af terwards. There was Marston' s death and all the rest
of   i t."  The j udge said:
"Some one coul d have  lef t his or her bedroom-later."
Lombard obj ected:
"But then Rogers woul d have been up there."
Dr. Armstrong sti rred.
"No," he sai d. "Rogers went downstai rs to cl ear up in the diningroom and
pantry.  Any one coul d  have gone up to the woman' s  bedroom then wi t hout
being seen."Emily  Brent sai d:
"Surely, doctor, the woman woul d have been  fast asleep by then under the
influence of  the drug you had administered?"
"In all   likelihood, yes. But i t is not a certaint y. Unt il   you  have pre-
scribed    for a pati ent more than once  you cannot tell  thei r react i on to
different drugs.   There  i s, sometimes, a consi derable peri od before a
sedat ive takes effect. It   depends on the personal   idi osyncrasy of  the
pati ent towards that parti cular  drug."
Lombard sai d:
"Of  course  you woul d say that, doctor. Sui ts  your book-eh?"
Again  Armstrong's  face darkened wi t h anger.
But again that passi onless col d  li ttle voi ce stopped the words on his  lips.
"No good resul t can come  f rom recriminat i on. Facts are what we have to deal
wi th.  It i s established, I think, that there  i s a possibili t y of  such a
thing as I have   outlined occurring. I agree that i ts probabili t y  value  is
not hi gh; though there   again,  i t depends on who that person might have
been. The appearance ofMiss  Brent or ofMiss Clayt horne on such an errand
woul d have occasi oned  no surprise  in the pati ent's  mind. I agree that the
appearance of  myself, or of  Mr. Bl ore,   or of  Mr.Lombard coul d have been,
to say the  l east of   i t, unusual ,  but I still  think the  visi t woul d have
been received wi t hout the awakening of  any real  suspici on."
Bl ore sai d:
"And that gets us-where?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
7
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave, stroking his Up and  l ooking qui te passi onless and
inhuman,  sai d:
"We have now deal t wi th the second killing, and  have established the  fact
that   no one of  us can  be completely exonerated f rom suspici on."
He paused and went on.
"We come now to the death of  General  Macarthur. That took pl ace thi s
morning. I  will ask any one who consi ders that he or she has an alibi to
state i t in so many  words. I myself  will   state at once that I have no valid
alibi . I spent the  morningsi tt ing on the terrace and medi tating on the
singular posi t i on  in which  we all   find ourselves.
"I sat on that chai r on the terrace for the whol e morning unt il  the gong
went,   but there were, I shoul d imagine, several  peri ods during the morning
when I was  qui te unobserved and during which  i t woul d have been possible
for me to wal k down   to the sea, kill the General ,  and return to my chai r.
There  i s only my word for   the fact that I never  l eft the terrace. In the
ci rcumstances that i s  not enough.   There must be proof ."
Bl ore sai d:
"I was wi th Mr. Lombard and Dr. Armstrong all  the morning. They' ll   bear me
out."   Dr. Armstrong sai d:
"You went to the house for a rope."
Bl ore sai d:
"Of  course, I di d. Went strai ght there and strai ght back. You know I di d."
Armstrong sai d:
"You were a l ong time.
Bl ore turned crimson.
He sai d:
"What the hell  do  you mean  by that, Dr. Armstrong?"
Armstrong repeated:
"I onlysai d  you were a  l ong time."
"Had to find  i t, di dn' t I? Can' t l ay  your  hands on a coil  of  rope all   in
a  minute."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
282        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"During Inspector Bl ore's absence, were  you two gent l emen together?"
Armstrong sai d hotly:
"Certainly. That is, Lombard went off   for a few minutes. I remained where
I   was."
Lombard said wi th asmile:
"I wanted to test the possibili t ies of   heli ographing to the mainland.
Wanted   to find the best spot. I was only absent a minute or two."
Armstrong nodded. He sai d:
"That' s ri ght. Not l ong enough to do a murder, I assure  you."
The  j udge said:
"Di d ei ther of   you two gl ance at your watches?"
"Well, no."
Philip Lombard said:
"I wasn' t wearing one."
The  j udge said evenly:
"A  minute or two is a vague expressi on."
He turned his  head to the upri ght figure wi th the kni tt ing  lying on her
lap.  "Miss Brent?"
Emily  Brent sai d:
"I took a wal k wi thMiss Clayt horne up to the top of  the  island. Af terwards
I   sat on the terrace in the sun."
The  j udge said:
"I don't think I noti ced  you there."
"No, I was round the corner of  the house to the east. It was out of  the
wind   there."
"And  you sat there till   lunch time?"
"Yes."
"Miss Clayt horne?"
Vera answered readily and clearly.
"I was wi thMiss Brent early this morning. Af ter that I wandered about a
bi t.   Then I went down and tal ked to General  Macarthur."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave  interrupted. He sai d:
"What time was that?"
Vera for the first time was vague. Shesai d:
"I don't know. About an hour before l unch, I think-or i t might have been
less."
Bl ore asked:
"Was  i t af ter we'd spoken to him or before?"
Vera sai d:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
i
.1
I
"I don't know. He-he was very queer."
She shivered.
"In what way was  he queer?" the  j udge wanted to know.
Vera sai d  in a  l ow voi ce:
"He sai d we were all  going to di e-he said he was wai t ing  for the end. He-he
f rightened me. . .."
The  j udge nodded. He sai d:
"What di d  you do next?"
"I went back to the house. Then,  j ust before l unch, I went out again and
up   behind the house. I'v e  been terribly rest l ess all day."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave stroked his chin. He said:
"There remains  Rogers. Though I doubt if   his evidence will   add anyt hing to
our   sum of  knowl edge."
Rogers, summoned  before the court, had very  li ttle to tell . He  bad been
busy all   the morning about househol d duti es and wi th the preparati on of
lunch. He had   taken cocktails onto the terrace before l unch and  had then
gone up to remove  his  things  f rom the atti c to another room. He had not
l ooked out of  the window during   the morning and had seen  nothing that coul d
have any  bearing upon the death of   General  Macarthur. He woul d swear
defini tely that there had  been eight china  figures upon the dining-table
when  he  lai d the table  for l unch.
At the concl usi on of  Rogers'  evi dence there was a pause.
Mr. Justi ce Wararave cleared his throat.
Lombard murmured to Vera Cl ayt horne;
"The summing up will  now take pl ace!"
The j udge said:
"We have  inquired  into the ci rcumstances of  these three deaths to the best
of  our   abili t y. Whilst probabili t y  in  some cases  i s  against certain peopl e
being  implicated,  yet we cannot say defini tely that any one person can be
considered  as cl eared of  all complici t y. I rei terate my posi t ive  belief
that of  the seven  persons assembled  in this room  one  i s a dangerous and
probably  insane criminal . There  i s  no evi dence  before us as to who that
person  i s. All   we can do at the  present  j uncture i s  to consi der what
measures we can take for communicat ing wi th   the mainland  for hel p, and  in
the event of  help being delayed (as  is only too   possible given the state
of  the weather) what measures we must adopt to ensure  our safet y.
"I woul d ask  you all  to consi der this carefully and to give me any
suggest i ons  that may occur to you. In the meantime I warn everybody to be
upon his or her  guard. So far the murderer has had an
I
i
284        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
easy task, since  his vict ims  have  been unsuspici ous. From now on, i t i s our
task to suspect each and every one amongst us. Forewarned  is  forearmed. Take
no  ri sks and  be alert to danger. That i s all . "
r
Philip Lombard murmured beneath his  breath:
"The court will   now adj ourn. .
CHAPTER 10
"Do YOU BELIEVE i t?" Vera asked.
She and Philip Lombard sat on the window-sill  of the  living-room. Outsi de
the   rain poured down and the wind howled  in great shuddering gusts against
the  window-panes.
Philip Lombard cocked hi s  headslightly on oneside  before answering. Then
he  sai d:
C(You mean, do I believe that ol d Wargrave  is right when he says  i t 's one
of  us?"  "Yes."
Philip Lombard saidsl owly:
"It' s difficul t to say. Logically,  you know, he's ri ght, and  yet-"
Vera took the words out of  his mouth.
"And  yet i t seems so incredible!"
Philip Lombard made a grimace.
"The whol e thing's  incredible! But af ter Macarthur' s death there's no more
doubt   as to one thing. There' s  no questi on now of  acci dents or suicides.
It' s   defini tely murder. Three murders up to date."
Vera shivered. She sai d:
"It' s  like some awful dream. I keep feeling that things  like this can' t
happen!"  He said wi th understanding:
"I know. Present ly a tap will come on the door, and early morning tea will
be  brought in."
Vera sai d:
"Oh, how I wi sh that coul d  happen!"
Philip Lombard said gravely:
"Yes, but i t won't! We' re all   in the dream! And we've got to be pretty much
upon   our guard f rom  now on."
Vera sai d,  l owering  her voi ce:
"If -if  i t  is one of  them-which do you think  i t  i s?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Philip Lombard grinned suddenly. He said:
"I take i t  you are excepting our two selves? Well,  that' s all ri ght. I know
very  well that I'm not the murderer, and I don't fancy that there's
anyt hing  insane  about you, Vera. You stri ke me as being one of  the sanest
and most l evel -headed  gi rls I've come across. I'd stake my reputati on on
your sani t y."
Wi th aslight ly wry  smile, Vera sai d:
"Thank  you."
He sai d:
"Come now, Mi ss Vera Cl ayt home, aren' t  you going to return the compliment?"
Vera hesi tated a minute, thenshe said:
"You've admi tted, you know, that you don't hol d human  life par-
t'~ularly sacred, but all  the same I can' t see  you as-as the man who
di ctated that  gramophone record."
Lombard said:
"Qui te ri ght. If  I were to commi t one or more murders i t woul d be sol ely
for what   I coul d get out of  them. This mass cl earance  isn' t my  line of
country. Good, then  we'll eliminate ourselves and concentrate on our five
fell ow pri soners. Which of    them  is U. N. Owen? Well, at a guess, and wi th
absol utely  nothing to go upon, I'd   pl ump  for Wargrave!"
"Oh!" Vera sounded surprised. She thought a minute or two and then said,
"Why?"  "Hard to say exactly. But to begin wi t h, he's an ol d man and he' s
been presiding   over courts of   law  for years. That is to say, he's pl ayed
God Almight y  for a good   many months every  year. That must go to a man's
head eventually. He gets to see  himself  as all powerful, as  hol ding the
power of   life and death-and  i t ' s possible  that his brain  might snap and he
might want to go one step farther and  beExecu-  tioner and Judge
Extraordinary. "
Vera sai dsl owly:
"Yes, I suppose that' s possible.
Lombard said:
"Who do you pl ump  for?"
Wi thout any  hesi tat i on Vera answered:
"Dr. Armstrong."
Lombard gave a  l ow whist l e.
"The doctor, ch? You know, I shoul d have put him  last of  all."
Vera shook her head.
"Oh, no!Two of  the deaths have  been poison. That rather points
286        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
to a doctor. And then  you can' t get over the  fact that the only thing we are
absol utely certain Mrs. Rogers had was thesl eeping draught that he gave
her."  Lombard admi tted:
"Yes, that' s true."
Vera persisted:
"If  a doctor went mad,  i t woul d  be a  l ong time  before any one suspected.
And  doctors overwork and have a  l ot of  strain."
Philip Lombard said:
"Yes, but I doubt if   he coul d have killed Macarthur. He woul dn' t have  had
time  during that brief   interval when I  l ef t him-not, that is, unless he
fai rly  hared  down there and back again, and I doubt if   he' s  in good enough
training to do that   and show nosi gns of   i t."
Vera sai d:
"He di dn' t do i t then. He had an opportuni t y  later."
"When?"
"When  he went down to call the General  to l unch. "
Philip whist l ed again  very  sof tly. He said:
"So you think  he did  i t then? Pretty cool  thing to do."
Vera sai d impat i ent ly:
"What ri sk was there? He' s the only person here wi th medical  knowl edge. He
can  swear the body's been dead at l east an hour and who' s to contradi ct
him?"  Philip  l ooked at her thoughtfully.
"You know," he said, "that' s a cl ever  i dea of   yours. I wonder-"
2
"Who is  i t, Mr. Bl ore?That' s what I want to know. Who  i s  i t?"
Rogers'   face was working. Hi s  hands were clenched round the polishing
leather   that he held  in  his hand.
Ex-Inspector Bl ore sai d:
"Eh, my ]ad, that' s the quest i on!"
"One of  us, 'is  l ordshi psaid. Which one?That' s what I want to know. Who's
the  fiend  in'uman  form?"
"That," sai d Bl ore, "is what we all  woul d  like to know."
Rogers sai dshrewdly:
"But you've got an  i dea, Mr. Bl ore. You've got an i dea, 'aven' t
you?"
C47       _" A    19.1 AT3 I
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
f rom being sure. I may  be wrong. All I can say  is that if I'm ri ght the
person  in quest i on  is a very  cool  customer-a very  cool  customer  indeed."
Rogers wi ped the perspi rat i on  f rom his  forehead. He sai d  hoarsely:  "It' s
like a bad dream, that' s what i t is."
Bl ore sai d, l ooking at him curi ously:
"Got any  ideas  yourself, Rogers?"
The butler shook hi s  head. He sai d  hoarsely:
"I don't know. I don't know at all .  And that' s what' s  f rightening the  life
out   of  me. To have no  i dea.
3
Dr. Armstrong sai d vi olent ly:
"We must get out of   here-we must-we must! At all   costs!"
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave  l ooked thoughtfully out of  thesmoking room window.
He  pl ayed wi th the cord of  his eyeglasses. He said:
"I do not, of  course, profess to be a weather prophet. But I shoul d say
that i t  i s  very unlikely that a boat coul d reach us-even  if they knew of
our plight-under   twenty-four hours-and even then only  if the wind drops."
Dr. Armstrong dropped hi s  head  in  his  hands and groaned.
He sai d:
"And  in the meantime we may  all  be murdered  in  our beds?"
"I hope not," sai d Mr. Justice Wargrave. "I  intend to take every possible
precauti on against such a thing happening."
It flashed across Dr. Armstrong' s  mind that an old man  like the  j udge, was
far  more tenaci ous of   life than a  younger man woul d be. He had of ten
marvelled at   that fact  in his professi onal career. Here was he,  j uni or to
the j udge by perhaps   twent y  years, and  yet wi th a vast ly  inferi or sense of
self-preservat i on.  Mr. Justi ce Wargrave was thinking:
"Murdered in our beds!These doctors are all the same-they think  in
cliches. A   thoroughly commonplace  mind."
The doctor sai d:
"There have  been three vict ims already, remember.
"Certainly. But you must remember that they were unprepared  for the attack.
We  are forewarned."
Dr. Arrnstron~4 sai d bi tterly:
288        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"What can we do? Sooner or l ater-"
"I think," said Mr. Just i ce Wargrave, "that there are several  things we can
do."
Armstrong sai d:
"We've no  i dea, even, who i t can be-"
The j udge stroked his chin and murmured:
"Oh, you know, I woul dn' t qui te say that."
Armstrong stared at him.
"Do you mean  you know?"
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said caut i ously:
"As regards actual  evidence, such as  is  necessary  in  court, I admi t that
I   have none. But i t appears to me, reviewing the whol e  business, that one
parti cular person  is sufficient ly  clearly  indicated. Yes, I think so.
Armstrong stared at him.
He sai d:
"I don't understand."
4
Mi ss Brent was upstai rs  in her bedroom.
She took up her Bible and went to si t by the window.
She opened  i t. Then, af ter a minutes hesi tat i on, she set i t asi de and went
over   to the dressing-table. From a drawer in  i tshe took out a small  black-
covered  notebook.
She opened  i t and began wri t ing.
"A terrible thing has happened. General  Macarthur i s dead. (Hi s cousin
marri edElsie MacPherson.)There  i s  no doubt but that he was murdered.
Af ter  l uncheon the  j udge made us a most interesting speech. He is convinced
that the murderer  i s one   of  us. That means that one of  us  i s possessed by
a devil . I had al ready  suspected   that. Which of  us  is  i t ?They are all
asking themselves that. I al one know. . .   .
She sat for some time wi t hout moving. Her eyes grew vague and  filmy. The
pencil  straggl ed drunkenly  in  her  fingers. Inshaking  l oose capi tal sshe
wrote:  THE MURDERER'S NAME  i s BEATRICE TAYLOR. . . .
Her eyes cl osed.
Suddenly, wi th a start, she awoke. She l ooked down at the note-
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
ff
book. Wi th an angry exclamat i onshescored through the vague unevenly
scrawled  characters of  the last sentence. Shesai d  in a  l ow voi ce: "Did I
wri te that?  Di d I? I must be going mad.
5
The storm  increased. The wind howl ed against thesi de of  the house. Every
one was  in the  living-room. Theysat list l essly  huddl ed together. And,
surrepti ti ously, they watched each other.
When Rocyers  brought in the tea-tray, they all   jumped.
He sai d:
"Shall  I draw the curtains? It woul d make  i t more cheerful   like."
Receiving an assent to thi s, the curtains were drawn and the  l amps turned
on. The   room grew more cheerful .  A  li tt l e of  the shadow lif ted. Surely, by
to-morrow, the   storm woul d be over and some one woul d come-a  boat woul d
arrive.
Vera Claythomesaid:
"Will   you pour out tea, Mi ss Brent ?"
The el der woman replied:
"No, you do i t, dear.That tea-pot i s so heavy.  And I have  l ost two skeins
of  my  grey kni tting-wool . So annoying."
Vera moved to the tea-tabl e. There was a cheerful rattl e and clink of
china.  Normali t y returned.
Tea! Bl essed ordinary everyday af ternoon tea! Philip Lombard made a cheery
remark. Bl ore responded. Dr. Armstrong tol d a humorous story. Mr. Justi ce
Wargrave, who ordinarily  hated tea, si pped approvingly.
Into this rel axed at mosphere came Rogers.
And Rogers was upset. He sai d  nervously  and at random:
"Excuse me, si r, but does any one know what' s  become of  the bathroom
curtain?"  Lombard' s  head went up wi th a  j erk.
"The bathroom curtain? What the devil  do  you mean, Rogers?"
"It' s gone, si r, cl ean vanished. I was going round drawing all the
curtaiiis and   the one in the  l av-bathroom wasn' t there any  l onger."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave asked:
"Was  i t there thi s morning?"
290        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Oh,  yes, si r." Bl ore sai d: "What kind of  a curtain was  i t?" "Scarl et
oilsilk, si r. It went wi th the scarlet tiles." Lombard sai d: "And  i t's
gone?" "Gone,  Si r."They  stared at each other. Bl ore sai d heavily: "Well-
af ter all-what of    i t? It' s mad-but so' s everything else. Anyway,  i t doesn' t
matter. You can' t  kill anybody wi t h an oilsilk curtain. Forget about i t."
Rogers sai d: "Yes, si r,  thank  you, si r." He went out, shutting the door
behind  him. Inside the room,  the pall of   fear had  fallen anew. Again,
surrepti ti ously, they watched each  other.
6
Dinner came, was eaten, and cl eared away. Asimpl e meal , most ly out of
tins.  Af terwards, in the  living-room, the strain was almost too great to
be  borne.  At nine o'cl ock, Emily Brent rose to her feet. She sai d: "I'm
going to bed."   Vera sai d: "I'll  go to bed too."The two women went up the
stai rs and Lombard  and Bl ore came wi t h them. Standing at the top of  the
stai rs, the two men  watched the women go into thei r respect ive rooms and
shut the doors.They  heard the sound of  two bol ts beingshot and the
turning of  two keys. Bl ore  sai d wi t h a grin: "No need to tell  'em to l ock
thei r doors!" Lombard said:  "Well , they're all ri ght for the night, at any
rate!" He went down again and  the other foll owed him.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
7
The four men went to bed an hour l ater. They went up together. Rogers, f rom
the  di ning-room where  he was setting the tabl e  for breakfast, saw them go
up. He   heard them pause on the  l anding above.
Then the  j udge's voi ce spoke.
"I need hardly advise  you, gentl emen, to l ock your doors.'
Bl ore sai d:
"And, what' s more, put a chai r under the handle. There are ways of  turning
l ocks  f rom the outsi de."
Lombard murmured:
"My dear Bl ore, the trouble wi th  you  i s  you know too much!"
The  j udge said gravely:
"Good-ni ght, gentlemen. May we all  meet safely  in the morning!"
Rogers came out of  the dining-room andslipped halfway up the stai rs. He
saw  four   figures pass through  four doors and heard the turning of   four
l ocks and the  shooti ng of   four bol ts.
He nodded hi s  head.
"That' s all ri ght," he muttered.
He went back  into the dining-room. Yes, everyt hing was ready  for the
morning. His  eye  lingered on the centre pl aque of l ooking-glass and the
seven  li tt l e china  figures.
A sudden grin transformed his  face.
He murmured:
"I'll see no one pl ays tri cks to-ni ght, at any rate."
Crossing the room  he  l ocked the door to the pantry. Then going through the
other   door to the hall  he pulled the door to, l ocked i t andslipped the key
into his  pocket.
Then, ext inguishing the  lights, he hurri ed up the stai rs and  into his new
bedroom.
There was only one possible  hiding-place  in  i t, the tall  wardrobe, and  lie
l ooked  i nto that immediately. Then,  l ocking and bol t ing the door, he
prepared for bed.  He sai d to himself:
"No more Indi aii tri cks to-ni ght. I'v eseen to that . . . ...
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
CHAPTER 11
PHILIP LOMBARD had the habi t of  waking at daybreak. He di d so on this
parti cular  morning. He raised  himself  on an elbow and  listened. The wind had
somewhat abated  but was still  bl owing. He coul d hear  no sound of  rain. . .
.
At ei ght o'cl ock the wind was bl owing more strongly,  but Lombard di d not
hear  i t.   He was asl eep again.
At nine-tbi rt y he wassi tt ing on the edge of   his bed l ooking at his watch.
He put   i t to hi s ear. Then  his  lips drew back  f rom his teeth in that
curi ous wolf -likesmile characteristic of  the man.
He sai d  very  sof t ly:
"I think the time  has come to do something about thi s."
At twent y-five  minutes to ten he was tapping on the cl osed door of  Bl ore's
room.   The  l atter opened  i t cauti ously. His hai r was tousl ed and  his eyes
were still  dim  wi thsleep.
Philip Lombard sai d affably:
"Sl eeping the cl ock round? Well , shows  you've got an easy  conscience."
Bl ore sai dshortly:
"What' s the matter?"
Lombard answered:
"Anybody called  you-or brought you any tea? Do you know what time  i t  i s?"
Bl ore l ooked over hi sshoul der at a small travelling cl ock by  his  bedside.
He sai d:
"Twenty-five to ten. Woul dn' t have  believed I coul d haveslept like that.
Where's  Rogers?"
Philip Lombard sai d:
"It' s a case of  echo answers where?"
"What d'you mean?" asked the other sharply.
Lombard sai d:
"I mean that Rogers i s missing. He  i sn' t  in his room or anywhere else. And
there's no kettl e on and the ki tchen  fire  isn' t even  fi t."
Bl ore swore under his  breath. He sai d:
"Where the devil  can he  be? Out on the  i sland somewhere? Wai t
293
Philip Lombard nodded. He moved al ong the  line of  cl osed doors. He found
Armstron  up and nearly dressed. Mr. Justi ce Wargrave,  like Bl ore, had to be
roused f romsl eep. Vera Cl ayt horne was dressed. Emily Brent' s room was
empt y.
The li tt l e party moved through the house. Rogers'  room, as Philip Lombard
had  al ready ascertained, was untenanted. The bed had beenslept in, and  his
razor and  sponge and soap were wet.
Lombard sai d:
"He got up all ri ght."
Vera sai d  in a  l ow voi ce whichshe tri ed to make  firm and assured: "You
don't  think he's-hiding somewhere-wai t ing  for us?"
Lombard sai d:
"My dear gi rl , I'm prepared to think anything of  any one!My advice  is that
we  keep together until  we  find  him. "
Armstrong sai d:
"He must be out on the  i sland somewhere."
Bl ore who had  j oined them, dressed, but still  unshaved, said:
"Where' sMiss Brent got to-that' s another mystery?"
But as they arrived  in the hall, Emily Brent came  in through the  f ront
door. She  had on a mackintosh. Shesai d:
"The sea  i s as  high as ever. I shoul dn' t think any  boat coul d put out to-
day."  Bl ore sai d:
"Have  you been wandering about the island al one, Miss Brent? Don' t you
realize  that that' s an exceedingly  foolish thing to do?"
Emily Brent sai d:
"I assure you, Mr. Bl ore, that I kept an extremely  sharp  l ookout." Bl ore
grunted.  He sai d:
"Seen anyt hing of  Rogers?"
Miss Brent' s eyebrows rose.
"Rogers? No, I haven' t seen him this morning. Why?"
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave, shaved, dressed and wi th  his  false teeth in posi t i on,
came  down the stai rs. He moved to the open dining-room door. He sai d:
"Ha, l aid the tabl e  for breakfast, I see."
Lombard sai d:
"He might have done that l ast ni ght."
They all moved  insi de the room,  l ooking at the neatly  set plates and
cutl ery.  At   the row of  cups on thesi deboard. At the  fel t mats pl aced ready
for the coffee  urn.
It was Vera who saw  i t fi rst. She caught the j udge' s arm and the Prin of
herathl et i c  finper,, made the ol d Pentl eman wince
294
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
She cri ed out: "The Indi ans! Look!"There were only  six china  figures  in the
middle of  the tabl e.
2
They  found himshortly af terwards.
He was in the  li ttle wash-house across the  yard. He had been chopping
sti cks  in  preparati on  for  li ght ing the ki tchen  fire. Thesmall  chopper was
still  in  his  hand. A bigger chopper, a heavy affai r,  was  l eaning against
the door-the metal   of   i t stained a dull   brown. It corresponded only too
well wi th the deep wound  in   the back of  Rogers'  head. . ..
3
"Perfect ly  clear," sai d  Armstrong. "The murderer must have crept up behind
him,  swung the chopper once and brought i t down on his  head as  he was
bending over."  Bl ore was busy on the handle of  the chopper and the fl our
sif ter  f rom the  ki tchen.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave asked:
"Woul d  i t have needed great force, doctor?"
Armstrong sai d gravely:
"A woman coul d have done  i t if  that's what  you mean." He gave a qui ck
gl ance  round. Vera Clayt horne and Emily  Brent had reti red to the ki tchen.
"The gi rl  coul d have done  i t easily-she' s an athletic type. In appearance
Miss Brent is  f ragile  l ooking, but that type of  woman  has of ten a  l ot of
wi ry  strength. And  you  must remember that any one who' s mentally unhinged
has a good deal  of  unsuspected  strength."
The j udge  nodded thoughtfully.
Bl ore rose f rom his knees wi th asigh. He sai d:
"No fingerprints. Handle was wi ped af terwards."
A sound of   l aughter was heard-they turned sharply. Vera Clayt horne was
standing    in the  yard. She cri ed out in a highshrill voice, shaken wi th
wild himtz  nf     lnimht~r-
I
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"Do they keep bees on thi s  island?Tell  me that. Where do we go for honey?
Ha!  ha!"
They stared at her uncomprehendingly. It was as though the sane well-
balanced  gi rl   had gone mad  before thei r eyes. She went on  in that hi gh
unnatural  voi ce.  "Don't stare like that! As though you thought I was mad.
It' s sane enough what   I'm asking. Bees, hives, bees! Oh, don't you
understand? Haven' t you read that   i di ot i c rhyme?  It' s up in all  your
bedrooms-put there for you to study! We  might  have come  here strai ghtaway
if  we'd  had sense. Seven  li tt l e Indian  boys chopping   up sti cks. And the
next verse. I know the whole thing by  heart, I tell   you! Six  li tt l e Indian
boys playing wi th a hive.  And that' s why I'm asking-do they keep  bees on
thi s  island?-isn' t  i t funny?-isn' t  i t damned  funny. . . T'    She began
laughing wildly again. Dr. Armstrong strode forward. He raised his  hand  and
struck her a fl at bl ow on the cheek.
She gasped, hi ccuped-and swall owed. She stood mot i onless a  minute, thenshe
said:  "Thank  you. . . I'm all ri ght now."
Her voice was once more calm and controlled-the voice of  the efficient
games  mistress.
She turned and went across the  yard  into the ki tchen saying: "Miss Brent
and I  are getting  you breakfast. Can  you-bring some st i cks to light the
fi re?"The marks of  the doctor' s hand stood out red on her cheek.
Asshe went  into the ki tchen Bl ore sai d:
"Well ,  you deal t wi th that all  right, doctor."
Armstrong sai d apol ogeti cally:
"Had to! We can' t cope wi th hysteri a on the top of  everything else."
Philip Lombard sai d:
"She's not a hysterical  t ype."
Armstrong agreed.
"Oh, no. Good heal thy sensible gi rl . Just the suddenshock. It might happen
to   anybody."
Rogers had chopped a certain amount of   firewood before he had been killed.
They  gathered  i t up and took i t into the ki tchen. Vera and Emily Brent were
busy. Miss  Brent was raking out the stove. Vera was cutting the rind off
the bacon.   Emily Brent sai d:
"Thank  you. We'll   be as qui ck as we can-say  half  an  hour to
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
296
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
4
Ex-Inspector Bl ore sai d  in a  l ow hoarse voi ce to Philip Lombard: "Know what
I'm  thinkina?"
Philip Lombard sai d:
"As  you' re  just about to tell me,  i t' s  not worth the trouble of  guessing."
Ex-Inspector Bl ore was an earnest man. A  light touch was  incomprehensible
to him.  He went on heavily:
"There was a case  in America. Ol d gent l eman and his wife-both killed wi th
an axe.  Mi ddle of  the morning. Nobody  in the  house but the daughter and the
maid. Mai d,  i t was proved, coul dn' t have done  i t. Daughter was a
respectable  middle-aged  spinster. Seemed  incredible. So incredible that
they acqui tted her. But they  never  found any other expl anati on." He paused.
"I thought of  that when I saw the  axe -and then when I went into the
ki tchen and saw  her there so neat and calm.  Hadn' t turned a hai r!That
gi rl , coming all  over hysteri cal  -well, that' s  natural-the sort of  thing
you'd expect-don't you think so?"
Philip Lombard sai d  laconically:
"It might be."
Bl ore went on.
"But the other! So neat and prim-wrapped up  in that apron-Mrs. Rogers'
apron, I   suppose-saying:  'Breakfast will  be ready  in  half an hour or so.'
If   you ask me  that woman' s as mad as a hatter! Lots of  el derly  spinsters
go that way-I don't   mean go in  for homicide on the grand scale, but go
queer in their heads.  Unfortunately  i t ' s taken her this way. Religi ous
mania-thinksshe's God' s  instrument, something of  that kind! Shesi ts  in
her room,  you know, reading  her  Bible."
Philip Lombardsi ghed and said:
"That' s hardly proof  posi t ive of  an unbalanced mentali t y, Bl ore." But Bl ore
went  on, pl oddingly, perseveringly:
"And thenshe was out-in  her mackintosh, sai dshe'd  been down to l ook at
the  sea."
The other shook his head.
He sai d:
"Rogers was killed as  lie was chopping  firewood-that is to say  first thing
when    lie got up. Mi ss Brent woul dn' t have needed to wander
I
I
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
297
about outsi de  for hours af terwards. If   you ask me, the murderer of  Rogers
woul d  take j olly good care to be rolled up  in bedsnoring."
Bl ore sai d:
"You' re  missing the point, Mr. Lombard. If  the woman was  innocent she'd  be
too   dead scared to go wandering about by  herself .  She'd only do that if   she
knew that   she had nothing to fear. That' s to say  if   she herself  is the
criminal ."  Philip Lombard sai d:
"That' s a good point. . . . Yes, I hadn' t thought of  that."
He added wi th a faint grin:
"Glad  you don't still   suspect me."
Bl ore sai d rather shamefacedly:
"I di d start by thinking of   you-that revolver-and the queer story  you tol d-
or   di dn' t tell. But I'v e realized now that that was really a bi t too
obvi ous." He  paused and said: "Hope  you feel the same about me."
Philipsai d thoughtfully:
"I may  be wrong, of  course, but I can't feel that you'v e got enough
imaginat i on  for thi s  j ob. All  I can say  is,  if  you' re the criminal ,  you' re
a damned  fine  actor and I take my  hat off  to you." He l owered his  voi ce.
"Just between  ourselves, Bl ore, and taking  into account that we'll probably
both be a coupl e   of  st iffs  before another day  is out, you di d  indulge  in
that spot of  perj ury, I  suppose?"
Bl ore shif ted uneasily  from one  foot to the other. He sai d at l ast:
"Doesn' t seem to make much odds now. Oh, well ,  here goes. Landor was innocent
ri ght enough. The gang had got me squared and  between us we got him put away
for  a stretch. Mind  you, I woul dn' t admi t this-"
"If  there were any wi t nesses,"  finished Lombard wi th a grin. "It' s j ust
between  you and me. Well, I hope you made a ti dy  bi t out of   i t."
"Di dn' t make what I shoul d have done. Mean crowd, the Purcell gang. I got
my  promoti on, though."
"And Landor got penal servi tude and di ed  in prison."
"I coul dn' t know he was goi ng to di e, coul d IT'  demanded Bl ore.
"No, that was your bad  l uck."
"Mine? His,  you mean."
"Yours, too. Because, as a resul t of   i t, i t l ooks as though  your own life
is  going to be cut unpl easant lyshort."
"Me?" Bl ore stared at him. "Do  you think I'm going to go the way of  Rogers
and  the rest of  them? Not me! I'm  watching out for mysel
pretty carefully, I can tell  you."
T       I-A: A
298        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Oh, well -I'm  not a betting man. And anyway  if   you were dead I woul dn' t get
pai d."
"Look here, Mr. Lombard, what do you mean?"
Philip Lombard showed his teeth. He sai d:
"I mean, my dear Bl ore, that in my opini on  you haven' t got a chance!"
"What?"
"Your l ack of  imaginati on  is going to make  you absol utely asi tting target.
A  criminal of  the imaginat i on of  U. N. Owen can make rings round you any
time  he-or she-wants to."
Bl ore's  face went crimson. He demanded angrily:
"And what about you?"
Philip Lombard's  face went hard and dangerous.
He sai d:
"I'v e a pretty good imaginat i on of  my own. I've been  in t i ght pl aces  before
now and got out of  them! I think-I won't say more than that but I think I'll
get out of  this one."
5
The eg s were in the  f rying-pan. Vera, at the stove, thought to her.9 self:
"Why di d I make a  hysteri cal   fool  of  myself? That was a mistake. Keep calm,
my  gi rl , keep calm. "
Af ter all , she'd al ways prided  herself  on  her  l evelheadedness!
"Mi ss Claythorne was wonderful -kept her head-started off   swimming af ter
Cyril   at once."
Why think of  that now? All  that was over-over. . . . Cyril   had
disappeared  l ong beforeshe got near the rock. She had  fel t the current take
her, sweeping her out to sea. She had  l et herself  go wi th  i tswimming qui et ly,
fl oat i ng-t ill  the  boat arrived at l ast . . . .
They had praised  her courage and her sang-f roi d. . ..
But not Hugo. Hugo had j ust-l ooked at her. . . .
God, how i t hurt, even now, to think of  Hugo . . . .
Where was  he? What was he doing? Was he engaged-marri ed?
Emily Brent sai dsharply:
"Vera, that bacon  i s  burning."
"Oh, sorry, Miss Brent, so i t is. How stupi d of  me."
Fmilv Rrpnt lif tPrI nzif  thp Inct P(Ta f rnni  01P 6771;nff  fqt
w
I
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I
I
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Vera, putting  f resh pieces of  bacon  in the  f rying-pan, said curi ously:
"You' re wonderfully calm, Miss Brent."
Emily Brent sai d, pressing  her  lips together:
"I was brought up to keep my  head and never to make a  fuss."
Vera thought mechanically:
"Repressed as a child. . . .That accounts for a l ot.
She sai d:
"Aren' t  you af raid?"
She paused and then added:
"Or don't you mind dying?"
Dying! It was as though a sharp  li tt l e gimlet had run  into the solid
congealed  mass of  Emily  Brent' s brain. Dying? But she wasn' t going to di e!
The otherswoul d  di e-yes-but not she, Emily Brent. This gi rl  didn' t
understand! Emily wasn' t   af raid, naturally-none of  the Brents were af raid.
All   her peopl e were Service  peopl e. They  faced death unflinchingly. They
led upri ght lives  j ust as she, Emily  Brent, had l ed  an upri ght life. . .
. She had never done anything to be ashamed   of . . . . And so, naturally,
she wasn' t going to di e. . ..
"The Lord is  mindful  of  his own." "Thou shal t  not be af raid  for the terror
by  night;  nor for the arrow that flieth  by day. . .." It was daylight now-
there was  no terror. "Weshall   none of  us  l eave this  island." Who had said
that? General   Macarthur, of  course, whose cousin had married El sie
MacPherson. He hadn' t seemed  to care. He had seemed-actually-to welcome the
idea! Wicked! Almost  impi ous to   feel  that way. Some peopl e thought so
li ttle of  death that they actually took   thei r own  lives. Beatri ceTayl or.
. . . Last ni ght she  had dreamed of   Beatri ce-dreamt that she was outsi de
pressing her  face against the window and  moaning, asking to be  l et in. But
Emily Brent hadn' t wanted to l et her  in.  Because, if she di d, something
terrible woul d happen. . . .
Emily came to herself wi th a start. That gi rl  was  looking at her very
strangely.  She sai d  in a  brisk voi ce:
"Everything' s ready,  isn' t i t? We'll  take the breakfast in."
6
Breakfast was a curi ous meal. Every one was very poli te. "May I get you some
more coffee, Miss Brent?"
49X X.               ~1II .~ 1-1
300        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Another pi ece of   bacon?"
Six peopl e, all outwardly  self-possessed and normal .
And wi thin? Thoughts that ran round in a ci rcle  like squi rrels  in a cage.
. .   .
"What next? What next? Who? Which?"
"Woul d  i t work? I wonder. It' s worth trying. If  there' s t ime. My
God, if  there' s time. . . ...
"Religi ous mania, that' s the ti cket. . . . Looking at her, though,
you can  hardly  believe  i t. . . . Suppose I'm wrong. . . ."
"It' s crazy-everyt hing' s crazy. I'm going crazy. Wool  disappearing -red
silk  curtains-i t doesn' t make sense. I can't get the hang of   i t. . . ."
"The damned  fool , he  believed every word I sai d to him. It was easy. . ..
I   must be careful, though, very careful."
"Six of  those  li ttl e china  figures  be  by to-ni ght?. . ."
"Who'll  have the  l ast egg?"
"Marmalade?"
"Thanks, can I give  you some  ham?"
Six peopl e, behaving normally at breakfast. . .
CHAPTER 12
onlysix-how many will  there
THE MEAL was over. Mr. Justi ce Wargrave cl eared his throat. He sai d  in  a
small  authori tative voice: "It woul d be advisable, I think,  if  we met to
di scuss thesi tuati on. Shall   we say  in  half an  hour' s time  in the drawing-
room?"Every one  made a sound suggest ive of  agreement. Vera began to pile
pl ates together. She  sai d: "I'll  clear away and wash up." Philip Lombard
said: "We'll  bring the  stuff  out to the pantry  for  you." "Thanks." Emily
Brent, ri sing to her feet,  sat cl own again. She said: "Oh, dear."The  j udge
said: "Anyt hing the matter, Mi ss Brent?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Emily said apol ogeti cally:
"I'm sorry. I'd  like to hel pMiss Clayt horne, but I don't know how i t i s.
I   feel  j ust a li ttle gi ddy. "
"Gi ddy, eh?" Dr. Armstrong came towards her. "Qui te natural . Delayedshock.
I   can give  you something to-"
"No!"
The word burst f rom  her  lips  like an expl odingshell .
It took every one aback. Dr. Armstrong flushed a deep red.
There was no mistaking the  fear and suspici on  in  her  face. He sai d st iffly:
"Just as you pl ease, Miss Brent."
She sai d:
"I don't wi sh to take anything-anyt hing at all . I will   just si t here
qui et ly  till  the giddiness passes off . "
They  finished clearing away the  breakfast things.
Bl ore sai d:
"I'm a domestic sort of  man. I'll give  you a hand, Miss Clayt horne."  Vera
said: "Thank  you."
Emily Brent was lef t al onesi tting  in the dining-room.
For a whileshe heard a faint murmur of  voi ces  f rom the pantry.
The gi ddiness was passing. She  fel t drowsy now, as though she coul d easily
go   to sl eep.
There was a buzzing  in  her ears-or was i t a real  buzzing  in the room?  She
thought:
"It' s  like a bee-a  bumblebee."
Present lyshe saw the  bee. It was crawling up the window-pane.
Vera Cl ayt horne had tal ked about bees this morning.
Bees and honey.
She liked  honey. Honey  in the comb, and strain  i t yourself through a muslin
bag. Dri p, dri p, dri p. .
There was somebody  in the room ping. . . . BeatriceTayl or came  f rom the
river. . . .
She had only to turn her head andshe woul d see  her.
But she coul dn' t turn her head.
If  she were to call out . . .
But she coul dn' t call  out. .
There was no one el se  in the  house. She was all   al one.
She heard  footsteps-sof t dragging  footsteps coming up behind  her. Tile
stumbling  footsteps of  the drowned gi rl .
There was a wet danksmell   in  her nostrils.
. somebody all wet and dri p-
302        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
On the window-pane the bee was  buzzing-buzzing. And thenshe  fel t the pri ck.
The bee sting on thesi de of  her neck.
2
In the drawing-room they were wai t ing  forEmily  Brent.
Vera Claythorne said:
"Shall  I go and fetch  her?"
Bl ore sai d qui ckly:
"Just a minute."
Vera sat down again. Every one  l ooked inquiringly  at Bl ore.
He sai d:
"Look here, everybody, my opini on' s this: we needn' t l ook farther for the
author   of  these deaths than the dining-room at this  minute. I'd take my
oath that   woman's the one we' re af ter!"
Armstrong sai d:
"And the motive?"
"Religi ous mania. What do you say, doctor?"
Armstrong sai d:
"It' s perfect ly possible. I've nothing to say against i t. But of  course
we've  no   proof ."
Vera sai d:
"She was very odd  in the ki tchen when we were getting breakfast. Her eyes-"
She  shivered.
Lombard said:
"You can't  j udge her by that. We' re all  a  bi t off  our heads by  now!"  Bl ore
said:
"There' s another thing. She's the only one who woul dn' t give an explanat i on
af ter   that gramophone record. Why?  Becauseshe  hadn' t any to give."
Vera sti rred  in  her chair. She said:
"That' s not qui te true. She tol d me-af terwards."
Wargrave said:
"What di d she tell  you, Mi ss Clayt horne?"
Vera repeated the story of  Beatri ceTayl or.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave observed:
"A perfect ly  strai ght forward story. I personallyshoul d have no
rl;ffi o,df~, ;~ --f;- 4 7.11 -TM-A;A  A- -_- f -
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
303
be troubl ed by a sense of  guil t or a feeling of  remorse for her atti tude in
the  matter?"
"None whatever," said Vera. "She was completely unmoved."
Bl ore sai d:
"Hearts as hard as flints, these ri ghteous spinsters!Envy, mostly!" Mr.
Just i ce  Wargrave said:
"It is now  five  minutes to eleven. I think we should summonMiss Brent to
j oin  our concl ave."
Bl ore sai d:
"Aren' t you going to take any act i on?"
The  j udge said:
"I fail to see what acti on we can take. Our suspi cions are, at the moment,
only  suspici ons. I will ,  however, ask Dr. Armstrong to observeMiss Brent' s
demeanour  very carefully. Let us now go into the dining-room."
They  found Emily Brentsi tting  in the chair  in which they  had  lef t her.
From  behind theysaw nothing amiss, except thatshe di d  not seem to hear
thei r  entrance  into the room.
And then they saw  her  face-suffused wi th bl ood, wi th blue  lips and staring
eyes.  Bl ore sai d:
"My God, she' s dead!"
3
Thesmall quiet voi ce of  Mr. Just i ce Wargrave said:
"One more of  us acqui tted-too l ate!"
Armstrong was bent over the dead woman. He sniffed the  lips, shook his
head,  peered into the eyelids.
Lombard said impat i ent ly:
"How di dshe die, doctor? She was all  right when we l ef t her here!"
Armstrong' s attenti on was riveted on a mark on the ri ghtsi de of  the neck.
He sai d:
"nat' s the mark of  a hypodermicsyringe."
There was a buzzing sound  f rom the window. Vera cried:
"Look-a bee-a bumblebee. Remember what I sai d thi s morning!"
304        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"It wasn' t that bee that stung her! A  human hand held thesyringe."The
judge asked:
"What poi son was  injected?"
Armstrong answered:
"At a guess, one of  the Cyani des. Probably Potassium  Cyanide, same as
Anthony  Marston. She must have di ed almost immediately  by asphyxiat i on."
Vera cri ed:
"But that bee? It can' t be coincidence?"
Lombard said grimly:
"Oh, no, i t  i sn' t coincidence! It' s our murderer's touch of   l ocal   col our!
He's  a pl ayful   beast. Li kes to sti ck to hi s damnable nursery  jingle as
cl osely as  possible!"
For the first time  his  voi ce was uneven, almost shrill. It was as though
even  his  nerves, seasoned by a  l ong career of  hazards and dangerous
undertakings, had  given out at last.
He sai d vi olent ly:
"It' s mad!-absol utely mad-we' re all mad!"
The  j udge said calmly:
"We have still, I hope, our reasoning powers. Di d any one  bring a
hypodermicsyringe to this house?"
Dr. Armstrong, strai ghtening  himself , said  in a  voice that was not too well
assured:
"Yes, I di d."
Four pai rs of  eyes  fastened on him. He braced  himself against the deep
hostile  suspici on of  those eyes. He sai d:
"Always travel   wi th one. Most doctors do."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said calmly:
"Qui te so. Will   you tell  us, doctor, where thatsyringe  is  now?"
"In the sui tcase  in my room."
Wargrave said:
"We might, perhaps, verify that fact."
The five of  them went upstai rs, asilent processi on.
The contents of  the sui tcase were turned out on the fl oor.
The hypodermicsyringe was  not there.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
4
305
Armstrong sai d  vi olently:
"Somebody must have taken  i t!"
There wassilence  in the room.
Armstrong stood wi th his  back to the window. Four pai rs of  eyes were on
him,  black wi th suspici on and accusat i on. He  l ooked f rom Wargrave to Vera
and repeated   helplessly-weakly:
"I tell   you some one must have taken  i t."
Bl ore was l ooking at Lombard who returned his gaze.
The  j udge said:
"There are five of  us here  in this room. One of  us is a murderer. The
posi t i on  is  f raught wi th grave danger. Everything must be done  in order to
safeguard the   four of  us who are innocent. I will  now ask  you, Dr.
Armstrong, what drugs you   have  in  your possession?"
Armstrong replied:
"I have asmall medicine case here. You can examine  i t. You will   find some
sl eeping stuff -tri onal and sulphonal  tablets-a packet of  bromide,
bicarbonate of   soda, aspi rin. Nothing else. I have  no Cyanide  in my
possessi on."
The  j udge said:
"I have, myself , somesleeping tabl ets-sulphonal ,  I think they are. I
presume  they woul d  be  lethal   if  a sufficient ly  large dose were given. You,
Mr. Lombard,   have  in  your possessi on a revolver."
Philip Lombard saidsharply:
"What  if  I have?"
"Only this. I propose that the doctor' s supply of  drugs, my own sul phonal
tablets, your revolver and anyt hing else of  the nature of  drugs or fi rearms
shoul d be collected together and pl aced  in asafe place. That af ter this  is
done,   we shoul d each of  us submi t to a search -both of  our persons and of
our effects."  Lombard said:
"I'm damned  if I'll give up my revolver!"
Wargrave saidsharply:
"Mr. Lombard,  you are a very strongly  buil t and  powerful   young man, but
ex-Inspector Bl ore i s also a man of  powerful  physique. I do not know what the
outcome of  a struggl e  between  you woul d  be but I can tell  you thi s. On
Bl ore's  si de, assist ing him to the best of  our abili t v will  hn. mv-elf Dr
Arm-trnno, qnd  Mi -q Cl qvthorne You will  an-
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
preciate, therefore, that the odds against you  if   you choose to resist will
be  somewhat heavy. " Lombard threw his head  back. Hi s teeth showed  in what
was al - most a snarl . "Oh, very well  then. Since  you've got i t all taped
out." Mr.  Justi ce Wargrave  nodded his head. "You are a sensible  young man.
Where  is this  revolver of   yours?" "In the drawer of  the table by my  bed."
"Good." "I'll   fetch   i t." "I think  i t woul d be desirable  if  we went wi th
you." Philip said wi th asmile that was still  nearer a snarl: "Suspici ous
devil , aren' t you?"They went  al ong the corri dor to Lombard' s room. Philip
strode across to the bed-table and   j erked open the drawer. Then  he recoiled
wi th an oath. The drawer of  the  bed-tabl e was empty.
5
"Sati sfied?" asked Lombard.
He had stri pped to the skin and he and  his room  had been meticul ously
searched  by the other three men. Vera Cl ayt horne was outsi de  in the
corri dor.  The search proceeded methodi cally. In turn, Armstrong, the  j udge
and Bl ore  submi tted to the same test.
The four men emerged  f rom Bl ore' s room and approached Vera. It was the
judge who   spoke.
"I hope you will understand, Miss Cl ayt borne, that we can make  no
excepti ons.   That revolver must be  found. You have, I presume, a bathing
dress wi th  you?"  Vera nodded.
"Then I will  ask  you to go i nto your room and put i t on and then come out
to us   here.)'
Vera went into her room andshut the door. She reappeared  in under a minute
dressed  in a ti ght-fi tt ingsilk rucked bathing dress.
Wargrave nodded approval .
"Thank  you, Mi ss Clayt horne. Now if   you will remain  here, we xv;n --6 --, -
_ I$
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
307
Vera wai ted patiently  in the corri dor until  they emerged. Thenshe went in,
dressed, and came out to where they were wai t ing.
The  j udge said:
"We are now assured of  one thing. There are no lethal  weapons or drugs in
the  possessi on of  any of  us  five. That  i s one point to the good. We will
now place   the drugs  in a safe place. There  is, I think, asilver chest, i s
there not, in  the pantry?"
Bl ore sai d:
"That' s all  very well, but who' s to have the key? You, I suppose."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave made no reply.
He went down to the pantry and the others  foll owed him. There was asmall
case   there desi gned  for the purpose of  hol dingsilver and pl ate. By the
judge's  di rect i ons, the vari ous drugs were placed  in this and  i t was
l ocked. Then, still   on Wargrave' s  instructi ons, the chest was  lif ted  into
the plate cupboard and this  in turn was  l ocked. The  judge then gave the key
of  the chest to Philip Lombard  and the key of  the cupboard to Bl ore.
He sai d:
"You two are the strongest physically. It woul d  be difficul t  for ei ther of
you   to get the key  f rom the other. It woul d be impossible  for any of  us
three to do   so.To break open the cupboard-or the plate chest-woul d be a
noi sy and cumbrous  proceeding and one which coul d hardly  be carri ed out
wi thout attenti on  being  attracted to what was going on."
He paused, then went on:
"We are still   faced by one very grave probl em. What has  become of  Mr.
Lombard's  revolver?"
Bl ore sai d:
"Seems to me  i ts owner  i s the most likely person to know that."
A whi te dint showed  in Philip Lombard' s  nostrils. He sai d:
"You damned pig-headed  fool! I tell  you  i t' s  been stol en  f rom me.
Wargrave asked:
"When did  you see  i t l ast?"
"Last ni ght. It was in the drawer when I went to bed-ready  in case anyt hing
happened."
The  j udge nodded.
He sai d:
"It must have been taken this morning during the confusi on of  searching  for
Rogers or af ter hi s dead  body was discovered."
vi -,r,q ~,qi ri-
308        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
i t.
"It must be hidden somewhere about the house. We must l ook for
P~
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave' s  finger was stroking his chin. He said:
"I doubt if  our search will resul t  in anyt hing. Our murderer has  had plenty
of    time to devi se a hiding-pl ace. I do not fancy we shall  find that
revolver  easily. "
Bl ore sai d  forcefully:
"I don't know where the revolver  i s, but I'll   bet I know where something
else  is-that hypodermicsyringe. Foll ow me."
He opened the f ront door and  l ed the way round the  house.
A li tt l e distance away  f rom the dining-room window he found thesyringe.
Beside  i t was asmashed china  figure-a  fif t h broken Indian  boy.
Bl ore sai d  in a sat isfied  voi ce:
"Only place  i t coul d  be. Af ter he'd killed  her, he opened the window and
threw   out thesyringe and picked up the china  figure f rom the table and
foll owed on  wi th that."
There were no prints on thesyringe. It had been carefully wiped.
Vera sai d  in a determined voi ce:
"Now l et us l ook for the revolver."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"By all means. But in doing so  l et us be careful  to keep together.
Remember, if   we separate, the murderer gets his chance."
They. searched the house carefully  f rom atti c to cellars, but wi thout
resul t. Il e  revolver was st ill  missing.
CHAPTER 13
"One of  us. . . One of  us. . . One of  us. . .
Three words, endlessly repeated, dinning themselves hour af ter hour into
recepti ve brains.
Five people-five  f rightened people. Five peopl e  who watched each other, who
now  hardly troubl ed to hi de thei r state of  nervous tensi on.
There was li tt l e pretence now-no formal   veneer of  conversat i on. They were
five  enemies  linked together by a mutual   inst inct of  selfpreservati on.
And all  of  them, suddenly,  l ooked l ess  like human beings. They were
reverting to   more best i al types. Li ke a wary ol d tortoi se, Mr. Justi ce
Wargrave sat hunched  up, his body moti onless, his eyes keen
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
T~
and al ert. Ex-Inspector Bl ore l ooked coarser and clumsier  in  build. Hi s walk
was  that of  asl ow padding animal . His eyes were bl oodshot.There was a l ook
of    mingled  feroci ty and stupi di t y about him. He was  like a beast at bay
ready to  charge  i ts pursuers. Philip Lombard's senses seemed heightened,
rather than  diminished. His ears reacted to theslightest sound. His step
was  lighter and  qui cker, his body was  li t he and graceful. And  hesmiled
of ten, his  lips curling  back  f rom his  l ong whi te teeth.
Vera Cl ayt horne was very quiet. She sat most of  the time  huddled  in a
chair. Her   eyes stared ahead of   her  into space. She  l ooked dazed. She was
like a bird that   has dashed  i ts head against gl ass and that has been picked
up by a  human hand.  It crouches there, terrified, unable to move, hoping
to save  i tself   by  i ts  immobili t y.
Armstrong was in a pi t i able condi t i on of  nerves. He twi tched and his  hands
shook.   He lighted ci garette af ter ci garette and stubbed them out almost
immediately. The  forced inacti on of  their posi t i on seemed to gall  him more
than the others. Every  now and then he  broke out into a torrent of  nervous
speech.
"We-weshoul dn' t j ustsi t here doing nothing!There must be something-
surely,  surely, there  i s something that we can do? If  we  li t a bonfire-"
Bl ore sai d  heavily:
"In this weather?"
The rain was pouring down again. The wind came  in  fi t ful gusts. The
depressing  sound of  the pattering rain nearly drove them mad.
By taci t consent, they  had adopted a pl an of  campai gn. They all sat  in the
big  drawing-room. Only one person  l ef t the room at a time. The other four
wai ted till  the fif th returned.
Lombard sai d:
"It' s only a questi on of  time. The weather will  clear. Then we can do
something-signal-light fi res-make a raf t-something!"
Armstrong sai d wi th a sudden cackle of   laughter:
"A questi on of  time-time? We can' t afford time! Weshall all   be dead. . .
."   Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said, and  hissmall   clear voi ce was heavy wi t h
passi onate  determinati on:
"Not if  we are careful . We must be very careful.
The mid-day meal   had  been duly eaten-but there had  been  no convent i onal
formali t y  about i t. All   five of  them  bad gone to the ki tchen. In the larder
they  had  found  a great store of  tinned  foods. They  had opened a ti n of
tongue and two tins of   f rui t. They  had eaten standing round the ki tchen
tabl e. Then, herding cl ose   together, they
310
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
had returned to the drawing-room-tosi t there-si t-watching each other. . .
.   And  by  now the thoughts that ran through thei r brains were abnormal,
feverish,  di seased. . ..
"It' s  Armstrong. . . I saw him  l ooking at mesideways  j ust then
. hi s eyes are mad. . . qui te mad. . . . Perhaps he  isn' t a doctor at
all . .   . . That' s  i t, of  course!. . . He' s a  l unat i c, escaped  f rom some
doctor' s  house-pretending to be a doctor. . . . It' s true . . . shall  I
tell  them?. .   . Shall  I scream out?. . . No, i t won't do to put him on
his guard. . . .   Besi des he can seem so sane. . . . What time  i s  i t ?. .
. Only  a quarter past   three!. . . Oh, God, I shall go mad myself. . . .
Yes,  i t' s  Armstrong. . .   . He' s watching me now. . 1)
"They won' t get me! I can take care of  myself . . . . I'v e been  in ti ght
pl aces  before. . . . Where the hell  is that revolver? . . . Who took i t?
. . . Who's got   i t?. . . Nobody's got i t-we know that. We
were all searched. . . . Nobody can  have  i t. . . . But some one knows where
i t   i s. . .."
"They're going mad. . . they'll  all go mad. . . . Afrai d of  death
. we' re all  afraid of  death. . . I'm af raid of  death. . . . Yes, but that
doesn' t stop death coming. . . . 'The hearse  is at the door,si r.'  Where di d
I   read that?The gi rl . . . I'll  watch the gi rl . Yes, I'll  watch the gi rl .
. . ."   "Twent y to four . only twent y to four . . . perhaps the cl ock has
stopped. . .  . I don't understand-no, I don't understand. . . .Thi s sort
of  thing can' t   happen. . . i t is happening. . . . Why don't we wake up?
Wake up-4udgment   Day-no, not that! If  I coul d only think. . . .My head-
something's happening  in   my  head-i t ' s going to burst-i t' s going to spli t.
. . . This sort of  thing can' t   happen. . ..
What' s the time? Oh, God! i t' s only a quarter to four."
"I must keep my  head. . . I must keep my  head. . . . If  only I
keep my  head. . . It' s all perfect ly clear-all worked out. But nobody must
suspect. It may do the tri ck. It must! Which one?That's the questi on-which
one?  I think-yes, I rather think-yes-him."
When the cl ock struck five they all  jumped.
Vera sai d:
"Does any one-want tea?"
There was a moment'ssilence. Bl ore sai d:
"I'd  like a cup."
Vera rose. She sai d:
"I'll go and make  i t. You can all   stay here."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said gent ly:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"I think, my dear  young  lady, we woul d all  prefer to come and watch  you
make    i t."
Vera stared, then gave ashort rather hysteri cal   laugh.
She sai d:
"Of  course! You woul d!"
Five people went  into the ki tchen. Tea was made and drunk  by Vera and
Bl ore.  The other three had whiskey-opening a  f resh  bottl e and using a
si phon  f rom a  nailed up case.
The  j udge murmured wi th a reptilian  smile:
"We must be very careful . . . ."
They went back again to the drawing-room. Al though i t was summer the room
was  dark. Lombard swi tched on the  lights but they did  not come on. He sai d:
"Of  course!The engine's not been run to-daysince Rogers hasn' t been there
to   see to i t."
He hesi tated and sai d:
"We coul d go out and get i t going, I suppose."
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave said:
"There are packets of  candles  in the  larder, I saw them, better use those."
Lombard went out.The other four sat watching each other.
He came  back wi th a  box of  candles and a pile of   saucers. Five candles were
li t and pl aced about the room.
The time was a quarter tosix.
2
At twent y past six, Vera  fel t that to si t there l onger was unbearable. She
woul d  go to her room and bathe her aching head and temples  in col d water.
She got up and went towards the door.Thenshe remembered and came back and
got   a candle out of  the box. She  lighted  i t, l et a li t tl e wax pour into a
saucer and  stuck the candle  firmly to i t. Thenshe went out of  the room,
shutting the door   behind  her and  leaving the  four men  inside.
She went up the stai rs and al ong the passage to her room.
Asshe opened  her door, she suddenly  hal ted andstood stock stiff .
Her nostrils quivered.
The sea. . .Thesmell  of  the sea at St.Tredennick . ..
That was i t. She coul d  not be  mistaken. Of  course onesmel t the
312        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
sea on an  i sland anyway, but thi s was different. It was thesmell there had
been  on the beach that day-wi t h the ti de out and the rocks covered wi th
seaweed drying   in the sun.
"Can I swim out to the island, Mi ss Clayt horne?"
"Why can' t I swim out to the  i sland?. . ."
Horri d whiny  spoil t  li ttle brat! If   i t weren' t for him, Hugo woul d be ri ch
. .   . abl e to marry the gi rl   he  l oved.
Hugo . ..
Surely-surely-Hugo was beside her? No, wai t ing for her  in the room. . . .
She made a step forward. The draught f rom the window caught the  flame of  the
candle. It flickered and went out.
In the dark she was suddenly  af raid. . . .
"Don't be a fool ," Vera Cl ayt horne urged herself .  "It' s all  right. The
others are   downstai rs. All   four of  them. There' s  no one  in the room. There
can' t be. You' re   imagining things, my girl -"
But thatsmell-thatsmell  of  the beach at St.Tredennick. . . that wasn' t
imagined. It was true. . . .
And there was some one  in the room. . . . She had heard something-surely
she had  heard something. . ..
And then, as she stood there, listening-a col d, clammy  hand touched her
throat-a   wet hand, smelling of  the sea. . ..
3
Vera screamed. She screamed and screamed-screams of  the utmost terror-wild
desperate cri es  for hel p.
She di d  not hear the sounds f rom bel ow, of  a chair being overturned, of  a
door   opening, of  men's  feet running up the stai rs. She was consci ous only
of  su  preme terror.
Then, restori ng  her sani t y,  lights  flickered  in the doorway-candles -men
hurrying  into the room.
"What the devil?" "What' s happened?" "Good God, what i s  i t?"
She shuddered, took a step forward, collapsed on the fl oor.
She was only  half   aware of  some one bending over her, of  some one  forcing
her  head down between  her knees.
Then at a sudden exclamat i on, a quick "My  God, l ook at that!" her senses
returned. She opened her eyes and raised  her head. She saw what i t was the
men  wi th the candles were  l ooking at.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
A broad ri bbon of  wet seaweed was hanging down  f rom the ceiling. It was
that   which  in the darkness  had swayed against her throat. It was that which
she had  taken for a cl ammy  hand, a drowned hand come back  f rom the dead to
squeeze the  life out of  her!. . .
She began to l augh hysterically. Shesaid:
"It was seaweed-onlyseaweed-and that' s what thesmell  was. . ..
And then the faintness came over her once more-waves upon waves of
sickness.  Again some one took her head and  forced  i t between her knees.
Aeons of  time seemed to pass. They were offering her something to drink-
pressing   the gl ass against her lips. Shesmel t brandy.
She was  j ust about to gul p the spi ri t gratefully down when, suddenly, a
warning  note-like an al arm  bell-sounded  in  her brain. She sat up, pushing
the glass away.  She said sharply:
"Where di d this come  f rom?"
Bl ore's voi ce answered. He stared a minute before speaking. He said:  "I
got i t f rom downstai rs."
Vera cried:
"I won't drink  i t.
There was a moment' ssilence, then Lombard  l aughed.
He sai d wi t h appreci at i on:
"Good for you, Vera! You'v e got your wi ts about you-even  if  you have  been
scared  half  out of   your life. I'll get a f resh bottl e that hasn' t been
opened."  He went swif t ly out.
Vera sai d uncertainly:
"I'm all ri ght now. I' ll  have some water."
Armstrong supported her as she strug l ed to her feet. She went
C19
over to the basin, swaying and cl utching at him  for support. She let the
col d  tap run and then  filled the glass. Bl ore sai d resentfully: "That
brandy's all   ri ght." Armstrong sai d: "How do you know?" Bl ore sai d angrily:
"I di dn' t put  anything  in  i t. That' s what  you' re getting at, I suppose."
Armstrong sai d:
314        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"I'm not saying  you di d. You might have done  i t, or some one  might have
tampered  wi th the bottl e  for j ust this emergency."
Lombard came swif t ly  back  into the room.
He had a new bottl e of   brandy  in  his hands and a corkscrew.
He thrust the seal ed  bottl e under Vera's nose.
"There you are, my girl .  Absol utely  no decepti on." He peel ed off  the tin
foil and  drew the cork. "Lucky there' s a good supply of  spiri ts  in the
house. Thoughtful   of  U. N. Owen."
Vera shuddered vi olent ly.
Armstrong hel d the gl ass while Philip poured the brandy  into i t, He sai d:
"You'd better drink this, Miss Clayt horne. You'v e  had a nast yshock."   Vera
drank a  li ttle of  the spi ri t. The col our came back to her face. Philip
Lombard sai d wi t h a  l augh:
"Well, here's one murder that hasn' t gone according to pl an!"
Vera sai d almost in a whisper:
"You think-that was what was meant?"
Lombard nodded.
"Expected you to pass out through f right! Some peopl e woul d have, woul dn' t
they,  doctor.
Armstrong di d  not commi t  himself . He said doubtfully:
"H'm, impossible to say. Young heal thy subject-no cardiac weakness.
Unlikely. On   the other hand-"
He pi cked up the glass of  brandy that Bl ore had brought. He di pped a  finger
in    i t, tasted i t gingerly. His expressi on di d  not al ter. He sai d dubi ously:
"H'm,   tastes all  right."
Bl ore stepped forward angrily. He said:
"If   you' re saying that I tampered wi t h that, I'll  knock your ruddy  bl ock
off ."  Vera, her wi ts revived by the brandy, made a diversi on by saying:
"Where' s the  j udge?"
The three men  l ooked at each other.
"That' s odd . . . . Thought he came up wi th us."
Bl ore sai d:
"So di d I. . . . What about i t, doctor? You came up the stai rs behind me."
Armstrong sai d:
"I thought he was foll owing me. . . . Of  course, he'd  be bound to go sl ower
than  we di d. He' s an ol d man."
They  l ooked at each other again.
Lombard said:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"It' s damned odd.
Bl ore cri ed:
"We must l ook for him."
He started for the door.The others  foll owed him3 Vera  l ast.
As they went down the stai rs  Armstrong sai d over hisshoul der:
"Of  course he may  have stayed  in the  living-room.
They crossed the hall .  Armstrong called out l oudly:
"Wargrave, Wargrave, where are  you?"
There was no answer. A deadlysilence  filled the house apart f rom the
gent l e  patter of  the rain.
Then,  in the entrance to the drawing-room door, Armstrong stopped dead.The
others crowded up and  l ooked over hi sshoul der.
Somebody cried out.
Mr. Justi ce Wargrave wassi tting  in  his  high-backed chair at the end of  the
room.   Two candl es burnt on ei thersi de of  him. But what shocked and
startl ed the   onl ookers was the fact that he sat there robed  in scarlet wi th
a  j udge' s wig upon  hi s  head. . . .
Dr. Armstrong moti oned to the others to keep back. He himself  wal ked across
to   thesilent staring  figure, reeling a  li tt l e as  he wal ked  like a drunken
man.  He bent forward, peering  into the still   face. Then, wi th a swif t
movement, he   raised the wi g. It fell  to the fl oor, revealing the high  bald
forehead wi th,  in   the very  middle, a round stained mark f rom which
something  had tri ckled. . . .   Dr. Armstrong rai sed  the limp  hand and  fel t
for the pulse. Then he turned to the   others.
He sai d-and his  voi ce was expressi onless, dead, far away:
"He's been shot.
Bl ore sai d:
"God-the revolver!"
The doctor sai d, st ill  in thesame  lifeless voi ce:
"Got him through the head. Instantaneous."
Vera stooped to the wi g. She said, and her  voiceshook wi th  horror:  "Miss
Brent's  missing grey wool .
Bl ore sai d:
"And the scarl et curtain that was missing  f rom the bathroom. . . "  Vera
whispered:
"So thi s  is what they wanted them  for.
Suddenly Philip Lombard  laughed-a high unnatural   laugh.
"'Five  li ttl e Indian boys going  in  for  l aw; one got in  Chancery  and
I I
. ..
316        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
then there were four.'That' s the end of  Mr. Bl oody  Just i ce Wargrave. No
more  pronouncingsentence  for him! No more putting on of  the black cap!
Here's the  l ast time he'll eversi t  in court! No more summing up and sending
innocent men  to death. HowEdward Seton woul d  laugh  if  he were here! God,
how he'd  l augh!"  His outburst shocked and startl ed the others. Vera cri ed:
"Only this morning   you sai d  he was the one!" Philip Lombard' s  face changed-
sobered. He sai d  in a   l ow voi ce: "I know I di d. . . . Well , I was wrong.
Heres one more of  us who's  been proved  innocent-too l ate!"
CHAPTER 14
THEY HAD CARRIED Mr. Justi ce Wargrave up to his room and  laid him on the
bed. Then they  had come down again and had stood in the hall  l ooking at
each other.  Bl ore sai d  heavily:
"What do we do now?"
Lombard said briskly:
"Have something to eat. We've got to eat, you know."
Once again they went into the ki tchen. Again they opened a tin of  tongue.
They  ate mechanically, almost wi thout tasting.
Vera sai d:
"I shall  never eat tongue again."
They  finished the meal . They sat round the ki tchen table staring at each
other.
Bl ore sai d:
"Only  four of  us now. . . . Who'll  be the next?"
Armstrong stared. He sai d, almost mechanically:
"We must be very careful-" and stopped.
Bl ore nodded.
"That' s what he sai d. . . . And  now he' s dead!"
Armstrong sai d:
"How di d  i t happen, I wonder?"
Lombard swore. He sai d:
"A damned clever doubl e cross!That stuff  was planted  inMiss
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Cl ayt horne' s room and  i t worked j ust as  i t was intended to. Every one dashes
up  there thinkingshe's being murdered. And so-in the confusi on-some one-
caught  the ol d boy off   his guard."
Bl ore sai d:
"Why di dn' t any one hear the shot?"
Lombardshook his head.
"Mi ss Claythorne was screaming, the wind was  howling, we were running about
and calling out. No, i t woul dn' t be heard." He paused. "But that tri ck' s  not
going to work again. He'll   have to try something else next time."
Bl ore sai d:
"He probably will . "
There was an unpleasant tone  in his  voi ce. The two men eyed each other.
Armstrong sai d:
"Four of  us, and we don't know whi ch.
Bl ore sai d:
i t
"I know. . . . Vera sai d: "I haven' t the least doubt. Armstrong sai dsl owly:
"I suppose I do know really. Philip Lombard sai d:  "I think I've got a pretty
good i dea now. . . Again they all  l ooked at each other. . . . Vera
staggered  to her feet. She sai d: "I  feel awful. I must go to bed. . . . I' m
dead beat."  Lombard sai d: "Mi ght as well. No goodsi tting watching each
other." Bl ore  sai d: "I've  no obj ecti on. . . ... The doctor murmured: "The
best thing to  do-al though I doubt if  any of  us will  sleep."They moved to
the door. Bl ore  sai d: "I wonder where that revolver i s  now?
11
2
They went up the stai rs. The next move was a  li tt le  li ke a scene  in a  farce.
318        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Each one of  the four stood wi th a hand on his or her bedroom door handle.
Then, as though at a si gnal , each one stepped into the room and pulled the
door shut. There were sounds of  bol ts and  l ocks, of  the moving of   furni ture.
Four f ri ghtened peopl e were barricaded  in unt il  morning.
3
Philip Lombard drew a breath of  relief   as he turned f rom adj ust ing a chair
under   the door handle.
He strolled across to the dressing-table.
By the  light of  the flickering candle  he studi ed  his  face curi ously. He
said  sof t ly to himself:
"Yes, this business has got you rattl ed all ri ght."
His sudden wolf -likesmile  flashed out.
He undressed quickly.
He went over to the bed, pl acing  his wri st-watch on the tabl e  by the  bed.
Then he opened the drawer of  the tabl e.
He stood there, staring down at the revolver that was  insi de
i t. . . .
4
Vera Claythorne  lay  in  bed.
The candle st ill   burned beside  her.
As  yet she coul d  not summon the courage to put i t out.
She was af rai d of  the dark. . ..
She tol d  herself  again and again: "You' re all ri ght until morning. Nothing
happened  last ni ght. Nothing will  happen to-ni ght. Nothing can  happen.
You' re   l ocked and  bol ted in. No one can come near you. . ..
Andshe thought suddenly:
"Of  course! I can stay here! Stay  here  l ocked  in! Food doesn' t really
matter! I   can stay  here-safely-till  help comes!Even  if  i t ' s a day -or two
days. . . ."   Stay here. Yes, but coul dshe stay here? Hour af ter hour-wi th
no one to speak to,   wi th nothing to do but think. . . .
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
She'd begin to think of  Cornwall-of  Hugo-of -of   what she'd said to Cyril .
Horri d whiny  li tt l e boy, always pestering her.
"Mi ss Claythorne, why can' t I swim out to the rock? I can. I know I can."
Was  i t her voi ce that had answered?
"Of  course you can, Cyril , really. I know that."
"Can I go then, Mi ss Clayt horne?"
"Well ,  you see, Cyril ,  your mother gets so nervous about you. I'll  tell  you
what.   To-morrow you can swim out to the rock. I' ll  tal k to your mother on
the beach and  distract her attenti on. And then, whenshe  l ooks for you,
there you'll  be  standing on the rock waving to her! It will   be a surprise!"
"Ob, good egg, Mi ss Clayt horne!That will   be a  lark!"
She'd said  i t now.To-morrow! Hugo was going to Newquay. When  he came  back-
i t  woul d  be all over.
Yes, but supposing  i t wasn' t? Supposing  i t went wrong? Cyril  might be
rescued  in   time. And then-then he'dsay, "Miss Claythorne said I coul d."
Well, what of   i t?  One must take some risk! If  the worst happenedshe' d
brazen  i t out. "How can  you   tell such a wicked  lie, Cyril?  Of  course I
never said any  such thing!"They'd  believe  her all ri ght. Cyril  of ten tol d
stori es. He was an untruthful child.  Cyril woul d know, of  course. But that
di dn' t matter. . . . And anyway  nothing  woul d go wrong. She'd pretend to
swim out af ter him. But she'd arrive too l ate.   . . . Nobody woul d ever
suspect. . ..
Had Hugo suspected? Was that why  he had  l ooked at her in that queer far-off
way.  . . ?Had Hugo known?
Was that why  he  had gone off  af ter the inquest so hurri edly?
He hadn' t answered the one l etter she had wri tten to him. . ..
Hugo . ..
Vera turned restl essly  in  bed. No, no, she mustn't think of  Hugo. It hurt
too   much!That was all  over, over and done wi th.
must be  forgotten. ..
Why, thi s evening, hadshe suddenly  fel t that Hugo was  in the room wi t h
her?  She stared up at the ceiling, stared at the bi g  black  hook in the
middle of  the  room.
She'd  never noti ced that hook before.
The seaweed  had hung  f rom that. . ..
She shivered asshe remembered that col d cl ammy touch on her neck. . ..
-1
I
f
i
I
I
I
. . . Hugo
320        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
She di dn' t  like that hook on the ceiling. It drew your eyes,  fascinated  you
.   . . a bi g black  hook. .
5
Ex-Inspector Bl ore sat on thesi de of  his  bed.
Hi ssmall eyes, red-rimmed and  bl oodshot, were al ert in the soli d mass of
his  face. He was  like a wild  boar wai t ing to charge.
He fel t no  inclinat i on to sl eep.
The menace was coming  very  near now. . . . Six out of  ten!
For all   his  sagaci t y,  for all   his cauti on and astuteness, the ol d  j udge  had
gone   the way of  the rest.
Bl ore snorted wi th a kind of  savage sat isfact i on.
"What was  i t the ol d geezer had said?"
"We must be very careful. . ..
Self-ri ghteoussmug ol d hypocri te. Si tting up in court feeling  like
God Almight y. He'd got hi s all  right. . . . No more being careful   for him.
And  now there were four of  them. The gi rl , Lombard, Armstrong and  himself .
Very soon another of  them woul d go. . . . But i t woul dn' t be William Henry
Bl ore.   He'd see to that all  right.
(But the revolver. . . . What about the revolver?That was the disturbing
factor-the revolver!)
Bl ore sat on hi s  bed, his  brow furrowed, his  li tt l e eyes creased and
puckered  while he pondered the probl em of  the revolver. . . .
In thesilence  he coul d  hear the cl ocks stri ke downstai rs.
Mi dnight.
He rel axed a  li tt l e now-even went so far as to lie down on hi s  bed. But he
di d  not undress.
He l ay there, thinking. Going over the whol e  business  f rom the beginning,
methodically, painstakingly, as  he  had been wont to do in his police officer
days. It was thoroughness that pai d  in the end.
The candle was burning down. Looking to see if  the matches were wi thin easy
reach  of  his  hand, he  blew  i t out.
Strangely enough, he  found the darkness di squiet ing. It was as though a
thousand  age-ol d  fears awoke and struggl ed  for supremacy  in  his  brain.
Faces  fl oated  in   the ai r-the j udge' s  face crowned wi th that mockery of  grey
wool -the col d dead  face of  Mrs. Rogers-the convul sed purpl e  face of  Anthony
Marston. .
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
321
Another face-pal e, spectacled, wi th asmall   straw-col oured moustache. . .
.   A face he  had seen sometime or other-but when? Not on the island. No,
much  l onger ago than that.
Funny, that he coul dn' t put a name to i t. really-fell ow  l ooked a bi t of  a
mug.  Of  course!
It came to him wi t h a real shock.
Landor!
. Silly  sort of   f  ace
Odd to think he'd completely  forgotten what Landor l ooked li ke. Only
yesterday  he'd  been trying to recall  the  fell ow' s  face, and hadn' t been
able to.   And now here  i t was, every  feature cl ear and dist inct, as though
he  had seen  i t   only  yesterday. . . .
Landor had had a wife-a thinslip of  a woman wi th a worri ed  face. There' d
been  a ki d too, a gi rl   about fourteen. For the  fi rst time, he wondered what
had  become  of  them.
(The revolver. What had become of  the revolver?That was much
more  important . . . . )
The more he thought about i t the more puzzl ed  he was.He
di dn' t understand this revolver business. . . .
Somebody  in the house had got that revolver. .. .
Downstai rs a cl ock struck one.
Bl ore's thoughts were cut short. He sat up on the bed, suddenly alert. For
he  had  heard a sound-a very  faint sound-somewhere outsi de his  bedroom door.
There was some one moving about in the darkened house.
The perspi rat i on broke out on his  forehead. Who was  i t, moving secret ly and
silent ly al ong the corri dors? Some one who was up to no good, he'd bet that!
Noi selessly,  in spi te of  his  heavy  build, he dropped off  the  bed and wi th
two   stri des was standing  by the door listening.
But the sound di d  not come again. Nevertheless  Bl ore was convinced that he
was  not mistaken. He had  heard a footfall   just outsi de his door.The hai r
rose   slight ly on  his scalp. He knew  fear again. . . .
Some one creeping about steal thily  in the night
He listened-but the sound was not repeated.
And  now a new temptati on assailed  him. He wanted, desperately, to go out
and    invest i gate. If  he coul d only see who i t was prowling about i n the
darkness.  But to open his door woul d  be the acti on of  a  fool . Very  likely
that
. ..
322        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
was exact ly what the other was wai t ing  for. He might even have meant Bl ore
to hear  what he had heard, counti ng on him coming out to invest i gate.
Bl ore stood ri gid-listening. He coul d hear sounds  everywhere  now, cracks,
rustles, mysteri ous whispers-but his dogged realistic  brain knew them  for
what   they were-the creati ons of   his own heated imaginat i on.
And then suddenly  he  heard something that was not imaginat i on. Footsteps,
very  sof t, very caut i ous, but pl ainly audible to a ma, n  listening wi t h all
his ears  as Bl ore was  listening.
They came sof t ly al ong the corri dor (both Lombard' s and Armstrong' s rooms
were  further f rom the stai r-head than  his). They passed  his door wi thout
hesi tating  or fal tering.
And as they did so, Bl ore made up his mind.
He meant to see who i t was!The  footsteps had defini t ely passed  his door
going   to the stai rs. Where was the man going?
When Bl ore acted, he acted quickly, surprisingly  so for a man who l ooked
so heavy  andsl ow. He ti ptoed back to the bed, slipped matches  into his
pocket, detached   the pl ug of  the el ectri c  lamp by  his  bed, and picked  i t
up winding the  flex round  i t. It was a chromium  affair wi th a  heavy  eboni te
base-a useful weapon.  He sprinted noi selessly across the room, removed the
chair  f rom under the door   handle and wi th precauti on unl ocked and unbol ted
the door. He stepped out i nto   the corri dor.There was a  faint sound  in the
hall   bel ow. Bl ore ran noiselessly    in  his stockinged feet to the head of  the
stai rs.
At that moment he realized why  i t was  he had heard all these sounds so
cl early. The wind  had di ed down completely and  the sky must have cl eared.
There was  faint  moonlight coming  in through the landing window and  i t
illuminated the hall   bel ow.  Bl ore had an  instantaneous glimpse of  a figure
just passing out through the  f ront   door.
In the act of  running down the stai rs  in pursui t, he paused.
Once again, he  had  nearly made a  fool  of   himself!This was a trap, perhaps,
to   l ure  him out of  the house!
But what the other man didn' t realize was that he had made a  mistake, had
delivered himself   neat ly  into Bl ore' s hands.
For, of  the three tenanted rooms upstai rs, one must now be empt y. All  that
had  to be done was to ascertain which!
Bl ore went swif t ly  back al ong the corri dor.
He paused fi rst at Dr. Armstrong's door and tapped. There was no answer.
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
He wai ted a minute, then went on to Philip Lombard' s room.
Here the answer came at once.
"Who' s there?"
"It' s Bl ore. I don't think  Armstrong  i s  in  his room. Wai t a  minute. "   He
went on to the door at the end of  the corri dor. Here he tapped again.  "Mi ss
Cl ayt horne. Miss Clayt horne."
Vera' s voi ce, startl ed, answered  him.
"Who i s  i t ? What' s the matter?"
"It' s all  right, Miss Clayt horne. Wai t a  minute. I'll come back."
He raced back to Lombard' s room. The door opened as he di d so. Lombard
stood   there. He hel d a candle  in  his  lef t hand. He had pulled on his
trousers over hi s  pyjamas. Hi s ri ght hand rested in the pocket of  his
pyjama  jacket. He sai d  sharply:
"What the hell's all  this?"
Bl ore explained rapi dly.  Lombard's eyes  li t up.
"Armstrong-eh? So he' s our pi geon!" He moved al ong to Armstrong's door.
"Sorry,   Bl ore, but I don't take anything on trust."
He rapped sharply on the panel.
"Armstrong-Armstrong."
There was no answer.
Lombard dropped to his knees and peered through the keyhol e. He  inserted
his    li ttl e  finger gingerly  into the  l ock.
He sai d:
"Key's  not in the door on the insi de."
Bl ore sai d:
"That means  he  l ocked  i t on the outsi de and took i t wi th  him."
Philip  nodded:
"Ordinary precauti on to take. We'll  get him, Bl ore. . . .Thi s time, we'll
get   him!  Half a second."
He raced al ong to Vera' s room.
"Vera."
"Yes."
"We' re hunt ing Armstrong. He' s out of  his room. Whatever  you do, don't open
your  door. Understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"If  Armstrong comes al ong and says that I've been killed, or Bl ore' s  been
killed,  pay  no attenti on. See? Only open  your door if   both Bl ore and I
speak to you. Got   that?"
Vera sai d:
"Yes. I'm not a complete  fool ."
324        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Lombard said:.
"Good."
He j oined Bl ore. He sai d:
"And now-af ter him! The hunt's up!"
Bl ore sai d:
"We'd  better be careful . He' s got a revolver, remember."
Philip Lombard racing down the stai rs chuckled.
He sai d:
"That' s where  you' re wrong." He undi d the f ront door, remarking: "Latch
pushed  back-so that he coul d get in again easily."
He went on:
"I'v e got that revolver!" He took i t half  out of  his  pocket as he spoke.
"Found    i t put back  in my drawer to-ni ght."
Bl ore stopped dead on the doorstep. Hi s  face changed. Philip Lombard saw
i t.  He sai d impat i ent ly:
"Don't be a damned  fool , Bl ore! I'm  not going toshoot you! Go back and
barricade  yourself  in  if   you  like! I'm off af ter Armstrong."
He started off   into the moonlight. Bl ore, af ter a minute' s  hesi tati on,
foll owed  him.
He thought to himself:
"I suppose I'm asking  for i t. But af ter all -"
Af ter all   he had tackl ed criminals armed wi th revolvers  before now.
Whatever el se  he  l acked, Bl ore di d not lack courage. Show him the danger
and  he woul d tackl e    i t pl uckily. He was  not af raid of  danger  in the open,
only of  danger undefined  and tinged wi th the supernatural .
6
Vera, l ef t to wai t resul ts, got up and dressed.
She glanced over once or twi ce at the door. It was a good solid door. It
was  both bol ted and  l ocked and had an oak chai r  wedged under the handle.
It coul d not be broken open by  force. Certainly  not by Dr. Armstrong. He was
not a physically powerful man.
If  she were  Armstrong  intent on murder,  i t was cunning that she woul d
empl oy,  not force.
Slie amused  herself   by reflect ing on the means he might empl oy.
He might, as Philip had suggested, announce that one of  the other
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
two men was dead. Or he  might possibly pretend to be mortally wounded
himself ,   might drag himself  groaning to her door.
There were other possibili t ies. He might  inform her that the house was on
fi re.  More, he might actually  set the house on fire. . . . Yes, that woul d
be a  possibili t y. Lure the other two men out of  the house, then, having
previ ously  laid a trail of  petrol , he  might set fight to i t. Andshe,  like
an  idi ot, woul d  remain  barricaded  in  her room until   i t was too l ate.
She crossed over to the window. Not too bad. At a pinch one coul d escape
that   way. It woul d mean a drop-but there was a handy  fl ower-bed.
She sat down and pi cking up her di ary  began to wri te in  i t  in a cl ear
fl owing  hand.
One must pass the time.
Suddenly  she st iffened to attenti on. She  had heard a sound. It was, she
thought,   a sound like  breaking gl ass. And  i t came f rom somewhere
downstai rs.  She listened  hard, but the sound was not repeated.
She heard, or thought she heard, steal thy sounds of   footsteps, the creak
of   stai rs, the rustl e of  garments-but there was nothing defini te andshe
concl uded,  as Bl ore had done earlier, that such sounds Q thei r ori gin  in
her own  imaginat i on.
But present ly  she  heard sounds of  a more concrete nature. Peopl e moving
about   downstai rs-the murmur of  voi ces. Then the very decided sound of  some
one mounting  the stai rs-doors opening andshutting-feet going up to the
atti c overhead. More   noi ses  f rom there.
Finally the steps came al ong the passage. Lombard' s  voi ce said:
"Vera? You all ri ght?"
"Yes. What' s  happened?"
Bl ore' s  voice said:
"Will   you  let us in?"
Vera went to the door. She removed the chai r, unlocked the door andsli d
back the  bol t. She opened the door. The two men were breathing  hard, thei r
feet and the  bottom of  thei r trousers were soaking wet.
She said again:
"What's happened?"
Lombard said:
"Arnutrong' s disappeared.
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
7
Vera cri ed: "What?" Lombard sai d: "Vanished clean off  the  i sland." Bl ore
concurred: "Vanished-that's the word!Li ke some damned conjuring tri ck." Vera
said impat i ent ly: "Nonsense! He's hiding somewhere!" Bl ore sai d: "No, he
isn' t!  I tell   you, there's nowhere to hi de on this  i sland. It s as bare as
your hand!There' s moonlight outsi de. As clear as  day  i t  i s. And  he's not
to be  found."  Vera sai d: "He doubl ed  back  into the house." Bl ore sai d: "We
thought of  that.  We'vesearched the house too. You must have heard us. He's
not here, I tell    you. He' s gone-clean vanished, vamoosed. . . ." Vera sai d
incredul ously: "I  don't believe  i t." Lombard sai d:  "It' s true, my dear." He
paused and then said:  "There' s one other  li ttl e  fact. A pane  in the dining-
room window has  beensmashed-and there are only three  li ttle Indian boys on
the table."
CHAPTER 15
THREE PEOPLE sat eating  breakfast in the ki tchen.
Outsi de, the sun shone. It was a l ovely day. Thestorm was a thing of  the
past.
And wi th the change  in the weather, a change had come  in the mood of  the
pri soners on the island.
A
I
if
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
327
They  fel t now  like people  j ust awakening  f rom a night mare. There was
danger,  yes,  but i t was danger  in daylight. That paralyzing atmosphere of
fear that had   wrapped them round like a  blanket yesterday while the wind
howl ed outsi de was  gone.
Lombard sai d:
"We'll  try heli ographing to-day wi th a  mirror f rom the  highest point of  the
island. Some bright l ad wandering on the cliff  win recognize S 0 S when he
sees    i t, I hope. In the evening we coul d try a bonfire-only there  isn' t
much wood-and  anyway they  might  j ust think  i t was song and dance and
merriment."  Vera sai d:
"Surely  some one can read Morse. And then they'll  come to take us off . Long
before this evening."
Lombard sai d:
"The weather' s cleared all  right, but the sea hasn' t gone down  yet.
Terrific  swell  on!They won' t be able to get a boat near the island before
to-morrow."   Vera cri ed:
"Another night in this pl ace!"
Lombard shrugged  hisshoul ders.
"May as well   face  i t!Twent y-four hours will do it, I think. If  we can  l ast
out   that, we'll  be all  right."
Bl ore cl eared his throat. He sai d:
"We'd better come to a clear understanding. What' s  happened to Armstrong?"
Lombard said:
"Well , we've got one piece of  evidence. Only three  li ttl e Indian  boys  lef t
on the  dinner-table. It l ooks as though Armstrong had got his qui etus."
Vera sai d:
"Then why  haven' t you found  his dead body?"
Bl ore sai d:
"Exactly."
Lombard shook hi s  head. He sai d:
"It' s damned odd-no getting over i t."
Bl ore sai d doubtfully:
"It might have been thrown into the sea."
Lombard sai dsharply:
"By whom? You? Me? You saw him go out of  the f ront door. You come al ong and
find  me  in my room. We go out and search together. When the devil  had I
time to kill  him and carry  his  body round the  i sland?"
328        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Bl ore sai d:
"I don't know. But I do know one thing."
Lombard said:
"What's that?"
Bl ore sai d:
"The revolver. It was your revolver. It' s  in  your possessi on now, There' s
nothing   to show that i t hasn' t been  in  your possessi on an al ong."
"Come  now, Bl ore, we were all searched."
"Yes, you'd  hidden  i t away before that happened. Af terwards  you  j ust took
i t back  again."
"My good bl ockhead, I swear to you that i t was put back  in my drawer.
Greatest   surpri se I ever had  in my  life when I  found  i t there."
Bl ore sai d:
"You ask us to believe a thing  like that! Why the devil   shoul d Armstrong,
or any  one el se  for that matter, put i t back?"
Lombard rai sed hisshoul ders hopel essly.
"I haven' t the  l east i dea. It' s  j ust crazy. The  l ast thing one woul d
expect.  There seems no point in  i t."
Bl ore agreed.
"No, there isn' t. You might have thought of  a better story."
"Rather proof  that I'm telling the truth, isn' t i t?"
"I don't l ook at i t that way."
Philip said:
"You woul dn' t."
Bl ore sai d:
"Look here, Mr. Lombard,  if   you' re an  honest man, as  you pretend-"  Philip
murmured:
"When di d I  l ay  claims to being an  honest man?  No, indeed, I never said
that."  Bl ore went on stolidly:
"If   you' re speaking the truth-there's only one thing to be done. As  l ong
as  you  have that revolver, Mi ss Clayt horne and I are at your mercy. The
only  fair thing  is to put that revolver wi t h the other things that are
l ocked up-and  you and I   will  hol d the two keys still . "
Philip Lombard  li t a ci garette.
As  he puffedsmoke, he said:
"Don't be an ass."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
I
i
"No, I won't. That revolver's  mine. I need  i t to defend myself -and I'm
going   to keep i t."
Bl ore sai d:
"In that case we' re bound to come to one concl usion."
"That I'm U. N. Owen?Think what you damned  well please. But I'll  ask  you,
if   that' s so, why I di dn' t pot you wi th the revolver last ni ght? I coul d
have,  about twenty times over."
Bl ore shook hi s  head.
He sai d:
"I don't know-and that' s a fact. You must have  had some reason."
Vera had taken no part in the di scussi on. She st i rred now and sai d:  "I
think  you' re  both behaving  like a pai r of   i di ots."
Lombard  l ooked at her.
"What's thi s?"
Vera sai d:
"You've  forgotten the nursery rhyme. Don' t you see there' s a clue there?"
She reci ted  in a meaning  voi ce:
"Four li ttl e Indian boys going out to sea;  A red herring swall owed one and
then  there were three."
She went on:
"A red herring-that' s the vi tal  clue.  Arnutrong' s  not dead. He took away
the  china Indian to make  you think he was. You may say what you  like-
Armstrong' s  on the  i sland st ill . His disappearance is  j ust a red herring
across the track.  Lombard sat down again.
He sai d:
"You know, you may  be ri ght."
Bl ore sai d:
"Yes, but if  so, where  i s he? We've searched the place. Outsi de and
inside."  Vera sai dscornfully:
"We all searched  for the revolver, di dn' t we, and coul dn' t find  i t? But  i t
was  somewhere all the time!"
Lombard murmured:
"nere's aslight difference  in  size, my dear, between a man and a
revolver."  Vera sai d:
"I don't care-I'm sure I'm right."
330        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Rather giving himself away, wasn' t i t?  Actually ment i oning a red herring
in  the verse. He coul d  have wri tten  i t, up a bi t different."
Vera cri ed:
"But don't  you see, he' s mad? It' s all mad!The whol e thing of  going by the
rhyme  is mad! Dressing up the  j udge, killing Rogers when  he was chopping
sti cks-drugging Mrs. Rogers so that she oversl ept herself-arranging  for a
bumblebee whenMiss Brent di ed! It' s  li ke some horrible child pl aying a game.
It' s all  got to fi t  in."
Bl ore sai d:
"Yes, you' re ri ght." He thought a minute. "At any rate there' s  no Zoo on
the  i sland. He'll  have a bi t of  troubl e getti ng over that."
Vera cri ed:
"Don't you see? We' re the Zoo . . . . Last ni ght, we were hardly  human any
more. We' re the Zoo . . . ...
2
They spent the morning on the cliffs, taking  i t  in turns to flash a  mirror
at   the mainland.
There were nosi gns that any one saw them. No answeringsignals. The day
was  fine, wi th aslight haze. Bel ow the sea heaved in a gi gantic swell .
There were  no boats out.
They had made another abortive search of  the  island. There was no trace of
the  missing physician.
Vera l ooked up at the house f rom where they were standing.
She said, her breath coming wi t h aslight catch in  i t:
"One  feels  safer here, out in the open. . . . Don't  let' s go back into the
house again."
Lombard said:
"Not a bad i dea. We' re pretty safe here, no one can get at us wi thout our
seeing  him a  l ong time beforehand."
Vera sai d:
"We'll stay  here."
Bl ore sai d:
"Have to pass the night somewhere. We'll   have to go back to the house
then."  Vera shuddered.
"I can't bear  i t. I can' t go through another ni ght!"
Philip said:
"You'll   besafe enough-l ocked  in  your room."
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Vera murmured: "I suppose so."
She stretched out her hands, murmuring:
"It' s  l ovely-to feel the sun again.
She thought:
"How odd . . . . I'm almost happy.  And  yet I suppose I'm actually  in danger
. .   . . Somehow-now-nothing seems to matter
not in daylight. . . . I feel   full  of  power-I feel  that I can' t di e.  Bl ore
was  l ooking at hi s wrist-watch. He sai d:
"It' s two o'cl ock. What about l unch?"
Vera sai d obstinately:
"I'm not going back to the house. I'm going to stay  here-in the open."
"Oh, come now, Mi ss Claythorne. Got to keep your strength up, you know."
Vera sai d:
"If  I even see a tinned tongue, I shall  besick! I don' t want any  food.
Peopl e  go days on end wi th  nothing sometimes when they're on a di et."
Bl ore sai d:
"Well, I need my meals regul ar. What about you,Mr. Lombard?"
Philip said:
"You know, I don't relish the  idea of  tinned tongue parti cularly. I'll  stay
here  wi thMiss Clayt horne."
Bl ore hesi tated. Vera sai d:
"I shall   be qui te all  right. I don't think he'llshoot me as soon as  your
back    i s turned  if  that' s what  you' re af rai d of ."
Bl ore sai d:
"It' s all  right if   you say so. But we agreed we ought not to separate. "
Philipsai d:
"You' re the one who wants to go into the li on's den. I'll come wi t h  you if
you  like?"
"No, you won't," sai d Bl ore. "You'll stay  here."
Philip  laughed.
"So you' re still af raid of  me? Why, I coul dshoot you both thi s  very minute
if   I liked."
Bl ore sai d:
"Yes, but that woul dn' t be according to pl an. It' s one at a time, and  i t's
got   to be done  in a certain way. "
"Well," said Philip, "you seem to know all   about it."
"Of  course," sai d Bl ore, "i t' s a bi t  jumpy going up to the house al one-"
. ..
) I
. ..
332        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Philipsai d sof t ly:
"And therefore, will I tend you my revolver?  Answer, no, I will   not! Not
qui te   sosimple as that, thank  you."
Bl ore shrugged his  shoul ders and  began to make  his way up the steep sl ope
to the  house.
Lombard sai d sof t ly:
"Feeding t ime at the Zoo!The animals  are very regul ar  in thei r  habi ts!"
Vera sai d anxi ously:
"Isn' t i t very ri sky, what he's doing?"
"In the sense  you mean-no, I don't think  i t is!  Armstrong' s  not armed,  you
know,   and anyway Bl ore  is twi ce a match  for him in physique and  he' s  very
much on his  guard. And anyway  i t 's a sheer  impossibili t y that Armstrong can
be  in the  house.   I know he's not there."
"But-what other sol uti on  is there?"
Philipsai d sof t ly:
"There' s Bl ore."
"Oh-do you really think-T'
"Li sten, my gi rl. You heard Bl ore's story. You've got to admi t that if   i t's
true,   I can't possibly  have  had anything to do wi th Armstrong's
di sappearance. His  story clears me. But i t doesn't cl ear  him. We've only
his word for i t that he   heard footsteps and saw a man going downstai rs and
out at the f ront door. The  whol e thing may  be a  lie. He may  have got ri d
of  Armstrong a coupl e of   hours   before that."
"How?"
Lombard shrugged  hisshoul ders.
"That we don't know. But if   you ask me, we've only one danger to fear-and
that   danger  i s Bl ore! What do we know about the man? Less than nothing! All
thi s  ex-policernan story may  be  bunkum! He may be anybody-a mad
milli onai re-a crazy  business man-an escaped  inmate of  Broadmoor. One
thing' s certain. He coul d have  done every one of  these crimes."
Vera had gone rather whi te. She sai d  in aslight ly  breathless voi ce: "And
supposing  he gets-us?"
Lombard sai d sof t ly, patti ng the revolver  in  his pocket:
"I'm going to take very good care he doesn' t."
Then he  l ooked at her curi ously.
"Touching  fai t h  in me, haven' t  you, Vera? Qui te sure I woul dn' t shoot you?"
Vera sai d:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"One has got to trust some one. . . . As a matter of   fact I think  you' re
wrong   about Bl ore. I still think  i t ' s  Armstrong." She turned to him
suddenly. "Don' t   you  feel -all the time-that there's some one. Some one
watching and wai t ing?"  Lombard saidsl owly: "That's  j ust nerves." Vera said
eagerly: "Then  you have  fel t  i t ?" Sheshivered. She  bent a li ttle cl oser.
"Tell  me-you don' t think-"  She broke off , went on: "I read a story once-
about two j udges that came to a   small   American townf rom the Supreme Court.
They administered  j ust i ce-Absol ute   Justi ce. Because-they didn' t come  f rom
thi s worl d at all . Lombard rai sed his  eyebrows. He sai d: "Heavenly
visi tants, ch? No, I don't believe  in the  supernatural . This business  is
human enough." Vera sai d  in a  l ow voi ce:  "Sometimes-I'm  not sure . . . ...
Lombard  l ooked at her. He sai d: "That' s  consci ence. . .." Af ter a moment's
silence hesaid very quiet ly: "So you di d  drown that ki d af ter all?" Vera
said vehement ly: "I di dn' t! I di dn' t! You'v e  no ri ght to say that!" He
laughed easily. "Oh,  yes,  you di d, my good gi rl! I   don't know why. Can' t
imagine. There was a man  in  i t probably. Was that i t ?"  A  sudden  feeling of
lassi tude, of   intense weariness, spread over Vera' s  limbs.  She sai d  in a
dull   voi ce: "Yes-there was a man  in  i t. Lombard said sof t ly:  "Thanks.
That' s what I wanted to know. Vera sat up suddenly. She exclaimed:  "What
was that? It wasn' t an earthquake? Lombard said: "No, no. Queer,   though-a
thud shook the ground. And I thought -di d  you hear a sort of  cry? I  di d."
They  stared up at the house. Lombard said: "It came f rom there. We'd  better
go up and see." "No, no, I'm not going."
1~
. ..
334
Philip grasped her shoul der.
He sai d, and his  voi ce was urgent and grim:
"Thi s settl es  i t. Armstrong i s  in  hiding somewhere  in that house. I'm going
to   get him. "
But Vera cl ung to him. She cri ed:
"Don't be a fool . It' s us now! We' re next! He wants us to l ook for him!
He's  counting on  i t!"
Philip stopped. He sai d thoughtfully:
"There's something  in that."
Vera cri ed:
"At any rate, you do admi t now I was ri ght."
He nodded.
"Yes-you win! It' s Armstrong all  right. But where the devil di d  he  hi de
himself? We went over the pl ace wi th a  fine-tooth comb."
Vera sai d urgent ly:
"If   you di dn' t find  him  last ni ght, you won't find  him  now. . ..
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
"Pl ease  yourself . I am."
Vera sai d desperately:
"All  right. I'll come wi th  you."
They wal ked up thesl ope to the house. The terrace was peaceful and
innocuous-l ooking  in the sunshine. They  hesi tated there a minute, then
instead   of  entering  by the  f ront door, they made a cauti ous ci rcui t of  the
house.   They  found Bl ore. He was spread-eagled on the stone terrace on the
eastsi de, his  head crushed and mangled  by a great bl ock of  whi te marble.
Philip  l ooked up. He sai d:
"Whose  is that window j ust above?"
Vera sai d  in a  l ow shuddering voi ce:
"It' s  mine-and that' s the cl ock f rom my mantelpiece member now. It was-
shaped  like a bear."
She repeated and her voi ceshook and quavered:
"It was shaped  like a bear. . .."
3
That' s common-sense."
Lombard sai d rel uctant ly:
"Yes, but-"
. . . I re-
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
335
"He must have prepared a secret pl ace  beforehand-naturally-of  course i t' s
just  what he woul d do. You know, like a Pri est's Hol e  in ol d manor houses."
:,Thi s    i sn' t an ol d  house of  that kind."  'He coul d  have  had one made."
Philip Lombard  shook hi s head. He sai d: "We measured the place-that fi rst
morning. I'll   swear   there's no space unaccounted for." Vera sai d: "There
must be. Lombard sai d:  "I'd  like to see-" Vera cried: "Yes,  you'd  like to
see!  And  he knows that!   He' s  in there-wai t ing  for you." Lombard said, half
bringing out the revolver  f rom  his pocket: :,I'v e got this,  you know." 'You
said Bl ore was all   ri ght-that he was more than a match  for Armstrong. So
he was physically, and  he was on the  l ookout too. But what you don't seem
to realize  i s that   Armstrong is mad!  And a madman  has all  the advantages
on hisside. He's twi ce  as cunning as any one sane can  be." Lombard put
back the revolver  in  his  pocket. He sai d: "Come on, then."
4
Lombard said at l ast: "What are we going to do when  night comes?" Vera
di dn' t  answer. He went on accusingly: "You haven' t thought of  that?" She
said  helplessly: "What can we do? Oh, my God, I'm  frightened. Philip Lombard
said  thoughtfully: "It' s  fine weather. There will  be a moon. We must find
a pl ace-up  by the top cliffs perhaps. We cansi t there and wai t for morning.
We mustn' t go  to sl eep. . . . We must watch the whol e time.  And  if  any one
comes up towards  us, I shall   shoot!"
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
He paused:
"You'll  be col d, perhaps,  in that thin dress?"
Vera sai d wi t h a raucous l augh:
"Col d? I shoul d be col der  if  I were dead!"
Philip Lombard sai d quiet ly:
"Yes, that' s true.
Vera moved rest l essly.
She said:
"I shall  go mad  if Isi t here any  l onger. Let' s move about."
"All  right."
They pacedsl owly up and down, al ong the  line of  the rocks overl ooking the
sea. The sun was dropping towards the west. The  light was gol den and mell ow.
It envel oped them  in a gol den gl ow.
Vera sai d,'wi t h a sudden nervous  li tt l e gi ggle:
"Pi t y we can' t have a  bathe. . . ."
Philip was  l ooking down towards the sea. He sai d  abrupt ly:
"What' s that, there? You see-by that bi g rock? No-a li tt l e  further to the
ri ght."
Vera stared. She sai d:
"It l ooks like somebody's cl othes!"
"A bather, eh?" Lombard  l aughed. "Queer. I suppose i t' s only  seaweed."
Vera sai d:
"Let' s go and  l ook."
"It is cl othes," said Lombard as they drew nearer. "A  bundle of  them.
That' s a  boot. Come on, l et' sscramble al ong here."
They scrambled over the rocks.
Vera stopped suddenly. She said:
"It' s not cl othes-i t's a man. . .
The man was wedged between two rocks, fl ung there  by the ti de earlier  in
the  day.
Lombard and Vera reached  i t  in a  l ast scramble. They  bent down.
A purpl e discol oured face-a hideous drowned face. . ..
Lombard sai d:
"My God! i t's Armstrong.
1)
)I
CHAPTER 16
AEONS PASSED . . . worl ds spun and whi rled. . . .Time was mo-
ti onless. . . . It stood still-i t passed through a thousand ages.
No, i t was only  a  minute or so. . ..
Two peopl e were standing  l ooking down on a dead man. . . .
Sl owly,  verysl owly, Vera Cl ayt horne and Philip Lombard  lif ted thei r  heads
and    l ooked into each other' s eyes
2
Lombard  l aughed. He said: "So that' s  i t, i s  i t, Vera?" Vera sai d: "There' s
no  one on the  i sland-no one at all -except us two. . . ." Her voi ce was a
whisper-nothing more. Lombard said: "Precisely. So we know where we are,
don't  we?" Vera sai d: "How was  i t worked-that trick wi th the marble  bear?"
He  shrugged hisshoul ders. "A conjuring tri ck, my dear-a very good one. .
. Thei r  eyes met again. Vera thought:
"Why di d I never see  his  face properly  before. A wolf -that's what  i t is-a
wolf's  face. . . . Those horrible teeth. . - ." Lombard sai d, and  his  voice
was  a snarl -dangerous-menacing: "This  is the end,  you understand. We've come
to the  truth now. And  i t' s the end. . . ." Vera sai d qui et ly: "I understand.
. . ."  She stared out to sea. General  Macartbur had stared out to seawhen-
only   yesterday? Or was  i t the day before? He too had said, "This  is the end.
. . ."  He had sai d  i t wi th acceptance-almost wi th wel come.
338        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
But to Vera the words-the thought-brought rebellion. No, i t shoul d not be
the  end. She  l ooked down at the dead man. She said: "Poor Dr. Armstrong.
Lombard  sneered. He sai d: "What's thi s? Womanly pi t y?" Vera said: "Why  not?
Haven' t  you  any pi t y?" He said: "I've  no pi t y  for you. Don't expect i t!"
Vera  l ooked down  again at the body. She said: "We must move him. Carry  him
up to the house." "To  j oin the other victims, I suppose? All  neat and ti dy.
As  far as I'm concerned  he can stay where  he  is." Vera sai d: "At any rate,
let' s get him out of  reach  of  the sea." Lombard  l aughed. He sai d: "If   you
like." He bent-tugging at the  body. Vera l eaned against him,  helping him.
She pulled and tugged wi th all   her   might. Lombard panted: "Not such an easy
j ob."They managed  i t, however,  drawing the body  clear of  high water mark.
Lombard sai d as  he strai ghtened up:  "Sati sfied?"  Vera sai d: "Qui te.)) Her
tone warned him. He spun round. Even as  he clapped his  hand to his pocket
he knew that he woul d  find  i t empt y. She  had  moved a yard or two away and
was  facing  him, revolver  in  hand. Lombard sai d:  "So that' s the reason for
your womanly solici tude! You wanted to pi ck my  pocket." She nodded. She held
i t steadily and unwaveringly. Death was  very  near  to Philip Lombard  now. It
had  never, he knew, been  nearer. Nevertheless he  was  not beaten  yet. He sai d
authori tati vely:
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"Give that revolver to me."
Veral aughed.
Lombard said:
"Come on, hand  i t over."
Hi s quick  brain was working. Which way-which method-tal k her over-l ull   her
into securi t y-or a swif t dash-
All   his  life Lombard had taken the ri sky way. He  took i t now.
He spokesl owly, argumentati vely.
"Now l ook here, my dear gi rl ,  you  j ust listen-"
And then he sprang. Qui ck as a panther-as any other  feline creature. . .
Automatically Vera pressed the tri gger
Lombard's  l eaping  body stayed poised  in mid-spring, then crashed  heavily
to   the ground.
Vera came warily  forward, the revolver ready  in  her hand.
But there was no need of  caut i on.
Philip Lombard was dead-shot through the heart.
3
Relief  possessed Vera-enormous exquisi te relief .
At l ast i t was over.
There was no more fear-no more steeling of   her nerves. . ..
She was al one on the  i sland. . . .
Al one wi th  nine dead bodi es. . . .
But what di d that matter? She was alive. . . .
She sat there-exquisi tely  happy-exquisi tely at peace.
No more fear. . . .
4
The sun was setting when Vera moved at l ast. Sheer reacti on had kept her
immobile. There had  been  no room  in  her  for anything but the gl ori ous sense
of   safet y.
She realized now that she was  hungry andsleepy.  Principally  sleepy. She
wanted   to throw herself on her bed andsleep and  sleep andsleep. . . .
To-morrow, perhaps, they woul d come and rescue her-but she
340
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
di dn' t really mind. She di dn' t mind staying  here. Not now that she was
al one. .  . .
Oh! blessed, blessed peace.
She got to her feet and gl anced up at the house.
Nothing to be af raid of  any  l onger! No terrors wai t ing  for her! Just -an
ordinary  well-buil t modern  house. And  yet, a li ttle earlier  in the day, she
had  not been  able to l ook at i t wi thout shivering. . ..
Fear-what a strange thing  fear was. . . .
Well,  i t was over now. She had conquered-had triumphed over the most deadly
peril. By  her own qui ck-wi ttedness and adroi tness she  had turned the tabl es
on   her woul d-be destroyer.
She began to wal k up towards the house.
The sun was setting, the sky to the west was streaked wi th red and orange.
It was   beautiful   and peaceful .
Vera thought:
"The whol e thing  might be a dream
How ti red she was-terribly t i red. Her limbs ached, her eyelids were
drooping. Not   to be af raid any more.
sl eep. . . sl eep. . ..
To sleep safely  sinceshe was al one on the island. One  li tt l e Indian  boy
lef t all  al one.
Shesmiled to herself .
She went in at the f ront door. The house, too, fel t strangely peaceful.
Vera thought:
"Ordinarily one woul dn' t care tosl eep where there's a dead body  in
practi cally  every  bedroom!"
Shoul dshe go to the ki tchen and get herself   something to eat?
She hesi tated a moment, then decided against  i t. She was really too ti red.
. .   .
She paused by the dining-room door. There were still three  li ttle china
figures  in the  middle of  the tabl e.
Vera l aughed.
She sai d:
"You' re behind the times, my dears."
She picked up two of  them and tossed them out through the window. She heard
them  crash on the stone of  the terrace.
The thi rd  li tt l e  figureshe pi cked up and held  in  her hand.
She sai d:
"You can come wi t h me. We've won, my dear!  We've won!"
The hall was dim  in the dying  light.
. To sl eep. Sl eep. .
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
Vera, the  li ttl e Indian clasped  in  her hand, began to mount the stai rs.
Sl owly,  because her  l egs were suddenly  very ti red.
"One  li tt l e Indian  boy  l ef t all al one." How di d  i t end? Oh,  yes! "He got
marri ed  and then there were none."
Marri ed. . . . Funny,  how she suddenly got the feeling again that Hugo was
in the  house. . . .
Very strong. Yes, Hugo was upstai rs wai t ing  for her.
Vera sai d to herself:
"Don't be a fool . You' re so ti red that you' re imagining the most fantasti c
things. . . ."
Sl owly up the stai rs.
At the top of  them something  fell  f rom  her hand, making hardly any  noise
on the  sof t pile carpet. She di d  not noti ce that she had dropped the
revolver. She was   only consci ous of  clasping a  li t tl e china  figure.
How very qui et the house was. And  yet-i t di dn' t seem  like an empt y house.
. . .   Hugo, upstai rs, wai t ing  for her. . . .
"One  li tt l e Indian  boy  l ef t all al one." What was the  l ast line again?
Something  about being married-or was  i t something else?
She had come  now to the door of  her room. Hugo was wai t ing  for her inside-
she was  qui te sure of   i t.
She opened the door . . ..
She gave a gasp. . ..
What was that-hanging  f rom the hook in the ceiling?  A rope wi th a noose all
ready? And a chai r to stand upon-a chair that could be ki cked away. . . .
That was what Hugo wanted.
And of  course that was the  l ast line of  the rhyme.
"He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
The li tt l e china  figure  fell   f rom  her hand. It rolled unheeded and broke
against   the fender.
Li ke an automaton Vera moved  forward. This was the end-here where the col d
wet   hand (Cyril's  hand, of  course) had touched her throat. . . .
"You can go to the rock, Cyril .
That was what murder was-as easy as that!
But af terwards you went on remembering. . ..
She climbed up on the chai r, her eyes staring  in  f ront of   her  like a
sleepwalker' s. . . . She adj usted the noose round her neck.
Hugo was there to see she di d what she had to do.
She kicked away the chair. . . .
SIR THOMAs LEGGE, Assistant Commissi oner at Scotl and Yard, sai d  irri tably:
"But the whol e thing' s  incredible!"
Inspector Maine said respect fully:
"I know, si r."
The A.C. went on:
"Ten peopl e dead on an  island and not a living soul  on  i t. It doesn't make
sense!"
Inspector Maine said stolidly:
"Nevertheless, i t happened, si r."
Si rThomas Legge said:
"Damn  i t all, Maine, somebody must have killed'em."
"That' s  j ust our problem, si r."
"Nothing  helpful  in the doctor' s report?"
"No,si r. Wargrave and Lombard wereshot, the  first through the head, the
second   through the heart. Miss Brent and Marston died of  Cyanide poisoning.
Mrs. Rogers   di ed of  an overdose of  Chl oral . Rogers'   head was spli t open.
Bl ore's head was  crushed  in. Armstrong di ed of  drowning. Macarthur' s skull
was  f ractured by a bl ow  on the back of  the head and Vera Claythome was
hanged."
The A.C. winced. He sai d:
"Nasty  business-all  of   i t."
He consi dered  for a minute or two. He sai d  i rri tably:
"Do you mean to say that you haven' t been able to get anything  helpful out
of  the  Sti cklehaven people. Dash  i t, they must know something."
Inspector Maineshrugged his  shoul ders.
"They're ordinary decent seafaring  fol k. They know that the  i sland was
bought by  a man called Owen-and that' s about all they do know."
EPILOGUE
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
"Who provi si oned the  island and made all  the  necessary  arrangements?"
"Man called Morri s. Isaac Morris."
"And what does he say about i t all?"
"He can' t say anyt hing, si r, he's dead."
The A.C. f rowned.
"Do we know anything about this Morri s?"
"Oh, yes, si r, we know about him. He wasn' t a very savoury gent l eman, Mr.
Morri s.  He was implicated  i n that share-pushing  fraud of  Benni to' s three
years ago-we' re  sure of  that though we can't prove  i t. And he was mixed up
in the dope business.  And again  we can' t prove i t. He was a very careful
man, Morri s."
"And he was  behind this  island business?"
"Yes, si r, he put through the sale-though he made i t cl ear that he was
buying  Indi an Island  for a thi rd party, unnamed."
"Surely there's something to be  found out on the financial angle, there?"
Inspector Mainesmiled.
"Not if   you knew Morri s! He can wangle  figures unt il  the  best chartered
accountant in the country woul dn' t know if   he was on his head or his heels!
We've  had a taste of  that in the Bermi to business. No, he covered his
empl oyer' s tracks  all  right."
The other mansi ghed. Inspector Maine went on:
"It was Morris who made all  the arrangements down at Sti cklehaven.
Represented  himself  as acting  for 'Mr. Owen. '  And i t was he who explained
to the peopl e down   there that there was some experiment on-some  bet about
living on a 'desert   island'   for a week-and that no noti ce was to be taken
of  any appeal  for help  f rom  out there."
Si rThomas Legge st i rred uneasily. He said:
"And  you' re telling me that those peopl e di dn' t smell   a rat? Not even
then?"  Maineshrugged hisshoul ders. He sai d:
"You' re forgetting, si r, that Indi an Island previ ously  bel onged to young
Elmer  Robson, the American. He had the most extraordinary parti es down
there. I'v e no  doubt the  l ocal  people' s eyes  fai rly  popped out over them.
But they got used to   i t and they'd  begun to feel  that anything to do wi th
Indian Isl and woul d  necessarily  be  incredible. It' s natural , that,si r,
when  you come to think of     i t."
The Assistant Commissi oner admi tted gl oomily that he supposed  i t
was.
Maine said:
"Fred Narracott-that' s the man who took the party out there-di d
344
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
say one thing that was illuminat ing. He sai d he was surpri sed to see what
sort of   peopl e these were. 'Not at all  like Mr. Robson's parfies.'  I think
i t was the  fact  that they were all   so normal  and so qui et that made  him
overri de Morri s'  orders  and take out a boat to the island af ter he'd  heard
about the S 0 Ssi gnals."  "When did he and the other men go?"
"Thesi gnals were seen  by  a party of  boyscouts on the morning of  the I I
th.   There was no possibili t y of  getting out there that day. The men got
there on the   af ternoon of  the 12th at the first moment possible to run a
boat ashore there.  They're all qui te posi t ive that nobody coul d have  lef t
the island before they got   there. There was a bi gsea on af ter the storm."
"Coul dn' t some one have swum ashore?"
"It' s over a mile to the coast and there were heavy seas and  big breakers
inshore. And there were a l ot of  people, boy scouts and others on the cliffs
l ooking out towards the island and watching."
The A.C. si ghed. He sai d:
"What about that gramophone record you found  in the house? Coul dn' t you get
hol d   of  anyt hing there that might hel p?"
Inspector Maine said:
"I'v e  been  into that. It was supplied by a  fi rm that do a l ot of  theatri cal
stuff   and  film effects. It was sent to U. N. Owen, Esq., c/o Isaac Morri s,
and was  understood to be requi red  for the amateur performance of  a hi t her-
to unacted   pl ay. The typescript of   i t was returned wi th the record."
Legge sai d:
"And what about the subject matter, eh?"
Inspector Maine said gravely:
"I'm coming to that,si r."
He cl eared  his throat.
"I'v e  invest i gated those accusati ons as thoroughly as I can.
"Starting wi th the Rogerses; who were the first to arrive on the  i sland.
They  were  in service wi th aMiss Brady who di ed suddenly. Can' t get
anyt hing defini te  out of  the doctor who attended her. He says they
certainly didn' t poi son her, or   anyt hing  like that, but his personal   belief
is that there was some  funny  business-that she di ed as the resul t of
neglect on thei r part. Says  i t' s the sort   of  thing that' s qui te impossible
to prove.
"Then there  i s Mr. Just i ce Wargrave. That' s O.K. He was the j udge who
sentenced  Seton.
"By the way, Sci on was guil t y-unmistakably guil t y. Evi dence turned uD l ater
af ter   he was hanged which  nroved thnt hPunnrl   n-
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
345
shadow of  doubt. But there was a good deal  of  comment at the timenine peopl e
out  of  ten thought Seton was innocent and that the j udge' s summing up had
been  vindict ive.
"The Cl ayt home gi rl , I  find, was governess  in a  family where a death
occurred by  drowning. However, she doesn' t seem to have  had anyt hing to do
wi th  i t, and as  a matter of   fact she  behaved  very  well, swam out to the
rescue and was actually  carried out to sea and only  just rescued in t ime."
"Go on," sai d the A.C. wi th asi gh.
Maine took a deep breath.
"Dr. Armstrong now. Well -known man. Had a consul t ing room  in Harley Street.
Absol utely  strai ght and aboveboard in  his profession. Haven' t been able to
trace   any record of  an  illegal operati on or anything of  that kind. It' s
true that there   was a woman called Clees who was operated on by  him way
back  in 1925 at   Lei thmore, when he was attached to the hospi tal  there.
Peri toni t is andshe died   on the operating table. Maybe  he wasn' t very
skilful  over the op-af ter all   he  hadn' t much experience-but af ter all
cl umsiness  isn' t a criminal  offence. There  was certainly  no moti ve.
"Then there' sMiss Emily Brent. Gi rl , Beatri ceTayl or, was  in service wi th
her.  Got pregnant, was turned out by  her  mistress and went and drowned
herself. Not   a ni ce  business-but again not criminal . "
"That," sai d the A.C., "seems to be the point. U. N. Owen deal t wi th cases
that   the  l aw coul dn' t touch."
Maine went stolidly on wi t h his  list.
"Young Marston was a fai rly reckless car driver-had  his  licence endorsed
twi ce  and he ought to have  been prohibi ted  f rom driving,  in my opini on.
That' s all   there is to him. The two names John and Lucy Combes were those
of  two ki ds he  knocked down and killed  near Cambri dge. Some  f riends of  his
gave evidence  for him  and  he was  let off  wi t h a  fine.
"Can' t find anything defini te about General  Macarthur. Fine record-war
service-all the rest of   i t. Arthur Ri chmond was serving under him  in  France
and  was killed  in act i on. No f rict i on of  any kind between him  and the
General. They  were cl ose  f riends as a matter of  fact.There were some
blunders made about that   time-commanding officers sacrificed men
unnecessarily-possibly this was a  bl under   of  that kind."
"Possibly, " said the A.C.
"Now, Philip Lombard. Lombard  has  been  mixed up in some very  mirimw chnwe
nhrnnd  14,n'c en;Ipt i  vprv npnr thp Inw nnrp nr twi re.
346        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
Got a reputati on  for daring and  for not being over-scrupul ous. Sort of
fell ow who  might do several  murders  in some quiet out-of -the-way spot.
"Then we come to Bl ore." Maine hesi tated. "He of  course was one of  our
l ot."  The other man sti rred.
"Bl ore," sai d the  Assistant Commissi oner  forcibly, "was a bad hat!"  "You
think so, Si r?"
The A.C. sai d:
"I al ways thought so. But he was cl ever enough to get away wi th  i t. It' s
my  opini on that he commi tted bl ack perjury  in the Landor case. I wasn't
happy about   i t at the time. But I coul dn' t find anything. I put Harri s onto
i t and  he  coul dn' t find anyt hing  but I'm st ill  of  the opini on that there
was something to   find  if   we'd known  how to set about i t. The man wasn' t
strai ght."
There was a pause, then Si rThomas Legge said:
"And Isaac Morri s  is dead,  you say? When did he die?"
"I thought you'd soon come to that, Si r. Isaac Morris di ed on the night of
August   8th.Took an overdose of sleeping stuff -one of  the barbi turates, I
understand. There wasn' t anyt hing to show whether i t was acci dent or
suici de."  Legge sai dsl owly:
"Care to know what I think, Maine?"
"Perhaps I can guess, Si r."
Legge sai d heavily:
"That death of  Morri s'is  a damnedsight too opportune!"
Inspector Maine  nodded. He sai d:
"I thought you'd say that,si r."
The Assistant Commissi oner brought down his  fist wi th a bang on the tabl e.
He  cri ed out:
"The whol e thing's  fantasti c-impossible. Ten peopl e killed on a bare rock
of  an    i sland-and we don't know who di d  i t, or why, or how."
Maine coughed. He sai d:
"Well ,  i t's not qui te like that, si r. We do know why, more or l ess. Some
fanat i c  wi th a  bee  in  his  bonnet about j ust i ce. He was out to get peopl e
who were beyond  the reach of  the  l aw. He pi cked ten peopl e-whether they
were really guil t y or not   doesn't matter-"
The Commissi oner st i rred. He sai dsharply:
"Doesn't i t ? It seems to me-"
ANDTHENTHERE VVERE NONE
347
He stopped. Inspector Maine wai ted respectfully. Wi t h asi gh  Leggeshook
his  head.
"Carry on," he said. "Just for a minute I fel t I'd got somewhere. Got, as
i t  were, the cl ue to the thing. It' s gone now. Go ahead wi th what you were
saying."  Maine went on:
"There were ten peopl e to be-executed, l et's say.  They were executed. U.
N. Oven  accomplished his task. And somehow or other he spi ri ted  himself  off
that island  into thin air."
The A.C. sai d:
"Fi rst-cl ass vanishing tri ck. But you know, Maine, there must be an
explanat i on."  Maine said:
"You' re thinking, si r, that if  the man wasn' t on the island, he coul dn' t
have    l ef t the island, and according to the account of  the  interested
parti es  he never  was on the island. Well , then the only  explanat i on
possible  is that he was  actually one of  the ten."
The A.C. nodded.
Maine said earnest ly:
"We thought of  that, si r. We went into i t. Now, to begin wi t h, we' re  not
qui te   in the dark as to what happened on Indian Island. Vera Cl ayt horne
kept a di ary,  so di d Emily Brent. Ol d Wargrave made some  notes-dry  l egal
crypt i c stuff ,  but   qui te cl ear. And Bl ore made  notes too. All  those
accounts tally. The deaths  occurred in this order:Marston, Mrs. Rogers,
Macarthur, Rogers, Miss Brent, War-  grave. Af ter his death Vera Cl ayt horne' s
di ary  states that Armstrong l ef t the  house in the night and that Bl ore and
Lombard had gone af ter him. Bl ore has one  more entry  in  his  notebook. Just
two words: 'Armstrong disappeared.'   "Now, Si r,  it seemed to me, taking
everyt hing  into account, that we might find  here a perfect ly good sol uti on.
Armstrong was drowned, you remember. Granting   that Armstrong was mad, what
was to prevent him  having killed off  all  the others   and then commi tted
suici de by throwing  himself  over the cliff, or perhaps while   trying to swim
to the mainland?
"That was a good sol ut i on-but i t won't do. No, si r, i t won't do. Fi rst of
all   there's the police surgeon' s evidence. He got to the  i sland early on
the morning   of   August 13th. He coul dn' t say much to hel p us. All   he coul d
say was that all   the peopl e  had been dead at l east thi rty-six  hours and
probably a good deal   l onger. But he was fairly defini t e about Armstrong.
Sai d he must have  been  f rom  ei ght to ten hours in the water before s bodv
was washed uDThat works out at
348
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
this, that Armstrong must have gone  into the sea somet ime during the night
of  the  10th-ll th-and I'll explain why. We  found the point where the body was
washed up-i t  had been wedged between two rocks and there were bi ts of  cl oth,
hair, etc., on  them. It must have been deposi ted there at hi gh water on the
11 th-that' s to say  round about 11 o'cl ock A.M. After that, the storm
subsided, and succeeding high  water marks are considerably  l ower.
"You might say, I suppose, that Armstrong managed to polish off the other
three   before he went into the sea that ni ght. But there' s another point and
one  you   can' t get over. Armstrong' s  body had been dragged above  high water
mark. We  found    i t well above the reach of  any ti de. And  i t was  l aid out
strai ght on the  ground-all   neat and ti dy.
"So that settl es one point defini tely. Some one was alive on the  i sland
af ter   Armstrong was dead."
He paused and then went on.
"And that leaves-just what exact ly?  Here' s the posi t i on early on the
morning of    the 11th. Armstrong has  'disappeared' (drowned). That l eaves us
three peopl e.  Lombard, Bl ore and Vera Cl ayt horne. Lombard wasshot. Hi s
body was down by the  sea-near Armstrong' s. Vera Cl ayt horne was  found  hanged
in  her own bedroom.  Bl ore's body was on the terrace. Hi s  head was crushed
in  by a  heavy marble cl ock   that i t seems reasonable to suppose fell on him
f rom the window above."The A.C. saidsharply:
"Whose window?"
"Vera Cl ayt horne's. Now, Si r, l et's take each of  these cases separately.
Fi rst   Philip Lombard. Let' s say  he pushed over that l ump of  marble onto
Bl ore-then he  doped Vera Clayt horne and strung her up. Lastly, he went down
to the seashore and  shot himself.
"But if   so, who took away the revolver  f rom  him? For that revolver was
found up  in the house  j ust inside the door at the top of  the stai rs-
Wargrave's room."The A.C. sai d:
"Any  fingerprints on  i t?"
"Yes, si r, Vera Clayt horne's.
"But, man alive, then-"
"I know what you' re going to say, Si r. That i t was Vera Claythorne. That
sheshot   Lombard, took the revolver back to the house, toppl ed the marble
bl ock onto Bl ore  and then-hanged  herself .
"And that' s qui te all ri ght-up to a point. There' s a chair  in  her bedroom
and on   the seat of   i t there are marks of  seaweedsame as on
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
349
her shoes. Looks as though she stood on the chair, adj usted the rope round
her  neck and ki cked away the chair.
"But that chai r wasn' t found ki cked over. It was, like all  the other
chairs,  neat ly put back against the wall . That was done af ter Vera
Cl ayt horne's death-by  some one else.
"That l eaves us wi t h Bl ore and  if  you tell  me that af ter shooti ng Lombard
and    inducing Vera Cl ayt horne. to hang  herself   he then went out and pulled
down a   whacking great bl ock of  marble on himself   by tying a string to i t
or something    like that-well, Isimply don' t believe you. Men don' t commi t
suici de that way-and  what' s more Bl ore wasn' t that ki nd of  man. We knew
Bl ore-and he was not the man  that you'd ever accuse of  a desi re  for
abstract j ust i ce."
The Assistant Commisi oner said:
141 agee."
Inspector Maine said:
"And therefore, Si r, there must have  been some one else on the  i sland. Some
one  who ti died up when the whole business was over. But where was he all
the time-and  where di d  he go to?The Sti cklehaven peopl e are absol utely
certain that no one  coul d  have  lef t the island before the rescue boat got
there. But in that case-"  He stopped.
The Assistant Commissi oner sai d:
"In that case-"
Hesi ghed. He shook his head. He leant forward.
"But in that case," he said, "who killed them?"
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
AMANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SENT
TO SCOTLAND YARD BYTHE MASTER OF
THE EMMAJANE, FISHINGTRAWLER
F'Rom MY earliest youth I realized that my  nature was a mass of
contradi ct i ons.  I have, to begin wi th, an  incurably  romantic imaginat i on.
The practi ce of  throwing  a bottl e  into the sea wi th an important document
inside was one that never failed  to thrill me when reading adventure stori es
as a child. It thrills me st ill -and   for that reason I have adopted this
course-wri t ing my  confessi on, encl osing  i t in  a bottl e, sealing the  latter,
and casting  i t  into the waves. There  i s, I suppose,  a hundred to one chance
that my confessi on may  be  found-and then (or do I flatter  myself?) a
hi t herto unsolved murder mystery will  be explained.
I was born wi th other trai ts besides my romant i c  fancy. I have a defini te
sadi st i c delight in seeing or causing death. I remember experiments wi th
wasps-wi t h vari ous garden pests. . . . From an early  age I knew very strongly
the  l ust to kill.
But si de  by  side wi th this went a contradi ctory trai t-a strong sense of
just i ce.  It i s abhorrent to me that an innocent person or creature shoul d
suffer or di e  by any act of   mine. I have always  felt strongly that ri ght
shoul d prevail .  It may  be understood-I think a psychol ogi st woul d
understandthat wi th my mental   makeup  being what i t was, I adopted the  l aw
as a professi on. The  l egal  professi on  satisfied  nearly all  my  inst incts.
Crime and  i ts punishment has always  fascinated me. I enj oy reading every
kind of   detective story and thriller. I have devised for my own private
amusement the  most ingeni ous ways of  carrying  out a murder.
When  in due course I came to presi de over a court of   law, that other secret
inst inct of   mine was encouraged to devel op. To see a wretched criminal
squi rming  in the dock, suffering the tortures of  the damned, as his doom
camesl owly andsl owly  nearer, was to me an
exquisi te pleasure. Mind  you, I took no pl easure  in seeing an  innocent man
there.  On at l east two occasi ons I stopped cases where to my mind the
accused was  palpably  innocent, di rect ing the  j ury  that there was no case.
Thanks, however, to  the fai rness and efficiency of our police  force, the
maj ori t y of  the accused  persons who have come before me to be tri ed  for
murder, have been guil t y.  I will   say  here that such was the case wi t h the
manEdward Seton. His appearance  and manner were  misleading and he created
a good impressi on on the  j ury. But not   only the evidence, which was clear,
though unspectacular, but my own knowl edge   of   criminals tol d me wi thout any
doubt that the man  had actually  commi tted the   crime wi th which  he was
charged, the brutal  murder of  an elderly woman who   trusted him.
I have a reputati on as a hanging  j udge, but that is unfai r. I have always
been  stri ct ly  just and scrupul ous  in my  summing up of  a case.
All  I  have done  i s to protect the j ury against the emot i onal  effect of
emoti onal   appeals  by  some of  our more emoti onal   counsel. I have drawn thei r
attenti on to   the actual  evidence.
For some  years past I have  been aware of  a change wi thin myself, a
lessening of   control -a desire to act instead of  to j udge.
I have wanted-l et me admi t  i t f rankly-to commi t a murder myself . I
recogni zed  thi s as the desi re of  the arti st to express himself! I was, or
coul d  be, an  arti st  in crime!My  imaginat i on, sternly  checked  by the
exigencies of  my  professi on, waxed secret ly to col ossal   force.
I must-I must-I must-commi t a murder!  And what is more, i t must be no
ordinary   murder! It must be a fantast i cal   crime-something stupendous-out
of  the common!  In that one respect, I have st ill , I think, an adol escent' s
imaginat i on.   I wanted something theatri cal , impossible!
I wanted to kill. . . . Yes, I wanted to kill .
But-incongruous as  i t may seem to some-I was restrained and hampered by my
innate  sense of   j ust i ce. The  innocent must not suffer.
And then, qui te suddenly, the  i dea came to me-started by a chance remark
uttered   during casual conversat i on. It was a doctor to whom I was tal king-
some ordinary  undist inguished G.P. He ment i oned casually  how of ten murder
must be commi tted  whi ch the  l aw was unable to touch.
And  he  instanced a parti cular case-that of  an ol d  lady, a pati ent of   his
who had  recently died. He was, he said, himself  convinced that her death
was due to the  wi thhol ding of  a restorative drug by  a married coupl e who
attended on her and who  stood to benefi t verv sub-
352
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
stanti ally  by  her death. That sort of  thing, he explained, was qui te
impossible  to prove, but he was neverthel ess qui te sure of   i t  in his own
mind. He added that  there were many cases of  asimilar nature going on all
the time-cases of   deliberate murder-and all  qui te untouchable  by the  law.
That was the beginning of  the whol e thing. I suddenly saw my way clear. And
I   determined to commi t not one murder, but murder on a grand scale.
A childish rhyme of  my  infancy came back  into my mind-the rhyme of  the ten
li ttle  Indi an boys. It had fascinated me as a child of  two-the inexorable
diminishment-the sense of   inevi tabili t y.
I began, secretly, to collect victims. . . .
I will   not take up space here by going  into details  of  how thi s was
accomplished.   I had a certain routine  line of  conversati on which I empl oyed
wi th nearly every  one I met-and the resul ts I got were really surprising.
During the time I was in  a nursing  home I collected the case of  Dr.
Armstrong-a vi ol ent ly teetotal sister  who attended on me  being anxi ous to
prove to me the evils of  drink  by recount ing  to me a case many  years ago
in  hospi tal  when a doctor under the  influence of   alcohol  had killed a
pati ent on whom  he was operating. A careless questi on as to   where the
sister in quest i on had trained, etc., soon gave me the necessary data.   I
tracked down the doctor and the pati ent ment i oned wi thout difficul t y.  A
conversati on  between two ol d  mili tary gossi ps  in my  Club put me on the track
of  General  Macarthur. A man who had recent ly returned f rom the  Amazon gave
me a  devastating r6sum6 of  the activi t ies of  one Philip Lombard. An
indignant mem  sahib  in Maj orca recounted the tale of  the Puri tan Emily
Brent and her wretched  servant gi rl .  AnthonyMarston I sel ected f rom a
large group of  peopl e who had  commi tted similar offences. Hi s complete
call ousness and  his  inabili t y to feel  any responsibili t y  for the lives he
had taken made him, I considered, a type  dangerous to the communi t y and
unfi t to live. Ex-Inspector Bl ore came my way  qui te naturally, some of  my
professi onal  brethren discussing the Landor case wi t h  f reedom and vigour.
I took a seri ous view of  his offence. The police, as servants   of  the  l aw,
must be of  a high order of   integri t y. For thei r word is perforce   believed
by  virtue of  thei r professi on.
Finally there was the case of  Vera Cl ayt horne. It was when I was crossing
the  Atl antic. At a l ate hour one ni ght the sole occupants of  thesmoking-
room were  myself  and a good-l ooking  young man called Hugo Hamil ton.
14ti on 14nmil t nn wnq  iinhnnnv Tn n-umae thnt nnhannine-.q he  hnd
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
353
taken a consi derable quant i t y of  drink. He was  in the maudlin confident i al
stage.  Wi thout much hope of  any resul t I automat ically started my routine
conversati onal   gambi t. The response was startling. I can remember his words
now. He sai d:  "You' re ri ght. Murder isn' t what most peopl e think-giving
some one a doll op of   arsenic-pushing them over a cliff -that sort of  stuff."
He  l eaned  forward,   thrusting his  face  into mine. He sai d: "I've known a
murderess-known  her, I tell     you. And what' s more I was crazy about her. .
. . God hel p me, somet imes I think  I still
am. . . . It' s Hell, I tell  you-Hell- You see, she di d i t more or l ess
for me. . . . Not that I ever dreamed. Women are  fiends-absol ute fiends-you
woul dn' t think a gi rl   like that-a ni ce strai ght j olly girlyou woul dn' t think
she'd  do that, woul d  you?That she'd take a ki d out to sea and  l et i t drown-
you woul dn' t  think a woman coul d do a thing  like that?"
I sai d to him:
"Are  you sure she did do i t?"
He sai d and  in saying  i t he seemed suddenly to sober up:
"I'm qui te sure. Nobody else ever thought of   i t. But I knew the moment I
l ooked  at her-when I got back-af ter . . . Andshe knew I knew. . . . What
she di dn' t   realize was that I l oved that ki d. . . . ))
He di dn' t say any more, but i t was easy enough  for me to trace back the
story and  reconstruct i t.
I needed a tenth vi ct im. I found him  in a man named Morris. He was a shady
li ttle  creature. Amongst other things  he was a dope pedl ar and  he was
responsible  for   inducing the daughter of   f riends of  mine to take to drugs.
She commi tted sui cide  at the age of  twentyone.
During all this time of  search my plan  had  been gradually maturing  in my
mind.   It was now complete and the coping stone to i t was an  interview I had
wi th a  doctor in Harley Street. I have ment i oned that I underwent an
operati on. My    intervi ew  in Harl ey Street tol d me  that another operati on
woul d be useless. My   medical   adviser wrapped up the  informat i on  very
prettily, but I am accustomed to   getting at the truth of  a statement.
I di d  not tell  the doctor of  my decisi on-that my death shoul d not be a sl ow
and  protracted one as  i t woul d be  in the course of  nature. No, my death
shoul d take  pl ace  in a  blaze of  exci tement. I would live  before I di ed.
And  now to the actual  mechanics of  the crime of   Indian Isl and. To acoui re
the  i sland usine the man Morris to cover v tracks, was easy
354        MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
enough. He was an expert in that sort of  thing. Tabulat ing the  informat i on
I had  coll ected about my prospective vict ims, I was able to concoct a
sui table  bai t  for  each. None of  my plans  miscarried. All  my guests arrived
at Indi an Island on the  8th of   August. The party  incl uded myself .
Morri s was already  accounted for. He suffered  f rom  indigest i on. Before
leaving  London I gave him a capsule to take l ast thing at ni ght whi ch  had,
I sai d, done   wonders  for my own gastri c  juices. He accepted i t
unhesi tatingly-the man was a  slight hypochondri ac. I had no fear that he
woul d  leave any compromising  documents or memoranda behind. He was not that
sort of  man.
The order of  death upon the  i sland had  been subjected by me to speci al
thought   and care. There were, I consi dered, amongst my guests, varying
degrees of  guil t.   Those whose guil t was the  lightest shoul d, I deci ded,
pass out fi rst, and not   suffer the prol onged mental strain and  fear that
the more col d-bl ooded offenders  were to suffer.
Anthony Marston and Mrs. Rogers di ed  first, the one  instantaneously, the
other   in a peaceful   sleep. Marston, I recognized, was a type born wi t hout
that feeling  of  moral  responsibili t y which most of us have. He was amoral -
pagan. Mrs. Rogers,   I had no doubt, had acted very  largely under the
influence of   her husband.   I need not describe cl osely  how those two met
thei r deaths. The police will  have  been able to work that out qui te easily.
Potassi um Cyanide  i s easily obtained  by  householders  for putting down
wasps. I had some  in my possessi on and  i t was easy  to slip  i t  into
Marston's almost empt y glass during the tense period af ter the  gramophone
reci tal .
I may say that I watched the  faces of  my guests closely during that
indict ment   and I had no doubt whatever, af ter my l ong court experi ence,
that one and all   were guil t y.
During recent bouts of  pain, I had been ordered a sleeping draught -Chl oral
Hydrate. It had been easy  for me to suppress thi s  unt il  I had a  lethal
amount in   my possessi on. When Rogers brought up some  brandy  for his wife,
he set  i t down   on a tabl e and  in passing that table I put the stuff   into
the brandy. It was  easy,  for at that time suspici on had  not begun to set
in.
General  Macarthur met his death qui te painlessly.  He di d  not hear me come
up   behind him. I had, of  course, to choose my t ime for leaving the terrace
very  carefully,  but everything was successful.
As I had ant i cipated, a search was made of  the  i sland and  i t was di scovered
that   there was no one on  i t but our sevenselves. That at once created an
atmosphere   of  suspici on. According to my plan I
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
shoul dshortly  need an ally. I sel ected Dr. Armstrong  for that part. He was
a  gullible sort of  man, he knew me bysight and reputati on and  i t was
inconceivable  to him that a man of  my  standingshoul d actually  be a
murderer! All  his suspici ons  were di rected against Lombard and I pretended
to concur in these. I hinted to him  that I had a scheme  by which  i t  might
be possible to trap the murderer  into in- criminat ing himself.
Though a search had  been made of  every one' s room, no search  had as  yet
been made  of  the persons themselves. But that was bound to come soon.
I killed Rogers on the morning of   August 10th. He was chopping st i cks  for
light ing the  fi re and did not hear me approach. I found the key to the
dining-room door i n  his pocket. He had l ocked  i t the  night before.   In the
confusi on attending the finding of  Rogers'   body I slipped  into Lombard' s
room and abstracted hi s revolver. I knew that he woul d have one wi th him-in
fact,   I had  instructed Morri s to suggest as much  when  he  interviewed  him.
At breakfast I slipped my  last dose of  Chl oral   intoMi ss Brent's coffee when
I   was refilling  her cup. We  l ef t her  in the dining-room. I slipped  in there
a  li ttl e while  l ater-she was nearly unconsci ous and i t was easy to inject
a strong   sol uti on of  Cyanide  into her. The bumblebee  business was really
rather   childish-but somehow, you know, i t pl eased me. I li ked adhering as
cl osely as  possible to my  nursery rhyme.
Immediately af ter thi s what I had al ready  foreseen happenedindeed I believe
I   suggested i t myself. We all   submi tted to a ri gorous search. I had safely
hidden  away the revolver, and had no more Cyanide or Chl oral   in my
possessi on.  It was then that I int imated to Armstrong that we must carry
our pl an  into   effect. It was simply this-I must appear to be the next
vict im. That woul d  perhaps rattl e the murderer-at any rate once I was
supposed to be dead I coul d  move about the house and spy upon the unknown
murderer.
Armstrong was keen on the i dea. We carri ed  i t out that evening. A  li tt l e
pl aster   of  red mud on the forehead-the red curtain and the wool  and the
stage was set. The lights of  the candles were  very flickering and uncertain
and the only person  who woul d examine me cl osely was  Armstrong.
It worked perfect ly. Miss Clayt horne screamed the house down whenshe  found
the  seaweed which I had thoughtfully arranged  in her room. They all  rushed
up, and   I took up my pose of  a murdered man.
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
The effect on them when they  found me was all  that coul d be desired.
Armstrong   acted hi s part in the most professi onal manner. They carri ed me
upstai rs and  laid  me on my  bed. Nobody worri ed about me, they were all  too
deadly scared and   terrified of  each other.
I had a rendezvous wi th Armstrong outsi de the house at a quarter to two.
I took   him up a  li ttle way  behind the house on the edge of  the cliff. I
said that here  we coul d see  if any one else approached us, and we shoul d
not be seen  f rom the  house as the bedrooms  faced the other way. He was
still qui te unsuspici ous-and    yet he ought to have been warned- If   he  had
only remembered the words of  the  nursery rhyme, "A red herring swall owed
one. He took the red herring all  right.   It was qui te easy. I uttered an
exclamat i on,  l eant over the cliff, tol d him to   l ook, wasn' t that the mouth
of  a cave? He  leant ri ght over. A qui ck vigorous push  sent him off   his
balance and splash  into the heavingsea bel ow. I returned to the   house. It
must have  been my  footfall  that Bl ore heard. A  few minutes af ter I had
returned to Armstrong's room I l ef t  i t, thi s t ime making a certain amount of
noise so that some oneshoul d hear me. I heard a door open as I got to the
bottom   of  the stai rs. They must have  j ust glimpsed my  figure as I went out
of  the f ront   door.
It was a minute or two before they  foll owed me. I had gone strai ght round
the  house and in at the dining-room window which I had  l ef t open. I shut
the window   and  l ater I broke the gl ass. Then I went upstai rs and  l aid
myself out again on  my  bed.
I calculated that they woul d search the house again, but I di d not think
they  woul d  l ook cl osely at any of  the corpses, a mere twi tch asi de of  the
sheet to   sati sfy themselves that i t was not Armstrong masquerading as a
body. This  is  exact ly what occurred.
I forgot to say that I returned the revolver to Lombard' s room. It may  be
of   interest to some one to know where i t was hidden during the search.
There was a  bi g pile of  t inned  food i n the  larder. I opened the bottommost
of  the   ti ns-biscui ts I think  i t contained, bedded  in  the revolver and
repl aced the stri p  of  adhesive tape.
I calculated, and ri ght ly, that no one woul d think of  working thei r way
throug4   a pile of  apparently untouched foodstuffs, especi ally  as all the
top tins were  sol dered.
The red curtain I had concealed  by  laying  i t  flat on the seat of  one of  the
drawing-room chairs under the chintz cover and the wool   in the seat cushi on,
cutti ng asmall   hol e.
And  now came the moment that I had anti cipated-three peopl e who were so
f rightened of  each other that anything  might happen-
ANDTHENTHERE WERE NONE
and one of  them had a revolver. I watched them  f rom the windows of  the
house. When  Bl ore came up al one I had the big marble cl ock poised ready.
Exi t Bl ore. . . .   From my window I saw Vera Cl ayt horneshoot Lombard. A
daring and resourceful     young woman. I al ways thought she was a match  for
him and more. As soon as that   had happened I set the stage in  her bedroom.
It was an  interesting psychol ogi cal experiment. Woul d the consci ousness of
her   own guil t, the state of  nervous tensi on consequent on having  just shot
a man, be  sufficient, together wi th the hypnoti csuggesti on of  the
surroundings, to cause  her to take her own life? I thought i t woul d. I was
ri ght. Vera Cl ayt home  hanged  herself   before my  eyes where I stood in the
shadow of  the wardrobe.   And now  for the l ast stage. I came  forward, picked
up the chair and set i t   against the wall. I l ooked for the revolver and
found  i t at the top of  the stai rs  where the gi rl   had dropped i t. I was
careful  to preserve her fingerprints on  i t.   Andnow?
I shall   finish  wri t ing this. I shall encl ose  i t and seal   i t  in a bottl e and
I   shall  throw the bottl e  into the sea.
Why?
Yes, why?. . .
It was my ambi t i on to invent a murder mystery that no one coul d solve.
But no arti st, I now realize, can  be sat isfied wi t h art al one. There  i s a
natural   craving  for recogni t i on which cannot be gainsaid.
I have, let me confess  i t  in all   humili t y, a pi t iful   human wish that some
one  shoul d know  j ust how clever I have been. . . .
In all this, I have assumed that the mystery of  Indian Island will remain
unsolved. It may  be, of  course, that the police will be cl everer than I
think.   There are, af ter all , three cl ues. One: the police are perfect ly
aware that  Edward Seton was guil t y. They know, therefore, that one of  the
ten peopl e on the   island was  not a murderer in any  sense of  the word, and
i t  foll ows,  paradoxi cally, that that person must  l ogi cally  be the murderer.
The second clue  lies  in the seventh verse of  the nursery rhyme. Armstrong' s
death  i s associ ated  wi th a "red herring" which he  swall owed-or rather which
resul ted  in swall owing  him! That is to say that at that stage of  the affair
some hocus-pocus is clearly    indicated-and that Armstrong was deceived by
i t andsent to his death. That mi ght  start a promising  line of   inquiry. For
at that peri od there are only  four persons  and of  those  four I am clearly
the only one  likely to inspi re  him wi t h  confidence.
MASTERPIECES OF MURDER
The thi rd  i ssymbolical. The manner of  my death marking me on the forehead.
The  brand of  Cain.
There is, I think,  li ttl e more to say.
Af ter entrusting my  bottl e and  i ts message to thesea I shall  go to my room
and    l ay myself down on the bed. To my eyeglasses  i s attached what seems a
length of   fine  black cord-but i t  i s elast i c cord. I shall   lay the weight
of  the body on the   gl asses. The cord I shall   l oop round the door-handle and
attach  i t, not too   solidly, to the revolver. What I think will  happen  is
thi s.
My  hand, protected wi th a handkerchief , will press the tri gger. My  hand
will   fall   to my  si de, the revolver, pulled by the elastic will  recoil to
the door, j arred  by the door-handle  i t will detach  itself  f rom the el astic
and  fall. The elast i c,  rel eased, will   hang down  innocently  f rom the
eyeglasses on which my  body  is  lying. A  handkerchief   lying on the fl oor
will  cause  no comment whatever.  I shall   be  found, l aid neat ly on my  bed,
shot through the forehead  in accordance  wi th the record kept by my  fell ow
vict ims. Times of  death cannot be stated wi th  any accuracy  by the time our
bodi es are examined.
When the sea goes down, there will come  f rom the mainland boats and men.
And they will  find ten dead bodi es and an unsolved probl em on Indian Isl and.
Si gned
LAWRENCE WARGRAVE.