1She and Philip Lombard sat on the windowsill of the livingroom. Outside the rain poured down and the wind howled in great shuddering gusts against the windowpanes.

2Philip Lombard cocked his head slightly on one side before answering. Then he said: "You mean, do I believe that old Wargrave is right when he says it's one of us?" "Yes."

3Philip Lombard said slowly: "It's difficult to say. Logically, you know, he's right, and yet "

4Vera took the words out of his mouth. "And yet it seems so incredible!"

5Philip Lombard made a grimace. "The whole thing's incredible! But after Macarthur's death there's no more doubt as to one thing. There's no question now of accidents or suicides. It's definitely murder. Three murders up to date."

6Vera shivered. She said: "It's like some awful dream. I keep feeling that things like this can't happen!"

7He said with understanding: "I know. Presently a tap will come on the door, and early morning tea will be brought in."

8Vera said: "Oh, how I wish that could happen!"

9Philip Lombard said gravely: "Yes, but it won't! We're all in the dream! And we've got to be pretty much upon our guard from now on."

10Vera said, lowering her voice: "If if it is one of them which do you think it is?"

11Philip Lombard grinned suddenly. He said: "I take it you are excepting our two selves? Well, that's all right. I know very well that I'm not the murderer, and I don't fancy that there's anything insane about you, Vera. You strike me as being one of the sanest and most levelheaded girls

12I've come across. I'd stake my reputation on your sanity. "

13With a slightly wry smile, Vera said: "Thank you."

14He said: "Come now, Miss Vera Claythorne, aren't you going to return the compliment?"

15Vera hesitated a minute, then she said: "You've admitted, you know, that you don't hold human life particularly sacred, but all the same I can't see you as as the man who dictated that gramophone record."

16Lombard said: "Quite right. If I were to commit one or more murders it would be solely for what I could get out of them. This mass clearance isn't my line of country. Good, then we'll eliminate ourselves and concentrate on our five fellow prisoners. Which of them is U.N. Owen? Well, at a guess, and with absolutely nothing to go upon, I'd plump for Wargrave!" "Oh!" Vera sounded surprised. She thought a minute or two and then said, "Why?" "Hard to say exactly. But to begin with, he's an old man and he's been presiding over courts of law for years. That is to say, he's played God Almighty 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 holding the power of life and death and it's possible that his brain might snap and he might want to go one step farther and be Executioner and Judge Extraordinary."

17Vera said slowly: "Yes, I suppose that's possible..."

18Lombard said: "Who do you plump for?"

19Without any hesitation Vera answered: "Dr. Armstrong."

20Lombard gave a low whistle. "The doctor, eh? You know, I should have put him last of all."

21Vera shook her head. "Oh, no! Two of the deaths have been poison. That rather points to a doctor. And then you can't get over the fact that the only thing we are absolutely certain Mrs.

22Rogers had was the sleeping draught that he gave her. "

23Lombard admitted: "Yes, that's true."

24Vera persisted: "If a doctor went mad, it would be a long time before any one suspected. And doctors overwork and have a lot of strain."

25Philip Lombard said: "Yes but I doubt if he could have killed Macarthur. He wouldn't have had time during that brief interval when I left him not, that is, unless he fairly hared down there and back again, and I doubt if he's in good enough training to do that and show no signs of it."

26Vera said: "He didn't do it then. He had an opportunity later." "When?" "When he went down to call the General to lunch."

27Philip whistled again very softly. He said: "So you think he did it then? Pretty cool thing to do."

28Vera said impatiently: "What risk was there? He's the only person here with medical knowledge. He can swear the body's been dead at least an hour and who's to contradict him?"

29Philip looked at her thoughtfully. "You know," he said, "that's a clever idea of yours. I wonder "

30II "Who is it, Mr. Blore? That's what I want to know. Who is it?"

31Rogers' face was working. His hands were clenched round the polishing leather that he held in his hand.

32Exinspector Blore said: "Eh, my lad, that's the question!" "One of us, 'is lordship said. Which one? That's what I want to know. Who's the fiend in 'uman form?" "That," said Blore, "is what we all would like to know."

33Rogers said shrewdly: "But you've got an idea, Mr. Blore. You've got an idea, 'aven't you?" "I may have an idea," said Blore slowly. "But that's a long way from being sure.

34I may be wrong. All I can say is that if I'm right the person in question is a very cool customer a very cool customer indeed. "

35Rogers wiped the perspiration from his forehead. He said hoarsely: "It's like a bad dream, that's what it is."

36Blore said, looking at him curiously: "Got any ideas yourself, Rogers?"

37The butler shook his head. He said hoarsely: "I don't know. I don't know at all. And that's what's frightening the life out of me.

38To have no idea..."

39Ill

40Dr. Armstrong said violently: "We must get out of here we must we must! At all costs!"

41Mr. Justice Wargrave looked thoughtfully out of the smokingroom window. He played with the cord of his eyeglasses. He said: "I do not, of course, profess to be a weather prophet. But I should say that it is very unlikely that a boat could reach us even if they knew of our plight under twentyfour hours and even then only if the wind drops."

42Dr. Armstrong dropped his head in his hands and groaned.

43He said: "And in the meantime we may all be murdered in our beds?" "I hope not," said Mr. Justice Wargrave. "I intend to take every possible precaution against such a thing happening."

44It flashed across Dr. Armstrong's mind that an old man like the judge, was far more tenacious of life than a younger man would be. He had often marvelled at that fact in his professional career. Here was he, junior to the judge by perhaps twenty years, and yet with a vastly inferior sense of selfpreservation.

45Mr. Justice Wargrave was thinking: "Murdered in our beds! These doctors are all the same they think in clichns. A thoroughly commonplace mind."

46The doctor said: "There have been three victims already, remember." "Certainly. But you must remember that they were unprepared for the attack.

47We are forewarned. "

48Dr. Armstrong said bitterly: "What can we do? Sooner or later " "I think," said Mr. Justice Wargrave, "that there are several things we can do."

49Armstrong said: "We've no idea, even, who it can be "

50The judge stroked his chin and murmured: "Oh, you know, I wouldn't quite say that."

51Armstrong stared at him. "Do you mean you know?"

52Mr. Justice Wargrave said cautiously: "As regards actual evidence, such as is necessary in court, I admit that I have none. But it appears to me, reviewing the whole business, that one particular person is sufficiently clearly indicated. Yes, I think so."

53Armstrong stared at him.

54He said: "I don't understand."

55IV

56Miss Brent was upstairs in her bedroom.

57She took up her Bible and went to sit by the window.

58She opened it. Then, after a minute's hesitation, she set it aside and went over to the dressingtable. From a drawer in it she took out a small blackcovered notebook.

59She opened it and began writing. "A terrible thing has happened. General Macarthur is dead. (His cousin married

60Elsie MacPherson. ) There is no doubt but that he was murdered. After luncheon the judge made us a most interesting speech. He is convinced that the murderer is one of us. That means that one of us is possessed by a devil. I had already suspected that. Which of us is it? They are all asking themselves that. I alone know..."

61She sat for some time without moving. Her eyes grew vague and filmy. The pencil straggled drunkenly in her fingers. In shaking loose capitals she wrote:

62THE MURDERER'S NAME IS BEATRICE TAYLOR...

63Her eyes closed.

64Suddenly, with a start, she awoke. She looked down at the notebook. With an angry exclamation she scored through the vague unevenly scrawled characters of the last sentence.

65She said in a low voice: "Did I write that? Did I? I must be going mad..."

66V

67The storm increased. The wind howled against the side of the house.

68Every one was in the livingroom. They sat listlessly huddled together. And, surreptitiously, they watched each other.

69When Rogers brought in the teatray, they all jumped.

70He said: "Shall I draw the curtains? It would make it more cheerful like."

71Receiving an assent to this, the curtains were drawn and the lamps turned on.

72The room grew more cheerful. A little of the shadow lifted. Surely, by tomorrow, the storm would be over and some one would come a boat would arrive...Vera

73Claythorne said: "Will you pour out tea, Miss Brent?"

74The elder woman replied: "No, you do it, dear. That teapot is so heavy. And I have lost two skeins of my grey knittingwool. So annoying."

75Vera moved to the teatable. There was a cheerful rattle and clink of china.

76Normality returned.

77Tea! Blessed ordinary everyday afternoon tea! Philip Lombard made a cheery remark. Blore responded. Dr. Armstrong told a humorous story. Mr. Justice

78Wargrave, who ordinarily hated tea, sipped approvingly.

79Into this relaxed atmosphere came Rogers.

80And Rogers was upset. He said nervously and at random: "Excuse me, sir, but does any one know what's become of the bathroom curtain?"

81Lombard's head went up with a jerk. "The bathroom curtain? What the devil do you mean, Rogers?" "It's gone, sir, clean vanished. I was going round drawing all the curtains and the one in the lav bathroom wasn't there any longer."

82Mr. Justice Wargrave asked: "Was it there this morning?" "Oh, yes, sir."

83Blore said: "What kind of a curtain was it?" "Scarlet oilsilk, sir. It went with the scarlet tiles."

84Lombard said: "And it's gone?" "Gone, sir."

85They stared at each other.

86Blore said heavily: "Well after all what of it? It's mad but so's everything else. Anyway, it doesn't matter. You can't kill anybody with an oilsilk curtain. Forget about it."

87Rogers said: "Yes, sir, thank you, sir."

88He went out, shutting the door behind him.

89Inside the room, the pall of fear had fallen anew.

90Again, surreptitiously, they watched each other.

91VI

92Dinner came, was eaten, and cleared away. A simple meal, mostly out of tins.

93Afterwards, in the livingroom, the strain was almost too great to be borne.

94At nine o'clock, Emily Brent rose to her feet.

95She said: "I'm going to bed."

96Vera said: "I'll go to bed too."

97The two women went up the stairs and Lombard and Blore went with them.

98Standing at the top of the stairs, the two men watched the women go into their respective rooms and shut the doors. They heard the sound of two bolts being shot and the turning of two keys.

99Blore said with a grin: "No need to tell 'em to lock their doors!"

100Lombard said: "Well, they're all right for the night, at any rate!" He went down again and the other followed him.

101VII

102The four men went to bed an hour later. They went up together. Rogers, from the diningroom where he was setting the table for breakfast, saw them go up. He heard them pause on the landing above.

103Then the judge's voice spoke: "I need hardly advise you, gentlemen, to lock your doors."

104Blore said: "And, what's more, put a chair under the handle. There are ways of turning locks from the outside."

105Lombard murmured: "My dear Blore, the trouble with you is you know too much!"

106The judge said gravely: "Goodnight, gentlemen. May we all meet safely in the morning!"

107Rogers came out of the diningroom and slipped halfway up the stairs. He saw four figures pass through four doors and heard the turning of four locks and the shooting of four bolts.

108He nodded his head. "That's all right," he muttered.

109He went back into the diningroom. Yes, everything was ready for the morning.

110His eye lingered on the centre plaque of lookingglass and the seven little china figures.

111A sudden grin transformed his face.

112He murmured: "I'll see no one plays tricks tonight, at any rate."

113Crossing the room he locked the door to the pantry. Then going through the other door to the hall he pulled the door to, locked it and slipped the key into his pocket.

114Then, extinguishing the lights, he hurried up the stairs and into his new bedroom.

115There was only one possible hidingplace in it, the tall wardrobe, and he looked into that immediately. Then, locking and bolting the door, he prepared for bed.

116He said to himself: "No more Indian tricks tonight I've seen to that..."