Десять негритят / And Then There Were None

«We come now to the death of General Macarthur. That took place this morning. I will ask any one who considers that he or she has an alibi to state it in so many words. I myself will state at once that I have no valid alibi. I spent the morning sitting on the terrace and meditating on the singular position in which we all find ourselves. „I sat on that chair on the terrace for the whole morning until the gong went, but there were, I should imagine, several periods during the morning when I was quite unobserved and during which it would have been possible for me to walk down to the sea, kill the General, and return to my chair. There is only my word for the fact that I never left the terrace. In the circumstances that is not enough. There must be proof.“»

Blore said: «I was with Mr. Lombard and Dr. Armstrong all the morning. They’ll bear me out.»

Dr. Armstrong said: «You went to the house for a rope.»

Blore said: «Of course, I did. Went straight there and straight back. You know I did.»

Armstrong said: «You were a long time…»

Blore turned crimson.

He said: «What the hell do you mean by that, Dr. Armstrong?»

Armstrong repeated: «I only said you were a long time.»

«Had to find it, didn’t I? Can’t lay your hands on a coil of rope all in a minute.»

Mr. Justice Wargrave said: «During Inspector Blore’s absence, were you two gentlemen together?»

Armstrong said hotly: «Certainly. That is, Lombard went off for a few minutes. I remained where I was.»

Lombard said with a smile: «I wanted to test the possibilities of heliographing to the mainland. Wanted to find the best spot. I was only absent a minute or two.»

Armstrong nodded. He said:

«That’s right. Not long enough to do a murder, I assure you.»

The judge said: «Did either of you two glance at your watches?»

«Well, no.»

Philip Lombard said: «I wasn’t wearing one.»

The judge said evenly:

«A minute or two is a vague expression.» He turned his head to the upright figure with the knitting lying on her lap. «Miss Brent?»

Emily Brent said: «I took a walk with Miss Claythorne up to the top of the island. Afterwards I sat on the terrace in the sun.»

The judge said: «I don’t think I noticed 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 Claythorne?»

Vera answered readily and clearly.

«I was with Miss Brent early this morning. After that I wandered about a bit. Then I went down and talked to General Macarthur.»

Mr. Justice Wargrave interrupted. He said: «What time was that?»

Vera for the first time was vague. She said;

«I don’t know. About an hour before lunch, I think – or it might have been less.»

Blore asked: «Was it after we’d spoken to him or before?»

Vera said: «I don’t know. He – he was very queer.»

She shivered. «In what way was he queer?» the judge wanted to know.

Vera said in a low voice:

«He said we were all going to die – he said he was waiting for the end. He – he frightened me…»

The judge nodded. He said:

«What did you do next?»

«I went back to the house. Then, just before lunch, I went out again and up behind the house. I’ve been terribly restless all day.»

Mr. Justice Wargrave stroked his chin. He said:

«There remains Rogers. Though I doubt if his evidence will add anything to our sum of knowledge.»

Rogers, summoned before the court, had very little to tell. He had been busy all the morning about household duties and with the preparation of lunch. He had taken cocktails onto the terrace before lunch and had then gone up to remove his things from the attic to another room. He had not looked out of the window during the morning and had seen nothing that could have any bearing upon the death of General Macarthur. He would swear definitely that there had been eight china figures upon the dining-table when he laid the table for lunch.

At the conclusion of Rogers’ evidence there was a pause. Mr. Justice Wargrave cleared his throat.

Lombard murmured to Vera Claythorne: «The summing up will now take place!»