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II
When the gong sounded for breakfast at nine o’clock it found everyone up and awaiting the
summons.
General Macarthur and the judge had been pacing the terrace outside, exchanging
Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard had been up to the summit of the island behind the
He said:
“No sign of that motorboat yet. I’ve been watching for it.”
Vera said smiling:
“Devon’s a sleepy county. Things are usually late.”
Philip Lombard was looking the other way, out to sea.
“What d’you think of the weather?”
Glancing up at the sky, Blore remarked:
“Looks all right to me.”
Lombard pursed up his mouth into a whistle.
He said:
“It will come on to blow before the day’s out.”
Blore said:
“Squally—eh?”
From below them came the boom of a gong.
Philip Lombard said:
“Breakfast? Well, I could do with some.”
As they went down the steep slope Blore said to Lombard in a ruminating4 voice:
“You know, it beats me—why that young fellow wanted to do himself in! I’ve been
worrying about it all night.”
Vera was a little ahead. Lombard hung back slightly. He said:
“Got any alternative theory?”
Emily Brent came out of the drawing room window to meet them.
She said sharply:
“Is the boat coming?”
“Not yet,” said Vera.
They went into breakfast. There was a vast dish of eggs and bacon on the sideboard and tea
and coffee.
Rogers held the door open for them to pass in, then shut it from the outside.
Emily Brent said:
“That man looks ill this morning.”
Dr. Armstrong, who was standing by the window, cleared his throat. He said:
“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 this morning.”
Emily Brent said sharply:
“What’s the matter with the woman?”
Dr. Armstrong said easily:
“Let us start our breakfast. The eggs will be cold. Afterwards, there are several matters I
want to discuss with you all.”
They took the hint. Plates were filled, coffee and tea was poured. The meal began.
desultory fashion of current events. The news from abroad, events in the world of sport, the
latest reappearance of the Loch Ness monster.
Then, when plates were cleared, Dr. Armstrong moved back his chair a little, cleared his
throat importantly and spoke.
He said:
“I thought it better to wait until you had had your breakfast before telling you of a sad
piece of news. Mrs. Rogers died in her sleep.”
There were startled and shocked ejaculations.
Vera exclaimed:
“How awful! Two deaths on this island since we arrived!”
Mr. Justice Wargrave, his eyes narrowed, said in his small precise clear voice:
“H’m—very remarkable—what was the cause of death?”
“I certainly couldn’t give a certificate. I have no knowledge whatsoever11 of the woman’s
state of health.”
Vera said:
“She was a very nervous-looking creature. And she had a shock last night. It might have
been heart failure, I suppose?”
Dr. Armstrong said dryly:
“Her heart certainly failed to beat—but what caused it to fail is the question.”
One word fell from Emily Brent. It fell hard and clear into the listening group.
“Conscience!” she said.
Armstrong turned to her.
“What exactly do you mean by that, Miss Brent?”
Emily Brent, her lips tight and hard, said:
“You all heard. She was accused, together with her husband, of having deliberately12
murdered her former employer—an old lady.”
“And you think?”
Emily Brent said:
“I think that the accusation13 was true. You all saw her last night. She broke down
completely and fainted. The shock of having her wickedness brought home to her was too much
Dr. Armstrong shook his head doubtfully.
“It is a possible theory,” he said. “One cannot adopt it without more exact knowledge of
her state of health. If there was cardiac weakness—”
Emily Brent said quietly:
“Call it if you prefer, an Act of God.”
Everyone looked shocked. Mr. Blore said uneasily:
“That’s carrying things a bit far, Miss Brent.”
She looked at them with shining eyes. Her chin went up. She said:
not!”
“My dear lady, in my experience of ill-doing, Providence17 leaves the work of conviction
short cuts.”
Emily Brent shrugged her shoulders.
Blore said sharply:
“What did she have to eat and drink last night after she went up to bed?”
Armstrong said:
“Nothing.”
“She didn’t take anything? A cup of tea? A drink of water? I’ll bet you she had a cup of
tea. That sort always does.”
“Rogers assures me she had nothing whatsoever.”
“Ah,” said Blore. “But he might say so!”
His tone was so significant that the doctor looked at him sharply.
Philip Lombard said:
“So that’s your idea?”
Blore said aggressively:
“Well, why not? We all heard that accusation last night. May be sheer moonshine—just
plain lunacy! On the other hand, it may not. Allow for the moment that it’s true. Rogers and his
Missus polished off that old lady. Well, where does that get you? They’ve been feeling quite
safe and happy about it—”
Vera interrupted. In a low voice she said:
“No, I don’t think Mrs. Rogers ever felt safe.”
Blore looked slightly annoyed at the interruption.
“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,
last night, some unknown lunatic spills the beans. What happens? The woman cracks—she goes
to pieces. Notice how her husband hung over her as she was coming round. Not all husbandly
solicitude20! Not on your life! He was like a cat on hot bricks. Scared out of his life as to what she
might say.
“And there’s the position for you! They’ve done a murder and got away with it. But if the
whole thing’s going to be raked up, what’s going to happen? Ten to one, the woman will give
her husband, that’s what she is. He’s all right. He’ll lie with a straight face till kingdom comes
—but he can’t be sure of her! And if she goes to pieces, his neck’s in danger! So he slips
something into a cup of tea and makes sure that her mouth is shut permanently22.”
Armstrong said slowly:
“There was no empty cup by her bedside—there was nothing there at all. I looked.”
Blore snorted.
“Of course there wouldn’t be! First thing he’d do when she’d drunk it would be to take that
cup and saucer away and wash it up carefully.”
There was a pause. Then General Macarthur said doubtfully:
“It may be so. But I should hardly think it possible that a man would do that—to his wife.”
Blore gave a short laugh.
He said:
“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 could speak, the door opened and Rogers came in.
He said, looking from one to the other:
“Is there anything more I can get you?”
Mr. Justice Wargrave stirred a little in his chair. He asked:
“What time does the motorboat usually come over?”
“Between seven and eight, sir. Sometimes it’s a bit after eight. Don’t know what Fred
Narracott can be doing this morning. If he’s ill he’d send his brother.”
Philip Lombard said:
“What’s the time now?”
“Ten minutes to ten, sir.”
Rogers waited a minute or two.
General Macarthur spoke suddenly and explosively:
“Sorry to hear about your wife, Rogers. Doctor’s just been telling us.”
Rogers inclined his head.
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
He took up the empty bacon dish and went out. Again there was a silence.
2
宣布早餐已经备好的钟声在九点钟准时敲响，大家都起床了，正等着一起吃饭。
麦克阿瑟将军和法官在外面的露台上散步，聊着对政局的看法。
维拉·克莱索恩和菲利普·隆巴德在别墅后面，他们登上了小岛的最高点，布洛尔也站在
那里眺望远方的大陆。他说：
“我一直在这儿守着，还没看到摩托艇的影子。”
维拉微笑着说：
“德文郡是个适合睡懒觉的地方，人们做起事来总是拖拖拉拉的。”
菲利普·隆巴德望着海的另一边。
他突然问：
“你们觉得天气怎么样？”
布洛尔看了看头顶的天空，说：
“依我看没什么问题。”
隆巴德无奈地吹了声口哨，说：
“要我说，过不了一天就该起风了。”
布洛尔说：
“是风暴吗？”
下面的房子里传来钟声。
菲利普·隆巴德说：
“吃早餐了！好，我准备去吃点儿。”
他们沿斜坡走下来的时候，布洛尔心事重重地对隆巴德说：
“你知道，这件事我想不通——那小伙子为什么要自杀？昨天晚上我想了一宿都没有想
通。”
维拉就在前面不远处。隆巴德放慢脚步，问道：
“你有什么疑问吗？”
“我在想证据，首先是自杀动机。我觉得，按理说他挺有钱的。”
埃米莉·布伦特穿过客厅的落地窗，迎了上来。
她不客气地问：
“船来了吗？”
“还没有。”维拉回答。
他们走进屋去吃早餐。餐架上摆着一大盘咸肉和鸡蛋，还有茶和咖啡。
罗杰斯打开门让他们进去，然后在外面随手把门带上。
埃米莉·布伦特说：
“这个人今天早晨不太对劲儿。”
阿姆斯特朗医生站在窗边，他清了清嗓子，说：
“今天早晨如果有什么照顾不周之处，请大家——呃——请大家谅解。早餐是罗杰斯一
个人准备的，罗杰斯太太今天早晨已经，呃——无法继续工作了。”
埃米莉·布伦特唐突地问：
“她怎么了？”
阿姆斯特朗医生敷衍地说：
“我们还是先吃早餐吧，不然鸡蛋要凉了。吃完饭我有事要和大家说一说。”
大家心领神会，都去盛了早餐，端来咖啡和茶，开始吃饭。
所有人都心照不宣，闭口不提岛上的事，而是随便聊天，说说国外的新闻、体育比
赛，还有尼斯湖水怪最近又出现了之类的事。
就这样，餐具撤走以后，阿姆斯特朗医生把椅子往后挪了挪，然后清了清嗓子，正色
道：
“我认为还是等诸位用完早餐以后再来宣布这个不幸的消息。罗杰斯太太昨夜在睡梦中
去世了。”
接着响起了惊叫声。
维拉大叫着：
“太可怕了！我们来到这儿之后，死了两个人！”
瓦格雷夫法官先生眯起双眼。他声音不大，但话说得很清楚：
“嗯，令人震惊。那么，死因是什么呢？”
阿姆斯特朗无奈地耸着肩，说：
“暂时还说不清。”
“必须要等尸体解剖吗？”
“当然，我现在无法做出任何结论。我也不清楚罗杰斯太太的健康状况。”
维拉说：
“她看上去精神高度紧张，昨晚又受到了惊吓，有可能是心脏吓出了毛病。我猜是这
样。”
阿姆斯特朗医生干巴巴地说：
“她的心脏的确出了问题，因为已经不再跳动了。但关键是，什么原因导致了这个问
题。”
埃米莉·布伦特突然说了一个词，对在座的各位而言，真是既有分量又干脆。
“良心！”
阿姆斯特朗向她转过身去。
“你想说什么？布伦特小姐？”
埃米莉·布伦特紧绷着嘴唇，她说：
“你们全都听见了。有人指控她和她丈夫，说他们蓄意谋杀了前任主人，一位老夫
人。”
“你的看法呢？”
埃米莉·布伦特说：
“我觉得指控是真实的。昨天晚上你们都看见了，她听到之后就吓坏了，晕过去了。她
的罪行被人公之于众，她受不了这种惊吓。她就是被吓死的。”
阿姆斯特朗医生疑虑重重地摇着头。
“这是一种推测，”他说，“但是在查清楚她的健康状况之前，谁也不能肯定。如果心脏
确实出了问题——”
埃米莉·布伦特冷酷地说：
“如果说得委婉一些，就称之为‘天意’吧。”
所有人都大吃一惊。
布洛尔先生不安地说：
“你也未免把话题扯得太远了，布伦特小姐。”
她看着大家，两眼炯炯有神，抬着下巴说：
“你们不相信一个罪人会因为上帝的威怒而恐惧致死？反正我信。”
法官摸着下巴。语气里透着些许讽刺意味，轻声说：
“我亲爱的女士，根据我多年来的经验，以及我对犯罪案件的了解，天意总是把判决和
惩罚的工作留给我们这些凡夫俗子来处理，这项工作总是困难重重，没有捷径。”
埃米莉·布伦特不以为然地耸耸肩。
布洛尔问：
“昨天晚上她上床以后吃过什么？喝过什么？”
阿姆斯特朗说：
“什么也没有。”
“没有吗？没喝过一杯茶、一杯水吗？我敢打赌说她喝过一杯茶。事情总是这样。”
“罗杰斯说她什么东西也没有吃过。”
“啊！”布洛尔说，“他肯定会这样说。”
他的语气如此坚决。阿姆斯特朗盯着他看了半天。
菲利普·隆巴德说：
“这样说来，你觉得她吃过别的东西？”
布洛尔粗鲁地反问道：
“怎么了，不可以吗？昨天晚上的指控我们大家都听见了。也许是空穴来风，血口喷
人！但话说回来，也不是毫无可能！假设控告是真的，罗杰斯和他太太谋杀了那个老太
太。如果是真的，你怎么想？他们之前一直是心安理得——”
维拉打断了他，低声说：
“不对，我觉得罗杰斯太太并不是那么心安理得。”
布洛尔对别人打断自己的话感到不快。他瞥了她一眼，似乎在说“真是多嘴”。
他继续说：
“那也有可能。但他们本来认为自己目前没有什么危险。然而，昨天晚上，那个不知名
的疯子把他们干的丑事大白于天下。结果怎么样？那个女人被吓坏了。你们注意到了吗？
她刚刚苏醒的时候，她丈夫在她身边有什么反应？他根本没表现出作为丈夫应有的关心！
一丁点儿也没有！相反，他就像热锅上的蚂蚁，怕得要死，生怕她会说出些什么来。
“所以，请各位好好想一想！他们杀人后成功脱身，但是万一整件事不小心被抖出来，
结果会怎么样？那个女人十有八九会认罪，因为她没有那个胆量抗过去。她就是一个……
对她丈夫来说，她就是一个定时炸弹。这个男人的心理素质肯定没问题，就算在上帝面前
撒谎，他也不会脸红。可是他无法控制这个女人。要是她被击垮了，他也自身难保！所
以，他就在茶里下了药，让她把嘴巴永远闭上。”
阿姆斯特朗慢慢地说：
“她床边没有空杯子，我检查过了，什么也没有。”
布洛尔对这话嗤之以鼻：
“当然没有。她喝完茶，罗杰斯肯定第一时间就把杯子拿走，仔细洗干净了。”
一阵沉默。
麦克阿瑟将军表示怀疑：
“也许是这样。但是我很难相信，一个男人竟然会对自己妻子做出这种事！”
布洛尔嘿嘿一笑，说：
“要是一个男人连自己的命都要保不住了，哪儿还顾得上什么夫妻之情。”
又是一阵尴尬。没有人讲话。门开了。罗杰斯走了进来。
他一边说，一边扫视每一个人，说：
“各位还需要吃些什么吗？面包准备得少了点儿，真是抱歉，面包不够了，岸上的人还
没有把新面包送来。”
瓦格雷夫法官先生挪了一下身子，他问道：
“船一般什么时候来？”
“七点到八点之间，先生。有时候八点过几分。不知道弗雷德·纳拉科特今天早上干什
么去了。如果他生病，他也会派别的兄弟来。”
菲利普·隆巴德问：
“现在几点了？”
“十点差十分，先生。”
隆巴德挑了挑眉毛，慢慢点着头。
罗杰斯等待着。
过了一两分钟，麦克阿瑟将军突然说：
“关于你太太的事，我很遗憾。医生刚才告诉了我们这件事。”
罗杰斯低下了头。
“谢谢你，先生。”
他拿起装咸肉的空盘子，走出去了。
又是一阵沉默。
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