When they arrive at the island, they find that their hosts have been delayed. Vera finds her room very large for that of a secretary, decorated in a modern style--it is a very modern house. There is a marble bear on her mantle, and a nursery rhyme is hanging on the wall. It is about "ten little niggers," and she recognizes it from her youth. In it, the "niggers" die off one by one, until there are none. The butler and the maid, a married couple (the Rogers

After breakfast, the doctor announces Mrs. Rogers' death to the group. They are alarmed, and give Rogers their consolations even as he continues to wait on them. They begin to speculate on the cause of death. Emily Brent insists that it was an act of God, that Mrs. Rogers died of a bad conscience. Blore suggests that Rogers killed her, hoping to cover up the couple's murderous secret.

Lombard, Armstrong, and Blore consult with each other. They conclude that the two deaths cannot both have been suicides or accidents, and that there must be a murderer somewhere on the island. They conduct an exhaustive sweep of the island on foot. Lombard has a revolver, so they feel safe. While searching the island, they run across an entranced General Macarthur staring off into the sea. He tells them to leave him alone; they think him insane. Finally, the men come to some cliffs they want to look over, but they need a rope. Blore runs off the house to get one.

The three eat breakfast. The storm is gone, and they feel as though a nightmare has passed. Blore and Lombard get into an argument. Blore is highly suspicious of the fact that Lombard has his revolver again, and Lombard refuses to give it up. Vera scolds them for being distracted. Judging by the part of the nursery rhyme that applies to Armstrong's death, she thinks, he has disappeared and tricked them. The line is, "A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three." She thinks Armstrong is the murderer, and that the "zoo" mentioned in the next line is the three of them, who are beginning to act like animals.

They eat tongue out of cans and then go to bed. Lombard is shocked to find that the gun has been returned to his room. Vera is racked with memories of Cyril's drowning. Ex-inspector Blore tries to go over the facts in his head, but his thoughts keep returning to his framing of Landor. Suddenly, he hears a noise outside. He listens at the door and hears it again. He noiselessly slips outside, and notices that Armstrong is not in his room. He sees a figure slip out the front door. He wakes Lombard, and they run to investigate. They return without finding anyone, and at the house find a broken windowpane and only three little figures in the dining room.

Vera and Lombard stand in a daze over Armstrong's body. Vera looks at Lombard and sees a wolf. Lombard, speaking with resignation, says that the end has come. Vera suggests that they move the body up above the water line. When they are finished, Lombard realizes that something is wrong, and wheels around to find Vera pointing his revolver at him. She has picked it from his pocket. He lunges at her; she automatically pulls the trigger, and he falls to ground.

), are providing for the guests despite the hosts' absence, and they soon serve dinner.

The judge takes charge of the meeting. He says that he has come to the conclusion that the murderer is one of the guests. He says that they must see if anybody can be ruled out, if there is any evidence that anyone is not the killer. After some initial objections, discussions of whether women and professionals can possibly be suspected, it is agreed that any of them could be the murderer. Then the guests go through whether it can be proved according to fact that anyone could not logistically have committed all three of the murders. It is agreed that still, the murderer could be any one of them.

When Blore returns with a rope, he finds only Armstrong, who is musing that the general may be the killer. Lombard returns, and climbs down the cliff to make his search. As Armstrong and Blore hold the rope, Blore expresses his suspicions of Lombard, about how he seems dangerous and carries a revolver. Nothing is found on the cliff face, and the three return to the house, where they make a thorough search with a tape measure to make sure that there are no secret spaces in the simple, modern house. They conclude that there is no one on the island but the eight of them

The group

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2989
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)