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

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The judge thinks of the court case in which he sent a man to be executed although the public was sure the man was innocent. He feels he did the right thing; his conscience is clear. The general remembers how he sent a man under his command on a suicide mission during World War II, because that man was having an affair with his wife. He has led a life of guilt and paranoia since. As he hears the waves beat against the island, the general decides that this might be a good place to finish his life. Vera is lying in bed, remembering her time as Cyril's governess, and how he drowned. Her memory is sketchy, and she doesn't want to think about it. Also, she notices the similarity between what has happened and the "Ten Little Niggers" poem, in which "one choked his little self and then there were Nine."

The group breaks up while Miss Brent and Vera prepare breakfast. All of them are very frightened now. Whereas in the beginning they were haunted by guilty nightmares in the middle of the night, now they suffer guilty waking dreams in the middle of the night. Blore feels so hopeless that he admits his guilt in framing a man to Lombard. Vera stares off into space, letting the toast burn, while she thinks of Cyril's drowning, and Miss Brent reels with shock at the thought that she herself may die. At breakfast, everyone is very polite, but their minds are flooded with paranoia.

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.

The guests defend themselves to one another against the accusations; only the dignified, elderly Emily Brent will not speak to the accusation made against her. Lombard is the only one who admits that the accusation made against him is true. Blore, who had given the other guests a false name, admits that he was hired as a private investigator and thus suffers some suspicion from the others. They decide to leave immediately in the morning (a boat comes with supplies each morning). Suddenly, Anthony Marston chokes on his drink and dies.

Everyone congregates for lunch except for General Macarthur, and Dr. Armstrong goes to fetch him. When he returns, he is full of terror. He announces that Macarthur is dead, of a blow to the head. The group goes to retrieve the general's body, then eats an awkward lunch. The two dishes available are cold ham and cold tongue. After lunch, they sit down to discuss their situation. Only seven statues remain on the table.

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.

Meanwhile, Vera goes out for a walk and also runs into the general. He invites her to sit down, and talks of how the end of his life is coming and of the relief he feels, especially given the guilt he has felt over the death of Richmond. Eventually he seems to become unconscious of her, and merely murmurs his wife's name over and

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dr Armstrong, Miss Brent, Lombard Blore, Blore Lombard, Armstrong Blore, Judge Wargrave, Anthony Marston, Emily Brent, Vera Lombard, Brent Vera, miss brent, dr armstrong, emily brent, blore suggests, discuss situation, vera lombard, lombard revolver, blore lombard, ten little niggers, rope blore, rogers' death, summary vera lombard,
Approximate Word count = 2803
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)