And Then There Were None Chapter 8

Blore agrees to search the Island, but still isn't convinced that Marston was murdered. Armstrong stresses that there's no way someone would just be carrying around Cyanide, and Marston clearly didn't come to the Island with the intention of killing himself. Lombard reminds Blore that while they were all busy talking about the Voice, someone could have easily slipped the poison into Marston's empty glass, perhaps through the open window it was sitting next to. Blore agrees with their theory, and asks if any of them has a gun. Lombard says that he does. Blore tells him that he'll need it, since they're dealing with a psychotic killer.

The three men search the Island quickly, but are disappointed to find that there aren't any caves or other hiding places. They come across Macarthur , who sits in a chair by the sea, staring at it. They try to talk to him, but he refuses, telling them that there isn't much time left, and he'd like to be left alone.

They finish searching the Island, having found nothing. It's a stormy day, and there are no boats out for them to signal. Blore suggests a bonfire that night, but Lombard thinks they shouldn't bother - the people of the town have probably been told that some kind of a prank is going on, and that they should ignore signals from the Island. Blore spots a section of the cliff that can't be seen from above. It's the only place left they haven't checked for a cave. Lombard offers to climb down, if someone finds him a rope. Blore runs off to get one. Armstrong asks Lombard just how crazy he thinks Macarthur really is...

Vera wanders around the house with no one to talk to. Every time she looks at someone, she can't help but imagine the face of their victim. With Emily, a drowned girl, with Wargrave, a terrified young man. Vera walks down to the sea, and comes across Macarthur. She asks him what he's doing by the sea. He tells her that it's a nice place to wait for the end, and that none of them are going to be leaving the Island alive. Vera is frightened, but he tells her not to be. He says she should be relieved that it will finally all be over. Vera doesn't know what he means. Macarthur confesses to her. He'd killed Richmond, he even felt justified in doing it at the time. As time wore on though, and his wife wasted away, he grew more and more guilty. Now, he was glad to know that it was all going to be over. "You'll be glad too, when the end comes." Chapter 8, pg. 118

Blore returns to the cliffs, finding only Armstrong there. Armstrong tells him that Lombard has gone off to test a theory, and that he'll be right back. The two men discuss Macarthur, and try to figure out whether he's crazy enough that he could be the killer. They decide that it's just too implausible, and that someone else must be on the Island. Lombard returns and climbs effortlessly down the cliff face. While he's climbing, Blore and Armstrong discuss Lombard. Blore thinks it's very suspicious that he brought a gun along, especially given his admittedly dark past. Lombard climbs back up, having found nothing on the cliff face.

The three men move their search into the house, carefully measuring each room, looking for any missing space that might hide a secret room. They then check the second floor, but turn up nothing in any of the bedrooms. They go up another set of stairs to the servant's quarters, where Mrs. Rogers ' body is. As they approach it, they hear someone moving around inside. They burst through the door to discover - Rogers, moving some clothes out of his former room. He excuses himself, and the men move on to the attic. They search it thoroughly, but find nothing. Now they know for sure that there is no one on the Island but the eight of them.

Topic Tracking: Guilt and Responsibility 8
Topic Tracking: Trust and Suspicion 5