II

The three men started on their tour of the island.

It proved unexpectedly simple. On the north-west side, towards the coast, the cliffs fell sheer to the sea below, their surface unbroken.

On the rest of the island there were no trees and very little cover. The three men worked carefully and methodically, beating up and down from the highest point to the water’s edge, narrowly scanning the least irregularity in the rock which might point to the entrance to a cave. But there were no caves.

They came at last, skirting the water’s edge, to where General Macarthur sat looking out to sea. It was very peaceful here with the lap of the waves breaking over the rocks. The old man sat very upright, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

He paid no attention to the approach of the searchers. His oblivion of them made one at least faintly uncomfortable.

Blore thought to himself:

‘’Tisn’t natural—looks as though he’d gone into a trance or something.’

He cleared his throat and said in a would-be conversational tone:

‘Nice peaceful spot you’ve found for yourself, sir.’

The General frowned. He cast a quick look over his shoulder. He said:

‘There is so little time—so little time. I really must insist that no one disturbs me.’

Blore said genially:

‘We won’t disturb you. We’re just making a tour of the island so to speak. Just wondered, you know, if someone might be hiding on it.’

The General frowned and said:

‘You don’t understand—you don’t understand at all.

Please go away.’

Blore retreated. He said, as he joined the other two:

‘He’s crazy… It’s no good talking to him.’

Lombard asked with some curiosity:

‘What did he say?’

Blore shrugged his shoulders.

‘Something about there being no time and that he didn’t want to be disturbed.’

Dr Armstrong frowned.

He murmured:

‘I wonder now…’

Ill

The search of the island was practically completed. The three men stood on the highest point looking over towards the mainland. There were no boats out. The wind was freshening.

Lombard said:

‘No fishing boats out. There’s a storm coming. Damned nuisance you can’t see the village from here. We could signal or do something.’

Blore said:

‘We might light a bonfire tonight.’

Lombard said, frowning:

‘The devil of it is that that’s all probably been provided for.’

‘In what way, sir?’

‘How do I know? Practical joke, perhaps. We’re to be marooned here, no attention is to be paid to signals, etc.

Possibly the village has been told there’s a wager on. Some damn’ fool story anyway.’

Blore said dubiously:

‘Think they’d swallow that?’

Lombard said dryly:

‘It’s easier of belief than the truth! If the village were told that the island was to be isolated until Mr Unknown Owen had quietly murdered all his guests—do you think they’d believe that?’

Dr Armstrong said:

‘There are moments when I can’t believe it myself. And yet—’

Philip Lombard, his lips curling back from his teeth said:

‘And yet—that’s just it! You’ve said it, doctor!’

Blore was gazing down into the water.

He said:

‘Nobody could have clambered down here, I suppose?’

Armstrong shook his head.

‘I doubt it. It’s pretty sheer. And where could he hide?’

Blore said:

‘There might be a hole in the cliff. If we had a boat now, we could row round the island.’

Lombard said:

‘If we had a boat, we’d all be halfway to the mainland by now!’

‘True enough, sir.’

Lombard said suddenly:

‘We can make sure of this cliff. There’s only one place where there could be a recess—just a little to the right below here. If you fellows can get hold of a rope, you can let me down to make sure.’

Blore said:

‘Might as well be sure. Though it seems absurd—on the face of it! I’ll see if I can get hold of something.’

He started off briskly down to the house.

Lombard stared up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to mass themselves together. The wind was increasing.

He shot a sideways look at Armstrong. He said:

‘You’re very silent, doctor. What are you thinking?’

Armstrong said slowly:

‘I was wondering exactly how mad old Macarthur was…’

IV

Vera had been restless all the morning. She had avoided Emily Brent with a kind of shuddering aversion.

Miss Brent herself had taken a chair just round the corner of the house so as to be out of the wind. She sat there knitting.

Every time Vera thought of her she seemed to see a pale drowned face with seaweed entangled in the hair… A face that had once been pretty—impudently pretty perhaps—and which was now beyond the reach of pity or terror.

And Emily Brent, placid and righteous, sat knitting.

On the main terrace, Mr Justice Wargrave sat huddled in a porter’s chair. His head was poked down well into his neck.

When Vera looked at him, she saw a man standing in the dock—a young man with fair hair and blue eyes and a bewildered frightened face. Edward Seton. And in imagination she saw the judge’s old hands put the black cap on his head and begin to pronounce sentence…

After a while Vera strolled slowly down to the sea. She walked along towards the extreme end of the island where an old man sat staring out to the horizon.

General Macarthur stirred at her approach. His head turned—there was a queer mixture of questioning and apprehension in his look. It startled her. He stared intently at her for a minute or two.

She thought to herself:

‘How queer. It’s almost as though he knew…’

He said:

‘Ah, it’s you! You’ve come.’

Vera sat down beside him. She said:

‘Do you like sitting here looking out to sea?’

He nodded his head gently.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It’s pleasant. It’s a good place, I think, to wait.’

To wait?’ said Vera sharply. ‘What are you waiting for?’

He said gently:

‘The end. But I think you know that, don’t you? It’s true, isn’t it? We’re all waiting for the end.’

She said unsteadily:

‘What do you mean?’

General Macarthur said gravely:

‘None of us are going to leave the island. That’s the plan. You know it, of course, perfectly. What, perhaps, you can’t understand is the relief!’

Vera said wonderingly:

‘The relief?’

He said:

‘Yes. Of course, you’re very young… you haven’t got to that yet. But it does come! The blessed relief when you know that you’ve done with it all—that you haven’t got to carry the burden any longer. You’ll feel that too, someday…’

Vera said hoarsely:

‘I don’t understand you.’

Her fingers worked spasmodically. She felt suddenly afraid of this quiet old soldier.

He said musingly:

‘You see, I loved Leslie. I loved her very much…’

Vera said questioningly:

‘Was Leslie your wife?’

‘Yes, my wife… I loved her—and I was very proud of her. She was so pretty—and so gay.’

He was silent for a minute or two, then he said:

‘Yes, I loved Leslie. That’s why I did it.’

Vera said:

‘You mean—’ and paused.

General Macarthur nodded his head gently.

‘It’s not much good denying it now—not when we’re all going to die. I sent Richmond to his death. I suppose, in a way, it was murder. Curious. Murder—and I’ve always been such a law-abiding man! But it didn’t seem like that at the time. I had no regrets. “Serves him damned well right!”– that’s what I thought. But afterwards—’

In a hard voice, Vera said:

‘Well, afterwards?’

He shook his head vaguely. He looked puzzled and a little distressed.

‘I don’t know. I—don’t know. It was all different, you see. I don’t know if Leslie ever guessed… I don’t think so.

But, you see, I didn’t know about her any more. She’d gone far away where I couldn’t reach her. And then she died—and I was alone…’

Vera said:

‘Alone—alone—’ and the echo of her voice came back to her from the rocks.

General Macarthur said:

‘You’ll be glad, too, when the end comes.’

Vera got up. She said sharply:

‘I don’t know what you mean!’

He said:

‘I know, my child. I know…’

‘You don’t. You don’t understand at all.’

General Macarthur looked out to sea again. He seemed unconscious of her presence behind him.

He said very gently and softly:

‘Leslie…?’

V

When Blore returned from the house with a rope coiled over his arm, he found Armstrong where he had left him staring down into the depths.

Blore said breathlessly:

‘Where’s Mr Lombard?’

Armstrong said carelessly:

‘Gone to test some theory or other. He’ll be back in a minute. Look here, Blore, I’m worried.’

‘I should say we were all worried.’

The doctor waved an impatient hand.

‘Of course—of course. I don’t mean it that way. I’m thinking of old Macarthur.’

‘What about him, sir?’

Dr Armstrong said grimly:

‘What we’re looking for is a madman. What price

Macarthur?

Blore said incredulously:

‘You mean he’s homicidal?’

Armstrong said doubtfully:

‘I shouldn’t have said so. Not for a minute. But, of course, I’m not a specialist in mental diseases. I haven’t really had any conversation with him—I haven’t studied him from that point of view.’

Blore said doubtfully:

‘Ga-ga, yes! But I wouldn’t have said—’

Armstrong cut in with a slight effort as of a man who pulls himself together.

‘You’re probably right! Damn it all, there must be someone hiding on the island! Ah! here comes Lombard.’

They fastened the rope carefully.

Lombard said:

‘I’ll help myself all I can. Keep a lookout for a sudden strain on the rope.’

After a minute or two, while they stood together watching Lombard’s progress, Blore said:

‘Climbs like a cat, doesn’t he?’

There was something odd in his voice.

Dr Armstrong said:

‘I should think he must have done some mountaineering in his time.’

‘Maybe.’

There was a silence and the ex-Inspector said:

‘Funny sort of cove altogether. D’you know what

I think?’

‘What?’

‘He’s a wrong ’un!’

Armstrong said doubtfully:

‘In what way?’

Blore grunted. Then he said:

‘I don’t know—exactly. But I wouldn’t trust him a yard.’

Dr Armstrong said:

‘I suppose he’s led an adventurous life.’

Blore said:

‘I bet some of his adventures have had to be kept pretty dark.’ He paused and then went on: ‘Did you happen to bring a revolver along with you, doctor?’

Armstrong stared.

‘Me? Good Lord, no. Why should I?’

Blore said:

‘Why did Mr Lombard?’

Armstrong said doubtfully:

‘I suppose—habit.’

Blore snorted.

A sudden pull came on the rope. For some moments they had their hands full. Presently, when the strain relaxed, Blore said:

‘There are habits and habits! Mr Lombard takes a revolver to out of the way places, right enough, and a primus and a sleeping-bag and a supply of bug powder no doubt! But habit wouldn’t make him bring the whole outfit down here! It’s only in books people carry revolvers around as a matter of course.’

Dr Armstrong shook his head perplexedly.

They leaned over and watched Lombard’s progress. His search was thorough and they could see at once that it was futile. Presently he came up over the edge of the cliff. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead.

‘Well,’ he said. ‘We’re up against it. It’s the house or nowhere.’