Chapter 16

Chapter 16
IAeons passed…worlds spun¹ and whirled…Time was motionless…It stoodstill—it passed through a thousand ages…
No, it was only a minute or so…
Two people were standing² looking down on a dead man…Slowly, very slowly, Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard lifted theirheads and looked into each other’s eyes…
II
Lombard laughed.
He said:
‘So that’s it, is it, Vera?’
Vera said:
‘There’s no one on the island—no one at all—except us two…’
Her voice was a whisper—nothing more.
Lombard said:
‘Precisely. So we know where we are, don’t we?’
Vera said:
‘How was it worked—that trick with the marble bear?’
He shrugged³ his shoulders.
‘A conjuring⁴ trick, my dear—a very good one…’
Their eyes met again.
Vera thought:
‘Why did I never see his face properly before? A wolf—that’s what it is—awolf’s face…Those horrible teeth…’
Lombard said, and his voice was a snarl—dangerous—menacing:
‘This is the end, you understand. We’ve come to the truth now. And it’sthe end…’
Vera said quietly:
‘I understand…’
She stared out to sea. General Macarthur had stared out to sea—when—only yesterday? Or was it the day before? He too had said, ‘This is theend…’
He had said it with acceptance—almost with welcome.
But to Vera the words—the thought—brought rebellion.
No, it should not be the end.
She looked down at the dead man. She said:
‘Poor Dr Armstrong…’
Lombard sneered⁵.
He said:
‘What’s this? Womanly pity?’
Vera said:
‘Why not? Haven’t you any pity?’
He said:
‘I’ve no pity for you. Don’t expect it!’
Vera looked down again at the body. She said:
‘We must move him. Carry him up to the house.’
‘To join the other victims, I suppose? All neat and tidy. As far as I’m con-cerned he can stay where he is.’
Vera said:
‘At any rate let’s get him out of the reach of the sea.’
Lombard laughed. He said:
‘If you like.’
He bent—tugging at the body. Vera leaned against him, helping⁶ him. Shepulled and tugged⁷ with all her might.
Lombard panted:
‘Not such an easy job.’
They managed it, however, drawing the body clear of high water mark.
Lombard said as he straightened up:
‘Satisfied?’
Vera said:
‘Quite.’
Her tone warned him. He spun round. Even as he clapped his hand tohis pocket he knew that he would find it empty.
She had moved a yard or two away and was facing him, revolver inhand.
Lombard said:
‘So that’s the reason for your womanly solicitude⁸! You wanted to pickmy pocket.’
She nodded.
She held it steadily⁹ and unwaveringly.
Death was very near to Philip Lombard now. It had never, he knew,been nearer.
Nevertheless he was not beaten yet.
He said authoritatively¹⁰:
‘Give that revolver to me.’
Vera laughed.
Lombard said:
‘Come on, hand it over.’
His quick brain was working. Which way—which method—talk herover—lull her into security or a swift dash—All his life Lombard had taken the risky¹¹ way. He took it now.
He spoke¹² slowly, argumentatively:
‘Now look here, my dear girl, you just listen—’
And then he sprang. Quick as a panther—as any other feline¹³ creature…Automatically Vera pressed the trigger…
Lombard’s leaping body stayed poised¹⁴ in mid-spring then crashed heav-ily to the ground.
Vera came warily¹⁵ forward, the revolver ready in her hand.
But there was no need of caution.
Philip Lombard was dead—shot through the heart…III
Relief possessed¹⁶ Vera—enormous exquisite¹⁷ relief.
At last it was over.
There was no more fear—no more steeling of her nerves…She was alone on the island…
Alone with nine dead bodies…
But what did that matter? She was alive…
She sat there—exquisitely happy—exquisitely at peace…No more fear…
IV
The sun was setting when Vera moved at last. Sheer reaction had kept herimmobile. There had been no room in her for anything but the glorioussense of safety.
She realized now that she was hungry and sleepy. Principally sleepy.
She wanted to throw herself on her bed and sleep and sleep and sleep…Tomorrow, perhaps, they would come and rescue her—but she didn’treally mind. She didn’t mind staying here. Not now that she was alone…Oh! blessed, blessed peace…
She got to her feet and glanced up at the house.
Nothing to be afraid of any longer! No terrors waiting for her! Just anordinary well-built modern house. And yet, a little earlier in the day, shehad not been able to look at it without shivering…Fear—what a strange thing fear was…
Well, it was over now. She had conquered—had triumphed over themost deadly peril¹⁸. By her own quick-wittedness and adroitness¹⁹ she hadturned the tables on her would-be destroyer.
She began to walk up towards the house.
The sun was setting, the sky to the west was streaked²⁰ with red and or-ange. It was beautiful and peaceful…
Vera thought:
‘The whole thing might be a dream…’
How tired she was—terribly tired. Her limbs ached, her eyelids²¹ weredropping. Not to be afraid any more…To sleep. Sleep…sleep…sleep…To sleep safely since she was alone on the island. One little soldier boyleft all alone.
She smiled to herself.
She went in at the front door. The house, too, felt strangely peaceful.
Vera thought:
‘Ordinarily one wouldn’t care to sleep where there’s a dead body inpractically every bedroom!’
Should she go to the kitchen and get herself something to eat?
She hesitated a moment, then decided²² against it. She was really tootired…
She paused by the dining-room door. There were still three little chinafigures in the middle of the table.
Vera laughed.
She said:
‘You’re behind the times, my dears.’
She picked up two of them and tossed them out through the window.
She heard them crash on the stone of the terrace.
The third little figure she picked up and held in her hand. She said:
‘You can come with me. We’ve won, my dear! We’ve won!’
The hall was dim in the dying light.
Vera, the little soldier clasped in her hand, began to mount the stairs.
Slowly, because her legs were suddenly very tired.
‘One little soldier boy left all alone.’ How did it end? Oh, yes! ‘He got mar-ried and then there were none.’
Married…Funny, how she suddenly got the feeling again that Hugo wasin the house…
Very strong. Yes, Hugo was upstairs waiting for her.
Vera said to herself:
‘Don’t be a fool. You’re so tired that you’re imagining the most fantasticthings…’
Slowly up the stairs…
At the top of them something fell from her hand making hardly anynoise on the soft pile carpet. She did not notice that she had dropped therevolver. She was only conscious of clasping a little china figure.
How very quiet the house was. And yet—it didn’t seem like an emptyhouse…
Hugo, upstairs, waiting for her…
‘One little soldier boy left all alone.’ What was the last line again? Some-thing about being married—or was it something else?
She had come now to the door of her room. Hugo was waiting for her in-side—she was quite sure of it.
She opened the door…
She gave a gasp…
What was that—hanging from the hook in the ceiling? A rope with a nooseall ready? And a chair to stand upon—a chair that could be kicked away…That was what Hugo wanted…
And of course that was the last line of the rhyme.
‘He went and hanged himself and then there were None…’
The little china figure fell from her hand. It rolled unheeded and brokeagainst the fender.
Like an automaton²⁴ Vera moved forward. This was the end—here wherethe cold wet hand (Cyril’s hand, of course) had touched her throat…‘You can go to the rock, Cyril…’
That was what murder was—as easy as that!
But afterwards you went on remembering…
She climbed up on the chair, her eyes staring in front of her like a sleep-walker’s…She adjusted the noose²³ round her neck.
Hugo was there to see she did what she had to do.
She kicked away the chair…

1 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 conjuring   

n.魔术

参考例句：

• Paul's very good at conjuring. 保罗很会变戏法。
• The entertainer didn't fool us with his conjuring. 那个艺人变的戏法没有骗到我们。

5 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 solicitude   

n.焦虑

参考例句：

• Your solicitude was a great consolation to me.你对我的关怀给了我莫大的安慰。
• He is full of tender solicitude towards my sister.他对我妹妹满心牵挂。

9 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

10 authoritatively   

命令式地，有权威地，可信地

参考例句：

• "If somebody'll come here and sit with him," he snapped authoritatively. “来个人到这儿陪他坐着。”他用发号施令的口吻说。
• To decide or settle(a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively. 判定结论性、权威性地决定或解决（纠纷等）

11 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

14 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

15 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

16 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

17 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

18 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

19 adroitness   

参考例句：

• He showed similar adroitness and persistence in strategic arm control. 在战略武器方面，他显示出了同样的机敏和执著。 来自辞典例句
• He turned his large car with some adroitness and drove away. 他熟练地把他那辆大车子调了个头，开走了。 来自辞典例句

20 streaked   

adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

21 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

23 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

24 automaton   

n.自动机器，机器人

参考例句：

• This is a fully functional automaton.这是一个有全自动功能的机器人。
• I get sick of being thought of as a political automaton.我讨厌被看作政治机器。