And Then There Were None

“Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.Nine little Indian boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.Eight little Indian boys travelling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six. Six little Indian boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.Five little Indian boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four.Four little Indian boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one.One little Indian boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.”

“In the midst of life, we are in death.”

“But no artist, I now realize, can be satisfied with art alone. There is a natural craving for recognition which cannot be gain-said.”

“I don't know. I don't know at all. And that's what's frightening the life out of me. To have no idea....”

“Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions.”

“It had come about ex­act­ly in the way things hap­pened in books.”

“The amount of missing girls I've had to trace and their family and their friends always say the same thing. 'She was a bright and affectionate disposition and had no men friends'. That's never true. It's unnatural. Girls ought to have men friends. If not, then there's something wrong about them....”

“One little Indian left all alone, he went out and hanged himself and then there were none.”

“One of us in this very room is in fact the murderer.”

“There was something magical about an island—the mere word suggested fantasy. You lost touch with the world—an island was a world of its own. A world, perhaps, from which you might never return.”

“Be sure thy sin will find thee out.”

“...You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved.”

“Best of an island is once you get there - you can't go any farther...you've come to the end of things...”

“And then there were none.”

“That's peace - real peace. To come to the end - not to have to go on... Yes, peace.”

“Fear, what a strange thing fear was...”

“The oth­ers went up­stairs, a slow unwilling pro­ces­sion. If this had been an old house, with creak­ing wood, and dark shad­ows, and heav­ily pan­elled walls, there might have been an eerie feel­ing. But this house was the essence of moder­ni­ty. There were no dark corners - ​no pos­si­ble slid­ing pan­els - it was flood­ed with elec­tric light - every­thing was new and bright and shining. There was noth­ing hid­den in this house, noth­ing con­cealed. It had no at­mo­sphere about it. Some­how, that was the most fright­en­ing thing of all. They ex­changed good-​nights on the up­per land­ing. Each of them went in­to his or her own room, and each of them automatical­ly, al­most with­out con­scious thought, locked the door....”

“When a man's neck's in danger, he doesn't stop to think too much aboutsentiment.”

“Death was for-the other people.”

“When the sea goes down, there will come from the mainland boats and men. And they will find ten dead bodies and an unsolved problem on Indian Island.”

“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...”

“I have, let me confess it in all humility, a pitiful human wish that someone should know just how clever I have been”

“Diez negritos se fueron a cenar;uno se asfixió y quedaron nueve.Nueve negritos estuvieron despiertos hasta muy tarde;uno se quedó dormido y entonces quedaron ocho.Ocho negritos viajaron por Devon;uno dijo que se quedaría allí y quedaron siete.Siete negritos cortaron leña;uno se cortó en dos y quedaron seis.Seis negritos jugaron con una colmena;una abeja picó a uno de ellos y quedaron cinco.Cinco negritos estudiaron Derecho;uno se hizo magistrado y quedaron cuatro.Cuatro negritos fueron al mar;un arenque rojo se tragó a uno y quedaron tres.Tres negritos pasearon por el zoo;un gran oso atacó a uno y quedaron dos.Dos negritos se sentaron al sol;uno de ellos se tostó y sólo quedó uno.Un negrito quedó sólo;se ahorcó y no quedó… ¡ninguno!”

“This is no time for refusing to look facts in the face.”

“Unpleasant to feel that people were discussing you”

“Ulick Norman Owen—Una Nancy Owen—each time, that is to say, U. N. Owen. Or by a slight stretch of fancy, UNKNOWN!”

“From now on, it is our task to suspect each and everyone amongst us. Forewarned is forearmed. Take no risks and be alert to danger. That is all.”

“Oh, yes. I've no doubt in my own mind that we have been invited here by a madman-probably a dangerous homicidal lunatic.”

“She looked at them with shining eyes. Her chin went up. She said: "You regard it as impossible that a sinner should be struck down by the wrath of God! I do not!" The judge stroked his chin. He murmured in a slightly ironic voice: "My dear lady, in my experience of ill-doing, Providence leaves the work of conviction and chastisement to us mortals-and the process is often fraught with difficulties. There are no short cuts.”

“A sound of laughter was heard-they turned sharply. Vera Claythorne was standing in the yard. She cried out in a high shrill voice, shaken with wild bursts of laughter: "Do they keep bees on this island? Tell me that. Where do we go for honey? Ha! ha!"They stared at her uncomprehendingly. It was as though the sane well-balanced girl had gone mad right before their eyes. She went on in that high unnatural voice: "Don't stare like that! As though you thought I was mad. It's sane enough what I'm asking. Bees, hives, bees! Oh, don't you understand? Haven't you read that idiotic rhyme? It's up in all of your bedrooms-put it there for you to study! We might have come here straightaway if we'd had sense. Seven little soldiers chopping up sticks. And the next verse, I know the whole thing by heart, I tell you! Six little soldier boys playing with a hive. And that's why I'm asking-do they keep bees on this island- isn't it damned funny...?”