The Mousetrap and Other Plays (11 page)

BLORE
. I'd never have fallen for that.

LOMBARD
. Well, I did. I was bored. God, how I was bored back in this tame country. It was an intriguing proposition, you must admit.

BLORE
. Too vague for my liking.

LOMBARD
. That was the whole charm. It aroused my curiosity.

BLORE
. Curiosity killed the cat.

LOMBARD
. (
Smiling
) Yes, quite.

VERA
. Oh, do go and change, please!

LOMBARD
. I'm going my sweet, I'm going. The maternal instinct I think it's called.

VERA
. Don't be ridiculous—

(
VERA
,
up Left, collects
EMILY
's cup; goes down Right with it.
LOMBARD
exits Left 1.
)

BLORE
. (
Crosses down Left
) That's a tall story. If it's true, why didn't he tell it to us last night?

ARMSTRONG
. He might have thought that this was exactly the emergency for which he had been prepared.

VERA
. Perhaps it is.

ARMSTRONG
. (
Crosses Right Centre; puts down cup on tabouret and goes Right.
) I hardly think so. It was just Mr. Owen's little bit of cheese to get him into the trap with the rest of us. He must have known him enough to rely on his curiosity.

BLORE
. If it's true, he's a wrong 'un, that man. I wouldn't trust him a yard.

VERA
. (
Up Centre
) Are you such a good judge of truth?

(
WARGRAVE
enters Left 1.
)

ARMSTRONG
. (
With a sudden outburst
) We must get out of here—we must, before it is too late. (
He is shaking violently.
)

(
BLORE
sits down Left.
)

WARGRAVE
. The one thing we must not do is to give way to nerves. (
Crosses Right above Left sofa.
)

ARMSTRONG
. (
Sits on fender
) I'm sorry. (
Tries to smile
) Rather a case of “Physician, heal thyself.” But I've been overworked lately and run down.

WARGRAVE
. Sleeping badly?

ARMSTRONG
. Yes. I keep dreaming—Hospital—operations—A knife at my throat—(
Shivers.
)

WARGRAVE
. Real nightmares.

ARMSTRONG
. Yes. (
Curiously
) Do you ever dream you're in Court—sentencing a man to death?

WARGRAVE
. (
Sits Left sofa; smiling
) Are you by any chance referring to a man called Edward Seton? I can assure you I should not lose any sleep over the death of Edward Seton. A particularly brutal and cold-blooded murderer. The jury liked him. They were inclined to let him off. I could see. However—(
With quiet ferocity
) I cooked Seton's goose.

(
EVERYONE
gives a little shiver.
)

BLORE
. Brr! Cold in here, isn't it? (
Rises; to Centre.
)

VERA
. (
Up Right of window
) I wish Rogers would hurry up.

BLORE
. Yes, where is Rogers? He's been a long time.

VERA
. He said he'd got to get some sticks.

BLORE
. (
Struck by the word
) Sticks? Sticks? My God, sticks!

ARMSTRONG
. My God! (
Rises, looking at mantelpiece.
)

BLORE
. Is another one gone? Are there only six?

ARMSTRONG
. (
Bewildered
) There are only five.

VERA
. Five?

(
They stare at each other.
)

WARGRAVE
. Rogers and Lombard? (
Rises.
)

VERA
. (
With a cry
) Oh, no, not Philip!

(
LOMBARD
enters Left 1; meets
BLORE
rushing out Left 1, calling “Rogers.”
)

LOMBARD
. Where the hell is Blore off to like a madman?

VERA
. (
Running to him at Left Centre
) Oh, Philip, I—

(
WARN Curtain.
)

WARGRAVE
. (
Up Right
) Have you seen Rogers?

LOMBARD
. No, why should I?

ARMSTRONG
. Two more Indians have gone.

LOMBARD
. Two?

VERA
. I thought it was you—

(
BLORE
enters Left 1 looking pretty awful.
)

ARMSTRONG
. Well, what is it?

BLORE
. (
Only just able to speak. His voice quite unlike itself
) In the—scullery.

VERA
. Is he—?

BLORE
. Oh, yes, he's dead all right—

VERA
. How?

BLORE
. With an axe. Somebody must have come up behind him whilst he was bent over the wood box.

VERA
. (
Wildly
) “One chopped himself in half—then there were six.” (
She begins laughing hysterically.
)

LOMBARD
. Stop it, Vera—Stop it! (
Sits her on Left sofa. Slaps her face. To the
OTHERS
) She'll be all right. What next, boys? Bees? Do they keep bees on the island? (
They stare at him as if not understanding. He keeps his nonchalant manner up with a trace of effort. Down to Centre
) Well, that's the next verse, isn't it?

“Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;

A bumble bee stung one, and then there were five.” (
He moves around the room.
)

ARMSTRONG
. My God! He's right. There are only five.

LOMBARD
. A bumble bee stung one—
We
all look pretty spry, nothing wrong with any of us. (
His glance rests on
EMILY
) My God, you don't think—(
He goes slowly over to her, bends down, touches her. He then picks up a hypodermic syringe, and turns to face the others
) A hypodermic syringe.

WARGRAVE
. The modern beesting.

VERA
. (
Stammering
) While she was sitting there—one of us—

WARGRAVE
. One of us.

(
They look at each other.
)

ARMSTRONG
. Which of us?

CURTAIN

ACT THREE

Scene I

Some hours later, the same night.

The curtains are drawn and the room is lit by three candles.
WARGRAVE
,
VERA
,
BLORE
,
LOMBARD
and
ARMSTRONG
,
who is dirty and unshaven, are sitting in silence.
LOMBARD
sits chair Right Centre,
ARMSTRONG
on Right sofa
,
WARGRAVE
Left sofa
,
VERA
on fender
,
BLORE
down Left. From time to time they shoot quick, covert glances at each other.
VERA
watches
ARMSTRONG
;
BLORE
watches
LOMBARD
;
LOMBARD
watches
WARGRAVE
;
ARMSTRONG
watches
BLORE
and
LOMBARD
alternately.
WARGRAVE
watches each in turn, but most often
VERA
with a long, speculative glance. There is silence for some few minutes. Then
LOMBARD
speaks suddenly in a loud, jeering voice that makes them all jump.

LOMBARD
.

“Five little Indian boys sitting in a row,

Watching each other and waiting for the blow.”

New version up to date! (
He laughs discordantly.
)

ARMSTRONG
. I hardly think this is a moment for facetiousness.

LOMBARD
. Have to relieve the gloom. (
Rises to above Right sofa
) Damn that electric plant running down. Let's play a nice round game. What about inventing one called “Suspicions?” A. suspects B., B. suspects C.—and so on. Let's start with Blore. It's not hard to guess whom Blore suspects. It sticks out a mile. I'm your fancy, aren't I, Blore?

BLORE
. I wouldn't say no to that.

LOMBARD
. (
Crosses to Left a few steps
) You're quite wrong, you know. Abstract justice isn't my line. If I committed murder, there would have to be something in it for me.

BLORE
. All I say is that you've acted suspiciously from the start. You've told two different stories. You came here with a revolver. Now you say you've lost it.

LOMBARD
. I have lost it.

BLORE
. That's a likely story!

LOMBARD
. What do you think I've done with it? I suggested myself that you should search me.

BLORE
. Oh! You haven't got it on you. You're too clever for that. But you know where it is.

LOMBARD
. You mean I've cached it ready for the next time?

BLORE
. I shouldn't be surprised.

LOMBARD
. (
Crosses Right
) Why don't you use your brains, Blore? If I'd wanted to, I could have shot the lot of you by this time, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

BLORE
. Yes, but that's not the big idea. (
Points to rhyme.
)

LOMBARD
. (
Sits chair Right Centre
) The crazy touch? My God, man, I'm sane enough!

BLORE
. The doctor says there are some lunatics you'd never know were lunatics. (
Looks around at
EVERYONE
) That's true enough, I'd say.

ARMSTRONG
. (
Breaking out
) We—we shouldn't just sit here, doing nothing! There must be something—surely, surely, there is something that we can do? If we lit a bonfire—

BLORE
. In this weather? (
Jerks his head towards window.
)

WARGRAVE
. It is, I am afraid, a question of time and patience. The weather will clear. Then we can do something. Light a bonfire, heliograph, signal.

ARMSTRONG
. (
Rises to up Right
) A question of time—time? (
Laughs in an unbalanced way
) We can't afford time. We shall all be dead.

WARGRAVE
. I think the precautions we have now adopted will be adequate.

ARMSTRONG
. I tell you—we shall all be dead. All but one—He'll think up something else—he's thinking now—(
Sits Right sofa again.
)

LOMBARD
. Poor Louise—what was her name—Clees? Was it nerves that made you do her in, Doctor?

ARMSTRONG
. (
Almost mechanically
) No, drink. I used to be a heavy drinker. God help me, I was drunk when I operated—Quite a simple operation. My hand shaking all over the place—(
Buries his face in his hands
) I can remember her now—a big, heavy, countrified woman. And I killed her!

LOMBARD
. (
Rises; to Right above
VERA
) So I was right—that's how it was?

ARMSTRONG
. Sister knew, of course, but she was loyal to me—or to the Hospital. I gave up drink—gave it up altogether. I went in for a study of nervous diseases.

WARGRAVE
. Very successfully. (
Rises; to up Centre.
)

ARMSTRONG
. One or two lucky shots. Good results with one or two important women. They talked to their friends. For the last year or two, I've been so busy I've hardly known which way to turn. I'd got to the top of the tree.

LOMBARD
. Until Mr. Unknown Owen—and down will come cradle and doctor and all.

ARMSTRONG
. (
Rises
) Will you stop your damnable sneering and joking?

WARGRAVE
. (
Comes down Right between
ARMSTRONG
and
LOMBARD
) Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. We can't afford to quarrel.

LOMBARD
. That's okay by me. I apologize.

ARMSTRONG
. It's this terrible inactivity that gets on my nerves. (
Sits Right sofa.
)

WARGRAVE
. (
To Left sofa; sits
) We are adopting, I feel convinced, the only measures possible. So long as we remain together, all within sight of each other, a repetition of the tragedies that have occurred is—must be—impossible. We have all submitted to a search. Therefore, we know that no man is armed either with firearms or a knife. Nor has any man got cyanide or any drug about his person. If we remain, as I say, within sight of each other, nothing can happen.

ARMSTRONG
. But we can't go on like this—we shall need food—sleep—

BLORE
. That's what I say.

WARGRAVE
. Obviously, the murderer's only chance is to get one of us detached from the rest. So long as we prevent that we are safe.