August 10th

August 10th is the day on which the hidden design of Indian Island shifts from a series of inexplicable deaths into an unmistakable pattern of deliberate murder. By its end, three more of the ten guests are dead—Rogers, Emily Brent, and the apparent victim Justice Wargrave—and the survivors, now reduced to five, are forced to acknowledge that the killer is among them. The day also sees the first organized search of the island, the confiscation of weapons and drugs, and the beginning of the psychological disintegration that will mark the final phase of the ordeal.

The Morning of August 10th: Rogers' Death and the Discovery of the Pattern

The day begins with the discovery that Rogers has failed to appear. Philip Lombard, finding the kitchen fire unlit and the butler missing, rouses the others. A search of the house reveals that Rogers' bed has been slept in and his razor and sponge are still wet, indicating he had risen. The party eventually finds him in the wash-house across the yard, where he had been chopping sticks to light the kitchen fire. A heavy chopper leaning against the door, its metal stained a dull brown, matches the deep wound in the back of Rogers' head. Dr. Armstrong confirms that the murderer must have crept up behind him and swung the chopper once as he was bending over. The handle has been wiped clean of fingerprints. The discovery is made more chilling by the confirmation that only six china Indian figures now stand in the center of the dining table, matching the sixth verse of the nursery rhyme: "Six little Indian boys playing with a hive." Vera Claythorne, upon seeing the figures, breaks into hysterical laughter, asking if the island keeps bees, before Dr. Armstrong slaps her to restore her composure. The rhyme is no longer a decorative curiosity; it has become a death warrant.

The Midday Crisis: Emily Brent's Death and the Hypodermic Syringe

After breakfast, the survivors gather in the drawing-room to discuss their situation. Emily Brent, who had remained in the dining-room, is found dead in her chair, her face suffused with blood, her lips blue, and her eyes staring. Dr. Armstrong identifies a mark on the right side of her neck as the puncture of a hypodermic syringe. A bumblebee buzzing at the window provides a grim echo of the nursery rhyme's sixth verse, but the doctor insists that a human hand held the syringe. The poison is judged to be potassium cyanide, the same substance that killed Anthony Marston. When the judge asks if anyone brought a hypodermic syringe to the house, Armstrong admits that he did, but a search of his suitcase reveals that the syringe is missing. The discovery that the murderer has access to a medical instrument and the knowledge to use it deepens the suspicion that falls on Armstrong himself, though he protests that someone must have stolen it.

The Afternoon: Search, Confiscation, and the Staging of Wargrave's Death

In the afternoon, the survivors—now five: Wargrave, Lombard, Blore, Armstrong, and Vera Claythorne—submit to a rigorous search of their persons and effects. Lombard's revolver, which he had claimed was in his bedside drawer, is found to be missing. The judge proposes that all drugs and weapons be collected and locked away. The drugs are placed in a silver chest, which is locked and then placed inside a plate cupboard; the key to the chest is given to Lombard, and the key to the cupboard to Blore, so that neither can access the contents alone. The revolver, however, remains unaccounted for. That evening, the survivors sit in the drawing-room by candlelight, the electric lights having failed because Rogers had not been there to run the engine. At around six-twenty, Vera Claythorne goes to her room to bathe her head. There she is terrified by a cold, clammy touch on her throat—a broad ribbon of wet seaweed that had been hung from the ceiling. Her screams bring the others running. In the confusion, Justice Wargrave is left alone in the drawing-room. When the others return, they find him sitting in his high-backed chair, robed in a scarlet curtain and wearing a wig made from Emily Brent's missing grey knitting wool. He has been shot through the forehead. The revolver is still missing. The nursery rhyme's fifth verse—"Five little Indian boys going in for law; one got in Chancery and then there were four"—has been fulfilled.

The Night of August 10th: Armstrong's Disappearance and the Hunt

After Wargrave's body is carried to his room, the four remaining survivors—Lombard, Blore, Armstrong, and Vera—barricade themselves in their bedrooms for the night. At around one in the morning, Blore hears footsteps in the corridor and, looking out, sees a figure pass through the front door into the moonlight. He rouses Lombard, and together they discover that Armstrong's room is empty, the key missing from the inside. They pursue the figure but find no trace of Armstrong on the island. When they return to the house, they find that a pane in the dining-room window has been smashed and that only three china Indian figures remain on the table. Armstrong has vanished, and the rhyme's fourth verse—"Four little Indian boys going out to sea; a red herring swallowed one and then there were three"—seems to have been enacted. The survivors are now three: Lombard, Blore, and Vera Claythorne.

Significance: The Day the Mask of Sanity Falls

August 10th is the day on which the murderer's plan reaches its most audacious and theatrical phase. The killing of Rogers, the injection of Emily Brent, and the staged death of Justice Wargrave are all executed with a precision that demonstrates the killer's complete control over the environment and the psychology of the victims. The disappearance of Dr. Armstrong, which the survivors interpret as a "red herring," is in fact the killer's most cunning move, eliminating the one person who might have exposed the deception. By the end of the day, the survivors have been reduced to three, their trust in each other shattered, and their only means of defense—the revolver and the drugs—either missing or locked away. The day marks the transition from a series of inexplicable accidents to a recognized, systematic murder spree, and it sets the stage for the final, desperate confrontations of August 11th.