And Then There Were None Week15

This is the last contribution in this semester. Who was the person who really committed the crime? If you want to know it, please read the following.

A letter sent to Scotland Yard by a man who found it at the seashore. It was written by Lawrence Wargrave. He wrote his confession, enclosing it in a bottle, sealing the latter, and casting it into the waves. There was a hundred to one chance that his confession might have been found. It was his ambition to invent a murder mystery that on one could solve. However, he wanted someone to know just how clever he had been. He had a strong sense of justice. Crime and its punishment had always fascinated him. He had a reputation as a hanging judge. For some years past he had been aware of a change within himself, a desire to act instead of to judge. He wanted to commit a murder himself. He decided to kill people who committed murders which were unable to touch by the law. He knew that there were many murders which were quite untouchable by the law. That was the beginning of the whole thing. He determined to commit not one murder, but murder on a grand scale. A childish rhyme of his infancy came back into his mind, the rhyme of the ten little soldier boys.

He watched the faces of his guests closely during the gramophone recital, and he had no doubt whatever after his long court experience that one and all were guilty. Anthony Marston and Mrs. Rogers died first, the one instantaneously the other in a peaceful sleep. General Macarthur met his death quite painlessly. Then he killed Rogers while he was chopping sticks for lightning the fire. Next he slipped his dose of chloral into Miss Brent’s coffee, a little while later he injected a strong solution of cyanide into her. At any rate once he was supposed to be dead he could move about the house. He took up his pose of a murdered man and Lawrence Wargrave was dead. Armstrong was pushed into the sea from the cliff. Blore was crushed by the big marble clock. Lombard was shot by Vera Claythorne. Vera hanged herself before his eyes where he stood in the shadow of the wardrobe. At last, he went to his room and laid himself down on the bed after entrusting his bottle and its message to the sea. He pressed the trigger and shoot through the forehead by himself.

And Then There Were None Week14

Sir Tomas Legge, Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard said that whole thing was incredible, ten people dead on an island and not a living soul on it, it didn’t make sense. Inspector Maine said that nevertheless it happened, somebody must have killed them.

Wargrave and Lombard were shot, the first through the head, the second through the heart. Miss Brent and Marston died of cyanide poisoning. Mrs. Rogers died of an overdose of chloral. Rogers’s head was split open. Blore’s head was crushed in. Armstrong died of drowning. Marcarthur’s skull was fractured by a blow on the back of the head and Vera Claythorne was hanged.

The AC said that the whole thing was fantastic impossible, ten people killed on a bare rock of an island and he didn’t know who did it, or why, or how. Maine said that he knew why, more or less. Some fanatic with a bee in U. N. Owen’s bonnet about justice, he was out to get people who were beyond the reach of law, it seemed to be the point which he dealt with cases that the law couldn’t touch, and he picked ten people whether they were really guilty or not didn’t matter. There were ten people to be executed. He accomplished his task and somehow or other he spirited himself off that island into thin air. However, the only explanation possible was that he was actually one of the ten.

And Then There Were None Week13

Two people, Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard, were standing looking down on a dead man. There was no one on the island, no one at all except them. Vera said that they must carry him up to the house. Lombard helped her, and she leaned against him. She took the revolver from his pocket while they drew the body out of the sea. She had moved a yard or two away and was facing him, the revolver in her hand. Death was very near to him. Automatically she pressed the trigger of the revolver, and his leaping body stayed poised in the middle of the spring then crashed heavily to the ground. She came warily forward, the revolver ready in her hand, but there was no need of caution. He was dead, shot through the heart.

Enormous exquisite relief possessed her. At last it was over. There was no more fear, because she was alone on the island, alone with nine dead bodies. One little soldier boy left all alone. She went to the dining room and picked it up and held in her hand. Then, she went to her room, because she was so tired and wanted to sleep. She opened the door and she gave a gasp. A rope was hanging from the hook in the ceiling and a chair to stand upon, a chair that could be kicked away. Like an automaton she moved forward. She climbed up on the chair, her eyes staring in front of her like a sleepwalker. She adjusted the noose round her neck. She kicked away the chair. The little china figure fell from her hand.

And of course that was the last line of the rhyme.
“One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were None.”

And Then There Were None Week12

Three people sat eating breakfast in the kitchen. Outside, the sun shone. It was a lovely day. The storm was a thing of the past. And with the change in the weather, a change had come in the mood of the prisoners on the island. They felt like people just awaking from a nightmare. There was danger, yes, but it was danger in daylight. That paralyzing atmosphere of fear that had wrapped them round like a blanket yesterday while the wind howled outside was gone.

Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard were sitting on the cliffs, and Blore went into the house to eat something for lunch. Then, two people heard a sort of cry from the house. They walked up the slope to the house. Blore was spread-eagled on the stone terrace on the east side, his head crushed and mangled by a great block of white marble.

Before Blore was killed, Vera and Lombard had thought that Armstrong might have been thrown into the sea. However, after the crime, they thought that he was in hiding somewhere in the house or the island. They decided to spend a whole night on the top cliffs where they could overlook the sea, and they moved. Then, they found something like clothes between big rocks. They scrambled over the rocks. Vera stopped suddenly and said it wasn’t clothes, it was a man. The man was wedged between two rocks, flung there by the tide earlier in the day. A purple discoloured face and a hideous drowned face…it was Armstrong.

And Then There Were None Week11

There were only four people. Who would be the next? They went up the stairs to sleep. Each one of the four stood with a hand on his or her bedroom door handle. Then, as though at a signal, each one stepped into the room and pulled the door shut. There were sounds of bolts and locks, of the moving of furniture. Four frighten people were barricaded in until morning.

Philip Lombard entered in his room, and then, he opened the drawer of the table. He stood there, staring at the revolver which was used to kill Mr. Justice Wargrave.

In the midnight, Armstrong was disappeared. Three people thought that he vanished clean off the island, and they found that there were only three little soldier boys on the table.

And Then There Were None Week10

One of us…One of us…One of us…Three words, endlessly repeated, dinning themselves hour after hour into receptive brains. There were five frightened people who watched each other, who hardly troubled to hide their state of nervous tension. They were five enemies linked together by a mutual instinct of self-preservation. And all of them, suddenly, looked less like human beings. The rain was pouring down again and the wind came in fitful gusts. The depressing sound of the pattering rain nearly drove them mad.

Mr. Justice Wargrave was sitting in his high backed chair at the end of the room. Two candles burnt on either side of him. But what shocked and startled the onlookers was the fact that he sat there robed in scarlet with a judge’s wig upon his head. He was shot.

Five little soldier boys going in for low; one got in Chancery and then there were Four.

And Then There Were None Week9

Five people found Rogers in the little wash house across the yard. He had been chopping sticks in preparation for lighting the kitchen fire. The small chopper was still in his hand. A bigger chopper, a heavy affair, was leaning against the door, and the metal of it stained a dull brown. The murderer must have crept up behind him, swung the chopper once and brought it down on his head as he was bending over.

The idiotic rhyme said that “seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks.”
And the next verse was “six little soldier boys playing with a hive.”

After breakfast, Mr. Justice Wargrave suggested that they met to discuss the situation, and every one made a sound suggestive of agreement. They decided to gather in half an hour’s time in the drawing room.

Emily Brent was left alone sitting in the dining room. There was no one else in the house. There was a buzzing in her ears, or was it a real buzzing in the room? It was like a bee, a bumble bee. Presently she saw the bee. It was crawling up the window pane. Vera Claythorne had talked about bees this morning. And then she felt the pain. The bee sting on the side of her neck…

In the drawing room they were waiting for Emily Brent. Then, they went to dining room and found her sitting in the chair in which they had left her. From behind they saw nothing amiss, except that she did not seem to hear their entrance into the room. And then they saw her face, suffused with blood, with blue lips and starting eyes. She was dead.

And Then There Were None Week8

So far there were three murders. There was no question now of accidents or suicides, it was definitely murder. Seven people who couldn’t leave the Soldier Island had a suspicion that one of them was a murderer who was a dangerous and probably insane criminal. There was no evidence before them as to who that person was, so they talked about own alibi one by one. However, no one of them could be completely exonerated from suspicion.

When people gathered together for breakfast, there were only six china figures in the middle of the table. And Rogers was missing. He wasn’t in his room or anywhere else. The little party moved through the house, Rogers’ room, the bed had been slept in, and his razor, sponge and soap were wet. So he got up all right, but nobody had seen him that morning.

And Then There Were None Week7

There must have been someone hiding on the island, they thought. The house was easily searched. They went through the few outbuildings first and then turned their attention to the building itself. But there were no hidden spaces left unaccounted for. Everything was plain and straightforward, a modern structure devoid of concealments. There was no one on the island but their eight selves.

Downstairs the gong pealed a solemn call to lunch. They gathered in the dining room and found that General Macarthur wasn’t there. He was sitting right down by the sea. Dr. Armstrong said quickly that he would go down and inform him luncheon was ready, and he found that General Macarthur was dead. Macarthur was hit with a life preserver or such thing on the back of the head.

It was truth that there was no one on the island, except seven people. It was perfectly clear. Mr. Owen, U. N. Owen, was one of them. And they didn’t know which of them. Of the ten people who came to the island three were definitely cleared. Anthony Marston, Mrs. Rogers and General Macarthur had gone beyond suspicion. There were seven of them left. Of those seven, one was a little soldier boy. They were all in grave danger.

And Then There Were None Week6

Anthony Marston and Mrs. Rogers were dead. About the death of the woman, there were two possible theories. One was Rogers killed her because he was afraid she would give the show away. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have done a murder and got away. But if the whole thing’s going to be raked up, what’s going to happen? She hasn’t got the nerve to stand up and brazen it out. She’s a living danger to her husband. Second possibility was she lost her nerve and took an easy way out herself. However, two suicides within twelve hours were a little too much to swallow. Anthony Marston was murdered, of course.

Little china figures in the middle of the table… there were certainly ten last night at dinner, and there were eight next day.

“Ten little soldier boys going out to dine;
One went and choked himself and then there were Nine.”
“Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were Eight."

This nursery rhyme Fitted too damned well to be a coincidence. Anthony Marston died of asphyxiation or choking last night after dinner, and Mother Rogers overslept herself with a vengeance.

Philip Lombard said “And therefore another kind of soldier. The Unknown Soldier! Mr. Owen! U.N. Owen! No motor-boat this morning. That fits in. Mr. Owen’s little arrangements are again to the fore. Soldier Island was to be isolated until Mr. Owen has finished his job. All things are according to U.N.O.’s plan.”

They’re not going to leave the island, none of them would ever leave.

And Then There Were None Week5

It was so sudden and unexpected that it took everyone’s breath away. They remained stupidly staring at the crumpled figure on the ground. Anthony Marston was dead. He died of asphyxiation right enough. But healthy young men didn’t die like that, choking over a whisky and soda…? Dr. Armstrong was peering into the dead man’s face. He sniffed at the blue twisted lips. Then he picked up the glass from which Anthony Marston had been drinking. He dipped a finger into the dregs and very cautiously just touched the finger with the tip of his tongue. There was something in the whisky. It was the cyanides that act pretty well instantaneously.

“Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.”

The death of Anthony Marston was like this old nursery rhyme that was framed on the fireplace in each rooms. It was horrible, just like them this evening.

Next day, Dr. Armstrong was woken up by someone who was leaning over him. It was Rogers with a white face, and he said “Doctor, doctor!” Dr. Armstrong woke up completely. He said “What is it?” Rogers said “It’s my wife, doctor, I can’t get her to wake, and she doesn’t look right to me!” He lifted cold hand, raised the eyelid. He passed a tongue over dry lips. “She was gone.” And he asked Rogers, “Did she take things to make her sleep?” Rogers stared at him surprisingly. “Take things? I’m sure she didn’t. She didn’t have nothings last night, sir, except what you gave her.”

And Then There Were None Week4

Rogers went round with the coffee tray after dinner. The hands of the clock pointed to twenty minutes past nine. There was a silence, into that silence same the voice. Without warning, inhuman, penetrating…

“Ladies and gentleman! Silence Please!"

Everyone was startled. They looked round each other, at the walls. Who was speaking?

“You are charged with the following indictments: Edward George Armstrong, that you did upon the 14^th day of March, 1925, cause the death of Louisa Mary Clees. Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5^th of November, 1931, you were responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor. William Henry Blore, that you brought about the death of James Stephen Londor on October 10^th, 1928......" and ten people’s name and guilt was spoken one after another.

“Prisoners at the bar, have you anything to say in your defence?”

The voice had stopped. They were in a panic, and some of them looked like anxious. Who was that speaking? Who was it? It wasn’t one of us, but it sounded as though it were in the room. Rogers, a servant said “I didn’t know what it was, I was to put a record on the gramophone, I thought it was just a piece of music, I was just obeying Mr. Owen’s orders, that’s all.” Actually, the record was entitled “Swan Song”.

Mrs. Owen who invited them had the initial, UNO, and they found out that UNO was Ulick Norman Owen…no…Una Nancy Owen…no…it was UNKNOWN! In fact, they were cheated by Unknown host. They decided to leave there, but there’s no boat on the island. Only one person disagreed with the majority, Anthony Marston. He said “A bit unsporting, ought to ferret out the mystery before we go, whole thing’s like a detective story, positively thrilling.” He picked up his drink and drank it off at a gulp, too quickly, perhaps. He choked badly. His face contorted, turned purple. He gasped for breath, then slid down off his chair, the glass falling from his hand.

And Then There Were None Week3

There were ten people who were invited to Soldier Island by Una Nancy Owen. They gathered together at Oakbridge station and went to Soldier Island by boat. Then, they reached there. However, they were so tired because of long journey and seasickness. As they ascended the steps and came out on a terrace above, their spirits revived. In the open doorway of the house a correct butler was awaiting them, and something about his gravity reassured them. And then the house itself was really most attractive, the view from the terrace magnificent.

A butler said that Mr. Owen-unfortunately delayed-unable to get here till tomorrow. Instructions-everything they wanted-if they would like to go to their rooms? Dinner would be at eight o’clock.

Vera followed Mrs. Rogers upstairs. It was a perfect room decorated throughout in the modern style. She stood in front of the fireplace and found a poem. It was the old nursery rhyme that she remembered from her childhood days.

At the dining room, in the center of the round table, there were some little china figures. They were ten soldiers of the nursery rhyme. And everybody had the rhyme was framed and hung up over the mantelpiece in their room.

Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were Eight.

Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven.

Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.

Six little soldier boys playing with a hive.
A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.

Five little soldier boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were Four.

 

Four little soldier boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.

 

Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.

 

Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;

One got frizzled up and then there were One.

 

One little soldier boys left all alone;

He went and hanged himself and then there were None.

And Then There Were None Week2

Hello, how are you? The summer vacation was over and the new semester started last week. Did you enjoy your summer vacation? I went back my hometown, traveled from place to place and did a lot of things that I wanted to do, so I enjoyed my vacation very much.

 

I read “The ABC Murders” by Agatha Christie last semester, and I decided to read “And Then There Were None” by same author this semester. I like reading mystery novels, especially Agatha Christie’s. She is known throughout the world as the queen of crime.

 

I’ve read first one chapter this week. I’d like to introduce ten characters.

Mr. Justice Wargrave ….a former justice
Vera Claythorne ………..a physical education teacher
Philip Lombard...............a military captain
Miss. Emily Brent………an old woman
General Macarthur……..a retired general
Dr. Armstrong……………a doctor
Tony Marston…………….a young man
Mr. Blore………………….a former police inspector
Mr. and Mrs. Rogers……a servant and his wife

They were invited to Soldier Island by a stranger, Una Nancy Owen. Definitely, Soldier Island was news. Soldier Island was purchased by an American millionaire, who was crazy about yachting, and he built the luxurious modern house on the little island off the Devon coast. However, he offered the house and the island for sale because of his new third wife. Various glowing advertisements of it had appeared in the papers. Then came the first bald statement that it had been bought by Mr. Owen. After that the rumours of the gossip writers had started. Soldier Island had really been bought by the Hollywood film star or others.

The ABC Murders Week14

I have finished reading “The ABC Murders” in English. I think that it was one of the most interesting mystery stories. However, some French word appeared in the story, so it was difficult to understand for me. Also, there were a lot of characters and human relationships were little bit complicated, so it made me difficult to understand, too. The real murderer wasn’t found out by the last of the story. I was very surprised when I knew the real murderer, because I didn’t expect it. I’d like to read other mystery stories in English to improve my English skills.

The ABC Murders Week13

Poirot found out that there was the new murderer. It was Franklin Clarke, who was a brother of third victim. So, ABC, the man who wrote the letters and committed the crimes, was Franklin Clarke. Because he was seriously alarmed for the future and his chance of inheriting his brother’s wealth would vanish. He was bitterly jealous his brother’s wealth. And his meeting with Mr. Cust gave him an idea. His bombastic Christian names, his account of his epileptic seizures and of his headaches, his whole shrinking and insignificant personality, struck him as fitting him for the tool he wanted. Surprisingly, Franklin Clarke killed three people to kill his brother and get brother’s wealth. What’s more, he used Mr. Cust for his murders. Poirot found that he left a fingerprint on Cust’s typewriter. If he was innocent, he could have handled it.

 

Finally, Franklin Clarke said “You win, Mr. Poirot. But it was worth trying.”

The ABC Murders Week12

Poirot decided to meet the murderer, Alexander Bonaparte Cust. The interview that took place between two men was absolutely private and they talked face to face. Mr. Cust seemed to have shrunk. His stoop was more apparent and his fingers grabbed his coat. It must have been a dramatic moment. this meeting of the two adversaries in the long drama. When they were talking each other, Mr. Cust’s tone was polite but not very interested. He seemed absorbed in some inner abstraction.

“Do you know who I am? I am Hercule Poirot. I am the man to whom you wrote the letters.” Poirot said. Mr. Cust dropped his eyes and spoke irritably and fretfully. “I never wrote to you. Those letters weren’t written by me. I’ve said so again and again.” “But if you did not write them, who did?” “An enemy did. I must have an enemy. They are all against me. The police was against me.” His talk was strange and he also said that he’d got hardly enough to keep body and soul together. The last question of Poirot was “Do you know that you committed the murders?” The murderer said, “Yes, I know.” “You didn’t know why you did them, did you?” “No.”

The ABC Murders Week11

A murderer was arrested in this chapter.

His name was Alexander Bonaparte Cust. He was forty and he wasn’t a man, like who killed a fly. He stayed at the Pitt, small hotel near Torre Station. He returned to the Hotel at 10:30 on the night of the murder. So he could have taken a train from Churston at 9:57, getting to Torre at 10:20. Bexhill was much the same. Stayed at the Globe under his own name. He offered stockings to about a dozen addresses, including Mrs. Bornard and including the Ginger Cat. Then he left hotel early in the evening. He arrived back in London about 11:30 the following morning. As to Andover, same prpcedure. He stayed at the Feathers. He offered stockings to Mrs. Fowler, next door to Mrs. Ascher, and to half a dozen other people in the street.

However, Poirot and Hastings didn’t still know why he committed four murders and why he sent letters to Poirot.

The ABC Murders Week10

Mr. Leadbetter was seeing a film in the theatre, and moved his head from right to left, because people who couldn’t wait till the end of film left their seat. Then, the film ended and the lights went up. He rose slowly from his seat and prepared to go to the exit. The man in the seat in front of him was asleep, slumping down in his chair. An irate gentleman was saying to the sleeping man whose legs were stretched out blocking the way. The commissionaire believed that the sleeping man was ill or dead drunk, however the other draw away his hand with an exclamation and was examining a red sticky smear, it was blood. ABC down on the floor between the dead mans’ feet. His name was George Earlsfield. However, his name didn’t start D but E.

Mr. Cust came out of the theatre and he went to where he was staying. As he entered the room, there was a stain on his sleeve near the cuff. He touched it and it wet with blood. He dipped his hands into his pocket and brought out something, it was a slender knife with blood. He said “It isn’t my fault”. He washed the sleeve in the basin and the water was red. Suddenly, the door opened and a plump young woman brought hot water to him. Immediately her eyes went to the basin and she went out, shutting the door. He crept down the stairs and hurried across the street. Actually, his suitcase was full of silk stockings.

The ABC Murders Week9

Lady Clarke, who was a wife of Sir Carmichael Clarke, got a terrible shock by her husband’s death. She said that she saw Miss Grey, who was a servant, stood on the front doorstep talking to a man. Actually, Miss Grey got rid of one of those men who come round selling stockings. Surprisingly, there was a pair of new silk stockings at the First victim’s bedroom in Andover. And second victim’s sister bought some new stockings on the very day of the murder in Bexhill. It cannot be coincidence because every time a man selling stockings and spying out the land.

The fourth letter came to Poirot. It said “Still no success? Fie! Fie! What are you and the police doing? Well, well, isn’t this fun? And where shall we go next for honey? Poor Mr. Poirot. I’m quite sorry for you. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. We’ve a long way to go still. Tipperary? No – that comes father on. Letter T. The next little incident will take place at Doncaster on September 11^th. So long. ABC."

The ABC Murders Week8

I’d like to tell you what kinds of murders were committed so far. First, an elderly woman was struck down by a heavy blow on the back of head. Her name was Mrs. Ascher and she lived in Andover. Second, a young girl who was named Elizabeth Barnard was killed on the beach at Bexhill. Third, Sir Carmicheal Clarke, a rich man, was killed at Churston while taking a stroll. In each case, there were always the ABC railway guides around the dead body. The name and town of the first victim started the letter A, second started the letter B and third started the letter C. It might be endless murder.

The ABC mystery leaped into the fullest prominence. The newspapers were full of nothing else, and they said that...

“HE MAY BE IN YOUR TOWN.”

Poirot and Hastings gathered relatives of the murdered people like friends, sisters and so on. Then they talked about everything of murders to get more information.

The ABC Murders Week7

Who is the ABC? Why does he or she commit the murder? Does he go on A to Z?

In this Chapter, Poirot and Hasthings tried to find out and capture the murderer. The ABC railway guide came in for its share of attention. To make it public was what the murderer wanted them to do. Every time, his self-confidence increased and he felt that he was clever. Very soon he’d be hardly bothering to take any precautions at all.

ABC’s third letter arrived. “Poor Mr. Poirot,-Not so good at these little criminal matters as you thought yourself, are you? Rather past your prime, perhaps? Let us see if you can do any better this time. This time it’s an easy one. Churston on the 30^th. Do try and do something about it! It’s a bit dull having it all my own way, you know! Good hunting. Ever yours, ABC.”

Sir Carmichael Clarke was found with his head hashed in. His name wasn’t very well known to the general public, but he was a one of the eminences. He was in his time a very well-known throat specialist. After his retiring, he was able to indulge a collection of Chinese pottery and porcelain. Of course, an open ABC was placed face downwards on the dead body.

The ABC Murders Week6

On the morning of the 25^th of July, second murder happened. The body of a young girl, who was named Elizabeth Barnard had been found on the beach at Bexhill. Someone strangled with her own belt. She was twenty-three years of age and a waitress of the Ginger Cat cafe. Also, she lived with her parents and had an elder sister who worked in an office in London. An ABC open at the trains to Bexhill was found actually under the body.

 

Poirot and Hastings first went to the Ginger Cat cafe with Inspecter Crome and Kelsey. Then, they went to her house to meet her parents. The news was terrible shock to her parents, especially to her mother. Her sister, Megan Barnard said that she had a boyfriend, Donald Fraser and they had a plan to marry. However, he had a violent and jealous temper. He couldn’t always express what he felt in words, but understood it all he minded things terribly. And he was always jealous of her.

The ABC Murders Week5

Poirot and Hastings had two more interviews. The first was with Mr. James Partridge, who was the last person known to have seen Mrs. Ascher alive. He had made a purchase from her at 5:30 and he went to the police of his own accord when he heard that she was killed by someone. Their next interview was with Mr. Albert Riddell, who was a platelayer. He entered the shop at 6:00, he thought shop was shut at that time, but it wasn’t. So he went in, and there wasn’t anyone in the shop. He didn‘t see the body fallen down behind the counter, he just saw that the railway guide was on the counter.

The only clue that they got was the ABC railway guide. They thought someone left it on purpose. The crime attracted very little attention for more thrilling news, and everyone were starting to forget it. However, the second letter came to Poirot suddenly.

The letter said “Dear Mr. poirot, well, what about it? First game to me, I think. The Andover business went with a swing, didn’t it? But the fun’s only just beginning. Let me draw your attention to Bexhill-on-Sea. Date, the 25^th inst. What a merry time we are having! Yours etc. ABC”

Poirot thought it was possible that the surname of the intended victim would begin with the letter B. The first victim was a Mrs. Ascher who lived in Andover, so the victim and the place might be selected by an alphabetical system. What they could do was making special note of the B’s and having a watch kept on anyone connected with the Ascher business, Partridge and Riddell, and of course Mr. Ascher himself.

The ABC Murders Week4

ABC railway guide is so familiarly known by its abbreviation of ABC, listing as it did all railway stations in their alphabetical order. Hastings thought that there could be a second coincidence. Who was the mysterious individual who had killed Mrs. Ascher and left an ABC railway guide behind him?

Poirot and Hastings went to the mortuary to see the body of the dead woman. Then, Poirot said that it was possible to commit the murder with a weighted thing for not only a shaky old man of seventy but woman. The police surgeon gave them a careful description of the position of the victim. It was his opinion that she had been standing with her back to the counter. If her husband had been abusing his wife and threatening her, she would have been facing him over the counter. So, he might be innocence.

After that, they met her niece, Miss Mary Drower, neighborhoods and the police officer to have an interview. However they couldn’t find out the murderer.

The ABC Murders Week3

In this week, Japanese Golden Week was over and the school started again. How did you spend your Golden Week? I went back my hometown and I did a lot of things. So I really enjoyed my Golden Week. I hope you had a good Golden Week too.

By the way, I read chapter3 and 4 in this week. Last time, Mr. Poirot received an anonymous letter and there was a remarkable description, like “Look out for Andover, on 21^st of the month.” However, the 21^st actually arrived. And their old friend Japp who was a Chief Inspector visited them. They showed the letter to Japp. He wasn’t interested in the letter, because he got dozens of letters like that coming in everyday. He thought that they didn’t mean any harm and just a kind of excitement. After having several conversations, He departed for his business.

Suddenly, there was a call from Japp. He had just got back to the Yard and got a message from Andover that an old woman of the name of Ascher who kept a little tobacco and newspaper shop had been found murdered. She had been struck down by a heavy blow on the back of head. The crime was discovered by police at 1 am on the morning of the 22^nd. Death must have occurred about nine to seven hours previously. The police believed that the murderer was her former husband, because he was always drunk, came round to abuse her, used to threaten her and he got fifteen shillings a week regular from her. However, the letter didn’t read like him and he denied that he killed her. What’s more, He had an alibi for the evening of the murder.

Nothing was missing from the shop and money in the till quite undisturbed. But there was only a railway guide of the ABC on the counter.

The letter that Mr. Poirot received brought about an incident. I’d like to know who did it. Who was the murderer? Who was ABC? Why was there a railway guide of the ABC at the scene of the crime?

The ABC Murders Week2

I'm reading "The ABC Murders" by Agatha Christie. She is a one of the most famous mystery writers in Britain and she is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. I have read "And Then There Were None", which is the most important work by same author last year. It was a so exciting mystery novel and I enjoyed reading it. Then I was interested in the mystery story. This is why I choose this book.

At the beginning, I would like to introduce two characters who appear on the story by first two chapters. First, Hercule Poirot who is a Belgian. He is also a private detective. He usually speaks English, but he sometimes speaks French because he is from the French-speaking world. Second is Arthur Hastings. He is a friend of Poirot and a cooperator. Oneday, Poirot received a strange letter. The letter said "Mr Hercule Poirot, -You fancy yourself, don't you, at solving mysteries that are too difficult for our poor thick-headed British police? Let us see, Mr Clever Poirot, just how clever you can be. Perhaps you'll find this nut too hard to crack. Look out for Andover, on the 21st of the month. Yours, etc., ABC."

I think that this letter is a key of the story and something will be happened by it. So I'm looking forward to reading what happens next.

Self-Introduction

Hello, my name is Azumi. I'm nineteen years old and I'm a college student. Now, I live in Kyoto alone to go to the college. My hobby is reading books, listening to music,playing the piano and so on. By the way, I'm going to read an English book of about three hundred pages from next week.