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A character in Murder on the Orient Express

Colonel Arbuthnot

The British officer back from India, the only pipe smoker on the train, who sat up late with the secretary and would rather not discuss Mary Debenham.

What they want

To see the thing done, and to keep Mary Debenham out of it if he can.

The book

Murder on the Orient ExpressAgatha Christie, 1934

A snowbound train, a dead American with twelve stab wounds, and a carriage full of strangers who all have an alibi.

View the book

At a glance

In the book
British Army officer, compartment No. 15
Where he appears
Part One from the first chapter; Part Two, chapter 8; Part Three

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Colonel Arbuthnot is the plain-spoken Englishman of the coach, home from India by way of Iraq, and he does not like foreigners asking questions. He is Hector MacQueen's alibi for most of the night, having sat with him talking politics until well past one. A pipe cleaner found in the dead man's compartment is his brand, and he says so at once.

He is at his best when he loses his temper. When Poirot presses Mary Debenham he interrupts, and the interruption is the most revealing thing he says. Christie writes him as a type and then lets the type crack.

How Colonel Arbuthnot Is Portrayed

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • The pipeThe only one on the train, and the pipe cleaner in Ratchett's compartment is the clue meant for him.
  • The alibiTalked with MacQueen until a quarter to two, the pair of them seen by the conductor when they parted.
  • The bearingTall, spare, sunburned, and impatient with a Belgian's interest in his private life.
  • The trial by juryAsked what he thinks of private vengeance, he says he believes in trial by jury. Poirot remembers the phrase.
  • The interruptionHe breaks into Mary Debenham's questioning to defend her, and the defence gives away how well he knows her.
  • The friendHe admits to having known Colonel Armstrong in the war, and then admits nothing else.
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Arbuthnot had been Colonel Armstrong's friend and fellow officer. His remark about trial by jury was literal: twelve people stabbed Ratchett, one each, as a jury of twelve. He was one of them.

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