It was somewhere in the neighbourhood of half-past three when the opportunity to interview those three persons was finally vouchsafed him; and it may be recorded at once that the meeting did some violence to his emotions. In short, he found Mr. James Drake (far from being the frank-faced, impulsive, lovable young pepper-pot which his actions and words would seem to stand sponsor for) a rather retiring young man of the "pale and studious" order, absolutely lacking in personal magnetism, and about the last person in the world one would expect to do the "all for love" business of the average hero in the manner he had done. On the other hand, he found the Earl of Fallowfield an exceedingly frank, pleasant-mannered, rather boyish-looking gentleman, whose many attractions rendered it easy to understand why the late Mr. Jefferson P. Drake had conceived such a warm affection for him, and was at such pains to have him ever by his side. It seemed, indeed, difficult to believe that he could possibly be the father of Lady Marjorie Wynde, for his manner and appearance were so youthful as to make him appear to be nothing closer than an elder brother. The doctor--that eminent Harley Street light, Mr. John Strangeways Hague--he found to be full of Harley Street manners and Harley Street ideas, eminently polite, eminently cold, and about as pleased to meet a detective police officer as he would be to find an organ-grinder sitting on his doorstep. "Have you come to any conclusions as to the means of death, Doctor?" asked Cleek after he had been shown into the Stone Drum, where the body of the dead man still lay and where the local coroner and the local J. P. were conducting a sort of preliminary examination prior to the regulation inquest, which must, of course, follow. "The general appearance would suggest asphyxia, if asphyxia were possible." "Which it is not," volunteered Doctor Hague, with the geniality of a snowball. "You have probably observed that the many slits in the wall permit of free ventilation; and asphyxia with free ventilation is an impossibility." "Quite so," agreed Cleek placidly. "But if by any chance those slits could have been closed from the outside--I observe that at some period and for some purpose Mr. Drake has made use of a charcoal furnace"--indicating it by a wave of the hand--"and apparently with no other vent to carry off the fumes than that supplied by the slits. Now if they were closed and the charcoal left burning, the result would be an atmosphere charged with carbon monoxide gas, and a little more than one per cent. of that in the air of a room deprived of ventilation would, in a short time, prove fatal to any person breathing that air." The doctor twitched round an inquiring eye, and looked him over from head to foot.