As Lord Fallowfield had declared, the three old chairs which supplied seating accommodation were equipped with casters, but although these were the prime reason for Cleek's visit to the place, he gave them little more than a passing glance, bestowing all his attention upon the ancient shields and the quaint old cross-bows with which the walls were heavily hung in tier after tier almost to the groined ceiling. "Primitive times, Mr. Narkom, when men used to go out with these jimcrack things and bang away at each other with skewers!" he said, taking one of them down and examining it in a somewhat casual manner, turning it over, testing its weight, looking at its catch, and running his fingers up and down the propelling string. "Fancy a chap with one of these things running up against a modern battery or sailing out into a storm of shrapnel! Back to your hook, grandfather"--hanging it up again--"times change and we with time. By the way, your lordship, I hope you will be better able to give an account of _your_ whereabouts last night than I hear that Mr. Drake here is able to do regarding his." "I? Good heavens, man, what do you mean?" flung out his lordship, so taken aback by the abruptness of the remark that the very breath seemed to be knocked out of him. "Upon my soul, Mr. Cleek----" "Gently, gently, your lordship. You must certainly realize that in the circumstances the same necessity must exist for you to explain your movements as exists for Mr. Drake. I am told that in the event of the elder Mr. Drake's death this property was to come to you wholly unencumbered by any charge or any restrictions whatsoever." "Good God! So it was. Upon my soul, I'd forgotten all about that!" exclaimed his lordship with such an air that he was either speaking the absolute truth or was a very good actor indeed. "Jim! My boy! Oh, good heavens! I never gave the thing a thought--never one! No, Mr. Cleek, I can give no account of my movements other than to say that I went to bed directly I left the Stone Drum. Or--yes. I can prove that much, by George! I can, indeed. Ojeebi was with me, or, at least, close at my heels at the time, and he saw me go into my room, and must have heard me lock the door." "Ojeebi? Who is he?" "My father's Japanese valet," put in young Drake. "Been with him for the past five years. If he tells you that he saw Lord Fallowfield go into his room and lock the door after him, you can rely upon that as an absolute and irrefutable truth. 'Whitest' little yellow man that ever walked on two feet; faithful as a dog, and as truthful as they make 'em." "And they don't make 'em any too truthful, as a rule, in his country, by Jove!" said Cleek. "Still, of course, as he could not possibly have anything to gain----Call him up, will you, and let us hear what he has to say with regard to Lord Fallowfield's statement."