"Well, it's like this, sir," Drake proceeded to explain. "We have established beyond all shadow of a doubt that the fire was not caused by accident. Straw was laid deliberately on the floor of the hall, and as deliberately soaked in petroleum. We found the rest of the straw, and also we found the empty drum of oil, which had been taken from one of the outhouses. All this must have happened in the early hours of the morning. It was a very good thing that the timbers of the house are so sound, or nothing could have saved the place. As it is, the fire burnt itself out." "But what has all this got to do with me?" Dashwood asked impatiently. "Half a minute, sir. I was merely telling you that this was the work of an incendiary. Once having established the fact, we will get to business. We searched in the ashes, and we were so fortunate as to find this." Drake held up the familiar matchbox and handed it to Dashwood. He looked just a little uneasy, but there was no suggestion of guilt about him. "We found this peculiar matchbox in the straw, sir," Drake went on. "The theory is that it was dropped by somebody who was connected with the fire. Suppose that the culprit was disturbed, or perhaps the sudden blaze was so fierce that the box fell and could not be recovered. I want to know if you have seen this box before?" Dashwood turned the silver toy over in his hands for a moment. There was nothing to be gained by concealing the truth. "I understand your insinuation," he said. "As a matter of fact, that box belongs to me, and, as I dare say you are aware, my initials are engraved upon it. The box is a novelty in its way; I bought it some years ago in America. Do you mean to say that this was found in the ashes of the fire?" "It was, sir. I picked it up myself. The butler, Slight, recognised it as belonging to you. Now you will see why I came to you." "Oh, of course. So your beautiful intelligence suggests that I had some hand in that fire. If you only knew the true position of affairs, you would know that I am the very last person in the world to want anything to happen to the Hall. But that is a detail which we may come to presently. Meanwhile, I am prepared to accept the responsibility of calling myself the owner of the box. I must have been careless enough to drop it and somebody picked it up--the somebody who tried to set fire to the Hall. I'm afraid that I can't tell you any more than that."