"I don't know what he did. I saw a sudden burst of flame, but that was all. I was busy dealing the cards."
"You saw a flame shoot up. Was there wood or coal in the grate?"
"Deuce take me if I remember. I wasn't thinking of the fire. I only knew we were roasting hot and more than once made some movement towards shifting the table further off, but we got too interested in the cards to bother about it."
"It must have been a lively game. Were you too interested in shuffling and dealing to notice why Mr. Gillespie went to his dressing-room?"
"Yes, I never thought anything about it."
"You didn't watch him, then?"
"No."
"Cannot say whether or not he went towards his wardrobe?"
"No."
"Or, perhaps, whether the door between you was closed or not?"