STRANGER. What a ghastly figure!
RUDOLPH. He's been in jail—two years. Do you know what he did? He made some erasures in a contract between him and myself——
STRANGER. You sent him to jail! And now he has had his revenge!
RUDOLPH. But the queerest part of it is that nowadays he is regarded as the most honest man in the whole district. He has become a martyr, and almost a saint, so that nobody dares say a word against him.
STRANGER. That's interesting, indeed!
DETECTIVE. [Entering, turns to ERICSON] Can you pull down that wall over there?
ERICSON. The one by the closet?
DETECTIVE. That's the one.
ERICSON. That's where the fire started, and I'm sure you'll find a candle or a lamp around there—for I know the people!
DETECTIVE. Go ahead then!