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“They were in the safe last night?”

“I cannot say. As a matter of fact, I meant to have dealt with them last night, but when we returned—Lady Rawson and I were at a dinner party—I felt extremely tired and went straight to bed. When I found the papers were missing this morning I was not especially alarmed at the moment; I imagined they had proved to be of little consequence, and that perhaps Carling had taken them with him to finish later. It was only when I rang him up on the telephone, and he came round, that I realized how serious the matter was, and even then I thought it possible that he might have merely mislaid them.”

“Who besides yourself and Mr. Carling knew of the existence and importance of the papers, and that they were in the house?”

“Not a soul!” Sir Robert’s tone was absolutely emphatic.

“Not to your knowledge perhaps, Sir Robert; but someone must certainly have known. Did anyone come into the room while Mr. Carling was engaged on them last night?”

“No one at all after I left.”