Explore "The Nether Millstone" by Fred M. White on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
There was a smile on Slight's face, as if he rather enjoyed the situation. After all was said and done, the culprit had been successful in bringing about the thing the old butler most desired. Fortunately no harm had been done to the house; there was nothing the matter beyond the damage caused by smoke and water, nothing that the work of a day or two could not put right. At the same time this attempt to destroy the house had been the means of removing from it the trio whose presence had been so great a humiliation. The police had cleared everybody out of the house, indeed the Hall was likely to remain empty now till they had investigated the causes of the fire.
"It might have been worse, sir," Slight whispered to Ralph. "It's a good way of getting rid of those fellows till Sir George is ready to pack them off altogether. Whoever did this was a sort of friend of ours."