Eva shook her head. "Nothing was taken out of his pockets. His money, his jewellery, his watch--nothing was taken."
"Queer," said Saltars. "Did you find in his pockets a large blue pocket-book with his crest on it, stamped in gold?"
"No. When did you see that?"
"When he was talking to me. I was hard up. I don't mind saying," said Saltars frankly, "that I'm always hard up. As your father looked upon me as his intended son-in-law, he gave me a pony, and took the notes out of the blue pocket-book. He carried his money there."
"He would scarcely carry forty thousand pounds there."
"No; but he might have carried a letter of credit for that amount. Or at least he would have some memorandum of such a large sum. If any notes were stolen with the pocket-book, you can trace those by the numbers when the murderer presents them, and then the beast will be caught. But the forty thousand----"
"Stop--stop," said Eva, my head is in a whirl. "Are you sure?"
"Perfectly; I was to marry you, and then we were to get the money. And I may tell you that your father said, more would come to us when he died. Depend upon it, Eva, the murder was committed for the sake of that money."
"I wonder if my father meant diamonds?" said Eva.
Saltars started. "By Jove, I shouldn't wonder," he said eagerly, "he would bring diamonds from South Africa as the easiest way to carry such a large sum. Perhaps he had the diamonds in his pocket and they were stolen."