“‘Perhaps it is,’ he said.
“‘Is it not a fact, Mr. Israel’—and here I made a shot at a venture, an inspiration of the moment ‘that Mr. Booth was about to dispense with your services?’
“‘No such thing!’ he exclaimed; but his sallow face turned red, then very pale. ‘No such thing; he might have growled a bit, he did occasionally when “lively”; but he did not mean what he said.’
“‘He did give you notice then?’
“‘In a sort of way; but it was not serious, and he was half tight at the time.’
“‘And when would this notice expire?’
“‘The end of this week. But it was not serious, I tell you. I took no notice of it. As a matter of fact, Mr. Booth could not understood his own books, and knew he could not do without me.’
“At this point I turned the conversation, and asked him did he know if his master had any enemies, or any persons who would benefit by his death. Israel answered readily enough.
“No, he did not know any particular person; but a big betting man was likely enough to have bad blood with some people; and, as regards his death, that might no doubt lead to the scratching of all his horses in training by his widow; and of course those who had backed them would lose, and the chances of other horses in the race be so much the better.
“This was a new clue to me, and, bidding good-day to Mr. Israel, I came home. Carefully considering the evidence of this clerk, it appears to me the most important of all. In the first place, on his own statement there was ample motive for a robbery of the safe. And not only was there a motive, but he was the only person likely to know that such a large sum was locked up. Next, we have his own assertion that there was £374. But how much more may there have been, unentered by him in those books, over which he had full control? And this notice of dismissal that he was under which he now treats so easily—may, very likely, have been of serious consequence to him. And why was this notice given? Certainly a man in Booth’s position, ignorant of accounts, much of whose business was done on ‘the nod,’ and required an expert to recognize all his varied customers, would be very slow to dismiss a confidential clerk. Probably the cause was something serious—perhaps criminal? At any rate, it looks shady. If there was a spirit of revenge in this man we have a motive for his master’s death; but if we add to this the possibility, as he himself suggested, of a betting-book being so arranged as to gain largely by Mr. Booth’s death, we have a second and still stronger motive.”