“‘I suppose I’m to be given in charge?’ said Booms. ‘I didn’t do it; but when once a man’s suspected, what’s the use of saying anything?’
“Even Granville couldn’t help grinning at this.
“‘Nonsense, Booms. I’m glad to say I know you three fellows well enough by this time to feel sure it wasn’t one of you. I shouldn’t have spoken to you about it if I had.’
“Booms seemed quite disappointed he wasn’t to be made a martyr of after all.
“‘You think I know all about it?’ he said.
“‘No, I don’t; and if you’ll just listen without running away with ridiculous notions, Booms,’ said Granville, warming up a bit, ‘I’ll explain myself. Two letters during the last fortnight have been undoubtedly opened before I saw them. They both arrived between eight o’clock in the evening and nine next morning, and they both came from sporting correspondents of ours in the country, and contained information of a private nature intended for our paper the next day. In one case it was about a horse race, and in the other about an important football match. The letters were not tampered with for the purpose of giving information to any other papers, because we were still the only paper who gave the news, so the probability is some one who wanted to bet on the event has tried to get hold of the news beforehand.’
“‘I never made a bet in my life,’ said Booms.
“We couldn’t help laughing at this, for the stories he tells us of his terrific sporting exploits when he goes out of an evening in his high collar would make you think he was the loudest betting man in London.
“Granville laughed too.
“‘Better not begin,’ he said, and then blushed very red, as it occurred to him he had made an unintentional pun. But we looked quite grave, and did not give any sign of having seen it, and that put him on his feet again.