“The best of recommendations was, of course, placed at his disposal, and it was finally understood that, as soon as his father was completely restored to health and would no longer require his presence in London, he would try to obtain employment somewhere abroad.  He spoke of the new volunteer corps organized for the military policing of the new colonies, and, truth to tell, no one could blame him that he should wish to leave far behind him all London banking connections.  The son’s attitude certainly did not tend to ameliorate the father’s position.  It was pretty evident that his own family had ceased to hope in the poor manager’s innocence.

“And yet he was absolutely innocent.  You must remember how that fact was clearly demonstrated as soon as the poor man was able to say a word for himself.  And he said it to some purpose, too.

“Mr. Ireland was, and is, very fond of music.  On the evening in question, while sitting in his club, he saw in one of the daily papers the announcement of a peculiarly attractive programme at the Queen’s Hall concert.  He was not dressed, but nevertheless felt an irresistible desire to hear one or two of these attractive musical items, and he strolled down to the Hall.  Now, this sort of alibi is usually very difficult to prove, but Dame Fortune, oddly enough, favoured Mr. Ireland on this occasion, probably to compensate him for the hard knocks she had been dealing him pretty freely of late.

“It appears that there was some difficulty about his seat, which was sold to him at the box office, and which he, nevertheless, found wrongfully occupied by a determined lady, who refused to move.  The management had to be appealed to; the attendants also remembered not only the incident, but also the face and appearance of the gentleman who was the innocent cause of the altercation.

“As soon as Mr. Ireland could speak for himself he mentioned the incident and the persons who had been witness to it.  He was identified by them, to the amazement, it must be confessed, of police and public alike, who had comfortably decided that no one could be guilty save the manager of the Provident Bank himself.  Moreover, Mr. Ireland was a fairly wealthy man, with a good balance at the Union Bank, and plenty of private means, the result of years of provident living.

“He had but to prove that if he really had been in need of an immediate L5000—­which was all the amount extracted from the bank safe that night—­he had plenty of securities on which he could, at an hour’s notice, have raised twice that sum.  His life insurances had been fully paid up; he had not a debt which a L5 note could not easily have covered.

“On the fatal night he certainly did remember asking the watchman not to bolt the door to his office, as he thought he might have one or two letters to write when he came home, but later on he had forgotten all about this.  After the concert he met his son in Oxford Street, just outside the house, and thought no more about the office, the door of which was shut, and presented no unusual appearance.