342 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



We were unable to bring the crime home to 

 the guilty individual. I, however, had strong 

 reason for suspecting one of my employees ; but 

 as the case against him was not conclusive, in a 

 legal sense, I could do no more than discharge 

 him. We found out that before Orme*s illness 

 became known to the public, this man hired a 

 horse in the village and rode into Newbury, 

 where he met some friends at an hotel. It is 

 believed that he there imparted, as a great secret, 

 the news that the colt would not run in the 

 Derby. Needless to say there was little difficulty 

 in making illicit but profitable use of this informa- 

 tion. About the time the poison must have been 

 given to Orme our stable lads held a concert, 

 and I was afterwards told that the man I suspected 

 was the only " lad " who did not attend the 

 entertainment. That might have been a mere 

 coincidence, of course, but it certainly tended to 

 confirm my belief that he was the culprit. 



Thanks to his wonderful constitution Orme 

 managed to pull through — to that and the great 

 probability that the ball containing the mercury 

 did not get beyond his mouth. It was always 

 extremely difficult to make Orme swallow a pill. 



In July, three months after his illness began, 

 Orme won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park I 

 I make bold to boast that in getting the horse 

 fit enough for that effort I accomplished the 

 most remarkable feat to which I can lay claim. 



