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- The Adventure of the Priory School
-
- We have had some dramatic entrances and exits upon our small
- stage at Baker Street, but I cannot recollect anything more
- sudden and startling than the first appearance of Thorneycroft
- Huxtable, M.A., Ph.D., etc. His card, which seemed too small
- to carry the weight of his academic distinctions, preceded him by
- a few seconds, and then he entered himself -- so large, so pomp-
- ous, and so dignified that he was the very embodiment of
- self-possession and solidity. And yet his first action, when the
- door had closed behind him, was to stagger against the table,
- whence he slipped down upon the floor, and there was that
- majestic figure prostrate and insensible upon our bearskin hearthrug.
- We had sprung to our feet, and for a few moments we stared
- in silent amazement at this ponderous piece of wreckage, which
- told of some sudden and fatal storm far out on the ocean of life.
- Then Holmes hurried with a cushion for his head. and I with
- brandy for his lips. The heavy, white face was seamed with lines
- of trouble, the hanging pouches under the closed eyes were
- leaden in colour, the loose mouth drooped dolorously at the
- corners, the rolling chins were unshaven. Collar and shirt bore
- the grime of a long journey, and the hair bristled unkempt from
- the well-shaped head. It was a sorely stricken man who lay
- before us.
- "What is it, Watson?" asked Holmes.
- "Absolute exhaustion -- possibly mere hunger and fatigue,"
- said I, with my finger on the thready pulse, where the stream of
- life trickled thin and small.
- "Return ticket from Mackleton, in the north of England,"
- said Holmes, drawing it from the watch-pocket. "It is not twelve
- o'clock yet. He has certainly been an early starter."
- The puckered eyelids had begun to quiver, and now a pair of
- vacant gray eyes looked up at us. An instant later the man had
- scrambled on to his feet, his face crimson with shame.
- "Forgive this weakness, Mr. Holmes, I have been a little
- overwrought. Thank you, if I might have a glass of milk and a
- biscuit, I have no doubt that I should be better. I came person-
- ally, Mr. Holmes, in order to insure that you would return with
- me. I feared that no telegram would convince you of the absolute
- urgency of the case."
- "When you are quite restored --"
- "I am quite well again. I cannot imagine how I came to be so
- weak. I wish you, Mr. Holmes, to come to Mackleton with me
- by the next train."
- My friend shook his head.
- "My colleague, Dr. Watson, could tell you that we are very
- busy at present. I am retained in this case of the Ferrers Docu-
- ments, and the Abergavenny murder is coming up for trial. Only
- a very important issue could call me from London at present."
- "Important!" Our visitor threw up his hands. "Have you
- heard nothing of the abduction of the only son of the Duke of
- Holdernesse?"
- "What! the late Cabinet Minister?"
- "Exactly. We had tried to keep it out of the papers, but there
- was some rumor in the Globe last night. I thought it might have
- reached your ears."
- Holmes shot out his long, thin arm and picked out Volume
- "H" in his encyclopaedia of reference.
- " 'Holdernesse, 6th Duke, K.G., P.C.' -- half the alphabet!
- 'Baron Beverley, Earl of Carston' -- dear me, what a list! 'Lord
- Lieutenant of Hallamshire since 1900. Married Edith, daughter
- of Sir Charles Appledore, 1888. Heir and only child, Lord
- Saltire. Owns about two hundred and fifty thousand acres. Min-
- erals in Lancashire and Wales. Address: Carlton House Terrace;
- Holdernesse Hall, Hallamshire; Carston Castle, Bangor, Wales.
- Lord of the Admiralty, 1872; Chief Secretary of State for --'
- Well, well, this man is certainly one of the greatest subjects of
- the Crown!"
- "The greatest and perhaps the wealthiest. I am aware, Mr.
- Holmes, that you take a very high line in professional matters,
- and that you are prepared to work for the work's sake. I may tell
- you, however, that his Grace has already intimated that a check
- for five thousand pounds will be handed over to the person who
- can tell him where his son is, and another thousand to him who
- can name the man or men who have taken him."
- "It is a princely offer," said Holmes. "Watson, I think that
- we shall accompany Dr. Huxtable back to the north of England.
- And now, Dr. Huxtable, when you have consumed that milk,
- you will kindly tell me what has happened, when it happened,
- how it happened, and, finally, what Dr. Thorneycroft Huxtable,
- of the Priory School, near Mackleton, has to do with the matter,
- and why he comes three days after an event -- the state of your
- chin gives the date -- to ask for my humble services."
- Our visitor had consumed his milk and biscuits. The light had
- come back to his eyes and the colour to his cheeks, as he set
- himself with great vigour and lucidity to explain the situation.
- "I must inform you, gentlemen, that the Priory is a prepara-
- tory school, of which I am the founder and principal. Huxtable's
- Sidelights on Horace may possibly recall my name to your
- memories. The Priory is, without exception, the best and most
- select preparatory school in England. Lord Leverstoke, the Earl
- of Blackwater, Sir Cathcart Soames -- they all have intrusted
- their sons to me. But I felt that my school had reached its zenith
- when, three weeks ago, the Duke of Holdernesse sent Mr. James
- Wilder, his secretary, with the intimation that young Lord Sal-
- tire, ten years old, his only son and heir, was about to be
- committed to my charge. Little did I think that this would be the
- prelude to the most crushing misfortune of my life.
- "On May 1st the boy arrived, that being the beginning of the
- summer term. He was a charming youth, and he soon fell into
- our ways. I may tell you -- I trust that I am not indiscreet, but
- half-confidences are absurd in such a case -- that he was not
- entirely happy at home. It is an open secret that the Duke's
- married life had not been a peaceful one, and the matter had
- ended in a separation by mutual consent, the Duchess taking up
- her residence in the south of France. This had occurred very
- shortly before, and the boy's sympathies are known to have been
- strongly with his mother. He moped after her departure from
- Holdernesse Hall, and it was for this reason that the Duke
- desired to send him to my establishment. In a fortnight the boy
- was quite at home with us and was apparently absolutely happy.
- "He was last seen on the night of May 13th -- that is, the night
- of last Monday. His room was on the second floor and was
- approached through another larger room, in which two boys
- were sleeping. These boys saw and heard nothing, so that it is
- certain that young Saltire did not pass out that way. His window
- was open, and there is a stout ivy plant leading to the ground.
- We could trace no footmarks below, but it is sure that this is the
- only possible exit.
- "His absence was discovered at seven o'clock on Tuesday
- morning. His bed had been slept in. He had dressed himself
- fully, before going off, in his usual school suit of black Eton
- jacket and dark gray trousers. There were no signs that anyone
- had entered the room, and it is quite certain that anything in the
- nature of cries or a struggle would have been heard, since
- Caunter, the elder boy in the inner room, is a very light sleeper.
- "When Lord Saltire's disappearance was discovered, I at once
- called a roll of the whole establishment -- boys, masters, and
- servants. It was then that we ascertained that Lord Saltire had not
- been alone in his flight. Heidegger, the German master, was
- missing. His room was on the second floor, at the farther end of
- the building, facing the same way as Lord Saltire's. His bed had
- also been slept in, but he had apparently gone away partly
- dressed, since his shirt and socks were lying on the floor. He had
- undoubtedly let himself down by the ivy, for we could see the
- marks of his feet where he had landed on the lawn. His bicycle
- was kept in a small shed beside this lawn, and it also was gone.
- "He had been with me for two years, and came with the best
- references, but he was a silent, morose man, not very popular
- either with masters or boys. No trace could be found of the
- fugitives, and now, on Thursday morning, we are as ignorant as
- we were on Tuesday. Inquiry was, of course, made at once at
- Holdernese Hall. It is only a few miles away, and we imagined
- that, in some sudden attack of homesickness, he had gone back
- to his father, but nothing had been heard of him. The Duke is
- greatly agitated, and, as to me, you have seen yourselves the
- state of nervous prostration to which the suspense and the re-
- sponsibility have reduced me. Mr. Holmes, if ever you put
- forward your full powers, I implore you to do so now, for never
- in your life could you have a case which is more worthy of
- them."
- Sherlock Holmes had listened with the utmost intentness to the
- statement of the unhappy schoolmaster. His drawn brows and the
- deep furrow between them showed that he needed no exhortation
- to concentrate all his attention upon a problem which, apart from
- the tremendous interests involved, must appeal so directly to his
- love of the complex and the unusual. He now drew out his
- notebook and jotted down one or two memoranda.
- "You have been very remiss in not coming to me sooner,"
- said he, severely. "You start me on my investigation with a very
- serious handicap. It is inconceivable for example, that this ivy
- and this lawn would have yielded nothing to an expert observer."
- "I am not to blame, Mr. Holmes. His Grace was extremely
- desirous to avoid all public scandal. He was afraid of his family
- unhappiness being dragged before the world. He has a deep
- horror of anything of the kind."
- "But there has been some official investigation?"
- "Yes, sir, and it has proved most disappointing. An apparent
- clue was at once obtained, since a boy and a young man were
- reported to have been seen leaving a neighbouring station by an
- early train. Only last night we had news that the couple had been
- hunted down in Liverpool, and they prove to have no connection
- whatever with the matter in hand. Then it was that in my despair
- and disappointment, after a sleepless night, I came straight to
- you by the early train."
- "I suppose the local investigation was relaxed while this false
- clue was being followed up?"
- "It was entirely dropped."
- "So that three days have been wasted. The affair has been
- most deplorably handled."
- "I feel it and admit it."
- "And yet the problem should be capable of ultimate solution.
- I shall be very happy to look into it. Have you been able to trace
- any connection between the missing boy and this German master?"
- "None at all."
- "Was he in the master's class?"
- "No, he never exchanged a word with him, so far as I
- know."
- "That is certainly very singular. Had the boy a bicycle?"
- "No."
- "Was any other bicycle missing?"
- "No."
- "Is that certain?"
- "Quite."
- "Well, now, you do not mean to seriously suggest that this
- German rode off upon a bicycle in the dead of the night, bearing
- the boy in his arms?"
- "Certainly not."
- "Then what is the theory in your mind?"
- "The bicycle may have been a blind. It may have been hidden
- somewhere, and the pair gone off on foot."
- "Quite so, but it seems rather an absurd blind, does it not?
- Were there other bicycles in this shed?"
- "Several."
- "Would he not have hidden a couple, had he desired to give
- the idea that they had gone off upon them?"
- "I suppose he would."
- "Of course he would. The blind theory won't do. But the
- incident is an admirable starting-point for an investigation. After
- all, a bicycle is not an easy thing to conceal or to destroy. One
- other question. Did anyone call to see the boy on the day before
- he disappeared?"
- "No."
- "Did he get any letters?"
- "Yes, one letter."
- "From whom?"
- "From his father."
- "Do you open the boys' letters?"
- "No."
- "How do you know it was from the father?"
- "The coat of arms was on the envelope, and it was addressed
- in the Duke's peculiar stiff hand. Besides, the Duke remembers
- having written."
- "When had he a letter before that?"
- "Not for several days."
- "Had he ever one from France?"
- "No, never."
- "You see the point of my questions, of course. Either the boy
- was carried off by force or he went of his own free will. In the
- latter case, you would expect that some prompting from outside
- would be needed to make so young a lad do such a thing. If he
- has had no visitors, that prompting must have come in letters;
- hence I try to find out who were his correspondents."
- "I fear I cannot help you much. His only correspondent, so
- far as I know, was his own father."
- "Who wrote to him on the very day of his disappearance.
- Were the relations between father and son very friendly?"
- "His Grace is never very friendly with anyone. He is com-
- pletely immersed in large public questions, and is rather inacces-
- sible to all ordinary emotions. But he was always kind to the boy
- in hls own way."
- "But the sympathies of the latter were with the mother?"
- "Yes."
- "Did he say so?"
- "No."
- "The Duke, then?"
- "Good heaven, no!"
- "Then how could you know?"
- "I have had some confidential talks with Mr. James Wilder,
- his Grace's secretary. It was he who gave me the information
- about Lord Saltire's feelings."
- "I see. By the way, that last letter of the Duke's -- was it
- found in the boy's room after he was gone?"
- "No, he had taken it with him. I think, Mr. Holmes, it is time
- that we were leaving for Euston."
- "I will order a four-wheeler. In a quarter of an hour, we shall
- be at your service. If you are telegraphing home, Mr. Huxtable,
- it would be well to allow the people in your neighbourhood to
- imagine that the inquiry is still going on in Liverpool, or wher-
- ever else that red herring led your pack. In the meantime I will
- do a little quiet work at your own doors, and perhaps the scent is
- not so cold but that two old hounds like Watson and myself may
- get a sniff of it."
- That evening found us in the cold, bracing atmosphere of the
- Peak country, in which Dr. Huxtable's famous school is situated.
- It was already dark when we reached it. A card was lying on the
- hall table, and the butler whispered something to his master, who
- turned to us with agitation in every heavy feature.
- "The Duke is here," said he. "The Duke and Mr. Wilder are
- in the study. Come, gentlemen, and I will introduce you."
- I was, of course, familiar with the pictures of the famous
- statesman, but the man himself was very different from his
- representation. He was a tall and stately person, scrupulously
- dressed, with a drawn, thin face, and a nose which was grotes-
- quely curved and long. His complexion was of a dead pallor,
- which was more startling by contrast with a long, dwindling
- beard of vivid red, which flowed down over his white waistcoat,
- with his watch-chain gleaming through its fringe. Such was the
- stately presence who looked stonily at us from the centre of Dr.
- Huxtable's hearthrug. Beside him stood a very young man,
- whom I understood to be Wilder, the private secretary. He was
- small, nervous, alert, with intelligent light-blue eyes and mobile
- features. It was he who at once, in an incisive and positive tone,
- opened the conversation.
- "I called this morning, Dr. Huxtable, too late to prevent you
- from starting for London. I learned that your object was to invite
- Mr. Sherlock Holmes to undertake the conduct of this case. His
- Grace is surprised, Dr. Huxtable, that you should have taken
- such a step without consulting him."
- "When I learned that the police had failed --"
- "His Grace is by no means convinced that the police have
- failed."
- "But surely, Mr. Wilder --"
- "You are well aware, Dr. Huxtable, that his Grace is particu-
- larly anxious to avoid all public scandal. He prefers to take as
- few people as possible into his confidence."
- "The matter can be easily remedied," said the browbeaten
- doctor; "Mr. Sherlock Holmes can return to London by the
- morning train."
- "Hardly that, Doctor, hardly that," said Holmes, in his blandest
- voice. "This northern air is invigorating and pleasant, so I
- propose to spend a few days upon your moors, and to occupy my
- mind as best I may. Whether I have the shelter of your roof or of
- the village inn is, of course, for you to decide."
- I could see that the unfortunate doctor was in the last stage of
- indecision, from which he was rescued by the deep, sonorous
- voice of the red-bearded Duke, which boomed out like a
- dinner-gong.
- "I agree with Mr. Wilder, Dr. Huxtable, that you would have
- done wisely to consult me. But since Mr. Holmes has already
- been taken into your confidence, it would indeed be absurd that
- we should not avail ourselves of his services. Far from going to
- the inn, Mr. Holmes, I should be pleased if you would come and
- stay with me at Holdernesse Hall."
- "I thank your Grace. For the purposes of my investigation, I
- think that it would be wiser for me to remain at the scene of the
- mystery."
- "Just as you like, Mr. Holmes. Any information which Mr.
- Wilder or I can give you is, of course, at your disposal."
- "It will probably be necessary for me to see you at the Hall,"
- said Holmes. "I would only ask you now, sir, whether you have
- formed any explanation in your own mind as to the mysterious
- disappearance of your son?"
- "No, sir, I have not."
- "Excuse me if I allude to that which is painful to you. but I
- have no alternative. Do you think that the Duchess had anything
- to do with the matter?"
- The great minister showed perceptible hesitation.
- "I do not think so," he said, at last.
- "The other most obvious explanation is that the child has been
- kidnapped for the purpose of levying ransom. You have not had
- any demand of the sort?"
- "No, sir."
- "One more question, your Grace. I understand that you wrote
- to your son upon the day when this incident occurred."
- "No, I wrote upon the day before."
- "Exactly. But he received it on that day?"
- "Yes."
- "Was there anything in your letter which might have unbal-
- anced him or induced him to take such a step?"
- "No, sir, cenainly not."
- "Did you post that letter yourself?"
- The nobleman's reply was interrupted by his secretary, who
- broke in with some heat.
- "His Grace is not in the habit of posting letters himself," said
- he. "This letter was laid with others upon the study table, and I
- myself put them in the post-bag."
- "You are sure this one was among them?"
- "Yes, I observed it."
- "How many letters did your Grace write that day?"
- "Twenty or thirty. I have a large correspondence. But surely
- this is somewhat irrelevant?"
- "Not entirely," said Holmes.
- "For my own part," the Duke continued, "I have advised the
- police to turn their attention to the south of France. I have
- already said that I do not believe that the Duchess would encour-
- age so monstrous an action. but the lad had the most wrong-
- headed opinions, and it is possible that he may have fled to her,
- aided and abetted by this German. I think, Dr. Huxtable, that we
- will now return to the Hall."
- I could see that there were other questions which Holmes
- would have wished to put, but the nobleman's abrupt manner
- showed that the interview was at an end. It was evident that to
- his intensely aristocratic nature this discussion of his intimate
- family affairs with a stranger was most abhorrent. and that he
- feared lest every fresh question would throw a fiercer light into
- the discreetly shadowed corners of his ducal history.
- When the nobleman and his secretary had left, my friend
- flung himself at once with characteristic eagerness into the
- investigation.
- The boy's chamber was carefully examined, and yielded noth-
- ing save the absolute conviction that it was only through the
- window that he could have escaped. The German master's room
- and effects gave no further clue. In his case a trailer of ivy
- had given way under his weight, and we saw by the light of a
- lantern the mark on the lawn where his heels had come down.
- That one dint in the short, green grass was the only material
- witness left of this inexplicable nocturnal flight.
- Sherlock Holmes left the house alone, and only returned after
- eleven. He had obtained a large ordnance map of the neighbour-
- hood, and this he brought into my room, where he laid it out on
- the bed, and, having balanced the lamp in the middle of it, he
- began to smoke over it, and occasionally to point out objects of
- interest with the reeking amber of his pipe.
- "This case grows upon me, Watson," said he. "There are
- decidedly some points of interest in connection with it. In this
- early stage, I want you to realize those geographical features
- which may have a good deal to do with our investigation.
- "Look at this map. This dark square is the Priory School. I'll
- put a pin in it. Now, this line is the main road. You see that it
- runs east and west past the school, and you see also that there is
- no side road for a mile either way. If these two folk passed away
- by road, it was this road."
- "Exactly."
- "By a singular and happy chance, we are able to some extent
- to check what passed along this road during the night in ques-
- tion. At this point, where my pipe is now resting, a county
- constable was on duty from twelve to six. It is, as you perceive,
- the first cross-road on the east side. This man declares that he
- was not absent from his post for an instant, and he is positive
- that neither boy nor man could have gone that way unseen. I
- have spoken with this policeman to-night, and he appears to me
- to be a perfectly reliable person. That blocks this end. We have
- now to deal with the other. There is an inn here, the Red Bull,
- the landlady of which was ill. She had sent to Mackleton for a
- doctor, but he did not arrive until morning, being absent at
- another case. The people at the inn were alert all night, awaiting
- his coming, and one or other of them seems to have continually
- had an eye upon the road. They declare that no one passed. If
- their evidence is good, then we are fortunate enough to be able
- to block the west, and also to be able to say that the fugitives did
- not use the road at all."
- "But the bicycle?" I objected.
- "Quite so. We will come to the bicycle presently. To continue
- our reasoning: if these people did not go by the road, they must
- have traversed the country to the north of the house or to the
- south of the house. That is certain. Let us weigh the one against
- the other. On the south of the house is, as you perceive, a large
- district of arable land, cut up into small fields, with stone walls
- between them. There, I admit that a bicycle is impossible. We
- can dismiss the idea. We turn to the country on the north. Here
- there lies a grove of trees, marked as the 'Ragged Shaw,' and on
- the farther side stretches a great rolling moor, Lower Gill Moor,
- extending for ten miles and sloping gradually upward. Here, at
- one side of this wilderness, is Holdernesse Hall, ten miles by
- road, but only six across the moor. It is a peculiarly desolate
- plain. A few moor farmers have small holdings, where they rear
- sheep and cattle. Except these, the plover and the curlew are the
- only inhabitants until you come to the Chesterfield high road.
- There is a church there, you see, a few cottages, and an inn.
- Beyond that the hills become precipitous. Surely it is here to the
- north that our quest must lie."
- "But the bicycle?" I persisted.
- "Well, well!" said Holmes, impatiently. "A good cyclist does
- not need a high road. The moor is intersected with paths, and the
- moon was at the full. Halloa! what is this?"
- There was an agitated knock at the door, and an instant
- afterwards Dr. Huxtable was in the room. In his hand he held a
- blue cricket-cap with a white chevron on the peak.
- "At last we have a clue!" he cried. "Thank heaven! at last we
- are on the dear boy's track! It is his cap."
- "Where was it found?"
- "In the van of the gipsies who camped on the moor. They left
- on Tuesday. To-day the police traced them down and examined
- their caravan. This was found."
- "How do they account for it?"
- "They shuffled and lied -- said that they found it on the moor
- on Tuesday morning. They know where he is. the rascals! Thank
- goodness, they are all safe under lock and key. Either the fear of
- the law or the Duke's purse will certainly get out of them all that
- they know."
- "So far, so good," said Holmes, when the doctor had at last
- left the room. "It at least bears out the theory that it is on the
- side of the Lower Gill Moor that we must hope for results. The
- police have really done nothing locally, save the arrest of these
- gipsies. Look here, Watson! There is a watercourse across the
- moor. You see it marked here in the map. In some parts it
- widens into a morass. This is particularly so in the region
- between Holdernesse Hall and the school. It is vain to look
- elsewhere for tracks in this dry weather, but at that point there is
- certainly a chance of some record being left. I will call you early
- to-morrow morning, and you and I will try if we can throw some
- little light upon the mystery."
- The day was just breaking when I woke to find the long, thin
- form of Holmes by my bedside. He was fully dressed, and had
- apparently already been out.
- "I have done the lawn and the bicycle shed," said he. "I have
- also had a ramble through the Ragged Shaw. Now, Watson
- there is cocoa ready in the next room. I must beg you to hurry, for
- we have a great day before us."
- His eyes shone, and his cheek was flushed with the exhilara-
- tion of the master workman who sees his work lie ready before
- him. A very different Holmes, this active, alert man, from the
- introspective and pallid dreamer of Baker Street. I felt, as I
- looked upon that supple figure, alive with nervous energy, that it
- was indeed a strenuous day that awaited us.
- And yet it opened in the blackest disappointment. With high
- hopes we struck across the peaty, russet moor, intersected with a
- thousand sheep paths, until we came to the broad, light-green
- belt which marked the morass between us and Holdernesse.
- Certainly, if the lad had gone homeward, he must have passed
- this, and he could not pass it without leaving his traces. But no
- sign of him or the German could be seen. With a darkening face
- my friend strode along the margin, eagerly observant of every
- muddy stain upon the mossy surface. Sheep-marks there were in
- profusion, and at one place, some miles down, cows had left
- their tracks. Nothing more.
- "Check number one," said Holmes, looking gloomily over
- the rolling expanse of the moor. "There is another morass down
- yonder, and a narrow neck between. Halloa! halloa! halloa! what
- have we here?"
- We had come on a small black ribbon of pathway. In the
- middle of it, clearly marked on the sodden soil, was the track of
- a bicycle.
- "Hurrah!" I cried. "We have it."
- But Holmes was shaking his head, and his face was puzzled
- and expectant rather than joyous.
- "A bicycle, certainly, but not the bicycle " said he. "I am
- familiar with forty-two different impressions left by tyres. This
- as you perceive, is a Dunlop, with a patch upon the outer cover.
- Heidegger's tyres were Palmer's, leaving longitudinal stripes.
- Aveling, the mathematical master, was sure upon the point.
- Therefore, it is not Heidegger's track."
- "The boy's then?"
- "Possibly, if we could prove a bicycle to have been in his
- possession. But this we have utterly failed to do. This track, as
- you perceive, was made by a rider who was going from the
- direction of the school."
- "Or towards it?"
- "No, no, my dear Watson. The more deeply sunk impression
- is, of course, the hind wheel, upon which the weight rests. You
- perceive several places where it has passed across and obliterated
- the more shallow mark of the front one. It was undoubtedly
- heading away from the school. It may or may not be connected
- with our inquiry, but we will follow it backwards before we go
- any farther."
- We did so, and at the end of a few hundred yards lost the
- tracks as we emerged from the boggy portion of the moor.
- Following the path backwards, we picked out another spot,
- where a spring trickled across it. Here, once again, was the mark
- of the bicycle, though nearly obliterated by the hoofs of cows.
- After that there was no sign, but the path ran right on into
- Ragged Shaw, the wood which backed on to the school. From
- this wood the cycle must have emerged. Holmes sat down on a
- boulder and rested his chin in his hands. I had smoked two
- cigarettes before he moved.
- "Well, well," said he, at last. "It is, of course, possible that
- a cunning man might change the tyres of his bicycle in order to
- leave unfamiliar tracks. A criminal who was capable of such a
- thought is a man whom I should be proud to do business with.
- We will leave this question undecided and hark back to our
- morass again, for we have left a good deal unexplored."
- We continued our systematic survey of the edge of the sodden
- portion of the moor, and soon our perseverance was gloriously
- rewarded. Right across the lower part of the bog lay a miry path.
- Holmes gave a cry of delight as he approached it. An impression
- like a fine bundle of telegraph wires ran down the centre of it. It
- was the Palmer tyres.
- "Here is Herr Heidegger, sure enough!" cried Holmes, exul-
- tantly. "My reasoning seems to have been pretty sound, Watson."
- "I congratulate you."
- "But we have a long way still to go. Kindly walk clear of the
- path. Now let us follow the trail. I fear that it will not lead very
- far."
- We found, however, as we advanced that this portion of the
- moor is intersected with soft patches, and, though we frequently
- lost sight of the track, we always succeeded in picking it up once
- more.
- "Do you observe," said Holmes, "that the rider is now
- undoubtedly forcing the pace? There can be no doubt of it. Look
- at this impression, where you get both tyres clear. The one is as
- deep as the other. That can only mean that the rider is throwing
- his weight on to the handle-bar, as a man does when he is
- sprinting. By Jove! he has had a fall."
- There was a broad, irregular smudge covering some yards of
- the track. Then there were a few footmarks, and the tyres
- reappeared once more.
- "A side-slip," I suggested.
- Holmes held up a crumpled branch of flowering gorse. To my
- horror I perceived that the yellow blossoms were all dabbled
- with crimson. On the path, too, and among the heather were
- dark stains of clotted blood.
- "Bad!" said Holmes. "Bad! Stand clear, Watson! Not an
- unnecessary footstep! What do I read here? He fell wounded -- he
- stood up -- he remounted -- he proceeded. But there is no other
- track. Cattle on this side path. He was surely not gored by a
- bull? Impossible! But I see no traces of anyone else. We must
- push on, Watson. Surely, with stains as well as the track to
- guide us, he cannot escape us now."
- Our search was not a very long one. The tracks of the tyre
- began to curve fantastically upon the wet and shining path.
- Suddenly, as I looked ahead, the gleam of metal caught my eye
- from amid the thick gorse-bushes. Out of them we dragged a
- bicycle, Palmer-tyred, one pedal bent, and the whole front of it
- horribly smeared and slobbered with blood. On the other side of
- the bushes, a shoe was projecting. We ran round, and there lay
- the unfortunate rider. He was a tall man, full-bearded, with
- spectacles, one glass of which had been knocked out.The cause
- of his death was a frightful blow upon the head, which had
- crushed in part of his skull. That he could have gone on after
- receiving such an injury said much for the vitality and courage of
- the man. He wore shoes, but no socks, and his open coat
- disclosed a nightshirt beneath it. It was undoubtedly the German
- master.
- Holmes turned the body over reverently, and examined it with
- great attention. He then sat in deep thought for a time, and I
- could see by his ruffled brow that this grim discovery had not, in
- his opinion, advanced us much in our inquiry.
- "It is a little difficult to know what to do, Watson," said he,
- at last. "My own inclinations are to push this inquiry on, for we
- have already lost so much time that we cannot afford to waste
- another hour. On the other hand, we are bound to inform the
- police of the discovery, and to see that this poor fellow's body is
- looked after."
- "I could take a note back."
- "But I need your company and assistance. Wait a bit! There is
- a fellow cutting peat up yonder. Bring him over here, and he will
- guide the police."
- I brought the peasant across, and Holmes dispatched the fright-
- ened man with a note to Dr. Huxtable.
- "Now, Watson," said he, "we have picked up two clues this
- morning. One is the bicycle with the Palmer tyre, and we see
- what that has led to. The other is the bicycle with the patched
- Dunlop. Before we start to investigate that, let us try to realize
- what we do know, so as to make the most of it, and to separate
- the essential from the accidental."
- "First of all, I wish to impress upon you that the boy certainly
- left of his own free-will. He got down from his window and he
- went off, either alone or with someone. That is sure."
- I assented.
- "Well, now, let us turn to this unfortunate German master.
- The boy was fully dressed when he fled. Therefore he foresaw
- what he would do. But the German went without his socks. He
- certainly acted on very short notice."
- "Undoubtedly."
- "Why did he go? Because, from his bedroom window, he saw
- the flight of the boy because he wished to overtake him and
- bring him back. He seized his bicycle, pursued the lad, and in
- pursuing him met his death."
- "So it would seem."
- "Now I come to the critical part of my argument. The natural
- action of a man in pursuing a little boy would be to run after
- him. He would know that he could overtake him. But the
- German does not do so. He turns to his bicycle. I am told that he
- was an excellent cyclist. He would not do this, if he did not see
- that the boy had some swift means of escape."
- "The other bicycle."
- "Let us continue our reconstruction. He meets his death five
- miles from the school -- not by a bullet, mark you, which even a
- lad might conceivably discharge, but by a savage blow dealt by a
- vigorous arm. The lad, then, had a companion in his flight. And
- the flight was a swift one, since it took five miles before an
- expert cyclist could overtake them. Yet we survey the ground
- round the scene of the tragedy. What do we find? A few cattle-
- tracks, nothing more. I took a wide sweep round, and there is no
- path within fifty yards. Another cyclist could have had nothing
- to do with the actual murder, nor were there any human
- footmarks."
- "Holmes," I cried, "this is impossible."
- "Admirable!" he said. "A most illuminating remark. It is
- impossible as I state it, and therefore I must in some respect have
- stated it wrong. Yet you saw for yourself. Can you suggest any
- fallacy?"
- "He could not have fractured his skull in a fall?"
- "In a morass, Watson?"
- "I am at my wit's end."
- "Tut, tut, we have solved some worse problems. At least we
- have plenty of material, if we can only use it. Come, then, and,
- having exhausted the Palmer, let us see what the Dunlop with the
- patched cover has to offer us."
- We picked up the track and followed it onward for some
- distance, but soon the moor rose into a long, heather-tufted
- curve, and we left the watercourse behind us. No further help
- from tracks could be hoped for. At the spot where we saw the
- last of the Dunlop tyre it might equally have led to Holdernesse
- Hall, the stately towers of which rose some miles to our left, or
- to a low, gray village which lay in front of us and marked the
- position of the Chesterfield high road.
- As we approached the forbidding and squalid inn, with the
- sign of a game-cock above the door, Holmes gave a sudden
- groan, and clutched me by the shoulder to save himself from
- falling. He had had one of those violent strains of the ankle
- which leave a man helpless. With difficulty he limped up to the
- door, where a squat, dark, elderly man was smoking a black clay
- pipe.
- "How are you, Mr. Reuben Hayes?" said Holmes.
- "Who are you, and how do you get my name so pat?" the
- countryman answered, with a suspicious flash of a pair of cun-
- ning eyes.
- "Well, it's printed on the board above your head. It's easy to
- see a man who is master of his own house. I suppose you
- haven't such a thing as a carriage in your stables?"
- "No, I have not."
- "I can hardly put my foot to the ground."
- "Don't put it to the ground."
- "But I can't walk."
- "Well, then, hop."
- Mr. Reuben Hayes's manner was far from gracious, but Holmes
- took it with admirable good-humour.
- "Look here, my man," said he. "This is really rather an
- awkward fix for me. I don't mind how I get on."
- "Neither do I," said the morose landlord.
- "The matter is very important. I would offer you a sovereign
- for the use of a bicycle."
- The landlord pricked up his ears.
- "Where do you want to go?"
- "To Holdernesse Hall."
- "Pals of the Dook, I suppose?" said the landlord, surveying
- our mud-stained garments with ironical eyes.
- Holmes laughed good-naturedly.
- "He'll be glad to see us, anyhow."
- "Why?"
- "Because we bring him news of his lost son."
- The landlord gave a very visible start.
- "What, you're on his track?"
- "He has been heard of in Liverpool. They expect to get him
- every hour."
- Again a swift change passed over the heavy, unshaven face.
- His manner was suddenly genial.
- "I've less reason to wish the Dook well than most men,"
- said he, "for I was his head coachman once, and cruel bad he
- treated me. It was him that sacked me without a character on the
- word of a lying corn-chandler. But I'm glad to hear that the
- young lord was heard of in Liverpool, and I'll help you to take
- the news to the Hall."
- "Thank you," said Holmes. "We'll have some food first.
- Then you can bring round the bicycle."
- "I haven't got a bicycle."
- Holmes held up a sovereign.
- "I tell you, man, that I haven't got one. I'll let you have two
- horses as far as the Hall."
- "Well, well," said Holmes, "we'll talk about it when we've
- had something to eat."
- When we were left alone in the stone-flagged kitchen, it was
- astonishing how rapidly that sprained ankle recovered. It was
- nearly nightfall, and we had eaten nothing since early morning,
- so that we spent some time over our meal. Holmes was lost in
- thought, and once or twice he walked over to the window and
- stared earnestly out. It opened on to a squalid courtyard. In the
- far corner was a smithy, where a grimy lad was at work. On the
- other side were the stables. Holmes had sat down again after one
- of these excursions, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair
- with a loud exclamation.
- "By heaven, Watson, I believe that I've got it!" he cried.
- "Yes, yes, it must be so. Watson, do you remember seeing any
- cow-tracks to-day?"
- "Yes, several."
- "Where?"
- "Well, everywhere. They were at the morass, and again on
- the path, and again near where poor Heidegger met his death."
- "Exactly. Well, now, Watson, how many cows did you see
- on the moor?"
- "I don't remember seeing any."
- "Strange, Watson, that we should see tracks all along our
- line, but never a cow on the whole moor. Very strange, Watson,
- eh?"
- "Yes, it is strange."
- "Now, Watson, make an effort, throw your mind back. Can
- you see those tracks upon the path?"
- "Yes, I can."
- "Can you recall that the tracks were sometimes like that,
- Watson" -- he arranged a number of bread-crumbs in this fashion -- :
- : : : : -- "and sometimes like this" -- : . : . : . : . -- "and
- occasionally like this" -- . ' . ' . ' . ' "Can you remember that?"
- "No, I cannot."
- "But I can. I could swear to it. However, we will go back at
- our leisure and verify it. What a blind beetle I have been, not to
- draw my conclusion."
- "And what is your conclusion?"
- "Only that it is a remarkable cow which walks, canters, and
- gallops. By George! Watson, it was no brain of a country
- publican that thought out such a blind as that. The coast seems to
- be clear, save for that lad in the smithy. Let us slip out and see
- what we can see."
- There were two rough-haired, unkempt horses in the tumble-
- down stable. Holmes raised the hind leg of one of them and
- laughed aloud.
- "Old shoes, but newly shod -- old shoes, but new nails. This
- case deserves to be a classic. Let us go across to the smithy."
- The lad continued his work without regarding us. I saw Holmes's
- eye darting to right and left among the litter of iron and wood
- which was scattered about the floor. Suddenly, however, we
- heard a step behind us, and there was the landlord, his heavy
- eyebrows drawn over his savage eyes, his swarthy features con-
- vulsed with passion. He held a short, metal-headed stick in his
- hand, and he advanced in so menacing a fashion that I was right
- glad to feel the revolver in my pocket.
- "You infernal spies!" the man cried. "What are you doing
- there?"
- "Why, Mr. Reuben Hayes," said Holmes, coolly, "one might
- think that you were afraid of our finding something out."
- The man mastered himself with a violent effort, and his grim
- mouth loosened into a false laugh, which was more menacing
- than his frown.
- "You're welcome to all you can find out in my smithy," said
- he. "But look here, mister, I don't care for folk poking about
- my place without my leave, so the sooner you pay your score
- and get out of this the better I shall be pleased."
- "All right, Mr. Hayes, no harm meant," said Holmes. "We
- have been having a look at your horses, but I think I'll walk,
- after all. It's not far, I believe."
- "Not more than two miles to the Hall gates. That's the road to
- the left." He watched us with sullen eyes until we had left his
- premises.
- We did not go very far along the road, for Holmes stopped the
- instant that the curve hid us from the landlord's view.
- "We were warm, as the children say, at that inn," said he. "I
- seem to grow colder every step that I take away from it. No, no,
- I can't possibly leave it."
- "I am convinced," said I, "that this Reuben Hayes knows all
- about it. A more self-evident villain I never saw."
- "Oh! he impressed you in that way, did he? There are the
- horses, there is the smithy. Yes, it is an interesting place, this
- Fighting Cock. I think we shall have another look at it in an
- unobtrusive way."
- A long, sloping hillside, dotted with gray limestone boulders,
- stretched behind us. We had turned off the road, and were
- making our way up the hill, when, looking in the direction of
- Holdemesse Hall, I saw a cyclist coming swiftly along.
- "Get down, Watson!" cried Holmes, with a heavy hand upon
- my shoulder. We had hardly sunk from view when the man flew
- past us on the road. Amid a rolling cloud of dust, I caught a
- glimpse of a pale, agitated face -- a face with horror in every
- lineament, the mouth open, the eyes staring wildly in front. It
- was like some strange caricature of the dapper James Wilder
- whom we had seen the night before.
- "The Duke's secretary!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson, let
- us see what he does."
- We scrambled from rock to rock, until in a few moments we
- had made our way to a point from which we could see the front
- door of the inn. Wilder's bicycle was leaning against the wall
- beside it. No one was moving about the house, nor could we
- catch a glimpse of any faces at the windows. Slowly the twilight
- crept down as the sun sank behind the high towers of Holdemesse
- Hall. Then, in the gloom, we saw the two side-lamps of a trap
- light up in the stable-yard of the inn, and shortly afterwards
- heard the rattle of hoofs, as it wheeled out into the road and tore
- off at a furious pace in the direction of Chesterfield.
- "What do you make of that, Watson?" Holmes whispered.
- "It looks like a flight."
- "A single man in a dog-cart, so far as I could see. Well, it
- cedrtnainly was not Mr. James Wilder, for there he is at the door."
- A red square of light had sprung out of the darkness. In the
- middle of it was the black figure of the secretary, his head
- advanced, peering out into the night. It was evident that he was
- expecting someone. Then at last there were steps in the road, a
- second figure was visible for an instant against the light, the door
- shut, and all was black once more. Five minutes later a lamp was
- lit in a room upon the first floor.
- "It seems to be a curious class of custom that is done by the
- Fighting Cock," said Holmes.
- "The bar is on the other side."
- "Quite so. These are what one may call the private guests.
- Now, what in the world is Mr. James Wilder doing in that den at
- this hour of night, and who is the companion who comes to meet
- him there? Come, Watson, we must really take a risk and try to
- investigate this a little more closely."
- Together we stole down to the road and crept across to the
- door of the inn. The bicycle still leaned against the wall. Holmes
- struck a match and held it to the back wheel, and I heard him
- chuckle as the light fell upon a patched Dunlop tyre. Up above
- us was the lighted window.
- "I must have a peep through that, Watson. If you bend your
- back and support yourself upon the wall, I think that I can
- manage."
- An instant later, his feet were on my shoulders, but he was
- hardly up before he was down again.
- "Come, my friend," said he, "our day's work has been quite
- long enough. I think that we have gathered all that we can. It's a
- long walk to the school, and the sooner we get started the
- better."
- He hardly opened his lips during that weary trudge across the
- moor, nor would he enter the school when he reached it, but
- went on to Mackleton Station, whence he could send some
- telegrams. Late at night I heard him consoling Dr. Huxtable,
- prostrated by the tragedy of his master's death, and later still he
- entered my room as alen and vigorous as he had been when he
- started in the morning. "All goes well, my friend," said he. "I
- promise that before to-morrow evening we shall have reached the
- solution of the mystery."
-
- At eleven o'clock next morning my friend and I were walking
- up the famous yew avenue of Holdemesse Hall. We were ush-
- ered through the magnificent Elizabethan doorway and into his
- Grace's study. There we found Mr. James Wilder, demure and
- courtly, but with some trace of that wild terror of the night
- before still lurking in his furtive eyes and in his twitching
- features.
- "You have come to see his Grace? I am sorry, but the fact is
- that the Duke is far from well. He has been very much upset by
- the tragic news. We received a telegram from Dr. Huxtable
- yesterday afternoon, which told us of your discovery."
- "I must see the Duke, Mr. Wilder."
- "But he is in his room."
- "Then I must go to his room."
- "I believe he is in his bed."
- "I will see him there."
- Holmes's cold and inexorable manner showed the secretary
- that it was useless to argue with him.
- "Very good, Mr. Holmes, I will tell him that you are here."
- After an hour's delay, the great nobleman appeared. His face
- was more cadaverous .than ever, his shoulders had rounded, and
- he seemed to me to be an altogether older man than he had been
- the morning before. He greeted us with a stately courtesy and
- seated himself at his desk, his red beard streaming down on the
- table.
- "Well, Mr. Holmes?" said he.
- But my friend's eyes were fixed upon the secretary, who stood
- by his master's chair.
- "I think, your Grace, that I could speak more freely in Mr.
- Wilder's absence."
- The man turned a shade paler and cast a malignant glance at
- Holmes.
- "If your Grace wishes --"
- "Yes, yes, you had better go. Now, Mr. Holmes, what have
- you to say?"
- My friend waited until the door had closed behind the retreat-
- ing secretary.
- "The fact is, your Grace," said he, "that my colleague, Dr.
- Watson, and myself had an assurance from Dr. Huxtable that a
- reward had been offered in this case. I should like to have this
- confirmed from your own lips."
- "Certainly, Mr. Holmes."
- "It amounted, if I am correctly informed, to five thousand
- pounds to anyone who will tell you where your son is?"
- "Exactly."
- "And another thousand to the man who will name the person
- or persons who keep him in custody?"
- "Exactly."
- "Under the latter heading is included, no doubt, not only
- those who may have taken him away, but also those who con-
- spire to keep him in his present position?"
- "Yes, yes," cried the Duke, impatiently. "If you do your
- work well, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, you will have no reason to
- complain of niggardly treatment."
- My friend rubbed his thin hands together with an appearance
- of avidity which was a surprise to me, who knew his frugal
- tastes.
- "I fancy that I see your Grace's check-book upon the table,"
- said he. "I should be glad if you would make me out a check for
- six thousand pounds. It would be as well, perhaps, for you to
- cross it. The Capital and Counties Bank, Oxford Street branch
- are my agents."
- His Grace sat very stern and upright in his chair and looked
- stonily at my friend.
- "Is this a joke, Mr. Holmes? It is hardly a subject for
- pleasantry."
- "Not at all, your Grace. I was never more earnest in my life."
- "What do you mean, then?"
- "I mean that I have earned the reward. I know where your son
- is, and I know some, at least, of those who are holding him."
- The Duke's beard had turned more aggressively red than ever
- against his ghastly white face.
- "Where is he?" he gasped.
- "He is, or was last night, at the Fighting Cock Inn, about two
- miles from your park gate."
- The Duke fell back in his chair.
- "And whom do you accuse?"
- Sherlock Holmes's answer was an astounding one. He stepped
- swiftly forward and touched thc Duke upon the shoulder.
- "I accuse you," said he. "And now, your Grace, I'll trouble
- you for that check."
- Never shall I forget the Duke's appearance as he sprang up
- and clawed with his hands, like one who is sinking into an
- abyss. Then, with an extraordinary effort of aristocratic self-
- command, he sat down and sank his face in his hands. It was
- some minutes before he spoke.
- "How much do you know?" he asked at last, without raising
- his head.
- "I saw you together last night."
- "Does anyone else beside your friend know?"
- "I have spoken to no one."
- The Duke took a pen in his quivering fingers and opened his
- check-book.
- "I shall be as good as my word, Mr. Holmes. I am about to
- write your check, however unwelcome the information which
- you have gained may be to me. When the offer was first made, I
- little thought the turn which events might take. But you and your
- friend are men of discretion, Mr. Holmes?"
- "I hardly understand your Grace."
- "I must put it plainly, Mr. Holmes. If only you two know of
- this incident, there is no reason why it should go any farther. I
- think twelve thousand pounds is the sum that I owe you, is it
- not?"
- But Holmes smiled and shook his head.
- "I fear, your Grace, that matters can hardly be arranged so
- easily. There is the death of this schoolmaster to be accounted
- for."
- "But James knew nothing of that. You cannot hold him
- responsible for that. It was the work of this brutal ruffian whom
- he had the misfonune to employ."
- "I must take the view, your Grace, that when a man embarks
- upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may
- spring from it."
- "Morally, Mr. Holmes. No doubt you are right. But surely
- not in the eyes of the law. A man cannot be condemned for a
- murder at which he was not present, and which he loathes and
- abhors as much as you do. The instant that he heard of it he
- made a complete confession to me, so filled was he with horror
- and remorse. He lost not an hour in breaking entirely with the
- murderer. Oh, Mr. Holmes, you must save him -- you must save
- him! I tell you that you must save him!" The Duke had dropped
- the last attempt at self-command. and was pacing the room with
- a convulsed face and with his clenched hands raving in the air.
- At last he mastered himself and sat down once more at his desk.
- "I appreciate your conduct in coming here before you spoke to
- anyone else," said he. "At least, we may take counsel how far
- we can minimize this hideous scandal."
- "Exactly," said Holmes. "I think, your Grace, that this can
- only be done by absolute frankness between us. I am disposed to
- help your Grace to the best of my ability, but, in order to do so,
- I must understand to the last detail how the matter stands. I
- realize that your words applied to Mr. James Wilder, and that he
- is not the murderer."
- "No, the murderer has escaped."
- Sherlock Holmes smiled demurely.
- "Your Grace can hardly have heard of any small reputation
- which I possess, or you would not imagine that it is so easy to
- escape me. Mr. Reuben Hayes was arrested at Chesterfield, on
- my information, at eleven o'clock last night. I had a telegram
- from the head of the local police before I left the school this
- morning."
- The Duke leaned back in his chair and stared with amazement
- at my friend.
- "You seem to have powers that are hardly human," said he.
- "So Reuben Hayes is taken? I am right glad to hear it, if it will
- not react upon the fate of James."
- "Your secretary?"
- "No, sir, my son."
- It was Holmes's turn to look astonished.
- "I confess that this is entirely new to me, your Grace. I must
- beg you to be more explicit."
- "I will conceal nothing from you. I agree with you that
- complete frankness, however painful it may be to me, is the best
- policy in this desperate situation to which James's folly and
- jealousy have reduced us. When I was a very young man, Mr.
- Holmes, I loved with such a love as comes only once in a
- lifetime. I offered the lady marriage, but she refused it on the
- grounds that such a match might mar my career. Had she lived. I
- would certainly never have married anyone else. She died, and
- left this one child, whom for her sake I have cherished and cared
- for. I could not acknowledge the paternity to the world, but I
- gave him the best of educations, and since he came to manhood I
- have kept him near my person. He surprised my secret, and has
- presumed ever since upon the claim which he has upon me, and
- upon his power of provoking a scandal which would be abhor-
- rent to me. His presence had something to do with the unhappy
- issue of my marriage. Above all, he hated my young legitimate
- heir from the first with a persistent hatred. You may well ask
- me why, under these circumstances, I still kept James under my
- roof. I answer that it was because I could see his mother's face
- in his, and that for her dear sake there was no end to my
- long-suffering. All her pretty ways too -- there was not one of
- them which he could not suggest and bring back to my memory.
- I could not send him away. But I feared so much lest he should
- do Arthur -- that is, Lord Saltire -- a mischief, that I dispatched
- him for safety to Dr. Huxtable's school.
- "James came into contact with this fellow Hayes, because the
- man was a tenant of mine, and James acted as agent. The fellow
- was a rascal from the beginning, but, in some extraordinary way,
- James became intimate with him. He had always a taste for low
- company. When James determined to kidnap Lord Saltire, it was
- of this man's service that he availed himself. You remember
- that I wrote to Arthur upon that last day. Well, James opened the
- letter and inserted a note asking Arthur to meet him in a little
- wood called the Ragged Shaw, which is near to the school. He
- used the Duchess's name, and in that way got the boy to come.
- That evening James bicycled over -- I am telling you what he has
- himself confessed to me -- and he told Arthur, whom he met in
- the wood, that his mother longed to see him, that she was
- awaiting him on the moor, and that if he would come back into
- the wood at midnight he would find a man with a horse, who
- would take him to her. Poor Arthur fell into the trap. He came to
- the appointment, and found this fellow Hayes with a led pony.
- Arthur mounted, and they set off together. It appears -- though
- this James only heard yesterday -- that they were pursued, that
- Hayes struck the pursuer with his stick, and that the man died of
- his injuries. Hayes brought Arthur to his public-house. the Fight-
- ing Cock, where he was confined in an upper room, under the
- care of Mrs. Hayes, who is a kindly woman, but entirely under
- the control of her brutal husband.
- "Well, Mr. Holmes. that was the state of affairs when I first
- saw you two days ago. I had no more idea of the truth than you.
- You will ask me what was James's motive in doing such a deed.
- I answer that there was a great deal which was unreasoning and
- fanatical in the hatred which he bore my heir. In his view he
- should himself have been heir of all my estates, and he deeply
- resented those social laws which made it impossible. At the same
- time, he had a definite motive also. He was eager that I should
- break the entail, and he was of opinion that it lay in my power to
- do so. He intended to make a bargain with me -- to restore Arthur
- if I would break the entail, and so make it possible for the estate
- to be left to him by will. He knew well that I should never
- willingly invoke the aid of the police against him. I say that he
- would have proposed such a bargain to me; but he did not
- actually do so, for events moved too quickly for him, and he had
- not time to put his plans into practice.
- "What brought all his wicked scheme to wreck was your
- discovery of this man Heidegger's dead body. James was seized
- with horror at the news. It came to us yesterday, as we sat
- together in this study. Dr. Huxtable had sent a telegram. James
- was so overwhelmed with grief and agitation that my suspicions,
- which had never been entirely absent, rose instantly to a cer-
- tainty, and I taxed him with the deed. He made a complete
- voluntary confession. Then he implored me to keep his secret for
- three days longer, so as to give his wretched accomplice a
- chance of saving his guilty life. I yielded -- as I have always
- yielded -- to his prayers, and instantly James hurried off to the
- Fighting Cock to warn Hayes and give him the means of flight. I
- could not go there by daylight without provoking comment, but
- as soon as night fell I hurried off to see my dear Arthur. I found
- him safe and well, but horrified beyond expression by the dread-
- ful deed he had witnessed. In deference to my promise, and
- much against my will, I consented to leave him there for three
- days, under the charge of Mrs. Hayes, since it was evident that it
- was impossible to inform the police where he was without telling
- them also who was the murderer, and I could not see how that
- murderer could be punished without ruin to my unfortunate
- James. You asked for frankness, Mr. Holmes, and I have taken
- you at your word, for I have now told you everything without an
- attempt at circumlocution or concealment. Do you in turn be as
- frank with me."
- "I will," said Holmes. "In the first place, your Grace, I am
- bound to tell you that you have placed yourself in a most serious
- position in the eyes of the law. You have condoned a felony, and
- you have aided the escape of a murderer, for I cannot doubt that
- any money which was taken by James Wilder to aid his accom-
- plice in his flight came from your Grace's purse."
- The Duke bowed his assent.
- "This is, indeed, a most serious matter. Even more culpable
- in my opinion, your Grace, is your attitude towards your young-
- er son. You leave him in this den for three days."
- "Under solemn promises --"
- "What are promises to such people as these? You have no
- guarantee that he will not be spirited away again. To humour
- your guilty older son, you have exposed your innocent younger
- son to imminent and unnecessary danger. It was a most un-
- justifiable action."
- The proud lord of Holdemesse was not accustomed to be so
- rated in his own ducal hall. The blood flushed into his high
- forehead, but his conscience held him dumb.
- "I will help you, but on one condition only. It is that you ring
- for the footman and let me give such orders as I like."
- Without a word, the Duke pressed the electric bell. A servant
- entered.
- "You will be glad to hear," said Holmes, "that your young
- master is found. It is the Duke's desire that the carriage shall go
- at once to the Fighting Cock Inn to bring Lord Saltire home.
- "Now," said Holmes, when the rejoicing lackey had disap-
- peared, "having secured the future, we can afford to be more
- lenient with the past. I am not in an official position, and there is
- no reason so long as the ends of justice are served, why I should
- disclose all that I know. As to Hayes, I say nothing. The gallows
- awaits him, and I would do nothing to save him from it. What he
- will divulge I cannot tell, but I have no doubt that your Grace
- could make him understand that it is to his interest to be silent.
- From the police point of view he will have kidnapped the boy for
- the purpose of ransom. If they do not themselves find it out, I
- see no reason why I should prompt them to take a broader point
- of view. I would warn your Grace, however, that the continued
- presence of Mr. James Wilder in your household can only lead to
- misfonune."
- "I understand that, Mr. Holmes, and it is already settled that he
- shall leave me forever, and go to seek his fortune in Australia."
- "In that case, your Grace, since you have yourself stated that
- any unhappiness in your married life was caused by his presence,
- I would suggest that you make such amends as you can to the
- Duchess, and that you try to resume those relations which have
- been so unhappily interrupted."
- "That also I have arranged, Mr. Holmes. I wrote to the
- Duchess this morning."
- "In that case," said Holmes, rising, "I think that my friend
- and I can congratulate ourselves upon several most happy results
- from our little visit to the North. There is one other small point
- upon which I desire some light. This fellow Hayes had shod his
- horses with shoes which counterfeited the tracks of cows. Was it
- from Mr. Wilder that he learned so extraordinary a device?"
- The Duke stood in thought for a moment, with a look of
- intense surprise on his face. Then he opened a door and showed
- us into a large room furnished as a museum. He led the way to a
- glass case in a corner, and pointed to the inscription.
- "These shoes," it ran, "were dug up in the moat of Holdemesse
- Hall. They are for the use of horses, but they are shaped below
- with a cloven foot of iron, so as to throw pursuers off the track.
- They are supposed to have belonged to some of the marauding
- Barons of Holdernesse in the Middle Ages."
- Holmes opened the case, and moistening his finger he passed
- it along the shoe. A thin film of recent mud was left upon his
- skin.
- "Thank you," said he, as he replaced the glass. "It is the
- second most interesting object that I have seen in the North."
- "And the first?"
- Holmes folded up his check and placed it carefully in his
- notebook. "I am a poor man," said he, as he patted it affection-
- ately, and thrust it into the depths of his inner pocket.
-