Show 4 I I NUMBER L i FIVE LL I Thi A W if f L S I y OO I fI CoP Copyright by A Conan Doyle Dole and Comers Colliers Y eldy Cop Copyright rl ht 1905 1 by b McClure Co E HAVE had some dra draT T rn entrances and ex exits eXI exits I T its upon our small stage Ii Y at Baker Bakel street but I cannot recollect any anything anything anything thing more sudden an anil l F startling ata than the first appearance of Dr D Thor I Huxtable M MA MA i i A Ph PhD D etc His card which seemed I too small to carry tie the weight of his I n distinctions preceded him bj by a few seconds and then he entered so large Ii o pompous us and wd so dignified that he was UN the very niMit of and solidity And Miti yet his hi first action when the door had closed dosed behind him was wac to stagger against the table whence he slipped I down dou n upon UlOn the floor noor and there was that D figure prostrate and insensible Upon our bearskin hearthrug We e had sprung to our feet and for a af afew f few e ev moments we stared in silent amaze amazement ment nt at this ponderous piece of ot wreck n ng p which told of ot some sudden and fatal fUal storm far out ut on the ocean of life Then Holmes hurried with a cushion for tor or his head hoad and I with brandy for his lips The heavy white face was waR seamed Beamed with lines of trouble the hang hanging hangi ing i ng pouches under the closed eyes were haden in color the loose mouth drooped dolorously at the corners the rolling t thins hi us were unshaven Collar and shirt bore ore the grime of a long journey and the hair bristled unkempt from the v head It was a sorely stricken lay before us What is it Watson Asked Holmes Absolute exhaustion possibly mere and fatigue said I with my m linger on the thready thread pulse where the dream of life trickled thin and small 4 Return ticket from fromi in the thc north of England said Holmes draw drawing drawing ing lug It front from the watch pocket It is mot 12 yet He has certainly l lEen an au early earl starter The puckered eyelids had begun to quiver and now no a pair of vacant gray STay grayeyes eyes yes looked up at us An instant later the man had scrambled on to his feet his liis face crimson with Shame dhame Forgive this weakness Mr Holmes 3 I i have been a little overwrought Thank ou If It I might have a glass of milk and a biscuit I have no doubt that I T should hould be better I came personally Mr rr Holmes in order to insure that you would return with me I feared that thata a o telegram would convince you u of the absolute urgency of the case When you ou are quite restored 41 I am quite well again I cannot im imagine imagine imagine agine how I came to be so to weak I T Tv v ish you ou Mr Holmes to come to with me by b the next train My ry fy friend shook his head My colleague Dr Watson could tell jou ou that we are very Ver busy bus at present 1 I am retained in this case ease of the Fer Ferrers FerreIS reIS Documents Do and the Abergavenny murder is coming up for trial Only a av ar avery v very ory r Important issue could call me from London ondon at present Important Our visitor threw up lIs hands Have Hae you heard nothing of ef A 1 the tIle abduction of the only son of or the Duke of nf f What the late cabinet minister Exactly We Ve had tried to keep it but tout of the papers but there was Aas some in the Globe last night I r thought it might have hav reached your Our ears Holmes shot out his long IonS thin arm armend armand end and picked out Volume H in his en ent t A i of ot reference sixth duke K G P 0 C half the alphabet Baron Beverly Beverl Earl DCarl of Carston dear me A what hat a list Ix Lord lArd rd lieutenant of since 1900 Married Edith daughter of Sir Charles diaries Appledore 1888 Heir and only t hild Lord Owns about m res Minerals In Lancashire and andales Wales ales Address Carlton Ter Jale hall ball arston Castle Ban Bangor go r Wales Vales Lord L rd of the Admiralty 1872 thief chief hie secretary of clr t state for Well YeU well this thAs tl s man is one of the greatest subjects of If the crown The Tho greatest and perhaps the v I am aware Mr Holmes take a a very ery high linein line In pro 1 1 matters and that you OU are pre prepared pared d to work for the works sake I Ima 3 ma lay ay tell you ou however that his grace race Sins has already intimated that a check for 1 oOOO will be handed over oyer to the he person who Aho can tell him where his son Is and mother nother 1000 to him who can nom nam i the 1 he man or men who have hae taken him himA him A It is 19 a princely offer said Holmes Holm Watson Vatson I think that we ie shall accompany accompany accompany pany Dr Huxtable back to the north of England lAnd tAnd now Dr Huxtable ble when you have consumed that milk you will kindly tell teU me what has hap happened happened happened when it happened how It hap happened happened happened and finally what Dr Thorn y I croft Huxtable of the time Priory school near has hasl to do with the matter and why he comes three days after an event the state of your our 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 hia eyes and the th color to his cheeks as he set bet himself with ith great vigor Igor and lucidity to explain the situation I must inform you ou gentlemen that the Priory is a preparatory school of which I am the founder and principal Sidelights on Horace may possibly recall m my name to your ur mem memories memories ories orles The Priory is without tion the best and most select preparatory preparatory preparatory tory school in England Lord Lever stoke the Earl of Blackwater Sir Cath Cathcart Cathcart Cathcart cart they all aU have their sons to me But I felt that my m school had reached its when three weeks ago the Duke of Hold Holder r rnest nest nesse e sent Mr James Wilder his secre secretary secretary secretary tary with the intimation that young Lord 10 years ears old his only son sonA A U S t i iJ I J r Jr l t r cr 1 Ld d A ll t TIt I P fw LOW R Ll I f OR ORI D s t rJ c t LAUH L LIl lL StooL s Jl t 6 f JL ii Ii r J ocr Holmes Map of the Neighborhood of the School and heir hair was Avas as about to be committed to tomy my charge Little did I think that this would be the prelude to the most mast crushing misfortune of m my life On May 1 the boy bo arrived that be being being being ing the beginning of the summer term He was a charming youth and he soon fell into our ways wa s I may tell you I trust that I am not indiscreet but half confidences are absurd In such a case that he was Aas not entirely happy happ at home It is an open secret that the dukes married life Ufe had not been a peaceful one and the matter mattel had ended I in a separation by b mutual consent the I duchess taking up her residence in the south of France This had bad occurred very cry shortly before and the boys bos sym sympathies symPathies are known to have been strong ly with Avith his mother He lie moped aft after after af t ter er her departure from Holder Holderness Holderness Holderness ness hall ball and it was Avas for this reason that the duke desired to send him to my m establishment In a fort fortnight fortnight fortnight night the boy was Avas quite at home with us and was Aas apparently absolutely happ happy He was w s last seen seen on the tIme night of May 15 that Is the night of or last Mon Monday Monday day da His room was Avas on the second floor and was Avas approached through another larger room in which two tAvo boys were ere sleeping These boys saw sav and heard nothing so that th t it is certain that young oung Saltre did slid not pass 1 out that way Avay His window nv was open and there therel l 1 is a stout tout ivy plant leading to the thc ground We Ve could trace no footmarks below but it is sure that this Is the only possible exit His absence was Avas dIscovered at 7 on Tuesday y morning His b ed had been slept in m He had dressed himself fully before going loing off in his usual school suit of black Eton jacket I and dark gray trousers There were I no signs that anyone had entered the room and It is quite certain that any allY I thing in the nature of cries or a no struggle struggle gle gb would have been heard since Caunter Gaunter the elder boy In the time Inner room is a very light sleeper When Lord disappearance was discovered I at once called a roll rollof rollof rollof of the whole establishment boys mas masters masters masters and servants It was Avas then that we AVO ascertained that Lord SalUre had not been alone in his flight Heidegger the German master was missing His room was Avas on the second floor at the farther end of the building facing the same way wv as Lord His bed had also been slept in but he had ap apparently apparently apparently gone away partly dressed since his shirt and socks were lying on the floor He had undoubtedly let him himself himsel himself self sel down by the lAy ivy for we could see the marks of his feet where he had landed on the th lawn His bicycle was Avas kept in a small shell shea this lawn and it ft also was gone Ho had bad been wIth me for two years and came with the best refer references references references but he was a silent morose man mannot mannot mannot not very popular either with masters or boys bo s No trace could be found of the fugitives and now nosy on Thursday morning we Ae are as ignorant as we wc were on Tuesday Tues a Inquiry was of course made at once at Hall It is only a few t miles away way a and we Imagined that In some sudden at attack attack attack tack of o homesickness he ho had gone back to his father but nothing had been heard of him The duke in great greatly greath ly h agitated and as to me you ou have haAe seen yourself the state of nervous pros prostration prostration prostration to which the suspense and the responsibility have haAe reduced me inc Mr Holmes if ever you put forward your full powers I implore you to do so now non for never in your life could you have haAe a case which Is more worthy of them Sherlock Holmes Ho mes had listened with Avith the utmost intentness to the statement of or the unhappy schoolmaster His drawn brows and amid the deep furrow be between between tween them showed that he needed no 4 c J 1 f I II r A i iJ I t I tf f a aS q S 1 ih c I itt S f 4 i I I I oP r l lw w i m I 1 f fI I r 4 r 4 t aa t A S 4 z 1 tT v k 4 jS I z r ai aim oJ m I f VI J The Duke D bake ke d I 1 and ad an His Secretary r exhortation to concentrate all his at upon a problem which apart from the tremendous t interests in involved involved I must appeal so directly to tp his love ove or of the complex and the unusual He now drew 0 out ut his notebook and jotted jot jotted jotted ted down one or two memoranda You have been very remiss in not I coming to me m sooner said he severe seere severely severely ly You start me inc on my investigation with Avith a very e serious handicap It Is in inconceivable inconceivable inconceivable conceivable for example that this th ivy hey and this lan lawn should have haye yielded nothing to an expert observer I I am not to blame Mr Holmes His grace was extremely desirous to avoid aol all public scandal He was afraid of oC I I Ills his hi family Unhappiness un being dragged before beCore the th world He has a deep hor her horror herror of anything of the kind I But there has bas been some official investigation in ip Yes sir and It has proved dis disappointing H c appointing An apparent clue was at a once obtained since a boy bOJ and a young man were reported to have ve been b en seen leaving a neighboring station by an early train Only last night we had news that the couple had been hunted down iu hi Liverpool and they proved to have no connection whatever with the matter in Jn hand Then it was that in itt my despair and disappointment after a sleepless night I came straight to you OU by the early train n nI I suppose the local investigation was relaxed while this false clue was being followed up UIt It was entirely dropped So that three days duys have been wast wasted wasted ed The affair has been most must deplorably deplorably 1 ably abl handled bandied I r feel it and admit it I And yet et time tile problem should ld be ca capable capable I pable of ultimate solution I 1 shall shoJI be bevery bevery very vcr happy to look into it Have you ou 1 been able to trace ce any connection be beI b tween the missing boy and this Ger German German I Iman man master None at all Was Tag he In the masters class No Xo he never exchanged a word with him so far as I know l nw That is certainly very Yer singular Had Hud I the boy bo a bicycle No NoVas Was Vas any an other bicycle missing No uNo In 18 that certain 1 Quite 00 Well Yen now no you ou do not mean to se suggest t that this German Gennan rode roda off upon a bicycle cle in iii the dead of the night bearing the boy in his arms Certainly CertaIn 1 not Then what is the theory in your our mind I TIme The he bicycle may nUL have ha e been a blind bUnd It may ma p have been hidden en so j and the pair gone off on foot I Quite so but bu It i an af ansurd ab absurd b surd does it not Were there other bicycles bIc in this shed I Several Severa Would he not have hidden couple 1 had he desired to give the idea ide they had gone off oft upon them themI T I suppose he would J Of course cOUlS he would ouM Tho The blind i theory wont u W ln do Rut But the mt i kz i J an admirable starting point for an in investigation investigation After Alter all an a bicycle cle is not an easy thing tIming to conceal or to destroy destro One other question Did anyone cull call en to see the boy o day ItY b foce hs r ruNo S SNo No uNo S Did he get any letters Jetters r Yes one letter From whom honl From his hI father Do uDo you joti open the boys bu s letters No uNo How do you ou know it was Avas from the father The coat of or arms was Avas on the envelope ope and it was Avas addressed in the dukes peculiar stiff hand Besides the th duke remembers having ha vIng written When had he a letter before that Not for fol several days doys Had he evet 1 one from France uNo No never neer You see the point of my m F ques of ot course Either the thc boy was Avas carried off by force for e or 01 He lie vent mt of or his own free will wm In the lat ter case you would expect that some prompting from outside would e needed to make so young oung a lad do such sucha a thing thinS If I he has had no visitors that prompting must have haNe come corne in let hence I try to find out who were his Ins correspondents ts tsI I fear I cannot help you much His only correspondent so fas Las as I know was ras his own father Vho wrote to him on the tIme very Aery day of or his disappearance Were the rela between father and amid son ion very friendly His grace fe I never very friendly with Avith anyone anone He is completely immersed in large public questions and is rather in inaccessible inaccessible accessible to all ordinary emotions But he was Avas always kind to the boy in his own OAn way Avay va But the thc sympathies of the Ule Blatter were with Avith the mother Yes Ye Did he say sa so soNo soNo soNo No The duke then Good heavens hoovens no Then how could you know I r I have haAe had some confidential ul talks with ith Mr James Jumes Wilder his nis IS gr es secretary It was Aas he who lio gave me rae the th information about Lord feel ings jugs I see sec By the A way ay that last letter of the tl dukes was Avas it found in ill the tIme boys bo s loom after he was Avas gone goneNo goneNo No he had taken it with Avith him I r think Mr lr Holmes it is time lime that we were vere leavIng Euston U I wIll Avill order a In a quarter of an hour we Ave shall shun be at your service If you are telegraphing home Mr Huxtable it would be well Avell to the people in your neighborhood to imagine that the inquiry is still s goIng In Inon on in Liverpool or wherever r else that red rt herring led your pack In the meantime I will |