Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 100 The Return (11)
Holmes stood up and threw the cigarette butt into the fireplace. "My senses have always been dull, Watson," he said. "You are reporting to me that the cyclist was adjusting his tie in the bushes. Yes. But we are very lucky to have such a strange incident, and from a certain point of view, it is the only strange case in the world. I saw three policemen coming from the driveway. I am very happy Rejoice, the little groom walks as fast as they do. Therefore, neither the poor false priest nor the interesting bridegroom shall be brought to justice. I think by your medical power, Watson, you can restore her Well, we will send her back to her parents. If she is still not recovered, you can tell her that we will send a telegram to the young electrician of the Midland Company, which may help her. As for you, Mr. Carruthers, I think you This action has done the utmost to make amends. This is my business card, if we can help you during the trial, please keep in touch at any time."

In those ensuing events, as the reader may have noticed, I have often had a hard time polishing my narrative, and writing those quaint final details the reader might expect.Each case is the prelude to another, and the moment the moment is over, the characters withdraw from our chaotic lives.However, I found a draft of the case, and at the end there is this brief summary that Miss Violet Smith did inherit the large fortune, and now she is the majority shareholder of Morton and Kennedy, as well Wife of the young electrician Cyril Morton.Williamson and Woodley were both tried for abduction and assault, with Williamson getting seven years and Woodley ten years.I haven't heard anything about Carruthers.I trust, however, that the court will not take too harsh a view of Carruthers' injury to such a villain as Woodley, and I think the judge's sentence of a few months' imprisonment will suffice.The Mysterious Disappearance of the Little Duke
We have seen the arrival and departure of many extraordinary personalities on the small stage of Baker Street.But in all memory, the first appearance of the master's and Ph.D.'s Sarnnift Huxtable made people feel the most sudden and surprising.A few seconds after the small card, which could hardly hold all his titles, was delivered, he himself followed.He was tall, imposing, and dignified, as if he were calm and composed all at once.But after he went inside and closed the door, he wobbled against the table before collapsing to the floor.The tall and mighty body fell on the bearskin blanket in front of the fireplace in an instant, and he passed out.

We stood up quickly, and for a moment, we looked at this huge ship-like person in amazement and silently.Evidently there was a violent, deadly tempest in the vast ocean of his life.Holmes hastily thrust a cushion under his head, and I hastily put the brandy to his lips.His gloomy and pale face is full of sad wrinkles, his eyes are closed tightly, the eye sockets are black, the corners of his mouth are loosely drooping, and his beard is not trimmed, which looks uneven.To be sure, there lies before us a man overwhelmed by sorrow.

"What is the matter, Watson?" asked Holmes.

"Extreme exhaustion, probably caused by hunger and over-fatigue." As I spoke, I took his tiny pulse and felt that the flow of his life had changed from a gushing spring to a trickling river.

Holmes took out a train ticket from the man's watch pocket and said, "This is a round-trip ticket from Macleton in the north of England to London. It's not yet twelve o'clock, and he must have got up very early." .”

After a while, his closed eyelids began to tremble, and he raised his head, looking at us with those gray dull eyes, and then he struggled to get up, flushed with shame.

"Mr. Holmes, please forgive my disrespect just now. I am really very tired. I think you had better give me a glass of milk and a few biscuits first, so I may feel better. Thank you, sir, and I personally I came here to ask you to come with me, the urgency of this case is so urgent that it cannot be clearly explained by telegram."

"Wait a minute, let's talk after you recover better..."

"I am quite well now. I never thought I should be so weak, Mr. Holmes, and I want you to take the next train with me to Macleton."

My friend shook his head.

"My companion, Dr. Watson, will tell you what we are doing. The Firth papers case is still pending with me, and the Abagavenny murder case will be in court now, unless there is something more serious. If the case happened, I would never have left London."

Our guest threw out his hands and shouted: "A big deal! The only son of the Duke of Holderness has been kidnapped, and you don't know anything about it?"

"What are you talking about, is that the former cabinet minister?"

"Yes, we tried to keep it from the press, but the gossip was played out at the Globe last night, and I thought you might have heard a little of it by now."

Holmes hastily rummaged through the many reference materials, and reached for the "H" volume.

"'Holderness, 1900th Duke, Lord Garter, Privy Councilor...' Enough titles!' Baron Bowery, Earl of Caston...'My God, countless titles.' From Sheriff of Harlem from 1888 and married Sir Edith Charles Epoudor's daughter in 25. He is also the sole heir and only son of Lord Salter and owns 1872 acres of land , there are mines in Lancashire and Wales. The address is Carlton Residence, Holderness House, Harlem County; Wales, Bangor, Caston Castle. Served as Lord of the Admiralty in [-], once As first secretary of state...' he was indeed one of the king's greatest subjects."

"Not only the greatest but also the richest, Mr. Holmes. I understand that you are an expert in this field, and you will use all your strength to solve this matter. But I can tell you, the Duke said, who can find out that his son has been kidnapped?" A huge sum of £[-] will be given to anyone in any place, and another £[-] will be given if the name of the kidnapper can be revealed."

Holmes said: "Such a generous reward! Watson, I think we should go to the north of England with Dr. Huxtable! Doctor, please finish your milk first, and then tell us what happened. .And what do you have to do with this case? You haven't trimmed your beard for a long time, why did you think of us only three days after the incident, and want us to contribute a little bit?"

After the milk and the biscuits our guest's eyes shone brightly, and his face slowly became rosy and lustrous, he began to tell the whole story with force and clarity.

"Sir, I must first declare that the Abbey School is a preparatory school. I have seen my name in it. Abbey School is generally the best preparatory school in England. The Earl of Levastock of Blackwater and Sir Khakicarter Somers, among others, have entrusted their sons Here it is. Three weeks ago the Duke of Holderness had his secretary, Mr. Wilde, say that he also wished to entrust to me his only son and only heir, the ten-year-old Lord Salter. At that time, I realized that the peak period of the school had arrived, and I never thought that this was the prelude to my tragic fate.

"The boy arrived at the school on the first of May. The summer term had just begun. He was a charming little boy, and he settled in quickly with our life here. I believe—I'm careful what I say and do, but what happened After this unfortunate incident, I should never hide anything more-he was not happy at home at all. The duke's married life was not peaceful. Will be living in the south of France for a long time, this incident did not take long. We learned that the child had a very strong affection for his mother, and after her mother left him, he was morose all day long, and the duke sent him to us as a last resort. He came to our school, he has only been in our school for two weeks, and he is very familiar with us, and he has a very happy time.

"The last time I saw him was on the night of the thirteenth of May, which was a Monday. He lived in the inner room on the second floor and had to pass through the large room where the two children lived. That night, The two children didn't notice the change in their surroundings at all. I don't think the little guy came out of here. His window was open that day. There are no footprints, so the only possible way for him to get out is through this window.

"We found him missing at seven o'clock on Tuesday morning, but his bed showed signs of sleeping, and he was obviously dressed before he left, which is the school uniform he usually wears. It was a black Eton jacket, The trousers were dark gray. There was no indication that anyone had entered his room, and if there were shouting and tearing, they must have been heard because the older of the two children who lived in the outer room slept particularly well. light.

"After discovering that Lord Salter was missing, I immediately called all the teachers and students in the school to roll the roll, including the helpers. Only then did we confirm that Lord Salter had not left alone, because the German teacher Heidegger had also disappeared. He The room he lived in was at the end of the second floor, facing the same direction as Lord Salter's room. Someone had slept in his bed, and there were still shirts and socks thrown on the floor. It was obvious that he left without getting fully dressed. He must have gone down the ivy, and there were his tracks on the grass there. His bicycle, which was in the shed by the lawn, was gone then.

"Heidegger has been with me for two years, and the letters of introduction he brought with him spoke very well of him when he came. But he was a man of few words and was not very popular among teachers and students. The fugitive There has been no sign of him at all, and it has been three days now, and nothing has been found like Tuesday. After the incident happened that day, we hurried to inquire at Holderness House. It was only a few miles away from our school. Thinking of him being homesick, he went home desperately, but there was still no news from there. The Duke was very anxious, and I, you two have seen me like this now, the responsibility for this incident and the resulting The apprehensions it has caused have driven me out of my wits. Help me, I beg you, Mr. Holmes, for this case will do you great good."

Sherlock Holmes listened intently to the account of the unfortunate headmaster.His brows were furrowed, which showed that he was thinking about this matter with all his strength, and he didn't need my persuasion at all.In addition to being well paid, the case aroused his interest in complex and difficult cases.He took out his notebook and wrote down a few important facts.

He said sternly: "You are too sloppy. You didn't come to me earlier. You didn't let me investigate until now that you found a great obstacle. If an expert can't find a little clue in the ivy and grass , which is unimaginable."

"It's not entirely my fault, Mr. Holmes. His Excellency wants to avoid gossip. He is afraid of making public the misfortunes of his family. He hates the rumors of some people."

"Haven't the authorities already taken action on this?"

"Yes, sir, but it turned out to be a real disappointment. One of the obvious leads they got was that two people, one large and one small, were seen leaving the nearby station on an early train. We only found out last night, These two people have nothing to do with this case. I was in such a terrible mood that I came to you after a sleepless night and took the train."

"I would like to know if local investigations have been relaxed while those two men are being tracked down?"

"The investigation has not been pursued at all."

"So these precious three days were wasted in vain. The case was handled so stupidly."

"I think so too."

"But in the end the case can be solved. I like to study this case. What do you know about the relationship between the child and the German teacher?"

"I don't understand at all."

"Is this kid from the class he teaches?"

"No, and according to other children, he has never spoken to this teacher."

"It's a strange situation. Does the kid have his own bicycle?"

"No."

"Besides the teacher's, are there any other bicycles missing?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then your opinion is that the German teacher didn't take the child away in the middle of the night, did he?"

"No, definitely not."

"Then how do you explain the present situation?"

"It's very likely that the bike was a hoax. They hid it somewhere and the two of them walked off together."

"Perhaps so, but it's absurd to use a bicycle as a cover, isn't it? Are there any other bicycles in the shed?"

"There are a few more."

"If he wanted people to think he was riding a bicycle, wouldn't he have hidden two?"

"I thought maybe he would."

"Of course, it's hard to make sense as a cover. But this episode can be used as a starting point for an investigation. All in all, a bicycle is very difficult to put away or destroy. The last question is, the day before the child disappeared. Have you seen him?"

"No."

"Did he get a letter that day?"

"Yes, there is one."

"Who sent it?"

"His father."

"Have you ever opened his letters?"

"No."

"Then how do you know it's from his father?"

"His family crest is on the envelope, and the handwriting is so strong and powerful. Also, the Duke said he wrote a letter to him."

"When did he get any other letters before this one?"

"About a few days before this."

"Has he ever had a letter from France?"

"Never."

"You should know that it makes sense for me to ask these things. If the child was not kidnapped, then he ran away from home voluntarily. If the situation belongs to the latter, you must be able to imagine that if he was not instigated by the outside world, so young How could a boy do such a foolish thing. If no visitor ever came to him, it must have been mentioned in a letter, so I must find out the status of his correspondence."

"Perhaps I can't be of much help. As far as I know, he only corresponds with his father."

"And it happened that on the day he disappeared, his father wrote to him. Is the relationship between their father and son so close?"

"The duke is a man whose mind is entirely on important matters, and who is not intimate with anyone. He is indifferent to ordinary feelings. But as far as the duke himself is concerned, he has treated the boy very well."

"Is the child's affection on his mother's side?"

"It is indeed the case."

"Has the child ever told you these things?"

"there has never been."

"And the duke himself?"

"Oh, he never mentioned it either!"

"Then how do you know?"

"It was Mr. James Wilde, the Duke's secretary, who told me in private. It was he who told me the child's emotional journey."

"I see. May I ask again, was the last letter sent by the Duke found in the house after the child left?"

"Not at all. He took the letter with him. Mr. Holmes, I think we should start for Euston Station."

"I'll call for a carriage, and we'll meet again in fifteen minutes. Mr Huxtable, if you want to send a telegram first, you'd better let those around you think that the investigation is still going on, and in Liverpool Well, or wherever that false clue leads you to think. In the meantime, I need to do a little work around your school, surreptitiously, and perhaps the traces haven't disappeared there. Watson and I, old hounds, are still It smells a little weird."

We reached Peak that night, the seat of Mr. Huxtable's famous school, and the air was fine.It was dark when we got there.A business card was placed on the table in the hall, the butler whispered a few words to the master, the doctor turned around with an extremely excited expression.

He said: "The Duke is with me. He came with Mr. Wilde and is in the study. Come in, gentlemen, and I will introduce you to him."

I am very familiar with the pictures of this politician, but the pictures are very different from him.He is tall and mighty, dignified, well-dressed, with a long and thin face, and a curved and long nose.His face was pale and colorless, like a dead man, and he was even more frightening against the sparse red beard. The long beard fell on the white vest on the chest, and the shining watch chain in front of the vest was even more special. It just appeared in front of us.He stood on the hearth rug, staring at us coldly.The young man standing beside him was, without guessing, his secretary Wilde.Wilde's figure is not burly, his expression is very tense, his eyes are light blue, and his emotions are palpable.He immediately began his speech with a biting but affirmative tone.

"I have been to you this morning, Dr. Huxtable, but I have not been able to prevent you from going to London to ask that Mr. Sherlock Holmes to take up the case. Doctor, why don't you first consult with the Duke?" Taking action by yourself? This is simply unacceptable to adults."

"Yes, I know the police can't..."

"Your Excellency the Duke absolutely does not think that the police are no longer able to handle it."

"But, Mr. Wilde, your..."

"Dr. Huxtable, you should understand very well that your excellency is worried that this matter will be spread, and he wants fewer people to know about it."

"It will not be difficult to change this arrangement," said the intimidated Doctor. "Mr. Sherlock Holmes can take the morning train back to London to-morrow."

(End of this chapter)