Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 36 Return 12
Looking back, among the many characters on Baker Street, the most sudden and unforgettable debut is Sunnift Huxtable, who has won master's and doctoral degrees.He is tall, majestic, dignified, calm and steady in one.The sound of the door closing as he entered suddenly caused the table to sway from side to side, and he swayed with it before collapsing on the floor, unconscious.

We watched him silently in amazement.Holmes placed a cushion under his head, and I hastened the brandy to his lips.He appeared to be overwhelmed with distress.

"What's the matter with him, Watson?" asked Holmes.

"Excessive exhaustion, probably due to hunger and fatigue." I felt for his pulse as I said, feeling that he was dying.

My companion took a train ticket from his pocket, and said: "Ticket for London and Macleton, North of England. It is not yet twelve o'clock, and he must have started early."

After a while, he opened his eyes slightly, his eyes dull and lifeless.Then he got up with shame on his face.

"Mr. Holmes, I am very tired. You had better give me a glass of milk and a biscuit now. I have come to you, Mr. Holmes, so that you can come with me yourself."

"Let's talk later..."

"I am now fully recovered, sir, and I beg you to take the next train to Macleton at once with me."

Holmes shook his head.

"We're busy right now. Is that an extremely important case?"

Our guest spread his hands in great excitement and said: "It is very important! Didn't you hear that the only son of Duke Holderez was suddenly robbed?"

"The former cabinet minister?"

"it's him."

My friend hastily reached for the volume "H" among the many references.

"'Holderrath, 1888th Duke, Lord Garter, Counselor to the Privy Council...'Ha! He has so many titles!' Married Sir Edith Charles Epoudol's daughter in 25. He was Sarah Heir and only son of Lord Urtle. He owned 1872 acres of land and owned mines in Lancashire and Wales. His residences were numerous: Carlton House, Holdereth House, Harlem, Wales Bangor and Caston Castle. Lord of the Admiralty in [-], was first Secretary of State ..., 'He was one of the most prestigious citizens of the kingdom.'

"And he is the richest. His lordship has already told me that he would give five thousand pounds to anyone who could tell where his son was taken; GBP."

"Ah, very generous indeed!" said Holmes. "I reckon we shall go to the North of England ourselves, Watson! Tell me, Mr. Doctor, what it is all about. Then tell me, you Convent School." Does the doctor have anything to do with this case? Why did it take us three days to ask for our help?"

After the guests drank the milk and ate the biscuits, they began to talk.

"The Abbey School is a preparatory school, the finest in England. I am its founder and headmaster. Three weeks ago the Duke sent his only son and heir, ten-year-old Lord Salter, to Come to us. Who would have thought that bad luck was creeping up on me.

"The boy came to school on May [-]st. He was very pleasant and got used to our life very quickly. He was not very happy at home. The Duke's married life was not happy. Then the two separated. Not long ago The Duchess went to the South of France. He has been morose since his mother left so the Duke sent him to my school. After two weeks of dating, he is visibly happy again.

"The last time I saw him was the night of NO.13 in May. He lived in an inner room on the second floor, and he could only be reached through another room where two children lived. The two children didn't feel the slightest. That's not where Urtl went. The window was open, and a strong ivy grew from the window to the ground. The window was the only way he could get out, but there was no footprint on the ground.

"At seven o'clock the next morning, he was found absent. His bed had been slept in, and he was fully dressed before leaving. There was no sign of anyone else entering the house, and no shouting or fighting was heard. This, Conte, who is a light sleeper outside, can totally attest to that.

"After he disappeared, I immediately called the whole school to roll the roll and found that the German teacher Heidig was also missing. He lived at the end of the second floor, facing the same direction as the children's room. Heidig's bed was also slept in, but he didn't Gone in shirt and socks. His tracks on the grass. His bike gone.

"Heidige has been teaching for two years. The comments on the letter of introduction are very good, but he is not good at speaking. Until now, it is already Thursday morning, and there is still no news like Tuesday. We went to the Duke's house after the accident. The Duke is also extremely concerned Anxiety. I implore you, Mr. Holmes, to settle the case."

My companion listened attentively to the story of the poor headmaster, and was absorbed in thinking.The generous remuneration is of course one aspect, but what he is more interested in is the complexity and extraordinary nature of this case.

He said dissatisfiedly, "Why didn't you come to me earlier?"

"Don't blame me, Mr. Holmes. His Excellency wants to avoid those rumors as much as possible."

"Haven't the authorities already started an investigation?"

"Yes, sir, but it turned out to be rather unsatisfactory. It was quick to get the obvious clue, for a young man and a child were reported to have been seen on an early train at a nearby railway station. We only learned last night , they had nothing to do with the case. Then I hurried here by car."

"Now that this false lead has been followed, I think the local investigation may be relaxed."

"It stopped completely."

"Isn't this a waste of three days?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the relationship between the child and the German teacher?"

"do not know."

"Is the child a student in his class?"

"No, and I heard that the child never said a word to him."

"In this case, does the child have a bicycle?"

"No."

"So was there another bike lost?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"affim."

"Then that means, the German didn't abduct the child and ride away in the middle of the night, did he?"

"Yes, definitely not."

"What is your explanation for this?"

"It's likely that the bike was used as a cover-up."

"It's entirely possible, but it's a little unreasonable to use a bicycle as a cover! Are there other cars in the shed?"

"There are a few more."

"Why didn't he hide both cars in order to make it appear they were riding away?"

"I think so."

"Of course he would. The cover-up doesn't make sense, but we can use it as a starting point to investigate. Anyway, it's not hard to figure out where to hide a car or wreck a car. Also, before the child disappeared Did anyone visit him one day?"

"No."

"And the letters? Did he get them?"

"I received one."

"Who sent it to him."

"Duke Holdereth."

"Do you usually open his letters and read them?"

"Do not."

"There is his family crest on the letter, and the handwriting on it is the Duke's. The Duke also said that he wrote this letter."

"Are there any other letters before this one?"

"Never had."

"The child was either robbed, or he ran away by himself. If it is the latter case, only such a young child will do such a stupid thing under the instigation of the outside world. Since no one has come to see him, then the instigation must come Confident, so I wonder who is corresponding with him."

"I can't do anything about it. I only know that the only person who communicates with him is his father."

"It just so happens that the letter was written on the day of the disappearance. What is the relationship between the father and son?"

"He devotes all his energies to public issues, and he always doesn't care much about ordinary personal affairs. But the Duke said he was very good to the boy."

"But does the child like the mother more?"

"Yes."

"Did the child tell you that?"

"No."

"Could it be the Duke who said it?"

"Not at all."

"Then how do you know?"

"Mr. Wilde, the Duke's secretary."

"Then, will the letter be found after the child is gone?"

"He took it away. I reckon we must go to Euston Station, sir."

"I'll call a cab and meet in fifteen minutes. Mr. Huxtable, you send a telegram and let them follow up with the investigation, in Liverpool, or wherever that false lead leads you to think. Meanwhile, I I will do some investigation and interview work around your school, and I hope to find out a little more clues."

We got there that night.The butler put a business card on the table and whispered a few words in the host's ear, and the doctor turned around excitedly.

"The duke is here too, and he and Mr. Wilde are in the study. Come in, gentlemen, and let me introduce you."

The Duke was tall, dignified, well-dressed, with a long, thin face and a long, curved nose.He was pale, with a long, thin red beard, and the chain of his watch-chain hung in front of his waistcoat.The Duke stood in the center of the hearthrug, looking indifferent.His private secretary, Wilde, is short in stature, alert and intelligent.His tone was sharp and confident.He said:

"Dr. Huxtable, I came this morning, but I was a little late. I heard that you are going to invite Mr. Holmes. How can you not ask the Duke for instructions?"

"But the police here couldn't..."

"The Duke does not think that the police are useless."

"But sir, then..."

"Your Excellency thinks that the fewer people who know about it, the better."

The doctor said with a grave face, "Very well, then, I will immediately ask Mr. Holmes to take the train back to London tomorrow morning."

My companion didn't mind: "No need. The air here is very good, so we want to stay here for a few days. It's up to you whether we will stay at your school, or in the village hotel?"

"I agree with Mr. Wilde, Mr. Doctor," said the duke, "but since you have told it to Mr. Holmes, we shall ask his help. Mr. Holmes, I should like to have you come and live with me."

"Thank you, Lord Duke, I think it would be better to stay at the scene of the incident."

"Then whatever you want."

"Now I want to ask you, why do you think your son suddenly disappeared mysteriously?"

"Not sure, sir."

"Excuse me, do you think your wife has anything to do with it?"

"I don't think so." He paused.

"Has anyone blackmailed you so far?"

"No, sir."

"And, my lord, you wrote him a letter on the day of the incident."

"Not the day, but the day before the incident."

"Yes, but he got it the next day, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Did you say something in your letter that unsettled him and caused him to do it?"

"No, sir, absolutely not."

"Did you send the letter yourself?"

Secretary Wilde answered first, "I sent it."

"You are sure that this is one of those letters?"

"There must be, because I saw it."

"Then how many letters does His Excellency the Duke write a day?"

"Twenty or thirty letters. I have a lot of correspondence, but does it have anything to do with this case?"

"There may be something," said Holmes.

The duke went on: "I have the police watching the south of France. It is also possible that he has gone to his mother. Monsieur Doctor, we must go back."

Although Mr. Holmes wanted to ask some other questions, the nobleman suddenly proposed to return home.

After they left, my companion immediately launched an investigation.

After repeatedly checking the child's room, we confirmed that he escaped through the window, and the German teacher's room and belongings did not provide any more clues.Footprints left on the grass showed that the German teacher had gone away during the night.

Holmes left the lodgings himself, and did not return until after eleven o'clock.He got a large map of the district, and smoked and pored over it, sometimes pointing out points of particular note with his pipe.

He said: "Watson, the facts of the case show that there are certain places on the map which are quite peculiar.

"Look at the map. This is the Abbey School, and I've stuck a needle in it. It's a main road running east-west, passing the school gate. There's no side road within a mile of either side of the school. So, the two men Only this way."

"This should be."

"It has been found out that no one walked the road on the east side on the night of the accident. A rural policeman can fully confirm this. Then there is no need to consider the east side of the school. Then look at the west side, there is a Red Bull Hotel on the west side, The proprietress was sick and sent people to wait for the doctor on the main road until the next morning, but they also said they hadn’t seen anyone. In this way, these two people didn’t go on the main road at all.”

"And what about bicycles?" I asked rhetorically.

"It occurred to me that if they hadn't taken the main road, they must have gone through the country either to the north or the south of the school. Now let's imagine the two cases separately. To the south of the school is a large cultivated field, divided into small It is a small piece of land with a stone wall in the middle, and it is impossible to ride a bicycle on such ground. To the north of the school, there is a small forest called Xiaogang. A little further away is a large rolling wilderness called the Lower Jill Wilderness. The Duke’s Mansion is in On one side of this moor, about ten miles by road, six miles through moor. The place is a very deserted country, with only a church, a few farmhouses, and an inn. It is obvious that we should look northwards. right."

"You haven't mentioned the car yet?"

(End of this chapter)