ched its zenith when,
three weeks ago, the duke of holdernesse sent mr. james
wilder, his secretary, with the intimation that young lord
saltire, 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 grey 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 holdernesse hall. it is only a few miles
away, and we imagined that in some sudden attack of
home-sickness 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 responsibility
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 note-book 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
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