Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-11

| realize that your words apnIied IN Mr.
James Wilder, and that he is not the mur.
derer" O 'it0 1iiei
NO, the murderer has escaped',
sherlock Holmes smiled demureIv
tour grace can hardly have heard of
any small reputation which 1 possess. or
you would not imagine that it is so easy TO
escape me: Mr. Reuben Hayes was ar
rested at Chesterfield, on my information
at IL o'clock last night. 1 had a telegram
from the head Of the local police before |
left the school this morning.
me duke leaned back in his chair and
stared with amaZement at my friend
You seem to have powers that are hard
~ human SAD ne. SO Reuben Hayes is
taken? am right glad to hear it, if it will
not react upon the fate of James"
y our secretary?'
NO, sir, my son.
1t was Holmes turn to look astonished
Il confess that this is entirely new to me.
your grace. must beg you to be more ex
plicit.''
Il VIII conceal nothing from YOU I agrea
with you that complete frankness, how
ever painful it may be to me, is the best
policy in this desperate situation to which
James folly and jealousy have reduced us,
When was very young man, Mr.
Holmes l loved with such a love as comes
only once in a lifetime. / offered the lady
marriage, but she refused it on the grounds
that such match might mar my career.
Had she lived, l would certainly never
nave married any one else. She died and
left this one child, whom for her sake I
have cherished and cared for 1 could not ac-
knowledge the paternity to the world but I
gave him the best of Quotations and since
he came to manhood 1 have kept him near
my person. He surprised my secret and
has presumed ever since upon the claim
Whlch ne mas upon me, and upon his power
OF provoking scandal which would be alb
horrent to me. His presence had ,'omethng
to do with the unhappy issue of my mar
rage. Above all, he hated my young legiti-
a a no f111 fret xxytfh
hatred. You may well ask me why under
these circumstances still kept James I'M
der my roof. l answer that it was because
l could see his mothers 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. / could not send him away. But
/ feared so much lest he should do Arthur
that is, Lord Saltire-a mischief, that dis
patched him for safety to DIR. Huxtab,e' s
school.
James came into contact with this fell
low 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 be-
came intimate with him. He had always a
| taste for low company. When James de-
termined to kdnap Lord Satire, it was of
| this mans service that he availed himself.
You remember that / wrote to Arthur upon
| that last day. Well. James opened the let
ter and inserted a note asking Arthur TO
meet him in little wood called the Ragged
Shaw, which Is near to the school. He
used the duchess 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
1 awaiting him the moor, and that If he
| would come back into the wood at midnight
| he would find man with horse. who
| would take him to her. Poor Arthur fell
| into the trap. He came to the appoint
| rnent, and found this fellow Hayes with a
| led pony. Arthur mounted and they set
! off together 1t appears-though this James
| only heard yesterday-that they were pur-
| sued that Hayes struck the pursuer with
| his stick and that the man died of his In
| iuries Hayes brought Arthur to his pub
/ lie house the Fighting 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 / first saw you two days
ago i had no more idea of the truth than
: you You will ask me what was James
| motive in doing such a deed l answer
| that there was great deal which was I'M
! reasoning and fanatical in the hatred which
| he bore my heir. In his view he should
| himself have been heir to all my estates
| and he deeply resented those social laws
| which made ii impossible. At the same
| time he had definite motive also He
was eager that l should break the entail
! and he was of opinion that II lay In my
/ power to do so. He intended to make a
| bargain with me-to restore Arthur IL ]
| would break the entail, and so make 1t pos
| sble for the estate to be left to him by
| will He knew we'll that / should never
| willingly invoke the aid of the police against
| him. l say that he would have proposed
| such a bargain to me; but he did not actu-
ally do so. for eyents moved too quickly