Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-06-22
der ana that be IL not the murderer"
"No, the murderer has escaped"

sherlock Holmes smlIe0 denurply.
"Your grace can hardly have heard
Of any small reputation which I pos
sess or you would not imagine that II Is
40 easy to escape me. MFR. Reuben
Hayes was arrested at Chesterfield on
my information at II o'clock last night.
I had telegram from the head of the
local police before left the school this
morning."
The duke leaned back in his chair
and stared with amazement at my
friend.
you seem to have powers that are
hardly human" said he. 80 Reuben
Hayes Is taken? am right glad to
hear it II It will not react upon the fate
Of James,"
"Your secretary"
mo, sir; my son."
1t was Holmes turn to look aston.
ished.
II confess that this Ia entirely new to
me, your grace. must beg you to be
more explicit"
II will conceal nothing from you. I
agree with you that complete frank
ness, however painful 1t may be to me,
Is the best policy In this desperate stu
alton to which James folly and jeal-
ousy have reduced us. When I was a
very young man. Mr.. Holmes, I loved
with such love as comes only once in
lifetime. I offered the lady marriage,
but she refused 1t on the grounds that
such n match might mar my career
Had she lived would certainly never
have married any one else. She died
and left this one child, whom for her
sake have cherished and cared for. I
could not acknowledge the paternity to
the world, but I gave him the best of
educations, and since he came to man.
hood have kept him near my person.
He surmised my secret and has pre-
sumed ever since upon the claim which
he has upon me and upon his power Of
provoking scandal which would be
abh0rrent to me. His presence had
something to do with the unhappy Is
sue Of my marriage Above all. he
hated my young legitimate heir from
the first with persistent hatred.
"You may we'll ask me why, Under
these circumstances, I still kept James
under my roof. I answer that 1t was
because I could sec 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 sug-
gest and bring back to my memory.
,ot l.; T,,AY
40 much lest ne should do Arthur
that is, Lord Saltrn-n mischief that
dispatched him for safety to Dr.
Huxtable's school.
flames came into contact with this
fellow 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 cxtraordi-
nary way James became intimate with
him. He had always a taste for low
company. When James determined
to kidnap Lord Satire it was Of this
mans service that he nyailed himself.
You remember that I wrote to Arthur
upon that last day. Well. James open.
ed the letter and inserted a note ask
ing Arthur to meet him in a little wood
called the Ragged Shaw, which is near
to the school, lie uted the duchess
name and in that way got the boy to
come. That evening James bicycled
over-1 nm 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 awaiting him on the moor
and that II he would come back into
the wood at midnight he would find a
man with horse, who would take him
to her. Poor Arthur fell into the trap.
lie came to the appointment and found
this fellow Hayes with n led pony. Ar
thur mounted. and they set off togeth-
err. 1t appears though this James
only heard yestcrday-that they were
pursued. that Hayes struck the pur-
suer with his stick and that the man
died OF his injuries. Hayes brought
Arthur to his public house, the Fight
ing Cock, where he was confined in an
upper room. under the care OF Mrs.
Hayes, who Is kindly woman, but
entirely under the control of her brutal
husband.
"Wcll, Mr.. Holmes, that was the
state of affairs when l first saw you
two days ago. l had no more idea Of
the truth than you. You will ask me
what was James motive In doing such
deed. answer that there was a
great deal which was unrea Soning and
fanatical in the hatred which he bore
my heir. In his view he should him
self have been heir of all my estates,
and he deeply resented these social
laws which made it impossible. At the
same time he had definite motive al
so. He was eager that should break
the entail, and he was Of opinion that
1t lay In my power to do so. He intend
ed to make n bargain with me--to re-
store Arthur II l would break the en-
tail and so make it possible for the es-
tate to be left to him by will. He knew
we'll that l should never willingly in
woke the aid of the police against him.
/ say that he would have proposed such
n bargain to me, but did not actually
do 30. for events moved too quickly for
him. and he had not time to put his
plans into practice.
what brought all his wicked scheme
to wreck was your discovery Of this
man Heidegger's dead body. James
was seized with horror at the news. 1t
came to us yesterday as we sat to-