Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-05-31

| theory won't do But the incident h an admirable starting point for an in vestigation. After all, bicycle is not an easy thing to conceal or to destroy. One other question. Did any one call to see the boy on the day before he disappearedT ] No"
 Did he get any lettersY' Yes, one letter" l /"From whom?
 From his father"
 Do you open the boys lettersT l "No."
 "How do you know it was from the father?
 l The coat of arms was on the en- velope, and if was addressed in the duke's peculiar stiff hand. Besides, the duke remembers having written"
 When had he letter before that" I Not for several days"
 Had he ever one from France" No, never.". You see the point of my questions, of course. Either the boy was carried l off by force or he went of his own free will. In the latter case you would ex- l pect that some prompting from outside would be needed to make so young lad do such thing. If he has had no visitors. that prompting must have come in letters; hence I try to find out who were his correspondents"
 T fear cannot help you much His , only correspondent, so far as l know, 1 was his Ayn father" "Who wrote to him on the very day of his disappearance. Were the rela- l tions between father and son very i friendly
 His grace is never very friendly with any one He is completely im- mersed in large public questions and IS l rather inaccessible to all ordinary emo tions. But he was always kind to the boy in his own way" But the sympathies of the latter were with the mother?"
 "Yes."
 Did he say sop No"
 'The duke, them"
 Good heavens. mo-"
 "Then how could you know?"
 q have had some confidential talks with MT. James Wilder, his grace's secretary. It was he who gave me the information about Lord Saltire's feel ings."
 T see. By the way. that last letter of the duke's--was it found in the boys room after he was gone?'' No: he had taken 1t with him. think, Mir. Holmes, it Is time that we were leaving for Euston."
 "I will order a four wheeler. In quarter of an hour we shall be at your service If you are telegraphing home, Dr. Huxtable, 1t would be well to al- low the people in your neighborhood to imagine that the inquiry is still going on in Liverpool or wherever else that red herring led your pack. In the mean time I will do a little quiet work at your own doors. and perhaps the scent is not so cold but that two old hounds like Watson and myself may get a sniff of it.'
 That evening found us in the cold, bracing atmosphere of the Peak coun- try, in which Dr. Huxtable's famous school is situated. It was already dark when we reached 1t. A card was lying on the hall table. and the butler whis-; pered something to his master. who turned to us with agitation In every heavy feature
 "The duke is here" said he. The duke and Mir. Wilder are in the study. Come. gentlemen. and I will introduce you"
 was. of course familiar with the pictures of the famous statesman. but the man himself was very different from his representation. He was tall and stately person. scrupulously dressed. with drawn, thin face and nose which was grotesquely curved and long. His complexion was of dead pallor. which was more startling by contrast with long. dwindling over his white waistcoat, with his watch chain gleaming through it's fringe. Such was the stately presence who looked stonily at us from the cen ter of Dr. Huxtable's hearth rug. Be- side him stood very young man. whom I understood to be Wilder. the private secretary. He was small. nerv- ons. alert. with intelligent light blue eyes and mobile features. It was he who at once. in an incisive and positive tone. opened the conversation.
 ''I called this morning. Dr. Huxtable. too late to prevent you from starting for London. I learned that your object was to invite Mir. Sherlock Holmes to undertake the conduct of this case His grace Is surprised. Dr. Huxtablc. that you should have taken such a step without consulting him"
 When learned that the police had faIled''-
 His grace is by no means convinced that the police have failed"
 ''But surely. Mir. Wilder
 You are we'll aware. Dr. Huxtable. that his grace Is particularly anxious to avoid all public scandal He prefers to take as few people as possible into | his confidence
 The matter can be easily remedied." tt.x 4ao$- ssNf~