The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-05-18

$1,000 70" sOoS - y w.
But Holmes smiled and shook his head
II fear. your grace. that matters cal
hardly be arranged so easily. There !
the death of this schoolmaster to be &C
counted for"
But James knew nothing of that. Yol
cannot hold him responsible for that. 1
was the work of this brutal ruffian whom
he had the misfortune to employ"
Il must take the view. your grace, tina
when a man embarks upon a crime, he !:
morally guilty of any other crime which
may spring from it"
Morally, Mr.. Holmes. No doubt yo,
are right. But surely not in the eyes O
the law. A man cannot be condemned fol
a murder at which he was not present
and which he loathes and abhors as muct
as you do. The instant that ne heard il
he made a complete confession to me. sc
filled was he with horror and remorse
He lost not an hou in breaking entirely
with the murderer. Oh, Mr.. Holmes, you
must save him-you must same him!
tell you that you must saw him." The
duke had dropped the last attempt at sell
command. and was pacing the room with
a .convulsed face and with his clenched
hands raving in the air. AT last he mas
tered himself, and sat down once more al
his desk. Il appreciate our conduct in
coming here before you spoke to anyone
else" said he. AT least, we may take
counsel how far we can minimize this
hideous scandal
Exactly" said Holmes. II think. your
grace, that this can only be don by
absolute frankness between us. 1 am dis
posed to help your grace to the best OF
my ability. but. in order to do SO, I must
understand to the last detail how the mat
ter stands. I realize that your words ap-
piled to Mr.. James Wilder. and tina he is
not the murderer"
NO. the murderer has escaped"
Sherlock Holmes smiled demurely.
Your grace can hardly have heard of
any small reputation which / 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. I mad a telegram
from the head Of the local police before
j left the school this morning.
The duke leaned back in his chair and
stared with amazement at my friend.
You seem to have overs that are
hardly human said he. so Reuben
Hayes is taken? I am right glad to hear
1t, If it will not react upon the fate OF
James,"
Your Secretary?"
mo, sir: my son."
1t was Holmes turn to look astonished.
II confess that this is entirely new to
me, Your grace. 1 must beg you to be
more explicit"
II will conceal nothing from you. 1
agree with you that complete f~rankness,
painful 1t may be to me, is the
best policy in this desperate situation to
which James folly and jealousy nave re-
duced us. When I was a very young man.
Mr.. Holmes, 1 loved with such a love as
comes only once in a lifetime. I offered
the lady marriage, but she refused it on
the grounds that such a match might mar
my career. Had she lived. l would GER
tainly never nave married anyone else.
She died, and left this one child, whom for
her sake I have cherished and cared for.
J. could not acknowledge the paternity to
the world, but 1 gave him the best of
educations, and since he came to manhood
l have kept him near my person. He sur
prised my secret, and has presumed ever
since upon the claim which he has upon
me, and upon his power of provoking a
which would be abhorrent to me.
His presence had something to do with
unhappy issue Of my marriage. Above all,
he hated my young legitimate heir from
the first with a persistent hatred. You
we'll ask me why, under these cir
cumstances, I still kept James under my
roof. l answer that it was because I
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
was not one of them which
he could not suggest and bring back to
my memory. I could not send him away.
But 1 feared SO much lest he should do
Arthur-that is, Lord Saltire-a mischief,
l dispatched him for safety to DR..
school.
James came into contact with this
fellow Hayes, because the man was a
of mine, and James acted as agent.
fellow was a rascal from the be-
ginning, but, in some extraordinary way,
James became intimate with him. He had
a taste for low When
James determined to kidnap Lord SAL
tire, 1t was of this mans service that he
himself. You remember that 1
wrote to Arthur upon that last day. Well.
James opened the letter Ind inserted a
note asking Arthur to meet him in a lit
tie 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
Il am, telling. you what he has himself
confessed to me-and he told Arthur,
whom he met in the wood, that his moth
er longed to see him. hat she was await
Ing him on the moor, and that If he would
come back into the wood at midnight he
would find a man with a horse, who would
him to her. Poor Arthur fell INTO
the .rap. He came to the appointment.
and found this fellow Hayes with a led
Arthur mounted. and they set off
together. 1t appears-thouSh 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
juries. Hayes brought Arthur to his pub
lie house. the Fighting Cock. where he
was confined In an upper room. under the