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