The Duke of Holdernesse offers a reward of £5000 to anyone who can tell him where his son is.
Holmes receives a visit from Dr. Thorneycroft Huxtable, the founder and principal of Priory School in the north of England. He asks Holmes to come back to Mackleton with him to look into the kidnapping of one of his pupils, the son of the Duke of Holdernesse, who has vanished during the night. The Duke has offered a reward of £5000 to anyone who can tell him where his son is and a further £1000 to anyone who can tell him who his kidnappers are.
The German master, Heidegger, has also gone missing, along with his bicycle. Holmes travels to the school to investigate, meeting James Wilder, the Duke’s personal secretary and exploring the grounds for clues. One single set of bicycle tracks are found before Holmes and Watson make a tragic discovery…
Dr. Thorneycroft Huxtable- how’s that for a name?! This wasn’t the most exciting of stories, even though the twist at the end was a surprise. I never quite felt a sense of urgency that would surround a case of a missing child, and coupled with the Duke’s requirement for secrecy, there was a lot that was fuelling my suspicions. The use of the cow tracks was a surreal yet clever addition but still did not quite elevate the story for me towards the greats.
Tomorrow is The Adventure of Black Peter…