At eleven o'clock the next morning Holmes and I were in the Duke's office at Holdernesse Hall. Mr Wilder came to speak to us.

The Duke can see no one today,' he said to Holmes.

Holmes looked at him coldly. 'The Duke can see me,' he said. 'Please tell him that I am here.'

After half an hour the Duke of Holdernesse came into the room. He looked older-tired and ill.

Well, Mr Holmes?' he said.

Holmes looked at James Wilder. 'I can speak more freely without your secretary here, sir.'

Very well,' said the Duke tiredly. 'Please, James...'

James Wilder gave Holmes an angry look, but he went out of the room and shut the door.

Holmes looked at the Duke. 'You are offering, I hear, five thousand pounds for news of your son.'

True.'

And another thousand pounds for the name of the kidnapper.'

True.'

My friend smiled. 'I see your cheque book on the table, sir. I would like to have your cheque for six thousand pounds.'

Mr Sherlock Holmes,' the Duke said angrily, 'what is this about? Do you have news of my son, or not?'

Oh, yes,'said Holmes.

The Duke's eyes never left Holmes's face. 'Where is my son?' he said quietly.

He is-or was last night-at the Green Man Inn, three kilometres along the road to Chesterfield.'

The Duke fell back in his chair.

And the name of the kidnapper?'

Sherlock Holmes's answer was a very surprising one. 'You,' he said. 'And now, sir, your cheque, please.'

The Duke stood up, his face white and angry. Then he sat down again, and put his face in his hands. It was some minutes before he spoke.

How much do you know?' he asked.

I saw you with him last night,' said Holmes.

And how many people know about this?'

Only I and my friend here, Dr Watson.'

The Duke took out a pen, opened his cheque book, and began to write. 'When I made this offer, I didn't know...' He stopped, then began again. 'Are you and your friend going to talk about this, Mr Holmes?'

I don't understand you, sir,' said Holmes.

I mean...Nobody needs to know about this-this little family mystery. Just you and your friend Watson. Look, here is my cheque for twelve thousand pounds.'

Holmes gave him a cold little smile. 'I'm sorry, sir. There is a dead man in this case. You remember?'

But that wasn't James!' cried the Duke. 'He knew nothing about it. He was very, very unhappy when he heard about the-the killing.'

Murder,' said Holmes.

But James wasn't there! And when he heard about it, he came to me at once, and told me everything. Oh, Mr Holmes, you must help him-you must! He is not the murderer! The murderer ran away last night.'

Holmes smiled again. 'I have a little more news for you, sir. The police met Mr Reuben Hayes last night at Chesterfield station. Mr Hayes is not running anywhere for a very long time.'

The Duke looked at Holmes with an open mouth. 'You-you know everything!' he said. 'But I am pleased to hear about Hayes-he was always a bad man. And that news can only help James.'

James? Your secretary?' said Holmes.

No, sir. My son. James Wilder is my son.'



 

• coldly adv. in an unfriendly way. 不友好地，冷淡地。
• shut v. move (a door, lid, window, etc.) into a position where it blocks an opening. 关上（门、盖子、窗户等）。
• cheque n. order to a bank to pay a sum of money from one's account to another person. 支票。
• murderer n. person guilty of murder. 凶手。
• run away suddenly leave a place; escape from a place. 逃跑，逃走。

第二天上午11点钟，福尔摩斯和我到了霍尔德内斯府公爵的办公室。怀尔德先生过来接待我们。

公爵今天不能会客。他对福尔摩斯说。"

福尔摩斯冷冷地看着他。"公爵可以见我，"他说，"请告诉他我在这里。"

半小时之后霍尔德内斯公爵走进房间。他看起来苍老了--疲惫不堪而且一副病容。

哟，福尔摩斯先生？他说。"

福尔摩斯看着詹姆斯·怀尔德。"您的秘书不在场的话，我说话会更方便一些，先生。"

很好，公爵疲惫地说。"詹姆斯，请......"

詹姆斯愠怒地瞪了福尔摩斯一眼，但他还是离开了房间，并随手关上了门。

福尔摩斯看着公爵。"听说您悬赏5,000英镑获取您儿子的消息。"

确有此事。

另外还悬赏1,000英镑获得绑架者的名字。

没错。

我的朋友笑了笑。"我看到桌子上放着您的支票本，先生。我想向您索要一张6,000英镑的支票。"

歇洛克·福尔摩斯先生，公爵生气地说，"这话是什么意思？你有没有我儿子的消息？"

哦，有。福尔摩斯说。"

公爵目不转睛地盯着福尔摩斯的脸。"我儿子在哪里？"他平静地说。

他现在--或者昨天晚上--在林中人客栈，沿着大路往切斯特菲尔德方向走三公里的地方。

公爵颓然地靠在了椅子上。

绑架者的名字呢？

歇洛克·福尔摩斯的回答出人意料。"您，"他说，"现在，先生，请给我支票。"

公爵站起身，他的脸色苍白而又愤怒。然后他又坐了下去，用手捂着脸，足足过了几分钟才开口。

你知道多少？他问。"

昨天晚上我看到您和他在一起。福尔摩斯说。"

现在有几个人知道此事？

只有我和我的这位朋友，华生医生。

公爵拿出一枝钢笔，打开他的支票本，开始写。"当初我悬赏时，我不知道......"他停顿了一会儿，又接着说，"你和你的朋友会把这件事说出去吗，福尔摩斯先生？"

我不明白您的意思，先生。福尔摩斯说。"

我的意思是......不需要让任何人知道这件事--这是家庭小秘密，只有你和你的朋友华生知道就行。看，这是12,000英镑的支票。

福尔摩斯微微冷笑着。"对不起，先生。这个案子里面牵涉到一个死人。您记得吗？"

但那不是詹姆斯干的！公爵大声说，"他对此事一无所知。当他听说这--这起杀人案时，他非常非常难过。"

是谋杀。福尔摩斯说。"

但是当时詹姆斯不在场！当他听说此事时，就立刻来见我，把一切都告诉了我。哦，福尔摩斯先生，你必须帮助他--你必须！他不是杀人凶手！凶手昨天晚上逃跑了。

福尔摩斯又笑了。"我还有一个消息告诉您，先生。昨天晚上警察在切斯特菲尔德火车站遇到了鲁本·海斯先生。海斯先生很长一段时间内哪儿也去不了了。"

公爵瞠目结舌地看着福尔摩斯。"你--你什么都知道！"他说，"但是我很高兴听到海斯的消息--他向来是个坏家伙，这个消息只会对詹姆斯有利。"

詹姆斯？您的秘书？福尔摩斯说。"

不，先生。我的儿子。詹姆斯·怀尔德是我儿子。