Synopsis by Jim Hoy:
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
- DUKE OF HOLDERNESSLORD SALTIRE, ten year old son of the Duke
- JAMES WILDER, secretary to the duke and his illegitimate son.
- THORNEYCROFT HUXTABLE, M.A., Ph.d., etc., proprietor and owner of the Priory School.
- CAUTER, Room mate of Saltire
- HEIDDEGER, German master at the Priory School.
- REUBEN HAYES, proprietor of the Game Cock Inn and accomplice of James
- MRS. HAYES, wife of Reuben
SUMMARY
The Duke loved a woman in his youth who refused to marry him for noble reasons. They had an illegitimate son, James. The lady died. The Duke kept James at his side and eventually married and had a son, Lord Saltire, the Duke’s legitimate heir. James resented Saltire and his presence in the household placed severe strain upon the duke’s marriage. When the story begins, he and his wife are separated and she is living in France. Although Saltire would have preferred to be with his mother, he had no say in the matter.
The Duke sensed that James had such severe ill feelings toward Saltire that he sent Saltire to the Priory School for his own safety.
James became friends with Reuben Hayes, proprietor of the Game Cock Inn. Hayes had at one time been a coachman for the Duke but was sacked. James plotted with Hayes to kidnap Saltire and hold him until the Duke made him (James) his legal heir.
James inserted a note into a letter the Duke had written to Saltire at the Priory School. The note purported to be from his mother and told him to meet Hayes in the woods near the school that night and Hayes would take Saltire to her.
As Saltire was leaving via his room window, he was seen by Heidegger who followed them on his bicycle, overtook them and was murdered by Hayes who then continued on to the Game cock Inn where he kept Saltire confined.
Holmes follows bicycle tracks, animal tracks, and unravels the matter. Hayes is apprehended, the Duke and his wife are reunited, Saltier returns to school and James goes to Australia to seek his fortune.
OTHER ADVENTURES MENTIONED
- The Case of the Ferrers Documents
- The Abergavenny murder
DISGUISES
None
UNUSUAL DEDUCTIONS & bits
- Holmes deduces that horses have been fitted with shoes which leave a cloven track simulating a cow’s track by the spacing of the prints and by the fact that no cows were seen on the moor.
- The duke has offered a £5,000 reward for the return of his son and £1,000 for catching his abductors. Holmes gets the money before he tells the Duke that which he (Duke) already knows.
- Official Abbreviation: PRIO
- The Adventure Of The Priory School was first published in Collier's Weekly, January 30th 1904
Read the full story here
Map of the Area (after A.C.D.):
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