stopped him, had a drink of water, and pulled himself together.  Then he went downstairs, said a few words to the man who was waiting in the hall, and the two of them went off together.  The last that the porter saw of them, they were almost running down the street in the direction of the Strand.  This morning Godfrey’s room was empty, his bed had never been slept in, and his things were all just as I had seen them the night before.  He had gone off at a moment’s notice with this stranger, and no word has come from him since.  I don’t believe he will ever come back.  He was a sportsman, was Godfrey, down to his marrow, and he wouldn’t have stopped his training and let in his skipper if it were not for some cause that was too strong for him.  No:  I feel as if he were gone for good, and we should never see him again.”

Sherlock Holmes listened with the deepest attention to this singular narrative.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“I wired to Cambridge to learn if anything had been heard of him there.  I have had an answer.  No one has seen him.”

“Could he have got back to Cambridge?”

“Yes, there is a late train—­quarter-past eleven.”

“But, so far as you can ascertain, he did not take it?”

“No, he has not been seen.”

“What did you do next?”

“I wired to Lord Mount-James.”

“Why to Lord Mount-James?”

“Godfrey is an orphan, and Lord Mount-James is his nearest relative—­his uncle, I believe.”

“Indeed.  This throws new light upon the matter.  Lord Mount-James is one of the richest men in England.”

“So I’ve heard Godfrey say.”

“And your friend was closely related?”

“Yes, he was his heir, and the old boy is nearly eighty—­cram full of gout, too.  They say he could chalk his billiard-cue with his knuckles.  He never allowed Godfrey a shilling in his life, for he is an absolute miser, but it will all come to him right enough.”

“Have you heard from Lord Mount-James?”

“No.”

“What motive could your friend have in going to Lord Mount-James?”

“Well, something was worrying him the night before, and if it was to do with money it is possible that he would make for his nearest relative, who had so much of it, though from all I have heard he would not have much chance of getting it.  Godfrey was not fond of the old man.  He would not go if he could help it.”

“Well, we can soon determine that.  If your friend was going to his relative, Lord Mount-James, you have then to explain the visit of this rough-looking fellow at so late an hour, and the agitation that was caused by his coming.”

Cyril Overton pressed his hands to his head.  “I can make nothing of it,” said he.

“Well, well, I have a clear day, and I shall be happy to look into the matter,” said Holmes.  “I should strongly recommend you to make your preparations for your match without reference to this young gentleman.  It must, as you say, have been an overpowering necessity which tore him away in such a fashion, and the same necessity is likely to hold him away.  Let us step round together to the hotel, and see if the porter can throw any fresh light upon the matter.”