The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries Part 34

"Nothing!" I confessed.

Sholmes smiled again, a somewhat bored smile.

"My dear fellow, the calendar indicates that today is the twenty-fourth!"

"Quite so. But--"

"And as Christmas falls upon the twenty-fifth, it follows-to an acute mind accustomed to rapid deductions-that tomorrow is Christmas!"

I could only gaze at my amazing friend in silent admiration.

"But there will be no holiday for us tomorrow, my dear Jotson," resumed Herlock Sholmes. "I have received a wire from the Duke of Hookeywalker, who--Ah, his Grace has arrived!"

Even as Sholmes spoke, the Duke of Hookeywalker was shown into our sitting-room.

Herlock Sholmes removed his feet from the mantelpiece with the graceful courtesy so natural to him.

"Pray be seated," said Sholmes. "You may speak quite freely before my friend, Dr. Jotson!"

"Mr. Sholmes, I have sustained a terrible loss!"

Sholmes smiled.

"Your Grace has lost the p.a.w.nticket?" he inquired.

"Mr. Sholmes, you must be a wizard! How did you guess--"

"I never guess," said Herlock Sholmes quietly. "My business is to deal with facts. Pray let me have some details."

"It is true, Mr. Sholmes, that the p.a.w.nticket is missing," said the duke in an agitated voice. "You are aware that the house of Hookeywalker has a great reputation for hospitality, which must be kept up even in these days of stress. It was necessary for me to give a large Christmas party at Hookey Castle, and, to obtain the necessary funds, the family jewels were pledged with Mr. Ikey Solomons, of Houndsditch. The ticket was in my own keeping-it never left me. I kept it in my own card-case. The card-case never left my person. Yet now, Mr. Sholmes, the ticket is missing!"

"And the card-case?"

"Still in my pocket!"

"When were the Hookeywalker jewels placed with Mr. Solomons?"

"Yesterday morning!"

"And the ticket was missing--"

"Last night," faltered the duke. "I looked in my card-case to make sure that it was still safe, and it was gone. How it had been purloined, Mr. Sholmes, is a mystery-an unfathomable mystery!"

"No mystery is unfathomable to a trained mind," said Sholmes calmly. "I have every hope of recovering the missing p.a.w.nticket."

"Mr. Sholmes, you give me new life. But how--"

Sholmes interrupted.

"After leaving Mr. Solomons's establishment, where did your Grace go?"

"I had to make a call at the Chinwag Department of the War Office, and from there I returned to Hookey Castle."

"You made no other call?"

"None."

"It is scarcely possible that a skilled pickpocket is to be found in the Chinwag Department," said Sholmes thoughtfully.

"Impossible, Mr. Sholmes! Every official of that great Department is far above suspicion of being skilled in any manner whatsoever!"

"True!"

"There is no clue!" said the duke in despairing tones. "But unless the missing ticket is recovered, Mr. Sholmes, the famous Hookeywalker jewels are lost!"

"You may leave the case in my hands," said Herlock Sholmes carelessly. "I may call at Hookey Castle with news for you tomorrow."

"Bless you, Mr. Sholmes!"

And the duke took his leave.

Herlock Sholmes lighted a couple of pipes, a habit of his when a particularly knotty problem required great concentration of thought. I did not venture to interrupt the meditations of that mighty intellect.

Sholmes spoke at last, with a smile.

"A very interesting little problem, Jotson. I can see that you are puzzled by my deduction that the p.a.w.nticket was lost before his Grace had mentioned it."

"I am astounded, Sholmes."

"Yet it was simple. I had heard of the great social gathering at Hookey Castle," explained Sholmes. "I deduced that his Grace could only meet the bills by hypothecating the family jewels. His hurried visit to me and his agitation could have had but one meaning-I deduced that the p.a.w.nticket was lost or stolen. Quite elementary, my dear Jotson! But the recovery of the missing ticket--"

"That will not be so simple, Sholmes."

"Who knows, Jotson?" Sholmes rose to his feet and drew his celebrated dressing-gown about him. "I must leave you for a short time, Jotson. You may go and see your patients, my dear fellow."

"One question, Sholmes. You are going--"

"To the Chinwag Department."

"But--"

But Herlock Sholmes was gone.

II.

I confess that Sholmes's behaviour perplexed me. He had declared that the pickpocket could not be found in the Chinwag Department, yet he had gone there to commence his investigations. When he returned to Shaker Street, he made no remark upon the case, and I did not venture to question him. The next morning he greeted me with a smile as I came down into the sitting-room.

"You are ready for a little run this morning, Jotson?" he asked.

"I am always at your service, Sholmes."

"Good! Then call a taxi."

A few minutes later a taxicab was bearing us away. Sholmes had given the direction to the driver-"Hookey Castle."

"We are going to see the duke, Sholmes?" I asked.

He nodded.

"But the missing p.a.w.nticket?"

"Wait and see!"

This reply, worthy of a great statesman, was all I could elicit from Sholmes on the journey.

The taxi drove up the stately approach to Hookey Castle. A gorgeous footman admitted us to the great mansion, and we were shown into the presence of the duke.

His Grace had left his guests to see us. There was a slight impatience in his manner.

"My dear Mr. Sholmes," he said, "I supposed I had given you the fullest particulars yesterday. You have called me away from a shove-ha'penny party."

"I am sorry," said Sholmes calmly. "Return to the shove-ha'penny party, by all means your Grace, and I will call another time with the p.a.w.nticket."

The duke bounded to his feet.

"Mr. Sholmes! You have recovered it?"

Sholmes smiled. He delighted in these dramatic surprises.

The duke gazed with startled eyes at the slip of pasteboard my amazing friend presented to him.

"The missing p.a.w.nticket!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed.

"The same!" said Sholmes.

"Sholmes!" I murmured. I could say no more.

The Duke of Hookeywalker took the ticket with trembling fingers.

"Mr. Sholmes" he said in tones of deep emotion, "you have saved the honour of the name of Hookeywalker! You will stay to dinner, Mr. Sholmes. Come, I insist-there will be tripe and onions!" he added.

"I cannot resist the tripe and onions," said Sholmes, with a smile.

And we stayed.

III.

It was not till the taxi was whirling us homeward to Shaker Street that Herlock Sholmes relieved my curiosity.

"Sholmes!" I exclaimed as the taxi rolled out of the stately gates of Hookey Castle. "How, in the name of wonder--"

Sholmes laughed.

"You are astounded, as usual, Jotson?"

"As usual, Sholmes."

"Yet it is very simple. The duke carried the p.a.w.nticket in his card-case," said Sholmes. "He called only at the Chinwag Department of the War Office before returning home. Only a particularly clever pickpocket could have extracted the ticket without the cardcase, and, as his Grace himself remarked, it was useless to a.s.sume the existence of any particularly clever individual in a Government department. That theory, therefore, was excluded-the ticket had not been taken."

"Sholmes!"

"It had not been taken, Jotson," said Sholmes calmly. "Yet it had left the duke's possession. The question was-how?"

"I confess it is quite dark to me, Sholmes."

"Naturally," said Sholmes drily. "But my mental powers, my dear Jotson, are of quite a different calibre."

"Most true."

"As the ticket had not been taken from the duke, I deduced that he had parted with it unintentionally."

"But is that possible, Sholmes?"

"Quite! Consider, my dear Jotson. His Grace kept the p.a.w.nticket, for safety, in his card-case. On calling at the Chinwag Department he sent in his card, naturally. By accident, Jotson, he handed over the p.a.w.nticket instead of his own card--"

"Sholmes!"

"And that ticket, Jotson, was taken in instead. That was the only theory to be deduced from the known facts. I proceeded to the Chinwag Department, and interviewed the official upon whom the duke called. There was a little difficulty in obtaining an interview; but he was awakened at last, and I questioned him. As I had deduced, the missing p.a.w.nticket was discovered on the salver, where it had lain unnoticed since the duke's call."

"Wonderful!" I exclaimed.

Sholmes smiled in a bored way.

"Elementary, my dear Jotson. But here we are at Shaker Street."

* And on pocketing the fee usually awarded to poor Jotson.-Ed.

CHRISTMAS EVE.

S. C. Roberts.