Plot

The headmaster of a prestigious prep school calls on Holmes for help when the ten year old only son of powerful but publicity-shy duke disappears.

The headmaster of a prestigious prep calls on Holmes for help in investigating the disappearance of the only son of his patron, a rich and powerful duke who seems more worried about staying out of the public eye than finding his ten year old heir. After he reluctantly agrees to allow Holmes to take on the case, The Great Detective investigates not only the missing boy, but a German teacher and the lone bicycle that have mysteriously vanished also.—Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)

When his only son and heir disappears from his private school (apparently kidnapped), why does the Duke of Holdernesse restrict police inquiries so drastically? The headmaster consults Sherlock Holmes, fearing the involvement of one of his instructors. Solving the case requires interviewing small boys, tracing bicycle tracks, and observing family resemblances in ancestral portraits.—jeaneva

Sherlock Holmes is hired by Dr. Huxtable, the headmaster of prestigious preparatory school Priory School. One of their students, the son of the Duke of Holdernesse, has disappeared but no ransom has been demanded. Also missing is Mr. Heidegger, the German master.—grantss

Sherlock Homes is approached by the Master of the Priory School to assist in location a missing student. The boy is son of the Duke of Holdernesse and disappeared three days before. No ransom note has been received and the boy's father has refused to go to the police, thus the delay in contacting Holmes. It also appears that the school's German master has also gone missing. Holmes and Watson travel to the school and meet the Duke who seems strangely removed from locating his son. He is hiding something and it requires Holmes to determine exactly what that is if they are to find the boy alive.—garykmcd

Holmes receives a visit from Dr. Thorneycroft Huxtable (Christopher Benjamin), the founder and principal of a preparatory school called Priory School in Northern England. He beseeches Holmes to come back to Mackleton with him to investigate the kidnapping of one of his pupils. The boy's father, the Duke of Holdernesse (Alan Howard), has offered a reward of £5000 to anyone who can tell him where his son, the ten-year-old Lord Saltire (Nissar Modi), is, and a further £1000 to anyone who can tell him who his kidnappers are.

James Wilder (Nicholas Gecks), the Duke's personal secretary, has also been indiscreet enough to mention something to Huxtable about the young Lord's unhappy home life. His parents no longer live together, his mother having moved to Southern France. Wilder has said that Lord Saltire's sympathies were with his mother in these matters. Upon arrival at the school, though, Lord Saltire seemed to be quite happy, and in his element. Less than a fortnight later, however, he suddenly disappeared from the school. He could only have left by climbing out of his window at night and down the thick ivy to the ground. Curiously, the German master, Heidegger, is also missing, along with his bicycle. Lord Saltire had received a letter that very day from his father, but Huxtable has no idea of the contents. The boy has taken it with him. He was fully dressed, too. However, Heidegger left his shirt and socks behind.

Holmes decides to accompany Huxtable back to Mackleton, even though he is quite busy with business in London. He tells Huxtable first that if he is going to telegraph home, it would be wise to let the rumor of progress in Liverpool persist. Once in the North, Holmes asks the Duke a few questions. His Grace does not think that his estranged wife has anything to do with his son's disappearance, nor has there been a ransom demand. He can also think of nothing in the letter that he wrote, posted by James Wilder along with dozens of others, that could have upset Lord Saltire.

Holmes establishes that the boy and his kidnappers could not have used the nearby road without being seen, suggesting that they went cross-country. As if to confirm this, the police find the boy's school cap in some gypsies' possession. They swear that they simply found it on the moor, but the police lock them up. Holmes and Dr. Watson go hunting for clues. They find a bicycle track, but it is not Heidegger's; it does not match his tires. Holmes observes, however, that one tire has a patch on it. Most anything observable has been obliterated by cow tracks, making sleuthing rather difficult. Indeed, the only marks on the ground anywhere nearby are cows' hoof prints. Eventually, Heidegger's bicycle tracks are found, and they end where he apparently had his head smashed in. There he lies, quite dead.

Several things may already be deduced: Lord Saltire left the school of his own free will. Heidegger hurriedly went after him, having seen him climb down, which explains his less than complete dress. The boy had a swift means of escape, for Heidegger would not have bothered with his bicycle if the boy had been on foot. The boy had an adult companion, for he himself could not have smashed Heidegger's head in. No other cyclist, nor another man on foot could have anything to do with the murder, for there are no marks on the ground to indicate this. Something caused the boy to leave school at night, either homesickness (unlikely) or the letter he was mentioned to have received.

Holmes and Watson find themselves at the Fighting Cock Inn, and meet the innkeeper, Reuben Hayes (Jack Carr), who seems startled indeed to hear that Holmes wants to go to Holdernesse Hall, the Duke's nearby house, to tell him news of his son. The two men have lunch there, and Holmes suddenly realizes something: He and Watson saw lots of cow tracks out on the moor, all along their line of investigation, but never at any time did they see any cows. Furthermore, the patterns of the hoof prints were quite unusual, suggesting that the cow in question walked, cantered, and galloped. Holmes and Watson sneak out to Hayes's stable and examine the horse's hooves. As Holmes has expected, there is evidence of recent shoeing, but with old shoes and new nails. Shortly afterwards, Holmes can follow the cow tracks & find the body of the dead German teacher. While returning towards the Fighting Cock Inn, they find Hayes running away and James Wilder to have taken Lord Saltire from the room at the Inn in which he was imprisoned.

Holmes confronts the Duke & makes him admit that James Wilder is the Duke's illegitimate son, born of a previous affair, prior to the Duke's marriage to the Duchess. Wilder was always jealous of the Duke & wanted him to change his will. To this aim, he had kidnapped Lord Saltire by taking one of the Duke's letters to his son & substituting a note that suggested that the Lord would be meeting his mother at a certain hour at night in the school grounds. This made Lord Saltire to abandon the safety of his dorm at that hour. He was witnessed & followed by the German master, who was killed by Wilder's accomplice Hayes as Wilder needed a place to safely hide Lord Saltire while he made his demands. The Duke orders a search of his moors & locates Wilder & Lord Saltire in an abandoned church basement. James Wilder refuses to give up & falls to his death from sharp rock cliffs, while Lord Saltire is saved & re-joined with his father.