As to those papers with which
you are making so free, I may tell you that in case there should
be anything of any value among them you will be held strictly
to account for what you do with them."
"Very good, sir," said Sherlock Holmes. "May I ask in the
meanwhile whether you have yourself any theory to account for
this young man's disappearance?"
"No, sir, I have not. He is big enough and old enough to look
after himself, and if he is so foolish as to lose himself I
entirely refuse to accept the responsibility of hunting for him."
"I quite understand your position," said Holmes, with a
mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Perhaps you don't quite
understand mine. Godfrey Staunton appears to have been a poor
man. If he has been kidnapped it could not have been for
anything which he himself possesses. The fame of your wealth has
gone abroad, Lord Mount-James, and it is entirely possible that a
gang of thieves have secured your nephew in order to gain from him
some information as to your house, your habits, and your treasure."
The face of our unpleasant little visitor turned as white as
his neckcloth.
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