The case of the collapsing man

Abstract

The society world of London was astonished by the disappearance of one of its more illustrious visitors of the summer, and the government was equally embarrassed by the same event, for it was the newly married Baroness Radelescu, wife of the Baron who was the inheritor to the throne of a small, yet important and friendly central European kingdom. I read the sketchy details in the evening paper, having had an early dinner with my wife and her cousin who was having her annual visit to London for a week. They were chatting away, planning their excursion for the next day, when there was a knock on the front door of the surgery. I was hoping it was not another patient as my surgery was very busy all afternoon. It was a small and grimy boy, whom I recognized immediately as one of Holmes's Baker Street Irregulars, a group employed at times by Holmes to help him in his detection. They were extremely valuable as they fit into the daily scene of the street life and could trail a suspect without arousing attention. “If you please, Doctor, the guv'nor would like you to come around to his digs for a meeting at nine o'clock this evening. He says it is very important.” I had not seen Holmes for some time so I told my wife of the summons and set off with the boy, whom I remembered as Barnaby. We reached 221B Baker Street with some minutes to spare, and Holmes greeted me warmly. “It is good to see you again, Watson, and I hope your wife and her cousin are well.” I said, somewhat astonished, “They are quite well indeed, they were planning their shopping trips, and I am quite sure they did not miss my leaving. But how …