w. I don't think he took the
shoes last night. In fact, I am quite sure of it. I'll guarantee to
get your shoes back for you before noon to-day, and you can gamble on
that!"

"Why, of course," interposed Launcelot hastily. "Billie Budd must have
come back in the middle of the night, and stolen the shoes, after he
escaped yesterday afternoon. I guess he's probably hiding around in
the neighborhood somewhere."

I was just opening my mouth to get off a witticism about who took the
shoes, when Holmes, observing me, gave me a warning kick under the
table, so I desisted.

After breakfast was over,--at which meal Inspector Letstrayed ate at
least three times as much as any one else,--Holmes announced he was
going down to Hedge-gutheridge to investigate some clues, and would
not be back until noon. He signaled to me to accompany him, and when
nobody was looking, we hurriedly beat it upstairs to our room, where
Holmes quickly took out a disguise from the suit-case, took off his
regular clothes, and put on the new outfit, which consisted of a
well-worn and dirty suit of loud yellow checks, with a dinky little
red cap, broken tan shoes, and a riding-whip to carry in his hand.
Then he deftly got out his make-up stuff, and in a moment had fixed a
lump of flesh-colored wax on the bridge of his long aquiline nose, and
painted his face red with actors' grease-paint until he looked as if
he had been drunk for a week. Changing his voice, he addressed me in a
thick Cockney dialect:

"My name is now Dick Henderson, from the Epsom race-track, and don't
you forget it, old Sawbones, or I'll make hash out of you!"

"All right, Dick, I'm on, as usual. Say, now's a good chance to put
back those six pairs of shoes in their respective owners' rooms before
Natalie and Adelaide, the chambermaids, get up here," I said.

"Good for you, Doc! You betray a gleam of intellect at last. We'll
replace the stolen brogans at once," congratulated Holmes.

We, thereupon, went around to the six rooms and restored the shoes,
without encountering anybody who might ask embarrassing questions.

Holmes,--in his elegant disguise,--and I now descended the stairs and
quickly slid out of the front door. It was now a quarter after eight.
Making his way around the castle, keeping close to the walls, so as
not to be seen from the high windows by any one inside, Holmes led me
out to the stables.

Here I hid myself in one of the horses' stalls, and Holmes walked int