In January 1903, at Baker Street, James M. Dodd comes to Holmes with a strange story regarding his friend, Godfrey Emsworth. Dodd and Emsworth served in the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa during the Second Boer War. Emsworth was sent home after being treated for a bullet wound; hearing nothing from his friend for quite some time afterwards, Dodd began to suspect something was amiss.
Dodd wrote to Colonel Emsworth, Godfrey's father, and was told Godfrey had gone on a voyage round the world for his health. Dodd found it odd that Godfrey himself had not written to him about this matter, and managed to convince Godfrey's mother to invite him to the Emsworth family home, Tuxbury Old Park, near Bedford. There were four people there—the Colonel and his wife, and an old butler and his wife. The irritable Colonel repeated the story about his son's world voyage, implied Dodd was lying about knowing Godfrey, and abruptly refused Dodd's request for Godfrey's contact information.
