: Before the rugby competition, one of the team's leading players disappears. The team captain calls for help to Sherlock Holmes, and the tone finds the athlete near his suddenly dead wife.
Mr. Overton, captain of the Cambridge college rugby team, seeks help from Sherlock Holmes. Tomorrow is the decisive match, and lead player Godfrey Staunton is gone. Yesterday, the team arrived in London and stayed at a hotel. Godfrey was a little pale and complained of a headache. Soon a bearded stranger came to the hotel and handed Godfrey a note. The young man immediately jumped up and ran away. At night he was not at the hotel where he had gone - it is unknown. Godfrey is an athlete to the core, and it is not in his rules to let the team down. If he did, then something terrible happened. He did not appear in Cambridge, Godfrey's only relative, his uncle, Lord Moult, one of the richest people in England, may know something about the missing athlete. True, he never gave a nephew a shilling, but after his death the whole state will go to Godfrey.
The great detective leaves for the hotel. The receptionist reports that Godfrey received a telegram to which he replied: "Help us, for heaven’s sake."Holmes scans the rugby player’s papers and notices the doctor’s bills, but Mr. Overton says that Godfrey had no health problems. At this time, Uncle Godfrey appears, Lord Moult. He has no idea where his nephew is, and warns that he won’t even give a penny to him.
Since Godfrey was clearly not asking for help from his uncle, Holmes goes to the post office and finds out the address to which the telegram was sent. With his faithful friend Dr. Watson, the great detective goes to Cambridge to the famous Dr. Leslie Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong admits that he is familiar with Godfrey, but flatly refuses to talk with the great detective. Holmes watches the doctor and sees that he, not being a medical practitioner, travels somewhere every day.
The great detective follows his crew on a bicycle, but the doctor confuses the tracks. Then Holmes douses the bicycle wheels with aniseed oil and, with the help of a hunting dog, finds the house that the doctor is visiting. In the house he sees a dead girl, and next to her is Godfrey. The doctor who entered says that this girl is Godfrey's wife. He was forced to hide his marriage, otherwise his uncle would deprive him of his inheritance. But the girl fell ill with transient consumption, and Godfrey turned to the doctor. Unfortunately, it was impossible to save her. Upon learning of her death, Godfrey quit the team and came to Cambridge.
