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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1911)
TITE SUNDAY OREGOXIAy, rORTLASP, AUGUST 13, 1911. WgMMMJ M dWDW5. IT was In th year '9i that ft combi nation of events. !a to which I need not enter caused Mr. Sherlock Holme and myself to spend lomt reeks In on. of our great university :owns. and It was durim this tim hat the small but lntructlT. adven :ur. which I am about to relet befell j. It will b obvious that any detail Ahlch would help the reader to ef ct!y Identify the colleg or the crlml nl would b Injudicious and offensive. 4o painful a scandal may well b. al lowed to die out. With du. discretion ;h. Incident lUelf may. however, be J-scrlbed lnc. It serves to Illustrate some of thou, qualities for which tny friend was remarkable. I will ndea ror. In my statement, to avoid such terms as would serr. to limit th. rents to any particular place, or glv a clew as to th. people concerned. W. vera residing at th. tlm. In fur nished lodplngs clos. to a library where Sherlock. Holmes was pursuing some laborious researches In early English charters researches which led to results so striking that they may be th. subject of one of my future narratives. Here it was that one even ing we received a visit from an ac quaintance. Mr. Hilton Soames. tutor and lecturer at the College of Bt. Luke's. Mr. Soames was a tall, spare man. of a nervous and excitable tem perament. I had always known him to ' be restless In his manner, but on this . particular occasion he was In such a state of uncontrollable agitation that it waa clear something- "very unusual had occurred. -I trust. Mr. Holmes, that yon can spare me a few hours of your valu able time. We have had a very pain ful Incident at St- Luke's, and r.ally. but for th. happy chance of your being in town, I should have been at a loss what to do." -I am very busy Just now. and I de sire no distractions," my friend an swered. "I should much prefer that you called In th. aid of th. police." "No. no, my dear sir: such a course is utterly Impossible. When once the law is evoked It cannot be stayed again and this Is Just one of those cases where, for the credit of the college. It Is most essential to avoid scandal. Tour discretion Is as well known as your power, and you are the one man la Wie world who can help me. I beg you. Mr. Holme, to do what yon can." My friend's temper had not Im proved alnc. be had been deprived of th. congenial surroundings of Baker street. Without his scrapbooks. his chemicals and his homely untidiness, he was an uncomfortable man. He shrugged his shoulders in ungracious acquiescence, while our visitor In hur ried words and with much excitable gesticulation poured forth his story. "I must explain to you. Mr. Holmes, that tomorrow Is the flrst day of the examination for the Fortescu scholar ship. 1 am one of the examiners. My subject Is Oreek. and the first of the papers consists of a large passsre of Oreek translation which the candidate has not seen. This passage la printed on the examination paper, and It would naturally be an Immense advantage if the candidate could prepare It in ad vance. For this reason, great car la taken to keep th paper secret. "Today, about S o'clock, the proofs of this prer arrived from the printers. The exercise consists of half a chapter of Thucydldes. I had to read it over rareful'y. as the text must be absolute ly correct. At 4 39 my task waa not yet completed. I had. however, prom ised to take tea In a frlend'a rooms, so I left the proof upon my desk. I was absent rather more than an, hour. -Vol are aware. Mr. Holmes, that our ro lege doors are double a green baUe ri.s within and a heavy oak one without. As I approached my outer d jor. I ws amaxed to see a key In It. Tor an Instant I Imagined that I had left my own key there, but on feeling In my pocket I found that It waa all right. . The only duplicate which ex isted, so far as I knew, was that Which belonger to my servant. Bannister a man who has looked after my room for ten years, and whose honesty Is ab-M-Jtely above suspicion. I found that the key was Indeed his. that he had entered my room to know If I wanted tea. and that he had very carelessly left the key in the door when he cam out. His visit to my room must have been within a very few minutes of my leaving It. His forgetfulness about the key would have mattered little upon any other occasion, but on this on day it has produced the most deplor able consequences. "The moment I looked at my table. I waa aware that someone had rum maged among my papers. The proof was in three long- slips. I bad left them all together. Now. I found that one of them was lying on the floor, one was on the side table near the window and the third was where I had left it." Holmes stirred for the first time. "The Brat page on the floor, the sec ond In the window, the third wher you left it." said he. "Exactly. Mr. Holmes. Tou amass me. How could you possibly know that?" "Pray continue your very Interesting statement." -For an Instant I imagined that Ban nister had taken the unpardonable lib erty of examining my papers. He de nied It. however, with the utmost earn estness and I am convinced that be was speaking th truth. The alterna tive was that someone passing had observed the key in the door, had known that I waa out. and had en tered to look at the paper. A large sum of money is at stake, for the scholarship Is a very valuable one, and an unscrupulous man might very well run a risk In order to gain an advant age over his fellows. "Bannister was very rriuch upset by the incident. He had nearly fainted when we found that the papers bad undoubtedly been tampered with. I gave him a little brandy and left him collapsed In a chair, while I made a most careful examination of the room. I soon saw that the intruder had left other traces of hts presence besides the rumpled papers. On the table in the window were several shreda from a pencil which had been sharpened. A broken tip of lead waa lying there also Evidently the rascal had copied the paper In a great hurry, had broken his pencil, and had been compelled to put a fresh point to It." "Excellent:" said Holmes, who was recovering his good humor as his at tention became more engrossed by the ca,e -Fortune has been your friend." -This was not alL I hav a new writing table with a fin surface of red i-ather. I am prepared to swear, and so is Bannister, that it was smooth and unstained. Now I found a clean cut In it about three Inches long not a mere scratch, but a positive cut. Not only this, but on the table I found a small bail of black dough or clsy. with specks of something which looks like sawdust In It. I m-n convinced that base mark wsr left by th man who rifled th papers. Ther wer no foot marks and no other evld.nc as to his Identity. I wa at my wits' ends, when suddenly th. happy thought occurred to m that you wer In th town, and I cam straight around to put th matter Into your hands. Do help me. Mr. Holmes. Ton se. my dilemma. Either I must find th. man or else the examin ation must be postponed until fresh pa pers ar prepared, and sine, this cannot b. don. without explanation, ther will ensue a hideous scandal, which will throw a cloud not only on th college, but on th. university. Abov all things. I desire to settl th matter quietly and discreetly." "I shall be happy to look Into It and to give you such advice as I can. said Holmes, rising and putting on his overcoat. - "The case Is not entirely de void of Interest. Had anyone visited you In your room after th papers came to you?" -Tea. young Daulat Ras. an Indian student, who lives on the same stair, came in Jo ask me some- particulars about the examination.-' For which he was entered?" "Tea" "And the papers war onyour ta ble?" . To th best of my belief, they wer rolled up." Sis "But might be recognised as proofs?" "Possibly." No one else In your room?" "No." "Did anyone know that thes proofs would b thrT" "No one save the printer." "Did this man Bannister know?" "No, certainly not. No one knew." "Where la Bannister now?" "He was very ill. poor fellow. I left him collapsed in the, chair. I was In such a hurry to come to you." "You left your door open?" T locked up the papers first." "Then It amounts to this. Mr. Soames, that, unless the Indian student recog nised th roll as being proofs, the man who tampered with them came upon them accidentally without knowing that they war there." "So it seems to me." Holmes gave an enigmatic smile. . -Well." said he. "let us go round. Not one of your esses. Watson mental, not physical. All right come If you wfnt to. Now, Mr. Soames at your disposal!" The sitting-room of our client opened by a long. low. latticed window on to the ancient llchen-tlnted court of the old college. A Qothio arched door led to a worn stone staircase. On the ground floor wss the tutor's room. Above were three students, one on each story. It was already twilight when we reached the scene of our problem. Holmes halted and looked earnestly at the window. Then he approached It, and. standing on ttp-toe with his neck craned, he looked Into the room. "He must have entered through the door. There Is no opening except the one pane." said our learned guide. -Dear me!" said Holmes, and he smiled in a singular way as he glanced at our companion. "Well, If there la nothing to be learned here, we bad best go inside." The lecturer unlocked the outer door and ushered us Into his room. We stood at the entrance while Holmes made an examination of the carpet. T am afraid there are no signs here." said h. "On could hardly hope for any upon so dry a day. Tour ser vant seems to bav quit recovered. Tou left him In a chair, you say. Which chair?" "By th window there." -I .. Near this lltU. tsble. Too can com in now. I have finished with the carpeu Let us take th. tittle table first. Of course, what has happened is very clear. Th man entered and took the papers, sheet by sheet, from the central table. He carried them over to the window table because from ther h could se If you cam across th courtyard, and so could ef fect an escape." -As a matter of fact he could not said Soames, "for I entered by the side ""Ah, that's good! Well, anyhow, that was In his mind. Let me see the three strips. No flng.r impressions no. Well, he carried over this one first, and he copied It. How long would It tales him to do that, using every possible contraction? A quarter of an hour, not less. Then he tossed It down and selxed the next. He was In the midst of that when your return caused him to make a very hurried retreat very hur ried, since be had not time to replace th paprs which would tell you that he had been there. Tou were not aware of any hurrying feet on the stair as you entered the outer doorr "No. I can't say I was." "Wll. he wrote so furiously that he broke his pencil, and had. as you ob serve, to sharpen It again. This is of interest. Watson. The pencil was not an ordinary on. It was above the usual six, with a soft lead, the outer color was dark blue, the maker's name was printed in silver lettering, and the piece remaining Is only about an inch and a half long. Look for such a pen cil. Mr. Boames. and you have got your man. When I add that he possesses a large and very blunt knife, you have an additional aid." Mr. Soames wss somewhat over whelmed by this flood of information. 'I can follow the other points." said he. "but really. In this matter of length " Holmes held out a small chip of th letters NX and a space of clear wood after them. 'Tou see?" "No. I fear that even now " "Watson. I have always done you an Injustice. There are others. What could this NN be? It is at the end of a word. Tou are aware that Johann Faber Is the most common maker's name. It Is not clear that there is Just as much of the pencil left as usually follows the Johann?" He held the small table sideways to the elec tric light. "I was hoping that If the paper on which he wrote was thin, some trace of it might come through upon this polished surface. No, I see nothing. I don't think there Is any thing more to be learned here. Now for the central table. This small pellet Is. I presume, the black, doughy mass you spoke of. Roughly pyramidal in shape and hollowed out, I perceive. As you say. there appear to be grains of sawdust In it. Dear me. this Is very Interesting. And the cut a positive tear. I see. It began with a thin scratch and ended in a Jagged hole. I am much Indebted to you for directing my attention to this case, Mr. Soames. Wher does that door lead to?" "To my bedroom." "Have you been , in it since your ad venture r "No. I cam straight away for you." "I should like to have a glance around. What a charming, old-fashioned room! Perhaps you will kindly wait a minute, until I have examined the floor. No, I see nothing. What about this curtain? Tou hang your clothes behind It. If any one were forced to conceal himself in'thls room, he must do It there, since the bed Is too low and the wardrobe too' shallow. No one there, I suppose?" As Holmes drew the curtain I was aware, from some little rigidity and alertness of his attitude, that he was prepared for an emergency. As a mat ter of fact, the drawn curtain dis closed nothing but three or four suits of clothes hanging from a line of pegs. Holmes turned away and stooped sud denly to the floor. "Halloa! What's this?" said he. It wss a small pyramid of black, putty-like stuff, exsctly like the one upon the table of the study. Holmes held It out on his open palm in the glare of the electric light. CTour visitor seems to have left traces in your bedroom as well as in your sitting-room, Mr. soames. "What could he have wanted there?" "I think It Is clear enough. Tou came back by an unexpected wy, and so he had no warning until you were at the very door. What could he do? He caught up everything which would betray him. and he rushed Into your bedroom to conceal himself."- "Good gracious, Mr. Holmes, do you mean to tell me that, all the time I was talking to Bannister in this room, we had the man prisoner If we had only known It?" "So I read It. "Surely there Is another alternative. Mr. Holmes. I don't know whether you. observed by bedroom window T" "Lattlce-paned. lead framework, three separate windows, one swinging on a hinge, and large enough to admit a man." . "Exactly. And it looks out on an an gle of teh courtyard so as to be partly invisible. The man might have effect ed his entrance there, left traces as he passed through the bedroom, and final ly, finding the door open, have escaped that way." , t. Holmes shook his head impatiently. "Let us be practical," said be. V1 un" derstand you to say that thefe are three students who use this stair andare in the habit of passing your door? "Yes, there are." "An they are all ln-for this examin ation?" "Yes." "Have you any reason to suspect any one of them more than the others?" Soames hesitated. "It is a very delicate question," said he. "One hardly likes to throw suspi cion where there are no proofs." "Let us hear the suspicions. I will look after the proofs." "I will tell you, then In . a few words the character of the three men who Inhabit these rooms.. The lower of the three is Gilchrist, a fine scholar and athlete, plays In the Rugby team and the cricket team for the college, and got his Blue for the hurdles and the long Jump. He is a fine, manly fe -low. His father was th notorious Sir Jabex Gilchrist, who ruined himself on th turf. My scholar has b een left very poor, but he 1 hard-working and Industrious. He will do well. "Th second floor Is inhabited by Daulat Ras. the Indian.' He Is a qut-et. inscrutable fellow, as most of those In dians are. He Is well up In his work, though his Greek Is his weak subject He Is steady and methodical. "The top floor belongs ot Miles Mc Laren He is a brilliant fellow when he chooses to wort-one of the bright est Intellects of the university; but he Is wayward, dissipated and unprinci pled. He was nearly expelled over a card scandal in his flrst year. He has been Idling all this term, and he must look forward with dread to the exam ination." "Then It Is he whom you suspect?" "I dare not go so far as that. But, of the three, he is perhapa the least un- '"'Exactly. Now. Mr. Soames. let us have a look at your servant. Bannis ter" H was a little, whU.-faced. clean shaven, grixxly-halred fellow of f 0. He was still suffering from this sudden disturbance of the quiet routine of his life. His plump face was twitching with his nervousness, and his Angers could not keep still. ' ' "We are investigating this unhappy business. .Bannister." said his master.. "'understand." said Holmes, "that you left your key In the doorr "Tes. sir." . . -Was It not very extraordinary that you should do this on the very day when there were these P-P ln"Jd,e,TT "It was most unfortunate, sir. But 1 have occasionally done the same thing at other times." "When did you enter the room? -It was about half-past four. That Is Mr. Soames" teatlme." -How long did you stayr. "When I saw that he was absent, l withdrew at once." "Did you look at these papers on the table?" "No sir certanlly not. How came you to leave the key in th.'Idhad?"the tea-tray in my hand. I thought I would come back for the kev Then I forgot." "Has the outer door a spring lock?" "Then It waa open all the time?" "Anyone' ln the room could get out?" "When'Mr. Soames returned and called for you, you were very much ''"YeT'sir. Such a thing ha. never ""So I understand. Where were you when vou began to feel bad" "Where was I sir? Why. here, near "ThT'i. singular, because "ear down In that chair over yonder near "he corner. Why did you pasa these 0t"rrdonlrknow. sir. it didn't matter t0Tu;rdoV?atthlnlc be knew much about it Mr. Holmes. He -was looking Ve"Ua syThe?. wifen your master '''Only for a minute or so. Then I locked the door and went to my room. "Whom do you suspectr "Oh. I would not venture to say. sir. I don't believe there Is any "tleman fn this university who profiting by such an action. No, ir. I'll not believe It. ,. . . "Thank you. that will do f Holmes "Oh, one more word. ou "aveTot mentioned to a-ny of tlis .three gentlemen whom you attend that any thing Is amiss?" No, sir not a word. (,.m,.. "You haven't seen any of them? "Very'good. Now. Mr. Soames we will take walk in the quadrangle, if yTh."yenoV squares of light shone above us in the gathering gloom. "Your three birds are all in their nests." cald Holmes, looking up "Halloa! What's that? One of them seems restless enough." It waa the Indian, whose dark sil houette appeared "uddenly upon his blind. He was pacing swiftly up and down hla room. -I should like to hav a peep at each of them," said Holmes. "Is it possi ble'" No difficulty in the world.' Soames answered. "This set of rooms is quite the oldest In the college, and It Is not unusual for visitors to go over them. Come Along, and I will personally con duct you." "No names, please!" said Holmes, es he knocked at Gilchrist's door. A tall, flaxen-haired, slim young fellow opened It, snd msde us welcome when he un derstood our errand. There were some really curious pieces of medieval do mestic architecture within. Holmes was so charmed with one of them that he insisted on drawing It In hla note book, broke his pencil, had to borrow one from our host, and Anally borrowed a knife to sharpen his own. The same curious accident happened to him In the rooms of the Indian a silent, ltttie, hook-nosed fellow, who eyed us ask snce, and was obviously glad when Holmes' architectural studies had come to en end. I comld not see that in either case Holmes had come upon the clew for which he was searching. Only at the third-did our visit prove abor tive. The outer door would not open to our knock, and nothing more sub stantial than a torrent of bad lang uage came from behind .lt. "I don't care who .you are. You can go to biases!" roared the angry voice. "To morrow's the exam, and I won't be drawn by anyone." "A rude fellow," said our guide, flushing with anger as we withdrew down the stair. "Of course, he did not realies that, it was I -who was knocking, but none the less his con duct was very uncourteous and, in deed, under the circumstances rather suspicious." Holmes' response was a curious one. "Can you tell me his exact height?" be asked. "Really, Mr. Holmes. I cannot un dertake to say. He Is taller than the Indian, not ao tall as Gilchrist. I sup- ii pose flva foot six would be about it." "That is very important," said Holmes. "And now, Mr. Soames, I wish you good-night." Our guide cried aloud in his aston ishment and dismay. "Good gracious, Mr. Holmes, you are surely not gotng to leave me In this abrupt fashion! Vn,t flnn't m tO the POSitiOn. T-nmnirnw is the examination. I must take some definite action tonight. I cannot allow the examination to be held if one of the papers has been tampered with. The situation must be faced." , . .-.. lo.ra tt aa it in- I Shall I X Utl IllUOb , v. I. v. ... - Ldrop around early tomorrow morning and ci.at the matter over. it Fu sible that I may be In a position then to indicate some course of action. Meanwhile, you change nothing noth ing at all." "Very good. Mr. Holmes. "You can be perfectly easy in your mir.d. We shall certainly find some way out of your difficulties. I will take the black clay with me, also the pencil cuttings. Good-bye." When we were out in the darkness of the quadrangle we again looked up at the windows. The Indian still paced his room. The others were in visible. . .,1.1 i, "Well, Watson, what do youthink of It?" Holmes asked, as we came- out into the main street. "Quite a little parlor game sort of three-card trick, is it not? There are your, three men. It must be one of them. You take vour choice. Which is yours?" ' "The foul-mouthed fellow at the top. He is the one with the worst record. And yet that Indian was a sly fellow also. Why shoul.l he to pacing his room all the time?" "There Is nothing in that. Many men do it when they are trying to learn anything by heart." Ho looked at us In a queer way. "So would you if a flock of stran gers came in on you when you were preparing for an examination next day, and every moment was of value No. I see nothing in that." Pencils, too, and knives-all was satisfactory. But that fellow does puzzle me. 9 "Why, Bannister, the servant. What's his game in the matter?" "He impressed me as being ft perfect ly honest man." "So he did me. That's the puzzling part. Why should a perfectly honest man well, well, here's a large sta tioners. We shall begin our re searches here." There were only four stationers of any consequence in the town and at each Holmes produced his pencil chips and bid high for a duplicate. AU were agreed that one could be ordered.. but that It was not a usual size of pencil and that It was seldom kept in stock. My friend did not appear to be de pressed by his failure, but shrugged his shoulders In half-humorous resig nation. "No good, my dear Watson. This, the best and only final clew, has run to nothing. But, Indeed, I have little doubt that we can build up a sufficient case without it. By Jove! my dear fellow, it is nearly 9, and the landlady babbled of green peas at 7:30. What with your eternal tobacco, Watson, and your irregularity at meals, I ex pect that you will get notice to quit and that I shall share in your down fall not, however, before we have solved the problem of tho nervous tu tor, the careless servant and the three enterprising students." Holmes made no further allusion to the matter that day, though he sat lost in thought for a long time after our belated dinner. At 8 in the morning he came into my room Just as I had finished my toilet. "Well. Watson," said he. "it is time we went down to St. Luke's. C?.n you do without breakfast?" "Certainly." . "Soames will be in a dreadful fidget -A until we are able to tell him something positive." "Have you anything positive to tell him?" "I think so." "You have formed a conclusion?" "Yes, by dear Watson, I have solved the mystery." "But what fresh evidence could you have got?" "Aha! It Is not for nothing that I have turned myself out of bed at the untime ly hour of 6. I have put in two hours hard work and covered at least Ave miles, with something to show for it. Look at that!" He" held out his hand. On the palm were three little pyramids of black, doughy clay. "Why, Holmes, you had only two yesterday' "And one more this morning. It is a fair argument that wherever No. 3 came from is also the source of Nos. 1 and 2. Eh, Watson? Well, come along and put friend Soames out of his pain." The unfortunate tutor was certainly In a state of pitiable agitation when we found him in his chambers. In a few hours the examination would com mence and h was still In the dilemma between making the facts public and allowing the culprit to compete for the valuable scholarship. He could hardly stand still, s great was his mental agitation, and he ran towards Holmes with two eager hands out stretched. "Thank heaven that you have come! I feared that you had given it up in despair. What am I to do? Shall the examination proceed?" "Yes, let it proceed, by all means." "But this rascal ?" "He shall not compete." "You know him?" T think so. If this matter is not to become public we must give our selves certain powers and resolve sur selves Into a small private courtmar tisl. You there, if you please, Soames! Watson, you here! I'll take the arm chair in the middle. I think we are now sufficiently Imposing to strike ter ror into a guilty breast. Kindly ring the bell!" Bannister entered and shrank back in evident surprise and fear at our Ju dicial appearance. "You will kindly close the door," said Holmes. "Now, Bannister, will you please tell us the truth about yester dav's incident?" The man turned white to the roots of his hair. "I have told you everything, sir." "Nothing to add?" "Nothing at all, sir." "Well, then, I must make some sug gestions to you., When you sat down on that chair yesterday, did you do so in order to conceal some object which would haVe shown who had .been in the room?" Bannister's face was ghastly. "No, sir, certainly not." 'It is only a suggestion," .said ir-t ... ......Tv "T franklv admit javiiuos, euA..j. - that I am unable to prove it. But it seems proDaoie enougu, oiua inent that Mr. Soames' back was turned you released tho man who was hiding in that bedroom." Bannister licked his lry lips. "There was no man, sir." "Ah. that's a pity. Bannister. Up to now ycu may have spoken the truth, but now I know that you have lied. The man's face set in sullen deflance. "There was no man, sir." "Come, come. Bannister!" "No, sir, there was no one. "In that case you can give us no further information. Would you please remain in the room. Stand over there near the bedroom door. Now, Soames, I am going to ask you to have the great kindness to go up to the room ot young Gilchrist and to ask him to step down into yours." An Instant later the tutor returned, bringing with him the student. He was a fine figure of a man, tall, lithe and agile, with a springy step and a pleas ant, open face. His troubled blue eyes glanced at each of us and Anally rested with an expression of blank dls- may upon Bannister in the farther cor- n6"just close the door," said Holmes. "Now, Mr. Gilchrist, we are all quite alone here and no one need ever know one word of what passes between us. We can be perfoctly frank witn each other. We want to know, Mr. Gil christ, how you, an honorable man, ever came to commit such an action as that of yesterday?" The unfortunate young man stag gered back and cast a look full of hor ror and reproach at Banntster. "No. no, Mr. Gilchrist, sir, I never said a word never one word!" cried the servant, tri. "No but you have now," said Holmes. Itow, sir, you must see that after Bannister's words your position is hopeless, and that your only chance lies in a frank confession. For a moment Gilchrist, with up raised hand, tried to control his writh ing features. The next he had thrown WmseTf on his knees beside th. M and, burying his face In his had burst into a storm of passionate 'Cmi, come." said Holmes kindly, "It Is human to err, and at le" f one can accuse you of being a callous criminal. Perhaps It would be easier you if I were to tell Mr. Soames what occurred, and you can check me where I am wrong. Shall I 80 ' Well. well, don't trouble to wfww Listen and see that I do you no injus- ""From the moment, Mr. Soames. that you said to me that no one, not even Bannister, could have told that the papers were In your room, the case belan to take a definite shape in my mind The printer one could, of bourse. dlsmUs. He could examine the papers in his own office. The Indian 1 also thought nothing ot If the proofs were In roll, he could not possibly know what they were On the other hand, it seemed an unthink able coincidence that a man rtooM dare to enter the room and that oy chance on that very day the paper, were on the table. I dismlS8,el that. The man who entered knew the t the paper" were there. How did he know? "When I approached your room I ex amined the window. You amused me by supposing that I was contemplating the possibility of someone having in broad daylight, under the eyes of all these opposite rooms, forced himsell trough it. Such an li.a ab surd, I was measuring how tall a man would need to be in order to see. as he passed, what papers were on the central table. I am six feet high and . I could do it with an effort. No one less than that would have ft chance. Already you see I had reason to think that. " on. of your three students was a man of unusual "eight, h was tbe most worth watching of the three. "I entered and I took you into my confidence as to the suggestions of the side table. Of the center table I could make nothing, until in your de scription of Gilchrist you mentioned St h. was a long-distance Jumper. Then the whole thing came to m n an instant, and I only needed certain corroborative proofs, which I speed ily obtained. "What happened was this. This young fellow had employed his after noon at the athletic grounds, where he had been practicing the Jump, He re turned carrying his Jumping shoes, which are provided, as you are aware, with several sharp spikes. As ne nassed your window he saw, by means of his great height, these proofs upon your table, and conjectured what they were. No harm would hav. been done had it not been that a . h. nassed your door, he perceived the key wich had been left by the carelessness of your servant. A fudden impulse came over him to enter and see if they were indeed the proofs. It was otya dangerous exploit, for he cou d always pretend that he had simply looked in to ask a question . "Well, when he saw that they were Indeed the proofs. It was then that he yielded to temptation. He fut his shoes on the table. What was it you put on that chair near the window? "Gloves," aid the young man. Holmes fooked triumphantly at Ban nister. "He put his gloves on the chair, and he took the proofs, sheet by sheet, to copy them. He thought the tutor must return by the main gate, and that he would see him. As we know, h came back by the side gate. Suddenly he heard him at the very door. There was no possible escape. He forgot his rloves, but he caught up his shoes and darted into the bedroom. You Pbserve that the scratch on that table is slight at one side, but deepens in the direction of the bedroom door. That in Itself is enough to show us that the shoe had been drawn in that direction, and that the culprit had taken refuge there. The earth round the spike had been left on the table, and a second sample was loosened and fell in the bedroom. I may add that I walked out to the ath letic grounds thi morning, saw that tenacious black clay is used In the Jumplng-pit, and carried away a speci men of it, together with some of the fine tan . or sawdust which is strewn over it to prevent . the athlete from slipping. Have I told the truth, Mr. Gilchrist?" The student had drawn himself erect. "Yes, sir, it is true," said he. "Good heavens! have you nothing to add?" cried Soames. . "Yes, sir, I save, but the shock of this disgraceful exposure has bewil dered me. I have a letter here, Mr. Soames, which I wrote to you early this morning in the middle of a restless night. It was before I knew that my Bill JlilU l.VMl.u - You will see that I have said. T have determined not to go in tor me exam ination. I have been offered a commla- (Concludsd on Pace
