It was in the year '95 that a combination of events, into which I
need not enter, caused Mr. Sherlock Holmes and myself to spend some weeks
in one of our great university towns, and it was during this time that the
small but instructive adventure which I am about to relate befell us. It
will be obvious that any details which would help the reader exactly to
identify the college or the criminal would be injudicious and offensive.
So painful a scandal may well be allowed to die out. With due discretion
the incident itself may, however, be described, since it serves to
illustrate some of those qualities for which my friend was remarkable. I
will endeavour, in my statement, to avoid such terms as would serve to
limit the events to any particular place, or give a clue as to the people
concerned.
We were residing at the time in furnished lodgings close 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 the subject of one of my future narratives. Here it was that one
evening we received a visit from an acquaintance, Mr. Hilton Soames, tutor
and lecturer at the College of St. Luke's. Mr. Soames was a tall, spare
man, of a nervous and excitable temperament. 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 was clear something very unusual
had occurred.
"I trust, Mr. Holmes, that you can spare me a few hours of your
valuable time. We have had a very painful incident at St. Luke's, and
really, but for the 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 desire no distractions," my friend
answered. "I should much prefer that you called in the aid of the 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. Your discretion is as well known as your powers, and you are the
one man in the world who can help me. I beg you, Mr. Holmes, to do what
you can."
My friend's temper had not improved since he had been deprived of the
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
hurried words and with much excitable gesticulation poured forth his
story.
"I must explain to you, Mr. Holmes, that to-morrow is the first day
of the examination for the Fortescue Scholarship. I am one of the
examiners. My subject is Greek, and the first of the papers consists of a
large passage of Greek translation which the candidate has not seen. This
passage is printed on the examination paper, and it would naturally be an
immense advantage if the candidate could prepare it in advance. For this
reason, great care is taken to keep the paper secret.
"To-day, about three o'clock, the proofs of this paper arrived from
the printers. The exercise consists of half a chapter of Thucydides. I had
to read it over carefully, as the text must be absolutely correct. At
four-thirty my task was not yet completed. I had, however, promised to
take tea in a friend's rooms, so I left the proof upon my desk. I was
absent rather more than an hour.
"You are aware, Mr. Holmes, that our college doors are double –– a
green baize one within and a heavy oak one without. As I approached my
outer door, I was amazed to see a key in it. For an instant I imagined
that I had left my own there, but on feeling in my pocket I found that it
was all right. The only duplicate which existed, so far as I knew, was
that which belonged to my servant, Bannister –– a man who has looked after
my room for ten years, and whose honesty is absolutely 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 came 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 one day it has
produced the most deplorable consequences.
"The moment I looked at my table, I was aware that someone had
rummaged among my papers. The proof was in three long slips. I had 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 first page on the floor, the second in the window, the third
where you left it," said he.
"Exactly, Mr. Holmes. You amaze me. How could you possibly know
that?"
"Pray continue your very interesting statement."
"For an instant I imagined that Bannister had taken the unpardonable
liberty of examining my papers. He denied it, however, with the utmost
earnestness, and I am convinced that he was speaking the truth. The
alternative was that someone passing had observed the key in the door, had
known that I was out, and had entered to look at the papers. 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 advantage
over his fellows.
"Bannister was very much upset by the incident. He had nearly fainted
when we found that the papers had 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 his presence besides the rumpled papers. On the table in
the window were several shreds from a pencil which had been sharpened. A
broken tip of lead was 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 goodhumour as his
attention became more engrossed by the case. "Fortune has been your
friend."
"This was not all. I have a new writing-table with a fine surface of
red leather. 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 ball of black dough or clay, with specks of
something which looks like sawdust in it. I am convinced that these marks
were left by the man who rifled the papers. There were no footmarks and no
other evidence as to his identity. I was at my wit's end, when suddenly
the happy thought occurred to me that you were in the town, and I came
straight round to put the matter into your hands. Do help me, Mr. Holmes.
You see my dilemma. Either I must find the man or else the examination
must be postponed until fresh papers are prepared, and since this cannot
be done without explanation, there will ensue a hideous scandal, which
will throw a cloud not only on the college, but on the university. Above
all things, I desire to settle the 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 devoid of interest. Had anyone visited you in your room after the
papers came to you?"
"Yes, young Daulat Ras, an Indian student, who lives on the same
stair, came in to ask me some particulars about the examination."
"For which he was entered?"
"Yes."
"And the papers were on your table?"
"To the best of my belief, they were rolled up."
"But might be recognized as proofs?"
"Possibly."
"No one else in your room?"
"No."
"Did anyone know that these proofs would be there?"
"No one save the printer."
"Did this man Bannister know?"
"No, certainly not. No one knew."
"Where is 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?"
"I locked up the papers first."
"Then it amounts to this, Mr. Soames: that, unless the Indian student
recognized the roll as being proofs, the man who tampered with them came
upon them accidentally without knowing that they were there."
"So it seems to me."
Holmes gave an enigmatic smile.
"Well," said he. "let us go round. Not one of your cases. Watson ––
mental, not physical. All right; come if you want to. Now, Mr. Soames ––
at your disposal!"
The sitting-room of our client opened by a long, low, latticed window
on to the ancient lichen-tinted court of the old college. A Gothic arched
door led to a worn stone staircase. On the ground floor was 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
tiptoe 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 is nothing to be learned here, we had
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.
"I am afraid there are no signs here," said he. "One could hardly
hope for any upon so dry a day. Your servant seems to have quite
recovered. You left him in a chair, you say. Which chair?"
"By the window there."
"I see. Near this little table. You can come in now. I have finished
with the carpet. Let us take the little table first. Of course, what has
happened is very clear. The man entered and took the papers, sheet by
sheet, from the central table. He carried them over to the window table,
because from there he could see if you came across the courtyard, and so
could effect an escape."
"As a matter of fact, he could not," said Soames, "for I entered by
the side door."
"Ah, that's good! Well, anyhow, that was in his mind. Let me see the
three strips. No finger impressions –– no! Well he carried over this one
first, and he copied it. How long wouid it take him to do that, using
every possible contraction? A quarter of an hour, not less. Then he tossed
it down and seized the next. He was in the midst of that when your return
caused him to make a very hurried retreat –– very hurried, since he had
not time to replace the papers which would tell you that he had been
there. You were not aware of any hurrying feet on the stair as you entered
the outer door?"
"No, I can't say I was."
"Well, he wrote so furiously that he broke his pencil, and had, as
you observe, to sharpen it again. This is of interest, Watson. The pencil
was not an ordinary one. It was above the usual size, with a soft lead,
the outer colour 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 pencil, Mr. Soames, 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 was somewhat overwhelmed by this flood of information. "I
can follow the other points," said he, "but really, in this matter of the
length –– "
Holmes held out a small chip with the letters NN and a space of clear
wood after them.
"You 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. You are aware that Johann
Faber is the most common maker's name. Is it 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 electric 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 anything
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. Where does that door lead to?"
"To my bedroom."
"Have you been in it since your adventure?"
"No, I came straight away for you."
"I should like to have a glance round. 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? You hang your clothes
behind it. If anyone were forced to conceal himself in this 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
matter of fact, the drawn curtain disclosed nothing but three or four
suits of clothes hanging from a line of pegs. Holmes turned away, and
stooped suddenly to the floor.
"Halloa! What's this?" said he.
It was a small pyramid of black, putty-like stuff, exactly like the
one upon the table of the study. Holmes held it out on his open palm in
the glare of the electric light.
"Your 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. You came back by an unexpected way, 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 my bedroom window?"
"Lattice-paned, lead framework, three separate windows, one swinging
on hinge, and large enough to admit a man."
"Exactly. And it looks out on an angle of the courtyard so as to be
partly invisible. The man might have effected his entrance there, left
traces as he passed through the bedroom, and finally, finding the door
open, have escaped that way."
Holmes shook his head impatiently.
"Let us be practical," said he. "I understand you to say that there
are three students who use this stair, and are in the habit of passing
your door?"
"Yes, there are."
"And they are all in for this examination?"
"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
suspicion 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 mcn
who inhabit these rooms. The lower of the three is Gilchrist, a fine
scholar and athletc, 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 fellow. His father was the notorious Sir Jabez Gilchrist, who ruined
himself on the turf. My scholar has been left very poor, but he is
hard-working and industrious. He will do well.
"The second floor is inhabited by Daulat Ras, the Indian. He is a
quiet, inscrutable fellow; as most of those Indians are. He is well up in
his work, though his Greek is his weak subject. He is steady and
methodical.
"The top floor belongs to Miles McLaren. He is a brilliant fellow
when he chooses to work –– one of the brightest intellects of the
university; but he is wayward, dissipated, and unprincipled. He was nearly
expelled over a card scandal in his first year. He has been idling all
this term, and he must look forward with dread to the examination."
"Then it is he whom you suspect?"
"I dare not go so far as that. But, of the three, he is perhaps the
least unlikely."
"Exactly. Now, Mr. Soames, let us have a look at your servant,
Bannister."
He was a little, white-faced, clean-shaven, grizzly-haired fellow of
fifty. 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 fingers could not keep still.
"We are investigating this unhappy business, Bannister," said his
master.
"Yes, sir."
"I understand," said Holmes, "that you left your key in the door?"
"Yes, sir."
"Was it not very extraordinary that you should do this on the very
day when there were these papers inside?"
"It was most unfortunate. sir. But I 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's tea time."
"How long did you stay?"
"When I saw that he was absent. I withdrew at once."
"Did you look at these papers on the table?"
"No, sir certainly not."
"How came you to leave the key in the door?"
"I had the tea-tray in my hand. I thought I would come back for the
key. Then I forgot."
"Has the outer door a spring lock?"
"No, sir."
"Then it was open all the time?"
"Yes, sir."
"Anyone in the room could get out?"
"Yes, sir."
"When Mr. Soames returned and called for you, you were very much
disturbed?"
"Yes, sir. Such a thing has never happened during the many years that
I have been here. I nearly fainted, sir."
"So I understand. Where were you when you began to feel bad?"
"Where was I, sir? Why, here, near the door."
"That is singular, because you sat down in that chair over yonder
near the corner. Why did you pass these other chairs?"
"I don't know, sir, it didn't matter to me where I sat."
"I really don't think he knew much about it, Mr. Holmes. He was
looking very bad –– quite ghastly."
"You stayed here when your master left?"
"Only for a minute or so. Then I locked the door and went to my
room."
"Whom do you suspect?"
"Oh, I would not venture to say, sir. I don't believe there is any
gentleman in this university who is capable of profiting by such an
action. No, sir, I'll not believe it."
"Thank you, that will do," said Holmes. "Oh, one more word. You have
not mentioned to any of the three gentlemen whom you attend that anything
is amiss?"
"No, sir –– not a word."
"You haven't seen any of them?"
"No, sir."
"Very good. Now, Mr. Soames, we will take a walk in the quadrangle,
if you please."
Three yellow squares of light shone above us in the gathering gloom.
"Your three birds are all in their nests," said Holmes, looking up.
"Halloa! What's that? One of them seems restless enough."
It was the Indian, whose dark silhouette appeared suddenly upon his
blind. He was pacing swiftly up and down his room.
"I should like to have a peep at each of them," said Holmes. "Is it
possible?"
"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 conduct you."
"No names, please!" said Holmes, as we knocked at Gilchrist's door. A
tall, flaxen-haired, slim young fellow opened it, and made us welcome when
he understood our errand. There were some really curious pieces of
mediaeval domestic architecture within. Holmes was so charmed with one of
them that he insisted on drawing it in his notebook, broke his pencil, had
to borrow one from our host, and finally borrowed a knife to sharpen his
own. The same curious accident happened to him in the rooms of the Indian
–– a silent, little, hook-nosed fellow, who eyed us askance, and was
obviously glad when Holmes's architectural studies had come to an end. I
could not see that in either case Holmes had come upon the clue for which
he was searching. Only at the third did our visit prove abortive. The
outer door would not open to our knock, and-nothing more substantial than
a torrent of bad language came from behind it. "I don't care who you are.
You can go to blazes!" roared the angry voice. "Tomorrow'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 realize that it was I who was
knocking, but none the less his conduct was very uncourteous, and, indeed,
under the circumstances rather suspicious."
Holmes's response was a curious one.
"Can you tell me his exact height?" he asked.
"Really, Mr. Holmes, I cannot undertake to say. He is taller than the
Indian, not so tall as Gilchrist. I suppose five 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 astonishment and dismay. "Good gracious,
Mr. Holmes, you are surely not going to leave me in this abrupt fashion!
You don't seem to realize the position. To-morrow is the examination. I
must take some definite action to-night. I cannot allow the examination to
be held if one of the papers has been tampered with. The situation must be
faced."
"You must leave it as it is. I shall drop round early to-morrow
morning and chat the matter over. It is possible that I may be in a
position then to indicate some course of action. Meanwhile, you change
nothing –– nothing at all."
"Very good, Mr. Holmes."
"You can be perfectly easy in your mind. 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
invisible.
"Well, Watson, what do you think of it?" Holmes asked, as we came out
into the main street. "Quite a little parlour game –– sort of three-card
trick, is it not? There are your three men. It must be one of them. You
take your 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 should he be pacing
his room all the time?"
"There is nothing in that. Many men do it when they are trying to
learn anything by heart."
"He looked at us in a queer way."
"So would you, if a flock of strangers 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."
"Who?"
"Why, Bannister, the servant. What's his game in the matter?"
"He impressed me as being a perfectly honest man."
"So he did me. That's the puzzling part. Why should a perfectly
honest man –– Well, well, here's a large stationer's. We shall begin our
researches here."
There were only four stationers of any consequences in the town, and
at each Holmes produced his pencil chips, and bid high for a duplicate.
All 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 depressed by his failure, but shrugged his shoulders in
half-humorous resignation.
"No good, my dear Watson. This, the best and only final clue, 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 nine,
and the landlady babbled of green peas at seven-thirty. What with your
eternal tobacco, Watson, and your irregularity at meals, I expect that you
will get notice to quit, and that I shall share your downfall –– not,
however, before we have solved the problem of the nervous tutor, 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 eight in the
morning, he came into my room just as I finished my toilet.
"Well, Watson," said he, "it is time we went down to St. Luke's. Can
you do without breakfast?"
"Certainly."
"Soames will be in a dreadful fidget 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, my 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 untimely hour of six. I have put in two hours' hard work and covered
at least five 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
commence, and he 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, so great was his mental agitation, and he ran towards
Holmes with two eager hands outstretched.
"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?"
"I think so. If this matter is not to become public. we must give
ourselves certain powers and resolve ourselves into a small private
court-martial. You there, if you please, Soames! Watson you here! I'll
take the armchair in the middle. I think that we are now sufficiently
imposing to strike terror into a guilty breast. Kindly ring the bell!"
Bannister entered, and shrank back in evident surprise and fear at
our judicial appearance.
"You will kindly close the door," said Holmes. "Now Bannister, will
you please tell us the truth about yesterday'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 suggestions 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 Holmes, suavely. "I frankly admit
that I am unable to prove it. But it seems probable enough since the
moment that Mr. Soames's back was turned, you released the man who was
hiding in that bedroom."
Bannister licked his dry lips.
"There was no man, sir."
"Ah, that's a pity, Bannister. Up to now you may have spoken the
truth, but now I know that you have lied."
The man's face set in sullen defiance.
"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 of 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 pleasant, open face. His troubled blue eyes glanced at each of us,
and finally rested with an expression of blank dismay upon Bannister in
the farther corner.
"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 perfectly frank with each other. We want to know,
Mr. Gilchrist, how you, an honourable man, ever came to commit such an
action as that of yesterday?"
The unfortunate young man staggered back, and cast a look full of
horror and reproach at Bannister.
"No, no, Mr. Gilchrist, sir, I never said a word –– never one word!"
cried the servant.
"No, but you have now," said Holmes. "Now, 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 upraised hand, tried to control his
writhing features. The next he had thrown himself on his knees beside the
table, and burying his face in his hands, he had burst into a storm of
passionate sobbing.
"Come, come," said Holmes, kindly, "it is human to err, and at least
no one can accuse you of being a callous criminal. Perhaps it would be
easier for you if I were to tell Mr. Soames what occurred, and you can
check me where I am wrong. Shall I do so? Well, well, don't trouble to
answer. Listen, and see that I do you no injustice.
"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 began to take a definite shape in my mind. The printer one could, of
course, dismiss. He could examine the papers in his own office. The Indian
I also thought nothing of. If the proofs were in a roll, he could not
possibly know what they were. On the other hand, it seemed an unthinkable
coincidence that a man should dare to enter the room, and that by chance
on that very day the papers were on the table. I dismissed that. The man
who entered knew that the papers were there. How did he know?
"When I approached your room, I examined 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 himself
through it. Such an idea was absurd. 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 a chance. Already you see I had reason to think that,
if one of your three students was a man of unusual height, he was the most
worth watching of the three.
"I entered, and I took you into my confidencc as to the suggestions
of the side table. Of the centre table I could make nothing, until in your
description of Gilchrist you mentioned that he was a long-distance jumper.
Then the whole thing came to me in an instant, and I only needed certain
corroborative proofs, which I speedily obtained.
"What happened was this: This young fellow had employed his afternoon
at the athletic grounds, where he had been practising the jump. He
returned carrying his jumping-shoes, which are provided, as you are aware,
with several sharp spikes. As he passed your window he saw, by means of
his great height, these proofs upon your table, and conjectured what they
were. No harm would have been done had it not been that, as he passed your
door, he perceived the key which had been left by the carelessness of your
servant. A sudden impulse came over him to enter, and see if they were
indeed the proofs. It was not a dangerous exploit, for he could 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 put his shoes on the table. What was it you
put on that chair near the window?"
"Gloves," said the young man.
Holmes looked triumphantly at Bannister. "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, he came back by the side gate. Suddenly he heard him at the very
door. There was no possible escape. He forgot his gloves, but he caught up
his shoes and darted into the bedroom. You observe 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
athletic grounds this morning, saw that tenacious black clay is used in
the jumpingpit, and carried away a specimen 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 have, but the shock of this disgraceful exposure has
bewildered 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 sin had found me out. Here it is, sir. You will see that I have
said, 'I have determined not to go in for the examination. I have been
offered a commission in the Rhodesian Police, and I am going out to South
Africa at once.' "
"I am indeed pleased to hear that you did not intend to profit by
your unfair advantage," said Soames. "But why did you change your
purpose?"
Gilchrist pointed to Bannister.
"There is the man who set me in the right path," said he.
"Come now, Bannister," said Holmes. "It will be clear to you, from
what I have said, that only you could have let this young man out, since
you were left in the room, and must have locked the door when you went
out. As to his escaping by that window, it was incredible. Can you not
clear up the last point in this mystery, and tell us the reasons for your
action?"
"It was simple enough, sir, if you only had known, but, with all your
cleverness, it was impossible that you could know. Time was, sir, when I
was butler to old Sir Jabez Gilchrist, this young gentleman's father. When
he was ruined I came to the college as servant, but I never forgot my old
employer because he was down in the world. I watched his son all I could
for the sake of the old days. Well, sir, when I came into this room
yesterday, when the alarm was given, the very first thing I saw was Mr.
Gilchrist's tan gloves a-lying in that chair. I knew those gloves well,
and I understood their message. If Mr. Soames saw them, the game was up. I
flopped down into that chair, and nothing would budge me until Mr. Soames
went for you. Then out came my poor young master, whom I had dandled on my
knee, and confessed it all to me. Wasn't it natural, sir, that I should
save him, and wasn't it natural also that I should try to speak to him as
his dead father would have done, and make him understand that he could not
profit by such a deed? Could you blame me, sir?"
"No, indeed," said Holmes, heartily, springing to his feet.
"Well, Soames, I think we have cleared your little problem up, and
our breakfast awaits us at home. Come, Watson! As to you, sir, I trust
that a bright future awaits you in Rhodesia. For once you have fallen low.
Let us see, in the future, how high you can rise."
