The Adventure of The Three Students - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

<v Speaker 1>The adventure of the three students. It was in the
<v Speaker 1>ninety five that a combination of events into which I
<v Speaker 1>need not enter caused mister Sherlock Holmes and myself to
<v Speaker 1>spend some weeks in one of our great university towns.
<v Speaker 1>And it was during this time that the small but
<v Speaker 1>instructive adventure which I am about to relate befell us.
<v Speaker 1>It will be obvious that any details which would help
<v Speaker 1>the reader exactly to identify the college or the criminal
<v Speaker 1>would be injudicious and offensive. So painful a scandal may
<v Speaker 1>well be allowed to die out with due discretion. The
<v Speaker 1>incident itself may, however, be described, since it serves to
<v Speaker 1>illustrate some of those qualities to which my friend was remarkable.
<v Speaker 1>I will endeavor in my statement to avoid such terms
<v Speaker 1>as would serve to limit the events to any particular
<v Speaker 1>place or give a clue as to the people concerned.
<v Speaker 1>We were reading at the time in furnished lodgings close
<v Speaker 1>to a library where Shlock Colmbs was pursuing some laborious
<v Speaker 1>researches in early English charters, researches which led to results
<v Speaker 1>so striking that they may be the subject of one
<v Speaker 1>of my future narratives here. It was that one evening
<v Speaker 1>we received a visit from an acquaintance, mister Hilton Solmes,
<v Speaker 1>tutor and lecturer at the College of Saint Luke's. Mister
<v Speaker 1>Solmes was a tall, spare man of a nervous and
<v Speaker 1>excitable temperament. I had always known him to be restless
<v Speaker 1>in his manner, but on this particular occasion he was
<v Speaker 1>in such a state of uncontrollable agitation that it was
<v Speaker 1>clear something very unusual had occurred. I trust, mister Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>that you can spare me a few hours of your
<v Speaker 1>valuable time. We have had a very painful incident at
<v Speaker 1>Saint Luke's, and really, but for the happy chance of
<v Speaker 1>your being in town, I should have been at a
<v Speaker 1>loss what to do. I am very busy just now,
<v Speaker 1>and I desire no distracts, my friend answered, I should
<v Speaker 1>much prefer that you called in the aid of the police. No, no,
<v Speaker 1>my dear sir, Such a course is utterly impossible, when
<v Speaker 1>once the law is evoked, it cannot be stayed again.
<v Speaker 1>And this is just one of those cases where, for
<v Speaker 1>the credit of the college it is most essential to
<v Speaker 1>avoid scandal. Your discretion is as well known as your powers,
<v Speaker 1>and you are the one man in the world who
<v Speaker 1>can help me. I beg you, mister Holmes, to do
<v Speaker 1>what you can. My friend's temper had not improved since
<v Speaker 1>he had been deprived of the congenial surroundings of Baker Street.
<v Speaker 1>Without his scrap books, his chemicals, and his homely untidiness,
<v Speaker 1>he was an uncomfortable man. He shrugged his shoulders in
<v Speaker 1>ungracious acquiescence, while our visitor, in hurried words and with
<v Speaker 1>much excitable gesticulation, poured forth his story. I must explain
<v Speaker 1>to you, mister Holmes, that tomorrow is the first day
<v Speaker 1>of the examination for the Fortescue Scholarship. I am one
<v Speaker 1>of the examiners. My subject is Greek, and the first
<v Speaker 1>of the papers consists of a large passage of Greek
<v Speaker 1>translation which the candidate has not seen. This passage is
<v Speaker 1>printed on the examination paper, and it would naturally be
<v Speaker 1>an immense advantage if the candidate could prepare it in advance.
<v Speaker 1>For this reason, great care is taken to keep the
<v Speaker 1>paper secret. Today, about three o'clock the proofs of this
<v Speaker 1>paper arrive from the printers. The exercise consists of half
<v Speaker 1>a chapter of Thucidides. I had to read it over carefully,
<v Speaker 1>as the text must be absolutely correct. At four thirty
<v Speaker 1>my task was not yet completed. I had, however, promised
<v Speaker 1>to take tea in a friend's room, so I left
<v Speaker 1>the proof upon my desk. I was absent rather more
<v Speaker 1>than an hour. You are aware, misis to Holmes that
<v Speaker 1>our college doors are double, a green baize one within
<v Speaker 1>and a heavy oak one without. As I approached my
<v Speaker 1>outer door, I was amazed to see a key in it.
<v Speaker 1>For an instant I imagined that I had left my
<v Speaker 1>own there, But on feeling in my pocket, I found
<v Speaker 1>that it was all right. The only duplicate which existed
<v Speaker 1>so far as I knew, was that which belonged to
<v Speaker 1>my servant Banister, a man who has looked after my
<v Speaker 1>room for ten years, and whose honesty is absolutely above suspicion.
<v Speaker 1>I found that the key it was indeed his, that
<v Speaker 1>he had entered my room to know if I wanted tea,
<v Speaker 1>and that he had very carelessly left the key in
<v Speaker 1>the door when he came out. His visit to my
<v Speaker 1>room must have been within a very few minutes of
<v Speaker 1>my leaving it. His forgetfulness about the key would have
<v Speaker 1>mattered little upon any other occasion, but on this one
<v Speaker 1>day it has produced the most deplorable consequences. The moment
<v Speaker 1>I looked at my table, I was aware that some
<v Speaker 1>one had rummaged among my papers. The proof was in
<v Speaker 1>three long slips. I had left them altogether. Now I
<v Speaker 1>found that one of them was lying on the floor,
<v Speaker 1>one was on the side table near the window, and
<v Speaker 1>the third was where I had left it. Holmes stirred
<v Speaker 1>for the first time. The first page on the floor,
<v Speaker 1>the second in the window, the third where you left it,
<v Speaker 1>said he exactly, mister Holmes, you amaze me. How could
<v Speaker 1>you possibly know that? Pray continue your very interesting statement.
<v Speaker 1>For an instant I imagined that Banister had taken the
<v Speaker 1>unpardonable liberty of examining my papers. He denied it, however,
<v Speaker 1>with the utmost earnestness, and I am convinced that he
<v Speaker 1>was speaking the truth. The alternative was that some one
<v Speaker 1>passing had observed the key in the door, had known
<v Speaker 1>that I was out, and had entered to look at
<v Speaker 1>the papers. A large sum of money is at stake,
<v Speaker 1>for the scholarship is a very valuable one, and an
<v Speaker 1>unscrupulous man might very well run a risk in order
<v Speaker 1>to gain an advantage over his fellows. Banister, who was
<v Speaker 1>very much upset by the incident. He had nearly fainted
<v Speaker 1>when we found that the papers had undoubtedly been tampered with.
<v Speaker 1>I gave him a little brandy and left him collapsed
<v Speaker 1>in a chair while I made a most careful examination
<v Speaker 1>of the room. I soon saw that the intruder had
<v Speaker 1>left other traces of his presence. Beside the rumpled papers
<v Speaker 1>on the table in the window were several shreds from
<v Speaker 1>a pencil which had been sharpened. A broken tip of
<v Speaker 1>lead was lying there also. Evidently the rascal had copied
<v Speaker 1>the paper in a great hurry, had broken his pencil,
<v Speaker 1>and had been compelled to put a fresh point to it. Excellent,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, who was recovering his good humor as his
<v Speaker 1>attention became more engrossed by the case. Fortune has been
<v Speaker 1>your friend. This was not all. I have a new
<v Speaker 1>writing table with a fine surface of red leather. I
<v Speaker 1>am prepared to swear, and so is Banister, that it
<v Speaker 1>was smooth and unstained. Now I found a clean cut
<v Speaker 1>in it, about three inches long, not a mere scratch,
<v Speaker 1>but a positive cut. Not only this, but on the
<v Speaker 1>table I found a small ball of black dough or
<v Speaker 1>clay with specks of something which looks like sawdust in it.
<v Speaker 1>I am convinced that these marks were left by the
<v Speaker 1>man who rifled the papers. There were no footmarks and
<v Speaker 1>no other evidence as to his identity. I was at
<v Speaker 1>my wits end when suddenly the happy thought occurred to
<v Speaker 1>me that you were in town, and I came straight
<v Speaker 1>round to put the matter into your hands. Do help me,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes. You see my dilemma. Either I must find
<v Speaker 1>the man, or else the examination must be postponed until
<v Speaker 1>fresh papers are prepared. And since this cannot be done
<v Speaker 1>without explanation, there will ensue a hideous scandal which will
<v Speaker 1>throw a cloud not only on the college, but on
<v Speaker 1>the university. Above all things, I desire to settle the
<v Speaker 1>matter quietly and discreetly. I shall be happy to look
<v Speaker 1>into it and to give you such advice as I can,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, rising and putting on his overcoat. The case
<v Speaker 1>is not entirely devoid of interest. Had any one visited
<v Speaker 1>you in your room after the papers came to you, Yes,
<v Speaker 1>a young dule at Ras, an Indian student who lives
<v Speaker 1>on the same stair, came in to ask me some
<v Speaker 1>particulars about the examination for which he was entered. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>and the papers were on your table. To the best
<v Speaker 1>of my belief, they were rolled up, but might be
<v Speaker 1>recognized as proofs. Possibly no one else in your room. No,
<v Speaker 1>did any one know that these proofs would be there.
<v Speaker 1>No one save the printer. Did this man Banister know? No,
<v Speaker 1>certainly not No one knew where is Banister? Now? He
<v Speaker 1>was very ill, poor fellow. I left him collapsed in
<v Speaker 1>the chair. I was in such a hurry to come
<v Speaker 1>to you. You left your door open. I locked up
<v Speaker 1>the papers first. Then it amounts to this, mister Solmes,
<v Speaker 1>that unless the Indian student recognized the roll as being proofs,
<v Speaker 1>the man who tampered with them came upon them accidentally
<v Speaker 1>without knowing that they were there. So it seems to
<v Speaker 1>me Holmes gave an enigmatic smile, well said he let
<v Speaker 1>us go round. Not one of your cases, Watson, mental
<v Speaker 1>not physical. All right, come if you want to now,
<v Speaker 1>mister Solmes, at your disposal. The sitting room of our
<v Speaker 1>client opened by a long, low latticed window on to
<v Speaker 1>the ancient like and tinted court of the Old College.
<v Speaker 1>A Gothic arched door led to a worn stone staircase.
<v Speaker 1>On the ground floor was the tutor's room. Above were
<v Speaker 1>three students, one on each story. It was already twilight
<v Speaker 1>when we reached the scene of our problem. Holmes halted
<v Speaker 1>and looked earnestly at the window. Then he approached it, and,
<v Speaker 1>standing on tiptoe with his neck craned, he looked into
<v Speaker 1>the room. He must have entered through the door. There
<v Speaker 1>is no opening except the one pane, said our learned guide.
<v Speaker 1>Dear me, said Holmes, and he smiled in a singular
<v Speaker 1>way as he glanced at our companion. Well, if there
<v Speaker 1>is nothing to be learned here, we had best go inside.
<v Speaker 1>The lecturer unlocked the outer door and ushered us into
<v Speaker 1>his room. We stood at the entrance while Holmes made
<v Speaker 1>an examination of the carpet. I am afraid there are
<v Speaker 1>no signs here, said he. One could hardly hope for
<v Speaker 1>any upon so dry a day. Your servant seems to
<v Speaker 1>have quite recovered. You left him in a chair. You say,
<v Speaker 1>which chair by the window? There? I see near this
<v Speaker 1>little table. You can come in now I have finished
<v Speaker 1>with the carpet. Let us take the little table first.
<v Speaker 1>Of course, what has happened is very clear. The man
<v Speaker 1>entered and took the papers sheet by sheet from the
<v Speaker 1>central table. He carried them over to the window table,
<v Speaker 1>because from there he could see if you came across
<v Speaker 1>the courtyard, and so could effect and escape. As a
<v Speaker 1>matter of fact, he could not, said Solmes, for I
<v Speaker 1>entered by the side door. Ah, that's good. Well, anyhow,
<v Speaker 1>that was in his mind. Now let me see the
<v Speaker 1>three strips. No finger impressions. No, well, he carried over
<v Speaker 1>this one first, and he copied it. How long would
<v Speaker 1>it take him to do that, using every possible contraction?
<v Speaker 1>Quarter of an hour, not less. Then he tossed it
<v Speaker 1>down and seized the next. He was in the midst
<v Speaker 1>of that when your return caused him to make a
<v Speaker 1>very hurried retreat, very hurried, and since he had not
<v Speaker 1>time to replace the papers, which would tell you that
<v Speaker 1>he'd been there, you were not aware of any hurrying
<v Speaker 1>feet on the stair as you entered the outer door. No,
<v Speaker 1>I can't say I was well. He wrote so furiously
<v Speaker 1>that he broke his pencil and had, as you observe,
<v Speaker 1>to sharpen it again. This is of interest, Watson. The
<v Speaker 1>pencil was not an ordinary one. It was above the
<v Speaker 1>usual size with a soft lead. The outer color was
<v Speaker 1>dark blue. The maker's name was printed in silver lettering,
<v Speaker 1>and the peace remaining is only about an inch and
<v Speaker 1>a half long. Look for such a pencil, mister Solmes,
<v Speaker 1>and you have got your man. When I add that
<v Speaker 1>he possesses a large and very blunt knife, you have
<v Speaker 1>an additional aid. Mister Solmes was somewhat overwhelmed by this
<v Speaker 1>flood of information. I can follow the other points, said he,
<v Speaker 1>But really in this matter of the length, Holmes held
<v Speaker 1>out a small chip with the letters N N and
<v Speaker 1>a space of clear wood after them. You see no,
<v Speaker 1>I fear that even now, Watson, I have always done
<v Speaker 1>you an injustice. There are others. What could this N? N?
<v Speaker 1>Is it the end of a word? You are aware
<v Speaker 1>that Johann Faber is the most common maker's name. Is
<v Speaker 1>it not clear that there is just as much of
<v Speaker 1>the pencil left as usually follows the Johan. He held
<v Speaker 1>the small table sideways to the electric light. I was
<v Speaker 1>hoping that if the paper on which he wrote was thin,
<v Speaker 1>some trace of it might have come through upon this
<v Speaker 1>polished surface. No, I see nothing. I don't think there
<v Speaker 1>is anything more to be learned here now for the
<v Speaker 1>central table. This small pellet is I presume the black
<v Speaker 1>doughy mass you spoke of roughly pyramidal in shape and
<v Speaker 1>hollowed out. I perceive, as you say, there appear to
<v Speaker 1>be grains of sawdust in it. Dear me, this is
<v Speaker 1>very interesting, and the cut a positive tear. I see
<v Speaker 1>it began with a thin scratch and ended in a
<v Speaker 1>jagged hole. I am much indebted to you for directing
<v Speaker 1>my attention to this case. Mister Solmes, Where does that
<v Speaker 1>door lead to to my bedroom? Have you been in
<v Speaker 1>it since your adventure? No? I came straight away for you.
<v Speaker 1>I should like to have a glance around. What a
<v Speaker 1>charming old fashioned room. Perhaps you will kindly wait a
<v Speaker 1>minute until I have examined the floor. No, I see nothing.
<v Speaker 1>What about this curtain you hang your clothes behind it?
<v Speaker 1>If any one were forced to conceal himself in this room,
<v Speaker 1>he must do it there, since the bed is too
<v Speaker 1>low and the wardrobe too shallow. No one there, I suppose.
<v Speaker 1>As Holmes drew the curtain, I was aware, from some
<v Speaker 1>little rigidity and alertness of his attitude, that he was
<v Speaker 1>prepared for an emergency. As a matter of fact, the
<v Speaker 1>drawn curtain disclosed nothing but three or four suits of
<v Speaker 1>clothes hanging from a line of pegs. Holmes turned away
<v Speaker 1>and stooped suddenly to the floor. Hello, what's this? Said he?
<v Speaker 1>It was a small pyramid of black putty like stuff,
<v Speaker 1>exactly like the one upon the table of the study.
<v Speaker 1>Holmes held it in his open palm in the glare
<v Speaker 1>of the electric light. Your visitor seems to have left
<v Speaker 1>traces in your bedroom as well as in your sitting room.
<v Speaker 1>Mister Solmes, What could he have wanted there? I think
<v Speaker 1>it is clear enough you came back by an unexpected way,
<v Speaker 1>and so he had no warning until you were at
<v Speaker 1>the very door. What could he do? He caught up
<v Speaker 1>everything which would betray him, and he rushed into your
<v Speaker 1>bedroom to conceal himself. Good gracious, mister Holmes. Do you
<v Speaker 1>mean to tell me that all the time I was
<v Speaker 1>talking to Banister in this room we had the man
<v Speaker 1>prisoner if we'd only known it, so I read it.
<v Speaker 1>Surely there's another alternative, mister Holmes. I don't know whether
<v Speaker 1>you observe my bedroom window lattice paned led framework, three
<v Speaker 1>separate windows, one swinging on hinge and large enough to
<v Speaker 1>admit a man exactly, and it looks out on an
<v Speaker 1>angle of the courtyard, so as to be partly invisible.
<v Speaker 1>The man might have effected his entrance there, left traces
<v Speaker 1>as he passed through the bedroom, and, finally, finding the
<v Speaker 1>door open, have escaped that way. Holmes shook his head impatiently.
<v Speaker 1>Let us be practical, said he. I understand you to
<v Speaker 1>say that there are these three students who use this
<v Speaker 1>stair and are in the habit of passing your door. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>there are, and they are all in for this examination. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>have you any reason to suspect any one of them
<v Speaker 1>more than the others? Solmes hesitated. It is a very
<v Speaker 1>delicate question, said he. One hardly likes to throw suspicion
<v Speaker 1>where there are no proofs. Let us hear the suspicions.
<v Speaker 1>I will look after the proofs. I will tell you then,
<v Speaker 1>in a few words, the character of the three men
<v Speaker 1>who inhabit these rooms. The low of the three is Gilchrist,
<v Speaker 1>a fine scholar and athlete. Plays in the rugby team
<v Speaker 1>and the cricket team for the college, and got his
<v Speaker 1>blue for the hurdles and the long jump. He is
<v Speaker 1>a fine manly fellow. His father was the notorious Sir
<v Speaker 1>Jaybez Gilchrist, who ruined himself on the turf. My scholar
<v Speaker 1>has been left very poor, but he's hard working and industrious.
<v Speaker 1>He will do well. The second floor is inhabited by
<v Speaker 1>dalut Rass the Indian. He is a quiet, inscrutable fellow,
<v Speaker 1>as most of those Indians are. He is well up
<v Speaker 1>in his work, though his Greek is his weak subject.
<v Speaker 1>He is steady and methodical. The top floor belongs to
<v Speaker 1>Miles McLaren. He is a brilliant fellow when he chooses
<v Speaker 1>to work, one of the brightest intellects of the university,
<v Speaker 1>but he is wayward, dissipated, and unprincipled. He was nearly
<v Speaker 1>expelled over a card scandal in his first year. He's
<v Speaker 1>been idling all this term, and he must look forward
<v Speaker 1>with dread to the examination. Then it is he whom
<v Speaker 1>you suspect. I dare not go so far as that.
<v Speaker 1>But of the three, he is perhaps the least unlikely.
<v Speaker 1>Exactly now, mister Solmes, let us have a look at
<v Speaker 1>your servant banister. He was a little, white faced, clean shaven,
<v Speaker 1>grisly haired fellow of fifty. He was still suffering from
<v Speaker 1>this sudden disturbance of the quiet routine of his life.
<v Speaker 1>His plump face was twitching with his nervousness, and his
<v Speaker 1>fingers could not keep still. We were investigating this unhappy
<v Speaker 1>busines banister, said his master. Yes, sir, I understand, said Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>that you left your key in the door. Yes, sir,
<v Speaker 1>Was it not very extraordinary that you should do this
<v Speaker 1>on the very day when there were these papers inside?
<v Speaker 1>It was most unfortunate, sir. But I have occasionally done
<v Speaker 1>the same thing at other times. When did you enter
<v Speaker 1>the room? It was about half plus four, that is
<v Speaker 1>mister Solme's tea time. And how long did you stay
<v Speaker 1>when I saw that he was absent? I was true
<v Speaker 1>at once? Did you look at these papers on the table? No, sir,
<v Speaker 1>certainly not. How came you to leave the key in
<v Speaker 1>the door? I had a tea tray in my hand,
<v Speaker 1>and I thought I'd come back for the key. Then
<v Speaker 1>I forgot. Has the outer door a spring lock? No, sir,
<v Speaker 1>Then it was open all the time, yes, sir, any
<v Speaker 1>one in the room could get out, Yes, sir. When
<v Speaker 1>mister Solmes returned and called for you, you were very
<v Speaker 1>much disturbed, Yes, sir, such a thing has never happened
<v Speaker 1>during the many years that I've been here. I nearly fainted, sir,
<v Speaker 1>so I understand Where were you when you began to
<v Speaker 1>feel bad? Where was I, sir? Why? Here near the door?
<v Speaker 1>That is singular? Because you sat down in that chair
<v Speaker 1>over yonder near the corner. Why did you pass these
<v Speaker 1>other chairs? I don't know, sir. It didn't matter to
<v Speaker 1>me where I sat. I really don't think he knew
<v Speaker 1>much about it, mister Holmes. He was looking very bad,
<v Speaker 1>quite ghastly. You stayed here when your master left only
<v Speaker 1>for a minute or so. Then I locked the door
<v Speaker 1>and went to my room. Whom do you suspect? Oh?
<v Speaker 1>I would not venture to say, sir, I don't believe
<v Speaker 1>there is any gentleman in this university who is capable
<v Speaker 1>of profiting by such an action. No, sir, I'll not
<v Speaker 1>believe it. Thank you. That'll do, said Holmes. Oh one
<v Speaker 1>more word. You have not mentioned to any of the
<v Speaker 1>three gentlemen whom you attend that anything is amiss, No, sir,
<v Speaker 1>not a word. You haven't seen any of them, No, sir,
<v Speaker 1>Very good. Now, mister Solmes, we will take a walk
<v Speaker 1>in the quadrangle if you please. Three yellow squares of
<v Speaker 1>light shone above us in the gathering gloom. Your three
<v Speaker 1>birds are all in their nests, said Holmes, looking up HALLO,
<v Speaker 1>what's that? One of them seems restless enough. It was
<v Speaker 1>the Indian whose dark silhouette appeared suddenly upon his blind
<v Speaker 1>He was pacing swiftly up and down his room. I
<v Speaker 1>should like to have a peep at each of them,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes. Is it possible, No difficulty in the world,
<v Speaker 1>Solmes answered. This set of rooms is quite the oldest
<v Speaker 1>in the college, and it is not unusual for visitors
<v Speaker 1>to go over them. Come along and I will personally
<v Speaker 1>conduct you. No names, please, said Holmes. As we knocked
<v Speaker 1>at Gilchrist's door, a tall, flaxen haired, slim young fellow
<v Speaker 1>opened it and made us welcome when he understood our
<v Speaker 1>errand there were some really curious pieces of medieval domestic
<v Speaker 1>architecture within. Holmes was so charmed with one of them
<v Speaker 1>that he insisted on drawing it in his note book,
<v Speaker 1>broke his pencil, had to borrow one from our host,
<v Speaker 1>and finally borrowed a knife to sharpen his own. The
<v Speaker 1>same curious accident happened to him in the rooms of
<v Speaker 1>the Indian, a silent, little hook nosed fellow who eyed
<v Speaker 1>us askance and was obviously glad when Holmes's architectural studies
<v Speaker 1>had come to an end. I could not see that
<v Speaker 1>in either case Holmes had come upon the clue for
<v Speaker 1>which he was searching. Only at the third did our
<v Speaker 1>visit prove abortive. The outer door would not open to
<v Speaker 1>our knock, and nothing more substantial than a torrent of
<v Speaker 1>bad language came from behind it. I don't care who
<v Speaker 1>you are. You can go to Blazes, roared the angry voice.
<v Speaker 1>Tomorrow is exam, and I won't be drawn by any one.
<v Speaker 1>A rude fellow, said our guide, flushing with anger, as
<v Speaker 1>we withdrew down the stair. Of course, he did not
<v Speaker 1>realize that it was I who was knocking, but none
<v Speaker 1>the less, his conduct was very uncourteous, and indeed, under
<v Speaker 1>the circumstances, rather suspicious. Holmes's response was a curious one.
<v Speaker 1>Can you tell me his exact height? He asked, Really,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes, I cannot undertake to say he is taller
<v Speaker 1>than the Indian, not so tall as Gilchrist. I suppose
<v Speaker 1>five foot six would be about it. That is very important,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, and now, mister Solmes, I wish you good night,
<v Speaker 1>our guide cried aloud in his astonishment and dismay. Good gracious,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes, you are surely not going to leave me
<v Speaker 1>in this abrupt fashion. You don't seem to realize the
<v Speaker 1>position to morrow is the examination. I must take some
<v Speaker 1>definite action to night. I cannot allow the examination to
<v Speaker 1>be held if one of the papers has been tampered with.
<v Speaker 1>The situation must be faced. You must leave it as
<v Speaker 1>it is. I shall drop round early to morrow morning
<v Speaker 1>and chat the matter over. It is possible that I
<v Speaker 1>may be in a position then to indicate some course
<v Speaker 1>of action. Meanwhile, you change nothing, nothing at all. Very good,
<v Speaker 1>mister Holmes. You can be perfectly easy in your mind.
<v Speaker 1>We shall certainly find some way out of your difficulties.
<v Speaker 1>I will take the black clay with me, also the
<v Speaker 1>pencil cuttings. Goodbye. When we were out in the darkness
<v Speaker 1>of the quadrangle, we again looked up at the windows.
<v Speaker 1>The Indians still paced his room, the others were invisible. Well, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>what do you think of it? Holmes asked, as we
<v Speaker 1>came out into the main street. Quite a little parlor game,
<v Speaker 1>a sort of three card trick, is it not? There
<v Speaker 1>are your three men, it must be one of them.
<v Speaker 1>You take your choice, which is yours? The owlmouth fellow
<v Speaker 1>at the top, he's one with the worst record. And
<v Speaker 1>yet that Indian was a sly fellow. Also, why should
<v Speaker 1>he be pacing his room all the time? There is
<v Speaker 1>nothing in that. Many men do it when you trying
<v Speaker 1>to learn anything by heart. He looked at us in
<v Speaker 1>a queer way. So would you if a flock of
<v Speaker 1>strangers came in on you when you were preparing for
<v Speaker 1>an examination next day, and every moment was of value? No,
<v Speaker 1>I see nothing in that. Pencils too, and knives all
<v Speaker 1>was satisfactory. But that fellow does puzzle me. Who why
<v Speaker 1>banister the servant? What's his game in the matter? He
<v Speaker 1>impressed me as being a perfectly honest man, so he
<v Speaker 1>did me. That's the puzzling part. Why should a perfectly
<v Speaker 1>honest man? Well, well, here's a large stationers. We shall
<v Speaker 1>begin our researches here. There were only four stationers of
<v Speaker 1>any consequence in the town, and at each Holmes produced
<v Speaker 1>his pencil chips and bid. All were agreed that one
<v Speaker 1>could be ordered. But it was not a usual size
<v Speaker 1>of pencil, and that it was seldom kept in stock.
<v Speaker 1>My friend did not appear to be depressed by his failure,
<v Speaker 1>but shrugged his shoulders in half humorous resignation. No good,
<v Speaker 1>my dear Watson, This the best and only final clue,
<v Speaker 1>has run to nothing. But indeed I have little doubt
<v Speaker 1>that we can build up a sufficient case without it.
<v Speaker 1>By Jove, my dear fellow, it is nearly nine, and
<v Speaker 1>the landlady babbled of green peas at seven thirty. What
<v Speaker 1>with your eternal tobacco, Watson, and your irregularity at meals,
<v Speaker 1>I expect that you will get notice to quit, and
<v Speaker 1>that I shall share your downfall. Not, however, before we
<v Speaker 1>have solved the problem of the nervous tutor, the careless servant,
<v Speaker 1>and the three enterprising students. Holmes made no further allusion
<v Speaker 1>to the matter that day, though he sat lost in
<v Speaker 1>thought for a long time. After our belated dinner. At
<v Speaker 1>eight in the morning, he came into my room just
<v Speaker 1>as I finished my toilet. Well, Watson said he, it
<v Speaker 1>is time we went down to Saint Luke's. Can you
<v Speaker 1>do without breakfast? Certainly, Solmes will be in a dreadful
<v Speaker 1>fidget until we are able to tell him something positive.
<v Speaker 1>Have you anything positive to tell him? I think so
<v Speaker 1>you have formed a conclusion. Yes, my dear Watson, I
<v Speaker 1>have solved the mystery. But what fresh evidence could you
<v Speaker 1>have got? Ah? It is not for nothing that I
<v Speaker 1>have turned myself out of bed at the untimely hour
<v Speaker 1>of six. I've put in two hours hard work and
<v Speaker 1>covered at least five miles with something to show for it.
<v Speaker 1>Look at that he held out his hand on the
<v Speaker 1>palm were three little pyramids of black doughy clay. Why, Holmes,
<v Speaker 1>you only had two yesterday and one more this morning.
<v Speaker 1>It is a fair argument that wherever number three came
<v Speaker 1>from is also the source of numbers one and two. Eh, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>well come along and put friend Solmes out of his pain.
<v Speaker 1>The unfortunate tutor was certainly in a state of pitiable
<v Speaker 1>agitation when we found him in his chambers. In a
<v Speaker 1>few hours the examination would commence, and he was still
<v Speaker 1>in the dilemma between making the facts public and allowing
<v Speaker 1>the culprit to compete for the valuable scholarship. He could
<v Speaker 1>hardly stand still, so great was his mental agitation, and
<v Speaker 1>he ran towards homes with two eager hands outstretched. Thank
<v Speaker 1>Heaven that you've come. I feared that you had given
<v Speaker 1>it up in despair? What am I to do? Shall
<v Speaker 1>examination proceed? Yes, let it proceed by all means. But
<v Speaker 1>this rascal he shall not compete, you know him? I
<v Speaker 1>think so. If this matter is not to become public,
<v Speaker 1>we must give ourselves certain powers and resolve ourselves into
<v Speaker 1>a small private court martial. You there, if you please, Solmes, Watson,
<v Speaker 1>you here, I'll take the arm chair in the middle.
<v Speaker 1>I think that we're now sufficiently imposing to strike terror
<v Speaker 1>into a guilty breast. Kindly ring the bell, Banister entered
<v Speaker 1>and shrank back in evidence surprise and fear at our
<v Speaker 1>judicial appearance. You will kindly close the door, said Holmes. Now, banister,
<v Speaker 1>will you please tell us the truth about yesterday's incident?
<v Speaker 1>The man turned white to the roots of his hair.
<v Speaker 1>I've told you everything, sir, nothing to add, nothing at all, sir. Well,
<v Speaker 1>then I must make some suggestions to you. When you
<v Speaker 1>sat down on that chair yesterday, did you do so
<v Speaker 1>in order to conceal some object which would have shown
<v Speaker 1>who had been in the room. Banister's face was ghastly. No, sir,
<v Speaker 1>certainly not. It is only a suggestion, said Holmes, suavely.
<v Speaker 1>I frankly admit that I am unable to prove it,
<v Speaker 1>but it seems probably enough. Since the moment that mister
<v Speaker 1>Solmes's back was turned, you released the man who was
<v Speaker 1>hiding in that bedroom. Banister licked his dry lips. There
<v Speaker 1>was no man, sir, ah, that's a pity. Banister. Up
<v Speaker 1>to now you may have spoken the truth, but now
<v Speaker 1>I know that you have lied. The man's face set
<v Speaker 1>in sullen defiance. There was no man, sir. Come, come, banister, No, sir,
<v Speaker 1>there was no one in that case. You can give
<v Speaker 1>us no further information, would if you please remain in
<v Speaker 1>the room stand over there near the bedroom door. Now, Solmes,
<v Speaker 1>I am going to ask you to have the great
<v Speaker 1>kindness to go up to the room of young Gilchrist
<v Speaker 1>and to ask him to step down into yours. An
<v Speaker 1>instant later, the tutor returned, bringing with him the student.
<v Speaker 1>He was a fine figure of a man, tall, lithe
<v Speaker 1>and agile, with a springy step and a pleasant open face.
<v Speaker 1>His troubled blue eyes glanced at each of us, and
<v Speaker 1>finally rested with an expression of blank dismay upon Banister
<v Speaker 1>in the farther corner. Just close the door, said Holmes. Now,
<v Speaker 1>mister Gilcrist, we are all quite alone here, and no
<v Speaker 1>one need ever know one word of what passes between us.
<v Speaker 1>We can be perfectly frank with each other. We want
<v Speaker 1>to know, mister Gilchrist, how you, an honorable man, ever
<v Speaker 1>came to commit such an action as that of yesterday.
<v Speaker 1>The unfortunate young man staggered back and cast a look
<v Speaker 1>full of horror and reproach at Banister. No, no, mister Gilcrist, Sir,
<v Speaker 1>I never said a word, Never one word, cried the servant. No.
<v Speaker 1>But you have now, said Holmes. Now, sir, you must
<v Speaker 1>see that after Banister's words, your position is hopeless, and
<v Speaker 1>that your only chance lies in a frank confession. For
<v Speaker 1>a moment, Gilchrist, with upraised hand, tried to control his
<v Speaker 1>writhing features. The next he had thrown himself on his
<v Speaker 1>knees beside the table, and burying his face in his hands,
<v Speaker 1>he had burst into a storm of passionate sobbing. Come, Come,
<v Speaker 1>said Holmes, kindly. It is human to err, and at
<v Speaker 1>least no one can accuse you of being a callous criminal.
<v Speaker 1>Perhaps it would be easier for you. If I were
<v Speaker 1>to tell mister Solmes what occurred, and you can check
<v Speaker 1>me where I am wrong, shall I do so? Well? Well,
<v Speaker 1>don't trouble to answer. Listen and see that I do
<v Speaker 1>you no injustice. From the moment, mister Solmes, that you
<v Speaker 1>said to me that no one, not even banister, could
<v Speaker 1>have told that the papers were in your room, the
<v Speaker 1>case began to take a definite shape in my mind.
<v Speaker 1>The printer one could of course dismiss he could examine
<v Speaker 1>the papers in his own office. The Indian I also
<v Speaker 1>thought nothing of if the proofs were in a roll,
<v Speaker 1>he could not possibly know what they were. On the
<v Speaker 1>other hand, it seemed an unthinkable coincidence that a man
<v Speaker 1>should dare to enter the room, and that, by chance,
<v Speaker 1>on that very day, the papers were on the table.
<v Speaker 1>I dismissed that the man who entered knew that the
<v Speaker 1>papers were there? How did he know? When I approached
<v Speaker 1>your room, I examined a window. You amused me by
<v Speaker 1>supposing that I was contemplating the possibility of some one having,
<v Speaker 1>in broad day daylight, under the eyes of all these
<v Speaker 1>opposite rooms, forced himself through it. Such an idea was absurd.
<v Speaker 1>I was measuring how tall a man would need to
<v Speaker 1>be in order to see as he passed what papers
<v Speaker 1>were on the central table. I am six feet high,
<v Speaker 1>and I could do it without an effort. No one
<v Speaker 1>less than that would have a chance. Already, you see,
<v Speaker 1>I had reason to think that if one of your
<v Speaker 1>three students was a man of unusual height, he was
<v Speaker 1>the most worth watching of the three. I entered, and
<v Speaker 1>I took you into my confidence. As to the suggestions
<v Speaker 1>of the side table of the center table. I could
<v Speaker 1>make nothing until in your description of Gilchrist you mentioned
<v Speaker 1>that he was a long distance jumper. Then the whole
<v Speaker 1>thing came to me in an instant, and I only
<v Speaker 1>needed certain corroborative proofs, which I speedily obtained. What happened
<v Speaker 1>with this? This young fellow had employed his afternoon at
<v Speaker 1>the athletic grounds, where he had been practicing the jump.
<v Speaker 1>He returned carrying his jumping shoes, which are provided, as
<v Speaker 1>you are aware, with several sharp spikes. As he passed
<v Speaker 1>your window, he saw, by means of his great height,
<v Speaker 1>these proofs upon your table and conjectured what they were.
<v Speaker 1>No harm would have been done had it not been
<v Speaker 1>that as he passed your door he perceived the key,
<v Speaker 1>which had been left by the carelessness of your servant.
<v Speaker 1>A sudden impulse came over him to enter and see
<v Speaker 1>if they were indeed the proofs. It was not a
<v Speaker 1>dangerous exploit, for he could always pretend that he had
<v Speaker 1>simply looked in to ask a question. Well, when he
<v Speaker 1>saw that they were indeed the proofs, it was then
<v Speaker 1>that he yielded to temptation. He put his shoes on
<v Speaker 1>the table. What was it you put on that chair
<v Speaker 1>near the window, gloves, said the young man home looked
<v Speaker 1>triumphantly at banister. He put his gloves on the chair,
<v Speaker 1>and he took the proofs sheet by sheet to copy them.
<v Speaker 1>He thought the tutor must return by the main gate,
<v Speaker 1>and that he would see him. As we know, he
<v Speaker 1>came back by the side gate. Suddenly he heard him
<v Speaker 1>at the very door. There was no possible escape. He
<v Speaker 1>forgot his gloves, but he caught up his shoes and
<v Speaker 1>darted into the bedroom. You observed that the scratch on
<v Speaker 1>that table is slight at one side, but deepens in
<v Speaker 1>the direction of the bedroom door. That in itself is
<v Speaker 1>enough to show us that the shoe had been drawn
<v Speaker 1>in that direction, and that the culprit had taken refuge there.
<v Speaker 1>The earth round the spike had been left on the table,
<v Speaker 1>and a second sample was loosened and fell into the bedroom.
<v Speaker 1>I may add that I walked out to the athletic
<v Speaker 1>grounds this morning, saw that tenacious black clay is used
<v Speaker 1>in the jumping pit, and carried away a specimen of it,
<v Speaker 1>together with some of the fine tan or sawdust, which
<v Speaker 1>is strewn over it to prevent the athlete from slipping.
<v Speaker 1>Have I told the truth, mister Gilchrist The student had
<v Speaker 1>drawn himself erect? Yes, sir, it is true, said he
<v Speaker 1>good Heavens. Have you nothing to add, cried Solmes, Yes, sir,
<v Speaker 1>I have, but the shock of this disgraceful exposure has
<v Speaker 1>bewildered me. I have a letter here, mister Solmes, which
<v Speaker 1>I wrote to you early this morning, in the middle
<v Speaker 1>of a restless night. It was before I knew that
<v Speaker 1>my sin had found me out here. It is, sir.
<v Speaker 1>You will see that I have said I have determined
<v Speaker 1>not to go in for the examination. I have been
<v Speaker 1>offered a commission in the Rhodesian Police, and I am
<v Speaker 1>going out to South Africa at once. I am indeed
<v Speaker 1>pleased to hear that you did not intend to profit
<v Speaker 1>by your unfair advantage, said Solmes, But why did you
<v Speaker 1>change your purpose? Gilchrist pointed to Banister, there is the
<v Speaker 1>man who set me in the right path, said he.
<v Speaker 1>Come now, banister, said Holmes, it will be clear to
<v Speaker 1>you from what I have said that only you could
<v Speaker 1>have let this young man out, since you were left
<v Speaker 1>in the room and must have locked the door when
<v Speaker 1>you went out. As to his escaping by that window,
<v Speaker 1>it was incredible. Can you not clear up the last
<v Speaker 1>point in this mystery and tell us the reasons for
<v Speaker 1>your action? It was simply enough, sir, if you only
<v Speaker 1>had known. But with all your cleverness, it was impossible
<v Speaker 1>that you could know. Time was, sir, when I was
<v Speaker 1>butler tot old Sir Jabers Gilcrist, this young gentleman's father,
<v Speaker 1>when he was ruined. I came to the college a servant,
<v Speaker 1>but I never forgot my old employer because he was
<v Speaker 1>down in the world. I watched his son all I could,
<v Speaker 1>for the sake of the old days. Well, Sir, when
<v Speaker 1>I came into this room yesterday when the alarm was given,
<v Speaker 1>the very first thing I saw was mister Gilchrist, and
<v Speaker 1>gloves are lying in that chair. I knew those gloves well,
<v Speaker 1>and I understood their message. If mister Solmes saw them,
<v Speaker 1>the game was up. I flopped down into that chair
<v Speaker 1>and nothing would budge me until mister Solmes he went
<v Speaker 1>for you. Then out came my poor young master, whom
<v Speaker 1>I dandled on my knee and confessed it all to me.
<v Speaker 1>Wasn't it natural, sir, that I should save him? And
<v Speaker 1>wasn't it natural also that I should try to speak
<v Speaker 1>to him as his dead father would have done and
<v Speaker 1>make him understand that he could not profit by such
<v Speaker 1>a deed. Could you blame me, sir? No, indeed, said Holmes, heartily,
<v Speaker 1>springing to his feet. Well, Solmes, I think we've cleared
<v Speaker 1>your little problem up, and our breakfast awaits us at home.
<v Speaker 1>Come Watson. As to you, sir, I trust that a
<v Speaker 1>bright future awaits you in Rhodesia, for once you have
<v Speaker 1>fallen low, let us see in the future how high
<v Speaker 1>you can rise. End of the Adventure of the Three Students.