ld, 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 confidence 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 jumping-pit, 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."' {2}
"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
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