Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 48 Return 24
"Did you ever go in after this happened?"

"I didn't go in, so I went directly to you."

"Better let me check. You guys wait outside for a minute and come in when I'm done checking the floor. Ah, nothing. What's the use of this curtain? You hang your clothes behind this. If anyone has to Hiding in this room, he will definitely choose to hide behind this curtain, because the height of the bed is too low, and the wardrobe is too narrow and thin. I think maybe no one will be here."

As he pulled the veil, his resolute and wary air told me that he was prepared in case of any eventuality.But when I opened it, there was nothing but three or four clothes hanging on the hooks.Suddenly Holmes crouched on the floor again.

"Hello, what's this?" he asked.

It was a small black pyramid-shaped thing exactly like the one on the desk in the study.He put it in the palm of his hand and took it under the electric light to examine it patiently and carefully.

"Mr. Soames, the thieves have left traces in your drawing-room and bedroom."

"What was he doing in the bedroom?"

"Obviously, you came back suddenly, and he didn't know what to do until he got to the door. He will be found by you anyway, so he has no choice but to rush into the bedroom and hide first."

"Alas, my lord! Do you mean, sir, that while I was talking with my servant there was a man hiding in the bedroom?"

"I think so."

"Mr. Holmes, I think there is another possibility. Have you noticed my bedroom window?"

"There are flowered window lattices on the glass, and there are metal frames. There are three doors in total, and one door has hinged leaves, so people can get in."

"Exactly. He probably came in through the window, walked across the bedroom, left a mark, and finally ran away quickly through the door when he found it open."

Holmes shook his head impatiently.

"Let's face it," he said. "You said you had three students using the stone staircase and they kept walking past your door."

"Yes, there are three students."

"Are the three of them going to take this exam to compete for a scholarship?"

"Yes."

"Which of the three of them is most likely to do such a thing?"

The instructor seemed a little hesitant.

"It's a hard question to answer, I can't doubt anyone without any evidence," he said.

"Just talk about your doubts, and I will find the evidence."

"Okay, let me give you a brief introduction to the characters of these three people. Among the three people, the one who lives on the bottom floor is Gilchrist. He is an excellent student and an excellent athlete. He joined the college football and cricket teams, and won prizes in hurdles and long jump. His father was a lord, but had a bad reputation because he went bankrupt in horse racing. Although he was poor, he worked hard and studied. He is also very hardworking, and his future must be very bright.

"The person living on the middle floor is an Indian student named Doulas Reiss. He is quiet but unapproachable. He also studies well, but his Greek is not ideal. He has a steady personality and does things well. It's all in order.

"The one who lives at the top is Miles McLaren. He's got a lot of talent, and he can do well if he works hard. But he's headstrong, and he's a libertine. Almost got kicked out his first year for playing cards. He was also lazy this semester, so he must be very scared of this scholarship exam."

"You mean, it's him you suspect?"

"I dare not say this, but, among these three students, he may be the most likely to be able to do this kind of thing."

"Very well, Mr. Soames, I should like to see your servant Bannister now."

The servant was not tall, pale, clean-shaven, with graying hair, probably in his fifties.By this time he hadn't quite calmed down, and his round cheeks were still twitching from the tension.

His master said: "Bannister, we are conducting an investigation into this unfortunate incident."

"Yes, sir."

Holmes said: "It is said that you left the key on the door?"

"Yes, sir."

"The test papers were in the room at this time, but you made such a mistake at this very moment, don't you think it's abnormal?"

"Sir, this should not have happened. But I have forgotten my keys before."

"When did you enter the house?"

"It was about 04:30, which is when Mr Soames had his tea."

"How long have you been waiting inside the house?"

"I saw that he was not there, so I hurried out."

"Did you see the test papers on the table?"

"No, sir."

"Then why did you leave the key on the door?"

"Because I was holding the tea tray in my hand, I wanted to get the key after I put the tea tray down, but then I forgot."

"Is there a latch on the door that leads out?"

"No, sir."

"Is that door always open?"

"Yes, sir."

"You were disturbed when your master came to see you, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir. I almost fainted."

"Where did you start feeling uncomfortable?"

"Where, sir? Right here, near the door."

"That's strange. You're sitting in the corner chair. Why do you want to sit there?"

"Sir, I don't know, I didn't notice where I was sitting."

"I think so too, Mr. Holmes. He was very very pale then."

"Did you stay here after your master left?"

"I was only there for a minute or two, and then I went back to my house."

"Which person do you suspect entered the room to peek at the test paper?"

"Oh, I don't dare to say that. I don't believe that anyone in this university would do such an unscrupulous thing. Sir, I don't believe there is such a person."

"Thank you," said Holmes. "That's all for now. Oh, and one more thing. Did you mention to the three gentlemen upstairs what happened?"

"No, sir, not a word."

"Did you see them?"

"No."

"That's good. Would you like to walk around this yard with us, Mr. Soames?"

It was dark, and there were lights on in the windows of every floor upstairs.

Holmes looked up. "Your three little birds have all returned to their nests. Hello! One of them is fidgeting."

The Indian was pacing rapidly up and down the room.

Holmes said: "I hope to meet everyone. Can this request be satisfied?"

The instructor said: "There is no problem with this. These rooms are the oldest in the courtyard, and guests often come to visit them. I will lead you up there myself."

When we knocked gently on Gilchrist's door, Holmes whispered to us: "Please do not announce your name." A tall, thin, fair-haired young man opened the door, and Holmes insisted on painting the medieval structure inside the house. In his notebook, he deliberately broke the point of a pencil, hoping to borrow one from the master, but at last only got a knife from the master to sharpen his own pencil.He did the same thing in the house of the Indian, who squinted at us and looked happy when my friend finished drawing the structure.There seems to be no useful clues found in these two places.But we were not able to visit the third place, because we could not knock on his door, and there was a burst of angry scolding from inside. "Whoever you are, fuck you! There is an exam tomorrow, don't bother me!"

My guide, very angry and flushed, said as he descended the steps: "How rude! How rude! Even if he didn't know that I was knocking outside, he shouldn't be so rude. In this way, He is very doubtful."

Holmes' answer was surprising.

He asked: "Do you know how tall he is? I want the exact number."

"He's taller than the Indian, sir, but not as tall as Guillister. I think he's about five foot six."

"This is a very important point," said Holmes. "Mr. Soames. I wish you good night."

Our client shouted loudly: "Mr. Holmes, you can't just leave suddenly like this! You should understand my current situation. I have an exam tomorrow! I must come up with a countermeasure tonight."

"But now we can only maintain the status quo. I will talk to you about this matter tomorrow morning. I may tell you how to do it at that time. But, please remember, don't move anything."

"Very well, so be it, Mr. Holmes."

"Don't worry, we'll get out of this eventually. I'm taking those two balls of black mud and the pencil shavings with me. Goodbye."

After we walked out of the yard, we couldn't help looking up at the windows again.The Indian was still pacing up and down the room, and there were no lights in the other two windows.

On the street, Holmes asked: "Watson, what do you think of this matter? It's a little game in the living room. Don't you think that one of three cards is drawn? I think it must be these three people." One of them did it, you picked your card, which one is it? Tell me."

"That guy on the fourth floor has a dirty mouth! Bad manners. And that Indian looks cunning. Why is he walking around the house?"

"There is no necessary connection. Some people often walk around when they are carrying things."

"He looked at us strangely just now."

"If a man is preparing for an exam the next day, every morsel of time is precious, and a group of people come to him out of the blue, what does he think of them? I don't think that means anything. But the I really can't figure it out."

"Which one are you referring to?"

"The servant, Bannister, of course. What trick is he going to play in this?"

"My first impression of him was dishonesty."

"I have the same impression, and it's puzzling. As a man of ordinary honesty, why should he—oh, there's a stationer's shop here, so let's start our investigations from there."

There are only four relatively large stationery stores in the university city, and every time I go to one of them, my friend will take out the few pieces of pencil shavings and say that he will pay a high price for such pencils.All four said they would order one for him, because it was not an ordinary size pencil and was rarely in stock.My friend just expressed his resignation and walked out.

(End of this chapter)