Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 49 Return 25
"We can get nowhere, Watson. This most useful clue has been rendered useless. In any case, let us deal with the anxious tutor, the careless servant, and the three promising undergraduates. between the problems."

He thought for a long time after eating, but he didn't mention this matter to me again.I had hardly finished washing the next morning when Mr. Holmes entered my house.

"Let us go to St. Luke's, Watson. Can you bear without breakfast?"

"can."

"Mr Soames will be restless if we don't get the matter settled satisfactorily."

"Have you solved the problem yet?"

"Yes."

"Have you come to a conclusion?"

"Yes, I have solved the mystery."

"Did you get some new evidence?"

"I was up early at six o'clock, and the labor of that time must have paid off. I had worked hard for two hours, and walked at least five miles, to finally have some evidence to settle the matter. One question. Look at this!"

He stretched out his palm, and there were three small pyramid-shaped balls of black mud in his palm.

"Why, didn't you only have two yesterday?"

"But another one was obtained this morning. It can be concluded that the owner of the third little mud ball is also the owner of the first and second mud balls. Come, Watson, we will let our Soames Take it easy."

Soames was in a constant state of uneasiness.The exam will be in a few hours, but he is still in a dilemma-either to declare the truth, or to allow criminals to take this high-scholarship exam. Steady.But as soon as he saw Holmes, he immediately stretched out his hands to meet him.

"Thank God you're here at last! I'm really worried you're going to brush this off because you can't figure out what to do. What should I do? Will the exam still go ahead as planned?"

"Yes, it will be held anyway."

"But what shall we do with that liar?"

"He can't be allowed to participate."

"Do you already know who he is?"

"I think he'll be singled out, and if you don't want the public to know about it, we'll have to be a little dignified, a private court-martial of the three of us. Soames, you sit there. Watson, You sit here. I sit in the armchair in the middle. I think the purpose of this is to instil fear in the criminal, now please ring the bell!"

After the manservant came in, he immediately felt frightened when he saw our majestic face, and took a step back involuntarily.

Holmes said: "Close the door, Bannister, and now please explain to us the full truth of yesterday's incident."

His face turned completely white in an instant.

"Sir, I have said all I have to say."

"Is there nothing to add?"

"No more, sir."

"Well, let me remind you. When you sat in that chair yesterday, you were trying to cover something, which is very important in showing who has been in the house."

Bannister's face grew even paler.

"No, no, sir."

Holmes softened his tone: "Just to remind you, I frankly admit that I cannot confirm the matter. However, there is a possibility that, as soon as Mr. Soames turns away, you will leave the house hidden in the bedroom." People let go."

Bannister licked his parched lips.

"Sir, no one."

"Bannister, it's not good. It's come to this, you ought to tell the truth, why are you lying now?"

He sullenly pretended to be nonchalant.

"Sir, no one."

"Bannister, speak up!"

"Sir, there is indeed no one."

"Since you will not give us information, will you not go out? Stand by the bedroom door. Mr. Soames, please ask Gilchrist to come here yourself."

After a while, the tutor came back with the students.This is a student with a strong physique, a tall figure, light and flexible movements, a vigorous gait, and a cheerful and cheerful face.He looked at each of us uncomfortably, then stared blankly at the footman in the corner.

Holmes said: "Close the door, please. Mr. Gilchrist, there are no strangers here, and the content of our conversation will not be disclosed to others, because there is no need for it. We must be frank with each other. Mr. Gilchrist, I I want to know why an honest man like you did such a shameful thing?"

The young man took a step back and gave Bannister a look of horror and reproach.

The servant said quickly, "No, no, Mr. Gilchrist, I haven't said a word."

"But you have said it now," said Holmes. "You should understand, Mr. Gilchrist, that after Bannister's words there is no way out for you. Your only way out is to confess the truth."

In an instant, he covered his face with his hands and sobbed incessantly.

"No," said Holmes gently, "don't cry any more. No man is a sage, and nothing is wrong. It may be convenient for you if I tell Mr. Soames what happened, and you correct it. Some. I'm starting to talk, you listen, in case I'm wrong about what you did.

"Mr. Soames, you once told me that no one, not even Bannister, knew that the papers were in your house. I have had a more definite opinion since then. Of course there is no need to think about it." The printer, and the Indian, I'm sure he can do no evil. If the proof had been rolled up in a roll, he wouldn't know what it was. On the other hand, suppose a man dared to enter There is almost no such coincidence that there is a test paper on the table. So I ruled out this situation. The person who entered the room did not know where the test paper was, but how did he What do you know?

"When I approached your house, I checked the window. Your assumption at the time was simply not credible. How could a person break through the window in broad daylight, let alone under the gaze of everyone in the opposite room? What? That doesn't happen. I'm measuring how tall a passer-by has to be to look inside and see the test papers on the desk? I'm six feet tall and I can see it with all my strength. But less than People who are six feet will definitely not be able to see. So what I want to get is which of your three students has the tallest body, and he is the most likely to do such a thing.

"After entering the house, I found the clues on the table by the window, which I told you. I didn't draw any conclusions on the table in the middle. When you said later that the young man was a long jumper , I immediately understood the whole story, but I needed some circumstantial evidence to support my conclusion. And I quickly got them.

"Here's what happened: This young man was practicing his long jump in the playground this afternoon. He was on his way back with his jumping shoes. You all know that there are spikes on the soles of the jumping shoes. Just as he passed your window, He is very tall, and his height advantage enables him to see the proof sheet on your desk, and he guesses that it is a test paper. When passing by the door, it is fine if he does not see that there is a key left on the door. The thing might never have happened. Then a sudden inner impulse drove him into the house to see if it was all right.

"And when he saw that it was the real copy, he couldn't resist the temptation. He put the shoes on the table. Young man, what did you put on that chair near the window?"

The young man replied, "Gloves."

Holmes looked at Bannister triumphantly. "As soon as he had put his gloves on the chair, he took the proof sheet and copied it one by one. He thought the master must have come back by the yard gate, so that he could see it from the inside, but Mr. Soames came in by a side door." He heard the teacher’s footsteps approaching the door, and he grabbed his shoes and ran to the bedroom, but he forgot his gloves. He could see that the scratches on the tabletop were very light, but yes The scratches showed that the young man picked up the jumping shoes towards the bedroom. The young man was in the bedroom, but the dirt on the spikes remained on the table, and another piece fell into the bedroom. Also, I went to the sports field this morning and saw the black clay used in the jumping pit, with fine yellow sawdust sprinkled on it, and I brought a small piece of black clay to show it. Mr. Gilchrist, is this true of what I said? ?”

"It's absolutely true," he said.

Mr. Soames said: "Have you anything else to say?"

"Sir, I did a disgraceful thing yesterday, and I was overwhelmed with alarm. I have a letter for you, Mr. Soames, which I am writing this morning after a sleepless night. .I have decided not to take the exam. I have received an appointment from the Rhodesian Police Headquarters and I am going to leave for South Africa immediately."

Soames said: "I'm glad to hear that you didn't intend to cheat to get the scholarship. But why did you change your intentions again?"

He pointed to Bannister and said:

"It was he who led me to correct my evil ways and return to the right."

Holmes said: "Bannister, come here. I have said that only you can let this young man go. The reason is that you were the only one in the house at that time, and you must lock the door when you go out. There is no way for him to escape from the window. Please explain the last doubt in this case, and tell us why you want to do this."

"I used to be butler of the young gentleman's father, that old bankrupt Lord Gilchrist's house. I came here as a servant later, but I never forgot my old master's sudden change. He. For that I have done my best to take care of his son. When you rang for me yesterday, the first thing I saw was Mr. Gilchrist's tan gloves on the chair. Mr. Soames saw the glove, and it was revealed. I sat down in a chair, and did not get up until Mr. Soames came to you. At this moment my poor little master came out of the bedroom, and he Confessed to me what he had done. I had to save him, and it was only natural that I should teach him, like his dead father, that he should not be opportunistic. Can you blame me for that, sir?"

Holmes rose happily, and said: "No indeed, Soames; I think this little point is cleared up. Let us go, Watson! As for you, sir, I hope you have a bright future in Rhodesia. Although You fell down this time, but we still wish you great things."

(End of this chapter)