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