Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-07-20

to know, Mr.. Gllcnrist, now you, an nom
durable man. ever came 20 commit such
an action as that Of yesterday"
The unfortunate young man staggered
back. and cast a look full Of horror and
reproach at Bannister.
mo, no, Nj. GiIchrist, sir, I never said
q w~ord-never one word!' cried the ser
want.
NO, but you have now" said Holmes
Now. sir, you must see that after Ban
ister's words your position is hopeless. and
that your only chance lies m a frank con-
f~ession."
For a moment Gilchrlst. with appraised
hand, tried to control his writhing feat
ures. The mex he. had thrown himself on
his knees beside the table, and burying
his face In his hands, he had burst into a
storm OF passionate sobb.ng.
Come, come" said Holmes, kindly. 1T
is human to err, and at least no one can
accuse you of being a callous criminal.
Perhaps 1t would be easier for you II I
were TO tell Mr.. Soames what occurred,
and you can check me where l am wrong.
Shall l do so? Well, well, dom trouble 10
answer. Listen. and see that / do you no
injustice"
From the moment, Mr.. Soames, thai
you said to me that no one, not even Ban
mister. could have told that the papers
were in your room, the case began to take
a definite shape in my mind. The printer
DitS COulu, ol COuISt, ulSIllSSs ne cOulQ
examine the papers in his own office. The
Indian I also thought nothing of. If the
proofs were in roll, he could not possibly
know they were. On the other hand,
it seemed an u~nthinkable coincidence that
a man should dare TO enter the room,
and that by chance on that very day the
papers were on the table. / dismissed
that. The man who entered knew that
the papers were there. How did he know?
When I approached your room, 1 exam
ined tho window. You amused me by sup
posing that was contemplating the pos
sibtltty Of someone having In broad day
light, under the eyes of all these opposite
rooms, forced himself through Il. Such an
idea was absurd. l was measuring how
tall a mar would need to be In order to
see, as he passed, what papers were on
the central table. / am six feet high, and
/ could do 1t with an effort. No one less
than that would have a chance. Already
you see had reason to think that, IL one
Of your three students was a man OF un-
usual height, he was the most worth
watching of the three.
II entered, and / took you into my con-
hdence as to the suggestions of the side
table. OF the center table I could make
nothing, until in your description Of Gil
christ you mentioned that he was a long
distance jumper. Then the whole thing
came TO me In an instant, and I only
$1,000 BAOOIo, lac
l speedily obtained.
What happened was this. This Young
fellow mad employed his afternoon at the
athletic grounds, where he had been prac-
ticing 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. 1t was not a dangerous exploit.
for he could always pretend that he had
simply looked In to ask a question.
We'll, when he saw that they were in
deed the proofs, 1t was then that he yield
ed TO temptation. He put his shoes on the
table. What was 1t you put on that chair
near the Window"
Gloves said the young man.
Holmes looked triumphantly at Ban
mister. He put his groves on the chair.
and 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 pos
sible 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 d.
r~ection, 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 bed
room. / may add that / walked out to the
athletic grounds this morning, saw that
tenacious black clay is used in the jump
ing pit. and carried away a specimen Of
1t, together with some OF the fine tan
or sawdust which is strewn over 1t TO pre-
vent the athlete from slipping. Have j
told the truth, Mr.. Gilchrist?"
The student had drawn himself erect.
Yes, sir, 1t Is true" said he.
Good heavens! have you nothing &c
add?" cried Soames
Yes, sir. 1 have, but the shock of this
disgraceful exposure has bewildered me.
I have a letter here, Mr.. Soames, which ]
wrote to you early this morning In the
middle OF a restless night. II was before
l knew that my sin had found me out.
Here Ii is. sir. You will see that / have
said, L nave determined not to go in for
the examination. / have been offered a
commission In the Rhodesian police. and
am going out to South Africa at once
Il am indeed pleased to hear that you
did not intend to profit by your unfair adj
vantage 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
1T 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 wen out. As to his escaping
by that window, II was incredible. Can
you not clear up the last point In this
mystery, and tell us the reasons for your
action?"
lit was simple enough. sir. IL you only
had known. but. with all your cleverness,
II was impossible that you could know,
Time was, sir. when ] was butler TO old
Sir Jabez Gilchrist, this young gentle
mans father. When he was ruined / came
to the college as servant. but / never for
got my old employer because he was down
In the world. i watched his son all ]
could for the sake of the old days. Well,
sir, when I came into this room yesterday,
when the alarm was given. the very first