In this case, can you tell me where this door leads to?"

"To my bedroom."

"Have you ever gone in since this happened?"

"No, I went directly to find you."

"Okay, let me go in and take a look. What a beautiful house! It's antique! Wait a minute, I want to check the floor first. Well, there's nothing suspicious. What is this curtain for? You want to be here

Do you hang clothes in the back? If someone hides in this room in a hurry, it must be hidden behind this piece of cloth. Your bed is very low, and the wardrobe is not spacious enough, so I think it can only be here."

Holmes went to pull the curtain, and I saw his calm and determined expression. I knew that he had made preparations just in case. But when the curtain was opened, except for three or four sets of clothes hanging on the hooks,

, there was nothing. Just as Holmes was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly turned around again and squatted close to the floor.

He said: "Look, what is this!"

I saw a small black ball like a pyramid, the same as the one on the study table. Holmes took the dough into his hand and held it under the electric light to examine it.

"Mr. Soames, the man you are looking for has been in your living room and bedroom and left clues."

"What was he doing in my bedroom?"

"This is obvious because he noticed your sudden return. In desperation, he could only rush into your bedroom and hide to avoid being exposed."

"Oh, my God, Mr. Holmes, are you saying that that fellow was in my bedroom while I was talking to Bannister over there?"

"That's how it should be."

"But, Mr. Holmes, have you noticed my bedroom window? There may be another possibility."

Well, there are three windows with flowered lattice on the glass and metal frame. One of them has hinges that can allow a person to get in.

"This is indeed the case. The bedroom faces a corner of the garden, so it is impossible to see the bedroom from the outside. Maybe this guy came in through the window, passed through the bedroom, left the dough, and finally ran away when he found the door open.

Already."

Holmes was a little impatient and shook his head.

He said: "Let's start with the actual situation. You once said that three college students use this stone staircase and always pass by your door, right?"

"There are indeed three students like this."

"Then they all have to take the exam for this scholarship?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Who do you think is more suspicious among the three?"

Mr. Soames hesitated.

Finally, he said: "This question is difficult to answer, because you cannot doubt anyone without evidence."

"It doesn't matter, just tell me your suspicions, and I'll find the evidence."

Well, let me briefly talk about the characters of these three college students. The student living on the bottom floor is Gilchrist. He is an excellent student and is also very good at sports. He participated in football and sports in the college.

He was on the cricket team and won awards in both the low hurdles and long jump competitions. He was handsome and very graceful. However, his father, Lord Zabez Gilchrist, did not have a good reputation. The family went bankrupt because of horse racing.

.Although this student is poor, he will have a good future if he works hard and diligently.

The Indian student Doulas Rais, who lives on the middle floor, has a quiet personality like most people in India, and is somewhat difficult to approach. He is good at homework, but not so good at Greek. He is very practical and meticulous in his work.

.

The one who lives on the top floor is Miles McLaren. As long as he wants to learn, he can learn very well. He is the genius of this college. However, he is free and very willful. In the first year, he almost died because of playing cards.

He was expelled. This year he came here lazily as usual, but he must be very scared of this exam.

"Oh? So you think it might be him?"

"I can't say that easily. But if I have doubts, I think he is the most likely."

"Thank you, Mr. Tutor, can we meet your servant Bannister now?"

Bannister is short, with a pale face, clean shaven, and gray hair. He looks to be in his 50s. It seems that the incident with the test question has disrupted his life. He is still very nervous and his cheeks are twitching.

, the fingers are also trembling.

"Bannister, we're looking at this," Soames said.

"I understand, sir."

Holmes said: "Is it true that you left the key on the door?"

"That's right, sir."

"That's strange. Just when the test paper was placed in the room, you forgot it. Isn't it abnormal?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I know this shouldn't be done, but sometimes I forget it."

"Okay, when did you come in?"

"Around 4:30, that's when Mr. Soames drinks tea."

"How long have you been waiting for him?"

"I came out as soon as I saw he wasn't there."

"Have you seen the test papers on the table?"

"No sir, I swear I didn't look."

"Why did you leave the key on the door?"

"Because I was still holding the tea tray in my hand and wanted to go back and take out the key, but unexpectedly I forgot about it later."

"So, does the outer door have a spring lock?"

"No."

"Is it always on like that?"

"That's right, sir."

"Can anyone get out of the house?"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Soames found you and asked about this when he came back. You were worried, weren't you?"

Yes, sir, this is the first time I have encountered such a thing in so many years, and I almost fainted.

"I know you fainted, but where were you when you started feeling uncomfortable?"

"Where am I? Right here, near the door."

"Isn't this a bit of a contradiction? Since you are sitting on the stool in the corner of the room over there, why do you have to go through the other chairs?"

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

Mr. Soames interjected: "Mr. Holmes, I do not think he would have noticed, for he turned very white at the time."

"Then after your master left to find me, will you still stay here?"

"I stayed there for about a minute or two, and then I locked the door and went back to my room."

"Okay, tell me who you suspect?"

"Ah! I can't talk nonsense about this. I simply don't believe that anyone in this school would do such a shameful thing. Sir, I don't believe it."

Holmes said: "Okay, thank you, that's it! By the way, did you mention the accident to the three college students?"

"No, sir, not a word."

"Have you seen them?"

"not yet."

"Okay. Mr. Soames, can you come with me for a walk in this garden?"

It was already getting darker, and the windows on every floor were lit with lights.

Holmes looked up and said: "It seems that the three little birds have all returned to their nests. Huh? Did you see that one of them seems to be very nervous?"

Holmes saw a figure flashing through a window. It was the Indian student living in the middle. His silhouette was reflected in the curtains, and he was quickly turning back and forth in the house.

Holmes said: "Can I see each of them?"

Soames replied: "No problem. These are the most historic houses in the college. Guests often come to visit. Please come with me."

When we reached Gilchrist's door, Holmes said: "Please don't tell him who I am yet."

At this time, a thin, tall, yellow-haired young man came to open the door. When he understood that we were here to visit the room, he welcomed us. There are rare medieval interior structures in this house, and Holmes visited one of them.

Sherlock Holmes was very interested in the structure and said that he must draw it in his notebook, but the tip of his pencil broke and he needed to borrow one. So the young man borrowed a knife to sharpen Holmes' pencil. When he went to the Indians, he also

We did these things repeatedly. The Indian student was short, didn't like to talk, and had a hooked nose. He kept looking at us sideways. When Holmes finished the composition, he looked very happy. I couldn't see that Holmes was

We didn't find the clues he wanted from these two rooms, but we couldn't enter the room on the top floor because we couldn't knock on the door at all. Loud curses came from inside the door, and the owner of the house shouted angrily.

: "I don't care who you are, get out of here! I have an exam tomorrow! Stop bothering me!"

The instructor's face turned red with anger, and he said as he went downstairs: "It's really rude. Even if he doesn't know it's me knocking on the door, it's too rude! It's too suspicious to stay behind closed doors in this situation!"
To be continued...