racious,
Mr. Holmes, you are surely not going to leave me in this abrupt fashion!
You don't seem to realize the position. To-morrow is the examination. I
must take some definite action to-night. I cannot allow the examination
to be held if one of the papers has been tampered with. The situation
must be faced."

"You must leave it as it is. I shall drop round early to-morrow morning
and chat the matter over. It is possible that I may be in a position
then to indicate some course of action. Meanwhile, you change
nothing--nothing at all."

"Very good, Mr. Holmes."

"You can be perfectly easy in your mind. We shall certainly find some
way out of your difficulties. I will take the black clay with me, also
the pencil cuttings. Good-bye."

When we were out in the darkness of the quadrangle, we again looked
up at the windows. The Indian still paced his room. The others were
invisible.

"Well, Watson, what do you think of it?" Holmes asked, as we came out
into the main street. "Quite a little parlour game--sort of three-card
trick, is it not? There are your three men. It must be one of them. You
take your choice. Which is yours?"

"The foul-mouthed fellow at the top. He is the one with the worst
record. And yet that Indian was a sly fellow also. Why should he be
pacing his room all the time?"

"There is nothing in that. Many men do it when they are trying to learn
anything by heart."

"He looked at us in a queer way."

"So would you, if a flock of strangers came in on you when you were
preparing for an examination next day, and every moment was of
value. No, I see nothing in that. Pencils, too, and knives--all was
satisfactory. But that fellow DOES puzzle me."

"Who?"

"Why, Bannister, the servant. What's his game in the matter?"

"He impressed me as being a perfectly honest man."

"So he did me. That's the puzzling part. Why should a perfectly
honest man--Well, well, here's a large stationer's. We shall begin our
researches here."

There were only four stationers of any consequences in the town, and at
each Holmes produced his pencil chips, and bid high for a duplicate. All
were agreed that one could be ordered, but that it was not a usual size
of pencil and that it was seldom kept in stock. My friend did not
appear to be depressed by his failure, but shrugged his shoulders in
half-humorous resignation.

"No good, my dear Watson. This, the best and only final clue, has run
to nothing. But, indeed, I have l