Возвращение Шерлока Холмса
The Adventure of the Three Students
Ihadtoreaditovercarefully,asthetextmustbeabsolutelycorrect.Atfour-thirtymytaskwasnotyetcompleted.Ihad,however,promisedtotaketeainafriend’srooms,soIlefttheproofuponmydesk.Iwasabsentrathermorethananhour.
“Youareaware,Mr.Holmes,thatourcollegedoorsaredouble—agreenbaizeonewithinandaheavyoakonewithout.AsIapproachedmyouterdoor,Iwasamazedtoseeakeyinit.ForaninstantIimaginedthatIhadleftmyownthere,butonfeelinginmypocketIfoundthatitwasallright.Theonlyduplicatewhichexisted,sofarasIknew,wasthatwhichbelongedtomyservant,Bannister—amanwhohaslookedaftermyroomfortenyears,andwhosehonestyisabsolutelyabovesuspicion.Ifoundthatthekeywasindeedhis,thathehadenteredmyroomtoknowifIwantedtea,andthathehadverycarelesslyleftthekeyinthedoorwhenhecameout.Hisvisittomyroommusthavebeenwithinaveryfewminutesofmyleavingit.Hisforgetfulnessaboutthekeywouldhavematteredlittleuponanyotheroccasion,butonthisonedayithasproducedthemostdeplorableconsequences.
“ThemomentIlookedatmytable,Iwasawarethatsomeonehadrummagedamongmypapers.Theproofwasinthreelongslips.Ihadleftthemalltogether.Now,Ifoundthatoneofthemwaslyingonthefloor,onewasonthesidetablenearthewindow,andthethirdwaswhereIhadleftit.”
Holmesstirredforthefirsttime.
“Thefirstpageonthefloor,thesecondinthewindow,thethirdwhereyouleftit,”saidhe.
“Exactly,Mr.Holmes.Youamazeme.
