hardly hope
for any upon so dry a day. Your servant seems to have quite recovered.
You left him in a chair, you say; which chair?"

"By the window there."

"I see. Near this little table. You can come in now. I have finished
with the carpet. Let us take the little table first. Of course, what has
happened is very clear. The man entered and took the papers, sheet by
sheet, from the central table. He carried them over to the window table,
because from there he could see if you came across the courtyard, and so
could effect an escape."

"As a matter of fact he could not," said Soames, "for I entered by the
side door."

"Ah, that's good! Well, anyhow, that was in his mind. Let me see the
three strips. No finger impressions--no! Well, he carried over this one
first and he copied it. How long would it take him to do that, using
every possible contraction? A quarter of an hour, not less. Then he
tossed it down and seized the next. He was in the midst of that when
your return caused him to make a very hurried retreat--VERY hurried,
since he had not time to replace the papers which would tell you that he
had been there. You were not aware of any hurrying feet on the stair as
you entered the outer door?"

"No, I can't say I was."

"Well, he wrote so furiously that he broke his pencil, and had, as you
observe, to sharpen it again. This is of interest, Watson. The pencil
was not an ordinary one. It was above the usual size, with a soft lead;
the outer colour was dark blue, the maker's name was printed in silver
lettering, and the piece remaining is only about an inch and a half
long. Look for such a pencil, Mr. Soames, and you have got your man.
When I add that he possesses a large and very blunt knife, you have an
additional aid."

Mr. Soames was somewhat overwhelmed by this flood of information. "I can
follow the other points," said he, "but really, in this matter of the
length----"

Holmes held out a small chip with the letters NN and a space of clear
wood after them.

"You see?"

"No, I fear that even now----"

"Watson, I have always done you an injustice. There are others. What
could this NN be? It is at the end of a word. You are aware that Johann
Faber is the most common maker's name. Is it not clear that there is
just as much of the pencil left as usually follows the Johann?" He held
the small table sideways to the electric light. "I was hoping that if
the paper on which he wrote was thin some trace of it m