Was it through the chimney?"
"The grate is much too small," he answered. "I had already
considered that possibility."
"How then?" I persisted.
"You will not apply my precept," he said, shaking his head. "How
often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the
impossible whatever remains, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must be the
truth? We know that he did not come through the door, the
window, or the chimney. We also know that he could not have been
concealed in the room, as there is no concealment possible.
Whence, then, did he come?"
"He came through the hole in the roof," I cried.
"Of course he did. He must have done so. If you will have the
kindness to hold the lamp for me, we shall now extend our
researches to the room above,--the secret room in which the
treasure was found."
He mounted the steps, and, seizing a rafter with either hand, he
swung himself up into the garret. Then, lying on his face, he
reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him.
The chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten feet one
way and six the other. The floor was formed by the rafters, with
thin lath-and-plaster between, so that in walking one had to step
from beam to beam.
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