The table was littered with classical exercises, music scores, and letters.

A college boating-jacket hung behind the door, and one or two prize- goblets decorated the mantelpiece.
Captain Oliphant displayed a genial interest in everything.

He read the inscriptions on the goblets, glanced casually through the papers, read the addresses on a few of the letters, and generally took stock of the apartment.

Of course, like an honourable gentleman, he disturbed nothing, and presently, distressed by a sudden fit of coughing from the direction of his ward's room, he hastily stepped out into the lobby again and made his way back to the library.
Before he went to bed this methodical person committed three several matters to paper.

In his memorandum-book he wrote the name of a certain college at Oxford, and a date, corresponding, oddly enough, to the name and date on one of the goblets in Mr Armstrong's room.
That done, he scrawled a post card to Dr Brandram, requesting him to call and see Roger, whose cough was still a little troublesome.
After that, he pulled out of his pocket and read with a somewhat pained expression a letter he had received the day before by the Indian mail.
It was gather long, but the passage which pained Captain Oliphant particularly ran thus:-- "The trouble about the mess accounts is not blown over yet.