“Barton Barton, are you there?!!!”

Knox holler. He led Holmes and the others to a vegetable garden near the edge of the forest. Because he thought Barton was probably watering the garden this time, but he couldn't find the one he needed.

"Excuse me, everyone, please wait for a moment. I think Barton must have taken care of the horses at the stable. I'll go after him."

Principal Knox said. Before going, he turned his head back and repeated that they had to wait here. Walk into the forest by themselves is strictly prohibited.

Holmes watched as the man in the black robes fluttering in the wind disappeared. Thinking to himself that last night both he and Watson had entered the forest once.

"That headmaster said at least five times that don't go into the forest alone," Lestrade said, somewhat annoyed.

"On the contrary, Lord Walther doesn't seem to care about the Fairy Forest at all," Gregson said, taking off his glasses and wiping them clean. Before putting it back again,

"Not just about the forest. About missing family members. He didn't even care." Lestrade furrowed his brows. Don't like it.

All four of them were aware of this suspicion. But no one directly asked. Have to wait to gather more information from people around me. May make the case more understandable.

"Holmes, who 'Piper Man' Langdon Knox talking about?" Watson suddenly asked.

Lestrade and Gregson stared at Watson as if asking is he joking. Holmes, seeing the pair's eyes, gave a dry smile and began to tell the story.

"There is a story that… in Hamelin. Germany, 1284, so many rats were bred that cats had to flee. The townsfolk were in trouble, so they gave out money as a reward for whoever got rid of these rats. It appears that a mysterious man volunteered to defeat the rats. The townspeople promised to be rewarded if he succeeded. The man took out a pipe. When he started to blow and walked away. The city rats ran after the sound of the pipe out of the city. Then the man lured the rats to the Weser River. The rats that followed all drowned. When the piper man returned to the city to claim the prize, the townspeople broke the vow and didn't give him money. The piper man was very angry. He returned to town when he learned that the elders were in the church. He blew the pipe again, this time the children. More than 130 boys and girls followed the piper man out of the town, and no one saw them again ... Well, this is it, and after hundreds of years, the story was somewhat different."

Holmes said, looking at the green nature view. A cool breeze blew through until he had to hold his hat to prevent it from being blown away. He smiled to himself and began to sing softly along with the wind.

“Tom with his pipe made such a noise,

That he pleased both the girls and boys,

They all stopped to hear him play,

'Over the hills and far away'.

Tom with his pipe did play with such skill

That those who heard him could never keep still

As soon as he played, they began for to dance”

"This is a popular lullaby in England. Talks about Tom, the son of a piper. When he started playing music. Anyone can't help but get up and dance," Gregson explains. Because looking at that completely flat face, Watson probably never really heard. Even if it's a song that any child can sing, "The story of Tom the Piper has to adopt poems or songs. In addition, the Grimm Brothers have made this story into a fairy tale to make it more well known."

... those who heard him could never keep still...

Watson made eye contact with Holmes. Holmes nodded slightly in a way that neither Gregson nor Lestrade would have noticed. But it can communicate to Watson that Holmes is also thinking about the sound Watson heard last night. That voice that only Watson could hear it.

But from listening to the Vice Principal, The villagers here have actually heard the sound of the pipe playing.

"By the way, Holmes, it's a surprise you knew," Lestrade said. "I thought you weren't interested in fairy tales or literature."

"Well, this story is quite interesting," Holmes replied, his eyes instantly turning to the flames of the search for truth as he told a story that was different from the fable.

"In Hamelin that year, over a hundred children really mysteriously disappeared. No one knows where the children went and how they disappeared. Until now, the exact cause has not been determined. But some theories are plausible, such as the massive bubonic plague in Europe or a landslide where children drown in the Weser River. There is also a theory of migration to other settlements."

"Knowledgeable, as always. I hope your knowledge will be helpful in this case," Gregson praised plus sarcasm. Holmes smiled and didn't respond.

"Anyway, this missing person case, No matter what, I won't leave it as a mystery for hundreds of years, like in fairy tales," Lestrade said in a stern voice.

At that moment, Principal Knox returned with a burly young man. Grim face, his white short-sleeved shirts that are somewhat ragged. Gregson furrowed his brows at the newcomer but didn't say anything.

"Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Let me introduce Barton, the school janitor?" said Langdon Knox, turning to the janitor softly, "Hey Barton, don't stand still!"

Barton just notices. So he lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice.

"Hello, my name is Barton. I will lead you into the forest."

"If you guys have any other questions, you can ask Barton," said Principal Knox and patted Barton's back lightly. Instead of saying, I'll leave it to you, "Now I'll excuse myself. After this, I have a class to teach."

Then Langdon Knox walked back into the school building.

"Where do you guys want to start?" Barton asked shortly.

"The point where Mr. Walther walked into the forest. You're the only one who saw it, right?" Lestrade said.

"Yeah, err, Yes sir, uh, I saw Mr. Walther walk over there," Barton pointed and led the way.

The janitor tried to use polite words. Perhaps the Principal had urged him not to misbehave, but he did clearly not use to it. When Holmes told him to be himself and speak normally. His demeanor also eased the carelessness of outsider guests.

"So, did you see anything that went wrong that day? Does he usually walk into the forest alone like that?" Gregson asked.

"Normally, no one goes." Barton furrowed his brow in distress. "About I see anything wrong... It's strange enough to just go into the forest since the sky isn't bright enough."

"Didn't you ask Mr. Walther what he was going to do in the forest?" Holmes continued.

"Err, you see. I saw him from the building. And even if we meet up close, I don't ask anyway. Mr. Walther is a gentleman who never use power, but he is the director's brother. Where he goes? What he does? An employee like me don't dare to ask. And... at that time, I didn't think Mr. Walther went in and wouldn't come out." At the end of the sentence, Barton mumbled with a guilty look on his face.

"Hey, where did Officer Hilde come out?" Lestrade asked.

"That day, I wasn't there. But as far as I heard, it was over there," Barton pointed out. "Around the oak tree over there."

Lestrade and Gregson later questioned the extent to which local police were searching. Barton explains it fluently.

"At this school, you are not the only janitor. Aren't the others well versed in the paths in the forest?" Holmes asked.

"Ah, I'm the type of work outside of school," Barton replied. "Other people work in school, laundry, or clean the floors and windows, but I'm in charge of the garden and the school horses. That why I go into the forest more often than anyone else."

"Hmm, but you look really expert. May I asks what work you did before becoming a janitor here. Were you born here?" Gregson asked, eyes staring at Barton as if trying to remember something.

"I was born in the North. Since childhood, I have been going to the forest to regularly cut firewood or collect forest products for sale. Growing up, I moved to this area. If someone hires, I can do any work."

"Forging work is one of those things you have done right."

Holmes's words caused Barton to stop walking abruptly. He was stiff, and his eyes widened. He slowly turned around and stared at Holmes. A feeling of pressure permeated the area. It was the exact moment Watson rushed to intervene between Holmes and Barton. Seeing Watson's expression, Barton blinked dazedly and finally called his voice back.

"Ah, yes, did for a while, but then quit." Barton nodded his head in a stiff expression, clearly different from before.

Lestrade narrowed his eyes at the janitor's sudden expression.

Holmes's unexpected words shocked people so often that he was used to it. But this time is different from other times. In that shocked expression, he caught the look in the mayhem's eyes. Just like a dog that, when being chased by someone waving, jumps back and barks.

Perhaps because of this, Watson stepped forward to cover Holmes. Instead of calling him an assistant or a partner, Lestrade thought it's more like a bodyguard.

Because of Holmes' question, Barton spoke less than he had in the beginning. But soon, they came to a small stream that believed that if crossing to the other side would be the land of the fairies. Which forbids adults to enter.

"The stream is not wide. The water was not rapid. So it's not hard to cross," Lestrade analyzed.

"But no bridges or walkways?" Gregson asked, turning to Barton.

Barton shook his head, his eyes indicating that he had already told many times not to cross over to the other side. So why make walkways?

"But there is a more convenient way to cross, isn't it?" said Holmes, smiling.

Barton looked at Holmes suspiciously. He hesitated a bit before nodding. And pointed to a large rock nearby.

"There are a lot of flat stones that can be used as a base to step on. When the water recedes each day. The water level over there will be a little above the knee."

"What time is it during the low tide?" Holmes continued. "When the time came, I would like to cross over to the other side. Can you guide me?"

"Are you kidding?!!" Barton almost shouted. The expression on his face was extremely dissatisfied,

"Absolutely not. I don't want to go crazy and die miserably."

"But didn't you 'ever' cross over to the other side, Mr. Barton?"

Sherlock Holmes asked directly. The one in question gave Holmes a stern gaze and answered slowly, gritting his teeth, emphasizing each word one by one.

"Never go in there and will never take you there!!!"