It appears that the top of the bottle bends as she drinks out of it...i guess it is like those flexi-straws you get at restaurants or something.

Transcription

1 SOLUZIONE LAURA BOW: THE COLONEL S BEQUEST ACT I [07:00 PM to 08:00 PM] 07:00 PM Go into Ethel's room and ask her about Rudy and she'll tell you of his gambling debts. This may seem pointless now, but in order to get the rank of "Super-Sleuth", Laura must know about Rudy's secret. You can ask other characters about Rudy later on and they'll tell you the same thing; however it's best to just get this silly question out of the way now. Walk out into the Hallway and head up into the Bathroom. While Lillian is applying the perfume, you'll want to have Laura look at her (just type "LOOK LILLIAN") Actually, you'll have to look at her twice; the first time you look at her you'll just get a generic character description (with a picture.) Later on, in one of the secret passages, you'll smell the perfume she is applying. Logically you would type "SMELL LILLIAN" or "SMELL PERFUME", but all Laura will say is "Sniff, sniff", which is completely ridiculous. When Lillian leaves you can also use the toilet, but its only just so Laura can pitch the awful Leisure Suit Larry series to you. Go back out into the hallway and pull the left-hand Armoire. From now on, we will refer to this passage as Secret Passage #1 (SP#1 for short.) Face Laura so that her back is to you and so that she is looking through the topmost painting. Type "LOOK HOLES" and you will begin to spy on an interaction between Fifi and Henri. For future reference, when I say you should spy on someone in a room, I mean for you to face that room and look through the painting (by typing "LOOK HOLES") 07:15 PM Now go back out into the hallway and enter into the Colonel's room. He'll be sitting there, as if nothing happened between him and Fifi 5 seconds ago. Anyway, look at his cigar. You'll find it in one of the Secret Passages later on in the game. Head to the left and enter into Wilbur's room. Have Laura look at his bag, because pretty soon it will disappear. Go back out into the hallway and pull the right-hand Armoire. This Secret Passage will now be called "SP#2." Look through the topmost painting and spy on Ethel and Lillian having a wonderful family moment. Also, just for the heck of it, look at the way Ethel drinks out of her bottle. It appears that the top of the bottle bends as she drinks out of it...i guess it is like those flexi-straws you get at restaurants or something. Head downstairs and walk up to where the clock is. Pull the clock to enter the 3rd Secret Passage. Look through the painting at the bottom to spy on Rudy and Gloria, who are in the Billiards Room.

2 07:30 PM Go back out into the hallway and pull the mirror. This reveals the fourth and final Secret Passage in the house. Look through the bottom-most painting to spy on Clarence and Gertie, who are in the Parlor. 7:45 PM Ahh...time to get out of the mansion for a while. Go to the Carriage House, which looks similar to a barn with two doors. Ignore the silly message that suggests you to go back inside. With all the weird stuff going on INSIDE the mansion, you'd think Laura would be glad to get out, but logic doesn't seem to be a prevalent theme in TCB. When you enter the Carriage House you'll see the Oilcan on the workbench, which you should pick up. Walk over to the Carriage and look inside to find the Crowbar. Pick this up as well. Head over to the Chapel and go inside. Look at the floor and Laura will tell you that some of the floorboards appear to be loose. To pry open the floor boards, just type "PRY BOARDS WITH CROWBAR". Look in the hole and you'll find a Bible. Take the Bible and Laura will read it automatically. You'll find out some preliminary information about an unnecessary (but neat) side story about the Croutons (the family, not the stuff that goes on salads). Head back into the mansion, where Laura will say that it feels better to be back inside. Heh heh...just wait till 8:00 PM. Go to the Study, which is actually a weapons repository. Have Laura look at the Derringer. Open the leftmost Cabinet and Laura will describe the weapons that are inside. Later on in the story one of these weapons will disappear (and magically re-appear in someone's body). Now head on over to the Parlor, which is really just the place where everyone drinks alcohol. Everyone except Ethel that is...she drinks there and everywhere else. Look at the Decanter; it will end up in Fifi's room later on. Head back out into the hallway and down to the Knight. Have Laura lubricate (no snickering, please) the Knight's Mask by typing "OIL MASK". Now open up the mask and Laura will take a Valve and a Note. This Note continues the Crouton story that you read about in the family Bible in the Chapel. Well, I think I mentioned before that TCB is running on empty in the logic department. Here is more proof...go upstairs and enter into Gertie's room, where you'll find her sleeping. This is such an important event that ACT II begins. ACT II [08:00 PM to 09:00 PM] 08:00 PM Leave Gertie's room and you'll find a Handkerchief on the floor. Pick this up, but you'll won't be able to examine it until you get the Monocle later in the game.

3 Now here is where the game gets even more illogical. When you head back into Gertie's room, you'll find that she is gone. Well, you could hypothesize that she really did jump out the window and no one else was involved. However, later on in the story you find out that she was definitely murdered. So how did anyone get in if you were guarding the door? I guess that isn't really important though. Just look at the room and the open window and so can leave. While you are in here, you'll also smell cigar smoke. Now head back downstairs and go into the Study. On you way down the steps your father John will pop up and give you some hints. I think Laura is hallucinating at this point, or maybe she has a Obi-wan/Luke thing going on. Exit the Study and you'll find Wilbur and Clarence having a discussion. This will advance the time to 8:15 PM. 08:15 PM Since they think Laura is snooping on them (which she is, of course) they will go back inside to the Study. Follow them in and they'll head into the Library. Chase them out of there and they'll go to the Dining Room. Now is your chance to spy on them. Go to SP#4 and look into the Dining Room. After spying on Clarence/Wilbur, head into the Kitchen. 08:30 PM Go to the Icebox (which is an old term for "refrigerator") and open it up. Laura will find a Soup Bone, which she'll take it. Head out to the Beauregard's dog house, which is located outside of the Kitchen. When you get near Beauregard's dog house, Jeeves will come by and drop off some food for him. After Beau has finished eating he will return to his doghouse, but that is where we need to be. To coax him out, type "GIVE BONE TO DOG" and Laura with throw the bone out about 5 feet. While Beau is working on the bone, stand near his dog house and look into it, and Laura should take the Necklace. Head back into the Kitchen and stand next to Celie and type "GIVE NECKLACE TO CELIE" She will thank you, and now you have become her friend. Becoming friends with her is vitally important, as she won't let you into her shack otherwise. Go out into the hall and into SP#3 (inside of the clock). Look down into the Billiards Room to spy on Clarence and Gloria. This will advance time to 8:45 PM. 08:45 PM Now head into the Billiards Room and out through the doors to go outside. Gertie will be lying there, dead. Search her body; you won't find anything on her body, but you need to search each body to become a "Super-Sleuth." Actually, I'm not %100 about having to search every body, but do it just to be safe.

4 You can tell Gloria about Gertie, by the way, and she'll walk out of the billiards room to go check...but of course she will find nothing. After finding Gertie, go back inside and on up to Rudy's room. It seems that he has the hots for Fifi, but she definitely doesn't have anything for him. Head over to Henri's Room and you'll find him missing. If he happens to be there, which happens sometimes, go downstairs and then back up again. I'm not sure why this is sometimes necessary, but I'm definitely sure that neither does Roberta. Now that he is gone, go over to the fireplace and look into the cannon to find the Elevator Key. You have to type "TAKE KEY" in order for Laura to pick it up. Head outside and stand outside of the entrance to the Basement. The entrance is right outside of the Kitchen, next to Beauregard's doghouse. Stand next to the entrance and type "OPEN DOOR". Go back downstairs and into the Library; you'll find Wilbur reading a magazine...bringing us to Act III. ACT III [09:00 PM to 10:00 PM] 09:00 PM Similar to the scene with Gertie's death, you need to exit the Library and come back in to find him dead. Have Laura look at the floor, then pick up the Poker. Read Wilbur's magazine (which, by the way, IS about horses; but rest assured it ISN'T Modern Equestrian). Now head on back upstairs and into SP#1. Look up into Henri's room to spy on him doing something very strange by himself. No, its not what you're thinking, silly. However, this scene is pretty neat, so if you've been skipping the other cut scenes, this one is actually worth watching. It seems the wheelchair is only for respect. If you saw something on the floor in SP#1, it is the Cane that you'll need to pick up. If, however, the Cane wasn't there, search the remaining three Secret Passages to find it. After picking up the Cane go way upstairs to Fifi's room. You'll see a Decanter on her desk; have Laura look at it. Head down to SP#2 and spy into Rudy and Clarence's room, which should advance time to 9:15. 09:15 PM Head on over to Wilbur's room and you'll find his bag missing. This may seem irrelevant now, but you need to notice his bag changing locations in order to become a "Super- Sleuth". Go to Celie's shack and knock on her door. Now that you are her friend she'll let you in to talk. You can sit down at the table (just type "SIT") and talk to her, but it isn't necessary. Leave her shack and come back in; now Celie will be cooking some gumbo on the stove. Walk behind her chair at the table and pick up the Carrot. Go on over to the Chapel and you should find Wilbur dead in the corner. If he isn't there, check the Stable. Some bodies can turn up in alternate locations, but there only seems to be two possible places where some bodies can end up. Search his body and you automatically receive the Monocle, which we'll use as a makeshift magnifying glass.

5 Now that we have the Monocle, use it to examine both the Handkerchief and the Poker (type "EXAMINE object WITH MONOCLE"). Go to the Stable and feed Blaze the Carrot. Open up the gate and walk back to take the Lantern. Go to the Bell, which is next to the Chapel area. Walk up the ladder and oil the bell with the Oil. Now walk to the right of the bell (NOT directly under it!) and pull the ring with the Cane. When the bell crashes down, look at it and then take the Crank that is inside. Now head down to the Doll House for an interesting surprise. The door doesn't open automatically, by the way, so you have to type "OPEN DOOR" This will bring us to 9:30. Oh, and if you want, try sitting on the swing. How "embarrasswing."...*puuuke*...*retch*...*blecccch*... 09:30 PM This time is short...just go on up to Fifi's room and we'll be at 9:45 PM. 09:45 PM Go the Library and enter into the Elevator. If, for some odd reason, the Elevator isn't there, go up to Henri's room. If it isn't there either, maybe you should give up and quit the game. Just kidding...head back downstairs (cursing Roberta Williams along the way) and to the Library again. When in the Elevator, use the key to unlock the control panel. Type "UNLOCK PANEL WITH KEY" Now type "PUSH UP" until you are in the Attic. You should now be in the Attic, which is one of the neatest rooms in TCB. Anyway...look at the Newspapers on the floor to find out some information about Henri's stint in the war. Head down one screen to the back part of the Attic. Look into the Trunk and peek into Henri's clothes, which end up on someone else later in the story. Go back into the elevator and type "PUSH DOWN", "PUSH DOWN" to go back to the Library. Now enter the Billiards Room to start Act IV. ACT IV [10:00 PM to 11:00 PM] 10:00 PM Go back out to the hall, and then re-enter the Billiards Room. In the split second that you were gone, someone snuck in and killed Gloria. You'd think Laura would have heard the struggle, but this won't be the last time a murder takes place right next door to her that she somehow misses. You need to examine the mud with your Monocle. Pick up the record and examine it with the Monocle as well. Have Laura look at the feathers, and then you can leave. By the way, if you wait too long before examining the crime scene, Jeeves will come in and clean up the mess. This can happen in the Library too, when Wilbur is killed. Search all 4 of the Secret Passages to find Henri's Cigar. Now head to the Study and find Lillian looking at the weapons cabinet, which will advance time to 10:15 PM.

6 10:15 PM Go outside of the Study and you'll see Rudy wandering around. 10:30 PM to 10:45 PM This is the most frustrating section of TCB, partly due to poor scripting by the programmers, and partly due to poor story writing by Roberta. When you see Rudy outside of the study and the clock turns to 10:30, it is probably a good idea to head back through the study and into the kitchen, exiting back outside through the kitchen door. Your goal now is to head to the Gazebo to find Gloria's body, and you may see Clarence along the way. If so, this is fine, because time will be advanced to 10:45, and you can still get back to the Center Square to see Clarence and Rudy fight. If, however, you stumble upon both Clarence AND Ethel, you'll enter into Act V and miss two important events - the aforementioned fight and an interaction between Fifi and Jeeves. Your best bet is to stay clear of the Rose Garden so as to avoid Ethel. Ok, you made it to the Gazebo before 11:00 PM, right? Search Gertie's body, even though you won't find anything. Now get back to the Center Square and watch a fight between Clarence and Rudy. 10:45 PM Go into house through the front door and head to the Dining Room. You'll see a ridiculous scene between Fifi and Jeeves...and its especially creepy when Jeeves looks towards the screen. (If you think this is strange, check out Roberta's game Phantasmagoria that was released in '96. Actually, DON'T check that game out...its horrible. I think it was released on about 8 cds. Talk about overkill). Oh, and for you really perverted people out there, you can watch this scene over and over and over again if you keep walking back in. Now go back into the hallway and exit through the top set of doors. Go up to the Rose Garden and find Ethel stumbling around, andthis should change the time over to 11:00pm, beginning Act V. ACT V [11:00 PM to 12:00 AM] 11:00 PM Again, this may seem very illogical, but exit the rose garden and re-enter it. Ethel should be found dead here, but if not, check the Carriage House. Search her body. Now go to the farthest left-hand side of the yard, and then head as far down the yard as you can go. You should be at the edge of a swamp, and you should see an owl on this screen. While on this screen, have Laura examine the Footprint with the Monocle, and pick up the Rolling Pin. Examine the Rolling Pin with the Monocle as well.

7 Now go back into the mansion and up to Fifi's room. Laura certainly shows up at the most awkward moments, eh? Anyway, have Laura look at Fifi when she is done changing. Head downstairs to the Parlor to advance time to 11:15 PM. 11:15 PM Look at Clarence's Cigar. I'm not sure why this is necessary, but I'm pretty sure this needs to be done in order to become a "Super-Sleuth". Go to Dining Room and you'll find Rudy eating at the table, and for some reason this will advance time to 11:30pm. 11:30 PM Now go into SP#1 and spy on Lillian and Henri in Henri's room. This will advance time to 11:45 PM. 11:45 PM Leave SP#1, re-enter, and Laura should smell perfume. You may need to check the other Secret Passages if she doesn't smell the perfume when you enter into SP#1. Head down to Jeeve's room to see him getting ready for a hot date with Beauregard. Ummm...anyway, just have Laura look at the flowers on his bed. Go back to the Colonel's room to begin Act VI. ACT VI [12:00 AM to 01:00 AM] 12:00 AM Hmmm...there sits Henri's wheelchair, but no Henri. Have Laura look at the wheelchair. Head up to the Bathroom and look in the garbage can. Examine the Bottle with the Monocle. Now head up into Fifi's room to find her and Jeeves dead. Examine the Decanter with the Monocle. Search both Jeeves and Fifi's bodies. Now head down into SP#2 and look into Your Room to spy on Lillian. This will advance time to 12:15 AM. 12:15 AM Turn around and spy into Clarence's Room, advancing time to 12:30 AM. 12:30 AM Go into the Parlor and examine the Glass with the Monocle. Now go into the Study and look in the Cabinet. Laura will notice an important weapon missing, but she'll find it pretty soon in someone's back. Go outside of the Study and you she Rudy outside on the stoop with Beauregard, advancing time to 12:45 AM. 12:45 AM Head outside and to Celie's Shack. Knock on her door to begin Act VII.

8 ACT VII [01:00 AM to 02:00 AM] 01:00 AM Head back to the Study and look at the Glass Case. Now the Derringer is missing too. Go on up to the Bathroom to find Clarence dead in the bathtub. Sometimes his body ends up in Wilbur's Room on Wilbur's bed. Search his body and you'll get the Matches. Make sure you look at the Dagger, which is now in Clarence. Go to Your Room and open up Lillian's Suitcase. Take the Diary. Examine the Diary with the Monocle, which is a necessary step in becoming a "Super- Sleuth". After examining the Diary, read it. Now go to the Hedge Garden for the neatest part of TCB. Once there, out the Valve in the Shaft (which is in the base of the Statue). Turn the Valve, and then push the Statue. A set of steps should appear. Before you head down these steps, it's EXTREMELY important that you use the Matches to light the Lantern. Else you'll be in for a bad surprise. Head down the steps and walk left into an opening. Now...from here on, what you should do will be obvious. I don't want to ruin the two surprises you'll find down here...but if you really want me to then just read on. If you'd like to figure this out for yourself and be surprised, then skip to next step. a. Walk down and find the dead bodies. b. Walk left and put the Crank in the Plate. c. Turn the Crank. d. Go left until you enter the crypt. e. Once in the crypt, you can pry open all 4 vaults with the crowbar, but you only need to open the one labeled Ruby. f. Pry open the Ruby vault and take the pouch. g. Leave back the way you came in. Ok, once out of the Basement Secret Passage, go to the Chapel to find Celie and change time to 1:15 AM. 01:15 AM Go to the Doll House to find Lillian and advance time to 1:30 AM. 01:30 AM Go to Your Room to find Rudy snooping around. 01:45 AM Go up to Clarence's room and read his Notebook, which will begin the final Act...Act VIII.

9 ACT VIII [02:00 AM to 02:15 AM] 02:00 AM Go to the Front Door, and you'll see a Note. Read it and watch it fly away. Oh, and if you try to pick the Note up, the game will tell you "Why don't you read it first?" No, how about I pick it up first!?!? Oh well. Go back to the Hedge Garden to find Lillian dead. 02:15 AN Search Lillian's body, then take the Derringer. When you search Lillian, Laura should automatically take the Skeleton Key. Pick up the Bullet, as well. This is a good time to save your game, just in case anything goeswrong. Nothing should, but you never know. Go back into the house and up to Henri's room. Along the way the game will tell you that you can hear someone struggling upstairs. Naturally you'd want to go straight up to there, but you need to stop by Henri's room first. Once inside, look at Wilbur's bag, which is now open in the middle of Henri's floor. Now you can head upstairs; but instead of using the elevator, go up the stairs that take you to Fifi's room. The door to the left of her room will take you to the Attic, and you need to unlock it with the Skeleton Key. Before you enter the Attic door, you'll want to load the Bullet into the Derringer. Ok...once you enter, you'll have the option to shoot either Henri or Rudy. To get the "real" ending, you need to shoot Rudy. To get the alternate ending, either shoot Henri or just wait until Rudy kills him. Now get ready for a somewhat predictable ending, but an ending none the less.