RubyGems - git-scribe - Versions diffs - 0.0.4 → 0.0.5 - Mend

git-scribe 0.0.4 → 0.0.5

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-    <title>The Adventure of the Speckled Band</title>
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-    <div class="content">
-      <div class="section" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
-<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
-<a id="_the_adventure_of_the_speckled_band"></a>The Adventure of the Speckled Band</h2></div></div></div>
-<p>On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I
-have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend
-Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number
-merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did
-rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of
-wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation
-which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic.
-Of all these varied cases, however, I cannot recall any which
-presented more singular features than that which was associated
-with the well-known Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran.
-The events in question occurred in the early days of my
-association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors
-in Baker Street. It is possible that I might have placed them
-upon record before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the
-time, from which I have only been freed during the last month by
-the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given. It
-is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light, for I
-have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours as to the
-death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even
-more terrible than the truth.</p>
-<p>It was early in April in the year '83 that I woke one morning to
-find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my
-bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the
-mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I
-blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little
-resentment, for I was myself regular in my habits.</p>
-<p>"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said he, "but it’s the
-common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she
-retorted upon me, and I on you."</p>
-<p>"What is it, then—a fire?"</p>
-<p>"No; a client. It seems that a young lady has arrived in a
-considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me. She
-is waiting now in the sitting-room. Now, when young ladies wander
-about the metropolis at this hour of the morning, and knock
-sleepy people up out of their beds, I presume that it is
-something very pressing which they have to communicate. Should it
-prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to
-follow it from the outset. I thought, at any rate, that I should
-call you and give you the chance."</p>
-<p>"My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything."</p>
-<p>I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his
-professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid
-deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a
-logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were
-submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in
-a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting-room. A
-lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in
-the window, rose as we entered.</p>
-<p>"Good-morning, madam," said Holmes cheerily. "My name is Sherlock
-Holmes. This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson,
-before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Ha! I am
-glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good sense to light the
-fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot
-coffee, for I observe that you are shivering."</p>
-<p>"It is not cold which makes me shiver," said the woman in a low
-voice, changing her seat as requested.</p>
-<p>"What, then?"</p>
-<p>"It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror." She raised her veil as
-she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable
-state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless
-frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features
-and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot
-with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard.
-Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick,
-all-comprehensive glances.</p>
-<p>"You must not fear," said he soothingly, bending forward and
-patting her forearm. "We shall soon set matters right, I have no
-doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see."</p>
-<p>"You know me, then?"</p>
-<p>"No, but I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm
-of your left glove. You must have started early, and yet you had
-a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached
-the station."</p>
-<p>The lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my
-companion.</p>
-<p>"There is no mystery, my dear madam," said he, smiling. "The left
-arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven
-places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a
-dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you
-sit on the left-hand side of the driver."</p>
-<p>"Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct," said
-she. "I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at
-twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I
-can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues.
-I have no one to turn to—none, save only one, who cares for me,
-and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid. I have heard of you,
-Mr. Holmes; I have heard of you from Mrs. Farintosh, whom you
-helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had
-your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me,
-too, and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness
-which surrounds me? At present it is out of my power to reward
-you for your services, but in a month or six weeks I shall be
-married, with the control of my own income, and then at least you
-shall not find me ungrateful."</p>
-<p>Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small
-case-book, which he consulted.</p>
-<p>"Farintosh," said he. "Ah yes, I recall the case; it was
-concerned with an opal tiara. I think it was before your time,
-Watson. I can only say, madam, that I shall be happy to devote
-the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to
-reward, my profession is its own reward; but you are at liberty
-to defray whatever expenses I may be put to, at the time which
-suits you best. And now I beg that you will lay before us
-everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the
-matter."</p>
-<p>"Alas!" replied our visitor, "the very horror of my situation
-lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions
-depend so entirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to
-another, that even he to whom of all others I have a right to
-look for help and advice looks upon all that I tell him about it
-as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I can
-read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes. But I have
-heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold
-wickedness of the human heart. You may advise me how to walk amid
-the dangers which encompass me."</p>
-<p>"I am all attention, madam."</p>
-<p>"My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who
-is the last survivor of one of the oldest Saxon families in
-England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of
-Surrey."</p>
-<p>Holmes nodded his head. "The name is familiar to me," said he.</p>
-<p>"The family was at one time among the richest in England, and the
-estates extended over the borders into Berkshire in the north,
-and Hampshire in the west. In the last century, however, four
-successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition,
-and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler in the
-days of the Regency. Nothing was left save a few acres of ground,
-and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under
-a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence
-there, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but
-his only son, my stepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to
-the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which
-enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Calcutta,
-where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he
-established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused
-by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he
-beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital
-sentence. As it was, he suffered a long term of imprisonment and
-afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed man.</p>
-<p>"When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner,
-the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery.
-My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old
-at the time of my mother’s re-marriage. She had a considerable
-sum of money—not less than 1000 pounds a year—and this she
-bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we resided with him,
-with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to
-each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return
-to England my mother died—she was killed eight years ago in a
-railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his
-attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us
-to live with him in the old ancestral house at Stoke Moran. The
-money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and
-there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness.</p>
-<p>"But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time.
-Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our
-neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of
-Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in
-his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious
-quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper
-approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the
-family, and in my stepfather’s case it had, I believe, been
-intensified by his long residence in the tropics. A series of
-disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the
-police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village,
-and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of
-immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.</p>
-<p>"Last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a
-stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which I
-could gather together that I was able to avert another public
-exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies,
-and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few
-acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate,
-and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents,
-wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end. He has a
-passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a
-correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon,
-which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the
-villagers almost as much as their master.</p>
-<p>"You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I
-had no great pleasure in our lives. No servant would stay with
-us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was
-but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already
-begun to whiten, even as mine has."</p>
-<p>"Your sister is dead, then?"</p>
-<p>"She died just two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish
-to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I
-have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own
-age and position. We had, however, an aunt, my mother’s maiden
-sister, Miss Honoria Westphail, who lives near Harrow, and we
-were occasionally allowed to pay short visits at this lady’s
-house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there
-a half-pay major of marines, to whom she became engaged. My
-stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and
-offered no objection to the marriage; but within a fortnight of
-the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the terrible event
-occurred which has deprived me of my only companion."</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes
-closed and his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his
-lids now and glanced across at his visitor.</p>
-<p>"Pray be precise as to details," said he.</p>
-<p>"It is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful
-time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have
-already said, very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The
-bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting-rooms
-being in the central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms
-the first is Dr. Roylott’s, the second my sister’s, and the third
-my own. There is no communication between them, but they all open
-out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?"</p>
-<p>"Perfectly so."</p>
-<p>"The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That
-fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we
-knew that he had not retired to rest, for my sister was troubled
-by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which it was his custom
-to smoke. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where
-she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At
-eleven o’clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door
-and looked back.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Tell me, Helen,</em></span> said she, <span class="emphasis"><em>have you ever heard anyone whistle
-in the dead of the night?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Never,</em></span> said I.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in
-your sleep?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Certainly not. But why?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Because during the last few nights I have always, about three
-in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I am a light sleeper,
-and it has awakened me. I cannot tell where it came from—perhaps
-from the next room, perhaps from the lawn. I thought that I would
-just ask you whether you had heard it.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the
-plantation.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Very likely. And yet if it were on the lawn, I wonder that you
-did not hear it also.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Ah, but I sleep more heavily than you.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Well, it is of no great consequence, at any rate.</em></span> She smiled
-back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her
-key turn in the lock."</p>
-<p>"Indeed," said Holmes. "Was it your custom always to lock
-yourselves in at night?"</p>
-<p>"Always."</p>
-<p>"And why?"</p>
-<p>"I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah
-and a baboon. We had no feeling of security unless our doors were
-locked."</p>
-<p>"Quite so. Pray proceed with your statement."</p>
-<p>"I could not sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending
-misfortune impressed me. My sister and I, you will recollect,
-were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two
-souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind
-was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing
-against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of the gale,
-there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew
-that it was my sister’s voice. I sprang from my bed, wrapped a
-shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door
-I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and
-a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had
-fallen. As I ran down the passage, my sister’s door was unlocked,
-and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it
-horror-stricken, not knowing what was about to issue from it. By
-the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear at the
-opening, her face blanched with terror, her hands groping for
-help, her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a
-drunkard. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that
-moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground.
-She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were
-dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought that she had not
-recognised me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out
-in a voice which I shall never forget, <span class="emphasis"><em>Oh, my God! Helen! It was
-the band! The speckled band!</em></span> There was something else which she
-would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the
-air in the direction of the doctor’s room, but a fresh convulsion
-seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for
-my stepfather, and I met him hastening from his room in his
-dressing-gown. When he reached my sister’s side she was
-unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent
-for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for
-she slowly sank and died without having recovered her
-consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister."</p>
-<p>"One moment," said Holmes, "are you sure about this whistle and
-metallic sound? Could you swear to it?"</p>
-<p>"That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. It is
-my strong impression that I heard it, and yet, among the crash of
-the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have
-been deceived."</p>
-<p>"Was your sister dressed?"</p>
-<p>"No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the
-charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box."</p>
-<p>"Showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when
-the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did
-the coroner come to?"</p>
-<p>"He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott’s
-conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unable
-to find any satisfactory cause of death. My evidence showed that
-the door had been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows
-were blocked by old-fashioned shutters with broad iron bars,
-which were secured every night. The walls were carefully sounded,
-and were shown to be quite solid all round, and the flooring was
-also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is
-wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain,
-therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end.
-Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her."</p>
-<p>"How about poison?"</p>
-<p>"The doctors examined her for it, but without success."</p>
-<p>"What do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?"</p>
-<p>"It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock,
-though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine."</p>
-<p>"Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, there are nearly always some there."</p>
-<p>"Ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band—a
-speckled band?"</p>
-<p>"Sometimes I have thought that it was merely the wild talk of
-delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of
-people, perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation. I do not
-know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear
-over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which
-she used."</p>
-<p>Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied.</p>
-<p>"These are very deep waters," said he; "pray go on with your
-narrative."</p>
-<p>"Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until
-lately lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend,
-whom I have known for many years, has done me the honour to ask
-my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage—Percy Armitage—the
-second son of Mr. Armitage, of Crane Water, near Reading. My
-stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and we are to
-be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago some repairs
-were started in the west wing of the building, and my bedroom
-wall has been pierced, so that I have had to move into the
-chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very bed in
-which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last
-night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I
-suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which
-had been the herald of her own death. I sprang up and lit the
-lamp, but nothing was to be seen in the room. I was too shaken to
-go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was
-daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which
-is opposite, and drove to Leatherhead, from whence I have come on
-this morning with the one object of seeing you and asking your
-advice."</p>
-<p>"You have done wisely," said my friend. "But have you told me
-all?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, all."</p>
-<p>"Miss Roylott, you have not. You are screening your stepfather."</p>
-<p>"Why, what do you mean?"</p>
-<p>For answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which
-fringed the hand that lay upon our visitor’s knee. Five little
-livid spots, the marks of four fingers and a thumb, were printed
-upon the white wrist.</p>
-<p>"You have been cruelly used," said Holmes.</p>
-<p>The lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist. "He
-is a hard man," she said, "and perhaps he hardly knows his own
-strength."</p>
-<p>There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin
-upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire.</p>
-<p>"This is a very deep business," he said at last. "There are a
-thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide
-upon our course of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If
-we were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for
-us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your
-stepfather?"</p>
-<p>"As it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some
-most important business. It is probable that he will be away all
-day, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have a
-housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and I could easily
-get her out of the way."</p>
-<p>"Excellent. You are not averse to this trip, Watson?"</p>
-<p>"By no means."</p>
-<p>"Then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself?"</p>
-<p>"I have one or two things which I would wish to do now that I am
-in town. But I shall return by the twelve o’clock train, so as to
-be there in time for your coming."</p>
-<p>"And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some
-small business matters to attend to. Will you not wait and
-breakfast?"</p>
-<p>"No, I must go. My heart is lightened already since I have
-confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward to seeing you
-again this afternoon." She dropped her thick black veil over her
-face and glided from the room.</p>
-<p>"And what do you think of it all, Watson?" asked Sherlock Holmes,
-leaning back in his chair.</p>
-<p>"It seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business."</p>
-<p>"Dark enough and sinister enough."</p>
-<p>"Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls
-are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable,
-then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her
-mysterious end."</p>
-<p>"What becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the
-very peculiar words of the dying woman?"</p>
-<p>"I cannot think."</p>
-<p>"When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of
-a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor,
-the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has
-an interest in preventing his stepdaughter’s marriage, the dying
-allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner
-heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of
-those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its
-place, I think that there is good ground to think that the
-mystery may be cleared along those lines."</p>
-<p>"But what, then, did the gipsies do?"</p>
-<p>"I cannot imagine."</p>
-<p>"I see many objections to any such theory."</p>
-<p>"And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going
-to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are
-fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of
-the devil!"</p>
-<p>The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that
-our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had
-framed himself in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar
-mixture of the professional and of the agricultural, having a
-black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters,
-with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his
-hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his
-breadth seemed to span it across from side to side. A large face,
-seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and
-marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other
-of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin,
-fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old
-bird of prey.</p>
-<p>"Which of you is Holmes?" asked this apparition.</p>
-<p>"My name, sir; but you have the advantage of me," said my
-companion quietly.</p>
-<p>"I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran."</p>
-<p>"Indeed, Doctor," said Holmes blandly. "Pray take a seat."</p>
-<p>"I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has been here. I
-have traced her. What has she been saying to you?"</p>
-<p>"It is a little cold for the time of the year," said Holmes.</p>
-<p>"What has she been saying to you?" screamed the old man
-furiously.</p>
-<p>"But I have heard that the crocuses promise well," continued my
-companion imperturbably.</p>
-<p>"Ha! You put me off, do you?" said our new visitor, taking a step
-forward and shaking his hunting-crop. "I know you, you scoundrel!
-I have heard of you before. You are Holmes, the meddler."</p>
-<p>My friend smiled.</p>
-<p>"Holmes, the busybody!"</p>
-<p>His smile broadened.</p>
-<p>"Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!"</p>
-<p>Holmes chuckled heartily. "Your conversation is most
-entertaining," said he. "When you go out close the door, for
-there is a decided draught."</p>
-<p>"I will go when I have said my say. Don’t you dare to meddle with
-my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her!
-I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here." He stepped
-swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with
-his huge brown hands.</p>
-<p>"See that you keep yourself out of my grip," he snarled, and
-hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the
-room.</p>
-<p>"He seems a very amiable person," said Holmes, laughing. "I am
-not quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him
-that my grip was not much more feeble than his own." As he spoke
-he picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort,
-straightened it out again.</p>
-<p>"Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official
-detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation,
-however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer
-from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now,
-Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk
-down to Doctors' Commons, where I hope to get some data which may
-help us in this matter."</p>
-<p>It was nearly one o’clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his
-excursion. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled
-over with notes and figures.</p>
-<p>"I have seen the will of the deceased wife," said he. "To
-determine its exact meaning I have been obliged to work out the
-present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. The
-total income, which at the time of the wife’s death was little
-short of 1100 pounds, is now, through the fall in agricultural
-prices, not more than 750 pounds. Each daughter can claim an
-income of 250 pounds, in case of marriage. It is evident,
-therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have
-had a mere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to
-a very serious extent. My morning’s work has not been wasted,
-since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for
-standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson,
-this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is
-aware that we are interesting ourselves in his affairs; so if you
-are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. I should be
-very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your
-pocket. An Eley’s No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen
-who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush
-are, I think, all that we need."</p>
-<p>At Waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for
-Leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove
-for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was a
-perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the
-heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out
-their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant
-smell of the moist earth. To me at least there was a strange
-contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this
-sinister quest upon which we were engaged. My companion sat in
-the front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over
-his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the
-deepest thought. Suddenly, however, he started, tapped me on the
-shoulder, and pointed over the meadows.</p>
-<p>"Look there!" said he.</p>
-<p>A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope,
-thickening into a grove at the highest point. From amid the
-branches there jutted out the grey gables and high roof-tree of a
-very old mansion.</p>
-<p>"Stoke Moran?" said he.</p>
-<p>"Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott," remarked
-the driver.</p>
-<p>"There is some building going on there," said Holmes; "that is
-where we are going."</p>
-<p>"There’s the village," said the driver, pointing to a cluster of
-roofs some distance to the left; "but if you want to get to the
-house, you’ll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by
-the foot-path over the fields. There it is, where the lady is
-walking."</p>
-<p>"And the lady, I fancy, is Miss Stoner," observed Holmes, shading
-his eyes. "Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest."</p>
-<p>We got off, paid our fare, and the trap rattled back on its way
-to Leatherhead.</p>
-<p>"I thought it as well," said Holmes as we climbed the stile,
-"that this fellow should think we had come here as architects, or
-on some definite business. It may stop his gossip.
-Good-afternoon, Miss Stoner. You see that we have been as good as
-our word."</p>
-<p>Our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a
-face which spoke her joy. "I have been waiting so eagerly for
-you," she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. "All has turned
-out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely
-that he will be back before evening."</p>
-<p>"We have had the pleasure of making the doctor’s acquaintance,"
-said Holmes, and in a few words he sketched out what had
-occurred. Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened.</p>
-<p>"Good heavens!" she cried, "he has followed me, then."</p>
-<p>"So it appears."</p>
-<p>"He is so cunning that I never know when I am safe from him. What
-will he say when he returns?"</p>
-<p>"He must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone
-more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself
-up from him to-night. If he is violent, we shall take you away to
-your aunt’s at Harrow. Now, we must make the best use of our
-time, so kindly take us at once to the rooms which we are to
-examine."</p>
-<p>The building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high
-central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab,
-thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were
-broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly
-caved in, a picture of ruin. The central portion was in little
-better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern,
-and the blinds in the windows, with the blue smoke curling up
-from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided.
-Some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall, and the
-stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any
-workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and
-down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep attention the
-outsides of the windows.</p>
-<p>"This, I take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep,
-the centre one to your sister’s, and the one next to the main
-building to Dr. Roylott’s chamber?"</p>
-<p>"Exactly so. But I am now sleeping in the middle one."</p>
-<p>"Pending the alterations, as I understand. By the way, there does
-not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end
-wall."</p>
-<p>"There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from
-my room."</p>
-<p>"Ah! that is suggestive. Now, on the other side of this narrow
-wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open. There
-are windows in it, of course?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, but very small ones. Too narrow for anyone to pass
-through."</p>
-<p>"As you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were
-unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness
-to go into your room and bar your shutters?"</p>
-<p>Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination
-through the open window, endeavoured in every way to force the
-shutter open, but without success. There was no slit through
-which a knife could be passed to raise the bar. Then with his
-lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron, built
-firmly into the massive masonry. "Hum!" said he, scratching his
-chin in some perplexity, "my theory certainly presents some
-difficulties. No one could pass these shutters if they were
-bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon
-the matter."</p>
-<p>A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which
-the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third
-chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss
-Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her
-fate. It was a homely little room, with a low ceiling and a
-gaping fireplace, after the fashion of old country-houses. A
-brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow
-white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the
-left-hand side of the window. These articles, with two small
-wicker-work chairs, made up all the furniture in the room save
-for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. The boards round and
-the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old
-and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building
-of the house. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat
-silent, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down,
-taking in every detail of the apartment.</p>
-<p>"Where does that bell communicate with?" he asked at last
-pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the
-tassel actually lying upon the pillow.</p>
-<p>"It goes to the housekeeper’s room."</p>
-<p>"It looks newer than the other things?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago."</p>
-<p>"Your sister asked for it, I suppose?"</p>
-<p>"No, I never heard of her using it. We used always to get what we
-wanted for ourselves."</p>
-<p>"Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there.
-You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to
-this floor." He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in
-his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining
-minutely the cracks between the boards. Then he did the same with
-the wood-work with which the chamber was panelled. Finally he
-walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and
-in running his eye up and down the wall. Finally he took the
-bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug.</p>
-<p>"Why, it’s a dummy," said he.</p>
-<p>"Won’t it ring?"</p>
-<p>"No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting.
-You can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where
-the little opening for the ventilator is."</p>
-<p>"How very absurd! I never noticed that before."</p>
-<p>"Very strange!" muttered Holmes, pulling at the rope. "There are
-one or two very singular points about this room. For example,
-what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another
-room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated
-with the outside air!"</p>
-<p>"That is also quite modern," said the lady.</p>
-<p>"Done about the same time as the bell-rope?" remarked Holmes.</p>
-<p>"Yes, there were several little changes carried out about that
-time."</p>
-<p>"They seem to have been of a most interesting character—dummy
-bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your
-permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into
-the inner apartment."</p>
-<p>Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s chamber was larger than that of his
-step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp-bed, a small
-wooden shelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an
-armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a
-round table, and a large iron safe were the principal things
-which met the eye. Holmes walked slowly round and examined each
-and all of them with the keenest interest.</p>
-<p>"What’s in here?" he asked, tapping the safe.</p>
-<p>"My stepfather’s business papers."</p>
-<p>"Oh! you have seen inside, then?"</p>
-<p>"Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of
-papers."</p>
-<p>"There isn’t a cat in it, for example?"</p>
-<p>"No. What a strange idea!"</p>
-<p>"Well, look at this!" He took up a small saucer of milk which
-stood on the top of it.</p>
-<p>"No; we don’t keep a cat. But there is a cheetah and a baboon."</p>
-<p>"Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a
-saucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants, I
-daresay. There is one point which I should wish to determine." He
-squatted down in front of the wooden chair and examined the seat
-of it with the greatest attention.</p>
-<p>"Thank you. That is quite settled," said he, rising and putting
-his lens in his pocket. "Hullo! Here is something interesting!"</p>
-<p>The object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on
-one corner of the bed. The lash, however, was curled upon itself
-and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord.</p>
-<p>"What do you make of that, Watson?"</p>
-<p>"It’s a common enough lash. But I don’t know why it should be
-tied."</p>
-<p>"That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it’s a wicked world,
-and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst
-of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and
-with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn."</p>
-<p>I had never seen my friend’s face so grim or his brow so dark as
-it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation. We
-had walked several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss
-Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he
-roused himself from his reverie.</p>
-<p>"It is very essential, Miss Stoner," said he, "that you should
-absolutely follow my advice in every respect."</p>
-<p>"I shall most certainly do so."</p>
-<p>"The matter is too serious for any hesitation. Your life may
-depend upon your compliance."</p>
-<p>"I assure you that I am in your hands."</p>
-<p>"In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in
-your room."</p>
-<p>Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment.</p>
-<p>"Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the
-village inn over there?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, that is the Crown."</p>
-<p>"Very good. Your windows would be visible from there?"</p>
-<p>"Certainly."</p>
-<p>"You must confine yourself to your room, on pretence of a
-headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when you hear him
-retire for the night, you must open the shutters of your window,
-undo the hasp, put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then
-withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want
-into the room which you used to occupy. I have no doubt that, in
-spite of the repairs, you could manage there for one night."</p>
-<p>"Oh, yes, easily."</p>
-<p>"The rest you will leave in our hands."</p>
-<p>"But what will you do?"</p>
-<p>"We shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate
-the cause of this noise which has disturbed you."</p>
-<p>"I believe, Mr. Holmes, that you have already made up your mind,"
-said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion’s sleeve.</p>
-<p>"Perhaps I have."</p>
-<p>"Then, for pity’s sake, tell me what was the cause of my sister’s
-death."</p>
-<p>"I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak."</p>
-<p>"You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and
-if she died from some sudden fright."</p>
-<p>"No, I do not think so. I think that there was probably some more
-tangible cause. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you for if
-Dr. Roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain.
-Good-bye, and be brave, for if you will do what I have told you,
-you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers
-that threaten you."</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and
-sitting-room at the Crown Inn. They were on the upper floor, and
-from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and
-of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw
-Dr. Grimesby Roylott drive past, his huge form looming up beside
-the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some
-slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard
-the hoarse roar of the doctor’s voice and saw the fury with which
-he shook his clinched fists at him. The trap drove on, and a few
-minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as
-the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms.</p>
-<p>"Do you know, Watson," said Holmes as we sat together in the
-gathering darkness, "I have really some scruples as to taking you
-to-night. There is a distinct element of danger."</p>
-<p>"Can I be of assistance?"</p>
-<p>"Your presence might be invaluable."</p>
-<p>"Then I shall certainly come."</p>
-<p>"It is very kind of you."</p>
-<p>"You speak of danger. You have evidently seen more in these rooms
-than was visible to me."</p>
-<p>"No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine
-that you saw all that I did."</p>
-<p>"I saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose
-that could answer I confess is more than I can imagine."</p>
-<p>"You saw the ventilator, too?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to
-have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a
-rat could hardly pass through."</p>
-<p>"I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to
-Stoke Moran."</p>
-<p>"My dear Holmes!"</p>
-<p>"Oh, yes, I did. You remember in her statement she said that her
-sister could smell Dr. Roylott’s cigar. Now, of course that
-suggested at once that there must be a communication between the
-two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been
-remarked upon at the coroner’s inquiry. I deduced a ventilator."</p>
-<p>"But what harm can there be in that?"</p>
-<p>"Well, there is at least a curious coincidence of dates. A
-ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the
-bed dies. Does not that strike you?"</p>
-<p>"I cannot as yet see any connection."</p>
-<p>"Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?"</p>
-<p>"No."</p>
-<p>"It was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened
-like that before?"</p>
-<p>"I cannot say that I have."</p>
-<p>"The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same
-relative position to the ventilator and to the rope—or so we may
-call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull."</p>
-<p>"Holmes," I cried, "I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at.
-We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible
-crime."</p>
-<p>"Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a doctor does go wrong
-he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge.
-Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession.
-This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall
-be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough
-before the night is over; for goodness' sake let us have a quiet
-pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more
-cheerful."</p>
-<p>About nine o’clock the light among the trees was extinguished,
-and all was dark in the direction of the Manor House. Two hours
-passed slowly away, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of
-eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us.</p>
-<p>"That is our signal," said Holmes, springing to his feet; "it
-comes from the middle window."</p>
-<p>As we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord,
-explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance,
-and that it was possible that we might spend the night there. A
-moment later we were out on the dark road, a chill wind blowing
-in our faces, and one yellow light twinkling in front of us
-through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand.</p>
-<p>There was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for
-unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way
-among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about
-to enter through the window when out from a clump of laurel
-bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted
-child, who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs and
-then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness.</p>
-<p>"My God!" I whispered; "did you see it?"</p>
-<p>Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like
-a vice upon my wrist in his agitation. Then he broke into a low
-laugh and put his lips to my ear.</p>
-<p>"It is a nice household," he murmured. "That is the baboon."</p>
-<p>I had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. There
-was a cheetah, too; perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders
-at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when,
-after following Holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, I
-found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed
-the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes
-round the room. All was as we had seen it in the daytime. Then
-creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand, he whispered
-into my ear again so gently that it was all that I could do to
-distinguish the words:</p>
-<p>"The least sound would be fatal to our plans."</p>
-<p>I nodded to show that I had heard.</p>
-<p>"We must sit without light. He would see it through the
-ventilator."</p>
-<p>I nodded again.</p>
-<p>"Do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your
-pistol ready in case we should need it. I will sit on the side of
-the bed, and you in that chair."</p>
-<p>I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table.</p>
-<p>Holmes had brought up a long thin cane, and this he placed upon
-the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the
-stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left
-in darkness.</p>
-<p>How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a
-sound, not even the drawing of a breath, and yet I knew that my
-companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same
-state of nervous tension in which I was myself. The shutters cut
-off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness.</p>
-<p>From outside came the occasional cry of a night-bird, and once at
-our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that
-the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away we could hear the
-deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of
-an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and
-one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for
-whatever might befall.</p>
-<p>Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the
-direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was
-succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal.
-Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern. I heard a gentle
-sound of movement, and then all was silent once more, though the
-smell grew stronger. For half an hour I sat with straining ears.
-Then suddenly another sound became audible—a very gentle,
-soothing sound, like that of a small jet of steam escaping
-continually from a kettle. The instant that we heard it, Holmes
-sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with
-his cane at the bell-pull.</p>
-<p>"You see it, Watson?" he yelled. "You see it?"</p>
-<p>But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I
-heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my
-weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which
-my friend lashed so savagely. I could, however, see that his face
-was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. He had
-ceased to strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when
-suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most
-horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder
-and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled
-in the one dreadful shriek. They say that away down in the
-village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the
-sleepers from their beds. It struck cold to our hearts, and I
-stood gazing at Holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it
-had died away into the silence from which it rose.</p>
-<p>"What can it mean?" I gasped.</p>
-<p>"It means that it is all over," Holmes answered. "And perhaps,
-after all, it is for the best. Take your pistol, and we will
-enter Dr. Roylott’s room."</p>
-<p>With a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the
-corridor. Twice he struck at the chamber door without any reply
-from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his
-heels, with the cocked pistol in my hand.</p>
-<p>It was a singular sight which met our eyes. On the table stood a
-dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant
-beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar.
-Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott
-clad in a long grey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protruding
-beneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless Turkish slippers.
-Across his lap lay the short stock with the long lash which we
-had noticed during the day. His chin was cocked upward and his
-eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the
-ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with
-brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his
-head. As we entered he made neither sound nor motion.</p>
-<p>"The band! the speckled band!" whispered Holmes.</p>
-<p>I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began
-to move, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat
-diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent.</p>
-<p>"It is a swamp adder!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in
-India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence
-does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls
-into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this
-creature back into its den, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to
-some place of shelter and let the county police know what has
-happened."</p>
-<p>As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man’s lap,
-and throwing the noose round the reptile’s neck he drew it from
-its horrid perch and, carrying it at arm’s length, threw it into
-the iron safe, which he closed upon it.</p>
-<p>Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of
-Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a
-narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling
-how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed
-her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow,
-of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the
-conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly
-playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn
-of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back
-next day.</p>
-<p>"I had," said he, "come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which
-shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from
-insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of
-the word <span class="emphasis"><em>band,</em></span> which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to
-explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of
-by the light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an
-entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly
-reconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me
-that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not
-come either from the window or the door. My attention was
-speedily drawn, as I have already remarked to you, to this
-ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The
-discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to
-the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was
-there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and
-coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me,
-and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was
-furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I
-was probably on the right track. The idea of using a form of
-poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical
-test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless
-man who had had an Eastern training. The rapidity with which such
-a poison would take effect would also, from his point of view, be
-an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could
-distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where
-the poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the
-whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning
-light revealed it to the victim. He had trained it, probably by
-the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned.
-He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he
-thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the
-rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the
-occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but
-sooner or later she must fall a victim.</p>
-<p>"I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his
-room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in
-the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary
-in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the
-safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to
-finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic
-clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather
-hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant.
-Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in
-order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss
-as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the
-light and attacked it."</p>
-<p>"With the result of driving it through the ventilator."</p>
-<p>"And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master
-at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and
-roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person
-it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr.
-Grimesby Roylott’s death, and I cannot say that it is likely to
-weigh very heavily upon my conscience."</p>
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