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The Adventure of the Speckled Band - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Adventure Books Library

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The Adventure of the Speckled Band. On glancing over my notes of the seventy
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odd cases in which I have, during the last eight years studied the methods
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of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a
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large number merely strange, but none commonplace for working as he did rather for
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the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth. He refused to
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associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual and even the
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fantastic. Of all these varied cases, however, I cannot recall any which
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presented more singular features than that which was associated with the well known Surrey family
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of the Roylots of Stoke, Moran. The events in question occurred in the
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early days of my association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors
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in Baker Street. It is possible that I might have placed them upon record
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before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the time, from which
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I have only been free during the month by the untimely death of the lady
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to whom the pledge was given. It is perhaps as well that the facts
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should now come to light, for I have reasons to know that there are
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widespread rumors as to the death of doctor grimesby Roylet, which tend to make
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the matter even more terrible than the truth. It was early in April in
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the year eighty three that I woke one morning to find Sherlock Holmes standing fully
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dressed by the side of my bed. He was a late riser as a
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rule, and as the clock on the mantel piece showed me that it was
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only a quarter past seven, I blinked up at him in some surprise and
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perhaps just a little resentment, for I was myself regular in my habits.
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Very sorry to knock you up, Watson said he, but it's the common
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lot this morning. Missus Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me,
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and I on you. What is it then? A fire? No,
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her client, It seems that a young lady has arrived in a considerable
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state of excitement, who insists, upon seeing me she is waiting now in
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the sitting room. Now, when young ladies wander about the metropolis at this
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hour of the morning and knock sleepy people up out of their beds, I
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presume that it is something very pressing which they have to communicate. Should it
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prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure wish to
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follow it from the outset. I've thought at any rate that I should call
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you and give you the chance, My dear fellow, I would not miss
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it for anything. I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his
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professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions as swift as intuition, and
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yet always found it on a logical basis with which he unraveled the problems which
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were submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in
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a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting room. A lady
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dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in the window rose
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as we entered. Good morning, Madam, said Holmes cheerily. My name
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is Sherlock Holmes. This is my intiman friend and associate doctor Watson, before
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whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Ah, I am glad
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to see that missus Hudson has had the good sense to light the fire.
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Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot
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coffee for I observe that you are tivering. It is not cold, which
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makes me shiver, said the woman, in a low voice, changing her
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seat, as requested, What then it is fear, mister Holmes, it
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is terror. She raised her veil as she spoke, and we could see
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that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn
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and gray, with restless, frightened eyes like those of some hunted animal.
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Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair
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was shot with premature gray, and her expression was weary and haggard. Sherlock
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Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, all comprehensive glances. You
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must not fear, said he soothingly, bending forward and patting her forearm.
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We shall soon set matters right. I have no doubt you have come in
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by train this morning. I see you know me then? No, but
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I observed the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left
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glove. You must have started early, and yet you had a good drive
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and a dog cart along heavy roads before you reached the station. The lady
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gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my companion. There's no mystery,
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My dear madam, said he smiling. The left arm of your jacket
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is spattered with mud in no less than seven places. The marks are perfectly
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fresh. There is no vehicle save a dog cart, which throws up mud
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in that way, and then only when you sit on the left hand side
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of the driver. Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct,
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said she. I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at twenty past,
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and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I can
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stand this strain no longer. I shall go mad if it continues. I
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have no one to turn to, none save only one who cares for me,
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and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid. I've heard
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of you, mister Holmes. I have heard of you from Missus Farintosh,
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whom you helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her
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that I had your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that
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you could help me too, and at least throw a little light through the
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dense darkness which surrounds me. At present it is out of my power to
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reward you for your services. But in a month or six weeks I shall
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be married with the control of my own income, and then at least you
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shall not find me ungrateful. Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it,
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drew out a small case book, which he consulted. Farintosh said,
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he ah, yes, I recall the case. It was concerned with an
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opal tiera. I think it was before your time, Watson. I can
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only say, madam, that I shall be happy to devote the same care
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to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to reward,
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my profession is its own reward. But you are at liberty to defray
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whatever expenses I may be put to at the time which suits you best.
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And now I beg that you will lay before us everything that may help us
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in forming an opinion on the matter. Alas replied our visitor, the very
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horror of my situation lies in the fact that my fears are so vague,
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and my suspicions depend so entirely upon small points which might seem trivial to another,
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that even he to whom of all others I have a right to look
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for help and advice, looks upon all that I tell him about it as
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the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I
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can read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes. But I have heard,
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mister Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the
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human heart. You may advise me how to walk amid the dangers which encompass
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me. I am all attention, madam. My name is Helen Stoner,
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and I am living with my stepfather, who is the last survivor of one
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of the oldest Saxon families in England, the Roylots of Stoke, Moran,
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on the western border of Surrey. Holmes nodded his head. The name is
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familiar to me, said he. The family was at one time the richest
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in England, and the estates extended over the borders into Berkshire in the north
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and Hampshire in the west. In the last century, however, four successive
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heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition, and the family ruin was eventually
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completed by a gambler in the days of the regency. Nothing was left save
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a few acres of ground and the two hundred year old house, which is
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itself crushed under a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence there,
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living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper, but his only son,
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my stepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions, obtained
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an advance from relative which enabled him to take a medical degree, and went
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out to Calcutta, where, by his professional skill and force of character he
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established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused by
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some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he beat his native butler
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to death and narrowly escaped a capital sentence. As it was, he suffered
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a long term of imprisonment, and afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed
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man. When doctor Roylett was in India, he married my mother, Missus
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Stoner, the young widow of Major General Stoner of the Bengal Artillery. My
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sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old at
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the time of my mother's remarriage. She had a considerable sum of money,
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not less than one thousand pounds a year, and this she bequeathed to Doctor
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Roylett entirely while we resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual
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sum should be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage.
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Shortly after our return to England, my mother died. She was killed eight
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years ago in a railway accident near Crewe. Doctor Roylett then abandoned his attempts
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to establish himself in practice in London and took us to live with him in
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the old ancestral house at Stoke, Moran. The money which my mother had
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left was enough for all our wants, and there seemed to be no obstacle
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to our happiness. But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time.
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Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbors, who had at
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first been overjoyed to see a Roylot of Stoke Moran back in the old family
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seat, he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out, save
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to indulge in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper
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approaching to Mania has been hereditary in the men of the family, and in
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my stepfather's case it had, I believe, been intensified by his long residence
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in the tropics. A series of disgraceful brawls took place, two of which
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ended in the police court, until at last he became the terror of the
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village, and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a
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man of immense strength and absolutely uncontrollable. In his anger. Last week he
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hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream. And it was only
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by paying over all the money which I could gather together, that I was
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able to avert another public exposure. He had no friends at all save the
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wandering gypsies, and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few
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acres of bramble covered land which represent the family estate, and would accept in
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return the hospitality of their tents, wandering away with them, sometimes for weeks
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on end. He has a passion also for Indian animals, which are sent
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over to him by a correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah
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and a baboon, which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the
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villagers almost as much as their master. You can imagine from what I say
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that my poor sister Julia and I had no great pleasure in our lives.
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No servant would stay with us, and for a long time we did all
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the work of the house. She was but thirty at the time of her
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death, and yet her hair had already begun to whiten, even as mine
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has. Your sister is dead. Then, she died just two years ago,
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and it is of her death that I wish to speak to you.
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You can understand that living the life which I have described, we were little
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likely to see any one of our own age and position. We had,
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however, an aunt, my mother's maiden sister, Miss Honoria Westvale, who
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lives near Harrow, and we were occasionally allowed to pay short visits at this
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lady's house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago and met there a
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half pay major of Marines, to whom she became engaged. My stepfather learned
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of the engagement when my sister returned, and offered no objection to the marriage.
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But within a fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding,
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the terrible event occurred which has deprived me of my only companion. Sherlock
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Holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and his head
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sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his lids now and glanced across
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at his visitor. Pray be precise as to details, said he. It
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is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful time
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is seared into my memory. The manor house is, as I have already
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said, very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The bedrooms
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in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting rooms being in the
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central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms, the first is doctor Roylant's,
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the second my sister's, and the third my own. There is no
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communication between them, but they all open out into the same corridor. Do
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I make myself plain perfectly? So? The windows of the three rooms open
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out upon the lawn. That fatal night, Doctor Roylot had gone to his
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room early, though we knew that he had not retired to rest, for
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my sister was troubled by the smell of the strong Indian cigars, which it
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was his custom to smoke. She left her room therefore, and came into
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mine, where she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding.
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At eleven o'clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door
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and looked back. Tell me, Helen, said she, have you ever
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heard any one whistle in the dead of the night? Never said I.
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I suppose that you could not possibly whistle yourself in your sleep, certainly not.
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But why, because during the last few nights I have always, about
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three in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I am a
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light sleeper, and it has awakened me. I cannot tell where it came
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from, perhaps from the next room, perhaps from the lawn. I thought
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that I would just ask you whether you'd heard it. No, I have
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not. It must be those wretched gypsies in the plantation, very likely.
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And yet if it were on the lawn, I wondered that you did not
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hear it. Also, Ah, but I sleep more heavily than you.
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Well, it is of no great consequence at any rate. She smiled back
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at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her
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key turn in the lock. Indeed, said Holmes, was it your custom
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always to lock yourselves in at night? Always? And why? I think
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that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon.
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We had no feeling of security unless our doors were locked. Quite so,
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pray proceed with your statement. I could not sleep that night. A vague
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feeling of impending misfortune impressed me. My sister and I you will recollect,
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were twins. And you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls
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which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind was
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howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows. Suddenly,
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amid all the hubbub of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream
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of a terrified woman. I knew that it was my sister's voice. I
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sprang from my bed, wrapped a shawl around me, and rushed into the
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corridor. As I opened my door, I seemed to hear a low whistle
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such as my sister described, and a few moments later a clanging sound,
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as if a mass of metal had fallen. As I ran down the passage,
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my sister's door was unlocked and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared
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at it, horror stricken, not knowing what was about to issue from it.
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By the light of the corridor lamp, I saw my sister appear at
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the opening, her face blanched with terror, her hands groping for help,
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her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a drunkard. I ran
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to her and threw my arms round her, But at that moment her knees
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seemed to give way, and she fell to the ground. She writhed as
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one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed. At
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first I thought that she had not recognized me, But as I bent over
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her, she suddenly shrieked in a voice which I shall never forget. Oh,
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my God, Helen, it was the band, the speckled band.
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There was something else which she would fain have said, and she stabbed with
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her finger in the air in the direction of the doctor's room. But a
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fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly
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for my stepfather, and I met him hastening from his room in his dressing
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gown. When he reached my sister's side, she was unconscious, and though
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he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical aid from the village,
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all efforts were in vain, for she slowly sank and died without having recovered
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her consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister. One moment
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said Holmes, are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound? Could you
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swear to it that was what the country coroner asked me at the enquiry.
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It is my strong impression that I heard it, and yet among the crash
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of the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have
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been deceived. Was your sister dressed? No, she was in her night
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dress. In her right hand was found the charred stump of a match and
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in her left a match box, showing that she had struck a light and
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looked about her when the alarm took place. That is important and what conclusions
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did the coroner come to? He investigated the case with great care, for
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doctor Roylott's conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unable
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to find any satisfactory cause of death. My evidence showed that the door had
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been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows were blocked by old fashioned
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shutters with broad iron bars, which were secured every night. The walls were
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carefully sounded and were shown to be quite solid all round, and the flooring
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was also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is wide,
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but it is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, therefore
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that my sister was quite alone when she met her end. Besides, there
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were no marks of any violence upon her. How about poison? The doctors
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examined her for it, but without success. What do you think this unfortunate
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lady died of? Then? It is my belief that she died of pure
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fear and nervous shock. Though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine.
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Were there gypsies in the plantation at the time, Yes, there are
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nearly always some there. Ah, And what did you gather from this allusion
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to a band, a speckled band? Sometimes I have thought that it was
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merely the wild talk of delirium, Sometimes that it may have referred to some
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band of people, perhaps to those very gypsies in the plantation. I do
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not know whether the spotted handkerchief which so many of them wear over their heads,
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might have suggested the strange adjective which she used. Hulms shook his head
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like a man who is far from being satisfied. These are very deep waters,
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said he pray, go on with your narrative. Two years have passed
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since then, and my life life has been until lately lonelier than ever.
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A month ago, however, a dear friend whom I have known for many
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years, has done me the honor to ask my hand in marriage. His
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name is Armitage, Percy Armitage, the second son of mister Armitage of Cranewater,
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near Reading. My stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and
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we are to be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago
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some repairs were started in the west wing of the building, and my bedroom
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wall has been pierced, so that I have had to move into the chamber
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in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very bed in which
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she slept. Imagine then my thrill of terror when last night, as I
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lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I suddenly heard in the silence
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of the night the low whistle, which had been the herald of her own
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death. I sprang up and lit the lamp, but nothing's to be seen
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in the room. I was too shaken to go to bed again, however,
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so I dressed, and as soon as it was daylight, I slipped
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down, got a dog cart at the Crown Inn, which is opposite,
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and drove to Leatherhead. From whence I have come on this morning with the
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one object of seeing you and asking your advice you've done wisely, said my
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friend. But have you told me all? Yes, all, miss Roylott,
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you have not. You are screening your step father. Why what do
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you mean? For answer? Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which
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fringed the hand that lay upon our visitor's knee. Five little livid spots,
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the marks of four fingers and a thumb were printed upon the white wrist.
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You have been cruelly used, said Holmes. The lady colored deeply and covered
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over her injured wrist. He is a hard man, she said, and
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perhaps he hardly knows his own strength. There was a long silence, during
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which Holmes leaned his chin upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire.
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This is a very deep business, he said, at last. There are
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a thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide upon our course
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of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If we were
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to come to Stoke Moran to day, would it be possible for us to
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see over these rooms without the knowledge of your stepfather. As it happens,
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he spoke of coming into town to day upon some most important business. It
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is probable that he will be away all day, and that there would be
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nothing to disturb you. We have a housekeeper now, but she is old
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and foolish, and I could easily get her out of the way. Excellent,
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You are not averse to this trip, Watson? By no means,
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then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself? I
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have one or two things which I would wish to do now that I am
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in town. But I shall return by the twelve o'clock train so as to
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be there in time for your coming, and you may expect us early in
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the afternoon. I have myself some small business matters to attend to. Will
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you not wait in breakfast? No, I must go. My heart is
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lightened already since I have confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward
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to seeing you again this afternoon. She dropped her thick black veil over her
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face and glided from the room. And what do you think of it all?
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Watson asked Sherlock Holmes, leaning back in his chair. It seems to
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me to be a dark and sinister business. Dark enough and sinister enough.
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Yet, if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are
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sound, and that the door window and chimney are impassable. Then her sister
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must undoubtedly have been alone when she met her mysterious end. What becomes then,
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of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the very peculiar words of the
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dying woman? I cannot think when you combine the ideas of whistles at night,
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the presence of a band of gypsies who are on intimate terms with this
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old doctor, the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor
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has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage, the dying allusion to a band,
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and finally, the fact that Miss Helen's stoner heard a metallic clang which
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might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling
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back into its place. I think that there is good ground to think that
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the mystery may be cleared along those lines. But what then did the gypsies
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do? I cannot imagine. I see many objections to any such theory,
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and so do I. It is for precisely that reason that we are going
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to stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are fatal,
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or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of
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the devil. The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that
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our door had suddenly been dashed open, and that a huge man had framed
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himself in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar mixture of the professional and
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the agricultural, having a black top hat, a long frock coat, and
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a pair of high gaiters, with a hunting crop swinging in his hand.
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So tall was he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway,
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and his breadth seemed to span it across from side to side. A
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large face seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun and marked
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with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other of us,
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while his deep set, bile shot eyes and his high, thin, fleshless
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nose gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey. Which
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of you is? Holmes asked this apparition my name, sir, But you
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have the advantage of me, said my companion quietly. I am Doctor grimesby
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Roylot of Stoke, Moran. Indeed, doctor, said Holmes, blandly,
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Pray take a seat. I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter
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has been here. I have traced her. What has she been saying to
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you? It is a little cold for the time of year, said Holmes.
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What has she been saying to you? Screamed the old man furiously.
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But I have heard that the crocuses promise well, continued my companion, imperturbably.
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Ha you put me off, do you, said our new visitor,
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taking a step forward and shaking his hunting crop. I know you, you
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scoundrel. I have heard of you before. You are Holmes the meddler,
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my friend, smiled Holmes, the busy body. His smile broadened, Holmes
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the Scotland yard jack in office. Holmes chuckled heartily. Your conversation is most
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entertaining, said he. When you go out, close the door, for
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there is a decided draft. I will go when I've said my say.
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Don't you dare meddle with my affairs. I know that miss Stoner has been
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here. I trace her. I am a dangerous man to fall foul of.
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See here, he stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker and bent it
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into a curve with his huge brown hands. See that you keep yourself out
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of my grip. He snarled, and hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace,
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he strode out of the room. He seems a very amiable person,
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said Holmes, laughing. I am not quite so bulky. But if he
25:57
had remained, I might have shown him that my grip was not much more
26:00
feeble than his own. As he spoke, he picked up the steel poker
26:04
and with a sudden effort, straightened it out again. Fancy his having the
26:08
insolence to confound me with the official detective force. This incident gives zest to
26:14
our investigation, however, and I only trust that our little friend will not
26:18
suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now,
26:22
Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down to Doctor's
26:26
Commons, where I hope to get some dato which may help us in this
26:29
matter. It was nearly one o'clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his excursion.
26:34
He held in his hands a sheet of blue paper scrolled over with notes and
26:38
figures. I have seen the will of the deceased wife, said he to
26:44
determine its exact meaning. I have been obliged to work out the present prices
26:47
of the investments with which it is concerned. The total income, which at
26:51
the time of the wife's death was little short of eleven hundred pounds, is
26:55
now, through the fall in agricultural prices, not more than seven hundred and
26:59
fifty pounds. Each daughter can claim an income of two hundred and fifty pounds
27:03
in case of marriage. It is evident therefore, that if both girls had
27:07
married, this beauty would have had a mere pittance, while even one of
27:11
them would cripple him to a very serious extent. My morning's work has not
27:15
been wasted, since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for
27:18
standing in the way of anything of that sort. And now, Watson,
27:22
this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is aware that
27:26
we are interesting ourselves in his affairs. So if you are ready, we
27:30
shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. I should be very much obliged
27:33
if you would slip your revolver into your pocket. An Ely's number two is
27:37
an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and
27:41
a tooth brush are I think all that we need at Waterloo. We were
27:47
fortunate in catching a train for Leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the
27:51
station inn and drove for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes.
27:55
It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds
27:59
in the heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out their first
28:03
green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant smell of the moist
28:07
earth. To me, at least, there was a strange contrast between the
28:10
sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which we were engaged.
28:15
My companion sat in front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat
28:19
pulled down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried
28:22
in the deepest thought. Suddenly, however, he started, tapped me on
28:27
the shoulder and pointed over the meadows. Look there, said he, a
28:32
heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, thickening into a grove.
28:37
At the highest point from amid the branches, there jutted out the gray gables
28:41
and high roof tree of a very old mansion. Stoke Moran said he,
28:45
yes, sir, that be the house of doctor grimesby Roylet, remarked the
28:48
driver. There is some building going on there, said Holmes. That is
28:53
where we are going. There's the village, said the driver, pointing to
28:59
a cluster of roofs some distance to the left. But if you want to
29:02
get to the house, you'll find it shorter to get over this stile.
29:06
And so by the footpath over the fields there it is where the lady is
29:08
walking. And the lady I fancy is miss Stoner, observed Holmes, shading
29:15
his eyes. Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest.
29:18
We got off, paid our affair, and the trap rattled back on its
29:22
way to Leatherhead. I thought it is well, said Holmes, as we
29:26
climbed the stile, that this fellow should think we had come here as architects
29:30
or on some definite business. It may stop his gossip. Good afternoon,
29:33
miss Stoner. You see that we have been as good as our word.
29:37
Our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us, with a face
29:41
which spoke her joy. I have been waiting so eagerly for you, she
29:45
cried, shaking hands with us warmly. All has turned out splendidly. Doctor
29:49
Roylett has gone to town and it is unlikely that he will be back before
29:53
evening. We have had the pleasure of making the doctor's acquaintance, said Holmes,
30:00
and in a few words he sketched out what had occurred. Miss Stoner
30:03
turned white to the lips as she listened. Good Heavens, she cried,
30:07
he has followed me. Then, so it appears he is so cunning that
30:12
I never know when I am safe from him? What will he say when
30:15
he returns? He must guard himself, for he may find that there is
30:21
some one more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself up
30:25
from him to night. If he is violent, we shall take you away
30:27
to your aunt's at Harrow. Now we must make the best use of our
30:30
time, so kindly take us at once to the rooms which we are to
30:33
examine. The building was of gray like in blotched stone, with a high
30:38
central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab thrown out
30:44
on each side. In one of those wings, the windows were broken and
30:48
blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in a picture of
30:52
ruin. The central portion was in little better repair, but the right hand
30:56
block was comparatively modern, and the blind in the windows, with the blue
31:00
smoke curling up from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided.
31:06
Some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall, and the stone work
31:10
had been broken into, but there were no signs of any workmen. At
31:12
the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and down the ill trim
31:18
lawn and examined with deep attention the outsides of the windows. This, I
31:22
take it belongs to the room in which you used to sleep, the center
31:26
one to your sisters, and the one next to the main building to doctor
31:30
Roylett's chamber. Exactly so. But I am now sleeping in the middle room,
31:36
pending the alterations. As I understand by the way, there does not
31:40
seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end of the wall.
31:45
There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me
31:48
from my room. Ah, that is suggestive. Now on the other side
31:52
of this narrow wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open. There
31:56
are windows in it, of course, yes, but small ones too narrow
32:00
for any one to pass through. As you both locked your doors at night,
32:05
your rooms were unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the
32:08
kindness to go into your room and bar your shutters? Miss Stoner did so,
32:13
and Holmes, after a careful examination through the open window, endeavored in
32:17
every way to force a shutter open, but without success. There was no
32:22
slit through which a knife could be passed to raise the bar. Then,
32:24
with his lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron,
32:29
built firmly into the massive masonry. Hum said, he scratching his chin in
32:34
some perplexity. My theory certainly presents some difficulties. No one could pass these
32:38
shutters if they were bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws
32:42
any light upon the matter. A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor
32:49
from which the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third chamber,
32:53
so we passed at once to the second, that in which miss Stoner was
32:57
now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her fate. It
33:00
was a homely little room, with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace,
33:05
after the fashion of old country houses. A brown chest of drawers stood in
33:09
one corner. A narrow, white counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing
33:14
table on the left hand side of the window. These articles, with two
33:19
small wicker work chairs, made up all the furniture in the room save for
33:22
a square of wilton carpet in the center. The boards round and the paneling
33:27
of the walls were of brown worm eaten oak, so old and discolored that
33:30
it may have dated from the original building of the house. Holmes drew one
33:35
of the chairs into a corner and sat silent while his eyes traveled round and
33:39
round, and up and down, taking in every detail of the apartment.
33:44
Where does that bell communicate with he asked at last, pointing to a thick
33:49
bell rope which hung down beside the bed, the tassel actually lying upon the
33:52
pillow. It goes to the housekeeper's room. It looked newer than the other
33:58
things. Yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago.
34:01
Your sister asked for it, I suppose, No, I never heard of
34:06
her using it. We used always to get what we wanted for ourselves.
34:10
Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell pull there. You
34:15
will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to this floor.
34:20
He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in his hand,
34:22
and crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining minutely the cracks between the boards.
34:29
Then he did the same with the woodwork with which the chamber was paneled.
34:32
Finally he walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it,
34:36
and in running his eye up and down the wall. Finally he took
34:40
the bell rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug. Why it's
34:45
a dummy, said he won't it ring. No, it is not even
34:50
attached to a wire. This is very interesting. You can see now that
34:53
it is fastened to a hook just above where the little opening for the ventilator
34:57
is. How very obs I never noticed that before, very strange, muttered
35:04
Holmes, pulling at the rope. There are one or two singular points about
35:07
this room. For example, what a fool a builder must be to open
35:13
a ventilator into another room when with the same trouble he might have communicated with
35:16
the outside air. That is also quite modern, said the lady, done
35:22
about the same time as the bell rope, remarked Holmes. Yes, there
35:27
were several little changes carried out about that time. They seem to have been
35:31
of a most interesting character. Dummy bell ropes and ventilators which do not ventilate.
35:37
With your permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into
35:39
the inner apartment. Doctor Grimesby Roylet's chamber was larger than that of his step
35:45
daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp bed, a small wooden
35:51
shelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an arm chair beside
35:54
the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a round table,
35:59
and a large iron safe were the principal things which met the eye. Holmes
36:04
walked slowly round and examined each and all of them with the keenest interest.
36:08
What's in here, he asked, tapping the safe. My stepfather's business papers.
36:15
Oh you have seen inside then, only once, some years ago.
36:19
I remember that it was full of papers. There isn't a cat in it,
36:22
for example, No, what a strange idea. Well look at this.
36:29
He took up a small saucer of milk, which stood on the top
36:31
of it. No, we don't keep a cat, but there is a
36:36
cheetah and a baboon ah. Yes, of course, Well, a cheetah
36:39
is just a big cat, and yet a saucer of milk does not go
36:43
very far and satisfying its wants. I dare say there is one point which
36:46
I should wish to determine. He squatted down in front of the wooden chair
36:51
and examined the seat of it with the greatest attention. Thank you, that
36:54
is quite settled, said he, rising and putting his lens in his pocket.
37:00
HULLO, here is something interesting. The object which had caught his eye
37:04
was a small dog lash hung on one corner of the bed. The lash,
37:07
however, was curled upon itself and tied so as to make a loop
37:10
of whipcord. What do you make of that, Watson? It's a common
37:15
enough lash, but I don't know why it should be tied. That is
37:20
not quite so common, is it, ah me. It's a wicked world,
37:22
and when a clever man turns his brains to crime, it is the
37:25
worst of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner,
37:30
and with your permission, we shall walk out upon the lawn. I
37:34
have never seen my friend's face so grim, or his brow so dark as
37:37
it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation. We had walked
37:40
several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss Stoner nor myself liking to
37:45
break in upon his thoughts, before he roused himself from his reverie. It
37:50
is very essential, miss Stoner, said he that you should absolutely follow my
37:53
advice in every respect. I shall most certainly do so. Is too serious
38:00
for any hesitation. Your life may depend upon your compliance. I assure you
38:06
that I am in your hands. In the first place. Both my friend
38:09
and I must spend the night in your room. Both Miss Stoner and I
38:15
gazed at him in astonishment. Yes, it must be so. Let me
38:17
explain. I believe that that is the village in over there. Yes,
38:22
that is the crown. Very good, your windows would be visible from there.
38:27
Certainly, you must confine yourself to your room on pretense of a headache
38:31
when your stepfather comes back. Then, when you hear him retire for the
38:36
night, you must open the shutters of your window, undo the hasp,
38:38
put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then withdraw quietly with
38:43
everything which you are likely to want into the room which you used to occupy.
38:46
I have no doubt that, in spite of the repairs, you could
38:50
manage there for one night. Oh, yes, easily. The rest you
38:53
will leave in our hands. But what will you do. We shall spend
38:59
the night in your room, and we shall investigate the cause of the noise
39:01
which has disturbed you. I believe, mister Holmes, that you have already
39:06
made up your mind, said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion's
39:09
sleeve. Perhaps I have, then, for pity's sake, tell me what
39:15
was the cause of my sister's death. I should prefer to have clearer proofs
39:20
before I speak. You can at least tell me whether my own thought is
39:23
correct, and if she died from some sudden fright. No, I do
39:28
not think so. I think that there was probably some more tangible cause.
39:32
And now Miss Stoner, we must leave you, for if Doctor Roylot returned
39:37
and saw us, our journey would be in vain. Good Bye and be
39:39
brave, for if you will do what I have told you, you may
39:43
rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers that threaten you. Sherlock
39:47
Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and sitting room at the
39:52
Crown Inn. They were on the upper floor, and from our window we
39:54
could command a view of the avenue gate and of the inhabited wing of Stoke
40:00
Manor House. At dusk we saw Doctor grimesby roylot drive past, his huge
40:05
form looming up beside the little figure of the lad who drove him. The
40:08
boy had some slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard
40:14
the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice, and saw the fury with which he
40:17
shook his clinched fists at him. The trap drove on, and a few
40:22
minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as the lamp
40:27
was lit in one of the sitting rooms. Do you know Watson? Said
40:30
Holmes, as we sat together in the gathering darkness, I have really some
40:35
scruples as to taking you to night. There is a distinct element of danger.
40:39
Can I be of assistance? Your presence might be invaluable? Then I
40:44
shall certainly come. It is very kind of you you speak of danger.
40:50
You have evidently seen more in these rooms than was visible to me. No,
40:54
but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine
40:58
that you saw all that I did. I saw nothing remarkable save the bell
41:02
rope, and what purpose that could answer, I confess is more than I
41:06
can imagine. You saw the ventilator too, Yes, but I do not
41:12
think it is such a very unusual thing to have a small opening between two
41:15
rooms. It was so small that a rat could hardly pass through. I
41:20
knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to Stoke Moran,
41:23
My dear Holmes, Oh, yes, I did you remember in her statement
41:28
she said that her sister could smell doctor Roylott's cigar. Now, of course
41:32
that suggested at once that there must be a communication between the two rooms.
41:37
It could only be a small one, or it would have been remarked upon
41:39
at the coroner's inquiry. I deduced a ventilator. But what harm can there
41:45
be in that? Well? There is at least a curious coincidence of dates.
41:50
A ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who
41:52
sleeps in the bed dies. Does not that strike you? I cannot as
41:57
yet see any connection. Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?
42:02
No, it was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed
42:07
fastened like that before? I cannot say that I have. The lady could
42:13
not move her bed. It must always be in the same relative position to
42:16
the ventilator and to the rope, or so we may call it, since
42:21
it was clearly never meant for a bell pole, Holmes, I cried,
42:24
I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. We are only just
42:28
in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime. Subtle enough and horrible enough.
42:34
When a doctor goes wrong, he is the first of criminals. He
42:37
has nerve, and he has knowledge. Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads
42:40
of their profession. This man strikes even deeper. But I think, Watson,
42:44
that we shall be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have
42:47
horrors enough before the night is over. For goodness sake, let us have
42:51
a quiet pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more cheerful.
42:57
About nine o'clock the light among the trees was extinguished, and all was
43:00
dark in the direction of the manor house. Two hours passed slowly away,
43:06
and then suddenly, just at the stroke of eleven, a single bright light
43:09
shone out right in front of us. That is our signal, said Holmes,
43:14
springing to his feet. It comes from the middle window. As we
43:19
passed out. He exchanged a few words with the landlord, explaining that we
43:22
were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, and that it was possible
43:25
that we might spend the night there. A moment later we were out on
43:30
the dark road, a chill wind blowing in our faces, and one yellow
43:34
light twinkling in front of us through the gloom to guide us on our somber
43:37
errand there was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for unrepaired breeches gaped in
43:43
the old park wall. Making our way among the trees, we reached the
43:46
lawn, crossed it, and were about to enter through the window, when
43:51
out from a clump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous
43:53
and distorted child, who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs, and
43:59
then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness. My God, I whispered,
44:04
did you see it? Holmes was, for the moment as startled as
44:07
I. His hand closed like a vice upon my wrist in his agitation.
44:13
Then he broke into a low laugh and put his lips to my ear.
44:16
It is a nice household, He murmured that is the baboon. I had
44:22
forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected. There was a cheetah too,
44:25
Perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment. I confess that
44:30
I felt easier in my mind when, after following Holmes's example and slipping off
44:35
my shoes, I found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed the
44:40
shutters, moved the lamp on to the table, and cast his eyes round
44:44
the room. All was as we had seen it in the daytime. Then,
44:49
creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand, he whispered
44:52
into my ear again, so gently that it was all that I could do
44:55
to distinguish the words. The least sound would be fatal to our pla lands.
45:01
I nodded to show that I had heard. We must sit without light.
45:06
He would see it through the ventilator. I nodded again. Do not
45:10
go asleep. Your very life may depend upon it. Have your pistol ready
45:15
in case we should need it. I will sit on the side of the
45:19
bed and you in that chair. I took out my revolver and laid it
45:23
on the corner of the table. Holmes had brought up a long thin cane,
45:29
and this he placed upon the bed. Beside him. By it he
45:32
laid the box of matches and the stump of a candle. Then he turned
45:36
down the lamp, and we were left in darkness. How shall I ever
45:42
forget that dreadful vigil. I could not hear a sound, not even the
45:45
drawing of a breath, and yet I knew that my companion sat open eyed,
45:51
within a few feet of me, in the same state of nervous tension
45:53
in which I was myself. The shutters cut off the least ray of light,
45:59
and we wait in absolute darkness. From outside came the occasional cry of
46:04
a night bird, and once at our very window, a long, drawn
46:07
catlike whine, which told us that the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far
46:13
away we could hear the deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out
46:16
every quarter of an hour. How long they seemed those quarters twelve struck and
46:22
one and two and three. And still we sat, waiting silently for whatever
46:25
might befall. Suddenly there was a momentary gleam of a light up in the
46:31
direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was succeeded by a strong
46:37
smell of burning oil and heated metal. Someone in the next room had lit
46:40
a dark lantern. I heard a gentle sound of movement, and then all
46:45
was silent once more, though the smell grew stronger. For half an hour
46:50
I sat with straining ears. Then suddenly another sound became audible, a very
46:55
gentle, soothing sound, like that of a small of steam escaping continually from
47:01
a kettle. The instant that we heard it, Holmes sprang from the bed,
47:06
struck a match, and lashed furiously with his cane at the bell pole.
47:08
Do you see it, Watson, he yelled, do you see it?
47:13
But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light,
47:15
I heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my
47:20
weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my
47:23
friend lashed so savagely. I could, however, see that his face was
47:29
deadly, pale, and filled with horror and loathing. He had ceased to
47:32
strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when suddenly there broke from the silence
47:37
of the night, the most horrible cry to which I have ever listened.
47:40
It swelled up louder and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and
47:45
anger, all mingled in one dreadful shriek. They say that away down in
47:50
the village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the sleepers
47:53
from their beds, struck cold to our hearts. And I stood gazing at
47:59
Holmes, he at me, until the last echoes of it had died away
48:02
into the silence from which it rose. What can it mean? I gasped.
48:08
It means that it is all over, Holmes answered, and perhaps after
48:13
all it is for the best. Take your pistol and we will enter doctor
48:16
Roylot's room. With a grave face, he lit the lamp and led the
48:22
way down the corridor. Twice. He struck at the chamber door without any
48:25
reply from within. Then he turned the handle and entered. I at his
48:30
heels with the cocked pistol in my hand. It was a singular sight which
48:36
met our eyes. On the table stood a dark lantern with the shutter half
48:40
open, throwing a brilliant beam of light upon the iron safe, the door
48:45
of which was ajar. Beside this table, on the wooden chair sat doctor
48:50
grimesby Roylot, clad in a long gray dressing gown, his bare ankles protruding
48:54
beneath, and his feet thrust into red heel less turkish slippers. Across his
49:00
lap lay the short stalk with the long lash, which we had noticed during
49:02
the day. His chin was cocked upward, and his eyes were fixed in
49:07
a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the ceiling. Round his brow,
49:12
he had a peculiar yellow band with brownish speckles, which seemed to be
49:16
bound tightly round his head. As we entered, he made neither sound nor
49:22
motion. The band, the speckled band, whispered Holmes. I took a
49:29
step forward. In an instant, his strange headgear began to move, and
49:34
there reared itself from among his hair, the squat, diamond shaped head and
49:37
puffed neck of a loathsome serpent. It is a swamp adder, cried Holmes,
49:44
the deadliest snake in India. He has died within ten seconds of being
49:47
bitten. Violence does, in truth recoil upon the violent, and the schemer
49:52
falls into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this creature
49:55
back into its den, and we can then remove miss Stoner to some place
50:00
of shelter, and let the county police know what has happened. As he
50:04
spoke, he drew the dog whip swiftly from the dead man's lap, and
50:07
throwing the noose round the reptile's neck, he drew it from its horrid perch,
50:12
and, carrying it at arm's length, threw it into the iron safe,
50:15
which he closed upon it. Such are the true facts of the death
50:20
of doctor grimesby Roylot of Stoke, Moran. It is not necessary that I
50:23
should prolong a narrative which has already run too great a length by telling how
50:28
we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed her by
50:31
the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow, of how
50:35
the slow process of official enquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his
50:38
fate while indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet
50:44
to learn of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we traveled back
50:47
the next day. I had said, he come to an entirely erroneous conclusion,
50:52
which shows my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from
50:55
insufficient data. The presence of the gypsies, and the use of the word
51:00
band, which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain
51:02
the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of by the light of her
51:06
match, were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent. I can
51:10
only claim the merit that I instantly reconsidered my position, when, however,
51:15
it became clear to me that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could
51:19
not come either from the window or the door. My attention was speedily drawn,
51:23
as I have already remarked to you, to this ventilator and to the
51:27
bell rope which hung down to the bed. The discovery that this was a
51:30
dummy, and that the bed was clamped to the floor instantly gave rise to
51:35
the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the
51:38
hole and coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to
51:44
me, and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished
51:46
with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I was probably on
51:51
the right track. The idea of using a form of poison which could not
51:54
possibly be discovered by any chemical test. Was just such a one as would
51:59
occur to a clever and ruthless man who had had an Eastern training. The
52:02
rapidity with which such a poison would take effect would also, from his point
52:07
of view, be an advantage. It would be a sharp eyed coroner,
52:09
indeed, who could distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where the
52:14
poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the whistle. Of
52:17
course, he must recall the snake before the morning light revealed it to the
52:21
victim. He had trained it, probably by use of the milk which we
52:24
saw, to return to him when summoned. He would put it through this
52:29
ventilator at the hour that he thought best, with the certainty that it would
52:32
crawl down the rope and land on the bed. It might or might not
52:36
bite the occupant. Perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but
52:39
sooner or later she must fall a victim. I had come to these conclusions
52:45
before I had ever entered his room. An inspection of his chair showed me
52:49
that he had been in the habit of standing on it, which of course
52:52
would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator, the sight of
52:55
the safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough
52:59
to fight dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic clang heard by
53:04
miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe
53:07
upon its terrible occupant. Having once made up my mind, you know the
53:12
steps which I took in order to put the matter to the proof. I
53:15
heard the creature hiss, as I have no doubt that you did also,
53:17
and I instantly lit the light and attacked it, with the result of driving
53:22
it through the ventilator, and also with the result of causing it to turn
53:27
upon its master. At the other side. Some of the blows of my
53:30
cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the
53:35
first person it saw. In this way, I am no doubt indirectly responsible
53:38
for doctor grimesby Broylett's death, and I cannot say it is likely to weigh
53:43
very heavily upon my conscience. End of the Adventure of the Speckled Band