Chapter 4
A dangerous night
In the garden Sherlock Holmes spoke very seriously to Miss Stoner. 'You must listen to my instructions carefully. I want to save your life.'
'I'll do everything you say!'
'First, Watson and I must stay in your sister's room tonight.'
Miss Stoner and I were both surprised.
'Now let me explain. Watson and I will be at the Crown Inn in the village – we can see your window from there, can't we?'
'Yes, you can.'
'Very well,' said Holmes, 'This evening you must go to your sister's room early and not see your stepfather. When you hear him go to bed, open the window and put a lamp there. When Watson and I see the lamp in the window we'll come. Then you must leave your sister's room and go to your own room.'
'What will you do?' she asked.
'We'll go to your sister's room and see what happens.'
'Do you know how my sister died?' she asked.
'Perhaps, but I'm not sure.'
'Oh, Mr Holmes, please tell me, did she die of terror?'
'No, I don't think so. Now we must go. Be brave and do everything I told you. You'll soon be safe.'
Sherlock Holmes and I got our room at the Crown Inn. From there we could see the house at Stoke Moran clearly.
'I think there will be danger tonight, Watson.'
'Danger? What did you see in those rooms that I didn't see?'
'I knew there was a ventilator, because Helen Stoner said her sister could smell the smoke of Dr Roylott's cigar.'
'Is that important?'
'It's strange. Just think, a ventilator is made, a bell rope is put there and the lady in the bed dies.'
'I don't understand.'
'Did you see that the bed was fixed to the floor? The lady could not move her bed. It had to stay there, near the bell rope, under the ventilator.'
'Holmes!' I cried, 'I'm beginning to understand. We must stop another murder!'
'Yes. This will be a terrible night.'
We waited at the Crown Inn. Suddenly, at eleven o'clock, we saw a lamp in one of the windows. We left the inn quickly and went into the garden at Stoke Moran. We climbed into the bedroom through the window. Holmes looked around the room and whispered, 'We mustn't make any noise and we must sit in the dark. The doctor can see the light through the ventilator.'
'Very well,' I whispered.
'Dont sleep, Watson, your life is in danger. Keep your gun ready. I'll sit on the bed and you sit on the chair.'
I put my gun on the corner of the table. Holmes had a long, thin stick and a box of matches. We were alone in the silence and darkness.
How can I ever forget those terrible hours? Holmes and I sat and waited. We could hear the church bell every hour. Twelve o'clock, one, two and three – and nothing happened.
Suddenly we saw a light through the ventilator. There was a quiet sound – something was moving! Holmes jumped up from the bed, lit a match and hit the bell rope with his stick.
'Do you see it, Watson?' he cried. 'Do you see it?'
But I saw nothing. I could hear a low clear whistle, and I saw that Holmes's face was white with terror.
Then Holmes stopped hitting the bell rope and looked at the ventilator. Suddenly we heard a loud, horrible cry. It was a cry of terror, pain and anger. Then it stopped and there was silence.
'What does it mean?' I whispered.
'It means that it's all over,' Holmes answered. 'Take your gun and let's go to Dr Roylott's room.'
We went to the doctor's room and I had my gun ready in my hand. There was a lamp on the table and the metal chest was open. Dr Roylott was sitting on a chair: his eyes were open. He was not moving. Around his head there was a yellow band with brown spots.
'The band! The speckled band!' whispered Holmes.
I stepped forward and the speckled band moved – it was a snake.
'This snake,' cried Holmes, 'is the most dangerous snake in India! The doctor is dead: he died ten seconds after the snake bit him.'
With his stick Holmes threw the snake into the chest and closed it.
Miss Stoner heard the terrible cry and came to the doctor's room. She was terrified. Holmes tried to calm her and told her his story.
'I knew that the danger was in the ventilator and the bell rope. Nothing could enter through the locked door or window.'
'Did you know about the snake?' asked Miss Stoner.
'I knew the doctor kept animals from India. That snake has a poison that can't be discovered by the police. He learnt about this in India. It was the perfect way to kill someone.
'It was easy to put the snake through the ventilator. The snake then climbed down the bell rope and went onto the bed. When your sister moved, the snake bit her. When the snake heard the whistle it returned to the doctor. The doctor gave the snake a bowl of milk and put it in the metal chest. He then locked the metal chest – that was the sound of metal you heard, Miss Stoner.'
'I will never forget that metal sound or the low whistle,' she said nervously.
'I knew the snake was coming through the ventilator because I heard a hissing sound. I hit the snake with my stick and it went back through the ventilator. It was very angry, and snakes bite people when they get angry. It went back into the doctor's room and bit him.'
'I can hardly believe it!' said Miss Stoner. 'My stepfather killed my poor sister Julia and then he wanted to kill me, too. Thank you! You saved my life.'
Miss Stoner was finally safe and went to stay with her aunt in London. After the investigation the police decided that the doctor was killed by his pet snake. And these are the true facts of the case of the 'speckled band'.