The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Part 36 (1/2)
I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table
Hol 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 laet 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 ht, and aited in absolute darkness
Froht-bird, and once at our verya long drawn catlike whine, which told us that the cheetah was indeed at liberty Far ae could hear the deep tones of the parish clock, which boo they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for whatever leaht up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished i oil and heated metal
Soentle sound of h the s ears
Then suddenly another sound beca sound, like that of a s continually fro from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with his cane at the bell-pull
”You see it, Watson?” he yelled ”You see it?”
But I saw nothing At the ht I heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashi+ng into my weary eyes made it impossible for ely 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 froht 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 led in the one dreadful shriek They say that away down in the village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the sleepers fro at Holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it had died away into the silence froasped
”It means that it is all over,” Holmes answered ”And perhaps, after all, it is for the best Take your pistol, and ill enter Dr Roylott's roorave 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 ht which met our eyes On the table stood a dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant beaht upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar
Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr Griown, 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 seehtly round his head As we entered he made neither sound nor motion
”The band! the speckled band!” whispered Hole headgear began tohis hair the squat diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent
”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 sches 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 knohat has happened”
As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly fro the noose round the reptile's neck he drew it froth, threw it into the iron safe, which he closed upon it
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 hoe broke the sad news to the terrified girl, hoe conveyed her by the ood aunt at Harrow, of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor erous pet The little which I had yet to learn of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back next day
”I had,” said he, ”come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows, erous it always is to reason froipsies, and the use of the word 'band,' which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried gliht of herscent I can only claim the merit that I instantly reconsidered my position when, however, it becaer threatened an occupant of the room could not come either from theor 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 duave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for so to the bed The idea of a snake instantly occurred to e that the doctor was furnished with a supply of creatures froht 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 ruthlessThe rapidity hich such a poison would take effect would also, froe It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could distinguish the two little dark punctures which would shohere the poison fangs had done their work Then I thought of the whistle Of course he ht revealed it to the victim He had trained it, probably by the use of the milk which , to return to hih this ventilator at the hour that he thought best, with the certainty that it would cran the rope and land on the bed It ht escape every night for a week, but sooner or later she must fall a victim
”I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his room An inspection of his chair showedon it, which of course would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator The sight of the safe, the saucer of h to finally dispel any doubts whichheard 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”
”With the result of driving it through the ventilator”
”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”