the adventures of sherlock holmes bysir arthur conan doyle adventure vii.the adventure of the blue carbuncle i had called upon my friend sherlock holmesupon the second morning after christmas, with the intention of wishing him thecompliments of the season. he was lounging upon the sofa in a purpledressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpledmorning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. beside the couch was a wooden chair, and onthe angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard-felt hat, much the worsefor wear, and cracked in several places.
a lens and a forceps lying upon the seat ofthe chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose ofexamination. "you are engaged," said i; "perhaps iinterrupt you." "not at all.i am glad to have a friend with whom i can discuss my results. the matter is a perfectly trivial one"--hejerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat--"but there are points inconnection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even ofinstruction." i seated myself in his armchair and warmedmy hands before his crackling fire, for a
sharp frost had set in, and the windowswere thick with the ice crystals. "i suppose," i remarked, "that, homely asit looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it--that it is the clue whichwill guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime." "no, no.no crime," said sherlock holmes, laughing. "only one of those whimsical littleincidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling eachother within the space of a few square miles. amid the action and reaction of so dense aswarm of humanity, every possible
combination of events may be expected totake place, and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking andbizarre without being criminal. we have already had experience of such." "so much so," i remarked, "that of the lastsix cases which i have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any legalcrime." "precisely. you allude to my attempt to recover theirene adler papers, to the singular case of miss mary sutherland, and to the adventureof the man with the twisted lip. well, i have no doubt that this smallmatter will fall into the same innocent
category.you know peterson, the commissionaire?" "yes." "it is to him that this trophy belongs.""it is his hat." "no, no, he found it.its owner is unknown. i beg that you will look upon it not as abattered billycock but as an intellectual problem.and, first, as to how it came here. it arrived upon christmas morning, incompany with a good fat goose, which is, i have no doubt, roasting at this moment infront of peterson's fire. the facts are these: about four o'clock onchristmas morning, peterson, who, as you
know, is a very honest fellow, wasreturning from some small jollification and was making his way homeward down tottenhamcourt road. in front of him he saw, in the gaslight, atallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and carrying a white goose slung over hisshoulder. as he reached the corner of goodge street,a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of roughs. one of the latter knocked off the man'shat, on which he raised his stick to defend himself and, swinging it over his head,smashed the shop window behind him. peterson had rushed forward to protect thestranger from his assailants; but the man,
shocked at having broken the window, andseeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him, dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amidthe labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of tottenham court road. the roughs had also fled at the appearanceof peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of battle, and alsoof the spoils of victory in the shape of this battered hat and a most unimpeachablechristmas goose." "which surely he restored to their owner?""my dear fellow, there lies the problem. it is true that 'for mrs. henry baker' wasprinted upon a small card which was tied to
the bird's left leg, and it is also truethat the initials 'h. b.' are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are some thousands of bakers, and some hundredsof henry bakers in this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to anyone of them." "what, then, did peterson do?" "he brought round both hat and goose to meon christmas morning, knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me. the goose we retained until this morning,when there were signs that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that itshould be eaten without unnecessary delay.
its finder has carried it off, therefore,to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, while i continue to retain the hat of theunknown gentleman who lost his christmas dinner." "did he not advertise?""no." "then, what clue could you have as to hisidentity?" "only as much as we can deduce." "from his hat?""precisely." "but you are joking.what can you gather from this old battered felt?"
"here is my lens.you know my methods. what can you gather yourself as to theindividuality of the man who has worn this article?" i took the tattered object in my hands andturned it over rather ruefully. it was a very ordinary black hat of theusual round shape, hard and much the worse for wear. the lining had been of red silk, but was agood deal discoloured. there was no maker's name; but, as holmeshad remarked, the initials "h. b." were scrawled upon one side.
it was pierced in the brim for a hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. for the rest, it was cracked, exceedinglydusty, and spotted in several places, although there seemed to have been someattempt to hide the discoloured patches by smearing them with ink. "i can see nothing," said i, handing itback to my friend. "on the contrary, watson, you can seeeverything. you fail, however, to reason from what yousee. you are too timid in drawing yourinferences." "then, pray tell me what it is that you caninfer from this hat?"
he picked it up and gazed at it in thepeculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him. "it is perhaps less suggestive than itmight have been," he remarked, "and yet there are a few inferences which are verydistinct, and a few others which represent at least a strong balance of probability. that the man was highly intellectual is ofcourse obvious upon the face of it, and also that he was fairly well-to-do withinthe last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days. he had foresight, but has less now thanformerly, pointing to a moral
retrogression, which, when taken with thedecline of his fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, atwork upon him. this may account also for the obvious factthat his wife has ceased to love him." "my dear holmes!" "he has, however, retained some degree ofself-respect," he continued, disregarding my remonstrance. "he is a man who leads a sedentary life,goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has grizzled hairwhich he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream.
these are the more patent facts which areto be deduced from his hat. also, by the way, that it is extremelyimprobable that he has gas laid on in his house." "you are certainly joking, holmes.""not in the least. is it possible that even now, when i giveyou these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?" "i have no doubt that i am very stupid, buti must confess that i am unable to follow you.for example, how did you deduce that this man was intellectual?"
for answer holmes clapped the hat upon hishead. it came right over the forehead and settledupon the bridge of his nose. "it is a question of cubic capacity," saidhe; "a man with so large a brain must have something in it.""the decline of his fortunes, then?" "this hat is three years old. these flat brims curled at the edge came inthen. it is a hat of the very best quality.look at the band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. if this man could afford to buy soexpensive a hat three years ago, and has
had no hat since, then he has assuredlygone down in the world." "well, that is clear enough, certainly. but how about the foresight and the moralretrogression?" sherlock holmes laughed. "here is the foresight," said he puttinghis finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer."they are never sold upon hats. if this man ordered one, it is a sign of acertain amount of foresight, since he went out of his way to take this precautionagainst the wind. but since we see that he has broken theelastic and has not troubled to replace it,
it is obvious that he has less foresightnow than formerly, which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. on the other hand, he has endeavoured toconceal some of these stains upon the felt by daubing them with ink, which is a signthat he has not entirely lost his self- respect." "your reasoning is certainly plausible." "the further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he useslime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the lower part of thelining.
the lens discloses a large number of hair-ends, clean cut by the scissors of the barber. they all appear to be adhesive, and thereis a distinct odour of lime-cream. this dust, you will observe, is not thegritty, grey dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house, showingthat it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that thewearer perspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in the best oftraining." "but his wife--you said that she had ceasedto love him."
"this hat has not been brushed for weeks. when i see you, my dear watson, with aweek's accumulation of dust upon your hat, and when your wife allows you to go out insuch a state, i shall fear that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose yourwife's affection." "but he might be a bachelor.""nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his wife. remember the card upon the bird's leg.""you have an answer to everything. but how on earth do you deduce that the gasis not laid on in his house?" "one tallow stain, or even two, might comeby chance; but when i see no less than
five, i think that there can be littledoubt that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with burning tallow-- walks upstairs at night probably with hishat in one hand and a guttering candle in the other.anyhow, he never got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. are you satisfied?" "well, it is very ingenious," said i,laughing; "but since, as you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and noharm done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a waste of energy."
sherlock holmes had opened his mouth toreply, when the door flew open, and peterson, the commissionaire, rushed intothe apartment with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed withastonishment. "the goose, mr. holmes!the goose, sir!" he gasped. "eh? what of it, then?has it returned to life and flapped off through the kitchen window?" holmes twisted himself round upon the sofato get a fairer view of the man's excited face."see here, sir!
see what my wife found in its crop!" he held out his hand and displayed upon thecentre of the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone, rather smallerthan a bean in size, but of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electricpoint in the dark hollow of his hand. sherlock holmes sat up with a whistle."by jove, peterson!" said he, "this is treasure trove indeed. i suppose you know what you have got?""a diamond, sir? a precious stone.it cuts into glass as though it were putty."
"it's more than a precious stone.it is the precious stone." "not the countess of morcar's bluecarbuncle!" i ejaculated. "precisely so.i ought to know its size and shape, seeing that i have read the advertisement about itin the times every day lately. it is absolutely unique, and its value canonly be conjectured, but the reward offered of 1000 pounds is certainly not within atwentieth part of the market price." "a thousand pounds! great lord of mercy!"the commissionaire plumped down into a
chair and stared from one to the other ofus. "that is the reward, and i have reason toknow that there are sentimental considerations in the background whichwould induce the countess to part with half her fortune if she could but recover thegem." "it was lost, if i remember aright, at thehotel cosmopolitan," i remarked. "precisely so, on december 22nd, just fivedays ago. john horner, a plumber, was accused ofhaving abstracted it from the lady's jewel- case. the evidence against him was so strong thatthe case has been referred to the assizes.
i have some account of the matter here, ibelieve." he rummaged amid his newspapers, glancingover the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read thefollowing paragraph: "hotel cosmopolitan jewel robbery. john horner, 26, plumber, was brought upupon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst., abstracted from the jewel-case ofthe countess of morcar the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. james ryder, upper-attendant at the hotel,gave his evidence to the effect that he had shown horner up to the dressing-room of thecountess of morcar upon the day of the
robbery in order that he might solder thesecond bar of the grate, which was loose. he had remained with horner some littletime, but had finally been called away. on returning, he found that horner haddisappeared, that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small moroccocasket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the countess was accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon thedressing-table. ryder instantly gave the alarm, and hornerwas arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found either upon hisperson or in his rooms. catherine cusack, maid to the countess,deposed to having heard ryder's cry of
dismay on discovering the robbery, and tohaving rushed into the room, where she found matters as described by the lastwitness. inspector bradstreet, b division, gaveevidence as to the arrest of horner, who struggled frantically, and protested hisinnocence in the strongest terms. evidence of a previous conviction forrobbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to dealsummarily with the offence, but referred it to the assizes. horner, who had shown signs of intenseemotion during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was carried outof court."
"hum! so much for the police-court," said holmesthoughtfully, tossing aside the paper. "the question for us now to solve is thesequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to the crop of agoose in tottenham court road at the other. you see, watson, our little deductions havesuddenly assumed a much more important and less innocent aspect. here is the stone; the stone came from thegoose, and the goose came from mr. henry baker, the gentleman with the bad hat andall the other characteristics with which i have bored you.
so now we must set ourselves very seriouslyto finding this gentleman and ascertaining what part he has played in this littlemystery. to do this, we must try the simplest meansfirst, and these lie undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers.if this fail, i shall have recourse to other methods." "what will you say?""give me a pencil and that slip of paper. now, then: 'found at the corner of goodgestreet, a goose and a black felt hat. mr. henry baker can have the same byapplying at 6:30 this evening at 221b, baker street.'that is clear and concise."
"very. but will he see it?""well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor man, the loss wasa heavy one. he was clearly so scared by his mischancein breaking the window and by the approach of peterson that he thought of nothing butflight, but since then he must have bitterly regretted the impulse which causedhim to drop his bird. then, again, the introduction of his namewill cause him to see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to it. here you are, peterson, run down to theadvertising agency and have this put in the
evening papers.""in which, sir?" "oh, in the globe, star, pall mall, st.james's, evening news, standard, echo, and any others that occur to you.""very well, sir. and this stone?" "ah, yes, i shall keep the stone.thank you. and, i say, peterson, just buy a goose onyour way back and leave it here with me, for we must have one to give to thisgentleman in place of the one which your family is now devouring." when the commissionaire had gone, holmestook up the stone and held it against the
light."it's a bonny thing," said he. "just see how it glints and sparkles. of course it is a nucleus and focus ofcrime. every good stone is.they are the devil's pet baits. in the larger and older jewels every facetmay stand for a bloody deed. this stone is not yet twenty years old. it was found in the banks of the amoy riverin southern china and is remarkable in having every characteristic of thecarbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red.
in spite of its youth, it has already asinister history. there have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. who would think that so pretty a toy wouldbe a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? i'll lock it up in my strong box now anddrop a line to the countess to say that we have it.""do you think that this man horner is innocent?" "i cannot tell.""well, then, do you imagine that this other
one, henry baker, had anything to do withthe matter?" "it is, i think, much more likely thathenry baker is an absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he wascarrying was of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. that, however, i shall determine by a verysimple test if we have an answer to our advertisement.""and you can do nothing until then?" "nothing." "in that case i shall continue myprofessional round. but i shall come back in the evening at thehour you have mentioned, for i should like
to see the solution of so tangled abusiness." "very glad to see you. i dine at seven.there is a woodcock, i believe. by the way, in view of recent occurrences,perhaps i ought to ask mrs. hudson to examine its crop." i had been delayed at a case, and it was alittle after half-past six when i found myself in baker street once more. as i approached the house i saw a tall manin a scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside inthe bright semicircle which was thrown from
the fanlight. just as i arrived the door was opened, andwe were shown up together to holmes' room. "mr. henry baker, i believe," said he,rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of genialitywhich he could so readily assume. "pray take this chair by the fire, mr.baker. it is a cold night, and i observe that yourcirculation is more adapted for summer than for winter. ah, watson, you have just come at the righttime. is that your hat, mr. baker?""yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat."
he was a large man with rounded shoulders,a massive head, and a broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard ofgrizzled brown. a touch of red in nose and cheeks, with aslight tremor of his extended hand, recalled holmes' surmise as to his habits. his rusty black frock-coat was buttonedright up in front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from hissleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. he spoke in a slow staccato fashion,choosing his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man of learningand letters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune.
"we have retained these things for somedays," said holmes, "because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving youraddress. i am at a loss to know now why you did notadvertise." our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh."shillings have not been so plentiful with me as they once were," he remarked. "i had no doubt that the gang of roughs whoassaulted me had carried off both my hat and the bird.i did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt at recovering them." "very naturally.by the way, about the bird, we were
compelled to eat it.""to eat it!" our visitor half rose from his chair in hisexcitement. "yes, it would have been of no use toanyone had we not done so. but i presume that this other goose uponthe sideboard, which is about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answeryour purpose equally well?" "oh, certainly, certainly," answered mr.baker with a sigh of relief. "of course, we still have the feathers,legs, crop, and so on of your own bird, so if you wish--" the man burst into a hearty laugh."they might be useful to me as relics of my
adventure," said he, "but beyond that i canhardly see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are going to be to me. no, sir, i think that, with yourpermission, i will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which i perceive uponthe sideboard." sherlock holmes glanced sharply across atme with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "there is your hat, then, and there yourbird," said he. "by the way, would it bore you to tell mewhere you got the other one from? i am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and i haveseldom seen a better grown goose." "certainly, sir," said baker, who had risenand tucked his newly gained property under
his arm. "there are a few of us who frequent thealpha inn, near the museum--we are to be found in the museum itself during the day,you understand. this year our good host, windigate by name,instituted a goose club, by which, on consideration of some few pence every week,we were each to receive a bird at christmas. my pence were duly paid, and the rest isfamiliar to you. i am much indebted to you, sir, for ascotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity."
with a comical pomposity of manner he bowedsolemnly to both of us and strode off upon his way."so much for mr. henry baker," said holmes when he had closed the door behind him. "it is quite certain that he knows nothingwhatever about the matter. are you hungry, watson?""not particularly." "then i suggest that we turn our dinnerinto a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot.""by all means." it was a bitter night, so we drew on ourulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats.
outside, the stars were shining coldly in acloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke like so manypistol shots. our footfalls rang out crisply and loudlyas we swung through the doctors' quarter, wimpole street, harley street, and sothrough wigmore street into oxford street. in a quarter of an hour we were inbloomsbury at the alpha inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one ofthe streets which runs down into holborn. holmes pushed open the door of the privatebar and ordered two glasses of beer from the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord."your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese," said he.
"my geese!"the man seemed surprised. "yes. i was speaking only half an hour agoto mr. henry baker, who was a member of your goose club." "ah! yes, i see.but you see, sir, them's not our geese." "indeed!whose, then?" "well, i got the two dozen from a salesmanin covent garden." "indeed?i know some of them. which was it?" "breckinridge is his name.""ah!
i don't know him.well, here's your good health landlord, and prosperity to your house. good-night.""now for mr. breckinridge," he continued, buttoning up his coat as we came out intothe frosty air. "remember, watson that though we have sohomely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we have at the other a man whowill certainly get seven years' penal servitude unless we can establish hisinnocence. it is possible that our inquiry may butconfirm his guilt; but, in any case, we have a line of investigation which has beenmissed by the police, and which a singular
chance has placed in our hands. let us follow it out to the bitter end.faces to the south, then, and quick march!" we passed across holborn, down endellstreet, and so through a zigzag of slums to covent garden market. one of the largest stalls bore the name ofbreckinridge upon it, and the proprietor a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face andtrim side-whiskers was helping a boy to put up the shutters. "good-evening.it's a cold night," said holmes. the salesman nodded and shot a questioningglance at my companion.
"sold out of geese, i see," continuedholmes, pointing at the bare slabs of marble."let you have five hundred to-morrow morning." "that's no good.""well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare.""ah, but i was recommended to you." "who by?" "the landlord of the alpha.""oh, yes; i sent him a couple of dozen." "fine birds they were, too.now where did you get them from?" to my surprise the question provoked aburst of anger from the salesman.
"now, then, mister," said he, with his headcocked and his arms akimbo, "what are you driving at? let's have it straight, now.""it is straight enough. i should like to know who sold you thegeese which you supplied to the alpha." "well then, i shan't tell you. so now!""oh, it is a matter of no importance; but i don't know why you should be so warm oversuch a trifle." "warm! you'd be as warm, maybe, if you were aspestered as i am.
when i pay good money for a good articlethere should be an end of the business; but it's 'where are the geese?' and 'who didyou sell the geese to?' and 'what will you take for the geese?' one would think they were the only geese inthe world, to hear the fuss that is made over them." "well, i have no connection with any otherpeople who have been making inquiries," said holmes carelessly."if you won't tell us the bet is off, that is all. but i'm always ready to back my opinion ona matter of fowls, and i have a fiver on it
that the bird i ate is country bred.""well, then, you've lost your fiver, for it's town bred," snapped the salesman. "it's nothing of the kind.""i say it is." "i don't believe it." "d'you think you know more about fowls thani, who have handled them ever since i was a nipper?i tell you, all those birds that went to the alpha were town bred." "you'll never persuade me to believe that.""will you bet, then?" "it's merely taking your money, for i knowthat i am right.
but i'll have a sovereign on with you, justto teach you not to be obstinate." the salesman chuckled grimly."bring me the books, bill," said he. the small boy brought round a small thinvolume and a great greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath thehanging lamp. "now then, mr. cocksure," said thesalesman, "i thought that i was out of geese, but before i finish you'll find thatthere is still one left in my shop. you see this little book?" "well?""that's the list of the folk from whom i buy.d'you see?
well, then, here on this page are thecountry folk, and the numbers after their names are where their accounts are in thebig ledger. now, then! you see this other page in red ink?well, that is a list of my town suppliers. now, look at that third name.just read it out to me." "mrs. oakshott, 117, brixton road--249,"read holmes. "quite so.now turn that up in the ledger." holmes turned to the page indicated. "here you are, 'mrs. oakshott, 117, brixtonroad, egg and poultry supplier.'"
"now, then, what's the last entry?""'december 22nd. twenty-four geese at 7s. 6d.'""quite so. there you are.and underneath?" "'sold to mr. windigate of the alpha, at12s.'" "what have you to say now?"sherlock holmes looked deeply chagrined. he drew a sovereign from his pocket andthrew it down upon the slab, turning away with the air of a man whose disgust is toodeep for words. a few yards off he stopped under a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless
fashion which was peculiar to him. "when you see a man with whiskers of thatcut and the 'pink 'un' protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by abet," said he. "i daresay that if i had put 100 poundsdown in front of him, that man would not have given me such complete information aswas drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a wager. well, watson, we are, i fancy, nearing theend of our quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is whether weshould go on to this mrs. oakshott to- night, or whether we should reserve it forto-morrow.
it is clear from what that surly fellowsaid that there are others besides ourselves who are anxious about the matter,and i should--" his remarks were suddenly cut short by aloud hubbub which broke out from the stall which we had just left. turning round we saw a little rat-facedfellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by theswinging lamp, while breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was shaking his fists fiercely at thecringing figure. "i've had enough of you and your geese," heshouted.
"i wish you were all at the devil together. if you come pestering me any more with yoursilly talk i'll set the dog at you. you bring mrs. oakshott here and i'llanswer her, but what have you to do with it? did i buy the geese off you?""no; but one of them was mine all the same," whined the little man."well, then, ask mrs. oakshott for it." "she told me to ask you." "well, you can ask the king of proosia, forall i care. i've had enough of it.get out of this!"
he rushed fiercely forward, and theinquirer flitted away into the darkness. "ha! this may save us a visit to brixtonroad," whispered holmes. "come with me, and we will see what is tobe made of this fellow." striding through the scattered knots ofpeople who lounged round the flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook thelittle man and touched him upon the shoulder. he sprang round, and i could see in thegas-light that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face."who are you, then? what do you want?" he asked in a quaveringvoice.
"you will excuse me," said holmes blandly,"but i could not help overhearing the questions which you put to the salesmanjust now. i think that i could be of assistance toyou." "you?who are you? how could you know anything of the matter?" "my name is sherlock holmes.it is my business to know what other people don't know.""but you can know nothing of this?" "excuse me, i know everything of it. you are endeavouring to trace some geesewhich were sold by mrs. oakshott, of
brixton road, to a salesman namedbreckinridge, by him in turn to mr. windigate, of the alpha, and by him to his club, of which mr. henry baker is amember." "oh, sir, you are the very man whom i havelonged to meet," cried the little fellow with outstretched hands and quiveringfingers. "i can hardly explain to you how interestedi am in this matter." sherlock holmes hailed a four-wheeler whichwas passing. "in that case we had better discuss it in acosy room rather than in this wind-swept market-place," said he.
"but pray tell me, before we go farther,who it is that i have the pleasure of assisting."the man hesitated for an instant. "my name is john robinson," he answeredwith a sidelong glance. "no, no; the real name," said holmessweetly. "it is always awkward doing business withan alias." a flush sprang to the white cheeks of thestranger. "well then," said he, "my real name isjames ryder." "precisely so.head attendant at the hotel cosmopolitan. pray step into the cab, and i shall soon beable to tell you everything which you would
wish to know." the little man stood glancing from one tothe other of us with half-frightened, half- hopeful eyes, as one who is not surewhether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. then he stepped into the cab, and in halfan hour we were back in the sitting-room at baker street. nothing had been said during our drive, butthe high, thin breathing of our new companion, and the claspings andunclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous tension within him.
"here we are!" said holmes cheerily as wefiled into the room. "the fire looks very seasonable in thisweather. you look cold, mr. ryder. pray take the basket-chair.i will just put on my slippers before we settle this little matter of yours.now, then! you want to know what became of thosegeese?" "yes, sir.""or rather, i fancy, of that goose. it was one bird, i imagine in which youwere interested--white, with a black bar across the tail."ryder quivered with emotion.
"oh, sir," he cried, "can you tell me whereit went to?" "it came here.""here?" "yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. i don't wonder that you should take aninterest in it. it laid an egg after it was dead--thebonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. i have it here in my museum."our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his righthand. holmes unlocked his strong-box and held upthe blue carbuncle, which shone out like a
star, with a cold, brilliant, many-pointedradiance. ryder stood glaring with a drawn face,uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. "the game's up, ryder," said holmesquietly. "hold up, man, or you'll be into the fire! give him an arm back into his chair,watson. he's not got blood enough to go in forfelony with impunity. give him a dash of brandy. so!now he looks a little more human. what a shrimp it is, to be sure!"
for a moment he had staggered and nearlyfallen, but the brandy brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staringwith frightened eyes at his accuser. "i have almost every link in my hands, andall the proofs which i could possibly need, so there is little which you need tell me.still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case complete. you had heard, ryder, of this blue stone ofthe countess of morcar's?" "it was catherine cusack who told me ofit," said he in a crackling voice. "i see--her ladyship's waiting-maid. well, the temptation of sudden wealth soeasily acquired was too much for you, as it
has been for better men before you; but youwere not very scrupulous in the means you used. it seems to me, ryder, that there is themaking of a very pretty villain in you. you knew that this man horner, the plumber,had been concerned in some such matter before, and that suspicion would rest themore readily upon him. what did you do, then? you made some small job in my lady's room--you and your confederate cusack--and you managed that he should be the man sent for. then, when he had left, you rifled thejewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this
unfortunate man arrested.you then--" ryder threw himself down suddenly upon therug and clutched at my companion's knees. "for god's sake, have mercy!" he shrieked."think of my father! of my mother! it would break their hearts.i never went wrong before! i never will again.i swear it. i'll swear it on a bible. oh, don't bring it into court!for christ's sake, don't!" "get back into your chair!" said holmessternly.
"it is very well to cringe and crawl now,but you thought little enough of this poor horner in the dock for a crime of which heknew nothing." "i will fly, mr. holmes. i will leave the country, sir.then the charge against him will break down.""hum! we will talk about that. and now let us hear a true account of thenext act. how came the stone into the goose, and howcame the goose into the open market? tell us the truth, for there lies your onlyhope of safety."
ryder passed his tongue over his parchedlips. "i will tell you it just as it happened,sir," said he. "when horner had been arrested, it seemedto me that it would be best for me to get away with the stone at once, for i did notknow at what moment the police might not take it into their heads to search me andmy room. there was no place about the hotel where itwould be safe. i went out, as if on some commission, and imade for my sister's house. she had married a man named oakshott, andlived in brixton road, where she fattened fowls for the market.
all the way there every man i met seemed tome to be a policeman or a detective; and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweatwas pouring down my face before i came to the brixton road. my sister asked me what was the matter, andwhy i was so pale; but i told her that i had been upset by the jewel robbery at thehotel. then i went into the back yard and smoked apipe and wondered what it would be best to do. "i had a friend once called maudsley, whowent to the bad, and has just been serving his time in pentonville.
one day he had met me, and fell into talkabout the ways of thieves, and how they could get rid of what they stole. i knew that he would be true to me, for iknew one or two things about him; so i made up my mind to go right on to kilburn, wherehe lived, and take him into my confidence. he would show me how to turn the stone intomoney. but how to get to him in safety?i thought of the agonies i had gone through in coming from the hotel. i might at any moment be seized andsearched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat pocket.
i was leaning against the wall at the timeand looking at the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and suddenlyan idea came into my head which showed me how i could beat the best detective thatever lived. "my sister had told me some weeks beforethat i might have the pick of her geese for a christmas present, and i knew that shewas always as good as her word. i would take my goose now, and in it iwould carry my stone to kilburn. there was a little shed in the yard, andbehind this i drove one of the birds--a fine big one, white, with a barred tail. i caught it, and prying its bill open, ithrust the stone down its throat as far as
my finger could reach. the bird gave a gulp, and i felt the stonepass along its gullet and down into its crop. but the creature flapped and struggled, andout came my sister to know what was the matter.as i turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and fluttered off among the others. "'whatever were you doing with that bird,jem?' says she. "'well,' said i, 'you said you'd give meone for christmas, and i was feeling which was the fattest.'
"'oh,' says she, 'we've set yours aside foryou--jem's bird, we call it. it's the big white one over yonder. there's twenty-six of them, which makes onefor you, and one for us, and two dozen for the market.' "'thank you, maggie,' says i; 'but if it isall the same to you, i'd rather have that one i was handling just now.' "'the other is a good three pound heavier,'said she, 'and we fattened it expressly for you.'"'never mind. i'll have the other, and i'll take it now,'said i.
"'oh, just as you like,' said she, a littlehuffed. 'which is it you want, then?' "'that white one with the barred tail,right in the middle of the flock.' "'oh, very well.kill it and take it with you.' "well, i did what she said, mr. holmes, andi carried the bird all the way to kilburn. i told my pal what i had done, for he was aman that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. he laughed until he choked, and we got aknife and opened the goose. my heart turned to water, for there was nosign of the stone, and i knew that some
terrible mistake had occurred. i left the bird, rushed back to mysister's, and hurried into the back yard. there was not a bird to be seen there."'where are they all, maggie?' i cried. "'gone to the dealer's, jem.'"'which dealer's?' "'breckinridge, of covent garden.'"'but was there another with a barred tail?' i asked, 'the same as the one i chose?'"'yes, jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and i could never tell them apart.'
"well, then, of course i saw it all, and iran off as hard as my feet would carry me to this man breckinridge; but he had soldthe lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they had gone. you heard him yourselves to-night.well, he has always answered me like that. my sister thinks that i am going mad.sometimes i think that i am myself. and now--and now i am myself a brandedthief, without ever having touched the wealth for which i sold my character.god help me! god help me!" he burst into convulsive sobbing, with hisface buried in his hands.
there was a long silence, broken only byhis heavy breathing and by the measured tapping of sherlock holmes' finger-tipsupon the edge of the table. then my friend rose and threw open thedoor. "get out!" said he."what, sir! oh, heaven bless you!" "no more words.get out!" and no more words were needed. there was a rush, a clatter upon thestairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running footfalls from thestreet.
"after all, watson," said holmes, reachingup his hand for his clay pipe, "i am not retained by the police to supply theirdeficiencies. if horner were in danger it would beanother thing; but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case mustcollapse. i suppose that i am commuting a felony, butit is just possible that i am saving a soul.this fellow will not go wrong again; he is too terribly frightened. send him to gaol now, and you make him agaol-bird for life. besides, it is the season of forgiveness.
chance has put in our way a most singularand whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. if you will have the goodness to touch thebell, doctor, we will begin another investigation, in which, also a bird willbe the chief feature." > adventure viii.the adventure of the speckled band on glancing over my notes of the seventyodd cases in which i have during the last eight years studied the methods of myfriend sherlock holmes, i find many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange,
but none commonplace; for, working as hedid rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth, he refused toassociate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, andeven the fantastic. of all these varied cases, however, icannot recall any which presented more singular features than that which wasassociated with the well-known surrey family of the roylotts of stoke moran. the events in question occurred in theearly days of my association with holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors inbaker street. it is possible that i might have placedthem upon record before, but a promise of
secrecy was made at the time, from which ihave only been freed during the last month by the untimely death of the lady to whomthe pledge was given. it is perhaps as well that the facts shouldnow come to light, for i have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours asto the death of dr. grimesby roylott which tend to make the matter even more terriblethan the truth. it was early in april in the year '83 thati woke one morning to find sherlock holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of mybed. he was a late riser, as a rule, and as theclock on the mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, i blinked upat him in some surprise, and perhaps just a
little resentment, for i was myself regularin my habits. "very sorry to knock you up, watson," saidhe, "but it's the common lot this morning. mrs. hudson has been knocked up, sheretorted upon me, and i on you." "what is it, then--a fire?""no; a client. it seems that a young lady has arrived in aconsiderable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me.she is waiting now in the sitting-room. now, when young ladies wander about themetropolis at this hour of the morning, and knock sleepy people up out of their beds, ipresume 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." "my dear fellow, i would not miss it foranything." i had no keener pleasure than in followingholmes in his professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions, asswift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis with which he unravelledthe problems which were submitted to him. i rapidly threw on my clothes and was readyin 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."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 asfreely as before myself. ha! i am glad to see that mrs. hudson has hadthe good sense to light the fire. pray draw up to it, and i shall order you acup of hot coffee, for i observe that you are shivering."
"it is not cold which makes me shiver,"said the woman in a low voice, changing her seat as requested."what, then?" "it is fear, mr. holmes. it is terror." she raised her veil as she spoke, and wecould see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn andgrey, with restless frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. her features and figure were those of awoman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression wasweary and haggard.
sherlock holmes ran her over with one ofhis quick, all-comprehensive glances. "you must not fear," said he soothingly,bending forward and patting her forearm. "we shall soon set matters right, i have nodoubt. you have come in by train this morning, isee." "you know me, then?" "no, but i observe the second half of areturn ticket in the palm of your left glove. you must have started early, and yet youhad a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached the station."the lady gave a violent start and stared in
bewilderment at my companion. "there is no mystery, my dear madam," saidhe, smiling. "the left arm of your jacket is spatteredwith mud in no less than seven places. the marks are perfectly fresh. there is no vehicle save a dog-cart whichthrows up mud in that way, and then only when you sit on the left-hand side of thedriver." "whatever your reasons may be, you areperfectly correct," said she. "i started from home before six, reachedleatherhead at twenty past, and came in by the first train to waterloo.
sir, i can stand this strain no longer; ishall go mad if it continues. i have no one to turn to--none, save onlyone, who cares for me, and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid. i have heard of you, mr. holmes; i haveheard 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 couldhelp me, too, and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness whichsurrounds me? at present it is out of my power to rewardyou for your services, but in a month or six weeks i shall be married, with thecontrol of my own income, and then at least
you shall not find me ungrateful." holmes turned to his desk and, unlockingit, drew out a small case-book, which he consulted."farintosh," said he. "ah yes, i recall the case; it wasconcerned with an opal tiara. i think it was before your time, watson. i can only say, madam, that i shall behappy to devote the same care to your case as i did to that of your friend. as to reward, my profession is its ownreward; but you are at liberty to defray whatever expenses i may be put to, at thetime which suits you best.
and now i beg that you will lay before useverything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the matter." "alas!" replied our visitor, "the veryhorror of my situation lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and mysuspicions depend so entirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to another, that even he to whom of all othersi have a right to look for help and advice looks upon all that i tell him about it asthe fancies of a nervous woman. he does not say so, but i can read it fromhis soothing answers and averted eyes. but i have heard, mr. holmes, that you cansee deeply into the manifold wickedness of
the human heart. you may advise me how to walk amid thedangers which encompass me." "i am all attention, madam." "my name is helen stoner, and i am livingwith my stepfather, who is the last survivor of one of the oldest saxonfamilies in england, the roylotts of stoke moran, on the western border of surrey." holmes nodded his head."the name is familiar to me," said he. "the family was at one time among therichest in england, and the estates extended over the borders into berkshire inthe north, and hampshire in the west.
in the last century, however, foursuccessive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition, and the family ruinwas eventually completed by a gambler in the days of the regency. nothing was left save a few acres ofground, and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under a heavymortgage. the last squire dragged out his existencethere, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but his only son, mystepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which enabled himto take a medical degree and went out to
calcutta, where, by his professional skilland his force of character, he established a large practice. in a fit of anger, however, caused by somerobberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he beat his native butler to deathand narrowly escaped a capital sentence. as it was, he suffered a long term ofimprisonment and afterwards returned to england a morose and disappointed man. "when dr. roylott was in india he marriedmy mother, mrs. stoner, the young widow of major-general stoner, of the bengalartillery. my sister julia and i were twins, and wewere only two years old at the time of my
mother's re-marriage. she had a considerable sum of money--notless than 1000 pounds a year--and this she bequeathed to dr. roylott entirely while weresided with him, with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed toeach of us in the event of our marriage. shortly after our return to england mymother died--she was killed eight years ago in a railway accident near crewe. dr. roylott then abandoned his attempts toestablish himself in practice in london and took us to live with him in the oldancestral house at stoke moran. the money which my mother had left wasenough for all our wants, and there seemed
to be no obstacle to our happiness."but a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time. instead of making friends and exchangingvisits with our neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a roylott ofstoke moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferociousquarrels with whoever might cross his path. violence of temper approaching to mania hasbeen hereditary in the men of the family, and in my stepfather's case it had, ibelieve, 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 thevillage, and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable inhis anger. "last week he hurled the local blacksmithover a parapet into a stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which icould gather together that i was able to avert another public exposure. he had no friends at all save the wanderinggipsies, and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres ofbramble-covered land which represent the
family estate, and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, wanderingaway 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 acheetah and a baboon, which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by thevillagers almost as much as their master. "you can imagine from what i say that mypoor sister julia and i had no great pleasure in our lives. no servant would stay with us, and for along time we did all the work of the house. she was but thirty at the time of herdeath, and yet her hair had already begun
to whiten, even as mine has." "your sister is dead, then?""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 lifewhich i have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own age andposition. we had, however, an aunt, my mother'smaiden sister, miss honoria westphail, who lives near harrow, and we were occasionallyallowed to pay short visits at this lady's house. julia went there at christmas two yearsago, and met there a half-pay major of
marines, to whom she became engaged. my stepfather learned of the engagementwhen my sister returned and offered no objection to the marriage; but within afortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the terrible event occurred which has deprived me of my onlycompanion." sherlock holmes had been leaning back inhis chair with his eyes closed and his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened hislids now and glanced across at his visitor. "pray be precise as to details," said he. "it is easy for me to be so, for everyevent 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 groundfloor, 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?""perfectly so."
"the windows of the three rooms open outupon the lawn. that fatal night dr. roylott had gone tohis room early, though we knew that he had not retired to rest, for my sister wastroubled by the smell of the strong indian cigars which it was his custom to smoke. she left her room, therefore, and came intomine, 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. "'tell me, helen,' said she, 'have you everheard anyone whistle in the dead of the night?'"'never,' said i.
"'i suppose that you could not possiblywhistle, yourself, in your sleep?' "'certainly not.but why?' "'because during the last few nights i havealways, 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--perhapsfrom the next room, perhaps from the lawn. i thought that i would just ask you whetheryou had heard it.' "'no, i have not. it must be those wretched gipsies in theplantation.'
"'very likely.and yet if it were on the lawn, i wonder that you did not hear it also.' "'ah, but i sleep more heavily than you.'"'well, it is of no great consequence, at any rate.' she smiled back at me, closed my door, anda few moments later i heard her key turn in the lock.""indeed," said holmes. "was it your custom always to lockyourselves in at night?" "always.""and why?" "i think that i mentioned to you that thedoctor kept a cheetah and a baboon.
we had no feeling of security unless ourdoors were locked." "quite so. pray proceed with your statement.""i could not sleep that night. a vague feeling of impending misfortuneimpressed me. my sister and i, you will recollect, weretwins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are soclosely allied. it was a wild night. the wind was howling outside, and the rainwas 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 roundme, and rushed into the corridor. as i opened my door i seemed to hear a lowwhistle, such as my sister described, and a few moments later a clanging sound, as if amass of metal had fallen. as i ran down the passage, my sister's doorwas 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 mysister appear at the opening, her face
blanched with terror, her hands groping forhelp, 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 notrecognised me, but as i bent over her she suddenly shrieked out in a voice which ishall never forget, 'oh, my god! helen! it was the band!the speckled band!'
there was something else which she wouldfain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction of thedoctor's room, but a fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words. i rushed out, calling loudly for mystepfather, and i met him hastening from his room in his dressing-gown. when he reached my sister's side she wasunconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical aidfrom the village, all efforts were in vain, for she slowly sank and died without havingrecovered her consciousness. such was the dreadful end of my belovedsister."
"one moment," said holmes, "are you sureabout this whistle and metallic sound? could you swear to it?""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 maypossibly have been deceived." "was your sister dressed?" "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." "showing that she had struck a light andlooked about her when the alarm took place.
that is important.and what conclusions did the coroner come to?" "he investigated the case with great care,for dr. roylott's conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unableto find any satisfactory cause of death. my evidence showed that the door had beenfastened upon the inner side, and the windows were blocked by old-fashionedshutters with broad iron bars, which were secured every night. the walls were carefully sounded, and wereshown to be quite solid all round, and the flooring was also thoroughly examined, withthe same result.
the chimney is wide, but is barred up byfour large staples. it is certain, therefore, that my sisterwas quite alone when she met her end. besides, there were no marks of anyviolence upon her." "how about poison?""the doctors examined her for it, but without success." "what do you think that this unfortunatelady died of, then?" "it is my belief that she died of pure fearand nervous shock, though what it was that frightened her i cannot imagine." "were there gipsies in the plantation atthe time?"
"yes, there are nearly always some there.""ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band--a speckled band?" "sometimes i have thought that it wasmerely the wild talk of delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band ofpeople, perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation. i do not know whether the spottedhandkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested thestrange adjective which she used." holmes shook his head like a man who is farfrom being satisfied. "these are very deep waters," said he;"pray go on with your narrative."
"two years have passed since then, and mylife has been until lately lonelier than ever. a month ago, however, a dear friend, whom ihave known for many years, has done me the honour to ask my hand in marriage. his name is armitage--percy armitage--thesecond son of mr. armitage, of crane water, near reading. my stepfather has offered no opposition tothe match, and we are to be married in the course of the spring. two days ago some repairs were started inthe west wing of the building, and my
bedroom wall has been pierced, so that ihave had to move into the chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the verybed in which she slept. imagine, then, my thrill of terror whenlast night, as i lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, i suddenly heard in thesilence of the night the low whistle which had been the herald of her own death. i sprang up and lit the lamp, but nothingwas 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-cartat the crown inn, which is opposite, and drove to leatherhead, from whence i have
come on this morning with the one object ofseeing you and asking your advice." "you have done wisely," said my friend."but have you told me all?" "yes, all." "miss roylott, you have not.you are screening your stepfather." "why, what do you mean?" for answer holmes pushed back the frill ofblack lace which fringed the hand that lay upon our visitor's knee. five little livid spots, the marks of fourfingers and a thumb, were printed upon the white wrist."you have been cruelly used," said holmes.
the lady coloured deeply and covered overher injured wrist. "he is a hard man," she said, "and perhapshe hardly knows his own strength." there was a long silence, during whichholmes leaned his chin upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire."this is a very deep business," he said at last. "there are a thousand details which ishould 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 yourstepfather?"
"as it happens, he spoke of coming intotown to-day upon some most important business. it is probable that he will be away allday, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. we have a housekeeper now, but she is oldand foolish, and i could easily get her out of the way.""excellent. you are not averse to this trip, watson?" "by no means.""then we shall both come. what are you going to do yourself?""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'clocktrain, so as to be there in time for your coming.""and you may expect us early in the afternoon. i have myself some small business mattersto attend to. will you not wait and breakfast?""no, i must go. my heart is lightened already since i haveconfided my trouble to you. i shall look forward to seeing you againthis afternoon." she dropped her thick black veil over herface and glided from the room.
"and what do you think of it all, watson?"asked sherlock holmes, leaning back in his chair. "it seems to me to be a most dark andsinister business." "dark enough and sinister enough." "yet if the lady is correct in saying thatthe flooring and walls are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney areimpassable, then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met hermysterious end." "what becomes, then, of these nocturnalwhistles, and what of the very peculiar words of the dying woman?"
"i cannot think." "when you combine the ideas of whistles atnight, the presence of a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this olddoctor, 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 ametallic clang, which might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into itsplace, i think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared alongthose lines."
"but what, then, did the gipsies do?" "i cannot imagine.""i see many objections to any such theory." "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 arefatal, or if they may be explained away. but what in the name of the devil!" the ejaculation had been drawn from mycompanion by the fact that our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a hugeman had framed himself in the aperture. his costume was a peculiar mixture of theprofessional 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 actuallybrushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his breadth seemed to span it across fromside to side. a large face, seared with a thousandwrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and marked with every evil passion, was turnedfrom one to the other of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin, fleshless nose, gave him somewhat theresemblance to a fierce old bird of prey. "which of you is holmes?" asked thisapparition.
"my name, sir; but you have the advantageof me," said my companion quietly. "i am dr. grimesby roylott, of stokemoran." "indeed, doctor," said holmes blandly. "pray take a seat.""i will do nothing of the kind. my stepdaughter has been here.i have traced her. what has she been saying to you?" "it is a little cold for the time of theyear," said holmes. "what has she been saying to you?" screamedthe old man furiously. "but i have heard that the crocuses promisewell," continued my companion
imperturbably."ha! you put me off, do you?" said our newvisitor, 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."my friend smiled. "holmes, the busybody!"his smile broadened. "holmes, the scotland yard jack-in-office!" holmes chuckled heartily."your conversation is most entertaining," said he."when you go out close the door, for there
is a decided draught." "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 hishuge brown hands. "see that you keep yourself out of mygrip," he snarled, and hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out ofthe room. "he seems a very amiable person," saidholmes, laughing.
"i am not quite so bulky, but if he hadremained i might have shown him that my grip was not much more feeble than hisown." as he spoke he picked up the steel pokerand, with a sudden effort, straightened it out again."fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force! this incident gives zest to ourinvestigation, however, and i only trust that our little friend will not suffer fromher 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 somedata which may help us in this matter." it was nearly one o'clock when sherlockholmes returned from his excursion. he held in his hand a sheet of blue paper,scrawled over with notes and figures. "i have seen the will of the deceasedwife," said he. "to determine its exact meaning i have beenobliged to work out the present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. the total income, which at the time of thewife's death was little short of 1100 pounds, is now, through the fall inagricultural prices, not more than 750 pounds.
each daughter can claim an income of 250pounds, in case of marriage. it is evident, therefore, that if bothgirls had married, this beauty would have had a mere pittance, while even one of themwould 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 wayof anything of the sort. and now, watson, this is too serious fordawdling, especially as the old man is aware that we are interesting ourselves inhis affairs; so if you are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to waterloo. i should be very much obliged if you wouldslip your revolver into your pocket.
an eley's no. 2 is an excellent argumentwith gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. that and a tooth-brush are, i think, allthat we need." at waterloo we were fortunate in catching atrain for leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove for fouror five miles through the lovely surrey lanes. it was a perfect day, with a bright sun anda few fleecy clouds in the heavens. the trees and wayside hedges were justthrowing out their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant smell ofthe moist earth.
to me at least there was a strange contrastbetween the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which we wereengaged. my companion sat in the front of the trap,his arms folded, his hat pulled down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon hisbreast, buried in the deepest thought. suddenly, however, he started, tapped me onthe shoulder, and pointed over the meadows. "look there!" said he. a heavily timbered park stretched up in agentle slope, thickening into a grove at the highest point. from amid the branches there jutted out thegrey gables and high roof-tree of a very
old mansion."stoke moran?" said he. "yes, sir, that be the house of dr.grimesby roylott," remarked the driver. "there is some building going on there,"said holmes; "that is where we are going." "there's the village," said the driver,pointing to a cluster of roofs some distance to the left; "but if you want toget 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.""and the lady, i fancy, is miss stoner," observed holmes, shading his eyes. "yes, i think we had better do as yousuggest."
we got off, paid our fare, and the traprattled back on its way to leatherhead. "i thought it as well," said holmes as weclimbed the stile, "that this fellow should think we had come here as architects, or onsome definite business. it may stop his gossip. good-afternoon, miss stoner.you see that we have been as good as our word." our client of the morning had hurriedforward 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 beforeevening." "we have had the pleasure of making thedoctor's acquaintance," said holmes, and in a few words he sketched out what hadoccurred. miss stoner turned white to the lips as shelistened. "good heavens!" she cried, "he has followedme, then." "so it appears." "he is so cunning that i never know when iam safe from him. what will he say when he returns?"
"he must guard himself, for he may findthat 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 toyour 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." the building was of grey, lichen-blotchedstone, 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 werebroken and blocked with wooden boards,
while the roof was partly caved in, apicture of ruin. the central portion was in little betterrepair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, and the blinds in thewindows, with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys, showed that this waswhere the family resided. some scaffolding had been erected againstthe end wall, and the stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of anyworkmen 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. "this, i take it, belongs to the room inwhich you used to sleep, the centre one to
your sister's, and the one next to the mainbuilding to dr. roylott's chamber?" "exactly so. but i am now sleeping in the middle one.""pending the alterations, as i understand. by the way, there does not seem to be anyvery pressing need for repairs at that end wall." "there were none.i believe that it was an excuse to move me from my room.""ah! that is suggestive. now, on the other side of this narrow wingruns the corridor from which these three rooms open.there are windows in it, of course?"
"yes, but very small ones. too narrow for anyone to pass through.""as you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were unapproachable from thatside. now, would you have the kindness to go intoyour room and bar your shutters?" miss stoner did so, and holmes, after acareful examination through the open window, endeavoured in every way to forcethe shutter open, but without success. there was no slit through which a knifecould 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 someperplexity, "my theory certainly presents some difficulties.no one could pass these shutters if they were bolted. well, we shall see if the inside throws anylight upon the matter." a small side door led into the whitewashedcorridor from which the three bedrooms opened. holmes refused to examine the thirdchamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which miss stoner was nowsleeping, and in which her sister had met with her fate.
it was a homely little room, with a lowceiling and a gaping fireplace, after the fashion of old country-houses. a brown chest of drawers stood in onecorner, 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-workchairs, made up all the furniture in the room save for a square of wilton carpet inthe centre. the boards round and the panelling of thewalls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old and discoloured that it may have dated fromthe original building of the house. holmes drew one of the chairs into a cornerand sat silent, while his eyes travelled
round and round and up and down, taking inevery detail of the apartment. "where does that bell communicate with?" heasked at last pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the tasselactually lying upon the pillow. "it goes to the housekeeper's room." "it looks newer than the other things?""yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago.""your sister asked for it, i suppose?" "no, i never heard of her using it. we used always to get what we wanted forourselves." "indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put sonice a bell-pull there.
you will excuse me for a few minutes whilei satisfy myself as to this floor." he threw himself down upon his face withhis lens in his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining minutelythe cracks between the boards. then he did the same with the wood-workwith which the chamber was panelled. finally he walked over to the bed and spentsome time in staring at it and in running his eye up and down the wall. finally he took the bell-rope in his handand gave it a brisk tug. "why, it's a dummy," said he."won't it ring?" "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 openingfor the ventilator is." "how very absurd! i never noticed that before.""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 beto open a ventilator into another room, when, with the same trouble, he might havecommunicated with the outside air!" "that is also quite modern," said the lady.
"done about the same time as the bell-rope?" remarked holmes. "yes, there were several little changescarried out about that time." "they seem to have been of a mostinteresting character--dummy bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. with your permission, miss stoner, we shallnow carry our researches into the inner apartment." dr. grimesby roylott's chamber was largerthan that of his step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. a camp-bed, a small wooden shelf full ofbooks, mostly of a technical character, an
armchair beside the bed, a plain woodenchair against the wall, a round table, and a large iron safe were the principal thingswhich met the eye. holmes walked slowly round and examinedeach and all of them with the keenest interest. "what's in here?" he asked, tapping thesafe. "my stepfather's business papers.""oh! you have seen inside, then?" "only once, some years ago. i remember that it was full of papers.""there isn't a cat in it, for example?" "no. what a strange idea!""well, look at this!"
he took up a small saucer of milk whichstood on the top of it. "no; we don't keep a cat.but there is a cheetah and a baboon." "ah, yes, of course! well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yeta 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 woodenchair and examined the seat of it with the greatest attention."thank you. that is quite settled," said he, rising andputting his lens in his pocket.
"hullo!here is something interesting!" the object which had caught his eye was asmall 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. "what do you make of that, watson?""it's a common enough lash. but i don't know why it should be tied.""that is not quite so common, is it? ah, me! it's a wicked world, and when aclever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst of all. i think that i have seen enough now, missstoner, and with your permission we shall
walk out upon the lawn." i had never seen my friend's face so grimor his brow so dark as it was when we turned from the scene of thisinvestigation. we had walked several times up and down thelawn, neither miss stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before heroused himself from his reverie. "it is very essential, miss stoner," saidhe, "that you should absolutely follow my advice in every respect.""i shall most certainly do so." "the matter is too serious for anyhesitation. your life may depend upon your compliance.""i assure you that i am in your hands."
"in the first place, both my friend and imust spend the night in your room." both miss stoner and i gazed at him inastonishment. "yes, it must be so. let me explain.i believe that that is the village inn over there?""yes, that is the crown." "very good. your windows would be visible from there?""certainly." "you must confine yourself to your room, onpretence of a headache, when your stepfather comes back.
then when you hear him retire for thenight, you must open the shutters of your window, undo the hasp, put your lamp thereas a signal to us, and then withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want into the room which you usedto occupy. i have no doubt that, in spite of therepairs, you could manage there for one night." "oh, yes, easily.""the rest you will leave in our hands." "but what will you do?" "we shall spend the night in your room, andwe shall investigate the cause of this
noise which has disturbed you." "i believe, mr. holmes, that you havealready made up your mind," said miss stoner, laying her hand upon my companion'ssleeve. "perhaps i have." "then, for pity's sake, tell me what wasthe cause of my sister's death." "i should prefer to have clearer proofsbefore i speak." "you can at least tell me whether my ownthought is correct, and if she died from some sudden fright.""no, i do not think so. i think that there was probably some moretangible cause.
and now, miss stoner, we must leave you forif dr. roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain. good-bye, and be brave, for if you will dowhat i have told you, you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangersthat threaten you." sherlock holmes and i had no difficulty inengaging a bedroom and sitting-room at the crown inn. they were on the upper floor, and from ourwindow we could command a view of the avenue gate, and of the inhabited wing ofstoke moran manor house. at dusk we saw dr. grimesby roylott drivepast, his huge form looming up beside the
little figure of the lad who drove him. the boy had some slight difficulty inundoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard the hoarse roar of the doctor's voice andsaw the fury with which he shook his clinched fists at him. the trap drove on, and a few minutes laterwe saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as the lamp was lit in one of thesitting-rooms. "do you know, watson," said holmes as wesat together in the gathering darkness, "i have really some scruples as to taking youto-night. there is a distinct element of danger."
"can i be of assistance?""your presence might be invaluable." "then i shall certainly come.""it is very kind of you." "you speak of danger. you have evidently seen more in these roomsthan was visible to me." "no, but i fancy that i may have deduced alittle more. i imagine that you saw all that i did." "i saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose that could answer i confess is more than i can imagine.""you saw the ventilator, too?" "yes, but i do not think that it is such avery unusual thing to have a small opening
between two rooms.it was so small that a rat could hardly pass through." "i knew that we should find a ventilatorbefore ever we came to stoke moran." "my dear holmes!""oh, yes, i did. you remember in her statement she said thather sister could smell dr. roylott's cigar. now, of course that suggested at once thatthere must be a communication between the two rooms. it could only be a small one, or it wouldhave been remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry.i deduced a ventilator."
"but what harm can there be in that?" "well, there is at least a curiouscoincidence of dates. a ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and alady who sleeps in the bed dies. does not that strike you?" "i cannot as yet see any connection.""did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?""no." "it was clamped to the floor. did you ever see a bed fastened like thatbefore?" "i cannot say that i have.""the lady could not move her bed.
it must always be in the same relativeposition to the ventilator and to the rope- -or so we may call it, since it was clearlynever meant for a bell-pull." "holmes," i cried, "i seem to see dimlywhat you are hinting at. we are only just in time to prevent somesubtle and horrible crime." "subtle enough and horrible enough. when a doctor does go wrong he is the firstof 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 thenight is over; for goodness' sake let us have a quiet pipe and turn our minds for afew hours to something more cheerful." about nine o'clock the light among thetrees 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 infront of us. "that is our signal," said holmes,springing to his feet; "it comes from the middle window."
as we passed out he exchanged a few wordswith 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 darkroad, a chill wind blowing in our faces, and one yellow light twinkling in front ofus through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand. there was little difficulty in entering thegrounds, for unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. making our way among the trees, we reachedthe lawn, crossed it, and were about to
enter through the window when out from aclump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child, who threw itself upon the grass withwrithing limbs and then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness."my god!" i whispered; "did you see it?" 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. "it is a nice household," he murmured."that is the baboon."
i had forgotten the strange pets which thedoctor affected. there was a cheetah, too; perhaps we mightfind it upon our shoulders at any moment. i confess that i felt easier in my mindwhen, after following holmes' example and slipping off my shoes, i found myselfinside the bedroom. my companion noiselessly closed theshutters, 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 trumpetof his hand, he whispered into my ear again so gently that it was all that i could doto distinguish the words: "the least sound would be fatal to ourplans."
i nodded to show that i had heard."we must sit without light. he would see it through the ventilator." i nodded again."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 youin that chair." i took out my revolver and laid it on thecorner of the table. holmes had brought up a long thin cane, andthis he placed upon the bed beside him. by it he laid the box of matches and thestump of a candle.
then he turned down the lamp, and we wereleft in darkness. how shall i ever forget that dreadfulvigil? i could not hear a sound, not even thedrawing of a breath, and yet i knew that my companion sat open-eyed, within a few feetof me, in the same state of nervous tension in which i was myself. the shutters cut off the least ray oflight, and we waited in absolute darkness. from outside came the occasional cry of anight-bird, and once at our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told usthat the cheetah was indeed at liberty. far away we could hear the deep tones ofthe 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. suddenly there was the momentary gleam of alight up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, butwas 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, andthen 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 thatof a small jet of steam escaping continually from a kettle. the instant that we heard it, holmes sprangfrom 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 moment when holmes struck the lighti heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my weary eyesmade it impossible for me to tell what it
was at which my friend lashed so savagely. i could, however, see that his face wasdeadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. he had ceased to strike and was gazing upat the ventilator when suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the mosthorrible cry to which i have ever listened. it swelled up louder and louder, a hoarseyell of pain and fear and anger all mingled in the one dreadful shriek. they say that away down in the village, andeven in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the sleepers from their beds.
it struck cold to our hearts, and i stoodgazing at holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it had died away into thesilence from which it rose. "what can it mean?" i gasped."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." with a grave face he lit the lamp and ledthe way down the corridor. twice he struck at the chamber door withoutany reply from within.
then he turned the handle and entered, i athis heels, with the cocked pistol in my hand. it was a singular sight which met our eyes.on the table stood a dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliantbeam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar. beside this table, on the wooden chair, satdr. grimesby roylott clad in a long grey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protrudingbeneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless turkish slippers. across his lap lay the short stock with thelong lash which we had noticed during the
day. his chin was cocked upward and his eyeswere fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the ceiling. round his brow he had a peculiar yellowband, with brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his head.as we entered he made neither sound nor motion. "the band! the speckled band!" whisperedholmes. i took a step forward. in an instant his strange headgear began tomove, and there reared itself from among
his hair the squat diamond-shaped head andpuffed neck of a loathsome serpent. "it is a swamp adder!" cried holmes; "thedeadliest snake in india. he has died within ten seconds of beingbitten. violence does, in truth, recoil upon theviolent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another. let us thrust this creature back into itsden, and we can then remove miss stoner to some place of shelter and let the countypolice know what has happened." as he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftlyfrom the dead man's lap, and throwing the noose round the reptile's neck he drew itfrom its horrid perch and, carrying it at
arm's length, 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 anarrative which has already run to too great a length by telling how we broke thesad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at harrow, of how theslow process of official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his fatewhile indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet. the little which i had yet to learn of thecase was told me by sherlock holmes as we
travelled back next day. "i had," said he, "come to an entirelyerroneous conclusion which shows, my dear watson, how dangerous it always is toreason from insufficient data. the presence of the gipsies, and the use ofthe word 'band,' which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain the appearancewhich she had caught a hurried glimpse of by the light of her match, were sufficientto put me upon an entirely wrong scent. i can only claim the merit that i instantlyreconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me that whatever dangerthreatened an occupant of the room could not come either from the window or thedoor.
my attention was speedily drawn, as i havealready remarked to you, to this ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hungdown to the bed. the discovery that this was a dummy, andthat the bed was clamped to the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion thatthe rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole andcoming to the bed. the idea of a snake instantly occurred tome, and when i coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supplyof creatures from india, i felt that i was probably on the right track. the idea of using a form of poison whichcould not possibly be discovered by any
chemical test was just such a one as wouldoccur to a clever and ruthless man who had had an eastern training. the rapidity with which such a poison wouldtake 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 poisonfangs had done their work. then i thought of the whistle. of course he must recall the snake beforethe morning light revealed it to the victim.
he had trained it, probably by the use ofthe milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. he would put it through this ventilator atthe hour that he thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the ropeand 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 avictim. "i had come to these conclusions beforeever i had entered his room. an inspection of his chair showed me thathe had been in the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary in orderthat 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 haveremained. the metallic clang heard by miss stoner wasobviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe upon itsterrible occupant. having once made up my mind, you know thesteps which i took in order to put the matter to the proof. i heard the creature hiss as i have nodoubt 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 toturn upon its master at the other side. some of the blows of my cane came home androused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. in this way i am no doubt indirectlyresponsible for dr. grimesby roylott's death, and i cannot say that it is likelyto weigh very heavily upon my conscience."