901. Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of The Speckled Band (Learn English with a Short Story)

hello listeners welcome back to Luke's English podcast how are you doing hope you're doing fine today now in this episode it's story time again I'm going to read you a story so this will be your chance hopefully to understand and enjoy a story in English there's a PDF for this one which you can download either from my website on the episode page for this episode or you can download it directly using the link that you will find in the description of this episode in your podcast app that you're using or on YouTube if you're watching

there okay so check out the uh PDF if you'd like to be able to read uh the story that you're listening to me uh read to you in this episode okay in fact we're going to start looking at the PDF right now so let me go to that here we go right so this episode is called the adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle um here are some things I should say first before I start reading out the story to you first of all the English that you'll hear so this is fairly

complex old-fashioned English this story was published in 1892 and so the English is pretty old-fashioned compared to today's English the main difference is that everything seems more formal in style Victorian society which is you know this story was written in the Victorian era Victorian society was generally a lot more formal than ours is today and this is reflected in the language with its long complex sentences and vocabulary but overall it's not too different to the English we use today it's not like Shakespeare for example which is very difficult for most people to understand fully these

days um I think the vast majority of the vocabulary used here is still applicable today and in fact a lot of it is beautiful and descriptive language which I find very enjoyable to read and hopefully you will find enjoyable to listen to but I understand it might be ult to understand hopefully my quick explanations and synonyms and things will help you understand everything and will help you convert the more old-fashioned language into more contemporary English so let's begin right now if you feel you're getting lost at any point don't worry just keep listening and I

will clarify things for you regularly as you listen can you solve the mystery okay can you solve the mystery listen to the evidence and descriptions and try to work out who committed the crime why and and crucially how they did it and then just you can just marvel at the way Sherlock Holmes almost perfectly solves uh this case so let's go back in time to London at the end of the 19th century for a Gothic mystery now remember just a reminder for those of you who maybe aren't so familiar with with with Sherlock Holmes so

Sherlock Holmes is a professional private detective with a particular set of skills he's a very very observant man he notices everything everything and he's able to use logic and deductive reasoning to understand things deeply and solve problems which other people can't when we talk about dedu deductive reasoning deducing things and being deductive it means basically looking at um looking at evidence seeing things and then make making conclusions based on what you can see so those conclusions that you make based on the things you can see these are called deductions and these help you these dedu

deductions are when you work out something that you can't actually see something that you don't know but you work it out from the evidence for example I don't know what it would be like for example I don't know uh just thinking of an example so you come home from work and you go into your living room and you see that um a newspaper has been completely ripped to pieces that there's pieces of newspaper all over the all over the living room it's just been this newspaper has been ripped to shreds and you see your dog

sitting in the middle of the room with bits of newspaper sticking out of its mouth and with a guilty look on its face now obviously you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out what has happened here but nevertheless you could deduce that your dog basically has ripped this newspaper to Pieces while you were not there the dog was having a wonderful time playing with his newspaper and decided to rip it to shreds uh in your absence so that's obviously you know you didn't see the dog doing it but you can just see the

evidence in front of you and you basically work out what has happened that is a basic form of deductive reasoning although what Sherlock Holmes does is a lot more sophisticated uh uh than that you know he notices all sorts of little Clues and he's able to put them together very brilliantly this is one of the great things about Sherlock Holmes so uh he lives at 221B Baker Street in London with his companion Dr John Watson Watson accompanies homes on his investigations and writes accounts of what happens each time these accounts of what have happened these

descriptions are what we read in these short stories uh so the story is narrated by Watson okay all right then so let's let's begin the the story is called the adventure of the Speckled Band This is actually a crucial detail the Speckled Band now a band has two meanings one meaning of band is a group of people um like a a group of musicians could be called a band but really A group of people maybe a group of soldiers or another group of people sometimes that could be referred to as a band that's one meaning

of the word band another meaning of the word band would be like a kind of a strip of fabric like maybe a headband you know you see people when they do sports like if you know people who play tennis sometimes would wear a headband around their head and it absorbs sweat and stops the sweat dripping down into their eyes that's a headband for tennis players for example but a band Yes can be a strip of fabric like that that's another meaning of the word band and that double meaning does kind of come into the story

a little bit speckled refer to a sort of pattern let's say like a design speckled would be a design which has lots of little spots on it for example lots of little spots could be described as speckled like certain bird's eggs certain bird's eggs not chicken eggs chicken eggs are normally just white or kind of a tan brown reddish brown color but some bird eggs are speckled they've got little sort of speckled spots on them or something so the Speckled Band what does that mean that's part of the mystery really what the Speckled Band actually

is and you'll find out as the story progresses so okay it's time to start the story these are the words of John Watson then and here we go on glancing over my notes of the 70 odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes I find many tragic some comic a large number merely strange but none common place for working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not

tend towards the unusual and even the Fantastic of all these varied cases however I cannot recall any which presented more singular features than that which was associated with the well-known Su family of the roets of stoke Moran the events in question occurred in the early days of my association with homes when we were sharing rooms as bachelors in Baker Street it is possible that I might have placed them upon record before but a promise of secrecy was made at the time from which I have only been freed during the last month by the untimely death

of the lady to whom the pledge was given it is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light for I have reasons to know that there are widespread rumors as to the death of Mr grimesby royet which tend to make the matter even more terrible than the truth okay so I'm actually going to pause here already um it's lovely isn't it lovely uh lovely writing but let me just explain what we've had so Watson is talking about um when he is glancing over the notes of the 70 odd cases which he has

during the last8 years studied so he's looking at all of his notes and there are about 70 different cases uh which he has um written down um while studying the methods of Sherlock Holmes and looking at all of these cases he notices that many of them are tragic some of them are comic meaning kind of funny a large number are merely strange just just odd just bizarre strange but none of them are commonplace so commonplace meaning just uh usual or the sort of thing that often happens so they're all all of them are unusual so

none of them are commonplace commonplace meaning um um usual or common for meaning because working as he did rather for the love of his art so the fact that Sherlock Holmes works for the love of of of the work the love of his art in this case because he does that he tends to accept cases because they're interesting rather than because they pay well and as a result most of the cases that Sherlock Holmes uh works on are particularly interesting ones he's attracted to the interesting strange bizarre unusual cases and yeah of all of these

cases all of these 70 cases uh Watson can't remember he can't recall any which were more singular Than This One Singular meaning basically unique so this is the this one is really unique compared to the other ones and this is a a story um associated with the well-known Su family of the roets of stoke Moran so this story is um features a family based in Su called the roets of this town called Stoke Moran it's a it's a madeup town it doesn't actually exist uh the roets would be a sort of a noble family um

from this part of Southeast England the events in question occur in the early days of my association with homes so Watson is saying that um this story is from the early days and he hasn't published it before because he had to keep it secret but the the the woman who he promised this oath of secrecy to she has died and so now he's able to publish the story and also he thinks it's important because there were lots of rumors about one of the main characters in the story rumors which are kind of strange and not

true and so he thinks it's time to publish this story in order to actually reveal finally uh the truth of what happened to this man Dr grimesby royet okay let's continue so it was early in April in the year 83 that I woke one morning to find Sherlock Holmes standing fully dressed by the side of my bed he was a late Riser as a rule and as the clock on the mantle piece showed me that it was only a quter 7 I blinked up at him in some surprise and perhaps perhaps just a little resentment

for I Was Myself regular in my habits very sorry to knock you up Watson said he but it's the common lot this morning Mrs Hudson has been knocked up she retorted upon me and I on you what is it then a fire no a client it seems that a young lady has arrived in a considerable state of excitement who insists upon seeing me she is waiting now in the sitting room now when young ladies wander about the Metropolis at this hour of the morning and knock sleepy people up out of their beds I presume that

it is something very pressing which they have to communicate should it prove to be an interesting case you would I am sure wish to follow it from the outset I thought at any rate that I should call you and give you the chance my dear fellow I would not miss it for anything said Watson um I had no Keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his professional investigations and in admiring the rapid deductions as Swift as intuitions and yet always founded on a logical basis with which he unraveled the problems which were submitted to him

so let's pause again and just clarify all that so this starts basically with um it's early April so the beginning of Spring one morning early Watson wakes up and Sherlock Holmes is standing fully dressed by the side of his bed okay and Watson's like thinking what what's going on because Watson is a late Riser someone who gets up late as a rule generally speaking he's a late Riser he tends to get up late and the clock on the mantle piece he looked at the clock and it showed that it was only quarter 7 in the

morning so Watson was a bit surprised and maybe a bit annoyed like you know what is it Holmes uh he's annoyed because he was regular in his in his habits meaning that he um you know normally liked to get up at the same time every day no doubt later than this early time Watson says I'm very sorry to wake you up he says I'm sorry very sorry to knock you up which is a a phrasal verb that we don't really use anymore um we would say wake you up sorry to wake you up Watson right

in the story it's not you up um we do have a phrasal verb which is to knock someone up but these days it's a kind of very informal phrase which means to make someone pregnant to get someone pregnant it's a slightly rude sounding phrase you know it's not not very polite sounding phrasal verb you know to to get to be knocked up means to be you know to be pregnant um but that's not how it's used here so here it's I mean thankfully I don't think Sherlock Holmes made Watson pregnant if if that's the case

then there's like a a whole other subtext which I wasn't aware of although well anyway so very sorry to wake you up Watson but it's the common lot this morning so Mrs Hudson got woken up by the visitor Mrs Hudson woke up Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes has gone to Watson to wake him up and he reveals that it's a client and it looks like it's an interesting case so he wanted to know if Watson was interested in um you know finding out the story and Watson says yes absolutely of course I love uh following

Sherlock Holmes's cases and so on right let's move on so again remember my focus here is on getting through the story there are lots and lots of details lots of vocab pieces of vocab which I could be dealing with um more in a more detailed way but I'm choosing not to and I'm just hoping that my general summaries are helping you follow the story if you want to look up specific words be my guest you can find the PDF you can check the words and phrases in a decent online dictionary collinsdictionary.com Oxford Learners dictionaries uh

diaries.com my friend down to the sitting room a lady dressed in black and heavily veiled who'd been sitting in the window Rose as we entered so she's heavily veiled which means she's got a veil over her face this is something that covers women used to wear veils some uh of course some women still do right It's associated sort of with some religious sort of uh communities right as we know but this kind of veil it's kind of like a made of a fabric that um uh you can see through it but when it's worn close

over someone's face you can't really see their face um you know in in weddings in like traditional wedding dresses might have a a veil as well that the woman would wear while she's walking down the aisle this would be a white Veil The Veil gets lifted um during the the wedding ceremony right so that's a veil so this this lady is dressed in black and she's got a a a a veil over her face she's been sitting in the window she this woman Rose as we entered she stood up as we entered the room good

morning Madam said Holmes cheerily my name is Sherlock Holmes this is my intimate friend and Associate Dr Watson before whom you can speak as freely as before myself ha I'm glad to see that Mrs Hudson has had the good sense to light the fire pray draw up to it and I shall order you a cup of hot coffee for I observe that you are shivering it is not cold which makes me shiver said the woman in a low voice changing her seat as requested well what then it is fear Mr Holmes it is Terror she

raised her veil as she spoke and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation her face all drawn and gray with Restless frightened eyes like those of some hunted animal her features and figure were those of a woman of 30 but her hair was shot with premature gray and her expression was weary and Haggard okay so the woman wearing the veil Holmes is very cheerful but she in contrast is not and she seems to be in a very uh upset uh State um um she shivering which means shaking when your

body shakes normally we shiver when we are cold but this woman is shivering because she's terrified okay she removes the veil she raises the veil and we can see that she is in a pitiable state of agitation pitiable meaning a very sorry State um a very bad bad condition probably bad mental state where she's in a lot of fear uh she has frightened eyes like some kind of hunted animal uh she you know she looks basically like a woman of 30 but her hair is going gray and the expression on her face looks weary like

very tiny tired and Haggard like exhausted you know your the way you might look if you've just been through some horrible horrible experience you would look tired but you'd look Haggard like kind of very tired and extremely kind of uh um extremely sort of stressed and um badly affected by what's been happening um let's continue Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick all comprehensive glances so he kind of gave her a quick look you must not fear said said he soothingly bending forward and patting her forearm we shall soon set matters right

I have no doubt you have come in by train this morning I see you know me then no but I observed the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove you must have started early and yet you had a good drive in a dog cart along heavy roads before you reach the station the lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my companion she can't believe what he's just said huh there is no mystery my dear Madam said he smiling the left arm of your jacket is spattered with

mud in no less than seven places the marks are perfectly fresh there is no vehicle save a dog cart which throws up mud in that way and then only when you sit on the left hand side of the driver whatever your reasons may be you are perfectly correct said she I started from home before 6 reached Leatherhead at 20 past and came in by the first train to watero sir I can stand this strain no longer I shall go mad if it continues I have no one to turn to none save only one who cares

for me and he poor fellow can be of little Aid okay so Holmes does a bit of his deductive reasoning he works out that she's come in early this morning uh on a train and that she also uh had um a trip on a dog cart that's a small um wooden cart that would have been pulled by a horse um through the countryside she's surprised that he knows all these things and he says it's you know pretty easy look you've got half a train ticket in your hand and you you've been splattered by mud uh

on on your left arm I think it is um and um the only way that you could be spattered with mud in that way would be is if you had been traveling in a dog cart one of these small carts the dog carts are the only sorts of vehicle that throw up mud in that way so anyway he's already worked out you know like a lot about the journey that she's had that morning uh and she con she confirms it by telling him that she came from uh Leatherhead which is a a town you know

outside London um let's continue I have heard of you Mr Holmes I have heard of you from Mrs farantos whom you helped in the hour of her sore need it was from her that I had your address oh sir do you not think that you could help me too and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness which surrounds me at present it is out of my power to reward you for your services but in a month or 6 weeks I shall be married with the control of my own income and then at

least you shall not find me ungrateful Holmes turned to his desk and unlocking it drew out a small case book which he consulted H farantos said he ah yes I recall the case it was concerned with an opal Tiara I think it was before your time was I can only say Madam that I shall be happy to devote the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend as to reward my profession is its own reward but you are at Liberty to defay whatever expenses I may be put to at the

time which suits you best so uh this woman um she knows about homes from a friend of hers who also used homes's services to solve some other case Cas which involved an opal Tiara some sort of you know uh jewelry that uh you wear on on the head that women wear on their head um right uh sort of thing a princess would wear or someone in a ball gown would wear like a little it's kind of like a little crown that just goes uh just goes around the front and girls might wear one on their

head um and it might they might have jewels in them so I suppose homes maybe help to find this stolen piece of jewelry or something for the Woman's friend Mrs fenos and uh the woman who's visited uh homes says that uh she's unable to what is it she's unable to pay um it's out of she says it's out of my power to reward you for your services but in a month or six weeks I shall be married so um and then I'll have the control of my own income so she says she can't pay him

now but when she's married later on she'll have control of her own money she'll be able to do it then and Holmes says Don't worry um the the work itself um is the payment that I look for uh but um when it's convenient for you you can just pay my expenses that's probably the the money that he's going to spend to to tra if there's any traveling involved or any other money which homes spends um while uh covering this case okay let's continue Holmes says and now I beg that you will lay before us everything

that may help us in forming an opinion upon the matter so this is the bit where the client explains what's happened so this is these are important parts of the story this is the backstory alas replied our visitor the very horror of my situation lies in the fact that my fears are so vague and my suspicions depend so entirely upon small points which might seem trivial to another that even he to whom of all others I have a right to look for help and advice looks upon all that I tell him about it as the

fancies of a nervous woman so basically she's saying all the information she has is very vague she doesn't understand the situation it's all based on very small pieces of information that she doesn't really understand and when she talks to this other person who I'm assuming is her fiance the man she's engaged to be married to when she tries to talk to him about it he just he doesn't take the doesn't take it seriously which is a Pity he does not say so but I can read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes but I've

heard Mr Holmes that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart you may advise me how to walk amid the dangers which Encompass me I am all attention Madam okay let's continue my name is Helen Stoner and I'm living with my stepfather who is the last survivor of one of the oldest Saxon families in England the roets of stoke Moran on the Western border of su Holmes nodded his head the name is familiar to me he said the family was at one time among the richest in England and the Estates extended

over the borders into barkshire in the north and Hampshire in the west and in the last century however four successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler in the days of the Regency nothing was left save a few Acres of ground and the 200-year-old house which is itself crushed under a heavy mortgage the last Squire dragged out his existence there living the horrible life of an aristocratic poper but his only son my stepfather seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions obtained an

advance from a relative which enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Kolkata where by his professional skill and his force of character he established a large practice so I think I need to stop and explain here so basically um this woman Helen Stoner um she is pass of this family in fact it's her stepfather's family stepfather that means her mother married so it's not her natural biological father but it's uh her her mother's husband right so let's say the mother had the Helen with another man she was probably previously married to

him something may have happened to him and then she ended up getting married to this other person and this is Helen's stepfather and Helen's stepfather is um the head of this family in fact he's the only surviving member of this old family um is it the oldest the oldest Saxon family in England the Saxons were uh a tribe of people who traveled to England from is it like Denmark Germany right okay and and settled in England so this is like this this is a very very old aristocratic family okay the royet of stoke Moran on

the Western border of su down in southeast England so her stepfather yes is the um is the last remaining member of this family line okay uh Helen describes how the family used to be rich but over four successive Generations um the the the wealth of the family has been lost I guess by the heads of each generation the main male heir of each generation not managing the estate very well the estate that refers to the land and all of the money that the family owns and as a result the um the state of this family

has gone really bad um all the money's gone uh previously the family owned a lot of land which stretched into other counties all that land is gone and the only thing that the family has left is 200 acres of land so that's kind of like a very big garden and the house itself one of these old stately homes this is a bit like Downtown Abbey you can think of it like that but Downtown Abbey in really bad condition where the head of the house Lord Crawley in this case his name is uh what's his name

again uh royet um is you know he he's the only one left and uh the house is in disrepair there's also a heavy mortgage on the house a mortgage that means basically a bank loan uh so uh debt okay so the house is being is crushed under a mortgage which means that uh that a lot of money was borrowed um against the house so there's no money there's no cash the house the the family is poor even though they're an aristocratic family they're very poor and it's really the the male uh heir of of of

this that seems is in charge of this his name is yeah his name is royet and Roy's father um lived the life of an aristocratic porper a poper is someone who's poor with no money but then royet the stepfather decided that he had to adapt himself to these conditions and he borrowed money from a member of the family and used it to get a medical degree he trained to become a doctor and he went to Kolkata in India he traveled to India this is during the time of the British occupation of India so he went

and lived in India and established a medical practice there so he worked in India as a doctor and with his professional skill and force of character he set up a a medical practice in India right so let's continue in a fit of anger is the next line in a fit of anger however caused by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house he beat his native Butler to death and narrowly escaped to Capital sentence as it was he suffered a long term of imprisonment and afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed man so

while he was in India uh royet the step father in a moment of anger because uh he's a very angry man in a moment of anger which was caused by some robberies in in the house so people some people have been stealing things from his house in a in a fit of anger he attacked uh these his Indian Butler a butler is a person who sort of uh serves the head of the house you can imagine him in a black suit holding a tray you know and uh visiting the man of the house and saying

you know would you like me to serve tea sir you know that's the sort of thing a butler does the the the the head of the servants in the house so the stepfather attacked his Indian Butler and beat him to death and killed him over this problem with the robberies in the house which is you know terrible this stepfather seems like an absolute monster um he narrowly escaped a capital sentence Capital sentence would be the death sentence so he only just avoided being killed for this murder as a punishment but he did suffer a long

term of imprisonment so he spent a long time in jail in prison and after that he returned to England and he was a a morose and disappointed man morose means in a in a bad mood very uh Moody very angry unhappy and disappointed because of all of these experiences let's continue when Dr royet and this is still Helen the stepdaughter describing the story when Dr royet was in India he married my mother Mrs Stoner the young Widow of Major General Stoner of the Bengal artillery my sister Julia and I were Twins and we were only

2 years old at the time of my mother's remarriage she had a considerable sum of money not less than ,000 a year and this she Beed to Dr royet entirely while we resided with him with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage all right so Helen the one telling the story her mom was married to this military man Major General Stoner I guess something happened to him and he died and she ended up remarrying and she married Dr royet okay and this is

when Helen and her twin sister so there's a twin sister uh Julia Helen and Julia were 2 years old when the marriage happened and the girls had a lot of money they had £1,000 a year which is a lot of money in those days no uh sorry the the the mom the girl's mom had a lot of money and she bequeathed it to to Dr royet she gave she promised to give it all to him uh while um while they lived with him uh part of the arrangement of her giving him the money was that

some of that money would be given to each of the girls if they got married okay so she gave him all the money Dr royet all the money but if one of the two daughters gets married they would have the right to take a lot of that money away okay all right let's continue shortly after our return to England my mother died she was killed 8 years ago in a railway accident near crew Dr royet then abandoned his attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us to live with him in the old

ancestral house at Stoke Moran the money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants and there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness but a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbors who had at first enjoyed to see a royet of stoke Moran back in the old family seat he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path okay so they moved to England the mother unfortunately died

in a railway accident and at that point doctor royet and the two daughters lived together and Dr royet decided he would give up trying to establish himself and he just lived in the house with the girls and they all lived on the money that the girls had inherited from their mother so at this point Dr royet and the two girls are living on the inheritance from the mother at this point something changed in him in the doctor as well he he stayed in the house all the time he shut himself up he seldom came out

so he rarely came out save to indulge in quarrels so the only time he came out was to have big arguments very angry arguments with anyone with whoever might cross his path whoever he met the only reason he'd go outside would be to get involved in some angry aggressive argument with someone so he's very angry and violent man violence of temper approaching to Mania has been hereditary in the men of the family and in my stepfather's case it had I Believe been intensified by his long residence in the tropics a series of disgraceful brawls took

place two of which ended in the Police Court until at last he became the terror of the village and the folks would fly at his approach for he is a man of immense strength and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger so the guy sounds like he's totally out of control he's got major anger management issues and he's been involved in several um brawls several physical fights with other people which um ended in him going to the police station and he's he finally has become the terror of the village everyone in the village is afraid of him

people would Escape when he approached he's a man of immense strength he's completely out of control and totally angry all the time all right it's he's a nightmare but it's this is certainly a very suspicious character anyway let's continue last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parit into a stream and it was only by paying over all the money which I could gather together that I was able to avert another public exposure so he actually threw a man of the blacksmith guy who works with metal he threw this man over a sort of

over a balcony or over a wall into a dream like into a river he threw a man into a river and uh the and Helen had to pay a lot of money to try and avoid this becoming a big public exposure um he had no friends at all save the wandering Gypsies and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon a few Acres of Bramble covered land which represent the family estate and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end so Dr royet has no

friends except for um a group of gypsies gypsies are traveling people right um it's a like a whole culture uh we have gypsies in in uh the UK um and yeah these are people who who travel they don't actually have any fixed place to live but they move from place to place and gypsies uh are often sort of um um people often have very negative um opinions of gypsies you know um because of the way that they live uh and they're often considered to be trouble and people don't trust them that's that's the kind of

stereotype that's the way that gypsies are often treated and I suppose at this time in particular it would have been certainly the case that gypsies are often uh looked upon with suspicion because uh people uh maybe are threatened by them because they you know their lifestyle and they're concerned that they might commit crime they kind of live outside of society in a ways and and that makes them kind of um a little bit of a threat it seems to to most people's ordinary way of life and they might be associated with like crime and stuff

you've you might have seen the uh film snatch uh Brad Pit um it's a um it's a guy Richie film uh with Brad Pit and Jason and Jason Statham in it in that film Brad Pit plays an Irish Gypsy and if you've seen the film you can see the way that gypsies have represented the you know the the traveling Lifestyle the kind of relationship they have with the rest of society anyway so um Dr royet is only friends with a group of traveling gypsies he lets them stay on his land and in fact often they

return the favor by welcoming him in to their community and he often goes and travels away with them for several weeks at a time so he's kind of like only friends with these gypsies who are often living on his land continuing he also has a passion for Indian animals which are sent over to him by a correspondent and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by The Villages almost as much as their master um okay okay so as Dr royet also owns some Indian

animals a cheetah and a baboon now cheetah used to be I understand used to be native to India we associate them normally with like the The Plains of Africa right cheetahs are big cats uh the fastest animal on the land that's a cheeter very fast big cat I think they used to be in India as well not sure these days is and so he's got a cheatah he's also got a baboon a baboon is a type of uh monkey right um although as far as I'm aware they don't have baboons in India I think baboons

are uh baboons can be found elsewhere anyway it's a type of monkey and he lets these animals just wand freely on his grounds meaning on the land around the house and um everyone in the village is terrified of these animals as you as you would understand as you could imagine they're almost as terrified of the animals as they are of Dr royet himself who is even more of a monster not that these animals are monsters but I'm sure that they could be very scary right if you live in an English Village and there's a cheatah

running around or a a baboon in the tree and you know baboons can be very frightening they they very strong and very wild now let's continue you can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I had no great pleasure in our lives no servant would stay with us and for a long time we did all the work of the house she was but 30 at the time of her death 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 and it's of her death that I wish to speak to you you can understand that living the life which I have described we were little likely to see anyone of our own age and position we had however an aunt my mother's maiden sister Miss honoria West fail who lives near Harrow and we were occasionally allowed to pay short visits to this lady's house Julia went there at Christmas 2 years ago and met there a half-pay major of Marines to whom she became engaged my stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and

offered no objection to the marriage but within a fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding the terrible event occurred which has deprived me of my only companion all right so um Helen and her sister lived a miserable life uh very very uh fearful life she described how Julia even though she's only in was only in her 30s her hair had already beun begun to go white just like Helen's has Julia died two years ago before she died uh she went to visit uh an aunt in another part of the country uh

at Christmas or something when she was there she met a man this major again another army man and she became engaged to marry him um The Stepfather Dr royet did not oppose it so he accepted it but within a fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding so about two weeks before the wedding day this terrible event happened which led to Julia being killed depriving Helen of her only companion let's continue Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and his head in a cushion but he half

opened his Lids now and glanced across at his visitor pray be precise as to the details said he it is easy for me to be so for every event of that Dreadful time is seared into my memory the manor house is as I've already said very old and Only One Wing is now inhabited the bedrooms in this Wing are on the ground floor the sitting rooms being in the central block of the buildings of these bedrooms the first is Dr roets the second my sisters 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 said Holmes the windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn that fatal night Dr royet had gone to his room early though we knew that he had not retired to rest for my sister was troubled by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which it was his custom to smoke she left her room therefore and came into mine where she sat for some time chatting about her approaching wedding at 11:00 she Rose to leave me but she paused

at the door and looked back tell me Helen she said have you ever heard anyone whistle in the dead of the night like whistle it's whistle have you ever heard anyone whistle in the dead of the night never said I I suppose that you could not possibly whistle yourself in your sleep well certainly not but why because during the last few nights I have always about 3: in the morning heard a low clear whistle I am a light sleeper and it has awakened me I cannot tell where it came from perhaps from the Next Room

perhaps from the lawn I thought that I would ask you whether you'd heard it no I have not it must be those wretched gypsies in the plantation 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 and a few minutes later I heard her key turn in the lock in indeed said Holmes was it your custom always to lock yourselves in at

night always and why I think that I mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheatah and a baboon we had no feeling of security unless our doors were locked quite so pray proceed with your statement right so I need to go back and just explain some of this stuff so um Helen describes um the details she describes the house it's very old um these old houses are separated separated into Wings just like the the White House in Washington DC in the USA you got the west wing and the different wings of the house different

sections So This Old House I guess there's the central part of the house the main center of the house and then I think there are two Wings on this house one of the as we'll discover later in the story one of those wings is in a bad is is in bad condition and no one uses it the other wing of the house though is where the bedrooms are and they're on the ground floor and there are three bedrooms so uh from the central part of the house the first bedroom is Dr Roy's bedroom the second

one was Julia's bedroom and the third one is Helen's bedroom she said there's no communication between the rooms so there are no doors that lead from one room to the next okay the only but they but but the the rooms all do open out onto one shared Corridor so there's one Corridor the rooms all open out onto that Corridor but other than those doors there are no doors that communicate the three rooms together and on the other side uh there are those rooms have Windows and there's the lawn the grass the garden okay so you

can imagine one of those rooms any one of those rooms would have a door that leads into the corridor um and then on the other side of the room would be a window out onto the grass onto the garden right and um yeah Dr Roy's room then Julia's room then Helen's room right okay okay the windows open out onto the out onto the lawn now one night the the night that Julia died they knew that Dr royet had gone to his room but he was still awake because they because Julia could smell the smell of

him smoking uh in his room she didn't like the smell so she came and visited Helen in the next room and they sat and talked until about 11:00 p.m. and just before uh Julia left she turned to Helen and said something kind of strange she said have you ever heard a whistling sound in the night in the middle of the night which is a bit creepy and Helen says no I've never heard that and Julia is saying I don't know where it comes from it could come from the Next Room meaning Dr Roy's room or

it could come from the garden the lawn um but if if it came from the garden then I would imagine that Helen you would hear it too and Helen but Helen sleeps more deeply than Julia so maybe she wouldn't but anyway Julia's kind of think what is this mysterious whistling sound that I've been hearing in the middle of the night and why doesn't why doesn't Helen also hear the sound where's that sound coming from it's a bit of a mysterious thing and they kind of they assume that it's the gypsies that are on the plantation

somewhere that maybe one of the gypsies is wandering around whistling or something like that but it's a bit a bit creepy yeah and uh when Julia went back to her room she she locked Helen's door and locked her own door and the reason they used to lock the doors was because of these wild animals that were roaming around and they they felt a lot more secure with the doors locked but that's an important detail Julia's door was locked from the inside so we continue I could not sleep that night a vague feeling of impending Misfortune

impressed me my sister and I you will recollect were Twins and you know how subtle are the links which bind Two Souls which are so closely Allied so they're twins they feel very close she knows how you know um twins are often very very close and Helen couldn't sleep that night she had this feeling that something bad was going to happen a feeling of impending Misfortune a feeling of bad luck that was coming it was a wild night the wind was howling outside and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows suddenly amid all

the hubub of the Gale in the in the middle of this loud noise of all of this storm outside there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman I knew that it was my sister's voice so in the middle of this storm she suddenly hears this in incredible scream I sprang from my bed wrapped a shawl around me and rushed into the corridor as I opened my door I seemed to hear a low whistle such as my sister described and a few moments later a clanging sound clang as if a mass of metal had

fallen as I ran down the passage my sister's door was unlocked and revolved slowly upon its hinges so she's run out into the corridor in order to work out to find out what the screen was and to check on her sister and um she hears that strange whistle she also hears the sound of something metal as if something metal heavy metal has fallen or something she goes into the passage her sister's door is unlocked and it swings open slowly upon its hinges the door swings open and Helen continues I stared at it horror stricken like

that not knowing what was about to issue from it so she stared at the doorway she didn't know what was going to come out by the Light of the corridor lamp I saw my sister appear at the opening her face blanched with Terror her hands groping for help her whole figure swayed to and fro like that like that of a drunkard so her sister emerged in the doorway um her face is white with Terror her hands are trying to grab for something to help her her whole body is swaying to and fro swaying from side

to side like as if she's totally drunk I ran to her and threw my arms around her but at that moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground she writhed as one who is in terrible pain and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed at first I thought that she had not recognized me but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out in a voice which I shall never forget oh my God Helen it was the band The Speckled Band so uh Helen runs to her sister grabs her in her arms

and at that moment Julia's legs uh uh give way she falls to the ground and wries like she's in terrible pain her body is twisting and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed so she's twisting and shaking uncontrollably and suddenly she screams in a in a horrible voice she screams oh my God Helen it was the band The Speckled Band Helen continues there was something else which she would Fain have said and she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction of the doctor's room but a fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words so

Julia wanted to say something else but she couldn't manage to do it she just managed to point up uh in the air towards the doctor's room and then suddenly she couldn't speak I rushed out calling loudly for my stepfather and I met him hastening from his room in his dressing gown so she saw him rushing to from his room in his dressing gown when he reached my sister's side she was unconscious and though he poured Brandy down her throat and sent for Medical Aid from the village all efforts were in vain for she slowly sank

and died without having recovered her Consciousness such was the Dreadful end of my beloved sister so she called for The Stepfather he came rushing out he tried to revive her he poured Brandy down her throat which of course was the solution to all problems in Victorian England just give you know what's the matter you know just give them Brandy it's like the perfect medicine to solve all problems but even Brandy didn't help um br's an a form of alcoholic strong alcoholic drink um and uh so despite all the efforts to um help her she she

lost Consciousness she never recovered Consciousness and she died it's sad one moment said Holmes are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound could you swear to it are you absolutely certain could you would you um promise that you'd heard this that was what the County coroner asked me at the inquiry it is my strong impression that I heard it and yet among the crash of the Gale and the creaking of an old house I may possibly have been deceived 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 matchbox showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when the alarm took place that is important and what conclusions did the coroner come to he investigated the case with great care for Dr Roy's conduct had long been notorious in the county but he was unable to find any satisfactory cause of death okay so um uh Julia was not dressed she was still in a night dress right what that she slept in in her right hand was the charred remains of a

match and a match box in her other hand so she struck a match to get light in the room and looked about her uh when this had happened right okay the coroner that's the that's the person who examines the body um investigated maybe the first person to investigate the case he said he couldn't find any satisfactory cause of death so the coroner didn't know what caused Julia's death um Julia uh Helen says my evidence showed that the door had been fastened upon the inner side so it been locked from the inside and the windows were

blocked by old fashioned shutters with broad iron bars which were secured every night the walls were carefully sounded and were shown to be quite solid all round and the flooring was also thoroughly examined with the same result so Helen is saying that you know when the room was examined uh they noticed it had been locked from the inside the windows were blocked by old-fashioned shutters these are things that cover the windows with broad iron bars so strong metal bars that covered the windows and these things were secured meaning closed every single night the walls were

carefully sounded so the walls were checked like that and were found to be solid everywhere and the flooring was also examined with the same result so there are no secret doors no secret uh trap doors or anything the chimney this is where you would have a fire the fire the smoke goes up the chimney so the fireplace in the chimney the chimney is wide but it's barred up by four large Staples this means there are big metal bars in the chimney which means that no one could get down no one could climb through the chimney

it is certain therefore that my sister was quite alone when she met her end besides there were no marks of any violence upon her okay so this is one of those locked room Mysteries a bit like the one with my mobile phone recently where I came back into the the room that had been locked and discovered my phone had just suddenly been smashed to Pieces by unknown forces although that's a little easier to work out there was basically the battery expanded and caused the phone to break so not so much of a mystery this one

is a bit more Curious don't you think what happened how did she die what's going on so Holmes continues how about poison the doctors examined her for it but without success what do you think that this unfortunate lady died of then it is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine were there gypsies in the plantation at the time yes there there are nearly always some there ah and what did you gather from this illusion to a band a Speckled Band sometimes I've

thought that it was merely the Wild Talk of delirium sometimes that it may have referred to some band of people perhaps to these very gypsies in the plantation I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used so Holmes is curious about the about the Gypsies and apparently there are always gypsies in the plantation um and what about this illusion this reference to the Speckled Band and Helen doesn't really know he's she's wondering if it's maybe a reference to the

handkerchiefs that these gypsies often wear over their heads they often wear handkerchiefs with like uh with spots on them might be like red with white spots she was wondering if it would be a reference to those handkerchiefs that they're speckled kind of but she's not sure Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied these are very deep Waters he said pray go on with your narrative two years have passed since then and my life has been until lately lonelier than ever a month ago however a dear friend whom I've known

for many years has done me the honor to ask my hand in marriage his name is Armitage Percy Armitage the Second Son of Mr Armitage of crane water near Reading my stepfather has offered no opposition to the match and we are to be married in the course of the spring 2 days ago some repairs were started in the west wing of the building and my bedroom wall has been pierced so that I've had to move into the chamber in which my sister died and to sleep in the very bed in which she slept imagine then

my thrill of Terror when last night as I lay awake thinking over her terrible fate I suddenly heard in the Silence of the night the low whistle which had been the herald of her own death I sprang up and lit the lamp but nothing was to be seen in the room I was too shaken to go to bed again however So I dressed and as soon as it was Daylight I slipped down got a dog cart at the Crown Inn which is opposite and drove to Leatherhead from whence I have come on this morning with

the one object of seeing you and asking your advice so uh she says that there's been some repairs being done on the wing of the house and that the wall of her room has been like broken open or something so she's had to move into Julia's old room and she's had she's had to sleep in Julia's old bed also she's become engaged to be married right she she was proposed uh an old friend of hers proposed to her and she's going to be married to him Dr royet agreed to it um but then yeah then

uh she had to move into Julia's room and then late one night she heard this the the the strange whistle she was so disturbed by it she she like turned on the lamp in the room didn't see anything but she was so Disturbed that um early that morning she dressed and took a a cab to the station and then came to London to visit homes and Watson so we continue you have done wisely said my friend but have you told me all yes all miss royet you have not you're screening your stepfather meaning you're sort

of protecting him not telling homes everything in order to sort of hide the stepfather why what do you mean for answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which fringed the hand that lay Upon Our visitor's knee so she's wearing a sort of black laced glove I guess and Holmes pushes it back to reveal her skin five little livid spots the marks of four fingers and a thumb were printed upon the white wrist so there's marks of of a hand on her wrist you have been cruy used said Holmes the lady colored deeply and

covered her injured wrist so Holmes notices this this sort of injury that clearly someone has grabbed her wrist very strongly and has left a a mark of these fingers on her wrist and when Holmes identified it Helen went red she colored she she she blushed and covered up her wrist he is a hard man she said and perhaps he hardly knows his own strength there was a long silence during which Holmes 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 I should desire to know before I decide upon our course of action yet we have not a moment to lose if we were to come to stoke Moran today would it be possible for us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your stepfather as it happens he spoke of into town today upon some important business it is probable that he will be away all day and that there would be nothing to disturb you we have a housekeeper now but she is old and foolish and I could easily get her out

of the way excellent you are not averse to this trip Watson well 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'm in town but I shall return by by the 12:00 train 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 matters to attend to will you not wait and breakfast no I must go my heart is lightened already since I've

confided my trouble to you I shall look forward to seeing you again this afternoon she dropped her thick black veil over her face and glided from the room okay let's Contin 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 and Sinister business dark enough and Sinister enough yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are sound and that the door window and chimney are impassible then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she

met her mysterious end so Holmes is saying if Helen is correct in saying that the flooring and the walls are sound meaning that they are solid and safe and that they they don't contain any hidden doors solid and safe and solid is what sound means in this case and that the door window and chimney are impassible meaning if it's not possible to get through the door the window or the chimney then her sister must have undoubtedly been alone so she without doubt she must have been alone when she died what becomes then of these nocturnal

whistles and what of the very peculiar words of the dying woman I cannot think when you combine the ideas of whistles at night the presence of a band of gypsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his step-daughter's marriage the dying illusion to a band and finally the fact that miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic clang which might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its place I think

that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines so uh Holmes is saying that you know he's trying to put two and two together he's trying to make his deduction the whis um all those things what the woman said at night uh uh in the middle of the night about the Speckled Band The Presence the whistles at night the presence of the gypsies who were on intimate terms with the old doctor the fact that we know that the doctor has a clear interest in preventing his stepdaughter's marriage even

though he agreed to it but now it looks like he's probably it looks like he killed uh the possible motive would be that he killed Julia because she was about to get married and he didn't want to lose all that money right and then Helen gets engaged and um it seems that maybe he's trying to do a similar thing and trying to have her killed as well but she managed to kind of avoid it this time and he's also saying that the the metallic clang clang this the metallic sound might have been caused by one

of the metal bars on the window or one of the metal shutters um he thinks that so uh Holmes is clearly thinking that maybe it's one of the gypsies who managed to come through the window maybe um maybe maybe that's something to do with it but what then did the gypsies do I cannot imagine I see many objections to any such Theory and so do I so it's not a perfect Theory it is precisely for that reason that we are going to stoke Moran this day I want to see whether the objections are fatal or

if they may be explained away but what in the name of the devil huh but what in the name of the devil so um suddenly something has happened the ejaculation here we go again another ejaculation in a homes and Watson story not to mention the fact that we now we know from this story that Watson and holes Watson is Holmes's intimate friend as he described earlier but anyway it's not that kind of ejaculation you can refer to episode what was it 832 if you want to know the other meaning of the word ejaculation in this

case it's not the sexual form of ejaculation but the more old-fashioned usage of the word meaning when someone says something quickly someone comes out with something very quickly in this case it's when holes said but what in the name of the devil meaning a sort of what the hell um the ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that our door had been suddenly dashed open and that a huge man had framed himself in the aperture so bam the door suddenly flew open and a huge man was standing in the door doorway his

costume was a peculiar mixture of the professional and and of the Agricultural having a black top hat a long frock coat and a pair of high Gators I suppose those are boots with a hunting crop swinging in his hand hunting crop is a kind of a I guess a leatherbound stick that you would be used to hit a horse to make it run faster I think that's what it is so tall was he that his hat actually brushed the crossbar of the doorway and his breadth his width seemed to span it across from side to

side so he's basically as tall as the door and as wide as the doorway as well a large face seared with a thousand wrinkles burned yellow with the sun and marked with every evil passion was turned from one to the other of us while his deep set bile shot eyes and his high thin fleshless nose gave gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey write quite the descriptive paragraph large face seared with a thousand wrinkles so it's cracked with millions of wrinkles or thousands of wrinkles burned yellow in the Sun so

his face is all wrinkled and sunburned no doubt from the years he spent in India and marked with every evil passion so you know his his face is like this tells a story this very angry kind of evil looking face it was turned from one of us to the other so standing there looking at homes and looking at Watson like this while his deep set bile shot eyes so his eyes are deep inside his head and they're shot with bile so they're kind of like yellowish eyes and his high thin fleshless nose so he has

this Sharp kind of sharp thin bony nose gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey so he looks like a hawk or a eagle or something like that which of you is holes asked this Apparition uh my name sir but you have the advantage of me said my companion quietly I am Dr grimesby root of stoke Moran 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 year said Holmes what has she been saying to you screamed the old man furiously but I have heard that the crocuses promise well continued my companion imperturbably so despite the fact that this man is screaming and shouting and demanding to know what what Helen has been saying Holmes is making small talk it is a little cold for the time of year and then he says but I've heard that the crocuses promise well meaning it I I have heard that these flowers are going to come up very nicely so he's making

kind of polite small talk while this man is so furiously demanding answers to the questions ha you put me off do you said our new visitor taking a step forward and shaking his hunting crop I know you you scoundrel I have heard of you before you are Holmes the medler a medler is someone who gets involved in other people's business my friend smiled Holmes The Busy Body a busy body is someone who's always busy maybe getting involved again in things they shouldn't be getting involved in Holmes's smile broadened Holmes the Scotland Yard Jack in office

Holmes chuckled [Laughter] heartily your conversation is most entertaining said he when you go out close the door for there's a decided draft I love the way that Holmes reacts to him yeah when you go out close the door because there's a draft which is like cold air coming in I will go when I have said my say don't you dare 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 this is a long

iron like metal uh stick which is used to poke of fire like a big heavy stick of metal that you would put into the fire to poke it he seized the poker and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands see that you keep yourself out of my grip he snarled and hurling the Twisted poker into the fireplace he stroe out of the room so he's threatening uh and intimidating homes saying keep out of my business and he grabs this strong metal poker and bends it in his arms to show how strong he

is and then throws it back into the fireplace Holmes says he seems a very amiable person said Holmes laughing amiable meaning friendly I'm not quite so bulky but if he had remained I might have shown him that my grip was not much more feeble than his own as he spoke he picked up the steel poker and with a sudden effort straightened it out again so this is this is this is nice because Holmes is saying okay I'm not as big as him but I'm still just as strong as he is if he'd stayed he might

have discovered that actually I'm not not uh not much weaker than him and he takes the poker and bends it back into into a straight position which is very very difficult to do these metal pokers can be very very very hard to bend um Holmes is actually Holmes can take care of himself we we find out about that in other stories that he's actually an excellent boxer there there's a guy Richie movie talking about guy Richie movies and snatch the other film I mentioned of course there are the uh Sherlock Holmes um guy Richie films

and you see Sherlock Holmes played by Robert Downey Jr in those films and in those ones he is a bare knuckle boxer uh so you kind of they they they pushed that part of his character a little bit in those films to emphasize the action but Holmes can can box he can use his fists and people underestimate him but he's excellent boxer as well um fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective Force so um Holmes is almost offended by the fact that the guy confused him with the police CU Holmes

is kind of uh Holmes doesn't really respect the police so he's kind of offended that this guy just confused him for a for a member of the Scotland Yard police force fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective Force this incident gives zest to our investig ation however and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her so he he says this incident gives zest to our investigation it makes it more exciting but he hopes that Helen um doesn't suffer um

from her lack of care in allowing the man to follow her so he hopes that she's okay and now Watson we shall order breakfast and afterwards I shall walk down to doctor's Commons where I hope to get some data which may help us in this matter so they're going to have breakfast and then Holmes is going to go and find out some information it was nearly 1:00 when Sherlock Holmes returned from his Excursion he held in his hand a sheet of blue paper scrolled over with notes and figures I have seen the will of the

deceased wife said he to determine its exact meaning I've been obliged to work out the present prices of the Investments with which it is concerned the total income which at the time of the wife's death was little short of £1,000 is now through the fall in agricultural prices not more than £750 each daughter can claim an income of £250 in case of marriage it is evident therefore that if both girls had married this beauty would have had a mere pittance while even one of them would him to a very serious extent so homes has worked

out by looking at the finances that basically if if even just one of these girls gets married the guy is going to be left with virtually nothing virtually no money if they both get married he's definitely going to be left with next to no money so this is clear in a clear motive my morning's work has not been wasted since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for standing in the way of anything of the sort and now Watson this is too serious for dawling especially as the old man is aware that

we are interesting ourselves in his Affairs so if you are ready we shall call a cab and drive to waterl so he's basically saying let's not waste time let's get going I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket and El's number two is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel poers into knots that and a toothbrush are I think all that we need so he's saying oh it would be a good idea if you brought your gun with you because it's a great way to deal it's

a great argument to have when you're faced with a man who can twist a poker a steel poker into knots that so bring your gun and a toothbrush um at waterl we were fortunate in catching a train for Leatherhead where we hired a trap at the station in and drove for four or five miles through the lovely Su Lanes it was a perfect day with a the bright Sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens the trees and Wayside Hedges were just throwing out their first green choots and the air was full of the

pleasant smell of the moist Earth to me at least there was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this Sinister Quest upon which we were engaged my companion sat in the front of the Trap his arms folded his hat pulled down over his eyes and his chin sunk upon his breast buried in the deepest thought suddenly however he started tapped me on the shoulder and pointed Over The Meadows look there said he a heavily timbered Park stretched up in a gentle slope thickening into a Grove at the highest point from amid

the branches there jutted out the gray Gables and high roof tree of a very old mansion so they're riding through the countryside on this um horse driven uh cart I guess a taxi or something anyway um and Holmes has been thinking with his eyes closed but he wakes up opens his eyes and points towards the house and you can see the hill rising up with some trees there are more and more trees and then from uh through the branches of the trees they can see the roof um and parts of the house Stoke Moran said

he yes sir that be the house of Dr grimesby royet 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 to get to the house you'll find it shorter to get over this style and so by the foot paath over the fields there it is where that lady's walking so basically the the driver is telling them how to get to the house and the lady I fancy is

Miss Stoner observed Holmes shading his eyes yes I think we'd better do as you suggest we got off paid our fair and the trap rattled back on its way to Leatherhead I thought it as well said Holmes as we climbed the style a style is a kind of uh a way to step over a fence in the countryside it's like a a part of the fence where you can climb over it okay a style s i l e um I thought it as well that this fellow should think that we'd come here as Architects or

on some definite business it may stop his gossip so Holmes decided to make the driver think that they were there as part of the building work to stop him gossiping best that they try and keep a low profile good afternoon Miss Stoner you see that we have been as good as our word our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a face which spoke her Joy I've been waiting so eagerly for you she cried shaking hands with us warmly all has turned out splendidly Dr royet has gone to town and it's

unlikely that he will be back before evening we have had the pleasure of making the doctor's acquaintance said Holmes and in a few words he sketched out what had occurred Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened H good Heavens she cried he has followed me then so it appears he's so cunning that I never know when I'm safe from him what will he say when he returns he must guard himself for he may find that there is someone more cunning than himself upon his track cunning means clever in a sort of slightly

uh dark kind of slightly evil way very very clever so the man is cunning but Sherlock is saying he should be careful because someone is following him there is more cunning yeah Holmes himself you must lock yourself up from him tonight if he is violent we shall take you away to your aunts 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 gray lyen blotched stone with a high central portion and two curving wings like the

claws of a crab thrown out on each side so as we described before the central part of the house with its wings the the parts of the building on the side in One of These Wings the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards while the roof was partly caved in a picture of Ruin So This One Wing is all ruined the central portion was in little better repair but the right hand block presumably The West Wing was comparatively modern and the blinds in the windows with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys showed

that this was where the family resided some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall and the stone work had been broken into but there were no signs of any workmen at the moment of our visit so this is signs of the work that has caused Helen to move into the middle room Holmes walked slowly up and down the ill trimmed lawn and exam examined with deep attention the outsides of the windows this I take it belongs to the room in which you used to sleep the center one to your sisters and the one next

to the main building to Dr Roy's chamber Holmes is talking about the windows he's saying this window is for that room this one for that one and this room for Dr Roy's room window right it's basically identifying which windows are for which rooms exactly so but I am now sleeping in the middle one pending the alterations as I understand understand pending meaning while while we wait for something Helen is sleeping in the middle room while we wait for the uh building work to be done on the third room so pending the alterations as I understand

by the way there does not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end wall 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 runs 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 that side now would you have the kindness to go into your

room and bar your shutters close the shutters Holmes wants to see what it's like with the shutters closed Miss Stoner did so and Holmes after a careful examination through the open window endeavored in every way to force the shutter open but without success there was no slit through which a knife could be passed to raise the bar then with his lens he tested the hinges but they were of solid iron built firmly into the massive masonry hm said he scratching his chin in some perplexity hm my theory certainly presents some difficulty no one could pass

these shutters if they were bolted well we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the matter so basically he's decided that the shutters there's no way anyone could get through these shutters if they were closed so he's decided let's have a look on the inside maybe that will show us some something else a small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the three bedrooms opened Holmes refused to examine the third chamber so we passed at once to the second that in which Miss Stoner was now sleeping and in which her sister

had met with her fate it was a homely little room sort of like cozy and comfortable it was a homely little room with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace after the fashion of old country houses a brown chest of drawers stood in one corner a narrow white counter pained bed in another and a dressing table on the left hand side of the window these articles with two small wicker work chairs made up all the furniture in the room save for a square of Wilton Carpet in the center so this is basic room there's just

um um let's see a a a brown chest of drawers you know with drawers for keeping clothes in and stuff in one corner a narrow basically a small uh bed in the other Corner a dressing table on the left hand side of the window a table with with a window uh a table with a mirror uh for getting dressed these things these articles were together with a couple of chairs were the only things in the room except for the carpet on the in the center of the the floor the boards and the paneling of the

walls were of brown worm eaten Oak so old and discolored that it may have dated from the original building of the house so there's wooden panels um and wooden floorboards old wooden floorboards and wooden panels Holmes Drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat silent while his eyes traveled Round and Round Up and Down taking in every detail of the apartment where does that Bell communicate with he asked at last pointing to a thick Bell rope which hung down beside the bed the tassel actually lying upon the pillow this is an important detail

so in the in the olden days in those big houses sometimes there would have been a um a rope or a string hanging from the ceiling which the occupant of the room could pull and you pull the rope and it's attached to a bell in another room of the house so you pull the the rope and tining Tiny tining a bell rings somewhere in the house and it's a basically a way of saying to one of the members of Staff excuse me can you know can you help me or can I'd like I'd like a

cup of tea please or something like that so there's this there's a rope hanging down uh from the ceiling the sort of thing that you know would be attached to a bell that you would pull and ring ring ring the bell would ring okay so there's a rope hanging down and Holmes says uh where does that Bell communicate with meaning basically where is the Bell that this rope is attached to uh and she said it goes to the housekeeper's room it looks newer than the other things so this rope with a tassel at the end

a sort of a fabric thing that hangs down from the end a decorative thing on the end of it he says it looks newer looks new 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 for ourselves indeed it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell pull there you will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy self as to this floor so he wants to examine the floor now after

considering the Bell rope the Bell pull to be sort of bit unnecessary he threw himself down upon his face with his lens in his hand so that's a magnifying glass a Glass Lens that would be used to study and examine things in detail one of the things that Sherlock Holmes is famous for looking through a magnifying lens or a magnifying glass he threw himself down upon his face with his lens in his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward examining minutely the cracks between the boards then he did the same with the woodwork with which

the chamber was panel finally he walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and in running his eye up and down the wall finally he took the Bell rope in his hand and gave it a Brisk tug meaning he kind of pulled on the Rope why it's a dummy said he won't it ring no it's not even attached to a wire this is very interesting you can see now that it's fastened to a hook just above where the little opening for 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 be to open a ventilator into another room when with the same trouble he might have communicated it 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 changes carried out at about that time they seem to have been of a most interesting character dummy Bell ropes and ventilators which do not ventilate

with your permission Miss Stoner we shall now carry our researches into the inner apartment so I just need to stop there so hommes in exploring the room we talked about the Bell rope hanging down from the ceiling which normally would be connected to a bell somewhere Helen thought it was connected to a bell in the servants room but when homes pulled the Rope he realized it was a a dummy it's a fake rope it's a fake Bell rope and it's not attached to anything it's just attached to a hook in the ceiling next to where

there is a v ventilation shaft so ventilation this is basically something that allows air normally ventilation would allow fresh air into a room and it would be maybe a little cover or a little hole in the wall with a little uh Shaft or a small uh opening which would probably connect to the outside to allow air to come into the room it's important to keep an air a room aired but this particular ventilator doesn't connect with the outside it connects with the next room so there's a a sort of little passage a very small passage

that goes from the ceiling of uh this bedroom into the next room into Dr Roy's room and hanging down next to this little opening the ventilator hanging down from there is this rope H very strange okay and um it turns out Helen says that these changes these things the ventilator the Rope were all fairly recent additions to the room Dr grimby Roy's chamber was larger than that of his stepdaughter they're now examining Dr Rim Dr Grimsby Roy's room it was larger than that of his stepdaughter but was as plainly furnished a camp bed a small

wooden Shelf full of books mostly of a technical character an armchair beside the bed a plain wooden chair against the wall a round table and a large iron safe were the principal things which met the eye um a safe by the way is a large heavy metal box that would be used to keep um like Precious items when you have a when you go to a hotel room usually there's a little metal safe in the room with a B beep like a little digital um keypad on it and you know you enter the right code

and the safe opens so so this kind of safe probably a large metal box heavy metal door there's a safe in there as well these are the first things that you can see Holmes walked slowly round and examined each and all of them with the keenest interest what's in here he asked tapping the safe uh my stepfather's business papers oh oh you've seen inside then only once uh 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 a cat well look at

this he took up a small saucer of milk which stood on the top of it it's a little little saucer little small bowl or plate full of milk was sitting on top of the s no we don't keep a cat but there is a cheetah and a baboon ah yes of course well a cheater is just a big cat and yet a sorcerer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants I dare say there is one point which I should wish to determine he squatted down in front of the wooden chair and

examined the seat of it with the greatest attention thank you that is quite settled said he Rising and putting his lens in his pocket oh hello here's something interesting the object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on one corner of the bed I suppose a dog dog lash is like a dog leash sort of thing that you would fit around the neck of a dog to take it for a walk small dog lash was hung on one corner of the bed the Lash however was curled upon itself and tied so

as to make a loop of of whip cord so the the Lash is curled around on itself so there's a loop at the end which you could kind of open or close 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 a clever man turns his brains to Crime it is the worst of all I think that I've seen enough now miss Stoner and with your permission we shall walk

out upon the lawn so they're now going to go outside onto the grass I had never seen my friend's face so Grim or his brow so dark as it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation so Holmes is looking very serious we'd walked several times up and down the lawn neither Miss Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he roused himself from his Ry so they walked up and down the grass and Miss Stoner and Watson did not interrupt homes they didn't want to interrupt him they didn't want

to disturb him break into his thoughts before he kind of woke himself up from his kind of Daydream his thinking process it is very essential Miss Stoner said he that you should absolutely follow my advice in every respect I shall most certainly do so the matter is too serious for any hesitation your life may depend on your compliance I assure you that I'm in your hands in the first place both my friend and I must spend the night in your room both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in in astonishment they looked at him

like what yes it must be so let me explain I believe that that is the Village Inn over there meaning that's the the local pub and hotel over there yes yes that's the crown very good your windows would be visible from there certainly so basically uh is that the local pub and hotel yes it is and would we be would would it be possible to see your windows from that place and she says yes you must confine yourself to your room on pretense of a headache when your stepfather comes back then when you hear him

retire for the night you must open the shutters of your window undo the hasp put your lamp there as a signal to us and then withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want into the room which you used to occupy I have no doubt that in spite of the repairs you could manage there for one night oh yes easily the rest you will leave in our hands okay so uh Holmes is saying to uh Miss um Stoner that she has to go into her room and stay there until she thinks that uh do

the doctor has uh kind of gone to bed and then she has to open the window and open the shutter and with her lamp give a signal to Holmes and Watson who will be in the the pub or the hotel um over the road or whatever so that they can see and then she's going to go with anything she needs into the third room where she's going to spend the night and she's going to leave the window open of the second room and then Watson and Holmes are going to sneak into the room and stay

there in order to see what's going on but what will you do we shall spend the night in your room and we shall investigate the cause of this noise which has Disturbed you I believe Mr Holmes that you have already made up your mind said Miss Stoner laying her hand upon my companion's sleeve perhaps I have then for pity's sake tell me what was the cause of my sister's death I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak you can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct and if she died from

some sudden fright no I do not think so I think that there was probably some more tangible cause and now miss Stoner we must leave you for if Dr royet returned and S us our journey would be in vain goodbye and be brave for if you will do what I have told you you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers that threaten you Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and sitting room at the Crown Inn they were on the Upper Floor and from our window we could

command a view of the Avenue gate and of the inhabited wing of stoke Moran manor house at dusk we saw Dr grimesby royet drive past his huge for looming up beside the little figure of the lad who drove him the boy driving the uh the cart driving the taxi the boy had some slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates and we heard the horse Roar of the doctor's voice and saw the Fury with which he shook his clenched fists at him like come along boy get on with it so he could they noticed Dr

royet shouting at the boy couldn't open the gate the Trap drove on and a few minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as the lamp was lit in one of the sitting rooms do you know Watson said Holmes as we sat together in the Gathering Darkness I have really some Scruples as to taking you tonight there is a distinct element of danger so Holmes is saying you know I'm not sure I should bring you tonight because it could be really dangerous and and Watson says can I be of assistance holes

says your presence might be invaluable meaning your presence might be really important you might be very helpful then I shall certainly come it is very kind of you you speak of danger you have evidently seen more in these rooms than was visible to me no but I fancy that I may have deduced a little 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 so what has homes deduced what do you think he's seen

this rope that doesn't seem to be doing anything hanging down from this hole in the ceiling which is connects to uh Roy let's room what about the whistle heard in the middle of the night what about the clanging of the the metal there is a metal safe in Roy's room what caused Julie is death what's going on you saw the ventilator too yes but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to have a small opening between two rooms it was so small that a rat could hardly pass through I knew

that we should find a ventilator before we ever came to stoke Moran my dear Holmes oh yes I did you remember in her statement she said that her sister could smell Dr Roy let's cigar now of course of course that suggested at once there must be a communication between the two rooms It could only be a small one or it would have been remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry I deduced a ventilator but what harm can there be in that well there is at least a curious Coincidence of dates a ventilator is made a cord

is hung and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies does that not strike you I cannot as yet see any connection Did You observe anything very peculiar about that bed uh no it was clamped to the floor did you ever see a bed fastened like that before meaning it was like attached to the floor uh I cannot say that I have the lady could not move her bed it must always be in the same relative position to the ventilator and to the Rope or so we may call it since it was clearly never meant

for a bellpull Holmes I cried I seem to see dimly what you're hinting at we're only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime subtle enough and horrible enough when a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals he has nerve and he has knowledge Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession this man strikes even deeper but I think Watson that we shall be able to strike deeper still so basically Holmes is saying that when a doctor becomes a criminal they become like the the kind of the first

of all the criminals because they have nerve meaning they have the kind of calmness of a doctor and they have the knowledge the medical knowledge of how the Body Works Palmer and Pritchard these are kind of like serial killers from the Victorian era who were both doctors as well um Palmer and Pritchard are examples of like doctors who killed people but this man strikes even deeper but I think Watson that we shall be able to strike deeper still but we shall have Horrors enough before the night is over for goodness sake let us have a

quiet pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more cheerful so he's saying it's going to be we're going to see some horrific things tonight so let's just relax for the moment and smoke a pipe and just chill out a bit next let's move on about 9:00 the light among the trees was extinguished so Roy let's light in the sitting room went out and all was dark in the direction of the manor house two hours passed slowly away and then suddenly just at the stroke of 11 a single bright light Shone out

right in front of us that is our signal said Holmes springing to his feet it comes from the middle window that means it's Helen as we passed out meaning as we left he exchanged a few words with the landlord explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance and that it was possible that we might spend the night there a moment later we were out on the dark Road a chill wind blowing in our faces and one yellow light twinkling in front of us through the Gloom to guide us on our somber

errand so they went outside following the light from the window there was little difficulty in entering the grounds for unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall so I mean it was easy to get into the grounds of the house because of these big holes in the wall making our way among the trees we reached the lawn and crossed it and were about to enter through the window when out from a clump of Laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child who threw itself upon the grass with writhing Limbs and

then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness so they were just about to enter the window when they saw something jumping out from behind one of the bushes it looked like some sort of horrible distorted child who jumped onto the grass with sort of horribly writhing moving arms and ran quickly across the lawn my God I whispered did you see it what was this weird sort of monster Holmes was for the moment as startled as eyes so they both look kind of shocked by this startled by it 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 so they just had a close encounter with the with the baboon that lived at the house this weird monkey I'd forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected there was a cheater too perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment I confess that I felt easier in my mind when after following Holmes's example and slipping off my shoes I found myself inside the bedroom

my companion noiselessly closed the shutters moved the lamp onto the table and cast his eyes around the room all was as we had seen it in the daytime then creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand he whispered into my ear again so gently that it was all that I could do to distinguish the words the least sound would be fatal to our plans 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 you in that chair I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table Holmes had brought up a long thin cane like a long thin stick and this he placed upon the bed beside him by it he laid the box of matches and the stump of a candle then he turned turned down the lamp and we were left in darkness how shall I ever forget that Dreadful vigil I

could not hear a sound not even the drawing of a breath and yet I knew that my companions sat open eyed within a few feet of me in the same state of nervous tension in which I was myself the shutters cut off the least ray of light and we waited in absolute Darkness so by the way at this point they are in the bedroom in complete darkness Watson is sitting in the chair he has the gun uh on the side next to him and Holmes is sitting I think on the bed uh he's got a

wooden cane a kind of long wooden thin wooden stick which he's put on the side table and a box of matches and a little candle which I guess he can light quickly in order to illuminate the room and they're sitting in absolute silence because obviously next door there's Dr royet who doesn't know that they're there and they're going to wait and see what's going to happen from outside came the occasional Cry of a nightbird and once at our very window a long drawn cat-like wine something like that which told us that the cheater was indeed

at Liberty it's told us that the cheeter was free just roaming around freely far away we could hear the Deep tones of the Parish clock which boomed out every quarter of an hour so they could hear the sounds of the the clock from the church how long they seemed those quarters every 15 minutes 12 struck and one and two and three and still we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the direction of the ventilator which vanished immediately but was succeeded by a strong smell

of burning oil and heated metal someone in the Next Room had lit a dark Lantern I heard a gentle sound of movement and then all was silent once more though the smell grew stronger for half an hour I sat with straining ears then suddenly another sound became audible a very gentle soothing sound like that of a small jet of steam escaping continually from a kettle the instant that we heard it Holmes sprang from the bed struck a match and lashed furiously with his Cane at the Bell pull so he starts whacking the rope with his

with his um with his wooden stick you see it Watson he yelled you see it but I saw nothing at the moment when Holmes struck the light I heard a low clear whistle but the sudden glare flashing into my weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my friend lashed so savagely so he couldn't see exactly what it was that Holmes was trying to hit with this stick what he was lashing I could however see that his face was deadly pale and filled with horror and Loathing so he could

see Holmes's face and Holmes is terrified while he's trying to hit this thing whatever it is he had ceased to strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when suddenly there broke from The Silence of the night the most horrible cry to which I have ever listened it swelled up louder and louder a horse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled in the one Dreadful shriek so Horse by the way refers to the sound of someone's throat this this is a horse sounding voice so it's not like a not one of those horses

horse spelled h o a r s e a horse yell meaning a sound made by someone's voice so they suddenly in the middle of this the night this after this strange moment has occurred they hear this horrible scream this horrible cry something like that a horse yell of pain and fear fear and anger all mingled in one Dreadful shriek like that they say that away down in the village and even in the distant parsonage where the Parson lives where the local priest lives that cry raised the sleepers from their beds it struck cold to our

hearts and I stood gazing at homes and he at me until the last Echoes of it had died away into the Silence from which it Rose so they just stood they sat there staring at each other while they um no no Arnold schwarzeneger involved in this anyway 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 roylets room with a grave face like with a serious face he lit the lamp and led the way

down the corridor twice he struck at the chamber door without any reply from within then he turned the handle and entered I at his heels with the cocked pistol in my hand it was a singular sight which met our eyes meaning a sort of like unique sight on the table stood a dark lantern with the shutter half open throwing a brilliant beam of light upon the iron safe the door of which was a jar so if um if the door is a jar it means it's slightly open beside this table on the wooden chair sat

Mr grimesby royet clad in a long gray dressing gown his bare ankles prot protruding beneath and his feet thrust into red heel Turkish slippers so grimesby royet is sitting in this chair across his lap lay the short stock with the long lash which we had noticed during the day so this is that short like kind of like dog leash with a little loop on the end that's lying on on on his on his lap in front of him his chin was cocked upward and his eyes were fixed in a dreadful rigid stare at the corner

of the ceiling so he his face is like locked in this stare staring at the ceiling round his brow so around the sort of front of the top of his head above his eyes like where someone like where a tennis player would wear a headband so round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band with brownish Speckles which seemed to be bound tightly around his head there's something kind of wrapped around his head as we entered he made neither sound nor motion so he didn't make a sound and he didn't move the band The Speckled

Band whispered Holmes I took a step forward in an instant his strange headgear this strange thing around his head began to move and there reared itself from among his hair the squat diamond shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent so this Speckled Band what looked like a band around his head suddenly started to move and then from his hair this the head of a snake moved upwards it is a swamp Adder cried Holmes the deadliest snake in India he has died within 10 seconds of being bitten violence does in truth recall coil upon

the violent and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another so this is the solution to this whole mystery it's a snake the Speckled Band is the body of a snake and it's this snake which royet has been using as a kind of weapon this has actually bitten him let us thrust this creature back into its den and we can then remove Miss Stoner to some place of shelter and let the County Police know what has happened so Holmes wants to put the snake back into the safe as he spoke he drew

the dog whip swiftly from the dead man's lap and throwing the Noose around the reptile's neck he drew it from its horrid perch and carrying it at arms length threw it into the iron safe which he closed upon it poor snake it's not his fault is it such are the true facts of the death of Dr grimesby royet of stoke Moran it is not necessary that I should prolong a narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl how we conveyed her by

the morning train to the care of her good aunt in Harrow of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet the little which I had yet to learn of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we traveled back the next day I had said he come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows my dear Watson how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data so basically he's saying he he he he'd got the wrong conclusion he he

come to the wrong conclusion about this which shows that it's it's dangerous to make your conclusions from when you don't have enough data the presence of the gypsies and the use of the word band which was used by the poor girl no doubt to explain the appearance which she had caught A hurried glimpse of by the light of her match were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent scent is smell so a bit like a dog would would be sniffing for a smell to you know to investigate something something something can put you

on the wrong scent meaning can sort of uh send you on the wrong line of of of inquiry um I can only claim the merits that I instantly reconsidered my position when however it became clear to me that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not come either from the window or the door my attention was speedily drawn as I have already remarked to you to this ventilator and to the Bell rope which hung down to the bed the discovery that this was a dummy meing a fake one and that the bed was

clamped to the floor instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the Rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed the idea of a snake instantly occurred to me and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supply of creatures from India I felt that I was probably on the right track the idea of using a form of poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless man

who had had an Eastern training the rapidity with which such a poison would take effect would also from his point of view be an advantage it would be a sharp eyed coroner indeed who could distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where the poison fangs had done their work then I thought of the whistle of course he must recall the snake before the Morning Light revealed it to the victim he had trained it probably by the use of the milk which we saw to return to him when summoned he would put it through

this ventilator at the hour that he thought best with the certainty that it would crawl down the rope and land on the bed it might or might not bite the occupant perhaps she might Escape Escape every night for a week but sooner or later she must fall a victim I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his room an inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in the habit of standing on it which of course would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator the sight of the

safe the sorcer of milk and the loop of whip cord were enough to finally dispel any doubts which may have remained the metallic clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant having once made up my mind you know the steps which I took in order to put the matter to the proof I heard the creature hiss as I have no doubt that you did also and I instantly lit the light and attacked it poor snake with the result of driving it through

the ventilator and also with the result of causing it to turn upon its Master at the other side some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper so that it flew upon the first person it saw in this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr grimesby Roy's death and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience right that's the end so that's where Holmes explained what happened that he is indirectly responsible for uh Roy let's death so what happened is that they were

in the room royet woke up at 3:30 a.m. or whatever and decided now was the time to send the snake into the room which apparently he did every night hoping that he would um just like he'd done with Julia bring about her death bringing about her death he would do the same thing to Helen now that she was engaged to be married right this was his way of secretly killing her in a way that no doctor could identify you know quite a plan so he trained the snake he trained the snake to go through the

ventilator and down the the Rope somehow he'd been using the little bowl of milk to help train the snake I don't know can you train a snake I I suppose you can I mean you see snake Charmers and things they can do apparently he learned some of these tricks in his time in India how to train a snake I don't know you have to to an extent you have to kind of be willing to go along with the story you have to suspend your disbelief in some of these situations and just enjoy the the story

so he trained the snake to go through the ventilator and down the Rope where it would then drop onto the bed and sooner or later it would bite the occupant and then I suppose with the little whistle he would call the snake back through the ventilator where he would then put it into the safe where no one could see it um this is what he tried to do but Holmes and Watson were in the room this time Holmes heard the the hissing sound of the snake he already knew that it was a snake he' deduced

this he'd worked this out so he hit the snake the poor snake I know he hit the snake with the stick the snake got really angry and went back through the ventilator and just attacked the first human that it saw which was um royet in this case royet got bitten by his own uh his own snake so the violence which he'd been dealing out upon the girls in the end um returned to attack him so he was victim of his own violence um and Hol says although I was indirectly responsible for Dr Roy's death I

don't this is not likely to weigh very heavily on my conscience so it's not going to be on his conscience he's not going to feel guilty about it because he as far as Holmes is concerned justice has been done the the police decided that um royet um died due to an accident with him you know playing with his pet snake and that's that okay listeners did you manage to follow this some people are currently just skeletons in front of their um you know computers or or their phones or whatever I don't know but then a

lot of you aren't so if you are not a skeleton then good for you you survived all the way through I hope you enjoyed the story I hope my explanations have helped what I'm going to do now just at the end is kind of just give you a whole a summary of the whole story in chronological order this will just take a couple of minutes this is in my words a summary of the whole chronology of this story so the royet family were one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon families in England a noble family kind of

connected to the royal family that's what a no that's what the nobility is upper class Noble family like the family in Downtown Abbey right that's another Noble family uh so that's the royet family but over successive Generations the family's Fortune that's their money and the land that they owned their Fortune had been lost and so when grimesby royet inherited the estate there was almost no money left almost no land left except the house and its ground which were in very bad condition and grimesby Royer is the the sole remaining heir of of the um of

the estate his just just him grimesby decided that he needed to learn professional skills in order to earn money so he trained to be a doctor he moved to India where he lived and practiced as a doctor while living there he married a woman who had two twin daughters Julia and Helen they became his step-daughters now grimesby was a very nasty and mean man like his ancestors apparently apparently he was sort of like ran in the family and he got in trouble when he had a furious argument with his Indian Butler over some robberies in

the house and he killed him he beat him to death he's a murderer he spent time in prison in India because of this before moving back to England with his wife and his two stepdaughters now his wife later died in a train accident so grimesby was left to live in the old house with his stepdaughters now grimsby's time in India and in prison and the death of his wife had changed him he became even more bad-tempered more aggressive and antisocial he had violent encounters with almost everyone he met his habits were strange he kept several

exotic and dangerous animals which he had acquired in India and often let them move freely in the House and Garden and he befriend he befriended some gypsies traveling people he let them stay on his land and would sometimes go and stay with them in their tents these are the only people he socialized with the two stepdaughters had inherited some money when their mother died and clearly grimesby wanted this money when one of the girls got engaged grimesby pretended to be happy with the engagement but secretly he planned to have the girl killed so he could

take her inheritance so he could take her inheritance money cuz without it he would be almost penniless he planned her murder very carefully so that nobody could understand how it had happened or that he was the murderer now there's one problem here I suppose it seems Seems obvious that he did it right anyone looking at the situation you would think well it's he's clearly the number one suspect clear motive and no other obvious cause of death everyone would definitely assume it was him but I suppose without enough evidence then there's nothing that could be done

you know to put him in prison but he's clearly number one uh suspect right I mean he's already committed murder in the past he's a absolutely horrible uh cruel and violent scumbag so it's he's definitely going to do it he's definitely going to be the one who did it but um I guess without the evidence no one can can prosecute him right that's probably the thing I suppose his cruelty and evil were more powerful forces in him than his intelligence or reason I suppose now as well as the baboon and the cheetah grimesby had also

acquired a very poisonous snake which he kept in a safe in his room uh Holmes described it as a swamp Adder apparently there's no such snake in India as a swamp Adder probably the closest thing would be the Cobra something like that anyway he trained the snake to go into Julia's room where it would probably bite her he installed a ventilation shaft which connected the two rooms actually just to allow the snake to move into Julia's room and back again and hung a bellpull rope from the ceiling next to the ventilation hole which hung down

onto Julia's bed he trained the snake to go through the ventilation shaft Slither down the rope and onto the bed where it would bite Julia and then when he whistled the snake would come back up the Rope through the ventilator and back into his bedroom the bed in Julia's room was attached to the floor making sure that it was always in the right position for the Rope grimesby used a dog leash with a loop in it to catch the snake and move it around putting it back into the safe this is what he did and

this is how Julia was killed her sister Helen heard her scream when she was bitten and rushed to help her she heard the sound of grimesby in the Next Room closing the heavy metal door of the safe where the snake was kept while dying Julia said something about the Speckled Band she was trying to describe the snake to trying to describe what it looked like when her body was examined nobody thought about the possibility of a snake bite and didn't notice the small holes where the snake's fangs had bitten her snake bites are not common

in the UK and so nobody would consider this or notice it the Venom of this snake is instantly lethal and also no tests for poison would have detected it so it's kind of like this perfect crime in a way when Helen got engaged to after several years of living this terrifying life subjected to grimes's cruel treatment her stepfather also accepted the proposal but then planned to kill Helen in the same way the idiot he pretended to start repair work on the wall of the house making Helen move into the middle bedroom the one with the

bellpull Rope attached bed etc and there he tried his plan again Helen heard uh the sound of grimesby calling to the snake uh right the whistle but was she wasn't bitten feeling terrified and not understanding the situation she went to Sherlock Holmes for help Holmes thought that the gypsies might be involved perhaps working for grimesby and entering Julia's bedroom through the window and doing something he thought the word band in Speckled Band meant a band of people a band of gypsies a group of gypsies maybe but this was a red herring a red herring by

the way is something that leads you in the wrong direction like a thing that distracts you from the real solution or the real uh answer to the mystery so it's a piece of evidence which distracts you away from the truth that's a red herring Herring is a kind of fish so the gypsies were actually a red herring the dangerous animals the cheetah and the baboon were also a red Herring kind of neither of them were actually involved in The Killing but it did make holes realize that perhaps grimesby had other dangerous animals in this case

a snake which could be trained to enter the room and bite the victim so it helped Holmes deduce that it was a snake that was involved especially when you consider the the ventilation shaft Holmes and Watson went to the house while grimesby wasn't there and investigated homes noticed these things there was no way to enter the window from the outside there were no secret doors or trap doors in the room also the chimney was not you couldn't get through the chimney the Bell pull rope was fake it wasn't attached to a bell and was just

hooked to the ceiling next to the ventilator opening the ventilator didn't communicate with the outside which would be normal to get fresh air but instead with Grimes be's room the bed was attached to the floor under the ventilator and rope so Holmes worked out that clearly whatever happened it it was not anyone entering the room it was something else and all the the the the Rope the bed the ventilator all helped homes to deduce or work out that clearly grimesby was sending something through the ventilator and down the Rope a snake seemed to be the

obvious uh answer in grimes's room there was the other end of the ventilator shaft there was a closed safe on the floor with a sorcer of milk on top there was a dog leash tied in a loop it it was clear that grimesby used to stand on the chair regularly Holmes worked out that this was so grimesby could put in this case a snake into the ventilator using the dog leash Holmes decided that they needed to spend a night in the room to see what would happen so Holmes could see if a snake would come

from the ceiling so when grimesby had settled in his room um Helen opened the window moved to the other room and Holmes and Watson climbed in through the open window and waited ently at about 3:00 a.m. they noticed Grimes be's light turning on eventually they heard the snake coming through the ventilator hissing as it came Holmes was ready and attacked the snake with a cane poor snake the snake went back through the ventilator and bit grimesby in his room grimesby screamed and died Holmes decided although he'd indirectly led to grimes's death that he wouldn't feel

guilty about it because Justice had been done and that is that thank you for listening I hope you enjoyed it don't forget you can get the PDF from the whole text that I've just been reading from uh in the link in the description or on my website if you want to like check out specific words and things but overall I just really hope you enjoyed this classic Sherlock Holmes story leave your comments in the comments section did you did you work out what was going on did you know what was going to happen are you

as clever as Sherlock Holmes uh what did you think any idea just leave your thoughts in the comments section and uh if you made it this far I don't know what what what what what what let's say leave a comment about Justice something to do with Justice and by the way Helen uh eventually went and lived with her aunt in Harrow U which seemed to be a much happier existence so leave a comment mentioning Justice in the uh comment section if you got this far I really hope you enjoyed that I really enjoyed reading it

to you I will speak to you again in the next episode but for now it's just time to say goodbye bye bye bye bye