The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Dr. Roylott has required Helen Stonor, an heiress, to move into a particular bedroom of his heavily mortgaged ancestral home, Stoke Moran. In addition to the fact that this was the room in which Helen's twin sister, Julia, had recently died under mysterious and dramatic circumstances, uttering the last words "The band! The speckled band!" A number of details about the bedroom are mysterious and disturbing. Helen has heard a low whistling sound late at night, followed by a metallic clang. There is a strange bell cord over the bed, and it does not seem to work any bell. The rope goes to a ventilator - an opening high in the wall of the room, close to the ceiling, which provides air circulation between Helen's room and an adjacent room of the crumbling mansion. In addition, Helen's bed is also clamped to the floor; this vital piece of furniture can never be moved from its position. Stoner surmises that Julia might have been murdered by the gypsies who wear speckled handkerchiefs around their necks; in order to bring in a bit of cash Dr. Roylott has rented spare rooms in Stoke Moran to them. A cheetah and a baboon also have the run of the property, for Dr. Roylott keeps exotic pets from India. Helen feels reluctant to sleep in the room. After Helen leaves, Dr. Roylott comes to visit Holmes, having traced his stepdaughter. He demands to know what Helen has said to Holmes, but Holmes refuses to say. Dr. Roylott bends an ironfireplace poker into a curve in an attempt to intimidate Holmes, but Holmes is unaffected as he maintains a rather jovial demeanor during the encounter. After Roylott leaves, Holmes straightens the poker out again. Having arranged for Helen to spend the night in another bedroom, Holmes and Watson sneak into her bedroom without Dr. Roylott's knowledge. Holmes says that he has already deduced the solution to the mystery, and this test of his theory turns out to be successful. They hear the whistle, and Holmes also sees what the bell cord is really for, although Watson does not. Julia's last words about a "speckled band" were in fact describing "a swamp adder, the deadliest snake in India". The adjacent room was occupied by Dr. Roylott and a safe containing the venomous snake, and the ventilator and bell cord were bridges for the snake to land on the bed. After the swamp adder bit Julia, he called off the snake with the whistling, which made the snake climb up through the bell cord, disappearing from the scene. Now the swamp adder is sent again through the ventilator by Dr. Roylott to kill Julia's sister Helen. Holmes attacks the snake with a walking stick, sending it through the hole in the wall back toward its home in the physician's room. A shriek is heard, and the annoyed reptile is soon found to have injected its venom into the murderous physician; when Holmes and Watson enter the death scene, the swamp adder has wound its body around the head of its victim in triumph. Holmes grimly notes that he is indirectly responsible for Dr. Roylott's decease, but that he is unlikely to feel much guilt over the chain of events that led to his departure from this world.

Dr. Roylott ha requerido Helen Stonor, una rica heredera, para pasar a una habitacin particular de su hogar ancestral fuertemente hipotecada, Stoke Moran. Adems del hecho de que sta era la habitacin en la que la hermana gemela de Helen, Julia, haba muerto recientemente en circunstancias misteriosas y dramtico, pronunciando las ltimas palabras ", la banda! La banda de lunares!" Una serie de detalles acerca de la habitacin es misterioso e inquietante. Helen ha escuchado un sonido bajo silbando por la noche, seguido de un ruido metlico. Hay un cable de timbre extrao encima de la cama, y no parece funcionar cualquier campana. La cuerda se va a un ventilador - una abertura de alto en la pared de la sala, cerca del techo, lo que proporciona la circulacin de aire entre la habitacin de Helen y una habitacin contigua de la mansin en ruinas. Adems, la cama de Helen tambin se sujeta al suelo, esta pieza vital de los muebles no se puede mover de su posicin. Stoner conjetura que Julia podra haber sido asesinado por los gitanos que llevan pauelos manchados en el cuello, con el fin de traer un poco de dinero en efectivo Dr. Roylott ha alquilado habitaciones libres en Stoke Moran a ellos. Un guepardo y un babuino tambin tienen los dueos de la propiedad, por el Dr. Roylott mantiene animales exticos de la India. Helen se siente renuente a dormir en la habitacin. Despus de Helen hojas, Dr. Roylott viene a visitar a Holmes, despus de haber trazado su hijastra. l exige saber lo que Helen ha dicho a Holmes, pero Holmes se niega a decir. Dr. Roylott dobla un atizador de hierro en una curva, en un intento de intimidar a Holmes, pero Holmes no se ve afectada ya que mantiene una actitud ms jovial durante el encuentro. Despus Roylott hojas, Holmes endereza el poker de nuevo. Habiendo arreglado para Helen a pasar la noche en otra habitacin, Holmes y Watson colarse en su habitacin sin el conocimiento del Dr. Roylott. Holmes dice que ya ha deducido la solucin al misterio, y esta prueba de su teora resulta ser un xito. Ellos oyen el silbato, y Holmes tambin ve lo que el cordn de la campanilla es realmente para, aunque Watson no. Las ltimas palabras de Julia sobre una "banda de lunares" eran en realidad describiendo "un pantano serpiente, la serpiente ms mortal en la India". La habitacin contigua estaba ocupada por el Dr. Roylott y que contiene una caja fuerte de la serpiente venenosa, y el cable del ventilador y la campana son puentes para que la serpiente a la tierra en la cama. Despus de que el pantano serpiente poco Julia, que decidi sacarlo de la serpiente con el silbido, que hizo que la serpiente subir a travs del cordn de la campanilla, desapareciendo de la escena. Ahora la vbora del pantano se enva de nuevo a travs del ventilador por el Dr. Roylott matar de Julia hermana Helen. Holmes ataca la serpiente con un bastn, enviarlo a travs del agujero en la pared de atrs hacia su casa en la sala del mdico. Un grito se oye, y el reptil molesto pronto se descubre que ha inyectado su veneno en el mdico asesino, cuando Holmes y Watson entran en la escena de la muerte, la vbora del pantano se enrolla su cuerpo alrededor de la cabeza de su vctima en seal de triunfo. Holmes seala sombramente que es indirectamente responsable de la muerte del Dr. Roylott, pero que es poco probable que se sienten mucho sentimiento de culpa por la cadena de acontecimientos que llevaron a su salida de este mundo.