New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-04-03

however. see that his face was deadly paie' ana
filled with horror and onthing Sd was gazing up at
,, ne yent;ator when suddenly there broke from
the silence Of the night the most h11ii" aSdo.
which have ever lstenca. i. Sw1n sear and ANGER
ali mingled in the one dreadful shrek Ihey say
that away down in the village, ana even IN sne
distant tS ,rc Sf cold to our hearts and
| stood gazing at Holmes, and he at me, unlu .l,e
last echoes of it had died away into tine sienoe
from which it rose ,.d
at means that it is all over Holmes answered:
And perhaps after all, it is for tlle Des.,
your pistol and we s shall III nfef The amS and led the
way down the corridor Twice he struck az tno
chamber door without any reply from Willis W. hs bees
he turned the handle and entered, III ITO neeiS
with the cooked pistol In my hahd
Il was a singular sight which met our eyes: IN
the table stood dark lantern win tie shu,sen
half open, throwing brilliant beam OF ne"i po aIJ
the iron safe. the door of which was a1ar BESIDE
this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr UrlmeS S.
Roylott clad in long gray dressing gown 9rn mis
bare ankles beneath ana his ro des' his aU
law the short stock with the long lash which we
had noticed during the day. His chin was cooked
Reid stare at the corner of the ceiling. Round his
brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with brown-
isb speckles which seemed to be bound tightly
round his head. As we entered ne made nei'net
THE band the specded band!' whispered
Holmes. ,..
took a step forward In an instant his strange
headgear began to move, and there reared itself
from among his hair the squat diamOnd-shaped
head and pulled neck of loathsome serpent. a.,.
deadIiest snake in India. lie has died within ten
seconds of being bitten. Violence, does, in truth,
recoil upon the violent, and the schemer lais INTO
the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust
this creature back into its den, and we can then
remove Miss Stoner 10 some place of shelter, ana
let the county police know what has happened. ,,
IL ha tl,a 0,ub in
the dead mans lap, and throwing the moose rouho
the reptiles neck, he drew it from its horrid perch,
and carrying it at arms length, trew IL INTO the
iron safe which he closed upon II.
Such are the true facts Of the death Of DR..
Grimesby Roylott of Stoke Moran. II is not
necessary that should prolons narrative when
has already run TO too great length Dy teiling
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 at Harrow, of how the slow
process of official inquiry came to the conclusion
that the doctor met his fate While iniiscreetly
PLAYING with a dangerous pct. The little which
had yet TO learn of the case was told me by Sher-
lock Holmes as we travelled back next Day
Il had" said he, come TO entirely erroneous
conclusion, which shows, my dear Watson, how
dangerous it always il to reason from insufficient
data. The presence Of the gypsics, and the use OF
the word band which was used by the poor girl:
no doubt, TO explain the appearan which she had
caught II hurried glimpse OF by the light OF her
match were sufficient to put me upon an entirely
wrong scent. / can only claim the merit that
instantly reconsdered 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. Ny attention was speedily drawn, as !
have already remarked TO You, to this ventator,
and t. the bell rope which hung down to tho
bed. The discovery that this dummy. and
that the bed was clampcd 10 the hoor instantly
gave rise 10 the suspicion that the rope was there
as briGge for something passing through the
hole and coming 10 the bed. The idea OF
snake instantly occurred TO me, and when
coupled it with my knowledge that the Doctor
was furnished with a supply Of creatures from
India ! felt that | was probably on the right
track The idea of using form Of poison which
could not possibly be discovered by any chemical
test was just such a one a. would occur TO
clever and ruthless man who had had an Eastern
training. Tie rapidity with which such a poison
would take effect would also. from his point OF
vieg, lie an advantage. IL would be sharp
eyed coroner, indeed, who could distinguish the
two little dark punctLres which would show where
the poison fangs had done their work. Then :!
thought OF The whistle. OF course he must recall
the snake before the morning light revealed II 10
use OF the milk which we saw. 10 return 10 him
when summoned. lie would put it through this
vcntiator al the hour he thought best, with the
certainty that il would crawl down the rope. aud
land the bed. II might or might not bite the
occupant, perhaps She might escape every night
for a week, but sooner or later she must fall
a victim.
Il had come 10 these conclusions before ever
I had entered this room. An inspection Of his
chair showed the that he had been in the
habit of standing it. which. of course. would
he necessary in order that he should reach the
ventilator. The sight of the safe. the saucer OF
milk and the loop Of whipcord were enough TO
dispel finally any doubts which may have re-
NAMED The metallic clang heard by, Miss
Stoner was obviously caused by her father hastily
closing the door of his safe upon Its terrible
occupant. Having made mp my mind. you
know the steps / took in order 10 put the mat:
ter to the proof | heard the creature hiss, as
have doubt that yon did also. and instantly
lii the light and attacked it..
with the result of driving it through tho
vcntator7
And also with the result of causing ii TO turn
upon It's master AZ the other side. Some OF the
blows Of my cane came home. and reused us
snakish temper, so that il flew upon the hrst
person il saw. In this way | am no doubt indi-
rrctlv responsible for DR.. Grimesbv Eoylotts
death, and | cannot say that IL is likely TO
weigh very heavily upon my conscience. 1.-The
Strand Magazine