The Adventure of the Speckled Band

These were the strange last words spoken by Helen Stoner's twin sister Julia as she lay, collapsed and dying, just two weeks before her wedding. Helen has approached Sherlock Holmes because her stepfather, Grimesby Roylott, owner of a decrepit old manse, has moved her into her sister's room just a month before her own wedding, saying her own room needs "repairs." Now some of the strange, night-time events which mystified her sister just before her death are occurring again. Strange, low whistles occurring around 3:00 a.m., Roylott's baboon and cheetah prowling freely in the dark, a band of gypsies camping on the property, and mysterious clangings have left Helen terrified. The appearance of Roylott at Holmes's Baker Street residence, where he threatens Holmes physically and bends a fire poker in half to show his strength, make Holmes even more determined to help Helen to protect herself from this maniac. After Watson and Holmes gain admittance to Helen's quarters one night, they make additional observations--a bell pull which is not attached to any wiring, a new ventilator, a sound like a steam valve, and a bed that is anchored to the floor. How could all these weird observations be related "the speckled band"? As always, the melodrama of events is set into sharp relief by Holmes's rational deductions. Doyle's well known ability to build suspense by capitalizing on the fears of his characters (and his readers), his use of vivid dialogue, his imaginative descriptions, and the quick pace of the action make this story compelling reading. The real mystery is not who killed Julia Stoner (and threatens Helen), but how the murder took place, and in this respect "Speckled Band" is one of Doyle's most elaborately constructed and most fascinating stories. Reputed to have been Doyle's own favorite story, it is the only mystery which Doyle himself adapted successfully for the stage. Mary Whipple