The Adventure of the Speckled Band that of Dr Roylott. Holmes and Watson arrange to spend the night in Helen's room. In darkness they wait; suddenly, a slight metallic noise and a dim light through the ventilator prompt Holmes to action. Quickly lighting a candle, he discovers on the bell cord the "speckled band"—a venomous snake. He strikes the snake with a stick, driving it back through the ventilator. Agitated, it attacks Roylott, who had been waiting for it to return after killing Helen. Holmes identifies the snake as a "swamp adder" and reveals to Watson the motive: the late wife's will had provided an annual
The Stray Dog (short story collection) The Stray Dog (short story collection) The Stray Dog (, "Sag-e Velgard") is a 1942 short story collection by Iranian author Sadegh Hedayat. "The Stray Dog" was first published by the Bazargani Nejat publication in Tehran in 1942. It consists of eight short stories and is Sadegh Hedayat's last short story collection. The exact writing time of these short stories is unknown today, however based on what Hadayat had written in his letters, it is believed that most of these short stories had been written before 1942. Before 1942, Hedayat wasn't able to publish anything, because of Reza Shah's censorship