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 Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (short story) The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (short story) "The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" is a 1968 science fiction short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1969. According to Ellison, the story was intended as an experiment. It is not a sequential story but is written as though events were taking place on the rim of a wheel with everything coming together at the centre. The end result is that the structure of the story is difficult to analyse and