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 Last Word (Greene short story) though he is frustrated by the modern world's skepticism, he believes that that very skepticism may yet be what keeps Christianity alive. The Last Word (Greene short story) "The Last Word" is a short story by author Graham Greene, written in 1988 (see 1988 in literature). It first appeared in "The Independent" but can also be found in collections of his short fiction, notably the Penguin edition of "The Last Word and Other Stories", for which it is the lead story. The story, written toward the end of Greene's life, reflects his frustration at the declining influence of religion, particularly