“Did you see that, Watson? Did you see it?" he asked me. But I couldn't see anything. When Holmes lit the match, I had heard a low whistle. But I could not see what Holmes had hit. I could, however, see that his face was deadly pale and filled with horror.
We stood very still and a short time later, we heard a terrible scream. The sound made my blood run cold. They say that people heard the cry all the way down in the village. I still have nightmares thinking about it.
"What was that scream?" I asked.
“It means this case is all over now," Holmes informed me. "Come with me to the doctor's room. And bring your gun."
A strange sight met my eyes. We noticed that the safe was now open. The doctor was sitting in the wooden chair that we had seen earlier that day. The small dog leash was in his lap.
He was dead and his eyes were looking toward the ceiling. Wrapped around his head, we could see a yellow creature with brown spots.
"That is the speckled band," declared Holmes. The band began to move. It lifted its head. Tt was a snake!
"It is a swamp adder from India. It is the most dangerous snake in India," said Holmes. "Let's put it back into the cage."
Holmes picked up the leash. He looped it around the snake's head. He carried the snake to the safe and closed the door.