Suddenly a dark shape ran in front of us. It was like a child
with very long arms. But it was not a child. I felt very afraid.
'What was that, Holmes?' I asked.
Holmes laughed quietly.
'It was one of Dr Roylott's animals,' he said. 'That was the
baboon.'
We reached the house and climbed through the window, into
Julia's bedroom. Holmes closed the window. Then he whispered
in my ear.
'We must put out the light, Watson. Dr Roylott might see the
light through the ventilator.'
I took my gun out of my pocket and put it on the table. Holmes
had brought a long, thin stick with him. He put this stick on the
bed. He put a box of matches beside the stick. I put out the lamp
and we waited.
I shall never forget that terrible night. We were in complete
darkness and we knew we mustn't make a sound. We heard the
bell in the village clock. It struck midnight, then one o'clock, two
o'clock, three o'clock . . . Still we waited.
Suddenly I saw a light shining through the ventilator. Somebody
in Dr Roylott's room had lit a lamp. I heard someone moving
about quietly. Then everything was silent again. Another half
hour passed.
Then I heard a strange noise - a very soft, hissing noise. The
noise was near us in the room. Holmes jumped up and lit a match.
Immediately, I heard a low, clear whistle.
Suddenly Holmes began hitting the bell-rope with his stick.
By the light of the match, I saw his face. It was full of horror.
'Do you see it, Watson?' he shouted.
But I saw nothing. Holmes stopped hitting the bell-rope and
gazed up at the ventilator.
Suddenly we heard a dreadful cry — a cry of pain and terror. I
felt cold and sick with fear.
'What was that cry?' I whispered.