This, as satisfying of an end as it is in theory, left a lot of questions in my mind. What would be done with the money and property since Miss Stoner is still unmarried? What would be done with the exotic animals?

Though Sherlock hints to there being some sort of knowledge from the doctor's serving, even he doesn't put together what exactly that could be or mean in relation to the murder until it is upon them

Quotes like this in Sherlock mysteries always leave me wondering when exactly the detective settles upon the murderer and how he gathers enough information in order to make that decision without building a case around the wrong person like is commonly seen in real world mysteries and murders.

By this point, I really see Sherlock beginning to create a narrative for Miss Stoner's stepfather previous attack and how he's beginning to set up the next one

At this point, Sherlock really started leaning into the idea of it being the stepfather, but with no proof and no evidence of him having murdered Miss Stoner's sister, he had nothing to stand on for accusation.

This outburst made me think of the British TV show "Father Brown's Murder Mysteries." This show is chalk full of a meddling Catholic priest who goes behind investigator's the same way Sherlock does and accomplishes the same thing: finding the real murderer and solving unsolvable cases. I wonder if Sherlock was a inspiration for the Father Brown series.

Again, another hint is thrown to the fact that the stepfather would have killed through straight brutality and not a cunning way like the snake he choose.

By this point, I'll admit, I was just as shocked as Watson was when the speckled band meaning was finally reviled. I wonder if the mystery seems silly in countries where this is a known name for the deadly snake

Sherlock, at this time, obviously had come to the point in which he knew that Miss Stoner's sister had not died of some fright and Miss Stoner was currently in danger of her clever and criminal stepfather. I do think that Sherlock has a point here, and again, I wonder if the doctor hadn't tried to murder Miss Stoner if he ever would have gotten caught due to his cleverness in the crime itself.

When reading this part of the story, I was sure the stepfather was involved, though I was off on how he did it. I imagined that the ventilator and dummy bell-rope was to administer some type of poison to the bed waiting down below, but I was off on what type. Thinking back to our story of "Skin Deep," I imagined it was some sort of poison in which would drip down the bell-rope and soak into the victim below. That theory did have a few holes, however, like where would excess poison go? How did the inspectors on the case miss it? The real poison method makes much more sense

This piece of the puzzle completely through me off, however, because I assumed from the mentioned fits of rage that if the stepfather had indeed killed Miss Stoner's sister, it would be a rough physical act. I do wonder what the violence stems from and whether or not it would be recognized as a mental health issue in today's times

This section was one of the very obvious hints to me that the stepfather was very obviously involved in some way. Just as Miss Stoner's sister had begun hearing the snakes whistle shortly after a marriage proposal, now Miss Stoner hears it herself at night. She, like her sister, had been avoiding death for at least two nights now since she moved into her sister's room, which is some time considering how lethal this snake proved to be on its two victims.

Like Sherlock, when I originally read this I thought back to the gypsies that were mentioned to have stayed on the Stoner's fields. Though there definitely was hints towards it being another exotic animal as I reread the story, like Sherlock and Holmes, my exotic animal nickname knowledge is a little rusty and I was just as confused at the outburst. I do wonder why - aside from dramatics - the woman wouldn't just scream "snake"?

After coming to the end of the story when you find out about the trained snake, this bit of conversation between the two sisters is much more sad. Miss Stoner's sister had escaped death for a few nights at least, having the snake be called back into the doctor's room in the morning, but eventually had been bitten. The patience that the man had was the key to him getting away with his crime. If he had not attempted to strike again on Miss Stoner, I doubt he'd ever had gotten caught

Whenever I read set ups like this within a mystery, I go back to my original introduction to mysteries: Scooby Doo. Just as the plot begins to unfold, Fred always whipped out a blue print of the house in which they were at and they began plans for a trap of some sort. This is further related when Sherlock and Watson wait as a trap for the doctor, albeit they were a little surprised by who showed up and there was no one to unmask at the end.

This immediately stuck out to me as an odd detail - as well as something to be jealous of since I've always wanted exotic pets. Previously it's mentioned that the doctor married Mrs. Stoner in India while they were both there, so this love might have come about naturally, but became much more sinister in the end for the two sisters.

This, like many mysteries and murders, had a common motive: greed. Dr. Roylott had been so driven to keep the sum of money that Mrs. Stoner had left to him that the thought of giving even the small sum of it to the woman as they married was too much for him. Though it was made entirely clear that he could survive just fine off the sum that remained for him, he still went through with the malicious plan to murder his remaining family.

This whole line and point of Miss Stoner really ripped at me the first time I read through it. It's clear she lost her only real connection when her sister passed, but having no explanation to it and feeling the fear now for herself, she's become overwhelmed. Being isolated and having no one to talk to about these fear, the man she refers to in this statement only makes sense to be her stepfather, who then of course assures her that her worries are eccentric and nothing to really be concerned with. This plays into the stepfather as not only being cunning in the murder of Miss Stoner's sister, but also the cover up, leading him to try again as Miss Stoner approaches marriage herself.

This is an interesting description of Sherlock to me, as I was introduced to a more eccentric and cold version through modern media. Robert Downing Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch both play the character in such a brilliant but sociopath way that to have him be soothing and care for the woman (albeit while taking in clues) was a bit of a shock!

Turning back to our discussions on the language of our stories, this line stood out immediately. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the official meaning is, "knock at someone's door." There is a second definition labeled "vulgar slang" that gives the definition I'm more familiar with: "make a woman pregnant." throughout these research challenges I've become more and more interested on how language changes over time and distance, and how new slang or terms take over the original definition of words like in this instance!

Looking back over our term's stories in which we've read, I think this quote just about sums them all up! Ranging from a classic Sherlock Holmes to skin-crawlers, I've definitely been introduced to more variety in this class than any English class before, which is surprising as we're staying pretty tight into one genre!