So you see why Dr. Roylott wanted Julia and Helen dead.

“We had better get going, Watson. And I would like it very much if you would bring your gun.”

We went down to Waterloo Station. We caught the next train out. Then we found a horse and cart to take us to Stoke Moran.

Helen Stoner met us at the Stoke Moran gate. “I have been waiting for you!” she cried.

“Don’t worry,” said Holmes. “We will soon get to the bottom of this. Now, please show me the house.”

Helen Stoner showed us where the bedrooms were. First Holmes walked along the outside of the house. He looked at the windows. He asked Miss Stoner to go into her own room and close the windows. Then he tried to get in. He had no luck.

Next we went to the room where Julia Stoner had died. It was a small room with a low ceiling. Holmes sat down on one of the chairs. He looked the whole room over. He did not speak for a while.

“Why, here is a bellpull,” he said. He pointed to a long rope on the wall. “In what part of the house does the bell ring?”

“Downstairs,” Helen Stoner said. “My stepfather put it in two years ago. The bell is for calling the servants. But we never use it.”

Holmes walked over to the bellpull. He gave it a strong tug. “Why, it is a dummy,” he said. “It doesn’t even ring. See? It just hangs from that wire up there. The wire above the air vent.

“And by the way—what is that air vent doing up there? An air hole should go to the outside. That one seems to go into the next room. Hmm. I think I shall have a look.”

We went into Dr.