The Adventure at Baskerville Hall & Other Cases

that it would crawl down the rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but sooner or later she must fall a victim.
    "I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant. Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the light and attacked it."
    "With the result of driving it through the ventilator."
    "And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's death, but I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience," he finished, stretching luxuriantly before re-settling himself on top of me.
    "You are a marvel."
    I smiled up at our ceiling, dimly lit with wisps of early morning sunshine, giddy with delight at the extraordinary man tucked close against my side. His cheek bunched against my shoulder as he grinned to himself, but when he spoke his voice had its usual dryly humour tone.
    "You flatter me, my boy. I have explained my methods to you dozens of times by now, and I daresay that after a few dozen more such demonstrations then you will see that it is something you could do yourself, if you were willing to take the time to draw inferences from your observations, and you will finish by concluding that I am a very ordinary sort of fellow after all."
    "That is utterly ridiculous," I declared stoutly. "I shall do no such thing. You amaze me."
    I squeezed his shoulders with the arm I had wrapped around them, and hesitated. I had been turning over an idea in my head for some months now, but was not sure how he would react to it, or how best to introduce the subject.
    "Spit it out, whatever it is." Holmes's voice startled me out of my thoughts, and he raised his tousled head to look at me, amusement quirking his mouth. "I can feel the tension in your muscles, not to mention the way you're fiddling with that loose thread on your dressing-gown. What is it?"
    It was impossible to keep secrets around the man, and I took my courage in both hands as I said, shyly, "What would you say if I ... that is, I have lately been thinking of writing up some of your cases and ... perhaps ... submitting them for publication."
    It was half a question and half a hesitant declaration, and I did not realise that I was holding my breath until he said, "That sounds like an excellent idea," and it left my lungs in a rush.
    "Really? You think so?"
    "I do. I can give you the addresses of several journals that I'm sure would be interested in publishing further articles on the science of deduction."
    I shifted uncomfortably, staring intently at the tiny freckle on his collarbone as I admitted, "Actually, I was not thinking of that. I was thinking more of popular reading, that might have a more general appeal. I thought I would try Punch , or the Strand magazine. That sort of thing."
    "Oh." He sounded taken aback. "You mean popular stories, rather than scientific articles?"
    "Well, yes," I said, still looking at his neck and not daring to lift my eyes to his face. "But if you would rather I didn't, then naturally, my dear chap, I would never dream of–"
    He cut me short with a kiss, and when we separated he said warmly, "By all means."
    "Truly?" I looked searchingly at him, and saw nothing but good humour. "You wouldn't mind?"
    "I truly wouldn't mind," he mimicked me, but without malice. "If it would make you happy, then you should certainly do it."
    I grinned at him in relief, and he smiled back at me and added, "Although you may want to make some judicious amendments – I'm not sure that what I said upon seeing that wretched animal last night is entirely suitable for the pages of a family magazine."
    I laughed aloud. "No, indeed. Not to mention