Unified Reworked Script: "The Adventure of False Band”/

Cast : 1) Sherlock Holmes (lead, intelligent and aloof) 2. Dr. John Watson (loyal sidekick) 3. Helen
Stoner 4. Dr. Grimsby Roylott (menacing villain) 5. Armitage (Manager) 6. Gypsy Head & Julia Stoner
ACT I: SCENE 1: 221B BAKER STREET:
(Sound cue: Rain patters against the window. Warm amber lights up. HOLMES enters stage left, plays a
melancholic violin tune by the mantelpiece. WATSON enters, arranges a tea tray/ Newspaper )
WATSON: Another sleepless night, Holmes? You have been restless since the Boscombe Valley case?
HOLMES: (Sets violin down studying letter with Mglass) Sleep is for the untroubled mind. Watson. See
this letter—observe the smudgy ink, the uneven script. Written by a trembling hand as if terrified, from
Surrey. She'll arrive in...(checks pocket watch) ..precisely two minutes.
WATSON: Good Heavens. But how do you possibly know that someone is coming?
HOLMES: Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary. The desperation in every line suggests immediate
action. The postmark is Leatherhead that’s from Surrey. The paper is quite expensive but creased as if
hurriedly pocketed/tucked in haste. And the faint lavender scent means a lady of refinement but under
stress. She should arrive in..precisely now
Watson: Marvellous, this is what I admire about you, Holmes. How do you infer so many things without
seeing a person?
Holmes: Very easy, Watson. Observation is the key, Nothing escapes the trained eye. The way you draw
conclusions from our sessions & from your patients, I too rely on observation. Now could you open the
door, I believe we have a visitor who is really in hurry. (hurried footsteps followed by a calling bell)
W: is it?(opens door)
Helen(trembling): Are you Mr. Holmes? I urgently need your help., plz help me. I hardly know how to
begin..
HOLMES: Good morning, Ms Helen Stoner of Stroke Moran. Please be seated. You have travelled far..
Helen:(surprised) yes but how could you possibly?
Watson: Holmes, this is clearly in shock.. Ms Stoner, when did you last eat? Your pale features suggests
acute stress possible from prolonged anxiety.
Holmes(Sharp Look) yes, like your left sleeve bears a mild grease mark- which means Railway carriage
seat. & The fresh mud on your shoe is from a station path due to last night’s rain but the other sleeve is
dry, meaning you carried an umbrella in that hand.
Most importantly, Ms Stoner your bag has your name written elen Stoner, possibly the 1st letter got erased
or fell down. Am I right Ms Stoner in my deduction?
Helen: (smiling but amazed) I had heard of your powers Mr Holmes but this is beyond belief!
Watson: Don’t be surprised Ms Stoner, I guess Holmes has much to say..
HOLMES: You have recently changed your room in your house. Your right shoulder sits higher than your
left-it looks you have been sleeping on a different mattress & You are engaged to be [Link]
congratulations Ms Stoner.
Watson: now this is too much Holmes!
Helen: You are absolutely right Mr Holmes.
Holmes: (RING on finger) Thank you. The paleness on your ring finger suggests a recent removal of a
family ring, (showing)replaced by an engagement ring which you are wearing now.
Watson: Sit, Miss Stoner. You are safe here. Start from the beginning & omit no detail.
Holmes: yes, Remember, Fear is the enemy of clarity. & courage can illuminate the darkest mystery.
HELEN: (Trembling, sitting. Have vulnerability with shaky voice & gestures.)
I live at Stroke Moran with my stepfather, Dr. Grimson Roylott. He keeps many creatures like Cheetah,
Baboon even poisonous snakes. My sister Julia also died there two years ago ago..under mysterious
situation. Her last words about a “speckled band’ & a whistling sound in the night.
Watson: What were the official findings?
Helen: Dr Roylott has considerable influence. The inquest ruled it natural death-heart failure from
unknown causes. But Julia was healthy. There were swellings, redness on her body. & now?
Holmes: now you hear the same whistles?
Helen: yes, last night & for the past few days..My own room is under repair so I was shifted into her
room. The sound come exactly @3.17am @night.I noted the time. I am going to be married & I fear the
same fate. There are some Gypsies in front of our house. They have some supernatural powers. They can
do anything.
WATSON: timing is hardly coincidental.
Holmes: Watson, my dear let's not occupy ourselves with motives until we have facts. You said there’re
Gypsys on the estate? &
Helen: Yes! Doctor Roylott allows them to camp on the grounds. They were spotted bands, even Julia was
terrified with them.
Watson: Speckled band or Gypsy Curse?
Homes: Superstition blinds our mind Watson. Curses do not leave marks but some poisons do. Is there
anyone else who resides there?
Helen: Cook and maid sleep in a separate wing. Our manager Mr. Armitage, he manages all the household
work including repair. He is a sincere man.
Watson: Tell us precisely about your room? Anything suspicious?
Helen: yes, There is a bell rope frayed/worn out at the edge. But its not in use. & a small hole above the
bed, a ventilator, but it leads only to my stepfathers room & there is a Clamped bed also.
Holmes: Astute observations! You yourself possess the mind of a detective yourself. A ventilator between
bedrooms? Unnatural. Why not to fresh air? And the rope—does it ring? Or for something to climb. even
the bed is fixed below the vent and rope. A decoy? Or a careful plan for murder?
WATSON: Air flow, perhaps?
HOLMES: Or something deadlier to pass through. Did you find any marks on Julia’s dead body?
Helen: Only fear, nothing else. Her eyes were diluted as if she was terrified! I have inherited this
analytical nature from my mother.
Holmes: The inheritance? What happens when you marry?
Helen: Under mothers will Dr Roylott controls our fortune unless we are unmarried wards.
Holmes: A substantial motive for murder.
Watson: Did she have any swelling or redness in her body?
Helen: I clearly don’t remember. But could it be those gypsies on the estate? I heard they can curse &
bring ill luck..
HOLMES: (Leans forward, eyes narrowing, Taps fingers on desk.) What kind of a man is your
stepfather? Was he fond of Julia & u?
HELEN: Cruel, insensitive words will be less for him. For his own profit he can go to any extent.
Helen: My stepfather is a man of bad temper. You don’t know him!!
Watson: Do you remember anything she told you before dying? & Who can kill you? why?
HELEN: She told me once that she has a secret admirer but who that she never told me. But she told me
about the whistle, her fear, speckled band.. I really don’t know. Please save me.
HOLMES: Good, Leave everything as it is. Return home we will follow.
(Thunderous knock. DR. ROYLOTT bursts in with a walking stick with initials & limping.)
ROYLOTT(staggered): I should have known that after your sisters death , you have become
uncontrollable & now running to the strangers for family matters!!Shame on you!
Helen: Im just seeking justice for my sister...father..
Roylott: Justice? She suffered hereditary nervous conditions just as your poor mother did. I have all the
records. & you think your marriage will free you from me?
HOLMES: Patience Doctor Roylott, have some patience. Your walking stick bears your initials, You walk
with a limp-may be an old wound, received from your own creatures. Clay from Stroke Moran still on
your boot so your journey was hurried, may be you were following Miss. Stoner. & your coat smells of
wild beats-which means you live among jungle animals more than men. You've come far to threaten us!
Leave, before I make you.
ROYLOTT: (Staggered.) Enough of your whims & fancies! I don’t care!
HELEN: He's simply a monster. (sobs)!!
HOLMES: Don’t worry Ms Stoner. You may leave now. We will see justice [Link], bring my
revolver. We’ll depart for Stoke Moran at once.
(Lighting cue: Lights fade on left stage. Sound cue: Train whistle, rain. )
Act 2 -Stroke Moran -Julia's Bedroom (Scene 1)
ACTION + DROP PAPER:
A lonely road, dim light. One cloaked man/men block their path.
Holmes(Walking): Dr Roylott has established his menacing nature while providing medical explanations
for Julia’s death. Note this Watson.
Miscreant 1: (Rough Voice) Stop here or Better go back. Stroke Moran is no place for strangers.
Watson: What do you want? We have business here. Let us go now.
M1/2: Go back or let your business be ur last/ or you will regret it. Dont mess with Dr. Roylott.
Holmes: (calm) Really Dr. Roylott has sent you? Or someone else pays for this trickery? Someone who
wants us to believe Roylott is dangerous enough to hire thugs. /When a man sends others to frighten, its
he who trembles the most.
M1: Im not bound to tell you that. Stroke Moran is not a good place for you.
Holmes: How much did he pay you? We can pay you the double if you tell us his name?
M1: You think Im stupid? All your nonsense wont work here..Holmes? (FIGHT ENSUES)
I wont leave you, neither Roylott will!!(Screams b4 escape, drops a paper)
Watson: Ruffians/hooligans. This proves his guilt. So its Roylott behind this nasty game?
Holmes: (picking paper quietly) Or may be someone else trying to frame Roylott! Quite a easy target, you
see.
Watson: Yes, “All that glitters is not gold, Often have you heard that told!
Holmes: Merchant of Venice! WS!! Bravo my dear watson..Proof of fear, not guilt & fear often leaves
traces. (pockets a scrap of paper)
Watson: What’s that?
Holmes: “Feed at midnight & whistle twice”(aside)
Watson: confused) Feed what?
Homes: “To be or not to be, that’s the question here.”(Hamlet)
Watson: Since when you have become a poet Holmes!
Holmes: Come, lets go.
(Outside Stroke Moran: Watson goes to question the Head Gypsy. Holmes is nearby examining the
ground with MG. )
Watson: Good evening sir. Are you the head of Gypsy?
Gypsy head: yes.. I am You.
Watson: No, not me. You?
Gypsy head: yes, I am you.
Watson: Just answer the question. The matter is very serious. who are you?
Gypsy head: I have told you already.
Watson: Are you deaf?
Gypsy head: No, You is blind.
Watson I am not blind but you are!!
Gypsy head: that's Right,
Watson: So you are me?
GH: No, I am you.
Watson: that's what I just said who are you?
GH: I am you.
Watson: then if you are you, who am I? (flustered)
GH: you are not you! I am you.
Watson: Holmes, this fellow insists he is me.
Homes: (dryly) impossible Watson. you are you & he is you.
Watson: now, this is absurd.(Helen comes on stage)
Holmes: We have wasted enough time Watson. now let's go. (Helen guides Holmes &Watson into house.)
STROKE MORAN
(Room setup: Bed clamped to floor, Dummy Bell Rope, Ventilator, Small table /Almirah. Dim blue green
light Holmes examining the room with magnifying glass and Watson testing various things.)
Helen: This is where Julia died.
Holmes: (studying ventilator closely) This vent, See the scratches around the edges of the vent. something
sliding down repeatedly. Looks quite deliberate. Ms Helen was right in her observation.
Watson: Even the bed is clamped/fixed to the floor, very difficult to move. Right under the ventilator &
bell rope..
Homes: Observe Watson, This vent not leading outside but straight into Doctor Roylott’s room. All details
seem quite unnatural.
Watson: yes, very strange and highly suspicious. Holmes.
Holmes: (examining the bell rope with MG) Watson when did you last see a bell rope that does not ring?
Watson:(examining) Its not even connected to anything. It’s a decoy. It sways freely but rings no bell in
the house.
Holmes: Observe Watson, the fresh oil stains on the rope yet it connects to nothing. It has been used
recently but not for calling the servants! & this ventilator? It leads not to fresh air but to Roylott’s room.
Strange! (faint whistle sound)
Watson: The sound Ms Stoner described..
Holmes: all freeze!
Helen: Precisely what Julia heard b4 she died.
Holmes: (making notes) Something travels this route regularly or trained to respond to a whistle. Watson,
your medical opinion-what could kill leaving no obvious marks?
Watson: certain exotic venoms. They cause cardiac arrest, paralysis. Death appears natural unless one
knows what to look for.
Watson: Have you noticed this milk, Holmes? Quite fresh & warm. yet no cat in the house, quite strange.
Helen: (nervously) My step father keeps wild pets perhaps it was for them.
Holmes: (cold smile) Perhaps! or perhaps a mask for something more darker. Or Maybe a snake.
(He kneels by the bed inspecting floor, picks a small torn piece of paper below the bed& holds up)
Watson: What's this? Holmes?
Holmes: A fragment torn from a diary. “If I cant have you , no one shall” neat handwriting, not of
Roylotts.
Armitage: (enters with tea service) Ms Helen, are you alright? I thought your guests might need some
light refreshments. I heard some noise..
Holmes: How thoughtful- you are?
Armitage: Im the Estate Manager. My name is Armitage. I maintain the accounts & oversee repairs. Old
house groan more than men you see..
Helen: He was devoted to our family since long..
Holmes: Who ordered the bed clamped to the floor?
Armitage: Dr, Roylott. He does not like unsteady beds.
Watson: Do you know Julia?
Armitage: very well. She was very kind.
Watson: Were you fond of her?
Armitage: We all were..I blame myself. I should have protected her better. Dr Roylott’s experiments, his
wild beasts..I tried to warn her but she is so trusting..
Watson: Do you know who killed Julia or evn trying to kill Helen?
Armitage: but that was 2 years ago. & Ms Helen also dint share anything with me!!
Holmes: Mr. Armitage, you managed this estate. you know every room, every passage.
Armitej: that's my job Mr.?
Holmes: Holmes. I am Sherlock Holmes.
Armitage: Mr Roylott is also ageing. I just try to help everyone.
Holmes: Of course, Your handwriting is so neat: you keep ledgers/bills? I like to see the order that moved
Ms Stoner from her room into this one.
Armitage: Yes, I will bring it.
Holmes: By the way you know Ms Helen has a secret admirer with whom she got engaged. (Armitage
hands over them from his pocket.)
Watson: Ledger gaps-sums withdrawn, no receipts. irregular withdrawls. Embezzlement?
Holmes:(finds a fragment of diary) most illuminating, A diary entry, torn & discarded: “If I cant gave you,
no one shall”
Watson: The handwriting appears disguised. deliberately obscured.
Holmes: and you Ms Stoner? Your tales of whistles & shadows were too vivid perhaps too vivid.
Who is your secret admirer? Or you wanted to frame your stepfather? We have asked people around. They
said you & your sister always fought! On the day of her death also you fought with her? Fo what?
Watson: Is it money? Or the secret admirer? Or jealousy?
Holmes: Say Ms stoner. Say-Don’t be quiet! You killer her? You wanted all the share of money? When
you left that day, one scrap of paper fell down from your bag, “Im sorry Julia!” I know it was your
handwriting.
Helen: I told you the truth. I am the victim here. you forgot I went to you?
Watson: May be to avoid suspicion.
Homes: I found this locket in your drawer. (Take out locket from pocket & show) It's Julia’s. her photo is
here. How come it's with you? Were you jealous of her? Did you kill your own sister?
Helen: (Sobbing ) I was jealous of her beauty. but murder? Never. Mr Holmes, never! I only wanted safety
nothing else, that’s why I went to you as I fear somebody is trying to kill me.
Watson: Did Julia tell you anything? Did you see the killer? Tell me Ms stoner. We can save you. Tell us
the truth.
Helen: (Sobbing)Vaguely, I saw someone that day but couldn't recognize, so picked up the locket. I dint
kill her-Holmes-I dint plz save me..plz..(show vulnerability & shakiness, break down& sob)
Watson: How to trust a woman who is jealous of our own sister Ms. Stoner?
Roylott: (slamming the door growling) Still poking about? I see. Found anything to satisfy your morbid
curiosity?
Watson: Only questions Doctor. About your specialized knowledge of exotic venoms.
Roylott: 20 years among the deadliest creatures. Each gteaches one their ways..
Helen: Father please. Mr Holmes is trying to find out the truth..
Roylott: Ay!! Truth, my foot! You think a bit of cord, a vent will prove me guilty? Nonsense!!Remember
Roylott does not leave any traces behind..Im quite a hard nut to crack!! Rather I tried to protect Helen
after Julia died.
Watson: You tried to protect her?
Roylott: yes, but I failed! & now the same monster stalks Helen. That’s why im so protective. Cant loose
another!!but you people like you all are trying to frame me? I wont tolerate all these. Just get out of here
now. Helen why did you bring all these jackals into my affairs?
Holmes: Mr. Roylott, Ms Stoner has called us & that’s why we are here. But if you keep threatening us
then I have a revolver too.
Roylott: Growls in anger!!
Holmes: Armitage said, this rope having fresh oil stains, fixed bed, vents leading to your room-everything
is your doing?
Roylott : maintenance, repairs nothing else!!
Watson: Or to get a serpent/snake come down easily through this? Why don you keep strange creatures?
Whaty do you do with them?
Holmes: We have got some bottles. I believe they have deadly venom inside. Im sure they are poisons
even test reports will certify that..
Roylott: That’s for medicines!
Holmes: Or to kill Julia? & now Helen? Like you tried to get me killed by sending your men.
Roylott: Who told you this? If you can then prove that I have killed Julia.
Watson: Killing Julia then Helen would clear out your way to get good fortune?/ So Julia’s death kept the
money in ur grasp & now Helen approaching her wedding. Quite easy to finish & get everything, no?
Holmes: then you are become the sole survivor to inherit all the money left by their mother.
Watson: then who killed Julia and even trying to kill Helen? or Helen is lying? I am so confused.
Holmes: this is what I need for my brain to work smoothly.
Watson: Mr. Armitage? Helen? Or Dr Roylott? Who? Holmes?
Holmes: One of them killed Julia. I have already sent Julia’s confession from her diary, which mentions
who killed Julia to the handwriting expert of Police. Tomorrow I will get the result & we will come to
know the name of the killer.
Watson: So no curse? no snake? only jealousy & cowerdice?
Holmes: Tonight The Killer will strike again my dear Watson so stay alert now let's go. (aside to Watson)
Scene 2 Ambush scene
(Stage total dark. Helen on her bed. Dims light. total silence. door cracks open. (wooden creaking sound)
Watson: Are you sure, Holmes? (whispers) is the killer going to come tonight? Is it calm before the storm?
Holmes: just keep watching. I have placed the bait already.
(Hold 5secs of tense silence. A faint whistle sound. A latch click. Footsteps. A masked man enters with a
knife. Stabs the bed violently)
Masked man/ hooded man: Should have done this long ago. too many risks.. too many questions.. (stabs
thrice the bed violently &hissed) sorry, my dear. now sleep forever.
Holmes:(commanding) enough you stabbing at pillows not flesh, my dear killer. H&W seizes him, brief
struggle, W grabs his arm, H disarms & pulls the mask, the dagger falls down
Helen: Armitage? Its you? (surprised&shocked)
Armitage:(desperate) Yes I killed Julia with poisons made by Roylott. I thought He would only kill for
inheritance but I saw how protective he was towards both of them. He is a fool, just can growl but not kill.
Holmes:you killed Julia because she rejected you or there is something more to it?& why Helen?
Armitage: I loved Julia dearly but she laughed at me. & Helen was asking questions, going through Julia’s
things. She would have found out everything.
Homes: (producing diary scrap)” If I cannot have you no one shall” your own words cursed you.
Armitage: yes, I loved her but she mocked me & Helen she would expose me. She was checking her diary.
I burnt it but see, She got the fragment & gave it to you.
Watson: & accounts?
Armitage: yes, For 3 years, I have embezzled from this estate. Julia discovered the discrepancies in the
ledgers/accounts. So I wanted to marry her but she chose another. After marriage she would have exposed
me.
Watson: You played the loyal servant but your own handwriting betrayed you. We have found the whistle,
the mechanical snake from your room which you used to implicate Roylott & placed in his room as well.
Helen? That was all your doing? I trusted you!!
Holmes: You hid in Roylott’s shadow/ behind his rage. You oiled the rope, fed the snake, placed the milk
& let the snake pass through Juila’s room to kill her cruelly?
Watson: So you poisoned her! That was your solution?
Holmes: U used Roylott’s anger as your mask. But masks fall and the law sees the face Beneath!
Armitage: I knew Roylott’s reputation would make him the perfect suspect. The volatile stepfather, the
animal expert, the man who would gain from financially from their deaths. I had no choice. Im sorry!!
(Sobs)
Holmes: But you were the one who truly benefitted with both sisters dead & Roylott hanged for murder...
Watson: almost a perfect crime, Holmes
Armitage: Yes, I would inherit the control of the estate as the longest serving, perfectly legal.
Mr Roylott: I don’t hate them, just wanted to protect them! & got a pretense of wild beasts so that nobody
marries them & I get to enjoy a good fortune/inheritance all my life.
Holmes: I know that Mr Roylott. You have no gain killing these sisters as all the fortunes will slip out of
your hand in that case.
Watson: So the serpent of the stroke Moran was no beast?
Holmes: No, my dear Watson, it was indeed a man, not myth, poisoned by jealousy & greed.
Helen: Many thanks, Mr. Holmes & Dr Watson. You saved my life & gave Julia peace.
Holmes: Your courage brought you here, we only followed. Now live life feely without fear.
Helen: I will finally be free to marry w/o fear & live life without shadows. Thank you.
Watson: A cruel case yet ended with justice.
Holmes: Be aware of serpent closer to your heart (to audience), Ms Stoner.
& my dear Watson justice is seldom kind but always clear. (She exits, Holmes picks up violin. Lights &
curtain fall.)
THE END