Section 4 Summary

Alone with Watson, Holmes asks the good doctor for his opinion. Watson thinks through the facts. He responds that if there was no way into the bedroom, Julia must have been alone when she died. Holmes asks about the other evidence—the whistles, the metallic clang, and the words of the dying woman. Watson pleads ignorance, so Holmes lays out a theory. Based on the provisions of Helen's mother's will Dr. Roylott has a strong motive to prevent her marriage, for he stands to lose a substantial part of his income. Holmes theorizes that the metal clanging sound could have come from one of Roylott's gypsy friends leaving Julia's room through the metal shuttered window. Watson asks how exactly the gypsy might have killed Julia. Holmes doesn't have an answer, but hopes to find one at Stoke Moran.

In that moment, their...