"I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but her knees gave way and she fell to the ground. She twisted in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully cramped. At first I thought that she did not know me, but as I bent over her she suddenly screamed out in a voice that I shall never forget: 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!' She tried to say something more, and she pointed her finger towards the doctor's room, but a new attack seized her and stopped her words. I ran out, calling loudly for my stepfather. He came running from his room in his dressing gown. When he reached my sister she was unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical help from the village, she died without recovering. The police could find nothing. The doors had been locked from the inside, the windows were barred with old shutters, and the walls and floor were solid. She had been alone when she met her end."