The father dies from the bite of his own snake, due to Holmes lashing out at the snake and sending it back up the rope, where the stepfather was waiting for him. This gives the stepfather a taste of his own medicine, he dies the same way he killed Helen's sister. For example, Watson states: “His chin was turned up and his eyes were fixed in a terrible, rigid gaze towards the corner of the ceiling. Around his forehead he had a strange yellow band, with brownish specks, which seemed to be tied tightly around his head. When we entered it made no sound or movement. (Doyle, 155-156) This statement explains the timing of the stepfather's death, and also reveals how the stepfather killed him, with a deadly snake. The death of the stepfather helps to leave the reader satisfied because he knows that the stepfather can no longer kill, so there will be no more murders at his hands. The stepfather's death leaves the reader satisfied in the end also with the revenge aspect, the stepfather dies in the same way he killed, which can leave the reader more