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Speaker 1: The Red Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle. I had

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called upon my friend mister Sherlock Holmes one day in

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the autumn of last year, and found him in deep

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conversation with a very stout, florid faced, elderly gentleman with

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fiery red hair, with an apology for my intrusion. I

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was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into

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the room and closed the door behind me. You could

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not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,

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he said cordially. I was afraid that you were engaged,

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so I am very much so then I can wait

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in the next room. Not at all this gentleman, mister

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Wilson has been my partner and helper in many of

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my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that

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he will be of the utmost use to me in yours. Also.

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The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave

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a bob of greeting with a quick, little questioning glance

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from his small, fat encircled eyes. Try the settee, said Holmes,

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relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together, as

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was his custom when in judicial moods. I know, my

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dear Watson, that you share my love of all that

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is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of

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everyday life. You've shown your relish for it by the

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enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle. And if you

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will excuse my saying so somewhat to embellish so many

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of my own little adventures, your cases have indeed been

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of the greatest interest to me, I observed. You will

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remember that I remarked the other day, just before we

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went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland,

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that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations, we must go

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to life itself, which is always far more daring than

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any effort of the imagination, A proposition which I took

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the liberty of doubting you did, doctor. But nonetheless you

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must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall

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keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your

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reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right. Now,

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mister Jobez Wilson here has been good enough to call

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upon me this morning and to begin a narrative which

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promises to be one of the most singular, which I

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have listened to for some time. You have heard me

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remark that the strangest and most unique things are very

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often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes,

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and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether

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any positive crime has been committed. As far as I

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have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether

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the present case is an instance of crime or not.

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But the course of events is certainly among the most

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singular that I have ever listened to. Perhaps, mister Wilson,

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you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative.

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I ask you not merely because my friend doctor Watson

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has not heard of the opening part, but also because

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the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to

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have every possible detail from your lips. As a rule,

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when I have heard some slight indication of the course

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of events, I am able to guide myself by the

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thousand of other similar cases which occurred to my memory.

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In the present instance, I am forced to admit that

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the facts are, to the best of my belief unique.

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The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance

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of some little pride, and pulled a dirty and wrinkled

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newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat as he

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glanced down the advertisement column with his head thrust forward

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and the paper flattened out upon his knee. I took

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a good look at the man, and endeavored, after the

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fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might

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be presented by his dress or appearance. I did not

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gain very much. However, by my inspection, our visitor bore

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every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous,

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and slow. He wore rather baggy gray shepherd's checked trouse,

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a not overclean black frock coat unbuttoned in the front,

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and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain

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and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as

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an ornament. A frayed top hat and a faded brown

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overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair

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beside him. Altogether, look as I would, there was nothing

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remarkable about the man, save his blazing red head and

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the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features.

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Mister Holmes quick eye took in my occupation, and he

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shook his head with a smile, as he noticed my

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questioning glances. Beyond the obvious facts that he has at

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some time done manual labor, that he takes snuff, that

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he is a freemason, that he has been in China,

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and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately,

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I can deduce nothing else, mister job As Wilson started

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up in his chair with his forefinger upon the paper,

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but his eyes a my companion, How in the name

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of good fortune did you know all that? Mister Holmes?

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He asked, how did you know, for example, that I

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did manual labor. It's as true as gospel, for I

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began as a ship's carpenter. Your hands, my dear sir,

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your right hand is quite a size larger than your left.

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You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed. Well.

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The snuff, then, and the freemasonry. I won't insult your

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intelligence by telling you how I read that, especially as

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rather against the strict rules of your order, you use

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an arc and compass breastpin. Ah. Of course I forgot that.

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But the writing, what else can be indicated by that

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right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the

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left one with a smooth patch near the elbow where

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you rested upon the desk. Well, but China. The fish

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that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could

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only have been done in China. I have made a

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small study of tattoo marks, and have even contributed to

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the literature of the subject. The trick of staining the

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fish's scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When,

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in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging from your

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watch chain, the matter becomes even more simple. Mister job

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As Wilson laughed heavily. Well, I never said he. I

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thought at first you had done something clever, But I

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see there was nothing in it. After all, I begin

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to think, Watson, said Holmes, that I make a mistake

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in explaining omne ignotum pro magnifico, you know, and my

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poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck

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if I am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement,

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mister Wilson, Yes, I have got it now, he answered,

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with his thick red finger planted halfway down the column.

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Here it is, this is what it began at all.

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You just read it for yourself, sir. I took the

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paper from him and read as follows to the Red

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Headed League on account of the bequest of the late

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Ezekiah Hopkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S A. There is

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now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the

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League to a salary of four pounds a week for

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purely nominal services. All Red Headed men who are sound

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in body and mind and above the age of twenty

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one years are eligible. Apply in person on Monday at

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eleven o'clock to Duncan Ross at the offices of the League,

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seven Pope's Court, Fleet Street. What on earth does this mean?

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I ejaculated after I had twice read over the extraordinary announcement.

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Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his

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habit when in high spirits. It is a little off

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the beaten track, isn't it? Said he? And now, mister Wilson,

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off you go at scratch and tell us all about yourself,

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your household, and the effect which this advertisement had upon

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your fortunes. You will first make a note doctor of

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the paper and the date. It is the Morning Chronicle

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of April twenty seventh, eighteen ninety, just two months ago,

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very good now, mister Wilson. Well, it is just as

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I have been telling you, mister Sherlock Holmes said job

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as Wilson mopping his forehead. I have a small pawnbroker's

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business at Coburg Square near the city. It's not a

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very large affair, and of late years that has not

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done more than just give me a living. I used

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to be able to keep two assistants, but now I

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only keep one, and I would have a job to

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pay him, but that he is willing to come for

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half wages so as to learn the business. What is

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the name of this obliging youth, asked Sherlock Holmes. His

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name is Vincent Spalding. And he's not such a youth either.

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It's hard to say his age. I should not wish

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a smarter assistant, mister Holmes, and I know very well

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that he could better himself and earn twice what I

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am able to give him. But after all, if he

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is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head? Why? Indeed,

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you seem most fortunate in having an employee who comes

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under the full market price. It is not a common

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experience among employers in this age. I don't know that

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your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement. Oh

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he has his faults too, said mister Wilson. Never was

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such a fellow for photography, snapping away with a camera

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when he ought to be improving his mind, and then

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diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its

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hole to develop his pictures. That is his main fault.

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But on the whole he is a good worker. There's

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no vice in him. He's still with you, I presume, yes, sir.

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He and a girl of fourteen who does a bit

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of simple cooking and keeps the place clean. That's all

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I have in the house, for I am a widower

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and never had any family. We live very quietly, sir,

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the three of us, and we keep a roof over

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our heads and pay our debts if we do nothing more.

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The the first thing that put us out was that advertisement. Spalding.

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He came down into the office just this day, eight

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weeks with this very paper in his hand, and he says,

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I wish to Lord mister Wilson that I was a

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redheaded man. Why that, I asks, Why? Says he, here's

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another vacancy on the league of the red headed Men.

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It's worth quite a little fortune to any man who

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gets it. And I understand that there are more vacancies

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than there are men, so that the trustees are at

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their wits end what to do with the money. If

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my hair would only change color, here's a nice little

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crib all ready for me to step into. Why what

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is it? Then? I asked? You? See, mister Holmes, I

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am a very stay at home man, and as my

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business came to me instead of my having to go

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to it, I was often weeks on end without putting

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my foot over the door mat. In that way, I

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didn't know much of what was going on outside, and

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I was always glad of a bit of news. Have

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you never heard of the the League of Red Headed Men?

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He asked, with his eyes open. Never. Why I wonder

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at that? For you are eligible yourself for one of

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the vacancies. And what are they worth? I asked, Oh,

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merely a couple of hundred a year. But the work

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is slight and it need not interfere very much with

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one's other occupations. Well, you can easily think that that

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made me prick up my ears, for the business has

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not been very good over some years, and an extra

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couple of hundred would have been very handy. Tell me

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all about it, said I, well, said he, showing me

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the advertisement. You can see for yourself that the league

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has a vacancy, and there is the address where you

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should go apply for particulars. As far as I can

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make out, the league was founded by an American millionaire,

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the Zekiah Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways.

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He was himself red headed, and he had a great

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sympathy for all red headed men. So when he died,

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it was found that he had left his enormous fortune

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in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the

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interest to the providing of easy births to men whose

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hair is of that color. From all I hear it

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is splendid pay and very little to do. But said I,

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there would be millions of redheaded men who would apply,

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Not so many as you might think, he answered, you see,

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it is really confined to Londoners and to grown men.

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This American had started from London when he was young,

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and he wanted to do the old town a good turn.

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Then again I have heard it no use your applying

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if your hair is light red or dark red, or

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anything but real, bright blazing fiery red. Now, if you

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cared to apply, mister Wilson, you would just walk in.

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But perhaps it would be hardly worth your while to

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put yourself out of the way for the sake of

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a few hundred pounds. Now it is a fact, gentleman,

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as you can see for yourself, that my hair is

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of a very full and rich tint. So that it

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seemed to me, if there was to be any competition

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in the matter, I stood as good a chance as

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any man that I had ever met. Vincent Spaulding seemed

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to know so much about it that I thought he

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might prove useful. So I just ordered him to put

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up the shutters for the day and to come right

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away with me. He was very willing to have a holiday,

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so he shut the business up and started off for

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the address that was given us in the advertisement. I

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never hoped to see such a sight as that again,

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mister Holmes, from north, south, east and west, every man

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who had a shade of red in his hair had

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tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. Fleet Street

240
00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,720
was choked with red headed folk, and Pope's Court looked

241
00:13:40,759 --> 00:13:43,840
like a coster's orange barrow. I should not have thought

242
00:13:43,919 --> 00:13:46,440
there were so many in the whole country as were

243
00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,879
brought together by that single advertisement, every shade of color.

244
00:13:50,919 --> 00:13:56,120
They were straw, lemon, orange, brick, irish setter, liver clay.

245
00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,759
But as Falding said, there were not many who had

246
00:13:59,799 --> 00:14:03,720
the vivid, flame colored tint. When I saw how many

247
00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,200
were waiting, I would have given it up in despair.

248
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But Spalding would not hear of it. How he did

249
00:14:09,279 --> 00:14:12,399
it I could not imagine. But he pushed and pulled

250
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,360
and butted until he got me through the crowd and

251
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,440
ride up to the steps which led to the office.

252
00:14:18,639 --> 00:14:21,120
There was a double stream upon the stairs, some going

253
00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,480
up in hope and some coming back dejected. But we

254
00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,080
wedged in as well as we could, and soon found

255
00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:31,000
ourselves in the office. Your experience has been a most

256
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,159
entertaining one, remarked Holmes, as his client paused and refreshed

257
00:14:35,159 --> 00:14:38,559
his memory with a huge pinch of snuff. Pray, continue

258
00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,320
your very interesting statement. There was nothing in the office

259
00:14:42,559 --> 00:14:45,000
but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table,

260
00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:48,000
behind which sat a small man with a head that

261
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,039
was even redder than mine. He said a few words

262
00:14:51,039 --> 00:14:53,840
to each candidate as he came up, and then he

263
00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,399
always managed to find some fault in them which would

264
00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,600
disqualify them. Getting a vacancy did not not seem to

265
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,240
be such a very easy matter after all. However, when

266
00:15:04,279 --> 00:15:07,519
our turn came, the little man was much more favorable

267
00:15:07,519 --> 00:15:09,759
to me than to any of the others, and he

268
00:15:09,799 --> 00:15:12,080
closed the door as we entered, so that he might

269
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,720
have a private word with us. This is mister job

270
00:15:15,759 --> 00:15:18,759
as Wilson, said, my assistant, and he is willing to

271
00:15:18,759 --> 00:15:22,399
fill a vacancy in the league, and he is admirably

272
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,039
suited for it. The other answered, he has every requirement.

273
00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:30,240
I cannot recall when I have seen anything so fine.

274
00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,600
He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side,

275
00:15:33,919 --> 00:15:36,720
and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful.

276
00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:42,320
Then suddenly he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated

277
00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:46,440
me warmly on my success. It would be an injustice

278
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,679
to hesitate, said he. You will, however, I am sure,

279
00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,720
excuse me for taking an obvious precaution. With that, he

280
00:15:53,799 --> 00:15:57,000
seized my hair in both his hands and tugged until

281
00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,159
I yelled with the pain. There is water in your

282
00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,399
said he as he released me. I believe that all

283
00:16:03,519 --> 00:16:06,080
is as it should be, but we have to be careful,

284
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,039
for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once

285
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,360
by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler's wax

286
00:16:12,559 --> 00:16:16,279
which would disgust you with human nature. He stepped over

287
00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,639
to the window and shouted through it at the top

288
00:16:18,679 --> 00:16:22,240
of his voice that the vacancy was filled. A groan

289
00:16:22,279 --> 00:16:25,440
of disappointment came up from below, and the folk all

290
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,320
trooped away in different directions, until there was not a

291
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,039
redhead to be seen except my own and that of

292
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,240
the manager. My name said, He is mister Duncan Ross,

293
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,559
and I am myself one of those pensioners upon the

294
00:16:38,559 --> 00:16:42,039
fund left by our noble benefactor. Are you a married man,

295
00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,960
mister Wilson, have you a family? I answered that I

296
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:51,480
had not. His face fell immediately. Dear me, he said, gravely,

297
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,480
that is very serious. Indeed, I am sorry to hear

298
00:16:54,519 --> 00:16:57,480
you say that the fund was, of course for the

299
00:16:57,519 --> 00:17:00,440
propagation and spread of the Redheads, as as well as

300
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,000
for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should

301
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,079
be a bachelor. My face linkedened at this, mister Holmes,

302
00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:09,920
for I thought that I was not to have the

303
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,240
vacancy after all, But After thinking it over for a

304
00:17:13,279 --> 00:17:15,559
few minutes, he said that it would be all right

305
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:19,559
in the case of another, said he, the objection might

306
00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,319
be fatal, but we must stretch a point in favor

307
00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:24,480
of a man with such a head of hair as yours.

308
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:29,240
When will you be able to enter upon your new duties. Well,

309
00:17:29,279 --> 00:17:32,240
it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,

310
00:17:32,279 --> 00:17:35,759
said I. Oh, never mind about that, mister Wilson, said

311
00:17:35,839 --> 00:17:38,680
Vincent Spalding. I should be able to look after that

312
00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,720
for you. What would be the hours, I asked, ten

313
00:17:42,759 --> 00:17:46,880
to two. Now, a pawnbroker's business is mostly done of

314
00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:51,160
an evening, mister Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which

315
00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,200
is just before payday, So it would suit me very

316
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,200
well to earn a little in the mornings. Besides, I

317
00:17:57,279 --> 00:17:59,440
knew that my assistant was a good man and that

318
00:17:59,519 --> 00:18:02,359
he would see you do anything that turned up. That

319
00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,039
would suit me very well, said I. And the pay

320
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,279
is four dollars a week, and the work is purely nominal.

321
00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:15,000
What do you call purely nominal? Well, you have to

322
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,119
be in the office, or at least in the building

323
00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,599
the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole

324
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,960
position forever. The will is very clear upon that point.

325
00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,839
You don't comply with the conditions if you budge from

326
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,559
the office during that time. It is only four hours

327
00:18:30,599 --> 00:18:32,960
a day, and I should not think of leaving, said I.

328
00:18:34,079 --> 00:18:37,920
No excuse will prevail, said mister duncan Ross, neither sickness,

329
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,279
nor business or anything else. There you must stay or

330
00:18:41,319 --> 00:18:45,160
you lose your billet and the work. It is to

331
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,200
copy out the Encyclopedia Britannica. There is the first volume

332
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,039
of it in that press. You must find your own ink,

333
00:18:52,279 --> 00:18:55,759
pens and blotting paper, but we provide this table and chair.

334
00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,920
Will you be ready tomorrow? Certainly? I answered, Then, good bye,

335
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,119
mister job As Wilson, and let me congratulate you once

336
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,160
more on the important position which you have been fortunate

337
00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,359
enough to gain. He bowed me out of the room,

338
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,200
and I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what

339
00:19:13,279 --> 00:19:15,359
to say or do. I was so pleased at my

340
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,680
own good fortune. Well, I thought over the matter all day,

341
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,880
and by evening I was in low spirits again, for

342
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,799
I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must

343
00:19:25,839 --> 00:19:28,559
be at some great hoax or fraud, though what its

344
00:19:28,599 --> 00:19:32,279
object might be. I could not imagine. It seemed altogether

345
00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,200
past belief that any one would make such a will,

346
00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,720
or that they would pay such a sum for doing

347
00:19:37,799 --> 00:19:43,440
anything so simple as copying out the Encyclopedia Britannica Vincents.

348
00:19:43,519 --> 00:19:45,759
Faulding did what he could to cheer me up, but

349
00:19:45,839 --> 00:19:49,839
by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing. However,

350
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,160
in the morning I determined to have a look at

351
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,720
it anyhow so I bought a penny bottle of ink,

352
00:19:55,079 --> 00:19:58,400
and with a quill pen and seven sheets of foolscap paper,

353
00:19:58,759 --> 00:20:03,160
I started off for Pope's court. Well. To my surprise

354
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,720
and delight, everything was as right as possible. The table

355
00:20:06,799 --> 00:20:09,640
was set out ready for me, and mister Duncan Ross

356
00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:11,839
was there to see that I fairly got to work.

357
00:20:13,319 --> 00:20:15,279
He started me off upon the letter A, and then

358
00:20:15,319 --> 00:20:18,000
he left me, but he would drop in from time

359
00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:19,640
to time to see that all was right with me.

360
00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,799
At two o'clock he bade me good day, complimented me

361
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:25,880
upon the amount that I had written, and locked the

362
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,880
door of the office after me. This went on day

363
00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:32,319
after day, mister Holmes, and on Saturday the manager came

364
00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,960
in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week's work.

365
00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,240
Who was the same next week, and the same the

366
00:20:39,279 --> 00:20:42,480
week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and

367
00:20:42,559 --> 00:20:46,359
every afternoon I left at two. By degrees, mister Duncan

368
00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:48,759
Ross took to coming in only once of a morning,

369
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,039
and then after a time he did not come in

370
00:20:51,079 --> 00:20:54,279
at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave

371
00:20:54,319 --> 00:20:56,599
the room for an instant, for I was not sure

372
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,960
when he might come. And the billet was such a

373
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,519
good one and suited me so well that I would

374
00:21:01,519 --> 00:21:05,519
not risk the loss of it. Eight weeks passed away

375
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,519
like this, and I had written about abbots and archery

376
00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:12,680
and armor and architecture in Attica, and hoped with diligence

377
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,319
that I might get onto the bees before very long.

378
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,880
It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty

379
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,279
nearly filled a shelf with my writings, And then suddenly

380
00:21:22,559 --> 00:21:27,160
the whole business came to an end, to an end, yes, sir,

381
00:21:27,599 --> 00:21:30,000
and no later than this morning. I went to my

382
00:21:30,039 --> 00:21:32,680
work as usual at ten o'clock, But the door was

383
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,680
shut and locked with a little square of cardboard hammered

384
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,519
onto the middle of the panel with attack. Here it is,

385
00:21:38,559 --> 00:21:42,240
and you can read it for yourself. He held up

386
00:21:42,279 --> 00:21:45,119
a piece of white cardboard about the size of a

387
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:49,119
sheet of notepaper. It read, in this fashion, the Red

388
00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:54,960
Headed League is dissolved. October ninth, eighteen ninety Sherlock Holmes

389
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,039
and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face

390
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:00,880
behind it, until the comical side of the affairs so

391
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,279
completely overtopped every other consideration that we both broke out

392
00:22:05,279 --> 00:22:08,599
into a roar of laughter. I cannot see that there

393
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,839
is anything very funny, cried our client, flushing up to

394
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,599
the roots of his flaming head. If you can do

395
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,359
nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere.

396
00:22:18,079 --> 00:22:21,400
No no, cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair

397
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,359
from which he had half risen. I really wouldn't miss

398
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,000
your case for the world. It is most refreshingly unusual.

399
00:22:28,519 --> 00:22:30,839
But there is, if you will excuse my saying so,

400
00:22:31,599 --> 00:22:34,880
something just a little funny about it. Pray what steps

401
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,039
did you take when you found the card upon the door?

402
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,640
I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do.

403
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:43,720
Then I called of the officers round, but none of

404
00:22:43,759 --> 00:22:46,559
them seemed to know anything about it. Finally I went

405
00:22:46,599 --> 00:22:49,119
to the landlord who is an accountant living on the

406
00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:51,720
ground floor, and I asked him if he could tell

407
00:22:51,759 --> 00:22:54,400
me what had become of the red headed league. He

408
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:56,680
said that he had never heard of any such body.

409
00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,519
Then I asked him who mister Duncan Ross was. He

410
00:23:00,599 --> 00:23:04,119
answered that that name was new to him. Well, said I,

411
00:23:04,519 --> 00:23:10,400
the gentleman at number four, what the red headed man? Yes, oh,

412
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,960
said he. His name was William Morris. He was a

413
00:23:14,039 --> 00:23:17,640
solicitor and was using my room as a temporary convenience

414
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,960
until his new premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.

415
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:25,039
Where could I find him? Oh? At his new offices.

416
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:29,720
He did tell me the address, yes, seventeen King Edward Street,

417
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:34,000
near Saint Paul's. I started off, mister Holmes, But when

418
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:36,720
I got to that address, it was a manufactory of

419
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,680
artificial knee caps, and no one in it had ever

420
00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:43,200
heard of either mister William Morris or mister Duncan Ross.

421
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,519
And what did you do, then, asked Holmes. I went

422
00:23:47,559 --> 00:23:50,480
home to Saxe Coburg Square and I took the advice

423
00:23:50,519 --> 00:23:53,240
of my assistant, but he could not help me in

424
00:23:53,279 --> 00:23:56,039
any way. He could only say that if I waited,

425
00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:58,839
I should hear my post. But that was not quite

426
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:01,640
good enough, mister Holmes. I did not wish to lose

427
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,039
such a place without a struggle. So as I heard

428
00:24:05,039 --> 00:24:07,119
that you were good enough to give advice to poor

429
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,279
folk who were in need of it, I came right

430
00:24:09,319 --> 00:24:13,160
away to you, and you did very wisely, said Holmes.

431
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,759
Your case is an exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall

432
00:24:16,799 --> 00:24:19,359
be happy to look into it. From what you have

433
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,880
told me, I think that it is possible that graver

434
00:24:22,039 --> 00:24:24,799
issues hang from it that might, at first sight appear

435
00:24:26,039 --> 00:24:29,240
grave enough, said mister job As Wilson. Why I have

436
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,799
lost four pounds a week? As far as you are

437
00:24:32,839 --> 00:24:36,319
personally concerned, remarked Holmes, I do not see how you

438
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:40,279
have any grievance against this extraordinary league. On the contrary,

439
00:24:40,319 --> 00:24:43,720
you are, as I understand, richer by some thirty pounds,

440
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,359
to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have

441
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,200
gained on every subject which comes under the letter A.

442
00:24:49,839 --> 00:24:53,279
You have lost nothing by them, no, sir, But I

443
00:24:53,319 --> 00:24:55,680
want to find out about them and who they are,

444
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,759
and what their object was in playing this prank. If

445
00:24:58,799 --> 00:25:01,359
it was a prank a on me, it was a

446
00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:04,240
pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two

447
00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,640
and thirty pounds. We shall endeavor to clear up these

448
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,359
points for you. And first, one or two questions, mister Wilson,

449
00:25:12,279 --> 00:25:15,119
this assistant of yours who first called your attention to

450
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,720
the advertisement? How long has he been with you? About

451
00:25:18,759 --> 00:25:22,240
a month? Then? How did he come in answer to

452
00:25:22,279 --> 00:25:26,359
an advertisement? Was he the only applicant? No? I had

453
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,279
a dozen? Why did you pick him? Because he was

454
00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:34,839
handy and would come cheap at half wages? In fact? Yes?

455
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:40,119
What does he like? This? Vincent Spalding? Small stout, built,

456
00:25:40,319 --> 00:25:42,839
very quick in his ways. No hair on his face,

457
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,200
though he's not short of thirty as a white splash

458
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,640
of acid upon his forehead. Holmes sat up in his

459
00:25:49,759 --> 00:25:53,240
chair in considerable excitement. I thought as much, said he.

460
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:56,400
Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for

461
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,920
ear rings? Yes, sir, he told me that a gipsy

462
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,039
he had done it for him when he was a lad, hm,

463
00:26:03,079 --> 00:26:06,720
said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. He is still

464
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,319
with you? Oh, yes, sir, I have only just left him.

465
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,039
And has your business been attended to in your absence?

466
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,559
Nothing to complain of, sir. There is never very much

467
00:26:17,599 --> 00:26:21,000
to do of a morning that will do mister Wilson,

468
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,440
I shall be happy to give you an opinion upon

469
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,880
the subject in the course of a day or two.

470
00:26:26,039 --> 00:26:28,720
Today is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we

471
00:26:28,759 --> 00:26:32,880
may come to a conclusion. Well, Watson, said Holmes, when

472
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,279
our visitor had left us, What do you make of

473
00:26:35,319 --> 00:26:38,400
it all? I make nothing of it, I answered, frankly.

474
00:26:38,759 --> 00:26:42,960
It is a most mysterious business. As a rule, said Holmes,

475
00:26:43,319 --> 00:26:46,519
the more bizarre thing is the less mysterious it proves

476
00:26:46,559 --> 00:26:50,279
to be. It is your commonplace featureless crimes, which are

477
00:26:50,319 --> 00:26:54,000
really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most

478
00:26:54,039 --> 00:26:57,640
difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter.

479
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,720
What are you going to do? Then asked to smoke?

480
00:27:01,799 --> 00:27:05,119
He answered, it is quite a three pipe problem, and

481
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,680
I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes.

482
00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:11,240
He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin

483
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:14,079
knees drawn up to his hawk like nose, and there

484
00:27:14,079 --> 00:27:17,039
he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay

485
00:27:17,079 --> 00:27:19,839
pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird.

486
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:22,599
I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped

487
00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:26,079
to sleep, and indeed was nodding myself when he suddenly

488
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:28,240
sprang out of his chair with a gesture of a

489
00:27:28,279 --> 00:27:30,599
man who has made up his mind, and put his

490
00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,759
pipe down on the mantelpiece. Sarasate plays at the Saint

491
00:27:34,799 --> 00:27:38,079
James Hall this afternoon. He remarked, what do you think, Watson?

492
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,599
Could your patience spare you a few hours? I have

493
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,960
nothing to do today. My practice is never very absorbing.

494
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:48,400
Then put on your hat and come. I am going

495
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,000
through the city first, and we can have some lunch

496
00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:53,160
on the way. I observe that there is a good

497
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,039
deal of German music on the program, which is rather

498
00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,799
more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspecting,

499
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,720
and I want to introspect. Come along. We traveled by

500
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,880
the underground as far as Aldersgate, and a short walk

501
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,519
took us to Saxe Coburg Square, the scene of the

502
00:28:10,599 --> 00:28:13,400
singular story which we had listened to in the morning.

503
00:28:14,279 --> 00:28:17,759
It was a poky, little shabby, genteel place where four

504
00:28:17,799 --> 00:28:21,079
lines of dingy two story brick houses looked out into

505
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,279
a small, railed in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy

506
00:28:24,319 --> 00:28:27,200
grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made

507
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,240
a hard fight against the smoke laden and uncongenial atmosphere,

508
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,279
three gilt balls, and a brown board with job as

509
00:28:35,319 --> 00:28:39,000
Wilson in white letters. Upon a corner house announced the

510
00:28:39,039 --> 00:28:41,839
place where our red headed client carried on his business.

511
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,039
Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head

512
00:28:45,039 --> 00:28:47,880
on one side, and looked it all over with his

513
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,000
eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. Then he walked slowly

514
00:28:52,079 --> 00:28:54,680
up the street and then down again to the corner,

515
00:28:55,279 --> 00:28:58,799
still looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to

516
00:28:58,839 --> 00:29:02,519
the pawnbrokers, and, having thumbed vigorously upon the pavement with

517
00:29:02,559 --> 00:29:05,119
his stick two or three times, he went up to

518
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,039
the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a

519
00:29:08,079 --> 00:29:11,160
bright looking, clean shaven young fellow, who asked him to

520
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:15,200
step in. Thank you, said Holmes. I only wish to

521
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,079
ask you how you would go from here to the

522
00:29:17,119 --> 00:29:22,519
strand third right, fourth left, answered the assistant, promptly closing

523
00:29:22,519 --> 00:29:26,799
the door. Smart fellow that observed Holmes as we walked away.

524
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,279
He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London,

525
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,519
and for daring, I am not sure that he has

526
00:29:33,599 --> 00:29:36,160
not a claim to be third. I have known something

527
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:41,079
of him before evidently said I, mister Wilson's assistant counts

528
00:29:41,079 --> 00:29:42,759
for a good deal in the mystery of the Red

529
00:29:42,839 --> 00:29:45,759
Headed League. I am sure that you inquired your way

530
00:29:45,799 --> 00:29:48,960
merely in order that you might see him, not him?

531
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,240
What then, the knees of his trousers? And what did

532
00:29:53,279 --> 00:29:57,319
you see? What I expected to see? Why did you

533
00:29:57,359 --> 00:30:01,559
beat the pavement, My dear doctor, This is time for observation,

534
00:30:01,839 --> 00:30:04,880
not for talk. We are spies in an enemy's country.

535
00:30:05,319 --> 00:30:08,480
We know something of saxe Coburg Square. Let us now

536
00:30:08,519 --> 00:30:12,119
explore the parts which lie behind it. The road in

537
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,519
which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner

538
00:30:14,559 --> 00:30:18,319
from the retired saxe Coburg Square presented as great a

539
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,039
contrast to it as the front of a picture does

540
00:30:21,079 --> 00:30:23,720
to the back. It was one of the main arteries

541
00:30:23,759 --> 00:30:26,359
which conveyed the traffic of the city to the north

542
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,599
and the west. The roadway was blocked with the immense

543
00:30:29,599 --> 00:30:32,839
stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward,

544
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,880
while the footpaths were black with a hurrying swarm of pedestrians.

545
00:30:37,799 --> 00:30:40,279
It was difficult to realize as we looked upon the

546
00:30:40,319 --> 00:30:44,160
line of fine shops and stately business premises that they

547
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,240
really abutted on the other side, upon the faded and

548
00:30:47,319 --> 00:30:51,160
stagnant square which we had just quitted. Let me see,

549
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,480
said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line.

550
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:57,880
I should like just to remember the order of the

551
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,480
houses here. It is a hobby of mind to have

552
00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:04,440
an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer's, the Tobacconist,

553
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,119
the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City

554
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,920
and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian restaurant, and McFarland's carriage building

555
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,119
depot that carries us right on to the other block.

556
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,279
And now, doctor, we've done our work, so it's time

557
00:31:19,319 --> 00:31:22,400
we had some play, a sandwich and a cup of coffee,

558
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,799
and then off to Violinland, where all is sweetness and

559
00:31:25,839 --> 00:31:29,079
delicacy and harmony, and there are no red headed clients

560
00:31:29,079 --> 00:31:33,240
to vex us with their conundrums. My friend was an

561
00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:37,960
enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer,

562
00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:42,319
but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon

563
00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:45,680
he sat in the stalls, wrapped in the most perfect happiness,

564
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,920
gently waving his long, thin fingers in times of the music,

565
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,640
while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes

566
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,440
were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth hound, Holmes,

567
00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:00,359
the relentless, keen witted, ready handed criminal agent, as it

568
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:04,839
was possible to conceive in his singular character, the dual

569
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:10,559
nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented,

570
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:14,160
as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic

571
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:19,119
and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing

572
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,119
of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy,

573
00:32:23,559 --> 00:32:26,240
And as I knew well, he was never so truly

574
00:32:26,279 --> 00:32:29,359
formidable as when for days on end he had been

575
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,279
lounging in his armchair amid the improvisations and his black

576
00:32:33,359 --> 00:32:36,400
letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the

577
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,880
chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant

578
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,319
reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until

579
00:32:43,359 --> 00:32:46,480
those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance

580
00:32:46,519 --> 00:32:49,000
at him as on a man whose knowledge was not

581
00:32:49,039 --> 00:32:52,599
that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon,

582
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,720
so enwrapped in the music at Saint James Hall, I

583
00:32:55,799 --> 00:32:58,400
felt that an evil time might be coming upon those

584
00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:02,160
whom he had set himself to hunt down. You want

585
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:06,079
to go home, no doubt, doctor, he remarked as we emerged. Yes,

586
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,240
it would be as well, and I have some business

587
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,119
to do which will take some hours. This business at

588
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:17,440
Coburg Square is serious. Why serious? A considerable crime is

589
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,799
in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we

590
00:33:20,839 --> 00:33:24,119
shall be in time to stop it, But today, being Saturday,

591
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:28,319
rather complicates matters. I shall want your help tonight, at

592
00:33:28,319 --> 00:33:32,279
what time ten will be early enough. I shall be

593
00:33:32,319 --> 00:33:36,160
at Baker Street at ten very well, And I say, doctor,

594
00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:39,319
there may be some little danger, so kindly put your

595
00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,839
army revolver in your pocket. He waved his hand, turned

596
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,000
on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.

597
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,519
I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbors.

598
00:33:50,039 --> 00:33:51,960
But I was always oppressed with a sense of my

599
00:33:52,039 --> 00:33:55,720
own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I

600
00:33:55,759 --> 00:33:58,079
had heard what he had heard. I had seen what

601
00:33:58,119 --> 00:34:00,559
he had seen, and yet from his words it was

602
00:34:00,599 --> 00:34:03,680
evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened,

603
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,440
but what was about to happen, While to me the

604
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,679
whole business was still confused and grotesque. As I drove

605
00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:13,639
home to my house in Kensington, I thought over it all,

606
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,159
from the extraordinary story of the red headed copier of

607
00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:21,000
the Encyclopedia, down to the visit to Saxe Coburg Square

608
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:23,880
and the ominous words with which he had parted from me.

609
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:28,400
What was this nocturnal expedition and why should I go armed?

610
00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:31,199
Where were we going and what were we to do?

611
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,000
I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth faced

612
00:34:35,079 --> 00:34:39,000
pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man, a man who might

613
00:34:39,039 --> 00:34:42,599
play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out,

614
00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:44,760
but gave it up in despair and set the matter

615
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:49,199
aside until night should bring an explanation. It was a

616
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,280
quarter past nine when I started from home and made

617
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,280
my way across the park and so through Oxford Street

618
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:59,320
to Baker Street. Two Hansoms were standing at the door.

619
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,199
As I entered the passage, I heard the sound of

620
00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:06,559
voices from above. On entering his room, I found Holmes

621
00:35:06,559 --> 00:35:09,880
in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I

622
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:14,079
recognized as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the

623
00:35:14,119 --> 00:35:17,400
other was a long, thin, sad faced man with a

624
00:35:17,519 --> 00:35:22,800
very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock coat. Ha. Our

625
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:26,360
party is complete, said Holmes, buttoning up his pea jacket

626
00:35:26,639 --> 00:35:29,880
and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. Watson,

627
00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:33,360
I think you know, mister Jones of Scotland Yard. Let

628
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:36,079
me introduce you to mister Merriweather, who is to be

629
00:35:36,119 --> 00:35:41,320
our companion in tonight's adventure. We're hunting in couples again, doctor,

630
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:45,559
You see, said Jones in his consequential way. Our friend

631
00:35:45,599 --> 00:35:48,360
here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All

632
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,239
he wants is an old dog to help him do

633
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:54,039
the running down. I hope a wild goose may not

634
00:35:54,119 --> 00:35:56,639
prove to be at the end of our chase, observed

635
00:35:56,639 --> 00:36:00,800
mister Merriweather gloomily. You may place concerner terable confidence in

636
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:04,880
mister Holmes, Sir, said the police agent loftily. He has

637
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,519
his own little methods, which are, if he won't mind

638
00:36:07,559 --> 00:36:11,519
my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic.

639
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,320
But he has the makings of a detective in him.

640
00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,199
It's not too much to say that once or twice,

641
00:36:17,679 --> 00:36:20,159
as in the business of the chalto murderer and the

642
00:36:20,199 --> 00:36:23,280
Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the

643
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,079
official force. Oh, if you say so, mister Jones, it

644
00:36:27,159 --> 00:36:30,840
is all right, said the stranger, with deference. Still, I

645
00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:33,599
confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first

646
00:36:33,679 --> 00:36:36,000
Saturday night for seven and twenty years that I have

647
00:36:36,079 --> 00:36:39,360
not had my rubber. I think you will find, said

648
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,360
Sherlock Holmes, that you will play for a higher stake

649
00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,039
tonight than you ever have done yet, and that the

650
00:36:45,079 --> 00:36:49,039
play will be more exciting for you, mister Meriwether. The

651
00:36:49,119 --> 00:36:53,039
stake will be some thirty thousand pounds, and for you, Jones,

652
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,239
it will be the man upon whom you wish to

653
00:36:55,280 --> 00:37:01,239
lay your hands, John Clay, the murderer, thiefs, master, and forger.

654
00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,280
He's a young man, mister Meriwether, but he is at

655
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,800
the head of his profession, and I would rather have

656
00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:09,880
my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London.

657
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:14,159
He's a remarkable man, as young John Clay. His grandfather

658
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,639
was a royal duke, and he himself has been to

659
00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:20,360
Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers.

660
00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,119
And though we'll meet signs of him at every turn,

661
00:37:23,599 --> 00:37:26,480
we never know where to find the man himself. He'll

662
00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:29,280
crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising

663
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,400
money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I've

664
00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,800
been on his track for years and have never set

665
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,960
eyes on him yet. I hope that I may have

666
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,000
the pleasure of introducing you tonight. I've had one or

667
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,119
two little turns also with mister John Clay, and I

668
00:37:44,159 --> 00:37:45,800
agree with you that he is at the head of

669
00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:49,800
his profession. It is past ten, however, and quite time

670
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,519
that we started. If you two will take the first,

671
00:37:52,559 --> 00:37:56,880
handsome Watson and I will follow in the second. Sherlock

672
00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:00,159
Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and

673
00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:02,519
lay back in the cab humming the tunes which we

674
00:38:02,519 --> 00:38:06,199
had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless

675
00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:10,719
labyrinth of gas lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.

676
00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:14,639
We are close there now, my friend remarked, This fellow

677
00:38:14,679 --> 00:38:18,239
Merriweather is a bank director and personally interested in the matter.

678
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,119
I thought it as well to have Jones with us. Also,

679
00:38:21,679 --> 00:38:24,559
he is not a bad fellow. Though an absolute imbecile

680
00:38:24,559 --> 00:38:28,320
in his profession, he has one positive virtue. He is

681
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:31,400
as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster.

682
00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,400
If he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are

683
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:37,760
and they are waiting for us. We had reached the

684
00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,639
same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in

685
00:38:40,639 --> 00:38:44,440
the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and following the guidance

686
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:47,480
of mister Merriweather, we passed down a narrow passage and

687
00:38:47,519 --> 00:38:51,119
through his side door, which he opened for us. Within

688
00:38:51,239 --> 00:38:53,800
there was a small corridor which ended in a very

689
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,840
massive iron gate. This also was opened and led down

690
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:01,199
a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another

691
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:05,679
formidable gait. Mister Merriwether stopped to light a lantern and

692
00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:09,519
then conducted us down a dark, earth smelling passage, and

693
00:39:09,679 --> 00:39:12,920
so after opening a third door, into a huge vault

694
00:39:13,079 --> 00:39:15,960
or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and

695
00:39:16,079 --> 00:39:20,960
massive boxes. You are not very vulnerable from above, Holmes remarked,

696
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,119
as he held up the lantern and gazed about him,

697
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,480
nor from below, said mister Merriwether, striking his stick upon

698
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:32,079
the flags which lined the floor. Why dear me, it

699
00:39:32,199 --> 00:39:36,480
sounds quite hollow, he remarked, looking up in surprise. I

700
00:39:36,559 --> 00:39:38,960
must really ask you to be a little more quiet,

701
00:39:39,079 --> 00:39:42,760
said Holmes severely. You have already imperiled the whole success

702
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,599
of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have

703
00:39:45,679 --> 00:39:48,519
the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes,

704
00:39:48,679 --> 00:39:53,719
and not to interfere. The solemn mister Merriwether perched himself

705
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:56,800
upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face,

706
00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:00,320
while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor, and

707
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:03,880
with a lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine

708
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:07,840
minutely the cracks between the stones. A few seconds suffice

709
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,639
to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again

710
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:14,360
and put his glass in his pocket. We have at

711
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:17,360
least an hour before us, he remarked, for they can

712
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,400
hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely

713
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,440
in bed. Then they will not lose a minute, for

714
00:40:23,559 --> 00:40:25,679
the sooner they do their work, the longer time they

715
00:40:25,679 --> 00:40:28,840
will have for their escape. We are at present, doctor,

716
00:40:29,079 --> 00:40:31,679
as no doubt you have divined in this cellar of

717
00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:34,599
the city branch of one of the principal London banks.

718
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:38,280
Mister Meriweather is the chairman of directors, and he will

719
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:40,960
explain to you there are reasons why the more daring

720
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,679
criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar.

721
00:40:44,679 --> 00:40:48,639
At present it is our French gold, whispered the director.

722
00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:51,719
We have had several warnings that an attempt might be

723
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:56,760
made upon it, your French gold. Yes, we had occasion

724
00:40:56,840 --> 00:41:00,440
some months ago to strengthen our resources, and borrowed for

725
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:03,599
that purpose thirty thousand napoleons from the Bank of France.

726
00:41:04,559 --> 00:41:06,960
It has become known that we have never had occasion

727
00:41:07,039 --> 00:41:09,639
to unpack the money, and that it is still lying

728
00:41:09,679 --> 00:41:13,239
in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains

729
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:17,880
two thousand napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our

730
00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:20,960
reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is

731
00:41:21,079 --> 00:41:24,480
usually kept in a single branch office. And the directors

732
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:28,519
have had misgivings upon the subject, which were very well justified,

733
00:41:28,559 --> 00:41:31,519
observed Holmes. And now it is time that we arranged

734
00:41:31,559 --> 00:41:34,840
our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters

735
00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,960
will come to a head. In the meantime, mister Merriweather,

736
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:41,519
we must put the screen over that dark lantern and

737
00:41:41,639 --> 00:41:45,639
sit in the dark. I am afraid, so I had

738
00:41:45,679 --> 00:41:47,840
brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I

739
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,320
thought that as we were a PARTI carreis, you might

740
00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:53,760
have your rubber, after all. But I see that the

741
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:57,280
enemy's preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk

742
00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:00,159
the presence of a light. And first of all, we

743
00:42:00,199 --> 00:42:03,840
must choose our positions. These are daring men, and though

744
00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,480
we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do

745
00:42:06,599 --> 00:42:09,800
us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand

746
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:14,320
behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those then,

747
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:17,280
when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly.

748
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,239
If they fire, Watson have no compunction about shooting them down.

749
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,440
I placed my revolver cocked upon the top of the

750
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,360
wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide

751
00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:31,760
across the front of his lantern and left us in

752
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:35,559
pitch darkness, such an absolute darkness as I have never

753
00:42:35,639 --> 00:42:40,039
before experienced. The smell of hot metal remained to assure

754
00:42:40,119 --> 00:42:42,519
us that the light was still there, ready to flash

755
00:42:42,559 --> 00:42:46,280
out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves

756
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:49,239
worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something

757
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:53,000
depressing and subduing in a sudden gloom and in the cold,

758
00:42:53,079 --> 00:42:56,800
dank air of the vault. They have but one retreat,

759
00:42:56,880 --> 00:43:00,079
whispered Holmes. That is back through the house in the

760
00:43:00,119 --> 00:43:03,000
Saxe Coburg Square. I hope that you have done what

761
00:43:03,159 --> 00:43:06,360
I asked you, Jones. I have an inspector and two

762
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:09,719
officers waiting at the front door. Then we have stopped

763
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:13,119
all the holes, and now we must be silent and wait.

764
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,840
What a time it seemed from comparing notes afterwards, it

765
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:20,440
was but an hour and a quarter. Yet it appeared

766
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:23,000
to me that the night must have almost gone, and

767
00:43:23,079 --> 00:43:26,440
the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs were weary

768
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:29,840
and stiff, for I feared to change my position. Yet

769
00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,320
my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension,

770
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,320
and my hearing was so acute that I could not

771
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:38,400
only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I

772
00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:41,920
could distinguish the deeper, heavier in breadth of the bulky

773
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:45,360
Jones from the thin sighing note of the bank director.

774
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,880
From my position, I could look over the case in

775
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:52,039
the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the

776
00:43:52,079 --> 00:43:55,440
glint of a light. At first it was but a

777
00:43:55,519 --> 00:43:59,039
lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then it lengthened out

778
00:43:59,119 --> 00:44:02,719
until it became a yellow line, and then, without any

779
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:05,800
warning or sound, a gash seemed to open, and a

780
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:10,400
hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about

781
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:13,199
in the center of the little area of light. For

782
00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,199
a minute or more, the hand, with its writhing fingers,

783
00:44:16,559 --> 00:44:19,800
protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as

784
00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:22,920
suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again, save

785
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,519
this single lurid spark, which marked a chink between the stones.

786
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:33,079
Its disappearance, however, was but momentary, with a rending tearing sound.

787
00:44:33,519 --> 00:44:36,199
One of the broad white stones turned over upon its

788
00:44:36,199 --> 00:44:39,920
side and left a square, gaping hole through which streamed

789
00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:43,320
the light of a lantern. Over the edge, there peeped

790
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,880
a clean cut, boyish face which looked keenly about it,

791
00:44:47,239 --> 00:44:49,920
and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture,

792
00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:54,280
drew itself shoulder high and waisted high until one knee

793
00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:57,679
rested upon the edge. In another instant he stood at

794
00:44:57,679 --> 00:45:00,000
the side of the hole and was hauling after him.

795
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,519
I'm a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a

796
00:45:03,559 --> 00:45:08,599
pale face and a shock of very red hair. It's

797
00:45:08,639 --> 00:45:11,719
all clear, he whispered, Have you the chisel in the bags?

798
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:15,000
Great Scott, jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it.

799
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:18,920
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by

800
00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:22,079
the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I

801
00:45:22,159 --> 00:45:25,000
heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at

802
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:28,800
his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver,

803
00:45:29,239 --> 00:45:31,679
but holmes hunting crop came down on the man's wrist,

804
00:45:32,039 --> 00:45:35,719
and the pistol clunked upon the stone floor. It's no use,

805
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,840
John Clay, said Holmes, blandly, you have no chance at all,

806
00:45:41,159 --> 00:45:43,760
so I see the other answered with the utmost coolness.

807
00:45:44,239 --> 00:45:46,719
I fancy that my pal is all right, though I

808
00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:49,800
see you have got his coat tails. There are three

809
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:53,440
men waiting for him at the door, said Holmes. Oh, indeed,

810
00:45:54,039 --> 00:45:56,599
you seem to have done the thing very completely. I

811
00:45:56,679 --> 00:46:00,880
must compliment you, and I you, Holmes answered, your red

812
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:05,159
headed idea was very new and effective. You'll see your

813
00:46:05,199 --> 00:46:08,559
pal again presently, said Jones. He's quicker at climbing down

814
00:46:08,599 --> 00:46:11,199
holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix

815
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:14,960
the Darby's. I beg that you will not touch me

816
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:18,880
with your filthy hands, remarked our prisoner, as the handcuffs

817
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:22,159
clattered upon his wrists. You may not be aware that

818
00:46:22,239 --> 00:46:25,280
I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness

819
00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:28,800
also when you address me, always to say sir and

820
00:46:29,039 --> 00:46:34,679
please all right, said Jones, with a stare and a snigger. Well,

821
00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:38,119
would you please, sir march up stairs where we can

822
00:46:38,119 --> 00:46:41,320
get a cab to carry your highness to the police station.

823
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:45,719
That is better, said John Clay serenely. He made a

824
00:46:45,719 --> 00:46:48,519
sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly

825
00:46:48,599 --> 00:46:52,519
off in the custody of the detective. Really, mister Holmes,

826
00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:55,519
said mister Merriweather, as we followed them from the cellar,

827
00:46:56,079 --> 00:46:57,960
I do not know how the bank can thank you

828
00:46:58,159 --> 00:47:00,599
or repay you. There is no out that you have

829
00:47:00,639 --> 00:47:03,840
detected and defeated in the most complete manner, one of

830
00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:06,800
the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever

831
00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,559
come within my experience. I have had one or two

832
00:47:10,639 --> 00:47:13,199
little scores of my own to settle with, mister John Clay,

833
00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:16,559
said Holmes. I have been at some small expense over

834
00:47:16,599 --> 00:47:19,480
this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund,

835
00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:22,320
But beyond that I am amply or paid by having

836
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:25,880
an experience which is in many ways unique, and by

837
00:47:25,920 --> 00:47:30,039
hearing the very remarkable narrative of the red headed league.

838
00:47:30,119 --> 00:47:32,960
You see Watson, he explained in the early hours of

839
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:35,239
the morning, as we sat over a glass of whiskey

840
00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:38,960
and soda in Baker Street. It was perfectly obvious from

841
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:42,159
the first that the only possible object of this rather

842
00:47:42,239 --> 00:47:45,800
fantastic business of the advertisement of the league and the

843
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:49,400
copying of the encyclopedia must be to get this not

844
00:47:49,639 --> 00:47:52,400
over bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number

845
00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:55,320
of hours every day. It was a curious way of

846
00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:58,519
managing it, but really it would be difficult to suggest

847
00:47:58,519 --> 00:48:01,440
a better The method that was, no doubt suggested to

848
00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:05,239
Clay's ingenious mind by the color of his accomplice's hair.

849
00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:08,960
The four dollars a week was a lure which must

850
00:48:09,039 --> 00:48:11,360
draw him, And what was it to them who were

851
00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:15,800
playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement. One rogue

852
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:19,039
has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man

853
00:48:19,119 --> 00:48:22,119
to apply for it, and together they managed to secure

854
00:48:22,159 --> 00:48:25,400
his absence every morning in the week. From the time

855
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,119
I heard of the assistant having come for half wages,

856
00:48:28,719 --> 00:48:30,920
it was obvious to me that he had some strong

857
00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:35,400
motive for securing the situation. But how could you guess

858
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:38,760
what the motive was? Had there been women in the house.

859
00:48:39,199 --> 00:48:42,719
I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however,

860
00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:45,400
was out of the question. The man's business was a

861
00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:48,119
small one, and there was nothing in his house which

862
00:48:48,159 --> 00:48:52,000
could account for such elaborate preparations and such an expenditure

863
00:48:52,039 --> 00:48:54,880
as they were at it. It must then be something

864
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:58,239
out of the house. What could it be? I thought

865
00:48:58,239 --> 00:49:01,559
of the assistant's fondness for fatighgraphy, and his trick of

866
00:49:01,639 --> 00:49:05,639
vanishing into the cellar. The cellar, there was the end

867
00:49:05,639 --> 00:49:08,880
of this tangled clue. Then I made inquiries as to

868
00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:11,920
this a mysterious assistant, and found that I had to

869
00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:14,800
deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals

870
00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:18,719
in London. He was doing something in the cellar, something

871
00:49:18,760 --> 00:49:21,360
which took many hours a day for months on end.

872
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:25,039
What could it be? Once more, I could think of nothing,

873
00:49:25,159 --> 00:49:27,719
say that he was running a tunnel to some other building.

874
00:49:29,119 --> 00:49:31,119
So far I had got. When we went to visit

875
00:49:31,119 --> 00:49:34,239
the scene of action, I surprised you by beating upon

876
00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:37,639
the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the

877
00:49:37,679 --> 00:49:40,880
cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not

878
00:49:41,039 --> 00:49:44,400
in front. Then I rang the bell, and as I hoped,

879
00:49:44,679 --> 00:49:48,480
the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but

880
00:49:48,559 --> 00:49:51,559
we have never set eyes upon each other before. I

881
00:49:51,639 --> 00:49:54,280
hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I

882
00:49:54,280 --> 00:49:57,679
wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn,

883
00:49:58,079 --> 00:50:01,440
wrinkled and stained they were. They spoke of those hours

884
00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:05,119
of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were

885
00:50:05,119 --> 00:50:08,960
burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City

886
00:50:08,960 --> 00:50:12,119
and Suburban Bank a budget on our friend's premises, and

887
00:50:12,199 --> 00:50:15,440
felt that I had solved my problem. When you drove

888
00:50:15,480 --> 00:50:18,440
home after the concert, I called upon Scotland Yard and

889
00:50:18,519 --> 00:50:21,199
upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result

890
00:50:21,239 --> 00:50:24,480
that you have seen. And how could you tell that

891
00:50:24,519 --> 00:50:28,239
they would make their attempt tonight? I asked, Well, when

892
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:30,800
they closed their league offices, that was a sign that

893
00:50:30,840 --> 00:50:33,760
they cared no longer about mister job As Wilson's presence.

894
00:50:34,360 --> 00:50:37,760
In other words, that they had completed their tunnel, but

895
00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:40,480
it was essential that they should use it soon, as

896
00:50:40,519 --> 00:50:43,440
it might be discovered or the bullion might be removed.

897
00:50:44,159 --> 00:50:47,119
Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as

898
00:50:47,119 --> 00:50:49,800
it would give them two days for their escape. For

899
00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:54,199
all these reasons I expected them to come tonight. You

900
00:50:54,280 --> 00:50:58,239
reasoned it out beautifully, I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. It

901
00:50:58,320 --> 00:51:01,920
is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.

902
00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:07,159
It saved me from Unwi, he answered, yawning, alas I

903
00:51:07,159 --> 00:51:10,119
already feel it closing in upon me. My life is

904
00:51:10,159 --> 00:51:13,119
spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces

905
00:51:13,159 --> 00:51:16,519
of existence. These little problems helped me to do so.

906
00:51:17,519 --> 00:51:19,599
And you are a benefactor of the race, said I.

907
00:51:20,719 --> 00:51:23,920
He shrugged his shoulders. Well, perhaps, after all, it is

908
00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:28,480
of some little use, he remarked. L'eme sellienne lou VREs

909
00:51:28,559 --> 00:51:34,519
setout as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George sand End of

910
00:51:34,679 --> 00:51:35,840
the Red Headed League,