Speaker 1: The Red Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle. I had
called upon my friend mister Sherlock Holmes one day in
the autumn of last year, and found him in deep
conversation with a very stout, florid faced, elderly gentleman with
fiery red hair, with an apology for my intrusion. I
was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into
the room and closed the door behind me. You could
not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,
he said cordially. I was afraid that you were engaged,
so I am very much so then I can wait
in the next room. Not at all this gentleman, mister
Wilson has been my partner and helper in many of
my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that
he will be of the utmost use to me in yours. Also.
The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave
a bob of greeting with a quick, little questioning glance
from his small, fat encircled eyes. Try the settee, said Holmes,
relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together, as
was his custom when in judicial moods. I know, my
dear Watson, that you share my love of all that
is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of
everyday life. You've shown your relish for it by the
enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle. And if you
will excuse my saying so somewhat to embellish so many
of my own little adventures, your cases have indeed been
of the greatest interest to me, I observed. You will
remember that I remarked the other day, just before we
went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland,
that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations, we must go
to life itself, which is always far more daring than
any effort of the imagination, A proposition which I took
the liberty of doubting you did, doctor. But nonetheless you
must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall
keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your
reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right. Now,
mister Jobez Wilson here has been good enough to call
upon me this morning and to begin a narrative which
promises to be one of the most singular, which I
have listened to for some time. You have heard me
remark that the strangest and most unique things are very
often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes,
and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether
any positive crime has been committed. As far as I
have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether
the present case is an instance of crime or not.
But the course of events is certainly among the most
singular that I have ever listened to. Perhaps, mister Wilson,
you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative.
I ask you not merely because my friend doctor Watson
has not heard of the opening part, but also because
the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to
have every possible detail from your lips. As a rule,
when I have heard some slight indication of the course
of events, I am able to guide myself by the
thousand of other similar cases which occurred to my memory.
In the present instance, I am forced to admit that
the facts are, to the best of my belief unique.
The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance
of some little pride, and pulled a dirty and wrinkled
newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat as he
glanced down the advertisement column with his head thrust forward
and the paper flattened out upon his knee. I took
a good look at the man, and endeavored, after the
fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might
be presented by his dress or appearance. I did not
gain very much. However, by my inspection, our visitor bore
every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous,
and slow. He wore rather baggy gray shepherd's checked trouse,
a not overclean black frock coat unbuttoned in the front,
and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain
and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as
an ornament. A frayed top hat and a faded brown
overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair
beside him. Altogether, look as I would, there was nothing
remarkable about the man, save his blazing red head and
the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features.
Mister Holmes quick eye took in my occupation, and he
shook his head with a smile, as he noticed my
questioning glances. Beyond the obvious facts that he has at
some time done manual labor, that he takes snuff, that
he is a freemason, that he has been in China,
and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately,
I can deduce nothing else, mister job As Wilson started
up in his chair with his forefinger upon the paper,
but his eyes a my companion, How in the name
of good fortune did you know all that? Mister Holmes?
He asked, how did you know, for example, that I
did manual labor. It's as true as gospel, for I
began as a ship's carpenter. Your hands, my dear sir,
your right hand is quite a size larger than your left.
You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed. Well.
The snuff, then, and the freemasonry. I won't insult your
intelligence by telling you how I read that, especially as
rather against the strict rules of your order, you use
an arc and compass breastpin. Ah. Of course I forgot that.
But the writing, what else can be indicated by that
right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the
left one with a smooth patch near the elbow where
you rested upon the desk. Well, but China. The fish
that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could
only have been done in China. I have made a
small study of tattoo marks, and have even contributed to
the literature of the subject. The trick of staining the
fish's scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When,
in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging from your
watch chain, the matter becomes even more simple. Mister job
As Wilson laughed heavily. Well, I never said he. I
thought at first you had done something clever, But I
see there was nothing in it. After all, I begin
to think, Watson, said Holmes, that I make a mistake
in explaining omne ignotum pro magnifico, you know, and my
poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck
if I am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement,
mister Wilson, Yes, I have got it now, he answered,
with his thick red finger planted halfway down the column.
Here it is, this is what it began at all.
You just read it for yourself, sir. I took the
paper from him and read as follows to the Red
Headed League on account of the bequest of the late
Ezekiah Hopkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S A. There is
now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the
League to a salary of four pounds a week for
purely nominal services. All Red Headed men who are sound
in body and mind and above the age of twenty
one years are eligible. Apply in person on Monday at
eleven o'clock to Duncan Ross at the offices of the League,
seven Pope's Court, Fleet Street. What on earth does this mean?
I ejaculated after I had twice read over the extraordinary announcement.
Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his
habit when in high spirits. It is a little off
the beaten track, isn't it? Said he? And now, mister Wilson,
off you go at scratch and tell us all about yourself,
your household, and the effect which this advertisement had upon
your fortunes. You will first make a note doctor of
the paper and the date. It is the Morning Chronicle
of April twenty seventh, eighteen ninety, just two months ago,
very good now, mister Wilson. Well, it is just as
I have been telling you, mister Sherlock Holmes said job
as Wilson mopping his forehead. I have a small pawnbroker's
business at Coburg Square near the city. It's not a
very large affair, and of late years that has not
done more than just give me a living. I used
to be able to keep two assistants, but now I
only keep one, and I would have a job to
pay him, but that he is willing to come for
half wages so as to learn the business. What is
the name of this obliging youth, asked Sherlock Holmes. His
name is Vincent Spalding. And he's not such a youth either.
It's hard to say his age. I should not wish
a smarter assistant, mister Holmes, and I know very well
that he could better himself and earn twice what I
am able to give him. But after all, if he
is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head? Why? Indeed,
you seem most fortunate in having an employee who comes
under the full market price. It is not a common
experience among employers in this age. I don't know that
your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement. Oh
he has his faults too, said mister Wilson. Never was
such a fellow for photography, snapping away with a camera
when he ought to be improving his mind, and then
diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its
hole to develop his pictures. That is his main fault.
But on the whole he is a good worker. There's
no vice in him. He's still with you, I presume, yes, sir.
He and a girl of fourteen who does a bit
of simple cooking and keeps the place clean. That's all
I have in the house, for I am a widower
and never had any family. We live very quietly, sir,
the three of us, and we keep a roof over
our heads and pay our debts if we do nothing more.
The the first thing that put us out was that advertisement. Spalding.
He came down into the office just this day, eight
weeks with this very paper in his hand, and he says,
I wish to Lord mister Wilson that I was a
redheaded man. Why that, I asks, Why? Says he, here's
another vacancy on the league of the red headed Men.
It's worth quite a little fortune to any man who
gets it. And I understand that there are more vacancies
than there are men, so that the trustees are at
their wits end what to do with the money. If
my hair would only change color, here's a nice little
crib all ready for me to step into. Why what
is it? Then? I asked? You? See, mister Holmes, I
am a very stay at home man, and as my
business came to me instead of my having to go
to it, I was often weeks on end without putting
my foot over the door mat. In that way, I
didn't know much of what was going on outside, and
I was always glad of a bit of news. Have
you never heard of the the League of Red Headed Men?
He asked, with his eyes open. Never. Why I wonder
at that? For you are eligible yourself for one of
the vacancies. And what are they worth? I asked, Oh,
merely a couple of hundred a year. But the work
is slight and it need not interfere very much with
one's other occupations. Well, you can easily think that that
made me prick up my ears, for the business has
not been very good over some years, and an extra
couple of hundred would have been very handy. Tell me
all about it, said I, well, said he, showing me
the advertisement. You can see for yourself that the league
has a vacancy, and there is the address where you
should go apply for particulars. As far as I can
make out, the league was founded by an American millionaire,
the Zekiah Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways.
He was himself red headed, and he had a great
sympathy for all red headed men. So when he died,
it was found that he had left his enormous fortune
in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the
interest to the providing of easy births to men whose
hair is of that color. From all I hear it
is splendid pay and very little to do. But said I,
there would be millions of redheaded men who would apply,
Not so many as you might think, he answered, you see,
it is really confined to Londoners and to grown men.
This American had started from London when he was young,
and he wanted to do the old town a good turn.
Then again I have heard it no use your applying
if your hair is light red or dark red, or
anything but real, bright blazing fiery red. Now, if you
cared to apply, mister Wilson, you would just walk in.
But perhaps it would be hardly worth your while to
put yourself out of the way for the sake of
a few hundred pounds. Now it is a fact, gentleman,
as you can see for yourself, that my hair is
of a very full and rich tint. So that it
seemed to me, if there was to be any competition
in the matter, I stood as good a chance as
any man that I had ever met. Vincent Spaulding seemed
to know so much about it that I thought he
might prove useful. So I just ordered him to put
up the shutters for the day and to come right
away with me. He was very willing to have a holiday,
so he shut the business up and started off for
the address that was given us in the advertisement. I
never hoped to see such a sight as that again,
mister Holmes, from north, south, east and west, every man
who had a shade of red in his hair had
tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. Fleet Street
was choked with red headed folk, and Pope's Court looked
like a coster's orange barrow. I should not have thought
there were so many in the whole country as were
brought together by that single advertisement, every shade of color.
They were straw, lemon, orange, brick, irish setter, liver clay.
But as Falding said, there were not many who had
the vivid, flame colored tint. When I saw how many
were waiting, I would have given it up in despair.
But Spalding would not hear of it. How he did
it I could not imagine. But he pushed and pulled
and butted until he got me through the crowd and
ride up to the steps which led to the office.
There was a double stream upon the stairs, some going
up in hope and some coming back dejected. But we
wedged in as well as we could, and soon found
ourselves in the office. Your experience has been a most
entertaining one, remarked Holmes, as his client paused and refreshed
his memory with a huge pinch of snuff. Pray, continue
your very interesting statement. There was nothing in the office
but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table,
behind which sat a small man with a head that
was even redder than mine. He said a few words
to each candidate as he came up, and then he
always managed to find some fault in them which would
disqualify them. Getting a vacancy did not not seem to
be such a very easy matter after all. However, when
our turn came, the little man was much more favorable
to me than to any of the others, and he
closed the door as we entered, so that he might
have a private word with us. This is mister job
as Wilson, said, my assistant, and he is willing to
fill a vacancy in the league, and he is admirably
suited for it. The other answered, he has every requirement.
I cannot recall when I have seen anything so fine.
He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side,
and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful.
Then suddenly he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated
me warmly on my success. It would be an injustice
to hesitate, said he. You will, however, I am sure,
excuse me for taking an obvious precaution. With that, he
seized my hair in both his hands and tugged until
I yelled with the pain. There is water in your
said he as he released me. I believe that all
is as it should be, but we have to be careful,
for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once
by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler's wax
which would disgust you with human nature. He stepped over
to the window and shouted through it at the top
of his voice that the vacancy was filled. A groan
of disappointment came up from below, and the folk all
trooped away in different directions, until there was not a
redhead to be seen except my own and that of
the manager. My name said, He is mister Duncan Ross,
and I am myself one of those pensioners upon the
fund left by our noble benefactor. Are you a married man,
mister Wilson, have you a family? I answered that I
had not. His face fell immediately. Dear me, he said, gravely,
that is very serious. Indeed, I am sorry to hear
you say that the fund was, of course for the
propagation and spread of the Redheads, as as well as
for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should
be a bachelor. My face linkedened at this, mister Holmes,
for I thought that I was not to have the
vacancy after all, But After thinking it over for a
few minutes, he said that it would be all right
in the case of another, said he, the objection might
be fatal, but we must stretch a point in favor
of a man with such a head of hair as yours.
When will you be able to enter upon your new duties. Well,
it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,
said I. Oh, never mind about that, mister Wilson, said
Vincent Spalding. I should be able to look after that
for you. What would be the hours, I asked, ten
to two. Now, a pawnbroker's business is mostly done of
an evening, mister Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which
is just before payday, So it would suit me very
well to earn a little in the mornings. Besides, I
knew that my assistant was a good man and that
he would see you do anything that turned up. That
would suit me very well, said I. And the pay
is four dollars a week, and the work is purely nominal.
What do you call purely nominal? Well, you have to
be in the office, or at least in the building
the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole
position forever. The will is very clear upon that point.
You don't comply with the conditions if you budge from
the office during that time. It is only four hours
a day, and I should not think of leaving, said I.
No excuse will prevail, said mister duncan Ross, neither sickness,
nor business or anything else. There you must stay or
you lose your billet and the work. It is to
copy out the Encyclopedia Britannica. There is the first volume
of it in that press. You must find your own ink,
pens and blotting paper, but we provide this table and chair.
Will you be ready tomorrow? Certainly? I answered, Then, good bye,
mister job As Wilson, and let me congratulate you once
more on the important position which you have been fortunate
enough to gain. He bowed me out of the room,
and I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what
to say or do. I was so pleased at my
own good fortune. Well, I thought over the matter all day,
and by evening I was in low spirits again, for
I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must
be at some great hoax or fraud, though what its
object might be. I could not imagine. It seemed altogether
past belief that any one would make such a will,
or that they would pay such a sum for doing
anything so simple as copying out the Encyclopedia Britannica Vincents.
Faulding did what he could to cheer me up, but
by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing. However,
in the morning I determined to have a look at
it anyhow so I bought a penny bottle of ink,
and with a quill pen and seven sheets of foolscap paper,
I started off for Pope's court. Well. To my surprise
and delight, everything was as right as possible. The table
was set out ready for me, and mister Duncan Ross
was there to see that I fairly got to work.
He started me off upon the letter A, and then
he left me, but he would drop in from time
to time to see that all was right with me.
At two o'clock he bade me good day, complimented me
upon the amount that I had written, and locked the
door of the office after me. This went on day
after day, mister Holmes, and on Saturday the manager came
in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week's work.
Who was the same next week, and the same the
week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and
every afternoon I left at two. By degrees, mister Duncan
Ross took to coming in only once of a morning,
and then after a time he did not come in
at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave
the room for an instant, for I was not sure
when he might come. And the billet was such a
good one and suited me so well that I would
not risk the loss of it. Eight weeks passed away
like this, and I had written about abbots and archery
and armor and architecture in Attica, and hoped with diligence
that I might get onto the bees before very long.
It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty
nearly filled a shelf with my writings, And then suddenly
the whole business came to an end, to an end, yes, sir,
and no later than this morning. I went to my
work as usual at ten o'clock, But the door was
shut and locked with a little square of cardboard hammered
onto the middle of the panel with attack. Here it is,
and you can read it for yourself. He held up
a piece of white cardboard about the size of a
sheet of notepaper. It read, in this fashion, the Red
Headed League is dissolved. October ninth, eighteen ninety Sherlock Holmes
and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face
behind it, until the comical side of the affairs so
completely overtopped every other consideration that we both broke out
into a roar of laughter. I cannot see that there
is anything very funny, cried our client, flushing up to
the roots of his flaming head. If you can do
nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere.
No no, cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair
from which he had half risen. I really wouldn't miss
your case for the world. It is most refreshingly unusual.
But there is, if you will excuse my saying so,
something just a little funny about it. Pray what steps
did you take when you found the card upon the door?
I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do.
Then I called of the officers round, but none of
them seemed to know anything about it. Finally I went
to the landlord who is an accountant living on the
ground floor, and I asked him if he could tell
me what had become of the red headed league. He
said that he had never heard of any such body.
Then I asked him who mister Duncan Ross was. He
answered that that name was new to him. Well, said I,
the gentleman at number four, what the red headed man? Yes, oh,
said he. His name was William Morris. He was a
solicitor and was using my room as a temporary convenience
until his new premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.
Where could I find him? Oh? At his new offices.
He did tell me the address, yes, seventeen King Edward Street,
near Saint Paul's. I started off, mister Holmes, But when
I got to that address, it was a manufactory of
artificial knee caps, and no one in it had ever
heard of either mister William Morris or mister Duncan Ross.
And what did you do, then, asked Holmes. I went
home to Saxe Coburg Square and I took the advice
of my assistant, but he could not help me in
any way. He could only say that if I waited,
I should hear my post. But that was not quite
good enough, mister Holmes. I did not wish to lose
such a place without a struggle. So as I heard
that you were good enough to give advice to poor
folk who were in need of it, I came right
away to you, and you did very wisely, said Holmes.
Your case is an exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall
be happy to look into it. From what you have
told me, I think that it is possible that graver
issues hang from it that might, at first sight appear
grave enough, said mister job As Wilson. Why I have
lost four pounds a week? As far as you are
personally concerned, remarked Holmes, I do not see how you
have any grievance against this extraordinary league. On the contrary,
you are, as I understand, richer by some thirty pounds,
to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have
gained on every subject which comes under the letter A.
You have lost nothing by them, no, sir, But I
want to find out about them and who they are,
and what their object was in playing this prank. If
it was a prank a on me, it was a
pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two
and thirty pounds. We shall endeavor to clear up these
points for you. And first, one or two questions, mister Wilson,
this assistant of yours who first called your attention to
the advertisement? How long has he been with you? About
a month? Then? How did he come in answer to
an advertisement? Was he the only applicant? No? I had
a dozen? Why did you pick him? Because he was
handy and would come cheap at half wages? In fact? Yes?
What does he like? This? Vincent Spalding? Small stout, built,
very quick in his ways. No hair on his face,
though he's not short of thirty as a white splash
of acid upon his forehead. Holmes sat up in his
chair in considerable excitement. I thought as much, said he.
Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for
ear rings? Yes, sir, he told me that a gipsy
he had done it for him when he was a lad, hm,
said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. He is still
with you? Oh, yes, sir, I have only just left him.
And has your business been attended to in your absence?
Nothing to complain of, sir. There is never very much
to do of a morning that will do mister Wilson,
I shall be happy to give you an opinion upon
the subject in the course of a day or two.
Today is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we
may come to a conclusion. Well, Watson, said Holmes, when
our visitor had left us, What do you make of
it all? I make nothing of it, I answered, frankly.
It is a most mysterious business. As a rule, said Holmes,
the more bizarre thing is the less mysterious it proves
to be. It is your commonplace featureless crimes, which are
really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most
difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter.
What are you going to do? Then asked to smoke?
He answered, it is quite a three pipe problem, and
I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes.
He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin
knees drawn up to his hawk like nose, and there
he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay
pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird.
I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped
to sleep, and indeed was nodding myself when he suddenly
sprang out of his chair with a gesture of a
man who has made up his mind, and put his
pipe down on the mantelpiece. Sarasate plays at the Saint
James Hall this afternoon. He remarked, what do you think, Watson?
Could your patience spare you a few hours? I have
nothing to do today. My practice is never very absorbing.
Then put on your hat and come. I am going
through the city first, and we can have some lunch
on the way. I observe that there is a good
deal of German music on the program, which is rather
more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspecting,
and I want to introspect. Come along. We traveled by
the underground as far as Aldersgate, and a short walk
took us to Saxe Coburg Square, the scene of the
singular story which we had listened to in the morning.
It was a poky, little shabby, genteel place where four
lines of dingy two story brick houses looked out into
a small, railed in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy
grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made
a hard fight against the smoke laden and uncongenial atmosphere,
three gilt balls, and a brown board with job as
Wilson in white letters. Upon a corner house announced the
place where our red headed client carried on his business.
Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head
on one side, and looked it all over with his
eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. Then he walked slowly
up the street and then down again to the corner,
still looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to
the pawnbrokers, and, having thumbed vigorously upon the pavement with
his stick two or three times, he went up to
the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a
bright looking, clean shaven young fellow, who asked him to
step in. Thank you, said Holmes. I only wish to
ask you how you would go from here to the
strand third right, fourth left, answered the assistant, promptly closing
the door. Smart fellow that observed Holmes as we walked away.
He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London,
and for daring, I am not sure that he has
not a claim to be third. I have known something
of him before evidently said I, mister Wilson's assistant counts
for a good deal in the mystery of the Red
Headed League. I am sure that you inquired your way
merely in order that you might see him, not him?
What then, the knees of his trousers? And what did
you see? What I expected to see? Why did you
beat the pavement, My dear doctor, This is time for observation,
not for talk. We are spies in an enemy's country.
We know something of saxe Coburg Square. Let us now
explore the parts which lie behind it. The road in
which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner
from the retired saxe Coburg Square presented as great a
contrast to it as the front of a picture does
to the back. It was one of the main arteries
which conveyed the traffic of the city to the north
and the west. The roadway was blocked with the immense
stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward,
while the footpaths were black with a hurrying swarm of pedestrians.
It was difficult to realize as we looked upon the
line of fine shops and stately business premises that they
really abutted on the other side, upon the faded and
stagnant square which we had just quitted. Let me see,
said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line.
I should like just to remember the order of the
houses here. It is a hobby of mind to have
an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer's, the Tobacconist,
the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City
and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian restaurant, and McFarland's carriage building
depot that carries us right on to the other block.
And now, doctor, we've done our work, so it's time
we had some play, a sandwich and a cup of coffee,
and then off to Violinland, where all is sweetness and
delicacy and harmony, and there are no red headed clients
to vex us with their conundrums. My friend was an
enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer,
but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon
he sat in the stalls, wrapped in the most perfect happiness,
gently waving his long, thin fingers in times of the music,
while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes
were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth hound, Holmes,
the relentless, keen witted, ready handed criminal agent, as it
was possible to conceive in his singular character, the dual
nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented,
as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic
and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing
of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy,
And as I knew well, he was never so truly
formidable as when for days on end he had been
lounging in his armchair amid the improvisations and his black
letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the
chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant
reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until
those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance
at him as on a man whose knowledge was not
that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon,
so enwrapped in the music at Saint James Hall, I
felt that an evil time might be coming upon those
whom he had set himself to hunt down. You want
to go home, no doubt, doctor, he remarked as we emerged. Yes,
it would be as well, and I have some business
to do which will take some hours. This business at
Coburg Square is serious. Why serious? A considerable crime is
in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we
shall be in time to stop it, But today, being Saturday,
rather complicates matters. I shall want your help tonight, at
what time ten will be early enough. I shall be
at Baker Street at ten very well, And I say, doctor,
there may be some little danger, so kindly put your
army revolver in your pocket. He waved his hand, turned
on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd.
I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbors.
But I was always oppressed with a sense of my
own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I
had heard what he had heard. I had seen what
he had seen, and yet from his words it was
evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened,
but what was about to happen, While to me the
whole business was still confused and grotesque. As I drove
home to my house in Kensington, I thought over it all,
from the extraordinary story of the red headed copier of
the Encyclopedia, down to the visit to Saxe Coburg Square
and the ominous words with which he had parted from me.
What was this nocturnal expedition and why should I go armed?
Where were we going and what were we to do?
I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth faced
pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man, a man who might
play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out,
but gave it up in despair and set the matter
aside until night should bring an explanation. It was a
quarter past nine when I started from home and made
my way across the park and so through Oxford Street
to Baker Street. Two Hansoms were standing at the door.
As I entered the passage, I heard the sound of
voices from above. On entering his room, I found Holmes
in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I
recognized as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the
other was a long, thin, sad faced man with a
very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock coat. Ha. Our
party is complete, said Holmes, buttoning up his pea jacket
and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. Watson,
I think you know, mister Jones of Scotland Yard. Let
me introduce you to mister Merriweather, who is to be
our companion in tonight's adventure. We're hunting in couples again, doctor,
You see, said Jones in his consequential way. Our friend
here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All
he wants is an old dog to help him do
the running down. I hope a wild goose may not
prove to be at the end of our chase, observed
mister Merriweather gloomily. You may place concerner terable confidence in
mister Holmes, Sir, said the police agent loftily. He has
his own little methods, which are, if he won't mind
my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic.
But he has the makings of a detective in him.
It's not too much to say that once or twice,
as in the business of the chalto murderer and the
Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the
official force. Oh, if you say so, mister Jones, it
is all right, said the stranger, with deference. Still, I
confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first
Saturday night for seven and twenty years that I have
not had my rubber. I think you will find, said
Sherlock Holmes, that you will play for a higher stake
tonight than you ever have done yet, and that the
play will be more exciting for you, mister Meriwether. The
stake will be some thirty thousand pounds, and for you, Jones,
it will be the man upon whom you wish to
lay your hands, John Clay, the murderer, thiefs, master, and forger.
He's a young man, mister Meriwether, but he is at
the head of his profession, and I would rather have
my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London.
He's a remarkable man, as young John Clay. His grandfather
was a royal duke, and he himself has been to
Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers.
And though we'll meet signs of him at every turn,
we never know where to find the man himself. He'll
crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising
money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I've
been on his track for years and have never set
eyes on him yet. I hope that I may have
the pleasure of introducing you tonight. I've had one or
two little turns also with mister John Clay, and I
agree with you that he is at the head of
his profession. It is past ten, however, and quite time
that we started. If you two will take the first,
handsome Watson and I will follow in the second. Sherlock
Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and
lay back in the cab humming the tunes which we
had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless
labyrinth of gas lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.
We are close there now, my friend remarked, This fellow
Merriweather is a bank director and personally interested in the matter.
I thought it as well to have Jones with us. Also,
he is not a bad fellow. Though an absolute imbecile
in his profession, he has one positive virtue. He is
as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster.
If he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are
and they are waiting for us. We had reached the
same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in
the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and following the guidance
of mister Merriweather, we passed down a narrow passage and
through his side door, which he opened for us. Within
there was a small corridor which ended in a very
massive iron gate. This also was opened and led down
a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another
formidable gait. Mister Merriwether stopped to light a lantern and
then conducted us down a dark, earth smelling passage, and
so after opening a third door, into a huge vault
or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and
massive boxes. You are not very vulnerable from above, Holmes remarked,
as he held up the lantern and gazed about him,
nor from below, said mister Merriwether, striking his stick upon
the flags which lined the floor. Why dear me, it
sounds quite hollow, he remarked, looking up in surprise. I
must really ask you to be a little more quiet,
said Holmes severely. You have already imperiled the whole success
of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have
the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes,
and not to interfere. The solemn mister Merriwether perched himself
upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face,
while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor, and
with a lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine
minutely the cracks between the stones. A few seconds suffice
to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again
and put his glass in his pocket. We have at
least an hour before us, he remarked, for they can
hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely
in bed. Then they will not lose a minute, for
the sooner they do their work, the longer time they
will have for their escape. We are at present, doctor,
as no doubt you have divined in this cellar of
the city branch of one of the principal London banks.
Mister Meriweather is the chairman of directors, and he will
explain to you there are reasons why the more daring
criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar.
At present it is our French gold, whispered the director.
We have had several warnings that an attempt might be
made upon it, your French gold. Yes, we had occasion
some months ago to strengthen our resources, and borrowed for
that purpose thirty thousand napoleons from the Bank of France.
It has become known that we have never had occasion
to unpack the money, and that it is still lying
in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains
two thousand napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our
reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is
usually kept in a single branch office. And the directors
have had misgivings upon the subject, which were very well justified,
observed Holmes. And now it is time that we arranged
our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters
will come to a head. In the meantime, mister Merriweather,
we must put the screen over that dark lantern and
sit in the dark. I am afraid, so I had
brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I
thought that as we were a PARTI carreis, you might
have your rubber, after all. But I see that the
enemy's preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk
the presence of a light. And first of all, we
must choose our positions. These are daring men, and though
we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do
us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand
behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those then,
when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly.
If they fire, Watson have no compunction about shooting them down.
I placed my revolver cocked upon the top of the
wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide
across the front of his lantern and left us in
pitch darkness, such an absolute darkness as I have never
before experienced. The smell of hot metal remained to assure
us that the light was still there, ready to flash
out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves
worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something
depressing and subduing in a sudden gloom and in the cold,
dank air of the vault. They have but one retreat,
whispered Holmes. That is back through the house in the
Saxe Coburg Square. I hope that you have done what
I asked you, Jones. I have an inspector and two
officers waiting at the front door. Then we have stopped
all the holes, and now we must be silent and wait.
What a time it seemed from comparing notes afterwards, it
was but an hour and a quarter. Yet it appeared
to me that the night must have almost gone, and
the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs were weary
and stiff, for I feared to change my position. Yet
my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension,
and my hearing was so acute that I could not
only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I
could distinguish the deeper, heavier in breadth of the bulky
Jones from the thin sighing note of the bank director.
From my position, I could look over the case in
the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the
glint of a light. At first it was but a
lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then it lengthened out
until it became a yellow line, and then, without any
warning or sound, a gash seemed to open, and a
hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about
in the center of the little area of light. For
a minute or more, the hand, with its writhing fingers,
protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as
suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again, save
this single lurid spark, which marked a chink between the stones.
Its disappearance, however, was but momentary, with a rending tearing sound.
One of the broad white stones turned over upon its
side and left a square, gaping hole through which streamed
the light of a lantern. Over the edge, there peeped
a clean cut, boyish face which looked keenly about it,
and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture,
drew itself shoulder high and waisted high until one knee
rested upon the edge. In another instant he stood at
the side of the hole and was hauling after him.
I'm a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a
pale face and a shock of very red hair. It's
all clear, he whispered, Have you the chisel in the bags?
Great Scott, jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it.
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by
the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I
heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at
his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver,
but holmes hunting crop came down on the man's wrist,
and the pistol clunked upon the stone floor. It's no use,
John Clay, said Holmes, blandly, you have no chance at all,
so I see the other answered with the utmost coolness.
I fancy that my pal is all right, though I
see you have got his coat tails. There are three
men waiting for him at the door, said Holmes. Oh, indeed,
you seem to have done the thing very completely. I
must compliment you, and I you, Holmes answered, your red
headed idea was very new and effective. You'll see your
pal again presently, said Jones. He's quicker at climbing down
holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix
the Darby's. I beg that you will not touch me
with your filthy hands, remarked our prisoner, as the handcuffs
clattered upon his wrists. You may not be aware that
I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness
also when you address me, always to say sir and
please all right, said Jones, with a stare and a snigger. Well,
would you please, sir march up stairs where we can
get a cab to carry your highness to the police station.
That is better, said John Clay serenely. He made a
sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly
off in the custody of the detective. Really, mister Holmes,
said mister Merriweather, as we followed them from the cellar,
I do not know how the bank can thank you
or repay you. There is no out that you have
detected and defeated in the most complete manner, one of
the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever
come within my experience. I have had one or two
little scores of my own to settle with, mister John Clay,
said Holmes. I have been at some small expense over
this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund,
But beyond that I am amply or paid by having
an experience which is in many ways unique, and by
hearing the very remarkable narrative of the red headed league.
You see Watson, he explained in the early hours of
the morning, as we sat over a glass of whiskey
and soda in Baker Street. It was perfectly obvious from
the first that the only possible object of this rather
fantastic business of the advertisement of the league and the
copying of the encyclopedia must be to get this not
over bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number
of hours every day. It was a curious way of
managing it, but really it would be difficult to suggest
a better The method that was, no doubt suggested to
Clay's ingenious mind by the color of his accomplice's hair.
The four dollars a week was a lure which must
draw him, And what was it to them who were
playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement. One rogue
has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man
to apply for it, and together they managed to secure
his absence every morning in the week. From the time
I heard of the assistant having come for half wages,
it was obvious to me that he had some strong
motive for securing the situation. But how could you guess
what the motive was? Had there been women in the house.
I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however,
was out of the question. The man's business was a
small one, and there was nothing in his house which
could account for such elaborate preparations and such an expenditure
as they were at it. It must then be something
out of the house. What could it be? I thought
of the assistant's fondness for fatighgraphy, and his trick of
vanishing into the cellar. The cellar, there was the end
of this tangled clue. Then I made inquiries as to
this a mysterious assistant, and found that I had to
deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals
in London. He was doing something in the cellar, something
which took many hours a day for months on end.
What could it be? Once more, I could think of nothing,
say that he was running a tunnel to some other building.
So far I had got. When we went to visit
the scene of action, I surprised you by beating upon
the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the
cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not
in front. Then I rang the bell, and as I hoped,
the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but
we have never set eyes upon each other before. I
hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I
wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn,
wrinkled and stained they were. They spoke of those hours
of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were
burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City
and Suburban Bank a budget on our friend's premises, and
felt that I had solved my problem. When you drove
home after the concert, I called upon Scotland Yard and
upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result
that you have seen. And how could you tell that
they would make their attempt tonight? I asked, Well, when
they closed their league offices, that was a sign that
they cared no longer about mister job As Wilson's presence.
In other words, that they had completed their tunnel, but
it was essential that they should use it soon, as
it might be discovered or the bullion might be removed.
Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as
it would give them two days for their escape. For
all these reasons I expected them to come tonight. You
reasoned it out beautifully, I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. It
is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.
It saved me from Unwi, he answered, yawning, alas I
already feel it closing in upon me. My life is
spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces
of existence. These little problems helped me to do so.
And you are a benefactor of the race, said I.
He shrugged his shoulders. Well, perhaps, after all, it is
of some little use, he remarked. L'eme sellienne lou VREs
setout as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George sand End of
the Red Headed League,