The Red-Headed League - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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