October 2, 2025 • 58 mins
Solve crimes with the great detective in "Sherlock Holmes Short Stories." Featuring classic tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, this podcast brings you the brilliant deductions and thrilling adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the world of Holmes, these timeless mysteries will keep you captivated.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The red headed league. 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
(00:22):
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.
(00:42):
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,
(01:02):
fat encircled eyes. Try the settee, said Holmes, relapsing into
his arm chair and putting his finger tips 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
every day life. You have shown your relish for it
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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
(01:48):
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 none the less, you must come round to my view,
for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact
(02:11):
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
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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
(02:53):
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
the opening part, but also because the peculiar nature of
the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail
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from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard
some slight indication in the course of events, I am
able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar
cases which occur 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
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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
(03:58):
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 check trousers, a not over
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clean 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,
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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. Sherlock Holmes's quick eye
took in my occupation, and he shook his head with
a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. Beyond the
(05:02):
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 upon my companion.
(05:26):
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
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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
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can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny
for five inches, and the left one with the 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
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have even contributed to the literature of the subject. That
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,
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I never said he. I thought at first that you
had done something clever, But I see that there was
nothing in it. After all, I begin to think, Watson,
said Holmes, that I make a mistake in explaining omnae
ignotum pro magnifico. You know, and my poor little reputation,
such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am
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so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, mister Wilson, Yes,
I have got it now, he answered, with his thick
red finger planted half way down the column. Here it is,
this is what began it 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
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of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USSA.
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, men
who are sound in body and mind and above the
age of twenty one years are eligible. Apply in person
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on Monday at eleven o'clock to Duncan Ross at the
offices of the League, seven Popes 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.
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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,
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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
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it 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.
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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
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an employee who ca 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
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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's a
good worker. There's no vice in him. He is 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,
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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 first thing that
put us out was that advertisement. Spalding. He came down
into the office just this day, eight weeks with this
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very paper in his hand, and he says, I wish
to the Lord mister Wilson, that I was a red
headed man. Why is 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
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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
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to it, I was often three 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 league the Red Headed Men?
He asked, with his eyes open. Never. Why I wonder
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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
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not been over good for 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 apply for particulars. As far as I can make out,
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the league was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah 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 berths to men whose hair is of
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that color. From all I hear, it is splendid pay
and very little to do. But said I, there would
be millions of red headed 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.
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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 is 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,
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but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to
put yourself out of the way for the sake of
a few hundred pounds. Now it is a fact, gentlemen,
as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is
of a very full and rich tint. So that it
seemed to me that 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 Spalding
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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 we 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,
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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
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brought together by that single advertisement. Every shade of color.
They were straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish setter, liver clay.
But as Spalding said, there were not many who had
the real vivid, flame colored tint. When I saw how
many were waiting, I would have given it up in despair.
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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
right up to the steps which led to the office.
There was a double stream upon the stair, some going
up in hope and some coming back dejected. But we
wedged in as well as we could, and soon found
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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,
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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 seem to be
such a very easy matter after all. However, when our
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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.
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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 bash Then suddenly
he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly
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on my success. It would be 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 pane.
There is water in your eyes, said he as he
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released me. I perceive 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
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from below, and the folk all trooped away in different directions,
until there was not a red head 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 the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
Are you a married man, mister Wilson, have you a family?
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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 well as for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate
that you should be a bachelor. My face lengthened at this,
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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 shall you be able to enter
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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
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pawnbroker's business is mostly done of an evening, mister Holmes,
especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay day.
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 to
anything that turned up. That would suit me very well,
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said I. And the pay is four pounds 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 your whole position forever the
will is very clear upon that point. You don't comply
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with the conditions if you budge from the office during
that time. It's only four hours a day, and I
should not think of leaving, said I. No excuse will avail,
said mister duncan Ross, neither sickness, nor business nor anything else.
There you must stay or you lose your billet. And
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the work 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
to morrow? Certainly? I answered, then, good bye, mister Jabez Wilson,
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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
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I was in low spirits again, for I had quite
persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great
hoax or fraud. Though what its object might be I
could not imagine, it seemed altogether past belief that anyone
could make such a will, or that they would pay
such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying
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out the Encyclopedia Britannica. Vincent Spaulding 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 fool's cap paper, I
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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 got fairly 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
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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. It was the
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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.
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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
and attica, and hoped with diligence that I might get
on to the bees before very long. It cost me
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something in fool's cap, 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
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on to the middle of the panel with attack. Here
it is, and you can read for yourself. He held
up a piece of white cardboard about the size of
a sheet of note paper. It read, in this fashion,
the Red Headed League is dissolved. October ninth, eighteen ninety
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Sirlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the
rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the
affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both
burst 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
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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
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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 at the offices 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, and I asked him if he could
tell me what had become of the red headed league.
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He said that he had never heard of any such body.
Then I asked him who mister Duncan Ross was. He
answered that the 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
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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
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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
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any way. He could only say that if I waited,
I should hear by 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 had
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.
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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 than 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
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personally concerned, remarked Holmes, I do not see that 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
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want to find out about them, and who they are,
and what their object was in playing this prank. If
it was a prank upon 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
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the advertisement? How long had 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
handed and would come cheap at half wages? In fact? Yes?
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What is 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, has a white splash
of acid upon his forehead. Holmes sat up in his
chair in considerable excitement. I thought as much, said he.
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Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for
ear rings? Yes, sir, he told me that a gipsy
had done it for him when he was a lad. Hum,
said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. He is still
with you? Oh? Yes, sir? I have only just left him.
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And has your business been attended to in your absence?
Nothing to complain of, sir. There's 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. To
day is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we
may come to a conclusion. Well, Watson, said Holmes, when
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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 a thing is, the less mysterious it
proves to be. It is your commonplace featureless crimes, which
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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? I
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,
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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 asleep, and indeed was nodding myself when he
suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of
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a man who has made up his mind, and put
his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. Sarasate plays at Saint
James Hall this afternoon. He remarked, what do you think, Watson,
could your patience spare you for a few hours. I
have nothing to do to day. My practice is never
very absorbing. Then put on your hat and come. I
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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 friend Bench.
It is introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along.
We traveled by the underground as far as Aldersgate, and
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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 storied brick houses
looked out into a small, railed in enclosure, where a
lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded
(31:32):
laurel bushes made a hard fight against a 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 stepped in front of it
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with his head on one side, and looked it all over,
with his eyes shining brightly between pred 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 thumped vigorously upon the
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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
wished to ask you how you would go from here
to the strand third right, fourth left, answered the assistant,
(32:38):
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
(33:00):
mister Wilson's assistant counts for a good deal in this
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?
(33:24):
Why did you beat the pavement? My dear doctor, This
is a 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
(33:45):
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 west. The roadway was
blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a
(34:05):
double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black
with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. It was difficult to realize,
as we looked at 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.
(34:27):
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 mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There
is Mortimer's, the Tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Cobourg
branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the vegetarian restaurant,
(34:49):
and mc farlane'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
vile in Land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony,
and there are no red headed clients to vex us
(35:12):
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 time to the music, while
(35:34):
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
(35:58):
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
(36:19):
lounging in his arm chair amid his 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
(36:39):
not that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon,
so enwrapped in the music at Saint James's 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,
(37:01):
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 to day
(37:22):
being Saturday, rather complicates matters. I shall want your help
to night. 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
(37:46):
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
(38:09):
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
(38:33):
to the visit at 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
(38:56):
a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but
gave 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, and as I
(39:18):
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 an
(39:38):
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 Merriwether,
who is to be our companion into night's adventure. We're
(40:01):
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 the end
of our chase, observed mister Meriweather gloomily. You may place
(40:25):
considerable 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 is not too much to say that
once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto
(40:46):
murder 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
(41:08):
I have not had my rubber. I think you will find,
said Sherlock Holmes, that you will play for a higher
stake to night than you have ever done yet, and
that the play will be more exciting. For you, mister Merriwether,
the steak will be some thirty thousand pounds, and for you, Jones,
it will be the man upon whom you wish to
(41:29):
lay your hands, John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher and forger.
He's a young man, mister Merriwether, 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 is a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His
grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been
(41:51):
to Eden and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as
his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at
every turn, we never know where to find. And 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
(42:12):
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 hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.
(42:37):
Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive,
and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which
he 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.
(42:57):
This fellow Merriweather is a bank director and per 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
(43:18):
upon any one. 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 Merriwether, we
passed down a narrow passage and through a side door
(43:38):
which he opened for us. Within there was a small
corridor which ended in a very massive iron grate. This
also was opened and led down a flight of winding
stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gait. Mister Merriweather
stopped to light a lantern and then conducted us down
(43:59):
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,
(44:21):
said mister Merriweather, 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.
(44:42):
Might I beg that you would have the goodness to
sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere.
The solemn mister Merriweather perched himself upon a crate, with
a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell
upon his knees upon the floor, and with the lantern
and magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between
(45:06):
the stones. A few seconds sufficed 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,
(45:28):
the longer time they will have for their escape. We
are at present, doctor, as no doubt you have divined
in the cellar of the City branch of one of
the principal London banks. Mister Meriwether is the chairman of directors,
and he will explain to you that there are reasons
why the more daring criminals of London should take a
(45:49):
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
(46:13):
Bank of France. It has become known that we have
never had an 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.
(46:37):
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 Meriwether, we must put the screen over
that dark lantern. And in the dark I am afraid.
(47:02):
So I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket,
and I thought that as we were a PARTI carey
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,
(47:22):
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
(47:45):
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,
(48:08):
with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy,
there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom
and in the cold, dank air of the vault. They
have but one retreat, whispered Holmes. That is back through
the house into Saxe Coburg square. I hope that you
have done what I asked you, Jones. I have an
(48:31):
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
(48:54):
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
breath of the bulky Jones from the thin sighing note
(49:14):
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
(49:38):
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
(49:59):
dark again, save the 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.
(50:22):
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 waist high, until one knee rested upon the edge.
In another instant he stood at the side of the
hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and
(50:43):
small like himself, with a pale face and a shock
of very red hair. It's all clear, he whispered, have
you the chisel and 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
(51:03):
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's hunting crop
came down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked
upon the stone floor. It's no use, John Clay, said Holmes, blandly,
you have no chance at all, so I see the
(51:27):
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,
(51:48):
and I you, Holmes answered, Your red headed idea was
very new and effective. You'll see your pal again presently,
said Jones. He is quicker at climbing the holes than
I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.
I beg that you will not touch me with your
filthy hands, remarked our prisoner, as the handcuffs clattered upon
(52:12):
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 stinger. Well will
you please, sir march upstairs where we can get a
cab to carry your highness to the police station. That
(52:36):
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 doubt that you have detected
(52:58):
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
(53:19):
this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund.
But beyond that I am amply repaid by having had
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
(53:40):
and soda in Baker Street, it was perfectly obvious from
the first that the only possible object of this rather
fantastic business for 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
(54:01):
managing it, but really it would be difficult to suggest
a better The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's
ingenious mind by the color of his accomplice's hair. The
four pounds 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,
(54:25):
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 that 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?
(54:49):
Had there been a woman 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 no in his house which could account
for such elaborate preparations and such an expenditure as they
were at. It must then be something out of the house.
(55:10):
What could it be? I thought of the assistant's fondness
for photography 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 mysterious assistant and
found that I had to deal with one of the
coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was doing
(55:34):
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 save 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.
(55:56):
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 had never set
eyes upon each other before I hardly looked at his face.
His knees were what I wished to see. You must
(56:18):
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 abutted on
our friend's premises, and felt that I had solved my problem.
(56:40):
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 to night?
I asked, Well, when they closed their league offices, that
was a sign that they cared no longer about mister
(57:00):
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
(57:23):
to come to night. 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 anui,
he answered, yawning. Alas I already feel it closing in
(57:44):
upon me. My life is spent in one long effort
to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems
help 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.
(58:09):
Lome Syrien louve set too, as Gustave Flaubert wrote, to
your sand
The red headed league. 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
(00:22):
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.
(00:42):
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,
(01:02):
fat encircled eyes. Try the settee, said Holmes, relapsing into
his arm chair and putting his finger tips 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
every day life. You have shown your relish for it
(01:26):
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
(01:48):
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 none the less, you must come round to my view,
for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact
(02:11):
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
(02:32):
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
(02:53):
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
the opening part, but also because the peculiar nature of
the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail
(03:14):
from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard
some slight indication in the course of events, I am
able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar
cases which occur 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
(03:35):
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
(03:58):
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 check trousers, a not over
(04:19):
clean 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,
(04:40):
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. Sherlock Holmes's quick eye
took in my occupation, and he shook his head with
a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. Beyond the
(05:02):
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 upon my companion.
(05:26):
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
(05:46):
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
(06:11):
can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny
for five inches, and the left one with the 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
(06:33):
have even contributed to the literature of the subject. That
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,
(06:54):
I never said he. I thought at first that you
had done something clever, But I see that there was
nothing in it. After all, I begin to think, Watson,
said Holmes, that I make a mistake in explaining omnae
ignotum pro magnifico. You know, and my poor little reputation,
such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am
(07:17):
so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, mister Wilson, Yes,
I have got it now, he answered, with his thick
red finger planted half way down the column. Here it is,
this is what began it 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
(07:43):
of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USSA.
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, men
who are sound in body and mind and above the
age of twenty one years are eligible. Apply in person
(08:06):
on Monday at eleven o'clock to Duncan Ross at the
offices of the League, seven Popes 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.
(08:29):
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,
(08:52):
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
(09:15):
it 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.
(09:36):
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
(09:58):
an employee who ca 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
(10:21):
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's a
good worker. There's no vice in him. He is 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,
(10:43):
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 first thing that
put us out was that advertisement. Spalding. He came down
into the office just this day, eight weeks with this
(11:03):
very paper in his hand, and he says, I wish
to the Lord mister Wilson, that I was a red
headed man. Why is 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
(11:24):
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
(11:45):
to it, I was often three 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 league the Red Headed Men?
He asked, with his eyes open. Never. Why I wonder
(12:06):
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
(12:27):
not been over good for 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 apply for particulars. As far as I can make out,
(12:48):
the league was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah 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 berths to men whose hair is of
(13:11):
that color. From all I hear, it is splendid pay
and very little to do. But said I, there would
be millions of red headed 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.
(13:32):
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 is 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,
(13:53):
but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to
put yourself out of the way for the sake of
a few hundred pounds. Now it is a fact, gentlemen,
as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is
of a very full and rich tint. So that it
seemed to me that 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 Spalding
(14:16):
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 we 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,
(14:37):
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
(14:59):
brought together by that single advertisement. Every shade of color.
They were straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish setter, liver clay.
But as Spalding said, there were not many who had
the real vivid, flame colored tint. When I saw how
many were waiting, I would have given it up in despair.
(15:22):
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
right up to the steps which led to the office.
There was a double stream upon the stair, some going
up in hope and some coming back dejected. But we
wedged in as well as we could, and soon found
(15:43):
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,
(16:05):
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 seem to be
such a very easy matter after all. However, when our
(16:25):
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.
(16:46):
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 bash Then suddenly
he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly
(17:06):
on my success. It would be 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 pane.
There is water in your eyes, said he as he
(17:27):
released me. I perceive 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
(17:52):
from below, and the folk all trooped away in different directions,
until there was not a red head 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 the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
Are you a married man, mister Wilson, have you a family?
(18:15):
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 well as for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate
that you should be a bachelor. My face lengthened at this,
(18:39):
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 shall you be able to enter
(19:00):
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
(19:21):
pawnbroker's business is mostly done of an evening, mister Holmes,
especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay day.
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 to
anything that turned up. That would suit me very well,
(19:41):
said I. And the pay is four pounds 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 your whole position forever the
will is very clear upon that point. You don't comply
(20:05):
with the conditions if you budge from the office during
that time. It's only four hours a day, and I
should not think of leaving, said I. No excuse will avail,
said mister duncan Ross, neither sickness, nor business nor anything else.
There you must stay or you lose your billet. And
(20:26):
the work 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
to morrow? Certainly? I answered, then, good bye, mister Jabez Wilson,
(20:49):
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
(21:09):
I was in low spirits again, for I had quite
persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great
hoax or fraud. Though what its object might be I
could not imagine, it seemed altogether past belief that anyone
could make such a will, or that they would pay
such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying
(21:29):
out the Encyclopedia Britannica. Vincent Spaulding 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 fool's cap paper, I
(21:50):
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 got fairly 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
(22:10):
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. It was the
(22:32):
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.
(22:53):
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
and attica, and hoped with diligence that I might get
on to the bees before very long. It cost me
(23:16):
something in fool's cap, 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
(23:37):
on to the middle of the panel with attack. Here
it is, and you can read for yourself. He held
up a piece of white cardboard about the size of
a sheet of note paper. It read, in this fashion,
the Red Headed League is dissolved. October ninth, eighteen ninety
(23:59):
Sirlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the
rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the
affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both
burst 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
(24:21):
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
(24:42):
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 at the offices 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, and I asked him if he could
tell me what had become of the red headed league.
(25:05):
He said that he had never heard of any such body.
Then I asked him who mister Duncan Ross was. He
answered that the 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
(25:28):
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
(25:48):
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
(26:10):
any way. He could only say that if I waited,
I should hear by 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 had
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.
(26:32):
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 than 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
(26:54):
personally concerned, remarked Holmes, I do not see that 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
(27:17):
want to find out about them, and who they are,
and what their object was in playing this prank. If
it was a prank upon 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
(27:39):
the advertisement? How long had 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
handed and would come cheap at half wages? In fact? Yes?
(28:07):
What is 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, has a white splash
of acid upon his forehead. Holmes sat up in his
chair in considerable excitement. I thought as much, said he.
(28:31):
Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for
ear rings? Yes, sir, he told me that a gipsy
had done it for him when he was a lad. Hum,
said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. He is still
with you? Oh? Yes, sir? I have only just left him.
(28:52):
And has your business been attended to in your absence?
Nothing to complain of, sir. There's 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. To
day is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we
may come to a conclusion. Well, Watson, said Holmes, when
(29:18):
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 a thing is, the less mysterious it
proves to be. It is your commonplace featureless crimes, which
(29:41):
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? I
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,
(30:05):
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 asleep, and indeed was nodding myself when he
suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of
(30:26):
a man who has made up his mind, and put
his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. Sarasate plays at Saint
James Hall this afternoon. He remarked, what do you think, Watson,
could your patience spare you for a few hours. I
have nothing to do to day. My practice is never
very absorbing. Then put on your hat and come. I
(30:49):
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 friend Bench.
It is introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along.
We traveled by the underground as far as Aldersgate, and
(31:10):
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 storied brick houses
looked out into a small, railed in enclosure, where a
lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded
(31:32):
laurel bushes made a hard fight against a 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 stepped in front of it
(31:54):
with his head on one side, and looked it all over,
with his eyes shining brightly between pred 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 thumped vigorously upon the
(32:15):
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
wished to ask you how you would go from here
to the strand third right, fourth left, answered the assistant,
(32:38):
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
(33:00):
mister Wilson's assistant counts for a good deal in this
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?
(33:24):
Why did you beat the pavement? My dear doctor, This
is a 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
(33:45):
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 west. The roadway was
blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a
(34:05):
double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black
with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. It was difficult to realize,
as we looked at 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.
(34:27):
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 mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There
is Mortimer's, the Tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Cobourg
branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the vegetarian restaurant,
(34:49):
and mc farlane'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
vile in Land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony,
and there are no red headed clients to vex us
(35:12):
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 time to the music, while
(35:34):
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
(35:58):
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
(36:19):
lounging in his arm chair amid his 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
(36:39):
not that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon,
so enwrapped in the music at Saint James's 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,
(37:01):
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 to day
(37:22):
being Saturday, rather complicates matters. I shall want your help
to night. 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
(37:46):
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
(38:09):
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
(38:33):
to the visit at 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
(38:56):
a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but
gave 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, and as I
(39:18):
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 an
(39:38):
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 Merriwether,
who is to be our companion into night's adventure. We're
(40:01):
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 the end
of our chase, observed mister Meriweather gloomily. You may place
(40:25):
considerable 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 is not too much to say that
once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto
(40:46):
murder 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
(41:08):
I have not had my rubber. I think you will find,
said Sherlock Holmes, that you will play for a higher
stake to night than you have ever done yet, and
that the play will be more exciting. For you, mister Merriwether,
the steak will be some thirty thousand pounds, and for you, Jones,
it will be the man upon whom you wish to
(41:29):
lay your hands, John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher and forger.
He's a young man, mister Merriwether, 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 is a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His
grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been
(41:51):
to Eden and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as
his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at
every turn, we never know where to find. And 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
(42:12):
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 hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.
(42:37):
Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive,
and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which
he 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.
(42:57):
This fellow Merriweather is a bank director and per 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
(43:18):
upon any one. 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 Merriwether, we
passed down a narrow passage and through a side door
(43:38):
which he opened for us. Within there was a small
corridor which ended in a very massive iron grate. This
also was opened and led down a flight of winding
stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gait. Mister Merriweather
stopped to light a lantern and then conducted us down
(43:59):
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,
(44:21):
said mister Merriweather, 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.
(44:42):
Might I beg that you would have the goodness to
sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere.
The solemn mister Merriweather perched himself upon a crate, with
a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell
upon his knees upon the floor, and with the lantern
and magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between
(45:06):
the stones. A few seconds sufficed 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,
(45:28):
the longer time they will have for their escape. We
are at present, doctor, as no doubt you have divined
in the cellar of the City branch of one of
the principal London banks. Mister Meriwether is the chairman of directors,
and he will explain to you that there are reasons
why the more daring criminals of London should take a
(45:49):
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
(46:13):
Bank of France. It has become known that we have
never had an 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.
(46:37):
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 Meriwether, we must put the screen over
that dark lantern. And in the dark I am afraid.
(47:02):
So I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket,
and I thought that as we were a PARTI carey
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,
(47:22):
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
(47:45):
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,
(48:08):
with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy,
there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom
and in the cold, dank air of the vault. They
have but one retreat, whispered Holmes. That is back through
the house into Saxe Coburg square. I hope that you
have done what I asked you, Jones. I have an
(48:31):
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
(48:54):
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
breath of the bulky Jones from the thin sighing note
(49:14):
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
(49:38):
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
(49:59):
dark again, save the 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.
(50:22):
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 waist high, until one knee rested upon the edge.
In another instant he stood at the side of the
hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and
(50:43):
small like himself, with a pale face and a shock
of very red hair. It's all clear, he whispered, have
you the chisel and 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
(51:03):
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's hunting crop
came down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked
upon the stone floor. It's no use, John Clay, said Holmes, blandly,
you have no chance at all, so I see the
(51:27):
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,
(51:48):
and I you, Holmes answered, Your red headed idea was
very new and effective. You'll see your pal again presently,
said Jones. He is quicker at climbing the holes than
I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.
I beg that you will not touch me with your
filthy hands, remarked our prisoner, as the handcuffs clattered upon
(52:12):
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 stinger. Well will
you please, sir march upstairs where we can get a
cab to carry your highness to the police station. That
(52:36):
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 doubt that you have detected
(52:58):
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
(53:19):
this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund.
But beyond that I am amply repaid by having had
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
(53:40):
and soda in Baker Street, it was perfectly obvious from
the first that the only possible object of this rather
fantastic business for 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
(54:01):
managing it, but really it would be difficult to suggest
a better The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's
ingenious mind by the color of his accomplice's hair. The
four pounds 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,
(54:25):
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 that 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?
(54:49):
Had there been a woman 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 no in his house which could account
for such elaborate preparations and such an expenditure as they
were at. It must then be something out of the house.
(55:10):
What could it be? I thought of the assistant's fondness
for photography 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 mysterious assistant and
found that I had to deal with one of the
coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was doing
(55:34):
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 save 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.
(55:56):
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 had never set
eyes upon each other before I hardly looked at his face.
His knees were what I wished to see. You must
(56:18):
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 abutted on
our friend's premises, and felt that I had solved my problem.
(56:40):
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 to night?
I asked, Well, when they closed their league offices, that
was a sign that they cared no longer about mister
(57:00):
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
(57:23):
to come to night. 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 anui,
he answered, yawning. Alas I already feel it closing in
(57:44):
upon me. My life is spent in one long effort
to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems
help 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.
(58:09):
Lome Syrien louve set too, as Gustave Flaubert wrote, to
your sand
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