But to-day
being Saturday rather complicates matters.
being Saturday rather complicates matters.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v08 - Dah to Dra
Jabez Wilson; and let me congratulate
you once more on the important position which you have been
fortunate enough to gain. ' He bowed me out of the room, and
I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or
do, I was so pleased at my own good fortune.
"Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I
was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that
the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what
its object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether
past belief that any one could make such a will, or that they
would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying
out the Encyclopædia 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 foolscap paper I started
off for Pope's Court.
<
## p. 4825 (#623) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4825
"Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as
possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. 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 see that all was right with me. At two
o'clock he bade me good-by, complimented me upon the amount
that I had written, and locked the door of the office after me.
"This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday
the manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns
for my week's work. It was the same next week, and the same
the week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every
afternoon I left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to
coming in only once of a morning, and then after a time he
did not come in at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave
the room for an instant, for I was not sure when he might come,
and the billet was such a good one, and suited me so well, that
I would not risk the loss of it.
«< Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about
Abbots and Archery and Armor and Architecture and Attica, and
hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B's before very
long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly
filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole
business came to an end. "
"To an end? "
"Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my
work as usual at ten o'clock, but the door was shut and locked
with a little square of card-board hammered on to the middle of
the panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for your-
self. "
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 9th, 1890.
Sherlock 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.
## p. 4826 (#624) ###########################################
4826
A. CONAN DOYLE
"I cannot see that there is anything very funny," cried our
client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. "If you can
do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere. "
"No, no," cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from
which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for
the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you
will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it.
Pray, what steps did you take when you found the card upon the
door? »
"I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I
called 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-floor, and I asked him if he
could tell me what had become of the Red-Headed League. He
said that he had never heard of any such body. Then I asked
him who Mr. Duncan Ross was. He answered that the name
was new to him.
"Well,' said I, 'the gentleman at No. 4. '
"What, the red-headed man? '
༥ ་
'Yes. '
"Oh,' said he, 'his name was William Morris.
solicitor, and was using my room.
until his new premises were ready.
"Where could I find him? '
He was a
as a temporary convenience
He moved out yesterday. '
"Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes,
17 King Edward Street, near St. Paul's. '
"I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it
was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had
ever heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross. "
"And what did you do then? " asked Holmes.
"I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice
of my assistant. But he could not help me in any way.
He
could only say that if I waited I should hear by post. But that
was not quite good enough, Mr. 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. "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. "
## p. 4827 (#625) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4827
"Why, I have lost
"Grave enough! " said Mr. Jabez Wilson.
four pound a week. "
"As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes,
"I do not see that you have any grievance against this extraor-
dinary league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer
by some £30, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you
have gained on every subject which comes under the letter A.
You have lost nothing by them. "
"No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they
are, and what their object was in playing this prank-if it was
a prank - 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, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours
who first called your attention to 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 handy, and would come cheap. "
"At half wages, in fact. "
"Yes. >>>
"What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding? "
"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. »
« I
Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement.
thought as much," said he. "Have you ever observed that his
ears are pierced for earrings? "
"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. "
"And has your business been
<< Nothing to complain of, sir.
of a morning. "
attended to in your absence ? »
There's never very much to do
"That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an
opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day
7
## p. 4828 (#626) ###########################################
4828
A. CONAN DOYLE
is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a con-
clusion. "
"Well, Watson," said Holmes, when our visitor had left us,
"what do you make of it all? "
"I make nothing of it," I answered, frankly. "It is a most
mysterious business. "
«< As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is, the
less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, feature-
less crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face
is the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this
matter. "
>>>
"What are you going to do, then? 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, 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 a man who has made up his mind, and
put his pipe down upon the mantel-piece.
"Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he
remarked. "What do you think, Watson? Could your patients
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 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 programme,
which is rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is
introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along! "
We traveled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a
short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the
singular story which we had listened to in the morning. It was
a poky little shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-
storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in inclosure,
where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel-
bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncon-
genial atmosphere. Three gilt balls, and a brown board with
"JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced
the place where our red-headed client carried on his business.
Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it, with his head on one
## p. 4829 (#627) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4829
side, and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly be-
tween puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and
then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses.
Finally he returned to the pawnbroker's, and having thumped
vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times
he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened
by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him.
to step in.
"Thank you," said Holmes, "I only wish to ask you how you
would go from here to the Strand. "
"Third right, fourth left," answered the assistant, promptly,
closing the door.
"Smart fellow, that," observed Holmes, as we walked away.
"He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London,
and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be
third. I have known something of him before. "
"Evidently," said I, “Mr. 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. "
"Why did you beat the pavement? "
«< My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk.
We are spies in an
Saxe-Coburg Square.
behind it. "
enemy's country. We know something of
Let us
Let us now explore the parts which lie
The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the
corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a
contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back.
It was
one of the main arteries which convey the traffic of the city to
the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the im-
mense stream of commerce, flowing in a double tide inward and
outward, while the foot-paths 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.
"Let me see," said Holmes, standing at the corner and glanc-
ing along the line, "I should like just to remember the order
## p. 4830 (#628) ###########################################
4830
A. CONAN DOYLE
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 Coburg branch of the City and Sub-
urban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane'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 violin-
land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there
are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums. "
My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not
only a very capable performer, but a composer of no ordinary
merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the
most perfect happiness, gently waving his long thin fingers in
time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid,
dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound,
Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent,
as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual
nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and
astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction
against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally
predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from
extreme languor to devouring energy; and as I knew well, he
was never so truly formidable as when for days on end he had
been lounging in his 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 not that of other mortals. When I
saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. 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, 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 rea-
son to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
But to-day
being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your
help to-night. "
## p. 4831 (#629) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4831
"At what time? "
"Ten will be early enough. "
"I shall be at Baker Street at ten. "
"Very well. And I say, doctor, there may be some little
danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket. " He
waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant
among the crowd.
I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbors, but I
was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my
dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had
heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it
was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened,
but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business
was still confused and grotesque. As I drove home to my house
in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story
of the red-headed copier of the Encyclopædia' down to the
visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which
he had parted from me. What was this nocturnal expedition, and
why should I go armed? Where were we going, and what were
we to do? I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced
pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man a man who might
play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in
despair, and set the matter aside until night should bring an
explanation.
―
It was a quarter past nine when I started from home and
made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to
Baker Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as
I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above.
On entering his room I found Holmes in animated conversation
with two men, one of whom I recognized as Peter Jones, the
official police agent, while the other was a long thin sad-faced
man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-
coat.
"Ha! our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his
pea-jacket, and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack.
"Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let
me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our com-
panion in to-night's adventure. "
"We're hunting in couples again, doctor, you see," said Jones,
in his consequential way. "Our friend here is a wonderful man
for starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to
do the running down. "
## p. 4832 (#630) ###########################################
4832
A. CONAN DOYLE
"I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our
chase," observed Mr. Merryweather, gloomily.
"You may place considerable confidence in Mr. 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 the-
oretical 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 murder and the Agra treasure, he has
been more nearly correct than the official force. "
"Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right," said the
stranger, with deference. "Still, I confess that I miss my rub-
ber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years.
that I have not had my rubber. ”
"I think you will find," said Sherlock Holmes, "that you will
play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet,
and that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merry-
weather, the stake will be some £30,000; and for you, Jones, it
will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands. "
"John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger.
He's
a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his
profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on
any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John
Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has
been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his
fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we
never know where to find the man himself. He'll crack a crib
in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphan-
age in Cornwall the next. I've been on his track for years, and
have never set eyes on him yet. "
"I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you
to-night. I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John
Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profes-
sion. 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. "
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 Farringdon
Street.
"We are close there now," my friend remarked. "This fellow
Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the
## p. 4833 (#631) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4833
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 bull-dog, and
as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws 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 Mr. Merryweather, we passed
down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he
opened for us. Within, there was a small corridor, which ended.
in a very massive iron gate. This also was opened, and led
down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another
formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern,
and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and
so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which
was piled all around with crates and massive boxes.
"You are not very vulnerable from above," Holmes remarked,
as he held up the lantern and gazed about him.
"Nor from below," said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick
upon the flags which lined the floor. "Why, dear me, it sounds
quite hollow! " he remarked, looking up in surprise.
"I must really ask you to be a little more quiet," said Holmes,
severely. "You have already imperiled the whole success of our
expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to
sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere? "
The solemn Mr. Merryweather 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 a mag-
nifying lens began to examine minutely the cracks between 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 the longer time they will have for their
escape. We are at present, doctor- as no doubt you have di-
vined in the cellar at the City branch of one of the principal
London banks. Mr. Merryweather 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 considerable interest in
this cellar at present. "
VIII 303
## p. 4834 (#632) ###########################################
4834
A. CONAN DOYLE
"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 30,000 napoleons from
the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never
had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in
our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons
packed between layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is
much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch
office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject. "
" And
"Which were very well justified," observed Holmes.
now it is time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that
within an hour matters will come to a head. In the mean time,
Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark
་
lantern. "
"And sit in the dark? ”
"I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket,
and I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have
your rubber after all. But I see that the enemy's preparations
have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light.
And first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring
men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they
may do us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand
behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those.
Then when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly.
If they
fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down. "
such an abso-
The smell of
I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden
case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the
front of his lantern, and left us in pitch darkness
lute darkness as I had never before experienced.
hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there,
ready to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves
worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something de-
pressing 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 inspector and two officers waiting at the front
door. "
## p. 4835 (#633) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4835
"Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be
silent and wait. "
What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it
was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the
night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above
us. My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my
position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of
tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear
the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish
the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin,
sighing note of the bank director. From my position I could
look over the case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my
eyes caught the glint of a light.
At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement.
Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then,
without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a
hand appeared; a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about
in the centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more
the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor.
Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was
dark again save 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. 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 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 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.
## p. 4836 (#634) ###########################################
4836
A. CONAN DOYLE
"It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes, blandly. "You have
no chance at all. "
"So I see," the other answered, with the utmost coolness.
"I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his
coat-tails. "
"There are three men waiting for him at the door," said
Holmes.
"Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very com-
pletely. I must compliment you. "
"Your red-headed idea was
"And I you," Holmes answered.
very new and effective. "
"You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones.
"He's
quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out, while
I fix the derbies. "
"I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,"
remarked our prisoner, as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists.
"You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins.
Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say
'sir' and 'please. ""
"All right," said Jones, with a stare and a snigger. "Well,
would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab
to carry your Highness to the police station ? »
"That is better," said John Clay, serenely. He made a
sweeping bow to the three of us, and walked quietly off in the
custody of the detective.
«< Really, Mr. Holmes," said Mr. Merryweather, as
we fol-
lowed 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 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
Mr. John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small
expense over this matter, which 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 whisky and soda in Baker
Street, "it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only
## p. 4837 (#635) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4837
possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertise-
ment of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopædia,'
must be to get this not over bright pawnbroker out of the way
for a number of hours every day. It was
a curious way of
managing it, but really, it would be difficult to suggest a better.
The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by
the color of his accomplice's hair. The £4 a week was a lure
which must draw him,-and what was it to them, who were play-
ing for thousands? They put in the advertisement, one rogue
has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to
apply for it, and together they manage 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?
"Had there been women in the house, I should have sus-
pected a mere vulgar intrigue. That however was out of the
question. The man's business was a small one, and there was
nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate
preparations and such an expenditure as they were at. It must
then be something out of the house. 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 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 build-
ing.
"So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action.
you once more on the important position which you have been
fortunate enough to gain. ' He bowed me out of the room, and
I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or
do, I was so pleased at my own good fortune.
"Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I
was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that
the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what
its object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether
past belief that any one could make such a will, or that they
would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying
out the Encyclopædia 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 foolscap paper I started
off for Pope's Court.
<
## p. 4825 (#623) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4825
"Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as
possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. 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 see that all was right with me. At two
o'clock he bade me good-by, complimented me upon the amount
that I had written, and locked the door of the office after me.
"This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday
the manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns
for my week's work. It was the same next week, and the same
the week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every
afternoon I left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to
coming in only once of a morning, and then after a time he
did not come in at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave
the room for an instant, for I was not sure when he might come,
and the billet was such a good one, and suited me so well, that
I would not risk the loss of it.
«< Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about
Abbots and Archery and Armor and Architecture and Attica, and
hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B's before very
long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly
filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole
business came to an end. "
"To an end? "
"Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my
work as usual at ten o'clock, but the door was shut and locked
with a little square of card-board hammered on to the middle of
the panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for your-
self. "
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 9th, 1890.
Sherlock 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.
## p. 4826 (#624) ###########################################
4826
A. CONAN DOYLE
"I cannot see that there is anything very funny," cried our
client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. "If you can
do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere. "
"No, no," cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from
which he had half risen. "I really wouldn't miss your case for
the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you
will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it.
Pray, what steps did you take when you found the card upon the
door? »
"I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I
called 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-floor, and I asked him if he
could tell me what had become of the Red-Headed League. He
said that he had never heard of any such body. Then I asked
him who Mr. Duncan Ross was. He answered that the name
was new to him.
"Well,' said I, 'the gentleman at No. 4. '
"What, the red-headed man? '
༥ ་
'Yes. '
"Oh,' said he, 'his name was William Morris.
solicitor, and was using my room.
until his new premises were ready.
"Where could I find him? '
He was a
as a temporary convenience
He moved out yesterday. '
"Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes,
17 King Edward Street, near St. Paul's. '
"I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it
was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had
ever heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross. "
"And what did you do then? " asked Holmes.
"I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice
of my assistant. But he could not help me in any way.
He
could only say that if I waited I should hear by post. But that
was not quite good enough, Mr. 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. "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. "
## p. 4827 (#625) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4827
"Why, I have lost
"Grave enough! " said Mr. Jabez Wilson.
four pound a week. "
"As far as you are personally concerned," remarked Holmes,
"I do not see that you have any grievance against this extraor-
dinary league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer
by some £30, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you
have gained on every subject which comes under the letter A.
You have lost nothing by them. "
"No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they
are, and what their object was in playing this prank-if it was
a prank - 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, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours
who first called your attention to 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 handy, and would come cheap. "
"At half wages, in fact. "
"Yes. >>>
"What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding? "
"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. »
« I
Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement.
thought as much," said he. "Have you ever observed that his
ears are pierced for earrings? "
"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. "
"And has your business been
<< Nothing to complain of, sir.
of a morning. "
attended to in your absence ? »
There's never very much to do
"That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an
opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day
7
## p. 4828 (#626) ###########################################
4828
A. CONAN DOYLE
is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a con-
clusion. "
"Well, Watson," said Holmes, when our visitor had left us,
"what do you make of it all? "
"I make nothing of it," I answered, frankly. "It is a most
mysterious business. "
«< As a rule," said Holmes, "the more bizarre a thing is, the
less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, feature-
less crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face
is the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this
matter. "
>>>
"What are you going to do, then? 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, 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 a man who has made up his mind, and
put his pipe down upon the mantel-piece.
"Sarasate plays at the St. James's Hall this afternoon," he
remarked. "What do you think, Watson? Could your patients
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 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 programme,
which is rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is
introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along! "
We traveled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a
short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the
singular story which we had listened to in the morning. It was
a poky little shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-
storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in inclosure,
where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel-
bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncon-
genial atmosphere. Three gilt balls, and a brown board with
"JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced
the place where our red-headed client carried on his business.
Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it, with his head on one
## p. 4829 (#627) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4829
side, and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly be-
tween puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and
then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses.
Finally he returned to the pawnbroker's, and having thumped
vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times
he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened
by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him.
to step in.
"Thank you," said Holmes, "I only wish to ask you how you
would go from here to the Strand. "
"Third right, fourth left," answered the assistant, promptly,
closing the door.
"Smart fellow, that," observed Holmes, as we walked away.
"He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London,
and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be
third. I have known something of him before. "
"Evidently," said I, “Mr. 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. "
"Why did you beat the pavement? "
«< My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk.
We are spies in an
Saxe-Coburg Square.
behind it. "
enemy's country. We know something of
Let us
Let us now explore the parts which lie
The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the
corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a
contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back.
It was
one of the main arteries which convey the traffic of the city to
the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the im-
mense stream of commerce, flowing in a double tide inward and
outward, while the foot-paths 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.
"Let me see," said Holmes, standing at the corner and glanc-
ing along the line, "I should like just to remember the order
## p. 4830 (#628) ###########################################
4830
A. CONAN DOYLE
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 Coburg branch of the City and Sub-
urban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane'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 violin-
land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there
are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums. "
My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not
only a very capable performer, but a composer of no ordinary
merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the
most perfect happiness, gently waving his long thin fingers in
time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid,
dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound,
Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent,
as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual
nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and
astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction
against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally
predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from
extreme languor to devouring energy; and as I knew well, he
was never so truly formidable as when for days on end he had
been lounging in his 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 not that of other mortals. When I
saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. 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, 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 rea-
son to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
But to-day
being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your
help to-night. "
## p. 4831 (#629) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4831
"At what time? "
"Ten will be early enough. "
"I shall be at Baker Street at ten. "
"Very well. And I say, doctor, there may be some little
danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket. " He
waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant
among the crowd.
I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbors, but I
was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my
dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had
heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it
was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened,
but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business
was still confused and grotesque. As I drove home to my house
in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story
of the red-headed copier of the Encyclopædia' down to the
visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which
he had parted from me. What was this nocturnal expedition, and
why should I go armed? Where were we going, and what were
we to do? I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced
pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man a man who might
play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in
despair, and set the matter aside until night should bring an
explanation.
―
It was a quarter past nine when I started from home and
made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to
Baker Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as
I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above.
On entering his room I found Holmes in animated conversation
with two men, one of whom I recognized as Peter Jones, the
official police agent, while the other was a long thin sad-faced
man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-
coat.
"Ha! our party is complete," said Holmes, buttoning up his
pea-jacket, and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack.
"Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let
me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our com-
panion in to-night's adventure. "
"We're hunting in couples again, doctor, you see," said Jones,
in his consequential way. "Our friend here is a wonderful man
for starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to
do the running down. "
## p. 4832 (#630) ###########################################
4832
A. CONAN DOYLE
"I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our
chase," observed Mr. Merryweather, gloomily.
"You may place considerable confidence in Mr. 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 the-
oretical 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 murder and the Agra treasure, he has
been more nearly correct than the official force. "
"Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right," said the
stranger, with deference. "Still, I confess that I miss my rub-
ber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years.
that I have not had my rubber. ”
"I think you will find," said Sherlock Holmes, "that you will
play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet,
and that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merry-
weather, the stake will be some £30,000; and for you, Jones, it
will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands. "
"John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger.
He's
a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his
profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on
any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John
Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has
been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his
fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we
never know where to find the man himself. He'll crack a crib
in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphan-
age in Cornwall the next. I've been on his track for years, and
have never set eyes on him yet. "
"I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you
to-night. I've had one or two little turns also with Mr. John
Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profes-
sion. 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. "
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 Farringdon
Street.
"We are close there now," my friend remarked. "This fellow
Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the
## p. 4833 (#631) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4833
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 bull-dog, and
as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws 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 Mr. Merryweather, we passed
down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he
opened for us. Within, there was a small corridor, which ended.
in a very massive iron gate. This also was opened, and led
down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another
formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern,
and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and
so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which
was piled all around with crates and massive boxes.
"You are not very vulnerable from above," Holmes remarked,
as he held up the lantern and gazed about him.
"Nor from below," said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick
upon the flags which lined the floor. "Why, dear me, it sounds
quite hollow! " he remarked, looking up in surprise.
"I must really ask you to be a little more quiet," said Holmes,
severely. "You have already imperiled the whole success of our
expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to
sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere? "
The solemn Mr. Merryweather 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 a mag-
nifying lens began to examine minutely the cracks between 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 the longer time they will have for their
escape. We are at present, doctor- as no doubt you have di-
vined in the cellar at the City branch of one of the principal
London banks. Mr. Merryweather 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 considerable interest in
this cellar at present. "
VIII 303
## p. 4834 (#632) ###########################################
4834
A. CONAN DOYLE
"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 30,000 napoleons from
the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never
had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in
our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons
packed between layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is
much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch
office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject. "
" And
"Which were very well justified," observed Holmes.
now it is time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that
within an hour matters will come to a head. In the mean time,
Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark
་
lantern. "
"And sit in the dark? ”
"I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket,
and I thought that, as we were a partie carrée, you might have
your rubber after all. But I see that the enemy's preparations
have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light.
And first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring
men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they
may do us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand
behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those.
Then when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly.
If they
fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down. "
such an abso-
The smell of
I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden
case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the
front of his lantern, and left us in pitch darkness
lute darkness as I had never before experienced.
hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there,
ready to flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my nerves
worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something de-
pressing 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 inspector and two officers waiting at the front
door. "
## p. 4835 (#633) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4835
"Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be
silent and wait. "
What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it
was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the
night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above
us. My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my
position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of
tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear
the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish
the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin,
sighing note of the bank director. From my position I could
look over the case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my
eyes caught the glint of a light.
At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement.
Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then,
without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a
hand appeared; a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about
in the centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more
the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor.
Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was
dark again save 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. 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 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 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.
## p. 4836 (#634) ###########################################
4836
A. CONAN DOYLE
"It's no use, John Clay," said Holmes, blandly. "You have
no chance at all. "
"So I see," the other answered, with the utmost coolness.
"I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his
coat-tails. "
"There are three men waiting for him at the door," said
Holmes.
"Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very com-
pletely. I must compliment you. "
"Your red-headed idea was
"And I you," Holmes answered.
very new and effective. "
"You'll see your pal again presently," said Jones.
"He's
quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out, while
I fix the derbies. "
"I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,"
remarked our prisoner, as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists.
"You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins.
Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say
'sir' and 'please. ""
"All right," said Jones, with a stare and a snigger. "Well,
would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab
to carry your Highness to the police station ? »
"That is better," said John Clay, serenely. He made a
sweeping bow to the three of us, and walked quietly off in the
custody of the detective.
«< Really, Mr. Holmes," said Mr. Merryweather, as
we fol-
lowed 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 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
Mr. John Clay," said Holmes. "I have been at some small
expense over this matter, which 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 whisky and soda in Baker
Street, "it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only
## p. 4837 (#635) ###########################################
A. CONAN DOYLE
4837
possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertise-
ment of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopædia,'
must be to get this not over bright pawnbroker out of the way
for a number of hours every day. It was
a curious way of
managing it, but really, it would be difficult to suggest a better.
The method was no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by
the color of his accomplice's hair. The £4 a week was a lure
which must draw him,-and what was it to them, who were play-
ing for thousands? They put in the advertisement, one rogue
has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to
apply for it, and together they manage 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?
"Had there been women in the house, I should have sus-
pected a mere vulgar intrigue. That however was out of the
question. The man's business was a small one, and there was
nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate
preparations and such an expenditure as they were at. It must
then be something out of the house. 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 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 build-
ing.
"So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action.
