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The Red Headed League - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Classic Fiction Library

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Speaker 1: The Red Headed League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Part one.
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Speaker 1: I had called upon my friend mister Sherlock Holmes one
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Speaker 1: day in the autumn of last year, and found him
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Speaker 1: in deep conversation with a very stout, florid faced, elderly
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Speaker 1: gentleman with fiery red hair, with an apology for my intrusion.
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Speaker 1: I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly
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Speaker 1: into the room and closed the door behind me. You
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Speaker 1: could not possibly have come at a better time, my
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Speaker 1: dear Watson, he said cordially. I was afraid that you
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Speaker 1: were engaged, so I am very much so then I
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Speaker 1: can wait in the next room. Not at all, this gentleman,
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Speaker 1: mister Wilson has been my partner and helper in many
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Speaker 1: of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt
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Speaker 1: that he will be of the utmost use to me
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Speaker 1: in yours. Also. The stout gentlemen half rose from his
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Speaker 1: chair and gave a bob of greeting with a quick,
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Speaker 1: little questioning glance from his small, fat encircled eyes. Try
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Speaker 1: the settee, said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting
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Speaker 1: his fingertips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods.
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Speaker 1: I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love
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Speaker 1: of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and
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Speaker 1: humdrum routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish
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Speaker 1: for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle.
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Speaker 1: And if you will excuse my saying so somewhat to
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Speaker 1: embellish so many of my own little adventures, your cases
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Speaker 1: have indeed been of greatest interest to me, I observed.
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Speaker 1: You will remember that I remarked the other day, just
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Speaker 1: before we went into the very simple problem presented by
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Speaker 1: Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects extraordinary combinations, we
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Speaker 1: must go to life itself, which is always far more
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Speaker 1: daring than any effort of the imagination, A proposition which
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Speaker 1: I took the liberty of doubting you did, doctor, But
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Speaker 1: none the less, you must come round to my view,
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Speaker 1: for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact
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Speaker 1: on you until your reason breaks down under them and
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Speaker 1: acknowledges me to be right. Now, mister JOBEZ Wilson here
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Speaker 1: has been good enough to call upon me this morning
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Speaker 1: and to bring a narrative which promises to be one
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Speaker 1: of the most singular which I have listened to for
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Speaker 1: some time. You have heard me remark that the strangest
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Speaker 1: and most unique things are very often connected not with
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Speaker 1: the larger but with these smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed,
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Speaker 1: where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime
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Speaker 1: has been committed. As far as I have heard, it
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Speaker 1: is impossible for me to say whether the present case
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Speaker 1: is an instance of crime or not. But the course
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Speaker 1: of events is certainly among the most singular that I
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Speaker 1: have ever listened to. Perhaps, mister Wilson, you would have
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Speaker 1: the great kindness to recommence your narrative. I ask you
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Speaker 1: not merely because my friend doctor Watson has not heard
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Speaker 1: the opening part, but also because the peculiar nature of
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Speaker 1: the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail
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Speaker 1: from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard
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Speaker 1: some slight indication of the course of events, I am
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Speaker 1: able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar
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Speaker 1: cases which occur to my memory. In the present instance,
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Speaker 1: I am forced to admit that the facts are, to
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Speaker 1: the best of my belief unique. The portly client puffed
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Speaker 1: out his chest with an appearance of some little pride,
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Speaker 1: and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside
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Speaker 1: pocket of his greatcoat as he glanced down the advertisement
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Speaker 1: column with his head thrust forward and the paper flattened
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Speaker 1: out upon his knee. I took a good look at
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Speaker 1: the man, and endeavored, after the fashion of my companion,
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Speaker 1: to read the indications which might be presented by his
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Speaker 1: dress or appearance. I did not gain very much. However,
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Speaker 1: by my inspection, our visitor bore every mark of being
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Speaker 1: an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He
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Speaker 1: wore rather backy gray shepherd's check trousers, a not over
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Speaker 1: clean black frock coat unbuttoned in the front, and a
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Speaker 1: drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain and a
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Speaker 1: square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament.
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Speaker 1: A frayed top hat, and a faded brown overcoat with
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Speaker 1: a wrinkled velvet color lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether,
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Speaker 1: look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man,
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Speaker 1: save his blazing red head and the expression of extreme
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Speaker 1: chagrin and discontent upon his features. Sherlock Holmes's quick eye
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Speaker 1: took in my occupation, and he shook his head with
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Speaker 1: a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. Beyond the
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Speaker 1: obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labor,
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Speaker 1: that he takes snuff, that he is a freemason, that
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Speaker 1: he has been to China, and that he has done
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Speaker 1: a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else,
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Speaker 1: mister job. As Wilson started up in his chair with
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Speaker 1: his forefinger upon the paper, put his eyes upon my companion.
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Speaker 1: All when the name of good fortune, did you do
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Speaker 1: you know all that? Mister Holmes? He asked, how did
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Speaker 1: you know, for example, that I did manual labor? It's
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Speaker 1: true as gospel, for I began as a ship's carpenter.
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Speaker 1: Your hands, my dear sir, your right hand is quite
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Speaker 1: a size larger than your left. You have worked with it,
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Speaker 1: and the muscles are more developed. Well. The snuff, then,
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Speaker 1: and the freemasonry. I won't insult your intelligence by telling
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Speaker 1: you how I read that, especially as rather against the
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Speaker 1: strict rules of your order, you use an arc and
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Speaker 1: compass breastpin. Oh, of course I forgot that. But the writting.
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Speaker 1: What else can be indicated by that right cuff so
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Speaker 1: very shiny for five inches, and the left one with
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Speaker 1: the smooth patch near the elbow where you rested upon
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Speaker 1: the desk. Well, but China, the fish that you have
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Speaker 1: tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been
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Speaker 1: done in China. I have made a small study of
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Speaker 1: tattoo marks, and have even contributed to the literature of
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Speaker 1: the subject. The trick of staining the fish's scales of
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Speaker 1: a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When in addition,
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Speaker 1: I see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch chain,
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Speaker 1: the matter becomes even more simple. Mister Jabez Wilson laughed heavily.
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Speaker 1: I never said he. I thought at first that you
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Speaker 1: had done something clever, But I see that there was
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Speaker 1: nothing in it. After all, I begin to think, Watson,
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Speaker 1: said Holmes, that I make a mistake in explaining omne
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Speaker 1: ignotum pro magnifico, you know, and my poor little reputation,
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Speaker 1: such as it is, will suffer shipwrecked if I am
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Speaker 1: so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Miss Wilson, Yes,
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Speaker 1: I have got it now, he answered, with his thick
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Speaker 1: red finger planted half way down the column. Here it is,
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Speaker 1: this is what we get at all. You just read
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Speaker 1: it for yourself. Sir. I took the paper from him
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Speaker 1: and read as follows to the Red Headed League. On
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Speaker 1: account of the bequest of the late Essekiah Hopkins of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA,
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Speaker 1: there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member
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Speaker 1: of the League to a salary of four pounds a
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Speaker 1: week for purely nominal services. All Red Headed men who
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Speaker 1: are sound in body and mind and above the age
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Speaker 1: of twenty one years are eligible. Apply in person on
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Speaker 1: Monday at eleven o'clock to Duncan Ross at the offices
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Speaker 1: of the League, seven Pope's Court, Fleet Street. What on
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Speaker 1: earth does this mean? I ejaculated after I had twice
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Speaker 1: read over the extra extraordinary announcement. Holmes chuckled and wriggled
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Speaker 1: in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits.
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Speaker 1: It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?
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Speaker 1: Said he? And now, mister Wilson, off you go with
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Speaker 1: scratch and tell us all about yourself, your household, and
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Speaker 1: the effect which this advertisement had upon your fortunes. You
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Speaker 1: will first make a note doctor of the paper and
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Speaker 1: the date m It is the Morning Chronicle of April
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Speaker 1: twenty seven, eighteen ninety Just two months ago. Very good now,
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Speaker 1: mister Wilson. Well, it is just as I've been telling you,
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Speaker 1: mister Sherlock Holmes said, job as Wilson mopping his forehead.
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Speaker 1: I have a small pawnbroker's business at Cobourg Square near
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Speaker 1: the city. It is not a very large affair, and
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Speaker 1: of late years it has not done more than just
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Speaker 1: give me a living. I used to be able to
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Speaker 1: keep two assistants, but now I only keep one, and
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Speaker 1: I would have a job to pay him, but that
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Speaker 1: he is willing to come for half wages so as
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Speaker 1: to learn the business. What is the name of this
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Speaker 1: obliging youth, asked Sherlock Holmes. His name is Vincent Espalding.
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Speaker 1: And he's not such a youth either. It's hard to
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Speaker 1: say his age. I should not wish a smart assistant,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes, and I know very well that he could
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Speaker 1: better himself and earn twice what I am able to
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Speaker 1: give him. But after all, if he is satisfied, why
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Speaker 1: should I put ideas in his head? Why? Indeed, you
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Speaker 1: seem most fortunate in having an employee who comes under
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Speaker 1: the full market price. It is not a common experience
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Speaker 1: among employers in this age. I don't know that your
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Speaker 1: assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement. Oh he
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Speaker 1: has his faults too, said mister Wilson. Never was such
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Speaker 1: a fellow for photography, snapping away with a camera when
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Speaker 1: he ought to be improving his mind, and then diving
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Speaker 1: down into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole
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Speaker 1: to develop his pictures. That is his main fault. But
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Speaker 1: on the whole he's a good worker. There's no vice
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Speaker 1: in him. He is still with you, I presume, yes, sir.
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Speaker 1: He and a girl of fourteen who does a bit
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Speaker 1: of simple cooking and keeps the place clean. That's all
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Speaker 1: I have in the house where I am a widower
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Speaker 1: and never had any family. We live very quietly, sir,
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Speaker 1: the three of us, and we keep a roof over
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Speaker 1: our heads and pay our debts if we do nothing more.
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Speaker 1: The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. Spalding.
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Speaker 1: He came down into the office just this day, eight
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Speaker 1: weeks with this very paper in his hand, and he says,
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Speaker 1: I wish to the Lord, mister Wilson, that I was
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Speaker 1: a red headed man. Why is that, I asked, Why,
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Speaker 1: says he, here's another vacancy on the League of the
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Speaker 1: red headed men. It's worth quite a little fortune to
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Speaker 1: any man who gets it. And I understand that there
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Speaker 1: are more vacancies than there are men, so that the
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Speaker 1: trustees are at their wits end what to do with
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Speaker 1: the money. If my hair would only change color, here's
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Speaker 1: a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.
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Speaker 1: Why what is it? Then? I asked? You. See, mister Holmes,
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Speaker 1: I'm a very stay at home man, and as my
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Speaker 1: business came to me instead of my having to go
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Speaker 1: to it, I was often weeks on end without putting
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Speaker 1: my foot over the door. Met in that way, I
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Speaker 1: don't know much of what was going on outside, and
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Speaker 1: I was always glad of a bit of news. Have
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Speaker 1: you never heard of the League of the red headed Men?
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Speaker 1: He asked, with his eyes open. Never. Why I wonder
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Speaker 1: at that? For you are eligible yourself for one of
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Speaker 1: the vacancies. And what are they worth? I asked, Oh,
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Speaker 1: merely a couple of hundred a year. But the work
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Speaker 1: is slight and it need not interfere very much with
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Speaker 1: one's other occupations. Well, you can easily think that that
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Speaker 1: made me pick up my ears, for the business has
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Speaker 1: not been over good for some years, and an extra
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Speaker 1: couple of hundred would have been very handy. Tell me
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Speaker 1: all about it, said I, well, said he, showing me
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Speaker 1: the advertisement. You can see for yourself that the league
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Speaker 1: has a vacancy, and there is the address where you
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Speaker 1: should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out,
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Speaker 1: the league was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins,
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Speaker 1: who was very peculiar in his ways. He himself was
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Speaker 1: red headed, and he had a great sympathy for all
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Speaker 1: red headed men. So when he died, it was found
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Speaker 1: that he had left his enormous fortune in the hands
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Speaker 1: of trustees, with instructions to apply the interest to the
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Speaker 1: providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of
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Speaker 1: that color. From all I hear, it is splendid pay
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Speaker 1: and very little to do. But said I, there would
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Speaker 1: be millions of red headed men who would apply, not
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Speaker 1: so many as you might think, He answered, you see,
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Speaker 1: it is really confined to Londoners and to grown men.
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Speaker 1: This American had started from London when he was young,
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Speaker 1: and he wanted to do the old town a good turn.
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Speaker 1: Then again, I have heard it is of no use
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Speaker 1: your replying if your hair is light red or dark red,
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Speaker 1: or anything but real, bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if
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Speaker 1: you cared to apply, mister Wilson, you would just walk in.
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Speaker 1: But perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to
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Speaker 1: put yourself out of the way for the sake of
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Speaker 1: a few hundred pounds. Now it is a fact, gentleman,
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Speaker 1: as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is
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Speaker 1: of a very full and rich tint. So that it
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Speaker 1: seemed to me that if there was to be any
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Speaker 1: competition in the matter, I stood as good a chance
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Speaker 1: as any man that I had ever met. Vincent Spalding
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Speaker 1: seemed to know so much about it that I thought
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Speaker 1: he might prove useful. So I ordered him to put
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Speaker 1: up the shutters for the day and to come right
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Speaker 1: away with me. He was very willing to have a holiday,
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Speaker 1: So we shut the business up and started off for
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Speaker 1: the address that was given us in the advertisement. I
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Speaker 1: never hoped to see such a sight as that, again,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes, from north, southeast and west, every man who
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Speaker 1: had a shade of red in his hair had tramped
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Speaker 1: into the city to answer the advertisement. Fleet Street was
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Speaker 1: choked with red headed folk, and Pope's Court looked like
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Speaker 1: a coaster's orange barrow. I should not have thought that
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Speaker 1: there was so many in the whole country as were
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Speaker 1: brought together by that single advertisement. Every shade of color.
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Speaker 1: They were straw, lemon, orange, brick, irish setter, liver clay.
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Speaker 1: But as Spalding said, there were not many who had
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Speaker 1: the real vivid, flame colored tint. When I saw how
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Speaker 1: many were waiting, I would have given it up in despair.
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Speaker 1: But Spalding would not hear of it. How he did
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Speaker 1: it I could not imagine. But he pushed and pulled
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Speaker 1: and butted until he got me through the crowd and
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Speaker 1: right up to the steps which led to the office.
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Speaker 1: There was a double stream upon the stair, some going
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Speaker 1: up in hope and some coming back dejected. But we
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Speaker 1: wedged in as well as we could and found ourselves
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Speaker 1: in the office. Your experience has been a most entertaining one,
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Speaker 1: remarked Holmes, as his client paused and refreshed his memory
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Speaker 1: with a huge, pincious snuff. Pray, continue your very interesting statement.
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Speaker 1: There was nothing in the office but a couple of
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Speaker 1: wooden chairs and a deal table, behind which sat a
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Speaker 1: small man with a head that was even redder than mine.
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Speaker 1: He said a few words to each candidate as he
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Speaker 1: came up, and then he always managed to find some
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Speaker 1: fault in them which would disqualify them. Getting a vacancy
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Speaker 1: did not seem to be such a very easy matter
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Speaker 1: after all. However, when our turn came, the little man
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Speaker 1: was much more favorable to me than to any of
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Speaker 1: the others, and he closed the door as we entered,
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Speaker 1: so that he might have a private word with us.
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Speaker 1: This is mister Jopas Wilson, said my assistant, and he
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Speaker 1: is willing to fill a vacancy in the league, and
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Speaker 1: he is admirably suited for it. The other answered, he
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Speaker 1: has every requirement. I cannot recall when I I have
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Speaker 1: seen anything so fine. He took a step backward, cocked
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Speaker 1: his head on one side, and gazed at my hair
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Speaker 1: until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he plunged forward,
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Speaker 1: wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my success.
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Speaker 1: It would be injustice to hesitate, said he you will, however,
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Speaker 1: I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.
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Speaker 1: With that, he seized my hair in both his hands
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Speaker 1: and tugged until I yelled with the pain. There is
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Speaker 1: water in your eyes, said he as he released me.
18:39
Speaker 1: I perceive that all is as it should be, but
18:42
Speaker 1: we have to be careful, for we have twice been
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Speaker 1: deceived by wigs and once by paint. I could tell
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Speaker 1: you tales of cobbler's wax which would discust you with
18:53
Speaker 1: human nature. He stepped over to the window and shouted
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Speaker 1: through it at the top of his voice that the
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Speaker 1: vacancy was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below,
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Speaker 1: and the folk all trooped away in different directions, until
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Speaker 1: there was not a red head to be seen except
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Speaker 1: my own and that of the manager. My name said,
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Speaker 1: He is mister Duncan Ross, and I am myself one
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Speaker 1: of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
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Speaker 1: Are you a married man, mister Wilson, have you a family?
19:27
Speaker 1: I answered that I had not. His face fell immediately.
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Speaker 1: Dear me, he said, gravely, that is very serious. Indeed,
19:37
Speaker 1: I am sorry to hear you say that the fund was,
19:41
Speaker 1: of course for the propagation and spread of the Redheads,
19:44
Speaker 1: as well as for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate
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Speaker 1: that you should be a bachelor. My face lengthened at this,
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Speaker 1: mister Holmes, for I thought that I was not to
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Speaker 1: have the vacancy after all. But after thinking it over
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Speaker 1: for few minutes, he said that it would be all
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Speaker 1: right in the case of another, said he. The objection
20:07
Speaker 1: might be fatal, but we must stretch a point in
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Speaker 1: favor of a man with such a head of hair
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Speaker 1: as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon
20:18
Speaker 1: your new duties. Well, it is a little awkward, for
20:21
Speaker 1: I have a business already, said I. Oh, never mind
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Speaker 1: about that, mister Wilson, said Vincent Spalding. I should be
20:28
Speaker 1: able to look after that for you. What would be
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Speaker 1: the ours, I asked, ten to two. Now upon broker's
20:36
Speaker 1: business is mostly done of an evening, mister Holmes, especially
20:40
Speaker 1: Thursday and Friday evenings, which is just before payday, So
20:45
Speaker 1: it would suit me very well to earn a little
20:47
Speaker 1: in the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was
20:51
Speaker 1: a good man and that he would see to anything
20:55
Speaker 1: that turned up. That would suit me very well, said I.
20:59
Speaker 1: And the pay is four pounds a week, and the
21:04
Speaker 1: work is purely nominal. What do you call purely nominal? Well,
21:10
Speaker 1: you have to be in the office, or at least
21:13
Speaker 1: in the building the whole time. If you leave, you
21:17
Speaker 1: forfeit your whole position forever. The will is very clear
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Speaker 1: upon that point. You don't comply with the conditions if
21:25
Speaker 1: you budge from the office during that time. It's only
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Speaker 1: four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,
21:32
Speaker 1: said I. No excuse will avail, said mister duncan Ross,
21:36
Speaker 1: neither sickness, nor business nor anything else. There you must
21:41
Speaker 1: stay or you lose your billet. And the work is
21:46
Speaker 1: to copy out the Encyclopedia Britannica. There is the first
21:51
Speaker 1: volume of it in that press. You must find your
21:54
Speaker 1: own inche pins and blotting paper. But we provide this
21:58
Speaker 1: table and chair. Will you be ready to morrow? Certainly?
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Speaker 1: I answered, then, good bye, mister Javes Wilson, and let
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Speaker 1: me congratulate you once more on the important position which
22:12
Speaker 1: you have been fortunate enough to gain. He bowed me
22:16
Speaker 1: out of the room, and I went home with my assistant,
22:19
Speaker 1: hardly knowing what to say or do. I was so
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Speaker 1: pleased at my own good fortune. End of Part one,
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Speaker 1: Part two. Well, I thought over the matter all day,
22:33
Speaker 1: and by evening I was in low spirits again, for
22:37
Speaker 1: I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must
22:41
Speaker 1: be some great hoax or fraud. Though what its object
22:45
Speaker 1: might be, I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past
22:49
Speaker 1: belief that any one could make such a will, or
22:52
Speaker 1: that they would pay such a sum for doing anything
22:55
Speaker 1: so simple as copying out the Encyclopedia Britannica. Vincent Spaulding
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Speaker 1: did what he could to cheer me up, but by
23:04
Speaker 1: bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing. However,
23:09
Speaker 1: in the morning I determined to have a look at
23:13
Speaker 1: it anyhow so I bought a penny bottle of ink,
23:16
Speaker 1: and with a quill pen and seven sheets of foolscap paper,
23:20
Speaker 1: I started off for Pope's court. Well, to my surprise
23:25
Speaker 1: and delight, everything was as right as possible. The table
23:31
Speaker 1: was set out ready for me, and mister Duncan Ross
23:34
Speaker 1: was there to see that I got fairly to work.
23:37
Speaker 1: He started me off upon the letter A, and then
23:40
Speaker 1: he left me, but he would drop in from time
23:43
Speaker 1: to time to see that all was right with me.
23:47
Speaker 1: At two o'clock he bade me good day, complimented me
23:51
Speaker 1: upon the amount that I had written, and locked the
23:54
Speaker 1: door of the office after me. This went on day
23:57
Speaker 1: after day, mister Holmes, and on Saturday, the manager came
24:02
Speaker 1: in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week's work.
24:07
Speaker 1: It was the same next week, and the same the
24:10
Speaker 1: week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and
24:15
Speaker 1: every afternoon I left it two by degrees. Mister Duncan
24:19
Speaker 1: Ross took to coming in only once of a morning,
24:22
Speaker 1: and then after a time he did not come in
24:25
Speaker 1: at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave
24:29
Speaker 1: the room for an instant, for I was not sure
24:32
Speaker 1: when he might come. And the billet was such a
24:35
Speaker 1: good one and suited me so well that I would
24:38
Speaker 1: not risk the loss of it. Eight weeks passed away
24:42
Speaker 1: like this, and I had written about abbots and archery,
24:46
Speaker 1: and armor, and architecture and attica, and hoped with diligence
24:51
Speaker 1: that I might get on to the bees before very long.
24:55
Speaker 1: It cost me something in foolscap and I had pretty
24:58
Speaker 1: nearly filled a shop with my writings, And then suddenly
25:02
Speaker 1: the whole business came to an end. To an end, yes, sir,
25:07
Speaker 1: and no later than this morning. I went to my
25:10
Speaker 1: work as usual at ten o'clock, but the door was
25:13
Speaker 1: shut and locked with a little square of cardboard hammered
25:17
Speaker 1: on to the middle of the panel with a tack.
25:20
Speaker 1: Here it is, and you can read for yourself. He
25:23
Speaker 1: held up a piece of white cardboard about the size
25:26
Speaker 1: of a sheet of notepaper. It read, in this fashion,
25:30
Speaker 1: the Red Headed League is dissolved. October ninth, eighteen nineteen.
25:38
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the
25:42
Speaker 1: rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the
25:45
Speaker 1: affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both
25:51
Speaker 1: burst out into a roar of laughter. I cannot see
25:55
Speaker 1: that there is anything very funny, cried our client, flushing
26:00
Speaker 1: up to the roots of his flaming head. If you
26:03
Speaker 1: can do nothing better than laugh at me, I can
26:05
Speaker 1: go elsewhere. No, no, cried Holmes, shoving him back into
26:10
Speaker 1: the chair from which he had half risen. I really
26:13
Speaker 1: wouldn't miss your case for the world. It is most
26:18
Speaker 1: refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you will excuse my
26:22
Speaker 1: saying so, something just a little funny about it. Pray
26:27
Speaker 1: what steps did you take when you found the card
26:29
Speaker 1: upon the door? I was staggered, sir. I did not
26:34
Speaker 1: know what to do. Then I called at the offices round,
26:38
Speaker 1: but none of them seemed to know anything. About it.
26:41
Speaker 1: Finally I went to the landlord, who is an accountant
26:44
Speaker 1: living on the ground floor, and I asked him if
26:47
Speaker 1: he could tell me what had become of the red
26:49
Speaker 1: headed league. He said that he had never heard of
26:53
Speaker 1: any such body. Then I asked him who mister Duncan
26:57
Speaker 1: Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him. Well,
27:03
Speaker 1: said I, the gentleman at number four, what the red
27:07
Speaker 1: headed man? Yes, oh, said he. His name was William Morris.
27:14
Speaker 1: He was a solicitor and was using my room as
27:17
Speaker 1: a temporary convenience until his new premises were ready. He
27:21
Speaker 1: moved out yesterday. Where could I find him? Oh, at
27:26
Speaker 1: his new offices. He did tell me the dress, Yes,
27:31
Speaker 1: seventeen King Edward Street, near Saint Paul's. I started off,
27:36
Speaker 1: mister Holmes, But when I had got to that address,
27:40
Speaker 1: it was a manufactory of artificial knee caps, and no
27:45
Speaker 1: one in it had ever heard of either mister William
27:48
Speaker 1: Morris or mister Duncan Ross. And what did you do, then,
27:53
Speaker 1: asked Holmes. I went home to Saxe Coburg Square and
27:59
Speaker 1: I took the advice of my assistant, but he could
28:02
Speaker 1: not help me in any way. He could only say
28:04
Speaker 1: that if I waited, I should hear my post. But
28:08
Speaker 1: that was not quite good enough, mister Holmes. I did
28:12
Speaker 1: not wish to lose such a place without a struggle.
28:15
Speaker 1: So as I had heard that you were good enough
28:18
Speaker 1: to give advice to poor folk who were in need
28:20
Speaker 1: of it, I came right away to you, and you
28:24
Speaker 1: did very wisely, said Holmes. Your case is an exceedingly
28:29
Speaker 1: remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it.
28:33
Speaker 1: From what you have told me, I think that it
28:37
Speaker 1: is possible that graver issues hanging from it then might
28:41
Speaker 1: at first sight a peer grave enough, said mister job
28:45
Speaker 1: As Wilson. Why I have lost four pounds a week?
28:50
Speaker 1: As far as you are personally concerned, remarked Holmes, I
28:54
Speaker 1: do not see that you have any grievance against this
28:57
Speaker 1: extraordinary league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand,
29:02
Speaker 1: richer by some thirty pounds, to say nothing of the
29:05
Speaker 1: minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject which
29:09
Speaker 1: comes under the letter A. You have lost nothing by them, no, sir,
29:15
Speaker 1: But I want to find out about them, and who
29:18
Speaker 1: they are, and what their object was in playing this prank.
29:23
Speaker 1: If it was a prank upon me, it was a
29:25
Speaker 1: pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two
29:29
Speaker 1: and thirty pounds. We shall endeavor to clear up these
29:32
Speaker 1: points for you. And first, one or two questions, mister Wilson,
29:37
Speaker 1: this assistant of yours who first called your attention to
29:41
Speaker 1: the advertisement? How long has he been with you? About
29:45
Speaker 1: a month? Then? How did he come in answer to
29:49
Speaker 1: an advertisement? Was he the only applicant? No? I had
29:53
Speaker 1: a dozen? Why did you pick him? Because he was
29:57
Speaker 1: handy and would come cheap at half wages? In fact? Yes?
30:03
Speaker 1: What is he like? This? Vincent Spalding? Small stout, built,
30:09
Speaker 1: very quick in his ways, no hair on his face,
30:12
Speaker 1: though he's not short of thirty, has a white splash
30:16
Speaker 1: of acid upon his forehead. Holmes sat up in his
30:21
Speaker 1: chair in considerable excitement. I thought as much, said he.
30:27
Speaker 1: Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for
30:30
Speaker 1: ear rings? Yes, sir, he told me that a gipsy
30:35
Speaker 1: had done it for him when he was a lad, hm,
30:38
Speaker 1: said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. He is still
30:43
Speaker 1: with you? Oh? Yes, sir, I have only just left him.
30:48
Speaker 1: And has your business been attended to in your absence?
30:51
Speaker 1: Nothing to complain of, sir, There's never very much to
30:55
Speaker 1: do of a morning. That will do, mister Wilson, I
30:59
Speaker 1: shall be happy to give you an opinion upon the
31:02
Speaker 1: subject in the course of a day or two. Today
31:06
Speaker 1: is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may
31:09
Speaker 1: come to a conclusion. Well, Watson set Holmes, when our
31:14
Speaker 1: visitor had left us, what do you make of it all?
31:17
Speaker 1: I make nothing of it, I answered, frankly. It is
31:20
Speaker 1: a most mysterious business. As a rule, said Holmes, the
31:26
Speaker 1: more bizarre a thing is, the less mysterious it proves
31:31
Speaker 1: to be. It is your commonplace featureless crimes, which are
31:36
Speaker 1: really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most
31:41
Speaker 1: difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter.
31:46
Speaker 1: What are you going to do? Then? I asked to smoke?
31:50
Speaker 1: He answered, it is quite a three pipe problem. And
31:55
Speaker 1: I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes.
31:59
Speaker 1: He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin
32:03
Speaker 1: knees drawn up to his hawk like nose, and there
32:07
Speaker 1: he sat, with his eyes closed and his black clay
32:10
Speaker 1: pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird.
32:15
Speaker 1: I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped
32:18
Speaker 1: a sleep and indeed was nodding myself when he suddenly
32:22
Speaker 1: sprang out of his chair with the gesture of a
32:25
Speaker 1: man who has made up his mind, and put his
32:28
Speaker 1: pipe down upon the mantelpiece. Sataste plays at the Saint
32:33
Speaker 1: James Hall this afternoon. He remarked, what do you think, Watson?
32:37
Speaker 1: Could your patience spare you for a few hours. I
32:41
Speaker 1: have nothing to do today. My practice is never very absorbing.
32:47
Speaker 1: Then put on your hat and come. I am going
32:50
Speaker 1: through the city first, and we can have some lunch
32:52
Speaker 1: on the way. I observe that there is a good
32:56
Speaker 1: deal of German music on the program, which is rather
32:59
Speaker 1: more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspective,
33:04
Speaker 1: and I want to introspect. Come along. We traveled by
33:11
Speaker 1: the underground as far as Aldersgate, and a short walk
33:15
Speaker 1: took us to Saxe Coburg Square, the scene of the
33:19
Speaker 1: singular story which we had listened to in the morning.
33:22
Speaker 1: It was a poky, little shabby, genteel place where four
33:27
Speaker 1: lines of dingy, two storied brick houses looked out into
33:31
Speaker 1: a small, railed in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy
33:35
Speaker 1: grass and a few clumps of faded Laurel Bushes made
33:38
Speaker 1: a hard fight against a smoke laden and uncongenial atmosphere,
33:43
Speaker 1: three gilt balls and a brown board with job as
33:48
Speaker 1: Wilson in white letters. Upon a corner house announced the
33:52
Speaker 1: place where our red headed client carried on his business.
33:56
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it, with his hat
33:58
Speaker 1: on one side, and looked all over with his eyes
34:01
Speaker 1: shining brightly between puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up
34:07
Speaker 1: the street and then down again to the corner, still
34:11
Speaker 1: looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to the pawnbrokers, and,
34:16
Speaker 1: having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two
34:20
Speaker 1: or three times, he went up to the door and knocked.
34:24
Speaker 1: It was instantly opened by a bright looking, clean shaven
34:28
Speaker 1: young fellow, who asked him to step in. Thank you,
34:31
Speaker 1: said Holmes. I only wish to ask you how you
34:34
Speaker 1: would go from here to the strand third right, fourth left,
34:39
Speaker 1: answered the assistant, promptly closing the door. Smart fellow that
34:44
Speaker 1: observed Holmes as we walked away. He is, in my judgment,
34:49
Speaker 1: the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring, I
34:53
Speaker 1: am not sure that he has not a claim to
34:56
Speaker 1: be third. I have known something of him before, evidently,
35:01
Speaker 1: said I, mister Wilson's assistant counts for a good deal
35:05
Speaker 1: in this mystery of the Red Headed League. I am
35:08
Speaker 1: sure that you inquired your way merely in order that
35:11
Speaker 1: you might see him, not him? What then, the knees
35:16
Speaker 1: of his trousers? And what did you see? What I
35:21
Speaker 1: expected to see? Why did you beat the pavement? My
35:25
Speaker 1: dear doctor, This is a time for observation, not talk.
35:29
Speaker 1: We are spies in an enemy's country. We know something
35:34
Speaker 1: of saxe Coburg Square. Let us now explore the parts
35:38
Speaker 1: which lie behind it. The road in which we found
35:42
Speaker 1: ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired
35:46
Speaker 1: Saxe Coburg Square presented as great a contrast to it
35:51
Speaker 1: as the front of a picture does to the back.
35:54
Speaker 1: It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the
35:58
Speaker 1: traffic of the city to the north and west. The
36:01
Speaker 1: roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing
36:06
Speaker 1: at a double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths
36:10
Speaker 1: were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. It was
36:14
Speaker 1: difficult to realize as we looked at the line of
36:17
Speaker 1: fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted
36:22
Speaker 1: on the other side with the faded and stagnant square
36:26
Speaker 1: which we had just quitted. Let me see, said Holmes,
36:32
Speaker 1: standing at the corner and glancing along the line. I
36:35
Speaker 1: should like just to remember the order of the houses here.
36:39
Speaker 1: It is a hobby of mine to have an exact
36:42
Speaker 1: knowledge of London. There is Mortimer's, the Tobacconist, the little
36:48
Speaker 1: newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank,
36:53
Speaker 1: the vegetarian restaurant, and McFarland's carriage building depot. That raise
37:00
Speaker 1: us right on to the other block. And now, doctor,
37:04
Speaker 1: we've done our work, so it's time we had some play,
37:08
Speaker 1: a sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off
37:11
Speaker 1: to violin Land. We're all a sweetness and delicacy and harmony,
37:17
Speaker 1: and there are no redheaded clients to vex us with
37:20
Speaker 1: their conundrums. End of Part two, Part three. My friend
37:33
Speaker 1: was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very
37:38
Speaker 1: capable performer, but a composer of no ordinary merit. All
37:44
Speaker 1: the afternoon he sat in the stalls, wrapped in the
37:47
Speaker 1: most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in
37:51
Speaker 1: time to the music, while his gently smiling face and
37:55
Speaker 1: his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Homes
38:00
Speaker 1: the sleuth hound Holmes, the relentless, keen witted, ready handed
38:04
Speaker 1: criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive in his
38:10
Speaker 1: singular character, the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his
38:15
Speaker 1: extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought,
38:20
Speaker 1: the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally
38:26
Speaker 1: predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him
38:31
Speaker 1: from extreme languor to devouring energy, And as I knew well,
38:37
Speaker 1: he was never so truly formidable as when for days
38:41
Speaker 1: on end he had been lounging in his armchair amid
38:45
Speaker 1: his improvisations and his black letter editions. Then it was
38:51
Speaker 1: that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him,
38:55
Speaker 1: and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the
38:59
Speaker 1: level of intuition wish, until those who were unacquainted with
39:02
Speaker 1: his methods would look askance at him as on a
39:06
Speaker 1: man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When
39:10
Speaker 1: I saw him that afternoon, so enwrapped in the music
39:13
Speaker 1: at Saint James's Hall. I felt that an evil time
39:18
Speaker 1: it might be coming upon those whom he had set
39:21
Speaker 1: himself to hunt down. You want to go home, no doubt, doctor,
39:26
Speaker 1: he remarked, as we emerged. Yes, it would be as well,
39:31
Speaker 1: and I have some business to do which will take
39:34
Speaker 1: some hours. This business at Coburg Square is serious? Why serious?
39:41
Speaker 1: A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason
39:46
Speaker 1: to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
39:49
Speaker 1: But today, being Saturday, rather complicates the matters. I shall
39:54
Speaker 1: want your help tonight at what time ten will be
39:58
Speaker 1: early enough. I shall be in Baker Street at ten
40:03
Speaker 1: very well, And I say, doctor, there may be some
40:07
Speaker 1: little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.
40:12
Speaker 1: He waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared
40:16
Speaker 1: in an instant among the crowd. I trust that I
40:21
Speaker 1: am not more dense than my neighbors. But I was
40:25
Speaker 1: always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in
40:28
Speaker 1: my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what
40:33
Speaker 1: he had heard, I had seen what he had seen,
40:36
Speaker 1: And yet from his words it was evident that he
40:41
Speaker 1: saw clearly not only what had happened but what was
40:44
Speaker 1: about to happen? While to me the whole business was
40:48
Speaker 1: still confused and grotesque. As I drove home to my
40:52
Speaker 1: house in Kensington, I thought over it all, from the
40:56
Speaker 1: extraordinary story of the red headed copier of the Encyclopedia,
41:00
Speaker 1: down to the visit to Saxe Coburg Square and the
41:04
Speaker 1: ominous words with which he had parted from me. What
41:08
Speaker 1: was this nocturnal expedition and why should I go armed?
41:13
Speaker 1: Where were we going and what were we to do?
41:16
Speaker 1: I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth faced
41:20
Speaker 1: pawnbroker's assistant was a formidable man, a man who might
41:25
Speaker 1: play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out,
41:29
Speaker 1: but gave it up in despair and set the matter
41:32
Speaker 1: aside until nights should bring an explanation. It was a
41:36
Speaker 1: quarter past nine when I started from home and made
41:40
Speaker 1: my way across the park and so through Oxford Street
41:43
Speaker 1: to Baker Street. Two Hansoms were standing at the door,
41:48
Speaker 1: and as I entered the passage I heard the sound
41:50
Speaker 1: of voices from above. On entering his room, I found
41:55
Speaker 1: Holmes in animated conversation with two men, one of whom
41:59
Speaker 1: I reckonedognized as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while
42:04
Speaker 1: the other was a long, thin, sad faced man with
42:07
Speaker 1: a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock coat. Ah
42:13
Speaker 1: our party is complete, said Holmes, buttoning up his pea
42:17
Speaker 1: jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. Watson,
42:21
Speaker 1: I think you know, mister Jones of Scotland Yard. Let
42:24
Speaker 1: me introduce you to mister Merriwether, who is to be
42:28
Speaker 1: our companion in tonight's adventure. We're hunting in couples again, doctor,
42:33
Speaker 1: you see, said Jones in his consequential way. Our friend
42:37
Speaker 1: here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All
42:41
Speaker 1: he wants is an old dog to help him to
42:44
Speaker 1: do the running down. I hope a wild goose may
42:48
Speaker 1: not prove to be the end of our chase, observed
42:51
Speaker 1: mister Merriweather gloomily. You may place considerable confidence in mister Holmes, Sir,
42:57
Speaker 1: said the police agent loftily. He has his own little methods,
43:02
Speaker 1: which are, if he won't mind my saying so, just
43:06
Speaker 1: stay little too theoretical and fantastic. But he has the
43:10
Speaker 1: makings of a detective in him. It is not too
43:13
Speaker 1: much to say that once or twice, as in that
43:16
Speaker 1: business of the soulto murder and the agra treasure. He
43:21
Speaker 1: has been more nearly correct than the official force. Oh,
43:25
Speaker 1: if you say so, mister Jones, it is all right,
43:28
Speaker 1: said the stranger, with deference. Still, I confess that I
43:32
Speaker 1: miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night for
43:35
Speaker 1: seven and twenty years that I have not had my rubber.
43:39
Speaker 1: I think you will find, said Sherlock Holmes, that you
43:43
Speaker 1: will play for a higher stake to night than you
43:46
Speaker 1: have ever done yet, and that the play will be
43:50
Speaker 1: more exciting for you, mister Meriwether. The stake will be
43:54
Speaker 1: some thirty thousand pounds, and for you, Jones, it will
43:59
Speaker 1: be the man upon on whom you wish to lay
44:01
Speaker 1: your hands, John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher and forger.
44:08
Speaker 1: He's a young man, mister Meriwether, but he is at
44:11
Speaker 1: the head of his profession. And I would rather have
44:14
Speaker 1: my bracelets on him than any criminal in London. He's
44:19
Speaker 1: a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was
44:23
Speaker 1: a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton
44:27
Speaker 1: and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers,
44:32
Speaker 1: and though we meet signs of him at every turn.
44:35
Speaker 1: We never know where to find the man himself. He'll
44:39
Speaker 1: crack a crib in Scotland one week and be raising
44:43
Speaker 1: money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I've
44:46
Speaker 1: been on his track for years and have never set
44:50
Speaker 1: eyes on him yet. I hope that I may have
44:53
Speaker 1: the pleasure of introducing you tonight. I've had one or
44:57
Speaker 1: two little turns also with mister John Play, and I
45:01
Speaker 1: agree with you that he is at the head of
45:04
Speaker 1: his profession. It is past ten, however, and quite time
45:09
Speaker 1: that we started. If you two will take the first,
45:12
Speaker 1: handsome Watson, and I will follow in the second. Sherlock
45:16
Speaker 1: Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive, and
45:21
Speaker 1: lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he
45:23
Speaker 1: had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless
45:28
Speaker 1: labyrinth of gas lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street.
45:33
Speaker 1: We are close there now, my friend remarked. This fellow
45:37
Speaker 1: Merriweather is a bank director and personally interested in the matter.
45:42
Speaker 1: I thought it is well to have Jones with us. Also,
45:46
Speaker 1: he is not a bad fellow. Though an absolute imbecile
45:50
Speaker 1: in his profession, he has one positive virtue. He is
45:54
Speaker 1: as brave as a bulldog, and as tenacious as a
45:58
Speaker 1: lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are,
46:02
Speaker 1: and they are waiting for us. We had reached the
46:06
Speaker 1: same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in
46:10
Speaker 1: the morning. Our calves were dismissed, and following the guidance
46:15
Speaker 1: of mister Merriweather, we passed down a narrow passage and
46:19
Speaker 1: through a side door which he opened for us. Within
46:22
Speaker 1: there was a small corridor which ended in a very
46:26
Speaker 1: massive iron gate. This also was opened and led down
46:30
Speaker 1: a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another
46:34
Speaker 1: formidable gate. Mister Merriweather stopped to light a lantern, and
46:40
Speaker 1: then conducted us down a dark, earth smelling passage, And
46:45
Speaker 1: so after opening a third door into a huge vault
46:49
Speaker 1: or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and
46:53
Speaker 1: massive boxes. You were not very vulnerable from above, Holmes remarked,
46:59
Speaker 1: as he had held up the lantern and gazed about him.
47:02
Speaker 1: Nor from below, said mister Merriwether, striking his stick upon
47:06
Speaker 1: the flags which lined the floor. Why dear me, it
47:10
Speaker 1: sounds quite hollow, he remarked, looking up in surprise. I
47:14
Speaker 1: must really ask you to be a little more quiet,
47:17
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Severely, you have already imperiled the whole success
47:22
Speaker 1: of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have
47:26
Speaker 1: the goodness to sit down upon one of these boxes,
47:29
Speaker 1: and not to interfere. The solemn mister Meriwether perched himself
47:35
Speaker 1: upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face,
47:39
Speaker 1: while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor, and
47:42
Speaker 1: with the lantern and the magnifying lins, began to examine
47:47
Speaker 1: minutely the cracks between the stones. A few seconds sufficed
47:52
Speaker 1: to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again
47:56
Speaker 1: and put his glass to his pocket. We have at
47:59
Speaker 1: least an hour before us, he remarked, for they can
48:02
Speaker 1: hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely
48:05
Speaker 1: in bed. Then they will not lose a minute, for
48:09
Speaker 1: the sooner they do their work, the longer they will
48:12
Speaker 1: have for their escape. We are at present, doctor, as
48:15
Speaker 1: no doubt you have divined in the cellar of the
48:18
Speaker 1: city branch of one of the principal London banks. Mister
48:22
Speaker 1: Meriwether is the chairman of directors, and he will explain
48:26
Speaker 1: to you that there are reasons why the more daring
48:29
Speaker 1: criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar.
48:33
Speaker 1: At present it is our French gold, whispered the director.
48:39
Speaker 1: We have had several warnings that an attempt might be
48:42
Speaker 1: made upon it your French gold. Yes, we had occasion
48:48
Speaker 1: some months ago to strengthen our resources, and borrowed for
48:52
Speaker 1: that purpose thirty thousand napoleons from the Bank of France.
48:57
Speaker 1: It has become known that we have never had occasion
49:00
Speaker 1: to unpack the money, and that it is still lying
49:03
Speaker 1: in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains
49:06
Speaker 1: two thousand napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our
49:12
Speaker 1: reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is
49:15
Speaker 1: usually kept in a single branch office. And the directors
49:19
Speaker 1: have had misgivings upon the subject, which were very well justified,
49:24
Speaker 1: observed Holmes. And now it is time that we arranged
49:28
Speaker 1: our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters
49:33
Speaker 1: will come to a head. In the meantime, mister Meriwether,
49:37
Speaker 1: we must put the screen over that dark lantern and
49:41
Speaker 1: sit in the dark. I am afraid so I had
49:45
Speaker 1: brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I
49:48
Speaker 1: thought that as we were a PARTI carree, you might
49:52
Speaker 1: have your rubber after all, But I see that the
49:55
Speaker 1: enemy's preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk
49:59
Speaker 1: the presence of a life. And first of all, we
50:02
Speaker 1: must choose our possessions. These are daring men, and though
50:07
Speaker 1: we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do
50:10
Speaker 1: us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand
50:15
Speaker 1: behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those? Then,
50:20
Speaker 1: when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly.
50:25
Speaker 1: If they fire, Watson have no compunction about shooting them down.
50:31
Speaker 1: I placed my revolver cocked up on the top of
50:34
Speaker 1: the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the
50:38
Speaker 1: slide across the front of his lantern and left us
50:41
Speaker 1: in pitch darkness, such an absolute darkness as I have
50:46
Speaker 1: never before experienced. The smell of hot metal remained to
50:50
Speaker 1: assure us that the light was still there, ready to
50:54
Speaker 1: flash out at a moment's notice. To me, with my
50:58
Speaker 1: nerves worked up to a pitch of expancy, there was
51:01
Speaker 1: something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom and in
51:06
Speaker 1: the cold, dank air of the vault. They have but
51:10
Speaker 1: one retreat, whispered Holmes, that is back through the house
51:15
Speaker 1: into Saxe Coburg Square. I hope that you have done
51:18
Speaker 1: what I asked you, Jones. I am an inspector and
51:22
Speaker 1: two officers waiting at the front door. Then we have
51:26
Speaker 1: stopped all the holes, and now we must be silent
51:31
Speaker 1: and wait. What a time it seemed from comparing notes afterwards,
51:39
Speaker 1: it was but an hour and a quarter. Yet it
51:42
Speaker 1: appeared to me that the night must have almost gone,
51:46
Speaker 1: and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs were
51:49
Speaker 1: weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position.
51:54
Speaker 1: Yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch
51:56
Speaker 1: of tension, and my hearing was so acute that I
52:00
Speaker 1: could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions,
52:05
Speaker 1: but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in breadth of
52:08
Speaker 1: the bulky Jones from the thin sighing note of the
52:12
Speaker 1: bank director. From my position, I could look over the
52:15
Speaker 1: case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes
52:20
Speaker 1: caught the glint of a light. At first it was
52:24
Speaker 1: but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then it
52:28
Speaker 1: leathened out until it became a yellow line, and then,
52:32
Speaker 1: without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open,
52:36
Speaker 1: and hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt
52:42
Speaker 1: about in the center of the little area of light.
52:45
Speaker 1: For a minute or more, the hand, with its writhing fingers,
52:49
Speaker 1: protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as
52:54
Speaker 1: suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again, save
52:58
Speaker 1: the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones.
53:04
Speaker 1: Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending, tearing sound,
53:10
Speaker 1: one of the broad white stones turned over upon its
53:13
Speaker 1: side and left a square, gaping hole through which streamed
53:19
Speaker 1: the light of a lantern. Over the edge, there peeped
53:23
Speaker 1: a clean cut, boyish face which looked keenly about it,
53:28
Speaker 1: and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture,
53:31
Speaker 1: drew itself shoulder high and waist high, until one knee
53:36
Speaker 1: rested upon the edge. In another instant he stood at
53:40
Speaker 1: the side of the hole and was hauling after him
53:43
Speaker 1: a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale
53:47
Speaker 1: face and a shock of very red hair. It's all clear,
53:52
Speaker 1: he whispered, Have you the chisel and the bags, Great Scott, jump, Archie, jump,
53:57
Speaker 1: and I'll swing for it. Shirl Holmes had sprung out
54:02
Speaker 1: and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived
54:07
Speaker 1: down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending
54:10
Speaker 1: cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed
54:15
Speaker 1: down the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes's hunting crop
54:18
Speaker 1: came down on the man's wrist, and the pistol clinked
54:22
Speaker 1: upon the stone floor. It's no use, John Clay, said Holmes, flandly,
54:28
Speaker 1: you have no chance at all, so I see the
54:33
Speaker 1: other answered with the utmost coolness. I fancy that my
54:37
Speaker 1: pal is all right, though I see you have got
54:39
Speaker 1: his coat tails. There are three men waiting for him
54:43
Speaker 1: at the door, said Holmes. Oh, indeed, you seem to
54:47
Speaker 1: have done the thing very completely. I must compliment you,
54:51
Speaker 1: and I you, Holmes answered, Your red headed idea was
54:56
Speaker 1: very new and effective. You'll see your palagan presently, said Jones.
55:02
Speaker 1: He's quickerly climbing down holes than I am. Just hold
55:06
Speaker 1: out while I fix the derbies. I beg that you
55:10
Speaker 1: will not touch me with your filthy hands, remarked our prisoner,
55:14
Speaker 1: as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. You may not
55:18
Speaker 1: be aware that I have royal blood in my veins.
55:22
Speaker 1: Have the goodness also when you address me, always to
55:24
Speaker 1: say sir and please all right, said Jones, with a
55:30
Speaker 1: stare and a snigger. Well, would you please, sir march
55:36
Speaker 1: upstairs where we can get a cab to carry your
55:39
Speaker 1: highness to the police station. That is better, said John
55:44
Speaker 1: Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow to the three
55:48
Speaker 1: of us, and walked quietly off in the custody of
55:51
Speaker 1: the detective. Really, mister Holmes, said mister Merriwether, as we
55:56
Speaker 1: followed them from the cellar. I do not know how
55:59
Speaker 1: the bank can thank you, will repay you. There is
56:01
Speaker 1: no doubt that you have detected and defeated, in the
56:04
Speaker 1: most complete manner, one of the most determined attempts at
56:08
Speaker 1: bank robbery that has ever come within my experience. I
56:13
Speaker 1: have had one or two little scores of my own
56:16
Speaker 1: to settle with, mister John Clay, said Holmes. I have
56:20
Speaker 1: been at some small expense over this matter, which I
56:23
Speaker 1: shall expect the bank to refund. But beyond that I
56:27
Speaker 1: am amply repaid by having had an experience which is
56:31
Speaker 1: in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable
56:36
Speaker 1: narrative of the red Headed League, you see, Watson, he
56:41
Speaker 1: explained in the early hours of the morning, as we
56:44
Speaker 1: sat over a glass of whiskey and soda in Baker Street.
56:48
Speaker 1: It was perfectly obvious from the first that the only
56:51
Speaker 1: possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement
56:56
Speaker 1: of the league and the copying of the encyclopedia must
57:00
Speaker 1: be to get this not over bright pawnbroker out of
57:04
Speaker 1: the way for a number of hours every day. It
57:08
Speaker 1: was a curious way of managing it, but really it
57:12
Speaker 1: would be difficult to suggest a better The method was
57:15
Speaker 1: no doubt suggested to Clay's ingenious mind by the color
57:20
Speaker 1: of his accomplice's hair. The four pounds a week was
57:23
Speaker 1: a lure which must draw him. And what was it
57:27
Speaker 1: to them who were playing for thousands? They put in
57:31
Speaker 1: the advertisement. One rogue has the temporary office, the other
57:35
Speaker 1: rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together
57:39
Speaker 1: they managed to secure his absence every morning in the week.
57:43
Speaker 1: From the time that I heard of the assistant having
57:46
Speaker 1: come for half wages, it was obvious to me that
57:49
Speaker 1: he had some strong motive for securing the situation. But
57:54
Speaker 1: how could you guess what the motive was? Had there
57:57
Speaker 1: been a woman in the house, I should have suspected
58:00
Speaker 1: did a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of
58:03
Speaker 1: the question. The man's business was a small one, and
58:07
Speaker 1: there was nothing in his house which could account for
58:10
Speaker 1: such elaborate preparations and such an expenditure as they were
58:14
Speaker 1: at It must then be something out of the house.
58:19
Speaker 1: What could it be? I thought of the assistant's fundness
58:23
Speaker 1: for photography and his trick of vanishing into the cellar
58:28
Speaker 1: the cellar. There was the end of this tangled clue
58:33
Speaker 1: that I made my inquiries as to this mysterious assistant
58:37
Speaker 1: and found that I had to deal with one of
58:40
Speaker 1: the coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was
58:44
Speaker 1: doing something in the cellar, something which took many hours
58:49
Speaker 1: a day from months on end. What could it be?
58:52
Speaker 1: Once more, I could think of nothing, say that he
58:55
Speaker 1: was running a tunnel to some other building. So far
59:00
Speaker 1: I had got. When we went to visit the scene
59:02
Speaker 1: of action, I surprised you by beating upon the pavement
59:06
Speaker 1: with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched
59:10
Speaker 1: out in front or behind. It was not in front.
59:15
Speaker 1: Then I rang the bell, and as I hoped the
59:18
Speaker 1: assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we
59:23
Speaker 1: had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly
59:27
Speaker 1: looked at his face. His knees were what I wished
59:30
Speaker 1: to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled
59:36
Speaker 1: and stained they were. They spoke of those hours of burrowing.
59:41
Speaker 1: The only remaining point was what were they burrowing? For?
59:46
Speaker 1: I walked round the corner, saw the city in suburban
59:49
Speaker 1: bank about it on our friend's premises, and felt that
59:53
Speaker 1: I had solved my problem. When you drove home after
59:57
Speaker 1: the concert, I called upon Scotland Yard, upon the chairman
1:00:00
Speaker 1: of the bank directors, with the result that you have
1:00:03
Speaker 1: seen And how could you tell that they would make
1:00:08
Speaker 1: their attempt tonight? I asked, Well, when they closed their
1:00:12
Speaker 1: league offices, that was a sign that they cared no
1:00:16
Speaker 1: longer about mister job As Wilson's presence. In other words,
1:00:21
Speaker 1: that they had completed their tunnel, but it was essential
1:00:26
Speaker 1: that they should use it soon, as it might be
1:00:29
Speaker 1: discovered or the bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit
1:00:34
Speaker 1: them better than any other day, as it would give
1:00:37
Speaker 1: them two days for their escape. For all these reasons
1:00:41
Speaker 1: I expected them to come tonight you reasoned it out beautifully,
1:00:47
Speaker 1: I exclaimed, in unfeigned admiration. It is so long a chain,
1:00:52
Speaker 1: and yet every link rings true. It saved me from anyui,
1:00:57
Speaker 1: he answered, yawning. Alas I all ready feeling closing and
1:01:01
Speaker 1: upon me. My life is spent in one long effort
1:01:05
Speaker 1: to escape from the commonplaces of existence. Ah, these little
1:01:10
Speaker 1: problems help me to do so. And you are a
1:01:14
Speaker 1: benefactor of the race, said I. He shrugged his shoulders. Well, perhaps,
1:01:20
Speaker 1: after all, it is of some little use, he remarked. Long,
1:01:25
Speaker 1: serrier lou sit too, as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George
1:01:30
Speaker 1: sand end of Part three, End of The Red Headed
1:01:36
Speaker 1: League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle