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The Red-Headed League - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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