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2. The Redheaded League. I had called upon myfriend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumnof last year and found him in deep conversationwith a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentlemanwith fiery red hair. With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulledme abruptly into the room and closed the doorbehind me.
You could not possibly have come at a better time,my dear Watson, he said cordially. I was afraidthat you were engaged. So I am. Very much so. ThenI can wait in the next room. Not at all. Thisgentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner andhelper in many of my most successful cases, and Ihave no doubt that he will be of the utmost use tome and yours also.
The stout gentleman half rose from his chair andgave a bob of greeting, with a quick littlequestioning glance from his small fat encircledeyes.
Try the settee, said Holmes, relapsing into hisarmchair and putting his fingertips together, aswas his custom when in judicial moods.
I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love ofall that is bizarre and outside the conventionsand humdrum routine of everyday life.
You have shown your relish for it by theenthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle,
and, if you will excuse my saying so, somewhat toembellish so many of my own little adventures.
Your cases have indeed been of the greatestinterest to me, I observed.
You will remember that I remarked the other day,just before we went into the very simple
problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, thatfor strange effects and extraordinary
combinations we must go to life itself, which isalways far more daring than any effort of the
imagination. A proposition which I took theliberty of doubting. You did, Doctor, butnonetheless you
must come round to my view, for otherwise I shallkeep on piling fact upon fact on you until your
reason breaks down under them and acknowledges meto be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been
good enough to call upon me this morning, and tobegin a narrative which promises to be one of
the most singular which I have listened to forsome time. You have heard me remark that the
strangest and most unique things are very oftenconnected not with the larger but with the
smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, wherethere is room for doubt whether any positive crime
has been committed. As far as I have heard, it isimpossible for me to say whether the present
case is an instance of crime or not, but thecourse of events is certainly among the most
singular that I have ever listened to. Perhaps,Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to
recommence your narrative. I ask you not merelybecause my friend Dr. Watson has not heard the
opening part but also because the peculiar natureof the story makes me anxious to have every
possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when Ihave heard some slight indication of the course
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of events, I am able to guide myself by thethousands of other similar cases which occur to
my memory. In the present instance I am forced toadmit that the facts are, to the best of my
belief, unique. The portly client puffed out hischest with an appearance of some little pride and
pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from theinside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down
the advertisement column, with his head thrustforward and the paper flattened out upon his knee,
I took a good look at the man and endeavoured,after the fashion of my companion, to read the
indications which might be presented by his dressor appearance. I did not gain very much,
however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore everymark of being an average commonplace British
tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He worerather baggy grey shepherd's-check trousers,
a not-over-clean black frock coat, unbuttoned inthe front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy
brassy albert chain, and a square pierced bit ofmetal dangling down as an ornament.
A frayed top hat and a faded brown overcoat with awrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair
beside him. Altogether, look as I would, there wasnothing remarkable about the man save his
blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features.
Sherlock Holmes quick I took in my occupation, andhe shook his head with a smile as he noticed
my questioning glances. Beyond the obvious factsthat he has at some time done manual labour,
that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, thathe has been in China, and that he has done
a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else. Mr. Jabez Wilson started
up in his chair, with his forefinger upon thepaper, but his eyes upon my companion.
How, in the name of good fortune, did you know allthat, Mr. Holmes? he asked. How did you know,
for example, that I did manual labour? It's astrue as gospel, for I began as a ship's carpenter.
Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quitea size larger than your left.
You have worked with it, and the muscles are moredeveloped. Well, the snuff, then,
and the Freemasonry? I won't insult yourintelligence by telling you how I read that,
especially as, rather against the strict rules ofyour order, you use an arc and compass breastpin.
Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?What else can be indicated by that right cuff so
very shiny for five inches, and the left one withthe smooth patch near the elbow where you
rested upon the desk? Well, but China? The fishthat you have tattooed immediately above your
right wrist could only have been done in China. Ihave made a small study of tattoo marks and
have even contributed to the literature of thesubject. That trick of staining the fish's scales
of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China.When, in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging
from your watch-chain, the matter becomes evenmore simple. Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily.
Well, I never, said he. I thought at first thatyou had done something clever, but I see that
there was nothing in it after all. I begin tothink, Watson, said Holmes, that I make a mistake
in explaining. Omne ignotum pro magnifico, youknow, and my poor little reputation, such as itis,
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will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid. Can younot find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?
Yes, I have got it now, he answered with his thickred finger planted halfway down the column.
Here it is. This is what began it all. You justread it for yourself, Sir.
I took the paper from him and read as follows.
To the red-headed league, on account of the bequest of the late Ezekiel Hopkins, of Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, USA, there is now another vacancyopen which entitles a member of the league to a
salary of four pounds a week for purely nominalservices. All red-headed men who are sound in
mind and above the age of 21 years, are eligible.Apply in person on Monday, at 11 o'clock,
to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the league, 7Pope's Court, Fleet Street.
What on earth does this mean? I ejaculated after Ihad twice read over the extraordinary
announcement. Holmes chuckled and wriggled in hischair, as was his habit when in high spirits.
It is a little off the beaten track, isn't it?said he. And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at
scratch and tell us all about yourself, yourhousehold, and the effect which this advertisement
had upon your fortunes. You will first make anote, Doctor, of the paper and the date.
It is the morning chronicle of April 27, 1890.Just two months ago.
Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson? Well, it is just as Ihave been telling you,
Mr. Sherlock Holmes, said Jabez Wilson, moppinghis forehead, I have a small pawnbroker's business
at Cobourg Square, near the city. It's not a verylarge affair, and of late years it has not
done more than just give me a living. I used to beable to keep two assistants, but now I only
keep one, and I would have a job to pay him butthat he is willing to come for half wages so as to
learn the business. What is the name of this obliging youth? asked Sherlock Holmes. His name
is Vincent Spalding, and he's not such a youth,either. It's hard to say his age. I should not
wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes, and I knowvery well that he could better himself and earn
twice what I am able to give him. But, after all,if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his
head? Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate inhaving an employee who comes under the full
market price. It is not a common experience amongemployers in this age. I don't know that
your assistant is not as remarkable as youradvertisement. Oh, he has his faults, too,
said Mr. Wilson. Never was such a fellow forphotography. Snapping away with a camera when
he ought to be improving his mind, and then divingdown into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole
to develop his pictures. That is his main fault,but on the whole he's a good worker.
There's no vice in him. He is still with you, Ipresume? Yes, sir. He and a girl of 14,
who does a bit of simple cooking and keeps theplace clean, that's all I have in the house,
for I am a widower and never had any family. Welive very quietly, sir, the three of us,
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and we keep a roof over our heads and pay ourdebts, if we do nothing more.
The first thing that put us out was thatadvertisement. Spalding, he came down into
the office just this day eight weeks, with thisvery paper in his hand, and he says.
I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a redheaded man. Why that? I asks. Why, says he,
here's another vacancy on the league of the redheaded men. It's worth quite a little fortune
to any man who gets it, and I understand thatthere are more vacancies than there are men,
so that the trustees are at their wits' end whatto do with the money. If my hair would
only change colour, here's a nice little crib allready for me to step into. Why, what is it,
then? I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a verystay-at-home man, and as my business came to me
instead of my having to go to it, I was oftenweeks on end without putting my foot over the
doormat. In that way I didn't know much of whatwas going on outside, and I was always glad of a
bit of news. Have you never heard of the league ofthe redheaded men? He asked with his eyes open.
Never. Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligibleyourself for one of the vacancies.
And what are they worth? I asked. Oh, merely acouple of hundred a year, but the work is slight,
and it need not interfere very much with one'sother occupations. Well, you can easily think
that that made me prick up my ears, for thebusiness has not been over good for some years,
and an extra couple of hundred would have beenvery handy. Tell me all about it, said I.
Well, said he, showing me the advertisement, youcan see for yourself that the league has a
vacancy, and there is the address where you shouldapply for particulars. As far as I can
make out, the league was founded by an Americanmillionaire, Ezekiel Hopkins, who was very
peculiar in his ways. He was himself redheaded,and he had a great sympathy for all redheaded men.
So, when he died, it was found that he had lefthis enormous fortune in the hands of trustees,
with instructions to apply the interest to theproviding of easy births to men whose hair is of
that color. From all I hear it is splendid pay andvery little to do. But, said I, there would
be millions of redheaded men who would apply. Notso many as you might think, he answered.
You see it is really confined to Londoners, and togrown men. This American had started
from London when he was young, and he wanted to dothe old town a good turn. Then, again,
I have heard it is no use your applying if yourhair is light red, or dark red, or anything but
real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you caredto apply, Mr. Wilson, you would just walk in,
but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while toput yourself out of the way for the sake of a
few hundred pounds. Now, it is a fact, gentlemen,as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is of
a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed to methat if there was to be any competition in
the matter I stood as good a chance as any manthat I had ever met. Vincent Spalding seemed to
know so much about it that I thought he mightprove useful, so I just ordered him to put up
the shutters for the day and to come right awaywith me. He was very willing to have a holiday,
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so we shut the business up and started off for theaddress that was given us in the advertisement.
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