第 5 页

I did manual labour? It's as true as gospel, for I began as a ship's

carpenter."

"Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size

larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles

are more developed."

"Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?"

"I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how I read

that, especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order,

you use an arc-and-compass breastpin."

"Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?"

"What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny

for five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the

elbow where you rest it upon the desk?"

"Well, but China?"

"The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right

wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small

study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature

of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes' 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 be-

comes even more simple."

Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. "Well, I never!" said he.

"I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see

that there was nothing in it, after all."

"I begin to think, Watson," said Holmes, "that I make a

mistake in explaining. 'Omne ignotum pro magnifico,' you know,

and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck

if I am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr.

Wilson?"

"Yes, I have got it now," he answered with his thick red

finger planted halfway down the column. "Here it is. This is

what began it all. You just read it for yourself, sir."

I took the paper from him and read as follows.

TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE:

On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of

Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now another

vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a

salary of 4 pounds a week for purely nominal services. All red-

headed men who are sound in body and mind and above

the age of twenty-one years, are eligible. Appiy in person

on Monday, at eleven o'clock, to Duncan Ross, at the

offices of the League, 7 Pope's Coun, Fleet Street.

"What on earth does this mean?" I ejaculated after I had

twice read over the extraordinary announcement.

Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit

when in high spirits. "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, your household, and the effect which this

advertisement had upon your fortunes. You will first make a

note, Doctor, of the paper and the date."

"It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two

months ago."

"Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?"

"Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock

Holmes," said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; "I have a

small pawnbroker's business at Coburg Square, near the City.

It's not a very large affair, and of late years it has not done more

than just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two

assistants, but now I only keep one; and I would have a job to

pay him but that he is willing to come for half wages so as to

learn the business."

"What is the name of this obliging youth?" asked Sherlock

Holmes.

"His name is Vincent Spaulding, 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 know very well that he could better

himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after all,

if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?"

"Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an em-

ployee who comes under the full market price. It is not a

common experience among employers in this age. I don't know

that your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement."

"Oh, he has his faults, too," said Mr. Wilson. "Never was

such a fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera

when he ought to be improving his mind, and then diving down

into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures.

That is his main fault, but on the whole he's a good worker.

There's no vice in him."

"He is still with you, I presume?"

"Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple

cooking and keeps the place clean -- that's all I have in the

house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live

very quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our

heads and pay our debts, if we do nothing more.

"The first thing that put us out was that advertisement.

Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight

weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says:

" 'I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed

man.'

" 'Why that?' I asks.

" 'Why,' says he, 'here's another vacancy on the League of

the Red-headed Men. It's worth quite a little fortune to any man

who gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than

there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits' end what to

do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here's

a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.'

" 'Why, what is it, then?' I asked. You see. Mr. Holmes, I

am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me

instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end

without putting my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't

know much of what was going on outside, and I was always glad

of a bit of news.

" 'Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed

Men?' he asked with his eyes open.

" 'Never.'

" 'Why, [ wonder at that, for you are eligibile yourself for

one of the vacancies.'

" 'And what are they worth?' I asked.

" 'Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is

slight, and it need not interfere very much with one's other

occupations.'

"Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my

ears, for the business has not been over-good for some years,

and an extra couple of hundred would have been very handy.

" 'Tell me all about it,' said I.

" 'Well ' said he. showing me the advertisement. 'you can

see for yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the

address where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can

make out, the League was founded by an American millionaire.

Ezekiah Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was

himself red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-

headed men; so when he died it was found that he had left his

enormous fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to

apply the interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose

hair is of that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very

little to do.'

" 'But,' said I, 'there would be millions of red-headed men

who would apply.'

" 'Not so many as you might think,' he answered. 'You see it

is really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This Ameri-

can had started from London when he was young, and he wanted

to do the old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no

use your applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or

anything but real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to

apply, Mr. Wilson, you would just walk in; but perhaps it would

hardly be worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the

sake of a few hundred pounds.'

"Now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves,

that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed to me

that if there was to be any competition in the matter I stood as

good a chance as any man that I had ever met. Vincent Spaulding

seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might prove

useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for the day and

to come right away with me. He was very willing to have a

holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for the

address that was given us in the advertisement.

"I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes.

From north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of

red in his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertise-

ment. Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope's

Court looked like a coster's orange barrow. I should not have

thought there were so many in the whole country as were brought

together by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they

were -- straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; but,

as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real vivid

flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I

would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear

of it. How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and

pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right

up to the steps which led to the office. There was a double

stream upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming

back dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon

found ourselves in the office."

"Your experience has been a most entertaining one," re-

marked Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory

with a huge pinch of snuff. "Pray continue your very interesting

statement."

"There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden

chairs and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a

head that was even redder than mine. He said a few words to

each candidate as he came up, and then he always managed to

find some fault in them which would disqualify them. Getting a

vacancy did not seem to be such a very easy matter, after all.

However, when our turn came the little man was much more

favourable to me than to any of the others, and he closed the

door as we entered, so that he might have a private word with

us.

" 'This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,' said my assistant, 'and he is

willing to fill a vacancy in the League.'

" 'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered. 'He

has every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything

so fine.' He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side,

and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he

plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly

on my success.

" 'It would be injustice to hesitate,' said he. 'You will,

however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.'

With that he seized my hair in both his hands, and tugged until I

yelled with the pain. 'There is water in your eyes,' said he as he

released me. 'I perceive that all is as it should be. But we have

to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once

by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler's wax which would

disgust you with human nature.' He stepped over to the window

and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the vacancy

was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below, and

the folk all trooped away in different directions until there was

not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the

manager.

" 'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself

one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.

Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?'

"I answered that I had not.

"His face fell immediately.

" 'Dear me!' he said gravely, 'that is very serious indeed! I

am sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the

propagation and spread of the red-heads as well as for their

maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a

bachelor.'

"My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I

was not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over

for a few minutes he said that it would be all right.

" 'In the case of another,' said he, 'the objection might be

fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a

head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your

new duties?'

" 'Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,'

said I.

" 'Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!' said Vincent

Spaulding. 'I should be able to look after that for you.'

" 'What would be the hours?' I asked.

" 'Ten to two.'

"Now a pawnbroker's business is mostly done of an evening,

Mr. Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is

just before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little

in the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good

man, and that he would see to anything that turned up.

" 'That would suit me very well,' said I. 'And the pay?'

" 'Is 4 pounds a week.'

" 'And the work?'

" 'Is purely nominal.'

" 'What do you call purely nominal?'

" 'Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the

building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole

position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You

don't comply with the conditions if you budge from the office

during that time.'

" 'It's only four hours a day, and I should not think of