Читать книгу A Study in Sherlock - Raymond G. Farney - Страница 10

The Red-Headed

League

“Hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-headed League.”

 Publication & Dates:Strand, August, 1891The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes. (2nd story) 1892Illustrations: Sidney Paget (10)Conan Doyle’s 4th storyHolmes’ 29th case

 Story Introduction:I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year, and found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman, with fiery red hair. With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw, when Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room, and closed the door behind me. “You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,” said he cordially.Case Information

 Date:“one day in the autumn of last year, I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.”“A few days after the adventure of a Case of Identity.”“To-day is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion.”

 Duration:2 Days

 Crime:Robbery of the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank.To steal thirty thousand pounds (Napoleons) of French gold from the basement vault of the city branch of one of the principal London banks.

 Client:1stMr. Jabez Wilson, pawnbroker shop owner, widower without family. A very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman, with fiery red hair…from his small, fat-encircled eyes…“Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers, a not over-clean black frockcoat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. A frayed top hat and a faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar.”“I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat.”Holmes’ Observation of the Client:“Beyond the obvious fact that he has at sometime done manual labor, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately. I can deduce nothing else.”Manual labor? “Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.”2ndCity and Suburban Bank.

 Victim:City and Suburban Bank.

 Crime Scene:Wilson’s pawnshop basement.City and Suburban Bank. “A small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. This also was open, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes.”

 Criminals:John Clay, Wilson’s assistant, using the alias Vincent Spaulding, worked about a month for Wilson before showing him the newspaper ad.“He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third.”“John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He’s a young man, but he is the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London. He is a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was a royal Duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn we never know where to find the man himself. He’ll crack a crib in Scotland one week and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I’ve been on his track for years, and have never set eyes on him yet.” (Jones) .“I’ve had one or two little turns also with John Clay.” (Holmes) “Not such a youth either,”-----“small, stout-built very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, though he’s not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon his forehead.”-----“Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for earrings?”“I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand.”—“Third right, fourth left” answered the assistant promptly (Holmes asking Clay for direction outside Wilson’s pawnshop).“You must be aware that I have royal blood in my veins.”Archie, John Clay’s accomplice, helped to break into the vault and used the aliases of Duncan Ross and William Morris.

 Punishment:None Mentioned.

 Official Police:Peter Jones, Scotland Yard, “the official police agent.”

 Characters:Mr. Duncan Ross, Red-Headed League manager & William Morris, Solicitor, aliases used by Archie.Mr. Merryweather, Director of the City and Suburban Bank.

 Others Mentioned:Ezekiah Hopkins, American millionaire, fictional founder of the Red-Headed League.A girl of fourteen “who does a bit of simple cooking and keeps the place clean” for Wilson.Sarasate. Holmes took time out to attend his concert at St. James school.

 Locations:Baker Street.Saxe-Coburg Square, Wilson’s pawnshop. Near the city. “Third right, fourth left to the Strand.”“It was a pokey, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked onto a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass, and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with JABEZ WILSON in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the place where our red-headed client carried on his business.”17, King Edward Street, near St. Paul’s. Forwarding address given to Wilson for William Morris, solicitor. Was a factory of artificial kneecaps. No one there had ever heard of either.St. James Hall. Where Holmes attended. “I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in music at St. James Hall.”Aldersgate. “Traveled by underground as far as Aldersgate, and a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square.”There is Mortimer’s, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the vegetarian restaurant and McFarlane’s carriage building depot. Holmes’ observation of Saxe-Coburg Square, near the city, the area of Wilson’s pawnbroker’s shop.

 Locations Mentioned:7 Pope’s Court, Fleet Street. Offices of the Red-Headed League.Watson’s house in Kensington.Farringdon Street. Holmes passed by on the way to the city and Suburban bank.

 Evidence & Clues:“and having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked.”Spaulding worked for half wages.“The knees of his trousers”“You see, Watson,” he explained, in the early hours of the morning, as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, “it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible objective of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the Encyclopedia, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but really it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay’s ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplice’s hair. The four pounds a week was a lure which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement; one rogue has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.”

 Motive:To steal thirty thousand pounds (Napoleons) of French gold from a basement vault of one of the principal London banks.

 Timeline:Around March 27. About one month earlier, Vincent Spaulding starts working at the pawnshop.April 27, 1890. “It is The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago.” Spaulding showed the notice to Wilson.“Apply in person Monday eleven o’clock to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League 7 Pope’s Court, Fleet Street.”Tuesday the 29th Wilson is asked to start to-morrow, and work from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.October 9th Duncan Ross closes the Red-Headed League’s office at Pope’s Court and tacks up the sign.Day 1 SaturdayA few days after the Adventure of a Case of Identity.10:00 a.m. Saturday, “eight weeks passed away — and no later than this morning, Saturday, I went to my work as usual at ten o’clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the panel with a tack. The Red-Headed League Is Dissolved. Oct. 9, 1890.”Morning, Wilson goes directly to Baker St. after finding the note tacked on the office door when he went to work. Holmes after hearing his story, says, “To-day is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion.”Afternoon, Holmes and Watson visit Saxe-Coburg Square and go on to St. James Hall to hear Sarasate play.Holmes says to Watson, “To-day being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall need your help to-night.” “ten will be early enough.” Watson replies, “I shall be at Baker Street at ten.”(Watson) “It was a quarter past nine when I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker Street.” Watson’s home in Kensington must be about ¾ hour from Baker St. walking.10:00 p.m., when Watson meets Holmes, Jones, and Merryweather at Baker St. and they all leave for the bank.10:30 to 10:45 pm arriving at City and Suburban Bank.11:45 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. “What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was about an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us.” Holmes, Watson, and the others waiting in the bank vault in the dark, capture John Clay and his accomplice Archie breaking into the bank vault.Day 2 Sunday“In the early hours of the morning, as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker St.” Holmes and Watson discuss the case.

 Story Conclusion:“You reasoned it out beautifully,” I explained, in unfeigned admiration. “It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.”“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.”“And you are a benefactor of the race,” I said.He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked. “L’homme c’est rien—l’oeuvre c’est tout as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.”

 Weather:None mentioned

 Payment“I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay,” said Holmes. “I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-Headed League.”

 Quotes:“As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of a crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to.”“In the present instance I am forced to admit that the facts are, to the best of my belief, unique.”Holmes“My life is spent in one long effort to escape the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.”“My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer, but a composer of no ordinary merit. All afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long thin fingers in time to the music, while his gentle smiling face and languid dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy, and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his arm chair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals.”“I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened, but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque.” (Watson)Mr. Jones, Scotland Yard to Mr. Merryweather, bank director. “You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent, loftily. “He has his own little methods, which are, if he won’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.”“It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.”“And you are a benefactor of the race,” said I.He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked. “L’homme c’est rien—l’oeuvre c’est tout, as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.”“I have made a small study of tattoo marks, and have even contributed to the literature of the subject.”“To smoke,” he answered. “It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes.”“I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. Omme ignotum pro magnifico, you know and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid.”Watson“This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also.”“I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to embellish so many of my own little adventures.”Quotes About Crime and Deduction“You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”“I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. Omme ignotum pro magnifico, you know and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid.”“that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”“You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed.”“As a rule,” said Holmes, “the more bizarre a thing is, the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify.”“As a rule, when I have heard some slight indication of the course of events I am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my memory.”“I should like to remember the order of houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London.” he tells Watson.“I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”“A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it. I shall want your help to-night.”“I say, Doctor! There may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.”

 Questions:Watson dates it as one day in the autumn; the ad in The Morning Chronicle is April 27, which Wilson says is “just two months ago.” Wilson said he worked eight weeks. The note on the office door, dissolving the League, is dated Oct. 9, 1890.

 Notes:Jabez Wilson’s duties at the Red-Headed League: “What would the hours be?” “Ten to two.”— “and the pay?” “Is four pounds a week.” “And the work?” “Is to copy out the Encyclopedia Britannica.” (Merely a couple of hundred pounds a year. Wilson made a total of two-and-thirty pounds for his time.)Inspector Jones refers to the Sign of Four story, and Watson comments about A Case of Identity.