First Published: January 1, 1891
SPOILERS!!!
In this short story Watson arrives at Baker Street to visit Holmes, and he finds him with a man. Holmes insists he stay, and he introduces him to the stranger. His name Jabez Wilson and starts explaining a problem he has. Two months ago on 27 April 1890 there was an advertisement in the newspaper which his assistant, Vincent Spaulding, showed him. Mr Wilson owns a small pawnbroker business, and his assistant has been with him for about a month. He is hard-working, and his only peculiarity is his fondness of photography, which makes him go to the cellar often. Mr Wilson has very bright red hair, and the advertisement that came from the red-headed league said that they were looking for a red-headed man to replace a former member, and the duties that this member had to perform were mainly clerical for four pounds a week. The assistant persuaded Wilson to respond to the advertisement. Wilson acquiesced and they went there, and Wilson was hired at once. The person who received them Ducan Ross, who told Wilson that he needed to be in the office in the morning and the only thing he had to do was to copy the entries of the Oxford dictionary. Wilson thought it was something I could do for that pay. So every morning he went and kept copying the entries in the dictionary. Yet, just yesterday he went and found that the office was closed and when he asked after Ducan Ross, he was told that the person who had hired the office was William Morris.
Holmes tells Wilson that this is a mystery that needs reflection and he would be ready to give him an answer on Monday. Here is when Holmes tells Watson that they have a three-pipe problem, and he keeps thinking and thinking. Then he says that they need to go to the place where Wilson has his business. As they were there, he knocks at the door and the assistant opens the door, and Sherlock asks him about some direction. Then he tells Watson that he only wanted to see his knees. And then they explore the back street, and after that, they go to a concert and when they part, Holmes tells him to meet him the next day.
When Watson arrives, there are two other men: Peter Jones, a police agent, and Mr Merryweather, a bank director. Holmes tells them that they need to go before something terrible takes place, and Merryweather leads the way to his bank, and they enter a vault. Holmes explains to Holmes that here is where a large amount of French money is stored, a temptation to thieves. After an hour in silence, a man appears from a hole, and Holmes grabs him and he is arrested. This is John Clay, a popular criminal of distinguished background. This is the man who Wilson hired as his assitant, and some men that Jones had outside grab his partner.
Later Holmes explains to Watson that Wilson's story was really fishy, and he suspected from the first that the objective was to keep Wilson away so that the thief could dig a hole that led to the bank vault. That is why the assistant didn't care to get half the salary for the job. Holmes confirmed his suspicions when he explored the place and saw the bank, and when Clay opened the door, he saw that his knees were covered in dust.
Once again Holmes proves to be very clever.
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