The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 35 Four Signatures (19)
"Yes. Besides him, there is a 14-year-old girl who cooks for us and cleans the house. These are the only people in my family because I have never married. The three of us live a peaceful life, although not rich , but no debts. But our easy life was disturbed by an advertisement. On this day exactly eight weeks ago, Spaulding came into my office with the paper in his hand, and said: "Mr. Wilson, I pray to God, how I wish I had red hair!" I asked him, "What are you talking about?" It's a bonanza to get the job. I understand that there are more vacancies than job seekers, and the trustees entrusted with managing that fund don't know what to do with that money. If I had red hair Well, I asked him: 'What's the matter?' Mr. Holmes, you know, I am a reclusive person. Because my business is delivered to my door, I don't need to go out to win business, I often Not going out for weeks. So I don't know much about the outside world, and I'm always happy to hear something. Spalding stared at me and asked, 'Have you never heard about the Redheads?' I replied: 'Never heard of it,' he went on: 'I am surprised that you say that, because you yourself are eligible to apply for the vacant post. The members of this society have an income of two hundred pounds a year, but this It's an easy job, and it doesn't matter if you've got another job.' To be honest, Mr. Holmes, this really touches my heart, because my business hasn't been doing well all these years, and if this extra £[-] If you can get it, then you don’t have to worry. So I said to him: "Tell me the whole situation." He pointed to the advertisement in the newspaper and said to me: "Look for yourself, there will be a redhead There is a vacancy, and there is an address in the advertisement, where you can apply. As far as I know, the founder of the Redhead Society is an American rich man named Izzia Hopkins. This person has a very strange style. Because he himself His hair is red, so he has deep feelings for people with red hair. After his death, he handed over his huge property to the trustee of the estate, and he left a will to give the interest of his estate to the red A comfortable job for a man with red hair. I heard that the pay is high, but the work is easy.' I said: 'But there will be millions of red-haired men applying.' He replied: 'Not necessarily So much. That position is actually limited to Londoners only, and has to be a grown man because the rich man made his fortune in London and wants to do something good for the city. And I've also heard that they are very selective, the hair has to be A really bright fiery red, if it's light red or deep red, it's no use applying. If you want to apply, Mr. Wilson, then go ahead. But, for a few hundred pounds, put you in trouble, maybe It's not worth it.'

"Gentlemen, as you can see by now, I have fiery red hair. I therefore think that if the position is to be contested, I am more hopeful than any other." Vincent Spaulding Seemed to know a lot about the matter, so I thought he might be able to help me. So I told him to close the window and come with me at once. He was very glad to have a day off. So we closed our business and went together to the address advertised.

"Mr. Holmes, I don't think I will ever see such a scene again. People from all countries and regions, as long as they have red hair, gather in Fleet Street. It is full of red-haired people. Looks like a fruit peddler with a cart full of mandarin oranges. I didn't think one ad could get so many people. They have hair colors of everything - lemon, orange, brick red, Irish setter kind Colors and such, but, as Spaulding said, there aren't many really bright fiery reds out there. I saw so many people applying at the time, I was tempted to give up. But, Spaulding volunteered , grabbed my arm, and led me through the crowd to the front of the steps of the office. There were two streams of people on the stairs, some people went up with hope, and some people went down with dejection. We squeezed as hard as we could into a crowd, into an office."

Having said this, Wilson stopped to rest for a while.Holmes sniffed violently to clear his head.

"It is an interesting story of yours," said Holmes. "Pray go on."

Wilson said: "There were only a few wooden chairs and a desk in that office. Behind the desk sat a small man with hair redder than mine. At this time, there were many candidates standing Waiting for his roll call. Every candidate comes up to him and he picks out their flaws. So it's not easy to get this position. When it's my turn, he compares me to others You're welcome, and once we're in, he closes the door so he can talk to us privately. My buddy says, 'This is Mr. Jabez Wilson, and he's willing to fill the Redhead.' said the little man : 'He's a perfect fit, he fits all our criteria. As far as I can remember, I haven't seen anyone with a better hair color than his.' He takes a step back, tilting his head , looked at my hair carefully. He looked at it for a long time, and I felt embarrassed. After a while, he suddenly took my hand, congratulated me and said: "You really have nothing to fault. But , I’m sorry, I have to be careful, I’m sure you won’t mind.” He grabbed my hair with both hands and pulled it, and I almost cried out in pain. He let go and said to me : "You are almost in tears, of course you can be selected. But I have to be careful, because I have been cheated by guys wearing wigs and dyed hair twice, so I have to take this approach." After finishing, he Opening the door, he shouted to those waiting outside: "The vacancies have been filled, everyone can go." There was a sigh of disappointment outside the door, and then the people dispersed in all directions. After they left, the red-haired man It was just me and the little man. The man said to me: 'My name is Duncan Ross, and I am a bequeather of Izekiah myself. Are you married, Mr. Wilson?' I replied Said: "No." His face suddenly changed, and he said seriously: "This is a big deal! I feel sorry for what you said. Because the purpose of setting up this fund is to maintain and give birth to more red blood. The one with the hair. It's a real misfortune that you should be an unmarried bachelor.'

"Mr. Holmes, I was dismayed to hear these words. I thought at the time that it was a pity that I should not be given the position because I had no wife. But after thinking about it for a while, he said: 'If it were someone else, this defect may It's unfortunate. But if it's not easy to find a redhead better than you, we can make an exception to take care of you. When can you come to work?' I said, 'It's a bit difficult because I have a pawn shop Need me to take care of it.' My clerk, Vincent Spaulding, said, 'That's all right, Mr. Wilson, I can look after your business for you.' So I asked, 'What are my business hours?' Ross Say: 'Ten to two o'clock in the afternoon.' You know, Mr. Holmes, pawnshops don't open until late in the evening, especially on Thursday and Friday, because these are the first two days before wages are paid. So you can It's fine for me to make a few extra bucks in the morning, and I have a solid guy who will take care of anything. So I said, 'That's fine for me. What's the salary?' replied Rose Said: "Pound four a week." I asked again: "What is the job?" He said: "You must be on time, you cannot ask for leave. You must stay in the office during the entire office hours. If you leave, Then you've given up the position forever. If you're out of the office even a little bit during that time, you're not doing your job.' I said, 'It's only four hours, and I'm not going to leave the office.' Duncan · Mr. Ross said: 'There is no excuse for any reason, not even illness or anything else, you have to stay there as a rule or you lose the job.' I asked: 'What exactly is the job?' He said: 'Your job is to copy the Encyclopedia Britannica and here is the first volume of this edition. But you will need your own ink, pen and blotting paper. We will only provide you with a desk and chair. You can come to work tomorrow ’ I replied, ‘Of course.’ ‘Farewell, then, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me once again congratulate you on your good fortune to receive this important position.’ He bowed to me. Me and I The man left the room immediately and went home together.

"I was overwhelmed with joy and just thought I was so lucky. I thought about it all day, and at night, my emotions calmed down a lot because I thought about it and thought it must be a hoax or something. A ruse, but I can't guess what it was for. For the strange will the man said, and the simple job of copying the Encyclopaedia Britannica for so much money, is unbelievable. My The clerk did everything he could to comfort me. By bedtime I had made up my mind to go and see what was the matter next morning anyway. I bought a bottle of ink, a quill, seven A large sheet of writing paper, and set out for Pope's Court. To my surprise, all went well. The table and chairs were ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross was there waiting for me to start my work. He asked me to copy from the letter A I got up and went out, but he came in every now and then to see if I was still there. He said good-bye to me at two o'clock in the afternoon, and complimented me on how well I had copied. When I left the office, he locked the door .

"And so the days went on, Mr. Holmes. On Saturday Duncan Ross came in and gave me four sterling pieces in gold for my week's work. The second week was like that, and the week after that. I was there every day at ten o'clock in the morning and left at two o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Duncan Ross came in less often, sometimes only once in the morning, and then he didn't come at all. But I still dare not leave the office , because I don't know when he will come, and the job is really good, it suits me, and I don't want to risk losing it. So, eight weeks later. I'm about to put the Encyclopedia Britannica The letter A is finished, and the letter B is expected to be copied soon. I have spent a lot of money on large-page writing paper, and I have copied almost a shelf. But the whole thing came to an abrupt end. .”

"The end?" asked Holmes.

Wilson said: "Yes, sir. Just this morning, I went to work at ten o'clock as usual, but the office door was closed and locked, and there was a card tacked in the middle of the door panel. This Here's the card, see for yourself."

He produced a white card about the size of a post-it note, on which he wrote: "The Redheads have been disbanded, hereby. October [-], [-]."

Holmes and I read the short notice carefully, and at the same time we saw Wilson's troubled scowl, and we both found it so ridiculous that we couldn't help laughing.

Our client's face suddenly turned red, and he exclaimed angrily, "I don't think there's anything funny about it, and if you're going to do me no good by making fun of me, then I'll go elsewhere."

"No, no," cried Holmes. Pushing Wilson back into the chair, which was half up, he said, "I must not miss your case under any circumstances. It is an interesting and curious thing." , it is refreshing. But if you are not surprised, I want to say that this incident is indeed a bit ridiculous. May I ask, what did you do after you found this card?"

"Sir, I was very surprised and didn't know what to do for a while. I went to the next door to the office to ask, but no one knew what was going on. Later, I went to the landlord. He lived downstairs and was a Accountant. I asked him if he knew about the Redheads. He said he had never heard of the group. So I asked him who Duncan Ross was. He said he hadn't heard of that name either. I asked He said: 'Oh, that's the gentleman who lives at number seven.' He said, 'But the man with the red hair?' 'Yes.' He said, 'Well, that man's name was William Morris. It was a man Lawyer, he is staying in my house temporarily because his new house has not been finished. He moved out yesterday.' I asked him: 'So, where can I find him?' 'You can go to his new house Office, he gave me his address. Yes, it is No. 17, King Edward Street, near St. Paul's Church.' Mr. Holmes, I started to go there at once after hearing him, but, That place is a paint factory, and no one in that factory has ever heard of a William Morris or a Duncan Ross."

"Then what have you done?" asked Holmes.

"I went back to my pawn shop in Coburg Square. I consulted with my clerk, but his advice was of no avail. He only said that if I would just wait patiently, I might get a letter and get some information from it. Of course, Mr. Holmes, this is not a good way, and I really don't want to lose this position by being helpless. I heard that you are good at helping people solve difficulties, so I came to you at once."

"You have acted very wisely," said Holmes. "Your case is a peculiar one, and I would be glad to help you. From what you have told me, it may raise more serious issues than it appears."

Jabez Wilson said: "It's serious. I lose four pounds a week."

Holmes said: "As far as you are concerned, I don't think you should complain about this strange group. Because you have already earned more than 30 pounds of windfall income for nothing, and you have copied so many words beginning with the letter A, the knowledge you have gained Not too much. You have nothing to lose!"

"There is no loss. However, I want to know what is going on, who are they? If this thing is really to tease me, what is the purpose of teasing me? Because the price of teasing is not small, they Already spent £32."

"That we shall try to clarify for you," said Holmes. "But, Mr. Wilson, you will answer me a question or two first. How long has the chap who drew your attention to the advert been living with you?"

"He'd been in my pawn shop for about a month before that ad ran."

"How did he get in here?"

"He saw an advertisement and applied for it."

"Is he the only one who came to see your ad?"

"No, there are more than ten people."

"Why did you choose him?"

"Because he's sensitive, and he doesn't want a lot of money."

"Actually he only gets half his salary?"

"Yes."

"What does this Vincent Spaulding look like?"

"He was short, athletic and quick-witted. Although he was over 30 years old, he had a smooth complexion and a scar on his forehead from a sulfuric acid burn."

Holmes straightened himself up in his chair with great excitement. "I have thought of all that. Have you noticed that his ears are pierced?"

"Yes, sir. He told me a gipsy put it on him when he was young."

Holmes leaned back in his chair again, thought for a while and said, "Is he still in your shop?"

"Yes, I just broke up with him."

"Then he has been looking after the business in your absence?"

"Yes, because there wasn't much business in the morning."

"Well, Mr. Wilson, I will tell you the outcome of the matter in a day or two. Today is Saturday, and by next Monday the matter will be over."

After the visitor had gone, Holmes said to me, "What do you think the matter is, Watson?"

I answered frankly, "I see nothing wrong with it. It's a real mystery."

Holmes said: "Generally speaking, the more strange things appear, the less mysterious they are in fact. It is the unremarkable cases that really confuse people. Just like the faces of ordinary people are the most difficult to recognize. But, I Immediate action must be taken to address this matter."

I asked, "So what are you going to do?"

He replied: "Smoking first, this is a problem that can only be solved by smoking three pipes. Please don't talk to me for 10 minutes." After finishing speaking, he curled up in the chair, his thin knees were almost in line with his Hooked noses meet.He sat there with his eyes closed, and the black clay pipe dangling from his mouth was like the pointed and long beak of some strange bird.I thought at the time that he must have fallen asleep, and I dozed off too.Suddenly, I was awakened by the sound of him jumping up from the chair, and I saw him putting his pipe on the mantelpiece with an expression that clearly made up his mind.

He said: "Sarasat will be playing at St. James's Hall this afternoon. How do you think, Watson, will your patient spare you a few hours?"

"I don't have anything to do today. My clinic isn't very busy."

"So, put on your hats and let's go. We're going into town first, and we can have lunch on the way. I noticed that there's a lot of German music on the program list, which just suits me. Because I think German music More beautiful than Italian or French music, German music is thought-provoking, just what I need. Let's go."

(End of this chapter)