L
ater, Holmes explained to me the mystery of The Red-Headed
League.
'You
see,
Watson,'
he said,
'it
was clear that the men in The
Red-Headed League wanted only one thing. They wanted to get
Mr Wilson out of his shop for some hours every day. That was why
they kept him busy, copying out the
Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
'John
Clay is a very clever young man. It was he who
thought of The
Red-Headed
League. He thought of it because
Mr Wilson's hair was the same colour as his friend's hair - very
bright red.
'Clay
put the advertisement in the newspaper. Then he
showed the advertisement to Mr Wilson. He suggested to Mr
Wilson that he should apply for the vacancy in the League.
'When
Mr Wilson told us that his assistant was working for
half-pay, I knew he must have a special reason for wanting
the
job.'
'But
Holmes,'
I said,
'how
could you know what that
reason
was?'