There Wilson heard the story of an eccentric American millionaire who had left a fortune to provide an income for Londoners with red hair as bright as the millionaire’s had been. Wilson was accepted into the League. He learned that the nominal duties consisted only of his coming to the office from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. each day and copying out the Encyclopaedia Britannica in longhand. Since most of Wilson’s business was done in the evening, he was delighted at the chance to supplement his income. This he did for eight weeks, getting well into the “A” volume, until one day he arrived at the office to find it closed, with a notice on the door that the Red-Headed League had been dissolved. He was so disturbed by the thought that someone had been playing a practical joke on him that he came to Holmes for a solution.