Mr. Jabez Wilson a stout, redheaded widower who owns a small pawnshop. He has two employees Vincent Spaulding who helps him in his shop and a fourteen-year-old girl who does simple house chores. He hired Vincent a month ago for he is willing to work for him even in a low salary and he is a good worker. Jabez only complain of Vincent is his love for photography which makes him leaves his work to take pictures and spend some time in the cellar to develop it.
Jabez strange experience started when his assistant, Vincent Spaulding, brought to his attention an odd advertisement by THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE. A job vacancy for male Londoners with red hair with a four pounds a week salary; he applied for job and was hired by the redheaded league’s manager Duncan Ross. His job is to stay in the league’s office for four hours and make a copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica but he must not leave the place during those times or he will lose his job. For eight weeks Jabez does his job for the league everyday, Duncan would check him in the morning during the first few days but stopped eventually. He is paid every Saturday. Until that morning when he came to the office found a note that the league no longer exist. He asked around and nobody knew Duncan Ross and the landlord said the redheaded man’s name is William Morris and has moved to a new place. But he could not find him in the new address. So he went to Sherlock Holmes to know what is this group and why they did these things to him.
Holmes and Watson visited the shop of Jabez and Holmes examined the buildings around even the pavement. He also had a brief conversation with Vincent Spaulding when he pretended to ask for direction. Later that night believed that the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank would be robbed that night, Holmes, Watson, police officer Peter Jones and Mr. Merryweather the bank director patiently waited in the bank cellar. After a long time two men forced it’s way on the cellar’s floor. They caught John Clay one of London’s most wanted professional criminal and his redheaded accomplice.
The redheaded league is a scheme of John Clay a.k.a. Vincent Spaulding and his accomplice to keep Jabez out of his shop so they can dig a tunnel from the shop to the bank unnoticed.