Discussion Topic
Holmes and Watson's visit to the pawnshop in "The Red-Headed League" and their observations of the surrounding buildings
Summary:
In "The Red-Headed League," Holmes and Watson visit the pawnshop and observe the surrounding buildings. Holmes notes the nearby bank, which becomes crucial to solving the case, as well as the layout of the streets and alleys. These observations help Holmes deduce the connection between the pawnshop and the planned bank robbery.
What occurs when Holmes and Watson visit the pawnshop in "The Red-Headed League"?
Holmes and Watson visit Jabez Wilson's pawnshop in Coburg Square as part of their investigation into the mysterious business of the Red-Headed League. After walking up and down the row of houses in the street and looking at them intently, Holmes finally returns to the pawnshop, where he thumps vigorously on the pavement a couple of times with his stick before knocking on the door. The door is answered by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow—Wilson's assistant Spaulding—who invites the two gentlemen inside.
But Holmes doesn't want to cross the threshold; he says that he wants to know how to get from there to the Strand, a long thoroughfare in central London. The young man promptly answers Holmes' inquiry before shutting the door. As Watson correctly surmises, this was just a ruse.
But Holmes didn't just want to see Wilson's young assistant but rather the knees of his trousers. The young...
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man's knees are dirty, clearly suggesting that he's been kneeling down for long hours. As Holmes will eventually discover, there's a good reason for this. While Jabez Wilson has been wasting his time at the offices of the so-called Red-Headed League, his assistant, Spaulding, has been digging a tunnel beneath the premises of his pawnshop in order to break into a nearby bank.
What buildings did Holmes and Watson see near the pawnbroker's shop in "The Red-Headed League"?
They find a bank behind the pawnbroker’s shop.
When a pawnbroker comes to Sherlock Holmes with a suspicious story of a job at a Red-Headed League that no longer exists, Holmes is curious. He asks some questions and realizes that there is something going on. One visit to the shop confirms it.
The neighborhood of the pawnbroker’s is Saxe-Coburg Square, which is a “poky, little, shabby-genteel place.” Holmes pretends to be asking directions so that he can get his eyes on the man he thinks is John Clay. His suspicions are confirmed. He tells Watson that the man is one of the most daring men in England, and also one of the smartest.
Holmes tells Watson they are in enemy territory, and they have a look around. He prides himself on knowing the city well, and wants to confirm that he knows what buildings are there.
They walk around behind the shop, to see what is there.
It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer's, the tobacconist; the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane's carriage-building depot. That carries us right on to the other block.
Once they have had a look around, Holmes decides it’s time for some food and violin. Holmes spends a peaceful and quiet afternoon. It is clear that the most interesting building on that block was the bank. Holmes has confirmed his suspicions yet again.
Holmes is aware that an infamous criminal is impersonating a pawnbroker’s assistant. He also knows that the pawn shop is next to a bank. It is logical to assume that the “assistant” is going to rob the bank. Holmes arranges to catch him in the act, because it’s much better to stop an attempted bank robbery while it’s happening than attempt to arrest someone for planning one.