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Adaptation by Arthur Goldwag | ART BY LISA K. WEBER
Turn
the page
to read
the play
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www.Scholastic.com/Scope • FEBRUARY 2014
9
CHARACTERS
Circle the character you will play.
*Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant detective
*Starred characters are major roles.
Victoria Spaulding, Wilson’s trusted assistant
*Narrators 1, 2, 3 (N1, N2, N3)
Duncan Ross, a businessman
STAGE DIRECTIONS READER (SDR)
Mr. Merryweather, a bank director
*Jabez Wilson, a shop owner
Police Inspector Jones
*Dr. Watson, a friend of Sherlock Holmes
AS YOU READ,
THINK ABOUT:
be a model employee; I would be lucky to have hired
How is Sherlock Holmes
characterized in this play?
her at any price. She takes care of everything for me.
And did you know that she is an amateur photographer
too? She is always going into the basement to develop
her prints. Amazing woman!
London, 1890s
Sherlock Holmes’s sitting room
N2: Wilson pauses for a minute and stares into the fire.
Wilson: Victoria showed me the Red-Headed League’s
N1: The story begins one foggy evening in London,
newspaper advertisement on her first day on the job. I
when a shop owner named Jabez Wilson comes to see
can remember her exact words, as though it happened
Sherlock Holmes. There is nothing out of the ordinary
yesterday. But it didn’t happen yesterday. It happened
about his looks, other than his hair, which is as orange
on a bleary, wintry morning, six weeks ago. . . .
as freshly peeled carrots.
SDR: The scene changes to reveal the interior
Jabez Wilson: It was an extraordinary
of Jabez Wilson’s shop. He and Miss Spaulding
opportunity, Mr. Holmes, a job that required
are talking.
me to do nothing of any difficulty or
Wilson: What in the devil is the Red-Headed
importance, yet paid me handsomely.
get it, I say.
Sherlock Holmes: Greetings, Dr. Watson;
delighted you are able to join us. Mr. Jabez
Victoria Spaulding: With a flame-colored
crop of hair like yours, sir, I’d have thought
you’d know all about the Red-Headed League.
It was founded by the eccentric American
Wilson has been telling me one of the most singular
millionaire Ezekiah Hopkins. When he died, he
stories I have ever heard. May I trouble you to start it
dedicated his vast fortune to a single cause: giving easy
again from the beginning, sir? Not just for my dear
jobs to men whose hair was as red as his own had
friend Dr. Watson’s benefit, but because I want to hear
been. You should really go and apply for one right
its every last twist and turn.
away, before they’re all taken.
Wilson: Yes, yes, of course. As I was saying, it was my
Wilson: I can’t believe that someone would offer me a
assistant Victoria Spaulding who first told me about the
job just because my hair is red.
Red-Headed League.
Spaulding: It wouldn’t be in the newspaper if it
Holmes: The assistant who works for half pay?
weren’t true, would it, sir?
Wilson: The very one. She insisted on receiving
Wilson: But look at it outside. The weather is
reduced wages while she learned my trade.
miserable. I will never find the address in this fog.
Holmes: No wonder you hired her!
Spaulding: Nonsense. It’s only a few blocks away. I
Wilson: I admit that her being willing to work so
will come with you.
cheaply was a point in her favor. But she turned out to
SDR: The scene shifts back to Holmes’s sitting room.
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Scholastic Scope • february 2014
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Dr. Watson (entering): Nice work if you can
League?
It’s estimated
that only 1 to
2 percent of
the world’s
population has
red hair.
word. If you pace yourself sensibly, it
should take you no more than a year.
There will be other assignments after
that. Once you’re in the Red-Headed
League, I promise you’ll never have to
worry about money again.
Wilson: By hand? All those thousands
of closely printed pages? But why? And
who will watch over my shop?
Spaulding: Don’t worry. I’ll take care
of everything, sir.
SDR: The scene transitions back into
Holmes’s sitting room.
Holmes: But you wouldn’t have come
to see me tonight if something hadn’t
gone wrong.
Wilson: Everything went swimmingly
until today. I earned more money for
N3: Sherlock and Watson shake their heads, amazed.
each day of copying than my shop earns in a week. But
Watson: Incredible!
when I arrived at the office of the Red-Headed League
Holmes: So did you go?
this morning, the door was padlocked, and this placard
Wilson: We put on our coats, locked the store, and set
(handing it to Sherlock) was in the window.
off. We weren’t alone either. From north, south, east,
Holmes: “The Red-Headed League Is Dissolved.”
and west, every man who had even a shade of straw,
Wilson (bitterly): As for Duncan Ross, he’s vanished
lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, or clay in his
without a trace. I want you to track him down. He
hair was descending on the same address. Miss
promised me a job for life!
Spaulding took hold of my arm and steered me through
Holmes: A most unbelievable tale!
the throng and up the stairs. The next thing I knew,
Wilson (anxiously): You don’t
we were sitting before a man named Duncan Ross. If
believe me? You won’t take
you can believe me, his hair was even redder than
the case?
mine.
Watson: Fascinating!
Wilson: Then he told me about my new
job.
Holmes: On the contrary,
Mr. Wilson. Dr. Watson and
I will begin our investigation
first thing tomorrow.
SDR: The scene changes into Duncan
Ross’s office.
Duncan Ross: You must arrive
promptly at 10 a.m. each Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday, and
Saxe-Coburg Square
N1: Holmes and
Watson walk
you’re never to leave before 3
through the
p.m. As for your responsibilities,
square. Clopping
to begin with, you’ll copy this
hooves
encyclopedia—every single
and
www.Scholastic.com/Scope • FEBRUARY 2014
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11
other subdued street noises can be heard in the
Watson: Whatever are you talking about?
background.
Holmes (distractedly): Meet me here at 10 this evening.
Watson: Surely this Wilson was the victim of a
And Watson? Bring your revolver. This business might
practical joke.
turn out to be as dangerous as it is serious.
Holmes (thoughtfully): An awfully expensive joke, if
Watson: Once again, Holmes, you leave me feeling
that is all it was—they paid him handsomely for his six
more convinced than ever of my own stupidity. Both of
weeks of scribbling. I suspect there’s more here than
us have seen and heard the same things. But not only do
meets the eye, Watson. We’ll have to dig deep to find
you know what’s happened, you know what’s going to
out what it is.
happen tonight. And I am still completely in the dark.
Watson: Here we are. No. 21, Wilson’s Fine Goods.
Holmes: You’re right, we’ll need a lantern too. Good
N2: A bell tinkles as the men walk through the door.
thinking, Watson.
Watson (in an undertone): I can see why Mr. Wilson is
Watson: Sigh.
so keen on getting his job back. It doesn’t look like his
store does much business.
N3: The sounds of feet can be heard running up a
wooden staircase at the back of the shop.
Outside the Coburg Branch of the City and
Suburban Bank, at precisely 10 p.m.
Spaulding: I am sorry, I was taking care of something
N1: Dr. Watson returns to find Holmes pacing
downstairs. May I help you, gentlemen? Mr. Wilson is
nervously on the sidewalk.
out at the moment, but I am his assistant, Victoria
Holmes: Good evening, Watson. I wish that the rest of
Spaulding.
our party were as prompt as you—oh, here
N1: Holmes absently bangs his cane on the
they are. I believe you know Inspector Jones of
floor as he sweeps his eyes around the room.
Scotland Yard. And this must be Mr.
Holmes: No, thank you, we were just
Merryweather, the director of the City and
looking.
Suburban Bank.
Merryweather (grumpily): This had better
men leave. The traffic noises resume.
Holmes: So that’s the indispensable Miss
Spaulding. Interesting, Watson, is it not, that
she should lead her employer to a position
where he is paid a fortune for doing nothing
while she willingly works for half pay? And
did you notice her skirt? It was quite
smudged and dirty.
Watson: No I did not . . . but what of it?
N3: The street noises become much louder
Sherlock Holmes is
one of the world’s
most recognizable
characters. Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle
(1859-1930) wrote
four novels and 56
short stories about
him. Today, Sherlock
appears in two hit TV
shows and a movie
franchise starring
Robert Downey Jr.
(above).
be good. Inspector Jones here dragged me
away from a steak dinner.
Holmes: Oh, I think you’ll forgive me, once
you understand what’s really at stake here.
Inspector Jones: Holmes’s methods may be
unusual, but I’ve never once known him to
sound a false alarm.
Holmes: Quickly, gentlemen. Not a moment
to lose.
N2: The four men enter the bank, then follow
as the men walk around the block. Saxe-Coburg Square
Mr. Merryweather down a long corridor that ends at a
is a sleepy little byway that almost nobody knows
massive metal door. The sound of their footsteps
about. Yet just around the corner runs one of the
echoes off a marble floor.
busiest thoroughfares in London.
Holmes: Open the vault, Mr. Merryweather. We’ll have
Holmes (triumphantly): Aha! Look there! The Coburg
company in here before morning.
Branch of the City and Suburban Bank! Good work,
N3: The clicks and whirs of an intricate combination
Watson! We’ve solved our mystery! And just in the nick
lock are heard, then the groaning of hinges as the great
of time, I’d say.
door swings open.
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Scholastic Scope • FEBRUARY 2014
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
N2: The bell on the door tinkles again as the
Ross: Run!
Inspector Jones: Stop! You are
under arrest!
Watson: Not so fast, you rascals!
I’ve got you now!
Inspector Jones: We’ve got them
handcuffed. Turn on the lights, Mr.
Merryweather!
Holmes (a little breathlessly): So we
meet again, Miss Spaulding. As for
you, sir, from the color of your hair,
I presume that you must be the
elusive Duncan Ross, late of the
Red-Headed League. Mr. Wilson
has been looking all over London
for you.
Inspector Jones: Well, he’ll know
where to find him now—in
Newgate Prison.
Merryweather: I do not know
how to thank you, Holmes. There is
a fortune in gold stored in this vault.
Watson: But how in the deuce did
you know that these criminals were
The Granger Collection, New York (Doyle)
digging a tunnel to this bank?
Holmes: Now close the door and douse the lights.
Holmes: Elementary, my dear Watson. I knew that
Merryweather: I say. How long must we wait here in
Spaulding was awfully keen to spend time in Mr.
the dark?
Wilson’s shop—obviously she’d agreed to work for
Holmes: Patience, Mr. Merryweather. All will be
half pay to make sure she was hired. The League was a
revealed.
ruse she and Duncan Ross cooked up to get Mr.
N1: The men wait.
Wilson out of the way for three days a week.
N2: And wait.
My only question was why. After observing
N3: And wait.
that Miss Spaulding’s skirt was muddy, I
N1: The hours drag on and on and on.
banged my cane on the floor to test for hollow
N2: Just when it seems like they have been
ground. Finding it, I concluded that Miss
waiting all night, they hear a scraping sound,
followed by the sound of shovels.
N3: Suddenly, one of the marble slabs on the
floor begins to move. A hand emerges through
an opening and places a candle on the floor of
the vault. Then a person squeezes through the
narrow opening, followed by another.
Spaulding: Aahh!
This phrase is
super famous,
but it was never
written exactly
this way by Conan
Doyle (above).
Rather, it became
iconic through
radio, stage, and
film versions of
Holmes stories.
Spaulding was digging a tunnel. When I
ascertained that the bank was directly behind
Wilson’s shop, I knew what her objective must
be. The cost of the newspaper ad, Wilson’s
pay, and the rent on the office were nothing
compared with what Miss Spaulding and Mr.
Ross expected to steal.
Watson: Extraordinary!
•
www.Scholastic.com/Scope • FEBRUARY 2014

13
ESSAY
Could You
Be the Next
Sherlock?
A surprising way to sharpen
your mental powers By Kristin Lewis
S
ince Sherlock Holmes first appeared in
Studies have shown that being mindful can boost
print in 1887, much has been made of
our immune systems, make us feel calmer, and
his mind-blowing mental powers and of
improve our concentration and problem-solving
his uncanny ability to solve crimes and
skills. There is also evidence that mindfulness is
untangle mysteries using little more than his brain.
something we can practice and get better at. The
And rightly so—the guy is pretty amazing. He is an
human brain can actually grow and change in
expert on a wide array of topics. His logical mind
a way that enables us to focus more, to control
works like a machine, making connections more
our emotions better, and to reduce stress and
quickly than anyone else. He could probably tell
anxiety. Some people, like athletes Derek Jeter and
that you overslept just by looking at your socks!
Kobe Bryant and performer Katy Perry, practice
Clearly, not just anyone could be like Sherlock.
mindfulness by meditating. But you don’t need
Or could they?
to meditate for hours every day to become more
Turns out, there is an aspect of Sherlock’s
mindful. Try this: Sit quietly for five minutes,
brilliance that we can all develop: mindfulness.
and focus only on your breathing. If your mind
You may have heard the term before. From
wanders, bring it back to your breathing.
neuroscientists to psychologists, more and more
Was it hard? Probably.
people are studying what mindfulness is and how it
We live in a very distracting world. When you
can sharpen our mental powers as well as improve
are doing your homework, how many times do you
our health and emotional well-being. In psychology,
stop to check your texts or watch a clip on Vine?
mindfulness is defined as being alert and aware
Each of these interruptions, these switches between
in the present moment, free from distractions.
tasks, impedes your ability to be “in the moment”
Mindfulness is what enables Sherlock to observe
and to focus. You become less aware, you notice less,
details that Watson doesn’t—and that most of
and you remember less. (Maybe even Sherlock would
us wouldn’t, either. When you are mindful, you
have been less mindful if he were alive in 2014!)
experience life as you live it. You smell your mom’s
But that doesn’t mean you can’t be more mindful.
morning coffee brewing. You taste each bite of that
Research has shown that even a few minutes of
crisp apple. You read The Outsiders with complete
mindfulness practice a day can benefit you. So try it
and total focus. In other words, you are aware of
out. You might just find yourself noticing things that
your surroundings and of your own thoughts.
would impress Sherlock Holmes himself.
•
How does the author of the essay describe Sherlock Holmes? Does the play support her
description? Use details from both texts to support your ideas. Send your response to
SHERLOCK CONTEST. Five winners will receive The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason.
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