The Red-Headed League Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. What kind of business does Jabez Wilson operate?
A pawnbroker’s shop
A photographic studio
A private bank
A newspaper office
2. How much is Wilson promised for each week of work at the League?
Fifty pounds
One pound
Ten pounds
Four pounds
3. What valuable property stored at the bank is the criminals’ intended target?
A collection of royal jewels
A shipment of French gold coins
Bundles of government bonds
A chest of rare manuscripts
4. In which Sherlock Holmes collection was “The Red-Headed League” published?
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
His Last Bow
5. According to the advertisement, which applicants are eligible for the Red-Headed League position?
London shopkeepers who can provide references
Men willing to travel throughout Europe
Clerks experienced in copying legal documents
Adult London men with notably red hair
6. Who is Vincent Spaulding revealed to be?
A bank clerk secretly protecting the gold
The founder of a genuine charitable league
A detective employed by Peter Jones
The wanted criminal John Clay
7. Holmes notices that the knees of Spaulding’s trousers are worn and stained. What activity does this clue help Holmes infer?
Spaulding has been searching dusty shelves
Spaulding has been digging or tunneling
Spaulding regularly kneels to take portraits
Spaulding has been following Wilson outdoors
8. Holmes arranges the final stakeout on a Saturday night. Why is Saturday especially suitable for the criminals’ plan?
Wilson always closes his shop early on Saturdays
The closed bank gives the thieves more time to escape before discovery
The bank transfers its gold every Sunday morning
The police patrol does not enter the district that night
9. Wilson arrives at the League office one morning and finds a notice announcing that the organization has been dissolved. What does he do as a result?
He brings the mystery to Sherlock Holmes
He reports Spaulding missing to the police
He takes a position at the nearby bank
He searches for another branch of the League
10. What work is Wilson instructed to perform for the League?
Translate French newspaper reports
Catalog valuable coins
Answer letters from red-haired applicants
Copy entries from the Encyclopaedia Britannica
11. Wilson must remain at the League office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is warned not to leave. In the completed scheme, what is the main purpose of this rule?
It prevents Wilson from meeting other League members
It reliably keeps Wilson away from his shop for several hours
It tests whether Wilson is disciplined enough for permanent work
It gives the League time to inspect Wilson’s handwriting
12. After examining the streets around Wilson’s shop, Holmes discovers a crucial feature of the location. What is it?
A police station faces the shop’s rear entrance
The League office is in the same building
A bank lies immediately behind the premises
An underground railway passes beneath the cellar
13. Spaulding frequently goes into the shop’s cellar. What explanation does he give Wilson?
He is developing photographs
He is repairing damaged stock
He is checking the building’s plumbing
He is storing pledged valuables
14. What name does Wilson’s assistant use while working at the shop?
Duncan Ross
Peter Jones
Vincent Spaulding
Mr. Merryweather
15. Looking at the entire plot, why are the League’s generous salary and pointless copying assignment essential to the crime?
They lure Wilson away while the criminals tunnel from his cellar toward the bank
They make Wilson transfer ownership of his shop
They encourage bank employees to trust Spaulding
They persuade Wilson to store League documents in his cellar
16. Which pair joins Holmes and Watson for the ambush inside the bank?
Duncan Ross and a Fleet Street landlord
Jabez Wilson and his assistant Spaulding
Inspector Peter Jones and bank director Mr. Merryweather
Inspector Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson