In “The Red Headed League”, the victim is a male called Jabez Wilson. Doyle is a perplexed and aggrieved man who is rather petulantly complaining that he has lost his recently acquired opportunity to make some easy money. He is portrayed as an unintelligent and ‘average, commonplace British tradesman’ and often presented in a humorous way. The fact that he is not in any danger and the absurdity of his story help the comic view of his character. Holmes and Watson do not respect him, and laugh, jeeringly, at the situation he describes. This contrasts completely with the respect that Helen Stoner earns.
In both stories, Holmes shows his remarkable powers of deduction and tells both Helen stoner and Jabez Wilson some facts about themselves that he could not have known beforehand. In both cases the characters are amazed and show this by a ‘start’. However when Holmes explains to each of them how he had deduced this information, Helen Stoner is full of admiration and confirms Holmes’ thinking by giving a full account of her morning. Holmes gives her all of his attention and promises his best service. In contrast, however, Jabez Wilson derides the achievement and says ‘there was nothing in it at all.’ In fact the inferences that Holmes made on this occasion show a high degree of knowledge especially about China, which is rudely dismissed by this rather ill kempt, grubby red headed pawnbroker. We see that almost straight away Holmes gathers a disliking for him. Doyle is describing two characters with nothing at all in common, and this is emphasised further by Holmes’ and Watson’s equally opposite reaction to them.
Neither case begins as a crime but more as mysteries that Holmes realises have crime at their source. Of the two crimes, while both serious, Helen Stoner’s story is more evil and malevolent and suggests the more horrific crime of murder, while Jabez Wilson’s story is more light hearted and comical and turns into the less heinous crime of robbery. It is a complicated puzzle with a lack of any real danger, but is made more serious as the story progresses. Holmes is intrigued by the strange aspects to the story and especially by the efficient assistant who willingly was working ‘under the full market price.’ It is when Holmes declares that the mystery is a ‘three pipe problem’ that the reader knows that there is more to this story than either Wilson or Watson thinks. The reader feels himself to be involved with Holmes as it would be difficult not to be intrigued by the strange, if mundane, story. Tension is created as Holmes sets up the final adventure and tells Watson to bring along his army revolver, which is convincing evidence of the seriousness with which he regards he situation.
“The Speckled Band,” however, is made serious from the outset. Tension is present straightaway – why else would they be woken so early - and persists all the way. Helen tells a terrifying story and Dr Roylett, the villain of the piece is described to inspire fear. All descriptions of him and his brief appearance at Baker Street suggest an elemental force of evil. There are the strange dangers of the exotic east, a cheetah and a baboon, mentions of gypsies, which add an air of menace. The house is eerie and crumbling and suggestive of ghosts and hauntings. Holmes and Watson see ‘what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child’ jump out from behind a bush. Despite the fact that this scene turns out to be a red herring, its purpose is to create a sense of horror and danger in the atmosphere.
Holmes gathers clues in very much the same way in both of the mysteries. When the guests arrive he asks as many questions as possible to discover as much information as he can. A large part of both stories is taken up by the victim telling their story, interrupted by Holmes’ questions and his intense concentration on what he is hearing. In both cases, after they leave, he ponders over the facts he has gathered.
The villains in the stories are very different indeed. The villain in “The Speckled Band” is Dr Grimesby Roylott. He is described as a ‘huge man’ and ‘marked with every evil passion’ Arthur Conan Doyle compares him to a fierce old bird of prey, and he is generally portrayed as a dangerous man who should not be messed with. His presence is known about from the outset and we know he is a brutal man because of the finger mark bruises on Helen’s arm. In “The Red Headed League”, however, the villain, John Clay (also known as Victor Spalding), is described as ‘cunning’ and Holmes says he is at ‘the head of his profession’ and ‘a remarkable man’ He is a master criminal with an upper class style. His scheme was certainly ingenious and Holmes has a grudging respect for him, calling him the ‘fourth smartest man in London.’ He is conveyed as an arrogant man and when the police arrest him he demands they do not touch him for he has royal blood in his veins.
The two suspects are dissimilar. In one we see an uncultured man, dangerous because of his physicality more than his subtlety. In the other we see a man who is of high birth, cultured and clever, who uses his astute brain for success. Yet both men are evil and malevolent.
When investigating the two crimes, Holmes follows the same general pattern. First of all, in “The Red Headed League”, he questions Jabez Wilson and from a description given by Wilson, comes to a conclusion that the helper in Mr Wilson’s shop is actually John Clay. Holmes visits the shop where Wilson works and actually sees Clay, which confirms his suspicion. He also taps the pavement in front of the store because he suspects that an underground tunnel is being built. We are not told he knows this until later on, so this brings an element of confusion into the story as we wonder why he is doing so. He then looks at the way in which the other shops, which include the bank, are positioned in relation to the shop.
In “The Speckled Band”, Holmes also questions the victim, Helen Stoner, considers the facts and then visits the scene, carefully examining the rooms of Julia Stoner and Dr Roylott, taking into account every detail, finding and piecing together clues all the way but never telling anyone what he has deduced. He then, in both stories, immediately solves the mystery. He manages to persuade Watson to accompany him despite telling him that the situation will be dangerous and in both cases waits in the dark for the event to take place. There is light creeping into the darkness in both cases that illuminate the method.
The criminals in the two books are also caught in similar ways. In “The Red Headed League”, Holmes and Watson, along with two other partners, wait in the suspected bank vault. This helps build the tension, and reaches a climax when, after noises are heard from under the vault, John Clay and his acquaintance arrive through an underground tunnel. Clay is arrested but his partner escapes through the tunnel to find a policeman waiting at the other end.
In “The Speckled Band” Holmes catches Dr Roylott after he and Watson wait again in the dark. Again, the element of suspense helps build tension. After many hours of sitting in the dark, a snake is released through a vent. Holmes was expecting this because of his earlier deductions, so, as soon as Holmes hears the snake, he attacks it and the snake seeks refuge back through the vent. In its fury the snake attacks Dr Roylott and the deadly venom kills him.
At the end of each story, Holmes fills in any gaps the reader might have as to how Holmes pieced together the crime. In “The Speckled Band”, Holmes explains to Helen Stoner the gruesome events of the night of her sisters’ death and how he came to his conclusions from the evidence provided. And, likewise, in “The Red Headed League” he tells Watson how, from all the clues he picked up during investigation, he managed to piece them together to eventually interpret what John Clays’ plans were.
There is a great deal of similarity in both stories, as indeed, is apparent in much on Conan Doyle’s dealings with his famous characters, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. It is these regular and expected episodes that endear the readers to his work. Nevertheless it is the variations that provide the excitement and keep the reader coming back for more.