Wilson tells Holmes that his business has been struggling. Since his pawnshop did most of its business in the evenings, he was able to vacate his shop for short periods in the afternoon, receiving £4 () a week for several weeks; the work was obviously useless clerical work in a bare office, only performed for nominal compliance with a will, whereupon he was made to copy the "Encyclopædia Britannica". Wilson learned much about the subjects starting with the "A" section, and looked forward to getting into the "B" section. One morning, a sign on the locked office door inexplicably announced that "THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED"—Oct. 9, 1890."