"i never hope to see such a sight as that again, mr. holmes. from north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. fleet street was choked with red-headed folk, and pope’s court looked like a coster’s orange barrow. i should not have thought there were so many in the whole country as were brought together by that single advertisement. every shade of colour they were—straw, lemon, orange, brick, irish-setter, liver, clay; but, as spaulding said, there were not many who had the real vivid flame-coloured tint. when i saw how many were waiting, i would have given it up in despair; but spaulding would not hear of it. how he did it i could not imagine, but he pushed and pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up to the steps which led to the office. there was a double stream upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found ourselves in the office."