It is highlighted that he carries royal blood (being the grandson of a duke) and is a graduate of elite institutions like Eton and Oxford. His aptitude for manual work and superior intelligence have made him a constant and dangerous problem for the London police. In the 'Red-Headed League' adventure, he began working for the ordinary shopkeeper Jabez Wilson for half wages under the guise of 'Vincent Spaulding'. His real target there was to tunnel from the pawnshop's cellar into the bank vault next door without raising suspicion. To keep Jabez Wilson away from the shop for hours at a time, several days a week, he ingeniously invented the 'Red-Headed League' scenario and organized a fraud scheme.
