What hoax was played on red-headed people by the League?

In the story, Jabez Wilson, a London pawnbroker, is informed about an advertised position by his assistant, Vincent Spaulding. Spaulding tells Wilson that the position at the Red-Headed League is perfect for him, as he has red hair. Accordingly, the job itself isn't demanding and pays well enough for the few responsibilities it entails.

Spaulding accompanies his boss to the interview, and Wilson is delighted to be offered the position by a Mr. Duncan Ross....

In the story, Jabez Wilson, a London pawnbroker, is informed about an advertised position by his assistant, Vincent Spaulding. Spaulding tells Wilson that the position at the Red-Headed League is perfect for him, as he has red hair. Accordingly, the job itself isn't demanding and pays well enough for the few responsibilities it entails.

Spaulding accompanies his boss to the interview, and Wilson is delighted to be offered the position by a Mr. Duncan Ross. Ross tells Wilson that the pay is four pounds a week for the work of copying out the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. The only stipulation for the job is that Wilson must never leave the building for the entire fours he works each day. Eight weeks pass without incident, until Wilson suddenly finds himself abruptly terminated from his position.

Bewildered that the League has suddenly been dissolved, he inquires as to the fate of the organization. When he questions the landlord as to the whereabouts of Duncan Ross, the landlord tells Wilson that Ross is really a solicitor named William Morris and that he has since moved from his present location. Wilson sets out to find Ross but is unsuccessful.

In the end, Wilson's nondescript job with the Red Headed League was just a clever ruse to get the gullible pawnbroker out of his building for four hours every day. His assistant, Vincent Spaulding, was really the notorious criminal thief, John Clay. John had been burrowing a tunnel through the cellar of Wilson's property to the City and Suburban Bank vault while Wilson was away for four hours every day. The rest of the red-headed men who applied for the job also fell for a ruse of another sort. Unknown to them all, not one of them stood a chance to be considered for a position with the spurious Red-Headed League. Their presence merely lent an air of legitimacy to the whole business of Spaulding/Clay's fake job offer.