What did John Clay do in the Sherlock Holmes story Red-Headed

In the Sherlock Holmes story "The Red-Headed League," John Clay is the mastermind behind a clever robbery scheme. He poses as Vincent Spaulding, a man with red hair, and joins a bogus league founded by the villainous Jabez Wilson.

Clay strategically chose the league office to be directly above a bank vault. While everyone's attention is focused on his fake league business, Clay secretly tunnels down into the vault. He uses the time when Wilson is out to conduct "business" to make progress on the tunnel.

By the time the league is disbanded and Wilson realizes the deception, Clay has already successfully robbed the bank vault and disappeared with the stolen money.