Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-18
The Wrist
Mark
By
]. S. Fletcher

| Madison looked his bewilderment.
What do you mean, Clamp" he
| asked.
"Ill tell zee something, Mr.. Malli-
SON.
This here great mass o. building in
! the middle o. the town, tbs like all Of
one piece the Town Hall, it fastens onto
the Castle. like, and fastened onto the
Town Hall on one side, and to the old
church on the other is them houses and
shops which is some of the very ancient
architecture In the place-you knows
where mean, Mr.. Mallison?"
"You mean where Sadler's jewelers.
shop is, for one?" said Madison. And
Bratten, the linen-draper's, for an
other"
That's right, sir--them shops and
the houses of which they're part, is as
old as--well, nigh as old as the Castle
itself. But what I do chiefly mean is
Sadler's shop. Now that there shop,
Mr.. Madison, it butts onto the Town
Hall, and me having learned deal
about the place when I did bricklay-
ing job for some repairs, nigh on to
| so years ago, l can tell zee something
that l don't believe another man in
Barowsburgh knows. There's a way into
Sadler's house from the Town HALL"
Madison sat staring at the weather.
beaten old face which regarded him
with so knowing a smile. And he was
thinking of JohnSon's fruitless explora-
ton of Town Hall and Castle.
obj he said at last. "Um" So
there's way from the Town Hall into
Sadler's house, Is there, Clamp? What
sort of way?"
Secret door, Mr.. Madison, in the
paneling of the passage that leads from
the magistrates room to the back of the
BENCH replied Clamp, promptly. 1t is
the fifth panel from the door out O.
which the magistrates walks when they
leave the bench. You presses the Intel
of it, Mr. Madison, and it slides in"
And you say 1t gives admittance to
Sadler's house," asked Madison.
Clamp smiled again.
"Ayel" he answered "But not into
any part o. Sadlers house that's known
to ANYBODY! The fact is, Mr.. Madison.
that in that there house there's secret
stair-a double stair-if you knows
what that Is. One staircase above an
other, sir--they do say it had something
to do with the wars in Charles the
First'S time, when there was a deal o.
fighting round the Castle"
Have you seen the stair, clamp"
asked Madison.
IT have, sir!--at that time tell you
of, more than so years ago. This door
in the panel leads to ton to it-that
is, at a landing. You go up to door
that takes you out onto the leads OF
one of them buildings that connects the
Town Hall with the Castle; if you go
down, you come to door, right down
in the cellaring, that leads into q pas
sage. And that there passage goes UNI
der the market-place, and comes out
or did come out once--under the
old Barbican. It was made in the
old DAYS so that folk could pass
from one side of the square to the
other underground. And Mr.. Sadler,
being a great man for poking and pot
.tering about all these: here old places,
you may be sure he'd know all about
It'll"
Madison was beginning to suspect
how things had been worked. Before he
could make any further remark his Wis
itors face frightened at some sudden
recollection.
"Ah, and talking about 1t, Mr.. Nal
lison puts me in mind o. something else
about that there secret STAIR" he said.
Half way down 1t there's secret room.
You counts Is stairs down, then you
presses a sort of boss in the left hand
panel and there's a. room inSide--sort o.
hiding place, sir. Queer shifts of that
sort they did have in them good old