Edgar Wallace

“ CHAPTER II THE Romans who cut the old road through Kent must have established a fort in the place where Mill Lane meets Church Street; for here the street way bulges northward and there is a comparatively wide-open space which is called magnificently "the Broadway," to distinguish it from all other Broadways in the world. Here, on Saturdays particularly, there are fine stalls where the thrifty market, in the mistaken belief that it is cheaper to buy from a trolley than from a shop. On Sundays there are public meetings. ”

“ The Athletic Sports Club is in one of the streets leading out of the Broadway, a fairly new building erected by a local patriot who made war goods at a large profit and would have been a rich man to-day if some interfering person had not stopped the war just as he was furnishing his new house on Blackheath. ”

“ When the garage proprietor became bankrupt, following the course of four fifths of all garage proprietors, a boxing ring was added, and here on Saturdays good lads fought for microscopic purses to the deafening encouragement of the patrons.
Here sport began and ended, if you except the racing which kept three bookmakers busy in the club proper.
Men and women (it was a mixed club) crowded the flashily decorated club-room on the second floor every afternoon when racing was in progress. ”

“ Arthur's the clever boy all right— that's what scares me. No man knows how clever he isn't!"
Buzz!
An angry drone of sound from somewhere beneath the counter. The men at the gaming table got up hurriedly. In a second, cards, shoes and counters and the green baize cloth were bundled together and dropped into a convenient chute that led to the basement. A draughts board appeared by magic and the group split up into units, depositing themselves at the small tables which sprinkled the room.
"A police visit." Under his breath Li passed the information. ”