standing around the well. They were looking down the hole and laughing. Johann rushed up to the well and saw Little Satan treading water about seven paces below. It seemed he had jumped over the well’s edge and was now in danger of drowning.
“Get him out right now!” ordered Johann.
“What do I care about the mutt?” jeered one of them. “Is it my dog? Maybe you shouldn’t have brought it.”
Little Satan whined and howled pitifully.
“If you don’t, he’ll keep howling like this for hours,” said Johann, glaring at the guards. “Is that what you want?”
“The doctor’s right, damn it,” said the prison keeper from behind him. “Get the mutt out of there before the noise drives me insane.”
The guards exchanged doubtful looks, and finally one of them grasped the chain holding a bucket in the center of the well and used it to climb down. He grabbed the whimpering Little Satan by the scruff of his neck while the other guards winched him up. When the dog arrived at the top, the keeper kicked Little Satan so hard that he flew across the room. He shrieked almost like a child and huddled underneath Johann’s coat.
“Don’t ever come here with that mutt again!” snarled the keeper. “And who are you, anyhow? I’m going to make some inquiries about your person and give notice upstairs that your visits are no longer acceptable. The brat has been spoiled for long enough!”
Johann fought back the urge to shout out loud when he left the prison. He held the trembling dog in his arms and soothed him while his thoughts raced in circles. He felt certain that the prison keeper would make sure he couldn’t visit his daughter any longer. But that wasn’t important right now.
What was important was the fact that he’d found a way to get Greta out of there.
“The well.” Johann was pointing at the plan of the city hall spread out on the table before them. The three men had met sooner than usual, and Valentin and Karl could tell by Johann’s excitement that it was urgent.
“When the guard pulled Little Satan from down there, I saw a barred door in the wall of the well,” continued Johann. “I should have thought of it sooner. The well isn’t a cistern, and so the water must come from somewhere!”
“The underground passages,” murmured Valentin, studying the map. “You . . . you might be right.”
Johann looked at him impatiently. “What are you saying?”
“Large areas of the city—on the north bank of the Pegnitz, at least—have cellars,” replied Valentin slowly. “Many cellars serve to store beer, but there are also dozens of passages for the town’s water supply. I once saw a map of them at the city hall. The water flows into the city from the outside—small trickles at first, which are caught in drains and directed into channels. The streams are then directed to the various wells around town, including the Schöner Brunnen fountain on the main square.”
“And one of those passages leads directly beneath the city hall?” asked Karl skeptically.
Valentin sighed. “I don’t know, damn it! I didn’t study the map properly. They keep it closely guarded, together with the keys for the underground passages, because they don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands—an entire army might be able to enter the city that way.”
“When will you be at the city hall next?” asked Johann.
“Hmm.” Valentin thought. “The day after tomorrow. The Hospital of the Holy Ghost is bursting at the seams, and the city wants us to take on more patients. I am supposed to report the number of beds available at the command. Why?”
“Do you remember how we took a print of a key back in Heidelberg? I want you to make prints of the keys here, too. And take another look at the map—we need to find out where those passages start!”
“Even if we find the particular passage that leads below the city hall and into the well of the prison,” said Karl, “there are more guards, more doors—”
“I know that, God damn it!” shouted Johann. He thumped his fist on the table. “But it’s our only chance. It’s just the first part of a plan so far, but it’s a start.” He bit his lip. The plan was ludicrous. Karl was right. Even if they managed to get to the well, then how would they get to Greta? To his innocent daughter who had evidently been lured into a trap?
“There’s something else, too,” said Johann