Vojtěch the Mason and the Voice Behind the Wall

In 1760 the mason Vojtěch came home from work and was just sitting at supper when a masked man entered and told him to take his tools and come along; for a small job, he said, he would get a purse of gold pieces. The mason obeyed. A carriage waited in the street, and as soon as he had sat down his unknown guide threatened him with a pistol and bound his eyes. They drove a good while until they stopped, and the masked man led him into some house and straight down into a cellar, where he took the cloth from his eyes. The mason saw a table draped in black cloth, two candles on it and a crucifix in the middle. And the stranger again threatened him with death if he did not do what was asked of him. The terrified mason consented and walled up a dark opening from which he heard a despairing woman's voice begging for mercy; and in vain, as he worked, he begged the masked man to take pity on the poor creature. When the work was done they bound his eyes again and led him out of the cellar and the house. As he climbed into the carriage he managed to push the bandage aside unnoticed and saw that he was on the Cattle Market. But the next day he walked there in vain: he did not recognise the house, and so the crime stayed hidden for ever.