slip-catch

Updated: June 2, 2025

He stopped in the hall until she had had time to fly, and then he lit a match as a signal which surely no carelessness could miss. He could have gone direct by the front door into the street, so leaving her to her odd self; but, instead, he drew back the slip-catch of the garden door and opened it, self-consciously humming a tune. She was within the porch. She turned deliberately to look at him.

Arnold Bennett - Clayhanger