“I’ll be careful,” I said.
“The stairs are around the corner. The morning inspection’s through. You’ve got a clear hour before they go around again. Look out for Robbins. She’s the one to watch.”
I nodded. “I’ll watch her. You know what to do?”
“Yeah; but I hope I don’t have to do it.”
“So do I,” I said, and walked quickly down the passage.
At the corner I paused, looked round. No one was about. Voices came from a room near by, but I kept on, crossed the passage to the stairs, went up them.
The stairs were broad and led directly to the upper floor. I walked on, passed the steel grill that guarded the circular gallery housing the cells, and mounted to the second floor. Halfway up I had to pass a convict who was on hands and knees, scrubbing the stairs. He shifted as he saw me so I could pass. I felt his eyes on me and I guessed he was wondering who I was. I kept on until I reached the top floor.
I knew then that I was only a few yards from Miss Wonderly. The thought gave me a queer feeling of panic and exhilaration. As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw the grill gate facing me. That didn’t worry me. Mitchell had supplied me with a duplicate pass-key.
As I crossed the passage and reached the .grill, the mad woman suddenly gave a high-pitched scream. It rose, swelled, and hung in the air like a shriek of a damned soul. It was so loud, so close, so unexpected, that it froze me. For a moment I was ready to run blindly down the stairs, but I recovered my nerve, started forward again. As I was about to take the pass-key from my pocket, I paused.
I felt someone watching me. I turned.