“What’s it to you?” the hunchback demanded unpleasantly.
“I’m interested, that’s all.”
“This place is being turned into an institution,” the hunchback informed her. “The new owner moved in yesterday. Now git along, so I can lock the gate.”
The gateman’s eagerness to be rid of her made Penny all the more determined to remain until her curiosity was satisfied.
“Perhaps I fancied it,” she remarked, “but a moment ago, I thought I heard a shrill scream from inside the building.”
“You may have heard the howl of the wind.”
“What wind?” Penny inquired pointedly. “It’s a comparatively quiet night. I distinctly heard a scream.”
“Then you got better ears than I have,” the gateman muttered. “Will you go now, or do you want me to call the master?”
“I wish you would!”
Grumbling to himself, the hunchback stepped into the gatehouse and pressed a button which rang a bell inside the building.