He opened his eyes again and heaved a breath of relief.
"Asir! They're getting closer! I can hear them!"
He listened for a moment. A faint murmur of angry voices in the distance. "All right," he said calmly. "Step only on the tiles I tell you. See the gray one at the left of the door?"
She pointed. "This one?"
"Yes, step on it."
The girl moved up and stared fearfully at the monstrous sentinel. He guided her up toward him. "Diagonally left—one ahead—diagonally right. Now don't be frightened when he speaks—"
The girl came on until she stood one square behind him. Her quick frightened breathing blended with the growing sounds of shouting from the stairway. He glanced up at Big Joe, noticing for the first time that the steel jaws were stained with a red-brown crust. He shuddered.
The grim chess-game continued a cautious step at a time, with the girl following one square behind him. What if she fainted again? And fell across a triggered tile? They passed within a foot of Big Joe's arm.
Looking up, he saw the monster's eyes move—following them, scrutinizing them as they passed. He froze.
"We want no plunder," he said to the machine.