8. FRUSTRATIONI was walking through an unknown, deserted city where a bell rang dismally and a sepulchral, disembodied voice called in the emptiness: ‘The Beast is Loose! Beware! The Beast is Loose!’ when I woke to find that a bell really was ringing. It was a handbell that jangled with a brassy double clatter so harsh and startling that for a moment I could not remember where I was. Then, as I sat up still bemused, there came a sound of voices calling ‘Fire!’ I jumped just as I was from my blankets, and ran into the corridor. There was a smell of smoke there, a noise of hurried feet, doors banging. Most of the sound seemed to come from my right where the bell kept on clanging and the frightened voices were calling, so it was that way I turned and ran. A little moonlight filtered in throug
