among toreets, no squares, and no open spaces except ood above t, tico o its ns. Betone buildings, a mazy clutter of sies    toget of lengtimber, beaten-out petrol s or biscuit tins, torn plastig,

        scraps of plywood or hardboard.

        ts oion came more of t t trickle to toly o follo topped.

        A figure stepped out of a patc;ait, ."

        A dim lig    easy to make out ures; but t a g. attered business suit, and ogetepped out of oms post on a rarely visited frontier.

        " is t; said ill, "And ;

        "Youre not dead," said t;You o    in to t and give to t te."

        "But excuse me, sir," said Lyra, "I    mind me asking, but    dead? Because t it?"

        "Its a suburb of times take, but to    in t;

        "ait for ;

        "Until t;

        ill felt    tue, and before s; you just explain o;

        "No, no," said t;t a port of transit. t."

        "o?" said ill.

        "ts not sometell you," said tter smile pulled    t;You must move along, please. You must go to t;

        ill took t, and then held Lyras arm and urged her away.

        tialys explai to rest; so t t on alaimon, leopard-s t rack, skirting tcies and tcream of gs arriving and passing    o toself.

        "eve got to get over ter, like t of t; said ill. "And maybe tell us    seem to be angry anys strange. And t;

        torn from a notebook, . It ing to see    all looked so real.

        It ting darker and colder, and time rack of. Lyra t t    ctle    earlier, whe door.

        As t ter in one    a    their papers and nodded.

        to go inside w;Excuse me, w;

        "Go and find someay," said t unkindly. "Just ask. Everybodys ing, same as

        you."

        urned aravelers turned doo t of ty toay.

        It le s, repaired a dozen times, patcic or cated iron, leaning crazily against eae places, an anbaric cable looped do and provided enoug t out over ts. Most of ters of building material, as if t remaining flames of a great flagration, staying alive out of pure malice.

        But as ill and Lyra and tail, t many more figures sitting in t talking quietly.

        " t; said Lyra. "Its cold."

        "t people," said t;t even gs. t I dont kno;

        travelers came to t group of s by one of tly in t    . tside, croucood up: five of t.

        " is to; said ill.

        took a step backtle clet iny anding on end, t    Pantalaimon s go back, please ..."

        t;people" made no move, and finally ill s;ell, good evening to you any; and moved on. t a similar response from all to, and all time their apprehension grew.

        "ill, are ters?" Lyra said quietly. "Are ers no;

        "I dont ttack us, but to be afraid t kno;

        A door opened, and lig on tood in tctle cluster of figures around tep or t of respect, and tolid, harmless, and mild.

        "; he said.

        "travelers," said ill. "e dont knoo;

        "t; said t;raveled far?"

        "A long ired," said ill. "Could ;

        t to t and looked around furture figures standing by and said:

        "Did you see a;

        t;No, no, none."

        turned back. Be: a wo young chey were all nervous and apprehensive.

        "Deat; said ill. "ere ning a;

        But t fact seemed to be t, because side stle.

        "Excuse me," said Lyra, stepping fore    ;I couldnt ig, but tlemen s rude, but e I do beg your pardon. But you see, in my    like youre so see us. And noraveling, ill a seem to , and I ill I found out t ordinary like me really. So maybe ts    a bit sort of nervous ;

        t;Lyra? And ill?"

        "Yes, sir," she said humbly.

        "Are t; ing to the spies on her shoulder.

        "No," said Lyra, aed to say, "ts," but s ill    a bad idea; so s;tialys and tinguisraveling ; saking mouse-Pantalaimon out of . "You see, omorro;

        Everyotle by one, and to look modest and er a pause the man said:

        "ell, ts strange, I suppose traimes.. .e in, t;

        tside nodded, one or ttle boood aside respectfully as ill and Lyra o t. to keep it s.

        It    by a napable, and    but sed ures cut from film-star magazines, and tern made s of soot. tove against one    of it, eaming, and on a dressing table tic flotles, and ots and pieces, all surrounding ture of a jaunty skeleton op    and dark glasses.

        ty ering eyes, s. As Lyra looked at s stirred, and a very t it    a skeleton. In fact, on in ture too, noticed, and all travelers toget e figures like tside. And all of t as nonplussed as t seen them.

        In fact, all ttle s t a loss for    was Lyra w.

        "ts very kind of you," s;to be o    as t    disturb you any more to. You see, s o e     knet t. So if you    tell us anyt it, eful."

        till staring, but Lyras mosptle, ao sit at table, dra a behe sleeping dragonflies up

        to a sialys said t till dayligable.

        teoes and cut to it to make it go farto offer travelers some ot    a bottle of clear and pu spirit t smelled to Lyra like tians jenniver, and ted a glass into heir own.

        Lyra o stare most at t ty ed just as muc, at     long to ask why.

        "Youre t people    a deat; said ter. "Sio    till our deatells us its time."

        "Your deatells you?" said Lyra.

        "Yes.     side, taking to ;

        "Doesnt it scare you, ime?" said Lyra.

        "? If    more nervous not knowing w;

        "And everyone ; said ill, marveling.

        " youre born, your deato ts your deat takes you out."

        "A; said Lyra, "ts o kn to find t kno t;

        "Your deataps you on takes your s time. It migravail, your deato you kindly and says, Easy no across to t.    ;

        told a co call to to tcoget drab and quiet and dull.

        "t; said tialys.

        "Indeed, sir," said Peter.

        "Do you knos time to go?"

        "No. But you knos a fort."

        tialys said not it     it    a fort. tood politely along t rao see tle space took up, and to find tle notice ttracted. Lyra and ill soon found toget: time, t kno know...

        teo ces and put some in a boo pass among t eat, but t tent. Presently all ts ing er asked t their world was like.

        "Ill tell you all about it," said Lyra.

        As s, as sook c of    a little stream of pleasure rising upc    s at, doing it for hem.

        Sarted by telling about s. tant and ed out of tate by a political enemy and to prison. But to escape by climbing doune, only to be attacked and murdered by outlaen,    ill rescued    in time and taken o t e s him alive.

        te up ty, and even to listen, perc eous faces as s tale of .

        ayed o Oxford ter, and o escape in a ured a gyptian narro and sailed it all tting caug Abingdon Lock, and tes and o sy to a ted clipper just setting off for o trade for tea.

        And on t trangers from to t of taken refuge in t, and so take turns going up to see t ing and plunged doo Davy Joness locker.

        tried to persuade tain to tured in t ting to Cat t them a file, and...

        And so on. From time to time surn to ill or tion, and Salmakia ail or tory self up to t o to learn, from s, t of wune had been buried.

        "And if ; s;like you do     I to find our ening, and fiving us t was really nice.

        "But o find a    across ter oo. Is ts    of ;

        tful. tiredness, looked o t no one could suggest w.

        t    spoken before. From tone, not a    a living voice: it h.

        "to t; ing    Lyra, "is    call up your o bay. You dont like t of courtesy tay out of sig t far off. urn your eacup. Or in a de like me and old Magda ; ;e live togets ts it, ts    to do, say e your deato e close to you, and see

        to agree to."

        o Lyras mind like ones, and ill, too, felt t of them.

        "?" he said.

        "Youve only got to ;

        "ait," said tialys.

        Every eye turo    up to turn to iny, passionate one. anding close by Salmakia,    o say t too far, t turn back, taking to irresponsible lengths.

        So sepped in. "Excuse me," so ter, "but me and our friend t to go outside for a minute, because o talk to rument. e    be long."

        And sook side into ted iron roofing h a melancholy sound.

        "You must stop,"    urned oil drum, in t of one of t ss cable over;t;

        "But ," Lyra said.

        "No, no. Not to t;

        "All rig a o your s all rig mind."

        "Do you realize ;

        "Yes."

        "You dont. Youre a tless, irresponsible, lying casy es so easily to you t your y, and you dont even admit trut stares you in t see it, Ill tell you plainly: you ot, you must not risk your deat e back ress in ;

        Lyra felt a great sob e building up in , and stamped , uo keep still.

        "You dont kno; s;you just dont kno in my , do you? I dont kno kind, youre not generous, youre not siderate, youre not cruel, even, t ter, if you d mean you took us serious, you didnt just go along    suited you... O trust you at all o stop us, youre t oialys!"

        "I    let a e in t,    punished you before...”

        "take your bloody spurs and dig em in ! You got no idea    no notion    my friend Roger, you kill people just like t,” s;t matter to you, but its a torment and a sorroo me t I never said good-bye to    to say sorry and make it as good as I , youd never uand t, for all your pride, for all yroo do . So if you    to kill me, y man, you poison bearer, you C, go on, kill me. t you, you pitiful t;

        tialys mig o see, for o foot h a

        passionate anger, s; but    ime to move before a voice spoke be a ed around, knoe her bravado.

        tood very close, smiling kindly, ly like t talaimon at    ried to pus by doing t, ,    pulse of .

        Lyra clutco ly. S remember ialys quickly preparing tone resonator, busy.

        "Youre my deat you?" she said.

        "Yes, my dear," he said.

        "You ent going to take me yet, are you?"

        "You ed me. I am always ;

        "Yes, but... I did, yes, but... I    to go to ts true. But not to die. I dont    to die. I love being alive, and I love my daemon, and ... Daemons dont go do go out like dles w;

        "No," ;Your daemon vaniso t;

        "t to take my daemon o t; s;And I    to e back again.    ever been knoo do t?"

        "Not for many, many ages. Eventually, co t, no risk, a safe, calm journey, in ted friehan yourself...”

        "But Pantalaimon is my special aed friend! I dont knoh, I know Pan and I love Pan and if he ever, if we ever...”

        terested and kindly, but s for a moment fet w h, and so close.

        "I knoll be an effort to go on no; seadily, "and dangerous, but I    to, Deatruly. And so does ill. e botaken aoo soon, and o make amends, at least I do."

        "Everyoion for you?"

        "Because," s;because t to do t just seeing my friend Roger, somet ask put on me by an angel, and no one else    do it, only me. Its too important to    till I die in tural s got to be done nos o."

        Beialys put a and sat co be taken where no one should go.

        totop Lyras     even fear: soo.

        So eventually h said:

        "If not you off, take you to t as fetting out again, youll o manage by yourself."

        "And my friends," said Lyra. "My friend ill and t;

        "Lyra," said tialys, "against every instinct, e ago. But you make it ;

        Lyra kime to ciliate, and so do t, ten her way.

        "Yes," s;I am sorry, tialys, but if you    got angry, o guide us. So Im glad you o you for being ;

        So Lyra persuaded o guide o tony Makarios, and so many otold o go doo tty o leave.

        But Pantalaimon rembling and so stillness, or quiet t little moan    tering. So    chfully beside her.
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