Lord Asriel didnt ans first. Lyra al clips and a o a vessel, and t t last long. After a moment or two Lyra :

    cries of ests, voices raised in anger and fear.

    “But w—”

    “—hardly human—”

    “—its been—”

    “—?”

    ters voice cut them all.

    “Lord Asriel, here?”

    “tanislaus Grumman,” said Lord Asriels voice.

    Over tumble to t, making inco sounds of distress. S they were seeing.

    Lord Asriel said, “I found reated in tice teristic scalping pattern. I t be familiar , Sub-Rector.”

    teady as artars do this.

    Its a tecungusk. From t spread into tand t it is no more closely, Lord Asriel?”

    After a s silence he spoke again.

    “My eyes are not very clear, and ty, but it seems to me t top of t?”

    “You are.”

    “trepanning?”

    “Exactly.”

    t caused a murmur of excitement. ter moved out of tor, in t tern, : a bloody lump barely recognizable as a human head.

    Pantalaimon fluttered around Lyra, ress affecting her.

    “en.”

    “Dr. Grumman was once a Scly.

    quot;to fall into tartars—quot; quot;But t far nort; quot;t rated furt; quot;Did I  near Svalbard?quot; said the Dean.

    quot;ts rig; quot;Are o understand t to do ; Lyra didnt recognize t  clearly the Scholars did.

    quot;Impossible,quot; said ton Sc;t manner.quot; quot;t kno; said tions o tic regions. quot;It  surprise me at all to learn t aken to scalping people in tartar fas; Lyra looked again at cter of sardonic amusement, and saying nothing.

    quot;; said someone. quot;t; said t;Yes, ts rigs; tricked o tand; but a poe of ations— of imported marble—setting up ; quot;For w; said someone else, and every-one laughed.

    But t on: quot;For all t, I tell you t lofur Raknison o Grumman. At time, tered into bee differently, if t; quot;And you kno; said the Dean sneeringly.

    quot;Indeed I do. Do you knos a daemon! Find a o give ; tily.

    Lyra ;  all. Besides, sient to  scalping and ts and t mysterious Dust. But sed, for Lord Asriel ures, and talk soon turned into a College  o fit out anotion. Back and forts ranged, and Lyra felt  asleep, alaimon curled around e sleeping form as an ermine.

    Sart when someone shook her shoulder.

    quot;Quiet,quot; said  t. quot;t till some servants around.

    Go to your bedroom noake care t you say not t; quot;Did te to give you t; she said sleepily.

    quot;Yes.quot; quot;s Dust?quot; sruggling to stand up after having been cramped for so long.

    quot;Noto do ; quot;It is to do ; s;If you ed me to be a spy in t to tell me . Can I see t; Pantalaimons led: s it tickling ly.

    “Dont be disgusting,” o pack his slides and specimen box.

    “Did you cer?”

    “Yes, and hing else.”

    “Good. But Ive scotcold and go to bed.”

    “But where are you going?”

    “Back to ten minutes.”

    “Can I come?”

    opped ime. urned  tarated gaze of bot she gazed back fiercely.

    “Your place is here,” said her uncle finally.

    “But o t to see ts and bears and icebergs and everyt to kno Dust. And t city in t another world?”

    “Youre not coming, c it out of your imes are too dangerous.

    Do as youre told and go to bed, and if youre a good girl, Ill bring you back a usk . Dont argue anymore or I shall be angry.”

    And  made Lyra suddenly a o eeting in .

    S ook no notice; it en  a  ig and  to bed.

    * * * ter and t , after a difficult episode, to take a glass of brantrolled to ters lodging and settled in udy ains drao t  happened.

    “Do you really believe  the Librarian.

    “Of course  er himself. Of course he did.”

    “Forgive me, Master, but I cant  the idea of...”

    “Of poisoning him?”

    “Yes. Of murder.”

    “ t idea, Cion  doing it. ell, some providence ervened, and it  .”

    “No, no,” protested t I wisold me more.

    ter  for a  from anyt to keep her safe as long as possible.”

    “Is Lord Asriels business anyto do iative of torial Court of Discipline? t-do-t: tion Board?”

    “Lord Asriel—no, no. Quite tion Board isnt entirely anso torial Court, eits a semiprivate initiative; its being run by someone remble.”

    t in urn. Ever since Pope Jo of to Geneva and set up torial Court of Discipline, t of life e. tself er Calvins deatangle of courts, colleges, and councils, collectively knoerium, s place. t aled; sometimes a bitter rivalry gre of tury, t po years torial Court of Discipline aken its place as t active and t feared of all the Churchs bodies.

    But it  agencies to groection of anot of terium, and tion Board,  kno, but  ely understood ters anxiety.

    “tioned a name,” er a minute or so.

    “Barnard-Stokes?  is tokes business?”

    “As not our field, Cand it, teac toucual —renegade tulated tence of numerous ot material and sinful. t invisible and unreachable.

    turally disapproved of tokes were silenced.

    “But unfortunately for terium to be sound matical arguments for t ton Scells me t they are sound.”

    “And noure of one of to go and look for it. I see.”

    “Quite. Itll seem to tion Board, and to its poectors, t Jordan College is a bed of support for orial Court and tion Board, Co keep a balance; and meanen er s s to protect .”

    “But , for Gods sake? ter again?”

    “Yes. Lyra  to play in all t s do it all  realizing le longer. I  I o explain it to her...”

    “S listen,” too ry to tell en for five minutes and tart fidgeting. Quiz  it next time and sely forgotten.”

    “If I talked to  Dust? You dont ten to t?”

    to indicate  t was.

    “ant terest a less child?”

    “Because of  of t includes a great betrayal....”

    “o betray her?”

    “No, no, ts t trayer, and terrible. Snt kno, of course, but t to kno t. And you mig ake an interest in it, if it  miger on. It ainly o be less anxious about her.”

    “ts ty of to be anxious on bey of to scorn ty of the old.”

    t for a  e, and they were old and anxious.