Lyra ducked  once under ter of ime enouger to  , and t  t asking permission.

    But luckily, ts trying to o clear t no one c of ts and bundled to ory.

    Quickly so tood on it, and pus ted, just as Roger o t ts and leggings. As an aftert, sook ter from  in t pocket of t too.

    So Pantalaimon, “e must just pretend to be stupid till s tians or lorek Byrnison especially.”

    Because Lyra no all ture o Mrs. Coulter as a compass needle is drao the Pole.

    All ty of tercision, srong enoug t of t s face and gentle voice, t golden playful monkey,  omaced.

    But tians . t give yourself aoeen, from w of noise was coming.

    Co get  drinks, some of till in talk s passenger.

    “It was he monkey daemon—”

    “Did s you, too?”

    “Se to my mum and dad and I bet she never....”

    “Sold us about kids getting killed. S t.”

    “t monkey, — my Karossa and nearly killed her—I could feel all weak....”

    tened as Lyra was. S down.

    “Listen,” s?”

    “Yeah!”

    turned to ation.

    “to escape,” Lyra said quietly. “to take us a to do is be ready as soon as t our cold- once and run out. No ing about. You just got to run. Only if you dont get your anoraks and boots and stuff, youll die of cold.”

    “ signal?” Annie demanded.

    “ternoon. Its all organized. All to kno her.”

    tement. And all teen tell t tmospside, tic and eager for play; ter terical fear; but norol and purpose to talkativeness. Lyra marveled at t hope could have.

    Sc carefully, ready to duck  voices coming, and ter  t drinks and ttle s instantaneously teen, and every cill and silent, staring at her.

    Mrs. Coulter smiled and passed on  a tle by little talk started again.

    Lyra said, “o talk?”

    “Probably took us t ty groure and I o stand t old me, like seeing ized me and did some ots a big room  of cables and a little platform. Its be office.  to pretend t off all rig theyre scared of her, same as we are....”

    For t of tayed close to tctle, remaining inconspicuous. time in tattered books and a table-tennis table. At some point Lyra and t ts anding in anxious groups talking urgently.

    Lyra guessed t had happened.

    But s see Mrs. Coulter, ime for bed, so let to her confidence.

    “Listen,” shey ever come round and see if were asleep?”

    “t look in once,” said Bella. “t flasern round, t really look.”

    “Good. Cause Im going to go and look round. t this boy showed me....”

    Sh you!”

    “No, you better not, cause itll be easier if t one person missing.

    You can all say you fell asleep and you dont know where Ive gone.”

    “But if I came h you—”

    “More likely to get caught,” said Lyra.

    taring at eacalaimon as a , Annies Kyrillion as a fox. talaimon uttered t, softest eeturned aside and began to groom himself unconcernedly.

    “All righen,” said Annie, resigned.

    It e common for struggles bettled by ting ted tcome  resentment, on t Annie would do as she asked.

    tributed items of cloto bulk out Lyras bed and make it look as if sill to say t it. tened at to make sure no one hrough.

    “Just dont say anyto tching.

    tly back into place and looked around.

    Sal ced in a frameruts. tly translucent, so some lig gleam Lyra could see t or so in ) extending in all directions around  al ducts and pipes, and it o get lost in, but provided s to tal and avoided putting any ation to ther.

    “Its just like back in Jordan, Pan,” siring Room.”

    “If you  done t, none of this would have happened,” he whispered back.

    “ts up to me to undo it, isnt it?”

    S  approximately  off. It o croucen so squeeze under a big square duct or lift ing pipes. tal cops of internal  a comforting solidity belo s y.

    But sory to guide ell ime to time sopped to listen, but it c Lyra, in  of as their common room.

    teresting, so she moved on.

    At last so to ions; and sure enougioning and ing ducts led do one end, and  evenly. So t voices, so s place.

    Sened carefully, and till s to tal co hear as well as she could.

    tlery, or talked. t, including Mrs. Coulters. to be discussing the escaped dasmons.

    “But ion?” said Mrs. Coulters gentle musical voice.

    “A researcudent called McKay,” said one of t tomatic meco prevent t of thing happening—”

    “t work,” she said.

    “it, ter. McKay assures us t  t eleven oday. ter door of course  ered and left by t o be entered in tor controlling ts memory of s done, an alarm goes off.”

    “But t go off,” she said.

    “It did. Unfortunately, it rang aking part in the fire drill.”

    “But w back inside—”

    “Unfortunately, bot; ts a design fault t ified.  it meant  er tice, tory alarm urned off as  ill  er every disruption of routine; but by t time, Mrs. Coulter, you edly, and if you recall, you asked specifically to meet tory staff tly, no one returned to tory until some time later.”

    “I see,” said Mrs. Coulter coldly. “In t case, t self. And t  of suspects to include every adult in tation. ?”

    “ it might have been done by a child?” said someone else.

    S, and t on:

    “Every adult ask to do, and every task tention, and every task y t any of taff side altogetention of doing t, or one of to find urn to t of the main building.”

    “And o investigate?” s, dont tell me. Please understand, Dr. Cooper, Im not criticizing out of malice. e o be quite extraordinarily careful. It rocious lapse to o be on t. t must be corrected at once.