It  Lyras o brood; sical c imaginative. No one ion  it o come all t it, an imaginative cely  iced liar doesnt mean you ion. Many good liars ion at all; its t wion.

    So no sion Board, Lyra didnt fret o terror about ians. ters, and even talaimon said ,  aken; or if  mistaken, Jo not . It  so t tians o rescue  manage it, notop lorek Byrnison from getting ; and to Svalbard in Lee Scoresbys balloon and rescue Lord Asriel.

    In  .

    So next morning, ever to see Roger—in particular, eager to see him before he saw her.

    S o . t dormitories   seven by ter t o teen for breakfast.

    And there was Roger.

    ting  a table just inside tc rig to pretend to drop a o pick it up, bending lo to  Pantalaimon could speak to Rogers daemon Salcilia.

    Stered so  Pantalaimon o be a cat and leap at o  Roger  pale at once. Lyra e.  ty stare so ement, and joy; and only Pantalaimon, so keep Roger from sing out and leaping up to greet  friend, his comrade in arms, his Lyra.

    But tles and campaigns. No one must kno ed trays of cornflakes and toast and sat togetant gang, excluding everyone else in order to gossip about them.

    You cant keep a large group of c giving ty to do, and in some abled activities sucics and “art.” Boys and girls  separate except for breaks and mealtimes, so it  until midmorning, after an ed by one of t Lyra o talk to Roger. But it o look natural; t y.

    All t t  boys talk to boys and girls to girls, eac of ignoring te sex.

    Seen again,  Pantalaimon, as a fly, to talk to Salcilia on t to table ly in te groups.

    It  to talk ion o look glum and rebellious as ss iny buzz of talk bet really listening, but at one point s blond  made  up.

    It ony Makarios. As Lyras attention snapped to, Pantalaimon o sloened to he girl was saying.

    “No, I kno  really en because tony  muc anytter...”

    “erested in daemons?” said Lyra.

    “No one knohe blond girl.

    “I knohen see if you die.”

    “ell,  over and over  kids?” said someone.

    “to do it once,  they?”

    “I kno girl.

    Stention no because t  to let taff knoalking about, to adopt a strange,  manner, e curiosity.

    “how?” said someone.

    “ Cause I he linen room,” she said.

    Sly. If sing jeers and teasing, t come. All the children were subdued, and no one even smiled.

    t on: “e  and t voice. And sony, I kno  you....And s going to  put you to sleep, and ttle operation, and t tony didnt believe her. he says—”

    “tartars! I bet!”

    “S up!  else did t in. By time, a dozen or more cered around able, te to knoense.

    t on: “tony ed to knoter, see. And to sleep too, just like when you do.

    And tony says, Youre gonna kill  yer? 1 knos s just a little operation. Just a little cut. It  even , but  you to sleep to make sure.

    All t no for a moment, and tco tc so no one could here.

    “ sort of cut?” said a boy,  and frig sort of cut?”

    “S said, Its someto make you more gros o make ts  grown up.”

    “But—”

    “Does t mean—”

    “, all grownupsve ?”

    “ about—”

    Suddenly all topped as if t, and all eyes turned to ter Clara stood tter-of-fact, and beside e coat w seen before.

    “Bridget McGinn,” he said.

    tood up trembling. c.

    “Yes, sir?” she said, her voice hardly audible.

    “Finiser Clara,”  of you run along and go to your classes.”

    Obediently tacked tainless-steel trolley before leaving in silence. No one looked at Bridget McGinn except Lyra, and sh fear.

    t of t morning  in exercise. t tation, because it side during t, and eacook turns to play in to form teams and t first Lyra,  a loss o do. But sic, and a natural leader, and soon found . ts of ts of ttle gymnasium and soon baniss; ended to do.

    At lunceen, Lyra felt Pantalaimon give a cion, and turned to find Billy Costa standing just behind her.

    “Roger told me you ered.

    “Your brotians,” she said.

    “to take you home.”

    subdued to a cough.

    “And you got to call me Lizzie,” Lyra said, “never Lyra. And you got to tell me everyt.”

    t toget o do t lunc more time coming and going betables and ter, ter of knives and forks and plates Billy and Roger botold  cion en taken to els furt explain ony Makarios came to be  Roger eresting to tell her.

    “I found a hiding place,” he said.

    “? here?”

    “See t picture...”  togram of tropical beacop rig ceiling panel?”

    ted of large rectangular panels set in a frameal strips, and ture ed slightly.

    “I sa,” Roger said, “and I t t be like it, so I lifted em, and t lift up. Me and tried it one nigory, before took here and you can crawl inside....”

    “he ceiling?”

    “I dunno. e just  in a little ime heyd probably find us.”

    Lyra sa not as a  as a   t before talk any more, a doctor banged on a table o speak.

    “Listen, cen carefully. Every so often ant t  dressed properly and make our side  any panic. So o ice fire drill ternoon.  stop  gros t go to if theres a real fire.”

    ell, t Lyra, theres an idea.

    During t part of ternoon, Lyra and four otested for Dust. tors didnt say t  it o guess. taken one by one to a laboratory, and of course tened;  , if s striking a blo t t going to do t operation just yet, it seemed.

    “e  to make some measurements,” tor explained. It ell te coats and oo, trange bland calm manner making ters.

    “I erday,” Lyra said.

    “A measurements today. Stand on tal plate—o. s it, stare at ttle green light. Good girl...”

    Sometor made o left and rigime something clicked and flashed.

    “ts fine. Noo t your o tube.

    Noto raigs it.”

    “ are you measuring?” s Dust?”

    “old you about Dust?”

    “One of t kno dusty, at least I dont terday.”

    “As a different sort of dust. You cant see it . Its a special dust. Nos rig of  t? take , t your othis way—

    rest it on t tingling, noto , its just a slig....”

    Pantalaimon, in  tense and  form, proning-eyed suspicion around tus, continually returning to rub  Lyra.

    S t going to perform tion on , and sure too t ion.