But s stop to visit o comfort and encourage ers. Instead, so the armored bear.

    Sains lay bare and black, and only a fetle sno  time of year? ture urned.

    It took  of a day to find t after a  er: o breatage of camouflage and t of its element. t was hings should be.

    But Iorek Byrnison usks of ty  keep  bay. Serafina cures fougurning te sea-spray red, and sao a broad sc a respectful distance by ting for turn at t.

    ing, Serafina fleo speak to ime to face her remorse.

    quot;King Iorek Byrnison,quot; s;please may I speak ;

    S rock bet t if er any emotion, it would be surprise.

    quot;Speak, Serafina Pekkala,quot; ;e , ;

    quot;King Iorek, I ;

    tained muzzle ill. Sips of te hing.

    quot;Mr. Scoresby is dead,quot; Serafina  on. quot;Before I parted from o summon me o  I arrived too late. ing a force of Muscovites, but I kno brougc;

    quot;; said Iorek Byrnison.

    quot;In anotake me some time to tell.quot;

    quot;t;

    Sold  Lee Scoresby  out to do: to find tanislaus Grumman. Sold   some of ting of told of tca Skadis fliger tried to describe to ta o  t salline clarity of their wisdom.

    t she had found when she answered Lees call.

    quot;I put a spell on o preserve it from corruption,quot; sold ;It  until you see o do t. But I am troubled by troubled by everyt mostly by t;

    quot;;

    quot;I left ers, because I o ans;

    quot;In t same ;

    quot;Yes, t;

    quot; t;

    Sened expressionlessly, and t;I so Lee Scoresby. And t go sout;

    quot;Sout;

    quot;t tered a s;

    ttle foxes ing patiently. tcill sitting up, folloion. tic, scavengers t t t tand statements in t tense. Most of o t t didnt matter if ted  out rue, ts often believed most of it, and never learned from tment. tco tions being scavenged as  th.

    quot;And you, Serafina Pekkala?quot; Iorek  on. quot; ;

    quot;Im going to find tians,quot; s;I t;

    quot;Lord Faa,quot; said t;yes. Good fig;

    urned ao ter  a splaso sireless paddle tohe new world.

    And some time later, Iorek Byrnison stepped t-split rocks at t. t  as  t blackened e fur and t searco bite.

    one point in o t oticed taste of ter and temperature of t till good to breater still  t t around,  tone crags above him.

    Bet and tains, a rocky slope of tered ed metal: girders and struts t o some complex mac t ts y clarut less damaged t, and feeling a flimsiness in ty of tal, turned a once and scanned tain wall again.

    t  trance, a large, low boulder.

    eadily to. Beneat, dry bones snapped loudly in tillness, because many men o be picked clean by coyotes and vultures and lesser creatures; but t bear ignored tepped up carefully toed under  and carried  and gravel. But as soon as o move up once more, relentlessly, patiently, until self, wing was firmer.

    tted and c marks. Everytcold rue. And in confirmation, a little Arctic flo as a signal in a cranny of the rock.

    Iorek Byrnison moved around to t  not good enougs t s off t argets and lay , in tiff in the shadow.

    ill, and not a skeleton, because tco preserve ion. Iorek could see tigs c cover t must s and t completely. Lee Scoresby looked not asleep, nor at peace, tle, but   had been successful.

    And because texan aeronaut eemed, ed t gift to  movements of o feast on t was  meal for days, and he was hungry.

    But a complex s self in trands in it tisfaction. ttle girl Lyra, ation among tcs and alliances and range fact of tself, and tcence t t te of te of the child.

    And ting of tadel. Since t disturbances in tic, to disappear, and Iorek kne o find an icebound fastness for old  tains in t even  fly over tains ask.

    But for no, somet and hard and unshakable: vengeance.

    Scoresby, il blood ill .

    tting as Iorek finiser gats of Lees body into a single ed t in ter of to do. tc of to all w would be nouris kinds of life.

    t off doooh.

    Cliff-gs . ttle creatures c t ender and rank.

    Before  let it talk, and laug its silly babble.

    quot;Bear must go soutcroubled! true! S;

    quot;Bears dont go sout;

    quot;true! King bear must go sout good...”

    quot;King bear go sout;

    quot;And flying t treasure! Flying tal treasure!quot;

    quot;Flying ts? treasure?quot;

    quot;Like lig like cliff-g. Rical! And croubled, ch sorry, Scoresby dead...”

    quot;Dead? Balloon man dead?quot; ts laughe dry cliffs.

    quot;itc;Scoresby dead! ; t wrenc rails.

    —

    t;

    quot;But w;

    And t s ans;I t; was all so say.

    Betle boy ss, dozens, ogetening to every word.

    quot;And t ; said Roger. quot;I  dead. I ays alive as long as ever so s t being dead, t s. Except I know s;

    Lyra was alarmed.

    quot;I t know w; she said.