quot;No!quot; sen sulpended ts mepic vapors in sudden gusts and belcary  its edge.

    If ook to ts  if ayed on t ake so long to get past t t  arrive too late.

    o take ter risk. ed until a cloud of stinking smoke billoed upo t.

    Four pairs of eyes in different parts of t, and at once four pairs of   tco the cloud.

    t in  all. t to break out of tage, and t mig might mean a successful kill.

    And unluckily for ter one of  once trailing streams of vapor, and dizzy, bot of it at first, but ter fle and furious struggle, all ting in to fall, finally, among the cloud.

    At tern end of a range of saootains, on a peak t commanded ress of basalt seemed to gro of tain as if some volcano  it up a million years ago.

    In vast caverns beneat ored and labeled; in ted, armed, and tested; in tain, volcanic fires fed migitanium ed and combined in alloys never known or used before.

    On t exposed side of tress, at a point deep in ttress  lava-floe, a postern c and c to enter.

    cs above, I try stamped once or t , and ttle nap beside . en minutes, and o te, t of all his bed.

    to  ttle door  ted. , and  time opening tap t allo ligtress outside. In t tinct, and who seemed ill, or wounded.

    t try kne ;e found  t an urgent message for Lord Asriel.quot;

    try unbarred terrier daemon quivered as ty trance. t involuntary  off, as try sa ttle po an angel, nevertheless.

    quot;Lay ; try told turned teleped ch.

    On t rampart of tress o: just one fligeps up to a set of rooms , and . t room ed t.

    Lord Asriel sat in t totered papers. A napable, and a brazier  tter c. Inside the door,

    a small blue .

    tain o look at: aller t t of Lord Asriels captains treated , for ing in the spurs on his heels.

    It o sit on table, and o repel anyt test courtesy y and malevolent tongue. ies of good spies except, of course, tional smallness: touc they had been of Lord Asriels size.

    quot;Yes,quot; tering like droplets of ink, quot;your c ly I kno;

    Lord Asriel looked at ly, and ttle man kne once t aken advantage of esy: t  o put out a o steady  later Lord Asriels expression uous, just as ers could be, and from then on Lord Roke was more careful.

    quot;No doubt, Lord Roke,quot; said Lord Asriel. quot;But for reasons I dont understand, ttention, and I need to kno ;

    quot;terium is alive ion; one brancigating sometrying to keep its discoveries secret from t. t active brancorial Court of Discipline and ty of t, and,quot; said Lord Roke, quot;I ;

    quot;urned a member of ty, t; said Lord Asriel. quot;I congratulate you. to be impregnable.quot;

    quot;My spy in ty is t; said Lord Roke, quot;a very skillful agent. t ed t tual designed to invoke t tical moment, t of  noe  s;

    Lord Asriel smiled and said, quot;And ;ty t your daug important c a great crisis  te of everyt t point. As for torial Court of Discipline, its  t, nesses from Bolvangar and elseialys, is in toucone resonator, and ting me kno, I  ty of t  very soon  it. It ake torial Court a little longer, but  once.quot;

    quot;Let me kno you ; Lord Roke boo table. Sirrups. Lord Roke sprang on  of t it open for a minute, in spite of tter air, and leaned on t, playing he ears of his snow-leopard daemon.

    quot;So me on Svalbard and I ignored ; ;You remember t co arrive  a fatal mistake? I didnt consider er t, not for a moment, but sant, Stelmaria!quot;

    quot;Lets t; ; can s;

    quot;Do, not muc;

    quot;Ser; so kno;

    quot;ts not;

    t turned at once.

    quot;My lord,quot; said t;an angel  arrived at tern gate, o you.quot;

    And a minute later, Baruc to t it  ttle orn and his eyes dimmed.

    Lord Asriel sat close by and to t  of defining t more clearly.

    quot;ell, sir,quot; ;ell me?quot;

    quot;t me say ty, and so o your standard as soon as you raised it. But ed to bring you somet long ago o find our o t of tain, tys citadel in t;

    o stop for a moment to breato steady inued:

    quot;e learned trut ty. e learned t ired to a cal deep ain, and t ead, emplates deeper mysteries. In atron. I o kno angel ;

    Baruc ongue and ed for Baruco continue.

    quot;Metatron is proud,quot; Baruc on rengt;and ion is limitless. ty co be , and togeto discover. ty considers t conscious beings of every kind , so Metatron is going to intervene mucively in end to move ty secretly aain, to a permanent citadel someain into an engine of  and o set up a permanent inquisition in every ly from t campaign o destroy your Republic...quot;

    trembling, t one from ement.

    Barucrengt on:

    quot;t can cut openings bets poed, but only in to use it. And t person is a boy...quot;

    Once again to stop and recover. ened; ing apart. Lord Asriel could see t o oget tensely gripping til Barucrengto go on.

    quot;My companion is ed to bring ly to you, but  tell you: er are friends. And  agree to come to you until ;;

    quot;anislaus Grumman.quot; Lord Asriel was so surprised ood up

    involuntarily, sending billohe angel.

    quot;Grumman ; he said.

    quot;Grumman  born in your o it and its bearer, intending to bring to you. But to...quot;

    quot; Once again Baruco stop. Lord Asriel sat doook several slohe only sound.

    quot;take your time, sir,quot; Lord Asriel said gently. quot;Do you kno;

    quot;;  mountains. A cave near a valley full of rainbo;

    quot;A long way from ;

    quot;It is t I ; said Baruc;except t;

    quot;And if you found her so easily...”

    quot;too.quot;

    Lord Asriel seized a great atlas from t and flung it open, looking for t she himalaya.

    quot;Can you be precise?quot; ;Can you sly w;

    quot;it; Barucried to say, and Lord Asriel realized ;iter and leave any  atron kno me alone on t atron , because I... O; quot;;

    quot;Yes. Yes. A cave... attered flags on t; o look at tlas.

    t to  in one s movement and leapt to t it oo late: t ing. t  ; but seeing t urned back to see Barucraining and quivering to oget oo muc from t an eddy of air across ticles of trengto randomness and vanis;Balt; came a illed urned to t;My lord, I beg your...”

    quot;Not your fault. take my compliments to King Oguno attend, er. Finally I  No. 2 Squadron of gyropters armed and fueled, and a tanker zeppelin to take off at once and . I s;

    ted and,  uneasy glance at ty bed,  out and s the door.

    Lord Asriel tapped to open t out t t  the snapping wind.

    quot;ell, , Stelmaria,quot; ly.

    quot;But not enoug; she replied.

    t trist came in. eukros Basilides, and ingale.

    quot;Mr. Basilides, good evening to you,quot; said Lord Asriel. quot;to put everyt...quot;

    old t Baruclas.

    quot;Pinpoint t cave,quot; ;Get me tes as precisely as you can. t important task you aken. Begin at once, if you please,quot;

    —

    stamped  so  even  ;You dont believe Id do t, Roger, so dont say it. I  forget, so t;

    S all s and sorrowful.

    Rogers face .  contained hope.

    S;?  you miserable, like t you at t;

    And ;