Next morning Lyra  no was.

    t long risen, and t ttle tc s in, Marys ening. tside, and some kind of cricket, and Mary ly in her sleep nearby.

    Lyra sat up and found  for a moment, and t of Marys, a lengt, ligterned clot sie into a skirt. S t, but at least decent.

    S t. Pantalaimon  mean t ill connected some talking, just telling eaching...

    ill ill asleep under ter tree, t of  it e different o t.

    So s doo ter alone in t tall, slender bird like a anding perfectly still on one leg.

    Sly and slo to disturb it, but took no more notice of er.

    quot;ell,quot; she said.

    S to t er coming in on tide, and it range to Lyra, er before. So keep  and  er? Or a beetle, creeping into to tickle irely  on  all? quot;quot;

    t again and, seeing some flat stones by t to fetco  bush, nearly dry.

    ill irring. S nearby and called ly.

    quot;ill! ake up!quot;

    quot;;  once, and sat up, reache knife.

    quot;Safe,quot; s;And too, or Dr. Malone did. Ill get yours. t;

    Sain of leaves and sat o ill he was dressed.

    quot;I s; s;I  to look for Pan, but I t;

    quot;ts a good idea. I mean a s years and years of dirt on me... Ill go down and was;

    looking too closely at anyteness, but curious about everyte ne in muc of c tel le patterns, but patterns t  carved in t o gro surally.

    ter. Part of o puzzle it all out, to step ligy to similarity, from one meaning to anotrument; but anot ay o move on.

    ell, Im not going anywill Pan comes back, so herself.

    Presently ill came up from t of ; and soon Atal came along, too, and to life around t o stare, and Lyra urn and look at tly to make terror.

    quot;ell, no; Mary said  and drunk a scalding infusion of somet. quot;Yesterday you oo tired and all you could do . But you look a lot more lively today, boto tell eac. And itll take us a good long time, and s.quot;

    tiff tarry netting to t out on the grass, and Mary

    so knot a ne ualapi, te birds, gat at sea, and everyone o leave at once; but ime.

    So t old ory, from t so long ago iring Room at Jordan College.

    tide came in and turned, and still tualapi. In te afternoon Mary took ill and Lyra along t ts ied, and t marso o go tide , because te birds only came inland  and perfectly maintained, more like a part of nature t.

    quot;Did tone roads?quot; ill said.

    quot;No. I t; Mary said. quot;I mean t been plenty of  surfaces to use t volcanoes.

    quot;So t possible for to use togetrees t vertebrates, t   t creatures  a bit easier, so all kinds of otral spine. In t anotebrates, to be sure, but not many. tant er try not to  them.

    quot;Anyrees coming toget possible. A lot of little coget of tory begin, ill?quot;

    quot;Lots of little coo,quot;  under trees. If y seconds earlier or later, , never tagazze and Lyra; none of this would have happened.

    arted from tened as time ts,  aintop.

    quot;And tc;

    ood t.  sold him before she killed herself: she had loved John Parry, and he had scorned her.

    quot;itc; Lyra said.

    quot;But if s;

    quot;ell,quot; said Mary, quot;love is ferocious, too.quot;

    quot;But ; said ill. quot;And I can tell  ;

    Lyra, looking at ill, t t if .

    All around t noises of ternoon rickling sucking of ts, tide , so tent of tening under t sun. A billion tiny mud creatures lived and ate and died in top layer of sand, and ttle casts and breats s th life.

    it telling t to tant sea, scanning te sails. But tter ook up t sparkle the shimmering air.

    So gaticular kind of mollusk by finding tubes just above t it hem.

    o ted as many as s .

    Sened to t part of tory. Steadily trusively back to tide urning.

    tory aking a long time; t get to t day. As telling Mary icularly interested in t nature of human beings.

    quot;You kno; s;t I used to belong to,  use t St. Paul talks about spirit and soul and body. So ts in ure isnt so strange.quot;

    quot;But t part is t; ill said. quot;ts  angels cant understand   of ecstasy for to he dead...”

    quot;tell it o it,quot; said Lyra, and s  kno  confused.   trust than shed ever seen on a human face.

    By time to prepare. So Mary left t to cide flooding in, and  to join Atal by t.

    But Mary, sualapi destroyed a village furt, and t before. ttack one and to sea. And anotree fell today ...

    No! here!

    Atal mentioned a grove not far from a  spring. Mary ook t t stream of sicles rongly, and at incomparably greater speed and volume, tide nohe riverbanks.

    can you do? said Atal.

    Mary felt t of responsibility like a ly.

    tell tories, she said.

    al sat on rugs outside Marys ars. table in ted nigened to Mary tell ory.

    S before s met Lyra, telling t t tter Researcime so spend asking for money, and tle time t for research!

    But Lyras coming ter of days s ogether.

    quot;I did as you told me,quot; s;I made a program, ts a set of instructions, to let talk to me ter. told me o do. t;

    quot;If you ist,quot; said ill, quot;I dont suppose t o say. You mig ;

    quot;A I kne to be a nun, you see. I t po till I sa any God at all and t peresting anyian

    religion is a very poake, ts all.quot;

    quot;op being a nun?quot; said Lyra.

    quot;I remember it exactly,quot; Mary said, quot;even to time of day. Because I  p me keep up my university career, you see, and I finisorate and I o teac  one of t you a,  even ;  o dress soberly and o university to teaco particle physics.

    quot;And t and to come and read a paper. t, Id never been out of England. t, tel, t sunligo speak, and t of my oo listen and o get t... Oement, I cant tell you.

    quot;And I , you o remember t. Id been suctle girl, Id gone to Mass regularly, Id t I ion for tual life. I ed to serve God . I ed to take my ; soget;and place it in front of Jesus to do as oo muc lasted until, o nine on t tent;

    Lyra sat up and ening closely.

    quot;It er Id given my paper,quot; Mary  on, quot;and it ening, and Id dealt ions  making a mess of it, and altogetoo, no doubt.

    quot;Anyo a restaurant a little , and to go. Normally Id  time I t, ell, Im a groed a paper on an important subject and it  alk  all t interested in, and  Id loosen up a bit. I  liked taste of  of music in t.

    quot;So  doo eat in t table under a lemon tree, and t of bo to me alking to tting opposite  knoo; alian, and  people alking about, and I t it eresting to  it.

    quot;Anyle older t black iful olive-colored skin and dark, dark eyes.  falling across  pus back like t, slo;

    S s very well.

    quot; ; s on. quot; a ladies man or a c o talk to

    to sit tern ligree  of talk and laug  I ty. Sister Mary Malone, flirting!  about my vo dedicating my life to Jesus and all t?

    quot;ell, I dont kno ree, or  it gradually seemed to me t Id made myself believe somet  true. Id made myself believe t I   it eresting, and some people  t I never  ever going to C it  matter, because

    t of to visit.

    quot;And t of some s stuff and I suddenly realized I o Co speak. And Id forgotten it. It aste of t stuff t broug back, I t  almond paste,quot; so Lyra, who was looking confused.

    Lyra said, quot;A; and settled back comfortably to  .

    quot;Any; Mary  on. quot;I remembered taste, and all at once I asting it for t time as a young girl.

    quot;I  a party at ty, and ts ;Usually girls dance togetoo so ask t t kno, and by t time alking... And you kno is  once;  on talking and took a bit of marzipan and  gently put it in my moutrying to smile, and blus for t, for tle way ouc;

    As Mary said t, Lyra felt sometrange o  as if so a great  kno  ots coming on. S trembling as Mary  on:

    quot;And I t  t party, or it mig anot ime. It  and trees, and I  too so move. Almost. But one of us did and t any interval bet um leap, suddenly,  was paradise.

    quot;e sas moved aime, so s... But t . I o C;

    It rangest tly s rooms lit stood ing, quiet, expectant.

    quot;And at  nine in t t restaurant table in Portugal,quot; Mary continued, quot;someone gave me a piece of marzipan and it all came back. And I t: am I really going to spend t of my life  ever feeling t again? I t: I  to go to Cs full of treasures and strangeness and mystery and joy. I t, ill anyone be better off if I go straigo tel and say my prayers and confess to t and promise never to fall into temptation again? ill anyone be tter for making me miserable?

    quot;And to fret, no one to condemn, no one to bless me for being a good girl, no one to punisy. I didnt kno free and lonely and I didnt knorange   as I . A taste, a memory, a landslide...

    quot; and looked at table, I could tell  tell  ill too strange and private almost for me. But later on  for a  breeze kept stirring my , and tlantic le quiet ...

    quot;And I took t in t . All over. Gone.

    quot;So t ; she said.

    quot;as t man t found out about t; Lyra said after a moment.

    quot;Oer. No, t tale. .quot;

    quot;Did you kiss ;

    quot;ell,quot; said Mary, smiling, quot;yes, but not t;

    quot;as it o leave t; said ill.

    quot;In one  ed. Everyone, from to ts to my parents, t and reproac as if sometely believed in depended on me carrying on .

    quot;But in anot  made sense. For t time ever I felt I ure and not only a part of it. So it  used to it.quot;

    quot;Did you marry ; said Lyra.

    quot;No. I didnt marry anyone. I lived  Alfredo, someone else. I lived  t living togeto like mountain climbing, and augo climb, and I ains and... And Ive got my   I mean.quot;

    quot; ; said Lyra. quot;At ty?quot;

    quot;tim.quot;

    quot; did ;

    quot;Os all I remember.quot;

    quot; sa; Lyra said, quot;you said one of tist  you  o t good and evil. Did you t t;

    quot; I kneaugo to t otogeto t t all.quot;

    quot;But do you no; said ill.

    quot;I to,quot; Mary said, trying to e.

    quot;opped believing in God,quot;  on, quot;did you stop believing in good and evil?quot;

    quot;No. But I stopped believing t side us. And I came to believe t good and evil are names for  for  t s an evil one, because it s too complicated to ;

    quot;Yes,quot; said Lyra firmly.

    quot;Did you miss God?quot; asked ill.

    quot;Yes,quot; Mary said, quot;terribly. And I still do. And  is ted to to feel I ed to God like t, and because ed to tion. But if  t;

    Far out on tones. Embers settled in tirring faintly  breeze. Atal seemed to be dozing like a cat,  on ttention o tars.

    As for Lyra, s moved a muscle since t strange tion inside  kno  meant, or w had come

    from; so s ried to stop rembling. Soon, s, soon Ill know.

    Mary ired; s of stories. No doubt somorrow.