Chapter 9 Nine, the master thief

They went to the small restaurant first, rested for a while, and changed their clothes.It was obvious Will was going nowhere covered in blood.The guilt of taking things from the store passed too, so he took the whole suit and shoes, and Lyra volunteered to help, and she guarded him from the other kids, and took the clothes back to the diner. Lyra boiled some hot water, Will carried the hot water to the bathroom, and he undressed for a head-to-toe shower. His wound was still aching, and it didn't ease at all, but at least the wound was neat. After he experienced the power of that knife, he knew that there was no more neat wound than that knife in this world.He was bleeding profusely where his finger had been.Looking at the wound, he felt sick and his heart beat faster, which made his wound bleed more.He sat on the edge of the tub, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths.

After a while he felt much calmer and began to take a bath.He washed as best he could, then wiped himself with the soon-to-be-stained towel.He put on new clothes, trying not to get blood on them. "You'll have to bandage my wound again," he said to Lyra. "I don't care how tight you bandage it, as long as it stops the bleeding." She tore off the sheet, wrapping the wound as tightly as possible, round and round.He gritted his teeth, but he couldn't hold back the tears.He wiped away his tears without a word, and she said nothing. When she was done bandaging, he said, "Thank you." Then he said, "Listen, in case we don't get back here, I want you to help me with something in the backpack, just some letters. If you want You can also read the letters."

He went to the bedroom and took out the green leather pencil case and handed her the airmail stationery. "I won't read it unless—" "I don't care, or I wouldn't say that." She folded the letter paper.He lay down on the bed, pushed the cat aside, and fell asleep. Later that day, Will and Lyra crouched in an alley, shaded by bushes in Sir Charles's garden.On this side of Magpie City, they were in a grassy courtyard with an antique villa in the center, shining in the moonlight.It took them a long time to get close to Sir Charles' house, and they spent most of their time walking around Magpie City, stopping every now and then to cut out a window to see where they were in Will's world, and once they knew their bearings they Close those windows quickly.

Not far away, the tabby cat followed them.She'd had a good night's sleep after they'd rescued her from the stone-throwing kids, and now she was awake, unwilling to leave them, as if she thought she'd be safe wherever they were.Will didn't know all this, he had a lot on his mind, he wasn't thinking about the cat, he was ignoring her.Now he is more and more familiar with that knife, and he is more convinced of his ability to control it.But his wound hurt more than ever, with a deep, unending sting.The bandages Lyra had rewrapped him after he got up were already soaked in blood.

He cut a window in the air not far from the gleaming white house, and from there they came to the quiet lane in Headington to study how they could reach without error the place where Sir Charles kept the alethiometer. study.Two floodlights illuminate his garden, and there are lights in the windows on the front of the house instead of in the study. Only the moonlight shone on this side, and the study windows were dark. The alley cuts through the woods and leads to an unlit road at the other end.It was usually easier for thieves to get into the garden unnoticed through the bushes, though Sir Charles's house was surrounded by a solid, tall iron railing, twice Will's height, topped with spikes.Of course, for the magic sword, this is not an obstacle at all.

"Hold on to the railing while I'm chopping," Will whispered, "Catch it when it falls." Lyra did as he was told, and he cut through four railings so they could pass through without difficulty.Lyra placed them one by one in the grass, and they walked over, shifting among the bushes. They could clearly see the wall facing them and the study window blocked by the creeper through the flat and smooth grass. Will whispered: "I want to cut into Magpie City from here, and keep this window. City, walk to the place I think is the study, then cut into this world, take out the alethiometer from the cupboard, close the window, and then I will come back here again. You are on guard in this world, when you hear me call you, You can enter Magpie City through this window, and then I will close this window. Is that okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, "Pan and I will be careful." Her elf was transformed into a tawny owl, barely visible in the dappled shadows beneath the trees.His wide, pale eyes read every movement around him. Will stood back, raised the knife, and searched the air with the most delicate movements, probing, until he found his target after about a minute, and immediately he slashed open a window into the moonlit The land of Magpie City.He stood back, estimating how many steps it would take to enter the study from that world, and he memorized the location. Then without a word he stepped across and disappeared.

Lyra crouched nearby, Pantalaimon perched on a branch above her, silent, turning his head around.She could hear Headington's car behind her, someone's slight footsteps from the road at the end of the alley, and even the slight movement of insects at her feet and branches. A minute passed, and another minute.where is will nowShe stretched her neck to look at the study window, but there was still a black square hole with a creeper hanging there.Just this morning, Sir Charles was sitting by the window, crossing his legs and playing with the folds of his trousers.Where is the cabinet in the window?Could Will get in there without alerting anyone?Laila could hear her own heartbeat.

Then Pantalaimon uttered a soft sound, and at the same moment, from the front of the house, to Lyra's left, came a different sound.She couldn't see ahead, but she could see a bright light sweeping through the trees, and she heard a muffled rattle: she guessed it was the sound of car tires on the gravel road, and she didn't hear the engine at all. She looked for Pantalaimon, who had already flown silently ahead, as far as he could get away from Lyra.He turned and flew back in the dark, landing on her wrist. "Sir Charles is back," he whispered, "and there are others with him."

He flew away again, and this time Lyra followed him, walking very carefully on the soft ground on tiptoe.She crouched down behind a bush and finally she lay on her stomach and peeped through the branches of a laurel tree. The Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of the house, and the driver went to the passenger side and opened the door.Sir Charles stood waiting, smiling, as he held out his arm to the woman stepping out of the car.When she came into Lyra's sight she felt a blow to her heart, the worst blow she'd had since her escape from Birvangar, for Sir Charles's guest was her mother, Mrs Coulter. .

Will carefully counted his steps and walked across the grass of Magpie City. He kept the memory of the study as clearly as possible. He used the nearby gray and white villa with colonnades, neat gardens, sculptures and fountains as his memory. Reference, try to orient it.He realized how exposed he was on the moonlit meadow. When he felt he was in the right place, he stopped, took out his knife, and moved forward carefully.These small invisible gaps are everywhere, but not everywhere, and it is not possible to open a window with a wave of a knife. First he opened a small opening the size of his palm and looked over there, but there was nothing there but darkness: he could not see where he was.He closes the gap.The body turned ninety degrees, and opened one more.This time he found that the front was textiles--thick green velvet, the curtains of the study.But what is the relationship between the orientation of the curtains and the cabinets?He had to close that window and try another one.Time passed by every minute. For the third time, he found that he could see the whole study in the dim light coming in from the hall door.The desk, the sofa, and that cupboard!He could see a glimmer of light on the side of the copper microscope.There was no one in the room, and the whole house was silent.It couldn't be better. He carefully estimated the distance, closed the window, took four steps forward, and raised the knife again.If his calculations were correct, he should be in exactly the right place to cut through the cabinet glass, take out the alethiometer and close the window behind him. He opened a window at the right height, and he was within arm's length of the glass cabinet door in front of him.He brought his face closer and focused on each floor from top to bottom. The alethiometer is not there. At first Will thought he had misidentified the cupboard.There were four cupboards in the room, and he had counted them that morning, memorizing their positions—tall square chests, of dark wood, with glass sides and fronts, velvet shelves, for displaying precious Items such as porcelain, ivory, or gold.Could it be that he opened the window in front of the wrong cabinet?But on the top shelf was the gigantic instrument with the brass ring: he had also paid special attention to it.On the middle shelf, where Sir Charles had placed the alethiometer, it is now empty.This is the cupboard, the alethiometer is no longer there. Will stepped back and took a deep breath. He'd have to go down there and look for it, opening a window here and there would take all night.He closed the window in front of the cupboard, opened another window, and looked at the rest of the room, closing the window after he had seen it all, and opened a larger window behind the sofa so that if there was an emergency he could quickly escape. At this time, his hand was throbbing with pain, and the bandage was hanging loosely. He rewound the bandage with all his strength, and tucked the end of the bandage in.Then he sneaked into Sir Charles' house in full force, crouching behind a leather sofa, knife in his right hand, listening. He didn't hear anything, so he stood up slowly and looked around the room.The door to the hall was half-open, and there was enough light from the door for him to see clearly.Cupboards, bookshelves, pictures, all in the same places as they had been that morning. He stepped on the silent carpet and checked the cupboards one by one. There was no alethiometer there, not on the table neatly stacked with books and papers, not among the opening or reception invitations on the mantelpiece, not by the window. Not on the upholstered chair, nor on the little octagonal table behind the door. He went back to the desk, he wanted to try the drawers, but he didn't have much hope in mind.He was about to open the drawer when he faintly heard the rattle of car tires on the gravel road, so softly that he almost doubted it was his imagination, but he stood still and listened.The voice stopped. Then he heard the door open. Immediately he went to the sofa again, and squatted behind it, close to the window that opened onto the lawn of Magpie City in the moonlight.As soon as he squatted down, he heard light footsteps running on the grass from that world. He looked over there and saw that it was Laila running towards him.He waved to her just in time and put his finger to his lips, and she slowed to realize that he already knew Sir Charles was back. "I didn't have it," he whispered as she approached, "it wasn't there, he might have taken it. I'm going to listen to see if he put it back.You wait here. " "No! It's worse than that!" she said, almost in a panic, "she's with him—Mrs. Coulter—my mother! I don't know how she got here , but as soon as she sees me I'm dead, Will, I forgot--now I know who he is! I remember I've seen him before! Will, he's Lord Borill! I Saw him at Mrs. Coulter's cocktail party while escaping! He must have known who I was all along..." "Shh. If you're making noise, get out of here." She controlled herself, swallowed the words with difficulty, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I want to be with you," she whispered, "I want to hear what they have to say." "Shut up..." Because he could hear voices coming from the hall.Will was in his world, Lyra was in Magpie City, but the two were close enough to touch.When she saw his hanging bandage, she touched his arm, gesturing to bandage it. While he stretched out his hand for her to bandage, she squatted there and listened carefully with her head sideways. A ray of light shone into the room, and he heard Sir Charles talking to the servant, telling him to step down.He went into the study and closed the door. "May I pour you a glass of Tokay?" he asked. A woman's low, sweet voice replied, "You're very kind, Carlo. I haven't had a Tokay in years." "Please sit in the chair by the fire." Then there was the gurgling of the pour, the light smack of the glass on the rim, the murmur of thanks, and Sir Charles sat down on the sofa, inches away from Will. "I wish you well, Marisa," he said, taking a sip of his wine. "Now, tell me what you want." "I wonder where you got the alethiometer from." "why?" "Because it turned out to be Lyra's and I wanted to find her." "I can't imagine you're going to find her, she's a lawless child." "I have to remind you that she is my daughter." "Then she's even more lawless, because she must be resisting your charms on purpose. No one can do that casually." "Where is she?" "I promise to tell you, but you have to tell me something first." "If I could," she said, with a tone that Will thought might have been a warning.Her voice was captivating: heartwarming, sweet, singing, and young, and he especially wanted to know what she looked like, because Laila never described her, and anyone with that voice must have a face outstanding face. "What do you want to know?" "What is Asriel up to?" There was a moment of silence as she seemed to be pondering what to say.Will looked back at Lyra at the window, and he saw her moonlit face, her eyes wide with fear, her lips biting her lips to keep quiet, her ears pricked up to listen, as he was. Mrs. Coulter finally said: "Very well, let me tell you. Lord Asriel is gathering a team. His purpose is to finish the war in heaven countless centuries ago." "Savage. He seems to have some advanced weapons, though. What did he do to the poles?" "He found a way to blow open the barrier between our world and other worlds. It caused extreme fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field, which must have resonated this world too... But how do you know it? Carlo , I think you should answer some of my questions. What world is this? How did you bring me here?" "That's one of millions of worlds. There are many passages between them, but they are hard to find. I know a dozen of such passages, but the places they lead to have changed. Asriel must have done it." Everything that has caused these changes. Now we seem to have direct access from this world to ours, and perhaps to many others. Earlier today, I was looking out of one of the passages when I discovered that it led to You can imagine my amazement when we were in the world. I was even more amazed that I found you close by. It is providence, dear lady! This change means that I can bring you directly without risk Pass through Magpie City." "Magpie City? What is that?" "All the passages used to lead to a world, which was like an intersection, that is the world of Magpie City, but it is too dangerous to go there now." "Why is it dangerous?" "It's dangerous for adults, children are free to go there." "What? I must know this, Carlo," said the woman, and Will could hear her impatience. "This is the crux of the matter, the difference between children and adults! Here lies all the secrets of Dust! Here is The reason why I must find this child. The witch named her - I almost got the name from a witch, but she died too fast. I must find this child, in a sense Say, she knows the answer, and I have to have that answer." "You will. This device will lead her to me - don't worry, you can take her if she gives me what I want. But tell me about your weird bodyguards, Marisa .I've never seen soldiers like that. Who are they?" "It's human, that's it. But...they're cut up, they don't have spirits, so they don't have fear, imagination, or free will, and they'll fight until they're shattered." "No elves... oh, that would be interesting. I was wondering if I could suggest a little experiment if you could sacrifice one of them? I wanted to see if the goblins were interested in them." "A monster? What's that?" "I'll explain later, my dear. That's why grown-ups can't go into that world. We might take a trip to Magpie City, though, if they're not more interested in your bodyguards than the kids. Dust-Children - genies - sprites - cuts... yes, that might work. Have some more wine." "I want to know all about it," she said, pouring wine, "I want you to keep your word, tell me now, what are you doing in this world? When we thought you were in Brazil or the West Indies, weren't you Right here?" "I found my way here a long time ago," said Sir Charles. "It's a big secret, not even to you, Marisa. I make myself very comfortable, and you can see that. At home At the time, being a member of the national committee made it easier for me to see where the power lay. "Actually, I was a spy, although I didn't tell everything I knew: my boss. For years the world's security agencies have been keeping an eye on the Soviet Union - we call it Russia. Although the threat has diminished Yes, but there are still some wiretapping posts and bugs prepared for this purpose, and I still keep in touch with the agencies that hire spies." Mrs. Coulter sipped her Tokay, her bright eyes fixed on him without blinking. "Recently I've heard that the Earth's magnetic field is extremely disturbed," continued Sir Charles, "and that the security agencies are on the alert. Every country that studies fundamental physics—what we call experimental theology—is eagerly asking their scientists to understand that. What happened. Because they knew something was going on, they suspected it had something to do with other worlds. "Actually, they do have some clues, there's been research on the dust. Oh, yes, people here know about it. There's a group working on it right here in this city. Another thing: ten or ten Two years ago a man went missing in the north, and security thought he had some kind of knowledge they desperately needed - specifically the location of passages between worlds, such as the one you came in earlier today. The one he found The only thing they knew: As you can imagine, I didn't tell them what I knew. After the new magnetic disturbance event, they set out to find this man. "Of course, Marisa, I'm curious myself, and I'm eager to increase my knowledge." Will sat there like a clay sculpture, his heart was beating so hard that he doubted that the adults could hear his heartbeat.Sir Charles is talking about his biological father! But all the while he was paying attention to other things in the room than Sir Charles and the woman's voice.There was a shadow moving on the floor, or where he could only see the end of the sofa and the legs of the small octagonal table, but neither Sir Charles nor the woman moved.Will was very confused as the shadow moved around so quickly.The only light in the room came from the floor lamp by the fireplace, so the shadow was very clear, but it didn't stay still for a long time, which prevented Will from seeing what it was. Just then, two things happened.First, Sir Charles mentioned the alethiometer. "For example," he continued his topic, "I'm very curious about this instrument. You might as well tell me how it works." He put the alethiometer on the octagonal table at one end of the sofa.Will could see it so clearly, he could almost touch it. The second thing that happened was that the shadow suddenly stood still.The source of the shadow must have lingered on the back of Mrs. Coulter's chair, for the light cast its shadow clearly on the wall.When it stopped, he realized it was the woman's spirit: a squatting monkey, turning its head from time to time, searching for something. Lyra saw it too behind Will, and Will heard her take a breath.He turned around quietly, and whispered, "Go back to that window, go into his garden, find a few rocks to throw at the study, and their attention will be temporarily diverted so that I can take the alethiometer away. Then you Wait for me at that window." She nodded, then turned and ran soundlessly across the grass.Will turned around again. The woman was saying, "...the dean of Jordan College is a silly old man. I can't figure out why he gave it to her; you'd need years of serious study to find out what it's all about. Now you should Tell me something, Carlo, how did you find it? Where is the kid?" "I saw her using it in a museum in town. Of course I recognized her because I saw her at your cocktail party a long time ago. I knew she must have found a way. So I thought, I could use it for my own purposes, so I stole it the second time I met her." "You are very frank." "There's no need to hide it, you and I are both adults." "Where is she now? What did she do when she knew it was gone?" "She came to me, and I think it took quite a bit of guts." "She's always been bold. What are you going to do with it? What's your purpose?" "I told her she could take it back if she could get me something - something I couldn't get myself." "What is it?" "I don't know if you—" Just then the first stone smashed into the window of the study. There was a satisfying sound of glass shattering, and when the two adults opened their mouths in a daze, the monkey figure immediately jumped up from the back of the chair.Then there was another bump, then another, and Will felt the sofa move, and Sir Charles rose to his feet. Will leaned forward, grabbed the alethiometer from the little table, stuffed it in his pocket, and ran back to the other side of the window.As soon as he was back on the grass of Magpie City, he began to explore the elusive edge, his mind calm and his breathing slowed, always conscious of the dire danger that lay an inch away. Then there came a scream, neither human nor animal, but worse than either, and he knew it was the hideous monkey.He had most of the windows shut by then, but there was a small gap at chest level, and he jumped back as a blond fur with black nails protruded through the gap. Claws, and then a face—a nightmare face.The golden monkey bared its teeth and stared in such a vicious manner that Will felt like a sharp spear. Another second and he'll come in, and that's the end of it.But Will was still holding the knife, and at once he slashed left and right at the monkey's face—or where the monkey's face might have been if the monkey hadn't dodged in time, giving Will All it takes is time to grab the edges of the windows and snap them shut. His own world disappeared, and he stood alone on the grass in Magpie City under the moonlight, panting and trembling, he was terrified. But now it was time to save Laila.He ran back to the first window, the one that led into the bushes, and he looked out of the window, the dark foliage of the laurel and holly blocking his view, but he slipped through, pushed the branches aside, and he could see clearly He clearly saw the side of the house and the study window with broken glass, which looked shocking under the moonlight. As he watched, the monkey jumped out from around the corner of the house, and galloped across the grass at the speed of a cat, when he saw Sir Charles and the woman following closely behind.Sir Charles also carried a pistol.The woman was beautiful—Will was surprised to find this—lovely in the moonlight, her bright black eyes large and alluring, her slender figure light and graceful, but when she snapped her fingers, the The monkey stopped immediately and jumped into her arms, and he saw that the sweet-faced woman and the evil monkey were one. But where is Lyra? The grown-ups were looking around, and that's when the woman put the monkey on the ground, and he started running around in the grass, looking for smells and tracks.There was silence all around, and if Lyra had been hiding in the bushes, she couldn't move without making a sound, as long as she made a sound, she would be found. Sir Charles moved something on the pistol, and there was a soft click: the safety catch of the gun.He peered into the bushes, as if staring directly into Will's face, but then his eyes slid sideways. At this moment, both grown-ups looked to the left, for the monkey had heard something, and he leaped lightning-fast to where Lyra was undoubtedly hiding, and it wouldn't take long for him to find her—when the monkey The tabby cat jumped suddenly from the bushes onto the grass, hissing. The monkey heard it, and twisted in mid-air, as if surprised, but Will himself was even more surprised.The monkey put its paws on the ground and faced the cat, who was standing sideways with its back arched, its tail up, hissing and her purring a challenge. The monkey jumped at her.The cat bowed and jumped, stretched out its needle-like sharp claws, and scratched left and right, which was dizzying.Now Lyra was beside Will, and she stumbled across the window, Pantalaimon at her side.The cat screamed, and the monkey screamed as it scratched its face.At last the monkey turned and jumped into Mrs. Coulter's arms, and the cat leaped lightning-fast into the bushes and disappeared into a world of her own. Will and Lyra came to the other side of the window, and Will again explored the almost invisible edge of midair, snapping them together quickly, and there was the sound of footsteps and branches snapping from the fading gap—and then There was only a gap the size of Will's palm, and then it was closed, and the world fell silent. He knelt on the dewy grass and fumbled for the alethiometer. "Here you are," he said to Lyra. She took it.With trembling hands he sheathed the knife and lay on his back on the ground with his eyes closed, feeling his whole body bathed in silvery moonlight, and feeling Lyra undoing his bandages and The action is re-wrapped. "Oh, Will," he heard her say, "thank you for all you do, for everything..." "I hope that cat is all right," he murmured. "She's like my Moxie. Now she may be home, back in her own world, and she's all right now." "You know what I was thinking? For a while I thought she was your elf. Anyway, she did what a good elf would do. We saved her and she saved us. Come on, Will Well, don't lie on the grass, it's wet. You gotta lie in bed, or you'll catch a cold. Let's go to that big house over there, there's sure to be beds and food. Come on, I To re-bandage your wounds, I'll make coffee, make fried eggs, whatever you want, and we'll get some sleep...with the alethiometer we'll be safe, you'll know. Now, besides helping you find your father , I won't do anything else, I promise..." She helped him to his feet, and together they walked slowly through the garden to the big house, shining white in the moonlight.