It was Nisroch.'
'Nisroch!' echoed the Queen. 'You are indeed magicians.'
Jane sat up, blinking stupidly.
'Hold It up, and say the word,' cried Cyril, catching up the
Psammead, which mechanically bit him, but only very slightly.
'Which is the East?' asked Jane.
'Behind me,' said the Queen. 'Why?'
'Ur Hekau Setcheh,' said Jane sleepily, and held up the charm.
And there they all were in the dining-room at 300, Fitzroy
Street.
'Jane,' cried Cyril with great presence of mind, 'go and get the
plate of sand down for the Psammead.'
Jane went.
'Look here!' he said quickly, as the sound of her boots grew less
loud on the stairs, 'don't let's tell her about the dungeon and
all that. It'll only frighten her so that she'll never want to
go anywhere else.'
'Righto!' said Cyril; but Anthea felt that she could not have
said a word to save her life.
'Why did you want to come back in such a hurry?' asked Jane,
returning with the plate of sand. 'It was awfully jolly in
Babylon, I think! I liked it no end.'
'Oh, yes,' said Cyril carelessly. 'It was jolly enough, of
course, but I thought we'd been there long enough. Mother always
says you oughtn't to wear out your welcome!'
CHAPTER 8
THE QUEEN IN LONDON
'Now tell us what happened to you,' said Cyril to Jane, when he
and the others had told her all about the Queen's talk and the
banquet, and the variety entertainment, carefully stopping short
before the beginning of the dungeon part of the story.
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