¡¡â€˜Of course it can. I suppose you can read.’

‘Jane,’ cried Cyril with great presence of mind, ‘go and get the plate of sand down for the Psammead.’

‘Then all that adventure took no time at all?’

‘She’s quite a nice little girl really,’ Jane added; ‘she was only rude at first because we looked jolly and happy, and she wasn’t. You understand that, don’t you?’

At the gate of the palace the Psammead put one eye cautiously out of the basket and whispered—

‘And so we’ve lost the other half of the Amulet again,’ said Anthea, when they had told the Psammead all about it.