he
spoils of war. The inscription may be much later than the charm. Oh yes!
it is a pleasant fancy, that that splendid specimen of yours was once
used amid Babylonish surroundings.' The others looked at each other, but
it was Jane who spoke.

'Were the Babylon people savages, were they always fighting and throwing
things about?' For she had read the thoughts of the others by the
unerring light of her own fears.

'The Babylonians were certainly more gentle than the Assyrians,' said
the learned gentleman. 'And they were not savages by any means. A very
high level of culture,' he looked doubtfully at his audience and went
on, 'I mean that they made beautiful statues and jewellery, and
built splendid palaces. And they were very learned--they had glorious
libraries and high towers for the purpose of astrological and
astronomical observation.'

'Er?' said Robert.

'I mean for--star-gazing and fortune-telling,' said the learned
gentleman, 'and there were temples and beautiful hanging gardens--'

'I'll go to Babylon if you like,' said Jane abruptly, and the others
hastened to say 'Done!' before she should have time to change her mind.

'Ah,' said the learned gentleman, smiling rather sadly, 'one can go so
far in dreams, when one is young.' He sighed again, and then adding with
a laboured briskness, 'I hope you'll have a--a--jolly game,' he went
into his room and shut the door.

'He said "jolly" as if it was a foreign language,' said Cyril. 'Come
on, let's get the Psammead and go now. I think Babylon seems a most
frightfully jolly place to go to.'

So they woke the Psammead and put it in its bass-bag with the waterproof
sheet, in case of inclement weather in Babylon. It was very cross, but
it said it would as soon go to Babylon as anywhere else. 'The sand is
good thereabouts,' it added.

Then Jane held up the charm, and Cyril said--

'We want to go to Babylon to look for the part of you that was lost.
Will you please let us go there through you?'

'Please put us down just outside,' said Jane hastily; 'and then if we
don't like it we needn't go inside.'

'Don't be all day,' said the Psammead.

So Anthea hastily uttered the word of power, without which the charm
could do nothing.

'Ur--Hekau--Setcheh!' she said softly, and as she spoke the charm grew
into an arch so tall that the top of it was close against the bedroom
ceiling. Outside the arch was the bedroom painted chest-of-drawers
and the Kidderminster carpe