Presently she said, as if to herself, "What is the old fool doing? I should have brought a whip." She stalked out of the room in pursuit of Uncle Andrew without one glance at the children.
Then their heads came out of the pool and, once more, the sunny quietness of the Wood between the Worlds was all about them, and it seemed richer and warmer and more peaceful than ever after the staleness and ruin of the place they had just left. I think that, if they had been given the chance, they would again have forgotten who they were and where they came from and would have lain down and enjoyed themselves, half asleep, listening to the growing of the trees. But this time there was something that kept them as wide-awake as possible: for as soon as they had got out on to the grass, they found that they were not alone. The Queen, or the Witch (whichever you like to call her) had come up with them, holding on fast by Pollys hair. That was why Polly had been shouting out "Let go!”
"Andrew," said Aunt Letty, looking him straight in the face, "I wonder you are not ashamed to ask me for money.”
Now that you saw her in the wood, Queen Jadis looked different. She was much paler than she had been; so pale that hardly any of her beauty was left. Andshe was stooped and seemed to be finding it hard to breathe, as if the air of that place stifled her. Neither of the children felt in the least afraid of her now.
"Peace! You talk far too much. Listen to your first task. I see we are in a large city.
It was the look that all wicked Magicians have, the "Mark" which Jadis had said she could not find in Digorys face. One good thing about seeing the two together was that you would never again be afraid of Uncle Andrew, any more than youd be afraid of a worm after you had met a rattlesnake or afraid of a cow after you had met a mad bull.
"Now pray dont be troublesome, my dear gel," said Uncle Andrew. "Its most important.
Uncle Andrew kept on rubbing his hands and bowing. He was trying to say something very polite, but his mouth had gone all dry so that he could not speak. His "experiment”
Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind. At this moment Uncle Andrew was beginning to be silly in a very grown-up way. Now that the Witch was no longer in the same room with him he was quickly forgetting how she had frightened him and thinking more and more of her wonderful beauty. He kept on saying to himself, "A dem fine woman, sir, a dem fine woman. A superb creature." He had also somehow managed to forget that it was the children who had got hold of this "superb creature": he felt as if he himself by his Magic had called her out of unknown worlds.
"Here! Let go of her hair. At once," said Digory.
"Sorry?" exclaimed Digory. "Well now, if that isnt just like a girl! What have I done?”
Uncle Andrew was bowing and rubbing his hands and looking, to tell the truth, extremely frightened. He seemed a little shrimp of a creature beside the Witch. And yet, as Polly said after wards, there was a sort of likeness between her face and his, something in the expression.
"Peace," said the Witch. "I see what you are. You are a little, peddling Magician who works by rules and books. There is no real Magic in your blood and heart. Your kind was made an end of in my world a thousand years ago. But here I shall allow you to be my servant.”
"Oh dont be such an ass," said Polly. "Ten to one shes only shamming. Do come on.”
"Well do, do come back as soon as you can," said Digory. "This is simply ghastly, having her here. We must make some sort of plan.”
"Help! Help! Mercy!" cried the Witch in a faint voice, staggering after them. "Take me with you. You cannot. mean to leave me in this horrible place. It is killing me.”
They both turned and struggled with her. They were stronger than she and in a few seconds they had forced her to let go. She reeled back, panting, and there was a look of terror in her eyes.
"Ah - ah - Madam," gasped Uncle Andrew, "I am most honoured - highly gratified - a most unexpected, pleasure - if only I had had the opportunity of making any preparations - I - I -”
"I - I am, Madam. I hope you will excuse any - er -. liberty these naughty children may have taken. I assure you, there was no intention -”
At that moment the door was suddenly flung open. Aunt Letty looked round and saw with amazement that an enormous woman, splendidly dressed, with bare arms and flashing eyes, stood in the doorway. It was the Witch.
"Stop," said the Witch, just as he reached the door. "Do not dream of treachery. My eyes can see through walls and into the minds of men. They will be on you wherever you go.
with the rings, as he calledit, was turning out more successful than he liked: for though he had dabbled in Magic for years he had always left all the dangers (as far as one can) to other people. Nothing at all like this had ever happened to him before.
"Upon my word," he said to himself. "Im dreadfully shaken. Most upsetting! And at my time of life!”
We must now go back to Uncle Andrew. His poor old heart went pit-a-pat as he staggered down the attic stairs and he kept on dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief. When he reached his bedroom, which was the floor below, he locked himself in. And the very first thing he did was to grope in his wardrobe for a bottle and a wine-glass which he always kept hidden there where Aunt Letty could not find them. He poured himself out a glassful of some nasty, grown-up drink and drank it off at one gulp.
"Where is the Magician who has called me into this world?”
"It isnt that sort of thing," said Digory. "What Im bothered about is Mother. Suppose that creature went into her room. She might frighten her to death.”
"Let go! Let go of my hair," said Polly. "What do you mean by it?”
This proved, by the way, another thing about the rings which Uncle Andrew hadnt told Digory because he didnt know it himself. In order to jump from world to world by one of those rings you dont need to be wearing or touching it yourself; it is enough if you are touching someone who is touching it. In that way they work like a magnet; and everyone knows that if you pick up a pin with a magnet, any other pin which is touching the first pin will come too.
"A - a most distinguished visitor has just arrived.”
"Pooh!" thought Digory to himself. "Him a Magician!
"Whew!" said Polly, letting out a long breath of relief. "And now I must get home. Its frightfully late. I shall catch it.”
"I shall go home by the tunnel," said Polly rather coldly. "Thatll be the quickest way.
"And who, pray, are you going to entertain, Andrew?" asked Aunt Letty.
He poured out a second glass and drank it too; then he began to change his clothes. You have never seen such clothes, but I can remember them. He put on a very high, shiny, stiff collar of the sort that made you hold your chin up all the time. He put on a white waistcoat with a pattern on it and arranged his gold watch chain across the front. He put on his best frock-coat, the one he kept for weddings and funerals. He got out his best tall hat and polished it up. There was a vase of flowers (put there by Aunt Letty) on his dressing table; he took one and put it in his buttonhole. He took a clean handkerchief (a lovely one such as you couldnt buy today) out of the little lefthand drawer and put a few drops of scent on it. He took his eye-glass, with the thick black ribbon, and screwed it into his eye; then he looked at himself in the mirror.
"Thats up to your Uncle now," said Polly. "It was he who started all this messing about with Magic.”
And if you want me to come back, hadnt you better say youre sorry?”
Then Jadis spoke; not very loud, but there was something in her voice that made the whole room quiver.
"I - I - Ill go and order a cab at once," gasped Uncle Andrew.
You will put me in a deucedly awkward position if you dont.”
You are not of royal blood, Ill swear.”
"Andrew, my boy," he said to himself as he looked in the glass, "youre a devilish well preserved fellow for your age. A distinguished-looking man, sir.”
"My dear gel," said Uncle Andrew, "you dont understand. I shall have some quite unexpected expenses today. I have to do a little entertaining. Come now, dont be tiresome.”
he may have been right, for some say there is giantish blood in the royal family of Charn.
Not much. Now shes the real thing.”
"Oh," said Digory, very surprised. "Well, alright, Ill say Im sorry. And I really am sorry about what happened in the waxworks room. There: Ive said Im sorry. And now, do be decent and come back. I shall be in a frightful hole if you dont.”
There was a long, dull story of a grown-up kind behind these words. All you need to know about it is that Uncle Andrew, what with "managing dear Lettys business matters for her", and never doing any work, and running up large bills for brandy and cigars (which Aunt Letty had paid again and again) had made her a good deal poorer than she had been thirty years ago.
At the first sign of disobedience I will lay such spells on you that anything you sit down on will feel like red hot iron and whenever you lie in a bed there will be invisible blocks of ice at your feet. Now go.”
"No, Andrew dear," said Aunty Letty in her firm, quiet voice, without looking up from her work. "Ive told you times without number that I will not lend you money.”
"Oh, I see," said Polly in rather a different voice. "Alright. Well call it Pax. Ill come back - if I can. But I must go now." And she crawled through the little door into the tunnel; and that dark place among the rafters which had seemed so exciting and adventurous a few hours ago, seemed quite tame and homely now.
"Well - ah - not perhaps in the strict sense," stammered Uncle Andrew. "Not exactly royal, Maam. The Ketterleys are, however, a very old family. An old Dorsetshire family, Maam.”
"All the same, you will come back, wont you? Hang it all, you cant leave me alone in a scrape like this.”
"I should be most happy - delighted to be of any service - a p-pleasure, I assure you.”
But you could tell by the way Jadis tapped her foot on the floor that she was growing impatient.
"I see," she said scornfully, "you are a Magician - of a sort. Stand up, dog, and dont sprawl there as if you were speaking to your equals. How do you come to know Magic?
Procure for me at once a chariot or a flying carpet or a well-trained dragon, or whatever is usual for royal and noble persons in your land. Then bring me to places where I can get clothes and jewels and slaves fit for my rank. Tomorrow I will begin the conquest of the world.”
You see, the foolish old man was actually beginning to imagine the Witch would fall in love with him. The two drinks probably had something to do with it, and so had his best clothes. But he was, in any case, as vain as a peacock; that was why he had become a Magician.
But even her height was nothing compared with her beauty, her fierceness, and her wildness. She looked ten times more alive than most of the people one meets in London.
"Quick, Digory!" said Polly. "Change rings and into the home pool.”
The children were now afraid that Jadis would have something to say to them about what had happened in the wood. As it turned out, however, she never mentioned it either then or afterwards. I think (and Digory thinks too) that her mind was of a sort which cannot remember that quiet place at all, and however often you took her there and however long you left her there, she would still know nothing about it. Now that she was left alone with the children, she took no notice of either of them. And that was like her too. In Charn she had taken no notice of Pony (till the very end) because Digory was the one she wanted to make use of. Now that she had Uncle Andrew, she took no notice of Digory. I expect most witches are like that. They are not interested in things or people unless they can use them; they are terribly practical. So there was silence in the room for a minute or two.
"Its a reason of State," said Polly spitefully. "Like when you killed all those people in your own world. Do be quick, Digory." They had put on their green rings, but Digory said: "Oh bother! What are we to do?" He couldnt help feeling a little sorry for the Queen.
"You?" said the Queen in a still more terrible voice. Then, in one stride, she crossed the room, seized a great handful of Uncle Andrews grey hair and pulled his head back so that his face looked up into hers. Then she studied his face as she had studied Digorys face in the palace of Charn. He blinked and licked his lips nervously all the time. At last she let him go: so suddenly that he reeled back against the wall.
And well he might stare. Digory and Polly stared too. There was no doubt that the Witch had got over her faintness; and now that one saw her in our own world, with ordinary things around her, she fairly took ones breath away. In Charn she had been alarming enough: in London, she was terrifying. For one thing, they had not realized till now how very big she was. "Hardly human" was what Digory thought when he looked at her; and
Then he drew a deep breath.
"Where is the Magician, Fool?" said Jadis.
And then both children plunged into the home pool. "Its a good thing we made that mark," thought Polly. But as they jumped Digory felt that a large cold finger and thumb had caught him by the ear. And as they sank down and the confused shapes of our own world began to appear, the grip of that finger and thumb grew stronger. The Witch was apparently recovering her strength. Digory struggled and kicked, but it was not of the least use. In a moment they found themselves in Uncle Andrews study; and there was Uncle Andrew himself, staring at the wonderful creature that Digory had brought back from beyond the world.
"Distinguished fiddlestick!" said Aunt Letty. "There hasnt been a ring at the hell for the last hour.”
"Oh nothing of course," said Polly sarcastically. "Only nearly screwed my wrist off in that room with all the waxworks, like a cowardly bully. Only struck the bell with the hammer, like a silly idiot. Only turned back in the wood so that she had time to catch hold of you before we jumped into our own pool. Thats all.”
The old man went out, looking like a dog with its tail between its legs.
"Ah, Letitia my dear," said Uncle Andrew, "I - ah have to go out. Just lend me five pounds or so, theres a good gel." ("Gel" was the way he pronounced girl.)
"I dont seewhats going to happen to you. Its Mr Ketterley whos going to sit on red hot chairs and have ice in his bed, isnt it?”
"Im not touching you!" said Digory.
THE BEGINNING OF UNCLE ANDREWS TROUBLES "LET go! Let go!" screamed Polly.
He unlocked the door, went downstairs, sent the housemaid out to fetch a hansom (everyone had lots of servants in those days) and looked into the drawingroom. There, as he expected, he found Aunt Letty. She was busily mending a mattress. It lay on the floor near the window and she was kneeling on it.
