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that? The gold your men are shoveling up there is enough to last you at least two lifetimes.

We're going home now!"

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She was about to turn around, but Flatnose, who had finally remembered he was meant to be

guarding Elinor, seized her arm roughly. Mo looked up at Capricorn,

Basta, smiling unpleasantly, laid his hand on Meggie's shoulder. "Get on with it, Silvertongue!" he

said. "You heard. There are still plenty of books here."

Mo looked at Meggie for a long time before bending to pick up the book he had chosen first:

Tales From the Thousand and One Nights.

"The book that goes on and on forever," he murmured, opening it. "Did you know the Arabs say

no one can read it right through to the end, Meggie?"

She shook her head as she sat down beside him on the cold flagstones. Basta let her, but he

planted himself right behind her. Meggie didn't know much about The Thousand and One Nights

except that it was really a book in many volumes. The copy that Darius had given Mo could only

be a small selection. Were Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in it, and Aladdin and the Wonderful

Lamp? Which story would Mo read?

Meggie thought she saw contradictory feelings on the faces °f Capricorn's men: fear of what Mo

might bring to life and, at the same time, a wish, a yearning almost, to once more be carried

away by his voice, transported far away to a place where they could forget everything, even

themselves.

There was no smell of salt and rum when Mo began reading this time. The air in Capricorn's

church grew hot. Meggie's eyes began to burn, and when she rubbed them she found sand

sticking to her knuckles. Once again, Capricorn's men listened to Mo's voice with bated breath,

as if they were turned to stone. Capricorn alone seemed to feel nothing of the magic. But his eyes

showed that even he was spellbound. They were fixed on Mo's face, as unmoving as the eyes of a

snake. His red suit made his pupils look even more washed out, and his body seemed tense, like

a dog scenting its prey. But this time Mo disappointed him.

The words offered up no riches, none of the treasure chests, pearls, and swords set with

precious stones that Mo's voice conjured up, shining and sparkling, until Capricorn's men felt as

if they could pluck them from the air. Something else slipped out of the pages, though, something

breathing, a creature made of flesh and blood.

A boy was suddenly standing between the still smoldering braziers where Capricorn had burned

the books. Meggie was the only one to notice him. All the others were too absorbed in the story.

Even Mo didn't see him, far away as he was, somewhere in the sand and the wind as his eyes

made their way through the labyrinth of letters.

The boy was some three or four years older than Meggie. The turban around his head was dirty,

his eyes dark with fear in his brown face. He blinked and rubbed them as if he could wipe it all

away — the wrong picture, the wrong place. He looked around the church as if he had never

seen such a building before, how could he have? There wouldn't be any churches with spires in

his story, or green hills like those he would see outside. The robe he wore went down to his

brown feet, and in the dim light of the church it shone blue as a patch of the sky.

Meggie wondered: What will happen when they see him? He's certainly not what Capricorn was

hoping for.

But Capricorn had already noticed the boy.

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"Stop!" he commanded, so sharply that Mo broke off in mid-sentence and raised his head.

Abruptly, and rather unwillingly, Capricorn's men returned to reality. Cockerell was the first on

his feet. "Hey, where did he come from?" he growled.

The boy ducked, looked around with a terrified expression, and ran for it, doubling back and

forth like a rabbit. But he didn't get far. Three men immediately sprang forward and caught him

at the feet of Capricorn's statue.

Mo put the book down on the flagstones beside him and buried his face in his hands.

"Hey, Fulvio's gone!" cried one of Capricorn's men. "Vanished into thin air!" They all stared at

Mo. There it was again, the nervousness in their faces, but this time mingled not with admiration

but with anger.

"Get rid of that boy, Silvertongue!" ordered Capricorn angrily. "I have more than enough of his

kind. And bring Fulvio back."

Mo took his hands away from his face and stood up.

For the millionth time, I can't bring anyone back," he said. "The fact that you don't believe me

doesn't make that a le- I can't do it. I can't decide who or what comes out of a book, nor who goes

into it."

Meggie reached for Mo's hand. Some of Capricorn's men came closer, two of them holding the

boy. They were pulling on his arms as if to tear him in half. Eyes wide with terror, the boy stared

into their unfamiliar faces.

"Back to your places!" Capricorn ordered the angry men. A couple of them were already

dangerously close to Mo. "Why all this fuss? Have you forgotten how stupidly Fulvio acted on the

last job? We almost had the police down on us. So it's the right man to have gone. And who

knows, perhaps this lad will turn out to have a talent for arson. All the same, I want to see pearls

now. And gold and jewels. After all, they're what this story is all about, so let's have some!"

An uneasy murmuring rose among the men. Nonetheless, most of them returned to the steps

and perched once more on the worn treads. Only three still stood in front of Mo, staring at him

with intense hostility. One of them was Basta. "Very well, so we can dispense with Fulvio," he

said, never taking his eyes off Mo. "But who is this wretched wizard going to magic into thin air

next time? I don't want to end up in some thrice-accursed desert story and find myself going

around in a turban all of a sudden!" The men standing near him nodded in agreement and

looked at Mo so darkly that Meggie almost stopped breathing.

"Basta, I won't tell you again." Capricorn's voice sounded menacingly calm. "Let him go on

reading, all of you. And anyone whose teeth start chattering with fear had better go outside and

help the women with the laundry."

Some of the men looked longingly at the church door, but none ventured to leave. Finally, even

the two who had been standing beside Basta turned without a word and sat down with the

others.

"You'll pay for Fulvio yet!" Basta whispered to Mo before he restationed himself behind Meggie

again. Why couldn't he have disappeared? she thought.

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The boy still hadn't uttered a sound.

"Lock him up. We'll see if he can be of any use to us later," ordered Capricorn.

The boy did not resist as Flatnose led him away. Apparently numb, he stumbled along as if he

were still expecting to wake up. When would he realize this dream was never going to end?

When the door closed behind the two of them Capricorn returned to his chair. "Go on reading,

Silvertongue," he said. "We still have a long day ahead of us."

But Mo looked at the books lying at his feet and shook his head. "No," he said. "You saw. It

happened again. I'm tired. Be content with what I've brought you from Treasure Island. Those

coins are worth a fortune. I want to go home, and I never want to set eyes on you again." His

voice sounded rougher than usual, as if it had read too many words aloud.

Capricorn looked at Mo appraisingly before turning his eyes to the bags and chests his men had

filled with coins. He seemed to be working out how long their contents would keep him in

comfort.

"Yes, you're right," he said at last. "We'll go on tomorrow. Otherwise we might find a stinking

camel turning up here next, or another half-starved boy."

"Tomorrow?" Mo took a step toward him. "What do you mean? Aren't you satisfied yet? One of

your men has disappeared already. Do you want to be the next?"

'I can live with the risk," replied Capricorn, unimpressed, men leaped to their feet as he rose

from his chair and walked slowly down the altar steps. They stood there like schoolboys,

although some of them were taller than Capricorn, hands clasped behind their backs as if at any

moment he might inspect their fingernails for cleanliness. Meggie couldn't help remembering

what Basta had said — how young he himself had been when he had joined Capricorn — and

she wondered whether it was out of fear or admiration that the men bowed their heads.

Capricorn had stopped beside one of the bulging money bags. "Oh, I have a great many plans for

you, Silvertongue, believe me," he said, putting his hand into the sack and running the coins

through his fingers. "Today was just a test. After all, I had to convince myself of your talents with

my own eyes and ears, right? I can certainly use all this gold, but tomorrow you're going to read

something else out of a book for me."

He strolled over to the boxes that had contained the books that were now burnt to ashes, and

reached into one. "Surprise!" he announced, smiling as he held up a single book. It didn't look at

all like the copy Meggie and Elinor had brought him. It still had a brightly colored paper dust

jacket with a picture that Meggie couldn't make out from a distance. "Oh yes, I still have one!"

remarked Capricorn, scanning the uncomprehending faces with pleasure. "My own personal

copy, you might say, and tomorrow, Silvertongue, you're going to read to me from it. As I was

saying, I like this world of yours very much indeed, but there's a friend from the old days that I

miss. I never let your substitute try his skill with my friend — I was afraid he might bring him

here without a head or with only one leg. But now I have you, and you're a master of your art.'

Mo was staring incredulously at the book in Capricorn s hand as if he expected it to dissolve into

thin air at any moment.

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"Have a rest, Silvertongue," said Capricorn. "Spare your precious voice. You'll have plenty of time

for that because I , have to go away, and I won't be back till noon tomorrow. Take these three

back to their quarters," he told his men. “Give them enough to eat and some blankets for the

night. Oh yes and get Mortola to bring him tea. That kind of thing works wonders on a hoarse,

tired voice. Didn't you always swear by tea sweetened with honey, Darius?" He turned

inquiringly to his old reader, who simply nodded and looked sympathetically at Mo.

"Back to our quarters? Do you mean that hole where your man with the knife put us last night?"

Elinor's cheeks were flushed red, whether in horror or indignation Meggie couldn't guess. "This

is wrongful detention! No, worse — abduction! That's it, abduction. Are you aware how many

years in jail you'd get for it?"

"Abduction!" Basta savored the word. "Sounds good to me. Really good."

Capricorn gave him a smile. Then he looked Elinor up and down as if he were seeing her for the

first time. "Basta," he said, "is this lady of any use to us?"

"Not that I know of," replied Basta, smiling like a child who has just been given permission to

smash a toy. Elinor went pale and tried to step backward, but Cockerell barred her way and held

her firmly.

"What do we generally do with useless things, Basta?" asked Capricorn quietly.

Basta went on smiling.

Stop that!" Mo said angrily to Capricorn. "Stop frightening her at once, or I'm not reading you

another word."

With every appearance of indifference, Capricorn turned his back to him. And Basta kept

smiling.

Meggie saw Elinor press a hand to her trembling lips and quickly went over to stand beside her.

"She's not useless. She knows more about books than anyone else in the world!" she said,

holding Elinor's other hand very tight.

Capricorn turned around. The look in his eyes made Meggie shudder, as if someone were

running cold fingers down her spine. His eyelashes were as pale as cobwebs.

"Elinor definitely knows more stories with treasure in them than that spineless reader of yours!"

Meggie stammered. "Definitely!"

Elinor squeezed Meggie's fingers hard. Her own hand was damp with sweat. "Yes, Absolutely,

that's true," she said huskily. "I'm sure I can think of several more."

"Well, well," was all Capricorn said, his curved lips tracing a smile. "We'll see." Then he gave his

men a signal, and they made Elinor, Meggie, and Mo file past the tables, past Capricorn's statue

and the red columns, and out through the heavy door that groaned as they pushed it open.

Outside, beyond the shadow of the church on the village square, the sun shone down from a

cloudless blue sky, and the air was filled with scents of summer. It was as if nothing unusual had

happened.

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Chapter 19 – Gloomy Prospects

The python dropped his head lightly for a moment on Mowgli's shoulders. "A brave heart