The attic was searched, to prevent mistakes, but quite vainly.
“The best thing we can do,” said Cyril, “is to go through the half Amulet straight away, get the whole Amulet, and come back.”
“I don’t know,” Anthea hesitated. “Would that be quite fair? Perhaps he isn’t really a base deceiver. Perhaps something’s happened to him.”
“Happened?” said Cyril, “not it! Besides, what _could_ happen?”
“I don’t know,” said Anthea. “Perhaps burglars came in the night, and accidentally killed him, and took away the—all that was mortal of him, you know—to avoid discovery.”
“Or perhaps,” said Cyril, “they hid the—all that was mortal, in one of those big trunks in the box-room. _Shall we go back and look?_” he added grimly.
“No, no!” Jane shuddered. “Let’s go and tell the Psammead and see what it says.”
“No,” said Anthea, “let’s ask the learned gentleman. If anything _has_ happened to Rekh-marā a gentleman’s advice would be more useful than a Psammead’s. And the learned gentleman’ll only think it’s a dream, like he always does.”
They tapped at the door, and on the “Come in” entered. The learned gentleman was sitting in front of his untasted breakfast. Opposite him, in the easy chair, sat Rekh-marā!
“Hush!” said the learned gentleman very earnestly, “please, hush! or the dream will go. I am learning... Oh, what have I not learned in the last hour!”
“In the grey dawn,” said the Priest, “I left my hiding-place, and finding myself among these treasures from my own country, I remained. I feel more at home here somehow.”
“Of course I know it’s a dream,” said the learned gentleman feverishly, “but, oh, ye gods! what a dream! By Jove!...”
“Call not upon the gods,” said the Priest, “lest ye raise greater ones than ye can control. Already,” he explained to the children, “he and I are as brothers, and his welfare is dear to me as my own.”
“He has told me,” the learned gentleman began, but Robert interrupted. This was no moment for manners.
“Have you told him,” he asked the Priest, “all about the Amulet?”
“Then tell him now. He is very learned. Perhaps he can tell us what to do.”
Rekh-marā hesitated, then told—and, oddly enough, none of the children ever could remember afterwards what it was that he did tell. Perhaps he used some magic to prevent their remembering.