everyone kept expecting something awful to happen every minute. It was
most agitating; they knew from what the Psammead had said, that they
must have wished for something more than usually undesirable, and they
spent several hours in most agonizing uncertainty. It was not till
nearly dinner-time that Jane tumbled over _The Last of the
Mohicans_,--which had of course, been left face downwards on the
floor,--and when Anthea had picked her and the book up she suddenly
said, "I know!" and sat down flat on the carpet.

"Oh, Pussy, how awful! It was Indians he wished for--Cyril--at
breakfast, don't you remember? He said, 'I wish there were Red Indians
in England,'--and now there are, and they're going about scalping people
all over the country, as likely as not."

"Perhaps they're only in Northumberland and Durham," said Jane
soothingly. It was almost impossible to believe that it could really
hurt people much to be scalped so far away as that.

"Don't you believe it!" said Anthea. "The Sammyadd said we'd let
ourselves in for a nice thing. That means they'll come _here_. And
suppose they scalped the Lamb!"

"Perhaps the scalping would come right again at sunset," said Jane; but
she did not speak so hopefully as usual.

"Not it!" said Anthea. "The things that grow out of the wishes don't go.
Look at the fifteen shillings! Pussy, I'm going to break something, and
you must let me have every penny of money you've got. The Indians will
come _here_, don't you see? That Spiteful Psammead as good as said so.
You see what my plan is? Come on!"

Jane did not see at all. But she followed her sister meekly into
mother's bedroom.

Anthea lifted down the heavy water-jug--it had a pattern of storks and
long grasses on it, which Anthea never forgot. She carried it into the
dressing-room, and carefully emptied the water out of it into the bath.
Then she took the jug back into the bedroom and dropped it on the floor.
You know how a jug always breaks if you happen to drop it by accident.
If you happen to drop it on purpose, it is quite different. Anthea
dropped that jug three times, and it was as unbroken as ever. So at last
she had to take her father's boot-tree and break the jug with that in
cold blood. It was heartless work.

Next she broke open the missionary-box with the poker. Jane told her
that it was wrong, of course, but Anthea shut her lips very tight and
then said--

[Illustration: She broke open the missionary-box with t