lovely things, necklaces and rivers of diamonds and tarrers?"

"_Ti--aras_," said Cyril.

"Ti--aras, then,--and rings and everything in her room when she came
home. I wish she would"--

The others gazed at her in horror.

"Well, she _will_," said Robert; "you've wished, my good Jane--and our
only chance now is to find the Psammead, and if it's in a good temper
it _may_ take back the wish and give us another. If not--well--goodness
knows what we're in for!--the police of course, and---- Don't cry,
silly! We'll stand by you. Father says we need never to be afraid if we
don't do anything wrong and always speak the truth."

But Cyril and Anthea exchanged gloomy glances. They remembered how
convincing the truth about the Psammead had been once before when told
to the police.

It was a day of misfortunes. Of course the Psammead could not be found.
Nor the jewels, though every one of the children searched the mother's
room again and again.

"Of course," Robert said, "_we_ couldn't find them. It'll be mother
who'll do that. Perhaps she'll think they've been in the house for years
and years, and never know they are the stolen ones at all."

"Oh yes!" Cyril was very scornful; "then mother will be a receiver of
stolen goods, and you know jolly well what _that's_ worse than."

Another and exhaustive search of the sand-pit failed to reveal the
Psammead, so the children went back to the house slowly and sadly.

"I don't care," said Anthea stoutly, "we'll tell mother the truth, and
she'll give back the jewels--and make everything all right."

"Do you think so?" said Cyril slowly. "Do you think she'll believe us?
Could anyone believe about a Sammyadd unless they'd seen it? She'll
think we're pretending. Or else she'll think we're raving mad, and then
we shall be sent to the mad-house. How would you like it?"--he turned
suddenly on the miserable Jane,--"how would you like it, to be shut up
in an iron cage with bars and padded walls, and nothing to do but stick
straws in your hair all day, and listen to the howlings and ravings of
the other maniacs? Make up your minds to it, all of you. It's no use
telling mother."

"But it's true," said Jane.

"Of course it is, but it's not true enough for grown-up people to
believe it," said Anthea.

"Cyril's right. Let's put flowers in all the vases, and try not to think
about the diamonds. After all, everything has come right in the end all
the other times."

So they filled all the