Both of them, without quite knowing why, were talking in whispers. And though there 
was no reason why they should still go on holding hands after their jump, they didn't let 
go.
    
    The walls rose very high all round that courtyard. They had many great windows in 
them, windows without glass, through which you saw nothing but black darkness. Lower down 
there were great pillared arches, yawning blackly like the mouths of railway tunnels. It 
was rather cold.
    
    The stone of which everything was built seemed to be red, but that might only be 
because of the curious light. It was obviously very old. Many of the flat stones that 
paved the courtyard had cracks across them. None of them fitted closely together and the 
sharp corners were all worn off. One of the arched doorways was half filled up with 
rubble. The two children kept on turning round and round to look at the different sides 
of the courtyard. One reason was that they were afraid of somebody-or something-looking 
out of those windows at them when their backs were turned.
    
    "Do you think anyone lives here?" said Digory at last, still in a whisper.
    
    "No," said Polly. "It's all in ruins. We haven't heard a sound since we came."
    
    "Let's stand still and listen for a bit," suggested Digory.
    
    They stood still and listened, but all they could hear was the thump-thump of their 
own hearts. This place was at least as quiet as the Wood between the Worlds. But it was a 
different kind of quietness. The silence of the Wood had been rich and warm (you could 
almost hear the trees growing) and full of life: this was a dead, cold, empty silence. 
You couldn't imagine anything growing in it.
    
    "Let's go home," said Polly.
    
    "But we haven't seen anything yet," said Digory. "Now we're here, we simply must have 
a look round."
    
    "I'm sure there's nothing at all interesting here."
    
    "There's not much point in finding a magic ring that lets you into other worlds if 
you're afraid to look at them when you've got there."
    
    "Who's talking about being afraid?" said Polly, letting go of Digory's hand.
    
    "I only thought you didn't seem very keen on exploring this place."
    
    "I'll go anywhere you go."
    
    "We can get away the moment we want to," said Digory. "Let's take off our green rings 
and put them in our right-hand pockets. All we've got to do is to remember that our 
yellow are in our left-hand pockets. You can keep your hand as near your pocket as you 
like, but don't put it in or you'll touch your yellow and vanish."
    
    They did this and went quietly up to one of the big arched doorways which led into 
the inside of the building. And when they stood on the threshold and could look in, they 
saw it was not so dark inside as they had thought at first. It led into a vast, shadowy 
hall which appeared to be empty; but on the far side there was a row of pillars with 
arches between them and through those arches there streamed in some more of the same 
tired-looking light. They crossed the hall, walking very carefully for fear of holes in 
the floor or of anything lying about that they might trip over. It seemed a long walk. 
When they had reached the other side they came out through the arches and found 
themselves in another and larger courtyard.
    
    "That doesn't look very safe," said Polly, pointing at a place where the wall bulged 
outward and looked as if it were ready to fall over into the courtyard. In one place a 
pillar was missing between two arches and the bit that came down to where the top of the 
pillar ought to have been hung there with nothing to support it. Clearly, the place had 
been deserted for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.
    
    "If it's lasted till now, I suppose it'll last a bit longer," said Digory. "But we 
must be very quiet. You know a noise sometimes brings things down-like an avalanche in 
the Alps."
    
    They went on out of that courtyard into another doorway, and up a great flight of 
steps and through vast rooms that opened out of one another till you were dizzy with the 
mere size of the place. Every now and then they thought they were going to get out into 
the open and see what sort of country lay around the enormous palace. But each time they 
only got into another courtyard. They must have been magnificent places when people were 
still living there. In one there had once been a fountain. A great stone monster with 
wide-spread wings stood with its mouth open and you could still see a bit of piping at 
the back of its mouth, out of which the water used to pour. Under it was a wide stone 
basin to hold the water; but it was as dry as a bone. In other places there were the dry 
sticks of some sort of climbing plant which had wound itself round the pillars and helped 
to pull some of them down. But it had died long ago. And there were no ants or spiders or 
any of the other living things you expect to see in a ruin; and where the dry earth 
showed between the broken flagstones there was no grass or moss.
    
    It was all so dreary and all so much the same that even Digory was thinking they had 
better put on their yellow rings and get back to the warm, green, living forest of the 
In-between place, when they came to two huge doors of some metal that might possibly be 
gold. One stood a little ajar. So of course they went to look in. Both started back and 
drew a long breath: for here at last was something worth seeing.
    
    For a second they thought the room was full of people-hundreds of people, all seated, 
and all perfectly still. Polly and Digory, as you may guess, stood perfectly still 
themselves for a good long time, looking in. But presently they decided that what they 
were looking at could not be real people. There was not a movement nor the sound of a 
breath among them all. They were like the most wonderful waxworks you ever saw.
    
    This time Polly took the lead. There was something in this room which interested her 
more than it interested Digory: all the figures were wearing magnificent clothes. If you 
were interested in clothes at all, you could hardly help going in to see them closer. And 
the blaze of their colours made this room look, not exactly cheerful, but at any rate