Part 1, Chapter 7 Summary

Lyra is put to work aboard the ship. Unbeknownst to Lyra, the police have been vigorously seeking her out because, as the Costas have come to realize, she is important. When the boat passes through a waterway that is being scoured by police, Lyra is hidden in a secret compartment of the vessel, which is lined with cedar wood, a wood that dulls the senses of the police's daemons. As they travel farther north, Lyra listens to stories about the Gyptians and begins to get a Gyptian accent. Ma Costa tells her, "You en't Gyptian...We're water people...you're a fire person...you got witch oil in your soul."

When they arrive at the Zaal, or meeting place, they discover that the Roping is this evening and that everyone is anxious to see the missing child, who is rumored to be...