“Why！ I declare，” she said. “That humming noise gets louder here. It’s almost as if the rings were making it.”
“What a funny fancy， my dear，” said Uncle Andrew with a laugh. It sounded a very natural laugh， but Digory had seen an eager， almost a greedy， look on his face.
“Polly！ Don‘t be a fool！” he shouted. “Don’t touch them.”
It was too late. Exactly as he spoke， Polly‘s hand went out to touch one of the rings. And immediately， without a flash or a noise or a warning of any sort， there was no Polly. Digory and his Uncle were alone in the room.
Digory And His Uncle
It was so sudden， and so horribly unlike anything that had ever happened to Digory even in a nightmare， that he let out a scream. Instantly Uncle Andrew’s hand was over his mouth. “None of that！” he hissed in Digory‘s ear. “If you start making a noise your Mother’ll hear it. And you know what a fright might do to her.”
As Digory said afterwards， the horrible meanness of getting at a chap in that way almost made him sick. But of course he didn‘t scream again.
“That’s better，” said Uncle Andrew. “Perhaps you couldn‘t help it. It is a shock when you first see someone vanish. Why， it gave even me a turn when the guinea.pig did it the other night.”
