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the farmers need good weather to bring in the crops.”
    “I never saw Muriel wearing anything like that,” Janet mused thoughtfully. “Did you, John?”
    Her husband shook his head.
    “She probably kept it hidden in case you sensed its magic,” the MacArthur said reasonably, “and you might have done, you know. After all,
she
knew that
you
wore firestones.”
    “She did?” They all looked at the MacArthur in complete astonishment.
    “But … she never said anything to any of us …” Mrs MacLean looked completely bewildered.
    “No, but she asked me about you all the same, and I think she was pleased to hear that you had helped us in so many ways.” Seeing that Mrs MacLean was still upset, he added gently. “She might have found it easier to say nothing, Janet,” and, as Mrs MacLean opened her mouth to disagree, he said quickly, “I know you might find it hard to accept but I think she’d have found explanations difficult. Anyway,’ he pointed out, ‘she knew that I would explain things to you afterwards.”
    “About the witches?”
    The MacArthur nodded. “About the witches,” he agreed. “The Earth Witches, that is, for the Queen of the Earth Witches was actually her cousin by marriage. She took Merial under her wing when she came to Scotland and that’s how Merial joined the ranks of the Earth Witches. She used the talisman’s magic well and more or less ruled with the queen. And because of their close relationship, the Queen of the Earth Witches quite naturally assumed that she would inherit the talisman when Merial died.”
    “You mean Merial left the talisman to someone else?” Janet asked.
    “No, she didn’t.”
    “What did she do with it, then?” queried Clara.
    “That’s the problem,” gestured the MacArthur, unhappily. “She’s hidden it somewhere. The witches are combing the countryside for it. They’re searching houses, farms, fields and woods.Everywhere and anywhere that Merial might have visited.”
    “So that’s why they were searching our house,” Janet sounded grim. “It would be the first place they’d look.”
    The MacArthur nodded.
    “Do they have anything at all to do with the crop circles that have been appearing?” Neil asked, sounding serious. “Dad and I saw one of them being made and there was no one in the field.”
    “Yes, that was the witches,” the MacArthur nodded.
    “Neil said that his firestone got really heavy,” Clara added curiously.
    “The witches would be working beneath the field,” the MacArthur explained. “That’s why his firestone was affected.”
    “One of the men went into the field while the circle was being made,” the Ranger said. “He passed out but seemed okay when he came round afterwards. It was really weird. Everyone knew that something strange was going on. The newspapers are full of it and everyone in the countryside is nervous.”
    “Nervous?” echoed Neil. “Scared, you mean!”
    “But why are the witches making crop circles anyway?” Janet asked.
    “It’s the custom,” the MacArthur explained. “The witches made them as a … a tribute to Merial. To honour her departure from this world. They couldn’t let her passing go unnoticed, you know. She was a lady of importance in her own right.”
    “Someone was looking at the crop circle through a crystal,” Neil said. “Dad and I recognized the light.”
    “Was it you, by any chance?” his father asked.
    The MacArthur nodded his head. “Yes,” he said, suddenly serious, “we were, of course, watching. As, I’m sure, were many others from the world of magic — including, I should imagine, her father, Lord Jezail.”

8. Scarecrows
    The poacher stood still and silent in the dark shadow of the trees, avoiding the slanting beams of moonlight that penetrated the leafy thickness of the wood. The quiet, rippling gurgle of the river sounded softly in the background as he glanced around, suddenly alert as he sensed that something was wrong. He turned his head