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第10章

the last battle_c·s·刘易斯-第10章

小说: the last battle_c·s·刘易斯 字数: 每页3500字

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〃look!〃 he cried。 〃look at it! look; look!鈥

then all six of them saw; and over all their faces there came an expression  of uttermost dismay。

 



CHAPTER EIGHT

灏彛胯?txt?澶╁爞
what news the eagle brought   in the shadow of the trees on the far side of the clearing something was  moving。 it was gliding very slowly northward。 at a first glance you might have mistaken it  for smoke; for it was grey and you could see things through it。 but the deathly smell  was not the smell of smoke。 also; this thing kept its shape instead of billowing and  curling as smoke  

would have done。 it was roughly the shape of a man but it had the head of a  bird; some bird of prey with a cruel; curved beak。 it had four arms which it held high  above its head; stretching them out northward as if it wanted to snatch all narnia in its  grip; and its fingers … all twenty of them … were curved like its beak and had long;  pointed; bird…like claws instead of nails。 it floated on the grass instead of walking; and the  grass seemed to wither beneath it。

after one look at it puzzle gave a screaming bray and darted into the  tower。 and jill (who was no coward; as you know) hid her face in her hands to shut out the  sight of it。

the others watched it for perhaps a minute; until it streamed away into the  thicker trees on their right and disappeared。 then the sun came out again; and the birds  once more began to sing。

everyone started breathing properly again and moved。 they had all been  still as statues while it was in sight。

〃what was it?〃 said eustace in a whisper。

〃i have seen it once before;〃 said tirian。 〃but that time it was carved in  stone and overlaid with gold and had solid diamonds for eyes。 it was when i was no  older than thou; and had gone as a guest to the tisrocs court in tashbaan。

he took me into the great temple of tash。 there i saw it; carved above the  altar。鈥

〃then that … that thing … was tash?〃 said eustace。

but instead of answering him tirian slipped his arm behind jills shoulders  and said; 〃how is it with you; lady?鈥

〃a…all right;〃 said jill; taking her hands away from her pale face and  trying to smile。 〃im all right。 it only made me feel a little sick for a moment。鈥

〃it seems; then;〃 said the unicorn; 〃that there is a real tash; after all。鈥

〃yes;〃 said the dwarf。 〃and this fool of an ape; who didnt believe in  tash; will get more than he bargained for! he called for tash: tash has e。鈥

〃where has it … he … the thing … gone to?〃 said jill。

〃north into the heart of narnia;〃 said tirian。 〃it has e to dwell among  us。 they have called it and it has e。鈥

〃ho; ho; ho!〃 chuckled the dwarf; rubbing his hairy hands together。 〃it  will be a surprise for the ape。 people shouldnt call for demons unless they really mean what  they say。鈥

〃who knows if tash will be visible to the ape?〃 said jewel。

〃where has puzzle got to?〃 said eustace。

they all shouted out puzzles name and jill went round to the other side of  the tower to see if he had gone there。

they were quite tired of looking for him when at last his large grey head  peered cautiously out of the doorway and he said; 〃has it gone away?〃 and when at  last they got him to e out; he was shivering the way a dog shivers before a  thunderstorm。

〃i see now;〃 said puzzle; 〃that i really have been a very bad donkey。 i  ought never to have listened to shift。 i never thought things like this would begin to  happen。鈥

〃if youd spent less time saying you werent clever and more time trying to  be as clever as you could …〃 began eustace but jill interrupted him。

〃oh leave poor old puzzle alone;〃 she said。 〃it was all a mistake; wasnt  it; puzzle dear?鈥

and she kissed him on the nose。

though rather shaken by what they had seen; the whole party now sat down  again and went on with their talk。

jewel had little to tell them。 while he was a prisoner he had spent nearly  all his time tied up at the back of the stable; and had of course heard none of the enemies  plans。 he had been kicked (hed done some kicking back too) and beaten and threatened  with death unless he would say that he believed it was aslan who was brought out and  shown to them by firelight every night。 in fact he was going to be executed this  very morning if he had not been rescued。 he didnt know what had happened to the lamb。

the question they had to decide was whether they would go to stable hill  again that night; show puzzle to the narnians and try to make them see how they had  been tricked; or whether they should steal away eastward to meet the help which roonwit  the centaur was bringing up from cair paravel and return against the ape and his  calormenes in force。 tirian would very much like to have followed the first plan: he  hated the idea of leaving the ape to bully his people one moment longer than need be。 on the  other hand; the way the dwarfs had behaved last night was a warning。 apparently one  couldnt be sure how people would take it even if he showed them puzzle。 and there were  the calormene soldiers to be reckoned with。 poggin thought there were about  thirty of them。

tirian felt sure that if the narnians all rallied to his side; he and jewel  and the children and poggin (puzzle didnt count for much) would have a good chance of  beating them。

but how if half the narnians … including all the dwarfs … just sat and  looked on? or even fought against him? the risk was too great。 and there was; too; the cloudy  shape of tash。

what might it do?

and then; as poggin pointed out; there was no harm in leaving the ape to  deal with his own difficulties for a day or two。 he would have no puzzle to bring out and  show now。 it  

wasnt easy to see what story he … or ginger could make up to explain that。  if the beasts asked night after night to see aslan; and no aslan was brought out; surely  even the simplest of them would get suspicious。

in the end they all agreed that the best thing was to go off and try to  meet roonwit。

as soon as they had decided this; it was wonderful how much more cheerful  everyone became。 i dont honestly think that this was because any of them was afraid  of a fight (except perhaps jill and eustace)。 but i daresay that each of them; deep  down inside; was very glad not to go any nearer … or not yet … to that horrible bird…headed  thing which; visible or invisible; was now probably haunting stable hill。 anyway; one  always feels better when one has made up ones mind。

tirian said they had better remove their disguises; as they didnt want to  be mistaken for calormenes and perhaps attacked by any loyal narnians they might meet。 the  dwarf made up a horrid…looking mess of ashes from the hearth and grease out of  the jar of grease which was kept for rubbing on swords and spear…heads。 then they took  off their calormene armour and went down to the stream。 the nasty mixture made a  lather just like soft soap: it was a pleasant; homely sight to see tirian and the two  children kneeling beside the water and scrubbing the backs of their necks or puffing and  blowing as they splashed the lather off。 then they went back to the tower with red; shiny  faces; like people who have been given an extra good wash before a party。 they re…armed themselves in true narnian style; with straight swords and three…cornered  shields。 〃body of me;〃 said tirian。 〃that is better。 i feel a true man again。鈥

puzzle begged very hard to have the lion…skin taken off him。 he said it was  too hot and the way it was rucked up on his back was unfortable: also; it made him  look so silly。

but they told him he would have to wear it a bit longer; for they still  wanted to show him in that get…up to the other beasts; even though they were now going to meet  roonwit first。

what was left of the pigeon…meat and rabbit…meat was not worth bringing  away but they took some biscuits。 then tirian locked the door of the tower and that was  the end of their stay there。

it was a little after two in the afternoon when they set out; and it was  the first really warm day of that spring。 the young leaves seemed to be much further out than  yesterday: the snow…drops were over; but they saw several primroses。 the sunlight slanted  through the trees; birds sang; and always (though usually out of sight) there was the  noise of running water。 it was hard to think of horrible things like tash。 the children  felt; 〃this is really narnia at last。〃 even tirians heart grew lighter as he walked ahead of  them; humming an old narnian marching song which had the refrain:  ho; rumble; rumble; rumble; rumble drum belaboured。

after the king came eustace and poggin the dwarf。 poggin was telling  eustace the names of all the narnian trees; birds; and plants which he didnt know  already。

sometimes eustace would tell him about english ones。

after them came puzzle; and after him jill and jewel walking very close  together。 jill had; as you might say; quite fallen in love with the unicorn。 she thought…  and she wasnt far wrong … that he was the shiningest; delicatest; most graceful animal  she had ever met: and he was so gentle and soft of speech that; if you hadnt known; you  would hardly have believed how fierce and terrible he could be in battle。

〃oh; this is nice!〃 said jill。 〃just walking along like this。 i wish there  could be more of this sort of adventure。 its a pity theres always so much happening in  narnia。鈥

but the unicorn explained to her that she was quite mistaken。 he said that  the sons and daughters of adam and eve were brought out of their own strange world into  narnia only at times when narnia was stirred and upset; but she mustnt think it  was always like that。 in between their visits there were hundreds and thousands of years  when peaceful king followed peaceful king till you could hardly remember their names or  count their numbers; and there was really hardly anything to put into the history  books。 and he went on to talk of old queens and heroes whom she had never heard of。 he  spoke of swanwhite the queen who had lived before the days of the white witch and  the great winter; who was so beautiful that when she looked into any forest pool the  reflection of her face shone out of the water like a star by night for a year and a day  afterwards。 he spoke of moonwood the hare who had such ears that he could sit by caldron  pool under the thunder of the great waterfall and hear what men spoke in whispers at  cair paravel。

he told how king gale; who was ninth in descent from frank the first of all  kings; had sailed far away into the eastern seas and delivered the lone islanders from  a dragon and how; in return; they had given him the lone islands to be part of the royal  lands of narnia for ever。 he talked of whole centuries in which all narnia was so happy  that notable dances and feasts; or at most tournaments; were the only things that could  be remembered; and every day and week had been better than the last。 and as he  went on; the picture of all those happy years; all the thousands of them; piled up  in jills mind till it was rather like looking down from a high hill on to a rich; lovely plain  full of woods and waters and cornfields; which spread away and away till it got thin and  misty from distance。 and she said:

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