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《THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER》
CHAPTER ONE
THE PICTURE IN THE BEDROOM THERE was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarend masters called him Scrubb. I t tell you how his friends spoke to him, for he had none. He didnt call his Father and Mother "Father”
and "Mother", but Harold and Alberta. They were very up-to-date and advanced people.
They were vegetarians, non-smokers aallers and wore a special kind of underclothes. In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open.
Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of graiors or of fat fn children doing exercises in model schools.
Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins the four Pevensies, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. But he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were ing to stay.
For deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying; and, though he was a puny little person who couldnt have stood up even to Lucy, let alone Edmund, in a fight, he khat there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time if you are in your own home and they are only visitors.
Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to e and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta. But it really couldnt be helped. Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteehat summer, and Mother was to go with him because she hadnt had a real holiday for ten years. Peter was w very hard for an exam and he was to spend the holidays being coached by old Professor Kirke in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures long ago in the war years. If he had still been in that house he would have had them all to stay. But he had somehow bee poor sihe old days and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom to spare. It would have cost too much moo take the other three all to America, and Susan had gone.
Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family and she was no good at school work (though otherwise very old for her age) and Mother said she "would get far more out of a trip to America than the youngsters". Edmund and Lucy tried not te Susan her luck, but it was dreadful having to spend the summer holidays at their Aunts. "But its far worse for me," said Edmund, "because youll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker, Eustace.”
The story begins on an afternoon when Edmund and Lucy were stealin?9９ｌiｂ?g a few preinutes aloogether. And of course they were talking about Narnia, which was the name of their own private a try. Most of us, I suppose, have a secret try but for most of us it is only an imaginary try. Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect. Their secret try was real. They had already visited it twiot in a game or a dream but iy. They had got there of course by Magic, which is the only way of getting to Narnia. And a promise, or very nearly a promise, had been made them in Narnia itself that they would some day get back. You may imagihat they talked about it a good deal, when they got the ce.
They were in Lucys 九九藏书room, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the opposite wall. It was the only picture in the house that they liked. Aunt Alberta didnt like it at all (that was why it ut away in a little ba upstairs), but she could rid of it because it had been a wedding present from someone she did not want to offend.
It icture of a ship - a ship sailing straight towards you. Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with wide-open mouth. She had only one mast and one large, square sail which was a rich purple. The sides of the ship - what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon ended-were green. She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave, and the nearer slope of that wave came down towards you, with streaks and bubbles on it. She was obviously running fast before a gay wind, listing over a little on her port side. (By the way, if yoing to read this story at all, and if you dont know already, you had better get it into your head that the left of a ship when you are looking ahead, is port, and the right is starboard.) All the sunlight fell on her from that side, and the water on that side was full of greens and purples. On the other, it was darker blue from the shadow of the ship.
"The question is," said Edmund, "whether it doesnt make things worse, looking at a Narnian ship when you t get there.”
"Even looking is better than nothing," said Lucy. "And she is such a very Narnian ship.”
"Still playing your old game?" said Eustace Clarence, who had been listening outside the door and now came grinning into the room. Last year, when he had been staying with the Pevensies, he had mao hear them all talking of Narnia and he loved teasing them about it. He thought of course that they were making it all up; and as he was far too stupid to make anything up himself, he did not approve of that.
"Youre not wanted here," said Edmund curtly.
"Im trying to think of a limerick," said Eustace. "Something like this: "Some kids who played games about Narnia Got gradually balmier and balmier -”
"Well Narnia and balmier dont rhyme, to begin with," said Lucy.
"Its an assonance," said Eustace.
"Dont ask him what an assy-thingummy is," said Edmund. "Hes only longing to be asked. Say nothing and perhaps hell go away.”
Most boys, oing a reception like this, would either have cleared out or flared up.
Eustace did her. He just hung about grinning, and presently began talking again.
"Do you like that picture?" he asked.
"For heavens sake do him get started about Art and all that," said Edmund hurriedly, but Lucy, who was very truthful, had already said, "Yes, I do. I like it very much.”
"Its a rotten picture," said Eustace.
"You wo if you step outside," said Edmund.
"Why do you like it?" said Eustace to Lucy.
"Well, for ohing," said Lucy, "I like it because the ship looks as if it was really moving. And the water looks as if it was really wet. And the waves look as if they were really going up and down.”
Of course Eustaew lots of ao this, but he didnt say anything. The reason was that at that very moment he looked at the waves and saw that they did look very mudeed as if they were going up and down. He had only once been in a ship (and then only as far as the Isle of Wight) and had been horribly seasick. The look of the waves in the picture made him feel sick agaiurned rather green and tried another look. And then all three children were staring with open mouths.
What they were seeing may be hard to believe when you read it in print, but it was almost as hard to believe when you saw it happening. The things in the picture were moving. It didnt look at all like a ema either; the colours were too real and and out-of-doors for that. Dowhe prow of the ship into the wave and up went a great shock of spray. And then up went the wave behind her, aern and her deck became visible for the first time, and then disappeared as the wave came to meet her and her bows went up again. At the same moment an exercise book which had been lying beside Edmund on the bed flapped, rose and sailed through the air to the wall behind him, and Lucy felt all her hair whipping round her face as it does on a windy day. And this was a windy day; but the wind was blowing out of the picture towards them. And suddenly with the wind came the he swishing of waves and the slap of water against the ships sides and the creaking and the overall high steady roar of air and water. But it was the smell, the wild, briny smell, which really vinced Lucy that she was not dreaming.
"Stop it," came Eustaces voice, squeaky with fright and bad temper. "Its some silly trick you tlaying. Stop it. Ill tell Alberta - Ow!”
The other two were much more aced to adventures, but, just exactly as Eustace Clarence said "Ow," they both said "Ow" too. The reason was that a great cold, salt splash had broken right out of the frame and they were breathless from the smack of it, besides beihrough.
"Ill smash the rotten thing," cried Eustace; and then several things happe the same time. Eustace rushed towards the picture. Edmund, who knew something about magic, sprang after him, warning him to look out and not to be a fool. Lucy grabbed at him from the other side and was dragged forward. And by this time either they had grown much smaller or the picture had grown bigger. Eustace jumped to try to pull it off the wall and found himself standing on the frame; in front of him was not glass but real sea, and wind and waves rushing up to the frame as they might to a rock. He lost his head and clutched at the other two who had jumped up beside him. There was a sed of struggling and shouting, and just as they thought they had got their balance a great blue roller surged up round them, swept them off their feet, and drew them down into the sea. Eustaces despairing cry suddenly ended as the water got into his mouth.
Lucy thanked her stars that she had worked hard at her swimming last summer term. It is true that she would have got on much better if she had used a slower stroke, and also that the water felt a great deal colder than it had looked while it was only a picture. Still, she kept her head and kicked her shoes off, as everyone ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes. She eve her mouth shut and her eyes open. They were still quite he ship; she saw its green side t high above them, and people looking at her from the deck. Then, as one might have expected, Eustace clutched at her in a panid down they both went.
When they came up again she saw a white figure diving off the ships side. Edmund was close beside her now, treading water, and had caught the arms of the howliace.
Then someone else, whose face was vaguely familiar, slipped an arm under her from the other side. There was a lot of shouting going on from the ship, heads crowding together above the bulwarks, ropes being thrown. Edmund and the stranger were fastening ropes round her. After that followed what seemed a very long delay during which her face got blue aeeth began chattering. Iy the delay was not very long; they were waiting till the moment when she could be got on board the ship without being dashed against its side. Even with all their best endeavours she had a bruised knee when she finally stood, dripping and shivering, on the deck. After her Edmund was heaved up, and then the miserable Eustace. Last of all came the stranger - a golden-headed boy some years older than herself.
"Ca - Ca - Caspian!" gasped Lucy as soon as she had breath enough. For Caspian it was; Caspian, the boy king of Narnia whom they had helped to set ohrone during their last visit. Immediately Edmund reized him too. All three shook hands and clapped one another on the back with great delight.
"But who is your friend?" said Caspian almost at ourning to Eustace with his cheerful smile. But Eustace was g much harder than any boy of his age has a right to cry when nothing worse than a wetting has happeo him, and would only yell out, "Let me go. Let me go back. I dont like it.”
"Let you go?" said Caspian. "But where?”
Eustace rushed to the ships side, as if he expected to see the picture frame hanging above the sea, and perhaps a glimpse of Lucys bedroom. What he saw was blue waves flecked with foam, and paler blue sky, both spreading without a break to the horizon. Perhaps we hardly blame him if his heart sank. He romptly sick.
"Hey! Rynelf," said Caspian to one of the sailors. &qu spiced wine for their Majesties.
Youll need something to warm you after that dip." He called Edmund and Lucy their Majesties because they aer and Susan had all been Kings and Queens of Narnia long before his time. Narnian time flows differently from ours. If you spent a hundred years in Narnia, you would still e back to our world at the very same hour of the very same day on which you left. And then, if you went back to Narnia after spending a week here, you might find that a thousand Narnian years had passed, or only a day, or no time at all. You never know till you get there. sequently, when the Pevensie children had returo Narnia last time for their sed visit, it was (for the Narnians) as if King Arthur came back to Britain, as some people say he will. And I say the soohe better.
Rynelf returned with the spiced wieaming in a flagon and four silver cups. It was just what one wanted, and as Lud Edmund sipped it they could feel the warmth going right down to their toes. But Eustace made faces and spluttered and spat it out and was sick again and began tain and asked if they hadnt any Plumptrees Vitaminized Nerve Food and could it be made with distilled water and anyway he insisted on being put ashore at the station.
"This is a merry shipmate youve brought us, Brother," whispered Caspian to Edmund with a chuckle; but before he could say anything more Eustace burst out again.
"Oh! Ugh! What ohs that! Take it away, the horrid thing." .
He really had some excuse this time for feeling a little surprised. Something very curious indeed had e out of the in the poop and was sloroag them. You might call it - and i was - a Mouse. But then it was a Mouse on its hind legs and stood about two feet high. A thin band of gold passed round its head under one ear and over the other and in this was stuck a long crimsoher. (As the Mouses fur was very dark, almost black, the effect was bold and striking.) Its left paw rested on the hilt of a sword very nearly as9９lib. long as its tail. Its balance, as it paced gravely along the swaying deck, erfect, and its manners courtly. Lud Edmund reized it at once Reepicheep, the most valiant of all the Talkis of Narnia, and the Chief Mouse. It had won undying glory in the sed Battle of Beruna. Lucy longed, as she had always
doo take Reepicheep up in her arms and cuddle him. But this, as she well knew, leasure she could never have: it would have offended him deeply. Instead, she went down on one ko talk to him.
Reepicheep put forward his left leg, drew back his right, bowed, kissed her hand, straightened himself, twirled his whiskers, and said in his shrill, piping voice: "My humble duty to your Majesty. And to King Edmund, too." (Here he bowed again.)
"Nothing except your Majesties presence was lag to this glorious venture.”
"Ugh, take it away," wailed Eustace. "I hate mice. And I never could bear perf animals. Theyre silly and vulgar and-aimental.”
"Am I to uand," said Reepicheep to Lucy after a long stare at Eustace, "that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majestys prote? Because, if not-”
At this moment Lud Edmund both sneezed.
"What a fool I am to keep you all standing here in your wet things," said Caspian. "e on below a ged. Ill give you my of course, Lucy, but Im afraid we have no womens clothes on board. Youll have to make do with some of mine. Lead the way, Reepicheep, like a good fellow.”
"To the venience of a lady," said Reepicheep, "even a question of honour must give way - at least for the moment -" and here he looked very hard at Eustace. But Caspian hustled them on and in a few minutes Lucy found herself passing through the door into the stern . She fell in love with it at ohe three square windows that looked out on the blue, swirling water astern, the low cushioned benches round three sides of the table, the swinging silver lamp overhead (Dwarfs work, she k once by its exquisite delicacy) and the flat gold image of Aslan the Lion on the forward wall above the door.
All this she took in in a flash, for Caspian immediately opened a door on the starboard side, and said, "Thisll be your room, Lucy. Ill just get some dry things for myself-" he was rummaging in one of the lockers while he spoke - "and then leave you to ge. If youll fling your wet things outside the door Ill get them taken to the galley to be dried.”
Lucy found herself as much at home as if she had been in Caspians for weeks, and the motion of the ship did not worry her, for in the old days when she had been a queen in Narnia she had done a good deal of voyaging. The was very tiny but bright with painted panels (all birds as and crimsons and vines) and spotlessly .
Caspians clothes were too big for her, but she could manage. His shoes, sandals and sea-boots were hopelessly big but she did not mind going barefoot on board ship. When she had finished dressing she looked out of her window at the water rushing past and took a long deep breath. She felt quite sure they were in for a lovely time.
CHAPTER TWO
ON BOARD THE DAWN TREADER "AH, there you are, Lucy," said Caspian. "We were just waiting for you. This is my captain, the Lord Drinian.”
A dark-haired ma down on one knee and kissed her hand. The only others present were Reepicheep and Edmund.
"Where is Eustace?" asked Lucy.
"In bed," said Edmund, "and I dont think we do anything for him. It only makes him worse if you try to be o him.”
"Meanwhile," said Caspian, "we want to talk.”
"By Jove, we do," said Edmund. "And first, about time. Its a year ago by our time since we left you just before your ation. How long has it been in Narnia?”
"Exactly three years," said Caspian.
"All going well?" asked Edmund.
"You dont suppose Id have left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well,”
answered the King. "It couldter. Theres no trouble at all now between Telmarines, Dwarfs, Talkis, Fauns and the rest. And we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating last summer that they pay us tribute now. And I had an excellent person to leave as Regent while Im away Trumpkin, the Dwarf. You remember him?”
"Dear Trumpkin," said Lucy, "of course I do. You couldnt have made a better choice.”
"Loyal as a badger, Maam, and valiant as - as a Mouse," said Drinian. He had been going to say "as a lion" but had noticed Reepicheeps eyes fixed on him.
"And where are we heading for?" asked Edmund.
"Well," said Caspian, "thats rather a long story. Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle Miraz got rid of seven friends of my fathers (who might have taken my part) by sending them off to explore the unknowern Seas beyond the Lone Islands.”
"Yes," said Lucy, "and none of them ever came back.”
&quht. Well, on, my ation day, with Aslans approval, I swore an oath that, if once I established pea Narnia, I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my fathers friends or to learn of their deaths and avehem if I could. These were their names - the Lord Revilian, the Lord Bern, the Lord Argoz, the Lord Mavramorn, the Lord Octesian, the Lord Restimar, and - oh, that other one whos so hard to remember.”
"The Lord Rhoop, Sire," said Drinian.
"Rhoop, Rhoop, of course," said Caspian. "That is my main iion. But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope." Everyones eyes turo the Mouse.
"As high as my spirit," it said. "Though perhaps as small as my stature. Why should we not e to the very eastern end of the world? And what might we find there? I expect to find Aslans own try. It is always from the east, across the sea, that the great Lion es to us.”
"I say, that is an idea," said Edmund in an awed voice.
"But do you think," said Lucy, "Aslans try would be that sort of try - I mean, the sort you could ever sail to?”
"I do not know, Madam," said Reepicheep. "But there is this. When I was in my cradle, a wood woman, a Dryad, spoke this verse over me: "Where sky and water meet, Where the wbbr>?aves grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, To find all you seek, There is the utter East.
"I do not know what it means. But the spell of it has been on me all my life.”
After a short silence Lucy asked, "And where are we noian?”
"The Captain tell you better than I," said Caspian, so Drinian got out his chart and spread it oable.
"Thats our position," he said, laying his finger on it. "Or was at noon today. We had a fair wind from Cair Paravel and stood a little north falma, which we made on the day. We were in port for a week, for the Duke of Galma made a great tour for His Majesty and there he unhorsed many knights-”
"And got a few nasty falls myself, Drinian. Some of the bruises are there still," put in Caspian.
"- And unhorsed many knights," repeated Drinian with a grin. "We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the Kings Majesty would have married his daughter, but nothing came of that-”
"Squints, and has freckles," said Caspian.
"Oh, pirl," said Lucy.
"And we sailed from Galma," tinued Drinian, "and ran into a calm for the best part of two days and had to row, and then had wind again and did not make Terebinthia till the fourth day from Galma. And there their Ki out a warning not to land for there was siess in Terebinthia, but we doubled the cape and put in at a little creek far from the city and watered. Then we had to lie off for three days before we got a south-east wind and stood out for Seven Isles. The third day out a pirate (Terebinthian by her rig)
overhauled us, but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows oher part -”
"And we ought to have given her chase and boarded her and hanged every mothers son of them," said Reepicheep.
"- And in five days more we were insight of Muil, which, as you know, is the westernmost of the Seven Isles. Then we rowed through the straits and came about sundown into Redhaven on the isle of Brenn, where we were very lovingly feasted and had victuals and water at will. We left Redhaven six days ago and have made marvellously good speed, so that I hope to see the Lone Islands the day after tomorrow.
The sum is, we are now nearly thirty days at sea and have sailed more than four hundred leagues from Narnia.”
"And after the Lone Islands?" said Lucy.
"No one knows, your Majesty," answered Drinian. "Uhe Lone Islanders themselves tell us.”
"They couldnt in our days," said Edmund.
"Then," said Reepicheep, "it is after the Lone Islands that the adventure really begins.”
Caspian now suggested that they might like to be showhe ship before supper, but Lucys sce smote her and she said, "I think I really must go and see Eustace.
Seasiess is horrid, you know. If I had my old cordial with me I could cure him.”
"But you have," said Caspian. "Id quite fotten about it. As you left it behind I thought it might be regarded as one of the royal treasures and so I brought it - if you think it ought to be wasted on a thing like seasiess.”
"Itll only take a drop," said Lucy.
Caspian opened one of the lockers beh the bend brought out the beautiful little diamond flask which Lucy remembered so well. "Take back your own, Queen," he said.
They thehe a out into the sunshine.
In the deck there were twe, long hatches, fore and aft of the mast, and both open, as they always were in fair weather, to let light and air into the belly of the ship. Caspiahem down a ladder into the after hatch. Here they found themselves in a place where benches for rowing ran from side to side and the light came in through the oarholes and danced on the roof. Of course Caspians ship was not that horrible thing, a galley rowed by slaves. Oars were used only when wind failed or fetting in and out of harbour and everyone (except Reepicheep whose legs were too short) had often taken a turn. At each side of the ship the spader the benches was left clear for the rowers feet, but all down the tre there was a kind of pit which went down to the very keel and this was filled with all kinds of things - sacks of flour, casks of water and beer, barrels of pork, jars of honey, skin bottles of wine, apples, nuts, cheeses, biscuits, turnips, sides of ba.
From the roof - that is, from the under side of the deck - hung hams and strings of onions, and also the men of the watch offduty in their hammocks. Caspiahem aft, stepping from bench to bench; at least, it was stepping for him, and something between a step and a jump for Lucy, and a real long jump for Reepicheep. In this way they came to a partition with a door in it. Caspian opehe door ahem into a which filled the stern underh the deck s in the poop. It was of course not so was very low and the sides sloped together as they went down so that there was hardly any floor; and though it had windows of thick glass, they were not made to open because they were under water. In fact at this very moment, as the ship pitched they were alternately golden with sunlight and dim green with the sea.
"You and I must lodge here, Edmund," said Caspian. "Well leave your kinsman the bunk and sling hammocks for ourselves.”
"I beseeajesty-" said Drinian.
"No, no shipmate," said Caspian, "we have argued all that out already. You and Rhince”
(Rhince was the mate) "are sailing the ship and will have cares and labours many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories, so you and he must have the port above. King Edmund and I lie very snug here below. But how is the stranger?”
Eustace, very green in the face, scowled and asked whether there was any sign of the stetting less. But Caspian said, "What storm?" and Drinian burst out laughing.
"Storm, young master!" he roared. "This is as fair weather as a man could ask for.”
"Whos that?" said Eustace irritably. "Send him away. His voice goes through my head.”
"Ive brought you something that will make you feel better, Eustace," said Lucy.
"Oh, go away and leave me alone," growled Eustace. But he took a drop from her flask, and though he said it was beastly stuff (the smell in the when she ope was delicious) it is certain that his face came the right colour a few moments after he had swallowed it, and he must have felt better because, instead of wailing about the storm and
his head, he began demanding to be put ashore and said that at the first port he would "lodge a disposition" against them all with the British sul. But when Reepicheep asked what a disposition was and how you lodged it (Reepicheep thought it was some new way ing a single bat) Eustace could only reply, "Fanot knowing that." In the end they succeeded in ving Eustace that they were already sailing as fast as they could towards the land they knew, and that they had no more power of sending him babridge - which was where Uncle Harold lived - than of sending him to the moon. After that he sulkily agreed to put on the fresh clothes which had been put out for him and e on deck.
Caspian now showed them over the ship, though ihey had seen most it already.
They went up on the forecastle and saw the look-out man standing on a little shelf ihe gilded dragons ned peering through its open mouth. Ihe forecastle was the galley (or ships kit) and quarters for such people as the boatswain, the carpehe cook and the master-archer. If you think it odd to have the galley in the bows and imagihe smoke from its ey streaming back over the ship, that is because you are thinking of steamships where there is always a headwind. On a sailing ship the wind is ing from behind, and anything smelly is put as far forward as possible. They were taken up to the fighting top, and at first it was rather alarming to rock to and fro there ahe deck looking small and far away beh. You realized that if you fell there was no藏书网 particular reason why you should fall on board rather than in the sea. Then they were taken to the poop, where Rhince was on duty with another man at the great tiller, and behind that the dragons tail rose up, covered with gilding, and round i ran a little bench. The name of the ship was Dawn Treader. She was only a little bit of a thing pared with one of our I ships, or even with the cogs, dromonds, carracks and galleons whiarnia had owned when Lud Edmund had reighere under Peter as the High King, for nearly all navigation had died out in the reigns of Caspians aors.
When his uncle, Miraz the usurper, had sent the seven lords to sea, they had had to buy a Galmian ship and man it with hired Galmian sailors. But noian had begun to teach the Narnians to be sea-faring folk once more, and the Dawn Treader was the fi ship he had built yet. She was so small that, forward of the mast, there was hardly any de between the tral hatd the ships boat on one side and the he?n -coop (Lucy fed the hens) oher. But she was a beauty of her kind, a "lady" as sailors say, her lines perfect, her colours pure, and every spar and rope and pin lovingly made. Eustace of course would be pleased with nothing, a on boasting about liners and motor-boats and aeroplanes and submarines ("As if he knew anything about them," muttered Edmund), but the other two were delighted with the Dawn Treader, and when they returned aft to the and supper, and saw the whole western sky lit up with an immense crimson su, ahe quiver of the ship, and tasted the salt on their lips, and thought of unknown lands on the Eastern rim of the world, Lucy felt that she was almost too happy to speak.
What Eustace thought had best be told in his own words, for when they all got their clothes back, dried, m, he at o out a little blaotebook and a pencil and started to keep a diary. He always had this notebook with him a a record of his marks in it, for though he didnt care much about any subject for its own sake, he
cared a great deal about marks and would even go to people and say, "I got so much.
What did you get?" But as he didnt seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader he now started a diary. This was the first entry.
"7 August. Have now beey-four hours on this ghastly boat if it isnt a dream. All the time a frightful storm has been raging (its a good thing Im not seasick). Huge waves keep ing ihe front and I have seen the boat nearly go under any number of times. All the others pretend to take no notice of this, either from swank or because Harold says one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to Facts. Its mado e out into the sea in a rotten little thing like this. Not much bigger than a lifeboat. And, of course, absolutely primitive indoors. No proper saloon, no radio, no bathrooms, no deck-chairs. I was dragged all over it yesterday evening and it would make anyone sick to hear Caspian showing off his funny little toy boat as if it was the Queen Mary. I tried to tell him what real ships are like, but hes too dense. E. and L., o f course, didnt back me up. I suppose a kid like L. doesnt realize the danger and E. is buttering up C. as everyone does here. They call him a King. I said I was a Republi but he had to ask me what that meant! He doeso know anything at all. Needless to say Ive been put in the worst of the boat, a perfect dungeon, and Lucy has been given a whole room oo herself, almost a ni pared with the rest of this place. C. says thats because shes a girl. I tried to make him see what Alberta says, that all that sort of thing is really l girls but he was too dense. Still, he might see that I shall be ill if Im kept in that hole any longer. E. says we mustnt grumble because C. is sharing it with us himself to make room for L. As if that didnt make it more crowded and far worse. Nearly fot to say that there is also a kind of Mouse thing that gives everyohe most frightful cheek. The others put up with it if they like but I shall twist his tail pretty soon if he tries it ohe food is frightful too.”
The trouble betweead Reepicheep arrived even soohan might have been expected. Before dinner day, whehers were sitting round the table , waiting (being at sea gives one a magnifit appetite), Eustace came rushing in, wringing his hand and shouting out: "That little brute has half killed me. I insist on it bei under trol. I could bring an a against you, Caspian. i could order you to have it destroyed.”
At the same moment Reepicheep appeared. His sword was drawn and his whiskers looked very fierce but he olite as ever.
"I ask your pardons all," he said, "and especially her Majestys. If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasoime for his corre.”
"What ohs up?" asked Edmund.
What had really happened was this. Reepicheep, who never felt that the ship was getting on fast enough, loved to sit on the bulwarks far forward just beside the dragons head, gazing out at the eastern horizon and singin..g softly in his little chirruping voice the song
the Dryad had made for him. He never held on to anything, however the ship pitched, a his balah perfect ease; perhaps his long tail, hanging down to the deside the bulwarks, made this easier. Everyone on board was familiar with this habit, and the sailors liked it because when one was on look-out duty it gave one somebody to talk to.
Why exactly Eustace had slipped and reeled and stumbled all the way forward to the forecastle (he had not yet got his sea-legs) I never heard. Perhaps he hoped he would see land, or perhaps he wao hang about the galley and sge something. Anyway, as soon as he saw that long tail hanging down - and perhaps it was rather tempting - he thought it would be delightful to catch hold of it, swing Reepicheep round by it once or twice upside-down, then run away and laugh, At first the plan seemed to work beautifully. The Mouse was not much heavier than a very large cat. Eustace had him off the rail in a trid very silly he looked (thought Eustace) with his little limbs all splayed out and his mouth open. But unfortunately Reepicheep, who had fought for his life many a time, never lost his head even for a moment. Nor his skill. It is not very easy to draw ones sword when one is swinging round in the air by oail, but he did. And the hiaew was two agonizing jabs in his hand which made him let go of the tail; and the hing after that was that the Mouse had picked itself up again as if it were a ball boung off the deck, and there it was fag him, and a horrid long, bright, sharp thing like a skeaving to and fro within an inch of his stomach.
(This doesnt t as below the belt for mi Narnia because they hardly be expected to reach higher.)
"Stop it," spluttered Eustace, "go aut that thing away. Its not safe. Stop it, I say. Ill tell Caspian.
Ill have you muzzled and tied up.”
"Why do you not draw your own sword, poltroon!" cheeped the Mouse. "Draw and fight or Ill beat you blad blue with the flat.”
"I havent got one," said Eustace. "Im a pacifist. I dont believe in fighting.”
"Do I uand," said Reepicheep, withdrawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly, "that you do not io give me satisfa?”
"I dont know what you mean," said Eustaursing his hand. "If you dont know how to take a joke I shant bother my head about you.”
"Then take that," said Reepicheep, "and that - to teaanners - and the respect due to a knight - and a Mouse - and a Mouses tail -" and at each word he gave Eustace a blow with the side of his rapier, which was thin, fine dwarf-tempered steel and as supple and effective as a birch rod. Eustace (of course) was at a school where they didnt have corporal punishment, so the sensation was quite o him. That was why, in spite of having no sealegs, it took him less than a mio get off that forecastle and cover the whole length of the ded burst in at the door - still hotly pursued by
Reepicheep. I seemed to Eustace that the rapier as well as the pursuit was hot. It might have been red-hot by the feel.
There was not much difficulty iling the matter oace realized that everyoook the idea of a duel seriously and heard Caspian to lend him a sword, and Drinian and Edmund discussing whether he ought to be handicapped in some way to make up for his being so much bigger than Reepicheep. He apologized sulkily a off with Lucy to have his hand bathed and bandaged and theo his bunk. He was careful to lie on his side.
CHAPTER THREE
THE LONE ISLANDS "LAND in sight," shouted the man in the bows.
Lucy, who had been talking to Rhin the poop, came pattering down the ladder and raced forward. As she went she was joined by Edmund, and they found Caspian, Drinian and Reepicheep already on the forecastle. It was a coldish m, the sky very pale and the sea very dark blue with little white caps of foam, and there, a little way off oarboard bow, was the of the Lone Islands, Felimath, like a low green hill in the sea, and behind it, further off, the grey slopes of its sister Doorn.
"Same old Felimath! Same old Doorn," said Lucy, clapping her hands. "Oh - Edmund, how long it is since you and I saw them last!”
"Ive never uood why they belong to Narnia," said Caspian. "Did Peter the High King quer them?”
"Oh no," said Edmund. "They were Narnian before our time - in the days of the White Witch.”
(By the way, I have never yet heard how these remote islands became attached to the of Narnia; if I ever do, and if the story is at all iing, I may put it in some other book.)
"Are we to put in here, Sire?" asked Drinian.
"1 shouldnt think it would be much good landing on Felimath," said Edmund. "It was almost uninhabited in our days and it looks as if it was the same still. The people lived mostly on Doorn and a little on Avra - thats the third one; you t see it yet. They only kept sheep on Felimath.”
"Then well have to double that cape, I suppose," said Drinian, "and land on Doorn.
Thatll mean rowing.”
"Im sorry were not landing on Felimath," said Lucy. "Id like to walk there again. It was so lonely - a nice kind of loneliness, and all grass and clover and soft sea air.”
"Id love to stretch my legs now too," said Caspian. "I tell you what. Why shouldnt we go ashore in the boat and send it back, and then we could walk across Felimath ahe Dawn Treader pick us up oher side?”
If Caspian had been as experiehen as he became later on in this voyage he would not have made this suggestion; but at the moment it seemed an excellent one. "Oh do lets," said Lucy.
"Youll e, will you?" said Caspian to Eustace, who had e on deck with his hand bandaged.
"Anything to get off this blasted boat," said Eustace.
"Blasted?" said Drinian. "How do you mean?”
"In a civilized try like where I e from," said Eustace, "the ships are so big that when youre inside you wouldnt know you were at sea at all.”
"In that case you might just as well stay ashore," said Caspian. "Will you tell them to lower the boat, Drinian.”
The King, the Mouse, the two Pevensies, aace all got into the boat and were pulled to the beach of Felimath. When the boat had left them and was being rowed back they all turned and looked round. They were surprised at how small the Dawn Treader looked.
Lucy was of course barefoot, having kicked off her shoes while swimming, but that is no hardship if one is going to walk on downy turf. It was delightful to be ashain and to smell the earth and grass, even if at first the ground seemed to be pitg up and down like a ship, as it usually does for a while if one has been at sea. It was much warmer here than it had been on board and Lucy found the sand pleasant to her feet as they crossed it.
There was a lark singing.
They struland and up a fairly steep, though low, hill. At the top of course they looked back, and there was the Dawn Treader shining like a great bright i and crawling slowly north-westward with her oars. Then they went over the ridge and could see her no longer.
Doom now lay before them, divided from Felimath by a el about a mile wide; behind it and to the left lay Avra. The little white town of Narrowhaven on Doorn was easily seen.
"Hullo! Whats this?" said Edmund suddenly.
In the green valley to which they were desding six or seven rough- looking men, all armed, were sitting by a tree.
"Dohem who we are," said Caspian.
"And pray, your Majesty, why not?" said Reepicheep who had seo ride on Lucys shoulder.
"It just occurred to me," replied Caspian, "that no one here have heard from Narnia for a long time. Its just possible they may not still aowledge our over-lordship. In which case it might not be quite safe to be known as the King.”
"We have our swords, Sire," said Reepicheep.
"Yes, Reep, I know we have," said Caspian. "But if it is a question of re- quering the three islands, Id prefer to e back with a rather larger army.”
By this time they were quite close to the strangers, one of whom - a big black-haired fellow - shouted out, "A good m to you.”
"And a good m to you," said Caspian. "Is there still a Governor of the Lone Islands?”
"To be sure there is," said the man, "Governumpas. His Sufficy is at Narrowhaven. But youll stay and drink with us.”
Caspian thanked him, though her he nor the others much liked the look of their new acquaintance, and all of them sat down. But hardly had they raised their cups to their lips when the black-haired man o his panions and, as quick as lightning, all the five visitors found themselves ed in strong arms. There was a moments struggle but all the advantages were on one side, and soon everyone was disarmed and had their hands tied behind their backs except Reepicheep, writhing in his captrip and biting furiously.
"Careful with that beast, Tacks," said the Leader. "Dont damage him. Hell fetch the best price of the lot, I shouldnt wonder.”
"Coward! Poltroon!" squeaked Reepicheep. "Give me my sword and free my paws if you dare.”
"Whew!" whistled the slave mert (for that is what he was). "It talk! Well I never did. Blowed if I take less than two hundred crests for him." The en crest, which is the chief in those parts, is worth about a third of a pound.
"So thats what you are," said Caspian. "A kidnapper and slaver. I hope youre proud of it.”
"Now, now, now, now," said the slaver. "Dont you start any jaw. The easier you take it, the pleasanter all round, see? I dont do this for fun. Ive got my living to make same as anyone else.”
"Where will you take us?" asked Lucy, getting the words out with some difficulty.
"Over to Narrowhaven," said the slaver. "For market day tomorrow.”
"Is there a British sul there?" asked Eustace.
"Is there a which?" said the man.
But long before Eustace was tired to explain, the slaver simply said, "Well, Ive had enough of this jabber. The Mouse is a fair treat but this one would talk the hind leg off a donkey. Off we go, mates.”
Then the four human prisoners were roped together, not cruelly but securely, and made to march down to the shore. Reepicheep was carried. He had stopped biting on a threat of having his mouth tied up, but he had a great deal to say, and Lucy really wondered how any man could bear to have the things said to him which were said to the slave dealer by the Mouse. But the slave dealer, far from objeg, only said "Go on" whenever Reepicheep paused for breath, occasionally adding, "Its as good as a play," or, "Blimey, you t help almost thinking it knows what its saying!" or "Was it one of you what trai?" This so infuriated Reepicheep that in the end the number of things he thought of saying all at onearly suffocated him and he became silent.
When they got down to the shore that looked towards Doorn they found a little village and a long-boat on the bead, lying a little further out, a dirty bedraggled looking ship.
"Now, youngsters," said the slave dealer, "lets have no fuss and then youll have nothing to cry about. All aboard.”
At that moment a fine-looking bearded man came out of one of the houses (an inn, I think) and said: "Well, Pug. More of your usual wares?”
The slaver, whose name seemed to be Pug, bowed very low, and said in a wheedling kind of voice, "Yes, please your Lordship.”
"How much do you want for that boy?" asked the other, pointing to Caspian.
"Ah," said Pug, "I knew your Lordship would pi the best. No deceiving your Lordship with anything sed rate. That boy, now, Ive taken a fancy to him myself. Got kind of fond of him, I have. Im that tender-hearted I didnt ever ought to have taken up this job. Still, to a er like your Lordship-”
"Tell me your price, carrion," said the Lord sternly. "Do you think I want to listen to the rigmarole of your filthy trade?”
"Three hundred crests, my Lord to your honourable Lordship, but to anyone else -”
"Ill give you a hundred and fifty.”
"Oh please, please," broke in Lucy. "Dont separate us, whatever you do. You dont know -" But theopped for she saw that Caspian didnt even now want to be known.
"A hundred and fifty, then," said the Lord. "As for you, little maiden, I am sorry I ot buy you all. Unrope my boy, Pug. And look - treat these others well while they are in your hands or itll be the worse for you.”
"Well!" said Pug. "Now who ever heard of a gentleman in my way of business who treated his stock better than what I do? Well? Why, I treat em like my own childen.”
"Thats likely enough to be true," said the rimly.
The dreadful moment had now e. Caspian was untied and his new master said, "This way, lad," and Lucy burst into tears and Edmund looked very blank. But Caspian looked over his shoulder and said, "Cheer up. Im sure it will e all right in the end. So long.”
"Now, missie," said Pug. "Dont you start taking on and spoiling your looks for the market tomorrow. You be a good girl and then you wont have nothing to cry about, see?”
Then they were rowed out to the slave-ship and taken below into a long, rather dark plaooo , where they found many other unfortunate prisoners; f was of course a pirate and had just returned from cruising among the islands and capturing what he could. The children did anyone whom they khe prisoners were mostly Galmians and Terebinthians. And there they sat iraw and wondered what was happening to Caspian and tried to stop Eustace talking as if everyone except himself was to blame.
Meanwhile Caspian was having a much more iing time. The man who had bought him led him down a little laween two of the village houses and so out into an open place behind the village. Theurned and faced him.
"You be afraid of me, boy," he said. "Ill treat you well. I bought you for your face. You reminded me of someone." "May I ask of whom, my Lord?" said Caspian.
"You remind me of my master, King Caspian of Narnia.”
Then Caspian decided to risk everything oroke.
"My Lord," he said, "I am your master. I am Caspian King of Narnia.”
"You make very free," said the other. "How shall I know this is true?”
"Firstly by my face," said Caspian. "Sedly because I know within six guesses who you are. You are one of those seven lords of Narnia whom my Uncle Miraz sent to sea and whom I have e out to look for - Argoz, Bern, Octesiaimar, Mavramorn, or - or - I have fottehers. And finally, if your Lordship will give me a sword I will prove on any mans body in battle that I am Caspian the son of Caspian, lawful King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands.”
"By heaven," exclaimed the man, "it is his fathers very void trick of speech. My liege - your Majesty -" And there in the field he k and kissed the Kings hand.
"The moneys your Lordship disbursed for our person will be made good from our own treasury," said Caspian.
"Theyre not in Pugs purse yet, Sire," said the Lord Bern, for he it was. "And never will be, I trust. I have moved his Sufficy the Governor a huimes to crush this vile traffi mans flesh.”
"My Lord Bern," said Caspian, "we must talk of the state of these Islands. But first what is your Lordships own story?”
"Short enough, Sire," said Bern. "I came thus far with my six fellows, loved a girl of the islands, a I had had enough of the sea. And there was no purpose iurning to Narnia while your Majestys uncle held the reins. So I married and have lived here ever since.”
"And what is this governor, this Gumpas, like? Does he still aowledge the King of Narnia for his lord?”
"In words, yes. All is done in the Kings name. But he would not be best pleased to find a real, live King of Narnia ing in upon him. And if your Majesty came before him alone and unarmed - well he would not deny his allegiance, but he would pretend to disbelieve you. Yraces life would be in danger. What following has your Majesty in these waters?”
"There is my ship just rounding the point," said Caspian. "We are about thirty swords if it came to fighting. Shall we not have my ship in and fall upon Pug and free my friends whom he holds captive?”
"Not by my sel," said Bern. "As soon as there was a fight two or three ships would put out from Narrowhaven to rescue Pug. Your Majesty must work by a show of more power than you really have, and by the terror of the Kings must not e to plain battle. Gumpas is a chi-hearted man and be over-awed.”
After a little more versation Caspian and Bern walked down to the coast a little west of the village and there Caspian winded his horn. (This was not the great magic horn of Narnia, Queen Susans Horn: he had left that at home for his regent Trumpkin to use if any great need fell upon the land in the Kings absence.) Drinian, who was on the look-out for a signal, reized the royal horn at ond the Dawn Treader began standing in to shore. Then the boat put off again and in a few moments Caspian and the Lord Bern were on deck explaining the situation to Drinian. He, just like Caspian, wao lay the Dawn Treader alongside the slave-ship at ond board her, but Bern made the same obje.
"Steer straight down this el, captain," said Bern, "and then round to Avra where my owes are. But first run up the Kings banner, hang out all the shields, and send as mao the fighting top as you . And about five bowshots hence, when you get open sea on your port bow, run up a few signals.”
"Signals? To whom?" said Drinian.
"Why, to all the other ships we havent got but which it might be well that Gumpas thinks we have.”
"Oh, I see," said Drinian rubbing his hands. "And theyll read nals. What shall I say? Whole fleet round the South of Avra and assemble at -?”
"Bernstead," said the Lord Bern. "Thatll do excellently. Their whole journey - if there were any ships What Caspian did there would be out of sight from Narrowhaven.”
Caspian was sorry for the others languishing in the hold of Pugs slave- ship, but he could not help finding the rest of that day enjoyable. Late iernoon (for they had to do all by oar), having turo starboard round the northeast end of Doorn and pain
round the point of Avra, they entered into a good harbour on Avras southern shore where Berns pleasant lands sloped down to the waters edge. Berns people, many of whom they saw w in the fields, were all freemen and it py and prosperous fief. Here they all went ashore and were royally feasted in a low, pillared house overlooking the bay. Bern and his gracious wife and merry daughters made them good cheer. But after dark Ber a messenger over by boat to Doorn to order some preparations (he did not say exactly what) for the following day.
CHAPTER FOUR
WHAT CASPIAN DID THERE m the Lord Bern called his guests early, and after breakfast he asked Caspian to order every man he had into full armour. "And above all," he added, "let everything be as trim and scoured as if it were the m of the first battle in a great war between noble kings with all the world looking on." This was done; and then in three boatloads Caspian and his people, and Bern with a few of his, put out for Narrowhaven. The kings flag flew iern of his boat and his trumpeter was with him.
When they reached the jetty at Narrowhaven, Caspian found a siderable crowd assembled to meet them. "This is what I sent word about last night," said Bern. "They are all friends of mine and ho people." And as soon as Caspian stepped ashore the crowd broke out into hurrahs and shouts of, "Narnia! Narnia! Long live the King." At the same moment - and this was also due to Berns messengers - bells began ringing from many parts of the town. Then Caspian caused his bao be advanced and his trumpet to be blown and every man drew his sword a his fato a joyful sternness, and they marched up the street so that the street shook, and their armour shone (for it was a sunny m) so that one could hardly look at it steadily.
At first the only people who cheered were those who had been warned by Berns messenger and knew what was happening and wa to happen. But then all the children joined in because they liked a procession and had seen very few. And then all the schoolboys joined in because they also liked processions ahat the more noise and disturbahere was the less likely they would be to have any school that m.
And then all the old women put their heads out of doors and windows and began chattering and cheering because it was a king, and what is a governor pared with that? And all the young women joined in for the same reason and also because Caspian and Drinian and the rest were so handsome. And then all the young men came to see what the young women were looking at, so that by the time Caspian reached the castle gates, nearly the whole town was shouting; and where Gumpas sat in the castle, muddling and messing about with ats and forms and rules and regulations, he heard the noise.
At the castle gate Caspians trumpeter blew a blast and cried, "Open for the King of Narnia, e to visit his trusty and wellbeloved servant the governor of the Lone Islands." In those days everything in the islands was done in a slovenly, sloug manner. Only the little postern opened, and out came a tousled fellow with a dirty old hat on his head instead of a helmet, and a rusty old pike in his hand. He bli the flashing figures before him. " - seez - fishansy," he mumbled which was his way of saying, -"You t see his Sufficy"). "No interviews without pois cept tween en p.m. sed Saturday every month.”
"Uncover before Narnia, you dog," thuhe Lord Bern, a him a rap with his gaued hand which sent his hat flying from his head.
"Ere? Wots it all about?" began the doorkeeper, but no oook any notice of him. Two of Caspiaepped through the postern and after some struggling with bars and bolts (for everything was rusty) flung both wings of the gate wide open. Then the King and his followers strode into the courtyard. Here a number of the governuards were lounging about and several more (they were mostly wiping their mouths) came tumbling out of various doorways. Though their armour was in a disgraceful dition, these were fellows who might have fought if they had been led or had known what was happening; so this was the dangerous moment. Caspian gave them no time to think.
"Where is the captain?" he asked.
"I am, more or less, if you know what I mean," said a languid and rather dandified young person without any j armour at all.
"It is our wish," said Caspian, "that our royal visitation to our realm of the Lone Islands should, if possible, be an occasion of joy and not of terror to our loyal subjects. If it were not for that, I should have something to say about the state of your mens armour and ons. As it is, you are pardoned. and a cask of wio be opehat, your men may drink our health. But at noon tomorrow I wish to see them here in this courtyard looking like men-at-arms and not like vagabonds. See to it on pain of our extreme displeasure.”
The captain gaped but Bern immediately cried, "Three. cheers for the King," and the soldiers, who had uood about the cask of wine even if they uood nothing else, joined in. Caspian then ordered most of his owo remain in the courtyard. He, with Bern and Drinian and four others, went into the hall.
Behind a table at the far end with various secretaries about him sat his Sufficy, the Governor of the Lone Islands. Gumpas was a bilious-looking man with hair that had once been red and was now mostly grey. He glanced up as the strangers entered and then looked down at his papers saying automatically, "No interviews without appois except between nine and ten p.m. on sed Saturdays.”
Caspian o Bern and then stood aside. Bern and Drinian took a step forward and each seized one end of the table. They lifted it, and flung it on one side of the hall where it rolled over, scattering a cascade of letters, dossiers, ink-pots, pens, sealing-wax and dots. Then, nhly but as firmly as if their hands were pincers of steel, they plucked Gumpas out of his chair and deposited him, fag it, about four feet away.
Caspian at o down in the chair and laid his naked sword across his knees.
"My Lord," said he, fixing his eyes on Gumpas, "you have not given us quite the wele we expected. I am the King of Narnia.”
"Nothing about it in the correspondence," said the governor. "Nothing in the minutes. We have not been notified of any such thing. All irregular. Happy to sider any applications-”
"And we are e to enquire into your Sufficys duct of your office," tinued Caspian. "There are two points especially on which I require an explanation. Firstly I find no record that the tribute due from these Islands to the of Narnia has been received for about a hundred and fifty years.”
"That would be a question to raise at the ext month," said Gumpas. "If anyone moves that a ission of enquiry be set up to report on the financial history of the islands at the first meeti year, why then . . .”
"I also find it very clearly written in our laws," Caspia on, "that if the tribute is not delivered the whole debt has to be paid by the Governor of the Lone Islands out of his private purse.”
At this Gumpas began to pay real attention. "Oh, thats quite out of the question," he said.
"It is an eic impossibility - er - your Majesty must be joking.”
Inside, he was w if there were any way of getting rid of these unwele visitors. Had he known that Caspian had only one ship and one ships pany with him, he would have spoken soft words for the moment, and hoped to have them all surrounded and killed during the night. But he had seen a ship of war sail dowraits yesterday and seen it signalling, as he supposed, to its sorts. He had not then known it was the Kings ship for there was not wind enough to spread the flag out and make the golden lion visible, so he had waited further developments. Now he imagihat Caspian had a whole fleet at Bernstead. It would never have occurred to Gumpas that anyone would walk into Narrowhaven to take the islands with less than fifty men; it was certainly not at all the kind of thing he could imagine doing himself.
"Sedly," said Caspian, "I want to know why you have permitted this abominable and unnatural traffi slaves to grow up here, trary to the a and usage of our dominions.”
"Necessary, unavoidable," said his Sufficy. "An essential part of the eic development of the islands, I assure you. Our present burst of prosperity depends on it.”
"What need have you of slaves?”
"For export, your Majesty. Sell em to en mostly; and we have other markets. We are a great tre of the trade.”
"In other words," said Caspian, "you dohem. Tell me urpose they serve except to put money into the pockets of such as Pug?”
"Your Majestys tender years," said Gumpas, with what was meant to be a fatherly smile, "hardly make it possible that you should uand the ei involved. I have statistics, I have graphs, I have-”
"Tender as my years be," said Caspian, "I believe I uand the slave trade from within quite as well as your Sufficy. And I do not see that it brings into the islands meat or bread or beer or wine or timber or cabbages or books or instruments of music or horses or armour or anything else worth having. But whether it does or not, it must be stopped.”
"But that would be putting the clock back," gasped the governor. "Have you no idea ress, of development?”
"I have seen them both in an egg," said Caspian. "We call it `Going Bad in Narnia. This trade must stop.”
"I take no responsibility for any such measure," said Gumpas.
"Very well, then," answered Caspian, "we relieve you of your office. My Lord Bern, e here." And befumpas quite realized what was happening, Bern was kneeling with his hands between the Kings hands and taking the oath to govern the Lone Islands in accordah the old s, rights, usages and laws of Narnia. And Caspian said, "I think we have had enough of governors," and made Bern a Duke, the Duke of the Lone Islands.
"As for you, my Lord," he said to Gumpas, "I five you your debt for the tribute. But before noon tomorrow you and yours must be out of the castle, which is now the Dukes residence.”
"Look here, this is all very well," said one of Gumpass secretaries, "but suppose all you gentlemen stop playag and we do a little business. The question before us really is-”
"The question is," said the Duke, "whether you and the rest of the rabble will leave without a flogging or with one. You may choose which you prefer.”
When all this had been pleasantly settled, Caspian ordered horses, of which there were a few in the castle, though very ill-groomed and he, with Bern and Drinian and a few others, rode out into the town and made for the slave market. It was a long low buildihe harbour and the se which they found going on inside was very much like any other au; that is to say, there was a great croug, on a platform, was r out in a raucous voice: "Now, gentlemen, lot twenty-three. Fierebinthian agricultural labourer, suitable for the mines or the galleys. Uwenty-five years of age. Not a bad tooth in his head.
Good, brawny fellow. Take off his shirt, Tacks, ahe gentlemeheres muscle for you! Look at the chest on him. Ten crests from the gentleman in the er. You must be joking, sir. Fifteeeen! Eighteen is bidden for lot twenty- three. Any advan eighteen? Twenty-ohank you, sir. Twenty-one is bidden-”
But Pug stopped and gaped when he saw the mail-clad figures who had ked up to the platform.
"On your knees, every man of you, to the King of Narnia," said the Duke. Everyone heard the horses jingling and stamping outside and many had heard some rumour of the landing and the events at the castle. Most obeyed. Those who did not were pulled down by their neighbours. Some cheered.
"Your life is forfeit, Pug, for laying hands on our royal persoerday," said Caspian.
"But ynorance is pardohe slave trade was forbidden in all our dominions quarter of an ho. I declare every slave in this market free.”
He held up his hand to check the cheering of the slaves a on, "Where are my friends?”
"That dear little gel and the nice youleman?" said Pug with an ingratiating smile.
"Why, they were snapped up at once-”
"Were here, were here, Caspian," cried Lud Edmund together and, "At your service, Sire," piped Reepicheep from another er. They had all been sold but the men who had bought them were staying to bid for other slaves and so they had not yet been taken away. The crowd parted to let the three of them out and there was great handclasping and greetiween them and Caspian. Two merts of en at once approached. The en have dark faces and long beards. They wear flowing robes and e-coloured turbans, and they are a wise, wealthy, courteous, cruel and a people. They bowed most politely to Caspian and paid him long pliments, all about the fountains of prosperity irrigating the gardens of prudend virtue - and things like that - but of course what they wanted was the mohey had paid.
"That is only fair, sirs," said Caspian. "Every man who has bought a slave today must have his money back. Pug, bring out your takings to the last minim." (A minim is the fortieth part of a crest.)
"Does yood Majesty mean to beggar me?" whined Pug.
"You have lived on brokes all your life," said Caspian, "and if you are beggared, it is better to be a beggar than a slave. But where is my other friend?”
"Oh him?" said Pug. "Oh take him and wele. Glad to have him off my hands. Ive never seen such a drug in the market in all my born days. Priced him at five crests in the end and even so nobodyd have him. Threw him in free with other lots and still no one would have him. Wouldnt touch him. Wouldnt look at him. Packs, bring out Sulky.”
Thus Eustace roduced, and sulky he certainly looked; for though no one would want to be sold as a slave, it is perhaps even malling to be a sort of utility slave whom no one will buy. He walked up to Caspian and said, "I see. As usual. B藏书网een enjoying yourself somewhere while the rest of us were prisoners. I suppose you havent even found out about the British sul. Of course not.”
That night they had a great feast in the castle of Narrowhaven and then, "Tomorrow for the beginning of our real adventures!" said Reepicheep when he had made his bows to everyone ao bed. But it could not really be tomorrow or anything like it. For now they were preparing to leave all known lands and seas behind them and the fullest preparations had to be made. The Dawn Treader was emptied and drawn on land by eight horses over rollers and every bit of her was gone over by the most skilled shipwrights.
Then she was launched again and victualled and watered as full as she could hold - that is to say for twe days. Even this, as Edmund noticed with disappoi, only gave them a fhts eastward sailing before they had to abandon their quest.
While all this was being done Caspian missed no ce of questioning all the oldest sea captains whom he could find in Narrowhaven to learn if they had any knowledge or even any rumours of land further to the east. He poured out many a flagon of the castle ale to weather-beaten men with shrey beards and clear blue eyes, and many a tall yarn he heard iurn. But those who seemed the most truthful could tell of no lands beyond the Lone Islands, and many thought that if you sailed too far east you would e into the surges of a sea without lands that swirled perpetually round the rim of the world - "And that, I re, is where your Majestys friends went to the bottom." The rest had only wild stories of islands inhabited by headless men, floating islands, waterspouts, and a fire that burned along the water. Only oo Reepicheeps delight, said, "And beyobbr>nd that, Aslan try. But thats beyond the end of the world and you t get there." But when they questioned -him he could only say that hed heard it from his father.
Bern could only tell them that he had seen his six panions sail away eastward and that nothing had, ever been heard of them again. He said this when he and Caspian were standing on the highest point of Avra looking down on the eastern o. "Ive often been up here of a m," said the Duke, "ands seen the sun e up out of the sea, and sometimes it looked as if it were only a couple of miles away. And Ive wondered about my friends and wondered what there really is behind that horizon. Nothing, most likely,
yet I am always half ashamed that I stayed behind. But I wish your Majesty wouldnt go.
We may need your help here. This closing the slave market might make a new world; war with en is what I foresee. My liege, think again.”
"I have an oath, my lord Duke," said Caspian. "And anyway, what could I say to Reepicheep?”
CHAPTER FIVE
THE STORM AND WHAT CAME OF IT IT was nearly three weeks after their landing that the Dawn Treader was towed out of Narrowhaven harbour. Very solemn farewells had been spoken and a great crowd had assembled to see her departure. There had been cheers, and tears too, when Caspian made his last speech to the Lone Islanders and parted from the Duke and his family, but as the ship, her purple sail still flapping idly, drew further from the shore, and the sound of Caspians trumpet from the poop came fainter across the water, everyone became silent.
Then she came into the wind. The sail swelled out, the tug cast off and began rowing back, the first real wave ran up uhe Dawn Treaders prow, and she was a live ship again. The men off duty went below, Drinian took the first wat the poop, and she turned her head eastward round the south of Avra.
The few days were delightful. Lucy thought she was the most fortunate girl in the world; as she woke each m to see the refles of the sunlit water dang on the ceiling of her and looked round on all the niew things she had got in the Lone Islands - seaboots and buskins and cloaks and jerkins and scarves. And then she would go on ded take a look from the forecastle at a sea which was a brighter blue each m and drink in an air that was a little warmer day by day. After that came breakfast and su appetite as one only has at sea.
She spent a good deal of time sitting otle ben the stern playing chess with Reepicheep. It was amusing to see him lifting the pieces, which were far too big for him, with both paws and standing on tiptoes if he made a move he tre of the board.
He was a good player and when he remembered what he was doing he usually won. But every now and then Lucy won because the Mouse did something quite ridiculous like sending a knight into the danger of a queen and castle bihis happened because he had momentarily fotten it was a game of chess and was thinking of a real battle and making the knight do what he would certainly have done in its place. For his mind was full of forlorn hopes, death-lory charges, and last stands.
But this pleasant time did not last. There came an evening when Lucy, gazing idly astern at the long furrow or wake they were leaving behind them, saw a great rack of clouds building itself up in the west with amazing speed.
Then a gap was torn in it and a yellow su poured through the gap. All the waves behind them seemed to take on unusual shapes and the sea was a drab or yellowish colour like dirty vas. The air grew cold. The ship seemed to move uneasily as if she felt danger behihe sail would be flat and limp one minute and wildly the . While she was noting these things and w at a sinister ge which had e over the very he wind, Drinian cried, "All hands on deck." In a moment everyone became frantically busy. The hatches wet battened down, the galley fire ut out, me aloft to reef the sail. Before they had fihe storm struck them. It seemed to Lucy that a great valley in the sea opened just before their bows, and they rushed down in it, deeper down than she would have believed possible. A great grey hill of water, far higher than the mast, rushed to meet them; it looked certaih but they were tossed to the top of it. Then the ship seemed to spin round. A cataract of water poured over the deck; the poop and forecastle were like two islands with a fierce sea between them. aloft the sailors were lying out along the yard desperate trying to get trol of the sail. A broken rope stood out sideways in the wind as straight and stiff as if it oker.
"Get below, Maam," bawled Drinian. And Luowing that landsmen - and landswomen - are a nuisao the crew, began to obey. It was not easy. The Dawn Treader was listing terribly to starboard and the deck sloped like the roof of a house. She had to clamber round to the top of the ladder, holding on to the rail, and the stand by while two men climbed up it, and the down as best she could. It was well she was already holding tight for at the foot of the ladder another wave roar across the deck, up to her shoulders. She was already almost wet through with spray and rain but this was colder. Then she made a dash for the door and got in and shut out for a moment the appalling sight of the speed with which they were rushing into the dark, but not of course the horrible fusion of creakings, groanings, snappings, clatterings, rs and boomings whily sounded more alarming below than they had done on the poop.
And all day and all the it went on. It went on till one could hardly even remember a time before it had begun. And there always had to be three men at the tiller and it was as much as three could do to keep any kind of a course. And there always had to be men at the pump. And there was hardly a for anyone, and nothing could be cooked and nothing could be dried, and one man was lost overboard, and they never saw the sun.
When it was over Eustace made the followiry in his diary.
"3 September. The first day fes when I have been able to write. We had been driven before a hurrie for thirteen days and nights. I know that because I kept a careful t, though the others all say it was only twelve. Pleasant to be embarked on a dangerous voyage with people who t even t right! I have had a ghastly time, up and down enormous waves hour after hour, usually wet to the skin, and not even an attempt at giving us proper meals. Needless to say theres no wireless or even a rocket, so no ce of signalling anyone for help. It all proves what I keep on telling them, the madness of setting out in a rotten little tub like this. It would be bad enough even if one was with
det people instead of fiends in human form. Caspian and Edmund are simply brutal to me. The night we lost our mast (theres only a stump left now), though I was not at all well, they forced me to e on ded work like a slave. Lucy shoved her oar in by saying that Reepicheep was longing to go only he was too small. I wonder she doeshat everything that little beast does is all for the sake of showing off. Even at her age she ought to have that amount of seoday the beastly boat is level at last and the suns out and we have all been jawing about what to do. We have food enough, pretty beastly stuff most of it, to last for sixteen days. (The poultry were all washed overboard. Even if they hadnt been, the storm would have stopped them laying.) The real trouble is water.
Two casks seem to have got a leak knocked in them and are empty. (Narnian efficy again.) On short rations, half a pint a day each, weve got enough for twelve days.
(Theres still lots of rum and wi even they realize that would only make them thirstier.)
"If we could, of course, the sensible thing would be to tur at once and make for the Lone Islands. But it took us eighteen days to get where we are, running like mad with a gale behind us. Even if we got a wind it might take us far loo get back. And at present theres no sign of a wind - in fact theres no wind at all. As for rowing back, it would take far too long and Caspian says the men couldnt row on half a pint of water a day. Im pretty sure this is wrong. I tried to explain that perspiration really cools people down, so the men would need less water if they were w. He didnt take any notice of this, which is always his way when he t think of an ahe others all voted foing on in the hope of finding land. I felt it my duty to point out that we didnt know there was any land ahead and tried to get them to see the dangers of wishful thinking.
Instead of produg a better plan they had the cheek to ask me what I proposed. So I just explained ?coolly and quietly that I had been kidnapped and brought away on this idiotic voyage without my sent, and it was hardly my busio get them out of their scrape.
"4 September. Still becalmed. Very short rations for dinner and I got less than anyone.
Caspian is very clever at helping and thinks I dont see! Lucy for some reason tried to make up to me by me some of hers but that interfering prig Edmund would her. Pretty hot sun. Terribly thirsty all evening.
"5 September. Still becalmed and very hot. Feeling rotten all day and am sure Ive got a temperature. Of course they havent the seo keep a thermometer on board.
"6 September. A horrible day. Woke up in the night knowing I was feverish and must have a drink of water. Any doctor would have said so. Heaven knows Im the last person to try to get any unfair adva I never dreamed that this water- rationing would be meant to apply to a sick man. In fact I would have wokehers up and asked fo.r some only I thought it would be selfish to wake them. So I got up and took my cup and tiptoed out of the Black Hole we slept in, taking great care not to disturb Caspian and Edmund, for theyve been sleeping badly sihe heat and the short water began. I always try to sider others whether they are o me or not. I got out all right into the big room, if you call it a room, where the rowing benches and the luggage are. The
thing of water is at this end. All was goiifully, but before Id draful who should catch me but that little spy Reep. I tried to explain that I was going on deck for a breath of air (the business about the water had nothing to do with him) and he asked me why I had a cup. He made such a hat the whole ship was roused. They treated me sdalously. I asked, as I think anyone would have, why Reepicheep was sneaking about the water cask in the middle of the night. He said that as he was too small to be any use on deck, he did sentry over the water every night so that one more man could go to sleep.
Now es their rotten unfairness: they all believed him. you beat it?
"I had to apologize or the dangerous little brute would have been at me with his sword.
And then Caspian showed up in his true colours as a brutal tyrant and said out loud for everyoo hear that anyone found "stealing" water in future would "get two dozen". I didnt know what this meant till Edmund explaio me. It es in the sort of books those Pevensie kids read.
"After this cowardly threat Caspian ged his tune and started being patronizing. Said he was sorry for me and that everyo just as feverish as I did and we must all make the best of it, etc., etc. Odious stuck-up prig. Stayed in bed all day today.
"7 September. A little wind today but still from the west.
Made a few miles eastward with part of the sail, set on what Drinian calls the jury-mast-that means the bowsprit set upright and tied (they call it "lashed") to the stump of the real mast. Still terribly thirsty.
"8 September. Still saili. I stay in my bunk all day now and see no one except Lucy till the two fiends e to bed. Lucy gives me a little of her water ration. She says girls do as thirsty as boys. I had often thought this but it ought to be menerally known at sea.
"9 September. Land in sight; a very high mountain a long way off to the south-east.
"10 September. The mountain is bigger and clearer but still a long way off. Gulls again today for the first time since I dont know how long.
"11 September. Caught some fish and had them for dinner. Dropped anchor at about 7 p.m. in three fathoms of water in a bay of this mountainous island. That idiot Caspian would us go ashore because it was getting dark and he was afraid of savages and wild beasts. Extra water ration tonight.”
What awaited them on this island was going to Eustace more than anyone else, but it ot be told in his words because after September 11 he fot about keeping his diary .for a long time.
When m came, with a low, grey sky but very hot, the adventurers found they were in a bay encircled by such cliffs and crags that it was like a Nian fjord. In front of
them, at the head of the bay, there was some level land heavily rown with trees that appeared to be cedars, through which a rapid stream came out. Beyond that was a steep ast ending in a jagged ridge and behind that a vague darkness of mountains which ran into dull-coloured clouds so that you could not see their tops. The nearer cliffs, at each side of the bay, were streaked here and there with lines of white which everyone ko be waterfalls, though at that distahey did not show any movement or make any noise. Ihe whole place was very silent and the water of the bay as smooth as glass.
It reflected every detail of the cliffs. The se would have beey in a picture but was rather oppressive in real life. It was not a try that weled visitors.
The whole ships pa ashore in two boatloads and everyone drank and washed deliciously in the river and had a meal and a rest before Caspia four men back to keep the ship, and the days work began. There was everything to be dohe casks must be brought ashore and the faulty ones mended if possible and all refilled; a tree - a pine if they could get it - must be felled and made into a new mast; sails must be repaired; a hunting party ao shoot any game the land might yield; clothes to be washed and mended; and tless small breakages on board to be set right. For the Dawn Treader herself - and this was more obvious now that they saw her at a distance - could hardly be reized as the same gallant ship which had left Narrowhaven. She looked a crippled, discoloured hulk whiyone might have taken for a wreck. And her officers and crew were er - lean, pale, red-eyed from lack of sleep, and dressed in rags.
As Eustace lay under a tree and heard all these plans being discussed his heart sank. Was there going to be ? It looked as if their first day on the longed- for land was going to be quite as hard work as a day at sea. Then a delightful idea occurred to him. Nobody was looking they were all chattering about their ship as if they actually liked the beastly thing. Why shouldnt he simply slip away? He would take a stroll inland, find a cool, airy place up in the mountains, have a good long sleep, and not rejoihers till the days work was over. He felt it would do him good. But he would take great care to keep the bay and the ship in sight so as to be sure of his way back. He wouldnt like to be left behind in this try.
He at o his plan into a. He rose quietly from his plad walked away among the trees, taking care to go slowly and in an aimless manner so that anyone who saw him would think he was merely stretg his legs. He was surprised to find how quickly the noise of versation died away behind hiin and how very silent and warm and dark green the wood became. Soon he felt he could venture on a quicker and more determiride.
This soht him out of the wood. The ground began sloping steeply up in front of him. The grass was dry and slippery but manageable if he used his hands as well as his feet, and though he panted and mopped his forehead a good deal, ..plugged away steadily. This showed, by the way, that his new life, little as he suspected it, had already done him some good; the old Eustace, Harold and Albertas Eustace, would have given up the climb after about ten minutes.
Slowly, and with several rests, he reached the ridge. Here he had expected to have a view into the heart of the island, but the clouds had now e lower and nearer and a sea of fog was rolling to meet him. He sat down and looked back. He was now so high that the bay looked small beh him and miles of sea were visible. Then the fog from the mountains closed in all round him, thick but not cold, and he lay down and turhis way and that to find the most fortable position to enjoy himself.
But he didnt enjoy himself, or not for very long. He began, almost for the first time in his life, to feel lonely. At first this feeling grew very gradually. And then he began to worry about the time. There was not the slightest sound. Suddenly it occurred to him that he might have been lying there for hours. Perhaps the others had gone! Perhaps they had let him wander away on purpose simply in order to leave him behind! He leaped up in a panid began the dest.
At first he tried to do it too quickly, slipped oeep grass, and slid for several feet.
Thehought this had carried him too far to the left - and as he came up he had seen precipices on that side. So he clambered up again, as near as he could guess to the place he had started from, and began the dest afresh, bearing to his right. After that things seemed to be goier. He went very cautiously, for he could not see more than a yard ahead, and there was still perfect silence all around him. It is very unpleasant to have to go cautiously when there is a voiside you saying all the time, "Hurry, hurry, hurry.”
For every moment the terrible idea of bei behind grew stronger. If he had uood Caspian and the Peve all he would have known, of course, that there was not the least ce of their doing any such thing. But he had persuaded himself that they were all fiends in human form.
"At last!" said Eustace as he came slithering down a slide of loose stones (scree, they call it) and found himself on the level. "And now, where are those trees? There is something dark ahead. Why, I do believe the fog is clearing.”
It was. The light increased every moment and made him blink. The fog lifted. He was in an utterly unknown valley and the sea was nowhere in sight.
CHAPTER SIX
THE ADVENTURES OF EUSTACE AT that very moment the others were washing hands and faces in the river and generally getting ready for dinner and a rest. The three best archers had gone up into the hills north of the bay aurned laden with a pair of wild goats which were now roasting over a fire. Caspian had ordered a cask of wine ashore, strong wine of Arland which had to be mixed with water before you drank it, so there would be plenty for all. The work had
gone well so far and it was a merry meal. Only after the sed helping of goat did Edmund say, "Wheres that blighter Eustace?”
Meanwhile Eustace stared round the unknown valley. It was so narrow and deep, and the precipices which surrou so sheer, that it was like a huge pit or trench. The floor was grassy though strewn with rocks, and here and there Eustace saw black burnt patches like those you see on the sides of a railway emba in a dry summer.
About fifteen yards away from him ool of clear, smooth water. There was, at first, nothing else at all in the valley; not an animal, not a bird, not an i. The su down and grim peaks and horns of mountains peered over the valleys edge.
Eustace realized of course that in the fog he had e down the wrong side of the ridge, so he tur oo see about getting back. But as soon as he had looked he shuddered. Apparently he had by amazing luck found the only possible way down - a long green spit of land, horribly steep and narrow, with precipices oher side. There was no other possible way of getting back. But could he do it, now that he saw what it was really like? His head swam at the very thought of it.
He turned round again, thinking that at any rate hed better have a good drink from the pool first. But as soon as he had turned and before he had taken a step forward into the valley he heard a noise behind him. It was only a small it sounded loud in that immense sile froze him dead-still where he stood for a sed. Then he slewed round his ned looked.
At the bottom of the cliff a little on his left hand was a low, dark hole - the entrao a cave perhaps. And out of this two thin wisps of smoke were ing. And the loose stones just beh the dark hollow were moving (that was the noise he had heard) just as if something were crawling in the dark behind them.
Something was crawling. Worse still, something was ing out. Edmund or Lucy or you would have reized it at once, but Eustace had read none of the right books. The thing that came out of the cave was something he had never even imagined - along lead-coloured snout, dull red eyes, hers or fur, a long lithe body that trailed on the ground, legs whose elbows went up higher than its back like a spiders cruel claws, bats wings that made a rasping noise oones, yards of tail. And the lines of smoke were ing from its two nostrils. He never said the word Dragon to himself. Nor would it have made things aer if he had.
But perhaps if he had known something about dragons he would have been a little surprised at this dragons behaviour. It did not sit up and clap its wings, nor did it shoot out a stream of flame from its mouth. The smoke from its nostrils was like the smoke of a fire that will not last much longer. Nor did it seem to have noticed Eustace. It moved very slowly towards the pool - slowly and with many pauses. Even in his fear Eustace felt that it was an old, sad creature. He wondered if he dared make a dash for the ast. But it might look round if he made any might ore to life. Perhaps it was only
shamming. Anyway, what was the use to escape by climbing from a creature that could fly?
It reached the pool and slid its horrible scaly dowhe gravel to drink: but before it had drunk there came from it a great croaking or ging cry and after a few twitches and vulsions it rolled round on its side and lay perfectly still with one claw in the air. A little dark blood gushed from its wide-opened mouth. The smoke from its nostrils turned black for a moment and then floated away. No more came. this was the brutes trick, the way it lured travellers to their doom. But one couldnt wait for ever. He took a step hen two steps, and halted again. The dragon remained motionless; he noticed too that the red fire had go of its eyes. At last he came up tobbr>? it. He was quite sure now that it was dead. With a shudder he touched it; nothing happened.
The relief was so great that Eustace almost laughed out loud. He began to feel as if he had fought and killed the dragon instead of merely seeing it die. He stepped over it ao the pool for his drink, for the heat was getting unbearable. He was not surprised when he heard a peal of thunder. Almost immediately afterwards the sun disappeared and before he had finished his drink big drops of rain were falling.
The climate of this island was a very unpleasant one. Ihan a minute Eustace was wet to the skin and half blinded with such rain as one never sees in Europe. There was no use trying to climb out of the valley as long as this lasted. He bolted for the only shelter in sight - the dragons cave. There he lay down and tried to get his breath.
Most of us know what we should expect to find in a dragons lair, but, as I said before, Eustace had read only the wrong books. They had a lot to say about exports and imports and govers and drains, but they were weak ons. That is why he was so puzzled at the surfa which he was lying. Parts of it were too prickly to be stones and too hard to be thorns, and there seemed to be a great many round, flat things, and it all ked when he moved. There was light enough at the caves mouth to exami by.
And of course Eustace found it to be what any of us could have told him in advareasure. There were s (those were the prickly things), s, rings, bracelets, ingots, cups, plates and gems.
Eustace (unlike most boys) had hought much of treasure but he saw at ohe use it would be in this new world which he had so foolishly stumbled into through the picture in Lucys bedroom at home. "They dont have any tax here," he said, "And you dont have to give treasure to the gover. With some of this stuff I could have quite a det time here - perhaps in en. It sounds the least phoney of these tries. I wonder how much I carry? That bracelet now - those things in it are probably diamonds - Ill slip that on my own wrist. Too big, but not if I push it right up here above my elbow.
Then fill my pockets with diamonds - thats easier than gold. I wonder when this infernal rains going to let up?" He got into a less unfortable part of the pile, where it was mostly s, aled down to wait. But a bad fright, when o is over, and especially a bad fright following a mountain walk, leaves you very tired. Eustace fell asleep.
By the time he was sound asleep and sn the others had finished dinner and became seriously alarmed about him. They shouted, "Eustace! Eustace! Coo-ee!" till they were hoarse and Caspian blew his horn.
"Hes nowhere near or hed have heard that," said Lucy with a white face.
"found the fellow," said Edmund. "What oh did he want to slink away like this for?”
"But we must do something," said Lucy. "He may have got lost, or fallen into a hole, or been captured by savages.”
"Or killed by wild beasts," said Drinian.
"And a good riddance if he has, I say," muttered Rhince.
"Master Rhince," said Reepicheep, "you never spoke a word that became you less. The creature is no friend of mi he is of the Queens blood, and while he is one of our fellowship it s our honour to find him and to avenge him if he is dead.”
"Of course weve got to find him (if we )," said Caspian wearily. "Thats the nuisance of it. It means a search party and erouble. Bother Eustace.”
Meanwhile Eustace slept and slept - and slept. What woke him ain in his arm. The moon was shining in at the mouth of the cave, and the bed of treasures seemed to have grown much more fortable: in fact he could hardly feel it at all. He uzzled by the pain in his arm at first, but presently it occurred to him that the bracelet which he had shoved up above his elbow had bee straight. His arm must have swollen while he was asleep (it was his left arm).
He moved his right arm in order to feel his left, but stopped before he had moved it an ind bit his lip in terror. For just in front of him, and a little.９９ｌｉｂ. on his right, where the moonlight fell clear on the floor of the cave, he saw a hideous shape moving. He khat shape: it was a dragons claw. It had moved as he moved his hand and became still wheopped moving his hand.
"Oh, what a fool Ive been," thought Eustace. "Of course, the brute had a mate and its lying beside me.”
For several minutes he did not dare to move a muscle. He saw two thin ns of smoke going up before his eyes, black against the moonlight; just as there had been smoke ing from the other dragons nose before it died. This was so alarming that he held his breath. The two ns of smoke vanished. When he could hold his breath no longer he let it out stealthily; instantly two jets of smoke appeared again. But eve he had no idea of the truth.
Presently he decided that he would edge very cautiously to his left and try to creep out of the cave. Perhaps the creature was asleep - and anyway it was his only ce. But of course before he edged to the left he looked to the left. Oh horror! there was a dragons claw on that side too.
No one will blame Eustace if at this moment he shed tears. He was surprised at the size of his own tears as he saw them splashing on to the treasure in front of him. They also seemed strangely hot; steam went up from them.
But there was no go. He must try to crawl out from betweewons.
He begaending his right arm. The dragons fore-leg and claw on his right went through exactly the same motion. Thehought he would try his left. The dragon limb on that side moved too.
Twons, one on each side, mimig whatever he did! His nerve broke and he simply made a bolt for it.
There was such a clatter and rasping, and king of gold, and grinding of stones, as he rushed out of the cave that he thought they were both following him. He darent look back. He rushed to the pool. The twisted shape of the dead dragon lying in the moonlight would have been enough thten a now he hardly noticed it. His idea was to get into the water.
But just as he reached the edge of the pool two things happened. First of all it came over him like a thunder-clap that he had been running on all fours - and why oh had he been doing that? And sedly, as he bent towards the water, he thought for a sed that yet another dragon was staring up at him out of the pool. But in an instant he realized the truth. The dragon fa the pool was his own refle. There was no doubt of it. It moved as he moved: it opened and shut its mouth as he opened and shut his.
He had turned into a dragon while he was asleep. Sleeping on a dragons hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had bee a dragon himself.
That explained everything. There had been no twons beside him in the cave. The claws tht a had been his ht a claw. The two ns of smoke had been ing from his own nostri>ls. As for the pain in his left arm (or what had been his left arm) he could now see what had happened by squinting with his left eye. The bracelet which had fitted very nicely on the upper arm of a boy was far too small for the thick, stumpy f of a dragon. It had sunk deeply into his scaly flesh and there was a throbbing bulge on each side of it. He tore at the place with his dragons teeth but could not get it off.
In spite of the pain, his first feeling was one of relief. There was nothing to be afraid of any more. He was a terror himself and nothing in the world but a knight (and not all of those) would dare to attack him. He could get even with Caspian and Edmund now But
the momehought this he realized that he didnt want to. He wao be friends. He wao get back among humans and talk and laugh and share things. He realized that he was a monster cut off from the whole human race. An appalling loneliness came over him. He began to see that the others had not really been fiends at all. He began to wonder if he himself had been such a nice person as he had always supposed. He longed for their voices. He would have been grateful for a kind word even from Reepicheep.
Whehought of this the poon that had beeace lifted up its void wept. A powerful drag its eyes out uhe moon in a deserted valley is a sight and a sound hardly to be imagined.
At last he decided he would try to find his way back to the shore. He realized now that Caspian would never have sailed away a him. And he felt sure that somehow or other he would be able to make people uand who he was.
He took a long drink and then (I know t藏书网his sounds shog, but it isnt if you think it over) he ate nearly all the dead dragon. He was half-way through it before he realized what he was doing; for, you see, though his mind was the mind of Eustace, his tastes and his digestion were dragonish. And there is nothing a dragon likes so well as fresh dragon.
That is why you so seldom find more than one dragon in the same ty.
Theuro climb out of the valley. He began the climb with a jump and as soon as he jumped he found that he was flying. He had quite fotten about his wings and it was a great surprise to him - the first pleasant surprise he had had for a long time. He rose high into the air and saw innumerable mountain-tops spread out beh him in the moonlight. He could see the bay like a silver slab and the Dawn Treader lying at anchor and camp fires twinkling in the woods beside the beach. From a great height he launched himself down towards them in a single glide.
Lucy was sleeping very soundly for she had sat up till the return of the search party in hope of good news about Eustace. It had been led by Caspian and had e back late and weary. Their news was disquieting. They had found no trace of Eustace but had seen a dead dragon in a valley. They tried to make the best of it and everyone assured everyone else that there were not likely to he more dragons about, and that one which was dead at about three oclock that afternoon (which was when they had seen it) would hardly have been killing people a very few hours before.
"Unless it ate the little brat and died of him: hed poison anything," said Rhince. But he said this under his breath and no one heard it.
But later in the night Lucy was wakened, very softly, and found the whole pany gathered close together and talking in whispers.
"What is it?" said Lucy.
"We must all show great stancy," Caspian was saying. "A dragon has just flowhe tree-tops and lighted on the beach. Yes, I am afraid it is between us and the ship. And arrows are no use against dragons. And theyre not at all afraid of fire.”
"With your Majestys leave-" began Reepicheep.
"No, Reepicheep," said the King very firmly, "you are not to attempt a single bat with it. And unless you promise to obey me in this matter Ill have you tied up. We must just keep close watd, as soon as it is light, go down to the bead give it battle. I will lead. King Edmund will be on my right and the Lord Drinian on my left. There are no other arras to be made. It will be light in a couple of hours. In an hours time let a meal be served out and what is left of the wine. A everything be done silently.”
"Perhaps it will go away," said Lucy.
"Itll be worse if it does," said Edmund, "because then we shant know where it is. If theres a in the room I like to be able to see it.”
The rest of the night wa dreadful, and when the meal came, though they khey ought to eat, many found that they had very poor appetites. And endless hours seemed to pass before the darkhinned and birds began chirping here and there and the wot colder aer than it had been all night and Caspian said, "Now for it, friends.”
They got up, all with swords drawn, and formed themselves into a solid mass with Lu the middle and Reepicheep on her shoulder. It was han the waiting about and everyo fonder of everyone else than at ordinary times. A moment later they were marg. It grew lighter as they came to the edge of the wood. And there on the sand, like a giant lizard, or a flexible crocodile, or a serpent with legs, huge and horrible and humpy, lay the dragon.
But when it saw them, instead of rising up and blowing fire and smoke, the dragoreated - you could almost say it waddled - bato the shallows of the bay.
"Whats it wagging its head like that for?" said Edmund.
"And now its nodding," said Caspian.
"And theres something ing from its eyes," said Drinian.
"Oh, t you see," said Lucy. "Its g. Those are tears.”
"I shouldnt trust to that, Maam," said Drinian. "Thats what crocodiles do, to put you off yuard.”
"It wagged its head when you said that," remarked Edmund. "Just as if it meant No.
Look, there it goes again.”
"Do you think it uands what were saying?" asked Lucy.
The dragon s head violently.
Reepicheep slipped off Lucys shoulder and stepped to the front.
&quon," came his shrill voice, " you uand speech?”
The dragon nodded.
" you speak?”
It shook its head.
"Then," said Reepicheep, "it is idle to ask you your business. But if you will swear friendship with us raise your left f above your head.”
It did so, but clumsily because that leg was sore and swollen with the golden bracelet "Oh look," said Lucy, "theres something wrong with its leg. The poor thing - thats probably what it was g about. Perhaps it came to us to be cured like in Androcles and the lion.”
"Be careful, Lucy," said Caspian. "Its a very clever dragon but it may be a liar.”
Lucy had, however, already run forward, followed by Reepicheep, as fast as his short legs could carry him, and then of course the boys and Drinian came, too.
"Show me your poor paw," said Lucy, "I might be able to cure it.”
The dragon-that-had-beeace held out its sore leg gladly enough, remembering how Lucys cordial had cured him of sea-siess before he became a dragon. But he was disappoihe magic fluid reduced the swelling and eased the pain a little but it could not dissolve the gold.
Everyone had now crowded round to watch the treatment, and Caspian suddenly exclaimed, "Look!" He was staring at the bracelet.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HOW THE ADVENTURE ENDED
"LOOK at what?" said Edmund.
"Look at the devi the gold," said Caspian.
"A little hammer with a diamond above it like a star," said Drinian. "Why, Ive seen that before.”
"Seen it!" said Caspian. "Why, of course you have. It is the sign of a great Narnian house.
This is the Lord Octesians arm-ring.”
"Villain," said Reepicheep to the dragon, "have you devoured a Narnian lord?" But the dragon shook his head violently.
"Or perhaps," said Lucy, "this is the Lord Octesian, turned into a dragon - under an entment, you know.”
"It be either," said Edmund. "All dragons collect gold. But I think its a safe guess that Octesian got no further than this island.”
"Are you the Lord Octesian?"..; said Lucy to the dragon, and then, when it sadly shook its head, "Are you someone ented - someone human, I mean?”
It nodded violently.
And then someone said - people disputed afterwards whether Lucy or Edmund said it first - "Youre not - ace by any ce?”
Aaodded his terrible dragon head and thumped his tail in the sea and everyone skipped back (some of the sailors with ejaculations I will not put down in writing) to avoid the enormous and boiling tears which flowed from his eyes.
Lucy tried hard to sole him and even screwed up her ce to kiss the scaly face, and nearly everyone said "Hard luck" and several assured Eustace that they would all stand by him and many said there was sure to be some way of disenting him and theyd have him as right as rain in a day or two. And of course they were all very anxious to hear his story, but he couldnt speak. More than on the days that followed he attempted to write it for them on the sand. But, this never succeeded. In the first place Eustaever havihe right books) had no idea how to tell a story straight. And for ahing, the muscles and nerves of the dragon-claws that he had to use had never learo write and were not built for writing anyway. As a result he never got nearly to the end before the tide came in and washed away all the writing except the bits he had already trodden on or actaly swished out with his tail. And all that anyone had seen would be something like this - the dots are for the bits he had smudged out I WO SL EE . . . RGOS AGRONS I MEAN DRANGONS
CAVE CAUSE IT-WAS DEAD AND AWING SO HAR . . . WOKE UP AND COU . . .
GET OFFF MI ARM OH BOTHER . . .
It was, however, clear to everyohat Eustaces character had been rather improved by being a dragon. He was anxious to help. He flew over the whole island and found it was all mountainous and inhabited only by wild goats and droves of wild swine. Of these he brought back many carcasses as provisions for the ship. He was a very humane killer too, for he could dispatch a beast with one blow of his tail so that it didnt knoresumably still doesnt know) it had been killed. He ate a few himself, of course, but always alone, for now that he was a dragon he liked his food raw but he could never bear to let others see him at his messy meals. And one day, flying slowly and wearily but iriumph, he bore bap a great tall piree which he had torn up by the roots in a distant valley and which could be made into a capital mast. And in the evening if it turned chilly, as it sometimes did after the heavy rains, he was a fort to everyone, for the whole party would e and sit with their backs against his hot sides a well warmed and dried; and one puff of his fiery breath would light the most obstinate fire.
Sometimes he would take a select party for a fly on his back, so that they could see wheeling below them the green slopes, the rocky heights, the narrow pit- like valleys and far out over the sea to the eastward a spot of darker blue on the blue horizon which might be land.
The pleasure (quite o him) of being liked and, still more, of liking other people, was what kept Eustace from despair. For it was very dreary being a dragon. He shuddered whenever he caught sight of his own refle as he flew over a mountain lake. He hated the huge batlike wings, the saw-edged ridge on his back, and the cruel, curved claws. He was almost afraid to be aloh himself a he was ashamed to be with the others.
On the evenings when he was not being used as a hot-water bottle he would slink away from the camp and lie curled up like a sween the wood and the water. On such occasions, greatly to his surprise, Reepicheep was his most stant forter. The noble Mouse would creep away from the merry circle at the camp fire and sit down by the dragons head, well to the windward to be out of the way of his smoky breath. There he would explain that what had happeo Eustace was a striking illustration of the turn of Fortunes wheel, and that if he had Eustace at his own house in Narnia (it was really a hole not a house and the dragons head, let alone his body, would not have fitted in) he could show him more than a hundred examples of emperors, kings, dukes, knights, poets, lovers, astronomers, philosophers, and magis, who had fallen from prosperity into the most distressing circumstances, and of whom many had recovered and lived happily ever afterwards. It did not, perhaps, seem so very f at the time, but it was kindly meant aaever fot it.
But of course what hung over everyone like a cloud was the problem of what to do with their dragohey were ready to sail. They tried not to talk of it when he was there, but he couldnt help overhearing things like, "Would he fit all along on..e side of the deck?
And wed have to shift all the stores to the other side down below so as to balance," or, "Would towing him be any good?" or "Would he be able to keep up by flying?" and (most often of all), "But how are we to feed him?" And poor Eustace realized more and
more that sihe first day he came on board he had been an unmitigated nuisand that he was now a greater nuisaill. And this ate into his mind, just as that bracelet ate into his f. He khat it only made it worse to tear at it with his great teeth, but he couldearing now and then, especially on hot nights.
About six days after they had landed on Island, Edmund happeo wake up very early one m. It was just getting grey so that you could see the tree-trunks if they were between you and the bay but not iher dire. As he woke he thought he heard something moving, so he raised himself on one elbow and looked about him: and presently he thought he saw a dark figure moving on the seaward side of the wood.
The idea that at once occurred to his mind was, "Are we so sure there are no natives on this island after all?" Thehought it was Caspian - it was about the right size - but he khat Caspian had been sleepio him and could see that he hadnt moved.
Edmund made sure that his sword was in its plad then rose to iigate.
He came down softly to the edge of the wood and the dark figure was still there. He saw now that it was too small for Caspian and too big for Lucy. It did not run away. Edmund drew his sword and was about to challehe stranger wheranger said in a low voice, "Is that you, Edmund?”
"Yes. Who are you?" said he.
"Dont you know me?" said the other. "Its me Eustace.”
"By jove," said Edmund, "so it is. My dear chap -”
"Hush," said Eustad lurched as if he were going to fall.
"Hello!" said Edmund, steadying him. "Whats up? Are you ill?”
Eustace was silent for so long that Edmund thought he was fainting; but at last he said, "Its been ghastly. You dont know . . . but its all right now. Could we go and talk somewhere? I dont want to meet the others just yet.”
"Yes, rather, anywhere you like," said Edmund. "We go and sit on the rocks over there. I say, I am glad to see you - er - looking yourself again. You must have had a pretty beastly time.”
They went to the rocks and sat down looking out across the bay while the sky got paler and paler and the stars disappeared except for one very bright one low down ahe horizon.
"I wont tell you how I became a - a dragon till I tell the others and get it all over,”
said Eustace. "By the way, I didnt even know it was a dragon till I heard you all using the word when I turned up here the other m. I want to tell you how I stopped being one.”
"Fire ahead," said Edmund.
"Well, last night I was more miserable than ever. And that beastly arm-ring was hurting like anything-”
"Is that all right now?”
Eustace laughed - a different laugh from any Edmund had heard him give before - and slipped the bracelet easily off his arm. "There it is," he said, "and anyone who likes have it as far as Im ed. Well, as I say, I was lying awake and w what oh would bee of me. And then - but, mind you, it may have been all a dream. I dont know.”
"Go on," said Edmund, with siderable patience.
"Well, anyway, I looked up and saw the very last thing I expected: a huge lion ing slowly towards me. And one queer thing was that there was no moon last night, but there was moonlight where the lion was. So it came nearer and nearer. I was terribly afraid of it. You may think that, being a dragon, I could have knocked any lion out easily enough.
But it wasnt that kind of fear. I wasnt afraid of it eating me, I was just afraid of it - if you uand. Well, it came close up to me and looked straight into my eyes. And I shut my eyes tight. But that wasnt any good because it told me to follow it.”
"You mean it spoke?”
"I dont know. Now that you mention it, I dont think it did. But it told me all the same.
And I knew Id have to do what it told me, so I got up and followed it. And it led me a long way into the mountains. And there was always this moonlight over and round the lion wherever we went. So at last we came to the top of a mountain Id never seen before and oop of this mountain there was a garden - trees and fruit and everything. In the middle of it there was a well.
"I k was a well because you could see the water bubbling up from the bottom of it: but it was a lot bigger than most wells - like a very big, round bath with marble steps going down into it. The water was as clear as anything and I thought if I could get in there and bathe it would ease the pain in my leg. But the lion told me I must undress first.
Mind you, I dont know if he said any words out loud or not.
"I was just going to say that I couldnt undress because I hadnt any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are snaky sort of things and snakes cast their skins.
Oh, of course, thought I, thats what the lion means. So I started scratg myself and my scales began ing off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper and, instead of just scales ing off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I was a banana. In a minute or two I just
stepped out of it. I could see it lying there beside me, looking rather nasty. It was a most lovely feeling. So I started to go down into the well for my bathe.
"But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly just as they had been before. Oh, thats all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit on underh the first one, and Ill have to get out of it too. So 1 scratched and tain and this underskin peeled off beautifully and out I stepped a it lying beside the other one and went down to the well for my bathe.
"Well, exactly the same thing happened again. And I thought to myself, oh dear, how ever many skins have I got to take off? For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I scratched away for the third time and got off a third skin, just like the two others, and stepped out of it. But as soon as I looked at myself ier I k had been no good.
"Then the lion said - but I dont know if it spoke - "You will have to let me undress you.”
I was afraid of his claws, I tell you, but I retty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.
"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had ght into my heart.
And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything Ive ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.
You know - if youve ever picked the scab off a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it ing away.”
"I kly what you mean," said Edmund.
"Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off - just as I thought Id do myself the other three times, only they hadnt hurt - and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking thahers had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switd smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me - I didnt like that much for I was very tender underh now that Id no skin on - and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. Id turned into a boy again.
Youd think me s?９9lｉｂ?imply phoney if I told you how I felt about my own arms. I know theyve no muscle and are pretty mouldy pared with Caspians, but I was so glad to see them.
"After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me -”
"Dressed you. With his paws?”
"Well, I doly remember that bit. But he did somehow or other: in new clothes - the same Ive got on now, as a matter of fact. And then suddenly I was back here. Which is what makes me think it must have been a dream.”
"No. It wasnt a dream," said Edmund.
"Why not?”
"Well, there are the clothes, for ohing. And you have been - well, un- dragoned, for another.”
"What do you think it was, then?" asked Eustace.
"I think youve seen Aslan," said Edmund.
"Aslan!" said Eustace. "Ive heard that name mentioned several times since we joihe Dawn Treader. And I felt - I dont know what - I hated it. But I was hating everything then. And by the way, Id like to apologize. Im afraid Ive beey beastly.”
"Thats all right," said Edmund. "Between ourselves, you havent been as bad as I was on my first trip to Narnia. You were only an ass, but I was a traitor.”
"Well, dont tell me about it, then," said Eustace. "But who is Aslan? Do you know him?”
"Well - he knows me," said Edmund. "He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. Weve all seen him. Lucy sees him most often. And it may be Aslans try we are sailing to.”
her said anything for a while. The last bright star had vanished and though they could not see the sunrise because of the mountains on their right, they k was going on because the sky above them and the bay before them turhe colour of roses. Then some bird of the parrot kind screamed in the wood behind them, they heard movements among the trees, and finally a blast on Caspians horn. The camp was astir.
Great was the rejoig when Edmund and the restored Eustace walked into the breakfast circle round the camp fire. And now of course everyone heard the earlier part of his story.
People wondered whether the other dragon had killed the Lord Octesian several years ago or whether Octesian himself had been the old dragon. The jewels with which Eustace had crammed his pockets in the cave had disappeared along with the clothes he had then been wearing: but no one, least of all Eustace himself, felt any desire to go back to that valley for more treasure.
In a few days now the Dawn Treader, remasted, re-painted, and well stored, was ready to sail. Before they embarked Caspian caused to be cut on a smooth cliff fag the bay the words: Two narrow escapes
DRAGON ISLAND DISCOVERED BY CASPIAN X, KING OF NARNIA, ET THE FOURTH YEAR OF HIS REIGN. HERE, AS WE SUPPOSE, THE LORD OCTESIAN HAD HIS DEATH It would be nice, and fairly true, to say that "from that time forth Eustace was a different boy". To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.
The Lord Octesians arm ring had a curious fate. Eustace did not want it and offered it to Caspian and Caspian offered it to Lucy. She did not care about having it. "Very well, then, catch as catch ," said Caspian and flung it up in the air. This was when they were all standing looking at the inscription. Up went the ring, flashing in the sunlight, and caught, and hung, as ly as a well-thrown quoit, on a little proje on the roo one could climb up to get it from below and no one could climb down to get it from above. And there, for all I know, it is hanging still and may hang till that world ends.
CHAPTER EIGHT
TWO NARROW ESCAPES EVERYONE was cheerful as the Dawn Treader sailed fron Island. They had fair winds as soon as they were out of the bay and came early m to the unknown land whie of them had seen when flying over the mountains while Eustace was still a dragon. It was a low green island inhabited by nothing but rabbits and a few goats, but from the ruins of stos, and from blaed places where fires had been, they judged that it had been peopled not long before. There were also some bones and broken ons.
"Pirates work," said Caspian.
"Or the dragons," said Edmund.
The only other thing they found there was a little skin boat, or coracle, on the sands. It was made of hide stretched over a wicker framework. It was a tiny boat, barely four feet long, and the paddle which still lay in it was in proportion. They thought that either it had been made for a child or else that the people of that try had been Dwarfs.
Reepicheep decided to keep it, as it was just the right size for him; so it was taken on board. They called that land Burnt Island, and sailed away before noon.
For some five days they ran before a south-south-east wind, out of sight of all lands and seeiher fish null. Then they had a day when it rained hard till the afternoon.
Eustace lost two games of chess to Reepicheep and began to get like his old and
disagreeable self again, and Edmund said he wished they could have goo America with Susan. Then Lucy looked out of the stern windows and said: "Hello! I do believe its stopping. And whats that?”
They all tumbled up to the poop at this and found that the rain had stopped and that Drinian, who was on watch, was also staring hard at something astern. Or rather, at several things. They looked a little like smooth rounded rocks, a whole line of them with intervals of about forty feet iween.
"But they t be rocks," Drinian was saying, "because they werent there five minutes ago.”
"And ones just disappeared," said Lucy.
"Yes, and theres another one ing up," said Edmund.
"And nearer," said Eustace.
"Hang it!" said Caspian. "The whole thing is moving this way.”
"And moving a great deal quicker than we sail, Sire," said Drinian. "Itll be up with us in a minute.”
They all held their breath, for it is not at all o be pursued by an unknown somethiher on land or sea. But what it turned out to be was far worse than anyone had suspected. Suddenly, only about the length of a cricket pitch from their port side, an appalling head reared itself out of the sea. It was all greens and vermilions with purple blotches - except where shell fish g to it - and shaped rather like a horses, though without ears. It had enormous eyes, eyes made for staring through the dark depths of the o, and a gaping mouth filled with double rows of sharp fish-like teeth. It came up on what they first took to be a huge neck, but as more and more of it emerged everyone khat this was not its neck but its body and that at last they were seeing what so many people have foolishly wao see - the great Sea Serpent. The folds of its gigantic tail could be seen far away, rising at intervals from the surface. And now its head was t up higher than the mast.
Every man rushed to his on, but there was nothing to be dohe monster was out of reach. "Shoot! Shoot!" cried the Master Bowman, and several obeyed, but the arrows glanced off the Sea Serpents hide as if it was ironplated. Then, for a dreadful minute, everyone was still, staring up at its eyes and mouth and w where it would pounce.
But it didnt pou shot its head forward across the ship on a level with the yard of the mast. Now its head was just beside the fighting top. Still it stretched and stretched till its head was over the starboard bulwark. Then down it began to e - not on to the
crowded deck but into the water, so that the whole ship was under an arch of serpent.
And almost at ohat arch began to get smaller: indeed oarboard the Sea Serpent was now almost toug the Dawn Treaders side.
Eustace (who had really been trying very hard to behave well, till the rain and the chess put him baow did the first brave thing he had ever done. He was wearing a sword that Caspian had lent him. As soon as the serpents body was near enough on the starboard side he jumped on to the bulwark and began hag at it with all his might. It is true that he aplished nothing beyond breaking Caspians sed-best sword into bits, but it was a fihing for a begio have done.
Others would have joined him if at that moment Reepicheep had not called out, "Dont fight! Push!" It was so unusual for the Mouse to advise a to fight that, even in that terrible moment, every eye turo him. And when he jumped up on to the bulwark, forward of the snake, a his little furry back against its huge scaly, slimy back, and began pushing as hard as he could, quite a number of people saw what he meant and rushed to both sides of the ship to do the same. And when, a moment later, the Sea Serpents head appeared again, this time on the port side, and this time with its back to them, then everyone uood.
The brute had made a loop of itself round the Dawn Treader and was beginning to draw the loop tight. When it got quite tight - snap! - there would be floating matchwood where the ship had been and it could pick them out of the water one by oheir only ce was to push the loop backward till it slid over the stern; or else (to put the same thing another way) to push the ship forward out of the loop.
Reepicheep alone had, of course, no more ce of doing this than of lifting up a cathedral, but he had nearly killed himself with trying before others shoved him aside.
Very soon the whole ships pany except Lud the Mouse (which was fainting)
was in two long lines along the two bulwarks, each mans chest to the back of the man in front, so that the weight of the whole line was in the last man, pushing for their lives. For a few siing seds (which seemed like hours) nothing appeared to happen. Joints cracked, sweat dropped, breath came in grunts and gasps. Then they felt that the ship was moving. They saw that the snake-loop was further from the mast than it had been. But they also saw that it was smaller. And now the real danger was at hand. Could they get it over the poop, or was it already too tight? Yes. It would just fit. It was resting on the poop rails. A dozen or more sprang up on the poop. This was far better. The Sea Serpents body was so low now that they could make a line across the poop and push side by side.
Hope rose high till everyone remembered the high carved stern, the dragon tail, of the Dawn Treader. It would be quite impossible to get the brute over that.
"An axe," cried Caspian hoarsely, "and still shove." Lucy, who knew where everything was, heard him where she was standing on the main deck staring up at the poop. In a few seds she had been below, got the axe, and was rushing up the ladder to the poop. But just as she reached the top there came a great crashing noise like a tree ing down and the ship rocked and darted forward. For at that very moment, whether because the Sea
Serpent was being pushed so hard, or because it foolishly decided to draw the ight, the whole of the carved stern broke off and the ship was free.
The others were too exhausted to see what Lucy saw. There, a few yards behind them, the loop of Sea Serpents body got rapidly smaller and disappeared into a splash. Lucy always said (but of course she was very excited at the moment, and it may have been only imagination) that she saw a look of idiotic satisfa on the creatures face. What is certain is that it was a very stupid animal, for instead of pursuing the ship it turs head round and began nosing all along its own body as if it expected to find the wreckage of the Dawn Treader there. But the Dawn Treader was already well away, running before a fresh breeze, and the men lay and sat panting and groaning all about the deck, till presently they were able to talk about it, and then to laugh about it. And when some rum had been served out they even raised a cheer; and everyone praised the valour of Eustace (though it hadnt done any good) and of Reepicheep.
After this they sailed for three days more and saw nothing but sea and sky. On the fourth day the wind ged to the north and the seas began to rise; by the afternoon it had nearly bee a gale. But at the same time they sighted land on their port bow.
"By your leave, Sire," said Drinian, "we will try to get uhe lee of that try by rowing and lie in harbour, maybe till this is over." Caspian agreed, but a long row against the gale did n them to the land before evening. By the last light of that day they steered into a natural harbour and anchored, but no o ashore that night. In the m they found themselves in the green bay of a rugged, lonely-looking try which sloped up to a rocky summit. From the windy north beyond that summit clouds came streaming rapidly. They lowered the boat and loaded her with any of the water casks which were y.
"Which stream shall we water at, Drinian?" said Caspian as he took his seat iers of the boat. "There seem to be two ing down into the bay.”
"It makes little odds, Sire," said Drinian. "But I think its a shorter pull to that oarboard-the eastern one.”
"Here es the rain," said Lucy.
"I should think it does!" said Edmund, for it was already pelting hard. "I say, lets go to the other stream. There are trees there and well have some shelter.”
"Yes, lets," said Eustace. "No point iier than we need.”
But all the time Drinian was steadily steering to the starboard, like tiresome people in cars who ti forty miles an hour while you are explaining to them that they are on the wrong road.
"Theyre right, Drinian," said Caspian. "Why dont y her head round and make for the western stream?”
"As your Majesty pleases," said Drinian a little shortly. He had had an anxious day with the weather yesterday, and he didnt like advice from landsmen. But he altered course; and it turned out afterwards that it was a good thing he did.
By the time they had finished watering, the rain was over and Caspian, with Eustace, the Pevensies, and Reepicheep, decided to walk up to the top of the hill and see what could be seen. It was a stiffish climb through crass aher and they saw her man nor beast, except seagulls. When they reached the top they saw that it was a very small island, not more thay acres; and from this height the sea looked larger and more desolate than it did from the deck, or even the fighting top, of the Dawn Treader.
"Crazy, you know," said Eustace to Lu a low voice, looking at the eastern horizon.
"Sailing on and on into that with no idea what we may get to." But he only said it out of habit, not really nastily as he would have do oime.
It was too cold to stay long on the ridge for the wind still blew freshly from the north.
"Dos go back the same way," said Lucy as they turned; "lets go along a bit and e down by the other stream, the one Drinian wao go to.”
Everyone agreed to this and abbr>藏书网fter about fifteen mihey were at the source of the sed river. It was a more iing place than they had expected; a deep little mountain lake, surrounded by cliffs except for a narrow el on the seaward side out of which the water flowed. Here at last they were out of the wind, and all sat down in the heather above the cliff for a rest.
All sat down, but o was Edmund) jumped up again very quickly.
"They go in for sharp stones on this island," he said, groping about in the heather. "Where is the wretched thing? . . . Ah, now Ive got it . . . Hullo! It wasnt a sto all, its a sword-hilt. No, by jove, its a whole sword; what the rust has left of it. It must have lain here fes.”
"Narnian, too, by the look of it," said Caspian, as they all crowded round.
"Im sitting on something too," said Lucy. "Something hard." It turned out to be the remains of a mail-shirt. By this time everyone was on hands and knees, feeling ihick heather in every dire. Their search revealed, one by one, a helmet, a dagger, and a few s; not en crests but genuine Narnian "Lions" and "Trees" such as you might see any day in the market-place of Beaversdam or Beruna.
"Looks as if this might be all thats left of one of our seven lords," said Edmund.
"Just what I was thinking," said Caspian. "I wonder which it was. Theres nothing on the dagger to show. And I wonder how he died.”
"And how we are to avenge him," added Reepicheep.
Edmund, the only one of the party who had read several detective stories, had meanwhile been thinking.
"Look here," he said, "theres something very fishy about this. He t have been killed in a fight.”
"Why not?" asked Caspian.
"No bones," said Edmund. "An enemy might take the armour and leave the body. But who ever heard of a chap whod won a fight carrying away the body and leaving the armour?”
"Perhaps he was killed by a wild animal," Lucy suggested.
"Itd be a clever animal," said Edmund, "that would take a mans mail shirt off.”
"Perhaps a dragon?" said Caspian.
"Nothing doing," said Eustace. "A dragon couldnt do it. I ought to know.”
"Well, lets get away from the place, anyway," said Lucy. She had not felt like sitting down again since Edmund had raised the question of bones.
"If you like," said Caspiaing up. "I dont think any of this stuff is worth taking away.”
They came down and round to the little opening where the stream came out of the lake, and stood looking at the deep water within the circle of cliffs. If it had been a hot day, no doubt some would have beeed to bathe and everyone would have had a drink.
Indeed, even as it was, Eustace was on the very point of stooping down and scooping up some water in his hands when Reepicheep and Lucy both at the same moment cried, "Look," so he fot about his drink and looked.
The bottom of the pool was made of large greyish-blue stones and the water erfectly clear, and otom lay a life-size figure of a man, made apparently of gold. It lay face downwards with its arms stretched out above its head. And it so happehat as they looked at it, the clouds parted and the sun shone out. The golden shape was lit up from end to end. Lucy thought it was the most beautiful statue she had ever seen.
"Well!" whistled Caspian. "That was worth ing to see! I wonder, we get it out?”
"We dive for it, Sire," said Reepicheep.
"No good at all," said Edmund. "At least, if its really gold - solid gold - itll be far too heavy t up. And that pools twelve or fiftee deep if its an inch. Half a moment, though. Its a good thing Ive brought a hunting spear with me. Lets see what the depth is like. Hold on to my hand, Caspian, while I lean out over the water a bit.”
Caspian took his hand and Edmund, leaning forward, began to lower his spear into the water.
Before it was half-way in Lucy said, "I dont believe the statue is gold at all. Its only the light. Your spear looks just the same colour.”
"Whats wrong?" asked several voices at once; for Edmund had suddenly let go of the spear.
"I couldnt hold it," gasped Edmund, "it seemed so heavy.”
"And there it is otom now," said Caspian, "and Lucy is right. It looks just the same colour as the statue.”
But Edmund, eared to be having some trouble with his boots - at least he was bending down and looking at them - straightened himself all at ond shouted out in the sharp voice which people hardly ever disobey: "Get back! Back from the water. All of you. At once!!”
They all did and stared at him.
"Look," said Edmund, "look at the toes of my boots.”
"They look a bit yellow," begaace.
"Theyre gold, solid gold," interrupted Edmund. "Look at them. Feel them. The leathers pulled away from it already. And theyre as heavy as lead.”
"By Aslan!" said Caspian. "You doo say-?”
"Yes, I do," said Edmund. "That water turns things into gold. It turhe spear into gold, thats why it got so heavy. And it was just lapping against my feet (its a good thing I wasnt barefoot) and it turhe toe-caps into gold. And that poor fellow otom - well, you see.”
"So it isnt a statue at all," said Lu a low voice.
"No. The whole thing is plain now. He was here on a hot day. He undressed on top of the cliff - where we were sitting. The clothes have rotted away or been taken by birds to lis with; the armours still there. Then he dived and -”
"Dont," said Lucy. "What a horrible thing.”
"And what a narrow shave weve had," said Edmund.
"Narrow indeed," said Reepicheep. "Anyones finger, anyones foot, anyones whisker, or aail, might have slipped into the water at any moment.”
"All the same," said Caspian, "we may as well test it." He stooped down and wrenched up a spray of heather. Then, very cautiously, he k beside the pool and dipped it in. It was heather that he dipped; what he drew out erfect model of heather made of the purest gold, heavy and soft as lead.
"The King who owhis island," said Caspian slowly, and his face flushed as he spoke, "would soohe richest of all the Kings of the world. I claim this land for ever as a Narnian possession. It shall be called Goldwater Island. And I bind all of you to secrecy.
No one must know of this. Not even Drinian - on pain of death, do you hear?”
"Who are you talking to?" said Edmund. "Im no subject of yours. If anything its the other way round. I am one of the four a sns of Narnia and you are under allegiao the High King my brother.”
"So it has e to that, King Edmund, has it?" said Caspian, laying his hand on his sword-hilt.
"Oh, stop it, both of you," said Lucy. "Thats the worst of doing anything with boys.
Youre all such swaggering, bullying idiots - oooh! -" Her voice died away into a gasp.
And everyone else saw what she had seen.
Across the grey hillside above them - grey, for the heather was not yet in bloom - without noise, and without looking at them, and shining as if he were in bright sunlight though the sun had in fact gone in, passed with slow pace the hugest lion that human eyes have ever seen. In describing the se Lucy said afterwards, "He was the size of an elephant,”
though at aime she only said, "The size of a cart-horse." But it was not the size that mattered. Nobody dared to ask what it was. They k was Aslan.
And nobody ever saw how or where he went. They looked at one another like people waking from sleep.
"What were we talking about?" said Caspian. "Have I been making rather an ass of myself?”
"Sire," said Reepicheep, "this is a place with a curse on it. Let us get ba board at once. And if I might have the honour of naming this island, I should call it Deathwater.”
"That strikes me as a very good name, Reep," said Caspian, "though now that I e to think of it, I dont know why. But the weather seems to be settling and I dare say Drinian would like to be off. What a lot we shall have to tell him.”
But in fact they had not much to tell for the memory of the last hour had all bee fused.
"Their Majesties all seemed a bit bewitched when they came aboard," said Drinian to Rhine hours later when the Dawn Treader was once more under sail ahwater Island already below the horizon. "Something happeo them in that place.
The only thing I could get clear was that they think theyve found the body of one of these lords were looking for.”
"You dont say so, Captain," answered Rhince. "Well, thats three. Only four more. At this rate we might be home soon after the New Year. And a good thing too. My baccys running a bit low. Good night, Sir.”
CHAPTER NINE
THE ISLAND OF THE VOICES AND now the winds which had so long been from the north-west began to blow from the west itself and every m when the sun rose out of the sea the curved prow of the Dawn Treader stood up right across the middle of the sun. Some thought that the sun looked larger than it looked from Narnia, but others disagreed. And they sailed and sailed before a ge steady breeze and saw her fish null- nor ship nor shore. And stores began to get low again, and it crept into their hearts that perhaps the.y might have e to a sea which went on for ever. But when the very last day on which they thought they could risk tinuing their eastward voyage dawned, it showed, right ahead between them and the sunrise, a low land lying like a cloud.
They made harbour in a wide bay about the middle of the afternoon and landed. It was a very different try from any they had yet seen. For when they had crossed the sandy beach they found all silent ay as if it were an uninhabited land, but before them there were level lawns in which the grass was as smooth and short as it used to be in the grounds of a great English house where ten gardeners were kept. The trees, of which there were many, all stood well apart from one another, and there were no broken branches and no leaves lying on the ground. Pigeons sometimes cooed but there was no other noise.
Presently they came to a long, straight, sanded path with not a weed growing on it and trees oher hand. Far off at the other end of this avehey now caught sight of a house - very long and grey and quiet-looking iernoon sun.
Almost as soon as they ehis path Luoticed that she had a little stone in her shoe. In that unknown place it might have been wiser for her to ask the others to wait while she took it out. But she didnt; she just dropped quietly behind and sat down to take off her shoe. Her lace had got into a knot.
Before she had uhe knot the others were a fair distance ahead. By the time she had got the sto and utting the shoe on again she could no longer hear them. But almost at once she heard something else. It was not ing from the dire of the house.
What she heard was a thumping. It sounded as if dozens of strong workmen were hitting the ground as hard as they could with great wooden mallets. And it was very quickly ing nearer. She was already sitting with her back to a tree, and as the tree was not one she could climb, there was really nothing to do but to sit dead still and press herself against the tree and hope she wouldnt be seen.
Thump, thump, thump . . . and whatever it was must be very close now for she could feel the ground shaking. But she could see nothing. She thought the thing - or things must be just behind her. But then there came a thump oh right in front of her. She k was oh not only by the sound but because she saw the sand scatter as if it had been struck a heavy blow. But she could see nothing that had struck it. Then all the thumping noises drew together about twenty feet away from her and suddenly ceased.
Then came the Voice.
It was really very dreadful because she could still see nobody at all. The whole of that park-like try still looked as quiet ay as it had looked when they first landed.
heless, only a few feet away from her, a voice spoke. And what it said was: "Mates, nows our ce.”
Instantly a whole chorus of other voices replied, "Hear him. Hear him. `Now s our ce, he said. Well done, Chief. You never said a truer word.”
"What I say," tihe first voice, "is, get down to the shore between them and their boat, a every mothers son look to his ons. Catch em whery to put to sea.”
"Eh, thats the way," shouted all the other voices. "You never made a better plan, Chief.
Keep it up, Chief. You couldnt have a better plan than that.”
"Lively, then, mates, lively," said the first voice. "Off we go.
&quht again, Chief," said the others. "Couldnt have a better order. Just what we were going to say ourselves. Off we go.”
Immediately the thumping began again - very loud at first but soon fainter and faiill it died out in the dire of the sea.
Luew there was no time to sit puzzling as to what these invisible creatures might be.
As soon as the thumping noise had died away she got up and ran along the path after the others as quickly as her legs would carry her. They must at all costs be warned.
While this had been happening the others had reached the house. It was a low building - only two stories high made of a beautiful mellow stone, many-windowed, and partially covered with ivy. Everything was so still that Eustace said, "I think its empty," but Caspian silently poio the n of smoke which rose from one ey.
They found a wide gateen and passed through it into a paved courtyard. And it was here that they had their first indication that there was something odd about this island. In the middle of the courtyard stood a pump, ah the pump a bucket.
There was nothing odd about that. But the pump handle was moving up and down, though there seemed to be no one moving it.
"Theres some magic at work here," said Caspian.
"Maery!" said Eustace. "I do believe weve e to a civilized try at last.”
At that moment Lucy, hot and breathless, rushed into the courtyard behind them. In a low voice she tried to make them uand what she had overheard. And when they had partly uood it even the bravest of them did not look very happy.
"Invisible enemies," muttered Caspian. "And cutting us off from the boat. This is an ugly furrow to plough.”
"Youve no idea what sort of creatures they are, Lu?" asked Edmund.
"How I, Ed, when I couldhem?”
"Did they sound like humans from their footsteps?”
"I didnt hear any noise of feet - only voices and this frightful thudding and thumping - like a mallet.”
"I wonder," said Reepicheep, "do they bee visible when you drive a sword into them?”
"It looks as if we shall find out," said Caspian. "But lets get out of this gateway. Theres one of these gentry at that pump listening to all we say.”
They came out a ba to the path where the trees might possibly make them less spicuous. "Not that its any good really," said Eustace, &qu to hide from people you t see. They may be all round us.”
"Now, Drinian," said Caspian. "How would it be if we gave up the boat for lost, went down to another part of the bay, and sigo the Dawn Treader to stand in and take us aboard?”
"Not depth for her, Sire," said Drinian.
"We could swim," said Lucy.
"Your Majesties all," said Reepicheep, "hear me. It is folly to think of avoiding an invisible enemy by any amount of creeping and skulking. If these creatures mean t us to battle, be sure they will succeed. And whatever es of it Id sooner meet them face to face than be caught by the tail.”
"I really think Reep is in the right this time," said Edmund.
"Surely," said Lucy, "if Rhind the others on the Dawn Treader see us fighting on the shore theyll be able to do something.”
"But they wont see us fighting if they t see any enemy," said Eustace miserably.
"Theyll think were just swinging our swords in the air for fun.”
There was an unfortable pause.
"Well," said Caspian at last, "lets get on with it. We must go and face them. Shake hands all round - arrow oring, Lucy - swords out, everyone else - and now for it. Perhaps theyll parley.”
It was strao see the lawns and the great trees looking so peaceful as they marched back to the beach. And when they arrived there, and saw the boat lying where they had left her, and the smooth sand with no oo be seen on it, more than one doubted whether Lucy had not merely imagined all she had told them. But before they reached the sand, a voice spoke out of the air.
"No further, masters, no further now," it said. "Weve got to talk with you first. Theres fifty of us and more here with ons in our fists.”
"Hear him, hear him," came the chorus. "Thats our Chief. You depend on what he says. Hes telling you the truth, he is.”
"I do not see these fifty warriors," observed Reepicheep.
"Thats right, thats right," said the Chief Voice. "You dont see us. And why not?
Because were invisible.”
"Keep it up, Chief, keep it up," said the Other Voices. "Youre talking like a book. They couldnt ask for a better ahan that.”
&qu??t>ot;Be quiet, Reep," said Caspian, and then added in a louder voice, "You invisible people, what do you want with us? And what have we doo earn your enmity?”
"We want something that little girl do for us," said the Chief Voice. (The others explaihat this was just what they would have said themselves.)
"Little girl!" said Reepicheep. "The lady is a queen.”
"We dont know about queens," said the Chief Voice.
("No more we do, no more we do," chimed ihers.) "But we want something she do.”
"What is it?" said Lucy.
"And if it is anything against her Majestys honour or safety," added Reepicheep, "you will woo see how many we kill before we die.”
"Well," said the Chief Voice. "Its a long story. Suppose we all sit down?" , The proposal was warmly approved by the other voices but the Narnians remaianding.
"Well," said the Chief Voice. "Its like this. This island has been the property of a great magi time out of mind. And we all are - or perhaps in a manner of speaking, I might say, we were - his servants. Well, to cut a long story short, this magi that I eaking about, he told us to do something we didnt like. And why not? Because we didnt want to. Well, then, this same magi he fell into a great rage; for I ought to tell you he owhe island and he wasnt used to being crossed. He was terribly dht, you know. But let me see, where am I? Oh yes, this magi then, he goes upstairs (for you must know he kept all his magic things up there and we all lived down below), I say he goes upstairs and pu?ts a spell on us. An uglifying spell. If you saw us now, whi my opinion you may thank your stars you t, you wouldnt believe what we looked like before we were uglified. You wouldnt really. So there we all were so ugly we couldo look at one another. So then what did we do? Well, Ill tell you what we did. We waited till we thought this same magi would be asleep iernoon and we creep upstairs and go to his magic book, as bold as brass, to see if we do anything about this uglification. But we were all of a sweat and a tremble, so I wont deceive you. But, believe me or believe me not, I do assure you that we couldnt find any thing in the way of a spell for taking off the ugliness. And what with time getting on and being afraid that
the old gentleman might wake up any minute - I was all of a muck sweat, so I wont deceive you - well, to cut a long story short, whether we did right or whether we did wrong, in the end we see a spell for making people invisible. Ahought wed rather be invisible than go on being as ugly as all that. And why? Because wed like it better. So my little girl, whos just about your little girls age, and a sweet child she was before she was uglified, though now - but least said soo mended - I say, my little girl she says the spell, for its got to be a little girl or else the magi himself, if you see my meaning, for otherwise it wont work. And why not? Because nothing happens. So my Clipsie says the spell, for I ought to have told you she reads beautifully, and there we all were as invisible as you could wish to see. And I do assure you it was a relief not to see one anothers faces. At first, anyway. But the long and the short of it is were mortal tired of being invisible. And theres ahing. We never reed on this magi (the one I was telling you about befoing invisible too. But we havent ever seen him since. So we dont know if hes dead, one .away, or whether hes just sitting upstairs being invisible, and perhaps ing down and being invisible there. And, believe me, its no manner of use listening because he always did go about with his bare feet on, making no more han a great big cat. And Ill tell all you gentlemen straight, its getting more than what our nerves stand.”
Such was the Chief Voices story, but very much shortened, because I have left out what the Other Voices said. Actually he never got out more than six or seven words without being interrupted by their agreements and encements, which drove the Narnians nearly out of their minds with impatience. When it was over there was a very long silence.
"But," said Lucy at last, "whats all this got to do with us? I dont uand.”
"Why, bless me, if I havent gone a out the whole point," said the Chief Voice.
"That you have, that you have," roared the Other Voices with great enthusiasm. "No one couldnt have left it out er aer. Keep it up, Chief, keep it up.”
"Well, I go ov藏书网er the whole stain," began the Chief Voice.
"No. Certainly not," said Caspian and Edmund.
"Well, then, to put it in a nutshell," said the Chief Voice, "weve been waiting for ever so long for a tle girl from fn parts, like it might be you, Missie - that would go upstairs and go to the magic book and find the spell that takes off the invisibleness, and say it. And we all swore that the first strangers as landed on this island (having a tle girl with them, I mean, for if they hadnt itd be another matter) we wouldhem go away alive uheyd dohe needful for us. And thats why, gentlemen, if your little girl doesnt e up to scratch, it will be our painful duty to cut all your throats.
Merely in the way of business, as you might say, and no offence, I hope.”
"I dont see all your ons," said Reepicheep. "Are they invisible too?" The words were scarcely out of his mouth before they heard a whizzing sound a moment a spear had stuck, quivering, in one of the trees behind them.
"Thats a spear, that is," said the Chief Voice.
"That it is, Chief, that it is," said the others. "You couldnt have put it better.”
"And it came from my hand," the Chief Voice tinued. "They get visible when they leave us.”
"But why do you wao do this?" asked Lucy.
"Why t one of your own people? Havent you got any girls?”
"We dursent, we dursent," said all the Voices. "Were not going upstairs again.”
"In other words," said Caspian, "you are asking this lady to fae danger which you darent ask your own sisters and daughters to face!”
"Thats right, thats right," said all the Voices cheerfully. "You couldnt have said it better.
Eh, youve had some education, you have. Anyone see that.”
"Well, of all the eous - " began Edmund, but Luterrupted.
"Would I have to go upstairs at night, or would it do in daylight?”
"Oh, daylight, daylight, to be sure," said the Chief Voice. "Not at night. No ones asking you to do that. Go upstairs in the dark? Ugh.”
"All right, then, Ill do it," said Lucy. "No," she said, turning to the others, "dont try to stop me. t you see its no use? There are dozens of them there. We t fight them.
And the other way there is a ce.”
"But a magi!" said Caspian.
"I know," said Lucy. "But he maynt be as bad as they make out. Dont you get the idea that these people are not very brave?”
"Theyre certainly not very clever," said Eustace.
"Look here, Lu," said Edmund. "We really t let you do a thing like this. Ask Reep, Im sure hell say just the same.”
"But its to save my own life as well as yours," said Lucy. "I dont want to be cut to bits with invisible swords any more than anyone else.”
"Her Majesty is in the right," said Reepicheep. "If we had any assurance of saving her by battle, our duty would be very-plain. It appears to me that we have none. And the service they ask of her is in no way trary to her Majestys honour, but a noble and heroical act. If the Quee moves her to risk the magi, I will not speak against it.”
As no one had ever known Reepicheep to be afraid of anything, he could say this without feeling at all awkward. But the boys, who had all been afraid quite often, grew very red.
he less, it was such obvious sehat they had to give in. Loud cheers broke from the invisible people when their decision was announced, and the Chief Voice (warmly supported by all the others) ihe Narnians to e to supper and spend the night.
Eustace didnt want to accept, but Lucy said, "Im sure theyre not treacherous. Theyre not like that at all," and the reed. And so, apanied by an enormous noise of thumpings (which became louder when they reached the flagged and eg courtyard)
they all went back to the house.
CHAPTER TEN
THE MAGIS BOOK THE invisible people feasted their guests royally. It was very funny to see the plates and dishes ing to the table and not to see anyone carrying them. It would have been funny even if they had moved along level with the floor, as you would expect things to do in invisible hands. But they didnt. They progressed up the long dining-hall in a series of bounds or jumps. At the highest point of each jump a dish would be about fiftee up in the air; then it would e down and stop quite suddenly about three feet from the floor. When the dish tained anything like soup or stew the result was rather disastrous.
"Im beginning to feel very inquisitive about these people," whispered Eustaund. "Do you think theyre human at all? More like huge grasshoppers iant frogs, I should say.”
"It does look like it," said Edmund. "But dont put the idea of the grasshoppers into Lucys head. Shes not too keen on is; especially big ones.”
The meal would have been pleasanter if it had not been so exceedingly messy, and also if the versation had not sisted entirely of agreements. The invisible people agreed about everything. Indeed most of their remarks were the sort it would not be easy to disagree with: "What I always say is, when a chaps hungry, he likes some victuals," or "Getting dark now; always does at night," or even "Ah, youve e over the water.
Powerful wet stuff, aint it?" And Lucy could not help looking at the dark yawnirao the foot of the staircase - she could see it from where she sat - and w what she would find when she went up those stairs m. But it was a good meal
otherwise, with mushroom soup and boiled chis and hot boiled ham and gooseberries, redcurrants, curds, cream, milk, and mead. The others liked the mead but Eustace was sorry afterwards that he had drunk any.
When Lucy woke up m it was like waking up on the day of an examination or a day when yoing to the dentist. It was a lovely m with bees buzzing in and out of her open window and the lawn outside looking very like somewhere in England.
She got up and dressed and tried to talk a ordinarily at breakfast. Then, after being instructed by the Chief Voice about what she was to do upstairs, she bid goodbye to the others, said nothing, walked to the bottom of the stairs, and began going up them without once looking back.
It was quite light, that was one good thing. There was, indeed, a window straight ahead of her at the top of the first flight. As long as she was 9n that flight she could hear the tick-tock-tick-tock of a grandfather clo the hall below. Then she came to the landing and had to turn to her left up the flight; after that she couldnt hear the cloy more.
Now she had e to the top of the stairs. Lucy looked and saw a long, wide passage with a large window at the far end. Apparently the passage ran the whole length of the house. It was carved and panelled and carpeted and very many doors opened off it on each side. She stood still and couldhe squeak of a mouse, or the buzzing of a fly, or the swaying of a curtain, or anything - except the beating of her ow.
"The last doorway on the left," she said to herself. It did seem a bit hard that it should be the last. To reach it she would have to ast room after room. And in any room there might be the magi - asleep, or awake, or invisible, or even dead. But it wouldnt do to think about that. She set out on her jourhe carpet was so thick that her feet made no noise.
"Theres nothing whatever to be afraid of yet," Lucy told herself. And certainly it was a quiet, sunlit passage; perhaps a bit too quiet. It would have been nicer if there had not been strange signs painted in scarlet on the doors twisty, plicated things which obviously had a meaning and it mightnt be a very nice meaniher. It would have been ill if there werent those masks hanging on the wall. Not that they were exactly ugly - or not sly - but the empty eye-holes did look queer, and if you let yourself you would soon start imagining that the masks were doing things as soon as your back was turo them.
After about the sixth door she got her first real fright. For one sed she felt almost certain that a wicked little bearded face had popped out of the wall and made a grimace at her. She forced herself to stop and look at it. And it was not a face at all. It was a little mirror just the size and shape of her own face, with hair oop of it and a beard hanging down from it, so that when you looked in the mirror your own face fitted into the hair and beard and it looked as if they beloo you. "I just caught my own refle with the tail of my eye as I went past," said Lucy to herself. "That was all it was. Its quite
harmless." But she didnt like the look of her own face with that hair and beard, a on. (I dont know what the Bearded Glass was for because I am not a magi.)
Before she reached the last door on the left, Lucy was beginning to wonder whether the corridor had grown longer since she began her journey and whether this art of the magic of the house. But she got to it at last. And the door en.
It was a large room with three big windows and it was lined from floor to ceiling with books; more books than Lucy had ever seen before, tiny little books, fat and dumpy books, and books bigger than any church Bible you have ever seen, all bound iher and smelling old and learned and magical. But she knew from her instrus that she need not bother about any of these. For the Book, the Magic Book, was lying on a reading-desk in the very middle of the room. She saw she would have to read it standing (and anyway there were no chairs) and also that she would have to stand with her back to the door while she read it. So at once she turo shut the door.
It wouldnt shut.
Some people may disagree with Lucy about this, but I think she was quite right. She said she wouldnt have minded if she could have shut the door, but that it was unpleasant to have to stand in a place like that with an open doorway right behind your back. I should have felt just the same. But there was nothing else to be done.
Ohing that worried her a good deal was the size of the Book. The Chief Voice had not been able to give her any idea whereabouts in the Book the spell for making things visible came. He even seemed rather surprised at her asking. He expected her to begin at the beginning and go on till she came to it; obviously he had hought that there was any other way of finding a pla a book. "But it might take me days and weeks!" said Lucy, looking at the huge volume, "and I feel already as if Id been in this place for hours.”
She went up to the desk and laid her hand on the book; her fiingled wheouched藏书网 it as if it were full of electricity. She tried to open it but couldnt at first; this, however, was only because it was fastened by two leaden clasps, and when she had uhese it opened easily enough. And what a book it was!
It was written, not printed; written in a clear, even hand, with thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes, very large, easier than print, and so beautiful that Lucy stared at it for a whole minute and fot about reading it. The paper was crisp and smooth and a nice smell came from it; and in the margins, and round the big coloured capital letters at the beginning of each spell, there were pictures.
There was no title page or title; the spells began straight away, and at first there was nothing very important ihey were cures for warts (by washing your hands in moonlight in a silver basin) and toothache and cramp, and a spell for taking a swarm of bees. The picture of the man with toothache was so lifelike that it would have set your
owh ag if you looked at it too long, and the golden bees which were dotted all round the fourth spell looked for a moment as if they were really flying.
Lucy could hardly tear herself away from that first page, but wheurned over, the was just as iing. "But I must get on," she told herself. And on she went for about thirty pages which, if she could have remembered them, would have taught her how to find buried treasure, how to remember things fotten, how to fet things you waet, how to tell whether anyone eaki..ng the truth, how to call up (or prevent) wind, fog, snow, sleet or rain, how to produted sleeps and how to give a man an asss head (as they did to poor Bottom). And the longer she read the more wonderful and more real the pictures became.
Then she came to a page which was such a blaze of pictures that one hardly noticed the writing. Hardly - but she did notice the first words. They were, An infallible spell to make beautiful her that uttereth it beyond the lot of mortals. Lucy peered at the pictures with her face close to the page, and though they had seemed crowded and muddlesome before, she found she could now see them quite clearly. The first icture of a girl standing at a reading-desk reading in a huge book. And the girl was dressed exactly like Lucy. In the picture Lucy (for the girl in the picture was Lucy herself) was standing up with her mouth open and a rather terrible expression on her face, ting or reg something. Ihird picture the beauty beyond the lot of mortals had e to her. It was strange, sidering how small the pictures had looked at first, that the Lu the picture now seemed quite as big as the real Lucy; and they looked into each others eyes and the real Lucy looked away after a few minutes because she was dazzled by the beauty of the other Lucy; though she could still see a sort of likeo herself in that beautiful face. And now the pictures came crowding ohid fast. She saw herself throned on high at a great tour in en and all the Kings of the world fought because of her beauty. After that it turned from tours to real wars, and all Narnia and Arland, Telmar and en, Galma and Terebinthia, were laid waste with the fury of the kings and dukes and great lords who fought for her favour. Then it ged and Lucy, still beautiful beyond the lot of mortals, was ba England. And Susan (who had always been the beauty of the family) came home from America. The Susan in the picture looked exactly like the real Susan only plainer and with a nasty expression. And Susan was jealous of the dazzliy of Lucy, but that didnt matter a bit because no one cared anything about Susan now.
"I will say the spell," said Lucy. "I dont care. I will.”
She said I dont care because she had a strong feeling that she mustnt.
But when she looked back at the opening words of the spell, there in the middle of the writing, where she felt quite sure there had been no picture before, she found the great face of a lion, of The Lion, Aslan himself, staring into hers. It ainted such a bright gold that it seemed to be ing towards her out of the page; and indeed she never was quite sure afterwards that it hadnt really moved a little. At any rate she khe
expression on his face quite well. He was growling and you could see most of his teeth.
She became horribly afraid and turned over the page at once.
A little later she came to a spell which would let you know what your friends thought about you. Now Lucy had wanted very badly to try the other spell, the ohat made you beautiful beyond the lot of mortals. So she felt that to make up for not having said it, she really would say this one. And all in a hurry, for fear her mind would ge, she said the words (nothing will induce me to tell you what they were). Then she waited for something to happen.
As nothing happened she began looking at the pictures. And all at once she saw the very last thing she expected - a picture of a third-class carriage in a train, with two schoolgirls sitting in it. She khem at ohey were Marjorie Preston and Anne Featherstone.
Only now it was much more than a picture. It was alive. She could see the telegraph posts flig past outside the window. Then gradually (like when the radio is "ing on")
she could hear what they were saying.
"Shall I see anything of you this term?" said Anne, "or are you still going to be all taken up with Lucy Pevensie. “
"Dont know what you mean by taken up," said Marjorie.
"Oh yes, you do," said Anne. "You were crazy about her last term.”
"No, I wasnt," said Marjorie. "Ive got more sehan that. Not a bad little kid in her way. But I was getting pretty tired of her before the end of term.”
"Well, you jolly well wont have the y other term!" shouted Lucy. "Two-faced little beast." But the sound of her own voice at once reminded her that she was talking to a picture and that the real Marjorie was far away in another world.
"Well," said Lucy to herself, "I did thier of her than that. And I did all sorts of things for her last term, and I stuck to her when not many irls would. And she knows it too. And to Anherstone of all people! I wonder are all my friends the same? There are lots of other pictures. No. I wont look at any more. I wont, I wont and with a great effort she turned over the page, but not before a large, angry tear had splashed on it.
On the page she came to a spell "for the refreshment of the spirit. The pictures were fewer here but very beautiful. And what Lucy found herself reading was more like a story than a spell. It went on for three pages and before she had read to the bottom of the page she had fotten that she was reading at all. She was living iory as if it were real, and all the pictures were real too. When she had got to the third page and e to the end, she said, "That is the loveliest story Ive ever read or ever shall read in my whole life. Oh, I wish I could have gone on reading it for ten years. At least Ill read it ain.”
But here part of the magic of the Book came into play. You couldnt turn back. The right-hand pages, the ones ahead, could be turhe left-hand pages could not.
"Oh, what a shame!" said Lucy. "I did so want to read it again. Well, at least I must remember it. Lets see . . . it was about . . . about . . . oh dear, its all fading away again.
And even this last page is going blank. This is a very queer book. How I have fotten? It was about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill, I know that much.
But I t remember and what shall I do?”
And she never could remember; and ever sihat day what Lucy means by a good story is a story which reminds her of the fotten story in the Magis Book.
She turned on and found to her surprise a page with no pictures at all; but the first words were A Spell to make hidden things visible. She read it through to make sure of all the hard words and then said it out loud. And she k ohat it was w because as she spoke the colours came into the capital letters at the top of the page and the pictures began appearing in the margins. It was like when you hold to the fire something written in Invisible Ink and the writing gradually shows up; only instead of the dingy colour of lemon juice (which is the easiest Invisible Ink) this was all gold and blue and scarlet. They were odd pictures and tained many figures that Lucy did not much like the look of. And thehought, "I suppose Ive made everything visible, and not only the Thumpers. There might be lots of other invisible things hanging about a place like this. Im not sure that I want to see them all.”
At that moment she heard soft, heavy footfalls ing along the corridor behind her; and of course she remembered what she had been told about the Magi walking in his bare feet and making no more han a cat. It is always better to turn round than to have anything creeping up behind your back. Lucy did so.
Then her face lit up till, for a moment (but of course she didnt know it), she looked almost as beautiful as that other Lu the picture, and she ran forward with a little cry of delight and with her arms stretched out. For what stood in the doorway was Aslan himself, The Lion, the highest of all High Kings. And he was solid and real and warm a her kiss him and bury herself in his shining mane. And from the low, earthquake-like sound that came from inside him, Lucy even dared to think that he urring.
"Oh, Aslan," said she, "it was kind of you to e.”
"I have been here all the time," said he, "but you have just made me visible.”
"Aslan!" said Lucy almost a little reproachfully. "Dont make fun of me. As if anything 1 could do would make you visible!”
"It did," said Aslan. "Do you think I wouldnt obey my own rules?”
After a little pause he spoke again.
"Child," he said, "I think you have been eavesdropping.”
"Eavesdropping?”
"You listeo what your two schoolfellows were saying about you.”
"Oh that? I hought that was eavesdropping, Aslan. Wasnt it magic?”
"Spying on people by magic is the same as spying on them in any other way. And you have misjudged your friend. She is weak, but she loves you. She was afraid of the irl and said what she does not mean.”
"I dont think Id ever be able tet what I heard her say.”
"No, you wont.”
"Oh dear," said Lucy. "Have I spoiled everything? Do you mean we would have gone on being friends if it hadnt been for this - and been really great friends - all our lives perhaps- and now we never shall.”
"Child," said Aslan, "did I not explain to you once before that no one is ever told what would have happened?”
"Yes, Aslan, you did," said Lucy. "Im sorry. But please -”
"Speak on, dear heart.”
"Shall I ever be able to, read that stain; the one I couldnt remember? Will you tell it to me, Aslan? Oh do, do, do.”
"Indeed, yes, I will tell it to you for years and years. But now, e. We must meet the master of this house.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE DUFFLEPUDS MADE HAPPY Lucy followed the great Lion out into the passage and at once she saw ing towards them an old man, barefoot, dressed in a red robe. His white hair was ed with a
chaplet of oak leaves, his beard fell to his girdle, and he supported himself with a curiously carved staff. When he saw Aslan he bowed low and said, "Wele, Sir, to the least of your houses.”
"Do you grow weary, 9９liｂ?Coriakin, of ruling such foolish subjects as I have given you here?”
"No," said the Magi, "they are very stupid but there is no real harm in them. I begin to grow rather fond of the creatures. Sometimes, perhaps, I am a little impatient, waiting for the day when they be governed by wisdom instead of this rough magic.”
"All in good time, Coriakin," said Aslan.
"Yes, all in very good time, Sir," was the answer. "Do you io show yourself to them?”
"Nay," said the Lion, with a little half-growl that meant (Lucy thought) the same as a laugh. "I should frighten them out of their senses. Many stars will grow old and e to take their rest in islands before your people are ripe for that. And today before su I must visit Trumpkin the Dwarf where he sits in the castle of Cair Paravel ting the days till his master Caspian es home. I will tell him all your story, Lucy. Do not look so sad. We shall meet soon again.”
"Please, Aslan," said Lucy, "what do you call soon?”
"I call all times soon," said Aslan; and instantly he was vanished away and Lucy was aloh the Magi.
"Gone!" said he, "and you and I quite crestfallen. Its always like that, you t keep him; its not as if he were a tame lion. And how did you enjoy my book?”
"Parts of it very mudeed," said Lucy. "Did you know I was there all the time?”
"Well, of course I knew when I let the Duffers make themselves invisible that you would be ing along presently to take the spell off. I wasnt quite sure of the exact day. And I wasnt especially och this m. You see they had made me invisible too and being invisible always makes me so sleepy. Heigh-ho - there Im yawning again. Are you hungry?”
"Well, perhaps I am a little," said Lucy. "Ive no idea what the time is.”
"e," said the Magi. "All times may be soon to Aslan; but in my home all hungry times are one oclock.”
He led her a little way down the passage and opened a door. Passing in, Lucy found herself in a pleasant room full of sunlight and flowers. The table was bare when they
entered, but it was of course a magic table, and at a word from the old man the tablecloth, silver, plates, glasses and food appeared.
"I hope that is-what you would like," said he. "I have tried to give you food more like the food of your own land than perhaps you have had lately.”
"Its lovely," said Lucy, and so it was; ae, piping hot, cold lamb and green peas, a strawberry ice, lemonsquash to drink with the meal and a cup of chocolate to follow.
But the magi himself drank only wine and ate only bread. There was nothing alarming about him, and Lud he were soon chatting away like old friends.
"When will the spell work?" asked Lucy. "Will the Duffers be visible again at once?”
"Oh yes, theyre visible now. But theyre probably all asleep still; they always take a rest in the middle of the day.”
"And now that theyre visible, are you going to let them off being ugly? Will you make them as they were before?”
"Well, thats rather a delicate question," said the Magi. "You see, its only they who think they were so o look at before. They say theyve been uglified, but that isnt what I called it. Many people might say the ge was for the better.”
"Are they awfully ceited?”
"They are. Or at least the Chief Duffer is, aaught all the rest to be. They always believe every word he says.”
"Wed noticed that," said Lucy.
"Yes - wed get oer without him, in a way. Of course I could turn him into something else, or even put a spell on him which would make them not believe a word he said. But I dont like to do that. Its better for them to admire him than to admire nobody.”
"Dont they admire you?" asked Lucy.
"Oh, not me," said the Magi. "They wouldnt admire me.”
"What was it you uglified them for - I mean, what they call uglified?”
"Well, they wouldnt do what they were told. Their work is to mind the garden and raise food - not for me, as they imagine, but for themselves. They wouldnt do it at all if I didnt make them. And of course farden you want water. There is a beautiful spring about half a mile a the hill. And from that spring there flows a stream whies right past the garden. All I asked them to do was to take their water from the stream instead ing up to the spring with their buckets two or three times a day and tiring themselves
out besides spilling half of it on the way back. But they would. In the end they refused point blank.”
"Are they as stupid as all that?" asked Lucy.
The Magi sighed. "You wouldnt believe the troubles Ive had with them. A few months ago they were all for washing up the plates and knives before dihey said it saved time afterwards. Ive caught them planting boiled potatoes to save cooking them when they were dug up. One day the cat got into the dairy and twenty of them were at work moving all the milk out; no ohought of moving the cat. But I see youve finished. Lets go and look at the Duffers now they be looked at.”
They went into another room which was full of polished instruments hard to uand - such as Astrolabes, Orreries, oscopes, Poesimeters, buses and Theodolinds - and here, when they had e to the window, the Magi said, "There. There are your Duffers.”
"I dont see anybody," said Lucy. "And what are those mushroom things?”
The things she poi were dotted all over the level grass. They were certainly very like mushrooms, but far too big - the stalks about three feet high and the umbrellas about the same length from edge to edge. When she looked carefully she noticed too that the stalks joihe umbrellas not in the middle but at one side which gave an unbalanced look to them. And there was something - a sort of little bundle - lying on the grass at the foot of each stalk. In fact the longer she gazed at them the less like mushrooms they appeared. The umbrella part was not really round as she had thought at first. It was lohan it was broad, and it wide one end. There were a great many of them, fifty or more.
The clock struck three.
Instantly a most extraordinary thing happened. Each of the "mushrooms" suddenly turned upside-down. The little bundles which had lain at the bottom of the stalks were heads and bodies. The stalks themselves were legs. But not two legs to each body. Each body had a sihick leg right u (not to one side like the leg of a one- legged man) and at the end of it, a single enormous foot-a broadtoed foot with the toes curling up a little so that it looked rather like a small oe. She saw in a moment why they had looked like mushrooms. They had been lying flat on their backs each with its single leg straight up in the air and its enormous foot spread out above it. She learned afterwards that this was their ordinary way of resting; for the foot kept off both rain and sun and for a Monopod to lie us own foot is almost as good as being in a tent.
"Oh, the fuhe funnies," cried Lucy, bursting into laughter. "Did you make them like that?”
"Yes, yes. I made the Duffers into Monopods," said the Magi. He too was laughing till the tears ran down his cheeks. "But watch," he added.
It was worth watg. Of course these little one-footed men couldnt walk or run as we do. They got about by jumping, like fleas s. And what jumps they made! as if each big foot were a mass of springs. And with what a bouhey came down; that was what made the thumping noise which had so puzzled Lucy yesterday. For now they were jumping in all dires and calling out to one another, "Hey, lads! Were visible again.”
"Visible we are," said one in a tasselled red cap who was obviously the Chief Monopod.
"And what I say is, when chaps are visible, why, they see one another.”
"Ah, there it is, there it is, Chief," cried all the others. "Theres the point. No ones got a clearer head than you. You couldnt have made it plainer.”
"She caught the old man napping, that little girl did," said the Chief Monopod. "Weve beaten him this time.”
"Just what we were, going to say ourselves," chimed the chorus. "Yoing strohaoday, Chief. Keep it up, keep it up.”
"But do they dare to talk about you like that?" said Lucy. "They seemed to be so afraid of you yesterday. Dont they know you might be listening?”
"Thats one of the funny things about the Duffers," said the Magi. "One mihey talk as if I rahing and overheard e>.verything and was extremely dangerous. The moment they think they take me in by tricks that a baby would see through - bless them!”
"Will they have to be turned bato their proper shapes?" asked Lucy. "Oh, I do hope it wouldnt be unkind to leave them as they are. Do they really mind very much? They seem pretty happy. I say - look at that jump. What were they like before?”
"on little dwarfs," said he. "Nothing like so nice as the sort you have in Narnia.”
"It would be a pity to ge them back," said Lucy. "Theyre so funny: and theyre rather nice. Do you think it would make any difference if I told them that?”
"Im sure it would - if you could get it into their heads.”
"Will you e with me and try?”
"No, no. Youll get on far better without me.”
"Thanks awfully for the lunch," said Lud turned quickly away. She ran dowairs which she had e up so nervously that m and oned into Edmund at
the bottom. All the others were there with him waiting, and Lucys sce smote her when she saw their anxious faces and realized how long she had fotten them.
"Its all right," she shouted. "Everythings all right. The Magis a brick - and Ive seen Him - Aslan.”
After that she went from them like the wind and out into the garden. Here the earth was shaking with the jumps and the air ringing with the shouts of the Monopods. Both were redoubled when they caught sight of her.
"Here she es, here she es," they cried. "Three cheers for the little girl. Ah! She put it across the old gentleman properly, she did.”
"And were extremely regrettable," said the Chief Monopod, "that we t give you the pleasure of seeing us as we were before we were uglified, for you wouldnt believe the difference, and thats the truth, for theres no denying were mortal ugly now, so we wont deceive you.”
"Eh, that we are, Chief, that we are," echoed the others, boung like so many toy balloons. "Youve said it, youve said it.”
"But I dont think you are at all," said Lucy, shouting to make herself heard. "I think you look very nice.”
"Hear her, hear her," said the Monopods. "True for you, Missie. Very nice we look. You couldnt find a handsomer lot." They said this without any surprise and did not seem to notice that they had ged their minds.
"Shes a-saying," remarked the Chief Monopod, "as how we looked very nice before we were uglified.”
"True for you, Chief, true for you," ted the others. "Thats what she says. We heard her ourselves.”
"I did not," bawled Lucy. "I said youre very niow.”
"So she did, so she did," said the Chief Monopod, "said we were very hen.”
"Hear em both, hear em both," said the Monopods. "Theres a pair for you. Always right.
They couldnt have put it better.”
"But were saying just the opposite," said Lucy, stamping her foot with impatience.
"So you are, to be sure, so you are," said the Monopods. "Nothing like an opposite. Keep it up, both of you.”
"Youre enough to drive anyone mad," said Lucy, and gave it up. But the Monopods seemed perfectly tented, and she decided that on the whole the versation had been a success.
And before everyoo bed that evening something else happened which made them even more satisfied with their one-legged dition. Caspian and all the Narnia back as soon as possible to the shore to give their o Rhind the others on board the Dawn Treader, who were by now very anxious. And, of course, the Monopods went with them, boung like footballs and agreeing with one another in loud voices till Eustace said, "I wish the Magi would make them inaudible instead of invisible." (He was soon sorry he had spoken because then he had to explain that an inaudible thing is something you t hear, and though he took a lot of trouble he never felt sure that the Monopods had really uood, and what especially annoyed him was that they said in the end, "Eh, he t put things the way our Chief does. But youll learn, young man.
Hark to him. Hell show you how to say things. Theres a speaker for you!") When they reached the bay, Reepicheep had a brilliant idea. He had his little coracle lowered and paddled himself about in it till the Monopods were thhly ied. He then stood up in it and said, "Worthy and intelligent Monopods, you do not need boats. Each of you has a foot that will do instead. Just jump as lightly as you on the water and see what happens.”
The Chief Monopod hung bad warhe others that theyd find the water powerful wet, but one or two of the younger oried it almost at once; and then a few others followed their example, and at last the whole lot did the same. It worked perfectly. The huge single foot of a Monopod acted as a natural raft or boat, and when Reepicheep had taught them how to cut rude paddles for themselves, they all paddled about the bay and round the Dawn Treader, looking for all the world like a fleet of little oes with a fat dwarf standing up ireme stern of each. And they had races, and bottles of wine were lowered down to them from the ship as prizes, and the sailors stood leaning over the ships sides and laughed till their own sides ached.
The Duffers were also very pleased with their new name of Monopods, which seemed to them a magnifit hough they never got it right. "Thats what we are," they bellowed, "Moneypuds, Pomonods, Poddymons. Just what it was oips of our too call ourselves." But they soon got it mixed up with their old name of Duffers and finally settled down to calling themselves the Dufflepuds; and that is what they will probably be called for turies.
That evening all the Narnians dined upstairs with the Magi, and Luoticed how different the whole top floor looked now that she was no longer afraid of it. The mysterious signs on the doors were still mysterious but now looked as if they had kind and cheerful meanings, and even the bearded mirror now seemed funny rather than frightening. At dinner everyone had by magic what everyone liked best to eat and drink, and after dihe Magi did a very useful aiful pieagic. He laid two blank sheets of part oable and asked Drinian to give him a at of their voyage up to date: and as Drinian spoke, everything he described came out on the
part in fine clear liill at last each sheet lendid map of the Eastern O, showing Galma, Terebinthia, the Seven Isles, the Lone Islands, Dragon Island, Burnt Island, Deathwater, and the land of the Duffers itself, all exactly the right sizes and in the right positions. They were the first maps ever made of those seas aer than any that have been made sihout magic. For on these, though the towns and mountains looked at first just as they would on an ordinary map, when the Magi lent them a magnifying glass you saw that they were perfect little pictures of the real things, so that you could see the very castle and slave market and streets in Narrowhaven, all very clear though very distant, like things seen through the wrong end of a telescope. The only drawback was that the coastline of most of the islands was inplete, for the map showed only what Drinianhad seen with his own eyes. When they were fihe.
Magi kept one himself and presehe other to Caspian: it still hangs in his Chamber of Instruments at Cair Paravel. But the Magi could tell them nothing about seas or lands further east. He did, however, tell them that about seven years before a Narnian ship had put in at his waters and that she had on board the lords Revilian, Argoz, Mavramorn and Rhoop: so they judged that the golden man they had seen lying ihwater must be the Lord Restimar.
day, the Magi magically mehe stern of the Dawn Treader where it had been damaged by the Sear Serpent and loaded her with useful gifts. There was a most friendly parting, and when she sailed, two hours after noon, all the Dufflepuds paddled out with her to the harbour mouth, and cheered until she was out of sound of their cheering.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE DARK ISLAND AFTER this advehey sailed on south and a little east for twelve days with a gentle wind, the skies being mostly clear and the air warm, and saw no bird or fish, except that ohere were whales spouting a long way to starboard. Lud Reepicheep played a good deal of chess at this time. Then ohirteenth day, Edmund, from the fighting top, sighted what looked like a great dark mountain rising out of the sea on their port bow.
They altered course and made for this land, mostly by oar, for the wind would not serve them to sail north-east. When evenihey were still a long way from it and rowed all night. m the weather was fair but a flat calm. The dark mass lay ahead, muearer and larger, but still very dim, so that some thought it was still a long way off and others thought they were running into a mist.
About hat m, very suddenly, it was so close that they could see that it was not land at all, nor even, in an ordinary sense, a mist. It was a Darkness. It is rather hard to
describe, but you will see what it was like if you imagine yourself looking into the mouth of a railway tunnel - a tunher so long or so twisty that you ot see the light at the far end. And you know what it would be like. For a few feet you would see the rails and sleepers and gravel in broad daylight; then there would e a place where they were in twilight; and then, pretty suddenly, but of course without a sharp dividing lihey would vanish altogether into smooth, solid blaess. It was just so here. For a few feet in front of their bows they could see the swell of the bright greenish-blue water.
Beyond that, they could see the water looking pale and grey as it would look late in the evening. But beyond that again, utter blaess as if they had e to the edge of moonless and starless night.
Caspian shouted to the boatswain to keep her back, and all except the rowers rushed forward and gazed from the bows. But there was nothing to be seen by gazing. Behind them was the sea and the sun, before them the Darkness.
"Do we go into this?" asked Caspian at length.
"Not by my advice," said Drinian.
"The Captains right," said several sailors.
"I almost think he is," said Edmund.
Lud Eustace didnt speak but they felt very glad i the turn things seemed to be taking. But all at ohe clear voice of Reepicheep broke in upon the silence.
"And why not?" he said. "Will someone explain to me why not.”
No one was anxious to explain, so Reepicheep tinued: "If I were addressing peasants or slaves," he said, "I might suppose that this suggestion proceeded from cowardice. But I hope it will never be told in Narnia that a pany of noble and royal persons in the flower of their age turail because they were afraid of the dark.”
"But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that blaess?" asked Drinian.
"Use?" replied Reepicheep. "Use, Captain? If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses, I fess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honour and adventure. And here is as great an adventure as ever I heard of, and here, if we turn bao tittle impeat of all our honours.”
Several of the sailors said things uheir breath that sounded like "Honour be blowed", but Caspian said:
"Oh, bother you, Reepicheep. I almost wish wed left you at home. All right! If you put it that way, I suppose we shall have to go on. Unless Lucy would rather not?”
Lucy felt that she would very much rather not, but what she said out loud was, "Im game.”
"Your Majesty will at least hts?" said Drinian.
"By all means," said Caspian. "See to it, Captain.”
So the three lanterns, at the stern, and the prow and the masthead, were all lit, and Drinian ordered two torches amidships. Pale and feeble they looked in the sunshihen all the men except some who were left below at the oars were ordered on ded fully armed and posted in their battle stations with swords drawn. Lud two archers were posted on the fighting top with bows bent and arrows oring. Rynelf was in the bows with his line ready to take soundings. Reepicheep, Edmuad Caspian, glittering in mail, were with him. Drinian took the tiller.
"And now, in Aslans name, forward!" cried Caspian. "A slow, steady stroke. A every man be silent and keep his ears open for orders.”
With a creak and a groa..n the Dawn Treader started to creep forward as the men began to row. Lucy, up in the fighting top, had a wonderful view of the exaent at which they ehe darkness. The bows had already disappeared before the sunlight had left the stern. She saw it go. At one mihe gilded stern, the blue sea, and the sky, were all in broad daylight: mihe sea and sky had vahe stern lantern - which had been hardly noticeable before - was the only thing to show where the ship ended. In front of the lantern she could see the black shape of Drinian croug at the tiller. Down below her the two torches made visible two small patches of ded gleamed on swords as, and forward there was another island of light on the forecastle. Apart from that, the fighting top, lit by the masthead light which was only just above her, seemed to be a little lighted world of its own floating in lonely darkness. And the lights themselves, as always happens with lights when you have to have them at the wrong time of day, looked lurid and unnatural. She also noticed that she was very cold.
How long this voyage into the darkness lasted, nobody knew. Except for the creak of the rowlocks and the splash of the oars there was nothing to show that they were moving at all. Edmund, peering from the bows, could see nothing except the refle of the lantern ier before him. It looked a greasy sort of refle, and the ripple made by their advang proeared to be heavy, small, and lifeless. As time went on everyone except the rowers began to shiver with cold.
Suddenly, from somewhere - no ones sense of dire was very clear by now - there came a cry, either of some inhuman voice or else a voice of one in such extremity of terror that he had almost lost his humanity.
Caspian was still trying to speak - his mouth was too dry - when the shrill voice of Reepicheep, which sounded louder than usual in that silence, was heard.
"Who calls?" it piped. "If you are a foe we do not fear you, and if you are a friend your enemies shall be taught the fear of us.”
"Mercy!" cried the voice. "Mercy! Even if you are only one more dream, have merry.
Take me on board. Take me, even if you strike me dead. But in the name of all mercies do not fade away and leave me in this horrible land.”
"Where are you?" shouted Caspian. "e aboard and wele.”
There came another cry, whether of joy or terror, and then they khat someone was swimming towards them.
"Stand by to heave him up, men," said Caspian.
"Aye, aye, your Majesty," said the sailors. Several crowded to the port bulwark with ropes and one, leaning far out over the side, held the torch. A wild, white face appeared in the blaess of the water, and then, after some scrambling and pulling, a dozen friendly hands had heaved the stranger on board.
Edmund thought he had never seen a wilder-looking man. Though he did not otherwise look very old, his hair was an untidy mop of white, his face was thin and drawn, and, for clothing, only a few wet rags hung about him. But what one mainly noticed were his eyes, which were so widely opehat he seemed to have no eyelids at all, and stared as if in an agony of pure fear. The moment his feet reached the deck he said: "Fly! Fly! About with your ship and fly! Row, row, row for your lives away from this accursed shore.”
"pose yourself," said Reepicheep, "and tell us what the danger is. We are not used to flying.”
The straarted horribly at the voice of the Mouse, which he had not no?99ｌib?ticed before.
"heless you will fly from here," he gasped. "This is the Island where Dreams e true.”
"Thats the island Ive been looking for this long time," said one of the sailors. "I reed Id find I was married to Nancy if we landed here.”
"And Id find Tom alive again," said another.
"Fools!" said the man, stamping his foot with rage. "That is the sort of talk that brought me here, and Id better have been drowned or never born. Do you hear what I say? This is
where dreams -dreams, do you uand, e to life, e real. Not daydreams: dreams.”
There was about half a minutes silend then, with a great clatter of armour, the whole crew were tumbling down the main hatch as quick as they could and flinging themselves on the oars to row as they had never rowed before; and Drinian was swinging round the tiller, and the boatswain was giving out the quickest stroke that had ever been heard at sea. For it had taken everyone just that halfmio remember certain dreams they had had - dreams that make you afraid of going to sleep again - and to realize what it would mean to land on a try where dreams e true.
Only Reepicheep remained unmoved.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty," he said, "are you going to tolerate this mutiny, this poltroonery? This is a panic, this is a rout.”
"Row, row," bellowed Caspian. "Pull for all our lives. Is her head right, Drinian? You say what you like, Reepicheep. There are some things no man face.”
"It is, then, my good fortu to be a man," replied Reepicheep with a very stiff bow.
Lucy from up aloft had heard it all. In an instant that one of her own dreams which she had tried hardest tet came back to her as vividly as if she had only just woken from it. So that was what was behind them, on the island, in the darkness! For a sed she wao go down to the ded be with Edmund and Caspian. But what was the use?
If dreams began ing true, Edmund and Caspian themselves might turn into something horrible just as she reached them. She gripped the rail of the fighting top and tried to steady herself. They were rowing back to the light as hard as they could: it would be all right in a few seds. But oh, if only it could be all right now!
Though the rowing made a good deal of did not quite ceal the total silence which surrouhe ship.
Everyone k would be better not to listen, not to strain his ears for any sound from the darkness. But no one could help listening. And soon everyone was hearing things.
Eae heard something different.
"Do you hear a noise like . . . like a huge pair of scissors opening and shutting .. . over there?" Eustace asked Rynelf.
"Hush!" said Rynelf. "I hear them crawling up the sides of the ship.”
"Its just going to settle on the mast," said Caspian.
"Ugh!" said a sailor. "There are the gongs beginning. I khey would.”
Caspian, trying not to look at anything (especially not to keep looking behind him), went aft to Drinian.
"Drinian," he said in a very low voice. "How long did we take rowing in? - I mean rowing to where we picked up . the stranger.”
"Five minutes, perhaps," whispered Drinian. "Why?”
"Because weve been more than that already trying to get out.”
Drinians hand shook oiller and a line of cold sweat ran down his face. The same idea was to everyone on board. "We shall never get out, never get out,”
moahe rowers. "Hes steering us wrong. Were going round and round in circles. We shall never get out." The stranger, who had been lying in a huddled heap on the deck, sat up and burst out into a horrible screaming laugh.
"Never get out!" he yelled. "Thats it. Of course. We shall never get out. What a fool I was to have thought they would let me go as easily as that. No, no, we shall never get out.”
Lucy leant her head on the edge of the fighting top and whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now." The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little - a very, very little - better. "After all, nothing has really happeo us yet," she thought.
"Look!" cried Rynelfs voice hoarsely from the bows. There was a tiny speck of light ahead, and while they watched a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship. It did not alter the surrounding darkness, but the whole ship was lit up as if by searchlight. Caspian blinked, stared round, saw the faces of his panions all with wild, fixed expressions.
Everyone was staring in the same dire: behind everyone lay his black, sharply-edged shadow.
Lucy looked along the beam and presently saw something in it. At first it looked like a cross, then it looked like an aeroplahen it looked like a kite, and at last with a whirring of wings it was right overhead and was an albatross. It circled three times round the mast and then perched for an instant on the crest of the gilded dragon at the prow. It called out in a strong sweet voice what seemed to be words though no one uood them. After that it spread its wings, rose, and began to fly slowly ahead, bearing a little to starboard. Drinian steered after it not doubting that it ood guidance. But no one except Luew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Ce, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslans, and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face.
In a few moments the darkurned into a greyness ahead, and then, almost before they dared to begin hoping, they had shot out into the sunlight and were in t.９9lｉb?he warm, blue world again. And all at once everybody realized that there was nothing to be afraid of and
nev藏书网er had been. They bliheir eyes and looked about them. The brightness of the ship herself astohem: they had half expected to find that the darkness would g to the white and the green and the gold in the form of some grime or scum. And then first one, and then another, began laughing.
"I re weve made pretty good fools of ourselves," said Rynelf.
Lucy lost no time in ing down to the deck, where she found the others all gathered round the newer. For a long time he was too happy to speak, and could only gaze at the sea and the sun ahe bulwarks and the ropes, as if to make sure he was really awake, while tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Thank you," he said at last. "You have saved me from . . . but I wont talk of that. And now let me know who you are. I am a Telmarine of Narnia, and when I was worth anything men called me the Lord Rhoop.”
"And I," said Caspian, "am Caspian, King of Narnia, and I sail to find you and your panions who were my fathers friends.”
Lord Rhoop fell on his knees and kissed the Kings hand. "Sire," he said, "you are the man in all the world I most wished to see. Grant me a boon.”
"What is it?" asked Caspian.
" me back there," he said. He pointed astern. They all looked. But they saw only bright blue sea and bright blue sky. The Dark Island and the darkness had vanished for ever.
"Why!" cried Lord Rhoop. "You have destroyed it!”
"I dont think it was us," said Lucy.
"Sire," said Drinian, "this wind is fair for the southeast. Shall I have our poor fellows up a sail? And after that, every man who be spared, to his hammock.”
"Yes," said Caspian, "ahere be grog all round. Heigh-ho, I feel I could sleep the clock round myself.”
So all afternoon with great joy they sailed south-east with a fair wind. But nobody noticed when the albatross had disappeared.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE THREE SLEEPERS THE wind never failed but it grew gentler every day till at length the waves were little more than ripples, and the ship glided on hour after hour almost as if they were sailing on a lake. And every night they saw that there rose in the east new stellations whio one had ever seen in Narnia and perhaps, as Lucy thought with a mixture of joy and fear, no living eye had seen at all. Those ars were big and bright and the nights were warm. Most of them slept on ded talked far into the night or hung over the ships side watg the luminous dance of the foam thrown up by their bows.
On an evening of startliy, when the su behind them was so crimson and purple and widely spread that the very sky itself seemed to have grown larger, they came in sight of land on their starboard bow. It came slowly nearer and the light behind them made it look as if the capes and headlands of this new try were all on fire. But presently they were sailing along its coast and its western cape now rose up astern of them, black against the red sky and sharp as if it was cut out of cardboard, and then they could see better what this try was like. It had no mountains but many gentle hills with slopes like pillows. An attractive smell came from it - what Lucy called "a dim, purple kind of smell", which Edmund said (and Rhihought) was rot, but Caspian said, "I know what you mean.”
They sailed on a good ast point after point, hoping to find a nice deep harbour, but had to tent themselves in the end with a wide and shallow bay. Though it had seemed calm out at sea there was of course surf breaking on the sand and they could n the Dawn Treader as far in as they would have liked. They dropped anchood way from the bead had a wet and tumbling landing in the boat. The Lord Rhoop remained on board the Dawn Treader. He wished to see no more islands. All the time that they remained in this try the sound of the long breakers was in their ears.
Two men were left to guard the boat and Caspiahe others inland, but not far because it was too late for expl and the light would soon go. But there was o go far to find an advehe level valley which lay at the head of the bay showed no road or track or n of habitation. Underfoot was tine springy turf dotted here and there with a low bushy growth which Edmund and Lucy took for heather. Eustace, who was really rather good at botany; said it wasnt, and he robably right; but it was something of very much the same kind.
When they had gohan a bowshot from the shore, Drinian said, "Look! Whats that?" and everyoopped.
"Are they great trees?" said Caspian.
"Towers, l think," said Eustace.
"It might be giants," said Edmund in a lower voice.
"The way to find out is to ght iv among them," said Reepicheep, drawing his sword and pattering off ahead of everyone else.
"I think its a ruin," said Lucy when they had got a good deal nearer, and her guess was the best so far. What they noas a wide oblong space flagged with smooth stones and surrounded by grey pillars but unroofed. And from end to end of it ran a long table laid with a rich crimson cloth that came down nearly to the pavement. At either side of it were many chairs of stone richly carved and with silken cushions upon the seats. But oable itself there was set out such a ba as had never been seen, not even wheer the High Ki his court at Cair Paravel. There were turkeys and geese and peacocks, there were boars heads and sides of venison, there were pies shaped like ships under full sail or like dragons and elephants, there were ice puddings and bright lobsters and gleaming salmon, there were nuts and grapes, pineapples and peaches, pomegranates and melons and tomatoes. There were flagons of gold and silver and curiouslywrought glass; and the smell of the fruit and the wine blew towards them like a promise of all happiness.
"I say!" said Lucy.
They came nearer and nearer, all very quietly.
"But where are the guests?" asked Eustace.
"rovide that, Sir," said Rhince.
"Look!" said Edmund sharply. They were actually within the pillars now and standing on the pavement. Everyone looked where Edmund had poihe chairs were not all empty. At the head of the table and iwo places beside it there was something- or possibly three somethings.
"What are those?" asked Lu a whisper. "It looks like three beavers sitting oable.”
"Or a huge birds ," said Edmund.
"It looks more like a haystae," said Caspian.
Reepicheep ran forward, jumped on a chair and then to the table, and ran along it, threading his way as nimbly as a dancer between jewelled cups and pyramids of fruit and -ivory salt-cellars. He ran right up to the mysterious grey mass at the end: peered, touched, and then called out: "These will not fight, I think.”
Everyone now came close and saw that what sat in those three chairs was three men, though hard tnize as men till you looked closely. Their hair, which was grey, had
growheir eyes till it almost cealed their, faces, and their beards had growhe table, climbing pound awining plates and goblets as brambles; entwine a fence, until, all mixed in one great mat of hair, they flowed over the edge and down to the floor. And from their heads the hair hung over the backs of their chairs so that they were wholly hidden. In fact the three men were; nearly all hair.
"Dead?" said Caspian.
"I think not, Sire," said Reepicheep, lifting one of their hands out of its tangle of hair in his two paws. "This one is warm and his pulse beats.”
"This ooo, and this," said Drinian.
"Why, theyre only asleep," said Eustace.
"Its been a long sleep, though," said Edmund, "to let their hair grow like this.”
"It must be an ented sleep," said Lucy. "I felt the moment we landed on this island that it was full of magic. Oh! do you think erhaps e here to break it?”
"We try," said Caspian, and began shaking the of the three sleepers. For a moment everyohought he was going to be successful, for the mahed hard and muttered, "Ill go eastward no more. Out oars for Narnia." But he sank back almost at oo a yet deeper sleep than before: that is, his heavy head sagged a few inches lower towards the table and all efforts to rouse him again were useless. With the sed it was much the same. "Werent born to live like animals. Get to the east while youve a ce - lands behind the sun," and sank down. And the third only said, "Mustard, please," and slept hard.
"Out oars for Narnia, eh?" said Drinian.
"Yes," said Caspian, "you are right, Drinian. I think our quest is at an end. Lets look at their rings. Yes, these are their devices. This is the Lord Revilian. This is the Lord Argoz: and this, the Lord Mavramorn.”
"But we t wake them," said Lucy. "What are we to do?”
"Begging your Majesties pardons all," said Rhince, "but why not fall to while youre discussing it? We dont see a dinner like this every day.”
"Not for your life!" said Caspian.
"Thats right, thats right," said several of the sailors.
"Too much magic about here. The sooner were ba board the better.”
"Depend upon it," said Reepicheep, "it was from eating this food that these three lords came by a seven years sleep.”
"I wouldnt touch it to save my life," said Drinian.
"The lights going unon quick," said Rynelf.
"Back to ship, back to ship," muttered the men.
"I really think," said Edmund, "theyre right. We decide what to do with the three sleepers tomorrow. We darehe food and theres no point in staying here for the night. The whole place smells of magic - and danger.”
"I am entirely of King Edmunds opinion," said Reepicheep, "as far as s the ships pany in general. But I myself will sit at this table till sunrise.”
"Why oh?" said Eustace.
"Because," said the Mouse, "this is a very great adventure, and no danger seems to me so great as that of knowing when I get back to Narnia that I left a mystery behihrough fear.”
"Ill stay with you, Reep," said Edmund.
"And I too," said Caspian.
"And me," said Lucy. And theace volunteered also. This was very brave of him because never having read of such things or even heard of them till he joihe Dawn Treader made it worse for him than for the others.
"I beseeajesty -" began Drinian.
"No, my Lord," said Caspian. "Your place is with the ship, and you have had a days work while we five have idled." There was a lot ument about this but in the end Caspian had his way. As the crew marched off to the shore ihering dusk none of the five watchers, except perhaps Reepicheep, could avoid a cold feeling in the stomach.
They took some time choosing their seats at the perilous table. Probably everyone had the same reason but no one said it out loud. For it was really a rather nasty choice. One could hardly bear to sit all night o those three terrible hairy objects which, if not dead, were certainly not alive in the ordinary sense. Oher hand, to sit at the far end, so that you would see them less and less as the night grew darker, and wouldnt know if they were moving, and perhaps wouldhem at all by about two ocloo, it was not to be thought of. So they sauntered round and round the table saying, "What about here?”
and "Or perhaps a bit further on," or, "Why not on this side?" till at last they settled down somewhere about the middle but o the sleepers than to the other end. It was about
ten by now and almost dark. Those strange new stellations burned in the east. Lucy would have liked it better if they had been the Leopard and the Ship and other old friends of the Narnian sky.
They ed themselves in their sea cloaks and sat still and waited. At first there was some attempt at talk but it didnt e to much. And they sat and sat. And all the time they heard the waves breaking on the beach.
After hours that seemed like ages there came a moment when they all khey had been dozing a moment before but were all suddenly wide awake. The stars were all in quite different positions from those they had last noticed. The sky was very black except for the fai possible greyness in the east. They were cold, though thirsty, and stiff.
And none of them spoke because now at last something was happening.
Before them, beyond the pillars, there was the slope of a low hill. And now a door opened in the hillside, and light appeared in the doorway, and a figure came out, and the door shut behind it. The figure carried a light, and this light was really all that they could see distinctly. It came slowly nearer and ill at last it stht at the table opposite to them. Now they could see that it was a tall girl, dressed in a single long garment of clear blue which left her arms bare. She was bareheaded and her yellow hair hung down her back. And when they looked at her they thought they had never before known what beauty meant.
The light which she had been carrying was a tall dle in a silver dlestick which she now set upoable. If there had been any wind off the sea earlier in the night it must have died down by now, for the flame of the dle burned as straight and still as if it were in a room with the windows shut and the curtains drawn. Gold and silver oable shone in its light.
Luow noticed something lyihwise oable which had escaped her attention before. It was a knife of stone, sharp as steel, a cruel-looking, a looking thing.
No one had yet spoken a word. Then - Reepicheep first, and Caspia - they all rose to their feet, because they felt that she was a great lady.
"Travellers who have e from far to Aslans table," said the girl. "Why do you and drink?”
"Madam," said Caspian, "we feared the food because we thought it had cast our friends into an ented sleep.
"They have asted it," she said.
"Please," said Lucy, "what happeo them?”
"Seven years ago," said the girl, "they came here in a >ship whose sails were rags and timbers ready to fall apart. There were a few others with them, sailors, and when they came to this table one said, `Here is the good place. Let us set sail and reef sail and row no longer but sit down and end our days in peace! And the sed said, `No, let us re-embark and sail for Narnia and the west; it may be that Miraz is dead. But the third, who was a very masterful man, leaped up and said, `No, by heaven. We are men and Telmarines, not brutes. What should we do but seek adveer adventure? We have not long to live in a. Let us spend what is left in seeking the unpeopled world behind the sunrise. And as they quarrelled he caught up the Knife of Stone which lies there oable and would have fought with his rades. But it is a thing nht for him to touch. And as his fingers closed upon the hilt, deep sleep fell upon all the three.
And till the entment is u>.hey will never wake.”
"What is this Knife of Stone?" asked Eustace.
"Do none of you know it?" said the girl.
"I - I think," said Lucy, "Ive seen something like it before. It was a knife like it that the White Witch used when she killed Aslan at the Stoable long ago.”
"It was the same.," said the girl, "and it was brought here to be kept in honour while the world lasts.”
Edmund, who had been looking more and more unfortable for the last few minutes, now spoke.
"Look here," he said, "I hope Im not a coward - about eating this food, I mean - and Im sure I doo be rude. But we have had a lot of queer adventures on this voyage of ours and things arent always what they seem. When I look in your face I t help believing all you say: but then thats just what might happen with a witch too. How are we to know youre a friend?”
"You t know," said the girl. "You only believe or not.”
After a moments pause Reepicheeps small voice was heard.
"Sire," he said to Caspian, "of your courtesy fill my cup with wine from that flagon: it is too big for me to lift. I will drink to the lady.”
Caspian obeyed and the Mouse, standing oable, held up a golden cup between its tiny paws and said, "Lady, I pledge you." Then it fell to on cold peacock, and in a short while everyone else followed its example. All were very hungry and the meal, if not quite what you wanted for a very early breakfast, was excellent as a very late supper.
"Why is it called Aslans table?" asked Lucy presently.
"It is set here by his bidding," said the girl, "for those who e so far. Some call this island the Worlds End, for though you sail further, this is the beginning of the end.”
"But how does the food keep?" asked the practical Eustace. ?
"It is eaten, and renewed every day," said the girl. "This you will see.”
"And what are we to do about the Sleepers?" asked Caspian. "In the world from which my friends e" (here, he Eustad the Pevensies) "they have a story of a prince or a king ing to a castle where all the people lay in an ented sleep. In that story he could not dissolve the entment until he had kissed the Princess.”
"But here," said the girl, "it is different. Here he ot kiss the Priill he has dissolved the entment.”
"Then," said Caspian, "in the name of Aslan, show me how to set about that work at once.”
"My father will teach you that," said the girl.
"Your father!" said everyone. "Who is he? And where?”
"Look," said the girl, turning round and pointing at the door in the hillside. They could see it more easily now, for while they had been talking the stars had grown fainter and great gaps of white light were appearing in the greyness of the eastern sky.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE WORLD Slowly the door opened again and out there came a figure as tall and straight as the girls but not so slender. It carried no light but light seemed to e from it. As it came nearer, Lucy saw that it was like an old man. His silver beard came down to his bare feet in front and his saver hair hung down to his heels behind and his robe appeared to be made from the fleece of silver sheep. He looked so mild and grave that once more all the travellers rose to their feet and stood in silence.
But the old man came on without speaking to the travellers and stood oher side of the table opposite to his daughter. Then both of them held up their arms before them and turo face the east. In that position the began to sing. I wish I could write down the song, but one who resent could remember it. Lucy said afterwards that it was high, almost shrill, but very beautiful, cold kind of song, an early m kind of song. And they sang, the grey clouds lifted from the eastern sky a the white patches grew bigger and
bigger till it was white, and the sea began to shine like silver. And long afterwards (but those two sang all the time) the east began to turn red and at last, unclouded, the sun came up out the sea and its long level ray shot down the length of the table on the gold and silver sand oone Knife.
Once or twice before, the Narnians had wondered whether the sun at its rising did not look bigger in these seas than it had looked at home. This time they we certain. There was no mistaking it. And the brig?９９lｉｂ.ness its ray on the dew and oable was far beyond an. m brighthey had ever seen. And as Edmu said afterwards, "Though lots of things happened on that trip which sound more exg, that moment was really the most exg." For now they khat they had truly e to the beginning of the End of the World.
Then something seemed to be flying at them out of the very tre of the rising sun: but of course one couldnt look steadily in that dire to make sure. But presently the air became full of voices - voices which took up same song that the Lady and her Father were singing, but in far wilder tones and in a language whio one knew And soon after that the owners of these voices could be seen. They were birds, large and white, and they came hundreds and thousands and alighted ohing; the grass, and the pavement, oable, on your shoulders, your hands, and your head, till it looked as heavy snow had fallen. For, like snow, they not only make everything white but blurred and blunted all shapes. But Lucy, looking out from between the wings of the birds that covered her, saw o.ne bird fly to the Old Man with something in its beak that looked like a little fruit, unless it was a little live coal, which it might have been, for it was toht to look at.
And the bird laid it in the Old Mans mouth.
Then the birds stopped their singing and appeared to be very busy about the table. When they rose from it agaihing oable that could be eaten or drunk had disappeared. These birds rose from their meal ihousands and hundreds and carried away all the things that could not be eaten or drunk, such as bones, rinds, and shells, and took their flight back to the rising sun. But now, because they were not singing, the whir of their wings seemed to set the whole air a-tremble. And there was the table pecked ay, and the three old Lords of Narnia still fast asleep.
Now at last the Old Man turo the travellers and bade them wele.
"Sir," said Caspian, "will you tell us how to undo the entment which holds these three Narnian Lords asleep.”
"I will gladly tell you that, my son," said the Old Man. "To break this entment you must sail to the Worlds End, or as near as you e to it, and you must e back havi at least one of your pany behind.”
"And what must happen to that one?" asked Reepicheep.
"He must go on into the utter east and never return into the world.”
"That is my hearts desire," said Reepicheep.
"And are we he Worlds End now, Sir?" asked Caspian. "Have you any knowledge of the seas and lands further east than this?”
"I saw them long ago," said the Old Man, "but it was from a great height. I ark>?t tell you such things as sailor o know.”
"Do you mean you were flying in the air?" Eustace blurted out.
"I was a long way above the air, my son," replied the Old Man. "I am Ramandu. But I see that you stare at on another and have not heard this name. And no wonder, for the days when I was a star had ceased long before any of you khis world, and all the stellations have ged.”
"Golly," said Edmund under his breath. "Hes a retired star.”
"Arent you a star any longer?" asked Lucy.
"I am a star at rest, my daughter," answered Ramandu "When I set for the last time, decrepit and old beyond all that you re, I was carried to this island. I am not so old now as I was then. Every m a bird brings me a fire-berry from the valleys in the Sun, and each fire-berry takes away a little of my age.
And when I 藏书网have bee as young as the child that was borerday, then I shall take my rising again (for we are at earths eastern rim) and once more tread the great dance.”
"In our world," said Eustace, "a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.”
"Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of. And in this world you ave already met a star, for I think you have been with Coriakin.”
"Is he a retired star, too?" said Lucy.
"Well, not quite the same," said Ramandu. "It was not quite as a rest than he was set to govern the Duffers. You might call it a punishment. He might have shone for thousands of years more in the southern winter sky if all had gone well.”
"What did he do, Sir?" asked Caspian.
"My son," said Ramandu, "it is not for you, a son of Adam, to know what faults a star it. But e, we waste time in such talk. Are you yet resolved? Will you sail further east and e again, leaving oo return no more, and so break the entment? Or will you sail westward?”
"Surely, Sire," said Reepicheep, "there is no question about that? It is very plainly part of our quest to rescue these three lords from entment.”
"I think the same, Reepicheep," replied Caspian. "And even if it were not so, it would break my heart not to go as he Worlds End as the Dawn Treader will take us. But I am thinking of the crew. They signed on to seek the seven lords, not to reach the rim of the Earth. If we sail east from here we sail to find the edge, the utter east. And not one knows how far it is. Theyre brave fellows, but I set signs that some of them are weary of the voyage and long to have our prow pointing to Narnia again. I dont think should take them further without their knowledge an sent. And then theres the poor Lord Rhoop.
Hes broken man.”
"My son," said the star, "it would be no use, even though you wished it, to sail for the Worlds End with men unwilling or men deceived. That is not how great unentments are achieved. They must know where they go and why. But who is this broken man you speak of?”
Caspian told Ramandu the story of Rhoop.
"I give him what he needs most," said Ramandu. "I this island there is sleep without stint or measure, and sleep in whio fai footfall of a dream was ever heard. Let him sit beside these other three and drink oblivion till you return.”
"Oh, do lets do that, Caspian," said Lucy. "Im sure its just what he would love.”
At that moment they were interrupted by the sound of ma and voices: Drinian and the rest of the ship pany were approag. They halted in surprise whey they saw Ramandu and his daughter; and then, because these were obviously great people, every man uncovered his head. Some sailors eyed the empty dishes and flagons on the table with regret.
"My lord," said the King to Drinian, "pray send two men back to the Dawn Treader with a message to the Lord Rhoop. Tell him that the last of his old shipmates are here asleep - a sleep without dreams - and that he share it.”
When this had been done, Caspian told the rest to sit down and laid the whole situation before them. When he had fihere was a long silend some whispering until presently the Master Bowman got to his feet, and said: "What some of us have been wanting to ask for a long time, your Majesty, is how were ever to get home when we do turn, whether we turn here or somewhere else. Its bee and north-west winds all the way, barring an occasional calm. And if that doesnt ge, Id like to know what hopes we have of seeing Narnia again. Theres not much ce of supplies lasting while we row all that way.
"Thats landsmans talk," said Drinian. "Theres always a prevaili wind in these seas all through the late summer, and it always ges after the New Year. Well have plenty of wind for sailiward; more than we shall like from all ats.”
"Thats true, Master," said an old sailor who was a Galmian by birth. "You get some ugly weather rolling up from the east in January and February. And by your leave, Sire, if I was in and of this ship Id say to winter here and begin the voyage home in March.”
"Whatd you eat while you were wintering here?" asked Eustace.
"This table," said Ramandu, "will be filled with a kings feast every day at su.”
"Now youre talking!" said several sailors.
"Your Majesties alemen and ladies all," said Rynelf, "theres just ohing I want to say. Theres not one of us chaps as ressed on this journey. Were volunteers. And theres some here chat are looking very hard at that table and thinking about kings feasts who were talking very loud about adventures on the day we sailed from Cair Paravel, and swearing they wouldnt e home till wed found the end of the world. And there were some standing on the quay who would have given all they had to e with us. It was thought a fihing then to have a -boys berth on the Dawn Treader than to wear a knights belt. I dont know if you get the hang of what Im saying. But what I mean is that I think chaps who set out like us will look as silly as - as those Dufflepuds - if we e home and say we got to the beginning of the worlds end and hadnt the heart to go further.”
Some of the sailors cheered at this but some said that that was all very well.
"This isnt going to be much fun," whispered Edmund to Caspian. "What are we to do if half those fellows hang back?”
"Wait," Caspian whispered back. "Ive still a card to play.”
"Arent you going to say anything, Reep?" whispered Lucy.
"No. Why should your Majesty expect it?" answered Reepicheep in a voice that most people heard. "My owns plans are made. While I , I sail east in the Dawn Treader.
When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslans try, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my o the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mi Narnia.”
"Hear, hear," said a sailor, "Ill say the same, barring the bit about the coracle, which wouldnt bear me." He added in a lower voice, "Im not going to be outdone by a mouse.”
At this point Caspian jumped to his feet. "Friends," he said, "I think you have not quite uood our purpose. You talk as if we had e to you with our hat in our hand, begging for shipmates. It isnt like that at all. We and our royal brother and sister and their kinsman and Sir Reepicheep, the good knight, and the Lord Drinian have an errand to the worlds edge. It is our pleasure to choose from among such of you as are willing those whom we deem worthy of so high aerprise. We have not said that any e for the asking. That is why we shall now and the Lord Drinian and Master Rhio sider carefully what men among you are the hardest in battle, the most skilled seamen, the purest in blood, the most loyal to our person, and the est of life and manners; and to give their o us in a schedule." He paused and went on in a quicker voice, "Aslans mane!" he exclaimed. "Do you think that the privilege of seeing the last things is to be bought for a song? Why, every man that es with us shall bequeath the title of Dawn Treader to all his desdants, and when we land at Cair Paravel on the homeward voyage he shall have either gold or land enough to make him rich all his life. Now - scatter over the island, all of you. In half an hours time I shall receive the hat Lord Drinian brings me.”
There was rather a sheepish silend then the crew made their bows and moved away, one in this dire and one in that, but mostly in little knots or bualking.
"And now for the Lord Rhoop," said Caspian.
But turning to the head of the table he saw that Rhoop was already there. He had arrived, silent and unnoticed, while the discussion was going on, and was seated beside the Lord Argoz. The daughter of Ramandu stood beside him as if she had just helped him into his chair; Ramandu stood behind him and laid both his hands on Rhoops grey head. Even in daylight a faint silver light came from the hands of the star. There was a smile on Rhoops haggard face. He held out one of his hands to Lud the other to Caspian. For a moment it looked as if he were going to say something. Then his smile brightened as if he were feeling) some delicious sensation, a long sigh of te came from his lips, his head fell forward, and he slept.
"Poor Rhoop," said Lucy. "I am glad. He must have had terrible times." "Dos even think of it," said Eustace.
Meanwhile Caspians speech, helped perhaps by some magic of the island, was having just the effect he intended. A good many who had been anxious enough to get out of the voyage felt quite differently about bei out of it. And of course whenever any one sailor annouhat he had made up his mind to ask for permission to sail, the ones who hadnt said this felt that they were getting fewer and more unfortable. So that before the half-hour was nearly over several people were positively "sug up" to Drinian and Rhi least that was what they called it at my school) to get a good report. And soon there were only three left who didnt want to go, and those three were trying very hard to persuade others to stay with them. And very shortly after that there was only o.
And in they end he began to be afraid of bei behind all on his own and ged his mind.
At the end of the half-hour they all came trooping back to Aslans Table and stood at one end while Drinian and Rhince went and sat down with Caspian and made their report; and Caspian accepted all the man but that one whod had ged his mind at the last moment. His name ittencream aayed on the Island of the Star all the time the others were away looking for the Worlds End, and he very much wished he had goh them. He wasnt the sort of man who could enjoy talking to Ramandu and Ramandus daughter (nor they to him), and it rained a good deal, and though there was a wonderful feast oable every night, he didnt very mujoy it. He said it gave him the creeps sitting there alone (and in the rain as likely as not) with those four Lords asleep at the end of the Table. And whehers returned he felt so out of things that he deserted on the voyage home at the Lone Islands, a and lived in en, where he told wonderful stories about his adve the End of the World, until at last he came to believe them himself. So you may say, in a sehat he lived happily ever after. But he could never bear mice.
That night they all ate and drank together at the great table between the pillars where the feast was magically renewed: a m the Dawn Treader set sail once more just when the great birds had e and gone again.
"Lady," said Caspian, "I hope to speak with you again when I have broken the entments." And Ramandus daughter looked at him and smiled.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE WONDERS OF THE LAST SEA VERY soon after they had left Ramandus try they began to feel that they had already sailed beyond the world. All was different. For ohing they all found that they were needing less sleep. One did not want to go to bed. nor to eat much, nor even to talk except in low voices. Ahing was the light. There was too much of it. The su came up each m looked twice, if not; three times, its usual size. And every m (which gave Lucy the stra feeling of all) the huge white birds, singing their song with human voices in a language no one knew, streamed overhead and vanished astern on their way to their breakfast at Aslans Table. A little later they came flying bad vanished into the east.
"How beautifully clear the water is!" said Lucy to herself, as she leaned over the port side early iernoon of the sed day.
And it was. The first thing that she noticed was a little black object, about the size of a shoe, travelling along at the same speed as the ship. For a moment she thought it was something floating on the surface. But then there came floating past a bit of stale bread which the cook had just thrown out of the galley. And the bit of bread looked as if it were going to collide with the black thing, but it didnt. It passed above it, and Luow saw that the black thing could not be on the surface. Then the black thing suddenly got very much bigger and flicked back to normal size a moment later.
Now Luew she had seen something just like that happen somewhere else - if only she could remember where. She held her hand to her head and screwed up her fad put out her tongue in the effort to remember. At last she did. Of course! It was like what you saw from a train on a bright sunny day. You saw the black shadow of your own coach running along the fields at the same pace as the train. Then you went into a cutting; and immediately the same shadow flicked close up to you and got big, rag :long the grass of the cutting-bank. Then you came out of the cutting and - Pick! - once more the black shadow had gone back to its normal size and was running along the fields.
"Its our shadow! - the shadow of the Dawn Treader," said Lucy. "Our shadow running along otom of the sea. That time when it got bigger it went over a hill. But in that case the water must be clearer than I thought! Good gracious, I must he seeing the bottom of the sea; fathoms and fathoms down.”
As soon as she had said this she realized that the great silvery expanse which she had been seeing (without notig) for some time was really the sand on the sea-bed and that ail sorts of darker hter patches were not lights and shadows on the surface but real things otom. At present, for instahey were passing over a mass of soft purply green with a broad, winding strip of pale grey in the middle of it But now that she k was otom she saw it much better. She could see that bits of the dark stuff were much higher than other bits and were wavily. "Just like trees in a wind," said Lucy. "And do believe thats what they are. Its a submarine forest.”
They passed on above it and presently the pale streak was joined by another pale streak.
"If I was down there," thought Lucy, "that streak would be just like a road through the wood. And that place where it joins the other Would be a crossroads. Oh, I do wish I was.
Hallo! the forest is ing to an end. And I do believe the streak really was a road! I still see it going on across the open sand. Its a different colour. And its marked out with something at the edges - dotted lines. Perhaps they are stones. And now its getting wider.”
But it was not really getting wider, it was getting nearer. She realized this because of the way in which the shadow of the ship came rushing up towards her. And the road she felt sure it was a road now - began to go in zigzags. Obviously it was climbing up a steep hill.
And when she held her head sideways and looked back, what she saw was very like what you see when you look down a winding road from the top of a hill. She could evehe shafts of sunlight falling through the deep water on to the wooded valley - and, in the
extreme distance, everythiing away into a dim greenness. But some places - the sunny ones, she thought - were ultramarine blue.
She could not, however, spend much time looking back; what was ing into view in the forward dire was too exg. The road had apparently now reached the top of the hill and ran straight forward. Little specks were moving to and fro on it. And now something most wonderful, fortunately in full sunlight - or as full as it be when it falls through fathoms of water - flashed into sight. It was knobbly and jagged and of a pearly, or perhaps an ivory, colour. She was so nearly straight above it that at first she could hardly make out what it was. But everything became plain when she noticed its shadow. The sunlight was falling across Lucys shoulders, so the shadow of the thing lay stretched out on the sand behind it. And by its shape she saw clearly that it was a shadow of towers and pinnacles, mis and domes.
"Why! - its a city or a huge castle," said Lucy to herself "But I wonder why theyve built it on top of a high m?９9lｉb?ountain?”
Long afterwards when she was ba England and tal９９ｌｉb?ked all these adventures over with Edmund, they thought of a reason and I am pretty sure it is the true one. In the sea, the deeper you go, the darker and colder it gets, and it is down there, in the dark and cold, that dangerous things live - the squid and the Sea Serpent and the Kraken. The valleys are the wild, unfriendly places. The sea-people feel about their valleys as we do about mountains, and feel about their mountains as we feel about valleys. It is on the heights (or, as we would say, "in the shallows") that there is warmth and peace. The reckless hunters and brave knights of the sea go down into the depths os and adventures, but return home to the heights for rest and peace, courtesy and cil, the sports, the dances and the songs.
They had passed the city and the sea-bed was still rising. It was only a few hundred feet below the ship now. The road had disappeared. They were sailing above an open park-like try, dotted with little groves htlycoloured vegetation. And then - Luearly squealed aloud with excitement-she had seen People.
There were between fifteen and twenty of them, and all mounted on sea- horses - not the tiny little sea-horses whiay have seen in museums but horses rather bigger than themselves. They must be noble and lordly people, Lucy thought, for she could catch the gleam of gold on some of their foreheads and streamers of emerald- or e-coloured stuff fluttered from their shoulders in the current. Then: "Oh, bother these fish!" said Lucy, for a whole shoal of small fat fish, swimming quite close to the surface, had e between her and the Sea People. But though this spoiled her view it led to the most iing thing of all.
Suddenly a fierce little fish of a kind she had never seen before came darting up from below, snapped, grabbed, and sank rapidly with one of the fat fish in its mouth. And all the Sea People were sitting on their horses staring up at what had happehey seemed
to be talking and laughing. And before the hunting fish had got back to them with its prey, another of the same kind came up from the Sea People. And Lucy was almost certain that one big Sea Man who sat on his sea-horse in the middle of the party had sent it or released it; as if he had been holdng it back till then in his hand or on his wrist.
"Why, I do declare," said Lucy, "its a hunting party. Or more like a hawking party. Yes, thats it. They ride out with these little fierce fish on their wrists just as we used to ride out with fals on our wrists when we were Kings and Queens at Cair Paravel long ago.
And then they fly them - or I suppose I should say swim them - at the others.”
She stopped suddenly because the se was ging. The Sea People had noticed the Dawn Treader. The shoal of fish hard scattered in every dire: the People themselves were ing up to find out the meaning of this big, black thing which had e between them and the sun. And now they were so close to the surface that if they had been in air, instead of water, Lucy could have spoken to them. There were men and women both. All wore ets of some kind and many had s of pearls. They wore no other clothes.
Their bodies were the colour of old ivory, their hair dark purple. The King in the tre (no one could mistake him for anything but the King) looked proudly and fiercely into Lucys fad shook a spear in his hand. His knights did the same. The faces of the ladies were filled with astonishment. Lucy felt sure they had never seen a ship or a human before - and how should they, in seas beyond the worlds end where no ship ever came?
"What are you staring at, Lu?" said a voice close beside her.
Lucy had been so absorbed in what she was seeing that she started at the sound, and wheurned she found that her arm had gone "dead" from leaning so long on the rail in one position. Drinian and Edmund were be99lｉｂ.side her.
"Look," she said.
They both looked, but almost at once Drinian said in a low voice: "Turn round at once, your Majesties - thats right, with our backs to the sea. And dont look as if we were talking about anything important.”
"Why, whats the matter?" said Lucy as she obeyed.
"Itll never do for the sailors to see all that," said Drinian. "Well have men falling in love with a seawoman, or falling in love with the under-sea try itself, and jumping overboard. Ive heard of that kind of thing happening before in strange seas. Its always unlucky to see these people.”
"But we used to know them," said Lucy. "In the old days at Cair Paravel when my brother Peter was High King. They came to the surfad sang at our ation.”
"I think that must have been a different kind, Lu," said Edmund. "They could live in the air as well as under water. I rather think these t. By the look of them theyd have surfaced and started attag us long ago if they could. They seem very fierce.”
"At any rate," said Drinian, but at that moment two sounds were heard. One lop.
The other was a voice from the fighting top shouting, "Man overboard!" Then everyone was busy. Some of the sailors hurried aloft to take in the sail: others hurried below to get to the oars; and Rhince, who was on duty on the poop, began to put the helm hard over so as to e round and back to the man who had gone overboard. But by now everyone khat it wasnt strictly a man. It was Reepicheep.
"Drat that mouse!" said Drinian. "Its more trouble than all the rest of the ships pany put together. If there is any scrape to be got into, in it will get! It ought to be put in irons - keel-hauled - marooned - have its whiskers cut off. anyohe little blighter?”
All this didhat Drinian really disliked Reepicheep. On the trary he liked him very mud was therefore frightened about him, and being frightened put him in a bad temper - just as your mother is mugrier with you for running out into the road in front of a car than a stranger would be. No one, of course, was afraid of Reepicheeps drowning, for he was an excellent swimmer; but the three who knew what was going on below the water were afraid of those long, cruel spears in the hands of the Sea People.
In a few mihe Dawn Treader had e round and everyone could see the black blob ier which was Reepicheep. He was chattering with the greatest excitement but as his mouth kept oing filled with water nobody could uand what he was saying.
"Hell blurt the whole thing out if we dont shut him up," cried Drinian. To prevent this he rushed to the side and lowered a rope himself, shouting to the sailors, "All right, all right.
Back to your places. I hope I heave a mouse up without help." And as Reepicheep began climbing up the rope not very nimbly because his wet fur made him heavy - Drinian leaned over and whispered to him, "Dont tell. Not a word.”
But when the dripping Mouse had reached the deck it turned out not to be at all ied in the Sea People.
"Sweet!" he cheeped. "Sweet, sweet!”
"What are you talking about?" asked Drinian crossly. "And you shake yourself all over me, either.”
"I tell you the waters sweet," said the Mouse. "Sweet, fresh. It isnt salt.”
For a moment no one quite took in the importance of this. But then Reepicheep once more repeated the old prophecy: "Where the waves grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, There is the utter East.”
Then at last everyone uood.
"Let me have a bucket, Rynelf," said Drinian.
It was handed him and he lowered it and up it came again. The water shone in it like glass.
"Perhaps your Majesty would like to taste it first," said Drinian to Caspian.
The King took the bucket in both hands, raised it to his lips, sipped, then drank deeply and raised his head. His face was ged. Not only his eyes but everything about him seemed to be brighter.
"Yes," he said, "it is sweet. Thats real water, that. Im not sure that it isnt going to kill me. But it is the death I would have chosen - if Id known about it till now.”
"What do you mean?" asked Edmund.
"It - its like light more than anything else," said Caspian.
"That is what it is," said Reepicheep. "Drinkable light. We must be very he end of the world now.”
There was a moments silend then Luelt down on the ded drank from the bucket.
"Its the loveliest thing I have ever tasted," she said with a kind of gasp. "But oh - its strong. We shao eat anything now.”
And one by one everybody on board drank. And for a long time they were all silent. They felt almost too well and strong to bear it; and presently they began to notiother result. As I have said before, there had been too much light ever sihey left the island of Ramandu - the sun toe (though not too hot), the sea tht, the air too shining. Now, the light grew no less - if anything, it increased - but they could bear it.
They could look straight up at the sun without blinking. They could see more light than they had ever seen before. And the ded the sail and their own faces and bodies became brighter and brighter and every rope shone. A m, when the sun rose, now five or six times its old size, they stared hard into it and could see the very feathers of the birds that came flying from it.
Hardly a word oken on board all that day, till about diime (no one wanted any dihe water was enough for them) Drinian said: "I t uand this. There is not a breath of wind. The sail hangs dead. The sea is as flat as a pond. A we drive on as fast as if there were a gale behind us.”
"Ive been thinking that, too," said Caspian. "We must be caught in some strong current.”
"Hm," said Edmund. "Thats not so nice if the World really has an edge and were getting near it.”
"You mean," said Caspian, "that we might be just well, poured over it?”
"Yes, yes," cried Reepicheep, clapping his paws together. "Thats how Ive always imagi - the World like a great round table and the waters of all the os endlessly p over the edge. The ship will tip up stand on her head - for one moment we shall see over the edge - and then, down, down, the rush, the speed -”
"And what do you think will be waiting for us at the bottom, eh?" said Drinian.
"Aslans try perhaps," said the Mouse, its eyes shining. "Or perhaps there isnt any bottom. Perhaps it goes down for ever and ever. But whatever it is, wont it be worth anything just to have looked for one moment beyond the edge of the world.”
"But look -here," said Eustace, "this is all rot. The worlds round - I mean, round like a ball, not like a table.”
"Our world is," said Edmund. "But is this?”
"Do you mean to say," asked Caspian, "that you three e from a round world (round like a ball) and youve old me! Its really too bad of you. Because we have fairy-tales in which there are round worlds and I always loved them. I never believed there were any real ones. But Ive always wished there were and Ive always loo live in one. Oh, Id give anything - I wonder why you get into our world and we never get into yours? If only I had the ce! It must be exg to live on a thing like a ball.
Have you ever been to the parts where people walk about upside-down?”
Edmund shook his head. "And it isnt like that," he added. "Theres nothing particularly exg about a round world when youre there.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE VERY END OF THE WORLD
REEPICHEEP was the only person on board besides Drinian and the two Pevensies who had noticed the Sea People. He had dived in at once when he saw the Sea King shaking his spear, for he regarded this as a sort of threat or challenge and wao have the matter out there and then. The excitement of disc that the water was now fresh ha?d distracted his attention, and before he remembered the Sea People again Lud Drinian had taken him aside and warned him not to mention what he had seen.
As things turned out they need hardly have bothered, for by this time the Dawn Treader was gliding over a part of the sea which seemed to be uninhabited. No one except Lucy saw anything more of the People, and even she had only one shlimpse. All m on the following day they sailed in fairly shallow water and the bottom was weedy. Just before midday Lucy saw a large shoal of fishes grazing on the weed. They were all eating steadily and all moving in the same dire. "Just like a flock of sheep," thought Lucy.
Suddenly she saw a little Sea Girl of about her own age in the middle of them - a quiet, lonely-looking girl with a sort of crook in her hand. Lucy felt sure that this girl must be a shepherdess - or perhaps a fish-herdess and that the shoal was really a flock at pasture.
Both the fishes and the girl were quite close to the surface. And just as the girl, gliding in the shallow water, and Lucy, leaning over the bulwark, came opposite to one ahe girl looked up and stared straight into Lucys faeither could speak to the other and in a moment the Sea Girl dropped astern. But Lucy will never fet her face. It did not lohtened ry like those of the other Sea People. Lucy had liked that girl and she felt certain the girl had liked her. In that one moment they had somehow >bee friends.
There does not seem to be much ce of their meeting again in that world or any other.
But if ever they do they will rush together with their hands held out.
After that for many days, without wind in her shrouds or foam at her bows, across a waveless sea, the Dawn Treader glided smoothly east. Every day and every hour the light became more brilliant and still they could bear it. No oe or slept and no one wao, but they drew buckets of dazzling water from the sea, strohan wine and somehow wetter, more liquid, than ordinary water, and pledged one another silently in deep draughts of it. And one or two of the sailors who had been oldish men when the voyage began now grew younger every day. Everyone on board was filled with joy aement, but not aement that made oalk. The further they sailed the less they spoke, and then almost in a whisper. The stillness of that last sea laid hold on them.
"My Lord," said Caspian to Drinian one day, "what do you see ahead?”
"Sire," said Drinian, "I see whiteness. All along the horizon from north to south, as far as my eyes reach.”
"That is what I see too," said Caspian, "and I agine what it is.”
"If we were in higher latitudes, your Majesty," said Drinian, "I would say it was ice. But it t be that; not here. All the same, wed better get men to the oars and hold the ship
back against the current. Whatever the stuff is, we dont want to crash into it at this speed!”
They did as Drinian said, and so tio go slower and slower. The whiteness did not get any less mysterious as they- approached it. If it was land it must be a very strange land, for it seemed just as smooth as the water and on the same level with it. When they got very close to it Drinian put the helm hard over and turhe Dawn Treader south so that she was broadside on to the current and rowed a little way southward along the edge of the whiteness. In so doing they actally made the important discovery that the current was only about forty feet wide and the rest of the sea as still as a pond. This was good news for the crew, who had already begun to think that the return jouro Ramandus land, rowing against stream all the way, would be pretty poor sport. (It also explained why the shepherd girl had dropped so quickly astern. She was not in the current. If she had been she would have been movi at the same speed as the ship.)
And still no one could make out what the white stuff was. Then the boat was lowered and it put off to iigate. Those who remained on the Dawn Treader could see that the boat pushed right in amidst the whiteness. Then they could hear the voices of the party in the boat clear across the still water) talking in a shrill and surprised way. Then there ause while Rynelf in the bows of the boat took a sounding; and when, after that, the boat came rowing back there seemed to be plenty of the white stuff inside her. Everyone crowded to the side to hear the news.
"Lilies, your Majesty!" shouted Rynelf, standing up in the bows.
"What did you say?" asked Caspian.
"Blooming lilies, your Majesty," said Rynelf. "Same as in a pool or in a garden at home.”
"Look!" said Lucy, who was iern of the boat. She held up her wet arms full of white petals and broad flat leaves.
"Whats the depth, Rynelf?" asked Drinian.
"Thats the funny thing, Captain," said Rynelf. "Its still deep. Three and a half fathoms clear.”
"They t be real lilies - not what we call lilies," said Eustace.
Probably they were not, but they were very like them. And when, after some sultation, the Dawn Treader turned bato the current and began to glide eastward through the Lily Lake or the Silver Sea (they tried both these names but it was the Silver Sea that stud is now on Caspians map) the stra part of their travels began. Very soon the open sea which they were leaving was only a thin rim of blue on the western horizon.
Whiteness, shot with fai colour of gold, spread round them on every side, except just asterheir passage had thrust the lilies apart a an open lane of water that
shone like dark green glass. To look at, this last sea was very like the A..t>rctid if their eyes had not by now grown as strong as eagles the sun on all that whiteness - especially at early m when the sun was hugest would have been unbearable. And every evening the same whiteness made the daylight last lohere seemed o the lilies. Day after day from all those miles and leagues of flowers there rose a smell which Lucy found it very hard to describe; sweet - yes, but not at all sleepy or overp, a fresh, wild, lonely smell that seemed to get into your brain and make you feel that you could go up mountains at a run or wrestle with an elephant. She and Caspian said to one another, "I feel that I t stand much more of this, yet I dont want it to stop.”
They took soundings very often but it was only several days later that the water became shallower. After that it went oing shallower. There came a day when they had to row out of the current aheir way forward at a snails pace, rowing. And soon it was clear that the Dawn Treader could sail no further east. I was only by very clever handling that they saved her from grounding.
"Lower the boat," cried Caspian, "and then call the men aft. I must speak to them.”
"Whats he going to do?" whispered Eustaund. "Theres a queer look in his eyes.”
"I think we probably all look the same," said Edmund.
They joined Caspian on the poop and soon all the men were crowded together at the foot of the ladder to hear the Kings speech. "Friends," said Caspian, "we have now fulfilled the quest on whibarked. The seven lords are all ated for and as Sir Reepicheep has sworn o return, when you reach Ramandus Land you will doubtless find the Lords Revilian and Argoz and Mavramorn awake. To you, my Lord Drinian, I entrust this ship, bidding you sail to Narnia with all the speed you may, and above all not to land on the Island of Deathwater. And instruct my regent, the Dwarf Trumpkin, to give to all these, my shipmates, the rewards I promised them. They have been earned well. And if I e not again it is my will that the Regent, and Master elius, and Trufflehuhe Badger, and the Lord Drinian choose a King of Narnia with the sent-”
"But, Sire," interrupted Drinian, "are you abdig?”
"I am going with Reepicheep to see the Worlds End," said Caspian.
A low murmur of dismay ran through the sailors.
"We will take the boat," said Caspian. "You will have no need of it in these gentle seas and you must build a new one in Ramandus island. And now-”
"Caspian," said Edmund suddenly and sternly, "you t do this.”
"Most certainly," said Reepicheep, "his Majesty ot.”
"No indeed," said Drinian.
"t?" said Caspian sharply, looking for a moment not unlike his uncle Miraz.
"Begging your Majestys pardon," said Rynelf from the deck below, "but if one of us did the same it would be called deserting.”
"You presume too mu your long service, Rynelf," said Caspian.
"No, Sire! Hes perfectly right," said Drinian.
"By the Mane of Aslan," said Caspian, "I had thought you were all my subjects here, not my sasters.”
"Im not," said Edmund, "and I say you ot do this.”
"t again," said Caspian. "What do you mean?”
"If it please your Majesty, we mean shall not," said Reepicheep with a very low bow.
"You are the King of Narnia. You break faith with all your subjects, and especially with Trumpkin, if you do not return. You shall not please yourself with adventures as if you were a private person. And if your Majesty will not hear reason it will be the truest loyalty of every man on board to follow me in disarming and binding you till you e to your senses.”
"Quite right," said Edmund. "Like they did with Ulysses when he wao go he Sirens.”
Caspians hand had goo his sword hilt, when Lucy said, "And youve almost promised Ramandus daughter to go back.”
Caspian paused. "Well, yes. There is that," he said. He stood irresolute for a moment and then shouted out to the ship in general.
"Well, have your way. The quest is ended. We all returhe boat up again.”
"Sire," said Reepicheep, "we do not all return. I, as I explained before -”
"Silence!" thundered Caspian. "Ive been lessoned but Ill not be baited. Will no one silehat Mouse?”
"Your Majesty promised," said Reepicheep, "to be good lord to the Talking Beasts of Narnia.”
"Talkis, yes," said Caspian. "I said nothing about beasts that op talking.”
And he flung down the ladder in a temper a into the , slamming the door.
But whehers rejoined him a little later they found him ged; he was white and there were tears in his eyes.
"Its no good," he said. "I might as well have behaved detly for all the good I did with my temper and swagger. Aslan has spoken to me. No - I dont mean he was actually here.
He wouldnt fit into the , for ohing. But that gold lions head on the wall came to life and spoke to me. It was terrible his eyes. Not that he was at all rough with me - only a bit stern at first. But it was terrible all the same. And he said - he said - oh, I t bear it.
The worst thing he could have said. Youre to go on - Reep and Edmund, and Lucy, aace; and Im to go back. Alone. And at once. And what is the good of anything?”
"Caspian, dear," said Lucy. "You knew wed have to go back to our own world sooner or later.”
"Yes," said Caspian with a sob, "but this is sooner.”
"Youll feel better when you get baandus Island," said Lucy.
He cheered up a little later on, but it was a grievous parting oo both sides and I will not dwell on it. About two oclo the afternoon, well victualled and watered (though they thought they would need her food nor drink) and with Reepicheeps coracle on board, the boat pulled away from the Dawn Treader to row through the endless carpet of lilies.
The Dawn Trader flew all her flags and hung out her shields to honour their departure.
Tall and big and homelike she looked from their low position with the lilies all round them. And before she was out of sight they saw her turn and begin rowing sloard. Yet though Lucy shed a few tears, she could not feel it as much as you might have expected. The light, the silehe tingling smell of the Silver Sea, even (in some odd way) the loneliness itself, were too exg.
There was o row, for the current drifted them steadily to the east. None of them slept or ate. All that night and all day they glided eastward, and whehird day dawned - with a brightness you or I could not bear even if we had dark glasses on - they saw a wonder ahead. It was as if a wall stood up between them and the sky, a greenish-grey, trembling, shimmering wall. Then up came the sun, and at its first rising they saw it through the wall and it turned into wonderful rainbow colours. Then they khat the wall was really a long, tall wave - a wave endlessly fixed in one place as you may ofte the edge of a waterfall. It seemed to be about thirty feet high, and the current was gliding them swiftly towards it. You might have supposed they would have thought of their dahey didnt. I dont think anyone could have in their position. For now they saw something not only behind the wave but behind the sun. They could not have seehe sun if their eyes had not been strengthened by the water of the Last Sea. But now they could look at the rising sun a clearly ahings beyond it. What they saw - eastward, beyond the sun - was a range of mountains. It was so high that either
they never saw the top of it or they fot it. None of them remembers seeing any sky in that dire. And the mountains must really have been outside the world. For any mountains even a quarter of a tweh of that height ought to have had id snow on them. But these were warm and green and full, of forests and waterfalls however high you looked. And suddenly there came a breeze from the east, tossing the top of the wave into foamy shapes and ruffling the smooth water all round them. It lasted only a sed or so but what it brought them in that sed none of those three children will ever fet.
It brought both a smell and a sound, a musical sound Edmund aace would alk about it afterwards. Lucy could only say, "It would break your heart." "Why," said I, "was it so sad: " "Sad!! No," said Lucy.
No one in that boat doubted chat they were seeing beyond the End of the World into Aslans try.
At that moment, with a ch, the boat ran aground. The water was too shallow now for it. "This," said Reepicheep, "is where I go on alone.”
They did not even try to stop dim, for everything now felt as if it had been fated or had happened before. They helped him to lower his little coracle. Theook off his sword ("I shall no more," he said) and flung it far away across the Idled sea. Where it fell it stood upright with the hilt above the surface. Then he bade them goodbye trying to be sad for their sakes but he was quivering with happiness. Lucy, for the first and last time, did what she had always wao do, taking him in her arms and caressing him. Then hastily he got into his coracle and took his paddle, and the current caught it and away he went, very black against the lilies. But no lilies grew on the wave; it was a smooth green slope. The coracle went more and more quickly, aifully it rushed up the waves side. For one split sed they saw its shape and Reepicheeps on the very top. Then it vanished, and sihat moment no one truly claim to have seen Reepicheep the Mouse. But my belief is that he came safe to Aslans try and is alive there to this day.
As the sun rose the sight of those mountains outside the world faded away. The wave remained but there was only blue sky behind it.
The children got out of the boat and waded - not towards the wave but southward with the wall of water on their left. They could not have told you why they did this; it was their fate. And though they had felt - and been very grown-up on the Dawn Treader, they now felt just the opposite and held hands as they waded through the lilies. They never felt tired. The water was warm and all the time it got shallower. At last they were on dry sand, and then on grass - a huge plain of very fine shrass, almost level with the Silver Sea and spreading in every dire without so much as a molehill.
And of course, as it always does in a perfectly flat place without trees, it looked as if the sky came down to meet the grass in front of them. But as they went on they got the stra impression that here at last the sky did really e down and join the earth - a
blue wall, very bright, but real and solid: more like glass than anything else. And soon they were quite sure of it. It was very near now.
But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagles eyes they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that it was a Lamb.
"e and have breakfast," said the Lamb in its sweet milky voice.
Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first time for many days. And it was the most delicious food they had ever tasted.
"Please, Lamb," said Lucy, "is this the way to Aslans try?”
"Not for you," said the Lamb. "For you the door into Aslans try is from your own world.”
"What!" said Edmund. "Is there a way into Aslans try from our world too?”
"There is a way into my try from all the worlds," said the Lamb; but as he spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size ged and he was Aslan himself, t above them and scattering light from his mane.
"Oh, Aslan," said Lucy. "Will you tell us how to get into your try from our world?”
"I shall be telling you all the time," said Aslan. "But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder. And now e; I will open the door in the sky and send you to your own land.”
"Please, Aslan," said Lucy. "Before we go, will you tell us when we e back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do make it soon." "Dearest," said Aslan very gently, "you and your brother will never e balk to Narnia.”
"Oh, Aslan!!" said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.
"You are too old, children," said Aslan, "and you must begin to e close to your own world now.”
"It isnt Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "Its you. We sha you there. And how we live, never meeting you?”
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that his was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”
"And is Eustaever to e back here either?" said Lucy.
"Child," said Aslan, "do you really o know that? e, I am opening the door in the sky." Then all in one moment there was a rending of the blue wall (like a curtain being torn) and a terrible white light from beyond the sky, and the feel of Aslans mane and a Lions kiss on their foreheads and then - the bark bedroom in Aunt Albertas home in Cambridge.
Only two more things o be told. One is that Caspian and his men all came safely baandus Island. And the three lords woke from their sleep. Caspian married Ramandus daughter and they all reached Narnia in the end, and she became a great queen and the mother and grandmother of great kings. The other is that ba our own world everyone soon started saying how Eustace had improved, and how "Youd never know him for the same boy": everyone except Aunt Alberta, who said he had bee very onplad tiresome and it must have been the influence of those Pevensie children.天涯在线书库《www.tianyabook.com》