CHAPTER SIX
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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 hadgone 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>?</abbr> 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<mark>.９９ｌｉｂ.</mark> 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></a>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<var>藏书网</var>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 &<s></s>quot;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.
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