CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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THE FIGHT AT ANVARD By about eleven oclock the whole pany was once more on the march, ridiward with the mountains on their left. and Shasta rht at the rear with the Giants immediately in front of them. Lud Edmund and Peridan were busy with their plans for the battle and though Luce said, "But where is his goosecap Highness?”Edmund only replied, "Not in the front, and thats good news enough. Leave well alone.”
Shasta told most of his adventures and explaihat he had learned all his riding from a horse and didnt really know how to use the reins. instructed him in this, besides telling him all about their secret sailing from Tashbaan.
"And where is the Queen Susan?”
"At Cair Paravel," said . "Shes not like Lucy, you know, whos as good as a man, or at any rate as good as a boy. Queen Susan is more like an ordinary grown-up lady. She doesnt ride to the wars, though she is an excellent archer.”
The hillside path which they were following became narrower all the time and the drop on their right hand became steeper. At last they were going in single file along the edge of a precipid Shasta shuddered to think that he had dohe same last night without knowing it. "But of course," he thought, "I was quite safe. That is why the Lio on my left. He was between me and the edge all the time.”
Theh we and south away from the cliff and there were thick woods on both sides of it and they went steeply up and up into the pass. There would have been a splendid view from the top if it were open ground but among all those trees you could see nothing - only, every now and then, some huge pinnacle of rock above <tt>..t>the tree-tops, and an eagle or two wheeling high up in the blue air.
"They smell battle," said , pointing at the birds. "They know were preparing a feed for them.”
Shasta didnt like this at all.
When they had crossed the neck of the pass and e a good deal lower they reached more open ground and from here Shasta could see all Arland, blue and hazy, spread
out below him and evehought) a hint of the desert beyond it. But the sun, which had perhaps two hours or so to go before it set, was in his eyes and he couldnt make things out distinctly.
Here the army halted and spread out in a line, and there was a great deal of rearranging. A whole detat of very dangerous-looking Talkis whom Shasta had not noticed before and who were mostly of the cat kind (leopards, panthers, and the like)
went padding and growling to take up their positions on the left. The giants were ordered to the right, and befoing there they all took off something they had been carrying on their backs and sat down for a moment. Then Shasta saw that what they had been carrying and were now putting on were pairs of boots: horrid, heavy, spiked boots which came up to their khen they sloped their huge clubs over their shoulders and marched to their battle position. The archers, with Queen Lucy, fell to the rear and you could first see them bending their bows and thehe twangtwang as they tested the strings. And wherever you looked you could see people tightening girths, putting os, drawing swords, and throwing cloaks to the ground. There was hardly any talking now. It was very solemn and very dreadful. "Im in for it now - I really am in for it now," thought Shasta. Then there came noises far ahead: the sound of many men shouting and a steady thud-thud-thud "Battering ram," whispered . "Theyre battering the gate.”
Even looked quite serious now.
"Why doesnt King Edmu on?" he said. "I stand this waiting about. Chilly too.”
Shasta nodded: hoping he didnt look as frightened as felt.
The trumpet at last! On the move now - now trotting the bareaming out in the wind. They had topped le now, and below them the whole se sudden opened out; a little, many-towered castle with its gate towards them. No moat, unfortunately, but of course the gate shut and the portcullis down. On the walls they could see, like little white dots, the faces of the defenders. Down below, about fifty of the enes, dismounted, were steadily swinging a great tree trunk against the gate. But at ohe se ged. The main bulk of Rabadashs men had been on foot ready to assault the gate. But now he had seen the Narnians sweeping down from the ridge. There is no doubt those enes are wonderfully trained. It seemed to Shasta only a sed before a whole line of the enemy were on horseback again, wheeling round to meet them, swinging towards them.
And now a gallop. The grouweewo armies grew less every moment. Faster, faster. All swords out now, all shields up to the nose, all prayers said, all teeth ched.
Shasta was dreadfully frightened. But it suddenly came into his head, "If you funk this, youll funk every battle all your life. Now or never.”
But when at last the two lines met he had really very littler idea of what happehere was a frightful fusion`; and an appalling noise. His sword was knocked out of his hand pretty soon. And hed got the reins tangled somehow. Then he found himself slipping. Then a spear came straight at him and as he ducked to avoid it he rolled right off his horse, bashed his left knuckles terribly against someone elses armour, and then - But it is no use trying to describe the battle from Shastas point of view; he uood too little of the fight in general and even of his own part in it. The best way I tell you what really happened is to take you some miles away to whebbr></abbr>re the Hermit of the Southern March sat gazing into the smooth pool beh the spreading tree, with Bree and Hwin and Aravis beside him.
For it was in this pool that the Hermit looked when he wao know what was going on in the world outside the green walls of his hermitage. There, as in a mirror, he could see, at certain times, what was going on ireets of cities far farther south than Tashbaan, or what ships were putting into Redhaven in the remote Seven Isles, or what robbers or wild beasts stirred in the great Western forests between Lantern Waste and Telmar. And all this day he had hardly left his pool, even to eat or drink, for he khat great events were on foot in Arland. Aravis and the Horses gazed into it too. They could see it was a magic pool: instead of refleg the tree and the sky it revealed cloudy and coloured shapes moving, always moving, in its depths. But they could see nothing clearly. The Hermit could and from time to time he told them what he saw. A little while before Shasta rode into his first battle, the Hermit had begun speaking like this: "I see owo - three eagles wheeling in the gap by Stormness Head. One is the oldest of all the eagles. He would not be out unless battle was at hand. I see him wheel to and fro, peering down sometimes at Anvard and sometimes to the east, behind Stormness. Ah - I see now what Rabadash and his men have been so busy at all day. They have felled and lopped a great tree and they are now co<q>9９lｉｂ?</q>ming out of the woods carrying it as a ram.
They have learned something from the failure of last nights assult. He would have been wiser if he had set his men to making ladders: but it takes too long and he is impatient.
Fool that he is! He ought to have ridden back to Tashbaan as soon as the first attack failed, for his whole plan depended on speed and surprise. Now they are bringing their ram into position. King Lunes men are shooting hard from the walls. Five enes have fallen: but not many will. They have their shields above their heads. Rabadash is giving his orders now. With him are his most trusted lords, fierce Tarkaans from the eastern provinces. I see their faces. There is Corradin of Castle Tormunt, and Azrooh, and Chlamash, and Ilgamuth of the twisted lip, and a tall Tarkaan with a crimson beard -”
"By the Mane, my old master Anradin!" said Bree.
"S-s-sly" said Aravis.
"Now the ram has started. If I could hear as well as see, what a hat would make!
Stroke after stroke: and no gate stand it for ever. But wait! Something up by Stormness has scared the birds. Theyre ing out in masses. And wait again . . . I t see yet . . . ah! Now I . The whe, up on the east, is black with horsemen. If
only the wind would catch that standard and spread it out. Theyre over the ridge now, whoever they are. Aha! Ive seen the banner now. Narnia, Narnia! Its the red lion.
Theyre in full career down the hill now. I see King Edmund. Theres a woman behind among the archers. Oh! -”
"What is it?" asked Hwihlessly.
"All his Cats are dashing out from the left of the line.”
"Cats?" said Aravis.
"Great cats, leopards and such," said the Hermit impatiently. "I see, I see. The Cats are ing round in a circle to get at the horses of the dismounted men. A good stroke. The ene horses are mad with terror already. Now the Cats are in among them. But Rabadash has reformed his line and has a hundred men in the saddle. Theyre riding to meet the Narnians. Theres only a hundred yards betweewo lines now. Only fifty. I see King Edmund, I see the Lord Peridan. There are two mere children in the Narnian line. What the King be about to let them into battle? Only ten yards - the lines have met. The Giants on the Narnian right are doing wonders . . . but ones down . . .
shot through the eye, I suppose. The tres all in a muddle. I see more on the left.
There are the two boys again. Lion alive! one is Prin. The other, like him as two peas. Its your little Shasta. is fighting like a man. Hes killed a ene. I see a bit of the tre now. Rabadash and Edmund almost met then, but the press has separated them -”
"What about Shasta?" said Aravis.
"Oh the fool!" groahe Hermit. "Poor, brave little fool. He knows nothing about this work. Hes making no use at all of his shield. His whole sides exposed. He hasnt the fai idea what to do with his sword. Oh, hes remembered it now. Hes waving it wildly about . . . nearly cut his own ponys head off, and he will in a moment if hes not careful. Its been knocked out of his hand now. Its mere murder sending a child into the battle; he t live five minutes. Duck you fool - oh, hes down.”
"Killed?" asked three voices breathlessly.
"How I tell?" said the Hermit. "The Cats have doheir work. All the riderless horses are dead or escaped now: reat for the enes on them. Now the Cats are turning bato the main battle. Theyre leaping on the rams-men. The ram is down. Oh, good! good! The gates are opening from the iheres going to be a sortie. The first three are out. Its King Lune in the middle: the brothers Dar and Darrin on each side of him. Behind them are Tran and Shar and Cole with his brother . There are ten - twenty - nearly thirty of them out by now. The en line is being forced back upon them. King Edmund is dealing marvellous strokes. Hes just slashed Corradins head off.
Lots of enes have thrown down their arms and are running for the woods. Those that remain are hard pressed. The Giants are closing in on the right - Cats on the left -
King Lune from their rear. The enes are a little knot now, fighting back to back.
Your Tarkaans down, Bree. Lune and Azrooh are fighting hand to hand; the King looks like winning - the King is keeping it up well - the King has won. Azroohs down. King Edmunds down - no, hes up agai it with Rabadash. Theyre fighting in the very gate of the castle. Several enes have surrendered. Darrin has killed Ilgamuth. I t see whats happeo Rabadash. I think hes dead, leaning against the castle wall, but I dont know. Chlamash and King Edmund are still fighting but the battle is over everywhere else. Chlamash has surrehe battle is over. The enes are utterly defeated.”
When Shasta fell off his horse he gave himself up for lost. But horses, even in battle, tread on human beings very much less than you would suppose. After a very horrible ten minutes or so Shasta realized suddenly that there were no longer any horses stamping about in the immediate neighbourhood and that the noise (for there were still a good many noises going on) was no lohat of a battle. He sat up and stared about him.
Even he, little as he knew of battles, could soohat the Arlanders and Narnians had won. The only living enes he could see were prisoners, the castle gates were wide open, and King Lune and King Edmund were shaking hands across the battering ram. From the circle of lords and warriors around them there arose a sound of breathless aed, but obviously cheerful versation. And then, suddenly, it all united and swelled into a great roar of laughter.
Shasta. picked himself up, feeling unonly stiff, and ran towards the sound to see what the joke was. A very curious sight met his eyes. The unfortunate Rabadash appeared to be suspended from the castle walls. His feet, which were about two feet from the ground, were kig wildly. His -shirt was somehow hitched up so that it was horribly tight uhe arms and came half way over his face. In fact he looked just as a man looks if you catch him in the very act of getting into a s藏书网tiff shirt that is a little too small for him. As far as could be made out afterwards (and you may be sure the story was well talked over for many a day) what happened was something like this. Early itle one of the Giants had made an unsuccessful stamp at Rabadash with his spiked boot: unsuccessful because it didnt crush Rabadash, which was what the Giant had intended, but not quite useless because one of the spikes tore the mail, just as you or I might tear an ordinary shirt. So Rabadash, by the time he entered Edmund at the gate, had a hole in the back of his hauberk. And when Edmund pressed him baearer and o the wall, he jumped up on a mounting blod stood there raining down blows on Edmund from above. But then, finding that this position, by raising him above the heads of everyone else, made him a mark for every arrow from the Narnian bows, he decided to jump down again. And he meant to look and sound - no doubt for a moment he did look and sound - very grand and very dreadful as he jumped, g, "The bolt of Tash falls from above." But he had to jump sideways because the crowd in front of him left him no landing pla that dire. And then, in the way you could wish, the tear in the back of his hauberk caught on a hook in the wall. (Ages ago this hook had had a ring in it for tying horses to.) And there he found himself, like a piece of washing hung up to dry, with everyone laughing at him.
"Let me down, Edmund," howled Rabadash. "Let me down and fight me like a king and a man; or if you are too great a coward to do that, kill me at once.”
"Certainly," began King Edmund, but King Luerrupted.
"By your Majestys good leave," said King Luo Edmund. "Not so." Then turning to Rabadash he said, "Your royal Highness, if you had given that challenge a week ago, Ill answer for it there was no one in King Edmunds dominion, from the High King down to the smallest Talking Mouse, who would have refused it. But by attag our castle of Anvard in time of peace without defiance sent, you have proved yourself no knight, but a traitor, and oher to be whipped by the hangman than to be suffered to cross swords with any person of honour. Take him down, bind him, and carry him within till our pleasure is further known.”
Strong hands wrenched Rabadashs sword from him and he was carried away into the castle, shouting, threatening, cursing, and even g. For though he could have faced torture he couldnt bear being made ridiculous. In Tashbaan everyone had always taken him seriously.
At that moment ran up to Shasta, seized his hand and started dragging him towards King Lune. "Here he is, Father, here he is," cried .
"Aye, ahou art, at last," said the King in a very gruff voice. "And bast been itle, trary to your obedience. A boy to break a fathers heart! At ye a rod to your breech were fitter than a sword in your fist, ha!" But everyone, including , could see that the King was very proud of him.
"Chide him no more, Sire, if it please you," said Lord Darrin. "His Highness would not be your son if he did not i your ditions. It would grieve your Majesty more if he had to be reproved for the opposite fault.”
"Well, well," grumbled the King. "Well pass it over for this time. And now -" What came surprised Shasta as much as anything that had ever happeo him in his life. He found himself suddenly embraced inn bear-like hug by King Lune and kissed on both cheeks. Then the Ki him down again and said, "Stand here together, boys, a all the court see you. Hold up your heads. Now, gentlemen, look on them both.
Has any man any doubts?”
And still Shasta could not uand why everyoared at him and at nor what all the cheering was about.
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