小说园

chater the ancient treaure hue（第1页）

“THISwasn’tagarden，”saidSusanpresently．“Itwasacastleandthismusthavebeenthecourtyard．”

“Iseewhatyoumean，”saidPeter．“Yes．Thatistheremainsofatower．Andthereiswhatusedtobeaflightofstepsgoinguptothetopofthewalls．Andlookatthoseothersteps-thebroad，shallowones-goinguptothatdoorway．Itmusthavebeenthedoorintothegreathall．”

“Agesago，bythelookofit，”saidEdmund．

“Yes，agesago，”saidPeter．“Iwishwecouldfindoutwhothepeoplewerethatlivedinthiscastle;andhowlongago．”

“Itgivesmeaqueerfeeling，”saidLucy．

“Doesit，Lu？”saidPeter，turningandlookinghardather．“Becauseitdoesthesametome．Itisthequeerestthingthathashappenedthisqueerday．Iwonderwhereweareandwhatitallmeans？”

Whiletheyweretalkingtheyhadcrossedthecourtyardandgonethroughtheotherdoorwayintowhathadoncebeenthehall．Thiswasnowverylikethecourtyard，fortheroofhadlongsincedisappearedanditwasmerelyanotherspaceofgrassanddaisies，exceptthatitwasshorterandnarrowerandthewallswerehigher．Acrossthefarendtherewasakindofterraceaboutthreefeethigherthantherest．

“Iwonder，wasitreallythehall？”saidSusan．“Whatisthatterracekindofthing？”

“Why，yousilly，”saidPeter（whohadbecomestrangelyexcited），“don’tyousee？ThatwasthedaiswheretheHighTablewas，wheretheKingandthegreatlordssat．AnyonewouldthinkyouhadforgottenthatweourselveswereonceKingsandQueensandsatonadaisjustlikethat，inourgreathall．”

“InourcastleofCairParavel，”continuedSusaninadreamyandrathersingsongvoice，“atthemouthofthegreatriverofNarnia．HowcouldIforget？”

“Howitallcomesback！”saidLucy．“WecouldpretendwewereinCairParavelnow．Thishallmusthavebeenverylikethegreathallwefeastedin．”

“Butunfortunatelywithoutthefeast，”saidEdmund．“It’sgettinglate，youknow．Lookhowlongtheshadowsare．Andhaveyounoticedthatitisn’tsohot？”

“Weshallneedacamp-fireifwe’vegottospendthenighthere，”saidPeter．“I’vegotmatches．Let’sgoandseeifwecancollectsomedrywood．”

Everyonesawthesenseofthis，andforthenexthalf-hourtheywerebusy．Theorchardthroughwhichtheyhadfirstcomeintotheruinsturnedoutnottobeagoodplaceforfirewood．Theytriedtheothersideofthecastle，passingoutofthehallbyalittlesidedoorintoamazeofstonyhumpsandhollowswhichmustoncehavebeenpassagesandsmallerroomsbutwasnowallnettlesandwildroses．Beyondthistheyfoundawidegapinthecastlewallandsteppedthroughitintoawoodofdarkerandbiggertreeswheretheyfounddeadbranchesandrottenwoodandsticksanddryleavesandfir-conesinplenty．Theywenttoandfrowithbundlesuntiltheyhadagoodpileonthedais．Atthefifthjourneytheyfoundthewell，justoutsidethehall，hiddeninweeds，butcleanandfreshanddeepwhentheyhadclearedtheseaway．Theremainsofastonepavementranhalf-wayroundit．Thenthegirlswentouttopicksomemoreapplesandtheboysbuiltthefire，onthedaisandfairlyclosetothecornerbetweentwowalls，whichtheythoughtwouldbethesnuggestandwarmestplace．Theyhadgreatdifficultyinlightingitandusedalotofmatches，buttheysucceededintheend．Finally，allfoursatdownwiththeirbackstothewallandtheirfacestothefire．Theytriedroastingsomeoftheapplesontheendsofsticks．Butroastapplesarenotmuchgoodwithoutsugar，andtheyaretoohottoeatwithyourfingerstilltheyaretoocoldtobewortheating．Sotheyhadtocontentthemselveswithrawapples，which，asEdmundsaid，madeonerealizethatschoolsuppersweren’tsobadafterall—“Ishouldn’tmindagoodthicksliceofbreadandmargarinethisminute，”headded．Butthespiritofadventurewasrisinginthemall，andnoonereallywantedtobebackatschool．

Shortlyafterthelastapplehadbeeneaten，Susanwentouttothewelltogetanotherdrink．Whenshecamebackshewascarryingsomethinginherhand．

“Look，”shesaidinaratherchokingkindofvoice．“Ifounditbythewell．”ShehandedittoPeterandsatdown．Theothersthoughtshelookedandsoundedasifshemightbegoingtocry．EdmundandLucyeagerlybentforwardtoseewhatwasinPeter’shand—alittle，brightthingthatgleamedinthefirelight．

“Well，I’m—I’mjiggered，”saidPeter，andhisvoicealsosoundedqueer．Thenhehandedittotheothers．

Allnowsawwhatitwas—alittlechess-knight，ordinaryinsizebutextraordinarilyheavybecauseitwasmadeofpuregold;andtheeyesinthehorse’sheadweretwotinylittlerubies-orratheronewas，fortheotherhadbeenknockedout．

“Why！”saidLucy，“it’sexactlylikeoneofthegoldenchessmenweusedtoplaywithwhenwewereKingsandQueensatCairParavel．”

“Cheerup，Su，”saidPetertohisothersister．

“Ican’thelpit，”saidSusan．“Itbroughtback—oh，suchlovelytimes．AndIrememberedplayingchesswithfaunsandgoodgiants，andthemer-peoplesinginginthesea，andmybeautifulhorse—and—and—”

“Now，”saidPeterinaquitedifferentvoice，“it’sabouttimewefourstartedusingourbrains．”

“Whatabout？”askedEdmund．

“Havenoneofyouguessedwhereweare？”saidPeter．

“Goon，goon，”saidLucy．“I’vefeltforhoursthattherewassomewonderfulmysteryhangingoverthisplace．”