小说园

chater three the dwarf（第1页）

THEworstofsleepingoutofdoorsisthatyouwakeupsodreadfullyearly．Andwhenyouwakeyouhavetogetupbecausethegroundissohardthatyouareuncomfortable．Anditmakesmattersworseifthereisnothingbutapplesforbreakfastandyouhavehadnothingbutapplesforsupperthenightbefore．WhenLucyhadsaid—trulyenough—thatitwasagloriousmorning，theredidnotseemtobeanythingelsenicetobesaid．Edmundsaidwhateveryonewasfeeling，“We’vesimplygottogetoffthisisland．”

Whentheyhaddrunkfromthewellandsplashedtheirfacestheyallwentdownthestreamagaintotheshoreandstaredatthechannelwhichdividedthemfromthemainland．

“We’llhavetoswim，”saidEdmund．

“ItwouldbeallrightforSu，”saidPeter（Susanhadwonprizesforswimmingatschool）．“ButIdon’tknowabouttherestofus．”By“therestofus”hereallymeantEdmundwhocouldn’tyetdotwolengthsattheschoolbaths，andLucy，whocouldhardlyswimatall。

“Anyway，”saidSusan，“theremaybecurrents．Fathersaysit’sneverwisetobatheinaplaceyoudon’tknow．”

“But，Peter，”saidLucy，“lookhere．IknowIcan’tswimfornutsathome—inEngland，Imean．Butcouldn’tweallswimlongago—ifitwaslongago—whenwewereKingsandQueensinNarnia？Wecouldridethentoo，anddoallsortsofthings．Don’tyouthink—？”

“Ah，butweweresortofgrown-upthen，”saidPeter．

“Wereignedforyearsandyearsandlearnedtodothings．Aren’twejustbackatourproperagesagainnow？”

“Oh！”saidEdmundinavoicewhichmadeeveryonestoptalkingandlistentohim．

“I’vejustseenitall，”hesaid．

“Seenwhat？”askedPeter．

“Why，thewholething，”saidEdmund．“Youknowwhatwewerepuzzlingaboutlastnight，thatitwasonlyayearagosinceweleftNarniabuteverythinglooksasifnoonehadlivedinCairParavelforhundredsofyears？Well，don’tyousee？Youknowthat，howeverlongweseemedtohavelivedinNarnia，whenwegotbackthroughthewardrobeitseemedtohavetakennotimeatall？”

“Goon，”saidSusan．“IthinkI’mbeginningtounderstand．”

“Andthatmeans，”continuedEdmund，“that，onceyou’reoutofNarnia，youhavenoideahowNarniantimeisgoing．Whyshouldn’thundredsofyearshavegonepastinNarniawhileonlyoneyearhaspassedforusinEngland？”

“ByJove，Ed，”saidPeter．“Ibelieveyou’vegotit．InthatsenseitreallywashundredsofyearsagothatwelivedinCairParavel．Andnowwe’recomingbacktoNarniajustasifwewereCrusadersorAnglo—SaxonsorAncientBritonsorsomeonecomingbacktomodernEngland？”

“Howexcitedthey’llbetoseeus—”beganLucy，butatthesamemomenteveryoneelsesaid，“Hush！”or“Look！”Fornowsomethingwashappening．

Therewasawoodedpointonthemainlandalittletotheirright，andtheyallfeltsurethatjustbeyondthatpointmustbethemouthoftheriver．Andnow，roundthatpointtherecameintosightaboat．Whenithadclearedthepoint，itturnedandbegancomingalongthechanneltowardsthem．Thereweretwopeopleonboard，onerowing，theothersittinginthesternandholdingabundlethattwitchedandmovedasifitwerealive．Boththesepeopleseemedtobesoldiers．Theyhadsteelcapsontheirheadsandlightshirtsofchain-mail．Theirfaceswerebeardedandhard．Thechildrendrewbackfromthebeachintothewoodandwatchedwithoutmovingafinger．

“This’lldo，”saidthesoldierinthesternwhentheboathadcomeaboutoppositetothem．

“Whatabouttyingastonetohisfeet，Corporal？”saidtheother，restingonhisoars．

“Garn！”growledtheother．“Wedon’tneedthat，andwehaven’tbroughtone．He’lldrownsureenoughwithoutastone，aslongaswe’vetiedthecordsright．”Withthesewordsheroseandliftedhisbundle．PeternowsawthatitwasreallyaliveandwasinfactaDwarf，boundhandandfootbutstrugglingashardashecould．Nextmomentheheardatwangjustbesidehisear，andallatoncethesoldierthrewuphisarms，droppingtheDwarfintothebottomoftheboat，andfelloverintothewater．HeflounderedawaytothefarbankandPeterknewthatSusan’sarrowhadstruckonhishelmet．Heturnedandsawthatshewasverypalebutwasalreadyfittingasecondarrowtothestring．Butitwasneverused．Assoonashesawhiscompanionfall，theothersoldier，withaloudcry，jumpedoutoftheboatonthefarside，andhealsoflounderedthroughthewater（whichwasapparentlyjustinhisdepth）anddisappearedintothewoodsofthemainland．

“Quick！Beforeshedrifts！”shoutedPeter．HeandSusan，fullydressedastheywere，plungedin，andbeforethewaterwasuptotheirshoulderstheirhandswereonthesideoftheboat．InafewsecondstheyhadhauledhertothebankandliftedtheDwarfout，andEdmundwasbusilyengagedincuttinghisbondswiththepocket-knife．（Peter’sswordwouldhavebeensharper，butaswordisveryinconvenientforthissortofworkbecauseyoucan’tholditanywherelowerthanthehilt．）WhenatlasttheDwarfwasfree，hesatup，rubbedhisarmsandlegs，andexclaimed:

“Well，whatevertheysay，youdon’tfeellikeghosts．”

LikemostDwarfshewasverystockyanddeep-chested．Hewouldhavebeenaboutthreefeethighifhehadbeenstandingup，andanimmensebeardandwhiskersofcoarseredhairleftlittleofhisfacetobeseenexceptabeak—likenoseandtwinklingblackeyes．