小说园

chater furteen the btt f the wrld（第1页）

“MYnameisGolg，”saidthegnome。“AndI’lltellyourHonoursallIknow。Aboutanhouragowewereallgoingaboutourwork—herwork，Ishouldsay—sadandsilent，sameaswe’vedoneanyotherdayforyearsandyears。Thentherecameagreatcrashandbang。Assoonastheyheardit，everyonesaystohimself，Ihaven’thadasongoradanceorletoffasquibforalongtime；why’sthat？Andeveryonethinkstohimself，Why，Imusthavebeenenchanted。Andtheneveryonesaystohimself，I’mblessedifIknowwhyI’mcarryingthisload，andI’mnotgoingtocarryitanyfarther：that’sthat。Anddownweallthrowoursacksandbundlesandtools。Theneveryoneturnsandseesthegreatredglowoveryonder。Andeveryonesaystohimself，What’sthat？andeveryoneanswershimselfandsays，There’sacrackorchasmsplitopenandanicewarmglowcomingupthroughitfromtheReallyDeepLand，athousandfathomunderus。”

“GreatScott，”exclaimedEustace，“arethereotherlandsstilllowerdown？”

“Ohyes，yourHonour，”saidGolg。“Lovelyplaces；whatwecalltheLandofBism。Thiscountrywherewearenow，theWitch’scountry，iswhatwecalltheShallowLands。It’sagooddealtoonearthesurfacetosuitus。Ugh！Youmightalmostaswellbelivingoutside，onthesurfaceitself。Yousee，we’reallpoorgnomesfromBismwhomtheWitchhascalledupherebymagictoworkforher。Butwe’dforgottenallaboutittillthatcrashcameandthespellbroke。Wedidn’tknowwhowewereorwherewebelonged。Wecouldn’tdoanything，orthinkanything，exceptwhatsheputintoourheads。Anditwasglumandgloomythingssheputthereallthoseyears。I’venearlyforgottenhowtomakeajokeordanceajig。Butthemomentthebangcameandthechasmopenedandtheseabeganrising，itallcameback。Andofcourseweallsetoffasquickaswecouldtogetdownthecrackandhometoourownplace。Andyoucanseethemovertherealllettingoffrocketsandstandingontheirheadsforjoy。AndI’llbeveryobligedtoyourHonoursifyou’llsoonletmegoandjoinin。”

“Ithinkthisissimplysplendid，”saidJill。“I’msogladwefreedthegnomesaswellasourselveswhenwecutofftheWitch’shead！AndI’msogladtheyaren’treallyhorridandgloomyanymorethanthePrincereallywas—well，whatheseemedlike。”

“That’sallverywell，Pole，”saidPuddleglumcautiously。“Butthosegnomesdidn’tlooktomelikechapswhowerejustrunningaway。Itlookedmorelikemilitaryformations，ifyouaskme。Doyoulookmeintheface，MrGolg，andtellmeyouweren’preparingforbattle？”

“Ofcoursewewere，yourHonour，”saidGolg。“Yousee，wedidn’tknowtheWitchwasdead。Wethoughtshe’dbewatchingfromthecastle。Weweretryingtoslipawaywithoutbeingseen。Andthenwhenyoufourcameoutwithswordsandhorses，ofcourseeveryonesaystohimself，Hereitcomes：notknowingthathisHonourwasn’tontheWitch’sside。AndweweredeterminedtofightlikeanythingratherthangiveupthehopeofgoingbacktoBism。”

“I’llbesworn’tisanhonestgnome，”saidthePrince。“Letgoofit，friendPuddleglum。Asforme，goodGolg，Ihavebeenenchantedlikeyouandyourfellows，andhavebutnewlyrememberedmyself。Andnow，onequestionmore。Doyouknowthewaytothosenewdiggings，bywhichthesorceressmeanttoleadoutanarmyagainstOverland？”

“Ee-ee-ee！”squeakedGolg。“Yes，Iknowthatterribleroad。Iwillshowyouwhereitbegins。ButitisnomannerofuseyourHonouraskingmetogowithyouonit。I’lldierather。”

“Why？”askedEustaceanxiously。“What’ssodreadfulaboutit？”

“Toonearthetop，theoutside，”saidGolg，shuddering。“ThatwastheworstthingtheWitchdidtous。Weweregoingtobeledoutintotheopen—ontotheoutsideoftheworld。Theysaythere’snoroofatallthere；onlyahorrible，greatemptinesscalledthesky。Andthediggingshavegonesofarthatafewstrokesofthepickwouldbringyououttoit。Iwouldn’tdaregonearthem。”

“Hurrah！Nowyou’retalking！”criedEustace，andJillsaid，“Butit’snothorridatallupthere。Welikeit。Welivethere。”

“IknowyouOverlanderslivethere，”saidGolg。“ButIthoughtitwasbecauseyoucouldn’tfindyourwaydowninside。Youcan’treallylikeit—crawlingaboutlikefliesonthetopoftheworld！”

“Whataboutshowingustheroadatonce？”saidPuddleglum。

“Inagoodhour，”criedthePrince。Thewholepartysetout。ThePrinceremountedhischarger，PuddleglumclimbedupbehindJill，andGolgledtheway。Ashewent，hekeptshoutingoutthegoodnewsthattheWitchwasdeadandthatthefourOverlanderswerenotdangerous。Andthosewhoheardhimshouteditontoothers，sothatinafewminutesthewholeofUnderlandwasringingwithshoutsandcheers，andgnomesbyhundredsandthousands，leaping，turningcart-wheels，standingontheirheads，playingleap-frog，andlettingoffhugecrackers，camepressingroundCoalblackandSnowflake。AndthePrincehadtotellthestoryofhisownenchantmentanddeliveranceatleasttentimes。

Inthiswaytheycametotheedgeofthechasm。Itwasaboutathousandfeetlongandperhapstwohundredwide。Theydismountedfromtheirhorsesandcametotheedge，andlookeddownintoit。Astrongheatsmoteupintotheirfaces，mixedwithasmellwhichwasquiteunlikeanytheyhadeversmelled。Itwasrich，sharp，exciting，andmadeyousneeze。Thedepthofthechasmwassobrightthatatfirstitdazzledtheireyesandtheycouldseenothing。Whentheygotusedtoittheythoughttheycouldmakeoutariveroffire，and，onthebanksofthatriver，whatseemedtobefieldsandgrovesofanunbearable，hotbrilliance—thoughtheyweredimcomparedwiththeriver。Therewereblues，reds，greens，andwhitesalljumbledtogether：averygoodstained-glasswindowwiththetropicalsunstaringstraightthroughitatmiddaymighthavesomethingthesameeffect。Downtheruggedsidesofthechasm，lookingblacklikefliesagainstallthatfierylight，hundredsofEarthmenwereclimbing。

“Yourhonours，”saidGolg（andwhentheyturnedtolookathimtheycouldseenothingbutblacknessforafewminutes，theireyesweresodazzled）。“Yourhonours，whydon’tyoucomedowntoBism？You’dbehappiertherethaninthatcold，unprotected，nakedcountryoutontop。Oratleastcomedownforashortvisit。”

Jilltookitforgrantedthatnoneoftheotherswouldlistentosuchanideaforamoment。ToherhorrorsheheardthePrincesaying：“Truly，friendGolg，Ihavehalfamindtocomedownwithyou。Forthisisamarvellousadventure，anditmaybenomortalmanhaseverlookedintoBismbeforeorwilleverhavethechanceagain。AndIknownothow，astheyearspass，IshallbeartorememberthatitwasonceinmypowertohaveprobedtheuttermostpitofEarthandthatIforbore。Butcouldamanlivethere？Youdonotswiminthefire-riveritself？”

“Ohno，yourHonour。Notwe。It’sonlysalamandersliveinthefireitself。”

“Whatkindofbeastisyoursalamander？”askedthePrince。

“Itishardtotelltheirkind，yourHonour，”saidGolg。“Fortheyaretoowhite-hottolookat。Buttheyaremostlikesmalldragons。Theyspeaktousoutofthefire。Theyarewonderfullycleverwiththeirtongues：verywittyandeloquent。”

JillglancedhastilyatEustace。Shehadfeltsurethathewouldliketheideaofslidingdownthatchasmevenlessthanshedid。Herheartsankasshesawthathisfacewasquitechanged。HelookedmuchmorelikethePrincethanliketheoldScrubbatExperimentHouse。Forallhisadventures，andthedayswhenhehadsailedwithKingCaspian，werecomingbacktohim。

“YourHighness，”hesaid。“IfmyoldfriendReepicheeptheMousewerehere，hewouldsaywecouldnotnowrefusetheadventuresofBismwithoutagreatimpeachmenttoourhonour。”

“Downthere，”saidGolg，“Icouldshowyourealgold，realsilver，realdiamonds。”

“Bosh！”saidJillrudely。“Asifwedidn’tknowthatwe’rebelowthedeepestminesevenhere。”

“Yes，”saidGolg。“IhaveheardofthoselittlescratchesinthecrustthatyouTopdwellerscallmines。Butthat’swhereyougetdeadgold，deadsilver，deadgems。DowninBismwehavethemaliveandgrowing。ThereI’llpickyoubunchesofrubiesthatyoucaneatandsqueezeyouacupfullofdiamondjuice。Youwon’tcaremuchaboutfingeringthecold，deadtreasuresofyourshallowminesafteryouhavetastedtheliveonesofBism。”

“Myfatherwenttotheworld’send，”saidRilianthoughtfully。“Itwouldbeamarvellousthingifhissonwenttothebottomoftheworld。”

“IfyourHighnesswantstoseeyourfatherwhilehe’sstillalive，whichIthinkhe’dprefer，”saidPuddleglum，“it’sabouttimeweweregettingontothatroadtothediggings。”

“AndIwon’tgodownthathole，whateveranyonesays，”addedJill。

“Why，ifyourHonoursarereallysettogobacktoOverworld，”saidGolg，“thereisonebitoftheroadthat’sratherlowerthanthis。Andperhaps，ifthatflood’sstillrising—”

“Oh，do，do，docomeon！”beggedJill。

“Ifearitmustbeso，”saidthePrincewithadeepsigh。“ButIhavelefthalfofmyheartinthelandofBism。”

“Please！”beggedJill。

“Whereistheroad？”askedPuddleglum。

“Therearelampsalltheway，”saidGolg。“YourHonourcanseethebeginningoftheroadonthefarsideofthechasm。”

“Howlongwillthelampsburnfor？”askedPuddleglum。

Atthatmomentahissing，scorchingvoicelikethevoiceofFireitself（theywonderedafterwardsifitcouldhavebeenasalamander’s）camewhistlingupoutoftheverydepthsofBism。

“Quick！Quick！Quick！Tothecliffs，tothecliffs，tothecliffs！”itsaid。“Theriftcloses。Itcloses。Itcloses。Quick！Quick！”Andatthesametime，withear-shatteringcracksandcreaks，therocksmoved。Already，whiletheylooked，thechasmwasnarrower。Fromeverysidebelatedgnomeswererushingintoit。Theywouldnotwaittoclimbdowntherocks。Theyflungthemselvesheadlongand，eitherbecausesostrongablastofhotairwasbeatingupfromthebottom，orforsomeotherreason，theycouldbeseenfloatingdownwardslikeleaves。Thickerandthickertheyfloated，tilltheirblacknessalmostblottedoutthefieryriverandthegrovesoflivegems。“Good-byetoyourHonours。I’moff，”shoutedGolg，anddived。Onlyafewwerelefttofollowhim。Thechasmwasnownobroaderthanastream。Nowitwasnarrowastheslitinapillarbox。Nowitwasonlyanintenselybrightthread。Then，withashocklikeathousandgoodstrainscrashingintoathousandpairsofbuffers，thelipsofrockclosed。Thehot，maddeningsmellvanished。ThetravellerswerealoneinanUnderworldwhichnowlookedfarblackerthanbefore。Pale，dim，anddreary，thelampsmarkedthedirectionoftheroad。