小说园

chater a wayide adventure（第2页）

"IknowmywaytoTashbaan。Afterthatcomesthedesert。Oh，wellmanagethedesertsomehow，neverfear。Why，wellbeinsightoftheNorthernmountainsthen。Thinkofit!ToNarniaandtheNorth!Nothingwillstopusthen。ButIdbegladtobepastTashbaan。YouandIaresaferawayfromcities。"

"Can'tweavoidit?"

"Notwithoutgoingalongwayinland，andthatwouldtakeusintocultivatedlandandmainroads;andIwouldntknowtheway。No，we'lljusthavetocreepalongthecoast。Uphereonthedownswellmeetnothingbutsheepandrabbitsandgullsandafewshepherds。Andbytheway，whataboutstarting?"

ShastaslegsachedterriblyashesaddledBreeandclimbedintothesaddle，buttheHorsewaskindlytohimandwentatasoftpaceallafternoon。Wheneveningtwilightcametheydroppedbysteeptracksintoavalleyandfoundavillage。BeforetheygotintoitShastadismountedandentereditonfoottobuyaloafandsomeonionsandradishes。TheHorsetrottedroundbythefieldsintheduskandmetShastaatthefarside。Thisbecametheirregularplaneverysecondnight。

TheseweregreatdaysforShasta，andeverydaybetterthanthelastashismuscleshardenedandhefelllessoften。EvenattheendofhistrainingBreestillsaidhesatlikeabagofflourinthesaddle。"Andevenifitwassafe，young'un，I'dbeashamedtobeseenwithyouonthemainroad。"ButinspiteofhisrudewordsBreewasapatientteacher。Noonecanteachridingsowellasahorse。Shastalearnedtotrot，tocanter，tojump，andtokeephisseatevenwhenBreepulledupsuddenlyorswungunexpectedlytotheleftortheright-which，asBreetoldhim，wasathingyoumighthavetodoatanymomentinabattle。AndthenofcourseShastabeggedtobetoldofthebattlesandwarsinwhichBreehadcarriedtheTarkaan。AndBreewouldtellofforcedmarchesandthefordingofswiftrivers，ofchargesandoffiercefightsbetweencavalryandcavalrywhenthewarhorsesfoughtaswellasthemen，beingallfiercestallions，trainedtobiteandkick，andtorearattherightmomentsothatthehorsesweightaswellastheriderswouldcomedownonaenemyscrestinthestrokeofswordorbattleaxe。ButBreedidnotwanttotalkaboutthewarsasoftenasShastawantedtohearaboutthem。"Don'tspeakofthem，youngster，"hewouldsay。"TheywereonlytheTisroc'swarsandIfoughtinthemasaslaveandadumbbeast。GivemetheNarnianwarswhereIshallfightasafreeHorseamongmyownpeople!Thosewillbewarsworthtalkingabout。NarniaandtheNorth!Bra-ha-ha!Broohoo!"

Shastasoonlearned，whenheheardBreetalkinglikethat，toprepareforagallop。

AftertheyhadtravelledonforweeksandweekspastmorebaysandheadlandsandriversandvillagesthanShastacouldremember，therecameamoonlitnightwhentheystartedtheirjourneyatevening，havingsleptduringtheday。Theyhadleftthedownsbehindthemandwerecrossingawideplainwithaforestabouthalfamileawayontheirleft。Thesea，hiddenbylowsandhills，wasaboutthesamedistanceontheirright。Theyhadjoggedalongforaboutanhour，sometimestrottingandsometimeswalking，whenBreesuddenlystopped。"What'sup?"saidShasta。

"S-s-ssh!"saidBree，craninghisneckroundandtwitchinghisears。"Didyouhearsomething?Listen。"

"Itsoundslikeanotherhorse—betweenusandthewood，"saidShastaafterhehadlistenedforaboutaminute。

"Itisanotherhorse，"saidBree。"Andthat'swhatIdon't

like。"

"Isn'titprobablyjustafarmerridinghomelate?"said

Shastawithayawn。

"Don'ttellme!"saidBree。"That'snotafarmer'sriding。Norafarmer'shorseeither。Can'tyoutellbythesound?That'squality，thathorseis。Andit'sbeingriddenbyarealhorsemanI。tellyouwhatitis，Shasta。There'saTarkaanundertheedgeofthatwood。Notonhiswarhorse—it'stoolightforthat。Onafinebloodmare，Ishouldsay。"

"Well，it'sstoppednow，whateveritis，"saidShasta。

"You'reright，"saidBree。"Andwhyshouldhestopjustwhenwedo?Shasta，myboy，Idobelievethere'ssomeoneshadowingusatlast。"

"Whatshallwedo?"saidShastainalowerwhisperthanbefore。"Doyouthinkhecanseeusaswellashearus?"

"Notinthislightsolongaswestayquitestill，"answeredBree。"Butlook!There'sacloudcomingup。I'llwaittillthatgetsoverthemoon。Thenwe'llgetofftoourrightasquietlyaswecan，downtotheshore。Wecanhideamongthesandhillsiftheworstcomestotheworst。"

Theywaitedtillthecloudcoveredthemoonandthen，firstatawalkingpaceandafterwardsatagentletrot，madefortheshore。

Thecloudwasbiggerandthickerthanithadlookedatfirstandsoonthenightgrewverydark。JustasShastawassayingtohimself，"Wemustbenearlyatthosesandhillsbynow，"hisheartleapedintohismouthbecauseanappallingnoisehadsuddenlyrisenupoutofthedarknessahead;alongsnarlingroar，melancholyandutterlysavage。InstantlyBreeswervedroundandbegangallopinginlandagainasfastashecouldgallop。"Whatisit?"gaspedShasta。

"Lions!"saidBree，withoutcheckinghispaceorturninghishead。

Afterthattherewasnothingbutsheergallopingforsometime。Atlasttheysplashedacrossawide，shallowstreamandBreecametoastoponthefarside。Shastanoticedthathewastremblingandsweatingallover。