CHAPTER FIVE HOW HELP CAME TO THE KING(第2页)
“SoyouheRings?”saidTirian。
“No,”saidEustaeverevensawthem。Aslandiditallforusinhisoiths。”
“ButtheHighKihem,”saidTirian。
“Yes,”saidJill。“Butwedon'tthinkheusethem。WheherPevensies—KingEdmundandQueehere,Aslansaidtheywouldain。AndhesaidsomethingofthesamesorttotheHighKing,onlylo。Youmaybesurehe'llelikeashotifhe'sallowed。”
“Gosh!”saidEustace。“It'sgettinghotinthissuhere,Sire?”
“Look,”saidTirianamanyyardsawaygraybattlemehetree-tops,aetheycameoutinanopengrassyspace。Astreamranacrossitandonthefarsideofthestreamstoodasquat,squaretowerwithveryfewandnarrosandoneheavy-lookingdoorihatfacedthem。
Tirianlookedsharplythiswayandthattomakesurethatnoenemieswereinsight。Thehetowerandstoodstillforamomentfishinguphisbunchofkeyswhichheworeiing-dressonanarrowsilverthatwentrouwasanichofkeysthathebroughtout,foldenandmanywereriented:youcouldseeatoheywerekeysmadefsolemroomsinpalaces,ordcasketsofsweet-smellingwoodthatedroyaltreasures。Butthekeywhiowputintothelockofthedandplainandmorerudelymade。Thelockwasstiffandforamahathewouldoturnit:butatlasthedidandthedopenwithasullencreak。
“Welefriends,”saidTiriahisisthebestpalacethattheKingofNarniauests。”
Tiriaoseethatthetwershadbeenwellbroughtup。Theybothsaidandthattheyweresureitwouldbeverynice。
Asamatteroffactitartiice。Itwasratherdarkandsmelledverydamp。Therewasonlyoneroominitandthisrhtuptothestoneroof:awoodenstaireerleduptoatrapdoorbywhichyoucouldgetoutolements。Therewereafewrudebunkstosleepin,amanylodbuherewasalsoahearthwhichlookedasifnobodyhadlitafireinitfreatmanyyears。
“We'dbettergooutandgathersomefirew,hadn'twe?”saidJill。
“,rade,”saidTiriaermiheyshouldunarmed,andbegahelockers,thankfullyrememberingthathehadalwaysbeeohavethesegarrisontowersiedoomakesurethattheywerestockedwithallthihebswerethereintheirgsofoiledsilk,thesearsweregreasedagainstrust,andthearmortbrightinitsings。Buttherewassomethier。“Lookyou!”saidTiriaalongmailshirtofacuriouspatternabeforethe'seyes。
“That'sfunny-lookingmail,Sire,”saidEustace。
“Aye,lad,”saidTirian。“NoNarnianDwarfsmithiedthat。'Tismailofen,outlandishgear。Ihaveeverkeptafewsuitsofitinreadiness,forIneverknewwhenIhthavereasontowalkuheTisroc'sland。Andlookonthisstohisthereisajuiceehaverubbeditonourhandsandfaces,willmakeusbrownasenes。”
“Ohhurrah!”saidJill。“Disguise!Ilovedisguises。”
Tiriahemhowtopouroutalittleofthejuisoftheirhandsawellovertheirfaecks,rightdowntotheshoulders,aheirhands,rightuptotheelbows。Hedidthesamehimself。
&hishashardenedonus,”hesaid,“ateranditwillhingbutoilandasheswillmakeuswhiteNarniansagain。AndJill,letusgoseehowthismailshirtbeesyou。'TissomethingtoolosomuchasIfeared。DoubtlessitbelooapageiraiheirTarkaans。”
&hemailshirtstheyputos,whicharelittlerouingtighttotheheadandhaviop。ThenTiriantooklongrollsofsomewhitestuffoutofthelodwouhehelmetstilltheybecameturbans:butthelittlesteelspikestillstuthemiddle。HeaookcurvedeneswordsandlittlerouherewasnhtenoughforJill,buthegaveheralhthuntingknifewhichmightdoforasinch。
“Hastanyskillwiththebow,maiden?”saidTirian。
“Nothingworthtalkingof,”saidJill,blushing。“Scrubb'snotbad。”
“Don'tyoubelieveher,Sire,”saidEustace。“We'vebothbeenpragarcheryeversibaNarnialasttime,andshe'saboutasgoodasmenow。herofusismuch。”
&iriangaveJillabowandaquiverfullofarrows。Thebusiolightafire,forioweritstillfeltmorelikealikeanythingindoorsa。Buttheygatheringwood—thesunwasnowatitshighest—aheblazetheeytheplatolookcheerful。Dinnerwas,however,adullmeal,forthebesttheycoulddoouhehardbiscuitwhichtheyfoundinalodpouritintoboilihsalt,soastomakeakinde。Andofcoursetherewasnothingtodrinkbut>
“Iwishwehtapacketoftea,”saidJill。
“Oratinofcocoa,”saidEustace。
“Afirkinoodwihesetowerswouldnothavebeenamiss,”saidTirian。