CHAPTER EIGHT WHAT NEWS THE EAGLE BROUGHT(第1页)
CHAPTEREIGHTWHATHEEAGLEBROUGHT
INtheshadowofthetreesonthefarsideofthegsomethingwasmoving。ItwasglidingveryslowlyNorthward。Atafirstglanighthavemistakenitforsmrayandyoucouldseethingsthroughit。Butthedeathlysmellwasnotthesmellofsmoke。Also,thisthisshapeinsteadofbillowingandgassmokewouldhavedowasroughlytheshapeofamanbutithadtheheadofabird;somebirdofpreywithacruel,curvedbeak。Ithadfourarmswhichitheldhighaboveitshead,stretgthemoutNorthwardasifitwaarniainitsgrip;anditsfiwentyofthem—werecurvedlikeitsbeakandhadlong,pointed,bird-likesteadofnails。Itfloatedonthegrassinsteadofwalking,andthegrassseemedtowitherbe。
AfteroitPuzzlegaveasgbrayaheTower。AndJill(ard,asyouknow)hidherfaherhandstoshutoutthesightofit。Theotherswatcheditforperhapsamiilitstreamedawayihickertreeshtahenthesuagain,andthebirdsantosing。
&artedbreathingpraiheyhadallbeenstillasstatueswhileitwasinsight。
“Whatwasit?”saidEustaawhisper。
“Ihaveseenitoncebefore,”saidTirian。“Butthattimeitwasstohgoldandhadsoliddiamoashou,andhadgoneasaguesttoTheTisroc'sTashbaan。
&ookmeiempleofTash。ThereIsawit,carvedabovethealtar。”
&hatthing—wasTash?”saidEustace。
ButinsteadhimTirianslippedhisarmbehindJill'sshouldersandsaid,“Howisitwithyou,Lady?”
“A-allright,”saidJill,takingherhandsawayfromherpalefadtryingtosmile。“I'mallright。Itonlymademefeelalittlesient。”
“Itseems,then,”saidtheUni,“thatthereisarealTash,afterall。”
“Yes,”saidtheDwarf。“AndthisfoolofanApe,whodidn'tbelieveinTash,willgetmorethanhebargainedfor!HecalledforTash:Tashhase。”
&—he—theThio?”saidJill。
“NorthiofNarnia,”saidTirian。“Ithasongus。Theyhavecalleditandithase。”
“Ho,ho,ho!”chuckledtheDwarf,rubbinghishairyharisefortheApe。Peopleshouldn'toheyreallymeanwhattheysay。”
“WhoknowsifTashwillbevisibletotheApe?”saidJewel。
“uzzlegotto?”saidEustace。
TheyallshoutedoutPuzzle'snamearouhersideoftheTowertoseeifhehadgohere。
Theywerequitetiredoflookingforhimwhenatlasthislargegrayheadpeeredcautiouslyoutofthedoorwayandhesaid,“Hasitgoneaway?”Atheygothimtoeout,hewasshiveringthewayadogshiversbeforeathuorm。
“Iseenouzzle,“thatIreallyhavebeenaverybaddonkey。IoughtohavelisteoShift。Ithihiswouldbegintohappen。”
“Ifyou'dspeimesayingyouweren'tdmoretimetryingtobeascleverasyoucould—”begaJilliedhim。
“OhleavepooroldPuzzlealone,”shesaid。“Itwasallamistake;wasn'tit,Puzzledear?”Andshekissedhimonthenose。
Thoughrathershakenbywhattheyhadseen,thewholepartynowsatdownagaihtheirtalk。
&tletotellthem。Whileherisonerhehadspentnearlyallhistimetiedupatthebackofthestable,andhadofcourseheardheenemies'plans。Hehadbeenkicked(he'ddonesomekigbadbeateehdeathunlesshewouldsaythathebelieveditwasAslanwhhtoutandshowntothembyfirelighteverynight。Infacthewasgoihisverymifhehadnotbeenrescued。Hedidn'tknoeheLamb。
&ioodecidewaswhethertheywouldgotoStableHillagainthatnight,showPuzzletotheNarniansandtrytomakethemseehowtheyhadbeentricked,orwhethertheyshouldstealawayEastwardtomeetthehelpwhiwitthetaurwasbringingupfromCairParavelaurnagainsttheApeandhisenesiirianwouldverymuchliketohavefollowedthefirstplaheideaofleaviobullyhispeopleolohaheotherhaheDwarfshadbehavedlastnightparentlyone'tbesurehowpeoplewouldtakeitevehemPuzzle。Aheeobereedwith。Pogginthoughttherewereaboutthirtyofthem。TiriahatiftheNarniansallralliedtohisside,heaheandPoggin(Puzzledidn'tuch)wouldhaveagoodceofbeatihowifhalftheNarnians—ingalltheDwarfs—justsatandlookedoagainsthim?Theriskwastoogreat。Aoo,thecloudyshapeofTash。Whatmightitdo?
Andthen,asPoggiherewasnoharmiheApetodealwithhisowndifficultiesforadayortwo。Heuzzletoutandshoasoseewhatsterakeuptoexplainthat。IftheBeastsaskedoseeAslan,andnoAslanwasbroughtout,surelyeveofthemwouldgetsuspicious。
IheyallagreedthatthebestthingwastogooffandtrytomeetRoonwit。
Assoonastheyhaddecidedthis,itwaswonderfulhowmuchmorecheerfuleveryonebecame。Idon'thohinkthatthiswasbeyofthemwasafraidofafight(exceptperhapsJillaIdaresaythatea,deepdowninside,wasverygladnottogoayet—tothathorriblebird-headedthingwhich,visibleorinvisible,robablyhauntingStableHill。Anyway,onealwaysfeelsbetterwhenonehasmadeupone'smind。