CHAPTER TWELVE SORCERY AND SUDDEN VENGEANCE（第2页）

“Anditisinthepresehatyouwishtodiscloseyourplan?”said。

“Yes，”saidNikabrik。“AhatImea。”

TherewasamiwwhichTrumpkinandtheboyscouldheardhistwofriendsspeakinginlowvoiakeoutwhattheyweresaying。Thenspokealoud。

“Well，Nikabrik，”hesaid，“welan。”

ThereausesolongthattheboysbegantowonderifNikabrikwasevergoingtobegiwasinalowervoice，asifhehimselfdidnotmuchlikewhathe>

“Allsaidatered，“noneofuskhabouttheadaysinNarnia。Trumpkinbelievedhestories。Iutthemtothetrial。WetriedfirsttheHornandithasfailed。IfthereeverwasaHighKierandaQueenSusanandaKingEdmundaheheyhavenotheardus，ortheye，ortheyareourenemies—”

“Ortheyareontheutier。

“YousayingthattillMirazhasfedusalltohisdogs。AsIwassayiriedonelinkintheofoldlegends，andithasdoneusnogood。Well。Butwhenyourswordbreaks，youdrawyer。ThestoriestellofotherpowersbesidetheaKingsandQueens。Howifwecouldcallthemup?”

“IfyoumeanAslan，”saidTrufflehu'salloneaheywerehisservaseImakenodoubthewill），ishemorelikelytoself?”

“No。Yhtthere，”saidNikabrik。“AslanandtheKingsgotogether。EitherAslanisdead，orheisnotonourside。Orelsesomethihanhimselfkeepshimbadifhedide—hohe'dbeourfriealwaysagoodfriendtoDwarfsbyallthat'stold。oallbeasts。AsktheWolves。Andanyway，hewasinNarniaoIeverheardof，andhedidn'tstaylong。YoumaydropAslanout。Iwasthinkingofsomeoneelse。”

Therewasnoanswer，andforafewmiwassostillthatEdmundcouldhearthewheezyandsnuffliheBadger。

“Whodoyoumean?”saidatlast。

“ImeanapowersomuchgreaterthanAslan'sthatitheldNarniaspellboundforyearsahestoriesaretrue。”

&eWitch!”criedthreevoicesallatondfromtheerguessedthatthreepeoplehadleapedtotheirfeet。

“Yes，”saidNikabrikveryslowlyanddistinctly，“Imeach。Sitdownagain。Don'talltakefrightatanameasifyouwere。er:aapowerthatwillbeonourside。Asforpower，dooriessaythattheWitchdefeatedAslan，andboundhim，andkilledhimoonewhichisoverthere，justbeyo?”

“Buttheyalsosaythathecametolifeagain，”saidtheBadgersharply。

&heysay，”answeredNikabrik，“butyou'llreciouslittleaboutaerward。Hejustfadesoutofthestory。Howdoyouexplainthat，ifhereallycametolife?Isn'titmuchmorelikelythathedidn't，andthatthestoriessaynothihimbecausetherewasnothiosay?”

&ablishedtheKingsandQueens，”said。

“AKingwhohasjustwoleusuallyestablishhimselfwithoutthehelplion，”saidNikabrik。Therewasafiercegrowl，probablyfromTrufflehunter。

“Andanyway，”Nikabrikued，“whatcameoftheKingsandtheirreigoo。Butit'sverydifferentwiththeWitch。Theysaysheruledforahundredyears:ahundredyearsofwihere'spowerw，ifyoulike。There'ssomethingpractical。”

“But，heaveh!”saidtheKiwealwaysbeentoldthatshewastheworstenemyofall?Wasn'tsheatyraimesworsethanMiraz?”

“Perhaps，”saidNikabrikinacoldvoice。“Perhapsshewasforyouhumans，iftherewereanyofyouinthosedays。Perhapsshewasforsomeofthebeasts。ShestampedouttheBeavers，Idaresay;atleastthereareheminNarnianow。ButshegothtwithusDwarfs。I'maDwarfandIstandbymyownpeople。We'renotafraidoftheWitch。”

“Butyou'vejoihus，”saidTrufflehunter。

“Yes，andalotofgoodithasdonemypeople，sofar，”snappedNikabrik。“Whoissentonallthedangerous!，raids?TheDwarfs。Whogoesshortwheionsfail?TheDwarfs。Who—?”

“Lies!Alllies!”saidtheBadger。

“Andso，”saidNikabrik，whosevoiowrosetoascream，“ifyou'thelpmypeople，I'llgotosomeone>

“Isthisopentreason，Dwarf?”askedtheKing。

“Putthatswordbaitssheath，，”saidNikabrik。“Murderatcil，eh?Isthatyame?Don'tbefoolenoughtotryit。DoyouthinkI'mafraidofyou?There'sthreeohreeonyours。”

&herufflehuhewasimmediatelyied。

“Stop，stop，stop，”saidDoelius。“Yougoontoofast。TheWitchisdead。Allthestreeonthat。WhatdoesNikabrikmeanbytheWitch?”