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CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE HIGH KING IN COMMAND(第3页)

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&is,”saidMiraz,afterstaringatthemasifhiseyeswouldstartoutofhishead,“youareaslilyliveredasharesyourselvesaheeffrierthelikenessroundsforarefusal,indeed!Excusesfhting!Areyousoldiers?AreyouTelmarines?Areyoumen?AndifIdogrefuseit(asailgoodreasonsofdmartialpemetodo)youwillthiherstanthink,Iwasafraid。Isitnotso?”

“NomanofyourMajesty'sage,”saidGlozelle,“wouldbecalledcowardbyanywisesthebatwithagreatwarriorintheflowerofhisyouth。”

“SoI'mtobeadotardwithointhegrave,aswellasadastard,”roaredMiraz。“I'lltellyouwhatitis,myLords。Withyourwomanishsels(evershyingfromthetruepoint,whieofpolicy)youhavedoheveryoppositeofyouri。Ihadmea。ButI'llacceptit。Doyouhear,acceptit!I'llnotbeshamedbeewitchcraftortreasonhasfrozenbothyourbloods。”

“Webeseeajesty—”saidGlozelle,butMirazhadflungoutofthetentandtheycouldhearhimbawlingouthisaund。

&wolordslookedatoheraly。

“Iknewhe'ddoitifhewereproperlychafed,”saidGlozelle。“ButI'llhecalledmecoward。Itshallbepaidfor。”

TherewasagreatstirringatAslan'sHowwhenthenewscamebadwasuhevariouscreatures。Edmund,withoneofMiraz'ss,hadalreadymarkedouttheplabat,aakeshadbeenputroundit。TwoTelmariandattwooftheers,ahemiddleofoneside,asmarshalsofthelists。ThreemarshalsfortheothertwodtheothersideweretobefurheHighKierwasjustexplainingtothatheotbeone,becausehisrighttothethrotheywerefightingabout,whehick,sleepyvoicesaid,“YourMajesty,please。”PeterturherestoodtheeldestoftheBulgyBears。

“Ifyouplease,yourMajesty,”hesaid,“I'mabear,Iam。”

“Tobesure,soyouare,andagoodbeartoo,Idon'tdoubt,”saidPeter。

“Yes,”saidtheBear。“Butitwasalwaysarightofthe,bearstosupplyonemarshalofthelists。”

“Don'tlethim,”whisperedTrumpkier。“He'sagoodcreature,buthe'llshameusall。He'llgotosleepandhewillsuckhispaws。Infrooo。”

“I'thelpthat,”saidPeter。“Becausehe'squiteright。TheBearshadthatprivilege。Iagihasbeeheseyears,whensomahingshavebeenfotten。”

“Please,yourMajesty,”saidtheBear。

“Itisyht,”saidPeter。“Andyoushallbeohemarshals。Butyoumustremembernottosuckyourpaws。”

“Ofot,”saidtheBearinaveryshockedvoice。

“Why,yitthismirumpkin。

TheBearwhippedhispawoutofhismouthaendedhehadn'theard。

“Sire!”cameashrillvoiheground。

“Ah—Reepicheep!”saidPeterafterlookingupanddownandroundaspeopleusuallydidwheheMouse。

“Sire,”saidReepicheep。“Mylifeiseveratyourand,butmyhonourismyown。Sire,IhaveamoheoerinyourMajesty'sarmy。Ihadthought,perhaps,wemighthavebeehege。Sire,myperieved。PerhapsifitwereyourpleasurethatIshouldbeamarshalofthelists,itwouldtthem。”

Auhufromsomewhereoverheadatthispoint,asGiaherburstihoseelligentlaughstowhiicersiantaresoliable。HecheckedhimselfatondlookedasgraveasaturimeReepicheepdiscoveredwherethenoise。

“Iamafraiditwouldnotdo,”saidPeterverygravely。“Somehumansareafraidofmice—”

“Ihadobservedit,Sire,”saidReepicheep。

“AnditwouldefairtoMiraz,”Peterued,“tohaveinsightanythingthatmightabatetheedgeofhisce。”

“YourMajestyisthemirrorofhonour,”saidtheMousewithoneofhisadmirablebows。“Andonthismatterwehavebutasinglemind。。。IthoughtIheardsomeonelaughingjustnoreseomakemethesubjectofhiswit,Iamverymuchathisservice—heneverhehasleisure。”

Anawfulsilencefollowedthisremark,whichwasbrokeersaying,“GiaherahetaurGlenstormshallbeourmarshals。Thebatwillbeattwohoursafternoonoonprecisely。”

“Isay,”saidEdmundastheyposeitisallright。Imean,Isupposeyoubeathim?”

“That'swhatI'mfightinghimtofindout,”saidPeter。

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