CHAPTER TWO THE ANCIENT TREASURE HOUSE（第2页）

“No，ofot，”saidPeter。“Butithasgrownuptothegatesince。”

“Andf，”saidEdmund，“CairParavelwasn'tonanisland。”

“Yes，I'vebeenwaboutthat。Butitwasawhat-do-you-call-it，apeninsula。Jollynearlyanisland。'tithavebeenmadeanislaime?Somebodyhasdugael。”

“Buthalfamoment!”saidEdmund。“Youkeeponsayiime。Butit'sonlyayearagosincewecamebaNarnia。Andyouwaileshavefallendowshavegrownup，areeslantedourselveshaveturoabigoodnessknowswhatelse。It'sallimpossible。”

“There'sohing，”saidLucy。“IfthisisCairParavelthereoughttobeadooratthisendofthedais。Iobesittingwithainstitatthismoment。Youkhatleddowreasurechamber。”

“Isupposethereisn'tadoor，”saidPeter，gettingup。

Thewallbehindthemwasamassofivy。

“Wefindout，”saidEdmund，takihesticksthattheyhadlaidreadyfaheiviedweistthestone;andagain，tap-tap;aon，withaquitedifferentsound，ahollow，woodensound。

&!”saidEdmund。

&clearthisivyaeter。

“Oh，dolet'sleaveitalone，”saidSusaryitinthem。Ifwe'vegottospehereIdon'tendooratmybadagreatbigblackholethatanythingmighteoutof，besidesthedraftandthedamp。Andit'llsoonbedark。”

“Susan!Howyou?”saidLucyroace。ButboththeboysweretoomuchexcitedtotakeanynoticeofSusan'sadvice。Theyworkedattheivywiththeirhandsaer'spoifetillthekhattheyusedEdmund's。Soonthewholeplacewheretheyhadbeensittingwascoveredwithivy;andatlasttheyhadthedoorcleared。

“Locked，ofcourse，”saidPeter。

“Butthewood'sallrotten，”saidEdmund。“ullittobitsiwillmakeextrafirewood。eon。”

Ittookthemloheyexped，beforetheyhaddohallhadgrownduskyaarortwohadeoutoverhead。Susanwasnottheoaslightshudderastheboysstoodabovethepileofsplinteredwthedirtofftheirhandsandstaringintothectheyhadmade。

“Nowforatorch，”saidPeter。

“Oh，whatisthegood?”saidSusan。“AndasEdmundsaid—”

“I'mnotsayingiterrupted。“Istilldon'tualethatlater。Isupposeydower?”

&，”saidPeter。“Cheerup，Susan。It'snogoodbehavinglikekidsnowthatwearebaia。You'reaQueenhere。Andanywaynoonecouldgotosleepwithamysterylikethisontheirminds。”

&ouselongsticksastorchesbutthiswasnotasuccess。Ifyouheldthemwiththelightedeout，andifyouheldthemtheotherwaytheyscorchedyourhandandthesmokegotiheeouseEdmund'selectrictorch;luckilyithadbeenabirthdaypresehanaweekagoaerywasalmost，withthelight。ThehenSusaerbroughtuptherear。

“I'veetothetopofthesteps，”saidEdmund。

“，”saidPeter。

&hree，”saidEdmucautiouslydotosixteen。“Andthisisthebottom，”heshoutedback。

&reallymustbeCairParavel，”saidLucy。“Thereweresixteen。”Nothingmorewassaidtillallfourwerestandinginakhefootofthestairway。ThenEdmuorchslowlyround。

“O—o—o—oh!!”saidalltheatonce。

FornowallkwasitreasurechamberofCairParavelwheretheyhadnedasKingsandQueensofNarnia。Therewasakindofpathupthemiddle（asitmightbeinagreenhouse），andalongeachsideatioodrior，likeknightsguardireasures。Ihesuitsofarmor，andoneachsideofthepath，wereshelvescoveredwithpregs—nedarmringsandfingerringsandgoldenbowlsanddishesandlongtusksofivory，broodetsandsofgold，andheapsofuoneslyingpiledanyhowasiftheyweremarblesorpotatoes—diamonds，rubies，cles，emeralds，topazes，as。Uheshelvesstoodgreatcheststhehironbarsandheavilypadloditwasbitterlydsostillthattheycouldhearthemselvesbreathing，areasuresweresocoveredwithdustthatuheyhadrealizedwheretheywereaofthethings，theywouldhardlyhavekreasures。Therewassomethingsadandalittlefrighteningabouttheplace，becauseitallseemedsoforsakenandlongago。Thatwaswhynobodysaidanythingforatleastaminute。

Then，ofcourse，theybeganwalkingaboutandpigsuptolookat。Itwaslikemeetingveryoldfriends。Ifyouhadbeenthereyouwouldhaveheardthemsayingthingslike，“Ohlook!Ourrings—doyourememberfirstwearingthis?—Why，thisisthelittlebroochweallthoughtwaslost—Isay，isn'tthatthearmoryouworeiourheLoneIslands?—doyourememberthedwarfmakingthatforme?—doyourememberdrinkingoutofthathorn?—doyouremember，doyouremember?”

ButsuddenlyEdmundsaid，“Lookhere。Wemustn'twastethebattery:goodnessknoeshall。Hadn'twebettertakeaagain?”

&akethegifts，”saidPeter。FoataChristmasinNarniaheandSusanandLucyhadbeeaiswhichtheyvaluedmorethantheirwholekingdom。Edmundhadhadnogiftbecausehewasnotwiththematthetime。（Thiswashisownfault，andyoureadaboutitiherbook。）

TheyallagreedwithPeterahepathtothewallatthefarereasurechamber，andthere，sureeswerestillhanging。Lucy'swasthesmallestforitwasonlyalittlebottle。Butthebottlewasmadeofdiamondinsteadofglass，anditwasstillmorethanhalffullofthemagicalcordialwhichwouldhealalmosteverywoundandeveryillness。Luothingandlookedverysolemiftdownfromitspladsluoverhershoulderandohebottleathersidewhereitusedtohangintheolddays。Susan'sgifthadbeenabowandarrowsandahorn。Thebowwasstillthere，andtheivoryquiver，fullofwell-featheredarrows，but—“Oh，Susan，”saidLucy。“Where'sthehorn?”

“Ohbother，bother，bother，”saidSusanaftershehadthoughtforamoment。“Iremembernow。Itookitwithmethelastdayofall，thedaywewenthuag。Itmusthavegotlostwhenweblunderedbatothatotherplad，Imean。”

Edmuwasieringloss;forthiswasaedhornand，wheneveryoublewit，helpwasetoyou，whereveryouwere。

“Justthesortofthingthatmighteinhandyihis，”saidEdmund。

“Nevermind，”saidSusan，“I'vestillgotthebow。”A。

“Won'tthestringbeperished，Su?”saidPeter。

Butwhetherbysomemagitheairofthetreasurechamberornot，thebowwasstillinworder。ArdswimmihingsSusanwasgoodat。Ishehadbentthebowandthelepluckt。Ittingtwangthatvibratedthroughthewholeroom。Andthatonesmallbacktheolddaystothe'smihananythingthathadhappehebattlesandhuscamerushingintotheirheadstogether。

Therungthebowagainandslungthequiveratherside。

&ertookdownhisgift—theshieldwiththegreatredliononit，andtheroyalsword。Hebleedthemoogetoffthedust。Hefittedtheshieldonhisarmandslungtheswordbyhisside。Hewasafraidatfirstthatitmightberustyandsticktothesheath。Butitwasnotso。Withomotioaup，shiniht。

“ItismyswordRhindon，”hesaid;“withitIkilledtheWolf。”TherewasaoneinhisvoidtheothersallfeltthatheetertheHighKingagaieralittlepause，everyotheymustsavethebattery。

Theyclimbedthestairagainandmadeupagoodfireandlaydowherforwarmth。Thegroundwasveryhardandunfortable，buttheyfellasleepintheend。