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