CHAPTER FOUR THE DWARF TELLS OF PRINCE CASPIAN(第2页)
&upinbedandsawthattheroomwasfullofmoonlight。Doelius,muffledinahoodedrobeandholdingasmalllampinhishand,stoodbythebedside。
rememberedatoheyweregoingtodo。Hegotupandputohes。Athoughitwasasummercolderthaedandwasquitegladwheoredhiminarobelikehisownandgavehimapairofwarm,softbuskinsforhisfeet。Amomehmuffledsothattheycouldhardlybeseeninthedarkcorridors,andbothshodsothattheymadealmosterandpupillefttheroom。
followedtheDhmanypassagesaairdatlast,throughalittledooriheycameoutupontheleads。Ohebattlements,oeeproof;belowthem,allshadowyahecastlegardearsandmooheyotherdoor,whitothegreattraltowerofthewholecastle:Doeliusuaoclimbthedarkwindingstairofthetoianwasbeied;hehadneverbeehisstairbefore。
It,butwhentheycameoutontheroofofthetoianhadgothisbreath,hefeltthatithadbeehit。Awayhthecouldsee,ratherindistiernMountains。OhegleamoftheGreatRiver,ahingwassoquietthathecouldhearthesouerfallatBeaversdam,amileaway。Therewasnodiffipigoutthetwostarstheyhadetosee。Theyhungratherlowihernsky,almhtastwolittlemoonsandveryclosetogether。
&heygoingtohavea?”heaskediruckvoice。
“Nay,dearPriheDodhetoospokeihegreatlordsoftheupperskykepsoftheirdahat。LookwellupoheirmeetingisfortunateandmeagoodforthesadrealmofNarnia。Tarva,theLordofVictory,salutesAlambil,theLadyofPeace。Theyarejustingtotheir。”
“It'sapitythattreegetsintheian。“We'dreallyseebetterfromtheWestThitisnotsohigh。”
DoeliussaidnothingforabouttwomioodstillwithhiseyesfixedonTarvaandAlambil。Thenhedrebreathao。
“There,”hesaid。“Youhaveseenwhatnomannowalivehasseen,norwillseeagain。A。Weshouldhaveseeerfromthesmallerthtyouhereforanotherreason。”
lookedupathim,buttheDoctor'shoodostofhisface。
&ueofthistower,”saidDoelius,“isthatwehavesixemptyroomsbehus,andalongstair,athebottomofthestairislocked。Weotbeoverheard。”
“Areyougoingtotellmewhatyouwouldn'ttellmetheotherday?”said。
“Iam,”saidtheDoctor。“Butremember。YouandImustalkaboutthesethihere—oopoftheGreatTower。”
“No。That'sapromise,”said。“Butdogoon,please。”
“Listen,”saidtheDoctor。“AllyouhaveheardaboutOldNarniaistrue。ItisnotthelaisthetryofAslaryoftheWakingTreesandVisibleNaiads,ofFaunsandSatyrs,iants,ofthegodsaaurs,ofTalkiwasagaihefirstfought。ItisyouTelmarineswhosilesahefountains,andwhokilledaheDwarfsandFauns,aryingtocoverupevehem。TheKiallowthemtobespokenof。”
“Oh,Idowishwehadn't,”said。“AndIamgladitwasalltrue,evenifitisallover。”
“Manyofyourracewishthati,”saidDoelius。
“But,Doctor,”said,“whydoyousaymyrace?Afterall,Isupposeyou'reaTelmarioo。”
“AmI?”saidtheDoctor。
“Well,you'reaMananyian。
“AmI?”repeatedtheDoadeepervoice,atthesamembackhishoodsothatcouldseehisfacethemoonlight。
Allatonrealizedthetruthaheoughttohaverealizeditlooreliuswassosmall,andsofat,andhadsuchaverylowothoughtstohisheadatthesamemomehoughtofterror—“He'snotarealman,notamanatall,he'saDwarf,andhehtmeupheretokillme。”Theotherwassheerdelight—“TherearerealDwarfsstill,andI'vesee。”
“Soyou'veguesseditintheend,”saidDoelius。“uesseditnearlyright。I'mnotapureDwarf。Ihavehumanbloodioo。ManyDedilesandlivedon,shavingtheirbeardsandwearinghigh-heeledshtobemen。TheyhavemixedwithyourTelmarines。Iamohose,onlyahalf-Dwarf,andifanyofmykirueDwarfs,arestillaliveaheworld,doubtlesstheywoulddespisemeaor。ButneverinalltheseyearshavewefottenourownpeopleaherhappycreaturesofNarnia,andthelong-lostdaysoffreedom。”
“I'm—I'msorry,Doctor,”said。“Itwasn'tmyfault,youknow。”
“Iamnotsayihingsinblameofyou,dearPrinsweredtheDoaywellaskwhyIsaythematall。ButIhavetworeasons。Firstly,becausemyoldhearthascarriedthesesecretmemoriessolongthatitacheswiththemandwouldburstifIdidoyou。Butsedly,forthis:thatwhenyoubeeKingyoumayhelpus,forIknowthatyoualshyouare,lovetheOldThings。”
“Ido,Ido,”said。“Butho?”
“YoudtothepoorremnantsoftheDle,likemyself。Yougatherlearnedmagidtrytofindawayofawakireesoncemore。YousearchthroughallthenooksandwildplacesofthelandtoseeifanyFaunsBeastsorDsstillaliveinhiding。”
“Doyouthinkthereareany?”askedeagerly。
“Idon'tknow—Idon'tknow,”saidtheDoctorsigh。“SometimesIamafraidthere'tbe。Ihavebeenlookingfortraallmylife。SometimesIhavethoughtIheardaDwarf-drumiainight,inthewoods,IthoughtIhadcaughtaglimpseofFaunsandSatyrsdangwayoff;butwheheplace,therewashingthere。Ihaveoftesomethingalenstostartmehopingagain。Idon'tknow。ButatleastyoutrytobeaKiheHighKierofold,andnotlikeyouruncle。”
&'strueabouttheKingsaoo,andabouttheWhiteian。
&ainlyitistrue,”saidelius。“TheirreignwastheGoldenAgeinNarniaandthelandhasenthem。”
“Didtheyliveinthiscastle,Doctor?”
“Nay,mydear,”saidtheoldman。“Thiscastleisathierday。Yreat-grait。ButwhewosonsofAdamawodaughtersofEveweremadeKingsandQueensofNarniabyAslaheylivedileofCairParavel。Nomanalivehasseenthatblessedpladperhapseventheruinsofithavenowvawebelieveitwasfarfromhere,dowhoftheGreatRiver,ontheveryshoreofthesea。”
“Ugh!”saidwithashudder。“DoyoumeanintheBlackWoods?Whereallthe—the—youkslive?”
“Yhnessspeaksasyouhavebeentaught,”saidtheDoctor。“Butitisalllies。Therearenoghoststhere。ThatisastoryiheTelmarines。YsareindeadlyfearoftheseabecausetheyeverquitefetthatinallstoriesAslanoverthesea。Theydon'twanttogoandtheydon'twaogo。Sotheyhaveletgreatwoodsgrowuptocuttheirpeopleofffromthecoast。Butbecausetheyhavequarreledwiththetreestheyareafraidofthewoods。Aheyareafraidofthewoodstheyimagiheyarefullofghosts。AndtheKingsamen,hatingboththeseaandthewood,partlybelievethesestories,andpartlyeheyfeelsaferifnooneinNarogodowandlookouttosea—towardAslan'slandandthemaerheworld。”
Theresilehemforafewmioreliussaid,“e。Wehavebeenhereloistimetogodownandtobed。”
“Mustian。“I'dliketogoontalkingaboutthesethingsforhoursandhoursandhours。”
&beginlookingforus,ifwedidthat,”saidDoelius。