CHAPTER THREE THE SAILING OF THE KING(第3页)
“Well,mydears,”hesaid,takingfirstoherbythehandandbowile。“Youareveryheartilywele。IfthegoodKing,mypoorMaster,hadnotthisveryhoursetsailforSevenIsles,hewouldhavebeenglad。Itwouldhavebroughtbackhisyouthtohimforamoment—foramoment。Andnow,itishightimeforsupper。Youshalltellmeyourbusinessinfull。MasterGlimfeather,seethatbedchambersandsuitabledallelsearepruestsihonourablefashion。Aher—inyourear—”
&heDuthismouthclosetotheOwl'sheadand,nodoubt,iowhisper:but,likeotherdeafpeople,hewasn'taverygoodjudgeofhisowhheardhimsay,“Seethatthey'reproperly
&heDwarftoucheduphisdosetofftowardthecastleatsomethiandawaddle(itwasaveryfatlittlebeast),whiletheFaun,theOwl,andthefollowedataratherslowerpace。Thesuheairwasgrowingcool。
&acrossthelawhroughanordsotateofCairParavel,whichstoodwideopeheyfoundagrassychtswerealreadyshowingfromthewindowsofthegreathallhtandfromamoreplicatedmassofbuildingsstraightahead。IheOwlledthem,adelightfulpersonwascalledtolookafterJill。ShewasnotmuchtallerthanJillherself,andagooddealsleobviouslyfullgrown,gracefulasawillow,andherhairytoo,aobemossiJilltoaroundroomiurrets,wheretherewasalittlebathsunkinthefloora-smellingwohearthandalamphangingbyasilverthevaultedroof。TheestirangelandofNarnia,andJillsawtheredremaistillglowiantmountains。Itmadeherlongformoreadventuresahatthiswasonlythebeginning。
Whenshehadhadherbath,andbrushedherhair,andputohesthathadbeenlaidoutforher—theywerethekindthatnotolookednidsmellednidmadenidswhenyoumovedaswell—shewouldhavegoogazeoutofthatexdow,butshewasiedbyabangonthedoor。
“ein,”saidJill。AndincameScrubb,alsobathedandsplendidlydressedinNarniahisfa'tlookasifhewereenjoyingit。
“Oh,hereyouareatlast,”hesaidcrossly,flingioachair。“I'vebeentryingtofindyouf。”
“Well,nowyouhave,”saidJill。“Isay,S'titallsimplytooexdscrumptiousforwords。”ShehadfottenallaboutthesigPrihemoment。
“Oh!That'swhatyouthink,isit?”saidSdthen,afterapause,“Iwishtogoodnesswe'dnevere。”
“>
“I'tbearit,”saidScrubb。“SeeingtheKing—adoldma's—ithtful。”
“Why,whatharmdoesitdoyou?”
“Oh,youdon'tuand。NowthatIetothinkofit,you't。Ididn'ttellyouthatthisworldhasadifferenttimefromours。”
“Howdoyoumean?”
&imeyouspendheredoesn'ttakeupanyofourtime。Doyousee?Imean,hwespendhere,weshallstillgetbaehemome—”
“Thatwon'tbemu。”
“Oh,dryup!Don'tkeepiing。Andwhenyou'rebagland—inourworld—you'ttellhowtimeisghtbeanynumberofyearsinNarniawhileweohome。ThePevensiesexplaialltome,but,likeafotaboutit。And'sbeeyyearsNarnianyears—sinceIwasherelast。Doyouseenow?AndIebadold,oldman。”
&heKingwasanoldfriendofyours!”saidJill。Ahhthadstruckher。
“Ishouldjollywellthinkhewas,”saidScrubbmiserably。“Aboutasgoodafriendasachapcouldhave。Andlasttimehewasonlyafewyearsolderthaoseethatoldmanwithawhitebeard,andtorememberashewasthemturedtheLoneIslands,oriwiththeSeaSerpent—oh,ithtful。It'sworsethaningbadinghimdead。”
“Oh,shutup,”saidJillimpatiently。“It'sfarworsethanyouthink。We'vemuffedthefirstSign。”OfcourseScrubbdidhis。ThenJilltoldhimaboutherversationwithAslanandthefaskoffiprincewhichhadbeenlaiduponthem。
“Soyousee,”shewoundup,“youdidseeaasAslansaid,andyououghttohavegoneaohimatonowyouhaven't,ahingisgfrinning。”
“ButhowwasItoknow?”saidScrubb。
“Ifyou'doomewheellyou,we'dbeallright,”saidJill。
“Yes,andifyouhadn'tplayedthefoolodjollynearlymurderedme—allright,Isaidmurder,andI'llsayitagainasoftenasIlike,sokeepyourhairon—we'dhaveetogetherandbothknownwhattodo。”
“Isupposehewasthefirstpersonyousaw?”saidJill。“Youmusthavebeenherehoursbeforeme。Areyousureyoudidn'tseea?”
“Iwasoaminutebeforeyou,”saidScrubb。“Hemusthaveblownyouquime。Makingupforlosttime:thetimeyoulost。”
“Don'tbeaperfectbeast,Scrubb,”saidJill。“Hallo!What'sthat?”
Itwasthecastlebellringingforsupper,andthuswhatlookedliketurningintoafirst-ratequarrelilycutshort。Bothhadagoodappetitebythistime。
&hegreathallofthecastlewasthemostsplendidthihemhadeverseen;fhEustacehadbeeninthatworldbefore,hehadspenthiswholevisitatseaahingofthegloryaheNarniaheirownland。Thebannershungfromtheroof,andeaeinwithtrumpetersahereweresoupsthatwouldmakeyourmouthwatertothinkof,andthelovelyfishescalledpavenders,andvenisonandpeadpies,andidjelliesandfruitandnuts,andallmannerofwinesandfruitdriacecheeredupawas“somethinglike“。Aheseriouseatinganddrinkingwasover,ablicameforwardandstruckupthegrandoldtaleofPrindAravisandthehorseBree,whichiscalledTheHorseandhisBoyandtellsofahathappenedinNarniaahelaheGoldeerwasHighKinginCairParavel。(Ihaven'ttimetotellitnow,thoughitiswell
&heyweredraggiairstobed,yawningtheirheadsoff,Jillsaid,“Ibetwesleepwell,tonight“;forithadbeenafullday。Whichjustshowshowlittleanyoneknowswhatisgoingtohappe。