关灯
护眼
字体:

CHAPTER THIRTEEN UNDERLAND WITHOUT THE QUEEN(第1页)

章节目录保存书签

CHAPTERTHIRTEEHOUTTHEQUEEN

ALLfeltthattheyhadearScrubbcalleda“breather“。TheWitchhadlockedthedoorandtoldtheEarthmennottodisturbher,sotherewaserruptio。Theirfirstbusinesswas,ofcourse,Puddleglum'sburntfoot。AcoupleofshirtsfromthePrince'sbedroom,tornintostrips,andwellgreasedontheiterandsaladoiloffthesuppertable,madeafairlyg。Whenthishadbeeheyallsatdownandhadalittlerefreshment,anddiscussedplansffromtheUnderworld。

Riliaherewerequitealotofoutletsbywhiecouldgettothesurface;hehadbeehroughmostofthematoher。Buthehadalone,onlywiththeWitdhehadalwaysreachedtheseoutletsbygoinginashipacrosstheSuheEarthmenwouldsayifhewentdowntotheharbourwithouttheWitdwithfers,andsimplyorderedaship,noonecouldguess。Butmostlikelytheywouldaskawkwardquestioherha,theoheinvasionofOverworld,wasonthissideofthesea,andonlyafewmilesariwasnearlyfinished;oofearthdividedthediggingsfromtheouterair。ItossiblethatithadefiheWitebathisandtostarttheattaifitwasnot,theycouldprobablydigthemselvesoutbythatrouteinafewhours—iftheylygettherewithoutbeingstopped,andifohediggingsuhosewerethedifficulties。

“Ifyouaskme—”beganPuddleglum,whenSterrupted。

“Isay,”heasked,“what'sthatnoise?”

“I'vebeeforsometime!”saidJill。

Theyhadall,infahearingthehadbegunandincreasedsograduallythattheydidnotkheyhadfirst。Foratimeithadbeenonlyavaguedisquietlikegentlewinds,ortrafficveryfaraway。Theoamurmurlikethesea。Thencamerumblingsandrushings。obevoicesaswellandalsoasteadyrthatwasnotvoices。

“BytheLion,”saidPrin,“itseemsthissilentlandhasfoundato。”Herose,walkedtothewindow,ahes。Theotherstolookout。

Theveryfirstthiicedwasagreatredglow。ItsrefleadearedpattheroofoftheUhousahem,sothattheycouldseearogsbeenhiddenindarkheworldwasmade。Theglowitselfthefarsideoftheanybuildings,grimaoodupblastit。Butitalsocastitslightdownmaranfromittowardthedissomethirangewasgoingon。Theclosely-packed,silentenhadvaead,therewerefiguresdartingaboutbyowos,orthrees。Theybehavedlikepeoplewhodonotwanttobeseen:lurkinginshadowbehindbuttressesorindoorways,andthenmovingquicklyacrosstheopenintofreshplacesofhiding。Butthestrahingofall,toanyoheghesandcriesalldires。Butfromtheharbourthereblingrrewsteadilylouderandwasalreadyshakingthewholecity。

“What'shappehmen?”saidScrubb。“Isitthemshouting?”

“'Tishardlypossible,”saidthePrineverheardoherasuchasspeakwithaloudvoiallthewearyyearsofmybondage。Somenewdevilry,Idon'tdoubt。”

“Andwhatisthatredlightoverthere?”askedJill。“Issomethingonfire?”

“Ifyouaskme,”saidPuddleglum,“IshouldsaythatwasthetralfiresoftheEarthbreakingouttomakeanewvolo。We'llbeinthemiddleofit,Ishouldn'twonder。”

“Lookatthatship!”saidScrubb。“Why'sitingonsoquioone&#it。”

“Look,look!”saidthePriheshipisalreadyfarthissideoftheharbour—itisi。Look!Alltheshipsaredrivingiy!Bymyhead,thesea&#。Thefloodisuponus。Aslanbepraised,thiscastlestandsonhighground。Butthewaterlyfast。”

“Oh,ening?”criedJill。“Fireandwaterandallthosepeopledodgingaboutthestreets。”

“I'lltellyouwhatitis,”saidPuddleglum。“ThatWitchhaslaidatrainofmagicspellssothatwhenevershewaskilled,atthatsamemomentherwholekingdomieces。She'sthesortthatwouldn'tsomuddyingherselfifshekhechapwhokilledherwasgoingtobeburned,orburied,ordroweslater。”

“Hasthitit,friendwiggle,”saidthePrinourswordshackedofftheWitch'shead,thatstrokeendedallhermagicworks,andnowtheDeepLandsarefallingtopieces。WearelookingontheendofUnderworld。”

“That'sit,Sir,”saidPuddleglum。“Ushouldhappeheendofthewholeworld。”

“Butarewejustgoingtostayhereand—edJill。

“Notbymysel,”saidthePrince。“Iwouldsavemyhorse,CoalbladtheWitch'sSnowflake(aandworthyofabettermistress)whicharebothstablediyard。Afterthat,letusmakeshifttogetouttohighgroundandpraythatweshallfindahehorsescarrytwoeaeed,ahemtoittheymayoutstriptheflood。”

“Willyhputonarmor?”askedPuddleglum。“Idon'tlikethelookofthose”—aeddow。Everyonelookeddown。Dozeures

(andnowthattheywereclose,theyobviouslywereEarthmen)wereingupfromthedireoftheharbour。Buttheywerenotmovinglikeanaimlesscrowd。Theybehavedlikemodernsoldiersinanattagrushesandtakingxiousnottobeseelewindows。

“Idareheiarmain,”saidthePrince。“Irodeinitasinamovabledungeon,anditstinksofmagidslavery。ButIwilltaketheshield。”

&heroomahastrainhiseyesamomentlater。

“Look,friends,”hesaid,holdiowardthem。“Anhoitwasbladwithoutdeviow,this。”Theshieldhadturassilver,andohanbloodorcherries,wasthefigureoftheLion。

“Doubtless,”saidthePrihissigAslanwillbeoodlord,whetherhemeansustoliveordie。Andall'sohat。Now,bymysel,weshallallkneelandkisshislikehenallshakehaharuefriendsthatmayshortlybeparted。Ausdestothedtaketheadveissentus。”

AndtheyalldidasthePrincehadsaid。ButwhenScrubbshookhandswithJill,hesaid,“Solong,Jill。SorryI'vebeenafunkandsoratty。Ihopeyougetsafehome,”andJillsaid,“SoloadI'msorryI'vebeensuchapig。”Andthiswasthefirsttimetheyhadeverusednames,beedidn'tdoitatschool。

章节目录