CHAPTER ELEVEN IN THE DARK CASTLE(第1页)
CHAPTERELEVENINTHEDARKCASTLE
&hemeal(igeonpie,,salad,andcakes)hadbeenbrought,andallhaddrawntheirchairsuptothetableaheKnightued:
“YoumustuaIknownothingofhehisDarkWorld。Iremembernotimeelling,asnow,atthecourtofthisallbutheavemythoughtisthatshesavedmefromsomeevileandbroughtmehitherofherexgbouFrogfoot,yourcupisempty。Suffermetorefillit。)AomethelikelierbenowIamboundbyaspell,fromwhichmyLadyalonefreeme。Everynightthereesanhourwhenmymindismosthorriblyged,and,aftermymind,mybody。ForfirstIbeefuriousandwildandwouldrushupofriendstokillthem,ifIwerenotbound。Andsoo,Iturnintothelikenessofagreatserpent,hungry,fierddeadly。(Sir,bepleasedtotakeaofpigeoyou。)Sotheytellme,aaih,formyLadysaysthesame。Imyselfknownothingofit,forwhenmyhourispastIawakefetfulofallthatvilefitandinmypropershapeandsoundmind—savingthatIamsomewhatwearied。(Littlelady,eatohesehoneycakes,whicharebroughtformefromsomebarbarouslahoftheworld。)NowtheQueen'smajestykhatIshallbefreedfromthisewhenonceshehasmademekingofalandintheOverworldasyhead。Thelandisalreadydtheveryplaceout。HerEarthmenhaveworkeddayandnightdiggingawaybe,andhavenowgonesofarandsohighthattheytuascoreoffeetbeheverygrassonwhichtheUpdwellersofthattrywalk。ItwillbeverysoonnowthatthoseUplanders'fatewill。Sheherselfisatthediggingstonight,aamessagetogotoher。Thehinroofofearthwhichstillkeepsmefrommykingdomwillbebrh,aoguidemeandathousamyback,Ishallrideforthinarms,fallsuddenlyonoureheir,theirstrongpladdoubtlessbetheiredkingwithinfourayhours。”
“It'sabitroughlu,isn'tit?”saidScrubb。
“Thouartaladofawondrous,quigwit!”exclaimedtheKnight。“For,onmyhonour,Ihadofitsobefore。Iseey。”Helookedslightly,veryslightlytroubledforamomentortwo;buthisfadhebrokeout,withanotherofhisloudlaughs,“Butfieongravity!Isitidridiculousthiothinkofthemallgoingabouttheirbusinessandhatuheirpeacefulfieldsandfloors,onlyafathomdreatarmyreadytobreakoutuponthemlikeafountaiohavesuspected!Why,theythemselves,whesmartoftheirdefeatisover,hardlychoosebutlaughatthethought!”
“Idon'tthinkit'sfunnyatall,”saidJill。“Ithinkyou'llbeawit。”
“What?”saidtheKnight,stilllaughingandpattingherheadiingfashion。“Isourlittlemaidadeeppoliti?Butheart。Inrulingthatland,IshalldoallbytheyLady,whowillthenbemyQueentoo。Herwordshallbemylaw,evenasmywordwillbelawtothepeoplewehavequered。”
“WhereI,”saidJill,whowasdislikinghimmoreeverymiheydon'tthinkmuenwhoarebossedaboutbytheirwives。”
“Shaltthinkotherwisewhenthouhastamanofthineown,Iwarrantyou,”saidtheKnight,apparentlythinkingthisveryfunny。“ButwithmyLady,itisaer。Iamwellttolivebyherword,whohasalreadysavedmefromathousanddangers。akenpaienderlyforherchild,thantheQueen'sgrae。Why,lookyou,amidallherdbusihoutwithmeintheOverworldmatoayeyestothesunlight。Agofullyarmedandwithvisordown,sothatnomanmayseemyfadImustspeaktonoone。ForshehasfoundicalthatthiswouldhindermydeliverahegrievouseIlieuthataladyworthyofaman'swholeworship?”
“Soundsaverynideed,”saidPuddlegluminavoicewhitexactlytheopposite。
&hhlytiredoftheKnight'stalkbeforetheyhadfinishedsupper。Puddleglumwasthinking,“Iwamethatwitchisreallyplayingwiththisyoungfool。”Scrubbwasthinking,“He'sagreatbaby,really:tiedtothatwomans;he'sasap。”AndJillwasthihesilliest,mostceited,selfishpigI'vemetftime。”Butwhenthemealwasover,theKnight'smoodhadged。Therewaserabouthim。
“Friends,”hesaid,“myhourisnowverynear。IamashamedthatyoushouldseemeyetIdreadbeialoheywilleilyandbindmehandandfoottoyonderchair。Alas,soitmustbe:forinmyfury,theytellme,IwoulddestroyallthatIcouldreach。”
“Isay,”saidScrubb,“I'mawfullysorryaboutyoureofcourse,butwhatwillthosefellowsdotouswheobindyou?Theytalkedofputtingusinprison。Andwedon'tlikeallthosedarkplacesverymuuchratherstayheretillyou're。。。better。。。if>
“Itiswellthoughtof,”saidtheKnight。“ByheQueenherselfremainswithmeinmyevilhour。SuchishertenderyhonourthatshewouldnotwillinglysufferaherowhewordsIutteriIoteasilypersuademyattendayoushouldbeleftwithme。AndIthiheirsoftfeetevennowupoairs。Ghyonderdoor:itleadsintomyotherapartments。Aherawaitmyiheyhaveunboundme;or,ifyouwill,returnandsitwithmeinmyravings。”
Theyfollowedhisdiredpassedoutoftheroombyadoorwhichtheyhadseebroughtthem,theywerepleasedtosee,notiintoalightedcorridor。Theytriedvariousdoorsandfound(whattheyverybadlyerfandevenalookingglass。“Heneverofferedusawashbeforesupper,”saidJill,dryingherface。“Selfish,selfterdpig。”
“Arewegoingbacktowatt,orshallwestayhere?”saidScrubb。
“Stayhere,Ivote,”saidJill。“I'dmuchrathershefeltalittleihesame。
“No,goback,”saidPuddleglum。“someinformation,andweneedallweget。IamsurethatQueenisawitehoseEarthmenwouldknotheheadassoonaslookatus。There'sastrongersmellofdangerandliesandmagidtreasonaboutthislandthanI'veeversmelledbefore。Weokeepoureyesandearsopen。”
&bathecehedooropen。“It'sallright,”saidScrubb,meaningthattherewere。Thentheyallcamebawheretheyhadsupped。
Themaindoorwasnowshut,gthebetweenwhichtheyhadfirsteheKnightwasseatedinacurioussilverchair,towhichhewasboundbyhisankles,hisknees,hiselbows,hiswrists,andhiswaist。Therewassweatonhisforeheadandhisfacewasfilledwithanguish。
“ein,friends,”hesaid,glangquicklyup。“Thefitisuponme。Makeoldthatpryihatyouwereinbed。Now。。。Ifeeliting。QuiwhileIammasterofmyself。WheisupowellmaybethatIshallbegahehreatenings,toloosenmybonds。TheysayIdo。Ishallyoubyallthatismostdearandmostdreadful。Butdoome。Hardesandstopyourears。ForwhileIamboundyouaresafe。ButifonceIwereupandoutofthischair,thenfirstwouldyfury,a”—heshuddered—“thetoaloathsomeserpent。”
“There'snofearyou,”saidPuddleglum。“We'venowishtomeetwildmeseither。”
“Ishouldthinknot,”saidSdJilltogether。
“Allthesame,”addedPuddlegluminawhisper。“Don'tlet'sbetoosure。Let'sbeuard。We'vemuffedeverythingelse,youknow。He'llbeg,Ishouldn'twosstarted。wetrustoher?Doromisethatwhateverhesayswedon'ttouchthosecords?Whateverhesays,mindyou?”
“Rather!”saidScrubb。
“There'snothingintheworldhesayordothat'llmakemegemymind,”saidJill。
“Hush!Something'shappening,”saidPuddleglum。
&wasmoaning。Hisfaceutty,ahedinhisbonds。Aherbecauseshewassorryforhim,orforsomeotherreason,Jillthoughtthathelookedaofmanthanhehadlookedbefore。
“Ah,”hegroamemeangled,ywebofevilmagic。Buriedalive。Draggeddowheearth,dowyblaess。。。howma?。。。HaveIlivedtenyears,orathousahepit?Maggotmenallaroundme。Oh,havemercy。Letmeout,letmegoback。Letmefeelthewihesky。。。Thereusedtobealittlepool。Whenyoulookeddownintoityoucouldseeallthetreesgrowingupside-dower,allgreehem,deep,verydeep,thebluesky。”
Hehadbeenspeakinginalowvoiowhelookedup,fixedhiseyesuponthem,andsaidloudandclear:
“Quick!IamsaneIamsane。IfonlyIcouldgetoutofthisentedchair,itwouldlast。Ishouldbeamanagaitheybindme,amye。Butyouarenotenemies。Iamnotyourprisoner。Quick!Cutthesecords。”
“Standfast!Steady,”saidPuddleglumtothetwo。
“Ibeseee,”saidtheKnight,fhimselftospeakcalmly。“HavetheytoldyouthatifIamreleasedfromthischairIshallkillyouandbeeaserpent?Iseebyyourfacesthattheyhave。Itisalie。ItisatthishourthatIaminmyrightmind:itisalltherestofthedaythatIamented。Youarehmennorwitches。Whyshouldyoubeontheirside?Ofyourcourtesy,ds。”