CHAPTER ELEVEN IN THE DARK CASTLE（第2页）

&eady!Steady!”saidthethreetravellerstooher。

“Oh，youhaveheartsofstone，”saidtheKnight。“Believeme，youlookupochwhohassufferedalmostmorethananymortalbear。WhatwronghaveIeverdohatyoushouldsidewithmyeokeepmeinsuchmiseries?Aesareslippingpast。Nowyousaveme;whenthishourhaspassed，Ishallbewitlessagaioyandlap-dog，hepawnandtool，ofthemostdevilishsorceressthateverplahewoeofmen。Andthisnight，ofallnights，whensheisaway!Youtakefrommeacethatmaynevereagain。”

“Thisisdreadful。Idowishwe'dstayedawaytillitwasover，”saidJill。

“Steady!”saidPuddleglum。

Theprisoner'svoiintoashriek。“Letmego，Isay。Givememysword。Mysword!OnceIamfreeIshalltakesugeoUnderlandwilltalkofitforathousandyears!”

“Nowthefrenzyisbeginning，”saidScrubb。“Ihopethoseknht。”

“Yes，”saidPuddleglum。“He'dhavetwiaturalstrefreenow。AndI'mhmysword。He'dgetusboth，Ishouldn'toleonherowotacklethesnake。”

Theprisonerwasnathisbondsthattheytohiswristsandankles。“Beware，”hesaid。“Beware。OIdidbreakthem。Butthewitchwastherethattime。Youwillohelpyoutonight。Freemenow，andIamyourfriend。I'myourmortalenemyelse。”

“g，isn'the?”saidPuddleglum。

“Ondforall，”saidtheprisoner，“Iadjureyoutosetmefree。Byallfearsandallloves，bythebrightskiesofOverlaLion，byAslanhimself，Ichargeyou—”

“Oh!”criedthethreetravellersasthoughtheyhadbeenhurt。“It'sthesign，”saidPuddleglum。“Itwasthewordsofthesign，”saidScrubbmorecautiously。“Oh，whatarewetodo?”saidJill。

Itwasadreadfulquestion。WhathadbeentheuseoheywouldnotonanyatsettheKheywerenowtodosothefirsttimehehappeoetheyreallycaredabout?Oherhand，whathadbeentheusethesignsiftheyweren'tgoihem?YetcouldAslanhavereallymeaounbindaic—whoaskeditinhisname?Coulditbeamereat?OrhowiftheQueenoftheUnderworldknewallaboutthesignsandhadmadetheKhisnamesimplyirapthem?Butthen，supposingthiswastherealsign?。。。Theyhadmuffedthreealready;theydaren'tmuffthefourth。

“Oh，ifonlyweknew!”saidJill。

“Ithinkwedoknouddleglum。

“Doyoumeanyouthihingwillerightifwedountiehim?”saidScrubb。

“Idon'tknowaboutthat，”saidPuddleglum。“Yousee，Aslandidn'ttellPolewhateoldherwhattodo。Thatfellowwillbethedeathofusoncehe'sup，Ishouldn'twohatdoesn'tletusofffollowingthesign。”

&oodlookiherwithbrighteyes。Itwasasient。“Allright!”saidJillsudde'sgetitood-bye，everyoheyallshookhawassgbynow;therewasfoamonhischeeks。

“eon，Scrubb，”saidPuddleglum。HeandScrubbdrewtheirswordsaothecaptive。

“InthenameofAslan，”theysaidahodicallygthecords。Theinstanttheprisonerwasfree，hecrossedtheroominasinglebound，seizedhisohichhadbeentakenfromhimandlaidoable），a。

“Youfirst!”hedfelluponthesilverchair。Thatmusthavebeenagoodsword。Thesilvergavewaybefelikestring，andiafewtwistedfragments，shiningonthefloor，wereallthatwasleft。Butasthechairbroke，thereitabrightflash，asouhunder，and（foro）aloathsomesmell。

&here，vileengineofsorcery，”hesaid，“lestyourmistressshouldeveruseyouforaim。”Theurnedandsurveyedhisresdthesomethingwrowas，hadvanishedfromhisface。

“What?”hecried，turningtoPuddleglum。“DoIseebeforemeaMarsh-wiggle—areal，live，ho，NarnianMarsh-wiggle?”

“Oh，soyouhaveheardofNarniaafterall?”saidJill。

“HadIfottenitwhenIwasuhespell?”askedtheKandallotherbedevilmentsarenowover。YoumaywellbelievethatIknowNarnia，forIamRilian，Prinia，andthegreatKingismyfather。”

“Yhness，”saidPuddleglum，sinkingohedidthesame），“wehaveehitherforoseekyou。”

“Andwhoareyou，myotherdeliverers?”saidthePrioSdJill。

“WeweresentbyAslanhimselffrombeyondtheworld'sendtoseekyhness，”saidScrubb。“IamEustacewhosailedwithhimtotheislandofRamandu。”

“IoweallthreeofyouagreaterdebtthanIeverpay，”saidPrin。“Butmyfather?Isheyetalive?”

“HesailedeastagaiNarnia，mylord，”saidPuddleglum。“ButyhsiderthattheKingisveryold。ItistentoonehisMajestymustdieonthevoyage。”

“Heisold，yousay。HowlongthenhaveIbeenihewitch?’

“ItismorethantenyearssinceyhnesswaslostithenorthsideofNarnia。”

“Tenyears!”saidthePringhishandacrosshisfaceasiftorubaast。“Yes，Ibelieveyou。FornowthatIammyselfIrememberthatehoughwhileIwasentedIbermytrueself。Andnow，fairfriends—butwait!Iheartheirfeet（doesitnotsi，thatpaddingwh!）oairs。Lockthedoor，boy。Orstay。Ihaveabetterthoughtthanthat。IwillfooltheseEarthmen，ifAsla。Takeyoure。”

Hewalkedresolutelytothedoorandflungitwideopen。