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'sitingonsoquiooneit。”
“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。