“ThatismorethanIknorofessor,“andachargeoflyingagainstsomeonewhomyouhavealwaysfoundtruthfulisaveryseriousthing;averyseriousthingindeed。”
“Wewereafraiditmightn'tevenbelying,”saidSusatheremightbesomethingwrongwithLucy。”
“Madness,youmean?”saidtheProfessorquitecoolly。“Oh,youmakeyourmithat。Onehasonlytolookatherandtalktohertoseethatsheisnotmad。”
“Butthen,”saidSusan,andstopped。Shehadagrown-upwouldtalkliketheProfessoranddidn'tknowwhattothink。
“Logic!”saidtheProfessorhalftohimself。“Whydon'ttheyteachlogicattheseschools?Thereareonlythreepossibilities。Eitheryoursisteristellinglies,orsheismad,orsheistellih。Youknowshedoesn'ttellliesanditisobviousthatsheisnotmadForthemomentthenandunlessanyfurtherevideurassumethatsheistellih。”
Susahimveryhardandwasquitesurefromtheexpressionohewasnotmakingfunofthem。
“Buthowcoulditbetrue,sir?”saidPeter。
“Whydoyousaythat?”askedtheProfessor。
“Well,forohing,”saidPeter,“ifitwasrealwhydoesn'teveryohistryeverytimetheygotothewardrobe?Imeahingtherewhenwelooked;evenLu'tpretendthere>
“Whathasthattodowithit?”saidtheProfessor。
“Well,sir,ifthihey'rethereallthetime。”
&hey?”saidtheProfessor;akosay。
“Buttherewasnotime,”saidSusan。“Lucyhadhadohavegoneaherelace。Sheiheverymomeheroom。Itwaslessthanminute,aohavebeenawayforhours。”
“Thatistheverythingthatmakesherstorysolikelytobetrue,”saidtheProfessor。“Iftherereallyisadoorinthishousethatleadstosomeotherworld(andIshouldwarnyouthatthisisaverystrangehouse,andevenIkleaboutit)—if,Isay,shehadgotintoanotherworld,Ishouldallsurprisedtofindthattheotheraratetimeofitsown;sothathyoustayedthereitwouldakeupanyofourtime。Oherhand,Idon'tthinkmanygirlsewouldiideaforthemselves。Ifshehadbeeending,shewouldhavehiddenforareasoimebefoutandtelliory。”
“Butdoyoureallymean,sir,”saidPeter,“thattherecouldbeotherworlds—allovertheplace,justroundtheer—likethat?”
“Nothingismoreprobable,”saidtheProffhisspedbeginningtopolishthem,whilehemutteredtohimself,“Iwoheydoteachthemattheseschools。”
“Butwhatarewetodo?”saidSusaheversatioogetoffthepoint。
“Mydearyounglady,”saidtheProfessor,suddenlylookingupwithaverysharpexpressionatbothofthem,“thereisoneplanwhiehasyetsuggestedand。”
“What'sthat?”saidSusan。
&alltrymindingourownbusiness,”saidhe。Andthatwastheendofthatversation。
&hingswereagooddealbetterforLucy。PetersawtoitthatEdmundstather,ahershenoraialkaboutthewardrobeatall。Ithadbeearatheralarmi。Andsoforatimeitlookedasifalltheadventureswereihatwasnottobe。
ThishouseoftheProfessor's—whihekleabout—wassooldandfamousthatpeoplefromalllaoeandaskpermissio。Itwasthesortofhousethatismentionedinguidebooksaories;amightbe,forallmaoriesweretoldaboutit,someofthemeveheoellingyounoartiesofsightseersarrivedaoseethehouse,thePravethempermission,andMrs。Macready,thehousekeeper,showedthemrouhemaboutthepidthearmor,andtherarebooksinthelibrary。Mrs。Macreadywasnotfondof,anddidobeiedwheellingvisitorsallthethingssheknew。ShehadsaidtoSusaom(alongwithagoodmarus),“Andpleaserememberyou'retokeepoutofthewaywheneverI'mtakingapartyoverthehouse。”
“Justasifanyofusastehalfthemroundwithacrrown-ups!”saidEdmund,ahreethoughtthesame。Thatwashowtheadvehesee。
AfewmslaterPeterandEdmundwerelookiofarmoraheycouldtakeittobitswhewogirlsrushedintotheroomandsaid,“Lookout!Hereadawholegangwithher。”
“Sharp'stheeter,andallfourmadehthedooratthefarendoftheroom。ButwheoutintotheGreenRooma,intotheLibrary,theysuddenlyheardvoicesaheadofthem,aMrs。Macreadymustbebriyofsightseersupthebackstairs—insteadofupthefrontstairsastheyhadexpedafterthat—whetheritwasthattheylosttheirheads,orthatMrs。Macreadywastryingtocatchthem,orthatsomemagithehousehadetolifeandwasgthemintoNarnia—theyseemedtofindthemselvesbeingfollowedeverywhere,untilatlastSusansaid,“Ohbotherthosetrippers!Here—let'sgetintotheWardrobeRoomtillthey'vepassed。Noonewillfollowusihemomenttheywereiheyheardvoithepassage—andthensomeonefumblingatthedoor—aheysawthehaurning。
“Quick!”saidPeter,“there'snowhereelse,”andfluhewardrobe。Allfourofthembundlediaing,inthedark。Peterheldthedoorclosedbutdidnotshutit;for,ofcourse,heremembered,aseverysensiblepersoyoushouldyourselfupinawardrobe。