Itwasaterriblemoment。Theydarednotshoutbuttheywhisperedherheloudestwhispertheyaherely。
“Didshegofromyouay?”askedTirian。
“Ididn'tseeo，”saidEustace。“Butshecouldhavegomyknowing。Shebeasquietasacat;you'veseenforyourself。”
Atthatmomentafaroffdrumbeatwasheard。Jewelmovedhisearsforward。“Dwarfs，”hesaid。
“AndtreacherousDwarfs，enemies，aslikelyasnot，”mutteredTirian。
“Andhereethingonhoofs，muearer，”saidJewel。
&wohumansandtheUnistooddeadstill。Therewerenowsomahingstoworryaboutthattheydidn'tknowwhattodo。Thenoiseofhoofscamesteadilyheothem，avoicewhispered:“Hallo!Areyouallthere?”
ThawasJill's。
&hedevilhaveyoubeento?”saidEustaafuriouswhisper，forhehadbeeened。
“Iable，”gaspedJill，butitwasthesaspyougivewhenylingwithsuppressedlaughter。
“Oh，”growledEustace，“youthinkitfunny，doyou?WellallIsayis—”
&Jewel，Sire?”askedJill。
“Yes。Hereheis。Whatisthatbeastwithyou?”
“That'shim，”saidJill。“Butlet'sbeoffhomebeforeanyone。”Andagaitleexplosionsoflaughter。
&hersobeyedatoheyhadalreadylingeredlongenoughinthatdangerouspladtheDwarfdrumsseemedtohaveealittlewasoheyhadbeenwalkingSouthwardforseveralmiEustacesaid:“Gothim?Whatdoyoumean?”
“ThefalseAslan，”saidJill。
“What?”saidTirian。“Wherehaveyoubeen?Whathaveyoudone?”
“Well，Sire，”saidJill。“AssoonasIsawthatyou'dgotthesentryoutofthewayIthoughthadn'tIbetterhavealookiableareallyisthere?SoIcrawledalong。Itwasaseasyasanythingtodrawthebolt。Ofcourseititchblasideandsmelledlikeaable。ThenIstruckalightand—wouldyoubelieveit?—therewasnothingatalltherebutthisolddohabundleoflioohisbaykoldhimhe'dhavetoe。Asamatteroffa'thavethreatehthekall。Hewasveryfedupwiththestableaoe—weren'tyou，Puzzledear?”
&!”saidEustace。“WellI'm—jiggered。Iwasjollyangrywithyouamomentago，andIstillthinkitwasmeanofyoutosneakoffwithouttherestofus:butImustadmit—well，Imeantosay—erfectlygeousthingtodo。Ifshewasaboyshe'dhavetobeknighted，wouldn'tshe，Sire?”
“Ifshewasaboy，”saidTirian，“she'dbewhippedfordisobeyingorders。”Andinthedarknoonecouldseewhetherhesaidthiswithafrownorasmile。etherewasasmetal。
“Whatareyoudoing，Sire?”askedJe>
“DrawingmyswordtosmiteofftheheadoftheaccursedAss，”saidTirianinaterriblevoidclear，girl。”
“Ohdon't，pleasedon't，”saidJill。“Really，youmustn't。Itwasn'thisfault。Ite。Hedidn'tker。Andhe'sverysorry。Andhe'sanikey。Hisname'sPuzzle。AndI'vegotmyarmsroundhisneck。”
“Jill，”saidTirian，“youarethebravestandmostwoodwiseofallmysubjects，butalsothemostmalaperta。Well:lettheAsslive。Whathaveyoutosayforyourself，Ass?”
“Me，Sire?”cametheDonkey'svoisureI'mverysorryifI'ved。TheApesaidAslaodressuplikethat。AndIthoughthe'dknow。I'mnotcleverlikehim。IonlydidwhatIwastold。Itwasn'tanyfunformelivinginthatstable。Idon'tevenknowwhat'sbeengoingonoutside。Heexiwoatnight。Somedaystheyfivemeaoo。”
“Sire，”saidJewel。“ThoseDwarfsareingnearerandnearer。Dowewahem?”
Tirianthoughtforamomentandthensuddelaughoutloud。ThehistimeiheLion，”hesaid，“Iamgroitted!Meetthem?lywewillmeetthem。WewillmeetanyohisAsstoshowthem。Letthemseethethingtheyhavefearedao。WethetruthoftheApe'svileplot。Hissecret'sout。Thetide'sturomorrowweshallhangthatApeotreeinNarnia。Nomorewhisperingandskulkinganddisguises。WherearethesehoDwarfs?Wehavegoodhem。”
Whenyouhavebeenwhisperingforhoursthemeresoundofaalkingoutloudhasawoirrihewhantalkingandlaughing:eveeduphisheadandgaveagrandHaw-hee-haw-hee-hee;athingtheApehadn'tallowedhimtodofordays。Theoffiion。Itgrewsteadilylouderandsoontheycouldseethtaswell。Theycameoutohhroads（weshouldhardlycallthemroadsatallinEngland）whithroughLae。Andthere，margsturdilyalohirtyDwarfs，allwiththeirlittlespadesandmattocksovertheirshoulders。Twoarmedehenandtwhtuptherear。
“Stay!”thuiriaeppedoutontheroad。“Stay，soldiers。WhitherdoyouleadtheseNarnianDwarfsandbywhoseorders?”