CHAPTERTHREETHEDWARF
&ofsleepingoutofdoorsisthatyousodreadfullyearly。Andwhenyouwakeyouhavetogetupbecausethegroundissohardthatyouareunfortable。Aersworseifthereisnothingbutapplesforbreakfastandyouhavehadnothingbutapplesfhtbefore。WhenLucyhadsaid—trulyenough—thatitwasagl,theredidobeanythiobesaid。Edmundsaidwhateveryonewasfeeling,“We'vesimplygottogetoffthisisland。”
&heyhaddrunkfromthelashedtheirfacestheyallwentdowreamagaintotheshoreaheelwhichdividedthemfromthemainland。
“We'llhavetoswim,”saidEdmund。
“ItwouldbeallrightforSu,”saidPeter(Susanhadwonprizesfatschool)。“ButIdon'tknowabouttherestofus。”By“therestofus”hereallymeantEdmundwho'tyetdotwolengthsattheschoolbaths,andLucy,whocouldhardlys>
“Anyway,”saidSusan,“theremaybets。Fathersaysit'sheinapla'tknow。”
“But,Peter,”saidLucy,“lookhere。IknowIfornutsathome—inEngla'tweallswimlongago—ifitwaslongago—ereKingsandQueensinNarnia?Wecouldridethentoo,anddoallsortsofthings。Don'tyouthink—”
“Ah,butweweresrown-upthen,”saidPeter。
“Wereignedforyearsandyearsahiwejustbackatainnow?”
“Oh!”saidEdmundinavoicewhichmadeeveryoalkingaohim。
“I'vejustseenitall,”hesaid。
&?”askedPeter。
“Why,thewholething,”saidEdmund。“Youknoerepuzzlingaboutlastnight,thatitwasonlyayearagosiNarhinglooksasifnoonehadlivedinCairParavelforhundredsofyears?Well,don'tyousee?Youknowthat,hweseemedtohavelivedinNarbackthroughthewardrobeitseemedtohavetakeall?”
“Goon,”saidSusan。“IthinkI'mbeginniand。”
“Andthatmeans,”uedEdmund,“that,onceyou'reoutofNarnia,youhavenoideahowNarniantimeisgoing。Whyshouldn'thundredsoinNarniawhileonlyoneyearhaspassedforusinEngland?”
“ByJove,Ed,”saidPeter。“Ibelieveyou'vegotit。IreallywashundredsothatwelivedinCairParavel。AndnowwebaiajustasifwewereCrusaderslo-SaxonsorAonsorsomeoneingbaland?”
“Howexcitedthey'llbetoseeus—”beganLucy,butatthesamemomenteveryoneelsesaid,“Hush!”or“Look!”Forhingening。
Thereointonthemainlandalittletht,andtheyallfeltsurethatjustbeyondthatpoihoftheriver。Andnow,roundthatpoiosightaboat。Whenithadclearedthepoint,itturnedandbeganingalongthe。Thereweretwopeopleonboard,,theiernandholdingabuwitdmovedasifitwerealive。Boththesepeopleseemedtobesoldiers。Theyhadsteeltheirheadsandlightshirtsof-mail。Theirfaceswerebeardedandhard。Thedrewbathebeatotheithoutmovingafinger。
“This'lldo,”saidthesoldieriheboathadeaboutoppositetothem。
“Whatabouttyiohisfeet,Corporal?”saidtheonhisoars。
“Garher。“Wedon't,abroughtone。He'lldrhwithoutastone,aslongaswe'vetiedthecht。”WiththesewordsheroseandliftedhisbuernowsawthatitwasreallyaliveandwasinfactaDwarf,boundhandandfoashardasheextmomewangjustbesidehisear,andallatohesoldierthrepingtheDwarfiomoftheboat,andfelloverier。HeflouothefarbaerkSusan'sarrowhadstruhishelmet。Heturnedandsawthatshealebutwasalreadyfittingasedarrowt。Butitwasneverused。Assoonashesawhispanionfall,theothersoldier,withaloudcry,jumpedoutoftheboatonthefarside,andhealshtheasapparentlyjustih)aothewoodsofthemainland。
“Quick!Beforeshedrifts!”shoutedPeter。HeandSusan,fullydressedastheywere,plungedihetotheirshoulderstheirhahesideoftheboat。IheyhadhauledhertothebankaheDwarfout,andEdmundwasbusilyeinghisbondswiththepoife。(Peter'sswordwouldhavebeeaswordisveryihissortofworkbecauseyou'tholditaha。)WhenatlasttheDwarfwasfree,hesatup,rubbedhisarmsandlegs,andexclaimed:“Well,whatevertheysay,youdon'tfeellikeghosts。”
&Dwarfshewasverystoddeep-chested。Hewouldhavebeenaboutthreefeethighifhehadbeenstandingup,andanimmensebeardandwhiskersofcoarseredhairleftlittleofhisfacetobeseeabeak-likewinklingblackeyes。
“Aisornot,you'vesavedmylifeandI'mextremelyobligedtoyou。”
“Butwhyshouldwebeghosts?”askedLucy。
“I'vebeentoldallmylife,”saidtheDwarf,“thatthesewoodsalongtheshorewereasfullofghostsastheywereoftrees。That'swhatthestoryis。Andthat'swhy,wheogetridofaheyusuallybringhimdowheyweredoingwithme)andsaythey'llleavehimtotheghosts。ButIalwayswoheydidn'treallydrowtheirthroats。Iebelievedis。Butthosetwocowardsyou'vejustshotbelievedallright。TheyweremhteakiomydeaththanIwasofgoing!”
“Oh,”saidSusan。“Sothat'swhytheybothrana>
&'sthat?”saidtheD>