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第14部分

prince caspian_c·s·刘易斯-第14部分

小说: prince caspian_c·s·刘易斯 字数: 每页4000字

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〃i never thought of that;〃 said peter。

〃and anyway;〃 continued trumpkin; 〃even if this is not the rush; its  flowing roughly north and so it must fall into the great river anyway。 i think i passed  something that might have been it; on my way down。 so if we go downstream; to our right;  well hit the great river。 perhaps not so high as wed hoped; but at least well be no  worse off than if youd e my way。鈥

〃trumpkin; youre a brick;〃 said peter。 〃e on; then。 down this side of  the gorge。鈥

〃look! look! look!〃 cried lucy。

〃where? what?〃 said everyone。

〃the lion;〃 said lucy。 〃aslan himself。 didnt you see?〃 her face had  changed pletely and her eyes shone。

〃do you really mean …?〃 began peter。

〃where did you think you saw him?〃 asked susan。

〃dont talk like a grown…up;〃 said lucy; stamping her foot。 〃i didnt think  i saw him。 i saw him。鈥

〃where; lu?〃 asked peter。

〃right up there between those mountain ashes。 no; this side of the gorge。  and up; not down。 just the opposite of the way you want to go。 and he wanted us to go  where he was … up there。鈥

〃how do you know that was what he wanted?〃 asked edmund。

〃he … i … i just know;〃 said lucy; 〃by his face。鈥

the others all looked at each other in puzzled silence。

〃her majesty may well have seen a lion;〃 put in trumpkin。 〃there are lions  in these woods; ive been told。 but it neednt have been a friendly and talking lion  any more than the bear was a friendly and talking bear。鈥

〃oh; dont be so stupid;〃 said lucy。 〃do you think i dont know aslan when  i see him?鈥

〃hed be a pretty elderly lion by now;〃 said trumpkin; 〃if hes one you  knew when you were here before! and if it could be the same one; whats to prevent him  having gone wild and witless like so many others?鈥

lucy turned crimson and i think she would have flown at trumpkin; if peter  had not laid his hand on her arm。 〃the d。l。f。 doesnt understand。 how could he? you must  just take it; trumpkin; that we do really know about aslan; a little bit about him; i  mean。 and you mustnt talk about him like that again。 it isnt lucky for one thing: and  its all nonsense for another。 the only question is whether aslan was really there。鈥

〃but i know he was;〃 said lucy; her eyes filling with tears。

〃yes; lu; but we dont; you see;〃 said peter。

〃theres nothing for it but a vote;〃 said edmund。

〃all right;〃 replied peter。 〃youre the eldest; d。l。f。 what do you vote  for? up or down?鈥

〃down;〃 said the dwarf。 〃i know nothing about aslan。 but i do know that if  we turn left and follow the gorge up; it might lead us all day before we found a place  where we could cross it。 whereas if we turn right and go down; were bound to reach the  great river in about a couple of hours。 and if there are any real lions about; we want to  go away from them; not towards them。鈥

〃what do you say; susan?鈥

〃dont be angry; lu;〃 said susan; 〃but i do think we should go down。 im  dead tired。 do lets get out of this wretched wood into the open as quick as we can。 and  none of us except you saw anything。鈥

〃edmund?〃 said peter。

〃well; theres just this;〃 said edmund; speaking quickly and turning a  little red。 〃when we first discovered narnia a year ago … or a thousand years ago; whichever  it is … it was lucy who discovered it first and none of us would believe her。 i was the  worst of the lot; i know。 yet she was right after all。 wouldnt it be fair to believe her  this time? i vote for going up。鈥

〃oh; ed!〃 said lucy and seized his hand。

〃and now its your turn; peter;〃 said susan; 〃and i do hope …鈥

〃oh; shut up; shut up and let a chap think;〃 interrupted peter。 〃id much  rather not have to vote。 鈥

〃youre the high king;〃 said trumpkin sternly。

〃down;〃 said peter after a long pause。 〃i know lucy may be right after all;  but i cant help it。 we must do one or the other。鈥

so they set off to their right along the edge; downstream。 and lucy came  last of the party; crying bitterly。





CHAPTER TEN

?灏弜iaoshuo璇磘xt澶╁爞
the return of the lion  to keep along the edge of the gorge was not so easy as it had looked。  before they had gone many yards they were confronted with young fir woods growing on the  very edge; and after they had tried to go through these; stooping and pushing for  about ten minutes; they realized that; in there; it would take them an hour to do half a mile。  so they came back and out again and decided to go round the fir wood。 this took them  much farther to their right than they wanted to go; far out of sight of the cliffs and out  of sound of the river; till they began to be afraid they had lost it altogether。 nobody  knew the time; but it was getting to the hottest part of the day。

when they were able at last to go back to the edge of the gorge (nearly a  mile below the point from which they had started) they found the cliffs on their side of  it a good deal lower and more broken。 soon they found a way down into the gorge and  continued the journey at the rivers edge。 but first they had a rest and a long drink。 no  one was talking any more about breakfast; or even dinner; with caspian。

they may have been wise to stick to the rush instead of going along the  top。 it kept them sure of their direction: and ever since the fir wood they had all been  afraid of being forced too far out of their course and losing themselves in the wood。 it  was an old and pathless forest; and you could not keep anything like a straight course in  it。 patches of hopeless brambles; fallen trees; boggy places and dense undergrowth would  be always getting in your way。 but the gorge of the rush was not at all a nice place  for travelling either。 i mean; it was not a nice place for people in a hurry。 for an  afternoons ramble ending in a picnic tea it would have been delightful。 it had everything you  could want on an occasion of that sort … rumbling waterfalls; silver cascades; deep;  amber…coloured pools; mossy rocks; and deep moss on the banks in which you could sink over  your ankles; every kind of fern; jewel…like dragon flies; sometimes a hawk  overhead and once (peter and trumpkin。 both thought) an eagle。 but of course what the  children and the dwarf wanted to see as soon as possible was the great river below them; and  beruna; and the way to aslans how。

as they went on; the rush began to fall more and more steeply。 their  journey became more and more of a climb and less and less of a walk … in places even a  dangerous climb over slippery rock with a nasty drop into dark chasms; and the river  roaring angrily at the bottom。

you may be sure they watched the cliffs on their left eagerly for any sign  of a break or any place where they could climb them; but those cliffs remained cruel。 it  was maddening; because everyone knew that if once they were out of the gorge on  that side; they would have only a smooth slope and a fairly short walk to caspians  headquarters。

the boys and the dwarf were now in favour of lighting a fire and cooking  their bear…meat。 susan didnt want this; she only wanted; as she said; 〃to get on and  finish it and get out of these beastly woods〃。 lucy was far too tired and miserable to have  any opinion about anything。 but as there was no dry wood to be had; it mattered very  little what anyone thought。 the boys began to wonder if raw meat was really as nasty as  they had always been told。 trumpkin assured them it was。

of course; if the children had attempted a journey like this a few days ago  in england; they would have been knocked up。 i think i have explained before how narnia  was altering them。 even lucy was by now; so to speak; only one…third of a  little girl going to boarding school for the first time; and two…thirds of queen lucy of narnia。

〃at last!〃 said susan。

〃oh; hurray!〃 said peter。

the river gorge had just made a bend and the whole view spread out beneath  them。 they could see open country stretching before them to the horizon and; between  it and them; the broad silver ribbon of the great river。 they could see the specially  broad and shallow place which had once been the fords of beruna but was now spanned by a  long; many…arched bridge。 there was a little town at the far end of it。

〃by jove;〃 said edmund。 〃we fought the battle of beruna just where that  town is!鈥

this cheered the boys more than anything。 you cant help feeling stronger  when you look at a place where you won a glorious victory not to mention a kingdom;  hundreds of years ago。 peter and edmund were soon so busy talking about the battle that they  forgot their sore feet and the heavy drag of their mail shirts on their shoulders。 the  dwarf was interested too。

they were all getting on at a quicker pace now。 the going became easier。  though there were still sheer cliffs on their left; the ground was being lower on  their right。 soon it was no longer a gorge at all; only a valley。 there were no more waterfalls  and presently they were in fairly thick woods again。

then … all at once … whizz; and a sound rather like the stroke of a  woodpecker。 the children were still wondering where (ages ago) they had heard a sound just  like that and why they disliked it so; when trumpkin shouted; 〃down; at the same moment  forcing lucy 

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