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?”