IINGONSTABLEHILL
Ftimetheyotspeaknoreveear。ThentheUnipedthegroundwithhishoof,andshookhismane,andspoke。
“Sire,”hesaid,“thereisnownoneedofsel。e'splanserthanwedreamedof。DoubtlesshehasbeenlorafficwithTheTisrodassoonashehadfoundtheliohimwordtomakereadyhisnavyforthetakingofCairParavelandallNarnia。NothingnowremainsforussevenbuttogobacktoStableHill,proclaimthetruth,aheadveAslansendsus。Andif,byagreatmarvel,wedefeatthosethirtyeneswhoaree,thentailewiththefargreaterhostofthemthatwillsoonmarCairParavel。”
Tiriaheturheandsaid:“istimefoheoyourownworld。Doubtlessyouhavedoyouweresenttodo。”
“B—butwe'vedohing,”saidJillwhowasshivering,notwithfearexactlybutbecauseeverythingwassohorrible。
“Nay,”saidtheKing,“youloosedmefrlidedbeforemelikeasnightintheuzzle:aace,killedyourman。Butyouaretooyoungtoshareinsuchabloodyehersmustmeettonightor,itmaybe,threedaysheyou—nay,Iandyou—toreturntoyourownplace。IshouldbeputtoshameifIletsugwarriorsfallinbattleonmyside。”
“No,no,no,”saidJill(verywhitewhenshebeganspeakingandthensuddenlyveryredaeagain。)“Wewon't,Idon'tcarewhatyousay。Wetosticktoyoupe>
&here'ssoworkedupaboutit,”saidEustacewhohadstudsinhispockets(fhowveryoddthatlookswhenyamailshirt)。“Because,yousee,wehaven'ta'sthegoodoftalkingabback!How?We'vegotnomagigit!”
Thiswasverygoodsethemoment,JillhatedEustacefit。Hewasfondofbeingdreadfullymatter-of-faotexcited。
&iriahetwerse(unlessAslansuddehemaway),heogoacrosstheSouthernmountainsintoArdwheretheymightpossiblybesafe。Buttheydidn'tknowtheirwayandtherewasosendwiththem。Also,asPogginsaid,oheeneshadNarniatheywouldlytakeArdiweekorso:TheTisrochadalwayswaohavetheseriesforhisowadJillbeggedsohardthatTiriansaidtheyewithhimaheirce—or,ashemuchmoresensiblycalledit,“theadveAslahem”。
TheKing'sfirstideawasthattheyshouldnotgobacktoStableHill—theyweresickoftheverybynowtillafterdark。ButtheDwarftoldthemthatiftheyarrivedtherebydaylighttheywouldprobablyfindtheplacedeserted,exceptperhapsforaeheBeastswerefarthtetheApe(aoldthemaboutthisnewangryAslan—orTashlaextheywerecalledtogetherforthesehorriblemidings。Andenesarenevergoodwoodsmen。PogginthoughtthatevenbydaylighttheycouldeasilygetroundtosomewherebehiablewithoutbeihiswouldbemuchhardertodowhehadeabegtheBeaststogetherandalltheey。AhemeetiheycouldleavePuzzleatthebackofthestable,pletelyoutofsight,tillthemomentatwhichtheyroducehim。Thiswasobviouslyagoodthing:fortheiroogivetheNarniansasuddensurprise。
Everyohewholepartysetoffonah-West—towardthehatedHill。TheEaglesometimesflewtoandfroabovethem,sometimeshesatperPuzzle'sbae—heKiineed—woulddreamonaUni。
ThistimeJillaogether。Theyhadbeenfeelingverybravewhentheywerebeggingtobeallowedtoewiththeothers,butnowtheydidn'tfeelbraveatall。
“Pole,”saidEustaawhisper。“ImayaswelltellyouI'vegotthewindup。”
“Ohyht,Scrubb,”saidJill。“Youfight。ButI—I'mjustshaking,ifyouwanttokh。”
“Ohshaking'snothing,”saidEustafeelingI'mgoingtobesick。”
“Don'ttalkaboutthat,foodness'sake,”saidJill。
&oninsileniwo。
“Pole,”saidEustatly。
“What?”saidshe。
“What'llhappekilledhere?”
“Wellwe'llbedead,Isuppose。”
“ButImean,whateninourownworld?Shallandfindourselvesbathattrain?Orshallwejustvanishandneverbeheardofanymore?OrshallwebedeadinEngland?”
“Gosh。Iofthat。”
“It'llberumforPeterahersiftheysawmewavingoutofthewindowahetrainesinwe'reobefound!Oriftheyfoundtwo—Imean,ifwe'redeadland。”
“Ugh!”saidJill。“Whatahorrididea。”
“Itwouldn'tbehorridforus,”saidEustace。“Weshouldn'tbethere。”