CHAPTERFOURTEERIUMPHOFTHEWITCH
ASsooeAslansaid,“Wemustmovefromthisplace,itwillbewaherpurposes。tonightattheFordsofBeruna。”
Ofcourseeveryonewasdyingtoaskhimhowhehadarrahewitch;buthisfacewassternandeveryone'searswerestillringingwiththesoundofhisroarandsonobodydared。
Afterameal,whichwastakenintheopenairoop(forthesunhadgbynrass),theywerebusyforawhiletakingthepaviliondoagsup。Beforetwoo'clocktheywereonthemardsetoffierlydire,walkingataneasypacefortheyhadno。
DuripartofthejourneyAslaerhisplanof。“Assoonasshehasfinishedherbusiheseparts,”hesaid,“theWitdhercrewwillalmostlyfallbacktoherHouseandpreparefe。Youmayormayocutheroffaherfrit。”Hetheooutliwoplansofbattle—theeopleinthewoodandanotherforassaultile。Aimeheeterhowtoducttheoperations,sayingthingslike,“Youmustputyourtaursinsudsuchaplaustpostscoutstoseethatshedoesn'tdoso-and-so,”tillatlastPetersaid,“Butyouwillbethereyourself,Aslan。”
“Igiveyou,”aheLioinuedgivierhisinstrus。
ForthelastpartofthejourwasSusanandLuostofhim。Hedidnottalkverymudseemedtothemtobesad。
Itwasstillafterheytoaplacewheretherivervalleyhadwideandtheriverwasbroadandshallow。ThiswastheFordsofBerunaandAslaohaltonthissideofthewater。ButPetersaid,“Wouldn'titbebettertothefarside—forfearsheshhtattaything?”
Aslaohavebeenthinkingaboutsomethingelse,rousedhimselfwithashakeofhismagmaneandsaid,“Eh?What'sthat?”Petersaiditallain。
“No,”saidAslaninadullvoice,asifitdidn'tmatter。“makeanattaight。”Andthenhesigheddeeply。Butpresentlyheadded,“Allthesameitwaswellthoughtof。Thatishowashttothink。Butitdoesn'treallymatter。”Sotheyproceededtopitchtheircamp。
Aslan'smoodaffectedeveryoeveerwasfeelingunfortabletooattheideaoffightileonhisowAslanmightherehadeasagreatsho。Supperthateveningwasaquietmeal。Everyohowdifferentithadbeenlastm。Itwasasifthegoodtimes,havingjustbegun,werealreadydrawingtotheirend。
ThisfeeliedSusansomuchthatshe'tgettosleepwheobed。AndaftershehadlaingsheepandturningoverandoversheheardLucygivealongsighandturbesideherinthedarkness。
“'tyougettosleepeither?”saidSusan。
“No,”saidLucy。“Ithoughtyou。Isay,Susan!”
“>
“I'veamostHorriblefeeling—asifsomethingwerehangingoverus。”
“Haveyou?Because,asamatteroffact,sohaveI。”
&hingaboutAslan,”saidLucy。“Eithersomedreadfulthingisgoingtohappentohim,orsomethihathe'sgoingtodo。”
“There'sbeehingwrongwithhimallafternoon,”saidSusan。“Lucy!Whatwasthathesaidabouthusatthebattle?Youdon'tthinkhecouldbestealingawayandleavingustonight,doyou?”
“Whereishenow?”saidLucy。“Ishehereinthepavilion?”
“Idon'tthinkso。”
“Susa'sgooutsideandhavealookrouseehim。”
“Allright。Let's,”saidSusajustaswellbedoingthataslyingawakehere。”
&lythetwropedtheirwayamohersleepersaofthetent。ThemoonlightwasbrightahingwasquitestillexceptfortheherivergoverthestohenSusansuddenlycaughtLuandsaid,“Look!”Onthefarsideofthegground,justwherethetreesbegaheLionsloayfromthemintothewood。Withoutawordtheybothfollowedhim。
&hemupthesteepslopeoutoftherivervalleyalytht—apparentlybytheverysameroutewhichtheyhadusedthatafternoonintheHilloftheStoable。Onahem,intodarkshadowsandoutintopalemooheirfeetwetwiththeheavydew。HelookedsomehowdifferentfromtheAslaailandhisheadhunglowandhewalkedslowlyasifhewerevery,verytired。Theheyweregawideopeherewherenoshadowsforthemtohideioppedandlookedround。Itwasntorunawaysothey。Whentheywerecloserhesaid,“Oh,,,whyareyoufollowingme?”