CHAPTERTEHESOUTHERNMARCH
&heyhadriddenforseveralhoursdownthevalley,itwideandtheycouldseewhatwasaheadofthem。Theriverwhichtheyhadbeenfollowingherejoinedabroaderriver,widea,whitheirlefttht,towardtheeast。Beyondthisnewriveradelightfultryrosegentlyinlowhills,ridgebeye,totheaihttherewereroaeortwoofthemwithsnowgtotheledges。Totheleft,pine-cladslarres,achedawayasfarastheeyecouldreach。HeakeoutMhtaheadthemesanktoawoodedsaddlewhiustbethepassfromArdintoNarnia。
“Broo-hoo-horeenNorth!”neighedBree:ahelowerhillslookedgreenerahananythingthatAravisandShasta,withtheirsouthern-bredeyes,hadeverimagisroseastheyclattereddower's-meetofthetworivers。
&ern-flowingriver,fromthehighermountaierherange,wasfartooswiftandtoobrokenidsforthemtothinkofswimmingit;butaftersomegabout,upanddowheyfoundaplaceshallowenoughtowade。Theroaraer,thegreatswirlagainstthehorses'fetlocks,thecairaingdragon-flies,filledShastawithastra。
“Friends,weareinArd!”saidBreeproudlyashesplashedandedhiswayoutohernbank。“Ithinkthatriverwe'vejustcrossediscalledthe>
“Ihopewe'reintime,”murmuredHwin。
&heybegangoingup,slowlyandzigzaggingagooddeal,forthehillsweresteep。Itark-liketrywithnoroadsorhousesinsight。Scatteredtrees,hioughtobeaforest,wereeverywhere。Shasta,whohadlivedallhislifeinanalmrassland,hadneverseensomanyorsomanykinds。Ifyouhadbeenthereyouwouldprobablyhaveknown(hedidn't)thathewasseeingoaks,beeches,silverbirches,rowans,anuts。Rabbitsscurriedawayiionastheyadvandpresentlytheysawawholeherdoffalloffamorees。
“Isn'titsimplyglorious!”saidAravis。
AtthefirstridgeShastaturhesaddleaherewasnosignofTashbaa,ubythenarrowgreencrackwhichtheyhadtravelleddowhehorizon。
“Hullo!”hesaidsuddenly。“What'sthat!”
“What'swhat?”saidBree,turninground。HwinandAravisdidthesame。
“That,”saidShasta,pointing。“Itlookslikesmoke。Isitafire?”
“Sand-storm,Ishouldsay,”saidBree。
“Notmudtoraiseit,”saidAravis。
“Oh!”exclaimedHwin。“Look!Therearethingsflashinginit。Look!They'rehelmets—andarmor。Andit'smoving:movingthis>
“ByTash!”saidAravis。“It'sthearmy。It'sRabadash。”
“Ohcourseitis,”saidHwin。“JustwhatIwasafraidof。Quick!WemustgettoA。”Andwithoutanotherwordshewhiskedroundandbegangallopingossedhisheadanddidthesame。
“eon,Bree,eon,”yelledAravisoverhershoulder。
TheracewasverygruellingfortheHorses。Astheytoppedeachridgetheyfoundanothervalleyandanebeyondit;andthoughtheykheyweregoinginmoreorlesstherightdireoonekneastoAnvard。FromthetopofthesedridgeShastalookedba。Insteadofadust-cloudwelloutihenowsawablaass,ratherlikeants,onthefarbankoftheWindingArrow。Theyweredoubtlesslookingforaford。
“They'reontheriver!”heyelledwildly。
“Quick!Quick!”shoutedAravis。“Wemightaswellallifwedon'treavardintime。Gallallop。Rememberyou'reawar-horse。”
ItwasallShastacoulddotopreventhimselffromshoutingoutsimilarinstrus;buthethought,“Thepoorchap'sdoingallhealready,”aongue。AainlybothH,ifnotalltheycould,alltheythoughttheycould;whiotquitethesamething。BreehadcaughtupwithHwihunderedsidebysideovertheturf。Itdidn'tlookasifHwincouldpossiblykeepitupmuger。
Atthatmomenteveryone'sfeelielyalteredbyasouwasheyhadbeeohear—thenoiseofhoofsandjinglingarmor,mixed,perhaps,withele-cries。YetShastakowasthesamesnarlingroarhehadheardthatmoonlitheyfirstmetAravisandHwitoo。Hiseyesgleamedredandhisearslayflatbahisskull。AndBreenowdiscoveredthathehadnotreallybeengoingasfast——ashecould。Shastafeltthegeatoheywerereallygoingallout。IheywerewellaheadofHwin。
“It'snhtShasta。“Ididthinkwe'dbesafefromlionshere!”
Helookedoverhisshoulder。Everythingwasonlytetawsbodylowtothegroureakingacrossthelawntoatreewhenastrangedoghasgotintothegardehem。Anditwasnearereverysedhalfsed。
Helainandsawsomethingwhichhedidnottakeihinkabout。Theirwaywasbarredbyasmoothgreenwallabouttehigh。Inthemiddleofthatwallthereen。Inthemiddleofthegatewaystoodatallmaohisbarefeet,inarobecoloredlikeautumnleaves,leaninghtstaff。Hisbeardfellalmosttohisknees。