&dayallfourofthem,twohorsesandtwohumans,uedtheirjether。Shastathoughtithadbeeerwhenheaheirown。FornowitwasBreeandAraviswhodidnearlyallthetalking。BreehadlivedalongtimeinenandhadalwaysbeenamongTarkaansandTarkaans'horses,andsoofcoursehekmanyofthesamepeopleaAraviskneaysbesayingthiifyouwereatthefightofZulindrehyouwouldhaveseenmyash,”andBreewouldanswer,“Oh,yes,Alimash,hewasonlyofthechariots,youknow。Idon'tquiteholdwithchariotsorthekindofhorseswhodrawchariots。That'snotrealcavalry。Butheisaworthynobleman。Hefilledmyhsugarafterthetakih。”OrelseBreewouldsay,“IwasdownatthelakeofMezreelthatsummer,”andAraviswouldsay,“Oh,Mezreel!Ihadafriendthere,Lasaraleeadelightfulplaceitis。Thosegardens,andtheValleyoftheThousandPerfumes!”Breewasryiaoutofthings,thoughShastasometimeshoughthelewhoknowalotofthesamethingshardlyhelptalkingaboutthem,andifyou'rethereyouhardlyhelpfeelingthatyou'reoutofit。
Hwihershybefreatwar-horselikeBreeale。AndAravisoShastaatallifshecouldhelpit。
Sooheyhadmoreimportantthingstothinkof。Theyweregettiashbaan。Thereweremore,andlarger,villages,aheroads。Theynowdidnearlyalltheirtravellingbynightandhidasbesttheyctheday。Aheyarguedawhattheyweretodowheashbaan。Everyoingoffthisdifficulty,butnowitcouldbeputoffnthesedissAravisbecamealittle,averylittle,lessuoShasta;oneusuallygetsohpeoplewhenoneismakingplansthaalkingaboutnothinginparticular。
&hefirstthingnowtodowastofixaplacewheretheyromisetomeetonthefarsideofTashbaanevenif,byanyillluck,theygotseparatedinpassiy。HesaidthebestplacewouldbetheTombsoftheAKingseofthedesert。“Thionebeehives,”hesaid,“you'tpossiblymissthem。Aisthatheeneswillgohembecausetheythinktheplatedbyghoulsandareafraidofit。”Aravisaskedifitwasn'treallyhauntedbyghouls。ButBreesaidhewasafreeNarnianhorseanddidn'tbelieveintheseehenShastasaidhewasn'taeheranddidn'tcareastrawaboutthesehouls。Thiswasn'tquitetrue。ButitratherimpressedAravis(thoughatthemomentitaoo)andofcourseshesaidshedidn'tmindanynumberofghoulseither。SoitwassettledthattheTombsshouldbetheirassemblyplatheothersideofTashbaan,andeveryoheyweregettiillHwinhumblypoihattherealproblemwasheyshouldgowhethroughTashbaanbuthowtheywerethit。
“We'llsettlethattomorrow,Ma'am,”saidBree。“Timeforalittlesleepnow。”
Butitwasosettle。AravisestionwasthattheyshouldswimacrosstheriverbelowthegthenightandnotgointoTashbaanatall。ButBreehadtwainstthis。Otheriver-mouthwasverywideanditwouldbefartoolongaswimforHwintodo,especiallywitharideronherback。(Hethoughtitwouldbetoolongforhimselftoo,buthesaidmuchlessaboutthat)。Theotherwasthatitwouldbefullofshippingandofyohedeckofashipohorsesswimmingpastwouldbealmosttobeinquisitive。
ShastathoughttheyshouldgouptheriveraboveTashbaanandcrossiter。ButBreeexplaihereweregardensandpleasurehousesonbothbanksoftheriverformilesandthattherewouldbeTarkaansandTarkheenaslivinginthemandridingabouttheroadsandhaviiesontheriver。InfactitwouldbethemostlikelyplathewsomeonewhnizeAravisorevenhimself。
“We'llhavetohaveadisguise,”saidShasta。
Hwinsaiditlookedtoherasifthesafestthingwasthtthroughthecityitselffromgatetogatebeewaslesslikelytobehecrowd。Butsheapprovedoftheideaofdisguiseaswell。Shesaid,“BoththehumanwillhavetodressinragsandlooklikepeasantsorslavesAndallAravis'sarmorandoursaddlesandthingsmustbemadeionourbadthemustpretendtodriveusahinkwe'reonpack-horses。”
“MydearHwin!”saidAravisrathersfully。“AsanyoneistakeBreefbutawar-horshuisedhim!”
“Ishouldthinknot,indeed,”saidBree,snainghisearsgoeversolittleback。
“Iknowit'snoodplan,”saidHwin。“ButIthinkit'souronlydwehaven'tbeengresandwe'renotlookingquiteourselves(atleast,I'msureI'mnot)。Idothiwellplasteredwithmudandgoalongwithourheadsdownasifwe'retiredandlazy—anddon'tliftourhooveshardlyatall—wemightidourtailsoughttobecutshorter:ly,youknow,butallragged。”
“MydearMadam,”saidBree。“HaveyoupicturedtoyourselfhreeableitwouldbetoarriveinNarniainthat?”
“Well,”saidHwinhumbly(shewasaverysensiblemare),“themainthingistogetthere。”
Thoughnobodymuchlikedit,itwasHwin'splanwhichhadtobeadoptediwasatroublesomeoneaainamountofwhatShastacalledstealing,andBreecalled“raiding”。Onefarmlostafewsacksthateveningaacoilofropethesometatteredoldboy'sclothesforAravistowearhadthtandpaidforinavillage。Shastareturhemintriumphjustaseveningwas。Theforhimamohefooteofwoodedhillswhichlayrightacrosstheirpath。Everyonewasfeeliedbecausethiswasthelasthill;wheheridgeatthetoptheywouldbelookingdownonTashbaan。“Idoeresafelypastit,”mutteredShastatoHwin。“OhIdo,Ido,”saidHwily。
Thatheirwaythroughthewoodsuptebyawood-cutter'stradwhentheycameoutofthetheycouldseethousandsoflightsinthevalleydowhem。Shastahadhadnonotionofwhatagreatcitywouldbelikeanditfrighteheyhadtheirsupperandthegotsomesleep。Butthehorseswokethemveryearlyinthem。
&arswerestilloutandthegrasswasterriblydwet,butdaybreakwasjustbeginning,farthtacrossthesea。Aravisayintothewoodandcamebaggeddgherrealonesihese,andherarmorandshieldandsdthetwosaddlesahehorses'finefurnishiothesacks。BreeandHwihemselvesasdirtyandbedraggledastheyditremaioshorteails。AstheonlytthiswasAravis'sscimitar,ohepackshadtobeundoneagaiitout。Itwasalongishjobahehorses。
“Myword!”saidBree,“ifIwasn'taTalkialovelykithefaceIcouldgiveyou!Ithoughtytootpullitout。That'swhatitfeelslike。”
Butinspiteofsemi-darknessandgersallwasdohebigpadonthehorses,theropehalters(whichtheyearinginsteadofbridlesahe'shands,andthejan。
“Remember,”saidBree。“KeeptogetherifwepossiblyeetattheTombsoftheAKings,aherefirstmustwaitfortheothers。”
“Andremember,”saidShasta。“Don'tyetyourselvesandstarttalking,pens。”