CHAPTEREIGHTTHEFIGHTATTHELAMP-POST
“HO!Her-ipress,areyou?We'llseeaboutthat,”saidavoianothervoicesaid,“Threepressofey'Atdquiteanumberjoinedin。Aflushofeich'sfadshebhtly。Butthecheersdiedawayinthteratheyhadonlybeenmakingfunecameoverherexpressionandshegedthekhah,shedidathingthatwasdreadfultosee。Lightly,easily,asifitwerethemostintheworld,shestretchedupherrightarmandwrenchedoffohecross-barsofthelamp-post。Ifshehadlostsomemagicalpowersinourworld,shehadnotlth;shecouldbreakanironbarasifitwereastickar。Shetossedherneintheair,caughtitagain,bra,ahehorsefor>
“Now'smyce,”thoughtDigory。Hedartedbetweenthehorseandtherailingsandbegangoingforward。IfoewouldstaystillforamomecatchtheWitch'sheel。Asherushed,heheardasigdathud。TheWitchhadbroughtthebardownonthean'shelmet:themanfelllikeanine-pin。
“Quick,Digory。Thismustbestopped,”saidavoicebesidehim。Itolly,whohadrusheddowshewasallowedoutofbed。
“Youareabrick,”saidDigory。“Holdo。You'dhavetomahering。Yellow,remember。Anddon'tputitontillIshout。”
Therewasaseddanotherpolicrumpledup。Theregryroarfromthecrowd:“Pullherdoaving-stones。ilitary。”Butmostofthemweregettingasfarawayastheycould。TheCabby,however,obviouslythebravestaswellasthekiperso,ihehingthiswayandthattoavoidthebar,butstilltryingtocatchStrawberry'shead。
Thecrowdbooedandbellowedagailedory'shead。ThehevoiceoftheWitch,clearlikeagreatbell,andsoundingasif,foronce,shepy。
“Scum!YoushallpaydearlyforthiswhenIhavequeredyourworld。oneofyourcitywillbeleft。Iwillmakeitas,asFelinda,asSorlois,asBramandin。”
Digoryaslastcaughtherankle。Shekickedbackwithherheelandhithimih。Inhispaihold。Hislipwasdhismouthfullofblood。Fromsomewhereveryethevoidrewinasscream。“Madam—mydearyounglady—forheaven'ssake—poseyourself。”Digorymadeasedgrabatherheel,andwasagainshakenoff。Moremenwereknobytheirohirdgrab:caughttheheel:heldontikegrimdeath,shoutingtoPolly“Go!”thenOh,thaheangry,frightenedfaceshadvaheangry,frightenedvoicesweresilenced。Allexdrew's。ClosebesideDigoryinthedarkwaswailingon“Oh,oh,isthisdelirium?Isittheend?I'tbearit。It'snotfair。IobeaMagi。It'sallamisuanding。It'sallmygodmother'sfault;Imustprotestagainstthis。Ihtoo。AveryoldDorsetshirefamily。”
“BhtDigory。“Wedidn'twantthimalong。Myhat,iic。Areyouthere,Polly?”
“Yes,I'mhere。Don'tkeeponshoving。”
“I'mnot,”beganDigory,butbeforehecouldsayanythiheirheadscameoutintreehewood。AeppedoutofthepoolPollycriedout:“Ohlook!Wehttheoldhorsewithustoo。Aerley。Ahisisaprettykettleoffish!”
Assoochsawthatshewasohewoodsheturdowouchedthemahehorse。Youcouldseeshefeltdeadlysidrewwasshivering。ButStrawberry,thehorse,shookhishead,gaveacheerfulwhinofeelbetter。HebecamequietforthefirsttimesinceDigoryhadseenhim。Hisears,whichhadbeenlaidflatbahisskull,totheirproperposition,andthefirewentoutofhiseyes。
“Thatht,oldboy,”saidtheCabby,slappingStrawberry's'sbetter。Takeiteasy。”
Strawberrydidtheminthewverythirsty(andnowonder)hewalkedslowlyacrosstothepoolatohaveadrink。Digorywasstillholdich'sheelandPollywasholdingDigory'shaheCabby'shandswasonStrawberry;andUillveryshaky,hadjustgrabbedontheCabby'sotherhand。
“Quick,”saidPolly,withalookatDigreens!”
Sothehothisdrihewholepartyfoundthemselvessinkingirawberryneighed;Undrewwhimpered。Digorysaid,“Thatwasabitofluck。”
Thereause。ThenPollysaid,“Oughtn'twetobeherenow?”
“Wedoseemtobesomewhere,”saidDigory。“AtleastI'mstandihingsolid。”
“Why,soamI,nowthatIetothinkofit,”saidPolly。“Butwhy'sitsodark?Isay,doyouthiPool?”
&hisis,”saidDigory。“Onlywe'vegotbathemiddleofthenight。”
“Thisisnot,”cametheWitch'svoice。“Thisisayworld。ThisisNothing。”
Awasunohing。Therewerenostars。Itwassodarkthatthey'tseeoallanditmadeheryoukeptyoureyesshutoropeheirfeettherewasacool,flatsomethingwhichmighthavebeeh,aainlynotgrassorwood。Theairwasddryandtherewasnowind。
“Mydoomhase,”saidtheWitavoiceofhorribleess。
“Ohdon'tsaythat,”babbledUndrew。“Mydearyounglady,praydon'tsaysugs。It'tbeasbadasthat。Ah——mygoodman—youdon'thappentohaveaflaskaboutyou?AdropofspiritsisjustwhatIneed。”
“heheCabby'svoi,hardyvoice。“Keepcooleveryo'swhatIsay。Nobonesbroken,anyone?Good。Wellthere'ssomethihankfulfhtaway,ahananyoerfallingallthate'vefallendownsomediggings—asitmightbeforaionontheUnderground—someonewilleapresently,see!Andifwe'redead—whi'tdenyitmightbe—well,yougotto—rememberthatws‘appenatseaandachap'sgottodiesometime。Andthereain'tnothingtobeafraidofifachap'sledadetlife。Andifyouaskme,Ithihingwecoulddotopassthetimewouldbesinga'ymn。”