CHAPTERTWOONBOARDTHEDAWNTREADER
“AH,thereyouare,Lucy,”said。“Wewerejustwaitingforyou。Thisismy,theLordDrinian。”
Adark-hairedmadownononekneeandkissedherhaherspresentwereReepidEdmund。
“WhereisEustace?”askedLucy。
“Inbed,”saidEdmund,“andIdon'tthinkweythingforhim。Itonlymakeshimworseifyoutrytobeohim。”
“Meanwhile,”said,“we>
“ByJove,wedo,”saidEdmund。“Andfirst,abouttime。It'sayearagobyourtimesiyoujustbeforeyour。HowlonghasitbeeninNarnia?”
&hreeyears,”said。
“Allgoingwell?”askedEdmund。
“Youdon'tsupposeI'dhaveleftmykingdomandputtoseaunlessallwaswell,”aheKing。“It'tbebetter。There'sallelmarines,Dwarfs,Talkis,Fau。Aroublesomegiaiersuchagoodbeatinglastsummerthattheypayustributenow。AndIhadapersontoleaveasRegentwhileI'makin,theDwarf。Yourememberhim?”
&rumpkin,”saidLucy,“ofcourseIdo。You'thavemadeabetterchoice。”
“Loyalasabadger,Ma'am,andvaliantas—asaMouse,”saidDrinian。Hehadbeengoingtosay“asalion”buthadnoticedReepicheep'seyesfixedonhim。
“Andwhereareweheadingfor?”askedEdmund。
“ian,“that'sratheralongstory。PerhapsyourememberthatwhenIwasachildmyusurpinguncleMirazgotridofsevenfriendsofmyfather's(whomighthavetakenmypart)byseoexploretheuerheLoneIslands。”
“Yes,”saidLuohemevercameback。”
“Right。Well,on,myday,withAslan'sapproval,Isworeanoaththat,ifoablishedpeaia,Iwouldsaileastmyselfforayearandadaytofindmyfather'sfriendsortolearhsahemifIcould。TheseweretheirheLordRevilian,theLordBern,theLoz,theLordMavramoresian,theLordRestimar,and—oh,thatotheronewho'ssohardtoremember。”
“TheLordRhoop,Sire,”saidDrinian。
“Rhoop,Rhoop,ofcourse,”said。“Thatismymaiion。ButReepicheepherehasanevenhigherhope。”Everyone'seyesturheMouse。
“Ashighasmyspirit,”itsaid。“Thoughperhapsassmallasmystature。Whyshouldweheveryeasterheworld?Andwhatmightwefindthere?IexpedAslan'sowntry。Itisalwaysfromtheeast,acrossthesea,thatthegreatLioous。”
“Isay,thatisanidea,”saidEdmundinanawedvoice。
“Butdoyouthink,”saidLu'strywouldbethatsortofeayoucouldeversailto?”
“Idonotknow,Madam,”saidReepicheep。“Butthereisthis。When
Iwasinmycradle,awoodwoman,aDryad,spokethisverseoverme:
“Whereskya,
&heeet,
Doubtnot,Reepicheep,
Tofindallyouseek,
&heutterEast。
“Idonotknowwhatitmeans。Butthespellofithasbeenonmeallmylife。”
&silenceLucyasked,“Andwhereareian?”
&aintellyoubetterthanI,”said,sotouthisdspreaditoable。
“That'sourposition,”hesaid,layinghisfi。“Orwasatnoontoday。WehadafairwindfromCairParavelandstoodalittlenalma,whichwemadeoday。Wewereinportforaweek,fortheDukeofGalmamadeagreattourforHisMajestyandthereheunhorsedmanyknights—”
“Andgotafewnastyfallsmyself,Drihebruisesaretherestill,”putin。
“—Andunhorsedmanyknights,”repeatedDrinianwithagritheDukeleasediftheKing'sMajestywouldhavemarriedhisdaughter,butnothi—”
“Squints,andhasfreckles,”said。
“irl,”saidLucy。