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CHAPTER SIX THE ADVENTURES OF EUSTACE（第2页）

Atlasthedecidedhewouldtrytofindhiswaybacktotheshore。Herealizednoianwouldneverhavesailedawayahim。Ahatsomehoworotherhewouldbeabletomakepeopleuand>

&ookalongdrinkandthen（Iknowthissoundsshog，butitisn'tifyouthienearlyallthedeaddragon。Hewashalf-waythroughitbeforeherealizedwhathewasdoing;for，yousee，thoughhismindwasthemiace，histastesandhisdigestionish。Ahingadragonlikessowellasfreshdragon。Thatiswhyyousoseldomfihanoniy。

&uroclimboutofthevalley。Hebegantheclimbandassoonashejumpedhefoundthathewasflyiefottenabouthiswingsanditrisetohim—thefirstpleasantsurprisehehadhadftime。Herosehighintotheairandsawiain-topsspreadoutbehhiminthemoonlight。Hecouldseethebaylikeasilverslabareaderlyingatanpfirestwinklinginthewoodsbesidethebeaagreatheighthelaunchedhimselfdowntowardtheminasingleglide。

LucyingverysoundlyforshehadsatuptillthereturnofthesearchpartyinhopeofgoodEustace。Ithadbeenledbydhadebadweary。Theirnewswasdisquieting。Theyhadfoundacebuthadseenadeaddragoniriedtomakethebestofitandeveryoneassuredeveryoherewereonsabout，andthatonewhichwasdeadataboutthreeo'clockthatafternoon（hentheyhadseenit）wouldhardlyhavebeenkillingpeopleaveryfewhoursbefore。

ðelittlebratanddiedofhim:he'dpoisonanything，”saidRhihesaidthisunderhisbreatha。

ButlateriLucywaswakely，andfoundthewholepaogetherandtalkinginwhispers。

“Whatisit?”saidLucy。

&allshowgreatcy，”wassaying。“Adragonhasjustflowopsahebeach。Yes，Iamafraiditisbetweenusandtheship。Andarrowsaredragons。Andthey'renotatallafraidoffire。”

“WithyourMajesty'sleave—”beganReepicheep。

“No，Reepicheep，”saidtheKingveryfirmly，“youarenottoattemptasiwithit。AndunlessyoupromisetoobeymeinthismatterI'llhaveyoutiedup。Wemustjustkeepclosewatd，assoonasitislight，godowntothebeadgiveitbattle。Iwilllead。KingEdmundwillbehtandtheLordDriniaherearenemewillbelightinacoupleofhours。Inanhour'stimeletamealbeservedoutandwhatisleftofthewihily。”

&willgoaway，”saidLucy。

“It'llbeworseifitdoes，”saidEdmuhenweshan'tkis。Ifthere'saintheroomIliketobeabletoseeit。”

&ofthenightwadreadful，ahemealcame，thoughtheykoeat，manyfoundthattheyhadverypoorappetites。Andendlesshoursseemedtopassbeforethedarkhinnedandbirdsbeganghereahewotdwetterthanithadbeenallnightandsaid，“Nowforit，friends。”

&up，alln，ahemselvesintoasolidmasswithLuthemiddleandReepihershoulder。Itwashewaitingaboutandeveryofonderofeveryoordinarytimes。Amomeheyweremarg。Itgrewlighterastheycametotheedgeofthewood。Ahesalizard，oraflexiblecrocodile，oraserpentwithlegs，hugeandhorribleandhumpy，laythedragon。

Butwhenitsawthem，insteadupandblowingfireahedragoed—youostsayitwaddled—batotheshallowsofthebay。

“What'sitwaggihatfor?”saidEdmund。

“Andnowit'snodding，”said。

“Andthere'ssomethingitseyes，”saidDrinian。

“Oh，'tyousee，”saidLucy。“It&#。Thosearetears。”

“Ishouldn'ttrusttothat，Ma'am，”saidDrinian。“That'swhatcrocodilesdo，toputyouuard。”

“Itwaggeditsheadwhenyousaidthat，”remarkedEdmund。“JustasifitmeantNo。Loesagain。”

“Doyouthiandswhatwe&#?”askedLucy。

Thedragosheadviolently。

ReepicheepslippedoffLucy'sshoulderahefront。

“Dragon，”camehisshrillvoiyouuandspeech?”

Thedragonnodded。

“youspeak?”

Itshookitshead。

“Then，”saidReepicheep，“itisidletoaskyouyourbusiifyouwillswearfriendshipwithusraiseyourleftfaboveyourhead。”

Itdidso，butclumsilybecausethatlegwassoreahegolde“Ohlook，”saidLucy，“there'ssomethingwrongwithitsleg。Thep—that'sprobablywhatitwasgabout。Perhapsitcametoustobecuredlikeihelion。”

“Becareful，Lucy，”said。“It'saverycleverdragonbutitmaybealiar。”

Lucyhad，however，alreadyrunforward，followedbyReepicheep，asfastashisshscouldcarryhim，andthenofcoursetheboysandDrioo。

“Showmeyourpoorpaw，”saidLucy，“Imightbeabletocureit。”

&hat-had-beeitssladlyenough，rememberinghowLucy'scordialhadcuredhimofsea-siessbeforehebecameadragon。Butheoihemagicfluidreducedtheswellihepaiotdissolvethegold。

Everyonehadowatchthetreatment，andsuddenlyexclaimed，“Look!”Hewasstari。