"MYdearsisterandverygoodLady,"saidKingEdmund,"youmustnowshowyourcourage。ForItellyouplainlyweareinnosmalldanger。"
"Whatisit,Edmund?"askedtheQueen。
"Itisthis,"saidEdmund。"IdonotthinkweshallfinditeasytoleaveTashbaan。WhilethePrincehadhopethatyouwouldtakehim,wewerehonouredguests。ButbytheLion'sMane,Ithinkthatassoonashehasyourflatdenialweshallbenobetterthanprisoners。"
OneoftheDwarfsgavealowwhistle。
"IwarnedyourMajesties,Iwarnedyou,"saidSallowpadtheRaven。"Easilyinbutnoteasilyout,asthelobstersaidinthelobsterpot!"
"IhavebeenwiththePrincethismorning,"continuedEdmund。"Heislittleused(more'sthepity)tohavinghiswillcrossed。Andheisverychafedatyourlongdelaysanddoubtful
answers。Thismorninghepressedveryhardtoknowyourmind。Iputitaside—meaningatthesametimetodiminishhishopes-withsomelightcommonjestsaboutwomen'sfancies,andhintedthathissuitwaslikelytobecold。Hegrewangryanddangerous。Therewasasortofthreatening,thoughstillveiledunderashowofcourtesy,ineverywordhespoke。"
"Yes,"saidTumnus。"AndwhenIsuppedwiththeGrandVizierlastnight,itwasthesame。HeaskedmehowIlikeTashbaan。AndI(forIcouldnottellhimIhatedeverystoneofitandIwouldnotlie)toldhimthatnow,whenhighsummerwascomingon,myheartturnedtothecoolwoodsanddewyslopesofNarnia。Hegaveasmilethatmeantnogoodandsaid,'Thereisnothingtohinderyoufromdancingthereagain,littlegoatfoot;alwaysprovidedyouleaveusinexchangeabrideforourprince。
"Doyoumeanhewouldmakemehiswifebyforce?"exclaimedSusan。
"That'smyfear,Susan,"saidEdmund。"Wife:orslavewhichisworse。"
"Buthowcanhe?DoestheTisrocthinkourbrothertheHighKingwouldsuffersuchanoutrage?"
"Sire,"saidPeridantotheKing。"Theywouldnotbesomad。DotheythinktherearenoswordsandspearsinNarnia?"
"Alas,"saidEdmund。"MyguessisthattheTisrochasverysmallfearofNarnia。Wearealittleland。Andlittlelandsonthebordersofagreatempirewerealwayshatefultothelordsofthegreatempire。Helongstoblotthemout,gobblethemup。
WhenfirsthesufferedthePrincetocometoCairParavelasyourlover,sister,itmaybethathewasonlyseekinganoccasionagainstus。MostlikelyhehopestomakeonemouthfulofNarniaandArchenlandboth。"
"Lethimtry,"saidthesecondDwarf。"Atseaweareasbigasheis。Andifheassaultsusbyland,hehasthedeserttocross。"
"True,friend,"saidEdmund。"Butisthedesertasuredefence?WhatdoesSallowpadsay?"
"Iknowthatdesertwell,"saidtheRaven。"ForIhaveflownaboveitfarandwideinmyyoungerdays,"(youmaybesurethatShastaprickeduphisearsatthispoint)。"Andthisiscertain;thatiftheTisrocgoesbythegreatoasishecanneverleadagreatarmyacrossitintoArchenland。Forthoughtheycouldreachtheoasisbytheendoftheirfirstday'smarch,yetthespringstherewouldbetoolittleforthethirstofallthosesoldiersandtheirbeasts。Butthereisanotherway。"
Shastalistenedmoreattentivelystill。
"Hethatwouldfindthatway,"saidtheRaven,"muststartfromtheTombsoftheAncientKingsandridenorthwestsothatthedoublepeakofMountPireisalwaysstraightaheadofhim。Andso,inaday'sridingoralittlemore,heshallcometotheheadofastonyvalley,whichissonarrowthatamanmightbewithinafurlongofitathousandtimesandneverknowthatitwasthere。Andlookingdownthisvalleyhewillseeneithergrassnorwaternoranythingelsegood。ButifheridesondownithewillcometoariverandcanridebythewaterallthewayintoArchenland。"
"AnddotheCalormenesknowofthisWesternway?"askedtheQueen。
"Friends,friends'saidEdmund,"whatistheuseofallthisdiscourse?WearenotaskingwhetherNarniaorCalormenwouldwinifwararosebetweenthem。WeareaskinghowtosavethehonouroftheQueenandourownlivesoutofthisdevilishcity。Forthoughmybrother,PetertheHighKing,defeatedtheTisrocadozentimesover,yetlongbeforethatdayourthroatswouldbecutandtheQueen'sgracewouldbethewife,ormorelikely,theslave,ofthisprince。"
"Wehaveourweapons,King,"saidthefirstDwarf。"Andthisisareasonablydefensiblehouse。"
"Astothat,"saidtheKing,"IdonotdoubtthateveryoneofuswouldsellourlivesdearlyinthegateandtheywouldnotcomeattheQueenbutoverourdeadbodies。Yetweshouldbemerelyratsfightinginatrapwhenall'ssaid。"
"Verytrue,"croakedtheRaven。"Theselaststandsinahousemakegoodstories,butnothingevercameofthem。Aftertheirfirstfewrepulsestheenemyalwayssetthehouseonfire。"
"Iamthecauseofallthis,"saidSusan,burstingintotears。"Oh,ifonlyIhadneverleftCairParavel。OurlasthappydaywasbeforethoseambassadorscamefromCalormen。TheMoleswereplantinganorchardforus---oh---oh。"Andsheburiedherfaceinherhandsandsobbed。
"Courage,Su,courage,"saidEdmund。"Remember-butwhatisthematterwithyou,MasterTumnus?"FortheFaunwasholdingbothhishornswithhishandsasifheweretryingtokeephisheadonbythemandwrithingtoandfroasifhehadapaininhisinside。
"Don'tspeaktome,don'tspeaktome,"saidTumnus。"I'mthinking。I'mthinkingsothatIcanhardlybreathe。Wait,wait,dowait。"
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