"IknowmywaytoTashbaan。Afterthatcomesthedesert。Oh,wellmanagethedesertsomehow,neverfear。Why,wellbeinsightoftheNorthernmountainsthen。Thinkofit!ToNarniaandtheNorth!Nothingwillstopusthen。ButIdbegladtobepastTashbaan。YouandIaresaferawayfromcities。"
"Can'tweavoidit?"
"Notwithoutgoingalongwayinland,andthatwouldtakeusintocultivatedlandandmainroads;andIwouldntknowtheway。No,we'lljusthavetocreepalongthecoast。Uphereonthedownswellmeetnothingbutsheepandrabbitsandgullsandafewshepherds。Andbytheway,whataboutstarting?"
ShastaslegsachedterriblyashesaddledBreeandclimbedintothesaddle,buttheHorsewaskindlytohimandwentatasoftpaceallafternoon。Wheneveningtwilightcametheydroppedbysteeptracksintoavalleyandfoundavillage。BeforetheygotintoitShastadismountedandentereditonfoottobuyaloafandsomeonionsandradishes。TheHorsetrottedroundbythefieldsintheduskandmetShastaatthefarside。Thisbecametheirregularplaneverysecondnight。
TheseweregreatdaysforShasta,andeverydaybetterthanthelastashismuscleshardenedandhefelllessoften。EvenattheendofhistrainingBreestillsaidhesatlikeabagofflourinthesaddle。"Andevenifitwassafe,young'un,I'dbeashamedtobeseenwithyouonthemainroad。"ButinspiteofhisrudewordsBreewasapatientteacher。Noonecanteachridingsowellasahorse。Shastalearnedtotrot,tocanter,tojump,andtokeephisseatevenwhenBreepulledupsuddenlyorswungunexpectedlytotheleftortheright-which,asBreetoldhim,wasathingyoumighthavetodoatanymomentinabattle。AndthenofcourseShastabeggedtobetoldofthebattlesandwarsinwhichBreehadcarriedtheTarkaan。AndBreewouldtellofforcedmarchesandthefordingofswiftrivers,ofchargesandoffiercefightsbetweencavalryandcavalrywhenthewarhorsesfoughtaswellasthemen,beingallfiercestallions,trainedtobiteandkick,andtorearattherightmomentsothatthehorsesweightaswellastheriderswouldcomedownonaenemyscrestinthestrokeofswordorbattleaxe。ButBreedidnotwanttotalkaboutthewarsasoftenasShastawantedtohearaboutthem。"Don'tspeakofthem,youngster,"hewouldsay。"TheywereonlytheTisroc'swarsandIfoughtinthemasaslaveandadumbbeast。GivemetheNarnianwarswhereIshallfightasafreeHorseamongmyownpeople!Thosewillbewarsworthtalkingabout。NarniaandtheNorth!Bra-ha-ha!Broohoo!"
Shastasoonlearned,whenheheardBreetalkinglikethat,toprepareforagallop。
AftertheyhadtravelledonforweeksandweekspastmorebaysandheadlandsandriversandvillagesthanShastacouldremember,therecameamoonlitnightwhentheystartedtheirjourneyatevening,havingsleptduringtheday。Theyhadleftthedownsbehindthemandwerecrossingawideplainwithaforestabouthalfamileawayontheirleft。Thesea,hiddenbylowsandhills,wasaboutthesamedistanceontheirright。Theyhadjoggedalongforaboutanhour,sometimestrottingandsometimeswalking,whenBreesuddenlystopped。"What'sup?"saidShasta。
"S-s-ssh!"saidBree,craninghisneckroundandtwitchinghisears。"Didyouhearsomething?Listen。"
"Itsoundslikeanotherhorse—betweenusandthewood,"saidShastaafterhehadlistenedforaboutaminute。
"Itisanotherhorse,"saidBree。"Andthat'swhatIdon't
like。"
"Isn'titprobablyjustafarmerridinghomelate?"said
Shastawithayawn。
"Don'ttellme!"saidBree。"That'snotafarmer'sriding。Norafarmer'shorseeither。Can'tyoutellbythesound?That'squality,thathorseis。Andit'sbeingriddenbyarealhorsemanI。tellyouwhatitis,Shasta。There'saTarkaanundertheedgeofthatwood。Notonhiswarhorse—it'stoolightforthat。Onafinebloodmare,Ishouldsay。"
"Well,it'sstoppednow,whateveritis,"saidShasta。
"You'reright,"saidBree。"Andwhyshouldhestopjustwhenwedo?Shasta,myboy,Idobelievethere'ssomeoneshadowingusatlast。"
"Whatshallwedo?"saidShastainalowerwhisperthanbefore。"Doyouthinkhecanseeusaswellashearus?"
"Notinthislightsolongaswestayquitestill,"answeredBree。"Butlook!There'sacloudcomingup。I'llwaittillthatgetsoverthemoon。Thenwe'llgetofftoourrightasquietlyaswecan,downtotheshore。Wecanhideamongthesandhillsiftheworstcomestotheworst。"
Theywaitedtillthecloudcoveredthemoonandthen,firstatawalkingpaceandafterwardsatagentletrot,madefortheshore。
Thecloudwasbiggerandthickerthanithadlookedatfirstandsoonthenightgrewverydark。JustasShastawassayingtohimself,"Wemustbenearlyatthosesandhillsbynow,"hisheartleapedintohismouthbecauseanappallingnoisehadsuddenlyrisenupoutofthedarknessahead;alongsnarlingroar,melancholyandutterlysavage。InstantlyBreeswervedroundandbegangallopinginlandagainasfastashecouldgallop。"Whatisit?"gaspedShasta。
"Lions!"saidBree,withoutcheckinghispaceorturninghishead。
Afterthattherewasnothingbutsheergallopingforsometime。Atlasttheysplashedacrossawide,shallowstreamandBreecametoastoponthefarside。Shastanoticedthathewastremblingandsweatingallover。
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