《銀椅子》 第九章 真相
《銀椅子》 第九章 真相
所屬教程:納尼亞傳奇7本全
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2019年02月07日
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CHAPTER NINE HOW THEY DISCOVERED SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING
THE others admitted afterwards that Jill had been wonderful that day. As soon as the King and the rest of the hunting party had set off,she began making a tour of the whole castle and asking questions,but all in such an innocent,babyish way that no one could suspect her of any secret design. Though her tongue was never still,you could hardly say she talked:she prattled and giggled. She made love to everyone—the grooms,the porters, the housemaids,the ladies-in-waiting,and the elderly giant lords whose hunting days were past. She submitted to being kissed and pawed about by any number of giantesses,many of whom seemed sorry for her and called her“a poor little thing”though none of them explained why. She made especial friends with the cook and discovered the all-important fact there was a scullery door which let you out through the outer wall,so that you did not have to cross the courtyard or pass the great gatehouse. In the kitchen she pretended to be greedy,and ate all sorts of scraps which the cook and scullions delighted to give her. But upstairs among the ladies she asked questions about how she would be dressed for the great feast,and how long she would be allowed to sit up,and whether she would dance with some very,very small giant. And then(it made her hot all over when she remembered it afterwards)she would put her head on one side in an idiotic fashion which grown-ups,giant and otherwise,thought very fetching,and shake her curls,and fidget,and say,“Oh,I do wish it was tomorrow night,don’t you ? Do you think the time will go quickly till then ?”And all the giantesses said she was a perfect little darling; and some of them dabbed their eyes with enormous handkerchiefs as if they were going to cry.
“They’re dear little things at that age,”said one giantess to another. “It seems almost a pity...”
Scrubb and Puddleglum both did their best,but girls do that kind of thing better than boys. Even boys do it better than Marsh-wiggles.
At lunchtime something happened which made all three of them more anxious than ever to leave the castle of the Gentle Giants. They had lunch in the great hall at a little table of their own,near the fireplace. At a bigger table,about twenty yards away,half a dozen old giants were lunching. Their conversation was so noisy, and so high up in the air,that the children soon took no more notice of it than you would of hooters outside the window or traffic noises in the street. They were eating cold venison,a kind of food which Jill had never tasted before,and she was liking it.
Suddenly Puddleglum turned to them,and his face had gone so pale that you could see the paleness under the natural muddiness of his complexion. He said:
“Don’t eat another bite.”
“What’s wrong ?”asked the other two in a whisper.
“Didn’t you hear what those giants were saying ?‘That’s a nice tender haunch of venison,’ said one of them. ‘Then that stag was a liar,’ said another. ‘Why ?’said the first one. ‘Oh,’ said the other. ‘They say that when he was caught he said,Don’t kill me,I’m tough. You won’t like me.’‘For a moment Jill did not realize the full meaning of this. But she did when Scrubb’s eyes opened wide with horror and he said:
“So we’ve been eating a Talking stag.”
This discovery didn’t have exactly the same effect on all of them. Jill,who was new to that world,was sorry for the poor stag and thought it rotten of the giants to have killed him. Scrubb,who had been in that world before and had at least one Talking beast as his dear friend,felt horrified;as you might feel about a murder. But Puddleglum,who was Narnian born,was sick and faint,and felt as you would feel if you found you had eaten a baby.
“We’ve brought the anger of Aslan on us,”he said. “That’s what comes of not attending to the signs. We’re under a curse,I expect. If it was allowed,it would be the best thing we could do, to take these knives and drive them into our own hearts.”
And gradually even Jill came to see it from his point of view. At any rate,none of them wanted any more lunch. And as soon as they thought it safe they crept quietly out of the hall.
It was now drawing near to that time of the day on which their hopes of escape depended,and all became nervous. They hung about in passages and waited for things to become quiet. The giants in the hall sat on a dreadfully long time after the meal was over. The bald one was telling a story. When that was over,the three travellers dawdled down to the kitchen. But there were still plenty of giants there,or at least in the scullery,washing up and putting things away. It was agonizing,waiting till these finished their jobs and,one by one,wiped their hands and went away. At last only one old giantess was left in the room. She pottered about,and pottered about,and at last the three travellers realized with horror that she did not intend to go away at all.
“Well,dearies,”she said to them. “That job’s about through. Let’s put the kettle there. That’ll make a nice cup of tea presently. Now I can have a little bit of a rest. Just look into the scullery,like good poppets,and tell me if the back door is open.”
“Yes,it is,”said Scrubb.
“That’s right. I always leave it open so as Puss can get in and out,the poor thing.”
Then she sat down on one chair and put her feet up on another.
“I don’t know as I mightn’t have forty winks,”said the giantess. “If only that blarney hunting party doesn’t come back too soon.”
All their spirits leaped up when she mentioned forty winks, and flopped down again when she mentioned the return of the hunting party.
“When do they usually comeback ?”asked Jill.
“You never can tell,”said the giantess. “But there;go and be quiet for a bit,my dearies.”
They retreated to the far end of the kitchen,and would have slipped out into the scullery there and then if the giantess had not sat up,opened her eyes,and brushed away a fly. “Don’t try it till we’re sure she’s really asleep,”whispered Scrubb. “Or it’ll spoil everything.”So they all huddled at the kitchen end,waiting and watching. The thought that the hunters might come back at any moment was terrible. And the giantess was fidgety. Whenever they thought she had really gone to sleep,she moved.
“I can’t bear this,”thought Jill. To distract her mind,she began looking about her. Just in front of her was a clean wide table with two clean pie-dishes on it,and an open book. They were giant pie-dishes of course. Jill thought that she could lie down just comfortably in one of them. Then she climbed up on the bench beside the table to look at the book. She read:
MALLARD. This delicious bird can be cooked in a variety of ways.
“It’s a cookery book,”thought Jill without much interest,and glanced over her shoulder. The giantess’s eyes were shut but she didn’t look as if she were properly asleep. Jill glanced back at the book. It was arranged alphabetically:and at the very next entry her heart seemed to stop beating;It ran—
MAN. This elegant little biped has long been valued as a delicacy. It forms a traditional part of the Autumn Feast,and is served between the fish and the joint. Each Man—but she could not bear to read any more. She turned round. The giantess had wakened up and was having a fit of coughing. Jill nudged the other two and pointed to the book. They also mounted the bench and bent over the huge pages. Scrubb was still reading about how to cook Men when Puddleglum pointed to the next entry below it. It was like this:
MARSH-WIGGLE. Some authorities reject this animal altogether as unfit for giants’ consumption because of its stringy consistency and muddy flavour. The flavour can,however,be greatly reduced if—
Jill touched his feet,and Scrubb’s,gently. All three looked back at the giantess. Her mouth was slightly open and from her nose there came a sound which at that moment was more welcome to them than any music;she snored. And now it was a question of tip-toe work,not daring to go too fast,hardly daring to breathe, out through the scullery(giant sculleries smell horrid),out at last into the pale sunlight of a winter afternoon.
They were at the top of a rough little path which ran steeply down. And,thank heavens,on the right side of the castle;the City Ruinous was in sight. In a few minutes they were back on the broad,steep road which led down from the main gate of the castle. They were also in full view from every single window on that side. If it had been one,or two,or five windows there’d be a reasonable chance that no one might be looking out. But there were nearer fifty than five. They now realized,too,that the road on which they were,and indeed all the ground between them and the City Ruinous,didn’t offer as much cover as would hide a fox;it was all coarse grass and pebbles and flat stones. To make matters worse,they were now in the clothes that the giants had provided for them last night:except Puddleglum,whom nothing would fit. Jill wore a vivid green robe,rather too long for her, and over that a scarlet mantle fringed with white fur. Scrubb had scarlet stockings,blue tunic and cloak,a gold-hilted sword,and a feathered bonnet.
“Nice bits of colour,you two are,”muttered Puddleglum. “Show up very prettily on a winter day. The worst archer in the world couldn’t miss either of you if you were in range. And talking of archers,we’ll be sorry not to have our own bows before long,I shouldn’t wonder. Bit thin,too,those clothes of yours,are they ?”
“Yes,I’m freezing already,”said Jill.
A few minutes ago when they had been in the kitchen,she had thought that if only they could once get out of the castle,their escape would be almost complete. She now realized that the most dangerous part of it was still to come.
“Steady,steady,”said Puddleglum. “Don’t look back. Don’t walk too quickly. Whatever you do,don’t run. Look as if we were just taking a stroll,and then,if anyone sees us,he might, just possibly,not bother. The moment we look like people running away,we’re done.”
The distance to the City Ruinous seemed longer than Jill would have believed possible. But bit by bit they were covering it. Then came a noise. The other two gasped. Jill,who didn’t know what it was,said,“What’s that ?”
“Hunting horn,”whispered Scrubb.
“But don’t run even now,”said Puddleglum. “Not until I give the word.”
This time Jill couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder. There,about half a mile away,was the hunt returning from behind them on the left.
They walked on. Suddenly a great clamour of giant voices arose:then shouts and hollas.
“They’ve seen us. Run,”said Puddleglum.
Jill gathered up her long skirts—horrible things for running in—and ran. There was no mistaking the danger now. She could hear the music of the hounds. She could hear the King’s voice roaring out,“After them,after them,or we’ll have no man-pies tomorrow.”
She was last of the three now,cumbered with her dress, slipping on loose stones,her hair getting in her mouth,running-pains across her chest. The hounds were much nearer. Now she had to run uphill,up the stony slope which led to the lowest step of the giant stairway. She had no idea what they would do when they got there,or how they would be any better off even if they reached the top. But she didn’t think about that. She was like a hunted animal now;as long as the pack was after her,she must run till she dropped.
The Marsh-wiggle was ahead. As he came to the lowest step he stopped,looked a little to his right,and all of a sudden darted into a little hole or crevice at the bottom of it. His long legs, disappearing into it,looked very like those of a spider. Scrubb hesitated and then vanished after him. Jill,breathless and reeling, came to the place about a minute later. It was an unattractive hole— a crack between the earth and the stone about three feet long and hardly more than a foot high. You had to fling yourself flat on your face and crawl in. You couldn’t do it so very quickly either. She felt sure that a dog’s teeth would close on her heel before she had got inside.
“Quick,quick. Stones. Fill up the opening,”came Puddleglum’s voice in the darkness beside her. It was pitch black in there,except for the grey light in the opening by which they had crawled in. The other two were working hard. She could see Scrubb’s small hands and the Marsh-wiggle’s big,frog-like hands black against the light,working desperately to pile up stones. Then she realized how important this was and began groping for large stones herself, and handing them to the others. Before the dogs were baying and yelping at the cave mouth,they had it pretty well filled;and now,of course,there was no light at all.
“Farther in,quick,”said Puddleglum’s voice.
“Let’s all hold hands,”said Jill.
“Good idea,”said Scrubb. But it took them quite a long time to find one another’s hands in the darkness. The dogs were sniffing at the other side of the barrier now.
“Try if we can stand up,”suggested Scrubb. They did and found that they could. Then,Puddleglum holding out a hand behind him to Scrubb,and Scrubb holding a hand out behind him to Jill(who wished very much that she was the middle one of the party and not the last),they began groping with their feet and stumbling forwards into the blackness. It was all loose stones underfoot. Then Puddleglum came up to a wall of rock. They turned a little to their right and went on. There were a good many more twists and turns. Jill had now no sense of direction at all,and no idea where the mouth of the cave lay.
“The question is,”came Puddleglum’s voice out of the darkness ahead,“whether,taking one thing with another,it wouldn’t be better to go back(if we can)and give the giants a treat at that feast of theirs,instead of losing our way in the guts of a hill where,ten to one,there’s dragons and deep holes and gases and water and— Ow ! Let go ! Save yourselves. I’m—”
After that all happened quickly. There was a wild cry,a swishing,dusty,gravelly noise,a rattle of stones,and Jill found herself sliding,sliding,hopelessly sliding,and sliding quicker every moment down a slope that grew steeper every moment. It was not a smooth,firm slope,but a slope of small stones and rubbish. Even if you could have stood up,it would have been no use. Any bit of that slope you had put your foot on would have slid away from under you and carried you down with it. But Jill was more lying than standing. And the farther they all slid,the more they disturbed all the stones and earth,so that the general downward rush of everything(including themselves)got faster and louder and dustier and dirtier. From the sharp cries and swearing of the other two,Jill got the idea that many of the stones which she was dislodging were hitting Scrubb and Puddleglum pretty hard. And now she was going at a furious rate and felt sure she would be broken to bits at the bottom.
Yet somehow they weren’t. They were a mass of bruises,and the wet,sticky stuff on her face appeared to be blood. And such a mass of loose earth,shingle,and larger stones was piled up round her(and partly over her)that she couldn’t get up. The darkness was so complete that it made no difference at all whether you had your eyes open or shut. There was no noise. And that was the very worst moment Jill had ever known in her life. Supposing she was alone:supposing the others...Then she heard movements around her. And presently all three,in shaken voices,were explaining that none of them seemed to have any broken bones.
“We can never get up that again,”said Scrubb’s voice.
“And have you noticed how warm it is ?”said the voice of Puddleglum. “That means we’re a long way down. Might be nearly a mile.”
No one said anything. Some time later Puddleglum added:
“My tinder-box has gone.”
After another long pause Jill said,“I’m terribly thirsty.”
No one suggested doing anything. There was so obviously nothing to be done. For the moment,they did not feel it quite so badly as one might have expected;that was because they were so tired.
Long,long afterwards,without the slightest warning, an utterly strange voice spoke. They knew at once that it was not the one voice in the whole world for which each had secretly been hoping;the voice of Aslan. It was a dark,flat voice—almost,if you know what that means,a pitch-black voice. It said:
“What make you here,creatures of the Overworld ?”
第九章 真相
普德格勒姆和尤斯塔斯后來不得不承認(rèn),姬爾那天的表演實在是精彩極了。國王和那些獵人一出發(fā),她就開始游覽整個城堡,問了好多問題,用她那副天真爛漫,孩子氣十足的聲調(diào),根本沒人懷疑她。雖然她說個沒完,可是根本聽不清她在說些什么,她一個人碎碎念, 咯咯直笑。她討好每一個人——男仆、女仆、看門人、女侍,還有那些不能出去打獵的老年巨人貴族。她忍受了很多女巨人的親吻和撫摸,大家似乎都很憐惜她,把她叫作“可憐的小東西”,但是沒有人告訴他們?yōu)槭裁?。她跟廚子成了好朋友,發(fā)現(xiàn)了重要的情報:廚房洗碗間有一扇門,通往城堡外面。
她裝出很饞的樣子,吃了很多廚子和幫工給她的各種食物碎屑。在樓上和那些夫人們在一起的時候,她就問,在宴會上她應(yīng)該穿什么衣服啊,能坐多久啊,能不能跟個子最小的巨人跳舞什么的。然后(事后當(dāng)她會想到這些,就會覺得渾身起麻),她裝出一副傻樣兒,小腦袋瓜歪在一邊,這個動作迷倒了很多巨人和大人們。她還會甩動自己的卷發(fā),坐立不安地說:“我,我希望現(xiàn)在就是明天晚上,你們說呢? 你們認(rèn)為時間會不會過得快些?”所有的女巨人都說她是個完美的小寶貝,甚至還拿出一大塊手帕,輕輕地擦拭眼角,像哭了一樣。
“這個年紀(jì)的孩子真是可愛,”一個女巨人對另一個說,“真是太遺憾了……”
尤斯塔斯和普德格勒姆也都使出自己的看家本領(lǐng),不過顯然女孩子做這種事情比男孩子效果好很多,不過男孩子還是比沼澤怪強(qiáng)多了。
午餐時的狀況,令他們?nèi)齻€人更加急著離開城堡。那時,他們在大廳靠著火爐的一張小桌子上用餐。大約二十碼開外的大桌子旁, 六個老巨人也在用餐。他們的聲音很大,就像窗外的汽笛聲和路人的嘈雜聲,很快就被兩個孩子忽略掉了。他們盡情品嘗著冷的鹿肉, 姬爾以前從來沒吃過,但是她很喜歡。
突然,普德格勒姆轉(zhuǎn)過身,臉色刷白,從他那土黃色的皮膚上一眼就能看出來。它說:“別吃了!”
“怎么了?”另外兩個小聲問道。
“你們沒聽見那些巨人的話嗎?一個說,‘這是一塊鹿腿肉。’ 另一個說,‘這么說那只鹿說謊了。’一個又說,‘為什么。’‘哦,’ 另外那個說,‘聽說他們抓住這只鹿的時候,它說,‘別殺我,我的肉不嫩,你們不喜歡吃的。’”姬爾一時沒反應(yīng)過來,但是她看到尤斯塔斯瞪大的眼睛,就立刻明白了。他說:“我們吃的是一只會說話的鹿。”
這個發(fā)現(xiàn)對他們?nèi)齻€的影響不盡相同。姬爾剛剛到這個世界來, 她心里只為這只可憐的鹿感到難過,認(rèn)為那些殺鹿的巨人很壞。尤斯塔斯之前來過這里,他的好朋友很多都是會說話的獸類,對此他不由得感到心悸,就像是聽到一起謀殺案一樣。而普德格勒姆,從小生長在納尼亞,他感覺自己像吃了一個嬰兒一樣惡心,簡直惡心得要暈過去。
“一定是我們?nèi)菒懒税⑺固m,”他說,“因為我們沒有按照指示去做。我想,我們已經(jīng)被詛咒了。如果可以,我真想拿起刀,扎進(jìn)自己的心臟。”
姬爾也明白了他的意思。總之,他們一點也不想吃了。等到他們認(rèn)為比較安全的時候,就悄悄溜了出去。
決定逃亡的時刻就要到了,成敗在此一舉,大家都開始緊張起來。他們在過道等待著。大廳里的巨人們吃完飯后坐了很長時間, 一個禿頂巨人還講了個故事。故事講完之后,他們?nèi)齻€摸到廚房里。那兒還是很多巨人,至少在洗碗間里很多,正在洗洗涮涮,收拾東西。等這些人干完活,擦干手走開真是一件痛苦的事情。終于廚房里只剩下一個年紀(jì)大的女巨人。她走走,停停。三個人這才總算明白過來, 她壓根就沒打算離開。
“好了,寶貝,”她對他們說,“活都干完了,我們要放上一只水壺, 煮上一杯好茶。我要休息一下。做個好寶寶,去看看洗碗間里后門開著嗎?”
“開著呢。”尤斯塔斯說。
“那就好,我總是把門打開,那樣貓咪就能自由進(jìn)出了,小可憐。”
然后她坐在一把椅子上,把兩只腳搭在另一把椅子上。
“不知道我能不能小瞇一會兒,”女巨人說,“希望打獵的混蛋別那么快回來。”
聽她說要打盹,他們立刻興奮起來,可是聽她提起那幫打獵的人, 又有點喪氣。
“他們一般什么時候回來?”姬爾問。
“這可說不好,”女巨人說,“不過,寶貝兒,你們還是休息一會兒吧。”
他們悄悄地退到廚房一角,如果不是那女巨人突然坐起身,張開眼睛,趕走一只蒼蠅,他們已經(jīng)溜進(jìn)洗碗間去了。“等她睡熟了再開溜,”尤斯塔斯小聲說,“要不就完了。”于是他們蜷縮在角落里等啊等,想到那些出獵的人隨時可能回來,心中難免七上八下的。那個女巨人也沒睡好,眼看就要睡著了,又突然動起來。
“真受不了。”姬爾想。她開始東張西望起來。面前的大桌子已經(jīng)收拾干凈,放著兩只裝餡餅的干凈的盤子,還有一本書,打開著。盤子是巨人們用的盤子,姬爾想也許可以躺在里面睡覺呢。于是她爬到長凳子上,她看到書上寫著:野鴨:這種飛禽有多種烹調(diào)方法。
“原來是本烹飪書。”姬爾并不感興趣。她回頭望了一眼,女巨人雙眼緊閉,但是看上去她并沒有睡著。姬爾又看了看這本書,內(nèi)容是按照字母順序排列的,她的視線移到下面時,心臟幾乎都停止了跳動。
人:這種溫文爾雅的兩足動物歷來被視為上等佳肴,也是秋宴上的一道傳統(tǒng)美食。上菜應(yīng)安排在魚和牛羊骨腿肉之間,每一只人……
她再也看不下去了。她轉(zhuǎn)過身,看到女巨人已經(jīng)醒來,不停地咳嗽。姬爾輕輕推了推另外兩個人,指了指那本書。他們也爬上長凳, 看巨大的書頁。當(dāng)尤斯塔斯在看人的烹飪方法時,普德格勒姆指著下面一條。上面寫著:
沼澤怪:有些權(quán)威人士不吃這種動物,它的肉中多筋而且堅韌, 有土腥味,不適合巨人。此味可以大大減少,只要……
姬爾碰了下普德格勒姆和尤斯塔斯的腳。大家回頭看見女巨人, 嘴巴張開,鼻子響起一種聲音,在他們聽來比任何音樂都要悅耳—— 呼嚕聲。這會兒,只要踮著腳尖走就行了。他們屏著呼吸,躡手躡腳地走出了巨人味道難聞的洗碗間,來到冬日午后的暖陽下。
他們走上了一條坎坷不平的小路,小路向下延伸,十分陡峭。謝天謝地,他們一會兒就看得見廢城了。然后很快就來到了城堡大門直通的那條寬闊、陡峭的大路上。透過城堡的任何一扇窗戶都能看到他們,要是只有一兩扇或是五扇窗戶,也許還不會那么巧正好有人往外看,可是那里有近五十扇窗戶,而不是五扇。這時他們還發(fā)現(xiàn)這條路一直到廢城,連一個狐貍的容身之地都沒有。這兒全是野草和鵝卵石和平坦的石塊。更糟的是,他們穿的都是昨晚巨人們給他們的衣服, 當(dāng)然普德格勒姆除外,因為沒有適合他的。姬爾身上是一件又寬又長的嫩綠色袍子,外面罩著邊緣鑲著白色毛皮的猩紅色披風(fēng)。尤斯塔斯穿著緊身短上衣,身披大斗篷,腳踩猩紅色長襪,背著一把金柄寶劍, 頭上還戴著一頂帶羽毛的帽子。
“你們倆衣服的顏色真亮,”普德格勒姆喃喃自語到,“冬天更是, 只要在射程以內(nèi),最爛的弓箭手也能射中。說到弓箭手,恐怕很快就要為沒有帶上弓箭而遺憾了。你們冷不冷?”
“是啊,我快被凍僵了。”姬爾說。
還在廚房的時候,她還以為只要逃出城堡,就大功告成了?,F(xiàn)在她才明白,真正的危險時刻還沒到呢。
“鎮(zhèn)定,鎮(zhèn)定!”普德格勒姆說,“別往后看,也別走得太快。怎么樣都好,就是別跑。要表現(xiàn)出我們是在散步,那樣的話如果有人看見,也可能,只是可能不會嚷嚷。要是我們像是要逃走,那就完了。”
通往廢城的路比姬爾想象的長多了,但他們還是越來越近了。這時傳來的聲音讓他們緊張得透不過氣來。姬爾不知道是什么,只好問:“什么聲音???”
“是打獵的號角。”尤斯塔斯小聲說。
“就算這樣,也不能跑,”普德格勒姆說,“聽我的命令。”
姬爾忍不住回頭看了一眼。就在大概半英里遠(yuǎn)處,打獵的人從他們的左后方過來了。
他們往前走,聽到許多巨人在嚷嚷,甚至大叫起來。
“他們看見我們了,快跑!”普德格勒姆說。
姬爾提起長裙,穿著這么長的裙子可真是麻煩!現(xiàn)在真是危險了。她聽見獵狗在咆哮,國王在吶喊,“趕緊追,趕緊追,要不明天就沒有人肉餡餅吃了。”
這會兒,姬爾已經(jīng)落后了,她被衣服絆到,腳下一滑倒在碎石上。頭發(fā)飄進(jìn)嘴里,胸口生疼。獵狗的聲音越來越近了。她不得不上山, 到通往地下石階的斜坡那里。她不知道接下來該怎么辦,不知道到了山頂上,會不會有轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。
但她沒法去想那些事了。她只知道往前跑,只要那群狗還在后面追,她就得跑,直到跑不動為止。
沼澤怪在最前面,他跑到石階前面,突然停下朝右面瞧了一眼, 鉆進(jìn)了石階下的一個洞里去了。嗖的一下,長腿就不見了,真像一只蜘蛛。尤斯塔斯猶豫了一下,也跟上去消失了。姬爾氣喘吁吁,一分鐘后總算到了這里。那個洞一點兒也不起眼,就是泥地和石頭之間的裂口而已。有三英尺寬,不到一英尺高,必須趴在地上爬進(jìn)去。姬爾真怕自己還沒有完全爬進(jìn)洞,就會被獵狗咬住。
“快,快,石頭,把洞堵上。”普德格勒姆的聲音從暗處傳來。除了入口處灰蒙蒙的光線,里面一片漆黑。那兩個人正忙活著呢。她只能看見尤斯塔斯的小手和沼澤怪的那像青蛙腳一樣的大手在拼命堆石頭。因為背光,兩雙手看上去黑乎乎的。她這才明白過來,趕緊找石頭遞給他們。謝天謝地,他們總算趕在獵狗到來之前把洞口堵嚴(yán)了?,F(xiàn)在,他們眼前一點亮光也沒有了。
“往里面走,快!”只聽普德格勒姆說。
“手拉手。”姬爾說。
“好主意!”尤斯塔斯說。洞里太黑,他們半天才拉到彼此的手, 這會兒獵狗正在洞口處嗅著氣味呢。
“我們試試能不能站起來,”尤斯塔斯提議。他們這才發(fā)現(xiàn)已經(jīng)可以站起來了。普德格勒姆伸出一只手拉住尤斯塔斯,尤斯塔斯再伸出另一只手來拉住姬爾(她真希望自己是中間的那個)。他們開始在黑暗中摸索,跌跌撞撞往前走,腳下全是松散的石頭。不久, 普德格勒姆來到了一堵石墻前,他們往右拐,經(jīng)過了很多彎道和拐角。姬爾稀里糊涂的,搞不清方向,連洞口在什么方位也弄不清了。
“我看,”普德格勒姆的聲音從黑暗中傳來,“困在這里,跟回去讓巨人們吃了比,也好不到哪里去。這里十有八九有龍,洞這么深,有沼氣,還有水——哎呀,放手!注意保護(hù)自己,我……”
只聽一聲驚叫,接著是嘩啦啦、嚓嚓嚓,石頭滾動的聲音,姬爾感覺自己正在下滑,每經(jīng)過一個陡坡,速度就越來越快,很久都沒有停。這不是光滑結(jié)實的斜坡,而是布滿小石子和碎屑的斜坡。就算你站起來也沒用,不管你踩在哪里,滑動的小石子都會把你拖下去。而且姬爾根本算不上是站著,倒更像是躺著。他們越滑越遠(yuǎn),似乎把所有的石頭和泥土都帶起來,往下沖(包括他們自己)。速度越來越快,響聲越來越大,塵土越來越多!從另外兩個人的尖叫聲和怒罵聲,姬爾知道自己踩掉的石頭肯定沒少砸中尤斯塔斯和普德格勒姆。她感覺自己飛一般地往下滑,心想,自己一定會被摔得粉身碎骨。
不知道是什么原因,他們并沒有摔得粉身碎骨,只是青一塊, 紫一塊。姬爾覺得臉上黏濕濕的,可能是血。周圍是碎石、沙土和大石塊,有的比她還高,她沒法站起來。而且這里黑咕隆咚的,睜不睜眼沒有區(qū)別,周圍一點聲音也沒有。這是姬爾最糟糕的一次經(jīng)歷, 如果只剩她一個人,其他人都……這時她聽見身邊有響動,不久,他們?nèi)齻€聲音都發(fā)顫,好在大家都沒事。
“我們上不去了。”是尤斯塔斯的聲音。
“你們有沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)這里很暖和?”這是普德格勒姆的聲音。“這說明我們滑了一段距離,我猜有一英里。”
沒有人搭腔。普德格勒姆過了一會兒,才說:“我的打火石不見了。”
過了很久,姬爾說:“我快渴死了。”
沒有人說話,很明顯大家現(xiàn)在什么也干不了。不過他們現(xiàn)在的狀況并沒有想象的那么糟,只是他們太累了。
又這樣過了很久很久,突然,一個陌生的聲音出現(xiàn)了,這不是他們盼望的那個聲音,不是阿斯蘭的聲音,而是一種深沉的聲調(diào),像漆黑的夜——如果你能明白。
“地上世界的人,你們?yōu)槭裁吹竭@兒來了?”
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