THEtwoCalormenesoldiersattheheadofthecolumn,seeingwhattheytookforaTarkaanorgreatlordwithtwoarmedpages,cametoahaltandraisedtheirspearsinsalute.
“OMyMaster,”saidoneofthem,“weleadthesemanikinstoCalormentoworkintheminesofTheTisroc,may-he-live-forever。”
“BythegreatgodTash,theyareveryobedient,”saidTirian。ThensuddenlyheturnedtotheDwarfsthemselves。Aboutoneinsixofthemcarriedatorchandbythatflickeringlighthecouldseetheirbeardedfacesalllookingathimwithgrimanddoggedexpressions。“HasTheTisrocfoughtagreatbattle,Dwarfs,andconqueredyourland?”heasked,“thatthusyougopatientlytodieinthesalt-pitsofPugrahan?”
ThetwosoldiersglaredathiminsurprisebuttheDwarfsallanswered,“Aslan’sorders,Aslan’sorders。He’ssoldus。Whatcanwedoagainsthim?”
“Tisrocindeed!”addedoneandspat。“I’dliketoseehimtryit!”
“Silence,dogs!”saidthechiefsoldier.
“Look!”saidTirian,pullingPuzzleforwardintothelight。“Ithasallbeenalie。AslanhasnotcometoNarniaatall。YouhavebeencheatedbytheApe。Thisisthethinghebroughtoutofthestabletoshowyou。Lookatit。”
WhattheDwarfssaw,nowthattheycouldseeitclose,wascertainlyenoughtomakethemwonderhowtheyhadeverbeentakenin。Thelion-skinhadgotprettyuntidyalreadyduringPuzzle’simprisonmentinthestableandithadbeenknockedcrookedduringhisjourneythroughthedarkwood。Mostofitwasinabiglumpononeshoulder。Thehead,besidesbeingpushedsideways,hadsomehowgotveryfarbacksothatanyonecouldnowseehissilly,gentle,donkeyishfacegazingoutofit。Somegrassstuckoutofonecornerofhismouth,forhe’dbeendoingalittlequietnibblingastheybroughthimalong。Andhewasmuttering,“Itwasn’tmyfault,I’mnotclever。IneversaidIwas。”
ForonesecondalltheDwarfswerestaringatPuzzlewithwideopenmouthsandthenoneofthesoldierssaidsharply,“Areyoumad,MyMaster?Whatareyoudoingtotheslaves?”andtheothersaid,“Andwhoareyou?”Neitheroftheirspearswasatthesalutenow-bothweredownandreadyforaction.
“Givethepassword,”saidthechiefsoldier.
“Thisismypassword,”saidtheKingashedrewhissword。“Thelightisdawning,theliebroken。Nowguardthee,miscreant,forIamTirianofNarnia。”
Heflewuponthechiefsoldierlikelightning。Eustace,whohaddrawnhisswordwhenhesawtheKingdrawhis,rushedattheotherone:hisfacewasdeadlypale,butIwouldn’tblamehimforthat。Andhehadtheluckthatbeginnerssometimesdohave。HeforgotallthatTirianhadtriedtoteachhimthatafternoon,slashedwildly(indeedI’mnotsurehiseyesweren’tshut)andsuddenlyfound,tohisowngreatsurprise,thattheCalormenelaydeadathisfeet。Andthoughthatwasagreatrelief,itwas,atthemoment,ratherfrightening。TheKing’sfightlastedasecondortwolonger:thenhetoohadkilledhismanandshoutedtoEustace,“‘Waretheothertwo。”
ButtheDwarfshadsettledthetworemainingCalormenes。Therewasnoenemyleft.
“Wellstruck,Eustace!”criedTirian,clappinghimontheback。“Now,Dwarfs,youarefree。TomorrowIwillleadyoutofreeallNarnia。ThreecheersforAslan!”
Buttheresultwhichfollowedwassimplywretched。TherewasafeebleattemptfromafewDwarfs(aboutfive)whichdiedawayallatonce:fromseveralothersthereweresulkygrowls。Manysaidnothingatall.
“Don’ttheyunderstand?”saidJillimpatiently。“What’swrongwithallyouDwarfs?Don’tyouhearwhattheKingsays?It’sallover。TheApeisn’tgoingtoruleNarniaanylonger。Everyonecangobacktoordinarylife。Youcanhavefunagain。Aren’tyouglad?”
Afterapauseofnearlyaminuteanot-very-nice-lookingDwarfwithhairandbeardasblackassootsaid:“Andwhomightyoube,Missie?”
“I’mJill,”shesaid。“ThesameJillwhorescuedKingRilianfromtheenchantment-andthisisEustacewhodidittoo-andwe’vecomebackfromanotherworldafterhundredsofyears。Aslansentus。”
TheDwarfsalllookedatoneanotherwithgrins;sneeringgrins,notmerryones.
“Well,”saidtheBlackDwarf(whosenamewasGriffle),“Idon’tknowhowallyouchapsfeel,butIfeelI’veheardasmuchaboutAslanasIwanttofortherestofmylife。”
“That’sright,that’sright,”growledtheotherDwarfs。“It’sallaplant,allabloomingplant。”
“Whatdoyoumean?”saidTirian。Hehadnotbeenpalewhenhewasfightingbuthewaspalenow。Hehadthoughtthiswasgoingtobeabeautifulmoment,butitwasturningoutmorelikeabaddream.
“Youmustthinkwe’rebloomingsoftinthehead,thatyoumust,”saidGriffle。“We’vebeentakeninonceandnowyouexpectustobetakeninagainthenextminute。We’venomoreuseforstoriesaboutAslan,see!Lookathim!Anoldmokewithlongears!”
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