天锡小说网>纳尼亚传奇后续 > chater elve thrugh the table dr（第1页）
chater elve thrugh the table dr（第1页）
JILLoughttohavebeenbackatthewhiterockalreadybutshehadquiteforgottenthatpartofherordersintheexcitementofwatchingthefight。Nowsheremembered。Sheturnedatonceandrantoit，andarrivedtherebarelyasecondbeforetheothers。Itthushappenedthatallofthem，foramoment，hadtheirbackstotheenemy。Theyallwheeledroundthemomenttheyhadreachedit。Aterriblesightmettheireyes．
ACalormenewasrunningtowardsthestabledoorcarryingsomethingthatkickedandstruggled。Ashecamebetweenthemandthefiretheycouldseeclearlyboththeshapeofthemanandtheshapeofwhathecarried。ItwasEustace．
TirianandtheUnicornrushedouttorescuehim。ButtheCalormenewasnowfarnearertothedoorthenthey。BeforetheyhadcoveredhalfthedistancehehadflungEustaceinandshutthedooronhim。HalfadozenmoreCalormeneshadrunupbehindhim。Theyformedalineontheopenspacebeforethestable。Therewasnogettingatitnow．
EventhenJillrememberedtokeepherfaceturnedaside，wellawayfromherbow。“EvenifIcan’tstopblubbing，Iwon’tgetmystringwet，”shesaid．
“‘Warearrows，”saidPogginsuddenly．
Everyoneduckedandpulledhishelmetwelloverhis
nose。TheDogscrouchedbehind。Butthoughafewarrowscametheirwayitsoonbecameclearthattheywerenotbeingshotat。GriffleandhisDwarfswereattheirarcheryagain。ThistimetheywerecoollyshootingattheCalormenes．
“Keepitup，boys!”cameGriffle’svoice。“Alltogether。Carefully。Wedon’twantDarkiesanymorethanwewantMonkeys-orLions-orKings。TheDwarfsarefortheDwarfs。”
WhateverelseyoumaysayaboutDwarfs，noonecansaytheyaren’tbrave。Theycouldeasilyhavegotawaytosomesafeplace。Theypreferredtostayandkillasmanyofbothsidesastheycould，exceptwhenbothsideswerekindenoughtosavethemtroublebykillingoneanother。TheywantedNarniafortheirown．
WhatperhapstheyhadnottakenintoaccountwasthattheCalormenesweremail-cladandtheHorseshadhadnoprotection。AlsotheCalormeneshadaleader。RishdaTarkaan’svoicecriedout：
“Thirtyofyoukeepwatchonthosefoolsbythewhiterock。Therest，afterme，thatwemayteachthesesonsofearthalesson。”
Tirianandhisfriends，stillpantingfromtheirfightandthankfulforafewminutes’rest，stoodandlookedonwhiletheTarkaanledhismenagainsttheDwarfs。Itwasastrangescenebynow。Thefirehadsunklower：thelightitgavewasnowlessandofadarkerred。Asfarasonecouldsee，thewholeplaceofassemblywasnowemptyexceptfortheDwarfandtheCalormenes。Inthatlightonecouldn’tmakeoutmuchofwhatwashappening。ItsoundedasiftheDwarfswereputtingupagoodfight。TiriancouldhearGriffleusingdreadfullanguage，andeverynowandthentheTarkaancalling，“Takeallyoucanalive!Takethemalive!”
Whateverthatfightmayhavebeenlike，itdidnotlastlong。Thenoiseofitdiedaway。ThenJillsawtheTarkaancomingbacktothestable：elevenmenfollowedhim，draggingelevenboundDwarfs。（Whethertheothershadallbeenkilled，orwhethersomeofthemhadgotaway，wasneverknown。）
“ThrowthemintotheshrineofTash，”saidRishdaTarkaan．
AndwhentheelevenDwarfs，oneaftertheother，hadbeenflungorkickedintothatdarkdoorwayandthedoorhadbeenshutagain，hebowedlowtothestableandsaid：
“Thesealsoareforthyburntoffering，LordTash。”
AndalltheCalormenesbangedtheflatsoftheirswordsontheirshieldsandshouted，“Tash!Tash!ThegreatgodTash!InexorableTash!”（Therewasnononsenseabout“Tashlan”now。）
Thelittlepartybythewhiterockwatchedthesedoingsandwhisperedtooneanother。Theyhadfoundatrickleofwatercomingdowntherockandallhaddrunkeagerly-JillandPogginandtheKingintheirhands，whilethefour-footedoneslappedfromthelittlepoolwhichithadmadeatthefootofthestone。Suchwastheirthirstthatitseemedthemostdeliciousdrinktheyhadeverhadintheirlives，andwhiletheyweredrinkingtheywereperfectlyhappyandcouldnotthinkofanythingelse．
“Ifeelinmybones，”saidPoggin，“thatweshallall，onebyone，passthroughthatdarkdoorbeforemorning。IcanthinkofahundreddeathsIwouldratherhavedied。”
“Itisindeedagrimdoor，”saidTirian。“Itismorelikeamouth。”
“Oh，can’twedoanythingtostopit？”saidJillinashakenvoice．
“Nay，fairfriend，”saidJewel，nosinghergently。“ItmaybeforusthedoortoAslan’scountryandweshallsupathistabletonight。”
