CHAPTER SEVEN OLD NARNIA IN DANGER（第2/4页）

“By a little use of simple magic，your Majesty，”said the Doctor，who was still puffing and blowing from having walked so fast．“But there’s no time to go into that now．We must all fly from this place at once．You are already betrayed and Miraz is on the move．Before midday tomorrow you will be surrounded．”

“Betrayed！”said Caspian．“And by whom？”

“Another renegade Dwarf，no doubt，”said Nikabrik．

“By your horse Destrier，”said Doctor Cornelius．“The poor brute knew no better．When you were knocked off，of course，he went dawdling back to his stable in the castle．Then the secret of your flight was known．I made myself scarce，having no wish to be questioned about it in Miraz’s torture chamber．I had a pretty good guess from my crystal as to where I should find you.But all day—hat was the day before yesterday—I saw Miraz’s tracking parties out in the woods．Yesterday I learned that his army is out．I don’t think some of your—um—pure-blooded Dwarfs have as much woodcraft as might be expected．You’ve left tracks all over the place．Great carelessness．At any rate something has warned Miraz that Old Narnia is not so dead as he had hoped，and he is on the move．”

“Hurrah！”said a very shrill and small voice from somewhere at the Doctor’s feet．“Let them come！ All I ask is that the King will put me and my people in the front．”

“What on earth？”said Doctor Cornelius．“Has your Majesty got grasshoppers—or mosquitoes—in your army？”Then after stooping down and peering carefully through his spectacles，he broke into a laugh．

“By the Lion，”he swore，“it’s a mouse．Signior Mouse，I desire your better acquaintance．I am honoured by meeting so valiant a beast．”

“My friendship you shall have，learned Man，”piped Reepicheep．“And any Dwarf—or Giant—in the army who does not give you good language shall have my sword to reckon with．”

“Is there time for this foolery？”asked Nikabrik．“What are our plans？ Battle or flight？”

“Battle if need be，”said Trumpkin．“But we are hardly ready for it yet，and this is no very defensible place．”

“I don’t like the idea of running away，”said Caspian．

“Hear him！ Hear him！”said the Bulgy Bears．“Whatever we do，don’t let’s have any running．Especially not before supper; and not too soon after it neither．”

“Those who run first do not always run last，”said the Centaur．“And why should we let the enemy choose our position instead of choosing it ourselves？ Let us find a strong place．”

“That’s wise，your Majesty，that’s wise，”said Trufflehunter．

“But where are we to go？”asked several voices．

“Your Majesty，”said Doctor Cornelius，“and all you variety of creatures，I think we must fly east and down the river to the great woods．The Telmarines hate that region．They have always been afraid of the sea and of something that may come over the sea．That is why they have let the great woods grow up．If traditions speak true，the ancient Cair Paravel was at the river-mouth．All that part is friendly to us and hateful to our enemies．We must go to Aslan’s How．”

“Aslan’s How？”said several voices．“We do not know what it is．”

“It lies within the skirts of the Great Woods and it is a huge mound which Narnians raised in very ancient times over a very magical place，where there stood—and perhaps still stands—a very magical Stone．The Mound is all hollowed out within into galleries and caves，and the Stone is in the central cave of all．There is room in the mound for all our stores，and those of us who have most need of cover and are most accustomed to underground life can be lodged in the caves．The rest of us can lie in the wood．At a pinch all of us (except this worthy Giant) could retreat into the Mound itself，and there we should be beyond the reach of every danger except famine．”

“It is a good thing we have a learned man among us，”said Trufflehunter; but Trumpkin muttered under his breath，“Soup and celery！ I wish our leaders would think less about these old wives’ tales and more about victuals and arms．”But all approved of Cornelius’s proposal and that very night，half an hour later，they were on the march．Before sunrise they arrived at Aslan’s How．

It was certainly an awesome place，a round green hill on top of another hill，long since grown over with trees，and one little，low doorway leading into it．The tunnels inside were a perfect maze till you got to know them，and they were lined and roofed with smooth stones，and on the stones，peering in the twilight，Caspian saw strange characters and snaky patterns，and pictures in which the form of a Lion was repeated again and again．It all seemed to belong to an even older Narnia than the Narnia of which his nurse had told him．