迪文小说

chater three the dwarf（第2页）

“Anyway，”hecontinued，“ghostsornot，you’vesavedmylifeandI’mextremelyobligedtoyou．”

“Butwhyshouldwebeghosts？”askedLucy．

“I’vebeentoldallmylife，”saidtheDwarf，“thatthesewoodsalongtheshorewereasfullofghostsastheywereoftrees．That’swhatthestoryis．Andthat’swhy，whentheywanttogetridofanyone，theyusuallybringhimdownhere（liketheyweredoingwithme）andsaythey’llleavehimtotheghosts．ButIalwayswonderediftheydidn’treallydrown’emorcuttheirthroats．Ineverquitebelievedintheghosts．Butthosetwocowardsyou’vejustshotbelievedallright．TheyweremorefrightenedoftakingmetomydeaththanIwasofgoing！”

“Oh，”saidSusan．“Sothat’swhytheybothranaway．”

“Eh？What’sthat？”saidtheDwarf．

“Theygotaway，”saidEdmund．“Tothemainland．”

“Iwasn’tshootingtokill，youknow，”saidSusan．Shewouldnothavelikedanyonetothinkshecouldmissatsuchashortrange．

“Hm，”saidtheDwarf．“That’snotsogood．Thatmaymeantroublelateron．Unlesstheyholdtheirtonguesfortheirownsake．”

“Whatweretheygoingtodrownyoufor？”askedPeter．

“Oh，I’madangerouscriminal，Iam，”saidtheDwarfcheerfully．“Butthat’salongstory．Meantime，Iwaswonderingifperhapsyouweregoingtoaskmetobreakfast？You’venoideawhatanappetiteitgivesone，beingexecuted．”

“There’sonlyapples，”saidLucydolefully．

“Betterthannothing，butnotsogoodasfreshfish，”saidtheDwarf．“ItlooksasifI’llhavetoaskyoutobreakfastinstead．Isawsomefishingtackleinthatboat．Andanyway，wemusttakeherroundtotheothersideoftheisland．Wedon’twantanyonefromthemainlandcomingdownandseeingher．”

“Ioughttohavethoughtofthatmyself，”saidPeter．

ThefourchildrenandtheDwarfwentdowntothewater’sedge，pushedofftheboatwithsomedifficulty，andscrambledaboard．TheDwarfatoncetookcharge．Theoarswereofcoursetoobigforhimtouse，soPeterrowedandtheDwarfsteeredthemnorthalongthechannelandpresentlyeastwardroundthetipoftheisland．Fromherethechildrencouldseerightuptheriver，andallthebaysandheadlandsofthecoastbeyondit．Theythoughttheycouldrecognizebitsofit，butthewoods，whichhadgrownupsincetheirtime，madeeverythinglookverydifferent．

Whentheyhadcomeroundintoopenseaontheeastoftheisland，theDwarftooktofishing．Theyhadanexcellentcatchofpavenders，abeautifulrainbow—colouredfishwhichtheyallrememberedeatinginCairParavelintheolddays．Whentheyhadcaughtenoughtheyrantheboatupintoalittlecreekandmooredhertoatree．TheDwarf，whowasamostcapableperson（and，indeed，thoughonemeetsbadDwarfs，IneverheardofaDwarfwhowasafool），cutthefishopen，cleanedthem，andsaid:

“Now，whatwewantnextissomefirewood．”

“We’vegotsomeupatthecastle，”saidEdmund．

TheDwarfgavealowwhistle．“Beardsandbedsteads！”hesaid．“Sotherereallyisacastle，afterall？”

“It’sonlyaruin，”saidLucy．

TheDwarfstaredroundatallfourofthemwithaverycuriousexpressiononhisface．“Andwhoonearth-？”hebegan，butthenbrokeoffandsaid，“Nomatter．Breakfastfirst．Butonethingbeforewegoon．CanyoulayyourhandonyourheartsandtellmeI’mreallyalive？AreyousureIwasn’tdrownedandwe’renotallghoststogether？”

Whentheyhadallreassuredhim，thenextquestionwashowtocarrythefish．Theyhadnothingtostringthemonandnobasket．TheyhadtouseEdmund’shatintheendbecausenooneelsehadahat．Hewouldhavemademuchmorefussaboutthisifhehadnotbynowbeensoravenouslyhungry．

AtfirsttheDwarfdidnotseemverycomfortableinthecastle．Hekeptlookingroundandsniffingandsaying，“H’m．Looksabitspookyafterall．Smellslikeghosts，too．”Buthecheeredupwhenitcametolightingthefireandshowingthemhowtoroastthefreshpavendersintheembers．Eatinghotfishwithnoforks，andonepocket-knifebetweenfivepeople，isamessybusinessandtherewereseveralburntfingersbeforethemealwasended;but，asitwasnownineo’clockandtheyhadbeenupsincefive，nobodymindedtheburnssomuchasyoumighthaveexpected．Wheneveryonehadfinishedoffwithadrinkfromthewellandanappleorso，theDwarfproducedapipeaboutthesizeofhisownarm，filledit，litit，blewagreatcloudoffragrantsmoke，andsaid，“Now．”