669小说网

chater ne the ind f the vice（第1页）

ANDnowthewindswhichhadsolongbeenfromthenorth-westbegantoblowfromthewestitselfandeverymorningwhenthesunroseoutoftheseathecurvedprowoftheDawnTreaderstooduprightacrossthemiddleofthesun．SomethoughtthatthesunlookedlargerthanitlookedfromNarnia，butothersdisagreed．Andtheysailedandsailedbeforeagentleyetsteadybreezeandsawneitherfishnorgull-norshipnorshore．Andstoresbegantogetlowagain，anditcreptintotheirheartsthatperhapstheymighthavecometoaseawhichwentonforever．Butwhentheverylastdayonwhichtheythoughttheycouldriskcontinuingtheireastwardvoyagedawned，itshowed，rightaheadbetweenthemandthesunrise，alowlandlyinglikeacloud．

Theymadeharbourinawidebayaboutthemiddleoftheafternoonandlanded．Itwasaverydifferentcountryfromanytheyhadyetseen．Forwhentheyhadcrossedthesandybeachtheyfoundallsilentandemptyasifitwereanuninhabitedland，

butbeforethemtherewerelevellawnsinwhichthegrasswasassmoothandshortasitusedtobeinthegroundsofagreatEnglishhousewheretengardenerswerekept．Thetrees，ofwhichthereweremany，allstoodwellapartfromoneanother，andtherewerenobrokenbranchesandnoleaveslyingontheground．Pigeonssometimescooedbuttherewasnoothernoise．

Presentlytheycametoalong，straight，sandedpathwithnotaweedgrowingonitandtreesoneitherhand．Faroffattheotherendofthisavenuetheynowcaughtsightofahouse—verylongandgreyandquiet—lookingintheafternoonsun．

AlmostassoonastheyenteredthispathLucynoticedthatshehadalittlestoneinhershoe．Inthatunknownplaceitmighthavebeenwiserforhertoasktheotherstowaitwhileshetookitout．Butshedidn’t；shejustdroppedquietlybehindandsatdowntotakeoffhershoe．Herlacehadgotintoaknot．

Beforeshehadundonetheknottheotherswereafairdistanceahead．Bythetimeshehadgotthestoneoutandwasputtingtheshoeonagainshecouldnolongerhearthem．Butalmostatoncesheheardsomethingelse．Itwasnotcomingfromthedirectionofthehouse．

Whatsheheardwasathumping．Itsoundedasifdozensofstrongworkmenwerehittingthegroundashardastheycouldwithgreatwoodenmallets．Anditwasveryquicklycomingnearer．Shewasalreadysittingwithherbacktoatree，andasthetreewasnotoneshecouldclimb，therewasreallynothingtodobuttositdeadstillandpressherselfagainstthetreeandhopeshewouldn’tbeseen．

Thump，thump，thump。。。andwhateveritwasmustbeveryclosenowforshecouldfeelthegroundshaking．Butshecouldseenothing．Shethoughtthething-orthingsmustbejustbehindher．Butthentherecameathumponthepathrightinfrontofher．Sheknewitwasonthepathnotonlybythesoundbutbecauseshesawthesandscatterasifithadbeenstruckaheavyblow．Butshecouldseenothingthathadstruckit．Thenallthethumpingnoisesdrewtogetherabouttwentyfeetawayfromherandsuddenlyceased．ThencametheVoice．

Itwasreallyverydreadfulbecauseshecouldstillseenobodyatall．Thewholeofthatpark-likecountrystilllookedasquietandemptyasithadlookedwhentheyfirstlanded．Nevertheless，onlyafewfeetawayfromher，avoicespoke．Andwhatitsaidwas：

“Mates，now’sourchance．”

Instantlyawholechorusofothervoicesreplied，“Hearhim．Hearhim．Now‘sourchance’，hesaid．Welldone，Chief．Youneversaidatruerword．”

“WhatIsay，”continuedthefirstvoice，“is，getdowntotheshorebetweenthemandtheirboat，andleteverymother’ssonlooktohisweapons．Catch’emwhentheytrytoputtosea．”

“Eh，that’stheway，”shoutedalltheothervoices．“Younevermadeabetterplan，Chief．Keepitup，Chief．Youcouldn’thaveabetterplanthanthat．”

“Lively，then，mates，lively，”saidthefirstvoice．“Offwego。

“Rightagain，Chief，”saidtheothers．“Couldn’thaveabetter

order．Justwhatweweregoingtosayourselves．Offwego．”

Immediatelythethumpingbeganagain—veryloudatfirstbutsoonfainterandfainter，tillitdiedoutinthedirectionofthesea．

Lucyknewtherewasnotimetositpuzzlingastowhattheseinvisiblecreaturesmightbe．Assoonasthethumpingnoisehaddiedawayshegotupandranalongthepathaftertheothersasquicklyasherlegswouldcarryher．Theymustatallcostsbewarned．

Whilethishadbeenhappeningtheothershadreachedthehouse．Itwasalowbuilding-onlytwostorieshighmadeofabeautifulmellowstone，many-windowed，andpartiallycoveredwithivy．EverythingwassostillthatEustacesaid，“Ithinkit’sempty，”butCaspiansilentlypointedtothecolumnofsmokewhichrosefromonechimney．

Theyfoundawidegatewayopenandpassedthroughitintoapavedcourtyard．Anditwasherethattheyhadtheirfirstindicationthattherewassomethingoddaboutthisisland．Inthemiddleofthecourtyardstoodapump，andbeneaththepumpabucket．Therewasnothingoddaboutthat．Butthepumphandlewasmovingupanddown，thoughthereseemedtobenoonemovingit．

“There’ssomemagicatworkhere，”saidCaspian．

“Machinery！”saidEustace．“Idobelievewe’vecometoacivilizedcountryatlast．”

AtthatmomentLucy，hotandbreathless，rushedintothecourtyardbehindthem．Inalowvoiceshetriedtomakethemunderstandwhatshehadoverheard．Andwhentheyhadpartlyunderstooditeventhebravestofthemdidnotlookveryhappy．

“Invisibleenemies，”mutteredCaspian．“Andcuttingusofffromtheboat．Thisisanuglyfurrowtoplough．”

“You’venoideawhatsortofcreaturestheyare，Lu？”askedEdmund．

“HowcanI，Ed，whenIcouldn’tseethem？”

“Didtheysoundlikehumansfromtheirfootsteps？”

“Ididn’thearanynoiseoffeet—onlyvoicesandthisfrightfulthuddingandthumping-likeamallet．”