《黎明踏浪號》第9章:聲音島
AND now the winds which had so long been from the north-west began to blow from the west itself and every morning when the sun rose out of the sea the curved prow of the Dawn Treader stood up right across the middle of the sun. Some thought that the sun looked larger than it looked from Narnia, but others disagreed. And they sailed and sailed before a gentle yet steady breeze and saw neither fish nor gull- nor ship nor shore. And stores began to get low again, and it crept into their hearts that perhaps they might have come to a sea which went on for ever. But when the very last day on which they thought they could risk continuing their eastward voyage dawned, it showed, right ahead between them and the sunrise, a low land lying like a cloud.
They made harbour in a wide bay about the middle of the afternoon and landed. It was a very different country from any they had yet seen. For when they had crossed the sandy beach they found All silent and empty as if it were an uninhabited land, but before them there were level lawns in which the grass was as smooth and short as it used to be in the grounds of a great English house where ten gardeners were kept. The trees, of which there were many, all stood well apart from one another, and there were no broken branches and no leaves lying on the ground. Pigeons sometimes cooed but there was no other noise.
Presently they came to a long, straight, sanded path with not a weed growing on it and trees on either hand. Far off at the other end of this avenue they now caught sight of a house - very long and grey and quiet-looking in the afternoon sun.
Almost as soon as they entered this path Lucy noticed that she had a little stone in her shoe. In that unknown place it might have been wiser for her to ask the others to wait while she took it out. But she didn't; she just dropped quietly behind and sat down to take off her shoe. Her lace had got into a knot.
Before she had undone the knot the others were a fair distance ahead. By the time she had got the stone out and was putting the shoe on again she could no longer hear them. But almost at once she heard something else. It was not coming from the direction of the house.
What she heard was a thumping. It sounded as if dozens of strong workmen were hitting the ground as hard as they could with great wooden mallets. And it was very quickly coming nearer. She was already sitting with her back to a tree, and as the tree was not one she could climb, there was really nothing to do but to sit dead still and press herself against the tree and hope she wouldn't be seen.
Thump, thump, thump . . . and whatever it was must be very close now for she could feel the ground shaking. But she could see nothing. She thought the thing - or things must be just behind her. But then there came a thump on the path right in front of her. She knew it was on the path not only by the sound but because she saw the sand scatter as if it had been struck a heavy blow. But she could see nothing that had struck it. Then all the thumping noises drew together about twenty feet away from her and suddenly ceased. Then came the Voice.
It was really very dreadful because she could still see nobody at all. The whole of that park-like country still looked as quiet and empty as it had looked when they first landed. Nevertheless, only a few feet away from her, a voice spoke. And what it said was:
"Mates, now's our chance."
Instantly a whole chorus of other voices replied, "Hear him. Hear him. `Now 's our chance', he said. Well done, Chief. You never said a truer word."
"What I say," continued the first voice, "is, get down to the shore between them and their boat, and let every mother's son look to his weapons. Catch 'em when they try to put to sea."
"Eh, that's the way," shouted all the other voices. "You never made a better plan, Chief. Keep it up, Chief. You couldn't have a better plan than that."
"Lively, then, mates, lively," said the first voice. "Off we go.
"Right again, Chief," said the others. "Couldn't have a better order. Just what we were going to say ourselves. Off we go."
Immediately the thumping began again - very loud at first but soon fainter and fainter, till it died out in the direction of the sea.
Lucy knew there was no time to sit puzzling as to what these invisible creatures might be. As soon as the thumping noise had died away she got up and ran along the path after the others as quickly as her legs would carry her. They must at all costs be warned.
While this had been happening the others had reached the house. It was a low building - only two stories high made of a beautiful mellow stone, many-windowed, and partially covered with ivy. Everything was so still that Eustace said, "I think it's empty," but Caspian silently pointed to the column of smoke which rose from one chimney.
They found a wide gateway open and passed through it into a paved courtyard. And it was here that they had their first indication that there was something odd about this island. In the middle of the courtyard stood a pump, and beneath the pump a bucket. There was nothing odd about that. But the pump handle was moving up and down, though there seemed to be no one moving it.
"There's some magic at work here," said Caspian.
"Machinery!" said Eustace. "I do believe we've come to a civilized country at last."
At that moment Lucy, hot and breathless, rushed into the courtyard behind them. In a low voice she tried to make them understand what she had overheard. And when they had partly understood it even the bravest of them did not look very happy.
"Invisible enemies," muttered Caspian. "And cutting us off from the boat. This is an ugly furrow to plough."
"You've no idea what sort of creatures they are, Lu?" asked Edmund.
"How can I, Ed, when I couldn't see them?"
"Did they sound like humans from their footsteps?"
"I didn't hear any noise of feet - only voices and this frightful thudding and thumping - like a mallet."
"I wonder," said Reepicheep, "do they become visible when you drive a sword into them?"
"It looks as if we shall find out," said Caspian. "But let's get out of this gateway. There's one of these gentry at that pump listening to all we say."
They came out and went back on to the path where the trees might possibly make them less conspicuous. "Not that it's any good really," said Eustace, "trying to hide from people you can't see. They may be all round us."
"Now, Drinian," said Caspian. "How would it be if we gave up the boat for lost, went down to another part of the bay, and signalled to the Dawn Treader to stand in and take us aboard?"
"Not depth for her, Sire," said Drinian.
"We could swim," said Lucy.
"Your Majesties all," said Reepicheep, "hear me. It is folly to think of avoiding an invisible enemy by any amount of creeping and skulking. If these creatures mean to bring us to battle, be sure they will succeed. And whatever comes of it I'd sooner meet them face to face than be caught by the tail."
"I really think Reep is in the right this time," said Edmund.
"Surely," said Lucy, "if Rhince and the others on the Dawn Treader see us fighting on the shore they'll be able to do something."
"But they won't see us fighting if they can't see any enemy," said Eustace miserably. "They'll think we're just swinging our swords in the air for fun."
There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Well," said Caspian at last, "let's get on with it. We must go and face them. Shake hands all round - arrow on the string, Lucy - swords out, everyone else - and now for it. Perhaps they'll parley."
It was strange to see the lawns and the great trees looking so peaceful as they marched back to the beach. And when they arrived there, and saw the boat lying where they had left her, and the smooth sand with no one to be seen on it, more than one doubted whether Lucy had not merely imagined all she had told them. But before they reached the sand, a voice spoke out of the air.
"No further, masters, no further now," it said. "We've got to talk with you first. There's fifty of us and more here with weapons in our fists."
"Hear him, hear him," came the chorus. "That's our Chief. You can depend on what he says. He's telling you the truth, he is."
"I do not see these fifty warriors," observed Reepicheep.
"That's right, that's right," said the Chief Voice. "You don't see us. And why not? Because we're invisible."
"Keep it up, Chief, keep it up," said the Other Voices. "You're talking like a book. They couldn't ask for a better answer than that."
"Be quiet, Reep," said Caspian, and then added in a louder voice, "You invisible people, what do you want with us? And what have we done to earn your enmity?"
"We want something that little girl can do for us," said the Chief Voice. (The others explained that this was just what they would have said themselves.)
"Little girl!" said Reepicheep. "The lady is a queen."
"We don't know about queens," said the Chief Voice.
("No more we do, no more we do," chimed in the others.) "But we want something she can do."
"What is it?" said Lucy.
"And if it is anything against her Majesty's honour or safety," added Reepicheep, "you will wonder to see how many we can kill before we die."
"Well," said the Chief Voice. "It's a long story. Suppose we all sit down?" ,
The proposal was warmly approved by the other voices but the Narnians remained standing.
"Well," said the Chief Voice. "It's like this. This island has been the property of a great magician time out of mind. And we all are - or perhaps in a manner of speaking, I might say, we were - his servants. Well, to cut a long story short, this magician that I was speaking about, he told us to do something we didn't like. And why not? Because we didn't want to. Well, then, this same magician he fell into a great rage; for I ought to tell you he owned the island and he wasn't used to being crossed. He was terribly downright, you know. But let me see, where am I? Oh yes, this magician then, he goes upstairs (for you must know he kept all his magic things up there and we all lived down below), I say he goes upstairs and puts a spell on us. An uglifying spell. If you saw us now, which in my opinion you may thank your stars you can't, you wouldn't believe what we looked like before we were uglified. You wouldn't really. So there we all were so ugly we couldn't bear to look at one another. So then what did we do? Well, I'll tell you what we did. We waited till we thought this same magician would be asleep in the afternoon and we creep upstairs and go to his magic book, as bold as brass, to see if we can do anything about this uglification. But we were all of a sweat and a tremble, so I won't deceive you. But, believe me or believe me not, I do assure you that we couldn't find any thing in the way of a spell for taking off the ugliness. And what with time getting on and being afraid that the old gentleman might wake up any minute - I was all of a muck sweat, so I won't deceive you - well, to cut a long story short, whether we did right or whether we did wrong, in the end we see a spell for making people invisible. And we thought we'd rather be invisible than go on being as ugly as all that. And why? Because we'd like it better. So my little girl, who's just about your little girl's age, and a sweet child she was before she was uglified, though now - but least said soonest mended - I say, my little girl she says the spell, for it's got to be a little girl or else the magician himself, if you see my meaning, for otherwise it won't work. And why not? Because nothing happens. So my Clipsie says the spell, for I ought to have told you she reads beautifully, and there we all were as invisible as you could wish to see. And I do assure you it was a relief not to see one another's faces. At first, anyway. But the long and the short of it is we're mortal tired of being invisible. And there's another thing. We never reckoned on this magician (the one I was telling you about before) going invisible too. But we haven't ever seen him since. So we don't know if he's dead, or gone , or whether he's just sitting upstairs being invisible, and perhaps coming down and being invisible there. And, believe me, it's no manner of use listening because he always did go about with his bare feet on, making no more noise than a great big cat. And I'll tell all you gentlemen straight, it's getting more than what our nerves can stand."
Such was the Chief Voice's story, but very much shortened, because I have left out what the Other Voices said. Actually he never got out more than six or seven words without being interrupted by their agreements and encouragements, which drove the Narnians nearly out of their minds with impatience. When it was over there was a very long silence.
"But," said Lucy at last, "what's all this got to do with us? I don't understand."
"Why, bless me, if I haven't gone and left out the whole point," said the Chief Voice.
"That you have, that you have," roared the Other Voices with great enthusiasm. "No one couldn't have left it out cleaner and better. Keep it up, Chief, keep it up."
"Well, I needn't go over the whole story again," began the Chief Voice.
"No. Certainly not," said Caspian and Edmund.
"Well, then, to put it in a nutshell," said the Chief Voice, "we've been waiting for ever so long for a nice little girl from foreign parts, like it might be you, Missie - that would go upstairs and go to the magic book and find the spell that takes off the invisibleness, and say it. And we all swore that the first strangers as landed on this island (having a nice little girl with them, I mean, for if they hadn't it'd be another matter) we wouldn't let them go away alive unless they'd done the needful for us. And that's why, gentlemen, if your little girl doesn't come up to scratch, it will be our painful duty to cut all your throats. Merely in the way of business, as you might say, and no offence, I hope."
"I don't see all your weapons," said Reepicheep. "Are they invisible too?" The words were scarcely out of his mouth before they heard a whizzing sound and next moment a spear had stuck, quivering, in one of the trees behind them.
"That's a spear, that is," said the Chief Voice.
"That it is, Chief, that it is," said the others. "You couldn't have put it better."
"And it came from my hand," the Chief Voice continued. "They get visible when they leave us."
"But why do you want me to do this?" asked Lucy.
"Why can't one of your own people? Haven't you got any girls?"
"We dursen't, we dursen't," said all the Voices. "We're not going upstairs again."
"In other words," said Caspian, "you are asking this lady to face some danger which you daren't ask your own sisters and daughters to face!"
"That's right, that's right," said all the Voices cheerfully. "You couldn't have said it better. Eh, you've had some education, you have. Anyone can see that."
"Well, of all the outrageous - " began Edmund, but Lucy interrupted.
"Would I have to go upstairs at night, or would it do in daylight?"
"Oh, daylight, daylight, to be sure," said the Chief Voice. "Not at night. No one's asking you to do that. Go upstairs in the dark? Ugh."
"All right, then, I'll do it," said Lucy. "No," she said, turning to the others, "don't try to stop me. Can't you see it's no use? There are dozens of them there. We can't fight them. And the other way there is a chance."
"But a magician!" said Caspian.
"I know," said Lucy. "But he mayn't be as bad as they make out. Don't you get the idea that these people are not very brave?"
"They're certainly not very clever," said Eustace.
"Look here, Lu," said Edmund. "We really can't let you do a thing like this. Ask Reep, I'm sure he'll say just the same."
"But it's to save my own life as well as yours," said Lucy. "I don't want to be cut to bits with invisible swords any more than anyone else."
"Her Majesty is in the right," said Reepicheep. "If we had any assurance of saving her by battle, our duty would be very-plain. It appears to me that we have none. And the service they ask of her is in no way contrary to her Majesty's honour, but a noble and heroical act. If the Queen's heart moves her to risk the magician, I will not speak against it."
As no one had ever known Reepicheep to be afraid of anything, he could say this without feeling at all awkward. But the boys, who had all been afraid quite often, grew very red. None the less, it was such obvious sense that they had to give in. Loud cheers broke from the invisible people when their decision was announced, and the Chief Voice (warmly supported by all the others) invited the Narnians to come to supper and spend the night. Eustace didn't want to accept, but Lucy said, "I'm sure they're not treacherous. They're not like that at all," and the others agreed. And so, accompanied by an enormous noise of thumpings (which became louder when they reached the flagged and echoing courtyard) they all went back to the house.
下午三點左右，他們停泊在一個寬闊的海灣裏，上了岸。這裏跟他們見識過的地方都大不相同。因爲當他們走過沙灘時，發現四下一片寂靜，空空蕩蕩，似乎是個沒人住的島嶼，可是在他們面前卻是平坦的草地，上面的草又短又柔滑，恰如英國名門大戶有十個園丁侍弄的園地一樣。上面還有好多樹木，一棵棵都距離勻稱，地上不見斷枝殘葉。不時有鴿子咕咕叫，但聽不到別的聲音。
不一會兒他們來到一條又長又直的沙子鋪的小路，路面上沒長一棵野草，兩邊都栽着樹。在這條小路遠處的另一頭，他們看見一座房子——長長一排，灰色的房子，在午後陽光下顯得一派寧靜。-
幾乎就在他們走上這條小路時，露茜感覺到鞋裏有顆小石頭。在那種陌生地方，她原該叫別人等着她取出石頭纔是上策。可是她偏沒有，只是悄悄落在後面，坐下來脫鞋。她的鞋帶打結了。
她還沒解開鞋帶，別人己走到前面老遠了。等她掏出石頭，重新穿上鞋，她已經聽不見他們的動靜。不過她幾乎立刻就聽到了別的動靜。這聲音不是從房子那邊傳來的。,
她聽到的是一陣砰砰聲。聽上去像是十幾個身強力壯的工人掄着大木槌拼命在捶打地面。很快就越來越近。這時她已經背靠一棵樹坐着，因爲爬不上樹，她實在沒辦法，只能一動不動坐着，身子緊緊貼着樹，但願人家看不見她。
砰，砰，砰……不管這是什麼聲音，反正這會兒很近了，她都感覺得到地面在震動了。可是她什麼也看不見。她以爲那東西——或那些東西——一定就在她身後。不料就在她面前的小路上傳來砰的一聲。她不僅聽到那一下響聲，而且還看見路面沙土飛揚，彷彿受到一下猛擊似的，就知道那東西在小路上了。可是她看不見是什麼東西猛擊地面。接着所有的砰砰聲都湊在一起，大約離她二十英尺遠，突然一下子都停了。於是傳來說話聲。
這真是非常可怕，因爲她根本一個人都看不見。那整個公園般的地方依然像他們剛纔登陸時那樣寂靜空曠口儘管如此，離她三兩步的地方卻有一個聲音在說話。說的是：
"夥計們，我們的機會可來了。"
頓時，其他人齊聲回答說"聽哪，聽哪，他說了，我們的機會可來了。說得好，頭兒。你說得太對了。"
"我說的是，"先前那聲音繼續說，"到岸邊去，攔住他們，別讓他們上小船，大家都拿好武器。他們想要到海上去的話就抓住他們。"
"啊，這樣做就對了，"其他聲音一致嚷着說，"你這辦法太妙了，頭兒。說下去，頭兒。你這辦法想得再妙也沒有了。".
"夥計們，那就趕緊加油吧，加油啊，"先前那聲音說，"我們走吧。"
"對極了，頭兒，"其他聲音說，"這命令再好也沒有了。
我們自己也正想這麼說呢。我們走吧。"
砰砰聲立刻又響起了——開頭很響，不久就越來越弱，越來越弱，直到最後在靠海的那邊消失了。
露茜知道沒工夫再坐着猜測這些看不見的怪物是些什麼東西。那陣砰砰聲剛消失，她就起身，沿着小路，撒開兩腿，趕快奔去追大家。無論如何得警告他們一下。
就在發生這事的時刻，大家已走到那座房子。這是座矮房子——只有兩層——用漂亮光滑的石塊建造，有不少窗子，牆上常春藤半遮半掩。一切都那麼寧靜。尤斯塔斯就說："我看這是空房。"可是凱斯賓一聲不吭，指着煙囪裏冒出來的煙。
他們看到大門洞開，就穿過大門，走進一個鋪着石板地
面的院子。院子當中有個水泵，水泵下有個水桶。那倒也沒什麼希奇。希奇的是看上去沒人在搖動水泵把手，把手竟在上下搖動。
"這裏有魔法在起作用。"凱斯賓說。
"機器！”尤斯塔斯說，"我相信我們終於到了一個文明國家。"
這時，露茜風風火火，氣喘吁吁地隨後奔進院子。她壓低嗓門，向他們說明她聽到的消息。等到他們聽明白了幾分，連最勇敢的人都臉色不妙了。
"看不見的敵人，"凱斯賓嘀咕說，"切斷我們上船的去路。這一關可難闖了。"
"你不知道他們是哪一類怪物嗎，露？”愛德蒙問。"愛德，我又看不見他們，怎麼知道呢?”-
"聽他們腳步聲像人類嗎？"
"我沒聽到腳步聲——只聽到這種咚咚咚、砰砰砰的嚇人聲音——就像木槌在捶打。"
"我倒想知道，"雷佩契普說，"你拿把劍刺進他們身子，他們顯不顯原形？"
"看來我們一定要弄明白，"凱斯賓說，"不過我們還是先走出這大門吧。那水泵旁有一個傢伙在聽我們說話呢。"
他們出了大門，回進那條小路，路邊有樹可以隱蔽。
"其實想躲開你看不見的人，一點也沒用。他們可能就在我們周圍呢。"尤斯塔斯說。
可每，德里寧，"凱斯賓說，"如果我們認定回小船沒希望了，那就走到海灣的另一邊，發信號叫黎明踏浪號開向海岸，接我們上船，你看怎麼樣？"
"吃水不夠深，陛下。"德里寧說。"我們可以游過去。"露茜說。
"三位王上聽我說，"雷佩契普說，"企圖偷偷摸摸，躲躲閃閃，避開看不見的敵人，那是妄想。假如這些怪物存心找我們打仗，準會得逞。不管結果怎麼樣，與其讓他們揪住尾巴，還不如面對面交鋒。"
"我真認爲雷普這回說得對。"愛德蒙說。
"一點不錯，"露茜說，"如果賴因斯和黎明踏浪號上的其他人員看見我們在岸上打仗，他們就能採取某種行動。"
"要是他們看不見任何敵人，就不會明白我們在打仗。"尤斯塔斯發愁說，"他們會以爲我們只是對空舞劍呢。"
大家都不安地沉默半晌。
"得了，"凱斯賓終於說，"我們索性豁出去了。我們必須去面對他們。大家互相握握手——露茜，箭上弦——其餘人都劍出鞘——準備好。也許他們願意會談。"
說也奇怪，他們齊步前進回到海灘，竟看見草地和參天大樹一派太平景象。他們到了海灘，只見小船還停在先前扔下那地方，光溜溜的沙地上一個人也看不見。不止一個人在懷疑露茜說給他們聽的事是不是僅僅出於想象。不料他們還沒走到沙地，半空中就有個聲音說話了。
"別再走了，爺們，別再走了，"這聲音說，"我們先得跟他們談談。我們這兒有五十多人，手裏都有武器。
"聽哪，聽哪，"衆人齊聲說，"這是我們的頭兒。他說的話完全靠得住。他跟你們說的是實話，真的。""我看不見這五十位勇士。"雷佩契普說。
"不錯，不錯。"頭兒的聲音說。
"你看不見我們。爲什麼看不見呢？因爲我們是隱身人。"
"說下去，頭兒，說下去，"其他聲音說，"你說得完全正確。這回答再好也沒有了。"
"別響，雷普，"凱斯賓說，接着又大聲再說一句，"你們隱身人，要找我們幹什麼？我們幹了哪些事得罪你們了？"
"我們要找你們辦件事，這小姑娘能替我們辦到。"頭兒聲音說。(其他人就說這話正是他們本人都要說的。
"小姑娘！”雷佩契普說，"這位小姐是女王呢。"
"我們沒聽說過什麼女王，"頭兒聲音說，(“我們沒聽說過，我們沒聽說過。"其他人隨聲附和說。)"不過我們要求的事她能辦到。"
"什麼事啊？"露茜說。
"假如是什麼對女王陛下榮譽或安全不利的事，"雷佩契普又說，"你們看到我們臨死還可以殺掉多少人，準會感到奇怪。"
"好吧，"頭兒聲音說，"說來話長，我們都坐下吧。"
其他聲音都一致熱情附和這個建議，可是納尼亞人依然站着。
"說起來，"頭兒聲音說，"事情是這樣的。不知多少年以前，這個島原是一個魔法大師的地產。我們全是——或許不妨說，我們全是——他的奴僕。好吧，長話短說，我說起的這個魔法師，他叫我們幹我們不喜歡的事。爲什麼不？因爲我們不願幹。唉，這一來，這個魔法師就大發雷霆。因爲我應當告訴你們，他是這個島的主子，他不習慣人家跟他擡槓。你們要知道，他這人真直爽得不得了。可是讓我看看，我說到哪兒了？啊，對了，說到這個魔法師，他上了樓，因爲你們必須知道他把所有的魔法玩意兒全放在樓上，我們都住在樓下。我說，他上了樓，對我們施了魔法。一種醜化的魔法。依我看，你們看不見我們還真該謝天謝地，如果你們現在看見我們這模樣，纔不會相信我們變醜以前長得什麼模樣呢。你們真不會相信。我們竟醜得大家彼此見了都受不了。那我們怎麼辦呢？好吧，我告訴你，我們怎麼辦。我們等到這個魔法師大概睡午覺了，就厚着臉皮偷偷上樓去找他的魔法書，看看有什麼辦法破這個醜化的魔法。可是我們全都渾身大汗，直打哆嗦，我決不騙你。不過，信不信由你，我們的的確確找不到什麼去除醜相的魔法。時間過得很快，生怕這位老先生隨時都會醒來——我渾身臭汗，決不騙你——好吧，長話短說，不管我們做得對也好，做得錯也好！臨了我們看到一種隱身魔法。我們心想，與其這麼一副醜相，不如隱身爲妙。爲什麼呢？因爲我們情願這樣。於是我的小姑娘，她跟你們的小姑娘年齡差不多，她沒變醜以前是個可愛的孩子，雖然如今——啊，還是少說爲妙——啊呀，我的小姑娘唸了咒語，因爲一定得由個小姑娘來念，或者魔法師本人，你們明白我意思吧，否則的話就不靈驗。爲什麼不靈驗呢？因爲什麼都變不了。於是我的小姑娘克莉普西唸了咒語，我應當告訴你們，她念得真棒，咒語念好，我們就都遂了心願，變成隱身人了。不騙你，大家彼此看不見臉倒真輕鬆了。不管怎樣，開頭是很輕鬆的。可是後來我們對隱身卻大大厭煩了。
不過，還有一件事。我們決沒料到這個魔法師，就是我先前跟你們說起的那個人，居然也成了隱身人。我們從此就沒看見過他。所以我們不知他是死了呢，還是走掉了。或者是否就坐在樓上卻看不見他，也許下樓來了，只是樓下看不見他。真的，聽動靜根本一點也聽不出來，因爲他老是光着腳走來走去，像只大貓一般無聲無息。我對諸位直說了吧，這使我們的神經更受不了。"
以上就是頭兒聲音說的事情經過，不過已簡化了，因爲我把其他聲音說的話都略去了。實際上他說不滿六七句話，他們就少不了要插嘴，表示同意啊，慫恿他說下去啊，納尼亞人聽了真不耐煩，差點發瘋。好容易說完了，大家都沉默了老半天。
"不過，"露茜終於開口說，"這一切跟我們有什麼關係呢？我不明白。"
"哎呀，老天保佑，我沒糊里糊塗把整個要點漏了說吧？”頭兒聲音說。
"你漏了，你漏了，"其他聲音十分起勁地說，"誰都會說漏，說得越清楚，越明白越好。說下去，頭兒，說下去。"
"好吧，我用不着把全部事情經過再講一遍。"頭兒聲音開腔說。"
"不，當然用不着口"凱斯賓和愛德蒙說。
"好吧，那就乾脆幹句並一句，"頭兒聲音說，"我們一直在等外邊來個漂亮的小姑娘，等了好久好久，小姐，就像你這樣的姑娘——願意上樓去找那本魔法書，找到破除隱身法的咒語，念一遍。我們都發過誓，碰到踏上本島的第一批生人，決不放他們生還，除非他們替我們辦到這件該辦的大事。我意思是說，如果他們有漂亮的小姑娘的話，如果沒有，那就是另一碼事了。諸位，正因爲如此，所以如果你們的小姑娘幹不成，我們就要忍痛把你們宰了。不妨說，僅僅是作爲交易而已，希望別見怪。"
"我看不見你們所有的武器，"雷佩契普說，"那些武器也是看不見的嗎？"它話音未落，大家就聽見嗖的一聲，轉
眼工夫就見一枝長矛顫巍巍地刺進他們身後一棵樹上。"對啦，那是枝長矛。"頭兒聲音說。
"對啦，頭兒，對啦，"其他聲音說，"你說得太對了。"
"這枝長矛是從我手裏扔出去的，"頭兒聲音繼續說，"一脫手就看得見了。"
"可是你們爲什麼要我做這事呢？"露茜問，"爲什麼不能讓你們自己的人去幹?你們一個姑娘都沒有嗎？"
"我們不幹，我們不幹，"衆聲一致說，"我們再也不上樓去了。"
"換句話說，"凱斯賓說，"你們要這位小姐去面對危險，可你們就不敢要自己的姐妹女兒去面對這危險。"
"說得對，說得對，"衆聲一齊歡呼說，"你說得太對了。啊，你受過些教育，不錯。誰都看得出來。"
"嘿，竟然如此無法無天……"愛德蒙開口說，可是露茜打斷了他。
"我是晚上到樓上去呢？還是白天去？"
"啊，當然是白天，白天，"頭兒聲音說，"不是晚上。誰也沒叫你晚上去摸黑上樓？呃？"
"那好吧，我來幹，"露茜說，"不，"她轉過身來對其他幾個說，"別來阻攔我。難道你們不明白這沒用嗎？他們有幾十個人。我們不能跟他們硬拼。相反，那倒是條生路。"
"可是有個魔法師。"凱斯賓說。
"我知道，"露茜說，"不過他可能不像他們說的那麼壞。難道你們不知道這些人並不是很勇敢嗎？"
"他們肯定不是很聰明。"尤斯塔斯說。
"喂，聽我說，露，"愛德蒙說，"我們真的不能讓你幹這事。問問雷普，相信它也會說這話。"
"可是這才救得了你們的命，又救了我自己的命，"露茜說，"我跟大家一樣，不願給看不見的刀劍剁成泥。"
"女王陛下說得對，"雷佩契普說，"如果我們有一點把握能靠打仗救她，那我們的責任就非常清楚了。依我看來，我們一點也沒有把握。而他們要求女王陛下辦的事根本也不違背女王的尊嚴，倒是一個高尚英勇的行動。如果女王好心，願意冒險見見魔法師，我決不會有二話。"4
大家都知道雷佩契普素來天不怕地不怕，這話它說得出口，一點都不感到尷尬，可是這些經常前怕狼後怕虎的小夥子卻弄得臉色通紅。但是，道理明擺着，他們也就只好讓步了。隱身人聽到宣佈事情就這麼定了，頓時大聲歡呼，頭兒就請納尼亞人共進晚餐，玩上一夜，其他聲音都一致熱烈擁護。尤斯塔斯不願接受，可是露茜說"我相信他們不是陰險的壞人。他們根本不像壞人。"別人聽了都同意。就這樣，他們在一大片砰砰砰的聲音陪同下，回到那所房子裏去。他們走到那個鋪着石板，發出回聲的院子時，這片聲音更響了。
