《凱斯賓王子》第12章:反叛
MEANWHILE Trumpkin and the two boys arrived at the dark little stone archway which led into the inside of the Mound, and two sentinel badgers (the white patches on their cheeks were all Edmund could see of them) leaped up with bared teeth and asked them in snarling voices, "Who goes there?"
"Trumpkin," said the Dwarf. "Bringing the High King of Narnia out of the far past."
The badgers nosed at the boys' hands. "At last," they said. "At last."
"Give us a light, friends," said Trumpkin.
The badgers found a torch just inside the arch and Peter lit it and handed it to Trumpkin. "The D.L.F. had better lead," he said. "We don't know our way about this place."
Trumpkin took the torch and went ahead into the dark tunnel. It was a cold, black, musty place, with an occasional bat fluttering in the torchlight, and plenty of cobwebs. The boys, who had been mostly in the open air since that morning at the railway station, felt as if they were going into a trap or a prison.
"I say, Peter," whispered Edmund. "Look at those carvings on the walls. Don't they look old? And yet we're older than that. When we were last here, they hadn't been made."
"Yes," said Peter. "That makes one think."
The Dwarf went on ahead and then turned to the right, and then to the left, and then down some steps, and then to the left again. Then at last they saw a light ahead - light from under a door. And now for the first time they heard voices, for they had come to the door of the central chamber. The voices inside were angry ones. Someone was talking so loudly that the approach of the boys and the Dwarf had not been heard.
"Don't like the sound of that," whispered Trumpkin to Peter. "Let's listen for a moment." All three stood perfectly still on the outside of the door.
"You know well enough," said a voice ("That's the King," whispered Trumpkin), "why the Horn was not blown at sunrise this morning. Have you forgotten that Miraz fell upon us almost before Trumpkin had gone, and we were fighting for our lives for the space of three hours and more? I blew it when first I had a breathing space."
"I'm not likely to forget it," came the angry voice, "when my Dwarfs bore the brunt of the attack and one in five of them fell." ("That's Nikabrik," whispered Trumpkin.)
"For shame, Dwarf," came a thick voice ("Trufflehunter's," said Trumpkin). "We all did as much as the Dwarfs and none more than the King."
"Tell that tale your own way for all I care," answered Nikabrik. "But whether it was that the Horn was blown too late, or whether there was no magic in it, no help has come. You, you great clerk, you master magician, you know-all; are you still asking us to hang our hopes on Aslan and King Peter and all the rest of it?"
"I must confess - I cannot deny it - that I am deeply disappointed in the result of the operation," came the answer. ("That'll be Doctor Cornelius," said Trumpkin.)
"To speak plainly," said Nikabrik, "your wallet's empty, your eggs addled, your fish uncaught, your promises broken. Stand aside then and let others work. And that is why -"
"The help will come," said Trufflehunter. "I stand by Aslan. Have patience, like us beasts. The help will come. It may be even now at the door."
"Pah!" snarled Nikabrik. "You badgers would have us wait till the sky falls and we can all catch larks. I tell you we can't wait. Food is running short; we lose more than we can afford at every encounter; our followers are slipping away."
"And why?" asked Trufflehunter. "I'll tell you why. Because it is noised among them that we have called on the Kings of old and the Kings of old have not answered. The last words Trumpkin spoke before he went (and went, most likely, to his death) were, `If you must blow the Horn, do not let the army know why you blow it or what you hope from it.' But that same evening everyone seemed to know."
"You'd better have shoved your grey snout in a hornets' nest, Badger, than suggest that I am the blab," said Nikabrik. "Take it back, or-"
"Oh, stop it, both of you," said King Caspian. "I want to know what it is that Nikabrik keeps on hinting we should do. But before that, I want to know who those two strangers are whom he has brought into our council and who stand there with their ears open and their mouths shut."
"They are friends of mine," said Nikabrik. "And what better right have you yourself to be here than that you are a friend of Trumpkin's and the Badger's? And what right has that old dotard in the black gown to be here except that he is your friend? Why am I to be the only one who can't bring in his friends?"
"His Majesty is the King to whom you have sworn allegiance," said Trufflehunter sternly.
"Court manners, court manners," sneered Nikabrik. "But in this hole we may talk plainly. You know - and he knows that this Telmarine boy will be king of nowhere and nobody in a week unless we can help him out of the trap in which he sits."
"Perhaps," said Cornelius, "your new friends would like to speak for themselves? You there, who and what are you?"
"Worshipful Master Doctor," came a thin, whining voice. "So please you, I'm only a poor old woman, I am, and very obliged to his Worshipful Dwarfship for his friendship, I'm sure. His Majesty, bless his handsome face, has no need to be afraid of an old woman that's nearly doubled up with the rheumatics and hasn't two sticks to put under her kettle. I have some poor little skill - not like yours, Master Doctor, of course - in small spells and cantrips that I'd be glad to use against our enemies if it was agreeable to all concerned. For I hate 'em. Oh yes. No one hates better than me."
"That is all most interesting and - er - satisfactory," said Doctor Cornelius. "I think I now know what you are, Madam. Perhaps your other friend, Nikabrik, would give some account of himself?"
A dull, grey voice at which Peter's flesh crept replied, "I'm hunger. I'm thirst. Where I bite, I hold till I die, and even after death they must cut out my mouthful from my enemy's body and bury it with me. I can fast a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred nights on the ice and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst. Show me your enemies."
"And it is in the presence of these two that you wish to disclose your plan?" said Caspian.
"Yes," said Nikabrik. "And by their help that I mean to execute it."
There was a minute or two during which Trumpkin and the boys could hear Caspian and his two friends speaking in low voices but could not make out what they were saying. Then Caspian spoke aloud.
"Well, Nikabrik," he said, "we will hear your plan."
There was a pause so long that the boys began to wonder if Nikabrik was ever going to begin; when he did, it was in a lower voice, as if he himself did not much like what he was saying.
"All said and done," he muttered, "none of us knows the truth about the ancient days in Narnia. Trumpkin believed none of the stories. I was ready to put them to the trial. We tried first the Horn and it has failed. If there ever was a High King Peter and a Queen Susan and a King Edmund and a Queen Lucy, then either they have not heard us, or they cannot come, or they are our enemies -"
"Or they are on the way," put in Trufflehunter.
"You can go on saying that till Miraz has fed us all to his dogs. As I was saying, we have tried one link in the chain of old legends, and it has done us no good. Well. But when your sword breaks, you draw your dagger. The stories tell of other powers beside the ancient Kings and Queens. How if we could call them up?"
"If you mean Aslan," said Trufflehunter, "it's all one calling on him and on the Kings. They were his servants. If he will not send them (but I make no doubt he will), is he more likely to come himself?"
"No. You're right there," said Nikabrik. "Aslan and the Kings go together. Either Aslan is dead, or he is not on our side. Or else something stronger than himself keeps him back. And if he did come - how do we know he'd be our friend? He was not always a good friend to Dwarfs by all that's told. Not even to all beasts. Ask the Wolves. And anyway, he was in Narnia only once that I ever heard of, and he didn't stay long. You may drop Aslan out of the reckoning. I was thinking of someone else."
There was no answer, and for a few minutes it was so still that Edmund could hear the wheezy and snuffling breath of the Badger.
"Who do you mean?" said Caspian at last.
"I mean a power so much greater than Aslan's that it held Narnia spellbound for years and years, if the stories are true."
"The White Witch!" cried three voices all at once, and from the noise Peter guessed that three people had leaped to their feet.
"Yes," said Nikabrik very slowly and distinctly, "I mean the Witch. Sit down again. Don't all take fright at a name as if you were children. We want power: and we want a power that will be on our side. As for power, do not the stories say that the Witch defeated Aslan, and bound him, and killed him on that very stone which is over there, just beyond the light?"
"But they also say that he came to life again," said the Badger sharply.
"Yes, they say," answered Nikabrik, "but you'll notice that we hear precious little about anything he did afterwards. He just fades out of the story. How do you explain that, if he really came to life? Isn't it much more likely that he didn't, and that the stories say nothing more about him because there was nothing more to say?"
"He established the Kings and Queens," said Caspian.
"A King who has just won a great battle can usually establish himself without the help of a performing lion," said Nikabrik. There was a fierce growl, probably from Trufflehunter.
"And anyway," Nikabrik continued, "what came of the Kings and their reign? They faded too. But it's very different with the Witch. They say she ruled for a hundred years: a hundred years of winter. There's power, if you like. There's something practical."
"But, heaven and earth!" said the King, "haven't we always been told that she was the worst enemy of all? Wasn't she a tyrant ten times worse than Miraz?"
"Perhaps," said Nikabrik in a cold voice. "Perhaps she was for you humans, if there were any of you in those days. Perhaps she was for some of the beasts. She stamped out the Beavers, I dare say; at least there are none of them in Narnia now. But she got on all right with us Dwarfs. I'm a Dwarf and I stand by my own people. We're not afraid of the Witch."
"But you've joined with us," said Trufflehunter.
"Yes, and a lot of good it has done my people, so far," snapped Nikabrik. "Who is sent on all the dangerous !, raids? The Dwarfs. Who goes short when the rations fail? The Dwarfs. Who -?"
"Lies! All lies!" said the Badger.
"And so," said Nikabrik, whose voice now rose to a scream, "if you can't help my people, I'll go to someone who can."
"Is this open treason, Dwarf?" asked the King.
"Put that sword back in its sheath, Caspian," said Nikabrik. "Murder at council, eh? Is that your game? Don't be fool enough to try it. Do you think I'm afraid of you? There's three on my side, and three on yours."
"Come on, then," snarled Trufflehunter, but he was immediately interrupted.
"Stop, stop, stop," said Doctor Cornelius. "You go on too fast. The Witch is dead. All the stories agree on that. What does Nikabrik mean by calling on the Witch?"
That grey and terrible voice which had spoken only once before said, "Oh, is she?"
And then the shrill, whining voice began, "Oh, bless his heart, his dear little Majesty needn't mind about the White Lady - that's what we call her - being dead. The Worshipful Master Doctor is only making game of a poor old woman like me when he says that. Sweet Mastery Doctor, learned Master Doctor, who ever heard of a witch that really died? You can always get them back."
"Call her up," said the grey voice. "We are all ready. Draw the circle. Prepare the blue fire."
Above the steadily increasing growl of the Badger and Cornelius's sharp "What?" rose the voice of King Caspian like thunder.
"So that is your plan, Nikabrik! Black sorcery and the calling up of an accursed ghost. And I see who your companions are-a Hag and a Werewolf!"
The next minute or so was very confused. There was an animal roaring, a clash of steel; the boys and Trumpkin rushed in; Peter had a glimpse of a horrible, grey, gaunt creature, half man and half wolf, in the very act of leaping upon a boy about his own age, and Edmund saw a badger and a Dwarf rolling on the floor in a sort of cat fight. Trumpkin found himself face to face with the Hag. Her nose and chin stuck out like a pair of nut-crackers, her dirty grey hair was flying about her face and she had just got Doctor Cornelius by the throat. At one slash of Trumpkin's sword her head rolled on the floor. Then the light was knocked over and it was all swords, teeth, claws, fists, and boots for about sixty seconds. Then silence.
"Are you all right, Ed?"
"I - I think so," panted Edmund. "I've got that brute Nikabrik, but he's still alive."
"Weights and water-bottles!" came an angry voice. "It's me you're sitting on. Get off. You're like a young elephant."
"Sorry, D.L.F.," said Edmund. "Is that better?"
"Ow! No!" bellowed Trumpkin. "You're putting your ' boot in my mouth. Go away." `
"Is King Caspian anywhere?" asked Peter.
"I'm here," said a rather faint voice. "Something bit me."
They all heard the noise of someone striking a match. It was Edmund. The little flame showed his face, looking pale and dirty. He blundered about for a little, found the candle (they were no longer using the lamp, for they had run out of oil), set it on the table, and lit it. When the flame rose clear, several people scrambled to their feet. Six faces blinked at one another in the candlelight.
"We don't seem to have any enemies left," said Peter. "There's the Hag, dead." (He turned his eyes quickly away from her.) "And Nikabrik, dead too. And I suppose this thing is a Werewolf. It's so long since I've seen one. Wolf's head and man's body. That means he was just turning from man into wolf at the moment he was killed. And you, I suppose, are King Caspian?"
"Yes," said the other boy. "But I've no idea who you are."
"It's the High King, King Peter," said Trumpkin.
"Your Majesty is very welcome," said Caspian.
"And so is your Majesty," said Peter. "I haven't come to take your place, you know, but to put you into it." ,
"Your Majesty," said another voice at Peter's elbow. He turned and found himself face to face with the Badger.
Peter leaned forward, put his arms round the beast and kissed the furry head: it wasn't a girlish thing for him to do, because he was the High King.
"Best of badgers," he said. "You never doubted us all through."
"No credit to me, your Majesty," said Trufflehunter. "1'm a beast and we don't change. I'm a badger, what's more, and we hold on."
"I am sorry for Nikabrik," said Caspian, "though he hated me from the first moment he saw me. He had gone sour inside from long suffering and hating. If we had won quickly he might have become a good Dwarf in the days of peace. I don't know which of us killed him. I'm glad of that."
"You're bleeding," said Peter.
"Yes, I'm bitten," said Caspian. "It was that - that wolf thing." Cleaning and bandaging the wound took a long time, and when it was done Trumpkin said, "Now. Before everything else we want some breakfast."
"But not here," said Peter.
"No," said Caspian with a shudder. "And we must send someone to take away the bodies."
"Let the vermin be flung into a pit," said Peter. "But the Dwarf we will give to his people to be buried in their own fashion."
They breakfasted at last in another of the dark cellars of Aslan's How. It was not such a breakfast as they would have chosen, for Caspian and Cornelius were thinking of venison pasties, and Peter and Edmund of buttered eggs and hot coffee, but what everyone got was a little bit of cold bear-meat (out of the boys' pockets), a lump of hard cheese, an onion, and a mug of water. But, from the way they fell to, anyone would have supposed it was delicious.
“杜魯普金，”小矮人回答，“我把納尼亞的先王們從遙遠的過去帶到這裏來了。”
獾衛士低下頭來聞一聞孩子們的手。“終於來了，謝天謝地!”
“給點兒光亮，夥計們!”小矮人親切地招呼着。
那身材比較高大的獾從門後取出一支火把。彼得將火把點燃後交給杜魯普金。“請DLF在前面領路，”他說，“我們不熟悉這裏的地形。”
杜魯普金接過火把，領頭向黑暗的通道走去。這是個陰冷、黑暗、潮溼的地方，到處都是蜘蛛網，偶爾還會飛過一隻蝙蝠。孩子們自火車站的那個早晨起就一直在室外，這時不由感到好像正走入一個陷阱或者監獄。
“彼得，”愛德蒙小聲說，“你看石牆上那些壁畫，是不是好多年以前的?可咱們的年齡比它還大!咱們上次來的時候，這兒連石牆都還沒有呢!”
“不錯，”彼得說，“這使人想起了許多往事。”
小矮人繼續往前走，然後向右拐，又向左拐，下幾級臺階，走一段又向左拐。這時，他們看到了前面有一線光亮——門下透出的微光。同時，他們聽到有說話的聲音。小矮人告訴他們，堡壘的中心到了，屋裏傳出的講話聲好像十分憤怒，由於聲音太高，屋裏的人沒有注意到外面有人走來。"
“我不喜歡那樣高聲講話，”杜魯普金輕聲對彼得說，“咱們停一下，聽他們在說些什麼。”於是，他們三個人一動不動地在門外停了下來。
“你知道得很清楚，”一個聲音說，(“這是國王。”小矮人輕聲說。)“你問爲什麼那天早晨太陽升起時沒有吹響號角，難道你已經忘記，杜魯普金剛剛動身，彌若茲的軍隊就向我們撲來了?爲了生存，我們浴血奮戰，連續三個多小時。剛有喘息的機會，我就吹響了那支神奇的號。”
“這個我當然沒有忘記。”這是那憤怒的聲音，“那時我的部下戰鬥在最危險的地方，每五個小矮人中就有一個倒下去了。”“這是尼克布瑞克。”杜魯普金小聲說。
“真不害臊，矮子!”一個粗啞的聲音說，(“這是特魯佛漢特。”)“我們大家和小矮人們同樣賣力，而誰都比不上凱斯賓國王陛下。”
“你愛怎麼說就怎麼說好了，”尼克布瑞克忿忿地說，“問題是，那號吹得太遲了。要不然就是它根本沒有什麼魔力。反正至今我們沒有得到絲毫的幫助。你，你這偉大的教士，萬能的術士，你這無所不知的傢伙!你現在還指望我們對阿斯蘭、對彼得國王和其他的一切抱什麼希望?”
“我必須承認——我無法否認——我對那神號的效力深感失望。”有人回答道。(“那是克奈爾斯博士。”小矮人說。
“說穿了，你的寶貝沒用，你的預言失靈，你現在已是山窮水盡、無計可施了。”尼克布瑞克尖刻地挖苦忠厚的博士，“那麼，你最好站到一邊去，看別人怎麼幹。這就是爲什麼我要——”
“憑阿斯蘭的名義起誓!我們一定能夠得到神靈的幫助。”特魯佛漢特說，“耐心些，學學我們的樣子。那幫助會來的，沒準已經在門口了。”
“呸!”尼克布瑞克根本聽不進去，“你們這些獾就知道讓我們等待，等待，耐心等待，一直等到天塌下來，大家同歸於盡。我告訴你們，我們不再等了。食物眼看就要吃光了。每次戰鬥我們都付出沉重的代價，我們的軍隊開始有人開小差了。”
“爲什麼?”特魯佛漢特說，“我來告訴你原因吧：這是因爲戰士們紛紛傳言，說我們已經召喚古代君王請他幫助卻毫無結果。杜魯普金臨行前說(那可能就是他的遺言了)，假如你們不得已吹響那隻號角，不要讓部隊知道其中的原委，也不要讓大家知道我們的期望。結果怎樣呢?就在當天晚上，一切祕密已盡人皆知。”
“閉上你的臭嘴!”尼克布瑞克惱羞成怒了，“你膽敢暗示我泄露了機密!把話收回去，否則——”
“你們兩個聽着，別吵了!”凱斯賓國王打斷小矮人的話，“我倒想要知道，尼克布瑞克一直在暗示的是什麼。你認爲我們現在該怎麼辦，尼克布瑞克?不過在你發表高見之前，請你先告訴大家，你帶到我們指揮部來的，一直豎起耳朵卻緊閉嘴巴的這兩個陌生人是幹什麼的。”
“他們是我的朋友，”尼克布瑞克說，“你本人若不是杜魯普金和獾的朋友，又有什麼資格站在這裏?還有那個穿着黑袍子的混血老傢伙，要不是你的朋友，他又有什麼資格站在這兒?爲什麼惟獨我不可以帶自己的朋友來呢?”
“陛下是一國之君，別忘了你發過誓要效忠於他。”特魯佛漢特嚴肅地提醒他。
“對，對對，君臣之禮不可逾越嘛。”尼克布瑞克嘲笑道，“可是在這個暗無天日的山洞裏，我們的談話還是坦率些好。你知道——當然，他也很清楚——如果我們一週內再不設法幫助他逃出這個險境，那麼這臺爾馬小子還想當誰的國王?哼!那時候，他將什麼也不是!”-
“或許，你的新朋友們願意自己說些什麼。”克奈爾斯說着，轉向那兩個陌生人，“喂，你們是誰?幹什麼的?”
“尊敬的博士，”這是一個尖細的、哭腔哭調的聲音，“我是個可憐的老婦人，我對可敬的小矮人閣下以及他的真誠友誼感激萬分。國王陛下，讚美上蒼賜予你這張英俊的面孔。你完全可以不必提防我這樣一個因患嚴重風溼病身子已縮成一團、必須藉助柺杖才能行走的老婦人。我會幾樣微不足道的小法術——當然無法與您相比，尊敬的博士——如果在座各位允許的話，我很樂意念幾段咒語，以抗擊我們的敵人。因爲我恨他們，相信我，沒有誰比我恨得更加厲害了。”
“非常有趣，而且——呃——很令人滿意。”克奈爾斯博士說，“我想現在我知道你是誰了，夫人。尼克布瑞克，也許你的另一位朋友也樂意做一番自我介紹吧?”
一個呆板的聲音響了起來，彼得身上立刻起了一層雞皮疙瘩。“我飢餓，我口渴，一旦咬住了敵人，我死也不鬆口。即便我那樣英勇戰死，也只有把我嘴裏那塊肉從敵人的身上割下來，與我一同埋入墳墓。一百年不吃不喝，我也死不了：在冰面上躺一百個通宵，我也凍不壞。我還能一口氣飲下血水匯成的河流，肚子也撐不破。告訴我，你們的仇人在哪裏。”
“你特地帶這兩個人來宣佈你的計劃，是這樣嗎?”凱斯賓問。
“不錯，”尼克布瑞克說，“我想在他們的幫助下實施這個計劃。”
下面的一兩分鐘裏，杜魯普金和兩個男孩只聽到凱斯賓和他的朋友們低聲商量什麼，具體內容卻聽不清楚。又過了一會，凱斯賓大聲說道：
“好吧，尼克布瑞克，我們就來聽聽你的計劃。”
接着是很長一段時間的沉默，直到孩子們開始懷疑那小矮人是否還打算講話。這時，尼布瑞克開口了，他把聲音壓得很低，似乎連他自己都不太喜歡將要說出來的一席話。
“該說的都說了，該做的也都做了。我們大家誰都不知道古老納尼亞究竟是真是假。杜魯普金根本不相信那些傳說，我當初倒想試一試。於是我們吹響了那隻神奇的號角，結果怎樣呢?假設這世上真有國王彼得與他的弟妹，那他們要麼聽不到我們的求援，要麼無法前來，要麼已經變成了我們的敵人——”
“沒準他們正在路上呢?”特魯佛漢特打斷他的話。
“這話你可以一直說下去，直到彌若茲把我們大家都捉去喂他的狗。正如我方纔所說，我們已經用古老傳說中的一件寶物做了試驗，結果全無用處。情況就是這樣。俗話說，寶劍折了，還有匕首；古老傳說中除了國王和女王，還有別的勢力存在。我們爲什麼不試着求助於別的勢力呢?”
“假如你是指阿斯蘭，”特魯佛漢特說，“它和古代君王們是連在一起的。他們是它的奴僕。如果它不肯派他們來——我相信它會的——它會不會親自來呢?”
“阿斯蘭和諸王是連在一起的，這一點你說對了，”尼克布瑞克說，“他們一同行動。那麼，阿斯蘭要麼已經死了，要麼不站在我們一邊，或者，某種更強大的力量使它無法前來。就算它真的來了，我們又怎麼知道，它肯定會是我們的朋友呢?在許多古老的傳說中，它與我們小矮人的交往並不是十分友好，對有些動物來說也同樣如此，不信問問野狼。話又說回來，據我所知，阿斯蘭到納尼亞只來過一次，而且呆的時間很短。我們可以不必考慮阿斯蘭。我想到了另一個人。”
沒人回答，足有好幾分鐘屋裏沒有一點聲音，愛德蒙幾平可以聽到獾的呼吸。
“你說的是誰?”凱斯賓終於問道。
“我是說那個比阿斯蘭威力大得多的人物。假如古老傳說都是真的，那麼她這個人物曾經統治了納尼亞許多許多年。”
“白女巫!”幾個聲音同時驚呼道。根據屋裏的響聲，彼得判斷有三個人忽地跳了起來。
“不錯，”尼克布瑞克緩慢地、一字一頓地說，“我說的這個人就是女巫。坐下來，別像小孩一樣，聽到這個名字就給嚇壞了。我們需要有能耐、有本事的人幫助，而這個人又必須站在我們這一邊。說到能耐，古老傳說不是早已告訴過我們，女巫曾經打敗阿斯蘭，把它捆作一團，就在這塊大石頭上把它殺掉了嗎?”.
“可傳說又告訴我們，阿斯蘭爲了解救愛德蒙甘願受縛，而且後來又復活了。”獾尖銳地說。
“不錯，是這麼說的，”尼克布瑞克答道，“可是你有沒有注意到，從那以後就很少有關它的消息了。它銷聲匿跡、不知去向了。這點你作何解釋?是不是很可能它根本不曾復活?以後的傳說不再提起它，那是因爲已經無話可說了，是不是這樣?”
“一個取得了輝煌勝利的英雄完全可以自立爲王，用不着別人幫忙。”尼克布瑞克說。這時特魯佛漢特發出一陣被激怒了的低沉的咆哮。
“再說，國王及其統治的結果又怎麼樣呢?”尼克布瑞克接着說，“他們也消失了。女巫的情況則大不一樣了。傳說她統治了上百年——上百個嚴冬。可以說，那就是能耐!那就是她與衆不同之處。”
“可是，天地可以作證，傳說中她從來是我們最兇惡、最危險的敵人。”凱斯賓說，難道她不是比彌若茲可怕、可憎十倍的暴君嗎?”
“也許是的，”尼克布瑞克冷冷地說，“對你們人類來講，或許她是的，假如那個時代有你們人類的話；對一些動物來說，多半也是如此——我相信，她把海狸家族打翻在地，又踏上一隻腳，至少今天的納尼亞你是見不到一隻海狸了。可是，她與我們小矮人關係一直不錯。我是個小矮人，我當然站在自己人的立場上說話。我們不害怕女巫。”
“但是你已經加入了我們的陣營。”特魯佛漢特說。
“不錯，可這對我的人有什麼好處?誰被派遣去執行最危險的任務?我們小矮人。糧食不夠吃，誰的身材變得越來越矮小?還是我們小矮人!誰……”
“胡說!全是胡說!”獾大叫起來。
“因此，”尼克布瑞克毫不理會，他把聲音提到最高，“假如你們無法幫助我的人民，我就將投奔一個有這種本事的人。”
“你這是公然反叛!”凱斯賓說着抽出了寶劍。
“收起你的寶劍，凱斯賓，”尼克布瑞克毫不示弱，“想在開會的時候搞謀殺，嗯?我警告你別幹蠢事!你以爲我怕你?你們有三個，我們也是三個。”
“那就來吧!”特魯佛漢特狂怒地咆哮起來，可他的話立即被打斷了。
“慢着，慢着，”克奈爾斯博士說，“你講得太快了。女巫已經死了，所有的傳說都證實了這一點。尼克布瑞克還在打算向女巫求救，這是什麼意思?”
那個呆板而令人毛骨悚然的聲音又響了起來：“哦!真是這樣?”
那尖細、哭腔哭調的聲音接着說：“哇!上天保佑那顆小小的心吧，小陛下別爲白夫人的生死而擔憂——我們都尊稱她爲白夫人。可敬的博士說那話時，一定是在和我這可憐的老太婆開玩笑吧?我親愛的博士，學識淵博的博士，女巫難道會死嗎?她隨時都可能出現在我們的面前。”
“呼喚她吧，我們已準備好了，”呆板的聲音說，“劃一個圓圈，再準備一堆藍色的火。”
隨着獾那越來越響的怒吼，隨着博士大聲喊出的“什麼!”屋內響起了凱斯賓雷鳴般的聲音：
“這就是你的計劃，尼克布瑞克!用黑色的魔法去召喚那受世人詛咒的魔鬼!現在我認清你的同伴了——一個巫婆，一隻人狼!”
門外的三個人接着聽到裏面一陣混亂，有尖聲的嗥叫，還有金屬的撞擊。孩子們和杜魯普金破門而入。彼得一眼看見一隻面目猙獰的灰色龐然大物，一半兒是人，一半兒是狼，正瘋狂地撲向一個年紀與自己差不多的少年；愛德蒙看見一隻獾和一個小矮人廝打着，在地板上滾作一團；杜魯普金則一下來到巫婆的面前。巫婆尖尖的鼻子和下巴難看地伸出面部許多，活像一把鉗子，她骯髒的頭髮散亂地披在臉前，雙手剛剛扼住了博士的脖子。杜魯普金揚手就是一劍，巫婆的醜腦袋應聲滾落在地。接着燈也被打翻了，屋裏一片漆黑，只聽見一陣劍擊聲、咬牙聲、拳打聲、腳踢聲，大約持續了六秒鐘，然後是死一樣的沉寂。
“你沒事吧，愛德?”
“我——我想沒事，”愛德蒙鬆了一口氣，“我逮住了那個混蛋尼克布瑞克，他還活着。”
“上帝保佑，上帝保佑!”這是杜魯普金生氣的聲音，“你怎麼坐在我的身上，你!還不快點起來，你簡直重得像一頭大象!”
“唷，是DLF?對不起，這樣好些了?”
“哎，哎哎……你把靴子伸到我嘴裏了!一邊去吧，你!”身下的杜魯普金使勁地蠕動着。
“凱斯賓國王在哪裏?”彼得問道。
“我在這兒，”一個微弱的聲音答道，“我被咬了一口。”
這時，大家聽到有劃火柴的聲音，是愛德蒙。小小的火焰照亮了他的臉，蒼白而且很髒。他四下摸索着，找到一支蠟燭(這兒早就不用油燈了，因爲點燈的油都被吃了個精光)。愛德蒙把蠟燭點燃，放在桌子上，屋裏頓時明亮起來。地上的人們歪歪斜斜地站起身來。六個人在燭光下互相打量着。
“看來敵人一個也沒跑掉，”彼得看看地上說，“那是巫婆，死了(他趕快把目光掉向一邊)。這是尼克布瑞克，也給幹掉了。哈，我猜這傢伙就是人狼吧。很久沒看到這東西了。狼頭人身，這意味着它曾是個犯下殺頭之罪的囚犯，在行刑的一剎那，超生變成了狼，結果就成了這樣的一個怪物。而你，如果我猜得不錯，便是凱斯賓國王?”
“是的，”對面的少年回答道，“但我卻不知道你是誰。”
“他就是至尊王彼得陛下。”杜魯普金趕忙介紹說。
“歡迎你，陛下。”凱斯賓誠懇地說。
“也同樣歡迎你，陛下，”彼得微笑道，“你知道，我不是來取代你的王位，而是來幫助你取得王位的。”
“陛下。”彼得身邊響起一個畢恭畢敬的聲音。他轉過身去，看到面前正是那隻勇敢忠誠的獾。彼得伸出手，擁抱了它一下，又親了親它那毛茸茸的面頰。彼得這個舉動絲毫沒有女孩子的嬌柔，因爲他是至尊王
“你是好樣的!在最困難的時刻也不曾失去信心。”
“陛下過獎了，”特魯佛漢特謙虛地說，“我們動物是不會變心的，何況我還是隻獾。我們一如既往。”
“對尼克布瑞克，我感到十分惋惜，”凱斯賓說，“儘管第一次見面他就仇視我。長時間的苦難和仇恨扭曲了他的心靈。假如我們在短時間內就取得決定性的勝利，那麼在和平時期他會變成一個很好的小矮人。”
“你在流血。”彼得望着他說。
“是的，我被那狼咬傷了。”
清洗包紮傷口花了不少時間。這一切都做完了之後，杜魯普金說，“好啦。先不要幹別的事，咱們先吃早點吧。”
“別在這兒吃。”彼得趕緊說。
“對，不能在這兒吃。”凱斯賓望着地上的屍體，不由一陣噁心，“我們必須叫人來把這些屍體搬出去。”
“把那兩個傢伙隨便扔在一個坑裏埋掉，”彼得說，
“把小矮人的屍體交給他的部下，讓他們按自己的習慣來埋葬他。”
半小時之後，他們總算在隔壁房間裏坐下來開始用早餐。面前的食物並不誘人：每人一小塊冰涼的熊肉、一小條堅硬的乳酪、一隻洋蔥，還有一缸子白開水。可是，從他們那狼吞虎嚥的樣子來看，誰都會以爲他們吃的是千載難逢的美味佳餚呢。
