《最後一戰》第52期:步伐加快了(5)

"Good," said Tirian. "Now look yonder to our left. You see a great rock that gleams white like marble in the firelight. First we will fall upon those Calormenes. You, maiden, shall move out on our left and shoot as fast as ever you may into their ranks: and you, Eagle, fly at their faces from the right. Meanwhile we others will be charging them. When we are so close, Jill, that you can no longer shoot at them for fear of striking us, go back to the white rock and wait. You others, keep your ears wide even in the fighting. We must put them to flight in a few minutes or else not at all, for we are fewer than they. As soon as I call Back, then rush to join Jill at the white rock, where we shall have protection behind us and can breathe awhile. Now, be off, Jill."

Feeling terribly alone, Jill ran out about twenty feet, put her right leg back and her left leg forward, and set an arrow to her string. She wished her hands were not shaking so. "'That's a rotten shot!" she said as her first arrow sped towards the enemy and flew over their heads. But she had another on the string next moment: she knew that speed was what mattered. She saw something big and black darting into the faces of the Calormenes. 'that was Farsight. First one man, and then another, dropped his sword and put up both his hands to defend his eyes. Then one of her own arrows hit a man, and another hit a Narnian wolf, who had, it seemed, joined the enemy. But she had been shooting only for a few seconds when she had to stop. With a flash of swords and of the Boar's tusks and Jewel's horn, and with deep baying from the dogs, Tirian and his party were rushing on their enemies, like men in a hundred yards' race. Jill was astonished to see how unprepared the Calormenes seemed to be. She did not realize that this was the result of her work and the Eagle's. Very few troops can keep on looking steadily to the front if they are getting arrows in their faces from one side and being pecked by an eagle on the other.

"Oh well done. Well done!" shouted Jill. The King's party were cutting their way right into the enemy. The Unicorn was tossing men as you'd toss hay on a fork. Even Eustace seemed to Jill (who after all didn't know very much about swordsmanship) to be fighting brilliantly. The Dogs were at the Calormenes' throats. It was going to work! It was victory at last - With a horrible, cold shock Jill noticed a strange thing. Though Calormenes were falling at each Narnian sword-stroke, they never seemed to get any fewer. In fact, there were actually more of them now than when the fight began. There were more every second. They were running up from every side. They were new Calormenes. These new ones had spears. There was such a crowd of them that she could hardly see her own friends. Then she heard Tirian's voice crying:

"Back! To the rock!"

The enemy had been reinforced. The drum had done its work.

“行，”蒂蓮說道，“現在往我們的左邊瞧瞧。你看到一塊大石頭，在火光裏像大理石一樣閃耀着雪白的光彩。首先我們要襲擊那些卡樂門士兵，小姐，你運動到我們的左邊，盡力把箭迅速射進他們的隊伍裏去；老鷹，你從左邊飛過去，襲擊他們的臉。與此同時，我們其他的人馬就向他們衝去。當我們逼近敵人時，吉爾，怕誤射了自己人，你就不能再射箭了，你可以回到白石頭那兒等候。你們其他的人，即使在作戰時也要豎起耳朵細聽。我們必須在幾分鐘之內把他們打得四散逃跑，不然就壓根兒打不跑他們了，因爲我們的人員比他們少。我一叫後退，你們就跑到大石頭那兒與吉爾會合，我們在那石頭後面可以有個掩護，可以有一會兒歇口氣。現在，吉爾，出發吧。”

吉爾覺得孤零零得可怕，她向前跑了二十英尺光景，右腿右伸，左腿前伸，箭搭在弦上，她但願她的雙手別那麼發抖。她的第一支箭迅速向敵人射去，越過敵人的腦袋飛開去了。她說道：“這一箭可射糟了。”但她隨即搭上第二支箭，她知道，重要的是射箭的速度，要打他個措手不及。她看到一個又大又黑的東西，撲到了卡樂門士兵的臉上。那是千里眼老鷹。起初是一個兵，隨即是其他的兵，丟下手裏的劍，舉起雙手護住自己的眼睛。然後是她射出的一支箭擊中了一個士兵，另一支又擊中了一頭納尼亞狼，這狼好像參加了敵人的隊伍。但她剛射了幾秒鐘就不得不停止了。蒂蓮及其夥伴向敵人猛衝過去了，彷彿百米賽跑似的，劍光閃閃，野豬的獠牙和珍寶的獨角橫衝直撞，狗兒們吠叫吶喊。吉爾詫異地看到卡樂門士兵彷彿處於毫無準備的狀態，她並未認識到這正是她和老鷹的汗馬功勞。軍隊如果一邊受到利箭的射擊，另一邊又受到老鷹尖嘴的猛啄，是很少能穩穩地瞅着正面的戰線的。

“啊，打得好!打得好!”吉爾大叫大喊。國王的隊伍奪路攻入敵陣。獨角獸用獨角挑起人來就像你用叉子挑動乾草一樣。在吉爾看來，甚至尤斯塔斯(他畢竟對劍術知之甚少)也打得挺漂亮。狗兒們正咬着卡樂門士兵的喉嚨。戰鬥正在順利進行。終於勝利在望了——吉爾渾身打了一個可怕的寒顫：她把一件奇怪的事情看在眼裏啦。雖然每次納尼亞的利劍劈將下去，必有卡樂門士兵倒斃，可是卡樂門士兵的數量，似乎一點兒也沒有減少。事實上，對方的兵員，反而比戰鬥開始時確實增多了。每一秒鐘都有兵員增加。他們從四面八方奔跑而來。他們是新來的卡樂門士兵。這些新來乍到的兵都有長矛。敵方兵員涌過來一大羣，吉爾沒法兒望見她的戰友們了。接着她聽見蒂蓮喊叫的聲音：

“撤退!撤到白石頭去!”

敵人已經得到增援。鼓聲完成了它的任務。