《最後一戰》第51期:步伐加快了(4)

Boom - boom - ba-ba-boom went the horrible drum. Then another sound began to mix with it. "Listen!" said Jewel: and then "Look!" said Farsight. A moment later there was no doubt what it was. With a thunder of hoofs, with tossing heads, widened nostrils, and waving manes, over a score of Talking Horses of Narnia came charging up the hill. The gnawers and nibblers had done their work.

Poggin the Dwarf and the children opened their mouths to cheer but that cheer never came. Suddenly the air was full of the sound of twanging bow-strings and hissing arrows. It was the Dwarfs who were shooting and - for a moment Jill could hardly believe her eyes - they were shooting the Horses. Dwarfs are deadly archers. Horse after Horse rolled over. Not one of those noble Beasts ever reached the King.

"Little Swine," shrieked Eustace, dancing in his rage. "Dirty, filthy, treacherous little brutes." Even Jewel said, "Shall I run after those Dwarfs, Sire, and spit ten of them on my horn at each plunge?" But Tirian with his face as stern as stone, said, "Stand fast, Jewel. If you must weep, sweetheart (this was to Jill), turn your face aside and see you wet not your bow-string. And peace, Eustace. Do not scold, like a kitchen-girl. No warrior scolds. Courteous words or else hard knocks are his only language."

But the Dwarfs jeered back at Eustace. "That was a surprise for you, little boy, eh? Thought we were on your side, did you? No fear. We don't want any Talking Horses. We don't want you to win any more than the other gang. You can't take us in. The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs."

Rishda Tarkaan was still talking to his men, doubtless making arrangements for the next attack and probably wishing he had sent his whole force into the first. The drum boomed on. Then, to their horror, Tirian and his friends heard, far fainter as if from a long way off, an answering drum. Another body of Calormenes had heard Rishda's signal and were coming to support him. You would not have known from Tirian's face that he had now given up all hope.

"Listen," he whispered in a matter-of-fact voice, "we must attack now, before yonder miscreants are strengthened by their friends."

"Bethink you, Sire," said Poggin, "that here we have the good wooden wall of the stable at our backs. If we advance, shall we not be encircled and get sword-points between our shoulders?"

"I would say as you do, Dwarf," said Tirian. "Were it not their very plan to force us into the stable? The further we are from its deadly door, the better."

"The King is right," said Farsight. "Away from this accursed stable, and whatever goblin lives inside it, at all costs."

"Yes, do let's," said Eustace. "I'm coming to hate the very sight of it."

可怕的鼓聲繼續擂下去：嘭一嘭一吧一吧一嘭。接着是另一種聲音摻入了鼓聲。“聽!”珍寶說。“瞧!”老鷹道。片刻之後，這究竟是什麼，已經是毫無疑問的了。二十多匹會說人話的馬兒，蹄聲如雷鳴隆隆，搖晃着腦袋，張大着鼻孔，抖動着鬃毛，正在衝上山來。會啃會齧的小不點兒們已經做了工作，馬兒成羣結隊地來支援了。

小矮人波金和孩子們張開嘴巴歡呼，但那歡呼可沒有喊出聲音來。空中突然充滿了嘣嘣的弓弦聲和嗖嗖的射箭聲。正在射箭的小矮人們——吉爾在片刻之間簡直沒法兒相信自己的眼睛——小矮人正向馬兒射箭哩。小矮人都是致人死命的弓箭手。馬兒一匹又一匹地滾翻了。這些高貴的馬兒沒有一匹到達國王身邊。

“小豬玀，”尤斯塔斯憤怒得雙腳直跳，尖聲罵道，“骯髒齷齪的背信棄義的小畜生。”甚至珍寶也說：“可要我追上這些小矮人，用我的獨角一戳過去就刺穿十個?”但蒂蓮的面色嚴峻如石頭，說道：“站定了，珍寶。寶貝兒(這是對吉爾說的)，如果你一定要哭，那就轉過臉去，留神別讓淚水沾溼了弓弦。尤斯塔斯，你安靜點兒，別像廚娘一樣罵人。戰士可不罵人的。有禮貌的言詞或者強有力的打擊，是戰士惟一的語言。”

但小矮人們對尤斯塔斯報之以嘲笑：“小傢伙，這事叫你吃了一驚，啊?你認爲我們是站在你們一邊的吧，你可認爲?別害怕。我們不要什麼說人話的馬兒。我不希望你們比另外一幫子贏得更多。你們沒法兒叫我們受騙上當。小矮人總是爲小矮人而奮鬥。”

“泰坎”利什達仍舊在對他的部隊講話，毫無疑問是在爲第二次攻擊做好安排，很可能指望把他的整個軍事力量都投入先頭部隊。戰鼓繼續鼕鼕地響。接着，使他們驚惶的是，蒂蓮和他的朋友們聽到了一種遙相呼應的輕微鼓聲，彷彿是從老遠的地方傳來的鼓聲。另一支卡樂門部隊聽到了利什達的信號，正在趕來支援他了。蒂蓮現在已經放棄了一切希望，但你從他臉上神情可看不出來。

“聽着，”他用鎮定的聲調低語道，“我們現在必須攻擊了，趁那邊的兇惡敵人還沒有得到友軍的增援。”

“陛下，請你考慮一下，”波金說道，“我們在這兒背後有馬廄堅實的木板牆擋着。我們如果向前挺進，難道我們不會受到包圍，難道兩肩之間不會捱到刀尖嗎?”。

“小矮人，我也會像你這樣說話的，”蒂蓮說道，“把我們逼進馬廄，難道不是他們的陰謀詭計嗎?我們離你那致命的門愈遠愈好。”

“國王說得對，”老鷹說道，“不惜一切代價，離開這可惡的馬廄，不管它裏邊住的是什麼妖怪。”

“是啊，讓我們離開這馬廄吧，”尤斯塔斯說道，“我變得一看見馬廄心頭就恨恨的。”