《最後一戰》第50期:步伐加快了(3)
Eustace could never remember what happened in the next two minutes. It was all like a dream (the sort you have when your temperature is over 100) until he heard Rishda Tarkaan's voice calling out from the distance:
"Retire. Back hither and re-form."
Then Eustace came to his senses and saw the Calormenes scampering back to their friends. But not all of them. Two lay dead, pierced by Jewel's horn, one by Tirian's sword. The Fox lay dead at his own feet, and he wondered if it was he who had killed it. The Bull also was down, shot through the eye by an arrow from Jill and gashed in his side by the Boar's tusk. But our side had its losses too. Three dogs were killed and a fourth was hobbling behind the line on three legs and whimpering. The Bear lay on the ground, moving feebly. Then it mumbled in its throaty voice, bewildered to the last, "I - I don't understand," laid its big head down on the grass as quietly as a child going to sleep, and never moved again.
In fact, the first attack had failed. Eustace didn't seem able to be glad about it: he was so terribly thirsty and his arm ached so.
As the defeated Calormenes went back to their commander, the Dwarfs began jeering at them.
"Had enough, Darkies?" they yelled. "Don't you like it? Why doesn't your great Tarkaan go and fight himself instead of sending you to be killed? Poor Darkies!"
"Dwarfs," cried Tirian. "Come here and use your swords, not your tongues. There is still time. Dwarfs of Narnia! You can fight well, I know. Come back to your allegiance."
"Yah!" sneered the Dwarfs. "Not likely. You're just as big humbugs as the other lot. We don't want any Kings. The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs. Boo!"
Then the Drum began: not a Dwarf drum this time, but a big bull's hide Calormene drum. The children from the very first hated the sound. Boom - boom - ba-ba-boom it went. But they would have hated it far worse if they had known what it meant. Tirian did. It meant that there were other Calormene troops somewhere near and that Rishda Tarkaan was calling them to his aid. Tirian and Jewel looked at one another sadly. They had just begun to hope that they might win that night: but it would be all over with them if new enemies appeared.
Tirian gazed despairingly round. Several Narnians were standing with the Calormenes, whether through treachery or in honest fear of "Tashlan". Others were sitting still, staring, not likely to join either side. But there were fewer animals now: the crowd was much smaller. Clearly, several of them had just crept quietly away during the fighting.
尤斯塔斯怎麼也記不得後來兩分鐘內發生的事了。這全像是在夢裏(你發高燒時做的那種夢)。他終於聽到“泰坎”利什達在遠處喊叫的聲音。
“撤退。撤回到那兒；重整旗鼓。”
於是尤斯塔斯恢復了知覺，看見卡樂門士兵向他們的朋友們驚惶地跑回去。但並非都跑回去了。兩個倒斃在地上，一個是珍寶的獨角戳死的，一個是蒂蓮的劍殺死的。狐狸死在他腳邊，他弄不清是不是他自己把它宰了的。公牛也倒下了，吉爾的一箭射中了它的眼睛，野豬的獠牙口叫它脅部裂開了。但我方也有損失。三條狗被殺死了，第四條狗憑着三條腿在戰線後面蹣跚行走，嘴裏嗚咽哀鳴。熊躺在地上，虛弱無力地挪動着。它最終還是迷惑不解，喉嚨裏咕咕噥噥地說道：“我——我不——明白。”接着就像一個小孩兒落入睡眠一樣，大腦袋平靜地落到草地上，永遠不再動彈了。
事實上，敵人的第一次攻擊失敗了。尤斯塔斯似乎未能爲之高興，他渴得厲害，他的胳膊也疼得厲害。
被打敗的卡樂門士兵回到他們的指揮官那兒時，小矮人們開始嘲笑他們。
“打夠了，黑皮?”他們叫着說道，“你們不喜歡打仗?爲什麼你們偉大的‘泰坎’自己不去作戰，卻派你們去送死?可憐的黑皮!”
“小矮人們，”蒂蓮喊道，“過來吧，用你們的劍作戰，可別用你們的舌頭舌戰。時間還是有的。納尼亞的小矮人們，我知道。你們打得很好。回來效忠你們的國家吧。”
“呀!”小矮人嘲弄道，“不見得吧。你們就跟另外一幫子一樣，都是大騙子。小矮人總是爲小矮人而奮鬥的。我們不要什麼國王。呸!”
於是戰鼓開始響起來了：這一回可不是小矮人的小鼓，而是卡樂門的公牛皮大鼓。孩子們一開頭就憎恨這種鼓聲。嘭一嘭吧一吧一嘭地響下去。但如果孩子們明白這鼓聲的用意，他們就會更加厲害地憎恨它了。蒂蓮明白，附近什麼地方有別的卡樂門軍隊，鼓聲的用意就是“泰坎”利什達在向他們呼救求援。蒂蓮和珍寶煩惱地面面相覷。他們剛開始指望他們今夜能獲全勝，但如果新的敵軍來到，那就全都完蛋了。
蒂蓮絕望地向四周打量。有幾頭納尼亞野獸跟卡樂門兵站在一起，不論他們是背信棄義還是由於真心害怕“塔什蘭”。其他的正一動也不動地坐着，目不轉晴地瞧着，不像要參加那一方作戰。然而，現在野獸的數量更少了，形成的羣也更小了。十分清楚，好幾頭野獸在戰鬥時悄悄溜掉了。
