《最後一戰》第44期:誰將入馬廄?(3)

Tirian bent his head to hear something that Jill was trying to whisper in his ear. "What do you think is really inside the stable?" she said. "Who knows?" said Tirian. "Two Calormenes with drawn swords, as likely as not, one on each side of the door."

"You don't think," said Jill, "it might be . . . you know . . . that horrid thing we saw?"

"Tash himself?" whispered Tirian.

"There's no knowing. But courage, child: we are all between the paws of the true Aslan."

Then a most surprising thing happened. Ginger the Cat said in a cool, clear voice, not at all as if he was excited, "I'll go in, if you like."

Every creature turned and fixed its eyes on the Cat. "Mark their subtleties, Sire," said Poggin to the King. "This cursed cat is in the plot, in the very centre of it. Whatever is in the stable will not hurt him, I'll be bound. Then Ginger will come out again and say that he has seen some wonder."

But Tirian had no time to answer him. The Ape was calling the Cat to come forward. "Ho-ho!" said the Ape. "So you, a pert Puss, would look upon him face to face. Come on, then! I'll open the door for you. Don't blame me if he scares the whiskers off your face. That's your affair."

And the Cat got up and came out of its place in the crowd, walking primly and daintily, with its tail in the air, not one hair on its sleek coat out of place. It came on till it had passed the fire and was so close that Tirian, from where he stood with his shoulder against the end-wall of the stable, could look right into its face. Its big green eyes never blinked. ("Cool as a cucumber," muttered Eustace. "It knows it has nothing to fear.") The Ape, chuckling and making faces, shuttled across beside the Cat: put up his paw: drew the bolt and opened the door. Tirian thought he could hear the Cat purring as it walked into the dark doorway.

"Aii-aii-aouwee! -" The most horrible caterwaul you ever heard made everyone jump. You have been wakened yourself by cats quarrelling or making love on the roof in the middle of the night: you know the sound.

This was worse. The Ape was knocked head over heels by Ginger coming back out of the stable at top speed. If you had not known he was a cat, you might have thought he was a ginger-coloured streak of lightning. He shot across the open grass, back into the crowd. No one wants to meet a cat in that state. You could see animals getting out of his way to left and right. He dashed up a tree, whisked around, and hung head downwards. His tail was bristled out till it was nearly as thick as his whole body: his eyes were like saucers of green fire: along his back every single hair stood on end.

"I'd give my beard," whispered Poggin, "to know whether that brute is only acting or whether it has really found something in there that frightened it!"

"Peace, friend," said Tirian, for the Captain and the Ape were also whispering and he wanted to hear what they said. He did not succeed, except that he heard the Ape once more whimpering "My head, my head," but he got the idea that those two were almost as puzzled by the cat's behaviour as himself.

蒂蓮低下頭來聽吉爾試圖在他耳邊說的悄悄話。"你認爲馬廄裏確實有什麼東西嗎，"她說。"誰知道呢，"蒂蓮道，"兩個卡樂門士兵拿着出鞘的劍，很可能，兩邊的門口各站着一個兵。"

"你豈不覺得，"吉爾說，"這很可能……你知道……就是我們看到的那可怕的東西嗎？"

"塔什自己嗎？"蒂蓮說道。"弄不明白。

可是，孩子，要有勇氣：我們大家都夾在真正的阿斯蘭的兩個腳爪中間。"

接着就發生了一件最出人意外的事。貓兒金格用冷靜、清晰的聲音，彷彿壓根兒毫不激動地說道："如果你願意，我要進去。"

每一頭野獸都轉過頭來，眼睛牢牢盯着貓兒直瞧。"陛下，留神它們的陰險，"波金對國王說道，"這該死的貓兒參與了陰謀詭計，它是陰謀的核心。不論馬廄裏有什麼東西，都傷不着它，我敢肯定。然後金格會重新從馬廄裏出來，說是它看到了奇蹟。"

但蒂蓮沒有時間回答。無尾猿正叫貓兒出來。"嗬——嗬！"無尾猿說道，"那麼，你，一隻冒冒失失的貓咪，竟要面對面地見他了。那就來吧，我替你開門。如果他嚇得你鬍鬚都從臉上掉下來，你可別怪我。那是你自己的事情。"

於是那貓兒便站起身來，從它在羣衆中的座位裏走將出去，它一直正經地優雅文靜地走着，尾巴翹在空中，柔軟發亮的皮外套上沒有一根毛是不得體的。它繼續向前，走過篝火，走得極近了；蒂蓮肩膀靠着馬廄末端的牆上，站在那兒能仔細打量着貓兒的臉孔。它那碧綠的大眼睛一眨也不眨。"泰然自若，"尤斯塔斯喃喃而語，"它知道它沒有什麼可害怕的。"無尾猿吃吃訕笑，做着鬼臉，拖拖拉拉地過來，站在貓兒身旁，伸出腳爪：拉開門閂，打開馬廄的門。蒂蓮以爲他聽見了貓兒走進黑暗門口時嗚嗚的叫聲。

"阿艾——阿艾——阿奧威——!"從來沒有聽到過的、最最可怕的貓兒叫春的聲音，使大家都跳起來了。你自己在半夜裏聽到過貓兒在屋頂上吵架和做愛的聲音，你知道這種聲音。

事態更糟了。金格從馬廄裏以最快的速度竄回來，把無尾猿也撞了個四腳朝天。如果你不知道它是隻貓兒，你會認爲它是一道薑黃色的閃電。它竄過開闊的草地，回到羣衆中去。誰也不想碰到處於這種狀態的貓。你可以看見野獸們往左右閃開，給它讓路。它竄上一棵樹木，周圍彈了一下，身體便倒掛在樹枝上。它把尾巴倒豎了起來，幾乎跟它整個兒身體一般兒粗大；它的眼睛像碧綠的火焰碟子，它的背上每根毛都挺得筆直。

"我寧願以我的鬍子爲代價，"波金耳語道，"去弄明白這畜生不過是在演戲呢，還有確實在馬廄裏發現了使它害怕的東西。"

"別做聲，朋友。"蒂蓮說道，因爲卡樂門隊長也在和無尾猿竊竊私語，他想聽聽他們究竟在說些什麼。他沒聽到什麼，只不過聽到無尾猿再次在嗚咽。"我的腦袋，我的腦袋好疼啊。"但他得出了一個想法：這兩個傢伙，像他自己一樣被那貓兒的行動搞迷糊了。