《最後一戰》第24期:成功的夜襲(4)
"Where the devil have you been to?" said Eustace in a furious whisper, for he had been very frightened.
"In the stable," gasped Jill, but it was the sort of gasp you give when you're struggling with suppressed laughter.
"Oh," growled Eustace, "you think it funny, do you? Well all I can say is -"
"Have you got Jewel, Sire?" asked Jill.
"Yes. Here he is. What is that beast with you?"
"That's him," said Jill. "But let's be off home before anyone wakes up." And again there came little explosions of laughter.
The others obeyed at once for they had already lingered long enough in that dangerous place and the Dwarf drums seemed to have come a little nearer. It was only after they had been walking Southward for several minutes that Eustace said:
"Got him? What do you mean?"
"The false Aslan," said Jill.
"What?" said Tirian. "Where have you been? What have you done?"
"Well, Sire," said Jill. "As soon as I saw that you'd got the sentry out of the way I thought hadn't I better have a look inside the stable and see what really is there? So I crawled along. It was as easy as anything to draw the bolt.
Of course it was pitch black inside and smelled like any other stable. Then I struck a light and - would you believe it? - there was nothing at all there but this old donkey with a bundle of lion-skin tied on to his back. So I drew my knife and told him he'd have to come along with me. As a matter of fact I needn't have threatened him with the knife at all. He was very fed up with the stable and quite ready to come - weren't you, Puzzle dear?"
"Great Scott!" said Eustace. "Well I'm - jiggered. I was jolly angry with you a moment ago, and I still think it was mean of you to sneak off without the rest of us: but I must admit - well, I mean to say - well it was a perfectly gorgeous thing to do. If she was a boy she'd have to be knighted, wouldn't she, Sire?"
"If she was a boy," said Tirian, "she'd be whipped for disobeying orders." And in the dark no one could see whether he said this with a frown or a smile. Next minute there was a sound of rasping metal.
"你究竟上哪兒去了?"尤斯塔斯用憤怒的低語說道，因爲他曾爲她非常驚惶焦急。
"在馬廄裏。"吉爾喘着氣說道，但這是盡力剋制大笑時的那種喘息。
"啊，"尤斯塔斯咕嚕道，"你以爲有趣可笑，是嗎?我能說的卻只是 "
"陛下，你把珍寶救出來了?"吉爾問。
"是的。它就在這裏。那跟你在一起的是什麼牲口?"
"那就是它呀，"吉爾說道，"但，讓我們趁着誰也沒醒來時先回家去吧。"但重新又傳來爆發出來的小小的笑聲。
其他的人立刻服從，因爲他們在那危險地點逗留得夠長久了，而小矮人們的鼓聲似乎又近了一點兒。他們向南才走了幾分鐘，尤斯塔斯說道：
"逮住了它?你的意思是指什麼呢?"
"僞阿斯蘭。"吉爾說。
"什麼?"蒂蓮說道，"你到過什麼地方?你做了什麼事情?"
"哎，陛下，"吉爾說，"我一看見你已經把哨兵引開去，心裏就想，我倒不如去瞧瞧馬廄的內部，看明白那兒實實在在有什麼東西。所以我一路爬過去，拉開馬廄的門閂，易如反掌。
裏邊當然一團漆黑，氣味也跟任何馬廄一樣。於是我點亮一個火，但見——你們相信嗎?——裏邊壓根兒什麼都沒有，只有這一頭老驢子，身上縛着一張獅子毛皮。我就拔出刀來，叫它跟我一起走。事實上，我也無需用刀子威逼它走。它對那馬廄厭倦極了，十分情願跟我來——親愛的迷惑，是不是這樣?"
"真了不得！"尤斯塔斯說道，"我呀——我真該死，剛纔我還爲你大發脾氣哩，我現在仍舊認爲你揹着我們大家偷偷溜走是討厭的，然而，我又必須承認——哦，我的意思是說——你幹了件十分漂亮的事情。如果她是個男孩，她會被封爲武士的，陛下，你說是嗎?".
"如果她是個男孩，"蒂蓮說，"因爲不服從命令，她會挨鞭子的。"黑暗之中也看不出他是皺着眉頭還是微笑着說這話的。接下來便聽到金屬鏗鏘摩擦的聲音。
