《最後一戰》第19期:救援國王(3)
The next question was how to get here. You can't go just by wanting to. So we talked and talked and at last the Professor said the only way would be by the Magic Rings. It was by those Rings that he and Aunt Polly got here long, long ago when they were only kids, years before we younger ones were born. But the Rings had all been buried in the garden of a house in London (that's our big town, Sire) and the house had been sold. So then the problem was how to get at them. You'll never guess what we did in the end! Peter and Edmund - that's the High King Peter, the one who spoke to you - went up to London to get into the garden from the back, early in the morning before people were up. They were dressed like workmen so that if anyone did see them it would look as if they'd come to do something about the drains. I wish I'd been with them: it must have been glorious fun. And they must have succeeded for next day Peter sent us a wire - that's a sort of message, Sire, I'll explain about it some other time - to say he'd got the Rings. And the day after that was the day Pole and I had to go back to school - we're the only two who are still at school and we're at the same one. So Peter and Edmund were to meet us at a place on the way down to school and hand over the Rings. It had to be us two who were to go to Narnia, you see, because the older ones couldn't come again. So we got into the train that's a kind of thing people travel in in our world: a lot of wagons chained together - and the Professor and Aunt Polly and Lucy came with us. We wanted to keep together as long as we could. Well there we were in the train. And we were just getting to the station where the others were to meet us, and I was looking out of the window to see if I could see them when suddenly there came a most frightful jerk and a noise: and there we were in Narnia and there was your Majesty tied up to the tree."
"So you never used the Rings?" said Tirian.
"No," said Eustace. "Never even saw them. Aslan did it all for us in his own way without any Rings."
"But the High King Peter has them," said Tirian.
"Yes," said Jill. "But we don't think he can use them. When the two other Pevensies - King Edmund and Queen Lucy - were last here, Aslan said they would never come to Narnia again. And he said something of the same sort to the High King, only longer ago. You may be sure he'll come like a shot if he's allowed."
"Gosh!" said Eustace. "It's getting hot in this sun. Are we nearly there, Sire?"
"Look," said Tirian and pointed. Not many yards away grey battlements rose above the tree-tops, and after a minute's more walking they came out in an open grassy space. A stream ran across it and on the far side of the stream stood a squat, square tower with very few and narrow windows and one heavy-looking door in the wall that faced them.
Tirian looked sharply this way and that to make sure that no enemies were in sight. Then he walked up to the tower and stood still for a moment fishing up his bunch of keys which he wore inside his hunting-dress on a narrow silver chain that went round his neck. It was a nice bunch of keys that he brought out, for two were golden and many were richly ornamented: you could see at once that they were keys made for opening solemn and secret rooms in palaces, or chests and caskets of sweet-smelling wood that contained royal treasures. But the key which he now put into the lock of the door was big and plain and more rudely made. The lock was stiff and for a moment Tirian began to be afraid that he would not be able to turn it: but at last he did and the door swung open with a sullen creak.
"Welcome friends," said Tirian. "I fear this is the best palace that the King of Narnia can now offer to his guests."
Tirian was pleased to see that the two strangers had been well brought up. They both said not to mention it and that they were sure it would be very nice.
所以，接下來的問題是如何把’魔戒’搞到手。你永遠也猜不到我們最後是怎麼弄到手的。彼得和愛德蒙——彼得就是至尊王彼得，那個跟你說話的人——趕到倫敦，在人們還沒有起牀的清晨，從後邊進入花園。他們打扮得像工人似的，如果有什麼人瞧見他們，這樣便可以看上去像是來疏通陰溝、排水的。我但願是跟他們一起去的那必定是件光榮而又開心的事情。他們必定是順利地完成任務的，因爲第二天彼得打來一個電報那是一種通訊方法，陛下，我以後給你解釋——說是他把’魔戒’弄到手了。第二天，我和波爾都得回學校去——只有我們倆還在上學唸書，我們倆進的又是同一個學校。所以彼得和愛德蒙就要在到學校去的途中一個地點跟我們碰頭，把’魔戒’交給我們。你瞧，上納尼亞來，還非得我們兩人走二趟不可，因爲年紀大的人沒法兒再來了。所以我們就坐上了火車——我們這個世界裏，人們就坐這種交通工具旅行，好多節客車連在一起的——教授、波莉姨媽、露茜和我們一起走。我們要待在一起，能待多久就待多久。我們都坐在火車裏。我們剛到達一個車站，那兒有其他的人們在歡迎我們，我從車窗裏探出來望望是否看得見來歡迎的人們，這當兒突然發生了最最可怕的震動和聲音，呀，我們竟在納尼亞了，陛下給綁在樹上哩。’"
"那麼你們從未使用’魔戒’嗎？"蒂蓮問道。
"沒有使用’魔戒’，"尤斯塔斯說，"甚至連見也沒見過’魔戒’。阿斯蘭用他自己的辦法替我們安排了一切，用不着什麼’魔戒’了。"
"但至尊王彼得掌握着’魔戒’。"蒂蓮說。
"是的，"吉爾說，"但我們認爲他沒法兒使用’魔戒’。另外兩位國家領袖——國王愛德蒙和女王露茜——上次在這兒時，阿斯蘭說過，他們永遠不會再到納尼亞來了。對於至尊王彼得，阿斯蘭也說過類似的話，不過時間更早了。你滿可以深信不疑，如果得到允許，至尊王彼得會像箭一般趕來的。"
"天哪！"尤斯塔斯說，"在這太陽底下，愈來愈熱了。咱們快到了吧，陛下?""瞧吧!"蒂蓮指着前邊說道。在沒有多少碼之外，雄偉的堡壘冒出在樹面的上方，他們繼續走了幾分鐘，便進入了一片開闊的草地。一條小溪流貫草地，在小溪的那一邊，雄踞着一個方方的堡壘，稀稀朗朗的狹長窗子，牆上有個外貌沉重的大門面對着他們。
蒂蓮警惕地看看這邊，瞧瞧那邊，探明周圍確實沒有敵人。然後他走到堡壘跟前，靜靜地站立片刻，從獵裝裏邊摸出一串鑰匙來，鑰匙系在一條細長的銀鏈條上，銀鏈條掛在他的頸子上。他摸出來的那一串鑰匙精美絕倫，兩把鑰匙是用黃金鑄成的，許多鑰匙裝飾華麗，你立刻就可以看出來，它們都是用來開啓王宮裏莊嚴而機密的房間的門的，或是用來打開那放着王室珍寶的芳香木櫃和木盒的。但，他現在插到堡壘大門門鎖裏去的鑰匙，卻是又大又平凡，鑄造也很粗糙。鎖是不大靈活的。蒂蓮有一會兒還擔心他沒法兒叫它轉動。但，最後他終於把鎖開動了，發出一陣子老大不高興的吱吱嘎嘎的聲音，大門給打開了。
"朋友們，歡迎你們光臨，"蒂蓮說道，"恐怕這是納尼亞國王現在能夠接待他的貴賓的最好的王宮了。"蒂蓮很高興地看到這兩位陌生人很有教養。他們倆都說不用客氣，他們深信一定挺不錯的。
事實上，它並非特別"挺不錯的"。堡壘裏相當黑暗，有一股挺潮溼的氣味。堡壘裏只有一個房間，這個房間往上直達石頭屋頂，房間一角有一隻木頭樓梯往上通向一個活門，從這活門出去，可以走上雄蝶牆。有幾隻粗笨的牀鋪可以睡覺，有許多小櫃子和包裹。也有一個壁爐，看上去彷彿已經多年沒有人在爐子裏生過火了。
