《最後一戰》第9期:無尾猿煊赫一時(2)
"I know," said Jewel. "Or as if you drank water and it were dry water. You are in theright, Sire. This is the end of all things. Let us go and give ourselves up."
"There is no need for both of us to go."
"If ever we loved one another, let me go with you now," said the Unicorn. "If you aredead and if Aslan is not Aslan, what life is left for me?"
They turned and walked back together, shedding bitter tears.
As soon as they came to the place where the work was going on the Calormenes raised acry and came towards them with their weapons in hand. But the King held out his sword withthe hilt towards them and said:
"I who was King of Narnia and am now a dishonoured knight give myself up to the justiceof Aslan. Bring me before him."
"And I give myself up too," said Jewel.
Then the dark men came round them in a thick crowd, smelling of garlic and onions, theirwhite eyes flashing dreadfully in their brown faces. They put a rope halter round Jewel'sneck. They took the King's sword away and tied his hands behind his back. One of theCalormenes, who had a helmet instead of a turban and seemed to be in command, snatched thegold circlet off Tirian's head and hastily put it away somewhere among his clothes. They ledthe two prisoners uphill to a place where there was a big clearing. And this was what theprisoners saw. At the centre of the clearing, which was also the highest point of the hill,there was a little hut like a stable, with a thatched roof. Its door was shut. On the grassin front of the door there sat an Ape. Tirian and Jewel, who had been expecting to see Aslanand had heard nothing about an Ape yet, were very bewildered when they saw it. The Ape wasof course Shift himself, but he looked ten times uglier than when he lived by Caldron Pool,for he was now dress- ed up. He was wearing a scarlet jacket which did not fit him verywell, having been made for a dwarf. He had Jewelled slippers on his hind paws which wouldnot stay on properly because, as you know, the hind paws of an Ape are really like hands. Hewore what seemed to be a paper crown on his head. There was a great pile of nuts beside himand he kept cracking nuts with his jaws and spitting out the shells. And he also kept onpulling up the scarlet jacket to scratch himself. A great number of Talking Beasts stoodfacing him, and nearly every face in that crowd looked miserably worried and they saw who the prisoners were they all groaned and whimpered.
"O Lord Shift, mouthpiece of Aslan," said the chief Calormene. "We bring you our skill and courage and by the permission of the great god Tash we have taken alivethese two desperate murderers."
"Give me that man's sword," said the Ape. So they took the King's sword and handed it,with the sword-belt and all, to the monkey. And he hung it round his own neck: and it madehim look sillier than ever.
“無需我們兩個都去投案啊。”
“如果我們一向彼此相愛，那就現在讓我跟你一起去吧，”獨角獸說道，“如果你死了，如果阿斯蘭不是原來的阿斯蘭了，剩下我一個活着，又有什麼意義呢？”
他們淌着辛酸的淚水，一起轉身走回去了。
他們剛來到正在伐木運木的地方，卡樂門人便發出一聲吶喊，手中拿着武器向他們跑來了。但國王伸出來的劍卻是劍柄向着他們的，他說道：
“我過去是納尼亞王國的國王，現在是個恥辱的武士，我向阿斯蘭獅王自動投案。帶我去見阿斯蘭吧。”
“我也自動投案。”珍寶說道。
於是黑皮膚的人們向他們圍攏來，成了密集的一羣，發出大蒜和洋蔥的氣昧，白色眼睛在褐色臉上可怕地閃爍着。他們在珍寶的脖子上套了個用繩子做的籠頭。他們拿掉了國王的劍，把他的雙手反縛在背後。其中有個卡樂門人，他不戴纏頭巾而戴頭盔，彷彿是個發號施令的人，他從蒂蓮的頭上搶走了一個金箍，急急忙忙塞在他衣服裏邊的什麼地方。他們把這兩個羈押犯帶上山去，帶到有一大塊林中空地的地方。這便是羈押犯所見到的情況。
空地的中央，也就是小山的最高處，有一間像馬廄似的、茅草屋頂的小屋。屋子的門關着。門前草地上坐着一頭無尾猿。蒂蓮和珍寶原是指望看到阿斯蘭的，卻還沒聽說過有頭無尾猿，他們看見那猿猴時心中就十分詫異惶惑了。無尾猿當然就是詭譎，但是，看起來，它比它住在大鍋淵旁時醜陋十倍，因爲它現在打扮起來了。它正穿一件猩紅色茄克衫，原是給小矮人縫製的，所以它穿起來並不十分合身。它的後爪子穿了鑲嵌珠寶的拖鞋，拖鞋不合腳，也穿不牢，因爲，你知道，無尾猿的後爪，確實像人的手。它頭上戴一頂彷彿是紙王冠的帽子。它身邊有一大堆堅果，它不斷地用上下頓喀啦喀啦咬着堅果，把果殼吐出口來。它也不斷拉起猩紅色茄克衫給自己搔癢。一羣說人話的野獸面對着無尾猿站在那兒，在這一羣中，幾乎每張臉看上去都是悲慘的焦慮而又惶惑。它們看到誰是羈押犯時，大家都呻吟嗚咽了。
“阿斯蘭的代言人，詭譎閣下，”卡樂門人的頭目說道，“我們送羈押犯來了，憑我們的技巧和勇敢，倚仗偉大的塔什神的允諾，我們把這兩個亡命的殺人犯活捉了。”
“把這人的劍給我。”無尾猿說道。所以他們就取了國王的劍，連同劍帶一起遞給猿猴。無尾猿把劍和劍帶掛在它的頸子上，顯得十分愚蠢無知。
