chater five caian’ adventure the unta (第4/8页)

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“Shall I never see you again？”said Caspian in a quavering voice．

“I hope so，dear King，”said the Doctor．“What friend have I in the wide world except your Majesty？ And I have a little magic．But in the meantime，speed is everything．Here are two gifts before you go．This is a little purse of gold—alas，all the treasure in this castle should be your own by rights．And here is something far better．”

He put in Caspian’s hands something which he could hardly see but which he knew by the feel to be a horn．

“That，”said Doctor Cornelius，“is the greatest and most sacred treasure of Narnia．Many terrors I endured，many spells did I utter，to find it，when I was still young．It is the magic horn of Queen Susan herself which she left behind her when she vanished from Narnia at the end of the Golden Age．It is said that whoever blows it shall have strange help—no one can say how strange．It may have the power to call Queen Lucy and King Edmund and Queen Susan and High King Peter back from the past，and they will set all to rights．It may be that it will call up Aslan himself．Take it，King Caspian: but do not use it except at your greatest need．And now，haste，haste，haste．The little door at the very bottom of the Tower，the door into the garden，is unlocked．There we must part．”

“Can I get my horse Destrier？”said Caspian．

“He is already saddled and waiting for you just at the corner of the orchard．”

During the long climb down the winding staircase Cornelius whispered many more words of direction and advice．Caspian’s heart was sinking，but he tried to take it all in．Then came the fresh air in the garden，a fervent handclasp with the Doctor，a run across the lawn，a welcoming whinny from Destrier，and so King Caspian the Tenth left the castle of his fathers．Looking back，he saw fireworks going up to celebrate the birth of the new prince．

All night he rode southward，choosing by-ways and bridle paths through woods as long as he was in country that he knew; but afterwards he kept to the high road．Destrier was as excited as his master at this unusual journey，and Caspian，though tears had come into his eyes at saying good-bye to Doctor Cornelius，felt brave and，in a way，happy，to think that he was King Caspian riding to seek adventures，with his sword on his left hip and Queen Susan’s magic horn on his right．But when day came，with a sprinkle of rain，and he looked about him and saw on every side unknown woods，wild heaths，and blue mountains，he thought how large and strange the world was and felt frightened and small．

As soon as it was full daylight he left the road and found an open grassy place amid a wood where he could rest．He took off Destrier’s bridle and let him graze，ate some cold chicken and drank a little wine，and presently fell asleep．It was late afternoon when he awoke．He ate a morsel and continued his journey，still southward，by many unfrequented lanes．He was now in a land of hills，going up and down，but always more up than down．From every ridge he could see the mountains growing bigger and blacker ahead．As the evening closed in，he was riding their lower slopes．The wind rose．Soon rain fell in torrents．Destrier became uneasy; there was thunder in the air．And now they entered a dark and seemingly endless pine forest，and all the stories Caspian had ever heard of trees being unfriendly to Man crowded into his mind．He remembered that he was，after all，a Telmarine，one of the race who cut down trees wherever they could and were at war with all wild things; and though he himself might be unlike other Telmarines，the trees could not be expected to know this．

Nor did they．The wind became a tempest，the woods roared and creaked all round them．There came a crash．A tree fell right across the road just behind him．“Quiet，Destrier，quiet！”said Caspian，patting his horse’s neck; but he was trembling himself and knew that he had escaped death by an inch．Lightning flashed and a great crack of thunder seemed to break the sky in two just overhead．Destrier bolted in good earnest．Caspian was a good rider，but he had not the strength to hold him back．He kept his seat，but he knew that his life hung by a thread during the wild career that followed．Tree after tree rose up before them in the dusk and was only just avoided．Then，almost too suddenly to hurt and yet it did hurt him too something struck Caspian on the forehead and he knew no more．