chater ix the adventure f eutace (第3/8页)
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“Master Rhince,”said Reepicheep,“you never spoke a word that became you less.The creature is no friend of mine but he is of the Queen’s blood,and while he is one of our fellowship it concerns our honour to find him and to avenge him if he is dead.”
“Of course we’ve got to find himif we can,”said Caspian wearily.“That’s the nuisance of it.It means a search party and endless trouble.Bother Eustace.”
Meanwhile Eustace slept and slept—and slept.What woke him was a pain in his arm.The moon was shining in at the mouth of the cave,and the bed of treasures seemed to have grown much more comfortable:in fact he could hardly feel it at all.He was puzzled by the pain in his arm at first,but presently it occurred to him that the bracelet which he had shoved up above his elbow had become strangely tight.His arm must have swollen while he was asleepit was his left arm.
He moved his right arm in order to feel his left,but stopped before he had moved it an inch and bit his lip in terror.For just in front of him,and a little on his right,where the moonlight fell clear on the floor of the cave,he saw a hideous shape moving.
He knew that shape:it was a dragon’s claw.It had moved as he moved his hand and became still when he stopped moving his hand.
“Oh,what a fool I’ve been,”thought Eustace.“Of course, the brute had a mate and it’s lying beside me.”
For several minutes he did not dare to move a muscle.He saw two thin columns of smoke going up before his eyes,black against the moonlight;just as there had been smoke coming from the other dragon’s nose before it died.This was so alarming that he held his breath.The two columns of smoke vanished.When he could hold his breath no longer he let it out stealthily;instantly two jets of smoke appeared again.But even yet he had no idea of the truth.
Presently he decided that he would edge very cautiously to his left and try to creep out of the cave.Perhaps the creature was asleep—and anyway it was his only chance.But of course before he edged to the left he looked to the left.Oh horror ! There was a dragon’s claw on that side too.
No one will blame Eustace if at this moment he shed tears.He was surprised at the size of his own tears as he saw them splashing on to the treasure in front of him.They also seemed strangely hot;steam went up from them.
But there was no good crying.He must try to crawl out from between the two dragons.He began extending his right arm.The dragon’s fore—leg and claw on his right went through exactly the same motion.Then he thought he would try his left.The dragon limb on that side moved too.