荒原第三季(下)评价 《银椅》第6章:北方的荒原

《银椅》第6章:北方的荒原  

AT about nine o'clock next morning three lonely figures might have been seen picking their way across the Shribble by the shoals and stepping-stones. It was a shallow
noisy stream
and even Jill was not wet above her knees when they reached the northern bank. About fifty yards ahead
the land rose up to the beginning of the moor
everywhere steeply
and often in cliffs.
"I suppose that's our way!" said Scrubb
pointing left and west to where a stream flowed down from the moor through a shallow ge. But the Marsh-wiggle shook his head.
"The giants mainly live along the side of that ge
" he said. "You might say the ge was like a street to them. We'll do better straight ahead
even though it's a bit steep."
They found a place where they could scramble up
and in about ten minutes stood panting at the top. They cast a longing look back at the valley-land of Narnia and then turned their faces to the North. The vast
lonely moor stretched on and up as far as they could see. On their left was rockier ground. Jill thought that must be the edge of the giants' ge and did not much care about looking in that direction. They set out.
It was good
springy ground for walking
and a day of pale winter sunlight. As they got deeper into the moor
the loneliness increased: one could hear peewits and see an occasional hawk. When they halted in the middle of the morning for a rest and a drink in a little hollow by a stream
Jill was beginning to feel that she might enjoy adventures after all
and said so.
"We haven't had any yet
" said the Marsh-wiggle.
Walks after the first halt - like school mornings after break or railway journeys after changing trains - never go on as they were before. When they set out again
Jill noticed that the rocky edge of the ge had drawn nearer. And the rocks were less flat
more upright
than they had been. In fact they were like little towers of rock. And what funny shapes they were!
"I do believe
" thought Jill
"that all the stories about giants might have e from those funny rocks. If you were ing along here when it was half dark
you could easily think those piles of rock were giants. Look at that one
now! You could almost imagine that the lump on top was a head. It would be rather too big for the body
but it would do well enough for an ugly giant. And all that bushy stuff - I suppose it's heather and birds' nests
really - would do quite well for hair and beard. And the things sticking out on each side are quite like ears. They'd be horribly big
but then I dare say giants would have big ears
like elephants. And - o-o-o-h! -"
Her blood froze. The thing moved. It was a real giant. There was no mistaking it; she had seen it turn its head. She had caught a glimpse of the great
stupid
puffcheeked face. All the things were giants
not rocks. There were forty or fifty of them
all in a row; obviously standing with their feet on the bottom of the ge and their elbows resting on the edge of the ge
just as men might stand leaning on a wall - lazy men
on a fine morning after breakfast.
"Keep straight on
" whispered Puddleglum
who had noticed them too. "Don't look at them. And whatever you do
don't run. They'd be after us in a moment."
So they kept on
pretending not to have seen the giants. It was like walking past the gate of a house where there is a fierce dog
only far worse. There were dozens and dozens of these giants. They didn't look angry - or kind or interested at all. There was no sign that they had seen the travellers.
Then - whizz-whizz-whizz - some heavy object came hurtling through the air
and with a crash a big boulder fell about enty paces ahead of them. And then - thud! - another fell enty feet behind.
"Are they aiming at us?" asked Scrubb.
"No
" said Puddleglum. "We'd be a good deal safer if they were. They're trying to hit that - that cairn over there to the right. They won't hit it
you know. It's safe enough; they're such very bad shots. They play cock-shies most fine mornings. About the only game they're clever enough to understand."
It was a horrible time. There seemed no end to the line of giants
and they never ceased hurling stones
some of which fell extremely close. Quite apart from the real danger
the very sight and sound of their faces and voices were enough to scare anyone. Jill tried not to look at them.
After about enty-five minutes the giants apparently had a quarrel. This put an end to the cock-shies
but it is not pleasant to be within a mile of quarrelling giants. They stormed and jeered at one another in long
meaningless words of about enty syllables each. They foamed and gibbered and jumped in their rage
and each jump shook the earth like a bomb. They lammed each other on the head with great
clumsy stone hammers; but their skulls were so hard that the hammers bounced off again
and then the monster who had given the blow would drop his hammer and howl with pain because it had stung his fingers. But he was so stupid that he would do exactly the same thing a minute later. This was a good thing in the long run
for by the end of an hour all the giants were so hurt that they sat down and began to cry. When they sat down
their heads were below the edge of the ge
so that you saw them no more; but Jill could hear them howling and blubbering and boo-booing like great babies even after the place was a mile behind.
That night they bivouacked on the bare moor
and Puddleglum showed the children how to make the best of their blankets by sleeping back to back. (The backs keep each other warm and you can then have both blankets on top.) But it was chilly even so
and the ground was hard and lumpy. The Marsh-wiggle told them they would feel more fortable if only they thought how very much colder it would be later on and farther north; but this didn't cheer them up at all.
They travelled across Ettinsmoor for many days
saving the bacon and living chiefly on the moor-fowl (they were not
of course
talking birds) which Eustace and the wiggle shot. Jill rather envied Eustace for being able to shoot; he had learned it on his voyage with King Caspian. As there were countless streams on the moor
they were never short of water. Jill thought that when
in books
people live on what they shoot
it never tells you what a long
smelly
messy job it is plucking and cleaning dead birds
and how cold it makes your fingers. But the great thing was that they met hardly any giants. One giant saw them
but he only roared with laughter and stumped away about his own business.
About the tenth day
they reached a place where the country changed. They came to the northern edge of the moor and looked down a long
steep slope into a different
and grimmer
land. At the bottom of the slope were cliffs: beyond these
a country of high mountains
dark precipices
stony valleys
ravines so deep and narrow that one could not see far into them
and rivers that poured out of echoing ges to plunge sullenly into black depths. Needless to say
it was Puddleglum who pointed out a sprinkling of snow on the more distant slopes.
"But there'll be more on the north side of them
I shouldn't wonder
" he added.
It took them some time to reach the foot of the slope and
when they did
they looked down from the top of the cliffs at a river running below them from west to east. It was walled in by precipices on the far side as well as on their own
and it was green and sunless
full of rapids and waterfalls. The roar of it shook the earth even where they stood.
"The bright side of it is
" said Puddleglum
"that if we break our necks getting down the cliff
then we're safe from being drowned in the river."
"What about that?" said Scrubb suddenly
pointing upstream to their left. Then they all looked and saw the last thing they were expecting - a bridge. And what a bridge
too! It was a huge
single arch that spanned the ge from cliff-top to cliff-top; and the crown of that arch was as high above the cliff-tops as the dome of St Paul's is above the street.
"Why
it must be a giants' bridge!" said Jill.
"Or a sorcerer's
more likely
" said Puddleglum. "We've got to look out for enchantments in a place like this. I think it's a trap. I think it'll turn into mist and melt away just when we're out on the middle of it."
"Oh
for goodness' sake
don't be such a wet blanket
" said Scrubb. "Why on earth shouldn't it be a proper bridge?"
"Do you think any of the giants we've seen would have sense to build a thing like that?" said Puddleglum.
"But mightn't it have been built by other giants?" said Jill. "I mean
by giants who lived hundreds of years ago
and were far cleverer than the modern kind. It might have been built by the same ones who built the giant city we're looking for. And that would mean we were on the right track - the old bridge leading to the old city!"
"That's a real brain-wave
Pole
" said Scrubb. "It must be that. Come on."
So they turned and went to the bridge. And when they reached it
it certainly seemed solid enough. The single stones were as big as those at Stonehenge and must have been squared by good masons once
though now they were cracked and crumbled. The balustrade had apparently been covered with rich carvings
of which some traces remained; mouldering faces and forms of giants
minotaurs
squids
centipedes
and dreadful gods. Puddleglum still didn't trust it
but he consented to cross it with the children.
The climb up to the crown of the arch was long and heavy. In many places the great stones had dropped out
leaving horrible gaps through which you looked down on the river foaming thousands of feet below. They saw an eagle fly through under their feet. And the higher they went
the colder it grew
and the wind blew so that they could hardly keep their footing. It seemed to shake the bridge.
When they reached the top and could look down the farther slope of the bridge
they saw what looked like the remains of an ancient giant road stretching away before them into the heart of the mountains. Many stones of its pavement were missing and there were wide patches of grass beeen those that remained. And riding towards them on that ancient road were o people of normal grown-up human size.
"Keep on. Move towards them
" said Puddleglum. "Anyone you meet in a place like this is as likely as not to be an enemy
but we mustn't let them think we're afraid."
By the time they had stepped off the end of the bridge on to the grass
the o strangers were quite close. One was a knight in plete armour with his visor down. His armour and his horse were black; there was no device on his shield and no banneret on his spear. The other was a lady on a white horse
a horse so lovely that you wanted to kiss its nose and give it a lump of sugar at once. But the lady
who rode side-saddle and wore a long
fluttering dress of dazzling green
was lovelier still.
"Good day
t-r-r-avellers
" she cried out in a voice as sweet as the sweetest bird's song
trilling her R's delightfully. "Some of you are young pilgrims to walk this rough waste."
"That's as may be
Ma'am
" said Puddleglum very stiffly and on his guard.
"We're looking for the ruined city of the giants
" said Jill.
"The r-r-ruined city?" said the Lady. "That is a strange place to be seeking. What will you do if you find it?"
"We've got to -" began Jill
but Puddleglum interrupted.
"Begging your pardon
Ma'am. But we don't know you or your friend - a silent chap
isn't he? - and you don't know us. And we'd as soon not talk to strangers about our business
if you don't mind. Shall we have a little rain soon
do you think?"
The Lady laughed: the richest
most musical laugh you can imagine. "Well
children
" she said
"you have a wise
solemn old guide with you. I think none the worse of him for keeping his own counsel
but I'll be free with mine. I have often heard the name of the giantish City Ruinous
but never met any who would tell me the way thither. This road leads to the burgh and castle of Harfang
where dwell the gentle giants. They are as mild
civil
prudent
and courteous as those of Ettinsmoor are foolish
fierce
savage
and given to all beastliness. And in Harfang you may or may not hear tidings of the City Ruinous
but certainly you shall find good lodgings and merry hosts. You would be wise to winter there
or
at the least
to tarry certain days for your ease and refreshment. There you shall have steaming baths
soft beds
and bright hearths; and the roast and the baked and the sweet and the strong will be on the table four times in a day."
"I say!" exclaimed Scrubb. "That's something like! Think of sleeping in a bed again."
"Yes
and having a hot bath
" said Jill. "Do you think they'll ask us to stay? We don't know them
you see."
"Only tell them
" answered the Lady
"that She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you
and has sent them o fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast."
"Oh
thank you
thank you ever so much
" said Jill and Scrubb.
"But have a care
" said the Lady. "On whatever day you reach Harfang
that you e not to the door too late. For they shut their gates a few hours after noon
and it is the custom of the castle that they open to none when once they have drawn bolt
how hard so ever he knock."
The children thanked her again
with shining eyes
and the Lady waved to them. The Marsh-wiggle took off his steeple-hat and bowed very stiffly. Then the silent Knight and the Lady started walking their horses up the slope of the bridge with a great clatter of hoofs.
"Well!" said Puddleglum. "I'd give a good deal to know where she's ing from and where she's going. Not the sort you expect to meet in the wilds of Giantland
is she? Up to no good
I'll be bound."
"Oh rot!" said Scrubb. "I thought she was simply super. And think of hot meals and warm rooms. I do hope Harfang isn't a long way off."
"Same here
" said Jill. "And hadn't she a scrumptious dress. And the horse!"
"All the same
" said Puddleglum
"I wish we knew a bit more about her."
"I was going to ask her all about herself
" said Jill. "But how could I when you wouldn't tell her anything about us?"
"Yes
" said Scrubb. "And why were you so stiff and unpleasant. Didn't you like them?"
"Them?" said the wiggle. "Who's them? I only saw one."
"Didn't you see the Knight?" asked Jill.
"I saw a suit of armour
" said Puddleglum. "Why didn't he speak?"
"I expect he was shy
" said Jill. "Or perhaps he just wants to look at her and listen to her lovely voice. I'm sure I would if I was him."
"I was wondering
" remarked Puddleglum
"what you'd really see if you lifted up the visor of that helmet and looked inside."
"Hang it all
" said Scrubb. "Think of the shape of the armour! What could be inside it except a man?"
"How about a skeleton?" asked the Marsh-wiggle with ghastly cheerfulness. "Or perhaps
" he added as an afterthought
"nothing at all. I mean
nothing you could see. Someone invisible."
"Really
Puddleglum
" said Jill with a shudder
"you do have the most horrible ideas. How do you think of them all?"
"Oh
bother his ideas!" said Scrubb. "He's always expecting the worst
and he's always wrong. Let's think about those Gentle Giants and get on to Harfang as quickly as we can. I wish I knew how far it is."
And now they nearly had the first of those quarrels which Puddleglum had foretold: not that Jill and Scrubb hadn't been sparring and snapping at each other a good deal before
but this was the first really serious disagreement. Puddleglum didn't want them to go to Harfang at all. He said that he didn't know what a giant's idea of being "gentle" might be
and that
anyway
Aslan's signs had said nothing about staying with giants
gentle or otherwise. The children
on the other hand
who were sick of wind and rain
and skinny fowl roasted over campfires
and hard
cold earth to sleep on
were absolutely dead set to visit the Gentle Giants. In the end
Puddleglum agreed to do so
but only on one condition. The others must give an absolute promise that
unless he gave them leave
they would not tell the Gentle Giants that they came from Narnia or that they were looking for Prince Rilian. And they gave him this promise
and went on.
After that talk with the Lady things got worse in o different ways. In the first place the country was much harder. The road led through endless
narrow valleys down which a cruel north wind was always blowing in their faces. There was nothing that could be used for firewood
and there were no nice little hollows to camp in
as there had been on the moor. And the ground was all stony
and made your feet sore by day and every bit of you sore by night.
In the second place
whatever the Lady had intended by telling them about Harfang
the actual effect on the children was a bad one. They could think about nothing but beds and baths and hot meals and how lovely it would be to get indoors. They never talked about Aslan
or even about the lost prince
now. And Jill gave up her habit of repeating the signs over to herself every night and morning. She said to herself
at first
that she was too tired
but she soon fot all about it. And though you might have expected that the idea of having a good time at Harfang would have made them more cheerful
it really made them more sorry for themselves and more grumpy and snappy with each other and with Puddleglum.
At last they came one afternoon to a place where the ge in which they were travelling widened out and dark fir woods rose on either side. They looked ahead and saw that they had e through the mountains. Before them lay a desolate
rocky plain: beyond it
further mountains capped with snow. But beeen them and those further mountains rose a low hill with an irregular flattish top.
"Look! Look!" cried Jill
and pointed across the plain; and there
through the gathering dusk
from beyond the flat hill
everyone saw lights. Lights! Not moonlight
nor fires
but a homely cheering row of lighted windows. If you have never been in the wild wilderness
day and night
for weeks
you will hardly understand how they felt.
"Harfang!" cried Scrubb and Jill in glad
excited voices; and "Harfang
" repeated Puddleglum in a dull
gloomy voice. But he added
"Hullo! Wild geese!" and had the bow off his shoulder in a second. He brought down a good fat goose. It was far too late to think of reaching Harfang that day. But they had a hot meal and a fire
and started the night warmer than they had been for over a week. After the fire had gone out
the night grew bitterly cold
and when they woke next morning
their blankets were stiff with frost.
"Never mind!" said Jill
stamping her feet. "Hot baths tonight!"