小山田信茂 《银椅》第7章:小山上奇怪的壕沟

《银椅》第7章:小山上奇怪的壕沟  

THERE Is no denying it was a beast of a day. Overhead was a sunless sky
muffled in clouds that were heavy with snow; underfoot
a black frost; blowing over it
a wind that felt as if it would take your skin off. When they got down into the plain they found that this part of the ancient road was much more ruinous than any they had yet seen. They had to pick their way over great broken stones and beeen boulders and across rubble: hard going for sore feet. And
however tired they got
it was far too cold for a halt.
At about ten o'clock the first tiny snow flakes came loitering down and settled on Jill's arm. Ten minutes later they were falling quite thickly. In enty minutes the ground was noticeably white. And by the end of Half an hour a good steady snowstorm
which looked as if it meant to last all day
was driving in their faces so that they could hardly see.
In order to understand what followed
you must keep on remembering how little they could see. As they drew near the low hill which separated them from the place where the lighted windows had appeared
they had no general view of it at all. It was a question of seeing the next few paces ahead
and
even for that
you had to screw up your eyes. Needless to say
they were not talking.
When they reached the foot of the hill they caught a glimpse of what might be rocks on each side - squarish rocks
if you looked at them carefully
but no one did. All were more concerned with the ledge right in front of them which barred their way. It was about four feet high. The Marsh-wiggle
with his long legs
had no difficulty in jumping onto the top of it
and he then helped the others up. It was a nasty wet business for them
though not for him
because the snow now lay quite deep on the ledge. They then had a stiff climb - Jill fell once - up very rough ground for about a hundred yards
and came to a second ledge. There were four of these ledges altogether
at quite irregular intervals.
As they struggled on to the fourth ledge
there was no mistaking the fact that they were now at the top of the flat hill. Up till now the slope had given them some shelter; here
they got the full fury of the wind. For the hill
oddly enough
was quite as flat on top as it had looked from a distance: a great level tableland which the storm tore across without resistance. In most places the snow was still hardly lying at all
for the wind kept catching it up off the ground in sheets and clouds
and hurling it in their faces. And round their feet little eddies of snow ran about as you sometimes see them doing over ice. And
indeed
in many places
the surface was almost as smooth as ice. But to make matters worse it was crossed and crisscrossed with curious banks or dykes
which sometimes divided it up into squares and oblongs. All these of course had to be climbed; they varied from o to five feet in height and were about a couple of yards thick. On the north side of each bank the snow already lay in deep drifts; and after each climb you came down into a drift and got wet.
Fighting her way forward with hood up and head down and numb hands inside her cloak
Jill had glimpses of other odd things on that horrible tableland - things on her right that looked vaguely like factory chimneys
and
on her left
a huge cliff
straighter than any cliff ought to be. But she wasn't at all interested and didn't give them a thought. The only things she thought about were her cold hands (and nose and chin and ears) and hot baths and beds at Harfang.
Suddenly she skidded
slid about five feet
and found herself to her horror sliding down into a dark
narrow chasm which seemed that moment to have appeared in front of her. Half a second later she had reached the bottom. She appeared to be in a kind of trench or groove
only about three feet wide. And though she was shaken by the fall
almost the first thing she noticed was the relief of being out of the wind; for the walls of the trench rose high above her. The next thing she noticed was
naturally
the anxious faces of Scrubb and Puddleglum looking down at her from the edge.
"Are you hurt
Pole?" shouted Scrubb.
"Both legs broken
I shouldn't wonder
" shouted Puddleglum.
Jill stood up and explained that she was all right
but they'd have to help her out.
"What is it you've fallen into?" asked Scrubb.
"It's a kind of trench
or it might be a kind of sunken lane or something
" said Jill. "It runs quite straight."
"Yes
by Jove
" said Scrubb. "And it runs due north! I wonder is it a sort of road? If it was
we'd be out of this infernal wind down there. Is there a lot of snow at the bottom?"
"Hardly any. It all blows over the top
I suppose."
"What happens farther on?"
"Half a sec. I'll go and see
" said Jill. She got up and walked along the trench; but before she had gone far
it turned sharply to the right. She shouted this information back to the others.
"What's round the corner?" asked Scrubb.
Now it happened that Jill had the same feeling about isty passages and dark places underground
or even nearly underground
that Scrubb had about the edges of cliffs. She had no intention of going round that corner alone; especially when she heard Puddleglum bawling out from behind her:
"Be careful
Pole. It's just the sort of place that might lead to a dragon's cave. And in a giant country
there might be giant earth-worms or giant beetles."
"I don't think it goes anywhere much
" said Jill
ing hastily back.
"I'm jolly well going to have a look
" said Scrubb. "What do you mean by anywhere much
I should like to know?" So he sat down on the edge of the trench (everyone was too wet by now to bother about being a bit wetter) and then dropped in. He pushed past Jill and
though he didn't say anything
she felt sure that he knew she had funked it. So she followed him close
but took care not to get in front of him.
It proved
however
a disappointing exploration. They went round the right-hand turn and straight on for a few paces. Here there was a choice of ways: straight on again
or sharp to the right. "That's no good
" said Scrubb
glancing down the right-hand turn
"that would be taking us back - South." He went straight on
but once more
in a few steps
they found a second turn to the right. But this time there was no choice of ways
for the trench they had been following here came to a dead end.
"No good
" grunted Scrubb. Jill lost no time in turning and leading the way back. When they returned to the place where Jill had first fallen in
the Marsh-wiggle with his long arms had no difficulty in pulling them out.
But it was dreadful to be out on top again. Down in those narrow slits of trenches
their ears had almost begun to thaw. They had been able to see clearly and breathe easily and hear each other speak without shouting. It was absolute misery to e back into the withering coldness. And it did seem hard when Puddleglum chose that moment for saying:
"Are you still sure of those signs
Pole? What's the one we ought to be after
now?"
"Oh
e on! Bother the signs
" said Pole. "Something about someone mentioning Aslan's name
I think. But I'm jolly well not going to give a recitation here."
As you see
she had got the order wrong. That was because she had given up saying the signs over every night. She still really knew them
if she troubled to think: but she was no longer so "pat" in her lesson as to be sure of reeling them off in the right order at a moment's notice and without thinking. Puddleglum's question annoyed her because
deep down inside her
she was already annoyed with herself for not knowing the Lion's lesson quite so well as she felt she ought to have known it. This annoyance
added to the misery of being very cold and tired
made her say
"Bother the signs." She didn't perhaps quite mean it.
"Oh
that was next
was it?" said Puddleglum. "Now I wonder
are you right? Got 'em mixed
I shouldn't wonder. It seems to me
this hill
this flat place we're on
is worth stopping to have a look at. Have you noticed -"
"Oh Lor!" said Scrubb
"is this a time for stopping to admire the view? For goodness' sake let's get on."
"Oh
look
look
look
" cried Jill and pointed. Everyone turned
and everyone saw. Some way off to the north
and a good deal higher up than the tableland on which they stood
a line of lights had appeared. This time
even more obviously than when the travellers had seen them the night before
they were windows: smaller windows that made one think deliciously of bedrooms
and larger windows that made one think of great halls with fires roaring on the hearth and hot soup or juicy sirloins smoking on the table.
"Harfang!" exclaimed Scrubb.
"That's all very well
" said Puddleglum. "But what I was saying was -"
"Oh
shut up
" said Jill crossly. "We haven't a moment to lose. Don't you remember what the Lady said about their locking up so early? We must get there in time
we must
we must. We'll die if we're shut out on a night like this."
"Well
it isn't exactly a night
not yet
" began Puddleglum; but the o children both said
"Come on
" and began stumbling forward on the slippery tableland as quickly as their legs would carry them. The Marsh-wiggle followed them: still talking
but now that they were forcing their way into the wind again
they could not have heard him even if they had wanted to. And they didn't want. They were thinking of baths and beds and hot drinks; and the idea of ing to Harfang too late and being shut out was almost unbearable.
In spite of their haste
it took them a long time to cross the flat top of that hill. And even when they had crossed it
there were still several ledges to climb down on the far side. But at last they reached the bottom and could see what Harfang was like.
It stood on a high crag
and in spite of its many towers was more a huge house than a castle. Obviously
the Gentle Giants feared no attack. There were windows in the outside wall quite close to the ground - a thing no one would have in a serious fortress. There were even odd little doors here and there
so that it would be quite easy to get in and out of the castle without going through the courtyard. This raised the spirits of Jill and Scrubb. It made the whole place look more friendly and less forbidding.
At first the height and steepness of the crag frightened them
but presently they noticed that there was an easier way up on the left and that the road wound up towards it. It was a terrible climb
after the journey they had already had
and Jill nearly gave up. Scrubb and Puddleglum had to help her for the last hundred yards.
But in the end they stood before the castle gate. The portcullis was up and the gate open.
However tired you are
it takes some nerve to walk up to a giant's front door. In spite of all his previous warnings against Harfang
it was Puddleglum who showed most courage.
"Steady pace
now
" he said. "Don't look frightened
whatever you do. We've done the silliest thing in the world by ing at all: but now that we are here
we'd best put a bold face on it."
With these words he strode forward into the gateway
stood still under the arch where the echo would help his voice
and called out as loud as he could.
"Ho! Porter! Guests who seek lodging."
And while he was waiting for something to happen
he took off his hat and knocked off the heavy mass of snow which had gathered on its wide brim.
"I say
" whispered Scrubb to Jill. "He may be a wet blanket
but he has plenty of pluck - and cheek."
A door opened
letting out a delicious glow of firelight
and the Porter appeared. Jill bit her lips for fear she should scream. He was not a perfectly enormous giant; that is to say
he was rather taller than an apple tree but nothing like so tall as a telegraph pole. He had bristly red hair
a leather jerkin with metal plates fastened all over it so as to make a kind of mail shirt
bare knees (very hairy indeed) and things like puttees on his legs. He stooped down and goggled at Puddleglum.
"And what sort of creature do you call yourself
" he said.
Jill took her courage in both hands. "Please
" she said
shouting up at the giant. "The Lady of the Green Kirtle salutes the King of the Gentle Giants
and has sent us o Southern children and this Marsh-wiggle (his name's Puddleglum) to your Autumn Feast. - If it's quite convenient
of course
" she added.
"Oho!" said the Porter. "That's quite a different story. Come in
little people
e in. You'd best e into the lodge while I'm sending word to his Majesty." He looked at the children with curiosity. "Blue faces
" he said. "I didn't know they. were that colour. Don't care about it myself. But I dare say you look quite nice to one another. Beetles fancy other beetles
they do say."
"Our faces are only blue with cold
" said Jill. "We're not this colour really."
"Then e in and get warm. Come in
little shrimps
" said the Porter. They followed him into the lodge. And though it was rather terrible to hear such a big door clang shut behind them
they fot about it as soon as they saw the thing they had been longing for ever since supper time last night - afire. And such a fire! It looked as if four or five whole trees were blazing on it
and it was so hot they couldn't go within yards of it. But they all flopped down on the brick floor
as near as they could bear the heat
and heaved great sighs of relief.
"Now
youngster
" said the Porter to another giant who had been sitting in the back of the room
staring at the visitors till it looked as if his eyes would start out of his head
"run across with this message to the House." And he repeated what Jill had said to him. The younger giant
after a final stare
and a great guffaw
left the room.
"Now
Froggy
" said the Porter to Puddleglum
"you look as if you wanted some cheering up." He produced a black bottle very like Puddleglum's own
but about enty times larger. "Let me see
let me see
" said the Porter. "I can't give you a cup or you'll drown yourself. Let me see. This salt-cellar will be just the thing. You
needn't mention it over at the House. The silver will keep on getting over here
and it's not my fault."
The salt-cellar was not very like one of ours
being narrower and more upright
and made quite a good cup for Puddleglum
when the giant set it down on the floor beside him. The children expected Puddleglum to refuse it
distrusting the Gentle Giants as he did. But he muttered
"It's rather late to be thinking of precautions now that we're inside and the door shut behind us." Then he sniffed at the liquor. "Smells all right
" he said. "But that's nothing to go by. Better make sure
" and took a sip. "Tastes all right
too
" he said. "But it might do that at the first sip. How does it go on?" He took a larger sip. "Ah!" he said. "But is it the same all the way down?" and took another. "There'll be something nasty at the bottom
I shouldn't wonder
" he said
and finished the drink. He licked his lips and remarked to the children
"This'll be a test
you see. If I curl up
or burst
or turn into a lizard
or something
then you'll know not to take anything they offer you." But the giant
who was too far up to hear the things Puddleglum had been saying under his breath
roared with laughter and said
"Why
Froggy
you're a man. See him put it away!"
"Not a man . . . Marsh-wiggle
" replied Puddleglum in a somewhat indistinct voice. "Not frog either: Marshwiggle."
At that moment the door opened behind them and the younger giant came in saying
"They're to go to the throne-room at once."
The children stood up but Puddleglum remained sitting and said
"Marsh-wiggle. Marsh-wiggle. Very respectable Marsh-wiggle. Respectowiggle."
"Show them the way
young 'un
" said the giant Porter. "You'd better carry Froggy. He's had a drop more than's good for him."
"Nothing wrong with me
" said Puddleglum. "Not a frog. Nothing frog with me. I'm a respectabiggle."
But the young giant caught him up by the waist and signed to the children to follow. In this undignified way they crossed the courtyard. Puddleglum
held in the giant's fist
and vaguely kicking the air
did certainly look very like a frog. But they had little time to notice this
for they soon entered the great doorway of the main castle - both their hearts beating faster than usual - and
after pattering along several corridors at a trot to keep up with the giant's paces
found themselves blinking in the light of an enormous room
where lamps glowed and a fire roared on the hearth and both were reflected from the gilding of roof and cornice. More giants than they could count stood on their left and right
all in magnificent robes; and on o thrones at the far end
sat o huge shapes that appeared to be the King and Queen.
About enty feet from the thrones
they stopped. Scrubb and Jill made an awkward attempt at a bow (girls are not taught how to curtsey at Experiment House) and the young giant carefully put Puddleglum down on the floor
where he collapsed into a sort of sitting position. With his long limbs he looked
to tell the truth
unmonly like a large spider.