travels without the sun
"who's there?" shouted the three travellers.
"i am the warden of the marches of underland, and with me stand a hundred earthmen in arms," came the reply. "tell me quickly who you are and what is your errand in the deep realm?"
"we fell down by accident," said puddleglum, truthfully enough.
"many fall down, and few return to the sunlit lands," said the voice. "make ready now to come with me to the queen of the deep realm."
"what does she want with us?" asked scrubb cautiously.
"i do not know," said the voice. "her will is not to be questioned but obeyed."
while he said these words there was a noise like a soft explosion and immediately a cold light, grey with a little blue in it, flooded the cavern. all hope that the speaker had been idly boasting when he spoke of his hundred armed followers died at once. jill found herself blinking and staring at a dense crowd. they were of all sizes, from little gnomes barely a foot high to stately figures taller than men. all carried three-pronged spears in their hands, and all were dreadfully pale, and all stood as still as statues. apart from that, they were very different; some had tails and others not, some wore great beards and others had very round, smooth faces, big as pumpkins. there were long, pointed noses, and long, soft noses like small trunks, and great blobby noses. several had single horns in the middle of their foreheads. but in one respect they were all alike: every face in the whole hundred was as sad as a face could be. they were so sad that, after the first glance, jill almost forgot to be afraid of them. she felt she would like to cheer them up.
"well!" said puddleglum, rubbing his hands. "this is just what i needed. if these chaps don't teach me to take a serious view of life, i don't know what will. look at that fellow with the walrus moustache - or that one with the -"
"get up," said the leader of the earthmen.
there was nothing else to be done. the three travellers scrambled to their feet and joined hands. one wanted the touch of a friend's hand at a moment like that. and the earthmen came all round them, padding on large, soft feet, on which some had ten toes, some twelve, and others none.
"march," said the warden: and march they did.
the cold light came from a large ball on the top of a long pole, and the tallest of the gnomes carried this at the head of the procession. by its cheerless rays they could see that they were in a natural cavern; the walls and roof were knobbed, twisted, and gashed into a thousand fantastic shapes, and the stony floor sloped downward as they proceeded. it was worse for jill than for the others, because she hated dark, underground places. and when, as they went on, the cave got lower and narrower, and when, at last, the light-bearer stood aside, and the gnomes, one by one, stooped down (all except the very smallest ones) and stepped into a little dark crack and disappeared, she felt she could bear it no longer.
"i can't go in there, i can't! i can't! i won't," she panted. the earthmen said nothing but they all lowered their spears and pointed them at her.
"steady, pole," said puddleglum. "those big fellows wouldn't be crawling in there if it didn't get wider later on. and there's one thing about this underground work, we shan't get any rain."
"oh, you don't understand. i can't," wailed jill.
"think how 1 felt on that cliff, pole," said scrubb. "you go first, puddleglum, and i'll come after her."
"that's right," said the marsh-wiggle, getting down on his hands and knees. "you keep a grip of my heels, pole, and scrubb will hold on to yours. then we'll all be comfortable."
"comfortable!" said jill. but she got down and they crawled in on their elbows. it was a nasty place. you had to go flat on your face for what seemed like half an hour, though it may really have been only five minutes. it was hot. jill felt she was being smothered. but at last a dim light showed ahead, the tunnel grew wider and higher, and they came out, hot, dirty, and shaken, into a cave so large that it scarcely seemed like a cave at all.
it was full of a dim, drowsy radiance, so that here they had no need of the earthmen's strange lantern. the floor was soft with some kind of moss and out of this grew many strange shapes, branched and tall like trees, but flabby like mushrooms. they stood too far apart to make a forest; it was more like a park. the light (a greenish grey) seemed to come both from them and from the moss, and it was not strong enough to reach the roof of the cave, which must have been a long way overhead. across the mild, soft, sleepy place they were now made to march. it was very sad, but with a quiet sort of sadness like soft music.
here they passed dozens of strange animals lying on the turf, either dead or asleep, jill could not tell which. these were mostly of a dragonish or bat-like sort; puddleglum did not know what any of them were.
"do they grow here?" scrubb asked the warden. he seemed very surprised at being spoken to, but replied, "no. they are all beasts that have found their way down by chasms and caves, out of overland into the deep realm. many come down, and few return to the sunlit lands. it is said that they will all wake at the end of the world."
his mouth shut like a box when he had said this, and in the great silence of that cave the children felt that they would not dare to speak again. the bare feet of the gnomes, padding on the deep moss, made no sound. there was no wind, there were no birds, there was no sound of water. there was no sound of breathing from the strange beasts.
when they had walked for several miles, they came to a wall of rock, and in it a low archway leading into another cavern. it was not, however, so bad as the last entrance and jill could go through it without bending her head. it brought them into a smaller cave, long and narrow, about the shape and size of a cathedral. and here, filling almost the whole length of it, lay an enormous man fast asleep. he was far bigger than any of the giants, and his face was not like a giant's, but noble and beautiful. his breast rose and fell gently under the snowy beard which covered him to the waist. a pure, silver light (no one saw where it came from) rested upon him.
"who's that?" asked puddleglum. and it was so long since anyone had spoken, that jill wondered how he had the nerve.
"that is old father time, who once was a king in overland," said the warden. "and now he has sunk down into the deep realm and lies dreaming of all the things that are done in the upper world. many sink down, and few return to the sunlit lands. they say he will wake at the end of the world."
and out of that cave they passed into another, and then into another and another, and so on till jill lost count, but always they were going downhill and each cave was lower than the last, till the very thought of the weight and depth of earth above you was suffocating. at last they came to a place where the warden commanded his cheerless lantern to be lit again. then they passed into a cave so wide and dark that they could see nothing of it except that right in front of them a strip of pale sand ran down into still water. and there, beside a little jetty, lay a ship without mast or sail but with many oars. they were made to go on board her and led forward to the bows where there was a clear space in front of the rowers' benches and a seat running round inside the bulwarks.
"one thing i'd like to know," said puddleglum, "is whether anyone from our world - from up-a-top, i mean has ever done this trip before?"
"many have taken ship at the pale beaches," replied the warden, "and-"
"yes, i know," interrupted puddleglum. "and few return to the sunlit lands. you needn't say it again. you are a chap of one idea, aren't you?"
the children huddled close together on each side of puddleglum. they had thought him a wet blanket while they were still above ground, but down here he seemed the only comforting thing they had. then the pale lantern was hung up amidships, the earthmen sat to the oars, and the ship began to move. the lantern cast its light only a very short way. looking ahead, they could see nothing but smooth, dark water, fading into absolute blackness.
"oh, whatever will become of us?" said jill despairingly.
"now don't you let your spirits down, pole," said the marsh-wiggle. "there's one thing you've got to remember. we're back on the right lines. we were to go under the ruined city, and we are under it. we're following the instructions again."
presently they were given food - flat, flabby cakes of some sort which had hardly any taste. and after that, they gradually fell asleep. but when they woke, everything was just the same; the gnomes still rowing, the ship still gliding on, still dead blackness ahead. how often they woke and slept and ate and slept again, none of them could ever remember. and the worst thing about it was that you began to feel as if you had always lived on that ship, in that darkness, and to wonder whether sun and blue skies and wind and birds had not been only a dream.
they had almost given up hoping or being afraid about anything when at last they saw lights ahead: dreary lights, like that of their own lantern. then, quite suddenly, one of these lights came close and they saw that they were passing another ship. after that they met several ships. then, staring till their eyes hurt, they saw that some of the lights ahead were shining on what looked like wharfs, walls, towers, and moving crowds. but still there was hardly any noise.
"by jove," said scrubb. "a city!" and soon they all saw that he was right.
but it was a queer city. the lights were so few and far apart that they would hardly have done for scattered cottages in our world. but the little bits of the place which you could see by the lights were like glimpses of a great seaport. you could make out in one place a whole crowd of ships loading or unloading; in another, bales of stuff and warehouses; in a third, walls and pillars that suggested great palaces or temples; and always, wherever the light fell, endless crowds - hundreds of earthmen, jostling one another as they padded softly about their business in narrow streets, broad squares, or up great flights of steps. their continued movement made a sort of soft, murmuring noise as the ship drew nearer and nearer; but there was not a song or a shout or a bell or the rattle of a wheel anywhere. the city was as quiet, and nearly as dark, as the inside of an ant-hill.
at last their ship was brought alongside a quay and made fast. the three travellers were taken ashore and marched up into the city. crowds of earthmen, no two alike, rubbed shoulders with them in the crowded streets, and the sad light fell on many sad and grotesque faces. but no one showed any interest in the strangers. every gnome seemed to be as busy as it was sad, though jill never found what they were so busy about. but the endless moving, shoving, hurrying, and the soft pad-pad-pad went on.
at last they came to what appeared to be a great castle, though few of the windows in it were lighted. here they were taken in and made to cross a courtyard, and to climb many staircases. this brought them in the end to a great murkily lit room. but in one corner of it - oh joy! - there was an archway filled with a quite different sort of light; the honest, yellowish, warm light of such a lamp as humans use. what showed by this light inside the archway was the foot of a staircase which wound upward between walls of stone. the light seemed to come from the top. two earthmen stood one on each side of the arch like sentries, or footmen.
the warden went up to these two, and said, as if it were a password:
"many sink down to the underworld."
"and few return to the sunlit lands," they answered, as if it were the countersign. then all three put their heads together and talked. at last one of the two gnomes-in-waiting said, "i tell you the queen's grace is gone from hence on her great affair. we had best keep these top dwellers in strait prison till her homecoming. few return to the sunlit lands."
at that moment the conversation was interrupted by what seemed to jill the most delightful noise in the world. it came from above, from the top of the staircase; and it was a clear, ringing, perfectly human voice, the voice of a young man.
"what coil are you keeping down there, mullugutherum?" it shouted. "overworlders, ha! bring them up to me, and that presently."
"please it your highness to remember," began mullugutherum, but the voice cut him short.
"it pleases my highness principally to be obeyed, old mutterer. bring them up," it called.
mullugutherum shook his head, motioned to the travellers to follow and began going up the staircase. at every step the light increased. there were rich tapestries hanging on the walls. the lamplight shone golden through thin curtains at the staircase-head. the earthmen parted the curtains and stood aside. the three passed in. they were in a beautiful room, richly tapestried, with a bright fire on a clean hearth, and red wine and cut glass sparkling on the table. a young man with fair hair rose to greet them. he was handsome and looked both bold and kind, though there was something about his face that didn't seem quite right. he was dressed in black and altogether looked a little bit like hamlet.
"welcome, overworlders," he cried. "but stay a moment! i cry you mercy! i have seen you two fair children, and this, your strange governor, before. was it not you three that met me by the bridge on the borders of ettinsmoor when i rode there by my lady's side?"
"oh . . . you were the black knight who never spoke?" exclaimed jill.
"and was that lady the queen of underland?" asked puddleglum, in no very friendly voice. and scrubb, who was thinking the same, burst out, "because if it was, i think she was jolly mean to send us off to a castle of giants who intended to eat us. what harm had we ever done her, i should like to know?"
"how?" said the black knight with a frown. "if you were not so young a warrior, boy, you and i must have fought to the death on this quarrel. i can hear no words against my lady's honour. but of this you may be assured, that whatever she said to you, she said of a good intent. you do not know her. she is a nosegay of all virtues, as truth, mercy, constancy, gentleness, courage, and the rest. i say what i know. her kindness to me alone, who can in no way reward her, would make an admirable history. but you shall know and love her hereafter. meanwhile, what is your errand in the deep lands?"
and before puddleglum could stop her, jill blurted out, "please we are trying to find prince rilian of narnia." and then she realized what a frightful risk she had taken; these people might be enemies. but the knight showed no interest.
"rilian? narnia?" he said carelessly. "narnia? what land is that? i have never heard the name. it must be a thousand leagues from those parts of the overworld that i know. but it was a strange fantasy that brought you seeking this - how do you call him? - billian? trillian? in my lady's realm. indeed, to my certain knowledge, there is no such man here." he laughed very loudly at this, and jill thought to herself, "i wonder is that what's wrong with his face? is he a bit silly?"
"we had been told to look for a message on the stones of the city ruinous," said scrubb. "and we saw the words under me."
the knight laughed even more heartily than before. "you were the more deceived," he said. "those words meant nothing to your purpose. had you but asked my lady, she could have given you better counsel. for those words are all that is left of a longer script, which in ancient times, as she well remembers, expressed this verse:
though under earth and throneless now i be, yet, while i lived, all earth was under me.
from which it is plain that some great king of the ancient giants, who lies buried there, caused this boast to be cut in the stone over his sepulchre; though the breaking up of some stones, and the carrying away of others for new buildings, and the filling up of the cuts with rubble, has left only two words that can still be read. is it not the merriest jest in the world that you should have thought they were written to you?"
this was like cold water down the back to scrubb and
jill; for it seemed to them very likely that the words had nothing to do with their quest at all, and that they had been taken in by a mere accident.
"don't you mind him," said puddleglum. "there are no accidents. our guide is aslan; and he was there when the giant king caused the letters to be cut, and he knew already all things that would come of them; including this."
"this guide of yours must be a long liver, friend," said the knight with another of his laughs.
jill began to find them a little irritating.
"and it seems to me, sir," answered puddleglum, "that this lady of yours must be a long liver too, if she remembers the verse as it was when they first cut it."
"very shrewd, frog-face," said the knight, clapping puddleglum on the shoulder and laughing again. "and you have hit the truth. she is of divine race, and knows neither age nor death. i am the more thankful to her for all her infinite bounty to such a poor mortal wretch as i. for you must know, sirs, i am a man under most strange afflictions, and none but the queen's grace would have had patience with me. patience, said i? but it goes far beyond that. she has promised me a great kingdom in overland, and, when i am king, her own most gracious hand in marriage. but the tale is too long for you to hear fasting and standing. hi there, some of you! bring wine and updwellers' food for my guests. please you, be seated, gentlemen. little maiden, sit in this chair. you shall hear it all."
10、不见太阳的旅行
“谁在那儿？”他们三个大声喊道。“我是地下世界边境看守，跟我站在一起的有一百个全副武装的地下人，”回答说，“赶快告诉我，你们是什么人，到幽深王国来有什么事？”
“我们是不小心掉下来的。”普德格伦老老实实地说。
“掉下来的多，回到阳光下的大地上去的少。”那声音说，“现在准备跟我走，到幽深王国女王那儿去。”
“她要我们干什么？”斯克罗布小心地问。
“我不知道，”那声音说，“她的意愿可问不得，只能服从。”
他说这些话的时候，有个声音像是轻柔的爆炸声，大岩洞里顿时有一片冷光，灰沉沉中带点蓝幽幽的光。大家都希望那个一直在瞎吹牛，提到有一百个武装的随从的人马上死掉。吉尔却不知不觉对着密密麻麻一群人眨眨眼睛，还盯着他们看。这些人个子高矮不一，有不到一英尺高的小精灵，也有比常人高的威武的大个子。手里全都拿着三叉长矛，个个都苍白得要命，全都一动不动站着，活像雕像。除此之外，他们就大不相同了；有的有尾巴，有的没有，有的留着大胡子，另外的人脸蛋圆滚滚，光溜溜，像只大南瓜。有的是长长的尖鼻子，有的是软绵绵的长鼻子，像小象鼻似的，还有胖乎乎肉疙瘩似的大鼻子。还有几个前额正中长了只独角。但有一点他们却很相像:在这百来张脸上每张都有无比伤心的神情。他们是那么伤心，吉尔看了一眼后，几乎忘了害怕他们。她感到她很想让他们高兴起来。
“得，”普德格伦搓搓手说，“这正是我需要的。如果这些家伙教不会我对待生活要严肃，我不知道什么会教我了。看看那个长着海象胡子的家伙——或者那个有……”
“起来。”地下人的头头说。
没办法，他们三个只好赶紧站起来，手拉着手。一个人在这种时候就需要摸着一个朋友的手。那些地下人全都围在他们身边，一双双又大又软的脚慢慢走着，有的长着十个脚趾，有的长着十二个，另外一些一个也没有。
“开步走。”看守说。他们就走了。
那团冷光是从一根长杆顶上的一个大球里发出来的。
一个最高的小精灵举着这根长杆，走在队伍前面。在惨淡的光线下，他们看得出自己正在一个天然的大岩洞里；洞壁和洞顶都疙疙瘩瘩，歪歪扭扭，裂成千奇百怪的形状。他们走的石头地往下倾斜。这对吉尔比对别人更糟，因为她最讨厌黑暗的地下场所。他们走下去时，那山洞变得越来越低，越来越窄，最后拿灯的那个站在一边，小精灵一个一个弯下腰(只有最小的几个不用弯腰)，踏进一条又小又黑的裂缝里就不见了，她觉得自己再也受不了啦。
“我不能进去，我不能！我不能！我不去。”她气喘吁吁地说。地下人不说话，只是全都把矛放低，用矛头对着她。
“沉住气，波尔，”普德格伦说，“要是这个洞回头不变宽些，那些大个子家伙就不会爬进去。而且这地下世界有一件事倒好，淋不到雨。”
“哦，你不懂的，我不能去。”吉尔哭叫着。
“想想我在那悬崖上是什么感觉吧，波尔，”斯克罗布说，“你先走，普德格伦，我跟在她后面。”
“好吧，”沼泽怪说着两手两膝着地，”你抓着我的脚后跟，波尔，斯克罗布再抓住你的，那我们大家就都舒服了。”
“舒服”吉尔说。不过她还是跪下了，他们都用手拐儿撑着爬了进去。洞里是个让人恶心的地方，你得趴在地上，似乎爬上半小时光景，其实可能只有五分钟。里面很热，吉尔觉得自己要闷死了。不过前面终于露出一点朦胧的光，地道也变得更宽更高了。他们走出来时又热又脏，浑身发抖，来到一个山洞里，这山洞很大，简直完全不像一个山洞。
洞里充满朦朦胧胧、昏昏沉沉的光，因此他们不需要地下人那奇怪的灯笼了。地上软软的，长着一种青苔，青苔上长着好多奇形怪状、分枝的、像树那么高像蘑菇那么松软的东西。这些东西离得太远，形不成树林，倒更像个公园。那种光(一种绿灰色的光)似乎就是从这些东西和青苔上发出来的，不过还不够亮，照不到洞顶，想必离头顶还有一大段距离吧。穿过这个不冷不热，令人困倦的柔软地方，他们被迫往前走。这真叫人非常伤心，只是像柔和的音乐那样，伤心中又带点恬静的味儿。
他们在这儿又经过许许多多躺在草地上的奇怪动物，吉尔说不清它们究竟是死了还是睡着了。这些动物大部分像是龙，或是蝙蝠一类，普德格伦一样也不认识。:
“它们都是生长在这儿的吗？”斯克罗布问那个看守。他对有人对他说话似乎十分惊讶，但回答说，“不，它们全是。从裂缝和山洞钻下来的动物，从上面的世界钻到幽深王国。下来的多，回到阳光下的大地上去的少。据说到了世界末日，它们才会醒过来。”
说了这些话以后，他的嘴就紧紧闭上，在山洞的一片寂静中，两个孩子觉得自己也不敢再说话了。小精灵的一双双光脚走在深深的青苔上，一点声音也没有。没有风，没有鸟，没有水声。那些奇怪的动物连呼吸的声音也没有。
他们这样走了好几英里，来到一堵石墙面前，墙上有一道低低的拱门，通往另一个山洞。不过这个拱门不像上次那个入口那么糟，吉尔走过去时不用低头。走过拱门，他们就进入一个小一点的山洞，又长又窄，形状大小就像个大教堂。有一个其大无比的人躺在那儿呼呼大睡，从山洞这头到那头几乎都给他身子塞满了。他个子比任何巨人都大得多，而脸却不像巨人，显得高贵而美丽。胸脯在垂到腰部的雪白胡子下轻轻起伏。一股纯银色的光照在他身上(谁也没看见这光是哪儿来的)。
“那是谁？”普德格伦问。隔了那么久没人说话，吉尔真想知道它怎么有那股勇气。
“那是时间老人，他从前是地上世界的一个国王，”看守说，“如今他掉进幽深王国，躺在那儿梦见在上面世界做过的一切事情。掉下来的多，回到阳光下的大地上去的少。据说到世界末日他才会醒来。”
出了那个山洞，他们又经过另一个山洞，接着再走进一个又一个，走啊走的，走得吉尔都数不清走过几个山洞了，但他们一直是在下山，每个山洞都比前一个低，你一想起上面的土地有多重有多深就不由憋住气。最后他们来到一个地方，看守命令再点上那只惨淡的灯笼。于是他们走进了一个又宽又黑的山洞，里面什么都看不见，只见一股灰白的沙子正泻入静止的水面。在一个小小的码头旁边，停着一条船，没有梳杆也没有帆，只有很多桨。他们被赶上船，带到船头，在划船手的长凳前面，有一块空间，沿舷墙内侧还装着一排座位。
“有件事我想打听一下，”普德格伦说，“以前有没有从我们世界来的人——我意思是从上面来的——到这儿来过？”
“在灰白沙滩乘船的多，”看守回答说，”而……”
“是啊，我知道了，”普德格伦打断他说，“而回到阳光下的大地上去的少。你不必再说了。你真是个死心眼儿，对吗？”
两个孩子紧紧缩在普德格伦两旁。在地面上的时候他
们认为它是个扫兴的家伙，在下面这儿它倒似乎成了他们惟一的安慰。接着那盏惨白的灯笼挂在船的中部，地下人坐下来划桨，船就动起来了。灯笼的光只能照亮一小段路，往前看，他们什么也看不见，只有平滑的黑水消失在一片漆黑中。
“哦，我们究竟会遇上什么事啊？”吉尔绝望地说。
“嗨，不要弄得垂头丧气，波尔，”沼泽怪说，”有一件事你一定得记住。我们已回到正确路线上来了。我们要到废墟城下面去，而我们已经在城下面了。我们又按照指做了。”
不久，他们分到了一点食物——种又淡又松，几乎吃不出什么味道的饼。此后他们就慢慢睡着了。但等他们醒来时，一切还是一样，小精灵依然在划桨，船依然在悄悄前进，前面依然是一团漆黑。他们醒了又睡，吃了又睡有多少次，大家都记不得了。最糟糕的就是你开始觉得自己似乎一直生活在这艘船上，生活在那片黑暗中，心里闹不清什么太阳、蓝天、风和鸟，到底是否只是一场梦。
他们几乎已经不抱希望，也不再害怕什么的时候，终于看见前面有灯光;像船上那盏灯笼一样阴森森的光。随后，突然有一盏灯靠近了，一看只见是另一条船经过他们面前。
此后他们又遇见了好几条船。接着他们一直望穿了眼睛才看出前头有些灯光照着的看来像是码头，墙壁，塔或来往的人群。但那边仍然不大有声音。
“天哪，”斯克罗布说，“一座城市！”他们一下子就明白他说得对。
但这是座奇怪的城市。灯光那么少，距离又那么远，在我们的世界里还比不上分散的农舍呢。但从灯光下你看得见的这一小块地方很像是一个大海港。你看得出有一个地方有好多船正在装卸货物；另一个地方，有一包包货物和一个个仓库，第三个地方，有墙和柱子，使人想起大宫殿或庙宇；而且，无论哪儿有灯，总有没完没了的人群——成千上万的地下人，一个个挨挨挤挤，在狭窄的街道上，宽阔的广场上，或者在巨大的石阶上，轻轻走动，忙着自己的事儿。船越来越近，他们不停的动作形成一种轻轻的沙沙声，但到处都听不到歌声、吆喝声或是钟声，或是车轮声。这个城市是静悄悄的，而且几乎像一座蚁山内部那么漆黑。
最后他们这条船给拖到码头边拴牢。他们三个被带上岸，走进城去。成群的地下人，面貌各不相同，在拥挤的街头跟他们擦肩而过，暗淡的光照在许许多多悲哀、古怪的脸上。但没人对陌生人表现出一点兴趣。每个小精灵似乎都是又忙碌又悲哀，虽然吉尔根本看不出他们那么忙忙碌碌在干什么。只是没完没了的走啊走、推推搡搡，匆匆忙忙，轻轻的脚步声叭嗒叭嗒响个不停。
他们终于来到了一座似乎是大城堡的前面，可是里面只有几扇窗户亮着灯。他们被押进去，穿过一个院子，爬上好多级楼梯，终于给带进了一间灯光暗淡的大房间。不料就在这房间的一角——哦，开心啊——那儿有座拱门，竟洋溢着一片大不相同的灯光；那是人类用的灯那种；炎黄的真正暖光。这光照着拱门里面的楼梯脚，楼梯是在石墙间盘旋而上的。灯光似乎从楼上照下来。拱门两边各站着一个地下人，像是卫兵或是仆人。
看守走到这两个人身边，说了一句口令似的话道“掉进地下世界的多。”
“回到阳光下大地上的少。”他们回答说，像是在应答暗号。于是三个人脑袋凑在一起说话。最后其中一个侍从小精灵说，“我告诉你，女王陛下有要事从这儿出去了。我们最好把这些上面的人关在暗牢里等她回来。回到阳光下大地上的少。”
这时这段谈话被一个声音打断了。吉尔觉得那是天下最可爱的声音，声音是从上面楼梯顶上来的；清脆、响亮，十足是人类的声音，一个年轻男人的声音。
“你们下面乱哄哄的吵什么呀，穆鲁古瑟伦？”那声音大声说道，“上面世界的人，哈！带到我这儿来，马上来。”
“请殿下记住。”穆鲁古瑟伦开口说，但那声音立刻打断了他。
“要让殿下我高兴，主要就是要服从，老贫嘴。把他们带上来。”
穆鲁古瑟伦摇摇头，对这三个做做手势，让他们跟着开始上楼。每上一级楼梯，灯光就更亮。墙上挂着富丽的挂毯。在楼梯头有薄薄的帘子透出的金色灯光。地下人拉开帘子，站在一边。他们三个就走了进去。那是一间十分漂亮的房间，挂满了挂毯，干净的壁炉里炉光明亮，桌上的刻花玻璃杯和红酒闪闪发光。一个年轻的金发男人起身向他们问好。他长得一表人材，看上去为人勇敢又和气，然而脸上似乎有一种不大对头的神情。他全身都穿黑，看上去有点像哈姆莱特。
“欢迎，上面世界的人们，”他叫道，“可是等一下！请原谅！我见过你们这两个漂亮的孩子，还有这位，你们古怪的老师。你们三个不是在艾丁斯荒原边界的桥上遇见过我的吗？我当时骑着马跟在夫人旁边。”
“哦……你就是那个一声不吭的黑骑士？”吉尔失声喊道。
“那位夫人就是地下王国的女王吧？”普德格伦很不客气，没好声气地问。斯克罗布也抱有同样想法，脱口而出说:
“因为要是这么回事的话，我认为她完全是有意把我们打发到一个想吃掉我们的巨人城堡去的。我倒想知道我们哪儿得罪她了？”
“怎么？”那黑骑士皱皱眉说，”如果你不是那么年轻的一个武士，小子，你我就必须为这场争吵决一死战。我听不得任何有损夫人荣誉的话。但这一点你们可以放心，不论她对你们说什么，她的用意都是好的。你们不了解她。她是集所有美德于一体的花束：如忠诚、仁慈、坚定、温柔、勇敢，等等。我是知道什么说什么。单说她对我的好处，我就没法报答她，可以写成一部令人赞叹的书。不过你们今后会知道而且喜欢她的。另一方面，你们到幽深王国来干什么？”
普德格伦还来不及阻止吉尔，她已经脱口而出说“对不起，我们是在想法寻找纳尼亚的瑞廉王子。”说罢她才明白自己冒了一次多大的风险，这些人可能是敌人哪。谁知那骑士竟毫无兴趣。
“瑞廉？纳尼亚？”他漫不经心地说，“纳尼亚？那是什么地方？我从来没听说过这个名字。据我所知，那一定是在上面的世界几千海里之外的地方了。但这真是异想天开，你们竟会相信而到这儿来找这个——人家叫他什么来着？——比廉？特里廉？据我所知，在夫人的王国里，确实没有这么个人。”他说完哈哈大笑，吉尔暗暗想道”真奇怪，他脸上是不是有什么不对头的？他有点儿傻吧？”
“我们奉命来找废墟城石头上的一个信息，”斯克罗布说，“而且我们看见了那些字:在我下面。”
那骑士笑得格外欢了。”你们又受骗了，”他说，”那些字对你们此行目的毫无意义。你们只要问问夫人，她可能给你们出更好的主意。因为那些字是古时候一句长句的残迹，她记得很清楚，原来写的是这句诗:
尽管如今我在地下，没有王位。然而，当我活着的时候，整个大地都在我下面。
从这些诗句看来，显然是古代巨人中某个伟大的国王葬在那里，才会因此把这段自吹自擂的话刻在他墓地的石头上，然而一些石头已经断裂，另外一些被拿走去盖新房子，缺口填上些碎石，只留下这几个字仍然看得出来。你们原来以为这些字是写给你们看的，岂不是天大的笑话？”
斯克罗布和吉尔一听这话无异凉水浇背；因为对他们来说，很可能这些话与他们的寻找完全无关，那么他们仅仅是偶然被带到这儿来的了。
“你们别在意，”普德格伦说，“这不是偶然的，我们的向导是阿斯兰，巨人国王叫人刻这些字的时候他就在场，他已经知道一切会由此引起的事情:也包括这件事。”
“你们这个向导一定是个长命的人，朋友。”骑士说完又是一阵大笑。
吉尔开始觉得这笑声有点让人烦躁了。
“阁下，我似乎觉得，”普德格伦回答说，”要是这位夫人记得起最初他们刻在石头上的诗句，她一定也是个长命的人。
“你很机灵，青蛙脸，”骑士说着拍拍普德格伦肩膀，又一阵哈哈大笑，”而且你说中了。她出身神族，长生不老。她对我这么个不幸的可怜虫表示的无比慷慨，我是感激不尽的。因为你们必须知道，诸位，我是一个忍受最最奇特折磨的人，除了女王陛下，没人会对我有耐心。我说了耐心，是吗？但还远远不止于此。她已经答应给我上面世界的一个大王国，等我做了国王，就同她结婚。不过你们饿着肚子，站着听这个故事可太长了。喂，来人哪，拿酒和上界居民的食物给我的客人吃。请坐，诸位。小姐，你坐这张椅子吧。回头我就把全部经过说给你们听。"
