THE ISLAND OF THE VOICES AND now the winds which had so long been from the north-west began to blow from the west itself and every morning when the sun rose out of the sea the curved prow of the Dawn Treader stood up right across the middle of the sun. Some thought that the sun looked larger than it looked from Narnia, but others disagreed. And they sailed and sailed before a gentle yet steady breeze and saw neither fish nor gull- nor ship nor shore. And stores began to get low again, and it crept into their hearts that perhaps they might have come to a sea which went on for ever. But when the very last day on which they thought they could risk continuing their eastward voyage dawned, it showed, right ahead between them and the sunrise, a low land lying like a cloud.
There was nothing odd about that. But the pump handle was moving up and down, though there seemed to be no one moving it.
Such was the Chief Voices story, but very much shortened, because I have left out what the Other Voices said. Actually he never got out more than six or seven words without being interrupted by their agreements and encouragements, which drove the Narnians nearly out of their minds with impatience. When it was over there was a very long silence.
"But," said Lucy at last, "whats all this got to do with us? I dont understand.”
"What is it?" said Lucy.
As no one had ever known Reepicheep to be afraid of anything, he could say this without feeling at all awkward. But the boys, who had all been afraid quite often, grew very red.
Almost as soon as they entered this path Lucy noticed that she had a little stone in her shoe. In that unknown place it might have been wiser for her to ask the others to wait while she took it out. But she didnt; she just dropped quietly behind and sat down to take off her shoe. Her lace had got into a knot.
While this had been happening the others had reached the house. It was a low building - only two stories high made of a beautiful mellow stone, many-windowed, and partially covered with ivy. Everything was so still that Eustace said, "I think its empty," but Caspian silently pointed to the column of smoke which rose from one chimney.
"I didnt hear any noise of feet - only voices and this frightful thudding and thumping - like a mallet.”
"Lively, then, mates, lively," said the first voice. "Off we go.
"Did they sound like humans from their footsteps?”
Then came the Voice.
"That you have, that you have," roared the Other Voices with great enthusiasm. "No one couldnt have left it out cleaner and better. Keep it up, Chief, keep it up.”
"Well, of all the outrageous - " began Edmund, but Lucy interrupted.
they all went back to the house.
They made harbour in a wide bay about the middle of the afternoon and landed. It was a very different country from any九_九_藏_书_网 they had yet seen. For when they had crossed the sandy beach they found all silent and empty as if it were an uninhabited land, but before them there were level lawns in which the grass was as smooth and short as it used to be in the grounds of a great English house where ten gardeners were kept. The trees, of which there were many, all stood well apart from one another, and there were no broken branches and no leaves lying on the ground. Pigeons sometimes cooed but there was no other noise.
"Not depth for her, Sire," said Drinian.
"Youve no idea what sort of creatures they are, Lu?" asked Edmund.
It was really very dreadful because she could still see nobody at all. The whole of that park-like country still looked as quiet and empty as it had looked when they first landed.
"Keep it up, Chief, keep it up," said the Other Voices. "Youre talking like a book. They couldnt ask for a better answer than that.”
It was strange to see the lawns and the great trees looking so peaceful as they marched back to the beach. And when they arrived there, and saw the boat lying where they had left her, and the smooth sand with no one to be seen on it, more than one doubted whether Lucy had not merely imagined all she had told them. But before they reached the sand, a voice spoke out of the air.
As soon as the thumping noise had died away she got up and ran along the path after the others as quickly as her legs would carry her. They must at all costs be warned.
"Hear him, hear him," came the chorus. "Thats our Chief. You can depend on what he says. Hes telling you the truth, he is.”
What she heard was a thumping. It sounded as if dozens of strong workmen were hitting the ground as hard as they could with great wooden mallets. And it was very quickly coming nearer. She was already sitting with her back to a tree, and as the tree was not one she could climb, there was really nothing to do but to sit dead still and press herself against the tree and hope she wouldnt be seen.
There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Invisible enemies," muttered Caspian. "And cutting us off from the boat. This is an ugly furrow to plough.”
"Your Majesties all," said Reepicheep, "hear me. It is folly to think of avoiding an invisible enemy by any amount of creeping and skulking. If these creatures mean to bring us to battle, be sure they will succeed. And whatever comes of it Id sooner meet them face to face than be caught by the tail.”
Nevertheless, only a few feet away from her, a voice spoke. And what it said was: "Mates, nows our chance.”
"We want something that little girl can do for us," said the Chief Voice. (The others explained that this was just what they would have said themselves.)
"In other words," said Caspian, "you are asking this lady to face some danger which you darent ask your own sisters and daughte藏书网rs to face!”
Immediately the thumping began again - very loud at first but soon fainter and fainter, till it died out in the direction of the sea.
Merely in the way of business, as you might say, and no offence, I hope.”
"But a magician!" said Caspian.
"Oh, daylight, daylight, to be sure," said the Chief Voice. "Not at night. No ones asking you to do that. Go upstairs in the dark? Ugh.”
"We could swim," said Lucy.
Lucy knew there was no time to sit puzzling as to what these invisible creatures might be.
Presently they came to a long, straight, sanded path with not a weed growing on it and trees on either hand. Far off at the other end of this avenue they now caught sight of a house - very long and grey and quiet-looking in the afternoon sun.
"Be quiet, Reep," said Caspian, and then added in a louder voice, "You invisible people, what do you want with us? And what have we done to earn your enmity?”
"And if it is anything against her Majestys honour or safety," added Reepicheep, "you will wonder to see how many we can kill before we die.”
the old gentleman might wake up any minute - I was all of a muck sweat, so I wont deceive you - well, to cut a long story short, whether we did right or whether we did wrong, in the end we see a spell for making people invisible. And we thought wed rather be invisible than go on being as ugly as all that. And why? Because wed like it better. So my little girl, whos just about your little girls age, and a sweet child she was before she was uglified, though now - but least said soonest mended - I say, my little girl she says the spell, for its got to be a little girl or else the magician himself, if you see my meaning, for otherwise it wont work. And why not? Because nothing happens. So my Clipsie says the spell, for I ought to have told you she reads beautifully, and there we all were as invisible as you could wish to see. And I do assure you it was a relief not to see one anothers faces. At first, anyway. But the long and the short of it is were mortal tired of being invisible. And theres another thing. We never reckoned on this magician (the one I was telling you about before) going invisible too. But we havent ever seen him since. So we dont know if hes dead, or gone .away, or whether hes just sitting upstairs being invisible, and perhaps coming down and being invisible there. And, believe me, its no manner of use listening because he always did go about with his bare feet on, making no more noise than a great big cat. And Ill tell all you gentlemen straight, its getting more than what our nerves can stand.”
Instantly a whole chorus of other voices replied, "Hear him. Hear him. `Now s our chance, he said. Well done, Chief. You never said a truer word.”
"Right again, Chief," said the others. "Couldnt have a better order. Just what we were going to say ourselves. Off we go.”
&q九-九-藏-书-网uot;It looks as if we shall find out," said Caspian. "But lets get out of this gateway. Theres one of these gentry at that pump listening to all we say.”
"Eh, thats the way," shouted all the other voices. "You never made a better plan, Chief.
"Well, I neednt go over the whole story again," began the Chief Voice.
"Well," said the Chief Voice. "Its like this. This island has been the property of a great magician time out of mind. And we all are - or perhaps in a manner of speaking, I might say, we were - his servants. Well, to cut a long story short, this magician that I was speaking about, he told us to do something we didnt like. And why not? Because we didnt want to. Well, then, this same magician he fell into a great rage; for I ought to tell you he owned the island and he wasnt used to being crossed. He was terribly downright, you know. But let me see, where am I? Oh yes, this magician then, he goes upstairs (for you must know he kept all his magic things up there and we all lived down below), I say he goes upstairs and puts a spell on us. An uglifying spell. If you saw us now, which in my opinion you may thank your stars you cant, you wouldnt believe what we looked like before we were uglified. You wouldnt really. So there we all were so ugly we couldnt bear to look at one another. So then what did we do? Well, Ill tell you what we did. We waited till we thought this same magician would be asleep in the afternoon and we creep upstairs and go to his magic book, as bold as brass, to see if we can do anything about this uglification. But we were all of a sweat and a tremble, so I wont deceive you. But, believe me or believe me not, I do assure you that we couldnt find any thing in the way of a spell for taking off the ugliness. And what with time getting on and being afraid that
"We dursent, we dursent," said all the Voices. "Were not going upstairs again.”
"Well," said Caspian at last, "lets get on with it. We must go and face them. Shake hands all round - arrow on the string, Lucy - swords out, everyone else - and now for it. Perhaps theyll parley.”
"Theyll think were just swinging our swords in the air for fun.”
"Why, bless me, if I havent gone and left out the whole point," said the Chief Voice.
"What I say," continued the first voice, "is, get down to the shore between them and their boat, and let every mothers son look to his weapons. Catch em when they try to put to sea.”
"How can I, Ed, when I couldnt see them?”
"But its to save my own life as well as yours," said Lucy. "I dont want to be cut to bits with invisible swords any more than anyone else.”
"I know," said Lucy. "But he maynt be as bad as they make out. Dont you get the idea that these people are not very brave?”
"Well," said the Chief Voice. "Its a long story. Suppose 藏书网we all sit down?" , The proposal was warmly approved by the other voices but the Narnians remained standing.
Before she had undone the knot the others were a fair distance ahead. By the time she had got the stone out and was putting the shoe on again she could no longer hear them. But almost at once she heard something else. It was not coming from the direction of the house.
"Look here, Lu," said Edmund. "We really cant let you do a thing like this. Ask Reep, Im sure hell say just the same.”
"Well, then, to put it in a nutshell," said the Chief Voice, "weve been waiting for ever so long for a nice little girl from foreign parts, like it might be you, Missie - that would go upstairs and go to the magic book and find the spell that takes off the invisibleness, and say it. And we all swore that the first strangers as landed on this island (having a nice little girl with them, I mean, for if they hadnt itd be another matter) we wouldnt let them go away alive unless theyd done the needful for us. And thats why, gentlemen, if your little girl doesnt come up to scratch, it will be our painful duty to cut all your throats.
"And it came from my hand," the Chief Voice continued. "They get visible when they leave us.”
"No. Certainly not," said Caspian and Edmund.
They found a wide gateway open and passed through it into a paved courtyard. And it was here that they had their first indication that there was something odd about this island. In the middle of the courtyard stood a pump, and beneath the pump a bucket.
"Her Majesty is in the right," said Reepicheep. "If we had any assurance of saving her by battle, our duty would be very-plain. It appears to me that we have none. And the service they ask of her is in no way contrary to her Majestys honour, but a noble and heroical act. If the Queens heart moves her to risk the magician, I will not speak against it.”
"Thats right, thats right," said the Chief Voice. "You dont see us. And why not?
"Thats a spear, that is," said the Chief Voice.
"Thats right, thats right," said all the Voices cheerfully. "You couldnt have said it better.
"All right, then, Ill do it," said Lucy. "No," she said, turning to the others, "dont try to stop me. Cant you see its no use? There are dozens of them there. We cant fight them.
At that moment Lucy, hot and breathless, rushed into the courtyard behind them. In a low voice she tried to make them understand what she had overheard. And when they had partly understood it even the bravest of them did not look very happy.
"I do not see these fifty warriors," observed Reepicheep.
"Surely," said Lucy, "if Rhince and the others on the Dawn Treader see us fighting on the shore theyll be able to do something.”
"We dont know about queens," said the Chief Voice.
Because were inviwww.99lib.netsible.”
"That it is, Chief, that it is," said the others. "You couldnt have put it better.”
"But they wont see us fighting if they cant see any enemy," said Eustace miserably.
They came out and went back on to the path where the trees might possibly make them less conspicuous. "Not that its any good really," said Eustace, "trying to hide from people you cant see. They may be all round us.”
"No further, masters, no further now," it said. "Weve got to talk with you first. Theres fifty of us and more here with weapons in our fists.”
"Why cant one of your own people? Havent you got any girls?”
"I really think Reep is in the right this time," said Edmund.
Thump, thump, thump . . . and whatever it was must be very close now for she could feel the ground shaking. But she could see nothing. She thought the thing - or things must be just behind her. But then there came a thump on the path right in front of her. She knew it was on the path not only by the sound but because she saw the sand scatter as if it had been struck a heavy blow. But she could see nothing that had struck it. Then all the thumping noises drew together about twenty feet away from her and suddenly ceased.
"Little girl!" said Reepicheep. "The lady is a queen.”
"Theres some magic at work here," said Caspian.
Keep it up, Chief. You couldnt have a better plan than that.”
("No more we do, no more we do," chimed in the others.) "But we want something she can do.”
Eh, youve had some education, you have. Anyone can see that.”
"I wonder," said Reepicheep, "do they become visible when you drive a sword into them?”
None the less, it was such obvious sense that they had to give in. Loud cheers broke from the invisible people when their decision was announced, and the Chief Voice (warmly supported by all the others) invited the Narnians to come to supper and spend the night.
"Now, Drinian," said Caspian. "How would it be if we gave up the boat for lost, went down to another part of the bay, and signalled to the Dawn Treader to stand in and take us aboard?”
"Machinery!" said Eustace. "I do believe weve come to a civilized country at last.”
Eustace didnt want to accept, but Lucy said, "Im sure theyre not treacherous. Theyre not like that at all," and the others agreed. And so, accompanied by an enormous noise of thumpings (which became louder when they reached the flagged and echoing courtyard)
"Would I have to go upstairs at night, or would it do in daylight?”
"Theyre certainly not very clever," said Eustace.
And the other way there is a chance.”
"I dont see all your weapons," said Reepicheep. "Are they invisible too?" The words were scarcely out of his mouth before they heard a whizzing sound and next moment a spear had stuck, quivering, in one of the trees behind them.