After this adventure, they continued their voyage for twelve days in a slightly easterly direction to the south, following the gentle winds.The sky was clear, the air was very moist and warm, and there were no birds or fish to be seen, except for a whale spray in the distance outside starboard.During this time, Lucy and Repechip played countless rounds of chess.On the thirteenth day, Edmund observed from the mast observation platform that on the port side of the bow what appeared to be a great black mountain rising from the sea.So they changed course and headed towards this land, because the wind was not strong enough to drive northeast, so they mainly relied on paddling.When night fell, they were still a long way from there.They paddled all night.The next morning, the wind was fine and the sea was calm, and the black oppression was right in front of them, getting closer and greater, but still very dark and indistinct, which led some to think that they had to travel a long way to get there, while others thought they had broken into a mist.At about nine o'clock that morning, suddenly, people found themselves so close to it that they could clearly see that it was not land at all, or even the fog in the ordinary sense of the word.It's a dark mess.It's hard to describe in words, but if you can imagine yourself looking into the crossing of a railway tunnel that is so long or so winding that you can't see the light at the end of the distance, you know what it's like.First they saw the rails, sleepers, and gravel a few feet away in broad daylight, then they came to a hazy and dark place, and then, without warning, and, of course, without a clear dividing line, they disappeared completely into the calm, solid darkness.That's exactly what happened here.They could see the bright blue-green water rising a few feet in front of the bow.Moving on, they could see that the water looked pale and gray, as they would have seen in the evening.But farther away, it was pitch black, as if they had come to the edge of the night without stars and moons.Caspian shouted orders to the boatswain to row back, and all the men on board, except for the oarsmen, rushed forward and looked around from the bow.But after looking around, I didn't see anything.Behind them was the sea and the sun, and in front of them, there was darkness."
Shall we go deeper into it?"
finally Kespen asked."
In my opinion, it's better not to go."
Drinin said."
The captain has a point."
Some sailors chimed in.Neither Lucy nor Eustace spoke, but they were both deeply pleased that the matter of turning back seemed to be settled.Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, the silence was broken by Repechip's clear and sharp voice."
Why not," it cried, "can anyone explain to me why you can't go deep into the darkness," and no one wanted to explain anything, so Repechipe continued."
If I were asking about the peasants and slaves," it said, "I might think that this suggestion was made out of cowardice."
But I hope that no one in Narnia will ever mention that there is a group of young and strong nobles and royals who turned and fled out of fear of the darkness. ”"But what's the use of trying to get through that darkness in vain?"
asked Drinin."
Useful," replied Repechip, "is it useful, if the captain is useful to you it means filling our stomachs or our purses, I admit it is of no use at all.By now, I know that we sailed not for anything useful, but for honor and adventure.And now is the time to experience a great adventure that has never been heard of before.If we turn around and go back, then all our honors will raise no small doubts. ”Some of the crew members muttered something in a low voice, sounding like, "Honor fart." ”Caspian said, "Oh, Ray Pechip, you nasty fellow, I wish I had kept you at home.Well, since you've said that, in my opinion, we'll have to move on, unless Lucy would rather not go. ”Lucy felt that she really didn't want to go, but she still shouted out duplicitously, "I'm going," and "Your Majesty will at least order the lights to be lit," said Drinin."
That's a must," said Caspian, "Captain, be sure to light the lights." ”The three lanterns at the stern, bow and mast were lit, and Drinin ordered two torches to be lit in the middle of the ship.These lights look pale and pale in the sun.So all the personnel, except for a few who remained below to paddle, were ordered to go to the deck, all armed and with their swords unsheathed, and to stand guard at their combat posts.Lucy and the two archers were arranged on the mast observation platform, and the bow was opened and the arrows wound.Sailor Reiniff was in the bow of the ship, holding a rope ready to probe the depth.Repechip, Edmund, Eustace, and Caspian stood with him in glittering armor.Drinin at the helm."
Now, then, in the name of Aslan, forward," cried Caspian aloud, "row forward slowly and steadily, and everyone be quiet and ready to do what is told." ”With a creaking sound, the Dawn Tread began to move slowly forward.Just as they were descending into darkness, Lucy saw a wonderful scene from the mast observation deck.The sun was still shining on the stern, and the bow was gone.She witnessed it disappear.At this moment, the gilded stern, the blue sea, and the sky were still in broad daylight, and the next minute, the sea and sky were gone.The stern lantern, which was previously hard to notice, has become the only sign that indicates the direction of the stern.In front of the lantern, she could see Drinin's black figure curled up at the helm.Below her, two torches shone two small bright spots on the deck, shimmering on swords and helmets.Looking ahead, there was also a bright light on the bow of the ship.In addition, the masttop observatory, just above her head, the burning mast lamp, seemed to be a small world of light of its own, floating in the lonely darkness.If you have to light the lights during the day when they shouldn't, the lights look so scary and unusual.These lights are exactly that.Lucy also noticed that she was chilling all over.How long this voyage into darkness will last, no one knows.There was no sign of them moving forward except for the creaking of the oars and the rattling of the oars.Edmund stood on the bow of the ship and looked around, seeing nothing but the reflection of the lantern on the sea ahead.The reflection looked a little greasy, and the ripples stirred up by the bow as it moved forward were gloomy, faint, and lifeless.As time passed, everyone except the paddling people shivered with cold.Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a shout from nowhere, and now everyone had no sense of direction, either a non-human voice, or the person who made the voice was so frightened that it was almost inaudible as a human voice.Caspian tried to speak, but his mouth was too dry.When the shouts were heard, Repechip's shrill voice rang out, sounding louder and louder in the silence."
Who's shouting," it screamed, "if you're an enemy, we won't fear you."
If you are a friend, then teach your enemies to taste our power. ”"Have mercy on me," the voice cried, "have mercy on me, even if you are just another dream, be kind, and take me aboard, even if you beat me to death."
But, in the name of all kindness, I beg you not to disappear and leave me in this terrible place. ”"Where are you," cried Casper, "and you're welcome to the ship." ”Another cry came, not knowing whether it was joy or fear.Immediately after, they noticed that someone was swimming towards them."
Gentlemen, get ready, pull him up."
Caspian ordered."
Yes, Yes, Your Majesty."
The sailors answered.Several men had prepared cables and huddled together on the port side bulwark, while another held torches and leaned out of the broadside.A frantically white face emerged from the black water, and after some climbing and pulling, a dozen friendly hands finally pulled the stranger onto the boat.Edmund thought he had never seen a man look so wild.Although he did not look very old, with shaggy and messy white hair, a thin and haggard face, and, speaking of clothing, only a few strips of damp cloth hung from his body.But what was even more striking was his eyes, which were very wide open, and seemed to have no eyelids at all, and their eyes were straight and hooked, as if they were in agony of extreme fear.As soon as his feet stepped on the deck, he said, "Fly, fly, fly with the boat, row as hard as you can, get out of this cursed shore," "calm down," said Reppechip, "tell us what the danger is."
We've never used to fly. ”The stranger was startled at the first sight of the mouse's voice, which he hadn't noticed before."
But you'll have to fly away from here," he gasped, "and it's an island where dreams come true." ”"This is the island I've been looking for for a long time," said one of the crew members, "and if we land here, I'm expected to find out that I'm married to Nancy." ”"And I'm going to find Tom alive again."
Another crew member said."
A bunch of idiots," the man stomped his foot vigorously into a fit of rage, "that's the kind of talk that brought me here, but now I think it's better to drown or never be born than to come here."
Do you understand what I'm saying, it's a dream, it's a dream, you understand it's not a daydream, it's a dream. ”There was silence for about half a minute, and then there was a panicked clatter of armor, and the crew stumbled down to the main hatch, and hurriedly picked up the oars and rowed as if they had never rowed before.Drainin made a great turn of the tiller, and the boatswain made the fastest stroke ever made at sea.Because in that half-minute period, everyone remembered a dream that scared you so much that you didn't dare to sleep, and everyone realized what it meant to land in a place that made dreams come true.Only Repechipp remained indifferent."
Your Majesty, Your Majesty," it said loudly, "are you going to tolerate this disobedience, cowardice, cowardice, this is a panic, this is a riot" "Row, paddle," Kespian roared, "row as hard as you can, Drinin, the bow is in the right direction, you can say whatever you want, there are some things that no one can face." ”"Well, then, I'm lucky I'm not a human."
Repecip replied with a stiff bow.Lucy heard all the conversation high up in the mast.In an instant, one of all her dreams, the one she had tried so hard to forget, reappeared in front of her eyes, as if she had just woken up from it.It turned out that behind them, the darkness was like this, and in the next second, she wanted to run to the deck below, to be with Edmund and Caspian.But what's the use of that, if the dreams start to come true, Edmund and Caspian themselves might turn into something terrible when she gets to them.She grabbed the railing of the observatory and tried to get herself on her feet.They're doing everything they can, paddling back towards the light and should be fine soon.But, oh, how nice it would be if it was all right now, and though the rowing made a loud noise, it didn't quite hide the dull dead silence that surrounded the boat.Everyone knows that it is better not to listen, not to prick up your ears to listen to anything in the dark.However, everyone couldn't help but listen.Soon, everyone heard something, and different people heard different sounds."
Do you hear anything, like a giant pair of scissors clicking, opening and closing, over there," Eustace asked Rheins."
Shhhh ”"It's about to land on the mast."
Caspian said."
Ah," said one of the crew members, "the gong is ringing."
I knew they would. ”Trying not to look at anything, especially behind him, Caspian walked to the stern of the ship and headed for Drinin."
Drinin," he said, lowering his voice very low, "how long have we been rowing, I mean, since we rescued the stranger," "maybe five minutes," Drinin replied quietly, "why do you ask?"
"Because we've managed to get out for far more than five minutes." ”Caspian said.Drin's hand on the tiller shuddered, and a line of cold sweat ran down his cheeks.Everyone on board had the same idea."
We'll never get out, we'll never get out," complained the paddler, "he's taken us on the wrong course, we've been going around in circles, we'll never get out," the stranger, who had curled up on the deck, sat up, and suddenly burst into a horrible and shrill laugh."
I'll never get out," he cried out, "yes, of course."
We'll never get out.I thought they would let me out of here easily, I was so stupid.No, no, we'll never get out. ”Lucy leaned her head against the edge of the observatory and whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, if you truly love us, please help us immediately." ”The darkness didn't diminish in the slightest, but she began to feel a little smaller, better."
After all, nothing has really happened to us yet."
She thought to herself."
Look," Rheins' hoarse cry rang out from the bow of the ship."
Look," Reiniff shouted hoarsely from the bow of the ship.A small light appeared in front of them.Then they saw that the little light actually emitted a large beam of light and fell on the hull of the ship.It didn't change the darkness that shrouded the surrounding area, but the whole ship seemed to be lit with a searchlight.Caspian blinked, looked around, and he saw a fervent and determined look on the faces of all his companions.Everyone was staring in the same direction, each with their own black silhouette behind them.Lucy looked at the beam of light and saw something inside.At first, it looked like a cross, then it looked like an airplane, then it looked like a kite, and finally its wings whirled and flew right above its head, and it turned out to be an albatross.It flew three times around the mast, and finally stopped at the neck of the golden dragon in the bow to perch for a while, and chirped in a powerful, friendly voice, as if it were saying something, but no one could understand what it was saying.After that, it spreads its wings and flies upwards and then begins to fly slowly in front of it, slightly deflecting to starboard.Drinin followed it, having no doubts about its navigation.No one but Lucy knew that it had whispered to her as it flew around the mast, "Be brave, darling." ”The voice, she was very sure of, was Aslan's, and with it came a wonderful fragrance to her face.It wasn't long before the darkness ahead turned gray, and then, before they dared to begin to hope, they rushed into the sunlight and into the warm blue world.It's as if sometimes, when you're just lying in bed and you see the sunlight coming in through the window, and you hear the laughter of the morning postman and the milkman outside the window, you suddenly realize that it's just a dream, not real.What an amazing moment, and in order to feel the joy of waking up, even if you have terrible nightmares, it is well worth it.This was well felt when they burst out of the darkness.Suddenly, everyone realizes that there is nothing to worry about, never.They blinked, and then looked around, and they were astonished by the brightness of the hull, and they thought that the dirt and debris in the darkness would cling to the snow-white, turquoise, and golden hull.Then, one after the other, everyone laughed."
I think we fooled ourselves well."
Leynes said.Without delay, Lucy hurried down to the deck.She noticed that everyone was on deck around the stranger.He was so happy that he couldn't speak for a long time, and could only stare at the sea and the sun, and feel the bulwarks and cables, as if to confirm that he had really woken up.Tears ran down his cheeks."
Thank you," he finally said, "you got me out of the way and I didn't want to talk about it.Now, let me know who you are.I am a Tama from the Kingdom of Narnia, and when I was still a little bit old, I was known as Lord Ropp. ”"As for me," said Casper, "it's Casper, King of Narnia.The purpose of my voyage is to find you, my father's friend, and your companions. ”Lord Ropp knelt on the ground and kissed Casbyan's hand."
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Your Majesty," he said, "you are the man I would like to see in the world.Please grant me a share of your Majesty's grace. ”"What's the matter?"
asked Caspen."
Never take me back there."
He said, pointing in the direction of the stern, and they all looked over, but all they saw was the blue sea and the blue sky.The Dark Isle and that darkness are gone forever."
Oops," shouted Lord Ropp in surprise, "you ruined it," "I don't think we did it. ”Lucy replied."
Your Majesty," said Drininin, "the gust of wind is blowing just to the southeast.I'm going to wake up our poor companion and get ready to sail, and after the boat is sailing, everyone will go to sleep in the hammock as soon as they can spare time. ”"That's right," said Casper, "bring out the grog, a spirited liquor mixed with water, and let everyone drink it."
Hey, I feel like I could sleep like a clock spinning for a day and a night," and so the whole afternoon everyone sailed downwind to the southeast with great joy, and no one noticed when the albatross disappeared.t1706231537: