The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Audiobook - Pt 1/5
Complete unabridged, read by Derek Jacobi
00:00:00 - Chapter 1
00:21:12 - Chapter 2
00:45:27 - Chapter 3
Complete unabridged, read by Derek Jacobi
00:00:00 - Chapter 1
00:21:12 - Chapter 2
00:45:27 - Chapter 3
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00:00Chapter 1 The Picture in the Bedroom
00:00:27There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrub, and he almost deserved it.
00:00:34His parents called him Eustace Clarence, and masters called him Scrub.
00:00:39I can't tell you how his friends spoke to him, for he had none.
00:00:43He didn't call his father and mother Father and Mother, but Harold and Alberta.
00:00:49They were very up-to-date and advanced people.
00:00:51They were vegetarians, nonsmokers, and teetotalers, and wore a special kind of underclothes.
00:00:58In their house there was very little furniture, and very few clothes on beds, and the windows
00:01:05were always open.
00:01:07Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on
00:01:13a card.
00:01:15He liked books, if they were books of information, and had pictures of grain elevators, or of
00:01:20fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.
00:01:25Eustace Clarence disliked his cousins, the four Pevensies, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and
00:01:31Lucy, but he was quite glad when he heard that Edmund and Lucy were coming to stay,
00:01:36for deep down inside him he liked bossing and bullying.
00:01:40And though he was a puny little person who couldn't have stood up even to Lucy, let
00:01:44alone Edmund, in a fight, he knew that there are dozens of ways to give people a bad time
00:01:51if you are in your own home, and they are only visitors.
00:01:57Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to come and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta,
00:02:02but it really couldn't be helped.
00:02:05Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteen weeks that summer, and mother
00:02:09was to go with him, because she hadn't had a real holiday for ten years.
00:02:14Peter was working very hard for an exam, and he was to spend the holidays being coached
00:02:18by old Professor Kirk, in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures
00:02:23long ago in the war years.
00:02:26If he had still been in that house, he would have had them all to stay, but he had somehow
00:02:31become poorer since the old days, and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom
00:02:37to spare.
00:02:38It would have cost too much money to take the other three all to America, and so only
00:02:43Susan had gone.
00:02:46Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family, and she was no good at schoolwork,
00:02:51though otherwise very old for her age, and mother said she would get far more out of
00:02:56a trip to America than the youngsters.
00:03:00Edmund and Lucy tried not to grudge Susan her luck, but it was dreadful having to spend
00:03:05the summer holidays at their aunt's.
00:03:08"'But it's far worse for me,' said Edmund, "'because at least you'll have a room of your
00:03:13own, and I shall have to share a bedroom with that reckled stinker Eustace.'"
00:03:21The story begins on an afternoon when Edmund and Lucy were stealing a few precious minutes
00:03:26alone together, and, of course, they were talking about Narnia, which was the name of
00:03:32their own private and secret country.
00:03:35Most of us, I suppose, have a secret country, but for most of us it is only an imaginary
00:03:41country.
00:03:42Edmund and Lucy were luckier than other people in that respect.
00:03:46Their secret country was real.
00:03:48They had already visited it twice, not in a game or a dream, but in reality.
00:03:55They had got there, of course, by magic, which is the only way of getting to Narnia, and
00:04:00A promise, or very nearly a promise, had been made them in Narnia itself that they would
00:04:06some day get back.
00:04:09You may imagine that they talked about it a good deal, when they got the chance.
00:04:14They were in Lucy's room, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the
00:04:18opposite wall.
00:04:20It was the only picture in the house that they liked.
00:04:23Aunt Alberta didn't like it at all.
00:04:26That was why it was put away in a little back room upstairs.
00:04:29But she couldn't get rid of it, because it had been a wedding present from someone she
00:04:32did not want to offend.
00:04:35It was a picture of a ship, a ship sailing straight towards you.
00:04:40Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with a wide open mouth.
00:04:46She had only one mast, and one large square sail, which was a rich purple.
00:04:53The sides of the ship, what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon
00:04:57ended, were green.
00:04:59She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave, and the nearest slope of that wave
00:05:05came down towards you, with streaks and bubbles on it.
00:05:09She was obviously running fast before a gay wind, listing over a little on her port side.
00:05:15By the way, if you are going to read this story at all, and if you don't know already,
00:05:20you had better get it into your head that the left of the ship, when you are looking
00:05:24ahead, is port, and the right is starboard.
00:05:30All the sunlight fell on her from that side, and the water on that side was full of greens
00:05:35and purples.
00:05:37On the other it was darker blue from the shadow of the ship.
00:05:41"'The question is,' said Edmund, "'whether it doesn't make things worse, looking at
00:05:46a Narnian ship, when you can't get there.'
00:05:49"'Even looking is better than nothing,' said Lucy, "'and she is such a pretty Narnian
00:05:55ship.'
00:05:56"'Still playing your old game,' said Eustace Clarence, who had been listening outside the
00:06:02door, and now came grinning into the room.
00:06:06Last year, when he had been staying with the Pevensies, he had managed to hear them all
00:06:10talking of Narnia, and he loved teasing them about it.
00:06:15He thought, of course, that they were making it all up, and as he was far too stupid to
00:06:20make anything up himself, he did not approve of that.
00:06:23"'You're not wanted here,' said Edmund curtly.
00:06:27"'I'm trying to think of a limerick,' said Eustace, "'something like this.
00:06:34Some kids who play games about Narnia got gradually barmier and barmier.'
00:06:40"'Well, Narnia and barmier don't rhyme, to begin with,' said Lucy.
00:06:46"'It's an assonance,' said Eustace.
00:06:50"'Don't ask him what an assy thingam he is,' said Edmund.
00:06:53"'He's only longing to be asked.
00:06:55Say nothing, and perhaps he'll go away.'
00:06:58Most boys, on meeting a reception like this, would either have cleared out or flared up.
00:07:05Eustace did neither.
00:07:06He just hung about, grinning, and presently began talking again.
00:07:11"'Do you like that picture?' he asked.
00:07:15"'For heaven's sake, don't let him get started about art and all that,' said Edmund
00:07:19hurriedly.
00:07:20But Lucy, who was very truthful, had already said, "'Yes, I do.
00:07:25I like it very much.'
00:07:26"'It's a rotten picture,' said Eustace.
00:07:31"'You won't see it if you step outside,' said Edmund.
00:07:35"'Why do you like it?' said Eustace to Lucy.
00:07:38"'Well, for one thing,' said Lucy, "'I like it because the ship looks as if it were really
00:07:45moving, and the water looks as if it were really wet, and the waves look as if they
00:07:50were really going up and down.'"
00:07:54Of course Eustace knew lots of answers to this, but he didn't say anything.
00:07:59The reason was that at that very moment he looked at the waves, and saw that they did
00:08:06look very much indeed as if they were going up and down.
00:08:10He had only once been in a ship, and then only as far as the Isle of Wight, and had
00:08:15been horribly seasick.
00:08:17The look of the waves in the picture made him feel sick again.
00:08:20He turned rather green and tried another look, and then all three children were staring with
00:08:27open mouths.
00:08:30What they were seeing may be hard to believe when you read it in print, but it was almost
00:08:35as hard to believe when you saw it happening.
00:08:38The things in the picture were moving.
00:08:41It didn't look at all like a cinema, either, the colours were too real and clean and out-of-doors
00:08:47for that.
00:08:48Down went the prow of the ship into the wave, and up went a great shock of spray, and then
00:08:54Up went the wave behind her, and her stern and her deck became visible for the first
00:08:58time, and then disappeared as the next wave came to meet her and her bows went up again.
00:09:04At the same moment an exercise-book which had been lying beside Edmund on the bed flapped,
00:09:10rose, and sailed through the air to the wall behind him, and Lucy felt all her hair whipping
00:09:16round her face, as it does on a windy day.
00:09:20And this was a windy day, but the wind was blowing out of the picture towards them, and
00:09:26suddenly, with the wind, came the noises, the swishing of waves, and the slap of water
00:09:33against the ship's sides, and the creaking and the overall high, steady roar of air and
00:09:39water.
00:09:40But it was the smell, the wild, briny smell, which really convinced Lucy that she was not
00:09:48dreaming.
00:09:49"'Stop it!' came Eustace's voice, squeaky with fright and bad temper.
00:09:54"'It's some silly trick you two are playing.
00:09:56Stop it!
00:09:57I'll tell Alberta!
00:09:58Ow!'
00:09:59The other two were much more accustomed to adventures, but, just exactly as Eustace Clarence
00:10:06said, "'Ow!'
00:10:08they both said, "'Ow, too!'
00:10:11The reason was that a great cold salt splash had broken right out of the frame, and they
00:10:17were breathless from the smack of it, besides being wet through.
00:10:22"'I'll smash the rotten thing!' cried Eustace.
00:10:27And then several things happened at the same time.
00:10:32Eustace rushed towards the picture.
00:10:34Edmund, who knew something about magic, sprang after him, warning him to look out and not
00:10:40to be a fool.
00:10:42Lucy grabbed at him from the other side and was dragged forward, and by this time either
00:10:46they had grown much smaller or the picture had grown bigger.
00:10:50Eustace jumped to try to pull it off the wall, and found himself standing on the frame.
00:10:55In front of him was not glass, but real sea, and the wind and waves rushing up to the frame
00:11:01as they might to a rock.
00:11:03He lost his head and crouched at the other two who had jumped up beside him.
00:11:07There was a second of struggling and shouting, and just as they thought they had got their
00:11:11balance, a great blue roller surged up round them, swept them off their feet, and drew
00:11:18them down into the sea.
00:11:21Eustace's despairing cry suddenly ended as the water got into his mouth.
00:11:27Lucy thanked her stars that she had worked hard at her swimming in the summer term.
00:11:32It is true that she would have got on much better if she had used a slower stroke, and
00:11:37also that the water felt a great deal colder than it had looked while it was only a picture.
00:11:42Still she kept her head and kicked her shoes off, as everyone ought to do who falls into
00:11:47deep water in their clothes.
00:11:49She even kept her mouth shut and her eyes open.
00:11:53They were still quite near the ship.
00:11:55She saw its green side towering high above them, and people looking at her from the deck.
00:12:01Then, as one might have expected, Eustace clutched at her in a panic, and down they
00:12:07both went.
00:12:10When they came up again, she saw a white figure diving off the ship's side.
00:12:15Edmund was close beside her now, treading water, and had caught the arms of the howling
00:12:20Eustace.
00:12:21Then someone else, whose face was vaguely familiar, slipped an arm under her from the
00:12:27other side.
00:12:29There was a lot of shouting going on from the ship, heads crowding together above the
00:12:32bulwarks, ropes being thrown.
00:12:36Edmund and the stranger were fastening ropes round her.
00:12:39After that followed what seemed a very long delay, during which her face got blue and
00:12:44her teeth began chattering.
00:12:47In reality the delay was not very long.
00:12:50They were waiting till the moment when she could be got on board ship without being dashed
00:12:54against its side.
00:12:56Even with all their best endeavours she had a bruised knee when she finally stood, dripping
00:13:01and shivering, on the deck.
00:13:04After her Edmund was heaved up, and then the miserable Eustace.
00:13:09Last of all came the stranger, a golden-headed boy some years older than herself.
00:13:16"'Caspian!" gasped Lucy, as soon as she had breath enough.
00:13:21For Caspian it was.
00:13:24Caspian, the boy-king of Narnia, whom they had helped to set on the throne during their
00:13:30last visit.
00:13:32Immediately Edmund recognised him too.
00:13:35All three shook hands and clapped one another on the back with great delight.
00:13:40"'But who is your friend?' said Caspian, almost at once, turning to Eustace with his cheerful
00:13:47smile.
00:13:48But Eustace was crying much harder than any boy of his age had a right to cry, when nothing
00:13:54worse than a wedding had happened to him, and would only yell out,
00:13:58"'Let me go!
00:13:59Let me go!
00:14:00I don't like it!'
00:14:01"'Let you go?' said Caspian.
00:14:05"'But where?'
00:14:08Eustace rushed to the ship's side, as if he expected to see the picture-frame hanging
00:14:12above the sea, and perhaps a glimpse of Lucy's bedroom.
00:14:17What he saw was blue waves flecked with foam, and pale a blue sky, both
00:14:24spreading without a break to the horizon.
00:14:27Perhaps we can hardly blame him if his heart sank.
00:14:31He was promptly sick.
00:14:33"'Hey!
00:14:34Rhinelph!' said Caspian to one of the sailors.
00:14:38"'Bring spiced wine for their Majesties.
00:14:41You'll need something to warm you after that dip.'
00:14:44He called Edmund and Lucy their Majesties, because they, and Peter and Susan, had all
00:14:50been kings and queens of Narnia long before his time.
00:14:55Narnia time flows differently from ours.
00:14:58If you spent a hundred years in Narnia, you would still come back to our world at the
00:15:02very same hour of the very same day on which you left.
00:15:07And then, if you went back to Narnia after spending a week here, you might find that
00:15:11a thousand Narnian years had passed, or only a day, or no time at all.
00:15:20You never know till you get there.
00:15:23Consequently, when the Pevensey children had returned to Narnia last time for their second
00:15:27visit, it was, for the Narnians, as if King Arthur came back to Britain, as some people
00:15:34say he will, and I say the sooner the better.
00:15:40Rhinelph returned with the spiced wine, steaming in a flagon, and four silver cups.
00:15:46It was just what one wanted, and as Lucy and Edmund sipped it, they could feel the
00:15:51warmth going right down to their toes.
00:15:54But Eustace made faces, and spluttered, and spat it out, and was sick again, and began
00:16:00to cry again, and asked if they hadn't any plum-trees' vitimised nerve-food, and could
00:16:06it be made with distilled water, and, anyway, he insisted on being put ashore at the next
00:16:10station.
00:16:11"'This is a merry ship-mate you've brought us, brother,' whispered Caspian to Edmund,
00:16:17with a chuckle.
00:16:18But before he could say anything more, Eustace burst out again.
00:16:22"'Oh!
00:16:23Eugh!
00:16:24What on earth's that?
00:16:27Take it away!
00:16:29The horrid thing!'
00:16:31He really had some excuse this time for feeling a little surprised.
00:16:36Something very curious, indeed, had come out of the cabin in the poop, and was slowly approaching
00:16:42them.
00:16:43You might call it, and indeed it was, a mouse.
00:16:48But then it was a mouse on its hind-legs, and stood about two feet high.
00:16:53A thin band of gold passed round its head, under one ear and over the other, and in this
00:16:59was stuck a long crimson feather.
00:17:02As the mouse's fur was very dark, almost black, the effect was bold and striking.
00:17:08Its left paw rested on the hilt of a sword, very nearly as long as its tail.
00:17:14Its balance, as it paced gravely along the swaying deck, was perfect, and its manners
00:17:20courtly.
00:17:21Lucy and Edmund recognised it at once.
00:17:24Reepicheep, the most valiant of all the talking beasts of Narnia, and the chief mouse!
00:17:30He had won undying glory in the second battle of Baroona.
00:17:34Lucy longed, as she had always done, to take Reepicheep up in her arms and cuddle him.
00:17:40But this, as she well knew, was a pleasure she could never have.
00:17:46It would have offended him deeply.
00:17:49Instead she went down on one knee to talk to him.
00:17:53Reepicheep put forward his left leg, drew back his right, bowed, kissed her hand, straightened
00:18:00himself, twirled his whiskers, and said, in his shrill, piping voice,
00:18:05"'My humble duty to your Majesty, and to King Edmund, too!'
00:18:11Here he bowed again.
00:18:13"'Nothing except your Majesty's presence was lacking to this glorious venture.'
00:18:19"'Urgh!
00:18:20Take it away!' wailed Eustace.
00:18:23"'I hate mice, and I never could bear performing animals.
00:18:28They're silly and vulgar and sentimental.'
00:18:32"'Am I to understand,' said Reepicheep to Lucy, after a long stare at Eustace,
00:18:39"'that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majesty's protection?
00:18:45Because, if not—' At this moment Lucy and Edmund both sneezed.
00:18:51"'What a fool I am to keep you all standing here in your wet things,' said Caspian.
00:18:56"'Come on below and get changed.
00:18:59I'll give you my cabin, of course, Lucy.
00:19:02But I'm afraid we have no women's clothes on board.
00:19:05You'll have to make do with some of mine.
00:19:07Lead the way, Reepicheep, like a good fellow.'
00:19:09"'To the convenience of a lady,' said Reepicheep.
00:19:13"'Even a question of honour must give way, at least for the moment.'
00:19:19And here he looked very hard at Eustace.
00:19:23But Caspian hustled him on, and in a few minutes Lucy found herself passing through the door
00:19:28into the stern cabin.
00:19:30She fell in love with it at once.
00:19:33The three square windows that looked out on the blue, swirling water of stern, the low
00:19:38cushioned benches round three sides of the table, the swinging silver lamp overhead—dwarf's
00:19:44work, she knew at once by its exquisite delicacy—and the flat gold image of Aslan the Lion on the
00:19:52forward wall above the door.
00:19:55All this she took in in a flash, for Caspian immediately opened a door on the starboard
00:19:59side and said,—'This'll be your room, Lucy.
00:20:02I'll just get some dry things for myself.'
00:20:05He was rummaging in one of the lockers while he spoke.
00:20:08"'And then leave you to change.
00:20:10If you'll fling your wet things outside the door, I'll get them taken to the galley to
00:20:14be dried.'
00:20:17Lucy found herself as much at home as if she'd been in Caspian's cabin for weeks, and the
00:20:22motion of the ship did not worry her.
00:20:25For in the old days, when she had been a queen in Narnia, she had done a good deal of voyaging.
00:20:31The cabin was very tiny, but bright with painted panels, all birds and beasts and crimson
00:20:38dragons and vines, and spotlessly clean.
00:20:42Caspian's clothes were too big for her, but she could manage.
00:20:46His shoes, sandals, and sea-boots were hopelessly big, but she did not mind going barefoot on
00:20:52board ship.
00:20:54When she had finished dressing, she looked out of her window at the water rushing past,
00:20:59and took a long, deep breath.
00:21:03She felt quite sure they were in for a lovely time.
00:21:13CHAPTER II
00:21:15ON BOARD THE DAWN TREADER
00:21:17"'Ah, there you are, Lucy,' said Caspian.
00:21:21"'We were just waiting for you.
00:21:23This is my captain, the Lord Drinian.'
00:21:26A dark-haired man went down on one knee and kissed her hand.
00:21:30The only others present were Reepycheep and Edmund.
00:21:33"'Where is Eustace?' asked Lucy.
00:21:37"'In bed,' said Edmund.
00:21:39"'And I don't think we can do anything for him.
00:21:41It only makes him worse if you try to be nice to him.'
00:21:44"'Meanwhile,' said Caspian, "'we want to talk.'
00:21:48"'By Jove, we do!' said Edmund.
00:21:52"'And first, about time.
00:21:55It's a year ago by our time since we left you, just before your coronation.
00:21:59How long has it been in Narnia?'
00:22:02"'Exactly three years,' said Caspian.
00:22:06"'All going well?' asked Edmund.
00:22:09"'You don't suppose I've left my kingdom and put to sea unless all was well?'
00:22:15answered the King.
00:22:16"'It couldn't be better.
00:22:18There's no trouble at all now between Telmarines, dwarfs, talking beasts, fauns, and the rest,
00:22:24and we gave those troublesome giants on the frontier such a good beating last summer that
00:22:28they pay us tribute now.
00:22:30And I had an excellent person to leave as regent while I'm away, Trumkin the dwarf.
00:22:36You remember him?'
00:22:37"'Dear Trumkin,' said Lucy, "'of course I do.
00:22:42You couldn't have made a better choice.'
00:22:44"'Loyal as a badger, ma'am, and valiant as a mouse,' said Drinian.
00:22:51He had been going to say, as a lion, but had noticed Weepicheep's eyes fixed on him.'
00:22:57"'And where are we heading for?' asked Edmund.
00:23:02"'Well,' said Caspian, "'that's rather a long story.
00:23:07Perhaps you remember that when I was a child my usurping uncle, Miraz, got rid of seven
00:23:13friends of my father's, who might have taken my part, by sending them off to explore the
00:23:18unknown eastern seas beyond the Lone Islands.'
00:23:21"'Yes,' said Lucy, "'and none of them ever came back.'
00:23:27"'Right.
00:23:28Well, on my coronation-day, with Aslan's approval, I swore an oath that if once I established
00:23:35peace in Narnia, I would say least myself for a year and a day to find my father's friends,
00:23:41or to learn of their deaths, and avenge them, if I could.
00:23:46These were their names.
00:23:48The Lord Revillian, the Lord Byrne, the Lord Argos, the Lord Mavrimorn, the Lord Optisian,
00:23:55the Lord Restimar, and—oh, that other one, who's so hard to remember.'
00:24:01"'The Lord Roop, sire,' said Drinian.
00:24:06"'Roop!
00:24:07Roop!
00:24:08Of course!' said Caspian.
00:24:10"'That is my main intention.
00:24:12But Reepicheep here has an even higher hope.'
00:24:16Everyone's eyes turned to the mouse.
00:24:19"'As high as my spirit,' he said, "'though perhaps as small as my stature.
00:24:26Why should we not come to the very eastern end of the world?
00:24:30And what might we find there?
00:24:32I expect to find Aslan's own country.
00:24:35It is always from the east, across the sea, that the great lion comes to us.'
00:24:41"'I say, that is an idea,' said Edmund, in an awed voice.
00:24:48"'But do you think,' said Lucy, "'Aslan's country would be that sort of country?
00:24:55I mean, the sort you could ever sail to?'
00:24:58"'I do not know, madam,' said Reepicheep.
00:25:02"'But there is this.
00:25:04When I was in my cradle, a woodwoman, a dryad, spoke this verse over me.
00:25:10"'Where sky and water meet, where the waves grow sweet, doubt not, Reepicheep, to find
00:25:19all you seek, there is the utter east.
00:25:25I do not know what it means, but the spell of it has been on me all my life.'
00:25:32"'And where are we now, Caspian?'
00:25:37"'The captain can tell you better than I,' said Caspian.
00:25:41So Drinian got out his chart and spread it on the table.
00:25:45"'That's our position,' he said, laying his finger on it.
00:25:49"'Or was, at noon to-day.
00:25:52We had a fair wind from Caer Parabel, and stood a little north for Galma, which we made
00:25:59on the next day.
00:26:00"'We were in port for a week, for the Duke of Galma made a great tournament for his Majesty,
00:26:04and there he unhorsed many nights.
00:26:07"'And got a few nasty falls myself, Drinian.
00:26:10Some of the bruises are still there,' put in Caspian.
00:26:14"'And unhorsed many nights,' repeated Drinian with a grin.
00:26:19"'We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the King's Majesty would have married his
00:26:23daughter, but nothing came of that.
00:26:28"'Squints, and has freckles,' said Caspian.
00:26:31"'Oh, poor girl,' said Lucy.
00:26:36"'And we sailed from Galma,' continued Drinian, "'and ran into a calm for the best part of
00:26:42two days, and had to row, and then had wind again, and did not make Terabinthia till the
00:26:49fourth day from Galma.
00:26:51"'And there the King sent out a warning not to land, for there was sickness in Terabinthia,
00:26:57but we doubled the cape and put in at a little creek far from the city, and watered.
00:27:02Then we had to lie off for three days before we got a south-east wind, and stood out for
00:27:06seven aisles.
00:27:08The third day out a pirate, Terabinthian by her rig, overhauled us, but when she saw us
00:27:14well armed, she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part.
00:27:19"'And we ought to have given her chase, and boarded her, and hanged every mother's son
00:27:23of them,' said Reepicheep.
00:27:26"'And in five days more we were in sight of Mule, which, as you know, is the westernmost
00:27:32of the seven isles.
00:27:35Then we rowed through the straits, and came about sundown into Redhaven on the Isle of
00:27:39Bren, where we were very lovingly feasted, and had vittles and water at will.
00:27:45We left Redhaven six days ago, and have made marvellously good speed, so that I hope to
00:27:51see the Lone Islands the day after to-morrow.
00:27:54The Sommies!
00:27:55We are now nearly thirty days at sea, and have sailed more than four hundred leagues
00:28:01from Narnia.'
00:28:02"'And after the Lone Islands?' said Lucy.
00:28:08"'No one knows, your Majesty,' answered Rinian, "'unless the Lone Islanders themselves can
00:28:14tell us.'
00:28:15"'They couldn't in our days,' said Edmund.
00:28:21"'Then,' said Reepicheep, "'it is after the Lone Islands that the adventure really begins.'
00:28:28Caspian now suggested that they might like to be shown over the ship before supper.
00:28:33But Lucy's conscience smote her, and she said,
00:28:36"'I think I really must go and see Eustace.
00:28:40Sea-sickness is horrid, you know.
00:28:43If I had my old cordial with me I could cure him.'
00:28:46"'But you have,' said Caspian, 'I'd quite forgotten about it.
00:28:52As you left it behind, I thought it might be regarded as one of the royal treasures,
00:28:56and so I brought it.
00:28:58If you think it ought to be wasted on a thing like sea-sickness--"
00:29:01"'It'll only take a drop,' said Lucy.
00:29:05Caspian opened one of the lockers beneath the bench, and brought out the beautiful little
00:29:10diamond flask which Lucy remembered so well.
00:29:14"'Take back your own, Queen,' he said.
00:29:19They then left the cabin and went out into the sunshine.
00:29:23In the deck there were two large long hatches, fore and aft of the mast, and both open, as
00:29:30they always were in fair weather, to let light and air into the belly of the ship.
00:29:35Caspian led them down a ladder into the after-hatch.
00:29:39Here they found themselves in a place where benches for rowing ran from side to side,
00:29:44and the light came in through the oar-holes and danced on the roof.
00:29:48Of course, Caspian's ship was not that horrible thing, a galley rowed by slaves.
00:29:54Oars were used only when wind failed, or for getting in and out of harbour, and everyone
00:30:00except Reepicheep, whose legs were too short, had often taken a turn.
00:30:06At each side of the ship the space under the benches was left clear for the rowers' feet,
00:30:11and all down the centre there was a kind of pit which went down to the very keel, and
00:30:16this was filled with all kinds of things, sacks of flour, casks of water and beer, barrels
00:30:22of pork, jars of honey, skin-bottles of wine, apples, nuts, cheese, biscuits, turnips, sides
00:30:29of bacon.
00:30:31From the roof, that is, from the underside of the deck, hung hams and strings of onions,
00:30:38and also the men of the watch off duty in their hammocks.
00:30:43Caspian led them aft, stepping from bench to bench.
00:30:46At least it was stepping for him, and something between a step and a jump for Lucy, and a
00:30:53real long jump for Reepicheep.
00:30:56In this way they came to a partition with a door in it.
00:31:00Caspian opened the door, and led them into a cabin which filled the stern underneath
00:31:05the deck-cabins in the poop.
00:31:08It was, of course, not so nice.
00:31:10It was very low, and the sides sloped together as they went down, so that there was hardly
00:31:15any floor.
00:31:16And though it had windows of thick glass, they were not made to open because they were
00:31:21under water.
00:31:23In fact, at this very moment as the ship pitched, they were alternately golden with sunlight
00:31:30and dim green with the sea.
00:31:33You and I must lodge here, Edmund, said Caspian.
00:31:37We'll leave your kinsman the bunk and sling hammocks for ourselves.
00:31:41I beseech your Majesty, said Drinian.
00:31:44No, no, ship-mate, said Caspian.
00:31:47We have argued all that out already.
00:31:50You and Rince—Rince was the mate—are sailing the ship, and will have cares and labours
00:31:55many a night when we are singing catches or telling stories, so you and he must have the
00:32:00port-cabin above.
00:32:02King Edmund and I can lie very snug here below.
00:32:06But how is the stranger?"
00:32:08Eustace, very green in the face, scowled, and asked whether there was any sign of the
00:32:14storm getting less.
00:32:16But Caspian said,
00:32:18"'What storm?'
00:32:20And Drinian burst out laughing.
00:32:22"'A storm, young master,' he roared.
00:32:26"'This is as fair weather as a man could ask for.'
00:32:30"'Who's that?' said Eustace, irritably.
00:32:34"'Send him away.
00:32:36His voice goes through my head.'
00:32:38"'I've brought you something that will make you feel better, Eustace,' said Lucy.
00:32:44"'Oh, go away and leave me alone!' growled Eustace.
00:32:50But he took a drop from her flask, and though he said it was beastly stuff, the smell in
00:32:56the cabin, when she opened it, was delicious.
00:33:00It is certain that his face came the right colour a few moments after he had swallowed
00:33:04it.
00:33:05And he must have felt better, because, instead of wailing about the storm in his head, he
00:33:11began demanding to be put ashore, and said that at the first port he would lodge a disposition
00:33:17against them all with the British consul.
00:33:20But when Reepicheep asked what a disposition was, and how you lodged it, Reepicheep thought
00:33:27it was some new way of arranging a single combat.
00:33:30Eustace could only reply,
00:33:32"'Fancy not knowing that!'
00:33:36In the end they succeeded in convincing Eustace that they were already sailing as fast as
00:33:40they could towards the nearest land they knew, and that they had no more power of sending
00:33:45him back to Cambridge, which was where Uncle Harold lived, than of sending him to the moon.
00:33:51After that he sulkily agreed to put on the fresh clothes which had been put out for him,
00:33:56and come on deck.
00:33:59Caspian now showed them over the ship, though indeed they had seen most of it already.
00:34:04They went up on to the foc'sle, and saw the lookout-man, standing on a little shelf inside
00:34:08the gilded dragon's neck, and peering through its open mouth.
00:34:13Inside the foc'sle was the galley, or ship's kitchen, and quarters for such people as the
00:34:18bosun, the carpenter, the cook, and the master archer.
00:34:22If you think it odd to have the galley in the bows, and imagine the smoke from its chimneys
00:34:26streaming back over the ship, that is because you are thinking of steamships, where there
00:34:32is always a headwind.
00:34:34On a sailing-ship the wind is coming from behind, and anything smelly is put as far
00:34:40forward as possible.
00:34:42They were taken up to the fighting-top, and at first it was rather alarming to rock to
00:34:46and fro there, and see the deck looking small and far away beneath.
00:34:51You realized that if you fell there was no particular reason why you should fall on board
00:34:55rather than in the sea.
00:34:58Then they were taken to the poop, where Rince was on duty with another man of the great
00:35:02tiller, and behind that the dragon's tail rose up, covered with gilding, and round inside
00:35:09it ran a little bench.
00:35:12The name of the ship was Dawn Treader.
00:35:16She was only a little bit of a thing compared to one of our ships, or even with the cogs,
00:35:21dromuns, carrocks, and galleons which Narnia had owned when Lucy and Edmund had reigned
00:35:26there under Peter as the high king, for nearly all navigation had died out in the reigns
00:35:32of Caspian's ancestors.
00:35:34When his uncle, Miraz, the usurper, had sent the seven lords to sea, they had had to buy
00:35:40a Galmian ship and man it with hired Galmian sailors.
00:35:45But now Caspian had begun to teach the Narnians to be seafaring folk once more, and the Dawn
00:35:50Treader was the finest ship he had built yet.
00:35:54She was so small that, forward of the mast, there was hardly any deck-room between the
00:35:59central hatch on the ship's boat on one side, and the hen-coop—Lucy fed the hens—on
00:36:05the other.
00:36:06But she was a beauty of her kind, a lady, as sailors say, her lines perfect, her colours
00:36:14pure, and every spar and rope and pin lovingly made.
00:36:20Eustace, of course, would be pleased with nothing, and kept on boasting about liners
00:36:25and motor-boats and aeroplanes and submarines—as if he knew anything about them, muttered Edmund—but
00:36:33the other two were delighted with the Dawn Treader.
00:36:37And when they returned after the cabin and supper, and saw the whole western sky lit
00:36:41up with an immense crimson sunset, and felt the quiver of the ship, and tasted the salt
00:36:47on their lips, and thought of unknown lands on the eastern rim of the world, Lucy felt
00:36:54that she was almost too happy to speak.
00:36:58What Eustace thought had best be told in his own words.
00:37:02For when they all got their clothes back, dried, next morning, he at once got out a
00:37:06little black note-book and a pencil, and started to keep a diary.
00:37:10He always had this note-book with him, and kept a record of his marks in it.
00:37:16For though he didn't care much about any subject for its own sake, he cared a great
00:37:19deal about marks, and would even go to people and say,
00:37:24I got so much!
00:37:25What did you get?
00:37:26But as he didn't seem likely to get many marks on the Dawn Treader, he now started
00:37:31a diary.
00:37:33This was the first entry.
00:37:36August 7.
00:37:39Have now been twenty-four hours on this ghastly boat, if it isn't a dream.
00:37:43All the time a frightful storm has been raging.
00:37:47It's a good thing I'm not seasick.
00:37:49Huge waves keep coming in over the front, and I've seen the boat nearly go under any
00:37:54number of times.
00:37:55All the others pretend to take no notice of this, either from swank, or because Harold
00:38:00says one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to facts.
00:38:05It's madness to come out into the sea in a rotten little thing like this.
00:38:10Not much bigger than a life-boat, and, of course, absolutely primitive indoors.
00:38:16No proper saloon, no radio, no bath-rooms, no deck-chairs.
00:38:21I was dragged all over it yesterday evening, and it would make anyone sick to hear Caspian
00:38:26showing off his funny little toy-boat as if it was the Queen Mary.
00:38:30I tried to tell him what real ships are like, but he's too dense.
00:38:35E. and L., of course, didn't back me up.
00:38:38I suppose a kid like L. doesn't realise the danger, and E. is buttering up C., as everyone
00:38:44does here.
00:38:45They call him a king.
00:38:48I said I was a republican, but he had to ask me what that meant.
00:38:52He doesn't seem to know anything at all.
00:38:55Needless to say, I've been put in the worst cabin of the boat, a perfect dungeon, and
00:39:01Lucy has been given a whole room on deck to herself.
00:39:05Almost a nice room, compared with the rest of this place.
00:39:09She says that's because she's a girl.
00:39:12I tried to make him see what Alberta says, that all that sort of thing is really lowering
00:39:17girls, but he was too dense.
00:39:20Still, he might see that I shall be ill if I'm kept in that hole any longer.
00:39:26E. says we mustn't grumble, because C. is sharing it with us himself to make room for
00:39:30L., as if that didn't make it more crowded, and far worse.
00:39:35Nearly forgot to say that there is also a kind of mouse-thing that gives everyone the
00:39:41most frightful cheek.
00:39:43The others can put up with it if they like, but I shall twist his tail pretty soon if
00:39:47he tries it on me.
00:39:49The food is frightful too.
00:39:53The trouble between Eustace and Reepicheep arrived even sooner than might have been expected.
00:39:59Before dinner the next day, when the others were sitting round the table waiting, being
00:40:04at sea gives one a magnificent appetite, Eustace came rushing in, wringing his hands, and shouting
00:40:10out,
00:40:11That little brute has half killed me.
00:40:15I insist on it being kept under control.
00:40:17I could bring an action against you, Caspian.
00:40:20I could order you to have it destroyed.
00:40:23At the same moment Reepicheep appeared.
00:40:26His sword was drawn, and his whiskers looked very fierce, but he was as polite as ever.
00:40:34I ask your pardons all, he said, and especially Her Majesty's.
00:40:41If I had known that he would take refuge here I would have awaited a more reasonable time
00:40:45for his correction.
00:40:49What on earth's up? asked Edmund.
00:40:53What had really happened was this.
00:40:55Reepicheep, who never felt that the ship was getting on fast enough, loved to sit on the
00:41:00bulwarks far forwards, just beside the dragon's head, gazing out at the eastern horizon, and
00:41:06singing softly in his little chirping voice the song the dryad had made for him.
00:41:12He never held on to anything, however the ship pitched, and kept his balance with perfect
00:41:16ease.
00:41:18Perhaps his long tail, hanging down to the deck inside the bulwarks, made this easier.
00:41:23Everyone on board was familiar with this habit, and the sailors liked it, because when one
00:41:28was on lookout duty it gave one somebody to talk to.
00:41:33Why exactly Eustace had slipped and reeled and stumbled all the way forward to the foc'sle
00:41:38—he had not yet got his sea-legs—I never heard.
00:41:43Perhaps he hoped he would see land, or perhaps he wanted to hang about the galley and scrounge
00:41:48something.
00:41:49Anyway, as soon as he saw that long tail hanging down—and perhaps it was rather tempting—he
00:41:57thought it would be delightful to catch hold of it, swing Reepycheep round by it once or
00:42:03twice upside down, then run away and laugh.
00:42:08At first the plan seemed to work beautifully.
00:42:11The mouse was not much heavier than a very large cat.
00:42:14Eustace had him off the rail in a trice, and very silly he looked, thought Eustace, with
00:42:19his little limbs all splayed out and his mouth open.
00:42:23But unfortunately Reepycheep, who had fought for his life many a time, never lost his head
00:42:30even for a moment, nor his skill.
00:42:35It is not very easy to draw one's sword when one is swinging round in the air by one's
00:42:39tail.
00:42:40But he did.
00:42:41And the next thing Eustace knew was two agonizing jabs in his hand which made him let go of
00:42:47the tail.
00:42:49And the next thing after that was that the mouse had picked itself up again as if it
00:42:53were a ball bouncing off the deck, and there it was, facing him, and a horrid long bright
00:42:59sharp thing like a skewer was waving to and fro within an inch of his stomach.
00:43:06This doesn't count as below the belt for mice in Narnia, because they can hardly be expected
00:43:11to reach higher.
00:43:13Stop it!"
00:43:14spluttered Eustace.
00:43:15Go away.
00:43:16Put that thing away.
00:43:18It's not safe.
00:43:19Stop it, I say.
00:43:20I'll tell Caspian.
00:43:21I'll have you muzzled and tied up.
00:43:23"'Why do you not draw your own sword, poltroon?'
00:43:28cheeped the mouse.
00:43:29"'Draw and fight, or I'll beat you black and blue with the flat!'
00:43:33"'I haven't got one,' said Eustace.
00:43:35"'I'm a pacifist.
00:43:37I don't believe in fighting.'
00:43:40"'Do I understand?' said Reepycheep, withdrawing his sword for a moment and speaking very sternly.
00:43:46"'That you do not intend to give me satisfaction?'
00:43:50"'I don't know what you mean,' said Eustace, nursing his hand.
00:43:55"'If you don't know how to take a joke, I shan't bother my head about you.'
00:43:59"'Then take that,' said Reepycheep, "'and that, to teach you manners and the respect
00:44:05due to a knight and a mouse, and a mouse's tail!'
00:44:11And in each word he gave Eustace a blow with the side of his rapier, which was thin, fine,
00:44:16dwarf-tempered steel, and as supple and effective as a birch-rod.
00:44:20Eustace, of course, was at a school where they didn't have corporal punishment, so the
00:44:26sensation was quite new to him.
00:44:28That was why, in spite of having no sea-legs, it took him less than a minute to get off
00:44:34that foc'sle, and cover the whole length of the deck, and burst in at the cabin-door,
00:44:39still hotly pursued by Reepycheep.
00:44:41Indeed, it seemed to Eustace that the rapier, as well as the pursuit, was hot.
00:44:47It might have been red-hot by the feel.
00:44:51There was not much difficulty in settling the matter, once Eustace realised that everyone
00:44:55took the idea of a duel seriously, and heard Caspian offering to lend him a sword, and
00:45:02Drinian and Edmund discussing whether he ought to be handicapped in some way, to make
00:45:06up for his being so much bigger than Reepycheep.
00:45:10He apologised, sulkily, and went off with Lucy to have his hand bathed and bandaged,
00:45:17and then went to his bunk.
00:45:19He was careful to lie on his side.
00:45:28CHAPTER III THE LONE ISLANDS
00:45:31"'Land in sight!' shouted the man in the boughs.
00:45:37Lucy, who had been talking to Rince on the poop, came pattering down the ladder and raced
00:45:43forward.
00:45:44As she went she was joined by Edmund, and they found Caspian, Drinian, and Reepycheep
00:45:49already on the foc'sle.
00:45:51It was a coldish morning, the sky very pale, and the sea very dark blue, with little white
00:45:57caps of foam.
00:45:59And there, a little way off on the starboard bow, was the nearest of the Lone Islands,
00:46:04Felimath, like a low green hill in the sea, and behind it, further off, the grey slopes
00:46:11of its sister, Dorne.
00:46:14"'Same old Felimath!
00:46:17Same old Dorne!' said Lucy, clapping her hands.
00:46:21"'Oh!
00:46:22Edmund, how long is it since you and I saw them last?'
00:46:25"'I've never understood why they belong to Narnia,' said Caspian.
00:46:30"'Did Peter the High King conquer them?'
00:46:33"'Oh, no!' said Edmund.
00:46:35"'They were Narnian before our time, in the days of the White Witch.
00:46:40By the way, I have never yet heard how these remote islands became attached to the ground
00:46:47of Narnia.
00:46:48If I ever do, and if the story is at all interesting, I may put it in some other book.'
00:46:54"'Are we to put in here, sire?' asked Drinian.
00:46:58"'I shouldn't think it would be much good landing on Felimath,' said Edmund.
00:47:03"'It was almost uninhabited in our days, and it looks as if it is the same still.
00:47:08The people live mostly on Dorne, and a little on Avra, that's the third one.
00:47:12You can't see it yet.
00:47:13They only keep sheep on Felimath.'
00:47:16"'Then we'll have to double that cape, I suppose,' said Drinian, "'and land on Dorne.
00:47:24That'll mean rowing.'
00:47:25"'I'm sorry we're not landing on Felimath,' said Lucy.
00:47:30'I'd like to walk there again.
00:47:33It was so lonely, a nice kind of loneliness, and all grass and clover and soft sea air.'
00:47:42"'I'd love to stretch my legs, too,' said Caspian.
00:47:46"'I tell you what, why shouldn't we go ashore in the boat, and send it back, and then we
00:47:52could walk across Felimath and let the Dorne-treader pick us up on the other side?'
00:47:58If Caspian had been as experienced then as he became later on in this voyage, he would
00:48:03not have made this suggestion.
00:48:05But at the moment it seemed an excellent one.
00:48:08"'Oh, doulets!' said Lucy.
00:48:11"'You'll come, will you?' said Caspian to Eustace, who had come on deck with his hand
00:48:17bandaged.
00:48:18"'Anything to get off this blasted boat,' said Eustace.
00:48:24"'Blasted?' said Drinian.
00:48:26"'How do you mean?'
00:48:28"'In a civilized country, like where I come from,' said Eustace.
00:48:33"'The ships are so big that when you're inside you wouldn't know you were at sea at all.'
00:48:37"'In that case you might just as well stay ashore,' said Caspian.
00:48:43"'Will you tell them to lower the boat, Drinian?'
00:48:46The King, the Mouse, the two Pevensies, and Eustace, all got into the boat, and were pulled
00:48:53to the beach of Felimath.
00:48:55When the boat had left them, and was being rowed back, they all turned and looked round.
00:49:01They were surprised at how small the Dorne-treader looked.
00:49:05Lucy was of course barefoot, having kicked off her shoes while swimming, but that is
00:49:10no hardship if one is going to walk on downy turf.
00:49:13It was delightful to be ashore again, and to smell the earth and grass, even if at first
00:49:20the grind seemed to be pitching up and down like a ship, as it usually does for a while
00:49:24if one has been at sea.
00:49:26It was much warmer here than it had been on board, and Lucy found the sand pleasant to
00:49:32her feet as they crossed it.
00:49:34There was a lark singing.
00:49:36They struck inland, and up a fairly steep though low hill.
00:49:40At the top, of course, they looked back, and there was the Dorne-treader, shining like
00:49:45a great bright insect, and crawling slowly north-westward with her oars.
00:49:51Then they went over the ridge, and could see her no longer.
00:49:55Dorne now lay before them, divided from Felimath by a channel about a mile wide.
00:50:01Behind it, and to the left, lay Avra.
00:50:04The little white town of Narrowhaven on Dorne was easily seen.
00:50:09Hello!
00:50:10What's this? said Edmund suddenly.
00:50:14In the green valley to which they were descending, six or seven rough-looking men, all armed,
00:50:20were sitting by a tree.
00:50:24Don't tell them who we are, said Caspian.
00:50:26And pray, your Majesty, why not? said Reepycheep, who had consented to ride on Lucy's shoulder.
00:50:34It just occurred to me, replied Caspian, that no one here can have heard from Narnia for
00:50:39a long time.
00:50:41It's just possible they may not still acknowledge our overlordship, in which case it might not
00:50:47be quite safe to be known as the king.
00:50:51We have our sword, sire, said Reepycheep.
00:50:54Yes, Reep, I know we have, said Caspian, but if it is a question of reconquering the Three
00:50:59Islands, I'd prefer to come back with a rather larger army.
00:51:05By this time they were quite close to the strangers, one of whom, a big black-haired
00:51:11fellow, shouted out,
00:51:13A good morning to you!
00:51:16And a good morning to you, said Caspian.
00:51:19Is there still a governor of the Lone Islands?
00:51:23To be sure there is, said the man.
00:51:26Governor Gumpus!
00:51:27His sufficiency is at narrow haven.
00:51:30But you'll stay and drink with us?
00:51:33Caspian thanked him, though neither he nor the others much liked the look of their new
00:51:38acquaintance, and all of them sat down.
00:51:41But hardly had they raised their cups to their lips when the black-haired man nodded to his
00:51:46companions, and, as quick as lightning, all the five visitors found themselves wrapped
00:51:50in strong arms.
00:51:52It was a moment's struggle, but all the advantages were on one side, and soon everyone was disarmed
00:51:59and had their hands tied behind their backs, except Reepicheep, writhing in his captor's
00:52:05grip and biting furiously.
00:52:07Careful with that beast, Tax, said the leader.
00:52:11Don't damage him.
00:52:12He'll fetch the best price of the lot, I shouldn't wonder.
00:52:16Coward!
00:52:17Paltroon!
00:52:18squeaked Reepicheep.
00:52:19Give me my sword, and free my paws, if you dare!"
00:52:24"'He-hoof!' whistled the slave-merchant, for that is what he was.
00:52:29"'He couldn't talk!'
00:52:31"'Well, I never did.
00:52:33Bloat if I take less than two hundred crescents for him!'
00:52:38The Calamine Crescent, which is the chief coin in those parts, is worth about a third
00:52:43of a pound."
00:52:44"'So that's what you are!' said Caspian.
00:52:48"'A kidnapper and slaver!
00:52:51I hope you're proud of it?'
00:52:52"'No, no, no, no,' said the slaver.
00:52:56"'Don't you start any jaw.
00:52:59The easier you take it, the pleasanter all round, see.
00:53:02I don't do this for fun.
00:53:03I've got my living to make, same as everyone else.'"
00:53:06"'Where will you take us?' asked Lucy, getting the words out with some difficulty.
00:53:14"'Over to Narrowaven,' said the slaver.
00:53:17"'The market-day, to-morrow.'
00:53:19"'Is there a British consul there?' asked Eustace.
00:53:23"'Is there a witch?' said the man.
00:53:27But long before Eustace was tired of trying to explain, the slaver simply said,
00:53:32"'Well, I've had enough of this jabber.
00:53:35The mouse is a fair treat, but this one will talk the iron leg of a donkey.
00:53:40Off we go, mates!'
00:53:42Then the four human prisoners were roped together, not cruelly, but securely, and made
00:53:48to march down to the shore.
00:53:51Reepicheep was carried.
00:53:52He had stopped biting, on a threat of having his mouth tied up, but he had a great deal
00:53:57to say, and Lucy really wondered how any man could bear to have the thing said to him which
00:54:02was said to the slave-dealer by the mouse.
00:54:05But the slave-dealer, far from objecting, only said,
00:54:08"'Go on!' whenever Reepicheep paused for breath, occasionally adding,
00:54:13"'It's as good as a play!' or,
00:54:17"'Blimey!
00:54:18You can't help almost thinking it knows what it's saying!' or,
00:54:23"'Was it one of you what trained it?'
00:54:26This so infuriated Reepicheep that, in the end, the number of things he thought of saying
00:54:32all at once nearly suffocated him, and he became silent.
00:54:38When they got down to the shore that looked towards Doon, they found a little village,
00:54:43and a longboat on the beach, and, lying a little further out, a dirty, bedraggled-looking
00:54:48ship.
00:54:49"'Now, youngsters,' said the slave-dealer,
00:54:52"'this had no fuss, and then you'll have nothing to cry about.
00:54:57All aboard!'
00:54:58At that moment a fine-looking bearded man came out of one of the houses—an inn, I
00:55:04think—and said,
00:55:06"'Well, Pug, more of your usual wares?'
00:55:10The slaver, whose name seemed to be Pug, bowed very low, and said in a wheedling kind of
00:55:17voice,
00:55:18"'Yes, if it please your Lordship.'
00:55:21"'How much do you want for that boy?' asked the other, pointing to Caspian.
00:55:28"'Ah,' said Pug,
00:55:30"'I knew your Lordship would pick on the best.
00:55:34No deceiving your Lordship, if anything, second-rate.
00:55:39That boy now?
00:55:40I've taken a fancy to him myself, what kind of fond of him I have.
00:55:45I'm that tender-hearted.
00:55:46I didn't ever ought to have taken up this job.
00:55:50Still, to a customer like your Lordship—'
00:55:54"'Tell me your price, carrion,' said the Lord, sternly.
00:55:59"'Do you think I want to listen to the rigmarole of your filthy trade?'
00:56:03"'Three hundred crescents, my Lord, to your honourable Lordship, but to anyone else.
00:56:09I'll give you a hundred and fifty.'
00:56:11"'Oh, please, please,' broke in Lucy, "'don't separate us, whatever you do.
00:56:18You don't know—'
00:56:19But then she stopped, for she saw that Caspian didn't even now want to be known.
00:56:26"'A hundred and fifty, then,' said the Lord.
00:56:29"'As for you, little maiden, I am sorry I cannot buy you all.
00:56:34Unrope, my boy, Pug.
00:56:37And look, treat these others well while they are in your hands, or it'll be the worst
00:56:41for you.'
00:56:42"'Well,' said Pug, "'now ever heard of a gentleman in my way of business who treated
00:56:49his stock better than what I do?
00:56:52"'Well, why, I treat him like my own children.'
00:56:56"'That's likely enough to be true,' said the other, grimly.
00:57:03The dreadful moment had now come.
00:57:06Caspian was untied, and his new master said, "'This way, lad.'
00:57:12And Lucy burst into tears, and Edmund looked very blank.
00:57:17But Caspian looked over his shoulder and said, "'Cheer up!
00:57:21I'm sure it will come all right in the end.'
00:57:23"'So long?'
00:57:25"'Now, missy,' said Pug, "'don't you start taking on and spalling your looks for the
00:57:32market to-morrow.
00:57:33You be a good girl, and then you won't have nothing to cry about.
00:57:38See?'
00:57:39Then they were rowed out to the slave-ship, and taken below into a long, rather dark place,
00:57:46none too clean, where they found many other unfortunate prisoners.
00:57:52For Pug was, of course, a pirate, and had just returned from cruising among the islands
00:57:55and capturing what he could.
00:57:58The children didn't meet any one whom they knew.
00:58:01The prisoners were mostly Galmians and Terabinthians.
00:58:05And there they sat in the straw, and wondered what was happening to Caspian, and tried to
00:58:11stop Eustace talking as if everyone except himself was to blame.
00:58:17Meanwhile, Caspian was having a much more interesting time.
00:58:21The man who had bought him let him down a little lane between two of the village houses,
00:58:26and so out into an open place behind the village.
00:58:29Then he turned and faced him.
00:58:32"'You needn't be afraid of me, boy,' he said.
00:58:35"'I'll treat you well.
00:58:37I bought you for your face.
00:58:39You reminded me of someone.'
00:58:40"'May I ask of whom, my lord?'
00:58:45said Caspian.
00:58:46"'You remind me of my master, King Caspian of Narnia.'
00:58:52Then Caspian decided to risk everything on one stroke.
00:58:57"'My lord,' he said, 'I am your master.
00:59:02I am Caspian, King of Narnia.'
00:59:04"'You make very free,' said the other, 'how shall I know this is true?'
00:59:12"'Firstly, by my face,' said Caspian.
00:59:15'Secondly, because I know within six guesses who you are.
00:59:20You are one of those seven lords of Narnia whom my uncle Miraz sent to see, and whom
00:59:25I have come out to look for.
00:59:27Argos, Bern, Octisian, Restimar, Mavrimorn, or—oh, I've forgotten the others.
00:59:35And finally, if your lordship will give me a sword, I will prove on any man's body in
00:59:40clean battle that I am Caspian, the son of Caspian, lawful King of Narnia, Lord of Caer
00:59:46Paravell, and Emperor of the Lone Islands.'
00:59:49"'By heaven!' exclaimed the man, 'it is his father's very voice and trick of speech.
00:59:56My liege, your majesty!'
01:00:00And there, in the field, he knelt and kissed the king's hand.
01:00:07"'The monies your lordship dispersed for our person will be made good from our treasury,'
01:00:11said Caspian.
01:00:12"'They are not in Pug's purse yet, sire,' said the Lord Bern, for he it was.
01:00:18"'And never will be, I trust.
01:00:21I have moved his sufficiency, the governor, a hundred times to crush this vile traffic
01:00:25in man's flesh.'
01:00:27"'My Lord Bern,' said Caspian, 'we must talk of the state of these islands, but first,
01:00:34what is your lordship's own story?'
01:00:36"'Surely enough, sire,' said Bern, 'I came thus far with my six fellows, loved a girl
01:00:43of the islands, and felt I had had enough of the sea, and there was no purpose in returning
01:00:48to Narnia while your majesty's uncle held the reins, so I married, and have lived here
01:00:53ever since.'
01:00:54"'And what is this governor, this Gumpas, like?
01:01:00Does he still acknowledge the King of Narnia for his lord?'
01:01:03"'In words, yes.
01:01:06All is done in the King's name.
01:01:09But he would not be best pleased to find a real live King of Narnia coming in upon him,
01:01:14and if your majesty came before him alone, and unarmed, well, he would not deny his allegiance,
01:01:21but he will pretend to disbelieve you.
01:01:24Your grace's life would be in danger.
01:01:27What following has your majesty in these waters?'
01:01:29"'There is my ship, just rounding the point,' said Caspian.
01:01:33"'We are about thirty swords, if it came to fighting.
01:01:37Shall we not have my ship in, and fall upon Pug, and free my friends whom he holds captive?'
01:01:42"'Not by my counsel,' said Bern.
01:01:46"'As soon as there was a fight, two or three ships would put out from Narrowhaven to rescue
01:01:51Pug.
01:01:52Your majesty must work by a show of more power than you really have, and by the terror of
01:01:58the King's name.
01:02:00It must not come to plain battle.
01:02:02Compass is a chicken-hearted man, and can be over-roared.'
01:02:08After a little more conversation, Caspian and Bern walked down to the coast, a little
01:02:12west of the village, and there Caspian winded his horn.
01:02:17This was not the great magic horn of Narnia, Queen Susan's horn.
01:02:22He had left that at home for his regent Trumkin to use, if any great need fell upon the land
01:02:26in the King's absence.
01:02:28Drinian, who was on the lookout for a signal, recognised the royal horn at once, and the
01:02:34dawn-treader began standing in to the shore.
01:02:38Then the boat put off again, and in a few moments Caspian and the Lord Bern were on
01:02:42deck, explaining the situation to Drinian.
01:02:45He, just like Caspian, wanted to lay the dawn-treader alongside the slave-ship at once, and board
01:02:51her, but Bern made the same objection.
01:02:55"'Steer straight down this channel, captain,' said Bern,
01:02:59"'and then round to Avra where my own estates are.
01:03:02But first run up the King's banner, hang out all the shields, and send as many men to the
01:03:08fighting-top as you can, and about five bowshocks hence, when you get open sea on your port-bow,
01:03:15run up a few signals.'
01:03:16"'Signals?
01:03:17To whom?' said Drinian.
01:03:20"'Why, to all the other ships we haven't got, but which it might be well that Compass
01:03:26thinks we have.'
01:03:27"'Oh, I see,' said Drinian, rubbing his hands, "'and they'll read our signals.
01:03:36What shall I say?
01:03:37Whole fleet round the south of Avra, and assemble at—'
01:03:42"'Bernstead,' said the Lord Bern, "'that'll do excellently.
01:03:46Their whole journey, if there were any ships, would be out of sight from Narrowhaven.'
01:03:53Caspian was sorry for the others, languishing in the hold of Pug's slave-ship, but he could
01:03:59not help finding the rest of that day enjoyable.
01:04:02Late in the afternoon, for they had to do all by oar, having turned to starboard round
01:04:08the north-east end of Dorne, and port again round the point of Avra, they entered into
01:04:13a good harbour on Avra's southern shore, where Bern's pleasant lands sloped down to
01:04:18the water's edge.
01:04:20Bern's people, many of whom they saw working in the fields, were all freemen, and it was
01:04:26a happy and prosperous fief.
01:04:29Here they all went ashore, and were royally feasted in a low-pillared house overlooking
01:04:34the bay.
01:04:35Bern and his gracious wife and merry daughters made them good cheer.
01:04:40But after dark, Bern sent a messenger over by boat to Dorne, to order some preparations.
01:04:47He did not say exactly what, for the following day.
01:05:10.
01:05:11.
01:05:12.