CHAPTER TWELVE THE DARK ISLAND（第2/4页）

“And now，in Aslan’s name，forward ！”cried Caspian．“A slow，steady stroke．And let every man be silent and keep his ears open for orders．”

With a creak and a groan the Dawn Treader started to creep forward as the men began to row．Lucy，up in the fighting top， had a wonderful view of the exact moment at which they entered the darkness．The bows had already disappeared before the sunlight had left the stern．She saw it go．At one minute the gilded stern， the blue sea，and the sky，were all in broad daylight：next minute the sea and sky had vanished，the stern lantern-which had been hardly noticeable before-was the only thing to show where the ship ended．In front of the lantern she could see the black shape of Drinian crouching at the tiller．Down below her the two torches made visible two small patches of deck and gleamed on swords and helmets，and forward there was another island of light on the forecastle．Apart from that，the fighting top，lit by the masthead light which was only just above her，seemed to be a little lighted world of its own floating in lonely darkness．And the lights themselves，as always happens with lights when you have to have them at the wrong time of day，looked lurid and unnatural．She also noticed that she was very cold．

How long this voyage into the darkness lasted，nobody knew． Except for the creak of the rowlocks and the splash of the oars there was nothing to show that they were moving at all．Edmund， peering from the bows，could see nothing except the reflection of the lantern in the water before him．It looked a greasy sort of reflection，and the ripple made by their advancing prow appeared to be heavy，small，and lifeless．As time went on everyone except the rowers began to shiver with cold．

Suddenly，from somewhere-no one’s sense of direction was very clear by now-there came a cry，either of some inhuman voice or else a voice of one in such extremity of terror that he had almost lost his humanity．

Caspian was still trying to speak-his mouth was too dry-when the shrill voice of Reepicheep，which sounded louder than usual in that silence，was heard．

“Who calls ？”it piped．“If you are a foe we do not fear you， and if you are a friend your enemies shall be taught the fear of us．”

“Mercy ！”cried the voice．“Mercy ！Even if you are only one more dream，have merry．Take me on board．Take me，even if you strike me dead．But in the name of all mercies do not fade away and leave me in this horrible land．”

“Where are you ？”shouted Caspian．“Come aboard and welcome．”

There came another cry，whether of joy or terror，and then they knew that someone was swimming towards them．

“Stand by to heave him up，men，”said Caspian．

“Aye，aye，your Majesty，”said the sailors．Several crowded to the port bulwark with ropes and one，leaning far out over the side，held the torch．A wild，white face appeared in the blackness of the water，and then，after some scrambling and pulling，a dozen friendly hands had heaved the stranger on board．

Edmund thought he had never seen a wilder-looking man． Though he did not otherwise look very old，his hair was an untidy mop of white，his face was thin and drawn，and，for clothing， only a few wet rags hung about him．But what one mainly noticed were his eyes，which were so widely opened that he seemed to have no eyelids at all，and stared as if in an agony of pure fear． The moment his feet reached the deck he said：

“Fly ！ Fly ！ About with your ship and fly ！ Row，row，row for your lives away from this accursed shore．”

“Compose yourself，”said Reepicheep，“and tell us what the danger is．We are not used to flying．”

The stranger started horribly at the voice of the Mouse，which he had not noticed before．

“Nevertheless you will fly from here，”he gasped．“This is the Island where Dreams come true．”