《凯斯宾王子》第二章 古代宝库

CHAPTER TWO THE ANCIENT TREASURE HOUSE

"THIS wasn't a garden，"said Susan presently."It was a castle and this must have been the courtyard."

"I see what you mean，"said Peter."Yes.That is the remains of a tower.And there is what used to be a flight of steps going up to the top of the walls.And look at those other steps-the broad，shallow ones-going up to that doorway.It must have been the door into the great hall."

"Ages ago，by the look of it，"said Edmund.

"Yes，ages ago，"said Peter."I wish we could find out who the people were that lived in this castle; and how long ago."

"It gives me a queer feeling，"said Lucy.

"Does it，Lu?"said Peter，turning and looking hard at her."Because it does the same to me.It is the queerest thing that has happened this queer day.I wonder where we are and what it all means?"

While they were talking they had crossed the courtyard and gone through the other doorway into what had once been the hall.This was now very like the courtyard，for the roof had long since disappeared and it was merely another space of grass and daisies，except that it was shorter and narrower and the walls were higher.Across the far end there was a kind of terrace about three feet higher than the rest.

"I wonder，was it really the hall?"said Susan."What is that terrace kind of thing?"

"Why，you silly，"said Peter (who had become strangely excited)，"don't you see? That was the dais where the High Table was，where the King and the great lords sat.Anyone would think you had forgotten that we ourselves were once Kings and Queens and sat on a dais just like that，in our great hall."

"In our castle of Cair Paravel，"continued Susan in a dreamy and rather sing song voice，"at the mouth of the great river of Narnia.How could I forget?"

"How it all comes back!"said Lucy."We could pretend we were in Cair Paravel now.This hall must have been very like the great hall we feasted in."

"But unfortunately without the feast，"said Edmund."It's getting late，you know.Look how long the shadows are.And have you noticed that it isn't so hot?"

"We shall need a camp-fire if we've got to spend the night here，"said Peter."I've got matches.Let's go and see if we can collect some dry wood."

Everyone saw the sense of this，and for the next half-hour they were busy.The orchard through which they had first come into the ruins turned out not to be a good place for firewood.They tried the other side of the castle，passing out of the hall by a little side door into a maze of stony humps and hollows which must once have been passages and smaller rooms but was now all nettles and wild roses.Beyond this they found a wide gap in the castle wall and stepped through it into a wood of darker and bigger trees where they found dead branches and rotten wood and sticks and dry leaves and fir-cones in plenty.They went to and fro with bundles until they had a good pile on the dais.At the fifth journey they found the well，just outside the hall，hidden in weeds，but clean and fresh and deep when they had cleared these away.The remains of a stone pavement ran half-way round it.Then the girls went out to pick some more apples and the boys built the fire，on the dais and fairly close to the corner between two walls，which they thought would be the snuggest and warmest place.They had great difficulty in lighting it and used a lot of matches，but they succeeded in the end.Finally，all four sat down with their backs to the wall and their faces to the fire.They tried roasting some of the apples on the ends of sticks.But roast apples are not much good without sugar，and they are too hot to eat with your fingers till they are too cold to be worth eating.So they had to content themselves with raw apples，which，as Edmund said，made one realize that school suppers weren't so bad after all-"I shouldn't mind a good thick slice of bread and margarine this minute，"he added.But the spirit of adventure was rising in them all，and no one really wanted to be back at school.

Shortly after the last apple had been eaten，Susan went out to the well to get another drink.When she came back she was carrying something in her hand.

"Look，"she said in a rather choking kind of voice."I found it by the well."She handed it to Peter and sat down.The others thought she looked and sounded as if she might be going to cry.Edmund and Lucy eagerly bent forward to see what was in Peter's hand-a little，bright thing that gleamed in the firelight.

"Well，I'm-I'm jiggered，"said Peter，and his voice also sounded queer.Then he handed it to the others.

All now saw what it was-a little chess-knight，ordinary in size but extraordinarily heavy because it was made of pure gold; and the eyes in the horse's head were two tiny little rubies-or rather one was，for the other had been knocked out.

"Why!"said Lucy，"it's exactly like one of the golden chessmen we used to play with when we were Kings and Queens at Cair Paravel."

"Cheer up，Su，"said Peter to his other sister.

"I can't help it，"said Susan."It brought back-oh，such lovely times.And I remembered playing chess with fauns and good giants，and the mer-people singing in the sea，and my beautiful horse-and-and-"

"Now，"said Peter in a quite different voice，"it's about time we four started using our brains."

"What about?"asked Edmund.

"Have none of you guessed where we are?"said Peter.

"Go on，go on，"said Lucy."I've felt for hours that there was some wonderful mystery hanging over this place."

"Fire ahead，Peter，"said Edmund."We're all listening."

"We are in the ruins of Cair Paravel itself，"said Peter.

"But，I say，"replied Edmund."I mean，how do you make that out? This place has been ruined for ages.Look at all those big trees growing right up to the gates.Look at the very stones.Anyone can see that nobody has lived here for hundreds of years."

"I know，"said Peter."That is the difficulty.But let's leave that out for the moment.I want to take the points one by one.First point: this hall is exactly the same shape and size as the hall at Cair Paravel.Just picture a roof on this，and a coloured pavement instead of grass，and tapestries on the walls，and you get our royal banqueting hall."

No one said anything.

"Second point，"continued Peter."The castle well is exactly where our well was，a little to the south of the great hall; and it is exactly the same size and shape."

Again there was no reply.

"Third point: Susan has just found one of our old chessmen-or something as like one of them as two peas."

Still nobody answered.

"Fourth point.Don't you remember-it was the very day before the ambassadors came from the King of Calormen-don't you remember planting the orchard outside the north gate of Cair Paravel? The greatest of all the wood-people，Pomona herself，came to put good spells on it.It was those very decent little chaps the moles who did the actual digging.Can you have forgotten that funny old Lilygloves，the chief mole，leaning on his spade and saying，Believe me，your Majesty，you'll be glad of these fruit trees one day. And by Jove he was right."

"I do! I do!"said Lucy，and clapped her hands.

"But look here，Peter，"said Edmund."This must be all rot.To begin with，we didn't plant the orchard slap up against the gate.We wouldn't have been such fools."

"No，of course not，"said Peter."But it has grown up to the gate since."

"And for another thing，"said Edmund，"Cair Paravel wasn't on an island."

"Yes，I've been wondering about that.But it was a what-do-you-call-it，a peninsula.Jolly nearly an island.Couldn't it have been made an island since our time? Somebody has dug a channel."

"But half a moment!"said Edmund."You keep on saying since our time.But it's only a year ago since we came back from Narnia.And you want to make out that in one year castles have fallen down，and great forests have grown up，and little trees we saw planted ourselves have turned into a big old orchard，and goodness knows what else.It's all impossible."

"There's one thing，"said Lucy."If this is Cair Paravel there ought to be a door at this end of the dais.In fact we ought to be sitting with our backs against it at this moment.You know-he door that led down to the treasure chamber."

"I suppose there isn't a door，"said Peter，getting up.

The wall behind them was a mass of ivy.

"We can soon find out，"said Edmund，taking up one of the sticks that they had laid ready for putting on the fire.He began beating the ivied wall.Tap-tap went the stick against the stone; and again，tap-tap; and then，all at once，boom-boom，with a quite different sound，a hollow，wooden sound.

"Great Scott!"said Edmund.

"We must clear this ivy away，"said Peter.

"Oh，do let's leave it alone，"said Susan."We can try it in the morning.If we've got to spend the night here I don't want an open door at my back and a great big black hole that anything might come out of，besides the draught and the damp.And it'll soon be dark."

"Susan! How can you?"said Lucy with a reproachful glance.But both the boys were too much excited to take any notice of Susan's advice.They worked at the ivy with their hands and with Peter's pocket-knife till the knife broke.After that they used Edmund's.Soon the whole place where they had been sitting was covered with ivy; and at last they had the door cleared.

"Locked，of course，"said Peter.

"But the wood's all rotten，"said Edmund."We can pull it to bits in no time，and it will make extra firewood.Come on."

It took them longer than they expected and，before they had done，the great hall had grown dusky and the first star or two had come out overhead.Susan was not the only one who felt a slight shudder as the boys stood above the pile of splintered wood，rubbing the dirt off their hands and staring into the cold，dark opening they had made.

"Now for a torch，"said Peter.

"Oh，what is the good?"said Susan."And as Edmund said-"

"I'm not saying it now，"Edmund interrupted."I still don't understand，but we can settle that later.I suppose you're coming down，Peter?"

"We must，"said Peter.Cheer up，Susan.It's no good behaving like kids now that we are back in Narnia."You're a Queen here.And anyway no one could go to sleep with a mystery like this on their minds."

They tried to use long sticks as torches but this was not a success.If you held them with the lighted end up they went out，and if you held them the other way they scorched your hand and the smoke got in your eyes.In the end they had to use Edmund's electric torch; luckily it had been a birthday present less than a week ago and the battery was almost new.He went first，with the light.Then came Lucy，then Susan，and Peter brought up the rear.

"I've come to the top of the steps，"said Edmund.

"Count them，"said Peter.

"One-two-three，"said Edmund，as he went cautiously down，and so up to sixteen."And this is the bottom，"he shouted back.

"Then it really must be Cair Paravel，"said Lucy."There were sixteen."Nothing more was said till all four were standing in a knot together at the foot of the stairway.Then Edmund flashed his torch slowly round.

"O-o-o-oh!!"said all the children at once.

For now all knew that it was indeed the ancient treasure chamber of Cair Paravel where they had once reigned as Kings and Queens of Narnia.There was a kind of path up the middle (as it might be in a greenhouse)，and along each side at intervals stood rich suits of armour，like knights guarding the treasures.In between the suits of armour，and on each side of the path，were shelves covered with precious things-necklaces and arm rings and finger rings and golden bowls and dishes and long tusks of ivory，brooches and coronets and chains of gold，and heaps of unset stones lying piled anyhow as if they were marbles or potatoes-diamonds，rubies，carbuncles，emeralds，topazes，and amethysts.Under the shelves stood great chests of oak strengthened with iron bars and heavily padlocked.And it was bitterly cold，and so still that they could hear themselves breathing，and the treasures were so covered with dust that unless they had realized where they were and remembered most of the things，they would hardly have known they were treasures.There was something sad and a little frightening about the place，because it all seemed so forsaken and long ago.That was why nobody said anything for at least a minute.

Then，of course，they began walking about and picking things up to look at.It was like meeting very old friends.If you had been there you would have heard them saying things like，"Oh look! Our coronation rings-do you remember first wearing this?-Why，this is the little brooch we all thought was lost-I say，isn't that the armour you wore in the great tournament in the Lone Islands?-do you remember the dwarf making that for me?-do you remember drinking out of that horn?-do you remember，do you remember?"

But suddenly Edmund said，"Look here.We mustn't waste the battery: goodness knows how often we shall need it.Hadn't we better take what we want and get out again?"

"We must take the gifts，"said Peter.For long ago at a Christmas in Narnia he and Susan and Lucy had been given certain presents which they valued more than their whole kingdom.Edmund had had no gift，because he was not with them at the time.(This was his own fault，and you can read about it in the other book.)

They all agreed with Peter and walked up the path to the wall at the far end of the treasure chamber，and there，sure enough，the gifts were still hanging.Lucy's was the smallest for it was only a little bottle.But the bottle was made of diamond instead of glass，and it was still more than half full of the magical cordial which would heal almost every wound and every illness.Lucy said nothing and looked very solemn as she took her gift down from its place and slung the belt over her shoulder and once more felt the bottle at her side where it used to hang in the old days.Susan's gift had been a bow and arrows and a horn.The bow was still there，and the ivory quiver，full of well-feathered arrows，but-"Oh，Susan，"said Lucy."Where's the horn?"

"Oh bother，bother，bother，"said Susan after she had thought for a moment."I remember now.I took it with me the last day of all，the day we went hunting the White Stag.It must have got lost when we blundered back into that other place-England，I mean."

Edmund whistled.It was indeed a shattering loss; for this was an enchanted horn and，whenever you blew it，help was certain to come to you，wherever you were.

"Just the sort of thing that might come in handy in a place like this，"said Edmund.

"Never mind，"said Susan，"I've still got the bow."And she took it.

"Won't the string be perished，Su?"said Peter.

But whether by some magic in the air of the treasure chamber or not，the bow was still in working order.Archery and swimming were the things Susan was good at.In a moment she had bent the bow and then she gave one little pluck to the string.It twanged: a chirruping twang that vibrated through the whole room.And that one small noise brought back the old days to the children's minds more than anything that had happened yet.All the battles and hunts and feasts came rushing into their heads together.

Then she unstrung the bow again and slung the quiver at her side.

Next，Peter took down his gift-the shield with the great red lion on it，and the royal sword.He blew，and rapped them on the floor，to get off the dust.He fitted the shield on his arm and slung the sword by his side.He was afraid at first that it might be rusty and stick to the sheath.But it was not so.With one swift motion he drew it and held it up，shining in the torchlight.

"It is my sword Rhindon，"he said;"with it I killed the Wolf."There was a new tone in his voice，and the others all felt that he was really Peter the High King again.Then，after a little pause，everyone remembered that they must save the battery.

They climbed the stair again and made up a good fire and lay down close together for warmth.The ground was very hard and uncomfortable，but they fell asleep in the end.

第二章 古代宝库

"这应该不是花园，"苏珊说，"更像是一个城堡，而且我们现在站的这个位置就是城堡的院子。"

"我明白了，"彼得说，"这是城堡，那是塔楼的遗迹，这是直通到墙上的楼梯。再看这些台阶，又宽又浅，一直通往门廊，那门一定是通往大厅的。"

"这看上去应该有些年头了。"爱德蒙说。

"是的，应该有很多年了。"彼得说，"我真想知道以前这住的是什么人，多久以前在这住过。"

"这一切让我感觉非常奇怪。"露茜说。

"你也感觉到了，露茜?"彼得转过身，看着她说，"我和你的感觉一样。这是今天这个奇怪的日子里发生的最奇怪的事情。我真的很想知道我们现在在哪里，到底发生了什么事?"

他们一边说着话，一边穿过了院子，走进了另一个门廊。可以看出，这以前是大厅。可现在它与外面的院子基本一样了，屋顶早没了，只能看见一片空地，满是荒草和雏菊。不同的是，它相对来说更窄更短，两边的墙要更高一些。在另一边还有一个平台，比别处高三英尺左右。

"真奇怪，难道以前这里真的是大厅吗?"苏珊说，"那这平台是干什么用的?"

"哎，你真笨，"彼得变得莫名地兴奋，"你没看见吗?那个高桌子是讲台，是国王和大领主们坐的地方。你是不是忘了，以前我们是国王和女王，坐在自己大殿里的高台上，跟这个差不多。"

"我们的凯尔帕拉维尔城堡，"苏珊像在梦里一般，心驰神往，"它就在纳尼亚大河的入口处，我怎么能忘了呢?"

"要是我们能回去该多好啊!"露茜说，"不如我们就把这当作凯尔帕拉维尔，反正这座大厅跟我们之前举行宴会的大殿很相似。"

"可惜这儿没有美味佳肴。"爱德蒙说，"你们看，天色越来越晚，影子已经被拉得这么长。你们有没有注意到天也没那么热了?"

"如果我们要在这过夜的话，需要准备一堆篝火，"彼得说，"我有火柴。我们去找一些干树枝来吧。"

大家也意识到这一点，所以接下来的半个小时里，他们都忙着捡树枝去了。果园里没有太多的枯枝，他们只好到城堡的另一端碰碰运气。他们穿过一扇小小的侧门，发现那就像个迷宫一样。以前那是一些连在一起的小房间，现在却长满了荨麻草和野玫瑰。再往前走，他们发现围墙上有一个大豁口。穿过豁口，来到一片树林，这儿的树不但颜色深，而且还很高大。他们在那儿找到了很多干枝、朽木、枯叶和冷杉树的球果。于是，他们把这些东西搬了回去，在城堡平台上堆成一大堆。更幸运的是，在大厅外面，他们发现了一口隐在杂草堆里的井。他们清除了那些杂草后，发现井里的水不但清凉甘甜，而且水还很深。在井边还有一条残存的石头路。后来，女孩们又出去摘了一些苹果，男孩们则找了一个他们觉得既温暖又舒适的地方--在平台上两堵墙之间的夹角处架起了篝火。在用了很多根火柴后，他们终于点燃了篝火。最后，四个人面对着火，背靠着墙坐了下来。他们把苹果串在木棍上烤着吃。可是，没有白糖，烤苹果的味道实在不敢恭维。而且，烤好的苹果太烫了，没法拿着吃;但等它凉了，可以用手拿着吃的时候，又不怎么好吃了。因此，他们只好继续吃生苹果。就像爱德蒙说的，其实学校食堂里的晚餐也没有那么糟糕。"我不介意这时候能吃一块厚厚的奶油面包。"他加了一句。但是，他们冒险的热情正在膨胀，没有谁真的想马上回到学校去。

苏珊吃完最后一只苹果后，又跑去井边喝了一回水。回来时，手里拿着什么东西。

"看哪，"她的声音有些奇怪。"我在井边发现的。"她把东西递给彼得，然后坐下。从她的表情和声音来看，大家都以为她快要哭了。爱德蒙和露茜弯下腰，看到彼得的手心里是一块小小的、亮晶晶的东西，在篝火的照耀下闪闪发光。

"哎呀，奇怪。"彼得说话的声音听起来也有些奇怪。然后，他把东西递给了其他人。

现在，大家终于看清楚这是一个象棋里的马，但它重得很。因为它是纯金做的，马头上的两只眼睛还是两颗小宝石，应该说一只眼睛，因为另外一只已经掉了。

"好吧!"露茜说，"这和我们在凯尔帕拉维尔做国王和女王时经常玩的黄金象棋一模一样!"

"高兴一点，苏珊。"彼得对他的另一个妹妹说道。

"我不知道怎么回事，"苏珊说，"它使我想起了，嗯，那些美好时光。我跟那些小矮人和善良的巨人一起下棋，想起那些在大海里唱歌的海人，还有我美丽的小马驹......还有......还有......"

"现在，"彼得的声音有些激动，"是时候动动脑子好好想想了。"

"想什么?"爱德蒙问道。

"难道你们就没有想过我们现在在哪吗?"彼得说道。

"继续，你接着说，"露茜说道，"这几个小时以来，我一直感觉这里很神秘。"

"彼得，你接着说，"爱德蒙说，"我们都听着呢。"

"我们现在可能就在凯尔帕拉维尔城堡的废墟上。"彼得说道。

"但是，我要说，"爱德蒙接着说，"我的意思是，你是怎么看出来的?这个地方已经荒废有些年头了，你们看这些大树都长到门那么高了。再看看那些石头，任何人都能看出这个地方至少几百年没有人居住过了。

"我知道 ，"彼得说，"这正是我想不通的地方。我们先把这个问题放在一边，我先一点一点地说。第一，这里与凯尔帕拉维尔大厅的形状及大小完全一样。我们只要想象一下，这上边是个穹顶，把草地换成彩色路面，在墙上挂上壁毯，你们就会像置身在我们的宫殿大厅里一样了。

谁也没有插话。

"第二，"彼得继续说，"那个井和我们的水井位置也一样，在大殿偏南一点的地方，就连形状和大小都一样。"

其他几个人仍然一言不发。

"第三，苏珊刚刚发现的那枚古老的棋子，和我们以前玩的也一样。"

还是没人搭话。

"第四，你们应该不会忘记，在卡乐门国王的大使到来的前一天，我们在凯尔帕拉维尔城堡的北门外种植果树这件事吗?森林里最高贵的果树女神波莫娜亲自前来为果园祈祷，由好心的小鼹鼠刨坑。你们还记得那个上了年纪的首领哩哩格拉吗?他杵着铁锹说："相信我陛下，这些果树终有一天会给你带来快乐。你们看，他真的说中了。"

"记得!当然记得!"露茜兴奋得一边拍手一边说。

"可是彼得，你看这儿，"爱德蒙说，"这就说不通了。首先，我们肯定不会挨着大门种果树的，我们不会这么笨的。"

"当然不可能。"彼得说，"这些树是慢慢长到门这边来的。"

"再说了，"爱德蒙说，"凯尔帕拉维尔城堡并不是在一座小岛上的。"

"对，这一点我也很奇怪。但要看你怎么叫这个地方了，这可能是一个半岛。英国本来也连着陆地，会不会是在我们以后的年代，有人挖了一道海峡，让它成了一个小岛?"

"等等!"爱德蒙说，"你刚刚说在我们的年代以后，可是我们离开纳尼亚仅仅一年。这么短的时间，怎么可能城堡就塌了，还形成了这个茂密的森林呢?那时候我们亲眼看着栽种的小树，怎么可能在一年时间就长成了这么高大的果树。天知道会不会有其他的怪事，这完全不可能。"

"我突然想起一件事，"露茜说道，"如果这真的是凯尔帕拉维尔城堡，那在高台的这端应该有一扇门。也就是说，这扇门应该就在我们身后。你们也知道，这扇门通向我们的宝库。"

"我觉得这儿没有门。"彼得站起来说。

他们身后的墙上爬满了常春藤。

"我们马上就可以弄明白了。"爱德蒙边说边拿起一根原本用来生火的粗树枝，开始慢慢敲打墙面。嗒，嗒，墙面发出坚实的响声。再打，依然是嗒嗒的响声。突然，咚，咚，发出了另一种声音，这是打在木头上的声音。

"天哪!"爱德蒙惊叹道。

"我们必须先把这些藤蔓清理掉。"彼得说。

"噢，不要弄它。"苏珊说，"我们还是早上再弄吧。如果我们今晚要在这过夜，我不想背后开着一扇门，黑咕隆咚的，好像随时会跑出什么东西来，里面还会散发出凉风和湿气。你们看，天很快就要黑了。"

"苏珊，你怎么说出这样的话?"露茜责备地看了她一眼。此刻，两个男孩已经太兴奋了，根本没有注意到苏珊在说什么。他们已经自顾自地开始用小折刀去割那些常春藤。彼得的小刀断了之后，就用爱得蒙的小刀去割。不一会儿，他们刚才弄好的"安乐窝"就被常春藤弄得一团糟，折腾了半天，终于找到了那扇门。

"肯定被锁住了。"彼得说。

"没事，这些木头都腐朽了。"爱德蒙说，"我们可以把它砸碎，这样我们就有更多的柴火烧了。来吧!"

事情并不是他们想的那么简单。他们还没砸开门，天就已经黑了，天上闪烁着几颗星。男孩们一边站在乱七八糟的木片上，拍着手上的灰，一边望向那个阴森的黑洞。这会儿不只是苏珊，所有人都不寒而栗了。

"拿个火把来。"彼得说。

"哦，火把?"苏珊说道，"爱得蒙说......"

"我可没说，"爱德蒙打断道，"到现在我还是没有弄明白，不过等会儿，就明白是怎么回事了。彼得，你是想下去，对吧?"

"我们都下去，"彼得说，"苏珊，勇敢一些。现在我们又重新回到了纳尼亚，像小孩子一样是没有用的。在这里，你是一个女王。而且，无论如何我们也是睡不着的了，因为我们眼下有这么个神秘的谜团。"

他们打算用长树枝点燃火把，但没有成功。因为如果把树枝燃着那一头朝上的话，火就熄灭了。但要是把火把反过来拿的话，不仅会烧到手，烟还会熏眼睛。最后，他们只得用爱德蒙的手电筒。幸好在一个星期之前，爱德蒙收到了这个生日礼物，电池还是新的。他拿着手电筒，第一个向下走去，紧跟着他的是露茜和苏珊，最后是彼得。

"我要下台阶了。"爱德蒙说。

"数一下它们有多少级。"彼得说。

"一......二......三......"爱德蒙一边数着，一边小心翼翼地往下走去，一直数到十六级的时候，他朝身后喊道，"到底了。"

"也就是说这里真的是凯尔帕拉维尔，"露茜说，"台阶就是十六级的。"没有人再说话。他们走下来，紧紧靠在一起。爱德蒙打开手电筒，慢慢移动着光柱。

"噢......噢!"孩子们一起欢呼。

现在大家都确信，他们来到了凯尔帕拉维尔那个古老的宝库。以前他们是纳尼亚的国王和女王，是这里的主人。在房子的中间有一条通道(和暖房里的一样)，两边不远处都就分别竖立着一副盔甲，就好像是骑士站在那守卫着宝藏。而在盔甲间的架子上，则摆满了各种奇珍异宝--项链、手镯、戒指、纯金餐具和长长的象牙，还有那成堆的没有镶嵌的宝石、像石头或者是土豆般大小的钻石、红宝石、绿宝石、红玉、黄玉，还有紫水晶。　有很多用铁条镶边的橡木箱子放在架子下面，箱子都是锁着的。这里死一般地寂静，几乎每个人都能听见自己的呼吸。那些珍宝上面落满了厚厚的灰尘，如果不知道这是什么地方，不知道之前发生的一切，根本不敢相信这些东西是珍宝。孩子们因新奇产生的兴奋渐渐消失了，取而代之的是有那么一点点的伤感和失落，甚至说是恐怖。　他们越来越感觉到这里是一片被人遗弃了很久的废墟。所以有很长一会儿，大家都没有说一句话。

紧接着，他们开始朝前走着，还时不时地把手边的东西拿出来看一看，就像是遇到了一个久违的朋友一样，发出一阵阵感叹，"啊，你们看!那是咱们的加冕戒指--你还记不记得第一次戴上它时的情景?咦，这不是我们都以为丢了的那枚胸针吗?......瞧，这还有你在独孤群岛穿过的盔甲?你还记得为我打造这幅盔甲的小矮人吗?你们还记得我们曾经用那只号角来喝酒吗?......记得吗，记得吗?"

突然，爱德蒙说，"大家听我说，我们不能再浪费电池了!我想我们以后会更需要它。现在咱们是不是应该拿上我们需要的东西，赶紧出去?"

"我们一定要带上那些礼物。"彼得说。在很久很久以前，在纳尼亚的一个圣诞夜，彼得、苏珊和露茜都得了一些礼物，他们把这些看得比整个王国都珍贵。爱德蒙没有得到任何礼物，因为当时他没有和大家在一起。(这完全是他自己的错，看这套书的其他故事你们就会明白的。)

所有人都同意彼得的主意，于是他们沿着甬道径直走向宝库的另一头。果然，那些东西仍然挂在墙上。露茜的礼物是一个小瓶子，是所有人礼物中最小的。不过这个瓶子可不是玻璃的，而是钻石制成的，里面还装着大半瓶神水，这神水可以瞬间治愈创伤和疾病。露茜十分庄重地把它从墙上轻轻地取下来，斜背在肩上，再次感受到往日那只小瓶子贴在身上的感觉。苏珊的礼物则是一张弓、一筒箭和一只号。那张弓也是完好的，旁边的象牙箭筒仍然盛满了羽翎箭，但是--"啊!苏珊，"露茜问道，"你的那只号在哪儿呢?"

"啊，糟糕，糟糕，糟糕，"苏珊想了想说，"我想起来了，最后一天，我还带着它，就是去围猎白色牡鹿那天。我猜肯定是在我们回人类世界的路上给弄丢了。"

爱德蒙吹了一声口哨，表示深深的惋惜。因为那可是一只神奇的号，无论什么时候，在什么地方，只要一吹响它，就会得到帮助。

"我们现在就特别需要这个宝贝。"爱德蒙说。

"没事啦，我还有弓箭啊。"苏珊一边说着，一边把弓箭从墙上取了下来。

"弦会不会没弹性了呢，苏珊?"彼得问。

也许是宝库里的空气比较特别，这张弓依然很好用。在学校时，苏珊可是是射箭和游泳高手，她拉开弓试了试弦。嗡的一声响：振奋人心的弦声在整个屋子里回荡。这声响把孩子们又带回了那段美好的时光。战斗、狩猎、宴会......往日的那一幕幕浮现开来。

然后，她松了弦，把箭挎在身上。

紧接着彼得也取下了他的礼物--一张镶有红色巨狮的盾牌、一柄神圣的宝剑。他吹了吹剑鞘上的灰尘，又在地毯上擦了擦，然后佩在身上。之后，他又拿着盾牌试了一试。一开始，他担心宝剑可能会生锈，在剑鞘里根本拔不出来。可让他惊喜的是，只轻轻一拉，剑就出了鞘，并在黑暗中发出一道寒光。

"这是我的宝剑，我用它杀死过野狼。"他自豪的声音里充满了自信与勇气。其他人都感觉到，他又变成了那个高贵、威严的彼得国王。过了一会儿，大家突然意识到他们现在必须要节省电池了。

他们沿着台阶走上来重新架起篝火，然后紧紧地靠在一起，互相取暖。虽然地面很硬睡在上面很不舒服，可是他们太累了，很快全都沉沉地睡去。