《能言馬與男孩》第54期:南征隱士(1)

Chapter 10 The Hermit of the Southern March

AFTER they had ridden for several hours down the valley, it widened out and they could see what was ahead of them. The river which they had been following here joined a broader river, wide and turbulent, which flowed from their left to their right, towards the east. Beyond this new river a delightful country rose gently in low hills, ridge beyond ridge, to the Northern Mountains themselves. To the right there were rocky Pinnacles, one or two of them with snow clinging to the ledges. To the left, pine-clad slopes, frowning cliffs, narrow gorges, and blue peaks stretched away as far as the eye could reach. He could no longer make out Mount Pire. Straight ahead the mountain range sank to a wooded saddle which of course must be the pass from Archenland into Narnia.

"Broo-hoo-hoo, the North, the green North!" neighed Bree: and certainly the lower hills looked greener and fresher than anything that Aravis and Shasta, with their southern-bred eyes, had ever imagined. Spirits rose as they clattered down to the water's-meet of the two rivers.

The eastern-flowing river, which was pouring from the higher mountains at the western end of the range, was far too swift and too broken with rapids for them to think of swimming it; but after some casting about, up and down the bank, they found a place shallow enough to wade. The roar and clatter of water, the great swirl against the horses' fetlocks, the cool, stirring air and the darting dragon-flies, filled Shasta with a strange excitement.

"Friends, we are in Archenland!" said Bree proudly as he splashed and churned his way out on the Northern bank. "I think that river we've just crossed is called the Winding Arrow."

"I hope we're in time," murmured Hwin.

Then they began going up, slowly and zigzagging a good deal, for the hills were steep. It was all open park-like country with no roads or houses in sight. Scattered trees, never thick enough to be a forest, were everywhere. Shasta, who had lived all his life in an almost tree-less grassland, had never seen so many or so many kinds. If you had been there you would probably have known (he didn't) that he was seeing oaks, beeches, silver birches, rowans, and sweet chestnuts. Rabbits scurried away in every direction as they advanced, and presently they saw a whole herd of fallow deer making off among the trees.

"Isn't it simply glorious!" said Aravis.

At the first ridge Shasta turned in the saddle and looked back. There was no sign of Tashbaan; the desert, unbroken except by the narrow green crack which they had travelled down, spread to the horizon.

第10章 南征隱士

他們在山谷裏騎馬馳騁了幾個鐘頭之後，山谷豁然開闊，他們看得見前邊的景物了。他們沿着它一路走過來的那條河流，在這兒跟一條更寬闊的洶涌大河相匯合，大河從他們的左邊流向右邊，往東奔騰而去。這新的大河後面，綿亙着一個美麗宜人的國度，山丘逐漸增高，山脊外還有山脊，直連接到北方羣山。右邊有幾個塔狀尖巖，其中兩三個的突出部分還積着雪。左邊是松樹密佈的山坡，顰眉蹙額的峭壁，狹窄的山谷，蔚藍的山峯，一直伸展到極目可見之處。他們再也認不出皮爾峯了。在筆直的正前方，山脈凹了下去，形成一個林木森然的馬鞍，這地方必定是由阿欽蘭進入納尼亞的關隘。

“布羅——嗬嗬，北方，綠色的北方。”布里嘶嗚道。阿拉維斯和沙斯塔的眼睛都是在南方培養起來的，所以低矮小山顯得比他們生平所想像的任何東西都更加蒼翠、更加鮮嫩了。當他們嘩啦嘩啦走到兩條河的交匯處時，他們來勁了。

向東流去的大河是從西端的高山上傾瀉而下的，奔騰得太快，被湍灘打斷之處太多，他們不敢游過去，在岸上來來回回幾番焦急地尋找，終於找到一個淺淺的可以涉水而過的地方。嘩啦嘩啦的水聲，衝在馬蹄茸毛上的旋渦，清涼、動盪的空氣，飛來飛去的蜻蜓，都使沙斯塔心裏充滿了新奇的激動之情。

“朋友們，咱們進入阿欽蘭了！”布里濺潑着水、搖搖晃晃爬上北岸時，自豪地說道，”我想我們剛纔渡過的河流叫做旋箭河。”

“我希望我們及時趕到了。”赫溫喃喃說道。

於是他們開始攀登而上，走得很慢，曲曲折折，因爲小山很陡。這是空曠的、公園似的鄉野，看不見道路和房子。疏疏朗朗的樹木到處都是，可總是沒有密集到蔚然成林的。沙斯塔一向住在一個幾乎沒有樹木的草原上，從未看見過這麼多的樹，這麼多各種各樣的樹，如果你也在那兒，你就可能知道(他可不知道)，他正瞧見橡樹、山毛棒、白樺、花楸、栗子樹哩。他們前進時，野兔向四面八方亂竄，不久他們又看見一大羣黃棕色黃佔鹿從林木之間逃逸而去。

“這真是美麗極了！”阿拉維斯說。

走到第一個山脊上，沙斯塔在馬鞍上轉過身來回頭望去，塔什班城已經無影無蹤了；茫茫大沙漠一直綿延到天邊上，惟一隔斷沙漠的，就是剛纔他們走過來的那狹狹的一道蒼翠裂痕而已。