CHAPTER SEVEN OLD NARNIA IN DANGER
The place where they had met the Fauns was, of course, Dancing Lawn itself, and here Caspian and his friends remained till the night of the great Council. To sleep under the stars, to drink nothing but well water and to live chiefly on nuts and wild fruit, was a strange experience for Caspian after his bed with silken sheets in a tapestried chamber at the castle, with meals laid out on gold and silver dishes in the anteroom, and attendants ready at his call. But he had never enjoyed himself more. Never had sleep been more refreshing nor food tasted more savoury, and he began already to harden and his face wore a kinglier look.
When the great night came, and his various strange subjects came stealing into the lawn by ones and twos and threes or by sixes and sevens—the moon then shining almost at her full—his heart swelled as he saw their numbers and heard their greetings. All whom he had met were there：Bulgy Bears and Red Dwarfs and Black Dwarfs, Moles and Badgers, Hares and Hedgehogs, and others whom he had not yet seen—five Satyrs as red as foxes, the whole contingent of Talking Mice, armed to the teeth and following a shrill trumpet, some Owls, the Old Raven of Ravenscaur. Last of all （and this took Caspian’s breath away）, with the Centaurs came a small but genuine Giant, Wimbleweather of Deadman’s Hill, carrying on his back a basketful of rather sea-sick Dwarfs who had accepted his offer of a lift and were now wishing they had walked instead.
The Bulgy Bears were very anxious to have the feast first and leave the council till afterward：perhaps till tomorrow. Reepicheep and his Mice said that councils and feasts could both wait, and proposed storming Miraz in his own castle that very night. Pattertwig and the other Squirrels said they could talk and eat at the same time, so why not have the council and feast all at once? The Moles proposed throwing up entrenchments round the Lawn before they did anything else. The Fauns thought it would be better to begin with a solemn dance. The Old Raven, while agreeing with the Bears that it would take too long to have a full council before supper, begged to be allowed to give a brief address to the whole company. But Caspian and the Centaurs and the Dwarfs overruled all these suggestions and insisted on holding a real council of war at once.
When all the other creatures had been persuaded to sit down quietly in a great circle, and when （with more difficulty） they had got Pattertwig to stop running to and fro and saying “Silence！ Silence, everyone, for the King’s speech”, Caspian, feeling a little nervous, got up. “Narnians！” he began, but he never got any further, for at that very moment Camillo the Hare said, “Hush！ There’s a Man somewhere near.”
They were all creatures of the wild, accustomed to being hunted, and they all became still as statues. The beasts all turned their noses in the direction which Camillo had indicated.
“Smells like Man and yet not quite like Man,” whispered Trufflehunter.
“It’s getting steadily nearer,” said Camillo.
“Two badgers and you three Dwarfs, with your bows at the ready, go softly off to meet it,” said Caspian.
“We’ll settle ’un,” said a Black Dwarf grimly, fitting a shaft to his bowstring.
“Don’t shoot if it is alone,” said Caspian. “Catch it.”
“Why?” asked the Dwarf.
“Do as you’re told,” said Glenstorm the Centaur.
Everyone waited in silence while the three Dwarfs and two Badgers trotted stealthily across to the trees on the northwest side of the Lawn. Then came a sharp dwarfish cry, “Stop！ Who goes there?” and a sudden spring. A moment later a voice, which Caspian knew well, could he heard saying, “All right, all right, I’m unarmed. Take my wrists if you like, worthy Badgers, but don’t bite right through them. I want to speak to the King.”
“Doctor Cornelius！” cried Caspian with joy, and rushed forward to greet his old tutor. Everyone else crowded round.
“Pah！” said Nikabrik. “A renegade Dwarf. A half-and-halfer！ Shall I pass my sword through its throat?”
“Be quiet, Nikabrik,” said Trumpkin. “The creature can’t help its ancestry.”
“This is my greatest friend and the savior of my life,” said Caspian. “And anyone who doesn’t like his company may leave my army：at once. Dearest doctor, I am glad to see you again. How ever did you find us out?”
“By a little use of simple magic, your Majesty,” said the Doctor, who was still puffing and blowing from having walked so fast. “But there’s no time to go into that now. We must all fly from this place at once. You are already betrayed and Miraz is on the move. Before midday tomorrow you will be surrounded.”
“Betrayed！” said Caspian. “And by whom?”
“Another renegade Dwarf, no doubt,” said Nikabrik.
“By your horse Destrier,” said Doctor Cornelius. “The poor brute knew no better. When you were knocked off, of course, he went dawdling back to his stable in the castle. Then the secret of your flight was known. I made myself scarce, having no wish to be questioned about it in Miraz’s torture chamber. I had a pretty good guess from my crystal as to where I should find you. But all day—that was the day before yesterday—I saw Miraz’s tracking parties out in the woods. Yesterday I learned that his army is out. I don’t think some of your—um—pure-blooded Dwarfs have as much woodcraft as might be expected. You’ve left tracks all over the place. Great carelessness. At any rate something has warned Miraz that Old Narnia is not so dead as he had hoped, and he is on the move.”
“Hurrah！” said a very shrill and small voice from somewhere at the Doctor’s feet. “Let them come！ All I ask is that the King will put me and my people in the front.”
“What on earth?” said Doctor Cornelius. “Has your Majesty got grasshoppers—or mosquitoes—in your army?” Then after stooping down and peering carefully through his spectacles, he broke into a laugh.
“By the Lion,” he swore, “it’s a mouse. Signior Mouse, I desire your better acquaintance. I am honored by meeting so valiant a beast.”
“My friendship you shall have, learned Man,” piped Reepicheep.
“And any Dwarf—or Giant—in the army who does not give you good language shall have my sword to reckon with.”
“Is there time for this foolery?” asked Nikabrik. “What are our plans? Battle or flight?”
“Battle if need be,” said Trumpkin. “But we are hardly ready for it yet, and this is no very defensible place.”
“I don’t like the idea of running away,” said Caspian.
“Hear him！ Hear him！” said the Bulgy Bears. “Whatever we do, don’t let’s have any running. Especially not before supper； and not too soon after it neither.”
“Those who run first do not always run last,” said the Centaur. “And why should we let the enemy choose our position instead of choosing it ourselves? Let us find a strong place.”
“That’s wise, your Majesty, that’s wise,” said Trufflehunter.
“But where are we to go?” asked several voices.
“Your Majesty,” said Doctor Cornelius, “and all you variety of creatures, I think we must fly east and down the river to the great woods. The Telmarines hate that region. They have always been afraid of the sea and of something that may come over the sea. That is why they have let the great woods grow up. If traditions speak true, the ancient Cair Paravel was at the river-mouth. All that part is friendly to us and hateful to our enemies. We must go to Aslan’s How.”
“Aslan’s How?” said several voices. “We do not know what it is.”
“It lies within the skirts of the Great Woods and it is a huge mound which Narnians raised in very ancient times over a very magical place, where there stood—and perhaps still stands—a very magical Stone. The Mound is all hollowed out within into galleries and caves, and the Stone is in the central cave of all. There is room in the mound for all our stores, and those of us who have most need of cover and are most accustomed to underground life can be lodged in the caves. The rest of us can lie in the wood. At a pinch all of us （except this worthy Giant） could retreat into the Mound itself, and there we should be beyond the reach of every danger except famine.”
“It is a good thing we have a learned man among us,” said Trufflehunter； but Trumpkin muttered under his breath, “Soup and celery！ I wish our leaders would think less about these old wives’tales and more about victuals and arms.” But all approved of Cornelius’s proposal and that very night, half an hour later, they were on the march. Before sunrise they arrived at Aslan’s How.
It was certainly an awesome place, a round green hill on top of another hill, long since grown over with trees, and one little, low doorway leading into it. The tunnels inside were a perfect maze till you got to know them, and they were lined and roofed with smooth stones, and on the stones, peering in the twilight, Caspian saw strange characters and snaky patterns, and pictures in which the form of a Lion was repeated again and again. It all seemed to belong to an even older Narnia than the Narnia of which his nurse had told him.
It was after they had taken up their quarters in and around the How that fortune began to turn against them. King Miraz’s scouts soon found their new lair, and he and his army arrived on the edge of the woods. And as so often happens, the enemy turned out stronger than they had reckoned. Caspian’s heart sank as he saw company after company arriving. And though Miraz’s men may have been afraid of going into the wood, they were even more afraid of Miraz, and with him in command they carried battle deeply into it and sometimes almost to the How itself. Caspian and other captains of course made many sorties into the open country. Thus there was fighting on most days and sometimes by night as well； but Caspian’s party had on the whole the worst of it.
At last there came a night when everything had gone as badly as possible, and the rain which had been falling heavily all day had ceased at nightfall only to give place to raw cold. That morning Caspian had arranged what was his biggest battle yet, and all had hung their hopes on it. He, with most of the Dwarfs, was to have fallen on the King’s right wing at daybreak, and then, when they were heavily engaged, Giant Wimbleweather, with the Centaurs and some of the fiercest beasts, was to have broken out from another place and endeavoured to cut the King’s right off from the rest of the army. But it had all failed. No one had warned Caspian （because no one in these later days of Narnia remembered） that Giants are not at all clever. Poor Wimbleweather, though as brave as a lion, was a true Giant in that respect. He had broken out at the wrong time and from the wrong place, and both his party and Caspian’s had suffered badly and done the enemy little harm. The best of the Bears had been hurt, a Centaur terribly wounded, and there were few in Caspian’s party who had not lost blood. It was a gloomy company that huddled under the dripping trees to eat their scanty supper.
The gloomiest of all was Giant Wimbleweather. He knew it was all his fault. He sat in silence shedding big tears which collected on the end of his nose and then fell off with a huge splash on the whole bivouac of the Mice, who had just been beginning to get warm and drowsy. They all jumped up, shaking the water out of their ears and wringing their little blankets, and asked the Giant in shrill but forcible voices whether he thought they weren’t wet enough without this sort of thing. And then other people woke up and told the Mice they had been enrolled as scouts and not as a concert party, and asked why they couldn’t keep quiet. And Wimbleweather tiptoed away to find some place where he could be miserable in peace and stepped on somebody’s tail and somebody （they said afterward it was a fox） bit him. And so everyone was out of temper.
But in the secret and magical chamber at the heart of the How, King Caspian, with Cornelius and the Badger and Nikabrik and Trumpkin, were at council. Thick pillars of ancient workmanship supported the roof. In the center was the Stone itself—a stone table, split right down the center, and covered with what had once been writing of some kind, but ages of wind and rain and snow had almost worn them away in old times when the Stone Table had stood on the hilltop, and the Mound had not yet been built above it. They were not using the Table nor sitting round it：it was too magic a thing for any common use. They sat on logs a little way from it, and between them was a rough wooden table, on which stood a rude clay lamp lighting up their pale faces and throwing big shadows on the walls.
“If your Majesty is ever to use the Horn,” said Trufflehunter, “I think the time has now come.” Caspia n had of course told them of his treasure several days ago.
“We are certainly in great need,” answered Caspian. “But it is hard to be sure we are at our greatest. Supposing there came an even worse need and we had already used it?”
“By that argument,” said Nikabrik, “your Majesty will never use it until it is too late.”
“I agree with that,” said Doctor Cornelius.
“And what do you think, Trumpkin?” asked Caspian.
“Oh, as for me,” said the Red Dwarf, who had been listening with complete indifference, “ your Majesty knows I think the Horn—and that bit of broken stone over there and your great King Peter—and your Lion Aslan—are all eggs in moonshine. It’s all one to me when your Majesty blows the Horn. All I insist on is that the army is told nothing about it. There’s no good raising hopes of magical help which （as I think） are sure to be disappointed.”
“Then in the name of Aslan we will wind Queen Susan’s Horn,” said Caspian.
“There is one thing, Sire,” said Doctor Cornelius, “that should perhaps be done first. We do not know what form the help will take. It might call Aslan himself from oversea. But I think it is more likely to call Peter the High King and his mighty consorts down from the high past. But in either case, I do not think we can be sure that the help will come to this very spot—”
“You never said a truer word,” put in Trumpkin.
“I think,” went on the learned man, “that they—or he—will come back to one or other of the Ancient Places of Narnia. This, where we now sit, is the most ancient and most deeply magical of all, and here, I think, the answer is likeliest to come. But there are two others. One Lantern Waste, up-river, west of Beaversdam, where the Royal Children first appeared in Narnia, as the records tell The other is down at the river-mouth, where their castle of Cair Paravel once stood. And if Aslan himself comes, that would be the best place for meeting him too, for every story says that he is the son of the great Emperor-over-the-Sea, and over the sea he will pass. I should like very much to send messengers to both places, to Lantern Waste and the river-mouth, to receive them—or him—or it.”
“Just as I thought,” muttered Trumpkin. “The first result of all this foolery is not to bring us help but to lose us two fighters.”
“Who would you think of sending, Doctor Cornelius?” asked Caspian.
“Squirrels are best for getting through enemy country without being caught,” said Trufflehun-ter.
“All our squirrels （and we haven’t many）,” said Nikabrik, “are rather flighty. The only one I’d trust on a job like that would be Pattertwig.”
“Let it be Pattertwig, then,” said King Caspian. “And who for our other messenger? I know you’d go, Trufflehunter, but you haven’t the speed. Nor you, Doctor Cornelius.”
“I won’t go,” said Nikabrik. “With all these Humans and beasts about, there must be a Dwarf here to see that the Dwarfs are fairly treated.”
“Thimbles and thunderstorms！” cried Trumpkin in a rage. “Is that how you speak to the King? Send me, Sire, I’ll go.”
“But I thought you didn’t believe in the Horn, Trumpkin,” said Caspian.
“No more I do, your Majesty. But what’s that got to do with it? I might as well die on a wild goose chase as die here. You are my King. I know the difference between giving advice and taking orders. You’ve had my advice, and now it’s the time for orders.”
“I will never forget this, Trumpkin,” said Caspian. “Send for Pattertwig, one of you. And when shall I blow the Horn?”
“I would wait for sunrise, your Majesty,” said Doctor Cornelius. “That sometimes has an effect in operations of White Magic.”
A few minutes later Pattertwig arrived and had his task explained to him. As he was, like many squirrels, full of courage and dash and energy and excitement and mischief （not to say conceit）, he no sooner heard it than he was eager to be off. It was arranged that he should run for Lantern Waste while Trumpkin made the shorter journey to the river-mouth. After a hasty meal they both set off with the fervent thanks and good wishes of the King, the Badger, and Cornelius.
第七章 危机四伏的古纳尼亚
他们正是在跳舞草坪上遇到半羊人的。凯斯宾和他的朋友们决定留下，等到盛会开场。夜晚就在满天繁星下休息，渴了就喝井水，饿了就吃野果，这些对凯斯宾来说都是无比新鲜的经历——他所熟悉的，是城堡里那些挂满壁毯的卧室，质地柔软的丝绸床单，摆在金银餐盘上的精美食物，还有随叫随到的皇室奴仆。周围的环境看似根本不能和从前相比，可是他却感到自己从来没有现在这么快活，他的梦从来不曾这么甜美，食物也从来没有这么可口。他已经变得坚强了起来，看上去也有了君主的威仪。
那备受期待的夜晚终于来临。三三两两、成群结队地，凯斯宾的那些奇形怪状的臣民们陆续来到了跳舞草坪——那晚的月光无比皎洁——看着这么多朋友，听着他们的问候，凯斯宾不由心潮澎湃。之前他见过的朋友们全都来了：大棕熊、红发小矮人和黑发小矮人，还有鼹鼠、獾、兔子和刺猬，除此之外，还有一些之前没见过面的朋友——五个长着火红色头发的林中精灵；全副武装的老鼠大军，伴着高而尖细的小号声向他走来；猫头鹰也飞来参加盛会；还有老渡鸦。最后到场的这位（看着这位，凯斯宾的呼吸都顿了一顿）是和半人马一同前来的来自死人山的巨人韦姆布威热，他的体格倒算不上特别庞大，但他是个血统纯正的巨人。巨人背后的筐里装着满满一筐子晕晕乎乎的小矮人，他们接受了巨人的好意，由他一路背着过来，可是现在小矮人们一个个都悔不当初，因为还不如自己走路来得好呢！
大棕熊们迫切期待举行宴会，又提议延迟政务会，或许延迟到明天。雷佩契普和老鼠勇士们则建议宴会和会议都可以缓缓，应该当天夜里突袭城堡，直取米拉兹。以佩蒂威格为首的松鼠们说，边吃边商议吧，这样才能节约时间，宴会和政务会何不同时进行呢？鼹鼠们提议，先在跳舞草坪四周挖出一道防御壕沟，然后再做其他事情。半羊人们认为，会议开始之前，大家最好先跳一支庄严的舞蹈。老渡鸦虽然同意棕熊们的意见，说等到整个会议开完了再吃饭就太晚了，可是他还请求凯斯宾同意由他先向全体朋友简短致辞。但是凯斯宾、半人马和小矮人们不赞成所有提议，他们坚持立马召开有关战争的会议。
他们终于说服了所有伙伴，让大家围成一圈坐了下来。接着他们又费了更大的劲儿，才成功拦下了佩蒂威格，阻止他来回不停地奔跑呼喊“静一静，静一静！大家安静，国王要发表演说了。”怀着紧张的心情，凯斯宾站起身来。“纳尼亚的子民们！”他说道。他正要往下说，但就在此时，兔子卡梅罗突然说：“嘘！这附近有个人！”
这些生活在野外的兽族早已对人类追捕习以为常，于是他们一下子像雕塑一样静止不动，又全都把鼻子转向卡梅罗示意的那个方向。
“闻起来仿佛是个人，可又不完全像人类。”特鲁佛汉特悄声说道。
“他越走越近了。”卡梅罗说道。
“两只獾和你们三个小矮人，备好弓箭，悄悄走过去，瞧瞧来者何人。”凯斯宾下令。
“我们去干掉他！”一个黑发小矮人冷酷地说着，搭起一支利箭。
“如果只有一个人，就别射箭，”凯斯宾说道，“抓活的过来。”
“为什么？”小矮人问道。
“叫你做什么你就做什么。”半人马格兰斯托姆说道。
三个小矮人和两只獾弯着身子，快步向跳舞草坪西北方向的那片树林走去，剩下的则静静地在原地等候。没过多久，那里传来了小矮人尖细的声音，“站住，来者何人？”接着就是一阵急步声。又过了一会儿，大家听到另一个声音，这个声音是凯斯宾再熟悉不过的，“放心放心，我没带*器武**。你要咬的话就咬我的手腕好了，值得尊敬的獾老弟，只不过麻烦别把我的手给咬破。我有话要和国王说。”
“科尼利厄斯博士！”凯斯宾高兴地叫出了声。他急忙跑上前去，迎上他那上了年纪的家庭教师。大伙把他俩围在了中间。
“呸！”尼克布瑞克说道，“不过是一个叛变的小矮人，只有四分之一小矮人的血统！要不要我一剑刺穿他的喉咙？”
“快住嘴，尼克布瑞克，”杜鲁普金说道，“他又没法选择自己的血统。”
“这是我最忠实的朋友，也是我的救命恩人。”凯斯宾说道，“谁要是不欢迎他，可以离开我的队伍，现在就离开。最亲爱的博士，真高兴能再次见到您。您是怎么找到我们的？”
“不过施了点儿小小的魔法，陛下。”博士说道。由于走得太急，他一口气到现在还没有顺过来。“现在没时间说这些了，你们必须马上离开，你们被出卖了！米拉兹率领大军，已经在过来的路上了，再不走的话，明天中午之前你们就会被大军包围了。”
“被出卖！”凯斯宾问道，“是谁出卖了我们？”
“肯定又是一个叛变的小矮人。”尼克布瑞克说道。
“是你的马，戴思特里尔，”科尼利厄斯博士说道，“那可怜的畜生，它也是茫然不知所措。你摔下马背之后，它只好独自返回了城堡，又回到自己的马厩里去了。之后，你逃走的事也就不再是秘密。我当然不想被米拉兹抓去审讯室，也出来逃命。我观察水晶球，推测出你们大致的方位。可就在前天，我看到米拉兹的搜查大队从城堡出发，进了森林。昨天，我又听说他的*队军**也出动了。我发现你的部下，那些……呃……那些纯种小矮人，没有多少森林生存的知识。你们四处行走，处处都留下了痕迹，这也太大意了！总而言之，米拉兹发现古纳尼亚并没有如他所希望的那样彻底消亡。所以他开始行动了。”
“好哇！”一个又尖又细的声音从博士的脚边响起，“让他们放马过来！我只请求国王陛下派我和我的勇士们上前线去！”
“谁在说话呀？”科尼利厄斯博士问道，“陛下怎么把蚱蜢——还是蚊子——也招进队伍里来了？”说着，他俯下身，透过眼镜仔细看了好一会儿，突然哈哈大笑起来。
“以狮王的名义起誓，”他发誓说道，“这肯定是只老鼠。老鼠先生，我衷心希望能和你成为朋友，能结识你这样一位英勇的兽族，真是我的荣幸。”
“你将收获我的友谊，博士先生，”雷佩契普尖声答道，“不管是小矮人还是巨人，谁要是胆敢对你无礼，就来领教我的利剑吧。”
“现在是说这些蠢话的时候吗？”尼克布瑞克问道，“我们的计划是什么？是战斗，还是逃命？”
“如果需要，那就战斗，”杜鲁普金说道，“可我们还没做好战斗的准备，再说这里也不是一个容易守住的地形。”
“我可不喜欢临阵脱逃。”凯斯宾说道。
“他说得对！不能逃跑！”大棕熊们意见一致，“不管我们做什么，决不能逃跑，尤其是吃上晚饭之前，晚饭刚吃完那会儿也不行！”
“战略上的转移和战败后的逃跑可不是一回事儿。”半人马说道，“为什么任由敌人为我们指定作战地点，而不是我们自己主动引领形势呢？我们还是找一个有利的地形吧。”
“这才明智，陛下，这才明智。”特鲁佛汉特说道。
“但是我们该去哪里呢？”大家一起问道。
“陛下，”科尼利厄斯博士说道，“还有诸位，我认为我们必须立刻向东转移，沿河而下，到密林里去。台尔马人仇视那里。他们一向畏惧大海，害怕有谁会从海的那边过来，所以他们任凭那里的树林茂密生长。如果传说所言不虚，那么古老的凯尔帕拉维尔城堡就坐落在那个河口处。那儿整片区域都是我们的朋友，也都仇视我们的敌人。我们必须去阿斯兰堡垒。”
“阿斯兰堡垒？”几个声音又同时问道，“我们不知道那是什么。”
“在大森林边缘有一个神秘的地方，那里有一个大土丘，是古纳尼亚子民堆起来的，大土丘上曾经立着——也许现在还立着——一块具有魔力的巨石。大土丘是空心的，内部挖了许多通道和洞穴，巨石就放在土丘中心的洞穴里。土丘足够我们储备一切用品，我们当中最需要掩蔽、最习惯于地下生活的伙伴，都可以住进洞里。剩下的可以住在森林里。危急关头，我们全部人员（除了这位巨人阁下）都可以撤到土丘内部，在那里头，只要不断粮，我们就能摆脱一切危险。”
“我们的队伍里有这么一位博学之士，真是太好啦！”特鲁佛汉特说道。但是杜鲁普金却轻声嘟哝道：“荒唐至极！我希望我们的领袖少听这些无稽之谈，多想想粮食和*器武**的问题。”但是大家都赞成科尼利厄斯的建议。就在当晚，半小时后，他们就出发了。第二天日出之前，他们全体抵达了阿斯兰堡垒。
这里真是块风水宝地，一个圆圆的绿色土丘，坐落在小山顶上，土丘上早已覆满了树木，树底下有一条小道直通土丘内部。对不熟悉这里的人来说，堡垒内部简直就是个迷宫。四周的墙壁和屋顶都是用光滑的石头砌起来的。借着黎明的微光，凯斯宾看到石壁上刻着一些奇特的文字和蛇形花纹，还有许多狮子形状的图画反复出现。这一切似乎都属于比保姆所讲的纳尼亚还要古老的古纳尼亚。
他们便在这里安营扎寨，不料命运似乎开始与他们作对。米拉兹的探子很快就发现了他们的藏身之处，他和*队军**都来到了树林边缘。就像历史上常常发生的一样，敌人的兵力比他们所预计的要强得多。敌军一队接一队地到来，这让凯斯宾的心情非常沉重。尽管米拉兹的士兵惧怕进入这片密林，但在他们心中，米拉兹甚至比他们一向畏惧的密林还要可怕。米拉兹一声令下，士兵们都开始向着密林深处进发，有时候甚至都已经快要打到堡垒门前。凯斯宾和他的手下也曾向平原发动了几次*攻反**。他们的战斗多数发生在白天，有时也发生在夜晚，然而总的形势对凯斯宾这一方非常不利。
终于到了一天晚上，形势已经糟到了极点。大雨下了整整一天，到了黄昏时分才停下来，但取而代之的却是气温骤降后的严寒。次日一早，凯斯宾部署了他麾下至今火力最猛的一次反击，所有人都将希望寄托在了这场战斗上。凯斯宾将率领大部分小矮人在黎明时分突袭米拉兹的右翼，紧接着，趁着双方打得火热，巨人韦姆布威热、半人马和部分最凶猛的兽族就从另一个地方冲出来，努力折下米拉兹的右翼人马。谁料这一仗又打败了。没有人提醒过凯斯宾（因为此时的纳尼亚臣民也已经忘了这一点）巨人并不聪明。可怜的韦姆布威热，尽管他像狮子一样英勇，可是在聪明才智方面，他终究还是符合一个真正的巨人的水准。由于他选择了错误的进攻时间和地点，结果他的队伍和凯斯宾的队伍都损失惨重，而敌方却并没有受到多少损失。战斗力最强的一只熊负了伤，一个半人马伤势严重，凯斯宾的部下几乎都受了伤。营地里士气低迷，他们挤在滴着雨滴的大树下面，吃着那点儿少到可怜的晚餐。
最最消沉的是巨人韦姆布威热，他明白这都是自己的错。他一声不吭地坐着掉眼泪，大滴大滴的眼泪聚到了鼻子尖上，然后滴了下来，溅落到了老鼠们的营地上——他们才刚刚感到暖和了一些，开始昏昏欲睡。于是所有老鼠一下子都跳了起来，赶紧用力抖掉耳朵里进的水，拧*他干**们的小毯子，接着用他们尖锐有力的声音质问巨人是不是还嫌他们身上不够湿。这一通吵吵嚷嚷把别人都吵醒了，于是都来责备这些老鼠勇士，说他们加入队伍是来当侦察兵的，不是来当合唱团的，要求他们保持安静。韦姆布威热蹑手蹑脚地走开了，想去找一个能让他不被打扰、静静忧伤的地方，可是一不留神又踩着了谁的尾巴，尾巴的主人转身就咬了他一口（后来别人说那是只狐狸）。结果所有人都大发脾气。
此时此刻，在堡垒中心那个既隐秘又神奇的房间里，国王凯斯宾、科尼利厄斯、獾、尼克布瑞克和杜鲁普金正在开会。年代久远的古老大石柱支撑着房间的屋顶，屋子中央摆着一块巨石——那是一张石桌，从正中间被截成了两截，上面刻着某种文字。但是，早在石桌还立在山顶，山顶上也还没有大土丘的古时候，由于经年累月的雨雪侵蚀，石桌上原本的字迹几乎已经磨蚀殆尽了。他们没有围坐在石桌周围开会，因为他们认为石桌是一件神奇之物，不能随意使用。于是他们坐在离石桌不远的几段木头上，中间是一张粗糙的木制桌子，桌上摆着一只简陋的黏土制成的灯，灯光照着他们苍白的脸，在墙壁上投射出巨大的影子。
“陛下若想使用那只神号，”特鲁佛汉特说道，“我想现在该是时候了。”凯斯宾曾在几天前向他们讲起过这个宝物。
“我们现在确实急需援助，”凯斯宾答道，“可我难以确定现在是不是已经到了最危急的关头。如果我们先用过了神号，可之后又出现了更糟糕的情况，那时又该怎么办呢？”
“要是这么说的话，”尼克布瑞克说道，“陛下就会一直不动用它，而最终形势就会糟到不可收拾。”
“我赞成这个想法。”科尼利厄斯博士说道。
“你怎么看呢，杜鲁普金？”凯斯宾问道。
“哦，要我说嘛，”红发小矮人此前一直漠不关心地听着大家讨论，“陛下是知道的，在我看来，不论是那只号角，还是那边那块断裂了的大石头，还有你们伟大的彼得国王，以及你们所说的狮王阿斯兰，统统都是水里的月亮罢了，不过是虚幻的泡沫。我不在乎陛下什么时候吹响那只号角，我只希望陛下不要对我们的*队军**提起这件事，以免大家对所谓的神奇援助抱有希望，结果却（我认为必将）大失所望，这样一点也不好。”
“那么，以阿斯兰的名义，就让我们吹响苏珊女王的神号吧。”凯斯宾说道。
“陛下，有一件事情，”科尼利厄斯博士说道，“或许我们应该先办好。我们并不知道号声将为我们带来什么样的援助。也许那号声能唤来海那边的阿斯兰，但我认为，更有可能唤来至尊国王彼得和他那几位神勇的女王。但是我想，无论是哪种情况，我们都不能指望援助会直接降临到我们跟前。”
“你总算说了句实在话。”杜鲁普金插嘴道。
“我认为，”这位博学之士继续说道，“他们——或他将会降临在纳尼亚的某个古老圣地。我们所在的这个地方，就是最古老和最有魔力的圣地，我认为援助最有可能降临于此。但是还有其他两处地方。一处是灯柱荒原，在河的上游，比佛坝以西，根据传说，那里是四位王室的孩子第一次在纳尼亚国土上出现的地方。另一处圣地在下游的河口处，是当年的凯尔帕拉维尔城堡的所在地。而假如阿斯兰亲自前来，那也会是迎接他的最佳地点，因为每一个传说都告诉我们，他是伟大的海外皇帝之子，他将从大海那边而来。我提议派遣使臣到灯柱荒原和河口这两个地方去迎接他们——或者他——或者它。”
“如我所料，”杜鲁普金嘟哝道，“这愚蠢的行为不仅不会带来帮助，反而会先导致我们失去两个战士。”
“你觉得该派谁去呢，科尼利厄斯博士？”凯斯宾问道。
“要想安全地穿越敌方*锁封**区，松鼠是最合适的人选了。”特鲁佛汉特说道。
“我们这儿所有的松鼠（虽然数量并不多），”尼克布瑞克说道，“都很轻浮，没什么责任心。此次行动关系重大，我认为唯一值得信任的人选非佩蒂威格莫属。”
“那就是佩蒂威格了，”凯斯宾国王说道，“那么谁来做我们的另一位使臣呢？我知道你愿意去，特鲁佛汉特，可是你的速度还不够快。你也不行，科尼利厄斯博士。”
“我可不去，”尼克布瑞克说道，“这里有这么多人类和兽类，必须有个小矮人留下来，确保所有小矮人都能得到公正的待遇。”
“你这说的是什么话！”杜鲁普金勃然大怒，“你就这么对国王说话吗？派我去吧，陛下，我愿意去！”
“可你之前不是不相信神号吗，杜鲁普金？”凯斯宾说道。
“我现在依旧不相信，陛下。但是那又如何？死在别的什么白费力气的事情上也好，死在这里也罢，对我来说都没什么两样。你是我的国王，我分得清何时应该提出忠告，何时应该执行命令。我已经向你提出了我的忠告，现在该是我执行命令的时候了。”
“我将永远记住你这番话，杜鲁普金，”凯斯宾说道，“传召佩蒂威格。那么，我该什么时候吹号呢？”
“我认为要在日出时分，陛下，”科尼利厄斯博士说道，“白魔法有时就是在日出时生效。”
几分钟后，佩蒂威格应召而来。他和多数松鼠一样，浑身充满了勇气、冲劲和活力，又是兴奋，又是淘气（倒不是说他自大），才刚听完了任务内容，他就已经迫不及待地想要出发了。凯斯宾派他去灯柱荒原，而杜鲁普金的目的地则要近一些，是那个河口。两位使臣匆匆吃了点东西，就带着国王、獾和科尼利乌斯衷心的感谢和祝福，出发上路了。