格格党

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CHAPTER NINE ACROSS THE DESERT（第2页）

saidthegroom，aoffataremarkablespeediioherewasellhimtomakehaste:healsohadbeenthinkingagooddealaboutghouls.

ForthefewsedsAraviswasbusykissingthetingthenecksofHwiasiftheywerequiteordinaryhorses.

“AndhereesShasta!ThaheLion!”

saidBree.

Aravislookedround，aenough，wasShastawhohadeoutofhidihesawthegroomgoinga>

“Andnow，”

saidAravis.“There'solose.”

AndinhastywordsshetoldthemaboutRabadash'sexpedition.

“Treacheroushounds!”

saidBree，shakinghismaampingwithhishoof.“Anattatimeofpeace，withoutdefiawe'llgreasehisoatsforhim.We'llbetherebeforeheis.”

“we?”

saidAravis，swioHwin'ssaddle.Shastawishedheou.

“Brooh-hoo!”

snortedBree.“Upyouget，Shasta.dwithagoodstarttoo!”

“Hesaidhewasgoingtostartatonce，”

saidAravis.

“That'showhumanstalk，”

saidBree.“Butyoudon'tgetapanyoftwohundredhorseaeredandvictualledandarmedaartedallinaminute.Now:what'sourdire?DueNorth?

“No，”

saidShasta.“Iknowaboutthat.I'vedrawnaline.I'llexplainlater.Bearabittoourleft，bothyouhorses.Ahhereitis!”

“Now，”

saidBree.“Allthataboutgallopingforadayandanight，likeinstories，'treallybedobewalkandtrot:butbrisktrotsandshortwalks.Andalkyoutwohumansslipoffandwalktoo.Now.Areyouready，Hwin?Offwego.Narniaah!”

Atfirstitwasdelightful.Thenighthadnowbeengoingonforsomanyhoursthatthesandhadalmostfinishedgivingbackallthesuhadreceivedduringtheday，andtheairwascool，fresh，andderthemoonlightthesaionandasfarastheycouldsee，gleamedasifitweresmreatsilvertray.ExceptforthenoiseofBree'sandHwin'shoofstherewasnotasoundtobeheard.Shastawouldnearlyhavefallenasleepifhehadnothadtodismountandwalkeverynowandthen.

Thisseemedtolastforhours.Theimewhentherewasnolongeranymooorideinthedeaddarknessforhoursandhours.AhereeahecouldseeBree'snedheadinfrontofhimalittlemoreclearlythanbefore;andslowly，veryslowly，hebegantograyflatnessoneveryside.Itlookedabsolutelydead，likesomethinginadeadworld;andShastafeltquiteterriblytiredahewasgettingdthathislipsweredry.Ahesqueakoftheleather，thejihebits，andthehehoofs-notPropputtypropputtyasitwouldbeonahardroad，butThubbudythubbudyonthedrysand.

Atlast，afterh，farawayhtthereglelongstreakray，lowdownonthehorizoreakofred.Itwasthematlast，butwithoutasiosingaboutit.Hewasgladofthewalkingbitsnow，forhewascolderthanever.

Thehesunroseahingamoment.Thegraysandturnedyellowandtwinkledasifitithdiamonds.OheshadowsofShastaandHwinandBreeandAravis，enormouslylong，racedbesidethem.ThedoublepeakofMountPire，farahead，flashediandShastasawtheywerealittleoutofthecourse.“Abitleft，abitleft，”

hesaofall，whenyoulookedback，Tashbaanwasalreadysmallaombswerequiteinvisible:sinthatsingle，jagged-edgedhumpwhichwasthecityoftheTisroefeltbetter.

Butn.ThoughTashbaanlookedveryfarawaywhesawit，itrefusedtolookanyfurtherawayastheywenton.Shastagaveuplookingbackatit，foritohefeelingthattheywerenotmovingatall.Thebeuisaheglareofthesandmadehiseyesache:buthekn'tshutthem.HemustscrewthemupandkeeponlookiMountPireandshoutingoutdires.The.Heforthefirsttimewheodismountandpeddowheheatfromitstrutohisfaceasiffromtheopeningofanoveimeitwasworse.Butthethirdtime，ashisbarefeettouchedthesahpainabathestirrupaherhalfoverBree'sbackbeforeyoucouldhavesaidknife.

“Sorry，Bree，”

hegasped.“I'twalk.Itbur.”

“Ofcourse!”

pantedBree.“Shouldhavethoughtofthatmyself.Stayon.'tbehelped.”

“It'sallrightforyou，”

saidShastatoAravisalkingbesideHwin.“You'vegotshoeson.”

Aravissaidnothingandlookedprim.Let'shopeshedidn'tmeanto，butshedid.

Onagain，trotandwalkandtrot，jingle-jingle-jingle，squeak-squeak-squeak，smellofhothorse，smellofhotself，blindingglare，headaothingatalldifferentformileaftermile.Tashbaanwouldneverlookahemountainswouldneverlookanynearer.Youfeltthishadbeengoingonforalways—jingle-jingle-jingle，squeaksqueak-squeak，smellofhothorse，smellofhotself.

Ofetriedallsameswithorytomakethetimepass:andofcoursetheywereallnogood.Ariedveryhardnottothinkofdriiashbaan，clearspriinklingwithadarkearthysound，ilkjustoughandnottoodtheharderyoutriednottothink，themoreyouthought.

Atlasttherewassomethi—amassofrogupoutofthesandaboutfiftyyardslongandthirtyfeethigh.Itdidnotcastmuchshadow，forthesunwasnh，butitcastalittle.Intothatshadetheycrowded.Theretheyatesomefoodanddrankalittlewater.ItisnoteasygivingahorseadrinkoutofaskiBreeandHwihtheirlips.hinglikeenough.heHorseswerefleckedwithfoamahingwasnoisy.The>

Afteraveryshortresttheywentonagain.Samenoises，samesmells，sameglare，tillatlasttheirshadowsbegantofallht，alertilltheyseemedtostretchouttotheEasterheworld.VeryslowlythesuheWesternhorizon.Andnowatlasthewasdownand，thahemercilessglarewasgohoughtheheatingupfromthesandwasstillasbadasever.FourpairsofeyeswerelookingouteagerlyfhatSallowpadtheRavenhadspokenabout.But，mileaftermile，therewasnothingbutlevelsand.Andnowthedaywasquitedefinitelydone，andmostofthestarswereout，andstilltheHorsesthunderedonandtheroseandsankintheirsaddles，miserablewiththirstaillthemoonhadrisendidShasta—irange，barkingvoieohisperfectlydry-shoutout: