chater ix the wild wate nd f the nrth (第4/8頁)

C·S·路易斯提示您：看後求收藏（貓撲小說www.mpzw.tw），接着再看更方便。

“Do you think any of the giants we’ve seen would have sense to build a thing like that ？ ”said Puddleglum.

“But mightn’t it have been built by other giants ？”said Jill. “I mean，by giants who lived hundreds of years ago，and were far cleverer than the modern kind. It might have been built by the same ones who built the giant city we’re looking for. And that would mean we were on the right track—the old bridge leading to the old city ！”

“That’s a real brain-wave，Pole,”said Scrubb. “It must be that. Come on.”

So they turned and went to the bridge. And when they reached it，it certainly seemed solid enough. The single stones were as big as those at Stonehenge and must have been squared by good masons once，though now they were cracked and crumbled. The balustrade had apparently been covered with rich carvings，of which some traces remained；mouldering faces and forms of giants， minotaurs，squids，centipedes，and dreadful gods. Puddleglum still didn’t trust it，but he consented to cross it with the children.

The climb up to the crown of the arch was long and heavy. In many places the great stones had dropped out，leaving horrible gaps through which you looked down on the river foaming thousands of feet below. They saw an eagle fly through under their feet. And the higher they went，the colder it grew，and the wind blew so that they could hardly keep their footing. It seemed to shake the bridge.

When they reached the top and could look down the farther slope of the bridge，they saw what looked like the remains of an ancient giant road stretching away before them into the heart of the mountains. Many stones of its pavement were missing and there were wide patches of grass between those that remained. And riding towards them on that ancient road were two people of normal grown-up human size.

“Keep on. Move towards them,”said Puddleglum. “Anyone you meet in a place like this is as likely as not to be an enemy，but we mustn’t let them think we’re afraid.”

By the time they had stepped off the end of the bridge onto the grass，the two strangers were quite close. One was a knight in complete armour with his visor down. His armour and his horse were black；there was no device on his shield and no banneret on his spear. The other was a lady on a white horse，a horse so lovely that you wanted to kiss its nose and give it a lump of sugar at once. But the lady，who rode side-saddle and wore a long，fluttering dress of dazzling green，was lovelier still.

“Good day，t-r-r-avellers,”she cried out in a voice as sweet as the sweetest bird’s song，trilling her R’s delightfully. “Some of you are young pilgrims to walk this rough waste.”