CHAPTER SEVEN ARAVIS IN TASHBAAN（第3/4页）

"And to think," said Lasaraleen,almost crying, .that if only you had sense you could be the wife of a Grand Vizier !" Aravis went away to have a private word with the horses.

"You must go with a groom a little before sunset down to the Tombs,"she said..No more of those packs. You' ll be saddled and bridled again. But there' ll have to be food in Hwin' s saddle-bags and a full water-skin behind yours, Bree. The man has orders to let you both have a good long drink at the far side of the bridge."

"And then, Narnia and the North !"whispered Bree..But what if Shasta is not at the Tombs."

"Wait for him of course," said Aravis. "I hope you've been quite comfortable."

"Never better stabled in my life," said Bree. "But if the husband of that tittering Tarkheena friend of yours is paying his head groom to get the best oats, then I think the head groom is cheating him."

Aravis and Lasaraleen had supper in the pillared room.

About two hours later they were ready to start. Aravis was dressed to look like a superior slave-girl in a great house and wore a veil over her face. They had agreed that if any questions were asked Lasaraleen would pretend that Aravis was a slave she was taking as a present to one of the princesses.

The two girls went out on foot. A very few minutes brought them to the palace gates. Here there were of course soldiers on guard but the officer knew Lasaraleen quite well and called his men to attention and saluted. They passed at once into the Hall of Black Marble. A fair number of courtiers, slaves and others were still moving about here but this only made the two girls less conspicuous. They passed on into the Hall of Pillars and then into the Hall of Statues and down the colonnade, passing the great beatencopper doors of the throne room. It was all magnificent beyond description;what they could see of it in the dim light of the lamps.

Presently they came out into the garden-court which sloped downhill in a number of terraces.On the far side of that they came to the Old Palace. It had already grown almost quite dark and they now found themselves in a maze of corridors lit only by occasional torches fixed in brackets to the walls. Lasaraleen halted at a place where you had to go either left or right.

"Go on, do go on," whispered Aravis, whose heart was beating terribly and who still felt that her father might run into them at any corner.

"I'm just wondering---"said Lasaraleen."I'm not absolutely sure which way we go from here. I think it' s the left. Yes, I' m almost sure it' s the left.What fun this is !"

They took the left hand way and found themselves in a passage that was hardly lighted at all and which soon began going down steps.

"It's all right," said Lasaraleen. "I'm sure we're right now. I remember these steps."But at that moment a moving light appeared ahead. A second later there appeared from round a distant corner, the dark shapes of two men walking backwards and carrying tall candles. And of course it is only before royalties that people walk backwards. Aravis felt Lasaraleen grip her arm-that sort of sudden grip which is almost a pinch and which means that the person who is gripping you is very frightened indeed. Aravis thought it odd that Lasaraleen should be so afraid of the Tisroc if he were really such a friend of hers, but there was no time to go on thinking. Lasaraleen was hurrying her back to the top of the steps,on tiptoes,and groping wildly along the wall.

"Here's a door," she whispered. "Quick. "

They went in,drew the door very softly behind them, and found themselves in pitch darkness.Aravis could hear by Lasaraleen' s breathing that she was terrified.

"Tash preserve us !"whispered Lasaraleen..What shall we do if he comes in here.Can we hide ?"

There was a soft carpet under their feet. They groped forward into the room and blundered on to a sofa.

"Let's lie down behind it," whimpered Lasaraleen. "Oh, I do wish we hadn' t come."

There was just room between the sofa and the curtained wall and the two girls got down. Lasaraleen managed to get the better position and was completely covered. The upper part of Aravis' s face stuck out beyond the sofa, so that if anyone came into that room with a light and happened to look in exactly the right place they would see her. But of course, because she was wearing a veil, what they saw would not at once look like a forehead and a pair of eyes. Aravis shoved desperately to try to make Lasaraleen give her a little more room. But Lasaraleen, now quite selfish in her panic, fought back and pinched her feet. They gave it up and lay still, panting a little. Their own breath semed dreadfully noisy,but there was no other noise.

"Is it safe ?" said Aravis at last in the tiniest possible whisper.

"I-I-think so," began Lasaraleen. "But my poor nerves-" and then came the most terrible noise they could have heard at that moment: the noise of the door opening. And then came light.