chapter four what caspian did there
納尼亞傳奇5：黎明踏浪號(雙語) 作者：C·S·路易斯 投票推薦 加入書簽 留言反饋
next morning the lord bern called his guests early，and after breakfast he asked caspian to order every man he had into full armour.“and above all，”he added，“let everything be as trim and scoured as if it were the morning of the first battle in a great war between noble kings with all the world looking on.”this was done；and then in three boatloads caspian and his people，and bern with a few of his，put out for narrowhaven.the king’s g flew in the stern of his boat and his trumpeter was with him.
when they reached the jetty at narrowhaven，caspian found a considerable crowd assembled to meet them.“this is what i sent word aboutst night，”said bern.“they are all friends of mine and honest people.”and as soon as caspian stepped ashore the crowd broke out into hurrahs and shouts of，“narnia ！ narnia ！ long live the king.”at the same moment—and this was also due to bern’s messengers—bells began ringing from many parts of the town.then caspian caused his banner to be advanced and his trumpet to be blown and every man drew his sword and set his face into a joyful sternness，and they marched up the street so that the street shook，and their armour shone(for it was a sunny morning)so that one could hardly look at it steadily.
at first the only people who cheered were those who had been warned by bern’s messenger and knew what was happening and wanted it to happen.but then all the children joined in because they liked a procession and had seen very few.and then all the schoolboys joined in because they also liked processions and felt that the more noise and disturbance there was the less likely they would be to have any school that morning.and then all the old women put their heads out of doors and windows and began chattering and cheering because it was a king，and what is a governorpared with that ？and all the young women joined in for the same reason and also because caspian and drinian and the rest were so handsome.and then all the young men came to see what the young women were looking at，so that by the time caspian reached the castle gates，nearly the whole town was shouting；and where gumpas sat in the castle，muddling and messing about with ounts and forms and rules and regtions，he heard the noise.
at the castle gate caspian’s trumpeter blew a st and cried，“open for the king of narniae to visit his trusty and well— beloved servant the governor of the lone inds.”in those days everything in the inds was done in a slovenly，slouching manner. only the little postern opened，and out came a tousled fellow with a dirty old hat on his head instead of a helmet，and a rusty old pike in his hand.he blinked at the shing figures before him.“carn— seez—fishansy，”he mumbled (which was his way of saying，“you can’t see his sufficiency”).“no interviews without ‘pointments’cept‘tween nine’n’ ten p.m. second saturday every month.”
“uncover before narnia，you dog，”thundered the lord bern，and dealt him a rap with his gauntleted hand which sent his hat flying from his head.
“ere ？wot’s it all about ？”began the doorkeeper，but no one took any notice of him.two of caspian’s men stepped through the postern and after some struggling with bars and bolts(for everything was rusty)flung both wings of the gate wide open.then the king and his followers strode into the courtyard.here a number of the governor’s guards were lounging about and several more(they were mostly wiping their mouths)came tumbling out of various doorways. though their armour was in a disgraceful condition，these were fellows who might have fought if they had been led or had known what was happening；so this was the dangerous moment.caspian gave them no time to think.
“where is the captain ？”he asked.
“i am，more or less，if you know what i mean，”said anguid and rather dandified young person without any armour at all.
“it is our wish，”said caspian，“that our royal visitation to our realm of the lone inds should，if possible，be an asion of joy and not of terror to our loyal subjects.if it were not for that，i should have something to say about the state of your men’s armour and weapons.as it is，you are pardonedmand a cask of wine to be opened that your men may drink our health.but at noon tomorrow i wish to see them here in this courtyard looking like men-at-arms and not like vagabonds.see to it on pain of our extreme displeasure.”
the captain gaped but bern immediately cried，“three. cheers for the king，”and the soldiers，who had understood about the cask of wine even if they understood nothing else，joined in.caspian then ordered most of his own men to remain in the courtyard.he，with bern and drinian and four others，went into the hall.
behind a table at the far end with various secretaries about him sat his sufficiency，the governor of the lone inds.gumpas was a bilious-looking man with hair that had once been red and was now mostly grey.he nced up as the strangers entered and then looked down at his papers saying automatically，“no interviews without appointments except between nine and ten p.m. on second saturdays.”
caspian nodded to bern and then stood aside.bern and drinian took a step forward and each seized one end of the table. they lifted it，and flung it on one side of the hall where it rolled over，scattering a cascade of letters，dossiers，ink-pots，pens，sealing-wax and documents.then，not roughly but as firmly as if their hands were pincers of steel，they plucked gumpas out of his chair and deposited him，facing it，about four feet away.caspian at once sat down in the chair andid his naked sword across his knees.
“my lord，”said he，fixing his eyes on gumpas，“you have not given us quite the wee we expected.we are the king of narnia.”
“nothing about it in the correspondence，”said the governor. “nothing in the minutes.we have not been notified of any such thing.all irregr.happy to consider any applications—”
“and we aree to enquire into your sufficiency’s conduct of your office，”continued caspian.“there are two points especially on which i require an exnation.firstly i find no record that the tribute due from these inds to the crown of narnia has been received for about a hundred and fifty years.”
“that would be a question to raise at the council next month，”said gumpas.“if anyone moves that amission of enquiry be set up to report on the financial history of the inds at the first meeting next year，why then...”
“i also find it very clearly written in ourws，”caspian went on，“that if the tribute is not delivered the whole debt has to be paid by the governor of the lone inds out of his private purse.”
at this gumpas began to pay real attention.“oh，that’s quite out of the question，”he said.“it is an economic impossibility— er—your majesty must be joking.”
inside，he was wondering if there were any way of getting rid of these unwee visitors.had he known that caspian had only one ship and one ship’spany with him，he would have spoken soft words for the moment，and hoped to have them all surrounded and killed during the night.but he had seen a ship of war sail down the straits yesterday and seen it signalling，as he supposed，to its consorts.he had not then known it was the king’s ship for there was not wind enough to spread the g out and make the golden lion visible，so he had waited further developments. now he imagined that caspian had a whole fleet at bernstead.it would never have urred to gumpas that anyone would walk into narrowhaven to take the inds with less than fifty men；it was certainly not at all the kind of thing he could imagine doing himself.
“secondly，”said caspian，“i want to know why you have permitted this abominable and unnatural traffic in ves to grow up here，contrary to the ancient custom and usage of our dominions.”
“necessary，unavoidable，”said his sufficiency.“an essential part of the economic development of the inds，i assure you.our present burst of prosperity depends on it.”
“what need have you of ves ？”
“for export，your majesty.sell’em to calormen mostly； and we have other markets.we are a great center of the trade.”
“in other words，”said caspian，“you don’t need them.tell me what purpose they serve except to put money into the pockets of such as pug ？”
“your majesty’s tender years，”said gumpas，with what was meant to be a fatherly smile，“hardly make it possible that you should understand the economic problem involved.i have statistics，i have graphs，i have—”
“tender as my years may be，”said caspian，“i believe i understand the ve trade from within quite as well as your sufficiency.and i do not see that it brings into the inds meat or bread or beer or wine or timber or cabbages or books or instruments of music or horses or armour or anything else worth having.but whether it does or not，it must be stopped.”
“but that would be putting the clock back，”gasped the governor.“have you no idea of progress，of development ？”
“i have seen them both in an egg，”said caspian.“we call it ‘going bad’ in narnia.this trade must stop.”
“i can take no responsibility for any such measure，”said gumpas.
“very well，then，”answered caspian，“we relieve you of your office.my lord berne here.”and before gumpas quite realized what was happening，bern was kneeling with his hands between the king’s hands and taking the oath to govern the lone inds in ordance with the old customs，rights，usages andws of narnia.and caspian said，“i think we have had enough of governors，”and made bern a duke，the duke of the lone inds.
“as for you，my lord，”he said to gumpas，“i forgive you your debt for the tribute.but before noon tomorrow you and yours must be out of the castle，which is now the duke’s residence.”
“look here，this is all very well，”said one of gumpas’s secretaries，“but suppose all you gentlemen stop y—acting and we do a little business.the question before us really is—”
“the question is，”said the duke，“whether you and the rest of the rabble will leave without a flogging or with one.you may choose which you prefer.”
when all this had been pleasantly settled，caspian ordered horses，of which there were a few in the castle，though very ill-groomed and he，with bern and drinian and a few others，rode out into the town and made for the ve market.it was a long low building near the harbour and the scene which they found going on inside was very much like any other auction；that is to say，there was a great crowd and pug，on a tform，was roaring out in a raucous voice：
“now，gentlemen，lot twenty-three.fine terebinthian agriculturalbourer，suitable for the mines or the galleys.under twenty-five years of age.not a bad tooth in his head.good，brawny fellow.take off his shirt，tacks，and let the gentlemen see.there’s muscle for you ！look at the chest on him.ten crescents from the gentleman in the corner.you must be joking，sir.fifteen ！ eighteen ！ eighteen is bidden for lot twenty-three.any advance on eighteen ？twenty-one.thank you，sir.twenty-one is bidden—”
but pug stopped and gaped when he saw the mail-d figures who had nked up to the tform.
“on your knees，every man of you，to the king of narnia，”said the duke.everyone heard the horses jingling and stamping outside and many had heard some rumour of thending and the events at the castle.most obeyed.those who did not were pulled down by their neighbours.some cheered.
“your life is forfeit，pug，forying hands on our royal person yesterday，”said caspian.“but your ignorance is pardoned.the ve trade was forbidden in all our dominions quarter of an hour ago.i dere every ve in this market free.”
he held up his hand to check the cheering of the ves and went on，“where are my friends ？”
“that dear little gel and the nice young gentleman ？”said pug with an ingratiating smile.“why，they were snapped up at once—”
“we’re here，we’re here，caspian，”cried lucy and edmund together and，“at your service，sire，”piped reepicheep from another corner.they had all been sold but the men who had bought them were staying to bid for other ves and so they had not yet been taken away.the crowd parted to let the three of them out and there was great hand—sping and greeting between them and caspian.two merchants of calormen at once approached. the calormen have dark faces and long beards.they wear flowing robes and orange-coloured turbans，and they are a wise，wealthy，courteous，cruel and ancient people.they bowed most politely to caspian and paid him longpliments，all about the fountains of prosperity irrigating the gardens of prudence and virtue—and things like that—but of course what they wanted was the money they had paid.
“that is only fair，sirs，”said caspian.“every man who has bought a ve today must have his money back.pug，bring out your takings to thest minim.”(a minim is the fortieth part of a crescent.)
“does your good majesty mean to beggar me ？”whined pug.
“you have lived on broken hearts all your life，”said caspian，“and if you are beggared，it is better to be a beggar than a ve. but where is my other friend ？”
“oh him ？”said pug.“oh take him and wee.d to have him off my hands.i’ve never seen such a drug in the market in all my born days.priced him at five crescents in the end and even so nobody’d have him.threw him in free with other lots and still no one would have him.wouldn’t touch him.wouldn’t look at him.packs，bring out sulky.”
thus eustace was produced，and sulky he certainly looked； for though no one would want to be sold as a ve，it is perhaps even more galling to be a sort of utility ve whom no one will buy.he walked up to caspian and said，“i see.as usual.been enjoying yourself somewhere while the rest of us were prisoners.i suppose you haven’t even found out about the british consul.of course not.”
that night they had a great feast in the castle of narrowhaven and then，“tomorrow for the beginning of our real adventures ！”said reepicheep when he had made his bows to everyone and went to bed.but it could not really be tomorrow or anything like it.for now they were preparing to leave all knownnds and seas behind them and the fullest preparations had to be made.the dawn treader was emptied and drawn onnd by eight horses over rollers and every bit of her was gone over by the most skilled shipwrights.then she wasunched again and victualled and watered as full as she could hold—that is to say for twenty-eight days.even this，as edmund noticed with disappointment，only gave them a fortnight’s eastward sailing before they had to abandon their quest.
while all this was being done caspian missed no chance of questioning all the oldest sea captains whom he could find in narrowhaven to learn if they had any knowledge or even any rumours ofnd further to the east.he poured out many a gon of the castle ale to weather-beaten men with short grey beards and clear blue eyes，and many a tall yarn he heard in return.but those who seemed the most truthful could tell of nonds beyond the lone inds，and many thought that if you sailed too far east you woulde into the surges of a sea withoutnds that swirled perpetually round the rim of the world—“and that，i reckon，is where your majesty’s friends went to the bottom.”the rest had only wild stories of inds inhabited by headless men，floating inds，waterspouts，and a fire that burned along the water.only one，to reepicheep’s delight，said，“and beyond that，an’s country. but that’s beyond the end of the world and you can’t get there.”but when they questioned—him he could only say that he’d heard it from his father.
bern could only tell them that he had seen his sixpanions sail away eastward and that nothing had ever been heard of them again.he said this when he and caspian were standing on the highest point of avra looking down on the eastern ocean.“i’ve often been up here of a morning，”said the duke，“and seen the sune up out of the sea，and sometimes it looked as if it were only a couple of miles away.and i’ve wondered about my friends and wondered what there really is behind that horizon.nothing，most likely，yet i am always half ashamed that i stayed behind. but i wish your majesty wouldn’t go.we may need your help here. this closing the ve market might make a new world；war with calormen is what i foresee.my liege，think again.”
“i have an oath，my lord duke，”said caspian.“and anyway，what could i say to reepicheep ？”
when they reached the jetty at narrowhaven，caspian found a considerable crowd assembled to meet them.“this is what i sent word aboutst night，”said bern.“they are all friends of mine and honest people.”and as soon as caspian stepped ashore the crowd broke out into hurrahs and shouts of，“narnia ！ narnia ！ long live the king.”at the same moment—and this was also due to bern’s messengers—bells began ringing from many parts of the town.then caspian caused his banner to be advanced and his trumpet to be blown and every man drew his sword and set his face into a joyful sternness，and they marched up the street so that the street shook，and their armour shone(for it was a sunny morning)so that one could hardly look at it steadily.
at first the only people who cheered were those who had been warned by bern’s messenger and knew what was happening and wanted it to happen.but then all the children joined in because they liked a procession and had seen very few.and then all the schoolboys joined in because they also liked processions and felt that the more noise and disturbance there was the less likely they would be to have any school that morning.and then all the old women put their heads out of doors and windows and began chattering and cheering because it was a king，and what is a governorpared with that ？and all the young women joined in for the same reason and also because caspian and drinian and the rest were so handsome.and then all the young men came to see what the young women were looking at，so that by the time caspian reached the castle gates，nearly the whole town was shouting；and where gumpas sat in the castle，muddling and messing about with ounts and forms and rules and regtions，he heard the noise.
at the castle gate caspian’s trumpeter blew a st and cried，“open for the king of narniae to visit his trusty and well— beloved servant the governor of the lone inds.”in those days everything in the inds was done in a slovenly，slouching manner. only the little postern opened，and out came a tousled fellow with a dirty old hat on his head instead of a helmet，and a rusty old pike in his hand.he blinked at the shing figures before him.“carn— seez—fishansy，”he mumbled (which was his way of saying，“you can’t see his sufficiency”).“no interviews without ‘pointments’cept‘tween nine’n’ ten p.m. second saturday every month.”
“uncover before narnia，you dog，”thundered the lord bern，and dealt him a rap with his gauntleted hand which sent his hat flying from his head.
“ere ？wot’s it all about ？”began the doorkeeper，but no one took any notice of him.two of caspian’s men stepped through the postern and after some struggling with bars and bolts(for everything was rusty)flung both wings of the gate wide open.then the king and his followers strode into the courtyard.here a number of the governor’s guards were lounging about and several more(they were mostly wiping their mouths)came tumbling out of various doorways. though their armour was in a disgraceful condition，these were fellows who might have fought if they had been led or had known what was happening；so this was the dangerous moment.caspian gave them no time to think.
“where is the captain ？”he asked.
“i am，more or less，if you know what i mean，”said anguid and rather dandified young person without any armour at all.
“it is our wish，”said caspian，“that our royal visitation to our realm of the lone inds should，if possible，be an asion of joy and not of terror to our loyal subjects.if it were not for that，i should have something to say about the state of your men’s armour and weapons.as it is，you are pardonedmand a cask of wine to be opened that your men may drink our health.but at noon tomorrow i wish to see them here in this courtyard looking like men-at-arms and not like vagabonds.see to it on pain of our extreme displeasure.”
the captain gaped but bern immediately cried，“three. cheers for the king，”and the soldiers，who had understood about the cask of wine even if they understood nothing else，joined in.caspian then ordered most of his own men to remain in the courtyard.he，with bern and drinian and four others，went into the hall.
behind a table at the far end with various secretaries about him sat his sufficiency，the governor of the lone inds.gumpas was a bilious-looking man with hair that had once been red and was now mostly grey.he nced up as the strangers entered and then looked down at his papers saying automatically，“no interviews without appointments except between nine and ten p.m. on second saturdays.”
caspian nodded to bern and then stood aside.bern and drinian took a step forward and each seized one end of the table. they lifted it，and flung it on one side of the hall where it rolled over，scattering a cascade of letters，dossiers，ink-pots，pens，sealing-wax and documents.then，not roughly but as firmly as if their hands were pincers of steel，they plucked gumpas out of his chair and deposited him，facing it，about four feet away.caspian at once sat down in the chair andid his naked sword across his knees.
“my lord，”said he，fixing his eyes on gumpas，“you have not given us quite the wee we expected.we are the king of narnia.”
“nothing about it in the correspondence，”said the governor. “nothing in the minutes.we have not been notified of any such thing.all irregr.happy to consider any applications—”
“and we aree to enquire into your sufficiency’s conduct of your office，”continued caspian.“there are two points especially on which i require an exnation.firstly i find no record that the tribute due from these inds to the crown of narnia has been received for about a hundred and fifty years.”
“that would be a question to raise at the council next month，”said gumpas.“if anyone moves that amission of enquiry be set up to report on the financial history of the inds at the first meeting next year，why then...”
“i also find it very clearly written in ourws，”caspian went on，“that if the tribute is not delivered the whole debt has to be paid by the governor of the lone inds out of his private purse.”
at this gumpas began to pay real attention.“oh，that’s quite out of the question，”he said.“it is an economic impossibility— er—your majesty must be joking.”
inside，he was wondering if there were any way of getting rid of these unwee visitors.had he known that caspian had only one ship and one ship’spany with him，he would have spoken soft words for the moment，and hoped to have them all surrounded and killed during the night.but he had seen a ship of war sail down the straits yesterday and seen it signalling，as he supposed，to its consorts.he had not then known it was the king’s ship for there was not wind enough to spread the g out and make the golden lion visible，so he had waited further developments. now he imagined that caspian had a whole fleet at bernstead.it would never have urred to gumpas that anyone would walk into narrowhaven to take the inds with less than fifty men；it was certainly not at all the kind of thing he could imagine doing himself.
“secondly，”said caspian，“i want to know why you have permitted this abominable and unnatural traffic in ves to grow up here，contrary to the ancient custom and usage of our dominions.”
“necessary，unavoidable，”said his sufficiency.“an essential part of the economic development of the inds，i assure you.our present burst of prosperity depends on it.”
“what need have you of ves ？”
“for export，your majesty.sell’em to calormen mostly； and we have other markets.we are a great center of the trade.”
“in other words，”said caspian，“you don’t need them.tell me what purpose they serve except to put money into the pockets of such as pug ？”
“your majesty’s tender years，”said gumpas，with what was meant to be a fatherly smile，“hardly make it possible that you should understand the economic problem involved.i have statistics，i have graphs，i have—”
“tender as my years may be，”said caspian，“i believe i understand the ve trade from within quite as well as your sufficiency.and i do not see that it brings into the inds meat or bread or beer or wine or timber or cabbages or books or instruments of music or horses or armour or anything else worth having.but whether it does or not，it must be stopped.”
“but that would be putting the clock back，”gasped the governor.“have you no idea of progress，of development ？”
“i have seen them both in an egg，”said caspian.“we call it ‘going bad’ in narnia.this trade must stop.”
“i can take no responsibility for any such measure，”said gumpas.
“very well，then，”answered caspian，“we relieve you of your office.my lord berne here.”and before gumpas quite realized what was happening，bern was kneeling with his hands between the king’s hands and taking the oath to govern the lone inds in ordance with the old customs，rights，usages andws of narnia.and caspian said，“i think we have had enough of governors，”and made bern a duke，the duke of the lone inds.
“as for you，my lord，”he said to gumpas，“i forgive you your debt for the tribute.but before noon tomorrow you and yours must be out of the castle，which is now the duke’s residence.”
“look here，this is all very well，”said one of gumpas’s secretaries，“but suppose all you gentlemen stop y—acting and we do a little business.the question before us really is—”
“the question is，”said the duke，“whether you and the rest of the rabble will leave without a flogging or with one.you may choose which you prefer.”
when all this had been pleasantly settled，caspian ordered horses，of which there were a few in the castle，though very ill-groomed and he，with bern and drinian and a few others，rode out into the town and made for the ve market.it was a long low building near the harbour and the scene which they found going on inside was very much like any other auction；that is to say，there was a great crowd and pug，on a tform，was roaring out in a raucous voice：
“now，gentlemen，lot twenty-three.fine terebinthian agriculturalbourer，suitable for the mines or the galleys.under twenty-five years of age.not a bad tooth in his head.good，brawny fellow.take off his shirt，tacks，and let the gentlemen see.there’s muscle for you ！look at the chest on him.ten crescents from the gentleman in the corner.you must be joking，sir.fifteen ！ eighteen ！ eighteen is bidden for lot twenty-three.any advance on eighteen ？twenty-one.thank you，sir.twenty-one is bidden—”
but pug stopped and gaped when he saw the mail-d figures who had nked up to the tform.
“on your knees，every man of you，to the king of narnia，”said the duke.everyone heard the horses jingling and stamping outside and many had heard some rumour of thending and the events at the castle.most obeyed.those who did not were pulled down by their neighbours.some cheered.
“your life is forfeit，pug，forying hands on our royal person yesterday，”said caspian.“but your ignorance is pardoned.the ve trade was forbidden in all our dominions quarter of an hour ago.i dere every ve in this market free.”
he held up his hand to check the cheering of the ves and went on，“where are my friends ？”
“that dear little gel and the nice young gentleman ？”said pug with an ingratiating smile.“why，they were snapped up at once—”
“we’re here，we’re here，caspian，”cried lucy and edmund together and，“at your service，sire，”piped reepicheep from another corner.they had all been sold but the men who had bought them were staying to bid for other ves and so they had not yet been taken away.the crowd parted to let the three of them out and there was great hand—sping and greeting between them and caspian.two merchants of calormen at once approached. the calormen have dark faces and long beards.they wear flowing robes and orange-coloured turbans，and they are a wise，wealthy，courteous，cruel and ancient people.they bowed most politely to caspian and paid him longpliments，all about the fountains of prosperity irrigating the gardens of prudence and virtue—and things like that—but of course what they wanted was the money they had paid.
“that is only fair，sirs，”said caspian.“every man who has bought a ve today must have his money back.pug，bring out your takings to thest minim.”(a minim is the fortieth part of a crescent.)
“does your good majesty mean to beggar me ？”whined pug.
“you have lived on broken hearts all your life，”said caspian，“and if you are beggared，it is better to be a beggar than a ve. but where is my other friend ？”
“oh him ？”said pug.“oh take him and wee.d to have him off my hands.i’ve never seen such a drug in the market in all my born days.priced him at five crescents in the end and even so nobody’d have him.threw him in free with other lots and still no one would have him.wouldn’t touch him.wouldn’t look at him.packs，bring out sulky.”
thus eustace was produced，and sulky he certainly looked； for though no one would want to be sold as a ve，it is perhaps even more galling to be a sort of utility ve whom no one will buy.he walked up to caspian and said，“i see.as usual.been enjoying yourself somewhere while the rest of us were prisoners.i suppose you haven’t even found out about the british consul.of course not.”
that night they had a great feast in the castle of narrowhaven and then，“tomorrow for the beginning of our real adventures ！”said reepicheep when he had made his bows to everyone and went to bed.but it could not really be tomorrow or anything like it.for now they were preparing to leave all knownnds and seas behind them and the fullest preparations had to be made.the dawn treader was emptied and drawn onnd by eight horses over rollers and every bit of her was gone over by the most skilled shipwrights.then she wasunched again and victualled and watered as full as she could hold—that is to say for twenty-eight days.even this，as edmund noticed with disappointment，only gave them a fortnight’s eastward sailing before they had to abandon their quest.
while all this was being done caspian missed no chance of questioning all the oldest sea captains whom he could find in narrowhaven to learn if they had any knowledge or even any rumours ofnd further to the east.he poured out many a gon of the castle ale to weather-beaten men with short grey beards and clear blue eyes，and many a tall yarn he heard in return.but those who seemed the most truthful could tell of nonds beyond the lone inds，and many thought that if you sailed too far east you woulde into the surges of a sea withoutnds that swirled perpetually round the rim of the world—“and that，i reckon，is where your majesty’s friends went to the bottom.”the rest had only wild stories of inds inhabited by headless men，floating inds，waterspouts，and a fire that burned along the water.only one，to reepicheep’s delight，said，“and beyond that，an’s country. but that’s beyond the end of the world and you can’t get there.”but when they questioned—him he could only say that he’d heard it from his father.
bern could only tell them that he had seen his sixpanions sail away eastward and that nothing had ever been heard of them again.he said this when he and caspian were standing on the highest point of avra looking down on the eastern ocean.“i’ve often been up here of a morning，”said the duke，“and seen the sune up out of the sea，and sometimes it looked as if it were only a couple of miles away.and i’ve wondered about my friends and wondered what there really is behind that horizon.nothing，most likely，yet i am always half ashamed that i stayed behind. but i wish your majesty wouldn’t go.we may need your help here. this closing the ve market might make a new world；war with calormen is what i foresee.my liege，think again.”
“i have an oath，my lord duke，”said caspian.“and anyway，what could i say to reepicheep ？”