All at once everything came quite clear. He found he was ghting the Tarkaan himself. The bonfire （what was left f it） was straight in front. He was in fact fighting in the ery doorway of the stable， for it had been opened and two alormenes were holding the door， ready to slam it shut the oment he was inside. He remembered everything now， nd he realized that the enemy had been edging him to the table on purpose ever since the fight began. And while he as thinking this he was still fighting the Tarkaan as hard as e could.
A new idea came into Tirian‘s head. He dropped his word， darted forward， in under the sweep of the Tarkaan’sscimitar， seized his enemy by the belt with both hands， and jumped back into the Stable， shouting：
“Come in and meet Tash yourself！”
There was a deafening noise. As when the Ape had beenflung in， the earth shook and there was a blinding light.
The Calormene soldiers outside screamed. “Tash， Tash！” and banged the door. If Tash wanted their own Captain， Tash must have him. They， at any rate， did not want to meet Tash.
