The Pace Quickens
波澜再起
Quick as lightning， Rishda Tarkaan leaped back out of reach of the King‘s sword. He was no coward， and would have fought single-handed against Tirian and the Dwarf if need be. But he could not take on the Eagle and the Unicorn as well. He knew how Eagles can fly into your face and peck at your eyes and blind you with their wings. And he had heard from his father （who had met Narnians in battle） that no man， except with arrows， or a long spear， can match a Unicorn， for it rears on its hind legs as it falls upon you and then you have its hoofs and its horn and its teeth to deal with all at once. So he rushed into the crowd and stood calling out：
“To me， to me， warriors of the Tisroc， may-he-live-forever. To me， all loyal Narnians， lest the wrath of Tashlan fall upon you！”
While this was happening two other things happened as well. The Ape had not realized his danger as quickly as the Tarkaan. For a second or so he remained squatting beside the fire staring at the newcomers. Then Tirian rushed upon the wretched creature， picked it up by the scruff of the neck， and dashed back to the stable shouting， “Open the door！” Poggin opened it. “Go and drink your own medicine， Shift！” said Tirian and hurled the Ape through into the darkness. But as the Dwarf banged the door shut again， a blinding greenish-blue lightshone out from the inside of the Stable， the earth shook， and there was a strange noise-a clucking and screaming as if it was the hoarse voice of some monstrous bird.
The Beasts moaned and howled and called out “Tashlan！ Hide us from him！” and many fell down， and many hid their faces in their wings or paws. No one except Farsight the Eagle， who has the best eyes of all living things， noticed the face of Rishda Tarkaan at that moment. And from what Farsight saw there he knew at once that Rishda was just as surprised， and nearly frightened， as everyone else.
“There goes one，” thought Farsight， “who has called on gods he does not believe in. How will it be with him if they have really come？”
The third thing-which also happened at the same moment-was the only really beautiful thing that night. Every single Talking Dog in the whole meeting （there were fifteen of them） came bounding and barking joyously to the King’s side. They were mostly great big dogs with thick shoulders and heavy jaws. Their coming was like the breaking of a great wave on the sea-beach： it nearly knocked you down. For though they were Talking Dogs they were just as doggy as they could be： and they all stood up and put their front paws on the shoulders of the humans and licked their faces， all saying at once： “Welcome！ Welcome！ We‘ll help， we’ll help， help， help. Show us how to help， show us how， how. How-how-how？”
It was so lovely that it made you want to cry. This， at last， wasthe sort of thing they had been hoping for. And when， a moment later， several little animals （mice and moles and a squirrel or so） came pattering up， squealing with joy， and saying “See， see. We‘re here，” and when， after that， the Bear and the Boar came too， Eustace began to feel that perhaps， after all， everything might be going to come right. But Tirian gazed round and saw how very few of the animals had moved.
“To me！ To me！” he called. “Have you all turned cowards since I was your King？”
“We daren’t，” whimpered dozens of voices. “Tashlan would be angry. Shield us from Tashlan.”
“Where are all the Talking Horses？” said Tirian to the Boar.
“We‘ve seen， we’ve seen，” squealed the Mice. “The Ape has made them work. They‘re all tied-down at the bottom of the hill.”
“Then all you little ones，” said Tirian， “you nibblers and gnawers andnutcrackers， away with you as fast as you can scamper and see if the Horses are on our side. And if they are， get your teeth into the ropes and gnaw till the Horses are free and bring them hither.”
“With a good will， Sire，” came the small voices， and with a whisk of tails those sharp-eyed and sharp-toothed folk were off. Tirian smiled for mere love as he saw them go. But it was already time to be thinking of other things. Rishda Tarkaan was giving his orders.
“Forward，” he said. “Take all of them alive if you can and hurl them into the Stable， or drive them into it. When they are all in we will put fire to it and make them an offering to the great god Tash.”
“Ha！” said Farsight to himself. “So that is how he hopes to win Tash’s pardon for his unbelief.”
The enemy line-about half of Rishda‘s force-was now moving forward， and Tirian had barely time to give his orders.
“Out on the left， Jill， and try to shoot all you may before they reach us. Boar and Bear next to her. Poggin on my left， Eustace on my right. Hold the right wing， Jewel. Stand by him， Puzzle， and use your hoofs. Hover and strike， Farsight. You Dogs， just behind us. Go in among them after the sword-play has begun. Aslan to our aid！”
Eustace stood with his heart beating terribly， hoping and hopingthat he would be brave. He had never seen anything （though he had seen both a dragon and a sea-serpent） that made his blood run so cold as that line of dark-faced bright-eyed men. There were fifteen Calormenes， a Talking Bull of Narnia， Slinkey the Fox， and Wraggle the Satyr. Then he heard twang-and-zipp on his left and one Calormene fell： then twang-and-zipp again and the Satyr was down. “Oh， well done， daughter！” came Tirian’s voice； and then the enemy were upon them.
Eustace could never remember what happened in the next two minutes. It was all like a dream （the sort you have when yourtemperature is over 100？） until he heard Rishda Tarkaan‘s voice calling out from the distance：
“Retire. Back hither and re-form.”
Then Eustace came to his senses and saw the Calormenes scampering back to their friends. But not all of them. Two lay dead， pierced by Jewel’s horn， one by Tirian‘s sword. The Fox lay dead at his own feet， and he wondered if it was he who had killed it. The Bull also was down， shot through the eye by an arrow from Jill and gashed in his side by the Boar’s tusk. But the Narnian side had its losses too. Three dogs were killed and a fourth was hobbling behind the line on three legs and whimpering. The Bear lay on the ground， moving feebly. Then it mumbled in its throaty voice， bewildered to the last， “I-I don‘tunderstand，” laid its big head down on the grass as quietly as a childgoing to sleep， and never moved again.
