“Tu-whoo,tu-whoo!”saidtheOwl,rufflingoutitsfeathers.“Thisisalmosttoomuchforme,soearlyintheevening.I’mnotquitemyselftillthesun’sdown.”
“Andwe’vebeensenttofindthelostPrince,”saidJill,whohadbeenanxiouslywaitingtogetintotheconversation.
“It’sthefirstI’veheardaboutit,”saidEustace.“Whatprince?”
“YouhadbettercomeandspeaktotheLordRegentatonce,”itsaid.“That’shim,overthereinthedonkeycarriage;TrumpkintheDwarf.”Thebirdturnedandbeganleadingtheway,mutteringtoitself,“Whoo!Tu-whoo!Whatato-do!Ican’tthinkclearlyyet.It’stooearly.”
“WhatistheKing’sname?”askedEustace.
“CaspiantheTenth,”saidtheOwl.AndJillwonderedwhyScrubbhadsuddenlypulledupshortinhiswalkandturnedanextraordinarycolour.Shethoughtshehadneverseenhimlooksosickaboutanything.Butbeforeshehadtimetoaskanyquestionstheyhadreachedthedwarf,whowasjustgatheringupthereinsofhisdonkeyandpreparingtodrivebacktothecastle.Thecrowdofcourtiershadbrokenupandweregoinginthesamedirection,byonesandtwosandlittleknots,likepeoplecomingawayfromwatchingagameorarace.
“Tu-whoo!Ahem!LordRegent,”saidtheOwl,stoopingdownalittleandholdingitsbeakneartheDwarf’sear.
“Heh?What’sthat?”saidtheDwarf.
“Twostrangers,mylord,”saidtheOwl.
“Rangers!Whatd’yemean?”saidtheDwarf.“Iseetwouncommonlygrubbyman-cubs.Whatdotheywant?”
“Myname’sJill,”saidJill,pressingforward.Shewasveryeagertoexplaintheimportantbusinessonwhichtheyhadcome.
“Thegirl’scalledJill,”saidtheOwl,asloudasitcould.
“What’sthat?”saidtheDwarf.“Thegirlsareallkilled!Idon’tbelieveawordofit.Whatgirls?Whokilled’em?”
“Onlyonegirl,mylord,”saidtheOwl.“HernameisJill.”
“Speakup,speakup,”saidtheDwarf.“Don’tstandtherebuzzingandtwitteringinmyear.Who’sbeenkilled?”
“Nobody’sbeenkilled,”hootedtheOwl.
“Who?”
“Nobody.”
allthat.Whatdoyoumeanbycomingheretotellmethatnobody’sbeenkilled?Whyshouldanyonehavebeenkilled?”
“BettertellhimI’mEustace,”saidScrubb.
“Theboy’sEustace,mylord,”hootedtheOwlasloudasitcould.
“Useless?”saidtheDwarfirritably.“Idaresayheis.Isthatanyreasonforbringinghimtocourt?Hey?”
“Notuseless,”saidtheOwl.“Eustace.”
“Usedtoit,ishe?Idon’tknowwhatyou’retalkingabout,I’msure.Itellyouwhatitis,MasterGlimfeather;whenIwasayoungDwarfthereusedtobetalkingbeastsandbirdsinthiscountrywhoreallycouldtalk.Therewasn’tallthismumblingandmutteringandwhispering.Itwouldn’thavebeentoleratedforamoment.Notforamoment,Sir.Urnus,mytrumpetplease—”
AlittleFaunwhohadbeenstandingquietlybesidetheDwarf’selbowallthistimenowhandedhimasilvereartrumpet.Itwasmadelikethemusicalinstrumentcalledaserpent,sothatthetubecurledrightroundtheDwarf’sneck.WhilehewasgettingitsettledtheOwl,Glimfeather,suddenlysaidtothechildreninawhisper:“Mybrain’sabitclearernow.Don’tsayanythingaboutthelostPrince.I’llexplainlater.Itwouldn’tdo,wouldn’tdo,Tu-Whoo!Ohwhatato-do!”
“Now,”saidtheDwarf,“ifyouhaveanythingsensibletosay,MasterGlimfeather,tryandsayit.Takeadeepbreathanddon’tattempttospeaktooquickly.”
Withhelpfromthechildren,andinspiteofafitofcoughingonthepartoftheDwarf,GlimfeatherexplainedthatthestrangershadbeensentbyAslantovisitthecourtofNarnia.TheDwarfglancedquicklyupatthemwithanewexpressioninhiseyes.
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