CHAPTER FIVE:

THE STORM AND WHAT CAME OF IT

IT was nearly three weeks after their landing that the Dawn Treader was towed out of Narrowhaven harbour. Very solemn farewells had been spoken and a great crowd had assembled to see her departure. There had been cheers, and tears too, when Caspian made his last speech to the Lone Islanders and parted from the Duke and his family, but as the ship, her purple sail still flapping idly, drew further from the shore, and the sound of Caspian’s trumpet from the poop came fainter across the water, everyone became silent. Then she came into the wind. The sail swelled out, the tug cast off and began rowing back, the first real wave ran up under the Dawn Treader’s prow, and she was a live ship again. The men off duty went below, Drinian took the first watch on the poop, and she turned her head eastward round the south of Avra.

The next few days were delightful. Lucy thought she was the most fortunate girl in the world, as she woke each morning to see the reflections of the sunlit water dancing on the ceiling of her cabin and looked round on all the nice new things she had got in the Lone Islands—seaboots and buskins and cloaks and jerkins and scarves. And then she would go on deck and take a look from the forecastle at a sea which was a brighter blue each morning and drink in an air that was a little warmer day by day. After that came breakfast and such an appetite as one only has at sea.

She spent a good deal of time sitting on the little bench in the stern playing chess with Reepicheep. It was amusing to see him lifting the pieces, which were far too big for him, with both paws and standing on tiptoes if he made a move near the centre of the board. He was a good player and when he remembered what he was doing he usually won. But every now and then Lucy won because the Mouse did something quite ridiculous like sending a knight into the danger of a queen and castle combined. This happened because he had momentarily forgotten it was a game of chess and was thinking of a real battle and making the knight do what he would certainly have done in its place. For his mind was full of forlorn hopes, death-or-glory charges, and last stands.

But this pleasant time did not last. There came an evening when Lucy, gazing idly astern at the long furrow or wake they were leaving behind them, saw a great rack of clouds building itself up in the west with amazing speed. Then a gap was torn in it and a yellow sunset poured through the gap. All the waves behind them seemed to take on unusual shapes and the sea was a drab or yellowish colour like dirty canvas. The air grew cold. The ship seemed to move uneasily as if she felt danger behind her. The sail would be flat and limp one minute and wildly full the next. While she was noting these things and wondering at a sinister change which had come over the very noise of the wind, Drinian cried,“All hands on deck.” In a moment everyone became frantically busy. The hatches were battened down, the galley fire was put out, men went aloft to reef the sail. Before they had finished the storm struck them. It seemed to Lucy that a great valley in the sea opened just before their bows, and they rushed down into it, deeper down than she would have believed possible. A great grey hill of water, far higher than the mast, rushed to meet them;it looked certain death but they were tossed to the top of it. Then the ship seemed to spin round. A cataract of water poured over the deck; the poop and forecastle were like two islands with a fierce sea between them. Up aloft the sailors were lying out along the yard desperately trying to get control of the sail. A broken rope stood out sideways in the wind as straight and stiff as if it was poker.

“Get below, Ma’am,” bawled Drinian. And Lucy, knowing that landsmen—and landswomen—are a nuisance to the crew, began to obey. It was not easy. The Dawn Treader was listing terribly to starboard and the deck sloped like the roof of a house. She had to clamber round to the top of the ladder, holding on to the rail, and then stand by while two men climbed up it, and then get down it as best she could. It was well she was already holding on tight for at the foot of the ladder another wave roared across the deck, up to her shoulders. She was already almost wet through with spray and rain but this was colder. Then she made a dash for the cabin door and got in and shut out for a moment the appalling sight of the speed with which they were rushing into the dark, but not of course the horrible confusion of creakings, groanings, snappings, clatterings, roarings and boomings which only sounded more alarming below than they had done on the poop.

And all next day and all the next it went on. It went on till one could hardly even remember a time before it had begun. And there always had to be three men at the tiller and it was as much as three could do to keep any kind of a course. And there always had to be men at the pump. And there was hardly any rest for anyone, and nothing could be cooked and nothing could be dried, and one man was lost overboard, and they never saw the sun.

When it was over Eustace made the following entry in his diary:

“September 3. The first day for ages when I have been able to write. We had been driven before a hurricane for thirteen days and nights. I know that because I kept a careful count, though the others all say it was only twelve. Pleasant to be embarked on a dangerous voyage with people who can’t even count right! I have had a ghastly time, up and down enormous waves hour after hour, usually wet to the skin, and not even an attempt at giving us proper meals. Needless to say there’s no wireless or even a rocket, so no chance of signalling anyone for help. It all proves what I keep on telling them, the madness of setting out in a rotten little tub like this. It would be bad enough even if one was with decent people instead of fiends in human form. Caspian and Edmund are simply brutal to me. The night we lost our mast（there’s only a stump left now）, though I was not at all well, they forced me to come on deck and work like a slave. Lucy shoved her oar in by saying that Reepicheep was longing to go only he was too small. I wonder she doesn’t see that everything that little beast does is all for the sake of showing off. Even at her age she ought to have that amount of sense. Today the beastly boat is level at last and the sun’s out and we have all been jawing about what to do. We have food enough, pretty beastly stuff most of it, to last for sixteen days. （The poultry were all washed overboard. Even if they hadn’t been, the storm would have stopped them laying.）The real trouble is water. Two casks seem to have got a leak knocked in them and are empty.（Narnian efficiency again.）On short rations, half a pint a day each, we’ve got enough for twelve days.（There’s still lots of rum and wine but even they realize that would only make them thirstier.）

“If we could, of course, the sensible thing would be to turn west at once and make for the Lone Islands. But it took us eighteen days to get where we are, running like mad with a gale behind us. Even if we got an east wind it might take us far longer to get back. And at present there’s no sign of an east wind—in fact there’s no wind at all. As for rowing back, it would take far too long and Caspian says the men couldn’t row on half a pint of water a day. I’m pretty sure this is wrong. I tried to explain that perspiration really cools people down, so the men would need less water if they were working. He didn’t take any notice of this, which is always his way when he can’t think of an answer. The others all voted for going on in the hope of finding land. I felt it my duty to point out that we didn’t know there was any land ahead and tried to get them to see the dangers of wishful thinking. Instead of producing a better plan they had the cheek to ask me what I proposed. So I just explained coolly and quietly that I had been kidnapped and brought away on this idiotic voyage without my consent, and it was hardly my business to get them out of their scrape.

“September 4. Still becalmed. Very short rations for dinner and I got less than anyone. Caspian is very clever at helping and thinks I don’t see! Lucy for some reason tried to make up to me by offering me some of hers but that interfering prig Edmund wouldn’t let her. Pretty hot sun. Terribly thirsty all evening.

“September 5. Still becalmed and very hot. Feeling rotten all day and am sure I’ve got a temperature. Of course they haven’t the sense to keep a thermometer on board.

“September 6. A horrible day. Woke up in the night knowing I was feverish and must have a drink of water. Any doctor would have said so. Heaven knows I’m the last person to try to get any unfair advantage but I never dreamed that this water-rationing would be meant to apply to a sick man. In fact I would have woken the others up and asked for some only I thought it would be selfish to wake them. So I just got up and took my cup and tiptoed out of the Black Hole we slept in, taking great care not to disturb Caspian and Edmund, for they’ve been sleeping badly since the heat and the short water began. I always try to consider others whether they are nice to me or not. I got out all right into the big room, if you can call it a room, where the rowing benches and the luggage are. The thing of water is at this end. All was going beautifully, but before I’d drawn a cupful who should catch me but that little spy Reep. I tried to explain that I was going on deck for a breath of air（the business about the water had nothing to do with him）and he asked me why I had a cup. He made such a noise that the whole ship was roused. They treated me scandalously. I asked, as I think anyone would have, why Reepicheep was sneaking about the water cask in the middle of the night. He said that as he was too small to be any use on deck, he did sentry over the water every night so that one more man could go to sleep. Now comes their rotten unfairness: they all believed him. Can you beat it?

“I had to apologize or the dangerous little brute would have been at me with his sword. And then Caspian showed up in his true colours as a brutal tyrant and said out loud for everyone to hear that anyone found‘stealing’ water in future would ‘get two dozen’. I didn’t know what this meant till Edmund explained to me. It comes in the sort of books those Pevensie kids read.

“After this cowardly threat Caspian changed his tune and started being patronizing. Said he was sorry for me and that everyone felt just as feverish as I did and we must all make the best of it, etc., etc. Odious stuck-up prig. Stayed in bed all day today.

“September 7. A little wind today but still from the west. Made a few miles eastward with part of the sail, set on what Drinian calls the jury mast—that means the bowsprit set upright and tied（they call it ‘lashed’）to the stump of the real mast. Still terribly thirsty.

“September 8. Still sailing east. I stay in my bunk all day now and see no one except Lucy till the two fiends come to bed. Lucy gives me a little of her water ration. She says girls don’t get as thirsty as boys. I had often thought this but it ought to be more generally known at sea.

“September 9. Land in sight; a very high mountain a long way off to the southeast.

“September 10. The mountain is bigger and clearer but still a long way off. Gulls again today for the first time since I don’t know how long.

“September 11. Caught some fish and had them for dinner. Dropped anchor at about 7 P.M. in three fathoms of water in a bay of this mountainous island. That idiot Caspian wouldn’t let us go ashore because it was getting dark and he was afraid of savages and wild beasts. Extra water ration tonight.”

What awaited them on this island was going to concern Eustace more than anyone else, but it cannot be told in his words because after September 11 he forgot about keeping his diary for a long time.

When morning came, with a low, grey sky but very hot, the adventurers found they were in a bay encircled by such cliffs and crags that it was like a Norwegian fjord. In front of them, at the head of the bay, there was some level land heavily overgrown with trees that appeared to be cedars, through which a rapid stream came out. Beyond that was a steep ascent ending in a jagged ridge and behind that a vague darkness of mountains which ran into dull-coloured clouds so that you could not see their tops. The nearer cliffs, at each side of the bay, were streaked here and there with lines of white which everyone knew to be waterfalls, though at that distance they did not show any movement or make any noise. Indeed the whole place was very silent and the water of the bay as smooth as glass. It reflected every detail of the cliffs. The scene would have been pretty in a picture but was rather oppressive in real life. It was not a country that welcomed visitors.

The whole ship’s company went ashore in two boatloads and everyone drank and washed deliciously in the river and had a meal and a rest before Caspian sent four men back to keep the ship, and the day’s work began. There was everything to be done. The casks must be brought ashore and the faulty ones mended if possible and all refilled; a tree—a pine if they could get it—must be felled and made into a new mast; sails must be repaired; a hunting party organized to shoot any game the land might yield; clothes to be washed and mended; and countless small breakages on board to be set right. For the Dawn Treader herself—and this was more obvious now that they saw her at a distance—could hardly be recognized as the same gallant ship which had left Narrowhaven. She looked a crippled, discoloured hulk which anyone might have taken for a wreck. And her officers and crew were no better—lean, pale, red-eyed from lack of sleep, and dressed in rags.

As Eustace lay under a tree and heard all these plans being discussed his heart sank. Was there going to be no rest? It looked as if their first day on the longed-for land was going to be quite as hard work as a day at sea. Then a delightful idea occurred to him. Nobody was looking—they were all chattering about their ship as if they actually liked the beastly thing. Why shouldn’t he simply slip away? He would take a stroll inland, find a cool, airy place up in the mountains, have a good long sleep, and not rejoin the others till the day’s work was over. He felt it would do him good. But he would take great care to keep the bay and the ship in sight so as to be sure of his way back. He wouldn’t like to be left behind in this country.

He at once put his plan into action. He rose quietly from his place and walked away among the trees, taking care to go slowly and in an aimless manner so that anyone who saw him would think he was merely stretching his legs. He was surprised to find how quickly the noise of conversation died away behind him and how very silent and warm and dark green the wood became. Soon he felt he could venture on a quicker and more determined stride.

This soon brought him out of the wood. The ground began sloping steeply up in front of him. The grass was dry and slippery but manageable if he used his hands as well as his feet, and though he panted and mopped his forehead a good deal, he plugged away steadily. This showed, by the way, that his new life, little as he suspected it, had already done him some good; the old Eustace, Harold and Alberta’s Eustace, would have given up the climb after about ten minutes.

Slowly, and with several rests, he reached the ridge. Here he had expected to have a view into the heart of the island, but the clouds had now come lower and nearer and a sea of fog was rolling to meet him. He sat down and looked back. He was now so high that the bay looked small beneath him and miles of sea were visible. Then the fog from the mountains closed in all round him, thick but not cold, and he lay down and turned this way and that to find the most comfortable position to enjoy himself.

But he didn’t enjoy himself, or not for very long. He began, almost for the first time in his life, to feel lonely. At first this feeling grew very gradually. And then he began to worry about the time. There was not the slightest sound. Suddenly it occurred to him that he might have been lying there for hours. Perhaps the others had gone! Perhaps they had let him wander away on purpose simply in order to leave him behind! He leaped up in a panic and began the descent.

At first he tried to do it too quickly, slipped on the steep grass, and slid for several feet. Then he thought this had carried him too far to the left—and as he came up he had seen precipices on that side. So he clambered up again, as near as he could guess to the place he had started from, and began the descent afresh, bearing to his right. After that things seemed to be going better. He went very cautiously, for he could not see more than a yard ahead, and there was still perfect silence all around him. It is very unpleasant to have to go cautiously when there is a voice inside you saying all the time, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.” For every moment the terrible idea of being left behind grew stronger. If he had understood Caspian and the Pevensies at all he would have known, of course, that there was not the least chance of their doing any such thing. But he had persuaded himself that they were all fiends in human form.

“At last!” said Eustace as he came slithering down a slide of loose stones（scree, they call it）and found himself on the level. “And now, where are those trees? There is something dark ahead. Why, I do believe the fog is clearing.”

It was. The light increased every moment and made him blink. The fog lifted. He was in an utterly unknown valley and the sea was nowhere in sight.

第五章 暴风雨来临

他们登陆三周后，黎明踏浪号才被拖出了狭港的港口。他们进行了庄严的道别，一大群人聚集在一起送行。凯斯宾向孤独群岛的居民做最后的演讲，与公爵和他的家人告别时，引来了欢呼，也触动了泪水。那艘船却不为所动，紫色的帆怡然自得地轻轻摆动，渐渐远离海岸。凯斯宾的号声从船尾隔着海水传来，越来越渺茫，所有人都沉默了。接着，她到了风中，风帆鼓起，拖船也解开缆绳开始往回划。当第一个真正的海浪从黎明踏浪号的船头下涌起，船又变得生气勃勃起来。不值班的人走下甲板，德里宁站在船尾楼开始第一班瞭望。黎明踏浪号掉转船头向东，绕着阿芙拉岛的南部开走了。

接下来的几天过得很愉快。露西觉得自己是世界上最幸运的女孩，因为她每天早上醒来都看到水面阳光的倒影在自己屋子的天花板上跳舞，环顾四周，都是她从孤独群岛得来的好东西——橡胶长靴、中筒靴、披风、皮上衣还有围巾。然后，她会走上甲板，从船头望向海面。每天早晨，海水都是明亮的蓝色，她呼吸的空气也日益温暖起来。接着，她就开始吃早餐，她这样的好胃口只有在海上的人才会有。

很多时候，她都坐在船尾的小凳子上和雷佩契普下棋。看雷佩契普举棋子的样子真是有趣极了。棋子对他来说太大了，他要把棋子走到棋盘中间，就得踮着脚尖用双爪举起棋子。他是一个高手，只要记得自己在下棋，他往往会赢。但是露西时不时地也会赢，因为这只老鼠会做出荒唐的举动，比如把马送到王后和车的两面夹击中去。他这么做是因为忘了这是在下棋，以为这是一场真正的战役，就让骑士做了他自己在这种情况下一定会做的事，因为他脑子里满是敢死队、视死如归、背水一战之类的东西。

但是愉快的日子没过多久。一个夜晚，露西正站在船尾悠闲地看着船身开过海面留下的水沟痕迹。突然，西边天空一大片云急速地堆积起来。接着，云中间豁开了一个口子，黄色的夕阳从里面倾泻而下。他们身后的海浪看起来形状诡异，海面一片淡褐色，一片土黄色，像脏帆布似的。空气变得冷飕飕的。船也开始不安分了，似乎察觉到了身后的危险。船帆一会儿平软无力，一会儿又疯狂地鼓动。露西注意到了这些，正奇怪这风声中传来的凶兆，就听到德里宁大喊：“全员到甲板上集合！”一时间所有人都忙得不可开交。舱口盖钉上扣板封死了，厨房里的火也熄灭了，有人爬到高处去收帆。他们还没来得及做完所有的事，风暴就来袭了。露西看到，他们船头前的海面上劈开了一个巨大的峡谷，他们往下冲了进去，那里面比她想象得还要深。灰色的巨大波浪比桅杆还要高，径直朝他们冲过来，看起来是必死无疑了，不料船却一下被抛上了浪尖。接着船开始打转。水像瀑布似的倾泻到甲板上。船首楼和船尾楼像两座孤岛隔海相望，中间隔着波涛汹涌的海水。桅杆高处的水手们把身子躺在帆桁上，想努力控制住船帆。一根断了的绳索随风从斜里挺出，像根拨火棍一样又直又硬。

“陛下，快下来。”德里宁嚷道。露西知道像自己这样没出过海的人对于船员们来说是个麻烦，于是准备听他的话下来。但是，这做起来有点儿难。黎明踏浪号向右舷偏得厉害，甲板也倾斜得像一个屋顶。她只能四处爬，爬到梯子的顶部，一把抓住栏杆。这时有两个人爬上梯子，她就站在一边，然后尽快地爬下了楼梯。又一个浪穿过甲板打到梯子底部，直接没过了她的肩膀，幸亏她抓得紧才没被冲倒。虽然她浑身都已经被水沫和雨水淋得湿漉漉的，但是这个浪更冷。接着她就奔向舱门冲了进去，把飞快涌进黑暗里的风浪那吓人的景象暂时关在了门外，却挡不住外面可怕又混乱的咯吱声、哼哼声、噼啪声、咔嗒声、呼啸声、轰隆声，这些声音比在船尾楼上听着更加让人惊恐不安。

接下来的日子，就这样日复一日地闹下去，直到人们都记不清它们是从哪一天开始的。舵柄上一直值守着三个人，三个人需要尽全力才能掌控好船的航向。抽水机也需要人看守。所有人都没法休息。厨房没法开火，东西也没法弄干，还有一个人掉下了船，再也找不到了，太阳也从未露面。

当这一切都结束时，尤斯塔斯在日记里写上了下面的文字：

九月三日

过了这么久，今天终于可以写日记了。我们在飓风中度过了十三个日日夜夜。虽然其他人都说只有十二天，但是我知道是十三天，因为我一直在仔细地数数。和一群数数都数不对的人一起冒着危险航行真是开心啊！这段时间真是太可怕了，一个个巨浪不停地打过来，我们全身都湿透了，也吃不到一餐正经的饭，更不用说给别人发信号求救了，因为这里连无线电甚至火箭都没有。这些都证明了我之前一直跟他们说的，用这样一个又小又烂的“浴缸”出海真是疯了。就算是和像样的正经人出来也够糟的了，更何况我现在正和披着人皮的魔鬼在一起。凯斯宾和艾德蒙对我太残忍了。我们的桅杆折断那晚（现在那里只剩下一根树桩了），我很不舒服，他们还逼我上甲板去像个奴隶似的工作。露西还多管闲事，说雷佩契普很想去，只是他太小了。我猜想她是没看到，那个小畜生做的一切都只是为了炫耀。就算她年纪还小，这点儿判断力她也应该有。今天，这艘该死的船终于平稳下来了，太阳也出来了，我们一直在唠叨该做点儿什么。我们的食物还够吃十六天，虽然大部分都很难吃。（家禽都被冲到海里去了，就算它们没被冲下去，这风暴也会让它们不再下蛋。）真正的麻烦是水。有两个桶好像被撞出了裂缝，里面的水已经漏完了。（这就是纳尼亚人的效率。）因为水的供给不足，我们每天只喝半品脱的水，也只够十二天的量。（船上还有很多朗姆酒和葡萄酒，但是他们也知道，喝了这些只会更渴。）

如果可以的话，最明智的做法当然是立即掉头往西去孤独群岛。但是我们到这里花了十八天，狂风吹着船疯了似的往前开。就算我们遇上了东风，开回去也要花更长的时间。再说了，现在一点儿刮东风的迹象都没有——实际上根本没有风。如果划船回去，那会花上很长的时间，而且凯斯宾说大家不能靠着每天半品脱的水划桨。我很确定，这句话是错的。我试图解释流汗会让人觉得凉爽，所以划桨的水手不需要那么多水。但是他根本不在乎我说的话，他想不出该怎么回话的时候经常这样。其他人都投票赞成继续往前开，希望能找到陆地。我觉得我有责任指出，我们不知道前方有没有陆地，我努力让他们知道这样一厢情愿是很危险的。他们没有去想一个更好的办法，反而还有脸来问我有什么提议。所以我只是冷静沉着地告诉他们，我被绑架到这里，还未经我的同意就被硬拖着加入了这愚蠢的航行，帮他们走出困境可不是我的事。

九月四日

还是风平浪静。晚餐的口粮只有一点点儿，而且我分到的最少。凯斯宾分食物的时候总是耍点儿滑头，以为我看不出来！露西不知怎的想分给我一点儿她自己的食物，来补偿一下我，但是艾德蒙又自以为是地来多管闲事，不让她分给我。太阳很毒辣，整个晚上都渴得不行。

九月五日

还是风平浪静，而且还很热。整天都觉得身体虚弱，我肯定发烧了。当然，他们不会有在船上备一个体温计的意识。

九月六日

可怕的一天。我晚上醒来，知道自己发烧了，必须得喝点儿水。任何医生都会这么说。天知道，我是绝对不会设法得到什么不公平的好处的，但是我做梦也没想到，船上配给水的方式竟然还适用于一个病人。事实上，如果不是我觉得把其他人叫醒太自私的话，我就会把他们叫起来，问他们要点儿水。所以我就自己起来，拿上我的杯子，踮着脚走出了我们睡觉的黑洞。为了不吵到凯斯宾和艾德蒙，我小心翼翼的，因为自从天热缺水以来，他们就没睡过好觉。不管别人对我好不好，我总是在考虑别人的感受。我顺利地进了大房间，要是这也叫一个房间的话。这里面放着划桨的长凳和行李。房间的一端放着水。一切都进行得很顺利。但是我还没来得及舀满一杯水，那个小特务雷佩就抓住了我。我试图解释，说我是到甲板上来透透气的（水的事情跟他又没有关系），但是他问我为什么拿着杯子。他声音太大了，整条船上的人都被吵醒了。他们对我真的很过分。我问他们，为什么雷佩契普半夜三更在水桶旁边鬼鬼祟祟，任何一个人都会这样问。他就说，他个子太小了，在甲板上派不上什么用场。他每天晚上来看水，就能多一个人去睡觉。他们这一套不公平的做法又来了：他们都相信他说的话，你又能怎样呢？

我必须得道歉，否则这个危险的小畜生就要拿他的剑指着我了。接着凯斯宾就露出了他的真面目——一个残忍的暴君，大声地告诉所有人，以后任何被抓住“偷”水的人都要“受两打”。我不知道这是什么意思，后来艾德蒙解释给我听，我才知道这是从佩文西家的孩子们看的书里来的。

凯斯宾这么装模作样地恐吓之后，又改变了语气，对我俨然一副恩赐的态度，说他对我爱莫能助，因为所有人都像我一样觉得发烧了，但是我们都要努力挺过去，等等之类的话。自以为是的讨厌鬼。我今天一整天都待在床上。

九月七日

今天有一点儿风了，但还是西风。靠着一部分帆往东行驶了几英里，他们把帆装在德里宁所谓的应急桅杆上，也就是把船首斜桅竖直了绑（他们叫“捆”）在桅杆断掉的桩子上。仍旧渴得要命。

九月八日

还在往东航行。我现在整天都赖在我的床铺上，在那两个恶魔回来睡觉之前，我除了露西一个人也看不到。露西把她的水分给了我一点儿。她说女孩子不像男孩子那么容易感到口渴。我经常这么想，但是这一点应该让海上更多的人知道。

九月九日

看到了陆地，那是东南方向远处的一座高山。

九月十日

那座山越来越大，越来越清晰，但还是很远。不知有多久没看见海鸥了，今天第一次看到。

九月十一日

抓到了一些鱼，他们把它们当晚餐吃了。晚上七点左右，在这个山岛一个海湾水深三英寻[1]的地方抛了锚。那个白痴凯斯宾不让我们上岸，因为天快黑了，他害怕野人和野兽。今晚配给了额外的水。

在这个岛上将要发生的事情会大大地关系到尤斯塔斯，比和其他任何人的关系都要大。但是这没法用他自己的话说出来，因为在九月十一日之后，他有很长时间都忘了写日记了。

早晨，天空昏暗低沉，但是天气很热，这群冒险者发现自己身处的海湾被悬崖峭壁所包围，就像是挪威峡湾一样。在他们面前，海湾滩头上有一些平地，上面长满了树木，看上去像是香柏，从树林中穿出来一条激流。再远一点儿有一块险峻的峭壁，顶上是参差不齐的山脊，山脊后面是朦胧的群山，被灰压压的云遮住了，看不见山顶。近处海湾两边的峭壁被一条条的白练切割开来。大家都知道那是瀑布，虽然距离比较远，看不出来水流的运动，也听不到水声。整个地方都非常寂静，海湾的水面平静得像镜子一样，映出了峭壁上的每一处细节。这样的场景从图片里看起来非常漂亮，要是身临其境就显得有些压抑了。这个地方并不欢迎外来的访客。

整条船上的人乘上两艘小船上了岸，每个人都畅快地在河里喝水、洗澡。他们吃了饭，休息了一会儿之后，凯斯宾派回去四个人看船，一天的工作就这么开始了。要做的事情很多。水桶要搬到岸上来，坏掉的桶能修的要修一修，然后再装满水；要是有树——最好是松树——就得伐倒用来做一根新桅杆。船帆要修好。还要组织一支狩猎队，岛上出产什么野物就打什么野物。衣物要洗干净修补好。还有船上数不清的破损处要修。他们几乎快要认不出这就是离开狭港时那艘华丽雄伟的黎明踏浪号了——现在远远地看起来才更像。她看起来就像一艘破旧不堪、褪了色的废船，任何人都会把她当作一堆沉船的残骸。船员们也不见得有多好——他们苍白瘦削，因为缺少睡眠而眼睛发红，还穿得破破烂烂的。

尤斯塔斯躺在一棵树下，听见了所有这些计划，他的心不由得沉了下去。难道不休息了吗？他们期盼已久终于到达了陆地，似乎第一天就准备跟在海上时一样干活。于是他想到了一个绝妙的点子。没人看着他，大家都在讨论他们的船，好像他们真的喜欢这破东西似的。他干吗不悄悄溜走呢？他可以在内陆溜达溜达，在山上找一个凉快通风的地方美美地睡上一觉，直到其他人结束一天的劳动再去找他们。他以为这对他有好处。不过他要十分小心，得一直看得见海湾和船，保证自己能找到回去的路。他才不愿意流落在这个地方呢。

他立马就开始实施自己的计划。他悄悄地从所在的地方站起来，从树林里溜走。他小心翼翼地走得很慢，还装出漫无目的的样子，以便让看见他的人以为他只是在散步而已。他很惊讶地发现自己身后的对话声很快就听不见了，树林变得很沉寂、温暖，一片深绿色。很快，他觉得自己可以鼓起勇气，快速坚决地大步往前走了。

没过多久他就走出了树林。他眼前的地面变成了陡坡。草又干又滑，但是他手脚并用还能应付得来。虽然他气喘吁吁，不停地擦汗，但还是坚持不懈地稳步往上爬。顺便提一句，这就说明了他的新生活还是给他带来了一些好处的，虽然他自己不这么觉得。以前的尤斯塔斯，哈罗德和艾伯塔的儿子，爬上十分钟就会放弃了。

慢慢地，中途休息了几次后，他爬上了山脊。他原本以为在这里能看到岛屿中心，但是云层已经变得很低很近，一片雾海迎面滚滚而来。他坐下来回头看。他站在那么高的地方，脚下的海湾看上去很小，几英里的海面尽收眼底。群山间的雾气将他包围，浓厚却不湿冷。他躺下来，翻来翻去，找了个最舒服的姿势开始享受。

但是他并没有享受到，或者说没有享受多久。他人生中第一次开始感到孤单。一开始这种感觉很细微。然后他就开始担心是不是错过了时间。周围一点儿声音也没有。突然，他意识到自己可能已经躺了几个小时了。其他人可能已经走了！也许他们是故意让他一个人走散好把他一个人留在这里！他惊慌地一下子蹿起来，往山下奔去。

一开始他想走快点儿，不料滑倒在了陡峭的草坡上，溜了几英尺远。他觉得可能这一下让他往左偏了太多——他爬上来的时候能看见那边的悬崖。于是他又往上攀爬，尽可能靠近他猜想的出发点。接着，他重新往下走，靠着右边。接下来，情况似乎明朗起来。他小心翼翼地走着，因为他只能看见前面一码远的地方，而且周围仍旧是鸦雀无声。他内心一直有个声音在说：“快点，快点，快点。”但是他只能谨慎地慢慢走，这让他十分不悦，因为他越来越相信自己是被丢下了。如果他了解凯斯宾和佩文西家的孩子，就会知道，他们绝不可能做出这样的事情来。但是他已经说服了自己，认为他们都是披着人皮的魔鬼。

“终于到了！”尤斯塔斯滑下一个满是细碎石子的斜坡（他们管这叫碎石坡），发现自己已经到了平地上。“那么，那些树在哪里？前面有一片黑的东西。哎，我觉得雾在散去。”

确实如此。光线越来越强，闪得他眨眼睛。雾散了。他在一个完全不认识的峡谷里，海也看不见了。

注解

[1]　英寻：测量水深的长度单位。一英寻约合一点八三米。