CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD（第3/4页）

“And I won’t go down that hole，whatever anyone says,” added Jill.

“Why，if your Honours are really set to go back to Overworld,”said Golg，“there is one bit of the road that’s rather lower than this. And perhaps，if that flood’s still rising—”

“Oh，do，do，do come on ！ ”begged Jill.

“I fear it must be so,”said the Prince with a deep sigh. “But I have left half of my heart in the land of Bism.”

“Please ！”begged Jill.

“Where is the road ？ ”asked Puddleglum.

“There are lamps all the way,”said Golg. “Your Honour can see the beginning of the road on the far side of the chasm.”

“How long will the lamps burn for ？ ”asked Puddleglum.

At that moment a hissing，scorching voice like the voice of Fire itself（they wondered afterwards if it could have been a salamander’s）came whistling up out of the very depths of Bism.

“Quick ！ Quick ！ Quick ！ To the cliffs，to the cliffs，to the cliffs ！”it said. “The rift closes. It closes. It closes. Quick ！ Quick ！”And at the same time，with ear-shattering cracks and creaks，the rocks moved. Already，while they looked，the chasm was narrower. From every side belated gnomes were rushing into it. They would not wait to climb down the rocks. They flung themselves headlong and，either because so strong a blast of hot air was beating up from the bottom，or for some other reason， they could be seen floating downwards like leaves. Thicker and thicker they floated，till their blackness almost blotted out the fiery river and the groves of live gems. “Good-bye to your Honours. I’m off,”shouted Golg，and dived. Only a few were left to follow him. The chasm was now no broader than a stream. Now it was narrow as the slit in a pillar box. Now it was only an intensely bright thread. Then，with a shock like a thousand goods trains crashing into a thousand pairs of buffers，the lips of rock closed. The hot，maddening smell vanished. The travellers were alone in an Underworld which now looked far blacker than before. Pale， dim，and dreary，the lamps marked the direction of the road.

“Now,”said Puddleglum，“it’s ten to one we’ve already stayed too long，but we may as well make a try. Those lamps will give out in five minutes，I shouldn’t wonder.”

They urged the horses to a canter and thundered along the dusky road in fine style. But almost at once it began going downhill. They would have thought Golg had sent them the wrong way if they had not seen，on the other side of the valley，the lamps going on and upwards as far as the eye could reach. But at the bottom of the valley the lamps shone on moving water.

“Haste,”cried the Prince. They galloped down the slope. It would have been nasty enough at the bottom even five minutes later for the tide was running up the valley like a mill-race，and if it had come to swimming，the horses could hardly have won over. But it was still only a foot or two deep，and though it swished terribly round the horses’ legs，they reached the far side in safety.

Then began the slow，weary march uphill with nothing ahead to look at but the pale lamps which went up and up as far as the eye could reach. When they looked back they could see the water spreading. All the hills of Underland were now islands，and it was only on those islands that the lamps remained. Every moment some distant light vanished. Soon there would be total darkness everywhere except on the road they were following；and even on the lower part of it behind them，though no lamps had yet gone out，the lamplight shone on water.

Although they had good reason for hurrying，the horses could not go on for ever without a rest. They halted：and in silence they could hear the lapping of water.

“I wonder is what’s his name—Father Time—flooded out now,”said Jill. “And all those queer sleeping animals.”

“I don’t think we’re as high as that,”said Eustace. “Don’t you remember how we had to go downhill to reach the sunless sea ？ I shouldn’t think the water has reached Father Time’s cave yet.”

“That’s as may be,”said Puddleglum. “I’m more interested in the lamps on this road. Look a bit sickly，don’t they ？”

“They always did,”said Jill.

“Aye,”said Puddleglum. “But they’re greener now.”

“You don’t mean to say you think they’re going out ？ ”cried Eustace.

“Well，however they work，you can’t expect them to last for- ever，you know,”replied the Marsh-wiggle. “But don’t let your spirits down，Scrubb. I’ve got my eye on the water too，and I don’t think it’s rising so fast as it did.”