CHAPTER SIX THE ADVENTURES OF EUSTACE

AT that very moment the others were washing hands and faces in the river and generally getting ready for dinner and a rest．The three best archers had gone up into the hills north of the bay and returned laden with a pair of wild goats which were now roasting over a fire．Caspian had ordered a cask of wine ashore，strong wine of Archenland which had to be mixed with water before you drank it，so there would be plenty for all．The work had gone well so far and it was a merry meal．Only after the second helping of goat did Edmund say，“Where’s that blighter Eustace ？”

Meanwhile Eustace stared round the unknown valley．It was so narrow and deep，and the precipices which surrounded it so sheer，that it was like a huge pit or trench．The floor was grassy though strewn with rocks，and here and there Eustace saw black burnt patches like those you see on the sides of a railway embankment in a dry summer．About fifteen yards away from him was a pool of clear，smooth water．There was，at first，nothing　else at all in the valley；not an animal，not a bird，not an insect． The sun beat down and grim peaks and horns of mountains peered over the valley’s edge．

Eustace realized of course that in the fog he had come down the wrong side of the ridge，so he turned at once to see about getting back．But as soon as he had looked he shuddered．Apparently he had by amazing luck found the only possible way down—a long green spit of land，horribly steep and narrow，with precipices on either side．There was no other possible way of getting back．But could he do it，now that he saw what it was really like ？ His head swam at the very thought of it．

He turned round again，thinking that at any rate he’d better have a good drink from the pool first．But as soon as he had turned and before he had taken a step forward into the valley he heard a noise behind him．It was only a small noise but it sounded loud in that immense silence．It froze him dead-still where he stood for a second．Then he slewed round his neck and looked．

At the bottom of the cliff a little on his left hand was a low， dark hole—the entrance to a cave perhaps．And out of this two thin wisps of smoke were coming．And the loose stones just beneath the dark hollow were moving(that was the noise he had heard)just as if something were crawling in the dark behind them．

Something was crawling．Worse still，something was coming out．Edmund or Lucy or you would have recognized it at once， but Eustace had read none of the right books．The thing that came out of the cave was something he had never even imagined—a long　lead-coloured snout，dull red eyes，no feathers or fur，a long lithe body that trailed on the ground，legs whose elbows went up higher than its back like a spider’s cruel claws，bat’s wings that made a rasping noise on the stones，yards of tail．And the lines of smoke were coming from its two nostrils．He never said the word Dragon to himself．Nor would it have made things any better if he had．

But perhaps if he had known something about dragons he would have been a little surprised at this dragon’s behaviour．It did not sit up and clap its wings，nor did it shoot out a stream of flame from its mouth．The smoke from its nostrils was like the smoke of a fire that will not last much longer．Nor did it seem to have noticed Eustace．It moved very slowly towards the pool—slowly and with many pauses．Even in his fear Eustace felt that it was an old，sad creature．He wondered if he dared make a dash for the ascent．But it might look round if he made any noise．It might come more to life．Perhaps it was only shamming．Anyway， what was the use of trying to escape by climbing from a creature that could fly ？

It reached the pool and slid its horrible scaly chin down over the gravel to drink：but before it had drunk there came from it a great croaking or clanging cry and after a few twitches and convulsions it rolled round on its side and lay perfectly still with one claw in the air．A little dark blood gushed from its wide-opened mouth．The smoke from its nostrils turned black for a moment and then floated away．No more came．

For a long time Eustace did not dare to move．Perhaps this was the brute’s trick，the way it lured travellers to their doom．But one couldn’t wait for ever．He took a step nearer，then two steps， and halted again．The dragon remained motionless；he noticed too that the red fire had gone out of its eyes．At last he came up to it． He was quite sure now that it was dead．With a shudder he touched it；nothing happened．

The relief was so great that Eustace almost laughed out loud． He began to feel as if he had fought and killed the dragon instead of merely seeing it die．He stepped over it and went to the pool for his drink，for the heat was getting unbearable．He was not surprised when he heard a peal of thunder．Almost immediately afterwards the sun disappeared and before he had finished his drink big drops of rain were falling．

The climate of this island was a very unpleasant one．In less than a minute Eustace was wet to the skin and half blinded with such rain as one never sees in Europe．There was no use trying to climb out of the valley as long as this lasted．He bolted for the only shelter in sight—the dragon’s cave．There he lay down and tried to get his breath．

Most of us know what we should expect to find in a dragon’s lair，but，as I said before，Eustace had read only the wrong books． They had a lot to say about exports and imports and governments and drains，but they were weak on dragons．That is why he was so puzzled at the surface on which he was lying．Parts of it were too prickly to be stones and too hard to be thorns，and there seemed to be a great many round，flat things，and it all clinked when he　moved．There was light enough at the cave’s mouth to examine it by．And of course Eustace found it to be what any of us could have told him in advance—treasure．There were crowns(those were the prickly things)，coins，rings，bracelets，ingots，cups，plates and gems．

Eustace(unlike most boys)had never thought much of treasure but he saw at once the use it would be in this new world which he had so foolishly stumbled into through the picture in Lucy’s bedroom at home．“They don’t have any tax here，”he said，“and you don’t have to give treasure to the government．With some of this stuff I could have quite a decent time here—perhaps in Calormen． It sounds the least phoney of these countries．I wonder how much I can carry ？That bracelet now—those things in it are probably diamonds—I’ll slip that on my own wrist．Too big，but not if I push it right up here above my elbow．Then fill my pockets with diamonds—that’s easier than gold．I wonder when this infernal rain’s going to let up ？”He got into a less uncomfortable part of the pile，where it was mostly coins，and settled down to wait． But a bad fright，when once it is over，and especially a bad fright following a mountain walk，leaves you very tired．Eustace fell asleep．