CHAPTER FIVE THE STORM AND WHAT CAME OF IT（第4/5页）

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 hiin 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．