CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE WORLD（第3/4页）
“My lord，”said the King to Drinian，“pray send two men back to the Dawn Treader with a message to the Lord Rhoop．Tell him that the last of his old shipmates are here asleep-a sleep without dreams-and that he can share it．”
When this had been done，Caspian told the rest to sit down and laid the whole situation before them．When he had finished there was a long silence and some whispering until presently the Master Bowman got to his feet，and said：
“What some of us have been wanting to ask for a long time， your Majesty，is how we’re ever to get home when we do turn， whether we turn here or somewhere else．It’s been west and north-west winds all the way，barring an occasional calm．And if that doesn’t change，I’d like to know what hopes we have of seeing Narnia again．There’s not much chance of supplies lasting while we row all that way．
“That’s landsman’s talk，”said Drinian．“There’s always a prevailing west wind in these seas all through the late summer，and it always changes after the New Year．We’ll have plenty of wind for sailing westward；more than we shall like from all accounts．”
“That’s true，Master，”said an old sailor who was a Galmian by birth．“You get some ugly weather rolling up from the east in January and February．And by your leave，Sire，if I was in command of this ship I’d say to winter here and begin the voyage home in March．”
“What’d you eat while you were wintering here ？”asked Eustace.
“This table，”said Ramandu，“will be filled with a king’s feast every day at sunset．”
“Now you’re talking ！”said several sailors．
“Your Majesties and gentlemen and ladies all，”said Rynelf， “there’s just one thing I want to say．There’s not one of us chaps as was pressed on this journey．We’re volunteers．And there’s some here chat are looking very hard at that table and thinking about king’s feasts who were talking very loud about adventures on the day we sailed from Cair Paravel，and swearing they wouldn’t come home till we’d found the end of the world．And there were some standing on the quay who would have given all they had to come with us．It was thought a finer thing then to have a cabin-
boy’s berth on the Dawn Treader than to wear a knight’s belt．I don’t know if you get the hang of what I’m saying．But what I mean is that I think chaps who set out like us will look as silly as-as those Dufflepuds—if we come home and say we got to the beginning of the world’s end and hadn’t the heart to go further．”
Some of the sailors cheered at this but some said that that was all very well．
“This isn’t going to be much fun，”whispered Edmund to Caspian．“What are we to do if half those fellows hang back ？”
“Wait，”Caspian whispered back．“I’ve still a card to play．”
“Aren’t you going to say anything，Reep ？”whispered Lucy．
“No．Why should your Majesty expect it ？”answered Reepicheep in a voice that most people heard．“My owns plans are made．While I can，I sail east in the Dawn Treader．When she fails me，I paddle east in my coracle．When she sinks，I shall swim east with my four paws．And when I can swim no longer， if I have not reached Aslan’s country，or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract，I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia．”
“Hear，hear，”said a sailor，“I’ll say the same，barring the bit about the coracle，which wouldn’t bear me．”He added in a lower voice，“I’m not going to be outdone by a mouse．”
At this point Caspian jumped to his feet．“Friends，”he said，“I think you have not quite understood our purpose．You talk as if we had come to you with our hat in our hand，begging for shipmates．It isn’t like that at all．We and our royal brother and sister and their kinsman and Sir Reepicheep，the good knight， and the Lord Drinian have an errand to the world’s edge．It is our pleasure to choose from among such of you as are willing those whom we deem worthy of so high an enterprise．We have not said that any can come for the asking．That is why we shall now command the Lord Drinian and Master Rhince to consider carefully what men among you are the hardest in battle，the most skilled seamen，the purest in blood，the most loyal to our person，and the cleanest of life and manners；and to give their names to us in a schedule．”He paused and went on in a quicker voice，“Aslan’s mane ！”he exclaimed．“Do you think that the privilege of seeing the last things is to be bought for a song ？ Why，every man that comes with us shall bequeath the title of Dawn Treader to all his descendants，and when we land at Cair Paravel on the homeward voyage he shall have either gold or land enough to make him rich all his life．Now-scatter over the island，all of you．In half an hour’s time I shall receive the names that Lord Drinian brings me．”