《魔法师的外甥》第14期:钟与锤(1)
Chapter 4 The Bell and the Hammer
THERE was no doubt about the Magic this time. Down and down they rushed, first through darkness and then through a mass of vague and whirling shapes which might have been almost
anything. It grew lighter. Then suddenly they felt that they were standing on something solid. A moment later everything came into focus and they were able to look about them.
"What a queer place!" said Digory.
"I don't like it," said Polly with something like a shudder.
What they noticed first was the light. It wasn't like sunlight, and it wasn't like electric light, or lamps, or candles, or any other light they had ever seen. It was a dull,
rather red light, not at all cheerful. It was steady and did not flicker. They were standing on a flat paved surface and buildings rose all around them. There was no roof
overhead; they were in a sort of courtyard. The sky was extraordinarily dark - a blue that was almost black. When you had seen that sky you wondered that there should be any
light at all.
"It's very funny weather here," said Digory. "I wonder if we've arrived just in time for a thunderstorm; or an eclipse."
"I don't like it," said Polly.
Both of them, without quite knowing why, were talking in whispers. And though there was no reason why they should still go on holding hands after their jump, they didn't let go.
The walls rose very high all round that courtyard. They had many great windows in them, windows without glass, through which you saw nothing but black darkness. Lower down there
were great pillared arches, yawning blackly like the mouths of railway tunnels. It was rather cold.
The stone of which everything was built seemed to be red, but that might only be because of the curious light. It was obviously very old. Many of the flat stones that paved the
courtyard had cracks across them. None of them fitted closely together and the sharp corners were all worn off. One of the arched doorways was half filled up with rubble. The
two children kept on turning round and round to look at the different sides of the courtyard. One reason was that they were afraid of somebody - or something - looking out of
those windows at them when their backs were turned.
"Do you think anyone lives here?" said Digory at last, still in a whisper.
"No," said Polly. "It's all in ruins. We haven't heard a sound since we came."
"Let's stand still and listen for a bit," suggested Digory.
这下，魔法毫无疑问地起作用了。他们裁了下去．先是一片黑暗，然后是一团说不清是什么的模糊和旋转的形象，眼前越来越亮，突然，他们感到自己站在坚实的东西上。一会儿，他们便能看见周围的
事物，可以向四下里观望了，
“多么奇怪的地方！ ”迪格雷说。
“我不喜欢。”波莉颇抖了一下。
他们最先注意到的是光线，既不像日光，也不像电灯、煤油灯、蜡烛或他们见过的任何一种光。那是一种近似红色的惨淡的光，丝毫不让人感到愉快。光线凝固着，没有闪动。他们正站在一个平地上，
四面八方都耸立着建筑物。上面没有屋顶，显然是一个院落。天空极为暗淡。
一种近乎黑色的蓝。你看到这样的天空，准会想，这里是不是没有任何光线。”这儿的天气直怪，”迪格雷说，“我想我们是不是赶上了一场暴风雨或者日食。”
“我不喜欢。”波莉说。
不知为什么，他们两人都悄声说话。虽然跳水以后没有理由再拉着手，他们还是没有松开。
院子四周的围墙非常高，上面有许多大窗子，窗子上没有玻璃，里面一团漆黑。稍往下，有一些巨大的拱门，像铁路隧道一样张着黑洞洞的大口。天气相当寒冷。
所有的建筑都是用一种像是红色的石头筑成的，但这可能是那种奇怪的光照射的结果。院中，用来铺地的许多石板都裂了缝。石板与石板之问排列得参差个齐，棱角磨掉了，其中一个拱门让碎石镇了一
半。两个孩子不停地转身，观察院子四周，因为他们害怕有人或什么东西，趁他们背过身时从窗户里窥视他们。
“你认为这儿有人住吗，”迪格雷终于开口了，但仍然悄悄的。
“没有。”波莉说，“这是一个废墟。自从我们来了以后，还没有听到一点儿声音呢。”
“那我们站好来听一会儿。”迪格雷建议。
