&eady!Steady!”saidthethreetravellerstooher。
“Oh，youhaveheartsofstone，”saidtheKnight。“Believeme，youlookupochwhohassufferedalmostmorethananymortalbear。WhatwronghaveIeverdohatyoushouldsidewithmyeokeepmeinsuchmiseries?Aesareslippingpast。Nowyousaveme;whenthishourhaspassed，Ishallbewitlessagaioyandlap-dog，hepawnandtool，ofthemostdevilishsorceressthateverplahewoeofmen。Andthisnight，ofallnights，whensheisaway!Youtakefrommeacethatmaynevereagain。”
“Thisisdreadful。Idowishwe'dstayedawaytillitwasover，”saidJill。
“Steady!”saidPuddleglum。
Theprisoner'svoiintoashriek。“Letmego，Isay。Givememysword。Mysword!OnceIamfreeIshalltakesugeoUnderlandwilltalkofitforathousandyears!”
“Nowthefrenzyisbeginning，”saidScrubb。“Ihopethoseknht。”
“Yes，”saidPuddleglum。“He'dhavetwiaturalstrefreenow。AndI'mhmysword。He'dgetusboth，Ishouldn'toleonherowotacklethesnake。”
Theprisonerwasnathisbondsthattheytohiswristsandankles。“Beware，”hesaid。“Beware。OIdidbreakthem。Butthewitchwastherethattime。Youwillohelpyoutonight。Freemenow，andIamyourfriend。I'myourmortalenemyelse。”
“g，isn'the?”saidPuddleglum。
“Ondforall，”saidtheprisoner，“Iadjureyoutosetmefree。Byallfearsandallloves，bythebrightskiesofOverlaLion，byAslanhimself，Ichargeyou—”
“Oh!”criedthethreetravellersasthoughtheyhadbeenhurt。“It'sthesign，”saidPuddleglum。“Itwasthewordsofthesign，”saidScrubbmorecautiously。“Oh，whatarewetodo?”saidJill。
Itwasadreadfulquestion。WhathadbeentheuseoheywouldnotonanyatsettheKheywerenowtodosothefirsttimehehappeoetheyreallycaredabout?Oherhand，whathadbeentheusethesignsiftheyweren'tgoihem?YetcouldAslanhavereallymeaounbindaic—whoaskeditinhisname?Coulditbeamereat?OrhowiftheQueenoftheUnderworldknewallaboutthesignsandhadmadetheKhisnamesimplyirapthem?Butthen，supposingthiswastherealsign?。。。Theyhadmuffedthreealready;theydaren'tmuffthefourth。
“Oh，ifonlyweknew!”saidJill。
“Ithinkwedoknouddleglum。
“Doyoumeanyouthihingwillerightifwedountiehim?”saidScrubb。
“Idon'tknowaboutthat，”saidPuddleglum。“Yousee，Aslandidn'ttellPolewhateoldherwhattodo。Thatfellowwillbethedeathofusoncehe'sup，Ishouldn'twohatdoesn'tletusofffollowingthesign。”
&oodlookiherwithbrighteyes。Itwasasient。“Allright!”saidJillsudde'sgetitood-bye，everyoheyallshookhawassgbynow;therewasfoamonhischeeks。
“eon，Scrubb，”saidPuddleglum。HeandScrubbdrewtheirswordsaothecaptive。
“InthenameofAslan，”theysaidahodicallygthecords。Theinstanttheprisonerwasfree，hecrossedtheroominasinglebound，seizedhisohichhadbeentakenfromhimandlaidoable），a。
“Youfirst!”hedfelluponthesilverchair。Thatmusthavebeenagoodsword。Thesilvergavewaybefelikestring，andiafewtwistedfragments，shiningonthefloor，wereallthatwasleft。Butasthechairbroke，thereitabrightflash，asouhunder，and（foro）aloathsomesmell。
&here，vileengineofsorcery，”hesaid，“lestyourmistressshouldeveruseyouforaim。”Theurnedandsurveyedhisresdthesomethingwrowas，hadvanishedfromhisface。
“What?”hecried，turningtoPuddleglum。“DoIseebeforemeaMarsh-wiggle—areal，live，ho，NarnianMarsh-wiggle?”
“Oh，soyouhaveheardofNarniaafterall?”saidJill。
“HadIfottenitwhenIwasuhespell?”askedtheKandallotherbedevilmentsarenowover。YoumaywellbelievethatIknowNarnia，forIamRilian，Prinia，andthegreatKingismyfather。”
“Yhness，”saidPuddleglum，sinkingohedidthesame），“wehaveehitherforoseekyou。”
“Andwhoareyou，myotherdeliverers?”saidthePrioSdJill。
“WeweresentbyAslanhimselffrombeyondtheworld'sendtoseekyhness，”saidScrubb。“IamEustacewhosailedwithhimtotheislandofRamandu。”
“IoweallthreeofyouagreaterdebtthanIeverpay，”saidPrin。“Butmyfather?Isheyetalive?”
“HesailedeastagaiNarnia，mylord，”saidPuddleglum。“ButyhsiderthattheKingisveryold。ItistentoonehisMajestymustdieonthevoyage。”
“Heisold，yousay。HowlongthenhaveIbeenihewitch?’
“ItismorethantenyearssinceyhnesswaslostithenorthsideofNarnia。”
“Tenyears!”saidthePringhishandacrosshisfaceasiftorubaast。“Yes，Ibelieveyou。FornowthatIammyselfIrememberthatehoughwhileIwasentedIbermytrueself。Andnow，fairfriends—butwait!Iheartheirfeet（doesitnotsi，thatpaddingwh!）oairs。Lockthedoor，boy。Orstay。Ihaveabetterthoughtthanthat。IwillfooltheseEarthmen，ifAsla。Takeyoure。”
Hewalkedresolutelytothedoorandflungitwideopen。