CHAPTER THIRTEEN UNDERLAND WITHOUT THE QUEEN（第3/3页）

“That was good hunting,”exclaimed the Prince，immediately turning Coalblack and coming back to the corner of the house. “Eustace,”he said，“of your courtesy，take Coalblack’s head.”Then he dismounted，and all three gazed in silence while Puddleglum pulled his catch out into the light. It was a most miserable little gnome，only about three feet long. It had a sort of ridge，like a cock’s comb（only hard），on the top of its head， little pink eyes，and a mouth and chin so large and round that its face looked like that of a pigmy hippopotamus. If they had not been in such a tight place，they would have burst into laughter at the sight of it.

“Now，Earthman,”said the Prince，standing over it and holding his sword point very near the prisoner’s neck，“speak， up，like an honest gnome，and you shall go free. Play the knave with us，and you are but a dead Earthman. Good Puddleglum， how can it speak while you hold its mouth tight shut ？”

“No，and it can’t bite either,”said Puddleglum. “If I had the silly soft hands that you humans have（saving your Highness’s reverence）I’d have been all over blood by now. Yet even a Marsh-wiggle gets tired of being chewed.”

“Sirrah,”said the Prince to the gnome，“one bite and you die. Let its mouth open，Puddleglum.”

“Oo-ee-ee,”squealed the Earthman，“let me go，let me go. It isn’t me. I didn’t do it.”

“Didn’t do what ？”asked Puddleglum.

“Whatever your Honours say I did do,”answered the creature.

“Tell me your name,”said the Prince，“and what you Earthmen are all about today.”

“Oh please，your Honours，please，kind gentlemen,” whimpered the gnome. “Promise you will not tell the Queen’s grace anything I say.”

“The Queen’s grace，as you call her,”said the Prince sternly， “is dead. I killed her myself.”

“What ！”cried the gnome，opening its ridiculous mouth wider and wider in astonishment. “Dead ？ The Witch dead ？ And by your Honour’s hand ？”It gave a huge sigh of relief and added，“Why then your Honour is a friend ！”

The Prince withdrew his sword an inch or so. Puddleglum let the creature sit up. It looked round on the four travellers with its twinkling，red eyes，chuckled once or twice，and began.