chains of gold， and heaps of unset stones lying piled anyhow as if they were marbles or potatoes-diamonds， rubies， carbuncles， emeralds， topazes， and amethysts. Under the shelves stood great chests of oak strengthened with iron bars and heavily padlocked. And it was bitterly cold， and so still that they could hear themselves breathing， and the treasures were so covered with dust that unless they had realized where they were and remembered most of the things， they would hardly have known they were treasures. There was something sad and a little frightening about the place， because it all seemed so forsaken and long ago. That was why nobody said anything for at least a minute.
Then， of course， they began walking about and picking things up to look at. It was like meeting very old friends. If you had been there you would have heard them saying things like， “Oh look！ Our coronation rings-do you remember first wearing this？ -Why， this is the little brooch we all thought was lost-I say， isn’t that the armour you wore in the great tournament in the Lone Islands？ -do you remember the dwarf making that for me？ -do you remember drinking out of that horn？ -do you remember， do you remember？”
But suddenly Edmund said， “Look here. We mustn‘t waste thebattery： goodness knows how often we shall need it. Hadn’t we better take what we want and get out again？”
“We must take the gifts，” said Peter. For long ago at a Christmas in Narnia he and Susan and Lucy had been given certain presents which they valued more than their whole kingdom. Edmund had had no gift，because he was not with them at the time. （This was his own fault， and you can read about it in the other book.）
They all agreed with Peter and walked up the path to the wall at the far end of the treasure chamber， and there， sure enough， the gifts were still hanging. Lucy‘s was the smallest for it was only a little bottle. But the bottle was made of diamond instead of glass， and it was still more than half full of the magical cordial which would heal almost every wound and every illness. Lucy said nothing and looked very solemn as she took her gift down from its place and slung the belt over her shoulder and once more felt the bottle at her side where it used to hang in the old days. Susan’s gift had been a bow and arrows and a horn. The bow was still there， and the ivory quiver， full of wellfeathered arrows， but- “Oh， Susan，” said Lucy “Where‘s the horn？”
“Oh bother， bother， bother，” said Susan after she had thought fora moment “I remember now. I took it with me the last day of all， the day we went hunting the White Stag. It must have got lost when we blundered back into that other place-England， I mean.”
Edmund whistled. It was indeed a shattering loss； for this was anenchanted horn and， whenever you blew it， help was certain to come to you， wherever you were.
“Just the sort of thing that might come in handy in a place like this，” said Edmund.
“Never mind，” said Susan， “I’ve still got the bow.” And she took it. “Won‘t the string be perished， Su？” said Peter.
But whether by some magic in the air of the treasure chamber or not， the bow was still in working order. Archery and swimming were the things Susan was good at. In a moment she had bent the bow and then she gave one little pluck to the string. It twanged： a chirruping twang that vibrated through the whole room. And that one small noise brought back the old days to the children’s minds more than anything that had happened yet. All the battles and hunts and feasts came rushing into their heads together.
Then she unstrung the bow again and slung the quiver at her side. Next， Peter took down his gift-the shield with the great red lionon it， and the royal sword. He blew， and rapped them on the floor， to get off the dust. He fitted the shield on his arm and slung the sword by his side. He was afraid at first that it might be rusty and stick to the sheath. But it was not so. With one swift motion he drew it and held it up， shining in the torchlight.
“It is my sword Rhindon，” he said； “with it I killed the Wolf.” There was a new tone in his voice， and the others all felt that he was really Peter the High King again. Then， after a little pause， everyone remembered that they must save the battery.
They climbed the stair again and made up a good fire and lay down close together for warmth. The ground was very hard and uncomfortable， but they fell asleep in the end.
中文阅读
“这不是一个花园，”很快，苏珊开口说道，“过去一定是座城堡，这儿想必就是城堡的院子。”
“我明白你的意思，”彼得说，“没错。那是一座塔楼的残余。那些是通到墙头上去的台阶。再看看其他那些台阶--那些不太陡的宽台阶--一直通到那个门道。那肯定是通向大厅的门。”
“从它衰败的样子来看，这是许多世纪以前的事儿了。”埃德蒙说。“是的，很久以前，”彼得说，“希望我们能够发现，是谁曾经在这座古堡里住过，那是什么时候的事情。”“我有一种奇怪的感觉。”露西说。
“是吗，露？”彼得说着，转过身来，定睛看着她，“我也有同样的感觉。这是这个奇怪的一天所发生的最奇怪的事情。我很想知道，我们是在哪儿？这一切又都意味着什么？”
他们一边交谈，一边穿过庭院，经过另一个门道，进入了以前的大厅。这里和庭院已经没有多少差别，屋顶早就不见了，到处长满了青草和雏菊。与庭院相比，不同之处在于其面积比较狭小，墙壁显得略高一些。在大厅的另一端有个平台之类的东西，比地面高出来大约有一米。
“我怀疑，这里以前真的是个大厅吗？”苏珊说，“那个台子是做什么用的？”
“哦，你可真笨，”彼得说（他莫名其妙地兴奋起来），“难道你没看出来？那是放置御案的平台，国王与大臣就在那上面就座。人们会以为，你已经忘记了我们自己曾经是国王与女王，曾经高坐在宫廷中类似的平台上。”
“就在我们的凯尔帕拉维尔城堡，”苏珊用一种梦呓般的、如歌如述的声音继续说道，“在纳尼亚大河的河口。我怎么会忘记呢？”
“但愿那一幕又会重新上演！”露西说，“我们可以装作是在凯尔帕拉维尔，这个大厅一定与我们宴乐的宫廷非常相似。”
“不幸的是没有宴席，”埃德蒙说，“你们要知道，天色已晚。看看影子变得有多长了。你们没有注意到吗，温度已经没有那么高了。”
“如果在这里过夜的话，我们需要一个篝火，”彼得说，“我带着火柴。我们出去看看，能不能捡到一些干柴。”