“That’s right. Cross it and strike uphill， and we‘ll be at the Stone Table （Aslan’s How， I mean） by eight or nine o‘clock. I hope King Caspian will give us a good breakfast！”
“I hope you’re right，” said Susan. “I can‘t remember all that at all.” “That’s the worst of girls，” said Edmund to Peter and the Dwarf.
“They never carry a map in their heads.”
“That‘s because our heads have something inside them，” said Lucy.
At first things seemed to be going pretty well. They even thought they had struck an old path， but if you know anything about woods， you will know that one is always finding imaginary paths. They disappear after about five minutes and then you think you have found another （and hope it is not another but more of the same one） and it also disappears， and after you have been well lured out of your right direction you realize that none of them were pats at all. The boys and the Dwarf， however， were used to woods and were not taken in for more than a few seconds.
They had plodded on for about half an hour （three of them very stiff from yesterday’s rowing） when Trumpkin suddenly whispered， “Stop.” They all stopped. “There‘s something following us，” he said in a low voice. “Or rather， something keeping up with us： over there on the left.” They all stood still， listening and staring till their ears and eyes ached. “You and I’d better each have an arrow on the string，” saidSusan to Trumpkin. The Dwarf nodded， and when both bows were ready for action the party went on again.
They went a few dozen yards through fairly open woodland， keeping a sharp look-out. Then they came to a place where the undergrowth thickened and they had to pass nearer to it. Just as they were passing the place， there came a sudden something that snarled and flashed， rising out from the breaking twigs like a thunderbolt. Lucy was knocked down and winded， hearing the twang of a bowstring as she fell. When she was able to take notice of things again， she sawa great grim-looking grey bear lying dead with Trumpkin‘s arrow in its side.
“The DLF beat you in that shooting match， Su，” said Peter， with a slightly forced smile. Even he had been shaken by this adventure.
“I-I left it too late，” said Susan， in an embarrassed voice. “I was so afraid it might be， you know-one of our kind of bears， a talking bear.” She hated killing things.
“That’s the trouble of it，” said Trumpkin， “when most of the beasts have gone enemy and gone dumb， but there are still some of the other kind left. You never know， and you daren‘t wait to see.”
“Poor old Bruin，” said Susan. “You don’t think he was？”
“Not he，” said the Dwarf. “I saw the face and I heard the snarl. He only wanted Little Girl for his breakfast. And talking of breakfast， I didn‘t want to discourage your Majesties when you said you hoped King Caspian would give you a good one： but meat’s precious scarce in camp. And there‘s good eating on a bear. It would be a shame to leave the carcass without taking a bit， and it won’t delay us more than half an hour. I dare say you two youngsters-Kings， I should say-know how to skin a bear？”
“Let‘s go and sit down a fair way off，” said Susan to Lucy. “I know what a horrid messy business that will be.”
Lucy shuddered and nodded. When they had sat down she said： “Such a horrible idea has come into my head， Su.”
“What’s that？”
“Wouldn‘t it be dreadful if some day， in our own world， at home，men started going wild inside， like the animals here， and still looked like men， so that you’d never know which were which？”
“We‘ve got enough to bother about here and now in Narnia，” said the practical Susan， “without imagining things like that.”
When they rejoined the boys and the Dwarf， as much as they thought they could carry of the best meat had been cut off. Raw meat is not a nice thing to fill one’s pockets with， but they folded it up in fresh leaves and made the best of it. They were all experienced enough to know that they would feel quite differently about these squashy and unpleasant parcels when they had walked long enough to be really hungry.
On they trudged again （stopping to wash three pairs of hands that needed it in the first stream they passed） until the sun rose and the birds began to sing， and more flies than they wanted were buzzing in the bracken. The stiffness from yesterday‘s rowing began to wear off. Everybody’s spirits rose. The sun grew warmer and they took their helmets off and carried them.
“I suppose we are going right？” said Edmund about an hour later.
“I don‘t see how we can go wrong as long as we don’t bear too much to the left，” said Peter. “If we bear too much to the right， the worst that can happen is wasting a little time by striking the great River too soon and not cutting off the corner.”
And again they trudged on with no sound except the thud of their feet and the jingle of their chain shirts.
“Where‘s this bally Rush got to？” said Edmund a good deal later.
“I certainly thought we’d have struck it by now，” said Peter. “But there‘s nothing to do but keep on.” They both knew that the Dwarf was looking anxiously at them， but he said nothing.
And still they trudged on and their mail shirts began to feel very hot and heavy.
“What on earth？” said Peter suddenly.
They had come， without seeing it， almost to the edge of a small precipice from which they looked down into a gorge with a river at the bottom. On the far side the cliffs rose much higher. None of the party except Edmund （and perhaps Trumpkin） was a rock climber.
“I’m sorry，” said Peter. “It‘s my fault for coming this way. We’re lost. I‘ve never seen this place in my life before.”
The Dwarf gave a low whistle between his teeth.
“Oh， do let’s go back and go the other way，” said Susan. “I knew all along we‘d get lost in these woods.”
“Susan！” said Lucy， reproachfully， “don’t nag at Peter like that. It‘s so rotten， and he’s doing all he can.”
“And don‘t you snap at Su like that， either，” said Edmund. “I think she’s quite right.”
“Tubs and tortoiseshells！” exclaimed Trumpkin. “If we‘ve got lost coming， what chance have we of finding our way back？ And if we’re to go back to the Island and begin all over again-even supposing we could-we might as well give the whole thing up. Miraz will have finished with Caspian before we get there at that rate.”
“You think we ought to go on？” said Lucy.
“I‘m not sure the High King is lost，” said Trumpkin. “What’s to hinder this river being the Rush？”
“Because the Rush is not in a gorge，” said Peter， keeping his temper with some difficulty.
