Chapter 6

THE BEGINNING OF UNCLE ANDREW'S TROUBLES

"LET go! Let go!" screamed Polly.

"I'm not touching you!" said Digory.

Then their heads came out of the pool and, once more, the sunny quietness of the Wood between the Worlds was all about them, and it seemed richer and warmer and more peaceful than ever after the staleness and ruin of the place they had just left. I think that, if they had been given the chance, they would again have forgotten who they were and where they came from and would have lain down and enjoyed themselves, half asleep, listening to the growing of the trees. But this time there was something that kept them as wide-awake as possible: for as soon as they had got out on to the grass, they found that they were not alone. The Queen, or the Witch (whichever you like to call her) had come up with them, holding on fast by Polly's hair. That was why Polly had been shouting out "Let go!"

This proved, by the way, another thing about the rings which Uncle Andrew hadn't told Digory because he didn't know it himself. In order to jump from world to world by one of those rings you don't need to be wearing or touching it yourself; it is enough if you are touching someone who is touching it. In that way they work like a magnet; and everyone knows that if you pick up a pin with a magnet, any other pin which is touching the first pin will come too.

Now that you saw her in the wood, Queen Jadis looked different. She was much paler than she had been; so pale that hardly any of her beauty was left. And she was stooped and seemed to be finding it hard to breathe, as if the air of that place stifled her. Neither of the children felt in the least afraid of her now.

"Let go! Let go of my hair," said Polly. "What do you mean by it?"

"Here! Let go of her hair. At once," said Digory.

They both turned and struggled with her. They were stronger than she and in a few seconds they had forced her to let go. She reeled back, panting, and there was a look of terror in her eyes.

"Quick, Digory!" said Polly. "Change rings and into' the home pool."

"Help! Help! Mercy!" cried the Witch in a faint voice, staggering after them. "Take me with you. You cannot. mean to leave me in this horrible place. It is killing me."

"It's a reason of State," said Polly spitefully. "Like when you killed all those people in your own world. Do be quick, Digory." They had put on their green rings, but Digory said:

"Oh bother! What are we to do?" He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the Queen.

"Oh don't be such an ass," said Polly. "Ten to one she's only shamming. Do come on." And then both children plunged into the home pool. "It's a good thing we made that mark," thought Polly. But as they jumped Digory felt that a large cold finger and thumb had caught him by the ear. And as they sank down and the confused shapes of our own world began to appear, the grip of that finger and thumb grew stronger. The Witch was apparently recovering her strength. Digory struggled and kicked, but it was not of the least use. In a moment they found themselves in Uncle Andrew's study; and there was Uncle Andrew himself, staring at the wonderful creature that Digory had brought back from beyond the world.

And well he might stare. Digory and Polly stared too. There was no doubt that the Witch had got over her faintness; and now that one saw her in our own world, with ordinary things around her, she fairly took one's breath away. In Charn she had been alarming enough: in London, she was terrifying. For one thing, they had not realized till now how very big she was. "Hardly human" was what Digory thought when he looked at her; and he may have been right, for some say there is giantish blood in the royal family of Charn. But even her height was nothing compared with her beauty, her fierceness, and her wildness. She looked ten times more alive than most of the people one meets in London. Uncle Andrew was bowing and rubbing his hands and looking, to tell the truth, extremely frightened. He seemed a little shrimp of a creature beside the Witch. And yet, as Polly said after

wards, there was a sort of likeness between her face and his, something in the expression. It was the look that all wicked Magicians have, the "Mark" which Jadis had said she could not find in Digory's face. One good thing about seeing the two together was that you would never again be afraid of Uncle Andrew, any more than you'd be afraid of a worm after you had met a rattlesnake or afraid of a cow after you had met a mad bull.

"Pooh!" thought Digory to himself. "Him a Magician!

Not much. Now she's the real thing."

Uncle Andrew kept on rubbing his hands and bowing. He was trying to say something very polite, but his mouth had gone all dry so that he could not speak. His "experiment" with the rings, as he called it, was turning out more successful than he liked: for though he had dabbled in Magic for years he had always left all the dangers (as far as one can) to other people. Nothing at all like this had ever happened to him before.

Then Jadis spoke; not very loud, but there was something in her voice that made the whole room quiver.

"Where is the Magician who has called me into this world?"

"Ah - ah - Madam," gasped Uncle Andrew, "I am most honoured - highly gratified - a most unexpected, pleasure - if only I had had the opportunity of making any preparations - I - I -"

"Where is the Magician, Fool?" said Jadis.

"I - I am, 'Madam. I hope you will excuse any - er -. liberty these naughty children may have taken. I assure you, there was no intention -"

"You?" said the Queen in a still more terrible voice. Then, in one stride, she crossed the room, seized a great handful of Uncle Andrew's grey hair and pulled his head back so that his face looked up into hers. Then she studied his face as she had studied Digory's face in the palace of Charn. He blinked and licked his lips nervously all the time. At last she let him go: so suddenly that he reeled back against the wall.

"I see," she said scornfully, "you are a Magician - of a sort. Stand up, dog, and don't sprawl there as if you were speaking to your equals. How do you come to know Magic? You are not of royal blood, I'll swear."

"Well - ah - not perhaps in the strict sense," stammered Uncle Andrew. "Not exactly royal, Ma'am. The Ketterleys are, however, a very old family. An old Dorsetshire family, Ma'am."

"Peace," said the Witch. "I see what you are. You are a little, peddling Magician who works by rules and books. There is no real Magic in your blood and heart. Your kind was made an end of in my world a thousand years ago. But here I shall allow you to be my servant."

"I should be most happy - delighted to be of any service - a p-pleasure, I assure you."

"Peace! You talk far too much. Listen to your first task. I see we are in a large city. Procure for me at once a chariot or a flying carpet or a well-trained dragon, or whatever is usual for royal and noble persons in your land. Then bring me to places where I can get clothes and jewels and slaves fit for my rank. Tomorrow I will begin the conquest of the world."

"I - I - I'll go and order a cab at once," gasped Uncle Andrew.

"Stop," said the Witch, just as he reached the door. "Do not dream of treachery. My eyes can see through walls and into the minds of men. They will be on you wherever you go. At the first sign of disobedience I will lay such spells on you that anything you sit down on will feel like red hot iron and whenever you lie in a bed there will be invisible blocks of ice at your feet. Now go."

The old man went out, looking like a dog with its tail between its legs.

The children were now afraid that Jadis would have something to say to them about what had happened in the wood. As it turned out, however, she never mentioned it either then or afterwards. I think (and Digory thinks too) that her mind was of a sort which cannot remember that quiet place at all, and however often you took her there and however long you left her there, she would still know nothing about it. Now that she was left alone with the children, she took no notice of either of them. And that was like her too. In Charn she had taken no notice of Pony (till the very end) because Digory was the one she wanted to make use of. Now that she had Uncle Andrew, she took no notice of Digory. I expect most witches are like that. They are not interested in things or people unless they can use them; they are terribly practical. So there was silence in the room for a minute or two. But you could tell by the way Jadis tapped her foot on the floor that she was growing impatient.

Presently she said, as if to herself, "What is the old fool doing? I should have brought a whip." She stalked out of the room in pursuit of Uncle Andrew without one glance at the children.

"Whew!" said Polly, letting out a long breath of relief. "And now I must get home. It's frightfully late. I shall catch it."

"Well do, do come back as soon as you can," said Digory. "This is simply ghastly, having her here. We must make some sort of plan."

"That's up to your Uncle now," said Polly. "It was he who started all this messing about with Magic."

"All the same, you will come back, won't you? Hang it all, you can't leave me alone in a scrape like this."

"I shall go home by the tunnel," said Polly rather coldly. "That'll be the quickest way. And if you want me to come back, hadn't you better say you're sorry?"

"Sorry?" exclaimed Digory. "Well now, if that isn't just like a girl! What have I done?"

"Oh nothing of course," said Polly sarcastically. "Only nearly screwed my wrist off in that room with all the waxworks, like a cowardly bully. Only struck the bell with the hammer, like a silly idiot. Only turned back in the wood so that she had time to catch hold of you before we jumped into our own pool. That's all."

"Oh," said Digory, very surprised. "Well, alright, I'll say I'm sorry. And I really am sorry about what happened in the waxworks room. There: I've said I'm sorry. And now, do be decent and come back. I shall be in a frightful hole if you don't."

"I don't see what's going to happen to you. It's Mr Ketterley who's going to sit on red hot chairs and have ice in his bed, isn't it?"

"It isn't that sort of thing," said Digory. "What I'm bothered about is Mother. Suppose that creature went into her room. She might frighten her to death."

"Oh, I see," said Polly in rather a different voice. "Alright. We'll call it Pax. I'll come back - if I can. But I must go now." And she crawled through the little door into the tunnel; and that dark place among the rafters which had seemed so exciting and adventurous a few hours ago, seemed quite tame and homely now.

We must now go back to Uncle Andrew. His poor old heart went pit-a-pat as he staggered down the attic stairs and he kept on dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief. When he reached his bedroom, which was the floor below, he locked himself in. And the very first thing he did was to grope in his wardrobe for a bottle and a wine-glass which he always kept hidden there where Aunt Letty could not find them. He poured himself out a glassful of some nasty, grown-up drink and drank it off at one gulp. Then he drew a deep breath.

"Upon my word," he said to himself. "I'm dreadfully shaken. Most upsetting! And at my time of life!"

He poured out a second glass and drank it too; then he began to change his clothes. You have never seen such clothes, but I can remember them. He put on a very high, shiny, stiff collar of the sort that made you hold your chin up all the time. He put on a white waistcoat with a pattern on it and arranged his gold watch chain across the front. He put on his best frock-coat, the one he kept for weddings and funerals. He got out his best tall hat and polished it up. There was a vase of flowers (put there by Aunt Letty) on his dressing table; he took one and put it in his buttonhole. He took a clean handkerchief (a lovely one such as you couldn't buy today) out of the little lefthand drawer and put a few drops of scent on it. He took his eye-glass, with the thick black ribbon, and screwed it into his eye; then he looked at himself in the mirror.

Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind. At this moment Uncle Andrew was beginning to be silly in a very grown-up way. Now that the Witch was no longer in the same room with him he was quickly forgetting how she had frightened him and thinking more and more of her wonderful beauty. He kept on saying to himself, "A dem fine woman, sir, a dem fine woman. A superb creature." He had also somehow managed to forget that it was the children who had got hold of this "superb creature": he felt as if he himself by his Magic had called her out of unknown worlds.

"Andrew, my boy," he said to himself as he looked in the glass, "you're a devilish well preserved fellow for your age. A distinguished-looking man, sir."

You see, the foolish old man was actually beginning to imagine the Witch would fall in love with him. The two drinks probably had something to do with it, and so had his best clothes. But he was, in any case, as vain as a peacock; that was why he had become a Magician.

He unlocked' the door, went downstairs, sent the housemaid out to fetch a hansom (everyone had lots of servants in those days) and looked into the drawingroom. There, as he expected, he found Aunt Letty. She was busily mending a mattress. It lay on the floor near the window and she was kneeling on it.

"Ah, Letitia my dear," said Uncle Andrew, "I - ah have to go out. Just lend me five pounds or so, there's a good gel." ("Gel" was the way he pronounced girl.)

"No, Andrew dear," said Aunty Letty in her firm, quiet voice, without looking up from her work. "I've told you times without number that I will not lend you money."

"Now pray don't be troublesome, my dear gel," said Uncle Andrew. "It's most important. You will put me in a deucedly awkward position if you don't."

"Andrew," said Aunt Letty, looking him straight in the face, "I wonder you are not ashamed to ask me for money."

There was a long, dull story of a grown-up kind behind these words. All you need to know about it is that Uncle Andrew, what with "managing dear Letty's business matters for her", and never doing any work, and running up large bills for brandy and cigars (which Aunt Letty had paid again and again) had made her a good deal poorer than she had been thirty years ago.

"My dear gel," said Uncle Andrew, "you don't understand. I shall have some quite unexpected expenses today. I have to do a little entertaining. Come now, don't be tiresome."

"And who, pray, are you going to entertain, Andrew?" asked Aunt Letty.

"A - a most distinguished visitor has just arrived."

"Distinguished fiddlestick!" said Aunt Letty. "There hasn't been a ring at the hell for the last hour."

At that moment the door was suddenly flung open. Aunt Letty looked round and saw with amazement that an enormous woman, splendidly dressed, with bare arms and flashing eyes, stood in the doorway. It was the Witch.

      6 、安德鲁舅舅的麻烦开始了
      “放开！放开！”，波莉尖声喊着。”我没碰你。”迪格雷说。
      脑袋一出水潭，他们便再次来到各个世界之间的树林，置身于阳光明媚的宁静之中。刚刚离开那个陈腐、荒芜的地方，这片树林似乎比以前更显得青翠、温暖和安详。我想，如果可能的话，他们又会忘记自己是谁，从哪儿来，然后躺下，聆听树木的生长，朦朦胧胧地享受快乐。然而．这次，他们不得不努力保持着清醒：因为一到草地上，他们就发现，不光是他们两人，那个女王，或女巫（不管你叫她什么），也跟着来了，仍然紧紧地抓住波莉的头发。怪不得刚才波莉大喊“放开！”
      顺便说说，这也证明了戒指的另一种作用，安德鲁舅舅没有告诉迪格雷，他自己也不知道。要想靠那些戒指从一个世界到另一个世界，不需要戴上或亲手触摸戒指，只要触摸一个能触摸到戒指的人就行了。这很像磁铁。人人都知道，如果用一块磁铁拾一根别针，碰到这根别针的其他别针也会被吸起来。
      现在，树林中的简蒂丝女王完全变了。脸色比以前苍白得多，她的美貌几乎一点儿也不存在了。她好像呼吸困难似的弯卜腰去，那毕的空气仿佛使她感到窒息。两个孩子一点儿也不怕她了。
      “放开！放开我的头发。”波莉说，“你想干什么？”
      “听着！放开她的头发，马上放开！”迪格雷说。两人转过身，与她厮打起来。他们比她强壮，很快就迫使她松开了手。她喘着气，摇晃若向后退去，眼晴里露出恐惧的神色。
      “快，迪格雷！”波莉说，“换戒指，跳进回家的水潭！”
      “救命！救命！天呀！”女巫有气无力地喊着，蹒跚地跟在后面，“把我带上。你们不要把我留在这个可怕的地方，我会死的。”
      “这是执政者的理由，”波莉恨恨地说，“就像你杀掉你的世界里那么多人一样。快点，迪格雷。”他们已经戴上了绿戒指，但迪格雷说：
      “真烦人！我们要干什么？”他不由得对女王产生了一丝怜悯。
      “别当傻瓜，”波莉说，“她八成是装的。快点儿。”然后，两个孩子都跳进了回家的水潭。“幸好我们做了标记。”波莉想。但是，当他们往下跳时，迪格雷感到两只冰冷的大手指抓住了他的耳朵。他们沉下去了，我们这个世界开始模模糊糊、隐隐约约地导现出来。抓住他耳朵的手指也越来越有力。豪无疑问，女巫的力量正在恢复，迪格雷又打又踢，但毫无用处。一会儿，他们便到了安德鲁舅舅的书房。安德色舅舅目瞪口呆地看着迪格雷从另一世界带回的奇妙动物。他这样呆望着是有理由的。迪格雷和波莉也目瞪口呆。
      毫无疑问，女巫已经不再虚弱；眼下，她站在我们的世界里，和周围的普通事物一比，实在使人倒吸一口凉气。在恰恩，她曾经使人非常惊讶：在伦敦，她使人感到恐惧。首先，他们到现在也没弄清楚她到底有多么庞大。“简直不是人类。”
      迪格雷看着她这样想；他也许想得不错，因为有人说过，恰恩皇族有巨人血统。但她的高度，比起她的美貌、残忍和野性来要逊色一筹。她看上去比伦敦街上的大多数人都要多出十倍的精力。安德鲁舅舅躬腰、搓手，看着她；说实话，他害怕极了。在女巫身边，他就像是虾米一样的小动物。而且，正如波莉后来说的，他和女巫的表情有某种相似之处；那是一种所有邪恶的魔法师都有的表情，即简蒂丝说她在迪格雷脸上找不到的“标记”。看见这两个人站在一起有一种好处：你不会再怕安德公舅舅，犹如见过响尾蛇不再怕蚯蚓，见过发疯的公牛不再怕奶牛一样。
      “呸！”迪格雷想，“他也算魔法师！不够格。她才是真的。”
      安德丢舅舅不断地搓手鞠躬。他想说几句客气话，但他口干得说不出来。他所谓的用戒指做的“实验”，结果比他盼望的还要成功：因为虽然他与魔法打了多年的交道，但他总是把危险留给他人。类似今天这样的事还从未发生过。这时，简蒂丝开口了，声音不大，却使整个屋子战栗起来。
      “把我召到这个世界来的魔法师是谁？”

      “啊——啊——夫人，”安德鲁舅舅喘息着说，“我感到极大的荣幸——非常高兴——最最意想不到的快乐——要是我有机会作些准备就好了——我——我——”
      “魔法师在哪儿？蠢货！”简蒂丝问。
      “就——就是我，夫人。我希望你能谅解——嗯——这些调皮的孩子对你的失礼。我向你保证，不是故意的——”
      “你！”女王的声青越加可怕。说着，她一步跨进屋子，一把抓住安德鲁舅舅的灰发，将他的头朝后一拧，使他的脸对着自己。然后，她像在恰恩王宫早研究迪格雷的脸一样仔细研究他的脸。他很紧张，不停地眨眼睛、舔嘴唇。最后，她松开手，他一下往后倒去，摇摇晃晃地撞在墙上。
      “我知道了，”她轻蔑地说，“你是某一种类的魔法师。站起来，狗，别像跟你的同类说话一样缩在那儿。你怎么会魔法的？我敢发誓，你没有皇族血统。”
      “这——嗯——严格地讲也许没有，”安德鲁舅舅结结巴巴地说，“不算地地道道的皇族。可是，夫人，凯特利家族是很古老的，是多塞特郡一个古老的家族。”
      “肃静！”女巫说，“我知道你是谁。你是一个离不开规则和书本的自我吹嘘的小魔法师。你的血液和心脏里没有真正的魔力。像你这样的魔法师一千年前就在我们的世界绝种了。但现在，我将允许你做我的仆人。”
      “为你服务我感到万分荣幸——高兴至极——真让人愉快。我说的是实话。”
      “住嘴，你说得太多了。听清楚你的第一个任务。我看我们是在一个大城市里。马上设法给我弄一辆马车或飞毯或一条训练有案的龙，或者任何对你们这儿的皇家贵族有用的东西。然后，带我去能搞到符合我身份的服装、首饰和奴隶的地方。明天，我就要开始征服这个世界了。”
      “我——我——我这就去叫一辆出租马车。”安德告舅舅大口大口地喘着气。他刚走到门口，女巫说，“站住，别想耍花招。我的眼睛可以穿透墙壁，看到人的内心。你走到哪儿都逃不出我的眼睛。只要你再出不服从我的苗头，我就会诅咒你，你坐的任何东西都会像烧红的铁，任何时候你躺上床，脚下朝会有看不见的冰块。现在走吧。”
      那老家伙像夹着尾巴的狗一样走了出去。
      孩子们害怕简蒂此会向他们问起树林中的事。然而，她当时没有说，后来也没提到这件事。我想（迪格雷也想），她的内心根本记不住那片宁静的地方，即便你经常带她去，或者把她长久地留在那里，她仍然什么都不知道。现在，她单独与孩子们在一起，但她对他们一点儿也不留意。在恰恩，她根本不注意波莉（直到最后）,
      因为她只想利用迪格雷。既然她现在有了安德鲁舅舅，便不再注意迪格雷了。我认为大多数女巫都是这样。她们极端实用，只对可以利用的人和物感兴趣。所以，屋子里有一阵很安静。但是，从简蒂丝用脚拍打地板的方式上看得出，她越来越不耐烦了。
      不一会儿，她仿佛自言自语地说道“这老傻瓜在千什么，我该带根鞭子来。”她看也不看孩子们一眼，就冲出去追安德鲁舅舅去了。”
      “嘘——”波莉长长地舒了口气，“我必须回家了。已经太晚了，我会受罚的。”
      “那，尽早回来，”迪格雷说，“把她弄到这儿来简直糟糕透了。我们必须制定计划。”
      “这是你舅舅的事，”波莉说，“这些麻烦是他的魔法造成的。”
      “不管怎么说，你会回来的，是吗，真该死，你不能让我一个人去理这团乱麻。”
      “我从隧道回家，”波莉冷冰冰地说，“这样最快。要是你想计我回来，是不是最好说声‘对不起’? ”
      “对不起？”迪格雷叫道，“那不跟女孩一样了吗？我做了什么？”
      “当然，没什么。”波莉讥讽地说，“只不过在那间塑像厅早，像一个胆小的暴徒一样差点把我的手腕拧断。只不过像一个傻瓜似的用小锤去敲钟。只不过在树林里还没跳进水潭就转过身去，好让她有机会抓住你。就这些。”“啊，”迪格雷很吃惊地说，“好了，我说对不起，而且对塑像厅甲发生的事感到非常抱歉。现在，我已经说了对不起，你就应该同来，否则太不像话，你如果不回来，就是把我推进一个可怕的深渊里了。”
      “我觉得你不用担心什么，凯特利先生才会坐在烫人的椅子上，他的床上才会有冰，不是吗？
      “不是那一类的事．”迪格雷说，“我担心妈妈。假如那怪物进了她的房间，会把她吓死的。”
      “噢，我明白了。”波莉声音异常地说，“好吧，这次行动代号‘和平女神’。我会回来的——如果回得来的话。但我现在必须走了。”她钻出小门，进了隧道椽子之间黑暗的地方几小时前还那么令人激动，那么富有冒险色彩，现在却似乎显得普通和平淡了。
      我们有必要回头讲讲安德鲁舅舅。他从阁楼上跌跌绊绊地跑下去时，那颗可怜的老心脏砰砰地乱跳。他用手帕在额头上不断地揩着。当他进到楼下的卧室里，便把自己锁在毕面。他做的第一件事就是从衣柜里摸出一个瓶子和一个酒杯，他总是把这些东西藏在柜子里，以免被蕾蒂姨妈发现。他给自己满斟了一杯味道刺鼻的大人喝的酒，一口气喝了下去，然后，长长地舒了一口气。
      “哎呀，”他自言自语地说，“可把我吓坏了。真烦人！到这把年纪还遇到这种事！”
      又倒了一杯喝下去后，他开始换衣服。你从未见过这样的衣服，但我还记得。他戴上一副硬邦邦的闪光的高领子，这种领子使你的下巴不得不长时间地昂着，又套上一件有图案的内背心，把金表链挂在前面。接着，他穿上婚丧仪式才用的最好的衣服，拿出最好的高筒礼帽拍打干净。他的梳妆桌上放着一瓶花（蕾蒂姨妈放的），他摘下一朵插在扣眼里，又从左边的小抽履里掏出一块手帕（很漂亮．现在难以买到），往上面洒了几滴香水。他将系着黑色粗绸带的眼镜戴上，然后，对着镜子观赏起来。
      你知道，孩子们有种傻气，大人有另一种傻气。这时，安德鲁舅舅开始犯大人的傻气了。女巫不在他的房里，他便很快忘了刚才受到的惊吓，开始对她的美貌想入非非。他不断自言自语，“一个漂亮的贵妇人，先生，一个漂亮的贵妇人，一个超级尤物”。他不知不觉地忘了那个“超级尤物”足孩子们找到的，他觉得是他自己用魔法从不可知的世界里召唤来的。
      “安德鲁，小伙子，”他边照镜子边对自己说，“你保养得不错，看不出年龄，先生，你长相不凡哪。”
      你看，这愚蠢的老家伙开始想像女巫会爱上他，这很可能是那两杯酒和漂亮衣服起的作用。不过，无论怎么说，他和孔雀一样爱慕虚荣，这就是他为什么变成魔法师的原因。他锁上门，走下楼，打发一个女佣去叫一辆双轮双座的马车（那年月，每个人都有许多仆人），然后朝客厅张望，他如愿以偿地在客斤里找到了蕾蒂姨妈，她正在修补一块垫子。垫子铺在窗户旁边，她跪在上面。
      “呀，蕾蒂娅，我亲爱的，”安德每舅舅说，“我——我要出门。借我五英镑什么的，有个很不错的古娘。”（他总是将“姑娘”说成“古娘”。）
      “不，亲爱的安德鲁．”蕾蒂姨妈头也不抬，用坚定、平静的口气说说，“我说过无数次了，我不会借钱给你的。”
      “请你别捣乱，亲爱的古娘，”安德鲁舅舅说，“这是最重要的事。你如果不借就让我非常难堪。”
      “安德鲁，”苦蒂姨妈直直地盯着他，“我觉得奇怪的是，你向我借钱居然不觉得羞耻。”
      这些话隐藏着一段长长的、枯操的、属于大人之间的往事。你只需知道，安德鲁舅舅打着“为亲爱的蕾蒂照管财产”的旗号，却什么也不干，还喝白兰地、抽雪茄，欠下一大堆账（蕾蒂姨妈曾一次一次地为他付钱），这样一来，就弄得蕾蒂比三十年前穷得多了。
      “亲爱的古娘，”安德鲁舅舅说，“你不知道，我今天会有一些意想不到的花费。我不得不招待客人，借给我吧，别让我着急。”
      “你到底要招待谁，安德鲁，”蕾蒂姨妈问。
      “哦——来了一个尊贵的客人。”
      “尊贵的客人？什么破玩意儿! ”曹蒂姨妈说，“你到底还是没有说服我。”
      就在这时，门突然被撞开了蕾蒂姨妈一回头，吃惊地看见一个女巨人，衣着华丽，手臂裸露，目光炯炯地站在门口。这正是女巫。