Though the rowing made a good deal of noise it did not uite conceal the total silence which surrounded the ship. Everyone knew it would be better not to listen, not to rain his ears for any sound from the darkness. But no one ould help listening. And soon everyone was hearing things. ach one heard something different.
“Do you hear a noise like . . . like a huge pair of scissors pening and shutting . . . over there?” Eustace asked Rynelf. “Hush!” said Rynelf. “I can hear them crawling up the des of the ship.”
“It‘s just going to settle on the mast,” said Caspian. “Ugh!” said a sailor. “There are the gongs beginning. I new they would.”
Caspian, trying not to look at anything (especially not to eep looking behind him), went aft to Drinian.
“Drinian,” he said in a very low voice. “How long did we ke rowing in? .I mean rowing to where we picked up the ranger?”
“Five minutes, perhaps,” whispered Drinian. “Why?” “Because we’ve been more than that already trying to get ut.”