All this flashed through Digory‘s mind in a second； then he took to his heels and ran for the gates as hard as he could pelt； the Witch after him. As soon as he was out， the gates closed behind him of their own accord. That gave him the lead but not for long. By the time he had reached the others and was shouting out “Quick， get on， Polly！ Get up， Fledge”， the Witch had climbed the wall， or vaulted over it， and was close behind him again.
“Stay where you are，” cried Digory， turning round to face her， “or we’ll all vanish. Don‘t come an inch nearer.”
“Foolish boy，” said the Witch. “Why do you run from me？ I mean you no harm. If you do not stop and listen to me now， you will miss some knowledge that would have made you happy all your life.”
“Well， I don’t want to hear it， thanks，” said Digory. But he did.
