The_Complete_Chronicles_of_Narnia_(volumes_1-7,_in_order_of_publication)

Presently they came to a long, straight, sanded path with not a weed growing on it and
trees on either hand. Far off at the other end of this avenue they now caught sight of a
house - very long and grey and quiet-looking in the afternoon sun.
Almost as soon as they entered this path Lucy noticed that she had a little stone in her
shoe. In that unknown place it might have been wiser for her to ask the others to wait
while she took it out. But she didn't; she just dropped quietly behind and sat down to take
off her shoe. Her lace had got into a knot.
Before she had undone the knot the others were a fair distance ahead. By the time she had
got the stone out and was putting the shoe on again she could no longer hear them. But
almost at once she heard something else. It was not coming from the direction of the
house.
What she heard was a thumping. It sounded as if dozens of strong workmen were hitting
the ground as hard as they could with great wooden mallets. And it was very quickly
coming nearer. She was already sitting with her back to a tree, and as the tree was not one
she could climb, there was really nothing to do but to sit dead still and press herself
against the tree and hope she wouldn't be seen.
Thump, thump, thump . . . and whatever it was must be very close now for she could feel
the ground shaking. But she could see nothing. She thought the thing - or things must be
just behind her. But then there came a thump on the path right in front of her. She knew it
was on the path not only by the sound but because she saw the sand scatter as if it had
been struck a heavy blow. But she could see nothing that had struck it. Then all the
thumping noises drew together about twenty feet away from her and suddenly ceased.
Then came the Voice.
It was really very dreadful because she could still see nobody at all. The whole of that
park-like country still looked as quiet and empty as it had looked when they first landed.
Nevertheless, only a few feet away from her, a voice spoke. And what it said was:
"Mates, now's our chance."
Instantly a whole chorus of other voices replied, "Hear him. Hear him. `Now 's our
chance', he said. Well done, Chief. You never said a truer word."
"What I say," continued the first voice, "is, get down to the shore between them and their
boat, and let every mother's son look to his weapons. Catch 'em when they try to put to
sea."
"Eh, that's the way," shouted all the other voices. "You never made a better plan, Chief.
Keep it up, Chief. You couldn't have a better plan than that."
"Lively, then, mates, lively," said the first voice. "Off we go.