The climate of this island was a very unpleasant one. Ihan a minute Eustace was wet to the skin and half blinded with such rain as one never es in Europe. There was no u trying to climb out of the valley as long as this lasted. He bolted for the only shelter in sight-the dragon’s cave. There he lay down and tried to get his breath.
Most of us know what we should expect to find in a dragon’s lair, but, as I said before, Eustace had read only the wrong books. They had a lot to say about exports and imports and govers and drains, but they were weak ons. That is why he was so puzzled at the surfa which he was lying. Parts of it were too prickly to be stones and too hard to be thorns, and there emed to be a great many round, flat things, and it all ked when he moved. There was light enough at the cave’s mouth to exami by. And of cour Eustace found it to be what any of us could have told him in advareasure. There were s （tho were the prickly things）, s, rings, bracelets, ingots, cups, plates and gems.
Eustace （unlike most boys） had hought much of treasure but he saw at ohe u it would be in this new world which he had so foolishly stumbled inth the picture in Lucy’s bedroom at home. “They don’t have any tax here,” he said, “and you don’t have to give treasure to the gover. With some of this stuff I could have quite a det time here—perhaps in en. It sounds the least phony of the tries. I wonder how much I carry? That bracelet now—tho things in it are probably diamonds—I’ll slip that on my own wrist. Too big, but not if I push it right up here above my elbow. Then fill my pockets with diamonds—that’s easier than gold. I wonder when this infernal rain’s going to let up?” He got into a less unfortable part of the pile, where it was mostly s, and ttled down to wait. But a bad fright, when o is over, and especially a bad fright following a mountain walk, leaves you very tired. Eustace fell asleep.
By the time he was sound asleep and sn the others had finished dinner and became riously alarmed about him. They shouted, “Eustace！ Eustace！ Coo-ee！” till they were hoar and Caspian blew his horn.