"That's the worst of it," said Mr Tumnus with a deep groan. "I'm a kidnapper for her, 
that's what I am. Look at me, Daughter of Eve. Would you believe that I'm the sort of 
Faun to meet a poor innocent child in the wood, one that had never done me any harm, and 
pretend to be friendly with it, and invite it home to my cave, all for the sake of 
lulling it asleep and then handing it over to the White Witch?"
    
    "No," said Lucy. "I'm sure you wouldn't do anything of the sort."
    
    "But I have," said the Faun.
    
    "Well," said Lucy rather slowly (for she wanted to be truthful and yet not be too 
hard on him), "well, that was pretty bad. But you're so sorry for it that I'm sure you 
will never do it again."
    
    "Daughter of Eve, don't you understand?" said the Faun. "It isn't something I have 
done. I'm doing it now, this very moment."
    
    "What do you mean?" cried Lucy, turning very white.
    
    "You are the child," said Tumnus. "I had orders from the White Witch that if ever I 
saw a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve in the wood, I was to catch them and hand them 
over to her. And you are the first I've ever met. And I've pretended to be your friend an 
asked you to tea, and all the time I've been meaning to wait till you were asleep and 
then go and tell Her."
    
    "Oh, but you won't, Mr Tumnus," said Lucy. "Yo won't, will you? Indeed, indeed you 
really mustn't."
    
    "And if I don't," said he, beginning to cry again "she's sure to find out. And she'll 
have my tail cut off and my horns sawn off, and my beard plucked out, and she'll wave her 
wand over my beautiful clove hoofs and turn them into horrid solid hoofs like wretched 
horse's. And if she is extra and specially angry she'll turn me into stone and I shall be 
only statue of a Faun in her horrible house until the four thrones at Cair Paravel are 
filled and goodness knows when that will happen, or whether it will ever happen at all."
    
    "I'm very sorry, Mr Tumnus," said Lucy. "But please let me go home."
    
    "Of course I will," said the Faun. "Of course I've got to. I see that now. I hadn't 
known what Humans were like before I met you. Of course I can't give you up to the Witch; 
not now that I know you. But we must be off at once. I'll see you back to the lamp-post. 
I suppose you can find your own way from there back to Spare Oom and War Drobe?"
    
    "I'm sure I can," said Lucy.
    
    "We must go as quietly as we can," said Mr Tumnus. "The whole wood is full of her 
spies. Even some of the trees are on her side."
    
    They both got up and left the tea things on the table, and Mr Tumnus once more put up 
his umbrella and gave Lucy his arm, and they went out into the snow. The journey back was 
not at all like the journey to the Faun's cave; they stole along as quickly as they 
could, without speaking a word, and Mr Tumnus kept to the darkest places. Lucy was 
relieved when they reached the lamp-post again.
    
    "Do you know your way from here, Daughter o Eve?" said Tumnus.
    
    Lucy looked very hard between the trees and could just see in the distance a patch of 
light that looked like daylight. "Yes," she said, "I can see the wardrobe door."
    
    "Then be off home as quick as you can," said the Faun, "and-c-can you ever forgive me 
for what meant to do?"
    
    "Why, of course I can," said Lucy, shaking him heartily by the hand. "And I do hope 
you won't get into dreadful trouble on my account."
    
    "Farewell, Daughter of Eve," said he. "Perhaps I may keep the handkerchief?"
    
    "Rather!" said Lucy, and then ran towards the far off patch of daylight as quickly as 
her legs would carry her. And presently instead of rough branch brushing past her she 
felt coats, and instead of crunching snow under her feet she felt wooden board and all at 
once she found herself jumping out of the wardrobe into the same empty room from which 
the whole adventure had started. She shut the wardrobe door tightly behind her and looked 
around, panting for breath. It was still raining and she could hear the voices of the 
others in the passage.
    
    "I'm here," she shouted. "I'm here. I've come back I'm all right."
    
    
    
    CHAPTER THREE
    
    EDMUND AND THE WARDROBE
    
    Lucy ran out of the empty room into the passage and found the other three.
    
    "It's all right," she repeated, "I've comeback."
    
    "What on earth are you talking about, Lucy?" asked Susan.
    
    "Why? said Lucy in amazement, "haven't you all been wondering where I was?"
    
    "So you've been hiding, have you?" said Peter. "Poor old Lu, hiding and nobody 
noticed! You'll have to hide longer than that if you want people to start looking for 
you."
    
    "But I've been away for hours and hours," said Lucy.
    
    The others all stared at one another.
    
    "Batty!" said Edmund, tapping his head. "Quite batty."