All sat down， but one （it was Edmund） jumped up again very quickly.
“They go in for sharp stones on this island，” he said， groping about in the heather. “Where is the wretched thing？ . . . Ah， now I’ve got it . . . Hullo！ It wasn‘t a stone at all， it’s a sword-hilt. No， by jove， it‘s a whole sword； what the rust has left of it. It must have lain here for ages.”
“Narnian， too， by the look of it，” said Caspian， as they all crowded round.
“I’m sitting on something too，” said Lucy. “Something hard.” It turned out to be the remains of a mail-shirt. By this time everyone was on hands and knees， feeling in the thick heather in every direction. Their search revealed， one by one， a helmet， a dagger， and a few coins； not Calormen crescents but genuine Narnian “Lions” and “Trees” such as you might see any day in the market place of Beaversdam or Beruna. “Looks as if this might be all that‘s left of one of our seven lords，”
said Edmund.
“Just what I was thinking，” said Caspian. “I wonder which it was. There’s nothing on the dagger to show. And I wonder how he died.”
“And how we are to avenge him，” added Reepicheep.
Edmund， the only one of the party who had read several detective stories， had meanwhile been thinking.
“Look here，” he said， “there‘s something very fishy about this. He can’t have been killed in a fight.”
“Why not？” asked Caspian.
“No bones，” said Edmund. “An enemy might take the armour and leave the body. But who ever heard of a chap who‘d won a fight carrying away the body and leaving the armour？”
“Perhaps he was killed by a wild animal，” Lucy suggested.
“It’d be a clever animal，” said Edmund， “that would take a man‘s mailshirt off.”
“Perhaps a dragon？” said Caspian.
“Nothing doing，” said Eustace. “A dragon couldn’t do it. I ought to know.”
“Well， let‘s get away from the place， anyway，” said Lucy. She had not felt like sitting down again since Edmund had raised the question of bones.
“If you like，” said Caspian， getting up. “I don’t think any of this stuff is worth taking away.”
They came down and round to the little opening where the stream came out of the lake， and stood looking at the deep water within the circle of cliffs. If it had been a hot day， no doubt some would have been tempted to bathe and everyone would have had a drink. Indeed， even as it was， Eustace was on the very point of stooping down and scooping up some water in his hands when Reepicheep and Lucy both at the same moment cried， “Look，” so he forgot about his drink and looked.
The bottom of the pool was made of large greyish-blue stones and the water was perfectly clear， and on the bottom lay a life-size figure of a man， made apparently of gold. It lay face downwards with its arms stretched out above its head. And it so happened that as they looked at it， the clouds parted and the sun shone out. The golden shape was lit up from end to end. Lucy thought it was the most beautiful statue she had ever seen.
“Well！” whistled Caspian. “That was worth coming to see！ I wonder， can we get it out？”
“We can dive for it， Sire，” said Reepicheep.
“No good at all，” said Edmund. “At least， if it‘s really gold-solid gold-it’ll be far too heavy to bring up. And that pool‘s twelve or fifteen feet deep if it’s an inch. Half a moment， though. It‘s a good thing I’ve brought a hunting spear with me. Let‘s see what the depth is like. Hold on to my hand， Caspian， while I lean out over the water a bit.” Caspian took his hand and Edmund， leaning forward， began to lower his spear into the water.
Before it was half-way in Lucy said， “I don’t believe the statue is gold at all. It‘s only the light. Your spear looks just the same colour.”
“What’s wrong？” asked several voices at once； for Edmund had suddenly let go of the spear.
“I couldn‘t hold it，” gasped Edmund， “it seemed so heavy.”
“And there it is on the bottom now，” said Caspian， “and Lucy is right. It looks just the same colour as the statue.”
But Edmund， who appeared to be having some trouble with his boots-at least he was bending down and looking at them- straightened himself all at once and shouted out in the sharp voice which people hardly ever disobey：
“Get back！ Back from the water. All of you. At once！！” They all did and stared at him.
“Look，” said Edmund， “look at the toes of my boots.” “They look a bit yellow，” began Eustace.
“They’re gold， solid gold，” interrupted Edmund. “Look at them. Feel them. The leather‘s pulled away from it already. And they’re as heavy as lead.”
“By Aslan！” said Caspian. “You don‘t mean to say-？”
“Yes， I do，” said Edmund. “That water turns things into gold. It turned the spear into gold， that’s why it got so heavy. And it was just lapping against my feet （it‘s a good thing I wasn’t barefoot） and it turned the toe-caps into gold. And that poor fellow on the bottom- well， you see.”
“So it isn‘t a statue at all，” said Lucy in a low voice.
“No. The whole thing is plain now. He was here on a hot day. He undressed on top of the cliff-where we were sitting. The clothes have rotted away or been taken by birds to line nests with； the armour’s still there. Then he dived and-”
“Don‘t，” said Lucy. “What a horrible thing.”
“And what a narrow shave we’ve had，” said Edmund.
“Narrow indeed，” said Reepicheep. “Anyone‘s finger， anyone’s foot， anyone‘s whisker， or anyone’s tail， might have slipped into the water at any moment.”
“All the same，” said Caspian， “we may as well test it.” He stooped down and wrenched up a spray of heather. Then， very cautiously， he knelt beside the pool and dipped it in. It was heather that he dipped； what he drew out was a perfect model of heather made of the purest gold， heavy and soft as lead.
“The King who owned this island，” said Caspian slowly， and his face flushed as he spoke， “would soon be the richest of all the Kings of theworld. I claim this land for ever as a Narnian possession. It shall be called Goldwater Island. And I bind all of you to secrecy. No one must know of this. Not even Drinian-on pain of death， do you hear？”
“Who are you talking to？” said Edmund. “I‘m no subject of yours.