Chapter 16 Chapter 1 Taming Sméagol

"Okay, master, we really have nowhere to go this time!" Sam Gange said.He stood hunched over Frodo, dejected, and squinting at the scene before him.It was their third night away from the expedition, but that was a forced reckoning, and it was almost entirely forgotten how many hours had passed since their trek through the rugged terrain of Eminmore.During this time, sometimes they will hit a dead end and have to turn back, and other times they will find themselves going in circles.But, basically, they kept going steadily, following the edge of the mountains as much as possible.Often they came across impassable precipices overlooking the plains below, surrounded by wild terrain devoid of bird or animal.

The hobbit was standing beside a high cliff at this time. The top was bare and barren, and the bottom was surrounded by mist. Behind the cliff, hills interspersed with clouds and mist could be seen.The land ahead has gradually been shrouded in darkness, and the green that looked disgusting before has now turned into a dying brown.Far to the right was Anduin, which had shone brightly in the sun, but was now covered by shadows.But their eyes did not return to Gondor, to the land of friends and humans. They continued to look south and east to watch the night slowly rushing from afar, as erratic as the mountains on the other side of the horizon.In an extremely distant place, occasionally there would be faint red flames rising up, and then disappearing. "What a contradiction!" Sam said. "There is only one place in the world that we have heard of but never want to get close to. Now we are heading in that direction! And we have no way to go there. It seems that we Going the wrong way. We can't go down the cliff, and even if we did, I bet it's a hard swamp down there. Bah! Can you smell it?" He sniffed against the wind.

"Yes, I can smell it," said Frodo, but he stood still, his eyes searching the sky for the flickering fire. "Mordor!" he murmured under his breath. "If I have to go there, I hope it ends quickly!" He shuddered.The evening wind is not only cold, but also smells of corruption. "Okay," he finally looked away. "Regardless of whether there is a road or not, we cannot spend the night here. We must find a more sheltered place and camp there. Maybe we can find another road the next day." "Maybe the day after tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow..." Sam muttered, "Maybe never, we might just be on the wrong track!"

"I am not sure," said Frodo, "I think it is my destiny to go to that dreadful place of darkness, and so we must find a way. But will it be good or evil that will make me find it?" What? Our only hope is speed. As long as we procrastinate, we are dancing to the music of the Demon Lord; but I am stuck here now, procrastinating and unable to move forward. Is it the power in the evil black tower that is interfering with us? All I have All my choices have gone wrong. I should have left the expedition sooner, down the great river from the north, straight across the Emynmore, onto the plains of war, and to the gates of Mordor. But now, by you and me People really can't find their way back, orcs are haunting the east coast again, and precious minutes are being lost. I'm tired, Sam, and I don't know what else to do. What food do we have?"

"That's all that's left, what you call Lambas, Mr. Frodo. Much better than nothing. When I first ate this delicious food, I never thought I'd think Need a change. But I'm really tired now, a piece of white bread, a glass of - alas, half a glass of beer. I brought a lot of kitchen equipment from the camp, what's the use? First, there is nothing to start a fire, Then there is nothing to cook, this time there is no grass!" They turned their heads and walked down a rocky valley.The setting sun was already covered by clouds and mist, and night fell quickly.They try to get as much sleep as possible while they're running around, so it's important to find a good spot to camp.They found a recess in the base of the weathered boulder, at least sheltered from the cold east wind.

"Did you see him again, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked next morning, as he sat trembling in the recess, chewing his dry food. "No," said Frodo, "I have seen nothing and heard nothing for two days." "Neither have I," said Sam. "Phew! Those eyes really frighten me beyond words! Maybe we've got rid of him at last. Gollum! Humph! If I ever get him I'll pinch him Gollum Gollum can't stop barking!" "I hope you never need to do this," said Frodo. "I don't know how he followed us, but it is possible, as you say, that he may have lost track. In this parched land we There are no footprints at all, and no smell for his nose."

"I hope so," said Sam, "I wish I could get rid of him forever!" "Me too," said Frodo, "but he is not our chief problem. I wish I could get out of the Hills! I hate this place. Here I see no cover from the East, only the It’s a dead and silent plain, and the devil’s eye is still watching over there. Come on! We must find a way to get down today.” Time passed slowly, everything was almost over, and they were still running around on the edge of the hill, unable to find a way to leave. Sometimes, in the stillness of this heath, they fancied that they heard sounds behind them, perhaps the sound of falling stones, or the phantom sound of webbed feet upon the ground; but if they stopped and carefully When they listened, they could not hear anything but the faint sigh of the wind blowing through the rocks, which often reminded them of the sound of the wind blowing the sharp teeth.

All day they had trudged along the outer edge of Eminmore, watching the terrain turn gradually to the north.On the edge of the highlands there are continuous flats and many rocks, occasionally cut by ditch-like moats, which leave traces on the steep cliffs.Trying to find their way between these perils, Frodo and Sam were forced to keep to the left, and away from the edge of the high ground.They did not notice that the terrain had gradually declined for several miles, and that the level of the clifftops was slowly beginning to level with the lowlands. They finally stopped, and the slope in front of them suddenly turned to the north, and was cut by a deep ditch again; on the other side, the ditch continued to rise, and it became a straight up and down cliff, as if cut by a knife.Seeing that they could not move forward, they had to turn west or east, but if they went west, they would only spend more energy and effort, and returned to the mountains, while in the east they could only go to the mountains. cliff edge.

"Sam, we have no choice but to go down the ditch," said Frodo; "let us first see where this leads!" "I guess it's probably high above the ground," Sam said. The ditch was indeed taller and deeper than it appeared.Not far down, they found several clumps of tangled and dry old trees. This was the first time they had seen large plants in many days. The tree was dead, almost shriveled under the cold easterly wind.Perhaps in better weather, this place was originally a lush clump of vegetation, but after less than fifty yards, the surrounding environment became barren again, and only a broken old tree stump struggled to stand on the cliff the edge of.This deep ditch extends all the way out, turning into a steep slope filled with broken rocks that hangs down.They came to the edge of the ditch with difficulty, and Frodo looked down.

"Look!" he said, "we must have gone down a long way without knowing it, or else the cliff itself has gotten shorter. It's much lower here than it was before, and it looks like we should go down." It won't be too difficult." Sam got down on one knee beside him, looking down reluctantly.Then he looked up again at the cliff to the left that plunged into the sky. "It's so much easier!" he muttered, "Okay! I guess going down will always be easier than going up. If you can't fly, you'll always jump!" "It's still a long way to jump, I'm afraid!" said Frodo. "Perhaps, I'll see—" He cast his eyes for a moment, trying to estimate the height of the place. "I think it's about thirty-six feet at most! It's not too high."

"That's enough!" said Sam. "Oh! My God! I hate looking down from such a high place! But it's better to look than to climb." "It's all the same," said Frodo, "I think we can climb down this way, if we don't try. You see, the rock here is very different from what it was a few miles ago, and it has broken down many times here, and there are many landings." The place." The terrain blocking the plains and cliffs is no longer so precipitous, but has become relatively flat. It looks like a coast after the tide has receded, leaving many deformed and distorted cracks, like stairs of the wrong size. "If we want to go down, we'd better hurry, it's getting dark fast today, I guess a storm is coming!" The mountains in the east are now surrounded by a layer of misty mist that is looming close, and there are bursts of muffled thunder blowing with the wind.Frodo sniffed the air, and looked suspiciously at the sky.He fastened the belt around his cloak, put his knapsack on his back, and walked to the edge of the cliff. "Let me try it," he said. "Okay!" Sam said with a sullen expression, "let me go down first!" "You?" said Frodo, "how have you changed your mind again?" "I haven't changed my mind. It's just a reasonable thing to do. Put the person most likely to fall off the cliff first. I don't want to knock you down with me. There's no need to kill two people at once." Before Frodo had time to stop him, he sat down, stretched his little feet over the cliff, and turned, trying to find some ground with his toes.He didn't know if he had done anything more stupid than this in his life. "No, no! Sam, you fellow!" said Frodo. "You will kill yourself by climbing down without even looking! Come back!" and he seized Sam by the arm and threw him pull back. "Come on, wait a minute, be patient!" he said.Then, lying on the ground, he stretched out his head to look down the cliff; but, although it was not yet dark, the sunlight was fading rapidly. "I think we should be able to climb down," he said after careful observation. "At least I can, and you, if you keep calm and do what I say, you should be fine." "I don't know how you can be so sure," Sam said, "Look! We can't even see the bottom of the cliff in this light, and what if you end up with nothing to stand on? " "Crawl back, I suppose," said Frodo. "Easy to say," protested Sam, "better wait until morning, when it's brighter." "No, I would not do it while I had the chance," said Frodo, suddenly, with anger, "I will use every moment of my life to get out of this place before I come back to call you. Don't act rashly!" He grasped the edge of the cliff with his fingers, and slowly lowered his body. When his arms were almost stretched to the limit, his toes just stepped on a foothold. "First step is fine!" he said. "This ledge goes all the way to the right, and I can stand here without a brace. I'm going to—" His voice was cut off. The fast-running darkness approached rapidly from the east, engulfing the entire sky, and there was the sound of dry thunder directly above, and the lightning struck directly and fell into the hills.Immediately after that came a gust of wind, mixed with it was a shrill scream.They had heard such a cry long ago, when they fled from Hobbiton; and even in the woods of Hobbiton it had chilled their blood.In this barren wasteland, the effect of this cry was particularly frightening. Like a cold blade condensed from fear and despair, it pierced viciously into the chests of the two men, making them unable to breathe.Immediately Sam fell on his stomach, and Frodo involuntarily let go of his hands, covering his ears and head.He shook a few times, lost his footing, and fell down screaming. Sam heard the sound, and immediately exerted all his strength, overcome his fear and climbed to the edge of the cliff. "Master, master!" he shouted, "Master!" When there was no answer, he found himself trembling, so he took a deep breath and shouted again, "Master!" The gust of wind seemed to blow his voice back into his throat, but immediately after the sound of the wind passed, he heard a voice answering from below. "It's okay, it's okay! I'm here, but I can't see anything." Frodo's voice was weak.He wasn't actually very far from Sam.He had just slipped, didn't fall off the cliff, and almost immediately found a place to stand on another ledge below.Fortunately, the cliff here is sloping, and the previous strong wind just made him lie firmly on the cliff, so he didn't fall down.He stabilized his figure, pressed his face against the cold stone, and felt his heartbeat.But I don't know if it was because the darkness was too dense, or he lost his eyesight, and there was only darkness in front of him.he Doubting whether he was blind, he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Come back! Come back!" he heard Sam's voice piercing the darkness. "No way," he said, "I can't see, I can't find a place to hold on to, I can't move yet." "What can I do, Mr. Frodo? What can I do?" Sam threw his entire upper body over the cliff, regardless of safety.Why can't the master see it?It was very dark, but not so dark that you couldn't see anything.He could see the gray figure of Frodo below, sprawled on the wall, but too far away to help. There was another burst of thunder, and heavy rain fell.The rain mixed with hail rushed towards the cliff, carrying a biting cold. "I'm coming down," Sam yelled, but for a moment he couldn't think of the use of coming down. "No, no! Wait!" Frodo's voice was much stronger now. "I should be back soon, I'm already feeling better. Wait! Don't do anything without a rope." "Rope!" Sam said to himself when he was excited. That's right. Rope!" "Stop talking!" Frodo had regained enough strength to feel both angry and amused. "Never mind what your dad said! Do you mean you have a rope in your pocket? If so, take it out!" "Yes, Mr. Frodo, it's all in my bag. I've carried it hundreds of miles, and I've forgotten all about it when I need it!" "Then hurry up and hang down the rope!" Sam quickly took off the backpack and rummaged through it.At the bottom of the bag there was indeed a rope kneaded by the elves of Lórien, and he threw one end to his master.The darkness before Frodo's eyes seemed to disappear, or he regained his sight.He could see the gray rope hanging all the way down, and there seemed to be a faint silvery gleam in his eyes.Now his eyes could finally find focus in the dark, and his dizziness began to subside.He leaned forward desperately, tied the rope tightly around his waist, and then held the rope with both hands.Sam backed away a few steps, put his feet on the stump, and Frodo scrambled back to the top of the cliff. Lightning kept flickering in the distance, and the rain was still heavy.The hobbit crawled back into the chasm again, but this time there was no shelter.A lot of rainwater started to run into the ditch, and they found a big rock that was big enough to hold back most of the splashing water, and it looked like a big roof. "If I had stayed there, I would have been drowned, or washed to the bottom of the cliff," said Frodo. "What a coincidence that you have the rope on you!" "It would have been better if I had thought of it sooner!" said Sam. "Perhaps you remember the elf put the rope on our boat as we were leaving. I liked how those ropes worked, so I kept a piece of it in my knapsack." Here, it feels like ages ago. 'It will help a lot,' said some elf in Haldar, and he was right!" "It's a pity I didn't think of bringing an extra," said Frodo. "I left the expedition in such haste, that if we had more rope we could have used it to hang down the precipice. Didn't know your rope how long?" Sam carefully measured with his arms. "Five, ten, twenty, thirty arms long," he said. "Who would have thought it was so long!" said Frodo in amazement. "Ah! Who knew?" Sam said, "Elves are such an amazing race. They look very thin, but they are actually very strong. They feel as smooth as silk, and they are also very small when they are packed up. They are as heavy as feathers. Same. What an amazing race they are!" "Thirty arms long!" Frodo reckoned in his head. "I think it should be enough. If the rainstorm ends before midnight, I should give it a try." "The rain is beginning to abate," said Sam; "but, Mr. Frodo, don't risk the low light! Even if you don't mind the howling in the wind, I am. Sounds like the Black Riders, just from the air, as if they've learned to fly. I think we'd better wait until daybreak before trying to get out of this place." "And I do not feel that I should stay here any longer, and suffer the watchful eye of the Dark Realm, if not absolutely necessary." As soon as Frodo had finished speaking, he stood up and went to the bottom of the ditch.He probed to look out, the sky in the east became clear again, the outer edge of the storm had begun to disintegrate, and the most important rain cloud had already floated above Eminmore, which was where Sauron had concentrated his thoughts before. .The cloud turned, and struck rain and lightning upon the valleys of Anduril, and cast shadows upon Minas Tirith, as if bringing threatened war.Then the cloud passed out of the mountains, and grew higher and higher, till at last it came to the borders of Gondor and Rohan;However, on this wasteland that seemed to be forgotten by the world, the azure sky opened again, and a few dim stars appeared in the sky, as if the sky above the new moon had opened a few small openings. "It's good to be able to see again!" said Frodo, taking a deep breath. "You know, I thought I was blind! It's probably because of the lightning or some evil power. I see everything." Not to be seen until the rope was lowered, and it seemed to glow silver in the darkness." "It does look silver in the dark," said Sam; "I never noticed it before, though I haven't taken it out since I put it away last. Mr. Frodo, If you are so determined to climb down, what are you going to do with the rope? Thirty arms is about thirty-six feet long, which is about the same as your estimate of the cliff's height." Frodo thought for a moment. "Sam, tie it tight to the stump!" he said. "I think you can go down first this time. I'll put you down. You just need to keep your balance on your hands and feet. Then, if you can It is also good to stand where I can stabilize my body for a while and let me rest. When you go down, I will follow, and I feel that I have returned to normal." "Okay," Sam said heavily, "if we have no other choice, let's get this all done!" He took the rope and tied it tightly to the stump closest to the edge of the cliff, with the other side tied around his waist.He turned reluctantly, ready to climb down the cliff again. In fact, the experience this time was not as bad as he expected.The rope seemed to give him confidence. When he looked down, he still couldn't help closing his eyes several times.There was a rather dangerous part of the road, the mountain wall was concave, and there was no place to stay, so he could only swing by the rope.But Frodo continued to lower him steadily and steadily, and at last the journey came to an end.His greatest fear was that the rope would run out while he was still high above the ground; but Frodo still had several turns of rope in his hands when Sam stepped on the ground.He cried over his head, "I have arrived!" His voice was clear, but in the twilight his gray cloak became one with the earth, and Frodo could see nothing from the cliff-top. It took Frodo some more time to come down.He tied the rope harder on both sides, and wound the rope a few more times to avoid any danger.Because, he didn't want to risk falling off the cliff again, and he didn't have Sam's strong confidence in the rope.Likewise, he had to rely entirely on ropes for support in two of the places, where not even the hobbit's strong hands and feet could find any support.Fortunately, he got down safely. "Okay!" he yelled, "we did it! We finally escaped Eminmore! Don't know where to go now? Maybe we'll start complaining about the monotony of the terrain again soon." But Sam didn't answer, he looked back at the cliff. "Damn it!" he said, "Pig! My good rope! It's tied to a stump, we're down there, and there's just a stairway for that googlo. Just leave a sign to tell him where we're going! Yes It must be easy for him." "If you can think of a way of getting down on a rope and getting it back again, I'll take Pig's Head, or whatever your father calls you." said Frodo. "If you really If you want, you can climb back, untie the rope, and jump down again!" Sam scratched his head. "Sorry, I really can't think of what to do," he said, "but I really don't like leaving the rope here." He touched the rope tenderly and said, "Separate from the things you brought from the fairy kingdom. , really makes me sad. Perhaps Galadriel did it herself. Galadriel..." He said to himself, bowing his head sadly.He raised his head and gave the rope one final tug, as if saying goodbye to it. What surprised both hobbits happened: Sam fell, and the rope fell silently from the sky and landed in front of him.Frodo asked, laughing, "Who tied the rope?" He said, "Fortunately it held up at the critical moment! And I lean all my weight on the knot you tied!" Sam didn't smile. "Perhaps I'm not good at climbing mountains, Mr. Frodo," he said with wounded pride. "But I'm good at ropes and knots. It's in our family, you might say. My grandfather and Uncle Andy, I perform rope walks a few times a year. I did my best when I tied the rope, but I didn't neglect it." "Then, I suppose the rope may have frayed, or been rubbed against the edge of the precipice and broken it perhaps," said Frodo. "I bet it didn't!" said Sam, even more sadly.He bent down and examined the ends of the rope. "Really not. Look, there's not even a trace!" "Your skill in tying your knots is to be blamed, I am afraid," said Frodo. Sam shook his head, but didn't answer.He stroked the rope thoughtfully. "You may think what you will, Mr. Frodo," he said at last, "but I think the rope fell at my call." He rolled it up lovingly, and put it back in his knapsack. middle. "It did fall," said Frodo, "and that is the most important thing. But now we have to think what to do next, and it will be dark soon. You see, the moon and the stars How beautiful it looks!" "They really lift the mood, don't they?" Sam said, looking up. "For some reason, I think they look kind of elf-like. The moon is almost full too. It's been cloudy for a few days now." The sky does not see, the moon is getting brighter and brighter." "Yes," said Frodo, "but there are still some days before the full moon. I think it would be better for us not to travel across the Wastes in such light." Under the first shadow of night, the two started the second stage of their journey.After a while, Sam turned his head and looked at the road they had passed.The exit of the deep ditch looks like a gap in the cliff. "Fortunately we had the rope," he said, "we should have left a mystery for the stalker, and this time he can use those flippers to have fun on the cliff!" They carefully found their way away from the cliff among scattered rocks and bushes, and they had to be careful of the muddy and slippery ground due to heavy rain.The terrain was still quite steep, and they hadn't gone far before they came across a deep ditch that suddenly appeared in front of them.It's not very wide, but it's too dangerous to jump across in this low light.The two even thought they could hear the sound of the stream flowing in the ditch.The ditch bent to their left and prevented them from going north, at least not in this direction in the darkness. "I think we'd better go south along the cliff," said Sam, "and maybe we'll find a sheltered cave." "I think so, too," said Frodo. "I am tired, and however much I hate procrastination, I have not much strength left to cross the hills to-night. I wish there were a clear road before me, so that Come on, I'd rather wait until my leg is about to break before resting." Trekking at the foot of Eminmore did not make it much easier for them, and Sam found no shelter from the wind and rain, only increasingly steep rock faces and rough terrain.In the end, they could only find a big rock near the cliff to lie down exhaustedly.They hid pitifully under the boulder, fighting hard against the incessant drowsiness.The moon had risen to half a day high at this time, and the faint white light illuminated the drenched rock wall, turning the entire dark land into a terrain shrouded in black and gray shadows. "All right!" Frodo stood up, wrapping his cloak tighter. "Sam, cover me with my blanket and sleep for a while. I'll go first and take care of the night watch." Suddenly he felt chills all over his body, and immediately bent down and grabbed Sam's arm. "What's that?" he whispered, "Look what's that on the cliff!" Sam looked away and took a sharp breath at the same time. "Tsk!" he said, "That's the dead Gollum! Damn it! Thought I'd be able to trap him this time! And look! He crawled down like a spider." Under the pale moonlight, on the cliff that seemed to go straight up and down, a black figure stretched its limbs and climbed down.Perhaps his tentacles-like hands and feet can find gaps and footholds that hobbits cannot use, but from a distance, he seems to be advancing on the cliff by suckers, like some kind of lizard or insect; and, He was still crawling down with his head down, as if he was sniffing something.Sometimes he would raise his head slowly, and turn his long neck from side to side; and then the hobbit would see his eyes blink and blink at the moon, and then close again. "Do you think he can see us?" Sam said. "I am not sure," said Frodo in a low voice, "I suppose not, even for companions it is difficult to see through these elves' cloaks. I cannot see you at a few paces. And, I I've also heard that he doesn't seem to like the sun and the moon." "Then why is he crawling in this direction?" Sam asked. "Sam, be quiet!" warned Frodo. "Perhaps he can smell us, and I think he has as good a hearing as an Elf's. I think he has probably heard something by now, and it may be our talking. Weren't we yelling over there just now? Besides, we were talking too loudly not a few seconds ago." "Well, anyway, I'm tired of this guy chasing after me," Sam said. He's running away again." Sam put on his hood and moved soundlessly toward the edge of the cliff. "Be careful!" said Frodo, following in a low voice, "don't let him find out! He is much more dangerous than he appears." The black figure had climbed almost three-quarters of the way, and was less than fifty feet from the ground.Two hobbits lay in ambush beside a boulder, watching him motionlessly.He seems to have encountered a difficult road, or encountered some difficult choices.They could hear him sniffing, sometimes accompanied by a hiss that sounded like a curse.He raised his head, and Frodo and Sam thought they heard him spitting, and then he moved on down again.At this moment, they could finally hear him clearly saying to himself, "Ah, hiss! Be careful, my darling! Haste makes waste. We can't take too much risk, can we, darling? Of course, darling-- Goo Lu!" He raised his head again, blinked at the moon, and quickly closed his eyes. "We hate this thing!" he hissed. "Damn that nasty silver light—whoops—it watches over us, baby, and makes our eyes hurt." The hissing became clearer as he got closer to the ground. "My baby, my baby, where is it, where is it? It's ours, it's ours, we want it. These thieves, these thieves, these damn stinking thieves! They took my baby to Where did it go? Curse them! We hate them." "Sounds like he doesn't know we're here, does he?" Sam whispered. "What is his treasure? Could it be—" "Hush!" said Frodo in a low voice, "he is near enough to hear all our voices." Gollum did stop then, turning his great head on his long slender neck about, as if listening.His pale eyes were half-opened.Sam suppressed himself, but his fingers kept twisting.His eyes, full of anger and disgust, were focused on the deformed creature, watching him start moving again, talking to himself again.Finally, he reached a place less than a dozen feet from the ground, just above the heads of the two of them.From there, the cliff was concave, and even Gollum couldn't find any place to support his body. He seemed to want to turn his body around and was going to go down with his feet first.At this moment, he suddenly screamed and fell down. At the same time, his arms and feet wrapped around his body, like a spider whose silk thread suddenly snapped. Sam came out of hiding quickly, three strides in two to the edge of the cliff, and before Gollum had time to rise he was on it.But he was surprised to find that even if Gollum had just fallen off the cliff and encountered such a sudden crisis, it was much more difficult than he expected.Before Sam had time to grab him, his long hands and feet were embracing each other; the soft but extremely strong limbs were slowly tightening like silk threads, and two sticky hands were groping for him. throat, and then, his sharp teeth closed on Sam's shoulder.All Sam could do was slam his head into Gollum's face, and Gollum hissed and struggled, but would not let go. Had Sam been alone, unimaginable misfortune might have met him, but Frodo sprang forward and drew the thorn out of its sheath.He took Gollum's thinning hair with his left hand, causing him to fall back involuntarily, exposing his long neck, and forcing his malevolent eyes to stare skyward. "Let go, Gollum," he said, "it is the Lancet, a weapon you have seen before. Let go, or this time you will experience its power for yourself! I will slit your throat." Gollum immediately slumped to the ground like a torn thread, and Sam stood up, kneading his shoulders, his eyes full of anger, but he couldn't fight back, the poor enemy was lying on the stone now howling. "Don't hurt us! Baby, don't let them hurt us! Good hobbits don't hurt us, do they? We don't mean to hurt people, but they just jump on them like cats and mice, don't you, baby?" Gollum, we're so alone. As long as they're nice to us, we'll be nice to them, right, yes, hiss." 「好吧，这下子该怎么办？」山姆说：「我说把他绑起来，以后他就不会再有机会偷袭我们了。」 「但你这样会杀死我们，杀死我们……」咕鲁嘀嘀咕咕地说：「残酷的小哈比人，把我们绑在这里，丢下我们不管，咕鲁，咕鲁。」他不停发出咕噜声的喉咙里面，传出类似啜泣的声音。 「不能这样做，」佛罗多说：「如果我们要杀他，不能这样折磨他，最好是乾净俐落地杀死他；但像这种状况，我们又不能够这样做。可怜的小东西！他也没有伤害到我们。」 「喔，是嘛！」山姆揉著肩膀说：「他一定有这个念头，我敢打赌，只要给他机会，他绝不会犹豫的，他多半打算在我们睡觉的时候勒死我们。」 「或许吧，」佛罗多说。「他想什么是另一回事。」他开始仔细思考眼前的状况，咕鲁躺在地上不动，不再发出哀嚎声，山姆站在旁边，低头瞪著他。 佛罗多突然觉得自己听见了从遥远过去所传来的声音： 比尔博当时没有趁机杀死这家伙，真是太可惜了！ pity?正是对人命的怜惜阻止他下手，怜惜和同情：不要妄动杀机。 我实在没办法怜悯咕鲁，他被杀是罪有应得。 罪有应得！我可不这么认为，许多苟活世上的人其实早该一死，许多命不当绝的人却已逝于人世。你能够让他们起死回生吗？如果不行，就不要这么轻易论断他人的生死，即使是最睿智的人也无法考虑周详。 「好吧，」他放下宝剑大声地回答：「但我还是觉得很害怕。而且，正如同你所预料的，我不想伤害这个家伙。当我现在终于看见他的时候，我的确会怜悯这个可怜的生物。」 山姆瞪著主人，发现他似乎在和远方的某人交谈。咕鲁也抬起头。 「嘶嘶的，宝贝，我们真的很可怜，」他求饶道：「悲惨悲惨！好哈比人不会杀我们，好哈比人不会的。」 「没错，我们不会的，」佛罗多说：「但我们也不会让你就这样走掉。咕鲁，你满脑子都是坏念头和坏主意，你得跟我们一起来，好让我们监视著你。而且，你必须尽可能地帮助我们，这是你应该对我们作出的回报。」 「嘶的，嘶的，」咕鲁坐起来说：「好哈比人！我们愿意和你们走，可以帮忙在黑暗中找到安全路。没错，我们会的。你们在这一片荒地里面要去哪里？我们想知道，没错，我们想知道？」他抬头看著他，眼中闪过一道诡诈的光芒。 山姆皱眉怒视著他，但他也意识到主人的情绪有点起伏，没有必要再和他争执这次的决定，不过，他还是对于佛罗多接下来的回答感到惊讶。 佛罗多直视著咕鲁的双眼，让他退缩了回去。「你知道的，史麦戈，或者你已经猜到了──」他低声、严肃地说：「我们要去魔多，我相信，你也知道该怎么过去。」 「啊！嘶嘶！」咕鲁用手遮住耳朵，彷佛对方这么坦诚、这么公开的提到这名字，让他觉得极端痛苦。「我们有猜过，我们有猜过，」他低声说。「我们也不想要让他们去，是吧，宝贝？没错，宝贝，好哈比人不要去。那里都是灰、灰，还有烟尘；还会很口渴，到处都是洞穴、洞穴、洞穴，半兽人，几千名半兽人……好哈比人不要去──嘶嘶──那个地方。」 「你果然去过那边？」佛罗多紧追不舍：「你觉得被一股力量召唤回去，对吧？」 「嘶的，嘶──不！」咕鲁尖叫道：「一次而已，是意外，对吧，宝贝？是的，意外。我们不要回去，不要，不要！」他的声音和所用的语言突然间改变了，他开始在喉间啜泣，自言自语起来：「不要，咕鲁！你弄痛我了。喔，我的手好痛，咕鲁！我，我们，我不想要回去，我找不到。我好累了，我，我们找不到它，咕鲁，咕鲁，不知道──在哪里，他们永远都醒著。矮人、人类和精灵，可怕的精灵拥有明亮的双眼，我找不到。啊！」他站了起来，双拳紧握成一团肉球，对著东方大声咒骂：「我们不要！」他大喊著：「不要为你这么做。」然后他又倒了下来。「咕鲁，咕鲁，」他的脸趴在地上：「不要看我们！快走！去睡觉！」 「史麦戈，他不会听你的话就离开或是去睡觉的，」佛罗多说：「如果你真的想要摆脱他，你就必须帮助我，而唯一的方法，恐怕就是找到前往他老巢的道路。你不需要跟我们到最后，最多只需要带路到门口就可以了。」 咕鲁再度坐起来，眯著眼睛看著对方。「他就在那边，」他沙哑地说：「一直都在的，半兽人会把你带过去，在河东岸很容易可以遇到半兽人，别问史麦戈。可怜，可怜的史麦戈，他很久很久以前去过一次，他们把他的宝贝拿走了，现在永远找不到了！」 「如果你跟我们来，或许我们可以再找到他。」佛罗多说。「不，不会的，永远找不到！他弄丢了宝贝。」咕鲁说。 「站起来！」佛罗多说。 咕鲁站起来，不停地后退，直到靠在山壁上为止。 「听著！」佛罗多说：「你可以找到白天或是黑夜走起来比较安全的路吗？我们很疲倦，不过，如果你选择昼伏夜出，我们可以从今晚开始。」 「大亮光弄痛我们的眼睛，真的，」咕鲁哀嚎著：「不能在白天底下走，时候还没到。它很快就会跑到山后面，嘶的。好哈比人，先休息一下！」 「那么先坐下来，」佛罗多说：「不要乱动！」 哈比人们在他身边坐了下来，一边一个人，每个人的背都靠著墙壁，不约而同地伸出脚来休息。他们彼此之间不需要任何的沟通，全都知道不能够浪费时间在睡觉上面。月亮慢慢地隐退，阴影从山脉间落下，一切被黑暗所笼罩，天空上的星辰在黑暗衬托下，显得额外的明亮。咕鲁将膝盖顶著下巴，手和脚放在地上，闭著眼，但他的身体十分的僵硬，似乎在倾听著些什么。 佛罗多看著山姆，两人的眼神交会，立刻就明白对方的意思。他们放松下来，头靠著山壁，假装闭上眼。咕鲁的手抽动了一下，他的头用几乎无法察觉的动作，往左右微微扫视了片刻。接著，他先张开一只眼，然后是另外一只，哈比人不动声色。 突然间，咕鲁用惊人的速度和敏捷度，如同青蛙般地一跃而起，冲入黑暗中，但这正好是在山姆和佛罗多的预料中。在他跳不了两步之后，山姆就扑了上去，佛罗多正好赶过来抓住他的腿，将他绊倒。 「山姆，你的绳子可能又要派上用场了，」他说。 山姆拿出绳子。「咕鲁先生，在这个荒凉的地方，你又准备要去哪里啊？」他咬牙切齿地说：「我们很怀疑哪，很怀疑，我敢保证是要去找你的半兽人朋友吧。 你这个肮脏的狡猾东西，这绳子应该套在你的脖子上打结才对，而且还应该是个死结。 " 咕鲁静静地躺在地上，不敢轻举妄动。他并没有回答山姆，只是用怨毒的眼神看著他。 「我们接下来，只需要找到什么东西可以固定住他就好了，」佛罗多说，「我们想要让他可以走路，所以不能够绑住他的腿，或是他的手臂，这家伙走起路来似乎是手脚并用的。那么就绑住他的一只脚踝，另外一端由我们来抓住就好了。」 在山姆打绳结的时候，他低头看著咕鲁，绳子的效果让他们全都吃了一惊。咕鲁开始尖叫，那是种单薄、刺耳的声音，让人听起来很难过。他不停地扭动，试著用嘴巴咬绳子，不管旁人怎么反应，他就是尖叫个不停。最后，佛罗多终于相信他是真的很痛苦，但这应该不是绳结的效果。他仔细地检查绳结，发现它并不算特别紧，事实上根本不够紧。山姆一向是刀子嘴、豆腐心。「你怎么搞的？」他说：「如果你老是想逃跑，我们一定得把你绑起来，但我们又不想伤到你。」 「好痛，我们好痛，」咕鲁嘶嘶地说：「它好冰、好痛！精灵弄的，诅咒他们！残酷的哈比人！当然了，宝贝，就是因为这样我们才会想要逃跑。我们早就猜到他们是残酷的哈比人。他们和精灵是朋友，那些大眼睛的残酷精灵。快拿走！我们好痛。」 「不，我不会把它从你身上拿走，」佛罗多说：「除非──」他思考了片刻：「除非你可以发誓让我相信你。」 「我们愿意发誓遵照他的命令，是的，嘶嘶的，」咕鲁依旧抓著脚踝不停扭动。「好痛喔！」「发誓？」佛罗多说。 「史麦戈，」咕鲁突然张开眼，尚尚有神的目光瞪著佛罗多：「史麦戈以宝贝见证。」 佛罗多立刻站了起来，山姆又再度对他的严肃表情和话语感到惊讶。「以宝贝见证？你好大的胆子！」他说：「你想想！魔戒全属至尊御，众戒归一黑暗中。你愿意发出这样的誓言吗？史麦戈，这会控制你的。而且，它比你狡猾太多了。它会刻意影响你的誓言，要小心点！」 咕鲁趴在地上。「以宝贝见证，以宝贝见证！」他重复道。 「你愿意怎么样？」佛罗多问。 「非常非常乖，」咕鲁说。然后，他趴在地面上，用沙哑的声音低语道，同时，彷佛这句话让他感到极为害怕，他开始浑身发抖：「史麦戈发誓，永远，永远不会让他得到它。永远！史麦戈会救它，但他必须以宝贝见证。」 「不！不能，」佛罗多用严厉、怜悯的眼神低头看著他。「你只想要看它、碰触它，即使你知道它会把你逼疯。不，不能用它见证，但是，你可以以它起誓。是的，史麦戈，你知道它在哪里，它就在你面前──」一瞬间，在山姆的眼中他的主人突然变得高大，而史麦戈则是缩小了：一个高大的贵族用灰色的云朵遮住浑身的光芒，而他的脚前则有一只乞怜的小狗。但是，从某个角度来看，这两个人似乎彼此之间有类似之处，他们可以感知到彼此的思想。咕鲁直起身子，开始摸著佛罗多的小腿，亲吻著他的膝盖。 「趴下！趴下！」佛罗多说：「快发誓！」 「我们发誓，是的，我发誓！」咕鲁说：「我愿意服侍宝贝的主人。好主人，好史麦戈，咕鲁，咕鲁！」突然间，他又开始啜泣，回头咬齧著自己的脚踝。 「山姆，把绳子解开！」佛罗多说。 山姆不情愿的照做了，咕鲁立刻站了起来，开始到处乱跑，好像一名刚被鞭打的小狗又被主人摸头一样的兴奋。从那时开始，有某种改变发生了，并且在他身上持续了一段时间。他不再哀嚎、不再发出那么多的嘶嘶声，他会直接对同伴说话，不再对宝贝说话。如果他们靠近他，或是做出什么突然的动作，他会猛然退缩；而且，他也刻意避开他们的精灵斗篷。不过，总体来说，他还是非常的友善、费尽心力想要讨好人，让人看了很不忍心。如果有任何人说了笑话，甚至只是佛罗多对他开口，他都会咯咯大笑。如果佛罗多对他说话的口气重了些，他就会啜泣。山姆几乎不对他说话，他更怀疑眼前的这个生物，比起原来的咕鲁，他更讨厌这个新的史麦戈。 「好吧，咕鲁，不管是谁，我们在叫你就是了，」他说：「快点动身吧！月亮已经不见了，夜色也快开始减退了。我们最好出发了。」 「是的，是的，」咕鲁同意道：「我们出发！从北边到南边只有一条通道，是我找到的。半兽人不会用，半兽人不知道。半兽人不会走沼泽，他们会绕很远很远的路过去。你们走这边很幸运，遇到史麦戈更幸运。跟著史麦戈来！」 他走了几步，又回头等著后面的人，像是等待主人散步的小狗一样。 「等等，咕鲁！」山姆说：「别跑太远！我会紧跟著你，别忘记我手上还有绳子。」 「不会，不要！」咕鲁说：「史麦戈发过誓了。」 在清澈的星光之下，他们在深夜踏上了旅程。咕鲁领著他们往北回头走，然后靠向爱明莫尔的险峻陡坡，朝向底下的平原走过去。一行人很快的就融入黑暗之中。在魔多大门之前的一切地形，现在都笼罩在一片黑暗的寂静中。