Chapter II A KNIFE IN THE DARK As they prepared for sleep in the inn at Bree, darkness lay on Buckland; a mist strayed in the dells and along the river-bank. The house at Crickhollow stood silent. Fatty Bolger opened the door cautiously and peered out. A feeling of fear had been growing on him all day, and he was unable to rest or go to bed: there was a brooding threat in the breathless night-air. As he stared out into the gloom, a black shadow moved under the trees; the gate seemed to open of its own accord and close again without a sound. Terror seized him. He shrank back, and for a moment he stood trembling in the hall. Then he shut and locked the door. The night deepened. There came the soft sound of horses led with stealth along the lane. Outside the gate they stopped, and three black figures entered, like shades of night creeping across the ground. One went to the door, one to the corner of the house on either side; and there they stood, as still as the shadows of stones, while night went slowly on. The house and the quiet trees seemed to be waiting breathlessly. There was a faint stir in the leaves, and a cock crowed far away. The cold hour before dawn was passing. The figure by the door moved. In the dark without moon or stars a drawn blade gleamed, as if a chill light had been unsheathed. There was a blow, soft but heavy, and the door shuddered. ‘Open, in the name of Mordor!’ said a voice thin and menacing. At a second blow the door yielded and fell back, with timbers burst and lock broken. The black figures passed swiftly in. At that moment, among the trees nearby, a horn rang out. It rent the night like fire on a hill-top. AWAKE! FEAR! FIRE! FOES! AWAKE! Fatty Bolger had not been idle. As soon as he saw the dark shapes creep from the garden, he knew that he must run for it, or perish. And run he did, out of the back door, through the garden, and over the fields. When he reached the nearest house, more than a mile away, he collapsed on the doorstep. ‘No, no, no!’ he was crying. ‘No, not me! I haven’t got it!’ It was some time before anyone could make out what he was babbling about. At last they got the idea that enemies
第二章 暗夜中的刀 當他們在布理的客棧準備就寢時，黑暗籠罩著布克蘭；薄霧在谷地和河岸邊徘徊。克里克窪的屋子靜靜地矗立著。胖子波傑小心翼翼地打開門，向外窺看。一種恐懼感整天在他心中滋長，使他無法休息或入睡：在寂靜無風的夜氣中，潛伏著一股不祥的威脅。當他凝視著外頭的陰暗時，一個黑影在樹下移動；大門似乎自動開啟，又悄無聲息地關上。恐怖攫住了他。他退縮回來，有那麼一會兒，他站在門廳裡顫抖。然後他關上並鎖上了門。 夜色更深了。巷子裡傳來馬匹被偷偷牽著走的輕微聲響。他們在門外停下，三個黑影潛入，如同黑夜的幽魂在地面上匍匐前行。一個走向門口，另外兩個分別走向屋子的兩側角落；他們站在那裡，像石頭的影子一樣靜止不動，而長夜漫漫。房子和靜默的樹木似乎都在屏息以待。樹葉間有輕微的騷動，遠處傳來一聲雞鳴。黎明前那段最寒冷的時刻正在過去。門邊的身影動了。在沒有月亮或星光的黑暗中，一把出鞘的刀刃閃著寒光，彷彿一道冰冷的光芒被拔出了劍鞘。一聲輕微卻沉重的撞擊，門板為之震顫。「開門，奉魔多之名！」一個尖細而帶有威脅的聲音說。第二次撞擊下，門終於承受不住而倒下，門板破裂，鎖也壞了。黑影們迅速衝了進去。 就在那時，附近樹林中響起了號角聲。它像山頂上的火焰般劃破了黑夜。醒來！恐懼！火！敵人！醒來！ 胖子波傑可沒有閒著。他一看到那些黑影從花園裡爬出來，就知道自己必須馬上逃命，否則必死無疑。他確實拔腿就跑，從後門出去，穿過花園，越過田野。當他跑到一英里多外最近的房子時，他癱倒在門階上。「不，不，不！」他哭喊著。「不，不是我！東西不在我這！」過了好一會兒，才有人弄明白他在胡言亂語些什麼。最後他們才意識到有敵人……
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 177 were in Buckland, some strange invasion from the Old Forest. And then they lost no more time. FEAR! FIRE! FOES! The Brandybucks were blowing the Horn-call of Buckland, that had not been sounded for a hundred years, not since the white wolves came in the Fell Winter, when the Brandywine was frozen over. AWAKE! AWAKE! Far away answering horns were heard. The alarm was spreading. The black figures fled from the house. One of them let fall a hobbit-cloak on the step, as he ran. In the lane the noise of hoofs broke out, and gathering to a gallop, went hammering away into the darkness. All about Crickhollow there was the sound of horns blowing, and voices crying and feet running. But the Black Riders rode like a gale to the North-gate. Let the little people blow! Sauron would deal with them later. Meanwhile they had another errand: they knew now that the house was empty and the Ring had gone. They rode down the guards at the gate and vanished from the Shire. In the early night Frodo woke from deep sleep, suddenly, as if some sound or presence had disturbed him. He saw that Strider was sitting alert in his chair: his eyes gleamed in the light of the fire, which had been tended and was burning brightly; but he made no sign or movement. Frodo soon went to sleep again; but his dreams were again troubled with the noise of wind and of galloping hoofs. The wind seemed to be curling round the house and shaking it; and far off he heard a horn blowing wildly. He opened his eyes, and heard a cock crowing lustily in the inn-yard. Strider had drawn the curtains and pushed back the shutters with a clang. The first grey light of day was in the room, and a cold air was coming through the open window. As soon as Strider had roused them all, he led the way to their bedrooms. When they saw them they were glad that they had taken his advice: the windows had been forced open and were swinging, and the curtains were flapping; the beds were tossed about, and the bolsters slashed and flung upon the floor; the brown mat was torn to pieces. Strider immediately went to fetch the landlord. Poor Mr. Butterbur looked sleepy and frightened. He had hardly closed his eyes all night (so he said), but he had never heard a sound.
在布克蘭，他們以為是老林來的某種奇怪入侵。於是他們不再浪費時間。「恐懼！大火！敵人！」白蘭地鹿家吹響了布克蘭的號角，這號角已百年未曾響起，自從嚴冬那年白狼趁著白蘭地河冰封而來之後，就再也沒響過了。「醒來！醒來！」遠方傳來應和的號角聲。警報正在擴散。黑影們從屋子裡逃竄而出。其中一個在奔跑時，把一件哈比人斗篷掉在了台階上。巷子裡爆發出馬蹄聲，漸漸匯集成疾馳的奔跑，敲擊著地面遠去，消失在黑暗中。綠蔭山四周都是號角聲、哭喊聲和奔跑的腳步聲。但黑騎士們如狂風般向北門騎去。讓那些小傢伙吹吧！索倫稍後會再處理他們。與此同時，他們還有別的差事：他們現在知道屋子是空的，魔戒已經走了。他們衝倒了門口的守衛，從夏爾消失了。深夜時分，佛羅多從沉睡中突然醒來，彷彿被什麼聲音或存在驚擾了。他看見神行客警覺地坐在椅子上：他的雙眼在火光中閃爍，爐火已被照料過，燒得正旺；但他沒有做出任何表示或動作。佛羅多很快又睡著了；但他的夢境再次被風聲和疾馳的馬蹄聲所困擾。風似乎圍繞著房子呼嘯，搖撼著它；遠處，他聽到一陣狂野的號角聲。他睜開眼睛，聽到一隻公雞在旅店院子裡高聲啼叫。神行客已拉開窗簾，哐啷一聲推開了百葉窗。第一道灰色的天光照進房間，一股冷空氣從敞開的窗戶吹進來。神行客一叫醒大家，就領著他們去看各自的臥室。當他們看到房間的景象時，都慶幸自己聽從了他的建議：窗戶被強行撬開，正在搖晃，窗簾在飄動；床鋪被弄得亂七八糟，長枕被劃破，扔在地板上；棕色的地墊被撕成了碎片。神行客立刻去叫來了店主。可憐的奶油伯先生看起來又困又怕。他（據他自己說）整晚幾乎沒闔眼，卻從未聽到任何聲音。
178 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘Never has such a thing happened in my time!’ he cried, raising his hands in horror. ‘Guests unable to sleep in their beds, and good bolsters ruined and all! What are we coming to?’ ‘Dark times,’ said Strider. ‘But for the present you may be left in peace, when you have got rid of us. We will leave at once. Never mind about breakfast: a drink and a bite standing will have to do. We shall be packed in a few minutes.’ Mr. Butterbur hurried off to see that their ponies were got ready, and to fetch them a ‘bite’. But very soon he came back in dismay. The ponies had vanished! The stable-doors had all been opened in the night, and they were gone: not only Merry’s ponies, but every other horse and beast in the place. Frodo was crushed by the news. How could they hope to reach Rivendell on foot, pursued by mounted enemies? They might as well set out for the Moon. Strider sat silent for a while, looking at the hobbits, as if he was weighing up their strength and courage. ‘Ponies would not help us to escape horsemen,’ he said at last, thoughtfully, as if he guessed what Frodo had in mind. ‘We should not go much slower on foot, not on the roads that I mean to take. I was going to walk in any case. It is the food and stores that trouble me. We cannot count on getting anything to eat between here and Rivendell, except what we take with us; and we ought to take plenty to spare; for we may be delayed, or forced to go round-about, far out of the direct way. How much are you prepared to carry on your backs?’ ‘As much as we must,’ said Pippin with a sinking heart, but trying to show that he was tougher than he looked (or felt). ‘I can carry enough for two,’ said Sam defiantly. ‘Can’t anything be done, Mr. Butterbur?’ asked Frodo. ‘Can’t we get a couple of ponies in the village, or even one just for the baggage? I don’t suppose we could hire them, but we might be able to buy them,’ he added, doubtfully, wondering if he could afford it. ‘I doubt it,’ said the landlord unhappily. “The two or three ridingponies that there were in Bree were stabled in my yard, and they’re gone. As for other animals, horses or ponies for draught or what not, there are very few of them in Bree, and they won’t be for sale. But T’ll do what I can. Pll rout out Bob and send him round as soon as may be.’ ‘Yes,’ said Strider reluctantly, ‘you had better do that. I am afraid we shall have to try to get one pony at least. But so ends all hope of starting early, and slipping away quietly! We might as well have blown a horn to announce our departure. That was part of their plan, no doubt.’ ‘There is one crumb of comfort,’ said Merry, ‘and more than a
「我這輩子從沒發生過這種事！」他驚恐地舉起雙手喊道。「客人沒法在床上睡覺，好好的枕墊也全毀了！這世道是怎麼了？」「黑暗的時代來臨了，」神行客說。「不過目前來說，只要等我們離開，你就可以安靜了。我們馬上就走。別管早餐了：站著隨便吃喝點東西就行。我們幾分鐘內就能打包好。」奶油伯先生匆匆離開，去確認他們的小馬是否備妥，並為他們拿些「吃的」。但他很快就沮喪地回來了。小馬們不見了！馬廄的門在夜裡全被打開，牠們都跑了：不只是梅里的小馬，還有此處所有的馬匹和牲口。佛羅多被這消息徹底擊垮了。在騎馬的敵人追擊下，他們要怎麼指望靠雙腳走到瑞文戴爾？那簡直跟妄想去月球沒兩樣。神行客沉默地坐了一會兒，看著哈比人們，彷彿在衡量他們的體力和勇氣。「小馬幫不了我們躲過騎馬的人，」他終於開口，若有所思地說，彷彿猜到了佛羅多的心思。「走我打算走的路，我們步行的速度不會慢多少。我本來就打算走路。讓我煩惱的是食物和補給。從這裡到瑞文戴爾之間，除了我們自己帶的，別指望能弄到任何吃的；而且我們應該要多帶一些備用；因為我們可能會被耽擱，或被迫繞遠路，偏離直接的路線。你們準備好背多少東西？」「該背多少就背多少，」皮聘心情沉重地說，但仍試圖表現得比他看起來（或感覺上）更堅強。「我可以背兩個人的份，」山姆挑釁地說。「難道沒辦法了嗎，奶油伯先生？」佛羅多問。「我們不能在村裡弄到幾匹小馬嗎？或至少一匹來載行李也好？我想我們大概租不到，但或許可以買下來，」他遲疑地補充道，心裡盤算著自己是否負擔得起。「恐怕很難，」店主不高興地說。「布理僅有的兩三匹可騎的小馬都養在我院子裡的馬廄，現在牠們都不見了。至於其他的牲口，像是用來拉貨的馬或小馬之類的，布理這裡很少，而且人家也不會賣。但我會盡我所能。我會把鮑伯找出來，盡快派他四處去問問。」「是的，」神行客不情願地說，「你最好這麼做。恐怕我們至少得想辦法弄到一匹小馬。但這麼一來，提早出發、悄悄溜走的希望就全泡湯了！這跟吹號角宣告我們出發沒什麼兩樣。毫無疑問，這也是他們計畫的一部分。」「不過倒有一絲慰藉，」梅里說，「而且還不只一絲……
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 179 crumb, I hope: we can have breakfast while we wait — and sit down to it. Let’s get hold of Nob!’ In the end there was more than three hours’ delay. Bob came back with the report that no horse or pony was to be got for love or money in the neighbourhood — except one: Bill Ferny had one that he might possibly sell. ‘A poor old half-starved creature it is,’ said Bob; ‘but he won’t part with it for less than thrice its worth, seeing how you’re placed, not if I knows Bill Ferny.’ ‘Bill Ferny?’ said Frodo. ‘Isn’t there some trick? Wouldn’t the beast bolt back to him with all our stuff, or help in tracking us, or something?’ ‘I wonder,’ said Strider. ‘But I cannot imagine any animal running home to him, once it got away. I fancy this is only an afterthought of kind Master Ferny’s: just a way of increasing his profits from the affair. The chief danger is that the poor beast is probably at death’s door. But there does not seem any choice. What does he want for it?’ Bill Ferny’s price was twelve silver pennies; and that was indeed at least three times the pony’s value in those parts. It proved to be a bony, underfed, and dispirited animal; but it did not look like dying just yet. Mr. Butterbur paid for it himself, and offered Merry another eighteen pence as some compensation for the lost animals. He was an honest man, and well-off as things were reckoned in Bree; but thirty silver pennies was a sore blow to him, and being cheated by Bill Ferny made it harder to bear. As a matter of fact he came out on the right side in the end. It turned out later that only one horse had been actually stolen. The others had been driven off, or had bolted in terror, and were found wandering in different corners of the Bree-land. Merry’s ponies had escaped altogether, and eventually (having a good deal of sense) they made their way to the Downs in search of Fatty Lumpkin. So they came under the care of Tom Bombadil for a while, and were well-off. But when news of the events at Bree came to Tom’s ears, he sent them to Mr. Butterbur, who thus got five good beasts at a very fair price. They had to work harder in Bree, but Bob treated them well; so on the whole they were lucky: they missed a dark and dangerous journey. But they never came to Rivendell. However, in the meanwhile for all Mr. Butterbur knew his money was gone for good, or for bad. And he had other troubles. For there was a great commotion as soon as the remaining guests were astir and heard news of the raid on the inn. The southern travellers had lost several horses and blamed the innkeeper loudly, until it became known that one of their own number had also disappeared in the
180 THE LORD OF THE RINGS night, none other than Bill Ferny’s squint-eyed companion. Suspicion fell on him at once. ‘If you pick up with a horse-thief, and bring him to my house,’ said Butterbur angrily, “you ought to pay for all the damage yourselves and not come shouting at me. Go and ask Ferny where your handsome friend is!’ But it appeared that he was nobody’s friend, and nobody could recollect when he had joined their party. After their breakfast the hobbits had to re-pack, and get together further supplies for the longer journey they were now expecting. It was close on ten o’clock before they at last got off. By that time the whole of Bree was buzzing with excitement. Frodo’s vanishing trick; the appearance of the black horsemen; the robbing of the stables; and not least the news that Strider the Ranger had joined the mysterious hobbits, made such a tale as would last for many uneventful years. Most of the inhabitants of Bree and Staddle, and many even from Combe and Archet, were crowded in the road to see the travellers start. The other guests in the inn were at the doors or hanging out of the windows. Strider had changed his mind, and had decided to leave Bree by the main road. Any attempt to set off across country at once would only make matters worse: half the inhabitants would follow them, to see what they were up to, and to prevent them from trespassing. They said farewell to Nob and Bob, and took leave of Mr. Butterbur with many thanks. ‘I hope we shall meet again some day, when things are merry once more,’ said Frodo. ‘I should like nothing better than to stay in your house in peace for a while.’ They tramped off, anxious and downhearted, under the eyes of the crowd. Not all the faces were friendly, nor all the words that were shouted. But Strider seemed to be held in awe by most of the Bree-landers, and those that he stared at shut their mouths and drew away. He walked in front with Frodo; next came Merry and Pippin; and last came Sam leading the pony, which was laden with as much of their baggage as they had the heart to give it; but already it looked less dejected, as if it approved of the change in its fortunes. Sam was chewing an apple thoughtfully. He had a pocket full of them: a parting present from Nob and Bob. ‘Apples for walking, and a pipe for sitting,’ he said. ‘But I reckon Ill miss them both before long.’ The hobbits took no notice of the inquisitive heads that peeped out of doors, or popped over walls and fences, as they passed. But as they drew near to the further gate, Frodo saw a dark ill-kept house behind a thick hedge: the last house in the village. In one of the windows he caught a glimpse of a sallow face with sly, slanting eyes; but it vanished at once.
夜晚，那人不是別人，正是比爾·蕨尼那個斜眼的同伴。懷疑立刻就落到了他頭上。「如果你跟一個偷馬賊廝混，還把他帶到我的旅店裡來，」奶油伯憤怒地說，「你們就該自己賠償所有損失，而不是對我大吼大叫。去問問蕨尼你那個英俊的朋友在哪裡吧！」但那人似乎不是任何人的朋友，也沒人能回憶起他何時加入了他們的隊伍。早餐後，哈比人不得不重新打包，並為他們現在預期中更長的旅程準備更多補給。將近十點鐘，他們才終於出發。那時，整個布理都因興奮而議論紛紛。佛羅多消失的戲法、黑騎士的出現、馬廄的搶劫案，以及同樣重要的消息——遊俠神行客加入了神秘哈比人的行列，這些事構成了一個足以在未來許多平淡歲月裡被人津津樂道的故事。布理和史泰多的大多數居民，甚至許多從康姆和亞切來的人，都擠在路上看著旅人們出發。旅店裡的其他客人都站在門口或從窗戶探出身子。神行客改變了主意，決定由主要道路離開布理。任何立刻穿越鄉野的嘗試只會讓事情更糟：半數居民會跟著他們，看看他們打算做什麼，並阻止他們擅闖私人土地。他們向諾伯和鮑伯道別，並滿懷感激地向奶油伯先生告辭。「我希望我們有天能再相會，當一切再次充滿歡樂時，」佛羅多說。「我最樂意的事莫過於在你的旅店裡安靜地住上一段時間。」他們在人群的注視下，焦慮而沮喪地大步離去。並非所有臉孔都友善，也並非所有喊叫的話語都好聽。但大多數布理人似乎都對神行客心存敬畏，那些被他盯著看的人都閉上了嘴巴，退到一旁。他走在最前面，與佛羅多並行；梅里和皮聘跟在後面；山姆則殿後，牽著那匹小馬，馬背上馱著他們忍心讓牠背負的行李；但牠看起來已經不那麼沮喪了，彷彿對自己命運的改變感到滿意。山姆若有所思地嚼著一顆蘋果。他口袋裡裝滿了蘋果：是諾伯和鮑伯送的離別禮物。「走路時吃蘋果，坐下時抽煙斗，」他說。「但我估計不久後我就會想念這兩樣東西了。」哈比人經過時，沒有理會那些從門後或牆頭籬笆上探出來的好奇腦袋。但當他們走近遠處的大門時，佛羅多看到一座漆黑、疏於打理的房子，藏在濃密的樹籬後面：那是村裡的最後一棟房子。在其中一扇窗戶裡，他瞥見一張蠟黃的臉，有著狡猾的斜眼；但它立刻就消失了。
A KNIFE IN THE DARK I8I ‘So that’s where that southerner is hiding!’ he thought. ‘He looks more than half like a goblin.’ Over the hedge another man was staring boldly. He had heavy black brows, and dark scornful eyes; his large mouth curled in a sneer. He was smoking a short black pipe. As they approached he took it out of his mouth and spat. ‘Morning, Longshanks!’ he said. ‘Off early? Found some friends at last?’ Strider nodded, but did not answer. ‘Morning, my little friends!’ he said to the others. ‘I suppose you know who you’ve taken up with? That’s Stick-at-naught Strider, that is! Though I’ve heard other names not so pretty. Watch out tonight! And you, Sammie, don’t go ill-treating my poor old pony! Pah!’ He spat again. Sam turned quickly. ‘And you, Ferny,’ he said, ‘put your ugly face out of sight, or it will get hurt.’ With a sudden flick, quick as lightning, an apple left his hand and hit Bill square on the nose. He ducked too late, and curses came from behind the hedge. ‘Waste of a good apple,’ said Sam regretfully, and strode on. At last they left the village behind. The escort of children and stragglers that had followed them got tired and turned back at the South-gate. Passing through, they kept on along the Road for some miles. It bent to the left, curving back into its eastward line as it rounded the feet of Bree-hill, and then it began to run swiftly downwards into wooded country. To their left they could see some of the houses and hobbit-holes of Staddle on the gentler south-eastern slopes of the hill; down in a deep hollow away north of the Road there were wisps of rising smoke that showed where Combe lay; Archet was hidden in the trees beyond. After the Road had run down some way, and had left Bree-hill standing tall and brown behind, they came on a narrow track that led off towards the North. “This is where we leave the open and take to cover,’ said Strider. ‘Not a “short cut’’, hope,’ said Pippin. ‘Our last short cut through woods nearly ended in disaster.’ ‘Ah, but you had not got me with you then,’ laughed Strider. ‘My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.’ He took a look up and down the Road. No one was in sight; and he led the way quickly down towards the wooded valley. His plan, as far as they could understand it without knowing the country, was to go towards Archet at first, but to bear right and pass it on the east, and then to steer as straight as he could over the wild lands to Weathertop Hill. In that way they would, if all went well, cut off a great loop of the Road, which further on bent southwards
「原來那個南方人躲在這裡！」他想。「他看起來簡直跟哥布林沒兩樣。」籬笆另一邊，另一個男人正大膽地瞪著他們。他有著粗黑的眉毛和陰暗輕蔑的眼神；他大大的嘴巴撇成一抹冷笑。他正抽著一根短黑煙斗。當他們走近時，他把煙斗從嘴裡拿出來，吐了口唾沫。「早安，長腿傢伙！」他說。「這麼早就出門啦？總算找到朋友了？」神行客點點頭，但沒有回答。「早安，我的小朋友們！」他又對其他人說。「我想你們知道自己跟了個什麼樣的人吧？他可是那個無所不為的神行客！我還聽過其他更難聽的名字呢。今晚可要小心！還有你，山米，別虐待我那可憐的老小馬！呸！」他又吐了口口水。山姆迅速轉過身。「還有你，蕨尼，」他說，「把你那張醜臉藏起來，不然它就要受傷了。」說時遲那時快，快如閃電，一顆蘋果從他手中飛出，正中比爾的鼻子。他閃躲得太晚，籬笆後傳來一陣咒罵聲。「浪費了一顆好蘋果。」山姆懊悔地說，然後大步繼續前進。他們終於離開了村莊。那群跟著他們的孩子和零散的路人也累了，在南門處轉身回去。穿過南門後，他們沿著大路又走了幾英里。路向左彎，繞過布理山腳，回到向東的路線，然後開始迅速下坡，進入林木茂密的地區。他們左邊可以看到一些史塔多的房舍和哈比人洞穴，座落在山丘較平緩的東南坡上；在遠離大路北邊的一個深谷裡，有幾縷炊煙升起，顯示康姆村就在那裡；雅切則隱藏在更遠的樹林中。當大路向下延伸了一段距離，將高大棕色的布理山拋在身後時，他們來到一條通往北方的小徑。「我們就在這裡離開大路，躲進掩蔽處。」神行客說。「希望這不是一條『捷徑』。」皮聘說。「我們上一次穿過樹林的捷徑幾乎以災難收場。」「啊，但那時你們沒有我跟著。」神行-客笑道。「我的路，無論長短，都不會走錯。」他朝大路兩頭看了一眼。一個人影也沒有；他便迅速帶頭走下通往樹木叢生山谷的小徑。就他們在不熟悉地形的情況下所能理解的，他的計畫是先朝雅切的方向走，但要向右偏，從東邊繞過它，然後盡可能直線地穿越荒野，前往風雲頂。這樣一來，如果一切順利，他們就能抄掉大路一個大大的彎，因為大路在更遠處是朝南彎的。
182 THE LORD OF THE RINGS to avoid the Midgewater Marshes. But, of course, they would have to pass through the marshes themselves, and Strider’s description of them was not encouraging. However, in the meanwhile, walking was not unpleasant. Indeed, if it had not been for the disturbing events of the night before, they would have enjoyed this part of the journey better than any up to that time. The sun was shining, clear but not too hot. The woods in the valley were still leafy and full of colour, and seemed peaceful and wholesome. Strider guided them confidently among the many crossing paths, although left to themselves they would soon have been at a loss. He was taking a wandering course with many turns and doublings, to put off any pursuit. ‘Bill Ferny will have watched where we left the Road, for certain,’ he said; ‘though I don’t think he will follow us himself. He knows the land round here well enough, but he knows he is not a match for me in a wood. It is what he may tell others that I am afraid of. I don’t suppose they are far away. If they think we have made for Archet, so much the better.’ Whether because of Strider’s skill or for some other reason, they saw no sign and heard no sound of any other living thing all that day: neither two-footed, except birds; nor four-footed, except one fox and a few squirrels. The next day they began to steer a steady course eastwards; and still all was quiet and peaceful. On the third day out from Bree they came out of the Chetwood. The land had been falling steadily, ever since they turned aside from the Road, and they now entered a wide flat expanse of country, much more difficult to manage. They were far beyond the borders of the Bree-land, out in the pathless wilderness, and drawing near to the Midgewater Marshes. The ground now became damp, and in places boggy and here and there they came upon pools, and wide stretches of reeds and rushes filled with the warbling of little hidden birds. They had to pick their way carefully to keep both dry-footed and on their proper course. At first they made fair progress, but as they went on, their passage became slower and more dangerous. The marshes were bewildering and treacherous, and there was no permanent trail even for Rangers to find through their shifting quagmires. The flies began to torment them, and the air was full of clouds of tiny midges that crept up their sleeves and breeches and into their hair. ‘I am being eaten alive!’ cried Pippin. ‘Midgewater! There are more midges than water!’ ‘What do they live on when they can’t get hobbit?’ asked Sam, scratching his neck. They spent a miserable day in this lonely and unpleasant country.
為了避開蚊水澤。但當然，他們終究得親自穿過那片沼澤，而神行客對那裡的描述並不怎麼鼓舞人心。然而，在此期間，走路倒也不算難受。事實上，若不是前一晚發生了那些令人不安的事件，他們會覺得這段旅程比至今任何一段都更為享受。陽光普照，晴朗而不酷熱。山谷裡的樹林依舊枝葉繁茂，色彩斑斕，看起來寧靜而有益身心。神行客自信地帶領他們穿梭於眾多交錯的小徑間，要是只靠他們自己，恐怕早就迷路了。他走著一條迂迴曲折的路線，不斷轉彎和繞路，以甩開任何追蹤者。「比爾·蕨尼肯定看見我們在哪裡離開大路了，」他說，「不過我不認為他會親自跟來。他對這附近的土地夠熟悉，但也知道在森林裡他不是我的對手。我擔心的是他會告訴別人什麼。我想他們離得不遠。如果他們以為我們朝雅chet去了，那就再好不過了。」不知是因神行客的技巧還是其他原因，那天一整天，他們沒有看到也沒聽到任何其他生物的蹤跡或聲響：除了鳥類，沒有兩隻腳的；除了一隻狐狸和幾隻松鼠，沒有四隻腳的。第二天，他們開始穩定地朝東前進；四周依然一片寧靜祥和。從布理出發的第三天，他們走出了契特森林。自從離開大路後，地勢便持續下降，現在他們進入了一片廣闊平坦的鄉野，走起來困難多了。他們已遠離布理地的邊界，身處無路可循的荒野，並逐漸靠近蚊水澤。地面開始變得潮濕，有些地方成了泥沼，他們不時會遇到水塘，以及長滿蘆葦和燈心草的廣闊濕地，裡面充滿了隱身小鳥的啾啾鳴叫。他們必須小心翼翼地選擇路徑，以保持腳步乾爽，同時不偏離正確的方向。起初他們進展還算順利，但越往前走，通行就變得越慢、越危險。沼澤地令人困惑且暗藏危險，即使是遊俠也無法在其中變幻莫測的泥沼裡找到一條固定的路徑。蒼蠅開始折磨他們，空氣中滿是成群的小蠓蟲，鑽進他們的袖子、褲管和頭髮裡。「我要被活活吃掉了！」皮聘大喊。「蚊水澤！這裡的蠓蟲比水還多！」「當他們吃不到哈比人時，他們靠什麼過活？」山姆問道，一面搔著脖子。他們在這片孤寂而不快的土地上度過了悲慘的一天。
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 183 Their camping-place was damp, cold, and uncomfortable; and the biting insects would not let them sleep. There were also abominable creatures haunting the reeds and tussocks that from the sound of them were evil relatives of the cricket. There were thousands of them, and they squeaked all round, neek-breek, breek-neek, unceasingly all the night, until the hobbits were nearly frantic. The next day, the fourth, was little better, and the night almost as comfortless. Though the Neekerbreekers (as Sam called them) had been left behind, the midges still pursued them. As Frodo lay, tired but unable to close his eyes, it seemed to him that far away there came a light in the eastern sky: it flashed and faded many times. It was not the dawn, for that was still some hours off. ‘What is the light?’ he said to Strider, who had risen, and was standing, gazing ahead into the night. ‘I do not know,’ Strider answered. ‘It is too distant to make out. It is like lightning that leaps up from the hill-tops.’ Frodo lay down again, but for a long while he could still see the white flashes, and against them the tall dark figure of Strider, standing silent and watchful. At last he passed into uneasy sleep. They had not gone far on the fifth day when they left the last straggling pools and reed-beds of the marshes behind them. The land before them began steadily to rise again. Away in the distance eastward they could now see a line of hills. The highest of them was at the right of the line and a little separated from the others. It had a conical top, slightly flattened at the summit. ‘That is Weathertop,’ said Strider. “The Old Road, which we have left far away on our right, runs to the south of it and passes not far from its foot. We might reach it by noon tomorrow, if we go straight towards it. I suppose we had better do so.’ ‘What do you mean?’ asked Frodo. ‘I mean: when we do get there, it is not certain what we shall find. It is close to the Road.’ ‘But surely we were hoping to find Gandalf there?’ “Yes; but the hope is faint. If he comes this way at all, he may not pass through Bree, and so he may not know what we are doing. And anyway, unless by luck we arrive almost together, we shall miss one another; it will not be safe for him or for us to wait there long. If the Riders fail to find us in the wilderness, they are likely to make for Weathertop themselves. It commands a wide view all round. Indeed, there are many birds and beasts in this country that could see us, as we stand here, from that hill-top. Not all the birds are to be trusted, and there are other spies more evil than they are.’
他們的露營地潮濕、寒冷且不舒服；那些會咬人的昆蟲讓他們無法入睡。蘆葦叢和草叢中還潛伏著一些可憎的生物，從牠們的聲音聽來，像是蟋蟀的邪惡親戚。牠們有成千上萬隻，整夜不停地在四周尖叫著「neek-breek, breek-neek」，直到哈比人們幾乎要發瘋。第二天，也就是第四天，情況好不了多少，夜晚也幾乎同樣難熬。雖然那些「尼克-布里克蟲」（Neekerbreekers，山姆給牠們取的名字）已經被拋在腦後，但小蚊蟲（midges）仍然緊追不捨。佛羅多躺著，雖然疲憊卻無法閉上眼睛，他彷彿看到遠方東邊的天空出現一道光：它閃爍了許多次，忽明忽滅。那不是黎明，因為離天亮還有好幾個小時。「那是什麼光？」他對亞拉岡說。亞拉岡已經起身，正站著凝視前方的黑夜。「我不知道，」亞拉岡回答。「太遠了，看不清楚。那就像是從山頂上躍起的閃電。」佛羅多再次躺下，但在很長一段時間裡，他仍能看到那白色的閃光，以及映襯在光芒前亞拉岡那高大、沉默而警惕的黑色身影。最後，他終於陷入了不安的睡眠。第五天，他們沒走多遠，便把沼澤區最後零星的水窪和蘆葦灘拋在身後。前方的地勢開始穩定地上升。他們現在可以看到遠方東邊有一排山丘。其中最高的一座位於山脈的右側，與其他山丘稍微分開。它有一個圓錐形的頂部，頂峰略顯平坦。「那就是風雲頂，」亞拉岡說。「我們早已拋在右後方的古道，就從它的南面延伸過去，離山腳不遠。如果我們直直朝那裡走，明天中午前或許能到。我想我們最好這麼做。」「你這是什麼意思？」佛羅多問。「我的意思是：等我們真的到了那裡，會發現什麼還不確定。那裡離大路很近。」「但我們不是希望在那裡找到甘道夫嗎？」「是的；但希望渺茫。就算他走這條路，也未必會經過布理，所以他可能不知道我們在做什麼。而且無論如何，除非我們運氣好幾乎同時到達，否則就會彼此錯過；在那裡久等對他或對我們來說都不安全。如果戒靈在荒野中找不到我們，他們很可能自己也會朝風雲頂去。那裡可以俯瞰四周廣闊的景觀。事實上，這地方有許多鳥獸，從那山頂上就能看到我們現在站著的樣子。不是所有的鳥都值得信賴，而且還有比牠們更邪惡的間諜。」
184 THE LORD OF THE RINGS The hobbits looked anxiously at the distant hills. Sam looked up into the pale sky, fearing to see hawks or eagles hovering over them with bright unfriendly eyes. ‘You do make me feel uncomfortable and lonesome, Strider!’ he said. ‘What do you advise us to do?’ asked Frodo. ‘I think,’ answered Strider slowly, as if he was not quite sure, ‘I think the best thing is to go as straight eastward from here as we can, to make for the line of hills, not for Weathertop. There we can strike a path I know that runs at their feet; it will bring us to Weathertop from the north and less openly. Then we shall see what we shall see.’ All that day they plodded along, until the cold and early evening came down. The land became drier and more barren; but mists and vapours lay behind them on the marshes. A few melancholy birds were piping and wailing, until the round red sun sank slowly into the western shadows; then an empty silence fell. The hobbits thought of the soft light of sunset glancing through the cheerful windows of Bag End far away. At the day’s end they came to a stream that wandered down from the hills to lose itself in the stagnant marshland, and they went up along its banks while the light lasted. It was already night when at last they halted and made their camp under some stunted alder-trees by the shores of the stream. Ahead there loomed now against the dusky sky the bleak and treeless backs of the hills. That night they set a watch, and Strider, it seemed, did not sleep at all. The moon was waxing, and in the early night-hours a cold grey light lay on the land. Next morning they set out again soon after sunrise. There was a frost in the air, and the sky was a pale clear blue. The hobbits felt refreshed, as if they had had a night of unbroken sleep. Already they were getting used to much walking on short commons - shorter at any rate than what in the Shire they would have thought barely enough to keep them on their legs. Pippin declared that Frodo was looking twice the hobbit that he had been. ‘Very odd,’ said Frodo, tightening his belt, ‘considering that there is actually a good deal less of me. I hope the thinning process will not go on indefinitely, or I shall become a wraith.’ ‘Do not speak of such things!’ said Strider quickly, and with surprising earnestness. The hills drew nearer. They made an undulating ridge, often rising almost to a thousand feet, and here and there falling again to low clefts or passes leading into the eastern land beyond. Along the crest of the ridge the hobbits could see what looked to be the remains of green-grown walls and dikes, and in the clefts there still stood the
哈比人們焦慮地望著遠方的山丘。山姆抬頭望向蒼白的天空，深怕看到老鷹或獵鷹用明亮而不友善的眼睛在他們頭頂盤旋。「神行客，你真的讓我覺得很不舒服又孤單！」他說。「你建議我們怎麼做？」佛羅多問。「我想，」神行客緩緩地回答，彷彿不太確定，「我想最好的辦法是從這裡盡可能筆直地向東走，朝著那道山脈前進，而不是風雲頂。在那裡我們可以找到一條我所知道的小徑，它沿著山腳延伸；這條路會帶我們從北方以較不公開的方式抵達風雲頂。然後，我們到時候就知道了。」他們整天都拖著沉重的腳步前行，直到寒冷而早臨的傍晚降臨。土地變得越來越乾燥貧瘠；但他們身後的沼澤地仍籠罩著薄霧與水氣。幾隻憂鬱的鳥兒在鳴叫哀啼，直到圓圓的紅日緩緩沉入西方的陰影中；接著，一片空寂的沉默降臨。哈比人們想起了遠方袋底洞裡，夕陽的柔光從宜人的窗戶灑入的景象。日暮時分，他們來到一條從山丘蜿蜒而下、最終消失在停滯沼澤地裡的小溪，趁著天光尚存，他們沿著溪岸向上游走去。當他們終於停下來，在溪邊幾棵發育不良的赤楊樹下紮營時，夜幕早已降臨。前方，在昏暗的天空映襯下，光禿禿的山脊顯得荒涼而巨大。那天晚上他們設置了守衛，而神行客似乎整夜未眠。月亮正逐漸變圓，在夜晚的頭幾個小時裡，一道冰冷的灰光灑在大地上。第二天早上，他們日出後不久便再次出發。空氣中帶著霜氣，天空是一片清澈的淡藍色。哈比人們感到精神煥發，彷彿一夜無夢，睡得很好。他們已經習慣了在食物短缺的情況下大量步行——無論如何，這份量比他們在夏爾認為勉強能走動的量還要少。皮聘宣稱佛羅多看起來比以前強壯了兩倍。「真奇怪，」佛羅多一邊繫緊腰帶一邊說，「考慮到我實際上瘦了一大圈。我希望這個變瘦的過程不會無限期地持續下去，否則我就要變成一個幽靈了。」「別說這種話！」神行客迅速地說，語氣出奇地嚴肅。山丘越來越近了。它們形成一道起伏的山脊，常常高達近千英尺，又在某些地方下降到通往東方土地的低矮裂口或隘口。沿著山脊頂，哈比人們能看到看似長滿綠草的牆垣和堤壩的遺跡，而在裂口中，仍然矗立著
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 185 ruins of old works of stone. By night they had reached the feet of the westward slopes, and there they camped. It was the night of the fifth of October, and they were six days out from Bree. In the morning they found, for the first time since they had left the Chetwood, a track plain to see. They turned right and followed it southwards. It ran cunningly, taking a line that seemed chosen so as to keep as much hidden as possible from the view, both of the hill-tops above and of the flats to the west. It dived into dells, and hugged steep banks; and where it passed over flatter and more open ground on either side of it there were lines of large boulders and hewn stones that screened the travellers almost like a hedge. ‘I wonder who made this path, and what for,’ said Merry, as they walked along one of these avenues, where the stones were unusually large and closely set. ‘I am not sure that I like it: it has a — well, rather a barrow-wightish look. Is there any barrow on Weathertop?’ ‘No. There is no barrow on Weathertop, nor on any of these hills,’ answered Strider. “The Men of the West did not live here; though in their latter days they defended the hills for a while against the evil that came out of Angmar. This path was made to serve the forts along the walls. But long before, in the first days of the North Kingdom, they built a great watch-tower on Weathertop, Amon Sil they called it. It was burned and broken, and nothing remains of it now but a tumbled ring, like a rough crown on the old hill’s head. Yet once it was tall and fair. It is told that Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gilgalad out of the West, in the days of the Last Alliance.’ The hobbits gazed at Strider. It seemed that he was learned in old lore, as well as in the ways of the wild. ‘Who was Gil-galad?’ asked Merry; but Strider did not answer, and seemed to be lost in thought. Suddenly a low voice murmured: Gil-galad was an Elven-king. Of him the harpers sadly sing: the last whose realm was fair and free between the Mountains and the Sea. His sword was long, his lance was keen, his shining helm afar was seen; the countless stars of heaven’s field were mirrored in his silver shield. But long ago he rode away, and where he dwelleth none can say; for into darkness fell his star in Mordor where the shadows are.
入夜時，他們抵達了西向山坡的腳下，並在那裡紮營。這是十月五日的夜晚，他們已經離開布理六天了。隔天早上，他們發現了一條清晰可見的小徑，這是自離開切特森林以來的頭一遭。他們向右轉，沿著小徑往南走。這條路蜿蜒得十分巧妙，所選的路線似乎是為了盡可能地避開上方山頂和西邊平地的視線。它鑽入林間窪地，緊貼著陡峭的河岸；而在經過較平坦開闊的地面時，兩旁則排列著巨大的圓石和鑿過的石頭，像樹籬一樣幾乎將旅人完全遮蔽。「我想知道是誰造了這條路，又是為了什麼，」梅里邊走在這條兩旁石頭異常巨大且排列緊密的「大道」上邊說。「我不太確定我喜不喜歡它：它有種——嗯，有點像古墓屍妖的風格。風雲頂上有古墓嗎？」「沒有。風雲頂上沒有古墓，這些山丘上都沒有，」神行客回答。「西方人並未住在這裡；雖然在他們的末日時期，他們曾一度在此防禦來自安格馬的邪惡勢力。這條路是為了服務沿牆的堡壘而建的。但在更早之前，在北方王國的初期，他們在風雲頂上建造了一座宏偉的瞭望塔，他們稱之為阿蒙蘇爾。它被燒毀破壞，如今只剩下一個傾頹的環狀結構，像一頂粗糙的王冠戴在老山丘的頭頂上。但它曾經高大而美麗。據說在『最後同盟』的時代，伊蘭迪爾曾站在那裡，守望著吉爾加拉德自西方前來。」哈比人們凝視著神行客。他似乎不僅精通野外生存之道，也對古老的傳說學識淵博。「吉爾加拉德是誰？」梅里問道；但神行客沒有回答，似乎陷入了沉思。突然，一個低沉的聲音喃喃吟唱起來：吉爾加拉德是位精靈王，吟遊詩人為他悲傷吟唱：他是最後一位，其王國在山脈與大海之間，既美麗又自由。他的劍長，他的矛利，他閃亮的頭盔遠遠可見；天上無數的星辰，都映照在他銀色的盾牌上。但許久以前他已遠去，無人知曉他居於何方；因他的星辰墜入黑暗，在那魔多暗影之地。
186 THE LORD OF THE RINGS The others turned in amazement, for the voice was Sam’s. ‘Don’t stop!’ said Merry. ‘That’s all I know,’ stammered Sam, blushing. ‘I learned it from Mr. Bilbo when I was a lad. He used to tell me tales like that, knowing how I was always one for hearing about Elves. It was Mr. Bilbo as taught me my letters. He was mighty book-learned was dear old Mr. Bilbo. And he wrote poetry. He wrote what I have just said.’ ‘He did not make it up,’ said Strider. ‘It is part of the lay that is called The Fall of Gil-galad, which is in an ancient tongue. Bilbo must have translated it. I never knew that.’ “There was a lot more,’ said Sam, ‘all about Mordor. I didn’t learn that part, it gave me the shivers. I never thought I should be going that way myself!’ ‘Going to Mordor!’ cried Pippin. ‘I hope it won’t come to that!’ ‘Do not speak that name so loudly!’ said Strider. It was already mid-day when they drew near the southern end of the path, and saw before them, in the pale clear light of the October sun, a grey-green bank, leading up like a bridge on to the northward slope of the hill. They decided to make for the top at once, while the daylight was broad. Concealment was no longer possible, and they could only hope that no enemy or spy was observing them. Nothing was to be seen moving on the hill. If Gandalf was anywhere about, there was no sign of him. On the western flank of Weathertop they found a sheltered hollow, at the bottom of which there was a bowl-shaped dell with grassy sides. There they left Sam and Pippin with the pony and their packs and luggage. The other three went on. After half an hour’s plodding climb Strider reached the crown of the hill; Frodo and Merry followed, tired and breathless. The last slope had been steep and rocky. On the top they found, as Strider had said, a wide ring of ancient stone-work, now crumbling or covered with age-long grass. But in the centre a cairn of broken stones had been piled. They were blackened as if with fire. About them the turf was burned to the roots and all within the ring the grass was scorched and shrivelled, as if flames had swept the hill-top; but there was no sign of any living thing. Standing upon the rim of the ruined circle, they saw all round below them a wide prospect, for the most part of lands empty and featureless, except for patches of woodland away to the south, beyond which they caught here and there the glint of distant water. Beneath them on this southern side there ran like a ribbon the Old Road, coming out of the West and winding up and down, until it faded behind a ridge of dark land to the east. Nothing was moving on it. Following its line eastward with their eyes they saw the Mountains:
其他人驚訝地轉過身，因為那聲音是山姆的。「別停！」梅里說。「我就只知道這些了，」山姆結結巴巴地說，臉都紅了。「這是我小時候跟比爾博先生學的。他以前常常跟我說這類故事，因為他知道我特別愛聽有關精靈的事。也是比爾博先生教我識字的。我們親愛的老比爾博先生可有學問了。他還會寫詩。我剛才唸的就是他寫的。」「那不是他創作的，」神行客說。「那是一首名為《吉爾加拉德的殞落》的古老詩歌的一部分，原文是用一種古語寫的。比爾博一定是把它翻譯了過來。我從來不知道這件事。」「後面還有很多，」山姆說，「全是關於魔多的。那部分我沒學，聽了就讓我毛骨悚然。我從沒想過自己有一天會往那條路走！」「去魔多！」皮聘叫道。「我希望事情不會到那一步！」「別那麼大聲說出那個名字！」神行客說。當他們走近小徑南端時，已經是中午了。在十月蒼白而明亮的陽光下，他們看見前方一道灰綠色的堤岸，像座橋一般，引向山丘的北坡。他們決定趁著天色還大亮，立刻攻頂。此時已無從隱蔽，只能期望沒有敵人或探子在監視他們。山上看不見任何動靜。如果甘道夫在附近，也完全沒有他的蹤跡。在風雲頂的西側，他們找到一個隱蔽的凹地，底部有個碗狀、長滿青草的小谷。他們把山姆、皮聘、小馬以及所有行囊都留在那裡。其他三人繼續前行。經過半小時的艱苦跋涉，神行客登上了山頂；佛羅多和梅里跟在後面，又累又喘。最後一段山坡既陡峭又多岩石。到了山頂，他們發現果如神行客所言，那裡有個由古老石造工事構成的寬闊圓環，如今已頹圮或被長年的青草覆蓋。但在圓環中央，堆著一座由碎石構成的石塚。那些石頭被燻得漆黑，像是被火燒過。石塚周圍的草皮被燒得只剩根部，圓環內所有的草也都焦黑枯萎，彷彿火焰曾席捲整個山頂；但卻沒有任何生物的跡象。站在毀壞圓環的邊緣，他們俯瞰四周，景色遼闊，大部分是空曠單調的土地，只有南方遠處有幾片林地，再過去，他們偶爾能瞥見遠方水面的反光。在他們下方的南側，老路像一條絲帶般延伸，從西方而來，蜿蜒起伏，直到消失在東方一道黑暗的山脊後。路上沒有任何動靜。他們用目光順著路往東看，便看到了群山：
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 187 the nearer foothills were brown and sombre; behind them stood taller shapes of grey, and behind those again were high white peaks glimmering among the clouds. ‘Well, here we are!’ said Merry. ‘And very cheerless and uninviting it looks! There is no water and no shelter. And no sign of Gandalf. But I don’t blame him for not waiting — if he ever came here.’ ‘I wonder,’ said Strider, looking round thoughtfully. ‘Even if he was a day or two behind us at Bree, he could have arrived here first. He can ride very swiftly when need presses.’ Suddenly he stooped and looked at the stone on the top of the cairn; it was flatter than the others, and whiter, as if it had escaped the fire. He picked it up and examined it, turning it in his fingers. “This has been handled recently,’ he said. ‘What do you think of these marks?’ On the flat under-side Frodo saw some scratches: Il. “There seems to be a stroke, a dot, and three more strokes,’ he said. “The stroke on the left might be a G-rune with thin branches,’ said Strider. ‘It might be a sign left by Gandalf, though one cannot be sure. The scratches are fine, and they certainly look fresh. But the marks might mean something quite different, and have nothing to do with us. Rangers use runes, and they come here sometimes.’ ‘What could they mean, even if Gandalf made them?’ asked Merry. ‘I should say,’ answered Strider, ‘that they stood for G3, and were a sign that Gandalf was here on October the third: that is three days ago now. It would also show that he was in a hurry and danger was at hand, so that he had no time or did not dare to write anything longer or plainer. If that is so, we must be wary.’ ‘I wish we could feel sure that he made the marks, whatever they may mean,’ said Frodo. ‘It would be a great comfort to know that he was on the way, in front of us or behind us.’ ‘Perhaps,’ said Strider. ‘For myself, I believe that he was here, and was in danger. There have been scorching flames here; and now the light that we saw three nights ago in the eastern sky comes back to my mind. I guess that he was attacked on this hill-top, but with what result I cannot tell. He is here no longer, and we must now look after ourselves and make our own way to Rivendell, as best we can.’ ‘How far is Rivendell?’ asked Merry, gazing round wearily. The world looked wild and wide from Weathertop. ‘I don’t know if the Road has ever been measured in miles beyond the Forsaken Inn, a day’s journey east of Bree,’ answered Strider. ‘Some say it is so far, and some say otherwise. It is a strange road, and folk are glad to reach their journey’s end, whether the time is long or short. But I know how long it would take me on my own feet, with fair weather and no ill fortune: twelve days from here to
188 THE LORD OF THE RINGS the Ford of Bruinen, where the Road crosses the Loudwater that runs out of Rivendell. We have at least a fortnight’s journey before us, for I do not think we shall be able to use the Road.’ ‘A fortnight!’ said Frodo. ‘A lot may happen in that time.’ ‘It may,’ said Strider. They stood for a while silent on the hill-top, near its southward edge. In that lonely place Frodo for the first time fully realized his homelessness and danger. He wished bitterly that his fortune had left him in the quiet and beloved Shire. He stared down at the hateful Road, leading back westward — to his home. Suddenly he was aware that two black specks were moving slowly along it, going westward; and looking again he saw that three others were creeping eastward to meet them. He gave a cry and clutched Strider’s arm. ‘Look,’ he said, pointing downwards. At once Strider flung himself on the ground behind the ruined circle, pulling Frodo down beside him. Merry threw himself alongside. ‘What is it?’ he whispered. ‘I do not know, but I fear the worst,’ answered Strider. Slowly they crawled up to the edge of the ring again, and peered through a cleft between two jagged stones. The light was no longer bright, for the clear morning had faded, and clouds creeping out of the East had now overtaken the sun, as it began to go down. They could all see the black specks, but neither Frodo nor Merry could make out their shapes for certain; yet something told them that there, far below, were Black Riders assembling on the Road beyond the foot of the hill. ‘Yes,’ said Strider, whose keener sight left him in no doubt. “The enemy is here!’ Hastily they crept away and slipped down the north side of the hill to find their companions. Sam and Peregrin had not been idle. They had explored the small dell and the surrounding slopes. Not far away they found a spring of clear water in the hillside, and near it footprints not more than a day or two old. In the dell itself they found recent traces of a fire, and other signs of a hasty camp. There were some fallen rocks on the edge of the dell nearest to the hill. Behind them Sam came upon a small store of firewood neatly stacked. ‘I wonder if old Gandalf has been here,’ he said to Pippin. ‘Whoever it was put this stuff here meant to come back it seems.’ Strider was greatly interested in these discoveries. ‘I wish I had waited and explored the ground down here myself,’ he said, hurrying off to the spring to examine the footprints.
《魔戒》188頁，布魯南渡口，那裡是道路橫跨自瑞文戴爾流出的喧水河之處。「我們前方至少還有兩週的旅程，因為我想我們將無法走那條路。」「兩週！」佛羅多說。「那段時間裡可能會發生很多事。」「是有可能。」神行客說。他們在山頂南側邊緣靜靜地站了一會兒。在這孤寂之地，佛羅多第一次完全意識到自己的無家可歸與身處險境。他痛苦地希望自己的命運能將他留在寧靜而摯愛的夏爾。他凝視著下方那條可憎的道路，它向西延伸——回到他的家。突然，他察覺到有兩個黑點正沿著路緩緩向西移動；再看一眼，他又見到另外三個黑點正悄悄地向東移動，要去與他們會合。他驚叫一聲，緊緊抓住了神行客的手臂。「看，」他指著下方說。神行客立刻撲倒在殘破石環後的地上，並將佛羅多拉到身邊。梅里也跟著撲倒。「那是什麼？」他低聲問。「我不知道，但我恐怕是最壞的情況。」神行客回答。他們緩緩地再次爬到石環邊緣，從兩塊鋸齒狀石頭間的縫隙中窺視。光線已不再明亮，因為晴朗的早晨已經褪去，從東方悄悄飄來的雲層已經追上了開始西沉的太陽。他們都能看見那些黑點，但佛羅多和梅里都無法確實看清它們的形狀；然而，有種感覺告訴他們，在那遙遠的下方，黑騎士正在山腳下的道路上集結。「是的，」神行客說，他更銳利的視力讓他毫不懷疑。「敵人就在這裡！」他們匆忙地悄悄溜走，滑下山的北坡去尋找他們的同伴。山姆和皮瑞格林並非無所事事。他們探查了那個小山谷及周圍的斜坡。不遠處，他們在山腰上發現了一口清澈的泉水，泉邊還有不超過一兩天前的腳印。在山谷裡，他們發現了新近的火堆痕跡，以及其他匆忙紮營的跡象。在山谷靠近山丘的邊緣有一些倒塌的岩石。山姆在岩石後偶然發現了一小堆整齊堆放的柴火。「我在想老甘道夫是不是來過這裡，」他對皮聘說。「看來無論是誰把這些東西放在這裡，都打算要回來。」神行客對這些發現極感興趣。「我真希望我當時等了，自己下來探勘這塊地方。」他說著，匆匆趕往泉水邊去檢視那些腳印。
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 189 ‘It is just as I feared,’ he said, when he came back. ‘Sam and Pippin have trampled the soft ground, and the marks are spoilt or confused. Rangers have been here lately. It is they who left the firewood behind. But there are also several newer tracks that were not made by Rangers. At least one set was made, only a day or two ago, by heavy boots. At least one. I cannot now be certain, but I think there were many booted feet.” He paused and stood in anxious thought. Each of the hobbits saw in his mind a vision of the cloaked and booted Riders. If the horsemen had already found the dell, the sooner Strider led them somewhere else the better. Sam viewed the hollow with great dislike, now that he had heard news of their enemies on the Road, only a few miles away. ‘Hadn’t we better clear out quick, Mr. Strider?’ he asked impatiently. ‘It is getting late, and I don’t like this hole: it makes my heart sink somehow.’ “Yes, we certainly must decide what to do at once,’ answered Strider, looking up and considering the time and the weather. ‘Well, Sam,’ he said at last, ‘I do not like this place either; but I cannot think of anywhere better that we could reach before nightfall. At least we are out of sight for the moment, and if we moved we should be much more likely to be seen by spies. All we could do would be to go right out of our way back north on this side of the line of hills, where the land is all much the same as it is here. The Road is watched, but we should have to cross it, if we tried to take cover in the thickets away to the south. On the north side of the Road beyond the hills the country is bare and flat for miles.’ ‘Can the Riders see?’ asked Merry. ‘I mean, they seem usually to have used their noses rather than their eyes, smelling for us, if smelling is the right word, at least in the daylight. But you made us lie down flat when you saw them down below; and now you talk of being seen, if we move.’ ‘I was too careless on the hill-top,’ answered Strider. ‘I was very anxious to find some sign of Gandalf; but it was a mistake for three of us to go up and stand there so long. For the black horses can see, and the Riders can use men and other creatures as spies, as we found at Bree. They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys; and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us: then they are most to be feared. And at all times they smell the blood of living things, desiring and hating it. Senses, too, there are other than sight or smell. We can feel their presence — it troubled our hearts, as soon as we came here, and before we saw them; they feel ours more keenly. Also,’ he added, and his voice sank to a whisper, ‘the Ring draws them.’
「情況就如我所擔憂的，」他回來時說。「山姆和皮聘踩亂了鬆軟的地面，足跡被破壞或混淆了。最近有遊俠來過這裡，是他們留下了柴火。但也有幾個更新的、不是遊俠留下的足跡。至少有一組足跡是重靴在一兩天前留下的。至少一組。我現在無法確定，但我認為當時有很多穿靴子的腳。」他停頓下來，焦慮地思索著。每個哈比人腦中都浮現出那些披著斗篷、穿著長靴的騎士的景象。如果騎士們已經找到了這個小谷地，那神行客最好能盡快帶他們去別的地方。山姆聽說敵人就在幾英里外的路上，現在對這個窪地感到極度厭惡。「我們是不是最好快點離開，神行客先生？」他不耐煩地問。「天色晚了，我不喜歡這個洞，總覺得讓我的心往下沉。」「是的，我們確實必須立刻決定該怎麼辦，」神行客回答，抬頭看了看天色和時間。「嗯，山姆，」他最後說，「我也不喜歡這個地方；但在天黑前，我想不出任何我們能到達的更好的地方。至少我們暫時不會被看見，而如果我們移動，被探子發現的可能性會大得多。我們唯一能做的，就是完全繞路，沿著這排山丘的這一側往北走，那裡的地形和這裡差不多。大路被監視著，但如果我們想躲到南邊的灌木叢裡，就必須穿越大路。而在山丘另一邊，大路的北側，地勢平坦開闊，綿延數英里。」「那些騎士看得見嗎？」梅里問。「我的意思是，他們似乎通常用鼻子而不是眼睛，來嗅我們——如果『嗅』是個恰當的詞的話——至少在白天是這樣。但你看到他們在下面時，卻要我們趴平；現在你又說如果我們移動，就會被看見。」「我在山頂上太不小心了，」神行客回答。「我非常急切地想找到甘道夫的蹤跡；但我們三個人上去，還在那裡站了那麼久，是個錯誤。因為那些黑馬看得見，而騎士們可以利用人類和其他生物作為間諜，就像我們在布理發現的那樣。他們自己不像我們一樣能看見光明世界，但我們的形體會在他們的心靈中投下陰影，只有正午的陽光才能摧毀；在黑暗中，他們能察覺到許多我們看不見的跡象和形體：那時他們最是可怕。而且，他們隨時都能聞到活物的血腥味，既渴望又憎恨。此外，還有視覺或嗅覺之外的感官。我們能感覺到他們的存在——我們一到這裡，還沒看到他們，內心就感到不安；他們感覺我們則更為敏銳。而且，」他補充道，聲音低沉如耳語，「魔戒會吸引他們。」
190 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘Is there no escape then?’ said Frodo, looking round wildly. ‘If I move I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me!’ Strider laid his hand on his shoulder. “There is still hope,’ he said. “You are not alone. Let us take this wood that is set ready for the fire as a sign. There is little shelter or defence here, but fire shall serve for both. Sauron can put fire to his evil uses, as he can all things, but these Riders do not love it, and fear those who wield it. Fire is our friend in the wilderness.’ ‘Maybe,’ muttered Sam. ‘It is also as good a way of saying “‘here we are’’ as I can think of, bar shouting.’ Down in the lowest and most sheltered corner of the dell they lit a fire, and prepared a meal. The shades of evening began to fall, and it grew cold. They were suddenly aware of great hunger, for they had not eaten anything since breakfast; but they dared not make more than a frugal supper. The lands ahead were empty of all save birds and beasts, unfriendly places deserted by all the races of the world. Rangers passed at times beyond the hills, but they were few and did not stay. Other wanderers were rare, and of evil sort: trolls might stray down at times out of the northern valleys of the Misty Mountains. Only on the Road would travellers be found, most often dwarves, hurrying along on business of their own, and with no help and few words to spare for strangers. ‘I don’t see how our food can be made to last,’ said Frodo. ‘We have been careful enough in the last few days, and this supper is no feast; but we have used more than we ought, if we have two weeks still to go, and perhaps more.’ ‘There is food in the wild,’ said Strider; ‘berry, root, and herb; and I have some skill as a hunter at need. You need not be afraid of starving before winter comes. But gathering and catching food is long and weary work, and we need haste. So tighten your belts, and think with hope of the tables of Elrond’s house!’ The cold increased as darkness came on. Peering out from the edge of the dell they could see nothing but a grey land now vanishing quickly into shadow. The sky above had cleared again and was slowly filled with twinkling stars. Frodo and his companions huddled round the fire, wrapped in every garment and blanket they possessed; but Strider was content with a single cloak, and sat a little apart, drawing thoughtfully at his pipe. As night fell and the light of the fire began to shine out brightly he began to tell them tales to keep their minds from fear. He knew many histories and legends of long ago, of Elves and Men and the
「那就沒有辦法逃脫了嗎？」佛羅多瘋狂地環顧四周說。「如果我移動，就會被發現、被追捕！如果我待著不動，又會把他們引到我這裡來！」神行客把手搭在他的肩上。「還有希望，」他說。「你不是孤單一人。讓我們把這些準備好生火的木柴當作一個吉兆吧。這裡幾乎沒有掩護或防禦，但火兩者皆可充當。索倫能將火用於邪惡的勾當，就像他能利用萬物一樣，但這些戒靈不喜歡火，也害怕那些能駕馭它的人。在荒野中，火是我們的朋友。」「也許吧，」山姆咕噥道。「但除了大喊大叫之外，這也是我能想到最好的、昭告『我們在這』的方式了。」他們在窪地最低、最隱蔽的角落生了火，準備了一頓飯。暮色開始降臨，天氣也變冷了。他們突然意識到飢腸轆轆，因為自早餐後就沒吃過任何東西；但他們只敢做一頓非常節儉的晚餐。前方的土地除了鳥獸之外空無一物，是被世界上所有種族遺棄的不友善之地。遊俠有時會經過山的那一邊，但他們人數稀少，且不會久留。其他的流浪者很罕見，而且屬於邪惡之輩：食人妖有時可能會從迷霧山脈北方的山谷中迷途而下。只有在大道上才能找到旅人，通常是矮人，為著自己的事匆匆趕路，對陌生人既不願幫忙也吝於交談。「我不知道我們的食物要怎麼撐下去，」佛羅多說。「過去幾天我們已經夠省了，這頓晚餐也稱不上盛宴；但如果我們還有兩週、甚至更久的路要走，我們已經用掉超過我們該用的份量了。」「野外有食物，」神行客說；「漿果、根莖和草藥；有需要時，我也有點打獵的本事。你不用擔心在冬天來臨前會餓死。但採集和捕捉食物是漫長又累人的工作，而我們需要趕時間。所以，勒緊你們的褲帶，並懷抱希望地想想愛隆家宴席上的美食吧！」隨著夜幕降臨，寒意加深。他們從窪地的邊緣向外窺看，只見一片灰濛的土地正迅速消失在陰影中。上方的天空再次放晴，慢慢佈滿了閃爍的星星。佛羅多和他的同伴們圍著火堆擠在一起，裹著他們所有的衣物和毯子；但神行客只披著一件斗篷就心滿意足了，他獨自坐在一旁，若有所思地抽著他的煙斗。當夜幕低垂，火光開始明亮地照耀時，他開始給他們講故事，好讓他們的心思遠離恐懼。他知道許多很久以前的歷史和傳說，關於精靈、人類和...
A KNIFE IN THE DARK I9QI good and evil deeds of the Elder Days. They wondered how old he was, and where he had learned all this lore. ‘Tell us of Gil-galad,’ said Merry suddenly, when he paused at the end of a story of the Elf-kingdoms. ‘Do you know any more of that old lay that you spoke of?’ ‘I do indeed,’ answered Strider. ‘So also does Frodo, for it concerns us closely.’ Merry and Pippin looked at Frodo, who was staring into the fire. ‘I know only the little that Gandalf has told me,’ said Frodo slowly. ‘Gil-galad was the last of the great Elf-kings of Middle-earth. Gil-galad is Starlight in their tongue. With Elendil, the Elf-friend, he went to the land of : ‘No!’ said Strider interrupting, ‘I do not think that tale should be told now with the servants of the Enemy at hand. If we win through to the house of Elrond, you may hear it there, told in full.’ “Then tell us some other tale of the old days,’ begged Sam; ‘a tale about the Elves before the fading time. I would dearly like to hear more about Elves; the dark seems to press round so close.’ ‘I will tell you the tale of Tintviel,’ said Strider, ‘in brief — for it is a long tale of which the end is not known; and there are none now, except Elrond, that remember it aright as it was told of old. It is a fair tale, though it is sad, as are all the tales of Middle-earth, and yet it may lift up your hearts.’ He was silent for some time, and then he began not to speak but to chant softly: The leaves were long, the grass was green, The hemlock-umbels tall and fair, And in the glade a light was seen Of stars in shadow shimmering. Tinuviel was dancing there To music of a pipe unseen, And light of stars was in her hair, And in her raiment glimmering. There Beren came from mountains cold, And lost he wandered under leaves, And where the Elven-river rolled He walked alone and sorrowing. He peered between the hemlock-leaves And saw in wonder flowers of gold Upon her mantle and her sleeves, And her hair like shadow following.
關於上古時代的善惡事蹟。他們好奇他究竟多大年紀，又是在哪裡學到這一切傳說的。「跟我們說說吉爾加拉德的故事吧，」當神行客在一個關於精靈王國的故事結尾處停頓時，梅里突然說道。「你還知道更多你剛才提到的那首古詩嗎？」「我當然知道，」神行客回答。「佛羅多也知道，因為這跟我們關係密切。」梅里和皮聘望向佛羅多，他正凝視著火堆。「我只知道甘道夫告訴我的一點點，」佛羅多緩緩地說。「吉爾加拉德是中土大陸最後一位偉大的精靈之王。吉爾加拉德在他們的語言中是『星光』的意思。他與精靈之友伊蘭迪爾一同前往——」「不！」神行客打斷道，「我認為在敵人爪牙就在附近時，不該講那個故事。如果我們能成功抵達愛隆的家，你們或許可以在那裡聽到完整的故事。」「那就跟我們說些別的上古傳說吧，」山姆懇求道；「一個關於精靈在衰微時期前的故事。我非常想多聽一些關於精靈的事；黑暗似乎逼得太近了。」「我會跟你們說緹努維兒的故事，」神行客說，「簡短地說——因為那是一個結局未卜的長篇故事；而今除了愛隆，已無人能像古時那樣正確地記得了。這是一個美麗的故事，雖然它很悲傷，就像所有中土大陸的故事一樣，但它或許可振奮你們的心。」他沉默了一會兒，然後開始了，不是說話，而是輕柔地吟唱： 葉綠而長，草色青蒼， 毒參花序，高大芬芳， 林間空地，微光閃亮， 星影綽約，爍爍放光。 緹努維兒，婆娑舞其上， 和著無形笛聲悠揚， 星光在她髮間流淌， 也在她衣裳上閃亮。 貝倫自冰冷山中來， 迷失於林葉下徘徊， 在精靈之河流過地帶， 他獨自漫步，滿心哀傷。 他從毒參葉間窺望， 驚見金色花朵綻放， 在她斗篷與衣袖之上， 秀髮如影，隨身飄蕩。
192 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Enchantment healed his weary feet That over hills were doomed to roam; And forth he hastened, strong and fleet, And grasped at moonbeams glistening. Through woven woods in Elvenhome She lightly fled on dancing feet, And left him lonely still to roam In the silent forest listening. He heard there oft the flying sound Of feet as light as linden-leaves, Or music welling underground, In hidden hollows quavering. Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves, And one by one with sighing sound Whispering fell the beechen leaves In the wintry woodland wavering. He sought her ever, wandering far Where leaves of years were thickly strewn, By light of moon and ray of star In frosty heavens shivering. Her mantle glinted in the moon, As on a hill-top high and far She danced, and at her feet was strewn A must of silver quivering. When winter passed, she came again, And her song released the sudden spring, Like rising lark, and falling rain, And melting water bubbling. He saw the elven-flowers spring About her feet, and healed again He longed by her to dance and sing Upon the grass untroubling. Again she fled, but swift he came. Tinuviel! Tinuviel! He called her by her Elvish name; And there she halted listening. One moment stood she, and a spell His voice laid on her: Beren came, And doom fell on Tinuviel That in his arms lay glistening.
魔法治癒了他疲憊的雙腳，那雙注定要翻山越嶺的腳；於是他快步向前，強壯而敏捷，伸手去抓那閃爍的月光。 在精靈家園交織的林間，她輕盈地踏著舞步逃離，留下他獨自一人，仍在寂靜的森林中聆聽遊蕩。 他常在那裡聽見飛快的聲響，是輕如椴樹葉的腳步，或是從地底湧出的樂音，在隱蔽的洞穴中顫動。 如今枯萎的鐵杉成捆躺臥，山毛櫸葉一片片帶著嘆息，在冬日林地中搖曳飄落。 他不斷尋找她，遠方流浪，在年歲累積的厚厚落葉上，藉著月光與星芒，在寒冷的顫抖天空中。 她的斗篷在月光下閃爍，當她在遙遠的山頂上翩翩起舞，腳邊散落著一片顫動的銀色新酒。 當冬天過去，她再次歸來，她的歌聲釋放了驟然的春天，如同高飛的雲雀，落下的雨水，和融化時冒泡的溪水。 他看見精靈花朵綻放在她的腳邊，再次被治癒，他渴望在她身旁跳舞歌唱，在那寧靜的草地上。 她再次逃離，但他迅速追上。緹努維爾！緹努維爾！他用她的精靈名字呼喚她；於是她停下腳步，傾聽。 她佇立了片刻，他的聲音對她施下了一道魔咒：貝倫來了，厄運也降臨在緹努維爾身上，她在他懷中閃閃發光。
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 193 As Beren looked into her eyes Within the shadows of her hair, The trembling starlight of the skies He saw there mirrored shimmering. Tinuviel the elven-fair, Immortal maiden elven-wise, About him cast her shadowy hair And arms like silver glimmering. Long was the way that fate them bore, O’er stony mountains cold and grey, Through halls of tron and darkling door, And woods of nightshade morrowless. The Sundering Seas between them lay, And yet at last they met once more, And long ago they passed away In the forest singing sorrowless. Strider sighed and paused before he spoke again. “That is a song,’ he said, ‘in the mode that is called ann-thennath among the Elves, but is hard to render in our Common Speech, and this is but a rough echo of it. It tells of the meeting of Beren son of Barahir and Luthien Tinuviel. Beren was a mortal man, but Luthien was the daughter of Thingol, a King of Elves upon Middle-earth when the world was young; and she was the fairest maiden that has ever been among all the children of this world. As the stars above the mists of the Northern lands was her loveliness, and in her face was a shining light. In those days the Great Enemy, of whom Sauron of Mordor was but a servant, dwelt in Angband in the North, and the Elves of the West coming back to Middle-earth made war upon him to regain the Silmarils which he had stolen; and the fathers of Men aided the Elves. But the Enemy was victorious and Barahir was slain, and Beren escaping through great peril came over the Mountains of Terror into the hidden Kingdom of Thingol in the forest of Neldoreth. There he beheld Luthien singing and dancing in a glade beside the enchanted river Esgalduin; and he named her Tintviel, that is Nightingale in the language of old. Many sorrows befell them afterwards, and they were parted long. Tintviel rescued Beren from the dungeons of Sauron, and together they passed through great dangers, and cast down even the Great Enemy from his throne, and took from his iron crown one of the three Silmarils, brightest of all jewels, to be the bride-price of Luthien to Thingol her father. Yet at the last Beren was slain by the Wolf that came from the gates of Angband, and he died in the arms of Tinuviel. But she chose mortality, and to die
當貝倫凝視她雙眼， 在她髮絲的陰影間， 他看見顫動的星光， 在其中閃爍映現。 緹努維兒，精靈般的美麗， 永生的少女，精靈般的智慧， 用她如影的秀髮將他環繞， 還有她銀光閃閃的臂膀。 命運引領他們走過漫漫長路， 越過冰冷灰暗的石山， 穿過鐵鑄的大廳與幽暗的門扉， 以及不見天日的毒草森林。 分離之海橫亙在他們之間， 但他們終究再次相見， 很久以前他們已然離去， 在無憂歌唱的森林中。 神行客嘆了口氣，停頓了一下才再次開口。「那是一首歌，」他說，「用精靈語中稱為『安-森那斯』的曲式所作，但很難用我們的通用語來呈現，這只是它粗略的迴響。它講述了巴拉漢之子貝倫與露西安·緹努維兒相遇的故事。貝倫是個凡人，但露西安是辛葛的女兒，辛葛是世界尚年輕時中土大陸的一位精靈王；而她是這世上所有孩子中最美麗的少女。她的可愛，如同北地迷霧之上的繁星，她的臉龐上閃耀著光芒。在那些日子裡，大敵——魔多的索倫不過是他的僕從——居住在北方的安格班，而從西方重返中土大陸的精靈們向他宣戰，以奪回他偷走的精靈寶鑽；人類的祖先也協助了精靈。但敵人最終得勝，巴拉漢被殺，貝倫在巨大的危險中逃脫，越過恐怖山脈，進入了辛葛在內爾多雷斯森林中隱秘的王國。在那裡，他看見露西安在魔法之河埃斯加爾都因河畔的一片林間空地上歌唱舞蹈；他稱她為緹努維兒，在古老的語言中是夜鶯的意思。此後他們遭遇了許多悲傷，並長期分離。緹努維兒將貝倫從索倫的地牢中救出，他們一起經歷了巨大的危險，甚至將大敵從他的寶座上推翻，並從他鐵鑄的王冠上取下三顆精靈寶鑽之一，那是所有珠寶中最璀璨的一顆，作為露西安給她父親辛葛的聘禮。然而，貝倫最終被來自安格班大門的惡狼所殺，他死在緹努維兒的懷中。但她選擇了凡人的命運，選擇了死亡。
194 THE LORD OF THE RINGS from the world, so that she might follow him; and it is sung that they met again beyond the Sundering Seas, and after a brief time walking alive once more in the green woods, together they passed, long ago, beyond the confines of this world. So it is that Luthien Tinuviel alone of the Elf-kindred has died indeed and left the world, and they have lost her whom they most loved. But from her the lineage of the Elf-lords of old descended among Men. There live still those of whom Luthien was the foremother, and it is said that her line shall never fail. Elrond of Rivendell is of that Kin. For of Beren and Luthien was born Dior Thingol’s heir; and of him Elwing the White whom Earendil wedded, he that sailed his ship out of the mists of the world into the seas of heaven with the Silmaril upon his brow. And of Earendil came the Kings of Numenor, that is Westernesse.’ As Strider was speaking they watched his strange eager face, dimly lit in the red glow of the wood-fire. His eyes shone, and his voice was rich and deep. Above him was a black starry sky. Suddenly a pale light appeared over the crown of Weathertop behind him. The waxing moon was climbing slowly above the hill that overshadowed them, and the stars above the hill-top faded. The story ended. The hobbits moved and stretched. ‘Look!’ said Merry. “The Moon is rising: it must be getting late.’ The others looked up. Even as they did so, they saw on the top of the hill something small and dark against the glimmer of the moonrise. It was perhaps only a large stone or jutting rock shown up by the pale light. Sam and Merry got up and walked away from the fire. Frodo and Pippin remained seated in silence. Strider was watching the moonlight on the hill intently. All seemed quiet and still, but Frodo felt a cold dread creeping over his heart, now that Strider was no longer speaking. He huddled closer to the fire. At that moment Sam came running back from the edge of the dell. ‘I don’t know what it is,’ he said, ‘but I suddenly felt afraid. I durstn’t go outside this dell for any money; I felt that something was creeping up the slope.’ ‘Did you see anything?’ asked Frodo, springing to his feet. ‘No, sir. I saw nothing, but I didn’t stop to look.’ ‘I saw something,’ said Merry; ‘or I thought I did — away westwards where the moonlight was falling on the flats beyond the shadow of the hill-tops, I thought there were two or three black shapes. They seemed to be moving this way.’ ‘Keep close to the fire, with your faces outward!’ cried Strider. ‘Get some of the longer sticks ready in your hands!’ For a breathless time they sat there, silent and alert, with their backs turned to the wood-fire, each gazing into the shadows that
……離開了這個世界，好讓她能追隨他；而詩歌傳唱，他們在分裂之海的彼岸重逢，在綠林中再次攜手漫步了短暫的時光後，便在很久以前一同超越了這個世界的界限。因此，在所有精靈親族中，唯有露西安·緹努維兒真正死去並離開了世界，他們也失去了他們最摯愛的人。但古時精靈君王的血脈，卻經由她流傳至人類之中。至今仍有以露西安為始祖的後裔存活於世，據說她的血脈永不凋零。瑞文戴爾的愛隆便是那支親族的後裔。因為貝倫與露西安生下了辛葛的繼承人迪歐；迪歐又生下白色的愛爾溫，她嫁給了埃蘭迪爾，就是那位駕著船駛出世界迷霧，航向天際之海，額上鑲著精靈寶鑽的航海家。而埃蘭迪爾的後代，便是努曼諾爾，也就是西方皇朝的諸王。」神行客說話時，他們注視著他那張奇特而熱切的臉，在營火的紅光中忽明忽暗。他的雙眼閃爍，聲音渾厚低沉。他頭頂上是漆黑的星空。突然，一道蒼白的光芒出現在他身後風雲頂的頂冠之上。一輪漸盈的月亮正緩緩爬上那座籠罩著他們的小山，山頂上方的星星也隨之黯淡。故事結束了。哈比人們動了動身子，伸了伸懶腰。「看！」梅里說。「月亮升起來了，一定很晚了。」其他人抬頭望去。就在他們抬頭的瞬間，他們看到山頂上，在月升的微光映襯下，有個又小又黑的東西。那或許只是一塊被蒼白月光照亮的大石頭或突出的岩石。山姆和梅里站起來，走離營火。佛羅多和皮聘則靜靜地坐著。神行客專注地凝視著山丘上的月光。一切似乎安靜無聲，但現在神行客不再說話，佛羅多感到一股冰冷的恐懼悄悄爬上心頭。他更靠近營火縮起身子。就在那時，山姆從窪地的邊緣跑了回來。「我不知道那是什麼，」他說，「但我突然覺得很害怕。不管給我多少錢，我都不敢走出這個窪地；我感覺有東西正沿著斜坡爬上來。」「你看見什麼了嗎？」佛羅多問道，一躍而起。「沒有，先生。我什麼也沒看見，但我沒停下來細看。」「我看到東西了，」梅里說，「或者說我以為我看到了——在西邊，月光灑在山頂陰影之外的平地上，我想有兩三個黑影。它們似乎正朝這邊移動。」「靠近火堆，臉朝外！」神行客喊道。「把長一點的木棍拿在手上準備好！」在一段令人屏息的時間裡，他們靜靜地、警覺地坐在那裡，背對著營火，每個人都凝視著前方的陰影。
A KNIFE IN THE DARK 195 encircled them. Nothing happened. There was no sound or movement in the night. Frodo stirred, feeling that he must break the silence: he longed to shout out aloud. ‘Hush!’ whispered Strider. ‘What’s that?’ gasped Pippin at the same moment. Over the lip of the little dell, on the side away from the hill, they felt, rather than saw, a shadow rise, one shadow or more than one. They strained their eyes, and the shadows seemed to grow. Soon there could be no doubt: three or four tall black figures were standing there on the slope, looking down on them. So black were they that they seemed like black holes in the deep shade behind them. Frodo thought that he heard a faint hiss as of venomous breath and felt a thin piercing chill. Then the shapes slowly advanced. Terror overcame Pippin and Merry, and they threw themselves flat on the ground. Sam shrank to Frodo’s side. Frodo was hardly less terrified than his companions; he was quaking as if he was bitter cold, but his terror was swallowed up in a sudden temptation to put on the Ring. The desire to do this laid hold of him, and he could think of nothing else. He did not forget the Barrow, nor the message of Gandalf; but something seemed to be compelling him to disregard all warnings, and he longed to yield. Not with the hope of escape, or of doing anything, either good or bad: he simply felt that he must take the Ring and put it on his finger. He could not speak. He felt Sam looking at him, as if he knew that his master was in some great trouble, but he could not turn towards him. He shut his eyes and struggled for a while; but resistance became unbearable, and at last he slowly drew out the chain, and slipped the Ring on the forefinger of his left hand. Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him. Desperate, he drew his own sword, and it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a firebrand. Two of the figures halted. The third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down on Frodo. At that moment Frodo threw himself forward on the ground, and he heard himself crying aloud: O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! At the same
「黑暗中的一把刀」將他們包圍。什麼也沒發生。夜裡沒有任何聲音或動靜。佛羅多動了一下，覺得必須打破這片寂靜：他渴望大聲喊叫。「噓！」神行客低語道。「那是什麼？」皮聘在同一刻倒抽一口氣。在小窪地的邊緣，遠離山丘的那一側，他們感覺到，而非看到，一個影子升起，一個或不止一個。他們使勁睜大眼睛，那些影子似乎變大了。很快地，毫無疑問：三四個高大的黑色身影正站在那裡的斜坡上，低頭看著他們。他們是如此漆黑，以至於在他們身後深沉的陰影中，他們看起來就像是黑洞。佛羅多覺得自己聽到一陣微弱的嘶嘶聲，像是毒物的氣息，並感到一陣刺骨的寒意。然後，那些形體緩緩前進。恐懼擊垮了皮聘和梅里，他們平趴在地上。山姆縮到佛羅多身邊。佛羅多的恐懼幾乎不亞於他的同伴們；他顫抖著，彷彿身處刺骨的嚴寒，但他的恐懼卻被一股戴上魔戒的突來誘惑所吞噬。這個慾望攫住了他，讓他無法思考其他任何事情。他沒有忘記古墓，也沒有忘記甘道夫的告誡；但似乎有某種力量正迫使他無視所有警告，他渴望屈服。並非希望逃脫，或做任何好事或壞事：他只是覺得自己必須拿起魔戒，戴到手指上。他說不出話。他感覺到山姆在看著他，彷彿知道他的主人正處於極大的麻煩中，但他無法轉向他。他閉上眼睛掙扎了一會兒；但抵抗變得無法忍受，最後他緩緩地抽出鍊子，將魔戒滑入左手食指。瞬間，儘管周遭一切依舊如故，昏暗不明，那些形體卻變得異常清晰。他能夠看透他們黑色的罩袍。那是五個高大的身影：兩個站在窪地邊緣，三個正在前進。在他們蒼白的臉上，燃燒著銳利而無情的眼睛；斗篷下是長長的灰色長袍；灰白的頭髮上戴著銀色的頭盔；枯槁的手中握著鋼劍。他們的目光落在他身上，刺穿了他，同時朝他衝來。絕望中，他拔出自己的劍，他覺得劍身閃爍著紅光，彷彿一根燃燒的木柴。其中兩個身影停了下來。第三個比其他人更高大：他的頭髮又長又亮，頭盔上還有一頂王冠。他一隻手拿著長劍，另一隻手拿著一把刀；刀子和握著它的手都散發著蒼白的光芒。他向前一躍，朝佛羅多猛撲過來。就在那一刻，佛羅多向前撲倒在地，並聽見自己大喊：噢，伊爾碧綠絲！吉爾松聶爾！就在同時
196 THE LORD OF THE RINGS time he struck at the feet of his enemy. A shrill cry rang out in the night; and he felt a pain like a dart of poisoned ice pierce his left shoulder. Even as he swooned he caught, as through a swirling mist, a glimpse of Strider leaping out of the darkness with a flaming brand of wood in either hand. With a last effort Frodo, dropping his sword, slipped the Ring from his finger and closed his right hand tight upon it.
他朝敵人的腳下砍去。一聲尖銳的哭喊劃破夜空；他感覺到左肩一陣刺痛，彷彿被淬毒的冰鏢刺穿。就在他昏厥之際，他彷彿透過旋轉的迷霧，瞥見神行客手持兩支燃燒的木柴從黑暗中躍出。佛羅多用盡最後一絲力氣，扔下劍，從手指上滑下魔戒，並將它緊緊握在右手中。