Chapter 3 THE RING GOES SOUTH Later that day the hobbits held a meeting of their own in Bilbo’s room. Merry and Pippin were indignant when they heard that Sam had crept into the Council, and had been chosen as Frodo’s companion. ‘It’s most unfair,’ said Pippin. ‘Instead of throwing him out, and clapping him in chains, Elrond goes and rewards him for his cheek!’ ‘Rewards!’ said Frodo. ‘I can’t imagine a more severe punishment. You are not thinking what you are saying: condemned to go on this hopeless journey, a reward? Yesterday I dreamed that my task was done, and I could rest here, a long while, perhaps for good.’ ‘I don’t wonder,’ said Merry, ‘and I wish you could. But we are envying Sam, not you. If you have to go, then it will be a punishment for any of us to be left behind, even in Rivendell. We have come a long way with you and been through some stiff times. We want to go on.’ “That’s what I meant,’ said Pippin. ‘We hobbits ought to stick together, and we will. I shall go, unless they chain me up. There must be someone with intelligence in the party.’ ‘Then you certainly will not be chosen, Peregrin Took!’ said Gandalf, looking in through the window, which was near the ground. ‘But you are all worrying yourselves unnecessarily. Nothing is decided yet.’ ‘Nothing decided!’ cried Pippin. “Then what were you all doing? You were shut up for hours.’ ‘Talking,’ said Bilbo. “There was a deal of talk, and everyone had an eye-opener. Even old Gandalf. I think Legolas’s bit of news about Gollum caught even him on the hop, though he passed it off.’ “You were wrong,’ said Gandalf. ‘You were inattentive. I had already heard of it from Gwaihir. If you want to know, the only real eye-openers, as you put it, were you and Frodo; and I was the only one that was not surprised.’ ‘Well, anyway,’ said Bilbo, ‘nothing was decided beyond choosing poor Frodo and Sam. I was afraid all the time that it might come to that, if I was let off. But if you ask me, Elrond will send out a fair number, when the reports come in. Have they started yet, Gandalf?’ ‘Yes,’ said the wizard. ‘Some of the scouts have been sent out already. More will go tomorrow. Elrond is sending Elves, and they will get in touch with the Rangers, and maybe with Thranduil’s folk
第三章 魔戒南行 當天稍晚，哈比人自己在比爾博的房間裡開了個會。梅里和皮聘聽說山姆溜進了會議，還被選為佛羅多的同伴，都感到很憤慨。「這太不公平了！」皮聘說。「亞玟不把他趕出去，還把他鎖起來，反而獎勵他的厚顏無恥！」 「獎勵？」佛羅多說。「我無法想像還有比這更嚴厲的懲罰了。你根本沒在想你說什麼：被判去走這趟毫無希望的旅程，這叫獎勵嗎？昨天我夢到我的任務完成了，我可以永遠在這裡休息了，或許是永遠。」 「我一點也不意外，」梅里說，「我也希望你能。但我們羨慕的是山姆，不是你。如果你非走不可，那麼我們任何一個人被留下，即使是在瑞文戴爾，都會是一種懲罰。我們已經跟你走了這麼久，也經歷過一些艱難的時刻。我們想繼續走下去。」 「『我就是這個意思，』皮聘說。『我們哈比人應該團結一致，我們也會的。我會去的，除非他們把我鎖起來。隊伍裡總得有個聰明人吧。』」 「『那你肯定不會被選上，皮瑞格林·圖克！』甘道夫從靠近地面的窗戶往裡看，說道。『但你們都在不必要地擔心。什麼都還沒決定呢。』」 「『什麼都沒決定！』皮聘喊道。『那你們都在做什麼？你們被關了好幾個小時。』」 「『說話啊，』比爾博說。『談了很多，每個人都大開眼界。連老甘道夫也是。我想勒苟拉斯關於咕嚕的消息，連他也感到措手不及，儘管他裝作若無其事。』」 「『你錯了，』甘道夫說。『你心不在焉。我已經從關海爾那裡聽說了。如果你想知道，唯一真正讓你「大開眼界」的，是你和佛羅多；而我則是唯一沒有感到驚訝的人。』」 「『好吧，總之，』比爾博說，『除了選了可憐的佛羅多和山姆之外，什麼都沒決定。我一直擔心如果我被放過，事情會發展到那一步。但如果你問我，等報告進來，亞玟會派出相當多的人。他們開始了嗎，甘道夫？』」 「『是的，』巫師說。『一些斥候已經被派出去了。明天會有更多人去。亞玟正在派遣精靈，他們會與遊俠取得聯繫，或許也會與瑟蘭督伊的人民聯繫。』
THE RING GOES SOUTH 273 in Mirkwood. And Aragorn has gone with Elrond’s sons. We shall have to scour the lands all round for many long leagues before any move is made. So cheer up, Frodo! You will probably make quite a long stay here.’ ‘Ah!’ said Sam gloomily. ‘We'll just wait long enough for winter to come.’ “That can’t be helped,’ said Bilbo. ‘It’s your fault partly, Frodo my lad: insisting on waiting for my birthday. A funny way of honouring it, I can’t help thinking. Not the day I should have chosen for letting the S.-B.s into Bag End. But there it is: you can’t wait now till spring; and you can’t go till the reports come back. When winter first begins to bite and stones crack in the frosty night, when pools are black and trees are bare, *ris evil in the Wild to fare. But that I am afraid will be just your luck.’ ‘I am afraid it will,’ said Gandalf. ‘We can’t start until we have found out about the Riders.’ ‘I thought they were all destroyed in the flood,’ said Merry. “You cannot destroy Ringwraiths like that,’ said Gandalf. “The power of their master is in them, and they stand or fall by him. We hope that they were all unhorsed and unmasked, and so made for a while less dangerous; but we must find out for certain. In the meantime you should try and forget your troubles, Frodo. I do not know if I can do anything to help you; but I will whisper this in your ears. Someone said that intelligence would be needed in the party. He was right. I think I shall come with you.’ So great was Frodo’s delight at this announcement that Gandalf left the window-sill, where he had been sitting, and took off his hat and bowed. ‘I only said I think I shall come. Do not count on anything yet. In this matter Elrond will have much to say, and your friend the Strider. Which reminds me, I want to see Elrond. I must be off.’ ‘How long do you think I shall have here?’ said Frodo to Bilbo when Gandalf had gone. ‘Oh, I don’t know. I can’t count days in Rivendell,’ said Bilbo. ‘But quite long, I should think. We can have many a good talk. What about helping me with my book, and making a start on the next? Have you thought of an ending?’ “Yes, several, and all are dark and unpleasant,’ said Frodo. ‘Oh, that won’t do!’ said Bilbo. ‘Books ought to have good endings. How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after?”
魔戒南行，抵達幽暗密林。亞拉岡與愛隆的兒子們同行。我們必須在採取任何行動之前，搜尋周圍數十里格的土地。所以，佛羅多，振作起來！你可能會在這裡待上很長一段時間。』「唉！」山姆沮喪地說，「我們就等著冬天來臨吧。」「那也沒辦法。」比爾博說，「佛羅多，我的小夥子，這部分是你的錯：堅持要等我的生日。我忍不住想，這真是個奇怪的慶祝方式。這可不是我會選擇讓薩克維爾-巴金斯家族進入袋底洞的日子。但事已至此：你現在不能等到春天，而且在報告回來之前，你也不能離開。當冬天開始侵襲，寒夜裡石頭龜裂，水池變黑，樹木光禿禿時，在荒野中跋涉是邪惡的。但我恐怕這就是你的運氣了。」「我恐怕會是這樣。」甘道夫說，「在我們查清楚戒靈的情況之前，我們不能出發。」「我以為他們都在洪水中被毀滅了。」梅里說。「你不能那樣毀滅戒靈。」甘道夫說，「他們主人的力量在他們體內，他們因他而興衰。我們希望他們都被掀下馬、揭開面具，因此暫時變得不那麼危險；但我們必須確定。在此期間，佛羅多，你應該試著忘記你的煩惱。我不知道我是否能幫上什麼忙；但我會在你耳邊低語這件事。有人說，這支隊伍需要智慧。他說得對。我想我會和你們一起去。」佛羅多聽到這個消息時欣喜若狂，甘道夫便從他一直坐著的窗台上起身，脫下帽子鞠躬。「我只是說我想我會來。現在不要指望任何事情。在這件事上，愛隆和你的朋友『神行客』會有很多話要說。這讓我想起來，我想見愛隆。我必須走了。」「你覺得我會在這裡待多久？」甘道夫離開後，佛羅多問比爾博。「噢，我不知道。我在瑞文戴爾數不清日子。」比爾博說，「但我想會很久。我們可以好好聊聊。幫我寫書，然後開始寫下一本怎麼樣？你有想過結局嗎？」「是的，好幾個，而且都黑暗又令人不快。」佛羅多說。「噢，那可不行！」比爾博說，「書應該要有好的結局。這樣怎麼樣：他們都安頓下來，從此過著幸福快樂的日子？」
274 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘It will do well, if it ever comes to that,’ said Frodo. ‘Ah!’ said Sam. ‘And where will they live? That’s what I often wonder.’ For a while the hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey and of the perils that lay ahead; but such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song. So the days slipped away, as each morning dawned bright and fair, and each evening followed cool and clear. But autumn was waning fast; slowly the golden light faded to pale silver, and the lingering leaves fell from the naked trees. A wind began to blow chill from the Misty Mountains to the east. The Hunter’s Moon waxed round in the night sky, and put to flight all the lesser stars. But low in the South one star shone red. Every night, as the Moon waned again, it shone brighter and brighter. Frodo could see it from his window, deep in the heavens, burning like a watchful eye that glared above the trees on the brink of the valley. The hobbits had been nearly two months in the house of Elrond, and November had gone by with the last shreds of autumn, and December was passing, when the scouts began to return. Some had gone north beyond the springs of the Hoarwell into the Ettenmoors; and others had gone west, and with the help of Aragorn and the Rangers had searched the lands far down the Greyflood, as far as Tharbad, where the old North Road crossed the river by a ruined town. Many had gone east and south; and some of these had crossed the Mountains and entered Mirkwood, while others had climbed the pass at the sources of the Gladden River, and had come down into Wilderland and over the Gladden Fields and so at length had reached the old home of Radagast at Rhosgobel. Radagast was not there; and they had returned over the high pass that was called the Redhorn Gate. The sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, were the last to return; they had made a great journey, passing down the Silverlode into a strange country, but of their errand they would not speak to any save to Elrond. In no region had the messengers discovered any signs or tidings of the Riders or other servants of the Enemy. Even from the Eagles of the Misty Mountains they had learned no fresh news. Nothing had been seen or heard of Gollum; but the wild wolves were still gathering, and were hunting again far up the Great River. Three of
274 《魔戒》 「如果真有那麼一天，那會是個好地方。」佛羅多說。 「啊！」山姆說。「他們會住在哪裡呢？這是我常想的問題。」 霍比特人又談論了一會兒過去的旅程，以及前方潛藏的危險；但瑞文戴爾這片土地的奇妙之處在於，他們心中的恐懼和焦慮很快就一掃而空。未來，無論是好是壞，都沒有被遺忘，但它不再對當下產生任何影響。健康和希望在他們心中日益強大，他們滿足於每一個美好的日子，享受每一餐，每一句話語和每一首歌。 日子就這樣悄然流逝，每個早晨都明亮而晴朗，每個夜晚都涼爽而清澈。但秋意正迅速消退；金色的光芒漸漸褪為蒼白的銀色，枯黃的葉子從光禿禿的樹上飄落。一陣寒風開始從東方的迷霧山脈吹來。「獵人月」在夜空中圓滿升起，將所有較小的星星都驅散了。但在南方低處，一顆紅星閃耀著。每當月亮再次虧缺時，它就變得越來越亮。佛羅多可以從他的窗戶看到它，它深嵌在天空中，像一隻警惕的眼睛，凝視著山谷邊緣的樹林。 霍比特人已經在愛隆的家中待了將近兩個月，十一月隨著秋天的最後一絲痕跡過去了，十二月也正在流逝，此時偵察兵們開始陸續返回。有些人向北越過灰水河的源頭進入埃滕荒原；另一些人則向西，在亞拉岡和遊俠的幫助下，搜尋了灰水河下游很遠的地區，遠至薩巴德，那裡古老的北路在一座廢棄的城鎮旁跨越河流。許多人向東和向南去了；其中一些人越過山脈進入幽暗密林，另一些人則爬上了格拉頓河源頭的山口，然後下到荒野，越過格拉頓平原，最終到達了瑞達加斯特在羅斯哥貝爾的舊居。瑞達加斯特不在那裡；他們是從被稱為紅角門的高山口返回的。 愛隆的兒子們，埃爾拉丹和埃爾羅赫，是最後返回的；他們進行了一次漫長的旅程，沿著銀流河進入了一個陌生的國度，但他們不願向除了愛隆以外的任何人提及他們的任務。在任何地區，信使們都沒有發現戒靈或其他敵人的僕從的任何跡象或消息。即使從迷霧山脈的巨鷹那裡，他們也沒有得到任何新消息。咕嚕也沒有被看見或聽到任何消息；但野狼仍在聚集，並在大河上游再次狩獵。其中三隻...
THE RING GOES SOUTH 275 the black horses had been found at once drowned in the flooded Ford. On the rocks of the rapids below it searchers discovered the bodies of five more, and also a long black cloak, slashed and tattered. Of the Black Riders no other trace was to be seen, and nowhere was their presence to be felt. It seemed that they had vanished from the North. ‘Eight out of the Nine are accounted for at least,’ said Gandalf. ‘It is rash to be too sure, yet I think that we may hope now that the Ringwraiths were scattered, and have been obliged to return as best they could to their Master in Mordor, empty and shapeless. ‘If that is so, it will be some time before they can begin the hunt again. Of course the Enemy has other servants, but they will have to journey all the way to the borders of Rivendell before they can pick up our trail. And if we are careful that will be hard to find. But we must delay no longer.’ Elrond summoned the hobbits to him. He looked gravely at Frodo. “The time has come,’ he said. ‘If the Ring is to set out, it must go soon. But those who go with it must not count on their errand being aided by war or force. They must pass into the domain of the Enemy far from aid. Do you still hold to your word, Frodo, that you will be the Ring-bearer?’ ‘I do,’ said Frodo. ‘I will go with Sam.’ ‘Then I cannot help you much, not even with counsel,’ said Elrond. ‘I can foresee very little of your road; and how your task is to be achieved I do not know. The Shadow has crept now to the feet of the Mountains, and draws nigh even to the borders of the Greyflood; and under the Shadow all is dark to me. You will meet many foes, some open, and some disguised; and you may find friends upon your way when you least look for it. I will send out messages, such as I can contrive, to those whom I know in the wide world; but so perilous are the lands now become that some may well miscarry, or come no quicker than you yourself. ‘And I will choose you companions to go with you, as far as they will or fortune allows. The number must be few, since your hope is in speed and secrecy. Had I a host of Elves in armour of the Elder Days, it would avail little, save to arouse the power of Mordor. “The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil. With you and your faithful servant, Gandalf will go; for this shall be his great task, and maybe the end of his labours. ‘For the rest, they shall represent the other Free Peoples of the World: Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Legolas shall be for the Elves; and
魔戒南行 275 那些黑馬立刻就被發現淹死在氾濫的渡口。在渡口下方的急流岩石上，搜查者又發現了五具屍體，還有一件被割裂、破爛不堪的黑色長袍。黑騎士們再也找不到其他蹤跡，也感覺不到他們的存在。他們似乎已經從北方消失了。「九名騎士中至少有八名已經被清算了，」甘道夫說。「過於肯定是很魯莽的，但我認為我們現在可以希望戒靈們已經潰散，被迫盡其所能地回到他們在魔多的主人身邊，空虛而無形。如果真是這樣，他們要過一段時間才能再次展開追捕。當然，敵人還有其他僕役，但他們必須一路跋涉到瑞文戴爾的邊界，才能找到我們的蹤跡。如果我們小心謹慎，他們的蹤跡將很難被發現。但我們不能再拖延了。」愛隆召喚了哈比人到他面前。他嚴肅地看著佛羅多。「時候到了，」他說。「如果魔戒要啟程，就必須盡快動身。但那些與魔戒同行的人，不能指望他們的任務會得到戰爭或武力的幫助。他們必須深入敵人的領地，遠離一切援助。佛羅多，你還堅持你的承諾，願意成為魔戒持有者嗎？」「我願意，」佛羅多說。「我會和山姆一起去。」「那麼，我幫不了你太多，甚至連建議也幫不上，」愛隆說。「我幾乎無法預見你們的道路；你們的任務將如何完成，我也不知道。陰影現在已經蔓延到山脈腳下，甚至逼近灰水河的邊界；在陰影之下，一切對我而言都是黑暗的。你們會遇到許多敵人，有些是公開的，有些是偽裝的；你們也可能在最意想不到的時候找到朋友。我會盡我所能，向我所認識的廣闊世界中的人發出訊息；但現在的土地如此危險，有些訊息很可能會失敗，或者傳達的速度不會比你們自己快。「我會為你們挑選同伴，只要他們願意或命運允許。人數必須很少，因為你們的希望在於速度和隱密。即使我有一支身穿上古時代盔甲的精靈大軍，也無濟於事，只會喚醒魔多的力量。「魔戒遠征隊將有九名成員；這九名步行者將對抗那九名邪惡的騎士。你和你的忠實僕人，甘道夫將會同行；因為這將是他的重大任務，也可能是他勞苦的終結。「至於其餘成員，他們將代表世界上的其他自由民族：精靈、矮人與人類。勒苟拉斯將代表精靈；而
276 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Gimli son of Gloin for the Dwarves. They are willing to go at least to the passes of the Mountains, and maybe beyond. For men you shall have Aragorn son of Arathorn, for the Ring of Isildur concerns him closely.’ ‘Strider!’ cried Frodo. ‘Yes,’ he said with a smile. ‘I ask leave once again to be your companion, Frodo.’ ‘I would have begged you to come,’ said Frodo, ‘only I thought you were going to Minas Tirith with Boromir.’ ‘I am,’ said Aragorn. ‘And the Sword-that-was-Broken shall be re-forged ere I set out to war. But your road and our road lie together for many hundreds of miles. Therefore Boromir will also be in the Company. He is a valiant man.’ “There remain two more to be found,’ said Elrond. ‘These I will consider. Of my household I may find some that it seems good to me to send.’ ‘But that will leave no place for us!’ cried Pippin in dismay. ‘We don’t want to be left behind. We want to go with Frodo.’ “That is because you do not understand and cannot imagine what lies ahead,’ said Elrond. ‘Neither does Frodo,’ said Gandalf, unexpectedly supporting Pippin. ‘Nor do any of us see clearly. It is true that if these hobbits understood the danger, they would not dare to go. But they would still wish to go, or wish that they dared, and be shamed and unhappy. I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom. Even if you chose for us an Elf-lord, such as Glorfindel, he could not storm the Dark Tower, nor open the road to the Fire by the power that is in him.’ “You speak gravely,’ said Elrond, ‘but I am in doubt. The Shire, I forebode, is not free now from peril; and these two I had thought to send back there as messengers, to do what they could, according to the fashion of their country, to warn the people of their danger. In any case, I judge that the younger of these two, Peregrin Took, should remain. My heart is against his going.’ ‘Then, Master Elrond, you will have to lock me in prison, or send me home tied in a sack,’ said Pippin. ‘For otherwise I shall follow the Company.’ ‘Let it be so then. You shall go,’ said Elrond, and he sighed. ‘Now the tale of Nine is filled. In seven days the Company must depart.’ The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by Elvish smiths, and on its blade was traced a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes;
276 《魔戒》 金靂，葛羅音之子，代表矮人。他們至少願意前往山脈的隘口，甚至可能更遠。至於人類，你們將有亞拉岡，亞拉松之子，因為伊西鐸的魔戒與他關係密切。」「亞拉岡！」佛羅多喊道。「是的，」他微笑著說。「我再次請求成為你的夥伴，佛羅多。」「我本來會懇求你來的，」佛羅多說，「只是我以為你要和波羅莫一起去米那斯提力斯。」「我是要去，」亞拉岡說。「斷裂的聖劍將在我出征前重新鑄造。但你的路和我們的路將同行數百英里。因此波羅莫也將在隊伍中。他是一個勇敢的人。」「還有兩個人需要找到，」愛隆說。「我會考慮這些。在我家中，我可能會找到一些我覺得適合派遣的人。」「但那樣就沒有我們的份了！」皮聘沮喪地喊道。「我們不想被留下。我們想和佛羅多一起去。」「那是因為你們不了解，也無法想像前方有什麼，」愛隆說。「佛羅多也不了解，」甘道夫說，出乎意料地支持皮聘。「我們沒有人能看清楚。的確，如果這些哈比人了解危險，他們就不敢去了。但他們仍然會希望去，或者希望他們敢去，並且會感到羞愧和不快樂。我認為，愛隆，在這件事上，最好是相信他們的友誼，而不是偉大的智慧。即使你為我們選擇一位精靈領主，例如葛羅芬戴爾，他也無法攻下黑暗塔，也無法憑藉他自身的力量打開通往火焰之路。」「你說得很嚴肅，」愛隆說，「但我心存疑慮。我預感夏爾現在並非沒有危險；我本來想把這兩個人送回那裡當信使，讓他們按照他們國家的方式，盡其所能地警告人們他們的危險。無論如何，我判斷這兩個人中較年輕的，皮瑞格林·圖克，應該留下。我心裡不贊成他去。」「那麼，愛隆大人，你必須把我關進監獄，或者把我綁在麻袋裡送回家，」皮聘說。「否則我會跟隨隊伍。」「那就這樣吧。你去吧，」愛隆說，他嘆了口氣。「現在九人小隊的人數已滿。七天後，隊伍必須啟程。」埃蘭迪爾之劍由精靈鐵匠重新鑄造，劍刃上刻有七顆星的圖案，鑲嵌在新月和光芒四射的太陽之間，周圍刻有許多符文；
THE RING GOES SOUTH 277 for Aragorn son of Arathorn was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. Very bright was that sword when it was made whole again; the light of the sun shone redly in it, and the light of the moon shone cold, and its edge was hard and keen. And Aragorn gave it a new name and called it Anduril, Flame of the West. Aragorn and Gandalf walked together or sat speaking of their road and the perils they would meet; and they pondered the storied and figured maps and books of lore that were in the house of Elrond. Sometimes Frodo was with them; but he was content to lean on their guidance, and he spent as much time as he could with Bilbo. In those last days the hobbits sat together in the evening in the Hall of Fire, and there among many tales they heard told in full the lay of Beren and Luthien and the winning of the Great Jewel; but in the day, while Merry and Pippin were out and about, Frodo and Sam were to be found with Bilbo in his own small room. Then Bilbo would read passages from his book (which still seemed very incomplete), or scraps of his verses, or would take notes of Frodo’s adventures. On the morning of the last day Frodo was alone with Bilbo, and the old hobbit pulled out from under his bed a wooden box. He lifted the lid and fumbled inside. ‘Here is your sword,’ he said. ‘But it was broken, you know. I took it to keep it safe but I’ve forgotten to ask if the smiths could mend it. No time now. So I thought, perhaps, you would care to have this, don’t you know?’ He took from the box a small sword in an old shabby leathern scabbard. Then he drew it, and its polished and well-tended blade glittered suddenly, cold and bright. “This is Sting,’ he said, and thrust it with little effort deep into a wooden beam. “Take it, if you like. I shan’t want it again, I expect.’ Frodo accepted it gratefully. ‘Also there is this!’ said Bilbo, bringing out a parcel which seemed to be rather heavy for its size. He unwound several folds of old cloth, and held up a small shirt of mail. It was close-woven of many rings, as supple almost as linen, cold as ice, and harder than steel. It shone like moonlit silver, and was studded with white gems. With it was a belt of pearl and crystal. ‘It’s a pretty thing, isn’t it?’ said Bilbo, moving it in the light. ‘And useful. It is my dwarf-mail that Thorin gave me. I got it back from Michel Delving before I started, and packed it with my luggage. I brought all the mementoes of my Journey away with me, except the Ring. But I did not expect to use this, and I don’t need it now, except to look at sometimes. You hardly feel any weight when you put it on.’
魔戒南行 277 因為亞拉岡，亞拉松之子，正要前往魔多邊境作戰。那把劍重新鑄好後，閃耀著耀眼的光芒；陽光照在上面呈紅色，月光則呈冷白色，劍刃堅硬而鋒利。亞拉岡給了它一個新名字，稱它為安都瑞爾，西方之焰。亞拉岡和甘道夫或同行或坐下，談論著他們的旅程以及將會遇到的危險；他們仔細研究著愛隆王家中那些記載著故事和圖案的地圖，以及充滿知識的書籍。有時佛羅多會和他們在一起；但他樂於依賴他們的指引，並盡可能多地與比爾博相處。在那些最後的日子裡，哈比人晚上會一起坐在火廳裡，在那裡，在眾多故事中，他們完整地聽到了貝倫與露西安之歌以及奪取大寶石的故事；但在白天，當梅里和皮聘外出活動時，佛羅多和山姆則會和比爾博待在他自己的小房間裡。比爾博會讀他書中的段落（那本書看起來仍然非常不完整），或是他詩歌的片段，或者會記錄佛羅多的冒險經歷。在最後一天的早上，佛羅多獨自和比爾博在一起，這位老哈比人從床底下拿出一個木盒子。他掀開蓋子，在裡面摸索著。「這是你的劍，」他說。「但它壞了，你知道的。我拿走它是為了保管好它，但我忘了問鐵匠能不能修好。現在沒時間了。所以我想，或許你會想要這個，你說是不是？」他從盒子裡拿出一把小劍，裝在一個破舊的皮鞘裡。然後他拔出劍，那擦亮且保養良好的劍刃突然閃爍著，冰冷而明亮。「這是刺針，」他說，然後輕而易舉地將它深深刺入一根木樑。「如果你喜歡，就拿去吧。我想我不會再需要它了。」佛羅多感激地收下了。「還有這個！」比爾博說，拿出來一個包裹，它的大小看起來相當重。他解開了幾層舊布，舉起一件小小的鎖子甲。它由許多環緊密編織而成，幾乎像亞麻一樣柔軟，像冰一樣冷，比鋼鐵還要堅硬。它像月光下的銀子一樣閃耀，並鑲嵌著白色的寶石。隨之而來的是一條珍珠和水晶製成的腰帶。「這是個漂亮的東西，不是嗎？」比爾博在光線中移動著它說。「而且很有用。這是索林送我的矮人鎖子甲。我在出發前從米歇爾淺洞把它拿回來，並和我的行李一起打包。我把旅程中所有的紀念品都帶走了，除了魔戒。但我沒想到會用到這個，現在也不需要它了，除了偶爾看看。你穿上它幾乎感覺不到任何重量。
278 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘I should look — well, I don’t think I should look right in it,’ said Frodo. ‘Just what I said myself,’ said Bilbo. ‘But never mind about looks. You can wear it under your outer clothes. Come on! You must share this secret with me. Don’t tell anybody else! But I should feel happier if I knew you were wearing it. I have a fancy it would turn even the knives of the Black Riders,’ he ended in a low voice. ‘Very well, I will take it,’ said Frodo. Bilbo put it on him, and fastened Sting upon the glittering belt; and then Frodo put over the top his old weather-stained breeches, tunic, and jacket. ‘Just a plain hobbit you look,’ said Bilbo. ‘But there is more about you now than appears on the surface. Good luck to you!’ He turned away and looked out of the window, trying to hum a tune. ‘I cannot thank you as I should, Bilbo, for this, and for all your past kindnesses,’ said Frodo. ‘Don’t try!’ said the old hobbit, turning round and slapping him on the back. ‘Ow!’ he cried. ‘You are too hard now to slap! But there you are: Hobbits must stick together, and especially Bagginses. All I ask in return is: take as much care of yourself as you can, and bring back all the news you can, and any old songs and tales you can come by. Pll do my best to finish my book before you return. I should like to write the second book, if I am spared.’ He broke off and turned to the window again, singing softly. I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen, of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been; Of yellow leaves and gossamer im autumns that there were, with morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair. I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be when winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see. For still there are so many things that I have never seen: im every wood in every spring there is a different green.
278 《魔戒》 「我穿起來——嗯，我想我穿起來會不太合適。」佛羅多說。「我當時也是這麼說的。」比爾博說。「不過別管外表了。你可以把它穿在外衣裡面。來吧！你必須跟我分享這個秘密。別告訴任何人！但我會覺得更安心，如果我知道你穿著它。我總覺得它甚至能擋住黑騎士的刀劍。」他低聲說道。「好吧，我會收下。」佛羅多說。比爾博將它穿在他身上，並把「刺針」繫在閃亮的腰帶上；然後佛羅多在外面套上他那件舊的、飽經風霜的馬褲、束腰外衣和夾克。「你現在看起來就是個普通的哈比人。」比爾博說。「但你身上現在有的東西，比表面上看起來的要多。祝你好運！」他轉過身，望向窗外，試圖哼著小調。「比爾博，我無法像我應該做的那樣感謝你，為了這個，也為了你過去所有的好意。」佛羅多說。「別客氣！」老哈比人轉過身，拍了拍他的背說。「哎喲！」他叫道。「你現在太硬了，不能拍了！不過就是這樣：哈比人必須團結一致，尤其是巴金斯家族。我唯一的要求是：盡可能照顧好自己，帶回所有你能帶回的消息，以及任何你能找到的舊歌謠和故事。我會盡力在你回來之前完成我的書。如果我能活下來，我希望能寫第二本書。」他打斷話語，再次轉向窗戶，輕聲唱道：「我坐在爐火旁，思索我所見的一切，思索那些逝去的夏日裡的草地花朵和蝴蝶；思索那些過去的秋日裡的黃葉和蛛絲，伴著晨霧、銀色的陽光和髮間的微風。我坐在爐火旁，思索當冬天來臨，沒有我將永遠見不到的春天時，世界將會如何。因為仍有許多我從未見過的事物：在每個樹林裡，每個春天都有不同的綠意。
THE RING GOES SOUTH 279 I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago, and people who will see a world that I shall never know. But all the while I sit and think of times there were before, I listen for returning feet and voices at the door. It was a cold grey day near the end of December. The East Wind was streaming through the bare branches of the trees, and seething in the dark pines on the hills. Ragged clouds were hurrying overhead, dark and low. As the cheerless shadows of the early evening began to fall the Company made ready to set out. They were to start at dusk, for Elrond counselled them to journey under cover of night as often as they could, until they were far from Rivendell. “You should fear the many eyes of the servants of Sauron,’ he said. ‘I do not doubt that news of the discomfiture of the Riders has already reached him, and he will be filled with wrath. Soon now his spies on foot and wing will be abroad in the northern lands. Even of the sky above you must beware as you go on your way.’ The Company took little gear of war, for their hope was in secrecy not in battle. Aragorn had Anduril but no other weapon, and he went forth clad only in rusty green and brown, as a Ranger of the wilderness. Boromir had a long sword, in fashion like Anduril but of less lineage, and he bore also a shield and his war-horn. ‘Loud and clear it sounds in the valleys of the hills,’ he said, ‘and then let all the foes of Gondor flee!’ Putting it to his lips he blew a blast, and the echoes leapt from rock to rock, and all that heard that voice in Rivendell sprang to their feet. ‘Slow should you be to wind that horn again, Boromir,’ said Elrond, ‘until you stand once more on the borders of your land, and dire need is on you.’ ‘Maybe,’ said Boromir. ‘But always I have let my horn cry at setting forth, and though thereafter we may walk in the shadows, I will not go forth as a thief in the night.’ Gimli the dwarf alone wore openly a short shirt of steel-rings, for dwarves make light of burdens; and in his belt was a broad-bladed axe. Legolas had a bow and a quiver, and at his belt a long white knife. The younger hobbits wore the swords that they had taken from the barrow; but Frodo took only Sting; and his mail-coat, as Bilbo wished, remained hidden. Gandalf bore his staff, but girt at his side
魔戒南行 279 我坐在爐火旁，思念著逝去的人們，也思念著那些我永遠無法知曉的未來世界中的人們。但當我坐著沉思往昔時，我傾聽著門外歸來的腳步聲和說話聲。那是十二月下旬一個寒冷陰沉的日子。東風穿過光禿禿的樹枝，在山丘上漆黑的松林中呼嘯。破爛的雲朵低垂而陰暗，在頭頂匆匆掠過。隨著傍晚時分陰鬱的暮色降臨，遠征隊準備啟程。他們預計在黃昏時出發，因為愛隆建議他們盡可能在夜色掩護下趕路，直到他們遠離瑞文戴爾。「你們應當提防索倫僕從的眾多耳目，」他說。「我毫不懷疑戒靈敗退的消息已經傳到他那裡，他必會怒火中燒。很快，他的陸上和空中密探就會遍布北方大地。即使是頭頂的天空，你們在路上也必須小心提防。」遠征隊幾乎沒有攜帶戰備物資，因為他們的希望寄託在隱秘而非戰鬥上。亞拉岡帶著安都瑞爾劍，但沒有其他武器，他只穿著鏽綠色和棕色的衣服，像個荒野遊俠般前行。波羅莫有一把長劍，樣式與安都瑞爾相似但血統較低，他還帶著一面盾牌和他的號角。「它在山谷中響亮而清晰，」他說，「然後讓剛鐸的所有敵人逃跑吧！」他將號角湊到唇邊，吹響了一聲，迴聲在岩石間跳躍，所有在瑞文戴爾聽到那聲音的人都跳了起來。「波羅莫，你再次吹響這號角應當謹慎，」愛隆說，「直到你再次站在你的國境線上，並且身處危急之中。」「或許吧，」波羅莫說，「但我總是在啟程時讓我的號角鳴響，儘管之後我們可能要在陰影中前行，我也不會像夜間的盜賊一樣出發。」只有矮人金靂公開穿著一件短鋼環甲，因為矮人對負擔不以為意；他的腰帶上還掛著一把寬刃斧。勒苟拉斯帶著弓和箭袋，腰間別著一把長長的白刃刀。年輕的哈比人佩戴著他們從古塚中取來的劍；但佛羅多只帶了刺叮劍；而他的鎖子甲，正如比爾博所願，依然隱藏著。甘道夫手持他的法杖，但腰間繫著
280 THE LORD OF THE RINGS was the elven-sword Glamdring, the mate of Orcrist that lay now upon the breast of Thorin under the Lonely Mountain. All were well furnished by Elrond with thick warm clothes, and they had jackets and cloaks lined with fur. Spare food and clothes and blankets and other needs were laden on a pony, none other than the poor beast that they had brought from Bree. The stay in Rivendell had worked a great wonder of change on him: he was glossy and seemed to have the vigour of youth. It was Sam who had insisted on choosing him, declaring that Bill (as he called him) would pine, if he did not come. ‘That animal can nearly talk,’ he said, ‘and would talk, if he stayed here much longer. He gave me a look as plain as Mr. Pippin could speak it: if you don’t let me go with you, Sam, I'll follow on my own.’ So Bill was going as the beast of burden, yet he was the only member of the Company that did not seem depressed. Their farewells had been said in the great hall by the fire, and they were only waiting now for Gandalf, who had not yet come out of the house. A gleam of firelight came from the open doors, and soft lights were glowing in many windows. Bilbo huddled in a cloak stood silent on the doorstep beside Frodo. Aragorn sat with his head bowed to his knees; only Elrond knew fully what this hour meant to him. The others could be seen as grey shapes in the darkness. Sam was standing by the pony, sucking his teeth, and staring moodily into the gloom where the river roared stonily below; his desire for adventure was at its lowest ebb. ‘Bill, my lad,’ he said, ‘you oughtn’t to have took up with us. You could have stayed here and et the best hay till the new grass comes.’ Bill swished his tail and said nothing. Sam eased the pack on his shoulders, and went over anxiously in his mind all the things that he had stowed in it, wondering if he had forgotten anything: his chief treasure, his cooking gear; and the little box of salt that he always carried and refilled when he could; a good supply of pipe-weed (but not near enough, Pll warrant); flint and tinder; woollen hose; linen; various small belongings of his master’s that Frodo had forgotten and Sam had stowed to bring them out in triumph when they were called for. He went through them all. ‘Rope!’ he muttered. ‘No rope! And only last night you said to yourself: “Sam, what about a bit of rope? You’ll want it, if you haven’t got it.” Well, Pll want it. I can’t get it now.’ At that moment Elrond came out with Gandalf, and he called the Company to him. “This is my last word,’ he said in a low voice. “The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him
《魔戒》第280頁：那把精靈寶劍是葛蘭德林，它是歐克瑞斯特的姊妹劍，歐克瑞斯特此刻正躺在索林胸前，位於孤山之下。愛隆為他們準備了厚實保暖的衣物，他們穿著內襯毛皮的夾克和斗篷。備用的食物、衣物、毯子和其他必需品都馱在一匹小馬上，這匹馬正是他們從布理帶出來的那匹可憐的牲畜。在瑞文戴爾的停留對牠產生了奇妙的變化：牠皮毛光亮，似乎恢復了年輕的活力。是山姆堅持要選牠的，他聲稱如果比爾（他這樣稱呼牠）不來，牠會鬱鬱寡歡。「那隻動物幾乎會說話了，」他說，「如果牠在這裡待久一點，牠真的會說話。牠給了我一個眼神，那眼神清楚得就像皮聘先生親口說出來一樣：『山姆，如果你不讓我跟著你，我就自己跟上來。』」於是比爾便作為馱獸同行，然而牠卻是隊伍中唯一看起來不沮喪的成員。他們已在大廳火爐邊道別，現在只等甘道夫，他還沒從屋裡出來。火光從敞開的門縫中透出，柔和的光芒在許多窗戶中閃爍。比爾博裹著斗篷，默默地站在佛羅多身旁的門檻上。亞拉岡抱膝而坐，頭埋在膝間；只有愛隆完全明白這一刻對他意味著什麼。其他人則在黑暗中顯現為灰色的身影。山姆站在小馬旁邊，咂著嘴，悶悶不樂地凝視著下方河流咆哮的陰暗處；他對冒險的渴望已降到最低點。「比爾，我的小傢伙，」他說，「你真不該跟我們混在一起。你本可以待在這裡，吃最好的乾草，直到新草長出來。」比爾甩了甩尾巴，沒有說話。山姆調整了一下肩上的背包，焦慮地在腦中回想他塞進去的所有東西，想知道是否遺漏了什麼：他最重要的寶貝，他的炊具；還有他總是隨身攜帶並盡可能補充的小鹽盒；充足的菸草（但我敢說，還是不夠）；火石和火絨；羊毛襪；亞麻布；以及佛羅多忘記而山姆收起來，準備在需要時得意地拿出來的主人的一些小物件。他把所有東西都檢查了一遍。「繩子！」他咕噥道，「沒有繩子！昨晚你還對自己說：『山姆，弄點繩子怎麼樣？如果你沒有，你會需要它的。』嗯，我會需要它的。現在我可弄不到了。」就在這時，愛隆和甘道夫走了出來，他召集了隊伍。「這是我的最後一句話，」他低聲說，「魔戒持有者將踏上末日山脈的遠征。他肩負著...
THE RING GOES SOUTH 281 alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road.’ ‘Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,’ said Gimli. ‘Maybe,’ said Elrond, ‘but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.’ “Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart,’ said Gimli. ‘Or break it,’ said Elrond. ‘Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!’ ‘Good ... good luck!’ cried Bilbo, stuttering with the cold. ‘I don’t suppose you will be able to keep a diary, Frodo my lad, but I shall expect a full account when you get back. And don’t be too long! Farewell!’ Many others of Elrond’s household stood in the shadows and watched them go, bidding them farewell with soft voices. There was no laughter, and no song or music. At last they turned away and faded silently into the dusk. They crossed the bridge and wound slowly up the long steep paths that led out of the cloven vale of Rivendell; and they came at length to the high moor where the wind hissed through the heather. Then with one glance at the Last Homely House twinkling below them they strode away far into the night. At the Ford of Bruinen they left the Road and turning southwards went on by narrow paths among the folded lands. Their purpose was to hold this course west of the Mountains for many miles and days. The country was much rougher and more barren than in the green vale of the Great River in Wilderland on the other side of the range, and their going would be slow; but they hoped in this way to escape the notice of unfriendly eyes. The spies of Sauron had hitherto seldom been seen in this empty country, and the paths were little known except to the people of Rivendell. Gandalf walked in front, and with him went Aragorn, who knew this land even in the dark. The others were in file behind, and Legolas whose eyes were keen was the rearguard. The first part of their journey
魔戒南行 281 唯獨一項任務被賦予：既不可丟棄魔戒，也不可將其交給敵人的任何僕從，更不可讓除了遠征隊和會議成員之外的任何人觸碰它，而且只有在最危急的情況下才行。其他人則以自由夥伴的身份與他同行，助他一臂之力。你們可以逗留，或返回，或轉向其他道路，全憑機緣。你們走得越遠，就越難回頭；然而，沒有任何誓言或束縛要求你們走得比自己願意走的更遠。因為你們尚未了解自己內心的力量，也無法預見每個人在旅途中會遇到什麼。 「當道路變得黑暗時，說再見的人是沒有信心的。」金靂說。 「或許吧，」愛隆說，「但未曾見過夜幕降臨的人，不應發誓在黑暗中行走。」 「然而，誓言或許能堅定顫抖的心。」金靂說。「或者擊碎它。」愛隆說。 「不要看得太遠！現在就帶著堅定的心前行吧！再會了，願精靈、人類和所有自由子民的祝福與你們同在。願星光照耀你們的臉龐！」 「祝……祝你們好運！」比爾博凍得結結巴巴地喊道。「佛羅多，我的小夥子，我想你大概沒法寫日記了，但我期待你回來時能給我一個完整的敘述。別去太久了！再會！」 愛隆家中的許多其他人站在陰影中，目送他們離去，輕聲道別。沒有笑聲，也沒有歌聲或音樂。最後，他們轉身，悄無聲息地消失在暮色中。 他們過了橋，緩緩地沿著蜿蜒陡峭的小徑向上攀爬，這些小徑通往瑞文戴爾的裂谷之外；最終他們來到高地沼澤，那裡風聲呼嘯，穿過石楠叢。然後，他們回望了一眼下方閃爍著燈光的最後的家園，便大步流星地走入夜色深處。 在布魯南渡口，他們離開了大道，轉向南方，沿著蜿蜒曲折的狹窄小徑前行。他們的目的是沿著山脈以西的這條路線前進許多英里和許多天。這片土地比山脈另一側荒野中大河的翠綠山谷要崎嶇貧瘠得多，他們的行進會很緩慢；但他們希望這樣能避開不友善目光的注意。索倫的間諜迄今為止很少在這片荒蕪的土地上出現，除了瑞文戴爾的人們，這些小徑鮮為人知。甘道夫走在前面，亞拉岡與他同行，即使在黑暗中，亞拉岡也熟悉這片土地。其他人則排成一列跟在後面，而目光敏銳的勒苟拉斯則殿後。他們旅程的第一部分
282 THE LORD OF THE RINGS was hard and dreary, and Frodo remembered little of it, save the wind. For many sunless days an icy blast came from the Mountains in the east, and no garment seemed able to keep out its searching fingers. Though the Company was well clad, they seldom felt warm, either moving or at rest. They slept uneasily during the middle of the day, in some hollow of the land, or hidden under the tangled thorn-bushes that grew in thickets in many places. In the late afternoon they were roused by the watch, and took their chief meal: cold and cheerless as a rule, for they could seldom risk the lighting of a fire. In the evening they went on again, always as nearly southward as they could find a way. At first it seemed to the hobbits that although they walked and stumbled until they were weary, they were creeping forward like snails, and getting nowhere. Each day the land looked much the same as it had the day before. Yet steadily the mountains were drawing nearer. South of Rivendell they rose ever higher, and bent westwards; and about the feet of the main range there was tumbled an ever wider land of bleak hills, and deep valleys filled with turbulent waters. Paths were few and winding, and led them often only to the edge of some sheer fall, or down into treacherous swamps. They had been a fortnight on the way when the weather changed. The wind suddenly fell and then veered round to the south. The swift-flowing clouds lifted and melted away, and the sun came out, pale and bright. There came a cold clear dawn at the end of a long stumbling night-march. The travellers reached a low ridge crowned with ancient holly-trees whose grey-green trunks seemed to have been built out of the very stone of the hills. Their dark leaves shone and their berries glowed red in the light of the rising sun. Away in the south Frodo could see the dim shapes of lofty mountains that seemed now to stand across the path that the Company was taking. At the left of this high range rose three peaks; the tallest and nearest stood up like a tooth tipped with snow; its great, bare, northern precipice was still largely in the shadow, but where the sunlight slanted upon it, it glowed red. Gandalf stood at Frodo’s side and looked out under his hand. ‘We have done well,’ he said. ‘We have reached the borders of the country that Men call Hollin; many Elves lived here in happier days, when Eregion was its name. Five-and-forty leagues as the crow flies we have come, though many long miles further our feet have walked. The land and the weather will be milder now, but perhaps all the more dangerous.’ ‘Dangerous or not, a real sunrise is mighty welcome,’ said Frodo, throwing back his hood and letting the morning light fall on his face.
《魔戒》這段旅程艱辛而沉悶，佛羅多除了風以外，幾乎什麼都記不得了。許多個不見天日的日子裡，一股冰冷的寒風從東方的山脈吹來，沒有任何衣物能抵擋住它那無孔不入的侵襲。儘管遠征隊衣著厚實，但無論是行進還是休息，他們都很少感到溫暖。他們在白天時分睡得不安穩，或是在地面的窪地裡，或藏身於許多地方叢生的糾結荊棘叢下。傍晚時分，他們被守衛喚醒，享用他們的主餐：通常是冰冷而令人沮喪的，因為他們很少敢冒險生火。晚上他們再次啟程，總是盡可能地往南行進。起初，哈比人覺得儘管他們走得跌跌撞撞直到疲憊不堪，卻像蝸牛一樣緩慢前進，毫無進展。每天的景色都和前一天大同小異。然而，山脈卻穩步地越來越近。瑞文戴爾以南的山脈越來越高，並向西彎曲；在主山脈的山腳下，是一片越來越廣闊的荒涼丘陵，以及充滿湍急水流的深谷。小徑稀少且蜿蜒曲折，常常只將他們引向某個陡峭的懸崖邊緣，或是深入險惡的沼澤。他們已經走了兩週，天氣才開始轉變。風突然停了，然後轉向南方。快速流動的雲層升起並消散，太陽露了出來，蒼白而明亮。在一場漫長而跌跌撞撞的夜間行軍結束後，迎來了一個寒冷而清澈的黎明。旅行者們抵達了一道低矮的山脊，山脊上長滿了古老的冬青樹，它們灰綠色的樹幹彷彿是從山丘的岩石中生長出來的。在旭日的光輝下，它們深色的葉子閃閃發光，漿果則泛著紅光。在遙遠的南方，佛羅多可以看到高聳山脈的模糊輪廓，它們此刻似乎橫亙在遠征隊前進的道路上。在這高聳山脈的左側，升起了三座山峰；最高也最近的那座像一顆尖端覆雪的牙齒般矗立著；它那巨大、光禿的北面峭壁大部分仍籠罩在陰影中，但陽光斜照之處，卻泛著紅光。甘道夫站在佛羅多身旁，用手遮著眼睛向外望去。「我們做得很好，」他說。「我們已經抵達人類稱為『霍林』的國度邊界；在更美好的日子裡，當它被稱為『伊瑞詹』時，許多精靈曾居住在這裡。我們已經走了四十五里格的直線距離，儘管我們的雙腳實際走了更遠的漫長路程。現在這裡的土地和天氣會比較溫和，但也許會更加危險。」「危險與否，真正的日出是極受歡迎的，」佛羅多說道，他掀開兜帽，讓晨光灑落在他的臉上。
THE RING GOES SOUTH 283 ‘But the mountains are ahead of us,’ said Pippin. ‘We must have turned eastwards in the night.’ ‘No,’ said Gandalf. ‘But you see further ahead in the clear light. Beyond those peaks the range bends round south-west. There are many maps in Elrond’s house, but I suppose you never thought to look at them?’ “Yes I did, sometimes,’ said Pippin, ‘but I don’t remember them. Frodo has a better head for that sort of thing.’ ‘I need no map,’ said Gimli, who had come up with Legolas, and was gazing out before him with a strange light in his deep eyes. “There is the land where our fathers worked of old, and we have wrought the image of those mountains into many works of metal and of stone, and into many songs and tales. They stand tall in our dreams: Baraz, Zirak, Shathtr. ‘Only once before have I seen them from afar in waking life, but I know them and their names, for under them lies Khazad-dtim, the Dwarrowdelf, that is now called the Black Pit, Moria in the Elvish tongue. Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanuidhol the Grey, that we call Zirakzigil and Bundushathtr. “There the Misty Mountains divide, and between their arms lies the deep-shadowed valley which we cannot forget: Azanulbizar, the Dimrill Dale, which the Elves call Nanduhirion.’ ‘It is for the Dimrill Dale that we are making,’ said Gandalf. ‘If we climb the pass that is called the Redhorn Gate, under the far side of Caradhras, we shall come down by the Dimrill Stair into the deep vale of the Dwarves. There lies the Mirrormere, and there the River Silverlode rises in its icy springs.’ ‘Dark is the water of Kheled-zaram,’ said Gimli, ‘and cold are the springs of Kibil-nala. My heart trembles at the thought that I may see them soon.’ ‘May you have joy of the sight, my good dwarf!’ said Gandalf. ‘But whatever you may do, we at least cannot stay in that valley. We must go down the Silverlode into the secret woods, and so to the Great River, and then: s He paused. “Yes, and where then?’ asked Merry. “To the end of the journey — in the end,’ said Gandalf. ‘We cannot look too far ahead. Let us be glad that the first stage is safely over. I think we will rest here, not only today but tonight as well. There is a wholesome air about Hollin. Much evil must befall a country before it wholly forgets the Elves, if once they dwelt there.’ “That is true,’ said Legolas. ‘But the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk, and the trees and the grass do
魔戒南行 283 「但山脈就在我們前方了，」皮聘說。「我們一定是在夜裡轉向東方了。」「不，」甘道夫說。「但你在清澈的光線中看得更遠。那些山峰之外，山脈向西南彎曲。愛隆的屋子裡有很多地圖，但我猜你從沒想過要看它們吧？」「是的，我有時候會看，」皮聘說，「但我記不住它們。佛羅多在這方面比較在行。」 「我不需要地圖，」金靂說，他與勒苟拉斯一同走來，深邃的眼中閃爍著奇異的光芒，凝視著前方。「那裡是我們祖先古時勞作的土地，我們將這些山脈的形象鑄入無數金屬和石材的工藝品中，也融入了許多歌謠和故事。它們在我們的夢中巍然聳立：巴拉茲、齊拉克、沙特爾。我生平只在清醒時遠遠地見過它們一次，但我知道它們和它們的名字，因為它們下方就是凱薩督姆，矮人深窟，現在被稱為黑坑，在精靈語中是摩瑞亞。那邊矗立著巴拉辛巴，紅角峰，殘酷的卡拉茲拉斯；它後面是銀光峰和迷霧峰：白色的凱勒布迪爾和灰色的法努伊多爾，我們稱之為齊拉克齊吉爾和邦杜沙特爾。」 「在那裡，迷霧山脈分開，在它們的臂彎之間，是我們無法忘懷的深影谷：亞薩努比薩，閃光谷，精靈稱之為南都希里昂。」「我們正要前往閃光谷，」甘道夫說。「如果我們攀登紅角隘口，從卡拉茲拉斯的遠端下來，我們將會沿著閃光階梯進入矮人的深谷。那裡有鏡湖，銀流河從它冰冷的泉源中湧出。」 「凱勒德薩拉姆的水是黑暗的，」金靂說，「基比爾納拉的泉水是冰冷的。一想到我可能很快就能見到它們，我的心就顫抖不已。」「願你享受這景象的喜悅，我的好矮人！」甘道夫說。「但無論你們做什麼，我們至少不能留在那個山谷裡。我們必須沿著銀流河進入秘密森林，然後到大河，然後……」他停頓了一下。「是的，然後去哪裡？」梅里問道。「到旅程的終點——最終，」甘道夫說。「我們不能看得太遠。讓我們為第一階段安全結束而高興吧。我想我們不僅今天，今晚也要在這裡休息。霍林地區的空氣很清新。一個國家必須遭遇許多邪惡，才會完全忘記精靈，如果他們曾經在那裡居住過的話。」「那是真的，」勒苟拉斯說，「但這片土地上的精靈對我們森林精靈來說是一個陌生的種族，而樹木和草地也……
284 THE LORD OF THE RINGS not now remember them. Only I hear the stones lament them: deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone. They are gone. They sought the Havens long ago.’ That morning they lit a fire in a deep hollow shrouded by great bushes of holly, and their supper-breakfast was merrier than it had been since they set out. They did not hurry to bed afterwards, for they expected to have all the night to sleep in, and they did not mean to go on again until the evening of the next day. Only Aragorn was silent and restless. After a while he left the Company and wandered on to the ridge; there he stood in the shadow of a tree, looking out southwards and westwards, with his head posed as if he was listening. Then he returned to the brink of the dell and looked down at the others laughing and talking. ‘What is the matter, Strider?’ Merry called up. ‘What are you looking for? Do you miss the East Wind?’ ‘No indeed,’ he answered. ‘But I miss something. I have been in the country of Hollin in many seasons. No folk dwell here now, but many other creatures live here at all times, especially birds. Yet now all things but you are silent. I can feel it. There is no sound for miles about us, and your voices seem to make the ground echo. I do not understand it.’ Gandalf looked up with sudden interest. ‘But what do you guess is the reason?’ he asked. ‘Is there more in it than surprise at seeing four hobbits, not to mention the rest of us, where people are so seldom seen or heard?’ ‘I hope that is it,’ answered Aragorn. ‘But I have a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before.’ “Then we must be more careful,’ said Gandalf. ‘If you bring a Ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him, especially if the Ranger is Aragorn. We must stop talking aloud, rest quietly, and set the watch.’ It was Sam’s turn that day to take the first watch, but Aragorn joined him. The others fell asleep. Then the silence grew until even Sam felt it. The breathing of the sleepers could be plainly heard. The swish of the pony’s tail and the occasional movements of his feet became loud noises. Sam could hear his own joints creaking, if he stirred. Dead silence was around him, and over all hung a clear blue sky, as the Sun rode up from the East. Away in the South a dark patch appeared, and grew, and drove north like flying smoke in the wind. ‘What’s that, Strider? It don’t look like a cloud,’ said Sam in a whisper to Aragorn. He made no answer, he was gazing intently at the
我現在已不記得他們了。我只聽到石頭在哀悼他們：他們深掘我們，精工雕琢我們，高築我們；但他們都已逝去。他們都已逝去。他們很久以前就尋找港口去了。那天早上，他們在一個被大片冬青叢遮蔽的深窪地裡生了火，他們的晚餐兼早餐比他們出發以來任何一餐都更愉快。之後他們沒有急著上床睡覺，因為他們預計整晚都可以好好睡覺，而且他們不打算直到第二天晚上才再次啟程。只有亞拉岡沉默而不安。過了一會兒，他離開了隊伍，走到山脊上；他在一棵樹的陰影下站著，向南和向西眺望，頭部擺出的姿勢彷彿正在傾聽。然後他回到小谷的邊緣，向下看著正在說笑的其他人。「怎麼了，神行客？」梅里向上喊道。「你在找什麼？你是不是想念東風了？」「不，當然不是。」他回答。「但我確實想念某些東西。我曾多次在霍林地區度過許多季節。現在這裡沒有人居住，但許多其他生物一直生活在這裡，尤其是鳥類。然而現在除了你們之外，萬物都寂靜無聲。我能感覺到。我們周圍數英里內都沒有聲音，而你們的聲音似乎讓地面產生迴響。我明白這是怎麼回事。」甘道夫突然感興趣地抬起頭。「但你猜原因是什麼？」他問道。「難道這不僅僅是看到四個哈比人，更不用說我們其他人，出現在如此罕見人跡的地方所感到的驚訝嗎？」「我希望就是如此。」亞拉岡回答。「但我有一種警惕和恐懼的感覺，這是我以前在這裡從未有過的。」「那麼我們必須更加小心了。」甘道夫說。「如果你帶了一位遊俠，最好聽從他的話，特別是如果這位遊俠是亞拉岡。我們必須停止大聲說話，安靜休息，並設立守衛。」那天輪到山姆值第一班守衛，但亞拉岡也加入了。其他人睡著了。然後寂靜越來越深，直到連山姆都感覺到了。睡著的人的呼吸聲清晰可聞。小馬尾巴的擺動和牠偶爾的腳步聲都變成了巨大的噪音。如果山姆動一下，他甚至能聽到自己的關節發出吱嘎聲。周圍一片死寂，頭頂上懸掛著一片湛藍的天空，太陽從東方升起。遠處的南方出現了一片黑影，它不斷擴大，像風中的飛煙一樣向北飄去。「那是什麼，神行客？它看起來不像雲。」山姆低聲對亞拉岡說。亞拉岡沒有回答，他正專注地凝視著
THE RING GOES SOUTH 285 sky; but before long Sam could see for himself what was approaching. Flocks of birds, flying at great speed, were wheeling and circling, and traversing all the land as if they were searching for something; and they were steadily drawing nearer. ‘Lie flat and still!’ hissed Aragorn, pulling Sam down into the shade of a holly-bush; for a whole regiment of birds had broken away suddenly from the main host, and came, flying low, straight towards the ridge. Sam thought they were a kind of crow of large size. As they passed overhead, in so dense a throng that their shadow followed them darkly over the ground below, one harsh croak was heard. Not until they had dwindled into the distance, north and west, and the sky was again clear would Aragorn rise. Then he sprang up and went and wakened Gandalf. ‘Regiments of black crows are flying over all the land between the Mountains and the Greyflood,’ he said, ‘and they have passed over Hollin. They are not natives here; they are crebain out of Fangorn and Dunland. I do not know what they are about: possibly there is some trouble away south from which they are fleeing; but I think they are spying out the land. I have also glimpsed many hawks flying high up in the sky. I think we ought to move again this evening. Hollin is no longer wholesome for us: it is being watched.’ ‘And in that case so is the Redhorn Gate,’ said Gandalf; ‘and how we can get over that without being seen, I cannot imagine. But we will think of that when we must. As for moving as soon as it is dark, I am afraid that you are right.’ ‘Luckily our fire made little smoke, and had burned low before the crebain came,’ said Aragorn. ‘It must be put out and not lit again.’ ‘Well if that isn’t a plague and a nuisance!’ said Pippin. The news: no fire, and a move again by night, had been broken to him, as soon as he woke in the late afternoon. ‘All because of a pack of crows! I had looked forward to a real good meal tonight: something hot.’ ‘Well, you can go on looking forward,’ said Gandalf. “There may be many unexpected feasts ahead for you. For myself I should like a pipe to smoke in comfort, and warmer feet. However, we are certain of one thing at any rate: it will get warmer as we get south.’ “Too warm, I shouldn’t wonder,’ muttered Sam to Frodo. ‘But I’m beginning to think it’s time we got a sight of that Fiery Mountain, and saw the end of the Road, so to speak. I thought at first that this here Redhorn, or whatever its name is, might be it, till Gimli spoke his piece. A fair jaw-cracker dwarf-language must be!’ Maps conveyed nothing to Sam’s mind, and all distances in these strange lands seemed so vast that he was quite out of his reckoning. All that day the Company remained in hiding. The dark birds
魔戒南行 285 天空；但不久山姆便親眼看見了逼近的事物。成群的鳥兒，高速飛行，盤旋迴繞，橫越整個大地，彷彿在搜尋著什麼；牠們正穩定地逼近。「趴下，別動！」亞拉岡嘶聲說道，將山姆拉進一叢冬青樹的陰影裡；因為一整隊鳥兒突然從主力鳥群中脫離，低空飛行，直衝山脊而來。山姆認為牠們是一種體型較大的烏鴉。當牠們從頭頂飛過時，數量如此密集，以至於牠們的陰影在下方地面上漆黑地跟隨，只聽到一聲刺耳的鴉鳴。直到牠們向北向西漸漸遠去，天空再次清朗，亞拉岡才起身。接著他跳起來，去喚醒甘道夫。「成隊的黑烏鴉正飛越山脈與灰水河之間的所有土地，」他說，「牠們已經飛過了霍林。牠們不是這裡的原生鳥類；牠們是來自法貢森林和登蘭的『惡鳥』。我不知道牠們在搞什麼：或許南方有什麼麻煩讓牠們逃離；但我認為牠們是在偵察這片土地。」「我還瞥見許多老鷹在高空飛行。我想我們今晚應該再次啟程。霍林對我們來說不再安全了：它正被監視著。」「既然如此，紅角隘口也一樣。」甘道夫說，「而我們如何能在不被發現的情況下越過那裡，我無法想像。但我們必須面對時再考慮。至於天一黑就動身，恐怕你是對的。」「幸好我們的火沒什麼煙，而且在惡鳥來之前就已經燒得很低了。」亞拉岡說，「它必須熄滅，不能再點燃。」「噢，這真是個麻煩又討厭的事！」皮聘說。沒有火，又要連夜趕路的消息，在他下午晚些時候醒來時，就已經告訴他了。「全都是因為一群烏鴉！我本來還期待今晚能吃頓好飯：熱騰騰的。」「嗯，你可以繼續期待。」甘道夫說，「前面或許還有許多意想不到的盛宴等著你。至於我自己，我倒是想舒服地抽根菸，讓腳暖和些。不過，無論如何，有一點我們是確定的：我們越往南走，天氣就會越暖和。」「恐怕會太熱了。」山姆對佛羅多咕噥道，「但我開始覺得是時候讓我們看到那座烈焰山，可以說是看到旅途的終點了。我起初以為這個紅角，或者它叫什麼名字，可能就是它，直到金靂說了他的看法。矮人語一定很拗口！」地圖對山姆來說毫無意義，這些陌生土地上的所有距離都顯得如此遙遠，讓他完全失去了方向感。那天一整天，隊伍都躲藏著。那些黑色的鳥兒
286 THE LORD OF THE RINGS passed over now and again; but as the westering Sun grew red they disappeared southwards. At dusk the Company set out, and turning now half east they steered their course towards Caradhras, which far away still glowed faintly red in the last light of the vanished Sun. One by one white stars sprang forth as the sky faded. Guided by Aragorn they struck a good path. It looked to Frodo like the remains of an ancient road, that had once been broad and well planned, from Hollin to the mountain-pass. The Moon, now at the full, rose over the mountains, and cast a pale light in which the shadows of stones were black. Many of them looked to have been worked by hands, though now they lay tumbled and ruinous in a bleak, barren land. It was the cold chill hour before the first stir of dawn, and the moon was low. Frodo looked up at the sky. Suddenly he saw or felt a shadow pass over the high stars, as if for a moment they faded and then flashed out again. He shivered. ‘Did you see anything pass over?’ he whispered to Gandalf, who was just ahead. ‘No, but I felt it, whatever it was,’ he answered. ‘It may be nothing, only a wisp of thin cloud.’ ‘It was moving fast then,’ muttered Aragorn, ‘and not with the wind.’ Nothing further happened that night. The next morning dawned even brighter than before. But the air was chill again; already the wind was turning back towards the east. For two more nights they marched on, climbing steadily but ever more slowly as their road wound up into the hills, and the mountains towered up, nearer and nearer. On the third morning Caradhras rose before them, a mighty peak, tipped with snow like silver, but with sheer naked sides, dull red as if stained with blood. There was a black look in the sky, and the sun was wan. The wind had gone now round to the north-east. Gandalf snuffed the air and looked back. ‘Winter deepens behind us,’ he said quietly to Aragorn. “The heights away north are whiter than they were; snow is lying far down their shoulders. Tonight we shall be on our way high up towards the Redhorn Gate. We may well be seen by watchers on that narrow path, and waylaid by some evil; but the weather may prove a more deadly enemy than any. What do you think of your course now, Aragorn?’ Frodo overheard these words, and understood that Gandalf and Aragorn were continuing some debate that had begun long before. He listened anxiously.
286 戒靈們時不時地飛過；但隨著西沉的太陽變得通紅，牠們便向南消失了。黃昏時分，遠征隊啟程，轉向東偏南，朝著卡拉茲拉斯山前進，遠處的卡拉茲拉斯山，在落日的餘暉中仍泛著微紅。天色漸暗，一顆顆白星隨之閃現。在亞拉岡的引導下，他們找到了一條好路。佛羅多看來，那似乎是一條古道的遺跡，曾經寬闊而規劃良好，從霍林通往山口。滿月從山上升起，灑下蒼白的光芒，石塊的陰影顯得漆黑。許多石塊看起來像是人工雕琢的，儘管此刻它們雜亂地散落在荒涼貧瘠的土地上。那是黎明初動前的寒冷時刻，月亮低垂。佛羅多抬頭望向天空。突然，他看見或感覺到一道陰影掠過高空中的星辰，彷彿星光瞬間黯淡，隨後又重新閃耀。他打了個寒顫。「你看到有什麼東西飛過去嗎？」他低聲問走在前方的甘道夫。「沒有，但我感覺到了，無論那是什麼。」甘道夫回答。「或許沒什麼，只是一縷薄雲。」「那東西移動得很快，」亞拉岡低聲說，「而且不是順風。」那晚再沒有發生其他事。隔天早晨比以往更加明亮。但空氣再次變得寒冷；風已經轉向東方。他們又行進了兩個夜晚，穩步攀爬，但隨著道路蜿蜒進入丘陵，山脈也越來越近，他們的速度也越來越慢。第三天早晨，卡拉茲拉斯山矗立在他們面前，一座雄偉的山峰，山頂覆蓋著銀白色的雪，但陡峭裸露的山坡卻呈暗紅色，彷彿染了血一般。天空陰沉，太陽也顯得蒼白無力。風已轉向東北。甘道夫嗅了嗅空氣，然後回頭看。「冬天在我們身後加深了，」他輕聲對亞拉岡說。「北方的山峰比以前更白了；積雪已經覆蓋到山腰。今晚我們將在高處前往紅角隘口。我們很可能會被那條狹窄小徑上的監視者發現，並遭到邪惡勢力的伏擊；但天氣可能比任何敵人都要致命。亞拉岡，你現在對我們的路線有何看法？」佛羅多無意中聽到這些話，明白甘道夫和亞拉岡正在繼續他們很久以前就開始的某個爭論。他焦慮地聽著。
THE RING GOES SOUTH 287 ‘I think no good of our course from beginning to end, as you know well, Gandalf,’ answered Aragorn. ‘And perils known and unknown will grow as we go on. But we must go on; and it is no good our delaying the passage of the mountains. Further south there are no passes, till one comes to the Gap of Rohan. I do not trust that way since your news of Saruman. Who knows which side now the marshals of the Horse-lords serve?’ ‘Who knows indeed!’ said Gandalf. ‘But there is another way, and not by the pass of Caradhras: the dark and secret way that we have spoken of.’ ‘But let us not speak of it again! Not yet. Say nothing to the others, I beg, not until it is plain that there is no other way.’ ‘We must decide before we go further,’ answered Gandalf. “Then let us weigh the matter in our minds, while the others rest and sleep,’ said Aragorn. In the late afternoon, while the others were finishing their breakfast, Gandalf and Aragorn went aside together and stood looking at Caradhras. Its sides were now dark and sullen, and its head was in grey cloud. Frodo watched them, wondering which way the debate would go. When they returned to the Company Gandalf spoke, and then he knew that it had been decided to face the weather and the high pass. He was relieved. He could not guess what was the other dark and secret way, but the very mention of it had seemed to fill Aragorn with dismay, and Frodo was glad that it had been abandoned. ‘From signs that we have seen lately,’ said Gandalf, ‘I fear that the Redhorn Gate may be watched; and also I have doubts of the weather that is coming up behind. Snow may come. We must go with all the speed that we can. Even so it will take us more than two marches before we reach the top of the pass. Dark will come early this evening. We must leave as soon as you can get ready.’ ‘I will add a word of advice, if I may,’ said Boromir. ‘I was born under the shadow of the White Mountains and know something of journeys in the high places. We shall meet bitter cold, if no worse, before we come down on the other side. It will not help us to keep so secret that we are frozen to death. When we leave here, where there are still a few trees and bushes, each of us should carry a faggot of wood, as large as he can bear.’ ‘And Bill could take a bit more, couldn’t you, lad?’ said Sam. The pony looked at him mournfully. ‘Very well,’ said Gandalf. ‘But we must not use the wood — not unless it is a choice between fire and death.’ PS BS
魔戒南行 287 「甘道夫，你知道得很清楚，我從頭到尾都不看好我們的路線。」亞拉岡回答。「而且，隨著我們前進，已知和未知的危險將會越來越多。但我們必須繼續前進；拖延穿越山脈的時間是沒有用的。再往南就沒有山口了，直到羅翰隘口為止。自從你帶來薩魯曼的消息後，我便不信任那條路了。誰知道現在馬夫人的將領們效忠哪一方？」 「誰知道呢！」甘道夫說。「但還有另一條路，不是經過卡拉茲拉斯山口：就是我們提過的那條黑暗而隱密的道路。」 「但我們別再提它了！還不是時候。我懇求你，在確定沒有其他辦法之前，別對其他人說。」 「我們必須在繼續前進之前做出決定。」甘道夫回答。 「那麼，讓我們先在心裡權衡這件事，而其他人則休息睡覺吧。」亞拉岡說。 傍晚時分，當其他人正在吃完他們的早餐時，甘道夫和亞拉岡走到一旁，站著望向卡拉茲拉斯山。它的山坡此刻顯得陰沉而黑暗，山頂則籠罩在灰色的雲霧中。佛羅多看著他們，想知道這場辯論會走向何方。當他們回到隊伍中時，甘道夫開口了，然後佛羅多知道他們已經決定要面對惡劣的天氣和高山隘口。他鬆了一口氣。他無法猜測那條黑暗而隱密的道路是什麼，但光是提到它似乎就讓亞拉岡感到沮喪，佛羅多很高興它被放棄了。 「從我們最近看到的跡象來看，」甘道夫說，「我擔心紅角隘口可能正被監視；而且我也對即將到來的天氣有所疑慮。可能會下雪。我們必須盡可能地快速前進。即便如此，我們也需要走上兩天以上的路程才能到達山口頂部。今晚天色會很早就暗下來。你們一準備好，我們就必須出發。」 「如果可以的話，我想補充一句建議。」波羅莫說。「我生長在白山的山影之下，對在高山地區的旅行略知一二。在我們到達另一邊之前，我們會遇到嚴寒，甚至更糟的情況。如果我們因為過於保密而凍死，那將毫無幫助。當我們離開這裡，這個還有一些樹木和灌木的地方時，我們每個人都應該帶上一捆木柴，盡可能地多。」 「比爾也能再多帶一些，不是嗎，小傢伙？」山姆說。 小馬悲傷地看著他。 「好吧。」甘道夫說。「但我們不能使用這些木柴——除非是在生火取暖和死亡之間做選擇。」
288 THE LORD OF THE RINGS The Company set out again, with good speed at first; but soon their way became steep and difficult. The twisting and climbing road had in many places almost disappeared, and was blocked with many fallen stones. The night grew deadly dark under great clouds. A bitter wind swirled among the rocks. By midnight they had climbed to the knees of the great mountains. The narrow path now wound under a sheer wall of cliffs to the left, above which the grim flanks of Caradhras towered up invisible in the gloom; on the right was a gulf of darkness where the land fell suddenly into a deep ravine. Laboriously they climbed a sharp slope and halted for a moment at the top. Frodo felt a soft touch on his face. He put out his arm and saw the dim white flakes of snow settling on his sleeve. They went on. But before long the snow was falling fast, filling all the air, and swirling into Frodo’s eyes. The dark bent shapes of Gandalf and Aragorn only a pace or two ahead could hardly be seen. ‘I don’t like this at all,’ panted Sam just behind. ‘Snow’s all right on a fine morning, but I like to be in bed while it’s falling. I wish this lot would go off to Hobbiton! Folk might welcome it there.’ Except on the high moors of the Northfarthing a heavy fall was rare in the Shire, and was regarded as a pleasant event and a chance for fun. No living hobbit (save Bilbo) could remember the Fell Winter of 1311, when white wolves invaded the Shire over the frozen Brandywine. Gandalf halted. Snow was thick on his hood and shoulders; it was already ankle-deep about his boots. “This is what I feared,’ he said. ‘What do you say now, Aragorn?’ ‘That I feared it too,’ Aragorn answered, ‘but less than other things. I knew the risk of snow, though it seldom falls heavily so far south, save high up in the mountains. But we are not high yet; we are still far down, where the paths are usually open all the winter.’ ‘I wonder if this is a contrivance of the Enemy,’ said Boromir. “They say in my land that he can govern the storms in the Mountains of Shadow that stand upon the borders of Mordor. He has strange powers and many allies.’ ‘His arm has grown long indeed,’ said Gimli, ‘if he can draw snow down from the North to trouble us here three hundred leagues away.’ ‘His arm has grown long,’ said Gandalf. While they were halted, the wind died down, and the snow slackened until it almost ceased. They tramped on again. But they had not gone more than a furlong when the storm returned with fresh fury. The wind whistled and the snow became a blinding blizzard. Soon even Boromir found it hard to keep going. The hobbits, bent nearly double, toiled along behind the taller folk, but it was plain
288 《魔戒》 遠征隊再次出發，起初速度很快；但很快他們的道路變得陡峭而艱難。蜿蜒盤旋的道路在許多地方幾乎消失了，並被許多落石堵塞。夜色在厚重的雲層下變得漆黑一片。一股刺骨的寒風在岩石間呼嘯。到午夜時分，他們已經爬到了大山的膝部（山腳）。狹窄的小徑現在蜿蜒於左側一道陡峭的懸崖峭壁之下，其上方是卡拉茲拉斯山陰森森的側翼，在黑暗中隱約可見；右側則是一片黑暗的深淵，地面突然墜入一道深邃的峽谷。他們費力地爬上一個陡坡，在頂部稍作停留。佛羅多感到臉上有一絲輕柔的觸碰。他伸出手臂，看到暗淡的白色雪花落在他的袖子上。他們繼續前進。但沒過多久，雪就急速落下，瀰漫了整個空氣，並捲入佛羅多眼中。甘道夫和亞拉岡彎曲的黑色身影，只在前方一兩步之遙，幾乎看不見了。「我一點也不喜歡這樣。」山姆在後面氣喘吁吁地說。「雪在晴朗的早晨還不錯，但我喜歡在下雪的時候待在床上。我真希望這場雪能下到哈比屯去！那裡的人們可能會歡迎它。」除了北區高地，夏爾很少下大雪，而且被視為一件愉快的事情和玩樂的機會。沒有一個活著的哈比人（除了比爾博）能記得1311年的「嚴冬」，當時白狼越過結冰的白蘭地河入侵了夏爾。甘道夫停了下來。他的兜帽和肩膀上積滿了雪；雪已經沒過他的腳踝。「這就是我所擔心的。」他說。「你現在怎麼說，亞拉岡？」「我也擔心這個。」亞拉岡回答，「但比其他事情要輕。我知道下雪的風險，儘管這麼靠南的地方很少下大雪，除非是在高山之上。但我們還沒有到高處；我們仍然在很低的地方，那裡的道路通常整個冬天都是暢通的。」「我懷疑這是不是敵人的詭計。」波羅莫說。「在我的家鄉，他們說他能控制魔多邊界上陰影山脈的風暴。他擁有奇異的力量和許多盟友。」「他的勢力確實已經擴展得很遠了。」金靂說，「如果他能從北方召來雪，在三百里格之外的地方困擾我們。」「他的勢力確實已經擴展得很遠了。」甘道夫說。當他們停下來時，風勢減弱，雪也變小了，直到幾乎停止。他們又繼續跋涉。但他們還沒走完一弗隆，暴風雪又以新的狂怒襲來。風聲呼嘯，雪變成了致盲的暴風雪。很快連波羅莫都覺得難以繼續前進。哈比人們彎著腰，幾乎折成兩半，吃力地跟在較高的人後面，但很明顯
THE RING GOES SOUTH 289 that they could not go much further, if the snow continued. Frodo’s feet felt like lead. Pippin was dragging behind. Even Gimli, as stout as any dwarf could be, was grumbling as he trudged. The Company halted suddenly, as if they had come to an agreement without any words being spoken. They heard eerie noises in the darkness round them. It may have been only a trick of the wind in the cracks and gullies of the rocky wall, but the sounds were those of shrill cries, and wild howls of laughter. Stones began to fall from the mountain-side, whistling over their heads, or crashing on the path beside them. Every now and again they heard a dull rumble, as a great boulder rolled down from hidden heights above. ‘We cannot go further tonight,’ said Boromir. ‘Let those call it the wind who will; there are fell voices on the air; and these stones are aimed at us.’ ‘I do call it the wind,’ said Aragorn. ‘But that does not make what you say untrue. There are many evil and unfriendly things in the world that have little love for those that go on two legs, and yet are not in league with Sauron, but have purposes of their own. Some have been in this world longer than he.’ ‘Caradhras was called the Cruel, and had an ill name,’ said Gimli, ‘long years ago, when rumour of Sauron had not been heard in these lands.’ ‘It matters little who is the enemy, if we cannot beat off his attack,’ said Gandalf. ‘But what can we do?’ cried Pippin miserably. He was leaning on Merry and Frodo, and he was shivering. ‘Either stop where we are, or go back,’ said Gandalf. ‘It is no good going on. Only a little higher, if I remember rightly, this path leaves the cliff and runs into a wide shallow trough at the bottom of a long hard slope. We should have no shelter there from snow, or stones — or anything else.’ ‘And it is no good going back while the storm holds,’ said Aragorn. ‘We have passed no place on the way up that offered more shelter than this cliff-wall we are under now.’ ‘Shelter!’ muttered Sam. ‘If this is shelter, then one wall and no roof make a house.’ The Company now gathered together as close to the cliff as they could. It faced southwards, and near the bottom it leaned out a little, so that they hoped it would give them some protection from the northerly wind and from the falling stones. But eddying blasts swirled round them from every side, and the snow flowed down in ever denser clouds. They huddled together with their backs to the wall. Bill the pony
魔戒南行 289頁 他們知道如果雪繼續下，就無法再前進多少了。佛羅多的雙腳沉重如鉛。皮聘落在後面。就連金靂，這個矮人中最堅韌的，也邊走邊抱怨。遠征隊突然停了下來，彷彿不約而同地達成了共識。他們聽到周圍的黑暗中傳來詭異的聲響。這可能只是風在岩壁裂縫和溝壑間發出的聲響，但聽起來卻像是尖銳的哭喊和狂野的笑聲。石頭開始從山坡上落下，呼嘯著從他們頭頂飛過，或是砸在他們身旁的路上。不時地，他們會聽到一陣低沉的隆隆聲，那是一塊巨石從上方隱蔽的高處滾落下來。「我們今晚不能再前進了，」波羅莫說。「隨他們怎麼說是風聲吧；空氣中有邪惡的聲音；這些石頭是衝著我們來的。」「我確實認為那是風聲，」亞拉岡說。「但這並不代表你說的不對。世上有許多邪惡而不友善的東西，牠們對兩條腿走路的生物沒有多少好感，卻又不與索倫結盟，而是有自己的目的。有些東西比他存在於世更久。」「卡拉茲拉斯山被稱為『殘酷者』，惡名昭彰，」金靂說，「很久以前，當索倫的傳聞還未傳到這些土地時，它就已經如此了。」「如果我們無法擊退敵人的攻擊，那麼敵人是誰就無關緊要了，」甘道夫說。「但我們能做什麼呢？」皮聘悲慘地哭喊道。他靠在梅里和佛羅多身上，渾身發抖。「要麼停在這裡，要麼回去，」甘道夫說。「繼續前進沒有好處。如果我沒記錯的話，再往上走一點，這條路就會離開懸崖，進入一個寬闊的淺槽，那是一個漫長而陡峭的山坡底部。在那裡，我們將無法躲避風雪、落石——或任何其他東西。」「而且，在暴風雪持續的時候回去也沒有好處，」亞拉岡說。「我們上山的路途中，沒有任何地方能提供比我們現在身處的這面懸崖牆更好的庇護。」「庇護所！」山姆咕噥道。「如果這也算庇護所，那只有一面牆沒有屋頂也能算房子了。」遠征隊現在盡可能地靠近懸崖聚集。懸崖面朝南方，底部稍向外傾斜，他們希望這樣能為他們提供一些保護，免受北風和落石的侵襲。但旋渦狀的狂風從四面八方席捲而來，雪花以越來越密集的雲團形式飄落。他們背靠著牆，緊緊地擠在一起。小馬比爾
290 THE LORD OF THE RINGS stood patiently but dejectedly in front of the hobbits, and screened them a little; but before long the drifting snow was above his hocks, and it went on mounting. If they had had no larger companions the hobbits would soon have been entirely buried. A great sleepiness came over Frodo; he felt himself sinking fast into a warm and hazy dream. He thought a fire was heating his toes, and out of the shadows on the other side of the hearth he heard Bilbo’s voice speaking. I don’t think much of your diary, he said. Snowstorms on Fanuary the twelfth: there was no need to come back to report that! But I wanted rest and sleep, Bilbo, Frodo answered with an effort, when he felt himself shaken, and he came back painfully to wakefulness. Boromir had lifted him off the ground out of a nest of snow. ‘This will be the death of the halflings, Gandalf,’ said Boromir. ‘It is useless to sit here until the snow goes over our heads. We must do something to save ourselves.’ ‘Give them this,’ said Gandalf, searching in his pack and drawing out a leathern flask. ‘Just a mouthful each — for all of us. It is very precious. It is miruvor, the cordial of Imladris. Elrond gave it to me at our parting. Pass it round!’ As soon as Frodo had swallowed a little of the warm and fragrant liquor he felt a new strength of heart, and the heavy drowsiness left his limbs. The others also revived and found fresh hope and vigour. But the snow did not relent. It whirled about them thicker than ever, and the wind blew louder. ‘What do you say to fire?’ asked Boromir suddenly. “The choice seems near now between fire and death, Gandalf. Doubtless we shall be hidden from all unfriendly eyes when the snow has covered us, but that will not help us.’ “You may make a fire, if you can,’ answered Gandalf. ‘If there are any watchers that can endure this storm, then they can see us, fire or no.’ But though they had brought wood and kindlings by the advice of Boromir, it passed the skill of Elf or even Dwarf to strike a flame that would hold amid the swirling wind or catch in the wet fuel. At last reluctantly Gandalf himself took a hand. Picking up a faggot he held it aloft for a moment, and then with a word of command, naur an edraith ammen! he thrust the end of his staff into the midst of it. At once a great spout of green and blue flame sprang out, and the wood flared and sputtered. ‘If there are any to see, then J at least am revealed to them,’ he said. ‘I have written Gandalf is here in signs that all can read from Rivendell to the mouths of Anduin.’ But the Company cared no longer for watchers or unfriendly eyes. Their hearts were rejoiced to see the light of the fire. The wood
耐心地、卻又沮喪地站在哈比人前面，稍稍替他們擋住了風雪；但沒多久，飄雪就已經高過牠的後腿關節，而且還不斷堆積。如果他們沒有這些體型較大的同伴，哈比人很快就會被完全埋沒。佛羅多感到一陣強烈的睡意襲來；他覺得自己正迅速沉入一個溫暖而朦朧的夢境。他以為有火在溫暖他的腳趾，並從壁爐另一側的陰影中聽到比爾博的說話聲。「我不怎麼喜歡你的日記，」他說。「一月十二日的暴風雪：根本沒必要回來報告這個！」 「可是我想要休息和睡覺，比爾博，」佛羅多掙扎著回答，此時他感到自己被搖晃，痛苦地回到了清醒。波羅莫把他從雪堆中抱了起來。「甘道夫，這樣下去哈比人會沒命的，」波羅莫說。「我們坐在這裡等到雪淹過頭頂也沒用。我們必須做點什麼來拯救自己。」 「把這個給他們，」甘道夫說，他在背包裡摸索著，掏出一個皮製的扁瓶。「每人一小口就好——我們所有人都有份。這非常珍貴。這是米魯佛，瑞文戴爾的愛隆在我們分別時給我的瓊漿。傳下去！」佛羅多一嚥下那溫暖芬芳的瓊漿，立刻感到心頭湧現一股新的力量，沉重的睡意也從他的四肢消退。其他人也恢復了精神，找到了新的希望和活力。但雪勢並未減弱。雪花比以往任何時候都更密集地在他們周圍盤旋，風也吹得更響。「你們覺得生火怎麼樣？」波羅莫突然問道。「甘道夫，現在看來我們只有生火或死亡兩種選擇了。無疑，當雪把我們完全覆蓋時，我們將會躲過所有不友善的目光，但那對我們毫無幫助。」 「如果你們能生火，那就生吧，」甘道夫回答。「如果真有什麼守望者能忍受這場暴風雪，那麼無論有沒有火，他們都能看見我們。」儘管他們聽從波羅莫的建議帶了木柴和引火物，但在狂風中點燃能持續燃燒的火焰，或讓濕柴著火，卻是連精靈或矮人都辦不到的技巧。最後，甘道夫不情願地親自動手。他拿起一捆木柴，將其高舉片刻，然後發出一句命令：「naur an edraith ammen！」他將法杖的末端插入木柴中央。瞬間，一道巨大的綠藍色火焰噴湧而出，木柴熊熊燃燒並發出劈啪聲。「如果真有人在看，那麼至少我已經向他們顯露了，」他說。「我已經用所有從瑞文戴爾到安都因河口都能讀懂的符號寫下了『甘道夫在此』。」但隊伍已不再在乎什麼守望者或不友善的目光。看到火光，他們心中充滿了喜悅。木柴
THE RING GOES SOUTH 291 burned merrily; and though all round it the snow hissed, and pools of slush crept under their feet, they warmed their hands gladly at the blaze. There they stood, stooping in a circle round the little dancing and blowing flames. A red light was on their tired and anxious faces; behind them the night was like a black wall. But the wood was burning fast, and the snow still fell. The fire burned low, and the last faggot was thrown on. “The night is getting old,’ said Aragorn. “The dawn is not far off.’ ‘If any dawn can pierce these clouds,’ said Gimli. Boromir stepped out of the circle and stared up into the blackness. “The snow is growing less,’ he said, ‘and the wind is quieter.’ Frodo gazed wearily at the flakes still falling out of the dark to be revealed white for a moment in the light of the dying fire; but for a long time he could see no sign of their slackening. Then suddenly, as sleep was beginning to creep over him again, he was aware that the wind had indeed fallen, and the flakes were becoming larger and fewer. Very slowly a dim light began to grow. At last the snow stopped altogether. As the light grew stronger it showed a silent shrouded world. Below their refuge were white humps and domes and shapeless deeps beneath which the path that they had trodden was altogether lost; but the heights above were hidden in great clouds still heavy with the threat of snow. Gimli looked up and shook his head. ‘Caradhras has not forgiven us,’ he said. ‘He has more snow yet to fling at us, if we go on. The sooner we go back and down the better.’ To this all agreed, but their retreat was now difficult. It might well prove impossible. Only a few paces from the ashes of their fire the snow lay many feet deep, higher than the heads of the hobbits; in places it had been scooped and piled by the wind into great drifts against the cliff. ‘If Gandalf would go before us with a bright flame, he might melt a path for you,’ said Legolas. The storm had troubled him little, and he alone of the Company remained still light of heart. ‘If Elves could fly over mountains, they might fetch the Sun to save us,’ answered Gandalf. ‘But I must have something to work on. I cannot burn snow.’ ‘Well,’ said Boromir, ‘when heads are at a loss bodies must serve, as we say in my country. The strongest of us must seek a way. See! Though all is now snow-clad, our path, as we came up, turned about that shoulder of rock down yonder. It was there that the snow first began to burden us. If we could reach that point, maybe it would prove easier beyond. It is no more than a furlong off, I guess.’
魔戒南行 291 火堆熊熊燃燒；儘管周圍的雪發出嘶嘶聲，融雪的泥漿在他們腳下蔓延，他們仍高興地在火光中取暖。他們圍成一圈，彎著腰，圍繞著那跳動閃爍的火焰。紅色的火光映照在他們疲憊而焦慮的臉上；他們身後，夜色如同一堵黑牆。然而柴火燒得很快，雪卻依然下著。火勢漸弱，最後一捆柴被扔了進去。「夜已深了，」亞拉岡說，「黎明不遠了。」「如果黎明能穿透這些雲層的話，」金靂說。波羅莫走出火圈，仰望著黑暗。「雪下得小了，」他說，「風也靜了。」佛羅多疲憊地凝視著雪花，它們仍從黑暗中飄落，在垂死的火光中短暫地顯現白色；但他久久未能看到雪勢減緩的跡象。突然間，當睡意再次襲來時，他意識到風確實已經停了，雪花也變得更大、更稀疏了。一道微弱的光線緩緩出現。最終，雪完全停了。隨著光線增強，一個寂靜、被白雪覆蓋的世界展現在眼前。他們的藏身處下方是白色的隆起、圓頂和無形的深谷，他們走過的路徑完全被掩蓋了；但上方的山峰仍隱藏在厚重的雲層中，預示著更多的降雪。金靂抬頭搖了搖頭。「卡拉茲拉斯還沒有原諒我們，」他說，「如果我們繼續前進，他還會向我們拋擲更多的雪。我們越早回頭下山越好。」所有人都同意了，但他們的撤退現在變得困難重重。這很可能證明是不可能的。距離火堆的灰燼僅幾步之遙，積雪已達數英尺深，高過哈比人的頭頂；有些地方的雪被風刮起，堆積成巨大的雪堆，緊貼著懸崖。「如果甘道夫能手持明亮的火焰走在我們前面，他或許能為你們融化出一條路來，」勒苟拉斯說。風暴對他幾乎沒有造成困擾，他是隊伍中唯一仍心境輕鬆的人。「如果精靈能飛越群山，他們或許能把太陽帶來拯救我們，」甘道夫回答，「但我必須有東西可以施展法術。我不能燃燒雪。」「好吧，」波羅莫說，「正如我們家鄉所說，當計窮智竭時，就得靠身體來出力。我們之中最強壯的人必須去尋找一條路。看！儘管現在一切都被雪覆蓋，但我們上山時的路徑，就在那邊那塊岩石的肩部轉彎。雪就是從那裡開始給我們帶來負擔的。如果我們能到達那個點，也許再往前就會容易些。我猜，那裡離我們不過一弗隆遠。」
292 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “Then let us force a path thither, you and I!’ said Aragorn. Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build. He led the way, and Aragorn followed him. Slowly they moved off, and were soon toiling heavily. In places the snow was breast-high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking. Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others. “The strongest must seek a way, say your? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow — an Elf.’ With that he sprang forth nimbly, and then Frodo noticed as if for the first time, though he had long known it, that the Elf had no boots, but wore only light shoes, as he always did, and his feet made little imprint in the snow. ‘Farewell!’ he said to Gandalf. ‘I go to find the Sun!’ Then swift as a runner over firm sand he shot away, and quickly overtaking the toiling men, with a wave of his hand he passed them, and sped into the distance, and vanished round the rocky turn. The others waited huddled together, watching until Boromir and Aragorn dwindled into black specks in the whiteness. At length they too passed from sight. The time dragged on. The clouds lowered, and now a few flakes of snow came curling down again. An hour, maybe, went by, though it seemed far longer, and then at last they saw Legolas coming back. At the same time Boromir and Aragorn reappeared round the bend far behind him and came labouring up the slope. ‘Well,’ cried Legolas as he ran up, ‘I have not brought the Sun. She is walking in the blue fields of the South, and a little wreath of snow on this Redhorn hillock troubles her not at all. But I have brought back a gleam of good hope for those who are doomed to go on feet. There is the greatest wind-drift of all just beyond the turn, and there our Strong Men were almost buried. They despaired, until I returned and told them that the drift was little wider than a wall. And on the other side the snow suddenly grows less, while further down it is no more than a white coverlet to cool a hobbit’s toes.’ ‘Ah, it is as I said,’ growled Gimli. ‘It was no ordinary storm. It is the ill will of Caradhras. He does not love Elves and Dwarves, and that drift was laid to cut off our escape.’ ‘But happily your Caradhras has forgotten that you have Men with you,’ said Boromir, who came up at that moment. ‘And doughty Men too, if I may say it; though lesser men with spades might have
292 《魔戒》 「那麼，你我一起開闢一條路過去吧！」亞拉岡說。亞拉岡是遠征隊中最高大的，但波羅莫雖然身高稍遜，卻更為魁梧結實。他領頭在前，亞拉岡緊隨其後。他們緩慢地前進，很快就吃力地跋涉起來。有些地方的積雪深及胸部，波羅莫常常像是用他那雙大手在游泳或挖掘，而不是在走路。勒苟拉斯看著他們一會兒，唇邊帶著微笑，然後他轉向其他人。「最強壯的人必須去尋找一條路，你們是這麼說的嗎？但我說：讓農夫去耕田，但要游泳就選水獺，而要輕盈地奔跑於草葉之上，或雪地之上——就選精靈。」說罷，他輕巧地躍身而出，佛羅多這才彷彿是第一次注意到，儘管他早已知道，精靈沒有穿靴子，只穿著輕便的鞋子，一如既往，他的腳在雪地上幾乎沒有留下痕跡。「再會了！」他對甘道夫說，「我去尋找太陽！」然後他像在堅實沙地上奔跑的跑者一樣迅速地衝了出去，很快就超越了那兩個吃力前行的男人，揮了揮手，便從他們身邊掠過，疾馳而去，消失在遠處的岩石轉角處。其他人擠在一起等待著，直到波羅莫和亞拉岡在白茫茫的雪地中縮小成兩個黑點。最終，他們也消失在視線之外。時間緩慢地流逝著。雲層低垂，現在又有幾片雪花盤旋而下。一個小時，或許更久，過去了，儘管感覺漫長得多，然後他們終於看到勒苟拉斯回來了。同時，波羅莫和亞拉岡也從他身後遠處的彎道處重新出現，吃力地爬上斜坡。「嗯，」勒苟拉斯跑過來時喊道，「我沒有把太陽帶來。她正在南方藍色的田野裡漫步，這紅角山丘上的一小圈雪花根本不會困擾她。但我帶回了一線希望，給那些註定要徒步前行的人。就在轉彎處的另一邊，有最大的風積雪，我們的『壯漢』們差點被埋在那裡。他們感到絕望，直到我回來告訴他們，那積雪只比一堵牆稍寬一點。而在另一邊，雪突然變少了，再往下走，它不過是一層白色的被褥，足以讓哈比人的腳趾感到涼爽。」「啊，正如我所說的，」金靂咆哮道，「這不是一場普通的暴風雪。這是卡拉茲拉斯山的惡意。它不喜歡精靈和矮人，那積雪是為了切斷我們的逃生之路。」「但幸好你們的卡拉茲拉斯山忘記了你們身邊還有凡人，」波羅莫此刻走過來說，「而且是勇猛的凡人，如果我可以這麼說的話；儘管拿著鏟子的普通人可能已經
THE RING GOES SOUTH 293 served you better. Still, we have thrust a lane through the drift; and for that all here may be grateful who cannot run as light as Elves.’ ‘But how are we to get down there, even if you have cut through the drift?’ said Pippin, voicing the thought of all the hobbits. ‘Have hope!’ said Boromir. ‘I am weary, but I still have some strength left, and Aragorn too. We will bear the little folk. The others no doubt will make shift to tread the path behind us. Come, Master Peregrin! I will begin with you.’ He lifted up the hobbit. ‘Cling to my back! I shall need my arms,’ he said and strode forward. Aragorn with Merry came behind. Pippin marvelled at his strength, seeing the passage that he had already forced with no other tool than his great limbs. Even now, burdened as he was, he was widening the track for those who followed, thrusting the snow aside as he went. They came at length to the great drift. It was flung across the mountain-path like a sheer and sudden wall, and its crest, sharp as if shaped with knives, reared up more than twice the height of Boromir; but through the middle a passage had been beaten, rising and falling like a bridge. On the far side Merry and Pippin were set down, and there they waited with Legolas for the rest of the Company to arrive. After a while Boromir returned carrying Sam. Behind in the narrow but now well-trodden track came Gandalf, leading Bill with Gimli perched among the baggage. Last came Aragorn carrying Frodo. They passed through the lane; but hardly had Frodo touched the ground when with a deep rumble there rolled down a fall of stones and slithering snow. The spray of it half blinded the Company as they crouched against the cliff, and when the air cleared again they saw that the path was blocked behind them. ‘Enough, enough!’ cried Gimli. ‘We are departing as quickly as we may!’ And indeed with that last stroke the malice of the mountain seemed to be expended, as if Caradhras was satisfied that the invaders had been beaten off and would not dare to return. The threat of snow lifted; the clouds began to break and the light grew broader. As Legolas had reported, they found that the snow became steadily more shallow as they went down, so that even the hobbits could trudge along. Soon they all stood once more on the flat shelf at the head of the steep slope where they had felt the first flakes of snow the night before. The morning was now far advanced. From the high place they looked back westwards over the lower lands. Far away in the tumble of country that lay at the foot of the mountain was the dell from which they had started to climb the pass. Frodo’s legs ached. He was chilled to the bone and hungry; and
魔戒南行 293 「那樣對你們會更好。不過，我們已經在雪堆中開闢了一條通道；為此，所有無法像精靈一樣輕快奔跑的人都應該感到慶幸。」「可是，就算你們已經在雪堆中開闢了通道，我們又要怎麼下去呢？」皮聘說，道出了所有哈比人的心聲。「抱持希望！」波羅莫說。「我很疲憊，但我還有一些力氣，亞拉岡也是。我們會扛著這些小傢伙。其他人無疑會設法跟在我們後面走。來吧，裴瑞格林老爺！我先從你開始。」他抱起哈比人。「緊緊抱住我的背！我需要我的手臂。」他說，然後大步向前。亞拉岡和梅里跟在後面。皮聘驚嘆於他的力氣，看著他僅憑強壯的四肢就開闢出來的通道。即使現在，他身負重擔，仍在為後面的人拓寬道路，一邊走一邊將雪推開。他們終於來到巨大的雪堆前。它像一道陡峭而突兀的牆橫亙在山路上，頂部尖銳如刀削，高高聳立，是波羅莫身高的兩倍多；但中間已經被踩出了一條通道，像橋一樣起伏。在另一邊，梅里和皮聘被放下，他們在那裡和勒苟拉斯一起等待遠征隊的其他人到來。過了一會兒，波羅莫回來了，扛著山姆。後面，在狹窄但現在已被踩踏得很結實的小徑上，甘道夫領著比爾，金靂坐在行李中間。最後是亞拉岡扛著佛羅多。他們穿過了通道；但佛羅多剛一落地，就伴隨著一聲低沉的隆隆聲，滾落了一堆石塊和滑動的雪。飛濺的雪霧讓遠征隊半盲，他們緊貼著懸崖蹲下，當空氣再次清澈時，他們看到身後的路被堵住了。「夠了，夠了！」金靂喊道。「我們正在盡我們所能地快離開！」的確，隨著這最後一擊，山的惡意似乎耗盡了，彷彿卡拉茲拉斯滿意於入侵者已被擊退，不敢再回來。降雪的威脅解除了；雲層開始散開，光線變得更寬廣。正如勒苟拉斯所報告的，他們發現隨著下山，雪逐漸變淺，以至於連哈比人也能艱難地行走。很快，他們都再次站在陡峭山坡頂部的平坦岩架上，前一天晚上他們就是在那里感受到了第一片雪花。早晨已過大半。他們從高處向西回望下方的土地。在山腳下崎嶇不平的鄉野深處，就是他們開始攀登山口時出發的小山谷。佛羅多的腿很痛。他凍徹骨髓，又餓；而且
294 THE LORD OF THE RINGS his head was dizzy as he thought of the long and painful march downhill. Black specks swam before his eyes. He rubbed them, but the black specks remained. In the distance below him, but still high above the lower foothills, dark dots were circling in the air. “The birds again!’ said Aragorn, pointing down. “That cannot be helped now,’ said Gandalf. ‘Whether they are good or evil, or have nothing to do with us at all, we must go down at once. Not even on the knees of Caradhras will we wait for another night-fall!” A cold wind flowed down behind them, as they turned their backs on the Redhorn Gate, and stumbled wearily down the slope. Caradhras had defeated them.
294 《魔戒》 他一想到漫長而痛苦的下坡路，就感到頭暈目眩。眼前一片漆黑的斑點在晃動。他揉了揉眼睛，但那些黑點依然存在。在他下方遠處，但仍遠高於低矮的山麓，一些黑點在空中盤旋。「又是那些鳥！」亞拉岡指著下方說。「現在也顧不了那麼多了，」甘道夫說，「無論牠們是善是惡，還是與我們完全無關，我們都必須立刻下去。我們絕不會在卡拉茲拉斯山腳下再等一個夜晚！」一股寒風從他們身後吹來，他們背對紅角隘口，疲憊地跌跌撞撞走下斜坡。卡拉茲拉斯山擊敗了他們。