Chapter 1 THE DEPARTURE OF BOROMIR Aragorn sped on up the hill. Every now and again he bent to the ground. Hobbits go light, and their footprints are not easy even for a Ranger to read, but not far from the top a spring crossed the path, and in the wet earth he saw what he was seeking. ‘I read the signs aright,’ he said to himself. ‘Frodo ran to the hill-top. I wonder what he saw there? But he returned by the same way, and went down the hill again.’ Aragorn hesitated. He desired to go to the high seat himself, hoping to see there something that would guide him in his perplexities; but time was pressing. Suddenly he leaped forward, and ran to the summit, across the great flag-stones, and up the steps. Then sitting in the high seat he looked out. But the sun seemed darkened, and the world dim and remote. He turned from the North back again to North, and saw nothing save the distant hills, unless it were that far away he could see again a great bird like an eagle high in the air, descending slowly in wide circles down towards the earth. Even as he gazed his quick ears caught sounds in the woodlands below, on the west side of the River. He stiffened. There were cries, and among them, to his horror, he could distinguish the harsh voices of Orcs. Then suddenly with a deep-throated call a great horn blew, and the blasts of it smote the hills and echoed in the hollows, rising in a mighty shout above the roaring of the falls. “The horn of Boromir!’ he cried. ‘He is in need!’ He sprang down the steps and away, leaping down the path. ‘Alas! An ill fate is on me this day, and all that I do goes amiss. Where is Sam?’ As he ran the cries came louder, but fainter now and desperately the horn was blowing. Fierce and shrill rose the yells of the Orcs, and suddenly the horn-calls ceased. Aragorn raced down the last slope, but before he could reach the hill’s foot, the sounds died away; and as he turned to the left and ran towards them they retreated, until at last he could hear them no more. Drawing his bright sword and crying Elendil! Elendil! he crashed through the trees. A mile, maybe, from Parth Galen in a little glade not far from the lake he found Boromir. He was sitting with his back to a great tree, as if he was resting. But Aragorn saw that he was pierced with many black-feathered arrows; his sword was still in his hand, but it was
第一章 波羅莫的離去 亞拉岡疾步上山。他不時彎下身子查看地面。哈比人行動輕巧，即使是遊俠也難以辨讀他們的足跡，但在離山頂不遠處，一道泉水橫過小徑，他在濕潤的泥土中看到了他所尋找的。「我正確地解讀了這些跡象。」他自言自語道。「佛羅多跑到了山頂。我不知道他在那裡看到了什麼？但他循原路返回，又下山了。」亞拉岡猶豫了。他想親自前往高座，希望能在那裡看到一些能指引他走出困惑的東西；但時間緊迫。突然他向前一躍，跑向山頂，越過巨大的石板，登上石階。然後他坐在高座上向外望去。但陽光似乎變暗了，世界也變得模糊而遙遠。他從北方轉回北方，除了遠方的群山之外什麼也沒看到，除非是遠處他又看到了一隻像老鷹一樣的大鳥在高空中，緩緩地盤旋下降，朝著地面而去。就在他凝視的時候，他敏銳的耳朵捕捉到下方林地裡傳來的聲音，在河的西岸。他僵住了。有哭喊聲，其中，令他恐懼的是，他能分辨出半獸人刺耳的聲音。接著，隨著一聲低沉的號角聲，號角大作，其聲響震動群山，在山谷中迴盪，在瀑布的轟鳴聲之上，化作一聲巨大的吶喊。「波羅莫的號角！」他喊道。「他有難了！」他跳下石階，沿著小徑飛奔而下。「唉！今日厄運降臨於我，我所做的一切都出了差錯。山姆在哪裡？」他奔跑時，哭喊聲越來越響，但號角聲卻越來越微弱，絕望地吹奏著。半獸人的叫喊聲變得兇猛而尖銳，號角聲卻突然停止了。亞拉岡衝下最後一段斜坡，但在他到達山腳之前，聲音便消失了；當他轉向左邊朝他們跑去時，他們卻撤退了，直到最後他再也聽不到他們的聲音。他拔出閃亮的劍，高喊著「埃蘭迪爾！埃蘭迪爾！」衝進樹林。大約一英里外，在帕斯加蘭一處離湖不遠的小林間空地，他找到了波羅莫。他背靠著一棵大樹坐著，彷彿正在休息。但亞拉岡看到他身上插滿了許多黑羽箭；他的劍仍在手中，但它已經
414 THE LORD OF THE RINGS broken near the hilt; his horn cloven in two was at his side. Many Orcs lay slain, piled all about him and at his feet. Aragorn knelt beside him. Boromir opened his eyes and strove to speak. At last slow words came. ‘I tried to take the Ring from Frodo,’ he said. ‘I am sorry. I have paid.’ His glance strayed to his fallen enemies; twenty at least lay there. “They have gone: the Halflings: the Orcs have taken them. I think they are not dead. Orcs bound them.’ He paused and his eyes closed wearily. After a moment he spoke again. ‘Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed.’ ‘No!’ said Aragorn, taking his hand and kissing his brow. ‘You have conquered. Few have gained such a victory. Be at peace! Minas Tirith shall not fall!’ Boromir smiled. ‘Which way did they go? Was Frodo there?’ said Aragorn. But Boromir did not speak again. ‘Alas!’ said Aragorn. “Thus passes the heir of Denethor, Lord of the Tower of Guard! This is a bitter end. Now the Company is all in ruin. It is I that have failed. Vain was Gandalf’s trust in me. What shall I do now? Boromir has laid it on me to go to Minas Tirith, and my heart desires it; but where are the Ring and the Bearer? How shall I find them and save the Quest from disaster?’ He knelt for a while, bent with weeping, still clasping Boromir’s hand. So it was that Legolas and Gimli found him. They came from the western slopes of the hill, silently, creeping through the trees as if they were hunting. Gimli had his axe in hand, and Legolas his long knife: all his arrows were spent. When they came into the glade they halted in amazement; and then they stood a moment with heads bowed in grief, for it seemed to them plain what had happened. ‘Alas!’ said Legolas, coming to Aragorn’s side. ‘We have hunted and slain many Orcs in the woods, but we should have been of more use here. We came when we heard the horn — but too late, it seems. I fear you have taken deadly hurt.’ ‘Boromir is dead,’ said Aragorn. ‘I am unscathed, for I was not here with him. He fell defending the hobbits, while I was away upon the hill.’ “The hobbits!’ cried Gimli. ‘Where are they then? Where is Frodo?’ ‘I do not know,’ answered Aragorn wearily. ‘Before he died Boromir told me that the Orcs had bound them; he did not think that they were dead. I sent him to follow Merry and Pippin; but I did not ask him if Frodo or Sam were with him: not until it was too late. All that I have done today has gone amiss. What is to be done now?’ ‘First we must tend the fallen,’ said Legolas. ‘We cannot leave him lying like carrion among these foul Orcs.’
THE DEPARTURE OF BOROMIR AIS ‘But we must be swift,’ said Gimli. ‘He would not wish us to linger. We must follow the Orcs, if there is hope that any of our Company are living prisoners.’ ‘But we do not know whether the Ring-bearer is with them or not,’ said Aragorn. ‘Are we to abandon him? Must we not seek him first? An evil choice is now before us!’ “Then let us do first what we must do,’ said Legolas. ‘We have not the time or the tools to bury our comrade fitly, or to raise a mound over him. A cairn we might build.’ “The labour would be hard and long: there are no stones that we could use nearer than the water-side,’ said Gimli. “Then let us lay him in a boat with his weapons, and the weapons of his vanquished foes,’ said Aragorn. ‘We will send him to the Falls of Rauros and give him to Anduin. The River of Gondor will take care at least that no evil creature dishonours his bones.’ Quickly they searched the bodies of the Orcs, gathering their swords and cloven helms and shields into a heap. ‘See!’ cried Aragorn. ‘Here we find tokens!’ He picked out from the pile of grim weapons two knives, leaf-bladed, damasked in gold and red; and searching further he found also the sheaths, black, set with small red gems. ‘No orc-tools these!’ he said. “They were borne by the hobbits. Doubtless the Orcs despoiled them, but feared to keep the knives, knowing them for what they are: work of Westernesse, wound about with spells for the bane of Mordor. Well, now, if they still live, our friends are weaponless. I will take these things, hoping against hope, to give them back.’ ‘And I,’ said Legolas, ‘will take all the arrows that I can find, for my quiver is empty.’ He searched in the pile and on the ground about and found not a few that were undamaged and longer in the shaft than such arrows as the Orcs were accustomed to use. He looked at them closely. And Aragorn looked on the slain, and he said: ‘Here lie many that are not folk of Mordor. Some are from the North, from the Misty Mountains, if I know anything of Orcs and their kinds. And here are others strange to me. Their gear is not after the manner of Orcs at all!’ There were four goblin-soldiers of greater stature, swart, slanteyed, with thick legs and large hands. They were armed with short broad-bladed swords, not with the curved scimitars usual with Orcs; and they had bows of yew, in length and shape like the bows of Men. Upon their shields they bore a strange device: a small white hand in the centre of a black field; on the front of their iron helms was set an S-rune, wrought of some white metal.
波羅莫的離去 「但我們必須迅速行動，」金靂說道。「他不會希望我們拖延。如果我們隊伍中還有活著的俘虜，我們就必須追蹤半獸人。」「但我們不知道魔戒持有者是否與他們在一起，」亞拉岡說道。「我們要拋棄他嗎？我們不是應該先尋找他嗎？一個邪惡的抉擇現在擺在我們面前！」 「那麼，讓我們首先做我們必須做的事吧，」勒苟拉斯說道。「我們沒有時間或工具來妥善安葬我們的同伴，或為他堆起一個墳塚。我們或許可以堆一個石塚。」「這工作會很艱鉅漫長：除了水邊，沒有更近的石頭可供我們使用，」金靂說道。「那麼，讓我們將他連同他的武器，以及他所擊敗的敵人的武器，一起放入船中吧，」亞拉岡說道。「我們將把他送往勞洛斯瀑布，交給安都因河。剛鐸之河至少會確保沒有邪惡生物褻瀆他的遺骨。」 他們迅速搜查了半獸人的屍體，將他們的劍、劈裂的頭盔和盾牌堆成一堆。「看！」亞拉岡喊道。「我們在這裡找到了信物！」他從那堆陰森的武器中挑出兩把刀，刀刃如葉，鑲嵌著金紅色的花紋；他繼續搜尋，還找到了刀鞘，黑色的，鑲嵌著小小的紅色寶石。「這些可不是半獸人的工具！」他說道。「它們是哈比人佩戴的。毫無疑問，半獸人掠奪了它們，但卻不敢保留這些刀，因為它們知道這些刀的來歷：那是西方之地（Westernesse）的傑作，纏繞著對魔多（Mordor）有害的咒語。那麼，現在，如果他們還活著，我們的朋友就手無寸鐵了。我會帶著這些東西，抱著一線希望，將它們歸還。」 「而我，」勒苟拉斯說道，「我會拿走所有我能找到的箭，因為我的箭袋空了。」他在那堆東西和周圍的地面上搜尋，找到了不少完好無損，並且比半獸人慣用的箭矢更長的箭。他仔細地看了看它們。 亞拉岡看著那些被殺死的敵人，說道：「這裡躺著許多不是魔多（Mordor）的人。如果我對半獸人及其種類有所了解，有些來自北方，來自迷霧山脈（Misty Mountains）。還有一些對我來說很陌生。他們的裝備根本不像半獸人的風格！」 有四個身材較高大的哥布林士兵，皮膚黝黑，斜眼，腿粗手大。他們裝備著短而寬刃的劍，而不是半獸人常用的彎刀；他們還有紫杉木弓，其長度和形狀都像人類的弓。他們的盾牌上帶有一個奇怪的徽記：一個黑色底色中央有一隻白色小手；他們的鐵頭盔前方鑲嵌著一個S形符文，由某種白色金屬鍛造而成。
416 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘I have not seen these tokens before,’ said Aragorn. ‘What do they mean?’ ‘S is for Sauron,’ said Gimli. “That is easy to read.’ ‘Nay!’ said Legolas. ‘Sauron does not use the elf-runes.’ ‘Neither does he use his right name, nor permit it to be spelt or spoken,’ said Aragorn. ‘And he does not use white. The Orcs in the service of Barad-dtr use the sign of the Red Eye.’ He stood for a moment in thought. ‘S is for Saruman, I guess,’ he said at length. “There is evil afoot in Isengard, and the West is no longer safe. It is as Gandalf feared: by some means the traitor Saruman has had news of our journey. It is likely too that he knows of Gandalf’s fall. Pursuers from Moria may have escaped the vigilance of Lorien, or they may have avoided that land and come to Isengard by other paths. Orcs travel fast. But Saruman has many ways of learning news. Do you remember the birds?’ ‘Well, we have no time to ponder riddles,’ said Gimli. ‘Let us bear Boromir away!’ ‘But after that we must guess the riddles, if we are to choose our course rightly,’ answered Aragorn. ‘Maybe there is no right choice,’ said Gimli. Taking his axe the Dwarf now cut several branches. These they lashed together with bowstrings, and spread their cloaks upon the frame. Upon this rough bier they carried the body of their companion to the shore, together with such trophies of his last battle as they chose to send forth with him. It was only a short way, yet they found it no easy task, for Boromir was a man both tall and strong. At the water-side Aragorn remained, watching the bier, while Legolas and Gimli hastened back on foot to Parth Galen. It was a mile or more, and it was some time before they came back, paddling two boats swiftly along the shore. “There is a strange tale to tell!’ said Legolas. “There are only two boats upon the bank. We could find no trace of the other.’ ‘Have Orcs been there?’ asked Aragorn. ‘We saw no signs of them,’ answered Gimli. ‘And Orcs would have taken or destroyed all the boats, and the baggage as well.’ ‘I will look at the ground when we come there,’ said Aragorn. Now they laid Boromir in the middle of the boat that was to bear him away. The grey hood and elven-cloak they folded and placed beneath his head. They combed his long dark hair and arrayed it upon his shoulders. The golden belt of Lorien gleamed about his waist. His helm they set beside him, and across his lap they laid the cloven horn and the hilt and shards of his sword; beneath his feet
416 《魔戒》「我以前從未見過這些記號。」亞拉岡說。「它們是什麼意思？」 「S代表索倫。」金靂說。「這很容易辨認。」 「不！」勒苟拉斯說。「索倫不用精靈符文。」 「他既不用他的真名，也不允許別人拼寫或說出它。」亞拉岡說。「而且他不用白色。巴拉多要塞的半獸人使用紅眼標誌。」 他沉思片刻。「我想，S代表薩魯曼。」他終於說道。「邪惡正在艾辛格蠢動，西方不再安全了。正如甘道夫所擔心的：叛徒薩魯曼不知用什麼方法得知了我們的旅程。他很可能也知道甘道夫的墜落。來自摩瑞亞的追兵可能逃過了羅瑞安的監視，或者他們避開了那片土地，從其他路徑來到艾辛格。半獸人行動迅速。但薩魯曼有許多獲取消息的途徑。你們還記得那些鳥嗎？」 「好吧，我們沒時間思考謎題了。」金靂說。「讓我們把波羅莫帶走吧！」 「但之後我們必須解開這些謎題，如果我們想正確選擇我們的路線。」亞拉岡回答。 「也許根本沒有正確的選擇。」金靂說。 矮人拿起他的斧頭，砍下幾根樹枝。他們用弓弦將這些樹枝綁在一起，然後把斗篷鋪在架子上。他們用這個粗糙的擔架，將同伴的遺體抬到岸邊，連同他們選擇與他一同送走的、他最後一戰的戰利品。路程雖短，但他們發現這並非易事，因為波羅莫是個高大強壯的男人。在水邊，亞拉岡留下來看守擔架，而勒苟拉斯和金靂則徒步趕回帕斯加蘭。那裡有一英里多遠，過了一段時間他們才回來，划著兩艘船沿岸快速前進。 「有個奇怪的故事要說！」勒苟拉斯說。「岸邊只有兩艘船。我們找不到另一艘的蹤跡。」 「半獸人來過嗎？」亞拉岡問。 「我們沒看到他們的任何跡象。」金靂回答。「而且半獸人會把所有船隻和行李都拿走或毀掉。」 「等我們到了那裡，我會查看地面。」亞拉岡說。 現在他們將波羅莫放在將要載他離開的船中央。他們將灰色兜帽和精靈斗篷疊好，放在他的頭下。他們梳理他長長的黑髮，並將其鋪展在他的肩上。羅瑞安的金色腰帶在他腰間閃耀。他們將他的頭盔放在他身旁，並將裂開的號角、劍柄和劍的碎片放在他的膝上；在他的腳下
THE DEPARTURE OF BOROMIR 417 they put the swords of his enemies. Then fastening the prow to the stern of the other boat, they drew him out into the water. They rowed sadly along the shore, and turning into the swift-running channel they passed the green sward of Parth Galen. The steep sides of Tol Brandir were glowing: it was now mid-afternoon. As they went south the fume of Rauros rose and shimmered before them, a haze of gold. The rush and thunder of the falls shook the windless air. Sorrowfully they cast loose the funeral boat: there Boromir lay, restful, peaceful, gliding upon the bosom of the flowing water. The stream took him while they held their own boat back with their paddles. He floated by them, and slowly his boat departed, waning to a dark spot against the golden light; and then suddenly it vanished. Rauros roared on unchanging. The River had taken Boromir son of Denethor, and he was not seen again in Minas Tirith, standing as he used to stand upon the White Tower in the morning. But in Gondor in after-days it long was said that the elven-boat rode the falls and the foaming pool, and bore him down through Osgiliath, and past the many mouths of Anduin, out into the Great Sea at night under the stars. For a while the three companions remained silent, gazing after him. Then Aragorn spoke. “They will look for him from the White Tower,’ he said, ‘but he will not return from mountain or from sea.’ Then slowly he began to sing: Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows The West Wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes. ‘What news from the West, O wandering wind, do you bring to me tonight? Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight?’ T saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey; I saw him walk in empty lands, until he passed away Into the shadows of the North. I saw him then no more. The North Wind may have heard the horn of the son of Denethor.’ ‘O Boromir! From the high walls westward I looked afar, But you came not from the empty lands where no men are.’ Then Legolas sang: From the mouths of the Sea the South Wind flies, from the sandhills and the stones; The wailing of the gulls it bears, and at the gate it moans.
波羅莫的離去 417 他們將敵人的劍放在他身旁。然後將船頭與另一艘船的船尾綁在一起，將他划入水中。他們悲傷地沿著岸邊划行，轉入湍急的水道，經過了帕斯加蘭的綠草地。托爾布蘭德爾陡峭的山坡閃耀著光芒：此時已是午後。當他們向南行進時，羅斯瀑布的煙霧升起，在他們面前閃爍，一片金色的薄霧。瀑布的奔騰和轟鳴聲震動著無風的空氣。他們悲傷地鬆開了葬禮船：波羅莫躺在那裡，安詳、平靜，在流動的水面上滑行。當他們用槳撐住自己的船時，水流帶走了他。他從他們身邊漂過，他的船緩緩離去，漸漸變成金光中的一個黑點；然後它突然消失了。羅斯瀑布依然轟鳴不變。大河帶走了迪耐瑟之子波羅莫，他再也沒有在米那斯提力斯被看見，就像他過去每天早晨站在白塔上一樣。但在剛鐸的後世，人們常說精靈船乘著瀑布和泡沫池，將他帶過奧斯吉力亞斯，穿過安都因河的眾多河口，在星光下的夜晚駛向大海。三人夥伴沉默了一會兒，凝視著他遠去。然後亞拉岡開口說：「他們會從白塔上尋找他，」他說，「但他不會從山中或海中歸來。」然後他緩緩唱道：穿過羅翰，越過沼澤和田野，那裡長滿了長草，西風漫步而來，繞著城牆吹拂。「西風啊，你這流浪的風，今晚你帶來了什麼消息？你可曾見過月光或星光下的高大波羅莫？」我見他騎過七條河流，越過寬闊灰色的水域；我見他在空曠的土地上行走，直到他逝去，進入北方的陰影。我再也沒有見過他。北風也許聽到了迪耐瑟之子的號角。「哦，波羅莫！我從高牆向西遠眺，但你沒有從那無人之地歸來。」然後勒苟拉斯唱道：從海口，南風飛來，從沙丘和岩石之間；它帶來了海鷗的哀鳴，並在門口呻吟。
418 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring to me at eve? Where now ts Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve.’ ‘Ask not of me where he doth dwell — so many bones there lie On the white shores and the dark shores under the stormy sky; So many have passed down Anduin to find the flowing Sea. Ask of the North Wind news of them the North Wind sends to me!” ‘O Boromir! Beyond the gate the seaward road runs south, But you came not with the wailing gulls from the grey sea’s mouth. * Then Aragorn sang again: From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls; And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls. ‘What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today? What news of Boromir the Bold? For he 1s long away.’ ‘Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought. His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought. His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest; And Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, bore him upon its breast.’ ‘O Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaze To Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, until the end of days.’ So they ended. Then they turned their boat and drove it with all the speed they could against the stream back to Parth Galen. “You left the East Wind to me,’ said Gimli, ‘but I will say naught of it.’ “That is as it should be,’ said Aragorn. ‘In Minas Tirith they endure the East Wind, but they do not ask it for tidings. But now Boromir has taken his road, and we must make haste to choose our own.’ He surveyed the green lawn, quickly but thoroughly, stooping often to the earth. ‘No Orcs have been on this ground,’ he said. ‘Otherwise nothing can be made out for certain. All our footprints are here, crossing and re-crossing. I cannot tell whether any of the hobbits have come back since the search for Frodo began.’ He returned to the bank, close to where the rill from the spring trickled out into the River. “There are some clear prints here,’ he said. ‘A hobbit waded out into the water and back; but I cannot say how long ago.’ ‘How then do you read this riddle?’ asked Gimli.
418 《魔戒》 「南風啊，你輕聲嘆息，黃昏時分，你帶來了什麼消息？英勇的波羅莫如今身在何方？他遲遲未歸，我心悲傷。」 「別問我他身在何處——那裡白骨累累，在狂風暴雨下的白色海岸與黑色海岸；多少人沿著安都因河而下，尋找那奔流的大海。去問北風吧，北風會把他們的消息傳給我！」 「噢，波羅莫！城門之外，通往大海的路徑向南延伸，但你卻沒有隨著灰濛海口哀鳴的海鷗歸來。」 亞拉岡再次唱道：「北風從王者之門呼嘯而過，越過咆哮的瀑布；它響亮的號角聲在塔樓周圍清晰而寒冷地迴盪。」 「北風啊，你如此強大，今天你帶來了什麼消息？關於英勇的波羅莫有什麼消息？因為他已離去許久。」 「在亞蒙漢山下，我聽見了他的呼喊。他在那裡與眾多敵人奮戰。他裂開的盾牌，他折斷的劍，都被帶到了水中。他驕傲的頭顱，他英俊的臉龐，他的四肢，他們將其安息；而勞洛斯，金色的勞洛斯瀑布，將他承載於其胸懷。」 「噢，波羅莫！守望之塔將永遠向北凝視著勞洛斯，金色的勞洛斯瀑布，直到世界末日。」 他們唱完了。然後他們轉過船頭，盡其所能地逆流而上，駛回帕斯加蘭。 「你把東風留給了我，」金靂說，「但我對此無話可說。」 「本該如此，」亞拉岡說，「在米那斯提力斯，他們忍受著東風，但他們不會向它詢問消息。但現在波羅莫已經踏上他的路，我們必須趕緊選擇我們自己的路。」 他快速而仔細地勘察了綠色的草坪，頻繁地彎腰查看地面。「這片地上沒有半獸人，」他說，「否則，就無法確定任何事情了。我們所有的腳印都在這裡，交錯重疊。我無法判斷自從尋找佛羅多開始以來，是否有任何哈比人回來過。」 他回到岸邊，靠近泉水細流匯入河流的地方。「這裡有一些清晰的腳印，」他說，「一個哈比人涉水進出，但我無法判斷是多久以前的事了。」 「那你如何解讀這個謎團？」金靂問道。
THE DEPARTURE OF BOROMIR 419 Aragorn did not answer at once, but went back to the campingplace and looked at the baggage. “I'wo packs are missing,’ he said, ‘and one is certainly Sam’s: it was rather large and heavy. This then is the answer: Frodo has gone by boat, and his servant has gone with him. Frodo must have returned while we were all away. I met Sam going up the hill and told him to follow me; but plainly he did not do so. He guessed his master’s mind and came back here before Frodo had gone. He did not find it easy to leave Sam behind!’ ‘But why should he leave us behind, and without a word?’ said Gimli. “That was a strange deed!’ ‘And a brave deed,’ said Aragorn. ‘Sam was right, I think. Frodo did not wish to lead any friend to death with him in Mordor. But he knew that he must go himself. Something happened after he left us that overcame his fear and doubt.’ ‘Maybe hunting Orcs came on him and he fled,’ said Legolas. ‘He fled, certainly,’ said Aragorn, ‘but not, I think, from Orcs.’ What he thought was the cause of Frodo’s sudden resolve and flight Aragorn did not say. The last words of Boromir he long kept secret. ‘Well, so much at least is now clear,’ said Legolas: ‘Frodo is no longer on this side of the River: only he can have taken the boat. And Sam is with him; only he would have taken his pack.’ ‘Our choice then,’ said Gimli, ‘is either to take the remaining boat and follow Frodo, or else to follow the Orcs on foot. There is little hope either way. We have already lost precious hours.’ ‘Let me think!’ said Aragorn. ‘And now may I make a right choice, and change the evil fate of this unhappy day!’ He stood silent for a moment. ‘I will follow the Orcs,’ he said at last. ‘I would have guided Frodo to Mordor and gone with him to the end; but if I seek him now in the wilderness, I must abandon the captives to torment and death. My heart speaks clearly at last: the fate of the Bearer is in my hands no longer. The Company has played its part. Yet we that remain cannot forsake our companions while we have strength left. Come! We will go now. Leave all that can be spared behind! We will press on by day and dark!’ They drew up the last boat and carried it to the trees. They laid beneath it such of their goods as they did not need and could not carry away. Then they left Parth Galen. The afternoon was fading as they came back to the glade where Boromir had fallen. There they picked up the trail of the Orcs. It needed little skill to find. ‘No other folk make such a trampling,’ said Legolas. ‘It seems their delight to slash and beat down growing things that are not even in their way.’ ‘But they go with a great speed for all that,’ said Aragorn, ‘and
波羅莫的離去 419 亞拉岡沒有立刻回答，而是回到營地查看行李。「少了兩件包裹，」他說，「其中一件肯定是山姆的：它相當大且重。那麼這就是答案了：佛羅多已乘船離開，而他的僕人也與他同行。佛羅多一定是在我們都離開的時候回來了。我遇到山姆正往山上走，並告訴他跟著我；但他顯然沒有這麼做。他猜到了他主人的心思，在佛羅多離開前就回到了這裡。他發現要留下山姆並不容易！」 「但他為什麼要拋下我們，而且不留隻字片語？」金靂說。「那真是個奇怪的舉動！」 「也是個勇敢的舉動，」亞拉岡說。「我想山姆是對的。佛羅多不希望帶任何朋友到魔多與他一同赴死。但他知道他必須自己去。在他離開我們之後，發生了一些事情，克服了他的恐懼和疑慮。」 「也許是半獸人追上他，他就逃走了。」勒苟拉斯說。 「他確實逃走了，」亞拉岡說，「但我想，不是因為半獸人。」 亞拉岡沒有說出他認為是什麼原因導致佛羅多突然下定決心並逃離。他將波羅莫的遺言保守了很久。 「好吧，至少現在很清楚了，」勒苟拉斯說：「佛羅多已不在河的這一邊：只有他會帶走那艘船。山姆也和他在一起；只有他會帶走他的包裹。」 「那麼我們的選擇，」金靂說，「是要麼乘坐剩下的船隻追趕佛羅多，要麼徒步追趕半獸人。無論哪種方式，希望都很渺茫。我們已經浪費了寶貴的時間。」 「讓我想想！」亞拉岡說。「現在願我能做出正確的選擇，並改變這不幸一天的邪惡命運！」他沉默了片刻。「我會追趕半獸人，」他終於說。「我本會引導佛羅多前往魔多並與他走到最後；但如果我現在在荒野中尋找他，我必須拋棄俘虜，讓他們遭受折磨和死亡。我的心終於清楚地告訴我：魔戒持有者的命運已不再掌握在我手中。遠征隊已完成了它的使命。然而，我們這些留下的人，只要還有力氣，就不能拋棄我們的同伴。來吧！我們現在就走。把所有可以捨棄的東西都留下！我們將日夜兼程！」 他們拉起最後一艘船，將它搬到樹林裡。他們把不需要也無法帶走的物品放在船下。然後他們離開了帕斯加蘭。 當他們回到波羅莫倒下的林間空地時，下午的光線正在消逝。在那裡他們找到了半獸人的蹤跡。這不需要什麼技巧就能找到。 「沒有其他民族會製造出這樣的踐踏痕跡，」勒苟拉斯說。「他們似乎樂於砍伐和踐踏那些甚至不在他們路上的生長物。」 「但儘管如此，他們走得很快，」亞拉岡說，「而且
420 THE LORD OF THE RINGS they do not tire. And later we may have to search for our path in hard bare lands.’ ‘Well, after them!’ said Gimli. ‘Dwarves too can go swiftly, and they do not tire sooner than Orcs. But it will be a long chase: they have a long start.’ ‘Yes,’ said Aragorn, ‘we shall all need the endurance of Dwarves. But come! With hope or without hope we will follow the trail of our enemies. And woe to them, if we prove the swifter! We will make such a chase as shall be accounted a marvel among the Three Kindreds: Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Forth the Three Hunters!’ Like a deer he sprang away. Through the trees he sped. On and on he led them, tireless and swift, now that his mind was at last made up. The woods about the lake they left behind. Long slopes they climbed, dark, hard-edged against the sky already red with sunset. Dusk came. They passed away, grey shadows in a stony land.
420 《魔戒》 他們不會疲倦。而之後我們可能必須在貧瘠荒蕪的土地上尋找我們的路徑。「好，追上去！」金靂說。「矮人也能快速前進，而且他們不會比半獸人更快疲倦。但這將是一場漫長的追逐：他們已經領先很遠了。」「是的，」亞拉岡說，「我們都需要矮人的耐力。但來吧！無論有無希望，我們都將追蹤敵人的蹤跡。如果我們證明自己更快，他們就有禍了！我們將展開一場追逐，這場追逐將被三族——精靈、矮人與人類——視為奇蹟。三獵手，出發！」他像鹿一樣躍開。他疾速穿過樹林。他不停地帶領他們前進，不知疲倦且迅速，因為他的心意終於已決。他們將湖泊周圍的樹林拋在身後。他們攀爬著長長的斜坡，這些斜坡在已因日落而泛紅的天空下顯得黑暗而輪廓分明。黃昏降臨。他們漸行漸遠，成為石地上的灰色陰影。