Chapter 2 THE RIDERS OF ROHAN Dusk deepened. Mist lay behind them among the trees below, and brooded on the pale margins of the Anduin, but the sky was clear. Stars came out. The waxing moon was riding in the West, and the shadows of the rocks were black. They had come to the feet of stony hills, and their pace was slower, for the trail was no longer easy to follow. Here the highlands of the Emyn Muil ran from North to South in two long tumbled ridges. The western side of each ridge was steep and difficult, but the eastward slopes were gentler, furrowed with many gullies and narrow ravines. All night the three companions scrambled in this bony land, climbing to the crest of the first and tallest ridge, and down again into the darkness of a deep winding valley on the other side. There in the still cool hour before dawn they rested for a brief space. The moon had long gone down before them, the stars glittered above them; the first light of day had not yet come over the dark hills behind. For the moment Aragorn was at a loss: the orc-trail had descended into the valley, but there it had vanished. ‘Which way would they turn, do you think?’ said Legolas. ‘Northward to take a straighter road to Isengard, or Fangorn, if that is their aim as you guess? Or southward to strike the Entwash?’ “They will not make for the river, whatever mark they aim at,’ said Aragorn. ‘And unless there is much amiss in Rohan and the power of Saruman is greatly increased, they will take the shortest way that they can find over the fields of the Rohirrim. Let us search northwards!’ The dale ran like a stony trough between the ridged hills, and a trickling stream flowed among the boulders at the bottom. A cliff frowned upon their right; to their left rose grey slopes, dim and shadowy in the late night. They went on for a mile or more northwards. Aragorn was searching, bent towards the ground, among the folds and gullies leading up into the western ridge. Legolas was some way ahead. Suddenly the Elf gave a cry and the others came running towards him. ‘We have already overtaken some of those that we are hunting,’ he said. ‘Look!’ He pointed, and they saw that what they had at first taken to be boulders lying at the foot of the slope were huddled bodies. Five dead Orcs lay there. They had been hewn with many
暮色漸濃。霧氣在他們身後下方的樹林間瀰漫，籠罩在安都因河蒼白的岸邊，但天空卻很清朗。星星出來了，一輪上弦月正行至西方，岩石的影子漆黑一片。他們來到多石山丘的腳下，腳步慢了下來，因為蹤跡不再容易追尋。在這裡，伊敏穆爾的高地由北向南延伸，形成兩道綿長雜亂的山脊。每道山脊的西側都陡峭難行，但東側的坡度較為平緩，佈滿了許多溝壑和狹窄的峽谷。整夜，三位同伴在這片嶙峋的土地上攀爬，登上了第一道也是最高那道山脊的頂峰，然後又下到另一側一個深邃蜿蜒山谷的黑暗中。在黎明前那寂靜涼爽的時刻，他們稍作歇息。月亮早已在他們面前落下，星星在他們頭頂閃爍；第一道曙光尚未越過身後黑暗的山丘。此刻亞拉岡感到不知所措：半獸人的蹤跡下到山谷裡，卻在那裡消失了。「你覺得他們會轉向哪邊？」勒苟拉斯說。「往北走更直的路去艾辛格，或者去法貢森林，如果你的猜測沒錯，那是他們的目標？還是往南去襲擊恩特沃許河？」「無論他們的目標是什麼，他們都不會朝著河邊去。」亞拉岡說。「而且，除非羅翰出了大亂子，薩魯曼的力量大增，否則他們會選擇能找到的最短路線，穿越洛汗人的平原。我們向北搜索吧！」山谷像一個石槽般在兩側山脊間延伸，一條涓涓細流在谷底的圓石間流淌。一面懸崖在他們右側蹙眉而立；左側則是灰色的山坡，在深夜中顯得昏暗而多影。他們向北走了一英里多。亞拉岡彎著腰，在通往西邊山脊的褶皺和溝壑間搜索地面。勒苟拉斯在前面一段距離。突然，這位精靈發出一聲呼喊，其他人朝他跑去。「我們已經追上了我們正在追獵的其中一些人了。」他說。「看！」他指著，他們看到，起初以為是躺在坡腳的巨石，其實是一具具蜷縮的屍體。五具半獸人的屍體躺在那裡。他們被重重劈砍。
422 THE LORD OF THE RINGS cruel strokes, and two had been beheaded. The ground was wet with their dark blood. ‘Here is another riddle!’ said Gimli. ‘But it needs the light of day, and for that we cannot wait.’ “Yet however you read it, it seems not unhopeful,’ said Legolas. ‘Enemies of the Orcs are likely to be our friends. Do any folk dwell in these hills?’ ‘No,’ said Aragorn. “The Rohirrim seldom come here, and it is far from Minas Tirith. It might be that some company of Men were hunting here for reasons that we do not know. Yet I think not.’ ‘What do you think?’ said Gimli. ‘I think that the enemy brought his own enemy with him,’ answered Aragorn. “These are Northern Orcs from far away. Among the slain are none of the great Orcs with the strange badges. There was a quarrel, I guess: it is no uncommon thing with these foul folk. Maybe there was some dispute about the road.’ ‘Or about the captives,’ said Gimli. ‘Let us hope that they, too, did not meet their end here.’ Aragorn searched the ground in a wide circle, but no other traces of the fight could be found. They went on. Already the eastward sky was turning pale; the stars were fading, and a grey light was slowly growing. A little further north they came to a fold in which a tiny stream, falling and winding, had cut a stony path down into the valley. In it some bushes grew, and there were patches of grass upon its sides. ‘At last!’ said Aragorn. ‘Here are the tracks that we seek! Up this water-channel: this is the way that the Orcs went after their debate.’ Swiftly now the pursuers turned and followed the new path. As if fresh from a night’s rest they sprang from stone to stone. At last they reached the crest of the grey hill, and a sudden breeze blew in their hair and stirred their cloaks: the chill wind of dawn. Turning back they saw across the River the far hills kindled. Day leaped into the sky. The red rim of the sun rose over the shoulders of the dark land. Before them in the West the world lay still, formless and grey; but even as they looked, the shadows of night melted, the colours of the waking earth returned: green flowed over the wide meads of Rohan; the white mists shimmered in the water-vales; and far off to the left, thirty leagues or more, blue and purple stood the White Mountains, rising into peaks of jet, tipped with glimmering snows, flushed with the rose of morning. ‘Gondor! Gondor!’ cried Aragorn. ‘Would that I looked on you again in happier hour! Not yet does my road lie southward to your bright streams.
殘酷的打擊下，有兩具屍體被斬首。他們的黑血浸濕了地面。『這又是個謎！』金靂說。『不過這需要白天的光線，而我們等不了那麼久。』『然而，不管你怎麼解讀，這情況似乎不無希望，』勒苟拉斯說。『半獸人的敵人很可能就是我們的朋友。這些山裡有住人嗎？』『沒有，』亞拉岡說。『洛汗人很少來這裡，而且這裡離米那斯提力斯很遠。也可能有一隊人類因為我們不知道的原因在此打獵。但我不這麼認為。』『那你認為呢？』金靂問。『我認為敵人把他自己的敵人也帶來了，』亞拉岡回答。『這些是從遠方來的北方半獸人。死者中沒有那些帶著奇怪徽章的大半獸人。我猜是起了內鬨：這種事在這些污穢的傢伙中並不少見。或許是為了走哪條路起了爭執。』『或是為了俘虜，』金靂說。『希望他們也沒有在這裡遇害。』亞拉岡在大範圍內搜索地面，但沒有找到其他打鬥的痕跡。他們繼續前進。東方的天空已經開始泛白；星辰漸漸隱去，灰色的光線慢慢增強。再往北走一點，他們來到一處山坳，一條細小的溪流在那裡曲折落下，沖刷出一條通往山谷的石徑。溪邊長著一些灌木，兩旁也有幾片草地。『終於！』亞拉岡說。『我們尋找的蹤跡就在這裡！沿著這條水道往上：這就是半獸人爭論後走的路。』追蹤者們立刻迅速轉向，跟上了這條新路。他們彷彿剛睡了一夜，精神飽滿地在石頭間跳躍。終於，他們到達了灰色山丘的頂峰，一陣突來的微風吹拂著他們的頭髮，撩動了他們的斗篷：那是黎明時分清冷的風。他們轉身回望，看見大河對岸的遠山被點燃。白晝躍入天際。太陽的紅邊從黑暗大地的肩上緩緩升起。在他們前方的西方，世界依然靜止，混沌而灰暗；但就在他們注視之時，夜晚的陰影融化了，甦醒的大地恢復了色彩：綠色流淌過洛汗廣闊的草原；白色的薄霧在河谷中閃爍；而在遠方左側，三十里格或更遠處，藍色與紫色的白色山脈矗立著，高聳入漆黑的山峰，頂上覆蓋著閃爍的積雪，並染上了清晨的玫瑰色。『剛鐸！剛鐸！』亞拉岡呼喊道。『但願我能在更幸福的時刻再次見到你！我南向你那明亮溪流的道路，尚未到來。』
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 423 Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea! West Wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree Fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old. O proud walls! White towers! O wingéd crown and throne of gold! O Gondor, Gondor! Shall Men behold the Silver Tree, Or West Wind blow again between the Mountains and the Sea? Now let us go!’ he said, drawing his eyes away from the South, and looking out west and north to the way that he must tread. The ridge upon which the companions stood went down steeply before their feet. Below it twenty fathoms or more, there was a wide and rugged shelf which ended suddenly in the brink of a sheer cliff: the East Wall of Rohan. So ended the Emyn Muil, and the green plains of the Rohirrim stretched away before them to the edge of sight. ‘Look!’ cried Legolas, pointing up into the pale sky above them. “There is the eagle again! He is very high. He seems to be flying now away, from this land back to the North. He is going with great speed. Look!’ ‘No, not even my eyes can see him, my good Legolas,’ said Aragorn. ‘He must be far aloft indeed. I wonder what is his errand, if he is the same bird that I have seen before. But look! I can see something nearer at hand and more urgent; there is something moving over the plain!’ ‘Many things,’ said Legolas. ‘It is a great company on foot; but I cannot say more, nor see what kind of folk they may be. They are many leagues away: twelve, I guess; but the flatness of the plain is hard to measure.’ ‘I think, nonetheless, that we no longer need any trail to tell us which way to go,’ said Gimli. ‘Let us find a path down to the fields as quick as may be.’ ‘I doubt if you will find a path quicker than the one that the Orcs chose,’ said Aragorn. They followed their enemies now by the clear light of day. It seemed that the Orcs had pressed on with all possible speed. Every now and again the pursuers found things that had been dropped or cast away: food-bags, the rinds and crusts of hard grey bread, a torn black cloak, a heavy iron-nailed shoe broken on the stones. The trail led them north along the top of the escarpment, and at length they came to a deep cleft carved in the rock by a stream that splashed noisily down. In the narrow ravine a rough path descended like a steep stair into the plain. At the bottom they came with a strange suddenness on the grass of Rohan. It swelled like a green sea up to the very foot of the Emyn
羅翰的騎士 423 剛鐸！剛鐸，在山與海之間！西風曾吹拂那裡；銀聖樹上的光芒，如明亮的雨灑落在古時君王的庭園。啊，驕傲的城牆！潔白的塔樓！啊，有翼的王冠與黃金的寶座！啊，剛鐸，剛鐸！人們能否再見到銀聖樹，或西風再度吹拂於山與海之間？「我們走吧！」他說，將目光從南方移開，望向他必須踏上的西方與北方。夥伴們所站的山脊在他們腳下陡然下降。下方二十噚或更深處，是一片寬闊崎嶇的岩架，岩架的盡頭是陡峭懸崖的邊緣：羅翰東牆。艾明莫爾至此而終，羅翰人的綠色平原在他們眼前展開，一直延伸到視線的盡頭。「看！」勒苟拉斯指著他們上方蒼白的天空喊道。「那隻老鷹又出現了！牠飛得好高。牠現在似乎正飛離此地，返回北方。牠的速度很快。看！」「不，連我的眼睛也看不見牠了，我親愛的勒苟拉斯。」亞拉岡說。「牠肯定飛得非常高。我好奇牠的任務是什麼，如果牠和我之前見過的是同一隻鳥。但是看！我能看到更近也更緊急的東西；平原上有東西在移動！」「有很多東西，」勒苟拉斯說。「是一大群步行的人；但我說不出更多了，也看不出他們是什麼樣的人。他們在好幾里格之外：我猜有十二里格；但平原的平坦很難估量。」「儘管如此，我認為我們不再需要任何蹤跡來告訴我們該走哪條路了。」金靂說。「讓我們盡快找條路下到田野去。」「我懷疑你們能否找到比半獸人所選的路更快的路。」亞拉岡說。他們此刻在白日的光亮下跟隨著敵人。看來半獸人已盡全力趕路。追蹤者不時發現被丟棄或扔掉的東西：食物袋、又硬又灰的麵包皮和麵包邊、一件撕破的黑斗篷、一隻在石頭上弄壞的厚重鐵釘鞋。蹤跡引導他們沿著懸崖頂部向北，最終他們來到一條由溪流在岩石中沖刷出的深邃裂縫，溪水嘩啦嘩啦地向下濺灑。在狹窄的峽谷中，一條崎嶇的小路像陡峭的階梯般通往平原。在底部，他們出奇地突然踏上了羅翰的草地。草地如綠色的海洋般起伏，一直延伸到艾明的山腳下。
424 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Muil. The falling stream vanished into a deep growth of cresses and water-plants, and they could hear it tinkling away in green tunnels, down long gentle slopes towards the fens of Entwash Vale far away. They seemed to have left winter clinging to the hills behind. Here the air was softer and warmer, and faintly scented, as if spring was already stirring and the sap was flowing again in herb and leaf. Legolas took a deep breath, like one that drinks a great draught after long thirst in barren places. ‘Ah! the green smell!’ he said. ‘It is better than much sleep. Let us run!’ ‘Light feet may run swiftly here,’ said Aragorn. ‘More swiftly, maybe, than iron-shod Orcs. Now we have a chance to lessen their lead!’ They went in single file, running like hounds on a strong scent, and an eager light was in their eyes. Nearly due west the broad swath of the marching Orcs tramped its ugly slot; the sweet grass of Rohan had been bruised and blackened as they passed. Presently Aragorn gave a cry and turned aside. ‘Stay!’ he shouted. ‘Do not follow me yet!’ He ran quickly to the right, away from the main trail; for he had seen footprints that went that way, branching off from the others, the marks of small unshod feet. These, however, did not go far before they were crossed by orc-prints, also coming out from the main trail behind and in front, and then they curved sharply back again and were lost in the trampling. At the furthest point Aragorn stooped and picked up something from the grass; then he ran back. “Yes,” he said, ‘they are quite plain: a hobbit’s footprints. Pippin’s, I think. He is smaller than the others. And look at this!’ He held up a thing that glittered in the sunlight. It looked like the new-opened leaf of a beech-tree, fair and strange in that treeless plain. “The brooch of an elven-cloak!’ cried Legolas and Gimli together. ‘Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall,’ said Aragorn. “This did not drop by chance: it was cast away as a token to any that might follow. I think Pippin ran away from the trail for that purpose.’ “Then he at least was alive,’ said Gimli. ‘And he had the use of his wits, and of his legs too. That is heartening. We do not pursue in vain.’ ‘Let us hope that he did not pay too dearly for his boldness,’ said Legolas. ‘Come! Let us go on! The thought of those merry young folk driven like cattle burns my heart.’ The sun climbed to the noon and then rode slowly down the sky. Light clouds came up out of the sea in the distant South and were
落下的溪水消失在一片茂密的西洋菜與水生植物中，他們能聽見溪水在綠色隧道裡叮咚作響，沿著長而平緩的斜坡，流向遠方艾森沃斯河谷的沼澤地。他們似乎已將冬天甩在身後的山丘上。這裡的空氣更為柔和溫暖，還帶著淡淡的香氣，彷彿春天已經悄然萌動，草葉間的汁液再次流淌。勒苟拉斯深深吸了一口氣，就像一個在貧瘠之地久渴的人痛飲甘泉。「啊！青草的氣味！」他說。「這比再多的睡眠都好。我們跑起來吧！」「輕快的腳步在這裡可以跑得飛快，」亞拉岡說。「或許比那些穿鐵鞋的半獸人更快。現在我們有機會縮短他們的領先距離了！」他們排成一列，像聞到濃烈氣味的獵犬般奔跑，眼中閃爍著熱切的光芒。幾乎正西方的方向，半獸人行軍踩出了一條寬闊而醜陋的痕跡；羅翰甜美的青草在他們經過時被踐踏得瘀傷發黑。不久，亞拉岡叫了一聲，轉身離開了隊伍。「站住！」他喊道。「先別跟著我！」他迅速向右跑去，離開了主路徑；因為他看到有腳印朝那個方向去，從其他足跡中分岔出來，那是一些細小、未穿鞋的腳留下的印記。然而，這些腳印沒走多遠，就被半獸人的腳印橫越了，那些腳印也是從主路徑前後方岔出來的，接著又急遽地彎了回來，消失在雜亂的踐踏痕跡中。在最遠處，亞拉岡彎下腰，從草地上撿起一樣東西；然後他跑了回來。「是的，」他說，「它們非常清楚：一個哈比人的腳印。我想是皮聘的。他比其他人矮小。還有，看這個！」他舉起一樣在陽光下閃閃發光的東西。它看起來像山毛櫸剛冒出的新葉，在這片無樹的平原上顯得美麗而奇特。「是精靈斗篷的別針！」勒苟拉斯和金靂齊聲喊道。「羅斯洛立安的葉子不會白白落下，」亞拉岡說。「這不是偶然掉落的：它是被丟下作為給任何可能追隨者的信物。我想皮聘是為此才跑離路徑的。」「那麼他至少還活著，」金靂說。「而且他還能使用他的機智和雙腿。這真令人振奮。我們沒有白追。」「希望他沒有為他的大膽付出太慘痛的代價，」勒苟拉斯說。「來吧！我們繼續前進！一想到那些快活的年輕人像牲畜一樣被驅趕，我便心如火焚。」太陽爬到正午，然後緩緩地劃過天際。輕柔的雲朵從遠方南方的大海升起，然後…
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 425 blown away upon the breeze. The sun sank. Shadows rose behind and reached out long arms from the East. Still the hunters held on. One day now had passed since Boromir fell, and the Orcs were yet far ahead. No longer could any sight of them be seen in the level plains. As nightshade was closing about them Aragorn halted. Only twice in the day’s march had they rested for a brief while, and twelve leagues now lay between them and the eastern wall where they had stood at dawn. ‘We have come at last to a hard choice,’ he said. ‘Shall we rest by night, or shall we go on while our will and strength hold?’ ‘Unless our enemies rest also, they will leave us far behind, if we stay to sleep,’ said Legolas. ‘Surely even Orcs must pause on the march?’ said Gimli. ‘Seldom will Orcs journey in the open under the sun, yet these have done so,’ said Legolas. ‘Certainly they will not rest by night.’ ‘But if we walk by night, we cannot follow their trail,’ said Gimli. ‘The trail is straight, and turns neither right nor left, as far as my eyes can see,’ said Legolas. ‘Maybe, I could lead you at guess in the darkness and hold to the line,’ said Aragorn; ‘but if we strayed, or they turned aside, then when light came there might be long delay before the trail was found again.’ ‘And there is this also,’ said Gimli: ‘only by day can we see if any tracks lead away. If a prisoner should escape, or if one should be carried off, eastward, say, to the Great River, towards Mordor, we might pass the signs and never know it.’ “That is true,’ said Aragorn. ‘But if I read the signs back yonder rightly, the Orcs of the White Hand prevailed, and the whole company is now bound for Isengard. Their present course bears me out.’ ‘Yet it would be rash to be sure of their counsels,’ said Gimli. ‘And what of escape? In the dark we should have passed the signs that led you to the brooch.’ ‘The Orcs will be doubly on their guard since then, and the prisoners even wearier,’ said Legolas. “There will be no escape again, if we do not contrive it. How that is to be done cannot be guessed, but first we must overtake them.’ ‘And yet even I, Dwarf of many journeys, and not the least hardy of my folk, cannot run all the way to Isengard without any pause,’ said Gimli. ‘My heart burns me too, and I would have started sooner; but now I must rest a little to run the better. And if we rest, then the blind night is the time to do so.’ ‘I said that it was a hard choice,’ said Aragorn. ‘How shall we end this debate?’
太陽西沉。陰影自後方升起，從東方伸出長長的臂膀。然而獵人們仍舊堅持不懈。自從波羅莫倒下後，一天已經過去，而半獸人仍在遙遠的前方。在平坦的草原上，再也看不到他們的蹤影了。當夜幕降臨時，亞拉岡停下了腳步。在白天的行軍中，他們只短暫休息了兩次，如今他們與黎明時所站的東方山壁之間，已相隔十二里格。「我們終究面臨了一個艱難的抉擇，」他說。「我們該趁夜休息，還是趁著意志與體力尚存時繼續前進？」「除非我們的敵人也休息，否則我們若停下睡覺，就會被他們遠遠拋在後頭。」勒苟拉斯說。「半獸人總也得在行軍中停歇吧？」金靂說。「半獸人很少會在太陽底下公開行進，但這些傢伙卻這麼做了。」勒苟拉斯說。「他們晚上肯定不會休息。」「但如果我們在夜裡行走，就無法追蹤他們的蹤跡了。」金靂說。「就我目力所及，這條蹤跡筆直向前，不偏不倚。」勒苟拉斯說。「或許，我可以在黑暗中憑感覺帶領你們，維持直線前進，」亞拉岡說；「但萬一我們走偏了，或者他們轉了方向，那麼天亮時，我們可能要耽擱很久才能重新找到蹤跡。」「還有這點，」金靂說：「只有在白天，我們才能看清是否有任何足跡偏離了主道。萬一有俘虜逃脫，或者有人被帶走——比方說，被帶往東邊的大河，朝著魔多而去——我們可能會錯過跡象而毫不知情。」「說得對，」亞拉岡說。「但如果我沒讀錯剛才那些跡象，白掌妖兵佔了上風，整隊人馬現在正朝著艾辛格前進。他們目前的路線證實了我的判斷。」「但要確定他們的盤算，未免太過輕率。」金靂說。「那逃脫的事呢？在黑暗中，我們恐怕會錯過那些引導你找到別針的跡象。」「從那之後，半獸人會加倍警惕，而俘虜們也更加疲憊了。」勒苟拉斯說。「如果我們不設法營救，他們就再也沒有逃脫的機會了。要怎麼做還無法預料，但首先我們必須追上他們。」「然而，即便是我——一個歷經多次旅程、在我族人中也算得上數一數二耐操的矮人——也無法毫不停歇地一路跑到艾辛格。」金靂說。「我的心也焦急如焚，恨不得能早點出發；但現在我必須稍作休息，才能跑得更好。而如果我們要休息，那麼盲目的黑夜正是時候。」「我說過這是個艱難的抉擇，」亞拉岡說。「我們該如何結束這場辯論？」
426 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “You are our guide,’ said Gimli, ‘and you are skilled in the chase. You shall choose.’ ‘My heart bids me go on,’ said Legolas. ‘But we must hold together. I will follow your counsel.’ “You give the choice to an ill chooser,’ said Aragorn. ‘Since we passed through the Argonath my choices have gone amiss.’ He fell silent, gazing north and west into the gathering night for a long while. ‘We will not walk in the dark,’ he said at length. “The peril of missing the trail or signs of other coming and going seems to me the greater. If the Moon gave enough light, we would use it, but alas! he sets early and is yet young and pale.’ ‘And tonight he is shrouded anyway,’ Gimli murmured. ‘Would that the Lady had given us a light, such a gift as she gave to Frodo!’ ‘It will be more needed where it is bestowed,’ said Aragorn. ‘With him lies the true Quest. Ours is but a small matter in the great deeds of this time. A vain pursuit from its beginning, maybe, which no choice of mine can mar or mend. Well, I have chosen. So let us use the time as best we may!’ He cast himself on the ground and fell at once into sleep, for he had not slept since their night under the shadow of Tol Brandir. Before dawn was in the sky he woke and rose. Gimli was still deep in slumber, but Legolas was standing, gazing northwards into the darkness, thoughtful and silent as a young tree in a windless night. “They are far far away,’ he said sadly, turning to Aragorn. ‘I know in my heart that they have not rested this night. Only an eagle could overtake them now.’ ‘Nonetheless we will still follow as we may,’ said Aragorn. Stooping he roused the Dwarf. ‘Come! We must go,’ he said. “The scent is growing cold.’ ‘But it is still dark,’ said Gimli. ‘Even Legolas on a hill-top could not see them till the Sun is up.’ ‘I fear they have passed beyond my sight from hill or plain, under moon or sun,’ said Legolas. ‘Where sight fails the earth may bring us rumour,’ said Aragorn. ‘The land must groan under their hated feet.’ He stretched himself upon the ground with his ear pressed against the turf. He lay there motionless, for so long a time that Gimli wondered if he had swooned or fallen asleep again. Dawn came glimmering, and slowly a grey light grew about them. At last he rose, and now his friends could see his face: it was pale and drawn, and his look was troubled. “The rumour of the earth is dim and confused,’ he said. ‘Nothing walks upon it for many miles about us. Faint and far are the feet of our enemies. But loud are the hoofs of the horses. It comes to my
「你是我們的嚮導，」金靂說，「而且你擅長追蹤。你來選吧。」「我的心催促我繼續前進，」勒苟拉斯說。「但我們必須團結一致。我會聽從你的建議。」「你們把選擇權交給了一個不善選擇的人，」亞拉岡說。「自從我們穿過亞苟那斯之後，我的選擇就一直出錯。」他沉默下來，久久凝視著向北和向西逐漸聚攏的夜色。「我們不在黑暗中行走，」他終於開口說。「錯過蹤跡或其他來往跡象的危險，在我看來更大。如果月亮夠亮，我們會利用月光，但唉！月亮太早落下，而且又小又蒼白。」「而且今晚月亮反正被遮住了，」金靂喃喃道。「要是那位女士也給我們一盞燈就好了，就像她給佛羅多的那種禮物！」「那禮物在它被授予之處會更有用，」亞拉岡說。「真正的任務在他身上。我們的任務，與此時的偉大功業相比，不過是件小事。或許從一開始就是一場徒勞的追逐，我的任何選擇都無法使其更好或更壞。好吧，我選好了。那我們就盡力利用時間吧！」他往地上一躺，立刻就睡著了，因為自從在托爾布蘭達陰影下的那一夜後，他就沒再睡過。天還沒亮，他就醒來起身。金靂仍在沉睡，但勒苟拉斯已經站著，凝視著北方的黑暗，像無風之夜裡的一棵小樹般沉思而靜默。「他們已經非常非常遠了，」他悲傷地轉向亞拉岡說。「我心裡知道他們這一夜沒有休息。現在只有老鷹才能追上他們了。」「儘管如此，我們還是要盡力追趕，」亞拉岡說。他彎下腰，搖醒了矮人。「來！我們得走了，」他說。「氣味越來越淡了。」「但天還黑著呢，」金靂說。「就算勒苟拉斯站在山頂上，也要等太陽出來才看得到他們。」「我擔心無論在山丘或平原，無論月下或日下，他們都已經超出了我的視線範圍，」勒苟拉斯說。「在視線不及之處，大地或許能帶給我們消息，」亞拉岡說。「大地必定在他們可憎的腳下呻吟。」他趴在地上，耳朵緊貼著草皮。他一動不動地躺在那裡，時間長到金靂都懷疑他是不是昏倒或又睡著了。黎明微光乍現，灰色的光芒緩緩籠罩著他們。他終於起身，現在他的朋友們可以看到他的臉：蒼白而憔悴，神情憂慮。「大地的傳聞模糊而混亂，」他說。「方圓數英里內沒有任何東西在行走。我們敵人的腳步聲微弱而遙遠。但馬蹄聲卻很響亮。它向我……
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 427 mind that I heard them, even as I lay on the ground in sleep, and they troubled my dreams: horses galloping, passing in the West. But now they are drawing ever further from us, riding northward. I wonder what is happening in this land!’ ‘Let us go!’ said Legolas. So the third day of their pursuit began. During all its long hours of cloud and fitful sun they hardly paused, now striding, now running, as if no weariness could quench the fire that burned them. They seldom spoke. Over the wide solitude they passed and their elvencloaks faded against the background of the grey-green fields; even in the cool sunlight of mid-day few but Elvish eyes would have marked them, until they were close at hand. Often in their hearts they thanked the Lady of Lorien for the gift of lembas, for they could eat of it and find new strength even as they ran. All day the track of their enemies led straight on, going north-west without a break or turn. As once again the day wore to its end they came to long treeless slopes, where the land rose, swelling up towards a line of low humpbacked downs ahead. The orc-trail grew fainter as it bent north towards them, for the ground became harder and the grass shorter. Far away to the left the river Entwash wound, a silver thread in a green floor. No moving thing could be seen. Often Aragorn wondered that they saw no sign of beast or man. The dwellings of the Rohirrim were for the most part many leagues away to the South, under the wooded eaves of the White Mountains, now hidden in mist and cloud; yet the Horse-lords had formerly kept many herds and studs in the Eastemnet, this easterly region of their realm, and there the herdsmen had wandered much, living in camp and tent, even in winter-time. But now all the land was empty, and there was a silence that did not seem to be the quiet of peace. At dusk they halted again. Now twice twelve leagues they had passed over the plains of Rohan and the wall of the Emyn Muil was lost in the shadows of the East. The young moon was glimmering in a misty sky, but it gave small light, and the stars were veiled. ‘Now do I most grudge a time of rest or any halt in our chase,’ said Legolas. “The Orcs have run before us, as if the very whips of Sauron were behind them. I fear they have already reached the forest and the dark hills, and even now are passing into the shadows of the trees.’ Gimli ground his teeth. ‘This is a bitter end to our hope and to all our toil!’ he said. “To hope, maybe, but not to toil,’ said Aragorn. ‘We shall not turn back here. Yet I am weary.’ He gazed back along the way that
……我心裡明白我聽見了他們，即便我躺在地上睡著時也聽見了，他們擾亂了我的夢：馬蹄飛奔，在西方經過。但現在他們正離我們越來越遠，往北方騎去。我不知道這片土地上發生了什麼事！」「我們走吧！」勒苟拉斯說。於是，他們追逐的第三天開始了。在漫長時日裡，雲層蔽日，陽光時而乍現，他們幾乎沒有停歇，時而大步流星，時而奔跑，彷彿再怎麼疲憊也無法澆熄他們內心的火焰。他們鮮少交談。他們穿越廣闊的孤寂之地，身上的精靈斗篷融入了灰綠色田野的背景中；即使在正午清冷的陽光下，除非有精靈的眼睛，否則直到他們走近，也幾乎無人能察覺。他們心中時常感謝羅瑞安女士贈予的蘭巴斯，因為即使在奔跑中，他們也能靠著它獲得新的力量。一整天，敵人的蹤跡都筆直地向西北方延伸，沒有任何中斷或轉折。當這一天再次接近尾聲，他們來到一片漫長無樹的斜坡，地勢在此隆起，向上延伸至前方一排低矮的駝峰狀丘陵。半獸人的蹤跡朝北轉向丘陵，變得越來越淡，因為地面變得更硬，草也更短了。遠方的左側，艾森河蜿蜒流淌，像是綠色地毯上的一條銀線。看不見任何移動的生物。亞拉岡時常納悶，為何他們連野獸或人的蹤跡都沒見到。洛汗人的住所大多在南方數里格之外，位於白色山脈林木蔥鬱的山腳下，如今隱沒在雲霧之中；然而，這些驃騎王過去常在他們王國的東部地區，也就是東埃姆內特，放養許多牛羊和馬群，牧人即使在冬天也時常在此遊牧，以營帳為家。但現在整片土地空無一人，一片寂靜，卻不像是和平的寧靜。黃昏時分，他們再次停下腳步。他們已在洛汗平原上跋涉了二十四里格，艾明莫爾的山壁已消失在東方的陰影中。新月在薄霧籠罩的天空中閃爍，但光線微弱，星辰也被遮蔽。「我現在最不情願的就是休息或在追逐中片刻停留，」勒苟拉斯說。「半獸人在我們前方狂奔，彷彿索倫的鞭子就在他們身後驅趕。我擔心他們已經抵達森林和黑暗的山丘，甚至此刻正進入樹林的陰影中。」金靂咬牙切齒。「我們的希望和所有辛勞，竟換來如此苦澀的結局！」他說。「希望或許如此，但辛勞尚未結束，」亞拉岡說。「我們不會在這裡回頭。但我累了。」他凝視著來時的路。
428 THE LORD OF THE RINGS they had come towards the night gathering in the East. “There is something strange at work in this land. I distrust the silence. I distrust even the pale Moon. The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow. There is some will that lends speed to our foes and sets an unseen barrier before us: a weariness that is in the heart more than in the limb.’ ‘Truly!’ said Legolas. “That I have known since first we came down from the Emyn Muil. For the will is not behind us but before us.’ He pointed away over the land of Rohan into the darkling West under the sickle moon. ‘Saruman!’ muttered Aragorn. ‘But he shall not turn us back! Halt we must once more; for, see! even the Moon is falling into gathering cloud. But north lies our road between down and fen when day returns.’ As before Legolas was first afoot, if indeed he had ever slept. ‘Awake! Awake!’ he cried. ‘It is a red dawn. Strange things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called. Awake!’ The others sprang up, and almost at once they set off again. Slowly the downs drew near. It was still an hour before noon when they reached them: green slopes rising to bare ridges that ran in a line straight towards the North. At their feet the ground was dry and the turf short, but a long strip of sunken land, some ten miles wide, lay between them and the river wandering deep in dim thickets of reed and rush. Just to the West of the southernmost slope there was a great ring, where the turf had been torn and beaten by many trampling feet. From it the orc-trail ran out again, turning north along the dry skirts of the hills. Aragorn halted and examined the tracks closely. “They rested here a while,’ he said, ‘but even the outward trail is already old. I fear that your heart spoke truly, Legolas: it is thrice twelve hours, I guess, since the Orcs stood where we now stand. If they held to their pace, then at sundown yesterday they would reach the borders of Fangorn.’ ‘I can see nothing away north or west but grass dwindling into mist,’ said Gimli. ‘Could we see the forest, if we climbed the hills?’ ‘It is still far away,’ said Aragorn. ‘If I remember rightly, these downs run eight leagues or more to the north, and then north-west to the issuing of the Entwash there lies still a wide land, another fifteen leagues it may be.’ ‘Well, let us go on,’ said Gimli. ‘My legs must forget the miles. They would be more willing, if my heart were less heavy.’ BS BS
他們是朝著東方聚集的夜色而來。「這片土地上有股奇怪的力量在運作。我不信任這片寂靜，我甚至不信任這蒼白的月亮。星光黯淡；我感到前所未有的疲憊，一種遊俠在追蹤清晰蹤跡時不該有的疲憊。有某種意志在為我們的敵人加速，又在我們面前設下無形的屏障：一種發自內心而非四肢的疲憊。」「確實如此！」勒苟拉斯說。「自從我們從伊敏穆伊下來，我就感覺到了。因為那股意志不在我們身後，而在我們前方。」他指著羅翰的土地，越過那片土地，望向鐮刀月下漸暗的西方。「薩魯曼！」亞拉岡喃喃道。「但他休想讓我們回頭！我們必須再停一次；因為，看！連月亮都落入聚集的雲中了。但天亮後，我們的路在丘陵與沼澤之間，一路向北。」如同以往，勒苟拉斯是第一個起身的，如果他真的睡過的話。「醒來！醒來！」他喊道。「是血紅色的黎明。森林的邊緣有奇異的事物在等著我們。是好是壞，我不知道；但我們被召喚了。醒來！」其他人跳了起來，幾乎立刻再次出發。丘陵緩緩地靠近。他們到達時，離中午還有一個小時：綠色的山坡向上延伸，直至光禿的山脊，山脊筆直地朝北延伸。在他們腳下，土地乾燥，草皮短淺，但一條約十英里寬的長條狀下陷地帶，橫在他們與在蘆葦和燈心草叢中蜿蜒深邃的河流之間。就在最南邊山坡的西側，有一個大圓圈，那裡的草皮被許多踐踏的腳步撕裂和踩踏。半獸人的蹤跡從那裡再次延伸出來，沿著山丘乾燥的邊緣轉向北方。亞拉岡停下來，仔細檢查蹤跡。「他們在這裡休息了一會兒，」他說，「但即使是離開的蹤跡也已經很舊了。勒苟拉斯，恐怕你的心說對了：我猜，自從半獸人站在我們現在站的地方，已經過了三十六個小時了。如果他們保持速度，那麼昨天日落時，他們就該到達法貢森林的邊界了。」「我往北或往西看，除了逐漸消失在薄霧中的草地，什麼也看不見。」金靂說。「如果我們爬上山丘，能看到森林嗎？」「還很遠，」亞拉岡說。「如果我沒記錯，這些丘陵向北延伸八里格或更遠，然後向西北，到恩特沃許河的源頭，那裡還有一片廣闊的土地，可能還有十五里格。」「好吧，我們繼續走吧。」金靂說。「我的腿得忘掉這些哩路。如果我的心不那麼沉重，它們會更願意走的。」
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 429 The sun was sinking when at last they drew near to the end of the line of downs. For many hours they had marched without rest. They were going slowly now, and Gimli’s back was bent. Stone-hard are the Dwarves in labour or journey, but this endless chase began to tell on him, as all hope failed in his heart. Aragorn walked behind him, grim and silent, stooping now and again to scan some print or mark upon the ground. Only Legolas still stepped as lightly as ever, his feet hardly seeming to press the grass, leaving no footprints as he passed; but in the waybread of the Elves he found all the sustenance that he needed, and he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by Men, resting his mind in the strange paths of Elvish dreams, even as he walked open-eyed in the light of this world. ‘Let us go up on to this green hill!’ he said. Wearily they followed him, climbing the long slope, until they came out upon the top. It was a round hill smooth and bare, standing by itself, the most northerly of the downs. The sun sank and the shadows of evening fell like a curtain. They were alone in a grey formless world without mark or measure. Only far away north-west there was a deeper darkness against the dying light: the Mountains of Mist and the forest at their feet. ‘Nothing can we see to guide us here,’ said Gimli. ‘Well, now we must halt again and wear the night away. It is growing cold!’ ‘The wind is north from the snows,’ said Aragorn. ‘And ere morning it will be in the East,’ said Legolas. ‘But rest, if you must. Yet do not cast all hope away. Tomorrow is unknown. Rede oft is found at the rising of the Sun.’ ‘Three suns already have risen on our chase and brought no counsel,’ said Gimli. The night grew ever colder. Aragorn and Gimli slept fitfully, and whenever they awoke they saw Legolas standing beside them, or walking to and fro, singing softly to himself in his own tongue, and as he sang the white stars opened in the hard black vault above. So the night passed. Together they watched the dawn grow slowly in the sky, now bare and cloudless, until at last the sunrise came. It was pale and clear. The wind was in the East and all the mists had rolled away; wide lands lay bleak about them in the bitter light. Ahead and eastward they saw the windy uplands of the Wold of Rohan that they had already glimpsed many days ago from the Great River. North-westward stalked the dark forest of Fangorn; still ten leagues away stood its shadowy eaves, and its further slopes faded into the distant blue. Beyond there glimmered far away, as if floating on a grey cloud, the white head of tall Methedras, the last peak of the Misty Mountains. Out of the forest the Entwash flowed to meet
羅翰騎士 429 當他們終於接近丘陵的盡頭時，太陽正西沉。他們已馬不停蹄地行軍了好幾個小時。現在他們走得很慢，金靂的背也彎了。矮人在勞動或旅途中堅硬如石，但這場無盡的追逐開始讓他吃不消，心中的希望也隨之破滅。亞拉岡走在他身後，面色嚴峻，沉默不語，時而彎腰細看地上的印記。只有勒苟拉斯的腳步一如既往地輕盈，雙腳幾乎不曾壓到青草，走過不留足跡；他在精靈的行路麵包中找到了所需的一切養分，而且他能夠睡覺——如果人類能稱之為睡覺的話——即使在這世間的光明中睜眼行走，也能讓心神在精靈夢境的奇異小徑中休憩。「我們上那座綠色小山去吧！」他說。他們疲憊地跟著他，爬上長長的斜坡，直到山頂。那是一座圓潤光禿的小山，孤零零地矗立著，是這片丘陵最北端的一座。太陽沉沒，夜幕如簾幕般降下。他們孤身處於一個灰色無形、無從標記或衡量的世界。只有在遙遠的西北方，垂死的光線映襯下一片更深的黑暗：迷霧山脈及其腳下的森林。「這裡什麼也看不見，無法指引我們。」金靂說。「好吧，我們現在必須再次停下，熬過這一夜。天越來越冷了！」「風從北方的雪地吹來。」亞拉岡說。「天亮前風會轉為東風。」勒苟拉斯說。「但如果你們必須休息，就休息吧。然而別拋棄所有希望。明日之事未可知。良策往往在日出時尋得。」「我們的追逐已經歷了三個日出，卻沒有帶來任何建議。」金靂說。夜色越來越冷。亞拉岡和金靂睡得斷斷續續，每當他們醒來，總看見勒苟拉斯站在身旁，或來回踱步，用自己的語言輕聲歌唱。隨著他的歌聲，白色的星辰在堅硬的黑色穹頂上綻放。一夜就這樣過去了。他們一同看著黎明在天空中緩緩升起，此刻天空裸露無雲，直到最後日出到來。那日出蒼白而清澈。風在東方，所有的霧氣都已散去；在刺骨的光線下，廣闊的土地顯得荒涼。他們向前方和東方望去，看到了多風的羅翰丘陵高地，那是他們許多天前從大河上瞥見過的。西北方，幽暗的法貢森林潛伏著；它那陰影幢幢的林緣仍在十里格之外，更遠處的山坡則融入了遠方的藍色。在那之外，遠處閃爍著微光，彷彿漂浮在一片灰雲之上，那是高聳的梅賽德拉斯山的白色山頂，迷霧山脈的最後一座山峰。樹人河從森林中流出，迎面而來。
430 THE LORD OF THE RINGS them, its stream now swift and narrow, and its banks deep-cloven. The orc-trail turned from the downs towards it. Following with his keen eyes the trail to the river, and then the river back towards the forest, Aragorn saw a shadow on the distant green, a dark swift-moving blur. He cast himself upon the ground and listened again intently. But Legolas stood beside him, shading his bright elven-eyes with his long slender hand, and he saw not a shadow, nor a blur, but the small figures of horsemen, many horsemen, and the glint of morning on the tips of their spears was like the twinkle of minute stars beyond the edge of mortal sight. Far behind them a dark smoke rose in thin curling threads. There was a silence in the empty fields, and Gimli could hear the air moving in the grass. ‘Riders!’ cried Aragorn, springing to his feet. ‘Many riders on swift steeds are coming towards us!’ ‘Yes,’ said Legolas, ‘there are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair, and bright are their spears. Their leader is very tall.’ Aragorn smiled. ‘Keen are the eyes of the Elves,’ he said. ‘Nay! The riders are little more than five leagues distant,’ said Legolas. ‘Five leagues or one,’ said Gimli, ‘we cannot escape them in this bare land. Shall we wait for them here or go on our way?’ ‘We will wait,’ said Aragorn. ‘I am weary, and our hunt has failed. Or at least others were before us; for these horsemen are riding back down the orc-trail. We may get news from them.’ ‘Or spears,’ said Gimli. “There are three empty saddles, but I see no hobbits,’ said Legolas. ‘I did not say that we should hear good news,’ said Aragorn. ‘But evil or good we will await it here.’ The three companions now left the hill-top, where they might be an easy mark against the pale sky, and they walked slowly down the northward slope. A little above the hill’s foot they halted, and wrapping their cloaks about them, they sat huddled together upon the faded grass. The time passed slowly and heavily. The wind was thin and searching. Gimli was uneasy. ‘What do you know of these horsemen, Aragorn?’ he said. ‘Do we sit here waiting for sudden death?’ ‘I have been among them,’ answered Aragorn. “They are proud and wilful, but they are true-hearted, generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel; wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs, after the manner of the children of Men before the Dark Years. But I do not know what has happened here of late, nor in what mind the Rohirrim may now be between the traitor Saruman and the threat of Sauron. They have long been the friends of the
「我曾在他們之中生活過，」亞拉岡回答。「他們驕傲而意志堅定，但他們內心真誠，思想與行為都慷慨大方；他們勇敢而不殘酷；有智慧卻沒有學問，不寫書，但傳唱許多歌曲，就像黑暗年代之前的人類先祖一樣。但我不知道這裡最近發生了什麼事，也不知道在叛徒薩魯曼和索倫的威脅之間，洛汗人現在是抱持著什麼樣的心態。他們長久以來一直是...的朋友
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 431 people of Gondor, though they are not akin to them. It was in forgotten years long ago that Eorl the Young brought them out of the North, and their kinship is rather with the Bardings of Dale, and with the Beornings of the Wood, among whom may still be seen many men tall and fair, as are the Riders of Rohan. At least they will not love the Orcs.’ ‘But Gandalf spoke of a rumour that they pay tribute to Mordor,’ said Gimli. ‘I believe it no more than did Boromir,’ answered Aragorn. “You will soon learn the truth,’ said Legolas. ‘Already they approach.’ At length even Gimli could hear the distant beat of galloping hoofs. The horsemen, following the trail, had turned from the river, and were drawing near the downs. They were riding like the wind. Now the cries of clear strong voices came ringing over the fields. Suddenly they swept up with a noise like thunder, and the foremost horseman swerved, passing by the foot of the hill, and leading the host back southward along the western skirts of the downs. After him they rode: a long line of mail-clad men, swift, shining, fell and fair to look upon. Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their grey coats glistened, their long tails flowed in the wind, their manes were braided on their proud necks. The Men that rode them matched them well: tall and long-limbed; their hair, flaxen-pale, flowed under their light helms, and streamed in long braids behind them; their faces were stern and keen. In their hands were tall spears of ash, painted shields were slung at their backs, long swords were at their belts, their burnished shirts of mail hung down upon their knees. In pairs they galloped by, and though every now and then one rose in his stirrups and gazed ahead and to either side, they appeared not to perceive the three strangers sitting silently and watching them. The host had almost passed when suddenly Aragorn stood up, and called in a loud voice: ‘What news from the North, Riders of Rohan?’ With astonishing speed and skill they checked their steeds, wheeled, and came charging round. Soon the three companions found themselves in a ring of horsemen moving in a running circle, up the hill-slope behind them and down, round and round them, and drawing ever inwards. Aragorn stood silent, and the other two sat without moving, wondering what way things would turn. Without a word or cry, suddenly, the Riders halted. A thicket of spears were pointed towards the strangers; and some of the horsemen
洛汗驃騎是剛鐸的人民，雖然他們與剛鐸人並無血緣關係。在久遠被遺忘的年代，是「年輕的伊歐」將他們從北方帶來，他們的親緣關係反而更接近河谷鎮的巴德族人，以及林地裡的比翁族人，在這些人當中，至今仍可見到許多高大俊美的男子，正如洛汗驃騎一般。至少他們不會喜歡半獸人。」「但甘道夫曾提過一個謠言，說他們向魔多進貢。」金靂說。「我跟波羅莫一樣不相信這謠言。」亞拉岡回答。「你們很快就會知道真相了，」勒苟拉斯說。「他們已經靠近了。」終於，連金靂都能聽見遠方傳來的陣陣馬蹄奔騰聲。騎兵們循著蹤跡，已從河邊轉向，正朝著丘陵地帶靠近。他們風馳電掣般地騎行。此刻，清晰宏亮的呼喊聲響徹田野。突然間，他們如雷鳴般席捲而來，領頭的騎兵猛然轉向，繞過山腳，帶領著大隊人馬沿著丘陵西側邊緣向南折返。他們緊隨其後：一長列身披鎖子甲的戰士，迅捷、耀眼，既威猛又俊美。他們的馬匹體型高大，強壯而四肢勻稱；灰色的毛皮閃閃發光，長長的尾巴在風中飄揚，鬃毛在驕傲的頸上編成辮子。騎在馬上的騎士們與他們的坐騎十分相稱：身材高大，四肢修長；他們亞麻色般淡金的頭髮在輕盔下飄動，編成數條長辮在身後飛揚；他們的面容嚴峻而銳利。他們手中握著高大的白蠟木長矛，背上斜掛著彩繪的盾牌，腰間佩著長劍，他們那擦得光亮的鎖子甲垂至膝蓋。他們成雙成對地馳騁而過，雖然不時有人會站上馬鐙，向前方和兩側張望，但他們似乎沒有察覺到那三個靜靜坐著觀看的陌生人。隊伍幾乎就要完全通過時，亞拉岡突然站起來，大聲喊道：「洛汗驃騎，北方有何消息？」他們以驚人的速度和技巧勒住馬匹，轉過身來，回頭衝鋒。很快地，三位同伴發現自己被一個馬圈包圍，騎兵們繞著他們跑動，上坡下坡，一圈又一圈，不斷向內收縮。亞拉岡靜靜地站著，另外兩人則坐著不動，想知道事態將會如何發展。沒有任何言語或呼喊，騎兵們突然停了下來。一片矛林指向這幾位陌生人；而一些騎兵
432 THE LORD OF THE RINGS had bows in hand, and their arrows were already fitted to the string. Then one rode forward, a tall man, taller than all the rest; from his helm as a crest a white horsetail flowed. He advanced until the point of his spear was within a foot of Aragorn’s breast. Aragorn did not stir. ‘Who are you, and what are you doing in this land?’ said the Rider, using the Common Speech of the West, in manner and tone like to the speech of Boromir, Man of Gondor. ‘I am called Strider,’ answered Aragorn. ‘I came out of the North. I am hunting Orcs.’ The Rider leaped from his horse. Giving his spear to another who rode up and dismounted at his side, he drew his sword and stood face to face with Aragorn, surveying him keenly, and not without wonder. At length he spoke again. ‘At first I thought that you yourselves were Orcs,’ he said; ‘but now I see that it is not so. Indeed you know little of Orcs, if you go hunting them in this fashion. They were swift and well-armed, and they were many. You would have changed from hunters to prey, if ever you had overtaken them. But there is something strange about you, Strider.’ He bent his clear bright eyes again upon the Ranger. “That is no name for a Man that you give. And strange too is your raiment. Have you sprung out of the grass? How did you escape our sight? Are you Elvish folk?’ ‘No,’ said Aragorn. ‘One only of us is an Elf, Legolas from the Woodland Realm in distant Mirkwood. But we have passed through Lothlorien, and the gifts and favour of the Lady go with us.’ The Rider looked at them with renewed wonder, but his eyes hardened. “Then there is a Lady in the Golden Wood, as old tales tell!’ he said. ‘Few escape her nets, they say. These are strange days! But if you have her favour, then you also are net-weavers and sorcerers, maybe.’ He turned a cold glance suddenly upon Legolas and Gimli. ‘Why do you not speak, silent ones?’ he demanded. Gimli rose and planted his feet firmly apart: his hand gripped the handle of his axe, and his dark eyes flashed. ‘Give me your name, horse-master, and I will give you mine, and more besides,’ he said. ‘As for that,’ said the Rider, staring down at the Dwarf, ‘the stranger should declare himself first. Yet I am named Eomer son of Eomund, and am called the Third Marshal of Riddermark.’ ‘Then Eomer son of Eomund, Third Marshal of Riddermark, let Gimli the Dwarf Gloin’s son warn you against foolish words. You speak evil of that which is fair beyond the reach of your thought, and only little wit can excuse you.’ Eomer’s eyes blazed, and the Men of Rohan murmured angrily, and closed in, advancing their spears. ‘I would cut off your head,
《魔戒》432頁，他們手持弓箭，箭已搭在弦上。其中一人策馬上前，他身材高大，比所有人都高；一束白色馬尾從他的盔頂垂下，作為頭飾。他前進到矛尖離亞拉岡胸口不足一呎之處。亞拉岡一動也不動。「你是誰？在這片土地上做什麼？」那騎士問道，用的是西方的通用語，其舉止和語氣都像剛鐸人波羅莫。「我叫神行客，」亞拉岡回答。「我來自北方，正在追獵半獸人。」那騎士從馬上一躍而下。他把長矛交給另一位騎馬上前並在他身旁下馬的同伴，隨即拔出劍，與亞拉岡面對面站著，銳利地打量著他，眼中不無驚奇。過了一會兒，他又開口了。「起初我以為你們自己就是半獸人，」他說，「但現在我看出並非如此。說真的，如果你們用這種方式去獵殺半獸人，那你們對他們可真是一無所知。他們行動迅速、裝備精良，而且數量眾多。要是你們真的追上了他們，你們就會從獵人變成獵物。但是，神行客，你身上有些奇怪的地方。」他再次用他那清澈明亮的眼睛注視著這位遊俠。「你給的名字不像是一個人類的名字。你的衣著也很奇怪。你是從草地裡冒出來的嗎？你們是怎麼躲過我們視線的？你們是精靈嗎？」「不，」亞拉岡說。「我們之中只有一位是精靈，他是來自遙遠幽暗密林的林地王國的勒苟拉斯。但我們穿過了羅斯洛利安，而且那位女士的贈禮與恩惠與我們同在。」那騎士以一種全新的驚奇看著他們，但他的眼神變得冰冷。「那麼，黃金森林裡真的有一位女士，就像古老傳說所講的那樣！」他說。「他們說，很少有人能逃出她的羅網。這年頭真是怪事多！但如果你們得到了她的恩惠，那你們或許也是織網者和巫師。」他突然冷冷地瞥了勒苟拉斯和金靂一眼。「你們為什麼不說話，沉默的人？」他質問道。金靂站起來，雙腳穩穩地分開站立：他的手緊握著斧柄，黑色的眼睛閃著光芒。「告訴我你的名字，馬主，我就會告訴你我的，還有更多，」他說。「至於那個，」騎士俯視著矮人說，「陌生人應當先報上名來。不過，我名叫伊歐墨，伊歐蒙之子，人稱洛汗國第三元帥。」「那麼，伊歐墨，伊歐蒙之子，洛汗國第三元帥，讓矮人葛羅因之子金靂警告你，別說蠢話。你所詆毀的，其美好遠非你的思想所能企及，也只有極度的愚蠢才能為你開脫。」伊歐墨的眼中怒火燃燒，洛汗的騎士們憤怒地低語著，收攏隊形，舉起了他們的長矛。「我要砍下你的頭，
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 433 beard and all, Master Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground,’ said Eomer. ‘He stands not alone,’ said Legolas, bending his bow and fitting an arrow with hands that moved quicker than sight. “You would die before your stroke fell.’ Eomer raised his sword, and things might have gone ill, but Aragorn sprang between them, and raised his hand. ‘Your pardon, Eomer!’ he cried. ‘When you know more you will understand why you have angered my companions. We intend no evil to Rohan, nor to any of its folk, neither to man nor to horse. Will you not hear our tale before you strike?’ ‘I will,’ said Eomer lowering his blade. ‘But wanderers in the Riddermark would be wise to be less haughty in these days of doubt. First tell me your right name.’ ‘First tell me whom you serve,’ said Aragorn. ‘Are you friend or foe of Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor?’ ‘I serve only the Lord of the Mark, Theoden King son of Thengel.,’ answered Eomer. ‘We do not serve the Power of the Black Land far away, but neither are we yet at open war with him; and if you are fleeing from him, then you had best leave this land. There is trouble now on all our borders, and we are threatened; but we desire only to be free, and to live as we have lived, keeping our own, and serving no foreign lord, good or evil. We welcomed guests kindly in the better days, but in these times the unbidden stranger finds us swift and hard. Come! Who are you? Whom do you serve? At whose command do you hunt Orcs in our land?’ ‘I serve no man,’ said Aragorn; ‘but the servants of Sauron I pursue into whatever land they may go. There are few among mortal Men who know more of Orcs; and I do not hunt them in this fashion out of choice. The Orcs whom we pursued took captive two of my friends. In such need a man that has no horse will go on foot, and he will not ask for leave to follow the trail. Nor will he count the heads of the enemy save with a sword. I am not weaponless.’ Aragorn threw back his cloak. The elven-sheath glittered as he grasped it, and the bright blade of Anduril shone like a sudden flame as he swept it out. ‘Elendil!’ he cried. ‘I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dunadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil’s son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!’ Gimli and Legolas looked at their companion in amazement, for they had not seen him in this mood before. He seemed to have grown in stature while Eomer had shrunk; and in his living face they caught a brief vision of the power and majesty of the kings of stone. For a
「連鬍子一起砍掉，矮人先生，只要你的頭離地再高一點就好。」伊歐墨說。「他不是一個人。」勒苟拉斯說，他彎弓搭箭，雙手快得讓人看不清。「你還沒砍中他，自己就先沒命了。」伊歐墨舉起劍，情勢眼看就要一發不可收拾，但亞拉岡躍到他們之間，舉起了手。「請原諒，伊歐墨！」他喊道。「當你知道更多情況，就會明白為何惹怒了我的同伴。我們對洛汗、對其任何子民，無論是人是馬，都絕無惡意。在你動手前，何不聽聽我們的故事？」「可以。」伊歐墨放下劍刃說。「但在這多疑的時代，驃騎國的流浪者最好還是別那麼傲慢。先告訴我你的真名。」「你先告訴我你效忠誰。」亞拉岡說。「你是魔多黑魔君索倫的朋友，還是敵人？」「我只效忠驃騎王，塞哲爾之子希優頓王。」伊歐墨回答。「我們不服侍遠方黑地的魔王，但也尚未與他公開交戰；如果你們是從他那裡逃出來的，最好還是離開這片土地。我們所有邊界如今都有麻煩，我們正受到威脅；但我們只渴望自由，過我們一直以來的生活，守護我們自己的東西，不侍奉任何外來的主子，無論善惡。在太平日子裡，我們友善地歡迎客人，但在這個時代，不請自來的陌生人會發現我們既迅速又強硬。說！你們是誰？效忠何人？奉誰之命在我們的土地上追獵半獸人？」「我不效忠任何人。」亞拉岡說，「但我追殺索倫的僕人，無論他們逃到哪片土地。在凡人中，沒有幾個人比我更了解半獸人；我如此追獵他們也並非出於自願。我們追趕的半獸人俘虜了我兩位朋友。在這種緊急情況下，沒有馬的人只能徒步，他不會請求許可才去追蹤。他也不會用劍以外的方式去數敵人的腦袋。我並非手無寸鐵。」亞拉岡甩開斗篷。他握住劍柄時，精靈劍鞘閃閃發光，當他抽出安都瑞爾時，明亮的劍刃如驟然燃起的火焰般閃耀。「伊蘭迪爾！」他高喊。「我是亞拉岡，亞拉松之子，人稱伊力薩、精靈寶石、登丹人，剛鐸之王埃西鐸的繼承人，伊蘭迪爾的子嗣。這就是那把曾斷裂又重鑄的劍！你要助我一臂之力，還是與我為敵？速速選擇！」金靂和勒苟拉斯驚訝地看著他們的同伴，因為他們從未見過他這副模樣。他彷彿在氣勢上變得高大，而伊歐墨則顯得渺小；在他生動的臉龐上，他們短暫地瞥見了那石刻君王們的力量與威嚴。
434 THE LORD OF THE RINGS moment it seemed to the eyes of Legolas that a white flame flickered on the brows of Aragorn like a shining crown. Eomer stepped back and a look of awe was in his face. He cast down his proud eyes. “These are indeed strange days,’ he muttered. ‘Dreams and legends spring to life out of the grass. ‘Tell me, lord,’ he said, ‘what brings you here? And what was the meaning of the dark words? Long has Boromir son of Denethor been gone seeking an answer, and the horse that we lent him came back riderless. What doom do you bring out of the North?’ “The doom of choice,’ said Aragorn. ‘You may say this to Théoden son of Thengel: open war lies before him, with Sauron or against him. None may live now as they have lived, and few shall keep what they call their own. But of these great matters we will speak later. If chance allows, I will come myself to the king. Now I am in great need, and I ask for help, or at least for tidings. You heard that we are pursuing an orc-host that carried off our friends. What can you tell us?’ ‘That you need not pursue them further,’ said Eomer. ‘The Orcs are destroyed.’ ‘And our friends?’ ‘We found none but Orcs.’ ‘But that is strange indeed,’ said Aragorn. ‘Did you search the slain? Were there no bodies other than those of orc-kind? They would be small, only children to your eyes, unshod but clad in grey.’ “There were no dwarves nor children,’ said Eomer. ‘We counted all the slain and despoiled them, and then we piled the carcases and burned them, as is our custom. The ashes are smoking still.’ ‘We do not speak of dwarves or children,’ said Gimli. ‘Our friends were hobbits.’ ‘Hobbits?’ said Eomer. ‘And what may they be? It is a strange name.’ ‘A strange name for a strange folk,’ said Gimli. ‘But these were very dear to us. It seems that you have heard in Rohan of the words that troubled Minas Tirith. They spoke of the Halfling. These hobbits are Halflings.’ ‘Halflings!’ laughed the Rider that stood beside Eomer. ‘Halflings! But they are only a little people in old songs and children’s tales out of the North. Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?’ ‘A man may do both,’ said Aragorn. ‘For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say your That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day!’ “Time is pressing,’ said the Rider, not heeding Aragorn. ‘We must
在那一刻，勒苟拉斯看見一道白色的火焰在亞拉岡的眉宇間閃爍，宛如一頂閃亮的王冠。伊歐墨退後一步，臉上露出敬畏的神情。他垂下驕傲的目光。「這真是些奇特的時代，」他喃喃自語。「夢境與傳說竟從草地裡活了過來。「告訴我，大人，」他說，「是什麼風把您吹來的？那些晦澀的話語又是什麼意思？迪耐瑟之子波羅莫早已離去尋求答案，而我們借給他的馬卻獨自回來了。您從北方帶來了什麼樣的命運？」 「是抉擇的命運，」亞拉岡說。「你可以這樣告訴炎格之子希優頓：他面前只有公開的戰爭，要麼與索倫為敵，要麼歸順於他。沒有人能再像過去那樣生活，也很少有人能保住所謂屬於自己的東西。但這些大事我們稍後再談。如果時機允許，我會親自去見國王。現在我急需幫助，我請求援助，或至少是一些消息。你聽說我們在追擊一支擄走我們朋友的半獸人隊伍。你能告訴我們什麼？」 「你們不必再追了，」伊歐墨說。「半獸人已被消滅。」 「那我們的朋友呢？」 「我們除了半獸人什麼也沒找到。」 「但這實在太奇怪了，」亞拉岡說。「你們搜查過屍體嗎？除了半獸人之外，沒有別的屍體嗎？他們個子很小，在你們看來就像孩子，沒穿鞋，但穿著灰色的衣服。」 「沒有矮人也沒有孩子，」伊歐墨說。「我們清點了所有屍體並搜刮了戰利品，然後把屍體堆起來燒掉，這是我們的習俗。灰燼還在冒煙呢。」 「我們說的不是矮人或孩子，」金靂說。「我們的朋友是哈比人。」 「哈比人？」伊歐墨說。「那是什麼？真是個奇怪的名字。」 「對於奇怪的民族來說，是個奇怪的名字，」金靂說。「但他們對我們非常珍貴。看來你們在洛汗也聽說了那些困擾米那斯提力斯的話語。他們提到了半身人。這些哈比人就是半身人。」 「半身人！」站在伊歐墨身邊的騎士大笑道。「半身人！但他們只是北方古老歌謠和童話故事裡的小矮人。我們是走在傳說裡，還是在白天的綠色大地上？」 「一個人可以兩者兼顧，」亞拉岡說。「因為創造我們這個時代傳說的，不是我們，而是我們的後人。你說的綠色大地，本身就是一個宏大的傳說題材，儘管你行走其上，沐浴著日光！」 「時間緊迫，」那名騎士說，沒有理會亞拉岡。「我們必須
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 435 hasten south, lord. Let us leave these wild folk to their fancies. Or let us bind them and take them to the king.’ ‘Peace, Eothain!’ said Eomer in his own tongue. ‘Leave me a while. Tell the éored to assemble on the path, and make ready to ride to the Entwade.’ Muttering Eothain retired, and spoke to the others. Soon they drew off and left Eomer alone with the three companions. ‘All that you say is strange, Aragorn,’ he said. ‘Yet you speak the truth, that is plain: the Men of the Mark do not lie, and therefore they are not easily deceived. But you have not told all. Will you not now speak more fully of your errand, so that I may judge what to do?’ ‘I set out from Imladris, as it is named in the rhyme, many weeks ago,’ answered Aragorn. ‘With me went Boromir of Minas Tirith. My errand was to go to that city with the son of Denethor, to aid his folk in their war against Sauron. But the Company that I journeyed with had other business. Of that I cannot speak now. Gandalf the Grey was our leader.’ ‘Gandalf!’ Eomer exclaimed. ‘Gandalf Greyhame is known in the Mark; but his name, I warn you, is no longer a password to the king’s favour. He has been a guest in the land many times in the memory of men, coming as he will, after a season, or after many years. He is ever the herald of strange events: a bringer of evil, some now say. ‘Indeed since his last coming in the summer all things have gone amiss. At that time our trouble with Saruman began. Until then we counted Saruman our friend, but Gandalf came then and warned us that sudden war was preparing in Isengard. He said that he himself had been a prisoner in Orthanc and had hardly escaped, and he begged for help. But Théoden would not listen to him, and he went away. Speak not the name of Gandalf loudly in Théoden’s ears! He is wroth. For Gandalf took the horse that is called Shadowfax, the most precious of all the king’s steeds, chief of the Mearas, which only the Lord of the Mark may ride. For the sire of their race was the great horse of Eorl that knew the speech of Men. Seven nights ago Shadowfax returned; but the king’s anger is not less, for now the horse is wild and will let no man handle him.’ “Then Shadowfax has found his way alone from the far North,’ said Aragorn; ‘for it was there that he and Gandalf parted. But alas! Gandalf will ride no longer. He fell into darkness in the Mines of Moria and comes not again.’ “That is heavy tidings,’ said Eomer. ‘At least to me, and to many; though not to all, as you may find, if you come to the king.’ ‘It is tidings more grievous than any in this land can understand,
436 THE LORD OF THE RINGS though it may touch them sorely ere the year is much older,’ said Aragorn. ‘But when the great fall, the less must lead. My part it has been to guide our Company on the long road from Moria. Through Lorien we came — of which it were well that you should learn the truth ere you speak of it again — and thence down the leagues of the Great River to the falls of Rauros. There Boromir was slain by the same Orcs whom you destroyed.’ ‘Your news is all of woe!’ cried Eomer in dismay. ‘Great harm is this death to Minas Tirith, and to us all. That was a worthy man! All spoke his praise. He came seldom to the Mark, for he was ever in the wars on the East-borders; but I have seen him. More like to the swift sons of Eorl than to the grave Men of Gondor he seemed to me, and likely to prove a great captain of his people when his time came. But we have had no word of this grief out of Gondor. When did he fall?’ ‘It is now the fourth day since he was slain,’ answered Aragorn; ‘and since the evening of that day we have journeyed from the shadow of Tol Brandir.’ ‘On foot?’ cried Eomer. “Yes, even as you see us.’ Wide wonder came into Eomer’s eyes. ‘Strider is too poor a name, son of Arathorn,’ he said. ‘Wingfoot I name you. This deed of the three friends should be sung in many a hall. Forty leagues and five you have measured ere the fourth day is ended! Hardy is the race of Elendil! ‘But now, lord, what would you have me do! I must return in haste to Théoden. I spoke warily before my men. It is true that we are not yet at open war with the Black Land, and there are some, close to the king’s ear, that speak craven counsels; but war is coming. We shall not forsake our old alliance with Gondor, and while they fight we shall aid them: so say I and all who hold with me. The East-mark is my charge, the ward of the Third Marshal, and I have removed all our herds and herdfolk, withdrawing them beyond Entwash, and leaving none here but guards and swift scouts.’ ‘Then you do not pay tribute to Sauron?’ said Gimli. ‘We do not and we never have,’ said Eomer with a flash of his eyes; ‘though it comes to my ears that that lie has been told. Some years ago the Lord of the Black Land wished to purchase horses of us at great price, but we refused him, for he puts beasts to evil use. Then he sent plundering Orcs, and they carry off what they can, choosing always the black horses: few of these are now left. For that reason our feud with the Orcs is bitter. ‘But at this time our chief concern is with Saruman. He has claimed lordship over all this land, and there has been war between us for
「雖然在今年結束前，他們可能會深受其苦，」亞拉岡說。「但偉人殞落之時，正是小人物挺身領導之際。我的任務是帶領我們的遠征隊走過從摩瑞亞開始的漫漫長路。我們穿過了羅瑞安——在你再次談論它之前，最好先了解真相——然後沿著大河順流而下數里格，直到拉洛斯瀑布。在那裡，波羅莫被你所消滅的那些半獸人殺害了。」「你的消息全是噩耗！」伊歐墨驚惶地喊道。「他的死對米那斯提力斯，對我們所有人，都是巨大的傷害。那是一位可敬的人！人人都稱頌他。他很少來馬克，因為他總是在東邊的邊境作戰；但我見過他。在我看來，他更像是伊歐的迅捷之子，而非剛鐸那些嚴肅的人，而且時候到了，他很可能會成為他人民的偉大統帥。但我們還沒從剛鐸那裡收到這個噩耗。他什麼時候倒下的？」「他被殺至今已是第四天了，」亞拉岡回答說；「自那天傍晚起，我們就從托爾布蘭達的陰影下出發了。」「徒步？」伊歐墨喊道。「是的，就如你所見。」伊歐墨眼中露出極大的驚奇。「神行客這個名字太寒酸了，亞拉松之子，」他說。「我稱你為『捷足』。三位朋友的這番事蹟應在許多廳堂中傳唱。在第四天結束前，你們已經走了四十五里格！伊蘭迪的子民真是堅韌不拔！」「但是，大人，現在您要我怎麼做？我必須趕快回到希優頓身邊。我在我的人面前說話很謹慎。我們確實還沒有與黑魔地公開交戰，而且國王身邊有些人，進獻懦弱的計策；但戰爭即將來臨。我們不會背棄與剛鐸的舊盟約，只要他們在戰鬥，我們就會援助他們：這是我和所有支持我的人的看法。東馬克由我負責，我是第三元帥的管轄區，我已經將我們所有的牧群和牧民撤走，讓他們退到恩特河對岸，這裡除了守衛和迅捷的斥候外，一個人也沒留下。」「那麼你們不向索倫進貢？」金靂說。「我們不，也從未如此，」伊歐墨眼中閃著光芒說；「雖然我聽說有這樣的謊言流傳。幾年前，黑魔地之王想用高價向我們購買馬匹，但我們拒絕了他，因為他把牲畜用於邪惡的勾當。然後他派來掠奪的半獸人，他們能搶多少就搶多少，而且總是挑黑色的馬：現在剩下的已經不多了。因此，我們與半獸人的仇恨很深。「但此刻我們主要擔憂的是薩魯曼。他已宣稱對這整片土地擁有主權，我們之間也為此發生了戰爭。
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 437 many months. He has taken Orcs into his service, and Wolf-riders, and evil Men, and he has closed the Gap against us, so that we are likely to be beset both east and west. ‘It is ill dealing with such a foe: he is a wizard both cunning and dwimmer-crafty, having many guises. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked, very like to Gandalf, as many now recall. His spies slip through every net, and his birds of ill omen are abroad in the sky. I do not know how it will all end, and my heart misgives me; for it seems to me that his friends do not all dwell in Isengard. But if you come to the king’s house, you shall see for yourself. Will you not come? Do I hope in vain that you have been sent to me for a help in doubt and need?’ ‘I will come when I may,’ said Aragorn. ‘Come now!’ said Eomer. ‘The Heir of Elendil would be a strength indeed to the Sons of Eorl in this evil tide. There is battle even now upon the Westemnet, and I fear that it may go ill for us. ‘Indeed in this riding north I went without the king’s leave, for in my absence his house is left with little guard. But scouts warned me of the orc-host coming down out of the East Wall four nights ago, and among them they reported that some bore the white badges of Saruman. So suspecting what I most fear, a league between Orthanc and the Dark Tower, I led forth my éored, men of my own household; and we overtook the Orcs at nightfall two days ago, near to the borders of the Entwood. There we surrounded them, and gave battle yesterday at dawn. Fifteen of my men I lost, and twelve horses alas! For the Orcs were greater in number than we counted on. Others joined them, coming out of the East across the Great River: their trail is plain to see a little north of this spot. And others, too, came out of the forest. Great Orcs, who also bore the White Hand of Isengard: that kind is stronger and more fell than all others. ‘Nonetheless we put an end to them. But we have been too long away. We are needed south and west. Will you not come? There are spare horses as you see. There is work for the Sword to do. Yes, and we could find a use for Gimli’s axe and the bow of Legolas, if they will pardon my rash words concerning the Lady of the Wood. I spoke only as do all men in my land, and I would gladly learn better.’ ‘I thank you for your fair words,’ said Aragorn, ‘and my heart desires to come with you; but I cannot desert my friends while hope remains.’ ‘Hope does not remain,’ said Eomer. ‘You will not find your friends on the North-borders.’ “Yet my friends are not behind. We found a clear token not far from the East Wall that one at least of them was still alive there. But between the wall and the downs we have found no other trace of
「洛汗國騎士 437 好幾個月了。他已將半獸人、狼騎士和邪惡的人類收歸麾下，並封鎖了隘口對抗我們，所以我們很可能東西受敵。『與這樣的敵人打交道很棘手：他是個巫師，既狡猾又精通幻術妖法，還擁有多種偽裝。他們說，他四處行走，扮成一個戴著兜帽、披著斗篷的老人，許多人現在回想起來，都說他跟甘道夫極為相似。他的間諜能滲透所有羅網，他那些不祥之鳥也在天空中盤旋。我不知道這一切將如何收場，我心裡總有不祥的預感；因為在我看來，他的朋友不全住在艾辛格。但如果你到國王的宮殿來，你將親眼目睹。你不來嗎？難道我白白希望你是被派來在我危難疑惑之際幫助我的嗎？』『時機到了我就會來。』亞拉岡說。『現在就來！』伊歐墨說。『在這邪惡的潮流中，伊蘭迪爾的繼承人對 Eorl 的子孫們來說，確實會是一股強大的力量。此刻西界甚至已在交戰，我擔心我們將會戰況不利。』『說真的，這次北上我並未得到國王的許可，因為我不在時，他的宮殿守衛薄弱。但四天前，斥候警告我有一支半獸人軍隊從東牆南下，他們回報說其中有些人佩戴著薩魯曼的白色徽章。因此，我懷疑著我最害怕的事——歐散克塔與黑暗塔的結盟——便率領我的騎兵隊（éored），也就是我自家的部屬；兩天前黃昏時分，我們在靠近樹人林的邊界追上了那群半獸人。我們在那裡包圍了他們，並在昨天黎明時展開戰鬥。我損失了十五名手下，唉，還有十二匹馬！因為半獸人的數量比我們預計的要多。還有其他半獸人加入他們，從東方渡過大河而來：他們的蹤跡在這地點稍北處清晰可見。此外，還有其他半獸人從森林裡出來。是些高大的半獸人，也帶著艾辛格的白掌印記：那種半獸人比其他所有都更強壯、更兇殘。』『儘管如此，我們還是解決了他們。但我們離開太久了。南方和西方都需要我們。你不來嗎？如你所見，我們有多餘的馬。寶劍還有工作要做。是的，如果金靂和勒苟拉斯能原諒我對森林夫人說的魯莽之言，我們也能用上他的斧頭和弓。我說的只是我國所有人的普遍看法，我很樂意學習更好的道理。』『謝謝你的美言，』亞拉岡說，『我心裡也想與你同行；但在希望尚存之時，我不能拋棄我的朋友。』『希望已不復存在，』伊歐墨說，『你在北境是找不到你的朋友的。』『但我的朋友並未落後。我們在離東牆不遠處發現了明確的跡象，顯示他們中至少有一人當時還活著。但在那道牆和丘陵之間，我們沒有發現任何其他蹤跡。
438 THE LORD OF THE RINGS them, and no trail has turned aside, this way or that, unless my skill has wholly left me.’ “Then what do you think has become of them?’ ‘I do not know. They may have been slain and burned among the Orcs; but that you will say cannot be, and I do not fear it. I can only think that they were carried off into the forest before the battle, even before you encircled your foes, maybe. Can you swear that none escaped your net in such a way?’ ‘I would swear that no Orc escaped after we sighted them,’ said Eomer. ‘We reached the forest-eaves before them, and if after that any living thing broke through our ring, then it was no Orc and had some Elvish power.’ ‘Our friends were attired even as we are,’ said Aragorn; ‘and you passed us by under the full light of day.’ ‘I had forgotten that,’ said Eomer. ‘It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange. Elf and Dwarf in company walk in our daily fields; and folk speak with the Lady of the Wood and yet live; and the Sword comes back to war that was broken in the long ages ere the fathers of our fathers rode into the Mark! How shall a man judge what to do in such times?’ ‘As he ever has judged,’ said Aragorn. ‘Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.’ “True indeed,’ said Eomer. ‘But I do not doubt you, nor the deed which my heart would do. Yet I am not free to do all as I would. It is against our law to let strangers wander at will in our land, until the king himself shall give them leave, and more strict is the command in these days of peril. I have begged you to come back willingly with me, and you will not. Loth am I to begin a battle of one hundred against three.’ ‘I do not think your law was made for such a chance,’ said Aragorn. ‘Nor indeed am J a stranger; for I have been in this land before, more than once, and ridden with the host of the Rohirrim, though under other name and in other guise. You I have not seen before, for you are young, but I have spoken with Eomund your father, and with Theoden son of Thengel. Never in former days would any high lord of this land have constrained a man to abandon such a quest as mine. My duty at least is clear, to go on. Come now, son of Eomund, the choice must be made at last. Aid us, or at the worst let us go free. Or seek to carry out your law. If you do so there will be fewer to return to your war or to your king.’ Eomer was silent for a moment, then he spoke. ‘We both have need of haste,’ he said. ‘My company chafes to be away, and every
他們，而且沒有任何蹤跡轉向這邊或那邊，除非我的技巧已完全失靈。」「那你認為他們發生了什麼事？」「我不知道。他們可能在半獸人之中被殺害焚燒了；但你會說那不可能，我也不擔心那點。我只能想，他們或許在戰鬥前，甚至在你們包圍敵人之前，就被帶進了森林。你能發誓沒有任何一個用這種方式逃出你們的羅網嗎？」「我敢發誓，在我們發現他們之後，沒有任何一個半獸人逃脫，」伊歐墨說。「我們比他們先到達森林邊緣，如果在那之後有任何活物衝破我們的包圍圈，那它就不是半獸人，而且擁有某种精靈之力。」「我們的朋友穿著和我們一樣的服飾，」亞拉岡說；「而你們在光天化日之下從我們身邊經過。」「我忘了那點，」伊歐墨說。「在這麼多奇事之中，很難對任何事情有把握。世界整個都變得陌生了。精靈和矮人結伴走在我們日常的田野上；人們與森林的女主人交談後還能活著；而在我們祖先的祖先來到馬克邦之前的好幾個世代就已斷折的聖劍，如今重返戰場！在這樣的時代，一個人該如何判斷何去何從？」「就如同他向來所判斷的那樣，」亞拉岡說。「善與惡自昨日以來並未改變；它們在精靈與矮人之間是一回事，在人類之間又是另一回事的道理並不存在。分辨善惡是人的本分，無論在黃金森林還是在自己家中都一樣。」「確實如此，」伊歐墨說。「但我不懷疑你，也不懷疑我內心想做的事。然而我不能完全隨心所欲。我們的法律不允許陌生人在國王親自准許之前，在我們的土地上隨意遊蕩，而在這危險的日子裡，命令更加嚴格。我已請求你自願跟我回去，你卻不肯。我實在不願以一百人對三人的兵力開戰。」「我不認為你們的法律是為此等偶然情況而設，」亞拉岡說。「而且，我其實並非陌生人；我曾不止一次來過這片土地，並與洛汗的軍隊一同馳騁，雖然用的是別的名字和別的裝扮。我以前沒見過你，因為你還年輕，但我曾與你父親伊歐蒙，以及辛格之子希優頓交談過。在過去的日子裡，這片土地上任何一位高貴的領主都不會強迫一個人放棄像我這樣的任務。至少我的責任很清楚，就是繼續前進。來吧，伊歐蒙之子，終究要做個選擇。幫助我們，或者最差的情況下，讓我們自由離去。或者，你也可以試圖執行你的法律。如果你那麼做，能回去參加你們的戰爭或回到你們國王身邊的人，就會更少了。」伊歐墨沉默了片刻，然後開口說道。「我們雙方都必須趕時間，」他說。「我的部隊急著要離開，而且每...
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 439 hour lessens your hope. This is my choice. You may go; and what is more, I will lend you horses. This only I ask: when your quest is achieved, or is proved vain, return with the horses over the Entwade to Meduseld, the high house in Edoras where Théoden now sits. Thus you shall prove to him that I have not misjudged. In this I place myself, and maybe my very life, in the keeping of your good faith. Do not fail.’ ‘I will not,’ said Aragorn. There was great wonder, and many dark and doubtful glances, among his men, when Eomer gave orders that the spare horses were to be lent to the strangers; but only Eothain dared to speak openly. ‘It may be well enough for this lord of the race of Gondor, as he claims,’ he said, ‘but who has heard of a horse of the Mark being given to a Dwarf?’ ‘No one,’ said Gimli. ‘And do not trouble: no one will ever hear of it. I would sooner walk than sit on the back of any beast so great, free or begrudged.’ ‘But you must ride now, or you will hinder us,’ said Aragorn. ‘Come, you shall sit behind me, friend Gimli,’ said Legolas. “Then all will be well, and you need neither borrow a horse nor be troubled by one.’ A great dark-grey horse was brought to Aragorn, and he mounted it. ‘Hasufel is his name,’ said Eomer. ‘May he bear you well and to better fortune than Garulf, his late master!’ A smaller and lighter horse, but restive and fiery, was brought to Legolas. Arod was his name. But Legolas asked them to take off saddle and rein. ‘I need them not,’ he said, and leaped lightly up, and to their wonder Arod was tame and willing beneath him, moving here and there with but a spoken word: such was the Elvish way with all good beasts. Gimli was lifted up behind his friend, and he clung to him, not much more at ease than Sam Gamgee in a boat. ‘Farewell, and may you find what you seek!’ cried Eomer. ‘Return with what speed you may, and let our swords hereafter shine together!’ ‘I will come,’ said Aragorn. ‘And I will come, too,’ said Gimli. “The matter of the Lady Galadriel lies still between us. I have yet to teach you gentle speech.’ ‘We shall see,’ said Eomer. ‘So many strange things have chanced that to learn the praise of a fair lady under the loving strokes of a Dwarf’s axe will seem no great wonder. Farewell!’ With that they parted. Very swift were the horses of Rohan. When after a little Gimli looked back, the company of Eomer were already
羅翰騎士 439 小時減少你的希望。這是我的選擇。你們可以走；而且，我還會借你們馬匹。我只要求一件事：當你們的任務完成，或證明是徒勞無功時，請騎著馬匹越過樹沐河渡口回到伊多拉斯的梅杜塞，也就是希優頓王現在所處的高殿。這樣你們就能向他證明我沒有判斷錯誤。在這件事上，我將自己，甚至可能我的性命，都交託在你們的信譽之中。不要讓我失望。」「我不會的，」亞拉岡說。當伊歐墨下令將備用馬匹借給這些陌生人時，他的手下們都大感驚訝，許多人投以陰沉和懷疑的目光；但只有伊歐海恩敢於公開發言。「對於這位自稱是剛鐸王族後裔的大人來說，或許還說得過去，」他說，「但有誰聽說過把洛汗國的馬給矮人的？」 「沒有人，」金靂說。「也別費心了：永遠不會有人聽說的。我寧願走路，也不願騎在任何這麼巨大的野獸背上，無論牠是自願的還是不情願地給予的。」 「但你現在必須騎馬，否則你會拖累我們，」亞拉岡說。「來吧，金靂朋友，你坐我後面，」勒苟拉斯說。「這樣一切都會好起來，你既不用借馬，也不用為馬煩惱。」一匹高大的深灰色馬被牽到亞拉岡面前，他騎了上去。「牠的名字是哈蘇費爾，」伊歐墨說。「願牠好好載你，並帶給你比牠前主人加魯夫更好的運氣！」一匹較小較輕，但焦躁且性烈的馬被牽給勒苟拉斯。牠的名字是亞羅德。但勒苟拉斯請他們拿掉馬鞍和韁繩。「我不需要這些，」他說，然後輕巧地跳了上去，令他們驚奇的是，亞羅德在他身下變得溫馴且聽話，只憑一句話就四處移動：這就是精靈對待所有善良野獸的方式。金靂被扶到他朋友身後，他緊緊抱住他，不比山姆·詹吉在船上自在多少。「再會，願你們找到所尋之物！」伊歐墨喊道。「盡快回來，願我們的劍日後能一同閃耀！」「我會回來的，」亞拉岡說。「我也會回來的，」金靂說。「凱蘭崔爾夫人的事我們還沒了結。我還得教你溫文爾雅的言辭。」「我們走著瞧，」伊歐墨說。「發生了這麼多奇怪的事，在矮人斧頭的親切敲打下學習讚美一位美麗的女士，似乎也不算什麼大奇蹟了。再會！」說完他們便分開了。羅翰的馬匹非常迅速。當金靂稍後回頭看時，伊歐墨的一隊人馬已經……
440 THE LORD OF THE RINGS small and far away. Aragorn did not look back: he was watching the trail as they sped on their way, bending low with his head beside the neck of Hasufel. Before long they came to the borders of the Entwash, and there they met the other trail of which Eomer had spoken, coming down from the East out of the Wold. Aragorn dismounted and surveyed the ground, then leaping back into the saddle, he rode away for some distance eastward, keeping to one side and taking care not to override the footprints. Then he again dismounted and examined the ground, going backwards and forwards on foot. “There is little to discover,’ he said when he returned. “The main trail is all confused with the passage of the horsemen as they came back; their outward course must have lain nearer the river. But this eastward trail is fresh and clear. There is no sign there of any feet going the other way, back towards Anduin. Now we must ride slower, and make sure that no trace or footstep branches off on either side. The Orcs must have been aware from this point that they were pursued; they may have made some attempt to get their captives away before they were overtaken.’ As they rode forward the day was overcast. Low grey clouds came over the Wold. A mist shrouded the sun. Ever nearer the tree-clad slopes of Fangorn loomed, slowly darkling as the sun went west. They saw no sign of any trail to right or left, but here and there they passed single Orcs, fallen in their tracks as they ran, with greyfeathered arrows sticking in back or throat. At last as the afternoon was waning they came to the eaves of the forest, and in an open glade among the first trees they found the place of the great burning: the ashes were still hot and smoking. Beside it was a great pile of helms and mail, cloven shields, and broken swords, bows and darts and other gear of war. Upon a stake in the middle was set a great goblin head; upon its shattered helm the white badge could still be seen. Further away, not far from the river, where it came streaming out from the edge of the wood, there was a mound. It was newly raised: the raw earth was covered with fresh-cut turves: about it were planted fifteen spears. Aragorn and his companions searched far and wide about the field of battle, but the light faded, and evening soon drew down, dim and misty. By nightfall they had discovered no trace of Merry and Pippin. ‘We can do no more,’ said Gimli sadly. ‘We have been set many riddles since we came to Tol Brandir, but this is the hardest to unravel. I would guess that the burned bones of the hobbits are now mingled with the Orcs’. It will be hard news for Frodo, if he lives to
440《魔戒》渺小而遙遠。亞拉岡沒有回頭：他專注地盯著路徑，催馬疾馳，身子壓得低低的，頭靠在哈蘇費爾的頸邊。不久，他們來到恩特河的邊界，在那裡他們遇到了伊歐墨所說的另一條小徑，從東邊的沃德延伸而來。亞拉岡下馬勘查地面，然後躍回馬鞍，向東騎了一段距離，保持在路徑一側，小心翼翼地避免壓過足跡。接著他又下馬，來回步行檢查地面。「沒什麼新發現，」他回來時說。「主要的蹤跡因為騎兵們返回時的經過而變得混亂不堪；他們去程的路線必定更靠近河邊。但這條往東的小徑既新又清晰。沒有任何跡象顯示有腳印往另一個方向，回到安都因河去。現在我們必須放慢速度，確保沒有任何痕跡或腳步從兩旁岔出去。獸人從這裡開始一定意識到自己被追蹤了；他們可能在被追上之前，試圖把俘虜帶走。」他們繼續前行時，天空變得陰沉。低垂的灰雲籠罩了沃德。一層薄霧遮蔽了太陽。樹木繁茂的法貢森林山坡越來越近，隨著太陽西下，緩緩變得幽暗。他們沒有看到任何向左或向右分岔的蹤跡，但他們不時經過倒斃在奔跑途中的單個獸人，背上或喉嚨上插著灰羽箭。終於，當午後時光漸逝，他們來到森林的邊緣，在第一批樹木間的一片開闊林中空地上，他們找到了那處大火焚燒的地點：灰燼仍然溫熱，冒著煙。旁邊堆放著一大堆頭盔和鎖子甲、被劈開的盾牌、斷劍、弓、飛鏢和其他戰爭裝備。中央的一根木樁上，插著一顆巨大的哥布林頭顱；在它破碎的頭盔上，白色徽章依然可見。稍遠處，離河流不遠，就在它從林邊奔流而出的地方，有一座土丘。那是新堆的：新鮮的泥土上覆蓋著剛切下的草皮；周圍插著十五根長矛。亞拉岡和他的同伴們在戰場周圍四處搜索，但光線漸暗，暮色很快降臨，昏暗而迷濛。直到夜幕降臨，他們仍未發現梅里和皮聘的任何蹤跡。「我們無能為力了，」金靂悲傷地說。「自從我們來到托爾布蘭迪爾，我們遇到了許多謎題，但這是最難解開的一個。我猜，那兩個哈比人燒焦的骨頭現在和獸人的混在一起了。如果佛羅多還活著，這對他將是個沉重的消息。」
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 441 hear it; and hard too for the old hobbit who waits in Rivendell. Elrond was against their coming.’ ‘But Gandalf was not,’ said Legolas. ‘But Gandalf chose to come himself, and he was the first to be lost,’ answered Gimli. ‘His foresight failed him.’ “The counsel of Gandalf was not founded on foreknowledge of safety, for himself or for others,’ said Aragorn. “There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark. But I shall not depart from this place yet. In any case we must here await the morning-light.’ A little way beyond the battle-field they made their camp under a spreading tree: it looked like a chestnut, and yet it still bore many broad brown leaves of a former year, like dry hands with long splayed fingers; they rattled mournfully in the night-breeze. Gimli shivered. They had brought only one blanket apiece. ‘Let us light a fire,’ he said. ‘I care no longer for the danger. Let the Orcs come as thick as summer-moths round a candle!’ ‘If those unhappy hobbits are astray in the woods, it might draw them hither,’ said Legolas. ‘And it might draw other things, neither Orc nor Hobbit,’ said Aragorn. ‘We are near to the mountain-marches of the traitor Saruman. Also we are on the very edge of Fangorn, and it is perilous to touch the trees of that wood, it is said.’ ‘But the Rohirrim made a great burning here yesterday,’ said Gimli, ‘and they felled trees for the fire, as can be seen. Yet they passed the night after safely here, when their labour was ended.’ “They were many,’ said Aragorn, ‘and they do not heed the wrath of Fangorn, for they come here seldom, and they do not go under the trees. But our paths are likely to lead us into the very forest itself. So have a care! Cut no living wood!’ “There is no need,’ said Gimli. “The Riders have left chip and bough enough, and there is dead wood lying in plenty.’ He went off to gather fuel, and busied himself with building and kindling a fire; but Aragorn sat silent with his back to the great tree, deep in thought; and Legolas stood alone in the open, looking towards the profound shadow of the wood, leaning forward, as one who listens to voices calling from a distance. When the Dwarf had a small bright blaze going, the three companions drew close to it and sat together, shrouding the light with their hooded forms. Legolas looked up at the boughs of the tree reaching out above them. ‘Look!’ he said. “The tree is glad of the fire!’ It may have been that the dancing shadows tricked their eyes, but
「羅翰的騎士們 441 聽見了；對於在瑞文戴爾等待的老哈比人來說，這也同樣艱難。愛隆是反對他們來的。」「但甘道夫不是，」勒苟拉斯說。「但甘道夫選擇親自前來，而他卻是第一個失蹤的，」金靂回答。「他的遠見失靈了。」「甘道夫的建議並非建立在預知自身或他人安全的基礎上，」亞拉岡說。「有些事情，即使結局可能黑暗，開始去做也比拒絕要好。但我還不打算離開此地。無論如何，我們都必須在此等待天明。」在戰場不遠處，他們在一棵枝葉開展的樹下紮營：那樹看起來像一棵栗樹，卻仍掛著許多去年留下的寬大棕色葉子，像一隻隻張開長指的乾枯的手；它們在夜風中悲傷地沙沙作響。金靂打了個哆嗦。他們每人只帶了一條毯子。「我們生個火吧，」他說。「我再也不管什麼危險了。讓半獸人像夏夜的飛蛾撲火一樣來吧！」「如果那些可憐的哈比人正在樹林裡迷了路，火光或許能把他們引來，」勒苟拉斯說。「也可能引來其他東西，既非半獸人也非哈比人，」亞拉岡說。「我們離叛徒薩魯曼的山區邊界很近。而且我們就在法貢森林的邊緣，據說觸碰那森林裡的樹木是很危險的。」「但羅翰騎士昨天才在這裡燒了一大堆東西，」金靂說，「他們為了生火砍了樹，這都看得到。然而他們完工後，還是在這裡安全地過了一夜。」「他們人多，」亞拉岡說，「而且他們不理會法貢森林的憤怒，因為他們很少來這裡，也不會走到樹下。但我們的路很可能會直接通往森林深處。所以要小心！別砍活的樹木！」「沒必要，」金靂說。「騎士們留下了足夠的木屑和樹枝，而且到處都有很多枯木。」他走開去收集燃料，忙著堆柴生火；但亞拉岡背靠著大樹靜靜地坐著，陷入沉思；而勒苟拉斯獨自站在空地上，望向森林深邃的陰影，身子前傾，彷彿在傾聽遠方傳來的呼喚聲。當矮人升起一小撮明亮的火焰時，三位同伴靠攏過去，圍坐在一起，用他們戴著兜帽的身影遮蔽著火光。勒苟拉斯抬頭看著他們上方伸展的樹枝。「看！」他說。「這棵樹很高興有火！」也許是舞動的影子欺騙了他們的眼睛，但是
442 THE LORD OF THE RINGS certainly to each of the companions the boughs appeared to be bending this way and that so as to come above the flames, while the upper branches were stooping down; the brown leaves now stood out stiff, and rubbed together like many cold cracked hands taking comfort in the warmth. There was a silence, for suddenly the dark and unknown forest, so near at hand, made itself felt as a great brooding presence, full of secret purpose. After a while Legolas spoke again. ‘Celeborn warned us not to go far into Fangorn,’ he said. ‘Do you know why, Aragorn? What are the fables of the forest that Boromir had heard?’ ‘I have heard many tales in Gondor and elsewhere,’ said Aragorn, ‘but if it were not for the words of Celeborn I should deem them only fables that Men have made as true knowledge fades. I had thought of asking you what was the truth of the matter. And if an Elf of the wood does not know, how shall a Man answer?’ “You have journeyed further than I,’ said Legolas. ‘I have heard nothing of this in my own land, save only songs that tell how the Onodrim, that Men call Ents, dwelt there long ago; for Fangorn is old, old even as the Elves would reckon it.’ “Yes, it is old,’ said Aragorn, ‘as old as the forest by the Barrowdowns, and it is far greater. Elrond says that the two are akin, the last strongholds of the mighty woods of the Elder Days, in which the Firstborn roamed while Men still slept. Yet Fangorn holds some secret of its own. What it is I do not know.’ ‘And I do not wish to know,’ said Gimli. ‘Let nothing that dwells in Fangorn be troubled on my account!’ They now drew lots for the watches, and the lot for the first watch fell to Gimli. The others lay down. Almost at once sleep laid hold on them. ‘Gimli!’ said Aragorn drowsily. ‘Remember, it is perilous to cut bough or twig from a living tree in Fangorn. But do not stray far in search of dead wood. Let the fire die rather! Call me at need!’ With that he fell asleep. Legolas already lay motionless, his fair hands folded upon his breast, his eyes unclosed, blending living night and deep dream, as is the way with Elves. Gimli sat hunched by the fire, running his thumb thoughtfully along the edge of his axe. The tree rustled. There was no other sound. Suddenly Gimli looked up, and there just on the edge of the firelight stood an old bent man, leaning on a staff, and wrapped in a great cloak; his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down over his eyes. Gimli sprang up, too amazed for the moment to cry out, though at once the thought flashed into his mind that Saruman had caught them. Both Aragorn and Legolas, roused by his sudden movement, sat up and stared. The old man did not speak or make a sign.
在同伴們眼中，樹枝無疑正朝著各個方向彎曲，好似要來到火焰上方，而更高的樹枝則向下垂掛；褐色的葉子此刻變得僵硬，相互摩擦，宛如許多冰冷乾裂的手在溫暖中尋求慰藉。四周一片寂靜，因為那近在咫尺、黑暗而未知的森林，突然間讓人感覺到它是一個巨大、陰鬱的存在，充滿了神秘的意圖。過了一會兒，勒苟拉斯再度開口。「凱勒鵬警告過我們不要深入法貢森林，」他說。「亞拉岡，你知道為什麼嗎？波羅莫聽說過的那些關於森林的傳說又是什麼？」「我在剛鐸和其他地方聽過許多故事，」亞拉岡說，「但若不是凱勒鵬的那些話，我會認為它們只是人們在真知消逝後編造的寓言。我本來還想問你事實的真相是什麼。如果連森林裡的精靈都不知道，一個人類又該如何回答？」「你的旅程比我更遠，」勒苟拉斯說。「在我的家鄉，我從未聽過這些，只聽過一些歌曲，講述歐諾德林，也就是人類所稱的樹人，很久以前曾住在這裡；因為法貢森林很古老，即使以精靈的算法來看也是如此。」「是的，它很古老，」亞拉岡說，「和古墓崗旁的森林一樣古老，而且它要大得多。愛隆說這兩者是同源的，是遠古時代巨大森林的最後堡壘，那時首生兒女四處漫遊，而人類仍在沉睡。然而法貢森林還藏著它自己的秘密。那秘密是什麼，我不知道。」「我也不想知道，」金靂說。「別讓任何住在法貢森林裡的東西因我而受到打擾！」他們接著為守夜抽籤，第一班的籤落到了金靂身上。其他人則躺下。睡意幾乎立刻攫住了他們。「金靂！」亞拉岡睡意朦朧地說。「記住，在法貢森林裡砍活樹的枝枒是危險的。但也不要為了找枯木而走得太遠。寧可讓火熄滅！有需要就叫我！」說完他就睡著了。勒苟拉斯早已靜躺不動，他那雙白皙的手交疊在胸前，雙眼未閉，將鮮活的黑夜與深沉的夢境融為一體，這正是精靈的方式。金靂蜷縮在火邊，若有所思地用拇指沿著斧刃滑動。樹木沙沙作響。再無其他聲響。突然，金靂抬起頭，就在火光的邊緣，站著一個佝僂的老人，拄著一根手杖，裹在一件大斗篷裡；他寬邊的帽子壓得很低，遮住了眼睛。金靂跳了起來，一時之間驚訝得叫不出聲，儘管腦中立刻閃過一個念頭：薩魯曼抓到他們了。亞拉岡和勒苟拉斯都被他突然的動作驚醒，坐起來凝視著。那老人既不說話，也沒做任何表示。
THE RIDERS OF ROHAN 443 ‘Well, father, what can we do for your’ said Aragorn, leaping to his feet. ‘Come and be warm, if you are cold!’ He strode forward, but the old man was gone. There was no trace of him to be found near at hand, and they did not dare to wander far. The moon had set and the night was very dark. Suddenly Legolas gave a cry. “The horses! The horses!’ The horses were gone. They had dragged their pickets and disappeared. For some time the three companions stood still and silent, troubled by this new stroke of ill fortune. They were under the eaves of Fangorn, and endless leagues lay between them and the Men of Rohan, their only friends in this wide and dangerous land. As they stood, it seemed to them that they heard, far off in the night, the sound of horses whinnying and neighing. Then all was quiet again, except for the cold rustle of the wind. ‘Well, they are gone,’ said Aragorn at last. “We cannot find them or catch them; so that if they do not return of their own will, we must do without. We started on our feet, and we have those still.’ ‘Feet!’ said Gimli. ‘But we cannot eat them as well as walk on them.’ He threw some fuel on the fire and slumped down beside it. ‘Only a few hours ago you were unwilling to sit on a horse of Rohan,’ laughed Legolas. ‘You will make a rider yet.’ ‘It seems unlikely that I shall have the chance,’ said Gimli. ‘If you wish to know what I think,’ he began again after a while, ‘I think it was Saruman. Who else? Remember the words of Eomer: he walks about like an old man hooded and cloaked. Those were the words. He has gone off with our horses, or scared them away, and here we are. There is more trouble coming to us, mark my words!’ ‘I mark them,’ said Aragorn. ‘But I marked also that this old man had a hat not a hood. Still I do not doubt that you guess right, and that we are in peril here, by night or day. Yet in the meantime there is nothing that we can do but rest, while we may. I will watch for a while now, Gimli. I have more need of thought than of sleep.’ The night passed slowly. Legolas followed Aragorn, and Gimli followed Legolas, and their watches wore away. But nothing happened. The old man did not appear again, and the horses did not return.
「嗯，老人家，我們能為您做些什麼？」亞拉岡說著，跳了起來。「如果您冷，就過來暖和一下吧！」他大步向前，但那老人已經不見了。附近找不到他任何蹤跡，而他們也不敢走遠。月亮已經落下，夜色非常漆黑。突然，勒苟拉斯大喊一聲：「馬！那些馬！」馬不見了。牠們掙脫了繫馬樁，消失無蹤。三位同伴一時間靜靜地站著，沉默不語，為這突如其來的厄運所困擾。他們身在法貢森林的邊緣，與羅翰人之間隔著無盡的距離，而羅翰人是他們在這片廣闊危險土地上唯一的朋友。他們站著的時候，彷彿聽到遠方夜色中傳來馬匹的嘶鳴聲。接著，除了風的冷冽沙沙聲外，一切又恢復了寂靜。「唉，牠們走了，」亞拉岡終於開口。「我們找不到也追不回牠們；所以如果牠們不自己回來，我們就只能將就了。我們當初是靠雙腳開始的，而我們現在還有腳。」「腳！」金靂說。「但我們不能像用腳走路一樣吃掉它們啊。」他往火裡添了些燃料，然後頹然坐倒在火邊。「幾個小時前你還不願意騎羅翰的馬呢，」勒苟拉斯笑道。「你將來會成為一個騎手的。」「看來我不太可能有這個機會了，」金靂說。「如果你想知道我的想法，」他過了一會兒又開口說，「我認為是薩魯曼。還能是誰？記得伊歐墨的話：他像個戴著兜帽、披著斗篷的老人四處走動。這就是他的原話。他帶走了我們的馬，或是嚇跑了牠們，而我們就被困在這裡了。還會有更多麻煩找上門來，記住我的話！」「我記住了，」亞拉岡說。「但我也注意到那個老人戴的是帽子，不是兜帽。不過我仍然不懷疑你猜對了，我們在這裡無論日夜都處於危險之中。然而在此期間，我們除了趁還能休息時休息一下，也無事可做。我現在來守夜一會兒，金靂。我需要的是思考，而不是睡眠。」夜晚緩慢地過去。勒苟拉斯接替亞拉岡，金靂接替勒苟拉斯，他們的守夜時間就這樣消磨掉了。但什麼事也沒發生。老人沒有再出現，馬匹也沒有回來。