Chapter 9 FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Gandalf and the King’s company rode away, turning eastward to make the circuit of the ruined walls of Isengard. But Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas remained behind. Leaving Arod and Hasufel to stray in search of grass, they came and sat beside the hobbits. ‘Well, well! The hunt is over, and we meet again at last, where none of us ever thought to come,’ said Aragorn. ‘And now that the great ones have gone to discuss high matters,’ said Legolas, ‘the hunters can perhaps learn the answers to their own small riddles. We tracked you as far as the forest, but there are still many things that I should like to know the truth of.’ ‘And there is a great deal, too, that we want to know about you,’ said Merry. ‘We have learnt a few things through Treebeard, the Old Ent, but that is not nearly enough.’ ‘All in good time,’ said Legolas. ‘We were the hunters, and you should give an account of yourselves to us first.’ ‘Or second,’ said Gimli. ‘It would go better after a meal. I have a sore head; and it is past mid-day. You truants might make amends by finding us some of the plunder that you spoke of. Food and drink would pay off some of my score against you.’ “Then you shall have it,’ said Pippin. ‘Will you have it here, or in more comfort in what’s left of Saruman’s guard-house — over there under the arch? We had to picnic out here, so as to keep an eye on the road.’ ‘Less than an eye!’ said Gimli. ‘But I will not go into any orc-house; nor touch Orcs’ meat or anything that they have mauled.’ ‘We wouldn’t ask you to,’ said Merry. ‘We have had enough of Orcs ourselves to last a life-time. But there were many other folk in Isengard. Saruman kept enough wisdom not to trust his Orcs. He had Men to guard his gates: some of his most faithful servants, I suppose. Anyway they were favoured and got good provisions.’ ‘And pipe-weed?’ asked Gimli. ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Merry laughed. ‘But that is another story, which can wait until after lunch.’ ‘Well let us go and have lunch then!’ said the Dwarf. The hobbits led the way; and they passed under the arch and came to a wide door upon the left, at the top of a stair. It opened direct into a large chamber, with other smaller doors at the far end, and a
第九章 漂流殘骸 甘道夫與國王一行人騎馬離去，轉向東方，繞行伊森加德已成廢墟的圍牆。但亞拉岡、金靂和勒苟拉斯留了下來。他們讓亞羅德和哈蘇費爾自行去尋找草吃，自己則走過來坐在哈比人身旁。「好了，好了！追獵結束了，我們總算再次相會，而且是在一個我們誰也沒想過會來的地方。」亞拉岡說。「既然大人物們都去商討重大事務了，」勒苟拉斯說，「獵人們或許可以為自己的小謎題找到答案了。我們追蹤你們直到森林邊緣，但我還是有很多事情想知道真相。」「我們也有很多事想知道關於你們的，」梅里說。「我們透過樹鬍，老樹人，學到了一些事，但那遠遠不夠。」「別急，時候到了自然會說，」勒苟拉斯說。「我們是獵人，你們應該先向我們說明一下你們的經歷。」「或第二個說，」金靂說。「飯後說會更好。我頭很痛，而且已經過了中午了。你們這些小逃兵或許可以找些你們說過的戰利品來彌補一下。食物和飲料可以抵銷我對你們的一些不滿。」「那你們就等著吧，」皮聘說。「你們要在这里吃，還是在薩魯曼警衛室殘存的部分裡舒服點吃——就在那邊的拱門下？我們得在外面野餐，才能監視著道路。」「連半隻眼都沒用上！」金靂說。「但我可不進任何半獸人窩；也不碰半獸人的肉或任何他們蹂躪過的玩意兒。」「我們也不會請你這麼做，」梅里說。「我們受夠半獸人了，一輩子都不想再見到。但伊森加德還有很多其他的人。薩魯曼還算有點智慧，沒有完全信任他的半獸人。他用人類來看守大門：我想是他最忠誠的一些僕人吧。總之，他們受到青睞，補給也很好。」「那煙斗草呢？」金靂問。「不，我想沒有，」梅里笑道。「但那是另一個故事了，可以等到午餐後再說。」「那好吧，我們就去吃午餐吧！」矮人說。哈比人帶路；他們穿過拱門，來到樓梯頂端左邊的一扇寬門前。門直接通往一個大房間，遠端還有幾扇較小的門，以及一個...
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 561 hearth and chimney at one side. The chamber was hewn out of the stone; and it must once have been dark, for its windows looked out only into the tunnel. But light came in now through the broken roof. On the hearth wood was burning. ‘T lit a bit of fire,’ said Pippin. ‘It cheered us up in the fogs. There were few faggots about, and most of the wood we could find was wet. But there is a great draught in the chimney: it seems to wind away up through the rock, and fortunately it has not been blocked. A fire is handy. I will make you some toast. The bread is three or four days old, I am afraid.’ Aragorn and his companions sat themselves down at one end of a long table, and the hobbits disappeared through one of the inner doors. ‘Store-room in there, and above the floods, luckily,’ said Pippin, as they came back laden with dishes, bowls, cups, knives, and food of various sorts. ‘And you need not turn up your nose at the provender, Master Gimli,’ said Merry. “This is not orc-stuff, but man-food, as Treebeard calls it. Will you have wine or beer? There’s a barrel inside there — very passable. And this is first-rate salted pork. Or I can cut you some rashers of bacon and broil them, if you like. I am sorry there is no green stuff: the deliveries have been rather interrupted in the last few days! I cannot offer you anything to follow but butter and honey for your bread. Are you content?’ ‘Indeed yes,’ said Gimli. “The score is much reduced.’ The three were soon busy with their meal; and the two hobbits, unabashed, set to a second time. ‘We must keep our guests company,’ they said. “You are full of courtesy this morning,’ laughed Legolas. ‘But maybe, if we had not arrived, you would already have been keeping one another company again.’ ‘Maybe; and why not?’ said Pippin. ‘We had foul fare with the Orcs, and little enough for days before that. It seems a long while since we could eat to heart’s content.’ ‘It does not seem to have done you any harm,’ said Aragorn. ‘Indeed you look in the bloom of health.’ ‘Aye, you do indeed,’ said Gimli, looking them up and down over the top of his cup. ‘Why, your hair is twice as thick and curly as when we parted; and I would swear that you have both grown somewhat, if that is possible for hobbits of your age. This Treebeard at any rate has not starved you.’ ‘He has not,’ said Merry. ‘But Ents only drink, and drink is not enough for content. Treebeard’s draughts may be nourishing, but one feels the need of something solid. And even /embas is none the worse for a change.’
562 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “You have drunk of the waters of the Ents, have you?’ said Legolas. ‘Ah, then I think it is likely that Gimli’s eyes do not deceive him. Strange songs have been sung of the draughts of Fangorn.’ ‘Many strange tales have been told about that land,’ said Aragorn. ‘I have never entered it. Come, tell me more about it, and about the Ents!’ ‘Ents,’ said Pippin, ‘Ents are — well Ents are all different for one thing. But their eyes now, their eyes are very odd.’ He tried a few fumbling words that trailed off into silence. ‘Oh, well,’ he went on, ‘you have seen some at a distance, already — they saw you at any rate, and reported that you were on the way — and you will see many others, I expect, before you leave here. You must form your own ideas.’ ‘Now, now!’ said Gimli. ‘We are beginning the story in the middle. I should like a tale in the right order, starting with that strange day when our fellowship was broken.’ “You shall have it, if there is time,’ said Merry. ‘But first — if you have finished eating — you shall fill your pipes and light up. And then for a little while we can pretend that we are all back safe at Bree again, or in Rivendell.’ He produced a small leather bag full of tobacco. ‘We have heaps of it,’ he said; ‘and you can all pack as much as you wish, when we go. We did some salvage-work this morning, Pippin and I. There are lots of things floating about. It was Pippin who found two small barrels, washed up out of some cellar or store-house, I suppose. When we opened them, we found they were filled with this: as fine a pipe-weed as you could wish for, and quite unspoilt.’ Gimli took some and rubbed it in his palms and sniffed it. ‘It feels good, and it smells good,’ he said. ‘It is good!’ said Merry. ‘My dear Gimli, it is Longbottom Leaf! There were the Hornblower brandmarks on the barrels, as plain as plain. How it came here, I can’t imagine. For Saruman’s private use, I fancy. I never knew that it went so far abroad. But it comes in handy now!’ ‘It would,’ said Gimli, ‘if I had a pipe to go with it. Alas, I lost mine in Moria, or before. Is there no pipe in all your plunder?’ ‘No, I am afraid not,’ said Merry. ‘We have not found any, not even here in the guardrooms. Saruman kept this dainty to himself, it seems. And I don’t think it would be any use knocking on the doors of Orthanc to beg a pipe of him! We shall have to share pipes, as good friends must at a pinch.’ ‘Half a moment!’ said Pippin. Putting his hand inside the breast of his jacket he pulled out a little soft wallet on a string. ‘I keep a treasure or two near my skin, as precious as Rings to me. Here’s one:
「你們喝了樹人的水，是嗎？」勒苟拉斯說。「啊，那麼我想金靂的眼睛沒有欺騙他。關於法貢森林的飲品，曾有許多奇特的歌謠傳唱。」 「關於那片土地，流傳著許多奇異的故事，」亞拉岡說。「我從未進去過。來，多告訴我一些關於它，還有關於樹人的事！」 「樹人嘛，」皮聘說，「樹人——嗯，首先，樹人們個個都不同。不過他們的眼睛，他們的眼睛非常古怪。」他結結巴巴地說了幾個詞，聲音就漸漸消失在沉默中了。「噢，好吧，」他繼續說，「你們已經遠遠地看到一些了——至少他們看到你們了，還回報說你們正在路上——而且我想在你們離開這裡之前，還會看到更多。你們得自己形成看法。」 「喂，喂！」金靂說。「我們這故事是從中間講起的。我希望能有個順序正常的版本，從我們遠征隊分崩離析那奇怪的一天開始。」 「如果有時間，你會聽到的，」梅里說。「不過首先——如果你們吃完了——你們該裝滿菸斗，點上火。然後我們可以假裝一下，我們全都平安地回到了布理，或是瑞文戴爾。」他拿出一個裝滿菸草的小皮袋。「我們有一大堆，」他說，「等我們走的時候，你們想裝多少就裝多少。今天早上我和皮聘做了一些打撈工作。有很多東西漂在水上。是皮聘發現了兩個小桶，我想是從哪個地窖或儲藏室沖刷出來的。我們打開一看，發現裡面裝滿了這個：你能想到的最上等的菸草，而且完全沒壞。」 金靂拿了一些，在手掌裡搓了搓，聞了聞。「感覺不錯，聞起來也香，」他說。 「它確實好！」梅里說。「我親愛的金靂，這是長谷葉！桶子上有號角手牌的標記，清清楚楚。我真想不通它是怎麼到這裡來的。我猜是薩魯曼私人用的。我從不知道它會傳到這麼遠的地方。不過現在正好派上用場！」 「是啊，如果我有菸斗配它的話，」金靂說。「唉，我的在摩瑞亞或更早之前就弄丟了。在你們所有的戰利品裡，難道沒有菸斗嗎？」 「恐怕沒有，」梅里說。「我們沒找到任何菸斗，連在衛兵室裡也沒有。看來薩魯曼把這好東西留給自己獨享了。而且我想去敲歐散克塔的門向他討個菸斗也沒用！我們只好共用菸斗了，好朋友在緊要關頭就該如此。」 「等一下！」皮聘說。他把手伸進夾克胸前的口袋，掏出一個繫著繩子的小軟錢包。「我有些寶貝都貼身收藏著，對我來說跟魔戒一樣珍貴。這就是其中之一：
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 563 my old wooden pipe. And here’s another: an unused one. I have carried it a long way, though I don’t know why. I never really expected to find any pipe-weed on the journey, when my own ran out. But now it comes in useful after all.” He held up a small pipe with a wide flattened bowl, and handed it to Gimli. ‘Does that settle the score between us?’ he said. ‘Settle it!’ cried Gimli. ‘Most noble hobbit, it leaves me deep in your debt.’ ‘Well, I am going back into the open air, to see what the wind and sky are doing!’ said Legolas. ‘We will come with you,’ said Aragorn. They went out and seated themselves upon the piled stones before the gateway. They could see far down into the valley now; the mists were lifting and floating away upon the breeze. ‘Now let us take our ease here for a little!’ said Aragorn. ‘We will sit on the edge of ruin and talk, as Gandalf says, while he is busy elsewhere. I feel a weariness such as I have seldom felt before.’ He wrapped his grey cloak about him, hiding his mail-shirt, and stretched out his long legs. Then he lay back and sent from his lips a thin stream of smoke. ‘Look!’ said Pippin. ‘Strider the Ranger has come back!’ ‘He has never been away,’ said Aragorn. ‘I am Strider and Dunadan too, and I belong both to Gondor and the North.’ They smoked in silence for a while, and the sun shone on them; slanting into the valley from among white clouds high in the West. Legolas lay still, looking up at the sun and sky with steady eyes, and singing softly to himself. At last he sat up. ‘Come now!’ he said. “Time wears on, and the mists are blowing away, or would if you strange folk did not wreathe yourselves in smoke. What of the tale?’ ‘Well, my tale begins with waking up in the dark and finding myself all strung-up in an orc-camp,’ said Pippin. ‘Let me see, what is today?’ “The fifth of March in the Shire-reckoning,’ said Aragorn. Pippin made some calculations on his fingers. ‘Only nine days ago!’ he said.* ‘It seems a year since we were caught. Well, though half of it was like a bad dream, I reckon that three very horrible days followed. Merry will correct me, if I forget anything important: I am not going into details: the whips and the filth and stench and all that; it does not bear remembering.’ With that he plunged into an account of Boromir’s last fight and the orc-march from Emyn Muil to the Forest. * Every month in the Shire-calendar had 30 days.
我舊的木菸斗。這裡還有一個：沒用過的。我帶了它很久，雖然我也不知道為什麼。我從沒真的指望在自己的菸草抽完後，還能在旅途中找到任何菸草。但現在它終究派上用場了。」他舉起一個碗口寬而扁的小菸斗，遞給金靂。「這樣我們之間算兩清了嗎？」他說。「兩清！」金靂喊道。「最高貴的哈比人，這讓我欠了你一個大人情。」「嗯，我要回到戶外去，看看風和天的情況！」勒苟拉斯說。「我們跟你一起去。」亞拉岡說。他們走出去，在門口前的石堆上坐下。他們現在可以遠眺到山谷深處；薄霧正在散去，隨微風飄走。「現在讓我們在這裡稍作休息吧！」亞拉岡說。「就像甘道夫說的，趁他忙於別處時，我們就坐在廢墟邊緣聊聊天。我感到一股前所未有的疲憊。」他用灰色斗篷裹住自己，遮住鎖子甲，並伸直了他長長的雙腿。然後他向後躺下，從唇間吐出一縷細煙。「看！」皮聘說。「神行客遊俠回來了！」「他從未離開過。」亞拉岡說。「我既是神行客，也是登丹人，我同時屬於剛鐸與北方。」他們沉默地抽了一會兒菸，陽光照在他們身上；從西方高空的白雲間斜射入山谷。勒苟拉斯靜靜地躺著，用沉穩的眼神望著太陽與天空，對自己輕聲歌唱。最後他坐了起來。「來吧！」他說。「時間不斷流逝，迷霧正在被吹散，或者說，如果你們這些奇怪的傢伙不把自己纏在煙霧裡的話，霧早就散了。故事呢？」「嗯，我的故事是從在黑暗中醒來，發現自己被五花大綁在一個半獸人營地開始的。」皮聘說。「讓我想想，今天幾號？」「按照夏爾曆法是三月五日。」亞拉岡說。皮聘用手指算了算。「才九天前！」他說*。「感覺好像被抓走一年了。嗯，雖然其中一半像場惡夢，但我估計接下來是三個非常可怕的日子。如果我忘了什麼重要的事，梅里會糾正我：我不打算詳述細節：那些鞭子、污穢和惡臭之類的；那一切都不堪回首。」說完，他便滔滔不絕地講述起波羅莫的最後一戰，以及從伊敏穆爾到森林的半獸人行軍。*夏爾曆法中每個月都有30天。
564 THE LORD OF THE RINGS The others nodded as the various points were fitted in with their guesses. ‘Here are some treasures that you let fall,’ said Aragorn. ‘You will be glad to have them back.’ He loosened his belt from under his cloak, and took from it the two sheathed knives. ‘Well!’ said Merry. ‘I never expected to see those again! I marked a few orcs with mine; but Ugluk took them from us. How he glared! At first I thought he was going to stab me, but he threw the things away as if they burned him.’ ‘And here also is your brooch, Pippin,’ said Aragorn. ‘I have kept it safe, for it is a very precious thing.’ ‘I know,’ said Pippin. ‘It was a wrench to let it go; but what else could I do?’ ‘Nothing else,’ answered Aragorn. ‘One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters. You did rightly.’ “The cutting of the bands on your wrists, that was smart work!’ said Gimli. ‘Luck served you there; but you seized your chance with both hands, one might say.’ ‘And set us a pretty riddle,’ said Legolas. ‘I wondered if you had grown wings!’ ‘Unfortunately not,’ said Pippin. ‘But you did not know about Grishnakh.’ He shuddered and said no more, leaving Merry to tell of those last horrible moments: the pawing hands, the hot breath, and the dreadful strength of Grishnakh’s hairy arms. ‘All this about the Orcs of Barad-dar, Lugburz as they call it, makes me uneasy,’ said Aragorn. “The Dark Lord already knew too much, and his servants also; and Grishnakh evidently sent some message across the River after the quarrel. The Red Eye will be looking towards Isengard. But Saruman at any rate is in a cleft stick of his own cutting.’ “Yes, whichever side wins, his outlook is poor,’ said Merry. “Things began to go all wrong for him from the moment his Orcs set foot in Rohan.’ ‘We caught a glimpse of the old villain, or so Gandalf hints,’ said Gimli. ‘On the edge of the Forest.’ ‘When was that?’ asked Pippin. ‘Five nights ago,’ said Aragorn. ‘Let me see,’ said Merry: ‘five nights ago — now we come to a part of the story you know nothing about. We met Treebeard that morning after the battle; and that night we were at Wellinghall, one of his ent-houses. The next morning we went to Entmoot, a gathering of Ents, that is, and the queerest thing I have ever seen in my life. It lasted all that day and the next; and we spent the nights with an Ent called Quickbeam. And then late in the afternoon in the third day
其他人點點頭，這些不同的細節正好與他們的猜測吻合。「這裡有些你們掉落的寶物，」亞拉岡說。「你們會很高興能拿回它們的。」他解開斗篷下的腰帶，從中取出兩把帶鞘的刀。「哦！」梅里說。「我從沒想過還能再見到它們！我用我的刀劃傷了幾個半獸人；但烏格魯克把刀從我們身上拿走了。他當時的眼神好兇！起初我還以為他要刺我，但他卻把東西丟開，好像燙手似的。」「還有，這是你的胸針，皮聘，」亞拉岡說。「我一直妥善保管著，因為它是非常珍貴的東西。」「我知道，」皮聘說。「要放手時真的很痛苦；但我還能怎麼做呢？」「沒別的辦法了，」亞拉岡回答。「一個在必要時無法拋棄珍寶的人，就等於被束縛住了。你做得對。」「割斷你手腕上的繩子，那真是聰明之舉！」金靂說。「可以說，運氣幫了你；但你也雙手抓住了機會。」「還給我們出了一道好謎題，」勒苟拉斯說。「我還在想你是不是長出翅膀了呢！」「可惜沒有，」皮聘說。「但你們不知道葛力斯那克的事。」他打了個寒顫，便不再多言，讓梅里講述那最後的可怕時刻：葛力斯那克那雙亂摸的手、灼熱的氣息，以及他毛茸茸手臂那駭人的力氣。「所有關於巴拉多塔——他們稱之為路格柏茲——的半獸人的事，都讓我感到不安，」亞拉岡說。「黑暗魔君已經知道得太多了，他的僕人也是；而且葛力斯那克在爭吵後顯然向河對岸發送了某些訊息。紅眼之眼將會望向艾辛格。不過，無論如何，薩魯曼是作法自斃，自陷困境。」「是啊，無論哪一方獲勝，他的前景都很不妙，」梅里說。「從他的半獸人踏入羅翰那一刻起，事情就開始對他完全不利了。」「我們瞥見了那個老惡棍，甘道夫是這麼暗示的，」金靂說。「在森林的邊緣。」「那是什麼時候？」皮聘問。「五個晚上前，」亞拉岡說。「讓我想想，」梅里說：「五個晚上前——現在要說到你們完全不知道的部分了。我們在戰鬥後的那個早晨遇見了樹鬍；那天晚上我們在他的一個樹人之屋威靈廳過夜。第二天早上我們去了樹人會議，也就是樹人的集會，那是我一生中見過最奇特的事。會議持續了一整天和第二天；我們和一個叫快枝的樹人一起過夜。然後在第三天的下午晚些時候
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 565 of their moot, the Ents suddenly blew up. It was amazing. The Forest had felt as tense as if a thunderstorm was brewing inside it: then all at once it exploded. I wish you could have heard their song as they marched.’ ‘If Saruman had heard it, he would be a hundred miles away by now, even if he had had to run on his own legs,’ said Pippin. ‘Though Isengard be strong and hard, as cold as stone and bare as bone, We go, we go, we go to war, to hew the stone and break the door! There was very much more. A great deal of the song had no words, and was like a music of horns and drums. It was very exciting. But I thought it was only marching music and no more, just a song — until I got here. I know better now.’ ‘We came down over the last ridge into Nan Curunir, after night had fallen,’ Merry continued. ‘It was then that I first had the feeling that the Forest itself was moving behind us. I thought I was dreaming an entish dream, but Pippin had noticed it too. We were both frightened; but we did not find out more about it until later. ‘It was the Huorns, or so the Ents call them in “‘short language’’. Treebeard won’t say much about them, but I think they are Ents that have become almost like trees, at least to look at. They stand here and there in the wood or under its eaves, silent, watching endlessly over the trees; but deep in the darkest dales there are hundreds and hundreds of them, I believe. “There is a great power in them, and they seem able to wrap themselves in shadow: it is difficult to see them moving. But they do. They can move very quickly, if they are angry. You stand still looking at the weather, maybe, or listening to the rustling of the wind, and then suddenly you find that you are in the middle of a wood with great groping trees all around you. They still have voices, and can speak with the Ents — that is why they are called Huorns, Treebeard says — but they have become queer and wild. Dangerous. I should be terrified of meeting them, if there were no true Ents about to look after them. ‘Well, in the early night we crept down a long ravine into the upper end of the Wizard’s Vale, the Ents with all their rustling Huorns behind. We could not see them, of course, but the whole air was full of creaking. It was very dark, a cloudy night. They moved at a great speed as soon as they had left the hills, and made a noise like a rushing wind. The Moon did not appear through the clouds, and not long after midnight there was a tall wood all round the north side of Isengard. There was no sign of enemies nor of any challenge.
566 THE LORD OF THE RINGS There was a light gleaming from a high window in the tower, that was all. “Treebeard and a few more Ents crept on, right round to within sight of the great gates. Pippin and I were with him. We were sitting on Treebeard’s shoulders, and I could feel the quivering tenseness in him. But even when they are roused, Ents can be very cautious and patient. They stood still as carved stones, breathing and listening. “Then all at once there was a tremendous stir. Trumpets blared, and the walls of Isengard echoed. We thought that we had been discovered, and that battle was going to begin. But nothing of the sort. All Saruman’s people were marching away. I don’t know much about this war, or about the Horsemen of Rohan, but Saruman seems to have meant to finish off the king and all his men with one final blow. He emptied Isengard. I saw the enemy go: endless lines of marching Orcs; and troops of them mounted on great wolves. And there were battalions of Men, too. Many of them carried torches, and in the flare I could see their faces. Most of them were ordinary men, rather tall and dark-haired, and grim but not particularly evillooking. But there were some others that were horrible: man-high, but with goblin-faces, sallow, leering, squint-eyed. Do you know, they reminded me at once of that Southerner at Bree; only he was not so obviously orc-like as most of these were.’ ‘I thought of him too,’ said Aragorn. ‘We had many of these half-orcs to deal with at Helm’s Deep. It seems plain now that that Southerner was a spy of Saruman’s; but whether he was working with the Black Riders, or for Saruman alone, I do not know. It is difficult with these evil folk to know when they are in league, and when they are cheating one another.’ ‘Well, of all sorts together, there must have been ten thousand at the very least,’ said Merry. “They took an hour to pass out of the gates. Some went off down the highway to the Fords, and some turned away and went eastward. A bridge has been built down there, about a mile away, where the river runs in a very deep channel. You could see it now, if you stood up. They were all singing with harsh voices, and laughing, making a hideous din. I thought things looked very black for Rohan. But Treebeard did not move. He said: ““My business is with Isengard tonight, with rock and stone.” ‘But, though I could not see what was happening in the dark, I believe that Huorns began to move south, as soon as the gates were shut again. Their business was with Orcs I think. They were far down the valley in the morning; or at any rate there was a shadow there that one couldn’t see through. ‘As soon as Saruman had sent off all his army, our turn came. Treebeard put us down, and went up to the gates, and began ham
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 567 mering on the doors, and calling for Saruman. There was no answer, except arrows and stones from the walls. But arrows are no use against Ents. They hurt them, of course, and infuriate them: like stinging flies. But an Ent can be stuck as full of orc-arrows as a pin-cushion, and take no serious harm. They cannot be poisoned, for one thing; and their skin seems to be very thick, and tougher than bark. It takes a very heavy axe-stroke to wound them seriously. They don’t like axes. But there would have to be a great many axe-men to one Ent: a man that hacks once at an Ent never gets a chance of a second blow. A punch from an Ent-fist crumples up iron like thin tin. ‘When Treebeard had got a few arrows in him, he began to warm up, to get positively “‘hasty’’, as he would say. He let out a great hoom-hom, and a dozen more Ents came striding up. An angry Ent is terrifying. Their fingers, and their toes, just freeze on to rock; and they tear it up like bread-crust. It was like watching the work of great tree-roots in a hundred years, all packed into a few moments. “They pushed, pulled, tore, shook, and hammered; and clang-bang, crash-crack, in five minutes they had these huge gates just lying in ruin; and some were already beginning to eat into the walls, like rabbits in a sand-pit. I don’t know what Saruman thought was happening; but anyway he did not know how to deal with it. His wizardry may have been falling off lately, of course; but anyway I think he has not much grit, not much plain courage alone in a tight place without a lot of slaves and machines and things, if you know what I mean. Very different from old Gandalf. I wonder if his fame was not all along mainly due to his cleverness in settling at Isengard.’ ‘No,’ said Aragorn. ‘Once he was as great as his fame made him. His knowledge was deep, his thought was subtle, and his hands marvellously skilled; and he had a power over the minds of others. The wise he could persuade, and the smaller folk he could daunt. That power he certainly still keeps. There are not many in Middle-earth that I should say were safe, if they were left alone to talk with him, even now when he has suffered a defeat. Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, perhaps, now that his wickedness has been laid bare, but very few others.’ “The Ents are safe,’ said Pippin. ‘He seems at one time to have got round them, but never again. And anyway he did not understand them; and he made the great mistake of leaving them out of his calculations. He had no plan for them, and there was no time to make any, once they had set to work. As soon as our attack began, the few remaining rats in Isengard started bolting through every hole that the Ents made. The Ents let the Men go, after they had questioned them, two or three dozen only down at this end. I don’t think
568 THE LORD OF THE RINGS many orc-folk, of any size, escaped. Not from the Huorns: there was a wood full of them all round Isengard by that time, as well as those that had gone down the valley. ‘When the Ents had reduced a large part of the southern walls to rubbish, and what was left of his people had bolted and deserted him, Saruman fled in a panic. He seems to have been at the gates when we arrived: I expect he came to watch his splendid army march out. When the Ents broke their way in, he left in a hurry. They did not spot him at first. But the night had opened out, and there was a great light of stars, quite enough for Ents to see by, and suddenly Quickbeam gave a cry ““The tree-killer, the tree-killer!’? Quickbeam is a gentle creature, but he hates Saruman all the more fiercely for that: his people suffered cruelly from orc-axes. He leapt down the path from the inner gate, and he can move like a wind when he is roused. There was a pale figure hurrying away in and out of the shadows of the pillars, and it had nearly reached the stairs to the tower-door. But it was a near thing. Quickbeam was so hot after him, that he was within a step or two of being caught and strangled when he slipped in through the door. ‘When Saruman was safe back in Orthanc, it was not long before he set some of his precious machinery to work. By that time there were many Ents inside Isengard: some had followed Quickbeam, and others had burst in from the north and east; they were roaming about and doing a great deal of damage. Suddenly up came fires and foul fumes: the vents and shafts all over the plain began to spout and belch. Several of the Ents got scorched and blistered. One of them, Beechbone I think he was called, a very tall handsome Ent, got caught in a spray of some liquid fire and burned like a torch: a horrible sight. “That sent them mad. I thought that they had been really roused before; but I was wrong. I saw what it was like at last. It was staggering. They roared and boomed and trumpeted, until stones began to crack and fall at the mere noise of them. Merry and I lay on the ground and stuffed our cloaks into our ears. Round and round the rock of Orthanc the Ents went striding and storming like a howling gale, breaking pillars, hurling avalanches of boulders down the shafts, tossing up huge slabs of stone into the air like leaves. The tower was in the middle of a spinning whirlwind. I saw iron posts and blocks of masonry go rocketing up hundreds of feet, and smash against the windows of Orthanc. But Treebeard kept his head. He had not had any burns, luckily. He did not want his folk to hurt themselves in their fury, and he did not want Saruman to escape out of some hole in the confusion. Many of the Ents were hurling themselves against the Orthanc-rock; but that defeated them. It is very smooth and hard. Some wizardry is in it, perhaps, older and stronger than Saruman’s.
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 569 Anyway they could not get a grip on it, or make a crack in it; and they were bruising and wounding themselves against it. ‘So Treebeard went out into the ring and shouted. His enormous voice rose above all the din. There was a dead silence, suddenly. In it we heard a shrill laugh from a high window in the tower. That had a queer effect on the Ents. They had been boiling over; now they became cold, grim as ice, and quiet. They left the plain and gathered round Treebeard, standing quite still. He spoke to them for a little in their own language; I think he was telling them of a plan he had made in his old head long before. Then they just faded silently away in the grey light. Day was dawning by that time. “They set a watch on the tower, I believe, but the watchers were so well hidden in shadows and kept so still, that I could not see them. The others went away north. All that day they were busy, out of sight. Most of the time we were left alone. It was a dreary day; and we wandered about a bit, though we kept out of the view of the windows of Orthanc, as much as we could: they stared at us so threateningly. A good deal of the time we spent looking for something to eat. And also we sat and talked, wondering what was happening away south in Rohan, and what had become of all the rest of our Company. Every now and then we could hear in the distance the rattle and fall of stone, and thudding noises echoing in the hills. ‘In the afternoon we walked round the circle, and went to have a look at what was going on. There was a great shadowy wood of Huorns at the head of the valley, and another round the northern wall. We did not dare to go in. But there was a rending, tearing noise of work going on inside. Ents and Huorns were digging great pits and trenches, and making great pools and dams, gathering all the waters of the Isen and every other spring and stream that they could find. We left them to it. ‘At dusk Treebeard came back to the gate. He was humming and booming to himself, and seemed pleased. He stood and stretched his great arms and legs and breathed deep. I asked him if he was tired. ‘
總之，他們無法抓住它，也無法在上頭弄出裂縫；他們撞得自己瘀青受傷。「於是樹鬍走到圓環中央大吼一聲。他巨大的聲音蓋過了所有喧囂。突然間，現場一片死寂。在這片寂靜中，我們聽到從高塔一扇窗戶傳來尖銳的笑聲。這對樹人產生了奇特的影響。他們原本怒火中燒；現在卻變得冰冷、嚴峻如冰，並且安靜下來。他們離開平地，聚集到樹鬍身邊，一動也不動地站著。他用他們自己的語言對他們說了一會兒話；我想他是在告訴他們一個他老腦袋裡早就想好的計畫。然後他們就在灰濛濛的光線中悄然隱去。那時天正破曉。「『我相信他們在高塔上設了崗哨，但那些守衛隱藏在陰影中，一動也不動，所以我根本沒看到他們。其他的樹人都往北邊去了。那整天他們都在我們看不見的地方忙碌著。大部分時間裡，只有我們兩個被單獨留下。那是沉悶的一天；我們四處晃了晃，但盡可能避開歐散克塔窗戶的視線：那些窗戶充滿威脅地瞪著我們。我們花了相當長的時間找東西吃。我們也坐下來聊天，想著南邊的洛汗發生了什麼事，以及我們遠征隊其他成員的遭遇。我們時不時能聽到遠處傳來石頭嘎嘎作響和墜落的聲音，還有在山丘間迴盪的沉重撞擊聲。「『下午我們繞著圓環走了一圈，去看看發生了什麼事。在山谷的源頭有一大片由胡恩組成的幽暗森林，北牆周圍也有另一片。我們不敢走進去。但裡面傳來撕裂、扯開般的巨大工作聲。樹人與胡恩正在挖掘巨大的坑洞和壕溝，建造大型水池和水壩，匯集所有他們能找到的艾辛河水以及其他每一條泉水與溪流。我們就讓他們自己去忙了。「『黃昏時，樹鬍回到大門口。他對著自己哼哼唱唱，發出低沉的轟鳴聲，看起來很高興。他站著，伸展他巨大的手臂和雙腿，深深地吸了一口氣。我問他累不累。‘
570 THE LORD OF THE RINGS was the sound of a rider coming swiftly up the road. Merry and I lay quiet, and Treebeard hid himself in the shadows under the arch. Suddenly a great horse came striding up, like a flash of silver. It was already dark, but I could see the rider’s face clearly: it seemed to shine, and all his clothes were white. I just sat up, staring, with my mouth open. I tried to call out, and couldn’t. “There was no need. He halted just by us and looked down at us. “‘Gandalf!”’ I said at last, but my voice was only a whisper. Did he say: ‘Hullo, Pippin! This is a pleasant surprise!’’? No, indeed! He said: ‘‘Get up, you tom-fool of a Took! Where, in the name of wonder, in all this ruin is Treebeard? I want him. Quick!”’ “Treebeard heard his voice and came out of the shadows at once; and there was a strange meeting. I was surprised, because neither of them seemed surprised at all. Gandalf obviously expected to find Treebeard here; and Treebeard might almost have been loitering about near the gates on purpose to meet him. Yet we had told the old Ent all about Moria. But then I remembered a queer look he gave us at the time. I can only suppose that he had seen Gandalf or had some news of him, but would not say anything in a hurry. ‘Don’t be hasty”’ is his motto; but nobody, not even Elves, will say much about Gandalf’s movements when he is not there. “**Hoom! Gandalf!” said Treebeard. ‘“‘I am glad you have come. Wood and water, stock and stone, I can master; but there is a Wizard to manage here.” ‘**Treebeard,”’ said Gandalf. “‘I need your help. You have done much, but I need more. I have about ten thousand Orcs to manage.” “Then those two went off and had a council together in some corner. It must have seemed very hasty to Treebeard, for Gandalf was in a tremendous hurry, and was already talking at a great pace, before they passed out of hearing. They were only away a matter of minutes, perhaps a quarter of an hour. Then Gandalf came back to us, and he seemed relieved, almost merry. He did say he was glad to see us, then. ‘*“But Gandalf,” I cried, “where have you been? And have you seen the others?”’ “*Wherever I have been, I am back,”’ he answered in the genuine Gandalf manner. “‘Yes, I have seen some of the others. But news must wait. This is a perilous night, and I must ride fast. But the dawn may be brighter; and if so, we shall meet again. Take care of yourselves, and keep away from Orthanc! Good-bye!”’ “Treebeard was very thoughtful after Gandalf had gone. He had evidently learnt a lot in a short time and was digesting it. He looked at us and said: ““Hm, well, I find you are not such hasty folk as I thought. You said much less than you might, and no more than you
那是騎馬者迅速沿路而來的聲音。梅里和我靜靜地躺著，樹鬍則藏在拱門下的陰影裡。突然，一匹高大的駿馬大步流星地奔來，像一道銀色的閃光。天色已暗，但我能清楚地看見騎士的臉：它似乎在發光，他全身的衣服都是白色的。我只是張著嘴坐起來，呆呆地看著。我試著喊叫，卻發不出聲音。「沒必要喊。他就在我們旁邊停下，低頭看著我們。『甘道夫！』我終於說，但我的聲音只是耳語。他有說：『哈囉，皮聘！真是個驚喜！』嗎？不，當然沒有！他說：『起來，你這圖克家的傻小子！在這片廢墟中，究竟哪裡才能找到樹鬍？我要找他。快！』」「樹鬍聽到他的聲音，立刻從陰影中走出來；那是一場奇特的會面。我很驚訝，因為他們倆似乎都一點也不驚訝。甘道夫顯然預料到會在這裡找到樹鬍；而樹鬍也幾乎像是在門口附近故意閒晃等他似的。然而，我們明明把摩瑞亞的一切都告訴了那個老樹人了。但後來我想起他當時給我們的一個奇怪眼神。我只能猜想他見過甘道夫或得到了他的消息，但不想倉促地說出來。『別太倉促』是他的座右銘；但沒有人，連精靈也不會，在甘道夫不在時多談論他的行蹤。『呼嗯！甘道夫！』樹鬍說，『我很高興你來了。樹木與流水，牲畜與岩石，我都能駕馭；但這裡有個巫師要處理。』『樹鬍，』甘道夫說，『我需要你的幫助。你已經做了很多，但我需要更多。我大約有一萬個半獸人要處理。』」「然後他們兩個就走到角落裡開了個會。對樹鬍來說，這肯定顯得非常倉促，因為甘道夫非常匆忙，他們還沒走出我們的聽力範圍，就已經用極快的速度在交談了。他們只離開了幾分鐘，也許一刻鐘。然後甘道夫回到我們這裡，他似乎鬆了口氣，幾乎是愉快的。那時他確實說了很高興見到我們。『可是甘道夫，』我哭著說，『你到哪裡去了？你看見其他人了嗎？』『無論我去過哪裡，我回來了，』他以甘道夫的道地風格回答。『是的，我見過其他一些人。但消息得等等。今夜很危險，我必須快馬加鞭。但黎明可能會更光明；如果如此，我們會再見面的。照顧好自己，遠離歐散克！再見！』」「甘道夫走後，樹鬍陷入了沉思。他顯然在短時間內學到了很多東西，正在消化。他看著我們說：『嗯，好吧，我發現你們並不像我想的那麼倉促。你們說的比你們可能說的少得多，也沒多說什麼。』」
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM S71: should. Hm, this is a bundle of news and no mistake! Well, now Treebeard must get busy again.” ‘Before he went, we got a little news out of him; and it did not cheer us up at all. But for the moment we thought more about you three than about Frodo and Sam, or about poor Boromir. For we gathered that there was a great battle going on, or soon would be, and that you were in it, and might never come out of it. ‘**Huorns will help,’’ said Treebeard. Then he went away and we did not see him again until this morning. ‘It was deep night. We lay on top of a pile of stone, and could see nothing beyond it. Mist or shadows blotted out everything like a great blanket all round us. The air seemed hot and heavy; and it was full of rustlings, creakings, and a murmur like voices passing. I think that hundreds more of the Huorns must have been passing by to help in the battle. Later there was a great rumble of thunder away south, and flashes of lightning far away across Rohan. Every now and then we could see mountain-peaks, miles and miles away, stab out suddenly, black and white, and then vanish. And behind us there were noises like thunder in hills, but different. At times the whole valley echoed. ‘It must have been about midnight when the Ents broke the dams and poured all the gathered waters through a gap in the northern wall, down into Isengard. The Huorn-dark had passed, and the thunder had rolled away. The Moon was sinking behind the western mountains. ‘Isengard began to fill up with black creeping streams and pools. They glittered in the last light of the Moon, as they spread over the plain. Every now and then the waters found their way down into some shaft or spouthole. Great white steams hissed up. Smoke rose in billows. There were explosions and gusts of fire. One great coil of vapour went whirling up, twisting round and round Orthanc, until it looked like a tall peak of cloud, fiery underneath and moonlit above. And still more water poured in, until at last Isengard looked like a huge flat saucepan, all steaming and bubbling.’ ‘We saw a cloud of smoke and steam from the south last night, when we came to the mouth of Nan Curunir,’ said Aragorn. ‘We feared that Saruman was brewing some new devilry for us.’ ‘Not he!’ said Pippin. ‘He was probably choking and not laughing any more. By the morning, yesterday morning, the water had sunk down into all the holes, and there was a dense fog. We took refuge in that guardroom over there; and we had rather a fright. The lake began to overflow and pour out through the old tunnel, and the water was rapidly rising up the steps. We thought we were going to get
572 THE LORD OF THE RINGS caught like Orcs in a hole; but we found a winding stair at the back of the store-room that brought us out on top of the arch. It was a squeeze to get out, as the passages had been cracked and half blocked with fallen stone near the top. There we sat high up above the floods and watched the drowning of Isengard. The Ents kept on pouring in more water, till all the fires were quenched and every cave filled. The fogs slowly gathered together and steamed up into a huge umbrella of cloud: it must have been a mile high. In the evening there was a great rainbow over the eastern hills; and then the sunset was blotted out by a thick drizzle on the mountain-sides. It all went very quiet. A few wolves howled mournfully, far away. The Ents stopped the inflow in the night, and sent the Isen back into its old course. And that was the end of it all. ‘Since then the water has been sinking again. There must be outlets somewhere from the caves underneath, I think. If Saruman peeps out of any of his windows, it must look an untidy, dreary mess. We felt very lonely. Not even a visible Ent to talk to in all the ruin; and no news. We spent the night up on top there above the arch, and it was cold and damp and we did not sleep. We had a feeling that anything might happen at any minute. Saruman is still in his tower. There was a noise in the night like a wind coming up the valley. I think the Ents and Huorns that had been away came back then; but where they have all gone to now, I don’t know. It was a misty, moisty morning when we climbed down and looked round again, and nobody was about. And that is about all there is to tell. It seems almost peaceful now after all the turmoil. And safer too, somehow, since Gandalf came back. I could sleep!’ They all fell silent for a while. Gimli re-filled his pipe. “There is one thing I wonder about,’ he said as he lit it with his flint and tinder: ‘Wormtongue. You told Théoden he was with Saruman. How did he get there?’ ‘Oh yes, I forgot about him,’ said Pippin. ‘He did not get here till this morning. We had just lit the fire and had some breakfast when Treebeard appeared again. We heard him hooming and calling our names outside. ““*T have just come round to see how you are faring, my lads,” he said; ‘‘and to give you some news. Huorns have come back. All’s well; aye very well indeed!”’ he laughed, and slapped his thighs. “No more Orcs in Isengard, no more axes! And there will be folk coming up from the South before the day is old; some that you may be glad to see.”’ ‘He had hardly said that, when we heard the sound of hoofs on the road. We rushed out before the gates, and I stood and stared,
「我們像半獸人一樣被困在洞裡；但我們在儲藏室後面找到了一道旋轉樓梯，把我們帶到了拱門頂上。要出來可真擠，因為通道頂部附近裂開了，還被掉落的石頭堵住了一半。我們就坐在那裡，高高地在洪水之上，看著艾辛格被淹沒。樹人不停地灌入更多的水，直到所有的火都熄滅，每個洞穴都灌滿了水。濃霧慢慢聚集起來，蒸騰成一把巨大的雲傘：肯定有一英里高。傍晚時分，東邊的山上出現了一道大彩虹；然後日落被山腰上濃密的細雨給遮蔽了。一切都變得非常安靜。遠處有幾隻狼在哀嚎。樹人在夜裡停止了進水，讓艾辛河回歸舊道。事情就這樣結束了。『從那時起，水又一直在下降。我想底下的洞穴某處一定有出口。如果薩魯曼從他的任何一扇窗戶往外偷看，看到的景象一定是一片狼藉、淒涼不堪。我們感到非常孤單。在整片廢墟中，連一個看得見的樹人都沒有可以說話；也沒有任何消息。我們在拱門頂上過了一夜，又冷又濕，我們都沒睡著。我們有種感覺，任何事情都可能在任何一刻發生。薩魯曼還在他的塔裡。夜裡有聲音，像一陣風從山谷裡吹上來。我想是那些離開的樹人和胡恩回來了；但他們現在都去哪兒了，我不知道。我們爬下來再次環顧四周時，是個迷濛潮濕的早晨，周圍沒有任何人。這大概就是所有要說的了。經歷了所有的騷動之後，現在似乎幾乎是平靜的。而且不知怎的，自從甘道夫回來後，也更安全了。我能睡著了！』他們都沉默了一會兒。金靂重新裝滿了他的煙斗。『有一件事我很好奇，』他用打火石與火絨點燃煙斗時說：『巧言。你告訴希優頓他跟薩魯曼在一起。他是怎麼到那兒的？』『哦，對了，我忘了他，』皮聘說。『他直到今天早上才到這裡。我們剛生好火，吃了點早餐，樹鬍就又出現了。我們聽到他在外面發出宏亮的聲音，呼喚我們的名字。「我剛過來看看你們怎麼樣，我的孩子們，」他說；「順便給你們帶些消息。胡恩們回來了。一切都好；啊，真的非常好！」』他大笑著，拍了拍大腿。『艾辛格再也沒有半獸人了，再也沒有斧頭了！而且在今天結束之前，會有人從南方上來；有些是你們可能會很高興見到的人。』『他話還沒說完，我們就聽到了路上傳來的蹄聲。我們衝出大門，我站在那裡凝視著，」
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 573 half expecting to see Strider and Gandalf come riding up at the head of an army. But out of the mist there rode a man on an old tired horse; and he looked a queer twisted sort of creature himself. There was no one else. When he came out of the mist and suddenly saw all the ruin and wreckage in front of him, he sat and gaped, and his face went almost green. He was so bewildered that he did not seem to notice us at first. When he did, he gave a cry, and tried to turn his horse round and ride off. But Treebeard took three strides, put out a long arm, and lifted him out of the saddle. His horse bolted in terror, and he grovelled on the ground. He said he was Grima, friend and counsellor of the king, and had been sent with important messages from Theoden to Saruman. “**Nlo one else would dare to ride through the open land, so full of foul Orcs,” he said, ‘‘so I was sent. And I have had a perilous journey, and I am hungry and weary. I fled far north out of my way, pursued by wolves.”’ ‘I caught the sidelong looks he gave to Treebeard, and I said to myself “‘liar’’. Treebeard looked at him in his long slow way for several minutes, till the wretched man was squirming on the floor. Then at last he said: ““Ha, hm, I was expecting you, Master Wormtongue.”’ The man started at that name. “‘Gandalf got here first. So I know as much about you as I need, and I know what to do with you. Put all the rats in one trap, said Gandalf; and I will. I am the master of Isengard now, but Saruman is locked in his tower; and you can go there and give him all the messages that you can think of.”’ ‘“Tet me go, let me go!” said Wormtongue. “TI know the way.”’ “**You knew the way, I don’t doubt,” said Treebeard. “But things have changed here a little. Go and see!”’ ‘He let Wormtongue go, and he limped off through the arch, with us close behind, until he came inside the ring and could see all the floods that lay between him and Orthanc. Then he turned to us. ‘“Tet me go away!” he whined. “‘Let me go away! My messages are useless now.”’ “*“They are indeed,”’ said Treebeard. ‘““But you have only two choices: to stay with me until Gandalf and your master arrive; or to cross the water. Which will you have?’’ “The man shivered at the mention of his master, and put a foot into the water; but he drew back. “I cannot swim,” he said. “**The water is not deep,” said Treebeard. “It is dirty, but that will not harm you, Master Wormtongue. In you go now!”’ ‘With that the wretch floundered off into the flood. It rose up nearly to his neck before he got too far away for me to see him. The last I saw of him was clinging to some old barrel or piece of wood. But Treebeard waded after him, and watched his progress.
574 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘““Well, he has gone in,” he said when he returned. “I saw him crawling up the steps like a draggled rat. There is someone in the tower still: a hand came out and pulled him in. So there he is, and I hope the welcome is to his liking. Now I must go and wash myself clean of the slime. Pll be away up on the north side, if anyone wants to see me. There is no clean water down here fit for an Ent to drink, or to bathe in. So I will ask you two lads to keep a watch at the gate for the folk that are coming. There’ll be the Lord of the Fields of Rohan, mark you! You must welcome him as well as you know how: his men have fought a great fight with the Orcs. Maybe, you know the right fashion of Men’s words for such a lord, better than Ents. There have been many lords in the green fields in my time, and I have never learned their speech or their names. They will be wanting man-food, and you know all about that, I guess. So find what you think is fit for a king to eat, if you can.’’ And that is the end of the story. Though I should like to know who this Wormtongue is. Was he really the king’s counsellor?’ ‘He was,’ said Aragorn; ‘and also Saruman’s spy and servant in Rohan. Fate has not been kinder to him than he deserves. The sight of the ruin of all that he thought so strong and magnificent must have been almost punishment enough. But I fear that worse awaits him.’ “Yes, I don’t suppose Treebeard sent him to Orthanc out of kindness,’ said Merry. ‘He seemed rather grimly delighted with the business, and was laughing to himself when he went to get his bathe and drink. We spent a busy time after that, searching the flotsam, and rummaging about. We found two or three store-rooms in different places nearby, above the flood-level. But Treebeard sent some Ents down, and they carried off a great deal of the stuff. “We want man-food for twenty-five,’ the Ents said, so you can see that somebody had counted your company carefully before you arrived. You three were evidently meant to go with the great people. But you would not have fared any better. We kept as good as we sent, I promise you. Better, because we sent no drink. ‘*What about drink?’’ I said to the Ents. “**There is water of Isen,”’ they said, “‘and that is good enough for Ents and Men.” But I hope that the Ents may have found time to brew some of their draughts from the mountain-springs, and we shall see Gandalf’s beard curling when he returns. After the Ents had gone, we felt tired, and hungry. But we did not grumble — our labours had been well rewarded. It was through our search for manfood that Pippin discovered the prize of all the flotsam, those Hornblower barrels. ‘“‘Pipe-weed is better after food,”’ said Pippin; that is how the situation arose.’
「『嗯，他進去了，』他回來時說。『我看到他像隻濕透的老鼠一樣爬上台階。塔裡還有人：一隻手伸出來把他拉了進去。所以他就在那裡了，我希望他會喜歡這個歡迎儀式。現在我得去把自己身上的黏液洗乾淨。如果有人想見我，我會到北邊高處去。這裡下面沒有乾淨的水適合樹人喝，也沒法洗澡。所以我要請你們兩個小夥子在門口守著，等那些人來。注意，洛汗田野之主會來！你們必須盡你們所知地歡迎他：他的手下和半獸人打了一場硬仗。也許，你們比樹人更懂該用什麼樣的人類言詞來稱呼這樣一位領主。在我有生之年，綠色田野上曾有過許多領主，我從未學會他們的語言或名字。他們會需要人類的食物，我想你們對此一清二楚。所以，如果可以的話，去找些你們認為適合國王吃的東西吧。』故事就到這裡了。不過我很想知道這個巧言是誰。他真的是國王的顧問嗎？」 「他曾是，」亞拉岡說；「也是薩魯曼在洛汗的間諜和僕人。命運待他，不比他應得的更仁慈。眼見他曾以為如此強大宏偉的一切化為廢墟，這景象本身對他而言就差不多是足夠的懲罰了。但我擔心還有更糟的在等著他。」 「是啊，我想樹鬍送他去歐散克也不是出於好心，」梅里說。「他對這件事似乎帶著幾分冷酷的欣喜，他去洗澡和喝水的時候還在自顧自地笑呢。那之後我們可忙了，在漂浮物中搜尋，到處翻找。我們在附近幾個高於水面的地方找到兩三個儲藏室。但樹鬍派了些樹人下來，他們搬走了大量的東西。『我們要二十五人份的人類食物』，樹人們說，所以你看，在你們抵達前，有人已經仔細算過你們一行的人數了。你們三個顯然是註定要跟著那些大人物的。但你們的待遇也不會更好。我向你保證，我們留下的跟送去的一樣好。不，更好，因為我們沒送任何喝的。『那喝的呢？』我問樹人。『有艾辛河的水，』他們說，『那對樹人和人類來說已經夠好了。』但我希望樹人們能有時間用山泉釀造一些他們的樹人飲，等甘道夫回來時，我們就能看到他的鬍子捲起來了。樹人們走後，我們又累又餓。但我們沒有抱怨——我們的辛勞得到了豐厚的回報。正是因為我們尋找人類食物，皮聘才發現了所有漂浮物中最棒的寶物，那些號角手牌的桶子。『飯後來點煙草葉更好，』皮聘說；事情就是這樣發生的。」
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 575 ‘We understand it all perfectly now,’ said Gimli. ‘All except one thing,’ said Aragorn: ‘leaf from the Southfarthing in Isengard. The more I consider it, the more curious I find it. I have never been in Isengard, but I have journeyed in this land, and I know well the empty countries that lie between Rohan and the Shire. Neither goods nor folk have passed that way for many a long year, not openly. Saruman had secret dealings with someone in the Shire, I guess. Wormtongues may be found in other houses than King Théoden’s. Was there a date on the barrels?’ ‘Yes,’ said Pippin. ‘It was the 1417 crop, that is last year’s; no, the year before, of course, now: a good year.’ ‘Ah well, whatever evil was afoot is over now, I hope; or else it is beyond our reach at present,’ said Aragorn. ‘Yet I think I shall mention it to Gandalf, small matter though it may seem among his great affairs.’ ‘I wonder what he is doing,’ said Merry. “The afternoon is getting on. Let us go and look round! You can enter Isengard now at any rate, Strider, if you want to. But it is not a very cheerful sight.’
「我們現在完全明白了。」金靂說。「除了一件事，」亞拉岡說：「在艾辛格發現了南區的菸葉。我越想越覺得奇怪。我從未去過艾辛格，但我在這片土地上旅行過，我很清楚洛汗和夏爾之間那些空曠的國度。很多年來，無論是貨物還是人民，都沒有公開地從那條路經過。我猜，薩魯曼和夏爾的某個人有秘密交易。巧言那樣的人，可能不只出現在希優頓王的宮殿裡。桶子上有日期嗎？」「有，」皮聘說。「是1417年的收成，也就是去年的；不，現在看來，當然是前年的了：是個好年份。」「啊，好吧，無論有什麼邪惡正在醞釀，我希望現在都結束了；不然就是目前我們也無能為力。」亞拉岡說。「不過，儘管這在他那些大事中可能只是件小事，我還是覺得應該跟甘道夫提一下。」「不知道他在做什麼，」梅里說。「下午時間不早了。我們去四處看看吧！無論如何，神行客，如果你想的話，現在可以進入艾辛格了。但那景象可不怎麼令人愉快。」