Chapter II THE PALANTIR The sun was sinking behind the long western arm of the mountains when Gandalf and his companions, and the king with his Riders, set out again from Isengard. Gandalf took Merry behind him, and Aragorn took Pippin. Two of the king’s men went on ahead, riding swiftly, and passed soon out of sight down into the valley. The others followed at an easy pace. Ents in a solemn row stood like statues at the gate, with their long arms uplifted, but they made no sound. Merry and Pippin looked back, when they had passed some way down the winding road. Sunlight was still shining in the sky, but long shadows reached over Isengard: grey ruins falling into darkness. Treebeard stood alone there now, like the distant stump of an old tree: the hobbits thought of their first meeting, upon the sunny ledge far away on the borders of Fangorn. They came to the pillar of the White Hand. The pillar was still standing, but the graven hand had been thrown down and broken into small pieces. Right in the middle of the road the long forefinger lay, white in the dusk, its red nail darkening to black. “The Ents pay attention to every detail!’ said Gandalf. They rode on, and evening deepened in the valley. ‘Are we riding far tonight, Gandalf?’ asked Merry after a while. ‘I don’t know how you feel with small rag-tag dangling behind you; but the rag-tag is tired and will be glad to stop dangling and lie down.’ ‘So you heard that?’ said Gandalf. ‘Don’t let it rankle! Be thankful no longer words were aimed at you. He had his eyes on you. If it is any comfort to your pride, I should say that, at the moment, you and Pippin are more in his thoughts than all the rest of us. Who you are; how you came there, and why; what you know; whether you were captured, and if so, how you escaped when all the Orcs perished — it is with those little riddles that the great mind of Saruman is troubled. A sneer from him, Meriadoc, is a compliment, if you feel honoured by his concern.’ “Thank you!’ said Merry. ‘But it is a greater honour to dangle at your tail, Gandalf. For one thing, in that position one has a chance of putting a question a second time. Are we riding far tonight?’ Gandalf laughed. ‘A most unquenchable hobbit! All Wizards should have a hobbit or two in their care — to teach them the meaning of the word, and to correct them. I beg your pardon. But I have
第二章 帕蘭特里石 當甘道夫與其同伴，以及國王和他的騎士們再次從艾辛格出發時，太陽正沉入西邊綿延的山脈臂彎之後。甘道夫讓梅里坐在他身後，亞拉岡則載著皮聘。兩名國王的部下快馬加鞭先行一步，很快便消失在下方的山谷中。其他人則以悠閒的步伐跟在後面。樹人排成莊嚴的一列，像雕像般站在大門口，長臂高舉，但沒有發出任何聲響。沿著蜿蜒的道路走了一段路後，梅里和皮聘回頭望去。陽光仍在天空中閃耀，但長長的陰影已籠罩艾辛格：灰色的廢墟正陷入黑暗。樹鬍如今獨自站在那裡，像一棵遙遠老樹的殘樁：哈比人們想起了他們在法貢森林邊緣那陽光普照的岩架上的初次相遇。他們來到白掌石柱前。石柱依然矗立，但那雕刻的手掌已被推倒並摔得粉碎。長長的食指就躺在路中央，在暮色中泛著白光，其紅色的指甲則漸暗轉黑。「樹人真是注重每一個細節啊！」甘道夫說。他們繼續前行，夜色在山谷中漸濃。「我們今晚要騎很遠嗎，甘道夫？」過了一會兒，梅里問道。「我不知道您對於身後掛著個小累贅是什麼感覺；但這個累贅累了，很樂意能停止晃蕩，躺下來休息。」「所以你聽到了？」甘道夫說。「別讓那話刺痛你！慶幸他沒有對你說更多吧。他一直盯著你們呢。如果這能安慰你的自尊心，我得說，此刻你和皮聘在他心裡的份量，比我們其他人加起來都重。你們是誰；如何來到這裡，又為何而來；你們知道些什麼；你們是否曾被俘虜，若是，當所有半獸人滅亡時你們又是如何逃脫的——薩魯曼那偉大的心智，正被這些小小的謎題所困擾。來自他的一句冷笑，梅里雅達克，就是一種讚美，如果你因他的『關切』而感到榮幸的話。」「謝謝您！」梅里說。「但能掛在您的尾巴後頭是更大的榮幸，甘道夫。首先，在那個位置上，人有機會把問題再問一次。我們今晚要騎很遠嗎？」甘道夫笑了。「真是個不屈不撓的哈比人！所有巫師都應該照顧一兩個哈比人——好讓他們教巫師詞彙的意義，並糾正他們。恕我失言。但是我……
THE PALANTIR 589 given thought even to these simple matters. We will ride for a few hours, gently, until we come to the end of the valley. Tomorrow we must ride faster. ‘When we came, we meant to go straight from Isengard back to the king’s house at Edoras over the plains, a ride of some days. But we have taken thought and changed the plan. Messengers have gone ahead to Helm’s Deep, to warn them that the king is returning tomorrow. He will ride from there with many men to Dunharrow by paths among the hills. From now on no more than two or three together are to go openly over the land, by day or night, when it can be avoided.’ ‘Nothing or a double helping is your way!’ said Merry. ‘I am afraid I was not looking beyond tonight’s bed. Where and what are Helm’s Deep and all the rest of it? I don’t know anything about this country.’ “Then you’d best learn something, if you wish to understand what is happening. But not just now, and not from me: I have too many pressing things to think about.’ ‘All right, I'll tackle Strider by the camp-fire: he’s less testy. But why all this secrecy? I thought we’d won the battle!’ “Yes, we have won, but only the first victory, and that in itself increases our danger. There was some link between Isengard and Mordor, which I have not yet fathomed. How they exchanged news I am not sure; but they did so. The Eye of Barad-dtr will be looking impatiently towards the Wizard’s Vale, I think; and towards Rohan. The less it sees the better.’ The road passed slowly, winding down the valley. Now further, and now nearer Isen flowed in its stony bed. Night came down from the mountains. All the mists were gone. A chill wind blew. The moon, now waxing round, filled the eastern sky with a pale cold sheen. The shoulders of the mountain to their right sloped down to bare hills. The wide plains opened grey before them. At last they halted. Then they turned aside, leaving the highway and taking to the sweet upland turf again. Going westward a mile or so they came to a dale. It opened southward, leaning back into the slope of round Dol Baran, the last hill of the northern ranges, greenfooted, crowned with heather. The sides of the glen were shaggy with last year’s bracken, among which the tight-curled fronds of spring were just thrusting through the sweet-scented earth. Thornbushes grew thick upon the low banks, and under them they made their camp, two hours or so before the middle of the night. They lit a fire in a hollow, down among the roots of a spreading hawthorn, tall as a tree, writhen with age, but hale in every limb. Buds were swelling at each twig’s tip.
我們將輕緩地騎行幾個小時，直到抵達山谷的盡頭。明天我們必須加快速度。「我們來的時候，本來打算直接從艾辛格穿過平原，回到伊多拉斯的王宮，那需要幾天的路程。但我們深思熟慮後改變了計畫。信使已經先行前往聖盔谷，通知他們國王明天將會返回。他會從那裡率領大批人馬，沿著山間小路前往登哈洛。從現在起，除非萬不得已，無論白天黑夜，都不可超過兩三個人一起公開在陸地上行走。」「『要嘛沒有，要嘛加倍，這就是你的作風！』梅里說。『我恐怕只想到今晚的床鋪。聖盔谷和那些地方到底在哪裡、是什麼樣子？我對這個國家一無所知。』」「『那如果你想明白發生了什麼事，最好還是學點東西。但不是現在，也別問我：我有太多緊迫的事情要思考。』」「『好吧，我會在營火旁去問神行客：他比較不那麼暴躁。但為什麼要這麼神秘？我還以為我們打贏了仗呢！』」「『是的，我們贏了，但這只是第一場勝利，而勝利本身就增加了我們的危險。艾辛格和魔多之間有某種聯繫，我還沒能完全弄明白。我不確定他們如何交換消息；但他們確實這麼做了。我想，巴拉多之眼會不耐煩地望向巫師谷，也會望向洛汗。它看得越少越好。』道路緩緩延伸，蜿蜒而下。艾森河在它那石礫遍布的河床上時遠時近地流淌。夜幕從山巒降臨。所有的薄霧都已散去。一陣寒風吹來。月亮正逐漸圓滿，將東方的天空灑滿一層蒼白冷冽的光輝。他們右側的山肩傾斜而下，變成光禿禿的丘陵。寬闊的平原在他們面前展開，一片灰濛。他們終於停下腳步。接著他們轉向一旁，離開大路，再次踏上芬芳的高地草皮。向西走了一英里左右，他們來到一個小山谷。山谷朝南敞開，倚靠在圓形的多爾巴蘭山坡上，那是北方山脈的最後一座山丘，山腳翠綠，山頂覆蓋著石楠花。峽谷兩側長滿了去年枯黃的蕨類，顯得毛茸茸的；在其中，春天捲曲緊實的新葉正從芬芳的泥土中奮力鑽出。低矮的河岸上長滿了茂密的荊棘叢，他們就在叢下紮營，時間大約是午夜前兩小時。他們在一棵伸展的山楂樹根部間的凹地裡生了火；那棵山楂樹高大如喬木，因年歲而扭曲，但每根枝幹都依然健壯。每個枝頭上，花苞都正在膨脹。
590 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Guards were set, two at a watch. The rest, after they had supped, wrapped themselves in a cloak and blanket and slept. The hobbits lay in a corner by themselves upon a pile of old bracken. Merry was sleepy, but Pippin now seemed curiously restless. The bracken cracked and rustled, as he twisted and turned. ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Merry. ‘Are you lying on an ant-hill?’ ‘No,’ said Pippin, ‘but I’m not comfortable. I wonder how long it is since I slept in a bed?’ Merry yawned. ‘Work it out on your fingers!’ he said. ‘But you must know how long it is since we left Lorien.’ ‘Oh, that!’ said Pippin. ‘I mean a real bed in a bedroom.’ ‘Well, Rivendell then,’ said Merry. ‘But I could sleep anywhere tonight.’ “You had the luck, Merry,’ said Pippin softly, after a pause. “You were riding with Gandalf.’ ‘Well, what of it?’ ‘Did you get any news, any information out of him?’ “Yes, a good deal. More than usual. But you heard it all or most of it; you were close by, and we were talking no secrets. But you can go with him tomorrow, if you think you can get more out of him — and if he’ll have you.’ ‘Can I? Good! But he’s close, isn’t he? Not changed at all.’ ‘Oh yes, he is!’ said Merry, waking up a little, and beginning to wonder what was bothering his companion. ‘He has grown, or something. He can be both kinder and more alarming, merrier and more solemn than before, I think. He has changed; but we have not had a chance to see how much, yet. But think of the last part of that business with Saruman! Remember Saruman was once Gandalf’s superior: head of the Council, whatever that may be exactly. He was Saruman the White. Gandalf is the White now. Saruman came when he was told, and his rod was taken; and then he was just told to go, and he went!’ ‘Well, if Gandalf has changed at all, then he’s closer than ever that’s all,’ Pippin argued. “That—glass ball, now. He seemed mighty pleased with it. He knows or guesses something about it. But does he tell us what? No, not a word. Yet I picked it up, and I saved it from rolling into a pool. Here, I’ll take that, my lad — that’s all. I wonder what it is? It felt so very heavy.’ Pippin’s voice fell very low, as if he was talking to himself. ‘Hullo!’ said Merry. ‘So that’s what is bothering you? Now, Pippin my lad, don’t forget Gildor’s saying — the one Sam used to quote: Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.’ But our whole life for months has been one long meddling in the
他們設了衛兵，兩人一班輪流守夜。其餘的人用過晚餐後，便用斗篷和毯子把自己裹起來睡覺了。哈比人則自己躺在角落裡一堆舊的蕨葉上。梅里很睏，但皮聘現在卻顯得異常焦躁不安。他翻來覆去，身下的蕨葉發出劈啪和沙沙的聲響。「怎麼了？」梅里問。「你躺在蟻丘上了嗎？」「沒有，」皮聘說，「但我覺得不舒服。我不知道我有多久沒在床上睡覺了？」梅里打了個哈欠。「用你的手指算算看吧！」他說。「但你肯定知道我們離開羅瑞安多久了。」「喔，那個啊！」皮聘說。「我是說在臥室裡真正的床。」「嗯，那就是瑞文戴爾了，」梅里說。「但我今晚在哪裡都能睡著。」「你運氣好，梅里，」一陣沉默後，皮聘輕聲說。「你跟甘道夫一起騎馬。」「嗯，那又怎樣？」「你從他那裡得到什麼消息、什麼情報了嗎？」「是的，很多。比平常多。但你全都聽到了，或至少大部分；你就在旁邊，我們也沒說什麼秘密。但你明天可以跟他一起走，如果你覺得能從他那裡套出更多話——而且如果他願意帶你的話。」「我可以嗎？太好了！但他很口密，不是嗎？一點都沒變。」「喔，不，他變了！」梅里說，稍微清醒了些，開始好奇是什麼在困擾他的同伴。「他成長了，或發生了什麼事。我覺得他可以比以前更仁慈也更嚇人，更開朗也更嚴肅。他變了；但我們還沒有機會看到他變了多少。但想想看跟薩魯曼那件事的最後部分！記住，薩魯曼曾經是甘道夫的上司：議會的首領，不管那究竟是什麼。他是白袍薩魯曼。甘道夫現在是白袍巫師了。薩魯曼奉命前來，他的法杖被奪走；然後他只被告知可以走了，他就走了！」「嗯，如果甘道夫有任何改變，那就是他比以前更守口如瓶了，就這樣，」皮聘爭辯道。「那個——玻璃球。他似乎對它非常滿意。他知道或猜到了些什麼。但他告訴我們了嗎？沒有，一個字也沒提。然而那是我撿起來的，我救了它沒讓它滾進水池裡。『喂，這個我來拿，我的孩子』——就這樣。我真想知道那是什麼？感覺非常重。」皮聘的聲音變得非常低，彷彿在自言自語。「哈囉！」梅里說。「所以這就是困擾你的事？喂，皮聘我的孩子，別忘了吉爾多的那句話——山姆以前常引用的那句：不要插手巫師的事務，因為他們心思深沉又容易發怒。但我們這幾個月來的生活，根本就是一長串的插手……
THE PALANTIR 591 affairs of Wizards,’ said Pippin. ‘I should like a bit of information as well as danger. I should like a look at that ball.’ ‘Go to sleep!’ said Merry. “You’ll get information enough, sooner or later. My dear Pippin, no Took ever beat a Brandybuck for inquisitiveness; but is this the time, I ask you?’ ‘All right! What’s the harm in my telling you what I should like: a look at that stone? I know I can’t have it, with old Gandalf sitting on it, like a hen on an egg. But it doesn’t help much to get no more from you than a you-can’t-have-it so-go-to-sleep|’ ‘Well, what else could I say?’ said Merry. ‘I’m sorry, Pippin, but you really must wait till the morning. Ill be as curious as you like after breakfast, and Ill help in any way I can at wizard-wheedling. But I can’t keep awake any longer. If I yawn any more, I shall split at the ears. Good night!’ Pippin said no more. He lay still now, but sleep remained far away; and it was not encouraged by the sound of Merry breathing softly, asleep in a few minutes after saying good night. The thought of the dark globe seemed to grow stronger as all grew quiet. Pippin felt again its weight in his hands, and saw again the mysterious red depths into which he had looked for a moment. He tossed and turned and tried to think of something else. At last he could stand it no longer. He got up and looked round. It was chilly, and he wrapped his cloak about him. The moon was shining cold and white, down into the dell, and the shadows of the bushes were black. All about lay sleeping shapes. The two guards were not in view: they were up on the hill, perhaps, or hidden in the bracken. Driven by some impulse that he did not understand, Pippin walked softly to where Gandalf lay. He looked down at him. The wizard seemed asleep, but with lids not fully closed: there was a glitter of eyes under his long lashes. Pippin stepped back hastily. But Gandalf made no sign; and drawn forward once more, half against his will, the hobbit crept up again from behind the wizard’s head. He was rolled in a blanket, with his cloak spread over the top; and close beside him, between his right side and his bent arm, there was a hummock, something round wrapped in a dark cloth; his hand seemed only just to have slipped off it to the ground. Hardly breathing, Pippin crept nearer, foot by foot. At last he knelt down. Then he put his hands out stealthily, and slowly lifted the lump up: it did not seem quite so heavy as he had expected. ‘Only some bundle of oddments, perhaps, after all,’ he thought with a strange sense of relief; but he did not put the bundle down again. He stood for a moment clasping it. Then an idea came into his mind. He tiptoed away, found a large stone, and came back.
「這是巫師的事，」皮聘說。「我除了危險，也想要一點情報。我想看看那顆球。」「去睡覺！」梅里說。「你遲早會得到足夠的情報。我親愛的皮聘，圖克家的人在好奇心上從來沒贏過烈酒鹿家的人；但我問你，現在是時候嗎？」「好吧！我告訴你我想要什麼有什麼壞處：看看那顆石頭？我知道我拿不到，老甘道夫像母雞孵蛋一樣坐在上面。但從你這裡只得到一句『你不能拿，快去睡覺』也沒什麼幫助。」「嗯，我還能說什麼？」梅里說。「我很抱歉，皮聘，但你真的必須等到早上。早餐後我會跟你一樣好奇，而且我會盡我所能幫忙去哄騙巫師。但我真的撐不住了。再打哈欠，我的耳朵都要裂開了。晚安！」皮聘沒再說話。他靜靜地躺著，但睡意全無；梅里說完晚安幾分鐘後就睡著了，他輕柔的呼吸聲也無助於入眠。隨著四周變得寂靜，那顆黑色球體的念頭似乎越來越強烈。皮聘再次感覺到它在手中的重量，再次看到他曾短暫凝視過的神秘紅色深淵。他翻來覆去，試圖想些別的事情。最後他再也受不了了。他起身環顧四周。天氣很冷，他用斗篷裹緊自己。月光冰冷潔白地灑進山谷，灌木叢的影子一片漆黑。四周躺著沉睡的身影。那兩名衛兵不在視線範圍內：他們可能在山丘上，或藏在蕨類植物中。被一股自己也不明白的衝動驅使，皮聘輕輕地走向甘道夫躺著的地方。他低頭看著他。巫師似乎睡著了，但眼皮沒有完全閉上：長長的睫毛下閃爍著眼光。皮聘急忙退後一步。但甘道夫沒有任何動靜；哈比人再次被吸引上前，半推半就地，又從巫師頭後方悄悄靠近。甘道夫裹在一條毯子裡，上面蓋著他的斗篷；緊挨著他，在他右側和彎曲的手臂之間，有一個小丘，是個用黑布包裹的圓形物體；他的手似乎剛從上面滑落到地上。皮聘幾乎屏住呼吸，一步一步地靠近。最後他跪了下來。然後他偷偷伸出雙手，慢慢地把那個東西舉起來：它似乎沒有他預期的那麼重。「也許終究只是一些雜物罷了，」他想，心中湧起一股奇特的寬慰感；但他沒有把包裹放回去。他緊握著它站了一會兒。然後一個念頭在他腦中浮現。他踮起腳尖走開，找了一塊大石頭，然後回來了。
592 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Quickly now he drew off the cloth, wrapped the stone in it and kneeling down, laid it back by the wizard’s hand. Then at last he looked at the thing that he had uncovered. There it was: a smooth globe of crystal, now dark and dead, lying bare before his knees. Pippin lifted it, covered it hurriedly in his own cloak, and half turned to go back to his bed. At that moment Gandalf moved in his sleep, and muttered some words: they seemed to be in a strange tongue; his hand groped out and clasped the wrapped stone, then he sighed and did not move again. “You idiotic fool!’ Pippin muttered to himself. “You’re going to get yourself into frightful trouble. Put it back quick!’ But he found now that his knees quaked, and he did not dare to go near enough to the wizard to reach the bundle. ‘Tl never get it back now without waking him,’ he thought, ‘not till I’m a bit calmer. So I may as well have a look first. Not just here though!’ He stole away, and sat down on a green hillock not far from his bed. The moon looked in over the edge of the dell. Pippin sat with his knees drawn up and the ball between them. He bent low over it, looking like a greedy child stooping over a bowl of food, in a corner away from others. He drew his cloak aside and gazed at it. The air seemed still and tense about him. At first the globe was dark, black as jet, with the moonlight gleaming on its surface. Then there came a faint glow and stir in the heart of it, and it held his eyes, so that now he could not look away. Soon all the inside seemed on fire; the ball was spinning, or the lights within were revolving. Suddenly the lights went out. He gave a gasp and struggled; but he remained bent, clasping the ball with both hands. Closer and closer he bent, and then became rigid; his lips moved soundlessly for a while. Then with a strangled cry he fell back and lay still. The cry was piercing. The guards leapt down from the banks. All the camp was soon astir. ‘So this is the thief!’ said Gandalf. Hastily he cast his cloak over the globe where it lay. ‘But you, Pippin! This is a grievous turn to things!’ He knelt by Pippin’s body: the hobbit was lying on his back, rigid, with unseeing eyes staring up at the sky. “The devilry! What mischief has he done — to himself, and to all of us?’ The wizard’s face was drawn and haggard. He took Pippin’s hand and bent over his face, listening for his breath; then he laid his hands on his brow. The hobbit shuddered. His eyes closed. He cried out; and sat up, staring in bewilderment at all the faces round him, pale in the moonlight. ‘It is not for you, Saruman!’ he cried in a shrill and toneless voice, shrinking away from Gandalf. ‘I will send for it at once. Do you
他迅速抽掉布，把石頭包在裡面，跪下來，將它放回巫師手邊。然後，他終於看向自己揭開的東西。就在那裡：一顆光滑的水晶球，此刻黯淡無光，了無生氣，赤裸裸地躺在他膝前。皮聘把它舉起來，匆忙用自己的斗篷蓋住，半轉身想回到床上。就在那時，甘道夫在睡夢中動了一下，喃喃說了幾個字：聽起來像是一種奇怪的語言；他的手摸索著伸出，握住了那顆包著的石頭，然後嘆了口氣，便不再動了。「你這個白痴笨蛋！」皮聘對自己咕噥道。「你會給自己惹上天大的麻煩。快放回去！」但他發現自己的膝蓋在發抖，不敢靠近巫師去夠那個包裹。「現在不叫醒他，我根本放不回去了，」他想，「要等我冷靜一點才行。那我不如先看一眼。不過不能在這裡！」他悄悄溜走，坐到離床不遠的一個綠色小丘上。月光從山谷的邊緣探進來。皮聘抱膝而坐，把球放在兩膝之間。他低頭俯視著它，像個貪吃的孩子躲在角落裡，彎腰對著一碗食物。他拉開斗篷，凝視著它。周遭的空氣似乎靜止而緊繃。起初，球體是暗的，黑如煤玉，月光在其表面閃爍。接著，它的核心出現了微弱的光芒和騷動，攫住了他的目光，讓他再也無法移開。很快，整個內部似乎都著了火；球體在旋轉，或者說是裡面的光在轉動。突然，光芒熄滅了。他倒抽一口氣，掙扎了一下；但他仍然彎著腰，雙手緊握著球。他越彎越近，然後身體變得僵硬；他的嘴唇無聲地動了一會兒。接著，他發出一聲窒息的尖叫，向後倒下，一動也不動。那哭喊聲十分尖銳。衛兵們從岸上跳了下來。整個營地很快就騷動起來。「原來小偷就是你！」甘道夫說。他匆忙將斗篷蓋在躺在地上的球體上。「可是你，皮聘！事情演變成這樣，真是太不幸了！」他跪在皮聘的身體旁：哈比人仰躺著，身體僵硬，雙眼無神地望著天空。「這邪門的東西！他到底幹了什麼好事——對他自己，也對我們所有人？」巫師的臉上滿是憂慮，憔悴不堪。他握住皮聘的手，俯身聽他的呼吸；然後把手放在他的額頭上。哈比人顫抖了一下。他的眼睛閉上了。他叫了一聲；然後坐起來，困惑地盯著周圍在月光下顯得蒼白的臉孔。「這不是給你的，薩魯曼！」他用尖銳而單調的聲音喊道，一邊從甘道夫身邊畏縮退開。「我會立刻派人去拿。你……
THE PALANTIR 593 understand? Say just that!’ Then he struggled to get up and escape, but Gandalf held him gently and firmly. ‘Peregrin Took!’ he said. ‘Come back!’ The hobbit relaxed and fell back, clinging to the wizard’s hand. ‘Gandalf!’ he cried. ‘Gandalf! Forgive me!’ ‘Forgive your’ said the wizard. “Tell me first what you have done!’ ‘I, I took the ball and looked at it,’ stammered Pippin; ‘and I saw things that frightened me. And I wanted to go away, but I couldn’t. And then he came and questioned me; and he looked at me, and, and, that is all I remember.’ “That won’t do,’ said Gandalf sternly. ‘What did you see, and what did you say?’ Pippin shut his eyes and shivered, but said nothing. They all stared at him in silence, except Merry who turned away. But Gandalf’s face was still hard. ‘Speak!’ he said. In a low hesitating voice Pippin began again, and slowly his words grew clearer and stronger. ‘I saw a dark sky, and tall battlements,’ he said. ‘And tiny stars. It seemed very far away and long ago, yet hard and clear. Then the stars went in and out — they were cut off by things with wings. Very big, I think, really; but in the glass they looked like bats wheeling round the tower. I thought there were nine of them. One began to fly straight towards me, getting bigger and bigger. It had a horrible — no, no! I can’t say. ‘I tried to get away, because I thought it would fly out; but when it had covered all the globe, it disappeared. Then he came. He did not speak so that I could hear words. He just looked, and I understood. “**So you have come back? Why have you neglected to report for so long?” ‘I did not answer. He said: ‘‘Who are you?”’ I still did not answer, but it hurt me horribly; and he pressed me, so I said: “‘A hobbit.” “Then suddenly he seemed to see me, and he laughed at me. It was cruel. It was like being stabbed with knives. I struggled. But he said: ‘“Wait a moment! We shall meet again soon. Tell Saruman that this dainty is not for him. I will send for it at once. Do you understand? Say just that!’ “Then he gloated over me. I felt I was falling to pieces. No, no! I can’t say any more. I don’t remember anything else.’ ‘Look at me!’ said Gandalf. Pippin looked up straight into his eyes. The wizard held his gaze for a moment in silence. Then his face grew gentler, and the shadow of a smile appeared. He laid his hand softly on Pippin’s head. ‘All right!’ he said. ‘Say no more! You have taken no harm. There is no lie in your eyes, as I feared. But he did not speak long with you. A fool, but an honest fool, you remain, Peregrin Took. Wiser
「……懂嗎？就說這些！」然後他掙扎著想站起來逃跑，但甘道夫溫柔而堅定地抓住了他。「皮瑞格林・圖克！」他說。「回來！」哈比人放鬆下來，向後倒去，緊緊抓住巫師的手。「甘道夫！」他哭喊道。「甘道夫！原諒我！」「原諒你……」巫師說。「先告訴我你做了什麼！」「我，我拿了那個球，看了它，」皮聘結結巴巴地說；「然後我看到了一些嚇到我的東西。我想走開，但我走不了。然後他來了，質問我；他看著我，然後，然後，這就是我記得的全部了。」「這可不行，」甘道夫嚴厲地說。「你看到了什麼，又說了什麼？」皮聘閉上眼睛，打了個寒顫，但什麼也沒說。除了轉過頭去的梅里，所有人都沉默地盯著他。但甘道夫的臉色依舊嚴峻。「說！」他說。皮聘用低沉猶豫的聲音再次開口，他的話語慢慢變得更清晰、更有力。「我看到一片漆黑的天空，和高聳的城垛，」他說。「還有微小的星星。那似乎非常遙遠，像是很久以前的事，卻又堅實清晰。然後星星時隱時現——它們被有翅膀的東西擋住了。我想，它們真的非常大；但在水晶球裡，它們看起來像繞著塔盤旋的蝙蝠。我記得有九個。其中一個開始朝我直飛過來，越變越大。它有一個可怕的——不，不！我說不出口。「我試圖逃開，因為我以為它會飛出來；但當它覆蓋了整個球體後，它就消失了。然後他來了。他說話的方式我聽不見詞語。他只是看著，我就明白了。『這麼說你回來了？為何這麼久都疏於回報？』「我沒有回答。他說：『你是誰？』我仍然沒有回答，但那讓我痛苦萬分；他逼問我，所以我說：『一個哈比人。』「然後他似乎突然看見了我，並嘲笑我。那很殘酷。就像被刀刺一樣。我掙扎著。但他說：『等一下！我們很快會再見面的。告訴薩魯曼，這件珍品不是給他的。我會立刻派人來取。你懂嗎？就說這些！』「然後他對我幸災樂禍。我感覺自己要崩潰了。不，不！我不能再說了。我什麼都不記得了。」「看著我！」甘道夫說。皮聘抬頭直視他的眼睛。巫師沉默地與他對視片刻。然後他的臉色變得溫和，一絲微笑的影子浮現。他輕輕地把手放在皮聘的頭上。「好了！」他說。「別再說了！你沒有受到傷害。你眼中沒有謊言，不像我擔心的那樣。他跟你說話的時間不長。你依然是個傻瓜，皮瑞格林・圖克，但卻是個誠實的傻瓜。更聰明……」
594 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ones might have done worse in such a pass. But mark this! You have been saved, and all your friends too, mainly by good fortune, as it is called. You cannot count on it a second time. If he had questioned you, then and there, almost certainly you would have told all that you know, to the ruin of us all. But he was too eager. He did not want information only: he wanted you, quickly, so that he could deal with you in the Dark Tower, slowly. Don’t shudder! If you will meddle in the affairs of Wizards, you must be prepared to think of such things. But come! I forgive you. Be comforted! Things have not turned out as evilly as they might.’ He lifted Pippin gently and carried him back to his bed. Merry followed, and sat down beside him. ‘Lie there and rest, if you can, Pippin!’ said Gandalf. “Trust me. If you feel an itch in your palms again, tell me of it! Such things can be cured. But anyway, my dear hobbit, don’t put a lump of rock under my elbow again! Now, I will leave you two together for a while.’ With that Gandalf returned to the others, who were still standing by the Orthanc-stone in troubled thought. ‘Peril comes in the night when least expected,’ he said. ‘We have had a narrow escape!’ ‘How is the hobbit, Pippin?’ asked Aragorn. ‘T think all will be well now,’ answered Gandalf. ‘He was not held long, and hobbits have an amazing power of recovery. The memory, or the horror of it, will probably fade quickly. Too quickly, perhaps. Will you, Aragorn, take the Orthanc-stone and guard it? It is a dangerous charge.’ ‘Dangerous indeed, but not to all,’ said Aragorn. “There is one who may claim it by right. For this assuredly is the palantir of Orthanc from the treasury of Elendil, set here by the Kings of Gondor. Now my hour draws near. I will take it.’ Gandalf looked at Aragorn, and then, to the surprise of the others, he lifted the covered Stone, and bowed as he presented it. ‘Receive it, lord!’ he said: ‘in earnest of other things that shall be given back. But if I may counsel you in the use of your own, do not use it — yet! Be wary!’ ‘When have I been hasty or unwary, who have waited and prepared for so many long years?’ said Aragorn. ‘Never yet. Do not then stumble at the end of the road,’ answered Gandalf. ‘But at the least keep this thing secret. You, and all others that stand here! The hobbit, Peregrin, above all should not know where it is bestowed. The evil fit may come on him again. For alas! he has handled it and looked in it, as should never have happened. He ought never to have touched it in Isengard, and there I should have been quicker. But my mind was bent on Saruman, and I did
THE PALANTIR 595 not at once guess the nature of the Stone. Then I was weary, and as I lay pondering it, sleep overcame me. Now I know!’ “Yes, there can be no doubt,’ said Aragorn. ‘At last we know the link between Isengard and Mordor, and how it worked. Much is explained.’ ‘Strange powers have our enemies, and strange weaknesses!’ said Théoden. ‘But it has long been said: oft evil will shall evil mar.’ “That many times is seen,’ said Gandalf. ‘But at this time we have been strangely fortunate. Maybe, I have been saved by this hobbit from a grave blunder. I had considered whether or not to probe this Stone myself to find its uses. Had I done so, I should have been revealed to him myself. I am not ready for such a trial, if indeed I shall ever be so. But even if I found the power to withdraw myself, it would be disastrous for him to see me, yet — until the hour comes when secrecy will avail no longer.’ “That hour is now come, I think,’ said Aragorn. ‘Not yet,’ said Gandalf. “There remains a short while of doubt, which we must use. The Enemy, it is clear, thought that the Stone was in Orthanc — why should he not? And that therefore the hobbit was captive there, driven to look in the glass for his torment by Saruman. That dark mind will be filled now with the voice and face of the hobbit and with expectation: it may take some time before he learns his error. We must snatch that time. We have been too leisurely. We must move. The neighbourhood of Isengard is no place now to linger in. I will ride ahead at once with Peregrin Took. It will be better for him than lying in the dark while others sleep.’ ‘I will keep Eomer and ten Riders,’ said the king. ‘They shall ride with me at early day. The rest may go with Aragorn and ride as soon as they have a mind.’ ‘As you will,’ said Gandalf. ‘But make all the speed you may to the cover of the hills, to Helm’s Deep!’ At that moment a shadow fell over them. The bright moonlight seemed to be suddenly cut off. Several of the Riders cried out, and crouched, holding their arms above their heads, as if to ward off a blow from above: a blind fear and a deadly cold fell on them. Cowering they looked up. A vast winged shape passed over the moon like a black cloud. It wheeled and went north, flying at a speed greater than any wind of Middle-earth. The stars fainted before it. It was gone. They stood up, rigid as stones. Gandalf was gazing up, his arms out and downwards, stiff, his hands clenched. ‘Nazgul!’ he cried. “The messenger of Mordor. The storm is coming. The Nazgul have crossed the River! Ride, ride! Wait not for the dawn! Let not the swift wait for the slow! Ride!’
「真知晶石 595 我當時沒能立刻猜出那顆晶石的本質。然後我累了，躺下思索時，睡意襲來。但現在我知道了！」「是的，肯定沒錯，」亞拉岡說。「我們總算知道伊森加德和魔多之間的聯繫，以及它是如何運作的了。很多事情都有了解釋。」「我們的敵人擁有奇異的力量，也有奇異的弱點！」希優頓說。「不過有句老話說得好：多行不義必自斃。」「這種事屢見不鮮，」甘道夫說。「但這次我們真是異常幸運。或許，是這個哈比人讓我免於犯下一個嚴重的錯誤。我曾考慮過是否要親自探測這顆晶石以找出它的用途。要是我那麼做了，我自己就會暴露在他面前。我還沒準備好迎接那樣的考驗，就算我將來能準備好。但即便我找到了抽身的力量，讓他看見我仍會是災難性的——直到保密不再有用的那一刻到來。」「我想，那一刻已經到了，」亞拉岡說。「還沒，」甘道夫說。「還有一小段充滿變數的時間，我們必須善加利用。敵人顯然以為晶石在歐散克塔——他有什麼理由不這麼想呢？因此他會認為那個哈比人是那裡的俘虜，被薩魯曼折磨、強迫去看那面晶石。那個黑暗的心靈現在肯定滿是那個哈比人的聲音和臉孔，以及各種預期：他可能要花點時間才會發現自己的錯誤。我們必須抓住這段時間。我們太悠哉了。我們必須行動。伊森加德附近現在不是久留之地。我會立刻和皮瑞格林・圖克先行出發。這對他來說，比在別人睡覺時躺在黑暗中要好。」「我會留下伊歐墨和十名騎兵，」國王說。「他們天一亮就跟我走。剩下的人可以跟著亞拉岡，等他們準備好就出發。」「如你所願，」甘道夫說。「但務必盡最快速度前往丘陵的掩護處，去聖盔谷！」就在那時，一道陰影籠罩了他們。明亮的月光彷彿突然被切斷了。幾名騎兵驚叫起來，蹲下身子，用手臂護住頭頂，彷彿要擋開來自上方的攻擊：一股盲目的恐懼和致命的冰冷降臨在他們身上。他們畏縮地抬起頭。一個巨大的有翼身影如烏雲般掠過月亮。它轉了個彎朝北飛去，速度比中土大陸任何風都快。星辰在它面前黯然失色。它消失了。他們站起身，像石頭一樣僵硬。甘道夫凝視著上方，雙臂僵直地向外張開並下垂，雙手緊握成拳。「戒靈！」他喊道。「魔多的信使。暴風雨要來了。戒靈已經渡過了安都因大河！快騎馬，快！別等天亮了！快的人別等慢的人！快騎馬！
596 THE LORD OF THE RINGS He sprang away, calling Shadowfax as he ran. Aragorn followed him. Going to Pippin, Gandalf picked him up in his arms. ‘You shall come with me this time,’ he said. ‘Shadowfax shall show you his paces.’ Then he ran to the place where he had slept. Shadowfax stood there already. Slinging the small bag which was all his luggage across his shoulders, the wizard leapt upon the horse’s back. Aragorn lifted Pippin and set him in Gandalf’s arms, wrapped in cloak and blanket. ‘Farewell! Follow fast!’ cried Gandalf. ‘Away, Shadowfax!’ The great horse tossed his head. His flowing tail flicked in the moonlight. Then he leapt forward, spurning the earth, and was gone like the north wind from the mountains. ‘A beautiful, restful night!’ said Merry to Aragorn. ‘Some folk have wonderful luck. He did not want to sleep, and he wanted to ride with Gandalf — and there he goes! Instead of being turned into a stone himself to stand here for ever as a warning.’ ‘If you had been the first to lift the Orthanc-stone, and not he, how would it be now?’ said Aragorn. ‘You might have done worse. Who can say? But now it is your luck to come with me, I fear. At once. Go and get ready, and bring anything that Pippin left behind. Make haste!’ Over the plains Shadowfax was flying, needing no urging and no guidance. Less than an hour had passed, and they had reached the Fords of Isen and crossed them. The Mound of the Riders and its cold spears lay grey behind them. Pippin was recovering. He was warm, but the wind in his face was keen and refreshing. He was with Gandalf. The horror of the Stone and of the hideous shadow over the moon was fading, things left behind in the mists of the mountains or in a passing dream. He drew a deep breath. ‘I did not know you rode bare-back, Gandalf,’ he said. ‘You haven’t a saddle or a bridle!’ ‘I do not ride elf-fashion, except on Shadowfax,’ said Gandalf. ‘But Shadowfax will have no harness. You do not ride Shadowfax: he is willing to carry you — or not. If he is willing, that is enough. It is then his business to see that you remain on his back, unless you jump off into the air.’ ‘How fast is he going?’ asked Pippin. ‘Fast by the wind, but very smooth. And how light his footfalls are!’ ‘He is running now as fast as the swiftest horse could gallop,’ answered Gandalf; ‘but that is not fast for him. The land is rising a little here, and is more broken than it was beyond the river. But see how the White Mountains are drawing near under the stars! Yonder
他邊跑邊呼喚影疾，然後跳開。亞拉岡跟在他身後。甘道夫走到皮聘身邊，將他抱入懷中。「這次你得跟我來，」他說。「影疾會讓你見識一下他的腳程。」然後他跑回他睡覺的地方。影疾已經站在那裡了。巫師將他唯一行李的小袋子甩到肩上，縱身躍上馬背。亞拉岡抱起皮聘，將他裹在斗篷和毯子裡，放進甘道夫的懷中。「再會！快跟上！」甘道夫喊道。「走吧，影疾！」那匹駿馬甩了甩頭。他飄逸的尾巴在月光下輕拂。接著他向前一躍，蹬離地面，像來自山中的北風一樣消失無蹤。「真是個美麗又安寧的夜晚！」梅里對亞拉岡說。「有些人運氣真好。他不想睡覺，又想跟甘道夫一起騎馬——結果他就如願了！而不是自己變成石頭，永遠站在這裡當作警示。」「如果第一個舉起歐散克石的是你，而不是他，現在會是什麼情況？」亞拉岡說。「你可能做得更糟。誰說得準呢？但現在，恐怕你的運氣就是得跟我一起走了。立刻。去準備好，把皮聘留下的東西都帶上。快點！」影疾在平原上飛馳，無需催促也無需引導。不到一小時，他們就抵達並渡過了艾辛河渡口。騎士塚及其冰冷的長矛在他們身後灰濛濛地遠去。皮聘正在恢復。他感到溫暖，但拂過他臉龐的風卻銳利而清爽。他跟甘道夫在一起。那顆石頭的恐怖和月亮上那可怕的陰影正在消退，像是被遺留在山中迷霧裡，或是一場逝去的夢。他深深吸了一口氣。「我不知道你騎馬不配鞍具，甘道夫，」他說。「你沒有馬鞍也沒有馬勒！」「我騎馬不像精靈那樣，除非是騎影疾，」甘道夫說。「但影疾不願意配任何馬具。你不是在『騎』影疾：他是『願意』載你——或者不願意。如果他願意，那就夠了。接下來就是他的事，他會確保你待在他背上，除非你自己跳到空中去。」「他跑得多快？」皮聘問。「快如風，但非常平穩。而且他的腳步聲多麼輕盈啊！」「他現在跑的速度，跟最快的馬全速奔馳一樣快，」甘道夫回答；「但對他來說，這還不算快。這裡的地勢稍微升高了，比河那邊更崎嶇。但你看，白色山脈在星空下越來越近了！在那邊……
THE PALANTIR 597 are the Thrihyrne peaks like black spears. It will not be long before we reach the branching roads and come to the Deeping-coomb, where the battle was fought two nights ago.’ Pippin was silent again for a while. He heard Gandalf singing softly to himself, murmuring brief snatches of rhyme in many tongues, as the miles ran under them. At last the wizard passed into a song of which the hobbit caught the words: a few lines came clear to his ears through the rushing of the wind: Tall ships and tall kings Three times three, What brought they from the foundered land Over the flowing sea? Seven stars and seven stones And one white tree. ‘What are you saying, Gandalf?’ asked Pippin. ‘I was just running over some of the Rhymes of Lore in my mind,’ answered the wizard. ‘Hobbits, I suppose, have forgotten them, even those that they ever knew.’ ‘No, not all,’ said Pippin. ‘And we have many of our own, which wouldn’t interest you, perhaps. But I have never heard this one. What is it about — the seven stars and seven stones?’ ‘About the palantiri of the Kings of Old,’ said Gandalf. ‘And what are they?’ “The name meant that which looks far away. The Orthanc-stone was one.’ “Then it was not made, not made’ — Pippin hesitated — ‘by the Enemy?’ ‘No,’ said Gandalf. ‘Nor by Saruman. It is beyond his art, and beyond Sauron’s too. The palantiri came from beyond Westernesse, from Eldamar. The Noldor made them. Féanor himself, maybe, wrought them, in days so long ago that the time cannot be measured in years. But there is nothing that Sauron cannot turn to evil uses. Alas for Saruman! It was his downfall, as I now perceive. Perilous to us all are the devices of an art deeper than we possess ourselves. Yet he must bear the blame. Fool! to keep it secret, for his own profit. No word did he ever speak of it to any of the Council. We had not yet given thought to the fate of the palantiri of Gondor in its ruinous wars. By Men they were almost forgotten. Even in Gondor they were a secret known only to a few; in Arnor they were remembered only in a rhyme of lore among the Dunedain.’ ‘What did the Men of old use them for?’ asked Pippin, delighted
「這個名字的意思是『能望向遠方之物』。歐散克晶石就是其中之一。」「那麼它不是……不是敵人造的？」皮聘遲疑地問。「不是，」甘道夫說。「也不是薩魯曼造的。這超出了他的技藝，也超出了索倫的能耐。真知晶球來自西方大陸之外的艾爾達瑪。是諾多族打造的。或許是費諾親手製作的，在久遠到無法以年歲計量的古老歲月裡。但沒有什麼東西是索倫無法用來作惡的。可憐的薩魯曼！我現在才明白，這正是他墮落的根源。那些源於比我們自身所掌握的更深奧技藝的造物，對我們所有人都充滿危險。但他必須承擔罪責。傻瓜！為了自己的利益而將此事秘而不宣。他從未向聖白議會的任何人提過一個字。我們當時還沒想過，在剛鐸那些毀滅性的戰爭中，那些真知晶球的下落。它們幾乎被人類遺忘了。即使在剛鐸，也只有少數人知道這個秘密；在亞爾諾，也只有登丹人還在一首傳說謠歌中記得它們。」
598 THE LORD OF THE RINGS and astonished at getting answers to so many questions, and wondering how long it would last. “To see far off, and to converse in thought with one another,’ said Gandalf. ‘In that way they long guarded and united the realm of Gondor. They set up Stones at Minas Anor, and at Minas Ithil, and at Orthanc in the ring of Isengard. The chief and master of these was under the Dome of Stars at Osgiliath before its ruin. The three others were far away in the North. In the house of Elrond it is told that they were at Annuminas, and Amon Sil, and Elendil’s Stone was on the Tower Hills that look towards Mithlond in the Gulf of Lune where the grey ships lie. ‘Each palantir replied to each, but all those in Gondor were ever open to the view of Osgiliath. Now it appears that, as the rock of Orthanc has withstood the storms of time, so there the palantir of that tower has remained. But alone it could do nothing but see small images of things far off and days remote. Very useful, no doubt, that was to Saruman; yet it seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed, until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dtr. Then he was caught! ‘Who knows where the lost Stones of Arnor and Gondor now lie, buried, or drowned deep? But one at least Sauron must have obtained and mastered to his purposes. I guess that it was the Ithil-stone, for he took Minas Ithil long ago and turned it into an evil place: Minas Morgul, it has become. ‘Easy it is now to guess how quickly the roving eye of Saruman was trapped and held; and how ever since he has been persuaded from afar, and daunted when persuasion would not serve. The biter bit, the hawk under the eagle’s foot, the spider in a steel web! How long, I wonder, has he been constrained to come often to his glass for inspection and instruction, and the Orthanc-stone so bent towards Barad-dur that, if any save a will of adamant now looks into it, it will bear his mind and sight swiftly thither? And how it draws one to itself! Have I not felt it? Even now my heart desires to test my will upon it, to see if I could not wrench it from him and turn it where I would — to look across the wide seas of water and of time to Tirion the Fair, and perceive the unimaginable hand and mind of Féanor at their work, while both the White Tree and the Golden were in flower!’ He sighed and fell silent. ‘I wish I had known all this before,’ said Pippin. ‘I had no notion of what I was doing.’ ‘Oh yes, you had,’ said Gandalf. “You knew you were behaving wrongly and foolishly; and you told yourself so, though you did not listen. I did not tell you all this before, because it is only by musing on all that has happened that I have at last understood, even as we
……並對這麼多問題都得到解答感到驚訝，同時也好奇這能持續多久。「為了能看見遠方，並在思想中彼此交談，」甘道夫說。「他們就用這種方式長久地守護並團結了剛鐸王國。他們在米那斯雅諾、米那斯伊希爾，以及艾辛格圓環中的歐散克都設置了晶球。其中最主要、最重要的那一顆，在奧斯吉力亞斯被毀之前，是放在它的星辰穹頂之下。另外三顆則遠在北方。根據愛隆家的傳說，它們分別在安努米那斯、阿蒙蘇爾，而伊蘭迪爾的晶球則在眺望著月灣米斯龍德（灰船停泊之處）的塔丘上。」「每一顆真知晶球都能與其他晶球互通，但所有在剛鐸的晶球都永遠對奧斯吉力亞斯那顆敞開。如今看來，正如歐散克的岩石抵擋了時間的風暴，那座塔裡的真知晶球也同樣留存了下來。但它獨自一顆時，除了看見遠方事物和遙遠時日的微小影像外，什麼也做不了。毫無疑問，這對薩魯曼來說非常有用；然而，他似乎並不滿足。他越望越遠，直到他將目光投向了巴拉多。然後，他就被抓住了！」「誰知道那些失落的亞爾諾與剛鐸晶球現在在哪裡，是被埋藏了，還是沉入了深海？但索倫必定已取得並掌控了至少一顆以遂其目的。我猜是伊希爾晶石，因為他很久以前就攻佔了米那斯伊希爾，並將其變成一個邪惡之地：它已成為米那斯魔窟。」「現在很容易就能猜到，薩魯曼那遊移不定的目光是多快被誘捕並困住的；以及從那時起，他如何被遠方操控，當說服無用時又如何被威嚇。真是害人者反害己，鷹爪下的獵鷹，鋼鐵網中的蜘蛛！我不知道，他被迫頻繁地到他的晶球前接受檢查和指示，已經有多久了？而歐散克晶球又是如何被扭曲向巴拉多，以至於現在，除非擁有如金剛石般的意志，任何人只要一看進去，他的心神和視線就會被迅速帶到那裡？它又是如何將人吸引過去的！我難道沒有感覺到嗎？即使是現在，我的心也渴望用它來考驗我的意志，看看我是否能將它從他手中奪走，並隨心所欲地轉向我想看的地方——越過廣闊的水之海與時間之海，望向美麗的提理安，去感知費諾那難以想像的巧手與心智在工作時的模樣，那時白樹與金樹都還盛開著！」他嘆了口氣，沉默下來。「我真希望我之前就知道這一切，」皮聘說。「我完全不知道我在做什麼。」「喔，不，你知道的，」甘道夫說。「你知道自己的行為是錯誤且愚蠢的；你也這樣告訴過自己，只是你沒聽進去。我之前沒告訴你這一切，是因為只有透過思索所有發生過的事，我才終於明白，即使在我們
THE PALANTIR 599 ride together. But if I had spoken sooner, it would not have lessened your desire, or made it easier to resist. On the contrary! No, the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart.’ ‘It does,’ said Pippin. ‘If all the seven stones were laid out before me now, I should shut my eyes and put my hands in my pockets.’ ‘Good!’ said Gandalf. “That is what I hoped.’ ‘But I should like to know: > Pippin began. ‘Mercy!’ cried Gandalf. ‘If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?’ “The names of all the stars, and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas,’ laughed Pippin. ‘Of course! What less? But I am not in a hurry tonight. At the moment I was just wondering about the black shadow. IT heard you shout ‘‘messenger of Mordor’’. What was it? What could it do at Isengard?’ ‘It was a Black Rider on wings, a Nazgil,’ said Gandalf. ‘It could have taken you away to the Dark Tower.’ ‘But it was not coming for me, was it?’ faltered Pippin. ‘I mean, it didn’t know that I had...’ ‘Of course not,’ said Gandalf. ‘It is two hundred leagues or more in straight flight from Barad-dar to Orthanc, and even a Nazgtl would take a few hours to fly between them. But Saruman certainly looked in the Stone since the orc-raid, and more of his secret thought, I do not doubt, has been read than he intended. A messenger has been sent to find out what he is doing. And after what has happened tonight another will come, I think, and swiftly. So Saruman will come to the last pinch of the vice that he has put his hand in. He has no captive to send. He has no Stone to see with, and cannot answer the summons. Sauron will only believe that he is withholding the captive and refusing to use the Stone. It will not help Saruman to tell the truth to the messenger. For Isengard may be ruined, yet he is still safe in Orthanc. So whether he will or no, he will appear a rebel. Yet he rejected us, so as to avoid that very thing! What he will do in such a plight, I cannot guess. He has power still, I think, while in Orthanc, to resist the Nine Riders. He may try to do so. He may try to trap the Nazgul, or at least to slay the thing on which it now rides the air. In that case let Rohan look to its horses! ‘But I cannot tell how it will fall out, well or ill for us. It may be that the counsels of the Enemy will be confused, or hindered by his wrath with Saruman. It may be that he will learn that I was there and stood upon the stairs of Orthanc — with hobbits at my tail. Or that an heir of Elendil lives and stood beside me. If Wormtongue
600 THE LORD OF THE RINGS was not deceived by the armour of Rohan, he would remember Aragorn and the title that he claimed. That is what I fear. And so we fly — not from danger but into greater danger. Every stride of Shadowfax bears you nearer to the Land of Shadow, Peregrin Took.’ Pippin made no answer, but clutched his cloak, as if a sudden chill had struck him. Grey land passed under them. ‘See now!’ said Gandalf. “The Westfold dales are opening before us. Here we come back to the eastward road. The dark shadow yonder is the mouth of the Deeping-coomb. That way lies Aglarond and the Glittering Caves. Do not ask me about them. Ask Gimli, if you meet again, and for the first time you may get an answer longer than you wish. You will not see the caves yourself, not on this journey. Soon they will be far behind.’ ‘I thought you were going to stop at Helm’s Deep!’ said Pippin. ‘Where are you going then?’ “To Minas Tirith, before the seas of war surround it.’ ‘Oh! And how far is that?’ ‘Leagues upon leagues,’ answered Gandalf. “Thrice as far as the dwellings of King Theoden, and they are more than a hundred miles east from here, as the messengers of Mordor fly. Shadowfax must run a longer road. Which will prove the swifter? ‘We shall ride now till daybreak, and that is some hours away. Then even Shadowfax must rest, in some hollow of the hills: at Edoras, I hope. Sleep, if you can! You may see the first glimmer of dawn upon the golden roof of the house of Eorl. And in three days thence you shall see the purple shadow of Mount Mindolluin and the walls of the tower of Denethor white in the morning. ‘Away now, Shadowfax! Run, greatheart, run as you have never run before! Now we are come to the lands where you were foaled, and every stone you know. Run now! Hope is in speed!’ Shadowfax tossed his head and cried aloud, as if a trumpet had summoned him to battle. Then he sprang forward. Fire flew from his feet; night rushed over him. As he fell slowly into sleep, Pippin had a strange feeling: he and Gandalf were still as stone, seated upon the statue of a running horse, while the world rolled away beneath his feet with a great noise of wind.
《魔戒》六百頁，他沒被洛汗的盔甲所騙，他會記得亞拉岡和他所宣稱的頭銜。這就是我所擔憂的。所以我們飛馳——不是逃離危險，而是奔向更大的危險。影疾的每一步都將你帶得離闇影之地更近，皮瑞格林・圖克。」皮聘沒有回答，只是抓緊了他的斗篷，彷彿一陣突如其來的寒意襲來。灰色的土地在他們身下掠過。「看啊！」甘道夫說。「西谷的谷地正在我們面前展開。我們在這裡回到了向東的路上。遠處那片黑影是深谷隘口的入口。那條路通往晶洞與燦爛洞。別問我關於它們的事。如果你們再見面，去問金靂，你將頭一次得到一個比你期望還長的答案。你自己是看不到那些洞穴了，至少這趟旅程不行。很快它們就會被遠遠拋在腦後。」「我以為你打算在聖盔谷停下！」皮聘說。「那你這是要去哪裡？」「去米那斯提力斯，趕在戰爭的汪洋將它包圍之前。」「哦！那有多遠？」「好幾里格遠，」甘道夫回答。「是到希優頓王居所的三倍遠，而那裡離此地往東，以魔多信使的飛行距離來算，也超過一百英里。影疾必須跑更長的路。哪個會更快呢？」「我們現在要一直騎到天亮，那還有幾個小時。到時候即使是影疾也必須休息，在某個山丘的窪地裡：我希望是在伊多拉斯。如果可以，就睡吧！你或許能看到第一道晨曦灑在伊歐王室的金頂上。然後再過三天，你將會看見民都路因山的紫色山影，以及迪耐瑟之塔的白牆在晨光中矗立。」「出發吧，影疾！跑吧，勇者，跑得比你以前任何時候都快！我們現在來到你出生的地方了，這裡的每塊石頭你都認得。快跑！希望就在速度之中！」影疾甩了甩頭，高聲嘶鳴，彷彿號角召喚他奔赴戰場。接著他向前躍去。火花自他蹄下飛濺；夜色在他身上奔流。在緩緩墜入夢鄉時，皮聘有種奇異的感覺：他和甘道夫靜止如石，坐在一尊奔馬的雕像上，而整個世界則在巨大的風聲中從他腳下滾滾而去。