Chapter 3 THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED Before the next day dawned their journey to Mordor was over. The marshes and the desert were behind them. Before them, darkling against a pallid sky, the great mountains reared their threatening heads. Upon the west of Mordor marched the gloomy range of Ephel Duath, the Mountains of Shadow, and upon the north the broken peaks and barren ridges of Ered Lithui, grey as ash. But as these ranges approached one another, being indeed but parts of one great wall about the mournful plains of Lithlad and of Gorgoroth, and the bitter inland sea of Nurnen amidmost, they swung out long arms northward; and between these arms there was a deep defile. This was Cirith Gorgor, the Haunted Pass, the entrance to the land of the Enemy. High cliffs lowered upon either side, and thrust forward from its mouth were two sheer hills, black-boned and bare. Upon them stood the Teeth of Mordor, two towers strong and tall. In days long past they were built by the Men of Gondor in their pride and power, after the overthrow of Sauron and his flight, lest he should seek to return to his old realm. But the strength of Gondor failed, and men slept, and for long years the towers stood empty. Then Sauron returned. Now the watch-towers, which had fallen into decay, were repaired, and filled with arms, and garrisoned with ceaseless vigilance. Stony-faced they were, with dark window-holes staring north and east and west, and each window was full of sleepless eyes. Across the mouth of the pass, from cliff to cliff, the Dark Lord had built a rampart of stone. In it there was a single gate of iron, and upon its battlement sentinels paced unceasingly. Beneath the hills on either side the rock was bored into a hundred caves and maggot-holes; there a host of orcs lurked, ready at a signal to issue forth like black ants going to war. None could pass the Teeth of Mordor and not feel their bite, unless they were summoned by Sauron, or knew the secret passwords that would open the Morannon, the black gate of his land. The two hobbits gazed at the towers and the wall in despair. Even from a distance they could see in the dim light the movement of the black guards upon the wall, and the patrols before the gate. They lay now peering over the edge of a rocky hollow beneath the outstretched shadow of the northmost buttress of Ephel Duath. Winging the heavy air in a straight flight a crow, maybe, would have flown but a furlong
在次日黎明前，他們前往魔多的旅程便已結束。沼澤與沙漠都已拋在身後。在他們面前，映襯著蒼白的天空，巨大的山脈在黑暗中抬起它們威脅的頭顱。魔多的西面是陰鬱的埃斐爾杜阿斯，即黯影山脈；北面則是伊瑞德力蘇破碎的山峰與貧瘠的山脊，灰暗如燼。但當這兩條山脈逐漸靠近——它們實際上只是一道環繞著力斯拉德與葛哥洛斯悲慟的平原、以及位居其中努爾能苦澀內海的巨大圍牆的一部分時——它們向北伸出了長長的臂膀；在這兩臂之間，有一道深深的隘口。這就是西力斯葛哥，鬧鬼隘口，通往敵人之地的入口。高聳的懸崖從兩側低垂，從其口中伸出兩座陡峭的山丘，黑骨嶙峋，一片赤裸。山丘上矗立著魔多雙牙，兩座堅固高聳的塔樓。在久遠的過去，它們由剛鐸人在其驕傲與強盛之時所建，在索倫被推翻並逃亡之後，以防他試圖重返舊時的王國。但剛鐸的力量衰退，人們沉睡，多年來塔樓一直空無一人。然後索倫回來了。如今，這些已然頹圮的瞭望塔被修復，裝滿了武器，並有永不鬆懈的警衛駐守。它們面如岩石，黑暗的窗孔凝視著北方、東方和西方，每個窗口都充滿了不眠的眼睛。在隘口的入口處，從一邊懸崖到另一邊懸崖，黑暗魔君建造了一道石製壁壘。壁壘上只有一扇鐵門，城垛上有哨兵不停地來回踱步。在兩側山丘之下，岩石被鑿成上百個洞穴和蛆蟲般的洞穴；那裡潛伏著一大群半獸人，隨時準備在信號下一湧而出，如同奔赴戰場的黑螞蟻。除非是索倫召喚，或知曉能打開魔拉農——他領地的黑門——的秘密口令，否則沒有人能通過魔多雙牙而不感受其噬咬。兩個哈比人絕望地凝視著高塔與圍牆。即使在遠處，他們也能在昏暗的光線中看到牆上黑衛兵的移動，以及門前的巡邏隊。他們此刻正躲在埃斐爾杜阿斯最北端支脈延伸出的陰影下，從一個岩石凹地的邊緣窺視。若有隻烏鴉，鼓動著沉重的空氣直線飛行，或許只需一弗隆的距離。
THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED 637 from their hiding-place to the black summit of the nearer tower. A faint smoke curled above it, as if fire smouldered in the hill beneath. Day came, and the fallow sun blinked over the lifeless ridges of Ered Lithui. Then suddenly the cry of brazen-throated trumpets was heard: from the watch-towers they blared, and far away from hidden holds and outposts in the hills came answering calls; and further still, remote but deep and ominous, there echoed in the hollow land beyond the mighty horns and drums of Barad-dtr. Another dreadful day of fear and toil had come to Mordor; and the night-guards were summoned to their dungeons and deep halls, and the day-guards, evil-eyed and fell, were marching to their posts. Steel gleamed dimly on the battlement. ‘Well, here we are!’ said Sam. ‘Here’s the Gate, and it looks to me as if that’s about as far as we are ever going to get. My word, but the Gaffer would have a thing or two to say, if he saw me now! Often said I’d come to a bad end, if I didn’t watch my step, he did. But now I don’t suppose I’ll ever see the old fellow again. He’ll miss his chance of I told ’ee so, Sam: more’s the pity. He could go on telling me as long as he’d got breath, if only I could see his old face again. But I’d have to get a wash first, or he wouldn’t know me. ‘I suppose it’s no good asking “‘what way do we go now?” We can’t go no further — unless we want to ask the Orcs for a lift.’ ‘No, no!’ said Gollum. ‘No use. We can’t go further. Sméagol said so. He said: we’ll go to the Gate, and then we’ll see. And we do see. O yes, my precious, we do see. Sméagol knew hobbits could not go this way. O yes, Sméagol knew.’ “Then what the plague did you bring us here for?’ said Sam, not feeling in the mood to be just or reasonable. ‘Master said so. Master says: Bring us to the Gate. So good Sméagol does so. Master said so, wise master.’ ‘I did,’ said Frodo. His face was grim and set, but resolute. He was filthy, haggard, and pinched with weariness, but he cowered no longer, and his eyes were clear. ‘I said so, because I purpose to enter Mordor, and I know no other way. Therefore I shall go this way. I do not ask anyone to go with me.’ ‘No, no, master!’ wailed Gollum, pawing at him, and seeming in great distress. ‘No use that way! No use! Don’t take the Precious to Him! He’ll eat us all, if He gets it, eat all the world. Keep it, nice master, and be kind to Sméagol. Don’t let Him have it. Or go away, go to nice places, and give it back to little Sméagol. Yes, yes, master give it back, eh? Sméagol will keep it safe; he will do lots of good, especially to nice hobbits. Hobbits go home. Don’t go to the Gate!’
從他們的藏身處，到近處那座塔樓的黑色頂峰。一縷淡淡的煙霧繚繞其上，彷彿山丘底下有火在悶燒。白晝降臨，蒼白的太陽在伊瑞德力蘇伊了無生氣的山脊上閃爍。接著，突然傳來銅喉喇叭的呼嘯：它們從瞭望塔上尖銳地響起，遠方山丘裡隱藏的堡壘和哨所也傳來應和的號角聲；更遠處，空洞的土地上迴盪著巴拉多巨角和戰鼓的聲音，遙遠卻深沉而不祥。恐懼和苦役的又一個可怕日子降臨到魔多；夜班守衛被召回他們的地牢和深廳，而日班守衛——眼神邪惡、兇殘無比——正走向他們的崗位。城垛上，鋼鐵閃爍著暗淡的光芒。 「好吧，我們到了！」山姆說。「這就是大門，而且在我看來，我們大概也就只能到這裡了。我的天，要是老爹現在看到我，他肯定有話要說了！他常說，要是我不小心點，遲早會沒好下場。可是現在，我想我再也見不到那老傢伙了。他會錯過對我說『我早就跟你說了，山姆』的機會：真是可惜。只要能再見到他的老臉，他愛對我說多久都行。不過我得先洗把臉，不然他可認不出我了。 『我想現在問「我們該走哪條路？」是沒用了吧？我們不能再往前走了——除非我們想請半獸人載我們一程。』 「不，不！」咕嚕說。「沒用的。我們不能再往前走了。史麥戈說過的。他說：我們先到大門，然後再看。我們現在看到了。喔是的，我的寶貝，我們看到了。史麥戈知道哈比人走不了這條路。喔是的，史麥戈知道。」 「那你到底帶我們來這裡搞什麼鬼？」山姆說，他沒心情講道理或保持公正。 「主人說的。主人說：帶我們到大門。所以好史麥戈就照辦了。主人說的，聰明的主人。」 「是我說的。」佛羅多說。他的臉色嚴峻而堅定，但充滿決心。他滿身污穢、面容憔悴、因疲憊而顯得瘦削，但他不再畏縮，眼神清澈。「我這麼說，因為我打算進入魔多，而我不知道別的路。所以我將走這條路。我不要求任何人跟我一起去。」 「不，不，主人！」咕嚕哀號著，爪子抓著他，顯得極為痛苦。「那條路沒用的！沒用的！不要把『寶貝』帶給祂！如果祂拿到了，祂會吃掉我們所有人的，吃掉整個世界。留著它，好心腸的主人，對史麥戈好一點。別讓祂拿到。或者走開，去好地方，把它還給小史麥戈。是的，是的，主人還給它，好嗎？史麥戈會好好保管它；他會做很多好事，特別是對好心的哈比人。哈比人回家。不要去大門！」
638 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘I am commanded to go to the land of Mordor, and therefore I shall go,’ said Frodo. ‘If there is only one way, then I must take it. What comes after must come.’ Sam said nothing. The look on Frodo’s face was enough for him; he knew that words of his were useless. And after all he never had any real hope in the affair from the beginning; but being a cheerful hobbit he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed. Now they were come to the bitter end. But he had stuck to his master all the way; that was what he had chiefly come for, and he would still stick to him. His master would not go to Mordor alone. Sam would go with him — and at any rate they would get rid of Gollum. Gollum, however, did not intend to be got rid of, yet. He knelt at Frodo’s feet, wringing his hands and squeaking. ‘Not this way, master!’ he pleaded. ‘There is another way. O yes indeed there is. Another way, darker, more difficult to find, more secret. But Sméagol knows it. Let Sméagol show you!’ ‘Another way!’ said Frodo doubtfully, looking down at Gollum with searching eyes. “Yess! Yess indeed! There was another way. Sméagol found it. Let’s go and see if it’s still there!’ “You have not spoken of this before.’ ‘No. Master did not ask. Master did not say what he meant to do. He does not tell poor Sméagol. He says: Sméagol, take me to the Gate — and then good-bye! Sméagol can run away and be good. But now he says: I purpose to enter Mordor this way. So Sméagol is very afraid. He does not want to lose nice master. And he promised, master made him promise, to save the Precious. But master is going to take it to Him, straight to the Black Hand, if master will go this way. So Sméagol must save them both, and he thinks of another way that there was, once upon a time. Nice master. Sméagol very good, always helps.’ Sam frowned. If he could have bored holes in Gollum with his eyes, he would have done. His mind was full of doubt. To all appearances Gollum was genuinely distressed and anxious to help Frodo. But Sam, remembering the overheard debate, found it hard to believe that the long submerged Sméagol had come out on top: that voice at any rate had not had the last word in the debate. Sam’s guess was that the Sméagol and Gollum halves (or what in his own mind he called Slinker and Stinker) had made a truce and a temporary alliance: neither wanted the Enemy to get the Ring; both wished to keep Frodo from capture, and under their eye, as long as possible — at any rate as long as Stinker still had a chance of laying hands on his ‘Precious’.
「我奉命前往魔多之地，所以我必須去。」佛羅多說。「如果只有一條路，那我就必須走。之後會發生什麼，就讓它發生吧。」山姆什麼也沒說。佛羅多臉上的表情對他來說已經足夠了；他知道他說什麼都沒用。而且，他從一開始就對這件事沒抱任何真正的希望；但身為一個樂天的哈比人，只要絕望可以延後，他並不需要希望。現在，他們已走到窮途末路。但他一路以來都緊跟著他的主人；這主要是他來的目的，而且他仍會繼續跟著他。他的主人不會獨自去魔多。山姆會跟他一起去——而且無論如何，他們可以擺脫咕嚕。然而，咕嚕還不打算被擺脫。他跪在佛羅多腳邊，絞著雙手，尖聲叫著。「不是這條路，主人！」他懇求道。「還有另一條路。喔，是的，真的有。另一條路，更黑暗，更難找，更隱密。但史麥戈知道。讓史麥戈帶您去！」 「另一條路！」佛羅多懷疑地說，用探詢的眼神低頭看著咕嚕。「是的！是的，真的！曾經有另一條路。史麥戈找到的。我們去看看它還在不在！」「你以前沒提過這件事。」「沒有。主人沒問。主人沒說他打算做什麼。他沒告訴可憐的史麥戈。他說：史麥戈，帶我到大門——然後就再見！史麥戈可以跑掉，當個好人。但現在他說：我打算從這邊進入魔多。所以史麥戈非常害怕。他不想失去好心腸的主人。而且他答應過，主人讓他答應，要保護那『寶貝』。但如果主人走這條路，他就要把它帶給『祂』，直接送到『黑手』那裡。所以史麥戈必須拯救他們兩個，他想到另一條路，一條很久很久以前存在的路。好心腸的主人。史麥戈很好，總是在幫忙。」山姆皺起了眉頭。如果他能用眼神在咕嚕身上鑽出洞來，他早就這麼做了。他心中充滿了懷疑。從表面上看，咕嚕確實很苦惱，並且急於幫助佛羅多。但山姆想起了偷聽到的爭辯，覺得很難相信那個長期被壓抑的史麥戈會佔上風：無論如何，那個聲音在爭辯中並沒有佔到最後的優勢。山姆猜測，史麥戈和咕嚕這兩半（或者在他心裡稱之為「潛行怪」和「惡臭怪」）達成了休戰和暫時的聯盟：兩者都不希望敵人得到魔戒；兩者都希望佛羅多不被抓走，並在他們的監視之下，盡可能長的時間——至少在「惡臭怪」還有機會染指他的「寶貝」之前是如此。
THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED 639 Whether there really was another way into Mordor Sam doubted. ‘And it’s a good thing neither half of the old villain don’t know what master means to do,’ he thought. ‘If he knew that Mr. Frodo is trying to put an end to his Precious for good and all, there’d be trouble pretty quick, I bet. Anyhow old Stinker is so frightened of the Enemy — and he’s under orders of some kind from him, or was — that he’d give us away rather than be caught helping us; and rather than let his Precious be melted, maybe. At least that’s my idea. And I hope the master will think it out carefully. He’s as wise as any, but he’s soft-hearted, that’s what he is. It’s beyond any Gamgee to guess what he’ll do next.’ Frodo did not answer Gollum at once. While these doubts were passing through Sam’s slow but shrewd mind, he stood gazing out towards the dark cliff of Cirith Gorgor. The hollow in which they had taken refuge was delved in the side of a low hill, at some little height above a long trenchlike valley that lay between it and the outer buttresses of the mountain-wall. In the midst of the valley stood the black foundations of the western watch-tower. By morning-light the roads that converged upon the Gate of Mordor could now be clearly seen, pale and dusty; one winding back northwards; another dwindling eastwards into the mists that clung about the feet of Ered Lithui; and a third that ran towards him. As it bent sharply round the tower, it entered a narrow defile and passed not far below the hollow where he stood. Westward, to his right, it turned, skirting the shoulders of the mountains, and went off southwards into the deep shadows that mantled all the western sides of Ephel Duath; beyond his sight it journeyed on into the narrow land between the mountains and the Great River. As he gazed Frodo became aware that there was a great stir and movement on the plain. It seemed as if whole armies were on the march, though for the most part they were hidden by the reeks and fumes drifting from the fens and wastes beyond. But here and there he caught the gleam of spears and helmets; and over the levels beside the roads horsemen could be seen riding in many companies. He remembered his vision from afar upon Amon Hen, so few days before, though now it seemed many years ago. Then he knew that the hope that had for one wild moment stirred in his heart was vain. The trumpets had not rung in challenge but in greeting. This was no assault upon the Dark Lord by the men of Gondor, risen like avenging ghosts from the graves of valour long passed away. These were Men of other race, out of the wide Eastlands, gathering to the summons of their Overlord; armies that had encamped before his Gate by night and now marched in to swell his mounting power. As if suddenly made fully aware of the peril of their position, alone, in the growing
山姆懷疑是否真有另一條路能進入魔多。他心想：「幸好那個老壞蛋的兩面性格都不知道主人打算做什麼。要是他知道佛羅多先生正試圖徹底毀掉他的『寶貝』，我敢打賭麻煩馬上就來了。總之，老臭東西非常害怕『敵人』——他還聽從敵人的某種命令，或者說曾經聽從——所以他寧願出賣我們，也不願被抓到在幫助我們；或許也寧願出賣我們，而不願讓他的『寶貝』被熔化。至少我是這麼想的。我希望主人能仔細考慮清楚。他跟任何人一樣聰明，但他就是心太軟。任何一個姓甘姆齊的都猜不到他下一步會做什麼。」佛羅多沒有立刻回答咕嚕。當這些疑慮掠過山姆那雖然遲鈍卻精明的心頭時，他正凝視著西力斯昂哥的黑暗懸崖。他們藏身的凹地是在一座低矮山丘的側面挖掘而成，位置比一道長長的溝渠狀山谷高出一些，而這山谷則介於凹地與山脈壁壘的外部支撐之間。山谷中央矗立著西邊瞭望塔的黑色地基。在晨光下，匯集至魔多大門的幾條道路如今清晰可見，蒼白而滿是塵土；一條蜿蜒向北；另一條向東逐漸消失在縈繞於灰燼山脈山腳的迷霧中；還有一條朝他而來。這條路在塔樓處急轉，進入一道狹窄的隘口，從他所站的凹地下方不遠處經過。在他右方的西邊，道路轉彎，繞過山脈的肩部，向南延伸，沒入籠罩著黯影山脈整個西側的深沉陰影中；在他的視線之外，它繼續延伸，進入山脈與大河之間的狹長地帶。佛羅多凝視時，他意識到平原上有巨大的騷動與動靜。彷彿有整支軍隊正在行進，雖然大部分都被遠方沼澤和荒地飄來的惡臭與煙霧所掩蓋。但他偶爾能瞥見矛與盔的閃光；在道路旁的平地上，可以看到成群結隊的騎兵。他想起了幾天前在阿蒙漢遠眺時看到的景象，儘管現在感覺已是多年前的事了。於是，他明白那曾在他心中激起一瞬間狂野希望的念頭是徒勞的。號角聲並非挑戰，而是歡迎。這不是剛鐸人對黑暗魔君的攻擊，他們沒有像復仇的鬼魂一樣，從早已逝去的英勇墳墓中崛起。這些是來自廣闊東方之地的另一種族的人類，應他們霸主的召喚而聚集；這些軍隊夜裡在他門前紮營，現在正開進去，以壯大他日益增長的勢力。彷彿突然完全意識到他們處境的危險，孤身一人，在日益增長的
640 THE LORD OF THE RINGS light of day, so near to this vast menace, Frodo quickly drew his frail grey hood close upon his head, and stepped down into the dell. Then he turned to Gollum. ‘Sméagol,’ he said, ‘I will trust you once more. Indeed it seems that I must do so, and that it is my fate to receive help from you, where I least looked for it, and your fate to help me whom you long pursued with evil purpose. So far you have deserved well of me and have kept your promise truly. Truly, I say and mean,’ he added with a glance at Sam, ‘for twice now we have been in your power, and you have done no harm to us. Nor have you tried to take from me what you once sought. May the third time prove the best! But I warn you, Sméagol, you are in danger.’ “Yes, yes, master!’ said Gollum. ‘Dreadful danger! Sméagol’s bones shake to think of it, but he doesn’t run away. He must help nice master.’ ‘I did not mean the danger that we all share,’ said Frodo. ‘I mean a danger to yourself alone. You swore a promise by what you call the Precious. Remember that! It will hold you to it; but it will seek a way to twist it to your own undoing. Already you are being twisted. You revealed yourself to me just now, foolishly. Give it back to Sméagol you said. Do not say that again! Do not let that thought grow in you! You will never get it back. But the desire of it may betray you to a bitter end. You will never get it back. In the last need, Sméagol, I should put on the Precious; and the Precious mastered you long ago. If I, wearing it, were to command you, you would obey, even if it were to leap from a precipice or to cast yourself into the fire. And such would be my command. So have a care, Sméagol!’ Sam looked at his master with approval, but also with surprise: there was a look in his face and a tone in his voice that he had not known before. It had always been a notion of his that the kindness of dear Mr. Frodo was of such a high degree that it must imply a fair measure of blindness. Of course, he also firmly held the incompatible belief that Mr. Frodo was the wisest person in the world (with the possible exception of Old Mr. Bilbo and of Gandalf). Gollum in his own way, and with much more excuse as his acquaintance was much briefer, may have made a similar mistake, confusing kindness and blindness. At any rate this speech abashed and terrified him. He grovelled on the ground and could speak no clear words but nice master. Frodo waited patiently for a while, then he spoke again less sternly. ‘Come now, Gollum or Sméagol if you wish, tell me of this other way, and show me, if you can, what hope there is in it, enough to justify me in turning aside from my plain path. I am in haste.’ But Gollum was in a pitiable state, and Frodo’s threat had quite
在如此接近這巨大威脅的白晝光線下，佛羅多迅速將他那纖弱的灰色兜帽拉緊，蓋住頭，然後步下小山谷。接著他轉向咕嚕。「史麥戈，」他說，「我會再信你一次。看來我的確必須這麼做，而且我的命運似乎就是要從我最意想不到之處得到你的幫助，而你的命運則是幫助這個你曾長期懷著惡意追逐的人。到目前為止，你待我不薄，也確實遵守了你的承諾。我說的是真心話，」他瞥了山姆一眼，補充道，「因為我們已經兩次落在你手裡，你都沒有傷害我們，也沒試圖從我這裡拿走你一度尋求的東西。希望第三次能是最好的結果！但我警告你，史麥戈，你正處於危險之中。」「是的，是的，主人！」咕嚕說。「可怕的危險！史麥戈想到骨頭都發抖，但他沒有逃跑。他必須幫助好心腸的主人。」「我指的不是我們共同面對的危險，」佛羅多說。「我指的是單單針對你自己的危險。你曾以你口中的『寶貝』發過誓。記住！那個誓言會約束你，但它也會想辦法扭曲誓言，導致你自身的毀滅。你已經在被扭曲了。你剛才愚蠢地向我暴露了自己。你說『把它還給史麥戈』。別再那麼說了！別讓那種念頭在你心裡滋長！你永遠也拿不回它。但對它的渴望可能會出賣你，讓你走向悲慘的結局。你永遠也拿不回它。在最終關頭，史麥戈，我會戴上『寶貝』；而『寶貝』很久以前就已駕馭了你。如果我戴著它命令你，你會服從，即使是讓你跳下懸崖或投身火中。而那就會是我的命令。所以，當心點，史麥戈！」山姆帶著讚許，卻也驚訝地看著他的主人：他臉上的神情和語氣中的聲調，都是他前所未見的。他總有種想法，認為親愛的佛羅多先生的善良程度之高，必然也意味著相當程度的盲目。當然，他也堅信著一個與此矛盾的信念：佛羅多先生是世界上最聰明的人（可能除了老比爾博先生和甘道夫之外）。咕嚕以他自己的方式，或許也犯了類似的錯誤，將善良與盲目混為一談，而且他認識佛羅多的時間短得多，更有理由犯錯。無論如何，這番話使他又羞愧又恐懼。他拜伏在地，除了「好心腸的主人」之外，說不出任何清晰的字句。佛羅多耐心地等了一會兒，然後用不那麼嚴厲的語氣再次開口。「來吧，咕嚕，或者史麥戈，如果你喜歡，告訴我另一條路，如果可以，讓我看看那條路有什麼希望，足以讓我偏離我明確的道路。我很趕時間。」但咕嚕的狀態十分可憐，而佛羅多的威脅已經徹底……
THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED 641 unnerved him. It was not easy to get any clear account out of him, amid his mumblings and squeakings, and the frequent interruptions in which he crawled on the floor and begged them both to be kind to ‘poor little Sméagol’. After a while he grew a little calmer, and Frodo gathered bit by bit that, if a traveller followed the road that turned west of Ephel Duath, he would come in time to a crossing in a circle of dark trees. On the right a road went down to Osgiliath and the bridges of the Anduin; in the middle the road went on southwards. ‘On, on, on,’ said Gollum. ‘We never went that way, but they say it goes a hundred leagues, until you can see the Great Water that is never still. There are lots of fishes there, and big birds eat fishes: nice birds: but we never went there, alas no! we never had a chance. And further still there are more lands, they say, but the Yellow Face is very hot there, and there are seldom any clouds, and the men are fierce and have dark faces. We do not want to see that land.’ ‘No!’ said Frodo. ‘But do not wander from your road. What of the third turning?’ “O yes, O yes, there is a third way,’ said Gollum. “That is the road to the left. At once it begins to climb up, up, winding and climbing back towards the tall shadows. When it turns round the black rock, you'll see it, suddenly you’ll see it above you, and you’ll want to hide.’ ‘See it, see it? What will you see?’ ‘The old fortress, very old, very horrible now. We used to hear tales from the South, when Sméagol was young, long ago. O yes, we used to tell lots of tales in the evening, sitting by the banks of the Great River, in the willow-lands, when the River was younger too, gollum, gollum.’ He began to weep and mutter. The hobbits waited patiently. ‘Tales out of the South,’ Gollum went on again, ‘about the tall Men with the shining eyes, and their houses like hills of stone, and the silver crown of their King and his White Tree: wonderful tales. They built very tall towers, and one they raised was silver-white, and in it there was a stone like the Moon, and round it were great white walls. O yes, there were many tales about the Tower of the Moon.’ “That would be Minas Ithil that Isildur the son of Elendil built,’ said Frodo. ‘It was Isildur who cut off the finger of the Enemy.’ “Yes, He has only four on the Black Hand, but they are enough,’ said Gollum shuddering. ‘And He hated Isildur’s city.’ ‘What does he not hate?’ said Frodo. ‘But what has the Tower of the Moon to do with us?’ ‘Well, master, there it was and there it is: the tall tower and the white houses and the wall; but not nice now, not beautiful. He
這使他心神不寧。在他含糊不清的咕噥和尖細的聲音中，很難從他那裡得到任何清楚的說法，而且他還頻繁地打斷談話，爬到地板上，乞求他們倆善待「可憐的小史麥戈」。過了一會兒，他稍微平靜下來，佛羅多一點一點地拼湊出，如果一個旅人沿著伊菲爾杜斯西側轉向的道路走，他最終會來到一個被黑樹環繞的交叉路口。右邊是一條通往奧斯吉力亞斯和安都因河橋樑的路；中間的道路則繼續向南。「一直走，一直走，一直走，」咕嚕說。「我們從沒走過那條路，但他們說那條路有一百里格遠，直到你能看見那永不靜止的大水。那裡有很多魚，大鳥會吃魚：很好的鳥：但我們從沒去過那裡，唉，沒有！我們從來沒有機會。他們說再遠一點還有更多的土地，但黃臉在那裡很熱，而且很少有雲，那裡的人很兇猛，臉色黝黑。我們不想看到那片土地。」「不！」佛羅多說。「但別偏離你的路。第三個岔路呢？」「哦，是的，哦，是的，有第三條路，」咕嚕說。「那是左邊的路。它一開始就向上攀升，向上，蜿蜒攀爬，回到那高聳的陰影中。當它繞過那塊黑色的岩石時，你就會看到它，你會突然在你上方看到它，你會想要躲起來。」「看到它，看到它？你會看到什麼？」「那座古老的要塞，非常古老，現在非常可怕。我們以前聽過南方的故事，當史麥戈還年輕的時候，很久以前。哦，是的，我們以前晚上會講很多故事，坐在大河的岸邊，在柳樹叢生的地帶，那時大河也更年輕，咕嚕，咕嚕。」他開始哭泣和喃喃自語。哈比人們耐心地等待著。「來自南方的故事，」咕嚕又繼續說，「關於那些有著閃亮雙眼的高大之人，他們像石山一樣的房子，他們國王的銀色王冠和他的白樹：精彩的故事。他們建造了非常高的塔，其中一座是銀白色的，裡面有一塊像月亮一樣的石頭，周圍是巨大的白牆。哦，是的，有很多關於月之塔的故事。」「那應該是伊蘭迪爾之子埃西鐸建造的米那斯伊希爾，」佛羅多說。「就是埃西鐸斬斷了敵人的手指。」「是的，祂的黑手上只有四根手指，但那也夠了，」咕嚕顫抖著說。「而且祂憎恨埃西鐸的城市。」「有什麼是祂不憎恨的呢？」佛羅多說。「但是月之塔跟我們有什麼關係？」「嗯，主人，它過去在那裡，現在也還在那裡：那高塔、白色的房子和城牆；但現在不好了，不美了。祂……」
642 THE LORD OF THE RINGS conquered it long ago. It is a very terrible place now. Travellers shiver when they see it, they creep out of sight, they avoid its shadow. But master will have to go that way. That is the only other way. For the mountains are lower there, and the old road goes up and up, until it reaches a dark pass at the top, and then it goes down, down, again — to Gorgoroth.’ His voice sank to a whisper and he shuddered. ‘But how will that help us?’ asked Sam. ‘Surely the Enemy knows all about his own mountains, and that road will be guarded as close as this? The tower isn’t empty, is it?’ ‘O no, not empty!’ whispered Gollum. ‘It seems empty, but it isn’t, O no! Very dreadful things live there. Orcs, yes always Orcs; but worse things, worse things live there too. The road climbs right under the shadow of the walls and passes the gate. Nothing moves on the road that they don’t know about. The things inside know: the Silent Watchers.’ ‘So that’s your advice is it,’ said Sam, ‘that we should go another long march south, to find ourselves in the same fix or a worse one, when we get there, if we ever do?’ ‘No, no indeed,’ said Gollum. ‘Hobbits must see, must try to understand. He does not expect attack that way. His Eye is all round, but it attends more to some places than to others. He can’t see everything all at once, not yet. You see, He has conquered all the country west of the Shadowy Mountains down to the River, and He holds the bridges now. He thinks no one can come to the Moontower without fighting big battle at the bridges, or getting lots of boats which they cannot hide and He will know about.’ “You seem to know a lot about what He’s doing and thinking,’ said Sam. ‘Have you been talking to Him lately? Or just hobnobbing with Orcs?’ ‘Not nice hobbit, not sensible,’ said Gollum, giving Sam an angry glance and turning to Frodo. ‘Sméagol has talked to Orcs, yes of course, before he met master, and to many peoples: he has walked very far. And what he says now many peoples are saying. It’s here in the North that the big danger is for Him, and for us. He will come out of the Black Gate one day, one day soon. That is the only way big armies can come. But away down west He is not afraid, and there are the Silent Watchers.’ ‘Just so!’ said Sam, not to be put off. ‘And so we are to walk up and knock at their gate and ask if we’re on the right road for Mordor? Or are they too silent to answer? It’s not sense. We might as well do it here, and save ourselves a long tramp.’ ‘Don’t make jokes about it,’ hissed Gollum. ‘It isn’t funny, O no! Not amusing. It’s not sense to try and get into Mordor at all. But if master says I must go or I will go, then he must try some way. But he
「很久以前就征服了它。那裡現在是個非常可怕的地方。旅人們看到它就發抖，他們會悄悄躲開，避開它的陰影。但主人必須走那條路。那是唯一的另一條路。因為那裡的群山比較低，古老的道路一路向上，直到抵達頂端一個黑暗的隘口，然後又一路向下、向下，通往——高戈羅斯。」他的聲音低沉如耳語，身體也顫抖了一下。「但那對我們有什麼幫助？」山姆問。「敵人肯定對自己的山脈瞭若指掌，那條路上的守衛會跟這裡一樣森嚴吧？那座高塔不是空的，對吧？」「噢不，不是空的！」咕嚕悄聲說。「它看起來是空的，但其實不是，噢不！那裡住著非常可怕的東西。半獸人，是的，總是有半獸人；但還有更糟的東西，更糟的東西也住在那裡。那條路就在城牆的陰影下攀升，經過大門。路上沒有任何動靜能瞞過他們。裡面的東西都知道：那些沉默的監視者。」「所以這就是你的建議，」山姆說，「要我們再往南長途跋涉，結果發現自己陷入同樣或更糟的困境，如果我們真能到那裡的話？」「不，不，當然不是，」咕嚕說。「哈比人必須明白，必須試著理解。祂沒料到會有人從那邊攻擊。祂的魔眼無所不見，但它對某些地方的關注比其他地方多。祂還不能同時看到所有東西，還不行。你看，祂已經征服了暗影山脈以西直到大河的所有土地，而且祂現在控制著橋樑。祂認為沒有人可以在橋上不經過大戰就來到月之塔，或是弄來許多他們無法隱藏的船隻，而祂會知道的。」「你看來對祂的所作所為和想法知道得不少嘛，」山姆說。「你最近跟祂聊過天嗎？還是只是跟半獸人廝混？」「不好的哈比人，不明理，」咕嚕說，他生氣地瞪了山姆一眼，然後轉向佛羅多。「史麥戈跟半獸人說過話，是的，當然，在遇到主人之前，也跟許多不同的人說過話：他走過很遠的路。而且他現在說的，也是很多人在說的。對祂、對我們來說，最大的危險就在北方這裡。祂總有一天會從黑門出來，很快的某一天。那是大軍唯一能出來的路。但在遙遠的西方，祂並不害怕，而且那裡有沉默的監視者。」「正是如此！」山姆說，不肯罷休。「所以我們就要走過去敲他們的門，問問去魔多的路對不對？還是他們太沉默了不會回答？這不合理。我們還不如就在這裡試，省得白走一趟遠路。」「別拿這個開玩笑，」咕嚕嘶聲說。「這一點都不好笑，噢不！不好玩。想進入魔多本身就是不合理的。但如果主人說我必須去，或者我會去，那他就必須試試某條路。但是他……」
THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED 643 must not go to the terrible city, O no, of course not. That is where Sméagol helps, nice Sméagol, though no one tells him what it is all about. Sméagol helps again. He found it. He knows it.’ ‘What did you find?’ asked Frodo. Gollum crouched down and his voice sank to a whisper again. ‘A little path leading up into the mountains; and then a stair, a narrow stair, O yes, very long and narrow. And then more stairs. And then’ — his voice sank even lower — ‘a tunnel, a dark tunnel; and at last a little cleft, and a path high above the main pass. It was that way that Smeéagol got out of the darkness. But it was years ago. The path may have vanished now; but perhaps not, perhaps not.’ ‘I don’t like the sound of it at all,’ said Sam. ‘Sounds too easy at any rate in the telling. If that path is still there, it'll be guarded too. Wasn’t it guarded, Gollum?’ As he said this, he caught or fancied he caught a green gleam in Gollum’s eye. Gollum muttered but did not reply. ‘Is it not guarded?’ asked Frodo sternly. ‘And did you escape out of the darkness, Sméagol? Were you not rather permitted to depart, upon an errand? That at least is what Aragorn thought, who found you by the Dead Marshes some years ago.’ ‘It’s a lie!’ hissed Gollum, and an evil light came into his eyes at the naming of Aragorn. ‘He lied on me, yes he did. I did escape, all by my poor self. Indeed I was told to seek for the Precious; and I have searched and searched, of course I have. But not for the Black One. The Precious was ours, it was mine I tell you. I did escape.’ Frodo felt a strange certainty that in this matter Gollum was for once not so far from the truth as might be suspected; that he had somehow found a way out of Mordor, and at least believed that it was by his own cunning. For one thing, he noted that Gollum used I, and that seemed usually to be a sign, on its rare appearances, that some remnants of old truth and sincerity were for the moment on top. But even if Gollum could be trusted on this point, Frodo did not forget the wiles of the Enemy. The ‘escape’ may have been allowed or arranged, and well known in the Dark Tower. And in any case Gollum was plainly keeping a good deal back. ‘I ask you again,’ he said: ‘is not this secret way guarded?’ But the name of Aragorn had put Gollum into a sullen mood. He had all the injured air of a liar suspected when for once he has told the truth, or part of it. He did not answer. ‘Is it not guarded?’ Frodo repeated. “Yes, yes, perhaps. No safe places in this country,’ said Gollum sulkily. ‘No safe places. But master must try it or go home. No other way.’ They could not get him to say more. The name of the perilous place and the high pass he could not tell, or would not.
「不能去那座可怕的城市，噢，不，當然不能。這就是史麥戈能幫忙的地方，好心的史麥戈，雖然沒有人告訴他這一切是怎麼回事。史麥戈又來幫忙了。他找到了。他知道。」「你找到了什麼？」佛羅多問。咕嚕蹲下身，聲音又降成了耳語。「一條通往山裡的小路；然後是一段階梯，一道窄窄的階梯，噢，是的，又長又窄。然後是更多的階梯。然後」——他的聲音變得更低了——「一條隧道，一條黑暗的隧道；最後是一道小裂縫，和一條高懸在主通道上方的小徑。史麥戈就是那樣逃出黑暗的。但那是很多年前的事了。那條路現在可能已經消失了；但也許沒有，也許沒有。」「我一點也不喜歡這聽起來的樣子，」山姆說。「至少說起來太容易了。如果那條路還在，也一定有人看守。它沒有被看守嗎，咕嚕？」他說這話時，他瞥見了，或自以為瞥見了咕嚕眼中閃過一道綠光。咕嚕咕噥著，但沒有回答。「它沒有被看守嗎？」佛羅多嚴厲地問。「你是從黑暗中逃出來的嗎，史麥戈？或者，你其實是被允許離開，去辦一件差事？至少亞拉岡是這麼想的，他幾年前在死亡沼澤旁找到了你。」「是謊話！」咕嚕嘶嘶地說，一提到亞拉岡的名字，他眼中就閃現出邪惡的光芒。「他誣賴我，是的，他誣賴我。我確實逃出來了，全靠可憐的我自己。我的確被告知要去尋找那『寶貝』；我也一直在尋找，當然有。但不是為那個黑魔王。那『寶貝』是我們的，我告訴你，是我的。我確實逃出來了。」佛羅多有種奇特的確定感，覺得在這件事上，咕嚕這一次並不像人們所懷疑的那樣偏離事實；他不知怎麼地找到了逃出魔多的路，而且至少他自己相信是靠他自己的狡猾。一方面，他注意到咕嚕用了「我」這個詞，這似乎通常是個跡象——在它罕見出現時——表明一些舊日的真實與誠摯暫時佔了上風。但即使咕嚕在這點上可以信任，佛羅多也沒有忘記敵人的詭計。這次「逃脫」可能是被允許或安排的，並且在黑暗塔裡是眾所周知的。無論如何，咕嚕顯然隱瞞了很多事情。「我再問你一次，」他說：「這條秘密通道沒有人看守嗎？」但亞拉岡的名字讓咕嚕陷入了陰沉的情緒中。他擺出一副受傷的樣子，就像一個騙子難得說了一次實話（或部分實話）卻被人懷疑時的模樣。他沒有回答。「它沒有被看守嗎？」佛羅多重複道。「是的，是的，也許吧。在這個國家沒有安全的地方，」咕嚕悶悶不樂地說。「沒有安全的地方。但主人必須試試，不然就回家。沒有別的路了。」他們無法讓他多說什麼。那個危險之地和高處通道的名字，他說不出來，或者說不願意說。
644 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Its name was Cirith Ungol, a name of dreadful rumour. Aragorn could perhaps have told them that name and its significance; Gandalf would have warned them. But they were alone, and Aragorn was far away, and Gandalf stood amid the ruin of Isengard and strove with Saruman, delayed by treason. Yet even as he spoke his last words to Saruman, and the palantir crashed in fire upon the steps of Orthanc, his thought was ever upon Frodo and Samwise, over the long leagues his mind sought for them in hope and pity. Maybe Frodo felt it, not knowing it, as he had upon Amon Hen, even though he believed that Gandalf was gone, gone for ever into the shadow in Moria far away. He sat upon the ground for a long while, silent, his head bowed, striving to recall all that Gandalf had said to him. But for this choice he could recall no counsel. Indeed Gandalf’s guidance had been taken from them too soon, too soon, while the Dark Land was still very far away. How they should enter it at the last Gandalf had not said. Perhaps he could not say. Into the stronghold of the Enemy in the North, into Dol Guldur, he had once ventured. But into Mordor, to the Mountain of Fire and to Barad-dtr, since the Dark Lord rose in power again, had he ever journeyed there? Frodo did not think so. And here he was a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate. But he had taken it on himself in his own sitting-room in the far-off spring of another year, so remote now that it was like a chapter in a story of the world’s youth, when the Trees of Silver and Gold were still in bloom. This was an evil choice. Which way should he choose? And if both led to terror and death, what good lay in choice? The day drew on. A deep silence fell upon the little grey hollow where they lay, so near to the borders of the land of fear: a silence that could be felt, as if it were a thick veil that cut them off from all the world about them. Above them was a dome of pale sky barred with fleeting smoke, but it seemed high and far away, as if seen through great deeps of air heavy with brooding thought. Not even an eagle poised against the sun would have marked the hobbits sitting there, under the weight of doom, silent, not moving, shrouded in their thin grey cloaks. For a moment he might have paused to consider Gollum, a tiny figure sprawling on the ground: there perhaps lay the famished skeleton of some child of Men, its ragged garment still clinging to it, its long arms and legs almost bone-white and bone-thin: no flesh worth a peck. Frodo’s head was bowed over his knees, but Sam leaned back, with hands behind his head, staring out of his hood at the empty sky.
它的名字是西力斯昂哥，一個名聲駭人的地方。亞拉岡或許能告訴他們這個名字及其意涵；甘道夫則會警告他們。但他們孤身在此，亞拉岡遠在天邊，而甘道夫正身處艾辛格的廢墟之中，因薩魯曼的背叛而耽擱，與之奮力周旋。然而，即便在他對薩魯曼說出最後的話語，以及真知晶球在歐散克的台階上迸裂起火之時，他的思緒始終掛念著佛羅多與山姆衛斯，他的心神跨越漫長的距離，懷著希望與憐憫尋找他們。或許佛羅多感覺到了，雖然他並不知曉，就像當初在阿蒙漢上一樣，儘管他相信甘道夫已經離去，永遠地消失在遙遠的摩瑞亞深影之中。他在地上坐了許久，沉默不語，低垂著頭，努力回想甘道夫對他說過的每一句話。但對於眼前的抉擇，他想不起任何忠告。確實，甘道夫的指引太早、太早就從他們身邊被奪走了，那時黑暗大地仍十分遙遠。他們最終該如何進入，甘道夫並未言明。或許他也無從說起。他曾一度冒險進入北方敵人的要塞，多爾哥多。但自從黑暗魔君再度崛起後，他是否曾踏足魔多，前往末日火山與巴拉多？佛羅多想，應該沒有。而他自己，一個來自夏爾的渺小半身人，一個來自寧靜鄉間的單純哈比人，卻被期望在偉大人物無法或不敢涉足之處，找到一條出路。這真是個邪惡的命運。但這是他在另一個年度那遙遠的春天，在自家的起居室裡親自承擔下來的。那時光如今已如此遙遠，彷彿是世界尚處年幼時的一個篇章，銀樹與金樹仍在盛開。這是個邪惡的選擇。他該選哪條路？如果兩條路都通往恐懼與死亡，那選擇又有何益？白日漸深。他們所躺臥的灰色小窪地陷入一片死寂，如此靠近那片恐懼之地的邊界：一種可以被感覺到的寂靜，彷彿是一層厚重的面紗，將他們與周遭世界完全隔絕。他們上方是一片蒼白天穹，劃過幾縷稍縱即逝的煙霧，但天空看起來又高又遠，像是透過充滿沉思憂慮的厚重空氣深淵望去。即使有老鷹在烈日下盤旋，也不會注意到坐在那裡的哈比人，他們在厄運的重壓下，沉默著，一動不動，裹在他們單薄的灰色斗篷裡。那老鷹或許會停下來片刻，打量一下咕嚕，那個癱倒在地上的微小身影：那裡躺著的或許是某個人類孩童餓壞了的骨骸，破爛的衣物仍黏在身上，長長的手腳幾乎如骨頭般蒼白、如骨頭般纖細：沒有一丁點值得一啄的肉。佛羅多的頭埋在膝間，但山姆卻向後靠著，雙手枕在腦後，從兜帽下凝視著空無一物的天空。
THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED 645 At least for a long while it was empty. Then presently Sam thought he saw a dark bird-like figure wheel into the circle of his sight, and hover, and then wheel away again. Two more followed, and then a fourth. They were very small to look at, yet he knew, somehow, that they were huge, with a vast stretch of pinion, flying at a great height. He covered his eyes and bent forward, cowering. The same warning fear was on him as he had felt in the presence of the Black Riders, the helpless horror that had come with the cry in the wind and the shadow on the moon, though now it was not so crushing or compelling: the menace was more remote. But menace it was. Frodo felt it too. His thought was broken. He stirred and shivered, but he did not look up. Gollum huddled himself together like a cornered spider. The winged shapes wheeled, and stooped swiftly down, speeding back to Mordor. Sam took a deep breath. “The Riders are about again, up in the air,’ he said in a hoarse whisper. ‘I saw them. Do you think they could see us? They were very high up. And if they are Black Riders, same as before, then they can’t see much by daylight, can they?’ ‘No, perhaps not,’ said Frodo. ‘But their steeds could see. And these winged creatures that they ride on now, they can probably see more than any other creature. They are like great carrion birds. They are looking for something: the Enemy is on the watch, I fear.’ The feeling of dread passed, but the enfolding silence was broken. For some time they had been cut off from the world, as if in an invisible island; now they were laid bare again, peril had returned. But still Frodo did not speak to Gollum or make his choice. His eyes were closed, as if he were dreaming, or looking inward into his heart and memory. At last he stirred and stood up, and it seemed that he was about to speak and to decide. But ‘hark!’ he said. ‘What is that?’ A new fear was upon them. They heard singing and hoarse shouting. At first it seemed a long way off, but it drew nearer: it was coming towards them. It leaped into all their minds that the Black Wings had spied them and had sent armed soldiers to seize them: no speed seemed too great for these terrible servants of Sauron. They crouched, listening. The voices and the clink of weapons and harness were very close. Frodo and Sam loosened their small swords in their sheaths. Flight was impossible. Gollum rose slowly and crawled insect-like to the lip of the hollow. Very cautiously he raised himself inch by inch, until he could peer over it between two broken points of stone. He remained there without moving for some time, making no sound. Presently the voices began to recede again, and then they slowly faded away. Far off a
至少在很長一段時間裡，那裡是空的。然後，山姆覺得他看見一個像鳥的黑色身影盤旋著進入他的視野，懸停了一下，然後又盤旋而去。接著又來了兩個，然後是第四個。它們看起來非常小，但他不知怎地知道，牠們其實體型巨大，有著寬闊的翅膀，飛在極高的高空。他用手遮住眼睛，彎下身子，畏縮起來。那種他在黑騎士面前感受到的同樣的警示性恐懼感又籠罩了他，那種伴隨著風中哭號和月上陰影而來的無助驚駭，雖然現在沒有那麼令人窒息或無法抗拒：威脅感更遙遠了。但那確實是威脅。佛羅多也感覺到了。他的思緒被打斷了。他動了動，打了個寒顫，但沒有抬頭。咕嚕像一隻被逼到角落的蜘蛛一樣縮成一團。那些有翼的形體盤旋著，迅速俯衝下來，加速返回魔多。山姆深吸了一口氣。「那些騎士又在空中活動了，」他嘶啞地低語道。「我看見他們了。你覺得他們能看見我們嗎？他們飛得很高。而且如果他們是和以前一樣的黑騎士，那他們在白天應該看不太清楚，對吧？」「不，或許吧，」佛羅多說。「但他們的坐騎看得見。而且他們現在騎的這些有翼生物，牠們的視力可能比任何其他生物都好。牠們就像巨大的食腐鳥。牠們在尋找什麼：我怕，敵人正在監視著。」恐懼感過去了，但那包圍著他們的寂靜卻被打破了。有段時間，他們彷彿與世隔絕，像是在一座無形的島嶼上；現在他們又再次暴露無遺，危險重臨。但佛羅多仍然沒有對咕嚕說話，也沒有做出他的選擇。他閉著眼睛，彷彿在做夢，或是在內省自己的內心與記憶。最後，他動了動，站了起來，看起來正要開口做出決定。但他卻說：「聽！那是什麼？」一股新的恐懼籠罩了他們。他們聽到了歌聲和嘶啞的喊叫聲。起初聲音似乎很遠，但隨後越來越近：正朝他們這邊來。他們腦中都閃過一個念頭：黑翼發現了他們，派了武裝士兵來抓他們——對於索倫這些可怕的僕人來說，似乎沒有什麼速度是太快的。他們蹲伏著，傾聽著。人聲以及武器和甲冑的鏗鏘聲已經非常近了。佛羅多和山姆鬆開了劍鞘裡的小劍。逃跑是不可能的。咕嚕慢慢地站起來，像昆蟲一樣爬到窪地的邊緣。他非常小心地一寸寸地抬高身子，直到他能從兩塊破碎的石頭之間向外窺視。他在那裡一動不動地待了一會兒，沒有發出任何聲音。不久，那些聲音又開始退去，然後慢慢地消失了。遠處一
646 THE LORD OF THE RINGS horn blew on the ramparts of the Morannon. Then quietly Gollum drew back and slipped down into the hollow. ‘More Men going to Mordor,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Dark faces. We have not seen Men like these before, no, Sméagol has not. They are fierce. They have black eyes, and long black hair, and gold rings in their ears; yes, lots of beautiful gold. And some have red paint on their cheeks, and red cloaks; and their flags are red, and the tips of their spears; and they have round shields, yellow and black with big spikes. Not nice; very cruel wicked Men they look. Almost as bad as Orcs, and much bigger. Sméagol thinks they have come out of the South beyond the Great River’s end: they came up that road. They have passed on to the Black Gate; but more may follow. Always more people coming to Mordor. One day all the peoples will be inside.’ ‘Were there any oliphaunts?’ asked Sam, forgetting his fear in his eagerness for news of strange places. ‘No, no oliphaunts. What are oliphaunts?’ said Gollum. Sam stood up, putting his hands behind his back (as he always did when ‘speaking poetry’), and began: Grey as a mouse, Big as a house, Nose like a snake, I make the earth shake, As I tramp through the grass; Trees crack as I pass. With horns in my mouth I walk in the South, Flapping big ears. Beyond count of years I stump round and round, Never lie on the ground, Not even to die. Oliphaunt am I, Biggest of all, Huge, old, and tall. If ever you’d met me You wouldn’t forget me. If you never do, You won't think I’m true; But old Oliphaunt am I, And I never lie.
魔欄農城牆上的號角響起。然後咕嚕悄悄地退了回來，溜進了窪地。「更多人類要去魔多，」他低聲說。「黑色的臉孔。我們以前沒見過這樣的人，不，史麥戈沒見過。他們很兇猛。他們有黑色的眼睛、黑色的長髮，耳朵上戴著金環；是的，好多美麗的黃金。有些人臉頰上塗著紅漆，披著紅斗篷；他們的旗幟是紅色的，矛尖也是紅色的；他們拿著圓盾，黃黑相間，上面有大大的尖刺。不好；他們看起來是非常殘酷邪惡的人。幾乎和半獸人一樣壞，而且體型大得多。史麥戈覺得他們是從大河盡頭以南的南方來的：他們是從那條路上來的。他們已經過了黑門；但可能還有更多會來。總是有更多人來魔多。總有一天，所有人都會進到裡面。」「有任何猛獁嗎？」山姆問道，因渴望得知奇異之地的消息而忘記了恐懼。「不，沒有猛獁。什麼是猛獁？」咕嚕說。山姆站起來，雙手背在身後（他『吟詩』時總是這樣），然後開始朗誦： 灰如鼠， 大如屋， 鼻如蛇， 我讓大地搖； 我踏過青草， 樹木應聲倒。 嘴裡長犄角， 我在南方跑， 搧動大耳朵。 歲月數不清， 我蹣跚踱步， 從不躺地上， 至死也不倒。 我就是猛獁， 萬物我最大， 又巨又老又高。 若你曾見我， 你絕忘不了我。 若你從未見， 你定不信我言； 但我真是老猛獁， 從來不說謊。
THE BLACK GATE IS CLOSED 647 ‘That,’ said Sam, when he had finished reciting, ‘that’s a rhyme we have in the Shire. Nonsense maybe, and maybe not. But we have our tales too, and news out of the South, you know. In the old days hobbits used to go on their travels now and again. Not that many ever came back, and not that all they said was believed: news from Bree, and not sure as Shiretalk, as the sayings go. But I’ve heard tales of the big folk down away in the Sunlands. Swertings we call ’em in our tales; and they ride on oliphaunts, ’tis said, when they fight. They put houses and towers on the oliphauntses backs and all, and the oliphaunts throw rocks and trees at one another. So when you said ‘‘Men out of the South, all in red and gold,” I said “‘were there any oliphaunts?”’ For if there was, I was going to take a look, risk or no. But now I don’t suppose I’ll ever see an oliphaunt. Maybe there ain’t no such a beast.’ He sighed. ‘No, no oliphaunts,’ said Gollum again. ‘Sméagol has not heard of them. He does not want to see them. He does not want them to be. Sméagol wants to go away from here and hide somewhere safer. Sméagol wants master to go. Nice master, won’t he come with Sméagol?’ Frodo stood up. He had laughed in the midst of all his cares when Sam trotted out the old fireside rhyme of Oliphaunt, and the laugh had released him from hesitation. ‘I wish we had a thousand oliphaunts with Gandalf on a white one at their head,’ he said. “Then we’d break a way into this evil land, perhaps. But we’ve not; just our own tired legs, that’s all. Well, Sméagol, the third turn may turn the best. I will come with you.’ ‘Good master, wise master, nice master!’ cried Gollum in delight, patting Frodo’s knees. ‘Good master! Then rest now, nice hobbits, under the shadow of the stones, close under the stones! Rest and lie quiet, till the Yellow Face goes away. Then we can go quickly. Soft and quick as shadows we must be!’
「那首啊，」山姆吟誦完後說，「那是我們夏爾的一首謠曲。也許是胡說八道，也許不是。但我們也有我們的故事，還有從南方傳來的消息，你知道的。在過去，哈比人偶爾也會出門旅行。只是回來的沒幾個，而且他們說的話也不全被人相信：『布理來的消息，不如夏爾閒話可靠』，俗話都這麼說。但我聽過關於南方陽光之地那些大塊頭的故事。在我們的故事裡，我們叫他們『黑膚族』；據說他們打仗的時候會騎著猛獁。他們把房子和高塔蓋在猛獁的背上，那些猛獁還會互相扔石頭和樹木。所以當你說『從南方來的人，全身紅金相間』時，我就問『有沒有猛獁？』因為如果有的話，我可要去瞧瞧，不管有沒有風險。但現在我想我大概永遠也見不到猛獁了。也許根本沒有這種野獸。」他嘆了口氣。「不，沒有猛獁，」咕嚕又說了一遍。「史麥戈沒聽說過牠們。他不想看見牠們。他不希望牠們存在。史麥戈想離開這裡，躲到更安全的地方去。史麥戈希望主人走。好主人，他會跟史麥戈一起走嗎？」「我倒希望我們有一千頭猛獁，由甘道夫騎著一頭白色的領頭，」他說。「那樣我們或許就能攻進這片邪惡的土地了。但我們沒有；只有我們自己這雙疲憊的腿，僅此而已。好吧，史麥戈，第三條路或許是最好的。我跟你走。」「好主人，聰明的主人，好心腸的主人！」咕嚕高興地叫起來，拍著佛羅多的膝蓋。「好主人！那現在就休息吧，好心腸的哈比人，在石頭的陰影下，緊挨著石頭！休息，靜靜地躺著，直到黃臉孔走開。然後我們就可以快快地走。我們必須像影子一樣，又輕又快！」