Chapter 3 MOUNT DOOM Sam put his ragged orc-cloak under his master’s head, and covered them both with the grey robe of Lorien; and as he did so his thoughts went out to that fair land, and to the Elves, and he hoped that the cloth woven by their hands might have some virtue to keep them hidden beyond all hope in this wilderness of fear. He heard the scuffling and cries die down as the troops passed on through the Isenmouthe. It seemed that in the confusion and the mingling of many companies of various kinds they had not been missed, not yet at any rate. Sam took a sip of water, but pressed Frodo to drink, and when his master had recovered a little he gave him a whole wafer of their precious waybread and made him eat it. Then, too worn out even to feel much fear, they stretched themselves out. They slept a little in uneasy fits; for their sweat grew chill on them, and the hard stones bit them, and they shivered. Out of the north from the Black Gate through Cirith Gorgor there flowed whispering along the ground a thin cold air. In the morning a grey light came again, for in the high regions the West Wind still blew, but down on the stones behind the fences of the Black Land the air seemed almost dead, chill and yet stifling. Sam looked up out of the hollow. The land all about was dreary, flat and drab-hued. On the roads nearby nothing was moving now; but Sam feared the watchful eyes on the wall of the Isenmouthe, no more than a furlong away northward. South-eastward, far off like a dark standing shadow, loomed the Mountain. Smokes were pouring from it, and while those that rose into the upper air trailed away eastward, great rolling clouds floated down its sides and spread over the land. A few miles to the north-east the foothills of the Ashen Mountains stood like sombre grey ghosts, behind which the misty northern heights rose like a line of distant cloud hardly darker than the lowering sky. Sam tried to guess the distances and to decide what way they ought to take. ‘It looks every step of fifty miles,’ he muttered gloomily, staring at the threatening mountain, ‘and that'll take a week, if it takes a day, with Mr. Frodo as he is.’ He shook his head, and as he worked things out, slowly a new dark thought grew in his mind. Never for long had hope died in his staunch heart, and always until now he had taken some thought for their return. But the bitter truth
第三章 末日火山 山姆將他破爛的半獸人斗篷墊在主人頭下，並用羅瑞安的灰色長袍將兩人蓋住；當他這麼做時，他的思緒飄向那片美麗的土地和那些精靈，他希望他們親手編織的布料能有某種力量，讓他們在這充滿恐懼的荒野中，在所有希望之外，依然能保持隱蔽。他聽到部隊穿過伊森茅斯時，騷動和叫喊聲逐漸平息。在混亂和各種隊伍的交織中，他們似乎沒有被發現，至少目前還沒有。山姆喝了一小口水，但催促佛羅多喝，當他的主人稍稍恢復後，他給了他一整片珍貴的行路糧餅，並讓他吃下去。然後，他們筋疲力盡到甚至感覺不到太多恐懼，便伸展身體躺下。他們在不安的睡夢中淺眠了一會兒；因為汗水在他們身上變冷，堅硬的石頭硌得他們生疼，他們瑟瑟發抖。從北方，黑門經由戈哥洛隘口，一股稀薄的冷空氣沿著地面低語般流淌而來。早晨，灰色的光線再次出現，因為在高處西風仍在吹拂，但在黑土的圍籬後方的石頭上，空氣卻幾乎是死寂的，冰冷而又令人窒息。山姆從窪地裡抬頭望去。周圍的土地一片荒涼、平坦而色彩黯淡。附近的道路上現在沒有任何動靜；但山姆害怕伊森茅斯城牆上那些警惕的眼睛，那裡向北不過一弗隆之遙。向東南方望去，遠處像一道矗立的黑色陰影，那座山脈若隱若現。濃煙從山中噴湧而出，升入高空的煙霧向東方飄散，而巨大的翻滾雲團則沿著山坡向下漂浮，蔓延到大地上。東北方幾英里處，灰燼山脈的山麓像陰沉的灰色幽靈般矗立，其後方迷濛的北方高地像一線遠方的雲朵般升起，幾乎不比低垂的天空更暗。山姆試圖估計距離，並決定他們應該走哪條路。「看起來至少有五十英里，」他陰鬱地咕噥著，凝視著那座充滿威脅的山，「而且以佛羅多先生現在的狀況，就算只走一天，也要花上一週。」他搖了搖頭，當他理清思緒時，一個新的黑暗念頭緩緩在他心中滋長。希望從未在他堅定的心中長久熄滅，直到現在他總會考慮到他們的歸途。但那殘酷的真相
934 THE LORD OF THE RINGS came home to him at last: at best their provision would take them to their goal; and when the task was done, there they would come to an end, alone, houseless, foodless in the midst of a terrible desert. There could be no return. ‘So that was the job I felt I had to do when I started,’ thought Sam: ‘to help Mr. Frodo to the last step and then die with him? Well, if that is the job then I must do it. But I would dearly like to see Bywater again, and Rosie Cotton and her brothers, and the Gaffer and Marigold and all. I can’t think somehow that Gandalf would have sent Mr. Frodo on this errand, if there hadn’t a’ been any hope of his ever coming back at all. Things all went wrong when he went down in Moria. I wish he hadn’t. He would have done something.’ But even as hope died in Sam, or seemed to die, it was turned to a new strength. Sam’s plain hobbit-face grew stern, almost grim, as the will hardened in him, and he felt through all his limbs a thrill, as if he was turning into some creature of stone and steel that neither despair nor weariness nor endless barren miles could subdue. With a new sense of responsibility he brought his eyes back to the ground near at hand, studying the next move. As the light grew a little he saw to his surprise that what from a distance had seemed wide and featureless flats were in fact all broken and tumbled. Indeed the whole surface of the plains of Gorgoroth was pocked with great holes, as if, while it was still a waste of soft mud, it had been smitten with a shower of bolts and huge slingstones. The largest of these holes were rimmed with ridges of broken rock, and broad fissures ran out from them in all directions. It was a land in which it would be possible to creep from hiding to hiding, unseen by all but the most watchful eyes: possible at least for one who was strong and had no need for speed. For the hungry and worn, who had far to go before life failed, it had an evil look. Thinking of all these things Sam went back to his master. He had no need to rouse him. Frodo was lying on his back with eyes open, staring at the cloudy sky. ‘Well, Mr. Frodo,’ said Sam, ‘ve been having a look round and thinking a bit. There’s nothing on the roads, and we’d best be getting away while there’s a chance. Can you manage it?’ ‘I can manage it,’ said Frodo. ‘I must.’ Once more they started, crawling from hollow to hollow, flitting behind such cover as they could find, but moving always in a slant towards the foothills of the northern range. But as they went the most easterly of the roads followed them, until it ran off, hugging the skirts of the mountains, away into a wall of black shadow far ahead. Neither man nor orc now moved along its flat grey stretches;
魔戒的現實終於降臨到他身上：充其量，他們的補給只能讓他們抵達目的地；而當任務完成時，他們將會孤身一人，無家可歸，身無糧食，在可怕的沙漠中走向終點。將無路可退。「所以，這就是我一開始覺得必須完成的任務嗎？」山姆心想：「幫助佛羅多先生走到最後一步，然後與他一同死去？好吧，如果這就是任務，那我必須完成。但我多麼希望能再見到水邊鎮、蘿西·卡頓和她的兄弟們，還有老爹和萬壽菊以及所有的人。我總覺得甘道夫不會讓佛羅多先生執行這個任務，如果他根本沒有任何回來的希望的話。當他墜入摩瑞亞時，一切都出了差錯。我真希望他沒有墜落。他會做些什麼的。」然而，就在希望在山姆心中消逝，或者看似消逝之際，它卻轉化為一股新的力量。山姆那樸實的哈比人臉龐變得嚴肅，幾乎是冷酷，因為他的意志變得堅定，他感到全身一陣顫慄，彷彿他正變成某種由石頭和鋼鐵組成的生物，無論是絕望、疲憊還是無盡的荒蕪路途都無法將其征服。帶著新的責任感，他將目光轉回近在咫尺的地面，研究著下一步行動。隨著光線稍亮，他驚訝地看到，從遠處看來寬闊而平坦無奇的地面，實際上卻是破碎不堪、崎嶇不平。事實上，戈爾戈羅斯平原的整個表面都佈滿了巨大的坑洞，彷彿在它還是泥濘的廢墟時，曾被一陣箭矢和巨型投石擊中。這些坑洞中最大的周圍環繞著破碎岩石形成的脊狀物，寬闊的裂縫從中向四面八方延伸。這是一片可以從一個藏身處爬到另一個藏身處的土地，除了最警惕的眼睛外，無人能見：至少對於一個強壯且不需要速度的人來說是可能的。對於飢餓疲憊、生命即將走到盡頭的人來說，這片土地顯得邪惡。想到這些，山姆回到他的主人身邊。他不需要叫醒他。佛羅多正仰臥著，雙眼睜開，凝視著多雲的天空。「嗯，佛羅多先生，」山姆說，「我已經四處看了一下，也想了想。路上沒有什麼東西，我們最好趁還有機會趕快離開。你還能應付嗎？」「我能應付，」佛羅多說，「我必須。」他們再次啟程，從一個窪地爬到另一個窪地，躲藏在他們能找到的掩蔽物後面，但總是斜向北方山脈的丘陵地帶移動。然而，隨著他們前進，最東邊的道路一直跟隨著他們，直到它蜿蜒而去，緊貼著山腳，消失在前方遙遠的一堵黑色陰影牆中。現在，無論是人類還是半獸人，都沒有在這條平坦灰色的路段上移動；
MOUNT DOOM 935 for the Dark Lord had almost completed the movement of his forces, and even in the fastness of his own realm he sought the secrecy of night, fearing the winds of the world that had turned against him, tearing aside his veils, and troubled with tidings of bold spies that had passed through his fences. The hobbits had gone a few weary miles when they halted. Frodo seemed nearly spent. Sam saw that he could not go much further in this fashion, crawling, stooping, now picking a doubtful way very slowly, now hurrying at a stumbling run. ‘I’m going back on to the road while the light lasts, Mr. Frodo,’ he said. “Trust to luck again! It nearly failed us last time, but it didn’t quite. A steady pace for a few more miles, and then a rest.’ He was taking a far greater risk than he knew; but Frodo was too much occupied with his burden and with the struggle in his mind to debate, and almost too hopeless to care. They climbed on to the causeway and trudged along, down the hard cruel road that led to the Dark Tower itself. But their luck held, and for the rest of that day they met no living or moving thing; and when night fell they vanished into the darkness of Mordor. All the land now brooded as at the coming of a great storm: for the Captains of the West had passed the Cross-roads and set flames in the deadly fields of Imlad Morgul. So the desperate journey went on, as the Ring went south and the banners of the kings rode north. For the hobbits each day, each mile, was more bitter than the one before, as their strength lessened and the land became more evil. They met no enemies by day. At times by night, as they cowered or drowsed uneasily in some hiding beside the road, they heard cries and the noise of many feet or the swift passing of some cruelly ridden steed. But far worse than all such perils was the ever-approaching threat that beat upon them as they went: the dreadful menace of the Power that waited, brooding in deep thought and sleepless malice behind the dark veil about its Throne. Nearer and nearer it drew, looming blacker, like the oncoming of a wall of night at the last end of the world. There came at last a dreadful nightfall; and even as the Captains of the West drew near to the end of the living lands, the two wanderers came to an hour of blank despair. Four days had passed since they had escaped from the orcs, but the time lay behind them like an ever-darkening dream. All this last day Frodo had not spoken, but had walked half-bowed, often stumbling, as if his eyes no longer saw the way before his feet. Sam guessed that among all their pains he bore the worst, the growing weight of the Ring, a burden on the body and a torment to his mind. Anxiously Sam had noted how his master’s left hand would often be raised as if to ward off a blow, or to screen
魔多山935年，黑暗魔君幾乎已完成兵力調動，即使在他自己的領地深處，他仍尋求夜色的掩護，懼怕那已轉而與他為敵的世間之風，它們撕開了他的面紗，並為那些穿過他防線的膽大間諜的報告所困擾。哈比人走了幾英里疲憊的路程後停了下來。佛羅多看起來幾乎精疲力盡。山姆看出他不能再這樣走下去了，他爬行著，彎著腰，時而緩慢地摸索著不確定的路，時而跌跌撞撞地奔跑。「趁著天還亮，我要回到路上去了，佛羅多先生。」他說。「再相信一次運氣吧！上次它差點讓我們失敗，但終究沒有。再走幾英里穩定的路，然後休息。」他冒的險比他所知的要大得多；但佛羅多被他的重擔和心中的掙扎所佔據，無暇爭辯，也幾乎絕望到無心顧及。他們爬上堤道，沿著通往黑暗之塔的堅硬殘酷道路艱難前行。但他們的運氣很好，那天剩下的時間裡，他們沒有遇到任何活物或移動的東西；當夜幕降臨，他們便消失在魔多的黑暗中。整個大地此刻都籠罩著一股暴風雨將至的沉重氣氛：因為西方將領們已經越過十字路口，並在魔窟谷的致命田野中點燃了戰火。於是，這絕望的旅程繼續著，魔戒向南，而國王的旗幟則向北。對於哈比人來說，每一天，每一英里，都比前一天更加艱苦，因為他們的力氣逐漸減弱，而大地也變得更加邪惡。白天他們沒有遇到敵人。有時在夜裡，當他們蜷縮或不安地打盹在路邊的某個藏身處時，他們會聽到哭喊聲和許多腳步聲，或是某些被殘酷驅策的駿馬疾馳而過。但比所有這些危險更糟糕的是，那隨著他們前進而步步逼近的威脅：那等待著的、在王座周圍的黑暗面紗後，深思熟慮並懷著不眠惡意盤踞著的「力量」所帶來的可怕威脅。它越來越近，顯得更加黑暗，如同世界末日一道黑夜之牆的降臨。最終，一個可怕的夜幕降臨了；正當西方將領們逼近生者之地的盡頭時，這兩位流浪者也陷入了徹底絕望的時刻。自從他們逃離半獸人以來，已經過了四天，但這段時間在他們身後，就像一個不斷變暗的夢。這最後一天，佛羅多一直沒有說話，只是半彎著腰走路，經常跌跌撞撞，彷彿他的眼睛再也看不清腳下的路。山姆猜想，在他們所有的痛苦中，佛羅多承受著最糟糕的：魔戒日益增長的重量，身體上的重擔和精神上的折磨。山姆焦慮地注意到，他的主人左手經常會抬起來，彷彿要擋開一擊，或是遮擋
936 THE LORD OF THE RINGS his shrinking eyes from a dreadful Eye that sought to look in them. And sometimes his right hand would creep to his breast, clutching, and then slowly, as the will recovered mastery, it would be withdrawn. Now as the blackness of night returned Frodo sat, his head between his knees, his arms hanging wearily to the ground where his hands lay feebly twitching. Sam watched him, till night covered them both and hid them from one another. He could no longer find any words to say; and he turned to his own dark thoughts. As for himself, though weary and under a shadow of fear, he still had some strength left. The /embas had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam’s mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats. And yet this waybread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travellers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods. It fed the will, and it gave strength to endure, and to master sinew and limb beyond the measure of mortal kind. But now a new decision must be made. They could not follow this road any longer; for it went on eastward into the great Shadow, but the Mountain now loomed upon their right, almost due south, and they must turn towards it. Yet still before it there stretched a wide region of fuming, barren, ash-ridden land. ‘Water, water!’ muttered Sam. He had stinted himself, and in his parched mouth his tongue seemed thick and swollen; but for all his care they now had very little left, perhaps half his bottle, and maybe there were still days to go. All would long ago have been spent, if they had not dared to follow the orc-road. For at long intervals on that highway cisterns had been built for the use of troops sent in haste through the waterless regions. In one Sam had found some water left, stale, muddied by the orcs, but still sufficient for their desperate case. Yet that was now a day ago. There was no hope of any more. At last wearied with his cares Sam drowsed, leaving the morrow till it came; he could do no more. Dream and waking mingled uneasily. He saw lights like gloating eyes, and dark creeping shapes, and he heard noises as of wild beasts or the dreadful cries of tortured things; and he would start up to find the world all dark and only empty blackness all about him. Once only, as he stood and stared wildly round, did it seem that, though now awake, he could still see pale lights like eyes; but soon they flickered and vanished. The hateful night passed slowly and reluctantly. Such daylight as followed was dim; for here as the Mountain drew near the air was ever mirky, while out from the Dark Tower there crept the veils of Shadow that Sauron wove about himself. Frodo was lying on his
936 《魔戒》 弗羅多努力將他那不斷縮小的眼睛從那隻試圖窺視他的可怕魔眼移開。有時，他的右手會悄悄地伸向胸口，緊緊抓住，然後，隨著意志重新恢復主導，又會慢慢地收回。此刻，隨著夜幕再次降臨，弗羅多坐著，頭埋在雙膝之間，雙臂無力地垂到地上，雙手無助地抽搐著。山姆注視著他，直到黑夜將他們兩人籠罩，使他們彼此看不見。他再也找不到任何話語可說；他轉向自己的黑暗思緒。至於他自己，儘管疲憊不堪，籠罩在恐懼的陰影下，他仍然剩下一些力氣。精靈餅（lembas）有一種美德，沒有它，他們早就倒下等死了。它不能滿足慾望，有時山姆的腦海裡充滿了對食物的回憶，以及對簡單麵包和肉類的渴望。然而，這種精靈的行路糧有一種效力，旅行者越是單獨依賴它而不與其他食物混食，它的效力就越大。它滋養意志，賦予忍耐的力量，並能使筋骨超越凡人的極限。但現在必須做出新的決定。他們不能再沿著這條路走了；因為它向東通往巨大的陰影之地，而魔山現在卻高聳在他們的右側，幾乎正南方，他們必須轉向它。然而，在它之前仍然延伸著一片廣闊的、冒著煙、貧瘠、佈滿灰燼的土地。「水，水！」山姆喃喃自語。他一直省吃儉用，在他乾渴的嘴裡，舌頭似乎又厚又腫；但儘管他如此小心，他們現在剩下的水已經很少了，也許只剩下他瓶子裡的一半，而且可能還有好幾天的路程。如果他們沒有膽量走那條獸人之路，水早就用完了。因為在那條公路上，每隔很長一段距離就建有蓄水池，供那些匆忙穿過無水地區的部隊使用。在其中一個蓄水池裡，山姆發現了一些殘留的水，雖然陳舊，被獸人弄髒了，但仍然足以應付他們絕望的處境。然而，那已經是一天前的事了。再也沒有希望找到更多的水了。最後，山姆因憂慮而疲憊不堪，打起了瞌睡，把明天的事留給明天；他無能為力了。夢境與清醒不安地交織在一起。他看到像幸災樂禍的眼睛一樣的光芒，以及黑暗爬行的形狀，他聽到像野獸的聲音或受折磨之物的可怕哭喊；他會猛然驚醒，發現周圍一片漆黑，只有空虛的黑暗。只有一次，當他站著瘋狂地環顧四周時，似乎儘管現在醒著，他仍然能看到像眼睛一樣的蒼白光芒；但很快它們就閃爍了一下，消失了。這可惡的夜晚緩慢而勉強地過去了。隨之而來的白晝是昏暗的；因為在這裡，隨著魔山越來越近，空氣總是陰沉沉的，而從黑暗之塔中，索倫編織的陰影之紗正悄然蔓延開來。弗羅多正躺在他的
MOUNT DOOM 937 back not moving. Sam stood beside him, reluctant to speak, and yet knowing that the word now lay with him: he must set his master’s will to work for another effort. At length, stooping and caressing Frodo’s brow, he spoke in his ear. ‘Wake up, Master!’ he said. “Time for another start.’ As if roused by a sudden bell, Frodo rose quickly, and stood up and looked away southwards; but when his eyes beheld the Mountain and the desert he quailed again. ‘I can’t manage it, Sam,’ he said. ‘It is such a weight to carry, such a weight.’ Sam knew before he spoke, that it was vain, and that such words might do more harm than good, but in his pity he could not keep silent. “Then let me carry it a bit for you, Master,’ he said. “You know I would, and gladly, as long as I have any strength.’ A wild light came into Frodo’s eyes. ‘Stand away! Don’t touch me!’ he cried. ‘It is mine, I say. Be off!’ His hand strayed to his sword-hilt. But then quickly his voice changed. ‘No, no, Sam,’ he said sadly. ‘But you must understand. It is my burden, and no one else can bear it. It is too late now, Sam dear. You can’t help me in that way again. I am almost in its power now. I could not give it up, and if you tried to take it I should go mad.’ Sam nodded. ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘But P’ve been thinking, Mr. Frodo, there’s other things we might do without. Why not lighten the load a bit? We’re going that way now, as straight as we can make it.’ He pointed to the Mountain. ‘It’s no good taking anything we’re not sure to need.’ Frodo looked again towards the Mountain. ‘No,’ he said, ‘we shan’t need much on that road. And at its end nothing.’ Picking up his orc-shield he flung it away and threw his helmet after it. Then pulling off the grey cloak he undid the heavy belt and let it fall to the ground, and the sheathed sword with it. The shreds of the black cloak he tore off and scattered. ‘There, Pll be an orc no more,’ he cried, ‘and I’ll bear no weapon, fair or foul. Let them take me, if they will!’ Sam did likewise, and put aside his orc-gear; and he took out all the things in his pack. Somehow each of them had become dear to him, if only because he had borne them so far with so much toil. Hardest of all it was to part with his cooking-gear. Tears welled in his eyes at the thought of casting it away. ‘Do you remember that bit of rabbit, Mr. Frodo?’ he said. ‘And our place under the warm bank in Captain Faramir’s country, the day I saw an oliphaunt?’ ‘No, I am afraid not, Sam,’ said Frodo. ‘At least, I know that such things happened, but I cannot see them. No taste of food, no feel of
魔多山937號，他一動也不動。山姆站在他身旁，不願開口，卻也知道現在該由他來說話了：他必須讓主人振作起來，再努力一次。終於，他彎下身，輕撫佛羅多的額頭，在他耳邊說：「主人，醒醒！該再出發了。」佛羅多彷彿被突如其來的鈴聲驚醒，迅速起身，站起來望向南方；但當他的目光落在魔多山和那片荒漠上時，他又退縮了。「我辦不到，山姆，」他說，「這負擔太重了，太重了。」山姆在開口前就知道這是徒勞的，而且這樣的話語可能弊大於利，但出於憐憫，他無法保持沉默。「那麼，讓我替您背一會兒吧，主人，」他說，「您知道我會很樂意的，只要我還有力氣。」佛羅多的眼中閃過一道狂野的光芒。「走開！別碰我！」他喊道，「我說，這是我的。滾開！」他的手摸向劍柄。但很快地，他的語氣變了。「不，不，山姆，」他悲傷地說，「但你必須明白。這是我的重擔，沒有人能替我承受。現在太遲了，親愛的山姆。你不能再那樣幫我了。我現在幾乎被它控制了。我無法放棄它，如果你試圖拿走它，我會發瘋的。」山姆點點頭。「我明白，」他說，「但我一直在想，佛羅多先生，有些東西我們或許可以不要。為什麼不稍微減輕一點負擔呢？我們現在正朝那個方向走，盡可能地走直線。」他指向魔多山。「帶任何我們不確定需要的東西都沒有用。」佛羅多再次望向魔多山。「不，」他說，「我們在那條路上不需要太多東西。而到了盡頭，什麼都不需要。」他拿起他的半獸人盾牌，將它扔掉，然後把頭盔也扔了過去。接著他脫下灰色的斗篷，解開沉重的腰帶，讓它和鞘中的劍一起掉到地上。他撕下黑色斗篷的碎片，將它們散開。「好了，我不再是半獸人了，」他喊道，「我也不會攜帶任何武器，無論好壞。如果他們願意，就讓他們帶走我吧！」山姆也照做了，他把半獸人裝備放在一旁；他把背包裡所有的東西都拿了出來。不知怎的，每一樣東西對他來說都變得珍貴，只因為他帶著它們走了這麼遠，付出了這麼多辛勞。最難割捨的是他的炊具。想到要把它扔掉，淚水湧上了他的眼眶。「佛羅多先生，您還記得那塊兔子肉嗎？」他說，「還有我們在法拉墨隊長領地裡，那溫暖的河岸下，我看到猛獁獸的那一天？」「不，恐怕不記得了，山姆，」佛羅多說，「至少，我知道那些事情發生過，但我無法看見它們。沒有食物的味道，沒有觸覺...
938 THE LORD OF THE RINGS water, no sound of wind, no memory of tree or grass or flower, no image of moon or star are left to me. I am naked in the dark, Sam, and there is no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I begin to see it even with my waking eyes, and all else fades.’ Sam went to him and kissed his hand. “Then the sooner we’re rid of it, the sooner to rest,’ he said haltingly, finding no better words to say. “Talking won’t mend nothing,’ he muttered to himself, as he gathered up all the things that they had chosen to cast away. He was not willing to leave them lying open in the wilderness for any eyes to see. ‘Stinker picked up that orc-shirt, seemingly, and he isn’t going to add a sword to it. His hands are bad enough when empty. And he isn’t going to mess with my pans!’ With that he carried all the gear away to one of the many gaping fissures that scored the land and threw them in. The clatter of his precious pans as they fell down into the dark was like a death-knell to his heart. He came back to Frodo, and then of his elven-rope he cut a short piece to serve his master as a girdle and bind the grey cloak close about his waist. The rest he carefully coiled and put back in his pack. Beside that he kept only the remnants of their waybread and the water-bottle, and Sting still hanging by his belt; and hidden away in a pocket of his tunic next his breast the phial of Galadriel and the little box that she gave him for his own. Now at last they turned their faces to the Mountain and set out, thinking no more of concealment, bending their weariness and failing wills only to the one task of going on. In the dimness of its dreary day few things even in that land of vigilance could have espied them, save from close at hand. Of all the slaves of the Dark Lord, only the Nazgtl could have warned him of the peril that crept, small but indomitable, into the very heart of his guarded realm. But the Nazgtl and their black wings were abroad on other errand: they were gathered far away, shadowing the march of the Captains of the West, and thither the thought of the Dark Tower was turned. That day it seemed to Sam that his master had found some new strength, more than could be explained by the small lightening of the load that he had to carry. In the first marches they went further and faster than he had hoped. The land was rough and hostile, and yet they made much progress, and ever the Mountain drew nearer. But as the day wore on and all too soon the dim light began to fail, Frodo stooped again, and began to stagger, as if the renewed effort had squandered his remaining strength. At their last halt he sank down and said: ‘I’m thirsty, Sam,’ and did not speak again. Sam gave him a mouthful of water; only one more mouthful remained. He went without himself; and now as once
938 《魔戒》 水，沒有風聲，沒有樹木、青草或花朵的記憶，沒有月亮或星星的影像留給我。山姆，我赤身裸體地置身於黑暗中，我與那火輪之間沒有任何遮蔽。我甚至用清醒的眼睛開始看見它，而其他一切都消逝了。山姆走到他身邊，親吻了他的手。「那麼，我們越早擺脫它，就能越早休息。」他結結巴巴地說，找不到更好的話語。「說話解決不了任何問題。」他自言自語地咕噥著，同時收攏了所有他們選擇丟棄的東西。他不願將它們留在荒野中，任由任何眼睛看見。「臭蟲似乎撿走了那件半獸人襯衫，他可別想再添一把劍。他空著手就已經夠糟糕了。他休想碰我的鍋子！」說著，他將所有裝備帶到一道道劃破大地的巨大裂縫中，然後將它們扔了進去。他那些珍貴的鍋子墜入黑暗時發出的鏗鏘聲，對他的心來說簡直是喪鐘。他回到佛羅多身邊，然後從他的精靈繩上剪下一小段，用作他主人的腰帶，將灰色的斗篷緊緊束在腰間。其餘的繩子他小心地捲好放回背包。除此之外，他只留下了他們旅途麵包的殘餘和水壺，以及仍掛在腰帶上的刺針；還有藏在他束腰外衣胸前口袋裡的凱蘭崔爾之光和她送給他的小盒子。如今，他們終於轉向了那座山，啟程前進，不再考慮隱藏，將他們的疲憊和衰弱的意志只專注於繼續前進這一個任務。在那陰沉的白晝中，即使在那警惕的土地上，也很少有東西能發現他們，除非是近在咫尺。在魔王的眾多奴僕中，只有戒靈能夠警告他那悄然潛入他戒備森嚴的領地深處、雖微小卻堅不可摧的危險。但戒靈和他們的黑翼正在執行其他任務：他們聚集在遙遠的地方，監視著西方將軍們的行軍，魔王的思緒也轉向了那座黑暗之塔。那天，山姆覺得他的主人似乎找到了一些新的力量，這不是僅僅因為他所背負的重擔減輕了一點就能解釋的。在最初的行進中，他們走得比他預期的更遠更快。大地崎嶇而充滿敵意，然而他們卻取得了很大的進展，那座山也越來越近。但隨著時間流逝，昏暗的光線很快開始消退，佛羅多又彎下身子，開始搖晃，彷彿這重新振作的努力耗盡了他剩餘的力氣。在他們最後一次停歇時，他癱坐下來說：「山姆，我渴了。」然後就再也沒有說話。山姆給了他一口水；只剩下最後一口了。他自己沒有喝；而現在，就像曾經一樣
MOUNT DOOM 939 more the night of Mordor closed over them, through all his thoughts there came the memory of water; and every brook or stream or fount that he had ever seen, under green willow-shades or twinkling in the sun, danced and rippled for his torment behind the blindness of his eyes. He felt the cool mud about his toes as he paddled in the Pool at Bywater with Jolly Cotton and Tom and Nibs, and their sister Rosie. ‘But that was years ago,’ he sighed, ‘and far away. The way back, if there is one, goes past the Mountain.’ He could not sleep and he held a debate with himself. ‘Well, come now, we’ve done better than you hoped,’ he said sturdily. ‘Began well anyway. I reckon we crossed half the distance before we stopped. One more day will do it.’ And then he paused. ‘Don’t be a fool, Sam Gamgee,’ came an answer in his own voice. ‘He won’t go another day like that, if he moves at all. And you can’t go on much longer giving him all the water and most of the food.’ ‘I can go on a good way though, and I will.’ ‘Where to?’ “To the Mountain, of course.’ ‘But what then, Sam Gamgee, what then? When you get there, what are you going to do? He won’t be able to do anything for himself.’ To his dismay Sam realized that he had not got an answer to this. He had no clear idea at all. Frodo had not spoken much to him of his errand, and Sam only knew vaguely that the Ring had somehow to be put into the fire. “The Cracks of Doom,’ he muttered, the old name rising to his mind. ‘Well, if Master knows how to find them, I don’t.’ “There you are!’ came the answer. ‘It’s all quite useless. He said so himself. You are the fool, going on hoping and toiling. You could have lain down and gone to sleep together days ago, if you hadn’t been so dogged. But you’ll die just the same, or worse. You might just as well lie down now and give it up. You’ll never get to the top anyway.’ ‘Tl get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind,’ said Sam. ‘And [ll carry Mr. Frodo up myself, if it breaks my back and heart. So stop arguing!’ At that moment Sam felt a tremor in the ground beneath him, and he heard or sensed a deep remote rumble as of thunder imprisoned under the earth. There was a brief red flame that flickered under the clouds and died away. The Mountain too slept uneasily. The last stage of their journey to Orodruin came, and it was a torment greater than Sam had ever thought that he could bear. He was in pain, and so parched that he could no longer swallow even a
末日山。魔多之夜更深地籠罩著他們，在他所有的思緒中，水的記憶浮現出來；他曾見過的每一條小溪、河流或泉水，無論是在綠柳蔭下還是陽光下閃爍，都在他失明的雙眼背後，為他的痛苦而舞動、蕩漾。他感覺到腳趾間涼爽的泥土，那是他曾在水邊村的池塘裡，和喬利·卡頓、湯姆、尼布斯以及他們的妹妹蘿西一起戲水時的感覺。「但那是多年前的事了，」他嘆息道，「而且遙遠得很。回頭的路，如果有的話，也要經過那座山。」他無法入睡，於是和自己辯論起來。「好吧，現在看來，我們做得比你預期的要好，」他堅定地說。「反正開頭不錯。我估計我們在停下來之前已經走了一半的路程。再有一天就能辦到了。」然後他停頓了一下。「別傻了，山姆·詹吉，」一個他自己的聲音回答道。「如果他還能動的話，也撐不過這樣的一天了。而且你也不能再這樣把所有的水和大部分的食物都給他了。」「我還能走很長一段路，而且我會的。」「去哪裡？」「當然是去那座山。」「但那之後呢，山姆·詹吉，那之後呢？等你到了那裡，你打算怎麼辦？他將無法為自己做任何事。」令他沮喪的是，山姆意識到他對此沒有答案。他完全沒有明確的想法。佛羅多沒有向他多談他的任務，山姆只模糊地知道魔戒必須以某種方式投入火中。「末日裂隙，」他喃喃自語，這個古老的名稱浮現在他腦海中。「好吧，如果主人知道怎麼找到它們，我可不知道。」「你瞧！」那個聲音回答道。「這一切都毫無用處。他自己都這麼說了。你真是個傻瓜，還在繼續抱著希望、辛勞奔波。如果你不是那麼頑固，幾天前就可以躺下來一起睡覺了。但你還是會死，甚至更糟。你現在不如就躺下放棄吧。反正你永遠也到不了山頂。」「我會到達那裡，即使我除了骨頭什麼都不留下，」山姆說。「而且我會親自把佛羅多先生背上去，即使這會讓我筋疲力盡、心碎。所以別再爭論了！」就在那一刻，山姆感到腳下的地面一陣顫動，他聽到或感覺到一聲深沉遙遠的隆隆聲，彷彿被囚禁在地底的雷鳴。一道短暫的紅色火焰在雲層下閃爍了一下，然後熄滅了。那座山也睡得不安穩。他們前往奧洛朱因的旅程的最後階段來臨了，那是一種比山姆想像中更難以忍受的折磨。他痛苦不堪，口渴得連一口水都吞不下去。
940 THE LORD OF THE RINGS mouthful of food. It remained dark, not only because of the smokes of the Mountain: there seemed to be a storm coming up, and away to the south-east there was a shimmer of lightnings under the black skies. Worst of all, the air was full of fumes; breathing was painful and difficult, and a dizziness came on them, so that they staggered and often fell. And yet their wills did not yield, and they struggled on. The Mountain crept up ever nearer, until, if they lifted their heavy heads, it filled all their sight, looming vast before them: a huge mass of ash and slag and burned stone, out of which a sheer-sided cone was raised into the clouds. Before the daylong dusk ended and true night came again they had crawled and stumbled to its very feet. With a gasp Frodo cast himself on the ground. Sam sat by him. To his surprise he felt tired but lighter, and his head seemed clear again. No more debates disturbed his mind. He knew all the arguments of despair and would not listen to them. His will was set, and only death would break it. He felt no longer either desire or need of sleep, but rather of watchfulness. He knew that all the hazards and perils were now drawing together to a point: the next day would be a day of doom, the day of final effort or disaster, the last gasp. But when would it come? The night seemed endless and timeless, minute after minute falling dead and adding up to no passing hour, bringing no change. Sam began to wonder if a second darkness had begun and no day would ever reappear. At last he groped for Frodo’s hand. It was cold and trembling. His master was shivering. ‘I didn’t ought to have left my blanket behind,’ muttered Sam; and lying down he tried to comfort Frodo with his arms and body. Then sleep took him, and the dim light of the last day of their quest found them side by side. The wind had fallen the day before as it shifted from the West, and now it came from the North and began to rise; and slowly the light of the unseen Sun filtered down into the shadows where the hobbits lay. ‘Now for it! Now for the last gasp!’ said Sam as he struggled to his feet. He bent over Frodo, rousing him gently. Frodo groaned; but with a great effort of will he staggered up; and then he fell upon his knees again. He raised his eyes with difficulty to the dark slopes of Mount Doom towering above him, and then pitifully he began to crawl forward on his hands. Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry and stinging eyes. ‘I said I'd carry him, if it broke my back,’ he muttered, ‘and I willl!’ ‘Come, Mr. Frodo!’ he cried. ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he’ll go.’
940 《魔戒》一口食物。天色依然昏暗，不僅是因為山脈的煙霧：似乎一場暴風雨即將來臨，在東南方，黑色的天空中閃爍著電光。最糟糕的是，空氣中充滿了煙氣；呼吸困難而痛苦，他們感到頭暈目眩，以至於搖搖晃晃，經常跌倒。然而他們的意志並未屈服，他們繼續掙扎前行。那座山脈越來越近，直到他們抬起沉重的頭時，它便佔據了他們所有的視線，龐大地矗立在他們面前：一大團灰燼、爐渣和燒焦的石頭，其中一個陡峭的錐形山峰直插雲霄。在漫長的黃昏結束、真正的黑夜再次降臨之前，他們已經爬行和跌跌撞撞地到達了它的腳下。佛羅多喘著氣倒在地上。山姆坐在他身旁。令他驚訝的是，他感到疲憊卻又輕鬆了一些，頭腦似乎也清醒了。再也沒有爭論困擾他的思緒。他知道所有絕望的論點，並且不願聽從它們。他的意志已定，唯有死亡才能將其打破。他不再渴望或需要睡眠，而是需要警惕。他知道所有的危險和災難現在都匯聚到了一點：第二天將是末日之日，是最後的努力或災難之日，是最後的掙扎。但它何時會到來？夜晚似乎無窮無盡，沒有時間感，一分鐘又一分鐘地逝去，卻沒有累積成一個小時，沒有帶來任何變化。山姆開始懷疑是否第二個黑暗時代已經開始，白天再也不會重現。最後，他摸索著佛羅多的手。那手冰冷而顫抖。他的主人在發抖。「我不該把毯子丟下的。」山姆咕噥著；他躺下來，試圖用手臂和身體安慰佛羅多。然後睡意襲來，他們探險的最後一天的微光發現他們並肩而臥。風在前一天從西方轉向後已經平息，現在它從北方吹來並開始增強；陽光的光芒緩緩地透過未見的太陽，濾過陰影，照在哈比人躺臥的地方。「現在該行動了！現在是最後的掙扎！」山姆掙扎著站起來時說道。他彎下身子，輕輕地喚醒佛羅多。佛羅多呻吟了一聲；但他憑著巨大的意志力掙扎著站了起來；然後他又跪了下去。他艱難地抬起眼睛，望向高聳在他上方的末日山脈的黑暗斜坡，然後可憐地開始用手爬行。山姆看著他，心裡哭了起來，但他的乾澀刺痛的眼睛裡卻沒有眼淚。「我說過我會背他，即使會累斷我的腰。」他咕噥著，「我會的！」「來吧，佛羅多先生！」他喊道，「我不能替你背它，但我可以背你和它。所以，起來吧！來吧，親愛的佛羅多先生！山姆會背你一程的。你只要告訴他去哪裡，他就會去。
MOUNT DOOM 941 As Frodo clung upon his back, arms loosely about his neck, legs clasped firmly under his arms, Sam staggered to his feet; and then to his amazement he felt the burden light. He had feared that he would have barely strength to lift his master alone, and beyond that he had expected to share in the dreadful dragging weight of the accursed Ring. But it was not so. Whether because Frodo was so worn by his long pains, wound of knife, and venomous sting, and sorrow, fear, and homeless wandering, or because some gift of final strength was given to him, Sam lifted Frodo with no more difficulty than if he were carrying a hobbit-child pig-a-back in some romp on the lawns or hayfields of the Shire. He took a deep breath and started off. They had reached the Mountain’s foot on its northern side, and a little to the westward; there its long grey slopes, though broken, were not sheer. Frodo did not speak, and so Sam struggled on as best he could, having no guidance but the will to climb as high as might be before his strength gave out and his will broke. On he toiled, up and up, turning this way and that to lessen the slope, often stumbling forward, and at the last crawling like a snail with a heavy burden on its back. When his will could drive him no further, and his limbs gave way, he stopped and laid his master gently down. Frodo opened his eyes and drew a breath. It was easier to breathe up here above the reeks that coiled and drifted down below. “Thank you, Sam,’ he said in a cracked whisper. ‘How far is there to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ said Sam, ‘because I don’t know where we’re going.’ He looked back, and then he looked up; and he was amazed to see how far his last effort had brought him. The Mountain standing ominous and alone had looked taller than it was. Sam saw now that it was less lofty than the high passes of the Ephel Duath which he and Frodo had scaled. The confused and tumbled shoulders of its great base rose for maybe three thousand feet above the plain, and above them was reared half as high again its tall central cone, like a vast oast or chimney capped with a jagged crater. But already Sam was more than half way up the base, and the plain of Gorgoroth was dim below him, wrapped in fume and shadow. As he looked up he would have given a shout, if his parched throat had allowed him; for amid the rugged humps and shoulders above him he saw plainly a path or road. It climbed like a rising girdle from the west and wound snakelike about the Mountain, until before it went round out of view it reached the foot of the cone upon its eastern side. Sam could not see the course immediately above him, where it was lowest, for a steep slope went up from where he stood; but he
魔多末日山 941 當佛羅多緊抓著他的背，雙臂鬆鬆地環著他的脖子，雙腿牢牢地夾在他的腋下時，山姆搖搖晃晃地站了起來；然後令他驚訝的是，他感覺到身上的負擔輕了。他原本擔心自己幾乎沒有力氣獨自抱起他的主人，更不用說還要分擔那被詛咒的魔戒所帶來的沉重拖累。但事實並非如此。無論是因為佛羅多長期以來飽受痛苦、刀傷、毒螫、悲傷、恐懼和無家可歸的流浪所折磨，還是因為他獲得了某種最終的力量，山姆抱起佛羅多時，就如同在夏爾的草地或乾草田裡嬉戲時，背著一個哈比人小孩一樣輕鬆。他深吸一口氣，然後啟程。他們已經抵達了山腳的北側，並稍微偏西；那裡長長的灰色山坡，雖然崎嶇不平，卻並不陡峭。佛羅多沒有說話，所以山姆只能盡其所能地奮力前行，除了攀登到力竭志摧前的最高點的意志之外，他沒有任何指引。他艱難地向上攀爬，不斷地往上，左右轉向以減輕坡度，經常向前絆倒，最後則像背著沉重負擔的蝸牛一樣爬行。當他的意志無法再驅使他前進，四肢也無力支撐時，他停了下來，輕輕地將他的主人放下。佛羅多睜開眼睛，吸了一口氣。在這裡，遠離下方盤旋瀰漫的惡臭，呼吸變得輕鬆多了。「謝謝你，山姆，」他用沙啞的耳語說道。「還有多遠？」 「我不知道，」山姆說，「因為我不知道我們要去哪裡。」他回頭看了一眼，然後又抬頭望去；他驚訝地發現，他最後的努力已經把他帶到了多麼遠的地方。那座孤零零、不祥的山峰看起來比實際更高。山姆現在發現，它並沒有他與佛羅多曾經攀越的伊菲爾杜斯高隘口那麼高聳。它巨大基座上那混亂崎嶇的山肩，從平原拔地而起約三千英尺，而在其上方，又高聳著其一半高度的中央錐形山頂，就像一個巨大的烘爐或煙囪，頂端覆蓋著一個鋸齒狀的火山口。但山姆已經爬過了基座的一半以上，而下方的戈哥洛斯平原則在煙霧和陰影中顯得模糊不清。他抬頭望去，如果他乾裂的喉嚨允許，他會大聲喊叫；因為在他上方崎嶇不平的山丘和山肩之間，他清楚地看到了一條小徑或道路。它像一條從西方升起的腰帶般向上攀爬，蛇形般地環繞著山體，直到它轉出視線之外前，抵達了錐形山頂東側的山腳。山姆無法看到他正上方、最低處的路徑，因為從他站立的地方向上是一片陡峭的斜坡；但他
942 THE LORD OF THE RINGS guessed that if he could only struggle on just a little way further up, they would strike this path. A gleam of hope returned to him. They might conquer the Mountain yet. ‘Why, it might have been put there a-purpose!’ he said to himself. ‘If it wasn’t there, ’'d have to say I was beaten in the end.’ The path was not put there for the purposes of Sam. He did not know it, but he was looking at Sauron’s Road from Barad-ditr to the Sammath Naur, the Chambers of Fire. Out from the Dark Tower’s huge western gate it came over a deep abyss by a vast bridge of iron, and then passing into the plain it ran for a league between two smoking chasms, and so reached a long sloping causeway that led up on to the Mountain’s eastern side. Thence, turning and encircling all its wide girth from south to north, it climbed at last, high in the upper cone, but still far from the reeking summit, to a dark entrance that gazed back east straight to the Window of the Eye in Sauron’s shadow-mantled fortress. Often blocked or destroyed by the tumults of the Mountain’s furnaces, always that road was repaired and cleared again by the labours of countless orcs. Sam drew a deep breath. There was a path, but how he was to get up the slope to it he did not know. First he must ease his aching back. He lay flat beside Frodo for a while. Neither spoke. Slowly the light grew. Suddenly a sense of urgency which he did not understand came to Sam. It was almost as if he had been called: ‘Now, now, or it will be too late!’ He braced himself and got up. Frodo also seemed to have felt the call. He struggled to his knees. ‘Tl crawl, Sam,’ he gasped. So foot by foot, like small grey insects, they crept up the slope. They came to the path and found that it was broad, paved with broken rubble and beaten ash. Frodo clambered on to it, and then moved as if by some compulsion he turned slowly to face the East. Far off the shadows of Sauron hung; but torn by some gust of wind out of the world, or else moved by some great disquiet within, the mantling clouds swirled, and for a moment drew aside; and then he saw, rising black, blacker and darker than the vast shades amid which it stood, the cruel pinnacles and iron crown of the topmost tower of Barad-dtir. One moment only it stared out, but as from some great window immeasurably high there stabbed northward a flame of red, the flicker of a piercing Eye; and then the shadows were furled again and the terrible vision was removed. The Eye was not turned to them: it was gazing north to where the Captains of the West stood at bay, and thither all its malice was now bent, as the Power moved to strike its deadly blow; but Frodo at that dreadful glimpse fell as one stricken mortally. His hand sought the chain about his neck. Sam knelt by him. Faint, almost inaudibly, he heard Frodo whis
942 《魔戒》猜想，如果他能再努力向上爬一小段路，他們就能找到這條路。一線希望重新燃起。他們或許還能征服這座山。「哎呀，這路說不定是特意修的！」他自言自語道。「要是沒有這條路，我最後就得承認自己被打敗了。」這條路並非為山姆的目的而修。他不知道，但他當時正看著索倫從巴拉多要塞通往末日裂隙（火焰之室）的道路。它從黑塔巨大的西門出來，跨越一道深淵，經過一座巨大的鐵橋，然後進入平原，在兩道冒煙的裂谷之間延伸了一里格，最終到達一條長長的斜坡堤道，通往山脈的東側。從那裡，它轉彎環繞了整個寬闊的山腰，從南到北，最終爬上了高處的錐形山頂，但仍遠離那散發惡臭的山巔，通向一個黑暗的入口，這個入口正對著索倫那被陰影籠罩的堡壘中的「魔眼之窗」。這條路經常被山脈熔爐的騷動所阻斷或摧毀，但總是會被無數半獸人的勞動修復和清理。山姆深吸一口氣。確實有條路，但他不知道該如何爬上斜坡到達它。首先他必須放鬆他酸痛的背。他躺在佛羅多身邊一會兒。兩人都沒有說話。光線慢慢變亮。突然，一種他無法理解的緊迫感襲上山姆心頭。就好像他被召喚了一樣：「現在，就是現在，否則就太遲了！」他振作精神站了起來。佛羅多似乎也感受到了召喚。他掙扎著跪了起來。「我會爬的，山姆。」他喘息著說。於是，他們一步一步，像小小的灰色昆蟲一樣，爬上了斜坡。他們來到這條路，發現它很寬闊，鋪著碎石和壓實的灰燼。佛羅多爬上路面，然後彷彿受到某種強迫，他慢慢轉身面向東方。遠處，索倫的陰影籠罩著；但被一陣來自世界之外的風撕裂，或者被內心深處的巨大不安所驅動，籠罩的雲層旋轉開來，片刻間散開了；然後他看到，黑色的，比它所矗立的巨大陰影更黑更暗的，巴拉多要塞頂端那殘酷的尖塔和鐵冠升起。它只凝視了一瞬間，但彷彿從某個高不可測的巨大窗戶中，一道紅色的火焰向北刺去，那是魔眼閃爍的微光；然後陰影再次合攏，可怕的景象消失了。魔眼並沒有轉向他們：它正凝視北方，那裡是西方將領們被困的地方，它所有的惡意此刻都集中在那裡，因為那股力量正準備發出致命一擊；但佛羅多在那可怕的一瞥中，如同被致命擊中般倒下。他的手摸向脖子上的項鍊。山姆跪在他身邊。他幾乎聽不見佛羅多微弱的耳語。
MOUNT DOOM 943 pering: ‘Help me, Sam! Help me, Sam! Hold my hand! I can’t stop it.’ Sam took his master’s hands and laid them together, palm to palm, and kissed them; and then he held them gently between his own. The thought came suddenly to him: ‘He’s spotted us! It’s all up, or it soon will be. Now, Sam Gamgee, this is the end of ends.’ Again he lifted Frodo and drew his hands down to his own breast, letting his master’s legs dangle. Then he bowed his head and struggled off along the climbing road. It was not as easy a way to take as it had looked at first. By fortune the fires that had poured forth in the great turmoils when Sam stood upon Cirith Ungol had flowed down mainly on the southern and western slopes, and the road on this side was not blocked. Yet in many places it had crumbled away or was crossed by gaping rents. After climbing eastward for some time it bent back upon itself at a sharp angle and went westward for a space. There at the bend it was cut deep through a crag of old weathered stone once long ago vomited from the Mountain’s furnaces. Panting under his load Sam turned the bend; and even as he did so, out of the corner of his eye, he had a glimpse of something falling from the crag, like a small piece of black stone that had toppled off as he passed. A sudden weight smote him and he crashed forward, tearing the backs of his hands that still clasped his master’s. Then he knew what had happened, for above him as he lay he heard a hated voice. ‘Wicked masster!’ it hissed. ‘Wicked masster cheats us; cheats Sméagol, gollum. He musstn’t go that way. He musstn’t hurt Preciouss. Give it to Sméagol, yess, give it to us! Give it to uss!’ With a violent heave Sam rose up. At once he drew his sword; but he could do nothing. Gollum and Frodo were locked together. Gollum was tearing at his master, trying to get at the chain and the Ring. This was probably the only thing that could have roused the dying embers of Frodo’s heart and will: an attack, an attempt to wrest his treasure from him by force. He fought back with a sudden fury that amazed Sam, and Gollum also. Even so things might have gone far otherwise, if Gollum himself had remained unchanged; but whatever dreadful paths, lonely and hungry and waterless, he had trodden, driven by a devouring desire and a terrible fear, they had left grievous marks on him. He was a lean, starved, haggard thing, all bones and tight-drawn sallow skin. A wild light flamed in his eyes, but his malice was no longer matched by his old griping strength. Frodo flung him off and rose up quivering. ‘Down, down!’ he gasped, clutching his hand to his breast, so that beneath the cover of his leather shirt he clasped the Ring. ‘Down, you creeping thing, and out of my path! Your time is at an end. You cannot betray me or slay me now.’
魔多山 943 號： 「救我，山姆！救我，山姆！抓住我的手！我停不下來。」山姆握住他主人的雙手，將它們掌心相對地合在一起，親吻了一下；然後他輕輕地將它們捧在自己的手掌之間。一個念頭突然閃過他的腦海：「他發現我們了！一切都完了，或者很快就會完了。山姆·詹吉，這就是終結中的終結。」他又一次抱起佛羅多，將佛羅多的手拉到自己的胸前，任由他主人的雙腿懸空晃盪。然後他低下頭，沿著那條攀爬的道路艱難前行。這條路走起來並不像最初看起來那麼容易。幸運的是，當山姆站在西力斯昂哥時，那些在巨大動盪中噴湧而出的火焰，主要流向了南坡和西坡，這條路並沒有被堵塞。然而，許多地方的路面已經崩塌，或是被裂開的巨大縫隙橫斷。向東攀爬了一段時間後，道路以一個銳角折返，然後向西延伸了一段距離。在那個轉彎處，道路深深地鑿穿了一塊古老風化的岩石峭壁，那峭壁曾是久遠以前從山脈爐膛中噴吐而出的。山姆背負著重擔氣喘吁吁地轉過彎；就在他轉彎的時候，他眼角餘光瞥見有東西從峭壁上落下，像一小塊黑色的石頭，在他經過時墜落了。一股突如其來的重力猛擊了他，他向前摔倒，撕裂了他仍然緊握著主人雙手的手背。然後他知道發生了什麼，因為當他躺著的時候，他聽到上方傳來一個可憎的聲音。「邪惡的主人！」它嘶嘶地說。「邪惡的主人欺騙我們；欺騙史麥戈，咕嚕。他不能走那條路。他不能傷害寶貝。把它給史麥戈，是的，把它給我們！把它給我們！」山姆猛地一使勁站了起來。他立刻拔出劍；但他什麼也做不了。咕嚕和佛羅多糾纏在一起。咕嚕正在撕扯著他的主人，試圖夠到那條鍊子和魔戒。這或許是唯一能重新燃起佛羅多心中和意志中垂死餘燼的事：一次攻擊，一次試圖用武力從他手中奪走寶物的嘗試。他以一種突如其來的狂怒反擊，這讓山姆和咕嚕都感到驚訝。即便如此，如果咕嚕自己沒有改變，事情可能會大不相同；但無論他曾踏過怎樣可怕的道路，孤獨、飢餓、缺水，被吞噬一切的慾望和可怕的恐懼驅使，這些都給他留下了嚴重的印記。他是一個瘦骨嶙峋、飢餓憔悴的生物，全身只剩下骨頭和緊繃發黃的皮膚。他眼中燃燒著野性的光芒，但他的惡意已不再能與他昔日那緊抓不放的力量相匹配。佛羅多將他甩開，顫抖著站了起來。「下去，下去！」他喘息著說，將手緊緊按在胸口，這樣魔戒就被他藏在皮衣下面。「下去，你這卑鄙的東西，滾開我的路！你的時間到了。你現在不能背叛我，也不能殺死我了。」
944 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Then suddenly, as before under the eaves of the Emyn Muil, Sam saw these two rivals with other vision. A crouching shape, scarcely more than the shadow of a living thing, a creature now wholly ruined and defeated, yet filled with a hideous lust and rage; and before it stood stern, untouchable now by pity, a figure robed in white, but at its breast it held a wheel of fire. Out of the fire there spoke a commanding voice. ‘Begone, and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom.’ The crouching shape backed away, terror in its blinking eyes, and yet at the same time insatiable desire. Then the vision passed and Sam saw Frodo standing, hand on breast, his breath coming in great gasps, and Gollum at his feet, resting on his knees with his wide-splayed hands upon the ground. ‘Look out!’ cried Sam. ‘He’ll spring!’ He stepped forward, brandishing his sword. ‘Quick, Master!’ he gasped. ‘Go on! Go on! No time to lose. Pll deal with him. Go on!’ Frodo looked at him as if at one now far away. ‘Yes, I must go on,’ he said. ‘Farewell, Sam! This is the end at last. On Mount Doom doom shall fall. Farewell!’ He turned and went on, walking slowly but erect, up the climbing path. ‘Now!’ said Sam. ‘At last I can deal with you!’ He leaped forward with drawn blade ready for battle. But Gollum did not spring. He fell flat upon the ground and whimpered. ‘Don’t kill us,’ he wept. ‘Don’t hurt us with nassty cruel steel! Let us live, yes, live just a little longer. Lost lost! We’re lost. And when Precious goes we’ll die, yes, die into the dust.’ He clawed up the ashes of the path with his long fleshless fingers. ‘Dusst!’ he hissed. Sam’s hand wavered. His mind was hot with wrath and the memory of evil. It would be just to slay this treacherous, murderous creature, just and many times deserved; and also it seemed the only safe thing to do. But deep in his heart there was something that restrained him: he could not strike this thing lying in the dust, forlorn, ruinous, utterly wretched. He himself, though only for a little while, had borne the Ring, and now dimly he guessed the agony of Gollum’s shrivelled mind and body, enslaved to that Ring, unable to find peace or relief ever in life again. But Sam had no words to express what he felt. ‘Oh, curse you, you stinking thing!’ he said. ‘Go away! Be off! I don’t trust you, not as far as I could kick you; but be off. Or I shall hurt you, yes, with nasty cruel steel.’ Gollum got up on all fours, and backed away for several paces, and then he turned, and as Sam aimed a kick at him he fled away
944 魔戒之王 然後，突然間，就像之前在艾明莫爾山簷下那樣，山姆以另一種視角看到了這兩個對手。一個蜷縮的身影，幾乎不比一個活物的影子更甚，一個如今已徹底毀滅、徹底失敗的生物，卻充滿了可憎的慾望和狂怒；而在它面前，站著一個嚴峻、此刻不為憐憫所動的身影，身披白袍，胸前卻托著一個火輪。火輪中傳出一個威嚴的聲音：「退下！別再煩我！如果你再敢碰我，你將被投入末日之火！」那蜷縮的身影退開了，眼中閃爍著恐懼，卻又同時充滿了永不滿足的慾望。 接著，幻象消失了，山姆看到佛羅多站著，手按胸口，大口喘著氣，而咕嚕則跪在他腳邊，雙手攤開撐在地上。「小心！」山姆喊道。「他要撲過來了！」他向前一步，揮舞著劍。「快，主人！」他喘著氣說。「走吧！走吧！沒有時間可以浪費了。我來對付他。走吧！」佛羅多看著他，彷彿看著一個遙遠的人。「是的，我必須走下去。」他說。「再見了，山姆！這終究是結局了。在末日火山上，末日將會降臨。再見了！」他轉身繼續前行，緩慢卻挺直地，沿著上坡路走去。 「現在！」山姆說。「我終於可以對付你了！」他拔出劍，準備戰鬥，然後向前躍去。但咕嚕沒有撲過來。他平躺在地上，嗚咽著。「別殺我們，」他哭泣著說。「別用那噁心的殘酷鋼鐵傷害我們！讓我們活著，是的，再多活一會兒。迷失了，迷失了！我們迷失了。當寶貝走了，我們就會死，是的，死成塵土。」他用他那細長無肉的手指抓起路上的灰燼。「灰塵！」他嘶嘶地說。 山姆的手顫抖了。他的心因憤怒和對邪惡的回憶而灼熱。殺死這個背叛、兇殘的生物是正義的，而且是多次應得的；似乎也是唯一安全的方法。但在他內心深處，有某種東西抑制了他：他無法攻擊這個躺在塵土中，孤獨、毀滅、徹底悲慘的東西。他自己，雖然只是一小段時間，也曾承受過魔戒，現在他模糊地猜到了咕嚕那枯萎的心智和身體所承受的痛苦，它被魔戒奴役，再也無法在生命中找到平靜或解脫。但山姆卻無法用言語表達他的感受。「噢，詛咒你，你這臭東西！」他說。「走開！滾開！我一點也不信任你，連踢你一腳的力氣都不想浪費；但你還是滾開吧。否則我會傷害你，是的，用那噁心的殘酷鋼鐵。」咕嚕四肢著地站起來，後退了幾步，然後轉身，當山姆朝他踢去時，他逃走了。
MOUNT DOOM 945 down the path. Sam gave no more heed to him. He suddenly remembered his master. He looked up the path and could not see him. As fast as he could he trudged up the road. If he had looked back, he might have seen not far below Gollum turn again, and then with a wild light of madness glaring in his eyes come, swiftly but warily, creeping on behind, a slinking shadow among the stones. The path climbed on. Soon it bent again and with a last eastward course passed in a cutting along the face of the cone and came to the dark door in the Mountain’s side, the door of the Sammath Naur. Far away now rising towards the South the sun, piercing the smokes and haze, burned ominous, a dull bleared disc of red; but all Mordor lay about the Mountain like a dead land, silent, shadow-folded, waiting for some dreadful stroke. Sam came to the gaping mouth and peered in. It was dark and hot, and a deep rumbling shook the air. ‘Frodo! Master!’ he called. There was no answer. For a moment he stood, his heart beating with wild fears, and then he plunged in. A shadow followed him. At first he could see nothing. In his great need he drew out once more the phial of Galadriel, but it was pale and cold in his trembling hand and threw no light into that stifling dark. He was come to the heart of the realm of Sauron and the forges of his ancient might, greatest in Middle-earth; all other powers were here subdued. Fearfully he took a few uncertain steps in the dark, and then all at once there came a flash of red that leaped upward, and smote the high black roof. Then Sam saw that he was in a long cave or tunnel that bored into the Mountain’s smoking cone. But only a short way ahead its floor and the walls on either side were cloven by a great fissure, out of which the red glare came, now leaping up, now dying down into darkness; and all the while far below there was a rumour and a trouble as of great engines throbbing and labouring. The light sprang up again, and there on the brink of the chasm, at the very Crack of Doom, stood Frodo, black against the glare, tense, erect, but still as if he had been turned to stone. ‘Master!’ cried Sam. Then Frodo stirred and spoke with a clear voice, indeed with a voice clearer and more powerful than Sam had ever heard him use, and it rose above the throb and turmoil of Mount Doom, ringing in the roof and walls. ‘I have come,’ he said. ‘But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!’ And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from Sam’s sight. Sam gasped, but he had no chance to cry out, for at that moment many things happened.
末日山就在前方九百四十五步的路上。山姆不再理會他。他突然想起他的主人。他抬頭望向小徑，卻看不見他。他盡其所能地快步走上路。如果他回頭看，他可能會看到不遠處的咕嚕再次轉身，然後眼中閃爍著瘋狂的野光，迅速而謹慎地，像一道潛行的影子般，在石頭間悄悄跟隨在後。小徑繼續向上攀爬。很快地，它再次轉彎，最後沿著錐形山體表面的一道切口向東延伸，來到山側的黑暗之門，那是納烏爾深淵之門。此時，太陽在遠方南方升起，穿透煙霧和薄霧，不祥地燃燒著，一個暗淡模糊的紅色圓盤；但整個魔多像一片死寂的土地般環繞著山脈，寂靜無聲，陰影籠罩，等待著某個可怕的打擊。山姆來到那張開的洞口，向內窺視。裡面又黑又熱，一陣低沉的轟鳴聲震動著空氣。「佛羅多！主人！」他喊道。沒有回應。他站了一會兒，心臟因狂野的恐懼而劇烈跳動，然後他一頭栽了進去。一道影子跟隨在他身後。起初他什麼也看不見。在極度需要之下，他再次拿出凱蘭崔爾之光，但在他顫抖的手中，它顯得蒼白而冰冷，無法照亮那令人窒息的黑暗。他已來到索倫國度的核心，他古老力量的熔爐，中土世界最偉大的力量；所有其他力量都在這裡被壓制。他戰戰兢兢地在黑暗中走了幾步不確定的步伐，然後突然間，一道紅光向上躍起，照亮了高高的黑色屋頂。山姆這才看到他身處一個長長的洞穴或隧道中，它鑽入了山脈冒煙的錐體。但在前方不遠處，它的地面和兩側的牆壁被一道巨大的裂縫劈開，紅色的光芒從中湧出，時而躍起，時而消逝於黑暗；而在此期間，下方遠處一直有著隆隆的聲響和騷動，彷彿巨大的引擎正在轟鳴和運轉。光芒再次躍起，就在深淵的邊緣，在末日裂隙的盡頭，佛羅多站立著，在強光下顯得漆黑，緊張、挺立，卻又靜止不動，彷彿被變成了石頭。「主人！」山姆喊道。佛羅多這才動了動，用清晰的聲音說話，事實上，他的聲音比山姆聽過的任何時候都更清晰、更有力，它超越了末日山的轟鳴和喧囂，在屋頂和牆壁間迴盪。「我來了。」他說。「但我現在不選擇做我來這裡要做的事。我不會做這件事。魔戒是我的！」突然間，當他將它戴在手指上時，他從山姆的視線中消失了。山姆倒吸一口氣，但他還來不及喊出聲，因為就在那一刻，許多事情發生了。
946 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Something struck Sam violently in the back, his legs were knocked from under him and he was flung aside, striking his head against the stony floor, as a dark shape sprang over him. He lay still and for a moment all went black. And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dtr was shaken, and the Tower trembled from its foundations to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung. From all his policies and webs of fear and treachery, from all his stratagems and wars his mind shook free; and throughout his realm a tremor ran, his slaves quailed, and his armies halted, and his captains suddenly steerless, bereft of will, wavered and despaired. For they were forgotten. The whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded them was now bent with overwhelming force upon the Mountain. At his summons, wheeling with a rending cry, in a last desperate race there flew, faster than the winds, the Nazgdl, the Ringwraiths, and with a storm of wings they hurtled southwards to Mount Doom. Sam got up. He was dazed, and blood streaming from his head dripped in his eyes. He groped forward, and then he saw a strange and terrible thing. Gollum on the edge of the abyss was fighting like a mad thing with an unseen foe. To and fro he swayed, now so near the brink that almost he tumbled in, now dragging back, falling to the ground, rising, and falling again. And all the while he hissed but spoke no words. The fires below awoke in anger, the red light blazed, and all the cavern was filled with a great glare and heat. Suddenly Sam saw Gollum’s long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Frodo gave a cry, and there he was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm’s edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust within its circle. It shone now as if verily it was wrought of living fire. ‘Precious, precious, precious!’ Gollum cried. ‘My Precious! O my Precious!’ And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail Precious, and he was gone.
946 《魔戒》 山姆的背部遭到猛烈一擊，雙腿被震離地面，整個人被拋到一旁，頭部撞上堅硬的石地，一個黑影從他身上躍過。他一動不動地躺著，片刻間眼前一片漆黑。遙遠之處，當佛羅多戴上魔戒並將其據為己有時，即使是在他領土的核心——薩馬斯瑙爾，巴拉多塔的力量也為之震動，高塔從地基到其驕傲而苦澀的尖頂都顫抖不已。魔君突然意識到他的存在，他那能穿透所有陰影的眼睛越過平原，望向他所建造的那扇門；他自己的愚蠢之巨在他眼前如一道炫目的閃光般顯現，他所有敵人的計謀也終於被揭露無遺。接著，他的怒火化為焚燒的烈焰，但他的恐懼卻如一股巨大的黑煙升起，將他窒息。因為他知道自己身處致命的危險，以及他的厄運此刻懸於一線。他所有的策略、恐懼與背叛的羅網，他所有的計謀與戰爭，都從他腦中掙脫；整個領土都傳來一陣顫抖，他的奴隸們畏縮不前，他的軍隊停滯不前，他的將領們突然失去方向，意志消沉，搖擺不定，陷入絕望。因為他們被遺忘了。那股操控他們的力量，其全部心智與目的，此刻正以壓倒性的力量集中於那座山。應他的召喚，戒靈們——納茲古爾，以一聲撕裂般的尖嘯盤旋而來，在最後一場絕望的競逐中，他們比風更快地飛馳，帶著一陣翅膀的風暴，向南疾衝至末日山。山姆站了起來。他頭暈目眩，頭上流下的血滴入他的眼睛。他摸索著向前走，然後看到了一件奇怪而可怕的事情。咕嚕在深淵邊緣，正像個瘋子一樣與一個看不見的敵人搏鬥。他來回搖晃，有時離邊緣如此之近，幾乎要跌落下去，有時又向後拖拽，跌倒在地，爬起來，又再次跌倒。他一直發出嘶嘶聲，卻沒有說話。下方的火焰憤怒地甦醒，紅光熊熊燃燒，整個洞穴充滿了巨大的眩光和熱氣。山姆突然看到咕嚕的長手向上伸向他的嘴巴；他白色的獠牙閃爍著，然後在咬合時發出咔嚓聲。佛羅多發出一聲驚呼，他就在那裡，跪倒在裂谷邊緣。但咕嚕，像個瘋子一樣跳著舞，高舉著魔戒，一根手指仍穿在它的圓環中。它此刻閃耀著，彷彿真的是由活生生的火焰鍛造而成。「我的寶貝，我的寶貝，我的寶貝！」咕嚕喊道。「我的寶貝！噢，我的寶貝！」說著，就在他抬眼得意地凝視著他的戰利品時，他踩得太遠，失去平衡，在邊緣搖晃了片刻，然後伴隨著一聲尖叫，他墜落了。從深淵深處傳來他最後的哀號：「寶貝！」然後他消失了。
MOUNT DOOM 947 There was a roar and a great confusion of noise. Fires leaped up and licked the roof. The throbbing grew to a great tumult, and the Mountain shook. Sam ran to Frodo and picked him up and carried him out to the door. And there upon the dark threshold of the Sammath Naur, high above the plains of Mordor, such wonder and terror came on him that he stood still forgetting all else, and gazed as one turned to stone. A brief vision he had of swirling cloud, and in the midst of it towers and battlements, tall as hills, founded upon a mighty mountain-throne above immeasurable pits; great courts and dungeons, eyeless prisons sheer as cliffs, and gaping gates of steel and adamant: and then all passed. Towers fell and mountains slid; walls crumbled and melted, crashing down; vast spires of smoke and spouting steams went billowing up, up, until they toppled like an overwhelming wave, and its wild crest curled and came foaming down upon the land. And then at last over the miles between there came a rumble, rising to a deafening crash and roar; the earth shook, the plain heaved and cracked, and Orodruin reeled. Fire belched from its riven summit. The skies burst into thunder seared with lightning. Down like lashing whips fell a torrent of black rain. And into the heart of the storm, with a cry that pierced all other sounds, tearing the clouds asunder, the Nazgil came, shooting like flaming bolts, as caught in the fiery ruin of hill and sky they crackled, withered, and went out. ‘Well, this is the end, Sam Gamgee,’ said a voice by his side. And there was Frodo, pale and worn, and yet himself again; and in his eyes there was peace now, neither strain of will, nor madness, nor any fear. His burden was taken away. There was the dear master of the sweet days in the Shire. ‘Master!’ cried Sam, and fell upon his knees. In all that ruin of the world for the moment he felt only joy, great joy. The burden was gone. His master had been saved; he was himself again, he was free. And then Sam caught sight of the maimed and bleeding hand. “Your poor hand!’ he said. ‘And I have nothing to bind it with, or comfort it. I would have spared him a whole hand of mine rather. But he’s gone now beyond recall, gone for ever.’ ‘Yes,’ said Frodo. ‘But do you remember Gandalf’s words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.’
毀滅之山 947 一聲巨響，接著是一片混亂的喧囂。火焰竄起，舔舐著屋頂。那悸動聲漸漸變成巨大的騷動，山體也隨之震顫。山姆跑到佛羅多身邊，將他抱起，帶到門口。就在那薩馬斯瑙爾的黑暗門檻上，高懸於魔多平原之上，他感到如此的驚奇與恐懼，以至於他呆立不動，忘卻了一切，凝視著，彷彿化為石像。他看到一個短暫的幻象：翻騰的雲霧中，矗立著高聳如山丘的塔樓和城垛，它們建立在無邊深淵之上的一座宏偉山座上；巨大的庭院和地牢，峭壁般陡峭的無窗監獄，以及鋼鐵和金剛石製成的巨大敞開的門：然後一切都消失了。塔樓倒塌，山脈滑動；城牆崩裂融化，轟然墜落；巨大的煙柱和噴湧的蒸汽翻騰而上，不斷升高，直到它們像一股排山倒海的巨浪般傾覆，狂野的浪尖捲曲著，泡沫般地沖刷著大地。接著，在數英里之外，傳來一陣隆隆聲，逐漸升高成震耳欲聾的崩塌和咆哮；大地顫抖，平原隆起並龜裂，奧羅德魯因搖晃著。火焰從其裂開的山頂噴出。天空爆發出雷鳴，被閃電灼燒。像鞭子般抽打而下的是一股黑色的暴雨。就在風暴的中心，伴隨著一聲穿透所有其他聲音的尖叫，撕裂雲層，戒靈們來了，像燃燒的閃電般射出，彷彿被困在山丘和天空的火熱廢墟中，它們發出噼啪聲，枯萎，然後熄滅了。「嗯，這就是結局了，山姆·詹吉。」他身旁的一個聲音說道。佛羅多就在那裡，蒼白而疲憊，卻又恢復了本來的樣子；他的眼中現在充滿了平靜，沒有意志的掙扎，沒有瘋狂，也沒有任何恐懼。他的重擔被卸下了。那是夏爾美好時光裡親愛的主人。「主人！」山姆喊道，跪了下來。在那世界毀滅的時刻，他只感到喜悅，巨大的喜悅。重擔消失了。他的主人得救了；他恢復了本來的樣子，他自由了。接著山姆看到了那隻殘缺流血的手。「你可憐的手！」他說道。「我沒有任何東西可以包紮或安慰它。我寧願犧牲我的一整隻手來保全他。但他現在已經一去不復返了，永遠消失了。」「是的。」佛羅多說。「但你還記得甘道夫的話嗎：即使是咕嚕，或許還有一些事情要做？但如果沒有他，山姆，我就無法摧毀魔戒。即使到了最後的關頭，遠征也會是徒勞的。所以讓我們原諒他吧！因為遠征已經完成，現在一切都結束了。很高興你和我在一起。在這裡，在萬物終結之時，山姆。」