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####-shield. Then the king raised his hand, and with a rush like the sudden onset 
of a great wind  the  last host of Rohan rode thundering into  the West. Far 
over  the  plain Jowyn saw the glitter of their spears, as she stood  still, 
alone before the doors of the silent house. 
 

####- 

Chapter 7. Helm's Deep


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they gave way, step  by step, towards the caves.  Others cut  their way back  
towards the citadel. 
     A  broad  stairway,  climbed  from  the Deep  up  to the  Rock and  the 
rear-gate of the Hornburg. Near the bottom stood  Aragorn. In his hand still 
And®ril gleamed,  and  the terror of  the sword  for a while  held  back the 
enemy,  as one by one all who  could  gain the  stair passed up  towards the 
gate. Behind  on the upper  steps knelt Legolas. His bow  was  bent, but one  
gleaned arrow  was all that he had left,  and he  peered out now,  ready  to 
shoot the first Orc that should dare to approach the stair. 
     'All  who  can  have now got safe  within, Aragorn,' he  called.  'Come 
back!' 
     Aragorn turned and sped up the stair; but as  he ran he stumbled in his 
weariness. At once  his  enemies  leapt forward. Up  came the Orcs, yelling,  
with  their  long arms stretched out to  seize  him. The foremost  fell with


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####-Thjoden; 'but now my heart is doubtful. The world changes, and all that once 
was strong now proves unsure. How shall any tower withstand such numbers 
and 
such reckless  hate? Had I known that the strength  of Isengard was grown so 
great, maybe  l should  not so rashly have ridden forth to  meet it, for all 
the arts of Gandalf. His counsel  seems  not now so good as it did under the 
morning sun.' 
     'Do not judge  the counsel  of  Gandalf, until all is over, lord,' said 
Aragorn. 
     'The  end will not be  long,'  said the king. 'But I will not end here, 
taken like an old badger  in a trap. Snowmane and Hasufel  and the horses of 
my guard are  in the inner court.  When  dawn comes, I  will bid  men  sound 
Helm's horn,  and I  will ride forth.  Will  you ride  with me then, son  of 
Arathorn? Maybe we shall cleave a road, or make such an end as will be worth 
a song-if any be left to sing of us hereafter.' 
     'I will ride with you,' said Aragorn.


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'Dawn is not far off,' said Gamling, who had now climbed up beside him. 
'But dawn will not help us, I fear.' 
     'Yet dawn is ever the hope of men,' said Aragorn. 
     'But these creatures of  Isengard, these half-orcs and  goblin-men that 
the foul craft of Saruman  has bred, they will not quail at the  sun,'  said 
Gamling. 'And neither will  the wild men of the hills. Do you not hear their 
voices?' 
     'I  hear them,' said  Jomer; 'but they are only the scream of birds and 
the bellowing of beasts to my ears.' 
     'Yet  there  are many that cry in the Dunland tongue,' said Gamling. 'I  
know that tongue.  It is an ancient speech  of men, and  once  was spoken in  
many western valleys of the Mark. Hark! They hate us, and they are glad; for 
our doom seems certain to them. 'The king the king!' they cry. 'We will take 
their king.  Death to the Forgoil!  Death  to the Strawheads! Death  to  the


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Aragorn strode  on  through  the  inner court,  and  mounted to a  high 
chamber in  the tower. There stood  the king, dark  against a narrow window, 
looking out upon the vale. 
     'What is the news, Aragorn?' he said. 
     'The Deeping Wall is taken, lord, and  all the  defence swept away; but 
many have escaped hither to the Rock.' 
     'Is Jomer here?' 
     'No, lord. But many  of your men  retreated into the Deep; and some say 
that Jomer was amongst them. In the narrows they may hold back the enemy 
and 
come within the caves. What hope they may have then I  do not know.' 
     'More than we.  Good  provision,  it is said. And  the air is wholesome 
there because of  the outlets through fissures  in the rock  far above. None 
can force an entrance against determined men. They may hold out long.' 
     'But the Orcs have brought a devilry from Orthanc,' said Aragorn. 'They 
have a blasting fire, and with it they took the Wall. If they cannot come in


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down. 
     There  was a roar and a blast of  fire. The archway  of the gate  above 
which he had stood a moment before crumbled and crashed  in smoke  and 
dust. 
The  barricade was  scattered as if  by  a thunderbolt. Aragorn  ran to  the 
king's tower. 
     But even as the gate fell, and the Orcs  about it yelled,  preparing to 
charge, a murmur arose behind them. like a wind in the distance, and it grew 
to a clamour of many voices crying strange news  in the dawn.  The Orcs upon 
the Rock, hearing the  rumour of dismay, wavered and looked back.  And then, 
sudden and terrible, from the  tower above, the sound  of the great horn  of 
Helm rang out. 
     All that heard that sound trembled. Many of the Orcs cast themselves on 
their faces and covered their ears  with their claws. Back from the Deep the 
echoes came, blast upon blast, as if on every cliff and hill a mighty herald 
stood. But on the walls men looked up, listening with wonder; for the echoes


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####-the hosts of Isengard as a wind among grass. Behind them  from the Deep came 
the stern cries of' men issuing from the caves, driving forth the enemy. Out 
poured  all the men that were left upon  the Rock.  And  ever the  sound  of 
blowing horns echoed in the hills.  
     On they rode, the king and his companions. Captains  and champions fell  
or fled before them. Neither orc nor man withstood them. Their backs were to 
the swords  and  spears of the Riders and their  faces to  the  valley. They 
cried  and  wailed,  for fear and great wonder had  come upon  them with the  
rising of the day. 
     So King Thjoden rode from Helm's Gate and clove his path to  the  great 
Dike. There the company  halted. Light grew bright about them. Shafts of the 
sun flared above the  eastern hills and  glimmered on their spears. But they 
sat silent on their horses, and they gazed down upon the Deeping-coomb. 
     The land had changed. Where before the green dale had  lain, its grassy


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our doom seems certain to them. 'The king the king!' they cry. 'We will take 
their king.  Death to the Forgoil!  Death  to the Strawheads! Death  to  the  
robbers of the North!'  Such names they have for  us. Not in half a thousand 
years have they forgotten their  grievance that the lords of Gondor gave the 
Mark to  Eorl the  Young and  made alliance with him. That old hatred Saruman 
has  inflamed. They are fierce folk when roused. They  will not give way now 
for dusk or dawn, until Thjoden is taken, or they themselves are slain.' 
     'Nonetheless day will bring hope to me,' said Aragorn.  'Is it not said 
that no foe has ever taken the Hornburg, if men defended it?' 
     'So the minstrels say,' said Jomer. 
     'Then let us defend it, and hope!' said Aragorn. 
     Even as they  spoke there came a blare  of trumpets. Then there  was  a


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weariness. At once  his  enemies  leapt forward. Up  came the Orcs, yelling,  
with  their  long arms stretched out to  seize  him. The foremost  fell with 
Legolas' last  arrow in his  throat. but the rest sprang  over  him.  Then a  
great boulder, cast from the outer wall above,  crashed down upon the stair, 
and hurled them back into the Deep.  Aragorn gained the door, and swiftly it 
clanged to behind him. 
     'Things go ill,  my friends,'  he said, wiping the sweat  from his brow 
with his arm. 
     'Ill enough,' said Legolas,  'but not yet hopeless, while  we have  you  
with us. Where is Gimli?' 
     'I do not  know.' said Aragorn. 'I last saw  him fighting on the ground 
behind the wall, but the enemy swept us apart.' 
     'Alas! That is evil news,' said Legolas. 
     'He is  stout and strong,'  said Aragorn. 'Let  us  hope  that he  will 
escape back to the caves. There he would be safe for a while. Safer than we.


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'But the Orcs have brought a devilry from Orthanc,' said Aragorn. 'They 
have a blasting fire, and with it they took the Wall. If they cannot come in 
the caves, they may seal up those that are inside.  But now we must turn all 
our thoughts to our own defence.' 
     'I fret in this prison,'  said Thjoden. 'If I could have set a spear in 
rest, riding before my men upon the field, maybe I could have felt again the  
joy of battle, and so ended. But I serve little purpose here.' 
     'Here at least you are guarded in the  strongest fastness of the Mark,' 
said Aragorn.  'More  hope we  have to defend you  in  the Hornburg than  in 
Edoras, or even at Dunharrow in the mountains.' 
     'It  is said  that the Hornburg  has  never  fallen  to  assault,' said


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Arathorn? Maybe we shall cleave a road, or make such an end as will be worth 
a song-if any be left to sing of us hereafter.' 
     'I will ride with you,' said Aragorn. 
     Taking  his leave, he returned to the walls, and passed round all their 
circuit, enheartening the men, and lending aid wherever the assault was hot.  
Legolas  went with  him.  Blasts of  fire leaped up from  below  shaking the 
stones. Grappling-hooks were hurled, and ladders raised. Again and again the 
Orcs gained the  summit of the outer wall, and again the defenders cast them 
down. 
     At last Aragorn stood above the great gates, heedless  of the darts  of 
the  enemy. As  he  looked forth he  saw the eastern sky grow  pale. Then he 
raised his empty hand, palm outward in token of parley. 
     The Orcs yelled and jeered. 'Come down! Come down!' they cried. 'If you 
wish  to speak  to us, come down! Bring out your  king!  We are the fighting


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echoes came, blast upon blast, as if on every cliff and hill a mighty herald 
stood. But on the walls men looked up, listening with wonder; for the echoes 
did not die. Ever the  horn-blasts wound on among the hills; nearer now  and  
louder they answered one to another, blowing fierce and free. 
     'Helm!  Helm!' the Riders  shouted.  'Helm is arisen  and comes back to 
war. Helm for Thjoden King!' 
     And with that shout the king came. His horse  was white as snow, golden 
was  his shield,  and his  spear was long. At his  right  hand  was Aragorn, 
Elendil's  heir, behind him rode the lords of the  House of Eorl the  Young. 
Light sprang in the sky. Night departed. 
     'Forth Eorlingas!' With a cry and a great noise they charged. Down from 
the gates they roared, over the causeway they swept, and they drove  through


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So it was that in the  light of a fair morning King Thjoden and Gandalf 
the White Rider met again  upon the green  grass beside the  Deeping -stream. 
There was also Aragorn son of Arathorn, and Legolas  the Elf, and Erkenbrand 
of Westfold, and the lords of the Golden House. About them were gathered the 
Rohirrim, the Riders of  the Mark: wonder overcame their joy in victory, and 
their eyes were turned towards the wood. 
     Suddenly there was a great shout, and down from the Dike came those who 
had been driven back into the  Deep. There came  Gamling  the Old, and Jomer  
son of Jomund, and  beside them walked Gimli the dwarf. He had  no helm, 
and 
about his head was a linen band stained  with blood; but his voice  was loud 
and strong. 
     'Forty-two,  Master Legolas!' he cried. 'Alas! My  axe is  notched: the 
forty-second had an iron collar on his neck. How is it with you?' 
     'You have passed my  score  by  one,' answered Legolas. 'But  I  do not


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The Orcs yelled and jeered. 'Come down! Come down!' they cried. 'If you 
wish  to speak  to us, come down! Bring out your  king!  We are the fighting 
Uruk-hai.  We will fetch him from his hole,  if  he does not come. Bring out 
your skulking king!' 
     'The king stays or comes at his own will,' said Aragorn. 
     'Then what are you doing here?' they answered. 'Why do you look out? Do 
you wish to see the greatness of our army? We are the fighting Uruk-hai.' 
     'I looked out to see the dawn,' said Aragorn. 
     'What of the dawn?' they jeered. 'We are the Uruk-hai:  we  do not stop  
the fight for night or day, for fair  weather or for storm. We come to kill, 
by sun or moon. What of the dawn?' 
     'None knows what the  new day shall bring him,' said  Aragorn. 'Get you


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####-     The Orcs  were piled in great heaps, away  from the mounds  of Men, not 
far  from  the eaves of the forest. And the people  were  troubled in  their 
minds; for the  heaps of carrion were too great  for burial or for  burning. 
They had little wood for firing, and none would have dared to take an axe to 
the strange trees, even if Gandalf had not warned them to hurt  neither bark 
nor bough at their great peril. 
     'Let the Orcs lie,' said Gandalf. 'The morning may bring new counsel.' 
     In  the  afternoon the King's company prepared  to depart.  The work of 
burial was then but beginning; and Thjoden mourned for the loss of Hbma, his 
captain,  and cast the first earth upon  his grave. 'Great injury indeed has 
Saruman  done  to me and all  this land,' he said; 'and  I will remember it, 
when we meet.' 
     The sun was already drawing near the hills upon the west  of the Coomb,  
when  at last  Thjoden and Gandalf and their companions  rode down from  the


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####-     Gandalf laughed long and merrily. 'The trees?' he said. 'Nay, I see the 
wood as plainly as do you. But that is no deed of mine. It is a thing beyond 
the counsel of the wise. Better than my design, and better even than my hope 
the event has proved.' 
     'Then  if  not  yours,  whose  is  the  wizardry?'  said Thjoden.   'Not 
Saruman's, that is plain. Is there some mightier sage, of  whom  we have yet 
to learn?' 
     'It is  not  wizardry, but a power far older,' said  Gandalf:  'a power  
that walked the earth, ere elf sang or hammer rang. 
     Ere iron was found or tree was hewn, 
     When young was mountain under moon; 
     Ere ring was made, or wrought was woe, 
     It walked the forests long ago.' 
     'And what may be the answer to your riddle?' said Thjoden. 
     'If you  would  learn  that,  you  should come  with me  to  Isengard ' 
answered Gandalf.  
     'To Isengard?' they cried.


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####-led far up the Deep under such guard as could be spared. 
     The Deeping Wall was twenty feet high, and so thick that four men could  
walk abreast along the top, sheltered by a parapet  over  which  only a tall  
man could look. Here and there were clefts  in the  stone  through which men 
could shoot. This battlement could be reached by a stair running down from a 
door in the outer court of the Hornburg; three flights of steps led  also up 
on to the wall  from the Deep  behind; but in front  it  was smooth, and the 
great stones of it were set with such  skill that no foothold could be found 
at their joints, and at the top they hung over like a sea -delved cliff.  
     Gimli  stood  leaning  against the breastwork upon the wall. Legolas sat 
above on the parapet, fingering his bow, and peering out into the gloom. 
     'This  is more to my liking,' said the dwarf, stamping  on  the stones.  
'Ever my heart rises as we draw near the mountains. There is good rock here.


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####-But do not command many  men to go with you, Thjoden. We go to  a parley 
not 
to a fight.' 
     The King then chose  men that  were unhurt and had swift horses, and he 
sent them forth with tidings of the victory into every vale of the Mark; and 
they bore his summons also, bidding all men, young and old, to come in haste 
to Edoras. There the Lord of the Mark  would  hold an  assembly  of all that 
could bear arms, on the second day after the full moon. To  ride with him to  
Isengard the King chose Jomer and twenty men of his household. With  
Gandalf 
would go  Aragorn, and Legolas, and Gimli. In spite  of his hurt  the  dwarf 
would not stay behind. 
     'It  was only a  feeble blow and the cap turned it;' he said. 'It would 
take more than such an orc-scratch to keep me back.' 
     'I will tend it, while you rest,' said Aragorn. 
     The king now returned to the Hornburg, and slept, such a sleep of quie t


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forty-second had an iron collar on his neck. How is it with you?' 
     'You have passed my  score  by  one,' answered Legolas. 'But  I  do not  
grudge you the game, so glad am I to see you on your legs!' 
     'Welcome, Jomer, sister -son!' said Thjoden. 'Now that I see you safe, I 
am glad indeed.' 
     'Hail, Lord  of the Mark!' said Jomer. 'The dark night has  passed  and 
day has come again. But  the day has brought strange tidings.' He turned and 
gazed in wonder, first at the  wood and then at Gandalf. 'Once more you come 
in the hour of need, unlooked-for,' he said. 
     'Unlooked-for?' said Gandalf. 'I said that I would return and  meet you  
here.' 
     'But you did not name the hour, nor foretell the manner of your coming. 
Strange help you bring. You are mighty in wizardry, Gandalf the White!' 
     'That may be. But if so, I have not shown it yet. I have but given good 
counsel in peril, and made  use of the  speed of Shadowfax. Your  own valour


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####-about me. Do you not feel the air throb in your ears?' 
     'Yes,' said Gandalf.  
     'What has become of the miserable Orcs?' said Legolas.  
     'That, I think, no one will ever know,' said Gandalf. 
     They  rode  in silence for a while; but  Legolas was ever glancing from 
side to side, and would often have halted  to  listen to  the  sounds of the 
wood, if Gimli had allowed it. 
     'These are the strangest trees that ever I saw,'  he said; 'and  I have 
seen many  an  oak grow from acorn  to ruinous age.  I wish that  there were 
leisure now to walk among  them: they have voices, and  in time I might come 
to understand their thought.' 
     'No, no!'  said  Gimli.  'Let  us leave  them!  I guess  their  thought 
already: hatred of all that go on two legs; and their  speech is of crushing 
and strangling.' 
     'Not of all that go on two legs,' said  Legolas. 'There I think you are 
wrong.  It is Orcs that they hate.  For they  do not  belong  here and  know


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####-     'And, Legolas,  when the torches are kindled and men walk  on the sandy  
floors  under  the echoing domes, ah! then, Legolas,  gems  and crystals and  
veins of  precious ore  glint  in the polished  walls; and  the  light glows 
through folded marbles, shell-like, translucent as the living hands of Queen 
Galadriel.  There are  columns of white and saffron and dawn-rose,  Legolas, 
fluted  and twisted into dreamlike forms;  they spring up from many-coloured 
floors to meet the glistening pendants  of  the roof:  wings, ropes, curtains 
fine as  frozen  clouds; spears,  banners, pinnacles  of suspended  palaces!  
Still lakes mirror them: a glimmering world looks up from dark pools covered 
with clear glass;  cities.  such as  the  mind  of Durin  could  scarce have 
imagined in his sleep,  stretch  on through avenues and pillared  courts, on 
into  the dark recesses  where no light can come.  And  plink! a silver drop


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'This  is more to my liking,' said the dwarf, stamping  on  the stones.  
'Ever my heart rises as we draw near the mountains. There is good rock here. 
This country has tough bones. I felt them in my feet as we came  up from the 
dike. Give  me  a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place 
that armies would break upon like water.' 
     'I do not doubt  it,'  said Legolas.  'But you are a dwarf, and dwarves 
are strange folk. I do not like this  place, and I shall like it no more  by 
the light of  day.  But you  comfort me, Gimli, and I  am  glad  to have you  
standing nigh with your stout legs and your hard axe. I wish there were more 
of your kin among us. But even more would I give  for a hundred good archers 
of Mirkwood. We shall need  them.  The Rohirrim have good bowmen after 
their 
fashion, but there are too few here, too few.' 
     'It is dark for archery,'  said  Gimli. 'Indeed it is  time  for sleep.


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take more than such an orc-scratch to keep me back.' 
     'I will tend it, while you rest,' said Aragorn. 
     The king now returned to the Hornburg, and slept, such a sleep of quie t 
as he had not known for many years,  and the remainder of his chosen company 
rested also. But the others, all that  were not  hurt  or wounded,  began  a  
great labour; for many had fallen  in the battle and lay dead upon the field 
or in the Deep. 
     No  Orcs remained alive; their bodies were uncounted. But  a great many 
of the hillmen had given themselves up; and they were afraid,  and cried for  
mercy. 
     The Men of the Mark took their weapons from them, and set them to work. 
     'Help  now  to  repa ir  the  evil  in  which  you  have  joined,'  said 
Erkenbrand;  'and afterwards you  shall take an oath never again to pass the 
Fords of Isen in arms, nor to march  with the  enemies of Men;  and then you 
shall go free back to your land. For you have been deluded  by Saruman. Many


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when we meet.' 
     The sun was already drawing near the hills upon the west  of the Coomb,  
when  at last  Thjoden and Gandalf and their companions  rode down from  the 
Dike. Behind them were gathered a great host,  both of the Riders and of the 
people of Westfold, old and young, women and children, who had come out 
from 
the caves. A song of victory they sang with clear voices; and then they fell 
silent, wondering what would chance,  for their  eyes were on the trees  and 
they feared them. 
     The Riders came to the wood, and they halted; horse and  man, they were 
unwilling  to  pass in. T he trees were grey and menacing, and a shadow  or a  
mist  was about them. The ends of their long  sweeping boughs hung down like 
searching  fingers, their roots  stood up from the ground like the  limbs of 
strange monsters,  and  dark  caverns opened benea th them.  But Gandalf went 
forward, leading the company, and where the road from  the Hornburg  met the


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'And what may be the answer to your riddle?' said Thjoden. 
     'If you  would  learn  that,  you  should come  with me  to  Isengard ' 
answered Gandalf.  
     'To Isengard?' they cried. 
     'Yes,'  said Gandalf. 'I shall  return to  Isengard, and those who will 
may come with me. There we may see strange things.' 
     'But  there  are  not men  enough  in  the Mark,  not if  they were all 
gathered  together and  healed  of  wounds  and  weariness, to  assault  the 
stronghold of Saruman,' said Thjoden. 
     'Nevertheless  to Isengard I go,' said Gandalf. 'I shall not stay there 
long. My way lies now eastward. Look for me in Edoras, ere the waning of the 
moon!' 
     'Nay!' said Thjoden.  'In  the dark hour  before dawn I doubted, but we 
will not part now. I will come with you, if that is your counsel.' 
     'I  wish to speak with Saruman, as soon as may be  now,' said  Gandalf, 
'and since he  has done you  great injury, it  would  be fitting if you were


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imagined in his sleep,  stretch  on through avenues and pillared  courts, on 
into  the dark recesses  where no light can come.  And  plink! a silver drop 
falls,  and the round wrinkles in  the glass make all  the  towers  bend and 
waver like weeds and corals in a grotto of the sea. Then evening comes: they 
fade  and twinkle out; the torches pass on into another  chamber and another  
dream. There is chamber after chamber, Legolas;  hall opening  out of  hall, 
dome after  dome,  stair beyond  stair; and still  the winding paths lead on 
into the mountains' heart.  Caves! The Caverns of Helm's Deep! Happy was the 
chance that drove me there! It makes me weep to leave them.' 
     'Then I  will wish you this fortune for your  comfort, Gimli,' said the 
Elf, 'that you may come safe from war and return to  see  them again. But do 
not tell all your kindred! There seems little left for them to do, from your 
account. Maybe the men of  this land  are wise  to say little: one family of


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their 
fashion, but there are too few here, too few.' 
     'It is dark for archery,'  said  Gimli. 'Indeed it is  time  for sleep. 
Sleep! I feel the need of it, as never  I thought any dwarf could. Riding is 
tiring  work. Yet my axe is restless in my hand. Give  me a row of orc-necks 
and room to swing and all weariness will fall from me!' 
     A  slow time  passed.  Far down  in  the valley  scattered  fires still 
burned. The hosts of Isengard were  advancing in  silence now. Their torches 
could be seen winding up the coomb in many lines.  
     Suddenly from the Dike yells  and screams,  and the fierce battle-cries 
of  men  broke  out. Flaming  brands  appeared over  the brink and clustered 
thickly at the  breach. Then they scattered and vanished. Men came galloping 
back  over the  field and  up the ramp to  the  gate of  the  Hornburg.  The 
rearguard of the Westfolders had been driven in. 
     'The enemy is at hand!' they said. 'We loosed every arrow  that we had,


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strange monsters,  and  dark  caverns opened benea th them.  But Gandalf went 
forward, leading the company, and where the road from  the Hornburg  met the 
trees they saw now an opening like an arched gate  under mighty  boughs; and 
through  it  Gandalf passed,  and they followed him. Then to their amazement 
they  found that the road ran on, and the Deeping-stream  beside it; and the 
sky was open above  and  full of golden light. But on either side the  great 
aisles  of the  wood  were  already  wrapped in  dusk,  stretching away into 
impenetrable shadows; and there  they  heard the  creaking  and  groaning of  
boughs, and far cries, and a rumour of  wordless  voices, murmuring angrily.  
No Orc or other living creature could be seen. 
     Legolas  and  Gimli were now riding  together  upon one horse; and they  
kept close beside Gandalf, for Gimli was afraid of the wood. 
     'It is hot in  here,'  said Legolas  to Gandalf. 'I feel  a great wrath


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'I  wish to speak with Saruman, as soon as may be  now,' said  Gandalf, 
'and since he  has done you  great injury, it  would  be fitting if you were 
there. But how soon and how swiftly will you ride?' 
     'My  men  are weary with battle,' said the King; 'and  I am weary also. 
For I have ridden far and slept little. Alas! My  old age is not feigned nor  
due only to the  whisperings  of  Wormtongue. It is an ill that no leech can 
wholly cure, not even Gandalf.' 
     'Then let all who are to ride with me rest now,' said Gandalf. 'We will 
journey under the shadow of evening. It is  as well;  for  it is my  counsel 
that all our comings and goings should be as  secret as may  be, henceforth.


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not tell all your kindred! There seems little left for them to do, from your 
account. Maybe the men of  this land  are wise  to say little: one family of 
busy dwarves with hammer and chisel might mar more than they made.' 
     'No, you do not understand,' said Gimli. 'No dwarf could be  unmoved by 
such loveliness. None  of Durin's race would mine those  caves for stones or  
ore, not if diamonds and gold could be got there.  Do you cut down groves  of 
blossoming trees in the spring-time for firewood? We would tend these glades 
of flowering  stone, not  quarry them. With cautious skill, tap  by tap  -- a 
small  chip of rock and no  more, perhaps, in a whole  anxious  day  -- so we 
could work,  and  as the  years went  by, we  should open  up new  ways, and 
display far chambers that  are still dark, glimpsed  only as a  void  beyond 
fissures in the rock. And lights, Legolas! We should make lights, such lamps


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sat silent on their horses, and they gazed down upon the Deeping-coomb. 
     The land had changed. Where before the green dale had  lain, its grassy 
slopes lapping  the ever -mounting hills,  there  now a forest  loomed. Great 
trees, bare and  silent,  stood, rank on  rank, with tangled bough and hoary 
head;  their twisted roots were buried in the long green grass. Darkness was 
under them. Between the  Dike and the eaves of that  nameless wood only  two 
open furlongs lay.  There now cowered  the proud hosts of Saruman, in terror 
of the  king and in terror of the trees. They streamed down from Helm's Gate 
until all above the Dike was  empty  of them, but below it they were  packed 
like swarming flies.  Vainly they crawled and clambered about  the walls  of 
the coomb. seeking to escape.  Upon the  east  too sheer and stony  was  the 
valley's side; upon the left, from the west, their final doom approached.


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####-hide of close-fitting grey and br own. Their limbs were long, and their hands 
had many fingers; their hair was stiff, and their beards grey-green as moss.  
They gazed out with solemn  eyes, but they were not  looking at the  riders:  
their eyes were bent northwards.  Suddenly they  lifted their long  hands to 
their  mouths, and  sent forth ringing calls, clear as notes  of a horn, but 
more musical and various.  The calls  were answered; and turning  again, the  
riders  saw other creatures of the same  kind approaching, striding  through 
the grass. They came swiftly from the North, walking  like wading herons  in 
their gait,  but not in their speed; for their legs in their long paces beat 
quicker than the heron's  wings.  The riders cried aloud in wonder, and some 
set their hands upon their swor d-hilts. 
     'You need no  weapons,' said Gandalf. 'These are but herdsmen. They are 
not enemies, indeed they are not concerned with us at all.'


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####-if you know them not.' 
     'Yet  also I should  be sad,' said Thjoden. 'For however the fortune of 
war shall go, may it not so end  that much that was fair and wonderful shall 
pass for ever out of Middle-earth?' 
     'It may,' said Gandalf. 'The evil of Sauron cannot be wholly cured, nor  
made as if it had not been. But to such days we are doomed. Let us now go on 
with the journey we have begun!' 
     The company turned then away from the  Coomb and from the wood and 
took  
the  road  towards the Fords. Legolas followed reluctantly. The sun had set, 
already  it had sunk behind the rim of the world; but  as they rode out from 
the shadow of  the  hills  and looked west to the  Gap  of Rohan the sky was 
still  red, and a burning light was under the  floating clouds. Dark against  
it there wheeled and flew many black -winged birds. Some passed overhead 
wi th 
mournful cries, returning to their homes among the rocks.


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'That may be. But if so, I have not shown it yet. I have but given good 
counsel in peril, and made  use of the  speed of Shadowfax. Your  own valour 
has done more, and  the stout legs of the Westfold-men  marching through the 
night.' 
     Then  they all gazed  at Gandalf with still greater wonder. Some glanced 
darkly  at the wood,  and  passed their  hands  over their brows, as if they 
thought their eyes saw otherwise than his.


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####-     'You  move me, Gimli,' said Legolas. 'I have never heard you speak like 
this  before. Almost you make  me regret that  I  have not seen these caves.  
Come! Let us make this bargain-if we both return safe out of the perils that 
await us, we will journey for a while together. You shall visit Fangorn with 
me, and then I will come with you to see Helm's Deep.' 
     'That would not be the way of return that I should choose,' said Gimli. 
'But I will endure Fangorn, if I have your promise to come back to the caves 
and share their wonder with me.' 
     'You have  my promise,' said Legolas. 'But  alas!  Now  we  must  leave 
behind both cave and wood for a while: See! We  are coming to the end of the 
trees. How far is it to Isengard, Gandalf?' 
     'About fifteen leagues, as the crows of Saruman make it.' said Gandalf:  
'five from the mouth of Deeping-coomb to  the Fords: and ten more from there 
to the gates of Isengard. But we shall not ride all the way this night.'


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display far chambers that  are still dark, glimpsed  only as a  void  beyond 
fissures in the rock. And lights, Legolas! We should make lights, such lamps 
as once shone  in Khazad-dym; and when  we  wished  we  would drive away 
the 
night  that has  lain there  since the hills were made; and when we  desired 
rest, we would let the night return.'


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the coomb. seeking to escape.  Upon the  east  too sheer and stony  was  the 
valley's side; upon the left, from the west, their final doom approached. 
     There suddenly upon a ridge appeared a rider, clad in white, shining in 
the rising  sun.  Over  the low hills  the horns were  sounding. Behind him, 
hastening down the long slopes,  were a  thousand  men on foot; their swords 
were in their hands. Amid them strode a man tall and strong.  His shield was 
red. As he came to the valley's brink, he set to his lips a great black horn 
and blew a ringing blast. 
     'Erkenbrand!' the Riders shouted. 'Erkenbrand!' 
     'Behold the White Rider!' cried Aragorn. 'Gandalf is come again!' 
     'Mithrandir, Mithrandir!' said Legolas. 'This is wizardry indeed! Come!  
I would look on this forest, ere the spell changes.' 
     The  hosts  of Isengard roared, swaying this way and that, turning from 
fear to fear. Again the horn sounded from the tower. Down through the breach


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set their hands upon their swor d-hilts. 
     'You need no  weapons,' said Gandalf. 'These are but herdsmen. They are 
not enemies, indeed they are not concerned with us at all.' 
     So  it  seemed to be;  for  as  he spoke the tall creatures,  without a  
glance at the riders, strode into the wood and vanished. 
     'Herdsmen!'  said  Thjoden. 'Where  are their  flocks? What  are  they, 
Gandalf? For it is plain that to you, at any rate, they are not strange.' 
     'They are the shepherds of the trees,' answered Gandalf. 'Is it so long 
since you listened to tales by the fireside? There are children in your land 
who, out  of the twisted  threads of story, could pick the  answer  to  your 
question. You have seen  Ents, O King, Ents out of  Fangorn Forest, which in 
your tongue you call the Entwood. Did you think that the name was given only 
in  idle  fancy?  Nay, Thjoden,  it is otherwise: to  them  you are  but the


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####-devour so many good Riders of the Mark?' 
     'This is our way,' said Gandalf. 'Grievous is the fall of your men; but 
you shall see that at least the wolves  of the mountains do not devour them. 
It is with their friends, the Orcs, that they hold their feast:  such indeed 
is the friendship of their kind. Come!' 
     They rode down to the river,  and as  they came the wolves ceased their 
howling and  slunk away. Fear  fell on them seeing Gandalf in the moon,  and 
Shadowfax his horse shining like  silver.  The  riders  passed  over to  the 
islet, and glittering eyes watched them wanly from the shadows of the banks. 
     'Look!' said Gandalf. 'Friends have laboured here.' 
     And they saw that  in  the midst  of the eyot  a mound was piled, ringed 
with stones, and set about with many spears. 
     'Here  lie  all the  Men of the Mark that fell  near this place,'  said 
Gandalf. 
     'Here let them rest!' said Jomer. 'And when  their  spears  have rotted


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'five from the mouth of Deeping-coomb to  the Fords: and ten more from there 
to the gates of Isengard. But we shall not ride all the way this night.' 
     'And  when we come there,  what shall  we see?'  asked Gimli. 'You  may 
know, but I cannot guess.' 
     'I do  not know myself for certain,'  answered the wizard. 'I was there 
at  nightfall yesterday, but much may have happened since. Yet  I think that 
you will not say that the journey was  in vain  -- not though the Glittering 
Caves of Aglarond be left behind.' 
     At last the company passed  through  the trees, and found that they had 
come to the bottom of the Coomb, where  the road from Helm's  Deep 
branched, 
going one way east to  Edoras,  and the other north to the Fords of Isen. As 
they  rode from under the eaves of the wood, Legolas  halted and looked back 
with regret. Then he gave a sudden cry. 
     'There are eyes!' he said.  'Eyes looking out  from the shadows  of the 
boughs! I never saw such eyes before.'


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it there wheeled and flew many black -winged birds. Some passed overhead 
wi th 
mournful cries, returning to their homes among the rocks. 
     'The carrion-fowl have been busy about the battle-field,' said Jomer. 
     They rode now at an easy pace and dark came  down upon the plains about 
them. The slow moon mounted,  now  waxing towards the full, and  in its cold 
silver light the swelling grass-lands  rose and fell  like a wide  grey sea. 
They  had ridden for  some four  hours from  the branching of the roads when 
they drew near to the Fords. Long slopes ran swiftly down to where the river  
spread  in stony shoals  between high grassy terraces. Borne upon  the  wind 
they heard the howling of  wolves. Their hearts were heavy,  remembering the 
many men that had fallen in battle in this place. 
     The  road dipped between rising turf-banks, carving its way through the 
terraces to the river's edge, and up again upon the further side. There were


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The  hosts  of Isengard roared, swaying this way and that, turning from 
fear to fear. Again the horn sounded from the tower. Down through the breach 
of  the  Dike  charged  the  king's  company.  Down  from  the hills  leaped


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####-crossings. For some way i t took its course beside the river, bending with it 
east  and  then north; but at  the last it  turned away  and  went  straight 
towards the gates of Isengard; and these were under the mountain-side in the  
west of the valley, sixteen miles  or more from its mouth.  This  road  they 
followed but they  did not ride upon it;  for the ground beside it  was firm 
and level, covered for many miles about with short springing turf. They rode  
now more swiftly, and by midnight the Fords were nearly five leagues behind. 
Then they halted, ending their night's journey, for the King was weary. They 
were come to  the feet  of the  Misty  Mountains, and the long  arms of  Nan 
Curunnr stretched down to  meet them. Dark lay the vale before them, for the 
moon had  passed  into  the West, and its light was hidden by the hills. But 
out of the deep shadow of the dale rose a vast spire of smoke and vapour; as


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your tongue you call the Entwood. Did you think that the name was given only 
in  idle  fancy?  Nay, Thjoden,  it is otherwise: to  them  you are  but the 
passing tale;  all the years from Eorl the Young to Thjoden  the  Old are of 
little count to them; and all the deeds of your house but a small matter.' 
     The king was silent. 'Ents!' he said at  length. 'Out of the shadows of 
legend I  begin a little to  understand the marvel  of the trees, I think. I 
have  lived  to see  strange  days. Long  we have tended our beasts  and our 
fields, built our houses, wrought  our tools, or ridden away to help in  the 
wars  of  Minas Tirith. And that we called  the life of Men,  the way of the 
world. We cared little for what lay beyond the borders of our land. Songs we 
have that  tell of these things, but we are forgetting them,  teaching  them 
only  to children, as  a careless custom. And now  the  songs have come down 
among us out of strange places, and walk visible under the Sun.'


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and strangling.' 
     'Not of all that go on two legs,' said  Legolas. 'There I think you are 
wrong.  It is Orcs that they hate.  For they  do not  belong  here and  know 
little of Elves and  Men. Far away  are the valleys where they sprang.  From 
the deep dales of Fangorn, Gimli, that is whence they come, I guess.' 
     'Then that is the most  perilous wood in Middle-earth,'  said Gimli. 'I  
should  be grateful for  the part they have played, but I  do not love them. 
You may think them wonderful, but I have seen a greater wonder in this land, 
more beautiful than any grove or glade that  ever   grew: my  heart  is still 
full of ft. 'Strange are the ways of Men, Legolas! Here they have one of the 
marvels of the Northern  World, and what do they say of it? Caves, they say! 
Caves! Holes to fly to in time of  war, to store fodder in! My good Legolas, 
do you  know that the caverns of Helm's Deep  are vast and beautiful?  There


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The  road dipped between rising turf-banks, carving its way through the 
terraces to the river's edge, and up again upon the further side. There were 
three  lines of flat stepping-stones  across  the  stream,  and between them 
fords for horses, that went from either brink to a  bare  eyot in the midst. 
The riders looked down upon the crossings,  and  it seemed strange to  them;  
for the Fords had ever been a place full  of the rush  and  chatter of water  
upon stones; but now they  were  silent. The beds of the  stream were almost  
dry, a bare wast e of shingles and grey sand. 
     'This  is  become  a  dreary  place,'  said Jomer. 'What  sickness  has 
befallen the river? Many fair things Saruman has  destroyed: has he devoured 
the springs of Isen too?' 'So it would seem,' said Gandalf. 
     'Alas!'  said Thjoden. 'Must we pass this way,  where the carrion-beasts


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'Here  lie  all the  Men of the Mark that fell  near this place,'  said 
Gandalf. 
     'Here let them rest!' said Jomer. 'And when  their  spears  have rotted 
and rusted, long still may their mound stand and guard the Fords of Isen!' 
     'Is  this  your work  also, Gandalf,  my  friend?'  said Thjoden.  'You  
accomplished much in an evening and a night!' 
     'With  the help of Shadowfax  -- and others,' said Gandalf. 'I rode fast  
and  far.  But here beside the  mound I will say this for your comfort: many 
fell in the battles of the Fords, but fewer than rumour made them. More were 
scattered than were slain;  I gathered together all that I  could find. Some 
men I sent with Grimbold of Westfold  to join Erkenbrand. Some I set to make 
this burial. They  have now followed your marshal,  Elfhelm. I sent him with 
many Riders  to Edoras.  Saruman  I  knew had  despatched  his full strength 
against you, and his  servants  had turned aside from all  other errands and


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with regret. Then he gave a sudden cry. 
     'There are eyes!' he said.  'Eyes looking out  from the shadows  of the 
boughs! I never saw such eyes before.' 
     The others,  surprised  by  his cry,  halted  and turned;  but  Legolas 
started to ride back. 
     'No, no!' cried Gimli. 'Do  as  you please in your madness,  but let me 
first get  down  from  this horse! I wish  to see  no eyes!' 'Stay,  Legolas 
Greenleaf!' said Gandalf. 'Do not go back into the wood, not yet! Now is not 
your time.' 
     Even as he spoke,  there came forward out of  the  trees three  strange 
shapes.  As  tall as trolls they were, twelve feet  or more in height; their 
strong bodies, stout as  young trees, seemed to be clad with raiment or with


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moon had  passed  into  the West, and its light was hidden by the hills. But 
out of the deep shadow of the dale rose a vast spire of smoke and vapour; as 
it mounted, it caught the rays of the sinking moon, and spread in shimmering 
billows, black and silver, over the starry sky. 
     'What do you  think  of that,  Gandalf?' asked Aragorn.  'One would say 
that all the Wizard's Vale was burning.' 
     'There  is ever a fume above  that  valley in these  days,' said Jomer: 
'but I have never seen aught like this before. These are  steams rather than 
smokes. Saruman is brewing some devilry to greet us. Maybe he is boiling all 
the waters of Isen, and that is why the river runs dry.' 
     'Maybe he is,' said Gandalf. 'Tomorrow we shall learn what he is doing. 
Now let us rest for a while,  if we can.' 
     They camped  beside  the bed of the Isen river; it was still silent and 
empty. Some of them slept a little. But late in the night the watchmen cried


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####-Erkenbrand, lord  of Westfold. Down leaped Shadowfax, like a  deer that runs 
surefooted  in  the mountains. The White Rider was upon them, and the terror  
of  his coming filled  the enemy with  madness. The  wild men fell on  their 
faces before him. The Orcs reeled and screamed and cast aside both sword and 
spear. Like  a black smoke driven by a mounting wind they fled. Wailing they 
passed under the waiting shadow of the trees; and from that shadow none ever  
came again. 
 

####- 

Chapter 8. The Road to Isengard


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only  to children, as  a careless custom. And now  the  songs have come down 
among us out of strange places, and walk visible under the Sun.' 
     'You should  be  glad, Thjoden  King,' said Gandalf. 'For not only  the 
little  life  of Men is  now endangered, but the  life also of  those things 
which you have deemed the matter of legend. You are not without allies, even


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Fords of Isen in arms, nor to march  with the  enemies of Men;  and then you 
shall go free back to your land. For you have been deluded  by Saruman. Many 
of  you  have got  death  as  the  reward  of your trust in him; but had you  
conquered, little better would your wages have been.' 
     The men of Dunland were amazed, for Saruman had told  them that the men 
of Rohan were cruel and burned their captives alive. 
     In the  midst of  the field before the Hornburg two mounds were raised, 
and  beneath them  were laid  all  the Riders of the Mark who  fell  in  the 
defence, those of the  East Dales upon one side, and  those of Westfold upon  
the  other. In a_ grave alone  under the shadow  of  the Hornburg  lay Hbma, 
captain of the King's guard. He fell before the Gate.


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Caves! Holes to fly to in time of  war, to store fodder in! My good Legolas, 
do you  know that the caverns of Helm's Deep  are vast and beautiful?  There 
would  be an  endless pilgrimage of Dwarves, merely to gaze at them, if such 
things  were known  to be. Aye indeed, they would pay pure gold  for a brief 
glance!' 
     'And I would give  gold to be excused,' said Legolas; 'and double to be 
let out, if I strayed in!' 
     'You have not seen, so I forgive your jest,' said Gimli. 'But you speak 
like a fool. Do you think those halls are fair, where your King dwells under  
the hill in Mirkwood, and Dwarves helped in their making long  ago? They are 
but hovels compared with  the caverns I have  seen here: immeasurable halls, 
filled with an everlasting music  of  water that tinkles into pools, as fair 
as Kheled-zvram in the starlight.


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####-noise, as a wind  in the valley, and the ground trembled; and all were afraid 
and no one ventured to go forth. But in the morning  they went  out and were 
amazed; for  the slain Orcs were gone, and the trees also. Far down into the 
valley of the Deep  the grass was crushed   and trampled brown,  as if  giant 
herdsmen had  pastured  great droves of  cattle there;  but a mile below the 
Dike a huge pit had  been delved in the earth, and over it stones were piled 
into  a  hill.  Men believed that the Orcs whom they had  slain  were buried 
there;  but whether those  who had  fled into  the wood were with them, none 
could say, for no man  ever  set foot upon that hill. The Death Down it  was 
afterwards called, and no grass would grow there. But the strange trees were 
never seen in Deeping-coomb again; they had  returned at night, and had gone 
far  away to the dark dales  of  Fangorn.  Thus they were  revenged upon the 
Orcs.


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many Riders  to Edoras.  Saruman  I  knew had  despatched  his full strength 
against you, and his  servants  had turned aside from all  other errands and 
gone to Helm's Deep: the  lands seemed empty  of enemies; yet I  feared that 
wolf-riders and plunderers might ride nonetheless  to Meduseld, while it was 
undefended. But now I  think you need not fear:  you will find your house to 
welcome your return.' 
     'And glad shall I be to see it again,' said Thjoden, 'though brief now, 
I doubt not, shall be my abiding there.' 
     With that the  company said  farewell to the island  and the mound, and 
passed over the river, and climbed the further bank. Then they rode on, glad 
to have left the mournful  Fords. As they  went  the  howling of the  wolves 
broke out anew. 
     There  was an  ancient highway that  ran  down  from  Isengard  to  the


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Now let us rest for a while,  if we can.' 
     They camped  beside  the bed of the Isen river; it was still silent and 
empty. Some of them slept a little. But late in the night the watchmen cried 
out, and all awoke. The moon was gone.  Stars were  shining  above; but over 
the ground there crept a darkness blacker than the night.  On both  sides of 
the river it rolled towards them, going northward. 
     'Stay where you are!' said Gandalf. 'Draw no weapons! Wait! and it will 
pass you by!' 
     A mist gathered about  them. Above  them a  few stars  still  glimmered 
faintly;  but  on either side there arose  walls of impenetrable gloom; they 
were in a narrow  lane between moving towers of shadow. Voices  they  heard, 
whisperings  and groanings and an  endless  rustling sigh;  the  earth shook 
under them. Long  it  seemed to them that they sat  and  were afraid; but at 
last the darkness and the rumour passed, and vanished between the mountain's 
arms.


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####-doubted in their hearts, wondering to what dismal end their journey led. 
     After they had ridden for some miles, the highway became a wide street,  
paved with great flat stones, squared and laid with skill; no blade of  grass 
was seen in any joint. Deep  gutters, filled with  trickling water. ran down 
on either side. Suddenly  a tall pillar loomed up before them. It was black; 
and set upon it was a great stone, carved and painted in the likeness  of  a  
long  White Hand. Its finger pointed north. Not far now they knew  that  the 
gates of Isengard  must stand, and  their hearts  were heavy; but their eyes 
could not pierce the mists ahead. 
     Beneath  the  mountain's  arm within  the  Wizard's Vale through  years 
uncounted had stood that ancient place that  Men called Isengard.  Partly it 
was shaped  in  the making of  the mountains, but  mighty works  the  Men of 
Westernesse had wrought there of  old; and Saruman  had dwelt there long and 
had not been idle.


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####-Ring  of Isengard looked like a  graveyard  of  unquiet dead. For the ground  
trembled. The shafts  ran  down by many slopes and  spiral stairs to caverns 
far under; there Saruman had treasuries,  store-houses, armouries, smithies,  
and  great  furnaces.  Iron  wheels  revolved  there endlessly, and  hammers 
thudded. At night plumes of vapour steamed from the vents, lit  from beneath 
with red light, or blue, or venomous green. 
     To the  centre  all the roads ran between  their chains. There stood  a  
tower of  marvellous shape.  It  was  fashioned by  the builders of old, who 
smoothed  the  Ring of Isengard, and yet it seemed  a thing not  made by the 
craft  of Men, but riven from the bones of the  earth in the ancient torment 
of the hills. A peak and isle of rock  it was. black and gleaming hard: four 
mighty piers of many-sided stone were  welded  into one, but near the summit 
they  opened  into gaping  horns. their  pinnacles sharp  as the  points  of


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####-many since I left my house; and now here before my eyes stand yet another of 
the folk of legend. Are not these the Halflings, that some among us call the 
Holbytlan?' 
     'Hobbits, if you please, lord,' said Pippin. 
     'Hobbits?'  said Thjoden. 'Your  tongue is  strangely changed; but  the 
name sounds  not  unfitting so.  Hobbits! No report that I have  heard  does 
justice to the truth.' 
     Merry  bowed; and Pippin got up and bowed low. 'You are gracious, lord; 
or I hope  that I may so take your words,'  he said.  'And  here is  another  
marvel! I have wandered in  many lands, since I left my home, and never till 
now have I found people that knew any story concerning hobbits.' 
     'My people came out of the North long  ago,' said  Thjoden. 'But I will 
not deceive  you: we know no tales  about hobbits. All that is said among us 
is that far away, over many hills and  rivers, live  the halfling folk  that


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####-that its  nails were red.  Unheeding  Gandalf rode  on  into  the mist,  and 
reluctantly  they followed him. All about them now,  as if  there had been a  
sudden flood.  wide pools of water lay beside the road, filling the hollows.  
and rills went trickling down among the stones.  
     At last Gandalf  halted  and beckoned to them; and they  came, and  saw 
that beyond him  the mists  had cleared, and a pale sunlight shone. The hour  
of noon had passed. They were come to the doors of Isengard. 
     But the  doors lay  hurled and twisted  on the ground.  And  all about, 
stone, cracked  and  splintered into  countless jagged shards, was scattered 
far and wide, or piled in ruinous heaps. The great arch  still stood, but it 
opened now upon a roofless chasm: the tunnel was laid bare.  and through the 
cliff-like walls  on  either side great  rents  and  breaches had been torn; 
their towers were beaten into  dust. If the Great Sea had risen in wrath and


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####-triumphantly. 
     'And is Orthanc then left unguarded?' asked Gandalf.  
     'There is  the water,' said Merry. 'But Quickbeam and  some  others are 
watching it. Not all those posts and pillars in the plain  are of  Saruman's 
planting. Quickbeam, I think, is by the rock, near the foot of the stair.' 
     'Yes, a tall grey Ent is there,' said Legolas, 'but his arms are at his 
sides, and he stands as still as a door -tree.' 
     'It is  past  noon,'  said Gandalf, 'and we at any  rate have not eaten 
since early morning. Yet I wish  to  see Treebeard as soon as may be. Did he  
leave me no message, or has plate and bottle driven it from your mind?' 
     'He left a message,' said  Merry, 'and  I was coming to  it, but I have 
been hindered by many other questions. I was to say that, if the Lord of the 
Mark and Gandalf  will ride  to  the northern wall  they will find Treebeard 
there,  and he will welcome them. I may add that they will also find food of


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####-uncovered,  but he was  clad in a  travel-stained cloak of the same  hue and 
shape a s the companions  of Gandalf had worn when  they rode  to Edoras.  He 
bowed very low. putting  his  hand upon  his breast.  Then,  seeming not  to 
observe the wizard and his friends, he turned to Jomer and the king. 
     'Welcome, my lords,  to  Isengard!' he said. 'We  are  the doorwardens. 
Meriadoc,  son  of  Saradoc  is  my  name; and my  companion, who,  alas! is 
overcome with  weariness'  -- here he gave the other a dig with  his  foot -- 
'is Peregrin, son of Paladin, of the house of Took. Far in the North  is our 
home. The Lord Saruman  is within; but at the moment he is closeted with one 
Wormtongue,  or  doubtless  he  would be here  to  welcome  such  honourable 
guests.' 
     'Doubtless he would!' laughed Gandalf. 'And was it Saruman that ordered 
you to  guard his  damaged  doors, and watch for the arrival of guests, when 
your attention could be spared from plate and bottle?'


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never seen in Deeping-coomb again; they had  returned at night, and had gone 
far  away to the dark dales  of  Fangorn.  Thus they were  revenged upon the 
Orcs. 
     The king  and his company slept  no more that  night;  but they saw and 
heard  no other strange thing,  sa ve one: the voice of the river beside them 
suddenly  awoke. There  was a  rush of water hurrying down among the stones;  
and when it had  passed, the Isen flowed and bubbled in its bed again, as it 
had ever done. 
     At  dawn  they made ready to go on. The light came grey  and pale,  and 
they  did  not see  the rising of the sun. The air above was heavy with fog, 
and a reek lay on the land about them. They went slowly, riding now upon the 
highway.  It  was broad and  hard, and  well -tended. Dimly through the mists 
they could  descry the long arm of the mountains rising on  their left. They 
had passed into Nan Curunnr, the Wizard's Vale. That was a sheltered valley,


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mighty piers of many-sided stone were  welded  into one, but near the summit 
they  opened  into gaping  horns. their  pinnacles sharp  as the  points  of 
spears, keen-edged as  knives. Between  them was a narrow  space,  and there 
upon a floor of   polished stone,  written  with  strange signs,  a man might  
stand  five  hundred feet above the plain. This was Orthanc,  the citadel of 
Saruman, the  name of which had (by design or chance) a twofold meaning; for  
in the Elvish  speech orthanc  signifies Mount Fang,  but in the language of 
the Mark of old the Cunning Mind. 
     A strong  place  and wonderful  was  Isengard,  and  long  it had  been 
beautiful;  and there great lords had dwelt, the wardens of  Gondor upon the 
West, and wise men that watched the stars.  But Saruman had slowly shaped it 
to  his  shifting  purposes,  and made  it  better.  as  he  thought,  being 
deceived-for  all  those arts and  subtle devices, for which  he forsook his


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was shaped  in  the making of  the mountains, but  mighty works  the  Men of 
Westernesse had wrought there of  old; and Saruman  had dwelt there long and 
had not been idle. 
     This  was  its fashion,  while Saruman was at  his height, accounted by 
many the chief of Wizards. A great ring-wall of stone, like towering cliffs, 
stood out from the shelter of the mountain-side, from which it ran  and then 
returned again. One entrance only was there made in  it, a great arch delved 
in the  southern wall. Here  through the black  rock a long  tunnel had been 
hewn, closed at either end with mighty  doors of iron.  They were so wrought 
and poised upon their  huge hinges, posts of  steel driven  into the  living 
stone, that  when unbarred they could  be moved with  a light  thrust of the 
arms, noiselessly. One who passed in and came at length out of  the  echoing  
tunnel,  beheld a  plain,  a great  circle, somewhat  hollowed  like a  vast


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Mark and Gandalf  will ride  to  the northern wall  they will find Treebeard 
there,  and he will welcome them. I may add that they will also find food of 
the best there, it  was discovered and selected by your humble servants.' He 
bowed. 
     Gandalf laughed. 'That is  better!' he  said. 'Well,  Thjoden. will you  
ride with me  to find Treebeard?  We must go round about, but it is not far. 
When you see Treebeard,  you will learn much. For  Treebeard is Fangorn, and 
the eldest and chief of the  Ents, and when you speak with him you will hear  
the speech of the oldest of all living things.' 
     'I  will come with you,' said  Thjoden. 'Farewell, my hobbits!  May  we 
meet again in my house! There  you shall sit beside me and tell  me all that 
your hearts desire: the deeds of your grandsires,  as far as  you can reckon 
them; and we will speak also of Tobold the Old and his herb-lore. Farewell!' 
     The hobbits bowed low. 'So that  is the King of Rohan!'  said Pippin in


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not deceive  you: we know no tales  about hobbits. All that is said among us 
is that far away, over many hills and  rivers, live  the halfling folk  that 
dwell in holes in sand-dunes. But there are no legends of their  deeds.  for 
it  is said that they do little, and avoid the sight of  men, being able  to 
vanish in  a  twinkling: and they  can change their voices  to  resemble the 
piping of birds. But it seems that more could be said.' 
     'It could indeed, lord,' said Merry. 
     'For one thing,' said Thjoden, 'I had not heard that they spouted smoke 
from their mouths.' 
     'That is not surprising,'  answered Merry; 'for  it is an art which  we 
have  not  practised  for  more  than  a  few  generations.  It  was  Tobold 
Hornblower,  of Longbottom  in the Southfarthing,  who  first grew  the true 
pipe-weed  in his gardens, about  the year  1070 according to our reckoning.  
How old Toby came by the plant...'


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cliff-like walls  on  either side great  rents  and  breaches had been torn; 
their towers were beaten into  dust. If the Great Sea had risen in wrath and 
fallen on the hills with storm. it could ha ve worked no greater ruin. 
     The ring beyond was filled with steaming water: a bubbling cauldron, in 
which  there heaved  and floated  a wreckage of beams and  spars, chests and 
casks and broken  gear. Twisted and leaning pillars reared their  splintered 
stems above the  flood. but all the roads were drowned. Far off, it  seemed, 
half veiled in  winding cloud, there loomed the  island rock. Still dark and 
tall, unbroken by the storm,  the tower of Orthanc stood. Pale waters lapped  
about its feet. 
     The  king and all his company  sat silent on  their horses, marvelling, 
perceiving  that the power of Saruman was overthrown; but how they could not 
guess.  And  now they turned their eyes towards the archway  and  the ruined


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under them. Long  it  seemed to them that they sat  and  were afraid; but at 
last the darkness and the rumour passed, and vanished between the mountain's 
arms. 
     Away south upon the Hornburg, in the  middle  night  men heard a  great


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to  his  shifting  purposes,  and made  it  better.  as  he  thought,  being 
deceived-for  all  those arts and  subtle devices, for which  he forsook his 
former  wisdom, and which fondly  he imagined  were his own. came  but  
from 
Mordor; so that what he made was naught, only a little copy, a child's model  
or a slave's  flattery, of that  vast fortress. armoury, prison,  furnace of 
great power, Barad-dyr, the Dark Tower, which suffered no rival, and laughed 
at  flattery, biding its  time, secure  in  its pride and  its  immeasurable 
strength. 
     This  was  the stronghold of  Saruman, as  fame reported it; for within 
living memory the men of Rohan had not passed its gates, save perhaps a few,  
such as Wormtongue, who came in secret and told no man what they saw.  
     Now Gandalf rode to the great pillar of the Hand, and passed it: and as 
he did so the Riders  saw to  their wonder that  the Hand appeared no longer


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arms, noiselessly. One who passed in and came at length out of  the  echoing  
tunnel,  beheld a  plain,  a great  circle, somewhat  hollowed  like a  vast  
shallow bowl: a mile it measured from rim to rim. Once it had been green and 
filled  with avenues, and  groves of fruitful trees, watered by streams that 
flowed  from the mountains to  a lake. But no green thing grew there  in the 
latter  days of Saruman. The  roads wer e  paved with stone-flags,  dark  and 
hard;  and beside their borders instead of trees there marched long lines of 
pillars, some of marble, some of copper and of iron. joined by heavy chains.  
     Many  houses  there  were,  chambers,  halls,  and  passages,  cut  and 
tunnelled back into the  walls upon their  inner side, so that all  the open 
circle  was overlooked by countless windows and dark doors. Thousands  could 
dwell  there,  workers, servants, slaves, and warriors with  great  store of


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them; and we will speak also of Tobold the Old and his herb-lore. Farewell!' 
     The hobbits bowed low. 'So that  is the King of Rohan!'  said Pippin in 
an undertone.  'A fine old fellow. Very polite.'


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Hornblower,  of Longbottom  in the Southfarthing,  who  first grew  the true 
pipe-weed  in his gardens, about  the year  1070 according to our reckoning.  
How old Toby came by the plant...' 
     'You do  not  know your  danger,  Thjoden,' interrupted Gandalf. 'These 
hobbits will sit on the edge of ruin and discuss the pleasures of the table, 
or the small doings of  their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers,  
and  remoter cousins to the ninth degree,  if  you encourage them with undue 
patience. Some  other time wou ld be more fitting for the history of smoking. 
Where is Treebeard, Merry?' 
     'Away on the north side, I believe. He went to  get  a  drink-of  clean 
water. Most of the other Ents are with him, still busy at their work -- over  
there.' Merry waved his hand towards the steaming lake; and as  they looked, 
they heard a  distant rumbling and rattling, as if an avalanche was  falling


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you to  guard his  damaged  doors, and watch for the arrival of guests, when 
your attention could be spared from plate and bottle?' 
     'No, good sir, the matter escaped him,' answered Merry gravely 'He  has 
been much occupied. Our orders came from Treebeard, who  has taken  over 
the 
management of Isengard. He  commanded me to  welcome  the Lord of Rohan 
with 
fitting words. I have done my best.' 
     'And  what about  your companions?  What about  Legolas  and me?' cried 
Gimli, unable to contain himself longer .  'You rascals, you woolly-footed and 
wool-pated truants!  A fine  hunt you  have  led  us! Two  hundred  leagues,  
through  fen and forest, battle  and death, to  rescue you! And here we find 
you feasting and  idling-and smoking!  Smoking! Where did  you  come  by the 
weed, you villains?  Hammer and  tongs!  I am so torn between  rage and joy, 
that if I do not burst. it will be a marvel!'


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perceiving  that the power of Saruman was overthrown; but how they could not 
guess.  And  now they turned their eyes towards the archway  and  the ruined 
gates. There they  saw close  beside  them a great rubble-heap; and suddenly 
they were aware  of two small figures  lying on it at their ease, grey-clad, 
hardly  to  be seen  among  the  stones. There were  bottles and  bowls  and 
platters  laid beside them, as if  they had just eaten  well, and now rested 
from their labour. One seemed asleep; the other, with crossed legs  and arms 
behind his head,  leaned  back against a broken rock and sent from his mouth 
long wisps and little rings of thin blue smoke. 
     For  a  moment Thjoden  and Jomer  and all  his men  stared at  them in 
wonder.  Amid all the  wreck  of Isengard  this seemed to them the strangest  
sight.  But  before the king could speak,  the  small smoke-breathing figure 
became suddenly aware of them, as they sat there silent  on the edge of  the


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Now Gandalf rode to the great pillar of the Hand, and passed it: and as 
he did so the Riders  saw to  their wonder that  the Hand appeared no longer  
white. It was stained as with dried blood; and looking closer they perceived


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circle  was overlooked by countless windows and dark doors. Thousands  could 
dwell  there,  workers, servants, slaves, and warriors with  great  store of 
arms; wolves  were fed and stabled in deep dens beneath. The plain, too, was 
bored and delved. Shafts were driven deep into the  ground; their upper ends  
were  covered by low mounds and domes of stone, so that in the moonlight the


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there.' Merry waved his hand towards the steaming lake; and as  they looked, 
they heard a  distant rumbling and rattling, as if an avalanche was  falling 
from  the  mountain-side.  Far  away  came a  hoom-hom, as of  horns blowing


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####-     The hobbits led the way; and they  passed under the arch  and came to a  
wide  door upon the  left, at  the  top of a stair. It opened  direct into a  
large chamber,  with other smaller  doors  at the far end,  and a hearth and 
chimney at one side. The chamber was hewn out of the stone; and it must once 
have  been dark, for its windows looked out only into the  tunnel. But light 
came in now through the broken roof. On the hearth wood was burning. 
     'I  lit a  bit of fire,' said Pippin. 'It cheered us up  in  the  fogs.  
There were few faggots about, and  most of the  wood we could find was  wet. 
But  there  is  a great draught in  the  chimney:  it seems  to wind away up 
through the rock, and fortunately it has not been blocked. A fire  is handy. 
I  will  make you some toast. The bread is  three  or four days  old,  I  am 
afraid.' 
     Aragorn and his  companions sat  themselves down at  one  end of a long


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####-     'It  would,' said Gimli, 'if I had a pipe to go  with it. Alas, I  lost 
mine in Moria, or before. Is there no pipe in all your plunder?' 
     'No, I am  afraid  not,' said Merry. 'We have  not found any, not  even 
here in the guardrooms. Saruman kept this dainty to himself. it seems. And I  
don't think it would be any use knocking on the doors of  Orthanc  to beg  a  
pipe of him! We shall have to share pipes. as good friends must at a pinch.' 
     'Half a moment!' said Pippin. Putting his hand inside the breast of his 
jacket he pulled out a little soft wallet on a string. 'I keep a treasure or  
two near my  skin, as precious as  Rings  to  me.  Here's one: my old wooden 
pipe.  And  here's another: an unused one. I have carried  it  a  long way,, 
though  I don't know why.  I never really expected to find  any pipe-weed on 
the journey, when my own ran  out. But now it comes in useful after all.' He


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sight.  But  before the king could speak,  the  small smoke-breathing figure 
became suddenly aware of them, as they sat there silent  on the edge of  the 
mist. He sprang to his feet. A young man he looked, or like one, though  not  
much  more than half a man  in height; his head  of  brown curling hair  was


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Gandalf and the King's  company rode away, turning eastward to make the 
circuit of the ruined  walls of Isengard.  But  Aragorn, Gimli,  and Legolas 
remained behind. Leaving Arod and Hasufel to  stray in search of grass, they 
came and sat beside the hobbits. 
     'Well, well! The hunt is over, and we meet again at last, where none of 
us ever thought to come,' said Aragorn. 
     'And now  that the  great ones have gone to discuss high matters,' said 
Legolas,  'the hunters  can  per haps learn the  answers  to  their own small 
riddles. We tracked you  as  far  as  the forest, but there  are  still many 
things that I should like to know the truth of.' 
     'And there is a great deal, too, that we want to  know about you ' said 
Merry.  'We have learnt a few things through Treebeard, the Old Ent, but that 
is not nearly enough.' 
     'All  in good time,' said Legolas. 'We were the hunters, and you should 
give an account of yourselves to us first.'


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####-     'The fifth of March  in the Shire-reckoning,' said Aragorn. Pippin made 
some calculations on his fingers. 'Only nine days ago!' he  said.1 'It seems 
a year since we were caught. Well, though half of it was like a bad dream, I 
reckon that three  very horrible days  followed. Merry will correct me, if I 
forget anything important: I am not going into details:  the  whips and  the 
filth  and stench  and all that; it does not bear remembering.' With that he 
plunged  into an account of Boromir's last fight and the orc-march from Emyn 
Muil to the Forest.  The others  nodded as the various points were fitted in 
with their guesses.  
     'Here are some treasures that you let fall,' said Aragorn. 'You will be 
glad to have them back.' He loosened his belt from under his cloak  and took  
from it the two sheathed knives.  
     'Well!' said  Merry. 'I  never expected  to see those again! I marked a  
few orcs with mine; but Ugl®k  took them from us. How he glared! At first  I


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####-of his cup. 'Why,  your hair is twice as thick and curly  as when we parted; 
and I would swear that you have both grown somewhat, if that is possible for 
hobbits of your age. This Treebeard at any rate has not starved you.' 
     'He has not,' said Merry. 'But Ents on ly drink, and drink is not enough 
for content. Treebeard's draughts may be nourishing,  but one feels the need 
of something solid. And even lembas is none the worse for a change.' 
     'You have drunk of  the waters of the  Ents, have  you?'  said Legolas.  
'Ah, then I think it is likely that Gimli's eyes do not deceive him. Strange 
songs have been sung of the draughts of Fangorn.' 
     'Many strange tales  have been told about that land,' said Aragorn.  'I  
have never entered it. Come, tell me more about it, and about the Ents!' 
     'Ents,'  said Pippin,  'Ents are -- well  Ents are all different for on 
thing. But their eyes now, their eyes are very odd.' He tried a few fumbling


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they could  descry the long arm of the mountains rising on  their left. They 
had passed into Nan Curunnr, the Wizard's Vale. That was a sheltered valley, 
open only to the South. Once  it had been fair and green, and through it the 
Isen flowed, already deep and strong before it found  the plains; for it was 
fed by many springs and lesser streams among  the rain-washed hills. and all  
about it there had lain a pleasant, fertile land. 
     It was not so now. Beneath the walls of Isengard there still were acres 
tilled  by  the  slaves  of Saruman;  but  most  of the valley had  become a  
wilderness of  weeds and  thorns.  Brambles  trailed  upon  the  ground,  or 
clambering over bush and  bank, made shaggy caves where small beasts 
housed. 
No  trees grew there; but among  the rank  grasses  could still be  seen the 
burned and axe-hewn stumps of ancient groves. It  was  a sad country, silent  
now  but for the stony noise  of quick  waters. Smokes and steams drifted in


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is not nearly enough.' 
     'All  in good time,' said Legolas. 'We were the hunters, and you should 
give an account of yourselves to us first.' 
     'Or  second,' said Gimli. 'It would  go better after a meal. t  have  a  
sore head; and it is past mid-day. You truants might make  amends by finding 
us some of the plunder that you spoke  of. Food and drink would pay off some 
of my score against you.' 
     'Then you shall  have  it,' said Pippin.  'Will you have it here, or in 
more  comfort in what's left of Saruman's guard-house--over  there under the 
arch? We had to picnic out here, so as to keep an eye on the road.' 
     'Less than an eye!' said Gimli. 'But  I will not go into  any orc-house 
nor touch Orcs' meat or anything that they have mauled.' 
     'We wouldn't  ask  you  to,' said Merry. 'We have had  enough  of  Orcs 
ourselves to last a life-time. But there  were  many other folk in Isengard.


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I  will  make you some toast. The bread is  three  or four days  old,  I  am 
afraid.' 
     Aragorn and his  companions sat  themselves down at  one  end of a long 
table,  and  the  hobbits  disappeared  through  one  of  the  inner  doors. 
'Store-room  in there,  and above  the woods, luckily,' said Pippin, as they 
came back laden with dishes, bowls, cups, knives, and food of various sorts.  
     'And  you need not  turn up your nose at the provender,  Master Gimli,' 
said Merry. 'This is  not orc-stuff, but  man-food, as  Treebeard calls  it. 
Will you have wine or beer? There's a barrel  inside there -- very passable. 
And this is first-rate salted pork. Or  I can cut you  some rashers of bacon 
and  broil them,  if you like.  I am  sorry there  is no  green  stuff:  the 
deliveries have been rather interrupted in the last few days! I cannot offer  
you  anything  to follow  but butter and  honey  for  your  bread.  Are  you  
content?'


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'Ents,'  said Pippin,  'Ents are -- well  Ents are all different for on 
thing. But their eyes now, their eyes are very odd.' He tried a few fumbling 
words that trailed  off into silence. 'Oh, well,' he went on, 'you have seen 
some at a distance, already -they saw you  at any rate, and reported that you  
were on  the way-and you  will see many others,  I  expect, before you leave 
here. You must form your own ideas.' 
     'Now,  now!' said Gimli. 'We are beginning the story  in the middle.  I 
should like a tale in the  right order,  starting with that strange day when 
our fellowship was broken.' 
     'You  shall have it, if there  is time,'  said Merry. 'But first -if you  
have finished eating-you shall fill  your pipes and light up. And  then for a  
little while we can pretend that we are all back safe  at Bree again,  or in 
Rivendell.' 
     He produced a small leather bag full of tobacco. 'We have heaps of it,'


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'We wouldn't  ask  you  to,' said Merry. 'We have had  enough  of  Orcs 
ourselves to last a life-time. But there  were  many other folk in Isengard. 
Saruman  kept enough wisdom not  to  trust his Orcs. He had Men to guard his 
gates:  some of his  most faithful  servants,  I  suppose. Anyway  they were 
favoured and got good provisions.' 
     'And pipe-weed?' asked Gimli. 
     'No,  I  don't  think  so,' Merry laughed. 'But that  is another story, 
which can wait until after lunch.' 
     'Well let us go and have lunch then!' said the Dwarf.


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weed, you villains?  Hammer and  tongs!  I am so torn between  rage and joy, 
that if I do not burst. it will be a marvel!' 
     'You  speak  for  me, Gimli,' laughed Legolas.  'Though I would  sooner  
learn how they came by the wine.' 
     'One thing you  have  not found  in your hunting,  and that's  brighter 
wits,' said  Pippin, opening an eye. 'Here you find us sitting on a field of 
victory, amid  the plunder of armies, and  you wonder how we  came by  a few 
well-earned comforts!' 
     'Well-earned?' said Gimli. 'I cannot believe that!' 
     The  Riders laughed. 'It cannot be doubted  that we witness the meeting 
of dear friends,' said Thjoden. 'So these are the lost ones of your company, 
Gandalf? The days are fated  to  be filled with marvels.  Already I have seen


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deliveries have been rather interrupted in the last few days! I cannot offer  
you  anything  to follow  but butter and  honey  for  your  bread.  Are  you  
content?' 
     'Indeed yes,' said Gimli. 'The score is much reduced.' 
     The  three  were  soon  busy  with  their meal;  and the  two  hobbits, 
unabashed,  set  to  a second time. 'We  must keep our guests company,' they  
said. 
     'You  are full of courtesy this  morning,' laughed Legolas.  'But maybe. 
if  we  had  not arrived, you  would already have been keeping  one  another  
company again.' 
     'Maybe; and why not?' said Pippin. 'We had foul fare with the Orcs, and 
little enough for days before that. It seems a long while since we could eat 
to heart's content.' 
     'It does not seem to have done you any harm,' said Aragorn. 'Indeed you  
look in the bloom of health.' 
     'Aye, you do indeed,' said Gimli, looking them up and down over the top


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little while we can pretend that we are all back safe  at Bree again,  or in 
Rivendell.' 
     He produced a small leather bag full of tobacco. 'We have heaps of it,' 
he said; 'and you can all pack as much as you wish, when we go. We  did some 
salvage-work  this morning, Pippin and I. There are lots of things  floating 
about. It  was Pippin who found two  small barrels,  washed up  out of  some  
cellar  or  store-house, I suppose. When we opened them, we found they  were 
filled with this:  as fine  a  pipe-weed  as  you could  wish  for, and quite 
unspoilt.' 
     Gimli  took some  and rubbed it in his  palms and sniffed it. 'It feels 
good, and it smells good,' he said. 
     'It is good!' said  Merry. 'My dear Gimli, it is Longbottom Leaf! There 
were  the  Hornblower brandmarks on the barrels, as  plain as plain.  How it  
came here, I can't imagine. For Saruman's private use. I fancy. I never knew 
that it went so far abroad. But it comes in handy now?'


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burned and axe-hewn stumps of ancient groves. It  was  a sad country, silent  
now  but for the stony noise  of quick  waters. Smokes and steams drifted in  
sullen clouds and lurked  in the  hollows.  The  riders did  not speak.  Many


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####-spy of Saruman's; but whether he was working  with the Black Riders,  or for 
Saruman alone, I do not know.  It is difficult with these  evil folk to know 
when they are in league, and when they are cheating one another.' 
     'Well, of all sorts together, there must have  been ten thousand at the 
very least,' said Merry.  'They took an hour to  pass out of the gates. Some 
went off down the highway  to the  Fords, and some turned  away µ  and  went 
eastward. A bridge has  been built down there, about  a mile away, where the 
river  runs in a very deep channel. You could see i t  now, if  you stood up. 
They were all singing with harsh voices, and laughing, making a hideous din. 
I thought things looked very black for Rohan. But Treebeard did not move. He 
said: 'My business is with Isengard tonight, with rock and stone.' 
     'But, though I could not see what was happening  in the dark, I believe 
that Huorns began to move south, as soon as the gates were shut again. Their


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from it the two sheathed knives.  
     'Well!' said  Merry. 'I  never expected  to see those again! I marked a  
few orcs with mine; but Ugl®k  took them from us. How he glared! At first  I 
thought he  was going to  stab me, but he threw the  things away as if  they 
burned him.' 
     'And here also is  your brooch, Pippin,' said Aragorn. 'I have kept  it 
safe, for it is a very precious thing.' 
     'I know,'  said Pippin.  'It was a  wrench  to let it go; but what else 
could I do?' 
     'Nothing else,' answered Aragorn. 'One who cannot cast away  a treasure 
at need is in fetters. You did rightly.' 
     'The cutting of the bands on your wrists,  that was smart  work!'  said 
Gimli. 'Luck  served you there; but you seized your chance with both  hands, 
one might say. ' 
     'And set us a  pretty  riddle,' said  Legolas. 'I  wondered  if you had 
grown wings!' 
     'Unfortunately  not,'  said  Pippin.  'But  you  did   not  know  about


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####-     'When Saruman  was  safe back in Orthanc, it was not long before he set 
some of  his precious machinery to work. By  that time there were  many Ents 
inside  Isengard: some  had followed Quickbeam, and others had burst in from 
the  north  and  east ; they were roaming  about and  doing a great  deal  of 
damage. Suddenly up came fires and foul fumes: the vents and shafts all over 
the  plain began to spout  and belch. Several of the Ents  got scorched  and 
blistered.  One of them,  Beechbone  I  think he was  called,  a  very  tall 
handsome Ent,  got caught in a spray of some  liquid fire and burned like  a  
torch: a horrible sight. 
     'That sent them mad. I thought that they had been really roused before; 
but  I  was wrong. I saw  what it was like at last.  It was staggering. They 
roared and boomed and trumpeted, until stones began to crack and fall at the  
mere noise of them. Merry  and  I lay on  the  ground and stuffed our cloaks


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####-maybe, or listening to the rustling of  the wind, and then  suddenly you find 
that  you  are in the middle of a wood with great  groping trees  all around 
you. They still have voices, and can speak with the Ents  -- that is why they 
are called Huorns, Treebeard says  -- but they  have  become queer and  wild.  
Danger ous. I should be terrified of meeting them, if there were no true Ents 
about to look after them. 
     'Well, in the early night  we crept  down a  long ravine into the upper  
end of the Wizard's Vale, the Ents with all their rustling Huorns behind. We 
could  not see them, of course,  but the whole air  was full of creaking. It 
was very dark, a  cloudy  night. They moved at a great speed as soon as they 
had left  the hills,  and made a noise like a rushing wind. The Moon did not 
appear through the clouds, and  not long after midnight there was a tall wood 
all round  the north side of Isengard. There was  no  sign of enemies nor of


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####-the time  we were left  alone. It  was a dreary day; and we wandered about a  
bit, though we kept out of the view of the windows of Orthanc, as much as we 
could: they stared at us so threateningly. A good deal of the time  we spent 
looking for something to eat. And also we sat and talked, wondering what was 
happening away south in Rohan,  and what had  become of all the rest  of our 
Company. Every  now  and  then we could hear in the distance the rattle  and 
fall of stone, and thudding noises echoing in the hills.  
     'In the afternoon we walked round the circle,  and  went  to have a look  
at what was going on. There was  a great shadowy  wood of Huorns at the head 
of the  valley, and  another round the northern wall. We  did not dare to go 
in. But there was a rending, tearing noise of work going on inside. Ents and 
Huorns were  digging great  pits  and  trenches, and making  great pools and


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####-not know how to deal with it. His wizardry may have been falling off lately,  
of course;  but anyway  I think he has not much grit, not much plain courage 
alone in a tight place without a lot of  slaves and machines  and things, if 
you  know what I mean. Very different from old Gandalf. I wonder if his fame 
was not all along mainly due to his cleverness in settling at Isengard.' 
     'No,'  said  Aragorn. 'Once he was as  great as his fame made h im.  His 
knowledge  was deep,  his thought  was  subtle,  and his hands  marvellously  
skilled; and  he  had  a power  over the  minds of others. The wise he could 
persuade, and the smaller folk he could daunt. That power he certainly still 
keeps. There are not  many in Middle-earth that I  should  say were safe, if 
they were  left  alone to talk with him,  even now  when he  has suffered  a  
defeat. Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, perhaps, now that his wickedness has 
been laid bare, but very few others.'


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appear through the clouds, and  not long after midnight there was a tall wood 
all round  the north side of Isengard. There was  no  sign of enemies nor of 
any  challenge. There was a light gleaming from  a high window in the tower, 
that was all. 
     'Treebeard and a few more Ents crept  on, right round to within sight of 
the great gates. Pippin  and I were with him. We were sitting on Treebeard's 
shoulders, and  I could feel the quivering tenseness  in  him. But even when 
they are roused, Ents can be very cautious and patient. They stood  still  as 
carved stones, breathing and listening. 
     'Then all at once there was  a tremendous stir. Trumpets blared and the 
walls of Isengard  echoed. We thought that we had  been discovered, and that 
battle was  going to  begin. But nothing of  the sort.  All Saruman's people 
were marching away. I  don't know much about this war, or about the 
Horsemen 
of Rohan, but Saruman seems to have meant to finish off the king and all his


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in. But there was a rending, tearing noise of work going on inside. Ents and 
Huorns were  digging great  pits  and  trenches, and making  great pools and 
dams, gathering all the waters of the Isen and every other spring and stream 
that they could find. We left them to it. 
     'At dusk Treebeard came back to the gate. He was humming a nd booming to 
himself, and seemed pleased. He stood and stretched  his great arms and legs 
and breathed deep. I asked him if he was tired. 
     ' "Tired?" he said, "tired? Well  no, not tired, but stiff.  I  need  a  
good  draught  of  Entwash.  We  have   worked  hard;   we  have  done  more 
stone-cracking and earth-gnawing today than we have done in many a long 
year 
before. But it is nearly finished. When night falls do not  linger near this 
gate or in the  old tunnel! Water may come through-and it will be  foul water  
for a while, until all the filth  of Saruman  is washed away. Then  Isen can


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one might say. ' 
     'And set us a  pretty  riddle,' said  Legolas. 'I  wondered  if you had 
grown wings!' 
     'Unfortunately  not,'  said  Pippin.  'But  you  did   not  know  about 
Grishnbkh.' He shuddered and said  no more, leaving  Merry to tell of  those  
last horrible moments: the  pawing hands, the hot  breath, and  the dreadful 
strength of Grishnbkh's hairy arms.  
     'All this about the  Orcs of Barad-dyr, Lugb®rz as  they call it, makes 
me uneasy,' said  Aragorn.  'The  Dark Lord  already knew  too much and  his 
servants also; and Grishnbkh  evidently sent some message  across  the River 
after the quarrel. The Red Eye will be looking towards Isengard. But Saruman 
at any rate is in a cleft stick of his own cutting.' 
     'Yes, whichever side  wins, his outlook is poor,'  said  Merry. 'Things


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'But, though I could not see what was happening  in the dark, I believe 
that Huorns began to move south, as soon as the gates were shut again. Their 
business  was with Orcs I think.  They  were  far  down  the valley  in  the 
morning; or any rate there was a shadow there that one couldn't see through.  
     'As soon as Saruman had sent off all his army, our turn came. Treebeard 
put us down, and went up to the gates, and began hammering on the doors, and 
calling for Saruman. There was no answer, except arrows  and stones from the 
walls. But arrows are no  use against Ents. They hurt  them, of  course, and 
infuriate them:  like stinging flies. But an  Ent  can  be  stuck as full of 
orc-arrows  as  a pin -cushion,  and take no serious  harm.  They  cannot  be 
poisoned,  for one thing; and their skin seems to be very thick, and tougher  
than bark.  It takes a  very  heavy axe-stroke to wound them seriously. They


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roared and boomed and trumpeted, until stones began to crack and fall at the  
mere noise of them. Merry  and  I lay on  the  ground and stuffed our cloaks 
into our ears. Round  and  round the  rock of Orthanc the Ents went striding 
and  storming like a howling gale, breaking pillars,  hurling avalanches  of 
boulders  down the shafts, tossing up huge slabs of stone into the air  like 
leaves.  The tower was in the  middle  of a spinning  whirlwind. I  saw iron 
posts  and blocks of  masonry go rocketing  up hundreds  of feet, and  smash 
against the windows  of Orthanc. But Treebeard kept his head. He had not had 
any burns, luckily. He  did not want  his  folk to hurt themselves in  their 
fury,  and  he  did  not  want  Saruman to  escape out of some hole  in  the  
confusion.   Many  of  the   Ents   were   hurling  themselves  against  the 
Orthanc-rock;  but that defeated  them.  It  is very  smooth  and hard. Some


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####-Treebeard? I want him. Quick!" 
     'Treebeard heard his voice  and  came out of the shadows  at once;  and 
there was a strange meeting. I was surprised, because neither of them seemed 
surprised at all.  Gandalf obviously  expected to find  Treebeard  here; and 
Treebeard  might almost have been loitering about near the  gates on purpose 
to  meet  him. Yet we  had  told  the old  Ent all  about  Moria. But then I 
remembered a queer look he gave us  at the time. I can only suppose that  he 
had  seen Gandalf or  had some  news of him, but would not say anything in a 
hurry. "Don't  be hasty" is  his motto; but nobody, not even Elves, will say 
much about Gandalf's movements when he is not there. 
     '"Hoom! Gandalf!" said Treebeard.  "I  am  glad  you have come. Wood and 
water, stock and stone, I can master; but there is a Wizard to manage here." 
     '"Treebeard," said Gandalf. "I need your help. You have done much,  but


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though  I don't know why.  I never really expected to find  any pipe-weed on 
the journey, when my own ran  out. But now it comes in useful after all.' He 
held  up a small  pipe with a wide  flattened bowl, and handed it to  Gimli. 
'Does that settle the score between  us?' he said. 'Settle it!' cried Gimli. 
'Most noble hobbit, it leaves me deep in your debt.' 
     'Well, I am going back into the  open air, to see what the wind and sky 
are doing!' said Legolas.  
     'We will come with you,' said Aragorn. 
     They went  out and seated themselves  upon the piled stones before  the 
gateway. They could see far down into the valley now; the mists were lifting  
and floating away upon the breeze. 
     'Now let  us take our ease  here for a little!' said Aragorn.  'We will 
sit  on the  edge  of  ruin and talk,  as Gandalf  says,  while  he  is busy 
elsewhere. I feel a weariness such as I have seldom felt before.' He wrapped


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were marching away. I  don't know much about this war, or about the 
Horsemen 
of Rohan, but Saruman seems to have meant to finish off the king and all his 
men with one final blow. He emptied Isengard. I  saw  the  enemy go: endless 
lines  of marching Orcs; and troops  of  them mounted on  great wolves.  And 
there were battalions of Men, too. Many  of them carried torches, and in the 
flare I could see  their faces. Most of them were ordinary men,  rather tall 
and dark-haired, and grim but not particularly  evil -looking. But there were 
some  others that were  horrible: man-high, but  with goblin-faces,  sallow,  
leering,  squint-eyed.  Do  you  know,  they  reminded  me at  once of  that 
Southerner at Bree: only he was not  so obviously orc-like as  most of these 
were.' 
     'I  thought of him too,' said Aragorn.  'We had many of these half-orcs 
to deal with at Helm's  Deep. It seems plain  now that that Southerner was a


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gate or in the  old tunnel! Water may come through-and it will be  foul water  
for a while, until all the filth  of Saruman  is washed away. Then  Isen can 
run clean  again." He began  to pull  down  a bit  more of  the walls,  in a  
leisurely sort of way, just to amuse himself. 
     'We were just  wondering where  it  wou ld  be  safe to lie and get some 
sleep, when the most amazing thing of all happened. There was the sound of a  
rider coming swiftly  up the road. Merry  and I lay quiet, and Treebeard hid 
himself in the shadows under the arch. Suddenly  a great horse came striding 
up, like a flash of silver. It was already dark. but I could see the rider's 
face clearly: it seemed to shine, and all his clothes were white. I just sat 
up, staring, with my mouth open. I tried to call out, and couldn't. 
     'There  was no  need.  He  halted  just by  us and looked down  at  us. 
'Gandalf!' I said  at last.  but my voice  was only  a whisper. Did he  say:


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####-began to go all wrong for him from the moment his Orcs set foot in Rohan.' 
     'We caught  a glimpse  of  the old villain, or so Gandalf  hints,' said 
Gimli. 'On the edge of the Forest.' 
     'When was that?' asked Pippin. 
     'Five nights ago,' said Aragorn. 
     'Let me see,' said Merry: 'five nights ago-now we come to a part of the 
story  you  know nothing  about.  We met  Treebeard that morning  after  the  
battle; and that night we were  at Wellinghall,  one of his ent-houses.  The 
next  morning  we  went to  Entmoot, a gathering of Ents, that is,  and  the 
queerest thing  I have ever seen in my life. It lasted all that  day and the 
next; and we spent the nights with an Ent called Quickbeam. And then late in 
the afternoon in the third day of their moot,  the Ents suddenly blew up. It 
was amazing. The Forest had  felt as tense as if a  thunderstorm was brewing 
inside it: then  all at once  it exploded. I wish you could have heard their 
song as they marched.'


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they were  left  alone to talk with him,  even now  when he  has suffered  a  
defeat. Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, perhaps, now that his wickedness has 
been laid bare, but very few others.' 
     'The Ents are safe,' said Pippin. 'He seems  at one  time to  have  got 
round them, but never again. And anyway  he did  not understand them; and he 
made  the great mistake of  leaving them out of his  calculations. He had no 
plan for them, and there was no time to make any, once they had set to work. 
As  soon  as  our  attack began,  the few remaining rats in Isengard started 
bolting through  every  hole that the Ents  made.  The Ents  let the Men go, 
after they had questioned them, two or three dozen only down  at this end. I 
don't think many orc-folk, of any size, escaped. Not  from the Huorns: there 
was a wood  full of them all round Isengard by  that time, as well as  those 
that had gone down the valley.


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poisoned,  for one thing; and their skin seems to be very thick, and tougher  
than bark.  It takes a  very  heavy axe-stroke to wound them seriously. They 
don't like axes. But there would have to be a great many axe -men to one Ent: 
a man  that hacks once at  an  Ent  never  gets a chance of a second blow. A 
punch from an Ent-fist crumples up iron like thin tin. 
     'When Treebeard had got a few  arrows  in  him, he began to warm up, to  
get positively "hasty", as he would say. He let  out a great hoom-hom, and a  
dozen more Ents came striding up. An angry Ent is terrifying. Their fingers,  
and  their toes,  just  freeze  on  to  rock;  and  they  tear  it  up  like 
bread-crust. It was like watching the work of  great tree-roots in a hundred 
years, all packed into a few moments. 
     'They pushed,  pulled,  tore,  shook,  and  hammered;  and  clang-bang, 
crash-crack,  in five minutes they had these huge gates just lying in  ruin;


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confusion.   Many  of  the   Ents   were   hurling  themselves  against  the 
Orthanc-rock;  but that defeated  them.  It  is very  smooth  and hard. Some 
wizardry is in it, perhaps, older and stronger than  Saruman's.  Anyway they 
could  not get a grip on it, or make a crack in  it; and they  were bruising 
and wounding themselves against it. 'So Treebeard went out into the ring and 
shouted.  His  enormous voice  rose above  all the din.  There  was  a  dead 
silence, suddenly. In it we  heard a shrill  laugh from a high window in the 
tower.  That had a queer effect on the Ents. They had been boiling over; now 
they became cold, grim as  ice, and quiet.  They left the plain and gathered 
round Treebeard,  standing quite still.  He  spoke  to  them for a little in 
their own language; I think he was telling them of a plan he had made in his 
old head long before. Then they just faded silently away in  the grey light. 
Day was dawning by that time.


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water, stock and stone, I can master; but there is a Wizard to manage here." 
     '"Treebeard," said Gandalf. "I need your help. You have done much,  but 
I need more. I have about ten thousand Orcs to manage." 
     'Then those two went off and had a council  together in some corner. It 
must have seemed very  hasty  to  Treebeard, for Gandalf was in a tremendous 
hurry, and was already talking  at a great  pace,  before they passed out of 
hearing.  They were only away a matter of minutes, perhaps  a quarter  of an 
hour. Then Gandalf came back to us, and he seemed relieved, almost merry. He 
did say he was glad to see us, then. 
     '"But Gandalf," I cried, "where have you  been?  And have you seen  the 
others?" 
     '"Wherever  I have been, I am back,"  he answered in the genuine Gandalf 
manner. "Yes, I have seen some of the others. But news must wait.  This is a  
perilous night,  and I  must ride fast. But the dawn may be brighter; and if


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'There  was no  need.  He  halted  just by  us and looked down  at  us. 
'Gandalf!' I said  at last.  but my voice  was only  a whisper. Did he  say: 
"Hullo, Pippin! This is a pleasant surprise!"? No, indeed! He said: "Get up, 
you tom-fool  of a Took! Where, in the name of wonder, in  all  this ruin is


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was amazing. The Forest had  felt as tense as if a  thunderstorm was brewing 
inside it: then  all at once  it exploded. I wish you could have heard their 
song as they marched.' 
     'If Saruma n had heard it, he would be a hundred miles away by now, even 
if he had had to run on his own legs,' said Pippin. 
     'Though Isengard be strong and hard, as cold as stone and bare as bone, 
     We go, we go, we go to war, to hew the stone and break the door! 
     There was  very much more. A  great deal  of the song had no words, and  
was like a music of horns and drums.  It was very exciting. But I thought it 
was only marching music and no more, just a song  -- until I got here. I know 
better now.' 
     'We came down  over  the last  ridge  into Nan Curunnr, after night had 
fallen,' Merry continued. 'It was then that I first had the feeling that the 
Forest itself  was  moving  behind  us. I thought  I was dreaming  an entish


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years, all packed into a few moments. 
     'They pushed,  pulled,  tore,  shook,  and  hammered;  and  clang-bang, 
crash-crack,  in five minutes they had these huge gates just lying in  ruin; 
and  some were  already beginning to eat into  the walls,  like rabbits in a  
sand-pit. I don't know what Saruman thought was happening; but anyway he 
did


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####-     '"Huorns will help,"  said Treebeard. Then he went  away and we did not  
see him again until this morning. 
     'It was deep night. We lay  on  top of a pile  of stone,  and could see 
nothing beyond  it.  Mist  or shadows  blotted out  everything like  a great 
blanket  all  round us. The air seemed hot and  heavy; and it  was  full  of 
rustlings,  creakings,  and  a  murmur  like voices  passing. I  think  that 
hundreds more of the Huorns must have been passing by to help in the battle. 
Later  there was  a  great  rumble  of  thunder away south, and  flashes  of 
lightning   far  away  across  Rohan.  Every  now  and  then  we  could  see 
mountain-peaks, miles and miles away, stab  out suddenly,  black  and white, 
and then vanish. And behind us there were  noises like thunder in hills, but 
different. At times the whole valley echoed. 
     'It  must have been  about midnight when  the Ents broke  the  dams and


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don't think many orc-folk, of any size, escaped. Not  from the Huorns: there 
was a wood  full of them all round Isengard by  that time, as well as  those 
that had gone down the valley. 
     'When  the  Ents  had reduced a large part  of  the  southern walls  to 
rubbish,  and  what was  left of his people  had  bolted  and  deserted him, 
Saruman fled in a panic. He seems to have been at the gates when we arrived: 
I expect he came  to watch his splendid army march out. When the  Ents broke 
their  way in,  he  left in a hurry. They did not spot him at first. But the 
night had opened out, and there was a great light of stars, quite enough for  
Ents to see by,  and suddenly  Quickbeam  gave a  cry  "The tree-killer, the 
tree-killer!"  Quickbeam is a gentle creature, but he  hates Saruman all the 
more fiercely for that: his people suffered cruelly from orc-axes. He  leapt 
down the path from the inner gate, and he  can  move like a wind when  he is


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sit  on the  edge  of  ruin and talk,  as Gandalf  says,  while  he  is busy 
elsewhere. I feel a weariness such as I have seldom felt before.' He wrapped  
his grey cloak about him, hiding  his mail-shirt, and stretched out his long 
legs. Then he lay back and sent from his lips a thin stream of smoke. 
     'Look!' said Pippin. 'Strider the Ranger has come back!' 
     'He has never been away,' said Aragorn.  'I am Strider and D®nadan too,  
and I belong both to Gondor and the North.' 
     They smoked in silence for a while, and the sun shone on them; slanting 
into the valley from among white clouds high in the West. Legolas lay still, 
looking  up at  the  sun and  sky with steady eyes,  and singing  softly  to 
himself.  At last he sat  up. 'Come  now!' he said. 'Time  wears on, and the 
mists  are  blowing away, or  would  if  you  strange folk did  not  wreathe 
yourselves in smoke. What of the tale?'


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their own language; I think he was telling them of a plan he had made in his 
old head long before. Then they just faded silently away in  the grey light. 
Day was dawning by that time. 
     'They set a  watch on the tower,   I believe,  but  the watchers were so 
well hidden in  shadows  and kept so  still, that  I could not see them. The 
others went away north. All  that day they were busy, out of  sight. Most of


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different. At times the whole valley echoed. 
     'It  must have been  about midnight when  the Ents broke  the  dams and 
poured all the gathered waters through a gap in the northern wall, down into 
Isengard. The  Huorn-dark had passed,  and the  thunder had rolled away. The 
Moon was sinking behind the western mountains.  
     'Isengard began to fill up with black  creeping streams and pools. They 
glittered  in the  last  light of the Moon,  as  they spread over the plain. 
Every now and  then the waters  found their  way down  into  some  shaft  or  
spouthole. Great  white steams hissed up. Smoke rose in billows.  There were 
explosions and gusts  of fire. One great  coil of  vapour  went whirling up, 
twisting round and round Orthanc, until it looked like a tall peak of cloud, 
fiery underneath and moonlit above. And still more water poured in, until at 
last Isengard looked like a huge flat saucepan, all steaming and bubbling.'


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####-floods  and watched the drowning of Isengard. The  Ents kept  on pouring  in 
more water, till all the fires were quenched and every cave filled. The fogs 
slowly gathered together  and steamed up into  a huge umbrella of  cloud: it 
must have been  a mile high. In the evening there  was a great rainbow  over  
the eastern hills; and then the sunset was blotted out by a thick drizzle on 
the mountain-sides. It  all went very quiet. A few wolves howled mournfully, 
far away. The Ents stopped the  inflow in the  night, and sent the Isen back  
into its old course. And that was the end of it all. 
     'Since then  the water has  been sinking  again. There  must be outlets 
somewhere from the caves underneath, I think. If Saruman peeps out of any of 
his  windows, it must look an untidy, dreary mess. We  felt very lonely. Not  
even  a visible Ent  to talk to in all the ruin;  and no  news. We spent the 
night up on top there above the arch,  and it was cold and  damp and we  did


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more fiercely for that: his people suffered cruelly from orc-axes. He  leapt 
down the path from the inner gate, and he  can  move like a wind when  he is 
roused. There was a pale figure hurrying away  in and out of the  shadows of 
the pillars, and it had nearly reached the stairs  to the tower -door. But it 
was a near thing. Quickbeam was so hot after  him, that he was within a step 
or two of being caught and strangled when he slipped in through the door.


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####-him was clinging to some old barrel or  piece of  wood. But  Treebeard waded 
after him, and watched his progress.  
     '"Well, he has gone in," he said when he returned. "I saw  him crawling 
up  the steps like a draggled  rat. There is someone  in  the tower still: a  
hand came out and pulled him in. So there he is, and I  hope  the welcome is 
to  his liking. Now  I  must go and wash myself clean  of the slime. I'll be 
away  up on the north side,  if anyone wants to see  me. There  is no  clean 
water down here  fit for an  Ent to drink. or to bathe in. So I will ask you  
two lads to keep a watch at  the gate for the folk that are coming. There'll 
be the Lord of the Fields of Rohan, mark you! You must welcome  him as  well 
as you know how: his men have fought a great fight with the Orcs. Maybe, you  
know the right fashion  of Men's words  for such a  lord,  better than Ents.  
There have been many  lords in the green fields in my time, and I have never


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himself.  At last he sat  up. 'Come  now!' he said. 'Time  wears on, and the 
mists  are  blowing away, or  would  if  you  strange folk did  not  wreathe 
yourselves in smoke. What of the tale?' 
     'Well, my tale begins with waking up in the dark and finding myself all 
strung-up in an orc-camp,' said Pippin. 'Let me see, what is today?'


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even  a visible Ent  to talk to in all the ruin;  and no  news. We spent the 
night up on top there above the arch,  and it was cold and  damp and we  did 
not sleep.  We  had a feeling  that anything  might  happen  at  any minute. 
Saruman  is  still in his tower. There was a noise in the  night like a wind 
coming  up the valley. I think the Ents  and Huorns that had been away  came 
back  then; but where they have all gone to  now, I  don't  know. It  was  a  
misty,  moisty morning  when we  climbed down  and  looked  round again, 
and 
nobody was about. And that is  about all there  is  to tell. It seems almost 
peaceful  now after all  the turmoil. And safer too, somehow,  since Gandalf 
came back. I could sleep!' 
     They  all fell silent  for a while. Gimli re-filled his pipe. 'There is 
one thing I wonder about,' he  said as he lit it with his  flint and tinder: 
'Wormtongue. You told Thjoden he was with Saruman. How did he get there?'


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fallen,' Merry continued. 'It was then that I first had the feeling that the 
Forest itself  was  moving  behind  us. I thought  I was dreaming  an entish 
dream, but  Pippin had noticed  it too. We were both frightened; but  we did  
not find out more about it until later. 
     'It  was  the  Huorns,  or so the Ents call them  in "short  language". 
Treebeard  won't say much about them,  but  I think they are Ents that  have 
become almost  like trees, at least to look at. They stand here and there in 
the wood or under its eaves, silent, watching endlessly over the trees;  but 
deep  in the  darkest  dales there  are hundreds and  hundreds  of  them,  I 
believe. 
     'There is a great power in  them, and they seem able to wrap themselves 
in shadow: it  is difficult to see  them moving. But  they do. They can move 
very quickly, if  they are angry.  You  stand still  looking at the weather,


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####-twisted sort of creature  himself. There was no one  else. When he came. out 
of the  mist and suddenly saw  all the ruin and wreckage in front of him, he 
sat and gaped, and his face went almost green. He was so bewildered that  he 
did not seem to notice us at first. When he did, he gave a cry, and tried to 
turn his horse round and ride off. But Treebeard took three strides,  put out 
a long  arm, and  lifted him out  of the saddle. His horse bolted in terror, 
and he grovelled  on the ground. He said he was Grnma, friend and counsellor  
of  the  king,  and had  been sent  with important messages  from Thjoden to 
Saruman. 
     '"No one else would dare to ride through the open land, so full of foul 
Orcs," he said,  "so I was sent. And I have had a perilous journey, and I am 
hungry and weary. I fled far north out of my way, pursued by wolves." 
     'I caught the sidelong looks he gave to Treebeard, and I said to myself


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fiery underneath and moonlit above. And still more water poured in, until at 
last Isengard looked like a huge flat saucepan, all steaming and bubbling.' 
     'We saw  a cloud of smoke and steam from  the  south last night when we 
came to the mouth of Nan Curunnr,' said Aragorn. 'We feared that Saruman 
was 
brewing some new devilry for us.' 
     'Not he!' said Pippin. 'He was probably  choking and  not laughing  any 
more. By  the morning, yesterday morning, the water  had sunk down  into all 
the holes,  and there was a dense fog. We took refuge in that guardroom over 
there; and we had  rather a fright. The lake began  to overflow and pour out 
through the old  tunnel,  and the  water was rapidly rising up the steps. We 
thought we were  going to get caught  like  Orcs in a  hole; but we  found a  
winding stair at the back of  the  store-room that brought  us out on top of 
the arch. It was a squeeze to get  out, as the passages had been cracked and


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####-could  look like me in your eyes, if it suited his purpose with you. And are 
you yet wise enough  to detect  all  his  counterfeits? Well, we shall  see, 
perhaps.  He  may  be  shy  of  showing himself before many  different  eyes 
together. But I have ordered all  the Ents to remove  themselves from sight, 
so perhaps we shall persuade him to come out.' 
     'What's the danger?' asked Pippin. 'Will he shoot at  us, and pour fire 
out of the windows; or can he put a spell on us from a distance?' 
     'The last is most likely, if you ride to his door with a light  heart,' 
said Gandalf. 'But there is no knowing what he can do, or may choose to try.  
A wild beast cornered is not safe to approach. And Saruman has powers you do 
not guess. Beware of his voice!' 
     They  came  now to  the foot of Orthanc.  It  was black, and  the  rock  
gleamed as if it were wet. The  many  faces of the  stone had sharp edges as


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####-when he returns. After the Ents had gone, we felt tired,  and hungry. But we 
did not grumble  -- our labours  had  been well rewarded. It was through our  
search  for  man-food that Pippin  discovered the prize of  all the flotsam, 
those  Hornblower  barrels.  "Pipe-weed  is better after food," said Pippin; 
that is how the situation arose.' 
     'We understand it all perfectly now,' said Gimli. 
     'All except one thing,' said  Aragorn: 'leaf  from the Southfarthing in 
Isengard.  The more  I consider it, the more curious I find it. I have never  
been in Isengard,  but I have journeyed  in this  land, and I know  well the 
empty countries that lie between Rohan and the Shire. Neither goods nor folk 
have passed that  way for  many a long year, not openly. Saruman  had secret 
dealings with someone  in  the Shire, I  guess. Wormtongues may  be found in 
other houses than King Thjoden's. Was there a date on the barrels?'


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know the right fashion  of Men's words  for such a  lord,  better than Ents.  
There have been many  lords in the green fields in my time, and I have never 
learned their speech or their  names. They will be wanting man-food, and you 
know all  about that, I guess.  So find what you think  is fit for a king to 
eat,  if you can." And that is the end of the story. Though I should like to 
know who this Wormtongue is. Was he really the king's counsellor?' 
     'He was,' said  Aragorn; 'and also  Saruman's spy and servant in Rohan. 
Fate has not been  kinder to him than he deserves. The sight of the  ruin of 
all  that  he  thought  so  strong and  magnificent  must  have  been almost 
punishment enough. But I fear that worse awaits him.' 
     'Yes, I  don't suppose Treebeard sent him to Orthanc out of  kindness,' 
said Merry.  'He seemed rather grimly delighted  with the business  and  was 
laughing to himself when he went to get his bathe and drink. We spent a busy


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manner. "Yes, I have seen some of the others. But news must wait.  This is a  
perilous night,  and I  must ride fast. But the dawn may be brighter; and if 
so, we shall  meet  again.  Take  care  of  yourselves,  and keep away  from 
Orthanc! Good-bye!" 
     'Treebeard was very thoughtful after Gandalf had gone. He had evidently 
learnt a lot in a short time and was digesting it. He looked at us and said: 
"Hm, well, I find you are not such  hasty  folk as I thought. You  said much 
less than you might, and  not more than you should. Hm, this is  a bundle of 
news and no mistake! Well, now Treebeard must get busy again." 
     'Before he went, we got a little news out of him; and it  did not cheer  
us  up at all. But for the moment we thought more about you three than about 
Frodo and Sam, or about poor Boromir. For we gathered that there was a great 
battle going on, or soon would be, and that  you were in it, and might never  
come out of it.


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one thing I wonder about,' he  said as he lit it with his  flint and tinder: 
'Wormtongue. You told Thjoden he was with Saruman. How did he get there?' 
     'Oh yes,  I forgot about him,'  said Pippin. 'He did not get here  till 
this morning. We had just lit the fire and had some breakfast when Treebeard 
appeared again. We heard him hooming and calling our names outside. 
     '"I have just come round to see how  you are faring, my lads,' he said; 
'and to give you some news. Huorns have come back. All's well; aye very well 
indeed!" he laughed, and slapped his  thighs. "No more Orcs  in Isengard, no 
more axes! And there will be folk  coming up from the South before the day is 
old; some that you may be glad to see." 
     'He had hardly said that, when we heard the sound of hoofs on the road. 
We rushed out  before the gates, and  I stood and stared,  half expecting to 
see Strider  and Gandalf come riding up at the head of  an army. But  out of


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####-the stair,  and  looked  up darkly  at  the great  tower, fearing what might 
befall their lord.  Merry and  Pippin  sat on the bottom step,  feeling both 
unimportant and unsafe. 
     'Half a sticky mile from here to the gate!' muttered Pippin.  'I wish I 
could slip off back to the guardroom unnoticed! What did we come for? We are 
not wanted.' 
     Gandalf stood before the door of Orthanc and beat on it with his staff.  
It  rang  with  a  hollow  sound.  'Saruman, Saruman!'  he  cried in a  loud 
commanding voice.  'Saruman come forth!' 
     For  some time there was no answer.  At  last the window above the door  
was unbarred, hut no figure could be seen at its dark opening. 
     'Who is it?' said a voice. 'What do you wish?' 
     Thjoden started.  'I know that  voice,' he said, 'and I  curse  the day 
when I first listened to it.' 
     'Go  and  fetch Saruman,  since  you  have  become  his footman,  Grnma  
Wormtongue!' said Gandalf.  'And do not waste our time!'


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hungry and weary. I fled far north out of my way, pursued by wolves." 
     'I caught the sidelong looks he gave to Treebeard, and I said to myself 
"liar".  Treebeard looked at him in  his long slow  way for several minutes, 
till the wretched man was squirming on the floor. Then at last he said: "Ha, 
hm, I was expecting  you, Master Wormtongue." The man  started a t that name. 
"Gandalf got  here first. So I know as much about you  as I need, and I know 
what to do with you. Put all the rats in one trap, said Gandalf; and I will. 
I am the master of Isengard now, but Saruman is locked in his tower; and you 
can go there and give him all the messages that you can think of." 
     '"Let me go, let me go!" said Wormtongue. "I know the way." 
     '"You knew the way, I  don't doubt,"  said Treebeard. "But  things have 
changed here a little. Go and see!" 
     'He let Wormtongue go, and he limped off through the arch with us close


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not guess. Beware of his voice!' 
     They  came  now to  the foot of Orthanc.  It  was black, and  the  rock  
gleamed as if it were wet. The  many  faces of the  stone had sharp edges as 
though they had been newly chiselled. A  few  scorings. and small flake-like 
splinters near the base, were all the marks that it bore of the fury  of the 
Ents. 
     On the eastern side, in the angle of two piers, there was a great door, 
high above the  ground; and over it was a  shuttered window, opening upon  a 
balcony hedged with iron bars. Up to the threshold of the door there mounted 
a flight of twenty-seven broad stairs, hewn  by some unknown art of the same 
black stone. This was the only entrance to the tower;  but many tall windows 
were cut with deep embrasures in the climbing walls: far up they peered like 
little eyes in the sheer faces of the horns. 
     At the  foot of the  stairs Gandalf and the king dismounted. 'I will go


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said Merry.  'He seemed rather grimly delighted  with the business  and  was 
laughing to himself when he went to get his bathe and drink. We spent a busy 
time after that, searching the flotsam, and rummaging about. We found two or  
three  store-rooms  in different  places nearby,  above the flood-level. But 
Treebeard  sent  some  Ents down, and they  carried off  a great deal of the 
stuff. 
     '"We want man-food for twenty-five," the Ents said, so you can see that 
somebody  had  counted your  company carefully before you arrived. You three 
were  evidently meant to go  with the  great people. But you  would  not have  
fared any better. We kept as good as we sent, I promise you. Better, because 
we sent no drink. 
     '"What about drink?" I said to the Ents.  
     '"There is water of Isen," they said, "and that is good enough for Ents 
and Men." But I hope that the Ents may have found time to brew some of their


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We rushed out  before the gates, and  I stood and stared,  half expecting to 
see Strider  and Gandalf come riding up at the head of  an army. But  out of 
the  mist there  rode a man on  an old tired  horse; and he  looked  a queer


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winding stair at the back of  the  store-room that brought  us out on top of 
the arch. It was a squeeze to get  out, as the passages had been cracked and 
half blocked with fallen stone  near the top. There  we sat high up above the


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####-     'Peace!'  said Saruman, and for  a  fleeting  moment his voice was less 
suave, and a  light flickered in his eyes and was gone.  'I do not  speak to 
you  yet,  Gimli  Gluin's son,' he said. 'Far  away  is  your home and small 
concern of yours are the  troubles of this land. But it was not by design of 
your own that  you  became  embroiled in them, and so I will  not blame such 
part as you have played-a valiant one, I doubt not. But I pray you, allow me  
first to speak with the King of Rohan, my neighbour, and once my friend. 
     'What  have you to say,  Thjoden King? Will you have peace with me, and 
all  the aid that my  knowledge, founded in  long years, can bring? Shall we 
make our counsels together  against  evil days, and repair our injuries with 
such good will that our  estates  shall both come to fairer flower than ever 
before?' 
     Still Thjoden  did not  answer.  Whether he strove with anger or  doubt 
none could say. Jomer spoke.


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'"There is water of Isen," they said, "and that is good enough for Ents 
and Men." But I hope that the Ents may have found time to brew some of their 
draughts from the mountain-springs, and we shall see Gandalf's beard curling


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####-then all the House of Eorl is stained with murder; for they have fought many 
wars, and assailed many who defied  them. Yet with some they have afterwards 
made peace, none the worse for being politic. I say, Thjoden King:  shall we 
have peace and friendship, you and I? It is ours to command ' 
     'We will have peace,' said Thjoden  at last thickly and with an effort. 
Several of the  Riders  cried out gladly. Thjoden held up his hand. 'Yes, we 
will have peace,'  he said, now in a clear voice,  'we will have peace, when 
you and all your works have perished -- and the works of your dark master to 
whom you would deliver us. You are a liar. Saruman, and a corrupter of men's 
hearts.  You hold out your hand to me,  and  I perceive only a finger of the 
claw of  Mordor. Cruel  and cold! Even if your war on me was just as  it was 
not, for were you ten times as wise you  would have no right  to rule me and


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little eyes in the sheer faces of the horns. 
     At the  foot of the  stairs Gandalf and the king dismounted. 'I will go 
up,' said Gandalf. 'I have been in Orthanc and I know my peril.' 
     'And I too will go up,' said the king. 'I am old, and fear no peril any 
more.  I wish to speak with the enemy who has  done me so  much wrong. 
Jomer 
shall come with me, and see that my aged feet do not falter.' 
     'As you  will,' said  Gandalf. 'Aragorn shall  come with  me.  Let  the 
others await us at the foot of the stairs. They will hear and see enough, if 
there is anything to hear or see.' 
     'Nay!' said Gimli. 'Legolas and I wish for a closer view. We alone here 
represent our kindred. We also will come behind.' 
     'Come  then!' said Gandalf, and  with that  he climbed the  steps,  and 
Thjoden went beside him. 
     The Riders of Rohan sat  uneasily upon their horses,  on either side of


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such good will that our  estates  shall both come to fairer flower than ever 
before?' 
     Still Thjoden  did not  answer.  Whether he strove with anger or  doubt 
none could say. Jomer spoke. 
     'Lord, hear me!'  he said.  'Now  we feel the peril that we  were warned 
of. Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed  by an old 
liar with honey on his forked tongue? So would the trapped wolf speak to the 
hounds,  if he could. What aid can he give  to you, forsooth? All he desires 
is  to  escape  from  his plight. But will you  parley  with this dealer  in 
treachery and murder? Remember Thjodred at  the Fords, and the grave of 
Hbma  
in Helm's Deep!' 
     'If  we speak of  poisoned tongues what  shall  we say of  yours, young 
serpent?' said Saruman,  and the  flash of  his  anger was now plain to see. 
'But  come,  Jomer, Jomund's  son!' he went on in his soft  voice again.  To 
every man h part. Valour in  arms is yours, and you win high honour thereby.


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####-shame. How comes  it  that you  can  endure such company? For you are proud, 
Gandalf-and not  without reason, having a noble mind and eyes that look both 
deep and far. Even now will you not listen to my counsel?' 
     Gandalf stirred, and looked up. 'What have you to say that you did  not 
say at our last meeting?' he asked. 'Or, perhaps, you have things to unsay?' 
     Saruman paused. 'Unsay?' he mused, as if puzzled. 'Unsay? I endeavoured 
to advise you for your own good, but  you scarcely listened. You  are  proud 
and  do not love advice,  having  indeed  a store of your own wisdom. But on 
that occasion  you erred, I think, misconstruing my  intentions wilfully.  I 
fear that in my eagerness to persuade you, I  lost  patience.  And  indeed I 
regret it. For I bore you no ill-will; and even now  I bear none, though you  
return to me in the company  of the violent and  the ignorant. How should I?


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####-clearer memory of your arguments, and deeds, than  you  suppose. When last I 
visited you, you were the jailor of Mordor, and there I was to be sent. Nay, 
the guest who has escaped from the roof,  will think  twice  before he comes 
back  in  by the door.  Nay,  I do  not think  I  will come  up. But listen, 
Saruman, for the last time! Will you not come down? Isengard has proved less 
strong than  your hope  and fancy made it. So may other  things in which you 
still have trust.  Would it not be well to leave it for  a while? To turn to 
new things, perhaps? Think well, Saruman! Will you not come down?' 
     A shadow passed over Saruman's face; then it went deathly white. Before 
he could  conceal  it, they saw  through the mask the anguish of  a  mind in 
doubt, loathing to  stay and dreading to leave  its refuge. For a second  he 
hesitated, and no one breathed. Then he spoke,  and his voice was shrill and  
cold. Pride and hate were conquering him.


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regret it. For I bore you no ill-will; and even now  I bear none, though you  
return to me in the company  of the violent and  the ignorant. How should I?  
Are  we not both members of  a high  and  ancient order, most  excellent  in 
Middle-earth? Our friendship would profit us both alike. Much we could still 
accomplish together, to heal the disorders of the  world.  Let us understand 
one another,  and  dismiss from thought these lesser folk! Let  them wait on 
our decisions! For the common good I am  willing to redress the past, and to 
receive you. Will you not consult with me? Will you not come up?' 
     So  great was the power that Saruman  exerted in this  last effort that 
none that stood  within hearing were unmoved. But  now the  spell was wholly 
different.  They  heard the  gentle remonstrance  of  a kindly  king with an 
erring but much-loved minister. But they were shut out, listening at a  door


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doubt, loathing to  stay and dreading to leave  its refuge. For a second  he 
hesitated, and no one breathed. Then he spoke,  and his voice was shrill and  
cold. Pride and hate were conquering him. 
     'Will I come down?' he mocked. 'Does an unarmed man come down to  
speak 
with  robbers out of doors? I can  hear you w ell enough here. I am no fool, 
and I do not trust you, Gandalf. They  do not stand openly on my stairs, but 
I know where the wild wood-demons are lurking, at your command.' 
     'The treacherous are ever distrustful,' answered  Gandalf wearily. 'But 
you need not fear for your skin.  I do not wish to kill you, or hurt you, as 
you would know, if you really understood me. And I have the power to protect 
you. I  am giving you  a last chance. You can leave Orthanc, free --  if you  
choose.' 
     'That sounds  well,' sneered Saruman.  'Very  much  in  the  manner  of 
Gandalf  the Grey: so condescending, and  so very  kind. I do not doubt that


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####-and they saw a figure standing at the  rail, looking  down upon them: an old 
man, swathed in a great cloak, the colour of which was not easy to tell, for  
it changed if they  moved  their eyes or if  he stirred. His  face was long, 
with  a high forehead, he had deep darkling eyes, hard to fathom, though the 
look  that they now  bore was grave and benevolent, and a  little weary. His 
hair and beard were white, but strands of black still showed about his  lips 
and ears. 
     'Like, and yet unlike,' muttered Gimli. 
     'But come now,' said the  soft voice. 'Two  at least of  you I know  by 
name.  Gandalf  I know too  well to  have much  hope that  he seeks help  or  
counsel here. But you, Thjoden Lord  of  the Mark  of Rohan are  declared by 
your noble devices, and still more by  the fair  countenance of the House of 
Eorl.  O worthy son of  Thengel the  Thrice-renowned! Why have you not  
come 
before, and as a friend? Much  have  I desired to see you, mightiest king of


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'"You knew the way, I  don't doubt,"  said Treebeard. "But  things have 
changed here a little. Go and see!" 
     'He let Wormtongue go, and he limped off through the arch with us close  
behind, until he came inside  the ring and could see all the floods that lay 
between him and Orthanc. Then he turned to us. 
     '"Let me go away!" he whined. "Let  me go away! My messages are useless 
now." 
     '"They are indeed," said Treebeard. "But you have only two  choices: to 
stay  with me until  Gandalf and your master arrive; or to  cross the water. 
Which will you have?" 
     'The man shivered at the mention of his master, and put a foot into the 
water; but he drew back. "I cannot swim," he said. 
     '"The  water is not deep," said Treebeard. "It is dirty,  but that will 
not harm you, Master Wormtongue. In you go now!" 
     'With that the wretch  floundered off into the flood. It rose up nearly 
to his neck before  he got too far away for me to see him. The last I saw of


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claw of  Mordor. Cruel  and cold! Even if your war on me was just as  it was 
not, for were you ten times as wise you  would have no right  to rule me and 
mine  for your own profit  as  you desired  --  even so, what will you say of 
your torches in Westfold  and  the children  that lie dead  there?  And they 
hewed Hbma's body before the gates of the Hornburg, after he  was dead. 
When 
you hang from  a  gibbet at  your  window for the sport of your own crows, I 
will have peace with you and  Orthanc.  So  much  for  the House  of  Eorl. A 
lesser son of great sires am I, but I do not need to lick your fingers. Turn 
elsewhither. But I fear your voice has lost its charm.' 
     The Riders gazed up at Thjoden like men startled  out of a dream. Harsh 
as an old raven's their master's  voice sounded in their ears after the music 
of Saruman. But Saruman for a while was beside himself with wrath. He leaned 
over the rail as if he would smite the King with his staff. To some suddenly


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dealings with someone  in  the Shire, I  guess. Wormtongues may  be found in 
other houses than King Thjoden's. Was there a date on the barrels?' 
     'Yes,' said Pippin. 'It was the 1417 crop, that is last year's; no, the 
year before, of course, now: a good year.' 
     'Ah well, whatever evil  was  afoot is over now, I  hope; or else it is 
beyond our reach  at pr esent,' said Aragorn. 'Yet I think I shall mention it 
to Gandalf, small matter though it may seem among his great affairs.' 
     'I wonder what he is doing,' said Merry. 'The  afternoon is getting on. 
Let us go and look round! You can enter Isengard now at  any rate,  Strider,  
if you want to. But it is not a very cheerful sight.'


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different.  They  heard the  gentle remonstrance  of  a kindly  king with an 
erring but much-loved minister. But they were shut out, listening at a  door 
to  words  not  meant for  them: ill-mannered  children  or  stupid servants 
overhearing the  elusive discourse  of their  elders, and wondering  how  it 
would  affect their lot. Of  loftier mould these two were made: reverend and 
wise. It was inevitable that they should make alliance. Gandalf would ascend 
into  the  tower, to discuss  deep  things beyond their comprehension in the 
high chambers of  Orthanc. The door would be closed, and they would  be left  
outside, dismissed to await allotted work or punishment. Even in the mind of 
Thjoden the thought took shape, like a shadow of doubt: 'He will betray  us;  
he will go -- we shall be lost.' 
     Then Gandalf laughed. The fantasy vanished like a puff of smoke. 
     'Saruman, Saruman!' said Gandalf still  laughing.  'Saruman, you  missed


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when I first listened to it.' 
     'Go  and  fetch Saruman,  since  you  have  become  his footman,  Grnma  
Wormtongue!' said Gandalf.  'And do not waste our time!' 
     The window closed. They  waited.  Suddenly another voice spoke, low and 
melodious, its very sound  an enchantment.  Those who  listened  unwarily to 
that voice could seldom  report the words that they heard;  and if they did, 
they wondered,  for  little power remained  in them. Mostly they  remembered 
only that it was a delight to  hear the  voice  speaking, all  that it  said 
seemed wise and  reasonable, and desire awoke in them  by swift agreement to 
seem  wise themselves.  When others  spoke  they seemed harsh and uncouth 
by 
contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of 
those under the spell. Fur some the spell lasted only while the voice  spoke 
to them, and when it spake to another they smiled, as men do who see through


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'But  come,  Jomer, Jomund's  son!' he went on in his soft  voice again.  To 
every man h part. Valour in  arms is yours, and you win high honour thereby. 
Slay whom your lord names as enemies, and be content. Meddle not in policies 
which you do not understand. But maybe. if you become  a king, you Will find 
that he must choose his friends with care. The friendship of Saruman and the 
power  of Orthanc  cannot be lightly thrown aside, whatever grievances, real 
or fancied, may lie behind. You have won  a battle  but  not a  war and that 
with help on  which you cannot count again.  You may  find the Shadow of the 
Wood at your  own door next:  it is wayward, and senseless, and  has no love 
for Men. 
     'But  my  lord of  Rohan, am I to be called a murderer, because valiant 
men have fallen in battle?  If  you go to war,  needlessly,  for  I did  not 
desire  it, then men will be slain. But  if I am a murderer on that account,


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Eorl.  O worthy son of  Thengel the  Thrice-renowned! Why have you not  
come 
before, and as a friend? Much  have  I desired to see you, mightiest king of 
western lands, and especially  in these latter years, to  save you from  the 
unwise and evil counsels that beset  you!  Is it yet  too late? Despite  the 
injuries that have been done to me, in  which the  men of Rohan, alas!  have 
had some part, still  I  would save you, and deliver you from the ruin  that 
draws nigh inevitably,  if you  ride  upon this  road which you have  taken. 
Indeed I alone can aid you now.' 
     Thjoden opened his mouth as if to speak, but he said nothing. He looked 
up  at the face of Saruman with its dark solemn eyes bent down upon him, and 
then to Gandalf at his  side; and  he  seemed to hesitate. Gandalf  made  no  
sign; but stood silent as stone, as one waiting patiently for some call that 
has not  yet  come. The Riders stirred at first, murmuring with approval  of


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choose.' 
     'That sounds  well,' sneered Saruman.  'Very  much  in  the  manner  of 
Gandalf  the Grey: so condescending, and  so very  kind. I do not doubt that 
you would find Orthanc  commodious,  and  my  departure convenient. But  
why 
should  I  wish  to  leave?  And  what  do you  mean  by  'free'?  There are 
conditions, I presume?' 
     'Reasons for leaving you can see from your  windows.' answered Gandalf. 
'Others  will  occur to  your  thought.  Your  servants  are  destroyed  and 
scattered; your neighbours you have made your enemies; and you  have cheated 
your new  master. or tried to do so. When his eye turns  hither,  it will be 
the red eye of wrath. But when I say  'free',  I mean  'free': free from bond, 
of chain or command: to go where you will, even, even to Mordor, Saruman, if 
you desire. But  you will first surrender to me the Key of Orthanc, and your 
staff. They shall be pledges of your conduct, to be returned later,  if  you


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####-merit them.' 
     Saruman's face  grew  livid, twisted  with rage,  and a  red light  was 
kindled in his eyes.  He  laughed wildly. 'Later!' he  cried, and his  voice 
rose to a scream.  'Later! Yes,  when you  also  have the Keys  of Barad-dyr 
itself, I suppose; and the crowns of  seven kings. and the rods of  the Five 
Wizards, and have purchased yourself a pair  of boots many sizes larger than 
those  that you  wear now.  A modest plan.  Hardly one in which  my help  is 
needed! I have other things to do. Do not be a fool. If you  wish  to  treat 
with me, while you have a chance, go away, and come back when you are 
sober! 
And leave behind  these cut-throats and small  rag-tag that  dangle at  your 
tail! Good day!' He turned and left the balcony. 
     'Come back,  Saruman!' said  Gandalf  in  a  commanding  voice. To  the  
amazement of the others, Saruman turned again. and as if dragged against his


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of Saruman. But Saruman for a while was beside himself with wrath. He leaned 
over the rail as if he would smite the King with his staff. To some suddenly 
it seemed that they saw a snake coiling itself to strike. 
     'Gibbets  and crows!'  he  hissed,  and they shuddered  at  the hideous 
change.  'Dotard!  What is  the house of  Eorl but  a  thatched  barn  where 
brigands  drink  in the reek,  and  their brats roll on the floor among  the 
dogs? Too long have they escaped the gibbet themselves. But the noose comes,  
slow in the  drawing,  tight and hard in the end. Hang if you will!' Now his 
voice changed, as he slowly mastered himself. 'I know not why I have had the 
patience  to speak  to you.  For I need  you not, nor  your  little band  of 
gallopers,  as swift to fly  as to  advance, Thjoden Horsemaster. Long ago I 
offered you a state beyond your merit and your wit. I have offered it again, 
so that those whom you mislead may clearly see the choice of roads. You give


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he will go -- we shall be lost.' 
     Then Gandalf laughed. The fantasy vanished like a puff of smoke. 
     'Saruman, Saruman!' said Gandalf still  laughing.  'Saruman, you  missed 
your path  in life. You  should have been the king's jester  and earned your 
bread, and stripes  too, by  mimicking  his counsellors. Ah me!'  he paused, 
getting the better of his mirth. 'Understand one another? I fear I am beyond 
your comprehension. But you, Saruman, I understand  now too well.  I keep  a


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####-     'The murderous rogue!' cried Jomer.  But Gandalf was unmoved.  No, that 
was not thrown b Saruman, he said; nor even at his bidding, I think. It came  
from a window far above. A parting shot from Master Wormtongue, I fancy, 
but 
ill aimed.' 
     'The aim was poor, maybe, because he could  not make up  his mind which 
he hated more, you or Saruman,' said Aragorn. 
     'That may  be so,' said Gandalf.  'Small comfort will those two have in 
their  companionship:  they  will  gnaw  one  another  with  words.  But the 
punishment is just.  If Wormtongue ever comes out of Orthanc alive,  it will  
be more than he deserves.  
     'Here, my  lad, I'll take that!  I did not ask  you  to handle it,'  he 
cried,  turning sharply and seeing Pippin coming up the steps, slowly, as if 
he  were bearing a great  weight. He went  down to meet him and hastily took 
the dark  globe from the hobbit,  wrapping it in the folds of his cloak.  'I


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####-rendered. But he  has chosen to withhold it, and  keep the power of Orthanc. 
He will not  serve, only command. He  lives now  in  terror of the shadow of 
Mordor, and yet he still dreams of riding  the storm. Unhappy fool!  He will  
be devoured, if the power of the East stretches out its arms to Isengard. We 
cannot  destroy  Orthanc from without, but  Sauron  -- who knows  what he can 
do?' 
     'And what  if Sauron does  not conquer? What will you do to him?' asked 
Pippin. 
     'I? Nothing!' said Gandalf. 'I will do nothing  to him. I  do  not wish 
for mastery. What w ill become of him? I  cannot say. I grieve that so  much 
that was good now festers in the  tower. Still  for us things have  not gone 
badly. Strange are the turns of fortune!  Often does  hatred hurt  itself! I 
guess that, even if we had entered in, we  could have found few treasures in 
Orthanc more precious than the thing which Wormtongue threw down at us.'


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sign; but stood silent as stone, as one waiting patiently for some call that 
has not  yet  come. The Riders stirred at first, murmuring with approval  of 
the words of Saruman; and then they too were silent,  as men spell-bound. It  
seemed to them that Gandalf had never spoken so  fair and fittingly to their 
lord.  Rough and proud  now seemed all his  dealings with  Thjoden. And over  
their hearts crept a shadow, the fear of a great danger: the end of the Mark 
in a  darkness to which Gandalf was driving them, while Saruman stood beside 
a door of  escape, holding it half open so that a ray of light came through. 
There was a heavy silence. 
     It was Gimli the dwarf who broke in suddenly. 'The words of this wizard 
stand on their heads,'  he growled, gripping  the handle of his axe. 'In the 
language  of  Orthanc  help  means ruin, and  saving means  slaying, that is 
plain. But we do not come here to beg.'


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offered you a state beyond your merit and your wit. I have offered it again, 
so that those whom you mislead may clearly see the choice of roads. You give 
me brag and abuse. So be it. Go back to your huts!  
     'But you, Gandalf!  For  you  at  least I am grieved,  feeling for your


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'Come back,  Saruman!' said  Gandalf  in  a  commanding  voice. To  the  
amazement of the others, Saruman turned again. and as if dragged against his 
will, he  came slowly back to the  iron rail, leaning on it, breathing hard. 
His  face was lined and  shrunken.  His hand clutched  his heavy black staff 
like a claw. 
     'I did  not give you leave to  go,'  said Gandalf sternly. 'I have  not 
finished. You have become a fool, Saruman, and yet pitiable. You might still 
have turned away  from  folly and  evil, and  have been of  service. But you  
choose to  stay  and gnaw the ends of your old plots. Stay then!  But I warn 
you. you will not easily come out again.  Not  unless the  dark hands of the 
East stretch out to  take you. Saruman!'  he  cried, and his voice  grew  in 
power and authority. 'Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey,  whom you betrayed. 
I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no colour 
now,


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those under the spell. Fur some the spell lasted only while the voice  spoke 
to them, and when it spake to another they smiled, as men do who see through 
a  juggler's trick while others gape at it. For many the sound  of the voice 
alone was enough  to hold  them enthralled; but for those whom it  conquered 
the  spell endured when they were  far away. and ever  they heard that  soft  
voice whispering and  urging them. But none  were unmoved; none rejected its 
pleas and its commands without  an effort  of mind and will, so long as  its 
master had control of it.  
     'Well?' it  said now with  gentle  question. 'Why  must  you disturb my 
rest? Will you give me no peace  at  all by night or day?' Its tone was that 
of a kindly heart aggrieved by injuries undeserved. 
     They  looked up, astonished, for they had heard no sound of his coming;


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They passed through the ruined tunnel and stood upon a heap of  stones, 
gazing at the  dark rock of Orthanc, and its many windows, a menace still in 
the  desolation  that  lay  all about  it.  The waters  had  now  nearly all 
subsided.  Here  and  there  gloomy pools  remained,  covered with  scum and 
wreckage; but most of the wide circle was bare again, a  wilderness of slime 
and tumbled  rock, pitted with  blackened holes, and  dotted  with posts and 
pillars  leaning  drunkenly this  way and that. At the rim of the  shattered 
bowl  there lay vast mounds and slopes, like the shingles cast up by a great 
storm; and  beyond them the  green and  tangled valley  ran up into the long  
ravine  between the  dark arms  of  the mountains. Across the waste they saw 
riders picking their way; they were coming from the north  side, and already 
they were drawing near to Orthanc. 
     'There is  Gandalf, and Thjoden and his men!' said Legolas. 'Let  us go 
and meet them!'


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he  were bearing a great  weight. He went  down to meet him and hastily took 
the dark  globe from the hobbit,  wrapping it in the folds of his cloak.  'I  
will take care of this,' he  said. 'It is not a thing, I guess, that Saruman 
would have chosen to cast away.' 
     'But he may have other things to cast,' said Gimli. 'If that is the end 
of the debate, let us go out of stone's throw, at least!' 
     'It is the end,' said Gandalf. 'Let us go.' 
     They turned  their  backs on  the doors of Orthanc, and  went down. The 
riders  hailed the king with joy, and saluted Gandalf. The  spell of Saruman 
was broken: they had seen him come at call, and crawl away, dismissed. 
     'Well, that is done,' said Gandalf. 'Now I must find Treebeard and tell 
him how things have gone.' 
     'He will have guessed,  surely?'  said  Merry. 'Were they likely to end 
any other way?' 
     'Not likely,' answered Gandalf, 'though  they came to  the balance of a


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guess that, even if we had entered in, we  could have found few treasures in 
Orthanc more precious than the thing which Wormtongue threw down at us.' 
     A shrill shriek; suddenly cut off, came from an open window high above. 
     'It seems  that  Saruman  thinks  so too,' said Gandalf.  'Let us leave 
them!' 
     They returned now to the ruins of the  gate. Hardly had they passed out 
under the arch, when, from among the shadows of the piled stones where  they 
had stood, Treebeard and a dozen other Ents came striding up. Aragorn, Gimli 
and Legolas gazed at them in wonder. 
     'Here  are three of my  companions,  Treebeard,' said Gandalf. 'I  have 
spoken of them, but you have not yet seen them.' He named them one by one. 
     The Old Ent looked at them  long and searchingly, and spoke to  them in 
turn.  Last  he  turned  to Legolas.  'So  you  have  come  all the way from 
Mirkwood, my good Elf? A very great forest it used to be!'


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####-Gluin's son here.' Gimli bowed  low,  and the  axe slipped from his belt and 
clattered on the ground. 
     'Hoom, hm! Ah now,' said Treebeard, looking dark-eyed at him. 'A  dwarf 
and  an axe-bearer! Hoom! I have good  will to Elves; but you ask much. This 
is  a strange  friendship!' 'Strange it  may seem,' said Legolas; 'but while 
Gimli lives I shall not come to Fangorn alone. His axe is not for trees, but 
for  orc-necks, O Fangorn, Master of Fangorn's  Wood.  Forty-two he hewed in 
the battle.' 
     'Hoo! Come now!' said Treebeard.  'That is a better  story! Well, well, 
things will go as they will; and there is no need to hurry to meet them. But 
now we must part for a while. Day is drawing to an end, yet Gandalf says you 
must go ere nightfall, and the Lord of the Mark is eager for his own house.' 
     'Yes,  we must go, and go  now,' said Gandalf. 'I fear that I must take 
your gatekeepers from you. But you will manage well enough without them.'


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they were drawing near to Orthanc. 
     'There is  Gandalf, and Thjoden and his men!' said Legolas. 'Let  us go 
and meet them!' 
     'Walk warily!' said Merry. 'There are loose  slabs that may tilt up and 
throw you down into a pit, if you don't take care.' 
     They  followed what was  left of  the road from  the gates  to Orthanc, 
going slowly,  for  the flag-stones  were cracked  and  slimed.  The riders,  
seeing them approach, halted under the  shadow of  the  rock and  waited for  
them. Gandalf rode forward to meet them. 
     'Well, Treebeard and I have had some interesting  discussions, and made 
a few plans,' he said; 'and we have  all had  some much-needed  rest. Now we 
must  be going  on again.  I hope  you companions  have all rested, too, and 
refreshed yourselves?' 
     'We have,' said Merry. 'But  our discussions began and ended in  smoke. 
Still we feel less ill-disposed towards Saruman than we did.'


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turn.  Last  he  turned  to Legolas.  'So  you  have  come  all the way from 
Mirkwood, my good Elf? A very great forest it used to be!' 
     'And still is,' said Legolas. 'But not so great that we who dwell there 
ever tire of seeing new trees. I  should dearly love to journey in Fangorn's 
Wood. I  scarcely passed beyond the eaves of it, and  I did not wish to turn 
back.' 
     Treebeard's eyes gleamed with pleasure. 'I hope you may have your wish,  
ere the hills be much older,' he said. 
     'I will come,  if  I  have the fortune,' said  Legolas.  'I have made a  
bargain  with  my friend  that, if  all  goes well,  we  will  visit Fangorn 
together -- by your leave.' 
     'Any Elf that comes with you will be welcome,' said Treebeard. 
     'The  friend I speak of  is not an Elf,' said Legolas; 'I  mean  Gimli,


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####-Baran,  the last  hill of  the northern ranges,  greenfooted,  crowned  with 
heather. The sides of the glen were shaggy with last  year's bracken,  among  
which the tight -curled  fronds of  spring  were just  thrusting through  the 
sweet-scented earth. Thornbushes grew thick  upon the low banks,  and  under  
them they made their camp,  two hours  or so before  the middle of the night.  
They lit a fire in a hollow, down among the roots of  a spreading  hawthorn,  
tall as a tree, writhen with age; but hale in every limb. Buds were swelling 
at each twig's tip. 
     Guards were  set,  two at a watch.  The  rest, after  they had  supped, 
wrapped  themselves in a cloak and blanket and  slept. The  hobbits lay in a  
corner by themselves  upon a pile  of old  bracken.  Merry was  sleepy,  but 
Pippin now seemed curiously restless. The bracken cracked and rustled, as he 
twisted and turned. 
     'What's the matter?' asked Merry. 'Are you lying on an ant-hill?'


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####-question a second time. Are we riding far tonight?' 
     Gandalf laughed. 'A most unquenchable hobbit! All Wizards should have a  
hobbit or two in their care -- to teach them the meaning of the word, and to 
correct them. I  beg your pardon.  But  I have given  thought even to  these 
simple matters.  We will ride for a few  hours, gently, until we come to the 
end of the valley. Tomorrow we must ride faster. 
     'When we came, we meant to go straight from Isengard back to the king's 
house  at Edoras over the  plains, a ride  of  some days. But we have  taken 
thought and changed the plan. Messengers have gone ahead to Helm's  Deep, to 
warn them that  the king is returning tomorrow. He will ride from there with 
many men to Dunharrow by paths among the hills. From now on no more than 
two 
or  three together are to go openly over the land,  by day or night, when it 
can be avoided.' 
     'Nothing or a double helping is  your way!'  said Merry. 'I am afraid I


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'He will have guessed,  surely?'  said  Merry. 'Were they likely to end 
any other way?' 
     'Not likely,' answered Gandalf, 'though  they came to  the balance of a  
hair. But I had reasons for  trying; some  merciful and some less so.  First  
Saruman was shown that the power  of his voice was waning. He cannot be 
both 
tyrant  and counsellor. When the plot  is ripe it remains  no longer secret. 
Yet he  fell into the trap, and tried to deal  with  his victims piece-meal, 
while  others listened. Then I  gave him a last choice and  a  fair  one: to 
renounce both Mordor and his private schemes, and  make amends by helping 
us 
in our need.  He knows our need,  none better.  Great service he could  have


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The sun was sinking  behind the long  western arm of the mounta ins when 
Gandalf and his companions, and the king with his Riders, set out again from 
Isengard. Gandalf took Merry behind him, and Aragorn took Pippin. Two of 
the 
king's men  went on ahead, riding swiftly, and passed soon out of sight down 
into the valley. The others followed at an easy pace. 
     Ents in a  solemn  row stood like  statues at the gate, with their long 
arms  uplifted, but they made  no sound. Merry and  Pippin looked back, when 
they had passed some way down the winding road.  Sunlight was  still shining 
in the sky, but long shadows reached over Isengard: grey  ruins falling into 
darkness. Treebeard stood alone  there now, like the distant stump of an old 
tree: the hobbits thought of their first meeting, upon  the  sunny ledge far  
away on the borders of Fangorn. 
     They  came  to the pillar  of  the  White  Hand.  The  pillar was still


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'Yes,  we must go, and go  now,' said Gandalf. 'I fear that I must take 
your gatekeepers from you. But you will manage well enough without them.' 
     'Maybe I shall,' said Treebeard. 'But I shall miss them. We have become 
friends in so short a while that I think I must be getting  hasty  -- growing 
backwards towards youth, perhaps. But there,  they  are the first  new thing 
under  Sun or Moon that I  have seen  for many a long,  long day. I shall not 
forget them. I have put their names into the Long List.  Ents will  remember  
it. 
     Ents the earthborn, old as mountains, 
     the wide-walkers, water drinking; 
     and hungry as hunters, the Hobbit children, 
     the laughing-folk, the little people, 
     they shall remain friends as long as leaves are renewed. Fare you well! 
But if you hear news up in your pleasant land,  in the Shire,  send me word!  
You  know what I mean: word or sight of the Entwives. Come yourselves if 
you 
can!'


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refreshed yourselves?' 
     'We have,' said Merry. 'But  our discussions began and ended in  smoke. 
Still we feel less ill-disposed towards Saruman than we did.' 
     'Do you indeed?' said Gandalf.  'Well, I do not. I have now a last task  
to do  before I  go: I must pay Saruman  a  farewell visit.  Dangerous,  and 
probably  u seless; but it must be done.  Those of you who wish may come with 
me -- but beware! And do not jest! This is not the time for it.' 
     'I will  come,' said Gimli. 'I wish to see him and  learn  if he really 
looks like you.' 
     'And how will you learn  that,  Master Dwarf?'  said  Gandalf. 'Saruman


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two 
or  three together are to go openly over the land,  by day or night, when it 
can be avoided.' 
     'Nothing or a double helping is  your way!'  said Merry. 'I am afraid I 
was not looking beyond tonight's bed. Where and what are Helm's Deep and all 
the rest of it? I don't know anything about this country.' 
     'Then you'd best learn  something, if you  wish to  understand  what is 
happening.  But  not just  now, and not from  me: I have too  many  pressing 
things to think about.' 
     'All right, I'll tackle Strider by the camp-fire: he's less  testy. But 
why all this secrecy? I thought we'd won the battle!' 
     Yes,  we  have  won,  but  only  the first victor  and  that  in itself 
increases our danger. There was some link between Isengard and Mordor, 
which 
I have not yet fathomed. How they exchanged news I am not sure; but they did 
so.  The Eye  of Barad-dyr will be looking impatiently towards  the Wizard's


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Pippin now seemed curiously restless. The bracken cracked and rustled, as he 
twisted and turned. 
     'What's the matter?' asked Merry. 'Are you lying on an ant-hill?' 
     'No,'  said Pippin, 'but  I'm not  comfortable. I wonder how long it is 
since I slept in a bed?' 
     Merry  yawned. 'Work  it out on your fingers!' he said.  'But you  must  
know how long it is since we left Lurien.' 
     'Oh, that!' said Pippin. 'I mean a real bed in a bedroom.' 
     'Well,  Rivendell  then,'  said  Merry.  'But  I could  sleep  anywhere 
tonight.' 
     'You had the luck, Merry,' said Pippin softly, after a long pause. 'You  
were riding with Gandalf.' 
     'Well, what of it?' 
     'Did you get any news, any information out of him?' 
     'Yes, a good deal. More than usual. But you heard it all or most of it: 
you were close by,  and we were talking no secrets. But you  can go with him 
tomorrow, if you think you can get more out of him-and if he'll have you.'


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tree: the hobbits thought of their first meeting, upon  the  sunny ledge far  
away on the borders of Fangorn. 
     They  came  to the pillar  of  the  White  Hand.  The  pillar was still 
standing,  but the graven hand had  been thrown  down  and broken into small 
pieces. Right in the middle  of the road  the long forefinger lay,  white in 
the dusk, its red nail darkening to black. 
     'The Ents pay attention to every detail!' said Gandalf.  
     They rode on, and evening deepened in the valley. 
     'Are we riding far tonight,  Gandalf?'  asked  Merry after  a while. 'I  
don't  know  how you feel with small rag-tag  dangling  behind you; but  the 
rag-tag is tired and will be glad to stop dangling and lie down.' 
     'So you heard that?' said Gandalf. 'Don't let it rankle! Be thankful no 
longer words were aimed at you. He had his eyes on you. If it  is any comfort  
to your pride,  I should say that, at the moment, you and Pippin are more in


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But if you hear news up in your pleasant land,  in the Shire,  send me word!  
You  know what I mean: word or sight of the Entwives. Come yourselves if 
you 
can!' 
     'We  will!'  said Merry  and  Pippin together,  and  they  turned  away 
hastily.  Treebeard looked at them, and was silent for a while, shaking  his 
head thoughtfully. Then he turned to Gandalf.  
     'So Saruman would not leave?' he said. 'I did  not think  he would. His 
heart is as rotten as a black Huorn's. Still, if  I were overcome and all my 
trees destroyed, I would not come  while I had one dark  hole  left to  hide 
in.' 
     'No,'  said Gandalf.  'But  you have not plotted to  cover all the world


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####-about lay sleeping shapes. The  two guards were not in view: they were up on 
the hill, perhaps, or hidden in the bracken. Driven by some  impulse that he 
did not understand,  Pippin  walked  softly to  where Gandalf lay. He looked 
down at him. The wizard seemed asleep, but with lids not fully closed: there 
was a  glitter  of eyes under his long  lashes. Pippin stepped back hastily. 
But  Gandalf  made no sign;  and drawn forward once more, half  against  his 
will, the hobbit crept up again from behind the wizard's head. He was rolled 
in  a blanket, with  his cloak  spread over  the  top; and close beside him, 
between his right  side and  his  bent arm,  there was a hummock,  something 
round wrapped in a dark cloth; his hand seemed only just to have slipped off  
it to the ground. 
     Hardly breathing, Pippin  crept nearer, foot by  foot. At last he knelt 
down. Then he put his hands out  stealthily, and slowly  lifted the lump up:


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which 
I have not yet fathomed. How they exchanged news I am not sure; but they did 
so.  The Eye  of Barad-dyr will be looking impatiently towards  the Wizard's 
Vale, I think; and towards Rohan. The less it sees the better.' 
     The road passed  slowly, winding down the valley. Now  further, and now 
nearer Isen flowed in its stony bed. Night came down from the mountains. All 
the mists were gone. A  chill wind blew. The moon, now  waxing round, filled 
the eastern sky with a pale cold sheen.  The  shoulders of  the mountain  to 
their  right  sloped down to bare hills.  The wide plains opened grey before 
them. 
     At  last they halted. Then they turned aside,  leaving the highway  and 
taking to the sweet upland turf again. Going westward a mile or so they came 
to a dale. It  opened southward,  leaning back into the slope  of  round Dol


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####-with the moonlight gleaming on its surface. Then ther e came a faint glow and 
stir in the heart of it, and it held his eyes, so that now he could not look  
away. Soon all  the inside  seemed on fire;  the ball  was spinning,  or the 
lights within were  revolving. Suddenly the lights went out.  He gave a gasp  
and struggled; but  he  remained bent,  clasping the ball  with  both hands.  
Closer and closer he bent, and then became rigid; his lips moved soundlessly 
for a while. Then with a strangled cry he fell back and lay still. 
     The cry was  piercing. The guards  leapt down from  the banks.  All the 
camp was soon astir. 
     'So this is the thief!' said Gandalf.  Hastily  he cast his  cloak over  
the  globe where  it lay.  'But  you, Pippin!  This is a  grievous  turn  to 
things!' He knelt by  Pippin's body: the hobbit was lying on his back rigid, 
with unseeing eyes staring up at the sky. 'The devilry! What mischief has he


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longer words were aimed at you. He had his eyes on you. If it  is any comfort  
to your pride,  I should say that, at the moment, you and Pippin are more in 
his thoughts than all the rest of us.  Who you are; how  you came there, and 
why; what  you know;  whether you were captured,  and if so, how you escaped 
when all the Orcs perished -- it is with those little riddles that the great 
mind ¢f Saruman is troubled. A sneer from him, Meriadoc, is a compliment, if 
you feel honoured by his concern.' 
     'Thank  you!' said Merry. 'But it is a greater honour to dangle at your 
tail, Gandalf. For one thing, in that position one has a chance of putting a


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####-it!  Such things can be cured. But anyway, my dear hobbit, don't put  a lump  
of  rock  under  my  elbow  again! Now, I will leave you  two together for a  
while.' 
     With  that Gandalf  returned to the others, who  were still standing by 
the  Orthanc-stone in troubled thought. 'Peril comes in the night when least 
expected,' he said. 'We have had a narrow escape!' 
     'How is the hobbit, Pippin?' asked Aragorn. 
     'I think all  will  be well  now,' answered  Gandalf. 'He was  not held 
long, and  hobbits have  an  amazing power of  recovery. The memory, or  the 
horror of it, will probably fade  quickly. Too  quickly, perhaps. Will  you, 
Aragorn, take the Orthanc-stone and guard it? It is a dangerous charge.' 
     'Dangerous indeed, but not to all,' said Aragorn. 'There is one who may 
claim it by right.  For this assuredly  is the palantnr of Orthanc  from the 
treasury  of  Elendil, set here by  the Kings  of Gondor. Now my hour  draws 
near. I will take it.'


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####-'And tiny  stars. It seemed very far away and long ago, yet hard and  clear. 
Then the stars went in and out-they were  cut off by things with wings. Very 
big, I think, really; but  in the glass they looked like bats wheeling round 
the tower. I  thought  there  were nine of them.  One  began to fly straight 
towards  me, getting bigger and bigger. It had a horrible -- no, no! I can't  
say. 
     'I tried to get  away, because I thought  it would fly out; but when it 
had covered all the globe, it disappeared. Then he came. He did not speak so  
that I could hear words. He just looked, and I understood. 
     '"So you have come back? Why have you neglected to report for so long?" 
     'I did not answer. He said: "Who are you?" I still did not answer,  but 
it hurt me horribly; and he pressed me, so I said: "A hobbit." 
     'Then suddenly he seemed to see me, and he laughed at me. It was cruel. 
It was like being  stabbed with knives. I struggled.  But  he sa id: "Wait  a


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claim it by right.  For this assuredly  is the palantnr of Orthanc  from the 
treasury  of  Elendil, set here by  the Kings  of Gondor. Now my hour  draws 
near. I will take it.' 
     Gandalf looked  at Aragorn, and then, to the surprise of the others, he 
lifted the covered Stone, and bowed as he presented it. 
     'Receive it,  lord!' he said: 'in earnest of other things that shall be 
given back. But if I may counsel you in the use  of your own, do not use  it 
-- yet! Be wary!' 
     'When have I been hasty or unwary, who have  waited and prepared for so 
many long years?' said Aragorn. 
     'Never  yet.  Do not then  stumble at the end  of the  road,'  answered 
Gandalf. 'But  at the least keep this thing secret. You, and all others that 
stand  here! The hobbit, Peregrin,  above  all should not know  where it  is 
bestowed.  The evil fit may come on him again. For alas! he  has  handled it  
and  looked in it, as should never have  happened. He ought  never  to  have


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####-exactly. He was Saruman the White. Gandalf is the  White  now.  Saruman 
came 
when he was told, and  his rod was taken;  and then he was just told  to go, 
and he went!' 
     'Well, if Gandalf has changed at all, then he's closer than ever that's 
all,' Pippin argued. 'That-glass  ball, now. He seemed mighty  pleased  with 
it. He knows or  guesses something about i t. But does he tell  us  what? No, 
not  a word. Yet I picked it up, and I saved  it  from rolling into  a pool. 
Here, I'll take that, my lad -- that's all. I wonder what it  is? It felt so 
very heavy.' Pippin's voice fell very low as if he was talking to h imself.  
     'Hullo!' said  Merry. 'So that's what is bothering you? Now, Pippin  my 
lad, don't  forget Gildor's  saying  --  the one Sam  used to quote:  Do  not 
meddle in the at Fairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.' 
     'But  our  whole  life for  months  has been  one long meddling  in the


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'Then suddenly he seemed to see me, and he laughed at me. It was cruel. 
It was like being  stabbed with knives. I struggled.  But  he sa id: "Wait  a  
moment!  We shall meet again soon. Tell Saruman  that this dainty is not for  
him. I will send for it at once. Do you understand? Say just that!" 
     'Then  he gloated over me. I felt  I was  falling  to pieces. No, no! I 
can't say any more. I  don't remember anything else.' 
     'Look at me!' said Gandalf. 
     Pippin looked up straight into his eyes. The wizard held his gaze for a  
moment  in silence. Then  his face grew  gentler, and the shadow  of a smile 
appeared. He laid his hand softly on Pippin's head. 
     'All right!' he said. 'Say no more! You have taken no harm. There is no 
lie in your eyes, as I feared. But  he did not speak long with you.  A fool, 
but an honest  fool,  you remain, Peregrin Took. Wiser ones might  have done 
worse  in such  a  pass. But mark this!  You  have  been saved, and all your


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you were close by,  and we were talking no secrets. But you  can go with him 
tomorrow, if you think you can get more out of him-and if he'll have you.' 
     'Can I? Good! But he's close, isn't he? Not changed at all.' 
     'Oh  yes, he is!'  said Merry,  waking  up  a little, and  beginning to 
wonder what was bothering his companion. 'He has grown, or something. He 
can 
be  both  kinder  and  more alarming, merrier and more solemn than before, I 
think. He has changed; but  we have not had a chance to see  how  much, yet. 
But th ink of the last part of that  business  with Saruman! Remember Saruman 
was  once Gandalf's superior: head  of  the  Council, whatever  that  may be


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power and authority. 'Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey,  whom you betrayed. 
I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no colour 
now, 
and I cast you from the order and from the Council.' 
     He raised his hand, and spoke slowly in  a clear cold voice.  'Saruman, 
your  staff is broken.' There was  a  crack, and the staff  split asunder in 
Saruman's hand, and the head  of  it fell down at Gandalf's feet. 'Go!' said 
Gandalf. With a  cry Saruman fell back  and crawled away.  At that  moment a  
heavy shining thing  came hurtling down from  above. It glanced off the iron  
rail, even as Saruman left it, and passing close to Gandalf's head, it smote 
the stair on which  he  stood. The rail  rang and snapped . The stair cracked 
and splintered in glittering sparks. But the ball was unharmed: it rolled on  
down the steps, a globe of crystal, dark,  but glowing with a heart of fire. 
As it bounded away towards a pool Pippin ran after it and picked it up.


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####-with your trees and choke all other living things. But there  it is, Saruman 
remains to nurse his hatred and weave again such webs as he can.  He has the 
Key of Orthanc. But he must not be allowed to escape.' 
     'Indeed no!  Ents will see to that,' said Treebeard. 'Saruman shall not 
set foot beyond the rock, without my leave. Ents will watch over him.' 
     'Good!' said  Gandalf. 'That is what I  hoped. Now I can go and turn to 
other matters with one care the less.  But you must be wary. The waters have 
gone down. It will not be enough to put sentinels round the tower, I fear. I 
do  not  doubt  that  there were  deep ways  delved under Orthanc,  and that 
Saruman hopes to go and come  unmarked, before long.  If you  will undertake 
the labour, I beg you to pour in the waters again; and do so, until Isengard 
remains  a  standing  pool,  or  you  discover  the outlets.  When  all  the 
underground places are drowned, and  the outlets blocked, then  Saruman must


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bestowed.  The evil fit may come on him again. For alas! he  has  handled it  
and  looked in it, as should never have  happened. He ought  never  to  have  
touched it in Isengard,  and  there I should have been quicker. But my  mind 
was bent  on Saruman, and I did not at once  guess the  nature of the Stone. 
Then I was weary, and as I lay pondering it, sleep overcame me. Now I know!' 
     'Yes, there can  be no doubt,' said Aragorn. 'At last we know the link' 
between Isengard and Mordor, and how it worked. Much is explained.' 'Strange 
powers have our enemies, and strange  weaknesses!' said Thjoden. 'But it has 
long been said: oft evil will shall evil mar. ' 
     'That many times is seen,' said Gandalf. 'But at this time we have been 
strangely fortunate. Maybe, I  have been  saved by this  hobbit from a grave 
blunder. I  had considered whether or not to probe this Stone myself to find


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but an honest  fool,  you remain, Peregrin Took. Wiser ones might  have done 
worse  in such  a  pass. But mark this!  You  have  been saved, and all your 
friends too, mainly by good fortune, as it is called. You cannot count on it 
a second  time. If he had  questioned  you, then and there, almost certainly 
you would have told all that you know, to the ruin of us all. But he was too 
eager. He did not want information only: he wanted you,  quickly, so that he 
could deal with you in the  Dark Tower, slowly.  Don't shudder! If  you will 
meddle  in  the affairs  of Wizards, you  must  be prepared  to think of such 
things. But come! I forgive you. Be comforted! Things have not turned out as 
evilly as they might.' 
     He  lifted  Pippin  gently  and  carried  him  back to  his bed.  Merry 
followed, and sat down beside him. Lie there and rest, if you can,  Pippin!' 
said Gandalf. 'Trust me. If you feel an itch in your palms again, tell me of


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####-its uses. Had I done so, I should have been revealed to him myself. I am not  
ready for such a  trial, if indeed I  shall ever be so:  But even if I found 
the power to withdraw myself, it would be disastrous for  him to see me, yet  
-- until the hour comes when secrecy will avail no longer.' 
     'That hour is now come, I think,' said Aragorn. 
     'Not yet,' said Gandalf. 'There remains a short while of doubt which we 
must use. The Enemy, it is clear, thought that  the Stone was in  Orthanc  -- 
why should he not? And that therefore the hobbit  was captive there,  driven 
to look in the  glass for his  torment by  Saruman.  That dark mind will  be 
filled  now with  the voice  and face of the hobbit and with expectation: it 
may take some time before he  learns his error. We must snatch that time. We 
have been too leisurely. We must  move. The neighbourhood of  Isengard is no 
place now  to  linger in. I will  ride ahead at once with Peregrin  Took. It


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####-,wrapped in cloak and blanket. 
     'Farewell! Follow fast!' cried Gandalf. 'Away, Shadowfax!' 
     The  great  horse  tossed his  head. His  flowing tail  flicked in  the 
moonlight. Then he leapt forward, spurning the  earth, and was gone like the 
north wind from the mountains.  
     'A beautiful, restful  night!' said  Merry to Aragorn. 'Some folk  have 
wonderful luck. He did not want to sleep, and he wanted to ride with Gandalf 
-- and there he goes! Instead of being turned into  a stone himself to stand 
here for ever as a warning.' 
     'If  you had been the first to lift the Orthanc-stone, and not  he, how 
would it be now?' said Aragorn. 'You might have done worse. Who can say? 
But 
now it is your luck to come with me, I fear. At  once. Go and get ready, and  
bring anything that Pippin left behind. Make haste!' 
     Over the  plains  Shadowfax  was  flying,  needing  no  urging  and  no 
guidance. Less than  an hour  had  passed, and they had reached the Fords of


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####-     'To  see far  off, and to converse in thought with  one  another,' said 
Gandalf. 'In that way they long guarded and united the realm of Gondor. They 
set up Stones at Minas Anor, and at  Minas Ithil, and at Orthanc in the ring 
of Isengard. The  chief  and master of these was under  the Dome of Stars at 
Osgiliath before  its ruin. The three others were far  away in the North. In 
the house  of Elrond  it is told that they were at Ann®minas, and  Amon Syl, 
and Elendil's Stone was on the Tower Hills that look towards M ithlond in the 
Gulf of Lune where the grey ships lie. 
     'Each palantnr replied to each, but all those in Gondor were  ever open 
to the view of Osgiliath.  Now  it appears that,  as the rock of Orthanc has 
withstood  the  storms of time, so  there  the palantnr  of  that tower  has 
remained.  But alone  it could do nothing but see small images of things far 
off  and days remote. Very  useful, no doubt, that  was  to Saruman;  yet it


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have been too leisurely. We must  move. The neighbourhood of  Isengard is no 
place now  to  linger in. I will  ride ahead at once with Peregrin  Took. It 
will be better for him than lying in the dark while others sleep.' 
     'I will keep  Jomer and ten Riders,'  said the  king. 'They shall  ride 
with me at early day.  The rest may go with Aragorn and ride as soon as they 
have a mind.' 
     'As you  will,'  said Gandalf. 'But  make all  the speed you may to the 
cover of the hills, to Helm's Deep!' 
     At that moment  a shadow fell over them. The bright moonlight seemed to 
be suddenly cut  off. Several of the Riders cried out, and crouched, holding 
their  arms above  their hea ds, as if to ward off a blow from above: a blind 
fear and a deadly  cold fell on them. Cowering they looked up. A vast winged 
shape  passed over the moon like a  black cloud. It wheeled and went  north, 
flying at a speed greater than any wind of Middle-earth. The  stars  fainted


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remains  a  standing  pool,  or  you  discover  the outlets.  When  all  the 
underground places are drowned, and  the outlets blocked, then  Saruman must  
stay upstairs and look out of  the windows.' 
     'Leave it to  the Ents!' said Treebeard.  'We shall  search the  valley 
from head to foot and peer under every pebble. Trees are coming back to live 
here, old  trees,  wild trees. The Watchwood we will call it. Not a squirrel 
will go her e, but  I shall  know of it. Leave  it to Ents! Until seven times 
the years  in  which  he tormented  us  have passed,  we shall  not  tire of 
watching him.'


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it to the ground. 
     Hardly breathing, Pippin  crept nearer, foot by  foot. At last he knelt 
down. Then he put his hands out  stealthily, and slowly  lifted the lump up: 
it did not  seem quite  so heavy as he  had  expected. 'Only some  bundle of 
oddments, perhaps, after all,'  he thought  with  a strange sense of relief;  
but he did not put the bundle down again. He stood for a moment clasping it . 
Then an idea came into his mind.  He  tiptoed away, found a large stone, and  
came back. 
     Quickly now he drew off the cloth, wrapped the stone in it and kneeling 
down, laid it back by the wizard's hand. Then at last he looked at the thing 
that he had uncovered. There it was: a smooth globe of crystal, now dark and 
dead, lying bare before his knees. Pippin lifted it, covered it hurriedly in 
his own cloak, and half turned to go back to his bed. At that moment Gandalf 
moved in his sleep, and muttered some words: they seemed  to be in a strange


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things!' He knelt by  Pippin's body: the hobbit was lying on his back rigid, 
with unseeing eyes staring up at the sky. 'The devilry! What mischief has he  
done-to himself, and to all of us?' The wizard's face was drawn and haggard.  
     He took Pippin's hand and bent over his face, listening for his breath; 
then he laid  his hands on his brow.  The hobbit shuddered. His eyes closed.  
He cried  out;  and sat  up. staring in bewilderment at all the  faces round 
him, pale in the moonlight. 
     'It is not for you, Saruman!' he  cried in a shrill and toneless  voice 
shrinking away from Gandalf. 'I will send for it at once. Do you understand?  
Say just that!' Then he struggled to get up and escape but Gandalf held  him 
gently and firmly. 
     'Peregrin Took!' he said. 'Come back!' 
     The  hobbit relaxed  and  fell  back,  clinging  to  the wizard's hand. 
'Gandalf!' he cried. 'Gandalf! Forgive me!' 
     'Forgive you?' said the wizard. 'Tell me first what you have done!'


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remained.  But alone  it could do nothing but see small images of things far 
off  and days remote. Very  useful, no doubt, that  was  to Saruman;  yet it 
seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed, until  he 
cast his gaze upon Barad-dyr. Then he was caught! 
     'Who knows where the lost Stones of Arnor and Gondor now lie buried, or  
drowned deep? But  one. at least Sauron  must have obtained and  mastered to 
his purposes. I guess that  it was the Ithil-stone,  for he took Minas Ithil 
long ago and turned it into an evil place: Minas Morgul, it has become. 
     'Easy  it  is  now to guess how quickly the roving  eye of Saruman  was 
trapped and held; and how  ever  since he has been persuaded  from afar, and 
daunted when persuasion  would not serve. The biter bit, the  hawk under the 
eagle's foot, the spider  in a  steel web!  How long, I  wonder, has he been 
constrained to  come often to his glass for inspection and instruction,  and


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shape  passed over the moon like a  black cloud. It wheeled and went  north, 
flying at a speed greater than any wind of Middle-earth. The  stars  fainted 
before it. It was gone. 
     They stood up, rigid as stones. Gandalf was gazing up, his arms out and 
downwards, stiff, his hands clenched. 
     'Nazgyl!' he cried.  'The messenger of Mordor. The storm is coming. The  
Nazgyl have crossed the River!  Ride, ride! Wait  not for the  dawn! Let not  
the swift wait for the slow! Ride!' 
     He  sprang  away, calling Shadowfax  as  he ran.  Aragorn followed him.  
Going  to Pippin, Gandalf picked him up in his arms. 'You shall come with me 
this  time,' he said.  'Shadowfax shall show you his  paces.' Then he ran to 
the place  where he had slept. Shadowfax  stood there  already. Slinging the  
small bag which was all his luggage  across his  shoulders, the wizard leapt 
upon the  horse's back. Aragor n lifted Pippin and set him in Gandalf's arms,


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The  hobbit relaxed  and  fell  back,  clinging  to  the wizard's hand. 
'Gandalf!' he cried. 'Gandalf! Forgive me!' 
     'Forgive you?' said the wizard. 'Tell me first what you have done!' 
     'I, I  took  the  ball  and looked at it,' stammered Pippin; 'and I saw 
things that frightened me. And I wanted to go away, but I couldn't. And then 
he came  and questioned  me; and  he looked  at me, and,  and  that is all I 
remember.' 
     'That won't  do,' said Gandalf sternly. 'What did you see, and what did 
you say?' 
     Pippin shut his eyes and shivered, but said nothing. They all stared at 
him in  silence, except Merry who turned away. But  Gandalf's face was still  
hard.  'Speak!' he said. 
     In a low hesitating voice Pippin began again, and slowly his words grew 
clearer  and  stronger. 'I saw a  dark sky, and tall battlements,' he  said.


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eagle's foot, the spider  in a  steel web!  How long, I  wonder, has he been 
constrained to  come often to his glass for inspection and instruction,  and 
the Orthanc-stone so bent towards Barad-dyr  that, if  any  save  a will  of 
adamant now looks into it,  it will bear his mind and sight swiftly thither? 
And  how it draws  one to itself! Have I  not  felt it?  Even now  my  heart 
desires to test my will  upon it,  to see if I could not wrench it from  him 
and turn it where I  would-to look across the wide seas of water and of time 
to Tirion the Fair, and perceive the unimaginable hand and mind of Flanor at 
their work, while both  the  White Tree and the  Golden were  in flower!' He 
sighed and fell silent. 
     'I wish I had known all this before,' said Pippin. 'I had  no notion of 
what I was doing.' 
     'Oh yes,  you had,' said  Gandalf. 'You  knew you were behaving wrongly 
and  foolishly;  and you told yourself so,  though you did not listen. I did


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####-     'But I cannot tell how it will fall out, well or ill for us. It may  be 
that the counsels of the Enemy will  be confused,  or hindered by  his wrath 
with Saruman. It  may be that he will learn that  I was there and stood upon 
the stairs of Orthanc-with  hobbits at my tail. Or that  an heir  of Elendil 
lives and stood beside  me. If Wormtongue was not deceived by the  armour of 
Rohan, he would remember Aragorn and the title that he claimed. That is what 
I fear. And so we fly  -- not  from  danger but  into  greater danger.  Every 
stride of Shadowfax bears you nearer to the Land of Shadow, Peregrin Took.' 
     Pippin made no answer, but clutched his cloak, as if a sudden chill had 
struck him. Grey land passed under them. 
     'See now!' said Gandalf. 'The Westfold dales  are  opening  before  us.  
Here we come back to the eastward  road. The dark shadow yonder is the 
mouth 
of the  Deeping-coomb. That way lies Aglarond a nd the  Glittering Caves.  Do


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####-himself, murmuring brief snatches of rhyme in many tongues, as the miles ran 
under them. At last the wizard passed into a song of which the hobbit caught  
the  words: a few lines came clear  to his  ears  through the rushing of the 
wind: 
     Tall ships and tall kings 
     Three times three, 
     What brought they from the foundered land  
     Over the flowing sea? 
     Seven stars and seven stones 
     And one white tree. 
     'What are you saying, Gandalf?' asked Pippin. 
     'I was  just  running over  some of the  Rhymes  of  Lore in  my mind ' 
answered  the wizard. 'Hobbits,  I suppose, have forgotten  them, even those  
that they ever knew.' 
     'No, not  all,'  said  Pippin.  'And  we have many  of our  own,  which 
wouldn't interest you, perhaps. But I have never heard  this one. What is it 
about -- the seven stars and seven stones?' 
     'About the palantnri of the Kings of Old,' said Gandalf. 
     'And what are they?'


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what I was doing.' 
     'Oh yes,  you had,' said  Gandalf. 'You  knew you were behaving wrongly 
and  foolishly;  and you told yourself so,  though you did not listen. I did 
not tell you all this before, because  it is only by  musing on all that has


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Here we come back to the eastward  road. The dark shadow yonder is the 
mouth 
of the  Deeping-coomb. That way lies Aglarond a nd the  Glittering Caves.  Do 
not ask  me about them. Ask Gimli, if you meet again, and for the first time 
you  may  get an answer  longer than you wish.  You  will not see the  caves 
yourself, not on this journey. Soon they will be far behind.' 
     'I thought you were going to stop  at Helm's Deep!' said Pippin. 'Where 
are you going then?' 
     'To Minas Tirith, before the seas of war surround it.' 
     'Oh! And how far is that?' 
     'Leagues  upon  leagues,'  answered  Gandalf.  'Thrice as  far  as  the 
dwellings of King Thjoden, and they are more than a hundred  miles east from 
here, as  the  messengers of  Mordor fly. Shadowfax must run  a longer road.  
Which will prove the swifter? 
     'We  shall ride  now till  daybreak, and that is  some hours away.  Then 
even Shadowfax must  rest, in some hollow of the  hills: at Edoras, I  hope.


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Over the  plains  Shadowfax  was  flying,  needing  no  urging  and  no 
guidance. Less than  an hour  had  passed, and they had reached the Fords of 
Isen and crossed  them. The Mound of the Riders and its cold spears lay grey 
behind them. 
     Pippin was recovering. He  was warm, but the wind in his  face was keen 
and refreshing. He was  with  Gandalf. The horror of  the stone  and  of the 
hideous shadow over the  moon was fading, things left behind in the mists of 
the mountains or in a passing dream. He drew a deep breath. 
     'I did not know  you rode bare-back, Gandalf,' he said. 'You  haven't a  
saddle or a bridle!' 
     'I  do not ride elf-fashion,  except on Shadowfax,' said Gandalf.  'But 
Shadowfax will have no harness. You do not ride Shadowfax:  he is willing to 
carry you -or not. If he is willing, that is enough. It  is then his business 
to see that you remain on his back, unless you jump off into the air.'


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about -- the seven stars and seven stones?' 
     'About the palantnri of the Kings of Old,' said Gandalf. 
     'And what are they?' 
     'The name meant  that which looks far away. The Orthanc-stone was one.' 
     'Then it was not made, not made'  -- Pippin hesitated -- 'by the Enemy?' 
     'No,' said Gandalf. 'Nor by  Saruman. It is  beyond his art, and beyond  
Sauron's too. The palantnri came from beyond Westernesse  from Eldamar.  
The 
Noldor made  them. Flanor himself,  maybe, wrought them, in days so long ago 
that the time cannot be measured in years. But there is  nothing that Sauron 
cannot turn to evil uses. Alas for  Saruman! It was his downfall,  as  I now 
perceive.  Perilous to us all  are the devices  of an  art  deeper  than  we 
possess ourselves. Yet he must bear the blame. Fool!  to keep it secret, for  
his own  profit. No word did he ever  speak of it to any of the  Council. We 
had not yet given  thought  to the fate of  the palantnri of Gondor  in  its


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Which will prove the swifter? 
     'We  shall ride  now till  daybreak, and that is  some hours away.  Then 
even Shadowfax must  rest, in some hollow of the  hills: at Edoras, I  hope. 
Sleep, if  you can! You  may see the first  glimmer of dawn upon the  golden  
roof of  the house of Eorl. And in two days thence you shall see the  purple 
shadow  of Mount Mindolluin and the  walls of the tower of Denethor white in 
the morning. 
     'Away  now,  Shadowfax!  Run,  greatheart,  run as  you have never  run 
before! Now we are come to the lands  where you were foaled  and every stone 
you know. Run now! Hope is in speed!' 
     Shadowfax tossed his head and cried aloud, as if a trumpet had summoned 
him to battle. Then he sprang forward. Fire flew from his feet; night rushed 
over him.


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his own  profit. No word did he ever  speak of it to any of the  Council. We 
had not yet given  thought  to the fate of  the palantnri of Gondor  in  its 
ruinous wars. By Men they were almost forgotten. Even  in Gondor they were a  
secret known only to a few; in Arnor they were remembered only in a rhyme of 
lore among the D®nedain.' 
     'What  did  the Men of old use  them for?' asked Pippin, delighted  and 
astonished at getting answers to  so  many questions, and wondering how long 
it would last.


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####-get down, we'd find all that green land a nasty bog, I'll warrant. Phew! Can 
you smell it?' He sniffed at the wind. 
     'Yes, I can smell  it,'  said Frodo, but he did not move,  and his eyes 
remained fixed, staring out towards the  dark line and the flickering flame. 
`Mordor! ' he muttered under his breath. 'If I  must go there I wish I could 
come there quickly and make an  end! ' He shuddered. The wind was chilly and 
yet heavy with an odour of cold decay.  `Well,' he said, at last withdrawing 
his eyes, `we cannot stay here all night, fix or no fix. We must find a more 
sheltered spot,  and camp once more; and perhaps another  day will show us a 
path.' 
     'Or another and another and another,' muttered Sam.  `Or  maybe no day.  
We've come the wrong way.' 
     'I wonder,' said Frodo. 'It's my  doom, I think, to go  to  that Shadow 
yonder, so that a way will  be found.  But will good or evil show it to  me?


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his own cloak, and half turned to go back to his bed. At that moment Gandalf 
moved in his sleep, and muttered some words: they seemed  to be in a strange 
tongue; his hand groped  out  and clasped the  wrapped stone, then he sighed  
and did not move again. 
     'You  idiotic fool!' Pippin muttered  to himself. 'You're going  to get 
yourself into frightful  trouble. Put it back quick!'  But he found now that 
his knees  quaked, and he did not  dare to  go  near enough to the wizard to 
reach  the  bundle.  'I'll never get  it back  now without  waking  him,' he 
thought, 'not till I'm a bit calmer. S¢ I may as well have a look first. Not 
just  here though!'  He stole away, and sat down on a green hillock not  far 
from his bed. The moon looked in over the edge of the dell. 
     Pippin sat with his knees drawn up and the ball  between  them. He bent 
low over it, looking like a greedy  child stooping over a bowl of food, in a


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carry you -or not. If he is willing, that is enough. It  is then his business 
to see that you remain on his back, unless you jump off into the air.' 
     'How  fast is  he going?'  asked Pippin. 'Fast  by  the  wind, but very 
smooth. And how light his footfalls are!' 
     'He  is  running  now  as  fast  as  the swiftest horse could  gallop,' 
answered Gandalf; 'but that is not fast for him. The land is rising a little 
here, and is more broken than it was beyond the river. But see how the White 
Mountains are  drawing near under the stars! Yonder are the  Thrihyrne peaks 
like black spears. It will not  be long before we reach the  branching roads 
and come to the Deeping-coomb, where the battle was fought two nights ago.' 
     Pippin was silent again for a while. He heard Gandalf singing softly to


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meddle in the at Fairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.' 
     'But  our  whole  life for  months  has been  one long meddling  in the 
affairs  of Wizards,' said Pippin.  'I  should like a bit  of information as 
well as danger. I should like a look at that ball.' 
     'Go to  sleep!'  said Merry. 'You'll  get information enough, sooner or 
later. My  dear Pippin, no Took ever beat a  Brandybuck for inquisitiveness;  
but is this the time, I ask you?' 
     'All right! What's the harm in my  telling you  what  I should like:  a  
look  at that stone? I know I can't have it, with old Ganda lf sitting on it, 
like a hen on an egg. But it doesn't help much to get no more from you  than 
a you-can't-have-it so-go-to-sleep!' 
     'Well, what else could  I say?' said Merry. 'I'm sorry, Pippin, but you  
really must wait  till the  morning.  I'll  be as curious as you  like after  
breakfast, and I'll  help in any  way I can at wizard-wheedling. But I can't


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'Well, master,  we're in  a fix and  no mistake,'  sa id Sam  Gamgee. He 
stood despondently with hunched shoulders beside Frodo, and peered out  with 
puckered eyes into the gloom. 
     It was the third evening since they had fled from  the Company,  as far 
as they could  tell:  they had  almost lost count of  the  hours during which 
they had climbed and laboured among the barren slopes and stones of the 
Emyn 
Muil,  sometimes retracing  their  steps  because  they could  find  no  way 
forward,  sometimes discovering  that they  had wandered in a circle back to 
where they  had been hours before. Yet on the whole they had worked steadily 
eastward, keeping as near as they could find a way to the outer edge of this 
strange  twisted  knot of hills. But  always  they  found its  outward faces 
sheer,  high  and  impassable, frowning  over  the plain  below;  beyond its 
tumbled skirts lay livid festering marshes where nothing moved and not  even 
a bird was to be seen.


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####-now.' 
     `Nor me,' said  Sam. `Grrr!  Those eyes did give me a  turn! But perhaps 
we've shaken  him off at  last, the miserable slinker. Gollum! I'll give him 
gollum in his throat, if ever I get my hands on his neck.' 
     'I  hope  you'll never need to,'  said  Frodo.  `I don't  know  how  he 
followed us; but it may be that  he's lost us again, as you say. In this dry 
bleak  land we  can't leave  many  footprints, nor much scent, even  for his 
snuffling nose.' 
     'I hope that's the way of it,' said Sam. 'I wish we could be rid of him 
for good!' 
     'So do I,' said Frodo; 'but he's not my chief trouble. I wish we  could 
get away from these hills! I hate them. I feel all naked on  the  east side, 
stuck up here with  nothing but  the  dead  flats between me and that Shadow 
yonder. There's an Eye in it. Come on! We've got to get down today somehow.' 
     But  that day wore on, and  when  afternoon faded towards evening  they


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####-     As he  fell  slowly into  sleep, Pippin had a  strange feeling:  he and 
Gandalf  were  still as stone, seated  upon the  statue of a running  horse, 
while the world rolled away beneath his feet with a great noise of wind. 
 
 

####- * BOOK IV *  

 

 
 
 

Chapter 1. The Taming of Smjagol


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We've come the wrong way.' 
     'I wonder,' said Frodo. 'It's my  doom, I think, to go  to  that Shadow 
yonder, so that a way will  be found.  But will good or evil show it to  me?  
What hope we had was in speed. Delay plays into the Enemy's hands-and here I 
am: delayed. Is it the will of the Dark Tower that steers us? All my choices 
have proved ill. I should have  left the Company long  before, and come down 
from the North, east of the River and of the Emyn Muil, and so over the hard 
of Battle Plain  to the passes of Mordor. But now it isn't possible  for you  
and me alone to find a way back, and the Orcs are prowling on the east bank. 
Every  day that passes is a precious day lost. I am tired, Sam. I don't know 
what is to be done. What food have we got left?' 
     'Only those, what d'you call 'em, lembas, Mr. Frodo. A fair supply. But 
they are better than naught, by a long bite. I never thought, though, when I


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####-happened that I have at last  understood, even as we ride together. But if I  
had spoken sooner, it would not have lessened your desire, or made it easier  
to  resist.  On the  contrary! No, the burned hand teaches best. After  that 
advice about fire goes to the heart.' 
     'It does,' said  Pippin. 'If all the seven  stones were laid out before 
me now, I should shut my eyes and put my hands in my pockets.' 
     'Good!' said Gandalf. 'That is what I hoped.' 
     'But I should like to know--' Pippin began. 
     'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure 
of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my  days in answering 
you. What more do you want to know?' 
     'The  names  of all the stars, and of all living  things, and the whole 
history of Middle-earth and Over -heaven and of  the Sundering Seas ' laughed 
Pippin. 'Of  course!  What less? But I  am  not in  a hurry tonight.  At the


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Pippin sat with his knees drawn up and the ball  between  them. He bent 
low over it, looking like a greedy  child stooping over a bowl of food, in a  
corner away from  others. He drew his cloak aside and gazed at  it. The  air 
seemed still and tense about him. At first the globe was dark, black as jet,


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really must wait  till the  morning.  I'll  be as curious as you  like after  
breakfast, and I'll  help in any  way I can at wizard-wheedling. But I can't  
keep awake  any  longer. If I yawn any more, I shall split at the ears. Good  
night!' 
     Pippin said no more. He lay still now, but sleep remained far away; and 
it was not  encouraged by  the  sound of Merry breathing softly, asleep in a  
few minutes  after saying good night. 'The thought of  the dark globe seemed 
to grow stronger as all grew quiet.  Pippin felt  again its  weight  in  his 
hands, and saw again the mysterious red depths into which he had  looked for 
a moment. He tossed and turned and tried to think of something else. 
     At last he could stand it no longer. He got up and looked round. It was 
chilly, and he wrapped  his cloak about him.   The  moon was shining cold and 
white, down into  the  dell, and  the shadows of the bushes were black.  All


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####-air and looked up  doubtfully at the  sky. He strapped his belt  outside his 
cloak  and  tightened it, and settled  his  light pack on  his back; then he 
stepped towards the edge. `I'm going to try it,' he said. 
     `Very good! ' said Sam gloomily. `But I'm going first.' 
     'You? ' said Frodo. `What's made you change your mind about climbing?' 
     'I haven't changed my mind.  But it's only sense: put the one lowest as 
is most  likely to slip. I don't want to come down atop of you a nd knock you  
off no sense in killing two with one fall.' 
     Before Frodo  could  stop  him,  he  sat down,  swung his legs over the 
brink,  and twisted round, scrabbling with  his toes for a  foothold.  It is 
doubtful if he ever did anything braver in cold blood, or more unwise. 
     'No,  no! Sam, you  old ass! ' said Frodo.  `You'll kill  yourself  for  
certain going  over like that without  even a look to see what  to make for.


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history of Middle-earth and Over -heaven and of  the Sundering Seas ' laughed 
Pippin. 'Of  course!  What less? But I  am  not in  a hurry tonight.  At the 
moment  I was  just wondering about the  black  shadow. I  heard  you  shout 
"messenger of Mordor". What was it? What could it do at Isengard?' 
     'It was a Black Rider on wings, a Nazgyl,' said Gandalf. 'It could have 
taken you away to the Dark Tower . ' 
     'But it was not  coming  for me, was  it?' faltered Pippin. 'I mean, it 
didn't know that I had... ' 
     'Of course not,' said  Gandalf. 'It is two hundred  leagues or  more in 
straight  flight  from Barad-dyr to Orthanc, and even a Nazgyl  would take a  
few hours to fly between  them.  But Saruman certainly looked  in  the Stone  
since the orc-raid, and more of his secret thought, I do not doubt, has been 
read than he  intended. A  messenger has  been sent  to  find out what he is 
doing. And  after what has happened tonight another will come, I think,  and


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sheer,  high  and  impassable, frowning  over  the plain  below;  beyond its 
tumbled skirts lay livid festering marshes where nothing moved and not  even 
a bird was to be seen. 
     The hobbits stood now on the brink of a tall cliff, bare and bleak, its 
feet wrapped in mist; and behind them rose the broken highlands crowned with 
drifting  cloud. A chill wind` blew from the East. Night was gathering  over  
the shapeless  lands before them; the sickly  green of them was fading  to a  
sullen brown. Far away to the right the Anduin, that had gleamed fitfully in 
sun-breaks during the day, was now  hidden in shadow. But their eyes did not 
look beyond the  River,  back to Gondor, to  their friends, to the lands  of 
Men. South and east they stared to where, at the edge of the oncoming night,  
a dark line hung, like distant mountains  of motionless smoke. Every now and 
again a  tiny red gleam far away  flickered upwards on the rim of earth  and 
sky.


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yonder. There's an Eye in it. Come on! We've got to get down today somehow.' 
     But  that day wore on, and  when  afternoon faded towards evening  they 
were still scrambling along the ridge and had found no way of escape. 
     Sometimes in the silence of that barren country they fancied  that they 
heard faint sounds behind  them, a stone falling,  or the  imagined step  of 
flapping feet on the rock. But if they halted  and  stood  still  listening, 
they heard  no more,  nothing but  the  wind sighing over  the  edges of the 
stones -- yet even that reminded them of breath softly hissing through sharp 
teeth. 
     All that  day  the  outer  ridge of the  Emyn  Muil  had  been  bending 
gradually northward,  as  they  struggled  on.  Along  its  brink there  now 
stretched  a wide tumbled flat of scored and  weathered rock,  cut  every now  
and again by trench-like gullies that sloped steeply down to deep notches in


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####-their blood.  Out  here  in the waste its terror was far greater: it pierced 
them  with cold blades of horror and despair, stopping heart and breath. Sam 
fell flat on his face. Involuntarily Frodo loosed his hold and put his hands 
over his head and ears. He swayed,  slipped,  and slithered downwards with a 
wailing cry. 
     Sam  heard him and crawled with an effort to the edge. 'Master, master! 
' he called.  'Master!'.  
     He heard no answer.  He  found he was  shaking all over, but he gathered  
his breath, and once again he shouted: 'Master!' The wind seemed to blow his 
voice back into his throat, but as it passed, roaring up  the gully and away 
over the hills, a faint answering cry came to his ears:  
     'All right, all right! I'm here. But I can't see.' 
     Frodo  was  calling with a  weak voice. ,He  was not actually very  far 
away. He had slid and not fallen, and had come up with a jolt to his feet on


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####-relief. `Well, if I don't deserve  to be hung on the end of one as a warning 
to numbskulls!  You're nowt  but a ninnyhammer, Sam Gamgee: that's  what 
the 
Gaffer said to me often enough, it being a word of his. Rope!' 
     `Stop  chattering!' cried  Frodo,  now  recovered  enough to feel  both 
amused and annoyed. 'Never mind your Gaffer! Are you trying to tell yourself 
you've got some rope in your pocket? If so, out with it! 
     `Yes, Mr. Frodo, in my pack and  all.  Carried it hundreds of miles and 
I'd clean forgotten it!' 
     `Then get busy and let an end down!' 
     Quickly  Sam  unslung  his pack and rummaged in it. There indeed at the 
bottom was a coil  of the silken-grey rope made by the folk  of  Lurien.  He 
cast an end to his master. The darkness seemed to lift from Frodo's eyes, or  
else his sight was returning. He could see the grey line as it came dangling 
down, and he thought it had a faint silver sheen. Now that he had some point


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'Only those, what d'you call 'em, lembas, Mr. Frodo. A fair supply. But 
they are better than naught, by a long bite. I never thought, though, when I 
first set tooth in them, that I should ever come to wish for a change. But I 
do now: a bit of plain bread, and a mug -- aye, half  a mug  -- of beer would 
go down proper. I've lugged my cooking-gear all the way from the last  camp, 
and what use  has  it been? Naught  to  make a fire with, for  a start;  and 
naught to cook, not even grass!' 
     They turned  away and went down into a  stony hollow. The westering sun 
was caught into clouds,  and night came swiftly. They slept as  well as they 
could  for the  cold, turn and  turn about,  in a  nook among  great  jagged 
pinnacles of weathered rock; at  least they were sheltered from the easterly 
wind. 
     `Did you see them  again, Mr . Frodo?' asked Sam, as they sat, stiff and 
chilled, munching wafers of  lembas, in the cold grey of early morning.


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read than he  intended. A  messenger has  been sent  to  find out what he is 
doing. And  after what has happened tonight another will come, I think,  and 
swiftly. So Saruman will come to  the last pinch of the vice that he has put 
his  hand in. He has  no captive to  send. He has no Stone to see  with, and 
cannot answer the summons. Sauron will  only  believe that he  is withholding 
the captive and refusing to use the Stone. It will not  help Saruman to tell 
the truth to the messenger. For Isengard may be ruined, yet he is still safe 
in Orthanc. So  whether  he  will  or  no,  he  will appear a rebel. Yet  he 
rejected  us, so as  to  avoid  that very thing! What he will  do in such  a  
plight,  I  cannot guess.  He has power still, I think, while in Orthanc, to 
resist the Nine Riders. He may try to do so. He may try to trap  the Nazgyl, 
or  at least to slay the thing on which it now rides the  air. In  that case 
let Rohan look to its horses!


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####-would take them to the outer precipice. 
     `There's nothing for it but  to scramble down  this gully,  Sam,'  said 
Frodo. `Let's see what it leads to!' 
     'A nasty drop, I'll bet,' said Sam. 
     The  cleft  was  longer and deeper  than it seemed. Some way down  they 
found a  few gnarled and stunted  trees,  the first they  had seen for days: 
twisted birch for  the  most part, with here and there a fir -tree. Many were 
dead and gaunt, bitten to the core by the eastern winds. Once in milder days 
there must have been a fair thicket in the ravine, but now, after some fifty 
yards,  the  trees  came to  an end, though  old broken stumps  straggled on 
almost to the cliff's brink. The bottom of  the  gully, which  lay along the 
edge of a rock -fault, was rough with broken stone and slanted steeply  down. 
When they came at last to the end of it, Frodo stooped and leaned out. 
     `Look!' he said. `We must have come down a  long way, or else the cliff


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a dark line hung, like distant mountains  of motionless smoke. Every now and 
again a  tiny red gleam far away  flickered upwards on the rim of earth  and 
sky. 
     `What a fix! ' said Sam.  `That's the one place  in all the lands we've 
ever heard of that we  don't want to see any closer; and that's the one place 
we're trying  to  get  to! And  that's just where we can't get, nohow. We've 
come the wrong way altogether, seemingly. We can't get down;  and if  we did


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Frodo  was  calling with a  weak voice. ,He  was not actually very  far 
away. He had slid and not fallen, and had come up with a jolt to his feet on 
a wider ledge not  many yards lower down. Fortunately  the  rock -face at this 
point leaned well back and  the  wind had pressed him against the  cliff, so 
that he had not toppled  over. He steadied himself a little, laying his face 
against the cold stone, feeling  his heart pounding. But either the darkness 
had  grown  complete, or else  his eyes had lost  their sight. All was black  
about him. He wondered if he had been struck blind. He took a deep breath.  
     `Come  back!  Come  back! '  he heard Sam's voice out  of the blackness 
above. 
     `I can't,' he said. `I  can't see. I can't find any hold. I can't  move 
yet.' 
     `What  can  I do, Mr. Frodo? What can I do?  ' shouted Sam, leaning out 
dangerously far.  Why could not his master see?  It was dim, certainly,  but


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else his sight was returning. He could see the grey line as it came dangling 
down, and he thought it had a faint silver sheen. Now that he had some point  
in the darkness to  fix his eyes on, he felt less giddy. Leaning  his weight 
forward, he made the  end fast round his waist, and then he grasped the line 
with both hands.  
     Sam stepped back and braced his feet against a stump a yard or two from 
the edge.  Half hauled, half scrambling. Frodo came up  and threw himself on 
the ground. 
     Thunder growled  and  rumbled in the distance,  and the rain was  still 
falling heavily. The hobbits crawled away back into the gully; but  they did 
not find  much shelter there.  Rills of water began  to run down;  soon they 
grew to a spate that splashed and fumed on the  stones, and spouted out over  
the cliff like the gutters of a vast roof. 
     `I should have been half drowned down there, or washed clean off,' said 
Frodo. 'What a piece of luck you had that rope!'


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'No,  no! Sam, you  old ass! ' said Frodo.  `You'll kill  yourself  for  
certain going  over like that without  even a look to see what  to make for. 
Come back! '  He took Sam under  the armpits and hauled him up  again. 'Now,  
wait a bit and be patient! ' he said. Then he lay on the ground, leaning out 
and looking  down: but the light  seemed to be fading quickly, although  the  
sun had not yet set. 'I think we  could manage this,' he  said presently. `I  
could at any rate; and you could too. if you kept your  head and followed me  
carefully.' 
     `I don't know how you can be so sure,' said Sam. `Why! You can't see to 
the bottom in this light. What if you comes to a place where there's nowhere 
to put your feet or your hands?' 
     'Climb back, I suppose,' said Frodo. 
     'Easy said,' objected Sam. 'Better wait till morning and more light.' 
     `No! Not if I can help it,' said Frodo with a sudden strange vehemence.


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wind. 
     `Did you see them  again, Mr . Frodo?' asked Sam, as they sat, stiff and 
chilled, munching wafers of  lembas, in the cold grey of early morning. 
     'No,' said Frodo. `I've heard nothing, and seen nothing, for two nights


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stretched  a wide tumbled flat of scored and  weathered rock,  cut  every now  
and again by trench-like gullies that sloped steeply down to deep notches in  
the cliff-face. To find a path in  these clefts, which  were becoming deeper 
and more  frequent, Frodo  and Sam were driven to their left, well away from 
the edge, and they did not notice that for several miles they had been going 
slowly but steadily downhill: the cliff-top was sinking towards the level of 
the lowlands. 
     At last  they were brought to a  halt.  The ridge took  a  sharper bend 
nor thward and was gashed by  a deeper  ravine. On the further side it reared 
up again,  many fathoms at a single  leap: a great grey cliff  loomed before 
them, cut sheer down  as if by  a  knife stroke.  They could  go  no further 
forwards, and must turn now either west or east. But west  would  lead  them 
only  into more labour and delay, back towards the  heart of the hills; east


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When they came at last to the end of it, Frodo stooped and leaned out. 
     `Look!' he said. `We must have come down a  long way, or else the cliff 
has sunk. It's much lower here than it was, and it looks easier too.' 
     Sam knelt beside  him  and peered  reluctantly over the  edge.  Then he 
glanced up at the great  cliff rising up, away on  their left. `Easier! ' he 
grunted. `Well, I  suppose it's always easier getting down than up. Those as 
can't fly can jump!' 
     `It would be a big jump still,' said Frodo. `About, well'  --  he  stood 
for a moment measuring it with his eyes  -- `about eighteen  fathoms I should  
guess. Not more.' 
     'And that's enough! ' said Sam. `Ugh! How I do hate looking down from a 
height! But looking's better than climbing.' 
     `All the same,' said Frodo, `I think  we could climb here; and  I think  
we shall have to try. See -- the rock is quite different from  what it was a  
few miles back. It has slipped and cracked.'


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####-thirty ells, more or less,' he said. 
     'Who'd have  thought it!' Frodo exclaimed. 
     `Ah! Who would? ' said Sam. `Elves are wonderful folk. It looks  a  bit 
thin, but it's tough; and soft as milk to the  hand. Packs close too, and as 
light as light. Wonderful folk to be sure!' 
     `Thirty ells! '  said Frodo considering. 'I believe it would be enough. 
If the storm passes before nightfall, I'm going to try it.' 
     `The rain's nearly  given over already,'  said Sam;  'but  don't you go 
doing anything risky in the  dim again, Mr.  Frodo! And I  haven't  got over 
that shriek on the wind yet, if you have. Like a Black Rider it  sounded-but 
one up in the air, if they can fly.  I'm  thinking we'd  best lay up in this 
crack till night's over.' 
     'And I'm  thinking that I won't spend a moment longer than I need stuck  
up on this edge with the eyes of the Dark Country looking over the marshes,' 
said Frodo.


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yet.' 
     `What  can  I do, Mr. Frodo? What can I do?  ' shouted Sam, leaning out 
dangerously far.  Why could not his master see?  It was dim, certainly,  but 
not as dark as all that. He could see Frodo below him, a grey forlorn figure 
splayed against  the cliff. But  he was far out of the  reach of any helping 
hand. 
     There  was another crack  of  thunder;  and then  the  rain came.  In a  
blinding sheet, mingled with hail, it drove against the cliff, bitter cold. 
     'I'm  coming  down to you,' shouted Sam, though how he hoped to help in 
that way he could not have said. 
     `No,  no!  wait!  ' Frodo  called back, more strongly now. `I  shall be 
better  soon. I feel  better already. Wait! You can't do anything  without a  
rope.' 
     `Rope!'  cried  Sam, talking wildly to himself  in  his  excitement and


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####-come. The mouth  of the gully was a black notch in the  dim cliff. `I'm glad 
we've got  the rope,' he said. 'We've set a little puzzle for  that footpad, 
anyhow. He can try his nasty flappy feet on those ledges!' 
     They  picked  their  steps away from the  skirts of the cliff,  among a  
wilderness of boulders  and  rough stones, wet  and slippery with the  heavy  
rain.  The ground still fell  away  sharply. They had not gone very far when 
they came upon a great fissure that yawned suddenly black before their feet. 
It was not wide,  but it was too wide to  jump across in the dim light. They 
thought they  could hear water  gurgling in  its  depths. It curved  away  on 
their  left  northward, back  towards the hills. and so barred their road in 
that direction, at any rate while darkness lasted. 
     'We had better try a way back southwards along the line of the cliff, I 
think,'  said  Sam.  `We might  find some  nook  there, or  even  a cave  or  
something.'


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'Climb back, I suppose,' said Frodo. 
     'Easy said,' objected Sam. 'Better wait till morning and more light.' 
     `No! Not if I can help it,' said Frodo with a sudden strange vehemence. 
`I grudge every hour, every minute. I'm  going down to try it out.  Don't you  
follow till I come back or call!' 
     Gripping  the stony lip of  the  fall with  his fingers he  let himself 
gently down, until when his arms were almost at full stretch, his toes found 
a ledge.  'On_ e step down!  ' he  said. 'And this ledge broadens out to the 
right. I could stand there without a hold. I'll--' his words were cut short. 
     The  hurrying  darkness, now gathering  great speed, rushed up from the 
East and swallowed the sky. There was a dry splitting crack of thunder right  
overhead. Searing  lightning smote down into the hills. Then came a blast of 
savage wind, and with  it, mingling with its  roar, there came a high shrill


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####-other name your Gaffer gave you,' said Frodo. `Climb up and untie it and let  
yourself down, if you want to! ' 
     Sam scratched his head. `No,  I can't think how, begging  your pardon,' 
he  said. `But I don't like leaving it, and that's  a fact.' He  stroked the 
rope's  end  and  shook  it  gently.  `It goes  hard parting with anything I 
brought  out  of  the  Elf-country. Made  by Galadriel herself, too,  maybe. 
Galadriel,' he murmured  nodding his head  mournfully. He looked up and gave 
one last pull to the rope as if in farewell. 
     To  the  complete surprise of both the hobbits it came loose. Sam  fell 
over, and the long grey coils slithered silently down  on top  of him. Frodo 
laughed. `Who  tied the rope? ' he said. `A good thing it held as long as it 
did! To think that I trusted all my weight to your knot!' 
     Sam did not laugh. `I may not be much good at climbing, Mr.  Frodo,' he


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we shall have to try. See -- the rock is quite different from  what it was a  
few miles back. It has slipped and cracked.' 
     The outer fall  was  indeed no  longer  sheer,  but  sloped outwards  a  
little. It looked  like a great rampart or  sea -wall whose  foundations  had 
shifted, so that  its courses were all twisted and disordered, leaving great 
fissures  and  long  slanting edges that were in places  almost as  wide  as 
stairs. 
     `And if we're going to try and  get down, we had better  try  at  once. 
It's getting dark early. I think there's a storm coming.' 
     The smoky  blur of the mountains  in the  East  was  lost  in a  deeper  
blackness that was already reaching out  westwards with long arms. There was 
a distant  mutter of  thunder borne on the rising breeze. Frodo sniffed  the


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####-`Then I think  you  shall have your wish this time and go first. I'll  lower  
you, and you need do no more than use  your feet and hands  to fend yourself 
off the rock. Though, if you put your weight on  some of the ledges and give 
me a  rest, it will help. When you're down, I'll follow. I feel quite myself 
again now.' 
     'Very well,' said Sam heavily. `If it must be, let's get it  over! ' He 
took up the rope and made it fast over the stump nearest  to the brink; then 
the  other  end  he tied about  his own waist.  Reluctantly  he  turned  and 
prepared to go over the edge a second time. 
     It did not, however, turn  out half as bad as he had expected. The rope 
seemed  to give him confidence, though he  shut his eyes more than once when 
he looked down between his feet. There was one awkward spot, where there 
was 
no ledge and the wa ll was sheer and even undercut for  a short  space; there


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the cliff like the gutters of a vast roof. 
     `I should have been half drowned down there, or washed clean off,' said 
Frodo. 'What a piece of luck you had that rope!' 
     `Better  luck  if  I'd thought  of  it sooner,'  said Sam.  'Maybe  you  
remember them putting the  ropes in the boats,  as we started  off:  in  the 
elvish country. I took a fancy to it, and  I stowed a coil in my pack. Years 
ago, it seems.  "It may be a help in many needs," he said: Haldir, or one of 
those folk. And he spoke right.' 
     `A  pity I didn't think of bringing another length,' said Frodo; `but I 
left  the  Company in such a hurry and confusion. If  only  we had enough we 
could use it to get down. How long is your rope, I wonder?' 
     Sam paid it out slowly, measuring it with his arms: 'Five, ten, twenty,


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crack till night's over.' 
     'And I'm  thinking that I won't spend a moment longer than I need stuck  
up on this edge with the eyes of the Dark Country looking over the marshes,' 
said Frodo. 
     With  that he stood up and went  down to the bottom of the gully again. 
He looked out.  Clear sky  was  growing in the East once more. The skirts of 
the  storm were lifting, ragged and wet, and the  main  battle had passed to 
spread its great wings over the Emyn  Muil; upon which  the dark thought  of 
Sauron brooded for a  while.  Thence it turned, smiting  the Vale of  Anduin 
with hail  and lightning,  and  casting its shadow upon  Minas  Tirith  with 
threat  of  war.  Then,  lowering in the mountains,  and gathering its great 
spires,  it rolled on slowly over Gondor  and the skirts of Rohan, until far 
away the Riders on  the plain saw its black towers mov ing behind the sun, as 
they  rode into the West. But here, over the desert and the  reeking marshes


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####-nasty crawling spider on a wall.' 
     Down the face of a precipice, sheer  and almost smooth it seemed in the 
pale moonlight, a small black shape was moving with its thin  limbs  splayed 
out. Maybe its soft clinging  hands and toes were finding crevices and holds 
that no hobbit could ever have seen or used, but it looked as if it was just  
creeping down on sticky pads, like some large prowling thing of insect-kind.  
And it was coming down  head  first, as  if it was smelling its way. Now and 
again it lifted its head slowly, turning  it  right back on  its long skinny 
neck, and the hobbits  caught  a glimpse of two small pale gleaming  lights,  
its eyes that blinked at the moon  for a moment and then were quickly lidded  
again. 
     `Do you think he can see us? ' said Sam. 
     `I don't know,' said Frodo  quietly, `but I think not. It  is hard even 
for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot  see you in the shadow


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'We had better try a way back southwards along the line of the cliff, I 
think,'  said  Sam.  `We might  find some  nook  there, or  even  a cave  or  
something.' 
     'I  suppose so,'  said  Frodo.  'I'm tired.  and  I don't  think I  can 
scramble among stones much  longer tonight --  though  I grudge the delay. I 
wish there was a clear path in front of us: then I'd go on till my legs gave 
way.' 
     They did not find the going  any easier at the  broken feet of the Emyn 
Muil. Nor did Sam find any nook  or hollow  to shelter in: only  bare  stony 
slopes frowned  over  by the  cliff, which  now rose again, higher  and more 
sheer as they went back. In the end, worn out, they  just cast themselves on 
the ground  under the lee  of a boulder lying not far  from the foot of  the 
precipice. There  for some time  they sat huddled mournfully together in the 
cold stony night, while sleep crept  upon them in spite of all they could do


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did! To think that I trusted all my weight to your knot!' 
     Sam did not laugh. `I may not be much good at climbing, Mr.  Frodo,' he 
said in injured tones, `but I do know something  about rope and about knots.  
It's in the family, as you might  say. Why, my grand-dad, and my  uncle Andy 
after him, him that  was the Gaffer's eldest brother he had a rope-walk over 
by Tighfield many a year.  And I put as fast a hitch  over the  stump as any 
one could have done, in the Shire or out of it.' 
     `Then the rope must have broken  -- frayed on the rock -edge, I expect,' 
said Frodo. 
     `I bet it didn't! ' said Sam in an  even more injured voice. He stooped 
and examined the ends. `Nor it hasn't neither. Not a strand!' 
     'Then I'm afraid it must have been the knot,' said Frodo. 
     Sam shook his  head and did not answer. He was passing the rope through 
his  fingers  thoughtfully. `Have it  your own way, Mr.  Frodo,' he  said at


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####-hissed.  `Nassty,  nassty shivery light it is  -- sss  --  it  spies on  us,  
precious -- it hurts our eyes.' 
     He was getting  lower now and the  hisses became  sharper  and clearer. 
'Where iss it, where iss it: my Precious, my Precious? It's ours, it is, and 
we wants it. The thieves, the thieves, the filthy  little thieves. Where are 
they with my Precious? Curse them! We hates them.' 
     `It doesn't sound as if he knew we were here, does it? ' whispered Sam. 
`And what's his Precious? Does he mean the' 
     `Hsh!  ' breathed  Frodo. 'He's getting near now, near enough to hear a  
whisper.' 
     Indeed Gollum  had suddenly paused again,  and his  large  head on  its 
scrawny neck was  lolling from side to side as if he was listening. His pale 
eyes were  half  unlidded. Sam restrained  himself, though his fingers  were 
twitching. His  eyes,  filled with anger  and  disgust,  were  fixed  on the


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`I don't know,' said Frodo  quietly, `but I think not. It  is hard even 
for friendly eyes to see these elven-cloaks: I cannot  see you in the shadow 
even at a  few paces. And I've heard that he doesn't like Sun or Moon.' 
     `Then why is he coming down just here? ' asked Sam. 
     'Quietly, Sam! ' said Frodo. `He can smell us, perhaps. And he can hear 
as keen as  Elves, I believe. I think he has heard something  now: our voices 
probably. We did a lot of shouting  away back there; and we were talking far 
too loudly until a minute ago.' 
     `Well, I'm sick of him,' said Sam. `He's come once too often for me and 
I'm going to have a word with him, if I can. I don't suppose  we  could give 
him the slip  now anyway.' Drawing his grey  hood well  over  his  face, Sam 
crept stealthily towards the cliff.  
     `Careful!' whispered Frodo coming behind.  `Don't  alarm him! He's much 
more dangerous than he looks.'


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####-upon a time. Let go, or you'll feel it this time! I'll cut your throat.' 
     Gollum collapsed and went as loose as wet string. Sam got up, fingering 
his  shoulder.  His eyes  smouldered  with  anger, but  he could  not avenge 
himself: his miserable enemy lay grovelling on the stones whimpering. 
     `Don't hurt  us! Don't let them hurt us,  precious! They won't hurt  us 
will they, nice little hobbitses?  We didn't mean no harm, but they jumps on 
us like cats on poor mices, they did, precious. And we're so lonely, gollum. 
We'll be nice to them, very nice, if they'll be  nice to  us, won't we, yes, 
yess.' 
     `Well, what's to be done with it? '  said  Sam.  `Tie  it up, so  as it 
can't come sneaking after us no more, I say.' 
     `But  that would kill  us, kill  us,'  whimpered  Gollum. `Cruel little 
hobbitses. Tie us up in the cold hard lands  and leave us,  gollum, gollum. ' 
Sobs welled up in his gobbling throat.


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precipice. There  for some time  they sat huddled mournfully together in the 
cold stony night, while sleep crept  upon them in spite of all they could do 
to hold it off.  The moon now rode high and  clear. Its thin white light lit 
up the faces of the rocks and drenched the cold frowning walls of the cliff, 
turning  all the wide  looming darkness into a   chill  pale grey scored with 
black shadows. 
     'Well! '  said  Frodo, standing up and drawing  his cloak more  closely 
round him.  `You  sleep for a bit Sam and take my blanket.  I'll walk up and 
down on sentry for a while.' Suddenly he stiffened,  and stooping he gripped  
Sam by the  arm. `What's  that?  '  he whispered. `Look  over  there on  the 
cliff!' 
     Sam looked and breathed in  sharply through his teeth. `Ssss!' he said. 
'That's what it is. It's that Gollum! Snakes and adders! And to think tha t I 
thought that  we'd puzzle him with our bit of a climb! Look at  him!  Like a


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Sam shook his  head and did not answer. He was passing the rope through 
his  fingers  thoughtfully. `Have it  your own way, Mr.  Frodo,' he  said at 
last, `but I think the  rope came off itself  -- when I called.' He coiled it 
up and stowed it lovingly in his pack. 
     'It certainly came,' said Frodo, `and that's the  chief thing.  But now 
we've got to think of our next move. Night will be on us soon. How beautiful 
the stars are, and the Moon!' 
     'They do cheer  the heart, don't they?  ' said Sam looking up.  'Elvish 
they  are. somehow. And the Moon's growing. We haven't  seen him for a night 
or two in this cloudy weather. He's beginning to give quite a light.' 
     'Yes,' said Frodo; `but he  won't be full for some  days. I don't think  
we'll try the marshes by the light of half a moon.' 
     Under the first shadows of night they started  out on the next stage of 
their journey. After  a while Sam turned and looked back at the way they had


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eyes were  half  unlidded. Sam restrained  himself, though his fingers  were 
twitching. His  eyes,  filled with anger  and  disgust,  were  fixed  on the 
wretched  creature as  he  now  began  to  move again,  still whispering and 
hissing to himself.  
     At last he wa s no more than a  dozen  feet from the ground, right above 
their  heads. From that  point  there  was a sheer  drop, for  the cliff was 
slightly undercut,  and  even Gollum could not find a hold of any  kind.  He 
seemed to be trying to twist round, so  as to go legs  first, when  suddenly 
with a shrill whistling shriek he fell. As he did so, he curled his legs and 
arms up round him, like a spider whose descending thread is snapped. 
     Sam was out of his hiding in a flash and crossed the  space between him 
and the cliff foot in  a couple of leaps. Before Gollum could get up, he was 
on top of him.  But he  found Gollum more than he bargained for, even  taken


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he looked down between his feet. There was one awkward spot, where there 
was 
no ledge and the wa ll was sheer and even undercut for  a short  space; there 
he slipped and  swung  out on the silver  line. But Frodo lowered him slowly 
and steadily, and  it was over at  last. His  chief  fear had been  that the 
rope-length would give out while he was still high up, but there was still a  
good bight in Frodo's hands, when Sam came to the bottom and called up: `I'm 
down! ' His voice came up clearly from below,  but Frodo could not see  him; 
his grey elven-cloak had melted into the twilight. 
     Frodo took rather  more time to follow him. He had the  rope  about his 
waist and  it was fast above, and he had shortened it so that it  would pull 
him up before  he  reached the ground; still he did not want to risk a fall, 
and he had not quite  Sam's faith in  this   slender grey line.  He found two 
places, all  the  same,  where he had to trust wholly to it: smooth surfaces


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crept stealthily towards the cliff.  
     `Careful!' whispered Frodo coming behind.  `Don't  alarm him! He's much 
more dangerous than he looks.' 
     The black crawling shape was now three-quarters  of  the way down,  and 
perhaps fifty feet or less above the cliff's  foot. Crouching stone-still in 
the shadow of a large  boulder the hobbits watched him.  He seemed  to  have 
come  to a  difficult passage or  to be troubled about something. They could  
hear him snuffling, and now and again there was a harsh  hiss of breath that 
sounded like  a curse. He lifted his head, and they  thought  they heard him 
spit. Then  he  moved on again. Now they could hear  his voice creaking  and 
whistling. 
     `Ach,  sss! Cautious, my precious! More haste  less speed.  We musstn't 
rissk our neck, musst we, precious? No, precious  -- gollum!'  He lifted his 
head again, blinked at the moon, and quickly shut his eyes. `We hate it,' he


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overhead. Searing  lightning smote down into the hills. Then came a blast of 
savage wind, and with  it, mingling with its  roar, there came a high shrill 
shriek. The hobbits had heard just such a cry far away in the Marish as they 
fled  from Hobbiton, and even there  in the woods of the Shire it had frozen


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`But  that would kill  us, kill  us,'  whimpered  Gollum. `Cruel little 
hobbitses. Tie us up in the cold hard lands  and leave us,  gollum, gollum. ' 
Sobs welled up in his gobbling throat. 
     `No,'  said Frodo. `If we kill him, we  must kill him outright. But  we 
can't do that, not as things are. Poor wretch! He has done us no harm.' 
     `Oh hasn't  he! ' said Sam rubbing his  shoulder.  `Anyway he meant to, 
and he means to, I'll warrant. Throttle us in our sleep, that's his plan.' 
     'I daresay,' said Frodo. `But what he means  to  do is another matter.' 
He paused for  a while in thought. Gollum lay still, but stopped whimpering. 
Sam stood glowering over him. 
     It seemed  to Frodo  then  that he  heard,  quite  plainly but far off,  
voices out of the past: 
     What a pity Bilbo did not stub the vile creature, when he had a chance! 
     Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and  Mercy: not to strike 
without need.


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and he had not quite  Sam's faith in  this   slender grey line.  He found two 
places, all  the  same,  where he had to trust wholly to it: smooth surfaces 
where there was no hold even  for  his strong hobbit  fingers and the ledges 
were far apart. But at last he too was down. 
     `Well!' he cried.  `We've done it! We've escaped from the Emyn Muil! And 
now what next, I  wonder? Maybe we shall soon  be sighing for good hard rock  
under foot again.' 
     But   Sam  did   not  answer:  he  was   staring  back  up  the  cliff.  
`Ninnyhammers!  ' he said. `Noodles! My beautiful rope! There it is tied to a  
stump,  and  we're  at the  bottom.  Just  as  nice a little stair for  that 
slinking Gollum as we could leave. Better put up a signpost to say which way 
we've gone! I thought it seemed a bit too easy.' 
     `If you can think of any way  we could have both used the rope and  yet 
brought  it down with  us, then you  can  pass on to me ninnyhammer, or  any


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####-won't kill us, nice hobbits.' 
     'No,  we won't,'  said Frodo. `But we won't  let you go, either. You're 
full  of  wickedness and  mischief, Gollum. You will  have to come with  us,  
that's all, while we keep an eye on you. But you must help us, if  you  can. 
One good turn deserves another.' 
     'Yess, yes indeed,' said Gollum sitting up. 'Nice hobbits! We will come 
with them. Find them safe paths in the dark, yes we will. And where are they 
going in these cold hard  lands, we  wonders, yes we wonders? ' He looked up 
at them, and a faint  light of cunning  and eagerness flickered for a second 
in his pale blinking eyes. 
     Sam scowled at him,  and sucked his  teeth; but he seemed to sense that 
there was  something  odd  about his master's  mood and that the  matter was 
beyond argument. All the same he was amazed at Frodo's reply. 
     Frodo  looked straight into Gollum's eyes  which  flinched  and twisted


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####-     'Your rope might prove useful again, Sam.' he said. 
     Sam  got  out the  rope. 'And  where were you  off  to in the cold hard 
lands, Mr. Gollum?' he growled. 'We wonders.  aye,  we wonders. To find 
some 
of  your orc-friends,  I warrant. You nasty treacherous creature. It's round 
your neck this rope ought to go, and a tight noose too.' 
     Gollum lay quiet and tried  no further tricks.  He did not  answer Sam, 
but gave him a swift venomous look. 
     `All we need is something to keep a hold on him,' said Frodo. 'We  want 
him  to walk, so it's  no good  tying his legs-or his arms. he seems to  use 
them nearly as much. Tie one end to his  ankle, and keep a grip on the other  
end.' 
     He  stood over Gollum, while Sam  tied the  knot. The  result surprised 
them both. Gollum  began to scream, a thin, tearing sound, very  horrible to 
hear. He writhed, and tried to get his mouth to his ankle and bite the rope.  
He kept on screaming.


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####-it is more treacherous than you are. It may twist your words. Beware!' 
     Gollum cowered. 'On the Precious. on the Precious! ' he repeated. 
     `And what would you swear? ' asked Frodo. 
     `To be very very good,' said Gollum.  Then crawling to Frodo's  feet he 
grovelled before him, whispering hoarsely: a shudder ran over him, as if the 
words shook his very  bones with fear. 'Smjagol will swear never,  never, to 
let Him  have  it.  Never! Smjagol will save  it. But  he  must swear on the 
Precious.' 
     'No! not on it,' said Frodo, looking  down at him with stern pity. 'All 
you wish is  to see it and touch it, if  you can,  though you know  it would 
drive you mad. Not on it. Swear by it,  if you  will. For you know  where it 
is. Yes,  you know, Smjagol. It is before you.' 
     For  a moment it appeared to Sam that  his master had  grown and Gollum 
had shrunk: a  tall stern shadow, a mighty lord  who hid  his  brightness in


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and the cliff foot in  a couple of leaps. Before Gollum could get up, he was 
on top of him.  But he  found Gollum more than he bargained for, even  taken 
like that,  suddenly, off  his guard after  a  fall. Before Sam  could get a  
hold, long legs  and arms  were  wound round  him  pinning  his  arms, and a  
clinging grip, soft  but  horribly  strong, was  squeezing  him  like slowly  
tightening  cords;  clammy fingers were feeling for  his throat.  Then sharp 
teeth bit into his shoulder. All he could do was to butt his hard round head 
sideways into  the creature's face. Gollum hissed and spat, but  he did  not 
let go. 
     Things  would have gone  ill with  Sam, if he had been alone. But Frodo 
sprang  up, and drew  Sting from its sheath. With his left hand he drew back  
Gollum's head by his thin lank hair, stretching  his long neck, and  forcing 
his pale venomous eyes to stare up at the sky. 
     `Let go! Gollum,' he said. `This is Sting. You have seen it before once


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away the Riders on  the plain saw its black towers mov ing behind the sun, as 
they  rode into the West. But here, over the desert and the  reeking marshes 
the  deep  blue sky of  evening  opened once  more, and  a few  pallid stars 
appeared, like small white holes in the canopy above the crescent moon. 
     `It's good  to be able to see again,' said Frodo,  breathing  deep. `Do 
you know, I thought for a  bit that I had lost my sight? From  the lightning 
or something else worse. I could see nothing, nothing at all, until the grey 
rope came down. It seemed to shimmer somehow.' 
     `It does look  sort of silver in the dark,' said Sam. `Never noticed it 
before, though I can't remember as I've ever had it out since I first stowed 
it. But if you're so set on climbing, Mr. Frodo,  how  are you  going to use 
it?  Thirty ells, or  say, about eighteen fathom: that's  no  more than your 
guess at the height of the cliff.'


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beyond argument. All the same he was amazed at Frodo's reply. 
     Frodo  looked straight into Gollum's eyes  which  flinched  and twisted 
away. `You know that, or  you guess  well enough, Smjagol,' he said. quietly 
and sternly. `We are going to Mordor, of course. And you know the way there, 
I believe.' 
     `Ach! sss! ' said Gollum, covering his  ears with his hands, as if such 
frankness, and the open speaking of the names, hurt him. `We guessed, yes we 
guessed,' he  whispered;  `and we didn't  want  them  to  go,  did  we?  No, 
precious, not the nice hobbits. Ashes, ashes, and dust, and thirst there is;  
and pits, pits, pits, and Orcs, thousands of Orcses. Nice hobbits mustn't go 
to -- sss  -- those places.' 
     `So you have been there?  ' Frodo insisted. `And you're being drawn back  
there, aren't you?' 
     `Yess. Yess. No! ' shrieked Gollum. `Once, by  accident it  was, wasn't  
it, precious? Yes, by accident. But we won't go back, no, no!' Then suddenly


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voices out of the past: 
     What a pity Bilbo did not stub the vile creature, when he had a chance! 
     Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and  Mercy: not to strike 
without need. 
     I do not feel any pity for Gollum. He deserves death. 
     Deserves  death! I daresay  he does. Many that live  deserve death. And 
some die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then be not too eager 
to  deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even 
the wise cannot see all ends. 
     `Very well,' he answered aloud, lowering  his  sword. 'But  still  I am 
afraid. And yet, as you see,  I will not touch  the creature. For now that I 
see him, I do pity him.' 
     Sam stared at his master, who seemed to be speaking to some one who was 
not there. Gollum lifted his head. 
     'Yess,  wretched we are,  precious,' he whined. 'Misery misery! Hobbits


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####-thought it far from pleasant. 
     Alive without breath; 
     as cold as death; 
     never thirsting, ever drinking; 
     clad in mail, never clinking. 
     Drowns on dry land, 
     thinks an island 
     is a  mountain; 
     thinks a fountain  
     is a puff of air. 
     So sleek, so fair! 
     What a joy to meet! 
     We only wish 
     to catch a fish, 
     so juicy-sweet! 
     These  words only made  more pressing to Sam's mind a problem that  had 
been  troubl ing him  from the moment when he  understood that hir master was 
going  to adopt Gollum as a guide: the problem of food. It  did not occur to 
him that his master might also  have thought of  it. hut he  supposed Gollum 
had.  Indeed how had Gollum kept  himself  in all his lonely wandering? 'Not 
too well,'  thought Sam. 'He looks fair famished. Not too dainty to try what 
hobbit tastes like  if there ain't  no  fish, I'll wager -- supposing  as he


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it. But if you're so set on climbing, Mr. Frodo,  how  are you  going to use 
it?  Thirty ells, or  say, about eighteen fathom: that's  no  more than your 
guess at the height of the cliff.' 
     Frodo thought for a while. `Make it fast to that stump, Sam! ' he said.


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there, aren't you?' 
     `Yess. Yess. No! ' shrieked Gollum. `Once, by  accident it  was, wasn't  
it, precious? Yes, by accident. But we won't go back, no, no!' Then suddenly  
his voice and language changed,  and he sobbed in his throat,  and spoke but 
not to them. `Leave me alone, gollum! You hurt me.  O my poor hands, gollum! 
I,  we, I don't want  to come back. I can't find it. I am tired. I, we can't  
find it, gollum, gollum,  no, nowhere. They 're always awake.  Dwarves,  Men, 
and Elves, terrible Elves  with  bright eyes. I can't find it. Ach! ' He got 
up and clenched his long hand into a bony fleshless knot, shaking it towards 
the East. 'We  won't! ' he  cried. 'Not for  you.' Then he collapsed   again. 
'Gollum, gollum,' he whimpered with his face  to the  ground. 'Don't look at 
us! Go away! Go to sleep!' 
     `He will not go  away or go to sleep at  your  command, Smjagol,'  said


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Gollum moved  quickly,  with his  head and  neck  thrust forward, often 
using  his hands as well as his  feet. Frodo  and  Sam were hard put to it to 
keep up with  him; but he seemed  no longer to have any thought of escaping, 
and if they fell  behind, he  would turn and wait for  them. After a time he 
brought  them to the brink of the narrow gully that they   had struck before; 
but they were now further from the hills. 
     `Here it  is!'  he cried.  'There is  a  way down inside, yes.  Now  we 
follows it  -- out,  out away over there.' He pointed south and east  towards 
the marshes. The reek of them came to their nostrils, heavy and foul even in 
the cool night air. . 
     Gollum  cast up and down along the  brink,  and at length he  called to 
them.  `Here! We can get down here. Smjagol went  this way once: I went this 
way, hiding from Orcs.' 
     He led the way, and following him  the  hobbits climbed  down into  the


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####-the gully.  It was not much more than a  tall man's  height now,  and at its 
base there were wide flat shelves  of dry stone; the water ran in a  channel 
on  the  other side. Frodo and Sam sat  on one of  the  flats, resting their 
backs. Gollum paddled and scrabbled in the stream. 
     `We must  take a little food,' said Frodo. `Are you hungry, Smjagol? We 
have very little to share, but we will spare you what we can.' 
     At the word hungry a greenish light  was kindled in Gollum's pale eyes,  
and they seemed to protrude further than ever from his thin sickly face. For  
a  moment  he  relapsed into his old  Gollum-manner. 'We are famisshed,  yes 
famisshed we are. precious,' he  said. `What is it they eats? Have they nice 
fisshes? ' His tongue lolled out between his sharp yellow teeth. licking his 
colourless lips.  
     `No, we have  got no fish,' said Frodo. `We have only  got this'  -- he 
held up a wafer of lembas -- 'and water, if the water here is fit to drink.'


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them both. Gollum  began to scream, a thin, tearing sound, very  horrible to 
hear. He writhed, and tried to get his mouth to his ankle and bite the rope.  
He kept on screaming. 
     At last Frodo was  convinced that  he really was  in pain; but it could 
not be from the knot. He examined it  and found that  it was not too  tight, 
indeed  hardly  tight  enough. Sam was gentler than his words.  'What's  the 
matter with you? ' he said. `If you will try to run away. you must  be tied;  
but we don't wish to hurt you.' 
     'It hurts us, it hurts us,' hissed Gollum. `It freezes, it bites! Elves 
twisted it,  curse them! Nasty cruel hobbits! That's why we tries to escape, 
of course  it is, precious.  We guessed they were cruel hobbits. They visits 
Elves, fierce Elves with bright eyes. Take it off us! It hurts us.' 
     `No, I will not take it off you,' said Frodo, `not unless' -- he paused 
a  moment in thought -- `not unless there is any promise you can make that I  
can trust.'


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too well,'  thought Sam. 'He looks fair famished. Not too dainty to try what 
hobbit tastes like  if there ain't  no  fish, I'll wager -- supposing  as he 
could catch us napping. Well, he won't: not Sam Gamgee for one. ' 
     They stumbled along in the dark winding gully for a long time, or so it 
seemed to the tired feet of Frodo and Sam. The gully turned eastward, and as 
they went on it broadened and got gradually shallower. At last the sky above  
grew faint with the  first  grey  of morning. Gollum  had shown  no signs of 
tiring, but now he looked up and halted. 
     `Day  is near,'  he whispered,  as  if  Day  was  something  that might 
overhear  him and spring on  him. `Smjagol will stay here: I will stay here, 
and the Yellow Face won't see me.' 
     `We should be glad to see the Sun;' said Frodo, `but we will stay here: 
we are too tired to go any further at present.' 
     `You are not  wise  to  be glad of the  Yellow Face,' said  Gollum. `It


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For  a moment it appeared to Sam that  his master had  grown and Gollum 
had shrunk: a  tall stern shadow, a mighty lord  who hid  his  brightness in 
grey cloud, and at his feet  a little whining  dog. Yet the two were in some 
way akin and not alien: they could reach one another's  minds. Gollum raised 
himself and began pawing at Frodo, fawning at his knees. 
     'Down! down! ' said Frodo. `Now speak your promise!' 
     `We promises, yes I promise!' said Gollum. 'I  will serve the  master of 
the Precious. Good master, good Smjagol, gollum, gollum!' Suddenly he  began 
to weep and bite at his ankle again. 
     'Take the rope off, Sam!' said Frodo. 
     Reluctantly Sam obeyed. At once Gollum got up and began prancing about, 
like a whipped cur  whose master  has patted it. From  that moment a change, 
which lasted for some time,  came over him. He spoke  with less  hissing and 
whining, and he spoke to his companions direct, not to his precious self. He


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colourless lips.  
     `No, we have  got no fish,' said Frodo. `We have only  got this'  -- he 
held up a wafer of lembas -- 'and water, if the water here is fit to drink.' 
     `Yess,  yess,  nice water,' said  Gollum. `Drink it, drink it, while we 
can! But what is it they've got, pr ecious? Is it crunchable? Is it tasty? ' 
     Frodo  broke  off a portion  of a wafer  and handed it  to him  on  its 
leaf-wrapping. Gollum  sniffed at the leaf and  his face changed: a spasm of 
disgust came over it, and a hint of his old malice. `Smjagol smells it! ' he 
said. `Leaves out of the elf-country,  gah! They stinks. He climbed in those 
trees,  and  he  couldn't  wash  the  smell  off  his hands, my nice hands.' 
Dropping the leaf, he took a corner of the   lembas  and nibbled it. He spat, 
and a fit  of coughing shook him. 
     `Ach! No!  '  he spluttered. `You try to  choke poor Smjagol.  Dust and 
ashes, he can't eat that. He must  starve. But  Smjagol  doesn't  mind. Nice


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####-     'Here, what are  you doing? ' cried Sam, his suspicions coming back  as 
soon as he saw that shape. 
     `Smjagol is hungry,' said Gollum. `Be back soon.' 
     'Come back now!' shouted Sam. 'Hi! Come back!' But Gollum had vanished. 
     Frodo  woke  at  the sound of Sam's shout and sat up, rubbing his eyes. 
'Hullo!' he said. 'Anything wrong? What's the time?' 
     'I dunno,' said Sam. 'After sundown, I  reckon. And he's gone off. Says 
he's hungry.' 
     `Don't worry!'  said Frodo. `There's  no help  for it. But  he'll  come 
back, you'll see. The promise will hold  yet a while. And he won't leave his 
Precious, anyway.' 
     Frodo made  light of it when he learned that they had slept soundly for 
hours with Gollum, and a very  hungry Gollum too, loose beside  them. `Don't  
think of any of your  Gaffer's hard names,' he said. 'You were worn out, and 
it has  turned out well: we are now  both rested. And  we  have a hard  road 
ahead, the worst road of all.'


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`No, I will not take it off you,' said Frodo, `not unless' -- he paused 
a  moment in thought -- `not unless there is any promise you can make that I  
can trust.' 
     'We  will swear to  do what he wants,  yes, yess,  said  Gollum,  still 
twisting and grabbling at his ankle. `It hurts us.' 
     `Swear? ' said Frodo. 
     'Smjagol,' said  Gollum suddenly and clearly, opening his eyes wide and 
staring at Frodo with a strange light. 'Smjagol will swear on the Precious.' 
     Frodo drew himself up, and again  Sam was startled by his words and his 
stern voice. 'On the Precious? How dare you? ' he said. 'Think! 
     One Ring to rule them all and in the Darkness bind them. 
     Would you  commit your promise to that, Smjagol? It  will hold you. But


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####-Frodo. `But if you  really wish to be free of  him again. then you  must help 
me. And that I fear means finding us a path towards him. But you need not go 
all the way, not beyond the gates of his land.' 
     Gollum sat up  again  and looked at him under  his eyelids. 'He's  over  
there,' he cackled. `Always there. Orcs  wi ll take you all the  way. Easy to 
find Orcs east of  the River. Don't ask Smjagol. Poor, poor Smjagol, he went  
away long ago. They took his Precious, and he's lost now.' 
     `Perhaps we'll find him again, if you come with us,' said Frodo. 
     'No, no, never! He's lost his Precious,' said Gollum. 
     'Get up! ' said Frodo. 
     Gollum stood up and backed away against the cliff. 
     `Now! '  said Frodo. 'Can  you find  a path easier by day or by  night?  
We're tired; but if you choose the night, we'll star t tonight.' 
     `The big lights hurt our eyes, they do,' Gollum whined. `Not  under the


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them.  `Here! We can get down here. Smjagol went  this way once: I went this 
way, hiding from Orcs.' 
     He led the way, and following him  the  hobbits climbed  down into  the 
gloom. It  was  not difficult,  for  the  rift was at this  point only  some 
fifteen feet deep and about  a dozen across. There  was running water at the 
bottom: it was in fact the bed of one of the many small rivers that trickled 
down  from the  hills to feed  the  stagnant pools and mires beyond.  Gollum 
turned to the  right, southward  more  or less, and splashed  along with his 
feet in the  shallow  stony stream. He seemed greatly  delighted to feel the 
water, and chuckled to himself, sometimes even croaking in a sort of song. 
     The cold hard lands, 
     they bites our hands, 
     they gnaws our feet. 
     The rocks and stones 
     are like old bones 
     all bare of meat. 
     But stream and pool 
     is wet and cool: 
     so nice for feet! 
     And now we wish --


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we are too tired to go any further at present.' 
     `You are not  wise  to  be glad of the  Yellow Face,' said  Gollum. `It 
shows you up. Nice sensible hobbits stay with Smjagol. Orcs and nasty things 
are about. They can see a long way. Stay and hide with me! ' 
     The three of them settled down to rest at the foot of the rocky wall of


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which lasted for some time,  came over him. He spoke  with less  hissing and 
whining, and he spoke to his companions direct, not to his precious self. He 
would  cringe and  flinch,  if  they stepped  near  him or  made any  sudden 
movement,  and  he  avoided  the  touch of  their elven-cloaks; but  he  was 
friendly,  and  indeed pitifully anxious  to  please.  He would cackle  with 
laughter and caper, if any jest was made, or even  if Frodo  spoke kindly to 
him, and weep if Frodo rebuked  him. Sam said little to  him of any sort. He 
suspected him more  deeply than ever,  and if possible liked the new Gollum, 
the Smjagol, less than the old. 
     'Well, Gollum, or whatever it is we're to call you,' he  said. 'now for 
it! The Moon's gone. and the night's going. We'd better start.' 
     'Yes, yes,' agreed Gollum, skipping about. 'Off we go! There's only one 
way across between the North-end and the South-end. I found it, I  did. Orcs


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and a fit  of coughing shook him. 
     `Ach! No!  '  he spluttered. `You try to  choke poor Smjagol.  Dust and 
ashes, he can't eat that. He must  starve. But  Smjagol  doesn't  mind. Nice 
hobbits! Smjagol has promised.  He will  starve. He can't eat hobbits' food. 
He will starve. Poor thin Smjagol! ' 
     `I'm sorry,' said Frodo; `but I can't help  you, I'm  afraid.  I  think  
this  food would do you good, if  you would try. But perhaps  you can't even  
try, not yet anyway.' 
     The hobbits munched their  lembas in silence. Sam thought that it tasted 
far better, somehow, than  it had for a  good while: Gollum's behaviour  had 
made him  attend to its flavour  again.  But  he did  not  feel comfortable. 
Gollum  watched every morsel from  hand to mouth, like an expectant dog by a  
diner's  chair. Only  when they had finished and were preparing to rest, was 
he apparently convinced that they had no hidden dainties that he could share


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####-     'Look here!  ' Sam whispered to Frodo, not too softly: he did not really 
care whether Gollum heard him or  not. `We've got to get some sleep; but not 
both together with that hungry villain nigh, promise or no  promise. Smjagol 
or Gollum,  he won't change  his habits in a hurry, I'll warrant. You  go to 
sleep, Mr. Frodo, and I'll call you when I can't keep my eyelids propped up. 
Turn and about, same as before, while he's loose.' 
     'Perhaps you're right, Sam,'  said Frodo  speaking openly. 'There is  a 
change  in him, but  just what kind of a change  and  how deep, I'm not sure 
yet.  Seriously though,  I  don't think  there is any  need  for fear --  at 
present.  Still watch if you wish.  Give me about  two hours, not more,  and 
then call me.' 
     So  tired was Frodo that his head  fell forward  on his  breast  and he 
slept. almost as soon as he had spoken the words. Gollum seemed no longer to


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think of any of your  Gaffer's hard names,' he said. 'You were worn out, and 
it has  turned out well: we are now  both rested. And  we  have a hard  road 
ahead, the worst road of all.' 
     `About the  food,' said Sam. 'How long's it going to take us to do this 
job? And  when it's done, what are we  going to do then? This waybread keeps 
you on  your legs in a wonderful way, though  it doesn't satisfy the innards 
proper, as you might say: not to my feeling anyhow, meaning no disrespect to 
them  as made it.  But you have  to eat some of it every day, and it doesn't  
grow. I  reckon we've got  enough to last, say,  three weeks or so, and that 
with a tight belt and a light tooth, mind you. We've been a bit free with it 
so far.' 
     `I  don't know how long we shall take to -- to finish,' said Frodo. `We 
were miserably delayed  in the hills. But Samwise Gamgee,  my dear hobbit  -- 
indeed, Sam my dearest  hobbit, friend of friends  --  I do not think we need


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####-     It was actually not long before Gollum returned; but he came so quietly 
that they did not hear him till  he stood before them. His  fingers and face 
were soiled with black mud. He was still chewing  and slavering. What he was 
chewing, they did not ask or like to think. 
     'Worms  or beetles or something slimy out of holes,' thought Sam. 'Brr! 
The nasty creature; the poor wretch! ' 
     Gollum  said  nothing to  them,  until he had  drunk deeply  and washed 
himself in the  stream. Then he  came up to them, licking  his lips. 'Better 
now,' he said. `Are we  rested? Ready to  go  on? Nice  hobbits,  they sleep 
beautifully. Trust Smjagol now? Very, very good.' 
     The next stage of their journey was much the same as the  last. As they 
went  on the gully became ever shallower and  the slope  of its  floor  more 
gradual. Its  bottom  was less stony and  more earthy, and slowly its  sides 
dwindled to mere ba nks. It began  to wind and wander. That night drew to its


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We're tired; but if you choose the night, we'll star t tonight.' 
     `The big lights hurt our eyes, they do,' Gollum whined. `Not  under the 
White  Face, not  yet. It will go behind  the  hills soon, yess. Rest  a bit 
first, nice hobbits!' 
     `Then sit down,' said Frodo, `and don't move!' 
     The  hobbits  seated themselves  beside  him, one on  either side. with 
their backs to the stony wall, resting their legs. There was no need for any 
arrangement by word: they knew that they must not sleep for a moment. Slowly 
the moon went by. Shadows fell down from the hills, and all grew dark before 
them. The stars grew thick  and bright in  the sky  above.  No one  stirred. 
Gollum  sat  with his legs drawn up, knees  under chin, flat hands  and feet 
splayed on the ground,  his eyes closed; but he seemed tense, as if thinking 
or listening. 
     Frodo looked across at Sam. Their eyes met and  they  understood.  They


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The rocks and stones 
     are like old bones 
     all bare of meat. 
     But stream and pool 
     is wet and cool: 
     so nice for feet! 
     And now we wish -- 
     'Ha! ha! What does we wish?' he said,  looking sidelong at the hobbits.  
'We'll tell you.' he croaked. `He  guessed it long ago, Baggins guessed it.' 
A glint  came  into his  eyes, and Sam  catching the gleam in  the  darkness


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####-     `No need,  no  need at all,' said Gollum. 'Not if hobbits want to reach 
the dark mountains and go to see Him very quick.  Back a little, and round a  
little' -- his skinny arm waved north and  east -- `and you can come on hard 
cold roads to the  very gates of  His country.  Lots  of  His people will be 
there looking out for guests, very pleased to  take them straight  to Him, O 
yes. His Eye watches  that way all the  time. It caught  Smjagol there, long 
ago.' Gollum shuddered. 'But Smjagol has used his eyes since then, yes, yes:  
I've used  eyes  and feet  and  nose since then. l  know  other  ways.  More 
difficult, not so quick; but  better, if  we  don't want  Him to see. Follow 
Smjagol! He can take you through  the marshes, through the mists. nice thick 
mists. Follow  Smjagol very carefully, and you  may go  a long  way. quite a  
long way, before He catches you, yes perhaps. ' 
     It was already day, a windless and sullen morning, and the  marsh-reeks


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diner's  chair. Only  when they had finished and were preparing to rest, was 
he apparently convinced that they had no hidden dainties that he could share 
in. Then he went and sat by himself a few paces away and whimpered a little.


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then call me.' 
     So  tired was Frodo that his head  fell forward  on his  breast  and he 
slept. almost as soon as he had spoken the words. Gollum seemed no longer to 
have any fears. He curled  up and  went quickly to sleep, quite unconcerned. 
Presently his breath was hissing softly through his clenched  teeth,  hut he 
lay still as stone.  After a while, fearing that he would  drop off himself, 
if he sat listening  to his two companions breathing, Sam  got up and gently 
prodded  Gollum.  His  hands  uncurled  and  twitched, but he made  no other 
movement.  Sam bent  down and said  fissh close to his ear, but there was  no 
response, not even a catch in Gollum's breathing. 
     Sam scratched his head. `Must really be asleep,' he muttered. `And if I 
was  like Gollum,  he wouldn't  wake up  never  aga in.'  He  restrained  the 
thoughts of his sword and the rope that sprang to his mind, and went and sat 
down by his master.


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####-don't use it,  Orcs  don't know  it.  Orcs don't cross the  Marshes, they go 
round for miles and  miles. Very  lucky  you  came  this way. Very lucky you 
found Smjagol, yes. Follow Smjagol!' 
     He took  a few  steps away  and  looked  back  inquiringly,  like a dog 
inviting  them for  a  walk. 'Wait a bit, Gollum!'  cried Sam. `Not too  far 
ahead now! I'm going to be at your tail, and I've got the rope handy.' 
     'No, no! ' said Gollum. 'Smjagol promised.' 
     In the  deep of night under hard  clear stars they set  off. Gollum led 
them back northward for a while along the way they had come; then he slanted 
to  the right away from  the steep edge  of the Emyn Muil,  down  the broken 
stony slopes towards the vast fens below. They faded swiftly and softly into  
the darkness. Over all the leagues of waste before the gates of Mordor there 
was a black silence. 
 

####- 

Chapter 2. The Passage of the Marshes


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gradual. Its  bottom  was less stony and  more earthy, and slowly its  sides 
dwindled to mere ba nks. It began  to wind and wander. That night drew to its 
end, but clouds were now over moon and star, and they  knew of the coming of 
day only by the slow spreading of the thin grey light. 
     In  a chill hour they came  to the end of  the water-course. The  banks 
became moss-grown mounds. Over the  last shelf of rotting  stone the  stream 
gurgled  and fell  down into a brown bog and was lost. Dry  reeds hissed and  
rattled though they could feel no wind. 
     On either  side and in front wide  fens and  m ires now lay,  stretching 
away southward and eastward into the dim half-light. Mists curled and smoked 
from dark and noisome pools. The reek of  them hung  stifling  in the  still 
air.  Far away, now almost  due  south, the mountain-walls of Mordor loomed, 
like a black bar of rugged clouds floating above a dangerous fog-bound sea.


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were miserably delayed  in the hills. But Samwise Gamgee,  my dear hobbit  -- 
indeed, Sam my dearest  hobbit, friend of friends  --  I do not think we need 
give thought  to what comes after that. To  do the job as you put it  -- what 
hope is  there that we ever shall? And if we do, who knows what will come of 
that? If the One goes into the Fire, and we are at hand? I ask you, Sam, are 
we ever likely to need bread again? I think not. If  we can nurse  our limbs 
to bring  us to Mount Doom, that is  all we can do. More than I can, I begin 
to feel.' 
     Sam nodded silently. He took his master's hand and bent over it. He did 
not kiss it,  though his  tears fell on it. Then  he turned away,  drew  his 
sleeve  over his nose, and got up, a nd stamped about, trying to whistle, and 
saying between the efforts: 'Where's that dratted creature?'


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####-reminder of  her  presence  Gollum  scowled and  flinched. He  halted  their 
journey,  and they  rested,  squatting  like  little hunted animals, in  the 
borders  of  a  great  brown  reed-thicket. There was  a   deep silence, only 
scraped on its surfaces by the faint quiver of empty seed-plumes, and broken  
grass-blades trembling in small air -movements that they could not feel. 
     'Not a bird! ' said Sam mournfully. 
     `No, no birds,' said  Gollum.  `Nice birds! ' He licked his  teeth. 'No 
birds  here.  There  are snakeses,  wormses,  things in the  pools. Lots  of 
things,  lots  of nasty things. No birds,' he ended sadly. Sam looked at him 
with distaste. 
     So passed  the  third day  of  their  journey with  Gollum.  Before the 
shadows of evening were long in happier lands, they went on again, always on 
and  on with only brief halts. These  they made not  so much for rest as  to 
help Gollum;  for now  even he had to go forward with great care, and he was


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splayed on the ground,  his eyes closed; but he seemed tense, as if thinking 
or listening. 
     Frodo looked across at Sam. Their eyes met and  they  understood.  They 
relaxed,  leaning  their heads back, and  shutting their eyes or seeming to. 
Soon  the sound of  their  soft  breathing  could be  heard. Gollum's  hands 
twitched  a little. Hardly perceptibly his head moved  to  the left  and the 
right, and  first one eye and then the other opened a slit. The hobbits made 
no sign. 
     Suddenly,  with startling agility and  speed, straight  off  the ground 
with a jump like a  grasshopper or a frog. Gollum  bounded  forward into the  
darkness. But that was just what Frodo and Sam had expected.  Sam was on 
him 
before he had gone two paces after  his spring. Frodo coming behind  grabbed 
his leg and threw him.


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####-him. He went some paces back into the darkness,  not daring to move far,  or  
to call in more than a  hoarse  whisper. Suddenly he stumbled against Frodo, 
who was standing lost in thought, looking at the pale lights. His hands hung 
stiff at his sides; water and slime were dripping from them. 
     `Come,  Mr. Frodo!  ' said Sam.  'Don't look at  them!  Gollum says  we 
mustn't. Let's keep up with him and get out of this cursed place as quick as 
we can -- if we can!  ' 
     `All right,' said Frodo,  as if returning out of a dream.  'I'm coming. 
Go on!  ' 
     Hurrying forward again, Sam tripped, catching his foot in some old root 
or  tussock.  He fell  and came heavily on  his hands, which  sank deep into 
sticky ooze,  so that his  fa ce was brought close to the surface of the dark 
mere. There was a faint hiss, a noisome smell went up, the  lights flickered 
and danced and swirled.  For a moment the water  below him  looked like some


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long way, before He catches you, yes perhaps. ' 
     It was already day, a windless and sullen morning, and the  marsh-reeks 
lay in heavy banks. No sun pierced the low  clouded  sky, and Gollum  seemed 
anxious to continue the journey at once. So after a brief  rest they set out 
again and were soon lost in a shadowy silent world, cut off from all view of 
the lands about, either the hills  that they  had left or the mountains that 
they sought. They went slowly in single file: Gollum, Sam, Frodo. 
     Frodo seemed the most weary of the three, and slow though they went. he 
often lagged. The hobbits soon  found that what had looked like one vast fen  
was  really  an  endless  network  of  pools,  and soft  mires. and  winding 
half-strangled water-courses.  Among  these  a cunning eye  and  foot  could 
thread  a wandering path. Gollum  certainly had that cunning, and needed all  
of it. His head on its long  neck  was ever turning this way and that, while


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was  like Gollum,  he wouldn't  wake up  never  aga in.'  He  restrained  the 
thoughts of his sword and the rope that sprang to his mind, and went and sat 
down by his master. 
     When he woke up the sky above was dim, not lighter but darker than when 
they had breakfasted. Sam leapt to his feet. Not least from  his own feeling 
of  vigour and hunger, he suddenly understood that he had slept the daylight  
away,  nine hours at least. Frodo was still fast asleep, lying now stretched 
on  his  side. Gollum  was  not to be seen. Various  reproachful  names  for  
himself  came  to  Sam's  mind,  drawn  from  the  Gaffer's  large  paternal 
word-hoard; then  it  also occurred to him that his  master had been  right:  
there  had  for the present been nothing  to guard against. They were at any 
rate both alive and unthrottled. 
     'Poor wretch! ' he said half remorsefully. 'Now I wonder where he's got 
to?  '


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air.  Far away, now almost  due  south, the mountain-walls of Mordor loomed, 
like a black bar of rugged clouds floating above a dangerous fog-bound sea. 
     The hobbits were now wholly in the hands of  Gollum. They did now know,  
and  could not guess in that misty light. that they  were in  fact only just  
within the northern  borders of the marshes. the  main expanse of  which lay 
south of them. They could, if they had known the lands, with some delay have 
retraced their steps  a little, and then turning east have come  round  over  
hard roads  to the bare plain of Dagorlad: the field of  the  ancient battle 
before  the gates of Mordor. Not that there was great hope in such a course. 
On that stony  plain  there was no cover,  and across it ran the highways of 
the Orcs and the soldiers of the Enemy. Not even the cloaks of  Lurien would 
have concealed them there. 
     'How do we shape our course now, Smjagol? ' asked Frodo. 'Must we cross 
these evil-smelling fens?  '


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####-     'But that is an age and more ago,'  said Sam. 'The Dead can't be really 
there! Is it some devilry hatched in the Dark Land? ' 
     `Who knows?  Smjagol doesn't  know,'  answered Gollum. 'You cannot reach 
them,  you  cannot touch them. We tried once, .yes,  precious. I tried once; 
but you cannot reach them. Only  shapes  to see, perhaps, not  to  touch. No 
precious! All dead.' 
     Sam  looked darkly at him and shuddered again, thinking that he guessed 
why Smjagol  had tried to touch them. `Well, I don't  want to  see them,' he 
said. 'Never again! Can't we get on and get away? ' 
     `Yes,  yes,' said  Gollum. `But slowly, very slowly. Very carefully! Or 
hobbits go  down to  join the Dead  ones  and light  little  candles. Follow 
Smjagol! Don't look at lights! ' 
     He  crawled away to the  right, seeking for a path round the mere. They  
came close behind, stooping, often using their hands even as he  did. 'Three


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mere. There was a faint hiss, a noisome smell went up, the  lights flickered 
and danced and swirled.  For a moment the water  below him  looked like some 
window, glazed with grimy glass, through which he was  peering. Wrenching 
his 
hands out  of the  bog, he sprang  back  with a cry. 'There are dead things,  
dead faces in the water,' he said with horror. 'Dead faces! ' 
     Gollum laughed. 'The Dead Marshes,  yes, yes: that is their names,'  he 
cackled. `You should not look in when the candles are lit.' 
     `Who are they? What are they? ' asked Sam shuddering, turning to Frodo, 
who was now behind him. 
     'I don't know,' said Frodo in a dreamlike voice. 'But I have seen  them 
too. In the pools when the candles were lit. They lie in all the pools, pale 
faces, deep deep under the dark water. I saw  them: grim faces and evil, and 
noble faces and sad. Many faces  proud and fair, and weeds  in their  silver


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####-but good  Smjagol bears  it. Helps nice master. But  that's no  matter.  The 
air's moving, change is coming. Smjagol wonders; he's not happy.' 
     He went on again, but his uneasiness grew, and  every  now and again he 
stood  up to his full height, craning his neck eastward and  southward.  For 
some  time the hobbits could not  hear  or feel what was troubling him. Then 
suddenly all  three  halted, stiffening and listening. To Frodo  and  Sam it 
seemed that  they  heard, far away, a  long  wailing cry, high and  thin and 
cruel.  They shivered. At  the same  moment the stirring  of the  air became 
perceptible to them; and it grew  very cold. As they  stood  straining their 
ears,  they heard a noise  like a  wind coming  in  the distance.  The misty 
lights wavered, dimmed, and went out. 
     Gollum would not move. He stood shaking and gibbering to himself, until 
with a rush the wind came upon  them, hissing and snarling over the marshes.


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and  on with only brief halts. These  they made not  so much for rest as  to 
help Gollum;  for now  even he had to go forward with great care, and he was 
sometimes at a loss for a while. They had come to the very midst of the Dead 
Marshes, and it was dark. 
     They  walked   slowly,  stooping,  keeping  close  in  line,  following 
attentively  every move that  Gollum made.  The fens grew more  wet, opening 
into  wide stagnant meres, among which it grew  more and more  difficult  to 
find the firmer places where feet could tread without sinking  into gurgling 
mud. The travellers were  light, or maybe none of them would ever have found 
a way through. 
     Presently it  grew  altogether  dark: the air  itself seemed  black and 
heavy to breathe. When lights appeared Sam  rubbed his eyes: he  thought his 
head was going  queer. He first  saw one with the corner of his  left eye, a  
wisp  of pale sheen that faded away;  but  others appeared soon  after: some


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####-They see everything, everything. Nothing can hide from them. Curse the White 
Face! And they tell  H im everything. He sees, He knows. Ach, gollum, gollum, 
gollum!  '  It was not until  the moon had  sunk, westering  far  beyond Tol 
Brandir, that he would get up or make a move. 
     From that time on Sam thought that he  sensed a change in Gollum again.  
He was more  fawning and would-be  friendly; but Sam  surprised some strange 
looks  in his eyes at times, especially towards Frodo; and he went back more 
and  more  into his  old  manner  of  speaking. And Sam  had another growing 
anxiety. Frodo seemed to be weary, weary to the point of exhaustion. He said 
nothing.  indeed he  hardly  spoke  at all; and  he did not complain, but he 
walked like one who carries a load, the  weight of which is ever increasing; 
and he dragged along, slower and slower, so that Sam had often to beg Gollum 
to wait and not to leave their master behind.


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thread  a wandering path. Gollum  certainly had that cunning, and needed all  
of it. His head on its long  neck  was ever turning this way and that, while 
he sniffed and muttered all the time to himself. Sometimes he would  hold up 
his  hand and halt  them, while he went forward a little, crouching, testing 
the ground with fingers or toes. or merely listening with one ear pressed to 
the earth. 
     It was dreary and wearisome. Cold clammy winter still held sway in this 
forsaken country. The only green was the scum  of  livid weed  on  the  dark  
greasy surfaces of the sullen waters. Dead grasses  and rotting reeds loomed 
up in the mists like ragged shadows of long-forgotten summers.  
     As the day wore on the light increased a little, and the mists  lifted, 
growing thinner and more  transparent. Far above  the rot and vapours of the 
world the Sun was riding high and golden now in a serene country with floors


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####-waste. The marshes were at an end, dying away into dead peats and wide flats 
of  dry cracked mud. The land ahead rose in long shallow  slopes, barren and 
pitiless, towards the desert that lay at Sauron's gate. 
     While the  grey light lasted,  they cowered under a  black  stone  like 
worms,  shrinking, lest the winged terror should pass  and spy them with its 
cruel eyes. The  remainder of that journey  was a shadow of growing  fear in  
which  memory could  find   nothing  to  rest upon.  For two more nights they 
struggled on through the weary pathless land. The air, as it seemed to them, 
grew harsh, and filled  with  a  bitter  reek that caught their  breath  and 
parched their mouths.  
     At last,  on the  fifth morning since  they took the road  with Gollum, 
they halted once  more. Before  them  dark in  the dawn the great  mountains 
reached up to roofs of smoke and cloud. Out from  their feet were flung huge


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Smjagol! Don't look at lights! ' 
     He  crawled away to the  right, seeking for a path round the mere. They  
came close behind, stooping, often using their hands even as he  did. 'Three 
precious  little Gollums in a row we shall be, if this goes on much longer,' 
thought Sam. 
     At last they came to the  end of the black  mere, and  they crossed it, 
perilously,  crawling  or hopping  from  one  treacherous island tussock  to 
another. Often they floundered, stepping or  falling hands-first into waters 
as  noisome as a cesspool,  till  they were slimed and  fouled almost  up to 
their necks and stank in one another's nostrils. 
     It was late  in the night  when at  length  they reached  firmer ground 
again.  Gollum hissed  and whispered to himself, but it appeared that he was 
pleased: in some mysterious way,  by some blended  sense of feel, and smell, 
and uncanny memory for shapes  in  the dark, he seemed to know just where he


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lights wavered, dimmed, and went out. 
     Gollum would not move. He stood shaking and gibbering to himself, until 
with a rush the wind came upon  them, hissing and snarling over the marshes.  
The  night became less  dark,  light enough  for them to  see, or  half see, 
shapeless drifts of fog,  curling and  twisting  as it rolled over them  and 
passed them. Looking up they saw the clouds breaking and shredding; and then 
high in the south the moon glimmered out, riding in the flying wrack. 
     For a moment the sight of  it  gladdened the hearts of the hobbits; but 
Gollum cowered down, muttering curses on the White Face. Then Frodo and  
Sam 
staring at  the sky, breathing deeply of the  fresher  air, saw  it come:  a  
small  cloud  flying from the  accursed hills; a  black  shadow loosed  from 
Mordor;  a vast shape winged and ominous. It  scudded  across the  moon, and 
with a deadly cry went away westward, outrunning the wind in its fell speed.


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faces, deep deep under the dark water. I saw  them: grim faces and evil, and 
noble faces and sad. Many faces  proud and fair, and weeds  in their  silver  
hair.  But all foul, all rotting, all  dead. A fell light is in them.' Frodo 
hid  his eyes in his hands.  'I  know not who they are; but I thought I  saw 
there Men and Elves, and Orcs beside them.' 
     `Yes, yes,' said Gollum. `All dead, all rotten. Elves and Men and Orcs.  
The  Dead  Marshes. There was a great battle long ago, yes, so they told him 
when Smjagol was young, when I was young  before the Precious came. It was 
a 
great  battle. Tall  Men with long swords, and terrible  Elves,  and  Orcses 
shrieking. They fought on  the plain for days and months at the Black Gates.  
But  the  Marshes have grown since  then,  swallowed up the  graves;  always 
creeping, creeping.'


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they halted once  more. Before  them  dark in  the dawn the great  mountains 
reached up to roofs of smoke and cloud. Out from  their feet were flung huge 
buttresses  and  broken hills  that were now at the nearest  scarce a  dozen 
miles away. Frodo looked round  in horror. Dreadful as the Dead  Marshes had 
been, and  the  arid moors  of the  Noman-lands, more loathsome  far was the 
country that the  crawling day now  slowly  unveiled  to his shrinking eyes.  
Even to the  Mere  of Dead Faces some haggard phantom of  green spring 
would 
come; but here neither spring nor summer would ever come again. Here 
nothing 
lived,  not  even the  leprous growths that feed on rottenness. The  gasping 
pools were choked  with ash and crawling muds, sickly white and grey, as  if 
the mountains had vomited the filth of  their entrails upon the lands about. 
High  mounds of crushed and powdered rock, great cones of earth fire-blasted


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growing thinner and more  transparent. Far above  the rot and vapours of the 
world the Sun was riding high and golden now in a serene country with floors 
of dazzling  foam, but  only a  passing  ghost of her could they  see below, 
bleared,  pale, giving  no  colour  and  no  warmth. But even at this  faint


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and he dragged along, slower and slower, so that Sam had often to beg Gollum 
to wait and not to leave their master behind. 
     In fact with every step towards the gates of Mordor Frodo felt the Ring 
on  its chain about his neck grow  more burdensome.  He was now beginning to 
feel  it as an actual  weight  dragging him earthwards.  But far more he was 
troubled by the Eye: so he called it to  himself. It was that more  than the 
drag of the Ring that made him cower  and stoop as he walked. The Eye:  that 
horrible  growing sense of a  hostile will  that  strove with great power to 
pierce all shadows of  cloud, and earth, and  flesh, and to see you: to  pin 
you under its deadly gaze, naked, immovable. So thin, so frail and thin, the 
veils  were become  that still warded  it  off. Frodo  knew just  where  the 
present habitation and heart of that will now was: as certainly as a man can 
tell the  direction of the sun with his eyes shut. He was facing it, and its


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there  had  for the present been nothing  to guard against. They were at any 
rate both alive and unthrottled. 
     'Poor wretch! ' he said half remorsefully. 'Now I wonder where he's got 
to?  ' 
     'Not far, not far! ' said a  voice  above him. He looked up and saw the 
shape of Gollum's large head and ears against the evening sky.


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head was going  queer. He first  saw one with the corner of his  left eye, a  
wisp  of pale sheen that faded away;  but  others appeared soon  after: some 
like dimly shining smoke,  some  like  misty flames flickering  slowly above 
unseen candles; here and there they twisted like ghostly sheets  unfurled by 
hidden hands. But neither of his companions spoke a word. 
     At  last  Sam could bear it  no longer. `What's all this, Gollum? '  he 
said in a whisper. `These lights? They're all  round us now. Are we trapped?  
Who are they? ' 
     Gollum looked up. A  dark water was before him, and he was crawling  on 
the ground, this way and that, doubtful of the way. 'Yes, they are all round 
us,' he whispered. 'The tricksy lights. Candles  of corpses, yes, yes. Don't 
you heed them! Don't look! Don't follow them! Where's the master? ' 
     Sam looked back and found that Frodo had lagged again. He could not see


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pleased: in some mysterious way,  by some blended  sense of feel, and smell, 
and uncanny memory for shapes  in  the dark, he seemed to know just where he 
was again, and to be sure of his road ahead. 
     `Now on we  go!  ' he  said.  'Nice  hobbits! Brave  hobbits! Very very 
weary, of course; so we are, my precious, all of us. But we must take master  
away from the wicked lights, yes, yes, we must.' With these words he started 
off again, almost  at a trot,  down what  appeared to be a long lane between 
high reeds, and they  stumbled after him  as quickly as they could. But in a  
little while he stopped suddenly and sniffed the  air doubtfully, hissing as 
if he was troubled or displeased again. 
     'What is it? ' growled Sam, misinterpreting the signs. `What's the need 
to  sniff? The stink nearly knocks me down with my nose held. You stink, and 
master stinks; the whole place stinks.' 
     'Yes, yes, and Sam stinks! ' answered Gollum. `Poor Smjagol  smells it,


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Mordor;  a vast shape winged and ominous. It  scudded  across the  moon, and 
with a deadly cry went away westward, outrunning the wind in its fell speed. 
     They fell  forward, grovelling  heedlessly on the cold earth.  But  the 
shadow of horror wheeled and returned, passing  lower now, right above them, 
sweeping the  fen-reek with its ghastly wings. And then  it was gone, flying 
back to Mordor with the speed of the wrath of Sauron; and behind it the wind 
roared away, leaving the  Dead Marshes bare and bleak. The naked  waste,  as 
far  as the eye could pierce, even to the  distant  menace of the mountains,  
was dappled with the fitful moonlight. 
     Frodo and Sam got up, rubbing their eyes, like children wakened from an 
evil dream to find the familiar  night still over the world. But Gollum  lay 
on the ground as if  he had been stunned. They  roused him  with difficulty, 
and for some time  he  would not  lift  his  face, but knelt forward on  his


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####-among clouds and long flags of smoke, but even the sunlight was defiled. The 
hobbits had no welcome for that light; unfriendly  it seemed, revealing them 
in their helplessness  --  little squeaking ghosts that  wandered among  the 
ash-heaps of the Dark Lord. 
     Too weary  to go  further  they sought for some place where they  could 
rest. For a while  they sat without speaking  under the shadow of a mound of 
slag; but foul fumes  leaked out of it, catching their  throats and  choking 
them. Gollum was the first to get up. Spluttering  and  cursing he rose, and 
without  a  word or  a glance at the hobbits  he crawled  away on all fours.  
Frodo and Sam crawled  after him, until  they came to a wide almost circular 
pit, high-banked upon the west. It was  cold and dead, and  a foul  sump  of 
oily many-coloured ooze lay at its bottom.  In  this evil hole they cowered, 
hoping in its shadow to escape the attention of the Eye.


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present habitation and heart of that will now was: as certainly as a man can 
tell the  direction of the sun with his eyes shut. He was facing it, and its 
potency beat upon his brow.  
     Gollum probably felt something of the same sort.  But  what went  on in 
his wretched heart between the pressure of the Eye, and the lust of the Ring 
that was so near, and his grovelling  promise made half in the fear of  cold 
iron, the hobbits did not guess: Frodo gave no thought to it. Sam's mind was 
occupied  mostly  with his  master hardly  noticing the  dark cloud that had 
fallen on his own  heart. He put Frodo  in front  of  him  now, and  kept  a  
watchful eye on every movement of  his,  supporting him if  he stumbled, and 
trying to encourage him with clumsy words.  
     When day came at last the hobbits were surprised to see how much closer 
the ominous mountains had already drawn. The air was now clearer and colder,


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####-     `Yes,  yes, to  help the master: the  master of the Precious. But if we 
was master, then we could help ourselfs, yes, and still keep promises.' 
     `But Smjagol said  he  would be very  very good.  Nice  hobbit! He took  
cruel rope off Smjagol's leg. He speaks nicely to me.' 
     'Very very good, eh, my precious? Let's be  good,  good as fish,  sweet  
one, but to ourselfs. Not hurt the nice hobbit, of course, no, no.' 
     `But the Precious holds the promise,' the voice of Smjagol objected. 
     `Then take it,' said  the other,  `and let's hold it ourselfs!  Then we 
shall be master, gollum! Make the other hobbit, the nasty suspicious hobbit, 
make him crawl, yes, gollum!' 
     `But not the nice hobbit? ' 
     `Oh no, not if it doesn't please us. Still he's a Baggins, my precious,  
yes,  a  Baggins.  A  Baggins  stole it. He  found it  and  he said nothing, 
nothing. We hates Bagginses.' 
     'No, not this Baggins.'


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the mountains had vomited the filth of  their entrails upon the lands about. 
High  mounds of crushed and powdered rock, great cones of earth fire-blasted 
and  poison-stained, stood like an obscene graveyard in endless rows, slowly  
revealed in the reluctant light. 
     They  had come to  the desolation that lay  before Mordor:  the lasting 
monument to the dark labour of its slaves that should  endure when all their 
purposes were  made  void; a  land defiled,  diseased beyond  all healing -- 
unless the Great  Sea should enter in and  wash  it with oblivion.  `I  feel 
sick,' said Sam. Frodo did not speak. 
     For a while  they stood there, like men on the edge  of a  sleep  where 
nightmare lurks, holding it off, though they know that they can only come to 
morning  through the  shadows. The light broadened and hardened. The 
gasping 
pits and  poisonous mounds grew hideously clear.  The  sun  was up,  walking


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####-clawed towards his neck. 
     Sam had lain  still, fascinated by this debate, but watching every move 
that Gollum made  from under  his half-closed eye-lids.  To  his simple mind 
ordinary  hunger, the desire to eat hobbits, had seemed the chief  danger in 
Gollum. He realized  now that it was not so: Gollum was feeling the terrible 
call  of the Ring. The Dark Lord was He, of course; but Sam wondered who 
She 
was. One of  the nasty friends the little wretch had made in his wanderings, 
he supposed.  Then he  forgot the  point, for things had  plainly  gone  far 
enough, and were getting dangerous. A great heaviness  was in all his limbs,  
but he roused  himself with an effort and sat up. Something warned him to be 
careful  and  not to reveal that he had overheard  the debate. He let  out a  
loud sigh and gave a huge yawn. 
     `What's the time? ' he said sleepily. 
     Gollum sent  out a  long  hiss  through his  teeth. He stood  up  for a


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on the ground as if  he had been stunned. They  roused him  with difficulty, 
and for some time  he  would not  lift  his  face, but knelt forward on  his 
elbows, covering the back of his head with his large flat hands.  
     `Wraiths!'  he wailed. `Wraiths on wings! The Precious is their master.


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####-     'Go on with you! ' said Sam. `Let's get it over! ' 
     In the falling dusk they  scrambled out of the pit and slowly  threaded 
their way through the dead land. They had not gone far before they felt once 
more the fear that had fallen on them  when  the winged shape swept over the 
marshes.  They  halted, cowering  on the evil -smelling ground; but  they saw 
nothing  in the gloomy evening sky above, and soon the  menace  passed, high 
overhead, going maybe  on some swift errand  from Barad-dyr.  After  a while 
Gollum got up and crept forward again, muttering and shaking. 
     About an hour after midnight the fear fell on them a third time, but it 
now seemed more remote, as if it were passing far above the clouds,  rushing 
with terrible  speed  into  the  West.  Gollum,  however,  was helpless with 
terror, and was convinced that they were  being hunted, that  their approach 
was known. 
     `Three times! ' he  whimpered.  'Three times is  a threat. They feel us


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When day came at last the hobbits were surprised to see how much closer 
the ominous mountains had already drawn. The air was now clearer and colder, 
and though still far off, the walls of Mordor were no longer a cloudy menace 
on the edge of sight, but as  gr im black towers they frowned across a dismal


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yes,  a  Baggins.  A  Baggins  stole it. He  found it  and  he said nothing, 
nothing. We hates Bagginses.' 
     'No, not this Baggins.' 
     'Yes, every Baggins. All peoples  that  keep the Precious. We must have 
it!  ' 
     `But He'll see, He'll know. He'll take it from us! ' 
     'He sees.  He knows.  He  heard us make silly  promises   -- against His 
orders, yes. Must take it. The Wraiths are searching. Must take it.' 
     'Not for Him! ' 
     'No, sweet  one. See, my precious: if  we  has it, then we  can escape, 
even from Him, eh? Perhaps we grows very strong, stronger than Wraiths. Lord 
Smjagol? Gollum  the Great?  The Gollum! Eat fish every day,  three times  a 
day; fresh from the sea. Most Precious Gollum! Must have it. We wants it, we 
wants it, we wants it!  ' 
     'But there's two of them. They'll wake too quick and kill  us,'  whined 
Smjagol in a last effort. `Not now. Not yet.' 
     'We  wants  it! But'  -- and here there  was a  long  pause, as if a new


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####-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 Smjagol. Don't let  Him have  it. Or go away.  go to nice places, and 
give it back to little Smjagol. Yes, yes, master: give  it back, eh? Smjagol 
will  keep it  safe;  he will do  lots of good, especially to nice  hobbits.  
Hobbits go home. Don't go to the Gate! ' 
     '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


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loud sigh and gave a huge yawn. 
     `What's the time? ' he said sleepily. 
     Gollum sent  out a  long  hiss  through his  teeth. He stood  up  for a  
moment, tense and menacing; and then he collapsed, falling forward on to all 
fours and  crawling  up the bank  of the pit. 'Nice hobbits! Nice Sam! '  he 
said. 'Sleepy heads,  yes, sleepy  heads! Leave good  Smjagol to watch!  But 
it's evening. Dusk is creeping. Time to go.' 
     `High time!  ' thought Sam. 'And time we parted,  too.' Yet it  crossed 
his mind to wonder if indeed Gollum was not now as dangerous turned loose as 
kept with them. 'Curse him! I wish he was choked!' he muttered.  He stumbled 
down the bank and roused his master. 
     Strangely enough, Frodo felt  refreshed. He had been dreaming. The dark  
shadow  had  passed,  and  a  fair  vision  had visited him in  this land of 
disease. Nothing remained  of it in his  memory, yet  because of it he  felt


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####-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  Smjagol  
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 Smjagol 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'. 
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


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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 D®ath, 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 N®rnen 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


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####-buttress of Ephel D®ath. Winging  the heavy air in a straight flight a crow, 
maybe, would have flown  but a furlong 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 su ddenly 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-dyr. 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.


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oily many-coloured ooze lay at its bottom.  In  this evil hole they cowered, 
hoping in its shadow to escape the attention of the Eye. 
     The  day passed  slowly. A  great thirst troubled  them, but they drank  
only a few  drops from their bottles-last filled in  the gully, which now as 
they looked back in thought seemed to  them a place of peace and beauty. The 
hobbits  took it in turn to watch. At first, tired as they  were, neither of 
them could sleep at all; but as the sun far away was climbing down into slow 
moving cloud, Sam dozed. It was Frodo's turn to bc on  guard. He lay back on 
the slope of the pit, but that did not ease the sense  of burden that was on 
him. He looked  up at the  smoke-streaked sky and saw strange phantoms, dark 
riding shapes, and  faces  out of the past. He  lost count of time, hovering 
between sleep and waking, until forgetfulness came over him. 
     Suddenly Sam woke up thinking that he heard his master calling.  It was


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Smjagol in a last effort. `Not now. Not yet.' 
     'We  wants  it! But'  -- and here there  was a  long  pause, as if a new 
thought had wakened.  `Not yet,  eh? Perhaps not. She might help. She might, 
yes.' 
     `No, no! Not that way! ' wailed Smjagol. 
     `Yes! We wants it! We wants it! ' 
     Each time that  the second thought spoke, Gollum's  long hand crept out 
slowly, pawing towards Frodo, and then was drawn back with a jerk as 
Smjagol 
spoke  again. Finally  both  arms,  with long fingers  flexed and twitching,


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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


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`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


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shadow  had  passed,  and  a  fair  vision  had visited him in  this land of 
disease. Nothing remained  of it in his  memory, yet  because of it he  felt 
glad and lighter of heart. His burden was less heavy on him. Gollum welcomed 
him  with  dog-like delight. He  chuckled and  chattered,  cracking his long 
fingers, and pawing at Frodo's knees. Frodo smiled at him. 
     'Come! ' he said. `You  have guided us well and faithfully. This is the 
last stage. Bring us to the Gate, and then I will not ask you to go further. 
Bring us to  the Gate,  and you  may  go where you wish  --  only not to our 
enemies.' 
     'To  the Gate, eh?' Gollum squeaked, seeming surprised  and frightened. 
'To the Gate, master  says! Yes, he says so.  And  good Smjagol does what he 
asks, O yes. But when we gets closer, we'll  see perhaps we'll  see then. It 
won't look nice at all. O no! O no!'


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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. Smjagol  said so.


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####-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


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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 mountains. 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 D®ath; beyond his sight it journeyed on  into the narrow land 
between the mountains and the Great River.


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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  a t 
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  Smjagol knows it. Let Smjagol show 
you!  ' 
     'Another wa y!  ' said Frodo  doubtfully, looking down  at  Gollum  with 
searching eyes. 
     'Yess! Yess indeed! There was another  way. Smjagol 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


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####-     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 Smjagol if  you wish, tell  me of this other way,  and


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between sleep and waking, until forgetfulness came over him. 
     Suddenly Sam woke up thinking that he heard his master calling.  It was 
evening. Frodo could not have called, for he had fallen asleep, and had slid 
down nearly to the  bottom of  the pit. Gollum was by  him. For a moment Sam 
thought that he was trying to  rouse Frodo; then he saw that it was  not so. 
Gollum was talking to himself. Smjagol was holding a  debate with some other 
thought  that used the same voice but  made it squeak and hiss. A pale light 
and a green light alternated in his eyes as he spoke. 
     `Smjagol promised,' said the first thought. 
     `Yes,  yes, my precious,' came  the  answer, 'we promised: to  save our 
Precious, not to let Him have it -- never. But it's going to Him yes, nearer  
every step.  What's the hobbit going  to  do  with it,  we wonders,  yes  we 
wonders.' 
     `I don't know. I can't help it. Master's  got it. Smjagol  promised  to 
help the master.'


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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  Smjagol. He says: Smjagol, take me to  the Gate  -- and 
then good bye! Smjagol can run away and  be good. But now he says: I purpose 
to enter Mordor this way.  So  Smjagol 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 Smjagol must save them both, and he thinks of 
another  way  that there was, once upon a  time.  Nice  master. Smjagol very 
good, always helps.' 
     Sam frowned. If he could have  bored holes in Gollum  with his eyes, he


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and  went off southwards into  the deep shadows that mantled all the western 
sides of Ephel D®ath; 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


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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 out-stretched shadow of the northmost


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Frodo waited patiently for a while,  then he spoke again less  sternly. 
`Come now, Gollum  or Smjagol 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 
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 Smjagol'. 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 D®ath,  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.


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further -unless we want to ask the orcs for a lift.' 
     `No, no! ' said Gollum. `No use. We can't  go further. Smjagol  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. Smjagol  knew  hobbits  could  not  go this way. O yes.  
Smjagol 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 Smjagol 
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


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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 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. 
     `Smjagol,' he said, `I will trust you once more. lndeed 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, Smjagol, you are in danger.'


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####-     `The  old fortress, very old, very horrible now. We used  to hear tales 
from the South, when Smjagol 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.'


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####-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-dyr, 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


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####-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. 'Smjagol 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


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####-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 a bout 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.'


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tried to take  from  me what you once sought.  May the third time  prove the 
best! But I warn you, Smjagol, you are in danger.' 
     `Yes, yes,  master!  '  said Gollum. `Dreadful  danger! Smjagol'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 tha t! 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  Smjagol 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, Smjagol, I should put  on the Precious; and the  Precious 
mastered you  long ago. If  I,  wearing  it, were to  command you, you would


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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.


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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 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.


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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  nut 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 must not go 
to the terrible city, O no, of course not. That is where Smjagol helps. nice


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In  the last need, Smjagol, 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, Smjagol!'


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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 h is 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


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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, µ not moving, shrouded  in


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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? '


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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 th is? 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? '


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####-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. Smjagol 
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,


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says I must go  or I will go, then he  must try some way. But he must not go 
to the terrible city, O no, of course not. That is where Smjagol helps. nice 
Smjagol. though no one tells him what it is  all about. Smjagol 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  Smjagol 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.


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with brooding thought. 
     Not even an eagle  poised  against the sun would have marked the hobbits 
sitting there, under  the weight of doom, silent, µ 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.  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


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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 O liphaunt am I, 
     And I never lie. 
     '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,


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####-     'Is  it not guarded? ' asked Frodo sternly. `And did you escape out  of 
the  darkness,  Smjagol? Were you  not rather  permitted  to  depart upon an 
errand? That at  least is w hat 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


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`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


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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.  Presen tly the voices began to recede again, and 
then they slowly faded away. Far off  a  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, Smjagol has not.  They are fierce.


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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.


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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


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For the few hours of daylight that were left they rested, shifting into 
the shade as the sun moved, until  at last the shadow of the western  rim of 
their  dell grew long, and darkness filled all  the hollow. Then they ate  a  
little,  and drank  sparingly.  Gollum  ate nothing, but  he  accepted water  
gladly. 
     `Soon get more now,' he said, licking  his lips. `Good water  runs down 
in  streams to  the Great River,  nice water in the lands  we are  going to. 
Smjagol will get food there too, perhaps. He's very hungry, yes, gollum! ' He 
set his two large flat hands on his  shrunken belly, and a pale  green light 
came into his eyes. 
     The  dusk was deep  when at length  they  set  out,  creeping over  the 
westward rim of the  dell, and fading like ghosts into the broken country on 
the borders of the road: The moon was now three nights from the full, but it  
did not climb over the mountains until nearly midnight, and the  early night


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####-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.   'Smjagol has not heard of them. 
He does not want to see them. He does not want  them to be. Smjagol wants to


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####-way. 
     So  they  passed into the  northern marches  of that land that Men once 
called Ithilien, a fair country of climbing woods and swift -falling streams.  
The  night  became  fine  under  star and round moon, and  it seemed  to the 
hobbits that the  fragrance  of the air grew as they went  forward; and from 
the  blowing and muttering of Gollum it  seemed that he noticed it  too, and 
did not relish it. At the first signs  of day  they halted  again.  They had 
come to the end of a long cutting, deep, and sheer -sided in  the middle,  by 
which the road clove its way through a stony  ridge. Now they climbed up the 
westward bank and looked abroad. 
     Day  was  opening in the sky, and they saw  that the mountains were now  
much further  off, receding ea stward in  a long curve  that was lost in  the 
distance. Before them, as they turned west, gentle slopes ran  down into dim 
hazes far  below. All about them were small woods of resinous trees, fir and


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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


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####-roots of the  hills and  slanting  westwards.  Beyond it were slopes covered 
with  sombre trees  like  dark clouds. but  all about  them  lay  a  tumbled 
heathland, grown with ling and broom  and cornel, and other shrubs that they 
did not know. Here and there they saw knots  of tall pine-trees.  The hearts 
of the hobbits rose again a little in spite of weariness: the  air was fresh 
and  fragrant, and it reminded them  of the uplands of the Northfarthing far 
away. It seemed good to be reprieved, to  walk in a land that had  only been 
for a few years  under the dominion of  the Dark Lord and was not yet fallen 
wholly into  decay. But they did not forget their danger, nor the Black Gate 
that was still all too near, hidden though it was behind the gloomy heights. 
They looked about for a hiding-place where they could shelter from evil eyes 
while the light lasted. 
     The  day passed uneasily. They lay deep  in the heather and counted out


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####-their journey down to Anduin. 
     The  travellers  turned their backs on the road and  went downhill.  As 
they walked, brushing their  way through bush  and herb,  sweet  odours rose 
about  them. Gollum coughed and retched; but the hobbits  breathed deep, and 
suddenly Sam laughed, for heart's ease not for jest. They followed a  stream 
that went  quickly down before them. Presently  it  brought them to a  small 
clear lake in a shallow dell: it lay in the broken ruins of an ancient stone 
basin, the carven rim of  which was  almost wholly  covered  with mosses and 
rose-brambles;  iris-swords stood in  ranks about it. and water -lily  leaves 
floated on  its dark gently-rippling surface; but it was deep and fresh, and 
spilled ever softly out over a stony lip at the far end. 
     Here they washed  themselves and  drank  their  fill at  the in-falling 
freshet. Then they sought for a resting-place, and a hiding-place: for  this


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'More  Men  going to Mordor,' he said in a low  voice. `Dark faces.  We 
have not seen Men like  these before, no, Smjagol 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


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distance. Before them, as they turned west, gentle slopes ran  down into dim 
hazes far  below. All about them were small woods of resinous trees, fir and 
cedar  and cypress. and other  kinds  unknown in the Shire, with wide glades 
among them; and  everywhere there was a wealth  of sweet -smelling  herbs and 
shrubs. The long journey from Rivendell had brought them far south of  their 
own  land,  but not until now in this more sheltered region had the  hobbits 
felt the change of clime.  Here Spring was  already busy about them:  fronds 
pierced  moss  and mould,  larches were  green-fingered, small flowers  were 
opening in the turf,  birds were singing. Ithilien, the garden of Gondor now 
desolate kept still a dishevelled dryad loveliness.  
     South  and  west  it looked  towards  the  warm lower vales  of Anduin, 
shielded  from   the  east  by  the  Ephel  D®ath  and  yet  not  under  the 
mountain-shadow,  protected  from the north  by the  Emyn Muil, open  to the


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beast.' He sighed. 
     `No, no oliphaunts,' said Gollum again.   'Smjagol has not heard of them. 
He does not want to see them. He does not want  them to be. Smjagol wants to 
go away from here and hide somewhere safer. Smjagol wants master to go. 
Nice 
master, won't he come with Smjagol? ' 
     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, 
Smjagol, 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


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the borders of the road: The moon was now three nights from the full, but it  
did not climb over the mountains until nearly midnight, and the  early night 
was very dark. A single red light burned high up in the Tower s of the Teeth,  
but  otherwise no sign could be seen or heard of the sleepless watch  on the 
Morannon. 
     For  many  miles the red eye  seemed  to  stare at  them as they  fled, 
stumbling through a barren  stony country.  They did not dare  to  take  the 
road, but they  kept  it  on their left, following its line as  well as they 
could at a little distance.  At last, when  night  was growing old and  they 
were already weary, for they had taken only one short rest, the eye dwindled  
to a small fiery point a nd then vanished: they had turned the dark  northern 
shoulder of the lower mountains and were heading southwards. 
     With hearts  strangely  lightened they  now rested again, but  not  for


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Here they washed  themselves and  drank  their  fill at  the in-falling 
freshet. Then they sought for a resting-place, and a hiding-place: for  this 
land, fair-seeming  still, was nonetheless now territory of  the Enemy. They 
had not come  very far from the road, and yet even  in so short a space they 
had seen  scars of  the  old wars, and the newer wounds made by the Orcs and 
other foul servants of the Dark Lord:  a  pit of uncovered filth and refuse; 
trees hewn down wantonly  and  left to die, with evil runes or the fell sign 
of the Eye cut in rude strokes on their bark. 
     Sam scrambling below the outfall of the lake. smelling and touching the 
unfamiliar  plants  and  trees,  forgetful for  the moment  of  Mordor,  was 
reminded suddenly  of their ever -present peril. He  stumbled on a ring still 
scorched by fire,  and in the midst of it  he  found  a pile  of charred and 
broken  bones  and skulls.  The  swift growth  of the wild  with  briar  and


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`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. 
     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 palantnr 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


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####-servants. Gollum, in any case, would not move under  the  Yellow. Face. Soon 
it  would look over the dark  ridges of the Ephel D®ath, and he would  faint 
and cower in the light and heat. 
     Sam had  been giving earnest thought to food as they  marched. Now that 
the despair  of  the  impassable Gate was behind  him,  he did  not feel  so 
inclined as his master  to take no thought  for  their livelihood beyond the 
end of their errand;  and anyway it seemed wiser to him to save the waybread 
of the  Elves for worse times ahead.  Six  days or more had  passed since he 
reckoned that they had only a bare supply for three weeks. 
     'If we  reach the Fire in  that time, we'll be lucky at this rate! ' he 
thought. `And we might be wanting to get back. We might! ' 
     Besides,  at  the  end  of a  long  night -march, and  after bathing and 
drinking, he felt even more hungry than usual. A supper,  or a breakfast, by


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terror, and was convinced that they were  being hunted, that  their approach 
was known. 
     `Three times! ' he  whimpered.  'Three times is  a threat. They feel us 
here, they feel the Precious. The Precious is their master. We cannot go any  
further this way, no. It's no use, no use! ' 
     Pleading and  kind words were no longer of any  avail. It was not until 
Frodo commanded him angrily and  laid a hand on  his sword-hilt  that Gollum 
would get up again. Then at last he rose with  a snarl, and went before them 
like a beaten dog. 
     So they stumbled on through  the weary end  of the night, and until the 
coming  of another  day of  fear they walked  in silence with  bowed  heads,  
seeing nothing, and hearing nothing but the wind hissing in their ears.


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shielded  from   the  east  by  the  Ephel  D®ath  and  yet  not  under  the 
mountain-shadow,  protected  from the north  by the  Emyn Muil, open  to the 
southern  airs and the moist winds from the Sea far  away.  Many great trees 
grew there,  planted  long ago,  falling  into untended age amid a  riot  of 
careless descendants;  and groves and  thickets there  were of tamarisk  and 
pungent terebinth, of olive and of bay; and there were junipers and myrtles; 
and  thymes that grew in  bushes, or with their woody creeping stems mantled 
in deep tapestries the hidden stones; sages of many kinds putting forth blue 
flowers, or  red,  or pale green; and  marjorams and new-sprouting parsleys,  
and many  herbs of forms and scents beyond the garden-lore of Sam. The grots 
and  rocky  walls were  already  starred  with  saxifrages  and  stonecrops.  
Primeroles  and anemones were awake in the  filbert -brakes; and asphodel and


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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!'


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shoulder of the lower mountains and were heading southwards. 
     With hearts  strangely  lightened they  now rested again, but  not  for  
long. They were  not going  quick enough for Gollum. By his reckoning it was 
nearly thirty leagues from the  Morannon to the cross-roads above Osgiliath, 
and he hoped to cover that distance in four journeys. So soon they struggled 
on once  more,  until the  dawn  began  to  spread  slowly in the wide  grey 
solitude. They had then  walked almost eight leagues; and the hobbits  could 
not have gone any further, even if they had dared. 
     The  growing  light revealed to them  a  land already, less  barren and 
ruinous. The mountains still loomed up ominously on their  left, but near at 
hand  they could  see the southward road,  now  bearing away  from the black


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Besides,  at  the  end  of a  long  night -march, and  after bathing and 
drinking, he felt even more hungry than usual. A supper,  or a breakfast, by 
the fire  in  the old kitchen  at  Bagshot Row was what he really wanted. An  
idea struck him and he turned to Gollum. Gollum had just begun  to sneak off 
on his own, and he was crawling away on all fours through the fern. 
     `Hi! Gollum! ' said Sam. `Where are you going?  Hunting? Well see here, 
old  noser, you don't like our  food,  and I'd  not  be sorry  for  a change 
myself.  Your new motto's always ready to help . Could you find anything  fit 
for a hungry hobbit? ' 
     `Yes, perhaps,  yes,' said Gollum. `Smjagol always helps, if they  asks 
-- if they asks nicely.' 
     `Right!' said Sam `I does ask. And if that isn't nice enough, I begs.' 
     Gollum disappeared.  He  was away some  time, and  Frodo  after  a  few 
mouthfuls of lembas settled deep into the brown  fern and went to sleep. Sam


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scorched by fire,  and in the midst of it  he  found  a pile  of charred and 
broken  bones  and skulls.  The  swift growth  of the wild  with  briar  and 
eglantine and trailing  clematis was already drawing a veil  over this place 
of dreadful feast and slaughter;  but it was not ancient. He hurried back to  
his companions, but he said nothing: the bones  were best  left in peace and 
not pawed and routed by Gollum. 
     `Let's  find a place to lie up in,' he said. 'Not lower down. Higher up 
for me.' 
     A  little way back above the lake they found a  deep brown bed  of last  
year's fern. Beyond it was a thicket of dark-leaved  bay-trees climbing up a  
steep bank  that was crowned with old cedars. Here they  decided to rest and 
pass  the day, which already promised to be  bright and warm. A good day for 
strolling  on their way along the groves and glades of Ithilien; but  though 
Orcs may shun the sunlight. there were too many places here where they could


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and  rocky  walls were  already  starred  with  saxifrages  and  stonecrops.  
Primeroles  and anemones were awake in the  filbert -brakes; and asphodel and 
many  lily-flowers  nodded their half-opened heads in the grass: deep  green 
grass beside  the pools,  where  falling streams  halted  in cool hollows on


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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


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They looked about for a hiding-place where they could shelter from evil eyes 
while the light lasted. 
     The  day passed uneasily. They lay deep  in the heather and counted out 
the  slow hours, in which  there seemed  little  change; for they were still 
under the shadows of the Ephel D®ath, and the sun was veiled. Frodo slept at 
times, deeply and peacefully, either trusting Gollum or too tired to trouble 
about him; but Sam found it difficult to do more than doze, even when Gollum 
was plainly fast  asleep,  whiffling  and twitching in  his  secret  dreams.  
Hunger,  perhaps,  more than mistrust kept him wakeful: he had begun to long 
for a good homely meal, `something hot out of the pot'. 
     As soon as the land faded into a formless grey under coming night, they 
started  out  again. In  a little while  Gollum led  them  down  on  to  the 
southward road; and after that they went  on more quickly, though the danger


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####-somehow. But I love him, whether or no.' 
     Gollum returned quietly  and  peered over  Sam's  shoulder.  Looking at 
Frodo, he shut his eyes  and crawled away without a sound. Sam came  to him a  
moment later and found him  chewing something  and muttering  to himself. 
On 
the ground beside him lay two small rabbits, which he was  beginning to  eye 
greedily. 
     'Smjagol always helps,' he said. `He has brought rabbits, nice rabbits.  
But ma ster has gone  to sleep,  and perhaps Sam wants to sleep. Doesn't want 
rabbits now?  Smjagol  tries  to help,  but he can't catch  things all in  a  
minute.' 
     Sam,  however, had no objection to rabbit at all, and said so. At least 
not to cooked rabbit. All hobbits, of  course,  can cook, for they  begin to 
learn the art before their letters (which  many never reach):  but Sam was a  
good  cook, even by  hobbit  reckoning,  and he had  done a good deal of the


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####-     `Smjagol'll get  into real true hot water , when this water boils, if he 
don't do  as  he's  asked,' growled  Sam.  `Sam'll put  his head in it,  yes 
precious. And I'd make him look for turnips  and carrots, and taters too, if 
it was  the time o'  the  year. I'll bet there's all sorts  of  good  things 
running wild in this country. I'd give a lot for half a dozen taters.' 
     `Smjagol won't  go, O no precious, not this time,' hissed Gollum. `He's 
frightened, and  he's very tired, and this hobbit's  not nice,  not nice  at 
all.  Smjagol won't  grub for roots and  carrotses  and  --  taters.  What's 
taters, precious, eh, what's taters?  
     `Po-ta -toes,' said Sam. 'The  Gaffer's delight, and  rare  good ballast  
for an empty belly. But you won't find any, so you needn't look. But be good  
Smjagol  and  fetch me the herbs, and I'll think better of you. What's more, 
if you turn  over a new leaf, and keep it turned, I'll cook you  some taters


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####-bank just outside the fern-brake, and made a shallow hole and laid  his fuel 
in it. Being handy with flint and tinder he soon had a small blaze going. It  
made little or no smoke but gave off an aromatic scent. He was just stooping  
over  his  fire,   shielding it and  building  it up with heavier  wood, when 
Gollum returned, carrying the pans carefully and grumbling to himself.  
     He set the pans down, and then suddenly saw what Sam was doing. He gave 
a thin hissing shriek, and seemed to be both frightened and angry. `Ach! Sss 
-- no!' he cried. `No! Silly  hobbits, foolish, yes foolish! They mustn't do 
it!' 
     `Mustn't do what?' asked Sam in surprise. 
     `Not make  the nassty  red  tongues,'  hissed Gollum. `Fire, fire! It's 
dangerous, yes it is.  It burns, it kills. And it will  bring enemies, yes it 
will.' 
     'I don't think so,' said  Sam. `Don't see  why it  should, if you don't


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####-brought no bowls, nor nothing proper.' 
     Frodo  yawned and stretched.  'You  should  have been  resting Sam,' he 
said. 'And lighting   a fire  was dangerous  in these  parts.  But I do  feel 
hungry. Hmm! Can I smell it from here? What have you stewed? ' 
     'A  present from Smjagol,' said Sam: `a brace o' young coneys; though I 
fancy Gollum's regretting them now. But there's nought to go with them but a 
few herbs.' 
     Sam and  his master sat just within  the  fern-brake and ate their stew 
from the pans, sharing the  old fork and spoon. They allowed themselves half 
a piece of the Elvish waybread each. It seemed a feast. 
     'Wheew!  Gollum! ' Sam called and whistled softly. 'Come on! Still time 
to  change your  mind.  There's some left, if you want to try stewed coney.' 
There was no answer. 
     `Oh  well, I suppose he's gone off to find something for himself. We'll 
finish it,' said Sam. 
     `And then you must take some sleep,' said Frodo.


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Gollum disappeared.  He  was away some  time, and  Frodo  after  a  few 
mouthfuls of lembas settled deep into the brown  fern and went to sleep. Sam 
looked  at  him. The early  daylight  was only just creeping  down into  the 
shadows u nder the trees, but he saw his master's face very clearly, and  his 
hands, too, lying at rest on the ground beside him. He was reminded suddenly 
of Frodo as he had lain, asleep in  the  house of Elrond,  after his  deadly 
wound. Then as  he  had  kept watch Sam  had  noticed that at times  a light 
seemed to be shining faintly within; but now the light  was even clearer and  
stronger. Frodo's face was peaceful, the marks of fear and care had left it; 
but it looked old,  old and beautiful, as  if the  chiselling of the shaping 
years was now revealed  in  many  fine lines  that  had before  been hidden, 
though the  identity of the face was not changed. Not that Sam Gamgee put it


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####-scattered the ashes, and laid the turves on the hole.  Then he crept back to 
Frodo. 
     'Did  you hear a whistle, and  what sounded like an answer? ' he asked. 
`A few minutes back. I hope  it was  only a bird,  but it didn't  sound quite 
like that: more like  somebody mimicking  a  bird-call, I  thought.  And I'm 
afraid my bit of fire's been smoking. Now if I've gone  and brought trouble, 
I'll never forgive myself. Nor won't have a chance, maybe! ' 
     `Hush! ' whispered Frodo. `I thought I heard voices.' 
     The  two  hobbits  trussed their  small packs,  put  them  on ready for  
flight,  and  then  crawled  deeper  into  the  fern.  There  they  crouched 
listening. 
     There was no doubt of the voices. They were speaking low and furtively,  
but they were near, and coming nearer. Then quite suddenly one spoke clearly 
close at hand. 
     `Here! Here is where the smoke came from! ' it said. `'Twill be nigh at


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started  out  again. In  a little while  Gollum led  them  down  on  to  the 
southward road; and after that they went  on more quickly, though the danger 
was greater. Their ears were strained  for the sound of hoof or  foot on the 
road  ahead, or following them  from behind;  but the night passed, and they 
heard no sound of walker or rider. 
     The  road had been made in  a long lost  time:  and  for perhaps thirty 
miles below  the  Morannon it had been  newly repaired, but as it went south  
the wild encroached upon it. The handiwork of Men of old could still be seen 
in its straight sure  flight and level course:  now and again it cut its way 
through hillside slopes, or leaped over a stream upon a wide shapely arch of 
enduring masonry; but at  last  all signs  of stonework faded,  save  for  a  
broken pillar  here and  there,  peering out of bushes  at  the side, or old 
paving-stones still  lurking  amid weeds  and  moss.  Heather  and  trees and


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learn the art before their letters (which  many never reach):  but Sam was a  
good  cook, even by  hobbit  reckoning,  and he had  done a good deal of the 
camp-cooking on their travels, when there was a  chance. He  still  hopefully 
carried some of his gear in his pack: a  small tinder -box, two small shallow 
pans,  the smaller fitting into  the  larger; inside them  a wooden spoon, a  
short  two-pronged  fork and  some skewers were  stowed;  and hidden  at the 
bottom of the pack in a flat wooden box a dwindling treasure, some salt. But 
he needed a  fire, and other things besides. He thought for  a bit, while he 
took out his  knife, cleaned and whetted it, and began to dress the rabbits.  
He was not going to leave Frodo alone asleep even for a few minutes. 
     'Now,  Gollum,'  he said, 'I've  another job for you. Go and fill these 
pans with water, and bring  'em back!  ' 
     'Smjagol will fetch water, yes,' said Gollum. 'But what does the hobbit


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There was no answer. 
     `Oh  well, I suppose he's gone off to find something for himself. We'll 
finish it,' said Sam. 
     `And then you must take some sleep,' said Frodo. 
     `Don't you drop off, while  I'm nodding, Mr. Frodo. I  don't  feel  too 
sure  of  him.  There's  a  good  deal  of  Stinker -the bad  Gollum, if  you  
understand me-in him still, and it's getting stronger again. Not but what  I 
think he'd try to throttle  me first  now. We don't see eye to eye, and he's 
not pleased with Sam, O no precious, not pleased at all.' 
     They finished, and Sam went off to the stream to rinse his  gear. As he 
stood  up to return, he looked back up the  slope. At that moment he saw the 
sun  rise out of the reek, or haze, or dark shadow, or whatever it was, that 
lay  ever to the east, and it sent its  golden beams down upon the trees and 
glades about him. Then  he noticed a thin spiral of blue-grey,  smoke, plain


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but they were near, and coming nearer. Then quite suddenly one spoke clearly 
close at hand. 
     `Here! Here is where the smoke came from! ' it said. `'Twill be nigh at 
hand. In the fern, no  doubt. We shall have it like  a coney in a trap. Then 
we shall learn what kind of thing it is.' 
     `Aye, and what it knows! ' said a second voice. 
     At  once  four  men  came  striding  through  the  fern from  different 
directions. Since flight and hiding  were no longer  possible, Frodo and Sam 
sprang  to their  feet,  putting  back to back and whipping out  their small 
swords. 
     If they were astonished at what they saw, their captors were even  more 
astonished.  Four tall Men  stood there. Two  had spears in their hands with 
broad  bright heads. Two  had great bows,  almost of their  own height,  and  
great quivers of long green-feathered arrows. All had swords at their sides,  
and were clad in green  and  brown of varied hues, as if the better  to walk


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years was now revealed  in  many  fine lines  that  had before  been hidden, 
though the  identity of the face was not changed. Not that Sam Gamgee put it 
that  way to himself.  He shook  his  head, as if finding words useless, and 
murmured:  `I  love  him. He's  like that, and  sometimes it shines through,


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broken pillar  here and  there,  peering out of bushes  at  the side, or old 
paving-stones still  lurking  amid weeds  and  moss.  Heather  and  trees and 
bracken  scrambled down  and  overhung  the banks, or sprawled out over  the 
surface. It dwindled at last to a country cart -road little  used; but it did 
not wind:  it held on its  own sure course and  guided them by  the swiftest


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dangerous, yes it is.  It burns, it kills. And it will  bring enemies, yes it 
will.' 
     'I don't think so,' said  Sam. `Don't see  why it  should, if you don't 
put wet stuff on it and make a  smother.  But if it does, it does. I'm going 
to risk it, anyhow. I'm going to stew these coneys.' 
     'Stew the rabbits!'  squealed Gollum in  dismay. `Spoil  beautiful meat 
Smjagol  saved for  you,  poor  hungry  Smjagol! What for? What  for,  silly 
hobbit? They are young, they are tender, they are nice. Eat them, eat them!' 
He clawed a t the nearest rabbit, already skinned and lying by the fire. 
     `Now, now! ' said Sam. `Each to his own fashion. Our bread chokes  you, 
and raw  coney chokes me. If you give  me a coney, the coney's mine, see, to 
cook,  if  I have  a mind. And  I have.  You needn't watch me.  Go and catch  
another  and eat it as you  fancy  -- somewhere private  and out o' my sight. 
Then you  won't see the  fire, and  I shan't see you, and we'll both  be the


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####-chief among them. `Elves do not  walk in Ithilien in these  days.  And Elves  
are wondrous fair to look upon, or so 'tis said.' 
     'Meaning  we're not, I take you,' said Sam. `Thank you kindly. And when  
you've finished discussing us,  perhaps you'll say who you are, and  why you  
can't let two tired travellers rest.' 
     The tall  green man laughed grimly.  `I am Faramir, Captain of Gondor,' 
he said. `But there are no travellers in this land: only the servants of the 
Dark Tower, or of the White.' 
     `But  we are  neither,' said Frodo.  `And  travellers  we are, whatever  
Captain Faramir may say.' 
     'Then make  haste to declare yourselves and your errand,' said Faramir. 
'We  have  a  work  to  do,  and this is  no time or place  for riddling  or  
parleying. Come! Where is the third of your company? ' 
     `The third? ' 
     'Yes, the skulking fellow that  we saw with his  nose in  the pool down


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lay  ever to the east, and it sent its  golden beams down upon the trees and 
glades about him. Then  he noticed a thin spiral of blue-grey,  smoke, plain 
to see as it  caught  the sunlight, rising  from a thicket above him. With a  
shock  he realized that  this was the smoke  from  his  little cooking-fire, 
which he had neglected to put out. 
     `That won't do! Never thought  it  would show like that! ' he muttered, 
and  he started to hurry back. Suddenly he halted and listened. Had he heard 
a whistle  or not? Or was  it the  call of some strange  bird?  If it was  a  
whistle, it did  not  come from Frodo's direction. There it went again  from 
another place! Sam began to run as well as he could uphill. 
     He found that a small brand, burning away to its outer end, had kindled 
some  fern  at  the edge  of the fire,  and the fern blazing  up had set the 
turves  smouldering.  Hastily he stamped  out  what  was left of  the  fire,


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great quivers of long green-feathered arrows. All had swords at their sides,  
and were clad in green  and  brown of varied hues, as if the better  to walk  
unseen in the glades of Ithilien. Green  gauntlets covered  their hands, and 
their faces were hooded and  masked with green, except for their eyes, which 
were very keen and bright. At once  Frodo thought of  Boromir, for these Men 
were like him in stature and bearing, a nd in their manner of speech. 
     `We have  not found what we sought,' said one. `But what have we found? 
' 
     'Not Orcs,' said another, releasing the hilt of his sword, which he had 
seized when he saw the glitter of Sting in Frodo's hand. 
     `Elves? ' said a third, doubtfully. 
     `Nay! Not Elves,'  said the fourth, the tallest, and as it appeared the


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'Now,  Gollum,'  he said, 'I've  another job for you. Go and fill these 
pans with water, and bring  'em back!  ' 
     'Smjagol will fetch water, yes,' said Gollum. 'But what does the hobbit 
want all that water for? He has drunk, he has washed.' 
     'Never you mind,' said Sam. `If you  can't guess, you'll soon find out. 
And  the  sooner you fetch the  water,  the  sooner you'll  learn. Don't you  
damage one of my pans, or I'll carve you into mincemeat.' 
     While Gollum was  away Sam took  another look  at Frodo.  He  was still 
sleeping quietly, but Sam was now struck  most  by the leanness  of his face 
and hands. 'Too thin and drawn he is,' he muttered. 'Not right for a hobbit. 
If I can get these coneys cooked, I'm going to wake him up.' 
     Sam gathered a pile of the driest fern, and then scrambled  up the bank  
collecting a  bundle of twigs and broken wood; the fallen branch of a  cedar 
at the top gave him a good supply. He cut out some turves at the foot of the


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####-' Frodo replied. 
     Seek for the Sword that was Broken. 
     In Imladris it dwells. 
     'The words are known indeed,' said Faramir in astonishment. `It is some 
token of your truth that you also know them.' 
     `Aragorn whom I named is the bearer of the Sword that was Broken,' said 
Frodo. 'And we are the Halflings that the rhyme spoke of.' 
     `That I see,' said Faramir thoughtfully. `Or I see that it might be so. 
And what is Isildur's Bane? ' 
     `That is hidden,'  answered  Frodo. `Doubtless it will be made clear in 
time.' 
     `We must  learn more of this,' said Faramir, `and know  what brings you  
so far east under the shadow of yonder --,' he pointed and said no name. 'But 
not now. We have business in hand. You are in peril.  and you would not have 
gone far  by field or road this day.  There will be hard handstrokes nigh at 
hand ere the day is full. Then death, or swift flight bark to Anduin. I will


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another  and eat it as you  fancy  -- somewhere private  and out o' my sight. 
Then you  won't see the  fire, and  I shan't see you, and we'll both  be the 
happier. I'll see the fire don't smoke, if that's any comfort to you.' 
     Gollum withdrew grumbling,  and  crawled  into  the  fern.  Sam  busied 
himself with his pans. `What a hobbit needs with coney,' he said to himself,  
`is some  herbs and roots,  especially taters -- not to mention bread. Herbs 
we can manage, seemingly.' 
     `Gollum!'  he  called softly. `Third  time pays  for all. I  want  some 
herbs.' Gollum's head peeped out of the  fern,  but  his looks  were neither  
helpful  nor friendly.  `A few  bay-leaves, some  thyme and sage, will do  -- 
before the water boils,' said Sam. 
     `No! ' said  Gollum. `Smjagol is  not pleased. And Smjagol doesn't like 
smelly leaves. He doesn't eat  grasses or roots,  no precious, not till he's 
starving or very sick, poor Smjagol. '


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####-answering. They named themselves Mablung and Damrod, soldiers of Gondor, 
and 
they were Rangers of Ithilien; for they  were descended  from folk who lived 
in Ithilien  at  one time, before  it  was overrun. From  such  men the Lord 
Denethor chose his forayers, who  crossed the Anduin secretly (how or where, 
they would not say) to harry  the Orcs and other enemies that roamed between 
the Ephel D®ath and the River. 
     `It  is close on  ten leagues hence to the east -shore of Anduin,'  said 
Mablung, 'and we seldom come so far afield. But we have a new errand on this 
journey: we come to ambush the Men of Harad. Curse them! ' 
     'Aye, curse the Southrons! ' said Damrod.  ` 'Tis  said that there were 
dealings  of  old between Gondor  and the kingdoms of the  Harad in  the Far 
South; though there was never friendship. In those days our bounds were away 
south beyond the mouths of Anduin, and Umbar, the nearest  of  their realms,


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parleying. Come! Where is the third of your company? ' 
     `The third? ' 
     'Yes, the skulking fellow that  we saw with his  nose in  the pool down 
yonder. He had an ill-favoured look. Some spying breed of Orc, I guess, or a  
creature of theirs. But he gave us the slip by some fox-trick.' 
     'I do not know where he is,' said Frodo. 'He is only a chance companion 
met  upon our road; and I  am  not answerable for  him. If you  come on him, 
spare  him. Bring him  or send him  to  us.  He is  only  a wretched gangrel 
creature, but I have  him under my care for a while. But as for  us,  we are 
Hobbits of the Shire,  far to  the North and West, beyond many rivers. Frodo 
son of Drogo is my name, and with  me is  Samwise son  of Hamfast, a  worthy 
hobbit in my  service.  We  have come  by long ways  --  out of Rivendell, or  
Imladris as some call  it.'  Here  Faramir started  and grew  intent. 'Seven


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####-     It was Sam's  first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not 
like it much. He was  glad that he could not see the dead  face. He wondered 
what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of 
heart, or what lies or threats had  led him on the long march from his home; 
and if  he would not really rather have stayed there in peace-all in a flash 
of  thought which  was  quickly driven  from his mind. For  just as  Mablung 
stepped towards the  fallen  body, there was a  new noise.  Great crying and 
shouting. Amidst it Sam heard a shrill bellowing or trumpeting.  And  then a  
great thudding and bumping. like huge rams dinning on the ground. 
     'Ware! Ware!' cried Damrod  to his  companion. 'May the Valar turn  him 
aside! Mymak! Mymak!' 
     To his  astonishment and terror,  and lasting delight,  Sam  saw a vast  
shape crash out of  the trees  and come careering down the  slope. Big as  a


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gone far  by field or road this day.  There will be hard handstrokes nigh at 
hand ere the day is full. Then death, or swift flight bark to Anduin. I will 
leave two to guard you, for your  good and for mine. Wise  man trusts not to 
chance-meeting on the road in this land. If I return, I will speak more with 
you.' 
     'Farewell!' said Frodo, bowing low. `Think what you will, I am a friend 
of  all enemies of the One Enemy. We  would go with you, if we halfling folk 
could hope to serve  you, such doughty men and strong  as you seem, and if my 
errand permitted it. May the light shine on your swords!' 
     'The  Halflings  are  courteous  folk,  whatever  else  they  be,' said 
Faramir. `Farewell!' 
     The hobbits  sat  down  again, but  they said nothing to one another of 
their thoughts and doubts. Close by, just  under the dappling  shadow of the 
dark bay-trees, two men remained on guard. They took off their masks now and


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####-keen hobbit-eyes  he  saw that many  more Men were about. He  could see 
them 
stealing up the slopes, singly or in long files, keeping always to the shade 
of  grove or thicket, or crawling, hardly visible  in their brown and  green 
raiment, through  grass and  brake. All were  hooded  and  masked,  and  had 
gauntlets on  their hands, and  were  armed like Faramir and his companions. 
Before  long they had  all passed and  vanished. The sun rose till it neared 
the South. The shadows shrank. 
     `I wonder where that dratted Gollum is?  '  thought Sam, as  he crawled 
back into deeper shade. `He  stands  a fair chance of being spitted  for  an 
Orc,  or of being roasted  by the Yellow Face. But I  fancy he'll look after  
himself.' He lay down beside Frodo and began to doze. 
     He woke,  thinking that he had heard horns blowing. He sat up.  It  was 
now high noon.  The guards stood alert and tense in the shadow of the trees.


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Smjagol  and  fetch me the herbs, and I'll think better of you. What's more, 
if you turn  over a new leaf, and keep it turned, I'll cook you  some taters 
one of  these days. I will: fried fish  and chips served by  S.  Gamgee. You  
couldn't say no to that.' 
     `Yes, yes we could. Spoiling nice fish, scorching it. Give me fish now, 
and keep nassty chips! ' 
     `Oh you're hopeless,' said Sam. 'Go to sleep!' 
     In  the end he had to find what  he wanted for himself;  but he did not 
have to  go far, not out  of sight of the  place where his master lay, still 
sleeping. For a while  Sam sat musing, and  tending the fire till  the water  
boiled. The daylight grew  and the  air became  warm; the dew faded off turf 
and leaf. Soon  the  rabbits  cut  up  lay simmering in their pans with  the 
bunched herbs. Almost Sam fell asleep as the  time went by. He let them stew 
for close on an hour, testing them now and again with  his fork, and tasting 
the broth.


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strolling  on their way along the groves and glades of Ithilien; but  though 
Orcs may shun the sunlight. there were too many places here where they could 
lie hid  and  watch;  and  other  evil  eyes were  abroad:  Sauron had  many


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hobbit in my  service.  We  have come  by long ways  --  out of Rivendell, or  
Imladris as some call  it.'  Here  Faramir started  and grew  intent. 'Seven 
companions we had: one we lost at Moria, the others we left  at  Parth Galen 
above Rauros:  two of  my kin; a  Dwarf there was also,  and an Elf, and two  
Men.  They were  Aragorn;  and Boromir, who said  that he came out of  Minas 
Tirith, a city in the South.' 
     'Boromir! ' all the four men exclaimed. 
     'Boromir son of  the Lord Denethor?' said  Faramir, and a strange stern 
look came into his  face. 'You came with  him? That is news indeed, if it be 
true. Know, little strangers, that Boromir  son of Denethor was High  Warden 
of  the White Tower, and our Captain-General: sorely do we miss him. Who are 
you then,  and  what had you  to do  with  him?  Be swift, for  the  Sun  is 
climbing!' 
     'Are the riddling words known to you that Boromir brought to Rivendell?


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aside! Mymak! Mymak!' 
     To his  astonishment and terror,  and lasting delight,  Sam  saw a vast  
shape crash out of  the trees  and come careering down the  slope. Big as  a  
house, much bigger than a house, it looked to him, a grey-clad moving  hill.  
Fear and wonder, maybe, enlarged him in the hobbit's eyes, but the  Mymak of 
Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now 
in Middle-earth; his kin that  live still in latter days are but memories of 
his girth and majesty. On  he came, straight towards  the watchers, and then 
swerved  aside in the nick of time,  passing only  a few yards away, rocking  
the ground beneath their feet: his great legs like trees, enormous sail-like 
ears  spread out, long  snout upraised like a huge serpent  about to strike. 
his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks were bound with bands 
of  gold and dripped with blood. His trappings of  scarlet and  gold flapped


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####-     'Why so, and not  Boromir, prince of the City that the  sons of Elendil 
founded?  ' 
     'Because Aragorn is descended in direct lineage, father to father, from 
Isildur  Elendil's son  himself. And the sword  that he  bears was Elendil's 
sword.' 
     A  murmur of  astonishment ran through all the ring  of men. Some cried  
aloud: 'The sword of Elendil! The  sword  of Elendil comes  to Minas Tirith!  
Great tidings! ' But Faramir's face was unmoved. 
     `Maybe,' he said. `But so great a claim will need to be established and 
clear proofs  will  be  required,  should this  Aragorn ever  come  to Minas 
Tirith. He  had not come,  nor any of your  Company, when I set out six days 
ago.' 
     'Boromir was satisfied of that claim,' said Frodo. `Indeed, if  Boromir 
were here, he would answer all your  questions. And since  he was already at 
Rauros many days back, and intended then to go straight to your city, if you


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their thoughts and doubts. Close by, just  under the dappling  shadow of the 
dark bay-trees, two men remained on guard. They took off their masks now and 
again  to cool them,  as the  day-heat grew,  and Frodo  saw that  they were 
goodly  men, pale-skinned, dark of hair, with  grey eyes and  faces sad  and 
proud. They spoke together in soft voices, at first using the Common Speech, 
but after the manner of older days, and then changing to another language of 
their own. To his amazement, as he listened Frodo   became aware that  it was 
the Elven-tongue that they spoke, or one but little different; and he looked 
at  them with wonder, for he  knew  then that  they must be D®nedain  of the 
South, men of the line of the Lords of Westernesse. 
     After a  while  he spoke to  them; but they were slow  and  cautious in


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He woke,  thinking that he had heard horns blowing. He sat up.  It  was 
now high noon.  The guards stood alert and tense in the shadow of the trees.  
Suddenly the horns rang out louder and beyond  mistake from  above, over the 
top  of  the slope. Sam thought that he heard cries and wild  shouting also, 
but  the sound was faint,  as  if  it came out  of some  distant  cave. Then 
presently the noise of  fighting broke  out  near at hand, just  above their 
hiding-place. He could hear plainly the ringing grate of steel on steel, the 
clang  of sword on iron  cap, the  dull beat of blade on  shield;  men  were 
yelling and screaming, and one clear loud voice was calling Gondor! Gondor! 
     `It sounds like a hundred blacksmiths all smithying together,' said Sam 
to Frodo. 'They're as near as I want them now.' 
     But the noise grew closer. `They are  coming!' cried Damrod. `See! Some 
of  the Southrons have broken  from the trap  and are flying  from the road.


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bunched herbs. Almost Sam fell asleep as the  time went by. He let them stew 
for close on an hour, testing them now and again with  his fork, and tasting 
the broth. 
     When  he thought  all  was ready he lifted the pans off  the  fire, and 
crept along to Frodo. Frodo  half opened his eyes as Sam stood over him, and 
then he  wakened from  his  dreaming: another gentle, unrecoverable dream of 
peace. 
     `Hullo, Sam! ' he said. `Not resting? Is  anything wrong?  What  is the 
time?  ' 
     `About a couple of hours after daybreak,' said  Sam, `and  nigh on half 
past  eight  by  Shire  clocks, maybe. But nothing's wrong. Though  it ain't  
quite what I'd call right: no stock, no onions, no taters. I've got a bit of 
a stew for you, and some broth, Mr. Frodo.  Do you good. You'll have  to sup 
it in your mug; or straight from the pan, when it's  cooled a bit. I haven't


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####-was my brother.' 
     A  shadow  of sorrow passed  over his face.  `Do you remember  aught of  
special mark that the Lord Boromir bore with him among his gear?' 
     Frodo  thought for a moment,  fearing some further trap, and  wondering  
how this debate would turn in the end. He had hardly saved the Ring from the 
proud grasp of Boromir, and how he would fare now among so many men, 
warlike 
and  strong, he did not know.  Yet he felt in his heart that Faramir, though 
he was much like his brother  in  looks, was a man less self-regarding, both 
sterner and wiser. 'I remember that Boromir bore a horn,' he said at last. 
     `You remember  well, and  as  one  who has  in  truth  seen  him,' said 
Faramir. `Then maybe you can see it in your mind's eye: a great horn  of the  
wild ox of the East, bound with silver, and written with ancient characters. 
That horn the eldest son of our house has borne for many generations; and it


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####-Boromir, my brother, dead. I knew his gear, his sword, his beloved face. One 
thing only I missed: his horn. One thing only I knew not: a fair belt, as it 
were  of linked golden leaves, about his waist. Boromir!  I cried.  Where is 
thy  horn? Whither  goest  thou? O Boromir! But he was gone. The boat turned 
into the stream and passed  glimmering on into the night. Dreamlike  it was.  
and yet no dream, for there  was  no waking. And I do  not  doubt that he is 
dead and has passed down the River to the Sea.' 
     'Alas!' said  Frodo. 'That was indeed Boromir as I  knew  him. For  the 
golden belt was given to him in Lothlurien by the Lady Galadriel. She it was 
that clothed us as  you see  us, in elven-grey. This   brooch is of  the same 
workmanship.' He touched the green and silver leaf that  fastened  his cloak 
beneath his throat. 
     Faramir looked  closely at it.  `It is beautiful,' he  said. 'Yes, 'tis


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But the noise grew closer. `They are  coming!' cried Damrod. `See! Some 
of  the Southrons have broken  from the trap  and are flying  from the road. 
There they go! Our men after them, and the Captain leading.' 
     Sam,  eager to see more, went now and joined the guards. He scrambled a 
little  way  up into one of  the  larger of the bay-trees. For  a  moment he 
caught a glimpse of swarthy men in red running  down the slope  some way off 
with green-clad warriors leaping after them, hewing them down  as they fled. 
Arrows  were thick in the air. Then suddenly straight over  the rim of their 
sheltering bank, a man fell, crashing through  the slender trees,  nearly on 
top of them. He came to  rest in the  fern a  few feet away,  face downward, 
green arrow-feathers  sticking from  his neck  below  a  golden collar.  His 
scarlet robes  were tattered, his  corslet of overlapping brazen  plates was 
rent and hewn, his black plaits of hair braided with gold were drenched with


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It seemed to Sam that he had only dozed for a few minutes when he awoke 
to find that it was late afternoon and Faramir had come back. He had brought 
many men  with him; indeed all the survivors of the foray  were now gathered 
on the  slope nearby, two  or  three  hundred  strong.  They sat in  a  wide 
semicircle,  between the  arms  of which Faramir was  seated  on the ground,  
while  Frodo  stood  before him.  It looked strangely  like the  trial  of a  
prisoner. 
     Sam crept out from the fern, but no one paid any  attention to him, and 
he placed himself at the end of the rows of men, where he could see and hear 
all that wa s  going on. He  watched and listened  intently, ready to dash to 
his  master's  aid if needed. He  could see  Faramir's face,  which  was now 
unmasked:  it  was  stern  and commanding, and  a keen  wit lay  behind  his 
searching glance. Doubt was in the grey eyes that gazed steadily at Frodo.


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were here, he would answer all your  questions. And since  he was already at 
Rauros many days back, and intended then to go straight to your city, if you  
return, you may  soon learn the  answers  there. My part in the  Company was 
known to him, as  to all the others. for it was appointed to me by Elrond of 
Imladris  himself before the  whole Council. On that errand I came into this 
country, but it is not mine to reveal to any  outside the Company. Yet those 
who claim to oppose the Enemy would do well not to hinder it.' 
     Frodo's tone was  proud, whatever he felt, and Sam approved of it;  but 
it did not appease Faramir. 
     `So!' he said. `You bid me mind my own  affairs,  and get me back home,  
and let  you be.  Boromir  will tell all, when he comes. When he comes,  say 
you! Were you a friend of Boromir?' 
     Vividly before Frodo's  mind came the memory  of Boromir's assault upon 
him, and for a moment he hesitated. Faramir's eyes watching him grew harder.


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his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks were bound with bands 
of  gold and dripped with blood. His trappings of  scarlet and  gold flapped 
about him in wild tatters. The  ruins  of  what seemed a very war -tower  lay 
upon his heaving back, smashed in his furious passage thr ough the woods; and 
high upon  his  neck still desperately clung a  tiny  figure-the  body  of a  
mighty warrior, a giant among the Swertings. 
     On the great  beast  thundered, blundering  in blind wrath through pool 
and thicket. Arrows skipped and snapped harmlessly about  the triple hide of 
his flanks. Men of  both sides  fled before him,  but  many  he overtook and 
crushed  to  the  ground. Soon he was lost  to  view, still  trumpeting  and 
stamping far away. What became of him Sam never heard: whether  he escaped 
to 
roam the wild for a time, until he perished far from his home or was trapped 
in some deep pit; or whether he raged on until he plunged in the Great River


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scarlet robes  were tattered, his  corslet of overlapping brazen  plates was 
rent and hewn, his black plaits of hair braided with gold were drenched with 
blood. His brown hand still clutched the hilt of a broken sword.


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unmasked:  it  was  stern  and commanding, and  a keen  wit lay  behind  his 
searching glance. Doubt was in the grey eyes that gazed steadily at Frodo. 
     Sam soon became aware that  the Captain was not satisfied  with Frodo's 
account of  himself at several  points:  what part  he  had  to  play in the 
Company  that set out from Rivendell; why he had  left Boromir; and where he 
was now going. In particular he returned often to Isildur's Bane. Plainly he 
saw that Frodo was concealing from him some matter of great importance. 
     'But  it  was at the coming of the Halfling  that Isildur's Bane should 
waken,  or so  one must  read the words,' he  insisted. `If then you are the 
Halfling that was  named,  doubtless you brought this thing, whatever it may 
be, to the Council of which you speak, and there Boromir saw it. Do you deny 
it?  ' 
     Frodo made no answer. 'So! ' said Faramir. `I  wish then  to learn from


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wild ox of the East, bound with silver, and written with ancient characters. 
That horn the eldest son of our house has borne for many generations; and it  
is said that if it be blown at need anywhere within the bounds of Gondor, as 
the realm was of old, its voice will not pass unheeded. 
     'Five days ere I set out on this venture, eleven days ago at about this 
hour of  the  day, I heard  the blowing of that horn: from the northward  it 
seemed, but  dim, as if  it were but an echo in the mind. A boding of ill we 
thought it, my father and I, for no tidings had we heard of Boromir since he 
went away, and no watcher on our borders had seen him pass. And on the third 
night after another and a stranger thing befell me. 
     'I sat at night by  the waters of Anduin,  in the grey dark  under  the 
young pale moon, watching the ever -moving  stream;  and the  sad  reeds were 
rustling. So do we  ever watch the shores  nigh Osgiliath, which our enemies


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workmanship.' He touched the green and silver leaf that  fastened  his cloak 
beneath his throat. 
     Faramir looked  closely at it.  `It is beautiful,' he  said. 'Yes, 'tis 
work of  the same  craft. So  then  you passed through the Land  of  Lurien?  
Laurelindurenan  it  was named of  old, but long now it  has lain beyond the  
knowledge of Men,' he added softly, regarding Frodo with a new wonder in his 
eyes. `Much  that was strange about you  I begin now to understand. Will you 
not tell me more? For it is a bitter thought that Boromir died, within sight 
of the land of his home.' 
     'No more can I say than I have said,' answered Frodo. `Though your tale 
fills me with foreboding. A  vision it was that  you saw, I  think,  and  no 
more, some shadow of evil fortune that has been or will be. Unless indeed it  
is some lying trick of the Enemy. I have  seen the faces of fair warriors of 
old laid in  sleep beneath the  pools of the Dead Marshes, or seeming so  by


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to 
roam the wild for a time, until he perished far from his home or was trapped 
in some deep pit; or whether he raged on until he plunged in the Great River  
and was swallowed up. 
     Sam drew a  deep breath. 'An Oliphaunt it  was!' he said. `S o there are


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South; though there was never friendship. In those days our bounds were away 
south beyond the mouths of Anduin, and Umbar, the nearest  of  their realms,  
acknowledged our sway. But that is long since. 'Tis many lives of  Men since 
any passed to or  fro between us. Now of late we have learned that the Enemy 
has been among them, and they are gone over to Him, or back to Him-they 
were 
ever ready to His  will -as have so many also  in the East .  I doubt not that 
the days of Gondor are numbered, and the  walls of Minas Tirith are  doomed, 
so great is His strength and malice.' 
     `But still we will not sit idle  and  let Him do all as He would,' said 
Mablung. `These cursed Southrons  come  now marching up the ancient roads 
to 
swell the hosts of  the Dark Tower.  Yea, up  the very roads  that  craft of 
Gondor made.  And they go  ever more heedlessly, we learn, thinking that the 
power of their new  master is great enough, so that the mere shadow  of  His


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you! Were you a friend of Boromir?' 
     Vividly before Frodo's  mind came the memory  of Boromir's assault upon 
him, and for a moment he hesitated. Faramir's eyes watching him grew harder. 
'Boromir was a valiant member of our Company ' said Frodo at length. 'Yes, I 
was his friend, for my part.' 
     Faramir smiled grimly. `Then you would grieve to learn that  Boromir is 
dead?  ' 
     'I  would  grieve  indeed,'  said  Frodo.  Then catching  the  look  in 
Faramir's eyes, he faltered. 'Dead?'  he said. `Do you mean that he is dead, 
and that you knew it? You have been trying to trap me in words, playing with 
me? Or are you now trying to snare me with a falsehood?' 
     `I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood,' said Faramir. 
     `How then did  he die, and how do  you know of  it? Since  you say that


