The Hobbit / Хоббит. 10 класс - Загородняя И. Б.. Страница 21

“Get down now to your friends!” he said to Bilbo, “or I will throw you down.”

“What about the gold and silver?” asked Bilbo.

“That will follow after,” said he. “Get down!”

“Until then we keep the stone,” cried Bard.

“You don’t behave as King under the Mountain,” said Gandalf. “But things may change.”

“They may indeed,” said Thorin. He was already thinking of how to get the Arkenstone back and not to pay for it.

And so Bilbo was swung down from the wall, and left with nothing for all his trouble. The dwarves in their hearts felt shame and pity.

“Good-bye!” Bilbo cried to them. “We may meet again as friends.”

“Go away!” called Thorin.

“At noon we will return,” said Bard, “and see if you have brought the gold and silver for the stone. Good-bye!” With that they went back to the camp; but Thorin sent messengers by Rac telling Dain of what had happened, and asking him to hurry.

That day passed and the night. The next day the air was dark and gloomy. The morning was still early when Dain arrived.

The dwarves are really strong for their height, but most of these were strong even for dwarves. Their caps were of iron and they had iron shoes, and their faces were grim. Trumpets called men and elves to arms. Bard went out to meet the dwarves, and with him went Bilbo.

“We are sent from Dain son of Nain,” the dwarves said. “We are going to our relatives in the Mountain.”

Bard, of course, refused to allow the dwarves to go straight on to the Mountain. He was going to wait until Thorin had brought the gold and silver in exchange for the Arkenstone. The dwarves had brought with them a great store of supplies. So they could stand a siege for weeks.

This was, in fact, Thorin’s plan; but for the moment the way was blocked, so after angry words the dwarf-messengers retired. Bard then sent messengers at once to the Gate; but they found no gold or payment.

Suddenly darkness came! A black cloud hurried over the sky.

“Halt!” cried Gandalf, who appeared suddenly, and stood alone, with arms uplifted, between the advancing dwarves and the men and elves awaiting them. “Halt!” he called in a voice like thunder. “The Goblins are coming! Bolg of the North is coming. O Dain! You killed his father in Moria. Look! The bats are above his army like a black sea. They ride on wolves and Wargs are in their train!” Amazement and confusion fell upon them all. The darkness grew. The dwarves gazed at the sky. The elves cried.

“Come!” called Gandalf. “There is yet time for council. Let Dain son of Nain come swiftly to us!”

So began a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of Five Armies, and it was very terrible. Upon one side were the Goblins and the wild Wolves, and upon the other were Elves and Men and Dwarves.

Gandalf together with the Elvenking, Bard, and Dain realized that the Goblins were the foes of all, and at their coming all other quarrels were forgotten. Now it was necessary to lure the goblins into the valley between the arms of the Mountain.

Soon the bat-cloud came, flying lower, and whirled above them.

“To the Mountain!” called Bard. “To the Mountain! Let us take our places while there is yet time!”

On the Southern spur the Elves were set; on the Eastern spur were men and dwarves. But Bard and some of the nimblest of men and elves climbed to the height of the Eastern shoulder to get a view to the North. Soon they could see the lands before the Mountain’s feet black with a hurrying mass. Soon the goblin army rushed into Dale. Their banners were countless, black and red.

It was a terrible battle, and it was the most dreadful of all Bilbo’s experiences. Actually I must say he put on his ring and vanished from sight. But a magic ring is not a complete protection in a battle, it can’t stop flying arrows and wild spears; but it helps in getting out of the way.

The elves were the first to attack the goblin army. Their hatred for the goblins is cold and bitter. As soon as their enemies were in the valley, they sent against them a shower of arrows and spears. Then with cries of “Moria!” and “Dain, Dain!” the dwarves of the Iron Hills attacked the goblins; and beside them came the men of the Lake with long swords. Panic came upon the goblins. Already many of them were flying back down the river to escape from the trap. Just then another big group of goblins appeared from the other side of the Mountain and already many of them were on the slopes above the Gate. The goblins gathered again in the valley.

Soon actual darkness was coming into a stormy sky; while still the great bats whirled about the heads and ears of elves and men. Now Bard was fighting to defend the Eastern spur; and the elf-lords were at bay [120] about their king upon the southern arm. Suddenly there was a great shout, and from the Gate came a trumpet call. They had forgotten Thorin! Part of the wall fell outward with a crash into the pool. The King under the Mountain leaped out, and his companions followed him. They were in shining armour. Then the goblins who were higher on the Mountain started dropping stones onto them.

Thorin brandished his axe with mighty strokes.

“To me! To me! Elves and Men! To me!” he cried.

Down rushed all the dwarves of Dain to his help. Down too came many of the Lake-men, for Bard could not restrain them; and out upon the other side came many of the spearmen of the elves. Once again the goblins were stricken in the valley. But soon the attackers were attacked again.

On all this Bilbo looked with sadness from Ravenhill. He was among the elves because he preferred to defend the Elvenking. Gandalf, too, was there, sitting on the ground, preparing, I suppose, some last blast of magic before the end. “It will be soon,” thought Bilbo. But suddenly he gave a great cry: he had seen a sight that made his heart leap.

“The Eagles! The Eagles!” he shouted. “The Eagles are coming!” Bilbo’s eyes were seldom wrong. The eagles were coming line after line, and there were a lot of them.

“The Eagles! The Eagles!” Bilbo cried, dancing and waving his arms. If the elves could not see him they could hear him.

“The Eagles!” cried Bilbo once more, but at that moment a stone hit him on the head and he fell with a crash.

Chapter 18

The Return Journey

When Bilbo opened his eyes, he was lying on the flat stones of Ravenhill, and no one was near. It was a cloudless but cold day. He was shaking, and his head burned with fire.

He sat up painfully. Looking into the valley he could see no living goblins. “Victory after all, I suppose!” he said, feeling his aching head.

Suddenly he was aware of a man climbing up and coming towards him.

“Hullo there!” he called with a trembling voice. “Hullo there! What’s the news?”

“What voice is it that speaks among the stones?” said the man.

Then Bilbo remembered his ring!

“It’s me, Bilbo Baggins, companion of Thorin!” he cried, hurriedly taking off the ring.

“It is good that I have found you!” said the man. “You are needed and we have looked for you long. We thought you were dead. How are you?”

“I feel sick and my legs are like straws,” said Bilbo.

“I will carry you down to the camp in the valley,” said the man, and picked him lightly up.

The man was swift, and soon Bilbo was before a tent in Dale; and there stood Gandalf, with his arm in a sling. Even the wizard had not escaped without a wound.

When Gandalf saw Bilbo, he was delighted. “Baggins!” he exclaimed. “You are alive after all – I am glad! Come!” he said. “You are needed,” he added and took the hobbit within the tent.

“Hail! Thorin,” Gandalf said as he entered. “I have brought him.” There lay Thorin Oakenshield, wounded with many wounds. He looked up as Bilbo came beside him.