The Hobbit Tolkien ch11-15

On this western side there were fewer signs of the
dragon.s marauding feet, and there was some grass for their ponies.

And I don.t
like these dark birds, they look like spies of evil..

No one had dared to give battle
to him for many an age; nor would they have dared now, if it had not
been for the grim-voiced man (Bard was his name), who ran to and fro
cheering on the archers and urging the Master to order them to fight to
the last arrow.

Did you expect me to trot
back with the whole hoard of Thror on my back?

They had barely time to fly back to the tunnel,
pulling and dragging in their bundles, when Smaug came hurtling from
the North, licking the mountain-sides with flame, beating his great wings
with a noise like a roaring wind.

A whirl of bats frightened from slumber by their smoking torches
flurried over them; as they sprang forward their feet slithered on stones
rubbed smooth and slimed by the passing of the dragon.

After a while a twinkling gleam showed them
returning, in with a small pine-torch alight in his hand, and Gloin with a
bundle of others under his arm.

His hot breath shrivelled the grass before
the door, and drove in through the crack they had left and scorched them
as they lay hid.

Then Smaug really did laugh-a devastating sound which shook Bilbo
to the floor, while far up in the tunnel the dwarves huddled together and
imagined that the hobbit had come to a sudden and a nasty end.

.I have absolutely no use for dragonguarded
treasures, and the whole lot could stay here for ever, if only I
could wake up and find this beastly tunnel was my own front-hall at home!.

Its
bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out
from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many
boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain.s
arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

Luckily the whole head and jaws could
not squeeze in, but the nostrils sent forth fire and vapour to pursue him,
and he was nearly overcome, and stumbled blindly on in great pain and
fear.

About midday, creeping
behind a great stone that stood alone like a pillar, Bilbo came on what
looked like rough steps going upwards.

He had passed from an uneasy dream (in
which a warrior, altogether insignificant in size but provided with a bitter
sword and great courage, figured most unpleasantly) to a doze, and from
a doze to wide waking.

We came expecting to find none living here; yet now that we are met
there is matter for a parley and a council..

..Since such is your answer,. he called in return, .I declare the
Mountain besieged.

Then Smaug really did laugh-a devastating sound which shook Bilbo
to the floor, while far up in the tunnel the dwarves huddled together and
imagined that the hobbit had come to a sudden and a nasty end.

.It was like a globe with a
thousand facets; it shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun,
like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!.

And I
suppose they are skulking outside, and your job is to do all the dangerous
work and get what you can when I.m not looking-for them?

It shows what
an ill temper Bilbo was in: he picked up a stone and threw it at the thrush,
which merely fluttered aside and came back.

They marched under the grey and silent cliffs to the feet of Ravenhill.

This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don.t want to
reveal your proper name (which is wise), and don.t want to infuriate them
by a flat refusal (which is also very wise).

At the; end of the third day, some miles up the river, they
drew in to the left or western bank and disembarked.

I think I would rather be smashed by Smaug in
the open than suffocate in here!.

And
sit and think they did, or wandered aimlessly about, and glummer and
glummer they became.

Then the dwarves forgot their joy and their confident boasts of a
moment before and cowered down in fright.

.The time has gone
for the autumn wanderings; and these are birds that dwell always in the
land; there are starlings and flocks of finches; and far off there are many
carrion birds as if a battle were afoot!.

ON THE DOORSTEP
In two days going they rowed right up the Long Lake and passed
out into the River Running, and now they could all see the Lonely Mountain
towering grim and tall before them.

Following these excitedly he and
the dwarves found traces of a narrow track, often lost, often rediscovered,
that wandered on to the top of the southern ridge and brought them at
last to a still narrower ledge, which turned north across the face of the
Mountain.

Thief in the Shadows!. he gloated.

The dwarves heard the awful rumour of his flight, and they crouched
against the walls of the grassy terrace cringing under boulders, hoping
somehow to escape the frightful eyes of the hunting dragon.

Long he had hunted in vain till
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the dawn chilled his wrath and he went back to his golden couch to sleep
. and to gather new strength.

Under the rocky wall to the right there was no path, so on they
trudged among the stones on the left side of the river, and the emptiness
and desolation soon sobered even Thorin again.

After a while Balin bade Bilbo .Good luck!. and stopped where he
could still see the faint outline of the door, and by a trick of, the echoes of
the tunnel hear the rustle of the whispering voices of the others just
outside.

Smaug had left his lair in silent stealth, quietly soared into the air,
and then floated heavy and slow in the dark like a monstrous crow, down
the wind towards the west of the Mountain, in the hopes of catching
unawares something or somebody there, and of spying the outlet to the
passage which the thief had used.

His heart was filled and pierced with
enchantment and with the desire of dwarves; and he gazed motionless,
almost forgetting the frightful guardian, at the gold beyond price and
count.

From whom should we
claim the recompense of our damage, and aid for our widows and
orphans?.

The general opinion was that catching
a dragon napping was not as easy as it sounded, and the attempt to stick
one or prod one asleep was more likely to end in disaster than a bold
frontal attack.

Its
bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out
from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many
boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain.s
arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

And all the while they talked and the shadows lengthened Bilbo became
more and more unhappy and his foreboding
At last he interrupted them.

Smaug
stirred a wing, opened a claw, the rumble of his snoring changed its note.

For what fault am I to be deposed?

Forgetting all danger he stood on the
ledge and hailed the dwarves, shouting and paying.

The dragon has withered
all the pleasant green, and anyway the night has come and it is cold.

They debated long on what was to be done, but they could think of
no way of getting rid of Smaug . which had always been a weak point in
their plans, as Bilbo felt inclined to point out.

I am Ringwinner
and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider,. went on Bilbo beginning to be
pleased with his riddling.

In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft
and feather, so fierce was its flight.

There the river, after winding a wide loop over the valley of Dale, turned
from the Mountain on its road to the Lake, flowing swift and noisily.

Then he hailed the others, and they gathered together,
and holding their torches above their heads they passed through the gaping
doors, not without many a backward glance of longing.

Another swoop and
another, and another house and then another sprang afire and fell; and
still no arrow hindered Smaug or hurt him more than a fly from the marshes.

They too think to find
amends from your treasure, whether you are alive or dead.

But he might be gone away some time, or he might be lying out on
the mountain-side keeping watch, and still I expect smokes and steams
would come out of the gates: all the halls within must be filled with his
foul reek..

Its
bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out
from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many
boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain.s
arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

Flickering fires leaped up and black rock-shadows danced.

He would do
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nothing but sit with his back to the rock-face and stare away west through
the opening, over the cliff, over the wide lands to the black wall of Mirkwood,
and to the distances beyond, in which he sometimes thought he could
catch glimpses of the Misty Mountains small and far.

There was little grass, and before long there was
neither bush nor tree, and only broken and blackened stumps to speak of
ones long vanished.

He issued from the Gate, the
waters rose in fierce whistling steam, and up he soared blazing into the
air and settled on the mountain-top in a spout of green and scarlet flame.

Then Bilbo fled.

Had he known more about dragons and
their wily ways, he might have teen more frightened and less hopeful of
catching this one napping.

I am Ringwinner
and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider,. went on Bilbo beginning to be
pleased with his riddling.

From
this western camp, shadowed all day by cliff and wall until the sun began
to sink towards the forest, day by day they toiled in parties searching for
paths up the mountain-side.

Down the same way they were able
occasionally to lower one of the more active dwarves, such as Kili, to
exchange such news as there was, or to take a share in the guard below,
while Bofur was hauled up to the higher camp.

.I have absolutely no use for dragonguarded
treasures, and the whole lot could stay here for ever, if only I
could wake up and find this beastly tunnel was my own front-hall at home!.

.These don.t sound so creditable,. scoffed Smaug.

Perhaps before long one or two could be chosen to go
back to the store by the river and replenish our supplies.

After their long time in the stewing depths
of the dragon-haunted caverns, they shivered in the sun.

Shelters could be contrived for few (the Master had
one) and there was little food (even the Master went short).

The
ponies they had brought only to the head of the steps above the old
bridge, and unloading them there had bidden them return to their masters
and sent them back riderless to the South.

Before them light came dimly through great doors, that
hung twisted on their hinges and half burnt.

His last throes splintered it to sparks and
gledes.

They were come to the Desolation of the Dragon,
and they were come at the waning of the year.

Before long there was a fluttering of wings, and back came the
thrush; and with him came a most decrepit old bird.

It twisted
the white fog into bending pillars and hurrying clouds and drove it off to
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the West to scatter in tattered shreds over the marshes before Mirkwood.

He would do
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nothing but sit with his back to the rock-face and stare away west through
the opening, over the cliff, over the wide lands to the black wall of Mirkwood,
and to the distances beyond, in which he sometimes thought he could
catch glimpses of the Misty Mountains small and far.

Behind him where the walls were nearest could
dimly be seen coats of mail, helms and axes, swords and spears hanging;
and there in rows stood great jars and vessels filled with a wealth that
could not be guessed.

.Truly there can; nowhere be
found the equal of Lord Smaug the Impenetrable.

Its entrance which they had
found could not be seen from below because of the overhang of the cliff,
nor from further off because it was so small that it looked like a dark crack
and no more.

Behind him where the walls were nearest could
dimly be seen coats of mail, helms and axes, swords and spears hanging;
and there in rows stood great jars and vessels filled with a wealth that
could not be guessed.

There used to be great friendship
between them and the people of Thror; and they often brought us secret
news, and were rewarded with such bright things as they coveted to hide
in their dwellings.

About midday, creeping
behind a great stone that stood alone like a pillar, Bilbo came on what
looked like rough steps going upwards.

Its
bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out
from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many
boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain.s
arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

Many took ill
of wet and cold and sorrow that night, and afterwards died, who had
escaped uninjured from the ruin of the town; and in the days that followed
there was much sickness and great hunger.

A whirl of bats frightened from slumber by their smoking torches
flurried over them; as they sprang forward their feet slithered on stones
rubbed smooth and slimed by the passing of the dragon.

It was not a cave and was open to the sky above; but at its
inner end a flat wall rose up that in the lower I part, close to the ground,
was as smooth and upright as mason.s work, but without a joint or crevice
to be seen.

But help came swiftly; for
Bard at once had speedy messengers sent up the river to the Forest to ask
the aid of the King of the Elves of the Wood, and these messengers had
found a host already on the move, although it was then only the third day
after the fall of Smaug.

Smaug certainly looked fast asleep,
almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen
steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance.

They packed what
they could on the ponies and the rest was made into a store under a tent,
but none of the men of the town would stay with them even for the night
so near the shadow of the Mountain.

But the grim-voiced fellow ran hotfoot to the Master.

They bore with them the green banner of the
Elvenking and the blue banner of the Lake, and they advanced until they
stood right before the wall at the Gate.

He issued from the Gate, the
waters rose in fierce whistling steam, and up he soared blazing into the
air and settled on the mountain-top in a spout of green and scarlet flame.

Long he had hunted in vain till
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the dawn chilled his wrath and he went back to his golden couch to sleep
. and to gather new strength.

He stirred and stretched forth his neck to
sniff.

They wondered if they were still lying
there unharmed in the hall below: the spears that were made for the
armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thriceforged
head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were
never delivered or paid for; shields made for warriors long dead; the
great golden cup of Thror, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds
and flowers whose eyes and petals were of jewels; coats of mail gilded
and silvered and impenetr...

Men spoke of the
recompense for all their harm that they would soon get from it, and wealth
over and to spare with which to buy rich things from the South; and it
cheered them greatly in their plight.

It was not a cave and was open to the sky above; but at its
inner end a flat wall rose up that in the lower I part, close to the ground,
was as smooth and upright as mason.s work, but without a joint or crevice
to be seen.

Amid shrieks and wailing and the shouts of men he came over
them, swept towards the bridges and was foiled!

Why there is a
large patch in the hollow of his left breast as bare as a snail out of its
shell!.

Down the same way they were able
occasionally to lower one of the more active dwarves, such as Kili, to
exchange such news as there was, or to take a share in the guard below,
while Bofur was hauled up to the higher camp.

The dwarves indeed no longer needed any urging.

The horrible sounds of Smaug.s anger were echoing in the stony
hollows far above; at any moment he might come blazing down or fly
whirling round and find them there, near the perilous cliff.s edge hauling
madly on the ropes.

The King under the Mountain
is dead and where are hi kin that dare seek revenge?

Bilbo of course ought to have been on his guard; but
Smaug had rather an overwhelming personality.

The most that can be said for the dwarves is this: they intended to
pay Bilbo really handsomely for his services; they had brought him to do
a nasty job for them, and they did not mind the poor little fellow doing it
if he would; but they would all have done their best to get him out of
trouble, if he got into it, as they did in the case of the trolls at the beginning
of their adventures before they had any particular reasons for being grateful
to him.

.Nonsense!. said Thorin, recovering his dignity.

.Your information is
antiquated,. he snapped.

Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail,
and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay
countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems
and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.

Nothing moved in the waste, save the vapour
and the water, and every now and again a black and ominous crow.

Very great indeed was the commotion among all things with
wings that dwelt on the borders of the Desolation of the Dragon.

Then the hobbit slipped on his ring, and warned by the echoes to
take more than hobbit.s care to make no sound, he crept noiselessly down,
down, down into the dark.

And while Bard paused
in wonder it told him of tidings up in the Mountain and of all that it had
heard.

The bridge that Balin
had spoken of they found long fallen, and most of its stones were now
only boulders in the shallow noisy stream; but they forded the water
without much difficulty, and found the ancient steps, and climbed the
high bank.

There the river, after winding a wide loop over the valley of Dale, turned
from the Mountain on its road to the Lake, flowing swift and noisily.

They passed through the ruined chamber.

Along this they could carry no bundles or packs,
so narrow and breathless was it, with a fall of a hundred and fifty feet
beside them on to sharp rocks below; but each of them took a good coil
of rope wound tight about his waist, and so at last without mishap they
reached the little grassy bay.

That turned the conversation, and they all began discussing dragonslayings
historical, dubious, and mythical, and the various sorts of stabs
and jabs and undercuts, and the different arts, devices and stratagems by
which they had been accomplished.

If he plunged into it, a vapour and a steam would arise
enough to cover all the land with a mist for days; but the lake was mightier
than he, it would quench him before he could pass through.

.Lake-men, some
nasty scheme of those miserable tub-trading Lake-men, or I.m a lizard.

He
was breaking rocks to pieces, smashing wall and cliff with the lashings of
his huge tail, till their little lofty camping ground, the scorched grass, the
thrush.s stone, the snail-covered walls, the narrow ledge, and all
disappeared in a jumble of smithereens, and an avalanche of splintered
stones fell over the cliff into the valley below.

We came
over hill and under hill, by wave and win, for Revenge.

Soon he
would set all the shoreland woods ablaze and wither every field and pasture.

There it is: dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a
great idea of the value of money; some are tricky and treacherous and
pretty bad lots; some are not, but are decent enough people like Thorin
and Company, if you don.t expect too much.

That turned the conversation, and they all began discussing dragonslayings
historical, dubious, and mythical, and the various sorts of stabs
and jabs and undercuts, and the different arts, devices and stratagems by
which they had been accomplished.

As Thorin carefully explained, Mr. Baggins was still
officially their expert burglar and investigator.

After a while Balin bade Bilbo .Good luck!. and stopped where he
could still see the faint outline of the door, and by a trick of, the echoes of
the tunnel hear the rustle of the whispering voices of the others just
outside.

These were smooth, cut out of the living rock broad and lair; and
up, up, the dwarves went, and they met no sign of any living thing, only
furtive shadows that fled from the approach of their torches fluttering in
the draughts.

INSIDE INFORMATION
For a long time the dwarves stood in the dark before the door and
debated, until at last Thorin spoke:
.Now is the time for our esteemed Mr. Baggins, who has proved
himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage
and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good
luck far exceeding the usual allowance-now is the time for him to perform
the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for
him to ear...

But few dared to
cross the cursed spot, and none dared to dive into the shivering water or
recover the precious stones that fell from his rotting carcass.

This grew to the unmistakable gurgling noise of
some vast animal snoring in its sleep down there in the red glow in front
of him.

They were too eager to trouble about the runes or the moonletters,
but tried without resting to discover where exactly in the smooth
face of the rock the door was hidden.

He alighted stiffly on the ground before them, slowly
flapped his wings, and bobbed towards Thorin.

He
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would often borrow Thorin.s map and gaze at it, pondering over the runes
and the message of the moon-letters Elrond had read.

I should want hundreds of years to bring it all up,
if I was fifty times as big, and Smaug as tame as a rabbit..

.Let us follow Balm.s path!.

He issued from the Gate, the
waters rose in fierce whistling steam, and up he soared blazing into the
air and settled on the mountain-top in a spout of green and scarlet flame.

Then he departed and went back to the camp.

Wisps of vapour floated up and past him and he began to
sweat.

A white
glimmer could be seen coming through some opening far above, and the
air smelt sweeter.

They wondered if they were still lying
there unharmed in the hall below: the spears that were made for the
armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thriceforged
head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were
never delivered or paid for; shields made for warriors long dead; the
great golden cup of Thror, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds
and flowers whose eyes and petals were of jewels; coats of mail gilded
and silvered and impenetr...

.This is the great chamber of Thror,. said Thorin; .the hall of feasting
and of council.

So silent was his going that smoke on a gentle wind could hardly
have surpasses it, and he was inclined to feel a bit proud of himself as he
drew near the lower door.

They
realized that dangers of this kind were inevitable in dealing with such a
guardian, and that it was no good giving up their quest yet.

.Nonsense!. said Thorin, recovering his dignity.

They too think to find
amends from your treasure, whether you are alive or dead.

Girion Lord of Dale
is dead, and I have eaten his people like a wolf among sheep, and where
are his sons. sons that dare approach me?

There was mourning and weeping, where but a little
time ago the old songs of mirth to come had been sung about the dwarves.

Every vessel in the town was filled with water, every warrior
was armed, every arrow and dart was ready, and the bridge to the land
was thrown down and destroyed, before the roar of Smaug.s terrible
approach grew loud, and the lake rippled red as fire beneath the awful
beating of his wings.

It was he that
made the dwarves begin the dangerous search on the western slopes for
the secret door.

.I have no idea at the moment . if you mean about removing the
treasure.

They spoke aloud, and cried out to one
another, as they lifted old treasures from the mound or from the wall and
held them in the light caressing and fingering them.

INSIDE INFORMATION
For a long time the dwarves stood in the dark before the door and
debated, until at last Thorin spoke:
.Now is the time for our esteemed Mr. Baggins, who has proved
himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage
and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good
luck far exceeding the usual allowance-now is the time for him to perform
the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for
him to ear...

.The mountain.s sides
were green with woods and all the sheltered valley rich and pleasant in
the days when the bells rang in that town..

The men of the lake-town Esgaroth were mostly indoors, for the
breeze was from the black East and chill, but a few were walking on the
quays, and watching, as they were fond of doing, the stars shine out from
the smooth patches of the lake as they opened in the sky.

They beat on it, they thrust and pushed at it, they implored it to
move, they spoke fragments of broken spells of opening, and nothing
stirred.

A hail of dark arrows leaped
up and snapped and rattled on his scales and jewels, and their shafts fell
back kindled by his breath burning and hissing into the lake.

There was a lot here which Smaug did not understand at all (though I
expect you do, since you know all about Bilbo.s adventures to which he
was referring), but he thought he understood enough, and he chuckled in
his wicked inside.

Now as came near, it was
tinged with a flickering sparkle of man colours at the surface, reflected
and splintered from the wavering light of his torch.

Whenever
Smaug.s roving eye, seeking for him in the shadows, flashed across him,
he trembled, and an unaccountable desire seized hold of him to rush out
and reveal himself and tell all the truth to Smaug.

Staggering!. exclaimed
Bilbo aloud, but what he thought inside was: .Old fool!

Though all the old adornments were long mouldered or destroyed, and
though all was befouled and blasted with the comings and goings of the
monster, Thorin knew every passage and every turn.

A white
glimmer could be seen coming through some opening far above, and the
air smelt sweeter.

I
haven.t been down that way for an age and an age; but I will soon alter
that!.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

If the dwarves asked
him what he was doing he answered:
.You said sitting on the doorstep and thinking would be my job, not
to mention getting inside, so I am sitting and thinking..

He would do
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nothing but sit with his back to the rock-face and stare away west through
the opening, over the cliff, over the wide lands to the black wall of Mirkwood,
and to the distances beyond, in which he sometimes thought he could
catch glimpses of the Misty Mountains small and far.

Its
bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out
from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many
boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain.s
arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

Shelters could be contrived for few (the Master had
one) and there was little food (even the Master went short).

Their ponies were lost
or killed, and they would have to wait some time before Smaug relaxed
his watch sufficiently for them to dare the long way on foot.

.He has tonight earned an
eminent place in the roll of the benefactors of our town; and he is worthy
of many imperishable songs.

The stream was strong and their
going slow.

They were
at the end of their journey, but as far as ever, it seemed, from the end of
their quest.

Indeed their stores had no need of any guard, for all the land
was desolate and empty.

.I tell you,. he said, in an effort to remain loyal to his friends and to
keep his end up, .that gold was only an afterthought with us.

Beside it ran a stone-paved road,
wide enough for many men abreast.

That turned the conversation, and they all began discussing dragonslayings
historical, dubious, and mythical, and the various sorts of stabs
and jabs and undercuts, and the different arts, devices and stratagems by
which they had been accomplished.

Then the dwarves forgot their joy and their confident boasts of a
moment before and cowered down in fright.

His heart was beating
and a more fevered shaking was in his legs than when he was going
down, but still he clutched the cup, and his chief thought was: .I.ve done
it!

Ever as he climbed, the
same white gleam had shone before him and drawn his feet towards
Slowly it grew to a little globe of pallid light.

There it is: dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a
great idea of the value of money; some are tricky and treacherous and
pretty bad lots; some are not, but are decent enough people like Thorin
and Company, if you don.t expect too much.

I really must not detain Your Magnificence any longer,. he said, .or
keep you from much needed rest.

The treasure
was not his that his evil deeds should be amended with a share of it.

Doubtless they perished first in fire, before Smaug came to
us..

Bilbo wished he had never heard them, or at least that he could feel quite
certain that the dwarves now were absolutely honest when they declared
that they had never thought at all about what would happen after the
treasure had been won.

Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail,
and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay
countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems
and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.

.Not much use, if we have been seen coming here,. said Dori, who
was always looking up towards the Mountain.s peak, as if he expected to
see Smaug perched there like a bird on a steeple.

(If
you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don.t know the
recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be
sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting
except as a chewing exercise.

A flake of rock split from the wall and fell.

He did not expect a chorus of volunteers, so he was not disappointed.

The bridge that Balin
had spoken of they found long fallen, and most of its stones were now
only boulders in the shallow noisy stream; but they forded the water
without much difficulty, and found the ancient steps, and climbed the
high bank.

A gleam
of light came straight through the opening into the bay and fell on the
smooth rock-face.

.If you mean you think it is my job to go into the secret passage
first, O Thorin Thrain.s son Oakenshield, may your beard grow ever longer,.
he said crossly, .say so at once and have done!

Though all the old adornments were long mouldered or destroyed, and
though all was befouled and blasted with the comings and goings of the
monster, Thorin knew every passage and every turn.

INSIDE INFORMATION
For a long time the dwarves stood in the dark before the door and
debated, until at last Thorin spoke:
.Now is the time for our esteemed Mr. Baggins, who has proved
himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage
and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good
luck far exceeding the usual allowance-now is the time for him to perform
the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for
him to ear...

Then down he swooped straight through the arrow-storm, reckless in his
rage, taking no heed to turn his scaly sides towards his foes, seeking only
to set their town ablaze.

This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don.t want to
reveal your proper name (which is wise), and don.t want to infuriate them
by a flat refusal (which is also very wise).

.I don.t know, I don.t know-because at first he wanted to try and
lure me in again, I suppose, and now perhaps because he is waiting till
after tonight.s hunt, or because he does not want to damage his bedroom
if he can help it . but I wish you would not argue.

The dwarves were still passing the cup from hand to hand and
talking delightedly of the recovery of their treasure, when suddenly a vast
rumbling woke in the mountain underneath as if it was an old volcano
that had made up its mind to start eruptions once again.

He guessed from the ponies, and from the traces of the camps he
had discovered, that men had come up from the river and the lake and
had scaled the mountain-side from the valley where the ponies had been
standing; but the door withstood his searching eye, and the little highwalled
bay had kept out his fiercest flames.

Following these excitedly he and
the dwarves found traces of a narrow track, often lost, often rediscovered,
that wandered on to the top of the southern ridge and brought them at
last to a still narrower ledge, which turned north across the face of the
Mountain.

Tools were to be found in plenty that the miners and quarriers and builders
of old had used; and at such work the dwarves were still very skilled.

He had passed from an uneasy dream (in
which a warrior, altogether insignificant in size but provided with a bitter
sword and great courage, figured most unpleasantly) to a doze, and from
a doze to wide waking.

But at last unexpectedly they found what they were seeking.

In front there rose a tall arch, still showing the fragments of old
carven work within, worn and splintered and blackened though it was.

It smote into his shield and stuck there
quivering.

So far all his. thoughts and energies had been concentrated on getting to
the Mountain and finding the entrance.

But at last unexpectedly they found what they were seeking.

Long before the dwarves were tired of
examining the treasures he became wary of it and sat down on the floor;
and he began to wonder nervously what the end of it all would be
.I would give a good many of these precious goblets, thought, .for
a drink of something cheering out of one Beorn.s wooden bowls!.

I am sure it reflects great credit on your
grandfather, but you cannot pretend that you ever made the vast extent of
his wealth clear to me.

Who aroused the dragon from
his slumber, I might ask?

Then the many boats could be seen dotted dark on the surface of the
lake, and down the wind came the voices of the people of Esgaroth
lamenting their lost town and goods and ruined houses.

He guessed from the ponies, and from the traces of the camps he
had discovered, that men had come up from the river and the lake and
had scaled the mountain-side from the valley where the ponies had been
standing; but the door withstood his searching eye, and the little highwalled
bay had kept out his fiercest flames.

.Lovely titles!. sneered the dragon.

After their long time in the stewing depths
of the dragon-haunted caverns, they shivered in the sun.

For
he too had not forgotten the legend of the wealth of Thror.

.Your own wisdom must decide your course, but thirteen is small
remnant of the great folk of Durin that once dwelt here, and now are
scattered far.

Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail,
and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay
countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems
and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.

Whenever
Smaug.s roving eye, seeking for him in the shadows, flashed across him,
he trembled, and an unaccountable desire seized hold of him to rush out
and reveal himself and tell all the truth to Smaug.

From
this western camp, shadowed all day by cliff and wall until the sun began
to sink towards the forest, day by day they toiled in parties searching for
paths up the mountain-side.

They had hardly gone any distance
down the tunnel when a blow smote the side of the Mountain like the
crash of battering-rams made of forest oaks and swung by giants.

And if
you would speak with me again, first dismiss the elvish host to the woods
where it belongs, and then return, laying down your arms before you
approach the threshold..

.It was like a globe with a
thousand facets; it shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun,
like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!.

After a while a twinkling gleam showed them
returning, in with a small pine-torch alight in his hand, and Gloin with a
bundle of others under his arm.

There was little grass, and before long there was
neither bush nor tree, and only broken and blackened stumps to speak of
ones long vanished.

The land about
them grew bleak and barren, though once, as Thorin told them, it had
been green and fair.

But I don.t suppose that any of that
ancient breed linger here now..

In fact he was in grievous
danger of coming under the dragon-spell.

Above him the sleeping dragon
lay, a dire menace even in his sleep.

Since he has got an invisible ring, and ought to be a specially
excellent performer now, I am beginning to think he might go through the
Front Gate and spy things out a bit!.

The dwarves revived
him, and doctored his scorches as well as they could; but it was a long
time before the hair on the back of his head and his heels grew properly
again: it had all been singed and frizzled right down to the skin.

The dragon swooped and turned to pursue them, and was
gone.

- 140 -
Before setting out to search the western spurs of the Mountain for
the hidden door, on which all their hopes rested, Thorin sent out a scouting
expedition to spy out the land to the South where the Front Gate stood.

Just now he was enjoying the sport of town-baiting more than he had
enjoyed anything for years.

Its
bank was bare and rocky, tall and steep above the stream; and gazing out
from it over the narrow water, foaming and splashing among many
boulders, they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain.s
arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls.

They debated long on what was to be done, but they could think of
no way of getting rid of Smaug . which had always been a weak point in
their plans, as Bilbo felt inclined to point out.

That night he was very miserable and hardly slept.

They crept further down the tunnel,
and there they lay and shivered though it was warm and stuffy, until dawn
came pale through the crack of the door.

Surely, O Smaug
the unassessably wealthy, you must realize that your success has made
you some bitter enemies?.

O! wandering folk, the summons heed!

There he could have fine sport hunting them, or they could stop till
they starved.

Then the dwarves themselves brought forth harps and instruments
regained from the hoard, and made music to soften his mood; but their
song was not as elvish song, and was much like the song they had sung
long before in Bilbo.s little hobbit-hole.

At any rate
after a short halt go on he did; and you can picture him coming to the end
of the tunnel, an opening of much the same size and shape as the door
above.

At that very
moment he heard a sharp crack behind him.

From whom should we
claim the recompense of our damage, and aid for our widows and
orphans?.

Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail,
and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay
countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems
and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.

It was a weary journey, and a quiet and stealthy one.

From whom should we
claim the recompense of our damage, and aid for our widows and
orphans?.

They wondered if they were still lying
there unharmed in the hall below: the spears that were made for the
armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thriceforged
head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were
never delivered or paid for; shields made for warriors long dead; the
great golden cup of Thror, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds
and flowers whose eyes and petals were of jewels; coats of mail gilded
and silvered and impenetrable; t...

The general opinion was that catching
a dragon napping was not as easy as it sounded, and the attempt to stick
one or prod one asleep was more likely to end in disaster than a bold
frontal attack.

In fact so black was it that the hobbit came to
the opening unexpectedly, put his hand on air, stumbled for ward, and
rolled headlong into the hall!

.I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly.

Above him the sleeping dragon
lay, a dire menace even in his sleep.

INSIDE INFORMATION
For a long time the dwarves stood in the dark before the door and
debated, until at last Thorin spoke:
.Now is the time for our esteemed Mr. Baggins, who has proved
himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage
and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good
luck far exceeding the usual allowance-now is the time for him to perform
the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for
him to ear...

A bitter easterly breeze blew with a threat of oncoming
winter.

But plucking up courage he
spoke again.

.I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly.

.In the
Lake-town we have always elected masters from among the old and wise,
and have not endured the rule of mere fighting men.

Roused by these words they were just about to creep inside the
tunnel when Bifur gave a cry: .My cousins!

His heart was filled and pierced with
enchantment and with the desire of dwarves; and he gazed motionless,
almost forgetting the frightful guardian, at the gold beyond price and
count.

No dragon can resist the
fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.

.I don.t know, I don.t know-because at first he wanted to try and
lure me in again, I suppose, and now perhaps because he is waiting till
after tonight.s hunt, or because he does not want to damage his bedroom
if he can help it . but I wish you would not argue.

He had passed from an uneasy dream (in
which a warrior, altogether insignificant in size but provided with a bitter
sword and great courage, figured most unpleasantly) to a doze, and from
a doze to wide waking.

He thrust his head in vain at the little hole, and then coiling his
length together, roaring like thunder underground, he sped from his deep
lair through its great door, out into the huge passages of the mountainpalace
and up towards the Front Gate.

Next day the
dwarves all went wandering off in various directions; some were exercising
the ponies down below, some were roving about the mountain-side.

On
this there had been an old watch-post; but they dared not climb it yet, it
was too exposed.

Marvelling he found he could understand
its tongue, for he was of the race of Dale.

But when
they struck the stone the handles splintered and jarred their arms cruelly,
and the steel heads broke or bent like lead.

.Anything from floods to poisoned fish.

There was the sound, too, of elvenharps
and of sweet music; and as it echoed up towards them it seemed
that the chill of the air was warmed, and they caught faintly the fragrance
of woodland flowers blossoming in spring.

CHAPTER 11.

.Do you now?. said the dragon somewhat flattered, even though
he did not believe a word of it. j
.Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of the reality, O Smaug the
Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities,. replied Bilbo.

I
haven.t been down that way for an age and an age; but I will soon alter
that!.

It was a passage made by
dwarves, at the height of their wealth and skill: straight as a ruler, smoothfloored
and smooth-sided, going with a gentle never-varying slope directto
some distant end in the blackness below.

.No sign was there of post or lintel or threshold, nor any sign of bar
or bolt or key-hole; yet they did not doubt that they had found the door at
last.

Their ponies were lost
or killed, and they would have to wait some time before Smaug relaxed
his watch sufficiently for them to dare the long way on foot.

The most that can be said for the dwarves is this: they intended to
pay Bilbo really handsomely for his services; they had brought him to do
a nasty job for them, and they did not mind the poor little fellow doing it
if he would; but they would all have done their best to get him out of
trouble, if he got into it, as they did in the case of the trolls at the beginning
of their adventures before they had any particular reasons for being grateful
to him.

It was an unfortunate remark, for the dragon spouted terrific flames
after him, and fast though he sped up the slope, he had not gone nearly
far enough to be comfortable before the ghastly head of Smaug was
thrust against the opening behind.

The door behind
them was pulled nearly to, and blocked from closing with a stone, but up
the long tunnel came the dreadful echoes, from far down in the depths,
of a bellowing and a trampling that made the ground beneath them tremble.

Of late he had half fancied
he had caught the dim echoes of a knocking sound from far above that
came down through it to his lair.

- 180 -
.It is in my mind to ask what share of their inheritance you would
have paid to our kindred, had you found the hoard unguarded and us
slain..

(If
you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don.t know the
recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be
sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting
except as a chewing exercise.

Meanwhile Bard took the lead, and ordered things as he wished,
though always in the Master.s name, and he had a hard task to govern the
people and direct the preparations for their protection and housing.

They reached the skirts of the Mountain all the same without meeting
any danger or any sign of the Dragon other than the wilderness he had
made about his lair.

If he plunged into it, a vapour and a steam would arise
enough to cover all the land with a mist for days; but the lake was mightier
than he, it would quench him before he could pass through.

Come haste!

They saw the little dark shape of the hobbit start across the floor
holding his tiny light aloft.

He had never felt quite
happy about it, though was so small, and now he glared at it in suspicion
an wondered why he had never blocked it up.

But all the men of arms who were still able, and the most of the
Elvenking.s array, got ready to march north to the Mountain.

They wondered if they were still lying
there unharmed in the hall below: the spears that were made for the
armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thriceforged
head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were
never delivered or paid for; shields made for warriors long dead; the
great golden cup of Thror, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds
and flowers whose eyes and petals were of jewels; coats of mail gilded
and silvered and impenetrable; t...

Already a host of the elves is on the way, and carrion birds are
with them hoping for battle and slaughter.

I have been that way twice, when I knew there was a
dragon at the other end, so I will risk a third visit when I am no longer
sure.

From that portion Bard will himself contribute to the aid of Esgaroth; but
if Thorin would have the friendship and honour of the lands about, as his
sires had of old, then he will give also somewhat of his own for the
comfort of the men of the Lake..

In the meanwhile some of them explored the ledge beyond the
opening and found a path that led higher and higher on to the mountain;
but they did not dare to venture very far that way, nor was there much use
in it.

Fili and Kili were
almost in merry mood, and finding still hanging there many golden harps
strung with silver they took them and struck them; and being magical
(and also untouched by the dragon, who had small interests in music)
they were still in tune.

The waxing
moon rose higher and higher and the wind grew loud and cold.

Very great indeed was the commotion among all things with
wings that dwelt on the borders of the Desolation of the Dragon.

He had never bothered to wonder
how the treasure was to be removed, certainly never how any part of it
that might fall to his share was to be brought back all the way to Bag-End
Under-Hill.

He looked both sad and grim
as he said this: he had been one of Thorin.s companions on the day the
Dragon came.

But in the end, when Bilbo actually
began to stamp in the floor, and screamed out light!. at the top of his thrill
voice, Thorin gave way, and Oin and Gloin were sent back to their bundles
at the top of the tunnel.

Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail,
and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay
countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems
and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.

INSIDE INFORMATION
For a long time the dwarves stood in the dark before the door and
debated, until at last Thorin spoke:
.Now is the time for our esteemed Mr. Baggins, who has proved
himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage
and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good
luck far exceeding the usual allowance-now is the time for him to perform
the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for
him to ear...

It was a passage made by
dwarves, at the height of their wealth and skill: straight as a ruler, smoothfloored
and smooth-sided, going with a gentle never-varying slope directto
some distant end in the blackness below.

.I should turn dizzy and
tread on my beard, and then you would be thirteen again.

He seemed so much in earnest that the dwarves at last did as he
said, though they delayed shutting the door-it seemed a desperate plan,
for no one knew whether or how they could get it open again from the
inside, and the thought of being shut in a place from which the only way
out led through the dragon.s lair was not one they liked.

So far all his. thoughts and energies had been concentrated on getting to
the Mountain and finding the entrance.

If he lifted his head he could see a glimpse of the distant forest.

So their escort left them, making off swiftly
down the river and the shoreward paths, although the night was already
drawing on.

(If
you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don.t know the
recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be
sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting
except as a chewing exercise.

You are familiar with Thorin.s style on important occasions, so I will
not give you any more of it, though he went on a good deal longer than
this.

Smaug had left his lair in silent stealth, quietly soared into the air,
and then floated heavy and slow in the dark like a monstrous crow, down
the wind towards the west of the Mountain, in the hopes of catching
unawares something or somebody there, and of spying the outlet to the
passage which the thief had used.

They
must have come into the valley under the cover of dusk along both banks
of the river..

INSIDE INFORMATION
For a long time the dwarves stood in the dark before the door and
debated, until at last Thorin spoke:
.Now is the time for our esteemed Mr. Baggins, who has proved
himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage
and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good
luck far exceeding the usual allowance-now is the time for him to perform
the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for
him to ear...

Now
everywhere Bard went he found talk running like fire among the people
concerning the vast treasure that was now unguarded.

He issued from the Gate, the
waters rose in fierce whistling steam, and up he soared blazing into the
air and settled on the mountain-top in a spout of green and scarlet flame.

Tables were rotting there;
- 164 -
chairs and benches were lying there overturned, charred and decaying.

He gazed for what seemed an age, before drawn almost against his
will, he stole from the shadow of the doorway, across the floor to the
nearest edge of the mounds of treasure.

Of late he had half fancied
he had caught the dim echoes of a knocking sound from far above that
came down through it to his lair.

Royal indeed did Thorin look, clad in a coat of goldplated
rings, with a silver hafted axe in a belt crusted with scarlet stones.

Quickly, trembling
lest the chance should fade, the dwarves rushed to the rock and pushedin
vain.

Then Bilbo longed to escape from the dark fortress and to go down
and join in the mirth and feasting by the fires.

It was of silver-steel which the elves call mithril,
- 163 -
and with it went a belt of pearls and crystals.

Only its high peak could they see in clear weather, and they looked
seldom at it, for it was ominous and dreary even in the light of morning.

The land about
them grew bleak and barren, though once, as Thorin told them, it had
been green and fair.

Then as is the nature of folk
that are thoroughly perplexed, they began to grumble at the hobbit, blaming
him for what had at first so pleased them: for bringing away a cup and
stirring up Smaug.s wrath so soon.