“Which way do we go from here?” asked Frodo. Away to their right a great shoulder of the mountains stood out, dark and black amid the shadows, thrusting westward. In the East there was a dull red glare under the lowering cloud: it was not the red of dawn.Īcross the tumbled lands between, the mountains of the Ephel Dúath frowned at them, black and shapeless below where night lay thick and did not pass away, above with jagged tops and edges outlined hard and menacing against the fiery glow. But no day came, only a dead brown twilight. He quickened his pace, and they followed him wearily and soon they began to climb up on to a great hog-back of land. Not safe to stay in the open in these places. Later the sinking moon escaped from the pursuing cloud, but it was ringed all about with a sickly yellow glare.Īt last Gollum turned to the hobbits. There seemed to be a great blackness looming slowly out of the East, eating up the faint blurred stars. At their first halt they looked back, and they could dimly perceive the roofs of the forest they had left behind lying like a vast dense shadow, a darker night under the dark blank sky. He led them through thickets and wastes of brambles sometimes round the lip of a deep cleft or dark pit, sometimes down into black bush- shrouded hollows and out again but if ever they went a little downward, always the further slope was longer and steeper. The ground became more broken and walking was more difficult, but Gollum seemed in no way troubled. They could see little, for the night was now so deep that they were hardly aware of the stems of trees before they stumbled against them. As they travelled, the ground began to slope upwards, east toward the mountains. At Gollum’s insistence the party began travelling by night, seeking shelter and rest during the daylight hours. Gollum often paused, sniffing the air, and then he would mutter to himself and urge them to greater speed.Īnd so they went, as fast as their weariness would allow. That day passed much as the day before had gone, except that the silence seemed deeper the air grew heavy, and it began to be stifling under the trees. The birds seemed all to have flown away or to have fallen dumb. The sun rose and passed overhead unseen, and began to sink, and the light through the trees to the west grew golden and always they walked in cool green shadow, and all about them was silence. Twice that day they rested and took a little of the food provided by Boromir: dried fruits and salted meat, enough for many days and bread enough to last while it was still fresh. The air was still heavy with heat of the fires that had ravaged the area north of them. Hoisting their packs and taking their staves in hand, they passed on into the remnant of the woods of Ithilien. “We have much ground to cover before nightfall.” Can we go now master? Before it comes back, please nice master.” It tried to catch poor Smeagol, but we wouldn’t let it. “Nassty wicked Men! They made the nasty red tongues. As by magic, there came from out of the undergrowth before them Gollum.
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