“We cannot, of course, go on again tonight,” he said. “The attack on the Redhorn Gate has tired us out, and we must rest here for a while.”
“看来，我们今天晚上是不能够继续赶路了，”他说：“红角隘口的攻击耗尽了我们大部分的体力，我们必须在这边休息。”
“And then where are we to go? ” asked Frodo.
“然后我们要去哪里呢？”佛罗多问。
It was evening, and the grey light was again waning fast, when they halted for the night. They were very weary. The mountains were veiled in deepening dusk, and the wind was cold. Gandalf spared them one more mouthful each of the miruvor of Rivendell. When they had eaten some food he called a council.
傍晚时分，灰色的落日残光快速地消退，一行人暂时停下脚步，等待黑夜降临。他们身心俱疲，山脉遮盖在渐渐降临的暮色之中，风又强又冷。甘道夫又让大家喝了一口瑞文戴尔的米鲁活。
“I wish I was back there,” he said. “But how can I return without shame — unless there is indeed no other way, and we are already defeated? “
“我也希望我已经回到那里去了，”他说：“但是除非真的无路可走，否则我怎么可能有脸回到瑞文戴尔去？”
“We still have our journey and our errand before us,” answered Gandalf. “We have no choice but to go on, or to return to Rivendell.”
“我们眼前还是有任务和工作要做，”甘道夫回答道：“我们别无选择，如果不继续任务，就只能回到瑞文戴尔去。”
“You are right, Frodo,” said Gandalf: “to go back is to admit defeat and face worse defeat to come. If we go back now, then the Ring must remain there: we shall not be able to set out again. Then sooner or later Rivendell will be besieged, and after a brief and bitter time it will be destroyed. The Ringwraiths are deadly enemies, but they are only shadows yet of the power and terror they would possess if the Ruling Ring was on their master’s hand again.”
“你说得对，佛罗多，”甘道夫表示：“往回走就是承认失败，将来还会面临更恐怖的惨败。如果我们现在走回去，那么魔戒就必须留在瑞文戴尔。我们就再也无法带着魔戒离开那里。迟早，瑞文戴尔会遭到攻击，不久之后，它也会被摧毁。戒灵是要命的敌人，但是和他们主人万一持有制霸之戒的力量比起来，他们只是小巫见大巫。”
Pippin’s face brightened visibly at the mere mention of return to Rivendell; Merry and Sam looked up hopefully. But Aragorn and Boromir made no sign. Frodo looked troubled.
皮聘一听到瑞文戴尔，整张脸都亮了起来。梅里和山姆满怀希望的抬头。但阿拉贡和波罗莫没有任何表示，佛罗多则是看来忧心忡忡。
“Then we must go on, if there is a way,” said Frodo with a sigh. Sam sank back into gloom.
“那么，只要前面有路，我们就必须前进，”佛罗多叹气道。山姆又哀怨地躺了回去。
“If it is a worse road than the Redhorn Gate, then it must be evil indeed,” said Merry. “But you had better tell us about it, and let us know the worst at once.”
“如果这条路比红角隘口还要糟糕，那它必然是个极度危险的地方！”梅里说：“不论如何，我还是建议你最好赶快告诉我们，让我们立刻知道最坏的状况。”
“There is a way that we may attempt,” said Gandalf. “I thought from the beginning, when first I considered this journey, that we should try it. But it is not a pleasant way, and I have not spoken of it to the Company before. Aragorn was against it, until the pass over the mountains had at least been tried.”
“还有一条路是我们可以尝试的，”甘道夫说：“我从一开始计划这趟旅程的时候就考虑过这条路，思索过我们是否应该尝试这个方法。但这可不是条轻松的道路，我之前也没有跟诸位提到这件事情。阿拉贡反对在我们尝试过山中隘道之前，跟各位提到这件事情。”
“The road that I speak of leads to the Mines of Moria,” said Gandalf. Only Gimli lifted up his head; a smouldering fire was in his eyes. On all the others a dread fell at the mention of that name. Even to the hobbits it was a legend of vague fear:
“我所说的路通往摩瑞亚矿坑，”甘道夫说。只有金雳猛然抬起头，眼中闪动着压抑的火焰。对于其他人来说，一阵寒意突然盖过了风雪归来的刺骨寒风，连哈比人都曾经听说过这个恐怖的地方。
“The road may lead to Moria, but how can we hope that it will lead through Moria? ” said Aragorn darkly.
“你说的路或许通往摩瑞亚，但我们怎么知道它能不能离开摩瑞亚？”阿拉贡陰郁地说。
“It is a name of ill omen,” said Boromir. “Nor do I see the need to go there. If we cannot cross the mountains, let us journey southwards, until we come to the Gap of Rohan, where men are friendly to my people, taking the road that I followed on my way hither. Or we might pass by and cross the Isen into Langstrand and Lebennin, and so come to Gondor from the regions nigh to the sea.”
“这是个不祥的名字，”波罗莫说：“我也不赞成去那边。如果我们不能通过这座山脉，我们还是可以继续往南走，一直到对我们友善的领土，一直到洛汗隘口处。我来的时候就是这样走的。或者我们也可以沿着艾辛河取道靠海的道路，前往刚铎。”
“As for the longer road: we cannot afford the time. We might spend a year in such a journey, and we should pass through many lands that are empty and harbourless. Yet they would not be safe. The watchful eyes both of Saruman and of the Enemy are on them. When you came north, Boromir, you were in the Enemy’s eyes only one stray wanderer from the South and a matter of small concern to him: his mind was busy with the pursuit of the Ring. But you return now as a member of the Ring’s Company, and you are in peril as long as you remain with us. The danger will increase with every league that we go south under the naked sky.
“至于那比较长的远路，我们则是没有时间浪费。如果走那边，我们可能会花上一年的时间，可能必须通过许多杳无人烟的荒野。那里并不安全。萨鲁曼、魔王的耳目都在该处出没。波罗莫，当你北上的时候，在魔王的眼中你不过是一名孤身的旅人。但你现在回来时，已经成了魔戒远征队的成员，只要和我们在一起，你就身陷极大的危机。只要我们越靠近南方，我们的危机也会越来越大。”
“Since our open attempt on the mountain-pass our plight has become more desperate, I fear. I see now little hope, if we do not soon vanish from sight for a while, and cover our trail. Therefore I advise that we should go neither over the mountains, nor round them, but under them. That is a road at any rate that the Enemy will least expect us to take.”
“特别是自从我们对红角隘口的挑战失败之后，这危险更为浮现。如果我们不赶快无声无息地消失在敌人眼中，我会很担心未来的处境。因此，我建议我们不能够走山路，也不能够绕过去，而是必须走山底下，这是魔王最不会预料到的道路。”
“Things have changed since you came north, Boromir,” answered Gandalf. “Did you not hear what I told you of Saruman? With him I may have business of my own ere all is over. But the Ring must not come near Isengard, if that can by any means be prevented. The Gap of Rohan is closed to us while we go with the Bearer.
“波罗莫，目前状况和你北上的时候已经不同了，”甘道夫回答道：“你难道没听到我提及有关萨鲁曼的事情吗？在一切结束之前，我和他之间还有笔帐要算。即使如此，只要我们还有其他的方法，就绝不能让魔戒靠近艾辛格。只要我们和魔戒持有者同行，也就不能取道洛汗隘口。”
“We do not know what he expects,” said Boromir. “He may watch all roads, likely and unlikely. In that case to enter Moria would be to walk into a trap, hardly better than knocking at the gates of the Dark Tower itself. The name of Moria is black.”
“我们可不知道他会预料什么样的道路，”波罗莫说：“他可能会监视所有大大小小的道路。不管怎么样，走进摩瑞亚矿坑就像是走进陷阱中一样，并不比走到魔王家门口好多少，摩瑞亚就代表邪恶。”
“You speak of what you do not know, when you liken Moria to the stronghold of Sauron,” answered Gandalf. “I alone of you have ever been in the dungeons of the Dark Lord, and only in his older and lesser dwelling in Dol Guldur. Those who pass the gates of Barad-dur do not return. But I would not lead you into Moria if there were no hope of coming out again. If there are Orcs there, it may prove ill for us, that is true. But most of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains were scattered or destroyed in the Battle of Five Armies. The Eagles report that Orcs are gathering again from afar; but there is a hope that Moria is still free.
“当你将摩瑞亚和索伦的要塞相比时，这是不恰当的作法，你对两者都没有足够的了解，”甘道夫回答：“在你们之中，我是唯一进过闇王地牢的人，而且还只是他在加尔哥多的行馆而已。那些进入要塞巴拉多的人都是有去无回。如果没有出来的希望，我也不会贸然带领诸位进入摩瑞亚。那边若还有半兽人居住的确很糟糕，但迷雾山脉大多数的半兽人，都在五军之战中被消灭或是被赶走了。巨鹰的情报是半兽人又在远方集结，但我还是认为摩瑞亚应该没受到污染才对。”
“There is even a chance that Dwarves are there, and that in some deep hall of his fathers, Balin son of Fundin may be found. However it may prove, one must tread the path that need chooses!”
“甚至，矮人还有可能留在该处，或许我们可以在其中深邃的隧道中找到巴林的行踪。不管怎么样，我们都必须赶快做出选择！”
“Good, Gimli! ” said Gandalf. “You encourage me. We will seek the hidden doors together. And we will come through. In the ruins of the Dwarves, a dwarf’s head will be less easy to bewilder than Elves or Men or Hobbits. Yet it will not be the first time that I have been to Moria. I sought there long for Thrain son of Thror after he was lost. I passed through, and I came out again alive! “
“好极了，金雳！”甘道夫说：“这对我真是个鼓励，我们要一起来找到那密门，我们会成功的！在矮人的废墟中，矮人会比精灵、人类或是哈比人冷静。但这也不是我第一次进入摩瑞亚，当年索尔之子索恩失踪的时候，我就曾经深入寻找他的踪迹。那里的确是畅通的，我就是一个活生生的例子！”
“I will tread the path with you, Gandalf! ” said Gimli. “I will go and look on the halls of Durin, whatever may wait there-if you can find the doors that are shut.”
“甘道夫，我愿意和你一起走！”金雳大声说：“我要看看都灵的地底都市。只要你能够找到封印的大门，不管刀山火海我都愿意去。”
“I too once passed the Dimrill Gate,” said Aragorn quietly; “but though I also came out again, the memory is very evil. I do not wish to enter Moria a second time.”
“我也曾经踏进丁瑞尔之门，”阿拉贡静静地说：“虽然我也走了出来，但我实在不愿意多想那次的经历。我一点也不想要再次进入摩瑞亚。”
“And I don’t wish to enter it even once,” said Pippin.
“我连一次也不想进去，”皮聘说。
“Nor me,” muttered Sam.
“我也不想，”山姆咕哝道。
“I will,” said Aragorn heavily. “You followed my lead almost to disaster in the snow, and have said no word of blame. I will follow your lead now — if this last warning does not move you. It is not of the Ring, nor of us others that I am thinking now, but of you, Gandalf. And I say to you: if you pass the doors of Moria, beware! “
“我也愿意，”阿拉贡不情愿的说：“你在我的带领下毫无怨言地走入风雪交加的高山，事后又不责备我的错误。我愿意跟随你的领导，但我必须警告你最后一件事情。我担心的不是魔戒，也不是队伍中的其他人，而是只有你，甘道夫。我必须对你说，一旦你踏进摩瑞亚，千万小心！”
“Of course not! ” said Gandalf. “Who would? But the question is: who will follow me, if I lead you there? “
“当然没人想！”甘道夫说：“谁会想要呢？但我的问题是，如果我带领你们到那里，谁愿意和我一起走？”
“I will,” said Gimli eagerly.
“我愿意！”金雳迫不及待的说。
Suddenly Aragorn leapt to his feet. “How the wind howls! ” he cried. “It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains! “
突然间，阿拉贡跳了起来。“这才不是风的呼啸声！”他大喊：“这是野狼的嚎叫声！座狼已经来到迷雾山脉的西边了！”
“I will not go,” said Boromir; “not unless the vote of the whole company is against me. What do Legolas and the little folk say? The Ring-bearer’s voice surely should be heard? “
“我不愿意去，”波罗莫说：“除非队伍投票决定要去。勒苟拉斯和小家伙到底在想些什么？我们一定要听听魔戒持有者的意见。”
“I do not wish to go to Moria,” said Legolas.
“我不想要去摩瑞亚，”勒苟拉斯说。
The hobbits said nothing. Sam looked at Frodo. At last Frodo spoke. “I do not wish to go,” he said; “but neither do I wish to refuse the advice of Gandalf. I beg that there should be no vote, until we have slept on it. Gandalf will get votes easier in the light of the morning than in this cold gloom. How the wind howls! “
哈比人一言不发。山姆看着佛罗多。最后，他终于开口了：“我也不想要去，”他说：“但我也不愿意拒绝甘道夫的建议。我希望大家在就寝之前不要仓促投票决定。在明天早上投票总比在这黑漆漆的地方投票好多了。你们看这风呼啸的声音多可怕！”
“Need we wait until morning then? ” said Gandalf. “It is as I said. The hunt is up! Even if we live to see the dawn, who now will wish to journey south by night with the wild wolves on his trail? “
“那么我们还需要等到明晨吗？”甘道夫质问众人：“正如同我所说的一样，猎杀已经开始了！就算我们可以活着看到天亮，谁又愿意在晚上被野狼追杀？”
At these words all fell into silent thought. They heard the wind hissing among the rocks and trees, and there was a howling and wailing round them in the empty spaces of the night.
听完这些话，众人都陷入沉默。他们可以听见风声穿梭在岩石和树林中，在夜色中不停发出刺耳、凄厉的声音。
“How far is Moria? ” asked Boromir.
“摩瑞亚有多远？”波罗莫问道。
“There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs,” answered Gandalf grimly.
“在卡拉霍斯拉山的西南边有个入口，直线距离大概十五哩左右，如果人走的话大概有二十哩，”甘道夫神情凝重的回答。
“Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can,” said Boromir. “The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears.”
“那我们天一亮就出发，”波罗莫说：“身边的恶狼比洞中的半兽人恐怖多了。”
“I wish I had taken Elrond’s advice,” muttered Pippin to Sam. “I am no good after all. There is not enough of the breed of Bandobras the Bullroarer in me: these howls freeze my blood. I don’t ever remember feeling so wretched.”
“我希望我当初接受爱隆的建议，”皮聘对山姆叽咕道：“我真是个没用的家伙。我体内可没有什么英雄的血统，这狼嗥声让我全身发冷，我这辈子从来没有觉得这么倒楣过。”
For their defence in the night the Company climbed to the top of the small hill under which they had been sheltering. it was crowned with a knot of old and twisted trees, about which lay a broken circle of boulder stones. In the midst of this they lit a fire, for there was no hope that darkness and silence would keep their trail from discovery by the hunting packs.
为了在晚上保住小命，大伙爬到一座山丘的顶上。周围有一圈老树的保护，而且还有错落的岩石。在这一圈中央，他们点燃了营火。因为，黑暗和寂静都无法保护狼群眼中的猎物。
“My heart’s right down in my toes, Mr. Pippin,” said Sam. “But we aren’t etten yet, and there are some stout folk here with us. Whatever may be in store for old Gandalf, I’ll wager it isn’t a wolf’s belly.”
“我的一颗心都快掉到脚底去啦，皮聘先生，”山姆说：“但我们还没完蛋，我们身边还有很多英雄哪。不管老甘道夫替我们准备了什么未来，我打赌他都不会让恶狼吃掉我们。”
“True!” said Aragorn, loosening his sword in its sheath. “But where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls.”
“真的！”阿拉贡说，把剑插在鞘里。“但是在嚎叫的地方，兽人也在游荡。”
Gandalf stood up and strode forward, holding his staff aloft. “Listen, Hound of Sauron! ” he cried. “Gandalf is here. Fly, if you value your foul skin! I will shrivel you from tail to snout, if you come within this ring.”
甘道夫站了起来，平举着手杖走向前：“听着，索伦的走狗！”他大喊着：“甘道夫在此，如果你珍惜狗命的话，快滚！如果你胆敢走进来，我会把你烧成焦炭！”
Round the fire they sat, and those that were not on guard dozed uneasily. Poor Bill the pony trembled and sweated where he stood. The howling of the wolves was now all round them, sometimes nearer and sometimes further off. In the dead of the night many shining eyes were seen peering over the brow of the hill. Some advanced almost to the ring of stones. At a gap in the circle a great dark wolf-shape could be seen halted, gazing at them. A shuddering howl broke from him, as if he were a captain summoning his pack to the assault.
他们绕着营火坐着，没轮到站哨的人不安地打盹。可怜的小马比尔浑身冒汗、不停的发抖。现在，四面都传来狼嗥的声音，时远时近。他们在半夜，还可以看到山丘下有许多不怀好意的眼睛闪闪发亮，有些甚至走入了石圈之中。在石圈的缺口处，出现了一只身躯庞大的黑狼。它瞪着众人，彷佛正打量着美味的猎物。接着，它发出一声撕心裂肺的嚎叫，召唤所有手下的狼群开始攻击。
The wolf snarled and sprang towards them with a great leap. At that moment there was a sharp twang. Legolas had loosed his bow. There was a hideous yell, and the leaping shape thudded to the ground; the elvish arrow had pierced its throat. The watching eyes were suddenly extinguished. Gandalf and Aragorn strode forward, but the hill was deserted; the hunting packs had fled. All about them the darkness grew silent, and no cry came on the sighing wind.
黑狼咧开大嘴，猛地扑向前。就在那一瞬间，传来一声清脆的响声，勒苟拉斯放了一箭。在一声凄厉哀嚎之后，那个巨大的黑影就倒在地上；一支精灵的利箭刺穿了它的咽喉。不怀好意的狼眼突然间一双接一双消失了。甘道夫和阿拉贡走向前，却发现四野毫无野兽的踪迹，这群恶狼逃得一干二净。他们站在黑暗的寂静中，风中没有任何生物活动的声音。
The night was old, and westward the waning moon was setting. gleaming fitfully through the breaking clouds. Suddenly Frodo started from sleep. Without warning a storm of howls broke out fierce and wild all about the camp. A great host of Wargs had gathered silently and was now attacking them from every side at once.
天色渐明，月亮也慢慢西沉，残存的光辉穿过破碎的云朵。佛罗多突然从熟睡中惊醒。毫无预警的出现了一大群座狼，从四面八方对他们的营地展开攻击。
“Fling fuel on the fire!” cried Gandalf to the hobbits. “Draw your blades, and stand back to back!”
“把火弄旺些！”甘道夫对哈比人大喊：“拔出刀剑，背靠着背！”
In the leaping light, as the fresh wood blazed up, Frodo saw many grey shapes spring over the ring of stones. More and more followed. Through the throat of one huge leader Aragorn passed his sword with a thrust; with a great sweep Boromir hewed the head off another. Beside them Gimli stood with his stout legs apart, wielding his dwarf-axe. The bow of Legolas was singing.
在跳跃的火光中，佛罗多看见许多灰色的形体跃过石圈，越来越多的恶狼跟着效法。阿拉贡一剑刺穿了一只为首座狼的咽喉，波罗莫一旋身砍下另外一只的脑袋。金雳稳稳地站在他身边，挥舞着矮人战斧，勒苟拉斯的弓弦弹奏着死亡的乐章。
In the wavering firelight Gandalf seemed suddenly to grow: he rose up, a great menacing shape like the monument of some ancient king of stone set upon a hill. Stooping like a cloud, he lifted a burning branch and strode to meet the wolves. They gave back before him. High in the air he tossed the blazing brand. It flared with a sudden white radiance like lightning; and his voice rolled like thunder.
在这摇晃的火光中，甘道夫的身形突然间开始长大。他越变越高，看起来像是远古国王的纪念碑一样矗立在山坡上。他拿起一根燃烧的柴薪，缓缓将它挥舞起来，凶恶的狼群也在他的火光前让路。他用力一掷，将火光抛上天空。柴薪突然间爆出如同闪电般的白炽光芒，他的声音瞬间变得如同闷雷一般震撼人心。
“Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth!” he cried.
“Naur an edraith ammen！ Naur dan i ngaurhoth！” 他大喊道。
Slowly the fire died till nothing was left but falling ash and sparks; a bitter smoke curled above the burned tree-stumps, and blew darkly from the hill, as the first light of dawn came dimly in the sky. Their enemies were routed and did not return.
慢慢地，火焰减弱了，直到一切都被烧得什么也不剩，只有烟灰和火花在空中飞舞。烧焦的树干冒出无助的黑烟，在第一道晨曦中飘散在整座山丘上。趁着夜色偷袭的敌人一去不复返。
When the full light of the morning came no signs of the wolves were to be found, and they looked in vain for the bodies of the dead. No trace of the fight remained but the charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top. All were undamaged save one of which only the point was left.
在天色全亮之后，四周都找不到任何恶狼曾经入侵的证据，连尸体都全部不见了。只有勒苟拉斯四散的箭矢和焦黑的树干是昨夜恶战的证明。每支箭矢都毫发无伤，只有一支例外：它只剩下箭头而已。
There was a roar and a crackle, and the tree above him burst into a leaf and bloom of blinding flame. The fire leapt from tree-top to tree-top. The whole hill was crowned with dazzling light. The swords and knives of the defenders shone and flickered. The last arrow of Legolas kindled in the air as it flew, and plunged burning into the heart of a great wolf-chieftain. All the others fled.
在一阵爆吼声和霹啪声中，他头上的老树炸成一团让人目眩的火焰。火焰从一株树上跳到另一株树上，整个山丘被笼罩在火焰的风暴中。远征队的刀剑上都沾染了火红的烈焰。勒苟拉斯的飞箭在半空中燃烧起来，挟着熊熊的火焰刺进壮硕的狼王心口，其他的恶狼纷纷再度逃逸。
“What did I tell you, Mr. Pippin? ” said Sam, she/thing his sword. “Wolves won’t get him. That was an eye-opener, and no mistake! Nearly singed the hair off my head!”
“我跟你说过吧，皮聘先生！”山姆收起短剑：“恶狼根本没办法近他身边。这可真是壮观啊！差点把我头发给烧掉！”
“We must reach the doors before sunset,” said Gandalf, “or I fear we shall not reach them at all. It is not far, but our path may be winding, for here Aragorn cannot guide us; he has seldom walked in this country, and only once have I been under the west wall of Moria, and that was long ago.
“我们必须在天黑之前抵达门口，”甘道夫说：“否则我们可能永远都没有机会到达该处了。它的距离并不远，但我们走的路可能会有些曲折。因为，阿拉贡极少来到此处，从这边开始他没办法引导我们，而我也只在很久以前曾经来过摩瑞亚一次。”
That day the weather changed again, almost as if it was at the command of some power that had no longer any use for snow, since they had retreated from the pass, a power that wished now to have a clear light in which things that moved in the wild could be seen from far away. The wind had been turning through north to north-west during the night, and now it failed. The clouds vanished southwards and the sky was opened, high and blue. As they stood upon the hill-side, ready to depart, a pale sunlight gleamed over the mountain-tops.
那一日的天气又再度改变了，几乎让他们觉得这是因为某种神秘的力量，已经不需要以风雪来阻挡他们的缘故。在清朗的天光之下，他们可以看见相当远的彼方。云朵消失在南方，天空变得一片蔚蓝。当他们站在山丘上准备出发时，一道苍白的陽光洒落下来。
“It is as I feared,” said Gandalf. “These were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness. Let us eat quickly and go!”
“这是我担心的，”甘道夫说。这不是普通的狼在荒野里觅食。我们快点走吧！
“There it lies,” he said, pointing away south-eastwards to where the mountains’ sides fell sheer into the shadows at their feet. In the distance could be dimly seen a line of bare cliffs, and in their midst, taller than the rest, one great grey wall. “When we left the pass I led you southwards, and not back to our starting point, as some of you may have noticed. It is well that I did so, for now we have several miles less to cross, and haste is needed. Let us go! “
“就在那边，”他指着远方东南角山脉，几座被自己的陰影所遮盖的峭壁群。他们可以勉强看见在这其中，有一座灰色的高墙远比其他的峭壁要高。“如果你们注意到的话，我上次带你们躲避恶狼时，我是直接朝南走，而不是回到原先出发的地方。你们应该要庆幸我的先见之明，因为这样一来我们就可以省上好几哩的路。出发吧！”
Gimli now walked ahead by the wizard’s side, so eager was he to come to Moria. Together they led the Company back towards the mountains. The only road of old to Moria from the west had lain along the course of a stream, the Sirannon, that ran out from the feet of the cliffs near where the doors had stood. But either Gandalf was astray, or else the land had changed in recent years; for he did not strike the stream where he looked to find it, only a few miles southwards from their start.
金雳带头走在巫师身边，因为他是最急着看到摩瑞亚的成员。两人并肩领着远征队朝山脉前进。从西方通往摩瑞亚的道路应该是在一条小河西瓦南的旁边，它从峭壁边缘一路流向大门所在的位置。不过，若非是甘道夫迷路了，就是这么多年来地形已经有了改变；因为当他预料会在几哩之外越过小河之时，他并没有发现那条河流。
“I do not know which to hope,” said Boromir grimly: “that Gandalf will find what he seeks, or that coming to the cliff we shall find the gates lost for ever. All choices seem ill, and to be caught between wolves and the wall the likeliest chance. Lead on!”
“我不知道该期待什么，”波罗莫闷闷不乐的说：“是甘道夫会找到他的目标呢，还是我们出现的时候会发现那座大门已经永远消失了？两个选择似乎都很糟糕，我觉得最有可能的是被夹在峭壁和恶狼之间进退不得。唉，多说无益，走吧！”
The morning was passing towards noon, and still the Company wandered and scrambled in a barren country of red stones. Nowhere could they see any gleam of water or hear any sound of it. All was bleak and dry. Their hearts sank. They saw no living thing, and not a bird was in the sky; but what the night would bring, if it caught them in that lost land, none of them cared to think.
时间已经快到中午，远征队的成员依旧在四处布满红色岩石的荒凉大地上跋涉。他们看不见任何的水流，也听不见任何河流的迹象。一切都显得无比干枯，他们的心也跟着沉到谷底。他们看不到生物，天空中也没有任何飞禽。如果他们在夜晚被困在这毫无人迹的荒野中，没有人愿意多想会遇到什么样的结果。
“Ah! Here it is at last! ” said Gandalf. “This is where the stream ran: Sirannon, the Gate-stream, they used to call it. But what has happened to the water, I cannot guess; it used to be swift and noisy. Come! We must hurry on. We are late.”
“啊！我们终于找到了！”甘道夫兴奋的说：“这就是原先西拉南河流经的地方。他们曾经叫它为门溪。不过，我也不知道河流的水到底怎么搞的，上次我来的时候这里可是相当汹涌的小河。来吧！我们得赶路了，时间已经快来不及了。”
Suddenly Gimli, who had pressed on ahead, called back to them. He was standing on a knoll and pointing to the right. Hurrying up they saw below them a deep and narrow channel. It was empty and silent, and hardly a trickle of water flowed among the brown and red-stained stones of its bed; but on the near side there was a path, much broken and decayed, that wound its way among the ruined walls and paving-stones of an ancient highroad.
突然间，一马当先赶路的金雳回头对他们大喊。他现在站在一块岩石上，指着右边。一行人急忙赶上，发现底下是个深邃且狭窄的河谷。河谷中十分空旷安静，只剩下涓涓细流在褐色的河床上流动。不过，在附近有一条破碎断折的小径，曲曲折折的沿着古代道路的遗迹蜿蜒前进。
The Company were footsore and tired; but they trudged doggedly along the rough and winding track for many miles. The sun turned from the noon and began to go west. After a brief halt and a hasty meal they went on again. Before them the mountains frowned, but their path lay in a deep trough of land and they could see only the higher shoulders and the far eastward peaks.
连日的赶路让一行人觉得浑身酸痛，但他们还是认命的沿着破碎的小径继续走了很多哩，太陽已经开始渐渐往西落下。在休息片刻和草草用餐之后，他们又继续上路。山峰在他们面前慢慢开展，但一时之间他们走在深邃的河谷中，只能够看见东方几座比较高的山峰。
At length they came to a sharp bend. There the road, which had been veering southwards between the brink of the channel and a steep fall of the land to the left, turned and went due east again. Rounding the corner they saw before them a low cliff, some five fathoms high, with a broken and jagged top. Over it a trickling water dripped, through a wide cleft that seemed to have been carved out by a fall that had once been strong and full.
不久之后，他们来到了一个急转弯。在这里，原先一直沿着陡坡和河谷往南边前进的小径，突然间变成由西向东的方向。一绕过这个转脚，他们就看见一个低矮的峭壁出现在眼前，大概有几十尺高，顶端显得破碎而不整齐。上面偶尔滴下一些极为稀少的流水；从眼前的景象看来，此地原来曾经是座相当宏伟的瀑布，也才会刻画出这么壮观的地形来。
They found the stone steps without difficulty, and Gimli sprang swiftly up them, followed by Gandalf and Frodo. When they reached the top they saw that they could go no further that way, and the reason for the drying up of the Gate-stream was revealed. Behind them the sinking Sun filled the cool western sky with glimmering gold. Before them stretched a dark still lake. Neither sky nor sunset was reflected on its sullen surface. The Sirannon had been dammed and had filled all the valley. Beyond the ominous water were reared vast cliffs, their stern faces pallid in the fading light: final and impassable. No sign of gate or entrance, not a fissure or crack could Frodo see in the frowning stone.
他们轻易的找到了那石阶，金雳一马当先走在最前面，甘道夫和佛罗多紧跟在后。当他们来到山顶时，却发现没有办法再继续前进了。原因很明显，同时也一并解开了门溪干涸之谜。在他们身后，西沉的太陽让西方天空变得一片金湛。在他们面前则是一座幽深、静止的小湖，幽暗的湖面无法反射任何的景色。西瓦南河遭到堵塞，把整座山谷给填成了小湖。在这邪异的湖水旁，有十分陡峭的悬崖低头俯视它。苍白的岩石上几乎等于明明白白的刻着四个字：无法通行。没有任何的通道或入口，佛罗多连条裂缝都看不见。
“Indeed things have changed! ” said Gandalf. “But there is no mistaking the place. There is all that remains of the Stair Falls. If I remember right, there was a flight of steps cut in the rock at their side, but the main road wound away left and climbed with several loops up to the level ground at the top. There used to be a shallow valley beyond the falls right up to the Walls of Moria, and the Sirannon flowed through it with the road beside it. Let us go and see what things are like now! “
“这里真的变了很多！”甘道夫说：“但我应该没有认错地方。这就是天梯瀑布的遗迹。如果我没记错，瀑布旁边应该有道阶梯，但主要的道路则会沿着斜坡曲折的往上爬。古代的时候，摩瑞亚入口旁边曾经有座山谷，而西瓦南河就沿着小径一路往下流。让我们赶快上去看看现在的情况吧！”
“I am sorry,” said Gandalf. “Poor Bill has been a useful companion and it goes to my heart to turn him adrift now. I would have travelled lighter and brought no animal, least of all this one that Sam is fond of, if I had had my way. I feared all along that we should be obliged to take this road.”
“我很抱歉，”甘道夫带着歉意说：“可怜的比尔是个很有用的伙伴，现在要赶他走也让我很遗憾。如果从一开始就照我规划的做，我根本就不需要把山姆这么喜欢的小马带过来，也不需要携带这么多行李。我一开始就觉得最后可能一定得走上这条路。”
“We must find a way round the northern edge,” said Gimli. “The first thing for the Company to do is to climb up by the main path and see where that will lead us. Even if there were no lake, we could not get our baggage-pony up this stair.”
“我们得要找到一条路绕过北边的阻挡才行，”金雳说：“我们的当务之急就是沿着干道往上爬，看看这条路到底通往哪里。就算这里没有湖水的阻挡，我们搬运行李的小马也无法爬上来。”
“But in any case we cannot take the poor beast into the Mines,” said Gandalf. “The road under the mountains is a dark road, and there are places narrow and steep which he cannot tread, even if we can.”
“无论如何，我们本来就不准备将马匹带进空坑里面，”甘道夫说道：“山底下的通道十分黑暗，有些地方即使我们能通过，它也不见得能够通行。”
“There are the Walls of Moria,” said Gandalf, pointing across the water. “And there the Gate stood once upon a time, the Elven Door at the end of the road from Hollin by which we have come. But this way is blocked. None of the Company, I guess, will wish to swim this gloomy water at the end of the day. It has an unwholesome look.”
“这就是摩瑞亚的外墙，”甘道夫指着湖对岸说：“那边曾经有座入口。那是沿着小径从和林过来的精灵入口。这条路现在无法通行。我想，我们之中应该不会有人想要在这个时候游泳吧！这湖水看来有些诡异。”
“Poor old Bill! ” said Frodo. “I had not thought of that. And poor Sam! I wonder what he will say? “
“可怜的比尔！”佛罗多说：“我没想到这件事情。山姆一定会伤心死的！不知道他会怎么说？”
When they came to the northernmost corner of the lake they found a narrow creek that barred their way. It was green and stagnant, thrust out like a slimy arm towards the enclosing hills. Gimli strode forward undeterred, and found that the water was shallow, no more than ankle-deep at the edge. Behind him they walked in file, threading their way with care, for under the weedy pools were sliding and greasy stones, and footing was treacherous. Frodo shuddered with disgust at the touch of the dark unclean water on his feet.
当他们来到湖最北边的角落时，发现一条狭窄的小溪挡住了去路。这条小溪泛着绿光，静滞不动，彷佛像是山丘往外伸出的黏稠手臂。金雳毫不迟疑的踏向前，发现小溪最浅的地方也不过及踝深而已。一行人小心翼翼的挑着路，跟在他后面前进。小溪中有很多深邃的缺口，可以踏足的岩石又长满了苔藓，必须十分小心才不会滑倒。佛罗多一踩到这污浊的溪水，就不禁打了个寒颤。
The day was drawing to its end, and cold stars were glinting in the sky high above the sunset, when the Company, with all the speed they could, climbed up the slopes and reached the side of the lake. In breadth it looked to be no more than two or three furlongs at the widest point. How far it stretched away southward they could not see in the failing light; but its northern end was no more than half a mile from where they stood, and between the stony ridges that enclosed the valley and the water’s edge there was a rim of open ground. They hurried forward, for they had still a mile or two to go before they could reach the point on the far shore that Gandalf was making for; and then he had still to find the doors.
天色已晚，冰冷的星光开始在渐落的太陽之上闪烁。一行人拔足飞奔，尽可能快速走上大路，来到湖的另外一边。看起来这座湖最宽的地方也不过只有三、四十尺，但是在逐渐黯淡的天色下，他们也搞不清楚湖面往南边延伸多远；唯一可以确定的是，北方的尽头距离这边不过半哩左右而已。在湖泊出口的两块多岩高地和湖水边有块开阔的空地。他们急忙赶向前，因为现在他们距离甘道夫的目的地还有一两里之遥，速度不快实在不行了。而且，到时他们还必须要寻找入口才行。
Gandalf now pressed on at a great pace, and the others followed as quickly as they could. They reached the strip of dry land between the lake and the cliffs: it was narrow, often hardly a dozen yards across, and encumbered with fallen rock and stones; but they found a way, hugging the cliff, and keeping as far from the dark water as they might. A mile southwards along the shore they came upon holly trees. Stumps and dead boughs were rotting in the shallows, the remains it seemed of old thickets, or of a hedge that had once lined the road across the drowned valley. But close under the cliff there stood, still strong and living,. two tall trees, larger than any trees of holly that Frodo had ever seen or imagined. Their great roots spread from the wall to the water. Under the looming cliffs they had looked like mere bushes, when seen far off from the top of the Stair; but now they towered overhead, stiff, dark, and silent, throwing deep night-shadows about their feet, standing like sentinel pillars at the end of the road.
甘道夫现在更加快了步伐，其他人则是尽可能的跟在后面。他们终于来到了湖水和峭壁之间的干燥平地。这块区域十分狭窄，长宽大概也不过各几码而已，地面上都是许多落下的岩石。不过，他们还是找到一条路，尽可能的靠着悬崖前，离湖水越远越好。沿着湖岸往南走不了一哩，他们就遇到了几株冬青树。撇开那些已经腐烂发臭的泡水树干不论，这里似乎曾有一座沿着山谷小径种植的浓密森林。眼前唯一可疑的景象是紧靠着山崖边，有两棵佛罗多看过最高大的冬青树依旧蓬勃的生长着。它们巨大的树根从悬崖伸向湖边，从远方的天梯看过来，相较于高耸的峭壁，它们看起来只不过像是低矮的灌木丛；但是靠近一看，它们又高又大，像是道路两旁无畏的两名壮硕守卫一般。
As Sam, the last of the Company, led Bill up on to the dry ground on the far side, there came a soft sound: a swish, followed by a plop, as if a fish had disturbed the still surface of the water. Turning quickly they saw ripples, black-edged with shadow in the waning light: great rings were widening outwards from a point far out in the lake. There was a bubbling noise, and then silence. The dusk deepened, and the last gleams of the sunset were veiled in cloud.
当山姆，队伍的最后一人领着比尔走到小溪的另一边时，众人突然间听到了一个低微的霹啪声，彷佛有条大鱼跳出湖面，惊扰了静滞的湖水。他们猛一转头，看见湖的远方有阵阵涟漪不停地往外扩散。接着有几个泡泡冒到水面，然后一切归于平静。天色越来越暗，最后一丝陽光也被云朵给遮住了。
“It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned,” said Gimli.
“这友谊的结束并不能怪到矮人头上，”金雳说。
“Well, here we are at last! ” said Gandalf. “Here the Elven-way from Hollin ended. Holly was the token of the people of that land, and they planted it here to mark the end of their domain; for the West-door was made chiefly for their use in their traffic with the Lords of Moria. Those were happier days, when there was still close friendship at times between folk of different race, even between Dwarves and Elves.”
“呼，我们终于到了，”甘道夫说：“这就是和林过来的精灵道路终点。冬青树是当地人们的象征，他们把这两棵冬青树种植在这边，象征领土的终点。这个西门主要的目的，就是为了方便他们和摩瑞亚的国王交流往来用的。在比较平静的年代中，在各种族依旧拥有密切联系的时代里，矮人和精灵曾经是相当熟稔的好友。”
“I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves,” said Legolas.
“我也没听说这和精灵有关系，”勒苟拉斯表示。
Turning to the others he said: “While I am searching, will you each make ready to enter the Mines? For here I fear we must say farewell to our good beast of burden. You must lay aside much of the stuff that we brought against bitter weather: you will not need it inside, nor, I hope, when we come through and journey on down into the South. Instead each of us must take a share of what the pony carried, especially the food and the water-skins.”
“在我寻找密门的时候，你们先请做好进入矿坑的准备，恐怕我们必须在此和可爱的驼兽告别。你们可以把御寒的衣物通通丢掉，因为在矿坑底下不会需要这些东西；而当我们离开矿坑抵达南方之后，我也希望不需要再穿上这些厚重的衣物。因此，我们必须分摊小马所背负的行李，特别是水袋和食物的部分。”
“I have heard both,” said Gandalf; “and I will not give judgement now. But I beg you two, Legolas and Gimli, at least to be friends, and to help me. I need you both. The doors are shut and hidden, and the sooner we find them the better. Night is at hand! “
“我都听到了，”甘道夫说：“现在我不会评断你们。但我恳求两位，金雳和勒苟拉斯，至少携手同心帮助我们度过这难关，我需要你们两个人的力量。这扇隐藏的门还没打开，我们越早打开它越好，天就快黑了！”
“He’d follow Mr. Frodo into a dragon’s den, if I led him,” protested Sam. “It’d be nothing short of murder to turn him loose with all these wolves about.”
“如果我领着它，他会愿意跟着佛罗多先生进入龙穴的，”山姆抗议道：“你把它丢在这个到处都是野狼的地方，根本是谋杀嘛！”
“I am sorry, Sam,” said the wizard. “But when the Door opens I do not think you will be able to drag your Bill inside, into the long dark of Moria. You will have to choose between Bill and your master.”
“对不起，山姆，”巫师说：“当大门打开的时候，我想比尔也不会愿意进入幽暗的摩瑞亚，你得要在比尔和你的主人之间做出选择才行。”
“There, Sam! He will have quite as much chance of escaping wolves and getting home as we have.”
“来吧！山姆，它和我们有同样的机会安全回家的！”
“But you can’t leave poor old Bill behind in this forsaken place, Mr. Gandalf! ” cried Sam, angry and distressed. “I won’t have it, and that’s flat. After he has come so far and all! “
“甘道夫先生！可是你不能把可怜的比尔留在这个鬼地方啊！”山姆又生气又难过地说：“我不同意，它都已经跟我们走了这么远，这么久！”
“It will be short of murder, I hope,” said Gandalf. He laid his hand on the pony’s head, and spoke in a low voice. “Go with words of guard and guiding on you,” he said. “You are a wise beast, and have learned much in Rivendell. Make your ways to places where you can find grass, and so come in time to Elrond’s house, or wherever you wish to go.
“我希望不会落到这个地步，”甘道夫说。他将手放在小马的头上，压低声音说道：“愿你受到祝福与保护！”他说：“你是匹聪明的小马，在瑞文戴尔也学到很多。请你去找到可以吃草的地方，然后及时回到爱隆的居所，或是任何你想要去的地方。”
Sam stood sullenly by the pony and returned no answer. Bill, seeming to understand well what was going on, nuzzled up to him, putting his nose to Sam’s ear. Sam burst into tears, and fumbled with the straps, unlading all the pony’s packs and throwing them on the ground. The others sorted out the goods, making a pile of all that could be left behind, and dividing up the rest.
山姆闷闷不乐地站在小马旁边，没有回话。比尔似乎了解一切的状况，用他的鼻子顶着山姆的耳朵。山姆哭了出来，边玩弄着缰绳；他尽可能温柔地将所有背包和行李卸下，一股脑儿的全丢到地上去。其他人则是负责把这些东西分门别类收好，把可以放弃的东西特别隔开来，其他的则分成另外一堆。
When this was done they turned to watch Gandalf. He appeared to have done nothing. He was standing between the two trees gazing at the blank wall of the cliff, as if he would bore a hole into it with his eyes. Gimli was wandering about, tapping the stone here and there with his axe. Legolas was pressed against the rock, as if listening.
当一切都做好之后，他们转过身看着甘道夫。他看起来似乎什么也没做。他呆呆的站在两棵树之间，看着空无一物的山壁，彷佛想要用目光在其上钻出洞来。金雳正四下打探着，用斧头敲打着各处。勒苟拉斯则贴在岩壁上，似乎在倾听着什么。
“But this Door was not made to be a secret known only to Dwarves,” said Gandalf, coming suddenly to life and turning round. “Unless things are altogether changed, eyes that know what to look for may discover the signs.”
“但这扇门的秘密并不只有矮人知道，”甘道夫突然间回过神，转过头来看着大家：“除非有太多的事情改变了，否则知道内情的人还是可以找到该看的东西。”
“Dwarf-doors are not made to be seen when shut,” said Gimli. “They are invisible, and their own masters cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten.”
“矮人所制造的门，在关起来之后是毫无痕迹的，”金雳说：“如果忘记了它的秘密，连原先的主人都无法打开它们。”
“Well, here we are and all ready,” said Merry; “but where are the Doors? I can’t see any sign of them.”
“我们都准备好了，”梅里说：“但是门在哪里？我根本找不到任何的线索。”
He walked forward to the wall. Right between the shadow of the trees there was a smooth space, and over this he passed his hands to and fro, muttering words under his breath. Then he stepped back.
他走向山壁，就在两棵树影之间有块平滑的空间。他伸出手，在上面摸来摸去，嘀咕着什么。最后，他退了一步。
“Look!” he said. “Can you see anything now?”
“你们看！”他说：“现在有什么不一样的地方了吗？”
The Moon now shone upon the grey face of the rock; but they could see nothing else for a while. Then slowly on the surface, where the wizard’s hands had passed, faint lines appeared, like slender veins of silver running in the stone. At first they were no more than pale gossamer-threads, so fine that they only twinkled fitfully where the Moon caught them, but steadily they grew broader and clearer, until their design could be guessed.
月光照在岩石灰噗噗的平面上，但他们暂时还是什么都看不见。接着，在巫师双手摸过的地方，淡淡的光芒开始显现，银色的线条出现岩石上。一开始那只是细微的如同蛛网一般的痕迹，月光只能偶尔反射在其上；但不久之后，这些线条向外逐渐扩教，开始变得十分清晰。
At the top, as high as Gandalf could reach, was an arch of interlacing letters in an Elvish character. Below, though the threads were in places blurred or broken, the outline could be seen of an anvil and a hammer surmounted by a crown with seven stars. Beneath these again were two trees, each bearing crescent moons. More clearly than all else there shone forth in the middle of the door a single star with many rays.
在甘道夫的手勉强可以接触到的高处，是一道由精灵文字构成的弧形。而在底下，虽然有些地方的文字已经缺角、模糊了，却依旧可以看得出大致的图形。上面是七颗星辰，伴随着一顶皇冠，其下则是铁锤和铁砧，在那之下，则是两棵有着如同月牙一般枝丫的大树，而最清晰的，是在正中央有一颗拥有许多星芒的星辰。
“There are the emblems of Durin!” cried Gimli.
“那就是都灵的徽记！”金雳大喊道。
“And there is the Tree of the High Elves!” said Legolas.
“这是高等精灵的圣树！”勒苟拉斯惊呼道。
“And the Star of the House of Feanor,” said Gandalf. “They are wrought of ithildin that mirrors only starlight and moonlight, and sleeps until it is touched by one who speaks words now long forgotten in Middle-earth. It is long since I heard them, and I thought deeply before I could recall them to my mind.”
“还有费诺家族的星芒，甘道夫说：“这些都是用只会反射星光和月光的伊希尔丁金属所打造的，只有在人们说着中土世界早已遗忘的语言碰触它们时才会醒过来。我已经很久没听过这种语言了，刚刚想了好久才想起来。”
“That is plain enough,” said Gimli. “If you are a friend, speak the password, and the doors will open, and you can enter.”
“这很简单，”金雳说：“如果你是朋友，就请说出通行密语，大门就会打开，你就可以进去了。”
“The words are in the elven-tongue of the West of Middle-earth in the Elder Days,” answered Gandalf. “But they do not say anything of importance to us. They say only: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. And underneath small and faint is written: I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.”
“这些是以远古时代西方精灵的语言所写成的，”甘道夫说：“但这些内容与我们并没有太重要的关系。上面只是写着：这是通往摩瑞亚之王都灵宝座的大门，朋友，开口就可以进入。下面一行比较模糊的字则是写着在下，那维制作，徽记是由和林的赛勒布理鹏绘制。
“What does the writing say?” asked Frodo, who was trying to decipher the inscription on the arch. “I thought I knew the elf-letters but I cannot read these.”
“上面的文字写些什么？”佛罗多忍不住好奇的问，他正在试图解译弧形上面的文字：“我还以为我看得懂精灵文字，但这上面写的东西我完全不了解。”
“Yes,” said Gandalf, “these doors are probably governed by words. Some dwarf-gates will open only at special times, or for particular persons; and some have locks and keys that are still needed when all necessary times and words are known. These doors have no key. In the days of Durin they were not secret. They usually stood open and doorwards sat here. But if they were shut, any who knew the opening word could speak it and pass in. At least so it is recorded, is it not, Gimli? “
“是的，”甘道夫说，“这些大门应该是由密语所控制的。有些矮人的大门只会在特定的时候，或是为特定的人而开启；有些门则是在符合所有条件之后，还需要钥匙才能打开。在都灵的年代里，这些密语并不是秘密。通常门都是大开的，旁边还有守门人看守着。但如果门关上了，任何知道密语的人就可以走进去。至少根据记载是这样的，对吧，金雳？”
“What does it mean by speak, friend, and enter?” asked Merry.
“朋友，开口就可以进入是什么意思？”梅里问道。
“No! ” said the wizard.
“当然不知道！”巫师理所当然的回答。
“But do not you know the word, Gandalf? ” asked Boromir in surprise.
“可是，甘道夫，难道你也不知道密语吗？”波罗莫惊讶的问。
“It is,” said the dwarf. “But what the word was is not remembered. Narvi and his craft and all his kindred have vanished from the earth.”
“没错，”矮人说：“但现在没人记得这密语了。那维和他的技术以及族人，早就从这个世界上消失了。”
The others looked dismayed; only Aragorn, who knew Gandalf well, remained silent and unmoved.
其他人看起来都不太高兴。只有认识甘道夫已久的阿拉贡，脸色没有任何变化。
“Then what was the use of bringing us to this accursed spot?” cried Boromir, glancing back with a shudder at the dark water. “You told us that you had once passed through the Mines. How could that be, if you did not know how to enter? “
“那么你把我们带到这个该死的地方有什么用？”波罗莫大喊着，他回头看了看黑色的湖水，不禁打了个寒颤：“你说你曾经进入过矿坑，如果你不知道密语，又是怎么进去的？”
“If you wish to know, I will tell you that these doors open outwards. From the inside you may thrust them open with your hands. From the outside nothing will move them save the spell of command. They cannot be forced inwards.”
“如果你想要知道，我还可以告诉你，这些门可以从里面轻易地打开。在里面，只要手一推就可以开门。要从外面进去，就只有密语才能够派上用场，你没办法硬把门往内开。”
“The answer to your first question, Boromir,” said the wizard, “is that I do not know the word-yet. But we shall soon see. And,” he added, with a glint in his eyes under their bristling brows, “you may ask what is the use of my deeds when they are proved useless. As for your other question: do you doubt my tale? Or have you no wits left? I did not enter this way. I came from the East.
“波罗莫，你第一个问题的答案，”巫师慢条斯理地说：“是我现在还不知道密语是什么，但我们很快就会知道了，而且……”他的眼中隐隐闪动着光芒：“下次最好在我的行为证明毫无理由之后再责怪我。至于你的另一个问题，难道你已经急疯了吗？难道你没办法清楚思考了吗？我不是从这条路进去的，我是从东方来的。”
Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!
（银色星辰记号）
“What are you going to do then? ” asked Pippin, undaunted by the wizard’s bristling brows.
“那你要怎么办？”皮聘丝毫不畏惧巫师颤抖的眉毛。
He stepped up to the rock again, and lightly touched with his staff the silver star in the middle beneath the sign of the anvil.
他再度靠近岩石，轻轻的用手杖碰触着中央的银色星辰记号。
“Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took,” said Gandalf. “But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will seek for the opening words.
“我要用你的脑袋去敲门，”甘道夫说：“如果没用的话，我至少可以暂时不用回答这些愚蠢的问题。那还用说，我当然会负责找到进入的密语！”
“I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves or Men or Orcs that was ever used for such a purpose. I can still remember ten score of them without searching in my mind. But only a few trials, I think, will be needed; and I shall not have to call on Gimli for words of the secret dwarf-tongue that they teach to none. The opening words were Elvish, like the writing on the arch: that seems certain.”
“我曾经有一度知道所有精灵、人类或是半兽人所使用的这类法术，我现在不需要多加思考还是可以背诵出其中十分之一来，不过，我想应该只需要尝试几次就够了。我应该也不需要询问金雳他们向不外传的矮人密言。就我推断，开启大门的应该和那拱形上的文字一样是精灵语。”
He said in a commanding voice. The silver lines faded, but the blank grey stone did not stir.
他用命令的口气说道。银色的线条开始消失，但灰色的石头却一点也没有改变。
Many times he repeated these words in different order, or varied them. Then he tried other spells. one after another, speaking now faster and louder, now soft and slow. Then he spoke many single words of Elvish speech. Nothing happened. The cliff towered into the night, the countless stars were kindled, the wind blew cold, and the doors stood fast.
他用许多不同的顺序重复了这句话许多遍，或是改变语调。然后他一个接一个的尝试其他的魔法，有些较快、较大声，有些则是较慢、较轻柔，然后他又念诵很多个精灵单字，什么事都没发生。天空中开始出现众多的星辰，峭壁依旧动也不动，晚风继续吹拂，但大门依旧深锁。
Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!
（银色星辰记号）
The stone vanished with a soft slap; but at the same instant there was a swish and a bubble. Great rippling rings formed on the surface out beyond where the stone had fallen, and they moved slowly towards the foot of the cliff.
石头就这样落进湖中，但就在同一时间，湖中传来了呼噜和冒泡的声音。岩石落下的地方冒出了巨大的涟漪，开始缓缓地朝向峭壁涌来。
At that moment from far off the wind bore to their listening ears the howling of wolves. Bill the pony started in fear, and Sam sprang to his side and whispered softly to him.
就在那时候，他们开始听见远方传来野狼的嗥叫声。小马比尔吃了一惊，山姆立刻跳到它身边，低声地安慰它。
“Why did you do that, Boromir? ” said Frodo. “I hate this place, too, and I am afraid. I don’t know of what: not of wolves, or the dark behind the doors, but of something else. I am afraid of the pool. Don’t disturb it! “
“波罗莫，你为什么要这样做？”佛罗多说：“我也讨厌这个地方。我不知道是为什么，但这不是因为野狼，也不是因为黑暗的矿坑，而是有什么别的东西。我害怕这个黑湖，最好不要打搅它！”
Again Gandalf approached the wall, and lifting up his arms he spoke in tones of command and rising wrath. Edro, edro! he cried, and struck the rock with his staff. Open, open! he shouted, and followed it with the same command in every language that had ever been spoken in the West of Middle-earth. Then he threw his staff on the ground, and sat down in silence.
甘道夫再度走到门口，举起手臂，愤怒地大喊，Edro，edro！他用手杖猛力的敲击岩壁。开门，开门！他大喊着，接着他又使用所有中土世界西方曾经说过的语言大声叫喊。最后，他气得将手杖丢到地上，沉默不语坐着。
“Do not let him run away! ” said Boromir. “It seems that we shall need him still, if the wolves do not find us. How I hate this foul pool! ” He stooped and picking up a large stone he cast it far into the dark water.
“不要让它跑开了！”波罗莫说：“看来，如果野狼没有再度包围我们，我们可能还会需要它的帮助。我实在很讨厌这个该死的湖！”他捡起一块石头，忿忿地丢进湖中。
Gandalf took no notice of them. He sat with his head bowed, either in despair or in anxious thought. The mournful howling of the wolves was heard again. The ripples on the water grew and came closer; some were already lapping on the shore.
甘道夫根本没有注意到他们的情况。他低着头，如果不是因为绝望，就是因为正在努力的思考。野狼的嗥叫声又再度传来，水上的涟漪继续扩散，有些已经拍打到岸边来。
Picking up his staff he stood before the rock and said in a clear voice: Mellon!
他拾起手杖，站在岩石边，大喊着：梅隆！
“Why doesn’t Gandalf do something quick? ” said Pippin.
“为什么甘道夫不赶快想点办法？”皮聘说。
“I wish we could get away! ” said Merry.
“我希望我们能够赶快离开这里！”梅里说。
With a suddenness that startled them all the wizard sprang to his feet. He was laughing! “I have it! ” he cried. “Of course, of course! Absurdly simple, like most riddles when you see the answer.”
突然间，巫师跳了起来，把大家吓了一跳。他竟然在哈哈大笑！“我想到了！”他大喊着！“没错，没错！这么简单，就像大多数的谜题一样，答案就在问题中！”
The star shone out briefly and faded again. Then silently a great doorway was outlined, though not a crack or joint had been visible before. Slowly it divided in the middle and swung outwards inch by inch, until both doors lay back against the wall. Through the opening a shadowy stair could be seen climbing steeply up; but beyond the lower steps the darkness was deeper than the night. The Company stared in wonder.
星芒闪耀了一下，接着又黯淡下去。接着，虽然之前没有任何蛛丝马迹，一个巨大的门廊开始缓缓浮现；它慢慢从中央分开，往外打开，直到两扇门都完全张开为止。他们可以看见门内有一座往上攀升的楼梯，但再远的地方就因为太过黑暗而看不清楚了。远征队的成员纷纷呆看着眼前的景象。
He strode forward and set his foot on the lowest step. But at that moment several things happened. Frodo felt something seize him by the ankle, and he fell with a cry. Bill the pony gave a wild neigh of fear, and turned tail and dashed away along the lakeside into the darkness. Sam leaped after him, and then hearing Frodo’s cry he ran back again, weeping and cursing. The others swung round and saw the waters of the lake seething, as if a host of snakes were swimming up from the southern end.
他一脚踏上了门内的阶梯。但是，就在同一瞬间，有许多事情发生了。佛罗多觉得有什么东西攫住他的脚踝，他惨叫着跌倒在地上，小马比尔嘶叫一声，沿着湖边跑进黑暗之中。山姆一开始准备跟着它跑，接着又听见佛罗多的声音，最后只好啜泣、诅咒着跑回来。其他的人转过头，只见到湖水如同沸腾一般，似乎有许多小蛇准备爬上岸边。
Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it was pale-green and luminous and wet. Its fingered end had hold of Frodo’s foot and was dragging him into the water. Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife.
从湖边有很多细长的触手伸出，那是淡紫色、发着亮光、黏答答的触手。其中一只抓住了佛罗多的脚，正准备将他拖进水中。山姆跪在地上，挥舞着短剑砍打触手。
“I was wrong after all,” said Gandalf, “and Gimli too. Merry, of all people, was on the right track. The opening word was inscribed on the archway all the time! The translation should have been: Say “Friend” and enter. I had only to speak the Elvish word for friend and the doors opened. Quite simple. Too simple for a learned lore-master in these suspicious days. Those were happier times. Now let us go!”
“我一开始就错了，”甘道夫说：“金雳也错了。所有的人之中只有梅里猜对了。从头到尾密语就刻在门上，我应该把那些文字翻译成开口说出朋友，就可以进入。我只需要说出精灵语的朋友，门就打开了。真简单！对于一个生在多疑时代的老家伙来说，这实在简单过了头。当年果然是个比较平淡祥和的年代。快进去吧！”
“Into the gateway! Up the stairs! Quick! ” shouted Gandalf leaping back. Rousing them from the horror that seemed to have rooted all but Sam to the ground where they stood, he drove them forward.
“快进来！快点往楼梯上爬！快点！”甘道夫跳回来大喊。他从地上挖起彷佛被恐惧吓得生了根的山姆和佛罗多，把他们推向门口。
The arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out for help. Twenty others arms came rippling out. The dark water boiled, and there was a hideous stench.
那只触手松开了佛罗多。山姆将他拉开，开始大声呼救。另外二十只触手又窜了出来，黑暗的湖水沸腾得更厉害了，一股恶臭跟着冒出。
They were just in time. Sam and Frodo were only a few steps up, and Gandalf had just begun to climb, when the groping tentacles writhed across the narrow shore and fingered the cliff-wall and the doors. One came wriggling over the threshold, glistening in the starlight. Gandalf turned and paused. If he was considering what word would close the gate again from within, there was no need. Many coiling arms seized the doors on either side, and with horrible strength, swung them round. With a shattering echo they slammed, and all light was lost. A noise of rending and crashing came dully through the ponderous stone.
他们在千钧一发之际，刚好躲过怪物的攻击。山姆和佛罗多正好走了几阶，甘道夫刚走进门内，一大堆的触手就从湖内涌出，爬向门内。有一只触手在星光下反射着恶心的光芒，挤进了门内。甘道夫转过身，停下脚步。如果他此时正在思考要如何关上门，那对方正好替他省了这个麻烦。许多触手抓住了两边的大门，用极度巨大的力量将它们一推，就这么关了起来。轰然一声巨响，大门就这么关起来，厚重的石门则开始承受触手怪力的重击，一切的光芒也跟着消失。
Sam, clinging to Frodo’s arm, collapsed on a step in the black darkness. “Poor old Bill! ” he said in a choking voice. “Poor old Bill! Wolves and snakes! But the snakes were too much for him. I had to choose, Mr. Frodo. I had to come with you.”
山姆紧抓着佛罗多的手臂，在黑暗之中滑了一跤。“可怜的比尔！”他哽咽着说：“可怜的比尔，又是恶狼又是水蛇！这水蛇实在太恐怖了。可是，佛罗多先生，我别无选择，我得和你一起走。”
“Well, well! ” said the wizard. “The passage is blocked behind us now and there is only one way out-on the other side of the mountains. I fear from the sounds that boulders have been piled up, and the trees uprooted and thrown across the gate. I am sorry; for the trees were beautiful, and had stood so long.”
“好吧，好吧！”巫师说。“现在我们已经没有退路了，要出去只有一条路，就是从山的另外一边出去。从这些声音听起来，这些落石已经堆积了起来，两棵大树也倒下挡住了大门。我很遗憾，那些树那么漂亮，生长了那么久，竟然就这么毁于一旦。”
“I felt that something horrible was near from the moment that my foot first touched the water,” said Frodo. “What was the thing, or were there many of them? “
“我脚一踏上那水面，就知道有什么恐怖的东西在附近，”佛罗多问道：“那到底是什么东西？或者那边有很多这种怪物？”
They heard Gandalf go back down the steps and thrust his staff against the doors. There was a quiver in the stone and the stairs trembled,. but the doors did not open.
他们听见甘道夫走回去，伸手推动那扇门。阶梯摇晃了一阵子，但大门还是没有打开。
“I do not know,” answered Gandalf, “but the arms were all guided by one purpose. Something has crept, or has been driven out of dark waters under the mountains. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.” He did not speak aloud his thought that whatever it was that dwelt in the lake, it had seized on Frodo first among all the Company.
“我也不知道，”甘道夫回答：“但那些触手似乎都只有一个目的，有某种东西从山底下的黑水中窜了出来。这些比隐藏在黑暗地穴中的半兽人还要古老，”他并没有把心中的念头说出来，在远征队这么多成员当中，为什么它第一个抓住的是佛罗多？
Boromir muttered under his breath, but the echoing stone magnified the sound to a hoarse whisper that all could hear: “In the deep places of the world! And thither we are going against my wish. Who will lead us now in this deadly dark? “
波罗莫压低声音嘀咕着，但这里岩石的回音让他的抱怨变得清晰无比：“黑暗地穴中的生物！结果我们最后还是到了这个地方，在这一片漆黑中，到底谁要带路？”
The proposal was welcomed by all; and they sat down on the upper steps, dim figures in the gloom. After they had eaten, Gandalf gave them each a third sip of the miruvor of Rivendell.
所有的人都很赞成这个提议：他们都在楼梯和走廊上坐了下来。在一行人吃过饭之后，甘道夫又让大家喝了第三口瑞文戴尔的米卢活。
“I will,” said Gandalf, “and Gimli shall walk with me. Follow my staff! “
“交给我，”甘道夫说：“金雳会和我一起走的。跟着我的手杖走！”
“Let us sit and rest and have something to eat, here on the landing, since we can’t find a dining-room! ” said Frodo. He had begun to shake off the terror of the clutching arm, and suddenly he felt extremely hungry.
“由于找不到什么用餐的地方，就让我们在这边坐下来。先找个地方吃吃便餐吧！”佛罗多刚摆脱那些触手所带来的恐惧气息，突然觉得肚子饿了起来。
As the wizard passed on ahead up the great steps, he held his staff aloft, and from its tip there came a faint radiance. The wide stairway was sound and undamaged. Two hundred steps they counted, broad and shallow; and at the top they found an arched passage with a level floor leading on into the dark.
巫师走在最前方，他一边将手杖高举，让其上所散发出来的微弱光芒照亮众人，宽广的阶梯看来似乎没有受到岁月的催折。他们大概走了两百阶楼梯，这才来到顶端。阶梯的尽头是另外一座拱门，以及一道通往黑暗中的长廊。
“It will not last much longer, I am afraid,” he said; “but I think we need it after that horror at the gate. And unless we have great luck, we shall need all that is left before we see the other side! Go carefully with the water, too! There are many streams and wells in the Mines, but they should not be touched. We may not have a chance of filling our skins and bottles till we come down into Dimrill Dale.”
“这恐怕撑不了多久，”他说：“但我想我们在经历过门口的危机之后，必须要喝上一口才行。除非我们运气太好，否则剩下的米卢活，应该刚好够我们活着走到另一边去！大家也要珍惜饮用水！矿坑里面有许多的地下水和水井，但都是不能饮用的。我们在抵达丁瑞尔河谷之前，可能再也没机会装满手中的容器了。”
“How long is that going to take us? ” asked Frodo.
“大概得要花多少时间？”佛罗多问道。
After only a brief rest they started on their way again. All were eager to get the journey over as quickly as possible, and were willing, tired as they were, to go on marching still for several hours. Gandalf walked in front as before. In his left hand he held up his glimmering staff, the light of which just showed the ground before his feet; in his right he held his sword Glamdring. Behind him came Gimli, his eyes glinting in the dim light as he turned his head from side to side. Behind the dwarf walked Frodo, and he had drawn the short sword, Sting. No gleam came from the blades of Sting or of Glamdring; and that was some comfort, for being the work of Elvish smiths in the Elder Days these swords shone with a cold light, if any Orcs were near at hand. Behind Frodo went Sam, and after him Legolas, and the young hobbits, and Boromir. In the dark at the rear, grim and silent, walked Aragorn.
在休息了片刻之后，他们又再度开始前进。所有人都迫切地想要赶快完成这段路程；即使已经精疲力尽，他们都还愿意继续再走上好几个小时。甘道夫像以前一样在最前面领队。他的左手拿着发出闪光的手杖，这光芒刚好只够照亮他脚前的地面，他的右手则拿着敌击剑格兰瑞。他的身后则是金雳，矮人的双眼在黑暗中闪动着特殊的光芒，在矮人之后则是拿着宝剑刺针的佛罗多。敌击剑或是刺针都没有发出光芒，这让人安心多了。因为这两把武器都是精灵工匠在远古打造的；如果有半兽人靠近，这些武器都会发出冷光来。在佛罗多之后则是山姆，在之后则是勒苟拉斯和年轻的哈比人们。波罗莫走在阿拉贡的前面，如同以往一样沉默、神情凝重，负责押阵的是阿拉贡。
“I cannot say,” answered Gandalf. “It depends on many chances. But going straight, without mishap or losing our way, we shall take three or four marches, I expect. It cannot be less than forty miles from West-door to East-gate in a direct line, and the road may wind much.”
“我也不太确定，”甘道夫回答道：“关键在于中间有许多随机的可能性。如果没有迷路，直直的朝向目标走，我想大概会花上三到四天。从西门到东门绝对不可能超过四十哩路，只不过路上可能会很曲折就是了。”
Gimli aided Gandalf very little, except by his stout courage. At least he was not, as were most of the others, troubled by the mere darkness in itself. Often the wizard consulted him at points where the choice of way was doubtful; but it was always Gandalf who had the final word. The Mines of Moria were vast and intricate beyond the imagination of Gimli, Gloin’s son, dwarf of the mountain-race though he was. To Gandalf the far-off memories of a journey long before were now of little help, but even in the gloom and despite all windings of the road he knew whither he wished to go, and he did not falter, as long as there was a path that led towards his goal.
除了毫不退缩的勇气之外，金雳其实没有帮上甘道夫多少忙，但至少他不像其他队员一样，因为黑暗而感到不安。巫师经常在道路的分岔点有所疑问时询问他的意见，但做出最后决定的永远都是甘道夫。摩瑞亚矿坑的复杂程度，远远超过了金雳这名矮人的想像。对甘道夫来说，过去在这里冒险的记忆，这次也没有多少帮助。但是，不论通道多么复杂曲折，只要能够通往他的目的地，他就绝不会退缩。
The passage twisted round a few turns, and then began to descend. It went steadily down for a long while before it became level once again. The air grew hot and stifling, but it was not foul, and at times they felt currents of cooler air upon their faces, issuing from half-guessed openings in the walls. There were many of these. In the pale ray of the wizard’s staff, Frodo caught glimpses of stairs and arches and of other passages and tunnels, sloping up, or running steeply down, or opening blankly dark on either side. It was bewildering beyond hope of remembering.
走廊转了几个弯，接着开始往下降。它下倾了很长的一段时间，最后才又恢复平坦。空气开始变得又热又闷，幸好，并没有奇怪的恶臭参杂在其中。有些时候他们还可以感觉到有新鲜的空气从墙壁上的空隙吹出来，四下的墙壁都有很多类似的空隙。在巫师手杖的微光中，佛罗多可以依稀看见阶梯和拱门，以及其他往上、往下或只是单纯左右转的通道。他实在无法完全记住这么复杂的隧道地形。
“Do not be afraid! ” said Aragorn. There was a pause longer than usual, and Gandalf and Gimli were whispering together; the others were crowded behind, waiting anxiously. “Do not be afraid! I have been with him on many a journey, if never on one so dark; and there are tales of Rivendell of greater deeds of his than any that I have seen. He will not go astray-if there is any path to find. He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself. He is surer of finding the way home in a blind night than the cats of Queen Beruthiel.”
“别害怕！”阿拉贡说。这次的暂停比以往要久，甘道夫和金雳交头接耳了好一阵子，其他人则是紧张地在后面等待着。“别害怕！我曾经和他一起经历了许多冒险。虽然都没有这么黑暗，但是如果你去瑞文戴尔打听一下，你会听到许多他冒险犯难的英勇事迹。只要有路，他就不会迷失。他不顾我们的恐惧，强行带我们进入这里，但以他的个性，他也会负责的带我们离开这里，不管这会让他付出多少代价。他比精灵女皇的爱猫，还更能够在黑暗中找到出路。”
It was well for the Company that they had such a guide. They had no fuel nor any means of making torches; in the desperate scramble at the doors many things had been left behind. But without any light they would soon have come to grief. There were not only many roads to choose from, there were also in many places holes and pitfalls, and dark wells beside the path in which their passing feet echoed. There were fissures and chasms in the walls and floor, and every now and then a crack would open right before their feet. The widest was more than seven feet across, and it was long before Pippin could summon enough courage to leap over the dreadful gap. The noise of churning water came up from far below, as if some great mill-wheel was turning in the depths.
幸好远征队拥有这样的向导。因为他们在匆忙逃进洞穴内的时候，并没有携带任何燃料或是可以制造火把的道具。如果没有任何的光源，他们可能很快的就会遇上悲剧。因为此地不只有许多岔路必须做出选择，更有很多的地洞和陷坑，甚至还有脚步声会跟着回响的深井。墙壁上和地板上都有很深的裂隙，他们脚下也时常出现各式各样的深沟。有些深沟甚至宽达七尺，皮聘好不容易才鼓足勇气奋力跳过这深沟。底下还传来汨汨的水声，彷佛有某种巨大的水车正在黑暗中运作。
As these dangers became more frequent their march became slower. Already they seemed to have been tramping on, on, endlessly to the mountains’ roots. They were more than weary, and yet there seemed no comfort in the thought of halting anywhere. Frodo’s spirits had risen for a while after his escape, and after food and a draught of the cordial; but now a deep uneasiness, growing to dread, crept over him again. Though he had been healed in Rivendell of the knife-stroke, that grim wound had not been without effect. His senses were sharper and more aware of things that could not be seen. One sign of change that he soon had noticed was that he could see more in the dark than any of his companions, save perhaps Gandalf. And he was in any case the bearer of the Ring: it hung upon its chain against his breast, and at whiles it seemed a heavy weight. He felt the certainty of evil ahead and of evil following; but he said nothing. He gripped tighter on the hilt of his sword and went on doggedly.
由于这些随处可见的危险不停的出现，他们行进的速度也变得越来越慢。他们已经开始觉得自己是在山底下永无止尽的原地踏步。他们已经非常疲倦了，却又不敢随便找地方休息。佛罗多在逃过一劫之后心情变好许多，用餐和瑞文戴尔的秘传饮料，更是让他神清气爽。但是，现在，一种深沉的不安和恐惧，开始再度袭向他。虽然他被毒刃刺伤的伤口，已经在瑞文戴尔被治好了，但是那伤口还是在他的心上留下了痕迹。他的感觉变得更为敏锐，可以感受到许多之前浑然不觉的迹象；另一个征兆，是他黑暗中视物的能力变得更强了，队伍中除了甘道夫之外，可能没人看得比他更清楚。而且，他还是魔戒的持有者；魔戒挂在他胸前的项练上，有时会变得十分沉重。他可以确切的感觉到前方有邪恶的气息，而后方也有邪恶紧紧相逼；但他没有告诉任何人。他只是将剑柄握得更紧，继续不动声色地往前走。
“Rope! ” muttered Sam. “I knew I’d want it, if I hadn’t got it! “
“绳子！”山姆嘀咕着。“我就知道如果忘记带这样东西，就一定会用到它！”
The Company behind him spoke seldom, and then only in hurried whispers. There was no sound but the sound of their own feet; the dull stump of Gimli’s dwarf-boots; the heavy tread of Boromir; the light step of Legolas; the soft, scarce-heard patter of hobbit-feet; and in the rear the slow firm footfalls of Aragorn with his long stride. When they halted for a moment they heard nothing at all, unless it were occasionally a faint trickle and drip of unseen water. Yet Frodo began to hear, or to imagine that he heard, something else: like the faint fall of soft bare feet. It was never loud enough, or near enough, for him to feel certain that he heard it; but once it had started it never stopped, while the Company was moving. But it was not an echo, for when they halted it pattered on for a little all by itself, and then grew still.
他身后的队员极少开口，即使偶尔有也只是交头接耳的低语。除了他们自己的脚步声之外，几乎没有任何其他的声音：金雳矮人靴子的闷响、波罗莫沉重的脚步、勒苟拉斯轻盈的步履声、哈比人低微不可闻的声音，以及阿拉贡缓慢、坚定，大步跨出的声音。当他们停下脚步时，除了偶尔传来的滴水声之外，四下一点声音都没有。但佛罗多开始听到，或者是开始想像出一种诡异的声音：有点像是赤脚走路的微弱声响。它一直不够近、不够大声，让他无法确定是否真有其事；但只要远征队开始移动，那脚步声就不会停止。但这绝对不是回音；因为当队伍停下来的时候，这脚步声往往会继续一段时间，最后才跟着停下来。
It was after nightfall when they had entered the Mines. They had been going for several hours with only brief halts, when Gandalf came to his first serious check. Before him stood a wide dark arch opening into three passages: all led in the same general direction, eastwards; but the left-hand passage plunged down, while the right-hand climbed up, and the middle way seemed to run on, smooth and level but very narrow.
他们是在日落之后进入矿坑的。这段时间以来，除了几次暂停之外，他们已经毫无休息的走了好几个小时。甘道夫此时突然停下来认真地开始检查方向。他面前是一个宽大的拱门，通往三条通道，所有的方向都是往东；但最左边的道路往下，最右边的道路则是往上，中间的道路持续往前，平坦、却非常狭窄。
To the left of the great arch they found a stone door: it was half closed, but swung back easily to a gentle thrust. Beyond there seemed to lie a wide chamber cut in the rock.
他们在拱门的左方发现了一个半掩着的石门，不过，手一推就打开了，里面看起来是沿着石壁开凿出来的一个大房间。
“Poor old Bill! ” said Sam. “I wonder where he is. I hope those wolves haven’t got him yet.”
“可怜的比尔！”山姆长吁短叹的说：“不知道它怎么样了，希望那些恶狼没有抓到它才好。”
“I have no memory of this place at all! ” said Gandalf, standing uncertainly under the arch. He held up his staff in the hope of finding some marks or inscription that might help his choice; but nothing of the kind was to be seen. “I am too weary to decide,” he said, shaking his head. “And I expect that you are all as weary as I am, or wearier. We had better halt here for what is left of the night. You know what I mean! In here it is ever dark; but outside the late Moon is riding westward and the middle-night has passed.”
“我根本不记得有这个地方！”甘道夫站在拱门之下，不知如何是好地说着。他高举手杖，希望能够找到任何足以协助他决定道路的蛛丝马迹，但一点痕迹都找不到。“我已经累到没办法清楚思考了，”他摇着头说：“我想你们至少跟我一样累，或者更疲倦。我们今晚最好就留在这边休息了。你们知道我的意思吧！虽然这里面是永恒的黑夜，但外面的时间应该早就过午夜了。”
“Steady! Steady! ” cried Gandalf as Merry and Pippin pushed forward, glad to find a place where they could rest with at least more feeling of shelter than in the open passage. “Steady! You do not know what is inside yet. I will go first.”
“别急！别急！””皮聘和梅里一看见有地方可以休息，立刻兴高采烈地冲向前；甘道夫连忙大喊：“稳住！你们还不知道里面有些什么，让我先进去吧。”
“This seems to have been a guardroom, made for the watching of the three passages,” said Gimli. “That hole was plainly a well for the guards’ use, covered with a stone lid. But the lid is broken, and we must all take care in the dark.”
“这里似乎是个守卫营房，是用来看守外面的三座通道的，”金雳说：“这个洞很明显的给守卫用的，上面原先还有一个石盖。可是，现在那个石盖因为不明原因而破掉了，我们最好小心一点。”
He went in cautiously, and the others filed behind. “There! ” he said, pointing with his staff to the middle of the floor. Before his feet they saw a large round hole like the mouth of a well. Broken and rusty chains lay at the edge and trailed down into the black pit. Fragments of stone lay near.
他小心翼翼地走进去，其他人则是跟在后面。“你看！”他用手杖指着地板正中央。一行人这才看见有一座深井的洞口。附近有许多断裂的生锈铁练，有些还伸入那个深井的洞口中，附近则都是岩石的碎片。
“One of you might have fallen in and still be wondering when you were going to strike the bottom,” said Aragorn to Merry. “Let the guide go first while you have one.”
“你们刚才可能会不小心跌进去，现在搞不好还在猜测到底什么时候会摔到地面，”阿拉贡对梅里说：“在你们还有向导的时候，最好请他带路。”
Pippin felt curiously attracted by the well. While the others were unrolling blankets and making beds against the walls of the chamber, as far as possible from the hole in the floor, he crept to the edge and peered over. A chill air seemed to strike his face, rising from invisible depths. Moved by a sudden impulse he groped for a loose stone, and let it drop. He felt his heart beat many times before there was any sound. Then far below, as if the stone had fallen into deep water in some cavernous place, there came a plunk, very distant, but magnified and repeated in the hollow shaft.
皮聘的好奇心让他忍不住要往井内看。当其他人正在整理毯子，准备靠墙铺床的时候，他悄悄地溜到井边，往内打量着。一阵冷风从底下不可见的深渊扑面而来。在该死的好奇心怂恿下，他捡起一颗石头，把它丢下去。在底下传来任何声响之前他觉得心跳了好几次。然后，从很远的地方，彷佛传来石头落进深水里面的声音。噗通！但是在许多隧道的放大和回响之下，这声音很快的传了出去。
“That was the sound of a hammer, or I have never heard one,” said Gimli.
“除非我耳朵坏了，不然这一定是锤子的声音，”金雳说。
“What’s that? ” cried Gandalf. He was relieved when Pippin confessed what he had done; but he was angry, and Pippin could see his eye glinting. “Fool of a Took! ” he growled. “This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. Now be quiet! “
“那是什么声音？”甘道夫低呼道。当皮聘承认他的所作所为之后，甘道夫松了一口气，但他还是很生气：“你这个图克家的笨人！”他低声怒骂道：“这可是次严肃的任务，不是哈比人的散步郊游。下次你最好把自己丢进去，就省了我们很多麻烦。不要再搞鬼了！”
“Yes,” said Gandalf, “and I do not like it. It may have nothing to do with Peregrin’s foolish stone; but probably something has been disturbed that would have been better left quiet. Pray, do nothing of the kind again! Let us hope we shall get some rest without further trouble. You, Pippin, can go on the first watch, as a reward,” he growled, as he rolled himself in a blanket.
“没错，”甘道夫说：“我不喜欢这种感觉。这或许和皮聘那颗愚蠢的石头没有关系；但它很有可能吵醒了某个不该醒来的力量。你们最好不要再做这类的傻事！希望我们这次可以不受打搅地好好休息。皮聘，你，就是第一班值夜的人，这算是对你英勇行为的奖赏，”他伸着懒腰缩进毯子内。
Nothing more was heard for several minutes; but then there came out of the depths faint knocks: tom-tap, tap-tom. They stopped, and when the echoes had died away, they were repeated: tap-tom, tom-tap, tap-tap, tom. They sounded disquietingly like signals of some sort; but after a while the knocking died away and was not heard again.
过了几分钟，四下还是一片寂静。不过，从遥远的地深处传来了微弱的敲打声：咚当、当咚。他们纷纷停下手边的事情，侧耳倾听着。当回音消失之后，他们又继续听到咚当、咚当、当当、咚。这听起来像是某种让人不安的讯号，但是，不久之后这敲打声也跟着消失，不再出现。
Pippin sat miserably by the door in the pitch dark; but he kept on turning round, fearing that some unknown thing would crawl up out of the well. He wished he could cover the hole, if only with a blanket, but he dared not move or go near it, even though Gandalf seemed to be asleep.
皮聘一脸无辜样地在黑暗中坐在门边，但他依旧不安的频频回首，担心会有什么恐怖的怪物从井里面爬出来。即使只用张毯子，他也想要把井口盖起来；但就算甘道夫看来已经睡着了，他也不敢再靠近井边。
Actually Gandalf was awake, though lying still and silent. He was deep in thought, trying to recall every memory of his former journey in the Mines, and considering anxiously the next course that he should take; a false turn now might be disastrous. After an hour he rose up and came over to Pippin.
事实上，甘道夫只是躺着不动，不出声而已。他正在努力思考着之前进入矿坑的一点一滴，试图决定下一步该怎么做。只要转错一个弯，可能就会铸成大错。一个小时之后，他爬了起来，走到皮聘身边。
“I know what is the matter with me,” he muttered, as he sat down by the door. “I need smoke! I have not tasted it since the morning before the snowstorm.”
甘道夫在门边坐了下来：“我知道这是怎么一回事，”他嘀咕着：“我想抽烟！从大风雪那天早晨之后，我就没有尝过烟草的滋味了。”
The last thing that Pippin saw, as sleep took him, was a dark glimpse of the old wizard huddled on the floor, shielding a glowing chip in his gnarled hands between his knees. The flicker for a moment showed his sharp nose. and the puff of smoke.
皮聘睡着前最后看见的景象，是老巫师蹲在地上，用满布老茧的手护住火焰。那阵火光照亮了巫师的尖鼻子和他吐出的烟圈。
“Get into a corner and have a sleep, my lad,” he said in a kindly tone. “You want to sleep, I expect. I cannot get a wink, so I may as well do the watching.”
“去找个地方睡觉吧，小子，”他温柔地说：“我想你应该很想睡觉的。我睡不着，所以就由我来值夜吧。”
It was Gandalf who roused them all from sleep. He had sat and watched all alone for about six hours, and had let the others rest. “And in the watches I have made up my mind,” he said. “I do not like the feel of the middle way; and I do not like the smell of the left-hand way: there is foul air down there, or I am no guide. I shall take the right-hand passage. It is time we began to climb up again.”
叫醒所有人的是甘道夫。他自己一个人整整守了六个小时的夜，让其他人好好休息了一晚。“我在守夜的时候下定了决心，”他说：“我不喜欢中间那条路给我的感觉，我也不喜欢左边那条路的味道：底下有什么恶臭的东西在作怪，这是我的向导本能告诉我的。我决定走右边，我们又该继续往上爬了。”
For eight dark hours, not counting two brief halts, they marched on; and they met no danger, and heard nothing, and saw nothing but the faint gleam of the wizard’s light, bobbing like a will-o” — the-wisp in front of them. The passage they had chosen wound steadily upwards. As far as they could judge it went in great mounting curves, and as it rose it grew loftier and wider. There were now no openings to other galleries or tunnels on either side, and the floor was level and sound, without pits or cracks. Evidently they had struck what once had been an important road; and they went forward quicker than they had done on their first march.
他们持续不停的走了整整八个小时，中间只有两次短暂的休息。一路上没有遇到任何危险，也没听到任何异响，眼前只有甘道夫手杖的光芒，像是鬼火一般在前面领路。他们所选择的道路继续往上攀升，他们似乎走在一段一段的斜坡上，越往上走，斜坡就越宽广、越平缓。走道两边完全没有任何的分岔或是房间，地板则是平坦无缺陷，没有陷坑或是深沟。很明显的，他们所踏上的地方以前曾是条很重要的大道，也让他们行进的速度比昨天快上许多。
Gandalf seemed pleased. “I chose the right way,” he said. “At last we are coming to the habitable parts, and I guess that we are not far now from the eastern side. But we are high up, a good deal higher than the Dimrill Gate, unless I am mistaken. From the feeling of the air we must be in a wide hall. I will now risk a little real light.”
甘道夫似乎很高兴：“我选择的道路是正确的！”他说：“我们终于来到可以住人的地方了！我猜我们已经离东边不远了。如果我没猜错，我们的地势很高，比丁瑞尔出口还要高得多了。从空气流动的感觉看来，我们应该是在一个宽广的大厅中，现在可以冒险弄点真正的照明了。”
In this way they advanced some fifteen miles, measured in a direct line east, though they must have actually walked twenty miles or more. As the road climbed upwards’ Frodo’s spirits rose a little; but he still felt oppressed, and still at times he heard, or thought he heard, away behind the Company and beyond the fall and patter of their feet, a following footstep that was not an echo.
他们就这样走了大约二十哩，直直的朝着东方前进。不过，如果以直线距离来看，多半只有十五哩左右。随着一行人越走越高，佛罗多的精神越来越好，但他依旧有种受到压抑的感觉；有时他依旧听见，或是觉得自己听见队伍后面传来那持续的、不属于回音的脚步声。
They had marched as far as the hobbits could endure without a rest, and all were thinking of a place where they could sleep, when suddenly the walls to right and left vanished. They seemed to have passed through some arched doorway into a black and empty space. There was a great draught of warmer air behind them, and before them the darkness was cold on their faces. They halted and crowded anxiously together.
这是哈比人在不休息的状况下所能够走的最长距离，他们一路上都想要找到一个可以休息的地方；突然间，左右两方的墙壁消失了。他们似乎穿过了某种的拱门，进入了一个空旷、广大的地方。他们身后是热烘烘的暖空气，眼前则是扑面冰凉的冷风。众人不约而同地停下脚步，在门口张望着。
“That is all that I shall venture on for the present,” said Gandalf. “There used to be great windows on the mountain-side, and shafts leading out to the light in the upper reaches of the Mines. I think we have reached them now, but it is night outside again, and we cannot tell until morning. If I am right, tomorrow we may actually see the morning peeping in. But in the meanwhile we had better go no further. Let us rest, if we can. Things have gone well so far, and the greater part of the dark road is over. But we are not through yet, and it is a long way down to the Gates that open on the world.”
“我们现在先这样做就够了，”甘道夫说：“过去山边曾经开凿了很大的窗户，可以将陽光引进矿坑中位处上方的洞穴。我想我们现在就在这个地方，不过外面天还是黑的，所以我们现在看不出来。如果我没猜错，明早就可以看见陽光照进这里。现在我们最好先不要乱跑，把握机会休息。截至目前为止一切都很顺利，黑暗的道路已经快要结束了。不过，我们还是不要掉以轻心，要走出地底还有很长的一段道路。”
He raised his staff, and for a brief instant there was blaze like a flash of lightning. Great shadows sprang up and fled, and for a second they saw a vast roof far above their heads upheld by many mighty pillars hewn of stone. Before them and on either side stretched a huge empty hall; its black walls, polished and smooth as glass, flashed and glittered. Three other entrances they saw, dark black arches: one straight before them eastwards, and one on either side. Then the light went out.
他举起手杖，瞬间四下闪起一阵如同闪电的亮光。巨大的陰影立刻往四面投射，他们这才头一次看见顶上高远的天花板，还有许多雄伟的石柱支撑着它。四面则是一座宽广的大厅，黑色的墙壁经过打磨，如同玻璃一样闪亮。他们还看见另外三个拥有同样黑色拱门的入口，一个就在他们正对面，另外两方则各有一个。接着，光芒就消失了。
The Company spent that night in the great cavernous hall, huddled close together in a corner to escape the draught: there seemed to be a steady inflow of chill air through the eastern archway. All about them as they lay hung the darkness, hollow and immense, and they were oppressed by the loneliness and vastness of the dolven halls and endlessly branching stairs and passages. The wildest imaginings that dark rumour had ever suggested to the hobbits fell altogether short of the actual dread and wonder of Moria.
一行人当晚就在这巨大的洞穴大厅中过夜。他们挤在一起躲避外面冷风所带来的酷寒，外面的冷风似乎找到地方直接钻进这里。他们觉得自己被无边无际的黑暗、空旷所包围，又在永无止尽的阶梯和隧道之间感到无比的压力。哈比人曾经听过最异想天开的谣言，也比不上这里的恐怖和壮丽的景象。
“These are not holes,” said Gimli. “This is the great realm and city of the Dwarrowdelf. And of old it was not darksome, but full of light and splendour, as is still remembered in our songs.”
“这些才不是什么洞穴，”金雳说：“这是个伟大的地底国度，是矮人故乡之城。在古代的时候，这里并非是黑漆漆的死域，而是充满了光明和美丽的都市，至今依旧在我们的歌曲中流传。”
“There must have been a mighty crowd of dwarves here at one time ” said Sam; “and every one of them busier than badgers for five hundred years to make all this, and most in hard rock too! What did they do it all for? They didn’t live in these darksome holes surely? “
“这里一定有过非常非常多的矮人，”山姆说，“每个人都比地鼠还要忙碌五百年，才能够挖出这么大的洞穴！他们为什么要这样做呢？他们平常应该不会居住在这些黑漆漆的洞穴里面吧？”
He rose and standing in the dark he began to chant in a deep voice, while the echoes ran away into the roof.
他站了起来，在黑暗中开始用低沉的声音吟颂，众人聆听着这曲调在空旷的大厅中回响。
A king he was on carven throne
雕刻出来的王座让他称王，
The world was fair in Durin’s Day.
都灵的世界依旧美丽。
He drank from yet untasted wells;
尝试了未有人品尝过的井溪；
The light of sun and star and moon
陽光星辰和月亮，
With golden roof and silver floor,
金色的屋顶银色的地砖，
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
月亮皎洁无痕，
In Elder Days before the fall
在远古时代，
The world was young, the mountains green,
世界初开，山脉翠绿，
There hammer on the anvil smote,
铁锤击打铁砧，
He named the nameless hills and dells;
他命名了原先无名的山丘和谷地，
The world was fair, the mountains tall,
世界美丽，山脉高耸，
As gems upon a silver thread,
如银线上的宝石，
And saw a crown of stars appear,
看见如冠般的星辰现出，
In shining lamps of crystal hewn
照耀在闪光的水晶灯旁，
Above the shadow of his head.
在他头上飞逝。
And Gondolin, who now beyond
美丽的贡多林已败亡，
There beryl, pearl, and opal pale,
绿宝石、珍珠和蛋白石，
The delver mined, the mason built.
矿工挖坑，石匠兴建。
Undimmed by cloud or shade of night
不受黑夜云朵遮掩，
When Durin woke and walked alone.
孤身的都灵方才爬起，
There shone for ever fair and bright.
永世美丽耀眼。
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
他停下脚步，看着镜影湖，
The Western Seas have passed away:
就在那海外以西，
There chisel clove, and graver wrote;
凿刀工匠的工艺真；
No words were laid on stream or stone
岩石小溪未有痕迹，
There forged was blade, and bound was hilt;
炉火中铸刀，铁铺中打剑
And runes of power upon the door.
门上还有神秘的符文钻。
In many-pillared halls of stone
众多的石柱排列成行，
Of mighty kings in Nargothrond
那格斯隆德的伟大国王堕落之前，
And shining spears were laid in hoard.
还有那成千上百的长矛。
Gimli was silent. Having sung his song he would say no more.
金雳沉默不语，在唱完了他的歌谣之后，他不愿意再多说一个字。
“I like that! ” said Sam. “I should like to learn it. In Moria, in Khazad-dum! But it makes the darkness seem heavier, thinking of all those lamps. Are there piles of jewels and gold lying about here still? “
“我喜欢这首诗歌！”山姆说：“我到时候一定要学起来。在摩瑞亚，在凯萨督姆！但是，让我们想起那美丽的水晶灯，只是让眼前的景象变得更沉重。那些珠宝和黄金还在这里吗？”
Unwearied then were Durin’s folk
都灵的子民不担忧，
The darkness dwells in Durin’s halls
只有黑暗飘扬在都灵的大厅。
There lies his crown in water deep,
皇冠长埋在黑暗的水深，
But still the sunken stars appear
星辰依旧出现，
The shadow lies upon his tomb
黑影出没他的古墓，
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:
没有竖琴弹奏，没有仙乐传听，
And metal wrought like fishes’ mail,
金刚打造成鱼鳞时，
Buckler and corslet, axe and sword,
盾牌与头盔，斧头与宝刀，
In Moria, in Khazad-dum.
在摩瑞亚，在凯萨督姆，
The forge’s fire is ashen-cold
炉火也已不再烧；
The world is grey, the mountains old,
世界灰白，山脉苍老，
And at the gates the trumpets rang.
大门号角响起不为动干戈。
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
在黑暗，无风的镜影湖间：
Till Durin wakes again from sleep.
直到都灵从长眠中再生。
The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,
竖琴飘仙乐，诗人颂诗歌，
Beneath the mountains music woke:
在那山下养尊处优：
“Piles of jewels? ” said Gandalf. “No. The Orcs have often plundered Moria; there is nothing left in the upper halls. And since the dwarves fled, no one dares to seek the shafts and treasuries down in the deep places: they are drowned in water-or in a shadow of fear.”
“珠宝和黄金？”甘道夫说：“已经不在了。半兽人无时无刻不打着摩瑞亚的主意，上半部的矿坑已经什么都不剩了。由于矮人们都已逃窜，现在也没有任何势力，胆敢探勘地底深处的宝藏。它们可能被水淹没，可能被未知的恐怖守护着。”
“For mithril,” answered Gandalf. “The wealth of Moria was not in gold and jewels, the toys of the Dwarves; nor in iron, their servant. Such things they found here, it is true, especially iron; but they did not need to delve for them: all things that they desired they could obtain in traffic. For here alone in the world was found Moria-silver, or true-silver as some have called it: mithril is the Elvish name. The Dwarves have a name which they do not tell. Its worth was ten times that of gold, and now it is beyond price; for little is left above ground, and even the Orcs dare not delve here for it. The lodes lead away north towards Caradhras, and down to darkness. The Dwarves tell no tale; but even as mithril was the foundation of their wealth, so also it was their destruction: they delved too greedily and too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin’s Bane. Of what they brought to light the Orcs have gathered nearly all, and given it in tribute to Sauron, who covets it.
“是为了秘银，”甘道夫回答：“摩瑞亚的宝藏不是矮人的玩具：黄金和珠宝；也不是他们的仆人：铁矿。这些东西的确在这里找的到，特别是铁矿的产量十分丰富。但这几样都可以透过贸易而得来。这里唯一的特产是摩瑞亚银，有些人称呼它为真银，精灵语则称呼它为秘银。矮人们对它的称呼不与外人分享。等量的秘银价值是黄金的十倍，现在则变成了无价之宝；因为只有极少数的秘银留在地面，而连半兽人都不敢在此开采秘银。整个矿坑直探地深，一直挖向卡拉霍拉斯底下的黑暗。矮人十分的务实，但也败在太过务实上。秘银虽然是他们财富的基础，却也带来了他们的末日：他们挖的太深、挖的太急，惊醒了邪恶的魔物：都灵克星。而他们辛辛苦苦挖出来的秘银则全被半兽人献给了索伦。”
“Then what do the dwarves want to come back for? ” asked Sam.
“那么那些矮人又为什么冒险回来呢？”山姆问。
“What? ” cried Gimli, startled out of his silence. “A corslet of Moria-silver? That was a kingly gift! “
“什么？”金雳忍不住打破了沉默。“摩瑞亚银打造的锁子甲？这是价值连城的礼物！”
“Yes,” said Gandalf. “I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the whole Shire and everything in it.”
“是的，”甘道夫说，“我从来没有告诉过他，但它的价值足以买下夏尔和其上的所有财富。”
“Mithril! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim. The Elves dearly loved it, and among many uses they made of it ithildin, starmoon, which you saw upon the doors. Bilbo had a corslet of mithril-rings that Thorin gave him. I wonder what has become of it? Gathering dust still in Michel Delving Mathom-house, I suppose.”
“秘银！世界上所有的人都会为了它抢破头。它的延展性如同青铜一样大，又可以像是玻璃一样磨光。矮人可以将它打造成坚胜钢铁、却又轻如鹅毛的金属。它的美丽如同一般的白银，但秘银的光泽不会随着时光而衰退。精灵们酷爱这种金属，将它做成星月金，也就是你们在门上看到的伊希尔丁金属。比尔博拥有一件秘银打造的锁子甲，是索林送给它的。不知道它的下落如何？我猜多半还是在米丘窟博物馆积灰吧。”
Frodo said nothing, but he put his hand under his tunic and touched the rings of his mail-shirt. He felt staggered to think that he had been walking about with the price of the Shire under his jacket. Had Bilbo known? He felt no doubt that Bilbo knew quite well. It was indeed a kingly gift. But now his thoughts had been carried away from the dark Mines, to Rivendell, to Bilbo, and to Bag End in the days while Bilbo was still there. He wished with all his heart that he was back there, and in those days, mowing the lawn, or pottering among the flowers, and that he had never heard of Moria, or mithril — or the Ring.
佛罗多没有表示意见，但还是忍不住将手伸进外套内摸索着这件锁子甲背心。自己竟然在外套底下穿着价值整个夏尔的宝物？！这实在让他有点头晖脑涨。比尔博知道吗？他毫不怀疑其实比尔博早就知道这件事情。这的确价值连城。但佛罗多的思绪还是忍不住飘回瑞文戴尔，飘回袋底洞，飘回比尔博老爱坐着发呆的时光，他则是安心的莳花弄草，从来没听过摩瑞亚，什么秘银，还有那—魔戒。
His watch was nearly over, when, far off where he guessed that the western archway stood, he fancied that he could see two pale points of light, almost like luminous eyes. He started. His head had nodded. “I must have nearly fallen asleep on guard,” he thought. “I was on the edge of a dream.” He stood up and rubbed his eyes, and remained standing, peering into the dark, until he was relieved by Legolas.
就当他轮班的两小时快结束的时候，他突然觉得自己在西门的方向，看到一对闪闪发光的东西，彷佛是某种生物的眼睛。他瞪着那东西，觉得精神有些涣散。“我一定是打瞌睡了！”他想：“这多半是个噩梦，”他站起来揉着眼睛，不肯坐下，一直瞪着黑暗，直到勒苟拉斯来换班为止。
A deep silence fell. One by one the others fell asleep. Frodo was on guard. As if it were a breath that came in through unseen doors out of deep places, dread came over him. His hands were cold and his brow damp. He listened. All his mind was given to listening and nothing else for two slow hours; but he heard no sound, not even the imagined echo of a footfall.
众人陷入一片寂静。他们一个接着一个沉沉睡去。轮到佛罗多守夜。彷佛有种气息从深坑中窜出来，他觉得一阵毛骨悚然。他的手心发冷、浑身冒出冷汗。他侧耳倾听着，在值夜的漫长两小时中，他所有的念头都集中在四面八方任何可疑的声响中。但他什么也没听见，连可疑的脚步声似乎也都消失了。
When he lay down he quickly went to sleep, but it seemed to him that the dream went on: he heard whispers, and saw the two pale points of light approaching, slowly. He woke and found that the others were speaking softly near him, and that a dim light was falling on his face. High up above the eastern archway through a shaft near the roof came a long pale gleam; and across the hall through the northern arch light also glimmered faint and distantly.
他一躺下就很快睡着了，但那个噩梦似乎没有停止：他可以听见耳语声，看见那两个亮闪闪的光源慢慢逼近。他一醒过来，发现众人正聚集在他身边交头接耳，一道微弱的光芒照在他脸上。从东方拱门之上，有一扇窗户将外界的光线投射进来，照亮了大厅，而北边的拱门也有着微弱的光芒照射进来。
“I shall be glad,” said Gimli. “I have looked on Moria, and it is very great, but it has become dark and dreadful; and we have found no sign of my kindred. I doubt now that Balin ever came here.”
“我应该要觉得高兴才对，”金雳说：“我目睹了摩瑞亚的壮丽，但它现在已经变得陰森恐怖，而且又看不出有任何我的同胞来过的迹象，我怀疑巴林是否曾经来过此地。”
Frodo sat up. “Good morning! ” said Gandalf: “For morning it is again at last. I was right, you see. We are high up on the east side of Moria. Before today is over we ought to find the Great Gates and see the waters of Mirrormere lying in the Dimrill Dale before us.”
佛罗多坐了起来，“早安！”甘道夫说：“终于又是早上了。你看吧，我说的没错。我们在摩瑞亚的东半部，今天天黑之前我们应该就可以找到大东门，看见丁瑞尔河谷中的镜影湖。”
“Maybe,” said Gandalf. “But I do not know yet exactly where we are. Unless I am quite astray, I guess that we are above and to the north of the Great Gates; and it may not be easy to find the right road down to them. The eastern arch will probably prove to be the way that we must take; but before we make up our minds we ought to look about us. Let us go towards that light in the north door. If we could find a window it would help, but I fear that the light comes only down deep shafts.”
“或许吧，”甘道夫说：“但我还是不知道目前确切的位置，除非我之前走得太偏，否则目前我们应该是在大东门的上方和北边的地方，要找到通往该处的正确道路可能并不简单。东边那扇拱门可能是我们必须要走的路；不过，在我们下定决心之前，最好到处看看，多收集一些情报。我们先察看一下北方的那光源，如果我们可以找到一扇窗户，应该有助于锁定方位。但是，我担心那光源可能是从很窄的通风口射进来的。”
“No indeed! ” said Boromir. “Which way shall we take? Yonder eastward arch? “
“当然不想！”波罗莫说：“我们应该往那边走？还是朝着东边的拱门走吗？”
After they had breakfasted Gandalf decided to go on again at once. “We are tired, but we shall rest better when we are outside,” he said. “I think that none of us will wish to spend another night in Moria.”
在众人吃过早餐之后，甘道夫决定再度出发。“我知道大家已经很疲倦了，不过，如果能够赶快出去，才能够安心休息，”他说：“我想，应该没有人愿意今晚再住在摩瑞亚里面吧？”
“It looks like a tomb,” muttered Frodo, and bent forwards with a curious sense of foreboding, to look more closely at it. Gandalf came quickly to his side. On the slab runes were deeply graven:
“这看起来像是个墓碑，”佛罗多嘀咕着，他好奇地弯身向前，希望能够看得更清楚。甘道夫飞快地走到他身边。在石板上可以看见很用力雕刻上去的符文。
Following his lead the Company passed under the northern arch. They found themselves in a wide corridor. As they went along it the glimmer grew stronger, and they saw that it came through a doorway on their right. It was high and flat-topped, and the stone door was still upon its hinges, standing half open. Beyond it was a large square chamber. It was dimly lit, but to their eyes, after so long a time in the dark, it seemed dazzlingly bright, and they blinked as they entered.
远征队在他的领导之下走过北方的拱门。他们发现自己身在一个很宽的走廊上。随着他们继续前进的脚步，那微弱的光芒越来越强烈，他们终于确定这是从右边的一个大门中射出来的。那扇高大的门半掩着，依旧可以开启。门内是个宽广的方形空间。虽然里面的光芒并不很强，但由于他们已经在黑暗中待了一段长时间，这光芒让他们觉得非常刺眼，走进房间的时候，一行人还必须不断地眨眼睛。
Their feet disturbed a deep dust upon the floor, and stumbled among things lying in the doorway whose shapes they could not at first make out. The chamber was lit by a wide shaft high in the further eastern wall; it slanted upwards and, far above, a small square patch of blue sky could be seen. The light of the shaft fell directly on a table in the middle of the room: a single oblong block, about two feet high, upon which was laid a great slab of white stone.
他们的脚步惊扰了地上大量的灰尘，地上很多的东西，他们一开始根本看不清楚。这个大厅的光源来自于东边的一个开口。这个开口一路倾斜向苍穹，众人可以透过这开口看见一块蓝色的天空，照射进来的光芒，直接落在大厅中央的一个石桌上。那是一块方方正正的石柱所构成的，大概有两尺高，在顶端则有一块巨大的白色石板。
“These are Daeron’s Runes, such as were used of old in Moria,” said Gandalf. “Here is written in the tongues of Men and Dwarves: BALIN SON OF FUNDIN, LORD OF MORIA.”
“这是达伦的符文，古代的摩瑞亚就是使用这种文字，”甘道夫说：“上面写着人类和矮人的语言：方登之子巴林，摩瑞亚之王。”
“He is dead then,” said Frodo. “I feared it was so.” Gimli cast his hood over his face.
“那么他已经过世了，”佛罗多说。“恐怕是这样！”金雳用兜帽遮住了面孔。
0 条评论