第十九章: 西力斯昂哥的阶梯 The Stairs of Cirith Ungol
Frodo and Sam were plodding along with heavy hearts, no longer able to care greatly about their peril. Frodo’s head was bowed; his burden was dragging him down again. As soon as the great Crossroads had been passed, the weight of it, almost forgotten in Ithilien, had begun to grow once more. Now, feeling the way become steep before his feet, he looked wearily up; and then he saw it, even as Gollum had said that he would: the city of the Ringwraiths. He cowered against the stony bank.
佛罗多和山姆怀着极为沉重的心情前进，再也没有多余的心力去担忧所面对的危险了。佛罗多低着头，他胸前的重担又开始将他往下拉扯，在他们一通过十字路口之后，在伊西立安几乎被忘记的重担，又开始提醒佛罗多它的存在。此时，他站在陡峭的道路上，疲倦地抬起头，正如同咕鲁之前所说的一样：他看见了戒灵的城市。他弯下身子，借着路旁的岩石隐藏身形。
Gollum was tugging at Frodo’s cloak and hissing with fear and impatience. “We must go,” he said. “We mustn’t stand here. Make haste!”
咕鲁正拉着佛罗多的斗篷，恐惧不耐地发出嘶嘶声。“我们必须走了，”他说：“我们不能够站在这里。快点走！”
Reluctantly Frodo turned his back on the West and followed as his guide led him, out into the darkness of the East. They left the ring of trees and crept along the road towards the mountains. This road, too, ran straight for a while, but soon it began to bend away southwards, until it came right under the great shoulder of rock that they had seen from the distance. Black and forbidding it loomed above them, darker than the dark sky behind. Crawling under its shadow the road went on, and rounding it sprang east again and began to climb steeply.
佛罗多不情愿地背离西方，跟着向导走向黑暗的东方。他们离开这一整圈的树木，躲躲藏藏地走在路上，朝向山脉前进。这条路笔直的前进了一段距离，很快就开始弯向南方，直到它来到从远方就可以看见的乱岩堆中。乱岩堆低头俯视着他们，露出邪恶的气息，似乎比阴郁的天空来得更加黑暗。道路在它的阴影笼罩之下继续前进，绕过它之后又开始再度往上攀升。
A long-tilted valley, a deep gulf of shadow, ran back far into the mountains. Upon the further side, some way within the valley’s arms, high on a rocky seat upon the black knees of the Ephel Dúath, stood the walls and tower of Minas Morgul. All was dark about it, earth and sky, but it was lit with light. Not the imprisoned moonlight welling through the marble walls of Minas Ithil long ago, Tower of the Moon, fair and radiant in the hollow of the hills. Paler indeed than the moon ailing in some slow eclipse was the light of it now, wavering and blowing like a noisome exhalation of decay, a corpse-light, a light that illuminated nothing. In the walls and tower windows showed, like countless black holes looking inward into emptiness; but the topmost course of the tower revolved slowly, first one way and then another, a huge ghostly head leering into the night. For a moment the three companions stood there, shrinking, staring up with unwilling eyes. Gollum was the first to recover. Again he pulled at their cloaks urgently, but he spoke no word. Almost he dragged them forward. Every step was reluctant, and time seemed to slow its pace, so that between the raising of a foot and the setting of it down minutes of loathing passed.
这个狭长的山谷，是个充满了阴影的深谷，直接切入山脉中。在另外一边，也就是山谷的另一个尽头，在伊菲尔杜斯的黑暗宝座上，矗立着米那斯魔窟的城墙和高塔。天地都笼罩在黑暗之中，但这座死城中却有着光芒，这并非是许久以前被囚禁在光鲜大理石墙壁中的月光，更不再是昔日在山谷中绽放光明的升月之塔。这里所散发出来的光芒，的确很像是月亮在蚀亏的时候所散发出来的苍白光芒，像是鬼火，如同带着腐败气息的浓雾一般，完全无法照亮四周的任何景物。在高塔和城墙上有着许多的窗户，像是无数通往虚无的黑洞，但高塔的最顶端依旧阴森地转动着，先是朝一个方向，然后再转向另一个方向，那是个观看着黑夜的巨大鬼影。三人站在那边，不由自主地被这鬼气森森所感染，无助地呆立当场。咕鲁第一个恢复镇定，他再度紧张地拉着所有人的斗篷，只是不愿发出任何声音，他几乎是硬将众人往前拉去，每一次的步伐都是极不情愿的，时光的流逝似乎也变慢了，每一次抬起脚仿佛都要经过数分钟的挣扎。
So they came slowly to the white bridge. Here the road, gleaming faintly, passed over the stream in the midst of the valley, and went on, winding deviously up towards the city’s gate: a black mouth opening in the outer circle of the northward walls. Wide flats lay on either bank, shadowy meads filled with pale white flowers. Luminous these were too, beautiful and yet horrible of shape, like the demented forms in an uneasy dream; and they gave forth a faint sickening charnel-smell; an odour of rottenness filled the air. From mead to mead the bridge sprang. Figures stood there at its head, carven with cunning in forms human and bestial, but all corrupt and loathsome. The water flowing beneath was silent, and it steamed, but the vapour that rose from it, curling and twisting about the bridge, was deadly cold. Frodo felt his senses reeling and his mind darkening. Then suddenly, as if some force were at work other than his own will, he began to hurry, tottering forward, his groping hands held out, his head lolling from side to side. Both Sam and Gollum ran after him. Sam caught his master in his arms, as he stumbled and almost fell, right on the threshold of the bridge.
他们就在这样万般无奈的状况下来到了那座白色的桥梁，在此，道路发着微弱的光芒，通过山谷中央的溪流继续往前，曲折地通往城门：那是个在北墙上张开的血盆大口、河两岸都有着宽广的平地，草地上点缀着白色的花朵。这些花朵也发着微光，虽然美丽，却让人不寒而栗，彷佛是某种噩梦中扭曲变形的形体。它们还发出一种类似停尸间的诡异气味，一种腐败的味道充满在空气中。那座桥梁就这样连结两岸，在桥头有着精工打造的人兽雕像，但一切都看起来丑恶、腐化。底下的水流十分寂静，它还冒着水气，只是，这些环绕着桥梁的水气却是冰寒澈骨。佛罗多觉得自己的脑中一片空白，五官六识全都天旋地转，突然间，仿佛有种超越他意志的力量接管了他，让他伸出手，盲目地跑向前，脑袋左右晃动着。山姆和咕鲁都奔上前，正当主人走到桥边，即将摔落桥下时，山姆飞快地抓住主人的手臂，扶住了他。
“Hold up, Mr. Frodo!” muttered Sam in Frodo’s ear. “Come back! Not that way. Gollum says not, and for once I agree with him.”
“撑过去，佛罗多先生！”山姆对着佛罗多的耳朵说：“醒过来！不是那个方向。咕鲁说不是，我难得同意他的看法。”
“Not that way! No, not that way!” whispered Gollum, but the breath between his teeth seemed to tear the heavy stillness like a whistle, and he cowered to the ground in terror.
“不是这方向！不，不是这方向！”咕鲁低语道，但他齿缝间发出的嘶嘶声像是剪刀一般撕裂了这沉静，他立刻害怕得趴在地上。
Frodo passed his hand over his brow and wrenched his eyes away from the city on the hill. The luminous tower fascinated him, and he fought the desire that was on him to run up the gleaming road towards its gate. At last with an effort he turned back, and as he did so, he felt the Ring resisting him, dragging at the chain about his neck; and his eyes too, as he looked away, seemed for the moment to have been blinded. The darkness before him was impenetrable.
佛罗多揉着额头，将视线移开山坡上的城市。发着闪光的高塔让他十分向往，他必须和内心冲上山坡的念头不停的抗衡。到了最后，他终于勉力转过身，同时还感觉到魔戒违抗他的意志，正拉着练子紧紧向前；而且，当他移开目光的时候，他似乎失去了视力，眼前的黑暗一时间变得完全无法穿透。
Gollum, crawling on the ground like a frightened animal, was already vanishing into the gloom. Sam, supporting and guiding his stumbling master, followed after him as quickly as he could. Not far from the near bank of the stream there was a gap in the stone-wall beside the road. Through this they passed, and Sam saw that they were on a narrow path that gleamed faintly at first, as the main road did, until climbing above the meads of deadly flowers it faded and went dark, winding its crooked way up into the northern sides of the valley.
咕鲁趴在地上，像是只吓坏了的小狗，已经消失在这黑暗中。山姆扶着步履蹒跚的主人，尽可能地紧跟在后。在河边不远处，路旁的石墙有个缺口，他们穿过这个缺口，踏上一条狭窄的小径。在山姆的眼中，这条小径起初依旧闪着微光，直到他们脱离了那死亡花朵的花海之后，小径才黯淡下来，悄悄地蜿蜒直上山谷的北坡。
Along this path the hobbits trudged, side by side, unable to see Gollum in front of them, except when he turned back to beckon them on. Then his eyes shone with a green-white light, reflecting the noisome Morgul-sheen perhaps, or kindled by some answering mood within. Of that deadly gleam and of the dark eyeholes Frodo and Sam were always conscious, ever glancing fearfully over their shoulders, and ever dragging their eyes back to find the darkening path. Slowly they laboured on. As they rose above the stench and vapours of the poisonous stream their breath became easier and their heads clearer; but now their limbs were deadly tired, as if they had walked all night under a burden, or had been swimming long against a heavy tide of water. At last they could go no further without a halt.
哈比人沿着这条小径艰苦的前进，完全无法看见前方的咕鲁，只有在他停下脚步回头挥手的时候，才知道他人在何方。那时，他的眼中闪动着白绿色的光芒，似乎是反应着魔窟的妖光，或者是他心中的某种情绪。佛罗多和山姆一直都觉得，魔窟的黑洞和诡异的妖光追随着他们，即使他们在山坡上不停地赶路，也忍不住内心的冲动，不停地回头观望，又强迫自己将目光移回到眼前的小径上，他们无法加快脚步，只能缓慢地前进。当他们终于脱离了河中冒出的恶臭雾气之后，他们的呼吸才终于变得比较顺畅，脑袋也不再那么昏昏沉沉的了，只不过，现在他们的四肢都无比的酸痛，仿佛扛着千斤重担走了一整夜一样，也像是逆着瀑布的水流往上游一般。到了最后，他们不不得已只能被迫停下来。
Frodo stopped and sat down on a stone. They had now climbed up to the top of a great hump of bare rock. Ahead of them there was a bay in the valley-side, and round the head of this the path went on, no more than a wide ledge with a chasm on the right; across the sheer southward face of the mountain it crawled upwards, until it disappeared into the blackness above.
佛罗多停下脚步，在岩石上坐了下来，他们现在终于已经爬到那乱岩堆之上。在他们眼前是山谷边的一块空地，小径绕过这堆岩石继续前进，接下去的地形更为险恶，狭窄的小径右边就是万丈深渊；这条小径越过陡峭的南面山壁，持续往上攀升，消失在一团黑气之中。
“Sssh! ssh!” hissed Gollum hurrying back to them. “Sssh!” His fingers were on his lips and he shook his head urgently. Tugging at Frodo’s sleeve, he pointed towards the path; but Frodo would not move.
“嘘！嘘！”咕鲁急忙跑了回来。“嘘嘘！”他手指放在嘴上，用力地摇着头。他拉着佛罗多的袖子，指着眼前的道路，但佛罗多动也不动。
“I must rest a while, Sam,” whispered Frodo. “It’s heavy on me, Sam lad, very heavy. I wonder how far I can carry it? Anyway I must rest before we venture on to that.” He pointed to the narrow way ahead.
“山姆，我一定得休息一下才行，”佛罗多低语道：“山姆哪，它好重，好重喔！不知道我还能够带着它走多远？反正，在我们继续赶路之前，我一定得休息一下才行！”他指着眼前那狭窄的险路。
“Not yet,” he said, “not yet.” Weariness and more than weariness oppressed him; it seemed as if a heavy spell was laid on his mind and body. “I must rest,” he muttered.
“不行，”他说：“还不行。”疲倦和超乎常人想象的压力，如排山倒海一般地涌来，他的四肢百骸似乎都因诅咒而变得无比沉重。“我要休息，”他喃喃道。
At this Gollum’s fear and agitation became so great that he spoke again, hissing behind his hand, as if to keep the sound from unseen listeners in the air. “Not here, no. Not rest here. Fools! Eyes can see us. When they come to the bridge they will see us. Come away! Climb, climb! Come!”
一听见这句话，咕鲁的恐惧和激动的情绪就变得无比的强烈，竟然让他再度开口，他遮着嘴唇、嘶嘶地说话，仿佛不想让隐形的窃听者听见。“不能在这里，不行、不能在这里休息。笨蛋！眼睛可以看见我们，当他们到桥边的时候会看见我们。快走！往上爬，往上爬！快来！”
“Come, Mr. Frodo,” said Sam. “He’s right again. We can’t stay here.”
“来吧，佛罗多先生，”山姆说：“他又说对了，我们真的不能待在这里。”
“All right,” said Frodo in a remote voice, as of one speaking half asleep. “I will try.” Wearily he got to his feet.
“好吧，”佛罗多用虚弱的声音说，彷佛在半梦半醒之间。“我愿意试试。”他疲倦无比的站起身。
And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds. The earth groaned; and out of the city there came a cry. Mingled with harsh high voices as of birds of prey, and the shrill neighing of horses wild with rage and fear, there came a rending screech, shivering, rising swiftly to a piercing pitch beyond the range of hearing. The hobbits wheeled round towards it, and cast themselves down, holding their hands upon their ears.
米那斯魔窟跟着回应了，它的回应是一道道的闪电从塔中射向空中的云朵，蓝白色的电蛇从高塔和邻近的山丘奔出，舔舐着低矮的云朵，大地发出哀鸣，从城市中发出一声刺耳的哀嚎，结合了秃鹰冷酷的嚎叫和马匹恐惧与愤怒的嘶鸣声，城中传来了撕心裂肺的刺耳之声，缓缓地升高，直到超越人类听力的极限。哈比人踉跄摔倒在地，手捂着耳朵不能动弹。
But it was too late. At that moment the rock quivered and trembled beneath them. The great rumbling noise, louder than ever before, rolled in the ground and echoed in the mountains. Then with searing suddenness there came a great red flash. Far beyond the eastern mountains it leapt into the sky and splashed the lowering clouds with crimson. In that valley of shadow and cold deathly light it seemed unbearably violent and fierce. Peaks of stone and ridges like notched knives sprang out in staring black against the uprushing flame in Gorgoroth. Then came a great crack of thunder.
已经太迟了！就在那一刻，他们脚底下的岩石开始剧烈地晃动，震耳欲聋的闷响声又再度穿越地面，在山脉中不停的回响；然后，一道刺眼的红光突如其来的射出，在遥远的东方之后，这道红光射进天际，将低矮的云朵全都染成血红色。在这充满阴影和苍白微光的山谷中，这红光激烈得让人难以忍受。在葛哥洛斯盆地中涌出的火光照耀下，这里险峻的山脉更显得无比的阴森，接下来是一声巨大的雷响。
All that host was clad in sable, dark as the night. Against the wan walls and the luminous pavement of the road Frodo could see them, small black figures in rank upon rank, marching swiftly and silently, passing outwards in an endless stream. Before them went a great cavalry of horsemen moving like ordered shadows, and at their head was one greater than all the rest: a Rider, all black, save that on his hooded head he had a helm like a crown that flickered with a perilous light. Now he was drawing near the bridge below, and Frodo’s staring eyes followed him, unable to wink or to withdraw. Surely there was the Lord of the Nine Riders returned to earth to lead his ghastly host to battle? Here, yes here indeed was the haggard king whose cold hand had smitten down the Ring-bearer with his deadly knife. The old wound throbbed with pain and a great chill spread towards Frodo’s heart.
这个部队全都穿着漆黑得如黑夜一般的铠甲，靠着地面微弱的反光和墙壁的形状，佛罗多勉强可以看见他们：一排一排、一行一行的小人影，寂静无声地快速前进，如同黑色的浪潮一般不停地涌出。在他们队伍之前，领军的是一群秩序井然，如同影子一般的骑兵队，领头的则是一名比所有骑士都要高大的形体，全身墨黑的骑士，只有头上有个像是头盔的皇冠，闪动着危险的光芒。他缓缓走近桥边，佛罗多的目光紧跟着他，完全无法做出别的动作，这，这莫非就是九骑士之首再度回到人世，带领他的邪恶大军前往战场？是的，眼前的就是那在幽界行走的堕落之王，他的冰刃曾经刺杀魔戒的持有者。之前的伤痕开始隐隐作痛，一股冰寒之气流向佛罗多的心脏。
As the terrible cry ended, falling back through a long sickening wail to silence, Frodo slowly raised his head. Across the narrow valley, now almost on a level with his eyes, the walls of the evil city stood, and its cavernous gate, shaped like an open mouth with gleaming teeth, was gaping wide. And out of the gate an army came.
在这恐惧的声响结束之后，紧接着的是一长段让人觉得无比痛苦的沉默，佛罗多承受不了这种压力，缓缓地抬起头。在狭窄的山谷彼端，几乎与他视线平行的那座邪恶都市，它利齿森森的大门已经敝开了，从门中走出了一支前所未有的部队。
Even as these thoughts pierced him with dread and held him bound as with a spell, the Rider halted suddenly, right before the entrance of the bridge, and behind him all the host stood still. There was a pause, a dead silence. Maybe it was the Ring that called to the Wraith-lord, and for a moment he was troubled, sensing some other power within his valley. This way and that turned the dark head helmed and crowned with fear, sweeping the shadows with its unseen eyes. Frodo waited, like a bird at the approach of a snake, unable to move. And as he waited, he felt, more urgent than ever before, the command that he should put on the Ring. But great as the pressure was, he felt no inclination now to yield to it. He knew that the Ring would only betray him, and that he had not, even if he put it on, the power to face the Morgul-king — not yet. There was no longer any answer to that command in his own will, dismayed by terror though it was, and he felt only the beating upon him of a great power from outside. It took his hand, and as Frodo watched with his mind, not willing it but in suspense (as if he looked on some old story far away), it moved the hand inch by inch towards the chain upon his neck. Then his own will stirred; slowly it forced the hand back and set it to find another thing, a thing lying hidden near his breast. Cold and hard it seemed as his grip closed on it: the phial of Galadriel, so long treasured, and almost forgotten till that hour. As he touched it, for a while all thought of the Ring was banished from his mind. He sighed and bent his head.
正当这些念头如同利剑刺穿佛罗多，让他不能动弹之时，骑士突然间就在桥头停了下来，身后的所有部队也跟着静止不动，一时间天地一片静默，如同死亡般的沉重。或许是魔戒在呼唤那死灵之王，因为他似乎犹豫了片刻，感应到有其它的力量进入了他的山谷。浑身散发着恐惧之气的邪灵，用隐而不见的双眼扫视着四周。佛罗多等待着，像是毒蛇眼前的青蛙一样动弹不得；在他等待的时候，他突然确切的感觉到一股比以往都要强烈的欲望──戴上魔戒！但即使这诱惑力无比的强大，他还是不想要向它屈服。他知道魔戒只会出卖他，即使他戴上魔戒，也没有面对魔窟之王的力量，时候还没到。他自己的意志不再回应这召唤，但却恐惧地发觉到有股力量从外界袭来，操纵了他的手，佛罗多眼睁睁地看着那力量（就像是他在观看着过去的历史流逝一样）让他的手缓缓移向脖子上的项练；然后，他自己的意志开始介入，慢慢地强迫他的手退回去，命令它去寻找胸口的另一样事物。在他的手中，那东西感觉起来又冷又硬，那是凯兰崔尔女王赐给他的小玻璃管，这段时间以来一直被视若珍宝的藏在胸前，直到此刻才被想起。当他一碰到它的时候，所有魔戒的影像都被驱逐出脑海。他叹了口气，垂下头去。
Soon he had passed, like a shadow into shadow, down the winding road, and behind him still the black ranks crossed the bridge. So great an army had never issued from that vale since the days of Isildur’s might; no host so fell and strong in arms had yet assailed the fords of Anduin; and yet it was but one and not the greatest of the hosts that Mordor now sent forth.
他很快地如同阴影融入黑暗中一般消失在路的另一头，在他身后，无数的黑色身影依旧不停的通过桥梁。即使在埃西铎的全盛时期，这座山谷中也没有出现过这么强大的兵力。安都因河从来没有目睹过这么邪恶和浩大的阵容，而且，这只不过是魔多诸多兵力的其中一支罢了。
Frodo stirred. And suddenly his heart went out to Faramir. “The storm has burst at last,” he thought. “This great array of spears and swords is going to Osgiliath. Will Faramir get across in time? He guessed it, but did he know the hour? And who can now hold the fords when the King of the Nine Riders comes? And other armies will come. I am too late. All is lost. I tarried on the way. All is lost. Even if my errand is performed, no one will ever know. There will be no one I can tell. It will be in vain.” Overcome with weakness he wept. And still the host of Morgul crossed the bridge.
佛罗多打了个寒颤，突然间，他的思绪飘向法拉墨。“风暴终于爆发了！”他想：“这样的刀山剑林将要前往奥斯吉力亚斯。法拉墨来得及渡河吗？他早已猜到了，但他知道确切的时间吗？在九骑士之首亲征的时候，谁又能够守的住渡口？还有其它的部队会来…我已经太迟了，一切都已经绝望了，都是因为我在路上的拖延，一切都完了。即使我完成了这个任务，也不会有任何人知道，我将无法把这消息和任何的活人分享，一切都将化为乌有。”他被这种绝望的情绪彻底击溃，开始啜泣起来，而魔窟的部队依旧毫不留情的继续前进。
At that moment the Wraith-king turned and spurred his horse and rode across the bridge, and all his dark host followed him. Maybe the elven-hoods defied his unseen eyes, and the mind of his small enemy, being strengthened, had turned aside his thought. But he was in haste. Already the hour had struck, and at his great Master’s bidding he must march with war into the West.
就在同一刻，死灵王转过身，策马奔过桥梁，他所有的黑衣部队也紧跟在后。或许是那精灵的斗篷欺瞒过了他的双眼，或许是那小小敌人的心智，在精灵的协助下抵抗了他的意志，但他必须赶路。时机已经到来，主上已经下令他必须带着部队即刻投入西方的战场。
Then at a great distance, as if it came out of memories of the Shire, some sunlit early morning, when the day called and doors were opening, he heard Sam’s voice speaking. “Wake up, Mr. Frodo! Wake up!” Had the voice added: “Your breakfast is ready,” he would hardly have been surprised. Certainly Sam was urgent. “Wake up, Mr. Frodo! They’re gone,” he said.
然后，彷佛从远方，穿越了夏尔的回忆而来，在某个阳光灿烂的早晨，门一打开，他就听见山姆的声音说：“醒过来，佛罗多先生！快醒来！”即使那声音加上“早餐好了！”他也不会感到多惊讶。山姆的语气的确相当急躁：“醒来了，佛罗多先生！他们都走了。”他说。
“Wake up, Mr. Frodo! They’re gone, and we’d better go too. There’s something still alive in that place, something with eyes, or a seeing mind, if you take me; and the longer we stay in one spot, the sooner it will get on to us. Come on, Mr. Frodo!”
“醒来了，佛罗多先生！他们都走了，我们最好也赶快走了。这个地方还是有种力量留下来，它有眼睛或是可以看见四周的变化，我们在同一个地方待得越久，它就越有可能发现我们。快来，佛罗多先生！”
Frodo raised his head, and then stood up. Despair had not left him, but the weakness had passed. He even smiled grimly, feeling now as clearly as a moment before he had felt the opposite, that what he had to do, he had to do, if he could, and that whether Faramir or Aragorn or Elrond or Galadriel or Gandalf or anyone else ever knew about it was beside the purpose. He took his staff in one hand and the phial in his other. When he saw that the clear light was already welling through his fingers, he thrust it into his bosom and held it against his heart. Then turning from the city of Morgul, now no more than a grey glimmer across a dark gulf, he prepared to take the upward road.
佛罗多抬起头，慢慢地站起来。绝望并没有离开他的心头，但之前的软弱已经过去了。他甚至露出凝重的微笑，明白自己心中已经决定了一切，正好和之前的想法完全相反。该做的就是要做，即使法拉墨、亚拉冈和爱隆、凯兰崔尔、甘道夫都无法和他分享这一切，他也不在乎。他一只手拿着手杖，另一只手握着凯兰崔尔送给他的礼物，当他注意到清澈的光芒从手中流泄而出时，他将它放到胸口，贴在胸前。然后，他转身离开现在只残余着微弱灰光的魔窟，准备继续往上走。
There was a dull clang. The gates of Minas Morgul had closed. The last rank of spears had vanished down the road. The tower still grinned across the valley, but the light was fading in it. The whole city was falling back into a dark brooding shade, and silence. Yet still it was filled with watchfulness.
一声沉闷的响声，米那斯魔窟的大门关了起来，最后一排的长枪已经消失在路的彼端。高塔依旧对着山谷露出狞笑，但其中的光芒已经消失了，整座城市又再度落入黑暗的沉默阴影中，但它依旧虎视眈眈的看着这山谷。
Gollum, it seemed, had crawled off along the ledge into the darkness beyond, when the gates of Minas Morgul opened, leaving the hobbits where they lay. He now came creeping back, his teeth chattering and his fingers snapping. “Foolish! Silly!” he hissed. “Make haste! They mustn’t think danger has passed. It hasn’t. Make haste!”
看来，在米那斯魔窟的大门打开时，咕鲁似乎一路爬进了黑暗之中，把哈比人们留在后头。他现在又爬了回来，牙齿不停地打颤，手指搓动着。“笨蛋！愚蠢！”他嘶嘶地说：“动作快！他们绝对不可以认为危险已经过去了。并没有。快点！”
They did not answer, but they followed him on to the climbing ledge. It was little to the liking of either of them, not even after facing so many other perils; but it did not last long. Soon the path reached a rounded angle where the mountain-side swelled out again, and there it suddenly entered a narrow opening in the rock. They had come to the first stair that Gollum had spoken of. The darkness was almost complete, and they could see nothing much beyond their hands’ stretch; but Gollum’s eyes shone pale, several feet above, as he turned back towards them.
他们没有回答，只是跟着他走上危险的小径。即使在经历过这么多危险之后，他们还是不喜欢这样的处境，但幸好这并没有持续太久。很快的，小径转了个弯，山边又再度平缓，他们又来到了一个岩石间的狭窄开口，他们已经来到了咕鲁所提到的第一段楼梯。四周几乎伸手不见五指，但咕鲁回头时，眼睛在黑暗中发出微光，指引着他们之前几步的道路。
Care was certainly needed. Frodo and Sam at first felt easier, having now a wall on either side, but the stairway was almost as steep as a ladder, and as they climbed up and up, they became more and more aware of the long black fall behind them. And the steps were narrow, spaced unevenly, and often treacherous: they were worn and smooth at the edges, and some were broken, and some cracked as foot was set upon them. The hobbits struggled on, until at last they were clinging with desperate fingers to the steps ahead, and forcing their aching knees to bend and straighten; and ever as the stair cut its way deeper into the sheer mountain the rocky walls rose higher and higher above their heads.
他们的确需要非常小心。佛罗多和山姆起初觉得两边终于有了山壁，安全多了，但那阶梯陡峭得几乎跟梯子一样，当他们越走越高的时候，也越来越在意身后的一片漆黑。每一阶都十分的狭窄，彼此的宽度参差不齐，让人难以落脚。阶梯的边缘磨损得十分严重，有些甚至破碎不堪，多踏一脚就碎成飞灰。哈比人挣扎着前进，到了最后，他们只能用手抓着上面的阶梯，强迫自己疼痛的膝盖不停弯曲伸直，阶梯却似乎永无止尽的一直切入陡峭的山中，眼前的山壁依旧变得越来越高。
“Careful!” he whispered. “Steps. Lots of steps. Must be careful!”
“小心！”他低声说：“阶梯，很多阶梯。一定要小心！”
Gollum did not let them rest long. “There’s another stair still,” he said. “Much longer stair. Rest when we get to the top of next stair. Not yet.”
咕鲁并没有让他们休息太久。“还有另外一道阶梯，”他说：“更长的阶梯，我们走完下一次的阶梯就可以休息，之前还不行。”
At length, just as they felt that they could endure no more, they saw Gollum’s eyes peering down at them again.
到了最后，正当他们觉得自己再也无法忍受的时候，他们看见咕鲁的眼睛又回头望着他们。
Dizzy and very tired Sam, and Frodo following him, crawled up the last step, and sat down rubbing their legs and knees. They were in a deep dark passage that seemed still to go up before them, though at a gentler slope and without steps.
佛罗多跟着头晖脑涨、浑身酸痛的山姆爬上最后一阶，就一屁股坐在地上，揉捏着脚和膝盖。他们正处在一个黑暗的道路上，似乎还不停地往上延伸；唯一的差别只是它的坡度比较和缓，而且没有阶梯。
“We’re up,” he whispered. “First stair’s past. Clever hobbits to climb so high, very clever hobbits. Just a few more little steps and that’s all, yes.”
“我们到了！”他低声说：“第一层阶梯完了。聪明的哈比人可以爬这么高，非常聪明。再爬几阶就好了，是的。”
Sam groaned. “Longer, did you say?” he asked.
山姆发出哀嚎声：“你刚刚说会更长吗？”他问。
“Yes, yess, longer,” said Gollum. “But not so difficult. Hobbits have climbed the Straight Stair. Next comes the Winding Stair.”
“是的，嘶嘶的，更长，”咕鲁说：“但是没有这么难爬。哈比人爬完了直直梯，接下来会是弯弯梯。”
“And what after that?” said Sam.
“在那之后呢？”山姆说。
“I thought you said there was a tunnel,” said Sam. “Isn’t there a tunnel or something to go through?”
“我记得你说过那边有个隧道，”山姆说：“是不是有条隧道可以通过？”
“We shall see,” said Gollum softly. “O yes, we shall see!”
“到时候就知道了，”咕鲁柔声说：“喔，是的，到时候就知道了！”
“O yes, there’s a tunnel,” said Gollum. “But hobbits can rest before they try that. If they get through that, they’ll be nearly at the top. Very nearly, if they get through. O yes!”
“喔，是的，有条隧道，”咕鲁说：“哈比人可以在休息之后再去那边。如果他们可以走过那些阶梯，几乎就到顶了。非常接近，只要他们能通过。喔，是的！”
Frodo shivered. The climb had made him sweat, but now he felt cold and clammy, and there was a chill draught in the dark passage, blowing down from the invisible heights above. He got up and shook himself. “Well, let’s go on!” he said. “This is no place to sit in.”
佛罗多忍不住浑身发抖，之前的攀爬让他全身燥热，但他突然间觉得浑身冷汗直流，似乎从山顶有道冷风不断地往下吹。他站直身子，全身发抖地说：“好吧，出发吧！”他说：“这里实在不适合久坐。”
The passage seemed to go on for miles, and always the chill air flowed over them, rising as they went on to a bitter wind. The mountains seemed to be trying with their deadly breath to daunt them, to turn them back from the secrets of the high places, or to blow them away into the darkness behind. They only knew that they had come to the end, when suddenly they felt no wall at their right hand. They could see very little. Great black shapeless masses and deep grey shadows loomed above them and about them, but now and again a dull red light flickered up under the lowering clouds, and for a moment they were aware of tall peaks, in front and on either side, like pillars holding up a vast sagging roof. They seemed to have climbed up many hundreds of feet, on to a wide shelf. A cliff was on their left and a chasm on their right.
这条路似乎绵延好几哩，冷风一直毫不留情地吹过来，让他们一直顶着寒风前进。这座山脉似乎利用死亡的吹息来挑衅他们，不想让他们前往一探究竟，或是想要将他们吹入身后的黑暗中。他们只知道似乎走到了尽头，因为右手边感觉不到任何山壁。他们什么也看不见，他们只能感觉到四周都被灰沉沉的阴影所包围，但偶尔会从低垂的云朵中迸射出暗红色的光芒，在那一瞬间，他们会看见前方和左右两边都有着高耸入云的山脉，仿佛是顶天的大柱一般。他们似乎直爬上了几百尺，来到了一个岩棚，左方是一个悬崖，右方则是一个深谷。
At length they were once more aware of a wall looming up, and once more a stairway opened before them. Again they halted, and again they began to climb. It was a long and weary ascent; but this stairway did not delve into the mountain-side. Here the huge cliff-face sloped backwards, and the path like a snake wound to and fro across it. At one point it crawled sideways right to the edge of the dark chasm, and Frodo glancing down saw below him as a vast deep pit the great ravine at the head of the Morgul Valley. Down in its depths glimmered like a glow-worm thread the wraith-road from the dead city to the Nameless Pass. He turned hastily away.
一段时间之后，他们又再度看到眼前有一座高大的阻碍隆起，并且跟着再度出现另外一座阶梯。他们又停了下来，稍后开始继续往上爬。这是段极为漫长、让人感到疲倦的过程，但这次的阶梯并没有切入山中，而是在后倾的悬崖上如蛇一般蜿蜒的往上，其中一段甚至紧邻着直上直下的断崖，佛罗多靠近一看，看见底下是通往魔窟山谷的无尽深渊。底下的道路都散发着诡异的光芒，一路延伸通往无名之境。
Gollum led the way close under the cliff. For the present they were no longer climbing, but the ground was now more broken and dangerous in the dark, and there were blocks and lumps of fallen stone in the way. Their going was slow and cautious. How many hours had passed since they had entered the Morgul Vale neither Sam nor Frodo could any longer guess. The night seemed endless.
咕鲁领着他们靠近悬崖底下，暂时，他们似乎不是再继续往上爬，但地面却变得更为崎岖，在黑暗中显得无比的危险。路上堆满了大小不一的落石，他们只能非常缓慢、十分小心地前进。山姆和佛罗多都已经失去了对时间的感觉，也不记得自己已经进入了魔窟谷多久的时间，黑夜似乎永远不会离开。
Still on and up the stairway bent and crawled, until at last with a final flight, short and straight, it climbed out again on to another level. The path had veered away from the main pass in the great ravine, and it now followed its own perilous course at the bottom of a lesser cleft among the higher regions of the Ephel Dúath. Dimly the hobbits could discern tall piers and jagged pinnacles of stone on either side, between which were great crevices and fissures blacker than the night, where forgotten winters had gnawed and carved the sunless stone. And now the red light in the sky seemed stronger; though they could not tell whether a dreadful morning were indeed coming to this place of shadow, or whether they saw only the flame of some great violence of Sauron in the torment of Gorgoroth beyond. Still far ahead, and still high above, Frodo, looking up, saw, as he guessed, the very crown of this bitter road. Against the sullen redness of the eastern sky a cleft was outlined in the topmost ridge, narrow, deep-cloven between two black shoulders; and on either shoulder was a horn of stone.
阶梯一直蜿蜒着向上，最后终于在经过一段直直的攀爬之后，来到了另一个阶段。眼前的道路避开了主要的信道，沿着它自己在山脉中切开的空隙，穿入伊菲尔杜斯的空隙中。哈比人依稀可以看见两边有着高耸不平的岩石，之间还有着比黑夜还要深沉的缝隙，无数道寒冷的空气不停地咬啮该处。这时，天空的红光似乎变得更为强烈，只是他们完全不确定这倒底是否代表着这个布满阴影的地方终于要面对清晨，还是索伦正用他那邪火折磨之后的葛哥洛斯盆地。佛罗多抬起头，在更远的地方似乎看见了这条道路的尽头，在山巅上映衬着红色的天空，好象有一道在两座山肩之间切割出来的深刻裂缝，山肩上则是各有一个像是兽角形状的岩石。
“All ways are watched, yes,” said Gollum. “Of course they are. But hobbits must try some way. This may be least watched. Perhaps they’ve all gone away to big battle, perhaps!”
“是的，所有的路都受到监视，”咕鲁说：“当然是这样的，但哈比人一定要试试才行，这可能是监视最薄弱的地方。或许他们都去参加大战役了，或许这样！”
“Perhaps,” grunted Sam. “Well, it still seems a long way off, and a long way up before we get there. And there’s still the tunnel. I think you ought to rest now, Mr. Frodo. I don’t know what time of day or night it is, but we’ve kept going for hours and hours.”
“或许吧，”山姆咕哝道：“好吧，至少这看起来还有很远，我们还要爬很高才会到那边，而且还要走很长的一段隧道。佛罗多先生，我想你应该要睡一会儿。我不知道现在是什么时候了，是白天还是黑夜，但是我知道我们已经走了很长的一段时间。”
“I don’t like the look of that!” said Sam. “So this secret way of yours is guarded after all,” he growled, turning to Gollum. “As you knew all along, I suppose?”
“我不喜欢它的样子！”山姆说：“你所说的秘密信道，最后还是有人守卫，”他转过身面对咕鲁低吼道：“我想你早就知道了，对吧？”
He paused and looked more attentively. The horn upon the left was tall and slender; and in it burned a red light, or else the red light in the land beyond was shining through a hole. He saw now: it was a black tower poised above the outer pass. He touched Sam’s arm and pointed.
他停下脚步，更仔细地打量着，左边的岩角比较高细，里面发出某种红光，或者也有可能是天空的红光透过其中的孔洞照过来。他现在可以清楚地看见，那是一座高耸的黑色塔楼。他碰碰山姆的手臂，指向前方。
“Yes, we must rest,” said Frodo. “Let us find some corner out of the wind, and gather our strength — for the last lap.” For so he felt it to be. The terrors of the land beyond, and the deed to be done there, seemed remote, too far off yet to trouble him. All his mind was bent on getting through or over this impenetrable wall and guard. If once he could do that impossible thing, then somehow the errand would be accomplished, or so it seemed to him in that dark hour of weariness, still labouring in the stony shadows under Cirith Ungol.
“是的，我们必须休息了，”佛罗多说：“让我们找个可以避风的角落吧，累积一些体力，准备最后一程。”因为他觉得这应该就是最后一次了。山外那块土地的恐怖和要在那边执行的任务，似乎都是很遥远的事情了，现在暂时不会困扰他，他脑中只有一件事情，就是如何穿越眼前似乎无法穿透的障碍。只要他能够完成这不可能的任务，似乎远方的那个工作就会变得更容易执行了些。至少，这是他在身心俱疲、处在西力斯昂哥的阴影之下时的想法。
“Yes, they drink,” said Frodo. “But do not let us speak of that. Such drink is not for us.”
“是的，他们喝水，”佛罗多说：“但还是别说了，他们所喝的东西不是我们能喝的。”
“I wonder when we’ll find water again?” said Sam. “But I suppose even over there they drink? Orcs drink, don’t they?”
“不知道我们以后会不会再找到水喝？”山姆说：“可是，我想他们即使在那边也要喝水吧？半兽人会喝水，对吧？”
“Then all the more need to fill our bottles,” said Sam. “But there isn’t any water up here: not a sound or a trickle have I heard. And anyway Faramir said we were not to drink any water in Morgul.”
“那么我们就更应该装满水壶，”山姆说：“可是这里根本一点水也没有，我连水声都没听到，而且，法拉墨还说过不可以喝任何魔窟的水。”
“No water flowing out of Imlad Morgul, were his words,” said Frodo. “We are not in that valley now, and if we came on a spring it would be flowing into it and not out of it.”
“他所说的是，不要喝任何从伊姆拉德魔窟中流出的水，”佛罗多说：“我们已经不在那个山谷里面了，而且如果这里有泉水，也只是流进那山谷，不是流出那山谷。”
In a dark crevice between two great piers of rock they sat down: Frodo and Sam a little way within, and Gollum crouched upon the ground near the opening. There the hobbits took what they expected would be their last meal before they went down into the Nameless Land, maybe the last meal they would ever eat together. Some of the food of Gondor they ate, and wafers of the waybread of the Elves, and they drank a little. But of their water they were sparing and took only enough to moisten their dry mouths.
他们在两块巨岩之间坐了下来，佛罗多和山姆坐在比较靠里面的地方，咕鲁则是趴在靠近出口的地方，哈比人在这里吃了踏入无名之境前的最后一餐，或许这是他们聚在一起的最后一餐。他们吃了一些刚铎的食物，又加了一些精灵的干粮，最后再喝了一些水；不过，由于他们节省喝水，因此只能够勉强沾湿嘴唇。
“I wouldn’t trust it,” said Sam, “not till I was dying of thirst. There’s a wicked feeling about this place.” He sniffed. “And a smell, I fancy. Do you notice it? A queer kind of a smell, stuffy. I don’t like it.”
“我可不会这么想，”山姆说：“至少在我渴死之前都不行，这个地方有种邪恶的感觉。”他嗅了嗅。“而且还有一种奇怪的味道，你注意到了吗？有种怪怪的味道，我不喜欢这味道。”
“I don’t like anything here at all,” said Frodo, “step or stone, breath or bone. Earth, air and water all seem accursed. But so our path is laid.”
“我不喜欢这里的任何东西，”佛罗多说：“不管是阶梯或是石头、气味还是骨头，地、水、风似乎都受到了诅咒，但我们是注定要通过这条路的。”
“Yes, that’s so,” said Sam. “And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually — their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on — and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same — like old Mr. Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?”
“是的，的确是这样，”山姆说：“如果我们在出发前对此地早有任何了解，现在就不会在这里了，但我想世事多半就是这样吧。在传说和故事中的那些英勇行为，佛罗多先生，那些我以前称之为冒险的事迹，我以前认为这都是那些伟大的人物主动去找寻的，因为他们想要寻找刺激，想要在单调无聊的生活中找到一些乐子。但是，真正真实或铭刻人心的故事并不是这样发展的，通常，人们都是误打误撞的闯入历史漩涡中，或者可以说他们的道路就是被如此安排。我想，他们和我们一样，有很多回头的机会，只是他们选择坚持下去。如果他们真的回头了，我们也不会知道，因为他们将会被历史所遗忘。我们都听过那些继续坚持下去人们的故事，但并非都是好结局──至少，对于故事内的主角和外面的读者来说不是好结局。你知道的，就是回到家，一切都没事，只是稍稍有了一些变迁，就像比尔博先生一样。但是，这些并不是最好听的故事，虽然能够掉进那样的故事是我们梦寐以求的！不知道我们现在到底是掉进了什么样的故事中？”
“I wonder,” said Frodo. “But I don’t know. And that’s the way of a real tale. Take any one that you’re fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don’t know. And you don’t want them to.”
“我也不知道，”佛罗多说：“但我也不能确定，这才是故事的真正情节。你随便找个最喜欢的故事当例子好了：你或许可以知道，或甚至是猜到这是什么样的故事，是快乐结局，还是悲剧收场，但是，故事中的主角就没有这么好运了，你也不会想要让他们先知道结局。”
“No, sir, of course not. Beren now, he never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours. But that’s a long tale, of course, and goes on past the happiness and into grief and beyond it — and the Silmaril went on and came to Eärendil. And why, sir, I never thought of that before! We’ve got — you’ve got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we’re in the same tale still! It’s going on. Don’t the great tales never end?”
“是的，主人，当然罗。就以贝伦当例子罗，他根本没想到自己会从安戈洛坠姆的铁王冠上取下精灵美钻，但他还是做了，那个地方比我们现在的地方还要黑暗、还要危险许多。但是，当然，那是个很长的故事，超越了欢乐、悲伤和遗憾，精灵美钻最后才来到埃兰迪尔手中。对了，主人，我之前从来没想过这件事情！我们有──在女皇给你的玻璃瓶里面，其实有那美钻遗留的光线耶！对啊，我们其实还在同一个故事里面耶！这故事还在继续中──难道伟大的故事永远不会结束吗？”
“And then we can have some rest and some sleep,” said Sam. He laughed grimly. “And I mean just that, Mr. Frodo. I mean plain ordinary rest, and sleep, and waking up to a morning’s work in the garden. I’m afraid that’s all I’m hoping for all the time. All the big important plans are not for my sort. Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We’re in one, of course; but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards. And people will say: ‘Let’s hear about Frodo and the Ring!’ And they’ll say: ‘Yes, that’s one of my favourite stories. Frodo was very brave, wasn’t he, dad?’ ‘Yes, my boy, the famousest of the hobbits, and that’s saying a lot.'”
“到那时，我们就可以好好休息一下，睡个好觉！”山姆苦笑着说：“佛罗多先生，我真的只想这样而已，我想要的只是普通的休息，睡一觉，醒来在花园里面辛苦的工作一天，我想这可能就是我辛勤工作一辈子的目标，那些重大的计划根本不符合我的性格。不过，我还是想要知道，未来到底我们会不会被放入歌曲和故事之中？当然，我们是在故事中了啦！但我的意思是说，要化成文字、在壁炉边说的故事，或是在好多好多年以后，可以从一本有着红色和黑色字的大书里面念出来。那时人们会说：‘我们来听听佛罗多和魔戒的故事！’而他们会说：‘好啊，我最喜欢这个故事了，佛罗多非常勇敢，对吧，爸爸？’‘是的，孩子，他是哈比人之中最出名的人了，这应该就可以解释一切了。’”
“No, they never end as tales,” said Frodo. “But the people in them come, and go when their part’s ended. Our part will end later — or sooner.”
“不，故事永远不会结束，”佛罗多说：“但里面的人物来来去去；当他们的情节结束之后，他们就会离开，我们的情节迟早也会结束的。”
“It’s saying a lot too much,” said Frodo, and he laughed, a long clear laugh from his heart. Such a sound had not been heard in those places since Sauron came to Middle-earth. To Sam suddenly it seemed as if all the stones were listening and the tall rocks leaning over them. But Frodo did not heed them; he laughed again. “Why, Sam,” he said, “to hear you somehow makes me as merry as if the story was already written. But you’ve left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. ‘I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn’t they put in more of his talk, dad? That’s what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam, would he, dad?'”
“这已经解释了太多啦，”佛罗多笑着说，这是一个发自内心的清朗笑声。自从索伦来到中土世界，在这块土地上就不曾听过这样的声音了。山姆突然间感觉到，仿佛所有的岩石都在倾听着，高耸的山壁也倾压过来。但佛罗多完全不把这当一回事，他又再度笑了。“是啊，山姆，”他说：“听你这么一说，让我心情好得很，仿佛这故事已经写完了一样。但是你还漏掉一个重要的人物：坚毅的山姆魏斯。‘老爸，我想要听更多山姆的故事，老爸，他们为什么不把他的戏份加多一点呢？我最喜欢他说话了，每次都让我笑呵呵。如果没有山姆，佛罗多恐怕就走不远了，对吧，老爸？’”
“Now, Mr. Frodo,” said Sam, “you shouldn’t make fun. I was serious.”
“好啦，佛罗多先生，”山姆说：“你不应该搞笑的，我可是十分认真的。”
“So was I,” said Frodo, “and so I am. We’re going on a bit too fast. You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and it is all too likely that some will say at this point: ‘Shut the book now, dad; we don’t want to read any more.'”
“我也是，”佛罗多说：“我现在也还是，我们想太多了。山姆，你和我，还卡在故事中最糟糕的部分，而且，很有可能有人在这边会说：‘爸，不要再念了，我们不想听了！’”
“Maybe,” said Sam, “but I wouldn’t be one to say that. Things done and over and made into part of the great tales are different. Why, even Gollum might be good in a tale, better than he is to have by you, anyway. And he used to like tales himself once, by his own account. I wonder if he thinks he’s the hero or the villain?
“或许吧，”山姆说：“但我可不想成为说那个话的人。已经做过的事情被记录在故事中也就算了，对啊，甚至咕鲁在故事里面都有可能成为大好人，至少比你的表现会好一些。照他自己的说法，他自己以前也很喜欢故事，不知道他认为自己是好人还是坏人？”
“Gollum!” he called. “Would you like to be the hero — now where’s he got to again?”
“咕鲁！”他大喊道：“你想要当英雄吗──这家伙又跑到哪里去了？”
There was no sign of him at the mouth of their shelter nor in the shadows near. He had refused their food, though he had, as usual, accepted a mouthful of water; and then he had seemed to curl up for a sleep. They had supposed that one at any rate of his objects in his long absence the day before had been to hunt for food to his own liking; and now he had evidently slipped off again while they talked. But what for this time?
不管是在入口还是在附近的阴影中都找不到他的踪影，他不吃他们的东西，只是照惯例喝了一小口水，然后他似乎就像以前一样蜷缩起来睡觉。他们上次以为他的消失是因为想要去附近找东西吃，但这次很明显他又趁着两人说话的时候溜走了，但这次又是为了什么？
“All the same, I’d rather have him under my eye,” said Sam. “All the more so, if he’s false. Do you remember he never would say if this pass was guarded or no? And now we see a tower there — and it may be deserted, and it may not. Do you think he’s gone to fetch them, Orcs or whatever they are?”
“都一样，但我宁愿让他在我的监控之下，”山姆说：“而且，如果他在玩什么把戏，我更希望能够看清楚他在干什么。你还记得他从来没说清楚这里到底有没有守卫吗？现在我们在这边看到了一座塔楼，或许是空的，或许不是。你想他会不会去找里面的驻军了？可能是半兽人还是什么的？”
“I don’t like his sneaking off without saying,” said Sam. “And least of all now. He can’t be looking for food up here, not unless there’s some kind of rock he fancies. Why, there isn’t even a bit of moss!”
“我不喜欢他什么也不说就偷溜走，”山姆说：“至少现在最不应该这样。他不可能在这边找到吃的东西，除非他想要吃石头。哼，这里甚至连青苔都没有！”
“It’s no good worrying about him now,” said Frodo. “We couldn’t have got so far, not even within sight of the pass, without him, and so we’ll have to put up with his ways. If he’s false, he’s false.”
“光担心他也没有用，”佛罗多说：“即使我们知道是哪条路，没有他，我们也走不远，看来我们也只好忍受他的怪癖。如果他爱玩把戏，就只能让他玩了。”
“No, I don’t think so,” answered Frodo. “Even if he’s up to some wickedness, and I suppose that’s not unlikely. I don’t think it’s that: not to fetch Orcs, or any servants of the Enemy. Why wait till now, and go through all the labour of the climb, and come so near the land he fears? He could probably have betrayed us to Orcs many times since we met him. No, if it’s anything, it will be some little private trick of his own that he thinks is quite secret.”
“不，我不这么认为，”佛罗多回答：“即使他有什么诡计，我想他也不会这样做。至少我认为他的计谋绝不会是去找半兽人，或是任何魔王的仆人。为什么要等到现在，为什么要花费这么大精神，这么靠近他害怕的土地之后再这样做呢？自从我们和他结伴之后，中间有不知道多少次都可以让他出卖我们。不，如果他真的有什么诡计，那一定是他自己的秘密计谋，外人完全不了解。”
“Very likely he can’t guess himself,” said Frodo. “And I don’t think he’s got just one plain scheme in his muddled head. I think he really is in part trying to save the Precious from the Enemy, as long as he can. For that would be the last disaster for himself too, if the Enemy got it. And in the other part, perhaps, he’s just biding his time and waiting on chance.”
“搞不好他自己也不知道，”佛罗多说：“我也不认为在他迷糊的脑袋里面，会有一个完整清楚的计划，我想他只是想要不让宝贝落入魔王手中，尽量拖延时间。因为，如果魔王拿到了魔戒，这会是他和全世界的最后一场灾难。就另一方面来说，他拖延时间的目的，也是为了等待适当的时机。”
“Well, I suppose you’re right, Mr. Frodo,” said Sam. “Not that it comforts me mightily. I don’t make no mistake: I don’t doubt he’d hand me over to Orcs as gladly as kiss his hand. But I was forgetting — his Precious. No, I suppose the whole time it’s been The Precious for poor Sméagol. That’s the one idea in all his little schemes, if he has any. But how bringing us up here will help him in that is more than I can guess.”
“好吧，佛罗多先生，我想你说的没错，”山姆说：“不过，这并不能让我放心。我不想要犯下任何错误，我并不怀疑他会兴高彩烈地把我们交给半兽人，他可能还会亲吻对方的手；但我忘记了还有他的宝贝，的确，我想这整件事情都可以归类到‘宝贝要给可怜的史麦戈’。他的阴谋中可能唯一的重点就是这个，只是，我不明白他把我们带到这里来，到底能够怎么样执行他的阴谋？”
“Yes, Slinker and Stinker, as I’ve said before,” said Sam. “But the nearer they get to the Enemy’s land the more like Stinker Slinker will get. Mark my words: if ever we get to the pass, he won’t let us really take the precious thing over the border without making some kind of trouble.”
“是的，这是胆小鬼和肮脏鬼之间的争执，就像我之前所说的一样，”山姆说：“不过，越靠近魔王，胆小鬼就会变得越像肮脏鬼。记住我说的话：如果我们能够走完这条路，他绝对不可能就这么让我们把魔戒带进去。”
“We haven’t got there yet,” said Frodo.
“我们还没走完哪，”佛罗多说。
“Sleep!” said Frodo and sighed, as if out of a desert he had seen a mirage of cool green. “Yes, even here I could sleep.”
“睡觉！”佛罗多叹气道，他的口气彷佛是在沙漠中看见绿洲的幻影一样。“是啊，我即使在这边都睡得着。”
“No, but we’d better keep our eyes skinned till we do. If we’re caught napping, Stinker will come out on top pretty quick. Not but what it would be safe for you to have a wink now, master. Safe, if you lay close to me. I’d be dearly glad to see you have a sleep. I’d keep watch over you; and anyway, if you lay near, with my arm round you, no one could come pawing you without your Sam knowing it.”
“是的，但在那之前我们也不可以有任何的松懈。只要我们一闪神，肮脏鬼就会很快地攻击我们。不过，主人，现在你打个盹还是安全的，只要你人在我身边。如果你能够眯眼一会儿，我会觉得很高兴的。我会替你注意一切；只要你靠在我身边，让我可以抱着你，就绝对不会有人可以不让山姆发现而碰你一根汗毛。”
“Sleep then, master! Lay your head in my lap.”
“主人，那就睡吧！躺在我的大腿上睡吧。”
And so Gollum found them hours later, when he returned, crawling and creeping down the path out of the gloom ahead. Sam sat propped against the stone, his head dropping sideways and his breathing heavy. In his lap lay Frodo’s head, drowned deep in sleep; upon his white forehead lay one of Sam’s brown hands, and the other lay softly upon his master’s breast. Peace was in both their faces.
几小时之后，咕鲁从另一个方向鬼鬼祟祟地回来了。眼前的山姆靠在岩石上，脑袋歪着，呼吸十分沉重，佛罗多躺在他的大腿上熟睡着。山姆的褐色小手放在他苍白的额头上，另一只手则是放在主人的胸前，两人的表情都十分的祥和。
Gollum looked at them. A strange expression passed over his lean hungry face. The gleam faded from his eyes, and they went dim and grey, old and tired. A spasm of pain seemed to twist him, and he turned away, peering back up towards the pass, shaking his head, as if engaged in some interior debate. Then he came back, and slowly putting out a trembling hand, very cautiously he touched Frodo’s knee — but almost the touch was a caress. For a fleeting moment, could one of the sleepers have seen him, they would have thought that they beheld an old weary hobbit, shrunken by the years that had carried him far beyond his time, beyond friends and kin, and the fields and streams of youth, an old starved pitiable thing.
咕鲁看着他们，他瘦削、饥饿的面孔上掠过一种奇怪的表情，他眼中的光芒消失了，变得微弱、灰败，苍老而疲倦；他的脸上似乎笼罩着痛苦的阴影，摇着头，回头看着山顶，似乎陷入某种内心的挣扎中。然后他又转回头，伸出一只颤抖的手，非常小心地碰触着佛罗多的膝盖，几乎可以说是一种爱怜的动作。在那么一瞬间，如果两名睡着的哈比人看得见，他们会认为眼前站着的是一名疲倦的年老哈比人，经历了早该归于尘土的漫长岁月、所有的朋友和亲戚也全都失去，年轻的活力也早已不复记忆，只剩下又老又弱的臭皮囊。
“Hey you!” he said roughly. “What are you up to?”
“喂！”他粗鲁地说：“你在干什么？”
“Nothing, nothing,” said Gollum softly. “Nice Master!”
“没有，没有，”咕鲁柔声说：“好主人！”
But at that touch Frodo stirred and cried out softly in his sleep, and immediately Sam was wide awake. The first thing he saw was Gollum — “pawing at master,” as he thought.
只是，在那一碰之下，佛罗多动了动，发出低微的喊声，山姆立刻惊醒过来。他先看到的景象是咕鲁“准备对主人动手”，至少，在他的心中是这样想的。
“I daresay,” said Sam. “But where have you been to — sneaking off and sneaking back, you old villain?”
山姆说：“就算是吧，你这个老坏蛋，之前偷偷摸摸跑到别的地方去，是做什么坏事？”
Sam felt a bit remorseful, though not more trustful. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry, but you startled me out of my sleep. And I shouldn’t have been sleeping, and that made me a bit sharp. But Mr. Frodo, he’s that tired, I asked him to have a wink; and well, that’s how it is. Sorry. But where have you been to?”
山姆觉得有些后悔，但依旧不是很相信对方。“抱歉，”他说：“我很抱歉，只怪你不该把我从睡梦中吵醒。而且我是不应该睡着的，所以我才会有些惊慌。可是，佛罗多先生很累了，我请他眯一下，结果就变成这样了。抱歉。但是你刚刚到底去了哪里？”
“Sneaking,” said Gollum, and the green glint did not leave his eyes.
“偷偷摸摸，哼…”咕鲁说，眼中的绿光依旧没有消失。
Gollum withdrew himself, and a green glint flickered under his heavy lids. Almost spider-like he looked now, crouched back on his bent limbs, with his protruding eyes. The fleeting moment had passed, beyond recall. “Sneaking, sneaking!” he hissed. “Hobbits always so polite, yes. O nice hobbits! Sméagol brings them up secret ways that nobody else could find. Tired he is, thirsty he is, yes thirsty; and he guides them and he searches for paths, and they say sneak, sneak. Very nice friends, O yes my precious, very nice.”
咕鲁缩回了手，眼中又再度隐隐闪动出绿色的光芒，他看起来似乎化身成一个人面蜘蛛，趴在地上，双眼突出地看着对方。刚刚那一瞬间已经消逝了，无法再追回。“偷偷摸摸，偷偷摸摸！”他嘶嘶地说：“哈比人真是有礼貌，是啊。喔，好哈比人！史麦戈带他们来到其它人都不知道的秘密道路。他虽然很累、又渴，是啊，很渴很渴，他还是带领着他们到处找路，搜寻可能的出路，他们就只会说偷偷摸摸，偷偷摸摸。真是好朋友，喔，是的宝贝，真是好啊！”
“O very well,” said Sam, “have it your own way! I don’t suppose it’s so far from the truth. And now we’d better all be sneaking along together. What’s the time? Is it today or tomorrow?”
“喔，好吧，”山姆说：“随便你爱怎么说都可以！我想反正这也不会离事实太远。现在我们最好一起偷偷摸摸的走。什么时候了？是今天吗？还是已经过了一天了？”
“Wake up, Mr. Frodo! Wake up!”
“佛罗多先生，快醒来！快醒来！”
Frodo stirred and opened his eyes, and smiled, seeing Sam’s face bending over him. “Calling me early aren’t you, Sam?” he said. “It’s dark still!”
佛罗多动了动，张开眼，露出微笑。“山姆，你叫得有点早了吧？”他说：“天还是黑的呢！”
“It’s tomorrow,” said Gollum, “or this was tomorrow when hobbits went to sleep. Very foolish, very dangerous — if poor Sméagol wasn’t sneaking about to watch.”
“已经是明天了，”咕鲁说：“你们已经睡过一天了。很愚蠢，很危险，如果不是可怜的史麦戈偷偷摸摸的看守你们。”
“Yes it’s always dark here,” said Sam. “But Gollum’s come back, Mr. Frodo, and he says it’s tomorrow. So we must be walking on. The last lap.”
“是的，这里一直都是黑漆漆的，”山姆说：“咕鲁回来了，佛罗多先生，他说这已经是隔天了。所以我们必须继续往前走，那是最后一阶了。”
“I think we shall get tired of that word soon,” said Sam. “But never mind. I’ll wake master up.” Gently he smoothed the hair back from Frodo’s brow, and bending down spoke softly to him.
“我觉得自己很快就会厌倦偷偷摸摸这个字眼了！”山姆说：“不过，别在意，我会把主人叫起来的。”他温柔地抚弄着佛罗多的头发，弯下身轻轻的呼喊着他的名字。
“No food, no rest, nothing for Sméagol,” said Gollum. “He’s a sneak.”
“没吃的、没休息，史麦戈什么都没有，”咕鲁说：“他只会偷偷摸摸。”
Frodo drew a deep breath and sat up. “The last lap!” he said. “Hullo, Sméagol! Found any food? Have you had any rest?”
佛罗多深吸一口气，坐了起来。“最后一阶！”他说：“嗨，史麦戈！找到吃的东西了吗？你有休息过吗？”
Sam clicked his tongue, but restrained himself.
山姆发出啧啧的声音，但还是忍住不再多说什么。
“Sméagol has to take what’s given him,” answered Gollum. “He was given that name by kind Master Samwise, the hobbit that knows so much.”
“史麦戈必须要接受别人给他的东西，”咕鲁回答：“好心的山姆魏斯先生给了我这个绰号，他是那么见识广博的哈比人。”
“Don’t take names to yourself, Sméagol,” said Frodo. “It’s unwise, whether they are true or false.”
“史麦戈，不要替自己取绰号，”佛罗多说：“这样不聪明，不管是真的还假的都一样。”
“Come, let it pass then,” said Frodo. “But now we seem to have come to the point, you and I, Sméagol. Tell me. Can we find the rest of the way by ourselves? We’re in sight of the pass, of a way in, and if we can find it now, then I suppose our agreement can be said to be over. You have done what you promised, and you’re free: free to go back to food and rest, wherever you wish to go, except to servants of the Enemy. And one day I may reward you, I or those that remember me.”
“算了吧，不要太在意，”佛罗多说：“不过，既然我们都已经到了这个地方，史麦戈，你和我都一样，告诉我，我们在前面的路上可以自己找到方向吗？我们已经看到了那条路、也找到了进去魔多的方法，我想之前的承诺已经算是完成了。你已经照着你所承诺的做了，你不需要再受到任何的牵绊：你可以回去找东西吃，可以自由自在地休息，不管你想怎么样都可以，只是不能去投靠魔王的奴仆。有一天，我或是那些记得我的人，可能会给你一些奖赏。”
“No, no, not yet,” Gollum whined. “O no! They can’t find the way themselves, can they? O no indeed. There’s the tunnel coming. Sméagol must go on. No rest. No food. Not yet.”
“不，不，时候还没到！”咕鲁哀嚎着说：“喔，不行！他们不能够只靠自己找道路，对吧？喔，真的不行。隧道就在眼前了，史麦戈必须继续下去。不能休息，不能吃东西。还没到…”
Frodo looked at Sam. “Yes sir,” he said. “I did use the word, waking up out of my sleep sudden and all and finding him at hand. I said I was sorry, but I soon shan’t be.”
佛罗多看着山姆。“是的，主人，”他说：“当我突然醒过来，发现他就在我身边的时候，我的确这样叫他。我说过我很抱歉了，看来我得要收回这句话。”
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