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.It seemed a town of Men still throve there, built out on bridges farinto the water as a protection against enemies of all sorts, and especiallyagainst the dragon of the Mountain.From Lake-town the barrels were brought upthe Forest River.Often they were just tied together like big rafts and poledor rowed up the stream; sometimes they were loaded on to flat boats.When the barrels were empty the elves cast them through the trapdoors, openedthe water-gate, and out the barrels floated on the stream, bobbing along, untilthey were carried by the current to a place far down the river where the bankjutted out, near to the very eastern edge of Mirkwood.There they werecollected and tied together and floated back to Lake-town, which stood close tothe point where the Forest River flowed into the Long Lake.For some time Bilbo sat and thought about this water-gate, and wondered if itcould be used for the escape of his friends, and at last he had the desperatebeginnings of a plan.The evening meal had been taken to the prisoners.The guards were tramping awaydown the passages taking the torch-light with them and leaving everything indarkness.Then Bilbo heard the king's butler bidding the chief of the guardsgood-night."Now come with me," he said, "and taste the new wine that has just come in.Ishall be hard at work tonight clearing the cellars of the empty wood, so let ushave a drink first to help the labour.""Very good," laughed the chief of the guards."I'll taste with you, and see ifit is fit for the king's table.There is a feast tonight and it would not do tosend up poor stuff!"When he heard this Bilbo was all in a flutter, for he saw that luck was withhim and he had a chance at once to try his desperate plan.He followed the twoelves, until they entered a small cellar and sat down at a table on which twolarge flagons were set.Soon they began to drink and laugh merrily.Luck of anunusual kind was with Bilbo then.It must be potent wine to make a wood-elfdrowsy; but this wine, it would seem, was the heady vintage of the greatgardens of Dorwinion, not meant for his soldiers or his servants, but for theking's feasts only, and for smaller bowls, not for the butler's great flagons.Very soon the chief guard nodded his head, then he laid it on the table andfell fast asleep.The butler went on talking and laughing to himself for awhile without seeming to notice, but soon his head too nodded to the table, andhe fell asleep and snored beside his friend.Then in crept the hobbit.Verysoon the chief guard had no keys, but Bilbo was trotting as fast as he couldalong the passage towards the cells.The great bunch seemed very heavy to hisarms, and his heart was often in his mouth, in spite of his ring, for he couldnot prevent the keys from making every now and then a loud clink and clank,which put him all in a tremble.First he unlocked Balin's door, and locked it again carefully as soon as thedwarf was outside.Balin was most surprised, as you can imagine; but glad as hewas to get out of his wearisome little stone room, he wanted to stop and askquestions, and know what Bilbo was going to do, and all about it."No time now!" said the hobbit."You must follow me! We must all keep togetherand not risk getting separated.All of us must escape or none, and this is ourlast chance.If this is found out, goodness knows where the king will put younext, with chains on your hands and feet too, I expect.Don't argue, there's agood fellow!"Then off he went from door to door, until his following had grown totwelve-none of them any too nimble, what with the dark, and what with theirlong imprisonment.Bilbo's heart thumped every time one of them bumped intoanother, or grunted or whispered in the dark."Drat this dwarvish racket!" hesaid to himself.But all went well, and they met no guards.As a matter of factthere was a great autumn feast in the woods that night, and in the halls above.Nearly all the king's folks were merrymaking.At last after much blunderingthey came to Thorin's dungeon, far down in a deep place and fortunately not farfrom the cellars."Upon my word!" said Thorin, when Bilbo whispered to him to come out and joinhis friends, "Gandalf spoke true, as usual.A pretty fine burglar you make, itseems, when the time comes.I am sure we are all for ever at your service,whatever happens after this.But what comes next?"Bilbo saw that the time had come to explain his idea, as far as he could; buthe did not feel at all sure bow the dwarves would take it.His fears were quitejustified, for they did not like it a bit, and started grumbling loudly inspite of their danger."We shall be bruised and battered to pieces, and drowned too, for certain!"they muttered."We thought you had got some sensible notion, when you managedto get hold of the keys.This is a mad idea!""Very well!" said Bilbo very downcast, and also rather annoyed."Come alongback to your nice cells, and I will lock you all in again, and you can sitthere comfortably and think of a better plan-but I don't suppose I shall everget hold of the keys again, even if I feel inclined to try.""That was too much for them, and they calmed down.In the end, of course, theyhad to do just what Bilbo suggested, because it was obviously impossible forthem to try and find their way into the upper halls, or to fight their way outof gates that closed by magic; and it was no good grumbling in the passagesuntil they were caught again.So following the hobbit, down into the lowestcellars they crept.They passed a door through which the chief guard and thebutler could be seen still happily snoring with smiles upon their faces.Thewine of Dorwinion brings deep and pleasant dreams [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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