Властелин колец: Две башни
The Taming of Sméagol
Gollum!I’llgivehimgolluminhisthroat,ifeverIgetmyhandsonhisneck.’
’Ihopeyou’llneverneedto,’saidFrodo.`Idon’tknowhowhefollowedus;butitmaybethathe’slostusagain,asyousay.Inthisdrybleaklandwecan’tleavemanyfootprints,normuchscent,evenforhissnufflingnose.’
’Ihopethat’sthewayofit,’saidSam.’Iwishwecouldberidofhimforgood!’
’SodoI,’saidFrodo;’buthe’snotmychieftrouble.Iwishwecouldgetawayfromthesehills!Ihatethem.Ifeelallnakedontheeastside,stuckupherewithnothingbutthedeadflatsbetweenmeandthatShadowyonder.There’sanEyeinit.Comeon!We’vegottogetdowntodaysomehow.’
Butthatdayworeon,andwhenafternoonfadedtowardseveningtheywerestillscramblingalongtheridgeandhadfoundnowayofescape.
Sometimesinthesilenceofthatbarrencountrytheyfanciedthattheyheardfaintsoundsbehindthem,astonefalling,ortheimaginedstepofflappingfeetontherock.Butiftheyhaltedandstoodstilllistening,theyheardnomore,nothingbutthewindsighingovertheedgesofthestones-yeteventhatremindedthemofbreathsoftlyhissingthroughsharpteeth.
AllthatdaytheouterridgeoftheEmynMuilhadbeenbendinggraduallynorthward,astheystruggledon.Alongitsbrinktherenowstretchedawidetumbledflatofscoredandweatheredrock,cuteverynowandagainbytrench-likegulliesthatslopedsteeplydowntodeepnotchesinthecliff-face.
