Властелин колец: Братство кольца
A Knife in the Dark
Slowlytheycrawleduptotheedgeoftheringagain,andpeeredthroughacleftbetweentwojaggedstones.Thelightwasnolongerbright,fortheclearmorninghadfaded,andcloudscreepingoutoftheEasthadnowovertakenthesun,asitbegantogodown.Theycouldallseetheblackspecks,butneitherFrodonorMerrycouldmakeouttheirshapesforcertain;yetsomethingtoldthemthatthere,farbelow,wereBlackRidersassemblingontheRoadbeyondthefootofthehill.
‘Yes,’saidStrider,whosekeenersightlefthiminnodoubt.‘Theenemyishere!’
Hastilytheycreptawayandslippeddownthenorthsideofthehilltofindtheircompanions.
SamandPeregrinhadnotbeenidle.Theyhadexploredthesmalldellandthesurroundingslopes.Notfarawaytheyfoundaspringofclearwaterinthehillside,andnearitfootprintsnotmorethanadayortwoold.Inthedellitselftheyfoundrecenttracesofafire,andothersignsofahastycamp.Thereweresomefallenrocksontheedgeofthedellnearesttothehill.BehindthemSamcameuponasmallstoreoffirewoodneatlystacked.
‘IwonderifoldGandalfhasbeenhere,’hesaidtoPippin.‘Whoeveritwasputthisstuffheremeanttocomebackitseems.’
Striderwasgreatlyinterestedinthesediscoveries.‘IwishIhadwaitedandexploredthegrounddownheremyself,’hesaid,hurryingofftothespringtoexaminethefootprints.
‘ItisjustasIfeared,’hesaid,whenhecameback.‘SamandPippinhavetrampledthesoftground,andthemarksarespoiltorconfused.
