霍比特人：乘桶而逃 Barrels Out of Bond

BARRELS OUT OF BOND

乘桶而逃

The day after the battle with the spiders Bilbo and the dwarves made one last despairing effort to find a way out before they died of hunger and thirst. They got up and staggered on in the direction which eight out of the thirteen of them guessed to be the one in which the path lay; but they never found out if they were right. Such day as there ever was in the forest was fading once more into the blackness of night, when suddenly out sprang the light of many torches all round them, like hundreds of red stars. Out leaped Wood-elves with their bows and spears and called the dwarves to halt.

在与蜘蛛大战的第二天，比尔博和矮人们决定拼尽最后的力气，在饿死或渴死之前，再探一次出去的路。他们爬起身来，朝着以八票对五票被认定是小径的方向踉踉跄跄地前进，但是他们一直也没能发现自己是不是走对了。森林中一如既往的那种昏暗的白天又缓缓地蜕变成了漆黑的黑夜，然而正在此时，许多火把的光突然出现在他们周围，如同几百颗红色的星星。森林精灵们拿着弓箭和长矛跳了出来，命令矮人们停下。

There was no thought of a fight. Even if the dwarves had not been in such a state that they were actually glad to be captured, their small knives, the only weapons they had, would have been of no use against the arrows of the elves that could hit a bird’s eye in the dark. So they simply stopped dead and sat down and waited—all except Bilbo, who popped on his ring and slipped quickly to one side. That is why, when the elves bound the dwarves in a long line, one behind the other, and counted them, they never found or counted the hobbit.

他们根本就没想过要抵抗。即使矮人们不是身处这种筋疲力尽的状态，他们其实也很高兴被抓，因为，他们身上惟一的武器就是小刀，这和精灵们能在黑暗里射中小鸟眼睛的弓箭根本无法对抗。于是他们老老实实地停了下来，坐在地上等着——只有比尔博是例外，他飞快地戴上戒指，躲到了一边。也正是因为这样，当精灵们将矮人们绑成一长串，一个挨一个，整队清点的时候，他们没有发现，也没有点到霍比特人。

Nor did they hear or feel him trotting along well behind their torch-light as they led off their prisoners into the forest. Each dwarf was blindfold, but that did not make much difference, for even Bilbo with the use of his eyes could not see where they were going, and neither he nor the others knew where they had started from anyway. Bilbo had all he could do to keep up with the torches, for the elves were making the dwarves go as fast as ever they could, sick and weary as they were. The king had ordered them to make haste. Suddenly the torches stopped, and the hobbit had just time to catch them up before they began to cross the bridge. This was the bridge that led across the river to the king’s doors. The water flowed dark and swift and strong beneath; and at the far end were gates before the mouth of a huge cave that ran into the side of a steep slope covered with trees. There the great beeches came right down to the bank, till their feet were in the stream.

精灵们擎着火把，领着他们的俘虏在森林中行进，一点也没有听见或感到比尔博随着火光跟在他们的身后。每个矮人都被蒙住了眼睛，不过其实蒙不蒙也没什么两样，因为即使是睁着眼睛的比尔博也弄不清他们是在朝什么方向行走，况且，他和矮人们连出发地点的方位也还一无所知呢。比尔博使尽全力方能勉强跟着火把前进。矮人们虽然又病又累，但精灵们还是毫不客气地赶着他们用最快的速度前进，因为国王命令过他们要尽快赶回。突然，火把停了下来，霍比特人在他们开始过桥之前刚好赶上了他们。这就是越过宫殿门口河流的桥梁，桥下的水又黑又深又急，桥对面是几道门，门后是一个巨大洞穴的入口，洞穴直通向一面覆满苍翠树木的山坡。坡上的山毛榉一直延伸到河岸边，直到把树根伸进河水中。

Across the bridge the elves thrust their prisoners, but Bilbo hesitated in the rear. He did not at all like the look of the cavern-mouth, and he only made up his mind not to desert his friends just in time to scuttle over at the heels of the last elves, before the great gates of the king closed behind them with a clang.

精灵们推着俘虏走过桥，跟在后面的比尔博却迟疑了。他一点儿也不喜欢山洞洞口的样子。他在心中挣扎了好久，才决定不能抛下朋友们，并赶在最后一名精灵身后走进洞去。他刚一进洞，大门就当的一声关上了。

Inside the passages were lit with red torch-light, and the elf-guards sang as they marched along the twisting, crossing, and echoing paths. These were not like those of the goblin-cities; they were smaller, less deep underground, and filled with a cleaner air. In a great hall with pillars hewn out of the living stone sat the Elvenking on a chair of carven wood. On his head was a crown of berries and red leaves, for the autumn was come again. In the spring he wore a crown of woodland flowers. In his hand he held a carven staff of oak.

洞穴里的通道点着红红的火把，精灵卫兵们边走边唱，通道蜿蜒曲折，回响着卫兵们的歌声。这些通道和半兽人城市中的不同，比他们的要小，没有那么深入地下，空气也清新一些。精灵国王坐在大厅中，大厅的廊柱都是从石头中砍削出来的，国王的宝座是一把雕花的木椅。由于时序已来到秋天，所以国王头顶戴的是一顶野莓和红叶编成的王冠。在春天，他会戴由林中花朵编成的花冠。他手中拿着的是一根橡木雕成的权杖。

The Elvenking's Gate.

俘虏们被带到国王面前。

The prisoners were brought before him; and though he looked grimly at them, he told his men to unbind them, for they were ragged and weary. “Besides they need no ropes in here,” said he. “There is no escape from my magic doors for those who are once brought inside.”

虽然他板起脸来望着他们，但看见他们衣衫褴褛，身心疲惫，还是命令手下给他们松了绑。“反正在这里也不需要绳索，”他说，“人只要带了进来，就绝对无法从我的魔法大门逃脱。”

Long and searchingly he questioned the dwarves about their doings, and where they were going to, and where they were coming from; but he got little more news out of them than out of Thorin. They were surly and angry and did not even pretend to be polite.

他花了很长时间，仔仔细细地盘问了矮人们，问他们在做什么，要到哪儿去，又是从哪儿来的，不过并没有能得到多过从索林那里得来的信息。矮人们个个犟头倔脑、怒气冲冲，连面子上的礼貌都不想装。

“What have we done, O king?” said Balin, who was the eldest left. “Is it a crime to be lost in the forest, to be hungry and thirsty, to be trapped by spiders? Are the spiders your tame beasts or your pets, if killing them makes you angry?”

“国王啊，我们到底做了什么?”剩下这些人中最年长的巴林问道，“在森林中迷路，又饥又渴，还堕入了蜘蛛的陷阱，这难道犯了罪吗?这些蜘蛛难道是您豢养的野兽或宠物，杀死它们便触怒了您吗?”

Such a question of course made the king angrier than ever, and he answered: “It is a crime to wander in my realm without leave. Do you forget that you were in my kingdom, using the road that my people made? Did you not three times pursue and trouble my people in the forest and rouse the spiders with your riot and clamour? After all the disturbance you have made I have a right to know what brings you here, and if you will not tell me now, I will keep you all in prison until you have learned sense and manners!”

这样的质问当然使国王恼怒无比，他回答道：“未经许可在我的领地里闲逛就是犯了法。你难道忘记了，你们是在我的国度里，使用我的同胞所铺设的道路吗?你们难道不是三次在森林中追逐、骚扰我的同胞，并以你们的骚动与喧哗惊醒了森林中的蜘蛛吗?在你们惹下这么多麻烦之后，我自然有权知道你们的来意，如果你们现在不愿意说，我就把你们关进牢里，一直关到你们学会讲道理和礼貌为止!”

Then he ordered the dwarves each to be put in a separate cell and to be given food and drink, but not to be allowed to pass the doors of their little prisons, until one at least of them was willing to tell him all he wanted to know. But he did not tell them that Thorin was also a prisoner with him. It was Bilbo who found that out.

然后，他就命令将每个矮人都关进单独的牢房，给他们食物和饮水，但严禁他们走出牢门一步，直到他们之中至少有一个肯告诉他他想要知道的事情为止。不过，他并没有告诉众人索林也被他关了起来，这是稍后才由比尔博发现的。

Poor Mr. Baggins—it was a weary long time that he lived in that place all alone, and always in hiding, never daring to take off his ring, hardly daring to sleep, even tucked away in the darkest and remotest corners he could find. For something to do he took to wandering about the Elvenking’s palace. Magic shut the gates, but he could sometimes get out, if he was quick. Companies of the Wood-elves, sometimes with the king at their head, would from time to time ride out to hunt, or to other business in the woods and in the lands to the East. Then if Bilbo was very nimble, he could slip out just behind them; though it was a dangerous thing to do. More than once he was nearly caught in the doors, as they clashed together when the last elf passed; yet he did not dare to march among them because of his shadow (altogether thin and wobbly as it was in torchlight), or for fear of being bumped into and discovered. And when he did go out, which was not very often, he did no good. He did not wish to desert the dwarves, and indeed he did not know where in the world to go without them. He could not keep up with the hunting elves all the time they were out, so he never discovered the ways out of the wood, and was left to wander miserably in the forest, terrified of losing himself, until a chance came of returning. He was hungry too outside, for he was no hunter; but inside the caves he could pick up a living of some sort by stealing food from store or table when no one was at hand.

可怜的巴金斯先生——这可真是一段漫长而又难熬的时间啊!他独自一人住在那个洞穴中，躲躲藏藏,一直不敢拿下戒指，即使是躲在最黑暗、最偏远的角落时，也几乎不敢睡觉。为了打发时间，他开始在精灵国王的宫殿中到处转悠。大门虽然被魔法封锁了，但只要他速度够快，有时候还是能出得去的。大群的森林精灵，有时在国王的带领下，会骑马出去打猎，或是去森林中和东方的平原那里办事。只要比尔博身手够灵活，他可以跟在他们身后偷溜出去，尽管这是很危险的。不止一次，他差点在最后一名精灵走出去的时候被大门夹住。但他不敢走到精灵们中间，因为他的影子(虽然在火把照耀下显得很细，而且摇摆不定)会在光线下现形。而且，他也害怕因为被撞而遭发现。在不多几次的出门经验中，他也没有什么新发现。他不愿意舍弃这些矮人，事实上，如果没有他们，他也不知道该往何处去。他不可能徒步跟上狩猎的精灵，因此从来也没能找到离开森林的路。每当他偷溜出洞穴的时候，都只能孤苦无依地在森林里面来回转悠，担心会迷路，苦苦地守候回去的机会。他不会狩猎;因此在洞外只能挨饿，而在洞里倒还能趁人不注意，靠着从仓库或桌上偷来的食物维生。

“I am like a burglar that can’t get away, but must go on miserably burgling the same house day after day,” he thought. “This is the dreariest and dullest part of all this wretched, tiresome, uncomfortable adventure! I wish I was back in my hobbit-hole by my own warm fireside with the lamp shining!” He often wished, too, that he could get a message for help sent to the wizard, but that of course was quite impossible; and he soon realized that if anything was to be done, it would have to be done by Mr. Baggins, alone and unaided.

“我就像一名永远逃不走的飞贼，只能日复一日地在同一间屋子里面偷东西!”他想，“在这场倒霉、疲惫而又难过的冒险中，这真是最无聊、最难熬的一段了!我真希望能回到自己的霍比特洞府，坐在温暖的炉边，沐浴在油灯的光芒里!”他也经常希望能想办法给巫师送去求救的信息，但这当然是完全不可能的。他不久就意识到，如果必须要做点什么的话，只能靠巴金斯先生自己来做，而且是单枪匹马、独立无援地来做。

Eventually, after a week or two of this sneaking sort of life, by watching and following the guards and taking what chances he could, he managed to find out where each dwarf was kept. He found all their twelve cells in different parts of the palace, and after a time he got to know his way about very well. What was his surprise one day to overhear some of the guards talking and to learn that there was another dwarf in prison too, in a specially deep dark place. He guessed at once, of course, that that was Thorin; and after a while he found that his guess was right. At last after many difficulties he managed to find the place when no one was about, and to have a word with the chief of the dwarves.

最后，在过了一两个星期偷偷摸摸的日子之后，他通过对卫兵的监视与跟踪，利用一切能得到的机会，终于查出了所有矮人被囚禁的地方。他发现了位于宫殿中十二处不同地点的关押他们的牢房，而且在经过一段时间之后，也摸熟了整个宫殿的地形与方位。出乎他意料的是，有一天，他从偷听守卫之间的交谈发现，还有另外一个矮人被关在一处特别幽深、特别黑暗的牢房里，他当然立刻就猜到这个矮人是索林，而且不久就发现自己的猜测是正确的。最后，在经历了许多困难之后，他终于在四下无人的时候找到了那处地方，和矮人首领说上了话。

Thorin was too wretched to be angry any longer at his misfortunes, and was even beginning to think of telling the king all about his treasure and his quest (which shows how low-spirited he had become), when he heard Bilbo’s little voice at his keyhole. He could hardly believe his ears. Soon however he made up his mind that he could not be mistaken, and he came to the door and had a long whispered talk with the hobbit on the other side.

索林情绪沮丧，已经连对自己的不幸发怒的劲头儿都没有了，甚至已经开始考虑要把宝藏和探险的事对国王和盘托出了(由此可见他的情绪有多低落)，而就在这时，他从钥匙孔里听见了比尔博细小的声音。他简直不敢相信自己的耳朵，然而没过多久他就确定了自己没有弄错。他走到门口，用压低的声音与门另一边的霍比特人说了半天的话。

So it was that Bilbo was able to take secretly Thorin’s message to each of the other imprisoned dwarves, telling them that Thorin their chief was also in prison close at hand, and that no one was to reveal their errand to the king, not yet, nor before Thorin gave the word. For Thorin had taken heart again hearing how the hobbit had rescued his companions from the spiders, and was determined once more not to ransom himself with promises to the king of a share in the treasure, until all hope of escaping in any other way had disappeared; until in fact the remarkable Mr. Invisible Baggins (of whom he began to have a very high opinion indeed) had altogether failed to think of something clever.

比尔博秘密地把索林的讯息传递给了每个被单独囚禁的矮人，告诉他们索林也被囚禁在附近，叫大家不要把他们此行的目的告诉国王，而大家在索林的讯息传到之前，也没有一个人招供的。这是因为，索林在听了霍比特人是如何从蜘蛛手中救出他的伙伴之后，重新振作了起来，决定顶住压力，不靠许诺给国王分一份财宝来换取自己的自由，除非所有逃跑的希望都已破灭，或是了不起的隐形人巴金斯先生(此时他已经对霍比特人敬佩有加了)彻底想不出聪明的计划来了。

The other dwarves quite agreed when they got the message. They all thought their own shares in the treasure (which they quite regarded as theirs, in spite of their plight and the still unconquered dragon) would suffer seriously if the Wood-elves claimed part of it, and they all trusted Bilbo. Just what Gandalf had said would happen, you see. Perhaps that was part of his reason for going off and leaving them.

其他的矮人在接到讯息后都对此表示同意。他们都觉得，如果被森林精灵占去一部分的话，自己的那一份宝藏(虽然他们此时身处困境，而且还有恶龙等着要征服，但他们已经认定宝藏是属于自己的了)一定会大幅缩水，再说他们全都十分信任比尔博。瞧，甘道夫所预言的果然发生了吧!或许这也正是他离开他们的原因所在。

Bilbo, however, did not feel nearly so hopeful as they did. He did not like being depended on by everyone, and he wished he had the wizard at hand. But that was no use: probably all the dark distance of Mirkwood lay between them. He sat and thought and thought, until his head nearly burst, but no bright idea would come. One invisible ring was a very fine thing, but it was not much good among fourteen. But of course, as you have guessed, he did rescue his friends in the end, and this is how it happened.

比尔博呢，他一点儿也没有矮人们那样对未来充满希望。他并不喜欢被所有人倚赖的感觉，他希望巫师能在身边。不过，这样想是没用的，他们之间说不定隔了有一整片黑森林呢!他坐下来想了又想，脑袋都快想爆了也没想出什么好主意来。一枚隐形戒指的确是件不错的宝物，但要靠它救出十四个人就有点不够用了。不过话又说回来了，你们肯定已经猜到了，他最后肯定救出了所有的同伴。没错，下面就是他怎么办到的过程。

One day, nosing and wandering about, Bilbo discovered a very interesting thing: the great gates were not the only entrance to the caves. A stream flowed under part of the lowest regions of the palace, and joined the Forest River some way further to the east, beyond the steep slope out of which the main mouth opened. Where this underground watercourse came forth from the hillside there was a water-gate. There the rocky roof came down close to the surface of the stream, and from it a portcullis could be dropped right to the bed of the river to prevent anyone coming in or out that way. But the portcullis was often open, for a good deal of traffic went out and in by the water-gate. If anyone had come in that way, he would have found himself in a dark rough tunnel leading deep into the heart of the hill; but at one point where it passed under the caves the roof had been cut away and covered with great oaken trapdoors. These opened upwards into the king’s cellars. There stood barrels, and barrels, and barrels; for the Wood-elves, and especially their king, were very fond of wine, though no vines grew in those parts. The wine, and other goods, were brought from far away, from their kinsfolk in the South, or from the vineyards of Men in distant lands.

有一天，比尔博正在四处探看的时候，发现了一件非常有趣的事情：施了魔法的大门并非是洞穴的惟一入口。在宫殿地势最低的地方有一条河流流过，最后越过入口处的斜坡，在东方和密林河汇流，而在这道地下水流出洞穴的地方有个水门。那里的洞顶十分低矮，和水面挨得很近，在那儿装了可以直落河床的铁闸门，以防有任何人从这里进出宫殿。不过，这道铁闸门经常是开着的，因为这里是他们的交通要道。如果有任何人从这一边进来，他会发现自己身处在一段黑暗粗糙、直通地底的隧道。不过在隧道经过洞穴下方的某处，隧道的顶上被凿开，装了结实的橡木活板门，一直向上通到国王的酒窖，那里放的除了酒桶还是酒桶。因为森林精灵们，尤其是他们的国王非常喜欢喝葡萄酒，而他们住的这一地区没有种植任何葡萄，葡萄酒和其他的货物，都是从很远的地方运来的，来自他们南方的同胞，或是遥远平原上的人类酒庄。

Hiding behind one of the largest barrels Bilbo discovered the trapdoors and their use, and lurking there, listening to the talk of the king’s servants, he learned how the wine and other goods came up the rivers, or over land, to the Long Lake. It seemed a town of Men still throve there, built out on bridges far into the water as a protection against enemies of all sorts, and especially against the dragon of the Mountain. From Lake-town the barrels were brought up the Forest River. Often they were just tied together like big rafts and poled or rowed up the stream; sometimes they were loaded on to flat boats.

比尔博躲在一个最大号的桶后面，发现了这些活板门的存在和它们的用处。从国王仆人们之间的交谈，他知道了葡萄酒等货物，都是从长湖沿着河流逆流而上或是走陆路运过来的。听起来，那里还有一座相当繁华的人类城镇，这座城镇建在湖中，靠着桥梁对外交通，以此保护小镇免受各种敌人(尤其是来自山中的恶龙)的攻击。这些桶子就是从长湖沿着密林河运上来的。这些桶子常常被绑在一起组成大木筏，用篙或桨划上来;有时则装在平底船上运来。

When the barrels were empty the elves cast them through the trapdoors, opened the water-gate, and out the barrels floated on the stream, bobbing along, until they were carried by the current to a place far down the river where the bank jutted out, near to the very eastern edge of Mirkwood. There they were collected and tied together and floated back to Lake-town, which stood close to the point where the Forest River flowed into the Long Lake.

等桶子卸空以后，精灵们会将其从活板门丢下来，打开水门，桶子就会浮在水面上，沿河水一直流到下游一个河岸突出之处，靠近黑森林的最东缘。那里，有人会把桶子收拢，将它们绑到一起，漂回湖心小镇，即靠近密林河流入长湖的入口。

For some time Bilbo sat and thought about this water-gate, and wondered if it could be used for the escape of his friends, and at last he had the desperate beginnings of a plan.

比尔博坐在地上，盘算着这道水门是否能用来供他的朋友们逃脱。最后，他脑子里渐渐有了一个铤而走险的计策的雏形。

The evening meal had been taken to the prisoners. The guards were tramping away down the passages taking the torchlight with them and leaving everything in darkness. Then Bilbo heard the king’s butler bidding the chief of the guards good-night.

晚餐已经送到了囚犯们那里，守卫们沿着隧道离开，把火把的光芒也一起带走，把一切都重新抛回到黑暗中。比尔博听见国王的总管在向守卫队长道晚安。

“Now come with me,” he said, “and taste the new wine that has just come in. I shall be hard at work tonight clearing the cellars of the empty wood, so let us have a drink first to help the labour.”

“跟我来吧，”他说，“尝尝刚送来的新酒。今天晚上我有得忙了，要把酒窖里的空木桶都清理掉，所以我们俩先喝一杯，好有力气干活儿。”

“Very good,” laughed the chief of the guards. “I’ll taste with you, and see if it is fit for the king’s table. There is a feast tonight and it would not do to send up poor stuff!”

“好嘞!”守卫队长笑着答应道，“我和你一起去尝尝，看看这酒够不够格上国王的餐桌。今晚上有场宴会，要是送上的是烂酒可不行!”

When he heard this Bilbo was all in a flutter, for he saw that luck was with him and he had a chance at once to try his desperate plan. He followed the two elves, until they entered a small cellar and sat down at a table on which two large flagons were set. Soon they began to drink and laugh merrily. Luck of an unusual kind was with Bilbo then. It must be potent wine to make a wood-elf drowsy; but this wine, it would seem, was the heady vintage of the great gardens of Dorwinion, not meant for his soldiers or his servants, but for the king’s feasts only, and for smaller bowls not for the butler’s great flagons.

闻听此言，比尔博不由得心头一阵猛跳，因为他发现好运果然还是跟着他的，他马上就有机会来试一试他那个铤而走险的计划了。他跟着这两名精灵，看到他们走进一个地窖，在桌边坐了下来，桌上放着两个大杯子。很快，两个人就有说有笑地喝起酒来。当时跟着比尔博的运气还不是一般的好，因为只有非常有劲的酒才能够让森林精灵喝醉，而这桶酒看来是产自多温尼安大酒庄的葡萄酒，很容易上头，不是平常给仆人和士兵喝的淡酒，而是专供国王宴会上用的，需用小杯啜饮，不能用总管的大杯牛饮。

Very soon the chief guard nodded his head, then he laid it on the table and fell fast asleep. The butler went on talking and laughing to himself for a while without seeming to notice, but soon his head too nodded to the table, and he fell asleep and snored beside his friend. Then in crept the hobbit. Very soon the chief guard had no keys, but Bilbo was trotting as fast as he could along the passages towards the cells. The great bunch seemed very heavy to his arms, and his heart was often in his mouth, in spite of his ring, for he could not prevent the keys from making every now and then a loud clink and clank, which put him all in a tremble.

没过多久，守卫队长就开始耷头耷脑了，最后趴在桌上睡死过去了。总管根本没注意到对方，继续在那里说着笑着，但不久他的脑袋也聋拉到了桌上，后来他也睡着了，靠在他朋友身边打起鼾来。霍比特人悄悄溜了进去，队长身上的钥匙立刻就到了他手里，比尔博沿着过道飞快地朝各处牢房奔去。这一大堆钥匙坠得他胳膊沉甸甸的，即使比尔博戴着戒指，他还是感到提心吊胆的，因为钥匙时不时地会不可避免地互相撞击，发出“叮铃当啷”的声响，每次都把比尔博吓得浑身一震。

First he unlocked Balin’s door, and locked it again carefully as soon as the dwarf was outside. Balin was most surprised, as you can imagine; but glad as he was to get out of his wearisome little stone room, he wanted to stop and ask questions, and know what Bilbo was going to do, and all about it.

他首先打开了巴林的门，等矮人一出来，他又小心翼翼地把门重新锁好。巴林有多吃惊你完全可以想像得到，但得以离开狭小而又令人厌倦的石牢让他很是高兴。他想要停下来问些问题，了解一下比尔博想做什么，以及整个的计划。

“No time now!” said the hobbit. “You just follow me! We must all keep together and not risk getting separated. All of us must escape or none, and this is our last chance. If this is found out, goodness knows where the king will put you next, with chains on your hands and feet too, I expect. Don’t argue, there’s a good fellow!”

“现在没时间!”霍比特人说，“你只管跟着我就行了!我们一定要集合在一起，绝对不能冒险分散。要么不走，要走就得大家一起逃出去，这是我们最后的机会了。如果我们被发现了，天知道国王接下来会把你们关到哪里去，而且我估计还得给你们戴上手铐脚镣。别争了，听话!”

Then off he went from door to door, until his following had grown to twelve—none of them any too nimble, what with the dark, and what with their long imprisonment. Bilbo’s heart thumped every time one of them bumped into another, or grunted or whispered in the dark. “Drat this dwarvish racket!” he said to himself. But all went well, and they met no guards. As a matter of fact there was a great autumn feast in the woods that night, and in the halls above. Nearly all the king’s folk were merrymaking.

然后，他就一个接一个地把伙伴们救了出来，最后，他的身后聚齐了十二个人——大家的动作都有点木，那是因为他们置身黑暗，长期处于监禁之中。每当他们之中有人在黑暗中撞到了别人，或是咕哝和小声说话，比尔博的心就评评直跳。“这些爱吵吵的死矮人!”他自言自语道。不过一切进行顺利，一路上没有遇到任何守卫。事实上，那天晚上在外面的森林和上面的大厅里都在举行盛大的宴会，国王几乎所有的手下都在饮酒作乐。

At last after much blundering they came to Thorin’s dungeon, far down in a deep place and fortunately not far from the cellars.

踉踉跄跄地走了好一阵之后，他们终于来到了索林的牢房，它位于宫殿的最深处，幸好离酒窖还不算太远。

“Upon my word!” said Thorin, when Bilbo whispered to him to come out and join his friends, “Gandalf spoke true, as usual! A pretty fine burglar you make, it seems, when the time comes. I am sure we are all for ever at your service, whatever happens after this. But what comes next?”

“真的!”当比尔博低声请他离开牢房与伙伴们会合时，索林说，“甘道夫果然又说对了，在时机到来的时候，你的确成为了一个出色的飞贼。不管今后会发生什么事，我们永远都会乐意为你效劳的。接下来要怎么做?”

Bilbo saw that the time had come to explain his idea, as far as he could; but he did not feel at all sure how the dwarves would take it. His fears were quite justified, for they did not like it a bit, and started grumbling loudly in spite of their danger.

比尔博认为到了该向大家说明计划的时候了，但他吃不准矮人们是否能接受这个计划。他的担心不是没有道理的，矮人们果然一点也不喜欢这个计划，开始大声抱怨起来，也不管此刻正身处险地。

“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 managed to get hold of the keys. This is a mad idea!”

“我们一定会碰撞得全身散架，还会淹死，一定的!”他们嘀咕道，“看你拿到了钥匙，我们还以为你想出了理智的计划来呢。这个主意实在太疯狂了!”

“Very well!” said Bilbo very downcast, and also rather annoyed. “Come along back to your nice cells, and I will lock you all in again, and you can sit there comfortably and think of a better plan—but I don’t suppose I shall ever get hold of the keys again, even if I feel inclined to try.”

“好吧!”比尔博觉得非常丧气和恼怒，“全都给我回到你们舒适的牢房里去吧，我会替你们锁上门，你们就舒舒服服地坐在那里，慢慢想一个更好的计划吧——不过我觉得我可不一定能再拿到钥匙了，就算我还愿意再尝试的话。”

That was too much for them, and they calmed down. In the end, of course, they had to do just what Bilbo suggested, because it was obviously impossible for them to try and find their way into the upper halls, or to fight their way out of gates that closed by magic; and it was no good grumbling in the passages until they were caught again. So following the hobbit, down into the lowest cellars they crept. They passed a door through which the chief guard and the butler could be seen still happily snoring with smiles upon their faces. The wine of Dorwinion brings deep and pleasant dreams. There would be a different expression on the face of the chief guard next day, even though Bilbo, before they went on, stole in and kind-heartedly put the keys back on his belt.

这可是他们所不能接受的，因此他们全都冷静了下来。最后，他们当然还是只能遵照比尔博的建议去做，因为要想从上面的宫殿里逃脱显然是不可能的，从用魔法封印的大门杀出去也不可能。在通道里抱怨个不停，然后被人再抓回去，这对谁都没好处。所以，他们就跟着霍比特人，悄悄地潜入最底下的酒窖。他们经过一扇门，从门缝朝里看去，依旧可以看见总管和队长挂着微笑，开心地打着鼾熟睡着。多温尼安的葡萄酒给他们带来了深深的好梦。不过估计守卫队长的脸上到了第二天就会挂上截然不同的表情了，尽管比尔博在离开之前好心地偷溜回去，把钥匙挂回了队长的腰带。

“That will save him some of the trouble he is in for,” said Mr. Baggins to himself. “He wasn’t a bad fellow, and quite decent to the prisoners. It will puzzle them all too. They will think we had a very strong magic to pass through all those locked doors and disappear. Disappear! We have got to get busy very quick, if that is to happen!”

“这至少会让他陷入的麻烦稍微减少一些。”巴金斯先生自言自语道，“他不是个坏人，对囚犯也很过得去。这会让他们摸不着头脑的。他们会以为我们拥有极强的魔法，能够穿过那些紧锁的大门而消失。消失!要真想消失的话，我们可必须要加紧了!”

Balin was told off to watch the guard and the butler and give warning if they stirred. The rest went into the adjoining cellar with the trapdoors. There was little time to lose. Before long, as Bilbo knew, some elves were under orders to come down and help the butler get the empty barrels through the doors into the stream. These were in fact already standing in rows in the middle of the floor waiting to be pushed off. Some of them were wine-barrels, and these were not much use, as they could not easily be opened at the end without a deal of noise, nor could they easily be secured again. But among them were several others, which had been used for bringing other stuffs, butter, apples, and all sorts of things, to the king’s palace.

巴林被安排盯着守卫队长和总管，如果对方醒过来了，就向大家发出警报。其他人则进入装有活板门的酒窖内。时间非常紧，比尔博知道，过不了多久就会有精灵奉命下来，协助总管把空木桶通过活板门丢入河水中。这些木桶其实已经排成排放在了地板中央，就等人来将它们推下去了。有些桶是装葡萄酒的，这些桶没多大用处，因为要想从两头打开的话非得折腾上半天，还得弄出很大的响动，而且也很难再关上。不过，这些桶当中还有一些是用来装运送往王宫的其他货物的，比如奶油、苹果之类的。

They soon found thirteen with room enough for a dwarf in each. In fact some were too roomy, and as they climbed in the dwarves thought anxiously of the shaking and the bumping they would get inside, though Bilbo did his best to find straw and other stuff to pack them in as cosily as could be managed in a short time. At last twelve dwarves were stowed. Thorin had given a lot of trouble, and turned and twisted in his tub and grumbled like a large dog in a small kennel; while Balin, who came last, made a great fuss about his air-holes and said he was stifling, even before his lid was on. Bilbo had done what he could to close holes in the sides of the barrels, and to fix on all the lids as safely as could be managed, and now he was left alone again, running round putting the finishing touches to the packing, and hoping against hope that his plan would come off.

他们很快就找到了十三个能装得下矮人的木桶。事实上，有些桶还稍嫌大了些，矮人们爬进去之后就开始担心接下来要承受的晃荡与撞击。因此，比尔博还费尽心思找来了稻草之类的东西填进去，让他们在短时间里尽可能的舒服一点。最后，十二名矮人都装进了桶里。索林的麻烦最多，他在木桶里扭来转去，抱怨个不停，就像是被关在小笼子里面的大狗。最后一个进来的巴林为通风孔的事烦了半天，盖子都还没关上，就开始说他透不过气来了。比尔博尽自己所能地帮大家塞好木桶边上的洞，确保所有的盖子安全地盖紧。现在他又只有一个人了，跑过来跑过去地进行着扫尾工作，希望自己的计划能够成功实施。

It had not been done a bit too soon. Only a minute or two after Balin’s lid had been fitted on there came the sound of voices and the flicker of lights. A number of elves came laughing and talking into the cellars and singing snatches of song. They had left a merry feast in one of the halls and were bent on returning as soon as they could.

他的工作完成得刚好及时。在巴林的盖子盖上仅仅一两分钟之后，就传来了精灵们的说话声和火把的光芒。几个精灵说笑着走进酒窖，哼着断断续续的歌。他们是从上面的欢宴中走出来的，一心想着要快点回去。

“Where’s old Galion, the butler?” said one. “I haven’t seen him at the tables tonight. He ought to be here now to show us what is to be done.”

“总管老加理安到哪儿去了?”一个人说，“今晚我没在餐桌上看到他。他应该到这儿来指点我们该干些什么才对。”

“I shall be angry if the old slowcoach is late,” said another. “I have no wish to waste time down here while the song is up!”

“如果那个老磨蹭鬼迟到的话，我可要生气的。”另一个人说，“我可不想在歌儿唱得欢的时候，跑到下边来浪费时间!”

“Ha, ha!” came a cry. “Here’s the old villain with his head on a jug! He’s been having a little feast all to himself and his friend the captain.”

“哈哈!”有人大喊道，“老混蛋在这儿呢，枕着酒壶睡着啦!看来他和他的朋友队长两个在这儿举办自己的小宴会呢。”

“Shake him! Wake him!” shouted the others impatiently.

“摇他!把他弄醒!”其他人不耐烦地喊道。

Galion was not at all pleased at being shaken or wakened, and still less at being laughed at. “You’re all late,” he grumbled. “Here am I waiting and waiting down here, while you fellows drink and make merry and forget your tasks. Small wonder if I fall asleep from weariness!”

被摇醒的加理安很不高兴，而被人嘲笑更是让他受不了。“你们都来迟了，”他嘀咕着，“我在这边等了又等，你们在上面又吃又喝，只顾玩乐，把要干的活儿都给忘了，我因为太累而睡着了，这不是很正常吗!”“正常，”他们调侃道，“看你手边有个酒杯就知道有多正常了!在我们开始干活儿之前让我们也尝尝那让你睡着的东西吧!不用叫醒那边的那个看守啦，看他那样子，准是也喝了不少。”

“Small wonder,” said they, “when the explanation stands close at hand in a jug! Come give us a taste of your sleeping-draught before we fall to! No need to wake the turnkey yonder. He has had his share by the looks of it.” Then they drank once round and became mighty merry all of a sudden. But they did not quite lose their wits. “Save us, Galion!” cried some, “you began your feasting early and muddled your wits! You have stacked some full casks here instead of the empty ones, if there is anything in weight.”

于是他们全都喝了一轮，情绪也突然变得高亢起来。不过，他们还没醉到失去理智的程度。“拜托啊，加理安!”有些人大喊道，“你大概早就开始喝了吧，都喝糊涂了!你怎么把满桶当成空桶给堆在这儿啦，这么沉。”

“Get on with the work!” growled the butler. “There is nothing in the feeling of weight in an idle toss-pot’s arms. These are the ones to go and no others. Do as I say!”

“老老实实给我干!”总管吼道，“爱偷懒的醉鬼搬什么都觉得重。就是这些木桶，不会有错的，照我说的做!”

“Very well, very well,” they answered rolling the barrels to the opening. “On your head be it, if the king’s full buttertubs and his best wine is pushed into the river for the Lake-men to feast on for nothing!”

“好吧，好吧，”他们边说边把木桶滚进活板门的开口，“如果国王装黄油的满桶和他最好的酒都给推到了河里，让那些住在湖里的人不花钱就能美餐，国王怪罪下来，反正掉的是你的脑袋!”

Roll—roll—roll—roll,

滚——滚——滚——滚，

roll-roll-rolling down the hole!

桶子往洞里滚!

Heave ho! Splash plump!

用力推!扑通掉!

Down they go, down they bump!

掉下水，沿河一路往下跑!

So they sang as first one barrel and then another rumbled to the dark opening and was pushed over into the cold water some feet below. Some were barrels really empty, some were tubs neatly packed with a dwarf each; but down they all went, one after another, with many a clash and a bump, thudding on top of ones below, smacking into the water, jostling against the walls of the tunnel, knocking into one another, and bobbing away down the current.

随着他们的歌声，第一个桶，接着又是一个桶滚过活板门，掉进了几呎下面冰冷的水中。有些木桶真是空的，而有些则巧妙地装了矮人。它们全都一个接一个地落到下面，发出扑通扑通的声音，砸出一朵朵的水花，掉落到水里，与隧道的壁碰擦着，彼此撞击着，顺着水流上下起伏着朝下游漂去。

It was just at this moment that Bilbo suddenly discovered the weak point in his plan. Most likely you saw it some time ago and have been laughing at him; but I don’t suppose you would have done half as well yourselves in his place. Of course he was not in a barrel himself, nor was there anyone to pack him in, even if there had been a chance! It looked as if he would certainly lose his friends this time (nearly all of them had already disappeared through the dark trap-door), and get utterly left behind and have to stay lurking as a permanent burglar in the elf-caves for ever. For even if he could have escaped through the upper gates at once, he had precious small chance of ever finding the dwarves again. He did not know the way by land to the place where the barrels were collected. He wondered what on earth would happen to them without him; for he had not had time to tell the dwarves all that he had learned, or what he had meant to do, once they were out of the wood.

就在此时，比尔博突然发现了自己计划中的缺陷。大家很可能在更早一点之前就已经发现了，并且一直在笑他，不过，如果大家换到他的处境，只怕还做不到他一半那么好。这个缺陷就是他自己不在桶里，而且即使有机会，也没有人来把他装进桶里去。看来这次他真的要失去所有的朋友了(大部分的木桶已经穿过漆黑的活板门消失了)，他被孤零零地撇了下来，以后只能东躲西藏，成为精灵洞穴中永远的飞贼。即使他现在能够马上从大门逃出去，再找到矮人们的机会也十分渺茫。他不知道要怎样才能从陆路前往收集桶子的地方，也不知道这些家伙少了他之后会发生什么样的事情厄运，因为他还没来得及告诉矮人们他所发现的情报，以及等他们出了森林之后他计划要做的事。

While all these thoughts were passing through his mind, the elves being very merry began to sing a song round the river-door. Some had already gone to haul on the ropes which pulled up the portcullis at the water-gate so as to let out the barrels as soon as they were all afloat below.

在所有这些想法闪过他脑际时，心情愉快的精灵们已经来到了通往河水的门边，开始唱起歌来。早就有人拉起了水门的铁闸，好让木桶漂下来的时候直接出洞。

Down the swift dark stream you go

朝着那片曾经熟悉的土地

Back to lands you once did know!

沿着湍急的黑水一路漂!

Leave the halls and caverns deep,

离开深山中的厅堂和洞穴，

Leave the northern mountains steep,

离开北方的山脉陡如刀削，

Where the forest wide and dim

那里的森林宽广昏晦，

Stoops in shadow grey and grim!

整曰被阴冷的暗影笼罩!

Float beyond the world of trees

漂啊漂，漂过树的世界，

Out into the whispering breeze,

漂进微风，听它低声絮叨，

Past the rushes, past the reeds,

越过灯芯草，越过芦苇，

Past the marsh’s waving weeds,

越过湿地中摇曳的野草，

Through the mist that riseth white

穿过迷离的白雾，

Up from mere and pool at night!

升起自那夜晚的池沼!

Follow, follow stars that leap

紧紧跟随那跃上天际的星辰，

Up the heavens cold and steep;

夜空如此清冷，如此陡峭;

Turn when dawn comes over land,

在曙色降临大地时转弯，

Over rapid, over sand,

越过急流，再把沙洲身后抛，

South away! and South away!

一路向南，一路向南!

Seek the sunlight and the day,

要把太阳和白昼来寻找，

Back to pasture, back to mead,

回到牧场，回到绿原，

Where the kine and oxen feed!

去看牛群安详地吃草!

Back to gardens on the hills

回到山坡上的花园，

Where the berry swells and fills

浆果正在膨胀，把浆汁灌饱，

Under sunlight, under day!

可爱的阳光啊，可爱的白昼，

South away! and South away!

我们向着南方漂，向着南方漂!

Down the swift dark stream you go

朝着那片曾经熟悉的土地

Back to lands you once did know!

沿着湍急的黑水一路漂!

Now the very last barrel was being rolled to the doors! In despair and not knowing what else to do, poor little Bilbo caught hold of it and was pushed over the edge with it. Down into the water he fell, splash! into the cold dark water with the barrel on top of him.

现在，最后一个桶也已经滚到活板门口!可怜的比尔博在绝望和无奈之下抓住了木桶，和木桶一起被推下了活板门。扑通一声，他掉进了冰冷而又黑暗的水中，木桶一转，变成压在了他身上。

He came up again spluttering and clinging to the wood like a rat, but for all his efforts he could not scramble on top. Every time he tried, the barrel rolled round and ducked him under again. It was really empty, and floated light as a cork. Though his ears were full of water, he could hear the elves still singing in the cellar above. Then suddenly the trap-doors fell to with a boom and their voices faded away. He was in the dark tunnel floating in icy water, all alone—for you cannot count friends that are all packed up in barrels.

一通折腾后他又冒出头来，像老鼠一样攀住了木桶，可不管他怎么努力，就是无法爬到桶上面去。每次他刚一开始用力，木桶就滚动起来，又把他压到了水里。这只桶真的是空的，因此像只软木塞一样浮在水面上。虽然他的耳朵里都是水，但还是可以听见精灵们在上面的酒窖中唱着歌。接着，那门轰的一声朝下打开，歌声随即消失。他置身黑暗的隧道之中，漂浮在冰冷的河水中，孤单单的一个人——之所以没把他的朋友们算在内，是因为他们全都是待在桶里的，比他要好过许多。

Very soon a grey patch came in the darkness ahead. He heard the creak of the water-gate being hauled up, and he found that he was in the midst of a bobbing and bumping mass of casks and tubs all pressing together to pass under the arch and get out into the open stream. He had as much as he could do to prevent himself from being hustled and battered to bits; but at last the jostling crowd began to break up and swing off, one by one, under the stony arch and away. Then he saw that it would have been no good even if he had managed to get astride his barrel, for there was no room to spare, not even for a hobbit, between its top and the suddenly stooping roof where the gate was.

不久，前方的黑暗中出现了一块灰色的亮光，他听见水门吱吱嘎嘎升起的声音，同时也发现自己正身处在一大堆翻滚跳跃着的各式木桶之间，这些木桶挤在一起，要经过出口处的拱形门，这样才能来到外面露天的河面上。他竭尽全力地躲闪着，不让自己被这些桶给撞成碎片。但到最后，拥挤的一大堆开始散开，一个一个地经过石头拱门朝外漂去。这时，他才发现，即使自己刚刚爬上了木桶也只是白费力气，因为隧道的高度到了拱门处突然降得很低，在它和木桶的顶端之间根本没有多少空间，哪怕是身材瘦小的霍比特人也过不去。

Out they went under the overhanging branches of the trees on either bank. Bilbo wondered what the dwarves were feeling and whether a lot of water was getting into their tubs. Some of those that bobbed along by him in the gloom seemed pretty low in the water, and he guessed that these had dwarves inside.

出了拱门之后，他们在两岸低拂的树枝底下漂流。比尔博不知道其他的矮人此刻感觉如何，是不是有很多水渗进他们的木桶里头?有些漂近他身边的木桶看来吃水相当深，他猜这多半是装着矮人的桶。

“I do hope I put the lids on tight enough!” he thought, but before long he was worrying too much about himself to remember the dwarves. He managed to keep his head above the water, but he was shivering with the cold, and he wondered if he would die of it before the luck turned, and how much longer he would be able to hang on, and whether he should risk the chance of letting go and trying to swim to the bank.

“希望我把盖子盖得够牢!”他想，但不久之后，他就自身难保，没空再去顾及这些矮人了。他勉强把头保持在水面上，但冰凉的河水让他全身发抖。他不知道在运气转好之前自己是否就会被冻死，自己还能像这样再支撑多久，又应不应该冒险放掉木桶，然后游到岸上去。

The luck turned all right before long: the eddying current carried several barrels close ashore at one point and there for a while they stuck against some hidden root. Then Bilbo took the opportunity of scrambling up the side of his barrel while it was held steady against another. Up he crawled like a drowned rat, and lay on the top spread out to keep the balance as best he could. The breeze was cold but better than the water, and he hoped he would not suddenly roll off again when they started off once more.

运气没过多久就转好了：打着旋的水流在某个点上把几个木桶冲到靠近岸边的地方，有那么一会儿它们被藏在水下的树根给抵住了。这时，比尔博瞅准机会，趁着木桶互相顶在一起比较稳定的时候，爬到了木桶上面。他浑身湿透地趴在桶上，手脚伸开，尽力保持着平衡。微风虽然也有点凛冽，但总比河水好多了。他希望自己在木桶重新开始航程的时候，不会突然又滚下去。

Before long the barrels broke free again and turned and twisted off down the stream, and out into the main current. Then he found it quite as difficult to stick on as he had feared; but he managed it somehow, though it was miserably uncomfortable. Luckily he was very light, and the barrel was a good big one and being rather leaky had now shipped a small amount of water. All the same it was like trying to ride, without bridle or stirrups, a round-bellied pony that was always thinking of rolling on the grass.

不一会儿，木桶相互散开，打了几个转以后，又开始沿河而下，并且进入了主流之中。这时比尔博发现，要保持身体的平衡果然和他所想的一样困难，但他还是勉强办到了，只是身体姿势相当不舒服。幸运的是，他身体很轻，而木桶也够大，再加上有点漏，里面已经装了一点水，因此重心还算稳。这种感觉就像是在骑一匹没有马鞍和马镫又肚皮滚圆的小马，而小马还时时刻刻想要在草地上打滚儿。

In this way at last Mr. Baggins came to a place where the trees on either hand grew thinner. He could see the paler sky between them. The dark river opened suddenly wide, and there it was joined to the main water of the Forest River flowing down in haste from the king’s great doors. There was a dim sheet of water no longer overshadowed, and on its sliding surface there were dancing and broken reflections of clouds and of stars. Then the hurrying water of the Forest River swept all the company of casks and tubs away to the north bank, in which it had eaten out a wide bay. This had a shingly shore under hanging banks and was walled at the eastern end by a little jutting cape of hard rock. On the shallow shore most of the barrels ran aground, though a few went on to bump against the stony pier.

就这样，巴金斯先生终于来到了一处两旁树木都比较稀疏的地方，他看见树木之间的天空比在森林里时要苍白了许多，黑暗的河流突然间变得开阔了，并且和国王洞穴大门前流出的密林河交汇到了一起。这里的河面虽然还有点黯淡，但已经不再为阴影所笼罩，光滑的水面上居然跃动着云朵和星光残缺的倒影。然后，密林河的急流又将所有木桶冲到了北岸，在那里有一整片冲积出来的沙洲，东边则是由一整块岩石作为屏障，阻挡了河水的流动。大部分木桶都被冲上了这个沙滩，只有几只继续向着巨岩撞去。

There were people on the look-out on the banks. They quickly poled and pushed all the barrels together into the shallows, and when they had counted them they roped them together and left them till the morning. Poor dwarves! Bilbo was not badly off now. He slipped from his barrel and waded ashore, and then sneaked along to some huts that he could see near the water’s edge. He no longer thought twice about picking up a supper uninvited if he got the chance, he had been obliged to do it for so long, and he knew now only too well what it was to be really hungry, not merely politely interested in the dainties of a well-filled larder. Also he had caught a glimpse of a fire through the trees, and that appealed to him with his dripping and ragged clothes clinging to him cold and clammy.

两边岸上都有人在守望，他们很快用杆子将木桶收拢到一处，点完数后用绳子扎起来，然后等明天早上再来处理。可怜的矮人们啊!比尔博现在的境况已经比之前好多了。他从木桶上溜下来，涉水来到岸上，又偷偷来到了岸边的屋子，那是他在水边就能看到的。只要有机会，他会毫不犹豫、不邀自来地吃上一顿晚餐。他处于这种难以忍受的状态已经很久了，彻底地领教了饥饿的滋味。所以现在的他已是饥不择食，不会对食品储藏室中装得满满的美味仅仅表示出礼貌的兴趣。透过一片小树林他还发现了一堆营火，这对于穿着破衣烂衫，浑身湿答答的他来说，真是十分诱人。

There is no need to tell you much of his adventures that night, for now we are drawing near the end of the eastward journey and coming to the last and greatest adventure, so we must hurry on. Of course helped by his magic ring he got on very well at first, but he was given away in the end by his wet footsteps and the trail of drippings that he left wherever he went or sat; and also he began to snivel, and wherever he tried to hide he was found out by the terrific explosions of his suppressed sneezes. Very soon there was a fine commotion in the village by the riverside; but Bilbo escaped into the woods carrying a loaf and a leather bottle of wine and a pie that did not belong to him. The rest of the night he had to pass wet as he was and far from a fire, but the bottle helped him to do that, and he actually dozed a little on some dry leaves, even though the year was getting late and the air was chilly.

这里就不需要再跟大家详细描述他当晚的经历了，因为东行的旅程已经接近尾声，冒险来到了最后也是最刺激的部分，所以我们必须加快一点讲故事的进度才行。当然，凭着戒指的帮助，他一开始进展顺利，但到了最后，由于他无论走到哪里或坐在哪里都会留下水滴和湿湿的脚印，所以他被这些印迹给出卖了。何况他又开始打喷嚏了，不管他躲到哪里，最后都会因为他那捂着的喷嚏声像爆炸一样响而被人发现。很快，这座河边的村庄就陷入了一场骚动，不过，比尔博还是带着不属于他的一条面包、一皮囊的酒和一个派逃进了森林。在夜晚剩下的时间里，他都无法再靠近任何火堆，只能湿答答地度过，不过那瓶酒帮他渡过了难关。事实上，他那晚还躺在一些干树叶上打了个瞌睡呢，尽管季节已经快来到了冬季，晚上的天气已经颇有些寒意了。

He woke again with a specially loud sneeze. It was already grey morning, and there was a merry racket down by the river. They were making up a raft of barrels, and the raft-elves would soon be steering it off down the stream to Lake-town. Bilbo sneezed again. He was no longer dripping but he felt cold all over. He scrambled down as fast as his stiff legs would take him and managed just in time to get on to the mass of casks without being noticed in the general bustle. Luckily there was no sun at the time to cast an awkward shadow, and for a mercy he did not sneeze again for a good while.

他醒过来的时候打了个超大的喷嚏。天色已经蒙蒙亮了，河边已经人声嘈杂起来。精灵们开始将木桶整理好，扎成木筏，而木筏精灵马上就会驾着它们顺流而下前往湖中的城镇。比尔博又打了个喷嚏。他身上不再湿答答了，但他觉得浑身发冷。他用冻僵的双脚拼命地奔跑，总算在出发前的一团混乱中，神不知鬼不觉地混上了木筏。所幸的是当时还没有什么太阳，不会在他身后拖下一道尴尬的影子，而且老天可怜他，让他有好一会儿没有再打喷嚏。

There was a mighty pushing of poles. The elves that were standing in the shallow water heaved and shoved. The barrels now all lashed together creaked and fretted.

站在木筏上的精灵用长篙使劲撑着，而站在浅水中的精灵们则有的推有的拽，将木筏推离岸边。木桶现在全都被捆扎在一起，磨来蹭去，吱嘎作响。

“This is a heavy load!” some grumbled. “They float too deep—some of these are never empty. If they had come ashore in the daylight, we might have had a look inside,” they said.

“这次的木筏可真重啊!”有人抱怨道，“它们吃水太深了，有些木桶肯定不是空的。如果是白天漂过来的话，我们说不定还能有空打开看看。”他们说。

“No time now!” cried the raftman. “Shove off!”

“现在反正没时间啦!”撑篙的人说，“快推吧!”

And off they went at last, slowly at first, until they had passed the point of rock where other elves stood to fend them off with poles, and then quicker and quicker as they caught the main stream and went sailing away down, down towards the Lake.

木筏终于漂离了岸边，一开始很慢，直到来到那块巨岩旁，站在那里的精灵们用长竿将木筏推开，然后木筏就进入了主航道，越走越快，向着河下游的长湖漂去。

They had escaped the dungeons of the king and were through the wood, but whether alive or dead still remains to be seen.

他们终于逃出了国王的地牢，也走出了森林，但他们的生死究竟如何，还得接着往下看才能知道。