霍比特人：不在家 Not at Home

NOT AT HOME

不在家

In the meanwhile, the dwarves sat in darkness, and utter silence fell about them. Little they ate and little they spoke. They could not count the passing of time; and they scarcely dared to move, for the whisper of their voices echoed and rustled in the tunnel. If they dozed, they woke still to darkness and to silence going on unbroken. At last after days and days of waiting, as it seemed, when they were becoming choked and dazed for want of air, they could bear it no longer. They would almost have welcomed sounds from below of the dragon’s return. In the silence they feared some cunning devilry of his, but they could not sit there for ever.

与此同时，矮人们坐在黑暗中，陷入了绝对的沉默。他们没怎么吃东西，也很少说话。黑暗中根本无法计算时间的流逝。他们不敢随便乱动，因为即便是他们的声音也会在隧道中激起好一阵回响。就算他们打了会儿瞌睡，醒来时面对的依旧是一片打不破的黑暗与死寂。最后，在经过了似乎好多天的等待后，他们由于缺乏空气而开始出现了气闷头晕的现象，再也无法忍受下去了。他们甚至巴不得能听到从下面传来恶龙回来的声响。在一片寂静中，他们开始担心恶龙不知会使出什么诡计来，可他们又不能一辈子都这样坐下去。

Thorin spoke: “Let us try the door!” he said. “I must feel the wind on my face soon or die. I think I would rather be smashed by Smaug in the open than suffocate in here!” So several of the dwarves got up and groped back to where the door had been. But they found that the upper end of the tunnel had been shattered and blocked with broken rock. Neither key nor the magic it had once obeyed would ever open that door again.

索林开口了，“我们来试试把门打开吧!”他说，“我如果再不吹点风就要闷死了。我想我宁愿在光天化日下被史矛革打死，也不愿意在这里活活憋死!”几个矮人听他这么一说都站了起来，往回摸到了石门原先所在的位置。但他们发现，隧道的上端已经被碎石震坍塞住了。所以，它原先所听命的魔法或是钥匙，都再也不能将其打开了。

“We are trapped!” they groaned. “This is the end. We shall die here.”

“我们被困住了!”他们哀嚎道，“这下完蛋了。我们要死在这儿了。

But somehow, just when the dwarves were most despairing, Bilbo felt a strange lightening of the heart, as if a heavy weight had gone from under his waistcoat.

”但是不知怎的，就在矮人们陷入绝望之时，比尔博的心头却奇怪地感到了放松，就好像胸口有块大石头被搬走了似的。

“Come, come!” he said. “‘While there’s life there’s hope!’ as my father used to say, and ‘Third time pays for all.’ I am going down the tunnel once again. I have been that way twice, when I knew there was a dragon at the other end, so I will risk a third visit when I am no longer sure. Anyway the only way out is down. And I think this time you had better all come with me.”

“好啦.，好啦!”他说，“‘只要还活着，就有希望。’这是我父亲常说的话，他还老说‘事不过三’呢。我准备再下去一趟。在我知道那里有恶龙的时候，我都已经去了两次了呢，现在我吃不准他在不在了，再下去一次又有何妨。再怎么说，惟一的出路也只能是往下了。这次，我想你们最好跟我一起去吧。”

In desperation they agreed, and Thorin was the first to go forward by Bilbo’s side.

绝望中的众人同意了，索林打头阵，一马当先地走在比尔博身边。

“Now do be careful!” whispered the hobbit, “and as quiet as you can be! There may be no Smaug at the bottom, but then again there may be. Don’t let us take any unnecessary risks!”

“小心点!”霍比特人低语道，“尽量不要出声!史矛革或许不在下面，但它也有可能还在，所以千万别冒不必要的风险!”

Down, down they went. The dwarves could not, of course, compare with the hobbit in real stealth, and they made a deal of puffing and shuffling which echoes magnified alarmingly; but though every now and again Bilbo in fear stopped and listened, not a sound stirred below. Near the bottom, as well as he could judge, Bilbo slipped on his ring and went ahead. But he did not need it: the darkness was complete, and they were all invisible, ring or no ring. In fact so black was it that the hobbit came to the opening unexpectedly, put his hand on air, stumbled forward, and rolled headlong into the hall!

他们一路往下走着。矮人们在走路不出声方面当然没法跟霍比特人比，他们的喘气声和脚步声都被隧道里面的回声放得很大。虽然比尔博时不时地因为担心而停下脚步来凝神倾听，但底下并没有被激起任何声响来。快到最底下的时候，比尔博根据自己的判断戴上了戒指，继续走了过去。但其实他并不需要用到戒指：那里一团漆黑，不管戴没戴戒指，大家谁都看不见谁。事实上，由于底下实在太黑了，比尔博竟然没料到自己已经来到了洞口，双手抓了个空，一下向前跌倒，从洞口一骨碌滚进了大厅!

There he lay face downwards on the floor and did not dare to get up, or hardly even to breathe. But nothing moved. There was not a gleam of light—unless, as it seemed to him, when at last he slowly raised his head, there was a pale white glint, above him and far off in the gloom. But certainly it was not a spark of dragon-fire, though the worm-stench was heavy in the place, and the taste of vapour was on his tongue.

他就那样脸朝下趴在地上，不敢站起来，甚至不敢呼吸。但什么动静都没有。没有一丝光亮，惟一的例外是当他抬起头来的时候，在他头顶的远方，昏暗中似乎有一点微弱的白光。但那当然不会是恶龙的火焰，尽管洞里还充满着恶龙的臭味，比尔博的舌尖上还可以尝到蒸汽的味道。

At length Mr. Baggins could bear it no longer. “Confound you, Smaug, you worm!” he squeaked aloud. “Stop playing hide-and-seek! Give me a light, and then eat me, if you can catch me!”

到了最后，巴金斯先生终于忍不住了：“我诅咒你，史矛革，你这只臭毛虫!”他尖声咒骂道，“别再玩捉迷藏了!给我一点光亮，来吃了我啊，如果你能抓得住我!”

Faint echoes ran round the unseen hall, but there was no answer.

轻微的回声在看不见的大厅中回响，却没有传出任何回应。

Bilbo got up, and found that he did not know in what direction to turn.

比尔博站了起来，发现自己不知道该转向哪一边。

“Now I wonder what on earth Smaug is playing at,” he said. “He is not at home today (or tonight, or whatever it is), I do believe. If Oin and Gloin have not lost their tinder-boxes, perhaps we can make a little light, and have a look round before the luck turns.”

“真不知道史矛革在玩儿什么把戏。”他说，“不过我想它今天不在家(或是今晚，谁知道现在是白天还是黑夜呢)。如果欧因和格罗因没有弄丢火绒盒，或许我们可以弄出一点光来，趁着运气好的时候赶快四处看看。”

“Light!” he cried. “Can anybody make a light?”

“来点光!”他大喊道，“有人能弄出点光来吗?”

The dwarves, of course, were very alarmed when Bilbo fell forward down the step with a bump into the hall, and they sat huddled just where he had left them at the end of the tunnel.

比尔博咚的一声向前跌进大厅时，矮人们自然都大惊失色，他们一起围坐在比尔博离开他们的地方，也就是隧道的尽头处，不知如何是好。

“Sh! sh!” they hissed, when they heard his voice; and though that helped the hobbit to find out where they were, it was some time before he could get anything else out of them. But in the end, when Bilbo actually began to stamp on the floor, and screamed out “light!” at the top of his shrill voice, Thorin gave way, and Oin and Gloin were sent back to their bundles at the top of the tunnel.

“嘘!嘘!”当他们听见比尔博的声音时，便发出这样的声音与比尔博联络。虽然这的确帮助霍比特人得到了他们的位置，比尔博还是花了一点时间才从他们那里得到了一点别的东西。不过最后，等比尔博真的开始拼命跺脚，扯开他那尖嗓子大喊“来点光!”的时候，索林终于让步了，派欧因和格罗因到隧道另一头去取他们的行李。

After a while a twinkling gleam showed them returning, Oin with a small pine-torch alight in his hand, and Gloin with a bundle of others under his arm. Quickly Bilbo trotted to the door and took the torch; but he could not persuade the dwarves to light the others or to come and join him yet. As Thorin carefully explained, Mr. Baggins was still officially their expert burglar and investigator. If he liked to risk a light, that was his affair. They would wait in the tunnel for his report. So they sat near the door and watched.

又过了一阵子，一道摇曳的微光和他们一起回来了，欧因手里拿着一个小小的松枝火把，格罗因则在腋下夹着一堆同样的火把。比尔博赶紧跑到门边接过火把，但他却无法说服其他矮人和他一样点起火把来。索林小心翼翼地解释说，巴金斯先生依旧是队伍中名正言顺的飞贼和侦察员，如果他想要冒险点火，那是他自己的事，他们会等在隧道里面等待他回来报告。于是他们就在门边坐了下来，小心翼翼地观望着。

They saw the little dark shape of the hobbit start across the floor holding his tiny light aloft. Every now and again, while he was still near enough, they caught a glint and a tinkle as he stumbled on some golden thing. The light grew smaller as he wandered away into the vast hall; then it began to rise dancing into the air. Bilbo was climbing the great mound of treasure. Soon he stood upon the top, and still went on. Then they saw him halt and stoop for a moment; but they did not know the reason.

他们看见霍比特人小小的黑色身影高举着小火把朝大厅深处走去。在他还没走远的时候，矮人们借着一点微光和一声“当啷”，发现比尔博不小心踢到了地上某样金灿灿的东西。随着他渐渐走进幽深的大厅，光点变得越来越小，然后光点开始向上，在半空中舞动，原来比尔博正在往一大堆金银财宝上爬去。很快，他就站上了财宝堆的顶端，接着又继续向前。这时，他们看见他停住了脚步，弯下腰来检查了片刻，但他们都不知道他这样做究竟原因何在。

It was the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain. So Bilbo guessed from Thorin’s description; but indeed there could not be two such gems, even in so marvellous a hoard, even in all the world. Ever as he climbed, the same white gleam had shone before him and drawn his feet towards it. Slowly it grew to a little globe of pallid light. Now as he came near, it was tinged with a flickering sparkle of many colours at the surface, reflected and splintered from the wavering light of his torch. At last he looked down upon it, and he caught his breath. The great jewel shone before his feet of its own inner light, and yet, cut and fashioned by the dwarves, who had dug it from the heart of the mountain long ago, it took all light that fell upon it and changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow.

那是因为比尔博发现了阿肯宝钻，那颗山之心!他是从索林的描述中作出判断的，不过事实上，即便是在这里这么一大堆让人眼花缭乱的宝藏中，不，即便是在全世界，都不可能存在两颗符合这般描述的宝石来。他不停地往上爬，一道不变的白色光芒一直在他的前方闪烁，吸引着他的脚步。慢慢地，那光芒化成了一个纯净白光的小球。他又走近了一点，宝石的表面在他手中火把的映照下，发散出一道由许多颜色构成的光晕。最后，他走到宝石跟前，屏住呼吸，细细端详。这颗无双的宝石在他的脚下由内而外地闪耀着属于它自己的光芒。但另一方面，在多年前将其从山底下挖出来的矮人们的精雕细琢下，它又能将所有落到它身上的光亮幻化成千万道白色的光线，投射出彩虹般的光芒。

Suddenly Bilbo’s arm went towards it drawn by its enchantment. His small hand would not close about it, for it was a large and heavy gem; but he lifted it, shut his eyes, and put it in his deepest pocket.

突然，在它的魅力吸引下，比尔博的手臂不由自主地向它伸去，将它拿了起来。他的小手甚至没办法将它完全握住，因为这是一颗硕大而又沉重的宝石，但他还是将它捧了起来，闭上眼睛，然后将其放进了最贴身的口袋里。

“Now I am a burglar indeed!” thought he. “But I suppose I must tell the dwarves about it—some time. They did say I could pick and choose my own share; and I think I would choose this, if they took all the rest!” All the same he had an uncomfortable feeling that the picking and choosing had not really been meant to include this marvellous gem, and that trouble would yet come of it.

“我现在可成为一个真正的飞贼了!”他想，“不过我想我应该跟矮人们说一下——等有时间吧。他们不是说过我那一份可以自己挑吗，那我就选这个，让他们分其余的吧!”不过他也多少有点不安，感到矮人们所说的自行挑选，恐怕不包括这颗璀璨夺目的宝石，自己这么拿了或许会惹上麻烦。.

Now he went on again. Down the other side of the great mound he climbed, and the spark of his torch vanished from the sight of the watching dwarves. But soon they saw it far away in the distance again. Bilbo was crossing the floor of the hall.

他又接着往前走，从宝山的另外一边爬了下去，手中火把的光亮从矮人们的视野中消失了。不过很快，他们又看到火光出现在更远的地方。比尔博正在横穿整个大厅。

He went on, until he came to the great doors at the further side, and there a draught of air refreshed him, but it almost puffed out his light. He peeped timidly through, and caught a glimpse of great passages and of the dim beginnings of wide stairs going up into the gloom. And still there was no sight nor sound of Smaug. He was just going to turn and go back, when a black shape swooped at him, and brushed his face. He squeaked and started, stumbled backwards and fell. His torch dropped head downwards and went out!

他继续往前走，最后来到了远端的大门前，扑面而来的一股新鲜空气让他觉得神清气爽，却也差点将他的火把弄灭。他小心地朝外张去，看见外面有相当宽敞的走廊，还有通往上方昏暗中去的宽阔阶梯的最初几级。到目前为止，史矛革的身影或声音还是没有出现。他正准备转身回去时，一个黑影突然向他俯冲过来，擦过他的脸飞了过去。他尖叫一声，瞪大了眼睛，向后跌倒在地，手中火把头朝地落了下去，立刻熄灭了!

“Only a bat, I suppose and hope!” he said miserably. “But now what am I to do? Which is East, South, North, or West?”

“只是一只蝙蝠，我想，也希望如此!”他惨兮兮地说道，“可我现在该怎么办呢?哪里是东南，哪里又是西北啊?”

“Thorin! Balin! Oin! Gloin! Fili! Kili!” he cried as loud as he could—it seemed a thin little noise in the wide blackness. “The light’s gone out! Someone come and find me and help me!” For the moment his courage had failed altogether.

“索林!巴林!欧因!格罗因!菲力!奇力!”他扯开喉咙拼命喊道——可在这广阔的黑暗中，他的声音显得纤细而又微弱，“火把灭了!谁过来找我一下，救救我!”他的勇气瞬间全消失了。

Faintly the dwarves heard his small cries, though the only word they could catch was “help!”

矮人们隐隐约约地听见了他细弱的呼喊，尽管他们能听清的只有“救救我!”

“Now what on earth or under it has happened?” said Thorin. “Certainly not the dragon, or he would not go on squeaking.”

“到底发生什么了?”索林说，“肯定不是恶龙，否则他不可能一直这样叫的。”

They waited a moment or two, and still there were no dragon-noises, no sound at all in fact but Bilbo’s distant voice. “Come, one of you, get another light or two!” Thorin ordered. “It seems we have got to go and help our burglar.”

他们等了一小会儿或两小会儿，外面依旧没有恶龙的声音，事实上，除了比尔博远远的喊声外，根本什么声音也没有。“来，谁去拿一两个火把过来!”索林命令道，“看来我们得去帮帮我们的飞贼了。”

“It is about our turn to help,” said Balin, “and I am quite willing to go. Anyway I expect it is safe for the moment.”

“也该我们出手相助了，”巴林说，“我很愿意去，而且我觉得至少这会儿是安全的。”

Gloin lit several more torches, and then they all crept out, one by one, and went along the wall as hurriedly as they could. It was not long before they met Bilbo himself coming back towards them. His wits had quickly returned as soon as he saw the twinkle of their lights.

格罗因又点亮了几支火把，然后他们全都一个接一个蹑手蹑脚地走了出去，沿着墙壁尽可能地快步赶过去。没过多久，他们就遇到正往回走的比尔博。他一看见他们手中的火光，很快就恢复了镇定。

“Only a bat and a dropped torch, nothing worse!” he said in answer to their questions. Though they were much relieved, they were inclined to be grumpy at being frightened for nothing; but what they would have said, if he had told them at that moment about the Arkenstone, I don’t know. The mere fleeting glimpses of treasure which they had caught as they went along had rekindled all the fire of their dwarvish hearts; and when the heart of a dwarf, even the most respectable, is wakened by gold and by jewels, he grows suddenly bold, and he may become fierce.

“只是一只蝙蝠，火把掉了，没什么大不了的!”他回答了他们的问踢。虽然他们听了大大松了口气，却也为这一场虚惊而发了几句牢骚。我不知道如果他当时就把阿肯宝钻的事情告诉了矮人们，他们会说些什么。他们向前走着，一路上瞥见的财宝重新又点燃了矮人们心中的火焰。而当矮人们的心思被黄金和珠宝唤醒后，即使原来是一个最可尊敬的人，也会突然变得胆大包天，甚至是相当凶狠起来。

The dwarves indeed no longer needed any urging. All were now eager to explore the hall while they had the chance, and willing to believe that, for the present, Smaug was away from home. Each now gripped a lighted torch; and as they gazed, first on one side and then on another, they forgot fear and even caution. They spoke aloud, and cried out to one another, as they lifted old treasures from the mound or from the wall and held them in the light, caressing and fingering them.

矮人们的确不再需要任何鼓励了，每个人都想趁有机会好好地探索一下大厅，也都愿意相信史矛革暂时不在家中。现在，每个人都抓着一支火把，开始左顾右盼地搜索着，浑然忘却了恐惧，甚至连谨慎也忘记了。他们大声说话，互相喊来喊去，从财宝堆中或墙边把古代的宝物举起来，托在光亮中仔细把玩着。

Fili and Kili were almost in merry mood, and finding still hanging there many golden harps strung with silver they took them and struck them; and being magical (and also untouched by the dragon, who had small interest in music) they were still in tune. The dark hall was filled with a melody that had long been silent. But most of the dwarves were more practical: they gathered gems and stuffed their pockets, and let what they could not carry fall back through their fingers with a sigh. Thorin was not least among these; but always he searched from side to side for something which he could not find. It was the Arkenstone; but he spoke of it yet to no one.

菲力和奇力都有点欣喜若狂了，他们发现墙上挂着许多以银线为弦的黄金竖琴，便拿下来弹弄起来。由于这些竖琴本身附有魔法(而且恶龙也没有碰过这些琴，因为他对音乐几乎毫无兴趣)，因此音调都还保持得很准，黑暗的大厅中立刻充满了早已沉寂了数百年的美丽旋律。不过，大多数矮人都比较实际，他们四处捡拾着宝石，将口袋塞得满满，又随着一声叹息把带不走的东西从指端恋恋不舍地放回去。索林可一点也不是这样的做派，他一遍遍地找寻着他想找的东西，却一直没找到。对了，那就是山之心，矮人国王的阿肯宝钻，只是他不愿意跟任何人提起。

Now the dwarves took down mail and weapons from the walls, and armed themselves. Royal indeed did Thorin look, clad in a coat of gold-plated rings, with a silver-hafted axe in a belt crusted with scarlet stones.

现在，矮人们从墙壁上取下盔甲和武器，将自己武装了起来。索林穿上镶金的盔甲，腰间插上镶着红宝石的斧头后，看起来果然很有王者气派。

“Mr. Baggins!” he cried. “Here is the first payment of your reward! Cast off your old coat and put on this!”

“巴金斯先生!”他喊道，“这是你的第一份报酬!来，把旧衣服脱掉，穿上这个!”

With that he put on Bilbo a small coat of mail, wrought for some young elf-prince long ago. It was of silver-steel, which the elves call mithril, and with it went a belt of pearls and crystals. A light helm of figured leather, strengthened beneath with hoops of steel, and studded about the brim with white gems, was set upon the hobbit’s head.

说着，他就将二件小盔甲套在比尔博身上，那是多年前替一位年轻的精灵王子打造的。盔甲用银钢铸成，也就是精灵们所称的秘银，与之成套的还有一条珍珠与水晶打造的腰带。霍比特人的头上则戴着一顶皮制的轻型头盔，底下有铁板护身，边缘还镶着白色的宝石。

“I feel magnificent,” he thought; “but I expect I look rather absurd. How they would laugh on the Hill at home! Still I wish there was a looking-glass handy!”

“我觉得棒极了!”他想，“但我看起来可能有点滑稽吧。不知道家乡那些人会怎么笑话我呢!不过我还是希望这儿能有一面穿衣镜让我照一照!”

All the same Mr. Baggins kept his head more clear of the bewitchment of the hoard than the dwarves did. Long before the dwarves were tired of examining the treasures, he became weary of it and sat down on the floor; and he began to wonder nervously what the end of it all would be. “I would give a good many of these precious goblets,” he thought, “for a drink of something cheering out of one of Beorn’s wooden bowls!”

不过，面对这些宝物的诱惑，巴金斯先生依旧比矮人们更能保持头脑的清醒。在矮人们对翻看宝物觉得厌倦之前，他早就坐了下来，开始担心最后会是怎样的结局。“我宁愿用好多这样的珍贵金杯，”他想，“去换贝奥恩的木碗所装的一点提神醒脑的酒!”

“Thorin!” he cried aloud. “What next? We are armed, but what good has any armour ever been before against Smaug the Dreadful? This treasure is not yet won back. We are not looking for gold yet, but for a way of escape; and we have tempted luck too long!”

“索林!”他大声喊道，“接下来该怎么办?我们是全副武装了，但是面对恐怖的史矛革，任何武装又有什么用呢?我们还没有真正抢回这些宝物呢。我们要找的不是黄金，而是一条逃出去的路。我们已经依赖运气太久了!”

“You speak the truth!” answered Thorin, recovering his wits. “Let us go! I will guide you. Not in a thousand years should I forget the ways of this palace.” Then he hailed the others, and they gathered together, and holding their torches above their heads they passed through the gaping doors, not without many a backward glance of longing.

“你说得对!”索林也已经恢复了理智，“我们走!我给你带路。就算过上一千年，我也不会忘记这座宫殿的道路。”然后，他把其他人召唤到一起，高举着火把走出敞开的大门，许多人一边还在恋恋不舍地回眸张望着。

Their glittering mail they had covered again with their old cloaks and their bright helms with their tattered hoods, and one by one they walked behind Thorin, a line of little lights in the darkness that halted often, listening in fear once more for any rumour of the dragon’s coming.

他们用破旧的斗篷盖住了闪亮的盔甲，用褪色的帽子遮住明灿灿的头盔，一个一个地跟在索林后面走着，构成一线小亮点。在黑暗中，这些小亮点常常会停下，那是矮人们在驻足倾听，确认他们听到的不是恶龙归来的声音。

Though all the old adornments were long mouldered or destroyed, and though all was befouled and blasted with the comings and goings of the monster, Thorin knew every passage and every turn. They climbed long stairs, and turned and went down wide echoing ways, and turned again and climbed yet more stairs, and yet more stairs again. These were smooth, cut out of the living rock broad and fair; and up, up, the dwarves went, and they met no sign of any living thing, only furtive shadows that fled from the approach of their torches fluttering in the draughts.

虽然这里旧的装饰大多已经腐烂或被摧毁，周围的一切也因为怪物来来去去而变得脏臭与凋敝，但索林还是记得每一条通道和每一个转角。他们爬上长长的台阶，转过弯后又往下踏上宽阔的有回声的通道，然后又转弯爬更多的台阶，然后还是更多的台阶。这些台阶十分平滑，都是从宽大平整的原生岩石上切割出来的。矮人们不停地往上，往上，一路上都没有遇到任何的生物，只有一些鬼祟的黑影，在火把的光芒靠近时慌忙逃开，翅翼扇出微微的气流。

The steps were not made, all the same, for hobbit-legs, and Bilbo was just feeling that he could go on no longer, when suddenly the roof sprang high and far beyond the reach of their torch-light. A white glimmer could be seen coming through some opening far above, and the air smelt sweeter. Before them light came dimly through great doors, that hung twisted on their hinges and half burnt.

这些阶梯并不是为了霍比特人的小腿所建造的，正当比尔博觉得再也走不动的时候，洞顶突然变高了，超出了火光能照亮的范围。可以看见顶上的开口中射进一道白色的光芒，空气闻上去也变得更加甜美了些。光线抢在他们前面穿过大门照了进去，大门的铰链已经扭曲，半被烧毁了。

“This is the great chamber of Thror,” said Thorin; “the hall of feasting and of council. Not far off now is the Front Gate.”

“这里就是瑟罗尔王的大厅，”索林说，“是宴饮和议事的地方。这里离正门已经不远了。”

They passed through the ruined chamber. Tables were rotting there; chairs and benches were lying there overturned, charred and decaying. Skulls and bones were upon the floor among flagons and bowls and broken drinking-horns and dust. As they came through yet more doors at the further end, a sound of water fell upon their ears, and the grey light grew suddenly more full.

他们走过这已成废墟的大厅，只见桌子都已朽烂不堪，长短凳椅东倒西歪，有些焦黑，有些腐烂。酒壶、大碗、摔碎的酒角和着尘土铺满了一地，其间还散布着骷髅与骸骨。他们又往远处走出了几扇门，一阵淙淙的水声便落入他们的耳中，朦胧的灰光突然间变得更完整了。

“There is the birth of the Running River,” said Thorin. “From here it hastens to the Gate. Let us follow it!”

“这里就是奔流河的源头，”索林说，“它从这里流向大门，我们跟着它走吧!”

Out of a dark opening in a wall of rock there issued a boiling water, and it flowed swirling in a narrow channel, carved and made straight and deep by the cunning of ancient hands. Beside it ran a stone-paved road, wide enough for many men abreast. Swiftly along this they ran, and round a wide-sweeping turn—and behold! before them stood the broad light of day. In front there rose a tall arch, still showing the fragments of old carven work within, worn and splintered and blackened though it was. A misty sun sent its pale light between the arms of the Mountain, and beams of gold fell on the pavement at the threshold.

从岩壁上一个黑暗的开口中冒出一股沸腾的水流，它沿着狭窄的渠道旋转奔流。这条渠道是古人用巧手开凿，并且弄直弄深的。渠道旁是一条石板路，宽阔得足以让许多人并排而行。他们沿着这条路飞快地往外跑去，绕过一个大大的弯角——看哪!出现在他们眼前的是一片辽阔的天光。在他们面前矗立着一道高大的拱门，上面依然有着古老雕刻的遗迹，不过，已经磨损、碎裂并被熏得焦黑了。被迷雾包裹的太阳从山岭间释放出无力的光芒，金色的光线洒落在门槛前的步道上。

A whirl of bats frightened from slumber by their smoking torches flurried over them; as they sprang forward their feet slithered on stones rubbed smooth and slimed by the passing of the dragon. Now before them the water fell noisily outward and foamed down towards the valley. They flung their pale torches to the ground, and stood gazing out with dazzled eyes. They were come to the Front Gate, and were looking out upon Dale.

一群被冒着烟的火把从睡梦中惊醒的蝙蝠从他们身边掠过。当一行人快步前行时，感觉脚下直打滑，那是因为地面被恶龙进进出出而磨得十分平滑，又沾上了它身上的黏液。河水在他们前面喧嚣着奔流直下，溅出许多晶莹的泡沫，坠入下面的山谷。他们将黯淡的火把丢到地上，用被眩迷的双眼怔怔地望着外面的景色。他们已经来到了大门，正俯瞰着河谷。

“Well!” said Bilbo, “I never expected to be looking out of this door. And I never expected to be so pleased to see the sun again, and to feel the wind on my face. But, ow! this wind is cold!”

“好啊!”比尔博说，“我从没想过自己还能站在这道门里向外看，也从来没想到过重新看见阳光，感受微风吹拂脸庞是这么愉快的事。可是，哦!这风还真是冷啊!”

It was. A bitter easterly breeze blew with a threat of oncoming winter. It swirled over and round the arms of the Mountain into the valley, and sighed among the rocks. After their long time in the stewing depths of the dragon-haunted caverns, they shivered in the sun.

的确很冷。从东方吹来的寒冷微风暗示了冬季即将到来。它在山岭间打着转，最后吹进山谷中，在岩石间发出阵阵叹息。他们于恶龙肆虐的闷热地底躲了很长一段时间后骤然出来，一时难以适应，不禁在阳光中也发起抖来。

Suddenly Bilbo realized that he was not only tired but also very hungry indeed. “It seems to be late morning,” he said, “and so I suppose it is more or less breakfast-time—if there is any breakfast to have. But I don’t feel that Smaug’s front doorstep is the safest place for a meal. Do let’s go somewhere where we can sit quiet for a bit!”

比尔博突然意识到自己不仅很累，而且也饿得不行了。“看样子现在是上午，”他说，“我想应该差不多是吃早餐的时间——如果我们有早餐的话。不过，我可不觉得史矛革宫殿大门口的台阶上是安全用餐的地方，让我们找个可以静静坐下来吃点东西的地方吧!”

“Quite right!” said Balin. “And I think I know which way we should go: we ought to make for the old look-out post at the South-West corner of the Mountain.”

“说得对!”巴林附和道，“我想我知道该去哪里，我们应该去大山西南角那个过去的瞭望台。”

“How far is that?” asked the hobbit.

“那儿有多远?”霍比特人问道。

“Five hours march, I should think. It will be rough going. The road from the Gate along the left edge of the stream seems all broken up. But look down there! The river loops suddenly east across Dale in front of the ruined town. At that point there was once a bridge, leading to steep stairs that climbed up the right bank, and so to a road running towards Ravenhill. There is (or was) a path that left the road and climbed up to the post. A hard climb, too, even if the old steps are still there.”

“我记得要走五个小时吧，路不太好走，从大门沿河流左边的道路似乎全都毁了。不过你们看那边!河流在城镇的废墟之前突然绕了个弯，那里以前有座桥，通往一条陡峭的阶梯，爬上去就是右岸，那儿有一条路直通渡鸦岭。离开大路有(或者有过)一条小径，一路向上通往瞭望台。就算过去的石级还在，爬起来也会很费力气。”

“Dear me!” grumbled the hobbit. “More walking and more climbing without breakfast! I wonder how many breakfasts, and other meals, we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?”

“天哪!”霍比特人嘟哝道，“还要饿着肚子走更多路爬更多山呀!我在想，不知道我们在那个没有时间的可恶洞穴里面到底错过了多少早餐，还有中餐和晚餐啊?”

As a matter of fact two nights and the day between had gone by (and not altogether without food) since the dragon smashed the magic door, but Bilbo had quite lost count, and it might have been one night or a week of nights for all he could tell.

事实上，自从恶龙打碎了魔法门之后，他们在里面一共才度过了一天两夜而已(中间也不是一点东西都没吃)，但比尔博完全失去了对时间的概念，因此对他来说，那有可能是一夜，也有可能是整整一个星期。

“Come, come!” said Thorin laughing—his spirits had begun to rise again, and he rattled the precious stones in his pockets. “Don’t call my palace a nasty hole! You wait till it has been cleaned and redecorated!”

“走啦，走啦!”索林大笑着说道。他的精神已经重新振奋起来，说话的同时还摇晃着口袋中的宝石。“别把我的宫殿叫做可恶的洞穴!等着看吧，等打扫完装修好，它可漂亮了!”

“That won’t be till Smaug’s dead,” said Bilbo glumly. “In the meanwhile where is he? I would give a good breakfast to know. I hope he is not up on the Mountain looking down at us!”

“总得等到史矛革死掉才行吧!”比尔博闷闷不乐地说，“可这会儿它到哪儿去了呢?我愿意拿一顿早餐来换答案，希望它不会在山顶俯瞰着我们!”

That idea disturbed the dwarves mightily, and they quickly decided that Bilbo and Balin were right.

这个想法让矮人们听了很不安，他们很快就同意巴林和比尔博说的没错。

“We must move away from here,” said Dori. “I feel as if his eyes were on the back of my head.”

“我们必须离开这里。”多瑞说，“我总觉得它的目光一直在盯着我的后脑勺。”

“It’s a cold lonesome place,” said Bombur. “There may be drink, but I see no sign of food. A dragon would always be hungry in such parts.”

“这是个又冷又没劲的地方，”邦伯说，“这里或许有东西喝，但我看不到有什么能吃的东西，恶龙生活在这一带应该永远都吃不饱吧。”

“Come on! Come on!” cried the others. “Let us follow Balin’s path!”

“走啦!走啦!”其他人也跟着喊道，“我们跟着巴林走小路吧!”

Under the rocky wall to the right there was no path, so on they trudged among the stones on the left side of the river, and the emptiness and desolation soon sobered even Thorin again. The bridge that Balin had spoken of they found long fallen, and most of its stones were now only boulders in the shallow noisy stream; but they forded the water without much difficulty, and found the ancient steps, and climbed the high bank. After going a short way they struck the old road, and before long came to a deep dell sheltered among the rocks; there they rested for a while and had such a breakfast as they could, chiefly cram and water. (If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don’t know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise. It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys.)

沿着山壁往右边走是没有路的，因此，他们是在河流左岸的乱石间脚步沉重地走着。荒凉的、光秃秃的环境很快就让大家严肃起来，即使索林也不例外。他们发现巴林提到过的那座桥早就已经塌了，造桥用的石头现在成了躺在喧闹浅溪中的卵石。不过，他们还是没费多少力气就渡过了河水，顺利找到了古老的阶梯，爬上了高高的河岸。走了一小段之后，他们踏上了那条古代留下的道路，不久就来到了一处岩石围成的幽谷。他们在这里休息了一会儿，倾其所有地吃了一顿早餐，主要是克拉姆和水。(如果你想要知道克拉姆是什么东西，我只能告诉你，我也不知道它的配方，不过它吃起来有点饼干的味道，可以保存很长的时间，吃了很耐饥，味道当然不敢恭维，事实上它吃起来很没味道，像是一种纯粹的口腔咀嚼练习。长湖边的人类制作这种干粮是专供长途旅行时用的。)

After that they went on again; and now the road struck westwards and left the river, and the great shoulder of the south-pointing mountain-spur drew ever nearer. At length they reached the hill path. It scrambled steeply up, and they plodded slowly one behind the other, till at last in the late afternoon they came to the top of the ridge and saw the wintry sun going downwards to the West.

之后，他们又继续赶路，道路向西偏转，离开了河边，与大山的南向支脉越来越靠近。最后，他们终于抵达了通往山丘的小径。小径陡峭地往上延伸，他们一个接一个缓步往上爬，临近傍晚才终于到达了山脊的顶端，看到冷冷的太阳落向西方。

Here they found a flat place without a wall on three sides, but backed to the North by a rocky face in which there was an opening like a door. From that door there was a wide view East and South and West.

他们在这边找到了一块平地，三面都没有遮挡，只有北面依靠着一块巨岩，上面有个像是大门一样的开口，透过这扇岩石的巨门可以俯瞰东方、西方和南方的辽阔景色。

“Here,” said Balin, “in the old days we used always to keep watchmen, and that door behind leads into a rockhewn chamber that was made here as a guardroom. There were several places like it round the Mountain. But there seemed small need for watching in the days of our prosperity, and the guards were made over comfortable, perhaps—otherwise we might have had longer warning of the coming of the dragon, and things might have been different. Still, here we can now lie hid and sheltered for a while, and can see much without being seen.”

“就是这里，”巴林说，“以前我们一直在这边安排人瞭望，后面的门则会通往一个从岩石里面开凿出来的房间，那是守卫住的地方。在大山里像这样的点还有好几处。不过，在我们繁荣兴盛的时候，瞭望似乎没有太大的用处，守卫也变得松懈了——不然，我们可以更早发出恶龙入侵的警报，一切可能就跟现在不一样了。不过现在我们还是可以在这里躲一阵子，观察到外面的情形，而不用担心自己被发现。”

“Not much use, if we have been seen coming here,” said Dori, who was always looking up towards the Mountain’s peak, as if he expected to see Smaug perched there like a bird on a steeple.

“可如果我们被人看见朝这边来了，那躲在这里也没多大用处了。”多瑞一路上都不停地看着山顶，似乎在担心会看见史矛革像小鸟一样停在那里。

“We must take our chance of that,” said Thorin. “We can go no further to-day.”

“我们只能赌一把了，”索林说，“今天实在走不了了。”

“Hear, hear!” cried Bilbo, and flung himself on the ground.

“好嘞，好嘞!”比尔博喊了一声就摊开四肢躺到了地上。

In the rock-chamber there would have been room for a hundred, and there was a small chamber further in, more removed from the cold outside. It was quite deserted; not even wild animals seemed to have used it in all the days of Smaug’s dominion. There they laid their burdens; and some threw themselves down at once and slept, but the others sat near the outer door and discussed their plans. In all their talk they came perpetually back to one thing: where was Smaug? They looked West and there was nothing, and East there was nothing, and in the South there was no sign of the dragon, but there was a gathering of very many birds. At that they gazed and wondered; but they were no nearer understanding it, when the first cold stars came out.

那座石室够一百个人待的，再往里还有一个更小的房间，更能遮挡住外面的寒风。在史矛革统治期间，这里被废弃了，就连飞禽走兽似乎也没有用过这个地方。他们把背着的东西都卸了下来，有些人倒头就睡着了，另一些人则坐在外间的门边讨论着计划。在整个的谈论过程中，他们时时会回到一件事上来，那就是：史矛革到哪里去了?他们望向西方，西方什么也没有;望向东方，东方也是一片空空如也;再望向南方，南方也丝毫没有恶龙的踪迹，不过倒是有许多飞鸟聚集在一起。他们盯着那一景象看了很久，感到十分好奇，却直到最早的一批寒星挂上了天际，也一点儿没弄明白这究竟是怎么回事。