13 NOT AT HOME

Chapter 13 NOT AT HOME 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. 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

第十三章 不在家 与此同时，矮人们坐在黑暗中，四周一片死寂。 他们吃得少，说得也少。 他们算不出时间流逝，几乎不敢动弹，因为说话的低语都会在隧道里激起回声，沙沙作响。 哪怕他们打个盹，醒来依旧只有无边的黑暗和死寂。 仿佛已经等了无数天，他们缺氧憋得发晕，终于再也忍受不住。 他们甚至巴不得底下传来恶龙回来的声音。 他们固然害怕恶龙在沉默中耍阴谋，可总不能一直坐在这里。 索林开口说：“我们去试试那扇门！” 他说道： “我总得吹到脸上的风，不然不如死了。 我宁愿在开阔地被史矛革拍扁，也

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. "We are trapped!" they groaned. "This is the end. We shall die here." 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. "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." In desperation they agreed, and Thorin was the first to go forward by Bilbo's side. "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

不愿闷死在这里！” 于是几个矮人爬起身，摸回原先门所在的地方。 可他们发现隧道的上口已经塌了，被碎石堵得严严实实。 不管是钥匙，还是从前能奏效的魔法，都打不开这扇门了。 “我们被困住啦！” 他们哀叹道。 “这下完了， 我们肯定要死在这里了。” 可就在矮人们最绝望的时候，比尔博心里忽然一阵轻松，像是胸口卸下了一块大石头。 “好了好了！” 他说道： “我父亲常说‘留得青山在，不怕没柴烧’，还说‘事不过三，三次必成’。 我要再下隧道走一趟。 前两次我明知道那头有史矛革都去了，现在情况不确定，我再冒一次险就是了。 反正出去的唯一办法就是往下走。 而且我觉得这次你们最好都跟我一起走。” 走投无路之下他们同意了，索林第一个走出来，走到比尔博身边。 “千万小心！” 霍比特人轻声说，“一定要尽量轻一点！ 底下说不定没有史矛革，但也说不定有。 千万别

us take any unnecessary risks!" 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! 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. 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,

让我们冒没必要的险！” 他们一路向下走去。 矮人当然没办法像霍比特人那样悄无声息，他们走得气喘吁吁脚步重，声音被回声放得吓人；可就算比尔博时不时害怕地停下来听，底下也没有半点动静。 快走到隧道尽头的时候，比尔估摸着差不多，戴上戒指继续往前走。 不过其实根本用不着：这里黑得彻底，不管戴不戴戒指，所有人都看不见彼此。 事实上这里太黑了，霍比特人意外走到出口，一脚踩空，往前一绊，一头滚进了大厅里！ 他脸朝下趴在地上，不敢起来，几乎连呼吸都不敢。 可什么动静都没有。 看不到一丝光亮——除非，等他慢慢抬起头，恍惚看见远处黑暗里，有一点淡淡的白光。 但那肯定不是龙火，只是这里满是恶龙的腥臭味，他嘴里都弥漫着腥气。 终于，巴金斯先生再也忍不下去了。 “该死的史矛革，你这个臭虫子！” 他大声叫出来。 “别玩捉迷藏了！ 给我点光，

and then eat me, if you can catch me!" Faint echoes ran round the unseen hall, but there was no answer. Bilbo got up, and found that he did not know in what direction to turn. "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." "Light!" he cried. "Can anybody make a light?" 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. "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

抓到我就吃我呀！” 微弱的回声在看不见的大厅里打转，可没有半点回应。 比尔博爬起来，发现根本分不清方向。 “我倒想知道史矛革到底在玩什么把戏，”他说。 “我真觉得他今天（或是今晚，谁知道呢）不在家。 要是欧因和格罗因没丢火绒盒，我们说不定能生点火，趁运气没变坏到处看看。” “点火！” 他喊道。 “谁能生个火？” 比尔博一跤摔进大厅的时候，矮人们当然吓得不轻，他们挤作一团缩在隧道尽头比尔博离开他们的地方。 “嘘！嘘！” 听见比尔博的声音，他们连忙压低声音示意；这倒是帮比尔博找到了他们的位置，可过了好半天他们都不肯配合做别的。 最后，比尔博都开始跺脚，扯着尖嗓子大喊“点火！”了， 索林终于松口，打发欧因和格罗因回去

to their bundles at the top of the tunnel. 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. 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. 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

拿放在隧道上口的行李。 过了一会，一点晃悠悠的光亮说明他们回来了，欧因手里举着点燃的小松枝火把，格罗因胳膊底下夹着一捆备用的。 比尔博快步走到门口接过火把，可他没法说服矮人们点上其他火把，过来跟他一起走。 正如索林认真解释的那样，巴金斯先生名义上还是他们专业的窃贼和侦察员。 要是他愿意冒险点灯，那是他自己的事。 他们会在隧道里等他回来汇报。 于是他们坐在门口，盯着外面看。 他们看见霍比特人小小的黑影举着微弱的火把，一步步穿过大厅地面。 他离得还近的时候，时不时能看见金光一闪，听见他碰到金器发出叮当响。 他往大厅深处走去，火光越来越小，接着开始往空中升，晃悠悠地飘动。 原来比尔博正在爬上那座巨大的宝藏山。 很快他就站到了山顶，还继续往前走。 接着他们看见他停下弯身蹲了一会，可他们不知道原因。 那就是阿肯宝石，孤山之心。 比尔博从索林的描述里猜了出来；不过哪怕在这么大的宝藏山里，也不可能有第二颗这样的宝石，

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. 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. "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

这堆宝藏棒极了，放眼全世界都少见。 他往上爬的时候，一道白光一直闪在前方，引着他往前走。 那光慢慢变大，成了一团苍白的小光球。 他走近一看，火把晃动的光折射在光球表面，碎成了点点闪烁的五彩光芒。 最后他低头看去，不由得屏住了呼吸。 这颗大宝石靠着自身的光芒在他脚边发亮，它是很久以前矮人从山腹中挖出、切割打磨而成的，所有落在它身上的光，都被它变成了万千道白色光晕，还夹杂着点点彩虹碎光。 突然，比尔博的手臂被宝石的魔力牵引，不由自主朝它伸了过去。 宝石又大又沉，他的小手根本握不住，可他还是捧起它，闭上眼睛，塞进了最里面的口袋。 “这下我真的成窃贼啦！”他心想。 “不过我想，我总得找个时间告诉矮人们这件事。 他们说过我可以自己挑一份战利品，就算他们把剩下的都拿走，我只要这一颗就够啦！” 可即便这样，他还是不安地感觉到，当初说好的自选战利品其实并不