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.'`See it, see it? What will you see? '`The old fortress, very old, very horrible now.We used to hear tales from theSouth, when Sméagol was young, long ago.O yes.we used to tell lots of talesin the evening, sitting by the banks of the Great River, in the willow-lands,when the River was younger too, gollum, gollum.' He began to weep and mutter.The hobbits waited patiently.`Tales out of the South,' Gollum went on again, `about the tall Men with theshining eyes, and their houses like hills of stone, and the silver crown oftheir King and his White Tree: wonderful tales.They built very tall towers,and one they raised was silver-white, and in it there was a stone like theMoon, and round it were great white walls.O yes, there were many tales aboutthe Tower of the Moon.'`That would be Minas Ithil that Isildur the son of Elendil built ' said Frodo.`It was Isildur who cut off the finger of the Enemy.'`Yes, He has only four on the Black Hand, but they are enough,' said Gollumshuddering.'And He hated Isildur's city.''What does he not hate? ' said Frodo.'But what has the Tower of the Moon to dowith us? ''Well, master, there it was and there it is: the tall tower and the whitehouses and the wall; but not nice now, not beautiful.He conquered it long ago.It is a very terrible place now.Travellers shiver when they see it, they creepout of sight, they avoid its shadow.But master will have to go that way.Thatis the only other way, For the mountains are lower there, and the old road goesup and up, until it reaches a dark pass at the top, and then it goes down,down, again – to Gorgoroth.' His voice sank to a whisper and he shuddered.`But how will that help us? ' asked Sam.`Surely the Enemy knows all about hisown mountains, and that road will be guarded as close as this? The tower isn'tempty, is it? '`O no, not empty! ' whispered Gollum.`It seems empty, but it isn't, O no! Verydreadful things live there.Orcs.yes always Orcs; but worse things, worsethings live there too.The road climbs right under the shadow of the walls andpasses the gate.Nothing moves on the road that they don't know about.Thethings inside know: the Silent Watchers.'`So that's your advice is it,' said Sam, 'that we should go another long marchsouth, to find ourselves in the same fix or a worse one, when we get there, ifwe ever do? '`No, no indeed,' said Gollum.`Hobbits must see, must try to understand.Hedoes not expect attack that way.His Eye is all round, but it attends more tosome places than to others.He can't see everything all at once, not yet.Yousee, He has conquered all the country west of the Shadowy Mountains down to theRiver, and He holds the bridges now.He thinks no one can come to the Moontowerwithout fighting big battle at the bridges, or getting lots of boats which theycannot hide and He will know about.''You seem to know a lot about what He's doing and thinking,' said Sam.`Haveyou been talking to Him lately? Or just hobnobbing with Orcs? ''Not nice hobbit, not sensible,' said Gollum, giving Sam an angry glance andturning to Frodo.'Sméagol has talked to Orcs, yes of course, before he metmaster, and to many peoples: he has walked very far.And what he says now manypeoples are saying.It's here in the North that the big danger is for Him, andfor us.He will come out of the Black Gate one day, one day soon.That is theonly way big armies can come.But away down west He is not afraid, and thereare the Silent Watchers.'`Just so! ' said Sam, not to be put off.`And so we are to walk up and knock attheir gate and ask if we're on the right road for Mordor? Or are they toosilent to answer? It's not.sense.We might as well do it here, and saveourselves a long tramp.''Don't make jokes about it,' hissed Gollum.`It isn't funny, O no! Not amusing.It's nut sense to try and get into Mordor at all.But if master says I must goor I will go, then he must try some way.But he must not go to the terriblecity, O no, of course not.That is where Sméagol helps.nice Sméagol.though noone tells him what it is all about.Sméagol helps again.He found it.He knowsit.''What did you find? ' asked Frodo.Gollum crouched down and his voice sank to a whisper again.'A little pathleading up into the mountains: and then a stair, a narrow stair, O yes, verylong and narrow.And then more stairs.And then' – his voice sank even lower –`a tunnel, a dark tunnel; and at last a little cleft, and a path high above themain pass.It was that way that Sméagol got out of the darkness.But it wasyears ago.The path may have vanished now; but perhaps not, perhaps not.'`I don't like the sound of it at all,' said Sam.`Sounds too easy at any ratein the telling.If that path is still there, it'll be guarded too.Wasn't itguarded, Gollum? ' As he said this, he caught or fancied he caught a greengleam in Gollum's eye.Gollum muttered but did not reply.'Is it not guarded? ' asked Frodo sternly.`And did you escape out of thedarkness, Sméagol? Were you not rather permitted to depart upon an errand? Thatat least is w hat Aragorn thought, who found you by the Dead Marshes some yearsago.''It's a lie! ' hissed Gollum, and an evil light came into his eyes at thenaming of Aragorn.`He lied on me, yes he did.I did escape, all by my poorself.Indeed I was told to seek for the Precious; and I have searched andsearched, of course I have.But not for the Black One.The Precious was ours,it was mine I tell you.I did escape
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