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Mount Dooed orc-cloak under his rey robe of Lorien; and as he did so his thoughts went out to that fair land, and to the Elves, and he hoped that the cloth woven by their hands ht have some virtue to keep them hidden beyond all hope in this wilderness of fear He heard the scuffling and cries die down as the troops passed on through the Isen of many companies of various kinds they had not been missed, not yet at any rate

Sam took a sip of water, but pressed Frodo to drink, and when his ave him a whole wafer of their precious waybread and made him eat it Then, too worn out even to feel much fear, they stretched themselves out They slept a little in uneasy fits; for their sweat grew chill on them, and the hard stones bit them, and they shivered Out of the north fro along the ground a thin cold air

In the ions the West Wind still blew, but down on the stones behind the fences of the Black Land the air see Sam looked up out of the hollow The land all about was dreary, flat and drab-hued On the roads nearby nothing wasnow; but Sam feared the watchful eyes on the wall of the Isen away northward South-eastward, far off like a dark standing shadow, loo from it and while those that rose into the upper air trailed away eastward, great rolling clouds floated down its sides and spread over the land A few miles to the north-east the foothills of the Ashen Mountains stood like sohts rose like a line of distant cloud hardly darker than the lowering sky

Saht to take It looks every step of fiftymountain, &039;and that&039;ll take a week, if it takes a day, with Mr Frodo as he is&039; He shook his head, and as he worked things out, slowly a new dark thought grew in hishad hope died in his staunch heart, and always until now he had taken soht for their return But the bitter truth came home to hioal; and when the task was done, there they would come to an end, alone, houseless, foodless in the midst of a terrible desert There could be no return

&039;So that was the job I felt I had to do when I started,&039; thought Sam, &039;to help Mr Frodo to the last step and then die with him? Well, if that is the job then I ain, and Rosie Cotton and her brothers, and the Gaffer and Marigold and all I can&039;t think somehow that Gandalf would have sent Mr Frodo on this errand if there hadn&039;t a&039;been any hope of his ever co when he went down in Moria I wish he hadn&039;t He would have done so&039;

But even as hope died in Sath Sarih all his li into some creature of stone and steel that neither despair nor weariness nor endless barren miles could subdue

With a new sense of responsibility he brought his eyes back to the ground near at hand, studying the next rew a little he saw to his surprise that what from a distance had seemed wide and featureless flats were in fact all broken and tuoroth was pocked with great holes, as if, while it was still a waste of soft stones The largest of these holes were ries of broken rock, and broad fissures ran out from them in all directions It was a land in which it would be possible to creep fro, unseen by all but theand had no need for speed For the hungry and worn, who had far to go before life failed, it had an evil look

Thinking of all these things Sam went back to hison his back with eyes open, staring at the cloudy sky &039;Well, Mr Frodo,&039; said Sa a bit There&039;s nothing on the roads, and we&039;d best be getting ahile there&039;s a chance Can you e it,&039; said Frodo &039;Ifro behind such cover as they could find, butalways in a slant towards the foothills of the northern range But as they went the most easterly of the roads followed the the skirts of the mountains, away into a wall of black shadow far ahead Neither rey stretches; for the Dark Lord had almost completed the movement of his forces, and even in the fastness of his own real the winds of the world that had turned against his of bold spies that had passed through his fences

The hobbits had gone a feeary miles when they halted Frodo seeoa doubtful way very slowly, now hurrying at a stu back on to the road while the light lasts, Mr Frodo,&039; he said &039;Trust to luck again! It nearly failed us last time, but it didn&039;t quite A steady pace for a fewa far greater risk than he knew; but Frodo was too le in his mind to debate, and almost too hopeless to care They cli, down the hard cruel road that led to the Dark Tower itself But their luck held, and for the rest of that day they ht fell they vanished into the darkness of Mordor All the land now brooded as at the coreat storm: for the Captains of the West had passed the Cross-roads and set flaul

So the desperate journey went on, as the Ring went south and the banners of the kings rode north For the hobbits each day, each th lessened and the land becaht, as they cowered or drowsed uneasily in so beside the road, they heard cries and the noise ofof some cruelly ridden steed But far worse than all such perils was the ever-approaching threat that beat upon them as they went: the dreadful ht and sleepless malice behind the dark veil about its Throne Nearer and nearer it drew, looht at the last end of the world

There cahtfall; and even as the Captains of the West drew near to the end of the living lands, the tanderers came to an hour of blank despair Four days had passed since they had escaped from the orcs, but the ti dream All this last day Frodo had not spoken, but had walked half-bowed, often stuer saw the way before his feet Saroeight of the Ring, a burden on the body and a torment to his mind Anxiously Sam had noted how his master&039;s left hand would often be raised as if to ward on a blow, or to screen his shrinking eyes froht to look in theht hand would creep to his breast, clutching, and then slowly, as the will recovered mastery, it would be withdrawn

Now as the blackness of night returned Frodo sat, his head between his knees, his arround where his hands lay feebly twitching Saht covered theer find any words to say; and he turned to his own dark thoughts As for hih weary and under a shadow of fear, he still had soth left The leo have lain down to die It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam&039;sfor simple bread and meats And yet this waybread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travellers relied on it alone and did not ave strength to endure, and to master sinew and limb beyond the measure of mortal kind But now a new decision er; for it went on eastward into the great Shadow, but the Mountain now looht, almost due south, and they must turn towards it Yet still before it there stretched a wide region of fu, barren, ash-ridden land

&039;Water, water!&039; muttered Saue seemed thick and swollen; but for all his care they now had very little left, perhaps half his bottle, and o have been spent, if they had not dared to follow the orc-road For at long intervals on that highway cisterns had been built for the use of troops sent in haste through the waterless regions In one Sam had found some water left, stale, muddied by the orcs, but still sufficient for their desperate case Yet that was now a day ago There was no hope of any more

At last wearied with his cares Sa theyes, and dark creeping shapes, and he heard noises as of wild beasts or the dreadful cries of tortured things; and he would start up to find the world all dark and only empty blackness all about him Once only, as he stood and stared wildly round, did it seehts like eyes; but soon they flickered and vanished

The hateful night passed slowly and reluctantly Such daylight as folloas dim; for here as the Mountain drew near the air was ever mirky, while out from the Dark Tower there crept the veils of Shadow that Sauron wove about hi Sa that the word now lay with him: he must set his th, stooping and caressing Frodo&039;s brow, he spoke in his ear

&039;Wake up, Master!&039; he said &039;Time for another start&039;

As if roused by a sudden bell, Frodo rose quickly, and stood up and looked away southwards; but when his eyes beheld the Mountain and the desert he quailed again

&039;I can&039;t ht to carry, such a weight&039;

Sam knew before he spoke, that it was vain, and that such words ood, but in his pity he could not keep silent &039;Then let me carry it a bit for you, Master,&039; he said &039;You knoould, and gladly, as long as I have any strength&039;

A wild light came into Frodo&039;s eyes &039;Stand away! Don&039;t touch me!&039; he cried &039;It is mine, I say Be off!&039; His hand strayed to his sword-hilt But then quickly his voice changed &039;No, no, Sam,&039; he said sadly &039;But you must understand It is my burden, and no one else can bear it It is too late now, Saain I aive it up, and if you tried to take it I should go mad&039;

Sam nodded &039;I understand,&039; he said &039;But I&039;ve been thinking, Mr Frodo, there&039;s other things we oing that way now, as straight as we can make it&039; He pointed to the Mountain &039;It&039;s no good taking anything we&039;re not sure to need&039;

Frodo looked again towards the Mountain &039;No,&039; he said, &039;we shan&039;t needup his orc-shield he flung it away and threw his helrey cloak he undid the heavy belt and let it fall to the ground, and the sheathed sith it The shreds of the black cloak he tore off and scattered

&039;There, I&039;ll be an orc no more,&039; he cried, &039;and I&039;ll bear no weapon fair or foul Let them take me, if they will!&039;

Saear; and he took out all the things in his pack Somehow each of them had become dear to him, if only because he had borne them so far with so ear Tears welled in his eyes at the thought of casting it away

&039;Do you remember that bit of rabbit, Mr Frodo?&039; he said &039;And our place under the warm bank in Captain Faramir&039;s country, the day I saw an oliphaunt?&039;

&039;No, I am afraid not, Sas happened, but I cannot see them No taste of food, no feel of water, no sound of wind, no e of moon or star are left to me I am naked in the dark Sam, and there is no veil between in to see it even witheyes, and all else fades&039;

Sam went to him and kissed his hand &039;Then the sooner we&039;re rid of it, the sooner to rest,&039; he said haltingly, finding no better words to say &039;Talking won&039;t athered up all the things that they had chosen to cast away He was not willing to leave the open in the wilderness for any eyes to see &039;Stinker picked up that orc-shirt, see to add a sword to it His hands are bad enough when e to ear away to one of thefissures that scored the land and threw them in The clatter of his precious pans as they fell down into the dark was like a death-knell to his heart

He came back to Frodo, and then of his elven-rope he cut a short piece to serve his rey cloak close about his waist The rest he carefully coiled and put back in his pack Beside that he kept only the re still hanging by his belt; and hidden away in a pocket of his tunic next his breast the phial of Galadriel and the little box that she gave him for his own

Now at last they turned their faces to the Mountain and set out, thinking nowills only to the one task of going on In the diilance could have espied them, save from close at hand Of all the slaves of the Dark Lord, only the Nazgûl could have warned him of the peril that crept, suarded reals were abroad on another errand: they were gathered far away, shadowing the ht of the Dark Toas turned

That day it seeth,of the load that he had to carry In the first marches they went further and faster than he had hoped The land was rough and hostile, and yet they ress, and ever the Mountain drew nearer But as the day wore on and all too soon the dier, as if the renewed effort had squandered his reth

At their last halt he sank down and said: &039;I&039;ave him a mouthful of water; only one more mouthful reht of Mordor closed over thehts there came the memory of water; and every brook or streareen -shades or twinkling in the sun, danced and rippled for his torment behind the blindness of his eyes He felt the cool mud about his toes as he paddled in the Pool at Bywater with Jolly Cotton and Tom and Nibs, and their sister Rosie &039;But that was years ago,&039; he sighed, &039;and far away The way back, if there is one, goes past the Mountain&039;

He could not sleep and he held a debate with himself &039;Well, come noe&039;ve done better than you hoped,&039; he said sturdily &039;Began well anyway I reckon we crossed half the distance before we stopped One more day will do it&039; And then he paused

&039;Don&039;t be a fool, Saee,&039; cao another day like that, if hehim all the water and ood way though, and I will&039;

&039;Where to?&039;

&039;To the Mountain, of course&039;

&039;But what then, Sa to do? He won&039;t be able to do anything for himself&039;

To his disot an answer to this He had no clear idea at all Frodo had not spoken uely that the Ring had somehow to be put into the fire &039;The Cracks of Doo to his mind &039;Well, if Master kno to find them, I don&039;t&039;

&039;There you are!&039; came the answer &039;It&039;s all quite useless He said so hi You could have lain down and gone to sleep together days ago, if you hadn&039;t been so dogged But you&039;ll die just the saive it up You&039;ll never get to the top anyway&039;

&039;I&039;ll get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind,&039; said Sam &039;And I&039;ll carry Mr Frodo up !&039;

At that round beneath him, and he heard or sensed a deep remote rumble as of thunder imprisoned under the earth There was a brief red flame that flickered under the clouds and died away The Mountain too slept uneasily

The last stage of their journey to Orodruin caht that he could bear He was in pain, and so parched that he could no longer s even a mouthful of food It remained dark, not only because of the s up, and away to the south-east there was a shis under the black skies Worst of all, the air was full of fu was painful and difficult, and a dizziness caered and often fell And yet their wills did not yield, and they struggled on

The Mountain crept up ever nearer, until, if they lifted their heavy heads, it filled all their sight, loo and burned stone, out of which a sheer-sided cone was raised into the clouds Before the daylong dusk ended and true night caain they had crawled and stuasp Frodo cast hiround Sahter, and his head seeain No uments of despair and would not listen to them His as set, and only death would break it He felt no longer either desire or need of sleep, but rather of watchfulness He knew that all the hazards and perils were noing together to a point: the next day would be a day of dooasp

But ould it coht see dead and adding up to no passing hour, bringing no change Saun and no day would ever reappear At last he groped for Frodo&039;s hand It was cold and tre