towers

858 the two towers
from Frodo’s direction. There it went again from another
place! Sam began to run as well as he could uphill.
He found that a small brand, burning away to its outer
end, had kindled some fern at the edge of the fire, and
the fern blazing up had set the turves smouldering. Hastily
he stamped out what was left of the fire, scattered the
ashes, and laid the turves on the hole. Then he crept back
to Frodo.
‘Did you hear a whistle, and what sounded like an answer?’
he asked. ‘A few minutes back. I hope it was only a bird, but
it didn’t sound quite like that: more like somebody mimicking
a bird-call, I thought. And I’m afraid my bit of fire’s been
smoking. Now if I’ve gone and brought trouble, I’ll never
forgive myself. Nor won’t have a chance, maybe!’
‘Hush!’ whispered Frodo. ‘I thought I heard voices.’
The two hobbits trussed their small packs, put them on
ready for flight, and then crawled deeper into the fern. There
they crouched listening.
There was no doubt of the voices. They were speaking low
and furtively, but they were near, and coming nearer. Then
quite suddenly one spoke clearly close at hand.
‘Here! Here is where the smoke came from!’ it said. ‘ ’Twill
be nigh at hand. In the fern, no doubt. We shall have it like
a coney in a trap. Then we shall learn what kind of thing
it is.’
‘Aye, and what it knows!’ said a second voice.
At once four men came striding through the fern from
different directions. Since flight and hiding were no longer
possible, Frodo and Sam sprang to their feet, putting back to
back and whipping out their small swords.
If they were astonished at what they saw, their captors were
even more astonished. Four tall Men stood there. Two had
spears in their hands with broad bright heads. Two had great
bows, almost of their own height, and great quivers of long
green-feathered arrows. All had swords at their sides, and
were clad in green and brown of varied hues, as if the better