towers

894 the two towers
At last they came out of the stony darkness and looked
about. They were on a wide flat rock without rail or parapet.
At their right, eastwards, the torrent fell, splashing over many
terraces, and then, pouring down a steep race, it filled a
smooth-hewn channel with a dark force of water flecked with
foam, and curling and rushing almost at their feet it plunged
sheer over the edge that yawned upon their left. A man stood
there, near the brink, silent, gazing down.
Frodo turned to watch the sleek necks of the water as they
curved and dived. Then he lifted his eyes and gazed far away.
The world was quiet and cold, as if dawn were near. Far
off in the West the full moon was sinking, round and white.
Pale mists shimmered in the great vale below: a wide gulf of
silver fume, beneath which rolled the cool night-waters of the
Anduin. A black darkness loomed beyond, and in it glinted,
here and there, cold, sharp, remote, white as the teeth of
ghosts, the peaks of Ered Nimrais, the White Mountains of
the realm of Gondor, tipped with everlasting snow.
For a while Frodo stood there on the high stone, and a
shiver ran through him, wondering if anywhere in the vastness
of the nightlands his old companions walked or slept, or
lay dead shrouded in mist. Why was he brought here out of
forgetful sleep?
Sam was eager for an answer to the same question and
could not refrain himself from muttering, for his master’s ear
alone as he thought: ‘It’s a fine view, no doubt, Mr. Frodo,
but chilly to the heart, not to mention the bones! What’s
going on?’
Faramir heard and answered. ‘Moonset over Gondor. Fair
Ithil, as he goes from Middle-earth, glances upon the white
locks of old Mindolluin. It is worth a few shivers. But that is
not what I brought you to see – though as for you, Samwise,
you were not brought, and do but pay the penalty of your
watchfulness. A draught of wine shall amend it. Come, look
now!’
He stepped up beside the silent sentinel on the dark edge,
and Frodo followed. Sam hung back. He already felt insecure