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the tower of cirith ungol 1179
‘And anyway all these notions are only a trick,’ he said to
himself. ‘He’d spot me and cow me, before I could so much
as shout out. He’d spot me, pretty quick, if I put the Ring on
now, in Mordor. Well, all I can say is: things look as hopeless
as a frost in Spring. Just when being invisible would be really
useful, I can’t use the Ring! And if ever I get any further, it’s
going to be nothing but a drag and a burden every step. So
what’s to be done?’
He was not really in any doubt. He knew that he must go
down to the gate and not linger any more. With a shrug of
his shoulders, as if to shake off the shadow and dismiss the
phantoms, he began slowly to descend. With each step he
seemed to diminish. He had not gone far before he had
shrunk again to a very small and frightened hobbit. He was
now passing under the very walls of the Tower, and the cries
and sounds of fighting could be heard with his unaided ears.
At the moment the noise seemed to be coming from the court
behind the outer wall.
Sam was about half way down the path when out of the
dark gateway into the red glow there came two orcs running.
They did not turn towards him. They were making for the
main road; but even as they ran they stumbled and fell to the
ground and lay still. Sam had seen no arrows, but he guessed
that the orcs had been shot down by others on the battlements
or hidden in the shadow of the gate. He went on, hugging
the wall on his left. One look upward had shown him that
there was no hope of climbing it. The stone-work rose thirty
feet, without a crack or ledge, to overhanging courses like
inverted steps. The gate was the only way.
He crept on; and as he went he wondered how many orcs
lived in the Tower with Shagrat, and how many Gorbag
had, and what they were quarrelling about, if that was what
was happening. Shagrat’s company had seemed to be about
forty, and Gorbag’s more than twice as large; but of course
Shagrat’s patrol had only been a part of his garrison. Almost
certainly they were quarrelling about Frodo, and the spoil.