"J.R.R. Tolkien - 3 - The return of the king" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tolkien J.R.R)

Pippin woke to the sound of voices. Another day of hiding and a night of journey had fleeted
by. It was twilight: the cold dawn was at hand again, and chill grey mists were about them.
Shadowfax stood steaming with sweat, but he held his neck proudly and showed no sign of weariness.
Many tall men heavily cloaked stood beside him, and behind them in the mist loomed a wall of
stone. Partly ruinous it seemed, but already before the night was passed the sound of hurried
labour could be heard: beat of hammers, clink of trowels, and the creak of wheels. Torches and
flares glowed dully here and there in the fog. Gandalf was speaking to the men that barred his
way, and as he listened Pippin became aware that he himself was being discussed.
'Yea truly, we know you, Mithrandir,' said the leader of the men, 'and you know the pass-
words of the Seven Gates and are free to go forward. But we do not know your companion. What is
he? A dwarf out of the mountains in the North? We wish for no strangers in the land at this time,
unless they be mighty men of arms in whose faith and help we can trust.'
'I will vouch for him before the seat of Denethor,' said Gandalf. 'And as for valour, that
cannot be computed by stature. He has passed through more battles and perils than you have,
Ingold, though you be twice his height; and he comes now from the storming of Isengard, of which
we bear tidings, and great weariness is on him, or I would wake him. His name is Peregrin, a very
valiant man.'
'Man?' said Ingold dubiously; and the others laughed.
'Man!' cried Pippin, now thoroughly roused. 'Man! Indeed not! I am a hobbit and no more
valiant than I am a man, save perhaps now and again by necessity. Do not let Gandalf deceive you!'
'Many a doer of great deeds might say no more,' said Ingold. 'But what is a hobbit?'
'A Halfling,' answered Gandalf. 'Nay, not the one that was spoken of,' he added seeing the
wonder in the men's faces. 'Not he, yet one of his kindred.'
'Yes, and one who journeyed with him,' said Pippin. 'And Boromir of your City was with us,
and he saved me in the snows of the North, and at the last he was slain defending me from many
foes.'
'Peace!' said Gandalf. 'The news of that grief should have been told first to the father.'
'It has been guessed already,' said Ingold; 'for there have been strange portents here of
late. But pass on now quickly! For the Lord of Minas Tirith will be eager to see any that bear the
latest tidings of his son, be he man or-'


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'Hobbit,' said Pippin. 'Little service can I offer to your lord, but what I can do, I would
do, remembering Boromir the brave.'
'Fare you well!' said Ingold; and the men made way for Shadow fax, and he passed through a
narrow gate in the wall. 'May you bring good counsel to Denethor in his need, and to us all,
Mithrandir!' Ingold cried. 'But you come with tidings of grief and danger, as is your wont, they
say.'
'Because I come seldom but when my help is needed,' answered Gandalf. 'And as for counsel, to
you I would say that you are over-late in repairing the wall of the Pelennor. Courage will now be
your best defence against the storm that is at hand – that and such hope as I bring. For not all
the tidings that I bring are evil. But leave your trowels and sharpen your swords!'
'The work will be finished ere evening,' said Ingold. 'This is the last portion of the wall
to be put in defence: the least open to attack, for it looks towards our friends of Rohan. Do you
know aught of them? Will they answer the summons, think you?'
'Yes, they will come. But they have fought many battles at your back. This road and no road