THE HOBBIT Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
A Thief in the Night
Smaug was dead. The Men of Laketown and the Elves of Mirkwood were marching north to the Mountain. But what about Bilbo and the Dwarves? They had no idea what was happening in the south. They had no knowledge that the guardian of the treasure was gone.
As Bilbo and the Dwarves waited for any news, suddenly, out of the sky, the old thrush appeared! The same thrush that Bilbo had tried to hit with a rock only two days before. He fluttered down and sat on a rock near Thorin and began to tweet and chirp. And to their surprise and joy, they understood him. Bilbo, however, was unable to understand everything the bird said, and Balin had to explain the details to him later on. But this is what the old thrush said:
“Thorin, King Under the Mountain! Smaug is dead! The guardian of the gold has fallen.” “Dead! Dead?” shouted the Dwarves. “Dead! Then we have been hiding in fear for no reason. And the treasure is ours!” They all jumped up and began to dance and shout in happiness.
“Yes, he is dead. He fell two days ago. You can return to your Mountain as King, and the treasure is yours - for the moment. But there are many who are coming here. The news that Smaug is dead has been told all over the land. And there are many who want the unguarded treasure. There is an army of Elves coming from Mirkwood, and the Lakemen are angry and blame the Dwarves for the destruction of their town.”
Thorin replied in anger, “Thank you for the news, old thrush! You and your kind will not be forgotten. But no thief will steal any of our gold, nor will any army try to take it while we are alive. If you would help us, thrush, bring us news of the people as they come closer. Also, I would ask you to send a message to my cousin Dain in the Iron Hills close to here. He has many strong, well-armed and armored Dwarves. Tell him to come as fast as he can!”
“I will not say if your decision is good or bad,” said the thrush, “but I will do what can be done.” Then he flew off into the sky. “Come, Dwarves! Back to the Mountain. We have many things to do in preparation, and we have no time to lose!” “And little food to use!” cried Bilbo. The Hobbit was always practical when it came to food and comfort.
In fact, Bilbo believed that now that the dragon was dead, the adventure for him was basically over. He was very mistaken, and he would have given most of his reward in gold for this whole adventure to come to an end. “Back to the Mountain!” cried the Dwarves. They did not listen to Bilbo, and Bilbo had no choice at the moment. Back to Mountain he went.
Now, you know very well what happened. And you know that the Dwarves still had many days to prepare for the arrival of the armies. So they began to work very hard to prepare the front gates for any attack. They built a high, strong wall that blocked part of the River Running. Soon the entrance to the Mountain was blocked and flooded. There was only a small space for anyone to approach the front gates.
One night, after many days, the Dwarves could see many lights, like little fires, in the valley to the south, around the town of Dale. “The armies are here!” called Balin. “And there are very many of them.” The Dwarves did not sleep that night. The next day a small company of Men and Elves approached the front gates.
Thorin called out to them in a loud voice, “Who are you, and why do you come dressed for war to the gates of Thorin son of Thrain, King Under the Mountain?” A tall man walked forward and cried, “Thorin! Why have you built a wall to close the front gates? We are not your enemies. We are happy to see that you survived the dragon. But there are many things we must discuss.” “Who are you and why should we talk?” answered Thorin.
“I am Bard. I killed the dragon and released your treasure. Is that not important to you? I am a descendant of Girion of Dale, and much of the gold and wealth that was in Dale is now part of the treasure that Smaug stole. Also, Smaug destroyed Laketown, and I have come to ask for your support to help its people to rebuild the town. They helped you when you needed assistance, but your presence only brought sadness and destruction, but I know you did not mean for it to happen.”
Bilbo thought that what Bard was saying was true and quite fair. Of course Thorin would agree to talk. But Bilbo did not consider the power the gold had on Dwarves’ hearts. Thorin had spent many hours in the treasure hall, touching and feeling the gold and jewels. He searched mainly for the Arkenstone, but there were many other beautiful pieces there.
Thorin finally answered, “The Dwarves will repay the people of Laketown soon, but as long as you stand there with weapons and the threat of war, we will give nothing. Until you leave your weapons behind, we will consider you our enemies. And we will never talk to the Elf king and his people. I remember how he treated us. They have no place in this debate. Leave now before I send you arrows instead of more words!”
“And if you want to speak with us again, return without the Elf-king, and without your weapons!” “The Elk-king is my friend,” said Bard. “He helped the people of Laketown when they needed it the most. We will give you time to reconsider your words. Think again, before we return.”
Some hours later, the company returned to the front gates of the Mountain. “In the name of Laketown and the Forest of Mirkwood,” the speaker shouted, “we ask that Thorin Okenshield, King Under the Mountain, consider what we have requested. If he refuses, we will call him our enemy. He must give Bard one-twelfth of the treasure, as the killer of the dragon and descendant of Girion of Dale. Also…”
Before the man could finish, Thorin took a bow and arrow and shot it at the speaker. The arrow hit his shield and stuck there. “If that is your answer,” the speaker continued, “then consider yourselves our enemies. The Mountain is surrounded. We will not attack you, but we will also not let you leave. You may stay with your gold and eat that if you are hungry!”
Bilbo did not approve of Thorin’s behavior. In fact, he was tired of the Mountain and he did not appreciate that he could not leave now. “This whole place still smells like dragon,” he complained to himself. So, many long days passed. Thorin now spoke openly about the Arkenstone. He asked the other Dwarves to look for it in the piles of treasure. “It is worth more than a river of gold to me. There is nothing more precious. If anyone finds it and does not give it to me, they will suffer the consequences!”
Bilbo was terrified of what Thorin would do if he discovered that Bilbo had the Arkenstone. But he did not say anything. “I am afraid I must make a decision,” he thought to himself. Time passed. The birds informed Thorin that his cousin Dain was only two days away. Thorin hoped that when the armies of Men and Elves learned that Dain was coming, they would reconsider their position.
That night, Bilbo made up his mind. He could wait no longer. He put the Arkenstone in his pocket, put on his ring, and snuck over the wall in the dark night. He was as silent as a Hobbit could be and no one saw him or heard him. He walked quietly down to the valley towards the fires, and crossed the river to find their leaders.
As he was crossing, his foot slipped on a wet rock and he fell with a loud “splash!” into the cold water. "That was no fish!" said an Elf guard. "There is a spy out there. It might be that strange creature that is with the Dwarves. They say he is their servant!”
“Servant?” said Bilbo angrily, then sneezed very loudly. The Elves quickly surrounded him, but they still could not see him. “I am here, if you want me!” shouted Bilbo, and he took off his ring. The Elf guards captured him quickly and took him to the leaders of their armies.
Soon, Bilbo was sitting near a warm fire. Bard and the Elf-king were sitting on the other side of the fire. "I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins," he said. “I am a companion of Thorin, if you want to know. Things are impossible. And I am tired of this journey. I do not want anyone to get hurt and I want to go home. But Thorin is prepared to sit on his piles of gold forever.”
"Well, let him!" said Bard. "He is a fool, and he deserves to starve." "That is true," said Bilbo, "but I have important information for you. Dain, Thorin’s cousin from the north, is only two days away. He comes with 500 armed Dwarves. Many of them have experience in the Goblin Wars. When they arrive, your situation will become more difficult, I am sure.”
“Why are you telling us this?” asked Bard in a serious voice. “Why are you betraying your friends, or are you threatening us?” “My dear Bard!” said Bilbo in surprise. “I only want to prevent more trouble for everyone. I would like to make you an offer!”
“Go ahead. We are listening,” replied Bard. “Here it is!” with these words Bilbo took the Arkenstone out of his pocket. The Elvinking, who was accustomed to things of great beauty, stood up in wonder and amazement. Even Bard looked at the stone in silence. The Arkenstone glowed with a rich, white light.
"This is the Arkenstone of Thrain," said Bilbo, "the Heart of the Mountain; and it is also the heart of Thorin. He values it above a river of gold. I will give it to you. It will help you in your negotiations with Thorin." Then Bilbo gave the marvelous jewel to Bard. When the stone left the Hobbit’s hand, he felt a very powerful sense of loss. “I am going back now, before they realize I am gone. I hope this will be useful to you.”
As Bilbo was walking through the camp back towards the Mountain, an old man wearing dark clothes stood up and came towards him. “Hello there, Mr. Baggins!” he said happily. “There really is more to you than anyone expects!” It was Gandalf! Bilbo was happier than he had been for many days. Bilbo wanted to ask Gandalf many questions about his own journeys.
“There is no time right now!” said Gandalf. “Things are coming to an end. There are some difficult times in the coming days, but keep your heart positive! You may come through safe and sound. There is news that even the birds do not know. We will talk soon. Good night!” Bilbo felt confused, but he felt more positive now.
He walked quietly back to the gates. Before he got too close, he put his ring back on and climbed up the wall, and climbed into his little bed. He was soon fast asleep. He forgot all about the things that worried him until the morning. As a matter of fact he was dreaming of eggs and bacon.
