And I went all that day at a strong pace, and did be oft tempted to send
the Master-Word unto Naani; yet did keep from so foolish an acting, the
which, mayhaps, had brought straightway upon me an Evil Power, and had
given me to Destruction when that I was near come to the succour of the
Maid. And it was this quick and constant fear of the Evil Forces of the
Night Land, that did keep me ever from calling unto Naani, lest that
they should discover me, and follow after; and this, I doubt not, you to
know by now so well as I. Now, by the sixth hour, I was come into a part of the Country where
there were an exceeding abundance of steam fountains and sprayings and
great upboilings of water in basins of rock; and the air did be full of
the sounds and the roarings of the boilings and the spoutings, and of a
hot mist and spray; so that, truly, I had scarce the power to see to my
front, nor to any side. And here, presently, I made a pause, and did eat and drink, and
afterward went forward again; and I did keep the shore of the sea always
to my right, and so did go proper to my way; yet with no great ease; for
the sea also did steam very strong in that part, and because of this
great fog of steam, I was surely much laboured to make a great speed,
lest unseeing I go headlong into an hole of the boiling water. And in the ninth hour, I did go clear of the hot boilings, and was come
again free of the mist and the steam, and might look with mine eyes to
my going. And, surely, as I did perceive, I was come to the end of the
great sea that had been ever to my right; for it did go against the feet
of great and monstrous mountains, that went upward for ever into the
night, and did seem as that they were the hither wall of that strange
Country of Fire and Water. And so was I stood there very much taken upon
doubt; for how should I go farther. And after that I had been there a while, in a bewilderment of doubt and
of wit, I went to the left, along the feet of the mountains; and truly
this but of common sense; for how might I go any other way, save I go
back again! And at the twelfth hour I eat two of the tablets, and drank some of the
water, and went forward once more. And lo! at the fifteenth hour, I was
come to a place between the mountains, even an upward gorge, very dark
and gloomy, and without light for a great way. And, in verity, I did not want to go up the gorge, in that it was so
dreary a place and narrow and horrid and drear-seeming, after the light
and wideness of the Country in which I did yet stand. And presently, I did go past the mouth of the gorge, that I should learn
whether there went another way out of that Country. And thiswise, for a
great hour more, along the feet of the mountains, and did presently come
to a monstrous black river, that was, maybe, a mile wide. And it to be
very shallow, and seeming as that the water scarce to cover the mud of
the bottom. And here and there a great steam did come from it, and
spirtings and moundings-up of the mud in many places, and monstrous
babblings and puffings-up of strange smoke, as that a great heat went
beneath it in this place and in that. And surely it went backward into the country for a mighty way, so far as
my sight did go; and I did think it to be no river, but truly a further
sea. And there was no way across; for there were no trees anigh, to make
me a raft, neither might I wade across; for it might be shallow here and
deep there, and the mud be in all places. And, moreover, I had been like
to be caught in one of those upburstings of mud, even did I have a raft
to go upon. And because of all these things, I gat me back again to the
Gorge, and presently I did go upward into the darkness. Now, I went upward very steady, save that I did stumble oft, and did go
through six great hours. And truly it did seem that I went in an utter
dark, because that I had been awhile in so constant a light. And, by that I had been six hours in the Gorge, I was gone right away
from the Country of the Seas, and did be as that I was back into some
place that was like to the dreadness of the Night Land. For there were
in this place and in that place of the Gorge, red fire-holes, even as in
the Night Land. Yet not many until that I was come a great way up of the
Gorge. And there did be life of horrid things about the fires, as soon I
did wot; so that I made to keep off from them. Yet, as you shall
perceive, I must come oft pretty near, because that the Gorge was
nowheres scarce an hundred good paces across, and did oft come very
narrow, so that I did come oft anigh to the fire-holes, whether that I
did heed to or not. And all that time, and ever, did the Gorge go very sharp upward, so that
it was a very weary thing to make great trial of speed, as you shall
know. But yet I went so fast as I could do; for I was grown sudden very
excited about the heart, and to feel as that I did surely draw anigh to
that strange and hid place of the world, where was the Lesser Refuge. And when I had gone upward through six great hours, as I did say, I took
caution for a place proper to slumber; for I was surely very wearied. And I saw a place presently, afar upward of the dark side of the Gorge,
upon the right, where a ledge of the Rock did show in the glaring from
one of the fire-holes that made a gloomy light in that place. And I
climbed unto this ledge, and did find it to be secure, and awkward to
come upon. And presently, after that I had eat and drunk, I did compose
myself unto sleep, the which came very speedy upon me, whilst yet I did
believe I thought only upon the sweetness of the Maid. And truly it had
been something over three and twenty hours, since last I did sleep; so
that I was greatly awearied. And in six hours I waked and did eat, and did climb downward again to
the Gorge, and so unto mine upward journey. Now, as you do perceive, when that I was come properly a great way up
the Gorge, and had come among the fire-holes, there was no more an utter
darkness, for the dull red glare of the pits beat upward upon the black
sides of the rock-mountains, that did make the sides of the Gorge; so
that oft I did see both sides very plain in the lower parts; yet of the
height of the Gorge, who might know aught; for the black sides did go
upward for ever into the everlasting night. And because of the light from the fire-pits, I did see, time and oft
about the fires, horrid monsters, both that were snakes, and others like
to scorpions so great as my head; but no more than these for a long
while. And afterward I perceived that surely other matters did move
among the rocks of the Gorge; so that I did keep the Diskos very ready
in mine hand; yet had truly no use for it all that day. Now I eat and drank at the sixth and the twelfth hours, and went onward
at a very strong speed. And at the sixteenth hour, I did seem as that I
knew the aether to be stirred about me, and the beat of the Master-Word
very faint upon mine inward ear.