Sauron Defeated (5 page)

The pencilled passage that follows the end of the overwriting in ink reads as follows:

... keep watch upon the evil land where still his creatures lurked. But as with the Towers of the Teeth upon Kirith Gorgor, so here the watch and ward had failed and treachery had yielded up the Tower. But Sauron too had found it useful. For he had few servants and many slaves. Still its purpose was as of old to keep people in.

Sam looked and he saw how the tower commanded the main road from the pass behind; the road he was on was only a narrow way that went corkscrewing down into the darkness and seemed to join a broad way from the gate to the road.

This page was removed from the original draft text A on account of the illustration (the only one that my father ever made of the Tower of Kirith Ungol), which was squared off with rough lines, and placed with the second fair copy manuscript (E), although by then the fortress was built in three tiers not four.

This original draft continues on to its end thus, and in this appears the most important difference from the story of RK (pp. 176-8): There was no doubt of the path he must take, but the longer he looked the less he liked it. He put on the Ring again and began to go down. Now he could hear the cries and sounds of fighting again. He was about halfway down when out of the dark gate into the red glow came two orcs running. They did not turn his way but were making for the main road, when they fell and lay still. Apparently they had been shot down by others from the wall of the lower course or from the shadow of the gate.(3) After that no more came out. Sam went on. He came now

[to] the point where [the] descending path hugged the lower wall of the tower as it stood out from the rock behind. There was a narrow angle there. He stopped again, glad of the excuse; but he soon saw that there was no way in. There was no purchase in the smooth rock or [? jointed] masonry and 100 feet above the wall hung beetling out. The gate was the only way.

Here the first draft stops. Thus the entire passage in RK (p. 177) in which Sam is tempted to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, his mind filling with grandiose fantasies (deriving from those of Frodo on Mount Doom in outlines I and II, pp. 5 - 6), is lacking; but at the point where the draft ends my father wrote (dearly at the same time): Sam must not wear Ring. No doubt it was this perception that caused him to abandon this text.

He began at once on a second draft, 'B', for most of its length written legibly in ink, with the number 'LII'(4) and the title 'The Tower of Kirith Ungol'. This opened in the same way as did A (p. 18): 'For a while Sam stood stunned before the closed door. Far within he heard the sounds of orc-voices clamouring...' In the fair copy manuscript of

'The Choices of Master Samwise' it had been said (following the original draft) that 'Sam hurled himself against it, and fell', changed in pencil to 'Sam hurled himself against the bolted plates, and fell to the ground.' This was repeated in the first typescript of that chapter; only in the second typescript was the word 'senseless' introduced. The explanation of this is that while writing the present draft B of 'The Tower of Kirith Ungol' my father was struck by a thought which he noted in the margin of the page, telling himself that he 'must leave time for Frodo to recover and to fight'(5) and that in order to achieve this

'Sam must swoon outside the undergate.' It was no doubt at this time that he changed the opening of B:

For a while Sam stood dumb before the closed door. Then desperate and mad he charged at the brazen door, and fell back stunned; down into darkness he sank. How long it lasted he could not tell; but when he came to himself still all was dark.

Against the passage in the draft A referring to other events in the world at that hour (p. 18) my father noted: 'Make Frodo and Sam one day more in Ephelduath. So Frodo is captured night of 12, when Merry was in Druadan Forest and Faramir lay in fever and Pippin was with the Lord, but Aragorn was manning his fleet.' In B the passage now becomes:

Out westward in the world it was deep night upon the twelfth of March by Shire-reckoning, three days since he and Frodo had passed the peril of Minas Morgul; and now Aragorn was manning the black fleet on Anduin, and Merry in the Forest of Druadan was listening to the Wild Man, while in Minas Tirith the flames were roaring and [the great assault upon the Gates had begun >] the Lord sat beside the bed of Faramir in the White Tower.

Against 'March' in this passage my father scribbled in the margin:

'Make Hobbit names of months.'

At the point where Sam at the crest of the pass looked out over Mordor to Orodruin ('the light of it ... now glared against the stark rock faces, so that they seemed to be drenched with blood', RK p. 176) my father halted briefly and wrote the following note across the page: Change in the Ring as it comes in sight of the furnace where it was made. Sam feels large - and naked. He knows that he must not use the Ring or challenge the Eye; and he knows he is not big enough for that. The Ring is to be a desperate burden and no help from now onwards.

The Tower of Kirith Ungol is still built in four tiers, not three, and the note concerning the dimensions of the bastions was retained (see p. 20), though the dimensions were changed:

[The bottom tier projected some 40 yards from the nearly perpen-dicular cliff, the second 30, the third 20, the topmost 10; and their height diminished similarly, 80 ft., 70 ft., 60 ft., 40 ft., and the topmost turret some 50 ft. above the top of.... mountain wall.]

The road from Minas Morgul over the Pass of Morgul is said here to pass 'through a jagged cleft in the inner ridge out into the valley of Gorgor on its way to the Dark Tower'; the name Morgai had not yet been devised (cf. RK p. 176). Gorgor was changed, probably immediately, to Gorgoroth (cf. VIII.256). The Towers of the Teeth were at first not named in this text, but Narchost and Carchost was added.

in subsequently.

Following the note on the subject of the Ring just given, this draft now effectively reaches the text of RK in the account of Sam's temptation and his refusal of it, as far as the point where A ended ('The gate was the only way', RK p. 178). From this point B becomes rough and is partly in outline form.

Sam wonders how many orcs lived in the Tower with Shagrat and how many men Gorbag had [marginal note: Make Gorbag's men more numerous in last chapter of Book IV](6) and what all the fighting was about. 'Now for it!' he cried. He drew Sting and ran towards the open gate - only to feel a shock, as if he had run into some web like Shelob's but invisible. He could see no obstacle, but something too strong for his will to overcome barred the way. Then just inside the gate he saw the Two Watchers. They were as far as he could see in the gloom like great figures sitting on chairs, each had three bodies, and three heads, and their legs facing inward and outward and across the gateway. Their heads were like vulture-faces, and on their knees were laid clawlike hands.(7) They were carved of black stone, it seemed, moveless, and yet they were aware; some dreadful spirit of evil vigilance dwelt in them. They knew an enemy, and forbade his entry (or escape). Greatly daring, because there was now nothing else to do, Sam drew out the phial of Galadriel. He seemed to see a glitter in the jet-wrought eyes of the Watchers, but slowly he felt their opposition melt into fear. He sprang through, but even as he did so, as if it was some signal given by the Watchers, far up in the Tower he heard a shrill cry.

In RK (p. 179), even as Sam sprang through the gateway, 'he was aware, as plainly as if a bar of steel had snapped to behind him, that their vigilance was renewed. And from those evil heads there came a high shrill cry that echoed in the towering walls before him. Far up above, like an answering signal, a harsh bell clanged a single stroke.'

In the margin of the present text, against the foregoing passage, is a note: 'Or make Watchers close with a snap. Sam is in a trap once more.'

The courtyard was full of slain orcs. Some lay here and there, hewn down or shot, but many lay still grappling one another, as they throttled or stabbed their opponents. Two archers right in the gateway - probably those who shot down the escaping orcs

- lay pierced from behind with spears. [Sting, Sam noticed, was only shining faintly.]

Sam rushed across the court, and to his relief found the door at the base of the Tower ajar. He met no one. Torches are flaring in brackets. A stair, opening on right, goes up. He runs up it, and so out into the narrow yard before the second door.

'Well!' he said to himself, his spirits rising a little, 'Well! It looks as if Shagrat or Gorbag was on my side and has done my job for me. There's nobody left alive!'And with that he halted, suddenly realizing the full meaning of what he had said: nobody was left alive. 'Frodo! Frodo!' he called, forgetful of all else, and ran to the second door. An orc leaps out at him [in margin: Two orcs].

Sam kills the [> one] orc and the other runs off yelling for Shagrat. Sam climbs warily. The stair now rises at the back of the entrance passage, and climbs right up to the Turret (the Brazen Gate enters about on a level with the courtyard?). Sam hears voices, and stalks them. The orc is pattering away up the stairs. 'Shagrat!' he calls. 'Here he is, the other spy.' Sam follows. He overhears the orc reporting to Shagrat. Shagrat is lying wounded by dead body of Gorbag. All Gorbag's men have been killed, but they have killed all Shagrat's but these two.

An isolated slip of paper seems very likely to be the continuation of this outline, and the first sketching of the new story of the escape from the Tower. The writing declines towards the end into such a scrawl that many words and phrases are impossible to make out.

Shagrat has in vain tried to get messages away to Baraddur.

The Quarrel arose about the treasures. Gorbag coveted the mithril coat, but pretended that they must search for the missing spy first. He sent his men to capture wall and gate, and demanded mithril coat. But Shagrat won't agree. Frodo was thrust in chamber of turret and stripped. Shagrat gives him some medicine and begins to question him. Shagrat puts things together to send to Baraddur (Lugburz). Gorbag tries to fight way in and slay Frodo.

Gorbag and Shagrat fight.

When Shagrat hears news (although orc says the other spy is not a large warrior) he is frightened, as he is wounded. He makes the treasures into a bundle and tries to creep off. He must get to Lugburz. So when Sam leaps out with phial and shining sword he flees. Sam pursues; but gives up for he [?hears] Frodo

[?crying]. He sees Shagrat far below rushing out of gate - and does not at first realize the misfortune of news getting to Lugburz. The orc left behind is tormenting Frodo. Sam rushes in and slays him.

Scene of yielding up Ring. Frodo has lost his cloak and ....(8) He has to dress in the orc's clothes [or in orcs' clothes]. Sam does likewise but keeps cloak and Sting. Frodo has to have orc-weapons. The sword is gone.(9) He tells Sam about the fight.

They make their plans.

The opposition of the Watchers. The Tower seems full of evil.

Cry goes up as they escape. And as if in answer a Nazgul comes dropping down out of the black sky, [?shining .... ?with] a fell red, and perches on the wall. Meanwhile they dash down the road, and as soon as they can leave it and climb into the shelter of the rocks near bottom of trough. They wonder what to do.

Food.(10) Drink. They had found Frodo's sack and ..... [?in corner] rummaged - but orcs would not touch lembas. They gathered up what was left of it, in broken fragments. Orcs must drink. [?They see] [a] well in the courtyard. Sam tastes it - says Frodo not to risk it. It seems all right. They fill their water bottles. It is now 13th of March, make it 14th? They reckoned they have [?enough] for about a week with care or at a desperate pinch ten days. How far is it.

They climb to lower ridge and find they dare not go across the plain at that point - where it is broad and full of enemies.

The Nazgul [?explores] Tower and sees there is [??trouble]

and flies off. Frodo thinks it best to go north to where the plain narrows - he had seen sketch of Mordor in Elrond's house -

and away from Kirith Ungol to which [?? attention is now directed]. He bemoans fact that Shagrat had got away with tokens.

Chapter ends with the Nazgul shining red circling over Tower

[??and he cries as] ..... of orcs begin to search the [?pass] and the road and lands about.

I believe that at this stage my father began the chapter again, and this was the first completed manuscript ('D'). It was numbered 'LII'

but given a new title 'The Orc-tower'; the number was later changed to 'L' (which I cannot explain) and the title 'The Tower of Kirith Ungol' (which it had borne in the draft B) restored.