Page 200 - The Hobbit

This is the plan that he made in council with the Elvenking and with Bard; and

with Dain, for the dwarf-lord now joined them: the Goblins were the foes of all,
and at their coming all other quarrels were forgotten. Their only hope was to lure
the goblins into the valley between the arms of the Mountain; and themselves to

man the great spurs that struck south and east. Yet this would be perilous, if the
goblins were in sufficient numbers to overrun the Mountain itself, and so attack
them also from behind and above; but there was no time for make any other plan,
or to summon any help.

Soon the thunder passed, rolling away to the South-East; but the bat-cloud
came, flying lower, over the shoulder of the Mountain, and whirled above them
shutting out the light and filling them with dread.

"To the Mountain!" called Bard. "To the Mountain! Let us take our places
while there is yet time!"
On the Southern spur, in its lower slopes and in the rocks at its feet, the Elves
were set; on the Eastern spur were men and dwarves. But Bard and some of the

nimblest of men and elves climbed to the height of the Eastern shoulder to gain a
view to the North. Soon they could see the lands before the Mountain's feet black
with a hurrying multitude. Ere long the vanguard swirled round the spur's end and

came rushing into Dale. These were the swiftest wolf-riders, and already their
cries and howls rent the air afar. A few brave men were strung before them to
make a feint of resistance, and many there fell before the rest drew back and fled
to either side. As Gandalf had hoped, the goblin army had gathered behind the

resisted vanguard, and poured now in rage into the valley, driving wildly up
between the arms of the Mountain, seeking for the foe. Their banners were
countless, black and red, and they came on like a tide in fury and disorder.
It was a terrible battle. The most dreadful of all Bilbo's experiences, and the

one which at the time he hated most – which is to say it was the one he was most
proud of, and most fond of recalling long afterwards, although he was quite
unimportant in it. Actually I must say he put on his ring early in the business, and
vanished from sight, if not from all danger. A magic ring of that sort is not a

complete protection in a goblin charge, nor does it stop flying arrows and wild
spears; but it does help in getting out of the way, and it prevents your head from
being specially chosen for a sweeping stroke by a goblin swordsman.

The elves were the first to charge. Their hatred for the goblins is cold and
bitter. Their spears and swords shone in the gloom with a gleam of chill flame, so
deadly was the wrath of the hands that held them. As soon as the host of their
enemies was dense in the valley, they sent against it a shower of arrows, and each