The Hobbit

very hungry indeed. “It seems to be late morning,” he said, “and
     so I suppose it is more or less breakfast-time—if there is any breakfast to have. But I don’t feel that Smaug’s front doorstep
     is the safest place for a meal. Do let’s go somewhere where we can sit quiet for a bit!”
    “Quite right!” said Balin. “And I think I know which way we should go: we ought to make for the old look-out post at the South-West
     corner of the Mountain.”
    “How far is that?” asked the hobbit.
    “Five hours march, I should think. It will be rough going. The road from the Gate along the left edge of the stream seems
     all broken up. But look down there! The river loops suddenly east across Dale in front of the ruined town. At that point there
     was once a bridge, leading to steep stairs that climbed up the right bank, and so to a road running towards Ravenhill. There
     is (or was) a path that left the road and climbed up to the post. A hard climb, too, even if the old steps are still there.”
    “Dear me!” grumbled the hobbit. “More walking and more climbing without breakfast! I wonder how many breakfasts, and other
     meals, we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?”
    As a matter of fact two nights and the day between had gone by (and not altogether without food) since the dragon smashed the magic door, but Bilbo had quite lost count, and
     it might have been one night or a week of nights for all he could tell.
    “Come, come!” said Thorin laughing—his spirits had begun to rise again, and he rattled the precious stones in his pockets.
     “Don’t call my palace a nasty hole! You wait till it has been cleaned and redecorated!”
    “That won’t be till Smaug’s dead,” said Bilbo glumly. “In the meanwhile where is he? I would give a good breakfast to know.
     I hope he is not up on the Mountain looking down at us!”
    That idea disturbed the dwarves mightily, and they quickly decided that Bilbo and Balin were right.
    “We must move away from here,” said Dori. “I feel as if his eyes were on the back of my head.”
    “It’s a cold lonesome place,” said Bombur. “There may be drink, but I see no sign of food. A dragon would always be hungry
     in such parts.”
    “Come on! Come on!” cried the others. “Let us follow Balin’s path!”
    Under the rocky wall to the right there was no path, so on they trudged among the stones on the left side of the river, and
     the emptiness and desolation soon sobered even Thorin again. The bridge that Balin had spoken of they found long fallen, and
     most of its stones were now only boulders in the shallow noisy stream; but they forded the water without much difficulty,
     and found the ancient steps, and climbed the high bank. After going a short way they struck the old road, and before long
     came to a deep dell sheltered among the rocks; there they rested for a while and had such a breakfast as they could, chiefly
cram
and water. (If you want to know what
cram
is, I can only say that I don’t know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining,
     and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise. It was made by the Lake-men
     for long journeys.)
    After that they went on again; and now the road struck westwards and left the river, and the great shoulder of the south-pointing
     mountain-spur drew ever nearer. At length they reached the hill path. It scrambled steeply up, and they plodded slowly one
     behind the other, till at last in the late afternoon they came to the top of the ridge and saw the wintry sun going downwards
     to the West.
    Here they found a flat place without a wall on three sides, but backed to the North by a rocky face in which there was an
     opening like a door. From that door there was a wide view East and South and West.
    “Here,” said Balin, “in the old days we used always to keep watchmen, and that door behind leads into a rockhewn chamber that
     was made here as a guardroom. There were several places like it round the Mountain. But there seemed small need for watching
     in the days of our prosperity, and the guards were made over comfortable, perhaps—otherwise we might have had longer warning
     of the coming of the dragon, and things might have been different. Still, here we can now lie hid and sheltered for a while,
     and can see much without being seen.”
    “Not much use, if we have been seen coming here,”