Mirkwood (continued)

One day, in the middle of another march, I called a halt.

"What are you doing? Why did we stop?" the dwarves asked. 

"Can't you hear it? There is a river blocking the path. I think it is the one Beorn warned us about," I answered. Thorin pushed through the line to the front where Bilbo and I were standing, shoulder to shoulder. The river was black in appearance and it was flowing very fast. In the river, by the bank we were on, stood old, broken wooden posts.

"There must have been a bridge here before..." Bilbo guessed. The dwarves sat down in their places and tried to think of a way to get across without getting wet. Bilbo and I knelt down on the shore of the river. He squinted his eyes; I thought he saw something. He called out to the dwarves and they all came in a flash.

"I think I see a boat! Oh, why couldn't it be on this side?" Bilbo said sadly.

"How far away do you think it is, Bilbo?" asked Thorin.

"Not very far. Maybe twelve yards at the most," Bilbo answered.

"Twelve yards?! I thought it was at least thirty. Alas, my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be. Well, we can't jump and we certainly wouldn't dare try to wade or swim. Wait a moment, do we have a rope?" Thorin said. Bofur got his bag and pulled out a hook and a random piece of rope that was rolled up in a little ball. He attached a hook on one end of the rope and handed it to Thorin.

"What good would that be? Even if it did hook on (which I doubt), it is probably tied up or something," said Balin.

"I don't think it's tied," said Bilbo, "but I can't be positive with such little light. It appears to me that it is merely drawn onto the bank."

Thorin budged in,

"Dwalin is the strongest, maybe he can throw the hook. Although Kili is the youngest and has the best sight out of all the dwarves. Kili, come here and see if you can see the boat Mr. Baggins is talking about." Kili came to the front, stared for a long while, and said he saw the boat. Once he knew where the boat was at, he called for the rope and threw it. Splash! the rope fell in the water.

"You almost made it! A couple more yards and you would have hooked on. Bring the hook back and try again! I'm pretty sure a bit of wet rope wouldn't cause any harm," Bilbo encouraged. Kili had the hook in his hand again. And when he threw it, everyone held their breath. We all waited to hear a splash but it never came. We all breathed again with relief. Kili gently pulled and it didn't move. He tugged on the rope; soon Fili, Oin, and Gloin were tugging the rope too. Bilbo was watching very carefully at the rope. Suddenly, the dwarves fell back and the hook came flying back with a chunk of the boat. Bilbo caught just before it whacked someone in the eye. The boat started to float away but luckily Balin caught in just in time.

"Now that we have the boat, who's going to cross first?" Bilbo asked.

"You, Fawnabelle, and I will cross first with Kili and Balin. Then Fili, Oin, Gloin, and Dori; after them Ori, Nori, Bifur, and Bofur; and the last ones will be Dwalin and Bombur," Thorin explained.

"Why do I always have to be the last? It's not fair, someone else should be the last one," Bombur complained.

"Well, you shouldn't be so fat! You must be the lightest and last boatload. Don't argue against orders or we'll get ill luck," Thorin replied. Bilbo and I exchanged looks and laughed silently.