The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Contents
CHAPTER IX: BARRELS OUT OF BOND
Overview
The Wood-elves capture the dwarves and imprison them in the Elvenking’s halls, but Bilbo evades notice using his ring. Alone, Bilbo scouts the dungeons, finds Thorin, and devises an escape via the cellar water-gate. After intoxicating guards fall asleep, he frees the dwarves, hides each in a barrel, and rides the river toward Lake-town clinging to one himself.
Summary
Starving and lost after the spider battle, the company is surrounded by Wood-elves. The dwarves surrender and are blindfolded and led into the Elvenking’s halls; Bilbo slips on his ring and follows unseen into the caverns. The Elvenking questions the dwarves, who refuse to reveal their quest, and imprisons each separately.
Bilbo survives by stealth, exploring the palace, stealing food, and mapping the cells. He discovers Thorin is held in a deeper dungeon and secretly communicates among the captives, urging silence about the treasure. Thorin regains resolve, trusting Bilbo to find a way rather than bargaining with the king.
While prowling the lower cellars, Bilbo discovers the water-gate: a stream passes under trapdoors into the king’s cellars, where barrels are loaded and later floated downriver to be collected near Lake-town. He conceives a plan to send the dwarves out hidden in empty casks.
When the butler and chief guard drink strong Dorwinion wine and fall asleep, Bilbo steals the keys, frees each dwarf, and leads them to the cellars as a feast distracts the elves. Despite protests about danger and discomfort, all twelve dwarves and Thorin are packed into suitable barrels, lids secured, and the casks are rolled through the trapdoors into the stream.
Realizing too late he has no barrel, Bilbo grasps the last one and is swept out with the cargo. Battered by the passage and chilled, he finally scrambles atop his barrel as the casks emerge into open water. The barrels ground in a shingly bay where elves lash them into a raft for morning transport to Lake-town; Bilbo slips ashore, steals food and wine, and hides nearby.
At dawn, amid busy rafting, Bilbo clambers unseen onto the raft of barrels. Despite elves’ suspicion at the weight, they shove off, bearing the hidden dwarves and their invisible burglar down the Forest River toward the Long Lake—and uncertain safety.
Who Appears
- Bilbo BagginsInvisible infiltrator; scouts prisons, communicates with Thorin, steals keys, and orchestrates the barrel escape, clinging to a barrel himself.
- Thorin OakenshieldImprisoned separately; regains resolve after hearing Bilbo, forbids bargaining, reluctantly agrees to the barrel plan.
- ElvenkingRuler of the Woodland Realm; questions and imprisons the dwarves for trespass and secrecy.
- BalinFirst freed; helps watch the drunken elves and complains about air-holes before being packed into a barrel.
- Galion (the butler)Drinks Dorwinion wine, falls asleep; his orders and negligence enable the barrels’ dispatch.
- Chief of the GuardsDrunk and asleep; his keys are stolen by Bilbo to free the dwarves.
- Wood-elves and raft-elvesCapture the dwarves; later load and raft the barrel cargo down the Forest River toward Lake-town.