 The bodyguard of Bulg came howling against them and drove in upon their ranks like waves upon cliffs of sand. Their friends could not help them, for the assault from the mountain was renewed with redoubled force, and upon either side men and elves were being slowly beaten down. On all this Bilbo looked with misery. He had taken his stand on Ravenhill among the elves, partly because there was more chance of escape from that point, and partly, with a more tookish part of his mind, because if he was going to be in a last desperate stand, he preferred on the whole to defend the Elven King. Gandalf, too, I may say, was there, sitting on the ground, as if in deep thought, preparing, I suppose, some last blast of magic before the end. That did not seem far off. It will not belong now, thought Bilbo, before the goblins win the gate, and we're all slaughtered or driven down and captured. Really, it's enough to make one weep after all one's gone through. I would rather old smug had been left with all the wretched treasure, than that these vile creatures should get it, and poor old Bomber, and Barlin, and Phelion, and Keeley, and all the rest come to a bad end, and Bard, too, and the Lakemen, and the Meriel. It was misery me. I've heard songs of many battles, and I've always understood that defeat may be glorious. It seems very uncomfortable, not to say distressing. I wish I was well out of it. The clouds were torn by the wind, and a red sunset slashed the west. Seeing the sudden gleam and the gloom, Bilbo looked round. He gave a great s- Yes? What is it? Cry. He had seen a sight that made his heart leap. Dark shapes, small yet majestic, against the distant glow. The eagles- Wow! The eagles, he shouted. The eagles are coming! Bilbo's eyes were seldom wrong. Yikes! The eagles were coming down the wi- Line after line, in such a host as must have gathered from all the eye- Here is of the north. The eagles! The e- eagles! Bilbo cried, dancing and waving his arms. If the elves could not see him, they could hear him. Soon they, too, took up the cry, and it echoed across the valley. Many wandering eyes looked up, though as yet nothing could be seen except from the sudden shoulders of the mountain. The eagles cried Bilbo once more, but at that moment a stone hurtling from above smoked heavily on his helm, and he fell with a crash and knew no more.