I don't know if 8 is the answer Beren87 is looking for, but here is where I got it:
Quote:
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The day after the battle with the spiders Bilbo and the dwarves made one last despairing effort to find a way out before they died of hunger and thirst. They got up and staggered on in the direction which eight out of the thirteen of them guessed to be the one in which the path lay;...
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Chapter 9: Barrels Out of Bond
It says "eight out of the thirteen of them" not "eight dwarves" so it a little iffy.