[Findegil]

Of Mîm the Dwarf
NA-EX-27.28 <CoH Now the tale turns to Mîm the Petty dwarf. The Petty-dwarves are long out of mind, for Mîm was the last. Little was known of them even in days of old. NA-EX-27.29 <Sil77 Before the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost came west over the mountains the Elves of Beleriand knew not what these others were, and they hunted them, and slew them; but afterwards they let them alone, and they were called Noegyth Nibin, the Petty-Dwarves, in the Sindarin tongue.> The Nbin-nogrim the Elves of Beleriand called them long ago, but they did not love them; and the Petty-dwarves loved none but themselves. If they hated and feared the Orcs, they hated alos the Eldar, and the Exiles most of all; for the Noldor, they said, had stolen their lands and their homes. Nargothrond was first found and its delving begun by Petty-dwarves, long before Finrod Felagund came over the Sea.
They came, some said, of Dwarves that were banished from the great Dwarf-cities of the east in ancient days. Long before the return of Morgoth they had wandered westward. Being masterless and few in number, they found it hard to come by ore of metals, and their smith-craft and store of weapons dwindled; and they took to live of stealth, and became somewhat smaller in stature than their eastern kin, walking with bowed shoulders and quick, furtive steps. Nonetheless, as all Dwarf-kind, they were far stronger than their stature promised and they could cling to life in great hardship. But now at last they had dwindled and died out of Middle-earth, all save Mîm and his two sons; and Mîm was old even in the reckoning of Dwarves, old and forgotten.> NA-EX-27.30 <Sil77 And in his halls the smithies were idle, and the axes rusted, and their name was remembered only in ancient tales of Doriath and Nargothrond.>

After the departure of Beleg (and that was in the second summer after the flight of Túrin from Doriath){13} things went ill for the outlaws. There were rains out of season, and Orcs in greater numbers than before came down from the North and along the old south road over {Teiglin}[Taeglin], troubling all the woods on the west borders of Doriath. There was little safety or rest, and the company were more often hunted than hunters.
One night as they lay lurking in the fireless dark, Túrin looked on his life, and it seemed to him that it might well be bettered. ‘I must find some secure refuge,’ he thought, ‘and make provision against winter and hunger{’; and the next} NA-EX-27.31 <CoH .’ But he did not know whither to turn.
Next> day he led his men away <CoH southward>, further than they had yet come from the {Teiglin}[Taeglin] and the marches of Doriath{. After}<CoH ; and after> three days' journeying they halted at the western edge of the woods of Sirion's Vale. There the land was drier and more bare, as it began to climb up into the moorlands.
Soon after, it chanced that as the grey light of a day of rain was failing Túrin and his men were sheltering in a holly-thicket; and beyond it was a treeless space, in which there were many great stones, leaning or tumbled together. All was still, save for the drip of rain from the leaves.
Suddenly a watchman gave a call, and leaping up they saw three hooded shapes, grey-clad, going stealthily among the stones. They were burdened each with a great sack, but they went swiftly for all that. NA-EX-27.32 <CoH They were burdened each with a great sack, but they went swiftly for all that. >Túrin cried out to them to halt, and the men ran out on them like hounds; but they held on their way, and though Andróg shot arrows {after}<CoH at> them two vanished in the dusk. One lagged behind, ...
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... Mîm is my name. Do not let them slay me, {lord}<CoH master>, for no cause, as <CoH Orcs> would{ the Orcs}.’
Then Túrin pitied him in his heart, but he said: ‘Poor you seem, Mîm, though that {is}<CoH would be> strange in a Dwarf; but we are poorer, I think: ...
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Then Mîm clasped Túrin about his knees, saying: ‘Mîm will be your friend, lord. At first {I}<CoH he> thought you were an Elf, by your speech and your voice; but if you are a Man, that is better. Mîm does not love Elves.’
‘Where is this house of yours?’ said Andróg. ‘It must be good indeed {if Andróg is }to share it with a Dwarf. For Andróg does not like Dwarves. His people brought few good tales of that race out of the East.’
<CoH’They left worse tales of themselves behind them,’ said Mîm.> ‘Judge my home when you see it{,’ said Mîm}. {‘}But you will need light on {the}<CoH your> way, you stumbling Men. I will return in good time and lead you.’ <CoH Then he rose and picked up his sack.>
‘No, no!’ said Andróg. ...
... But he marked, and others also, that Mîm set more {value on}<CoH store by the sack and> his load than it seemed worth to the eye.
...
‘Good!’ said Túrin. ‘But now I will add this: I understand your pride. You may die, but you shall not be set in bonds again.’
{Then Mîm}NA-EX-27.33 <CoH ‘I will not,’ said Mîm. ‘But come now!’ And with that> led them back to the place where he had been captured, ...
NA-EX-27.34 <CoH Soon the> {The} company set out westward, and Túrin went at the head with Mîm at his side. They walked warily when they left the woods, but all the land {was} <CoH seemd> empty and quiet. ... rooted in rock. {About}<CoH Beyond, upon the moors and about> the lower slopes of {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð] there grew thickets ...
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... Then suddenly there was a rock-wall before them, flat-faced and sheer, {towering high above them in the dusk.} NA-EX-27.35 <CoH forty feet high, maybe, but dusk dimmed the sky above them and guess was uncertain.>
‘Is this the door of your house?’ said Túrin. ...
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... From the {cleft}NA-EX-27.71 <CoH ‘gate’> a path led, and passed soon into a little grove of dwarfed birches ...
... At the mouth of the cave he turned and bowed to Túrin. ‘Enter,{’ he said,}NA-EX-27.72 <CoH lord!’ he said:> ‘{Bar-en-Danwedh}[Bar-en-Danweð], the House of Ransom; for so it shall be called.’
...
... he darted into the passage and disappeared. {Then}<CoH Now> Andróg was all for going forward. ‘Attack first!’ he {said}<CoHcried>. ‘There may be a hive of them; but they are small.’
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‘Not all your {shafts}<CoH shots> went wild,’ said Túrin to Andróg. ‘But this may prove an ill hit. You lose shaft too lightly; but you may not live long enough to learn wisdom.’
{Then entering softly Túrin}<CoH Leaving the others, Túrin entered softly> stood behind Mîm, and spoke to him. ‘What is the trouble, Mîm?’ he said. ‘I have some healing arts. {Can I give you aid?}<CoHMay I help you?>’
Mîm turned his head, and {there was a red light in his eyes}<CoH his eyes had a red light>. ‘Not unless you can turn back time{,} and{ then} cut off the cruel hands of your men,’ he answered. ‘This is my son{, pierced by an arrow.}<CoH An arrow was in his breast.> Now he is beyond speech. He died at sunset. Your bonds held me from healing him.’
Again pity long hardened welled in Túrin's heart as water from rock. ‘Alas!’ he said. ‘I would recall that shaft, if I could. Now {Bar-en-Danwedh}[Bar-en-Danweð], House of Ransom, shall this be called in truth. For whether we dwell here or no, I will hold myself in your debt; and if ever I come to any wealth, I will pay you a {ransom}<CoH {danwedh}[ danweð] of heavy gold for your son, in token of sorrow, though it gladden your heart no more.’
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... ‘Do you fear that you have followed a spider to the heart of his web?’ he said. ‘NA-EX-27.73 <CoH Nay, >Mîm does not eat Men. And a spider could ill deal with thirty wasps at a time. See, you are armed, and I stand here bare. No, we must share, you and I: house, food, and fire, an maybe other winnings. The house, I think, you will guard and keep secret for your own good, even when you know the ways in and out. You will learn them in time. But in the meanwhile Mîm must guide you, or Ibun his son <CoH , when you go out; and one will go where you go and return when you return – or await you at some point that you know and can find unguided. Ever nearer and nearer home will that be, I guess>.’
To this Túrin agreed ...
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But when they were {cooked these roots proved} NA-EX-27.74 <CoH washed the roots proved white and fleshy with their skins, and when> boiled they were good to eat, ...
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... ‘You are one of the fools that spring would not mourn if you perished in winter,’ he said NA-EX-27.75 <CoH to him>. ‘I had spoken my word, ...
... Northward {he looked}, andNA-EX-27.76 <CoH seeming strangely near, he could> descried the Forest of Brethil climbing green about Amon Obel{ in its midst, and thither}<CoH . Thither he found that> his eyes {were drawn ever and again,}<CoH would stray more often than he wished, though> he knew not why; for his heart was set rather to the northwest, where league upon league away on the skirts of the sky it seemed to him that he could glimpse the Mountains of Shadow{, the walls}<CoH and the borders> of his home. But at evening, Túrin looked west into the sunset, as the sun rode down red into the hazes above the<CoH far> distant coasts, and the Vale of Narog lay deep in the shadows between.
...
... There Mîm would work a times, but would not allow others to be with him NA-EX-27.77 <CoH ; and he did not tell of the secret hidden stair that led from his haous to the flat summit of {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð]{. This Andróg came upon when seeking in hunger to find Mîm’s stores of food he became lost in the caves; but he kept this discovery to himself}>.
During the rest of that year they went on no more raid, ...
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Yet, and strange it seemed to them, with Túrin it went otherwise; and he became ever more friendly with the old Dwarf, and listened more and more to his counsels. In the winter that followed he would sit for long hours with Mîm, listening to his lore and the tales of his life; nor did Túrin rebuke him if he spoke ill of the Eldar. NA-TI-11 <Sil77{ For Mîm came of Dwarves that were banished in ancient days from the great Dwarf-cities of the east, and long before the return of Morgoth they wandered westward into Beleriand; but they became diminished in stature and in smith-craft, and they took to lives of stealth, walking with bowed shoulders and furtive steps. Before the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost came west over the mountains the Elves of Beleriand knew not what these others were, and they hunted them, and slew them; but afterwards they let them alone, and they were called Noegyth Nibin, the Petty-Dwarves, in the Sindarin tongue. They loved none but themselves, and if they feared and hated the Orcs, they hated the Eldar no less, and the Exiles most of all; for the Noldor, they said, had stolen their lands and their homes. Long ere King Finrod Felagund came over the Sea, the caves of Nargothrond were discovered by them, and by them its delving was begun; and beneath the crown of {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð], the Bald Hill, the slow hands of the Petty-Dwarves had bored and deepened the caves through the long years that they dwelt there, untroubled by the Grey-elves of the woods. But now at last they had dwindled and died out of Middle-earth, all save Mîm and his two sons; and Mîm was old even in the reckoning of Dwarves, old and forgotten. And in his halls the smithies were idle, and the axes rusted, and their name was remembered only in ancient tales of Doriath and Nargothrond.}> NA-EX-28.5b <Narn, Note 19 /Thus Túrin learned that/{refers to} Mîm {seeking}/had sought/ {"}for old treasures of a dwarf-house near the 'flat stones'{"} /when they had first found him/.> Mîm seemed well pleased, and showed much favour to Túrin in return; him only would he admit to his smithy at times, and there they would talk softly together. Less pleased were the Men; and Andróg looked on with a jealous eye.>

NA-TI-12 <Sil77 But when {the year drew on to midwinter,}NA-EX-28.51 <CoH autumn was passed the winter pressed them hard. Before Yule> snow came down from the north heavier than they had known it in the river-vales{, and} <CoH ; at that time, and ever the more as the power of Angband grew, the winters worsened in Beleriand.> {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð] was covered deep; and {they said that the winters worsened in Beleriand as the power of Angband grew. Then} only the hardiest dared stir abroad; and some fell sick, and all were pinched with hunger.> NA-EX-29 <Ap Narn {that through}Because of the improvidence of the outlaws food became short in {Bar-en-Danwedh}[Bar-en-Danweð] during the winter, and Mîm begrudged them the edible roots from his store{;}.> NA-EX-30b <Ap Narn At this time Andróg, seeking for Mîm's secret store of food, became lost in the caves, and found {a}the hidden stair that led out on to the flat summit of {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð]><CoH ; but he kept this discovery to himself.> {NA-TI-13 <Sil77 Then only the hardiest dared stir abroad; and some fell sick, and all were pinched with hunger.>} NA-EX-31b <Ap Narn {therefore in}In the beginning of the year they went out on a hunting foray from the stronghold.> NA-EX-32 {<Ap Narn And {either} during the foray {just mentioned, or on a later occasion,} Andróg, having taken up again bow and arrows in defiance of Mîm's curse, was wounded by a poisoned shaft> NA-EX-33 <Ap Narn {Beleg, approaching {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð], came upon their tracks, and either trailed them to a camp which they were forced to make in a sudden snowstorm, or followed them back to {Bar-en-Danwedh}[Bar-en-Danweð] and slipped in after them.}/and a sudden snwostrom forced them to make a camp in the wild./>}
NA-TI-14 <Sil77 But in the dim dusk of a winter's day there appeared suddenly among them a Man, as it seemed, of great bulk and girth, cloaked and hooded in white; NA-EX-33.1 <CoH . He had alluded their watchmen,> and he walked up to the fire without a word. {And when}<CoH When> men sprang up in fear, he laughed, and threw back his hood, and <CoH they saw that it was Beleg Strongbow. Under>{beneath} his wide cloak he bore a great pack{; and in the light of the fire Túrin looked again on the face of Beleg Cúthalion}<CoH in which he had brought many things for the help of men.>
NA-EX-34b <Ap Narn Beleg, appraoching {Amon Rûdh}[Amon Rûð], {came}had come upon their tracks, and{ either trailed them to a camp which they were forced to make in a sudden snowstorm, or} followed them back to {Bar-en-Danwedh}[Bar-en-Danweð] and slipped in after them.> NA-EX-34.1 <CoH In this way Beleg came back to Túrin, yielding to his love against his wisdom. Túrin was glad indeed, for he had often regretted his stubbornness; and now the desire of his heart was granted without the need to humble himself or to yield his own will. But if Túrin was glad, not so was Andróg, nor some others of his company. It seemed to them that there had been a tryst between Beleg and their captain, which he had kept secret from them; and Andróg watched them jealously as the two sat apart in speech together.
Beleg had brought with him the Helm of Hador; for he hoped>NA-TI-15 <Sil77 {Thus Beleg returned once more to Túrin, and their meeting was glad; and with him he brought out of Dimbar the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, thinking} that it might lift Túrin's thought again above his life in the wilderness as the leader of a petty company. NA-EX-34.2 <CoH ‘This is your own which I bring back to you,’ he said to Túrin as he took out the helm. ‘It was left in my keeping on the north-marches; but not forgotten, I think.’
‘Almost,’ said Túrin; ‘but it shall not be so again.’ NA-TI-15.5 <NA; Note 10 Then Algund, the old outlaw who had fled down Sirion from the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, said{ that Túrin}/: ‘Your/ eyes {had}/have/ long reminded {him}/me/ of another whom {he}/I/ could not recall, and{ that} mow {he}/I/ knew {him}/you/ for the son of Húrin. {“’}But he was a smaller man, small for his kin, though filled with fire; and his hair gold-red. You are dark, and tall. I see your mother in you, now that I look closer; she was of Bëor’s people. What fate was hers, I wonder.’
‘/I do not know,’ said Túrin. ‘No word comes out of the North.’> {; and}And he fell silent, looking far away with the eyes of his thought, until suddenly he caught the gleam of another thing that Beleg held in his hand. It was the gift of Melian; but the silver leaves were red in the firelight, and when Túrin saw the seal his eyes darkened. ‘What have you there?’ he said.
‘The greatest gift that one who loves you still has to give,’ answered Beleg. ‘Here is {lembas in•Elidh}[ lembas in•Elið], the waybread of the Eldar, that no man yet has tasted.’
‘The Helm of my fathers I take, with good will for your keeping,’ said Túrin, ‘but I will not receive gifts out of Doriath.’
‘Then send back your sword and your arms,’ said Beleg. ‘Send back also the teaching and fostering of your youth. And let your men, who (you say) have been faithful, die in the desert to please your mood! Nonetheless, this way-bread was a gift not to you but to me, and I may do with it as I will. Eat it not, if it sticks in your throat; but others here may be more hungry and less proud.’
Túrin’s eyes glinted, but as helocked in Beleg’s face the fire in them died, and they went grey, and he said in a voice hardly to be heard: ‘I wonder, friend, that you deign to come back to such a churl. From you I will take whatever you give, even rebuke. Henceforward you shall counsel me in all ways, save the road to Doriath only.’
The Land of Bow and Helm
In the days that followed Beleg> NA-EX-34.5 {But still Túrin would not return to Doriath; and Beleg yielding to his love against his wisdom remained with him, and did not depart /, but returned with the men to Bar-en-Danweð/, and in that time he} laboured much for the good of Túrin's company. ...
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NA-EX-27.28 In CoH the chapter beginns diffrent. And we I have added in NA-EX-27.29 NA-EX-30 passages about the dwarves not used in CoH that we found necessary but added in a diffrent palce (NA-TI-11).
NA-EX-27.31 a small add but it brings more inside in Túrins thinking at that time.
up to NA-EX-27.77 I have nothing to comment. In NA-EX-27.77 I skipt the finding of the stair by Andróg. The placing in the story when it is really winter seems much beter to me.
NA-EX-28.5b I have slightly changed the position of this addition.
NA-EX-28.51 'only the hardiest dared stir abroad;' is not in CoH but I find it stilll usefull and Narn seems to alow it.
NA-EX-29 to NA-EX-33, NA-EX-34b and NA-TI-15.5 are also not in CoH but we took them from the appendix of the Narn because they add details to the story.

Another stop for the moment. Later more.
Respectfully
Findegil