Guide to The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Chapter 9

The Hobbit - Chapter 9 - Barrels Out of Bond

Plot

After Bilbo and the rest of the dwarves escape the spiders, they are brought blindfolded to the halls of the Elvenking. They refuse to reveal their plan because the elves would demand a share of the prize. Bilbo is still wearing his ring and thus is still invisible. Bilbo talks to them and plots an escape. The elves exchange goods with the population of Lake Town via barrels. News barrels float through a river under the elves' dwelling. Empty ones are sent back to a storeroom. Bilbo decides to exploit it. Bilbo steals the keys form a guardsman, steals it, and employs the plan. He packs each dwarf into an empty barrel before the elves return and thus they are shoved into the river. The trapdoors open and the dwarves sped out along the river to Lake Town.