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'What am I saying? I have been dreaming. Where did you get to, Frodo?' 
     'I thought that I  was lost,' said Frodo; 'but I don't want to speak of 
it. Let us think of what we are to do now! Let us go on!' 
     'Dressed up like this, sir?' said Sam. 'Where are my clothes?' He flung 
his circlet, belt, and  rings on the grass, and looked round helplessly,  as 
if  he  expected  to  find  his  cloak,  jacket,  and  breeches,  and  other  
hobbit-garments lying somewhere to hand. 
     'You won't find  your clothes again,' said  Tom, bounding down from the 
mound, and laughing as he danced round them in the  sunlight. One would have 
thought  that  nothing dangerous  or dreadful  had happened;  and indeed the 
horror faded  out of their  hearts as they looked at him, and saw the  merry 
glint in his eyes. 
     'What do you mean?' asked Pippin, looking at him, half puzzled and half 
amused. 'Why not?' 
     But Tom shook his  head, saying: 'You've found yourselves again, out of


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obedient line six  ponies: their own five and one more. The last was plainly 
old Fatty Lumpkin: he was larger, stronger,  fatter  (and older)  than their 
own ponies. Merry, to whom the others belonged, had not, in fact, given them 
any such names, but they answered  to the  new names that Tom had given 
them 
for the rest of  their  lives. Tom called  them one by  one and they climbed 
over the brow and stood in a line. Then Tom bowed to the hobbits.  
     'Here are your ponies, now!' he  said.  'They've  more  sense (in  some 
ways) than you  wandering hobbits have  - more sense in their noses. For they 
sniff  danger ahead which  you walk  right  into; and if  they  run to  save 
themselves, then they run  the  right  way.  You must forgive  them all; for  
though their hearts are faithful,  to  face fear of Barrow-wights is not what 
they were made for. See, here they come again, bringing all their burdens!'


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remainder of  Tom's provisions,  meant for their supper, with additions that 
Tom had brought with him. It was  not a large meal (considering hobbits  and 
the circumstances), but they felt much better for it. While they were eating 
Tom went up to the mound, and looked through the treasures. Most of these he 
made into a pile that glistened and  sparkled on the grass. He bade them lie 
there 'free to  all finders,  birds, beasts. Elves  or Men,  and  all kindly 
creatures'; for so the spell of the mound should be broken and scattered and 
no Wight  ever  come back to it. He chose for himself from the pile a brooch  
set  with  blue  stones,  many-shaded like flax-flowers or the wings of blue 
butterflies. He looked long at it, as if stirred by some memory, shaking his 
head, and saying at last:  
     'Here is a pretty toy for  Tom and for his  lady! Fair was she who long 
ago  wore this on her shoulder. Goldberry shall wear it now, and we will not 
forget her!'


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glint in his eyes. 
     'What do you mean?' asked Pippin, looking at him, half puzzled and half 
amused. 'Why not?' 
     But Tom shook his  head, saying: 'You've found yourselves again, out of 
the deep water. Clothes are but little loss, if you escape from drowning. Be 
glad,  my merry friends, and let the warm sunlight heal now  heart and limb!  
Cast off these cold rags! Run naked on the grass, while Tom goes a -hunting!' 
     He sprang away down hill, whistling and calling. Looking down after him 
Frodo saw him  running away southwards along the green  hollow between 
their 
hill and the next, still whistling and crying: 
     Hey! now! Come hoy now! Whither do you wander? 
     Up, down, near or far, here, there or yonder? 
     Sharp-ears, Wise-nose, Swish-tail and Bumpkin, 
     White-socks my little lad, and old Fatty Lumpkin!


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####-The  Big  Folk and  the  Little Folk  (as they  called one another) were  on  
friendly  terms,  minding their  own affairs in  their own  ways,  but  both 
rightly regarding  themselves as  necessary parts of the Bree-folk.  Nowhere 
else in the world was this peculiar (but excellent) arrangement to be found. 
     The Bree-folk, Big and Little, did  not themselves travel much; and the 
affairs  of the  four villages  were their  chief concern. Occasionally  the 
Hobbits  of Bree went as far as  Buckland, or the  Eastfarthing; but  though 
their  link land  was not  much  further  than a  day's  riding  east of the 
Brandywine Bridge,  the  Hobbits  of the Shire  now seldom  visited  it.  An 
occasional Bucklander or  adventurous Took would come  out to  the Inn for a  
night  or  two, but  even  that  was  becoming  less  and  less  usual.  The 
Shire-hobbits referred to those of Bree, and to any others that lived beyond


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many signs of the recent heavy rain; there were pools and pot-holes  full of 
water. They rode down the  bank and looked up and down. There was nothing 
to 
be  seen. 'Well,  here we  are again at  last!'  said  Frodo.  'I suppose  we 
haven't  lost more than two days  by  my short  cut through the Forest!  But 
perhaps the delay will prove useful  - it may have put them off our trail.' 
     The others looked at  him.  The shadow of the fear of the  Black Riders 
came suddenly over them  again. Ever since they had entered  the Forest they 
had thought chiefly of getting back  to  the  Road;  only  now  when it  lay 
beneath their feet  did they remember the danger which pursued them, and was 
more than likely  to be  lying in wait for  them upon the Road  itself. They 
looked anxiously back towards the setting sun,  but  the Road was  brown and 
empty. 
     'Do you  think,'  asked Pippin hesitatingly,  'do you  think we may  be 
pursued, tonight?'


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very awkward, and  wondering  if they would be of  any use. Fighting had not 
before occurred to any of  them  as one  of the  adventures  in which  their 
flight would land them. 
     At last  they  set off. They led their ponies down the hill;  and  then 
mounting they trotted quickly along the valley. They looked back and saw the 
top of the old mound on the hill, and  from it the sunlight on the gold went 
up like a yellow flame. Then they turned  a shoulder of the Downs and it was 
hidden from view.  
     Though Frodo looked about him on every side he saw no sign of the great 
stones standing like  a gate, and before long they came to the  northern gap 
and rode swiftly through, and the land fell away before them. It was a merry 
journey with  Tom Bombadil trotting gaily  beside them, or  before  them, on 
Fatty Lumpkin, who could move much faster than his girth promised. Tom  
sang 
most of the time, but  it  was chiefly  nonsense, or else  perhaps a strange


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though their hearts are faithful,  to  face fear of Barrow-wights is not what 
they were made for. See, here they come again, bringing all their burdens!' 
     Merry, Sam,  and Pippin now clothed themselves  in spare  garments from 
their  packs; and they soon felt too hot, for  they  were  obliged to put on 
some  of  the thicker  and warmer things  that they had  brought against the 
oncoming of winter. 
     'Where  does  that other old  animal, that  Fatty  Lumpkin, come from?' 
asked Frodo. 
     'He's mine,' said  Tom. 'My four-legged  friend;  though I seldom  ride 
him,  and he wanders  often far, free upon the  hillsides. When  your ponies 
stayed with  me, they  got  to know  my Lumpkin;  and they  smelt him in the 
night,  and quickly  ran to meet him. I thought he'd  look for them and with 
his words of wisdom take all their fear away. But now, my jolly Lumpkin, old 
Tom's going to ride. Hey! he's coming with you, just to set you on the road;


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head, and saying at last:  
     'Here is a pretty toy for  Tom and for his  lady! Fair was she who long 
ago  wore this on her shoulder. Goldberry shall wear it now, and we will not 
forget her!' 
     For each of the hobbits he chose a dagger, long, leaf-shaped, and keen, 
of marvellous workmanship, damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold. 
They 
gleamed as he drew them  from their black sheaths,  wrought of  some strange 
metal,  light and  strong, and set with  many fiery stones.  Whether by some 
virtue in these sheaths or  because of the spell  that lay on the mound, the 
blades seemed untouched by time, unrusted, sharp, glittering in the sun. 
     'Old  knives are long  enough  as  swords for  hobbit-people,' he said. 
'Sharp  blades are good to have, if Shire-folk go walking , east,  south,  or  
far away into dark  and danger.'  Then he told  them that these  blades were 
forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the 
Dark


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night  or  two, but  even  that  was  becoming  less  and  less  usual.  The 
Shire-hobbits referred to those of Bree, and to any others that lived beyond 
the  borders,   as  Outsiders,  and  took  very  little  interest  in  them, 
considering them dull  and uncouth. There were probably  many more 
Outsiders 
scattered about in the West  of the World in those days than  the  people of 
the Shire imagined. Some, doubtless, were no  better than  tramps, ready  to  
dig a hole in any bank and  stay only as long as it suited them.  But in the 
Bree-land, at any rate, the hobbits were decent and  prosperous, and no more 
rustic tha n most of their distant relatives Inside. It was not yet forgotten 
that there had been a time when there was much coming and going  between 
the 
Shire and Bree. There was Bree-blood in the Brandybucks by all accounts.  
     The village of Bree had some  hundred  stone houses  of  the Big  Folk,


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The Prancing Pony 
     Bree was the chief village of  the Bree-land, a small inhabited region, 
like an island in the empty  lands round about. Besides  Bree  itself, there 
was Staddle on the  other side of the hill, Combe  in a deep valley a little 
further eastward,  and  Archet  on  the  edge of  the Chetwood.  Lying round 
Bree-hill and the  villages was a small country of fields and tamed woodland  
only a few miles broad. 
     The Men of Bree were brown-haired, broad,  and  rather  short, cheerful 
and independent: they belonged to  nobody but themselves; but they were more 
friendly and familiar with Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and other inhabitants of 
the world  about them than was (or  is)  usual with Big People. According to 
their own tales  they were the original inhabitants and wer e the descendants 
of the first Men that ever wandered  into the West of the  middle-world. Few 
had survived the turmoils of  the Elder  Days; but  when the  Kings returned


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####-them.  They stood  silent,  reluctant to make  the final  parting, and  only 
slowly  became aware that Tom was wishing them farewell, and telling them to 
have good heart and to ride on till dark without halting. 
     'Tom will give you good advice, till this day is over  (after that your 
own  luck must go with you and  guide you): four miles along the Road you'll 
come  upon a village,  Bree under Bree -hill, with  doors  looking  westward.  
There you'll  find an  old inn that  is  called The  Prancing Pony. Barliman 
Butterbur is the worthy keeper. There you can stay the night, and afterwards 
the morning  will speed you upon your way.  Be  bold, but wary! Keep up your 
merry hearts, and ride to meet your fortune!' 
     They begged him to come at least as far as the inn and  drink once more 
with them; but he laughed and refused, saying: 
     Tom's country ends here: he will not pass the borders. 
     Tom has his house to mind, and Goldberry is waiting!


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Fatty Lumpkin, who could move much faster than his girth promised. Tom  
sang 
most of the time, but  it  was chiefly  nonsense, or else  perhaps a strange 
language unknown to the hobbits, an ancient language whose words were 
mainly 
those of wonder and delight. 
     They went forward steadily, but they soon saw that the Road was further  
away  than  they  had  imagined. Even without a fog,  their sleep at mid-day 
would have prevented them from reaching it  until after nightfall on the day 
before.  The dark line they had seen was  not  a line of trees but a line of 
bushes growing on the edge  of a deep dike with  a steep wall on the further  
side.  Tom said that it had once been  the boundary of a kingdom, but a very 
long lime ago. He seemed to remember  something sad about it, and would  not


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####-in the  Eastfarthing, descending from  those days,  when  news  from  North, 
South, and East could be heard in the inn,  and when  the Shire-hobbits used 
to go more often to hear it.  But the Northern Lands had long been desolate,  
and  the  North  Road  was now  seldom  used: it was  grass-grown,  and  the 
Bree-folk called it the Greenway. 
     The Inn  of Bree  was still  there, however, and  the  innkeeper was an 
important person. His house was a meeting place for the idle, talkative, and 
inquisitive  among the inhabitants, large and  small, of the four  villages;  
and a resort of Rangers and other wanderers, and for such travellers (mostly 
dwarves) as still journeyed on the East Road, to and from the Mountains.  
     It  was  dark,  and  white  stars  were  shining,  when  Frodo and  his 
companions came at last to the Greenway-crossing and drew near the  village. 
They came to the West -gate and found it shut, but  at the door  of the lodge


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####-you're oat the only guests.' 
     He wished  them  good night, and they said no more; but Frodo could see 
in  the lantern-light  that the  man was still eyeing them curiously. He was 
glad to  hear  the gate clang  to  behind  them,  as they rode  forward.  He 
wondered why the man was  so suspicious, and whether any one had been 
asking 
for news of a party of hobbits. Could  it have been Gandalf? He  might  have 
arrived, while they  were delayed in the Forest and the Downs. But there was 
something in the look and the voice of the gatekeeper that made him uneasy.  
     The man stared after the hobbits for a moment, and then he went back to  
his house. As soon as his  back was turned, a dark figure climbed quickly in  
over the gate and melted into the shadows of the village street. 
     The  hobbits rode on up a  gentle slope, passing a few detached  houses, 
and  drew up outside the  inn. The houses looked large  and strange to them.


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the 
Shire and Bree. There was Bree-blood in the Brandybucks by all accounts.  
     The village of Bree had some  hundred  stone houses  of  the Big  Folk, 
mostly above the Road, nestling  on the hillside with  windows looking west. 
On that side, running in  more  than half a circle from the hill and back to 
it, there was a deep dike with a thick hedge on the  inner side.   Over  this 
the Road crossed by a causeway; but where it pierced the hedge it was barred 
by a great gate. There was another gate in the southern comer where the Road 
ran out of the village. The  gates were closed at nightfall; but just inside 
them were small lodges for the gatekeepers.  
     Down on  the Road, where it swept to the right to  go round the foot of 
the hill, there was a large inn. It had been built long ago when the traffic 
on the roads had been far greater. For Bree stood at an old meeting of ways;  
another ancient road  crossed  the  East  Road  just outside (he dike at the


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looked anxiously back towards the setting sun,  but  the Road was  brown and 
empty. 
     'Do you  think,'  asked Pippin hesitatingly,  'do you  think we may  be 
pursued, tonight?' 
     'No, I hope not  tonight,' answered Tom Bombadil; 'nor perhaps the next 
day. But do not trust my guess; for I  cannot tell  for certain. Out east my 
knowledge fails. Tom is not master of  Riders from the Black Land far beyond 
his country.' 
     All the same the hobbits wished he was coming with them. They felt that 
he would know how to deal with Black Riders,  if anyone did. They would 
soon 
now  be going forward  into lands wholly strange to them, and beyond all but 
the  most  vague and  distant  legends  of the Shire, and in  the  gathering 
twilight they longed for home. A  deep  loneliness and sense  of loss was on


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with them; but he laughed and refused, saying: 
     Tom's country ends here: he will not pass the borders. 
     Tom has his house to mind, and Goldberry is waiting! 
     Then  he turned, tossed up his hat, leaped on Lumpkin's  back, and rode 
up over the bank and away singing into the dusk. 
     The hobbits climbed up and watched him until he was out of sight. 
     'I  am sorry  to  take  leave of  Master  Bombadil,' said Sam.  'He's a  
caution and  no mistake.  I  reckon  we may go  a  good deal further and see 
naught  better,  nor queerer. But  I  won't deny I'll be  glad to  see  this 
Prancing  Pony he spoke of. I hope  it'll be like The Green Dragon away back  
home! What sort of folk are they in Bree?' 
     'There  are  hobbits in Bree,'  said Merry,  'as well as  Big  Folk.  I 
daresay it will be homelike  enough. The Pony is a good inn by all accounts.  
My people ride out there now and again.'


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his words of wisdom take all their fear away. But now, my jolly Lumpkin, old 
Tom's going to ride. Hey! he's coming with you, just to set you on the road; 
so  he needs a pony. For you  cannot easily talk to hobbits that are riding,


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on the roads had been far greater. For Bree stood at an old meeting of ways;  
another ancient road  crossed  the  East  Road  just outside (he dike at the 
western end of the village, and in former days Men and other folk of various 
sorts had travelled much on it. Strange as News from Bree was still a saying


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The  hobbits rode on up a  gentle slope, passing a few detached  houses, 
and  drew up outside the  inn. The houses looked large  and strange to them.  
Sam stared up at the inn  with its three  storeys and many windows, and felt 
his  heart sink. He  had imagined  himself meeting giants taller than trees, 
and other creatures  even more terrifying, some time or other  in the course 
of his journey; but at the moment he was finding his first sight of  Men and 
their tall houses quite enough, indeed too much for the dark end of a tiring 
day. He  pictured  black horses standing all  saddled in  the shadows of the 
inn-yard, and Black Riders peering out of dark upper windows. 
     'We  surely aren't going  to stay here for the night,  are we, sir?' he 
exclaimed. 'If there are hobbit-folk  in these  pans, why  don't we look for  
some  that would be willing to take us in? It would be more homelike.' 
     'What's wrong with the inn?' said Frodo. 'Tom Bombadil  recommended it.


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of the first Men that ever wandered  into the West of the  middle-world. Few 
had survived the turmoils of  the Elder  Days; but  when the  Kings returned 
again over the  Great Sea  they had found the Bree-men still there, and they 
were st ill there now, when the memory  of  the  old Kings had faded into the 
grass. 
     In those days no other Men had settled dwellings so far west, or within 
a hundred leagues of the Shire. But in the wild lands beyond Bree there were 
mysterious wanderers. The Bree-folk called them Rangers, and knew nothing 
of 
their origin. They  were  taller and darker  than the  Men of Bree  and were 
believed  to have strange powers of sight and hearing, and to understand the 
languages of beasts and birds. They roamed at will southwards, and eastwards 
even as far as  the Misty  Mountains; but they were now few and rarely seen. 
When  they appeared they brought news from afar, and told strange  forgotten


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####-off with a grin and a wink. 
     'Well, now, what wa s  I going to  say?' said Mr. Butterbur, tapping his 
forehead. 'One thing drives out another, so to speak. I'm that busy tonight, 
my head is going round. There's  a party that came up the Greenway from 
down 
South last night - and that was strange enough to  begin with. Then there's a  
travelling  company  of dwarves  going  West come  in  this evening. And now 
there's you.  If you weren't  hobbits, I  doubt  if  we could house you. But 
we've  got  a room or two  in the  north wing  that  were made  special  for 
hobbits, when this  place was built.  On  the  ground  floor as they usually 
prefer; round windows and all as they like it. I hope you'll be comfortable. 
You'll be wanting supper, I don't doubt. As soon as may be. This way now!' 
     He led them a short  way  down a passage, and opened a door. 'Here is a  
nice little parlour!' he said. 'I hope it will suit. Excuse me now. I'm that


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####-begging your pardon - often; and we like to hear a bit of news, or any story 
or song you may have in mind.  But as you please! Ring the bell, if you lack  
anything!' 
     So refreshed and encouraged did  they feel at the end  of  their supper 
(about three quarters of an hour's steady going, not hindered by unnecessary 
talk) that Frodo, Pippin, and Sam decided to join the company. Merry said it  
would be too stuffy. 'I shall sit  here quietly by the fire  for  a bit, and 
perhaps go out later for a sniff of the air. Mind your Ps and Qs, and  don't  
forget that you are supposed to be  escaping in secret, and are still on the 
high-road and not very far from the Shire!' 
     'All right!' said Pippin. 'Mind yourself!  Don't  get  lost,  and don't  
forget that it is safer indoors!' 
     The company  was in the big common-room  of the inn.  The gathering was 
large  and mixed, as Frodo discovered, when his eyes got used  to the light.


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some  that would be willing to take us in? It would be more homelike.' 
     'What's wrong with the inn?' said Frodo. 'Tom Bombadil  recommended it. 
I expect it's homelike enough inside.' 
     Even from the outside the inn looked a pleasant house to familiar eyes. 
It had a front on  the Road, and two wings running  back on land partly  cut 
out  of the lower  slopes of the hill, so  that at the rear the second-floor 
windows were level  with the  ground.  There  was a wide  arch  leading to a  
courtyard between the two wings, and on the left under the arch there was  a  
large doorway reached by  a few  broad  steps. The  door  was open and light 
streamed out of it. Above the arch  there was a lamp, and beneath it swung a  
large signboard: a  fat white pony reared up on  its hind legs. Over the door 
was painted in white letters: THE PRANCING PONY by BARLIMAN  
BUTTERBUR. Many 
of the lower windows showed lights behind thick curtains.


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####-given. He gave out that he was interested in history and geography (at which  
there was much wagging of heads, although neither  of these words  were much 
used in the  Bree-dialect). He said  he  was thinking of writing a  book (at 
which there was  silent astonishment), and that he and his friends  wanted to  
collect information about  hobbits living  outside the Shire,  especially in 
the eastern lands. 
     At this  a  chorus of voices broke  out. If Frodo had  really wanted to 
write a  book,  and  had  had  many ears, he  would  have learned enough for  
several chapters  in a few minutes. And if that was not enough, he was given  
a whole list of names, beginning with 'Old Barliman here', to whom he  could 
go for further information. But after a time, a s Frodo did not show any sign 
of writing a book on the spot, the hobbits returned to their questions about 
doings in  the Shire. Frodo did not  prove  very communicative,  and he soon


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even as far as  the Misty  Mountains; but they were now few and rarely seen. 
When  they appeared they brought news from afar, and told strange  forgotten 
tales which were eagerly listened to; but the Bree-folk did not make friends 
of them. 
     There were  also many families  of hobbits  in the  Bree-land  and they 
claimed to be  the oldest  settlement of Hobbits in the world, one that  was 
founded long before even the Brandywine was crossed and the Shire colonized. 
They  lived  mostly  in  Staddle though  there were  some  in  Bree  itself,  
especially on the  higher slopes of the hill, above the  houses of  the Men.


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He led them a short  way  down a passage, and opened a door. 'Here is a  
nice little parlour!' he said. 'I hope it will suit. Excuse me now. I'm that 
busy. No time for talking. I must be trotting. It's hard  work for two legs,  
but I  don't get thinner. I'll look  in again  la ter.  If you want anything, 
ring the hand-bell, and Nob will come. If he don't come, ring and shout!' 
     Off he went at last, and left them feeling rather breathless. He seemed 
capable of  an endless stream of talk, however busy he might be. They  found 
themselves in a small and cosy room. There  was a bit of bright fire burning  
on  the hearth,  and in front of it  were some low  and comfortable  chairs.  
There  was a round table, already spread with a white cloth, and on it was a  
large hand-bell. But  Nob, the  hobbit servant, came bustling in long before 
they thought of ringing. He brought candles and a tray full of plates.


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forget that it is safer indoors!' 
     The company  was in the big common-room  of the inn.  The gathering was 
large  and mixed, as Frodo discovered, when his eyes got used  to the light. 
This came chiefly from a blazing  log-fire, for the three lamps hanging from 
the  beams were  dim,  and half  veiled  in smoke.  Barliman  Butterbur  was 
standing  near the  fire, talking  to  a couple  of dwarves and one  or  two 
strange-looking  men.  On the benches were  various  folk:  men  of   Bree, a  
collection of local  hobbits  (sitting  chattering  together),  a  few  more 
dwarves,  and other vague figures difficult to make out away  in the shadows 
and comers.  
     As soon as the Shire-hobbits  entered, there  was  a  chorus of welcome 
from the Bree-landers. The strangers, especially those that  had come up the 
Greenway, stared at them curiously. The landlord introduced the newcomers to 
the Bree-folk, so  quickly  that, though they caught  many  names, they were


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####-     Suddenly  Frodo  noticed  that  a  strange-looking  weather -beaten man, 
sitting in  the  shadows near the  wall, was  also listening intently to the 
hobbit-talk. He had  a  tall tankard  in  front of him, and  was  smoking  a  
long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs  were stretched out before him, 
showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much 
wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-
green 
cloth was  drawn  close  about him, and in spite of the heat of the room  he 
wore a hood  that overshadowed his  face; but the gleam of his eyes could be 
seen as he watched the hobbits. 
     'Who is that?' Frodo asked, when he  got  a chance  to  whisper  to Mr. 
Butterbur. 'I don't think you introduced him?' 
     'Him?' said  the  landlord in  an  answering whisper,  cocking  an  eye 
without  turning his head. 'I don't rightly know. He is one of the wandering


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companions came at last to the Greenway-crossing and drew near the  village. 
They came to the West -gate and found it shut, but  at the door  of the lodge 
beyond it, there was a man sitting. He jumped up and  fetched a lantern  and 
looked over  the gate at them in surprise. 
     'What do you want, and where do you come from?' he asked gruffly. 
     'We are making for  the inn here,' answered Frodo.  'We are  journeying 
east and cannot go further tonight.' 
     'Hobbits! Four  hobbits! And what's more,  out  of  the Shire  by their 
talk,' said the gatekeeper, softly as if  speaking to himself. He  stared at 
them darkly for a moment, and then slowly  opened the gate and let them ride 
through. 
     'We don't  often see Shire-folk riding on the Road  at  night,' he went 
on, as they halted  a moment by his door. 'You'll pardon  my wondering  what 
business takes you away east of Bree! What may your names be, might I ask?'


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####-smile, seeing Frodo's glance. 'And  there have been even stranger travellers 
through Bree lately,' he went on, watching Frodo's face. 
     Frodo returned his  gaze but said nothing; and Strider made no  further  
sign.  His  attention  seemed  suddenly to be fixed on Pippin.  To his alarm 
Frodo became aware that the ridiculous young Took, encouraged by his success 
with  the fat  Mayor of  Michel  Delving, was  now actually  giving a  comic 
account of Bilbo's farewell party. He was already giving an imitation of the 
Speech, and was drawing near to the astonishing Disappearance. 
     Frodo was annoyed. It was a harmless enough tale for most  of the local 
hobbits, no doubt: just a  funny story about  those funny people away beyond 
the River;  but some (old Butterbur, for instance)  knew a thing or two, and 
had probably heard rumours long ago about  Bilbo's vanishing. It would bring 
the name of Baggins to their minds,  especially  if there had been inquiries


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of writing a book on the spot, the hobbits returned to their questions about 
doings in  the Shire. Frodo did not  prove  very communicative,  and he soon 
found himself sitting alone in a comer, listening and looking around. 
     The Men and  Dwarves were mostly talking of  distant events and telling 
flews of a kind that was becoming only too familiar. There  was trouble away 
in the South, and it seemed that the  Men who had  come up the Greenway 
were 
on  the  move,  looking for   lands  where they  could  find some  peace. The 
Bree-folk were  sympathetic, but plainly  not  very  ready to  take  a large 
number  of  strangers  into  their little land. One  of  the  travellers,  a  
squint-eyed ill-favoured fellow, was foretelling  that more  and more people 
would  be  coming north in  the near future. 'If  room isn't found for them, 
they'll  find it for  themselves.  They've a  right  to live,  same as other


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Greenway, stared at them curiously. The landlord introduced the newcomers to 
the Bree-folk, so  quickly  that, though they caught  many  names, they were 
seldom  sure who the names belonged to.  The Men of Bree seemed  all to have 
rather  botanical (and to the Shire-folk rather odd) names,  like Rushlight, 
Goatleaf,  Heathertoes,  Appledore, Thistlewool and  Ferny (not  to  mention  
Butterbur).  Some  of  the hobbits  had  similar  names.  The  Mugworts, for  
instance,  seemed numerous.  But  most of them  had natural  names,  such as 
Banks, Brockhouse, Longholes,  Sandheaver, and Tunnelly,  many of which 
were 
used  in the Shire.  There were several Underhills  from Saddle, and as they 
could not imagine sharing  a name without being  related, they took Frodo to  
their hearts as a long-lost cousin. 
     The Bree-hobbits were,  in fact, friendly  and  inquisitive,  and Frodo 
soon found that  some  explanation  of  what he was doing would  have  to be


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####-     As they hesitated outside in the gloom, someone began singing  a  merry 
song  inside, and many  cheerful voices  joined loudly in the  chorus.  They 
listened  to  this encouraging sound for a moment and  then  got  off  their 
ponies. The song ended and there was a burst of laughter and clapping. 
     They led their ponies under the arch, and leaving  them standing in the 
yard they climbed up  the steps. Frodo went forward and nearly bumped into a  
short fat man with a bald head and a red  face. He had a white apron on, and 
was  bustling out of  one door and in through another, carrying a tray laden 
with full mugs.  
     'Can we--' began Frodo. 
     'Half a minute, if  you please!' shouted the man over his shoulder, and 
vanished into a babel of voices and a cloud of smoke. In a moment he was out 
again, wiping his hands on his apron. 
     'Good  evening, little master!' he said, bending down. 'What may you be 
wanting?'


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'Him?' said  the  landlord in  an  answering whisper,  cocking  an  eye 
without  turning his head. 'I don't rightly know. He is one of the wandering 
folk -Rangers we call them. He seldom talks: not but what he can tell a rare 
tale when he has the mind. He disappears for a month, or a year, and then he 
pops  up again. He was in and out  pretty  often last spring; but I  haven't  
seen  him about lately. What his  right name is I've  never  heard: but he's 
known round here as Strider. Goes  about at a great pace on his long shanks;  
though  he  don't  tell nobody what cause  he has to hurry.  But there's  no 
accounting for East and West, as we say in Bree, meaning the Rangers and the 
Shire-folk, begging your pardon. Funny you  should  ask about  him.' But  at 
that moment Mr. Butterbur was called away  by a demand for more ale  and his 
last remark remained unexplained. 
     Frodo found that Strider was now looking at him, as if he  had heard or


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had probably heard rumours long ago about  Bilbo's vanishing. It would bring 
the name of Baggins to their minds,  especially  if there had been inquiries 
in Bree after that name. 
     Frodo  fidgeted,  wondering  what to  do.  Pippin  was  evidently  much 
enjoying  the attention he was getting,  and had  become  quite forgetful of 
their danger. Frodo had a sudden fear that in his present mood he might even 
mention the Ring; and that might well be disastrous.  
     'You had better do something quick!' whispered Strider in his ear. 
     Frodo jumped up and stood on a table, and began to  talk. The attention 
of Pippin's audience was disturbed. Some of the  hobbits looked at Frodo and 
laughed and clapped, thinking that  Mr. Underhill  had taken as  much ale as 
was good for him. 
     Frodo  suddenly felt very foolish,  and found himself (as was his habit 
when making a speech) fingering  the things in his pocket. He felt the  Ring


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would  be  coming north in  the near future. 'If  room isn't found for them, 
they'll  find it for  themselves.  They've a  right  to live,  same as other 
folk,'  he said  loudly. The  local inhabitants did not look  pleased at the 
prospect. 
     The hobbits  did not pay much attention to all this,  and it did not at 
the moment seem to concern hobbits. Big  Folk could hardly  beg for lodgings 
in hobbit-holes. They were more  interested in Sam and Pippin,  who were now 
feeling quite  at home, and were chatting  gaily about events in the  Shire. 
Pippin roused a good deal of laughter with an account of the collapse of the 
roof of the Town  Hole in Michel Delving: Will Whitfoot, the Mayor,  and the 
fattest hobbit  in the Westfarthing, had  been buried in chalk, and came out 
like a floured  dumpling. But there were several questions asked  that  made 
Frodo a little uneasy. One of  the Bree-landers, who seemed to  have been in


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on, as they halted  a moment by his door. 'You'll pardon  my wondering  what 
business takes you away east of Bree! What may your names be, might I ask?' 
     'Our names and our business are our own,  and this does not seem a good  
place  to  discuss them,' said Frodo, not liking the look of  the man or  the 
tone of his voice. 
     'Your  business is  your  own, no doubt,'  said  the man; 'but it's  my 
business to ask questions after nightfall.' 
     'We  are hobbits  from Buckland, and we have a  fancy to travel and  to 
stay at the  inn here,' put  in Merry. 'I am  Mr. Brandybuck. Is that enough 
for  you?  The Bree-folk used  to be fair-spoken to travellers,  or so I had 
heard.' 
     'All right, all right!' said the man.  'I  meant no offence. But you'll 
find  maybe that more  folk  than old Harry  at the  gate will be asking you  
questions. There's queer folk about. If you go  on to  The Pony, you'll find


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again, wiping his hands on his apron. 
     'Good  evening, little master!' he said, bending down. 'What may you be 
wanting?' 
     'Beds for four, and stabling for five ponies,  if that can be  managed. 
Are you Mr. Butterbur?' 
     'That's right! Barliman is my name. Barliman Butterbur at your service!  
You 're from the Shire,  eh?' he said, and  then suddenly he clapped his hand  
to  his forehead, as  if  trying to remember something. 'Hobbits!' he cried. 
'Now what does that remind me of? Might I ask your names, sir?' 
     'Mr. Took and Mr. Brandybuck,' said   Frodo; 'and this is Sam Gamgee. My 
name is Underhill.' 
     'There  now!' said  Mr.  Butterbur,  snapping  his fingers. 'It's  gone 
again! But it'll come back, when I have time to  think. I'm run off my feet; 
but I'll see what I can  do for you. We don't often get a party out  of  the 
Shire nowadays, and I should be sorry not to make you welcome. But  there is


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was good for him. 
     Frodo  suddenly felt very foolish,  and found himself (as was his habit 
when making a speech) fingering  the things in his pocket. He felt the  Ring  
on its chain, and quite unaccountably the desire came over him to slip it on 
and vanish out of the silly  situation. It seemed to him,  somehow, as if me 
suggestion came to him from outside,  from someone or  something a the room. 
He resisted the  temptation firmly, and clasped  the Ring in his hand, as if 
to keep a hold on it and prevent it from escaping or doing any mischief.  At 
any rate it  gave him no inspiration. He spoke  'a  few suitable  words', as 
they  would have said  in the  Shire: We  are all  very much gratified by the 
kindness of your reception, and  I  venture to hope that my brief visit will 
help to  renew  the old ties of  friendship between the Shire and Bree;  and 
then he hesitated and coughed. 
     Everyone in the room was now  looking at him. 'A song!' shouted one  of


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####-sing us something that we haven't heard before!' 
     For  a  moment  Frodo  stood gaping. Then  in  desperation he  began  a  
ridiculous song tha t Bilbo had been rather  fond of (and indeed rather proud 
of, for he had made up the words himself). It was about an inn; and that  is 
probably why it came into Frodo's mind just then. Here it is in full. Only a  
few words of it are now, as a rule, remember ed. 
     There is an inn, a merry old inn 
     beneath an old grey hill, 
     And there they brew a beer so brown  
     That the Man in the Moon himself came down  
     one night to drink his fill. 
 
     The ostler has a tipsy cat 
     that plays a five-stringed fiddle; 
     And up and down he runs his bow,  
     Now squeaking high, now purring low,  
     now sawing in the middle. 
 
     The landlord keeps a little dog 
     that is mighty fond of jokes; 
     When there's good cheer among the guests, 
     He cocks an ear at all the jests


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large hand-bell. But  Nob, the  hobbit servant, came bustling in long before 
they thought of ringing. He brought candles and a tray full of plates.  
     'Will you be wanting anything  to drink, masters?' he asked. 'And shall 
I show you the bedrooms, while your supper is got ready? ' 
     They were  washed and in the middle of good deep mugs  of beer when Mr. 
Butterbur and  Nob  came in again. In a twinkling the table was laid.  There 
was hot soup, cold meats, a  blackberry  tart,  new loaves, slabs of butter, 
and half  a ripe  cheese: good plain food, as good  as the Shire could show, 
and homelike enough to  dispel  the last of  Sam's misgivings (already  much 
relieved by the excellence of the beer). 
     The landlord hovered round for a link, and then prepared to leave them. 
'I don't  know whether  you would care  to  join the company, when  you have 
supped,' he said, standing at the door. 'Perhaps you would rather go to your


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that moment Mr. Butterbur was called away  by a demand for more ale  and his 
last remark remained unexplained. 
     Frodo found that Strider was now looking at him, as if he  had heard or  
guessed  all that had been said.  Presently,  with a wave of his hand and  a  
nod, he invited Frodo to come over  and sit  by  him. As  Frodo drew near be  
threw back his  hood, showing  a shaggy head of dark hair  necked with grey, 
and in a pale stem face a pair of keen grey eyes.  
     'I  am called Strider,'  he said  in a low voice. 'I am very pleased to 
meet you. Master - Underhill, if old Butterbur got your name right.' 
     'He  did,' said  Frodo stiffly. He felt far from comfortable under  the 
stare of those keen eyes.  
     'Well, Master Underhill,' said Strider,  'if I were  you, I should stop 
your  young friends  from talking too much. Drink , fire,  and chance-meeting 
are pleasant enough, but, well - this  isn't the Shire. There are queer folk


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####-     And the little dog laughed to see such fun, 
     And the Saturday dish went off at a run 
     with the silver Sunday spoon. 
 
     The round Moon rolled behind the hill 
     as the Sun raised up her head. 
     She* hardly believed her fiery eyes; 
     For though it was day, to her surprise 
     they all went back to bed! 
     There was loud and long applause. Frodo had a  good voice, and the song  
tickled their fancy.  'Where's old Barley?' they  cried. 'He ought  to  hear 
this. Bob  ought to learn his cat  the fiddle, and then we'd have a  dance.' 
They called for more ale, and  began to shout: 'Let's have it again, master! 
Come on now! Once more!' 
     They made  Frodo have another drink,  and then  begin his  song  again, 
while many of them  joined  in; for the tune was  well known, and  they were 
quick at picking up  words.  It  was now Frodo's turn to feel  pleased  with 
himself. He capered  about on the table; and when he came  a second  time to


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like a floured  dumpling. But there were several questions asked  that  made 
Frodo a little uneasy. One of  the Bree-landers, who seemed to  have been in 
the Shire  several times, wanted to know where the  Underhills lived and who 
they were related to.


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but I'll see what I can  do for you. We don't often get a party out  of  the 
Shire nowadays, and I should be sorry not to make you welcome. But  there is 
such  a crowd already in the house  tonight  as there  hasn't been for  long 
enough. It never rains but it pours, we say in Bree. 
     'Hi! Nob!' he shouted. 'Where  are  you, you woolly-footed  slow-coach?  
Nob!' 
     'Coming,  sir! Coming!' A cheery-looking hobbit bobbed out  of  a door, 
and  seeing the  travellers, stopped short and stared  at  them  with  great 
interest.  
     'Where's  Bob?'  asked the landlord.  'You don't  know? Well find  him!  
Double sharp! I haven't got six legs, nor six eyes neither! Tell Bob there's 
five ponies that have to be stabled. He must find room somehow.' Nob trotted


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'There  are  hobbits in Bree,'  said Merry,  'as well as  Big  Folk.  I 
daresay it will be homelike  enough. The Pony is a good inn by all accounts.  
My people ride out there now and again.' 
     'It may be all we could wish,' said Frodo; 'but it is outside the Shire 
all the same. Don't  make yourselves  too much at home! Please remember -all 
of you - that the name of Baggins must NOT be mentioned. I am Mr. Underhill, 
if any name must be given.' 
     They now mounted  their ponies and rode off  silently into the evening. 
Darkness came down quickly,  as they  plodded slowly  downhill and up again, 
until at last they saw lights twinkling some distance ahead. 
     Before  them rose Bree-hill barring the way,  a dark mass against misty 
stars; and under  its western flank nestled a large village. Towards it they 
now  hurried desiring only to find a fire,  and a door  between them and the 
night.


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help to  renew  the old ties of  friendship between the Shire and Bree;  and 
then he hesitated and coughed. 
     Everyone in the room was now  looking at him. 'A song!' shouted one  of 
the hobbits.  'A song! A song!' shouted all the others.  'Come on now, master,


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'I don't  know whether  you would care  to  join the company, when  you have 
supped,' he said, standing at the door. 'Perhaps you would rather go to your 
beds. Still the company would be very pleased to welcome you , if  you  had a 
mind.  We don't get  Outsiders  -  travellers from the  Shire, I should  say,


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now sawing in the middle. 
 
     The landlord keeps a little dog 
     that is mighty fond of jokes; 
     When there's good cheer among the guests, 
     He cocks an ear at all the jests 
     and laughs until he chokes. 
 
     They also keep a horned cow 
     as proud as any queen; 
     But music turns her head like ale, 
     And makes her wave her tufted tail 
     and dance upon the green. 
 
     And O! the rows of silver dishes 
     and the store of silver spoons! 
     For Sunday* there's a special pair, 
     And these they polish up with care 
     on Saturday afternoons. 
 
     The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,


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####-the tables to the  dark comer by Strider, who sat unmoved, giving no sign of 
his thoughts. Frodo leaned back  against the wall and took off the Ring. How 
it came to be on his finger he could not tell. He could only suppose that he 
had  been handling it in his pocket while he sang, and  that somehow  it had 
slipped on  when he stuck out  his hand with a jerk to save his  fall. For a  
moment he wondered if the Ring itself had not played him a trick; perhaps it 
had tried to reveal itself in response to some wish or command that was felt 
in the room. He did not like the looks of the men that had gone out. 
     'Well?' said Strider, when he rea ppeared.  'Why did you do that?  Worse 
than anything your friends could have said! You have put your foot in it! Or  
should I say your finger?' 
     'I don't know what you mean,' said Frodo, annoyed and alarmed. 
     'Oh yes, you do,' answered Strider; 'but  we had better wait  until the


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####-tray and gathering up the broken crockery. 
     'Of course there's a mistake!' said Frodo. 'I haven't vanished. Here  I 
am! I've just been having a few words with Strider in the comer.' 
     He  came forward into  the  firelight;  but most of the company  backed 
away,, even more perturbed than before. They were not in the least satisfied 
by his explanation that he had crawled away quickly  under the  tables after  
he  had fallen. Most of the  Hobbits  and the Men of Bree went off then  and 
there in a huff, having no fancy for further entertainment that evening. One 
or two gave Frodo a black look and departed muttering among themselves.  
The 
Dwarves and the two or three strange Men that still remained got up and said 
good night to the landlord, but not to Frodo and his friends. Before long no 
one was left but Strider, who sat on, unnoticed, by the wall. 
     Mr. Butterbur did  not seem  much put out. He reckoned,  very probably,


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quick at picking up  words.  It  was now Frodo's turn to feel  pleased  with 
himself. He capered  about on the table; and when he came  a second  time to 
the cow jumped over the Moon, he leaped in the air. Much too vigorously; for  
he came down,  bang, into a  tray full of mugs, and slipped, and  rolled off 
the table with  a crash, clatter, and bump!  The audience  all opened  their 
mouths wide for laughter, and stopped short a gaping silence; for the singer  
disappeared. He simply  vanished, as  if he had  gone slap through the floor  
without leaving a hole!  
     The  local hobbits  stared in  amazement, and then sprang to their feet 
and shouted for Barliman. All the company drew away from Pippin and Sam, 
who 
found themselves left alone in a comer, and eyed darkly and  doubtfully from 
a  distance.  It was  plain  that many  people  regarded  them  now  as  the 
companions of a travelling magician of unknown powers and purpose. But 
there


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your  young friends  from talking too much. Drink , fire,  and chance-meeting 
are pleasant enough, but, well - this  isn't the Shire. There are queer folk  
about. Though I  say it as shouldn't, you may  think,'  he  added with a wry


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####-     and the cat began to wail; 
     A dish and a  spoon on the table danced, 
     The cow in the garden madly pranced, 
     and the little dog chased his tail. 
 
     The Man in the Moon took another mug, 
     and then rolled beneath his chair; 
     And there he dozed and dreamed of ale, 
     Till in the sky the stars were pale, 
     and dawn was in the air. 
 
     Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat: 
     'The white horses of the Moon, 
     They neigh and champ their silver bits; 
     But their master's been and drowned his wits, 
     and the Sun'll be rising soon!'  
 
     So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, 
     a jig that would wake the dead: 
     He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, 
     While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon: 
     'It's after three!' he said. 
 
     They rolled the Man slowly up the hill 
     and bundled him into the Moon, 
     While his horses galloped up in rear,


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####-many  wild  and wary  things and I can usually avoid being  seen, if I wish. 
Now, I was behind the hedge this evening on the Road west of Bree, when four 
hobbits  came out  of the Downlands. I need not repeat all that they said to 
old  Bombadil  or  to  one  another, but  one  thing interested  me.  Please 
remember, said one of them,  that the name Baggins  must not be mentioned. I 
am Mr. Underhill, if any name must be given. That interested me so much that 
I followed them here.  I slipped  over the gate just behind them.  Maybe Mr.  
Baggins  has  an  honest reason  for  leaving his name  behind; but if so, I 
should advise him and his friends to be more careful.' 
     'I don't see what interest my name has for any one in Bree,' sa id Frodo 
angrily,  'and I have still to  learn why  it interests you. Mr. Strider may 
have an honest reason  for spying  and eavesdropping;  but  if so,  I should 
advise him to explain it.'


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a  distance.  It was  plain  that many  people  regarded  them  now  as  the 
companions of a travelling magician of unknown powers and purpose. But 
there 
was one  swarthy Bree-lander, who stood looking at them with  a knowing  and 
half-mocking expression that made them feel very uncomfortable. Presently he 
slipped out of the door, followed by the squint-eyed southerner: the two had 
been  whispering  together  a  good  deal  during  the  evening.  Harry  the 
gatekeeper also went out just behind them.. 
     Frodo felt  a fool. Not knowing what else  to do, he crawled away under


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####-know one another better.  When we do, I hope you will explain  what happened 
at the end of your song. For that little prank ------' 
     'It was sheer accident!' interrupted Frodo. 
     'I wonder,' said Strider. 'Accident, then. That  accident has made your 
position dangerous.' 
     'Hardly more than it  was already,' said Frodo.  'I knew these horsemen 
were pursuing me;  but now  at any rate they seem to  have  missed me and to 
have gone away.' 
     'You  must not count on that!' said Strider sharply. 'They will return. 
And more  are  coming. There are others. I know their  number. I know  these 
Riders.' He paused,  and his  eyes were cold and hard. 'And there  are  some 
folk  in Bree who  are  not to be  trusted,'  he went on.  'Bill  Ferny, for  
instance. He  has an evil name in the Bree-land,  and queer folk call at his 
house.  You  must  have  noticed him among the  company:  a swarthy sneering


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one was left but Strider, who sat on, unnoticed, by the wall. 
     Mr. Butterbur did  not seem  much put out. He reckoned,  very probably,  
that his house would be full again on many future  nights, until the present 
mystery had been  thoroughly discussed. 'N ow what have  you been doing,  Mr. 
Underhill?'  he asked.  'Frightening  my customers and breaking up my crocks 
with your acrobatics!' 
     'I am very sorry to have caused any trouble,' said Frodo. 'It was quite 
unintentional, I assure you. A most unfortunate accident.' 
     'All right, Mr. Underhill! But if you're going to do any more tumbling, 
or conjuring, or whatever it was, you'd best warn folk beforehand  - and warn 
me. We're a bit suspicious round here of anything  out of  the way -uncanny,  
if you understand me; and we don't take to it all of a sudden.' 
     'I shan't be doing anything of the sort again, Mr. Butterbur, I promise 
you.  And now  I think I'll be getting  to bed. We shall be  making an early


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####-     'There!' he  cried  after  a moment, drawing his hand  across his brow.  
'Perhaps I know  more about these pursuers than you  do.  You fear them, but 
you do not fear them enough,  yet. Tomorrow you will  have to escape, if you 
can. Strider can take  you by paths that  are  seldom trodden. Will you have 
him? ' 
     There was a heavy silence. Frodo made no answer, his mind was  confused 
with doubt and fear. Sam frowned,  and looked at his  master; and at last he 
broke out: 
     'With  your leave,  Mr. Frodo, I'd  say no! This Strider here, he warns 
and he says take care; and  I say  yes to that, and let's begin with him. He 
comes out  of  the Wild, and I  never heard no good  of such  folk. He knows 
something, that's  plain,  and more  than  I like; but it's no reason why we 
should let him go leading us out into  some dark place  far from help, as he 
puts it.' 
     Pippin fidgeted and looked uncomfortable. Strider did not reply to Sam,


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Frodo, Pippin, and Sam made their way back to the parlour. There was no 
light. Merry was not there, and the  fire had burned low.  It  was not until 
they had puffed up the embers into a blaze and thrown on a couple of faggots 
that they discovered Strider had come with them. There he was calmly sitting 
in a chair by the door! 
     'Hallo!' said Pippin. 'Who are you, and what do you want?' 
     'I  am called Strider,' he answered: 'and  though he may have forgotten 
it, your friend promised to have a quiet talk with me.' 
     'You  said  I  might  hear something to my advantage, I  believe,' said 
Frodo. 'What have you to say?' 
     'Several things,' a nswered Strider. 'But, of course, I have my price.' 
     'What do you mean?' asked Frodo sharply. 
     'Don't be alarmed! I mean just this: I will tell you  what I  know, and 
give you some good advice  - but I shall want a reward.' 
     'And what will that be, pray?' said Frodo. He suspected now that he had


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angrily,  'and I have still to  learn why  it interests you. Mr. Strider may 
have an honest reason  for spying  and eavesdropping;  but  if so,  I should 
advise him to explain it.' 
     'Well answered!' said Strider laughing. 'But the explanation is simple: 
     I was looking for  a Hobbit called Frodo Baggins. I wanted  to find him 
quickly. I had learned that he was carrying out of the Shire, well, a secret 
that concerned me and my friends.  
     'Now, don't mistake me!' he cried, as Frodo rose from his seat, and Sam 
jumped up  with a scowl. 'I shall take more care of  the secret than you do. 
And care  is  needed!' He leaned forward  and  looked at them. 'Watch  every 
shadow!' he said in a  low  voice. 'Black horsemen have passed through Bree. 
On  Monday one came down the Greenway, they say; and another appeared 
later, 
coming up the Greenway from the south.' 
     There was a silence. At last Frodo spoke to Pippin and Sam: 'I ought to


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####-admit; and  I'm a busy man.  But first one thing and then another  this week  
have jogged my memory, as the saying goes; and not too late I hope. You see, 
I was asked to look out for hobbits of the Shire, and for one by the name of 
Baggins in particular.' 
     'And what has that got to do with me?' asked Frodo. 
     'Ah! you know best,'  said the landlord, knowingly.  'I won't give  you  
away;  but  I  was  told that  this  Baggins would be going by  the  name of 
Underhill, and I was given a description that fits you  well enough, if I may 
say so.' 
     'Indeed! Let's have it then!' said Frodo, unwisely interrupting. 
     'A stout  little fellow with red cheeks,' said  Mr. Butterbur solemnly. 
Pippin chuckled,  but Sam looked indignant. 'That won't  help  you  much; it 
goes for  most hobbits. Barley, he says to me,' continued Mr. Butterbur with 
a glance at Pippin.  'But this one is taller than some and fairer than most,


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'It's after three!' he said. 
 
     They rolled the Man slowly up the hill 
     and bundled him into the Moon, 
     While his horses galloped up in rear, 
     And the cow came capering like a deer, 
     and a dish ran up with the spoon. 
 
     Now quicker the fiddle went deedle -dum-diddle; 
     the dog began to roar, 
     The cow and the horses stood on their heads; 
     The guests all bounded from their beds 
     and danced upon the floor. 
 
     With a ping and a pong the fiddle -strings broke! 
     the cow jumped over the Moon,


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'I shan't be doing anything of the sort again, Mr. Butterbur, I promise 
you.  And now  I think I'll be getting  to bed. We shall be  making an early 
start. Will you see that our ponies are ready by  eight o'clock?' 
     'Very  good! But  before  you go, I  should like  a  word  with you  in 
private, Mr. Underhill. Something has just come back to my mind that I ought 
to tell you. I hope that you'll not take it amiss. When I've seen to a thing 
or two, I'll come along to your room, if you're willing.' 
     'Certainly!'  said Frodo; but his  heart  sank.  He wondered  how  many 
private talks  he would have before  he  got to  bed,  and  what  they would 
reveal. Were  these people  all in league against him?  He  began to suspect 
even old Butterbur's fat face of concealing dark designs.


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should let him go leading us out into  some dark place  far from help, as he 
puts it.' 
     Pippin fidgeted and looked uncomfortable. Strider did not reply to Sam, 
but turned his keen eyes  on Frodo. Frodo caught his glance and looked away. 
'No,' he said slowly. 'I don't agree. I think, I think you are not really as 
you  choose to  look. You began  to talk to me like the Bree-folk,  but your 
voice has changed. Still Sam seems right in this: I don't see why you should 
warn us to take care, and yet ask us to take you on trust. Why the disguise?  
Who are  you? What do you really know about - about my business; and how  
do 
you know it?' 
     'The lesson in caution has been well learned,' said Strider with a grim 
smile. 'But caution is one thing and wavering is another. You will never get 
to Rivende ll now on your own, and to trust me is your only chance. You  must  
make up your  mind. I will answer some of your  questions, if that will help


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instance. He  has an evil name in the Bree-land,  and queer folk call at his 
house.  You  must  have  noticed him among the  company:  a swarthy sneering 
fellow.  He  was very close with  one  of  the Southern  strangers, and they 
slipped  out   together  just  after  your  "accident".  Not  all  of  those 
Southerners mean well; and as for Ferny, he would sell anything  to anybody; 
or make mischief for amusement.' 
     'What  will Ferny sell,  and what has my accident got to do  with him?' 
said Frodo, still determined not to understand Strider's hints.  
     'News  of you,  of  course,'  answered  Strider.  'An  account of  your 
performance would  be very interesting to certain  people.  After that  they 
would hardly  need to be told your real name. It seems to me only too likely  
that they will hear of it befor e this night is over. Is that enough? You can 
do as you like  about my  reward: take me as a guide  or  not. But I may say


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give you some good advice  - but I shall want a reward.' 
     'And what will that be, pray?' said Frodo. He suspected now that he had 
fallen in with a rascal, and he thought uncomfortably  that  he had  brought 
only a little money with him. All of it would hardly satisfy a rogue, and he 
could not spare any of it. 
     'No more than  you  can afford,' answered  Strider with a slow smile, as 
if he guessed Frodo's thoughts. 'Just this: you must take me along with you, 
until I wish to leave you.' 
     'Oh, indeed!' replied Frodo, surprised, but not much relieved. 'Even if 
I wanted another  companion, I should  not  agree to any such thing, until I 
knew a good deal more about you, and your business.' 
     'Excellent!' exclaimed  Strider,  crossing  his legs  and sitting  back  
comfortably. 'You seem to be coming to your senses again, and that is all to 
the good. You have been much too careless so far. Very well! I will tell you


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to Rivende ll now on your own, and to trust me is your only chance. You  must  
make up your  mind. I will answer some of your  questions, if that will help 
you to do so.  But  why should you believe  my story, if you do not trust me 
already? Still here it is------' 
     At that  moment  there  came a  knock at the  door.  Mr. Butterbur  had 
arrived with candles, and behind him was Nob with cans of hot water. Strider 
withdrew into a dark corner. 
     'I've come  to bid  you  good night,' said  the  landlord,  putting the 
candles on the table. 'Nob!  Take  the  water to the rooms!' He came in  and 
shut the door. 
     'It's like  this,' he began,  hesitating and looking troubled. 'If I've 
done any harm, I'm sorry indeed. But one thing drives out another, as you'll


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goes for  most hobbits. Barley, he says to me,' continued Mr. Butterbur with 
a glance at Pippin.  'But this one is taller than some and fairer than most, 
and he  has a cleft in his  chin: perky chap with a bright eye. Begging your 
pardon, but he said it, not me.' 
     'He said it? And who was he?' asked Frodo eagerly. 
     'Ah! That was Gandalf, if you know who I mean. A wizard they say he is, 
but he's a  good  friend of mine, whether or no. But now  I  don't know what 
he'll have to say to me, if I see him again: turn all my ale sour or me into 
a block of  wood, I  shouldn't wonder. He's  a  bit hasty. Still what's done 
can't be undone. ' 
     'Well, what have you done?' said Frodo, getting impatient with the slow 
unravelling of Butterbur's thoughts. 
     'Where was I?' said the landlord,  pausing  and  snapping  his fingers.  
'Ah,  yes!  Old Gandalf. Three  months  back he walked  right  into  my room


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that they will hear of it befor e this night is over. Is that enough? You can 
do as you like  about my  reward: take me as a guide  or  not. But I may say 
that I know all the lands  between the Shire and  the Misty Mountains, for I 
have  wandered over  them for many years. I  am  older than  I look. I might  
prove useful. You will  have to leave the  open  road after tonight; for the 
horsemen will  watch  it  night and  day. You may  escape from  Bree, and be 
allowed to  go forward while the Sun is up;  but you won't go far. They will 
come on you in the wild, in some dark  place where  there is no help. Do you 
wish them to find you? They are terrible!' 
     The  hobbits looked at him,  and  saw  with surprise that  his face was 
drawn  as if with pain, and  his hands clenched the arms of  his  chair. The 
room was very quiet and still, and the light seemed to have grown dim. For a 
while he sat with unseeing eyes as if walking in distant memory or listening


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unravelling of Butterbur's thoughts. 
     'Where was I?' said the landlord,  pausing  and  snapping  his fingers.  
'Ah,  yes!  Old Gandalf. Three  months  back he walked  right  into  my room 
without  a  knock. Barley, he says, I'm off in  the  morning.  Will  you  do 
something for me? You've  only to name it,  I said. I'm in a hurry,  said he, 
and  I've no time myself, but I want  a message took to the Shire. Have  you 
anyone you can send, and trust to go? I can find someone, I  said, tomorrow,  
maybe, or the day after. Make it tomorrow,   he says, and then he gave  me  a  
letter. 
     'It's addressed plain enough,' said Mr.  Butterbur,  producing a letter  
from his pocket,  and reading out the  address slowly and proudly (he valued  
his reputation as a lettered man): 
     Mr FRODO BAGGINS, BAG END, HOBBITON in the SHIRE. 
     'A letter for me from Gandalf!' cried Frodo.


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comfortably. 'You seem to be coming to your senses again, and that is all to 
the good. You have been much too careless so far. Very well! I will tell you  
what I know, and leave the reward to  you. You may be glad to grant it, when 
you have heard me.' 
     'Go on then!' said Frodo. 'What do you know?' 
     'Too much; too many dark things,' said Strider grimly. 'But as for your 
business --' He got  up and went to the door,  opened it quickly  and looked 
out.  Then  he shut it quietly and  sat  down again. 'I have quick ears,' he 
went  on, lowering his voice, 'and  though I cannot disappear, I have hunted


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####-only remembers his own name  because people  shout  it at him  all day? They 
cannot stay in The  Pony for ever, and they cannot go home. They have a long 
road before them. Will you go with them and keep the black men off?' 
     'Me? Leave Bree! I wouldn't do that for any money,' said Mr. Butterbur, 
looking  really scared. 'But why can't you stay here  quiet for  a  bit, Mr. 
Underhill?  What are  all  these  queer goings on? What are these black   men 
after, and where do they come from, I'd like to know?' 
     'I'm sorry I  can't explain it all,' answered  Frodo.  'I  am tired and 
very worried, and it's a long tale. But  if you mean to help me, I  ought to 
warn you  that you will be in  danger  as long as I  am in your house. These 
Black Riders: I am not sure, but I think, I fear they come from------' 
     'They  come from Mordor,'  said  Strider in a low  voice. 'From Mordor, 
Barliman, if that means anything to you.'


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should I say your finger?' 
     'I don't know what you mean,' said Frodo, annoyed and alarmed. 
     'Oh yes, you do,' answered Strider; 'but  we had better wait  until the 
uproar has  died down. Then, if you  please, Mr.  Baggins, I should  like  a  
quiet word with you.' 
     'What about?' asked Frodo, ignoring the sudden use of his proper name. 
     'A matter of  some importance  -  to us both,' answered Strider, looking 
Frodo in the eye. 'You may hear something to your advantage.' 
     'Very  well,' said Frodo,  trying to appear unconcerned. 'I'll talk  to 
you later.' 
     Meanwhile an argument was going on by the  fireplace. Mr. Butterbur had 
come trotting  in, and  he was now  trying  to listen to several conflicting 
accounts of the event at the same time. 
     'I saw him, Mr.  Butterbur,' said a hobbit;  'or leastways I didn't see 
him, if you take my meaning. He just vanished  into thin air, in a manner of 
speaking.'


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room was very quiet and still, and the light seemed to have grown dim. For a 
while he sat with unseeing eyes as if walking in distant memory or listening  
to sounds in the Night far away.


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On  Monday one came down the Greenway, they say; and another appeared 
later, 
coming up the Greenway from the south.' 
     There was a silence. At last Frodo spoke to Pippin and Sam: 'I ought to 
have guessed  it from the way the gatekeeper greeted us,' he said.  'And  the 
landlord  seems  to  have heard something. Why did  he press us to join  the 
company?  And  why  on  earth  did we  behave so foolishly: we ought to have 
stayed quiet in here.' 
     'It would  have been better,' said Strider. 'I would  have stopped your 
going into  the  common-room, if I could; but the innkeeper would not let me 
in to see you, or take a message.' 
     'Do you think he------' began Frodo. 
     'No,  I  don't  think any  harm  of old Butterbur.  Only  he  does  not 
altogether like  mysterious vagabonds  of my sort.' Frodo gave him a puzzled 
look. 'Well, I have rather a rascally look, have I not?' said Strider with a


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####-     Renewed shall be blade that was broken, 
     The crownless again shall be king. 
 
 
     PPPS.  I hope  Butterbur  sends  this promptly.  A  worthy man, but his 
memory is  like a lumber-roam: thing wanted always buried. If he  forgets, I  
shall roast him. 
     Fare Well! 
     Frodo read the letter to himself, and then passed it to Pippin and Sam. 
'Really  old Butterbur has  made  a mess of things!' he  said. 'He  deserves 
roasting. If  I  had  got this  at  once,  we  might all have  been safe  in 
Rivendell  by now. But what can have happened to Gandalf? He writes as if he 
was going into great danger.' 
     'He has been doing that for many years,' said Strider. 
     Frodo  turned and looked at him thoughtfully, wondering about Gandalf's 
second postscript. 'Why didn't you tell me that you were Gandalf's friend at 
once?' he asked.  'It would have saved time.' 
     'Would it? Would any of  you have believed me till now?' said  Strider.


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Black Riders: I am not sure, but I think, I fear they come from------' 
     'They  come from Mordor,'  said  Strider in a low  voice. 'From Mordor, 
Barliman, if that means anything to you.' 
     'Save us!' cried  Mr.  Bu tterbur turning  pale; the  name evidently was 
known to him. 'That is the worst news that has come to Bree in my time.' 'It 
is,' said  Frodo. 'Are  you still  willing to help  me?'  'I  am,'  said Mr. 
Butterbur. 'More than ever. Though I don't know what the likes of me  can do 
against, against ------' he faltered. 
     'Against the Shadow in the  East,' said  Strider  quietly.  'Not  much, 
Barliman, but  every  little  helps. You  can let  Mr. Underhill  stay  here 
tonight, as Mr. Underhill, and you can forget the  name of Baggins,  till he 
is far away.' 
     'I'll do that,' said Butterbur. 'But they'll find out he's here without 
help from me, I'm afraid. It's a pity  Mr. Baggins drew attention to himself


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'I saw him, Mr.  Butterbur,' said a hobbit;  'or leastways I didn't see 
him, if you take my meaning. He just vanished  into thin air, in a manner of 
speaking.' 
     'You don't say, Mr. Mugwort!' said the landlord, looking puzzled. 
     'Yes I do!' replied Mugwort. 'And I mean what I say, what's more.' 
     'There's some  mistake  somewhere,' said  Butterbur,  shaking his head. 
There was  too much of  that Mr. Underhill to go vanishing  into thin air; or  
into thick air, as is more likely in this room.' 
     'Well, where is he now?' cried several voices.  
     'How should I  know?  He's welcome to go  where he will, so long as  he  
pays in the  morning. There's Mr. Took, now: he's not vanished.' 
     'Well,  I  saw what I  saw,  and  I saw what I  didn't,'  said  Mugwort 
obstinately. 
     'And I say there's  some mistake,' repeated  Butterbur,  picking up the


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####-chance to look about us. Gandalf will make for that point, if he follows us. 
After Weathertop our  journey will become more difficult, and  we shall have 
to choose between various dangers.' 
     'When did you last see Gandalf?' asked Frodo. 'Do you know where he is, 
or what he is doing?' 
     Strider looked  grave. 'I do not know,' he said. 'I came  west with him 
in the spring.  I have often kept watch  on  the borders of the Shire in the 
last few years,  when he was busy elsewhere. He seldom left it unguarded. We 
last met on the first  of May: at  Sam  Ford down the Brandywine. He told me 
that his business with you had gone well, and that you would be starting for  
Rivendell in the last week  of September. As I knew  he  was at your side, I 
went away on a journey of my own. And that has proved ill;  for plainly some 
news reached him, and I was not at hand to help. 
     'I am troubled, for the  first time  since I have known  him. We should


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once?' he asked.  'It would have saved time.' 
     'Would it? Would any of  you have believed me till now?' said  Strider. 
'I knew nothing  of this letter.  For  all I knew I  had  to persuade you to 
trust me without proofs, if I was to help you. In any case, I did not intend 
to tell you  all about myself at once. I had  to study you  first,  and make 
sure of  you. The  Enemy has set traps  for  me before  now. As soon as I had 
made up my  mind, I was  ready to tell you  whatever  you asked.  But I must 
admit,' he added with a queer laugh,  'that I hoped you would take to me for  
my  own  sake. A  hunted  man sometimes  wearies  of distrust  a nd longs for 
friendship. But there, I believe my looks are against me.' 
     'They  are - at first sight at any rate,'  laughed  Pippin with  sudden 
relief after reading Gandalf's letter. 'But handsome is as handsome does, as 
we  say in the Shire; and  I daresay  we  shall all look much the same after


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####-you. You might have done in the real Strider and took his clothes. What have 
you to say to that?' 
     'That you are a stout fellow,' answered  Strider;   'but I am  afraid my 
only answer to you, Sam Gamgee, is this. If I had killed the real Strider, I 
could kill you. And I  should have killed you already without  so much talk. 
If I was after the Ring, I could have it - NOW!' 
     He stood up,  and seemed suddenly to grow taller. In his eyes gleamed a  
light, keen and commanding. Throwing back his cloak, he laid his hand on the 
hilt of a sword that had  hung concealed by  his  side. They did not dare to 
move. Sam sat wide-mouthed staring at him dumbly. 
     'But I am the real Strider, fortunately,' he said, looking down at them 
with his face softened by a sudden smile. 'I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and 
if by life or death I can save you, I will.' 
     There  was  a long silence.  At last Frodo  spoke  with  hesitation.  'I


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####-     'Ah!' said Mr. Butterbur. 'Then your right name is Baggins?' 
     'It is,' said Frodo, 'and you had better give me that  letter  at once, 
and explain  why  you  never sent it.  That's  what you came  to tell  me, I 
suppose, though you've taken a long time to come to the point.' 
     Poor Mr. Butterbur looked  troubled.  'You're right, master,' he  said, 
'and I beg  your pardon. And I'm mortal  afraid of what Gandalf will say, if 
harm comes  of it. But I didn't  keep  it back a -purpose. I put  it by safe. 
Then I couldn't find nobody willing to go to the Shire next day, nor the day 
after, and  none of  my own folk were to spare;  and  then  one  thing after  
another drove it out of my mind. I'm a  busy man. I'll do what I can to  set  
matters right, and if there's any help I can give, you've only to name it. 
     'Leaving the letter aside, I  promised Gandalf no less. Barley, he says 
to  me, this friend of mine from the Shire, he may  be coming out  this  way


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altogether like  mysterious vagabonds  of my sort.' Frodo gave him a puzzled 
look. 'Well, I have rather a rascally look, have I not?' said Strider with a  
curl of his lip and a  queer gleam in  his eye. 'But I  hope we shall get to


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####-not  come  back, I  went out  for a  stroll.  I  had come back again and was 
standing just outside the light of the lamp looking at the stars. Suddenly I 
shivered and felt that something horrible was creeping near: there was a son 
of deeper shade among the shadows across the  road, just beyond the edge  of 
the lamplight. It slid away at once into the dark without a sound. There was 
no horse.' 
     'Which  way  did  it  go?'  asked Strider, suddenly  and sharply. Merry 
started, noticing the  stranger for the  first  time. 'Go  on!' said  Frodo. 
'This is a friend of Gandalf's. I will explain later.' 
     'It seemed to make  off  up  the  Road,  eastward,' continued Merry. 'I  
tried to follow. Of course, it vanished almost at once; but I went round the 
corner and on as far as the last house on the Road.' 
     Strider looked at Merry with wonder. 'You have a stout heart,' he said; 
'but it was foolish.'


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news reached him, and I was not at hand to help. 
     'I am troubled, for the  first time  since I have known  him. We should 
have had messages, even if he  could not come himself. When I returned, many 
days  ago, I heard the ill  news.  The tidings had gone  far  and wide  that 
Gandalf was missing and the horsemen had been seen. It was the Elven-folk of 
Gildor that told me this;  and  later  they told me that you had  left  your 
home; but there was no news of your leaving Buckland. I  have  been watching 
the East Road anxiously.' 
     'Do  you  think  the Black Riders  have  anything to do  with it  - with 
Gandalf's absence, I mean?' asked Frodo. 
     'I  do  not know of anything else  that could have hindered him, except 
the  Enemy himself,'  said  Strider. 'But do not give  up  hope! Gandalf  is 
greater than you Shire-folk know  -  as a rule you can only see his jokes and 
toys. But this business of ours will be his greatest task.'


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relief after reading Gandalf's letter. 'But handsome is as handsome does, as 
we  say in the Shire; and  I daresay  we  shall all look much the same after  
lying for days in hedges and ditches.' 
     'It  would  take more than a few days, or weeks, or years, of wandering 
in the Wild to make you look like Strider,' he answered. 'And you would  die 
first, unless you are made of sterner stuff than you look to be.' 
     Pippin  subsided; but  Sam was not  daunted, and he  still eyed Strider  
dubiously. 'How do we know you are the  Strider that  Gandalf speaks about?' 
he  demanded. 'You  never  mentioned Gandalf, till this letter came out. You  
might be  a  play-acting spy, for all I can see, trying to get us to go with


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if by life or death I can save you, I will.' 
     There  was  a long silence.  At last Frodo  spoke  with  hesitation.  'I 
believed  that you were  a friend before the letter came,' he  said,  'or at 
least I wished to.  You  have frightened me several times tonight, but never  
in the way that servants of the Enemy would, or so I imagine. I think one of 
his spies would - well, seem fairer and feel fouler, if you understand.' 
     'I see,' laughed Strider. 'I  look foul and feel fair. Is that  it? All 
that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.' 
     'Did the  verses apply to you then?' asked Frodo. 'I could not make out 
what they were  about.  But how did  you  know that they  were  in Gandalf's 
letter, if you have never seen it?' 
     'I did not  know,' he answered. 'But I am Aragorn, and  those verses go 
with  that  name.' He  drew out his swor d,  and they saw that  the blade was


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####-we leave Bree.' 
     'What  will happen?'  said  Merry.  'Will they attack the inn?'  'No, I 
think not,' said Strider.  'They are not all here yet. And in any  case that 
is not their way. In dark and loneliness  they are strongest; they will  not 
openly attack a house where ther e are lights and many people -not until they 
are desperate, not while all the  long  leagues of Eriador still  lie before 
us.  But their  power  is in  terror, and already some in Bree are in  their 
clutch. They will drive these wretches to some evil work: Ferny, and some of 
the strangers, and, maybe,  the gatekeeper too. They had words with Harry at 
West-gate on Monday. I was watching them. He was white and shaking when 
they 
left him.' 
     'We seem to have enemies all round,' said Frodo. 'What are we to do? ' 
     'Stay here, and do not  go to  your rooms! They are sure  to have found 
out which those  are. The hobbit-rooms  have windows looking north and close


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letter, if you have never seen it?' 
     'I did not  know,' he answered. 'But I am Aragorn, and  those verses go 
with  that  name.' He  drew out his swor d,  and they saw that  the blade was 
indeed  broken  a  foot  below  the hilt. 'Not much  use is  it, Sam?'  said 
Strider. 'But the time is near when it shall be forged anew.' 
     Sam said nothing. 
     'Well,' said Strider, 'with Sam's permission we will call that settled. 
Strider shall be your guide. We shall have a rough road tomorrow. Even if we 
are allowed  to  leave  Bree unhindered, we can hardly hope now to leave  it  
unnoticed. But  I shall try to get  lost as soon as possible.  I know one or  
two ways out of Bree-land other than the main road. If once we shake off the 
pursuit, I shall make for Weathertop.' 
     'Weathertop?' said Sam. 'What's that?' 
     'It is a hill,  just to the north of the Road, about half way from here 
to Rivendell.  It commands a wide view all round; and there we shall have  a


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greater than you Shire-folk know  -  as a rule you can only see his jokes and 
toys. But this business of ours will be his greatest task.' 
     Pippin yawned. 'I am sorry,' he said, 'but I am dead tired. In spite of 
all  the danger and worry  I must go to  bed, or sleep where I sit. Where is 
that silly fellow, Merry? It would be the last straw, if we had to go out in 
the dark to look for him.' 
     At that moment they heard a door slam; then feet came running along the 
passage. Merry came  in  with a  rush followed  by  Nob.  He shut  the  door  
hastily, and leaned against it. He was out of breath. They  stared at him in 
alarm for  a moment before he gasped: 'I have seen  them, Frodo! I have seen 
them! Black Riders!' 
     'Black Riders!' cried Frodo. 'Where?' 
     'Here. In the village. I  stayed indoors for  an  hour. Then as you did


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corner and on as far as the last house on the Road.' 
     Strider looked at Merry with wonder. 'You have a stout heart,' he said; 
'but it was foolish.' 
     'I don't know,' said Merry. 'Neither brave nor silly, I  think. I could 
hardly  help myself.  I  seemed to be drawn  somehow.  Anyway,  I  went, and 
suddenly I heard voices by the hedge. One was muttering; and the  other  was 
whispering,  or  hissing. I  couldn't hear a word  that was said. I did  not 
creep  any  closer,  because  I  began  to  tremble  all over. Then  I  felt 
terrified,  and I  turned  back,  and was  just  going  to  bolt  home, when 
something came behind me and I... I fell over.' 
     'I  found  him,  sir,'  put in Nob.  'Mr. Butterbur sent me out with  a  
lantern. I went down to West -gate, and then back up towards South-gate. Just 
nigh  Bill Ferny's  house I thought  I could see  something in  the  Road. I  
couldn't swear to  it, but it  looked to me as if two men was  stooping over


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'Leaving the letter aside, I  promised Gandalf no less. Barley, he says 
to  me, this friend of mine from the Shire, he may  be coming out  this  way 
before long, him and another. He'll be calling himself Underhill. Mind that! 
But  you need  ask  no  questions.  And if I'm  not with him, he  may  be in  
trouble, and  he  may need  help. Do whatever you can for him,  and I'll  be 
grateful, he says. And here you are, and trouble is not far off, seemingly.' 
     'What do you mean?' asked Frodo. 
     'These  black  men,' said  the landlord lowering  his  voice.  'They're 
looking  for  Baggins, and if they mean well, then  I'm a hobbit. It was  on 
Monday, and all the dogs were yammering and the geese screaming. Uncanny,  
I 
called  it. Nob, he came and told me that two  black  men were  at  the door  
asking  for a  hobbit called Baggins. Nob's hair was all stood on end. I bid 
the  black  fellows be off, and  slammed the door on them; but they've  been


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####-Baggins - Underhill, I should say! Good night  -  now, bless me! Where's your 
Mr. Brandybuck?' 
     'I don't know,' said Frodo with sudden anxiety. They had  forgotten all 
about  Merry, and it was  getting late.  'I  am afraid  he is  out. He  said 
something about going for a breath of air.' 
     'Well, you do want looking after and no mistake: your party might be on 
a holiday!' said Butterbur. 'I must go and bar the doors quick, but I'll see 
your friend is let  in when  he comes.  I'd better send Nob to look for him. 
Good  night  to  you all!'  At  last  Mr. Butterbur  went out,  with another  
doubtful look at Strider and  a  shake of his  head. His footsteps retreated 
down the passage. 
     'Well?' said Strider. 'When are  you  going to open that letter?' Frodo 
looked carefully at  the seal before he broke it. It seemed certainly  to be 
Gandalf's. Inside, written in the  wizard's strong but  graceful script, was 
the following message:


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'Stay here, and do not  go to  your rooms! They are sure  to have found 
out which those  are. The hobbit-rooms  have windows looking north and close 
to the ground. We will all remain together and bar this window and the door. 
But first Nob and I will fetch your luggage.' 
     While Strider was  gone, Frodo gave Merry a  rapid account of all  that 
had happened since supper. Merry was  still reading and  pondering Gandalf's 
letter when Strider and Nob returned. 
     'Well Masters,' said  Nob, 'I've ruffled up  the clothes  and  put in a  
bolster down the  middle of  each bed.  And I made a  nice imitation of your  
head  with a brown woollen mat, Mr. Bag  - Underhill,  sir,' he added with  a  
grin. 
     Pippin laughed. 'Very life-like!'  he said. 'But  wha t will happen when 
they have penetrated the disguise?' 
     'We shall  see,'  said  Strider.  'Let us hope  to hold the  fort  till 
morning.'


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####-from the Old Forest. And then they lost no more time. 
     FEAR! FIRE! FOES! 
     The Brandybucks were blowing  the Horn-call of  Buckland,  that had not 
been sounded for  a hundred years, not  since the white wolves came  in  the 
Fell Winter, when the Brandywine was frozen over. 
     AWAKE! AWAKE! 
     Far-away answering horns were heard. The alarm was spreading. The black  
figures fled from the house.  One  of them  let fall a  hobbit-cloak  on the 
step, as he ran. In the lane the noise  of hoofs broke out, and gathering to 
a gallop, went hammering away into the darkness. All about Crickhollow there 
was the sound  of horns blowing, and voices crying and feet running. But the 
Black Riders rode like a gale to the North-gate. Let the little people blow!  
Sauron  would deal  with them later. Meanwhile they had another errand: they 
knew now that the house  was empty and the Ring had gone. They rode down 
the 
guards at the gate and vanished from the Shire.


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asking  for a  hobbit called Baggins. Nob's hair was all stood on end. I bid 
the  black  fellows be off, and  slammed the door on them; but they've  been 
asking the same  question all the  way to  Archet, I hear. And that  Ranger, 
Strider, he's been asking  questions, too. Tried to get in here  to see you, 
before you'd had bite or sup, he did.' 
     'He did!' said Strider suddenly, coming  forward into  the light.  'And 
much trouble would have been saved, if you had let him in, Barliman.' 
     The landlord  jumped with surprise.  'You!'  he  cried.  'You're always 
popping up. What do you want now?' 
      'He's here with my leave,' said Frodo.  'He came to offer me his help.' 
     'Well, you  know your own business, maybe,' said Mr. Butterbur, looking 
suspiciously  at Strider. 'But if I  was in your plight,  I wouldn't take up 
with a Ranger.' 
     'Then who would  you take up with?' asked Strider. 'A fat innkeeper who


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####-ruined and all! What are we coming to?' 
     'Dark times,' said  Strider. 'But for  the present you  may be left  in 
peace,  when you have got rid of us. We will leave at once. Never mind about 
breakfast: a drink  and a bite standing will have to do. We shall be  packed 
in a few minutes.' 
     Mr. Butterbur hurried off to see that their ponies were  got ready, and 
to fetch them a 'bite'. But very soon he came back in dismay. The ponies had 
vanished!  The stable-doors had all  been opened in the night, and they were 
gone: not only Merry's ponies, but every other horse and beast in the place. 
     Frodo was  crushed by the news. How  could they hope to reach Rivendell 
on foot, pursued  by  mounted enemies? They might as  well  set  out for the 
Moon. Strider sat silent for a while, looking at the hobbits,  as if he  was 
weighing up their strength and courage. 
     'Ponies would  not help  us to  escape  horsemen,'  he  said  at  last,


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nigh  Bill Ferny's  house I thought  I could see  something in  the  Road. I  
couldn't swear to  it, but it  looked to me as if two men was  stooping over  
something, lilting  it. I gave a shout, but where I got up to the spot there 
was  no  signs  of them,  and only Mr. Brandybuck lying by  the roadside. He 
seemed to be asleep. "I thought I had  fallen into  deep  water," he says to 
me, when I shook him. Very queer he was, and as soon as I had roused him, he 
got up and ran back here like a hare. ' 
     'I am  afraid that's true,'  said Merry, 'though I  don't know  what  I 
said. I had an ugly dream, which I can't remember. I went to pieces. I don't  
know what came over me.' 
     'I  do,' said Strider.  'The Black Breath. The  Riders  must have  left 
their horses outside, and passed back through the South-gate in secret. They  
will know all the news now, for  they have visited  Bill Ferny; and probably


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As  they prepared  for sleep  in  the  inn at  Bree,  darkness  lay  on 
Buckland; a mist strayed in the dells and along the river -bank. The house at 
Crickhollow stood silent. Fatty Bolger opened the door cautiously and peered 
out. A feeling of fear had been growing on him all day, and he was unable to 
rest or go to bed: there was a brooding threat  in the breathless night-air. 
As he  stared out into the gloom, a black shadow moved under the trees;  the 
gate  seemed  to open  of its own  accord and close again without  a  sound. 
Terror seized him. He  shrank  back,  and for a moment he stood trembling in 
the hall. Then he shut and locked the door. 
     The night  deepened.  There  came  the  soft  sound of horses  led with 
stealth  along the  lane.  Outside  the gate  they stopped, and three  black  
figures entered,  like shades of night  creeping across the ground. One went 
to the door, one to the corner of the house on  either side; and there  they


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they have penetrated the disguise?' 
     'We shall  see,'  said  Strider.  'Let us hope  to hold the  fort  till 
morning.' 
     'Good  night to  you,' said Nob, and went off to take  his part in  the 
watch on the doors.  
     Their bags and gear they piled on the parlour -floor. They pushed a  low 
chair against the door and shut the window. Peering  out, Frodo saw that the 
night was still clear. The Sickle was swinging bright above the shoulders of  
Bree-hill. He then closed and barred  the heavy inside shutters and drew the  
curtains together. Strider built up the fire and blew out all the candles.  
     The  hobbits lay  down  on their blankets  with their feet  towards the 
hearth; but  Strider settled himself  in the chair against  the  door .  They


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Moon. Strider sat silent for a while, looking at the hobbits,  as if he  was 
weighing up their strength and courage. 
     'Ponies would  not help  us to  escape  horsemen,'  he  said  at  last, 
thoughtfully, as if he guessed  what Frodo  had in  mind. 'We should  not go 
much slower on foot, not  on the roads that I mean to take.  I was  going to 
walk in any case. It is the food and stores that trouble me. We cannot count 
on getting anything to  eat between here and Rivendell, except  what we take 
with  us; and we ought to take plenty  to spare; for we  may be delayed,  or  
forced  to  go round-about, far out  of  the direct way.  How much  are  you  
prepared to carry on your backs?' 
     'As  much as we must,' said Pippin with  a sinking heart, but trying to 
show that he was tougher than he looked (or felt). 
     'I can carry enough for two,' said Sam defiantly. 
     'Can't  anything be done,  Mr. Butterbur?' asked Frodo. 'Can't we get a


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their horses outside, and passed back through the South-gate in secret. They  
will know all the news now, for  they have visited  Bill Ferny; and probably  
that Southerner was a spy as well. Something may happen in the night, before


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####-talked for a little, for Merry still had several questions to ask. 
     'Jumped over  the Moon!'  chuckled  Merry as he rolled himself  in  his 
blanket. 'Very ridiculous of you, Frodo! But I wish I had been there to see. 
The worthies of Bree will be discussing it a hundred years hence.' 
     'I  hope so,' said Strider. Then  they all fell  silent, and one by one 
the hobbits dropped off to sleep. 
 

####- 

Chapter 11. A Knife in the Dark


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show that he was tougher than he looked (or felt). 
     'I can carry enough for two,' said Sam defiantly. 
     'Can't  anything be done,  Mr. Butterbur?' asked Frodo. 'Can't we get a  
couple of  ponies in the vi llage, or even one  just for the baggage? I don't  
suppose we  could  hire  them, but we might be able to buy them,' he  added,  
doubtfully, wondering if he could afford it. 
     'I  doubt  it,'  said   the  landlord  unhappily.  'The  two  or  three 
riding-ponies that there were in Bree were stabled  in  my yard, and they're 
gone.  As for other animals, horses or ponies for draught or what not, there 
are very few of them in Bree, and they won't be for sale. But I'll do what I 
can. I'll rout out Bob and send him round as soon as may be.' 
     'Yes,' said Strider reluctantly, 'you  had better do that. I am  afraid 
we  shall have to try  to get  one pony at least. But so ends  all  hope  of


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####-raid  on the inn. The southern travellers had lost several horses and blamed 
the innkeeper loudly, until it became known that one of their own number had 
also  disappeared  in the  night,  none  other than Bill Ferny's squint-eyed 
companion. Suspicion fell on him at once. 
     'If you pick up with  a  horse-thief, and  bring him to my house,' said 
Butterbur angrily, 'you ought to pay  for all the damage yourselves and  not 
come shouting at me. Go and ask Ferny where your handsome friend is!' But it 
appeared that he was nobody's friend, and nobody could recollect when he had 
joined their party. 
     After  their  breakfast the  hobbits had to re-pack,  and get  together  
further  supplies for  the  longer  journey  they were now expecting. It was 
close on ten o'clock before they at last got off. By  that time the whole of 
Bree was buzzing with excitement. Frodo's vanishing trick; the appearance of


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is far away.' 
     'I'll do that,' said Butterbur. 'But they'll find out he's here without 
help from me, I'm afraid. It's a pity  Mr. Baggins drew attention to himself 
this evening, to  say no more. The story of that  Mr. Bilbo's  going off has 
been heard before tonight in Bree. Even our Nob has been doing some guessing 
in his slow pate: and there are others in Bree quicker in the uptake than he 
is.' 
     'Well, we can only hope the Riders won't come back yet,' said Frodo. 
     'I hope  not, indeed,' said Butterbur. 'But spooks  or no spooks,  they 
won't get in The Pony so easy.  Don't you worry till the morning. Nob'll say 
no word. No black man shall pass my doors, while  I can stand on my legs. Me 
and my folk'll keep watch  tonight; but you had best get some  sleep, if you  
can.' 
     'In any case we  must be called at  dawn,' said Frodo. 'We must get off 
as early as possible. Breakfast at six-thirty, please.'


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figures entered,  like shades of night  creeping across the ground. One went 
to the door, one to the corner of the house on  either side; and there  they 
stood, as  still as the shadows of  stones, while night went slowly on.  The 
house and the quiet trees seemed to be waiting breathlessly. 
     There was a faint stir  in the leaves, and  a cock crowed far away. The 
cold hour before dawn was passing. The figure by the door moved. In the dark 
without moon or stars a drawn blade gleamed,  as  if a chill light had  been 
unsheathed.  There was a blow, soft but heavy, and the door shuddered. 
     'Open, in the name of Mordor!' said a voice thin and menacing. 
     At a second blow the door yielded and fell back, with timbers burst and 
lock broken. The black figures passed swiftly in. 
     At that moment, among the trees nearby,  a  horn rang out.  It rent the 
night like fire on a hill-top. 
     AWAKE! FEAR! FIRE! FOES! AWAKE!


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####-     'There is one crumb of comfort,' said Merry, 'and more than a  crumb, I 
hope: we  can have  breakfast while we wait  - and sit down to it.  Let's get 
hold of Nob!' 
     In the end there was more  than three hours'  delay. Bob came back with 
the  report  that  no horse or pony was to be got for love  or  money in the 
neighbourhood - except one: Bill Ferny had  one that he might possibly sell.  
'A poor old half-starved creature it is,'  said Bob; 'but he won't part with 
it for less than thrice its worth, seeing how  you're placed, not if I knows 
Bill Ferny.' 
     'Bill  Ferny?'  said Frodo. 'Isn't there some trick? Wouldn't the beast  
bolt back to him with all our stuff, or help in tracking us, or something?' 
     'I wonder,' said Strider. 'But I cannot imagine any animal running home 
to him, once  it got  away.  I  fancy this  is only an  afterthought of kind 
Master  Ferny's: just a  way of increasing his profits  from the affair. The


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'Yes,' said Strider reluctantly, 'you  had better do that. I am  afraid 
we  shall have to try  to get  one pony at least. But so ends  all  hope  of 
starting early,  and  slipping away quietly! We might as  well have  blown a  
horn to announce our departure. That was part of their plan, no doubt.'


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can.' 
     'In any case we  must be called at  dawn,' said Frodo. 'We must get off 
as early as possible. Breakfast at six-thirty, please.' 
     'Right!  I'll see to the orders,'  said the landlord. 'Good night,  Mr.


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####-for sitting,' he said. 'But I reckon I'll miss them both before long.' 
     The hobbits took no notice of the inquisitive heads that peeped  out of 
doors,  or  popped over walls and fences,  as they passed. But as they  drew 
near to  the further gate, Frodo saw a  dark  ill-kept  house behind a thick  
hedge: the  last  house  in the village.  In one of the  windows he caught a  
glimpse of a sallow face with sly, slanting eyes; but it vanished at once. 
     'So that's where that southerner is hiding!' he thought. 'He looks more 
than half like a goblin.' 
     Over the hedge  another  man  was  staring boldly.  He  had heavy black  
brows, and  dark scornful eyes; his large mouth curled in  a  sneer.  He was 
smoking a  short black pipe. As they approached he took it out  of his mouth 
and spat. 
     'Morning,  Longshanks!' he  said.  'Off  early?  Found some  friends at 
last?' Strider nodded, but did not answer.  'Morning, my little friends!' he


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to him, once  it got  away.  I  fancy this  is only an  afterthought of kind 
Master  Ferny's: just a  way of increasing his profits  from the affair. The 
chief  danger is that the poor beast is probably at  death's door. But there 
does not seem any choice. What does he want for it?' 
     Bill Ferny's price was twelve  silver pennies; and  that  was indeed at 
least  three times the pony's value in those pans. It  proved to  be a bony, 
underfed, and dispirited  animal; but  it did  not look like dying just yet. 
Mr. Butterbur paid for it himself, and offered Merry  another eighteen pence 
as  some  compensation  for  the  lost animals. He was an  honest  man,   and 
well-off as things were reckoned  in Bree;  but thirty silver pennies was  a  
sore blow to him, and being cheated by Bill Ferny made it harder to bear. 
     As a matter of fact he came out on the right side in the end. It turned 
out later that only one  horse had been actually stolen. The others had been


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lock broken. The black figures passed swiftly in. 
     At that moment, among the trees nearby,  a  horn rang out.  It rent the 
night like fire on a hill-top. 
     AWAKE! FEAR! FIRE! FOES! AWAKE! 
     Fatty Bolger had not been idle. As soon as he saw the dark shapes creep 
from the garden, he knew that he must run for it, or perish. And run he did, 
out  of the  back door, through  the garden,  and over the  fields.  When he 
reached  the  nearest  house,  more  than a mile  away, he  collapsed on the 
doorstep. 'No, no, no!'  he was  crying. 'No,  not me! I haven't got it!' It 
was  some time  before anyone could make out what he  was babbling about. 
At 
last they got the idea that enemies were in Buckland, some strange  invasion


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and spat. 
     'Morning,  Longshanks!' he  said.  'Off  early?  Found some  friends at 
last?' Strider nodded, but did not answer.  'Morning, my little friends!' he 
said  to the  others. 'I suppose you know who you've taken  up  with? That's 
Stick -at-naught  Strider,  that is!  Though  I've  heard other names not  so 
pretty.  Watch out tonight! And you,  Sammie, don't  go ill-treating my poor  
old pony! Pah!' He spat again. 
     Sam turned quickly. 'And you.  Ferny,' he said, 'put your ugly face out 
of sight, or it will get  hurt.' With a sudden flick, quick as lightning, an 
apple left his hand and hit Bill square on the nose. He ducked too late, and 
curses  came from  behind  the  hedge.  'Waste  of a  good apple,'  said Sam 
regretfully, and strode on. 
     At last  they  left  the  village  behind. The  escort of children  and 
stragglers  that  had  followed  them  got  tired  and  turned  back at  the


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As a matter of fact he came out on the right side in the end. It turned 
out later that only one  horse had been actually stolen. The others had been 
driven off, or  had  bolted in terror, and were found wandering in different 
corners  of  the  Bree-land.  Merry's  ponies  had  escaped altogether,  and 
eventually (having a good deal of sense) they made their way to the Downs in 
search of Fatty Lumpkin. So they came under  the care  of Tom Bombadil for a  
while, and were well-off. But when  news of the events at Bree came to Tom's 
ears, he sent them to Mr. Butterbur, who thus got five good beasts at a very 
fair price. They had  to work harder in Bree, but  Bob treated them well; so 
on the whole  they were lucky: they missed a dark and dangerous journey. But 
they never came to Rivendell. 
     However, in the meanwhile for all Mr. Butterbur knew his money was gone 
for  good, or  for bad.  And he had other troubles. For  there  was a  great


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knew now that the house  was empty and the Ring had gone. They rode down 
the 
guards at the gate and vanished from the Shire. 
     In  the early night  Frodo woke from deep  sleep, suddenly, as if  some 
sound or presence  had disturbed  him. He saw that Strider was sitting alert 
in his  chair: his  eyes gleamed in  the light of the  fire, which had  been 
tended and was burning brightly; but he made no sign or movement. 
     Frodo soon went to sleep again; but his dreams were again troubled with  
the noise  of wind and of ga lloping  hoofs.  The wind  seemed to be  curling  
round the house and shaking it; and far off  he heard a horn blowing wildly.  
He  opened his  eyes,  and  heard a  cock  crowing  lustily in the inn-yard. 
Strider  had  drawn the  curtains and pushed back the shutters with a clang. 
The  first  grey light of day  was in the room, and  a  cold  air was coming 
through the open window.


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####-far  away on our right, runs to the south  of it and passes not far from its 
foot. We  might  reach it by noon tomorrow, if we  go straight towards it. I 
suppose we had better do so.' 
     'What do you mean?' asked Frodo. 
     'I mean: when we do get there, it is not certain what we shall find. It 
is close to the Road.' 
     'But surely we wer e hoping to find Gandalf there?' 
     'Yes; but the hope is faint.  If he comes  this way at  all, he may not 
pass through  Bree, and so  he may not know  what we  are doing. And anyway, 
unless by luck we arrive almost together, we shall miss one another; it will 
not be safe for him or for us to wait there long. If the Riders fail to find 
us in the wilderness,  they are likely to make for Weathertop themselves. It 
commands a wide view all round. Indeed, there  are many birds and  beasts in 
this country that  could see us,  as we stand here, from that hill-top.  Not


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####-keep  both  dry-footed and  on  their  proper  course.  At  first  they made 
fan-progress,  but as  they  went on, their passage  became slower  and more 
dangerous.  The marshes were bewildering and  treacherous, and there was  no 
permanent trail even for Rangers  to find through their shifting  quagmires.  
The  flies began  to torment them, and the air was full  of  clouds of  tiny 
midges that crept up their sleeves and breeches and into their hair. 
     'I  am being eaten alive!'  cried  Pippin. 'Midgewater!  There are more 
midges than water!' 
     'What  do  they live  on  when  they  can't  get  hobbit?'  asked  Sam, 
scratching his neck. 
     They spent a miserable day in this lonely and unpleasant country. Their 
camping-place  was  damp, cold,  and uncomfortable;  and the  biting insects 
would not let  them sleep. There were also abominable creatures haunting the 
reeds  and tussocks that from  the sound  of them were evil relatives of the


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regretfully, and strode on. 
     At last  they  left  the  village  behind. The  escort of children  and 
stragglers  that  had  followed  them  got  tired  and  turned  back at  the 
South-gate. Passing through, they kept on along the Road for some  miles. It  
bent to the left, curving back into its eastward line as it rounded the feet 
of  Bree-hill,  and  then  it  began to run  swiftly downwards  into  wooded 
country. To their left they could see some of the houses and hobbit-holes of 
Staddle on the  gentler  south-eastern  slopes of  the hill; down in  a deep 
hollow away north of the Road there were wisps of rising  smoke  that showed 
where Combe lay; 
     Archet was hidden in the trees beyond. 
     After the  Road had run down some way, and  had left Bree-hill standing 
tall and brown behind, they came on a narrow track that led off towards  the 
North. 'This is where we leave  the open and take to cover,' said Strider.


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####-woods nearly ended in disaster.' 
     'Ah, but you had not  got me with you then,' laughed Strider. 'My cuts,  
short  or long, don't go wrong.' He took a look up and down the Road. No one 
was in sight; and he led the way quickly down towards the wooded valley. 
     His  plan, as  far as  they  could understand  it without  knowing  the 
country, was to go towards Archet at first, but to bear right and pass it on 
the  east, and then to steer as straight as he could over the wild lands  to 
Weathertop Hill. In that way they  would, if all went well,  cut off a great 
loop of the Road,  which  further on bent southwards to avoid the Midgewater  
Marshes.  But,  of  course, they  would have  to  pass  through  the marshes 
themselves, and Strider's description of them was not encouraging. 
     However,  in the meanwhile, walking was not unpleasant.  Indeed, if  it 
had not been for the disturbing events  of the night before, they would have


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Strider  had  drawn the  curtains and pushed back the shutters with a clang. 
The  first  grey light of day  was in the room, and  a  cold  air was coming 
through the open window.  
     As soon  as  Strider  had roused them  all,  he led  the  way  to their 
bedrooms. When they  saw them they were glad that they had taken his advice: 
the windows had been forced  open and were  swinging, and  the curtains were 
flapping; the beds  were tossed about,  and the bolsters  slashed and  flung 
upon the floor; the brown mat was torn to pieces. 
     Strider  immediately  went  to fetch the landlord. Poor  Mr.  Butterbur 
looked sleepy and frightened. He had hardly closed his eyes all night (so he 
said), but he had never heard a sound. 
     'Never has such  a thing happened  in my  time!' he cried,  raising his 
hands in horror. 'Guests unable to sleep in  their beds,  and good  bolsters


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close on ten o'clock before they at last got off. By  that time the whole of 
Bree was buzzing with excitement. Frodo's vanishing trick; the appearance of 
the black  horsemen; the robbing of the stables; and not least the news that 
Strider  the Ranger  had joined the  mysterious hobbits, made such a tale as 
would last for  many  uneventful years. Most of  the inhabitants of Bree and  
Staddle, and many  even  from Combe and Archet, were crowded in the  road 
to 
see the travellers start. The other  guests in  the inn were at the doors or  
hanging out of the windows. 
     Strider had changed his mind, and  he decided  to leave Bree by the main 
road. Any attempt to set  off across country at once would only make matters 
worse: half the inhabitants would follow them,  to see what they were up to,  
and to prevent them from trespassing. 
     They said farewell to Nob and Bob, and took leave of Mr. Butterbur with


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they never came to Rivendell. 
     However, in the meanwhile for all Mr. Butterbur knew his money was gone 
for  good, or  for bad.  And he had other troubles. For  there  was a  great 
commotion as soon as  the remaining  guests were astir and heard news of the


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tall and brown behind, they came on a narrow track that led off towards  the 
North. 'This is where we leave  the open and take to cover,' said Strider. 
     'Not a "short cut", I hope,' said  Pippin.  'Our last short cut through


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commands a wide view all round. Indeed, there  are many birds and  beasts in 
this country that  could see us,  as we stand here, from that hill-top.  Not 
all the  birds are to be trusted,  and there are other spies more  evil than 
they are.' 
     The hobbits looked  anxiously at  the distant hills. Sam looked up into 
the pale sky, fearing to see hawks  or eagles hovering over them with bright  
unfriendly eyes. 'You do make me feel uncomfortable  and lonesome, Strider!' 
he said. 
     'What do you advise us to do?' asked Frodo. 
     'I  think,' answered Strider  slowly, as  if he was not quite sure,  'I 
think the best thing is to  go as straight eastward from  here as we can, to 
make for the line of hills, not for Weathertop. There we can strike a path I 
know that runs at their feet; it will  bring us to Weathertop from the north 
and less openly. Then we shall see what we shall see.' 
     All that day they plodded along, until the cold  and early evening came


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However,  in the meanwhile, walking was not unpleasant.  Indeed, if  it 
had not been for the disturbing events  of the night before, they would have 
enjoyed this pan of the journey better than any up to that time. The sun was 
shining, clear but not too hot. The woods in the valley were still leafy and 
full  of  colour, and  seemed  peaceful  and wholesome. Strider   guided them 
confidently among the many crossing paths, although left  to themselves they 
would soon have  been at  a loss. He was taking a wandering course with many 
turns and doublings, to put off any pursuit. 
     'Bill Ferny will have watched where we left the Road, for certain,'  he 
said;  'though I don't think he  will follow  us himself. He  knows the land 
round here well enough, but he knows he is not a  match for me in a wood. It 
is what he may tell others that I am afraid of. I don't suppose they are far 
away. If they think we have made for Archet, so much the better.'


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####-out of Angmar.  This  path was made to serve the  forts along the walls. But 
long before,  in the first  days of  the North  Kingdom, they built  a great 
watch-tower  on  Weathertop,  Amon  Syl  they called  it.  It was burned and 
broken, and nothing remains of it now but a tumbled ring, like a rough crown 
on  the old hill's head.  Yet once it was tall and  fair.  It is  told  that 
Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gil-galad out of the West, in 
the days of the Last Alliance.' 
     The  hobbits gazed  at Strider. It seemed  that he  was  learned in old 
lore, as well as in  the ways of the wild. 'Who was Gil-galad?' asked Merry; 
but Strider did not answer, and seemed to be lost in thought. Suddenly a low 
voice murmured: 
     Gil-galad was an Elven-king. 
     Of him the harpers sadly sing: 
     the last whose realm was fair and free 
     between the Mountains and the Sea. 
 
     His sword was long, his lance was keen, 
     his shining helm afar was seen;


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worse: half the inhabitants would follow them,  to see what they were up to,  
and to prevent them from trespassing. 
     They said farewell to Nob and Bob, and took leave of Mr. Butterbur with 
many thanks. 'I  hope we shall  meet again some  day, when things are  merry 
once more,' said Frodo. 'I  should like nothing better than  to stay in your 
house in peace for a while.' 
     They tramped off, anxious and downhearted, under the eyes of the crowd. 
Not  all  the faces were friendly, nor all the words that were shouted.  But 
Strider seemed to be held in awe by most of the Bree-landers, and those that 
he stared at shut their mouths and drew away. He walked in  front with Frodo; 
next came  Merry  and Pippin; and last came Sam leading the pony,  which was 
laden with as much  of their baggage as  they  had the heart to give it; but 
already it looked less dejected,  as  if  it approved of the  change in  its


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####-myself!' 
     'Going to Mordor!' cried Pippin. 'I hope it won't come to that!' 
     'Do not speak that name so loudly!' said Strider. 
     It was  already  mid-day  when they  drew near the southern end of  the 
path, and saw before them,  in the pale  clear light  of the  October sun, a  
grey-green bank, leading up like a  bridge on to  the northward slope of the 
hill They decided to make for the top at once,  while the daylight was broad 
Concealment was no longer  possible,  and they could only hope that no enemy 
or spy was observing  them. Nothing  was to be seen  moving  on the hill. If 
Gandalf was anywhere about, there was no sign of him. 
     On the western flank  of Weathertop they  found a  sheltered hollow, at 
the  bottom of which  there was  a bowl -shaped dell with grassy sides. There 
they left  Sam  and Pippin with the pony and  their  packs and  luggage. The 
other three went on. After half an hour's plodding climb Strider reached the


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looked carefully at  the seal before he broke it. It seemed certainly  to be 
Gandalf's. Inside, written in the  wizard's strong but  graceful script, was 
the following message: 
     THE PRANCING PONY, BREE. Midyear's Day, Shire Year, 1418. 
     Dear Frodo, 
     Bad news has reached me here.  I must go  off at  once. You  had better 
leave  Bag End  soon, and get out of the  Shire before  the  end  of July at 
latest. I will return as soon  as I can; and I will follow  you,  if  I find 
that you are gone. Leave a  message for me here,  if you  pass through Bree. 
You can trust the landlord (Butterbur). You may meet a friend of mine on the 
Road: a Man, lean, dark, tall, by some called Strider. He knows our business 
and will help you. Make for  Rivendell. There I hope we may meet again. If I  
do not come, Elrond will advise you. 
     Yours in haste  
     GANDALF. 
     PS. Do NOT use It  again, not far any reason whatever! Do not travel by 
night!


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the last whose realm was fair and free 
     between the Mountains and the Sea. 
 
     His sword was long, his lance was keen, 
     his shining helm afar was seen; 
     the countless stars of heaven's field  
     were mirrored in his silver shield. 
 
     But long ago he rode away, 
     and where he dwelleth none can say; 
     for into darkness fell his star 
     in Mordor where the shadows are. 
     The others turned in amazement, for the voice was Sam's. 
     'Don't stop!' said Merry. 
     'That's all I know,' stammered  Sam, blushing.  'I learned  it from Mr. 
Bilbo when I was a lad. He used to  tell me tales  like that, knowing  how I 
was always one for  hearing about Elves. It was Mr. Bilbo  as taught  me  my 
letters.  He was  mighty  book -learned was dear  old Mr. Bilbo. And he wrote 
poetry. He wrote what I have just said.' 
     'He did  not make it up,' said Strider. 'It  is pan of the lay  that is


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would not let  them sleep. There were also abominable creatures haunting the 
reeds  and tussocks that from  the sound  of them were evil relatives of the 
cricket.  There  were  thousands  of  them,  and  they  squeaked all  round, 
neek-breek,  breek-neek, unceasingly all the night, until the  hobbits  were 
nearly frantic. 
     The  next day,  the fourth, was little  better, and the night almost as 
comfortless. Though  the Neekerbreekers (as Sam called them)  had been  left  
behind, the midges still pursued them. 
     As Frodo lay, tired but unable to close his eyes, it seemed to him that 
far away  there came  a light in the eastern sky: it  flashed and faded many 
times. It was not the dawn, for that was still some hours off.  
     'What is the  light?'  he said  to  Strider,  who had  risen,  and  was 
standing, gazing ahead into the night. 
     'I do  not know,' Strider answered. 'It is too distant to make  out. It 
is like lightning that leaps up from the hill -tops.'


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they left  Sam  and Pippin with the pony and  their  packs and  luggage. The 
other three went on. After half an hour's plodding climb Strider reached the 
crown  of the hill; Frodo and Merry followed, tired and breathless. The last  
slope had been steep and rocky. 
     On  the top they found,  as  Strider had said,  a wide  ring of ancient 
stonework, now crumbling or covered with age-long grass. But in the centre a  
cairn of broken st ones had been piled. They were blackened as  if with fire. 
About them  the turf  was  burned to the roots and all within the  ring  the 
grass was scorched  and shrivelled, as if flames had swept the hill-top; but 
there was no sign of any living thing. 
     Standing upon the  rim of the ruined circle,  they saw all round  below 
them a  wide  prospect,  for the most pan of  lands empty  and  featureless,  
except for patches of woodland away to the  south, beyond which  they caught


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and less openly. Then we shall see what we shall see.' 
     All that day they plodded along, until the cold  and early evening came 
down.  The  land  became  drier and more barren;  but  mists and vapours lay 
behind them on the marshes. A few melancholy  birds were piping and wa iling, 
until the round red sun sank slowly into the western shadows; then  an empty 
silence fell.  The hobbits  thought  of  the  soft light of sunset  glancing 
through the cheerful windows of Bag End far away. 
     At  the day's  end  they came to a stream  that wandered  down from the 
hills to lose  itself  in the stagnant marshland, and they went up along its 
banks while the light  lasted. It was already night when at last they halted 
and made  their  camp under some stunted alder -trees  by  the shores of  the 
stream. Ahead there loomed now against the dusky  sky the bleak and treeless


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laden with as much  of their baggage as  they  had the heart to give it; but 
already it looked less dejected,  as  if  it approved of the  change in  its 
fortunes.  Sam  was chewing an  apple thoughtfully. He had a pocket full  of 
them:  a parting  present from Nob and  Bob. 'Apples for walking, and a pipe


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standing, gazing ahead into the night. 
     'I do  not know,' Strider answered. 'It is too distant to make  out. It 
is like lightning that leaps up from the hill -tops.' 
     Frodo lay down again, but for a long while he could still see the white 
flashes, and against them the tall dark figure  of Strider,  standing silent 
and watchful. At last he passed into uneasy sleep. 
     They had not  gone  far  on  the  fifth day  when  they  left  the last  
straggling pools and  reed-beds of the marshes  behind them. The land before 
them began steadily  to rise again. Away in the distance eastward they could 
now  see a line of hills. The highest of them was at the  right of  the line 
and  a little  separated from the  others. It  had a  conical top,  slightly 
flattened at the summit. 
     'That  is Weathertop,' said Strider. 'The Old Road,  which we have left


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####-backs of the hills. That night they set a watch, and Strider, it seemed, did 
not  sleep at all. The moon was waxing, and in the early night-hours a  cold 
grey light lay on the land. 
     Next morning they set out  again soon after sunrise.  There was a frost  
in the air, and the  sky was a  pale clear blue. The hobbits felt refreshed, 
as if they had had a night of unbroken sleep. Already they were getting used 
to much walking  on short commons  - shorter  at  any rate than  what in the  
Shire they  would have thought barely enough  to  keep them  on  their legs.  
Pippin declared that Frodo was looking twice the hobbit that he had been. 
     'Very odd,' said Frodo, tightening his belt, 'considering that there is 
actually a good deal less of me. I hope the  thinning process will not go on 
indefinitely, or I shall become a wraith.' 
     'Do  not  speak  of  such  things!'  said  Strider  quickly,  and  with 
surprising earnestness.


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letters.  He was  mighty  book -learned was dear  old Mr. Bilbo. And he wrote 
poetry. He wrote what I have just said.' 
     'He did  not make it up,' said Strider. 'It  is pan of the lay  that is 
called The Fall of Gil-galad, which is in an ancient tongue. Bilbo must have 
translated it. I never knew that.' 
     'There was a lot more,' said Sam,  'all about  Mordor.  I  didn't learn 
that part, it gave me the shivers I never thought I should be going that way


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do not come, Elrond will advise you. 
     Yours in haste  
     GANDALF. 
     PS. Do NOT use It  again, not far any reason whatever! Do not travel by 
night! 
     PPS. Make  sure that it is the real Strider. There are many strange men 
on the roads. His true name is Aragorn. 
     All that is gold does not glitter, 
     Not all those who wander are lost; 
     The old that is strong does not wither, 
     Deep roots are not reached by the frost. 
     From the ashes a fire shall be woken, 
     A light from the shadows shall spring;


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####-very swiftly when need presses.' Suddenly he stooped and looked at the stone 
on the top of the  cairn; it was flatter than the others, and  whiter, as if 
it had escaped the fire. He picked it up and examined it, turning  it in his 
fingers. "This has been  handled recently,' he said.  'What do you  think of 
these marks?' 
     On  the flat under -side Frodo saw  some scratches: 'There seems to he a  
stroke, a dot, and three more strokes,' he said. 
     'The stroke  on the left  might  be a G-rune  with thin branches,' said 
Strider. 'It might be a sign left by Gandalf, though one cannot be sure. The 
scratches are fine, and they certainly look fresh. But the  marks might mean 
something  quite  different, and have  nothing  to do  with us.  Rangers use 
runes, and they come here sometimes.' 
     'What could they mean, even if Gandalf made them?' asked Merry 
     'I  should say,' answered Strider, 'that they stood for G3, and  were a


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####-shadow. The sky above had cleared again and was slowly filled with twinkling 
stars. Frodo and  his companions  huddled  round the fire, wrapped   in every 
garment and  blanket they possessed;  but Strider was  content with a single 
cloak, and sat a little apart, drawing thoughtfully at his pipe. 
     As night fell and the light of the fire began to shine out  brightly he 
began to  tell  them  tales  to keep their minds  from  fear. He  knew  many 
histories and legends  of long ago,  of Elves  and Men and the good and evil  
deeds of the Elder Days. They  wondered how  old he was,  and  where he  had 
learned all this lore. 
     'Tell us of Gil-galad,' said Merry suddenly, when he paused  at the end  
of a story of the Elf-Kingdoms. 'Do you  know any more  of that old lay that 
you spoke of?' 
     'I do indeed,' answered Strider. 'So also does Frodo,  for  it concerns 
us closely.' Merry  and Pippin looked at Frodo,  who  was  staring  into the 
fire.


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####-the spring to examine the footprints.  
     'It is just as I feared,' he said, when he came back.  'Sam  and Pippin 
have trampled the soft ground, and the marks are spoilt or confused. Rangers 
have been  here lately. It  is  they who left the firewood behind. But there 
are also  several newer tracks  that were not made by Rangers. At least  one  
set was made, only a day or two ago, by  heavy boots. At least one. I cannot  
now be certain, but  I think  there were many booted feet.'  He  paused  and 
stood in anxious thought. 
     Each of the hobbits  saw in his mind a vision of the cloaked and booted 
Riders. If the horsemen had already  found  the dell, the sooner Strider led 
them  somewhere else  the better. Sam viewed  the hollow with great dislike, 
now that he had heard news of their  enemies on the  Road, only a few  miles 
away. 
     'Hadn't we better clear out quick, Mr.  Strider?' he asked impatiently.


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####-     'A fortnight!' said Frodo. 'A lot may happen in that time.' 
     'It may,' said Strider. 
     They stood for a while silent on the hill-top, near its southward edge. 
In  that  lonely  place   Frodo  for  the  first  time  fully  realized  his 
homelessness and danger. He wished bitterly that his fortune had left him in 
the quiet  and beloved Shire.  He  stared down at the hateful Road,  leading 
back westward  - to his  home.  Suddenly he  was aware that  two black specks 
were moving slowly along  it,  going westward; and looking again he saw that 
three others were creeping eastward to meet them. He gave a cry and clutched 
Strider's arm. 
     'Look,' he said, pointing downwards.  
     At once Strider flung  himself on  the ground behind the ruined circle, 
pulling Frodo down beside him. Merry threw himself alongside. 
     'What is it?' he whispered. 
     'I do not know, but I fear the worst,' answered Strider.


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indefinitely, or I shall become a wraith.' 
     'Do  not  speak  of  such  things!'  said  Strider  quickly,  and  with 
surprising earnestness.  
     The  hills drew nearer.  They  made an  undulating  ridge, often rising 
almost to a thousand feet, and here and there falling again to low clefts or  
passes leading into  the eastern land  beyond.  Along the crest of the ridge 
the hobbits could see what looked to be the remains of green-grown walls and 
dikes, and in the clefts there still stood the ruins  of old works of stone. 
By night they had reached  the feet of the westward  slopes, and there  they 
camped. It was the night of the fifth of October, a nd they were six days out 
from Bree. 
     In the morning  they  found, for the first time since they had left the 
Chetwood,  a  track  plain  to  see.  They  turned  right  and  followed  it 
southwards. It ran cunningly, taking a line that seemed chosen so as to keep


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is what he may tell others that I am afraid of. I don't suppose they are far 
away. If they think we have made for Archet, so much the better.' 
     Whether because  of Strider's skill or for some other reason,  they saw 
no sign and heard no  sound of any other living thing all  that day: neither  
two-footed,  except  birds;  nor  four-footed,  except  one  fox  and  a  few 
squirrels. The next day  they began to steer a steady  course eastwards; and 
still all was quiet and  peaceful. On  the third day out from Bree they came  
out of  the  Chetwood. The  land  had been falling steadily, ever since they 
turned aside from the  Road,  and they  now  entered a wide flat expanse  of 
country, much more difficult to manage. They were  far beyond the borders of 
the Bree-land,  out in the  pathless  wilderness, and  drawing  near  to the 
Midge-water Marshes.  
     The ground now became damp, and in places boggy and here and there they


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####-most to be feared. And at all times  they smell the blood  of living things,  
desiring and hating it. Senses, too, there are other  than sight or smell. We 
can feel their  presence - it troubled our hearts, as  soon as we came here, 
and before we saw them; they feel ours more keenly. Also,' he added, and his 
voice sank to a whisper, 'the Ring draws them.' 
     'Is there no escape then?' said Frodo, looking round wildly. 'If I move 
I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me!' 
     Strider laid  his hand on his shoulder. 'There is still hope,' he said. 
'You are not alone. Let us take  this wood that is set ready for the fire as 
a sign. There  is little  shelter or defence here,  but fire shall serve for  
both. Sauron can put fire to his evil uses, as he can  all things, but these 
Riders do  not love it, and  fear those who wield  it. Fire is our friend in 
the wilderness. ' 
     'Maybe,'  muttered Sam.  'It  is also as good a way of saying "here  we


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runes, and they come here sometimes.' 
     'What could they mean, even if Gandalf made them?' asked Merry 
     'I  should say,' answered Strider, 'that they stood for G3, and  were a  
sign that Gandalf was here on  October the third: that is three days ago now. 
It would also show that he was in a hurry and danger was at hand, so that he 
had no time or  did not dare to write anything longer or plainer. If that is 
so, we must be wary.' 
     'I wish we could  feel  sure that he made  the marks, whatever they may 
mean,' said Frodo 'It would be a  great  comfort to  know that he was on the 
way, in front of us or behind us.' 
     'Perhaps,' said  Strider. 'For myself, I believe that he was  here, and 
was in danger. There have been scorching flames here; and now the light that 
we saw three  nights ago in the eastern sky comes back to  my  mind. I guess 
that he was attacked on this hill-top,  but with what result  I cannot tell.


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you spoke of?' 
     'I do indeed,' answered Strider. 'So also does Frodo,  for  it concerns 
us closely.' Merry  and Pippin looked at Frodo,  who  was  staring  into the 
fire. 
     'I know  only the little that Gandalf has  told me,' said Frodo slowly. 
'Gil-galad was the last of the great Elf-kings of Middle-earth. Gil-galad is 
Starlight in their tongue. With Elendil, the Elf-friend, he went to the land 
of------' 
     'No!' said Strider  interrupting, 'I do not think that tale  should  be 
told now with  the servants of the Enemy  at hand. If we  win through to the  
house of Elrond, you may hear it there, told in full.' 
     'Then  tell  u s  some other tale of  the old days,' begged Sam; 'a tale 
about  the Elves before the  fading time.  I would dearly  like to hear more 
about Elves; the dark seems to press round so close.' 
     'I will tell you the tale of Tin®viel,' said  Strider,  'in br ief - for


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pulling Frodo down beside him. Merry threw himself alongside. 
     'What is it?' he whispered. 
     'I do not know, but I fear the worst,' answered Strider. 
     Slowly  they crawled  up  to the edge of  the  ring  again,  and peered 
through a cleft  between two jagged  stones. The light was no longer bright, 
for the clear morning had faded, and clouds creeping out of the East had now 
overtaken  the sun,  as it  began to go  down.  They could all see the black  
specks, but neither Frodo nor Merry could make out their shapes for certain; 
yet something told them that there, far below, were Black  Riders assembling 
on the Road beyond the foot of the hill. 
     'Yes,'  said  Strider,  whose keener sight left him  in no  doubt. 'The 
enemy is here!' 
     Hastily they crept away  and slipped down the north side of the hill to 
find their companions.  
     Sam and  Peregrin had not been  idle. They  had explored the small dell


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Chetwood,  a  track  plain  to  see.  They  turned  right  and  followed  it 
southwards. It ran cunningly, taking a line that seemed chosen so as to keep  
as much hidden as possible from the view, both of the hill -tops above and of 
the  flats to the west. It dived into  dells,  and hugged steep  banks;  and 
where it passed over flatter and more open ground on either side of it there 
were lines of large  boulders and hewn stones that  screened the  travellers 
almost like a hedge. 
     'I wonder who made this path, and what for,' said Merry, as they walked 
along one of  these  avenues, where  the  stones  were unusually  large  and 
closely  set. 'I am  not  sure that I like  it: it  has  a - well, rather  a  
barrow-wightish look. Is there any barrow on Weathertop?' 
     'No. There  is no barrow on  Weathertop, nor  on  any of these  hills,' 
answered Strider. 'The  Men of  the West  did not live here; though in their


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the Bree-land,  out in the  pathless  wilderness, and  drawing  near  to the 
Midge-water Marshes.  
     The ground now became damp, and in places boggy and here and there they 
came  upon pools, and  wide  stretches of reeds  and rushes filled with  the 
warbling of little hidden  birds. They  had to pick their  way  carefully to


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Riders do  not love it, and  fear those who wield  it. Fire is our friend in 
the wilderness. ' 
     'Maybe,'  muttered Sam.  'It  is also as good a way of saying "here  we 
are" as I can think of, bar shouting.' 
     Down in  the  lowest and most  sheltered corner of the dell  they lit a  
fire, and prepared a meal. The shades of  evening began to fall, and it grew 
cold.  They  were  suddenly  aware of great  hunger,  for they had not eaten 
anything since breakfast; but they dared not make more than a frugal supper.  
The  lands ahead were empty of all save birds and beasts, unfriendly  places 
deserted by all the races of the  world. Rangers passed  at times beyond the 
hills, but they were few and did not stay. Other wanderers were rare, and of 
evil sort: trolls might stray down at times  out of  the northern valleys of 
the Misty Mountains. Only on the Road  would travellers be found, most often 
dwarves, hurrying along on business of their  own, and with no help  and few


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now that he had heard news of their  enemies on the  Road, only a few  miles 
away. 
     'Hadn't we better clear out quick, Mr.  Strider?' he asked impatiently. 
'It  is get ting late,  and  I  don't like this  hole: it makes my heart sink  
somehow.' 
     'Yes,  we certainly must decide what to do  at once,' answered Strider, 
looking up and considering the time and the weather. 'Well, Sam,' he said at 
last,  'I do not  like  th is  place either; but  I  cannot think of anywhere 
better  that we could  reach before nightfall.  At least we are out of sight 
for the  moment, and if we moved we should be much more likely to be seen by 
spies.  All we could  do would be to go right out  of our way back north  on 
this side of the line of hills, where the land is all much the same as it is 
here. The  Road  is watched, but we should have to cross it, if we tried  to 
take cover  in the thickets away to the south. On the north side of the Road


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about Elves; the dark seems to press round so close.' 
     'I will tell you the tale of Tin®viel,' said  Strider,  'in br ief - for 
it  is a long tale  of which the end is  not known; and  there are none now, 
except  Elrond, that remember it aright as it was told of old.  It is a fair 
tale, though it is sad, as are all the tales of Middle-earth, and yet it may 
lift up your hearts.' He was silent for some  time, and then he began not to 
speak but to chant softly: 
     The leaves were long, the grass was green, 
     The hemlock-umbels tall and fair, 
     And in the glade a light was seen 
     Of stars in shadow shimmering. 
     Tin®viel was dancing there 
     To music of a pipe unseen,


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####-     A mist of silver quivering. 
 
     When winter passed, she came again, 
     And her song released the sudden spring, 
     Like rising lark, and falling rain, 
     And melting water bubbling. 
     He saw the elven-flowers spring 
     About her feet, and healed again  
     He longed by her to dance and sing 
     Upon the grass untroubling. 
 
     Again she fled, but swift he came. 
     Tin®viel! Tin®viel! 
     He called her by her elvish name; 
     And there she halted listening. 
     One moment stood she, and a spell 
     His voice laid on her: Beren came, 
     And doom fell on Tin®viel 
     That in his arms lay glistening. 
 
     As Beren looked into her eyes 
     Within the shadows of her hair, 
     The trembling starlight of the skies 
     He saw there mirrored shimmering. 
     Tin®viel the elven-fair, 
     Immortal maiden elven-wise, 
     About him cast her shadowy hair 
     And arms like silver glimmering.


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'No. There  is no barrow on  Weathertop, nor  on  any of these  hills,' 
answered Strider. 'The  Men of  the West  did not live here; though in their 
latter days they defended  the hills for a while against  the evil that came


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the Misty Mountains. Only on the Road  would travellers be found, most often 
dwarves, hurrying along on business of their  own, and with no help  and few 
words to spare for strangers. 
     'I don't see how our food can be  made  to  last,' said Frodo. 'We have 
been careful  enough in the  last few days, and  this supper is no feast; but 
we have used  more than we ought,  if  we  have two weeks  still to go,  and 
perhaps more.' 
     'There is food in the wild,' said Strider; 'berry,  root, and herb; and 
I have  some skill as  a  hunter at need. You need not be afraid of starving  
before winter comes. But gathering and catching food is long and weary work, 
and  we need haste. So tighten your belts, and think with hope of the tables 
of Elrond's house!' 
     The  cold increased as darkness came  on. Peering out from the  edge of 
the dell they could see nothing but a grey land now  vanishing  quickly into


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enemy is here!' 
     Hastily they crept away  and slipped down the north side of the hill to 
find their companions.  
     Sam and  Peregrin had not been  idle. They  had explored the small dell 
and the surrounding slopes. Not far away they  found a spring of clear water  
in the hillside, and near it footprints not  more than  a day or two old. In 
the dell itself they  found  recent traces of a fire, and  other  signs of a  
hasty camp. There were some fallen rocks on the edge of  the dell nearest to 
the  hill.  Behind  them  Sam  came upon  a  small store of  firewood neatly 
stacked. 
     'I wonder if old Gandalf has been here,' he said to Pippin. 'Whoever it 
was put this stuff here meant to come back it seems.' 
     Strider  was greatly interested in  these discoveries.  'I  wish I  had 
waited and explored the  ground  down here myself,' he said, hurrying off to


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here. The  Road  is watched, but we should have to cross it, if we tried  to 
take cover  in the thickets away to the south. On the north side of the Road 
beyond the hills the country is bare and flat for miles.' 
     'Can the Riders see?' asked Merry. 'I mean, they seem  usually  to have 
used their noses rather than their eyes, smelling for us, if smelling is the 
right word, at least in the daylight. But you made us lie down flat when you  
saw them down below; and now you talk of being seen, if we move.' 
     'I was too careless  on the  hill-top,' answered  Strider. 'I  was very 
anxious to  find some  sign of Gandalf; but it was a mistake for three of us 
to go up and  stand  there  so long.  For the black horses  can see, and the 
Riders can use men and other creatures as  spies, as we found at Bree.  They 
themselves  do not see the  world of light as we  do,  but our  shapes  cast  
shadows in  their  minds, which only the  noon sun destroys; and in the dark


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####-     And light of stars was in her hair, 
     And in her raiment glimmering. 
 
     There Beren came from mountains cold, 
     And lost he wandered under leaves, 
     And where the Elven-river rolled 
     He walked alone and sorrowing. 
     He peered between the hemlock-leaves 
     And saw in wander flowers of gold  
     Upon her mantle and her sleeves, 
     And her hair like shadow following. 
 
     Enchantment healed his weary feet 
     That over hills were doomed to roam; 
     And forth he hastened, strong and fleet, 
     And grasped at moonbeams glistening. 
     Through woven woods in Elvenhome 
     She tightly fled on dancing feet, 
     And left him lonely still to roam 
     In the silent forest listening. 
 
     He heard there oft the flying sound 
     Of feet as light as linden-leaves, 
     Or music welling underground, 
     In hidden hollows quavering. 
     Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves, 
     And one by one with sighing sound


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####-     Strider sighed and paused before he spoke again.  'That is a song,'  he 
said, 'in the mode that  is called ann-thennath  among the Elves, but is hard 
to render in our Common Speech, and this is  but a rough echo of it. It tells 
of the meeting of Beren son  of  Barahir and  L®thien Tin®viel. Beren was  a 
mortal man,  but L®thien was the daughter of Thingol,  a King  of Elves upon 
Middle-earth when the world was young; and  she was the fairest  maiden that 
has ever been among all  the children of this world. As  the stars above the 
mists  of  the Northern  lands was her loveliness,  and  in her  face  was a  
shining light. In those days  the Great Enemy, of  whom Sauron of Mordor was 
but a servant, dwelt  in Angband  in the North,  and the  Elves of the  West 
coming back to Middle-earth made  war upon him to regain the Silmarils which 
he had  stolen; and  the fathers of Men aided the Elves. But the  Enemy  was


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####-in the red glow of the wood-fire. His eyes shone, and his voice was rich and 
deep. Above him was a black starry  sky. Suddenly a pale light appeared over  
the crown  of Weathertop behind  him. The  waxing  moon  was climbing 
slowly 
above  the  hill that  overshadowed  them, and the  stars above the hill-top 
faded. 
     The  story ended. The hobbits moved and stretched. 'Look!' said  Merry. 
'The Moon is rising: it must be getting late.' 
     The others looked up. Even as they did so, they saw on the  top of  the 
hill something small and dark  against  the  glimmer of the moonrise. It was 
perhaps only a large stone or jutting rock shown up by the pale light. 
     Sam  and Merry  got up and walked away from the fire. Frodo  and Pippin 
remained seated in silence.  Strider was watching the moonlight on  the hill 
intently.  All seemed quiet and still, but Frodo felt  a cold dread creeping 
over his heart,  now that Strider was  no longer speaking. He huddled closer


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####-strained their eyes, and the shadows  seemed to grow. Soon there could be no 
doubt: 
     three or four  tall black  figures  were standing  there  on the slope, 
looking down  on  them. So black were they that they seemed like black holes 
in the deep shade behind them. Frodo  thought that he heard  a faint hiss as 
of venomous breath  and felt a thin  piercing chill. Then the  shapes slowly 
advanced. 
     Terror overcame Pippin and Merry, and they threw themselves flat on the 
ground. Sam shrank to Frodo's side. Frodo was hardly less terrified than his 
companions; he  was quaking  as  if he was bitter cold,  but his  terror was 
swallowed  up in  a sudden temptation  to put on the Ring. The  desire to do  
this laid hold of him, and he could think of nothing else. He did not forget 
the Barrow,  nor  the  message  of  Gandalf;  but  something  seemed  to  be 
compelling  him to disregard  all warnings, and he longed to yield. Not with


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He saw there mirrored shimmering. 
     Tin®viel the elven-fair, 
     Immortal maiden elven-wise, 
     About him cast her shadowy hair 
     And arms like silver glimmering. 
 
     Long was the way that fate them bore, 
     O'er stony mountains cold and grey, 
     Through halls of iron and darkling door, 
     And woods of nightshade morrowless. 
     The Sundering Seas between them lay, 
     And yet at last they met once more, 
     And long ago they passed away 
     In the forest singing sorrowless.


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we saw three  nights ago in the eastern sky comes back to  my  mind. I guess 
that he was attacked on this hill-top,  but with what result  I cannot tell. 
He  is here no longer, and we must now look aft er ourselves and make our own 
way to Rivendell, as best we can ' 
     'How far  is  Rivendell?' asked Merry, gazing round wearily. The  world 
looked wild and wide from Weathertop. 
     'I don't know if the Road has  ever  been measured in miles  beyond the 
Forsaken Inn, a day's  journey east of Bree,' answered Strider. 'Some say it 
is so far, and some say otherwise. It is a strange road,  and folk are  glad 
to reach their  journey's end, whether the time is long or short. But I know 
how long it would  take me on  my  own  feet,  with fair  weather and no ill 
fortune twelve days from here to the Ford of Bruinen, where the Road crosses 
the Loudwater that  runs  out of Rivendell. We  have at  least a fortnight's


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themselves  do not see the  world of light as we  do,  but our  shapes  cast  
shadows in  their  minds, which only the  noon sun destroys; and in the dark 
they perceive many  signs and forms that are hidden from us:  then they  are


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coming back to Middle-earth made  war upon him to regain the Silmarils which 
he had  stolen; and  the fathers of Men aided the Elves. But the  Enemy  was 
victorious  and Barahir  was slain,  and Beren escaping through great  peril 
came over the Mountains of Terror into the hidden Kingdom of Thingol in  the 
forest of Neldoreth.  There he beheld L®thien singing and dancing in a glade 
beside the enchanted  river Esgalduin; and  he named  her Tin®viel,  that is 
Nightingale in the language of old. Many sorrows befell them afterwards, and 
they  were parted long. Tin®viel rescued Beren from  the dungeons of Sauron, 
and together they passed through great dangers, and cast down even the Great 
Enemy  from  his  throne, and took  from  his  iron  crown one of the  three 
Silmarils, brightest of  all jewels, to  be  the  bride-price of L®thien  to 
Thingol her father. Yet  at the last  Beren  was slain by the Wolf that came


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Of feet as light as linden-leaves, 
     Or music welling underground, 
     In hidden hollows quavering. 
     Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves, 
     And one by one with sighing sound  
     Whispering fell the beechen leaves 
     In the wintry woodland wavering. 
 
     He sought her ever, wandering far 
     Where leaves of years were thickly strewn, 
     By light of moon and ray of star 
     In frosty heavens shivering. 
     Her mantle glinted in the moon, 
     As on a hill-top high and far 
     She danced, and at her feet was strewn


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intently.  All seemed quiet and still, but Frodo felt  a cold dread creeping 
over his heart,  now that Strider was  no longer speaking. He huddled closer  
to the fire. At that moment Sam came running back from the edge of the dell. 
     'I don't  know what it is,'  he  said, 'but  I suddenly felt afraid.  I 
durstn't  go  outside this dell  for any money;  I felt that  something  was 
creeping up the slope.' 
     'Did you see anything?' asked Frodo, springing to his feet. 
     'No, sir. I saw nothing, but I didn't stop to look.' 
     'I  saw something,' said Merry; 'or  I thought  I did  -  away westwards 
where  the moonlight was  falling  on  the  flats  beyond the  shadow of the 
hill-tops, I thought there were two or three black shapes. They seemed to be 
moving this way.' 
     'Keep close to the  fire, with your faces outward!' cried Strider. 'Get 
some of the longer sticks ready in your hands!' 
     For a breathless  time  they sat there, silent  and  alert, with  their


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the Barrow,  nor  the  message  of  Gandalf;  but  something  seemed  to  be 
compelling  him to disregard  all warnings, and he longed to yield. Not with  
the hope of escape, or of doing anything, either good or bad: he simply felt 
that he must take the Ring and put  it on his finger. He could not speak. He 
felt Sam looking at him, as if  he knew  that  his  master was in some great 
trouble, but  he could not turn  towards him. He shut his eyes and struggled 
for a while; but  resistance became unbearable, and at  last he  slowly drew 
out the chain, and slipped the Ring on the forefinger of his left hand. 
     Immediately, though everything  else remained as before,  dim and dark, 
the shapes became  terribly clear. He was able to  see beneath  their  black  
wrappings. There were  five  tall  figures: two standing on the lip  of  the 
dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned  keen and merciless eyes;


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Silmarils, brightest of  all jewels, to  be  the  bride-price of L®thien  to 
Thingol her father. Yet  at the last  Beren  was slain by the Wolf that came 
from  the gates  of  Angband, and he died in  the arms of Tin®viel.  But she 
chose mortality, and to die from  the world,  so that  she might follow him; 
and it  is sung that they met again beyond the Sundering  Seas, and  after a  
brief time walking alive once more in the green woods, together they passed, 
long ago, beyond the confines of this  world. So it is that L®thien Tin®viel 
alone of the Elf-kindred has died indeed and left  the  world, and they have 
lost her  whom they most loved. But from her the lineage of the Elf-lords of 
old descended among  Men.  There live  still those of whom  L®thien  was the 
foremother,  and  it  is  said  that  her line shall  never fail.  Elrond of 
Rivendell is of that Kin. For of  Beren and L®thien  was born Dior Thingol's


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some of the longer sticks ready in your hands!' 
     For a breathless  time  they sat there, silent  and  alert, with  their 
backs  turned to the  wood-fire, each gazing into the shadows that encircled 
them. Nothing happened. There was no sound or  movement in the night.  
Frodo 
stirred,  feeling that he must break the silence:  he longed  to  shout  out 
aloud. 
     'Hush!' whispered Strider.  'What's  that?' gasped Pippin at  the  same 
moment. 
     Over the  lip of the little dell, on the side away  from the hill, they 
felt, rather  than saw, a shadow  rise,  one  shadow or  more than one. They


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####-they believe  your  master has a deadly  wound that will subdue him to their  
will. We  shall see!' Sam choked with tears. 'Don't  despair!' said Strider. 
'You  must trust  me  now. Your  Frodo is made of sterner  stuff  than I had 
guessed, though Gandalf  hinted that it might prove so. He is not slain, and 
I think he will  resist the evil power of the wound longer  than his enemies 
expect. I will do all I can to help and heal him. Guard him well, while I am 
away!' He hurried off and disappeared again into the darkness. 
     Frodo  dozed, though the  pain  of his wound was slowly growing,  and a  
deadly  chill  was spreading  from  his  shoulder to  his arm  and side. His 
friends watched  over him, warming him,  and bathing  his  wound.  The night 
passed  slowly  and wearily.  Dawn was growing in the sky, and the  dell was 
filling with grey light, when Strider at last returned. 
     'Look!' he cried; and stooping he lifted from the  ground a black cloak


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####-and only near places where they dwelt or camped of old;  and it is not known 
in the  North, except to some of those who wander in the Wild. It  has great 
virtues, but over such a wound as this its healing powers may be small.' 
     He threw the leaves into boiling water and bathed Frodo's shoulder. The 
fragrance of the steam was refreshing, and those that were unhurt felt their 
minds calmed and cleared. The herb had  also some  power over the wound, for  
Frodo felt the pain   and also the  sense of  frozen cold lessen in his side; 
but the life did not return to his arm, and  he could not  raise or  use his 
hand.  He  bitterly  regretted his  foolishness, and reproached himself  for  
weakness of will; for he now perceived that in putting on the Ring he obeyed 
not his own desire but the commanding wish of his enemies. He wondered if he 
would  remain maimed for  life,  and how they would now  manage to  continue 
their journey. He fell too weak to stand.


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wrappings. There were  five  tall  figures: two standing on the lip  of  the 
dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned  keen and merciless eyes;  
under their mantles were long grey robes;  upon  their grey hairs were helms 
of silver; in their haggard hands  were  swords of steel. Their eyes fell on 
him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him. Desperate, he  drew his own 
sword, and it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a firebrand. 
Two of the figures  halted. The   third was taller than  the others: his hair 
was long and gleaming and  on his  helm was  a crown.  In one hand he held a  
long sword, and in the other a knife;  both the knife and the hand that held 
it glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down on Frodo. 
     At that moment Frodo threw himself forward on  the ground, and he heard 
himself crying aloud: O  Elbereth! Gilthoniel! At the same time he struck at


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When Frodo came to himself he was still clutching the Ring desperately.  
He was lying by the fire, which was now piled high and burning br ightly. His 
three companions were bending  over  him.  'What has happened? Where is  the 
pale  king?' he  asked wildly. They were too overjoyed to  hear him speak to  
answer  for  a  while; nor did they  understand  his question.  At length he 
gathered from  Sam that they had seen nothing  but the vague shadowy  shapes 
coming towards them.  Suddenly to his  horror Sam found  that his master had 
vanished; and at that moment a black shadow rushed past him, and he fell. He 
heard  Frodo's  voice, but it seemed to  come from a great distance, or from 
under the earth, crying out strange words. They saw nothing more, until they  
stumbled over the body of Frodo, lying as  if  dead,  face downwards  on the 
grass  with his sword  beneath  him. Strider ordered them to pick him up and


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foremother,  and  it  is  said  that  her line shall  never fail.  Elrond of 
Rivendell is of that Kin. For of  Beren and L®thien  was born Dior Thingol's 
heir;  and of him Elwing  the White whom Edrendil wedded, he that sailed his 
ship out of the mists of the world into the seas of heaven with the Silmaril 
upon  his brow.  And  of  Edrendil  came  the  Kings  of  N®menor,  that  is 
Westernesse.' 
     As Strider was speaking  they watched his strange eager face, dimly lit


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fortune twelve days from here to the Ford of Bruinen, where the Road crosses 
the Loudwater that  runs  out of Rivendell. We  have at  least a fortnight's 
journey before us, for I do not think we shall be able to use the Road.'


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####-land before them  sloped  away  southwards, but  it was  wild  and pathless; 
bushes and  stunted trees  grew in dense patches with wide barren  spaces in 
between.  The grass was scanty, coarse,  and grey;  and  the leaves  in  the 
thickets were faded and falling. It was  a cheerless land, and their journey 
was slow and gloomy. They spoke  little as they trudged along. Frodo's heart 
was grieved as he watched them walking beside him with their heads down, 
and 
their  backs bowed  under  their  burdens.  Even  Strider  seemed  tired and 
heavy-hearted. 
     Before the first day's march was over Frodo's pain began to grow again, 
but he did not speak of it for  a long time. Four  days passed,  without the 
ground or the scene changing much, except that behind them Weathertop 
slowly 
sank,  and  before  them the distant mountains loomed a  little nearer.  Yet 
since that far cry they had seen and heard no sign that the enemy had marked


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filling with grey light, when Strider at last returned. 
     'Look!' he cried; and stooping he lifted from the  ground a black cloak 
that had lain there hidden by the darkness. A foot above the lower hem there 
was a slash. 'This was  the stroke of Frodo's sword,' he said. 'The only hurt 
that it did to his enemy, I fear; for it is unharmed, but  all blades perish 
that pierce  that  dreadful  King.  More  deadly  to  him  was  the name  of 
Elbereth.' 
     'And  more  deadly to Frodo was this!' He stooped again and lifted up a  
long thin knife. There was a cold gleam in it. As Strider raised it they saw 
that near the end  its edge was notched and  the  point was broken  off. But 
even as he  held it up in the growing light, they gazed in astonishment, for  
the blade seemed to melt, and vanished like a smoke in the air, leaving only  
the hilt in  Strider's hand. 'Alas!' he  cried. 'It was this accursed  knife


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not his own desire but the commanding wish of his enemies. He wondered if he 
would  remain maimed for  life,  and how they would now  manage to  continue 
their journey. He fell too weak to stand. 
     The others were discussing this very question. They  quickly decided to 
leave Weathertop as soon as possible. 'I think now,' said Strider, 'that the 
enemy has been watching this place for some days. If Gandalf ever came here, 
then he  must have been forced to ride away, and  he will not return. In any 
case we are in great peril here after  dark, since the attack of last night, 
and we can hardly meet greater danger wherever we go.' 
     As  soon  as  the  daylight  was  full, they had some hurried food  and 
packed. It was impossible for Frodo  to  walk, so  they divided the  greater  
part of their baggage among the four of them, and put Frodo  on the pony. In 
the last few days the poor beast had improved wonderfully; it already seemed


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stumbled over the body of Frodo, lying as  if  dead,  face downwards  on the 
grass  with his sword  beneath  him. Strider ordered them to pick him up and 
lay  him near the fire, and then he disappeared. That was now  a  good while 
ago. 
     Sam plainly was beginning to have doubts again about Strider; but while  
they were talking he returned, appearing suddenly out  of the  shadows. They 
started, and Sam drew his sword and stood over Frodo; but Strider knelt down 
swiftly at his side. 
     'I  am not a Black  Rider,  Sam,' he said  gently, 'nor in league  with 
them. I  have been  trying to discover  something of  their movements; but I 
have  found nothing. I cannot  think  why  they have gone and do  not attack  
again. But there is no feeling of their presence anywhere at hand.' 
     When he heard what Frodo had  to tell, he became full  of concern,  and 
shook his head  and sighed. Then he ordered Pippin and Merry to heat as much


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####-time to gaze ahead and to think. He recalled Bilbo's account of his  journey 
and the  threatening towers on  the hills north of  the Road, in the country 
near the Troll's wood where his first serious adventure had  happened. Frodo 
guessed that they were  now in the  same  region, and wondered if by  chance 
they would pass near the spot. 
     'Who lives  in this land?'  he asked.  'And  who built these  towers? Is 
this troll-country?' 
     'No!' said Strider. 'Trolls do  not  build. No one lives in  this land. 
Men once dwelt  here, ages ago;  but  none remain  now. They  became an evil 
people, as legends  tell, for they fell under  the shadow of Angmar. But all 
were destroyed  in the war that  brought the North Kingdom to  its  end. But 
that is now so long ago that the hills  have forgotten them, though a shadow  
still lies on the land.' 
     'Where  did you learn  such  tales,  if  all  the  land  is  empty  and


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the blade seemed to melt, and vanished like a smoke in the air, leaving only  
the hilt in  Strider's hand. 'Alas!' he  cried. 'It was this accursed  knife 
that gave the wound. Few now have the  skill in  healing to match  such evil  
weapons. But I will do what I can.' 
     He sat down on the  ground, and taking  the dagger -hilt laid it  on his 
knees, and he  sang over it a slow song in a strange tongue. Then setting it 
aside, he turned to Frodo  and in  a soft tone  spoke words the others could 
not catch.  From  the pouch at  his  belt he drew  out the  long leaves of a  
plant. 
     'These  leaves,' he said, 'I have  walked far to  find; for  this plant 
does not grow in the bare hills;  but in the thickets away south of the Road 
I found it in the  dark by the scent of its leaves.' He crushed a leaf in his 
fingers,  and it gave out  a  sweet and pungent fragrance. 'It  is fortunate 
that  I could find it, for it is  a healing plant that the  Men of  the West


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part of their baggage among the four of them, and put Frodo  on the pony. In 
the last few days the poor beast had improved wonderfully; it already seemed 
fatter and stronger, and had begun to show an a ffection for its new masters, 
especially for Sam. Bill Ferny's treatment must  have been very hard for the 
journey in the wild to seem so much better than its former life. 
     They started off in a southerly direction. This would mean crossing the 
Road,  but. it was the  quickest way to more wooded country. And they needed 
fuel; for Strider said  that Frodo must be kept warm,  especially at  night, 
while fire would be some protection  for them all. It  was also his  plan to 
shorten their journey by cutting  across another great loop of the Road: east  
beyond Weathertop it changed its course and took a wide bend northwards. 
     They made  their  way slowly  and  cautiously  round the  south-western


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At that moment Frodo threw himself forward on  the ground, and he heard 
himself crying aloud: O  Elbereth! Gilthoniel! At the same time he struck at 
the feet of his enemy. A shrill  cry rang  out in the night;  and he felt  a  
pain  like  a  dart  of  poisoned ice  pierce his left shoulder. Even  as he 
swooned he caught, as through a swirling mist,  a glimpse of Strider leaping


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####-Bridge on which the Road crosses.' 
     'What is that other river we can see far away there?' asked Merry. 
     'That is Loudwater,  the Bruinen of Rivendell,'  answered Strider. 'The 
Road runs along the edge of  the hills for many miles from the Bridge to the 
Ford of Bruinen. But I have  not yet thought how  we shall cross that water. 
One river at a time! We shall be fortunate indeed if we do not find the Last  
Bridge held against us.' 
     Next day, early in  the morning, they came down again to the borders of 
the Road.  Sam  and  Strider  went  forward, but they found no  sign of  any 
travellers or riders. Here under the shadow of the hills there had been some 
rain. Strider judged that it had fallen two days before, and had washed away 
all footprints. No horseman had passed since then, as far as he could see. 
     They hurried along with all the speed they could make, and after a mile 
or two they saw the Last Bridge ahead, at the bottom of a short steep slope.


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slowly 
sank,  and  before  them the distant mountains loomed a  little nearer.  Yet 
since that far cry they had seen and heard no sign that the enemy had marked 
their  flight or followed them.  They dreaded the dark hours, and kept watch 
in pairs by night, expecting at any time to see black shapes stalking in the 
grey night, dimly lit by the cloud-veiled  moon; but they  saw nothing,  and 
heard no sound but the sigh of withered leaves and grass. Not once  did they 
feel the sense of present  evil that  had assailed them before the attack in 
the dell. It seemed too much to hope that the Riders had already  lost their 
trail again. Perhaps  they  were waiting  to  make  some ambush in  a narrow 
place? 
     At the end of  the fifth day the ground began once more  to rise slowly 
out of the wide  shallow valley into which  they had  descended. Strider now  
turned their course again north-eastwards, and on the sixth day they reached


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that is now so long ago that the hills  have forgotten them, though a shadow  
still lies on the land.' 
     'Where  did you learn  such  tales,  if  all  the  land  is  empty  and 
forgetful?' asked Peregrin. 'The  birds and beasts do not tell tales of that 
son.' 
     'The  heirs  of Elendil do not forget all  things past,'  said Strider; 
'and  many more things than  I can tell are remembered in  Rivendell.'  'Have  
you often  been to Rivendell?' said  Frodo. 'I have,' said Strider. 'I dwelt 
there once, and still I return when I may. 
     There my heart is;  but  it is not my fate to sit in peace, even in the 
fair house of Elrond.' 
     The hills now began to shut them in. The Road behind held on its way to  
the River Bruinen, but both were  now hidden  from view. The travellers came 
into a long valley; narrow, deeply cloven, dark  and silent.  Trees with old 
and twisted roots hung over cliffs, and piled up behind into mounting slopes 
of pine-wood.


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beyond Weathertop it changed its course and took a wide bend northwards. 
     They made  their  way slowly  and  cautiously  round the  south-western 
slopes  of the  hill, and came in a  little while to the  edge of the  Road. 
There was no sign of the Riders. But  even as they were hurrying across they 
heard far away two  cries: a cold voice calling and  a cold voice answering. 
Trembling they sprang forward, and made for the thickets that lay ahead. The


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They hurried along with all the speed they could make, and after a mile 
or two they saw the Last Bridge ahead, at the bottom of a short steep slope. 
They dreaded  to see black figures waiting there, but they saw none. Strider 
made them take cover  in a  thicket at  the side of the Road, while  he went 
forward to explore. 
     Before long he came hurrying back. 'I can see no sign of the enemy,' he 
said,  'and I wonder very much what that  means. But  I have found something 
very strange.' 
     He held out his hand, and showed a single pale-green jewel. 'I found it 
in  the  mud in  the  middle of the  Bridge,' he said. 'It  is  a beryl,  an 
elf-stone.  Whether it was set  there, or  let fall by chance, I cannot say; 
but  it brings  hope to  me. I will take it as a sign that we may  pass  the 
Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep  to  the Road, without some  clearer  
token.' 
     At once they went on again. They crossed  the Bridge in safety, hearing


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them a  wide  prospect,  for the most pan of  lands empty  and  featureless,  
except for patches of woodland away to the  south, beyond which  they caught 
here and  there  the glint of  distant water. Beneath them  on this southern 
side there  ran  like  a  ribbon  the Old Road,  coming  out of the West and 
winding up and down, until it faded behind a ridge of dark land to the east. 
Nothing was moving on it. Following  its line eastward  with their eyes they  
saw the Mountains: the nearer foothills were brown and sombre; 
     behind them stood taller shapes of  grey, and  behind  those again were 
high white peaks glimmering among the clouds. 
     'Well, here we are!' said Merry. 'And very  cheerless and uninviting it 
looks! There is no water and no shelter. And no sign of Gandalf. But I don't  
blame him for not waiting - if he ever came here.' 
     'I wonder,' said Strider, looking round thoughtfully. 'Even if he was a


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When he heard what Frodo had  to tell, he became full  of concern,  and 
shook his head  and sighed. Then he ordered Pippin and Merry to heat as much 
water as they could in their small kettles, and to bathe the wound with  it. 
'Keep the fire going well, and keep Frodo warm!' he said. Then he got up and 
walked  away, and called  Sam to him.  'I think I  understand  things better 
now,' he said in  a low voice.  'There  seem only to  have  been five of the 
enemy. Why they were not all here,  I  don't know;  but I  don't  think they 
expected to  be resisted.  They have drawn off for the  time being. But  not 
far,  I fear. They will come again another night, if we cannot escape.  They 
are  only  waiting,  because  they  think  that   their  purpose  is  almost  
accomplished, and that the  Ring  cannot fly much further. I fear, Sam, that


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####-out of the darkness with a flaming brand of wood in either hand. With a last  
effort Frodo,  dropping  his sword, slipped  the Ring from  his  finger  and 
closed his right hand tight upon it. 
 

####- 

Chapter 12. Flight to the Ford


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into a long valley; narrow, deeply cloven, dark  and silent.  Trees with old 
and twisted roots hung over cliffs, and piled up behind into mounting slopes 
of pine-wood. 
     The hobbits grew very weary. They advanced slowly, for they had to pick 
their way through a pathless country, encumbered by fallen trees and tumbled 
rocks. As long as they could they avoided  climbing  for  Frodo's  sake, and 
because it was in fact difficult to find any way up out of the narrow dales.  
They had been two days in this country when the weather turned wet. The wind 
began  to blow steadily  out  of  the West and pour the water of the distant 
seas  on the  dark  heads of the hills in fine  drenching rain. By nightfall 
they  were all soaked,  and their camp was cheerless, for they could not get 
any  fire  to burn. The next  day the  hills rose still  higher  and steeper  
before  them, and  they were forced to  turn away  northwards out  of  their


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fingers,  and it gave out  a  sweet and pungent fragrance. 'It  is fortunate 
that  I could find it, for it is  a healing plant that the  Men of  the West 
brought to Middle-earth. Athelas they  named it,  and it grows  now sparsely


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####-course. Strider seemed to  be getting anxious: they were nearly ten days out 
from Weathertop, and their stock of  provisions was beginning to run low. It  
went on raining. 
     That night they camped on  a stony shelf with a rock -wall  behind them, 
in which  there was a shallow cave,  a  mere scoop in the  cliff.  Frodo was 
restless. The  cold and wet had  made his wound more painful  than ever, and 
the ache and sense of deadly chill took  away all sleep.  He lay tossing and 
turning and listening fearfully to the stealthy night-noises: wind in chinks 
of  rock, water  dripping, a crack, the sudden rattling  fall of  a loosened 
stone. He felt that black shapes  were advancing to smother him; but when he 
sat up he saw  nothing but  the back of  Strider  sitting hunched up, smoking 
his pipe, and watching.  He lay down again and passed into an uneasy  dream, 
in  which he  walked on the grass in his garden in the Shire,  but it seemed


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out of the wide  shallow valley into which  they had  descended. Strider now  
turned their course again north-eastwards, and on the sixth day they reached 
the top of a long slow-climbing slope, and saw far  ahead a huddle of wooded 
hills. Away below them they could see the Road sweeping round  the  feet  of 
the hills;  and  to  their  right  a  grey river  gleamed  pale in the  thin 
sunshine. In the  distance they glimpsed yet another river in a stony valley 
half-veiled in mist. 
     "I am  afraid we must  go back  to  the Road  here for  a while,'  said 
Strider.  'We have  now  come to  the  River Hoarwell,  that the Elves  call 
Mitheithel. It  flows down out  of the Ettenmoors, the troll-fells  north of 
Rivendell,  and joins  the Loudwater away in the  South.  Some  call  it the 
Greyflood after that. It is a great water before it finds the  Sea. There is 
no way over  it  below  its sources  in the Ettenmoors, except by  the  Last


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Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep  to  the Road, without some  clearer  
token.' 
     At once they went on again. They crossed  the Bridge in safety, hearing 
no sound  but  the water  swirling  against its three great  arches. A  mile 
further on they came to a narrow ravine that led away northwards through the 
steep  lands  on  the left of the Road.  Here Strider turned aside, and soon 
they were lost in a sombre  country of dark trees winding among the feet  of 
sullen hills. 
     The hobbits were glad  to leave  the  cheerless lands and the  perilous 
Road behind them; but this new country seemed threatening and unfriendly. As 
they went forward the hills about them steadily rose. Here  and  there  upon 
heights  and ridges they caught glimpses of ancient walls  of stone, and the 
ruins of towers: they had an ominous look. Frodo,  who was  not walking, had


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####-view, the Road to the  Ford was not far from the River  and  lay on the side 
nearest to them. 
     'We must make for  the  Road again,' he said. 'We cannot hope to find a  
path through these hills. Whatever danger may beset it, the Road is our only 
way to the Ford.' 
     As soon as they had eaten they set out again. They climbed  slowly down 
the southern side  of the ridge; but the way  was much easier  than they had 
expected, for the slope  was  far less steep on  this side, and before  long 
Frodo was able  to  ride again. Bill Ferny's poor old pony was developing an 
unexpected talent  for picking out a path, and for sparing its rider as many 
jolts as possible. The  spirits of the  party  rose  again. Even  Frodo felt 
better in  the  morning  light, but every  now  and again  a mist seemed  to 
obscure his sight, and he pa ssed his hands over his eyes.  
     Pippin was a little  ahead of the  others. Suddenly he turned round and


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blame him for not waiting - if he ever came here.' 
     'I wonder,' said Strider, looking round thoughtfully. 'Even if he was a  
day or two behind us at Bree, he could have arrived here first.  He can ride


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####-us in this glade! In any case you might have noticed that one of them has an 
old bird's nest behind his ear. That would be a most unusual ornament  for a  
live troll!' 
     They  all laughed.  Frodo felt  his spirits  reviving: the reminder  of 
Bilbo's  first successful adventure  was  heartening. The sun, too, was warm 
and comforting, and the mist before his  eyes seemed to be lifting a little. 
They rested for some time in the glade,  and took  their  mid-day meal right 
under the shadow of the trolls' large legs. 
     'Won't somebody give  us  a bit of a song, while the sun is high?' said 
Merry, when they had finished. 'We haven't ha d a song or a tale for days.' 
     'Not since  Weathertop,' said Frodo. The  others looked at him.  'Don't  
worry about me!' he added. 'I  feel much  better, but I  don't think I could 
sing. Perhaps Sam could dig something out of his memory.' 
     'Come on,  Sam!' said Merry. 'There's more  stored in your head than you  
let on about.'


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####-'Come out, you two, and let us get away. Now we know  who made the path  -
and 
we had better get off it quick.' 
     'There  is  no  need, I think,'  said  Strider,  coining  out.  'It  is 
certainly a troll-hole,  but it seems  to have  been  long forsaken. I don't 
think we need be afraid. But let us go on down warily, and we shall see.' 
     The  path  went on again from the door, and turning to the right  again 
across the level space plunged down a thick wooded slope. Pippin, not liking 
to show Strider that he was still afraid, went on ahead  with Merry. Sam and 
Strider came behind, one on each side of  Frodo's pony, for the path was now 
broad enough for four or five hobbits to walk abreast. But they had not gone 
very far  before Pippin came  running back,  fol lowed  by Merry.  They  both 
looked terrified. 
     'There are trolls!' Pippin panted. 'Down in a clearing in the woods not 
far below. We  got a sight of them  through  the tree-trunks.  They are very


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####- 
     Tom's leg is game, since home he came, 
     And his bootless foot is lasting lame; 
     But Troll don't care, and he's still there 
     With the bone he boned from its owner. 
     Doner! Boner! 
     Troll's old seat is still the same, 
     And the bone he boned from its owner! 
     'Well, that's a warning to  us all!' laughed Merry. 'It  is as well you  
used a stick, and not your hand, Strider!' 
     'Where did you come  by  tha t, Sam?' asked Pippin.  'I've  never  heard 
those words before.' 
     Sam  muttered  something  inaudible. 'It's  out of  his  own  head,  of 
course,'  said Frodo. 'I am learning a lot about Sam Gamgee on this journey.  
First he was a conspirator, now he's a  jester.  He'll end up  by becoming a  
wizard - or a warrior!' 
     'I hope not,' said Sam. 'I don't want to be neither!' 
     In  the afternoon  they went  on  down  the  woods. They were  probably 
following the very track  that Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves had used many


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his pipe, and watching.  He lay down again and passed into an uneasy  dream, 
in  which he  walked on the grass in his garden in the Shire,  but it seemed 
faint  and dim, less clear  than the  tall black shadows that  stood looking 
over the hedge. 
     In  the morning he  woke to  find that the rain had stopped. The clouds 
were still thick,  but they were breaking, and pale strips of  blue appeared 
between them.  The  wind was  shifting  again.  They  did  not start  early.  
Immediately after  their cold  and  comfortless  breakfast Strider  went off 
alone, telling the others to remain under the shelter of the cliff, until he 
came  back. He was going to climb up, if he could, and get a look at the lie 
of the land. 
     When  he returned he was not reassuring.  'We have come too  far to the 
north,' he said, 'and we must find  some way to  turn back southwards again.  
If we  keep on as we are going we shall get up into the Ettendales far north


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####-left went off  as  fast as they could.  Soon a shoulder of the hills cut off 
the  light  of the fast westering sun. A cold wind flowed down to  meet them 
from the mountains ahead. 
     They were beginning  to look out  for a place  off the Road, where they 
could camp for the night, when they heard a sound that  brought  sudden fear 
back  into their hearts: the  noise of  hoofs behind them. They looked back, 
but they could not see far because of  the many windings and rollings of the  
Road. As quickly as they could they scrambled off the beaten way and up into 
the deep heather and bilberry brushwood on the slopes above, u ntil they came 
to a small patch of thick-growing hazels.  As they peered out from among the 
bushes, they could see the Road, faint and  grey in  the failing light, some 
thirty feel  below them. The sound of hoofs  drew  nearer.  They were  going  
fast, with a light clippety-clippely-clip. Then faintly,  as if it was blown


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####-seemed to be  a note of haste or fear  in his call, and they saw tha t he was 
now speaking quickly and urgently to Strider. 
     Soon Strider  beckoned  to them,  and  the hobbits left  the bushes and 
hurried  down  to the Road. 'This is  Glorfindel, who dwells in the house of 
Elrond,' said Strider. 
     'Hail, and well met  at last!' said the Elf-lord to Frodo. 'I  was sent 
from  Rivendell to look  for you. We feared that you were in danger upon the 
road.' 
     'Then Gandalf has reached Rivendell?' cried Frodo joyfully. 
     'No.  He had not when I departed; but that was nine days ago,' answered 
Glorfindel.  'Elrond received news that  troubled him.  Some of my  kindred,  
journeying  in  your land  beyond the  Baranduin,* learned  that things were 
amiss, and sent  messages as swiftly as they could. They  said that the Nine 
were abroad,  and  that  you  were  astray bearing a  great  burden  without


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obscure his sight, and he pa ssed his hands over his eyes.  
     Pippin was a little  ahead of the  others. Suddenly he turned round and 
called to them. 'There is a path here!' he cried. 
     When they came up with him, they saw that he had made no mistake: 
     there were clearly  the beginnings of  a  path, that climbed  with many 
windings  out of  the woods  below and faded away on the hill-top behind. In 
places it was  now faint and overgrown,  or choked  with fallen  stones  and 
trees; but at one time it seemed to have been much used.  It was a path made 
by strong arms  and heavy feet. Here and  there old trees  had  been cut  or  
broken down, and large rocks cloven or heaved aside to make a way. 
     They followed the track for some while, for it offered much the easiest  
way down, but they went cautiously, and their anxiety increased as they came 
into the dark  woods, and the path grew plainer and broader. Suddenly coming


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sing. Perhaps Sam could dig something out of his memory.' 
     'Come on,  Sam!' said Merry. 'There's more  stored in your head than you  
let on about.' 
     'I don't know about that,' said Sam. 'But how would this suit? It ain't  
what I call proper poetry, if you understand me: just a bit of nonsense. But 
these old images here  brought it to my mind.' Standing  up,  with his hands 
behind his back, as if he was at school, he began to sing to an old tune. 
     Troll sat alone on his seat of stone, 
     And munched and mumbled a bare old bone; 
     For many a year he had gnawed it near, 
     For meat was hard to come by. 
     Done by! Gum by! 
     In a case in the hills he dwelt alone, 
     And meat was hard to come by. 
 
     Up came Tom with his big boots on. 
     Said he to Troll: 'Pray, what is yon? 
     For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim, 
     As should be a -lyin' in graveyard. 
     Caveyard! Paveyard! 
     This many a year has Tim been gone,


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In  the afternoon  they went  on  down  the  woods. They were  probably 
following the very track  that Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves had used many 
years before.  After a  few miles they came  out on the top  of a high  bank  
above the  Road. At this point  the Road had left the Hoarwell far behind in 
its narrow valley, and now clung close to the feet of the hills, rolling and 
winding eastward among woods and heather -covered slopes towards the Ford 
and 
the  Mountains.  Not far  down the bank Strider pointed out a  stone in  the 
grass.  On  it roughly  cut  and  now  much weathered  could  still be  seen 
dwarf-runes and secret marks. 
     'There!' said  Merry.  'That  must be the stone  that marked  the place 
where the  trolls' gold  was  hidden.  How much is  left of Bilbo's share, I 
wonder, Frodo?' 
     Frodo looked at the stone,  and wished that  Bilbo had brought home  no 
treasure more perilous, nor  less easy to pan with. 'None  at all,' he said.


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looked terrified. 
     'There are trolls!' Pippin panted. 'Down in a clearing in the woods not 
far below. We  got a sight of them  through  the tree-trunks.  They are very 
large!' 
     'We  will come and  look at them,' said  Strider,  picking  up a stick. 
Frodo said nothing, but Sam looked scared. 
     The  sun was now  high, and  it  shone  down through the  half-stripped 
branches of  the  trees, and lit the clearing with bright patches of  light. 
They halted  suddenly  on the  edge,  and  peered  through the  tree-trunks, 
holding their breath. There stood  the trolls: three large  trolls.  One was 
stooping, and the other two stood staring at him. 
     Strider walked forward unconcernedly. 'Get up, old stone!' he said, and 
brok e his stick upon the stooping troll. 
     Nothing happened. There  was a  gasp  of astonishment from the hobbits,  
and then even Frodo laughed. 'Well!' he said.  'We are forgetting our family


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thirty feel  below them. The sound of hoofs  drew  nearer.  They were  going  
fast, with a light clippety-clippely-clip. Then faintly,  as if it was blown 
away from  them by the breeze,  they seemed  to catch a dim  ringing, as  of 
small bells tinkling. 
     'That does not sound like a Black Rider's horse!' said Frodo, listening 
intently. The  other  hobbits agreed hopefully that it did not,  but they all 
remained  full of suspicion.  They had been in  fear of pursuit for  so long 
that any sound from  behind seemed ominous and  unfriendly. But Strider  was 
now leaning forward, stooped to the  ground, with a  hand to  his ear, and a  
look of joy on his face. 
     The light faded, and  the leaves on the bushes  rustled softly. Clearer  
and nearer  now the bells jingled, and clippety -clip  came the quick trotting 
feet. Suddenly into view below came a white  horse, gleaming in the shadows,  
running swiftly. In the dusk its  headstall flickered and flashed,  as if it


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####-often  despaired of  getting their pony up, or  indeed of finding a path for  
themselves, burdened as  they were. The light was nearly gone, and they were 
all exhausted, when at last they reached the top. They  had climbed on to  a  
narrow  saddle  between two  higher points, and the  land fell  steeply away 
again, only a short distance ahead. Frodo threw himself down, and lay on the 
ground shivering. His left arm was lifeless, and his side and shoulder  felt 
as if icy claws were  laid upon them.  The trees  and rocks about him seemed 
shadowy and dim. 
     'We  cannot go any further,' said  Merry to Strider. 'I am  afraid this 
has been too much for Frodo. I am dreadfully  anxious about him. What are we 
to do? Do you think they  will be able to cure him in Rivendell,  if we ever 
get there?' 
     'We shall see,'  answered Strider. 'There is nothing more that I can do 
in  the  wilderness;  and  it is chiefly because of  his wound that I am  so


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amiss, and sent  messages as swiftly as they could. They  said that the Nine 
were abroad,  and  that  you  were  astray bearing a  great  burden  without 
guidance, for Gandalf had not returned. There are few even in Rivendell that 
can ride openly  against  the Nine; but such as there were, Elrond  sent out 
north,  west, and south.  It was thought  that you  might  turn far aside to 
avoid pursuit, and become lost in the Wilderness.  
     'It  was  my  lot  to  take the Road,  and  I  came to  the  Bridge  of 
Mitheithel, and  left a  token  there, nigh  on seven days ago. Three of the 
servants of  Sauron were upon the  Bridge, but  they withdrew  and I pursued 
them westward. I came also  upon two others, but they turned away southward. 
Since then I have  searched  for your  trail. Two days  ago I found  it, and 
followed it over the Bridge; and today I marked where you descended from the 
hills again. But come! There is no time for further news. Since you are here


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For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim, 
     As should be a -lyin' in graveyard. 
     Caveyard! Paveyard! 
     This many a year has Tim been gone, 
     And I thought he were lyin' in graveyard.' 
 
     'My lad,' said Troll, 'this bone I stole. 
     But what be bones that lie in a  hole?


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way down, but they went cautiously, and their anxiety increased as they came 
into the dark  woods, and the path grew plainer and broader. Suddenly coming 
out  of a belt of fir-trees  it ran steeply down a slope, and turned sharply 
to the left round the comer  of a rocky shoulder of the hill. When they came 
to the comer they  looked round and  saw  that the path ran on  over a level 
strip  under the face of a low  cliff overhung with trees. In the stony wall 
there was a door hanging crookedly ajar upon one great hinge. 
     Outside the door they all  halted. There was  a  cave  or  rock -chamber  
behind, but  in the gloom  inside nothing  could be  seen. Strider, Sam, and 
Merry  pushing with all  their  strength managed  to open  the door a little 
wider, and then Strider  and Merry  went in. They did not go far, for on the 
floor lay many old bones, and nothing else was to be seen  near the entrance 
except some great empty jars and broken pots.


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north,' he said, 'and we must find  some way to  turn back southwards again.  
If we  keep on as we are going we shall get up into the Ettendales far north 
of  Rivendell.  That is  troll -country,  and  little known  to  me. We could 
perhaps find our way through and come round to Rivendell from the north; but 
it would take  too long,  for I  do not know the way, and our food would not  
last. So somehow or other we must find the Ford of Bruinen.' 
     The  rest of that day they  spent  scrambling over  rocky  ground. They 
found  a passage between  two  hills that  led them into  a  valley  running 
south-east, the  direction that they wished  to take; but towards the end of 
the day they found their road again barred by a ridge of high land; its dark 
edge  against  the  sky was  broken  into many bare points like teeth  of  a  
blunted saw. They had a choice between going back or climbing over it. 
     They decided to attempt the climb, but it proved very difficult. Before


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get there?' 
     'We shall see,'  answered Strider. 'There is nothing more that I can do 
in  the  wilderness;  and  it is chiefly because of  his wound that I am  so 
anxious to press on. But I agree that we can go no further tonight.' 
     'What is the matter with my  master?' asked Sam in a low voice, looking 
appealingly  at Strider.  'His  wound was small, and it is  already  closed. 
There's nothing to be seen but a cold white mark on his shoulder.' 
     'Frodo  has been  touched  by the weapons of  the Enemy,' said Strider, 
'and there is some poison  or evil at work that is beyond my  skill to drive 
out. But do not give up hope, Sam!' 
     Night was cold up on the  high ridge. They lit a small fire  down under 
the gnarled roots of an old pine, that hung over a shallow pit: it looked as 
if stone had once been  quarried there. They sat  huddled together. The wind 
blew chill through the pass, and they heard the tree-tops lower down moaning


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followed it over the Bridge; and today I marked where you descended from the 
hills again. But come! There is no time for further news. Since you are here 
we must  risk the peril of  the Road and go. There  are five behind us,  and 
when  they find your trail upon the Road  they will   ride after us  like the 
wind.  And they are not all. Where the  other four may be, I  do not know. I 
fear that we may find the Ford is already held against us.' 
     While Glorfindel was speaking  the  shades of evening  deepened.  Frodo 
felt a great weariness come over him. Ever  since the sun began to  sink the 
mist before his eyes had  darkened,  and he  felt  that a  shadow was coming 
between him and the faces of his friends. Now pain assailed him, and he felt  
cold. He swayed, clutching at Sam's arm. 
     'My master  is  sick and  wounded,' said Sam angrily. 'He  can't go  on 
riding after nightfall. He needs rest.'


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brok e his stick upon the stooping troll. 
     Nothing happened. There  was a  gasp  of astonishment from the hobbits,  
and then even Frodo laughed. 'Well!' he said.  'We are forgetting our family 
history!  These  must  be the  very  three  that  were  caught  by  Gandalf,  
quarrelling over the right way to cook thirteen dwarves and one hobbit.' 
     'I had no  idea we were  anywhere near the place!' said Pippin. He knew 
the  story well. Bilbo  and Frodo had told it often; but as a matter of fact 
he had  never mor e than half believed  it. Even now he  looked  at the stone 
trolls with suspicion, wondering if some magic might not suddenly bring them 
to life again. 
     'You are forgetting not only your family history, but all you ever knew 
about  trolls,' said Strider. 'It is broad daylight with  a bright sun,  and 
yet you come back trying to scare me with a tale  of live trolls waiting for


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wonder, Frodo?' 
     Frodo looked at the stone,  and wished that  Bilbo had brought home  no 
treasure more perilous, nor  less easy to pan with. 'None  at all,' he said. 
'Bilbo gave it all away. He told me he did not feel it was really his, as it 
came from robbers.' 
     The Road lay quiet under the long  shadows of early  evening. There was 
no sign of any  other  travellers  to be  seen. As  there  was now no  other  
possible course for them to  take,  they climbed down  the bank, and turning


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floor lay many old bones, and nothing else was to be seen  near the entrance 
except some great empty jars and broken pots. 
     'Surely  this  is a troll-hole, if ever there  was one!'  said  Pippin.


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feet. Suddenly into view below came a white  horse, gleaming in the shadows,  
running swiftly. In the dusk its  headstall flickered and flashed,  as if it 
were studded with gems  like living stars. The rider's cloak streamed behind 
him, and his hood was thrown back; his golden hair flowed shimmering in  the 
wind of his  speed. To  Frodo it  appeared  that a  white  light was shining 
through the form and raiment of the rider, as if through a thin veil. 
     Strider sprang from hiding and  dashed  down  towards the Road, leaping 
with a cry through  the heather; but even before he  had moved or called, the 
rider  had  reined in  his horse and halted, looking  up towards the thicket 
where  they stood. When he saw  Strider, he dismounted and  ran to meet  him 
calling out: Ai na vedui D®nadan! Mae govannen! His speech and clear 
ringing 
voice left no doubt in their hearts:  the rider  was  of the Elven-folk.  No


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blunted saw. They had a choice between going back or climbing over it. 
     They decided to attempt the climb, but it proved very difficult. Before 
long Frodo was obliged to dismount and struggle along on foot. Even so  they


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if stone had once been  quarried there. They sat  huddled together. The wind 
blew chill through the pass, and they heard the tree-tops lower down moaning 
and  sighing.  Frodo lay half in a dream, imagining that endless dark  wings 
were sweeping by above him, and that on the wings rode pursuers that  sought 
him in all the hollows of the hills.  
     The  morning dawned bright  and fair; the air  was clean, and the light 
pale and clear  in a rain-washed sky. Their hearts were encouraged, but (hey 
longed for the  sun to warm their cold stiff limbs. As soon as it was light, 
Strider took Merry  with him and went to survey the country from  the height 
to the east of the pass. The sun had risen and was shining  brightly when he 
returned  with more comforting news. They were now going more or less in the 
right direction. If they went on, down the  further side of the ridge,  they 
would have the Mountains on their left. Some way  ahead Strider had caught a


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####-     Thy nuncle was dead as a lump o' lead, 
     Afore I found his shinbone. 
     Tinbone! Thinbone! 
     He can spare a share for a poor old troll, 
     For he don't need his shinbone.' 
 
     Said Tom: 'I don't see why the likes o' thee 
     Without axin' leave should go makin' free 
     With the shank or the shin o' my father's kin; 
     So hand the old bone over! 
     Rover! Trover! 
     Though dead he be, it belongs to he; 
     So hand the old bone over!'  
 
     'For a couple o' pins,' says Troll, and grins, 
     'I'll eat thee too, and gnaw thy shins. 
     A bit o' fresh meal will go down sweet! 
     I'll try my teeth on thee now.  
     Hee now! See now! 
     I'm tired o' gnawing old bones and skins; 
     I've a mind to dine on thee now.' 
 
     But just as he thought his dinner was caught, 
     He found his hands had hold of naught. 
     Before he could mind, Tom slipped behind 
     And gave him the boot to larn him. 
     Warn him! Darn him!


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####-in his arms he looked in his face with grave anxiety. 
     Briefly Strider told of the attack  on their camp under Weathertop, and 
of  the deadly knife. He drew out the hilt, which he had kept, and handed it 
to the Elf. Glorfindel shuddered as he  took  it, but he looked  intently at 
it. 
     'There  are evil things written  on  this hilt,' he said; 'though maybe 
your  eyes  cannot see  them.  Keep it, Aragorn,  till we reach the house of 
Elrond! But be wary, and handle it as little as you may! Alas! the wounds of 
this weapon are beyond my skill to heal. I will do what I can -  but all the 
more do I urge you now to go on without rest.' 
     He searched the  wound on Frodo's shoulder with  his  fingers, and  his 
face grew graver, as  if what he learned disquieted  him. But Frodo felt the 
chill lessen in  his  side  and arm;  a little  warmth crept  down from  his 
shoulder to his hand, and the pain grew easier. The  dusk of evening  seemed


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cold. He swayed, clutching at Sam's arm. 
     'My master  is  sick and  wounded,' said Sam angrily. 'He  can't go  on 
riding after nightfall. He needs rest.' 
     Glorfindel caught Frodo as he sank to the ground, and taking him gently


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####-places much  grass  at either side, in which  the  hobbits walked when  they 
could, to ease  their tired feet. In the late afternoon they came to a  place 
where the  Road went  suddenly under the dark shadow of tall pine-trees, and 
then plunged into a deep cutting with steep moist walls of red stone. Echoes 
ran  along as they hurried  forward; and there seemed to  be a sound of many  
footfalls following their own.  All at once, as if through a  gate of light, 
the Road ran  out again from the end of the tunnel into  the open.  There at 
the bottom  of a sharp incline  they saw before  them a long  flat mile, and 
beyond that  the  Ford of Rivendell. On  the  further side was a steep brown 
bank,  threaded  by  a  winding  path;  and behind  that the tall  mountains 
climbed, shoulder above shoulder, and peak beyond peak, into the fading sky. 
     There was still an  echo as  of following feet  in  the cutting   behind


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right direction. If they went on, down the  further side of the ridge,  they 
would have the Mountains on their left. Some way  ahead Strider had caught a  
glimpse  of the Loudwater again, and he knew that, though it was hidden from


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He found his hands had hold of naught. 
     Before he could mind, Tom slipped behind 
     And gave him the boot to larn him. 
     Warn him! Darn him! 
     A bump o' the boot on the seat, Tom thought, 
     Would be the way to larn him. 
 
     But harder than stone is the flesh and bone 
     Of a troll that sits in the hills alone. 
     As well set your boot to the mountain's root, 
     For the seat of a troll don't feel it. 
     Peel it! Heal it! 
     Old Troll laughed, when he heard Tom groan, 
     And he knew his toes could feel it.


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####-rocks  away  on the left four other  Riders came flying.  Two  rode  towards 
Frodo: two  galloped madly towards  the Ford  to  cut  off  his escape. They 
seemed to him to run like the wind and to grow swiftly larger and darker, as 
their courses converged with his.  
     Frodo looked  back for  a moment over  his shoulder. He could no longer  
see  his friends. The Riders  behind  were  falling  back:  even their great 
steeds  were no match  in  speed for the  white elf-horse of  Glorfindel. He 
looked forward again, and hope fa ded. There seemed no chance of reaching the 
Ford before he  was cut off by  the others that had lain in ambush. He could 
see them clearly now: they appeared to have cast aside their hoods and black  
cloaks, and they were robed in  white and  grey. Swords were  naked in their  
pale hands; helms were on their heads. Their cold eyes  glittered,  and they 
called to him with fell voices.


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calling out: Ai na vedui D®nadan! Mae govannen! His speech and clear 
ringing 
voice left no doubt in their hearts:  the rider  was  of the Elven-folk.  No 
others that dwelt in the wide  world had voices so  fair  to hear. But there


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####-time nearly asleep on their stumbling legs; and  even Strider seemed  by the  
sag of his shoulders to be weary. Frodo sat upon the horse in a dark dream. 
     They  cast  themselves  down  in  the  heather  a  few  yards  from the 
road-side,  and  fell asleep immediately. They seemed hardly to  have closed 
their eyes when Glorfindel, who  had set himself to watch  while they slept, 
awoke  them again.  The sun had  now climbed far into the  morning, and  the 
clouds and mists of the night were gone. 
     'Drink  this!'  said  Glorfindel  to  them, pouring for  each in turn a  
little liquor from his silver -studded flask  of leather.  It  was  clear  as 
spring  water and  had no taste, and it did not feel either  cool or warm in 
the mouth; but  strength  and vigour seemed to flow into all their limbs  as 
they  drank  it. Eaten after that draught the stale  bread  and dried  fruit 
(which was now all that they had left) seemed to satisfy their hunger better


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chill lessen in  his  side  and arm;  a little  warmth crept  down from  his 
shoulder to his hand, and the pain grew easier. The  dusk of evening  seemed  
to grow lighter  about him, as if  a cloud  had been  withdrawn.  He saw his  
friends'  faces more clearly  again, and a  measure of new hope and strength 
returned. 
     'You  shall  ride my  horse,'  said  Glorfindel.  'I will  shorten  the 
stirrups  up to the saddle-skins, and  you must sit as tight as you can. But 
you need not fear: my horse  will not let any rider  fall that I command him 
to bear. His pace is light and smooth;  and if  danger presses  too near, he 
will  bear  you away with a  speed that even  the black steeds of  the enemy 
cannot rival.' 
     'No, he will not!' said  Frodo. 'I  shall  not ride him, if I am to  be 
carried off  to  Rivendell  or anywhere else, leaving  my friends behind  in 
danger.' 
     Glorfindel smiled. 'I doubt very much,' he said, 'if your friends would


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####-Mordor we will take you!' 
     'Go back!' he whispered. 
     'The Ring! The  Ring!'  they cried with  deadly voices; and immediately 
their leader urged his horse forward into the water, followed closely by two 
others. 
     'By Elbereth  and L®thien  the Fair,' said Frodo  with  a last  effort, 
lifting up his sword, 'you shall have neither the Ring nor me!' 
     Then the leader, who was now half across the Ford, stood up menacing in 
his  stirrups, and raised up his hand.  Frodo was stricken dumb. He felt his 
tongue  cleave to  his mouth,  and  his heart labouring. His sword broke and  
fell out of his shaking hand. The elf-horse reared and snorted. The foremost  
of the black horses had almost set foot upon the shore. 
     At that moment there  came a roaring and  a rushing: a  noise  of  loud 
waters rolling many stones. Dimly  Frodo saw the river below him  rise,  and 
down along its course there  came a  plumed cavalry of  waves.  White flames


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climbed, shoulder above shoulder, and peak beyond peak, into the fading sky. 
     There was still an  echo as  of following feet  in  the cutting   behind 
them;  a  rushing noise as  if  a wind were  rising and pouring  through the 
branches of the  pines. One moment Glorfindel turned  and  listened, then he 
sprang forward with a loud cry. 
     'Fly!' he called. 'Fly! The enemy is upon us!' 
     The white  horse  leaped  forward.  The  hobbits ran  down  the  slope. 
Glorfindel and  Strider followed  as  rear -guard.  They were only  half  way 
across the flat, when suddenly there was a noise of horses galloping. Out of 
the gate in the  trees that they had just left rode a Black Rider. He reined 
his horse  in, and halted,  swaying in his saddle. Another followed him, and 
then another; then again two more. 
     'Ride forward! Ride!' cried Glorfindel to Frodo. 
     He did not obey at  once, for a strange reluctance seized him. Checking


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####-     Gandalf smiled. `I have heard all about  Sam,' he said. 'He has no more 
doubts now.' 
     'I am glad,' said Frodo. 'For I have become very fond of Strider. Well, 
fond is not the right word.  I mean he is dear to me; though he  is strange, 
and grim  at times. In fact, he reminds  me often of you. I didn't know that 
any of the Big People were  like that.  I thought, well, that  they were just 
big, and rather stupid: kind and stupid like Butterbur; or stupid and wicked 
like  Bill Ferny. But then we don't know much about Men in the Shire, except 
perhaps the Breelanders.' 
     `You  don't know  much  even  about them, if you  think old Barliman is 
stupid,' said Gandalf. 'He is wise enough on his  own ground. He thinks less 
than  he talks, and slower; yet he can see through a brick wall  in time (as 
they say in Bree). But there are few left in  Middle-earth  like Aragorn son 
of Arathorn. The race of the Kings from over the Sea is nearly at an end. It


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cloaks, and they were robed in  white and  grey. Swords were  naked in their  
pale hands; helms were on their heads. Their cold eyes  glittered,  and they 
called to him with fell voices.  
     Fear now filled all Frodo's mind. He thought no longer of his sword. No 
cry came from him. He shut his eyes  and clung to the horse's mane. The wind 
whistled in his ears, and the bells upon the harness rang wild and shrill. A 
breath of deadly cold pierced him like a spear, as with a last spurt, like a  
flash of  white fire, the  elf-horse  speeding as  if on wings, passed right 
before the face of the foremost Rider. 
     Frodo heard  the splash of water. It foamed about his feet. He felt the 
quick heave and surge as the horse left the river and struggled up the stony 
path. He was climbing the steep bank. He was across the Ford. 
     But the pursuers were close behind. At  the  top of  the bank the horse 
halted and turned  about neighing  fiercely. There were  Nine  Riders at the


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they  drank  it. Eaten after that draught the stale  bread  and dried  fruit 
(which was now all that they had left) seemed to satisfy their hunger better  
than many a good breakfast in the Shire had done. 
     They had rested rather less than five hours when they  took to the Road 
again. Glorfindel  still  urged them  on, and  only allowed two brief  halts 
during the day's  march. In this way they covered almost twenty miles before 
nightfall, and  came  to  a  point where the Road bent  right  and  ran down 
towards the  bottom of the valley,  now making  straight for the Bruinen. So  
far there had been no sign or sound of pursuit that the hobbits could see or  
hear; but often  Glorfindel would  halt and  listen  for  a moment, if  they 
lagged behind,  and a look of anxiety  clouded  his face. Once or  twice  he 
spoke to Strider in the elf-tongue. 
     But  however  anxious  their  guides might be,  it  was plain  that the


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carried off  to  Rivendell  or anywhere else, leaving  my friends behind  in 
danger.' 
     Glorfindel smiled. 'I doubt very much,' he said, 'if your friends would 
be  in danger if you were  not  with them! The pursuit  would follow you and 
leave  us in  peace, I  think. It is you, Frodo, and that which you bear that 
brings us all in peril.' 
     To that Frodo had no answer, and he was persuaded to mount Glorfindel's 
white  horse.  The pony  was laden instead with a great part  of the others' 
burdens, so that they   now marched lighter, and  for a time made good speed; 
but the hobbits  began  to find it hard to keep up  with the swift  tireless 
feet of the Elf.  On he led them, into the  mouth of darkness,  and still on 
under the deep clouded night. There was neither  star nor moon. Not until the  
grey of dawn did he allow them to halt. Pippin, Merry, and Sam were  by that


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####-moment of all. I wish you could have held out at Weathertop.' 
     'You seem to know a great deal already,' said Frodo. `I have not spoken 
to the others about the Barrow. At first it was too horrible; and afterwards 
there were other things to think about. How do you know about it?' 
     'You have talked long  in your sleep, Frodo,' said Gandalf gently, 'and 
it  has not been hard  for me to  read  your mind and memory. Do not  worry! 
Though I said  "absurd" just now, I did not mean it. I think well of you-and 
of the others. It is  no small  feat to have come so far,  and  through such 
dangers, still bearing the Ring.' 
     'We should  never  have done it  without Strider,' said Frodo. `But  we 
needed you. I did not know what to do without you.' 
     'I was delayed,'  said Gandalf, `and that  nearly proved our  ruin. And 
yet I am not sure; it may have been better so.' 
     'I wish you would tell me what happened!'


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then another; then again two more. 
     'Ride forward! Ride!' cried Glorfindel to Frodo. 
     He did not obey at  once, for a strange reluctance seized him. Checking 
the horse to  a  walk,  he turned and looked  back. The Riders seemed to sit 
upon  their  great steeds  like  threatening  statues  upon a hill, dark and 
solid, while all the woods and land about them  receded as  if into a  mist. 
Suddenly he knew  in  his heart that they were  silently commanding  him  to 
wait. Then at  once  fear  and hatred awoke in him. His hand left the bridle 
and gripped the hilt of his sword, and with a red flash he drew it. 
     'Ride on! Ride on!' cried Glorfindel, and then loud and clear he called 
to the horse in the elf-tongue: noro lim, noro lim, Asfaloth! 
     At once the  white horse sprang away  and  sped like the wind along the 
last lap of  the Road. At the same moment the  black horses leaped  down the


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they say in Bree). But there are few left in  Middle-earth  like Aragorn son 
of Arathorn. The race of the Kings from over the Sea is nearly at an end. It 
may be that this War of the Ring will be their last adventure.' 
     'Do  you  really  mean that  Strider is one  of the people of  the  old 
Kings?' said Frodo in wonder.  `I thought  they had all vanished long ago. I 
thought he was only a Ranger.' 
     'Only a Ranger!' cried Gandalf. `My dear Frodo,  that  is just what the 
Rangers are: the last  remnant in the North  of the great people, the Men of 
the  West.  They have helped  me  before; and I shall need their help in the 
days  to come;  for we  have reached Rivendell, but the Ring is  not yet  at 
rest.' 
     'I suppose not,' said Frodo. 'But  so far my  only thought has been  to 
get here; and  I  hope I  shan't have to go any further. It is very pleasant 
just to rest. I have had a month of exile and adventure, and I find that has 
been as much as I want.'


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Frodo woke and found himself lying in bed. At first he thought that  he 
had slept late, after a long unpleasant dream that still hovered on the edge 
of memory. Or  perhaps he  had been ill? But  the ceiling looked strange; it 
was flat, and it had dark beams richly carved. He lay  a little while longer  
looking at patches of sunlight on the wall, and listening to the  sound of a  
waterfall. 
     `Where am  I, and what is the time?' he said aloud to the  ceiling. 'In 
the  House of Elrond, and it is ten o'clock in  the morning.' said  a voice. 
`It is the morning of October the twenty -fourth, if you want to know.' 
     `Gandalf!'  cried  Frodo, sitting up. There was the old wizard, sitting 
in a chair by the open window.  
     `Yes,' he said, `I am here.  And you  are lucky  to be here, too, after  
all the absurd  things you  have done since  you left home.' Frodo lay  down 
again. He felt too comfortable and peaceful to argue, and in any case he did


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lagged behind,  and a look of anxiety  clouded  his face. Once or  twice  he 
spoke to Strider in the elf-tongue. 
     But  however  anxious  their  guides might be,  it  was plain  that the 
hobbits could go no further that night. They were stumbling along dizzy with 
weariness, and unable to think of anything but their feet and legs.  Frodo's 
pain had redoubled, and during the day things about him faded to shadows  of 
ghostly grey.  He almost welcomed the coming of  night,  for  then the world 
seemed less pale and empty. 
     The  hobbits  were still  weary,  when  they  set out  again early next 
morning. There were many miles yet to go between them and the Ford, and 
they 
hobbled forward at the best pace they could manage. 
     'Our  peril  will  be  greatest just  ere  we  reach the  river,'  said 
Glorfindel; 'for my heart warns me that the pursuit is now swift behind  us,  
and other danger may be waiting by the Ford.'


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But the pursuers were close behind. At  the  top of  the bank the horse 
halted and turned  about neighing  fiercely. There were  Nine  Riders at the 
water's edge below, and Frodo's spirit quailed before  the  threat  of their 
uplifted faces. He knew of nothing that would  prevent them from crossing as 
easily as he had done; and he felt that it was useless to try to escape over  
the long uncertain path from the Ford to the edge  of Rivendell, if once the 
Riders crossed. In any case he felt that  he was commanded urgently to halt.  
Hatred again stirred in him, but he had no longer the strength to refuse. 
     Suddenly the foremost  Rider  spurred  his horse forward. It checked at 
the water and  reared  up.  With  a  great  effort  Frodo  sat  upright  and 
brandished his sword. 
     'Go back!' he cried. 'Go  back to  the Land of Mordor, and follow me no 
more! '  His voice sounded  thin and shrill  in his  own  ears.  The  Riders


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waters rolling many stones. Dimly  Frodo saw the river below him  rise,  and 
down along its course there  came a  plumed cavalry of  waves.  White flames 
seemed to Frodo to  flicker on their crests  and he half fancied that he saw 
amid the water white riders upon white horses with frothing manes. The three 
Riders  that  were still in  the midst of  the  Ford were  overwhelmed: they 
disappeared, buried su ddenly under angry  foam.  Those that were behind drew 
back in dismay. 
     With his  last failing senses Frodo  heard cries,  and it seemed to him 
that he saw, beyond the Riders that hesitated on the shore, a shining figure 
of white light;  and behind it ran small shadowy forms  waving flames,  that 
flared red in the grey mist that was falling over the world. 
     The  black  horses were  filled  with madness, and leaping  forward  in 
terror  they bore their riders  into the rushing flood. Their piercing cries


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'I was delayed,'  said Gandalf, `and that  nearly proved our  ruin. And 
yet I am not sure; it may have been better so.' 
     'I wish you would tell me what happened!' 
     'All in good time! You are not supposed to talk or worry about anything 
today, by Elrond's orders.' 
     `But  talking would stop me thinking and wondering,  which are quite as 
tiring,' said Frodo.  'I am wide awake  now, and  I remember so many  things 
that want explaining. Why  were you delayed?  You  ought to tell me that  at 
least.' 
     'You will soon hear all you wish to know,' said Gandalf. 'We shall have 
a Council, as soon as you are  well enough. At the  moment  I will only  say 
that I was held captive.' 
     'You?' cried Frodo. 
     'Yes, I, Gandalf the Grey,'  said the wizard solemnly.  'There are many 
powers  in  the world,  for good  or for evil. Some are  greater  than I am. 
Against  some  I  have not  yet been measured. But my  time  is  coming. The


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####-     `Good!'  said  Gandalf.  `It is  mending  fast. You will soon be  sound 
again. Elrond has cured you: he has tended you for days, ever since you were 
brought in.' 
     'Days?' said Frodo. 
     `Well, four nights and three days,  to be  exact. The Elves brought you  
from this where you lost  count.  We have been terribly anxious, and Sam has 
hardly left  your  side, day or night, except to run  messages. Elrond is  a  
master of healing, but the weapons of  our Enemy are deadly. To tell you the 
truth, I had very little hope; for  I suspected that there was some fragment 
of the blade still in the closed wound. But it could not be found until last  
night.  Then Elrond  removed a  splinter. It  was deeply  buried. and it was 
working inwards.' 
     Frodo shuddered, remembering the cruel knife  with notched  blade  that 
had vanished in Strider's  hands. `Don't be alarmed!' said Gandalf.  `It  is


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At once the  white horse sprang away  and  sped like the wind along the 
last lap of  the Road. At the same moment the  black horses leaped  down the 
hill in pursuit, and from  the Riders came a terrible cry, such as Frodo had 
heard filling  the woods with  horror in the Eastfarthing  far away.  It was 
answered; and to the dismay of Frodo and his friends  out from the trees and


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get here; and  I  hope I  shan't have to go any further. It is very pleasant 
just to rest. I have had a month of exile and adventure, and I find that has 
been as much as I want.' 
     He fell silent and shut his eyes. After a while he spoke again. 'I have 
been reckoning,' he said, `and I can't bring  the  total up  to October  the 
twenty-fourth. It ought to  be  the  twenty-first. We  must have reached the 
Ford by the twentieth.' 
     'You have talked and reckoned more than is good for you,' said Gandalf.  
`How do the side and shou lder feel now?' 
     'I don't know.' Frodo  answered. 'They don't feel at all: which  is  an 
improvement, but'--he made  an  effort--'I can move my  arm again a  little. 
Yes, it is coming back to life. It is not cold,' he added, touching his left  
hand with  his right.


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Glorfindel; 'for my heart warns me that the pursuit is now swift behind  us,  
and other danger may be waiting by the Ford.' 
     The  Road  was still running steadily downhill,  and there  was now  in


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brandished his sword. 
     'Go back!' he cried. 'Go  back to  the Land of Mordor, and follow me no 
more! '  His voice sounded  thin and shrill  in his  own  ears.  The  Riders 
halted, but Frodo had not  the power of Bombadil. His enemies laughed at him 
with  a harsh and chilling laughter. 'Come back! Come back!' they called. 'To


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all the absurd  things you  have done since  you left home.' Frodo lay  down 
again. He felt too comfortable and peaceful to argue, and in any case he did 
not think he would get the better of  an argument.  He  was fully awake now,  
and  the memory of  his  journey  was returning: the  disastrous `short cut' 
through the Old Forest the `accident' at The Prancing Pony;  and his madness 
in putting  on the Ring  in the dell under Weathertop. While he was thinking 
of all these  things and trying  in  vain to  bring  his memory down to  his 
arriving  in  Rivendell, there  was a long  silence, broken only by the soft  
puffs of Gandalf's pipe, as he blew white smoke-rings out of the window.  
     'Where's Sam?' Frodo asked at length. 'And are the others all right?' 
     'Yes, they are  all  safe  and sound,' answered Gandalf.  `Sam was here 
until I sent him off to get some rest, about half an hour ago.' 
     `What happened at the Ford?' said Frodo. `It all seemed so dim somehow;


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####-able to close my eyes until you have finished the story for me.' 
     Gandalf moved  his chair to the bedside, and took a good look at Frodo. 
The colour  had come  back to his face, and his  eyes were clear, and  fully 
awake  and aware. He was smiling,  and there seemed to be  little wrong with 
him. But to the wizard's eye there was a faint change just a hint as it were 
of transparency,  about  him, and especially  about  the left  hand that lay 
outside upon the coverlet. 
     `Still that must be expected,' said Gandalf to himself. `He is not half 
through  yet,  and to what  he  will  come in the  end  not even  Elrond can 
foretell. Not  to evil, I think. He may become  like a glass filled  with  a  
clear light for eyes to see that can.' 
     `You look splendid,' he  said aloud. `I  will risk a brief tale without 
consulting Elrond. But quite brief, mind you, and then you must sleep again. 
This is what happened, as far  as I can gather. The Riders made straight for


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The  black  horses were  filled  with madness, and leaping  forward  in 
terror  they bore their riders  into the rushing flood. Their piercing cries 
were drowned in the roaring of the river as it carried them away. Then Frodo 
felt himself  falling,  and  the  roaring and  confusion seemed  to rise and 
engulf him together with his enemies. He heard and saw no more.


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working inwards.' 
     Frodo shuddered, remembering the cruel knife  with notched  blade  that 
had vanished in Strider's  hands. `Don't be alarmed!' said Gandalf.  `It  is 
gone  now.  It  has  been  melted.  And  it  seems  that  Hobbits fade  very 
reluctantly.  I  have known strong  warriors of  the Big  People  who  would 
quickly have  been overcome by  that splinter, which you bore  for seventeen 
days.' 
     `What would they have done  to me?' asked Frodo. `What  were the Riders 
trying to do?' 
     'They tried to pierce your heart with a  Morgul-knife  which remains in 
the wound. If they had succeeded, you would  have become like they are, only 
weaker and  under their  command. You  would have became a wraith under  
the 
dominion of  the Dark Lord;  and he would have tormented you   for trying  to 
keep his Ring,  if any greater torment were possible than being robbed of it 
and seeing it on his hand.'


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powers  in  the world,  for good  or for evil. Some are  greater  than I am. 
Against  some  I  have not  yet been measured. But my  time  is  coming. The 
Morgul-lord and his Black Riders have come forth. War is preparing!' 
     `Then you knew of the Riders already -before I met them?' 
     'Yes, I knew of them. Indeed I spoke of them once to you; for the Black  
Riders are the Ringwraiths, the Nine Servants of the Lord of the Rings.  But 
I did not know  that they had arisen again or I should have fled with you at 
once. I heard news  of them only after  I left you in  June; but that  story 
must wait. For the moment we have been saved from disaster, by Aragorn.' 
     'Yes,'  said Frodo, `it was Strider that saved  us. Yet I was afraid of 
him at first. Sam never quite trusted him. I think, not at any rate until we 
met Glorfindel.'


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####-all see their horses?' 
     `Because  they are real horses; just as the black robes are real  robes 
that they wear to give shape  to their  nothingness when  they have dealings 
with the living.' 
     `Then  why do these black  horses endure such riders? All other animals 
are terrified when  they draw  near, even  the elf-horse of  Glorfindel. The 
dogs howl and the geese scream at them.' 
     `Because these horses are born and bred to the service of the Dark Lord 
in Mordor. Not all his servants and chattels are wraiths! There are orcs and 
trolls, there are wargs  and werewolves; and there have been  and  still are 
many Men,  warriors and kings,  that walk alive under  the  Sun, and yet are 
under his sway. And their number is growing daily.' 
     `What about Rivendell and the Elves? Is Rivendell safe?' 
     `Yes,  at present,  until all else is conquered. The Elves may fear the 
Dark Lord, and they may fly before him, but  never aga in will they listen to


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consulting Elrond. But quite brief, mind you, and then you must sleep again. 
This is what happened, as far  as I can gather. The Riders made straight for  
you, as soon as you fled. They did not need the guidance of their horses any  
longer: you  had become visible to  them, being already on the threshold  of 
their world. And also the Ring drew them. Your friends sprang aside, off the 
road, or they would have been ridden down. They knew that nothing could save 
you,  if  the white horse could  not. The Riders were too swift to overtake, 
and too many to oppose.  On foot even  Glorfindel and Aragorn together could 
not with stand all the Nine at once. 
     `When the Ringwraiths  swept  by, your friends ran up behind.  Close to 
the Ford  there is a small hollow  beside  the  road masked by a few stunted 
trees.  There they hastily  kindled fire; for  Glorfindel knew that a  flood 
would come down, if  the Riders  tried  to cross,  and then he would have to


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####-longer felt in need of rest or sleep, but had a mind for food and drink, and 
probably  for singing and story-telling  afterwards. He got  out of  bed and 
discovered that his  arm was  already nearly as useful again as it ever  had 
been. He found  laid ready  clean garments  of  green cloth that  fitted him 
excellently. Looking  in a mirror  he  was  startled to see  a  much thinner  
reflection  of  himself than  he remembered: it  looked remarkably like  the 
young nephew of Bilbo who used to go tramping  with his uncle in  the Shire; 
but the eyes looked out at him thoughtfully. 
     `Yes, you  have seen a thing or two since  you last  peeped  out  of  a  
looking-glass,' he said to his reflection. 'But now for a merry meeting!' 
     He stretched out his arms and whistled a tune. 
     At that moment there  was a knock on the door,  and Sam came in. He ran 
to Frodo and took his left hand,  awkwardly and shyly. He stroked it  gently


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the 
dominion of  the Dark Lord;  and he would have tormented you   for trying  to 
keep his Ring,  if any greater torment were possible than being robbed of it 
and seeing it on his hand.' 
     'Thank goodness  I  did  not  realize the horrible danger!' said  Frodo 
faintly. I was mortally afraid, of course; but if I had k nown more, I should 
not have dared even to move. It is a marvel that I escaped!' 
     'Yes, fortune or fate have helped you,' said Gandalf,  `not  to mention 
courage. For your heart was not touched, and only your shoulder was pierced; 
and that  was because you resisted to the last. But it was a terribly narrow 
shave, so to  speak. You were in gravest peril while you  wore the Ring, for  
then you were half in the wraith-world yourself, and they might have  seized  
you. You could see them, and they could see you. ' 
     `I know,' said Frodo.  `They were terrible to behold! But why  could we


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####-summer still lingered in Elrond's gardens.  
     `Hurray!' cried Pippin, springing  up.  `Here is our noble cousin! Make 
way for Frodo, Lord of the Ring!' 
     'Hush!' said Gandalf from the shadows at the back  of the  porch. `Evil 
things do  not  come into this valley; but all  the same we should not  name 
them. The Lord of the Ring is not Frodo, but the master of the Dark Tower of 
Mordor, whose  power is  again stretching out over the world! We are sitting  
in a fortress. Outside it is getting dark.' 
     `Gandalf  has been saying many cheerful things like that,' said Pippin. 
`He thinks I need keeping in  order.  But it  seems impossible, somehow,  to  
feel  gloomy or depressed in  this place. I feel I could sing, if I knew the 
right song for the occasion.' 
     `I feel  like singing myself,' laughed Frodo. `Thou gh  at the moment  I  
feel more like eating and drinking!' 
     `That  will  soon  be cured,'  said  Pippin. `You have shown your usual


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until I sent him off to get some rest, about half an hour ago.' 
     `What happened at the Ford?' said Frodo. `It all seemed so dim somehow; 
and it still does.' 
     'Yes,  it  would.  You were beginning to fade,' answered  Gandalf. 'The 
wound was overcoming you at last. A few more hours and you  would have  
been 
beyond  our aid.  But you have some strength in you, my dear  hobbit! As you 
showed in the  Barrow. That was touch and  go: perhaps  the  most  dangerous


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`Yes,  at present,  until all else is conquered. The Elves may fear the 
Dark Lord, and they may fly before him, but  never aga in will they listen to 
him or serve him. And here in Rivendell there live  still some of his  chief 
foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They  
do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the  Blessed  Realm 
live at  once in both worlds, and against both the  Seen and the Unseen they 
have great power.' 
     'I  thought that I saw  a white figure that shone and did not  grow dim 
like the others. Was that Glorfindel then?' 
     'Yes, you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the 
mighty  of  the Firstborn. He is an Elf-lord  of a  house of princes. Indeed 
there is a power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: 
and elsewhere other powers still dwell. There is power, too, of another kind


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`I feel  like singing myself,' laughed Frodo. `Thou gh  at the moment  I  
feel more like eating and drinking!' 
     `That  will  soon  be cured,'  said  Pippin. `You have shown your usual 
cunning in getting up just in time for a meal.' 
     `More than meal!  A  feast!'  said  Merry. `As soon as Gandalf reported 
that  you were  recovered, the  preparations began.' He  had hardly finished 
speaking when they were summoned to the hall by the ringing of many bells. 
     The  hall of Elrond's house was filled with folk: Elves  for  the  most  
part,  though there wer e a  few guests of other  sorts.  Elrond, as  was his 
custom, sat in a great chair at the end of the long table upon the dais; and 
next to him on the one side sat Glorfindel, on the other side sat Gandalf.  
     Frodo looked at them in wonder, for he had never before seen Elrond, of 
whom  so many tales spoke; and as they sat upon his right hand and his left,


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there is a power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: 
and elsewhere other powers still dwell. There is power, too, of another kind 
in the Shire. But all  such places will soon  become islands under siege, if 
things  go  on  as they are going. The Dark  Lord is  putting forth all  his 
strength. 
     `Still,' he said, standing suddenly up and sticking out his chin. while 
his beard went  stiff and straight like bristling wire, `we must keep up our 
courage. You will  soon be  well, if I do not talk you  to death. You are in 
Rivendell, and you need not worry about anything for the present.' 
     'I haven't any courage to  keep up,'  said Frodo, `but I am not worried 
at  the moment. Just give me news of my friends, and tell  me the end of the  
affair at the  Ford, as I  keep on asking,  and I shall be  content  for the 
present. After that  I  shall have  another sleep, I  think; but I shan't be


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trees.  There they hastily  kindled fire; for  Glorfindel knew that a  flood 
would come down, if  the Riders  tried  to cross,  and then he would have to 
deal with any that were left on his side of the river. The moment the  flood 
appeared, he rushed  out, followed by  Aragorn and the. others  with flaming  
brands. Caught between  fire and water, and seeing  an Elf-lord revealed  in 
his wrath, they were dismayed, and their  horses were stricken with madness. 
Three were  carried away by the first assault  of the flood; the others were 
now hurled into the water by their horses and overwhelmed.' 
     'And is that the end of the Black Riders?' asked Frodo. 
     'No,' said Gandalf. 'Their horses must have perished,  and without them 
they  are crippled.  But  the  Ringwraiths  themselves cannot  be  so easily 
destroyed. However, there is nothing more to fear from them at present. Your 
friends crossed after the  flood had passed; and they found you lying on your


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At that moment there  was a knock on the door,  and Sam came in. He ran 
to Frodo and took his left hand,  awkwardly and shyly. He stroked it  gently  
and then he blushed and turned hastily away. 
     `Hullo, Sam!' said Frodo. 
     `It's  warm!' said Sam. `Meaning your hand, Mr.  Frodo. It has  felt so 
cold through  the long nights. But glory  and trumpets!'  he cried,  turning 
round again with shining  eyes and dancing  on  the floor. 'It's fine to see 
you up and yourself again, sir! Gandalf asked me to come and see if you were 
ready to come down, and I thought he was joking.' 
     'I  am ready,' said Frodo.  'Let's  go  and  look  for the rest  of the 
party!' 
     `I can  take you to them,  sir,' said Sam. `It's a  big house this, and 
very  peculiar. Always a bit more to discover,  and no  knowing  what  you'll 
find round a corner. And Elves, sir! Elves  here, and Elves there! Some like 
kings, terrible and splendid;  and some  as merry as children. And the music


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####-from  Dale  to Rivendell  would long  ago  have become  impossible. They are 
valiant men and keep open  the High Pass  and the Ford of Carrock. But their 
tolls are high,' he added with a shake of his  head;  `and like Beorn of old 
they are not over fond of dwarves. Still, they are trusty,  and that is much 
in these days. Nowhere are there any men so friendly to  us  as the  Men  of 
Dale. They  are  good  folk,  the Bardings. The  grandson of Bard the Bowman 
rules  them,  Brand son of Bain  son of Bard. He is a  strong king.  and his 
realm now reaches far south and east of Esgaroth.' 
     'And what of your own people?' asked Frodo. 
     `There is much  to tell, good and bad,' said  Gluin; 'yet it  is mostly 
good:  we have so far been fortunate, though  we do not escape the shadow of 
these  times. If you  really  wish  to  hear of us, I will tell  you tidings 
gladly.  But stop  me when  you are  weary!  Dwarves'  tongues  run  on when


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destroyed. However, there is nothing more to fear from them at present. Your 
friends crossed after the  flood had passed; and they found you lying on your  
face at the top of the  bank, with  a broken sword under you. The horse  was


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Frodo looked at them in wonder, for he had never before seen Elrond, of 
whom  so many tales spoke; and as they sat upon his right hand and his left,  
Glorfindel, and even Gandalf, whom he thought he knew so well, were 
revealed 
as lords of dignity and power. Gandalf was shorter in stature than the other 
two; but his  long  white  hair, his  sweeping silver beard, and  his  broad 
shoulders, made him look like some wise king of ancient  legend. In his aged 
face under  great snowy brows  his dark eyes  were set like coals that could 
leap suddenly into fire. 
     Glorfindel  was tall and straight;  his  hair was of shining gold,  his 
face fair and young and fearless and full  of  joy; his eyes were bright and 
keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom, and  in his hand was 
strength. 
     The face  of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was


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####-standing guard beside you. You were  pale and cold, and they feared that you 
were  dead,  or  worse.  Elrond's folk met them, carrying you slowly towards 
Rivendell.' 
     `Who made the flood?' asked Frodo. 
     'Elrond  commanded it,' answered  Gandalf. `The river of this valley is 
under his power, and it will rise in anger when he has great need to bar the 
Ford.  As soon as the  captain  of the Ringwraiths rode into  the  water the 
flood was released.  If I may say so, I added a few touches of  my  own: you  
may  not have noticed, but some of the waves  took the  form of  great white 
horses with shining  white riders; and there wer e many rolling and  grinding 
boulders. For a moment  I was afraid that  we  had let  loose too  fierce  a  
wrath, and the flood would get out of hand  and  wash you all away. There is 
great vigour  in  the  waters  that come down  from the snows  of  the Misty 
Mountains.'


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find round a corner. And Elves, sir! Elves  here, and Elves there! Some like 
kings, terrible and splendid;  and some  as merry as children. And the music 
and the singing-not that I have had the time or the heart for much listening 
since we got here. But I'm getting to know some of the ways of the place.' 
     'I know  what you have  been doing,  Sam,' said Frodo,  taking his arm. 
'But you  shall be merry tonight,  and listen to your  heart's content. Come 
on, guide me round the corners!' 
     Sam led him  along several passages and down many steps and out  into a 
high garden above the  steep bank of the river. He found his friends sitting 
in a  porch on the side of the house looking east. Shadows had fallen in the 
valley below,  but there was still a light on the faces of the mountains far 
above. The air was warm. The sound of running  and falling  water  was loud, 
and the evening  was filled with a  faint scent  of trees and flowers, as if


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####-hoped you would manage it. Well,  well! So  all this  feasting  is  in  your 
honour, I hear. I hope you enjoyed yourself?' 
     'Why weren't  you there?' cried Frodo.  `And why haven't I been allowed 
to see you before?' 
     `Because you were asleep. I have seen a good deal of you. I have sat by 
your  side with Sam each day. But as for  the feast` I don't go in  for such 
things much now. And I had something else to do.' 
     `What were you doing?' 
     `Why, sitting and thinking.  I do  a lot of that  nowadays, and this is 
the best place to do it in, as a rule. Wake up, indeed!' he said, cocking an 
eye at Elrond.  There was a  bright  twinkle in it and no sign of sleepiness 
that Frodo could see. `Wake up! I was not asleep. Master Elrond. If you want 
to  know,  you  have  all come  out from your  feast too  soon, and  you have 
disturbed me-in the middle of making up a song. I was stuck  over a line  or


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these  times. If you  really  wish  to  hear of us, I will tell  you tidings 
gladly.  But stop  me when  you are  weary!  Dwarves'  tongues  run  on when 
speaking of their handiwork, they say.' 
     And with that  Gluin embarked on a long  account of the doings  of  the 
Dwarf-kingdom.  He  was delighted  to have found  so polite a  listener; for  
Frodo showed no sign of weariness and made no attempt to change the subject, 
though  actually he  soon  got rather lost among the strange names of people 
and places that he had never heard of before. He was interested, however, to 
hear that Dbin was  still  King under the  Mountain, and was now old (having 
passed  his two hundred  and fiftieth year), venerable, and fabulously rich. 
Of the ten companions who had survived the Battle of Five Armies  seven were 
still with him: Dwalin, Gluin, Dori, Nori,  Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Bombur 
was now so fat that he could not move himself from his couch to his chair at


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####-course. Gandalf has been here often. Not  that he has told me a  great deal, 
he has become closer than ever these last few years. The D®nadan has told me 
more. Fancy that ring of mine causing such a disturbance! It  is a pity that 
Gandalf did not find out more sooner. I  could  have brought  the thing here 
myself  long ago without  so much trouble. I have  thought several  times of 
going back to Hobbiton for it; but I am getting old, and they  would not let 
me: Gandalf and Elrond,  I  mean.  They seemed  to  think that the Enemy was 
looking high and low for me, and would make mincemeat of me, if he caught 
me 
tottering about in the Wild. 
     'And Gandalf said: "The Ring has passed on,  Bilbo. It would do no good 
to  you or to others, if you tried to meddle  with it  again." Odd  sort  of 
remark,  just like Gandalf. But he said he was looking after  you, so I  let 
things be. I am frightfully glad to  see  you safe and sound.' He paused and 
looked at Frodo doubtfully.


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wrath, and the flood would get out of hand  and  wash you all away. There is 
great vigour  in  the  waters  that come down  from the snows  of  the Misty 
Mountains.' 
     `Yes,  it all  comes  back  to  me now,'  said  Frodo:  'the tremendous 
roaring. I thought I was drowning, with my friends  and enemies and all. But 
now we are safe!' 
     Gandalf  looked quickly at Frodo,  but he had shut his  eyes. 'Yes, you  
are all safe for the present. Soon there will be feasting and merrymaking to 
celebrate the  victory at the Ford  of Bruinen, and you will all be there in 
places of honour.' 
     'Splendid!' said Frodo. `It is  wonderful  that Elrond, and  Glorfindel 
and such great lords, not to  mention Strider, should take so  much  trouble 
and show me so much kindness.' 
     `Well, there  are many reasons why they should,' said Gandalf, smiling. 
`I am one good reason. The Ring is another: you are the Ring-bearer.  And you  
are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder.'


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####-written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark 
as the shadows of twilight, and upon  it  was set  a circlet  of silver; his 
eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of 
stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale 
as  a tried warrior in  the  fulness  of  his strength.  He was the Lord  of 
Rivendell and mighty among both Elves and Men. 
     In  the  middle of the table, against  the  woven cloths upon the wall, 
there  was a chair under  a canopy, and there sat a lady fair to look  upon, 
and so like was she in form of womanhood  to Elrond that Frodo  guessed that 
she was one of his  close kindred. Young she was  and yet not so. The braids 
of her dark  hair were touched  by no frost, her white arms and  clear  face 
were  flawless and smooth,  and the light  of stars was in  her bright eyes,  
grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge


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####-of  memory.  The light  and music  of  Rivendell was about  him again. Bilbo 
smiled  and laughed happily. Every  item  of news  from the Shire that Frodo 
could  tell-aided and corrected now and again  by  Sam-was  of the  greatest  
interest to  him, from the felling of  the least tree to the  pranks of  the 
smallest child  in  Hobbiton. They were so deep in  the doings  of  the Four 
Farthings that they did not  notice  the arrival of a man clad in dark green 
cloth. For many minutes he stood looking down at them with a smile. 
     Suddenly  Bilbo  looked  up. 'Ah, there you are  at last,  D®nadan!' he 
cried. 
     `Strider!' said Frodo. `You seem to have a lot of names.' 
     `Well, Strider is one that I haven't heard before, anyway,' said Bilbo. 
`What do you call him that for?' 
     `They call me that in Bree,' said Strider laughing, 'and that is how  I 
was introduced to him.' 
     `And why do you call him D®nadan?' asked Frodo.


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####-cavernous streets under the earth with  arches  carved  like trees;  and the 
terraces and  towers upon the Mountain's  sides! Then you would  see that we 
have not been idle.' 
     'I will come and see them, if  ever I can,' said  Frodo. 'How surprised 
Bilbo would have been to see all the changes in the Desolation of Smaug!' 
     Gluin looked at Frodo and smiled. 'You were very fond of Bilbo were you 
not?' he asked. 
     `Yes,' answered Frodo. 'I would rather see him than all  the towers and 
palaces in the world.' 
     At length the feast came to an end. Elrond and Arwen rose and went down 
the hall, and the company followed them in due  order. The doors were thrown 
open, and they went across a  wide passage and through other doors, and came 
into a further hall.  In it were no tables, but a bright fire was burning in 
a great hearth between the carven pillars upon either side. 
     Frodo found himself  walking with  Gandalf. `This  is the Hall of Fire'


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still with him: Dwalin, Gluin, Dori, Nori,  Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Bombur 
was now so fat that he could not move himself from his couch to his chair at 
table, and it took six young dwarves to lift him. 
     'And what has become of Balin and Ori and Uin?' asked Frodo. 
     A shadow passed  over Gluin's face.  `We do not know,' he answered. 'It 
is largely  on account of  Balin that I have come to ask the advice of those 
that dwell in Rivendell. But tonight let us speak of merrier things!' 
     Gluin began then  to talk  of the works of  his  people,  telling Frodo 
about their  great  labours in Dale  and under the  Mountain. 'We have  done 
well,' he  said. `But  in  metalwork  we cannot rival  our fathers, many  of 
whose. secrets are lost. We make good armour and keen swords, but  we cannot 
again make mail or blade  to match  those  that were  made before the dragon 
came. Only in mining and building have we surpassed the old days. You should


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####-     Next to Frodo  on his right sat a dwarf of important appearance, richly 
dressed. His beard, very long and forked, was  white, nearly as white as the 
snow-white cloth  of his garments. He wore a silver belt, and round his neck  
hung a chain of silver and diamonds. Frodo stopped eating to look at him. 
     'Welcome  and well met!'  said the dwarf, turning towards  him. Then he 
actually rose from his seat and bowed. `Gluin at your service,' he said, and 
bowed still lower. 
     'Frodo  Baggins  at  your  service  and  your   family's,'  said  Frodo 
correctly, rising  in surprise and scattering  his cushions. 'Am I right  in 
guessing that you are the  Gluin, one of the twelve companions of the  great 
Thorin Oakenshield?' 
     `Quite  right,'  answered  the dwarf,  gathering up  the  cushions  and 
courteously assist ing  Frodo back  into his seat. 'And I do  not ask, for  I 
have  already been  told that you  are  the  kinsman and adopted heir of our


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remark,  just like Gandalf. But he said he was looking after  you, so I  let 
things be. I am frightfully glad to  see  you safe and sound.' He paused and 
looked at Frodo doubtfully. 
     `Have  you got it here?' he asked  in a whisper. `I  ca n't help feeling 
curious,  you know, after all I've heard. I  should very much like  just  to 
peep at it again.' 
     `Yes, I've  got  it,' answered Frodo, feeling a strange reluctance. `It 
looks just the same as ever it did.' 
     `Well, I should just lik e to see it for a moment,' said Bilbo. 
     When he had dressed, Frodo found  that while he slept the Ring had been 
hung about his neck on a new chain, light but strong. Slowly he drew it out. 
Bilbo  put  out  his hand.  But Frodo  quickly drew  back the Ring.  To  his 
distress  and  amazement he found that he was no  longer looking at Bilbo; a  
shadow seemed to  have fallen between them, and through it he found  himself


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were  flawless and smooth,  and the light  of stars was in  her bright eyes,  
grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge 
were in  her  glance, as  of  one  who has known  many things that the years 
bring. Above her brow her head was covered with  a cap of silver lace netted 
with small gems, glittering white; but her soft grey raiment had no ornament 
save a girdle of leaves wrought in silver. 
     So it was  that Frodo saw  her whom few  mortals  had yet seen;  Arwen,  
daughter  of Elrond,  in whom it  was said  that the likeness of L®thien had 
come on earth again; and she was called  Undumiel, for she was  the Evenstar 
of her people. Long she had been in the land of her mother's kin,  in Lurien 
beyond  the mountains,  and  was  but  lately  returned to Rivendell  to her  
father's  house.  But  her  brothers, Elladan and  Elrohir,  were  out  upon 
errantry: for  they rode often far  afield with the  Rangers  of  the North,


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`Well, there  are many reasons why they should,' said Gandalf, smiling. 
`I am one good reason. The Ring is another: you are the Ring-bearer.  And you  
are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder.' 
     `Dear Bilbo!' said Frodo sleepily. `I wonder where he is. I wish he was 
here and could hear  all  about it.  It would have  made  him laugh, The cow 
jumped  over the  Moon!  And  the poor old troll!'  With that he  fell  fast  
asleep. 
     Frodo was now safe in the Last Homely House east of the Sea. That house 
was, as Bilbo had long ago reported, `a perfect house, whether you like food 
or sleep, or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or 
a  pleasant  mixture  of  them all'.  Merely  to  be  there was  a cure  for  
weariness, fear, and sadness.  
     As the evening drew on, Frodo  woke up again, and he found  that  he no


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`What do you call him that for?' 
     `They call me that in Bree,' said Strider laughing, 'and that is how  I 
was introduced to him.' 
     `And why do you call him D®nadan?' asked Frodo. 
     `The D®nadan,' said Bilbo. `He is often called that here. But I thought 
you  knew  enough  Elvish  at  least to  know  d®n-udan: Man  of  the  West, 
N®menorean. But this is not the time for lessons!' He turned to Strider. 
     `Where have you been, my friend? Why weren't you at the feast? The Lady 
Arwen was there.' 
     Strider looked down at Bilbo gravely. `I  know,'  he said. 'But often I 
must put  mirth aside. Elladan  and Elrohir  have returned  out  of the Wild 
unlooked-for, and they had tidings that I wished to hear at once.' 
     `Well, my  dear fellow,' said  Bilbo, `now you've heard the news, can't  
you spare me  a moment?  I want your help in  something urgent.  Elrond says 
this song of mine is to be finished  before the end of the evening, and I am


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again make mail or blade  to match  those  that were  made before the dragon 
came. Only in mining and building have we surpassed the old days. You should 
see  the  waterways of Dale,  Frodo, and the fountains, and  the pools!  You  
should  see  the  stone-paved roads  of  many  colours! And  the  halls  and


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father's  house.  But  her  brothers, Elladan and  Elrohir,  were  out  upon 
errantry: for  they rode often far  afield with the  Rangers  of  the North, 
forgetting never their mother's torment in the dens of the orcs.  
     Such loveliness  in  living  thing  Frodo had  never  seen  before  nor  
imagined in his mind; and he was both surprised and abashed to find  that he 
had a seat at  Elrond's table among all these  folk so high and fair. Though 
he had a suitable chair, and was raised upon several  cushions, he felt very 
small, and  rather out of place; but that  feeling quickly passed. The feast  
was  merry and  the food all that his  hunger could desire. It was some time 
before he looked about him again or even turned to his neighbours. 
     He  looked first for his friends. Sam had begged to be  allowed to wait 
on his  master, but had been  told that  for this  time he  was  a  guest of 
honour. Frodo could see him  now, sitting with Pippin and Merry at the upper


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courteously assist ing  Frodo back  into his seat. 'And I do  not ask, for  I 
have  already been  told that you  are  the  kinsman and adopted heir of our 
friend Bilbo the renowned. Allow me to congratulate you on your recovery.' 
     `Thank you very much,' said Frodo. 
     'You have had  some very strange  adventures, I hear,'  said  Gluin. 'I  
wonder greatly  what brings  four hobbits  on so long a journey. Nothing like 
it  has happened  since Bilbo came with us. But perhaps I should not inquire 
too closely, since Elrond and Gandalf do not seem disposed to talk of this?' 
     'I  think  we  will not  speak  of it,  at least not  yet,' said  Frodo 
politely. 
     He guessed that  even in Elrond's house the matter of  the Ring was not 
one for casual talk; and in any case he wished to forget his  troubles for a  
time. 'But  I am  equally  curious,'  he  added,  `to learn what  brings  so 
important a dwarf so far from the Lonely Mountain.'


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you spare me  a moment?  I want your help in  something urgent.  Elrond says 
this song of mine is to be finished  before the end of the evening, and I am 
stuck. Let's go off into a corner and polish it up!' 
     Strider smiled. `Come then!' he said. `Let me hear it!' 
     Frodo  was left  to himself  for a while. for Sam had fallen asleep. He 
was  alone and felt rather forlorn`  although  all  about  him  the  folk of 
Rivendell were gathered. But  those near  him were silent,  intent upon  the 
music of the voices and the instruments. and they  gave no heed to  anything 
else. Frodo began to listen. 
     At first the beauty of the  melodies  and  of  the interwoven  words in 
elven-tongues, even though he understood  them little` held him in  a spell, 
as soon as  he began to attend to them. Almost it seemed that the words took  
shape, and  visions of  far la nds  and  bright things that he had  never yet


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to  know,  you  have  all come  out from your  feast too  soon, and  you have 
disturbed me-in the middle of making up a song. I was stuck  over a line  or  
two, and was thinking  about them; but  now I don't suppose I shall ever get  
them right.  There will  be such a deal of singing  that  the  ideas wi ll be 
driven clean out  of my head.  I  shall have to get my friend the D®nadan to 
help me. Where is he?' 
     Elrond laughed. `He  shall  be found,' he  said. `Then you two shall go 
into a corner  and finish your task, and we will hear it and judge it before 
we end our merrymaking.' Messengers were sent to find Bilbo's friend, though 
none knew where he was, or why he had not been present at the feast. 
     In the meanwhile Frodo and Bilbo sat side by side, and Sam came quickly 
and placed himself near them. They talked together in soft voices, oblivious 
of the mirth and music in the hall about them.  Bilbo had not much to say of


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####-     the yellow gold and jewels wan. 
     He saw the Mountain silent rise 
     where twilight lies upon the knees 
     of Valinor, and Eldamar 
     beheld afar beyond the seas. 
     A wanderer escaped from night 
     to haven white he came at last, 
     to Elvenhome the green and fair 
     where keen the air, where pale as glass 
     beneath the Hill of Ilmarin  
     a-glimmer in a valley sheer 
     the lamplit towers of Tirion 
     are mirrored on the Shadowmere. 
 
     He tarried there from errantry, 
     and melodies they taught to him, 
     and sages old him marvels told, 
     and harps of gold they brought to him. 
     They clothed him then in elven-white, 
     and seven lights before him sent, 
     as through the Calacirian 
     to hidden land forlorn he went. 
     He came unto the timeless halls 
     where shining fall the countless years, 
     and endless reigns the Elder King 
     in Ilmarin on Mountain sheer;


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on his  master, but had been  told that  for this  time he  was  a  guest of 
honour. Frodo could see him  now, sitting with Pippin and Merry at the upper  
end  of  one of  the side-tables close to  the dais. He could see no sign of 
Strider.


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time. 'But  I am  equally  curious,'  he  added,  `to learn what  brings  so 
important a dwarf so far from the Lonely Mountain.' 
     Gluin looked at him. 'If you have not heard, I  think we will not speak 
yet  of that either. Master  Elrond will summon us all ere long,  I believe, 
and  then we shall all hear many things. But there is much else that  may be 
told.' 
     Throughout the  rest  of  the  meal  they talked  together,  but  Frodo 
listened more than he spoke; for the news of the Shire, apart from the Ring, 
seemed small and far-away and unimportant. while  Gluin had much to tell  of 
events in the northern regions of Wilderland.  Frodo  learned that Grimbeorn 
the Old, son of  Beorn, was now the lord  of  many sturdy men ,  and to their  
land between the Mountains and Mirkwood neither orc nor wolf dared to go.  
     'lndeed,' said Gluin,  `if it were not for  the  Beornings, the passage


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and placed himself near them. They talked together in soft voices, oblivious 
of the mirth and music in the hall about them.  Bilbo had not much to say of 
himself. When  he had left Hobbiton he had wandered off aimlessly, along the 
Road or in the country on either side;  but  somehow  he had steered all the 
time towards Rivendell. `I got here without  much adventure,' he  said, `and 
after  a rest I went on with  the dwarves to Dale: my last journey. I shan't  
travel again.  Old  Balin had gone away. Then I came  back  here, and here I  
have been. I have done this and that. I have  written some more of my  book. 
And, of course, I make  up a few songs. They sing them occasionally: just to 
please  me,  I think; for, of  course,  they aren't really  good  enough for  
Rivendell. And I listen and  I think. Time doesn't seem to pass here: it just  
is. A remarkable place altogether. 
     `I  hear  all kinds of  news,  from  over the Mountains, and out of the


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####-would be too tiring to repeat it all.' 
     'Not too  tiring  for you,' the Elves answered laughing.  'You k now you  
are never tired  of reciting  your own verses.  But really  we cannot answer  
your question at one hearing!' 
     `What!' cried Bilbo. 'You can't tell which parts were  mine,  and which 
were the D®nadan's?' 
     'It is not easy for us to tell the difference between two mortals' said 
the Elf.  
     'Nonsense, Lindir,'  snorted Bilbo. 'If you can't distinguish between a  
Man  and a Hobbit,  your  judgement is  poorer than  I  imagined. They're as 
different as peas and apples.' 
     'Maybe.  To  sheep  other sheep no  doubt  appear  different,'  laughed 
Lindir. `Or to shepherds. But Mortals have not been our study. We have other  
business.' 
     'I won't  argue with you,' said Bilbo. 'I am sleepy after so much music 
and singing. I'll leave you to guess, if  you want to.' 
     He got up and came towards Frodo. 'Well, that's over,' he said in a low


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to hidden land forlorn he went. 
     He came unto the timeless halls 
     where shining fall the countless years, 
     and endless reigns the Elder King 
     in Ilmarin on Mountain sheer; 
     and words unheard were spoken then 
     of folk of Men and Elven-kin, 
     beyond the world were visions showed 
     forbid to those that dwell therein. 
 
     A ship then new they built for him 
     of mithril and of elven-glass 
     with shining prow; no shaven oar 
     nor sail she bore on silver mast: 
     the Silmaril as lantern light 
     and banner bright with living flame


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distress  and  amazement he found that he was no  longer looking at Bilbo; a  
shadow seemed to  have fallen between them, and through it he found  himself 
eyeing a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands.  
He felt a desire to strike him. 
     The music  and singing round them seemed  to falter and a silence fell. 
Bilbo looked quickly at Frodo's face and passed his hand across his eyes. `I  
understand  now,' he said. `Put it away! I am sorry: sorry you have  come in 
for this burden: sorry about everything.  Don't adventures ever have an end?  
I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story. Well, it can't  
be helped. I wonder if it's any good  trying  to finish my  book? But  don't 
let's  worry about it now-let 's have some real News! Tell  me all about  the 
Shire!' 
     Frodo hid the Ring away, and the shadow passed leaving hardly  a  shred


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####-as long as you don't make a noise.' 
     They  got  up and withdrew quietly into the shadows, and made  for  the 
doors. Sam they left behind, fast asleep still with a  smile on his face. In 
spite of his delight in  Bilbo's company Frodo felt a tug of  regret as they 
passed  out of the Hall of Fire.  Even as they  stepped over the threshold a  
single clear voice rose in song. 
     A Elbereth Gilthoniel, 
     silivren penna mnriel 
     o menel aglar elenath! 
     Na-chaered palan -dnriel 
     o galadhremmin ennorath, 
     Fanuilos, le linnathon 
     nef aear, sn nef aearon! 
     Frodo halted  for a moment,  looking back. Elrond was in his  chair and 
the  fire was on his face like summer -light upon the trees. Near him sat the 
Lady Arwen. To  his surprise  Frodo saw that Aragorn stood  beside  her; his 
dark cloak was thrown back, and he seemed  to be  clad  in elven-mail, and a  
star shone  on his breast.  They spoke together, and then suddenly it seemed


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Rivendell. And I listen and  I think. Time doesn't seem to pass here: it just  
is. A remarkable place altogether. 
     `I  hear  all kinds of  news,  from  over the Mountains, and out of the 
South,  but  hardly  anything  from the Shire.  I heard  about  the Ring, of


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and singing. I'll leave you to guess, if  you want to.' 
     He got up and came towards Frodo. 'Well, that's over,' he said in a low 
voice. `It went off  better than  I expected. I don't often get asked for  a  
second hearing. What did you think of it?' 
     `I am not going to try and guess,' said Frodo smiling. 
     `You needn't,' said Bilbo. `As a matter of fact it was all mine. Except 
that Aragorn insisted  on my putting in a green stone. He seemed to think it 
important. I don't know  why. Otherwise he obviously thought the whole thing 
rather above my head, and  he  said that if I had  the cheek to make  verses 
about  Edrendil in the house  of  Elrond, it was my affair. I suppose he was 
right.' 
     'I don't know,' said Frodo. `It seemed to  me  to fit somehow, though I 
can't explain. I was half asleep when you began,  and it seemed to follow on  
from  something that I  was dreaming about.  I didn't understand that it was 
really you speaking until near the end.'


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####-imagined  opened out before him;  and the firelit  hall became like a golden 
mist above seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the  world. Then the 
enchantment  became more and more dreamlike, until  he  felt  that an endless 
river of  swelling gold  and  silver was flowing over him, too multitudinous 
for its  pattern to be comprehended;  it  became part of  the throbbing  air 
about him, and  it  drenched and  drowned him. Swiftly  he  sank  under  its 
shining weight into a deep realm of sleep. 
     There  he wandered long in a dream of  music  that turned  into running 
water, and  then suddenly into a  voice. It seemed  to be the voice of Bilbo 
chanting verses. Faint at first and then clearer ran the words. 
     Edrendil was a mariner 
     that tarried in Arvernien; 
     he built a boat of timber felled 
     in Nimbrethil to journey in; 
     her sails he wove of silver fair, 
     of silver were her lanterns made, 
     her prow was fashioned like a swan,


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####-his side, and presented him to the company, saying: 
     'Here, my friends is the hobbit, Frodo son of Drogo. Few have ever come 
hither through greater peril or on an errand more urgent.' 
     He then  pointed  out  and named those whom Frodo  had  not met before. 
There was a younger dwarf at Gluin's side: his son Gimli. Beside  Glorfindel  
there were several other counsellors of Elrond's household, of  whom Erestor 
was the chief; and with him was Galdor, an Elf  from the Grey Havens who had 
come on an errand from Cnrdan the Shipwright. There  was also a  strange Elf 
clad in green  and  brown,  Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil,  
the King of the  Elves of Northern Mirkwood. And seated a little apart was a  
tall man with a fair and  noble face,  dark-haired and  grey-eyed, proud and 
stern of glance. 
     He was cloaked and booted as if for a  journey on horseback; and indeed  
though his garments were rich,  and his cloak was lined with  fur, they were


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####-empty since the  children of Durin fled. But now we  spoke of  it again with  
longing, and yet with  dread;  for  no dwarf has dared to pass  the doors of 
Khazad-dym  for many  lives of kings, save Thrur only, and  he  perished. At 
last, however,  Balin  listened to  the whispers,  and resolved   to  go; and 
though Dbin did not  give leave willingly, he took with him  Ori and Uin and 
many of our folk, and they went away south. 
     "That  was  nigh  on thirty  years ago. For a while we had  news and it 
seemed good: messages reported that Moria ha d been entered and a great  work 
begun there.  Then there was silence,  and  no word has ever come from Moria  
since. 
     "Then  about  a  year  ago  a  messenger came  to Dbin,  but  not  from 
Moria -from Mordor: a horseman in the night, who called Dbin to his gate. The 
Lord Sauron the Great, so he said, wished for our friendship. Rings he would 
give for  it, such  as he gave  of  old.  And he  asked urgently  concerning


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can't explain. I was half asleep when you began,  and it seemed to follow on  
from  something that I  was dreaming about.  I didn't understand that it was 
really you speaking until near the end.' 
     `It  is  difficult to  keep awake here, until you get used to it;'  said 
Bilbo.  'Not that hobbits  would ever acquire quite  the elvish appetite for  
music and poetry and tales. They seem to like them as much as food, or more. 
They will be going on  for a long time yet. What  do you say to slipping off 
for some more quiet talk?' 
     `Can we?' said Frodo. 
     `Of course. This is merrymaking not business.  Come and go as you like,


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he built a boat of timber felled 
     in Nimbrethil to journey in; 
     her sails he wove of silver fair, 
     of silver were her lanterns made, 
     her prow was fashioned like a swan, 
     and light upon her banners laid. 
 
     In panoply of ancient kings, 
     in chain‚d rings he armoured him; 
     his shining shield was scored with runes 
     to ward all wounds and harm from him; 
     his bow was made of dragon-horn, 
     his arrows shorn of ebony, 
     of silver was his habergeon, 
     his scabbard of chalcedony; 
     his sword of steel was valiant, 
     of adamant his helmet tall, 
     an eagle -plume upon his crest, 
     upon his breast an emerald. 
 
     Beneath the Moon and under star 
     he wandered far from northern strands, 
     bewildered on enchanted ways 
     beyond the days of mortal lands. 
     From gnashing of the Narrow Ice


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dark cloak was thrown back, and he seemed  to be  clad  in elven-mail, and a  
star shone  on his breast.  They spoke together, and then suddenly it seemed  
to Frodo that Arwen  turned towards him, and the light of  her eyes  fell on 
him from afar and pierced his heart. 
     He  stood still enchanted, while the sweet syllables of the elvish song 
fell like  clear  jewels  of blended  word  and melody. `It  is  a  song  to 
Elbereth,' said Bilbo. `They will sing that, and other songs of the  Blessed 
Realm, many times tonight. Come on!' 
     He led Frodo back to his own little room. It opened on to the  gar dens 
and looked  south across the ravine  of the Bruinen. There they sat for some  
while,  looking  through  the   window   at  the  bright  stars  above   the 
steep-climbing  woods, and  talking softly. They  spoke no more of the small 
news of  the  Shire far  away, nor  of  the dark  shadows  and  perils  that


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stern of glance. 
     He was cloaked and booted as if for a  journey on horseback; and indeed  
though his garments were rich,  and his cloak was lined with  fur, they were 
stained with long travel. He had a  collar of silver in which a single white 
stone was set; his locks  were shorn about his shoulders.  On a  baldric  he 
wore  a  great horn tipped with  silver that now was laid upon his knees. He 
gazed at Frodo and Bilbo with sudden wonder. 
     `Here,' said Elrond,  turning  to Gandalf, `is Boromir, a man  from the 
South. He arrived in the grey morning, and seeks for counsel. I  have bidden 
him to be present, for here his questions will be answered.' 
     Not all that was  spoken and debated in the  Council need now  be told. 
Much was said of events in  the  world outside, especially in the South, and 
in  the wide lands east of the Mountains. Of these things Frodo  had already  
heard many rumours; but the tale of Gluin was new to him, and when the dwarf


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Lord Sauron the Great, so he said, wished for our friendship. Rings he would 
give for  it, such  as he gave  of  old.  And he  asked urgently  concerning 
hobbits, of what kind they were, and where they dwelt.  "For Sauron  knows," 
said he, "that one of these was known to you on a time." 
     'At this we were greatly troubled, and we gave no answer. And  then his 
fell  voice was lowered,  and he  would have sweetened it if he could. "As a  
small token only of your friendship  Sauron asks this,"  he  said: "that you  
should find this thief," such  was  his word, "and get from him, willing  or  
no, a  little  ring, the least of  rings,  that  once he stole. It  is but a  
trifle that Sauron fancies, and an earnest of your good  will.  Find it, and 
three rings that the Dwarf sires possessed of old shall be  returned to you, 
and the realm of Moria shall be yours for ever. Find only news of the thief,  
whether  he  still lives  and where,  and you  shall  have great  reward and


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####-messenger has returned, and has gone unanswered. The third and last time, so 
he says, is soon to come, before the ending of the year. 
     'And so I  have been  sent at last by Dbin  to warn  Bilbo  that  he is 
sought by the Enemy, and to learn, if may be, why he desires this ring, this 
least of rings. Also we crave the advice of Elrond. For the Shadow grows and 
draws nearer.  We discover that messengers  have come also to King  Brand in 
Dale,  and  that he is  afraid. We  fear  that he may yield. Already war  is 
gathering on  his eastern borders.  If we make no answer, the Enemy may move 
Men of his rule to assail King Brand, and Dbin also.' 
     `You  have done well to come,' said Elrond.  `You will  hear today  all 
that you need in order to  understand  the purposes of the  Enemy. There  is 
naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without  it.  But 
you do not stand alone. You will learn that your  trouble is but part of the


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####-     to gleam thereon by Elbereth  
     herself was set, who thither came 
     and wings immortal made for him, 
     and laid on him undying doom, 
     to sail the shoreless skies and come 
     behind the Sun and light of Moon. 
 
     From Evereven's lofty hills 
     where softly silver fountains fall 
     his wings him bore, a wandering light, 
     beyond the mighty Mountain Wall. 
     From World's End then he turned away 
     and yearned again to find afar 
     his home through shadows journeying, 
     and burning as an island star 
     on high above the mists he came, 
     a distant flame before the Sun, 
     a wonder ere the waking dawn  
     where grey the Norland waters run. 
 
     And over Middle -earth he passed 
     and heard at last the weeping sore 
     of women and of elven-maids 
     in Elder Days, in years of yore. 
     gut on him mighty doom was laid, 
     till Moon should fade, an orb‚d star 
     to pass, and tarry never more


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steep-climbing  woods, and  talking softly. They  spoke no more of the small 
news of  the  Shire far  away, nor  of  the dark  shadows  and  perils  that 
encompassed  them,  but  of  the  fair  things  they  had seen in the  world 
together,  of the Elves, of the stars, of trees, and the  gentle fall of the 
bright year in the woods.  
     At last there came  a knock  on the door. `Begging  your pardon,'  said 
Sam,  putting in his head, `but I was just wondering if you would be wanting  
anything.' 
     `And begging yours, Sam Gamgee,' replied  Bilbo. `I guess you mean that 
it is time your master went to bed.'


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in  the wide lands east of the Mountains. Of these things Frodo  had already  
heard many rumours; but the tale of Gluin was new to him, and when the dwarf 
spoke he listened attentively. It appeared that amid the splendour  of their 
works  of  hand  the  hearts of  the  Dwarves of  the  Lonely Mountain  were 
troubled. 
     `It is now many years ago,' said Gluin, `that a shadow of disquiet fell 
upon our people. Whence it came we did not at first perceive. Words began to 
be whispered in secret-: it was said that we were hemmed in  a narrow place, 
and  that greater wealth and splendour would be found in a wider world. Some 
spoke of Moria: the mighty works of our fathers  that are called in  our own 
tongue Khazad-dym; and they  declared that now at last  we had the power and 
numbers to return.' 
     Gluin  sighed. `Moria! Moria! Wonder of the Northern world! Too deep we 
delved there, and woke the nameless fear. Long  have  its vast mansions lain


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and the realm of Moria shall be yours for ever. Find only news of the thief,  
whether  he  still lives  and where,  and you  shall  have great  reward and 
lasting friendship from the Lord. Refuse,  and things will not seem so well. 
Do you refuse?" 
     'At that his breath came like  the hiss of snakes, and all who stood by 
shuddered, but  Dbin said: "I say neither yea nor  nay. I must consider this 
message and what it means under its fair cloak." 
     ' "Consider well, but not too long," said he. 
     ` "The time of my thought is my own to spend," answered Dbin. 
     ' "For the present," said he, and rode into the darkness.  
     'Heavy have the  hearts  of our  chieftains  been since that  night. We 
needed not the fell voice of  the messenger to  warn us that his  words held 
both  menace  and  deceit; for  we knew  already that  the  power  that  has 
re-entered Mordor has not changed, and ever it betrayed us of old. Twice the


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naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without  it.  But 
you do not stand alone. You will learn that your  trouble is but part of the 
trouble of all the western world. The Ring! What shall we do  with the Ring, 
the least of rings, the trifle that Sauron fancies? That is the doom that we 
must deem. 
     `That is the  purpose for which you are  called hither. Called, I  say. 
though  I have not called you to me, strangers from distant lands. You  have 
come and are here met, in this very nick  of time, by chance as it may seem.  
Yet it  is not so. Believe rather that it is  so ordered  that  we, who  sit 
here, and none others, must now find counsel for the peril of the world. 
     `Now, therefore, things  shall be  openly spoken that  have been hidden 
from all  but a few  until this  day. And first, so that all  may understand 
what is the  peril, the  Tale  of the Ring shall be told  from the beginning


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####-     where shadow lies on frozen hills, 
     from nether heats and burning waste  
     he turned in haste, and roving still 
     on starless waters far astray 
     at last he came to Night of Naught, 
     and passed, and never sight he saw 
     of shining shore nor light he sought. 
 
     The winds of wrath came driving him, 
     and blindly in the foam he fled 
     from west to east and errandless, 
     unheralded he homeward sped. 
 
     There flying Elwing came to him, 
     and flame was in the darkness lit; 
     more bright than light of diamond 
     the fire upon her carcanet. 
     The Silmaril she bound on him 
     and crowned him with the living light 
     and dauntless then with burning brow 
     he turned his prow; and in the night 
     from Otherworld beyond the Sea 
     there strong and free a storm arose, 
     a wind of power in Tarmenel; 
     by paths that seldom mortal goes 
     his boat it bore with biting breath


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####-     `Well, sir,  there is a  Council early tomorrow, I hear and he only got 
up today for the first time.' 
     `Quite right, Sam,'  laughed Bilbo. `You can  trot off and tell Gandalf 
that he  has gone to bed. Good night, Frodo! Bless me, but it  has been good  
to see you again! There are no folk like  hobbits  after all for a real good 
talk. I am getting very  old, and I began to wonder if I should ever live to 
see your chapters of  our story. Good night! I'll take a walk, I  think, and 
look at the stars of Elbereth in the garden. Sleep well!' 
 

####- 

Chapter 2. The Council of Elrond


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####-realm. Isildur took it! That is tidings indeed.' 
     `Alas! yes,' said Elrond. `Isildur took it, as should not have been. It 
should have  been cast then into Orodruin's fire nigh  at hand  where it was 
made. But few marked what Isildur did.  He alone stood by his father in that 
last mortal  contest; and by Gil-galad only Cnrdan stood, and I. But Isildur 
would not listen to our counsel. 
     '  "This  I will have as weregild for  my father, and my  brother,"  he 
said; and  therefore whether we would or no, he took  it to treasure it. But 
soon he was betrayed by  it  to  his death; and so  it is named in the North 
Isildur's Bane. Yet death  maybe  was  better  than  what  else  might  have 
befallen him. 
     'Only to the North did  these tidings come, and  only  to a few.  Small 
wonder  it is that you have not heard them,  Boromir. From the  ruin  of the 
Gladden Fields,  where Isildur perished, three men only came ever back  over


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of women and of elven-maids 
     in Elder Days, in years of yore. 
     gut on him mighty doom was laid, 
     till Moon should fade, an orb‚d star 
     to pass, and tarry never more 
     on Hither Shores where mortals are; 
     for ever still a herald on 
     an errand that should never rest 
     to bear his shining lamp afar, 
     the Flammifer of Westernesse. 
     The  chanting  ceased. Frodo opened his eyes  and  saw  that Bilbo  was 
seated  on  his  stool  in  a  circle  of listeners,  who  were smiling   and 
applauding. 
     `Now we had better have it again,' said an Elf. 
     Bilbo got up  and bowed.  `I am  flattered, Lindir,'  he said. 'But  it


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from all  but a few  until this  day. And first, so that all  may understand 
what is the  peril, the  Tale  of the Ring shall be told  from the beginning 
even  to this present.  And I will begin that tale, though others  shall end 
it.' 
     Then all listened while  Elrond in his clear voice  spoke of Sauron and 
the Rings of Power,  and  their forging in the  Second Age of the world long 
ago. A part of his tale was known to some there, but the full  tale to none, 
and  many eyes were turned  t= Elrond in  fear and wonder as he  told of the 
Elven-smiths of Eregion and their friendship with Moria, and their eagerness 
for knowledge,  by which Sauron ensnared them. For  in that time he was  not 
yet evil to  behold, and they received his  aid  and  grew mighty in  craft, 
whereas he learned all their secrets, and betrayed them, and forged secretly 
in the Mountain of Fire the One Ring to be their master. But Celebrimbor was


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####-     Then through all the years that followed he  traced the Ring; but since 
that history is elsewhere recounted, even as Elrond  himself  set it down in 
his books of lore,  it is not   here recalled. For it is a long tale, full of 
deeds great and terrible, and briefly though Elrond spoke,  the sun rode  up 
the sky, and the morning was passing ere he ceased. 
     Of N®menor he spoke, its glory  and its fall,  and the  return  of  the 
Kings of Men to Middle-earth out  of the  deeps of  the Sea, borne  upon the 
wings  of storm.  Then Elendil the  Tall and  his  mighty sons,  Isildur and 
Anbrion, became great lords; and the North-realm they made in Arnor, and the 
South-realm  in  Gondor above  the mouths  of  Anduin. But Sauron of  Mordor  
assailed them, and they made the Last Alliance of  Elves  and  Men,  and the 
hosts of Gil-galad and Elendil were mustered in Arnor. 
     Thereupon  Elrond paused a  while  and  sighed.  `I  remember  well the


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from Otherworld beyond the Sea 
     there strong and free a storm arose, 
     a wind of power in Tarmenel; 
     by paths that seldom mortal goes 
     his boat it bore with biting breath  
     as might of death across the grey 
     and long-forsaken seas distressed: 
     from east to west he passed away. 
 
     Through Evernight he back was borne 
     on black and roaring wa ves that ran 
     o'er leagues unlit and foundered shores 
     that drowned before the Days began, 
     until he heard on strands of pearl 
     when ends the world the music long, 
     where ever foaming billows roll


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####-dwindled, and their  foes devoured them, and their lordship passed,  leaving  
only green mounds in the grassy hills. 
     'In  the South  the  realm of Gondor long endured; and for a while  its 
splendour grew, recalling  somewhat of the might  of N®menor,  ere it  fell. 
High towers  that people built, and strong places. and havens of many ships;  
and the  winged crown of the Kings of  Men was  held in awe by folk of  many 
tongues. Their chief city wa s  Osgiliath, Citadel of the Stars. through  the 
midst of which  the River  flowed. And Minas Ithil they built, Tower  of the  
Rising  Moon,  eastward  upon  a shoulder of the  Mountains  of  Shadow; and 
westward at the feet of the White  Mountains Minas Anor they made, Tower  of 
the Setting Sun. There in the courts of the King grew a white tree, from the 
seed of that tree which Isildur  brought over the  deep waters, and the seed 
of that tree before came from Eressla, and before that  out of the Uttermost


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wonder  it is that you have not heard them,  Boromir. From the  ruin  of the 
Gladden Fields,  where Isildur perished, three men only came ever back  over 
the mountains  after long wandering. One of these was  Ohtar, the esquire of 
Isildur, who bore the shards of the sword of Elendil; and he brought them to 
Valandil, the heir of Isildur, who being  but a  child had remained  here in 
Rivendell.  But Narsil was broken and its light extinguished, and it has not 
yet been forged again. 
     `Fruitless did I call the victory of the Last  Alliance? Not wholly so, 
yet it  did not achieve  its  end. Sauron was diminished, but not destroyed. 
His  Ring was  lost  but  not  unmade. The Dark  Tower  was broken,  but its 
foundations were not removed; for they were made with the power of the Ring, 
and while it remains  they wi ll endure. Many Elves and many mighty Men,  
and 
many  of  their  friends. had perished  in  the war. Anbrion  was slain, and


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whereas he learned all their secrets, and betrayed them, and forged secretly 
in the Mountain of Fire the One Ring to be their master. But Celebrimbor was 
aware of him, and  hid the  Three which  he had made; and there was war, and 
the land was laid waste, and the gate of Moria was shut.


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hosts of Gil-galad and Elendil were mustered in Arnor. 
     Thereupon  Elrond paused a  while  and  sighed.  `I  remember  well the 
splendour  of  their banners,' he said.  `It recalled to me the glory of the 
Elder  Days  and the hosts of Beleriand, so many great princes and  captains 
were  assembled. And yet not so many, nor so fair, as when Thangorodrim  was 
broken, and the  Elves deemed that evil was ended for ever,  and it was  not 
so.' 
     `You  remember?'  said  Frodo,   speaking  his  thought  aloud  in  his 
astonishment. `But I thought,' he stammered as Elrond turned towards him, 'I 
thought that the fall of Gil-galad was a long age ago.' 
     'So  it was  indeed,' answered  Elrond gravely.  `But my memory reaches 
back even  to the Elder Days. Edrendil was my sire, who was born in Gondolin 
before its fall; and my mother was Elwing, daughter  of Dior, son of L®thien 
of  Doriath .  I  have  seen  three ages in the West of the world,  and  many


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seed of that tree which Isildur  brought over the  deep waters, and the seed 
of that tree before came from Eressla, and before that  out of the Uttermost  
West in the Day before days when the world was young. 
     `But  in the  wearing of the  swift years  of Middle-earth the line  of 
Meneldil son of Anbrion failed, and the  Tree withered, and the blood of the 
N®menoreans became  mingled with that of lesser men. Then the watch upon 
the 
walls of  Mordor slept, and  dark  things crept back to  Gorgoroth. And on a  
time evil things came  forth, and they took Minas Ithil and abode in it, and 
they made it into a place of dread; and it is called Minas Morgul, the Tower  
of Sorcery. Then Minas Anor was named anew Minas Tirith, the Tower of 
Guard; 
and these two cities  were ever at war, but Osgiliath  which lay between was 
deserted and in its ruins shadows walked. 
     'So it has been  for many lives of men. But  the  Lords of Minas Tirith


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####-heard a voice, remote but clear, crying: 
     Seek for the Sword that was broken: 
     In Imladris it dwells; 
     There shall be counsels taken 
     Stronger than Morgul-spells. 
     There shall be shown a token 
     That Doom is near at hand, 
     For Isildur's Bane shall waken, 
     And the Halfling forth shall stand. 
     Of these words we could understand little, and we  spoke to our father, 
Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith, wise in the lore of  Gondor. This only would 
he say, that Imladris was  of old the name among the Elves of a far northern 
dale, where Elrond the Halfelven dwelt, g reatest  of lore-masters. Therefore 
my  brother, seeing how desperate  was our need, was eager to heed the dream 
and seek for  Imladris; but since the  way was full  of doubt and  danger, I 
took the journey upon  myself. Loth was my father to give me leave, and long 
have I  wandered  by roads forgotten, seeking the house of Elrond, of  which


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before its fall; and my mother was Elwing, daughter  of Dior, son of L®thien 
of  Doriath .  I  have  seen  three ages in the West of the world,  and  many 
defeats, and many fruitless victories.  
     `I  was the herald of Gil-galad and marched with his host. I was at the 
Battle  of  Dagorlad before  the  Black Gate of  Mordor,  where  we had  the 
mastery: for the Spear  of  Gil-galad and the  Sword of Elendil, Aiglos  and 
Narsil, none could  withstand.  I beheld the  last  combat  on the slopes of 
Orodruin, where Gil-galad  died, and  Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath  
him; but Sauron himself  was overthrown, and Isildur  cut the Ring  from his 
hand with the hilt-shard of his father's sword, and took it for his own.' 
     At this the stranger, Boromir, broke in. `So that is what became of the 
Ring!' he  cried. `If ever  such a  tale was told  in the South, it  has long 
been forgotten. I have  heard of  the Great Ring of him that we do not name;


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####-and a loathing of its touch. He wished he was far away. The Ring gleamed and 
flickered as he held it up before them in his trembling hand. 
     'Behold Isildur's Bane!' said Elrond. 
     Boromir's eyes glinted as he gazed at the golden thing. `The Halfling!' 
he  muttered.  `Is then the  doom of Minas Tirith come at last? But why then 
should we seek a broken sword?' 
     'The words were not the  doom of Minas Tir ith,' said Aragorn. `But doom 
and great  deeds are indeed at hand.  For the  Sword that  was Broken is the 
Sword of Elendil that broke beneath him when  he fell. It has been treasured 
by  his  heirs when all other heirlooms  were lost; for it was spoken of old 
among  us that it should be made  again when the  Ring, Isildur's  Bane, was 
found. Now you have seen the sword that you have sought, what would you 
ask? 
Do you wish for the House of Elendil to return to the Land of Gondor?' 
     `I was  not  sent to beg  any boon, but to  seek only the meaning  of a


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and while it remains  they wi ll endure. Many Elves and many mighty Men,  
and 
many  of  their  friends. had perished  in  the war. Anbrion  was slain, and 
Isildur was slain; and Gil-galad and Elendil were no more. Never again shall  
there  be  any  such  league  of  Elves  and  Men; for  Men  multiply and the 
Firstborn decrease, and the two  kindreds are estranged. And ever since that 
day  the race  of N®menor has decayed,  and  the  span of  their  years  has 
lessened. 
     'In the North after the war and the slaughter of the Gladden Fields the 
Men  of Westernesse were diminished, and their city of Ann®minas beside 
Lake 
Evendim fell  into ruin; and  the heirs  of Valandil  removed and  dwelt  at 
Fornost on the high North Downs, and  that now too is desolate. Men call  it  
Deadmen's  Dike,  and  they  fear  to  tread there.  For the  folk of  Arnor


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####-guess little of their peril, if we should fail at last. 
     `Believe  not that in the land of Gondor the blood of N®menor is spent, 
nor all its pride  and dignity forgotten. By our valour the wild folk of the 
East are still restrained,  and the terror of Morgul  kept at bay; and  thus 
alone are peace and freedom maintained in the lands behind  us,  bulwark  of 
the West. But if the passages of the River should be won, what then?  
     `Yet  that hour, maybe, is not now far away.  The  Nameless  Enemy  has 
arisen again.  Smoke  rises once more from Orodruin that we call Mount 
Doom. 
The power  of the Black  Land  grows and we are  hard beset. When the  
Enemy 
returned  our folk were driven from  Ithilien, our fair  domain east of  the 
River, though we kept a  foothold there and  strength of arms. But this very 
year,  in  the days of  June, sudden war came  upon us out of Mordor, and we 
were swept away. We were  outnumbered, for Mordor has allied itself with the


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took the journey upon  myself. Loth was my father to give me leave, and long 
have I  wandered  by roads forgotten, seeking the house of Elrond, of  which  
many had heard, but few knew where it lay.' 
     'And here in the house of Elrond more shall be made clear to you'  said 
Aragorn,  standing up. He cast  his sword upon  the  table  that stood before 
Elrond,  and  the blade  was in  two  pieces.  `Here  is  the Sword that was 
Broken!' he said. 
     `And  who  are you, and what have  you to do with  Minas Tirith?' asked 
Boromir,  looking  in  wonder  at  the  lean face  of   the  Ranger  and  his 
weather-stained cloak. 
     `He is Aragorn  son of Arathorn,'  said Elrond;  `and  he is  descended 
through many fathers from Isildur Elendil's son of  Minas  Ithil. He  is the 
Chief of the D®nedain in the North, and few are now left  of that folk.' 
     `Then  it  belongs to  you,  and not to  me  at all!'  cried  Frodo  in


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a great hearth between the carven pillars upon either side. 
     Frodo found himself  walking with  Gandalf. `This  is the Hall of Fire' 
said the wizard.  `Here you will hear many songs and  tales-if you  can keep 
awake. But except on high days it usually stands empty and quiet, and people 
come here who wish for peace,  and thought. There is always a fire here, all  
the year round, but there is little other light.' 
     As Elrond entered and  went towards  the seat prepared for  him, elvish 
minstrels began to  make sweet  music.  Slowly  the hall  filled,  and Frodo 
looked  with delight upon  the many  fair faces that were gathered together; 
the golden firelight played upon them and shimmered in  their hair. Suddenly 
he noticed, not far from the further  end of  the fire, a small dark  figure 
seated on a stool with his back propped against a pillar. Beside him on  the 
ground was a drinking-cup  and some bread. Frodo wondered whether he was 
ill


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and these two cities  were ever at war, but Osgiliath  which lay between was 
deserted and in its ruins shadows walked. 
     'So it has been  for many lives of men. But  the  Lords of Minas Tirith 
still  fight on, defying our enemies, keeping the passage  of the River from 
Argonath  to the  Sea.  And now that part of the tale that  I shall tell  is 
drawn to its close. For in the days of Isildur the Ruling Ring passed out of 
all knowledge, and the  Three  were  released from  its dominion. But now in 
this latter day they  are  in peril once more, for to our sorrow the One has 
been  found. Others shall speak of its finding,  for  in that I played small 
part.' 
     He ceased, but  at once Boromir  stood up, tall and proud, before them. 
Give  me leave, Master  Elrond, said  he, first  to  say more of Gondor; for  
verily from the land of Gondor I  am come. And  it would  be well for all to 
know what passes there. For few,  I deem, know of  our deeds, and  therefore


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####-forgive your doubt,'  he said. 'Little do I resemble the figures  of Elendil 
and Isildur as they stand carven in their majesty in  the halls of Denethor. 
I  am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself. I  have had  a hard life 
and a long; and  the  leagues that lie between here and  Gondor are a  small 
part  in the count of my journeys.  I have crossed many mountains  and  many 
rivers, and trodden  many  plains, even  into the far  countries of Rhyn and 
Harad where the stars are strange. 
     'But my home, such  as I have, is in the  North. For  here the heirs of 
Valandil have ever dwelt in long line unbroken from father unto son for many 
generations.  Our days have darkened,  and  we  have dwindled; but ever  the 
Sword has passed to a new keeper. And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I  
end.  Lonely  men are we, Rangers of  the wild, hunters--but hunters ever of 
the servants  of the Enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor 
only.


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Ring!' he  cried. `If ever  such a  tale was told  in the South, it  has long 
been forgotten. I have  heard of  the Great Ring of him that we do not name;  
but we believed  that it  perished from the world in the  ruin of  his first


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ask? 
Do you wish for the House of Elendil to return to the Land of Gondor?' 
     `I was  not  sent to beg  any boon, but to  seek only the meaning  of a  
riddle,' answered Boromir proudly. `Yet we are hard  pressed, and  the Sword 
of  Elendil would be a help beyond  our hope-if  such a  thing could  indeed 
return out of  the  shadows  of  the past.' He look ed again  at Aragorn, and 
doubt was in his eyes. 
     Frodo felt Bilbo stir impatiently at his side. Evidently he was annoyed 
on his friend's behalf. Standing suddenly up he burst out: 
     All that is gold does not glitter, 
     Not all those who wander are lost; 
     The old that is strong does not wither, 
     Deep roots are not reached by the frost. 
 
     From the ashes a fire shall be woken, 
     A light from the shadows shall spring; 
     Renewed shall be blade that was broken: 
     The crownless again shall be king. 
     `Not very good perhaps, but to the point  -- if you need more beyond the


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year,  in  the days of  June, sudden war came  upon us out of Mordor, and we 
were swept away. We were  outnumbered, for Mordor has allied itself with the 
Easterlings  and the cruel Haradrim; but it was not by numbers that we  were 
defeated. A power was there that we have not felt before. 
     `Some said  that it could be seen, like a great  black horseman, a dark 
shadow under the moon. Wherever he came a  madness filled our foes,  but fear 
fell on our boldest, so that horse and man gave way and fled. Only a remnant 
of our eastern force came back, destroying the last bridge that still  stood 
amid the ruins of Osgiliath. 
     'I was in  the company  that  held the  bridge, until it was cast  down 
behind us. Four  only were saved by swimming: my brother and myself and  
two 
others. But still we  fight on, holding all  the  west shores of Anduin; and  
those who shelter behind us give us praise, if ever they hear our name: much


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Chief of the D®nedain in the North, and few are now left  of that folk.' 
     `Then  it  belongs to  you,  and not to  me  at all!'  cried  Frodo  in 
amazement, springing to his feet, as if he expected  the Ring to be demanded 
at once. 
     'It does not belong  to either of us,'  said Aragorn; `but it has  been 
ordained that you should hold it for a while.' 
     'Bring out the Ring, Frodo!' said Gandalf solemnly. `The time has come. 
Hold it up, and then Boromir will understand the remainder of his riddle.' 
     There was a hush, and all turned their eyes on Frodo. He was shaken  by 
a sudden shame and fear; and he felt a great reluctance to  reveal the Ring,


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seated on a stool with his back propped against a pillar. Beside him on  the 
ground was a drinking-cup  and some bread. Frodo wondered whether he was 
ill 
(if people were ever ill in Rivendell), and had been unable  to  come to the 
feast. His head seemed sunk  in sleep on  his breast, and a fold of his dark 
cloak was drawn over his face. 
     Elrond wen t forward and stood beside the  silent figure. 'Awake  little 
master.  he  said, with a smile. Then, turning to Frodo, he beckoned to him. 
'Now  at last  the hour has come that you have wished  for, Frodo,' he said. 
`Here is a friend that you have long missed.' 
     The dark figure raised its head and uncovered its face. 
     `Bilbo!' cried Frodo with sudden recognition, and he sprang forward. 
     `Hullo, Frodo my  lad!' said Bilbo.  `So  you have got here at  last. I


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####-messenger?' 
     `That shall be told,' said Elrond. 
     `But not  yet, I beg, Master!' said Bilbo. `Already the Sun is climbing 
to noon, and I feel the need of something to strengthen me.' 
     `I  had  not named you,' said Elrond  smiling. `But I do so now.  Come!  
Tell us your tale. And if you have  not yet cast your story  into verse, you  
may tell it in plain words. The briefer, the sooner shall you be refreshed.' 
     `Very well,' said Bilbo. `I will do as you bid. But I will now tell the 
true story, and  if some here have heard  me tell it otherwise'  -- he looked 
sidelong at Gluin -- `I ask them to forget it  and forgive me. I only wished 
to claim the treasure  as my very own  in those days, and to be rid  of  the 
name of thief that was put on me. But  perhaps I understand things a  little 
better now. Anyway, this is what happened.' 
     To  some there  Bilbo's tale was  wholly  new, and they  listened  with


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####-hear  the proofs? And I would ask this  also. What of Saruman? He is learned 
in  the lore of the Rings, yet he is not among us. What is his counsel-if he 
knows the things that we have heard?' 
     `The  questions that you ask, Galdor, are bound together,' said Elrond. 
`I had not  overlooked them, and they shall be answered. But these things it 
is the part of Gandalf to make clear;  and I call upon  him last, for it  is 
the place of honour, and in all this matter he has been the chief.' 
     `Some,  Galdor,'   said Gandalf, `would think the tidings of Gluin,  and 
the pursuit of  Frodo,  proof enough that the halfling's trove is a thing of 
great worth to  the Enemy. Yet it is a ring. What then? The Nine the  Nazgyl 
keep. The Seven are taken or destroyed.' At this Gluin stirred, but  did not 
speak. `The Three we know of. What then is this one that he desires so much?  
     'There  is indeed  a  wide  waste of time  between  the River  and  the


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Renewed shall be blade that was broken: 
     The crownless again shall be king. 
     `Not very good perhaps, but to the point  -- if you need more beyond the 
word  of Elrond. If that  was worth a journey of a hundred  and ten days  to 
hear, you had best listen to it.' He sat down with a snort. 
     `I  made  that  up myself,' he whispered to Frodo, `for the  D®nadan, a  
long  time  ago when  he first told me about  himself. I almost wish that my 
adventures were not over, and that I could go with him when his day comes.' 
     Aragorn smiled at him; then he turned to Boromir again. `For my part  I


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end.  Lonely  men are we, Rangers of  the wild, hunters--but hunters ever of 
the servants  of the Enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor 
only. 
     `If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we  have played another  
part. Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do 
not  stay. You  know  little  of the  lands beyond  your  bounds.  Peace and 
freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little but for us. Fear 
would  have destroyed them.  But when dark  things come  from the  houseless 
hills, or creep from sunless  woods,  they fly from us. What roads would any 
dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of 
simple men at night, if the D®nedain were asleep, or were all gone into  the 
grave?  
     `And yet less  thanks  have  we than you. Travellers  scowl at  us, and 
countrymen give us  scornful names. "Strider"  I am to one fat man who lives


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####-that it still is  lost. But what was lost may yet be  found, he thinks. Fear 
not! His hope will cheat him. Have I not earnestly studied this matter? Into 
Anduin the Great it fell; and long ago,  while  Sauron slept, it  was rolled 
down the River to the Sea. There let it lie until the End."' 
     Gandalf fell silent, gazing eastward from the porch to the far peaks of 
the Misty Mountains, at whose great roots the peril of the world had so long 
lain hidden. He sighed. 
     `There  I was at fault,' he said. `I was lulled by the words of Saruman 
the Wise; but I should have sought for the truth sooner, and our peril would 
now be less.' 
     `We were all at  fault,' said Elrond, `and but  for your vigilance  the 
Darkness, maybe, would already be upon us. But say on!' 
     `From the first my heart misgave  me,  against all reason that I knew,' 
said Gandalf, `and I desired  to know how this thing came to Gollum, and how


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two 
others. But still we  fight on, holding all  the  west shores of Anduin; and  
those who shelter behind us give us praise, if ever they hear our name: much  
praise but little help. Only from Rohan  now will any men ride to us when we 
call. 
     `In this evil hour I have come on an errand over many dangerous leagues 
to Elrond: a hundred and ten days I have journeyed all alone. But  I  do not 
seek allies in war. The  might of Elrond is in wisdom not in weapons,  it is 
said. I come  to ask for counsel and  the  unravelling of hard words. For on 
the  eve  of  the  sudden assault a dream came to  my brother in a  troubled 
sleep; and afterwards a like dream came oft to him again, and once to me. 
     'In that  dream I  thought the  eastern sky grew dark  and there  was a  
growing thunder, but  in  the  West a pale light lingered, and out of  it  I


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better now. Anyway, this is what happened.' 
     To  some there  Bilbo's tale was  wholly  new, and they  listened  with 
amazement while  the old  hobbit, actually not  at all displeased, recounted 
his  adventure with Gollum, at full length. He did not omit a single riddle. 
He would have given also  an account of his party and disappearance from the 
Shire, if he had been allowed; but Elrond raised his hand. 
     'Well told, my friend,' he said, `but that  is enough at this time. For  
the moment it suffices to know that the Ring passed to Frodo, your heir. Let  
him now speak!' 
     Then, less willingly  than Bilbo, Frodo  told of all his  dealings with 
the  Ring from the day that  it passed  into his keeping. Every step  of his 
journey from Hobbiton to the Ford  of Bruinen was questioned and considered, 
and  everything  that  he  could  recall  concerning  the  Black Riders  was 
examined. At last he sat down again.


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speak. `The Three we know of. What then is this one that he desires so much?  
     'There  is indeed  a  wide  waste of time  between  the River  and  the 
Mountain, between the loss and the finding. But  the gap in the knowledge of 
the Wise  has been  filled at  last. Yet too slowly. For  the Enemy has been 
close  behind, closer even than I feared. And well is it that not until this 
year, this very summer, as it seems, did he learn the full truth. 
     'Some here will remember that many years ago I myself dared to pass the 
doors of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur,  and secretly explored his ways, and 
found thus that our fears  were  true:  he was none other than  Sauron,  our 
Enemy of  old, at  length  taking shape  and power  again.  Some,  too, will 
remember also that Saruman dissuaded us from open deeds against him, and 
for 
long we watched him only.  Yet at last, as his shadow grew, Saruman yielded,


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grave?  
     `And yet less  thanks  have  we than you. Travellers  scowl at  us, and 
countrymen give us  scornful names. "Strider"  I am to one fat man who lives 
within a day's march  of foes that would  freeze his heart or lay his little 
town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we would  not have  it 
otherwise. If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple  they will be, 
and we must be secret to keep them so. That has been the task of my kindred, 
while the years have lengthened and the grass has grown. 
     `But now  the world is changing once again. A new hour comes. Isildur's 
Bane is found. Battle is at hand. The Sword  shall be reforged. I  will come 
to Minas Tirith.' 
     `Isildur's Bane is found, you say,' said Boromir. `I have seen a bright 
ring in the Halfling's hand; but Isildur perished ere this  age of the world 
began, they say. How do  the Wise know that this ring is his? And how has it


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####-thought again of a test that might make the finding of  Gollum unneeded. The 
ring  itself  might  tell if it were the One.  The memory  of  words  at the 
Council came back to me: words of Saruman, half-heeded at the time.  I heard 
them now clearly in my heart. 
     ` "The Nine, the Seven, and the Three," he said, "had each their proper  
gem. Not so the  One.  It  was round  and  unadorned,  as it were one of the 
lesser rings; but its maker set marks upon it that the skilled, maybe, could 
still see and read." 
     `What those  marks were he had not said. Who now would know? The 
maker. 
And Saruman? But great though his lore may be,  it  must have a source. What 
hand  save Sauron's ever  held this  thing, ere  it was  lost?  The hand  of 
Isildur alone. 
     `With that thought, I forsook the chase, and passed swiftly  to Gondor . 
In former days the members  of my order  had been  well received  there, but


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####-and thus wrote Isildur therein: 
     The Great Ring shall go now to be an heirloom of the North Kingdom; but 
records  of  it  shall  be left  in  Gondor,  where also dwell the  heirs of 
Elendil, lest a time come when the memory of these great  matters shall grow 
dim. 
     `And after these words Isildur described the Ring, such as he found it. 
     It  was  hot  when  I first took it, hot as  a glede,  and my  hand was 
scorched, so that I doubt if ever again I shall be free of the pain  of  it. 
Yet even as I write it is cooled, and it seemeth to shrink, though it loseth  
neither  its  beauty nor its  shape. Already the  writing  upon it, which at 
first was as clear as red flame, fadeth and is now  only barely to be  read. 
It is fashioned in  an elven-script of  Eregion, for they have no letters in  
Mordor for such subtle work; but the language is unknown to me. I deem it to 
be  a tongue of the Black Land, since  it  is foul and uncouth. What evil it


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####-Marshes  I followed  it,  and  then I had him.  Lurking by a  stagnant mere, 
peering in  the water as the dark  eve  fell, I  caught  him, Gollum. He was 
covered  with green slime. He will never love me, I fear; for he bit me, and 
I  was not gentle. Nothing more did I ever get from his mouth than the marks 
of his teeth. I deemed it the worst part of  all  my journey, the road back, 
watching him day and night, making him walk before  me with a halter  on his 
neck, gagged, until he was tamed by lack of drink and food, driving him ever 
towards Mirkwood. I brought him there at last and gave him to the Elves, for 
we had agreed that this should  be  done; and I was  glad to  be  rid of his 
company, for he  stank. For my part I hope never to look upon him again; but 
Gandalf came and endured long speech with him.' 
     `Yes,  long  and weary,' said Gandalf, `but not without profit. For one 
thing, the  tale  he told of his loss agreed  with  that which Bilbo has now


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`From the first my heart misgave  me,  against all reason that I knew,' 
said Gandalf, `and I desired  to know how this thing came to Gollum, and how 
long he had possessed it. So I set a wa tch for  him, guessing that he  would 
ere long come forth from his darkness to seek for his treasure. He came, but 
he escaped and was not found. And then alas! I let the matter rest, watching  
and waiting only, as we have too often done. 
     `Time passed  with many cares, until my  doubts were awakened again  to 
sudden  fear. Whence  came the hobbit's  ring?  What,  if my  fear was true, 
should be  done with it? Those  things I must decide. But I spoke yet of  my  
dread to none, knowing the peril of an  untimely whisper, if it went astray. 
In all the long wars with  the Dark Tower treason has ever been our greatest  
foe. 
     'That was seventeen years ago. Soon I became aware  that  spies of many  
sorts, even  beasts and birds,  were gathered round the Shire, and  my  fear


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journey from Hobbiton to the Ford  of Bruinen was questioned and considered, 
and  everything  that  he  could  recall  concerning  the  Black Riders  was 
examined. At last he sat down again. 
     `Not bad,' Bilbo said to him. `You  would have made a good story of it, 
if they hadn't kept  on interrupting. I tried to  make  a few notes,  but we 
shall have to  go  over it all again together some time, if I am to write it 
up. There are whole chapters of stuff before you ever got here!' 
     `Yes, it made quite a long tale,' answered Frodo. 'But  the story still 
does not seem complete to  me.  I still want to know a good deal, especially 
about Gandalf.' 
     Galdor of the Havens, who sat near by, overheard him. `You speak for me 
also,'  he cried, and  turning  to  Elrond he  said: `The Wise may have good 
reason to believe that the halfling's trove is indeed the Great Ring of long 
debate, unlikely though that may seem to those who know less. But may we not


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remember also that Saruman dissuaded us from open deeds against him, and 
for 
long we watched him only.  Yet at last, as his shadow grew, Saruman yielded, 
and the Council put forth its strength  and  drove  the evil out of Mirkwood 
and that was in the very year of the finding of this Ring: a strange chance, 
if chance it was. 
     `But we were  too late, as Elrond foresaw. Sauron  also had watched us,  
and had long prepared against our stroke, governing Mordor from afar through 
Minas Morgu l, where his Nine servants dwelt, until  all  was  ready. Then he  
gave way before us,  but  only feigned to flee,  and soon  after came to the 
Dark Tower and openly declared  himself. Then for the  last time the Council 
met; for now we learned that  he was seeking ever more eagerly for the  One. 
We feared then that  he had some news  of it  that we knew  nothing  of. But 
Saruman said nay, and repeated what  he had  said to us before: that the One


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`Yes,  long  and weary,' said Gandalf, `but not without profit. For one 
thing, the  tale  he told of his loss agreed  with  that which Bilbo has now 
told openly  for  the  first time; but  that mattered little,  since  I  had 
already guessed it. But I  learned then first that Gollum's ring came out of 
the Great River nigh to the Gladden Fields. And I learned also  that he  had 
possessed  it long. Many lives of his small kind. The power of the ring  had 
lengthened his  years far beyond their span;  but that power only  the Great 
Rings wield. 
     `And if that is  not proof enough, Galdor, there is the other test that 
I spoke of. Upon this very ring  which you have here seen  held aloft, round  
and unadorned, the  letters that Isildur reported may  still be read, if one 
has the strength of will to set the golden thing in the fire a while. That I 
have done, and this I have read: 
     Ash  nazg durbatulyk, ush  nazg  gimbatul,  ash  nazg  thrakatulyk  agh


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Isildur alone. 
     `With that thought, I forsook the chase, and passed swiftly  to Gondor . 
In former days the members  of my order  had been  well received  there, but 
Saruman most of all. Often he had  been for long  the  guest of the Lords of 
the  City. Less welcome  did the Lord Denethor show me then than of old, and 
grudgingly he permitted me to search among his hoarded scrolls and books.  
     ' "If indeed you look only, as  you  say, for records of  ancient days, 
and the beginnings of the City,  read on! " he said.  "For to me what was is 
less dark than what is to come, and that  is  my care.  But unless you  have 
more  skill even  than Saruman,  who has  studied here  long, you  will find 
naught that  is not  well known to  me, who am  master of  the lore of  this 
City." 
     `So said Denethor.  And yet  there lie in his  hoards many records that 
few  now can read,  even of  the lore-masters, for their scripts and tongues


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####-treasure of the Enemy, fraught with all his malice;  and  in it lies a great 
part of his strength  of old. Out of the Black Years come the words that the 
Smiths of Eregion heard, and knew that they had been betrayed: 
     One Ring to  rule them all,  One  Ring to find  them, One Ring to bring 
them all and in the Darkness bind them. 
     `Know  also, my  friends, that I learned more yet from Gollum.  He  was 
loth to speak and his tale was unclear, but it  is beyond all doubt  that he 
went to Mordor, and  there all  that  he knew was forced from him. Thus  the  
Enemy knows now that the  One is found,  that it was  long in the Shire; and 
since his servants have pursued it  almost to our  door, he  soon will know, 
already he may know, even as I speak, that we have it here.' 
     All sat silent for a  while,  until  at length Boromir  spoke. `He is a  
small thing, you say, this Gollum? Small, but great in mischief. What became 
of him? To what doom did you put him?'


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foe. 
     'That was seventeen years ago. Soon I became aware  that  spies of many  
sorts, even  beasts and birds,  were gathered round the Shire, and  my  fear 
grew.  I called  for the help of the D®nedain, and their watch  was doubled; 
and I opened my heart to Aragorn, the heir of Isildur.' 
     `And I,' said Aragorn, `counselled that we should hunt  for Gollum. too 
late though it may seem. And since it seemed fit that Isildur's  heir should 
labour to  repair  Isildur's fault, I went  with  Gandalf  on  the  long and 
hopeless search.' 
     Then Gandalf told how they had explored the whole length of Wilderland, 
down even to the Mountains of Shadow and the fences of Mordor. `There we 
had 
rumour of him, and we guess  that he dwelt there long in the dark hills; but 
we never found him,  and  at last  I  despaired. And  then  in my despair  I


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ring in the Halfling's hand; but Isildur perished ere this  age of the world 
began, they say. How do  the Wise know that this ring is his? And how has it 
passed  down  the  years,  until  it  is  brought  hither  by so  strange  a


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We feared then that  he had some news  of it  that we knew  nothing  of. But 
Saruman said nay, and repeated what  he had  said to us before: that the One 
would never again be found in Middle-earth. 
     `  "At  the worst,"  said he, "our Enemy knows that we have  it not and


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has the strength of will to set the golden thing in the fire a while. That I 
have done, and this I have read: 
     Ash  nazg durbatulyk, ush  nazg  gimbatul,  ash  nazg  thrakatulyk  agh  
burzum-ishi krimpatul.' 
     The change in  the wizard's voice  was  astounding. Suddenly it  became 
menacing,  powerful, harsh as stone.  A  shadow seemed to pass over the high 
sun,  and  the porch for  a moment grew  dark. All trembled,  and the  Elves 
stopped their ears. 
     `Never before has any voice dared to utter the  words of that tongue in 
Imladris,  Gandalf  the Grey,'  said  Elrond, as  the shadow passed  and the 
company breathed once more. 
     `And let us  hope that none  will  ever speak it  here again,' answered 
Gandalf. `Nonetheless I do not ask  your  pardon, Master Elrond. For if that 
tongue is not soon to be heard in every corner of the West , then let all put 
doubt aside  that  this thing is  indeed what the Wise  have  declared:  the


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Mordor for such subtle work; but the language is unknown to me. I deem it to 
be  a tongue of the Black Land, since  it  is foul and uncouth. What evil it  
saith I do  not  know; but I trace here a copy  of it,  lest it fade  beyond 
recall. The Ring misseth,  maybe, the heat of Sauron's hand, which was black 
and yet burned like fire, and so Gil-galad was destroyed; and maybe were the 
gold made hot again, the writing would be refreshed. gut  for my part I will 
risk no hurt to this thing: of all the works of Sauron the only fair. It  is 
precious to me, though I buy it with great pain. 
     'When  I read these words, my quest was  ended. For  the traced writing 
was indeed as Isildur  guessed, in the tongue of Mordor and  the servants of 
the Tower. And what was said therein was already  known. For in the day that 
Sauron first put on  the One, Celebrimbor, maker of the  Three, was aware of 
him, and from afar he  heard him speak these words, and so his evil purposes


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City." 
     `So said Denethor.  And yet  there lie in his  hoards many records that 
few  now can read,  even of  the lore-masters, for their scripts and tongues 
have become dark  to later  men.  And  Boromir, there lies in  Minas  Tirith 
still, unread, I  guess,  by  any save Saruman  and  myself since the  kings 
failed, a scroll  that Isildur made himself. For Isildur did not  march away 
straight from the war in Mordor, as some have told the tale.' 
     'Some in the North, maybe,' Boromir broke in.  'All know in Gondor that 
he went  first  to Minas Anor and  dwelt a while  with his nephew  Meneldil, 
instructing him,  before he committed to him the  rule of the South Kingdom. 
In  that time he planted there the last sapling of  the White Tree in memory 
of his brother.' 
     `But in that time also he made this scroll,' said Gandalf;  `and that is 
not remembered in Gondor, it would seem. For this scroll concerns  the Ring,


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####-     'Now  come!' said Gandalf. `Pray do not interrupt, my good Gluin.  That 
was  a regrettable misunderstanding,  long set right. If  all the grievances 
that stand between Elves and  Dwarves are to  be brought up  here, we may as 
well abandon this Council.' 
     Gluin  rose and bowed, and Legolas  continued.  'In  the days  of  fair 
weather we led Gollum through the  woods; and there was a high tree standing 
alone far from the others which he liked to climb. Often we let him mount up 
to the highest branches, until he felt the free  wind; but we set a guard at 
the tree's foot. One day he refused to come down, and the guards had no mind 
to climb  after him: he had learned the trick of clinging to boughs with his 
feet as well as with his hands; so they sat by the tree far into the night. 
     'It was that very night of summer, yet moonless and starless, that Orcs 
came  on us at unawares. We drove them off after  some time;  they were many


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####-messages reached me telling me of war and defeat in Gondor, and when I heard 
of the Black Shadow  a chill smote my heart. But I found nothing  save a few 
fugitives  from  the South;  yet  it seemed to me that on them sat a fear of 
which they would not speak. I turned then east and north and journeyed along 
the Greenway; and  not  far from Bree  I came upon  a traveller sitting on a  
bank beside the road with his grazing  horse beside him. It was Radagast the 
Brown, who at one time dwelt at Rhosgobel,  near the borders of Mirkwood. 
He 
is one of my order, but I had not seen him for many a year. 
     ` "Gandalf! " he cried.  "I was seeking you. But I  am  a  stranger  in 
these parts. All I knew was that  you might  be found  in a wild region with 
the uncouth name of Shire." 
     ' "Your information was  correct," I said. "But do not put it that way, 
if you meet any of the inhabitants. You are near the  borders of  the  Shire


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Sauron first put on  the One, Celebrimbor, maker of the  Three, was aware of 
him, and from afar he  heard him speak these words, and so his evil purposes 
were revealed. 
     `At once  I took my leave of  Denethor, but even as  I went northwards, 
messages came to me out of Lurien that Aragorn had passed that way, and that 
he had found the creature called Gollum. Therefore I went  first to meet him 
and hear his tale.  Into what deadly  perils  he had  gone alone I dared not 
guess.' 
     `There is little need  to tell  of them,' said Aragorn. `If a  man must  
needs walk in sight of the Black Gate, or tread the deadly flowers of Morgul 
Vale, then  perils he will have. I, too, despaired at  last,  and I began my 
homeward  journey.  And then, by fortune, I  came suddenly on what I sought: 
the marks of soft feet beside  a muddy pool. But now the trail was fresh and  
swift, and it  led  not to Mordor but  away. Along  the  skirts  of the Dead


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####-no reason for it. 
     'But  I rode to the foot of Orthanc,  and came to the stair  of Saruman 
and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his 
finger. 
     `  "So you have come, Gandalf," he said to me gravely; but in  his eyes 
there seemed to be a white light, as if a cold laughter was in his heart. 
     ` "Yes, I have come," I said. "I have  come  for your  aid, Saruman the 
White." And that title seemed to anger him. 
     '  "Have  you indeed, Gandalf the Grey! " he scoffed.  "For aid? It has 
seldom been  heard of that  Gandalf the Grey sought for  aid, one so cunning  
and  so wise, wandering about  the lands,  and concerning  himself in  every 
business, whether it belongs to him or not." 
     'I looked  at him and wondered.  "But if I am  not deceived,"  said  I, 
"things are now moving which will require the union of all our strength." 
     ' "That may be so," he said, "but the thought is late in coming to you.


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####-     'He  drew  himself up then and began to declaim, as if he were making a  
speech  long  rehearsed.  "The Elder Days  are gone.  The  Middle  Days  are 
passing. The Younger Days are  beginning. The time of the Elves is over, but 
our time is at hand: the world of Men, which  we must rule. But we must have 
power, power to order all things as  we  will, for that good  which only the 
Wise can see. 
     '  "And listen, Gandalf,  my old friend and  helper! "  he said, coming 
near and speaking now in a softer voice.  "I said we,  for we it may be,  if 
you will join with me. A new Power is rising. Against it the old  allies and 
policies will not avail us  at all. There is no hope left in Elves  or dying 
N®menor. This then  is  one  choice before you. before us. We may jo in  with 
that Power. It would be wise, Gandalf.  There is hope that way.  Its victory 
is at hand; and  there will be rich reward for those that  aided it.  As the


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'It was that very night of summer, yet moonless and starless, that Orcs 
came  on us at unawares. We drove them off after  some time;  they were many 
and  fierce, but they came from over  the mountains, and were unused  to the  
woods. When the battle was  over, we  found  that Gollum was  gone, and  his 
guards were slain  or taken. It then seemed plain to  us that the attack had 
been made for his rescue, and that he knew  of  it beforehand. How that  was 
contrived we cannot guess; but Gollum is cunning, and the spies of the Enemy 
are many. The dark things that were driven  out in  the year of the Dragon's 
fall have returned in greater  numbers, and Mirkwood is again an evil place,  
save where our realm is maintained. 
     `We have failed to  recapture Gollum.  We came on his trail among those 
of many Orcs, and it plunged deep into the Forest, going south. But ere long 
it escaped our  skill,  and  we  dared not  continue the hunt;  for we  were


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"things are now moving which will require the union of all our strength." 
     ' "That may be so," he said, "but the thought is late in coming to you. 
How long. I wonder, have  you concealed  from me, the head of the Council, a  
matter  of greatest  import? What brings you now from your lurking-place  in 
the Shire? " 
     ' "The Nine have come forth again," I answered. "They have crossed  the 
River. So Radagast said to me." 
     ` "Radagast  the Brown! " laughed  Saruman, and  he no longer concealed 
his scorn. "Radagast the Bird-tamer! Radagast the Simple! Radagast the Fool! 
Yet he had just the wit to play the part  that I set him. For you have come, 
and that was all the purpose of my message. And here you will stay,  Gandalf 
the Grey,  and rest  from  journeys.  For  I  am  Saruman the Wise,  Saruman 
Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours! " 
     'I looked then and saw that his robes, which had seemed white, were not


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that Power. It would be wise, Gandalf.  There is hope that way.  Its victory 
is at hand; and  there will be rich reward for those that  aided it.  As the 
Power grows, its proved friends will also  grow; and  the Wise, such  as you  
and I, may with patience come at last to direct its courses,  to control it. 
We  can bide  our time, we can keep our  thoughts in our  hearts,  deploring 
maybe  evils done by the way,  but  approving the high and ultimate purpose: 
Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the  things that  we have so far striven in vain 
to accomplish,  hindered rather than helped by  our weak  or  idle  friends.  
There need not be, there would not be, any  real change in our designs, only  
in our means." 
     ' "Saruman," I said, "I  have  heard  speeches  of this kind before, but 
only in the mouths of emissaries sent from Mordor to deceive the ignorant. I  
cannot think that you brought me so far only to weary my ears."


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the uncouth name of Shire." 
     ' "Your information was  correct," I said. "But do not put it that way, 
if you meet any of the inhabitants. You are near the  borders of  the  Shire 
now.  And what do you want with me?  It must  be pressing.  You were never a  
traveller, unless driven by great need." 
     ' "I have an urgent errand," he said. "My news is evil." Then he looked 
about him, as if  the hedges  might have ears. "Nazgyl,"  he whispered. "The 
Nine are abroad again. They  have  crossed the River secretly and are moving 
westward. They have taken the guise of riders in black." 
     'I knew then what I had dreaded without knowing it. 
     ` "The enemy must have some great need or purpose," said Radagast; "but 
what it is that makes him look to these distant and desolate parts, I cannot 
guess." 
     ` "What do you mean? " said I. 
     ` "I have been told that wherever they go the Riders ask for news  of a  
land called Shire."


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Next day Frodo woke  early, feeling refreshed and well. He walked along  
the terraces above  the  loud-flowing Bruinen and watched the pale, cool sun 
rise  above the far  mountains, and shine  down. Slanting  through the  thin 
silver mist;  the dew upon the  yellow leaves was glimmering, and  the woven 
nets of  gossamer twinkled  on  every bush.  Sam  walked beside  him, saying 
nothing.  but  sniffing the air, and looking every now and again with wonder  
in his eyes at the great heights in the East. The snow was white upon  their 
peaks. 
     On a seat cut  in  the  stone beside  a turn in the path they came upon 
Gandalf and  Bilbo  deep in  talk. `Hullo!  Good morning!' said Bilbo. `Feel  
ready for the  great council?' 
     `I feel ready  for anything,' answered Frodo. `But most of all I should 
like to go walking  today and  explore the valley. I should like to get into 
those pine-woods up there.' He pointed away far up the side of  Rivendell to  
the north.


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####-I  learn  your  mind. You  were head of  the Council, but you have  unmasked 
yourself at last. Well, the choices are, it seems, to  submit to  Sauron, or 
to yourself. I will take neither. Have you others to offer? " 
     'He was cold now and perilous. "Yes," he said. "I did not expect you to 
show wisdom, even in your own behalf; but I gave you the chance of aiding me 
willingly. and so saving yourself much trouble and pain. The third choice is 
to stay here, until the end." 
     ' "Until what end? " 
     ' "Until you reveal to me where the One may be found. I may find  means 
to  persuade you. Or until  it is found in your despite, and  the Ruler  has 
time to turn to lighter matters:  to devise, say,  a  fitting reward for the 
hindrance and insolence of Gandalf the Grey." 
     ' "That  may not prove to be one of the lighter matters,"  said  I.  He 
laughed at me, for my words were empty, and he knew it.


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of many Orcs, and it plunged deep into the Forest, going south. But ere long 
it escaped our  skill,  and  we  dared not  continue the hunt;  for we  were 
drawing nigh to Dol Guldur,  and that  is still a very evil place; we do not 
go that way.' 
     `Well,  well, he  is gone,' said Gandalf. 'We have no time  to seek for  
him again.  He must do what he will. But he may play a part yet that neither  
he nor Sauron have foreseen. 
     'And now  I will answer Galdor's other questions. What of Saruman? What 
are his counsels to us in this need? This tale I must tell in full, for only 
Elrond  has heard it yet, and that in brief, but it will bear on all that we 
must  resolve. It is the last  chapter in the Tale of the Ring, so far as it 
has yet gone. 
     'At the  end of June I was in the Shire, but a cloud of anxiety was  on 
my mind, and I rode to the southern borders of the little land; for I  had a  
foreboding  of some danger, still hidden  from  me but  drawing  near. There


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the Grey,  and rest  from  journeys.  For  I  am  Saruman the Wise,  Saruman 
Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours! " 
     'I looked then and saw that his robes, which had seemed white, were not 
so, but  were woven of  all  colours.  and  if  he moved they shimmered  and 
changed hue so that the eye was bewildered. 
     ' "I liked white better," I said. 
     ' "White! "  he sneered. "It serves as a beginning. White  cloth may be 
dyed. The white page can be overwritten; and the white light can be broken." 
     ' "In which case it is  no longer white," said I. "And he that breaks a  
thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." 
     '  "You need  not  speak to me as to one of the fools that you take for  
friends," said he. "I have not brought  you hither  to be instructed by you, 
but to give you a choice."


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only in the mouths of emissaries sent from Mordor to deceive the ignorant. I  
cannot think that you brought me so far only to weary my ears." 
     'He looked at me sidelong, and paused a while considering. "Well, I see 
that this wi se course  does  not commend itself to you,"  he said. "Not yet?  
Not if some better way can be contrived? " 
     `He came and laid his long hand on my arm.  "And why not, Gandalf? " he 
whispered. "Why not? The Ruling Ring? If  we could  command that,  then  the 
Power would pass to us. That is in truth why I brought  you here. For I have 
many eyes  in my service, and  I  believe that  you know where this precious 
thing now lies. Is it not so? Or why do the Nine ask for the Shire, and what 
is your  business there? " As he said this a lust which he could not conceal 
shone suddenly in his eyes.  
     ' "Saruman," I  said, standing away from him, "only one hand at  a time 
can wield the One, and you know that well, so do not trouble to say we!  But


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guess." 
     ` "What do you mean? " said I. 
     ` "I have been told that wherever they go the Riders ask for news  of a  
land called Shire." 
     ' "The Shire," I said; but my heart sank. For even the  Wise might fear 
to  withstand the  Nine,  when they  are gathered together under  their fell 
chieftain. A great  king and sorcerer he was  of  old,  and now  he wields a  
deadly fear. "Who told  you, and who sent you? " I asked. 
     ' "Saruman the White,"  answered Radagast. "And  he told me to say that 
if you feel the need, he will help; but you must seek his aid at once, or it 
will be too late." 
     'And  that  message  brought  me  hope.  For Saruman the  White is  the 
greatest of my order. Radagast is, of course, a  worthy  Wizard, a master of 
shapes and changes  of hue;  and he has much  lore of herbs  and beasts, and


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####-Riddermark of Rohan the  Rohirrim, the Horse-lords, dwell, and  there are no 
horses  like  those that  are  bred in  that  great vale  between the  Misty 
Mountains and the White. 
     ` "Are the Men of  Rohan still to be trusted, do you think? " I said to 
Gwaihir, for the treason of Saruman had shaken my faith. 
     ` "They pay a tribute of horses," he answered, "and send many yearly to 
Mordor,  or  so it is said; but they are  not  yet under the  yoke.  But  if 
Saruman  has  become evil,  as  you  say, then  their  doom  cannot  be long 
delayed." 
     `He  set  me down  in  the  land of  Rohan ere  dawn;  and  now I  have 
lengthened my tale over long. The  rest must be more brief. In Rohan I found 
evil already at work:  the lies  of Saruman; and the king  of the land would 
not  listen to my warnings. He bade me take a horse and be gone; and I chose 
one much to my liking. but little to his. I took the best horse in his land, 
and I have never seen the like of him.'


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####-     `I saw you!' cried Frodo. `You were walking backwards and forwards. The 
moon shone in your hair.' 
     Gandalf paused astonished and looked at him. 'I t was only a dream' said 
Frodo, `but it suddenly came back to me. I had  quite  forgotten it. It came 
some time ago; after I left the Shire, I think.' 
     `Then it was  late in coming,' said Gandalf, 'as you will see. I was in 
an evil plight. And those who know me will agree that I have seldom  been in 
such need, and  do not bear such  misfortune  well. Gandalf the  Grey caught  
like a fly in a spider's treacherous web! Yet  even  the most subtle spiders 
may leave a weak thread. 
     `At first I  feared,  as Saruman  no doubt intended,  that Radagast had 
also fallen. Yet I  had caught no  hint of anything wrong in his voice or in 
his eye at our meeting. If I had, I should never have gone to Isengard, or I 
should  have gone more warily. So Saruman guessed, and he had concealed  his


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like to go walking  today and  explore the valley. I should like to get into 
those pine-woods up there.' He pointed away far up the side of  Rivendell to  
the north. 
     'You may  have  a chance later,' said Gandalf. `But we cannot  make any 
plans yet. There is much to hear and decide today.' 
     Suddenly as they were talking a  single clear bell rang out.  `That  is 
the warning bell for the Council of Elrond,' cr ied Gandalf. `Come along now! 
Both you and Bilbo are wanted.' 
     Frodo and Bilbo followed the wizard quickly along the winding path back 
to the  house; behind them, uninvited and for the moment forgotten,  trotted 
Sam. 
     Gandalf  led them to the porch where  Frodo had found  his  friends the 
evening before. The light of the clear autumn morning was now glowing in the 
valley. The noise of bubbling  waters  came up  from the foaming  river -bed. 
Birds were singing,  and a  wholesome  peace lay on the  land. To  Frodo his


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hindrance and insolence of Gandalf the Grey." 
     ' "That  may not prove to be one of the lighter matters,"  said  I.  He 
laughed at me, for my words were empty, and he knew it. 
     `They took me and they set me alone  on the p innacle of Orthanc, in the 
place  where Saruman was accustomed to watch the stars.  There is no descent 
save  by a narrow stair of many  thousand steps, and  the valley below seems 
far away. I looked  on it and saw that, whereas it  had once been  green and 
fair, it was now filled with pits and forges. Wolves and orcs were housed in 
Isengard,  for Saruman was mustering a  great force  on his  own account, in 
rivalry of Sauron  and  not  in his service yet. Over  all his works  a dark 
smoke hung  and wrapped itself about the sides  of Orthanc. I stood alone on  
an island  in the clouds; and I had  no  chance  of escape, and my days were 
bitter. I was pierced with cold, and I  had but little room in which to pace


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All sat silent for a  while,  until  at length Boromir  spoke. `He is a  
small thing, you say, this Gollum? Small, but great in mischief. What became 
of him? To what doom did you put him?' 
     'He is in prison, but no worse,' said  Aragorn.  `He had suffered much. 
There is no doubt that he  was tormented, and the fear of Sauron  lies black  
on his heart. Still I for one am glad that he is safely kept by the watchful 
Elves of Mirkwood. His malice is great and gives him a strength hardly to be 
believed in one so lean and withered.  He could work much mischief still, if 
he were free. And I do not doubt that he was allowed to leave Mordor on some 
evil errand.' 
     `Alas!  alas!' cried Legolas,  and in  his  fair  elvish face there was 
great distress. `The tidings that I was sent to bring must now be told. They 
are not  good, but only  here have I learned  how evil they may seem to this 
company. Smjagol, who is now called Gollum, has escaped.'


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####-     'But fear grew in me as I rode. Ever as I came north I heard tidings of 
the Riders, and though I gained  on them day by day,  they were  ever before 
me.  They had divided their  forces, I learned: some remained on the eastern 
borders,  not far  from the Greenway. and  some  invaded the Shire  from the  
south.  I came  to  Hobbiton  and Frodo  had gone; but I had words with  old 
Gamgee.  Many  words and  few to  the  point. He  had much to  say about the 
shortcomings of the new owners of Bag End. 
     ` "I can't abide changes," said he, "not  at my time of life, and least  
of all changes  for  the worst." "Changes for the  worst," he repeated  many 
times. 
     ' "Worst is a bad word," I said to him, "and I hope you do not  live to 
see it." But amidst his talk I gathered at last that Frodo had left Hobbiton 
less than a week before, and that a  black horseman had come to the Hill the 
same  evening. Then I rode  on  in  fear. I came to Buckland and found it in


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his eye at our meeting. If I had, I should never have gone to Isengard, or I 
should  have gone more warily. So Saruman guessed, and he had concealed  his 
mind and deceived his messenger. It would have been  useless in  any case to 
try and  win over  the honest Radagast  to  treachery. He sought me  in good 
faith, and so persuaded me. 
     `That  was the  undoing of Saruman's plot.  For Radagast knew no reason 
why  he should not do as I asked; and he rode away towards Mirkwood where 
he 
had many friends of old. And  the Eagles of the Mountains went far and wide, 
and they saw many things: the gathering of wolves and the mustering of Orcs; 
and  the Nine Riders going hither and thither in the  lands; and  they heard 
news  of the  escape  of  Gollum.  And they sent a messenger to  bring these 
tidings to me. 
     `So it  was  that when summer  waned, there came a night of  moon,  and 
Gwaihir the Windlord,  swiftest of  the  Great Eagles,  came unlooked-for to


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not  listen to my warnings. He bade me take a horse and be gone; and I chose 
one much to my liking. but little to his. I took the best horse in his land, 
and I have never seen the like of him.' 
     'Then  he must be a noble beast indeed,' said Aragorn; 'and  it grieves 
me more than many tidings that might seem worse to  learn that Sauron levies 
such tribute. It was not so when last I was in that land.' 
     `Nor is it now, I  will swear,' said Boromir.  `It  is a lie that comes 
from the Enemy.  I  know  the Men of Rohan;  true  a nd  valiant, our allies,  
dwelling still in the lands that we gave them long ago.' 
     `The  shadow  of  Mordor  lies  on  distant lands,'  answered  Aragorn. 
'Saruman has fallen under  it.  Rohan is beset. Who knows what you will find 
there, if ever you return?' 
     `Not this at least.' said Boromir, 'that they will buy their lives with 
horses. They  love  their horses next  to their kin. And not without reason,


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shone suddenly in his eyes.  
     ' "Saruman," I  said, standing away from him, "only one hand at  a time 
can wield the One, and you know that well, so do not trouble to say we!  But 
I would not give it, nay, I would not give even news of it to you, now  that


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####-birds are especially  his friends. But Saruman  has long studied the arts of 
the Enemy himself, and thus we have often been able to forestall him. It was 
by the devices of Saruman  that we drove him  from Dol  Guldur. It might  be 
that he had found some weapons that would drive back the Nine. 
     ' "I will go to Saruman," I sa id. 
     ' "Then  you must go  now," said  Radagast; "for I have  wasted time in 
looking  for you,  and  the  days  are running short. I was told to find you  
before Midsummer, and that is now  here. Even if you set out from this spot, 
you will hardly  reach him before the Nine discover the land that they seek. 
I myself  shall turn back at  once." And with that he mounted and would have 
ridden straight off.  
     ` "Stay a  moment! " I said. "We shall  need your help, and the help of 
all things that will give it. Send out messages  to all the beasts and birds 
that are  your friends.  Tell them to bring news  of anything that bears  on


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an island  in the clouds; and I had  no  chance  of escape, and my days were 
bitter. I was pierced with cold, and I  had but little room in which to pace 
to and fro, brooding on the coming of the Riders to the North. 
     `That the Nine had indeed arisen I felt  assured, apart from  the words 
of Saruman which might  be  lies.  Long ere I came to  Isengard I had  heard 
tidings by the way that could not be mistaken. Fear was ever in my heart for  
my friends in the Shire; but still I had some  hope.  I hoped that Frodo had 
set forth at once, as my letter had urged, and that he had reached Rivendell 
before  the deadly pursuit  began. And  both  my  fear and  my  hope  proved  
ill-founded. For my  hope  was founded on a fat man in Bree; and my fear was 
founded on the cunning of Sauron. But  fat men  who sell ale have many calls 
to answer; and the power of  Sauron is still less than fear makes it. But in


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valley. The noise of bubbling  waters  came up  from the foaming  river -bed. 
Birds were singing,  and a  wholesome  peace lay on the  land. To  Frodo his 
dangerous flight, and  the rumours  of  the darkness growing  in  the  world 
outside, already seemed only the memories of a troubled dream; but the faces 
that were turned to meet them as they entered were grave. 
     Elrond was there, and  several others were seated in silence about him. 
Frodo saw Glorfindel and Gluin;  and  in a corner alone Strider was sitting, 
clad in  his old  travel -worn clothes again. Elrond drew Frodo to a seat  by


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are not  good, but only  here have I learned  how evil they may seem to this 
company. Smjagol, who is now called Gollum, has escaped.' 
     'Escaped?' cried Aragorn. 'That is ill news indeed. We shall all rue it 
bitterly, I fear. How came the folk of Thranduil to fail in their trust?' 
     `Not through lack of  watchfulness,' said Legolas; `but perhaps through 
over -kindliness. And we fear that the prisoner had aid from others, and that 
more is known of our doings than we could wish. We guarded this creature day 
and  night, at Gandalf's  bidding,  much  though we wearied of the task. But 
Gandalf  bade us  hope still for his cure, and we had not the  heart to keep  
him ever in dungeons under the earth, where he would fall  back into his old 
black thoughts.' 
     'You were less tender  to me,'  said Gluin with  a flash of his eyes as 
old memories were stirred  of  his imprisonment in  the  deep places of  the 
Elven-king's halls.


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tidings to me. 
     `So it  was  that when summer  waned, there came a night of  moon,  and 
Gwaihir the Windlord,  swiftest of  the  Great Eagles,  came unlooked-for to 
Orthanc; and he found me standing  on the pinnacle. Then I  spoke to him and 
he bore me away, before Saruman was aware.  I was far from Isengard, ere the 
wolves and orcs issued from the gate to pursue me. 
     ` "How far can you bear me? " I said to Gwaihir. 
     ` "Many  leagues," said he,  "but not to  the ends of the earth.  I was 
sent to bear tidings not burdens." 
     ` "Then I must have a steed on land," I said, "and a steed surpassi ngly 
swift, for I have never had such need of haste before." 
     ` "Then I will bear you to Edoras, where the Lord  of Rohan sits in his 
halls," he said; "for that  is not very far off." And I was glad, for in the


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####-     ` "Ass! Fool! Thrice worthy and beloved Barliman!  " said I. "It's  the 
best news I have had since midsummer: it's worth a gold piece at  the least. 
May  your  beer be  laid under an enchantment of surpassing  excellence  for  
seven years! " said  I. "Now I can take a night's  rest, the first  since  I 
have forgotten when." 
     `So I  stayed  there that  night, wondering much what had become of the 
Riders; for only of two had there yet been any news in Bree, it seemed.  But 
in the night we heard more. Five at least came from the west, and they threw 
down  the gates  and passed  through Bree  like  a  howling  wi nd;  and  the 
Bree-folk are still shivering and  expecting the end of the world. I got  up 
before dawn and went after them. 
     'I do not  know, but it seems clear  to me that this is  what happened. 
Their  Captain remained  in secret away  south of Bree, while two rode ahead 
through the village,  and four more  invaded the Shire. But when these  were


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there, if ever you return?' 
     `Not this at least.' said Boromir, 'that they will buy their lives with 
horses. They  love  their horses next  to their kin. And not without reason, 
for the horses of the Riddermark come from the fields of the North, far from 
the Shadow. and their race, as  that of their masters, is descended from the 
free days of old.' 
     'True indeed!'  said Gandalf. `And there is  one among them that  might 
have been foaled in the morning of the world. The horses of  the Nine cannot 
vie with him; tireless,   swift as the  flowing  wind. Shadowfax  they called 
him. By day  his coat glistens like silver; and by night it is like a shade, 
and  he  passes unseen. Light  is his footfall!  Never  before had  any  man 
mounted him, but I took him and I tamed him, and  so speedily he bore me that 
I  reached the Shire when  Frodo  was on the  Barrow-downs, though I set out 
from Rohan only when he set out from Hobbiton.


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####-troll-fells, and  Shadowfax departed.  I sent  him back to his master; but a  
great friendship has grown between us, and if I have need he will come at my 
call.  But so it  was  that I  came to Rivendell  only three days before the 
Ring, and news of  its peril had already been brought here-which proved well 
indeed. 
     `And  that, Frodo, is  the end of my account. May Elrond and the others 
forgive  the length of  it.  But such a thing has not happened  before, that 
Gandalf broke tryst and did not come  when  he  promised. An account to  the 
Ring-bearer of so strange an event was required, I think. 
     'Well, the  Tale is now  told, from first to last. Here we all are, and 
here is the Ring. But we have not yet come any  nearer to our  purpose. What 
shall we do with it?' 
     There was silence. At last Elrond spoke again. 
     `This  is grievous news concerning Saruman,' he  said; `for  we trusted


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####-Erestor. `It seems that he has a power even over the Ring.' 
     `No, I should not put  it so,'  said Gandalf. `Say rather that the Ring 
has no power over him. He is  his own master.  But he  cannot alter  the Ring 
itself,  nor break its  power over  others.  And now he is withdrawn  into a  
little  land,  within  bounds that  he  has set, though none  can  see them, 
waiting perhaps for a change of days, and he will not  step beyond them.' 
     `But within those bounds nothing seems to  dismay him,'  said  Erestor. 
`Would he not take the Ring and keep it there, for ever harmless?' 
     `No,' said Gandalf, `not willingly. He might  do so,  if all  the  free 
folk of the world begged  him, but he would not understand the need. And  if 
he were given  the Ring,  he would soon  forget  it, or most likely throw it 
away. Such  things  have  no hold on his mind. He  would  be  a  most unsafe 
guardian; and that alone is answer enough. '


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Their  Captain remained  in secret away  south of Bree, while two rode ahead 
through the village,  and four more  invaded the Shire. But when these  were 
foiled  in Bree  and  at Crickhollow, they  returned to their  Captain  with 
tidings, and so left the Road unguarded for  a while, except by their spies. 
The Captain then sent some eastward straight across country, and he  himself 
with the rest rode along the Road in great wrath. 
     'I galloped to Weathertop like  a gale, and I reached it before sundown 
on  my  second day from  Bree-and they were there befor e me.  They drew 
away 
from  me, for  they  felt the coming of my anger and they dared not  face it 
while the Sun  was  in the sky.  But they closed  round at  night, and I was 
besieged on the hill-top, in the old ring of Amon Syl. I was hard  put to it 
indeed:  such light and flame  cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the 
war-beacons of old.


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shall we do with it?' 
     There was silence. At last Elrond spoke again. 
     `This  is grievous news concerning Saruman,' he  said; `for  we trusted 
him and he  is deep in  all our counsels. It is perilous to study too deeply 
the arts of the Enemy, for  good  or  for ill. But such falls and betrayals,  
alas, have happened before. Of  the tales that  we have heard  this  day the 
tale  of  Frodo was most strange  to me. I have known few hobbits, save Bilbo 
here; and it seems to me that he is  perhaps  not so alone and singular as I 
had thought him. The world has changed much since I last was on the 
westward 
roads. 
     `The  Barrow-wights we know by  many names; and of the Old Forest  
many 
tales have been told: all that now remains is but an outlier of its northern 
march. Time was when a squirrel could go from tree to tree from what  is now 
the  Shire to Dunland west of Isengard. In those lands I journeyed once, and


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####-he not have  a  glimpse of  wisdom?  Why  do  you speak  ever of  hiding and 
destroying? Why should we not think  that the  Great Ring  has come into our 
hands to serve us in the very  hour of need? Wielding  it the Free  Lords of 
the Free may surely defeat the Enemy. That is what he most fears, I deem. 
     'The  Men of Gondor are valiant, and they  will never  submit; but they 
may be  beaten down. Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon. Let the 
Ring be  your  weapon, if it has such power as you say. Take it and go forth  
to victory!' 
     'Alas, no,' said  Elrond. 'We cannot use  the Ruling  Ring. That we now 
know  too well.  It belongs to  Sauron and was  made by  him  alone,  and is 
altogether evil. Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone  to wield at 
will, save only those who have already a great power  of their own.  But for 
them it holds an  even deadlier peril.  The very  desire of it  corrupts the


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away. Such  things  have  no hold on his mind. He  would  be  a  most unsafe 
guardian; and that alone is answer enough. ' 
     `But in any case,' said Glorfindel, `to send the Ring to him would only 
postpone the day of evil. He  is far away. We could not now take  it back to 
him, unguessed, unmarked by any spy.  And even if we could, soon or late the 
Lord of  the Rings wou ld learn of  its hiding place and  would bend  all his 
power towards it. Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone? I think not. 
I think that in the end, if all  else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last 
as he was First; and then Night will come.' 
     `I know little of Iarwain save the name,' said Galdor; `but Glorfindel, 
I think, is right. Power to defy our Enemy is not in him, unless  such power  
is  in the earth itself. And yet we see that Sauron  can torture and destroy 
the very hills. What power still remains lies with us,  here in Imladris, or


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march. Time was when a squirrel could go from tree to tree from what  is now 
the  Shire to Dunland west of Isengard. In those lands I journeyed once, and 
many things wild and strange I knew. But I had forgotten Bombadil, if indeed 
this is still the same that walked the woods and  hills long  ago, and  even 
then was older than the old. That was not then his name. Iarwain Ben -adar we 
called  him,  oldest and  fatherless. But many another name he has since been  
given by other folk:  Forn by the Dwarves,  Orald by Northern Men, and other  
names beside. He is a strange creature, but maybe I should have summoned 
him 
to our Council.' 
     `He would not have come,' said Gandalf. 
     `Could  we not still send messages to him  and obtain his help?'  asked


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besieged on the hill-top, in the old ring of Amon Syl. I was hard  put to it 
indeed:  such light and flame  cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the 
war-beacons of old. 
     `At sunrise I  escaped and fled towards the north. I  could not hope to 
do  more. It was impossible to  find you, Frodo, in  the wilderness, and  it 
would ha ve been folly  to try  with all the Nine  at  my heels. So I  had to 
trust  to Aragorn.  But I  hoped  to draw  some  of them  off, and yet reach 
Rivendell ahead of you  and send out help. Four Riders did indeed follow me, 
but they turned back  after a  wh ile and made  for the Ford,  it seems. That 
helped a  little,  for there  were only five, not  nine,  when your camp was 
attacked. 
     'I  reached here at last  by  a long  hard  road,  up the Hoarwell  and 
through the  Ettenmoors, and down from the north . It took me nearly fourteen 
days  from  Weathertop,  for  I  could  not  ride  among  the rocks  of  the


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less than a week before, and that a  black horseman had come to the Hill the 
same  evening. Then I rode  on  in  fear. I came to Buckland and found it in 
uproar, as busy as a hive of ants that has been stirred with a stick. I came 
to  the house at  Crickhollow, and  it was broken open and empty; but on the 
threshold there lay a  cloak  that had  been Frodo's. Then for a while  hope 
left me, and I did not wait  to gather news, or I might have been comforted; 
but I rode on the trail of the Riders. It was  hard to  follow, for  it went 
many ways, and  I was at a loss. But  it  seemed  to me that one  or two had 
ridden towards Bree; and that way I went, for I thought  of words that might  
be said to the innkeeper. 
     ' "Butterbur they call him," thought I. "If this delay was his fault, I 
will melt  all the butter in him. I  will roast the  old  fool  over a  slow 
fire."  He expected no  less, and when he saw  my face he fell down flat and 
began to melt on the spot.'


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is  in the earth itself. And yet we see that Sauron  can torture and destroy 
the very hills. What power still remains lies with us,  here in Imladris, or  
with Cirdan at the Havens, or in Lurien. But have they the strength, have we 
here the strength to withstand the Enemy, the  coming of Sauron at the last, 
when all else is overthrown?' 
     `I have not the strength,' said Elrond; `neither have they.' 
     `Then if the  Ring cannot be  kept  from him for ever by strength' said 
Glorfindel, `two things only remain  for  us to attempt: to send it over the 
Sea, or to destroy it.' 
     `But Gandalf has revealed to u s that  we cannot destroy it by any craft  
that we here possess,' said Elrond. `And they who dwell beyond the Sea would 
not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who 
still dwell here to deal with it.' 
     'Then, said Glorfindel, 'let us cast it into the deeps, and so make the


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will, save only those who have already a great power  of their own.  But for 
them it holds an  even deadlier peril.  The very  desire of it  corrupts the 
heart. Consider  Saruman. If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow 
the  Lord  of Mordor,  using  his own arts,  he  would then  set  himself on 
Sauron's throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear. And that is another  
reason  why the  Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the  world it 
will be a danger  even to  the Wise. For nothing  is evil in the  beginning. 
Even Sauron was not so. I fear to  take the Ring to hide it. I will not take 
the Ring to wield it.' 
     `Nor I,' said Gandalf. 
     Boromir looked at  them doubtfully,  but he bowed his head. `So be it,' 
he said. `Then in Gondor we must trust  to  such weapons as we have.  And at 
the least, while the Wise ones guard this Ring, we will fight on. Mayhap the 
Sword-that-was-Broken may still stem the tide --  if the hand that wields it


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all things that will give it. Send out messages  to all the beasts and birds 
that are  your friends.  Tell them to bring news  of anything that bears  on 
this matter to Saruman and Gandalf. Let messages be sent to Orthanc." 
     `  "I will do  that,"  he said, and rode off  as if  the Nine were after  
him. 
     `I could not follow him then and  there. I had ridden  very far already 
that day, and I was as weary as my horse;  and I needed to consider matters.  
I stayed the  night in Bree, and decided that I had no time to return to the 
Shire. Never did I make a greater mistake!  
     `However,  I wrote a message  to Frodo,  and trusted  to  my friend the 
innkeeper to send it to him. I rode away at dawn; and I came at long last to 
the dwelling of Saruman. That is far south in Isengard,  in  the  end  of the 
Misty  Mountains,  not far  from the Gap of Rohan. And Boromir will tell you  
that that is a great open vale that lies between the Misty Mountains and the


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####-only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.  It is wisdom to 
recognize  necessity,  when all  other courses have been  weighed, though as 
folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. Well, let folly be our 
cloak, a veil before the eyes of the  Enemy! For he is very wise, and weighs 
all  things to a nicety in  the scales  of his malice. But the only  measure 
that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into 
his  heart  the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that  having 
the Ring we may seek to destroy it. If we seek this, we shall put him out of 
reckoning.' 
     'At  least  for a while,' said  Elrond. `The road must  be trod, but it 
will  be very hard. And neither strength nor  wisdom will  carry us far upon 
it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. 
Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small


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####-the last; naught has been heard of it since Thrur  perished in Moria. Indeed 
I  may  now reveal that it was partly in  hope to find that  ring that Balin 
went away.' 
     `Balin will find no  ring in  Moria,'  said  Gandalf. `Thrur gave it to 
Thrbin his  son,  but not Thrbin to Thorin. It was taken  with  torment from 
Thrbin in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. I came too late.' 
     'Ah, alas!' cried Gluin.  'When will  the day come of our  revenge? But 
still there are the Three. What of the Three Rings of the Elves? Very mighty 
Rings, it is said. Do not the Elf-lords keep them? Yet they too were made by 
the Dark  Lord long ago. Are  they idle? I see Elf-lords here. Will they not 
say?' 
     The  Elves returned  no answer.  `Did you not  hear  me,  Gluin?'  said 
Elrond.  `The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But 
of them it  is not permitted to speak. So much only in this' hour of doubt I


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founded on the cunning of Sauron. But  fat men  who sell ale have many calls 
to answer; and the power of  Sauron is still less than fear makes it. But in 
the circle of Isengard, trapped and alone, it was not easy to think that the 
hunters before whom all have fled or fallen would falter  in  the  Shire far 
away.'


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####-feet were already on a crooked path. He knew that the Ring  was not lost for  
ever, but wished us to think so; for  he began to lust  for  it for himself. 
Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe.' 
     `Not safe  for ever,' said Gandalf. `There are many things in the  deep 
waters; and seas and lands may  change. And it is not our part here to  take 
thought only for a  season, or for a few lives  of Men, or for a passing age 
of the world.  We should seek a final  end of this menace, even if we do not 
hope to make one.' 
     'And that we shall not find on the roads to the  Sea,' said Galdor. 'If 
the  return to Iarwain be  thought too dangerous, then  flight to the S‚a is 
now fraught with gravest peril. My heart tells me that Sauron will expect us 
to take the western way, when he learns what has befallen. He soon will. The 
Nine have been unhorsed indeed but that is  but a respite, ere they find  new


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not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who 
still dwell here to deal with it.' 
     'Then, said Glorfindel, 'let us cast it into the deeps, and so make the 
lies of Saruman come true. For it is clear now that  even at the Council his


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will melt  all the butter in him. I  will roast the  old  fool  over a  slow 
fire."  He expected no  less, and when he saw  my face he fell down flat and 
began to melt on the spot.' 
     `What did you  do  to  him?' cried  Frodo in alarm. 'He was really very 
kind to us and did a ll that he could.' 
     Gandalf laughed.  'Don't be afraid!' he  said. `I  did not bite,  and I 
barked very little. So  overjoyed was I by  the news that I got out of  him, 
when he stopped  quaking, that I embraced  the old fellow. How it happened I 
could  not  then  guess, but I  learned  that you had been in Bree the night 
before, and had gone off that morning with Strider. 
     ` "Strider! " I cried, shouting for joy. 
     `  "Yes,  sir, I am afraid so, sir," said Butterbur, mistaking me.  "He 
got  at them,  in spite of all that I could do, and  they took  up with him. 
They behaved very queer all the time they were here: wilful, you might say."


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Misty  Mountains,  not far  from the Gap of Rohan. And Boromir will tell you  
that that is a great open vale that lies between the Misty Mountains and the 
northmost  foothills  of Ered  Nimrais, the White Mountains of his home. But 
Isengard is a  circle of  sheer rocks that enclose a valley as with  a wall, 
and in the midst of that valley is a tower of  stone called Orthanc.  It was 
not made by Saruman, but by the Men of N®menor long ago; and it is very tall 
and has many secrets; yet  it looks not to be  a work of craft. It cannot be 
reached save  by passing the circle of Isengard; and in that circle there is 
only one gate. 
     'Late one evening I came to the gate, like a great arch  in the wall of 
rock; and it was strongly guarded. But the  keepers of the  gate  were on the 
watch for me and told me that Saruman awaited me. I rode under the arch, and 
the gate closed silently behind me, and suddenly I was afraid, though I knew


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the least, while the Wise ones guard this Ring, we will fight on. Mayhap the 
Sword-that-was-Broken may still stem the tide --  if the hand that wields it 
has inherited not an heirloom only, but the sinews of the Kings of Men.' 
     `Who can tell?' said Aragorn. `But we will put it to the test one day.' 
     `May the  day not be too long delayed,' said Boromir. 'For though  I do 
not ask for aid, we need it. It would comfort  us to know that others fought 
also with all the means that they have.' 
     `Then  be comforted,'  said  Elrond.  `For  there are  other powers and 
realms that  you know not, and  they are hidden from you.  Anduin  the Great 
flows past many shores, ere it comes to Argonath and the Gates of Gondor.' 
     'Still it might be  well for all,' said Gluin the Dwarf,  'if all these 
strengths were joined, and  the powers  of each  were used in  league. Other  
rings there may be, less treacherous, that might be  used in  our need.  The


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it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. 
Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small  
hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.' 
     'Very  well,  very well,  Master Elrond!'  said Bilbo suddenly. 'Say no 
more! It  is plain  enough  what you are  pointing at. Bilbo the silly hobbit 
started this  affair, and Bilbo had better finish it, or himself. I was very 
comfortable here, and getting  on  with my  book.  If you want to know, I am 
just  writing  an  ending  for it.  I had   thought of putting: and  he lived 
happily ever afterwards  to the end of  his days.  It is a  good ending, and 
none the worse for having been used before. Now  I shall have to alter that: 
it does not look  like coming true;  and anyway there will evidently have to 
be  several  more chapters, if  I live to  write  them.  It  is  a frightful 
nuisance. When ought I to start?


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####-     Bilbo laughed. `I have never known you give me pleasant advice before.' 
he said.  `As  all your  unpleasant  advice has been  good, I wonder if this 
advice is not  bad. Still, I don't suppose I have the strength  or luck left  
to deal with the Ring. It has  grown, and I have  not.  But tell me: what do 
you mean by they?' 
     `The messengers who are sent with the Ring.' 
     `Exactly! And who are  they to be?  That seems to me  what this Council  
has to decide, and all  that  it has to decide. Elves  may  thrive on speech 
alone, and Dwarves endure great weariness;  but I am only an old hobbit, and 
I miss  my meal at noon. Can't you think of some  names  now?  Or put it off 
till after dinner?' 
     No one answered. The  noon-bell rang. Still no one spoke. Frodo glanced 
at all the faces, but they were not  turned to him. All the Council sat with 
downcast eyes,  as if in deep  thought. A great dread fell on him,  as if he


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####-More will go  tomorrow.  Elrond is sending Elves, and they will get in touch 
with the Rangers, and maybe  with  Thranduil's folk in Mirkwood. And 
Aragorn 
has gone with Elrond's  sons. We shall have to scour the lands all round for  
many long  leagues before any  move is  made. So cheer  up, Frodo! You  will 
probably make quite a long stay here.' 
     'Ah!' said  Sam gloomily.  'We'll  just wait long enough for  winter to 
come.' 
     'That can't be  helped,' said Bilbo.  'It's your fault partly, Frodo my 
lad: insisting on waiting  for my  birthday. A  funny way of honouring it, I 
can't help thinking. Not the day I should have chosen for letting the S.-B .s 
into Bag End. But there it is: you can't wait now fill spring; and you can't  
go till the reports come back. 
     When winter first begins to bite  
     and stones crack in the frosty night, 
     when pools are black and trees are bare, 
     'tis evil in the Wild to fare.


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to take the western way, when he learns what has befallen. He soon will. The 
Nine have been unhorsed indeed but that is  but a respite, ere they find  new 
steeds and  swifter. Only the waning might of Gondor stands  now between him 
and a march  in power along the  coasts into  the  North;  and if  he comes, 
assailing the White Towers and the  Havens, hereafter the Elves may  have no 
escape from the lengthening shadows of Middle-earth.' 
     'Long yet will that march be delayed,' said Boromir. 'Gondor wanes, you  
say.  But  Gondor stands,  and even the end  of its strength  is  still very 
strong.' 
     'And yet its vigilance can no longer keep back  the Nine,' said Galdor. 
'And other roads he may find that Gondor does not guard.' 
     'Then,' said Erestor, `there are but two courses, as Glorfindel already 
has declared:  to hide  the Ring  for ever;  or to  unmake it.  But both are 
beyond our power. Who will read this riddle for us?'


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Elrond.  `The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But 
of them it  is not permitted to speak. So much only in this' hour of doubt I 
may now say. They are not idle. But they were  not made as weapons of war or  
conquest:  that is  not  their power.  Those who  made  them did  not desire 
strength or  domination or  hoarded wealth, but understanding,  making,  and 
healing,  to preserve  all  things  unstained.  These things  the  Elves  of 
Middle-earth have in  some measure gained,  though with sorrow. But all that 
has  been wrought  by those who wield the Three will turn  to their undoing,  
and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the 
One. It would be better if the Three had never been. That is his purpose.' 
     `But what then would happen, if the Ruling Ring  were  destroyed as you  
counsel?' asked Gluin. 
     'We know not for certain,' answered  Elrond sadly. `Some hope that  the


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####-me with my book, and making a  start  on the next?  Have you  thought of  an 
ending?' 
     'Yes, several, a nd all are dark and unpleasant,' said Frodo. 
     'Oh, that won't do!' said Bilbo. `Books ought to have good endings. How 
would this do:  and they all  settled  down and  lived together happily ever 
after?' 
     `It will do well, if it ever comes to that,' said Frodo. 
     'Ah!' said Sam. 'And where will they live? That's what I often wonder.' 
     For a while the hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey 
and of the perils  that  lay ahead; but such  was the  virtue of the land of 
Rivendell that soon all  fear  and anxiety was lifted  from their minds. The 
future, good or  ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have  any  power over  
the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with 
each good day as it came, taking plea sure in every  meal,  and in every word 
and song.


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strengths were joined, and  the powers  of each  were used in  league. Other  
rings there may be, less treacherous, that might be  used in  our need.  The 
Seven are lost  to us  -- if Balin has not found the ring of Thrur which  was


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go till the reports come back. 
     When winter first begins to bite  
     and stones crack in the frosty night, 
     when pools are black and trees are bare, 
     'tis evil in the Wild to fare. 
     But that I am afraid will be just your luck.' 
     'I am  afraid  it  will,' said Gandalf. 'We  can't start until  we have 
found out about the Riders.' 
     `I thought they were all destroyed in the flood,' said Merry. 
     'You cannot destroy Ringwraiths like that,' said Gandalf. `The power of 
their master  is in them, and  they stand or fall by  him. We hope that they 
were all unhorsed and unmasked, and so made  for a while less dangerous;  but 
we must find out for certain. In the meantime you should try and forget your  
troubles, Frodo. I do not know if I can do anything to  help you; but I will 
whisper this in your ears. Someone said that intelligence would be needed in  
the party. He was right. I think I shall come with you.'


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Later that day the hobbits held a meeting of their own in Bilbo's room. 
Merry  and Pippin were indignant when they heard that Sam had crept into the 
Council, and had been chosen as Frodo's companion. 
     `It's most  unfair,' said  Pippin. `Instea d of  throwing  him out,  and 
clapping him in chains, Elrond goes and rewards him for his cheek!' 
     `Rewards!'  said Frodo.  'I can't imagine a more severe punishment. You  
are not  thinking what  you  are saying:  condemned  to  go on this hopeless 
journey, a  reward? Yesterday I dreamed that my  task  was done, and I could 
rest here, a long while, perhaps for good.' 
     'I don't wonder,' said Merry, 'and I wish you could. But we are envying 
Sam, not you. If you have to go, then it will be  a punishment for any of us 
to  be left behind, even in Rivendell. We have  come a long way with you and 
been through some stiff times. We want to go on.'


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`But what then would happen, if the Ruling Ring  were  destroyed as you  
counsel?' asked Gluin. 
     'We know not for certain,' answered  Elrond sadly. `Some hope that  the 
Three Rings,  which Sauron  has never touched,  would  then become free, and 
their  rulers might heal  the  hurts of  the world that he has wrought.  But 
maybe  when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will 
fade and be forgotten. That is my belief.' 
     `Yet all  the Elves are willing to endure this chance,' said Glorfindel 
'if by it the power of Sauron may be broken, and the fear of his dominion be  
taken away for ever.' 
     'Thus we return once more to the destroying of the Ring,' said Erestor, 
`and  yet we come  no  nearer. What  strength have we for the finding of the 
Fire in which  it was made? That  is  the path of despair. Of folly I  would  
say, if the long wisdom of Elrond did not forbid me.'


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has declared:  to hide  the Ring  for ever;  or to  unmake it.  But both are 
beyond our power. Who will read this riddle for us?' 
     'None here can do so,' said Elrond gravely. `At least none can foretell 
what will come to pass, if we take this road or that. But it seems to me now 
clear which is the road that  we must take. The westward road seems easiest.  
Therefore it must  be shunned. It will be watched. Too  often the Elves have 
fled that way. Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforeseen. 
There  lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into  peril-to  Mordor. We must 
send the Ring to the Fire.' 
     Silence fell again. Frodo, even in that fair house,  looking out upon a  
sunlit valley filled with the noise of clear waters, felt a dead darkness in 
his heart. Boromir  stirred, and Frodo looked at him. He  was finger ing  his 
great horn and frowning. At length he spoke. 
     'I do not understand all this,' he said. `Saruman is a traitor, but did


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the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with 
each good day as it came, taking plea sure in every  meal,  and in every word 
and song. 
     So the days slipped away, as  each morning dawned  bright and fair, and 
each evening followed cool and clear. But autumn was waning fast; slowly the 
golden light  faded to pale silver, and the  lingering leaves fell  from the 
naked trees. A wind began to  blow  chill  from  the  Misty Mountains to the 
east. The Hunter's Moon waxed round in the  night sky, and put to flight all 
the  lesser stars. But low  in the South one star shone red. Every night, as 
the  Moon  waned  again,  it shone brighter and brighter. Frodo could see it 
from his window, deep in the heavens burning like a watchful eye that glared 
above the trees on the brink of the valley. 
     The hobbits had been nearly  two  months  in the House  of  Elrond, and 
November  had  gone by  with the  last  shreds  of autumn, and  December was


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at all the faces, but they were not  turned to him. All the Council sat with 
downcast eyes,  as if in deep  thought. A great dread fell on him,  as if he 
was  awaiting  the pronouncement of some doom that he had long  foreseen  and 
vainly  hoped might after all never be spoken.  An  overwhelming longing  to 
rest and remain at peace by Bilbo's side in Rivendell filled all  his heart. 
At last with an effort  he spoke, and wondered to hear his  own words, as if 
some other will was using his small voice. 
     `I will take the Ring,' he said, `though I do not know the way.' 
     Elrond raised  his eyes and looked  at  him, and Frodo felt  his  heart 
pierced by the sudden keenness  of the glance. `If  I understand aright  all 
that I  have heard,' he said, `I think that this task  is appointed for you, 
Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no  one will. This is the hour  of 
the Shire-folk, when they arise from  their quiet fields to shake the towers


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to  be left behind, even in Rivendell. We have  come a long way with you and 
been through some stiff times. We want to go on.' 
     `That's  what  I  meant,'  said  Pippin. `We  hobbits  ought  to  stick  
together, and  we will. I shall go,  unless they chain me up.  There must be 
someone with intelligence in the party.' 
     'Then  you certainly will not  be chosen, Peregrin Took!' said Gandalf, 
looking in through  the window, which was  near the ground. `But you are all 
worrying yourselves unnecessarily. Nothing is decided yet.' 
     `Nothing  decided!' cried Pippin. 'Then what  were  you  all doing? You  
were shut up for hours.' 
     "Talking,' said Bilbo. `There was a deal  of  talk, and everyone had an 
eye-opener. Even old Gandalf.  I think  Legolas's  bit  of news  about Gollum 
caught even him on the hop, though he passed it off.' 
     `You were wrong,'  said Gandalf. 'You  were  inattentive. I had already


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####-or fortune  allows. The number must be  few, since your hope is in speed and 
secrecy. Had  I a host of Elves  in armour of the Elder Days, it would avail 
little, save to arouse the power of Mordor. 
     `The Company of the Ring  shall be Nine;  and the Nine Walkers shall be 
set  against  the  Nine Riders  that are  evil. With you and  your  faithful 
servant, Gandalf will go;  for this shall be his  great task,  and maybe the 
end of his labours.  
     `For  the  rest, they  shall represent the  other  Free Peoples  of the 
World:  Elves, Dwarves, and  Men. Legolas  shall be for the Elves; and Gimli 
son of Gluin for the Dwarves. They are willing to go at least  to the passes 
of the  Mountains,  and maybe beyond. For men you shall have  Aragorn son of 
Arathorn, for the Ring of Isildur concerns him closely.' 
     `Strider!' said Frodo. 
     'Yes,' he  said  with  a  smile.  `I ask  leave  once again to be  your 
companion, Frodo.'


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Fire in which  it was made? That  is  the path of despair. Of folly I  would  
say, if the long wisdom of Elrond did not forbid me.' 
     'Despair, or folly?' said Gandalf.  `It is not  despair, for despair is


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whisper this in your ears. Someone said that intelligence would be needed in  
the party. He was right. I think I shall come with you.' 
     So great was Frodo's delight at this announcement that Gandalf left the 
window-sill, where he  had been sitting, and took off his hat and  bowed. 'I  
only said I think I shall come. Do not count on anything yet. In this matter  
Elrond will have much to say, and your friend the Strider. Which reminds me, 
I want to see Elrond. I must be off.' 
     `How long  do you  think I  shall have here?' said  Frodo to Bilbo when 
Gandalf had gone. 
     `Oh,  I don't know. I can't count  days in Rivendell,' said Bilbo. 'But 
quite long, I should think. We can have many a good talk. What about helping


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The hobbits had been nearly  two  months  in the House  of  Elrond, and 
November  had  gone by  with the  last  shreds  of autumn, and  December was 
passing, when the scouts  began to  return. Some  had  gone north beyond the 
springs of the Hoarwell into the Ettenmoors;  and others had gone west,  and  
with the help of Aragorn and the Rangers had searched the lands far down the 
Greyflood, as far as Tharbad, where the old North Road crossed  the river by 
a ruined town. Many had gone east and south; and some  of these had  crossed 
the Mountains and entered Mirkwood, while others had climbed the pass at the 
source of the Gladden River, and had come  down into Wilderland and over the 
Gladden  Fields  and so at  length had reached the old  home  of Radagast at 
Rhosgobel. Radagast was not there; and they had  returned over the high pass 
that was called the Dimrill Stair. The sons of Elrond, Elladan and  Elrohir,


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####-back there as messengers, to do what they could, according to the fashion of 
their country, to warn the people of their danger. In any case, I judge that 
the younger of these two, Peregrin Took,  should remain. My heart is against 
his going.' 
     `Then, Master Elrond, you will have to  lock  me in prison,  or send me 
home  tied in  a  sack,'  said  Pippin. `For  otherwise  I shall follow  the 
Company.' 
     `Let it be so then. You shall go,' said Elrond, and he sighed. 'Now the 
tale of Nine is filled. In seven days the Company must depart.' 
     The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by Elvish smiths, and on its blade 
was traced  a device  of seven  stars set between the crescent Moon and  the 
rayed Sun,  and  about  them  was written  many  runes; for  Aragorn son  of 
Arathorn  was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. Very bright was  that 
sword  when it was made whole again; the light of the sun shone redly in it,


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caught even him on the hop, though he passed it off.' 
     `You were wrong,'  said Gandalf. 'You  were  inattentive. I had already 
heard of it from Gwaihir. If you want to know, the only real eye-openers, as 
you put  it,  were you  and Frodo;  and  I was  the  only  one  that was not 
surprised.' 
     `Well,  anyway,'  said Bilbo, 'nothing was decided beyond choosing poor  
Frodo  and Sam. I was  afraid all  the time that it might come to that, if I 
was let off. But if you ask me, Elrond will send out a fair number, when the 
reports come in. Have they started yet, Gandalf?' 
     'Yes,' said the wizard. `Some of the scouts have been sent out already.


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Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no  one will. This is the hour  of 
the Shire-folk, when they arise from  their quiet fields to shake the towers 
and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise  could  have foreseen it? Or,  
if they are wise, why  should they expect  to know it,  until  the hour  has 
struck? 
     `But it is a heavy burden. So heavy that  none could lay it on another. 
I do not lay it  on  you. But  if you  take it freely, I  will say that your 
choice  is right;  and though all the mighty elf-friends of  old, Hador, and 
H®rin, and T®rin, and Beren himself were assembled together your seat 
should 
be among them.' 
     `But you won't send him off alone surely, Mast er?' cried Sam, unable to 
contain himself any longer, and jumping up from the corner where he had been 
quietly sitting on the floor.


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it does not look  like coming true;  and anyway there will evidently have to 
be  several  more chapters, if  I live to  write  them.  It  is  a frightful 
nuisance. When ought I to start?  
     ' Boromir  looked  in surprise  at Bilbo, but the laughter died  on his 
lips  when he saw that  all the others regarded  the  old  hobbit with grave 
respect. Only Gluin smiled, but his smile came from old memories.  
     `Of course,  my dear Bilbo,' said Gandalf. `If  you had  really started 
this affair,  you might be expected to finish  it. But you know  well enough 
now that starting is too great a claim for  any, and that only  a small part 
is played in  great deeds by any hero. You need not bow! Though the word was 
meant, and we do not doubt that under jest you  are  making a valiant offer. 
But one beyond your strength, Bilbo. You cannot take this thing back. It has 
passed on. If you need my advice any longer, I should say that your  part is


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####-cold  and bright. 'This is Sting,' he said, and thrust it with little effort 
deep into a wooden beam. `Take it, if  you like.  I shan't want  it again, I 
expect.' 
     Frodo accepted it gratefully. 
     'Also there is this!' said Bilbo, bringing out a parcel which seemed to 
be rather  heavy for  its size. He unwound several folds of  old cloth,  and 
held up a  small shirt of  mail. It was close-woven of many  rings, as supple 
almost as linen, cold as ice,  and  harder than steel. It shone like moonlit 
silver,  and  was studded  with white gems. With it  was a belt of pearl and 
crystal. 
     'It's  a pretty thing,  isn't it?'  said Bilbo, moving it in the light. 
`And  useful.  It  is my dwarf-mail that  Thorin gave me. I got it back from 
Michel Delving before I started,  and packed  it with my  luggage: I brought  
all the mementoes of my Journey away with me, except the Ring. But I did not 
expect to use this, and I don't need it  now, except to  look  at sometimes.


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Arathorn, for the Ring of Isildur concerns him closely.' 
     `Strider!' said Frodo. 
     'Yes,' he  said  with  a  smile.  `I ask  leave  once again to be  your 
companion, Frodo.' 
     `I would have begged you to come,' said Frodo, 'only I thought you were 
going to Minas Tirith with Boromir.' 
     `I am,' said  Aragorn. `And the Sword-that-was-Broken shall be reforged 
ere I  set out to  war. But your road  and our  road  lie  together for many 
hundreds  of  miles. Therefore Boromir  will also be in the Company. He is a 
valiant man.' 
     'There remain  two more  to  be  found,'  said  Elrond.  "These  I will 
consider. Of my household I may find some that it seems good to me to send.' 
     `But  that will leave  no place for  us!'  cried Pippin in  dismay. `We 
don't want to be left behind. We want to go with Frodo.' 
     `That  is  because  you do not understand a nd cannot imagine what  lies 
ahead,' said Elrond.


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Rhosgobel. Radagast was not there; and they had  returned over the high pass 
that was called the Dimrill Stair. The sons of Elrond, Elladan and  Elrohir, 
were the  last  to return;  they had  made a great journey, passing down the


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Arathorn  was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. Very bright was  that 
sword  when it was made whole again; the light of the sun shone redly in it, 
and the light of the  moon shone cold, and its edge  was hard and  keen. And 
Aragorn gave it a new name and called it And®ril, Flame of the West. 
     Aragorn and Gandalf walked together  or sat speaking of  their road and 
the  perils they  would meet; and they pondered the storied and figured maps 
and books of lore that were in the house of Elrond. Sometimes Frodo was with 
them; but  he was content to  lean on their guidance,  and he spent  as much 
time as he could with Bilbo. 
     In those  last days the hobbits sat together in the evening in the Hall 
of Fire, and there among many tales they heard told in full the lay of Beren 
and L®thien and the winning of the  Great Jewel; but in the day, while Merry 
and Pippin were out and about, Frodo and Sam were  to be found with Bilbo in


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####-     `No indeed!'  said Elrond, turning towards  him with a smile.  `You  at 
least shall go with him. It  is  hardly  possi ble to separate  you from him, 
even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not.' 
     Sam sat  down, blushing and muttering.  `A nice  pickle we  have landed  
ourselves in, Mr. Frodo!' he said, shaking his head. 
 

####- 

Chapter 3. The Ring Goes South


