returnoftheshadow72

by Miguel

  The curious thing is that in the form of the chapter-opening that was allowed to stand the account of the Rangers is quite different, and does not follow on from the words 'No other Men lived at that time so far West, nor so near by a hundred leagues to the Shire', but is placed further on (after 'There was Bree-blood in the Brandybuck family by all accounts', FR p. 162). This version reads:

  In the wild lands east of Bree there roamed a few unsettled folk (men and hobbits). These the people of the Bree-land called Rangers. Some of them were well-known in Bree, which they visited fairly frequently, and were welcome as bringers of news and tellers of strange tales.

  Later in the chapter, Butterbur answers Frodo's question about Trotter thus:

  I don't rightly know. He is one of the wandering folk - Rangers, we call them. Not that he really is a Ranger, if you understand me, though he behaves like one. He seems to be a hobbit of some kind. He has been coming in pretty often during the past twelve months, especially since last spring; but he seldom talks.

  In the original version at this place (p. 137) Butterbur says: 'O! that is one of the wild folk - rangers we call 'em.' And Gandalf in his letter to Frodo still refers in the third phase text, as in the old version, to Trotter as 'a ranger... dark rather lean hobbit, wears wooden shoes' (p. 352). With these extracts compare the note in Queries and Alterations (p. 223): Rangers are best not as hobbits, perhaps.

  It is difficult to interpret this. In the third phase we find the statement (in draft versions) that Rangers are 'the last remnant of the kingly people from beyond the Seas', and also the statements that Rangers are both men and hobbits, that one particular hobbit is a Ranger (so Gandalf), and that this same hobbit is 'not really a Ranger, though he behaves like one' (so Butterbur). The simplest explanation is to suppose that the Numenorean origin of the Rangers was an idea that my father was considering in the drafts, but which he set aside when he wrote the text of the chapter and the subsequent narrative (see further p. 393). Whatever the explanation, it is clear that the finished conception of the Rangers had a difficult emergence; and it is characteristic that even when the idea of the Rangers as the last descendants of the Numenorean exiles had arisen, and a place thus prepared, as it were, for Trotter, he did not at once move into that place.

  The village of Staddle now reappears (see p. 132), on the other side of the hill; and Combe is set 'in a deep valley a little further eastward', Archet 'on the edge of Chetwood'-all as in FR p. 161. That Bree stood at an old meeting of the ways, the East Road and the Greenway running north and south, now appears. In the only one of the draft versions of the opening to reach the actual narrative, the hobbits

  passed one or two detached houses before they came to the inn, and Sam and Folco stared at these in wonder. Sam was filled with deep suspicion, and doubted the wisdom of seeking any lodging in such an outlandish place. 'Fancy having to climb up a ladder to bed!' he said. 'What do they do it for? They aren't birds.'

  'It's airier,' said Frodo, 'and safer too in wilder country. There is no fence around Bree that I can see.'

  Here my father stopped; probably at that moment he decided that this was improbable. In the completed text of the chapter dike, hedge, and gate appear.

  Frodo and his companions came at last to the Greenway- crossing and drew near the village. They found that it was surrounded by a deep ditch with a hedge and fence on the inner side. Over this the Road ran, but it was closed (as was the custom after nightfall) by a great gate of loose bars laid across strong posts on either side.

  A little sketch-map, reproduced on p. 335, very likely belongs to just this time. Written beside the line marking the outer circuit of Bree is 'ditch R f', i.e. 'fence'. (For an earlier, very simple sketch-plan of Bree see p. 174, note 20).

  The text continues:

  There was a house just beyond the barrier, and a man was sitting at the door. He jumped up and fetched a lantern, and looked down over the gate at them in surprise.

  'We are making for the inn here,' said Frodo in answer to his questions. 'We are journeying east, and cannot go further tonight.'

  'Hobbits! ' said the man. 'And what's more, Shire-hobbits from the sound of your talk! Well, if that is not a wonder: Shire-folk riding by night and journeying east! '

  He removed the bars slowly and let them ride through. 'And what makes it stranger,' he went on: 'there's been more than one traveller in the last few days going the same way, and enquiring after a party of four hobbits on ponies. But I laughed at them and said there had been no such party and was never likely to be. And here you are! But if you go on to old Butterbur's I don't doubt you'll find a welcome, and more news of your friends, maybe.'

  They wished him goodnight; but Frodo made no comment on his talk, though he could see in the lantern-light that the man was eyeing them curiously. He was glad to hear the bars dropped in their places behind them as they rode forward. One Black Rider at least was now ahead of them, or so he guessed from the man's words, but it was likely enough that others were still behind. And what about Gandalf? Had he, too, passed through, trying to catch them up while they were delayed in the Forest and Downs?

  The hobbits rode on up a gentle slope, passing a few detached houses, and drew up outside the inn....

  The account of Sam's dismay at the sight of the tall houses, of the structure of the inn, and of their arrival, is almost word for word as in FR p. 164; and Barnabas Butterbur is now a man, not a hobbit. But the passage in the original version in which Bingo (Frodo) refers to Tom Bombadil's recommendation of The Prancing Pony and is then made welcome by the landlord (pp. 134 - 5) is retained. Frodo now introduces them by their correct names, except that he calls himself 'Mr Hill of Faraway' (see pp. 280, 324). Butterbur replies much as in the old version (p. 135), but his remarks there about the Tooks are now applied to the Brandybucks, and not merely in the general context of the Shire-folk but because Merry has been introduced as Mr Brandybuck; and he now mentions the strangers who had come up the Greenway the night before. The passage about their supply of money (see p. 136 and note 7) is retained, though the urgency is made less ('Frodo had brought some money with him, of course, as much as was safe or convenient; but it would not cover the expenses of good inns indefinitely.')

  From 'The landlord hovered round for a little, and then prepared (2) to leave them' the new chapter reaches the final form for a long stretch with only minor differences and for the most part in the same words. The people in the common-room of the inn (including the strangers from the South, who 'stared curiously') are as in FR (and the botanical names of the Men of Bree, see p. 137 and note 8); but 'among the company [Frodo] noticed the gate-keeper, and wondered vaguely if it was his night off duty.' The 'squint-eyed ill-favoured fellow' who in FR foretold that many more people would be coming north in the near future is here simply 'one of the travellers' who had come up the Greenway. Folco Took is now of course 'the ridiculous young Took'; but he does not yet tell the tale of the collapse of the roof of the Town Hole in Michel Delving. Frodo 'heard someone ask what part the Hills lived in and where Faraway was; and he hoped Sam and Folco would be careful.'

  As already noticed, Trotter remains a hobbit;(3) and the description of him in fact follows the original version (p. 137) closely, including the wooden shoes; his pipe was changed from 'broken' to 'short-stemmed' in the act of writing, and he had 'an enormous mug (large even for a man)' in front of him. In Frodo's first conversation with Trotter, and in all that follows to the end of Chapter g in FR, the present text moves almost to the final form (which has in any case been virtually attained, in the latter part, already in the original version, see p.140). Frodo's feeling that the suggestion that he put on the Ring came to him 'from outside, from someone or something in the room' is present. At first my father wrote simply that the 'swarthy-faced fellow' (Bill Ferney) (4) 'slipped out of the door, followed by one of the southerners: not a well-favoured pair', but by a change that seems little later than the writing of the manuscript this became:
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br />   Very soon he slipped out of the door, followed by Harry the gate-keeper, and by one of the southerners: the three had been whispering together in a corner most of the evening. For a moment he wondered if the Ring itself had not played him a trick - or perhaps obeyed orders other than his own. He did not like the looks of the three men that had gone out, especially not the [dark- eyed >] squint-eyed southerner.

  In this text it has already been mentioned that the gate-keeper was present at the inn; this is not in FR, though it is said that he went out just behind the other two. - The text of The Cat and the Fiddle is now exactly in the final form.

  In the original version I divided the text for convenience at the point where Chapter g ends in FR, though there is no break in the manuscript. The present version also continues without a break, and in this case it is more convenient to treat the old chapter as a whole.

  The next part of the story follows the original form (pp. 148 - 9) very closely to the point where Trotter tells Bingo about his 'eavesdropping' on the Road. There, Trotter had overheard Gandalf and the Dwarves and Elves (returning from Hobbiton after Bingo Bolger-Baggins' 'long- expected party' and disappearance) talking about Bingo and his companions who were supposed to be on the Road behind them: the date was Sunday morning, September 25th (p. 160). The present version here introduces a major alteration into the narrative structure, but by no means to the story in FR, where Strider overhears the hobbits talking to Bombadil when he left them on the East Road (and hears Frodo say that he must be known as Underhill, not Baggins).

  It seems likely that the new story, in which the further adventures of Odo Bolger first appear in formed narrative, arose when my father came to this chapter in his writing of the third phase manuscripts, and that it was at this stage that he pencilled in the notes about Odo leaving Crickhollow with Gandalf (5) after the rout of the Black Riders (see p. 328): that is why, in the note to the second text of the attack on Crickhollow, he gave the reference 'IX.22'. IX.22 is the manuscript page in which Trotter's story of his eavesdropping on Gandalf and Odo on the East Road appears in the present chapter.

  It will be seen that version 'A' of the original story is used: see pp. 148 and 171 note 1.

  The opening of this section of the story is duplicated, both versions appearing to belong to the same time of writing, and neither being struck out; but the second form given here was preferred. The one reads:

  ... I was behind a hedge, when a man on a horse halted on the Road not far [west of Bree > (at time of writing)] east of Bree. To my surprise there was a hobbit riding behind him on the same horse! They got off to take a meal, and started talking. Now, oddly enough, they were discussing a certain Frodo Baggins and his three companions. I gathered that these four strange folk were hobbits that had bolted out of the Shire (by a back-door, as you might say) last Monday, and ought to be on the Road somewhere. The travellers were very worried about Mr Baggins, and wondered whether he was on the Road or off it, in front of them or behind. They wanted to find him and warn him.

  'A bit incautious, I must say, of Gandalf - there now! Gandalf it was, of course: there's no mistaking him, you'll agree - to go talking like that by the Road-side. But actually he was speaking low, and I happened to be lying very close. That would be yesterday noon: Wednesday.

  The other reads:

  ... I was hiding under a hedge, by the Road some way west of Bree, trying to shelter from the rain, when a man on horseback halted close by. To my surprise there was a hobbit riding behind him on the same horse! They got off to rest, and take a little food, and they started talking. If you want to know, they were discussing a certain Frodo Baggins and his three companions. I gathered that these were four hobbits that had left the Shire in a great hurry the previous day. The horseman was trying to catch them up, but he was not sure if they were on the Road or off it, in front or behind. He seemed very worried, but hoped to find them at Bree. I thought it very strange, for it is not often that Gandalf's plans go wrong.'

  Frodo stirred suddenly at the mention of the name, and Trotter smiled. 'Yes, Gandalf!' he said. 'I know what he looks like, and once seen never forgotten, you'll agree. He was speaking very low, but he had no idea that old Trotter was so close. That was on Tuesday evening, just as the light was failing.

  The hobbits left Crickhollow early in the morning of Monday 26 September, and arrived in Bree at nightfall on Thursday 29 September (p- 160). The first of these variants makes Trotter see Gandalf and Odo on the road east of Bree on the Wednesday, i.e. after passing through the village; the second places the encounter a day earlier, on the Tuesday evening, before they reached Bree. Therefore Frodo calculates, in the passage that now follows, that Gandalf had reached Crickhollow 'on the

  Monday, after they had left,' since Bree was a day's riding from the Brandywine Bridge. The rain on the Tuesday from which Trotter was sheltering was the rain that fell during the hobbits' second day in the house of Tom Bombadil. The text continues:

  Now up comes a hobbit and three friends out of the Shire, and though he gives out the name of Hill, his friends call him Frodo, and they all seem to know a good deal about the doings of Gandalf and the Bagginses of Hobbiton. I can put two and two together, when it is as easy as that. But don't let it trouble you: I shall keep the answer to myself. Maybe, Mr Baggins has a good honest reason for leaving his name behind. But if so, I should advise him to remember that there are others besides Trotter that can do such easy sums - and not all are to be trusted.'

  'I am obliged to you,' said Frodo, greatly relieved. Here at any rate was news of Gandalf; and of Odo too, apparently. Gandalf must have turned up at Crickhollow on the Monday, after they had left. But Frodo was still suspicious of Trotter, and was determined to pretend that the affair was of no special importance. 'I have not left my name behind, as you put it,' he said stiffly. 'I called myself Hill at this inn merely to avoid idle questions. Mr Butterbur has quite enough to say as it is. I don't quite see how anyone would guess my real name from what has occurred, unless he had your skill in eavesdropping. And I don't see, either, what special interest my name has for anybody in Bree, or for you, for that matter.'

  Trotter laughed at him. 'Don't you?' he said grimly. 'But eavesdropping, as you put it, is not unknown in Bree. And besides, I have not told you all about myself yet.'

  At that moment he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mr Butterbur was there with a tray of candles, and Nob behind him with cans of hot water. 'I've come to wish you a 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, Mr Hill,' he began: 'I've been asked more than once to look out for a party of four hobbits and five ponies. Hullo, Trotter! You here?' 'It's all right,' said Frodo. 'Say what you wish! Trotter has my leave to stay.' Trotter grinned.

  'Well,' began Mr Butterbur again, 'it's like this: a couple of days ago, yes, it would be late on Tuesday night, just as I was going to lock up, there came a ring at the bell in the yard. Who should be standing at the door but old Gandalf, if you know who I mean! All wet through he was: it had been raining heavens hard all day.

  There was a hobbit with him, and a white horse - very tired the poor beast was; for it had carried both of them a long way, it seemed. "Bless me, Gandalf!" says I. " What are you doing out in this weather at this time of night? And who's your little friend?" But he winked at me, and didn't answer my questions. "Hot drinks and warm beds!" he croaked, and stumbled up the steps.

  'Later on he sent for me. "Butterbur," says he. "I'm looking for some friends: four hobbits. One is a round-bellied little fellow with red cheeks" - begging your pardon - "and the others just young hobbits. They should have five ponies and a good deal of baggage. Have you seen them? They ought to have passed through Bree some time today,(6) unless they have stopped here." 'He seemed very put out, when I said no such party was at The Pony, and none had passed through, to my certain knowledge. "That's bad news!" he said, tugging at his beard. "Will you
do two things for me? If this party turns up, give them a message: Hurry on! Gandalf is ahead. Just that. Don't forget, because it's important! And if anyone - anyone, mind you, however strange - enquires after a hobbit called Baggins, tell them Baggins has gone east with Gandalf. Don't forget that either, and I shall be grateful to you."' The landlord paused, looking hard at Frodo.

  'Thank you very much!' said Frodo, thinking Mr Butterbur had finished, and relieved to find that his story was much the same as Trotter's, and no more alarming. All the same he was extremely puzzled by Gandalf's mysterious words about Baggins. He wondered if Butterbur had got it all wrong.

  'Ah! But wait a minute!' said the landlord, lowering his voice. 'That wasn't the end of it. And that's what is puzzling me. On Monday a big black fellow went through Bree on a great black horse, and all the folk were talking about it. The dogs were all yammering and the geese screaming as he rode through the village. I heard later that three of these riders were seen on the Road by Combe; though where the other two had sprung from I couldn't say.

  'Gandalf and his little friend Baggins went off yesterday, after sleeping late, about the middle of the morning. In the evening, just before the road-gate was shut, in rode the black fellows again, or others as like them as night and dark. "There's the Black Man at the door!" shouted Nob, running to fetch me with his hair all on end. Sure enough, it was: not one nor three, though, but four of them! One was sitting there in the twilight with his big black horse almost on my door-step. All hooded and cloaked he was. He bent down and spoke to me, and very cold I thought his voice sounded. And what do you think? He was asking for news of four hobbits riding east out of the Shire! (7)