returnoftheshadow72

by Miguel

  Wednesday Oct. 5. Bad news. We arrived late Monday. Odo vanished last night. I must go at once to Rivendell. Make for Ford beyond Trollshaw with all speed, but look out. Enemies may attempt to guard it.

  G . (3).

  'Odo!' cried Merry. 'Does that mean that the Riders have got

  him? How horrible!'

  'Our missing Gandalf has turned out disastrous,' said Frodo. 'Poor Odo! I expect this is the result of pretending to be Baggins. If only we could all have been together! '

  'Monday! ' said Trotter. 'Then they arrived when we were in the marshes, and Gandalf did not leave till we were already close to the hills. They cannot have caught any glimpse of our miserable little fires on Monday, or on Tuesday. I wonder what happened here that night. Still it is no good guessing: there is nothing we can do but make for Rivendell as best we may.'(4)

  'How far is Rivendell?' asked Frodo, looking round wearily. The world looked wild and wide from Weathertop.

  From here the text follows the old version (pp. 170 - 1 ) almost exactly - with the revised form of Trotter's answer concerning the distance to Rivendell, p. 171 - to the end of the chapter, with Trotter, Frodo, and Merry slipping down from the summit of Weathertop to find Sam and Folco in the dell (where the original Chapter Vl I also ended).

  Since Gandalf and Odo left Bree on the morning of Wednesday 28 September but did not reach Weathertop till late on Monday 3 October, they took longer even than Trotter had calculated (p. 355): nearly six days on horseback, whereas Trotter says (in this text as in the old, p. 171) that it would take 'a ranger on his own feet' about a week from Bree to Weathertop (in the rejected passage of the old text, p. 170, Trotter said that he reckoned it was 'about 120 long-miles' by the Road). Trotter's words ' I wonder what happened here that night', referring to the night on which Odo vanished (Tuesday 4 October), show that the night camp at the foot of the hills on 5 October had entered the narrative, and that it was now Thursday 6 October, for he would not say 'that night' if he meant 'last night'. The chronology given on p. 355 can therefore be completed for this stage of the development of the narrative thus:

  Mon. Oct. 3. Second day and camp in the marshes. Gandalf and Odo reach Weathertop late.

  Tues. Oct. 4. Leaving the marshes. Camp by stream under alders. Odo disappears from Weathertop at night.

  Wed. Oct. 5. Camp at feet of hills Gandalf leaves Weathertop.

  Thurs. Oct. 6. Trotter, Frodo and companions reach Weathertop.

  *

  The next chapter, numbered XI but without title,(5) begins with an account of what Sam and Folco had been doing (FR p. 201), which is where the corresponding chapter VIII in the original version began

  (p 177).

  Sam and Folco had not been idle. They had explored the small dell and the surrounding valley. Not far away they had found a spring of clear water, and near it footprints not more than a day or two old. In the dell itself they had found recent traces of a fire and other signs of a small camp. But the most unexpected and most welcome discovery was made by Sam. There were some large fallen rocks at the edge of the dell nearest to the hill-side. Behind them Sam came upon a small store of fire-wood neatly stacked; and under the wood was a bag containing food. It was mostly cakes of cram(6) packed in two small wooden boxes, but there was also a little bacon, and some dried fruits.

  'Old Gandalf has been here, then,' said Sam to Folco. 'These packets of cram show that. I never heard tell of anyone but the two Bagginses and the wizard using that stuff. Better than dying of hunger, they say, but not much better.'

  'I wonder if it was left for us, or if Gandalf is still about somewhere near,' said Folco. 'I wish Frodo and the other two would come back.'

  Sam was more grateful for the cram when the others did return, hurrying back to the dell with their alarming news. There was a long journey ahead of them before they could expect to get help; and it seemed plain that Gandalf had left what food he could spare in case their own supplies were short.

  'It is probably some that he did not need after poor Odo's disappearance,' said Frodo. 'But what about the wood?'

  'I think they must have collected it on the Tuesday,' said Trotter, 'and were preparing to wait here in camp for some time. They would have to go some distance for it, as there are no trees close at hand.'

  It was already late afternoon, and the sun was sinking. They debated for some while what they ought to do. It was the store of fuel that finally decided them to go no further that day, and to camp for the night in the dell.

  The text now follows the old version (pp. 177 - 9) fairly closely. To Merry's question 'Can the enemies see?' Trotter now replies: 'Their horses can see. They do not themselves see the world of light as we do; but they are not blind, and in the dark they are most to be feared.' Trotter no longer says that there were Men dwelling in the lands away to the South of them; nor is it told that they took it in turns to sit on guard at the edge of the dell. The passage describing Trotter's tales is a characteristic blending of the old version (p. 179) with new elements that would survive into FR (p. 203):

  As night fell and the light of the fire began to shine out brightly, Trotter began to tell them tales to keep their minds from fear. He knew much lore concerning wild animals, and understood something of their languages; and he had strange tales to tell of their hidden lives and little known adventures. He knew also many histories and legends of the ancient days, of hobbits when the Shire was still unexplored, and of things beyond the mists of memory out of which the hobbits came. They wondered how old he was, and where he had learned all this lore.

  'Tell us of Gilgalad,' said Merry suddenly, when he paused at the end of a story of the Elf-kingdoms. 'You spoke that name not long ago, and it is still ringing in my ears. I seem to remember hearing it before, but I cannot remember anything else about it.'

  'You should ask the possessor of the Ring about that name,' answered Trotter in a low voice. Merry and Folco looked at Frodo, who was staring into the fire.

  From this point the manuscript is defective, two sheets being missing; but a rejected page carries the story a little further before tailing off:

  'I know only the little that Gandalf told me,' he said. 'Gilgalad was the last of the great elf-kings. Gilgalad is Starlight in their tongue. With the aid of King Elendil, the Elf-friend, he overthrew the Enemy, but they both perished. And I would gladly hear more if Trotter will tell us. It was the son of Elendil that carried off the Ring. But I cannot tell that tale. Tell us more, Trotter, if you will.' 'No,' said Trotter. 'I will not tell that tale now, in this time and place with the servants of the Enemy at hand. Perhaps in the house of Elrond you will hear it. For Elrond knows it in full.'

  'Then tell us some other tale of old,' said Merry...

  Trotter's song, and his story of Beren and Luthien, are thus missing here; and the manuscript takes up again at 'As Trotter was speaking they watched his strange eager face...' From this point the text of FR, as far as the end of Chapter ir 'A Knife in the Dark' was achieved, with scarcely any difference even of wording, except for these points: Folco stands for Pippin; there were still three Riders, not five, in the attack on the dell; and Frodo as he threw himself on the ground cried out Elbereth! Elbereth!

  At this point Chapter 12 'Flight to the Ford' begins in FR, but as in the original text (p. 190) the present version continues without break to the Ford of Rivendell. The relations of chapter-structure between the present phase and FR can be shown thus (and cf. the table on p. 133):

  As is characteristic of these third phase chapters, the present text advances largely towards the form in FR in detail of wording and description, but retains many features of the original version; thus the 'red flash' seen at the moment of the attack on Weathertop survives, of the slash in the black robe Trotter still says only 'What harm it did to the Black Rider I do not know', and the distant cries of the Riders as they crossed the Road are not heard, while on the other hand the firewood left by Gandalf is no longer said to have been taken with t
hem, and the rejuvenation of Bill Ferney's pony is described (for these elements in the narrative see pp. 190 - 1). Trotter now speaks aside to Sam, but what he says is different:

  'I think I understand things better now,' he said in a low voice. 'Our enemies knew the Ring was here; perhaps because they have captured Odo, and certainly because they can feel its presence. They are no longer pursuing Gandalf. But they have now drawn off from us for the time, because we are many and more bold than they expected, but especially because they think they have slain or mortally wounded your master - so that the Ring will inevitably come soon into their power.'

  The rest of his words to Sam are as in FR (p. 210). - In the discussion of what it were best to do now (FR p. 211) the present version reads:

  The others were discussing this very question. They decided to leave Weathertop as soon as possible. It was already Friday morning, and the two days that Gandalf's message had asked for would soon be up. In any case it was no good remaining in so bare and indefensible a place, now that their enemies had discovered them, and knew also that Frodo had the Ring. As soon as the daylight was full they had some hurried food and packed.

  For 'the two days that Gandalf's message had asked for' see notes 3 and 4.

  The chronology of the journey remains as in the original text (see pp. 192 - 3, 219): they still recrossed the Road on the morning of the sixth day from Weathertop (the seventh in FR), and spent three days in the hills before the weather turned to rain (two in FR). But the lag of one day that remained between the original text and FR (owing to their earlier arrival on Weathertop), so that they reached the Ford of Rivendell on 19 October, is no longer present (see p. 356).

  The rain that Trotter judged had fallen some two days before at the place where they crossed the Road again (FR p. 213) is now mentioned, but the River Hoarwell (Mitheithel) and the Last Bridge have still not emerged. The river which they could see in the distance, unnamed in the first version (p. 191), is now given a name: 'the Riven River, that came down out of the Mountains and flowed through Rivendell' (later in the chapter it is called 'the Rivendell River').

  The conversation between Trotter, Folco and Frodo arising from the ruined towers in the hills remains as in the first version (pp. 192 - 3; FR p.214).

  When the rain stopped, and Trotter climbed up to see the lie of the land, he observed in the first version (p. 193) that 'if we keep on as we are going, we shall get into impassable country among the skirts of the Mountains.' This now becomes: 'we shall get up into the [Dimrill-lands >] Dimrilldales far north of Rivendell.'(7) He continues, approaching Strider's words in FR:

  'It is a troll-country, I have heard, though I have not been there. We could perhaps find our way through and come round to Rivendell from the north; but it would take long, and our food would not last. Anyway we ought to follow Gandalf's last message and make for the Rivendell Ford. So somehow or other we must strike the Road again.'

  The encounter with the Stone Trolls follows the first version: Trotter slapped the stooping troll, called him William, and pointed out the bird's nest behind Bert's ear. There is still no suggestion of Sam's Troll Song; and when Frodo saw the memorial stone he 'wished that Bilbo had brought home no treasure more perilous than stolen money rescued from trolls.' The description of the Road here is nearly that of the First Edition of FR (see p. 200): 'At this point the Road had turned away from the river, leaving it at the bottom of a narrow valley, and clung close to the feet of the hills, rolling and winding northward among woods and heather-covered slopes towards the Ford and the Mountains.'

  Glorfindel now calls Trotter not Padathir (p. 194) but Du-finnion, calling out Ai, Du-finnion! Mai govannen! The passage beginning with Trotter's signalling to Frodo and the others to come down to the road is found in two forms, the second to all appearance immediately replacing the first. The first runs:

  Hail and well met at last! ' said Glorfindel to Frodo. 'I was sent from Rivendell to look for your coming. Gandalf feared that you might follow the Road.'

  'Gandalf has arrived at Rivendell then?' cried Merry. 'Has he found Odo? '

  'Certainly there is a hobbit of that name with him,' said Glorfindel; 'but I did not hear that he had been lost. He rode behind Gandalf from the north out of Dimrildale.'

  'Out of Dimrildale?' exclaimed Frodo.

  'Yes,' said the elf; 'and we thought that you also might go that way to avoid the peril of the Road. Some have been sent to seek for you in that country. But come! There is no time now for news or debate, until we halt. We must go on with all speed, and save our breath. Hardly a day's ride back westward there are horsemen, searching for your trail along the Road and in the lands on either side...

  Glorfindel continues as in the first version (p. 195). The replacement passage differs mostly in small points: Glorfindel does not say of Odo 'but I did not hear that he had been lost', Dimrilldale is so spelt (cf. p. 360), in place of Dimrildale in the rejected text; and the interjections of Merry and Frodo are reversed. The important difference lies in Glorfindel's words:

  'There are horsemen back westward searching for your trail along the Road, and when they find the place where you came down from the hills, they will ride after us like the wind. But they are not all: there are others, who may be before us now, or upon either hand. Unless we go with all speed and good fortune, we shall find the Ford guarded against us by the enemy.'

  From Frodo's faintness and Sam's objection to Glorfindel's urging the text of FR to the end of the chapter is achieved almost to the last word.(8) Yet there remain certain differences. Only three Riders came out of the tree-hung cutting behind the fugitives; and 'out from the trees and rocks away on the left other Riders came flying. Three rode towards Frodo; three galloped madly towards the Ford to cut off his escape.' And at the very end 'Three of the Riders turned and rode wildly away to the left down the bank of the River; the others, borne by their terrified and plunging horses, were driven into the Rood and carried away.' This is derived from the first version (p. 197), where however there were only two Riders that escaped the flood. The manuscript was changed to the reading of the final paragraph of the chapter in FR, where no Riders escaped, and this was done before or in the course of the writing of the next chapter (see p. 364).

  *

  The first part of the next chapter, numbered XII, is the direct development of the original title-less chapter IX, extant in three texts, none of which goes further than the conversation between Bingo and Gloin at the feast in Rivendell (pp. 206 ff., 210 ff.). The new version is given the title 'The Council of Elrond'; see pp. 399-400. Here, for reasons that will appear presently, I describe only that portion of the chapter which derives from Chapter IX of the 'first phase'. In this, the text of FR Book II, Chapter I, 'Many Meetings' is achieved for long stretches with only the most minor differences of wording, if any; on the other hand there is still much preserved from the original text. In what follows it can be understood that where no comment is made the FR text was present at this time either exactly or in a close approximation. The date of Frodo's awakening in the house of Elrond is now October 24th, and all the details of date are precisely as in FR (see pp. 219, 360). The references to Sam in the FR text are none of them present in this version as written until the feast itself, but were added in to the manuscript probably after no very long interval.

  Gandalf now adds, after 'You were beginning to fade' (p. 210, FR p. 231), 'Glorfindel noticed it, though he did not speak of it to anyone but Trotter'; and he still says (see p. 206) 'You would have become a wraith before long - certainly, if you had put on the Ring again after you were wounded.' Following his words 'It is no small feat to have come so far and through such dangers, still bearing the Ring' (FR p. 232) the conversation is developed from the earlier text (p. 210) in a very interesting way, naturally still far from the form in FR:

  '... You ought never to have left the Shire without me.'

  'I know - but you never came to my party, as was arranged; and I did not know what to d
o.'

  'I was delayed,' said Gandalf, 'and that nearly proved our ruin - as was intended. Still after all it has turned out better than any plan I should have dared to make, and we have defeated the black horsemen.'

  '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 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.