THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Chapter 5
THREE IS COMPANY
Gandalf stays in the Shire for two months. One day, Gandalf and Frodo are talking together in Bag End. Gandalf looks at Frodo carefully. “You should leave quietly,” he says, “and you should leave soon.” “I know,” Frodo answers, “but it is hard to do both. If I disappear like Bilbo, everyone in the Shire will talk about it.”
“You must not disappear,” Gandalf says at once. “But you must not wait too long either.” Frodo thinks for a moment. “What about autumn?” he asks. “After my birthday? I think I can prepare everything by then.”
The truth is that Frodo does not want to leave yet. Bag End feels more comfortable than ever. He wants to enjoy his last summer in the Shire. In his heart, he has chosen the day: his birthday, the same day Bilbo left. When he thinks about following Bilbo, Frodo feels better about leaving the Shire. He tries not to think about the Ring. And he tries not to think about what will happen on his journey.
Gandalf watches him closely. “Very well,” he says at last. “But no later than that. And remember: tell no one where you are going, and do not use the Ring.” Frodo nods. “I do not even know exactly where I am going,” he says. “You are leaving the Shire,” Gandalf replies. “That must remain a secret.”
Frodo pauses a moment. “I feel like Bilbo preparing for his journey,” he says. “But he went to find something. I go to lose something.” Then he asks quietly, “Where will I go?” “You will go towards danger,” Gandalf answers, “but go carefully and not straight to it. Go east. Go to Rivendell, to the house of Elrond.” Frodo nods again. But he does not completely understand what will happen on his journey.
Soon, everyone knows that Frodo is leaving Bag End. He sells Bag End to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. She has wanted to buy it for more than seventy years! But he keeps his story simple. He tells everyone that he is moving to Buckland. That is where he came from originally. In fact, his friend Merry has already found a nice house for him there. People talk, but no one knows the truth.
Not long after, Gandalf suddenly leaves. “I must go south to get some information,” he says. “I should not be gone too long, I hope.” “Is there something wrong,” Frodo asks. “I do not know. But something is troubling me.” Frodo feels uneasy. “I will try to be back as soon as possible,” Gandalf continues. “I will be back for your birthday, at the latest. I think you will need some company on the road. And do not use the Ring,” Gandalf repeats. Then he is gone.
Summer passes into autumn, and still Gandalf does not return. Frodo watches every day for Gandalf. But he does not return. Frodo becomes more anxious as his birthday gets closer. At last the day arrives. Frodo gives a small dinner with his closest friends: Pippin Took and Merry Brandybuck. They laugh, eat, and sing, remembering Bilbo Baggins. But Frodo cannot enjoy the moment. Gandalf is still missing, and the feeling of danger is growing.
Later that evening, Frodo walks outside his house. He walks down to the end of the road. He hopes to see Gandalf on the road. The sky is clear, and the first stars appear, but the road is empty.
As he turns back, he hears voices near Bagshot Row. That is the home of Sam and Sam’s father, the Gaffer. One voice he recognizes. It is the Gaffer’s voice. He sounds impatient and annoyed. The other voice is strange, low, and unpleasant. Frodo moves closer and listens.
“I am looking for Mr. Baggins,” the stranger says. “Can you tell me where he is?” “No,” the Gaffer answers. “He has gone away. He left this morning, he did, and my Sam went with him.”
“Gone?” the stranger asks slowly. “Yes, gone,” says the Gaffer. “He sold everything and moved back to Buckland.” “Why?” says the strange voice. “Why? It’s none of my business, and it’s none of your business,” the Gaffer says. There is a short silence. Then Frodo hears a soft, cold sound, almost like a hiss.
“If he returns,” the stranger says quietly, “you will tell me.” “No, I won’t,” the Gaffer replies firmly. “Now get out of here! Off with you!” The sound of hoofbeats from a horse moves away down the Hill. Frodo feels a cold fear that he cannot explain. He does not wait any longer. He walks quickly back to Bag End.
“Sam! It’s time!” Frodo calls, as he reaches his front door. Sam comes running. Frodo locks the round door and gives him the key. “Take this key to your father, then meet us outside the village,” he says. Sam runs off at once. Frodo and Pippin leave first, moving quietly through the garden and down into the fields. Frodo stops only once to look back at the dark windows of Bag End. “Goodbye,” he says softly, and then turns away.
Soon they meet Sam again. The three of them set off together. They do not walk on the road. Instead, they walk across fields, moving carefully and quietly through the night. Their packs are heavy. They walk up hills and down hills, but they keep going.
After a long time, they stop and look back. Far away, they can see the lights of Hobbiton in the distance. “I wonder if I will ever see that again,” Frodo says quietly. They walk for hours until they reach a small wood. They make a fire and sleep. The night is calm, and for a while Frodo feels safe.
In the morning they continue their journey. This time they walk on the main road. The day becomes warm, and the road climbs and falls again and again. It curves to the left and right. Their packs feel heavier with every kilometer. They see no one on the road all day. The sun is very hot on them as they walk. They sing and talk as they go. Hobbits do love walking songs.
In the afternoon, they come around a long curve in the road. Ahead the road is straight. Sam suddenly stops. “I can hear something behind us,” he says. “A pony or a horse.” They listen carefully. Far behind them, slow and steady, they hear the sound of hoofbeats. “I wonder if that is Gandalf,” Frodo says. But as soon as he speaks, he feels a sudden fear inside him. He knows that it is not Gandalf. “Get off the road!” he says quickly.
They move off the road. They go down into a low space in the field and lie flat in the grass. Frodo stays closer to the road, watching, curious. The sound grows louder: slow, heavy, and certain.
At last the horse appears, black and tall. It is very different from the small ponies of the Shire. On its back sits a dark figure covered in a black cloak. Its face is hidden under a deep hood. The horse stops near Frodo’s hiding place.
The Rider sits very still for a moment, like he is listening. Then slowly he bends forward. From under the hood comes a soft, searching sound, like someone breathing in deeply and sniffing the air.
Frodo’s heart beats very loudly. He is sure the black rider can hear it. He is terrified. But at the same time he feels a strange pull from inside his pocket. The Ring. Without thinking, his hand begins to move toward it. He thinks Gandalf’s warning not to use the ring is absurd. “If I put it on,” he thinks, “I will be safe.” His fingers touch the chain.
Then the Rider suddenly lifts its head and sits upright. It pulls the reins, and the horse moves forward again, first slowly, then faster, until it disappears down the road. Frodo stays still for a moment longer. Then he slowly crawls back to the others. “I don’t know why, but I think he was searching for me,” he says quietly. “But I knew I did not want him to find me. I’ve never seen anything like it in the Shire.”
“What are the Big People doing here in the Shire anyway?” Pippin asks. “I’m sorry, Mr. Frodo,” Sam says suddenly. “I know where the black rider comes from, and where he’s going.” Sam tells Frodo what his father, the Gaffer, told him the day before. When Sam went to leave the key with his father, the Gaffer told him about meeting the black rider. Frodo remembers hearing the conversation.
“I didn’t tell you, Mr. Frodo, because I didn’t think it was important,” Sam continues. “I thought it was just a Big Person coming from Bree. The Gaffer is getting old anyway, and he can’t see very well, either.” Frodo realizes that the Rider and the stranger are the same, or at least connected. They are being followed.
“We must stay off the road,” Frodo says. They walk beside the road now, through rough ground and tall grass. The land becomes difficult to walk on, and the trees begin to grow closer together. At last they stop again to rest. They sit inside a large hollow tree. They eat a little and listen carefully, but no one speaks much.
When night comes, they walk again, moving quietly under the trees. At first they feel calmer, and even begin to sing softly. But suddenly Frodo raises his hand. “Ssh! Listen,” he says. Once again they hear hoofbeats behind them. They leave the path and hide in the trees. Frodo moves closer to the edge so that he can see.
The sound of hoofbeats stops. For a moment there is complete silence. Then he sees it: a dark shape crossing the road. This time the Rider does not stay on his horse. It moves slowly, almost like a shadow. Then it bends down to the ground. Frodo hears the same soft, searching sound. Sniffing. The Rider begins to crawl toward them.
Frodo feels the Ring again, stronger now than before. His hand moves toward it almost without thinking. The desire to put it on is almost impossible to resist. Just as he puts his fingers inside his pocket, a sudden sound fills the air: voices singing! The sound is clear and bright, like light shining in the darkness.
At once the Rider stops. It stands up quickly, turns, and moves away. In a moment it is gone. Frodo breathes again. He was holding his breath. “Elves,” Sam whispers. “Yes,” says Frodo. “And they came just in time.”
Soon the Elves arrive. They move lightly under the stars. One of them steps forward and looks at Frodo. “Hail, Frodo,” he says. Frodo is surprised. “You know my name?” “We know many things,” the Elf answers. “I am Gildor. Gildor Inglorion, of the House of Finrond. Won’t you join us? It looks like we are going in the same direction.” Frodo is happy to have their company.
They walk together into the woods. Sam feels wonder. Pippin has difficulty staying awake, and Frodo is afraid and full of hope at the same time. When they stop for the night, Frodo speaks with Gildor. “You are in danger,” Gildor says quietly. “Yes,” Frodo answers. “The Black Riders are servants of the Enemy,” Gildor says.
Frodo feels cold at these words. “What should I do?” “Continue your journey,” Gildor says. “Do not stop, and do not go alone.” They talk about many things. Gildor tells Frodo about the darkness growing in the south. He talks about the elves leaving Middle-Earth. He talks about the wars of men. Gildor even tells Frodo about the time he saw Bilbo.
At last, Frodo lies down to sleep. With his new friends, the elves, he sleeps deeply. But now he understands one thing clearly: The danger is real, and it is already very close.
