The next morning, Frodo woke up refreshed. He was lying under the shade of a big tree, and the fragrant grass was his soft bed. The sunlight shone on him through the green leaves. He jumped up and walked out of the shade.
Sam sat on the grass at the edge of the forest. Pippin stood there in a daze, looking up at the sky. The elves had already disappeared without a trace.
"They've left us fruit and drinks and bread," said Pippin. "Come and have breakfast. The bread tasted almost as good as last night. If Sam hadn't insisted, I would have eaten it all and left nothing for you.”
Frodo sat down beside Sam and began to eat. "What's the plan for today?" Pi asked.
"Get to Bucklebury as fast as you can," said Frodo, turning his attention back to the food.
"Do you think we'll meet those knights again?”said Pippin happily. Under the bright sunlight, Pippin's good mood was not affected even if he met a large group of Dark Knights.
" Maybe." Frodo did not like this topic. "But I hope to cross the river without being discovered.”
"Did you get any information about them from Gildor?”
" Not much, just some hints and puzzles," Frodo refused to answer directly.
"Did you ask about the other party sniffing?”
" We didn't discuss that," Frodo said, his mouth full of food.
"You should ask. I think this is very important."
" If it was true, Gildor would refuse to tell me," Frodo retorted. "Don't disturb my meal, okay? I can't answer so many questions while I'm eating! I want to think!"
"Good heavens!" said Pippin. "Using your brain during breakfast?" He wandered off to the edge of the green.
For Frodo, the unsettling brightness of the morning light did not give him the fear of driving away his pursuers. Gildor's words lingered in his mind. Pippin's jubilant voice rang out. He was running around on the grass, singing casually.
"No! I can't do it!" he told himself. "It's one thing to walk with friends until your legs are weak. When you're tired, it's one thing to sleep with the sky as a curtain and the ground as a bed. It was another thing to bring them into exile, to suffer from hunger, cold, and fear all day long. Even if the other party was willing, it was still very different. This misfortune is my own responsibility. I don't think I should take Sam with me.”He looked at Sam Gamgee and found him looking back.
"All right, Sam!" he said. "What do you think? I intended to leave the Shire as soon as possible; in fact, I had made up my mind not to stay a day in the valley if possible.”
"Excellent, my lord!"
"You still want to leave with me?"
"Yes."
"Sam, this is going to be dangerous. Danger was already lurking everywhere. We might not be able to come back."
" My Lord, if you can't come back, I shouldn't have come back either," Sam said. "'Don't ever leave him!' They said to me. How can I abandon him! I said, I wasn't going to do that at all. I want to go with him. Even if he wants to go to the moon, he can't stop me. If any Dark Knight tries to stop him, ask me, Sam Gamgee,'I said. They laughed."
"Who is this 'them'? What are you talking about?"
"It's the elves, my lord. We chatted for a while last night. They seemed to know that you were going on a long trip, so I didn't want to deny it. My lord, elves are amazing! That's great!"
"Yes," said Frodo. "Do you still like them now that you have real contact with them?”
" If I have to say, I don't think I can comment on them," Sam replied slowly. "What I think of them doesn't seem to matter. They were quite different from what I had expected. They were old and young, happy and sad.”
Frodo looked at Sam in surprise. He thought he would see the changes he had experienced from his appearance. This did not sound like something his old friend Sam Gamgee would say. But the man sitting there still looked like Sam Gamgee, except for a rare solemnity.
"Since you've already fulfilled your wish to see the elves, do you still want to leave the Shire?”he asked.
"I still want to, my lord. I don't know how to describe it, but after last night, I feel like I've changed. I seem to be able to see the future. I know we have to walk a long way towards the darkness, but I also know that I can't turn back. The real purpose is not to satisfy my desire to see elves, dragons, or mountains; I'm actually not too sure what I want now. But I knew what I had to do before everything ended. The key was in the outside world, not in the Charles. If you understand what I mean, my lord, I must stay until the end.”
"I don't really understand what you're saying. But now I know that Gandalf has found me a good companion. I'm already satisfied. Let's travel together."
Frodo finished his breakfast without a word. Then, he stood up, looked at the land before him, and began to call Pippin.
"Are you ready to set off?" he said to Pippin, who was running over. "We have to leave immediately. We woke up too late, and we still have a long way to go.”
"You got up too late," said Pippin. "I woke up a long time ago. Everyone is waiting for you to wash up and finish your breakfast.”
"I'm all right now. I'm going to get to Buckland as soon as possible. I'm not going back to the same route we took yesterday. I plan to take a shortcut from here.”
"You'll have to fly," said Pippin. "You have to walk. There are no shortcuts here.”
"We can at least find the shorter way," answered Frodo. "The ferry is southeast of the Great Wood Hall, but this road bends to the left. There was a turn in the north. The road would go around the north side of the swamp and meet at the fork in the bridge above Stark. It would take a detour of miles. If we go directly to the ferry from here, we can save at least a quarter of the journey.”
"'Haste makes waste,'"retorted Pippin. "The terrain here is very rugged. There are swamps and all kinds of strange terrains everywhere in the swamp. I'm really familiar with this place. If you're still worried about the Dark Knights, I don't think it'll make any difference if we meet them in the woods, on the plains, or on the road.”
" It's more difficult to find a target in the forest," Frodo replied. "If everyone thinks you're going to take the main road, it's much less likely they'll try to find you somewhere else.”
"Alright!" said Pippin."I will follow you into every swamp and mud. Sigh, this journey will definitely be very tiring! I expect to reach the Starks 'Golden Bass Inn before dark. The most popular beer was produced in the eastern region of the Shire, at least in the past. I haven't been here for a long time!"
"I've decided!" said Frodo."Haste makes waste, but the inn will make it worse. We must do everything we can to stop you from getting close to the Golden Bass. We have to get to Bucklebury before dark. Sam, what do you think?"
"I'll go with you, Mr. Frodo," said Sam. (He couldn't help but feel regretful that he missed the best beer in East Borough.)
"Well, if we're destined to roll around in swamps and mud, let's set off early!”said Pippin.
※※※
The weather was almost as hot as yesterday. However, clouds slowly began to appear from the west. It looked like it might rain. The Hobbits stumbled over the steep slope and into the dense forest below. Their plan was to keep the direction of the Great Wood Hall on the left side and pass through the forest on the east side of the hill. This way, they could walk onto the flat plains. Then, they could directly pass through the open wilderness and head towards the ferry. There were only some scattered fences and fields in the middle. Frodo calculated that they would have to travel another eighteen miles in a straight line.
He quickly realized that the thicket was closer and thicker than he had imagined. There was almost no space under the tree, and the result of cutting through the thorns made it difficult for them to move forward. When they barely reached the bottom of the hill, they found a stream flowing down from the hill. The banks on both sides were steep and slippery, and there were indeed many thorns growing on them. What was worse was that the stream cut right through the route they had chosen. They couldn't jump over. If they didn't want to get wet, covered in mud, and riddled with holes, they couldn't cross the stream at all. The group stopped and thought about their next route. " I've reached the first stage!" said Pippin with a wry smile.
Sam Gamgee looked back. From the gaps between the trees on the hillside, he saw something flash past.
"Look!" he said, seizing Frodo's arm. Everyone turned their heads. On the top of the steep hill they had just crossed, there was a black horse. A black figure stood beside him.
They immediately gave up on the idea of turning back. Frodo led the way into the thick thicket by the stream. "Phew!" he said to Pippin. "We're all right! As expected, haste makes waste, but we still managed to find cover in time. Sam, your flower is the best. Did you hear anything?”
They didn't dare to move and held their breaths, but they didn't hear any sounds of pursuers. "I don't think he'd be stupid enough to take the horse down," said Sam. "But I guess he already knows we're coming down. We'd better hurry."
Advancing was not an easy thing. They were still carrying backpacks, but the dense thickets and thorns did not let them off so easily. The trees behind them formed an obstacle, blocking the breeze. The air became very stagnant and heavy. When they finally squeezed through the obstacles, they were hot, tired, and covered in wounds. They were not even sure where they were. The bank of the stream became wider and flatter when it reached the flat ground, extending all the way to the swamp and the river.
"This is Stark Creek!" said Pippin. "If we want to continue moving forward, we have to cross the river immediately.”
They trudged across the stream and hurried up to a flat patch of land in the distance. It was covered with rushes and had no trees. Behind the flat ground was a ring of tall oak trees, along with some elm and ash trees. The ground was rather flat, and there were not many plants growing there. However, it was still too crowded among the trees, making it impossible for them to see ahead. A sudden gust of wind blew the leaves up, and large drops of rain fell from the sky. Then, the wind stopped, and the rain fell. They hurried as fast as they could, stepping on thick grass and many fallen leaves. The raindrops kept dripping around them. They didn't dare to talk to each other. They kept looking back warily and watching their surroundings.
After half an hour, Pippin said,"I hope we didn't go too far south, nor did we go in the wrong direction in the forest! This forest shouldn't be too wide. I estimate it to be at most a mile wide. We should have charged out long ago.”
"There's not much point in taking a detour," said Frodo. "This won't help us at all. Let's just continue moving forward! I don't know if I should rush out of the forest now.”
They might have walked a few more miles. Then, the sun peeked out from behind the dark clouds again, and the rain became lighter. It was already past noon, and everyone felt that it was a good time to have lunch. They sat down under an elm tree. Although most of the leaves of the elm tree had begun to turn yellow, they were still quite dense, and the ground near the shade was also relatively dry. When they began to prepare lunch, they found that the elves had helped them fill the bottles with clear golden liquid. The fragrance was like honey brewed from a variety of flowers, making them feel refreshed. Soon, they began to laugh and laugh casually, sneering at the heavy rain and the Dark Knight. By this time, they felt that the remaining miles should be over soon.
Frodo leaned back against the trunk and closed his eyes. Pippin and Sam sat near him. At first, the three of them hummed a melody in a low voice, and finally began to sing in a low voice:
Ha! Ha! Ha! How can we miss the wine in front of us
To cure my heartache, to dispel my misfortunes.
Even if the wind and rain hit me, I won't be sad.
The long road still has to be hurried,
The breeze blows, I hide under the tree and enjoy being lazy.
I sit and watch the clouds float by.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" They sang even louder. All of a sudden, the three of them shut their mouths. Frodo jumped to his feet. A long roar drifted along with the wind, as if it was the cry of some evil and lonely creature. The tone rose and fell, ending with a mournful note. When they were at a loss, another howl from further away responded to the previous shout. Both sounds made people's blood freeze. There was a period of silence, and everyone could only hear the sound of the wind blowing the leaves.
"What do you think that sound is?" Pippin tried to pretend to be relaxed, but he could not hide the trembling in his voice. "If that's a bird, it's never been in the Shire before.”
"That's not the sound of a bird," said Frodo. "That's a signal or a summoning sound. There was a language I didn't understand in that piercing voice. All I know is that no hobbit can make that sound.”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。