Chapter 40. Thain: Missing and Presumed...

Frodo awakened early, as he usually did, blinking the sleep from his eyes – he’d talked late into the night with Thain Ferumbras, late enough that even Pippin, that rascal who never seemed ready to be put to bed when he was a youngster, was stifling yawns behind his hand. He thought he understood all the legalities behind the succession, now, beyond Ferumbras’ brief explanation at the interrupted birthday party.

Alas, poor Paladin!

It seemed that the farmer could renounce the succession, even now, but it would bring shame and disgrace upon his family – it was his duty, and to refuse to serve the Tooks and the Shire would be seen as shirking. Mardibold and his branch of the family were safe, as their ancestor had removed his line from the succession when it seemed there was little likelihood of the Thainship affecting them. But now, with Paladin next in line, and Pippin to follow…

For Paladin to shame his family for the rest of his days, for him to doom his son to whispers and nudges – he already had some of that, with poor Pearl and the rumours about her part in old Lalia’s death – no, he would not see Pippin’s life so marred, his reputation muddied, as well as the lives of Pippin's children after him. He would do his duty, though it took him from all he loved, from the fields and meadows, from the farm.

Frodo sighed. It was a bad business all around, but he would do all that he could to be a prop to Paladin and young Pip. And speaking of Pip…

He arose from the bed, washed quickly and dressed, and made his way to Pip’s apartments. Apartments! For a tween! He shook his head in bemusement at the thought. Heady stuff, and he wondered how Pippin was coping. They hadn’t had much chance for talking, just the two of them together last night, but today he’d take Pip off on a long walk and a picnic, no minder or escort or other tweens to distract them, and find a quiet place to talk.

Speaking of escorts… A stern-faced Took stood outside the door to Pip’s apartments, refusing entry to the visitor. ‘Still sleeping,’ he said. ‘Not to be disturbed, by orders of the Thain, until his minder awakens him for breakfast.’ And he gave Frodo a severe look. ‘He said you kept the lad awake late into the night.’

Frodo smiled. The two of them, himself and Ferumbras, had kept Pip awake with their long discussion, but of course it wouldn’t do to say so, not to the Thain’s own hobbit. ‘We’re to breakfast together,’ he said. ‘I just thought I’d walk with him to the Thain’s quarters…’

Just then the door was jerked open by a frowning hobbit, pale with consternation, whose face cleared to see Frodo. ‘Ah!’ he said brightly. ‘Is he with you?’

‘I beg your pardon?’ Frodo said.

‘What are you on about, Filibert?’ the escort said in annoyance. Elberard was his name, Frodo remembered, from a previous visit Ferumbras had made to Bag End, attended by his escort. He’d given the impression of rather a proud and pretentious hobbit.

‘He’s not here,’ Filibert said, breathless. ‘I mean, he’s not in his bed…’

‘Who…?’ Elberard began. He was a no-nonsense fellow, rather lacking in imagination, unless, of course, you were talking about his own inflated opinion of himself.

‘Did he come early to you?’ Filibert said. ‘Is that why you’re here, to let us know that he’s already at breakfast with the Thain?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Elberard snapped. ‘Ferumbras would hardly send The Baggins as an errand-lad…’ The implications of what he was saying began to dawn, and he turned on the minder. ‘What do you mean, “he’s not in his bed”?’ I’ve been here at my post for the past hour, and no body came by me!’

‘He’s gone!’ Filibert said, paling again, and he took his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away a trickle of sweat.

‘Well that’s just fine!’ Elberard said, folding his arms and glaring at the minder, his tone implying the opposite of his words. ‘You’ve managed to misplace the Heir, first thing in the morning…’

‘You’re his escort!’ Filibert shot back. ‘If he’s left his apartments it’s your duty to be his shadow, not mine!’

Frodo raised placating hands to interrupt the incipient argument. ‘That’s all very well,’ he said, ‘but it’s not going to get us anywhere. You—‘ he indicated the minder, ‘run along to Pearl and Isum’s, and see if he stopped there for a cup of tea before joining the Thain and myself for breakfast, and you—‘ he indicated the escort, ‘go on to the Thain’s study and see if he’s already there. I’m sure he’d like to get any business of the day out of the way, that we might have our holiday together.’

Though his tone was mild, his manner unremarkable, there was something about the way he looked and spoke that the hobbits he addressed did not question him, simply scattered to do his bidding.

***

It was already established that Pippin was not in his own apartments, nor Frodo’s guest quarters. It soon became evident that he was not stopping over to visit his sister Pearl and her family. He also was not in the kitchens, nor one of the pantries, nor the Great Room, nor visiting any of the other tweens of his acquaintance; he was not in the stables, feeding a carrot to his pony. Discreet inquiries (managing not to disturb the Thain – not yet, anyhow, though when breakfast time came and went with no sign of Pippin, he rather worked things out for himself) revealed that Pippin was not in the Thain’s study. The search was spreading, and so was the Talk.

‘No, I am certain he has not run away to Whittacres,’ Frodo was saying to a worried Reginard when the Thain came stalking up to them in the courtyard before the Smials. The sun was fully up now, and it was promising to be a beautiful day. ‘He was quite cheerful when we parted last night, and looking forward to our holiday! In point of fact, I’d persuaded the Thain to let him come to me next week, and stay at Bag End until my birthday. I’d be happy to remain here a week, and escort him there, that there should be no need of…’

‘I’m not so sure,’ Ferumbras said at Frodo’s elbow, and the Baggins jumped, but turned round with a pleasant enough expression. ‘Ferumbras!’ he said. ‘I beg your pardon!’

‘You have it,’ Ferumbras rumbled, ‘but I’m not so certain about that young scalawag. I’m seriously reconsidering allowing him to come to Bag End, what with…’

‘What sort of trick has he pulled?’ Frodo said, a little anxiously. ‘Why, has he been caught switching the labels on the spice jars, or…?’

‘I wish it were something so simple,’ the Thain said, with a rueful expression.

‘I don’t quite take your meaning,’ Frodo said.

The Thain mystified him by answering, ‘I don’t quite take it, either.’

Baragrim came panting up at that moment – Frodo stared, for he could not recall ever seeing that competent hobbit out of breath before – to report that the entire Smials had been gone over, from parlours to cellars, and no trace of the lad had been found.

‘You had better fortify yourself, you and the rest of the escort,’ Ferumbras said grimly. ‘For you’ll next be organising a search of the countryside, and as soon as the lad is safely found, you’ll all be on water rations for neglecting your duty!’

Baragrim gulped, then stood straight to answer, ‘Yes, Sir.’ As he turned away, Ferumbras stopped him.

‘Who had the duty this day?’

‘Eberard, Sir.’

Ferumbras nodded. ‘Three days’ water rations for him, one for the rest of you – and he’s lucky if he doesn’t get the sack at the end of them!’

‘Yes, Sir,’ Baragrim said. Now was not the time to defend the erring escort. ‘Will that be all, Sir?’

‘No, but it’ll do for a start,’ Ferumbras said, and then made a shooing motion at his head of escort. ‘Well? What are you waiting for? Go! Grab up a bag of travel rations from the kitchens, and get cracking!’ He turned back to Frodo.

‘What--?’ Frodo said. ‘Where--?’ He wasn’t quite sure what to ask.

‘I was about to ask you the same thing, young fellow,’ Ferumbras said. ‘Do you have any idea where he might have taken himself off to?’

Frodo took a deep breath, knowing that any answer of his might get Pippin into deeper trouble than the tween already was, or it might help. He fervently hoped it would help. ‘The old shepherd,’ he said. ‘That would be my first thought. He wasn’t allowed a proper goodbye, and yet…’

But Ferumbras was calling a hobbit to him, and giving orders to saddle a pony and ride off to the old shepherd’s smial, and if Pippin (or old Brockbank, for that matter) were not to be found there, then to make the round of the shepherd’s shelters.

‘Brandy Hall,’ Frodo said next, when the Thain turned back to him. ‘He’d seek out Merry, if he were in some sort of trouble, or myself…’ He laughed without humour. ‘But you don’t have to check for him at Bag End,’ he said, ‘for there’s no one at home.’

‘I’ll send someone there anyhow,’ Ferumbras said. ‘He might go there, knowing that you’d come home eventually. Though what the lad might have done, that he felt the need to hide himself… or run away…’ He shook his head. ‘I’d’ve sworn he was in perfectly high spirits last night when we parted.’

Too high, perhaps, Frodo thought, and meeting the Thain’s glance he could see that Ferumbras shared the same idea.

Just then old Tom, the stable master, came jogging up. ‘I told you that his own pony is still in its stall,’ he said, ‘but we hadn’t checked all the stalls, until now…’

‘What is it?’ Thain Ferumbras demanded. ‘What do you mean?’

Old Tom gulped. ‘I— I—‘ he stammered. Dread was in his eyes; he was obviously reluctant to impart his news. ‘Storm Wind…’

‘Storm Wind!’ Ferumbras said sharply. ‘What about Storm Wind!’

Reginard, still standing at Frodo’s side, gasped in dismay.

The Thain turned away from Frodo and Regi, to confront the stable master full on, and Frodo took advantage of the moment to whisper to Regi. ‘Storm wind? What do they mean?’

Regi had turned an odd shade of green. ‘She’s only the most valuable piece of ponyflesh in the Thain’s stables,’ he said sickly. ‘The fastest pony in the Tookland, maybe all of the Shire. If Pip is missing, and Storm Wind is missing, and the two have any thing to do with one another…’

Frodo’s heart dropped to the soles of his feet, and he knew his face must have gone as green as Regi’s. ‘O Pip,’ he said. ‘What have you done this time?’