Chapter 21. Laying Uneasy Spirits to Rest

Though Pippin had professed to be in a hurry, he now made a leisurely meal, chatting with the Ranger who attended them, insisting that the Man sit down with them, asking questions and making comments on the food, the weather, the prospects for this year’s harvest, the difficulty in finding good stable help, and other such topics.

He told a comical story of Bilbo’s, and the Ranger laughed heartily, saying, ‘I’d believe it! You ought to have heard him go on when he shared our campfire on his way to Rivendell...’

Ferdi shot a surprised glance at the Man, who must be older than he looked. Evidently he was familiar with hobbits’ appetite, as well, for he brought enough food to feed a small army of Men, though he was the only one to share the meal with them.

No other Rangers were in sight, and Ferdi could only hope they were busy about their... duties.

He was beginning to wonder if they’d be staying through teatime and supper as well when Pippin broke off in the middle of a discourse on selecting the finest pipe-weed to say, ‘Ah, at last!’

Ferdi followed his gaze, to see a Ranger approaching on horse-back, a hobbit-sized figure riding behind him. The Ranger eating with them unfolded his long legs and rose, calling a greeting.

 ‘Who would that be?’ Ferdi wondered aloud, and Pippin clapped him on the shoulder as he stood to his feet.

 ‘Someone you know,’ he said. ‘I thought you’d like to meet again.’

Ferdi hastily set his plate aside and scrambled to his feet. ‘You thought...?’ he said.

 ‘Yes, Ferdi,’ Pippin said, ‘one of the archers had instructions to seek him out and send him to us here.’

 ‘I thought we were...’ Ferdi said. Pippin had been in such apparent hurry, earlier, to reach this place after they'd finished breakfasting, and now he gave the impression that he’d been prepared to wait the day long for this Man’s arrival.

 ‘That’s your trouble, cousin, you think too much!’ Pippin said cheerily, and then he stepped forward to hail the arriving Ranger. ‘Bargalad! Thank you for coming so quickly at my summons!’

 ‘Did I have a choice?’ the Ranger laughed. He slid down from his saddle, reaching up to lift down the cloaked figure that rode at his back. ‘We are to extend every courtesy to the Ernil i Pheriannath, you know.’

 ‘And a more demanding fellow I have yet to meet!’ Pippin said. ‘I’ll ask him to put in a good word for you with the King.’

 ‘You do that!’ Bargalad said. The smile faded from his face as he looked to Ferdibrand, for he remembered all too well their previous meeting. ‘Master Fox,’ he said.

Ferdi bowed stiffly. ‘Sir,’ he said in reply.

 ‘Bargalad has brought someone I wanted you to see,’ Pippin said, stepping forward to draw the cloaked one, evidently suffering an attack of bashfulness, from behind the tall Man. ‘Come now, lad, we don’t have Rangers on toast for tea.’

The little one stepped forward slowly, and Bargalad put a gentle hand atop the hood. ‘All is well,’ he said softly, and drew the hood back.

Ferdi gasped as he recognised the face of the boy, the boy he’d thought hanged, the boy who, when last he’d seen him, had been pleading with the Rangers after the hobbits turned the first band of ruffians over for them to “deal with”. Bargalad had insisted on escorting the hobbits to the Bounds even as the ruffians were being wrestled to their feet and forced to march into the little woods, and Ferdi’s last sight of the lad had been burned into his conscience: shaking in fear, pleading breathlessly, tears running down his dirty little face.

The wide eyes were still the same as Ferdi remembered, though no longer filled with fear. The pinched little face had become rounded; and warm, well-fitting clothing had replaced the rags he’d worn in the winter’s chill, just after Yule.

 ‘Mind your manners, Bargil,’ Bargalad prompted.

The boy bowed and said in a low voice, ‘At your service, sirs.’

 ‘My son,’ Bargalad said, drawing the boy to his side. At Ferdi’s stunned expression, he smiled. ‘I have taken him for my son; he has no family.’

 ‘Of course not,’ Ferdi said bleakly, thinking of the band of ruffians, all likely to be still hanging in trees in the little wood to the West of them, for there hadn’t been time for Pippin’s burial order to be carried there and carried out. Whichever of the ruffians had been the boy's kin was now carrion.

 ‘He was an orphan, begging in the streets of Sarn,’ Bargalad continued, as if reading Ferdi's thoughts. ‘A leader of a band of rough Men who’d heard of the treasure-hoard in the Shire, ripe for the taking, picked him up, just in case someone hobbit-sized was needed to get to the treasure. He knew only ill-treatment and curses from those ruffians, and schemed to escape, but was never able...’

 ‘You see, Ferdi,’ Pippin said quietly. ‘You didn’t doom the lad; rather, you rescued him.’

 ‘Rescued,’ Ferdi whispered. The world around him felt unreal. ‘I thought...’ His breath came shallowly.

 ‘They don’t hang young lads,’ Pippin said. ‘Only those who are old enough to know better.’

 ‘Will,’ Ferdi said.

Pippin nodded. ‘Yes,’ he said soberly. ‘It’s likely Will’s life would have been forfeit. But the Rangers would have treated little Rob kindly and found a home for him.’

 ‘Rather like a stray pup,’ Ferdi said absently.

 ‘Are you well, cousin?’ Pippin said, eyeing Ferdi intently, and taking his arm.

 ‘The dreams...’ Ferdi whispered.

 ‘Were only dreams,’ Pippin said. ‘There was no truth to them.’

 ‘I thought I was cursed,’ Ferdi said, shuddering. ‘I thought I had taken an innocent life...’

Impulsively the boy stepped forward to hug him. ‘O sir,’ he breathed. ‘You saved me!’ He looked up at Bargalad, a wondering smile upon his little face. ‘I found a father, and a home, and a hope!’

Ferdi nodded numbly, unable to take it in. He’d lived with the guilt gnawing at him for so many days, since just after the New Year. Nearly three months, it had been, and much worse after he’d seen the bodies hanging in the trees.

He swayed, but Pippin held him up. ‘A glass of water is in order, I think,’ he said. ‘My cousin is not well, and is much worn with worry and toil.’

 ‘I am well!’ Ferdi protested, even as Bargalad took his other arm, helped Pippin walk him to the fireside and eased him down. The other Ranger, whose name Ferdi had not heard, quickly brought a cup of icy water. Drinking made him feel better. 

 ‘You will be well, cousin,’ Pippin said low, while the Rangers were busy about saddling their ponies, little Bargil chattering as he stroked Starfire’s soft nose and offered the pony a piece of carrot from his pocket. ‘You’ve not been sleeping, Nell told me, and you’ve been off your feed, and then there was the long chase... had I been thinking clearly I’d never have sent you back to the Cockerel in the middle night, without even a hot meal to sustain you; I'd've sent Tolly or Regi instead.’

 ‘But Diamond...!’ Ferdi protested. Neither Tolly nor Regi were trackers, able to follow the faintest of trails.

Pippin’s lips tightened. ‘The way things turned out,’ he said, ‘there was no need for you to use yourself up, Ferdi.’

 ‘The way things turned out,’ Ferdi echoed. ‘But what if they had been ruffians in truth?’

 ‘Then you would have saved Diamond and Farry, undoubtedly, and the ruffians would have murdered you in your sleep afterwards; of that I have no doubt.’

Ferdi coloured and looked down. He had failed in his duties, it was true, and it was only luck that Jack had not been the sort to take advantage of Ferdi’s failure.

Pippin put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Ferdi,’ he said. ‘You’re my most valued assistant; you know that, don’t you?’ When Ferdi didn’t answer, he went on, ‘Not only that, but you are my cousin, and my friend from the time I came into the world. Fennel said...'

 'Healers!' Ferdi snapped in disgust, but Pippin would not be turned aside.

 'Fennel said you'd have died, had we not arrived when we did; you had another bad spell in your sleep, Ferdi...' Ferdi made an impatient gesture, pushing the words away, but his chest was tight and painful and his voice had been hoarse on awakening, his throat protesting every word and swallow. Pippin went on, 'You'd pushed yourself beyond your limits until you were running on nerve alone...’

Ferdi shook his head. ‘I was only doing my duty,’ he said.

 ‘What would have happened had you set off alone to find Diamond?’ Pippin pressed. ‘You ought to have taken a dozen hobbits with you, not just Merry!’

 ‘You’re always saying Merry is equal to any dozen hobbits,’ Ferdi quipped, but his heart wasn’t in it.

 ‘It was stupidity on your part, overconfidence and short-sightedness,’ Pippin said, shaking a finger in Ferdi’s face. ‘The only explanation I can find to excuse you is that you were wearied beyond coherent thought, and acting on instinct.’ He sighed, thinking of Sam, long ago in Mordor, and Frodo, of course. ‘Sometimes that is enough... but it might have turned out badly.’

Ferdi nodded.

 ‘I want you to promise me, cousin, that you will not be so impulsive next time, but that you will think before you act,’ Pippin said.

 ‘You—you are taking me to task for being impulsive?’ Ferdi said, in his astonishment raising his eyes to meet Pippin’s.

Pippin threw back his head and laughed. ‘I ought to know,’ he said. ‘It’s a battle I fight daily!’

The ponies were ready, the saddlebags packed with food to eat along the way, and Pippin helped Ferdi to his feet. They thanked the Ranger for the meal and took their leave of Bargalad and Bargil. Ferdi bore the lad’s thanks with good grace, but he was glad to climb into his saddle and turn his pony’s face northwards.

They rode swiftly, with little chance for talking, but halfway to Pincup they stopped to let their ponies drink from a crystal stream, and then as they stared at the great, round, pale-gold glow of the rising Moon, Pippin had a few words for Ferdi. ‘We ought to arrive a few hours before dawn, at this rate,’ he said. ‘Thain’s orders for you, cousin, will be to go straight to bed! And not arise before elevenses at the earliest!’

 ‘What, and miss the feast?’ Ferdi said.

 ‘I’ll tell them to keep your plate warm,’ Pippin responded. And that is what he did.