Chapter 62. Waiting for the King

Diamond stood staring after Pippin, rousing only when Posey took her by the arm and shook her. ‘He said to do what we can!’

Diamond took a shuddering breath, met Posey’s earnest gaze, and nodded. Together they moved to the fallen Men, guardsman and ruffian. The ruffian was white and gasping, the guardsman ominously still.

It took all of Posey’s strength to lift the bloodied sword and move it well out of the ruffian’s reach while Diamond knelt by Denny and began to remove the guardsman’s helm. Posey moved to the ruffian and fumbled with his belt, at last managing to pull it free. ‘What’re you going to do?’ he gasped.

 ‘Well I’m not going to bend you over my knee,’ Posey said, grabbing at the bloody stump. ‘Now hold yersel’ still, or I’ll not answer for the consequences.’

The ruffian complied, and Posey passed the belt around his arm just above the elbow, threaded the leather through the buckle, and pulled tight. ‘Got to stop this bleeding,’ she said. She set a foot against the ruffian’s arm for leverage and pulled until she was puffing, but the strap cut off the flow of blood quite satisfactorily. ‘There!’ she said. ‘Now you stay quite still and you might keep on breathing.’

 ‘While there’s breath, there’s life,’ Diamond murmured in agreement. She had found a faint life-pulse in Denny’s throat, and now she pulled a mirror from her reticule and held it before the guardsman’s mouth. She drew a sharp breath of her own as the mirror misted—he was breathing!—though she could not see his chest rise and fall, so slight was the breath he drew and released again.

Pippin had eased Denny down on the pierced side, leaving his “good” side upwards, the uninjured lung free to expand. Diamond looked at his wounds without touching them; one arrow had broken through the mesh but had not penetrated far, the other had gone clear through the guardsman, tip protruding from his back. She was afraid to disturb either arrow for fear she’d break something loose and cause the guardsman to bleed quickly to death.

She took one of the large hands, carefully tugged the gauntlet off, and held the hand in her two good, strong hands, as if she might pour her warmth and life into him. The guardsman’s fingers twitched slightly, and she squeezed the hand between hers. ‘I’m here, Denny,’ she said clearly. ‘You’re not alone. Hold on; help will come soon.’

Rose had calmed, and Sam had claimed little Daisy from her, called young Rose to mind baby Primrose, and instructed Goldilocks to hold tight to Hamfast’s hand and not let her little brother wander. This would serve two purposes, for it would keep Goldi from wandering as well, or so it was to be hoped. This done, Sam sent Rose to coax Merry-lad down from his high perch. The lad was pale with fear and weeping bitterly at having seen his brother and his friend wrenched away.

There was a thunder of hoofs and a body of mounted guardsmen rode into the orchard and pulled up. Rose cried out to see Frodo-lad perched before a grizzled sergeant on a tall black horse. The sergeant slid from his horse, ordering two of his companions to dismount. These ran, mail jingling, to where Diamond and Posey sat at guard.

 ‘The River!’ Sam cried, gesturing wildly. ‘Don’t stop here! Go! Frodo will show you which way they went!’

With a nod the sergeant mounted again, circled Frodo-lad with a protective arm, and led the remainder of his men at a gallop from the orchard.

One of the guardsmen took charge of the prisoner, while the other knelt at Denny’s side.

Diamond looked up. ‘He lives,’ she said. ‘We need a litter.’

The guardsman nodded, even as he lifted aside the hauberk to examine the wounds. ‘The sergeant sent Berianir back to the City, to the King.’

Diamond bent closer to Denethor’s ear. ‘Did you hear, Denny? The King is coming!’

***

Pippin sat where Hilly had left him, looking thoroughly drained. Hilly marched up to the sergeant, still staring at the jumbled rocks as the three guardsmen made their way back to shore, and gave a sharp tug at the Man’s surcoat. Startled, the sergeant looked down.

 ‘The Thain,’ Hilly said. ‘He oughtn’t to be stopping here, with all the mist from the falls in the air.’

 ‘Right,’ the sergeant said, and as if relieved to have a solid task to deal with, he began to bark orders to the returning Men. Two would take the hobbits back to the orchard and thence to the City, the third was to join the search at the bottom of the gorge, and on down the course of the Baranduin.

 ‘If there’s anything to be found,’ he finished grimly. ‘The bodies may wash up downriver, or they might never be found.’

Hilly returned to the small group of hobbits. ‘We’re going back to the orchard,’ he said.

 ‘But what about Jack?’ Farry asked. ‘Shan’t we wait for him? I didn’t get a chance to thank him properly!’

Hilly forced a smile. ‘You know Jack,’ he said lightly. ‘He’s not one to stop for long. A wanderer born, that Man is.’

 ‘He’s gone?’ Farry said, stricken.

 ‘I wanted to reward him,’ Pippin said. ‘Are you quite sure?’

Hilly nodded, keeping the smile on his face, but the Thain looked sharply at him before turning his attention back to Farry. Hilly was quite sure of one fact: Pippin would be taking this up with him later. He might even send Hilly with the searchers combing the riverbanks for some sign of the Men swept away.

They had a spot of difficulty when it came to mounting the tall horses. Pip-lad would have nothing to do with any of the guardsmen, and the grown hobbits were not about to force him. In the end, Hilly elected to walk back to the orchard, carrying the lad. It would be longer before he’d see his Posey, and longer to reunite the Gamgees with their stolen son, but Frodo-lad, riding back with the guardsmen, would be able to reassure his family that Pip-lad was safe.

***

 ‘Horses!’ Goldi shouted. ‘I see horses coming!’ She was craning eagerly towards the River.

Merry-lad swarmed up the nearest tree for a better view. ‘Frodo!’ he cried. ‘And Thain Peregrin, and he has Farry in his arms...’ His voice trailed off. Where were Hilly and Pip-lad?

Rose stood up from tending to Samwise, shading her eyes from the bright morning sunlight. ‘Pippin?’ she said anxiously.

The guardsman bearing Frodo-lad dismounted, saying, ‘No more flying like an eagle, lad!’ and lifted the young hobbit from the saddle. Frodo hurried to his parents, scarcely noticing his sore ankle. ‘Safe!’ he cried. ‘All safe!’

Rose took a shaky breath, and tears welled from her eyes once more. Suddenly her knees wouldn’t hold her, and she sat down again by Sam, burying her face in the folds of her overskirt. Her husband’s large work-worn hand gently rubbed her back as she began to sob once more, this time in relief.

  ‘Mum?’ Frodo said in bewilderment, looking from mother to father. ‘Mum? I said Pip’s safe—he’s safe, Mum, he is!’

 ‘S’all right, Frodo-lad,’ Sam said quietly. ‘Just let her be a moment. I’m afraid we’ve been thinking the worst, especially when we heard Pip screaming. We thought...’ He stopped there. He didn’t want to go into what they’d thought.

 ‘How is Denny?’ Frodo said, to change the subject. He could only imagine what his parents had thought. He’d seen what was happening, and his small brother’s terrified shrieks had turned his innards to jelly. He looked to the guardsman kneeling by their fallen friend, pressing a cloth to the shallower wound.

  ‘While there’s breath there’s life,’ Diamond said, turning from her joyful reunion with husband and son as if to reassure herself. She had jumped up at Merry-lad’s cry and run to meet Pippin and Farry. The signs of life had been so faint... Surely the guardsman would not be dealing with the wounds of a dead man.

Posey stood near Denethor, watching eagerly for Hilly’s return. It was not long before she gave a glad cry, and Sam and Rose looked up to see the escort jogging towards them, bearing their son.

 ‘But he’s hurt!’ Rose gasped.

 ‘A little knock on the head,’ Pippin said. ‘Nothing to worry about.’

And indeed, when they had not yet reached the clearing, it became apparent that the lad was arguing to get down. Hilly stopped to put him on his feet, and Pip-lad raced to his parents, giving the guardsmen a wide berth.

Rose laughed and cried in the same breath. Sam hugged the lad close while Rose began to examine their son from head to foot, exclaiming over the bloody cloth tied around Pippin-lad’s head and his wet clothing, and counting every finger and toe to make sure all was as it ought to be with her freshly restored son.

Posey moved forward to embrace her husband. ‘I  knew you could save them,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘Did you shoot that ruffian?’

 ‘I didn’t have to,’ Hilly said, relishing the feel of Posey’s arms around him, and the solid substance of her in his arms. He took a deep breath of her fragrance before adding, ‘The Thain takes care of his own, you know.’

Posey sneaked a glance at Pippin. He didn’t look like a triumphant rescuer. He looked more drained than anything else, but after a final hug he left Farry in Diamond’s embrace and turned to Denethor.

 ‘How is he, Faenon?’

The guardsman only shook his head, his face sober.

 ‘The hands of the King...’ Pippin said, taking Denny’s limp hand in his own, regardless of the drying blood on the gauntleted fingers he held.

 ‘He’ll have to get here pretty quick, if it’s to be,’ Faenon said grimly. He looked back to Denethor. ‘Listen to me, you miserable wretch,’ he said, bending closer to the fallen guardsman’s ear. ‘They’re not ready in the Halls of Mandos for the likes of you, not after that last stunt you pulled in the mess! They’ll turn you out, more than likely, for your reputation proceeds you. Everyone’s heard of what happened to the sergeant’s...’ He broke off, swallowed hard, and added in a whisper, ‘Hold on, Denny. Hold on.’