Erulissé
· 29 May 2025
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
This story was the most suspenseful of any of the stories about hobbits that I have read to date!
I was so afraid that this would finally be the end of Ferdi! I mean, how many traumatic brain injuries has the poor Hobbit had at this point? The scene in the grave when Woodruff saved him at the last moment was epic. It reminded me of the video of an Irish burial when the man being buried had left a recording of himself talking, asking to be let out of the box, and asking why everyone was crying. It is a priceless video. 🤣
Poor Farry. He was already a very sober child. I hope this doesn't scar him too badly. I suspect Elessar's influence was helpful? Hopefully he doesn't get attacks from the Shadow like Merry and Eowyn on the anniversaries. At least those men weren't 'creatures of Shadow', merely shadowed by long acts of evil.
The end chapter is one of my favorites. Wonder. A wonderful name for a dear hobbit lassie if I do say so myself! There's a series called Thoroughbred, the first book is titles Ashleigh's Wonder, and it's about a foal born in a racing barn and it's bond with the girl. She names the filly Wonder, and for some reason this reminded me of that.
What an amazing story!
Author's reply
Oh my! I'd worry that a trick like the one at the Irish burial would cause more heart attacks! (On a side note, we just watched a murder mystery in which one of the plot points was the murdered man apparently rising from his coffin and leaving the mausoleum where he'd been entombed! Yikes.)
(Alas, poor Ferdi. I lay much of the blame at the feet of the beta reader whose birthday wish was granted with this story. She was heavily addicted to Ferdi-angst and kept nagging me to write more of it. It's probably a good thing for Ferdi (and me!) that she moved on to a different fandom some years ago.)
The athelas administered by the Healing Hands helped a great deal in bringing about comfort and healing. While Farry won't have anniversaries, he will have some trouble when certain circumstances trigger memories of his ordeal, as will be seen in an upcoming story.
I don't think I ever read that Thoroughbred series! It must have been published after I had already gone through every. single. horse book. in our local public library. Multiple times. I may have to seek it out for leisure reading purposes.
Thanks so much for reading and pausing long enough to share your thoughts! I really appreciate it.
Eirinn Leigh
· 22 November 2015
· Chapter 18: In which an argument is interrupted
I'm hoping for the kind of luck that leaves club-man alive and willing for questioning!
Author's reply
That's the luck I was hoping for, too...
Larner
· 25 April 2007
· Chapter 99999: Best laid plans...
Okay....
I am still waiting for other stories to be updated, of course! Heh!
Author's reply
Of course. If only the Muse would work on autopilot. I'd love for the other stories to be updated, too.
But thanks!
Little hobbits send their best regards.
Nienor Niniel
· 25 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
You made me sniffle quite a lot again with this one. Of course I knew that you wouldn't ever kill Ferdi, but to see poor Farry like this, and the young ruffian and all...
I especially enjoyed Aragorn's appearance and the way you wrote his character!
All the best, Nienor
Author's reply
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a good word. Don't know if I never saw it in my email, or if I thought to "save it for later" and hit the wrong button.
Anyhow, I'm very glad that you liked Aragorn's portrayal. I'm always a little hesitant to write him, because I worry about getting him "right".
Ferdi actually did die, in the draft of "Merlin", and much of the material in this story comes from that draft. However, it's very nice that "Merlin" got revised the way it did, and that Ferdi squeaked by in this story. (Have decided I do not wish to write his end, and so I most likely won't. However, I choose to think that it was quiet and peaceful, at the end of a long life, with his Nell at his side, and that's all I need to know.)
And so belated thanks!
Larner
· 17 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
Dear Wonder, also known as Flora? Lovely!
So glad I had time to finish this and review before I have to leave again for work. Lovely indeed.
Author's reply
Goodness, found another review I hadn't answered! How *does* that happen?
The Muse deserted me right about the time I emailed you about that story, but if she ever returns you'll be the first to know.
*hugs*
Larner
· 17 September 2006
· Chapter 42: After noon
And I'm glad they did. They are dead and passed on one hopes to something else with perhaps still a chance of redemption somewhere in their future; but they got to think about it, at least, a bit ahead of time, a time I think they needed.
harrowcat
· 10 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
Welcome Wonder! This is indeed wonder-ful Lindelea. Congratulations.
Author's reply
Thanks!
Pearl Took
· 10 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
Wonder.
To quote Sam, "Indeed."
Sorry I didn't leave a response on the last chapter. I finished reading and sat there a lengthy time - but naught came to mind. I just couldn't think of something to say that fit. Not in a bad way, mind, it was a wonderful chapter, I just blanked.
This has been a hard fought tale, both for you and the hobbits. You've all done very well!
Author's reply
Well, thank you for responding to this chapter! I don't always get many reviews on a final chapter... in fact, on the latter half of the longer stories, it's funny how the reviews sort of peter out. I write too "long", and people lose interest, most likely.
So thanks for hanging in there!
(And whew. Glad it's over.)
Bodkin
· 10 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
I think that Tolly - maybe in the company of his cousin the Thain - needs to re-encounter those 'ruffians' he allowed to escape from the Shire unhanged - and find out loud and clear that his judgement was not wrong and that they did not deserve to encounter the end of a Ranger's noose.
And if Brawny knew the Shire both pre-quest and during the Troubles, I have little doubt that he knew enough to find his way in without any ale-engendered revelations.
Mind you, Meadowsweet's method of comfort seems to have something in its favour! And Tolly will probably get the infant he wants. Although she forgot to mention that Ferdi isn't actually to be counted among the lost - still that's a pleasant surprise that will boost Tolly's spirits.
Lovely naming ceremony - twisted to fit the occasion - but Wonder! Well, she's named after a good lettuce. And Flora will make a much better everyday name. Sam certainly does know the right thing to say - a thing that will fit almost any occasion!
A satisfyingly happy ending to a tale with some very dark moments!
Author's reply
Very dark moments. Whew. EF said to stretch, and I'm feeling like Gumby.
You know, the Muse was taken with this review and began spinning ideas. Not exactly what you mentioned in the first paragraph, but a prequel of sorts (showing how Tolly encountered the wanderers, interlaced with the aftermath of this story, and perhaps overlapping the beginning of "Rope", depending on how far the Muse takes the plot. Don't know as it's just the barest glimmer, not even outlined, but tempting.
There is a lettuce named Wonder? How lovely! So she's not completely off the wall.
Thanks!
FantasyFan
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
And so another story comes to a happy ending, with lots of hobbity 'cheer'. (Happy that is, for everyone but the ruffians.) Loved the mention of Frodo, as always. He gave Pippin a butterfly, Arwen gave one to Faramir (am I remembering it right?), and now Faramir continues the tradition with little Flora. Maybe one day Flora will give one to Faramir's firstborn. Wonder is, I think, a good name for a Took. I wonder if she will be the adventurous type of Took? Someday I think you should write some of the Took women having adventures, for I am sure some of them did.
I hope Tolly will be all right soon. This is a terrible thing for him to have to go through, really. Losing Ferdi, fear for Farry, watching the ruffians die, dealing with trying to get his head around the evil they did, hearing about the horrible punishment of the Rasterlings, remembering the pain and anguish of the Battle of Bywater, the horrible guilt of feeling responsible for giving ruffians an in to the Shire: it's all very very too much for any hobbit, even a fine responsible one like Tolly. Meadowsweet helps him, spring will help him, seeing Ferdi alive and on the mend will help him, perhaps Pippin will speak to him as well. It'll be off the record, not in this story, and not in the one that comes afterward either, but it won't do to have the head of the escort anguished and uncertain. If I were the Thain, I'd prescribe lots of time with his wife and children, food and laughter, and a bit of time with his friend Ferdi.
(But then, if I were Thain, Pippin would skip off to Gondor for a vacation, and I'd be stuck with all the boring work. Never mind, let's leave it in his hands.)
Author's reply
Happy for everyone but the ruffians, indeed. And sometimes I can even manage to give "ruffians" a happy ending. Although they're usually not ruffians by the end of the story.
I haven't written Farry's Naming Day yet, but it is possible that Arwen did give a gift of wonder to him. I think you might be remembering Arwen's gift to Merry's daughter.
I would like to write some of the feminine Tooks having adventures, though I have to figure out how to do it within the constraints of the society that simmers away in the back of my head. I've shown Goldi, I think, as well as Rudi's wife Laurel, as being spunkier than average. (And Diamond, I think, as well as Estella.) And for some reason I think Bilbo's mother had at least one adventure, before she settled down with Bungo. Maybe more. But the Muse has not done much with them, having Tom-Sawyer/Huck-Finn-like adventures (which is what comes to mind when I think of the term). Just Goldi, learning swordplay from Farry, and doing her part to fight off wolves (staying back, so that the menfolk don't get distracted with worry on her part, and working to light a fire), and Celandine tying up the lads, and being hobbitnapped down to the Sunlands and trying to cope and keep self and children alive in the midst of enemies (and trying to figure out who their friends were, and learn a language), and a little of Estella living as a boy during the Troubles...
But those are the sorts of adventures that flow easily from the Muse. I don't know if you meant something different?
I like your prescription for Tolly. As a matter of fact, between you and Bodkin and your reviews, the Muse is percolating, and there may be a sequel of sorts that cuts between this period following Runaway and the period following FirstBorn. Don't know yet. But it's possible.
Perhaps you might simply be another special assistant to the Thain, giving orders in his name... I think Pippin delegated a lot of his authority to capable hobbits, for certainly there aren't enough hours in the day to make all those decisions...
Dreamflower
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 43: Teatime, and a little before
*grin* And a nine-days "wonder" it's going to be. All of this has certainly given the Tooks a very great deal to Talk about! "Wonder" I think is a perfectly lovely name, and Flora a very nice "love-name".
Have you ever written the story of Pippin's Naming Day? If it was Frodo who gave his cousin the gift of wonder, it's no surprise that it stuck! I'd love to see that! And I'd like to know what Merry gave his little cousin...
As to Tolly--well, seeing Ferdi alive and whole (if not *quite* well) should help, as should his wife's quickening. But I think the episode with the Ruffians is going to be on his mind for a good long while...
Author's reply
Yes, Pippin's Naming Day is in "Healer's Tale"; the chapter has "family" in the title, something like "Family Matters". I had cut chapters with Naming Day ceremonies into the draft for this story, to compare notes, and actually accidentally left a piece of one of those old chapters hanging when I copied this into SoA. Hope nobody got jarred by the fact that Berilac was limping up the aisle, crippled by a bull attack that wouldn't take place for at least two years! (Excised it, and hopefully didn't miss any other "research" paragraphs.)
And Merry's altogether too cute, I have to say, at his cousin's naming day.
And poor Tolly... but then he tends towards melancholy in the dark part of the year, anyhow. Springtide is coming, and by the time spring arrives, he'll know of the new baby growing, and that will be very cheering, along with the return of the sun and longer days.
They say time heals all ills, and so by the time the sun retreats again and the days grow shorter, hopefully his wounds will have scabbed over and he'll be able to cope. And of course he'll have the distraction of worrying about Pippin, whose coach accident (and the birth of Diamond's twins) is at this point on the timeline, only a couple of months away.
Bodkin
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 42: After noon
I like the way Merry keeps forking the food into Ferdi. The poor hobbit must be in desperate need of sustenance by now, even if he seems to be able to go without food longer than most hobbits.
And the name ... just as well Nell can read Ferdi's mind. There's a lot of debate there it would appear. But if his wishes are truly out there, she can accidentally give the babe a more acceptable name - provided Ferdi doesn't get his voice back at the ceremony.
Pippin only asks Sam to do things? I'm not surprised - although the Tooks might be! Their conversation was interesting. Maybe Tolly was right - he may be an innocent hobbit, but he's not as green as he's cabbage-looking - he's known ruffians - if he thought those intruders were harmless, they were probably harmless.
I'm glad Tolly didn't hold to ruffian-torture - for his sake more than theirs. And a few hours of fear don't seem too harsh a recompense for a pair who regularly put innocent children through the torments of kidnapping. Their deaths came quickly in the end - and Tolly was left able to see that Strider's justice is swift. And as much for the victims as the criminals.
Author's reply
I was sort of figuring that Ferdi must be absolutely hollow by this point. I'm surprised they weren't trying to feed him, earlier, rather than letting him seek healing sleep as much as possible.
Thank you for your e-mail with the name--I managed to work it so that *that* name, from the other story, would still fit with the name that naturally emerged in the writing of this one. Whew. Bit of a stretch of the imagination, but it's done. And I think Pimpernel has a sense of humour, which is one of the things Ferdi loved about her from their earliest acquaintance. (She just doesn't get the chance to show it much, when the angst is running high.)
"Not as green as cabbage-looking". I just love your turns of phrase.
And you're right, the intruders were probably harmless, but if they had too much to drink and bragged about their narrow escape, and the wrong ears were listening (and maybe buying them drinks to spill more of the truth)... Just as well that Regi sent a messenger to the Rangers to plug that particular hole.
Poor Tolly. I hope Meadowsweet's remedy was just as effective as Elessar's, and probably, so far as he was concerned, more fun. I don't usually write so close to "racy" but EF dared me, and I had too much coffee at the time, and things took their course. (I'm sure Sweetie's "cure" had a wondrous effect, coupled with the heartening news that Tolly's best friend was not cold and in the grave.)
Anyhow, that "puts paid" to this story. Whew. Can hardly believe it's finished.
Bodkin
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 41: Dawning
And who better to honour the ruffian than Ferdi? And, where he leads, who wouldn't follow?
Couldn't be better than to see Farry - whole and healthy, even if shorn - to offer reassurance to the assemble gossipy Tooks.
Ferdi seems surprised to hear that he gave his life ... but then it seems to take more than being killed to keep that Took down.
I'm glad to see Elessar is watching to see that everything's OK before he heads off back to his wife.
Author's reply
Clicked on reviews while thinking about Tolly's story, and saw this wasn't answered.
Good for a chuckle! (Ferdi surprised, and "takes more than being killed", snork)
Thanks! (Makes me wish I had a little more computer time today, to try and write something. The Muse has been gone for about a month now, and I hope she's thinking fondly of home and hearth and might be inclined to return...)
Bodkin
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 40: Not long before dawn
Tolly needs to get home. I'm not surprised he and Sam are riding through the night.
Or, really, that Ferdi gets up off his all-but-deathbed to complain about burying a ruffian among the Tooks.
Or that Farry is more worried about his Mum seeing his haircut than he is about the rest. Sometimes things like that seem to take on a bigger importance than ... other things.
Good to see Boromir remembered - and with pride and love, too.
Dreamflower
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 42: After noon
Poor Pippin! He was so stressed and exhausted when he handed the ruffians off to Tolly that he didn't remember what he ordered, did he? But even not quite remembering, Sam's put him straight.
I love Sam in this whole story. He's just wonderful here, reminding Pippin of what needs reminding, when anger and horror and exhaustion have made him forget. But he's such a rock. Regi's cute, in his Tookishness wondering why Pippin doesn't "order" the Mayor. As if Pippin would even think of such a thing with his friend!
And Merry was wonderful too! I loved seeing him feed Ferdi like a faunt, and his wondering about the swelling in the head was just so Merryish--no matter what the circumstances, he never stops wanting to *know* things.
As to Little Lass' name--I must be obtuse, I know you've left clues, and though I think I should know what it's going to be, it is escaping me entirely...
(And may I say, I'm glad there'll be another chapter?)
Author's reply
I'm secretly glad, too. I hate it when a story comes to an end, whether reading or writing. I often rush to the ending because of it, or else I write slower and slower and procrastinate.
Hopefully the last chapter of this one won't feel rushed. It's only the third part of a 9,000 word chapter! (But I hope that Tolly's trouble makes sense. It makes sense to me, but I'm perilously short of sleep.)
I love hearing what you loved. I need to do more of that when I review, too. *g*
And now you know that you guessed right, as to the name. Though she'll be known as "Flora" more often, amongst her relatives, a sort of love-name that's more hobbity than her real name. She has a lot in common with her cousin Faramir!
Thanks so much for sticking with this story, uncomfortable parts and all.
harrowcat
· 9 September 2006
· Chapter 41: Dawning
*Satisfied sigh* GReat conclusions Lindelea and grand to come back to. Onward to the little tale of the naming and, perchance, the return of Ferdi's voice then? - a little like the naming of John the Baptist maybe? And of course Sam and Tolly are still out there somewhere....
And as I have been away for three days could someone cook me a Buckland breakfast? Pleese? Tea and toast don't quite fill the order!
Author's reply
Glad it gave you something *good* to come back to. And your review just came in as I was posting the next chapter.
Which was supposed to be the *last* chapter, but my Internet has been most uncooperative today, and I had to cut the chapter to 3,000 words to get it to post.
More tomorrow, I hope, if the silly dial-up will just stop crashing on me.
And welcome back! We'd be happy to cook you a Buckland breakfast! (As a matter of fact, I think it's on the menu for just a few hours from now.)
Got to toddle off to bed now.
Thanks!
Larner
· 7 September 2006
· Chapter 41: Dawning
Rejoice with Pippin, Diamond, Farry, Ferdi, and Nell--in the end they have come to good, and the King has watched all of this from a distance and knows peace as he prepares to return to his own folk.
Now, just the naming to deal with...
Author's reply
Right, just the naming, though I think I figured out a way to have my cake and eat it too (are you familiar with Forget-me-not, known for short as "Ruby"?) and use *both* names.
It was so lovely to spend an hour today. I wish it could have been longer, but wish you safe journey and soon returning.
The little hobbits send their best.
Pearl Took
· 7 September 2006
· Chapter 41: Dawning
"Fighting to keep his voice from breaking, he continued. ‘Ferdibrand offered his life, in defence of my son, but the ruffians clubbed him to the ground, leaving him to die in his blood in the cold of night...’
Ferdi blinked again, astonished at the news. They had? Why had no one told him about this? Wouldn’t you think he’d be the first to know?"
LOL That is so well done!! I love it :-)
*sigh*
Everyone all safe and sound. The poor young ruffian properly honored.
*Applause* *Applause*
Onward to the naming!!
Author's reply
Thank you! Thank you!
Onward to the Naming... can you believe this is almost done?
(Whew, glad, although I could probably stretch this part out for chapters... this is the part *I* like.)
And you quoted one of my favourite parts. Poor Ferdi, always the last to know!
Dreamflower
· 7 September 2006
· Chapter 41: Dawning
Thank you, Lin, for telling me of the end of the chapter! I'm so glad you did--that was charming.
And Elessar most *certainly* deserved a Buckland Breakfast after all he'd done!
Beautiful!
Author's reply
You're welcome!
We have Buckland breakfasts here at least once a month, with all the trimmings.
Yum!
demeter d
· 7 September 2006
· Chapter 38: In the wee hours
So good of the Rangers to spare Tolly as much as possible. Still, it is good for him to know as much as he can about the realities of the world of men. After the War of the Rings, many more peoples, for good or ill, knew about Hobbits then ever had before. Even with Aragorn's Edict, the Shire was no longer the hidden haven it had once been.
And Sam is just being Sam. He is my favorite character of all the good professor's world. He has lost his innocence, but if anything has deepened his compassion and heart. To help to deal out that kind of a cruel death, even if the Ruffians "deserved" it, would make him like them. And that he would never do. It is good of Merry to comfort Farry about the fate of the young man who saved him. It would be nice if one or more of the Hobbits who had a good look at him had had skill in drawing people. Perhaps then his picture could be taken back to Gondor. It might have comforted a family grieving over a lost son to know that in the end he had re-discovered his humanity and protected someone helpless. His sacrifice is indeed reminiscent of Boromir's. I hope they make it back for the burial. I like the way one fan-fic author has the Edict being amended so that invited quests can be escorted in by Shire officials or their representatives. I think the appearance of King Elessar at the young man's memorial would have made quite an impression. i also enjoyed the image of "Strider" still watching over his friends!
Author's reply
You know, I don't think Sam expected Tolly to ask for the Easterlings' solution; he was merely giving the ruffians some food for thought on the journey to the Bounds, in attempt to make them as uncomfortable as possible.
He let the punishment go forward, for Tolly *was* the Thain's representative after all, but I think he was turning over in his mind just how to extricate themselves (all of them, ruffians, Rangers, and Shire-folk) from the situation the whole time he and Tolly were sitting by the fireside.
And finally there was nothing for it but to speak the truth, plain and unvarnished. And thankfully Tolly is not such a hard-headed Took as to stubbornly maintain the path he's chosen, all the way to the end, but can listen to reason.
And as for the Edict--I keep finding ways to stretch that thing. It is a most inconvenient device. I have given three Men and their families passes to allow them entrance to the Shire, and made Bergil a hobbit (adopted by Sam's family), and even had Pippin extend permission to the King to visit, under special circumstances. O yes, and the King and his Men may enter the Shire on emergency. Um. Sounds like a leaky sieve to me. But for the most part, Elessar tries to honour the Edict. Whew.
Dreamflower
· 7 September 2006
· Chapter 41: Dawning
*grin*
Well, Pippin did indeed arrive right on time. And as Diamond has already seen her son well and whole, she will not be, let us hope, quite as angry and distraught as she would have been to get the news before that--just as Pippin hoped.
And Ferdi, beginning to recall a few things--being the first to cast the dirt on the nameless youngster.
And now the only mystery that remains is Little Lass' name. (And also, I look forward to Sam and Tolly's reunion with Ferdi!)
Author's reply
Yes, that was another of the plot points that this story was built around--Ferdi's change in attitude, from indignation to gratitude, and him being "chief mourner" just ahead of Faramir, honouring the young ruffian for completing what Ferdi himself was unable to do.
BTW, I accidently left off the end of the chapter, tying up the King, or rather, his loose end so far as the story goes, so I just thought I'd let you know it's been added.
And yes, Sam and Tolly's reunion with Ferdi, and the naming of Little Lass, *ought* to take place complete within the next chapter. Think good thoughts!
Pearl Took
· 6 September 2006
· Chapter 40: Not long before dawn
Things do seem to be getting all a-muddle again. I hope Merry and Pippin do indeed make it back in time. There's been more than enough stress in Tookland of late, and at the Smials.
Author's reply
No not really a-muddle, except for Ferdi, who'll be on the mend for some days yet.
Merry and Pippin are arriving just in the nick of time, I find (am typing in the next chapter, and if only the read-aloud lasts long enough I'll have possession of the computer long enough to finish and post). The young ruffian's burial takes up the whole of the next chapter, and then we have the Naming Day celebration which ends the story. It was all supposed to be one chapter, but our Internet is so wonky these days I have had to break it up into manageable pieces.
Thanks for hanging in there!
Larner
· 6 September 2006
· Chapter 40: Not long before dawn
I'm so glad they're doing this for Farry's sake. And they ought to have had the chance to do what they could for Boromir. Hmm. Another plot bunny?
Author's reply
Hmmm. Could be, though it hasn't bit me yet. I have stories where they honour Boromir, remembering him, but nothing where they go back to Parth Galen. At least, not at the moment.
Whew! Lunch break over, got to get back to school!
cookiefleck
· 6 September 2006
· Chapter 40: Not long before dawn
"All the while Nell’s and Sweetie’s voices were swirling in the air around him, flocks of pigeons too restless to roost."
What marvelous writing!
Author's reply
Thanks! I love to watch flocks of pigeons swooping and swirling; they are amazing birds.
Dreamflower
· 6 September 2006
· Chapter 40: Not long before dawn
So, it looks as though they will all pretty much converge on the Great Smials at the same time--and in time, it looks, to lay the youngster to rest.
Both Tolly, Sam, Pippin and Merry are all in for a pleasant shock, when they will arrive to find Ferdi there at the graveyard--alive and more or less well.
And I do like the comparison of the youngster to Boromir. Of course, Merry and Pippin are quite right that Boromir was never a Ruffian. But thanks to the Ring, he *did* behave like one, for a few fateful moments--and he also paid for that moment of weakness with his life.
The youngster, however, had at some point seemingly chosen willingly to take on the life of a ruffian, and was well down that path, when he is forced to encounter something that is just beyond what depravity he can do. Yet if the Fat one had not entrusted that cruel task to him, but to Red instead, he probably would have been grieved and sickened--but he would not have intervened. And then he would have tried to find a way to justify it to himself, and become the kind of hardened person the Fat one hoped to turn him into.
I look forward to seeing the joy when Ferdi is revealed to be alive, and to hearing what sort of tribute Pippin and Farry find to give the youngster.
Author's reply
Sam and Tolly will come a little belated--it looks like a ten- or twelve-hour trip from the Bounds, for them, for they have no pony-post ponies ready and waiting for a change of mount, but must ride their own as fast as they dare (not too fast, or they might use them up). After all, the ponies already made an overnight trip from the Hoard Hill to the Bounds. It is probable that they'll get back to the Smials shortly before teatime.
Even the hobbits who rode with them to the Bounds probably won't get back until noontide. So Ferdi's in for being "discovered" several times this day. Wonder if he'll find it amusing or annoying?