One Geek to Rule Them All

Into the Wild

Mr. Butterbur hurried off to see to that their ponies were got ready, and went to fetch them a 'bite'. Kitty was just about to point out that she and Devin didn't have anything to ride, when Butterbur came rushing back in dismay. They ponies had vanished! The stable doors had all been opened in the night, and they were gone—not only Merry's ponies, but every other horse and beast in the place.

Frodo was crushed by the news, clearly wondering how they could possibly hope to reach Rivendell on foot while pursued by mounted enemies, but Kitty noticed Devin didn't seem at all surprised by this turn of events. Must've happened in  the book too, she thought. Honestly, she didn't remember too much about this part. She had skimmed ahead to the more actiony bits.

"Ponies would not help us to escape the horsemen," Aragorn said at last after giving further thought to the situation, as if he had guessed what Frodo was thinking. "We should not go much slower on foot, not on the roads I mean to take. I was going to walk in any case. It is the food and stores that trouble me. We cannot count on getting anything to eat between here and Rivendell, except what we take with us; and we ought to take plenty to spare; for we may be delayed, or forced to roundabout, far out of the direct way. How much are you prepared to carry on your backs?"

"As much as we must," said Pippin with a sinking heart, but trying to show that he was tougher than he looked (or felt).

"Well, Kitty and I are used to carrying up to sixty pounds thanks to all our heavy school books, and we're used to marching relatively long distances, so we could probably take a little more on," said Devin.

"Great. This is going to be like band camp training all over again," Kitty muttered darkly under her breath.

"I can carry enough for two," Sam said defiantly.

"Can't anything be done, Mr. Butterbur?" Frodo asked. "Can't we get a couple of ponies in the village, or even hire one just for the baggage? I don't suppose we could hire them, but we might be able to buy them," he added doubtfully, wondering if he could afford it. Kitty quickly put her hands over her earrings, covering them protectively. No way was she trading these babies; they were her favorite pair!

"I doubt it," Butterbur said unhappily. "The two or three riding-ponies that were in Bree were stabled in my yard, and they're gone. As for the other animals, horses or ponies for draught or what not, there are very few of them in Bree, and they won't be for sale. But I'll do what I can. I'll rout out Bob and send him round as soon as may be."

"Yes," said Aragorn reluctantly, "you had better do that. I am afraid we shall have to try and get one pony at least. But so ends all hope of starting early and slipping away quietly. We might as well have blown a horn to announce our departure. That was their plan, no doubt."

"There is one crumb of comfort," Merry said. "And more than a crumb, I hope: we can have breakfast while we wait—and sit down to it. Let's get hold of Nob!"

In the end there was more than three hours delay. Bob had come back with the report that no horse or pony was to be got for love or money in the neighborhood—except one: Bill Ferny had one he might possibly sell, but he was known to be a thoroughly unscrupulous man, whom they had also noticed had been watching the hobbits while conspiring with a an ill-looking Southerner the previous evening. They suspected he might have had a hand in helping to sabotage them. It was a poor old half-starved creature.

"Bill Ferny?" Frodo said. "Isn't there some trick? Wouldn't the beast bolt back to him with all our stuff, or help in tracking us, or something?"

"I wonder," said Aragorn, "but I cannot imagine any animal running home to him, once it got away. I fancy this is only an afterthought of kind Master Ferny's—just a way of increasing his profits from the affair. The chief danger is that the poor beast is probably at death's door. But there does not seem to be any choice. What does he want it for?"