Haddon's home sat under the Mathom House. It was in a local neighborhood, where the cliff-face stood out. Haddon sighed, grateful to be home and glad to see his lawn had been mown recently. That was nice, having someone take care of his house, while he was gone. However, he feared no one took care of dusting inside the house.
And he was right! As soon as he opened the door, he found the house dusty and needed a good cleaning. There was the first room, as well as the second room across the hallway. Haddon had to hurry if he wanted Frodo and Will to see he had the gauntlet tucked away somewhere in the house.
The last thing he needed was to ensure that he didn't have the gauntlet when he did. That was something he didn't want to do. He sighed, entering the house and sneezing in the process.
"Okay. Now, where is it?" Haddon said, rummaging through stacks of paper. He felt sure the gauntlet was here! Where else could it be? The last thing he expected was Frodo entering the house, helping him hunt for the gauntlet. How generous of him! This was something he looked forward to every single day. A simple act of kindness!
"Two weeks is a long time for any hobbit to be a prisoner," Frodo said, calmly. "I'm sorry you went through that."
Haddon gulped. "I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry it happened. Ah! Here it is!" He pulled out a silver gauntlet from behind a wooden chest. A symbol of a lion was etched into the metal. He passed the gauntlet to Frodo, admitting to him, "You might as well take it. I have no use for it."
"What does it do?" Frodo asked, staring at the gauntlet, curiously.
"Beats me," Haddon said. "The gauntlet isn't supposed to do anything. It just looks pretty."
"Then I'll take it with great care," Frodo said, heading out of the house. He looked back as Haddon followed him. What did he want now?
"Oh, and if you see Brombard Foxtail, tell him Haddon sent you!" Haddon said with a smirk.
"I will," Frodo said with a smile, heading out the door and towards the Mathom House. He was grateful when Brombard Foxtail took the gauntlet from his hands. The gauntlet sure weighed a couple of pounds, even though it was made out of pure silver.
"We'll take it with great care!" Brombard said, heading inside the Mathom House to store the gauntlet. "And we'll be none the wiser about it, too!"
"Great!" Frodo said with a smile, glad to see his work was done. He turned around, stunned when he heard voices inside the Mathom House. Glass breaking, and then a young hobbit boy darting off with the gauntlet on hand.
No way! It was Sancho Proudfoot! That sneaky little hobbit!
"I'll get the gauntlet back!" Frodo said, catching up to Sancho and taking the gauntlet from his hands.
"Is it valuable?" Sancho asked, the second the hobbit musketeer handed the gauntlet back to Brombard.
"Yes," Frodo said, curtly. "And it isn't for you to steal. It's for everyone, not just you, Sancho."
Sancho shrugged. "I didn't want it. I'll see you later!"
Frodo stared at the young hobbit, confused. Surely Sancho had a reason for wanting the gauntlet. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stolen it from the Mathom House.
"Then why did you steal it?" Frodo asked, hoping his question was answered.
"Well, because a rumor spread about it and I wanted to see it," Sancho said, admitting freely. "Have a good day." He walked away without a care in the world.
"What a strange hobbit," Frodo said, leaving the Mathom House for good today. He hoped that if he came back to the Mathom House another day, then no one would steal the Lion's Gauntlet again. Or so he hoped, for Sancho Proudfoot, once again, stole the Lion's Gauntlet the next day, leaving Frodo to retrieve it from him a second time. Frodo sighed, shaking his head. Silly hobbit!
