Chapter 3: Deductive Reasoning
Sam tapped his foot impatiently. He was wasting precious time here. There were three paths leading into the woods, and he had to decide which to take. There was one that he and Frodo often took together. Since Frodo hadn't wished for his company, Sam concluded that that path probably wasn't the right one. There was another that Frodo took with Bilbo a lot. Sam shook his head at that one. It seemed to him that Bilbo was probably what his master wanted to put from his mind for a while. Sam chose the third path.
"Mr. Frodo!" he called as he went down the path, pushing against the icy wind. There was no response, but Sam kept going. And going. And going. He went down the path, calling into the torrent of snow, until he could hardly feel his feet because they were so numb. Then finally, when he thought he could take no more, he spotted on his left a log sitting across a wide frozen stream. Without thinking, Sam began to cross it. He was more than halfway across when he felt the log begin to give beneath him. It was not as strong as it appeared. Sam desperately jumped the rest of the way to the other side, but the pressure he applied to the log before his desperate leap caused it to break.
There would be no getting back that way.
Sam tapped his foot impatiently. He was wasting precious time here. There were three paths leading into the woods, and he had to decide which to take. There was one that he and Frodo often took together. Since Frodo hadn't wished for his company, Sam concluded that that path probably wasn't the right one. There was another that Frodo took with Bilbo a lot. Sam shook his head at that one. It seemed to him that Bilbo was probably what his master wanted to put from his mind for a while. Sam chose the third path.
"Mr. Frodo!" he called as he went down the path, pushing against the icy wind. There was no response, but Sam kept going. And going. And going. He went down the path, calling into the torrent of snow, until he could hardly feel his feet because they were so numb. Then finally, when he thought he could take no more, he spotted on his left a log sitting across a wide frozen stream. Without thinking, Sam began to cross it. He was more than halfway across when he felt the log begin to give beneath him. It was not as strong as it appeared. Sam desperately jumped the rest of the way to the other side, but the pressure he applied to the log before his desperate leap caused it to break.
There would be no getting back that way.