Chapter 11 Day after dark

I sat and watched all through the night with Strider though he knew it not. The dawn came bright and clear. The hobbits woke with sounds of a commotion from the lower level of the Inn. They quickly got dressed and went downstairs to see what all of the noise was all about. The loudest noise was coming from around the rooms that the hobbits would have been in. They looked at what was left of their room. The door was off its hinges and the room was a total mess. The beds and Bedding were slashed and strewn about the room. The Hobbits as one unit shuddered; they did not want to know what would have been their fate if they had not listened to Strider. Butterbur was falling all over himself apologizing profusely " I am so sorry little masters, this has never happened in my inn before, In fact it has never happened in Bree before. Now we have your room destroyed and the door knocked off its hinges and the front door of the inn is the same way. Were any of you hurt Little Masters" Frodo assured him that they were just fine and in fact had not even been in the room when it happened. Butterbur was still very visibly upset. "I saw them young sirs, they were tall terrible men dressed in black I couldn't move for love nor money when they came bursting through my door, in fact it was many hours before I could move at all. Oh I have never seen the like" The hobbits all felt bad for him but right at the moment, they needed to find Strider, so they again told Butterbur that they were fine and told him they had to go but they would be back. They ran back up the stair and found Strider still sitting in the same chair as he was sitting in the night before. "Strider you should have seen the room everything was slashed and broken," said a very excited Merry. Strider looked at him and all he said was " It is done Merry, they are gone and so we must need be, Frodo I want you and Pippin to pack up your things, Merry I want you to go find provisions enough for several days and make sure the things you get are easy to pack, Sam I want you to come with me. I think that we may need to find a pony that we can use to carry our things. We need to be as unencumbered as we can be." Strider was very surprised that he got immediate action from all of the Hobbits with not one argument in the bunch. Sam put his weskit on and looked askance at him as if to say " Well I am ready how about you" What he did not realize was that the Hobbits were still in too much shock to argue. That would most defiantly come later if I knew my hobbits. I hoped that Strider enjoyed the calm before the Storm.

Sam and Strider went out of the inn looking for a horse or pony that they could use but there did not seem to be one in all of Bree. It seems that all of the Horses in the town had been stolen or scared away.  Strider was not pleased this would only mean more delays from his intended early start. But there was nothing to be done about it. They had just about given up in finding one when Nob, one of the Hobbits at the inn told them that a man named Bill Ferny might have one. But Nob warned Strider that he would no doubt raise the price if he knew they really wanted it. Strider knew Bill Ferny and did not trust him at all and he had suspicions about his "Friends" but they needed to have something to help them carry the provisions that they would need. And Strider knew that he would not have time to find food for the Hobbits in the wild so they needed to take as much food as they could. They walked down the lane to where Ferny lived and he was there waiting for them. He was an ill favored man, that for some reason made Sam mad just to hear him Talk "So you are looking for a horse oh stick O nought Strider well I may have something that will fit the bill." Bill Ferny's voice was a grating kind of voice that set the hackles rising up on Sam's neck He led them around to the side of his house and what Sam saw instantly brought tears to his eyes. There was a horse there or at least it should have been a horse but it was all skin and bones and Sam knew that this man had been starving him. Sam doubled up his fists and would have attacked Bill Ferny but Strider put a hand on his shoulder and said quietly "It will be okay Sam" Strider looked at the man and felt much the same way that Sam felt but he did not show it. " How much do you want for him?" Strider asked. Bill Ferny did not expect this especially after seeing the reaction of the Hobbit "Well I was thinking 15 silver pennies". At this statement Sam started sputtering. And again Strider put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Ferny this horse is not that far from death but I am in a generous mood and I will give you 12 silver pennies for him" Ferny looked at Strider and started to give him an argument then he looked in Striders eyes, and Ferny knew that death was waiting there should he try any thing. He looked at the pony and he looked at the man with danger in his eyes and decided to take what he was offered. He still he felt smug because he knew that is was much more than he would ever get if the horse died. Sam could not believe that Strider was willing to pay that much for a thin half starved creature but Sam was glad for he knew that he would soon have this pony in better shape in no time. I smiled at Sam's love for all living things and I also knew that it was because Strider loved horses, and had a respect for all living things, and he wanted to try to save this horse, and that was the reasons he was willing to pay so much for this poor creature. I had all intentions of helping the horse recover I knew that love and good food would do wonders for "Bill" for that was what Sam decided to call him. .

So they took Bill back to the Prancing Pony. Strider went up to the room and found that Frodo and Pippin were all done with the packing so he told them to go downstairs and meet their new companion. By the time they got downstairs they found that Merry had joined Sam and was that they both were looking Bill over. " Strider what are we going to do with this pony". Strider looked thoughtfully at the hobbits. "Well gentlemen we are going to pack things upon his back, nothing too heavy mind you, at least until he gets some weight on him, but something tells me that it won't be long before he looks better, with Sam's help here" and I thought to myself And with my Help Strider my dear and with my help

 Strider gave the hobbits some time to eat their breakfast and then the told them that they needed to be on the road. So they packed the food that Merry had brought and it truly was not too heavy for Bill, for he was a stout pony for all the abuse that he had suffered at the hands of Ferny.  Bill was already enjoying the ministrations of Sam and the other hobbits they had already given him good food and treats. Merry had even given the pony one of his precious apples.  Once they were all packed Strider told them "Well Gentlemen we must be off, This has already taken more time than I wished and I feel that there are nosy eyes that will watch us and try to figure out our direction, so let us be off" They walked back the way that the Hobbits had taken the night before and they saw that the gates of Bree were also off their hinges and they wondered what had happened to the gate keeper but he was no where in sight. That worried them a little but there was nothing to be done about it. There were people watching them and it was a little uncomfortable to have gathered so much attention Sam was eating an Apple when he Spotted Bill Ferny leaning on his fence. Ferny was deriding them to some other ill kempt men and making fun of them for having spent so much on a "skin and bones horse" and all the anger that that Sam had felt at the treatment of a defenseless animal came out and he threw the apple he had been eating right at Ferny and Ferny went down sputtering. Strider looked at Sam very sternly but as he turned away Frodo noticed that he had a slight smile on his face.

They went through the gate and down the road but as soon as they had gone far enough from the town Strider turned from the road and started to cut across country. Taking a path that took them up the high hills outside of Bree, They had been traveling for several hours before the hobbits even started questioning where the were going and where exactly Strider was taking them.  And then they started wondering a few other things also.. Frodo noticed about this time that Merry had come along side of him and obviously wanted to ask him a question. "Frodo how do we know that Strider is a friend of Gandalf's?" Frodo thought about this for a second and he thought about the fact that Strider had already saved their lives at least once. So he turned to Merry and said " Merry we are just going to have to trust him" Merry was not so sure about that, but if Frodo thought so well then he best leave it be for now. But he had one more question "But Frodo where is he taking us" Apparently Strider had very good hearing and decided to respond to Merry's question "Into the Wild" at hearing that Sam blurted out "But where are we going" They heard Strider reply "To Rivendell Master Gamgee, to Rivendell" Sam could not believe it. And fairly shouted for Joy "We are going to see the elves"