Anime Princess4 - Lotho will get what he's got coming to him, eventually. Frodo won't likely be in trouble with anyone who loves him. They're all too worried!
Jules6 - Lotho and Frodo couldn't help but have something to say to each other, given their circumstances. Too bad Lotho is too hateful to gain from it.
Shire Baggns - Bilbo, having spent so long in the safe environment of Hobbiton, cannot conceive of Frodo's being abducted while there. He fears more common kinds of trouble, namely accidents. If Lotho heard about Frodo's ordeal in Bree, he'd be unlikely to believe it, and would probably accuse Frodo of lying. Sam, though young, is indeed the determined protector of the future.
Endymion2 - The site didn't let you review chapter 16, eh? I consider myself fortunate that it allowed you to read it, at least! I doubt Ted could form a coherent sentence no matter how long he's spent at the Ivy Bush. I figure he's probably got a pleasant buzz on after being there from luncheon to after tea!
Camellia - Gamgee - Took - Everyone will be rushing to the rescue very soon!
Aelfgifu - Frodo is much more mature than Lotho, emotionally. He's had so many experiences that have built his resiliency. There will be some nice moments with Frodo and Sam, and Bilbo as well. LOL about your Bramblethorn comment. (For those who wonder what the heck I'm talking about, I'm working on bringing my old buddy Rushford Bramblethorn out of mothballs! - See "In Safekeeping" and "The Way of Vengeance" for more about him!)
Curious Cat - Lotho has some measure of conscience, but every time it tries to come out, his nastier side squashes it. Frodo has had a lot of hardships, hasn't he? One of these days I'll have to bring out a happy, fluffy Shire fic to reward him!
LotRseer3350 - The reference to the events in "On the Banks of the Brandywine" was impossible for me not to do in those circumstances. Lotho knows absolutely nothing about what it's like to be in danger of dying, and his wondering out loud brings back bad memories for Frodo!
Midgette - I'm becoming known for ending in horrible places, I think. More? Ok!
Bookworm2000 - Lotho has more on his mind now than just going after Frodo. If he weren't injured and a good bit frightened by his situation, he would probably hate Frodo all the more for his goodness.
Frodo Baggins87 - Glad you enjoyed the last one. Here's more!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Chapter 18 - Excavation
~*~
The Gaffer leapt from the cart and burst through the door of Number Three Bagshot Row, all but forgetting the aches in his joints in his haste. Bell Gamgee looked up and favored her husband with an irritated look. "Hamfast Gamgee, you know better than to enter a dwelling such like," she admonished.
"I'm sorry, love, but there's trouble and I need Hamson and Halfred to come and help," Hamfast said breathlessly.
"Trouble?" Bell frowned as she regarded him. "What trouble is it that's got you riled so?" She stopped washing the dishes and gave the Gaffer her full attention.
"Mr. Frodo and Mr. Lotho are trapped in a cave - in at Empty Row," Hamfast said with a hint of desperation in his voice. "They're stuck tight somewheres underground and we've got to dig them out afore - " he gulped as the awful possibilities coalesced in his mind. "We've got to dig them out right away," he finished, as Bell's eyes grew wide with dismay.
She spoke not another word to the Gaffer, but turned and called loudly into the next room. "Hamson! Halfred! Up now and help your father," she shouted, causing two very startled Gamgee lads to appear in the kitchen.
"What's happened?" Hamson asked, looking from one of his parents to the other.
The Gaffer told his elder sons about Frodo and Lotho being trapped in the cave - in, and they bolted out the door toward the shed to grab shovels, buckets, pick - axes, anything that would be useful in excavating. There were several lanterns hanging in the shed and they took them as well as Hamfast led them to Otho's cart.
"Mum, will you, Daisy and May spread the word? If we have more help, we'll get them out faster," Hamson suggested. Bell nodded and gave each of her boys a hug, pleading with them to be careful. If that tunnel had already caved in, there might be more trouble where that came from. She didn't want any of her children getting trapped or injured. She clasped her husband to her tightly, giving him a quick kiss as he climbed up into the cart.
"Will Mr. Frodo be all right?" Sam's younger sister Marigold grasped her mother's arm and looked at her with a fearful expression.
"I hope so, Mari," Bell said, fighting back tears at the thought of the quiet tween being injured. They went back inside to prepare to raise the community to Frodo and Lotho's aid.
~*~
"This is the last of it," Frodo said simply as he passed bread and apple slices to Lotho. Lotho accepted them listlessly. The pain in his leg was getting worse, and he was fighting to remain conscious. Frodo had already forbidden him to help with any more of the digging, insisting that he rest instead.
"Frodo, will you do something for me?" Lotho said quietly.
"What, Lotho?" Frodo replied, wondering what his cousin would ask of him.
"If I don't get out, will you tell my folks I said I loved them?" Lotho spoke so quietly, Frodo had to strain to hear him. His brow creased in a frown as he heard Lotho's request.
"You mustn't talk like that, Lotho. You'll make it, I'm certain." Frodo wished that he dared leave the candle lit longer so he could better see his cousin's injured limb. "Try to stay awake, Lotho. I know it hurts and you want to sleep, but you mustn't. Not now."
"Say you'll tell them," Lotho insisted, squinting into the dim light of the candle so he could see Frodo's eyes and know his cousin was taking him seriously.
"I'll tell them, should it come to that," Frodo said faintly. "But on one condition - that you will tell Bilbo the same in my stead, should I not be found in time."
Lotho found Frodo's hand with his and shook it lightly. "It's a deal," he croaked, lying back against the pebble - strewn floor. "Of course, we're assuming even one of us survives," Lotho said grimly.
"We will both survive, and I won't listen to another word to the contrary," Frodo answered, doing his best to imitate Bilbo's sternest tone. He took one last look at the lonely flame of the candle and snuffed it out regretfully.
"You know you're not so bad for a Brandybuck," Lotho said, producing a short laugh that turned into a cough.
"Thanks, I think," Frodo said by way of reply. He was starting to get used to Lotho's manner of speech, and a compliment was a compliment.
A sound above him made Frodo flinch and he looked around wildly trying to see through the darkness. A pebble fell and struck him squarely on the head and he gasped. "I think it's going to - " he didn't finish the sentence.
Directly above the two tweens, another chunk of ceiling came free, and Frodo barely managed to position himself over Lotho's injured leg in time to block the falling debris. He grunted as a chunk of rock, dirt and moss glanced off his back.
Frodo fell back, coughing and choking on the dust that rose up all around him. "Are you all right?" he asked Lotho as he brushed himself off.
"Peachy," Lotho replied curtly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Frodo replied as he felt his way to the main pile of debris to begin digging again.
~*~
Sam and Bilbo emerged from the mouth of the tunnel as the cart rattled up and the Gamgees alit with shovels and lanterns in hand. They didn't stop to question the gentlehobbit or Sam, but went in immediately and started digging.
Bilbo hurried up to Hamfast, who had just finished climbing down from the cart. "Thank you, Hamfast!" He grabbed a spare shovel and turned to join in the digging, as the Gaffer followed, protesting. "You ought not to be diggin' and such, Mr. Bilbo," the old gardener said emphatically.
Bilbo whirled and stared him down. "I may be old, but I'm not useless," he said pointedly. "You yourself are no tweenage lad, either." He held up a hand to forestall the next obvious objection. "And don't give me that wheeze about what a gentlehobbit ought not to be doing, Hamfast. That's my dear lad in danger, and I'll not stand idly by."
The Gaffer seemed to understand and accept Bilbo's statements, but he offered an alternative to Bilbo's determination to dig. "Like as not, two old hobbits like us would only slow them youngsters down," he said, gesturing toward the hole in the hillside. "We'd be a sight more useful in hauling out what they're diggin' I expect." He picked up a bucket.
Bilbo nodded and handed his shovel to Sam, who bolted off to join his brothers. The old hobbit chose a bucket of his own and called out to Otho, who was still seated in the cart, gazing ahead of him in a near catatonic state.
"Otho, old fellow, grab a lantern and come down," Bilbo called.
Otho slowly inclined his gaze toward Bilbo and spoke. "Can we be sure they're really in there?" He asked, hope and desperation in his voice. "They might have taken a different way home and be wondering where we are at this moment."
Bilbo forced down his irritation and spoke as gently as he could. "Otho, the footprints led into the tunnel and disappeared into the wall of debris. Did you see any more footprints leading back out?" Silence answered him. "Loathe as I am to think of it, our lads are trapped in that tunnel, how deeply we know not. Now is not the time for denial or bickering, but for laying aside our differences and working together. Those boys depend on us."
Otho seemed to snap out of it and he took the hand Bilbo held out to steady him as he jumped down from the cart. The lanterns were lit in the fading twilight and the hobbits set to work, establishing a rhythm between them. Sam and his brothers drove their shovels into the mound of debris repeatedly, and the buckets were filled and dumped in a pile outside the tunnel.
Soon they were working in full darkness, the light of the lanterns their only illumination in the darkness of their surroundings.
~*~
Frodo staggered and nearly lost his footing as the rock he'd been prying at came loose in his hands. A trickle of dirt and smaller stones cascaded down around his feet as he paused to wipe the perspiration from his brow.
"We'll be through it soon, I'm certain," he called to his semi - conscious cousin. He was trying to lift his own spirits as well, for he knew their situation was becoming more desperate by the hour. Frodo's breaths came in heaving rasps, and if he could have seen anything in the darkness of the chamber, he would have noticed his vision becoming hazy and indistinct around the edges.
Fatigue finally won out, and he crawled over to collapse next to his pack. He found the water flask and took the smallest sip, offering the same to Lotho. His cousin didn't move to accept the water, but just remained where he was, staring into the blackness.
"Why bother?" Lotho's voice rose quietly nearby. "When you run out of air, you don't need water."
Frodo opened his mouth to contradict the blunt statement of the obvious, but closed it just as quickly when he found he could not dispute it. He'd been digging for hours with naught but his hands, and they were bruised and torn by the sharp edges of the rocks he had pried loose. He had told himself that he had nothing to lose by trying, and it had made him feel better to do something than to quietly await his doom.
Suddenly he felt anger rising within him. "Give up if you want to, but I won't," he said flatly. "Not until my last breath is torn from me will I say there is no hope."
Lotho laughed, not a merry, carefree sound, but a derisive chortle. "So noble, so steadfast," he said. "Will you really keep clawing away at that pile until you topple over and breathe your last? All so that someone will say, 'oh, well at least he tried'?"
"Yes," Frodo said into the darkness. "Somehow, I cannot bring myself to do anything else. If I lose hope, what have I left?" His voice was soft again, contemplative. "They must know what's happened by now. They'll be coming, Lotho. The people who care about us won't leave us here."
"I hope you're right, cousin," Lotho said simply, then changed the subject. "How's your shoulder?"
"Numb, or at least nearly so," Frodo answered, trying to flex the muscles. "I think my digging has kept it from becoming completely stiff."
"My leg is swelled up pretty bad," Lotho commented. "It'll be a while healing, I imagine."
Frodo smiled. Something he had said to his cousin about not giving up must have registered, else Lotho would not be talking of the time to be spent recovering. "Please, have some water. You'll feel better."
Lotho silently accepted the flask, groping until his fingers closed around it. Frodo went back to the pile, feeling in the dark for the next stone to pull out and cast aside.
~*~
Sam emerged with another bucket of rocks and dirt and dumped it onto the growing pile. The heap of earth and stone was becoming larger with every minute, a mute testimony to the care and desperation of those responsible for its existence. He wiped his brow as he looked at the physical evidence of their labor. He had traded his shovel for a bucket when it seemed the digging was outpacing the removal of the debris. Sam tried to tell himself that each time a bucket was upended onto the heap it meant salvation was closer for his new friend. His brow creased as he pondered the circumstances which had led to all of them laboring through the night.
What in the Shire was Frodo doing being anywhere near Lotho? After all that had happened, Sam thought surely Frodo would keep his distance from his elder cousin, who seemed to hold anything but fond thoughts of him. Sam's own thoughts turned to Frodo's quiet demeanor and persistence in finding the good in all things and people. Normally Sam would find such a trait a thing to be praised in another hobbit, but it had led Frodo into far too much danger.
Something caught his eye as he headed back toward the tunnel for another load. There was light on the road! He paused and stared in amazement, then elation. A caravan of wagons, carts, ponies and hobbits on foot was headed toward them, lanterns burning in the darkness and voices already calling out.
"Mr. Bilbo! Hurry, come quick," Sam shouted as he ran toward the mouth of the tunnel. "There's help comin', plenty of it, too!" There had to be at least twenty able - bodied hobbits among the advancing crowd, perhaps more.
Bilbo burst from the hole, dusty and distracted. "Samwise, what are you carrying on about? Can't you see there's work to be - OH!" Bilbo gasped and gripped Sam's arm as a great surge of hope rushed through him. "Bless you Bell," he said under his breath as tears rose in his eyes. Bell Gamgee and her daughters had raised a rescue party of considerable size, and they were drawing nearer every moment.
When Bilbo and Sam did not immediately return to their tasks, the other hobbits slowly emerged from the hole, looking about to see what had distracted the two from the all - important business of digging and hauling. Shouts could now be heard from the approaching helpers, who raised lanterns and shovels in their hands and called out to the weary hobbits already deep into the rescue effort. Shouts of relief came in answer as Hamson thumped Halfred on the back so hard he nearly toppled him.
"Look at that, they've raised all of Hobbiton, I'll be bound!" The Gaffer gaped in shock as the first of the wagons pulled up and hobbits began leaping out of it left and right.
"Where are they, Gaffer? We'll have them out under the stars in no time at all," a sturdy Proudfoot lad shouted as he leapt off a still moving cart.
Master Goodbody was more reserved, waiting until the wagon that bore him came to a halt before he lowered himself to the ground. "Master Baggins, I heard there might be need here of a healer's services, and I am at your beck and call," he said as he glanced around. "Mrs. Gamgee and her girls have done a proper job of emptying Hobbiton, I must say."
"I hope your services will be academic at best, Master Goodbody," Bilbo said as he shook the healer's hand. "We've made fair progress, but those lads are still trapped!" The strain was showing in Bilbo's voice and features as he regarded the healer.
"Let us stand aside and let these strapping young fellows have at it," the healer said as he drew Bilbo aside. "As for you, my dear gentlehobbit, I've a pot of tea hot and ready from my hearth that may hearten you and calm your nerves." Master Goodbody led Bilbo away a short distance and thrust a mug into his hands.
In mere moments, a bucket brigade had formed, and the sounds of industrious digging from within the hole had redoubled. Load after load of debris was brought out and the pile outside began to grow into a hill in its own right.
Hamfast had removed himself from the tunnel when the younger, stronger folk had arrived, and he wandered amidst the milling crowd for a moment before Bell found him and embraced him gladly. "Is there any word of Mr. Frodo?" she asked, searching her husband's face for confirmation that the lad was safe.
"Not as yet, love," the Gaffer replied. "But we've been hard at it since we got here, and now there's more help than we can fit in the hole, I reckon." Bell hugged him again, then turned and started shouting orders.
"Daisy, May, get them fires a - burnin' and that tea brewin' now," she called. "We got us a lot of busy lads to keep on their feet for as long as it takes, so let's not waste time!" She hurried off to a long, low cart that had been outfitted hurriedly into a makeshift kitchen. Fires were started in hastily assembled stone rings on the ground and water was soon heating over them for tea. Baskets of bread and cauldrons of soup were also being readied. Nobody had known how long into the night they would have to labor to save the trapped tweens, but they were prepared to warm and feed as many workers as cared to raise a shovel.
The night air was filled with the ringing of metal against rock and dirt, and the grunts and shouts of diggers and haulers as everyone put forth their best effort to hopefully avert a tragedy.
~*~To be continued~*~
Jules6 - Lotho and Frodo couldn't help but have something to say to each other, given their circumstances. Too bad Lotho is too hateful to gain from it.
Shire Baggns - Bilbo, having spent so long in the safe environment of Hobbiton, cannot conceive of Frodo's being abducted while there. He fears more common kinds of trouble, namely accidents. If Lotho heard about Frodo's ordeal in Bree, he'd be unlikely to believe it, and would probably accuse Frodo of lying. Sam, though young, is indeed the determined protector of the future.
Endymion2 - The site didn't let you review chapter 16, eh? I consider myself fortunate that it allowed you to read it, at least! I doubt Ted could form a coherent sentence no matter how long he's spent at the Ivy Bush. I figure he's probably got a pleasant buzz on after being there from luncheon to after tea!
Camellia - Gamgee - Took - Everyone will be rushing to the rescue very soon!
Aelfgifu - Frodo is much more mature than Lotho, emotionally. He's had so many experiences that have built his resiliency. There will be some nice moments with Frodo and Sam, and Bilbo as well. LOL about your Bramblethorn comment. (For those who wonder what the heck I'm talking about, I'm working on bringing my old buddy Rushford Bramblethorn out of mothballs! - See "In Safekeeping" and "The Way of Vengeance" for more about him!)
Curious Cat - Lotho has some measure of conscience, but every time it tries to come out, his nastier side squashes it. Frodo has had a lot of hardships, hasn't he? One of these days I'll have to bring out a happy, fluffy Shire fic to reward him!
LotRseer3350 - The reference to the events in "On the Banks of the Brandywine" was impossible for me not to do in those circumstances. Lotho knows absolutely nothing about what it's like to be in danger of dying, and his wondering out loud brings back bad memories for Frodo!
Midgette - I'm becoming known for ending in horrible places, I think. More? Ok!
Bookworm2000 - Lotho has more on his mind now than just going after Frodo. If he weren't injured and a good bit frightened by his situation, he would probably hate Frodo all the more for his goodness.
Frodo Baggins87 - Glad you enjoyed the last one. Here's more!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Chapter 18 - Excavation
~*~
The Gaffer leapt from the cart and burst through the door of Number Three Bagshot Row, all but forgetting the aches in his joints in his haste. Bell Gamgee looked up and favored her husband with an irritated look. "Hamfast Gamgee, you know better than to enter a dwelling such like," she admonished.
"I'm sorry, love, but there's trouble and I need Hamson and Halfred to come and help," Hamfast said breathlessly.
"Trouble?" Bell frowned as she regarded him. "What trouble is it that's got you riled so?" She stopped washing the dishes and gave the Gaffer her full attention.
"Mr. Frodo and Mr. Lotho are trapped in a cave - in at Empty Row," Hamfast said with a hint of desperation in his voice. "They're stuck tight somewheres underground and we've got to dig them out afore - " he gulped as the awful possibilities coalesced in his mind. "We've got to dig them out right away," he finished, as Bell's eyes grew wide with dismay.
She spoke not another word to the Gaffer, but turned and called loudly into the next room. "Hamson! Halfred! Up now and help your father," she shouted, causing two very startled Gamgee lads to appear in the kitchen.
"What's happened?" Hamson asked, looking from one of his parents to the other.
The Gaffer told his elder sons about Frodo and Lotho being trapped in the cave - in, and they bolted out the door toward the shed to grab shovels, buckets, pick - axes, anything that would be useful in excavating. There were several lanterns hanging in the shed and they took them as well as Hamfast led them to Otho's cart.
"Mum, will you, Daisy and May spread the word? If we have more help, we'll get them out faster," Hamson suggested. Bell nodded and gave each of her boys a hug, pleading with them to be careful. If that tunnel had already caved in, there might be more trouble where that came from. She didn't want any of her children getting trapped or injured. She clasped her husband to her tightly, giving him a quick kiss as he climbed up into the cart.
"Will Mr. Frodo be all right?" Sam's younger sister Marigold grasped her mother's arm and looked at her with a fearful expression.
"I hope so, Mari," Bell said, fighting back tears at the thought of the quiet tween being injured. They went back inside to prepare to raise the community to Frodo and Lotho's aid.
~*~
"This is the last of it," Frodo said simply as he passed bread and apple slices to Lotho. Lotho accepted them listlessly. The pain in his leg was getting worse, and he was fighting to remain conscious. Frodo had already forbidden him to help with any more of the digging, insisting that he rest instead.
"Frodo, will you do something for me?" Lotho said quietly.
"What, Lotho?" Frodo replied, wondering what his cousin would ask of him.
"If I don't get out, will you tell my folks I said I loved them?" Lotho spoke so quietly, Frodo had to strain to hear him. His brow creased in a frown as he heard Lotho's request.
"You mustn't talk like that, Lotho. You'll make it, I'm certain." Frodo wished that he dared leave the candle lit longer so he could better see his cousin's injured limb. "Try to stay awake, Lotho. I know it hurts and you want to sleep, but you mustn't. Not now."
"Say you'll tell them," Lotho insisted, squinting into the dim light of the candle so he could see Frodo's eyes and know his cousin was taking him seriously.
"I'll tell them, should it come to that," Frodo said faintly. "But on one condition - that you will tell Bilbo the same in my stead, should I not be found in time."
Lotho found Frodo's hand with his and shook it lightly. "It's a deal," he croaked, lying back against the pebble - strewn floor. "Of course, we're assuming even one of us survives," Lotho said grimly.
"We will both survive, and I won't listen to another word to the contrary," Frodo answered, doing his best to imitate Bilbo's sternest tone. He took one last look at the lonely flame of the candle and snuffed it out regretfully.
"You know you're not so bad for a Brandybuck," Lotho said, producing a short laugh that turned into a cough.
"Thanks, I think," Frodo said by way of reply. He was starting to get used to Lotho's manner of speech, and a compliment was a compliment.
A sound above him made Frodo flinch and he looked around wildly trying to see through the darkness. A pebble fell and struck him squarely on the head and he gasped. "I think it's going to - " he didn't finish the sentence.
Directly above the two tweens, another chunk of ceiling came free, and Frodo barely managed to position himself over Lotho's injured leg in time to block the falling debris. He grunted as a chunk of rock, dirt and moss glanced off his back.
Frodo fell back, coughing and choking on the dust that rose up all around him. "Are you all right?" he asked Lotho as he brushed himself off.
"Peachy," Lotho replied curtly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Frodo replied as he felt his way to the main pile of debris to begin digging again.
~*~
Sam and Bilbo emerged from the mouth of the tunnel as the cart rattled up and the Gamgees alit with shovels and lanterns in hand. They didn't stop to question the gentlehobbit or Sam, but went in immediately and started digging.
Bilbo hurried up to Hamfast, who had just finished climbing down from the cart. "Thank you, Hamfast!" He grabbed a spare shovel and turned to join in the digging, as the Gaffer followed, protesting. "You ought not to be diggin' and such, Mr. Bilbo," the old gardener said emphatically.
Bilbo whirled and stared him down. "I may be old, but I'm not useless," he said pointedly. "You yourself are no tweenage lad, either." He held up a hand to forestall the next obvious objection. "And don't give me that wheeze about what a gentlehobbit ought not to be doing, Hamfast. That's my dear lad in danger, and I'll not stand idly by."
The Gaffer seemed to understand and accept Bilbo's statements, but he offered an alternative to Bilbo's determination to dig. "Like as not, two old hobbits like us would only slow them youngsters down," he said, gesturing toward the hole in the hillside. "We'd be a sight more useful in hauling out what they're diggin' I expect." He picked up a bucket.
Bilbo nodded and handed his shovel to Sam, who bolted off to join his brothers. The old hobbit chose a bucket of his own and called out to Otho, who was still seated in the cart, gazing ahead of him in a near catatonic state.
"Otho, old fellow, grab a lantern and come down," Bilbo called.
Otho slowly inclined his gaze toward Bilbo and spoke. "Can we be sure they're really in there?" He asked, hope and desperation in his voice. "They might have taken a different way home and be wondering where we are at this moment."
Bilbo forced down his irritation and spoke as gently as he could. "Otho, the footprints led into the tunnel and disappeared into the wall of debris. Did you see any more footprints leading back out?" Silence answered him. "Loathe as I am to think of it, our lads are trapped in that tunnel, how deeply we know not. Now is not the time for denial or bickering, but for laying aside our differences and working together. Those boys depend on us."
Otho seemed to snap out of it and he took the hand Bilbo held out to steady him as he jumped down from the cart. The lanterns were lit in the fading twilight and the hobbits set to work, establishing a rhythm between them. Sam and his brothers drove their shovels into the mound of debris repeatedly, and the buckets were filled and dumped in a pile outside the tunnel.
Soon they were working in full darkness, the light of the lanterns their only illumination in the darkness of their surroundings.
~*~
Frodo staggered and nearly lost his footing as the rock he'd been prying at came loose in his hands. A trickle of dirt and smaller stones cascaded down around his feet as he paused to wipe the perspiration from his brow.
"We'll be through it soon, I'm certain," he called to his semi - conscious cousin. He was trying to lift his own spirits as well, for he knew their situation was becoming more desperate by the hour. Frodo's breaths came in heaving rasps, and if he could have seen anything in the darkness of the chamber, he would have noticed his vision becoming hazy and indistinct around the edges.
Fatigue finally won out, and he crawled over to collapse next to his pack. He found the water flask and took the smallest sip, offering the same to Lotho. His cousin didn't move to accept the water, but just remained where he was, staring into the blackness.
"Why bother?" Lotho's voice rose quietly nearby. "When you run out of air, you don't need water."
Frodo opened his mouth to contradict the blunt statement of the obvious, but closed it just as quickly when he found he could not dispute it. He'd been digging for hours with naught but his hands, and they were bruised and torn by the sharp edges of the rocks he had pried loose. He had told himself that he had nothing to lose by trying, and it had made him feel better to do something than to quietly await his doom.
Suddenly he felt anger rising within him. "Give up if you want to, but I won't," he said flatly. "Not until my last breath is torn from me will I say there is no hope."
Lotho laughed, not a merry, carefree sound, but a derisive chortle. "So noble, so steadfast," he said. "Will you really keep clawing away at that pile until you topple over and breathe your last? All so that someone will say, 'oh, well at least he tried'?"
"Yes," Frodo said into the darkness. "Somehow, I cannot bring myself to do anything else. If I lose hope, what have I left?" His voice was soft again, contemplative. "They must know what's happened by now. They'll be coming, Lotho. The people who care about us won't leave us here."
"I hope you're right, cousin," Lotho said simply, then changed the subject. "How's your shoulder?"
"Numb, or at least nearly so," Frodo answered, trying to flex the muscles. "I think my digging has kept it from becoming completely stiff."
"My leg is swelled up pretty bad," Lotho commented. "It'll be a while healing, I imagine."
Frodo smiled. Something he had said to his cousin about not giving up must have registered, else Lotho would not be talking of the time to be spent recovering. "Please, have some water. You'll feel better."
Lotho silently accepted the flask, groping until his fingers closed around it. Frodo went back to the pile, feeling in the dark for the next stone to pull out and cast aside.
~*~
Sam emerged with another bucket of rocks and dirt and dumped it onto the growing pile. The heap of earth and stone was becoming larger with every minute, a mute testimony to the care and desperation of those responsible for its existence. He wiped his brow as he looked at the physical evidence of their labor. He had traded his shovel for a bucket when it seemed the digging was outpacing the removal of the debris. Sam tried to tell himself that each time a bucket was upended onto the heap it meant salvation was closer for his new friend. His brow creased as he pondered the circumstances which had led to all of them laboring through the night.
What in the Shire was Frodo doing being anywhere near Lotho? After all that had happened, Sam thought surely Frodo would keep his distance from his elder cousin, who seemed to hold anything but fond thoughts of him. Sam's own thoughts turned to Frodo's quiet demeanor and persistence in finding the good in all things and people. Normally Sam would find such a trait a thing to be praised in another hobbit, but it had led Frodo into far too much danger.
Something caught his eye as he headed back toward the tunnel for another load. There was light on the road! He paused and stared in amazement, then elation. A caravan of wagons, carts, ponies and hobbits on foot was headed toward them, lanterns burning in the darkness and voices already calling out.
"Mr. Bilbo! Hurry, come quick," Sam shouted as he ran toward the mouth of the tunnel. "There's help comin', plenty of it, too!" There had to be at least twenty able - bodied hobbits among the advancing crowd, perhaps more.
Bilbo burst from the hole, dusty and distracted. "Samwise, what are you carrying on about? Can't you see there's work to be - OH!" Bilbo gasped and gripped Sam's arm as a great surge of hope rushed through him. "Bless you Bell," he said under his breath as tears rose in his eyes. Bell Gamgee and her daughters had raised a rescue party of considerable size, and they were drawing nearer every moment.
When Bilbo and Sam did not immediately return to their tasks, the other hobbits slowly emerged from the hole, looking about to see what had distracted the two from the all - important business of digging and hauling. Shouts could now be heard from the approaching helpers, who raised lanterns and shovels in their hands and called out to the weary hobbits already deep into the rescue effort. Shouts of relief came in answer as Hamson thumped Halfred on the back so hard he nearly toppled him.
"Look at that, they've raised all of Hobbiton, I'll be bound!" The Gaffer gaped in shock as the first of the wagons pulled up and hobbits began leaping out of it left and right.
"Where are they, Gaffer? We'll have them out under the stars in no time at all," a sturdy Proudfoot lad shouted as he leapt off a still moving cart.
Master Goodbody was more reserved, waiting until the wagon that bore him came to a halt before he lowered himself to the ground. "Master Baggins, I heard there might be need here of a healer's services, and I am at your beck and call," he said as he glanced around. "Mrs. Gamgee and her girls have done a proper job of emptying Hobbiton, I must say."
"I hope your services will be academic at best, Master Goodbody," Bilbo said as he shook the healer's hand. "We've made fair progress, but those lads are still trapped!" The strain was showing in Bilbo's voice and features as he regarded the healer.
"Let us stand aside and let these strapping young fellows have at it," the healer said as he drew Bilbo aside. "As for you, my dear gentlehobbit, I've a pot of tea hot and ready from my hearth that may hearten you and calm your nerves." Master Goodbody led Bilbo away a short distance and thrust a mug into his hands.
In mere moments, a bucket brigade had formed, and the sounds of industrious digging from within the hole had redoubled. Load after load of debris was brought out and the pile outside began to grow into a hill in its own right.
Hamfast had removed himself from the tunnel when the younger, stronger folk had arrived, and he wandered amidst the milling crowd for a moment before Bell found him and embraced him gladly. "Is there any word of Mr. Frodo?" she asked, searching her husband's face for confirmation that the lad was safe.
"Not as yet, love," the Gaffer replied. "But we've been hard at it since we got here, and now there's more help than we can fit in the hole, I reckon." Bell hugged him again, then turned and started shouting orders.
"Daisy, May, get them fires a - burnin' and that tea brewin' now," she called. "We got us a lot of busy lads to keep on their feet for as long as it takes, so let's not waste time!" She hurried off to a long, low cart that had been outfitted hurriedly into a makeshift kitchen. Fires were started in hastily assembled stone rings on the ground and water was soon heating over them for tea. Baskets of bread and cauldrons of soup were also being readied. Nobody had known how long into the night they would have to labor to save the trapped tweens, but they were prepared to warm and feed as many workers as cared to raise a shovel.
The night air was filled with the ringing of metal against rock and dirt, and the grunts and shouts of diggers and haulers as everyone put forth their best effort to hopefully avert a tragedy.
~*~To be continued~*~