Chapter Four - Dangers Unaware

From the Mercantile booth, a small teen watched as two well-dressed boys exited the Thatch home and then ran towards the empty fields. "Laddies!" he called. "Stop!"

The only reply he got was when the same older lad from earlier threw a dirty rag at him, shouting, "Get back to work, Degger!"

"Merry, look!" Pippin held his arms out, "I'm an eagle!" Pippin laughed as he ran into the open field towards a large rock.

"This is a strange place, Pip. There are no trees--only small bushes," Merry answered. He scanned the emptiness; all he saw were tall grasses and a few rocks.

Pippin paid no heed to his cousin's words. "Come fly with me, Merry! We'll both be eagles." Pippin stood on top of the large rock in the middle of the field. "Catch me, Merry!" Pippin began flapping his arms up and down as if the eagle was soaring.

Not knowing how long his uncle would be, Merry decided to humor his cousin, at least for a while. He started to run towards the rock, but suddenly stopped when he saw a rift in the ground. He almost didn't stop in time, waving his arms trying to catch his balance. Some of the dirt and pebbles at his feet fell inside; the echoes told Merry the hole was quite deep.

"Stay where you are, Pippin," Merry yelled out, "There's a hole in the ground!" He didn't know if there were any more, but he and Pippin were not going to stay and investigate. He would take his cousin and leave the field, as it was now very unsafe to play here. He carefully stepped to where Pippin stood on the great rock. As he held out his hand for Pippin to grab it, Merry could feel the ground beneath his feet slip and give way. He felt himself falling into a deep, dark cavern.

Young Pippin watched in horror as his dearest cousin disappeared into the hole in the ground right before him. "Merry!!" When the gravel and dry dirt finally stopped falling into the darkness below he yelled again, "Merry!" No answer. The young boy froze in terror. He heard Merry say something about holes in the ground--but he couldn't just sit here forever; he had to run for help--holes or not.

"Help!" Pippin yelled as he rounded the corner of the field and ran towards the Thatch booths full of working boys. "Somebody help!"

It was Degger who first heard Pippin's cries. He stopped cleaning as he made his way to the front of the Mercantile. He saw the same well-to-do little boy who had passed by earlier in the day---alone. The skin prickled on Degger's arm.

"Help me, please!" Pippin was out of breath and in tears, "My cousin fell into a hole in the ground!"

Degger instantly dropped his rag, slipping over the barrier between him and Pippin. He grabbed the boy's hand and ran along side him, "Which hole did he fall in?"

"I don't know!" In his frantic search for assistance, Pippin became confused as which row house his father was inside of. "Where does Mr. Thatch live?"

Degger stopped, "Why do you want Mr. Thatch?" The last thing Degger wanted was for his employer to see him not working. But once again, another boy was in trouble.

All the local boys knew to stay away from the field because of the dangers that lurked there. Over a hundred years ago, some hobbits tried to dig a few holes into the ground vice into a hill and then abandoned their efforts when it proved unsuccessful. Over the span of time, some of the holes caved in at certain places, rendering the entire field perilous for anyone to be in. Merry and Pippin, of course, were unaware of this.

Pippin explained to Degger, "That's where my papa is--he's inside Mr. Thatch's house."

"Degger!" the older lad shouted from the booth, seeing the rag lying on the ground where Degger had been. "If ye take one more step, don't bother comin' back!"

"Please....Degger." Pippin used the lad's name, "Merry's like...He's my brother."

That was all the lad needed to hear, "Come along, then." He took Pippin's hand once again and both ran up to Thatch's doorstep. Degger pounded furiously on the door. "Marla!" he yelled. "Marla, open the door!"

Marla, the young hostess, opened the door, then became concerned. "Degger! Get back to work or you'll be fired!"

"I can't!" Degger brought Pippin round to the front. "This boy's brother fell into one of the holes! We need help!"

"Come inside young sir, but you, Degger, have to stay outside." Degger knew the chief of rules: No workers allowed inside during working hours, and then when work was done, they had to go round to the back. The lad sat on the doorstep knowing he would be needed shortly.

"Papa!" Pippin cried as he ran down the hallway, "Papa! Merry fell into a hole!"

Paladin was already standing, as he was taking his leave of Mr. Thatch. Paladin would not be delivering his produce to this hobbit, even if he was out-bidded earlier. There were few hobbits that he didn't get along with, and even less that he disliked. Unfortunately, Paladin would count Mr. Thatch among the latter. The business hobbit saw orphans as just that; a business, and in a circumstance that he could easily work out to his advantage. When Paladin saw Pippin running towards him--without Merry, his hair stood on end, "What are you talking about, Pippin? Where is Merry?"

"He fell into a hole, papa!" Pippin was growing frantic again. "He fell into the ground!"

Paladin saw there was no mischief in the boy's eyes, "Show me where!" He followed Pippin out the front door, and along with the mercantile lad, all three went towards the field.

"Wait," Degger yelled as they approached the edge of the field. "Have a care! There are plenty o' holes right here in this lot!" He kept a wary eye out in front of Pippin as the child led them to the hole Merry fell into.

"There!" Pippin pointed to the rock he stood upon not long ago.

Paladin knelt down close to the dark opening, "Merry?" No reply. "Merry!" He turned to Degger, "I'm going to need help, lad. Can you stay here while I fetch it?" The lad nodded; after all, hadn't he just been fired?