Dragonfly: Yes, the twins are definitely out of their league, taking on Gandalf this way.

Haldir's Heart and Soul: Of course, if their plan works, that might not necessarily be a good thing!

Fluffy's fangirls: The outcome may not be what the twins expect.

Silverstreak Wolf: But if things 'come out nicely', it wouldn't be an interesting story, would it?

Clover: I suppose it all depends on how you define 'action'!

Kel: When it comes to mischief, Anomen and the twins think along the same lines.

Opalkitty: Sometimes I start out without chapter titles but then they start to occur to me. I do think you are right; it is better to have them.

Joee: Several people have told me I need to update the listing on the profile page, and I know that's true. I'm procrastinating because I have now posted a total of fifty stories, so it's actually going to be quite a task to sort them all out. But I swear that I will get to it before the end of summer.

Beta Reader: Dragonfly

Corroborating Evidence

Elladan and Elrohir were making their way southward, toward the Bruinen, and Elladan, who was trailing behind Elrohir, was having second thoughts about their scheme.

"Elrohir," he said, "we are going to be lying, and not only to Mithrandir but to Ada!"

It was to the credit of Elrohir that this had occurred to him as well, although it is not to his credit that he was trying very hard to suppress the notion. Now, however, Elladan had forced the matter into the open. Elrohir slowed down until he was walking beside his twin.

"It is not much of a lie," he said.

"Not much of a lie!" exclaimed Elladan. "We will be sending Mithrandir off on a Dwarf's errand like a hoarder in hopeless pursuit of treasure stolen by a dragon!"

"If we are careful," Elrohir said craftily, "we needn't lie at all."

"How is that possible?" challenged Elladan.

"We must choose our words wisely so that we affirm nothing."

"What do you mean?" asked a puzzled Elladan.

"Why, Elladan!" exclaimed Elrohir, pretending to be surprised. "You are the one who so loves philosophy! I am surprised the solution has not occurred to you. If I were to say, 'I did such and such', I would be making a claim, wouldn't I? And a claim can be either true or false."

"Ye-es," replied Elladan.

"But," continued Elrohir, "if I say 'I may have done such and such', I am not making a claim but merely speaking hypothetically—and I could never be said to lie if I couch my sentences in such words. There now, what say you, O Great Thinker?"

Elladan mulled over this idea.

"So we rush into the Hall shouting that there may be a curious creature in the Bruinen and trust that no one pays careful attention to the verb?"

"Yes! And as it is always true that there may be a curious creature in the Bruinen, we won't be telling a falsehood. Then, if Mithrandir chooses to act upon our words, so much the worse for him! We will never have said that there was a creature in the Bruinen."

"But our intentions," Elladan began.

"Bother our intentions! The fact of the matter is that we shan't have told an actual lie."

"Intentions matter," argued Elladan. "We shall have knowingly deceived Mithrandir and Ada because we knew how our words would be taken."

"Is it our fault if someone is so careless as to mistake our words and reach a false conclusion? Don't you think that Mithrandir and Ada have a responsibility to listen carefully? After all, that's what they are always telling us."

This latter statement was true of course, as Elladan well knew. From an early age, even before they could speak, elflings were adjured to listen carefully. Indeed, it may be that the much-vaunted hearing of the Elves resulted from little more than this careful training up of the young. Perhaps the same could be said of the other senses, such as eyesight, as well.

Elladan found that he could not think of a reply to Elrohir's argument, so he fell into a gloomy silence and once again found himself trailing unhappily behind his brother.

The same problem that had occurred to the twins had of course entered Anomen's mind the previous day, and his solution had been no less devious than that of the twins. As he stole through the forest, he looked about anxiously for a squirrel, as he had resolved that this animal would do nicely as a stand-in for Gandalf's creature.

'It is certainly smaller than a Perian, and it has pointed ears, too. It goes about on all fours, although it can arise and support itself upon two. A squirrel doesn't have molars like ours, so I can truthfully say that I saw only a few pointy teeth. In a pinch, a squirrel can hiss, even if he is more inclined to chatter angrily. Now as to being skinny and scantily haired, I must keep my eyes open for an old or ailing squirrel that is thin and mangy'.

Anomen threw himself into the search, making full use of his excellent elven hearing and vision. Moving stealthily, he observed and dismissed many a candidate. Only a squirrel that was correct in every particular would do. It is a pity that in this matter Anomen and Elrohir did not know how akin they were one to another. Both were setting out to do wrong, and both were going to a great deal of trouble in order to justify themselves in similar fashion. If they had known how much they had in common, perhaps they wouldn't have needed to resort to such stratagems in the first place. However, they did not know, and as Anomen searched the forest for his squirrel, Elrohir and Elladan drew nearer and nearer to the Bruinen. At last they stood upon its banks and gazed upon its wide expanse.

"The Bruinen is a very great river," Elrohir observed at last.

"True," agreed Elladan.

"It passes through many lands."

"Also true."

"Seeing that it is such a great river, I suspect that at this very moment there is a creature in it."

"Oh, to be sure," retorted Elladan sarcastically, "there is a creature in it somewhere along its length."

"You see," crowed Elrohir, ignoring Elladan's sarcasm, "it shall be impossible for us to lie."

Elladan tried to raise his eyebrows in imitation of their father but only succeeded in crossing his eyes. The two young Elves turned back toward Rivendell, one exceedingly triumphant, the other downcast in equal measure. Still, Elladan was nothing if not loyal, and when the time came, he would play the role expected of him.

Meanwhile, Anomen had at last spied a squirrel that he thought might do. It was a tottering old creature, as scrawny and mangy a beast as had ever crept through the canopy. Indeed, as Anomen examined it, he stood anxiously beneath its branch, fearful lest it plummet to the earth and perish before the elfling could testify as to its existence. But happily for the young Elf, it 'hung on' long enough for Anomen to assure himself that the creature fit the bill of particulars. Having convinced himself of this, he bent his steps toward Imladris.

As Anomen neared the Hall, Gandalf was in the library, in company with Elrond, who was sharing with him some dispatches that had just arrived from Lothlórien.

"So that pass has lately become infested with Orcs," the wizard murmured. "Pity. It's the most direct route."

"True, and Celeborn's folk will sweep them away in due course."

"Yes, but not in time for my needs. As you have said, they must first tend to their southern border, which is most exposed to danger. Well, well, I shall take this other pass."

"A Troll has lately set up housekeeping in a cave thereabouts."

"Oh, a Troll." Gandalf waved his hand dismissively. "One can easily elude a Troll. I have never suffered from their depredations."

"Have a care, Mithrandir," warned Elrond. "Overconfidence has been the downfall of many a Man."

"But I am no Man. Besides, would any self-respecting Troll bother with my scrawny carcass? What Troll would want to go to the trouble of picking my bones, not when there are still juicy Dwarves blundering about?"

Before Elrond could answer, a loud pounding was heard at the door. Elrond leaped to his feet. "Enter!" he cried, wondering what calamity had befallen Imladris. The door banged open, and in staggered Anomen, unaccustomedly disheveled, for the elfling had thought that it would heighten the impression he would make if he thrashed his way through a thicket or two.

"Anomen!" cried Elrond and Gandalf in unison, each equally alarmed. "Are you injured?"

"Not injured," panted Anomen, aiming, once again, for the greatest effect. "The creature did not lay a hand upon me."

"Creature?" said Gandalf.

Anomen recited rapidly.

"Small as a Perian ears like a Perian's naked scrawny bad teeth scanty hair crawls about on his hands and feet hisses. I saw it in a tree," he added.

Now Gandalf was on his feet, his eyes gleaming, his hands clenching and unclenching spasmodically. "Repeat yourself," he demanded urgently.

"SmallasaPerianearslikeaPeriansnakedscrawnybadteethscantyhaircrawlsaboutonhishandsandfeethisses."

"Oh ho!" exulted Gandalf. "Within my reach! Within my reach! And I shall not even have to venture into the mountains!"

Elrond looked hard at Anomen. He knew that the elfling very much wanted Gandalf to stay in Imladris and suspected his tale was some sort of ruse.

"Odd that none of the scouts have come across signs of this creature," he said skeptically.

"But it was in the canopy," Anomen said desperately, "leaping from tree to tree in a northerly direction."

"Straight toward us," he added.

Elrond opened his mouth to question Anomen more closely when suddenly the twins burst into the room without bothering to knock.

"Ada! Ada!" they shrieked, "a dreadful creature may be found in the Bruinen!"

"Small as a Perian," shouted Elrohir.

"Ears like a Perian's," cried Elladan.

"Naked save for a breech clout."

"Scrawny."

"Bad teeth."

"Scanty hair."

"Crawls about on his hands and feet."

"Hisses."

Elrohir threw himself upon the ground to imitate the creature, but Elladan kicked him and he promptly jumped back up again.

It had not escaped Elrond's notice that the twins had said there 'may' have been a creature in the Bruinen. It had escaped Gandalf's notice, however, perhaps because he was, as Elrohir had expected him to be, so eager for the tale to be true that he heard what he wanted to hear. He would not have been the first whose wishes had outpaced their ears.

It also did not escape Elrond's attention that Anomen was gazing upon the twins with open-mouthed astonishment. Why would Anomen be surprised that the twins had seen a creature that he himself had reported seeing? Elrond rounded on him. "You didn't mention that it was naked save for a breech clout," he said sharply.

'Um, it was in a tree," replied Anomen haltingly. "My view was not unobstructed," he went on, growing more confident, "so I cannot be sure of each and every particular. But it may have been wearing a breech clout."

It was now the twins' turn to be astonished, and, again, Elrond made note of the fact. 'I suppose', he mused, 'it is a good sign that each is surprised at the report of the other. It rules out they're having gotten together to concoct this story. Besides, it is unlikely that they would collude in a matter such as this, for they would be at cross-purposes. No, I suppose there must be something to the tale, given that there have been two independent sightings."

If Gandalf was thinking rationally—not an assured proposition, mind you— he must have hit upon a similar idea. "Two witnesses," gloated the wizard. "I mean, three," he amended, remembering that the twins themselves counted as two.

"But what has brought the creature so near to Imladris?" Elrond wondered aloud.

"I have," Gandalf replied. "I suspect he has been following me in hopes that I will lead to—something he very much wishes to recover. Well, let him come! I shall merely have to stay put and let the creature wander within reach."

Elladan and Elrohir exchanged appalled glances. Had they been patient, Gandalf would have departed by and by. Now the wizard was sure to stay on until, well, until he gave over hope of laying hands on the creature anywhere in the vicinity of Rivendell. How long would that take?

Gandalf was beaming at the three young Elves.

"Well, lads, I have you to thank. I shall continue to sleep in a comfortable bed and eat at Elrond's board for some time to come. I wasn't looking forward to again having to take up residence under hedgerows and beneath outcrops."

Anomen returned his smile in full measure, but Elrond and Elladan could scarcely make their lips curve, a fact that once again set Elrond to wondering. Nevertheless, for the time being the interview was at an end. Elrond dismissed the elflings so that they might change for dinner, an act needful even for Anomen this night, he of the impeccable wardrobe.

As soon as the door had closed after Anomen and the twins, Elrohir and Elladan whirled about and stared accusingly at the younger Elf.

"There is no creature," Elrohir declared angrily.

"If there isn't," Anomen said boldly, "how is it that you and Elladan saw it?"

Elrohir looked uncertainly at Elladan.

"Perhaps," suggested Elladan, "we ought to fess up—to Anomen, anyway."

"I suppose we should," said Elrohir. He turned to Anomen. "We didn't see the creature, but you didn't neither!"

"If you didn't see the creature, then why did you say that you did?"

Silence. Anomen smirked. "Thank you," he said loftily, for "corrugating my story."

"You mean corroborating," Elladan pointed out automatically. Elrohir dug his elbow into Elladan's side.

"Yes," said Anomen. "Thank you for carrob-, corrob-, um, backing up my story." He grinned and strolled away insouciantly. Elrohir would have ground his teeth, but his jaw was clenched too tightly for any such movement to be possible.

"Perhaps," Elladan tried again, "we ought to go to Ada and Mithrandir and tell them the truth."

"The truth!" exclaimed Elrohir. "The truth will get us into a great deal of trouble."

"Our lies may have already gotten us into a great deal of trouble," Elladan pointed out.

"May, Elladan may," retorted Elrohir. "At the moment we only may be in trouble. If we confess to Ada and Mithrandir, we will be in trouble!"

"I think," opined Elladan, "that henceforth we should leave caviling over terms to the philosophers. Elrohir, we are going to be in trouble! The only question is when and how badly."

But Elrohir was not ready to give up.

"We have got to lay down a trail leading away from the Hall," he declared.

"How are we to do that?" Elladan asked wearily.

"Nothing easier," Elrohir assured him. "Mithrandir says that at the moment we, like the creature, are no bigger than a Perian full-grown, and of course the creature has hands and feet like ours. Tomorrow I shall slip away barefoot—you must cover for me, Elladan!—and crawling on my hands and feet, I shall lay a trail toward the Misty Mountains. It shall appear as if the creature was merely passing through Imladris, and off Mithrandir will go!"

Elladan was dubious about the chances that this plan would succeed, but, as usual, the arguments of the bolder—or more reckless!—twin held sway. And off they went to change for dinner, Elladan once again trailing unhappily behind his brother.