Властелин колец: Братство кольца
At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
‘Iamafraidthat’strue,’saidMerry,‘thoughIdon’tknowwhatIsaid.Ihadanuglydream,whichIcan’tremember.Iwenttopieces.Idon’tknowwhatcameoverme.’
‘Ido,’saidStrider.‘TheBlackBreath.TheRidersmusthavelefttheirhorsesoutside,andpassedbackthroughtheSouth-gateinsecret.Theywillknowallthenewsnow,fortheyhavevisitedBillFerny;andprobablythatSouthernerwasaspyaswell.Somethingmayhappeninthenight,beforeweleaveBree.’
‘Whatwillhappen?’saidMerry.‘Willtheyattacktheinn?’
‘No,Ithinknot,’saidStrider.‘Theyarenotallhereyet.Andinanycasethatisnottheirway.Indarkandlonelinesstheyarestrongest;theywillnotopenlyattackahousewheretherearelightsandmanypeople–notuntiltheyaredesperate,notwhileallthelongleaguesofEriadorstillliebeforeus.Buttheirpowerisinterror,andalreadysomeinBreeareintheirclutch.Theywilldrivethesewretchestosomeevilwork:Ferny,andsomeofthestrangers,and,maybe,thegatekeepertoo.TheyhadwordswithHarryatWest-gateonMonday.Iwaswatchingthem.Hewaswhiteandshakingwhentheylefthim.’
‘Weseemtohaveenemiesallround,’saidFrodo.‘Whatarewetodo?’
‘Stayhere,anddonotgotoyourrooms!Theyaresuretohavefoundoutwhichthoseare.Thehobbit-roomshavewindowslookingnorthandclosetotheground.Wewillallremaintogetherandbarthiswindowandthedoor.ButfirstNobandIwillfetchyourluggage.’
