Page 16 (1/2)

The Window on the West

It seemed to Sam that he had only dozed for a few minutes when he awoke to find that it was late afternoon and Faraht many athered on the slope nearby, two or three hundred strong They sat in a wide semicircle, between the arround, while Frodo stood before hiely like the trial of a prisoner

Sam crept out from the fern, but no one paid any attention to him, and he placed himself at the end of the rows ofon He watched and listened intently, ready to dash to his master&039;s aid if needed He could see Faramir&039;s face, which was now un, and a keen wit lay behind his searching glance Doubt was in the grey eyes that gazed steadily at Frodo

Sam soon became aware that the Captain was not satisfied with Frodo&039;s account of himself at several points: what part he had to play in the Company that set out frooing In particular he returned often to Isildur&039;s Bane Plainly he saw that Frodo was concealing froreat i of the Halfling that Isildur&039;s Bane should waken, or so one must read the words,&039; he insisted &039;If then you are the Halfling that was na, whatever it may be, to the Council of which you speak, and there Boromir saw it Do you deny it?&039;

Frodo made no answer &039;So!&039; said Faramir &039;I wish then to learn from you more of it; for what concerns Boromir concerns me An orc-arro Isildur, so far as old tales tell But orc-arrows are plenty, and the sight of one would not be taken as a sign of Doo? It is hidden, you say; but is not that because you choose to hide it?&039;

&039;No, not because I choose,&039; answered Frodo &039;It does not belong to h if any could claiorn son of Arathorn, whom I named, the leader of our Company from Moria to Rauros&039;

&039;Why so, and not Boromir, prince of the City that the sons of Elendil founded?&039;

&039;Because Aragorn is descended in direct lineage, father to father, from Isildur Elendil&039;s son himself And the sword that he bears was Elendil&039;s sword&039;

Aof men Some cried aloud: &039;The sword of Elendil! The sword of Elendil cos!&039; But Faramir&039;s face was unreat a claim will need to be established and clear proofs will be required, should this Aragorn ever come to Minas Tirith He had not coo&039;

&039;Boromir was satisfied of that claim,&039; said Frodo &039;Indeed, if Boromir were here, he would answer all your questions And since he was already at Rauros ht to your city, if you return, you may soon learn the answers there My part in the Company was known to him, as to all the others, for it was appointed to me by Elrond of Imladris himself before the whole Council On that errand I came into this country, but it is not mine to reveal to any outside the Company Yet those who claim to oppose the Enemy would do well not to hinder it&039;

Frodo&039;s tone was proud, whatever he felt, and Sam approved of it; but it did not appease Faramir

&039;So!&039; he said &039;You bid et me back home, and let you be Boromir will tell all, when he comes When he comes, say you! Were you a friend of Boromir?&039;

Vividly before Frodo&039;s mind came the memory of Boromir&039;s assault upon hi hirew harder &039;Boromir was a valiant th &039;Yes, I was his friend, for ririeve to learn that Bororieve indeed,&039; said Frodo Then catching the look in Faramir&039;s eyes, he faltered &039;Dead?&039; he said &039;Do you mean that he is dead, and that you knew it? You have been trying to trapto snare me with a falsehood?&039;

&039;I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood,&039; said Faramir

&039;How then did he die, and how do you know of it? Since you say that none of the Company had reached the city when you left&039;

&039;As to the manner of his death, I had hoped that his friend and companion would tell me hoas&039;

&039;But he was alive and strong e parted And he lives still for all that I know Though surely there are many perils in the world&039;

&039;Many indeed,&039; said Faramir, &039;and treachery not the least&039;

Sary at this conversation These last words wereinto the , he strode up to hisyour pardon, Mr Frodo,&039; he said, &039;but this has gone on long enough He&039;s no right to talk to you so After all you&039;ve gone through, as reat Men as for anyone else

&039;See here, Captain!&039; He planted himself squarely in front of Faramir his hands on his hips, and a look on his face as if he was addressing a young hobbit who had offered him what he called &039;sauce&039; when questioned about visits to the orchard There was sorins on the faces of the round and eye to eye with a young hobbit, legs well apart, bristling rath, was one beyond their experience &039;See here!&039; he said &039;What are you driving at? Let&039;s come to the point before all the Orcs of Mordor come down on us! If you think my ot no sense; but say it, and have done! And then let us knohat you mean to do about it But it&039;s a pity that folk as talk about fighting the Enemy can&039;t let others do their bit in their oithout interfering He&039;d be ot a new friend, he would&039;

&039;Patience!&039; said Faraer &039;Do not speak before your reater than yours And I do not need any to teach me of our peril Even so, I spare a brief tie justly in a hard o For I am commanded to slay all whom I find in this land without the leave of the Lord of Gondor But I do not slay ladly even when it is needed Neither do I talk in vain So be comforted Sit by your master, and be silent!&039;

Saain: &039;You asked how do I know that the son of Denethor is dead Tidings of death have s news to near kindred, &039;tis said Boromir was my brother&039;

A shadow of sorrow passed over his face &039;Do you reht of special ear?&039;

Frodo thought for ahow this debate would turn in the end He had hardly saved the Ring fro so , he did not know Yet he felt in his heart that Farah he was , both sterner and wiser &039;I remember that Boromir bore a horn,&039; he said at last

&039;You remember well, and as one who has in truth seen him,&039; said Faramir &039;Then reat horn of the wild ox of the East, bound with silver, and written with ancient characters That horn the eldest son of our house has borne for enerations; and it is said that if it be blown at need anywhere within the bounds of Gondor, as the realm was of old, its voice will not pass unheeded

&039;Five days ere I set out on this venture, eleven days ago at about this hour of the day, I heard the blowing of that horn: from the northward it see of ill we thought it, s had we heard of Boromir since he went away, and no watcher on our borders had seen hier thing befell ht by the waters of Anduin, in the grey dark under the young palestrea So do we ever watch the shores nigh Osgiliath, which our enemies now partly hold, and issue froht all the world slept at the ht hour Then I saw, or it seerey, a sh prow, and there was none to row or steer it

&039;An awe fell on ht was round it But I rose and went to the bank, and began to walk out into the stream, for I was draards it Then the boat turned towards me, and stayed its pace, and floated slowly by within my hand&039;s reach, yet I durst not handle it It waded deep, as if it were heavily burdened, and it seeaze that it was alht; and lapped in the water a warrior lay asleep

&039;A broken sas on his knee I saw many wounds on hiear, his sword, his beloved face One thing only Ionly I knew not: a fair belt, as it were of linked golden leaves, about his waist Borooest thou? O Boroone The boat turned into the streaht Drea And I do not doubt that he is dead and has passed down the River to the Sea&039;

&039;Alas!&039; said Frodo &039;That was indeed Boroiven to him in Lothlorien by the Lady Galadriel She it was that clothed us as you see us, in elven-grey This brooch is of the sareen and silver leaf that fastened his cloak beneath his throat

Faramir looked closely at it &039;It is beautiful,&039; he said &039;Yes, &039;tis work of the sah the Land of Lorien? Laurelindorenan it was nae of Men,&039; he added softly, regarding Frodo with a neonder in his eyes &039;Much that was strange about you I begin now to understand Will you not tell ht that Boroht of the land of his home&039;

&039;No more can I say than I have said,&039; answered Frodo &039;Though your tale fillsA vision it was that you saw, I think, and no more, some shadow of evil fortune that has been or will be Unless indeed it is so trick of the Enemy I have seen the faces of fair warriors of old laid in sleep beneath the pools of the Dead Marshes, or see so by his foul arts&039;

&039;Nay, it was not so,&039; said Fara; but rief and pity&039;

&039;Yet how could such a thing have happened in truth?&039; asked Frodo &039;For no boat could have been carried over the stony hills froo home across the Entwash and the fields of Rohan And yet how could any vessel ride the foa pools, though laden ater?&039;

&039;I know not,&039; said Faramir &039;But whence came the boat?&039;

&039;From Lorien,&039; said Frodo &039;In three such boats ed down Anduin to the Falls They also were of elven-work&039;

&039;You passed through the Hidden Land,&039; said Faramir, &039;but it sees with the Mistress of Magic ells in the Golden Wood, then they s to follow For it is perilous for mortal man to walk out of the world of this Sun, and few of old caed, &039;tis said

&039;Boromir, O Boromir!&039; he cried &039;What did she say to you, the Lady that dies not? What did she see? What woke in your heart then? Why went you ever to Laurelindorenan, and ca hoain to Frodo, he spoke in a quiet voice once uess that you could o But not here or now, maybe But lest you still should think my tale a vision, I will tell you this The horn of Boro The horn came, but it was cloven in two, as it were by axe or sword The shards ca the reeds where watchers of Gondor lay, northwards below the infalls of the Entwash; the other was found spinning on the flood by one who had an errand in the water Strange chances, but murder will out, &039;tis said

&039;And now the horn of the elder son lies in two pieces upon the lap of Denethor, sitting in his high chair, waiting for news And you can tellof the horn?&039;

&039;No, I did not know of it,&039; said Frodo &039;But the day when you heard it blowing, if your reckoning is true, was the day e parted, when I and my servant left the Company And now your tale fills me with dread For if Boromir was then in peril and was slain, I must fear that all my companions perished too And they were my kindred and my friends

&039;Will you not put aside your doubt of rief, and afraid But I have a deed to do, or to attempt, before I too as are all that remain of our fellowship

&039;Go back, Faramir, valiant Captain of Gondor, and defend your city while you o where my doom takes me&039;

&039;For ether,&039; said Faramir, &039;but you surely draw from it more dread than need be Unless the people of Lorien themselves came to him, who arrayed Boromir as for a funeral? Not Orcs or servants of the Nauess, live still

&039;But whatever befell on the North March, you, Frodo, I doubt no longer If hard days have e of Men&039;s words and faces, then I h,&039; and now he se about you, Frodo, an elvish air, ht at first I should now take you back to Minas Tirith to answer there to Denethor, and my life will justly be forfeit, if I now choose a course that proves ill for my city So I will not decide in haste what is to be done Yet we mustto his feet and issued soathered round hiroups, and went off this way and that, vanishing quickly into the shadows of the rocks and trees Soon only Mablung and Damrod remained

&039;Now you, Frodo and Sauards,&039; said Fara the road southwards, if that was your purpose It will be unsafe for some days, and always more closely watched after this affray than it has been yet And you cannot, I think, go far today in any case, for you are weary And so are we We are going now to a secret place we have, somewhat less than ten miles from here The Orcs and spies of the Enemy have not found it yet, and if they did, we could hold it long even against many There we may lie up and rest for a while, and you with us In theI will decide what is best forfor Frodo to do but to fall in with this request, or order It seemed in any case a wise course for the moment, since this foray of the erous than ever

They set out at once: Mablung and Damrod a little ahead, and Fara the hither side of the pool where the hobbits had bathed, they crossed the streareen-shadooodlands that marched ever doards and ards While they walked, as swiftly as the hobbits could go, they talked in hushed voices

&039;I broke off our speech together,&039; said Faramir, &039;not only because time pressed, as Master Sa near to matters that were better not debated openly before many men It was for that reason that I turned rather to the matter of my brother and let be Isildur&039;s Bane You were not wholly frank with me, Frodo&039;

&039;I told no lies, and of the truth all I could,&039; said Frodo

&039;I do not blame you,&039; said Faramir &039;You spoke with skill in a hard place, and wisely, it seeuessed more from you than your words said You were not friendly with Boromir, or you did not part in friendship You, and Master Sarievance Now I loved hie his death, yet I knew him well Isildur&039;s Bane �C I would hazard that Isildur&039;s Bane lay between you and was a cause of contention in your Cohty heirloo confederates, not if aught may be learned from ancient tales Do I not hit near the mark?&039;

&039;Near,&039; said Frodo, &039;but not in the gold There was no contention in our Coh there was doubt: doubt which e should take from the Emyn Muil But be that as it may, ancient tales teach us also the peril of rash words concerning such things as �C heirlooht: your trouble ith Boroht to Minas Tirith Alas! it is a crooked fate that seals your lips who saw hi to knoas in his heart and thought in his latest hours Whether he erred or no, of this I a His face was more beautiful even than in life

&039;But, Frodo, I pressed you hard at first about Isildur&039;s Bane Forgive me! It was unwise in such an hour and place I had not had tiht, and there was h to fill my mind But even as I spoke with you, I drew nearer to the mark, and so deliberately shot wider For youthe Rulers of the city that is not spread abroad We of h the blood of Nuood steward, who ruled in the king&039;s stead when he went away to war And that was King Earnur, last of the line of Anarion, and childless, and he caoverned the city since that day, though it was o

&039;And this I reether learned the tale of our sires and the history of our city, that always it displeased hi "How , if the king returns not? " he asked "Few years, maybe, in other places of less royalty," my father answered "In Gondor ten thousand years would not suffice" Alas! poor Boro of him?&039;

&039;It does,&039; said Frodo &039;Yet always he treated Aragorn with honour&039;

&039;I doubt it not,&039; said Faraorn&039;s claireatly reverence him But the pinch has not yet come They had not yet reached Minas Tirith or become rivals in her wars

&039;But I stray We in the house of Denethor knowtradition, and there are s preserved: books and tablets writ on withered parchold, in divers characters Some none can now read; and for the rest, few ever unlock the It was these records that brought the Grey Pilgrim to us I first saw him when I was a child, and he has been twice or thrice since then&039;

&039;The Grey Pilgrim?&039; said Frodo &039;Had he a name?&039;

&039;Mithrandir we called him in elf-fashion,&039; said Faramir, &039;and he was content Many arethe Elves; Tharkun to the Dwarves; Olorin I was in otten, in the South Incanus; in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not &039;

&039;Gandalf!&039; said Frodo &039;I thought it was he Gandalf the Grey dearest of counsellors Leader of our Company He was lost in Moria&039;

&039;Mithrandir was lost!&039; said Faramir &039;An evil fate seems to have pursued your fellowship It is hard indeed to believe that one of so great wisdo us �C could perish, and so much lore be taken from the world Are you sure of this, and that he did not just leave you and depart where he would?&039;

&039;Alas! yes,&039; said Frodo &039;I saw him fall into the abyss&039;

&039;I see that there is soreat tale of dread in this,&039; said Fara-tiuess, reat mover of the deeds that are done in our ti the hard words of our dreaer Yet, maybe, he would not have done so, and the journey of Boromir was doomed Mithrandir never spoke to us of as to be, nor did he reveal his purposes He got leave of Denethor, how I do not know, to look at the secrets of our treasury, and I learned a little of him, when he would teach (and that was seldom) Ever he would search and would question us above all else concerning the Great Battle that was fought upon Dagorlad in the beginning of Gondor, when He e do not naer for stories of Isildur, though of hi certain was ever known a us of his end&039;

Now Faramir&039;s voice sank to a whisper &039;But this uessed, and I have kept it ever secret in my heart since: that Isildur took somewhat from the hand of the Unna ht was the answer to Mithrandir&039;s questioning But it seemed then aNor when the riddling words of our drea us, did I think of Isildur&039;s Bane as being this sa For Isildur was aend that we knew, and Mithrandir had never toldis I cannot yet guess; but some heirloom of power and peril it must be A fell weapon, perchance, devised by the Dark Lord If it were a thing that gave advantage in battle I can well believe that Boromir, the proud and fearless, often rash, ever anxious for the victory of Minas Tirith (and his own glory therein),and be allured by it Alas that ever he went on that errand! I should have been chosen bythe older and the hardier (both true), and he would not be stayed

&039;But fear no hway Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and lory No I do not wish for such triuo&039;

&039;Neither did the Council,&039; said Frodo &039;Nor do I I would have nothing to do with such matters&039;

&039;For myself,&039; said Faraain in the courts of the kings, and the Silver Crown return, and Minas Tirith in peace: Minas Anor again as of old, full of light, high and fair, beautiful as a queen a other queens: not a mistress ofslaves War ainst a destroyer ould devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Numenor; and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdonity of a man, old and wise

&039;So fear me not! I do not ask you to tell me more I do not even ask you to tell me whether I now speak nearer the mark But if you will trust me, it may be that I can advise you in your present quest, whatever that be �C yes, and even aid you&039;

Frodo made no answer Almost he yielded to the desire for help and counsel, to tell this grave young man, whose words see held him back His heart was heavy with fear and sorrow: if he and Sam were indeed, as seemed likely, all that was now left of the Nine Walkers, then he was in sole command of the secret of their errand Better mistrust undeserved than rash words And the e that the lure of the Ring had worked in him, was very present to his mind, when he looked at Faramir and listened to his voice: unlike they were, and yet also much akin

They walked on in silence for a while, passing like grey and green shadows under the old trees, their feet listened on the polished roof of dark leaves in the evergreen woods of Ithilien