Chapter 9: A Walking Tour of Minas Tirith

Voices woke him. It was fortunate the hiding place he had chosen was a good one.

"I promised I would not bring her back to an unworthy residence, filthy and infested with rodents," one of the voices said. "Mice scurried this way and that when I came through yesterday but now I see not a one."

They would have had to pry the boards off the door to come in. He should have heard them doing that and woken sooner. He would have heard it, perhaps, if he had left the cabinet door open like he planned- and not closed it because a silly cat wanted to come in and pester him.

"Their spoor is present. There were mice here. A lot of them."

Yes, lovely fat grain-fed mice with crunchable heads, they were. If any remained they were incredibly good at hiding and there could not be very many of them. If Gollum had not found them, likely the stray cat had hunted them down after he'd gone to sleep.

Heavy footsteps creaked just outside the cabinet door. "What happened to them?"

"Surely it is a good thing," another Man said.

"But passing sinister that so many animals would die without a trace. Poison would have left corpses."

So the cat had vanished, after making herself a nuisance. Of course she had!

"Something's been digging in the rushes, here. These will all have to be replaced..."

Gollum realized with dawning horror that anyone who was perplexed by something that had happened in a house was likely to look in the cabinets. His hiding place had one major flaw- there was only one way in or out. He pressed his body into the corner and drew his hood over his face, closing his eyes so they would not glint in the dark. Sometimes that was enough to pass unnoticed, even if someone looked directly at him.

He heard the rushes being moved. "Mouse tails," said a bemused voice. "And... stomachs."

The tails were chewy and the stomachs were sour. Gollum only ate those bits if he was very hungry, and after the first five mice he had not been so hungry as to bother with the less appetizing parts.

Someone was approaching the cabinet. "A cat, perhaps," the voice said. "Cats will leave behind the tails, and often bury them."

"But what cat would have so large an appetite as to leave that many tails- and is it normal for a cat to collect all of its leavings in one place?"

And then the cabinet door was opened.

Gollum sat stock still. The Man who had opened the cabinet did not see him, it was his companion- apparently sharper-eyed- who spoke. "A vagrant."

"Greetings," said the one who'd opened the cabinet, firmly. It seemed that as Gollum was wearing proper clothing and his face was covered, the Men only saw that he had the figure of a human. "This house is mine and I have come back to claim it. You cannot stay here, but I can direct you to where you can find food and shelter."

"O no," said Gollum, "we has no need- we will go, if he wishes it." There was only the faintest quaver in his voice.

"Did you eat these mice?" the other Man asked in a low voice.

"Did you wants them? Should we have left them?"

"No," said the one who had opened the cabinet. "If you have eaten them that speaks of some desperate need and we would be happy to help." He spoke calmly, but there was tension in his jaw.

"Would you?" They did not know he was Gollum, who'd once been called the terror of Mirkwood, or they would not have said such things. He risked slipping past the Big Person who was in front of the cabinet, and was not stopped. He stood upright- they would suspect something if he moved too oddly. "That is alright. Ha, ha! Mice are tassty, if you try them. Didn't mean no harm- jusst stopping here for a bit, we were- yes, we will go." He edged towards the door, standing as straight as he could manage, which soon began to put an awful strain on his lower back. The Men looked wary. He suspected they were beginning to guess that he was not really one of their kind, and having maneuvered to where there was a clear path outside, he dropped to all fours and bolted out- into the blazing, searching light of the Sun. He slunk along as quickly and quietly as possible. Fortunately it did not take long for him to find an entrance to the sewer.

This place did not smell so lovely but it was nice and dark, yes. That had been a close call. He was trembling.

What would the Men have done to him if they found him out, he wondered? Had they heard of him? If so- which part had they heard, eh? The part where Gollum had destroyed his precious treasure in a fit of madness and now people were nice to him and politely ignored certain things, or the part before that?

And now what?

It was not really her fault, but he blamed the cat.

He shambled along at a lazy pace on the walkway next to the channel of filthy water. Such was too disgusting for even Gollum to care to swim in it unless forced, even though it had been a long time since he could swim properly. He glared at the water- here was what could have been a lovely clean pool, and the Men had fouled it because- why? Because they were too dainty to bury such things in the earth? They had to pollute the water? This was a particularly large, fancy sewer at that. And Gollum was thirsty- the mice had been nice and wet inside, but that had been hours ago now.

The Yellow Face glared disapprovingly from above, he did not have his bearings enough to continue travel through the sewer without the chance to climb up high on occasion and see where he was, and it was unlikely anyone would think to look for him here. He would find a river or lake if he followed the sewer in the direction of the running water, true, but he didn't know whether that would take him to where he needed to go. He may as well sleep- as he would be doing anyway at this time, had he not been interrupted. He found a little niche in the rock to wriggle into.

Rough, wet rock! The scrape of it on his skin sent enjoyable prickles up his spine- the world of Men was smooth, rounded, soft, without texture. This felt rather homey.

"Careless, careless, precious." His hissing whispers echoed on the rock. "Hiding in a place where we could not get away if found, that was foolish. Lucky it was, that they let us go without kicking or beating us." He shuddered. "They are big, strong!" He tensed, digging his nails into the rough surface beneath him. "Hush, hussh, precious, someone may come. They do not often come into sewers, but someone may. Hush!" This niche in the rock had, again, only one entrance and exit. Slowly, silently, carefully, he re-arranged himself in the tunnel so that his head was facing outwards- he did not like the thought of a huge hand reaching in to grab his ankle.

He dozed for a while, as he was more or less stuck where he was until the Sun set, but he was too tense to get very much sleep and he had alarming dreams of being pulled from his niche by giant hands. Then, too, it was a small niche- he began to feel cramped, and to think that the bed the Men had provided for him back in the guest house was, after all, more comfortable than this.

Gradually, he formed an impression that something alive was nearby. He stayed very still, sniffing and listening. All he could smell was sewage, but after a moment he heard faint scratching. A rat! A big, fat juicy sewer rat. The mice had been a few hours ago by now.

He crept out of his hiding place. There was the rat, a few feet away. Snuffling and sneaking, cautiously listening with its round ears.

Not cautious enough!

Gollum followed the rat for some time, hiding in the rough crags of the stone wall. This was an old game for him- an old, old game. He knew it well. But today he was a little slow and clumsy- when he made his final grab the rat flipped around and bit into his wrist before he could finish it off.

He examined the wound. The rat's teeth had gone into the side of his wrist, unnervingly close to that big blood vessel that caused orcs to die if someone with more anatomical knowledge bit it intentionally. But not too close. He'd live, but it was an inconvenient place to be bitten and would trouble him for some time.

Gollum sat on his haunches and regretted for a minute, licking the bite clean. Then he picked up the dead rat and took it to a more sheltered spot against the wall, where he could sit and pick it over and anyone who might come by would not immediately see him.

At the time he'd left, he had thought it very reasonable to go and fulfill his promise to scout orc-tunnels on his own, without dealing with foolish Man-ideas. He could prove his trustworthiness and earn a little bit of further goodwill. He could show that Gollum was not very much trouble to keep at all, not really, because if they wanted him to go and do something they had only to say a word to him and off he'd go without needing help. And if he went alone, he could always slip away early if he decided it was too dangerous, and then pretend he'd done the whole job! And, most importantly, he could prove Aragorn wrong.

And perhaps there was something else that he had not quite realized until now- now that the desire was quite satisfied and no longer poked at him. He was used to a life of constant creeping and prying. Finding secrets and then keeping them to himself (and in recent months, sharing those secrets with Sam and Frodo- but they only got to know what he chose to share). His other experiences with living quietly indoors had involved being kept in a small filthy cell, and had not been pleasant- he was not used to being in a house. And he was definitely not used to being supervised. The strangeness of being kept and minded had become familiar enough that it was not quite interesting enough to keep him occupied anymore.

But now he had seen enough of the city to satisfy his need for exploration, and the idea of more travel sounded wearisome and frightening.

He wondered how he had survived for so long in an empty cave, inquisitive Sméagol who was always looking for secrets. Had he not been bored? Well, he had had a whole lake to occupy him, to boat and swim in, and of course the goblin colony, though they didn't do a whole lot that was interesting, and the Precious. Ah, the Precious! It was gone now. He would never find it.

The rat had been stripped of anything tasty- its bones were sharp and fragile and without much marrow worth the trouble to get at it. He flicked the pelt and the bones into the sewage. The flesh had not been as nice as he'd hoped. It was juicy, and soft, and filled him up well enough, but there was an aftertaste that he did not like at all- no- he suspected the rat might have been eating sewage instead of merely coming here to hide.

But he had already eaten it, so it was too late to worry about that. Besides, he had eaten much worse things in the past with no ill effects.

He crawled up the nearest tunnel, moving awkwardly on three limbs, and had a look at the outside through a storm drain. The Sun was still much too high for his tastes.

He lingered on a rocky shelf near the drain where he could get a bit of fresh air and wait for the light to fade. His wrist oozed little drops of blood- the same shade of appetizing red that came from Men and hobbits. He licked the drops away- they had the same coppery taste, the same tantalizing smell as if they had come from a creature that walked upright under the Sun. He shook his head. Gollum usually had a scent of his own, of course, which did not bother him or pose a risk to him- others might find it unpleasant, but orcs rarely knew what to make of it and he was not easy to track on that account. But the smell of blood and injury was intriguing to a lot of things that did not know or care for the scent of Gollum. The wound would stop bleeding soon, but it might continue to smell.  

From his secluded spot, he could listen in on the comings and goings outside. Men walked by, speaking to each other in deep voices; Gollum listened closely in case they happened to be discussing him or the hobbits, or anyone else he knew, but they were talking about the price of horses and whether the new King would create more opportunity to trade with Rohan. This interested Gollum not at all.

On another occasion, some children scampered past and Gollum thought: If one comes close enough we can grab its ankles and pull it in for a meal, perhaps.

He shuddered all over and almost gagged. He had not meant to think about anything of the kind, but it had come into his head from habit. 

I'm not even hungry, he thought, disgusted.

At other times, people walked past who were speaking another language. Gollum did not understand it. Naturally, he wondered if they were talking about him. Unlikely, but not impossible, no.

One such conversation involved two women, laughing as they spoke, and sounding happy- then one gasped, and a small object hit the ground outside with a metallic cling. A light sound, a familiar sound- he held out his hand and something fell into it. It was gold. It shone, it was so beautiful, so cool and lovely in his palm. Gollum held it tight in his fist and rocked back and forth.

Outside, a woman was searching the ground on her hands and knees, crying out in her language. She was so upset!

Mine now, Gollum thought. His heart beat loudly. 

The woman spoke to her friend in words he did not know, but in tones of distress and loss. Lost. Lost. My Precious is lost.

The ring felt so smooth and round in his hand. It was a plain band of gold.

The woman outside wept for her lost treasure. Perhaps it had been a present to her. A real present, given by someone who cared about her.

Gollum did not quite have the temerity to try it on. It did not belong to him. It was not his. It had never been his.

I don't care! he thought.

But the Master would not want him to keep it.

With a hiss of rage he flung it back out through the storm drain. Cries of shock and relief followed, and then a tense discussion. A wary pair of eyes appeared, looking in at him. He stared insolently back, and slunk away to find another drain to lurk in, just in case the woman went off and told somebody he was here.

I should have kept it, he thought.

Finally, at long last, the Sun began to set, dim enough that it was less unpleasant to be outside than it was to be in a sewer. Gollum waited for the street to be empty, and slipped out, drawing his hood over his face.

He wandered aimlessly, keeping out of sight, until he found a tree in a patch of grass behind a house. The leaves were thick, it would make good shelter. Gollum climbed up it to roost in the branches. There was a nice light breeze up here. He turned his face towards it with a deep sigh, that caught lightly at the bottom of his throat with a faint wet sound. It was much too warm for going about in a hood and mantle. After a moment of inner debate, he put the hood down and let the breeze dry the sweat on his face.

He nosed at his wrist. The blood had stopped and clotted, but climbing had broken open the clot and caused a little more blood to ooze out. It was a small bite, but deep. He licked it until it felt better, and then licked the palms of his hands and his knuckles, which were sore from an unaccustomed amount of walking on unfamiliar terrain.

That accomplished, Gollum squinted at his surroundings and soon had to admit that he had no idea where he was. The city was unfamiliar, and normally he would expect to spend a good week or two at the minimum learning its sights and smells before navigating it, that was true- but he had not thought it would be so difficult to simply find the way out, he had seen the way out from up on the wall!

Gollum shook his head and tugged fretfully at his sleeves, which were too tight at the elbows. He suspected the clothes he'd been given had been originally made for children of Men, who were often the same height as himself but usually had shorter arms.

The smell of blood from his wrist was not strong. There was something much worse that he had not thought of, not at first... he reeked of the sewer! Even a Man could have smelled him, at this point. A foolish mistake- silly. He might need to strip off his clothes and roll in the dirt to shake some of the smell, if he could find nowhere to bathe properly.

He wanted a bath very much.

 Perhaps he should go back after all. He could simply beg for forgiveness, and grovel... but then the Men would find even more reasons not to trust him. Why had Sméagol slipped away on his own if he was not false, hmm? And he would come back stinking, at that.

No, Gollum mustn't give up so easily. And, also, there was the fact that he couldn't find his way back if he wanted to (which he did, a bit). He ought never to have left, but it was too late for that now. He turned to start to climb down. Something moved in the tree. He recoiled, digging his nails into the bark of the tree. A spider. It was tiny, only the size of his hand! Harmless, harmless.

His heart was pounding in his ears. Near the spider was a thin gossamer web in the branches. He had slept in much larger spiderwebs, next to frozen, living orcs with tempting smells, wondering if he would be caught if he took a bite...

A group of children had congregated nearby in the street. Gollum went very still and quiet. Children were not observant, but it was best to be cautious.

They chattered together for a little while and then darted off in different directions. One was heading in his direction. He waited for the child to pass by, but instead she scurried into the tree and was soon beside him.

Even then, she almost did not see Gollum, silent and still as he was. But after a moment or two she sniffed, and frowned, and looked about until she found him.

"Hello," she whispered.

This was bad luck, yes. Gollum darted a glance at the spider web. He wondered if Shelob had realized his treachery and put a curse on him.

"I'm playing hide and seek," the girl whispered.

Shelob had been injured by Sam- scary, unpredictable, suspicious Sam. Suppose She knew that Gollum had chosen not to kill Sam, and had not even tried to kill him, and had tried to take Frodo past Her safely, through a narrow tunnel in the rocks that led through Gollum's own personal sleeping burrow. Suppose She knew he was why She had been stabbed, and had cursed him.

"Are you playing hide and seek too?" the girl asked. "I'm not good at-"

"Haha, found you!" one of her snot-nosed friends called from below. She groaned and turned away. She yelped and recoiled. Gollum thought for a moment that he'd been recognized, and then he realized she was afraid of the spider.

He was tired of looking at it too. His hand snapped out and crushed the nasty thing. 

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Sssh," he hissed. He had not killed the spider on her account.

The girl nodded solemnly and went to join her friends. The children milled about in the street, babbling indistinctly. Gollum wrinkled his nose at the crushed spider, and as he did not want to waste food, he ate it, swallowing it whole. It was scratchy and spindly. He gagged.

I didn't want him to be hurt, he thought. I wanted to bring him past Her safe. I did. I did! Sam thought he was dead. I did too, for a moment, although I know She does not kill so quickly...

Had he really thought that would have been a kinder death for the Master than Sméagol's quick, clutching hands taking his throat in his sleep? No, I wanted to get around my promise, that was it, he thought. It seemed so sensible then! I should not have tried to hurt him at all. But if I must I should have done it myself. But I should not have done it at all! And I didn't. But I did, because She stung him. But I didn't want to! But I did. But the Master is still so kind to me.

How had it ever made sense to him to betray the Master to that gluttonous spider? He had worshipped Her as a goddess and then Sam had stuck her as if she was just a big spider. Was there something special about Sam, or was Sméagol a bit of an idiot?

Could be both, he thought with a scowl.

He glanced down below. Again, the children were scattering, except for the girl who had climbed the tree, who stood in the center of the road. He was just beginning to think that he might be able to slip away past her when the kid came running at full speed back to the tree.

She looked up at him. "You're very good at hiding," she whispered up at him. "My friends didn't even see you and you were right there!"

In another time, not very long ago, either, Gollum knew that he would have seen a lone, small person approaching him in an out of the way place as just another rat to hunt. This thought made him feel tired, and a little queasy. He said nothing.

"I'm not good at hide and seek," she said.

Obviously. Her friend had found her right away. He hopped to the ground and hesitated- the girl was blocking his path.

"Leaving," he said.

"Are you sure?"

What was wrong with her? Gollum had seen what he looked like, before he turned the mirror to the wall. He would not have approached a creature that looked like he did now- probably not even today, if he somehow encountered another like himself, and certainly not when he had been a curious child. He and Déagol might have followed at a distance and made remarks- 'he looks like fish bait left in the rain', etc.- but they would have bolted if the lamplike eyes and snapping fingers turned in their direction.

He tried walking past her. She started following him. A cold sweat was running down his neck.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Out of this city," he hissed. He glanced back at her. Something cool and patient nudged the back of his mind- fine, so children were not food, even though they had perfectly good meat on their bones; but this was still an opportunity if Sméagol could stop mooning about in self-pity for a moment. "Sss... she knows the way out, perhaps?"

"No," she said. "I only went out of the city once and I was in a covered wagon. The city is nice, why do you want to leave? It's lonely and sad outside."

"Is it?" Gollum muttered. "It is, it is, but we must go, yes, we must." She doesn't know the way out, he snapped inside. I should have left her alone.

"I'm not going anywhere," said the child in alarm.

Gollum looked at her. His brow furrowed. "What's that?" Had he said something aloud that he had not meant to say?

"You said we," she said.

"O!" So he had. Gollum was somewhat aware of his odd manner of speech and sometimes made an effort to correct it, but for some reason other people usually did not point it out or ask about it, and he was unsure what to say now that someone had. "Not you," he said. "It is- something I say- don't mind us- we are old."

"You're little," she said. "I'm almost as tall as you are- are you a perian?"

"Yes. No," said Gollum. "Don't, don't ask us things like that. Ach! If you don't know how to get out- leave us alone." He sounded more petulant than angry and the girl was not put off.

"The city is a circle, more or less," she said. "With a big mountain behind it. So if you're not going towards the mountain, you're probably on your way out."

"Hrm." Gollum leaned back and looked up, to see if he was facing the mountain. He couldn't see past the houses. If he could get up higher he could probably see the mountain, or the big Tower that was at the center- also something he ought to be heading away from, if he wanted to leave.

"Prestrien!" a voice called. "Prestrien! Where are you?"

Gollum backed away. A woman appeared around the corner. "There you are," she scolded, striding forward. "Night is falling! Didn't I tell you not to be alone in the street? Where are your friends?"

"They went home," said the girl.

"And why did you not come home?"

"I met a new friend- I couldn't just leave him. It would be rude."

The woman looked panicked. She ran up to her daughter and took her arm. "And haven't I told you that you're not to approach anyone you don't know? Who-" The woman saw Gollum and recoiled.

That is more sensible, Gollum thought bitterly. "I am just going," he said. "Didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry," said the woman, "I did not note your presence, and I was startled to see you."

"He's good at hiding," Prestien whispered.

The woman swallowed and stood up to her full height. "Sir, pardon me- you do not look at all well, are you in need of aid?"

Gollum was taken aback by that for a moment. He considered what his pallid, gaunt face must appear to be if it was looked at with the idea that it belonged to someone who ought to look normal. "No, no no," he said. "I am..." 'Fine' did not seem right. "Used to it, yes, I am used to it; I am going out of the city. You might tell us the way?" His long fingers rubbed together anxiously.

"That is a far walk," said the woman, gathering her daughter to her side. "And night is approaching."

"We do not mind the night," said Gollum. "We are... used to that, too... yes."

"It may not be safe, you are uncommonly small, and bandits have crept into the city as of late, with the confusion, the frequent comings and goings, and the breaching of the wall."

"Don't care about bandits," said Gollum.

"They may do you a mischief whether you care or not! My husband will be home soon and he would gladly escort you somewhere you can stay the night."

"No, no," said Gollum, but he wilted under the woman's gaze- she was tall and spoke with authority. "I won't be seen, and I- I don't wish it. I'll go-"

"Do you not even want a glass of water?"

Gollum hesitated. "Clean water?" The only water he had had recently came from the blood of the mice and rats- and once, a gritty puddle. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and he had begun to ponder the water in the sewer.

"Yes, clean water," said the woman. "I would not offer foul water to a guest."

Gollum gnawed the inside of his cheek. It was a bit suspicious that she so badly wanted him to come with her. But she was not armed. Surely, if she did try something, he could get away; surely if she put something in the water he would smell it. "O, yes, kind lady, we will take some," he simpered, "but- we won't come into the house."

"Why not?" the little girl asked with perfect innocence.

Gollum decided not to admit that he thought the girl's mother might come at him with a kitchen knife if she got him in an enclosed space. "Wouldn't want us in, eh? We was doing some... work, in the sewer, and now we stinks."

The woman nodded. "Very well. Come with me." She did not refute that he stank but she didn't harp on it either.

He shambled after her at a safe distance. The girl- Prestien, apparently- kept shooting curious glances back at him.

"Where do you come from?" she asked. Her mother tried to discreetly hush her, but she paid no notice, continuing: "Are you from the Shire, like the halflings?"

That was a safe enough question, Gollum thought. "No. We comes from the River."

"The River outside the city?"

"No, no," Gollum said. Then a scrap of memory came to him-

This very River goes past Minas Anor, my polliwog.

Eh, Gran, if it was as big as you says it is I could see it from here!

No, no, it's very far away.

But you say it's by the same River?

A long River, it is.

"It's far away," Gollum sobbed. "It's so far away!"

"Oh," said Prestien. "I'm sorry."

Gollum wiped his eyes with his sleeve and snuffled.

The woman led him to a large house and bade him sit down outside at the edge of a small garden. He waited by the step, sniffling, and poking at the soil in case there were worms in it.

Someone was coming. Gollum huddled in the shadows and tugged his hood over his face. It must be the woman's husband, she had said he would come home soon- and here he was, a tall figure dressed in brightly colored layers. He went inside without noticing Gollum.

She had said her husband would come home- she had not lied or tried to trick him into an ambush, he reminded himself, clenching his jaw. But perhaps Gollum should leave.

Before he could make up his mind to go, the Man re-emerged with a wry expression, holding a pitcher of water and a cup. "Sméagol?" he called in a calm, quiet voice.

Gollum froze, with an involuntary intake of breath.

"I shall not capture you," said the Man. "I have been warned of you. Many who work in the Sixth Circle have been warned that we may see you, and have been told to warn others that we may see you, and that you are not a bandit, nor are you a starved Orcling."

Gollum stood up with a convulsive motion.

The Man remained calm. "I've been instructed to leave you alone if you are doing no mischief. I have also been instructed to tell you that you may walk openly, you may go where you will in this city, if you do not trouble anyone; but you are missed- your caretakers are afraid you will come to harm. The Ringbearer is especially concerned for you."

Gollum said nothing and did not move.

"I have been told as well to ask why you left, and if you plan to return," said the Man, "though I have been warned you may not answer. It is the desire of the King that you not be brought back by force, or be coerced to return... but he would prefer you return."

Gollum did not answer. His long hands formed a knot near his heart. He could be immensely short-sighted, could Sméagol; he had taken it as a matter of course that people would want to fetch him back if they knew he was gone but it had never occurred to him that Frodo might get involved, nor had it occurred to him that the people looking after him would be put out and might get in trouble- this was occurring to him now.

Were they really worried about him? They had put in a great deal of effort to keep him alive. And if they wanted him to work, and answer questions- Gollum could do none of that if he was dead.

And surely they knew pretending to worry about him would not get him to come back, so they wouldn't try anything so silly, would they?

"I myself would like to know why you were speaking with my daughter," said the Man. Now there was a dangerous hint in his tone.

Gollum leaned forward. "She came up and spoke to me, she did! Didn't want to talk to her, she talked to us, and she wouldn't go away."

"I see."

"Won't go near her again," said Gollum. "Didn't want to go near her to begin with, she followed us."

"That is in keeping with what I know of her temperament," said the Man.

"The woman offered us water," said Gollum, "your wife, we guess. Didn't ask. She offered it, we did not ask, gollum! If you will give us the water we'll take it, if you have changed your mind, we will go."

"You are welcome to the water." The Man filled up the cup and held it out.

Gollum did not go any closer. "It puts it on the ground and goes in the house."

"You are in no position to command me, Sméagol, or to address me in such a manner."

"He may grab at our neck with his big rough hands if we goes up to him," fretted Gollum. "Never mind it, then, don't want water anymore- we'll go."

"My papa won't grab you," Prestien's voice piped from inside. She sounded insulted.

"I have pledged that I will not grab you," said the big Man. "The King asks that you not be harmed and he is a wise and just man. I will not go against his wishes. I will not harm you."

Gollum was confident that he could find water elsewhere, and also find more unwanted little creatures with blood in them (pigeons, perhaps- he'd seen a few in the sky). He just didn't know when. Foolish, he told himself, the water is right here, it's good to drink, we are thirsty, and there is only one Man- clumsy slow things they are- we can get away. He approached slowly, took the cup and drained it. He looked pleadingly up at the Man, who, true to his word, had not made any attempt to grab. One hand was on the handle of the water pitcher. The other was tucked into his pocket.

Knife? Gollum wondered. The pocket did not look as if there was anything filling it beyond the man's hand. Small knife? he wondered.

"I would be happy to refill your cup, if you would like," the Man said.

Gollum hesitated. "Yes... yes, we likes."

The Man refilled the cup. Gollum drained it again. He did get so terribly thirsty! He recalled that the Men in the guest house had repeatedly made remarks that something oozed out of his skin- and it made things around him slimy and had given someone hives. Gollum did not notice this, perhaps because it had been the case for so long or because he was accustomed to living in wet places. But it must be true, people brought it up so rudely often, and that ooze must come from somewhere. And it must be made of something...

He was lucky that Aragorn had not seen fit to hand him over to someone with an interest in natural philosophy!

Gollum shuddered and handed the cup back. "Thanks it, we does, that is nice, lovely water! And now we are going." He got up and quickly scuttled backwards.

"Very well," said the Man. He glanced at the cup- Gollum had left dirty handprints on it.

He looked down at his gnarled, filthy hands in dismay. He dared not ask for a bath; better not to think about it. He realized the Man had said something to him, and looked up apologetically. "What's that, eh, precious?"

"Do you have any messages to convey to the King?"

"Does you talk to him, then? Sméagol cannot keep track of which Men can talk to which others, it is all very confusing."

"I will be able to convey messages, if you have them."

"Only tell the nice Master he needn't worry about Sméagol, he is used to being on his own, he is," said Gollum. "No one should fret over Sméagol, he has a little job to do, that is all, and then he will be back. And also-" He paused. "No one let Sméagol go, he was very quiet and they didn't know he left, so they shouldn't be punished."

"I shall tell them."

Gollum started to edge away. A voice rang out from inside the house: "Why do you have webby feet?"

It was followed by "Shh! Leave him alone!" from the girl's mother, but Gollum called: "Why do you not have webby feet? Eh? Eh? It is because you do not swim often enough."

"It's because you're from the River?" Prestien called.

Gollum was about to say 'yes', but he remembered that the Man might not like him to talk to Prestien, and he hurried off before anything could be thrown at him.

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