that I must see.' He lifted his head and saw a white horse leap the wall and stride towards him. On it rode a grey-mantled figure: his white hair was streaming, and his cloak flew like wings behind him. As the grey rider bore down upon him he strove to see his face. The light grew in the sky, and suddenly there was a noise of thunder.
Frodo opened his eyes. Trotter had drawn the curtains and had pushed back the shutters with a clang. The first grey light of day was in the room. The vision of his dream faded quickly, but its mingled fear and hope remained with him all the day; and for long the far sound of the Sea came back to him whenever great danger was at hand.
As soon as Trotter had roused them all he led the way to their bedrooms.
The manuscript continues a little further, almost word for word as in FR, and ends with Butterbur's 'Guests unable to sleep in their beds, and good bolsters ruined and all! What are we coming to?'
Taking into account the words of the outline given on p. 9 that Gandalf, pursued by the Riders, tried to get round to the west of the Shire, and the mention of the sound of the Sea in the text, it is seen that Gandalf had fled to the Elf-towers (21) on the Tower Hills beyond the west marches of the Shire - those towers which, at the very beginning of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, Bingo said that he had once seen, shining white in the Moon: 'the tallest was furthest away, standing alone on a hill' (VI.93; cf. VI.312 and FR p. 16).
Turning back to 'A Conspiracy Unmasked': my father now rewrote the ending again, on the basis of the draft already referred to, and added it to the 'third phase' manuscript, rejecting the existing conclusion of the chapter.(22) In this new text he still kept the original dream, but now combined with it the 'Dream of the Tower', transferring it back from Frodo's night at Bree to his night at Crickhollow (see p. 33). Thus Frodo has the vision of Gandalf's escape from the Western Tower on the night of the event itself, the 25th of September.
The new version reads thus, in part:
When at last he got to bed, Frodo could not sleep for some time. His legs ached. He was glad that he was riding in the morning. Eventually he fell into a vague dream, in which he seemed to be looking out of a high window over a dark sea of tangled trees. Down below among the roots there was the sound of creatures crawling and snuffling. He felt sure they would smell him out sooner or later.
Then he heard a noise in the distance. At first he thought it was a great wind coming over the leaves of the forest. Then he knew that it was not leaves, but the sound of the Sea far-off: a sound he had never heard in waking life, though it had often troubled other dreams. Suddenly he found he was out in the open. There were no trees after all. He was on a dark heath, and there was a strange salt smell in the air. Looking up he saw before him a tall white tower, standing alone on a high ridge. In its topmost chamber a blue light shone dimly.
As he drew nearer the tower loomed high above him. About its feet there was a wall of faintly gleaming stones, and outside the wall sat silent watchers: there seemed to be four blackrobed figures seated on black horses, gazing at the tower without moving, as if they had sat there for ever.
He heard the soft fall of hoofs climbing up the hill behind him. The watchers all stirred...
From this point the vision is told in practically the same words as in the previous text, and ends in the same way: 'A light grew in the sky, and there was a noise of thunder.' When Frodo had dreamt the dream at Bree, the light in the sky and the noise of thunder were associated with Trotter's opening the shutters with a clang and the light of morning entering the room.
In this text 'Pippin' is the name that was first written, not a subsequent correction of 'Folco'; see p. 30.
Later (see p. 139, note 36), when the story of Gandalf had been further changed, the description of the
Frodo opened his eyes. Trotter had drawn the curtains and had pushed back the shutters with a clang. The first grey light of day was in the room. The vision of his dream faded quickly, but its mingled fear and hope remained with him all the day; and for long the far sound of the Sea came back to him whenever great danger was at hand.
As soon as Trotter had roused them all he led the way to their bedrooms.
The manuscript continues a little further, almost word for word as in FR, and ends with Butterbur's 'Guests unable to sleep in their beds, and good bolsters ruined and all! What are we coming to?'
Taking into account the words of the outline given on p. 9 that Gandalf, pursued by the Riders, tried to get round to the west of the Shire, and the mention of the sound of the Sea in the text, it is seen that Gandalf had fled to the Elf-towers (21) on the Tower Hills beyond the west marches of the Shire - those towers which, at the very beginning of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, Bingo said that he had once seen, shining white in the Moon: 'the tallest was furthest away, standing alone on a hill' (VI.93; cf. VI.312 and FR p. 16).
Turning back to 'A Conspiracy Unmasked': my father now rewrote the ending again, on the basis of the draft already referred to, and added it to the 'third phase' manuscript, rejecting the existing conclusion of the chapter.(22) In this new text he still kept the original dream, but now combined with it the 'Dream of the Tower', transferring it back from Frodo's night at Bree to his night at Crickhollow (see p. 33). Thus Frodo has the vision of Gandalf's escape from the Western Tower on the night of the event itself, the 25th of September.
The new version reads thus, in part:
When at last he got to bed, Frodo could not sleep for some time. His legs ached. He was glad that he was riding in the morning. Eventually he fell into a vague dream, in which he seemed to be looking out of a high window over a dark sea of tangled trees. Down below among the roots there was the sound of creatures crawling and snuffling. He felt sure they would smell him out sooner or later.
Then he heard a noise in the distance. At first he thought it was a great wind coming over the leaves of the forest. Then he knew that it was not leaves, but the sound of the Sea far-off: a sound he had never heard in waking life, though it had often troubled other dreams. Suddenly he found he was out in the open. There were no trees after all. He was on a dark heath, and there was a strange salt smell in the air. Looking up he saw before him a tall white tower, standing alone on a high ridge. In its topmost chamber a blue light shone dimly.
As he drew nearer the tower loomed high above him. About its feet there was a wall of faintly gleaming stones, and outside the wall sat silent watchers: there seemed to be four blackrobed figures seated on black horses, gazing at the tower without moving, as if they had sat there for ever.
He heard the soft fall of hoofs climbing up the hill behind him. The watchers all stirred...
From this point the vision is told in practically the same words as in the previous text, and ends in the same way: 'A light grew in the sky, and there was a noise of thunder.' When Frodo had dreamt the dream at Bree, the light in the sky and the noise of thunder were associated with Trotter's opening the shutters with a clang and the light of morning entering the room.
In this text 'Pippin' is the name that was first written, not a subsequent correction of 'Folco'; see p. 30.
Later (see p. 139, note 36), when the story of Gandalf had been further changed, the description of the
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