The Old Forest

The foursome (Bingo, Odo, Frodo, and Marmaduke) were to next set out through the Old Forest. There are snippets of notes. Again, as has been discussed over and over, the bones of the story seem set (the Old Forest is menacing, the Willow-man, the Barrow-wight, etc) but the details are not fully fleshed out yet. Perhaps the most interesting thing about these early notes is their encounter with Tom Bombadil was to be quite brief and after the they were captured in a Barrow.

Farmer Maggot

The next leg of the journey (figuratively and literally) involved Tolkien's writing of Bingo and companies journey to Buckland via Farmer Maggot's land. There are a couple of near misses with the Black Riders and though Gildor's advice from the previous night should have been fresh in Bingo's mind when the travelers reach Maggot's farm he quickly puts on the Ring to disappear. While I get the idea that Bingo is trying to keep the guise that he is already gone from the Shire it seems completely counter intuitive that he should do this given the fact he was warned that putting on the Ring helps the riders more than himself. This is a detail that was gladly worked out before the story was finished.

The good farmer invites Odo and Frodo in for some food and drink and they gladly oblige. After entertaining their host with tales of Bingo's farewell party Maggot told them a strange Black Rider had stopped by his farm earlier in the day asking for a Mr. Bolger-Baggins (Bingo). Maggot felt this was all to do with Bilbo's journey years before and the poor Bingo Bolger should never have gotten involved with the queer (read strange or odd nothing derogatory) folk in Hobbiton. In fact he mentions the odd Hobbitonions several times.

Odo and Frodo decided it was time to leave and Maggot was going to give them a toast to their health when his beer mug suddenly rose up and tilted on it's own before returning to the table. "'Help and save us!' cried the farmer jumping up. 'Did you see that?'" (p. 97, The Return of the Shadow). Needless to say Odo and Frodo were not pleased with Bingo's joke.

After several more hours the friends finally met up with the fourth member of their company in Buckland: Marmaduke Took. He took them across the river (they did spot a Black Rider on the other side after they crossed) and Marmaduke took them to an out of the way house where they were able to have hot baths, hot food, and a good nights rest.

Interesting to me in this chapter was all of the Hobbit banter. For example, at one point in the midst of traveling a conversation about Hobbit architecture comes up. Houses verses holes. One story verses two story houses. It's somewhat entertaining; I'll paraphrase: Bingo talks about wanting an upstairs that he could eat dinner in and watch the stars. But what about taking all the dishes downstairs? Well, he'd just throw them out the window. They'll break. He will have wooden dishes. What about taking it all upstairs? Nevermind. But in the end this banter would be cut. Christopher Tolkien notes that in March 1938, when writing an update to his publisher about the book Tolkien had heard from his two chief critics (C.S. Lewis and the publisher's young son) that there was too much talk in the opening chapters. This must have been somewhat disappointing to Tolkien as he admitted Hobbit talk amused him.

Gollum and the Ring

With the emergence of the Black Riders the significance of Bilbo's magic ring began to increase. The next chapter of Return of the Shadow begins to show this evolution.

There is a snippet of conversation between Bingo and an unnamed Elf (precursor to Gildor) where the Elf warns Bingo that the Lord of the Ring is looking for him to either get the ring back, get the ring back and demand payment, or take the ring and the bearer.

Another snippet offers more ominous information to Bingo (though the speaker here is unidentified). Interesting tidbits include: the keeper of the Ring eventually becomes a ring wraith and some back history on the Ring-lord:

• Many rings were given to Elves and there are many elf-wraiths in the world whom the Ring-lord cannot control
• Goblins had many rings, their wraiths are terrible and fully controlled by the Ring-lord
• Dwarves were thought to have no rings
• Men had few rings and were quickly overcome and fully controlled by the Ring-lord

All of this leads to a what would become the second chapter of The Lord of the Rings. In the first version of the chapter covered by Christopher Tolkien Gandalf is now the speaker explaining to Bingo the history of the ring. I will bullet some of the points I find interesting; mostly for there differences from the final version:

• I like this quote about Gandalf: "Already to him the days of the journey and the Dragon and the Battle of Five Armies began to seem far off--in an almost legendary past" (p. 77, The Return of the Shadow). It's a nice tie into The Hobbit.
• Bingo's gives an affectionate affirmation to Gandalf that illustrates the relationship between the wandering wizard and the Bagginses of Bag-end: "'O dearest and best friend of our house, may your beard never grow less!'" (p. 77, The Return of the Shadow).
• Bilbo's Ring is the only one left and hobbits are the only people the Lord has not mastered
• The Elf rings and wraiths remain the same as the previous snippet. The Goblin wraiths are still present but fewer. 
• The Dwarves now possess 7 rings but they did not become invisible like the other wraiths. But the rings inflamed their greedy lusts and in that way the Lord could control them.
• Men possessed three rings; not given by the Lord but found after being cast away by elves. These they immediately returned to the Lord and served him. 
• All rings were accounted for save Bilbo's which was originally found by Gollum. 
• "It fell from the hand of an elf as he swam across a river; and it betrayed him, for he was flying from pursuit in the old wars, and he became visible to his enemies, and the goblins slew him" (p. 78, The Return of the Shadow). Remarkably this is the story of Isildur's betrayal minus the particular details. 
• In this version the Ring was swallowed by a fish which was driven mad jumping up water falls and the like before spitting the Ring on the bank and dying. A
• And there it was found by Gollum, or rather Dígol, of the fathers of fathers of hobbits. Dígol was always interested in the ground and burrowing and used his new treasure to gather secrets of his family until they disowned him. 
• Eventually, hating the light and alone, Gollum burrowed into a mountain where he could spend his life exploring its roots.
• Gandalf alludes to something "mysterious" behind Bilbo's finding of the Ring which was beyond the design of the Lord of the Rings. 
• Bingo mentions it was a pity Bilbo did not kill Gollum and Gandalf responds quickly, as in The Lord of the Rings, it was pity that stayed his hand--although it lacks the deeper perspective then what was eventually published. 
• Bingo finds it very difficulty to "destroy" the Ring when prodded by Gandalf. But all the same it is decided the Ring must be destroyed. 
• Gandalf encourages Bingo to invite his three best friends on his journey; although it will be remarkably different than Bingo's with no set destination and the goal to lose, not gain, treasure. 

This was a jolly read seeing The Lord of the Rings taking shape.

From Hobbiton to Woody End

Tolkien traced the beginning journey of Bingo and friends in the second chapter of his Hobbit sequel. The companions are making their way through the Shire to pick up a third member when they discover they are being tracked. A Black Rider overtakes them several times; or several Black Riders over take them. They are puzzled and Bingo senses they are after him; though he does not know why. On more than one occasion Bingo puts on the Ring as they draw close to get a better look. During the last encounter the Black Rider dismounts and makes his way toward the hiding hobbits before a company of Elves comes by.

Frodo is overwhelmed with excitement to meet Elves (shades of Sam Gamgee) and Bingo relieved. Odo seems to be a rather drab chap more worried about food and sleep than anything else. Gildor Inglorion calls out to Bingo and after discovering the presence of Black Riders invites the hobbits to travel with his company. Bingo and Gildor have a conversation where the elf is very cryptic. Bingo explains he set out when he did due to running out of money and deciding he'd rather not work for living (he would either find more treasure or live easier with no money on the road).

Gildor seems to be very surprised that Gandalf told the hobbit nothing in regards to leaving or the danger pursuing him. The elf gives Bingo several dark hints and advises him to make for Rivendell but refuses to say more since Gandalf said little.

Christopher Tolkien noted in his commentary on this chapter that: "The 'event' (one might say) was fixed, but its meaning capable of indefinite extension; and this is seen, over and over again, as a prime mark in my father's writing" (p. 71, The Shadow of the Past). Indeed, while the exposition chapter (The Shadow of the Past) had not yet been written much of this chapter would not need to be changed in light of it. While the Black Riders did not disappear after subsequent writings they become more ominous when they first appeared. I am impressed Tolkien's approach of giving more context and gravity to his initial writings as he moved forward in the process.

Germs and Turns

Christopher Tolkien highlighted some of his father's notes in The Return of the Shadow that indicate the various germs of story avenues and unexpected twists and turns that arose as he wrote the first two chapters of a hobbit sequel. I will highlight some of them below with a few tantalizing items that never came to be:

• In one set of notes Bilbo is to leave with 3 Took nephews (Odo, Drogo, and Frodo). 
• They have adventures on their journey: "witch-house on the way to Rivendell" (p. 41, The Return of the Shadow). That could have been a very interesting adventure!
• Odo believe about 25% of Bilbo's tales, Drogo was less skeptical, and Frodo believe nearly everything. 
• The Frodo of the notes is in NO way the forerunner of Frodo of The Lord of the Rings
• Another note details a conversation between father (Bilbo) and son (Bingo): "'Now I have spent all my money which seemed once to me too much and my own as gone after it [sic]. And I don't like being without after [?having] - in fact I am being lured" (p. 41, The Return of the Shadow).
• Bilbo seeks advice from Elrond to cure his dragon-sickness (want of money) and is told of an Island (Tolkien was still, at this point, kicking around a connection to England!) where the Elves still reigned and the rest of the story pointed toward a perilous journey to that isle. 
• Also included are first notes about The Ring: "whence its origin. Necromancer? Not very dangerous when used for good purposes. But it exacts a penalty, You must either lose it, or yourself" (p. 42, The Return of the Shadow). Even his earliest jottings the Ring was more than a simple magic ring. 
• It is Gandalf who advises a disappearance and Bingo (in this set of notes) confides in three friends: Odo, Frodo, and Vigo. As you can see the names are very fluid (and hard to differentiate) at this point. But I found it highly entertaining that for a brief period Vigo was considered as a hobbit name given the fact that Viggo Mortensen played a key role in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
• Other notes point to Bilbo going to Rivendell to cure the dragon-longing but that very longing is passed on to Bingo who possesses the Ring.
• Another set of notes lays out more adventures after the collection of a friend (now Frodo Brandybuck) which include the dubious Old Forest, getting lost, caught by Willowman and Barrow-wights, and the appearance of Tom Bombadil. It should be noted that the latter three pre-existed in poems Tolkien published several years before. 
• A final note reads: "Ring must eventually go back to Maker, or draw you towards it" (p. 43, The Return of the Shadow).

It is very interesting to see the first germs beyond the opening chapter and how many core elements remained. While Tolkien would obsess over details like chronology, names, and word choice is first vision (in many cases) was quite clear. 

Christopher Tolkien released bits of narrative next in the book. Snapshots of the journey of Bingo and his friends toward Rivendell. Some of these narratives would be taken up whole heartedly in what would become the next chapter others were wholly changed. Again, I'll give a few highlights: 

• The Ring is still regarded fairly lightly as Bingo, invisible by wearing it, knocks his friends off a fence. 
• Perhaps the biggest unprecedented turn, that gave Tolkien pause for a season, reads: "'I can hear a horse coming along the road behind!" (p. 47, The Return of the Shadow).
• Remarkably, this first mysterious encounter by a bundled and sniffing rider on a white horse is none-other than Gandalf himself! However, this scrap of narrative ends rather quickly indicating Tolkien gave up the idea of Gandalf showing up rather quickly. 
• But the idea of the surprise rider stayed as evidenced by revisions to the passage: "Round a turn came a white [>black] horse, on it sat a bundle-or that is what it looked like: a small [>short] man wrapped entirely in a  great [added: black] cloak and hood so that only his eyes peered out [. so that his face was entirely shadowed]…" (p. 48, The Return of the Shadow).

So the question becomes who is the mysterious black rider?