Will you have Trotter?

The story moves forward with two versions of Trotter's conversation with Bingo regarding the hobbit's predicament. Trotter offers to give Bingo additional information for the promise of a reward: taking the ranger-hobbit with him. Essentially asking Bingo: will you have Trotter?

In version A Trotter begins telling his tale to Bingo, Odo, and Frodo (Merry is still outside the Inn taking in some fresh air). He tells them that a few days prior he avoided being seen by Gandalf and friends (assortment of dwarves and elves) and overheard their conversation about Bingo and his traveling companions. Bingo tried to keep calm that this wild hobbit knows more than he was comfortable with and the fact that he seemed to be quite the eavesdropper. But the conversation was interrupted by the Barnabus Butterbur, the inn keeper. 

Butterbur began to tell Bingo of more strange events: chiefly how Gandalf stopped by the inn and asked him to watch for four traveling hobbits with five ponies. What's more--he had heard that request before as Black Riders asked him to watch for four hobbits with five ponies. They offered him much gold if he would tell them the whereabouts of the hobbits. 

Butterbur left and Trotter confirmed he was going to say much of the same and that there were seven total Black Riders by his count.  He also told Bingo there were plenty of characters in Bree who would gladly sell Bingo's whereabouts to the Riders. When Trotter turned his attention to the Riders: "He shuddered, and they saw with surprise that he had drawn his hood over his face which was buried in his hands" (p. 153, The Return of the Shadow). He stayed like this for some moments before the fit passed. And Trotter then asked Bingo if he would have him. 

Bingo did not like the look of Trotter and yet something felt familiar about him. Frodo was for Trotter voting to take him on and (rightly) recognizing the ranger would be able to track them even if they didn't. As Bingo deliberated  Trotter produced a letter (short, sweet, and to the point--no all who wander are not lost poetry) from Gandalf confirming the Wizard's trust in the ranger. Bingo immediately trusted Trotter and asked why he didn't start with the letter and why he invented the tale of eavesdropping on Gandalf. Trotter was hopeful that the hobbits would trust him without added confirmation and it was true about eavesdropping on the Wizard as he gave Gandalf quite a fright when he jumped up. 

Version B is virtually identical to A with a couple of differences (that I find interesting):

• Butterbur produces the letter from Gandalf to Bingo, not Trotter (although it is not read right away)
• The encounter with the Black Riders where they offer gold is with Trotter not Butterbur

Lastly, in version's A and B Trotter explicitly calls Butterbur a hobbit. Much different than the absent minded man in the published stories (although, his absent mindedness is not altogether absent in these early versions).