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As the various clocks began to chime for nine o'clock,
the guests began to move to the drawing room. Sir Elrond
appeared in a magnificent Turkish smoking jacket. He
motioned to the servants to clear away the days flowers
on the table, to another to refill the humidor with
cigarettes. Then he escorted in a magnificent looking
woman in a long flowing white satin dress.
Doctor Gandalf appeared next to me. He straightened
his moustaches, and indicated the woman with the end
of his cane. "You have no doubt noticed the Lady Arwen
Undomiel. What you might call a devastating beauty,
is she not? And, I fear, there will be devastation enough
before this affair is over. She has a definite air of
Luthien Tinuviel about her, do you not think?".
I vaguely remembered the songs of Luthien and Beren,
but could not see the connection. He then indicated
the tall ranger, who was opposite her. His white waistcoat
and shirt made him look wilder and more tanned if that
were possible. On his left hand he wore a ring with
a large green stone. "Ah! Frodo! Notice, please, his
ring. An elf-stone if I do not mistake. He is clever,
that one."
"Is he your Beren, Gandalf? They hardly seem matched
to me. She is a society beauty and the heir to millions,
and he is only one of these wild northern rangers. I
think her father would have a thing or two to say about
that. You are getting a bit fanciful, in your old age."
"Mybe, my dear Frodo, maybe." he replied, gently. "Time
alone will tell. And now, to business I think". He tapped
lightly on the table to get everyone's attention, and
then he addressed the company.
"Thank you all for coming here this evening. I felt
it was appropriate to address all of you, elves, dwarves,
Men of Gondor, Men of the Northlands, and, yes, even
Halflings who have concerns about the nature of Isildur's
Bane."
"We have all heard the conflicting reports of the death
of Isildur, and there are a number of points I would
bring to your particulr attention. Isildur gained the
Ring of Power from Sauron. However, the terms under
which he gained that ring include some unusual codicils
to the effect that he may not use the ring except in
the performance of the will of Sauron. If Sauron is
dead, then he is surely free to use it as he wishes.
Any yet, Isildur, the great warrior, and now possessor
of the Ruling Ring is defeated by a greatly inferior
foe. Strange, is it not?"
"Just a moment" said Legolas, the elf. "Are you saying
that the ring is still somehow under the control of
Sauron, even though he is dead?"
"No, I am saying that the ring is somehow under the
control of Sauron, because he is alive!" A frisson of
shock ran around the room. "Sauron perished in the battle,
yet left no corpse. The one who styles himself the Necromancer
in Mirkwood is ageless, yet there is no history of his
youth. Each of these facts is a paradox, yet put them
together, and you have the solution. The Necromancer
and Sauron are one and the same. And the bane of Isildur
is here in this room. Frodo, if you please..."
I stood up, and took the chain off my neck. There was
a gasp from the company, as the ring glinted.in the
light. Then, suddenly, the lights all went out. I felt
the thin chain torn roughly from my grasp. There were
footsteps, the sound of a door opening and closing,
and then the lights returned.
"Gandalf!" I cried "The ring has been taken!". Sir Elrond
immediately took command of the situation. He ordered
us to all stay in the room, dashed out, and shouted
for the servants to secure the gates. But, even as he
spoke, I fancied I could hear the gallop of a great
Rohan horse from the stables.
"Fortunately, I had anticipated this." said Gandalf,
and he produced another ring on a chain from a pocket
in his waistcoat. "I would be remiss in my duty as an
Istari if I left a ring of power in the possession of
an unconscious halfling for two weeks. I had suspected
that there were members of our company who might wish
to use the ring for their own purposes. I.took the precaution
of substituting a copy for the ring white Frodo was
unconscious. Our thief has a worthless piece of yellow
metal. Here is your true ring back, Frodo". He winked.
"Take better care of it this time, eh?"
"But, who took the ring?" said Sir Elrond "We are all
still here!". I looked about - Boromir, Gimli, Sir Elrond,
Lady Arwen, Legolas, Strider, there we were, all of
us. "Could someone have thrown the ring from the window
to a waiting accomplice?"
"No, that did not happen, I think" said Gandalf. He
steepled his hands and stared at his fingertips. "A
ring bearer will not give up his prize to a confederate,
no matter how trusted. So, now we have a crime, but
no criminal. This, I did not anticipate". Gandalf paced
the room, then cried out "Oh, but it is so obvious!
I must be getting as old as Frodo thinks I am. I can
easily show you how it was done, with the help of Faramir
here". he touched Boromir on the shoulder with his cane.
Faramir recovered quickly, but too late. He paused,
and then started speaking slowly and carefully. "Alright,
I will tell you everything, as you seem to know it all
anyway. My brother wished to take the ring back to Minas
Tirith. He was ambitious. He wanted to be a great general
in the eyes of my father. I would not help him take
the ring. He said he did not need my help. but if I
cared for the good name of our family, then I could
take his place when the deed was done, and no-one would
ever need know. Now, all is lost". he hung his head.
"Nothing important has been lost" said Sir Elrond, smiling
and taking Faramir by the shoulder. "Thanks to Gandalf
here, we still have the ring. We know you would not
take it - not if you found it by the roadside. If the
present company agrees, I think we can just forget this
ever happened."