The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings #2)(71)

They all fell silent for a while. Gimli re-filled his pipe. ‘There is one thing I wonder about,’ he said as he lit it with his flint and tinder: ‘Wormtongue. You told Théoden he was with Saruman. How did he get there?’

‘Oh yes, I forgot about him,’ said Pippin. ‘He did not get here till this morning. We had just lit the fire and had some breakfast when Treebeard appeared again. We heard him hooming and calling our names outside.

‘ ‘‘I have just come round to see how you are faring, my lads,’’ he said; ‘‘and to give you some news. Huorns have come back. All’s well; aye very well indeed!’’ he laughed, and slapped his thighs. ‘‘No more Orcs in Isengard, no more axes! And there will be folk coming up from the South before the day is old; some that you may be glad to see.’’

‘He had hardly said that, when we heard the sound of hoofs on the road. We rushed out before the gates, and I stood and stared, half expecting to see Strider and Gandalf come riding up at the head of an army. But out of the mist there rode a man on an old tired horse; and he looked a queer twisted sort of creature himself. There was no one else. When he came out of the mist and suddenly saw all the ruin and wreckage in front of him, he sat and gaped, and his face went almost green. He was so bewildered that he did not seem to notice us at first. When he did, he gave a cry, and tried to turn his horse round and ride off. But Treebeard took three strides, put out a long arm, and lifted him out of the saddle. His horse bolted in terror, and he grovelled on the ground. He said he was Gríma, friend and counsellor of the king, and had been sent with important messages from Théoden to Saruman.

‘ ‘‘No one else would dare to ride through the open land, so full of foul Orcs,’’ he said, ‘‘so I was sent. And I have had a perilous journey, and I am hungry and weary. I fled far north out of my way, pursued by wolves.’’

‘I caught the sidelong looks he gave to Treebeard, and I said to myself ‘‘liar’’. Treebeard looked at him in his long slow way for several minutes, till the wretched man was squirming on the floor. Then at last he said: ‘‘Ha, hm, I was expecting you, Master Wormtongue.’’ The man started at that name. ‘‘Gandalf got here first. So I know as much about you as I need, and I know what to do with you. Put all the rats in one trap, said Gandalf; and I will. I am the master of Isengard now, but Saruman is locked in his tower; and you can go there and give him all the messages that you can think of.’’

‘ ‘‘Let me go, let me go!’’ said Wormtongue. ‘‘I know the way.’’

‘ ‘‘You knew the way, I don’t doubt,’’ said Treebeard. ‘‘But things have changed here a little. Go and see!’’

‘He let Wormtongue go, and he limped off through the arch, with us close behind, until he came inside the ring and could see all the floods that lay between him and Orthanc. Then he turned to us.

‘ ‘‘Let me go away!’’ he whined. ‘‘Let me go away! My messages are useless now.’’

‘ ‘‘They are indeed,’’ said Treebeard. ‘‘But you have only two choices: to stay with me until Gandalf and your master arrive; or to cross the water. Which will you have?’’

‘The man shivered at the mention of his master, and put a foot into the water; but he drew back. ‘‘I cannot swim,’’ he said.

‘ ‘‘The water is not deep,’’ said Treebeard. ‘‘It is dirty, but that will not harm you, Master Wormtongue. In you go now!’’

‘With that the wretch floundered off into the flood. It rose up nearly to his neck before he got too far away for me to see him. The last I saw of him was clinging to some old barrel or piece of wood. But Treebeard waded after him, and watched his progress.

‘ ‘‘Well, he has gone in,’’ he said when he returned. ‘‘I saw him crawling up the steps like a draggled rat. There is someone in the tower still: a hand came out and pulled him in. So there he is, and I hope the welcome is to his liking. Now I must go and wash myself clean of the slime. I’ll be away up on the north side, if anyone wants to see me. There is no clean water down here fit for an Ent to drink, or to bathe in. So I will ask you two lads to keep a watch at the gate for the folk that are coming. There’ll be the Lord of the Fields of Rohan, mark you! You must welcome him as well as you know how: his men have fought a great fight with the Orcs. Maybe, you know the right fashion of Men’s words for such a lord, better than Ents. There have been many lords in the green fields in my time, and I have never learned their speech or their names. They will be wanting man-food, and you know all about that, I guess. So find what you think is fit for a king to eat, if you can.’’ And that is the end of the story. Though I should like to know who this Wormtongue is. Was he really the king’s counsellor?’

‘He was,’ said Aragorn; ‘and also Saruman’s spy and servant in Rohan. Fate has not been kinder to him than he deserves. The sight of the ruin of all that he thought so strong and magnificent must have been almost punishment enough. But I fear that worse awaits him.’

‘Yes, I don’t suppose Treebeard sent him to Orthanc out of kindness,’ said Merry. ‘He seemed rather grimly delighted with the business, and was laughing to himself when he went to get his bathe and drink. We spent a busy time after that, searching the flotsam, and rummaging about. We found two or three store-rooms in different places nearby, above the flood-level. But Treebeard sent some Ents down, and they carried off a great deal of the stuff.