CHAPTER 10: STRIDER

Back in the parlour, Frodo, Sam, and Pippin discover Strider waiting. Strider offers knowledge and guidance as his “price,” warning that Black Riders have entered Bree and that careless actions have drawn attention. He identifies Bill Ferny and Southern strangers as likely informants and urges abandoning the open road.

Mr. Butterbur arrives with Gandalf’s long-delayed letter, which confirms Strider as a trusted guide and reveals his true name: Aragorn. The letter cautions Frodo not to use the Ring and to make for Rivendell. Confronted, Strider openly declares himself Aragorn son of Arathorn and shows the broken sword, winning Frodo’s guarded trust despite Sam’s doubts.

Aragorn outlines a plan to leave Bree secretly at dawn and head for Weathertop to look for Gandalf and survey the land. He shares his last news of Gandalf, admits grave concern at the wizard’s absence, and stresses that the Riders’ strength is fear and secrecy, not open assault on a lit inn.

Merry then bursts in, reporting a Black Rider in the village and describing a terrifying encounter that left him unconscious; Aragorn names it the Black Breath and suspects Bill Ferny and a Southerner are aiding the Enemy. Fearing an attempt in the night, Aragorn orders the hobbits to avoid their rooms.

With Nob’s help, they create decoy beds and relocate baggage to the parlour. They bar the window and door, douse candles, and settle to keep watch by the fire, hoping to hold out until morning and then slip away under Aragorn’s guidance.