towers

the palantír 775
There is no lie in your eyes, as I feared. But he did not
speak long with you. A fool, but an honest fool, you remain,
Peregrin Took. Wiser ones might have done worse in such a
pass. But mark this! You have been saved, and all your friends
too, mainly by good fortune, as it is called. You cannot count
on it a second time. If he had questioned you, then and there,
almost certainly you would have told all that you know, to
the ruin of us all. But he was too eager. He did not want
information only: he wanted you, quickly, so that he could
deal with you in the Dark Tower, slowly. Don’t shudder! If
you will meddle in the affairs of Wizards, you must be prepared
to think of such things. But come! I forgive you. Be
comforted! Things have not turned out as evilly as they
might.’
He lifted Pippin gently and carried him back to his bed.
Merry followed, and sat down beside him. ‘Lie there and
rest, if you can, Pippin!’ said Gandalf. ‘Trust me. If you feel
an itch in your palms again, tell me of it! Such things can be
cured. But anyway, my dear hobbit, don’t put a lump of rock
under my elbow again! Now, I will leave you two together
for a while.’
With that Gandalf returned to the others, who were still
standing by the Orthanc-stone in troubled thought. ‘Peril
comes in the night when least expected,’ he said. ‘We have
had a narrow escape!’
‘How is the hobbit, Pippin?’ asked Aragorn.
‘I think all will be well now,’ answered Gandalf. ‘He was
not held long, and hobbits have an amazing power of recovery.
The memory, or the horror of it, will probably fade
quickly. Too quickly, perhaps. Will you, Aragorn, take the
Orthanc-stone and guard it? It is a dangerous charge.’
‘Dangerous indeed, but not to all,’ said Aragorn. ‘There is
one who may claim it by right. For this assuredly is the
palantír of Orthanc from the treasury of Elendil, set here by
the Kings of Gondor. Now my hour draws near. I will take it.’
Gandalf looked at Aragorn, and then, to the surprise of the