towers

778 the two towers
‘Farewell! Follow fast!’ cried Gandalf. ‘Away, Shadowfax!’
The great horse tossed his head. His flowing tail flicked in
the moonlight. Then he leapt forward, spurning the earth,
and was gone like the north wind from the mountains.
‘A beautiful, restful night!’ said Merry to Aragorn. ‘Some
folk have wonderful luck. He did not want to sleep, and he
wanted to ride with Gandalf – and there he goes! Instead of
being turned into a stone himself to stand here for ever as a
warning.’
‘If you had been the first to lift the Orthanc-stone, and not
he, how would it be now?’ said Aragorn. ‘You might have
done worse. Who can say? But now it is your luck to come
with me, I fear. At once. Go and get ready, and bring anything
that Pippin left behind. Make haste!’
Over the plains Shadowfax was flying, needing no urging
and no guidance. Less than an hour had passed, and they
had reached the Fords of Isen and crossed them. The Mound
of the Riders and its cold spears lay grey behind them.
Pippin was recovering. He was warm, but the wind in his
face was keen and refreshing. He was with Gandalf. The
horror of the Stone and of the hideous shadow over the moon
was fading, things left behind in the mists of the mountains
or in a passing dream. He drew a deep breath.
‘I did not know you rode bare-back, Gandalf,’ he said.
‘You haven’t a saddle or a bridle!’
‘I do not ride elf-fashion, except on Shadowfax,’ said
Gandalf. ‘But Shadowfax will have no harness. You do not
ride Shadowfax: he is willing to carry you – or not. If he is
willing, that is enough. It is then his business to see that you
remain on his back, unless you jump off into the air.’
‘How fast is he going?’ asked Pippin. ‘Fast by the wind,
but very smooth. And how light his footfalls are!’
‘He is running now as fast as the swiftest horse could
gallop,’ answered Gandalf; ‘but that is not fast for him. The
land is rising a little here, and is more broken than it was