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the houses of healing 1129
bereft of their lords. Éomer rules the Rohirrim. Who shall
rule the City meanwhile? Shall we not send now for the Lord
Aragorn?’
And the cloaked man spoke and said: ‘He is come.’ And
they saw as he stepped into the light of the lantern by the
door that it was Aragorn, wrapped in the grey cloak of Lórien
above his mail, and bearing no other token than the green
stone of Galadriel. ‘I have come because Gandalf begs me to
do so,’ he said. ‘But for the present I am but the Captain of
the Dúnedain of Arnor; and the Lord of Dol Amroth shall
rule the City until Faramir awakes. But it is my counsel that
Gandalf should rule us all in the days that follow and in our
dealings with the Enemy.’ And they agreed upon that.
Then Gandalf said: ‘Let us not stay at the door, for the
time is urgent. Let us enter! For it is only in the coming of
Aragorn that any hope remains for the sick that lie in the
House. Thus spake Ioreth, wise-woman of Gondor: The
hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the
rightful king be known.’
Then Aragorn entered first and the others followed. And
there at the door were two guards in the livery of the Citadel:
one tall, but the other scarce the height of a boy; and when
he saw them he cried aloud in surprise and joy.
‘Strider! How splendid! Do you know, I guessed it was you
in the black ships. But they were all shouting corsairs and
wouldn’t listen to me. How did you do it?’
Aragorn laughed, and took the hobbit by the hand. ‘Well
met indeed!’ he said. ‘But there is not time yet for travellers’
tales.’
But Imrahil said to Éomer: ‘Is it thus that we speak to our
kings? Yet maybe he will wear his crown in some other name!’
And Aragorn hearing him, turned and said: ‘Verily, for in
the high tongue of old I am Elessar, the Elfstone, and Envinyatar,
the Renewer’: and he lifted from his breast the green
stone that lay there. ‘But Strider shall be the name of my
house, if that be ever established. In the high tongue it will