return

1294 the return of the king
The evening deepened in the room, and the firelight
burned brighter; and they looked at Bilbo as he slept and saw
that his face was smiling. For some time they sat in silence;
and then Sam looking round at the room and the shadows
flickering on the walls, said softly:
‘I don’t think, Mr. Frodo, that he’s done much writing
while we’ve been away. He won’t ever write our story now.’
At that Bilbo opened an eye, almost as if he had heard.
Then he roused himself. ‘You see, I am getting so sleepy,’ he
said. ‘And when I have time to write, I only really like writing
poetry. I wonder, Frodo my dear fellow, if you would very
much mind tidying things up a bit before you go? Collect all
my notes and papers, and my diary too, and take them with
you, if you will. You see, I haven’t much time for the selection
and the arrangement and all that. Get Sam to help, and when
you’ve knocked things into shape, come back, and I’ll run
over it. I won’t be too critical.’
‘Of course I’ll do it!’ said Frodo. ‘And of course I’ll come
back soon: it won’t be dangerous any more. There is a real
king now, and he will soon put the roads in order.’
‘Thank you, my dear fellow!’ said Bilbo. ‘That really is a
very great relief to my mind.’ And with that he fell asleep
again.
The next day Gandalf and the hobbits took leave of Bilbo
in his room, for it was cold out of doors; and then they said
farewell to Elrond and all his household.
As Frodo stood upon the threshold, Elrond wished him a
fair journey, and blessed him, and he said:
‘I think, Frodo, that maybe you will not need to come back,
unless you come very soon. For about this time of the year,
when the leaves are gold before they fall, look for Bilbo in
the woods of the Shire. I shall be with him.’
These words no one else heard, and Frodo kept them to
himself.