return

1330 the return of the king
Frodo had been in the battle, but he had not drawn sword,
and his chief part had been to prevent the hobbits in their
wrath at their losses, from slaying those of their enemies who
threw down their weapons. When the fighting was over, and
the later labours were ordered, Merry, Pippin, and Sam
joined him, and they rode back with the Cottons. They ate a
late midday meal, and then Frodo said with a sigh: ‘Well, I
suppose it is time now that we dealt with the ‘‘Chief ’’.’
‘Yes indeed; the sooner the better,’ said Merry. ‘And don’t
be too gentle! He’s responsible for bringing in these ruffians,
and for all the evil they have done.’
Farmer Cotton collected an escort of some two dozen
sturdy hobbits. ‘For it’s only a guess that there is no ruffians
left at Bag End,’ he said. ‘We don’t know.’ Then they set out
on foot. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin led the way.
It was one of the saddest hours in their lives. The great
chimney rose up before them; and as they drew near the old
village across the Water, through rows of new mean houses
along each side of the road, they saw the new mill in all its
frowning and dirty ugliness: a great brick building straddling
the stream, which it fouled with a steaming and stinking
outflow. All along the Bywater Road every tree had been
felled.
As they crossed the bridge and looked up the Hill they
gasped. Even Sam’s vision in the Mirror had not prepared
him for what they saw. The Old Grange on the west side had
been knocked down, and its place taken by rows of tarred
sheds. All the chestnuts were gone. The banks and hedgerows
were broken. Great waggons were standing in disorder in a
field beaten bare of grass. Bagshot Row was a yawning sand
and gravel quarry. Bag End up beyond could not be seen for
a clutter of large huts.
‘They’ve cut it down!’ cried Sam. ‘They’ve cut down the
Party Tree!’ He pointed to where the tree had stood under
which Bilbo had made his Farewell Speech. It was lying
lopped and dead in the field. As if this was the last straw Sam
burst into tears.