Part Two: Bilbo`s Secret

“I was in Hobbiton on a combined errand for my father and to visit you and Frodo.” Merry said, remembering the day he had seen Bilbo put on the Ring. “It was a warm and sunny summer day, and I was quite happy because Da had sent me to see to that a shipment of ropes and tiles were sent back to Buckland as arranged. I was only 18, and I thought it a great responsibility. It was on my way back towards Bag End that I saw you.”

 “I remember. You had visited on your own of course, but that was the first time you had come on Brandybuck business.”

“Yes. I remember that my father had given me a stern talk before I left about being careful and not do anything I was not supposed to.”  Merry chuckled. “He had nothing to fear of course, I would not ruin this by some adventurous escapade. That could wait until I had finished my errand.”

“All right, you saw me on the road, but why did you not come up to me then?”

“Because I saw someone further up the road that I did not want to bump into, and knowing you, neither would you. They were why you put on the Ring.”

“The Sackville-Bagginses?”

“Yes.” Merry said.

“Well. What did you do then?”

“It was just by the Cotton`s farm and if you remember they have a hedge going alongside the fields.” Merry waited for Bilbo to remember. He nodded.

“I got over my surprise at seeing you disappear and slipped inside the hedge and walked along the road on the inside. You were still on the road, standing still I believe. It was not long before the Sackville-Bagginses passed by, and they did not see either of us. They walked past where you stood and after a few moments you reappeared, and from my hiding point I saw something glinting gold.”

“Then what happened?”

“You walked towards Bag End on the road, and I went back into the road after a little while and followed along behind. I wasn’t sure what to say to you, so I didn’t try to catch you up immediately. I finally met up with you on the Hill - I remember Frodo was happy to have both of us home at the same time because he had made his wonderful potato and mushroom pie.”

“Hmm…” Bilbo said, thinking this over. “What did you think when I suddenly disappeared from your sight?”

“I was shocked. I had never seen anything like it, and at first, while I was trying to hide myself properly, I thought there was some truth in what people said about Mad Baggins. But I had heard too many of your stories to believe that there could not be some magic involved. I remember that I did not sleep much that night and Frodo asking me if I was all right the next morning. I had used the night to think, and must have looked a wretch. I understood that it had something to do with your old stories and I got very curious about the business.” He blushed. “I must confess I started to spy on you.”

“What?” Bilbo looked at Merry in amazement. This was almost too much for an old hobbit to manage. “Is nothing safe?” He cried.

Merry couldn`t answer that, and continued with his story. “I admit I spied on both you and Frodo. Remember, this was approximately a year before you left the Shire, and that means that you must have started thinking about leaving soon. It would not be long before Frodo came of age, and you could leave Bag End to him, and be off – here.” Merry said with a gesture towards their surroundings.

“What did you think then, that night when you could not sleep?” Bilbo asked. “You remember everything else quite clearly, surely you remember that too?” He was a little disconcerted by Merry`s tale, but at the same time it amused him to get the knowledge of how Merry had come to know about his Ring. He had been careful with using it, and always looked back and forth and to the sides if he put it on in public. No doubt he had been in such a hurry to escape the S.B.’s that day that he had not looked around carefully enough.

“Yes, I remember that sleepless night.” Merry said. “I thought about the glint of gold that I had seen in the road, and I recalled seeing you fiddle on occasion with a shiny gold ring that you always kept safely on a chain fastened to your waistcoat. A ring that you would tuck away when you realised that you were not alone. I remember that I retold all your stories to myself to see if this ring of yours had ever been mentioned, and it had not. I remembered your riddle game with Gollum and that you never actually told us what you had in your pockets. I realised that it might be that ring. Also, I remembered that you never explained exactly how you floated unseen down to Lake Town in that barrel. The answer seemed simple to me after seeing you vanish in the road. You had a ring that made you disappear!”

“Reasoned out like a true Brandybuck!” Bilbo laughed a little before he became serious again.  “You said you spied on me?”

“Yes. After that day on the road I spied on you, and later on Frodo too, or else I would not have been here. I followed your moves more closely after that day. And as I said, I read your secret book. Just a quick glimpse, but what I saw was wonderful!” Merry`s whole face lit up at the memory. Oh, how he would like another glimpse - or better yet - a thorough read of that book! He wasn`t sure Bilbo would grant him that though, now that he knew all about Merry`s spying and secret reading. On the other hand – maybe Bilbo would let him have his read so that he really knew and stopped guessing.

“Perhaps I’ll let you have a good look at it, now you are here…” Bilbo mused, before fixing his eyes on his young cousin again. “You never told me you had seen the Ring.”

Yes! Merry thought happily to himself, before focusing on the conversation again. “Of course not. It was your secret, and not mine to tell, and I thought it quite exciting to know one of your secrets. I didn`t tell Frodo I knew of the Ring until the night before we left Crickhollow. You were clever in hiding it and in hiding your decision about going off. Frodo wasn`t that clever about it. He kept saying ‘Will I ever look upon that valley again?’ and such things. We could see it wearing on him. He got a sad, faraway look in his eyes, and when we tramped around he drank it all in; the woods and meadows and fields and villages. Your escape was more concealed, and Gandalf tricked everyone with his flash of light when you disappeared at the Party. I remember Grandfather Rory saying that he had suspected you would be going off soon. But because I knew about the Ring, I was probably the only one except Frodo and Gandalf that actually knew what had happened.”

“Hmmm…” Bilbo had not heard much about what happened at the end of the Party, but he knew of course of Gandalf`s dazzling flash of light as it had caught him quite off guard himself.

The old Baggins and the young Brandybuck sat smoking for a while, thinking about days long past, before Bilbo finally broke the silence again.

“Come Merry-lad, tell me about how you discovered my secret book and what you found there! Surely this must be another exciting tale?” Bilbo said, and wriggled in to a more comfortable position on the bench. It would soon be time for tea, but he had to hear this first.