A day later Paladin Took, constables Calamint and Parsnip and three other watchmen from the Bree Watch stood camped on the side of the road about halfway between Bree and Buckland. It was a beautiful location in the countryside, not quite in the middle of nowhere because solitary farm-houses dotted the landscape here and there, but the region between the Shire and Bree-town was mostly uninhabited, and Calamint could not help but think it would be a perfect location for an inn or a hunting lodge, should anyone wish to set up such an establishment here one day.
Calamint had been expecting for something to happen last night, because they would arrive in Buckland this evening and last night had been their first and only night camped out in the open, far from any major settlements. None of the watchmen from Bree had gotten any sleep last night, because Calamint had ordered everyone to be on full alert and ready for anything. But nothing had occurred, and the night had passed uneventfully.
If possible, Calamint was even more nervous now as they were cooking stew for breakfast and getting ready for the last leg of the journey. Paladin was standing on the other side of the wagon, arms akimbo, staring ponderously in the direction of the Old Forest, deep in thought. If the ruffians had not attacked last night, the attack was sure to come today, before they reached Buckland. Calamint could not believe the ruffians would dare to make their move in Buckland, where the shirriffs and bounders patrolled. The hobbits were small in size, perhaps, but they sure knew how to protect their homes and it would take a force much larger than every ruffian in Bree combined to beat them in their own land.
The Gondorian spy, Delioron, had promised to accompany Calamint from Archet to Bree, but when the morning came, the man was nowhere to be seen. The watchmen of Archet told him that the man in brown cloak had left the town in the dead of night. Calamint was not surprised, and he was not disappointed either. In a way he was relieved. He did not trust the Gondorian spy, who was clearly a liar and who knows what else, a man with no honor. Good riddance to him. Calamint was better off without friends like that.
Thistlewood could spare a couple of his watchmen to escort him and Paladin to Bree. It was a fairly short trip, and they had reached the capital of Bree-land by mid-morning. They had stayed there for a while and dined at the Bree-town Jail. The watchmen of Archet had to go back home, but Calamint had called a meeting of constables to ask for a few volunteers to join him to escort Paladin Took safely back to Buckland.
The meeting had been well on the way when Constable Parsnip had arrived, late, but as soon as he had heard what the meeting was about, he had volunteered himself and three of his best men for the duty. Calamint was pleased. Parsnip was perhaps a bit fickle and he had his faults, but he was never boring and Calamint enjoyed his company. Though Parsnip was perhaps not the most honest person he had ever met, he was a competent watchman and when the chips were down, there was no better man to watch your back than Parsnip. Calamint did not know Parsnip’s underlings well, but they seemed like decent enough lads and if Parsnip trusted them, it was good enough for Calamint.
One of Parsnip’s men – a squat and chunky fellow named Liverleaf – was warming his hands by the campfire and whistling happily as the stew was stewing in it's pot. Calamint frowned.
”What are you whistling about, Liverleaf?” he asked the man.
”I have missed camping in the countryside for years, Constable”, he explained, revealing a row of blackened teeth. "Y'see, I was born in the country."
”Don’t get too comfortable”, Calamint warned. ”I’m expecting trouble today. Keep your guard up! We are not on a picnic.”
”Yessir”, Liverleaf grinned. Calamint did not know why, but he did not like the expression on the watchman’s face.
