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Harold
After Harold had reunited with his children, he made a point to go find his wife and let her know the injury he'd received from fighting the wolves was only a small scrape. “Don’t worry about me, " he responded with a broad grin. "I'm fit as a fiddle and ready to push on. Why don’t you fix something for May and Henry here? I bet they’re starving.”
After a hug from his wife, Harold remembered another important task that still needed to be done. He wanted to get the chore of apologizing to the Whitfoots out of the way, since he was not exactly looking forward to that. He turned to offer Sarah an explanation before continuing on his way. “As much as I'd love to eat and relax with the family, I have some pressing business with Kalimac that needs tending. After what happened with the wolves, our great hubbub with the Whitfoots looks kind of silly, and I think it’s important we put such trifling scuffles behind us. I've decided to go to Kalimac and apologize for my atrocious behavior. Even thought it could be awkward, it’s the right thing to do. Save some food for when I get back.”
Harold meandered slowly over to Kalimac’s campsite still struggling in his head to find what words to use. He discovered the Fallohide landowner in the midst of an intense conversation with Marcho. Harold hesitated for a moment; he had not planned for Marcho to hear his apology, but finally reasoned that he probably owed some explanation to both of them. Getting up his courage, Harold approached the two Hobbits, tugged on his cap, and politely interrupted, “I am so sorry to horn in on your conversation, but I did need to share something important with Kalimac. Marcho, I think you should hear this too.”
As Marcho and Kalimac looked up, Harold stared resolutely at the ground, a little reluctant to look them squarely in the face. He continued on more slowly. “I’d like to offer my humble apology for my rash actions and words in our argument. And also say thanks for your help to me when I got in trouble with the wolves. In truth, I don’t really know why I got so mad earlier. Lately, I find myself getting upset easily because of everything that’s happened on this trip. It seems I’m risking my family’s life, yet I don’t quite know why."
Harold wondered if he'd said too much and looked nervously over towards Marcho, stammering a bit. "Begging your pardon, sir. I'm sure you know best, of course. It's just that nothing's really changed for myself and the other Harfoot Hobbits. When we reach the White Downs, things won't be much different than they were back in Bree. The Fallohide landlords will still own the land, and I and the other Harfoot will work hard and fork our rents over to them. We won't even own the burrows that we live in. That's fine, I suppose. And I do get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing things grow. Only I could have done all that back in Bree without risking my children's lives"
"I’m sorry Kalimac, but no one ever asked me or my buddies whether or not we wanted to move. There we all were, sitting in the Prancing Pony, quaffing a brew, having a good time, and enjoying ourseves, just like always. Suddenly, the Pony was gone and everything had changed."
"Not that it wasn't a good idea, of course....., things being crowded and such in Bree." Harold respectfully nodded in Marcho's direction. "Still, things like that can nibble at the edge of a Hobbit's mind, and maybe that's part of the reason I got so angry earlier. In any case, I'm very sorry.”
Harold tipped his hat again and then took a step backward. He couldn't tell from the look on Kalimac's face exactly what the Fallohide was thinking, and he didn't want to prolong the situation any further. He quickly walked away, relieved to be done with it but feeling better about himself for taking responsibility for his childish actions. He wasn't so sure about the other things he'd said. He hadn't meant to reveal his inner feelings to Kalimac, but some of his complaints had just come blurting out. And the funny thing is that some of these feelings were probably as new and unexpected to Harold as they were to the people he was telling.
Quickly Harold pushed the uncomfomfortable experience to the side, and concentrated on more immediate matters. His children and wife were safe, which was the most important thing in the world. His stomach growling like a hungry wolf, Harold returned to his family's wagon and joined in the dinner, purposely saying nothing about what had just happened.
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