Now was the dawn fading into full daylight; and between dawn and
sunrise were all men stirring; for the watch had waked the hundred-
leaders, and they the leaders of scores and half-scores, and they the
whole folk; and they sat quietly in the wood and made no noise.
In the night the watch of the Sickle had fallen in with a thrall who
had stolen up from the Dale to set gins for hares, and now in the
early morning they brought him to the War-leader. He was even such a
man as those with whom Face-of-god had fallen in before, neither
better nor worse than most of them: he was sore afraid at first, but
by then he was come to the captains he understood that he had
happened upon friends; but he was dull of comprehension and slow of
speech. Albeit Folk-might gathered from him that the Dusky Men had
some inkling of the onslaught; for he said that they had been
gathering together in the marketplace of Silver-stead, and would do
so again soon. Moreover, the captains deemed from his speech that
those new tribes had come to hand sooner than was looked for, and
were even now in the Dale. Folk-might smiled as one who is not best
pleased when he heard these tidings; but Face-of-god was glad to hear
thereof; for what he loathed most was that the war should drag out in
hunting of scattered bands of the foe.
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