"Flight to the Ford" (VII)

Strider is getting anxious. We are almost ten days out from Weathertop, the rain does not stop and we're running low on provisions. As feared, the rain and the hard going are taking their toll on Frodo; his wound is unbearably painful and he is unable to sleep, imagining the black shapes of the servants of the Enemy getting closer to him. Even when he manages to drift into a short sleep and dream about his beloved Shire, the vision seems "faint and dim", and are soon replaced by black shadows. The poison of the knife is taking hold of him.