"I have an errand for you, Sam, if you agree to take it," Frodo said after he had seen his guests out the door and sought out his friend in the sitting room. "It may take you away from home for several days, and I know you don't wish to be away, especially now..." Frodo glanced toward the kitchen, where Rosie was washing up the tea-things; when she saw the glance, she looked curious.
Sam felt a momentary reluctance, but he had offered to help Frodo in any way he could, and he meant to stick by it. "What d'you need me to do?" he asked.
"I must find a girl named Betula Root. She was recently employed as a maidservant in a house near Budgeford, but left a few weeks ago. We must trace her whereabouts, without asking her previous employers where she's gone. Mrs. Stillwaters' case requires a great deal of discretion. We can't go to her family with questions. They mustn't even know that she's consulted us. I know I can rely on you both-" Frodo included Rose, who had come into the sitting room while he was speaking, "to hold your tongues."
Sam, he knew he could trust beyond all doubt, but this was the first confidential case Frodo had taken since Rosie had joined his household and he wanted to be sure she understood that nothing she overheard about Camellia Stillwaters should be repeated outside the Bag End.
Rosie nodded solemnly.
"From what Mrs. Stillwaters has told me," Frodo continued, "the first step in retrieving her letters is to find this girl, find out if she has them, and get them back from her if she does. If she didn't take them, she may still be able to help us with our inquiries. She was a servant in the Hall for several months, and could tell us of the household's workings. She might have seen something, or heard gossip about the theft."
"Where do I start looking for her?" Sam asked him.
"I don't know," Frodo admitted. "She may still be in Budgeford, or she might be anywhere in the Shire by now. If she hasn't taken another job, she may have gone home to her family. Do you know anyone named Root, Sam?" Pippin had once joked that Sam knew everybody who lived within fifty miles of Hobbiton, and Frodo suspected it was very nearly true.
"Root?" Sam gave the matter some thought. "There's the Deeproots in Bywater. You know them. And there's the Taproots, as keep that alehouse on the Tuckborough Road."
"And there's Old Farmer Grubroot, who has that little farm down past Three-farthing Stone," Rosie added to be helpful, but none of these were what Frodo wanted.
Sam thought some more. "Wait, now--D'ye remember how we stopped at the Beeshive Tavern in Whitfurrows last spring, Frodo, on our way back from Brandy Hall? The ostler there was just plain Root, and Whitfurrows is right near Budgeford."
"It is indeed!" Frodo exclaimed. He did not remember much about their brief stay at the Beeshive, for he had been ill at the time and stayed in his room. "Did you have a word with him, Sam?"
"That I did, when I took the ponies to the stable--but I couldn't say if this girl you're after is a relative of his," Sam added hastily. "We didn't talk about family."
"Nevertheless, it might be worth asking if he has a daughter or niece in service," said Frodo. "Will you do it?"
"I don't see as I've got much choice," Sam answered. "It needs doing, and if I don't go, you'll go riding off yourself in search of her--and you already had one long journey this week!"
Frodo smiled. "I wouldn't do half as good a job of it as you would, Sam," he rejoined. "Ostlers and maidservants won't tell me their secrets as easily as they would tell you."
"You needn't worry, Sam." Rosie added, supporting Frodo. "Me 'n' Mr. Frodo'll look after each other while you're away."
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