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Tollers slumped against the wall and shook his head disapprovingly as he watched the dwarf explode at Cela and stamp out of the room. He totally understood and sympathized with what Cela had been trying to do. When things were going sour, sometimes the best course was to sit down and take a breather. Any self respecting hobbit knows that a good piece of pie and a little break goes far to clear the head. And a clear head would definitely be needed to solve the problem of the missing Ring. Kuric, apparently, did not understand that.
Tollers went back to his work, trotting from table to table while collecting dishes and mopping up the mess. A familiar figure come in and sat down in the back of the room. She was clutching a small baby; two little ones played near her feet.
"Ah, Goodwife Hedgethistle, so happy to see you," Tollers went over and greeted the newcomer with a broad smile. "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you or the little ones all day."
The woman turned a worried face to Tollers and began to explain, "No? I was hoping you'd seen my Tom or Daisy. You see, I've been in my room sewing. There's work I must get done so the pieces can go back to the Brandybucks when the servant brings the wagon up tomorrow. Earlier, I told Daisy to go out with the older children and make sure no one got into any mischief. But it's been hours now and they haven't returned. You know children.... They're probably off lollygagging somewhere, but it's been so long. I was starting to get worried. You're sure you haven't seen them."
Tollers shook his head, "No, very sure. I've been here in the common room and out in the stables. But I haven't seen Daisy or Tom or any of the younger ones."
"It's hard for me, you know. With Master Hedgethistle gone now over a year....it all falls on my head."
Tollers immediately picked up on the cue. "Would you like my help? I'm due for a break, and I'd be glad to go out looking for them. They can't have gotten very far with the younger ones along. I'll just pop my head in some of the rooms and check with the guests to see if anyone's seen them."
"Would you do that? I'd be much obliged. I hate to be a nuisance. They're probably just off playing somewhere, but I'd be much relieved if you could do that."
"Don't worry now. I'll take a look and perhaps ask some others to help me."
Tollers went to the kitchen and brought back a cup of tea for the Mistress and two glasses of milk for the little ones. Then he began wandering through the Inn, carefully searching each floor and asking the guests if they'd noticed a troop of five children sometime that day. The children were usually quite noisy so Tollers figured it wouldn't be long till someone remembered seeing them. Surprisingly, however, all he got were blank stares. Finally, he came to the last room, the one that had been assigned to the Dwarf Kuric. He considered skipping the room and giving up. He would rather not speak with an angry Dwarf. But that didn't seem like the right thing to do.
The hobbit timidly approached the door and softly wrapped on it. He heard a gruff voice inside telling him to enter. He pushed the door open a single inch and whispered through the crack. "Master Dwarf, so sorry to bother you, but something else has gone missing. Five children....the ones who live just across from you....their mother says they've been gone all day, and I'm trying to help find them. I've been up and down every floor with no luck. You wouldn't have seen them by any chance?" he queried. A strange thought suddenly struck Tollers. "You know," he added, "maybe the same person who stole your Ring has also made off with these children...."
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