A hundredth re-read of the LotR

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Okay, so I just want to show that I'm not crazy. Anyway, here are direct quotes from "Three is Company" that made me think that 'sniffing' was to be a big deal (and note the emphasis seen is from the original text - not added):

• From inside the hood came a noise as of someone sniffing to catch an elusive scent; the head turned from side to side of the road.

• 'I can't say why, but I felt certain he was looking or smelling for me;

• 'What about the smelling, sir?' said Sam.

• 'Your talk of sniffing riders with invisible noses has unsettled me.'

• 'Very well!' said Pippin. 'But don't forget the sniffing!'

• Frodo thought he heard the sound of snuffling.

We get more in 'A Short Cut to Mushrooms'. And after all of this, the explanation we learn is (to jump ahead to the chapter "A Knife in the Dark'):

Originally Posted by Strider on Weathertop

And at all times they smell the blood of living things, desiring and hating it.

Almost as anticlimatic as this post.