Who was the old man?

[alatar]

Originally Posted by The Might

But alatar, the big problem here is that Saruman does nothing at all to fight against the three. He would have recognized them and I have no doubt he knew he could take them down. He was no coward, he faced Gandalf the Grey and so the Three Hunters would quickly be done with. Why should he not have done it? It would end any possibility for Gondor to have a new king and it would weaken Rohan as they would not receive any help from the three.

Is simply makes no sense at all for Saruman himself to see them and then just go away.

You may be confused regarding Saruman's knowledge regarding the Three Hunters. He learns all about them via Grima, who learns who these three are when they reach Theoden's door. When Saruman sees the three in the forest, he sees not his Uruks (for which he hoped) nor any hobbits (for which he salivated), just three odd travelers perhaps. Now, having recently commanded his orcs to cut trees from Fangorn, he knows that he's behind enemy lines and so cannot spend too much time on what appears a worthless interrogation. And surely these three played no part in the slaughter and burning of his forces - three against three hundred?

Didn't one of the hobbits remark that Saruman had no real courage (though they were somewhat mistaken)?

If it's not Saruman, then what be the case for it to be anyone else?