The House of Tom Bombadil provides warmth and shelter after the frightening experience with the Old Forest. When Frodo lets Bombadil take the Ring, Tom causes it to vanish rather than the other way around. Annoyed, Frodo puts it on, but Tom remains unaffected and tells him to stop playing. Tom sends the hobbits north along the Barrowdowns, but they quickly lose their bearings when fog rolls in. A wight captures Frodo, and he wakes to find himself inside the barrow where the wight is preparing to kill his unconscious friends. Terrified and desperate, Frodo draws upon unexpected resources, attacking the wight and singing a charm Tom had given the hobbits. Tom breaks open the barrow and gives each hobbit a knife from the wight's hoard then leads them safely to the Road.
When they reach The Inn of the Prancing Pony, Frodo uses the name Underhill as a disguise, following Gandalf's advice. Enjoying himself in the common room, Frodo draws unwanted attention when he inadvertently puts on the Ring and vanishes in front of the crowd. Strider the Ranger, who seems to know Frodo's true identity and what he carries, follows them back to their room, where he warns the hobbits that the Black Riders will soon hear of Frodo's stunt, and offers to go with them as a wilderness guide. While the hobbits are still contemplating his offer, put off by his scruffy appearance, Butterbur the innkeeper arrives with a letter from Gandalf that should have been sent weeks earlier. The letter urges Frodo to leave the Shire immediately and identifies Strider as a friend to be trusted. Merry suddenly bursts in with news that a Black Rider is in town. They decide not to sleep in their rooms that night.
