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    Back in the Shire, Fatty Bolger has been staying in Frodo's Buckland home to make it appear Frodo is there. One night, Black Riders approach the house and attempt to enter. Fatty, however, quickly raises the alarm, and the Black Riders, realizing the Ring is no longer there, ride off. In Bree, Frodo and the others sleep while Strider stays awake, alert and listening. When Strider wakens them in the morning, they find the bolsters placed in their beds as decoys have been destroyed. Butterbur is distraught, and Strider and the hobbits decide to leave at once. After a delay caused by missing ponies, they get on their way with one pony bought from Bill Ferny, a dubious character. Aragorn leads them through the Midgewater Marshes, and they can see, in the distance, something "like lightning." When they get to the hill called Weathertop, Strider thinks the "lightning" they saw might have been caused by Gandalf. That night, five Black Riders attack. Strider and the hobbits defend themselves, but Frodo feels an overpowering desire to put on the Ring. When he does so, a Black Rider stabs him in the left shoulder with a magical blade before Strider can drive the Riders off. Frodo slips the Ring off his finger before falling unconscious.