'"How
far can you bear me?' I said to Gwaihir.
'"Many leagues," said he, "but not to the ends of the earth.
I was sent to bear tidings, not burdens."
'"Then I must have a steed on land," I said, "and a steed surpassingly
swift, for I have never had such need of haste before."
'"Then I will bear you to Edoras, where
the Lord of Rohan sits in his halls,"
he said; "for that is not very far off." And I was glad, for in the
Riddermark of Rohan the Rohirrim, the horse-lords,
dwell, and there are no horses like those
that are bred in that great vale between the Misty
Mountains and the White.
'"Are the Men of Rohan still to be trusted,
do you think?" I said to Gwaihir,
for the treason of Saruman had shaken my
faith.
'"They pay a tribute of horses," he answered, "and send many
yearly to Mordor, or so it is said; but they
are not yet under the yoke. But if Saruman has become evil, as you say, then
their doom cannot be long delayed."'