: : : I appreciate the thoughtful replies to the Boromir question. It looks to me as though people have given this a lot of thought. But none of you (so far, as of this writing) have suggested what the Orcs would have done if they hadn't found Merry or Pippin. They were under orders to seize any Hobbits and carry them off. Would they have stopped looking, or might they have crossed the river after Frodo and Sam?

: : : How could that have impacted the story, do you think?

: : The story would have been over if the Orcs began chasing after Frodo and Sam, unless they were once again saved by the eagles. But with the Ring on Frodo still might have made his escape, though I doubt he would have left Sam to fight off the orcs. It is my understanding that the orcs could outrun the boat, so even if they just ran ahead some distance they could have probably snared the two Hobbits. I really think the story only works as Tolkien wrote it (at least this scene). Without the orcs finding Merry and Pippin and having such a hard battle against Boromir, thus making them more interested in grabbing any Hobbits and departing quickly, we are left with scenarios that don't hold much water or put the heroes in too much danger.

: I've gotta disagree that the story would be over if Frodo or Sam had been captured by the Orcs, after all they REALLY were captured at Cirith Ungol and still managed to escape.

As I thought about your reply I realized that I too had forgotten that Merry and Pippion also escaped. If Frodo and Sam had been captured quickly they might have had the same experience as the other two Hobbits, ending up crawling away from a battle and ending up in Fangorn Forest. This would have been (possibly) disasterous in any event. Frodo needed to go foreward toward Mordor, not backward. With the time line being changed, that is Frodo arriving later than he did, his quest may or may not have succeeded. And what about Gollum? Wasn't he following at that time? Could Gollum keep up with a fast moving band of Uruks? And what part might he have played in Fangorn? I have a feeling that Gollum would not have lasted long in Fangorn - if he wasn't wary enough to stay out. But then that leaves him more or less in the open. Assuming he enters the forest would the Ents left him alone, merely watching him, or would he have suffered the fate of the Orc's at Helm's Deep? If Gollum were captured or killed or even lost Frodo's trail the quest, as we know it, would have failed.