Quando Aragorn, Gimli e Legolas encontram os cadáveres dos orcs que eles haviam perseguido até a borda de Fangorn, eles vêem um homem velho vestido de branco:
Suddenly Gimli looked up, and there just on the edge of the fire-light stood an old bent man, leaning on a staff, and wrapped in a great cloak; his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down over his eyes. Gimli sprang up, too amazed for the moment to cry out, thought at once the thought flashed into his mind that Saruman had caught them
Está implícito no livro (embora nunca tenha verificado a AFAIK) que este era Saruman, particularmente desde que Gandalf confirma que não era ele
"You certainly did not see me," answered Gandalf, "therefore I must guess that you saw Saruman."
Então, se fosse de fato Saruman, por que ele viajaria até Fangorn sozinho? Orthanc para Fangorn não é uma viagem curta e ele também tinha o Palantir à sua disposição, então qual é o propósito de ele estar lá (supondo que seja de fato Saruman).
Gandalf disse ao trio quando eles se reuniram
He was so eager to lay his hands on his prey that he could not wait at home, and he came forth to meet and to spy on his messengers. But he came too late, for once, and the battle was over and beyond his help before he reached these parts. He did not remain here long...
Acho que isso responde à sua pergunta.
Em The Treason of Isengard , Christopher Tolkien discute esta passagem brevemente; ele admite que tem dificuldade em reconciliar as narrativas conflitantes, mas propõe a possibilidade de que os Três Caminhantes tenham visto uma visão de Saruman, projetada a partir da mente de Gandalf:
Seja o que for que eles viram, seja originado de Saruman ou Gandalf, o consenso de Tolkien é que ele não era físico, e não havia necessidade de Saruman ter viajado fisicamente para a floresta. p>Against Gandalf's words my father wrote in the margin: Vision of Gandalf's thought. There is clearly an important clue here to the curious ambiguity surrounding the apparition of the night before, if one knew how to interpret it; but these words are not perfectly clear. They obviously represent a new thought: arising perhaps from Gandalf's suggestion that if it was not Saruman himself that they saw it was a 'vision' or 'wraith' that he had made, the apparition is now to emanate from Gandalf himself. But of whom was it a vision? Was it an embodied 'emanation' of Gandalf, proceeding from Gandalf himself, that they saw? 'I look into his unhappy mind and I see his doubt and fear', Gandalf has said; it seems more likely perhaps that through his deep concentration on Saruman he had 'projected' an image of Saruman which the three companions could momentarily see. I have found no other evidence to cast light on this most curious element in the tale
The History of Middle-earth VII The Treason of Isengard Chapter XXIV: "The White Rider"