gaily to the merry tinkle of silver bells at bridle reins.
With these came also the poorer folk, who sat or lay upon the green

grass near the railing that kept them from off the range.
In the great tent the archers were gathering by twos and threes;

some talking loudly of the fair shots each man had made
in his day; some looking well to their bows, drawing a string

betwixt the fingers to see that there was no fray upon it,
or inspecting arrows, shutting one eye and peering down a shaft

to see that it was not warped, but straight and true, for neither
bow nor shaft should fail at such a time and for such a prize.

And never was such a company of yeomen as were gathered
at Nottingham Town that day, for the very best archers

of merry England had come to this shooting match.
There was Gill o' the Red Cap, the Sheriff's own head archer,

and Diccon Cruikshank of Lincoln Town, and Adam o' the Dell,
a man of Tamworth, of threescore years and more, yet hale

and lusty still, who in his time had shot in the famous match
at Woodstock, and had there beaten that renownedarcher, Clym o'

the Clough. And many more famous men of the longbow were there,
whose names have been handed down to us in goodly ballads

of the olden time.
But now all the benches were filled with guests, lord and lady,

burgher and dame, when at last the Sheriff himself came with his lady,
he riding with stately mien upon his milk-white horse and she

upon her brown filly. Upon his head he wore a purplevelvet cap,
and purplevelvet was his robe, all trimmed about with rich ermine;

his jerkin and hose were of sea-green silk, and his shoes
of black velvet, the pointed toes fastened to his garters

with golden chains. A golden chain hung about his neck,
and at his collar was a great carbuncle set in red gold.

His lady was dressed in blue velvet, all trimmed with swan's down.
So they made a gallant sight as they rode along side by side,

and all the people shouted from where they crowded across
the space from the gentlefolk; so the Sheriff and his lady came

to their place, where men-at-arms, with hauberk and spear,
stood about, waiting for them.

Then when the Sheriff and his dame had sat down, he bade his herald wind
upon his silver horn; who thereupon sounded three blasts that came echoing

cheerily back from the gray walls of Nottingham. Then the archers stepped
forth to their places, while all the folks shouted with a mighty voice,

each man calling upon his favorite yeoman. "Red Cap!" cried some;
"Cruikshank!" cried others; "Hey for William o' Leslie!" shouted others

yet again; while ladies waved silken scarfs to urge each yeoman to
do his best.

Then the herald stood forth and loudly proclaimed the rules
of the game as follows:

"Shoot each man from yon mark, which is sevenscore yards and ten from
the target. One arrow shooteth each man first, and from all the archers

shall the ten that shooteth the fairest shafts be chosen for to shoot again.
Two arrows shooteth each man of these ten, then shall the three that shoot

the fairest shafts be chosen for to shoot again. Three arrows shooteth
each man of those three, and to him that shooteth the fairest shafts shall

the prize be given."
Then the Sheriff leaned forward, looking keenly among the press

of archers to find whether Robin Hood was among them; but no one was
there clad in Lincoln green, such as was worn by Robin and his band.

"Nevertheless," said the Sheriff to himself, "he may still
be there, and I miss him among the crowd of other men.

But let me see when but ten men shoot, for I wot he will be among
the ten, or I know him not."

And now the archers shot, each man in turn, and the good folk never saw
such archery as was done that day. Six arrows were within the clout,

four within the black, and only two smote the outer ring; so that when
the last arrow sped and struck the target, all the people shouted aloud,

for it was noble shooting.
And now but ten men were left of all those that had shot before,

and of these ten, six were famous throughout the land, and most
of the folk gathered there knew them. These six men were Gilbert o'

the Red Cap, Adam o' the Dell, Diccon Cruikshank, William o'
Leslie, Hubert o' Cloud, and Swithin o' Hertford. Two others were

yeomen of merry Yorkshire, another was a tall stranger in blue,
who said he came from London Town, and the last was a tattered

stranger in scarlet, who wore a patch over one eye.
"Now," quoth the Sheriff to a man-at-arms who stood near him,

"seest thou Robin Hood among those ten?"
"Nay, that do I not, Your Worship," answered the man.

"Six of them I know right well. Of those Yorkshire yeomen,
one is too tall and the other too short for that bold knave.

Robin's beard is as yellow as gold, while yon tattered beggar
in scarlet hath a beard of brown, besides being blind of one eye.

As for the stranger in blue, Robin's shoulders, I ween,
are three inches broader than his."

"Then," quoth the Sheriff, smiting his thigh angrily, "yon knave
is a coward as well as a rogue, and dares not show his face among

good men and true."
Then, after they had rested a short time, those ten stout men stepped

forth to shoot again. Each man shot two arrows, and as they shot,
not a word was spoken, but all the crowd watched with scarce a breath

of sound; but when the last had shot his arrow another great shout arose,
while many cast their caps aloft for joy of such marvelous shooting.

"Now by our gracious Lady fair," quoth old Sir Amyas o'
the Dell, who, bowed with fourscore years and more, sat near

the Sheriff, "ne'er saw I such archery in all my life before,
yet have I seen the best hands at the longbow for threescore

years and more."
And now but three men were left of all those that had shot before.

One was Gill o' the Red Cap, one the tattered stranger in scarlet,
and one Adam o' the Dell of Tamworth Town. Then all the people

called aloud, some crying, "Ho for Gilbert o' the Red Cap!"
and some, "Hey for stout Adam o' Tamworth!" But not a single

man in the crowd called upon the stranger in scarlet.
"Now, shoot thou well, Gilbert," cried the Sheriff, "and if thine

be the best shaft, fivescore broad silver pennies will I give
to thee beside the prize."

"Truly I will do my best," quoth Gilbert right sturdily.
"A man cannot do aught but his best, but that will I strive

to do this day." So saying, he drew forth a fair smooth arrow
with a broad feather and fitted it deftly to the string,

then drawing his bow with care he sped the shaft.
Straight flew the arrow and lit fairly in the clout,

a finger's-breadth from the center. "A Gilbert, a Gilbert!"
shouted all the crowd; and, "Now, by my faith," cried the Sheriff,

smiting his hands together, "that is a shrewd shot."
Then the tattered stranger stepped forth, and all the people laughed

as they saw a yellow patch that showed beneath his arm when he raised
his elbow to shoot, and also to see him aim with but one eye.

He drew the good yew bow quickly, and quickly loosed a shaft;
so short was the time that no man could draw a breath betwixt

the drawing and the shooting; yet his arrow lodged nearer the center
than the other by twice the length of a barleycorn.

"Now by all the saints in Paradise!" cried the Sheriff,
"that is a lovely shaft in very truth!"

Then Adam o' the Dell shot, carefully and cautiously, and his