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and with them came many that had been onlookers at the sport,

for the same purpose. Thus it happened presently that the yeomen,
to whom Gilbert stood talking, were all surrounded by a crowd

of people that formed a ring about them.
After a while the three judges that had the giving away of the prizes

came forward, and the chief of them all spake to Robin and said,
"According to agreement, the first prize belongeth rightly to thee;

so here I give thee the silver bugle, here the quiver of ten golden arrows,
and here a purse of twoscore and ten golden pounds." And as he spake

he handed those things to Robin, and then turned to Little John. "To thee,"
he said, "belongeth the second prize, to wit, fivescore of the finest harts

that run on Dallen Lea. Thou mayest shoot them whensoever thou dost list."
Last of all he turned to stout Hubert. "Thou," said he, "hast held

thine own against the yeomen with whom thou didst shoot, and so thou
hast kept the prize duly thine, to wit, two tuns of good Rhenish wine.

These shall be delivered to thee whensoever thou dost list."
Then he called upon the other seven of the King's archers who had last shot,

and gave each fourscore silver pennies.
Then up spake Robin, and quoth he, "This silver bugle I keep in honor

of this shooting match; but thou, Gilbert, art the best archer of all
the King's guard, and to thee I freely give this purse of gold.

Take it, man, and would it were ten times as much, for thou art
a right yeoman, good and true. Furthermore, to each of the ten

that last shot I give one of these golden shafts apiece.
Keep them always by you, so that ye may tell your grandchildren,

an ye are ever blessed with them, that ye are the very stoutest
yeomen in all the wide world."

At this all shouted aloud, for it pleased them to hear Robin
speak so of them.

Then up spake Little John. "Good friend Tepus," said he, "I want
not those harts of Dallen Lea that yon stout judge spoke of but now,

for in truth we have enow and more than enow in our own country.
Twoscore and ten I give to thee for thine own shooting, and five

I give to each band for their pleasure.
At this another great shout went up, and many tossed their caps aloft,

and swore among themselves that no better fellows ever walked the sod
than Robin Hood and his stout yeomen.

While they so shouted with loud voices, a tall burly yeoman
of the King's guard came forward and plucked Robin by the sleeve.

"Good master," quoth he, "I have somewhat to tell thee in thine ear;
a silly thing, God wot, for one stout yeoman to tell another;

but a young peacock of a page, one Richard Partington, was seeking thee
without avail in the crowd, and, not being able to find thee, told me

that he bore a message to thee from a certain lady that thou wottest of.
This message he bade me tell thee privily, word for word, and thus it was.

Let me see--I trust I have forgot it not--yea, thus it was:
`The lion growls. Beware thy head.' "

"Is it so?" quoth Robin, starting; for he knew right well that it was
the Queen sent the message, and that she spake of the King's wrath.

"Now, I thank thee, good fellow, for thou hast done me greater service
than thou knowest of this day." Then he called his three yeomen together

and told them privately that they had best be jogging, as it was like to
be ill for them so nigh merry London Town. So, without tarrying longer,

they made their way through the crowd until they had come out from the press.
Then, without stopping, they left London Town and started away northward.

The Chase of Robin Hood
SO ROBIN HOOD and the others left the archery range at Finsbury Fields,

and, tarrying not, set forth straightway upon their homeward journey.
It was well for them that they did so, for they had not gone more

than three or four miles upon their way when six of the yeomen of
the King's guard came bustling among the crowd that still lingered,

seeking for Robin and his men, to seize upon them and make them prisoners.
Truly, it was an ill-done thing in the King to break his promise,

but it all came about through the Bishop of Hereford's doing,
for thus it happened:

After the King left the archery ground, he went straightway to his cabinet,
and with him went the Bishop of Hereford and Sir Robert Lee;

but the King said never a word to these two, but sat gnawing his
nether lip, for his heart was galled within him by what had happened.

At last the Bishop of Hereford spoke, in a low, sorrowful voice:
"It is a sad thing, Your Majesty, that this knavish outlaw should be let

to escape in this wise; for, let him but get back to Sherwood Forest
safe and sound, and he may snap his fingers at king and king's men."

At these words the King raised his eyes and looked grimly upon
the Bishop. "Sayst thou so?" quoth he. "Now, I will show thee,

in good time, how much thou dost err, for, when the forty days
are past and gone, I will seize upon this thieving outlaw,

if I have to tear down all of Sherwood to find him.
Thinkest thou that the laws of the King of England are to be

so evaded by one poor knave without friends or money?"
Then the Bishop spoke again, in his soft, smooth voice:

"Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty, and believe that I have nought
but the good of England and Your Majesty's desirings at heart;

but what would it boot though my gracious lord did root up every tree
of Sherwood? Are there not other places for Robin Hood's hiding?

Cannock Chase is not far from Sherwood, and the great Forest of Arden
is not far from Cannock Chase. Beside these are many other woodlands

in Nottingham and Derby, Lincoln and York, amid any of which
Your Majesty might as well think to seize upon Robin Hood as to lay

finger upon a rat among the dust and broken things of a garret.
Nay, my gracious lord, if he doth once plant foot in the woodland,

he is lost to the law forever."
At these words the King tapped his fingertips upon the table beside

him with vexation. "What wouldst thou have me do, Bishop?" quoth he.
"Didst thou not hear me pledge my word to the Queen? Thy talk is

as barren as the wind from the bellows upon dead coals."
"Far be it from me," said the cunning Bishop, "to point the way

to one so clear-sighted as Your Majesty; but, were I the King
of England, I should look upon the matter in this wise:

I have promised my Queen, let us say, that for forty days
the cunningest rogue in all England shall have freedom

to come and go; but, lo! I find this outlaw in my grasp;
shall I, then, foolishly cling to a promise so hastily given?

Suppose that I had promised to do Her Majesty's bidding,
whereupon she bade me to slay myself; should I, then, shut mine

eyes and run blindly upon my sword? Thus would I argue
within myself. Moreover, I would say unto myself, a woman knoweth

nought of the great things appertaining to state government;
and, likewise, I know a woman is ever prone to take up a fancy,

even as she would pluck a daisy from the roadside, and then throw
it away when the savor is gone; therefore, though she hath taken

a fancy to this outlaw, it will soon wane away and be forgotten.
As for me, I have the greatest villain in all England in my grasp;

shall I, then, open my hand and let him slip betwixt my fingers?
Thus, Your Majesty, would I say to myself, were I the King

of England." So the Bishop talked, and the King lent his
ear to his evil counsel, until, after a while, he turned to

Sir Robert Lee and bade him send six of the yeomen of the guard
to take Robin Hood and his three men prisoners.

Now Sir Robert Lee was a gentle and noble knight, and he felt grieved to
the heart to see the King so break his promise; nevertheless, he said nothing,

for he saw how bitterly the King was set against Robin Hood; but he did not
send the yeomen of the guard at once, but went first to the Queen, and told

her all that had passed, and bade her send word to Robin of his danger.
This he did not for the well-being of Robin Hood, but because he would save

his lord's honor if he could. Thus it came about that when, after a while,
the yeomen of the guard went to the archery field, they found not Robin

and the others, and so got no cakes at that fair.
The afternoon was already well-nigh gone when Robin Hood, Little John, Will,

and Allan set forth upon their homeward way, trudging along merrily
through the yellow slanting light, which speedily changed to rosy

red as the sun sank low in the heavens. The shadows grew long,
and finally merged into the grayness of the mellow twilight.

The dusty highway lay all white betwixt the dark hedgerows, and along it
walked four fellows like four shadows, the pat of their feet sounding loud,

and their voices, as they talked, ringing clear upon the silence of the air.
The great round moon was floating breathlessly up in the eastern sky

when they saw before them the twinkling lights of Barnet Town, some ten
or twelve miles from London. Down they walked through the stony streets

and past the cosy houses with overhanging gables, before the doors
of which sat the burghers and craftsmen in the mellowmoonlight,

with their families about them, and so came at last, on the other side
of the hamlet, to a little inn, all shaded with roses and woodbines.

Before this inn Robin Hood stopped, for the spot pleased him well.
Quoth he, "Here will we take up our inn and rest for the night,

for we are well away from London Town and our King's wrath.
Moreover, if I mistake not, we will find sweet faring within.

What say ye, lads?"
"In sooth, good master," quoth Little John, "thy bidding

and my doing ever fit together like cakes and ale.
Let us in, I say also."

Then up spake Will Scarlet: "I am ever ready to do what thou sayest, uncle,
yet I could wish that we were farther upon our way ere we rest for the night.

Nevertheless, if thou thinkest best, let us in for the night, say I also."
So in they went and called for the best that the place afforded.

Then a right good feast was set before them, with two stout bottles
of old sack to wash it down withal. These things were served

by as plump and buxom a lass as you could find in all the land,
so that Little John, who always had an eye for a fair lass, even when

meat and drink were by, stuck his arms akimbo and fixed his eyes
upon her, winking sweetlywhenever he saw her looking toward him.

Then you should have seen how the lass twittered with laughter,
and how she looked at Little John out of the corners of her eyes,

a dimple coming in either cheek; for the fellow had always a taking
way with the womenfolk.

So the feast passed merrily, and never had that inn seen
such lusty feeders as these four stout fellows; but at last

they were done their eating, though it seemed as though they
never would have ended, and sat loitering over the sack.

As they so sat, the landlord came in of a sudden, and said
that there was one at the door, a certain young esquire,

Richard Partington, of the Queen's household, who wished to see
the lad in blue, and speak with him, without loss of time.

So Robin arose quickly, and, bidding the landlord not to follow him,
left the others gazing at one another, and wondering what was

about to happen.
When Robin came out of the inn, he found young Richard Partington sitting

upon his horse in the white moonlight, awaiting his coming.
"What news bearest thou, Sir Page?" said Robin. "I trust that it

is not of an ill nature."
"Why," said young Partington, "for the matter of that, it is ill enow.

The King hath been bitterly stirred up against thee by that vile
Bishop of Hereford. He sent to arrest thee at the archery butts

at Finsbury Fields, but not finding thee there, he hath gathered
together his armed men, fiftyscore and more, and is sending them

in haste along this very road to Sherwood, either to take thee
on the way or to prevent thy getting back to the woodlands again.

He hath given the Bishop of Hereford command over all these men,
and thou knowest what thou hast to expect of the Bishop of Hereford--

short shrift and a long rope. Two bands of horsemen are already
upon the road, not far behind me, so thou hadst best get thee

gone from this place straightway, for, if thou tarriest longer,
thou art like to sleep this night in a cold dungeon.

This word the Queen hath bidden me bring to thee."
"Now, Richard Partington," quoth Robin, "this is the second time

that thou hast saved my life, and if the proper time ever cometh
I will show thee that Robin Hood never forgets these things.

As for that Bishop of Hereford, if I ever catch him nigh
to Sherwood again, things will be like to go ill with him.

Thou mayst tell the good Queen that I will leave this place without delay,
and will let the landlord think that we are going to Saint Albans;



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