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19 - Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle · Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

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Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen, The Chase of Robin Hood. So Robin Hood
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Speaker 1: and the others left the archery range at Finsbury Fields,
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Speaker 1: and tearing not set forth straightway upon their homeward journey.
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Speaker 1: It was well for them that they did so, for
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Speaker 1: they had not gone more than three or four miles
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Speaker 1: upon their way, when six of the yeomen of the
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Speaker 1: King's guard came bustling among the crowd that still lingered,
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Speaker 1: seeking for Robin and his men to seize upon them
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Speaker 1: and make them prisoners. Truly, it was an ill done
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Speaker 1: thing in the King to break his promise, but it
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Speaker 1: all came about through the Bishop of Hereford's doing. For
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Speaker 1: thus it happened. After the King left the archery ground,
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Speaker 1: he went straightway to his cabinet, and with him went
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Speaker 1: the Bishop of Hereford and Sir Robert Lee. But the
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Speaker 1: King said never a word to these two, but sat
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Speaker 1: gnawing his nether lip, for his heart was galled within
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Speaker 1: him by what had happened. At last, the Bishop of
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Speaker 1: Hereford spoke, in a low, sorrowful voice, it is a
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Speaker 1: sad thing, your Majesty, that this knavish outlaw should be
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Speaker 1: let to escape in this wise, For let him but
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Speaker 1: get back to Sherwood for a safe and sound he
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Speaker 1: may snap his fingers at King and King's men. At
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Speaker 1: these words, the King raised his eyes and looked grimly
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Speaker 1: upon the Bishop. Sayest thou so quoth he? Now, I
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Speaker 1: will show thee in good time how much thou dost there?
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Speaker 1: For when forty days are past and gone, I will
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Speaker 1: seize upon this steeving outlaw if I have to tear
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Speaker 1: down all of Sherwood to find him. Thinkest thou that
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Speaker 1: the laws of the King of England are to be
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Speaker 1: so evaded by one poor knave without friends or money.
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Speaker 1: Then the Bishop spoke again, in his smooth, soft voice,
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Speaker 1: forgive my boldest, your Majesty, and believe that I have
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Speaker 1: naught but the good of England and your Majesty's desirings
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Speaker 1: at heart. But what would it boot, though my gracious
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Speaker 1: Lord did root up every tree of Sherwood, are there
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Speaker 1: not other places for Robin Hood's hiding. Cannock Chase is
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Speaker 1: not far from Sherwood, and the great forest of Arden
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Speaker 1: is not far from Cannock Chase. Besides, these are many
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Speaker 1: other woodlands in Nottingham and Derby, in Lincoln and York,
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Speaker 1: and amid any of which your Majesty might as well
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Speaker 1: think to seize upon robin hood as to lay finger
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Speaker 1: upon a rat among the dust and broken things of
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Speaker 1: a garret. Name, my gracious Lord, if he doth once
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Speaker 1: plant foot in the woodland, he is lost to the
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Speaker 1: law forever. At these words, the King tapped his finger
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Speaker 1: tips upon the table beside him with vexation. What wouldst
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Speaker 1: thou have me do? Bishop? Quoth he thou didst not
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Speaker 1: hear me pledge my word to the Queen? I talk
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Speaker 1: is as barren as the wind from the bellows upon
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Speaker 1: dead coals. Far be it from me, said the cunning bishop,
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Speaker 1: to point the way to one so clear sighted as
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Speaker 1: your majesty. But were I the King of England, I
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Speaker 1: should look upon the matter. In this wise I have
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Speaker 1: promised my Queen. Let us say that for forty days
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Speaker 1: the cunningest rogue in all England shall have freedom to
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Speaker 1: come and go. But lo I find this outlawe of
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Speaker 1: my grasp? Shall I then foolishly cling to a promise
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Speaker 1: so hastily given? Suppose that I had promised to do
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Speaker 1: her Majesty's bidding, whereupon she bade me slay myself? Should
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Speaker 1: I then shut mine eyes and run blindly upon my sword.
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Speaker 1: Thus would I argue within myself. Moreover, I would say
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Speaker 1: to myself, a woman knoweth not of the great things
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Speaker 1: appertaining to state government. And likewise I know a woman
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Speaker 1: is ever prone to take up a fancy, even if
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Speaker 1: she would pluck a daisy from the roadside, and then
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Speaker 1: throw it away when the savor is gone. Therefore, though
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Speaker 1: she hath taken a fancy to this outlaw, it will
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Speaker 1: soon wane away and be forgotten. As for me, I
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Speaker 1: have the greatest villain in all England in my grasp.
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Speaker 1: Shall I then open my hand and let him slip
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Speaker 1: betwixt my fingers. Thus, your majesty, would I say to myself,
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Speaker 1: were I the King of England. So the bishop talked,
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Speaker 1: and the King lent his ear to his evil counsel,
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Speaker 1: until after a while he turned to Sir Robert Lee
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Speaker 1: and bade him send six of the yeomen of the
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Speaker 1: Guard to take Robin Hood and his three men prisoners. Now,
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Speaker 1: Sir Robert Lee was a gentle and noble knight, and
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Speaker 1: he felt grieved to the heart to see the king
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Speaker 1: so brick his promise. Nevertheless, he said nothing, for he
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Speaker 1: saw how bitterly the king was set against robin Hood.
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Speaker 1: But he did not send the yeomen of the guard
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Speaker 1: at once, but went first to the Queen and told
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Speaker 1: her all that had passed, and bade her send word
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Speaker 1: to Robin of his danger. This he did not for
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Speaker 1: the well being of robin Hood, but because he would
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Speaker 1: save his lord's honor if he could. Thus it came
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Speaker 1: about that, when after a while the yeomen of the
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Speaker 1: Guard went to the archery field, they found not Robin
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Speaker 1: and the others, and so got no cakes at that fair.
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Speaker 1: The afternoon was already well nigh gone when robin Hood,
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Speaker 1: little John Will and Allan set forth upon their homeward way,
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Speaker 1: trudging along merrily through the yellow, slanting light, which speedily
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Speaker 1: changed to rosy red. As the sun sank low in
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Speaker 1: the heavens. The shadows grew long and finally merged into
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Speaker 1: the grayness of the mellow twilight. The dusty highway lay
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Speaker 1: all white betwixt the dark hedgerows, and along it walked
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Speaker 1: four fellows, like four shadows, the pat of their feet
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Speaker 1: sounding loud, and their voices as they talked, ringing clear
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Speaker 1: upon the silence of the air. The great round moon
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Speaker 1: was floating breathlessly up in the eastern sky, when they
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Speaker 1: saw before them the twinkling lights of Barnet Town, some
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Speaker 1: ten or twelve miles from London down. They walked through
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Speaker 1: the stony streets and passed the cozy houses with overhanging gables,
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Speaker 1: before the doors of which sat the burghers and craftsmen
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Speaker 1: in the mellow moonlight, with their families about them. And
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Speaker 1: so came at last on the other side of the
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Speaker 1: hamlet to a little inn, all shaded with roses and woodbines.
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Speaker 1: Before this inn, Robin Hood stopped. For the spot pleased
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Speaker 1: him well, quoth he. Here we will take up our
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Speaker 1: inn and rest for the night, for we are well
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Speaker 1: away from London Town, on our king's wrath. Moreover, if
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Speaker 1: if I mistake not, we will find sweet faring within.
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Speaker 1: What say ye lads, soooth, good master, quoth little John.
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Speaker 1: Thy bidding and my doing ever fit together like cakes
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Speaker 1: and nail let us in, I say also, then upspake
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Speaker 1: will scarlet. I am ever ready to do what thou sayest, Uncle,
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Speaker 1: Yet I could wish that we were farther upon our way.
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Speaker 1: Ere we rest for the night. Nevertheless, if thou thinkest best,
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Speaker 1: let us in for the night, say I also. So
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Speaker 1: in they went and called for the best that the
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Speaker 1: place afforded. Then a right good feast was set before them,
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Speaker 1: with two stout bottles of old sack to wash it
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Speaker 1: down with. All these things were served by as plump
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Speaker 1: and buxom alass as you could find in all the land.
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Speaker 1: So that little John, who always had an eye for
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Speaker 1: a fair lass, even when meat and drink were by,
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Speaker 1: stuck his arms a kimbo and fixed his eyes upon her,
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Speaker 1: winking sweetly whenever he saw her looking toward him. Then
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Speaker 1: you sh should have seen how the last twittered with laughter,
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Speaker 1: and how she looked at little John out of the
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Speaker 1: corners of her eyes, a dimple coming in either cheek.
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Speaker 1: For the fellow had always a taking away with the
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Speaker 1: women folk. So the feasts passed merrily, and never had
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Speaker 1: that end seen such lusty feeders as these forest out fellows.
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Speaker 1: But at last they were done with their eating, though
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Speaker 1: it seemed as though they never would have ended, and
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Speaker 1: sat loitering over the sack. As they so sat, the
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Speaker 1: landlord came in of a sudden and said that there
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Speaker 1: was one at the door, a certain young esquire, Richard Partington,
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Speaker 1: of the Queen's household, who wished to see the lad
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Speaker 1: in blue and speak with him without loss of time.
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Speaker 1: So Robin arose quickly, and bidding the landlord not to
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Speaker 1: follow him, left the others gazing at one another and
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Speaker 1: wondering what was about to happen. When Robin came out
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Speaker 1: of the inn, he found young Richard Partington sitting upon
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Speaker 1: his horse in the white moonlight, awaiting his coming. What
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Speaker 1: news bearest thou, sir, page, said Robin. I trust that
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Speaker 1: it is not of an ill nature, Why said young Partington,
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Speaker 1: for the matter of that it is illy. Now. The
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Speaker 1: King hath been bitterly stirred up against THEE by that
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Speaker 1: vile Bishop of Hereford. He sent to arrest THEE at
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Speaker 1: the archery butts at Finsbury Fields, but not finding THEE there,
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Speaker 1: he hath gathered together his armed men fifty score and more,
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Speaker 1: and is sending them in haste along this very road
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Speaker 1: to Sherwood, either to take THEE on the way, or
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Speaker 1: to prevent thy getting back to the woodlands. Again. He
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Speaker 1: hath given the Bishop of Hereford command over all these men,
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Speaker 1: And thou knowest what thou hast to expect to the
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Speaker 1: Bishop of Hereford short shrift and a long rope. Two
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Speaker 1: bands of horsemen are already upon the road not far
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Speaker 1: behind me. So though, how's best get thee gone from
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Speaker 1: this place straightway? For if thou terriest long, thou art
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Speaker 1: like to sleep this night in a cold dungeon. This
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Speaker 1: word the Queen hath bidden me bring to thee. Now,
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Speaker 1: Richard Partington quoth Robin, this is the second time that
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Speaker 1: thou hast saved my life. And if the proper time
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Speaker 1: ever cometh, I will show THEE that Robin Hood never
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Speaker 1: forgets these things. As for that Bishop of Hereford, if
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Speaker 1: I ever catch him nigh to Sherwood again, things will
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Speaker 1: be like to go ill with him. Thou mayst tell
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Speaker 1: the good Queen that I will leave this place without delay,
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Speaker 1: and will let the landlord think that we are going
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Speaker 1: to Saint Albans. But when we are upon the high
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Speaker 1: road again, I will go one way through the country,
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Speaker 1: and will send my men the other, so that if
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Speaker 1: one falleth into the King's hands, the others may haply escape.
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Speaker 1: We will go by devious ways, And so I hope
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Speaker 1: will reach Sherwood in safety. And now, Sir Page, I
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Speaker 1: wish thee. Farewell, farewell thou bold yeoman, said Partington, and
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Speaker 1: mayst thou reach thy hiding in safety. So each shook
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Speaker 1: the other's hand, and the lad turning his horse's head,
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Speaker 1: rode back toward London, while Robin entered the inn once more.
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Speaker 1: There he found his yeomen sitting in silence, waiting his coming. Likewise,
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Speaker 1: the Landlord was there, for he was curious to know
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Speaker 1: what Master Partington had to do with the fellow in blue. Up,
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Speaker 1: my merry men, quoth Robin, this is no place for us,
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Speaker 1: for those are after us, with whom we will stand
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Speaker 1: but an ill chance and we fall into their hands.
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Speaker 1: So we will go forward once more, nor will we
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Speaker 1: stop this night till we reach Saint Albans. Hereupon taking
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Speaker 1: upon out his purse, he paid the landlord his score,
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Speaker 1: and so they left the inn. When they had come
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Speaker 1: to the high road without the town, Robin stopped and
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Speaker 1: told them all that had passed between young Partington and himself,
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Speaker 1: and how that the King's men were after them with
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Speaker 1: hot heels. And he told them that here they should
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Speaker 1: part company. They three going to the eastward, and he
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Speaker 1: to the westward, and so skirting the high main roads,
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Speaker 1: would come by devious paths to Sherwood. So be ye wiley,
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Speaker 1: said Robin Hood, and keep well away from the northwood roads,
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Speaker 1: till ye have gotten well to the eastward, And thou wilt, scarlet,
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Speaker 1: take the lead of the others, for thou hast a
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Speaker 1: cunning turn to thy wits. Then Robin kissed the three
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Speaker 1: upon the cheeks, and they kissed him, and so they
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Speaker 1: parted company. Not long after this, a score or more
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Speaker 1: of the King's men came clattering up to the door
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Speaker 1: of the inn at Barnettown. Here they leaped from their
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Speaker 1: horses and quickly surrounded the place, the leader of the
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Speaker 1: band and four others entering the room where the yeoman
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Speaker 1: had been. But they found that their birds had flown again,
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Speaker 1: and that the king had been balked a second time.
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Speaker 1: Methought that they were naughty fellows, said the host, when
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Speaker 1: he heard whom the men at arms sought. But I
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Speaker 1: heard that blue clad knave say that they would go
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Speaker 1: straight forward to Saint Albans. So an ye hurry forward,
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Speaker 1: you may perchance catch them on the high road TwixT
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Speaker 1: here and there. For this news, the leader of the
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Speaker 1: band thanked mine host right heartily, and calling his men together,
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Speaker 1: mounted and set forth again, galloping forward to Saint Albans
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Speaker 1: upon a wild goose chase. After Little John and will
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Speaker 1: Scarlett and allen Adale had left the highway near Garnet,
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Speaker 1: they traveled toward the eastward without stopping, as long as
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Speaker 1: their legs could carry them, until they came to Chelmsford
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Speaker 1: in Essex. Thence they turned northward and came through Cambridge
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Speaker 1: and Lincolnshire to the good town of Gainsborough. Then, striking
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Speaker 1: to the westward and the south, they came at last
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Speaker 1: to the northern borders of Sherwood Forest, without in all
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Speaker 1: that time having met so much as a single band
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Speaker 1: of the King's men. Eight days days they journeyed thus
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Speaker 1: ere they reached the woodlands in safety. But when they
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Speaker 1: got to the Greenwood Glade, they found that Robin had
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Speaker 1: not yet returned. For Robin was not as lucky in
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Speaker 1: getting back as his men had been. As you shall
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Speaker 1: presently hear, after having left the great Northern Road, he
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Speaker 1: turned his face to the westward, and so came past
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Speaker 1: Aylesbury to fair Woodstock in Oxfordshire. Then he turned his
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Speaker 1: footsteps northward, traveling for a great distance by way of
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Speaker 1: Warwick Town till he came to Dudley in Staffordshire. Seven
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Speaker 1: days it took him to journey thus far, and then
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Speaker 1: he thought he had gotten far enough to the north,
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Speaker 1: so turning toward the eastward, shunning the main roads and
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Speaker 1: choosing by ways in grassy lanes, he went by way
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Speaker 1: of Lichfield and Ashby to la Zouch, toward Sherwood, until
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Speaker 1: he came to a place called Stanton. And now Robin's
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Speaker 1: heart began to laugh aloud, for he thought that his
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Speaker 1: danger had gone by, and that his nostrils would soon
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Speaker 1: snuff the spicy air of the woodlands once again. But
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Speaker 1: there is many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip,
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Speaker 1: and this Robin was to find. For thus it was
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Speaker 1: when the King's men found themselves foiled at Saint Albans,
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Speaker 1: and that Robin and his men were not to be
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Speaker 1: found high nor low, they knew not what to do. Presently,
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Speaker 1: another band of horsemen came, and another, until all the
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Speaker 1: moonlit streets were full of armed men. Betwixt midnight and dawn.
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Speaker 1: Another band came to the town, and with them came
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Speaker 1: the Bishop of Hereford. When he heard that Robin Hood
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Speaker 1: had once more slipped out of the trap. He stayed
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Speaker 1: not a minute, but gathering his bands together, he pushed
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Speaker 1: forward to the northward with speed, living orders for all
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Speaker 1: the troops that came to Saint Albans to follow after
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Speaker 1: him without tarrying. On the evening of the fourth day
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Speaker 1: he reached Nottingham Town, and there straightway divided his men
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Speaker 1: into bands of six or seven, and sent them all
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Speaker 1: through the countryside, blocking every highway and by way to
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Speaker 1: the eastward, and the southward and the westward of Sherwood.
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Speaker 1: The Sheriff of Nottingham called forth all his men likewise,
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Speaker 1: and joined with the bishop, for he saw that this
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Speaker 1: was the best chance that had ever Befallen of paying
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Speaker 1: back his score in full. To Robin, Hood, will Scarlett
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Speaker 1: and Little John and Allandale had just missed the King's
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Speaker 1: men to the eastward, for the very next day, after
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Speaker 1: they had passed the line and entered Sherwood, the roads
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Speaker 1: through which they had traveled were blocked, so that had
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Speaker 1: they tarried in their journeying, they would surely have fallen
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Speaker 1: into the Bishop's hands. But of all this Robin knew
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Speaker 1: not a whit, so he whistled merrily as he trudged
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Speaker 1: along the road beyond Stanton, with his heart as free
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Speaker 1: from care as the yolk of an egg is from cobwebs.
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Speaker 1: At last it came to where a little stream spread
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Speaker 1: across the road in a shallow sheet, tinkling and sparkling
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Speaker 1: as it fretted over its bed of grow golden gravel.
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Speaker 1: Here Robin stopped, being athirst, and kneeling down, he made
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Speaker 1: a cup of the palms of his hands, and he
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Speaker 1: began to drink. On either side of the road for
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Speaker 1: a long distance stood tangled thickets of bushes and young trees,
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Speaker 1: and it pleased Robin's heart to hear the little birds
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Speaker 1: singing therein, for it made him think of sherwood, and
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Speaker 1: it seemed as though it had been a lifetime since
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Speaker 1: he had breathed the air of the woodlands. But all
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Speaker 1: of a sudden, as he thus stooped drinking, something hissed
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Speaker 1: past his ear and struck with a splash into the
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Speaker 1: gravel and water beside him. Quick as a wink, Robin
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Speaker 1: sprang to his feet, and at one bound crossed the
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Speaker 1: stream and the roadside, and plunged headlong into the thicket,
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Speaker 1: without looking around, for he knew right well that that
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Speaker 1: which had hissed so venomlessly near it beside his ear
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Speaker 1: was a gray goose shaft, and that to tarry so
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Speaker 1: much as a moment meant death. Even as he leaped
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Speaker 1: into the thicket, six more arrows rattled among the branches
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Speaker 1: after him, one of which pierced his doublet and would
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Speaker 1: have struck deeply into his side but for the tough
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Speaker 1: coat of steel that he wore. Then up the road
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Speaker 1: came riding some of the King's men at headlong speed.
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Speaker 1: They leaped from their horses and plunged straightway into the
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Speaker 1: thicket after Robin. But Robin knew the ground better than
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Speaker 1: they did, so, crawling here, stooping there, and Anon running
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Speaker 1: across some little open he soon left them far behind,
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Speaker 1: coming out at last upon another road, about eight hundred
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Speaker 1: paces distant from the one he had left. Here, he
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Speaker 1: stood for a moment, listening to the distant shouts of
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Speaker 1: the seven men as they beat up and down in
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Speaker 1: the thickets like hounds that had lost the scent of
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Speaker 1: the quarry. Then, buckling his belt more tightly around his waist,
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Speaker 1: he ran fleetly down the road toward the eastward, and sherwood.
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Speaker 1: But Robin had not gone more than three furlongs in
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Speaker 1: that direction when he came suddenly to the brow of
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Speaker 1: a hill and saw beneath him another band of the
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Speaker 1: King's men seated in the shade along the roadside in
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Speaker 1: the valley beneath Then he paused not a moment, but
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Speaker 1: seeing that they had not caught sight of him, he
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Speaker 1: turned and ran back whence he had come, knowing that
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Speaker 1: it was better to run the chance of escaping those
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Speaker 1: fellows that were yet in the thickets than to rush
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Speaker 1: into the arms of those in the valley. So back
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Speaker 1: he ran with all speed, and, having gotten safely past
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Speaker 1: the thickets, when the seven men came forth into the
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Speaker 1: open road, they raised a great shout when they saw him,
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Speaker 1: such as the hunter gives when the deer breaks cover.
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Speaker 1: But Robin was then a quarter of a mile and
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Speaker 1: more away from them, Coursing over the ground like a greyhound.
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Speaker 1: He never slackened his pace, but ran along mile after
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Speaker 1: mile till he had come nigh to Mackworth, over beyond
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Speaker 1: the Derwent River, nigh to Derby Town. Here, seeing that
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Speaker 1: he was out of present danger, he slackened in his running,
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Speaker 1: and at last sat him down beneath the hedge, where
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Speaker 1: the grass was the longest and the shade the coolest,
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Speaker 1: there to rest and catch his wind by my soul,
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Speaker 1: Robin quoth he to himself, that was the narrowest mist
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Speaker 1: that ere thou hadst in all thy life. I do
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Speaker 1: say most solemnly that the feather of that wicked shaft
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Speaker 1: tickled mine ear as it whizzed past. This same running
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Speaker 1: hath given me a most craving appetite for victuals and drink.
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Speaker 1: Now I pray Saint Dunstan that he send me speedily
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Speaker 1: some meat him beer. It seemed as though Saint Dunstan
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Speaker 1: was like to answer his prayer, for along the road
21:04
Speaker 1: came plodding a certain cobbler, one Quince of Derby, who
21:08
Speaker 1: had been to take a pair of shoes to a
21:10
Speaker 1: farmer nigh kirk Langley, and was now coming back home again,
21:15
Speaker 1: with a fair boiled capon in his pouch and a
21:18
Speaker 1: stout pottle of beer by his side, which seemed the
21:22
Speaker 1: farmer had given him for joy of such a stout
21:24
Speaker 1: pair of shoon. Good Quince was an honest fellow, but
21:29
Speaker 1: his wits were somewhat of the heavy sort like unbaked dough,
21:34
Speaker 1: so that the only thing that was in his mind
21:37
Speaker 1: was three shillings sixpence halfpenny for thy shoon, good quince,
21:42
Speaker 1: three shillings sixpence halfpenny for thy shoon. And this traveled
21:46
Speaker 1: round and round inside of his head without another thought,
21:49
Speaker 1: getting into his noddle, as the pe rolls round and
21:53
Speaker 1: round inside an empty quart pot. Hoo, good friend, quoth Robin,
21:58
Speaker 1: from beneath the hedge, when the other had gotten nigh enough,
22:02
Speaker 1: whither away so merrily this bright day, hearing himself so called,
22:07
Speaker 1: upon the cobbler stopped, and seeing a well clad stranger
22:12
Speaker 1: in blue, he spoke to him in seemly wise, give
22:16
Speaker 1: ye good din fair sir, And I would say that
22:18
Speaker 1: I come from kirk Langley, where I has sold my
22:21
Speaker 1: shoon and got three shillings sixpence halfpenny for them, and
22:25
Speaker 1: as sweet money as ever thou sawest and honestly earned too.
22:30
Speaker 1: I will have thee no. But and I may be
22:32
Speaker 1: so bold thou pretty fellow, What dost thou there beneath
22:36
Speaker 1: the hedge? Marry, quoth Mary Robin. I sit beneath the
22:41
Speaker 1: hedge here to drop salt on the tails of golden birds.
22:45
Speaker 1: But in sooth thou art the first chick, if any
22:48
Speaker 1: worth thou hast seen this blessed day. At these words,
22:53
Speaker 1: the cobbler's eyes opened big and wide, and his mouth
22:56
Speaker 1: grew round with wonder, like a knot hole in a board.
22:59
Speaker 1: Fans slack a day, quoth he. Look. Ye, now, I
23:05
Speaker 1: have never seen these same golden birds, And dost thou
23:09
Speaker 1: in sooth find them in these hedges? Good fellow, prithee,
23:13
Speaker 1: tell me are there many of them? I would fain
23:16
Speaker 1: find them mine own self. Hi, truly, quoth Robin. They
23:20
Speaker 1: are as thick here is fresh hairring, and cannot chase. Look, ye, now,
23:26
Speaker 1: said the cobbler, all drowned in wonder. And dost thou,
23:30
Speaker 1: when sooth catch them by dropping salt on their pretty tails? Yea,
23:35
Speaker 1: quoth Robin. But this salt is of an odd kind.
23:38
Speaker 1: Let me tell thee, for it can only be gotten
23:41
Speaker 1: by boiling down a quart of moonbeams in a wooden platter.
23:46
Speaker 1: And then one hath but a pinch. But tell me now, now,
23:50
Speaker 1: witty man, what hast thou gotten there in that pouch
23:54
Speaker 1: by thy side, and in that poddle. At these words,
23:58
Speaker 1: the cobbler looked down at those things of which Mary
24:01
Speaker 1: Robin spoke, for the thoughts of the golden bird had
24:04
Speaker 1: driven them from his mind, and it took him some
24:07
Speaker 1: time to scrape the memory of them back together again. Why,
24:11
Speaker 1: said he at last? In the one is good march beer,
24:15
Speaker 1: and in the other is a fat capon. Truly, quince
24:19
Speaker 1: the cobbler will have a fine feast this day, And
24:22
Speaker 1: I mistake not. But tell me, good quince, said Robin.
24:27
Speaker 1: Hast thou a mind to sell those things to me,
24:30
Speaker 1: for the hearing of them sounds sweet in mine ears.
24:34
Speaker 1: I will give THEE these gay clothes of blue that
24:37
Speaker 1: I have upon my body, and ten shillings to boot
24:41
Speaker 1: for thy clothes and thy leather apron, and thy beer
24:45
Speaker 1: and thy capon. What sayest thou, bully boy? Nay thou
24:50
Speaker 1: dost jest with me, said the cobbler, For my clothes
24:53
Speaker 1: are coarse and patch thine arve, fine stuff, and very pretty.
25:00
Speaker 1: Never adjest do I speak, quoth Robin. Come strip thy
25:04
Speaker 1: jacket off, and I will show THEE, For I tell
25:07
Speaker 1: THEE I like thy clothes. Well. Moreover, I will be
25:10
Speaker 1: kind to THEE, for I will feast straightway upon the
25:13
Speaker 1: good things thou hast with thee, and thou shalt be
25:16
Speaker 1: bidden to thee eating. At these words, he began slipping
25:20
Speaker 1: off his doublet, and the cobbler, seeing him so in earnest,
25:24
Speaker 1: began pulling off his clothes also for Robin Hood's garb
25:28
Speaker 1: tickled his eye. So each put on the other fellow's clothes,
25:32
Speaker 1: and Robin gave the honest cobbler ten bright new shillings.
25:36
Speaker 1: Quoth Mary, Robin, I have been a many things in
25:39
Speaker 1: my life before, but never have I been an honest cobbler.
25:43
Speaker 1: Come friend, let us fall to and eat for something
25:46
Speaker 1: within me. Cackles allowed for that good fat capon. So
25:51
Speaker 1: both sat down and began to feast right lustily, so
25:55
Speaker 1: that when they were done, the bones of the capon
25:57
Speaker 1: were picked as bare as charity. Then Robin stretched his
26:02
Speaker 1: legs out, with a sweet feeling of comfort within him,
26:05
Speaker 1: quoth he. By the turn of thy voice, good quins,
26:10
Speaker 1: I know that thou hast a fair song or two
26:12
Speaker 1: running loose in thy head, like colts in a meadow.
26:16
Speaker 1: I prithee turn one of them out for me a
26:20
Speaker 1: song or two. I have quote the cobbler, poor things
26:24
Speaker 1: poor things, But such as they are, thou art welcome
26:27
Speaker 1: to one of them. So, moistening his throat with a
26:29
Speaker 1: swallow of beer, he sang.
26:33
Speaker 2: Of all the joys the best I love, sing hey,
26:35
Speaker 2: my frisking nano. And that which most my soul doth move,
26:39
Speaker 2: it is the clicking can oh allah their bliss. I'd
26:43
Speaker 2: throw away, sing hey, my frisking nano.
26:46
Speaker 1: But this the stout cobbler got no farther in his song,
26:50
Speaker 1: for of a sudden six horsemen burst upon them where
26:53
Speaker 1: they sat, and seized roughly upon the honest craftsman, hauling
26:58
Speaker 1: him to his feet and nearly pluck the clothes from him.
27:01
Speaker 1: As they did so. Ha, roared the leader of the band,
27:05
Speaker 1: a great, big voice of joy. Have we then caught
27:08
Speaker 1: THEE at last, thou bleue clad knave? Now blessed be
27:12
Speaker 1: the name of Saint Hubert, For we are four score
27:16
Speaker 1: pounds richer this minute than we were before. For the
27:19
Speaker 1: good Bishop of Hereford hath promised that much to the
27:22
Speaker 1: band that shall bring THEE to him. Oh, thou cutting rascal,
27:26
Speaker 1: Thou wouldst look so innocent, forsooth we know THEE, thou
27:30
Speaker 1: old fox. But off thou goest with us to have
27:34
Speaker 1: thy brush clipped forthwith. At these words, the poor cobbler
27:38
Speaker 1: gazed all around him, with his great blue eyes as
27:41
Speaker 1: round as those of a dead fish, while his mouth
27:45
Speaker 1: gaped as though he had swallowed all his words and
27:48
Speaker 1: so lost his speech. Robin also gaped and stared in
27:53
Speaker 1: a wandering way, just as the cobbler would have done
27:56
Speaker 1: in his place. Hallacod aisy me, quoth he I know
28:00
Speaker 1: not whether I be sitting here or in no man's land?
28:03
Speaker 1: What meaneth all this stir of the pot? My dear
28:07
Speaker 1: good gentleman. Surely this is a sweet, honest fellow. Honest fellow,
28:13
Speaker 1: sayest thou clown, quoth one of the men. Why I
28:17
Speaker 1: tell thee that this is that same rogue that men
28:20
Speaker 1: call Robin Hood. At this speech, the cobbler stared and
28:25
Speaker 1: gaped more than ever, for there was such a threshing
28:28
Speaker 1: of thoughts going on within his poor head that his
28:32
Speaker 1: wits were all befogged with the dust and chaff thereof. Moreover,
28:37
Speaker 1: as he looked at Robin Hood and saw the Yelloman
28:40
Speaker 1: look so like what he knew himself to be, he
28:44
Speaker 1: began to doubt and to think that mayhap he was
28:48
Speaker 1: the great outlaw in real sooth, said he, in a
28:51
Speaker 1: slow wondering voice. Am I in very truth that fellow?
28:58
Speaker 1: Now I had thought, But nay, Quince thou art mistook?
29:03
Speaker 1: Yet am I nay? I must indeed be robin Hood.
29:09
Speaker 1: Yet truly I had never thought to pass from an
29:12
Speaker 1: honest craftsman to such a great yeoman, alas quoth robin Hood.
29:18
Speaker 1: Look ye there, now see how your ill treatment hath
29:22
Speaker 1: curdled the wits of this poor lad, and turn them
29:24
Speaker 1: all sour. I myself am Quince, the cobbler of Derby Town.
29:31
Speaker 1: Is it so? Said Quince? Then indeed I am somebody else,
29:37
Speaker 1: and can be none other than Robin Hood. Take me, fellows,
29:42
Speaker 1: but let me tell you that you have laid hand
29:44
Speaker 1: upon the stoutish yeoman that ever trod the woodlands. Thou
29:49
Speaker 1: wilt play madman? Wilt thou? Said the leader of the bend. Here, Giles,
29:55
Speaker 1: fetch a cord and bind this knave's hands behind him.
29:58
Speaker 1: I warrant we will bring his his wits back to
30:01
Speaker 1: him again when we get him safe before our good
30:03
Speaker 1: Bishop at Tutbury Town. Thereupon they tied the cobbler's hands
30:08
Speaker 1: behind him and let him off with a rope. As
30:11
Speaker 1: the farmer leads off the calf he hath brought from
30:14
Speaker 1: the fair, Robin stood looking after them, and when they
30:19
Speaker 1: were gone, he laughed till the tears rolled down his cheeks,
30:23
Speaker 1: for he knew that no harm would befall the honest fellow.
30:26
Speaker 1: And he pictured to himself the bishop's face when good
30:29
Speaker 1: quince was brought before him as Robin Hood. Then, turning
30:34
Speaker 1: his steps once more to the eastward, he stepped out
30:38
Speaker 1: right foot foremost toward Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest. But Robin
30:45
Speaker 1: Hood had gone through more than he wanted of His
30:48
Speaker 1: journey from London had been hard and long, and in
30:52
Speaker 1: the same night he had traveled seven score and more
30:56
Speaker 1: of miles. He thought now to travel on without stop
31:00
Speaker 1: until he had come to Sherwood. But ere he had
31:03
Speaker 1: gone half a score of miles, he felt his strength
31:07
Speaker 1: giving way beneath him, like a river bank which the
31:10
Speaker 1: waters have undermined. He sat him down and rested, but
31:15
Speaker 1: he knew within himself he could go no farther that day,
31:19
Speaker 1: for his feet felt like lumps of lead, so heavy
31:22
Speaker 1: were they with weariness. Once more, he arose and went forward,
31:28
Speaker 1: But after traveling a couple of miles, he was fain
31:31
Speaker 1: to give the matter up, so coming to an end,
31:34
Speaker 1: just then, he entered, and calling the landlord, bade him
31:39
Speaker 1: show him to a room. Although the sun was only
31:42
Speaker 1: then just sinking in the western sky. There were but
31:46
Speaker 1: three bedrooms in the place, and to the meanest of
31:49
Speaker 1: these the landlord showed Robin hood. But little Robin cared
31:54
Speaker 1: for the looks of the place, for he could have
31:56
Speaker 1: slept that night upon a bed of broken stones. So
32:00
Speaker 1: stripping off his clothes without more ado, he rolled into
32:04
Speaker 1: the bed and was asleep almost Area's head touched the pillow.
32:10
Speaker 1: Not long after Robin had so gone to his rest,
32:14
Speaker 1: a great cloud peeped blackly over the hills to the westward.
32:19
Speaker 1: Higher and higher it arose, until it piled up into
32:22
Speaker 1: the night like a mountain of darkness. All around beneath
32:26
Speaker 1: it came ever and anon, a dull red flash, and
32:30
Speaker 1: presently a short grim mutter of the coming thunder was heard.
32:35
Speaker 1: Then up rowed four stout burghers of Nottingham Town, for
32:39
Speaker 1: this was the only inn within five miles distance, and
32:43
Speaker 1: they did not care to be caught in such a
32:45
Speaker 1: thunder storm. As this that was coming upon them. Leaving
32:49
Speaker 1: their nags to the stablemen, they entered the best room
32:52
Speaker 1: of the inn, where fresh green rushes lay all spread
32:55
Speaker 1: upon the floor, and there called for the goodliest fare
32:58
Speaker 1: that the place afforded. After having eaten heartily, they bade
33:03
Speaker 1: the landlord show them to their rooms, for they were
33:07
Speaker 1: a weary, having ridden all the way from Dronfield that day.
33:11
Speaker 1: So off they went, grumbling at having to sleep too
33:15
Speaker 1: in a bed. But their troubles on this score, as
33:18
Speaker 1: well as all others, were soon lost in the quietness
33:21
Speaker 1: of sleep. And now came the first gust of wind,
33:27
Speaker 1: rushing past the place, clapping and banging the doors and shutters,
33:31
Speaker 1: smelling of the coming rain, and all wrapped in a
33:34
Speaker 1: cloud of dust and leaves, as though the wind had
33:38
Speaker 1: brought a guest along with it. The door opened of
33:41
Speaker 1: a sudden, and in came a Friar of Emmet Priory,
33:45
Speaker 1: and won in high degree, as was shown by the
33:48
Speaker 1: softness and sleekness of his robes and the richness of
33:51
Speaker 1: his rosary. He called to the landlord and bade him
33:55
Speaker 1: first have his mule well fed and bedded in the stable,
33:58
Speaker 1: and then to bring him the very best there was
34:01
Speaker 1: in the house. So presently a savory stew of tripe
34:05
Speaker 1: and onions, with sweet little fat dumplings was set before him.
34:10
Speaker 1: Likewise a good stout pottle of malmsey, And straightway the
34:15
Speaker 1: Holy Friar fell to with great courage and heartiness, so
34:19
Speaker 1: that in a short time naught was left but a
34:22
Speaker 1: little pool of gravy in the center of the platter,
34:25
Speaker 1: not largely now to keep the life in a starving mouse.
34:30
Speaker 1: In the meantime, the storm broke. Another gust of wind
34:33
Speaker 1: went rushing by, and with it fell a few heavy
34:36
Speaker 1: drops of rain, which presently came rattling down in showers,
34:40
Speaker 1: beating against the casements like a little hundred hands. Bright
34:46
Speaker 1: flashes of lightning lit up every rain drop, and with
34:49
Speaker 1: them came cracks of thunder that went away grumbling and bumping,
34:53
Speaker 1: as though Saint Swithin were busy rolling great casts of
34:57
Speaker 1: water across rough ground. Overhead. The women folks screamed, and
35:02
Speaker 1: the merry wags in the tap room put their arms
35:05
Speaker 1: around their waists to soothe them into quietness. At last,
35:11
Speaker 1: the Holy Friar bade the landlord show him to his room,
35:15
Speaker 1: But when he heard that he was to bed with
35:17
Speaker 1: a cobbler. He was as ill contented a fellow as
35:21
Speaker 1: you could find in all England. Nevertheless, there was nothing
35:25
Speaker 1: for it, and he must sleep there or nowhere. So
35:29
Speaker 1: taking up his candle, he went off, grumbling like the
35:32
Speaker 1: now distant thunder. When he came to the room where
35:36
Speaker 1: he was to sleep, he held the light over Robin
35:39
Speaker 1: and looked at him from top to toe. Then he
35:42
Speaker 1: felt better pleased, for instead of a rough, dirty bearded fellow,
35:48
Speaker 1: he beheld as fresh and clean a lad as one
35:50
Speaker 1: could find in a week of Sundays. So slipping off
35:54
Speaker 1: his clothes, he also huddled into the bed where Robin,
35:58
Speaker 1: grunting and grumbling in it, sleep, made room for him.
36:02
Speaker 1: Robin was more sound asleep by wat than he had
36:05
Speaker 1: been for many a day, else he would never have
36:08
Speaker 1: rested so quietly with one of the Friar's sort so
36:12
Speaker 1: close beside him. As for the Friar, had he known
36:16
Speaker 1: who Robin Hood was, you may well believe he would
36:19
Speaker 1: almost as soon have slept with an adder as with
36:22
Speaker 1: the man he had for a bedfellow. So the night
36:27
Speaker 1: passed comfortably enough, But at the first dawn of day,
36:31
Speaker 1: Robin opened his eyes and turned his head upon the pillow.
36:35
Speaker 1: Then how he gaped, and how he stared, for there
36:39
Speaker 1: beside him lay one all shaven and shorn, so that
36:43
Speaker 1: he knew it must be a fellow in holy orders.
36:47
Speaker 1: He pinched himself sharply, but, finding he was awake, sat
36:51
Speaker 1: up in bed while the others slumbered as peacefully as
36:54
Speaker 1: though he were safe and sound at home in Emmet Priory.
36:59
Speaker 1: Now quoth Robin to himself, I wonder how this thing
37:03
Speaker 1: hath dropped into my bed during the night, so saying,
37:07
Speaker 1: he arose softly so as not to waken the other,
37:11
Speaker 1: and looking about the room, he espied the friar's clothes
37:14
Speaker 1: lying upon a bench near the wall. First he looked
37:18
Speaker 1: at the clothes with his head on one side. Then
37:21
Speaker 1: he looked at the friar, and slowly, willing winked an eye.
37:25
Speaker 1: Quoth he, good brother, whate'er thy name may be, as
37:30
Speaker 1: thou hast borrowed my bed so freely, I'll even borrow
37:34
Speaker 1: thy clothes in return, so saying, he straightway donned the
37:39
Speaker 1: holy Mion scarb, but kindly left the cobbler's clothes in
37:43
Speaker 1: the place of it. Then he went forth into the
37:46
Speaker 1: freshness of the morning, and the stableman that was up
37:49
Speaker 1: and about the stables opened his eyes as though he
37:52
Speaker 1: saw a green mouse before him, for such men as
37:55
Speaker 1: the Friars of Emmet were not wont to be early risers.
38:00
Speaker 1: But the men bottled his thoughts and only asked Robin
38:03
Speaker 1: whether he wanted his mule brought from the stable. Yea,
38:07
Speaker 1: my son, quoth Robin, albeit he knew not of the mule,
38:12
Speaker 1: and bring it forth quickly at prithee, for I am
38:14
Speaker 1: late and must be jogging. So presently the stableman brought
38:18
Speaker 1: forth the mule, and Robin mounted it and went on
38:21
Speaker 1: his way, rejoicing as for the holy Friar. When he
38:26
Speaker 1: arose he was in his prettiest stew as any man
38:29
Speaker 1: in all the world, for his rich soft robes were gone.
38:33
Speaker 1: Likewise his purse with ten golden pounds in it, and
38:37
Speaker 1: naught was left but patch clothes and a leathern apron.
38:41
Speaker 1: He raged and swore like any layman, but as his
38:45
Speaker 1: swearing mended nothing, and the landlord could not aid him.
38:49
Speaker 1: And as moreover, he was forced to be at Emmet
38:51
Speaker 1: Priory that very morning aubout matters of business. He was
38:55
Speaker 1: fain either to don the cobbler's close or travel the
38:59
Speaker 1: road in nakedness. So he put on the clothes, and,
39:03
Speaker 1: still raging and swearing vengeance against all the cobblers in Derbyshire,
39:08
Speaker 1: he set forth upon his way afoot. But his ills
39:12
Speaker 1: had not yet done with him, for he had not
39:14
Speaker 1: gone far. Ere he fell into the hands of the
39:17
Speaker 1: King's men, who marched him off willy nilly to Tutbury
39:20
Speaker 1: Town and the Bishop of Hereford. In vain, he swore
39:24
Speaker 1: he was a holy man, and showed his shaven crown off.
39:28
Speaker 1: He must go, for nothing would do but that he
39:31
Speaker 1: was Robin Hood. Meanwhile, Merry Robin rode along contentedly, passing
39:37
Speaker 1: safely by two bands of the King's men, until his
39:41
Speaker 1: heart began to dance within him because of the nearness
39:44
Speaker 1: of Sherwood. So he traveled ever on to the eastward,
39:48
Speaker 1: till of a sudden he met a noble knight in
39:51
Speaker 1: a shady lane. Then Robin checked his mule quickly and
39:54
Speaker 1: leaped from off its back. Now well met Sir Richard
39:58
Speaker 1: of the League, cried he, for rather than any other
40:01
Speaker 1: man in England, would I see thy good face this day?
40:05
Speaker 1: Then he told Sir Richard all the happenings that had
40:08
Speaker 1: befallen him, and that now at last he felt himself safe,
40:13
Speaker 1: being so nigh to Sherwood again. But when Robert Robin
40:17
Speaker 1: had done, Sir Richard shook his head sadly, thou art
40:22
Speaker 1: in greater danger now, Robin, than thou hast yet been,
40:26
Speaker 1: said he For before thee lie bands of the Sheriff's men,
40:30
Speaker 1: blocking every road, and letting none pass through the lines
40:33
Speaker 1: without examining them closely. I myself know this, having passed
40:38
Speaker 1: through them. But now before THEE lies the Sheriff's men,
40:42
Speaker 1: and behind thee the King's men. An thou canst not
40:46
Speaker 1: hope to pass either way, for by this time they
40:49
Speaker 1: will know of thy disguise, and will be in waiting
40:52
Speaker 1: to seize upon thee. My castle and everything within it
40:56
Speaker 1: are thine. But naught could be gained there, for I
41:00
Speaker 1: could not hope to hold it against such a force
41:02
Speaker 1: as is now in Nottingham of the Kings and Sheriff's men.
41:07
Speaker 1: Having so spoken, Sir Richard bent his head in thought,
41:11
Speaker 1: and Robin felt his heart sink within him, like that
41:14
Speaker 1: of the fox that hears the hounds at his heels
41:17
Speaker 1: and finds his den blocked with earth, so that there
41:20
Speaker 1: is no hiding for him. But presently Sir Richard spoke again, saying,
41:27
Speaker 1: one thing thou canst do, Robin, and one only go
41:31
Speaker 1: back to London and throw thyself upon the mercy of
41:34
Speaker 1: our good Queen Eleanor, come with me straightway to my castle.
41:39
Speaker 1: Doth these clothes put on such as my retainers wear.
41:43
Speaker 1: Then I will hie me to London Town, with a
41:45
Speaker 1: troop of men behind me, and thou shalt mingle with them.
41:49
Speaker 1: And thus will I bring thee to where thou mayst
41:52
Speaker 1: see and speak with the Queen. Thy only hope is
41:56
Speaker 1: to get to Sherwood, for there none can reach thee,
42:00
Speaker 1: and thou wilt never get to Sherwood. But in this
42:02
Speaker 1: way Sir Robin went with Sir Richard of the Lee
42:07
Speaker 1: and did as he said, for he saw the wisdom
42:09
Speaker 1: of that which the Knight advised, and that this was
42:12
Speaker 1: his only chance of safety. Queen Eleanor walked in her
42:17
Speaker 1: royal garden amid the roses that bloomed sweetly, and with
42:22
Speaker 1: her walked six of her ladies in waiting, chattering blithely. Together.
42:27
Speaker 1: Of a sudden a man leaped up to the top
42:30
Speaker 1: of the wall from the other side, and then, hanging
42:33
Speaker 1: for a moment, dropped lightly upon the grass within. All
42:37
Speaker 1: the ladies in waiting shrieked at the suddenness of his coming.
42:41
Speaker 1: But the man ran to the Queen and kneeled at
42:43
Speaker 1: her feet, and she saw that it was robin Hood.
42:47
Speaker 1: Why how now, Robin, cried she dost thou dare to
42:51
Speaker 1: come into the very jaws of the raging lion, alas
42:55
Speaker 1: poor fellow thou art lost. Indeed, if the King finds
42:59
Speaker 1: thee here, dost thou not know he is seeking thee
43:02
Speaker 1: through all the land? Yea quoth Robin. I do know
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Speaker 1: right well that the King seeks me, and therefore I
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Speaker 1: have come, for surely no ill can befall me, when
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Speaker 1: he hath pledged his royal word to your Majesty for
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Speaker 1: my safety. Moreover, I know your Majesty's kindness and gentleness
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Speaker 1: of heart, and so I lay my life freely in
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Speaker 1: your gracious hands. I take thy meaning, romud Hood, said
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Speaker 1: the Queen, and that thou dost convey reproach to me
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Speaker 1: as well? Thou mayest, for I know that I have
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Speaker 1: not done by thee as I ought to have done.
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Speaker 1: I know right well that thou must have been hard
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Speaker 1: pressed by peril to leap so boldly into one danger
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Speaker 1: to escape another. Once more, I promise thee mine aid,
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Speaker 1: and will do all I can to send thee back
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Speaker 1: in safety to sherwood forest. Bide thou here till I return,
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Speaker 1: so saying, she left Robin in the garden of Roses,
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Speaker 1: and was gone a long time. When she came back,
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Speaker 1: Sir Robert Lee was with her, and the Queen's cheeks
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Speaker 1: were hot, and the Queen's eyes were bright, as though
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Speaker 1: she had been talking with high words. Then Sir Robert
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Speaker 1: came straightforward to where Robin Hood stood, and he spoke
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Speaker 1: to the yeomen in a cold, stern voice. Quoth he,
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Speaker 1: our gracious Sovereign, the King hath mitigated his wrath toward
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Speaker 1: thee fellow, and hath once more promised that thou shalt
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Speaker 1: depart in peace and safety. Not only hath he promised this,
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Speaker 1: but in three days he will send one of his
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Speaker 1: pages to go with THEE, and see that none arrest
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Speaker 1: thy journey back again. Thou mayst thank thy patron Saint,
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Speaker 1: that thou hast such a good friend in our noble Queen,
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Speaker 1: for but for her persuasion and arguments, thou hast been
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Speaker 1: a dead man. I can tell THEE let this peril
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Speaker 1: that thou hast passed through. Teach thee two lessons. First,
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Speaker 1: be more honest. Second, be not so bold in thy
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Speaker 1: comings and goings. A man that walketh in the darkness,
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Speaker 1: as thou dost, may escape for a time, but in
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Speaker 1: the end he will surely fall into the pit. Thou
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Speaker 1: hast put thy head in the angry lion's mouth, and
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Speaker 1: yet thou hast escaped by a miracle. Try it not again,
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Speaker 1: so saying, he turned and left Robin, and was gone
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Speaker 1: for three days. Robin abided in London in the Queen's household,
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Speaker 1: and at the end of that time the King's head page,
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Speaker 1: Edward Cunningham, came, and, taking Robin with him, departed northward
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Speaker 1: upon his way to Sherwood. Now and then they passed
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Speaker 1: bands of the King's men coming back again to London.
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Speaker 1: But none of those bands stopped them, and so at
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Speaker 1: last they reached the sweet leafy woodlands. This is the
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Speaker 1: end of chapter nineteen