Page 334 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

against all the cobblers in Derbyshire, he set forth upon his
way afoot; but his ills had not yet done with him, for he had
not gone far ere he fell into the hands of the King’s men,
who marched him off, willy-nilly, to Tutbury Town and the
Bishop of Hereford. In vain he swore he was a holy man,
and showed his shaven crown; off he must go, for nothing
would do but that he was Robin Hood.
Meanwhile merry Robin rode along contentedly, passing
safely by two bands of the King’s men, until his heart began
to dance within him because of the nearness of Sherwood;
so he traveled ever on to the eastward, till, of a sudden, he
met a noble knight in a shady lane. Then Robin checked his
mule quickly and leaped from off its back. ‘Now, well met,
Sir Richard of the Lea,’ cried he, ‘for rather than any other
man in England would I see thy good face this day!’ Then
he told Sir Richard all the happenings that had befallen
him, and that now at last he felt himself safe, being so nigh
to Sherwood again. But when Robin had done, Sir Rich-
ard shook his head sadly. ‘Thou art in greater danger now,
Robin, than thou hast yet been,’ said he, ‘for before thee
lie bands of the Sheriff’s men blocking every road and let-
ting none pass through the lines without examining them
closely. I myself know this, having passed them but now.
Before thee lie the Sheriffs men and behind thee the King’s
men, and thou canst not hope to pass either way, for by this
time they will know of thy disguise and will be in waiting
to seize upon thee. My castle and everything within it are
thine, but nought could be gained there, for I could not
hope to hold it against such a force as is now in Nottingham