Page 341 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

pushed the cowl back from his head and showed a knit brow,
a hooked nose, and a pair of fierce, restless black eyes, which
altogether made Robin think of a hawk as he looked on his
face. But beside this there was something about the lines on
the stranger’s face, and his thin cruel mouth, and the hard
glare of his eyes, that made one’s flesh creep to look upon.
‘Who art thou, rascal?’ said he at last, in a loud, harsh
voice.
‘Tut, tut,’ quoth merry Robin, ‘speak not so sourly, broth-
er. Hast thou fed upon vinegar and nettles this morning
that thy speech is so stinging?’
‘An thou likest not my words,’ said the other fiercely,
‘thou hadst best be jogging, for I tell thee plainly, my deeds
match them.’
‘Nay, but I do like thy words, thou sweet, pretty thing,’
quoth Robin, squatting down upon the grass in front of the
other. ‘Moreover, I tell thee thy speech is witty and game-
some as any I ever heard in all my life.’
The other said not a word, but he glared upon Robin
with a wicked and baleful look, such as a fierce dog bestows
upon a man ere it springs at his throat. Robin returned the
gaze with one of wide-eyed innocence, not a shadow of a
smile twinkling in his eyes or twitching at the corners of
his mouth. So they sat staring at one another for a long time,
until the stranger broke the silence suddenly. ‘What is thy
name, fellow?’ said he.
‘Now,’ quoth Robin, ‘I am right glad to hear thee speak,
for I began to fear the sight of me had stricken thee dumb.
As for my name, it may be this or it may be that; but me-

0 The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood