Page 369 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

bargain. We keep an inn hereabouts, and for fifty pounds
we will not only give thee a good draught of wine, but will
give thee as noble a feast as ever thou didst tickle thy gul-
let withal.’ So saying, he put his fingers to his lips and blew
a shrill whistle. Then straightway the bushes and branches
on either side of the road swayed and crackled, and three-
score broad-shouldered yeomen in Lincoln green burst out
of the covert.
‘How now, fellow,’ quoth the King, ‘who art thou, thou
naughty rogue? Hast thou no regard for such holy men as
we are?’
‘Not a whit,’ quoth merry Robin Hood, for the fellow
was he, ‘for in sooth all the holiness belonging to rich fri-
ars, such as ye are, one could drop into a thimble and the
goodwife would never feel it with the tip of her finger. As
for my name, it is Robin Hood, and thou mayst have heard
it before.’
‘Now out upon thee!’ quoth King Richard. ‘Thou art a
bold and naughty fellow and a lawless one withal, as I have
often heard tell. Now, prythee, let me, and these brethren of
mine, travel forward in peace and quietness.’
‘It may not be,’ said Robin, ‘for it would look but ill of
us to let such holy men travel onward with empty stom-
achs. But I doubt not that thou hast a fat purse to pay thy
score at our inn since thou offerest freely so much for a poor
draught of wine. Show me thy purse, reverend brother, or I
may perchance have to strip thy robes from thee to search
for it myself.’
‘Nay, use no force,’ said the King sternly. ‘Here is my

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood