Page 393 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

spake cheering words, laughing loudly, and saying that all
this was a child’s fright, and that no stout yeoman would
die at the loss of a few drops of blood. ‘Why,’ quoth he, ‘give
thee a se’ennight and thou wilt be roaming the woodlands
as boldly as ever.’
But Robin shook his head and smiled faintly where he lay.
‘Mine own dear Little John,’ whispered he, ‘Heaven bless thy
kind, rough heart. But, dear friend, we will never roam the
woodlands together again.’
‘Ay, but we will!’ quoth Little John loudly. ‘I say again,
ay—out upon it— who dares say that any more harm shall
come upon thee? Am I not by? Let me see who dares touch’—
Here he stopped of a sudden, for his words choked him. At
last he said, in a deep, husky voice, ‘Now, if aught of harm
befalls thee because of this day’s doings, I swear by Saint
George that the red cock shall crow over the rooftree of this
house, for the hot flames shall lick every crack and cranny
thereof. As for these women’—here he ground his teeth— ‘it
will be an ill day for them!’
But Robin Hood took Little John’s rough, brown fist in
his white hands, and chid him softly in his low, weak voice,
asking him since what time Little John had thought of do-
ing harm to women, even in vengeance. Thus he talked till,
at last, the other promised, in a choking voice, that no ill
should fall upon the place, no matter what happened. Then
a silence fell, and Little John sat with Robin Hood’s hand in
his, gazing out of the open window, ever and anon swallow-
ing a great lump that came in his throat. Meantime the sun
dropped slowly to the west, till all the sky was ablaze with a

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood