" So saying, he raised his quarterstaff above his head in a
threatening way.
"Alas!" said the stranger sadly, "it doth grieve me that this thing must
be. I fear much that I must slay thee, thou poor fellow!" So saying, he
drew his sword.
"Put by thy weapon," quoth Robin. "I would take no vantage of thee. Thy
sword cannot stand against an oaken staff such as mine. I could snap it
like a barley straw. Yonder is a good oaken thicket by the roadside;
take thee a cudgel thence and defend thyself fairly, if thou hast a
taste for a sound drubbing."
First the stranger measured Robin with his eye, and then he measured the
oaken staff. "Thou art right, good fellow," said he presently, "truly,
my sword is no match for that cudgel of thine. Bide thee awhile till I
get me a staff." So saying, he threw aside the rose that he had been
holding all this time, thrust his sword back into the scabbard, and,
with a more hasty step than he had yet used, stepped to the roadside
where grew the little clump of ground oaks Robin had spoken of. Choosing
among them, he presently found a sapling to his liking.
Pages:
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170