Then the crowd,
seeing the steel-clad knight and the armed men, melted away like snow on
the warm hearth, leaving the young man all bloody and dusty upon the
ground.
Finding himself free, the youth arose and, wiping the blood from his
face, looked up. Quoth he, "Sir Richard of the Lea, mayhap thou hast
saved my life this day."
"Who art thou that knowest Sir Richard of the Lea so well?" quoth the
Knight. "Methinks I have seen thy face before, young man."
"Yea, thou hast," said the youth, "for men call me David of Doncaster."
"Ha!" said Sir Richard, "I wonder that I knew thee not, David; but thy
beard hath grown longer, and thou thyself art more set in manhood since
this day twelvemonth. Come hither into the tent, David, and wash the
blood from thy face. And thou, Ralph, bring him straightway a clean
jerkin. Now I am sorry for thee, yet I am right glad that I have had a
chance to pay a part of my debt of kindness to thy good master Robin
Hood, for it might have gone ill with thee had I not come, young man."
So saying, the Knight led David into the tent, and there the youth
washed the blood from his face and put on the clean jerkin.
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