"
At these words the King raised his eyes and looked grimly upon the
Bishop. "Sayst thou so?" quoth he. "Now, I will show thee, in good
time, how much thou dost err, for, when the forty days are past and
gone, I will seize upon this thieving outlaw, if I have to tear down all
of Sherwood to find him. Thinkest thou that the laws of the King of
England are to be so evaded by one poor knave without friends or money?"
Then the Bishop spoke again, in his soft, smooth voice:
"Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty, and believe that I have nought but
the good of England and Your Majesty's desirings at heart; but what
would it boot though my gracious lord did root up every tree of
Sherwood? Are there not other places for Robin Hood's hiding? Cannock
Chase is not far from Sherwood, and the great Forest of Arden is not far
from Cannock Chase. Beside these are many other woodlands in Nottingham
and Derby, Lincoln and York, amid any of which Your Majesty might as
well think to seize upon Robin Hood as to lay finger upon a rat among
the dust and broken things of a garret.
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