It was all very wonderful to young Robin when he saw Little John or
one of the other men let fly an arrow with a twang of the
bow-string and a sharp whizz of the wings through the air, to
quiver in a mark eighty or a hundred yards away, or to pierce some
flying wild goose or duck passing in a flock high in air; but by
degrees that which had seemed so marvellous soon ceased to astonish
him, and at last looked quite easy.
For Robin was delighted with his bow and arrows as soon as he found
that he could send one of the light-winged shafts whistling in a
beautiful curve to stick in some big tree.
Then he began shooting at smaller trees, and then at saplings when
he could hit the small trees. But the saplings were, of course,
much more difficult. One day though, he went back to Little John
in triumph to tell him that he had shot at a young oak about as
thick as his wrist.
"But you didn't hit it?" said the big fellow, smiling.
"I just scratched one side of it though," cried the boy.
"Did you now? Well done! You keep on trying, and you'll beat me
some day."
"I don't think I shall," said Robin, shaking his head thoughtfully.
"Oh! but you will if you keep on trying. A lad who tries hard can
do nearly anything."
"Can he?" said Robin.
"To be sure he can; so you try, and when you can hit anything you
shoot at you'll be half a man. And when you've done growing you'll
be one quite."
"Shall I ever be as big as you?" asked Robin.
"I hope not," said Little John, laughing. "I'm too big."
"Are you?" said Robin. "I should like to be as big as you."
"No, no, don't," cried Little John. "You go on growing till you're
a six-footer, and then you stop. All that grows after that's waste
o' good stuff, and gets in your way. Big uns like me are always
knocking their heads against something."
"But how am I to know when I'm six feet high?" said Robin.
"Oh! I'll tell you, I'll keep measuring you, my lad."
"And how am I to stop growing?"
Little John took off his cap and scratched his head, as he wrinkled
up his big, good-humored face.
"Well, I don't quite know," he said; "but there's plenty o' time
yet, and we shall see. Might put a big stone in your hat; or keep
you in a very dry place; or tie your shoulders down to your
waist--no, that wouldn't do."
"Why?" said Robin promptly.
"Because it wouldn't stop your legs growing, and it's boys' legs
that grow the most when they're young. I say, though, what's
become of all those arrows I made you?"
"Shot them away."
"And only two left. You mustn't waste arrows like that. Why
didn't you look for them after you shot?"
"I did," cried Robin, "but they will hide themselves so. They
creep right under the grass and among the weeds so that you can't
find them again. But you'll make me some more, won't you?"
"Well," said Little John, "I suppose I must; but you will have to
be more careful, young un. I can't spend all my time making new
arrows for you. But there, I want you to shoot so that the captain
will be proud of you, and some day you'll have to shoot a deer."
"I don't think I should like to shoot a deer," said the boy,
shaking his head.
"Why not?" They're good to eat."
"They look so nice and kind, with their big soft eyes."
"Well, a man then."
"Oh, no! I shouldn't like to shoot a man."
"What not one of the captain's enemies who had come to kill him?"
"I don't think I should mind so much then. Look here, Little John,
I'd shoot an arrow into his back, to prick him and make him run
away."
"And so you shall, my lad," cried Little John, and he set to work
directly to cut some wood for arrows to refill the boy's quiver;
and when those were lost, he made some more, for young Robin was
always shooting and losing them; but Little John said it did not
matter, for he was going to be a famous marksman, and the big
fellow looked as proud of his pupil as could be.
But Little John did not stop at teaching young Robin to shoot, for
one day the boy found him smoothing and scraping a nice new piece
of ash as thick as his little finger, which was not little at all.
"You don't know what this is for," said the big fellow.
"It looks like a little quarter-staff," said young Robin, "like all
the men have."
"Well done. Guessed it first time. Now guess who it is for?"
"Me," said the boy promptly. And so it was, and what was more,
Little John, in the days which followed, taught him how to handle
it so as to give blows and guard himself, till the little fellow
became as clever and active as could be, making the men roar with
laughter when in a bout he managed to strike so quickly that his
staff struck leg or arm before his opponent could guard.
"Why, you're getting quite a forester, Robin," said the captain,
smiling, "and what with your skill with bow and quarter-staff
you'll soon be able to hold your own."
Robin Hood's words were put to the proof in autumn, for one day
when the acorns had swollen to such a size that they could no
longer sit in their cups, and came rattling down from the sunny
side of the great oak-trees, young Robin was having a glorious
ramble. He had filled his satchel with brown hazel nuts, had a
good feast of blackberries, and stained his fingers. He had had a
long talk to a tame fawn which knew him and came when he whistled,
and tempted a couple of squirrels down with some very brown nuts,
laying them upon the bark of a fallen tree, and then drawing back a
few yards, with the result that the bushy-tailed little animals
crept softly down, nearer and nearer, ending by making a rush,
seizing the nuts, and darting back to the security of a high branch
of a tree.
"I shouldn't hurt you," said Robin, as he stood leaning upon his
little quarter-staff, watching them nibble away the ends of the
nuts to get at the sweet kernel. "If I wanted to I could unsling
my bow, string it, and bring you down with an arrow; but I don't
want to. Why can't you both be as tame as my fawn?"
The squirrels made no answer, but went on nibbling the nuts, and
suddenly darted up higher in the tree, while Robin grew so much
interested in the movements of the active little creatures that he
heard no sound behind him, nor did he awaken to the fact that he
was being stalked by some one creeping bare-footed from tree to
tree to get within springing distance, till all at once he felt the
whole weight of something alighting on his back and driving him
forward so that he dropped his quarter-staff and came down on hands
and knees.
"Got yer, have I, at last?" cried a familiar voice, as he felt his
ribs nipped, his assailant having seated himself on his back.
"Didn't I tell yer I'd wait, and you was to bring me back a lot to
eat?"
Young Robin waited for no more, but in his agony of spirit he gave
himself a wrench sidewise, dislodging his rider, and made an effort
to struggle up again.
But his old enemy held fast, and after a sharp struggle Robin stood
panting, face to face with the young swineherd, who had him tightly
by the doublet with both hands.
"You let go," cried young Robin fiercely. "You'll tear my coat."
"I means to tear it right off dreckly," said the boy, grinning. "I
want a noo un again, and it'll just do. I'm a-going to have them
bow and arrows too, and the knife and cap, I'll let you see! Going
and hiding away all this time, when I told yer to come back!"
"You let me go," panted Robin, looking vainly round for help.
"Nay, there aren't no one a-nigh, and I've got yer fast. Why
didn't yer come back as I told you?"
"I didn't want to," said Robin angrily. "You let me go. I'll call
Little John to you."
"Call him, and I'll knock his ugly old eye out," cried the boy. "I
don't care for no Little Johns. I've got you now, and I'm going to
pay you for not coming back before. And I know," he snarled,
"you're a thief; that's what you are."
"I'm not," cried Robin fiercely, and he made a desperate struggle
to get away to where his little quarter-staff lay half hidden
amongst the bracken. "You let me go." But his efforts to get free
were vain.
"Yes, I'll let you go, p'raps, when I've done with you and got all
I wants," said the boy, in a husky, satisfied tone, as he seemed to
gloat over his victim. "No, I won't; you're a thief, and a
deer-stealer, and I shall just take yer to one of the King's
keepers."
Young Robin set his teeth and made another struggle, but quite in
vain, for he was no match in strength for his adversary.
"What! Hold still! Wo ho, kicker! Quiet, will yer!" snarled the
boy. "If yer don't leave off I'll drag yer through all the worst
brambles and pitch yer to my tigs. D'yer hear?" he shouted.
Robin paused breathlessly, and stood gazing wildly at his enemy.
"Yer thought I was giving yer up, did yer, but I wasn't. I've been
watching for yer ever since yer run away. I knowed I should ketch
yer some day. Errrr! yer young thief!"
He tightened his grip of Robin's shoulders, grinned at him like an
angry dog, and gave him a fierce shake, while his victim breathed
hard as he pressed his teeth together, and there was the look in
his eyes as if he were some newly captured wild creature seeking a
way to escape.
"Kerm along," snarled the young swineherd. "I dropped my staff
just back here, and as soon as I gets it, I'm going to stand over
yer while yer strips off all them things; and if yer tries to get
away I'll break yer legs, and yer can't run then."
Robin drew a breath which sounded like a deep sigh, and ceased his
struggling, letting his enemy force him to walk backward among the
bracken and nearly fall again and again, till all at once the
savage young lout shouted:
"Ah, here it is'" and loosening one hand, he was in the act of
stooping to pick up the staff he had dropped in leaping upon his
victim, who now made a bound which sent the boy face downward on to
his staff, while Robin dashed off to where his own quarter-staff
lay among the bracken--a spot he had glanced at again and again.
He seized it in an instant, and was about to bound away among the
trees, but his enemy had recovered himself, and staff in hand, came
after him at so terrible a rate that Robin only avoided a swishing
blow at his legs by dodging round a tree, which received the stroke.
The next moment Robin faced round in the open beyond the tree, and
stood on guard as he had been taught.
"Ah, would yer?" snarled the young swineherd; "take that then."
Whisk went the staff and then crack as it was received by Robin
across his own, and then, profiting by Little John's lessons, he
brought his own over from the left and delivered a sounding blow on
his assailant's head.
The swineherd uttered a savage yell as he staggered back, but came
fiercely on again, striking with all his might, but so wildly that
Robin easily avoided the blow, and brought his own staff down
whack, crash, on his enemy's shoulders, producing a couple more
yells of pain. From that moment Robin had it all his own way, for
he easily guarded himself from the swineherd's fierce strokes and
retorted with swinging blows on first one arm, then on the other.
Then he brought his staff down with a blow beside his enemy's left
leg, then half behind the right, making him dance and limp as he
yelled and sought in vain to beat down his active little adversary,
who delivered a shower of cleverly directed blows in response to
the wild swoops given with the worst of aim.
In the heat and excitement Robin had felt no fear. He was on his
mettle, and fighting for liberty, to gain which he felt that he
must effectually beat his enemy; and thanks to Little John's
lessons he thrashed him so well that at the end of five minutes the
young swine-herd received a final stroke across the knuckles which
made him shriek, drop his staff, and turn to run down a long
straight avenue in the forest where the ground was open.
Robin in his excitement began to run after him to continue the
beating, but the swineherd went too fast, and on the impulse of the
moment the victor stopped short, dropping his own staff and
unslinging his bow from where it hung. In less time than it takes
to tell the bow was strung and an arrow fitted, drawn to the head,
and with a twang it was loosed after the flying lad, now a hundred
yards away; but as soon as it was shot Robin repented.
"It'll kill him," he thought, and his heart seemed to stand still.
For the boy's teacher had taught well, and here was the proof.
Truly as if a long careful aim had been taken the arrow sped many
times faster than the swineherd ran, and Robin's eyes dilated as he
saw his adversary give a sudden spring and fall upon his face,
uttering a hideous yell.
Robin, full of repentance, started off to his enemy's help, but
before he had gone many yards the swineherd sprang up and began to
run faster than ever, while when Robin reached the spot there lay
his arrow, but the lad was gone.
"Only pricked him a bit," said Little John, when he heard of the
adventure. "Serve the young wretch right. But the quarter-staff.
My word, big un, I'd have given something to have been there to
hear his bones rattle. Well, I didn't teach you for naught. But
look here, if you meet that fellow in the forest again don't you
wait for him to begin; you go at him at once."
Robin nodded his head, but he never saw the swineherd again.