ttle John dealt, Robin declared it was not fitting a chief should be
struck by his men, and offered to take his punishment at his guest's
hands. Richard, not sorry to take his revenge, now bared a muscular
arm, and hit poor Robin so heartily that the outlaw measured his full
length on the ground and lay there some time wondering what had
occurred.

Just then Sir Richard's son rushed into the outlaw's camp,
breathlessly crying the king had left Nottingham and was scouring the
forest to arrest them. Throwing back his cowl Richard sternly demanded
how one of his nobles dared reveal his plans to his foes, whereupon
the young knight, kneeling before his monarch, explained how Robin had
saved his father from ruin.

Richard, whose anger was a mere pretence, now informed Robin he should
no longer be persecuted, and proposed that he, Little John, Will
Scarlet, and Allan a Dale should enter his service. The rest of the
outlaws were appointed game-keepers in the royal forests, a life which
suited them admirably.

After spending the night in the camp of the outlaws, Richard rode away
with his new followers, and we are told Robin Hood served him to such
good purpose that he soon earned the title of Earl of Huntington.
Shortly after Richard's death, Robin, seized with a longing for the
wild free life of his youth, revisited Sherwood Forest, where the
first blast of his hunting-horn gathered a score of his old followers
about him. Falling at his feet and kissing his hands, they so
fervently besought him never to leave them again that Robin promised
to remain in the forest, and did so, although King John sent for him
sundry times and finally ordered the sheriff to arrest him.

By this time Robin was no longer a young man, so life in the open no
longer proved as delightful as of yore. Seized with a fever which he
could not shake off, Robin finally dragged himself to the priory of
Kirk Lee, where he besought the prioress to bleed him. Either because
she was afraid to defy the king or because she owed Robin a personal
grudge, this lady opened an artery instead of a vein, and, locking the
door of his room, left him there to bleed to death. The unsuspecting
Robin patiently awaited her return, and, when he finally realized his
plight and tried to summon aid, he was able to blow only the faintest
call upon his horn. This proved enough, however, to summon Little
John, who was lurking in the forest near by, for he dashed toward the
priory,