xt day, Sir Richard of the Lea claimed them.

And thus, amid feasting and rejoicing and kingly favor, Robin Hood, the
new Earl of Huntingdon, and his bride began their wedded life.

CHAPTER XXIV

HOW ROBIN HOOD MET HIS DEATH

"Give me my bent bow in my hand,
And a broad arrow I'll let flee;
And where this arrow is taken up,
There shall my grave digg'd be."

Now by good rights this story should end with the wedding of Robin Hood
and Maid Marian; for do not many pleasant tales end with a wedding and
the saying, "and they lived happy ever after."

But this is a true account--in so far as we can find the quaint old
ballads which tell of it--and so we must follow one more of these songs
and learn how Robin, after living many years longer, at last came to
seek his grave. And the story of it runs in this wise.

Robin Hood and his men, now the Royal Archers, went with King Richard of
the Lion Heart through England settling certain private disputes which
had arisen among the Norman barons while the King was gone to the Holy
Land. Then the King proceeded amid great pomp and rejoicing to the
palace at London, and Robin, the new Earl of Huntingdon, brought his
Countess thither, where she became one of the finest ladies of the
Court.

The Royal Archers were now divided into two bands, and one-half of them
were retained in London, while the other half returned to Sherwood and
Barnesdale, there to guard the King's preserves.

Several months passed by, and Robin began to chafe under the restraint
of city life. He longed for the fresh pure air of the greenwood, and
the rollicking society of his yeomen. One day, upon seeing some lads
at archery practice upon a green, he could not help but lament, saying,
"Woe is me! I fear my hand is fast losing its old time cunning at the
bow-string!"

Finally he became so distraught that he asked leave to travel in foreign
lands, and this was granted him. He took Maid Marian with him, and
together they went through many strange countries. Finally in an Eastern
land a great grief came upon Robin. Marian sickened of a plague and
died. They had been married but five years, and Robin felt as though all
the light had gone out of his life.

He wandered about the world for a few months longer, trying to forget
his grief, then came back to the court, at London, and sought some
commission in active service. But unluckily, Richard was gone again upon
his adventures, and P