Part 28 (1/2)

”Now, in good sooth,” quoth ue betwixt thy teeth But hast thou truly nought but a dry crust about thee? Methinks thy bags and pouches are fat and lusty for such thin fare”

”Why, ar slyly

”And hast thou nought to drink but cold water?” said Robin

”Never so ar ”Over beyond yon clump of trees is as sweet a little inn as ever thou hast lifted eyelid upon; but I go not thither, for they have a nasty iththere, the landlady set a dear little tart of stewed crabs and barley sugar upon thesill to cool, and, seeing it there, and fearing it ht be lost, I took it with me till that I could find the owner thereof Ever since then they have acted very ill toward me; yet truth bids me say that they have the best ale there that ever rolled over hed aloud ”Marry,” quoth he, ”they did ill toward thee for thy kindness But tell me truly, what hast thou in thy pouches?”

”Why,” quoth the Beggar, peeping into the eon pie, wrapped in a cabbage leaf to hold the gravy Here I behold a dainty streaked piece of brawn, and here a fair lump of white bread Here I find four oaten cakes and a cold knuckle of has that must have come by accident from some poultry yard hereabouts They are raw, but roasted upon the coals and spread with a piece of butter that I see--”

”Peace, good friend!” cried Robin, holding up his hand ”Thou makest my poor stomach quake with joy for what thou tellest htway hie me to that little inn thou didst tell of but now, and will bring a skin of ale for thy drinking and ar, getting down from the stile ”I will feast thee with the best that I have and bless Saint Cedric for thy co three quarts of ale at least, one for thy drinking and two for mine, for my thirst is such that methinks I can drink ale as the sands of the River Dee drink salt water”

So Robin straightway left the Beggar, who, upon his part, went to a budding lie, and there spread his feast upon the grass and roasted his eggs upon a little fagot fire, with a deftness gained by long labor in that line After a while back caoodly skin of ale upon his shoulder, which he laid upon the grass

Then, looking upon the feast spread upon the ground--and a fair sight it was to look upon--he slowly rubbed his hand over his stoht that he had beheld in all his life

”Friend,” said the Beggar, ”let ht of that skin

”Yea, truly,” quoth Robin, ”help thyself, sweet chuck, and eon pie is fresh or no”

So the one seized upon the ale and the other upon the pigeon pie, and nothing was heard for a while but the le of ale as it left the skin

At last, after a long time had passed thus, Robin pushed the food froh of deep content, for he felt as though he had been ood friend,” quoth he, leaning upon one elbow, ”I would have at thee about that othersince”

”How!” said the Beggar reproachfully, ”thou wouldst surely not talk of things appertaining to serious affairs upon such ale as this!”

”Nay,” quoth Robin, laughing ”I would not check thy thirst, sweet friend; drink while I talk to thee Thus it is: I would have thee know that I have taken a liking to thy craft and would fain have a taste of a beggar's life ar, ”Ito ood fellow, but 'to like' and 'to do' are two matters of different sorts I tell thee, friend, oneapprenticeshi+p ere one can learn to be even so eon, much less a crank or an Abraham-man[3] I tell thee, lad, thou art too old to enter upon that which itof”

[3] Classes of traveling land as late as the middle of the seventeenth century VIDE Dakkar's ENGLISH VILLAINIES, etc

”Mayhap thatto mind that Gaffer Swanthold sayeth Jack Shoemaker maketh ill bread; Tom Baker ar's life, and need but the clothing to be as good as any”

”I tell thee, fellow,” said the Beggar, ”if thou wert clad as sweetly as good Saint Wynten, the patron of our craft, thou wouldst never ar Marry, the first jolly traveler that thou wouldstthy nose into a craft that belongeth not to thee”

”Nevertheless,” quoth Robin, ”I would have a try at it; and arb seee clothes, but I will give thee two golden angels to boot I have brought ht have to rap some one of the brethren of thy cloth over the head by way of argument in this iven ainst thee, so thou needst not have a cruar listened with his knuckles resting against his hips, and when Robin had ended he cocked his head on one side and thrust his tongue into his cheek

”Marry, coainst me, forsooth! Art thou out of thy wits, man? My name is Riccon Hazel, and I come from Holywell, in Flintshi+re, over by the River Dee I tell thee, knave, I have cracked the head of many a better man than thou art, and even noould scald thy crown for thee but for the ale thou hast givenof ”

”Now, fellow,” said Robin, ”it would ill suit me to spoil thy pretty head for thee, but I tell thee plainly, that but for this feast I would do that to thee would stop thy traveling the country for many a day to come Keep thy lips shut, lad, or thy luck will tumble out of thy mouth with thy speech!”

”Now out, and alas for thee, ar, rising and taking up his staff ”Take up thy club and defend thyself, fellow, for I will not only beat thee but I will take froroat to buy thyself a lurease to rub thy cracked croithal So defend thyself, I say”