of the Sheriff’s men blocking every road and letting none pass through the lines without examining them closely.  I myself know this, having passed them but now.  Before thee lie the Sheriffs men and behind thee the King’s men, and thou canst not hope to pass either way, for by this time they will know of thy disguise and will be in waiting to seize upon thee.  My castle and everything within it are thine, but nought could be gained there, for I could not hope to hold it against such a force as is now in Nottingham of the King’s and the Sheriffs men.”  Having so spoken, Sir Richard bent his head in thought, and Robin felt his heart sink within him like that of the fox that hears the hounds at his heels and finds his den blocked with earth so that there is no hiding for him.  But presently Sir Richard spoke again, saying, “One thing thou canst do, Robin, and one only.  Go back to London and throw thyself upon the mercy of our good Queen Eleanor.  Come with me straightway to my castle.  Doff these clothes and put on such as my retainers wear.  Then I will hie me to London Town with a troop of men behind me, and thou shalt mingle with them, and thus will I bring thee to where thou mayst see and speak with the Queen.  Thy only hope is to get to Sherwood, for there none can reach thee, and thou wilt never get to Sherwood but in this way.”

So Robin went with Sir Richard of the Lea, and did as he said, for he saw the wisdom of that which the knight advised, and that this was his only chance of safety.

Queen Eleanor walked in her royal garden, amid the roses that bloomed sweetly, and with her walked six of her ladies-in-waiting, chattering blithely together.  Of a sudden a man leaped up to the top of the wall from the other side, and then, hanging for a moment, dropped lightly upon the grass within.  All the ladies-in-waiting shrieked at the suddenness of his coming, but the man ran to the Queen and kneeled at her feet, and she saw that it was Robin Hood.

“Why, how now, Robin!” cried she, “dost thou dare to come into the very jaws of the raging lion?  Alas, poor fellow!  Thou art lost indeed if the King finds thee here.  Dost thou not know that he is seeking thee through all the land?”

“Yea,” quoth Robin, “I do know right well that the King seeks me, and therefore I have come; for, surely, no ill can befall me when he hath pledged his royal word to Your Majesty for my safety.  Moreover, I know Your Majesty’s kindness and gentleness of heart, and so I lay my life freely in your gracious hands.”

“I take thy meaning, Robin Hood,” said the Queen, “and that thou dost convey reproach to me, as well thou mayst, for I know that I have not done by thee as I ought to have done.  I know right well that thou must have been hard pressed by peril to leap so boldly into one danger to escape another.  Once more I promise thee mine aid, and will do all I can to send thee back in safety to Sherwood Forest.  Bide thou here till I return.”  So saying, she left Robin in the garden of roses, and was gone a long time.