Chapter-5
One morning, Robin desired to meet his long-time childhood friend Maid Marian who had been staying at Gamwell Hall. Soon he headed for Gamwell Hall, riding on horseback.
On his way he met a very old lady he had known for many a years. Robin bowed to the old lady who said to him, “Dear Robin, where are you going?”
Robin stated, “I am going to Gamwell Hall to meet Maid Marian.”
The old lady told, “O dear, you need not go there because Squire Gamwell has been dead for many months. Now the old Hall houses Sir Guy of Gisborne who has been living there for quite some time.”
Hearing of the words of the old lady Robin wondered, “Where are Maid Marian and Will Gamwell? Squire Gamwell’s property belongs to his son, not to his sworn-in enemy. How did it all happen? Please tell me elaborately.”
The old lady narrated thus, “It so happened one day when Sir Guy of Gisborne made an attack on Gamwell Hall without any prior warning. A great battle was fought between Squire Gamwell and Sir Guy. In the end, Squire Gamwell was put to death by Sir Guy who captured the Hall and started living there. As regards Maid Marian and Will Gamwell, I don’t know their whereabouts.”
Hearing of the pathetic tale of the old lady Robin felt sad and disappointed. He wondered where Maid Marian could have been. People in and around Gamwell Hall told Robin that Sir Guy of Gisborne took her prisoner and married her against her wish. There were some people who told him that Sir Guy put an end to her.
Robin could not believe in what the people said. He thought, ‘Maybe Maid Marian has left Gamwell Hall and has been living somewhere else. Maybe she was killed. But it can’t be. He felt very much depressed. He decided to take revenge against Sir Guy of Gisborne.
He rode on his horse and was on his way back to the Sherwood Forest. Reaching there he blew the horn. All his men came running to him. He said to them, “Dear, we are going to wage a war on Gamwell Hall tonight. Sir Guy of Gisborne is an evil soul who has killed my maternal uncle, Squire Gamwell. He has captured the Hall and has been staying there for quite some time. So, get ready to launch an attack on Gamwell Hall.”
All the men nodded their heads in the affirmative. As evening fell all of them reached the moat which was quite near Gamwell Hall. Robin then said to Little John and Will Scarlet, “Dear friends, you swim across the moat and see what is going on inside Gamwell Hall. When everything is safe inside, signal to us and we too shall reach the other end of the moat.”
Getting the signal from Little John and Will Scarlet Robin and his men quietly swam across the moat and reached the other end of the moat. Robin asked Little John. “What is Sir Guy doing inside?”
Little John replied, “A feast is being held. Everybody is in the mood of fun and frolic.”
“It will be good luck for us. We can attack them easily. They will be caught unawares. Let us make best use of this opportunity.” Now Robin ordered his men, “O dear, keep silence and follow me. I have chalked out a daring plan.”
Reaching the entrance to the door, he knocked gently at the door and asked, “Is Sir Guy at home? I want to meet him.”
The doorkeeper answer the call and said, “Yes, Sir Guy is available. Are you all alone?”
“Yes, I am all alone,” said Robin.
The doorkeeper went away and told Sir Guy that some person by the name Robin Hood wanted to see him.
Sir Guy observed, “He is most welcome. The prey himself has entered the den of the lion. Fetch him with great honour.”
In the meantime, the men of Robin Hood came up to the entrance stealthily and hid behind a wall.
When the doorkeeper came back, he noticed some shadows falling on the ground. He at once understood that Robin was not alone. He all of a sudden yelled at the top of his voice, “Robber! Here are a large number of robbers, Sir Guy. They have come here to kill us.”
Turning to his soldiers the doorkeeper ordered them to kill all of the robbers. A fierce battle ensued between Robin’s and his Merry Men and the soldiers of Sir Guy.
Robin’s men had a upper hand. They could easily defeat all the soldiers of Sir Guy.
Now Robin rushed at Sir Guy who in self-defence threw a heavy iron rod at Robin. The iron rod zooming past Robin broke one of the lamps. Soon one after another all the lamps crashed to the ground. Thus there were complete darkeners in the Hall. Under the cover of darkness Sir Guy managed to run away from there.
Robin said to his men, “Let us return to the Forest; Sir Guy has escaped.”
Leaving everything in mess Robin with his men returned to the Sherwood Forest.
Now one thing had become crystal clear. Maid Marian was not in Gamwell Hall. Had she been there she would have definitely come out to know why the fight was going on there. Robin mused, ‘Where can be my childhood friend? Is she dead? No, no, it can’t be so.’
The very next morning Sir Guy came back to Gamwell Hall. Seeing the Hall in dilapidated condition he was in a state of shock. The Hall had been turned into rubble. He was filled with the fire of revenge. He vowed to kill Robin, by hook or by crook.
The very moment, he decided to meet the Sheriff of Nottingham. When he met the Sheriff, he said, “O Sir, we can make a plan to kill him. He is our worst enemy. Do something or he will create problems in future as well.”
The Sheriff as unfortunate as he was said, “Dear, I have tried many a time to capture him, dead or alive. But every time he has made me lick dust. Besides being brave he is clever.”
Hearing the words of the Sheriff Sir Guy said, “I have a plan. I shall go to his greenwood camp in the guise of a traveller. I won’t kill him there. Somehow, I would bring him here in front of you. Then you can hang him at your sweet will. What do you say?”
“But how shall I be able to know that you have succeeded in fetching him here,” asked the Sheriff.
“It is very simple, Sir. As soon as I managed to fetch him here, I shall blow my hunting horn. Thus you will be sure of my success,” stated Sir Guy.
Thus agreed upon Sir Guy put on the garb of a traveller and was on his way to the greenwood. He was all alone.
Here in the greenwood camp, Robin ordered Little John and Will Scarlet to dress themselves as poor travellers and go to Nottingham in order to buy some green cloth.
Thus both of them in the guise of poor travellers set out for Nottingham. Each of them entered the city though a separate route. Posing as a poor traveller Will Scarlet reached the shop of a merchant and purchased a large quantity of green cloth. When he made the payment, the merchant grew suspicious. He thought, ‘How can a poor traveller have such large amounts of money?’
As Will Scarlet left the merchant’s shop, the merchant rushed towards the Sheriff’s office to inform him about the arrival of the poor traveller.
Seeing the merchant running to the Sheriff’s office, Will Scarlet ran with all his might towards the forest. Scarcely had Little John entered the city when he saw that Will Scarlet was being chased by the Sheriff’s men. He said to himself, ‘The Sheriff’s men will surly get hold of Will Scarlet.’
But Will Scarlet was not such a man as would be caught easily. He was a man of guts. He did not lose heart. He took an arrow out of his quiver and placed it on his bow. Then he shot the arrow in the direction of one of the men of the Sheriff. The arrow pierced through the chest of the Sheriff’s soldier who fell to the ground lifeless. Then he shot another arrow. It also produced the same result.
Little John standing at some distance cried, “What a good shot! Keep it up.”
That very moment the Sheriff was coming that way. All of the sudden he heard the cry of Little John. He at once recognized Little John. He ordered his soldiers to catch hold of Little John.
Seeing the Sheriff’s men coming towards him Little John broke into a sprint. However hard he tried to escape, he could not run away from there. He was overpowered by the Sheriff’s men who took him in front of the Sheriff.
Seeing Little John the Sheriff told his men, “This rascal is Robin’s right hand. Capture him tightly. Now I shall show Robin who I am and what I can do. Carry him to the gallows and hang him instantly.”
Just that very moment the Sheriff heard the sound of a horn. It had been blown to signal to the Sheriff that Robin Hood had been captured by Sir Guy.
Hearing the sound of the horn the Sheriff’s joy knew no bounds. He turned to Little John and said, “Look, your master too has been caught. I have killed two birds with one stone. Now both of you are under my custody. You will be hanged together tomorrow at daybreak.”
Hearing of the words of the Sheriff Little John felt disappointed very much. It was hard for him to stomach the news that Robin too had been caught hold of.
Soon Sir Guy dragging Robin behind him reached there. Seeing Sir Guy the Sheriff felt very pleased. He welcomed Sir Guy and patted his back. He observed, “Well done, Sir Guy. You have done a good job. I am very proud of you.”
No sooner did the Sheriff turn his back than Sir Guy removed his cloak. In fact, he was not Sir Guy. He was Robin Hood in the garb of Sir Guy who had been checkmated by Robin. The man whom Sir Guy was dragging was none other than Will Scarlet.
The Sheriff stood aghast. Before he could order his men to capture Robin and his men, Robin with his men ran away to the uphill. Once they reached the edge of the forest, Little John could not help asking Robin how he managed to act so fast.
Robin burst out laughing and explained, “It so happened that I was walking along the Nottingham road when a traveller came up to me and asked, “Do you know Robin Hood? Does he live here in the Sherwood Forest? Tell me whatever you know about him.”
I asked him, “Why are you asking me all these things? Let me know in detail.”
The traveller took off his garb and said, “Look here. I am not a traveller by any means. My name is Sir Guy. I live in Gisborne. Have a look at my sword and the shining armour under my clothing. I have pledged to catch hold of Robin. Please help me capture him.”
“What will you do to Robin? He is a very noble soul I have heard that he robs the rich to pay to the poor.”
“When I catch Robin, I shall blow my horn. It will indicate to the Sheriff that I have succeeded in capturing Robin. Then his men will come and catch hold of him. Soon he will be hanged. The Sheriff will be able to put an end to his worst enemy.”
“Your idea is excellent. But I am sorry; I can’t help you in this matter,” said Robin.
The traveller roared loudly and said, “If you don’t tell me the whereabouts of Robin, you will have your neck severed this very moment.”
Robin Hood stood motionless for quite some time. Then he said to Sir Guy, “Dear, you need not go into the deeper part of the Forest. I am the person you are looking for. My name is Robin Hood, the chief of the outlaws in the Sherwood Forest.”
Soon a fierce battle took place between the two. Sir Guy was no match for Robin. He was defeated and killed by Robin.
Now Will Scarlet who was standing nearby started to tell the next part of the story, “Escaping the Sheriff’s men I saw Little John had been captured by the Sheriff’s men. I ran towards the Forest to give the news to Robin who was standing beside the dead body of Sir Guy. I told him everything. Robin put on the clothes of Sir Guy and we hurriedly rode towards Nottingham to save you. You know very well the latter part of the story.”
Robin burst out laughing. All the three clapped cheerfully and disappeared into the deeper part of the Sherwood Forest.
