eance--well it becometh
you!--but your poor brother o' the greenwood, that had never lands to
lose nor friends to think upon, looketh rather, for his poor part, to
the profit of the thing. He had liever a gold noble and a pottle of
canary wine than all the vengeances in purgatory."

"Lawless," replied the other, "to reach the Moat House, Sir Daniel must
pass the forest. We shall make that passage dearer, pardy, than any
battle. Then, when he hath got to earth with such ragged handful as
escapeth us--all his great friends fallen and fled away, and none to
give him aid--we shall beleaguer that old fox about, and great shall be
the fall of him. 'Tis a fat buck; he will make a dinner for us all."

"Ay," returned Lawless, "I have eaten many of these dinners beforehand;
but the cooking of them is hot work, good Master Ellis. And meanwhile
what do we? We make black arrows, we write rhymes, and we drink fair
cold water, that discomfortable drink."

"Y'are untrue, Will Lawless. Ye still smell of the Grey Friars' buttery;
greed is your undoing," answered Ellis. "We took twenty pounds from
Appleyard. We took seven marks from the messenger last night. A day ago
we had fifty from the merchant."

"And to-day," said one of the men, "I stopped a fat pardoner riding
apace for Holywood. Here is his purse."

Ellis counted the contents.

"Five-score shillings!" he grumbled. "Fool, he had more in his sandal,
or stitched into his tippet. Y'are but a child, Tom Cuckow; ye have lost
the fish."

But, for all that, Ellis pocketed the purse with nonchalance. He stood
leaning on his boar-spear, and looked round upon the rest. They, in
various attitudes, took greedily of the venison pottage, and liberally
washed it down with ale. This was a good day; they were in luck; but
business pressed, and they were speedy in their eating. The first-comers
had by this time even despatched their dinner. Some lay down upon the
grass and fell instantly asleep, like boa-constrictors; others talked
together, or overhauled their weapons; and one, whose humour was
particularly gay, holding forth an ale-horn, began to sing:

"Here is no law in good green shaw,
Here is no lack of meat;
'Tis merry and quiet, with deer for our diet,
In summer, when all is sweet.

"Come winter again, with wind and rain--
Come winter, with snow and sleet,
Get home to your places, with hoods on your faces,
And sit by the fire and ea