holding all this time, thrust his sword back into the scabbard, and,
with a more hasty step than he had yet used, stepped to the roadside
where grew the little clump of ground oaks Robin had spoken of. Choosing
among them, he presently found a sapling to his liking. He did not cut
it, but, rolling up his sleeves a little way, he laid hold of it, placed
his heel against the ground, and, with one mighty pull, plucked the
young tree up by the roots from out the very earth. Then he came back,
trimming away the roots and tender stems with his sword as quietly as if
he had done nought to speak of.

Little John and the Tanner had been watching all that passed, but when
they saw the stranger drag the sapling up from the earth, and heard the
rending and snapping of its roots, the Tanner pursed his lips together,
drawing his breath between them in a long inward whistle.

"By the breath of my body!" said Little John, as soon as he could gather
his wits from their wonder, "sawest thou that, Arthur? Marry, I think
our poor master will stand but an ill chance with yon fellow. By Our
Lady, he plucked up yon green tree as it were a barley straw."

Whatever Robin Hood thought, he stood his ground, and now he and the
stranger in scarlet stood face to face.

Well did Robin Hood hold his own that day as a mid-country yeoman. This
way and that they fought, and back and forth, Robin's skill against the
stranger's strength. The dust of the highway rose up around them like a
cloud, so that at times Little John and the Tanner could see nothing,
but only hear the rattle of the staves against one another. Thrice Robin
Hood struck the stranger; once upon the arm and twice upon the ribs, and
yet had he warded all the other's blows, only one of which, had it met