'Seeing that he was free to move among folk in housen, under
or over Cold Iron, I used to take him along with me, night-
walking, where he could watch folk, and I could keep him from
touching Cold Iron. That wasn't so difficult as it sounds, because
there are plenty of things besides Cold Iron in housen to catch a
boy's fancy. He was a handful, though! I shan't forget when I took
him to Little Lindens - his first night under a roof. The smell of
the rushlights and the bacon on the beams - they were stuffing a
feather-bed too, and it was a drizzling warm night - got into his
head. Before I could stop him -we were hiding in the bakehouse -
he'd whipped up a storm of wildfire, with flashlights and voices,
which sent the folk shrieking into the garden, and a girl overset a
hive there, and - of course he didn't know till then such things
could touch him - he got badly stung, and came home with his
face looking like kidney potatoes!
'You can imagine how angry Sir Huon and Lady Esclairmonde
were with poor Robin! They said the Boy was never to be trusted
with me night-walking any more - and he took about as much
notice of their order as he did of the bee-stings. Night after night,
as soon as it was dark, I'd pick up his whistle in the wet fern, and
off we'd flit together among folk in housen till break of day - he
asking questions, and I answering according to my knowledge.
Then we fell into mischief again!'Puck shook till the gate rattled.

'We came across a man up at Brightling who was beating his
wife with a bat in the garden. I was just going to toss the man over
his own woodlump when the Boy jumped the hedge and ran at him.
Of course the woman took her husband's part, and while the man
beat him, the woman scratted his face. It wasn't till I danced
among the cabbages like Brightling Beacon all ablaze that they