Then at last the stranger saw his chance and changed his tune of
fighting. With one upward stroke he sent Eric's staff whirling through
the air. With another he tapped Eric on the head; and, with a third
broad swing, ere the other could recover himself, he swept him clear off
the stage, much as you would brush a fly off the window pane.

Now the people danced and shouted and made so much ado that the
shop-keepers left their stalls and others came running from every
direction. The victory of the queer beggar made him immensely popular.
Eric had been a great bully, and many had suffered defeat and insult
at his hands. So the ragged stranger found money and food and drink
everywhere at his disposal, and he feasted right comfortably till the
afternoon.

Then a long bow contest came on, and to it the beggar went with some of
his new friends. It was held in the same arena that Robin had formerly
entered; and again the Sheriff and lords and ladies graced the scene
with their presence, while the people crowded to their places.

When the archers had stepped forward, the herald rose and proclaimed the
rules of the game: how that each man should shoot three shots, and to
him who shot best the prize of a yoke of fat steers should belong.
A dozen keen-eyed bowmen were there, and among them some of the best
fellows in the Forester's and Sheriff's companies. Down at the end of
the line towered the tall beggar-man, who must needs twang a bow-string
with the best of them.

The Sheriff noted his queer figure and asked: "Who is that ragged
fellow?"