"Then thou mayst go thy ways; and thank thy patron saint that I am a merciful man," said the Tanner.
"A plague o' such mercy as thine!" said Little John, sitting up and feeling his ribs where the Tanner had cudgeled him.
"What may be thy name, good fellow?" said Robin, next, turning to the Tanner.
"Men do call me Arthur a Bland," spoke up the Tanner boldly, "and now what may be thy name?"
"How!" cried the Tanner, "art thou indeed the great Robin Hood, and is this the famous Little John?
At this Robin laughed again, and, turning to the Tanner, he said, "Wilt thou join my band, good Arthur?
At last Little John struck like a flash, and--"rap!"--the Tanner met the blow and turned it aside, and then smote back at Little John, who also turned the blow; and so this mighty battle began.
At last Little John saw his chance, and, throwing all the strength he felt going from him into one blow that might have felled an ox, he struck at the Tanner with might and main.
"Nay, I pass not for length," answered the Tanner. "My staff is long enough to knock down a calf; so look to thyself, fellow, I say again."
"Marry come up with a murrain!" cried the Tanner, for he, too, had talked himself into a fume.
