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Robin Hood. Capítulo 3
Robin Hood. Capítulo 3
El pequeño grupo avanzó primero en silencio; el caballero y la joven pensaban todavía en el peligro que habían corrido, y todo un mundo de ideas nuevas se agitaba en la cabeza de nuestro joven arquero: por primera vez admiraba la belleza de una mujer.
El ingenuo muchacho experimentaba ya los primeros efectos del amor; adoraba sin saberlo la imagen de la bella desconocida que cabalgaba tras él, y olvidaba sus canciones pensando en sus negros ojos.
Sin embargo, acabó por comprender las causas de su turbación, y se dijo recuperando su sangre fría:
—Paciencia, pronto la veré sin su capucha.
El caballero preguntó a Robín sobre sus gustos, sus costumbres y sus ocupaciones con benevolencia, pero Robín le respondió fríamente, y no cambió el tono hasta el momento en que se hirió su amor propio.
—¿No temiste —dijo el forastero- que aquel miserable «outlaw» intentara vengar en ti su fracaso? ¿No temiste fallar?
—¡Pardiez!, no, señor, me era imposible experimentar este último temor.
—¡Imposible!
—Sí, la costumbre ha hecho que los golpes más difíciles sean para mí un juego.
Había demasiada buena fe y noble orgullo en las respuestas de Robín para que el forastero se burlara, y prosiguió:
—¿Serías tan buen tirador como para acertar a cincuenta pasos lo que aciertas a quince?
—Cuando se presente una ocasión lo veréis.
El silencio volvió a dominar durante algunos minutos, y el grupo llegó a un gran claro al que el camino cortaba en diagonal. En el mismo momento un ave rapaz tomaba altura, y un cervatillo, asustado por el ruido de los caballos, salía de la espesura y atravesaba la arboleda para alcanzar el otro lado.
—¡Atención! —gritó Robín sujetando una flecha entre los dientes y colocando una segunda en el arco—, ¿qué preferís, la presa de pluma o la de pelo? Elegid.
Pero antes de que el caballero hubiese tenido tiempo de responder, el cervato caía herido de muerte, y el pájaro descendía dando vueltas hacia el claro.
—Ya que no habéis elegido cuando estaban vivos, elegiréis esta noche cuando estén asados.
—¡Admirable! —exclamó el caballero.
—¡Maravilloso! —murmuró la joven.
—Vuestras Señorías no tienen más que seguir derecho el camino, y tras aquel montículo verán la casa de mi padre. ¡Saludos!, tomo la delantera para anunciaros a mi madre y enviar a nuestro anciano criado a recoger la caza.
Dicho esto, Robín desapareció corriendo.
—Un noble joven, ¿verdad, Mariana? —dijo el caballero a su acompañante
—Un muchacho encantador, y el más hermoso guardabosque inglés que yo haya visto jamás.
—Es muy joven aún —contestó ella.
—Y probablemente mucho más de lo que podría parecernos por su alta estatura y el vigor de sus miembros. No podéis haceros una idea, Mariana, de lo que favorece el desarrollo de nuestras fuerzas la vida al aire libre y cómo conserva nuestra salud; no ocurre así en la atmósfera asfixiante de las ciudades —añadió el caballero suspirando.
—Creo, señor Allan Clare —replicó la joven dama con fina sonrisa—, que vuestros suspiros tienen mucho menos que ver con los verdes árboles del bosque de Sherwood que con su encantadora dueña, la noble hija del barón de Nottingham.
—Tenéis razón, Mariana, hermana querida, y, lo confieso, preferiría, si la elección dependiera de mi voluntad, pasar mis días en estos bosques, viviendo en la choza de un «yeoman» y teniendo como mujer a Christabel, a sentarme en un trono.
—¡Sss! ahí está la choza —dijo Mariana interrumpiendo a su hermano.
Una hora más tarde, Gilbert Head volvió a la casa llevando sobre su caballo a un hombre herido que había encontrado en el camino; bajó al extraño con infinitas precauciones del lugar en que venía y le llevó a la sala mientras llamaba a Margarita, ocupada en instalar a los viajeros las habitaciones del primer piso.
A la voz de Gilbert, Maggie acudió.
—Mira, mujer, ahí tienes un pobre hombre que necesita tus cuidados. Un gamberro le ha clavado la mano en el arco con una flecha en el momento en que apuntaba a un ciervo. Vamos, buena Maggie, apresurémonos; este hombre está muy debilitado por la pérdida de sangre. ¿Cómo te encuentras, compañero? —añadió el anciano dirigiéndose al herido—. Valor, te curarás.
Anda, levanta un poco la cabeza y no estés tan abatido; ¡anímate, voto a bríos!, no se muere nadie porque le hayan atravesado la mano.
El herido, recogido sobre sí mismo y con la cabeza entre los hombros, bajaba la frente y parecía querer ocultar a sus anfitriones su rostro.
En aquel momento Robín entró en la casa y corrió hacia su padre para ayudarle a sostener al herido, pero apenas puso los ojos en él se alejó he hizo señas al anciano Gilbert indicándole que quería hablarle.
—Padre —dijo el joven en voz baja—, cuidad de ocultar a los viajeros que están arriba la presencia de este herido en nuestra casa. Más tarde sabréis por qué. Sed prudente.
El anciano dejó a Robín y fue junto al herido. Un instante después, éste lanzó un prolongado grito de dolor.
—¡Ah! maese Robín, ya tenemos otra de tus obras maestras —dijo Gilbert corriendo al lado de su hijo y reteniéndole en el preciso momento en que éste iba a transponer el umbral de la puerta.
—¿Qué pasa? —replicó el joven lleno de respetuosa indignación—. Creéis que…
—Sí, creo que eres tú quien ha clavado la mano de este hombre al arco; en el bosque no hay nadie más que tú capaz de tal destreza. Mira, el hierro de esta flecha te delata; tiene nuestra marca… ¡Ah! espero que ya no negarás tu falta.
Y Gilbert le enseñaba el hierro de la flecha que había arrancado de la herida.
—¡Pues bien!, sí, padre mío, fui yo quien hirió a este hombre —respondió fríamente Robín.
La expresión del anciano se hizo severa.
—Es algo horrible y criminal, amigo; ¿no estás avergonzado de haber herido tan peligrosamente, por fanfarronería, a un hombre que no te hacía ningún daño?
—No siento ni vergüenza ni remordimiento por mi conducta —respondió Robín en tono firme—. La vergüenza y el remordimiento los tiene el que atacaba en la sombra a unos viajeros inofensivos e indefensos.
—¿Quién es entonces culpable de esta felonía?
—El hombre que habéis recogido en el bosque.
Y Robín relató a su padre lo sucedido con todos los detalles.
—¿Te vio ese miserable? —preguntó Gilbert con inquietud.
—No, pues huyó enloquecido y creyendo que era cosa del diablo.
—Perdóname mi injusticia —dijo el anciano estrechando afectuosamente las manos del muchacho—. Creo que la fisonomía de este hombre no me es desconocida —añadió Gilbert tras haber reflexionado un instante.
La conversación fue interrumpida por la llegada de Allan y Mariana, a los que el dueño de la casa dio cordialmente la bienvenida.
Por la tarde de ese mismo día, la casa del guardabosque estaba muy animada: Gilbert, Margarita, Lincoln y Robín, sobre todo este último, estaban afectados por el cambio y la agitación que la llegada de estos huéspedes había introducido en su tranquila existencia. Robín no se movía, pero su corazón trabajaba. La visión de la hermosa Mariana despertaba en él sensaciones no conocidas hasta entonces y permanecía inmóvil, sumergido en una muda admiración; enrojecía, palidecía, temblaba, cuando la joven andaba, hablaba o miraba a su alrededor.
Mientras que Robín, sentado en un rincón de la estancia, adoraba a Mariana en silencio, Allan cumplimentaba y felicitaba al anciano por tener tal hijo; pero Gilbert, que esperaba saber cosas sobre el origen de su hijo en el momento menos pensado, siempre confesaba que el joven no era su hijo y relataba cómo y en qué tiempo un desconocido le había traído al niño.
Así pues, Allan se enteró con asombro de que Robín no era hijo de Gilbert, y ante la explicación de éste de que el desconocido protector del huérfano llegó probablemente de Huntingdon, pues el «sheriff» de aquel lugar era quien pagaba anualmente la pensión del niño, el caballero respondió:
—Huntingdon es nuestro lugar de nacimiento, y lo dejamos apenas hace unos días. La historia de Robín, buen guardabosque, podría ser cierta, pero lo dudo. Ningún gentilhombre de Huntingdon murió en Normandía en la época del nacimiento de este niño, y jamás oí decir que un miembro de las nobles familias del condado se casara con una francesa plebeya y pobre. A mi regreso a Huntingdon me informaré minuciosamente y me esforzaré por descubrir a la familia de Robín; mi hermana y yo le debemos la vida, ¡quiera el cielo que lo logremos y le paguemos así la deuda sagrada de un eterno agradecimiento!
—Nos extraviamos al atravesar el bosque de Sherwood para ir a Nottingham —añadió Allan Clare— y cuento con ponerme nuevamente en camino mañana por la mañana. ¿Querrías ser mi guía, querido Robín? Mi hermana permanecerá aquí confiada a los buenos cuidados de vuestra madre y nosotros volveremos al anochecer. ¿Está lejos de aquí Nottingham?
—Aproximadamente doce millas —respondió Gilbert—; un buen caballo no tarda ni dos horas en hacer el viaje.
Llegada la noche y cerradas las puertas, nuestros personajes se sentaron a la mesa e hicieron honor al talento culinario de la buena Margarita. El principal plato era un cuarto de venado asado; maese Robín resplandecía de alegría, él había matado ese cervatillo ¡y ella se dignaba encontrar la carne deliciosa al paladar!
Repentinamente un silbido prolongado que salía de la habitación ocupada por el enfermo, atrajo las miradas de los comensales hacia la escalera que conducía al piso de arriba, y apenas se desvaneció en el aire el silbido, una respuesta semejante retumbó a cierta distancia, en el bosque. Nuestros seis comensales se estremecieron, uno de los perros guardianes lanzó aullidos de inquietud, y el silencio más absoluto volvió a enseñorearse de los alrededores y del hogar del guarda.
—Aquí ocurre algo inusitado —dijo Gilbert—, y mucho me extrañaría que no hubiera en el bosque algunos personajes de esos que no sienten el menor escrúpulo en hurgar los bolsillos ajenos.
—¿Suelen llegar hasta aquí los ladrones? —preguntó Allan.
—A veces.
Mariana, al oír estas palabras, tembló de terror y se acercó a Robín involuntariamente. Robín quiso tranquilizarla, pero la emoción le dejó sin voz, y Gilbert, dándose cuenta de los temores de la joven, dijo sonriendo:
—Tranquilizaos, noble señorita, tenemos a vuestro servicio valerosos corazones y buenos arcos, y si los «outlaws» osan aparecer huirán como lo han hecho tantas veces, sin llevarse como botín otra cosa que una flecha más abajo de sus chaquetas.
—Gracias —dijo Mariana.
Robín iba a proseguir con palabras tranquilizadoras cuando se oyó un violento golpe en la puerta exterior de la habitación; el edificio tembló, los perros echados ante el fuego brincaron ladrando, y Gilbert, Allan y Robín se abalanzaron hacia la puerta mientras que Mariana se refugiaba en los brazos de Margarita.
—¡Hola! —gritó el guarda—. ¿Qué grosero visitante se atreve a destrozar así mi puerta?
Un segundo golpe aún más violento que el primero fue la respuesta; Gilbert repitió su pregunta, pero los furiosos ladridos de los perros hicieron todo diálogo imposible, sólo a duras penas se oyó al fin una voz sonora dominando el tumulto y pronunciando esta fórmula sacramental:
—¡Abrid, por el amor de Dios!
—¿Quién sois?
—Dos monjes de la orden de san Benito.
—¿Qué queréis?
—Abrigo durante la noche y algo de comer; nos hemos extraviado en el bosque y estamos muertos de hambre.
—Sin embargo, tu voz no es la de un moribundo; ¿cómo quieres que sepa si estás diciendo la verdad?
—¡Pardiez!, abriendo la puerta y mirándonos —respondió la misma voz en un tono al que la impaciencia hacía menos humilde—. Vamos, obstinado guardabosque, ¿vas a abrirnos? Nuestras piernas se doblan y nuestros estómagos gritan.
Gilbert consultaba con sus huéspedes y dudaba cuando otra voz, una voz de anciano tímida y suplicante intervino.
—¡Por el amor de Dios!, abrid, buen guardabosque; os juro por las reliquias de nuestro santo patrón que mi hermano os ha dicho la verdad.
—Bueno, después de todo —dijo Gilbert de forma que le oyesen fuera- estamos aquí cuatro hombres, y con la ayuda de nuestros perros daremos buena cuenta de esa gente sean quienes sean. Voy a abrir. ¡Robín, Lincoln, sujetad un momento a los perros, los soltaréis si los malhechores nos atacan!
Robin Hood. Chapter 3
Robin Hood. Chapter 3
The small group first advanced silently; The knight and the young woman were still thinking of the danger they had run, and a whole world of new ideas was stirring in our young archer's head: for the first time he admired the beauty of a woman.
The naïve boy was already experiencing the first effects of love; he adored without knowing it the image of the beautiful stranger who rode after him, and he forgot her songs thinking of her black eyes.
However, he finally understood the causes of his embarrassment, and said to himself, recovering his coolness:
"Patience, I'll soon see her without her hood."
The gentleman asked Robin about his tastes, his habits, and his occupations benevolently, but Robin answered him coldly, and did not change his tone until the moment when his self-esteem was wounded.
"Didn't you fear," said the stranger, "that wretched outlaw would try to avenge his failure on you?" Weren't you afraid of failing?
"No, sir, it was impossible for me to experience this last fear.
"Impossible!"
"Yes, habit has made the most difficult shots a game for me.
There was too much good faith and noble pride in Robin's answers for the stranger to scoff, and he went on:
"Would you be such a good shot as to hit fifty paces what you hit fifteen?"
"When an opportunity presents itself you will see it.
Silence again dominated for some minutes, and the group came to a large clearing to which the path cut diagonally. At the same moment a bird of prey was rising, and a fawn, frightened by the noise of the horses, came out of the thicket and crossed the grove to reach the other side.
"Attention! Robin cried, holding an arrow between his teeth and placing a second one on the bow, "which do you prefer, the feather prey or the hair prey?" Choose.
But before the knight had time to answer, the fawn fell mortally wounded, and the bird circled down into the clearing.
"Since you have not chosen when they were alive, you will choose tonight when they are roasted."
"Admirable!" cried the gentleman.
"Wonderful! murmured the young woman.
"Your Lordships have only to go straight on the road, and behind that mound you will see my father's house. Greetings!, I take the lead to announce my mother and send our old servant to gather the game.
With that, Robin ran away.
"A noble young man, isn't it, Mariana?" said the gentleman to his companion
"A lovely boy, and the most beautiful English gamekeeper I ever saw.
"He's still very young," she answered.
"And probably much more than we might think from his tall stature and the vigour of his limbs. You cannot imagine, Mariana, what the outdoor life favors the development of our strength, and how it preserves our health; not so in the suffocating atmosphere of cities," added the knight with a sigh.
"I think, Mr. Allan Clare," replied the young lady with a fine smile, "that your sighs have much less to do with the green trees of Sherwood Forest than with their lovely mistress, the noble daughter of the Baron of Nottingham.
"You are right, Mariana, dear sister, and, I confess, I would prefer, if the choice depended on my will, to spend my days in these woods, living in the hut of a yeoman, and having Christ as my wife, than to sit on a throne.
"Sss! there's the hut," Mariana said, interrupting her brother.
An hour later Gilbert Head returned to the house carrying on his horse a wounded man whom he had met on the road; he took the stranger down with infinite caution from the place where he came and led him into the living room while calling Margaret, who was busy setting up the rooms on the first floor for the travellers.
At Gilbert's voice, Maggie came.
"Look, woman, there is a poor man who needs your care. A hooligan has stuck his hand in his bow with an arrow at the moment when he was aiming at a deer. Come, good Maggie, let us hurry; This man is very weakened by blood loss. How are you, mate? The old man added, addressing the wounded man. Courage, you will be cured.
Go on, raise your head a little and don't be so dejected; Cheer up, I vote for courage!, no one dies because they have had their hand pierced.
The wounded man, leaning back on himself and with his head between his shoulders, lowered his forehead and seemed to want to hide his face from his hosts.
At that moment Robin entered the house and ran to his father to help him support the wounded man, but as soon as he laid eyes on him he turned away and beckoned to old Gilbert that he wanted to speak to him.
"Father," said the young man in a low voice, "take care to conceal the presence of this wounded man in our house from the travellers above." Later you will find out why. Be prudent.
The old man left Robin and went to the wounded man. An instant later, he uttered a prolonged cry of pain.
"Ah! Master Robin, we have another of your masterpieces," said Gilbert, running beside his son, and holding him at the very moment when he was about to cross the threshold of the door.
"What's wrong?" replied the young man, full of respectful indignation. Do you think that...
"Yes, I think it's you who nailed this man's hand to the goal; in the forest there is no one but you capable of such dexterity. See, the iron of this arrow gives you away; it has our brand... Ah! I hope you won't deny your fault anymore.
And Gilbert showed him the iron of the arrow he had torn from the wound.
"Well, yes, my father, it was I who wounded this man," Robin replied coldly.
The old man's expression became stern.
"It is a horrible and criminal thing, my friend; Are you not ashamed to have so dangerously wounded, through boastfulness, a man who did you no harm?
"I feel neither shame nor remorse for my conduct," Robin replied firmly. Shame and remorse belong to the one who attacked harmless and defenseless travelers in the shadows.
"Who is then guilty of this felony?"
"The man you picked up in the forest."
And Robin told his father what had happened in all the details.
"Did that wretch see you?" Gilbert asked uneasily.
"No, for he fled madly and believing that it was the devil's doing.
"Forgive me for my injustice," said the old man, shaking the boy's hands affectionately. I think the countenance of this man is not unknown to me," added Gilbert, after a moment's reflection.
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Allan and Mariana, who were cordially welcomed by the owner of the house.
By the afternoon of the same day the gamekeeper's house was in high spirits: Gilbert, Margaret, Lincoln, and Robin, especially the latter, were affected by the change and turmoil which the arrival of these guests had introduced into their quiet existence. Robin didn't move, but his heart was working. The sight of the beautiful Mariana awakened in him sensations unknown until then and he remained motionless, immersed in a mute admiration; He reddened, turned pale, trembled, when the young woman walked, talked, or looked around.
While Robin, sitting in a corner of the room, adored Mariana in silence, Allan complimented and congratulated the old man on having such a son; but Gilbert, who expected to know things about the origin of his son at the least expected moment, always confessed that the young man was not his son and related how and at what time a stranger had brought the child to him.
Allan was therefore astonished to learn that Robin was not Gilbert's son, and to Gilbert's explanation that the orphan's unknown protector had probably come from Huntingdon, for it was the sheriff of that place who paid the child's pension annually, the gentleman replied:
"Huntingdon is our birthplace, and we left it only a few days ago. The story of Robin, a good gamekeeper, might be true, but I doubt it. No gentleman of Huntingdon died in Normandy at the time of this child's birth, and I never heard of a member of the noble families of the county marrying a poor commoner Frenchwoman. On my return to Huntingdon I shall inquire thoroughly and endeavour to discover Robin's family; My sister and I owe him our lives, may Heaven grant that we succeed and thus pay him the sacred debt of eternal gratitude!
"We got lost in crossing Sherwood Forest to Nottingham," added Allan Clare, "and I expect to be on my way again to-morrow morning. Would you like to be my guide, dear Robin? My sister will remain here entrusted to your mother's good care, and we will return in the evening. Is Nottingham far from here?
"About twelve miles," replied Gilbert; A good horse doesn't take two hours to make the trip.
When night came and the doors were closed, our characters sat down at the table and honored the culinary talent of the good Margarita. The main dish was a quarter of roast venison; Master Robin was glowing with joy, he had killed that fawn, and she deigned to find the meat delicious to the palate!
Suddenly a prolonged whistle from the room occupied by the sick man attracted the eyes of the diners to the staircase that led upstairs, and as soon as the whistle vanished in the air, a similar response resounded at some distance in the forest. Our six guests shuddered, one of the guard dogs howled with uneasiness, and the most absolute silence once again dominated the surroundings and the guard's hearth.
"Something unusual is going on here," said Gilbert, "and I should be very surprised if there were not some of those characters in the woods who have no scruples about rummaging through other people's pockets.
"Do thieves usually come here?" Allan asked.
"Sometimes.
Mariana, hearing these words, trembled with terror and approached Robin involuntarily. Robin tried to reassure her, but the emotion left him speechless, and Gilbert, realizing the girl's fears, said, smiling:
"Be calm, noble lady, we have brave hearts and good bows at your service, and if the outlaws dare to appear they will flee as they have so often done, taking nothing as booty but an arrow under their coats.
"Thank you," Mariana said.
Robin was about to go on with reassuring words when a violent knock was heard at the outer door of the room; the building shook, the dogs thrown before the fire jumped barking, and Gilbert, Allan, and Robin rushed to the door while Mariana took refuge in Margaret's arms.
"Hello! cried the guard. What rude visitor dares to smash my door like that?
A second blow even more violent than the first was the response; Gilbert repeated his question, but the furious barking of the dogs made all dialogue impossible, only at last was a sonorous voice heard dominating the tumult and pronouncing this sacramental formula:
"Open, for God's sake!"
"Who are you?"
"Two monks of the order of St. Benedict."
"What do you want?"
"Shelter during the night and something to eat; we have lost our way in the forest and we are starving.
"However, your voice is not that of a dying man; How do you want me to know if you're telling the truth?
"Pardiez, opening the door and looking at us," answered the same voice in a tone that impatience made less humble. Come on, you stubborn gamekeeper, are you going to open us up? Our legs buckle and our stomachs scream.
Gilbert was consulting with his guests and hesitating when another voice, a timid, pleading old man's voice, intervened.
"For God's sake, open the door, good gamekeeper; I swear to you by the relics of our patron saint that my brother has told you the truth.
"Well, after all," said Gilbert, so that he could be heard outside, "there are four men here, and with the help of our dogs we shall give a good account of these people, whoever they may be." I'm going to open up. Robin, Lincoln, hold the dogs for a moment, you will release them if the evildoers attack us!
Robin Hood. Chapter 2
Robin Hood. Chapter 2
Fifteen years have passed since that event; calm and happiness have not ceased to reign under the roof of the forester, and the orphan still believes himself to be the beloved son of Margaret and Gilbert Head.
One fine June morning, an elderly man, dressed as a well-to-do peasant and riding a vigorous pony, was walking along the road that leads through Sherwood Forest to the pretty village of Mansfeldwoohaus.
The sky was clear. Our traveler's face rejoiced under the influence of so beautiful a day; His chest dilated, he breathed at the top of his lungs, and in a loud and sonorous voice he threw into the air the refrain of an old Saxon hymn, a hymn to the death of tyrants.
Suddenly an arrow whistled past his ear and embedded itself in the branch of an oak tree by the roadside.
The peasant, more surprised than frightened, threw himself on his horse, hid behind a tree, brandished his bow, and prepared to defend himself.
But however much he scanned the path in its entire length, however much he scrutinized the surrounding mounds with his eyes and applied his ear to the slightest noises of the forest, he saw nothing, heard nothing, and did not know what to make of this unforeseen attack.
"Let us see," he said, "since patience leads to nothing, let us try cunning."
And calculating according to the direction of the arrow's trajectory the place where his enemy might be stationed, he fired a dart to that side in the hope of frightening the evildoer or provoking him to move. The arrow cleft space, went to pierce the bark of a tree, and no one responded to that provocation. Would a second dart perhaps succeed? That second dart departed, but was stopped in mid-flight. An arrow shot from an invisible bow intercepted his path, almost at right angles, above the path, and sent him tumbling to the ground in pirouettes. The blow had been so rapid, so unexpected, announced so much skill and such great skill of hand and eye, that the peasant, amazed and forgetting so much danger, jumped out of his hiding-place.
"What a shot!" What a wonderful shot! He shouted as he jumped along the edge of the thicket trying to discover the mysterious archer.
A joyful laugh answered these exclamations, and not far from there an Argentine voice soft as a woman's sang:
"There are fallow deer in the forest, there are flowers on the edge of the great forests..."
"Oh! It's Robin, the shameless Robin Hood who sings. Come here, my son. So you dare to shoot your father? By St. Dunstand, I thought the "outlaws" wanted my skin! Oh! You're a bad boy! Take my gray head for white! Ah! "Why," added the good old man, "why, how naughty!"
A young man who appeared to be twenty years old, though in reality he was only sixteen, stopped before the old peasant, in whom you will no doubt have recognized the good Gilbert Head of the first chapter of our story.
The young man was smiling with his green hat in his hand, adorned with a heron feather. A mass of slightly wavy black hair crowned a broad forehead whiter than ivory. Her eyelids, folded in on themselves, let the glow of two dark blue pupils burst out, the light of which was veiled under the fringe of the long eyelashes that cast their shadow on her rosy cheeks.
The dry air had toasted that noble physiognomy, but the satin whiteness of the skin reappeared at the birth of the neck and under the cuffs.
A hat with a heron's feather for a plume, a doublet of Lincoln's green cloth tied at the waist, high boots of fallow deerskin, a pair of "unhege sceo" (Saxon boots) tied with strong straps above the ankles, a spiked sash of shining steel supporting a quiver full of arrows, the small horn and the hunting knife at the waist, and the bow in his hand, constituted Robin Hood's attire and equipment, and his ensemble full of originality was far from concealing the adolescent beauty.
"Forgive me, father. I had no intention of hurting you.
"Pardiez!" I believe you, son, but it could have happened; a change in the speed of my horse, a step to the left or right of the line I was following, a movement of my head, a trembling of your hand, an error of your aim, anything, in short, and your game would have been deadly.
"But my hand has not trembled, my aim is always safe. So do not reproach me, father, and forgive me for my mischief.
"I forgive you with all my heart.
Then he added, with a naïve sense of pride, which he had doubtless suppressed so far in order to rebuke the imprudent archer:
"And to think that he is my student!" Yes, it was I, Gilbert Head, who first taught him how to handle a bow and shoot an arrow. The pupil is worthy of the master, and if he continues, there will be no more skilful marksman in all the county, or even in all England.
"May my right arm lose its strength, may not a single arrow reach its target if I never forget your love, father."
"Son, you know that I am your father only in my heart.
"Oh! Do not speak to me of the rights that you lack over me, for if nature has denied them to you, you have acquired them with a dedication and self-denial of fifteen years.
"On the contrary, we are going to talk about it," said Gilbert, resuming his walk on foot, and leading the pony by the bridle, whom a vigorous whistle had called to order, "a secret presentiment warns me that we are threatened by future misfortunes.
"What a crazy idea, father!
"You are already big, you are strong, and you are full of energy, thank God; but the future that opens before you is not the one you foresaw when, as a small and weak child, sometimes ill-tempered, now cheerful, you grew up on Margaret's knee.
"What does that matter!" I only want one thing, and that is that the future will be like the past and the present.
"We would grow old without any sorrow if the mystery of your birth were revealed.
"Have you never seen the brave soldier who entrusted me to you?"
"I have never seen him since, and I only heard from him once.
"Perhaps he died in the war.
"Maybe. A year after your arrival, I received through an unknown messenger a sack of money and a parchment sealed with wax, but whose seal had no weapons. I handed the parchment to my confessor, and he opened it, revealing to me the following contents, word for word: "Gilbert Head: Twelve months ago I placed a child under your protection, and made an undertaking with you to pay you an annual rent for your efforts; here I send it to you; I'm leaving England and I don't know when I'll be back. Accordingly, I have made the necessary arrangements for you to receive the amount due every year. Therefore, you will only have to present yourself on the day of the due date at the Huntingdon sheriff's office, and there you will be paid. Educate the boy as if he were your own child; on my return I will come to claim it from you." No signature, no date. Where did that message come from? I don't know. But if we are to die before the unknown knight appears, a great sadness will poison our last hour.
"What is that great sorrow, father?"
"That of knowing that you are alone and abandoned to yourself, and given over to your passions when you are a man.
"You and my mother still have long days of life ahead of you.
"God knows!
"God will allow it.
"His will be done!" In any case, if an imminent death separates us, you must know, my son, that you are our only heir; The hut where you have grown up is yours, the land around it is your property, and with your pension money accumulated over the last fifteen years, you will not have to fear misery and you will be able to be happy if you are prudent. Misfortune has been with you since birth and your adoptive parents have made an effort to repair this misfortune. You will often think of them, who do not aspire to any other reward.
The adolescent was moved with tenderness; tears began to flow from between his eyelids.
"On my way, 'Gip,' my good pony," added the old man, climbing into his saddle, "I must hurry to Mansfeldwoohaus and back, or Maggie will make a face as long as the longest of my arrows." In the meantime, dear son, exercise your dexterity, and you will soon equal Gilbert Head on his best days... See you soon.
Robin amused himself for a few moments by tearing with his arrows the leaves he had chosen with his eyes on the top of the tallest trees; then, tired of this game, he lay down on the grass in the shade of a clearing.
A prolonged brush in the foliage and the precipitous rustling of the undergrowth came to disturb the thoughts of our young archer; He raised his head and saw a frightened fallow deer crossing the thicket, darting through the clearing, and disappearing again into the depths of the forest.
Robin's instant project was to take his bow and chase the animal; but, by hunter's instinct or by chance, he examined the place where he had come out, and saw at some distance a man huddled behind a mound, who dominated the road; From his hiding place the man could see without being seen everything that passed along the path, and he waited with a watchful eye, with the arrow ready.
Suddenly the bandit or hunter shot an arrow in the direction of the road and half got up as if to jump on his target; but he stopped, swore a strong oath, and lay in wait again with an arrow in his bow.
That new arrow was followed, like the first, by a hateful blasphemy.
"Who is he shooting? Robin wondered. Is he trying to give a friend a fright like I gave old Gilbert this morning? The game is not one of the easiest. But I don't see anything in the place where it points; however, he must see something, because he is preparing the third arrow."
Robin was about to leave his hiding place to try to see the unknown and bad marksman when, inadvertently pushing aside some branches of a beech tree, he saw, stopped at the end of the path and at the place where the road of Mansfeldwoohaus forms an elbow, a gentleman and a young lady who seemed very restless, and doubted whether they should turn back or face danger. The horses snorted, and the knight looked about him in order to discover the enemy and confront him, while at the same time he endeavored to calm the terror of his companion.
Suddenly the young woman gave a cry of anguish and fell almost faint: an arrow had just embedded itself in the pommel of her chair.
Without a doubt, the man who was hiding was a vile murderer.
Filled with generous indignation, Robin chose one of his sharpest arrows in his quiver, brandished his bow, and took aim. The murderer's left hand was stuck in the wood of the bow that threatened the knight and his companion again.
Roaring with anger and pain, the bandit turned his head and tried to find out where this unexpected attack came from.
But the slender stature of our young archer kept him hidden behind the trunk of a beech tree, and the color of his doublet mingled with that of the foliage.
Robin could have killed the bandit, but he contented himself with frightening him after he had punished him and shot him with a new arrow that took his hat twenty paces away.
Filled with vertigo and fright, the wounded man got up and, while holding the bloody hand with his good hand, howled, kicked, and turned for a while on himself, his grim gaze wandered over the whole thicket around him, and fled crying:
"It's the devil!" The devil! The devil!
Robin greeted the bandit's march with a merry laugh, and sacrificed a last arrow, which, after having spurred him on as he ran, would prevent him from sitting down for a long time.
When the danger was over, Robin came out of his hiding place and leaned casually on the trunk of an oak tree by the edge of the path; He was preparing to welcome the travellers, but as soon as they trotted up to see him, the young lady gave a cry, and the knight came towards him with his sword in his hand.
"At last I see you, wretch! At last! cried the knight, showing signs of the most violent anger.
"I'm not a murderer, on the contrary, it's I who saved your life.
"Where is the murderer then?" Speak or I'll open your head.
"Listen to me, and you will know," Robin replied coldly. As for opening my head, do not dream of it, and let me remark to you, sir, that this arrow, the point of which is directed towards you, will pierce your heart before your sword touches my skin. Be warned, and listen to me calmly: I will tell the truth.
"I listen," replied the gentleman, fascinated by Robin's cold-bloodedness.
"Come, sir," replied Robin, "look at me, and you will agree that I do not look like a brigand."
"Yes, yes, my son, I confess, you don't look like a bandit," said the stranger at last, after he had considered Robin carefully. The radiant forehead, the physiognomy full of frankness, the eyes in which the fire of courage sparkled, the lips that parted in a smile of legitimate pride, everything in this noble adolescent inspired, commanded confidence.
"Tell me who you are, and lead us, I beseech you, to a place where our horses can eat and rest," added the knight.
"With pleasure; Follow me.
"But accept my money first, while God's reward comes to you."
"Keep your gold, sir knight; gold is useless to me, I have no need of gold. My name is Robin Hood, and I live with my father and mother two miles from here, on the edge of the woods; come, you will find in our little house a cordial hospitality.
The young woman, who had hitherto stood aloof, approached her knight, and Robin saw the gleam of two large black eyes resplendent under the silk hood that preserved his head from the coolness of the morning; He also appreciated her divine beauty, and devoured her with his gaze as he bowed politely to her.
"Should we believe this young man's word?" The lady asked her knight.
Robin raised his head proudly, and, without giving the rider time to answer, exclaimed:
"There would cease to be good faith on earth. The two strangers smiled; they no longer doubted.
Resultados de fútbol. Jornada de 26 de abril de 2026
Resultados de fútbol. Jornada de 26 de abril de 2026
Las competiciones de fútbol del estado español se estructuran de la siguiente manera:
Primera división: 1 grupo de 20 equipos.(los tres últimos, los 18, 19 y 20, bajan a 2ª división).
Segunda división: 1 grupo de 22 equipos (el primero y segundo suben directamente a 1ª división, Y también el primero de un play off que se hace entre el 3º y 6º. Los cuatro últimos descienden a Primera federación).
Primera Federación: 2 grupos de 20 equipos cada uno (el primero de cada grupo asciende directamente a segunda división y también el campeón del play off de cada grupo que se realiza entre el segundo y quinto de cada grupo. Los 5 últimos de cada grupo descienden a Segunda Federación).
Segunda Federación: 5 grupos de 18 equipos cada uno. Un catalano-balear (los 5 campeones de grupo suben a 1ª Federación. También suben a 1ª federación los cinco campeones del play off que se hace en cada grupo entre los equipos que han quedado entre el 2º y 5º puesto. Y descienden a 3ª Federación los 5 últimos de cada grupo y los dos que pierden en una promoción que se hace entre los 3 grupo).
Tercera Federación: 18 grupos de 18 equipos cada. Un balear (suben a segunda federación los 18 campeones de grupo más 9 más que salen de play off y eliminatoria que se hace entre el 2º. y 5º de cada grupo. Y descienden a Regional Preferente los tres últimos de cada grupo).
Regional Preferente. Mallorca (18 equipos); Menorca; Eivissa y Formentera (el 1º sube directamente a tercera y los tres últimos bajan a Primera regional. Del 2º al 7º de Mallorca, más el 1º de Menorca y el primero de Eivissa-Formentera se constituyen 4 grupos. Los 4 campeones de grupo también ascienden a tercera federación. Los tres últimos bajan a Primera Regional).
Primera Regional: 1 grupo. Mallorca de 20 equipos (Los tres primeros ascienden a Regional preferente y los dos últimos descienden a segunda regional).
Segunda regional: 3 grupos. Mallorca (suben a Primera regional los tres mejores y bajan a tercera regional los tres peores).
Tercera Regional: 2 grupos. Mallorca (suben a segunda regional tres equipos, los dos primeros de cada grupo y el mejor segundo de los dos grupos. No hay descensos).
Equipos de quien daremos, periódicamente, resultados y clasificación:
Mallorca (Primera división), At. Baleares (Segunda Federación), Constacia (Tercera Federación), Poblense (Segunda Federación), Manacor (Tercera Federación), Felanitx (Tercera Federación), Sporting de Maó (Regional Preferente de Menorca), SD Ibiza (Segunda Federación).
Resultados de fútbol. Jornada de 26 de abril de 2026
25 abril 2026
Robin Hood. Capítulo 2