As suddenly as the interview had commenced, so suddenly did it

terminate; for, though Robin threw pieces of stick and fragments of

mortar into the aperture, to intimate that he continued there, no

answering signal was returned. The evening was drawing on, and persons

passed and repassed beneath the tree--some of them with hurried, some

with slower steps: at last the self-same page with whom he had jested

rushed forward in company with the sentinel, and Robin heard him say,-"I tell you, his Highness will wait no forms; he commanded you instantly

to come to him. It is impossible that a cat could fall from that window

without your seeing it, unless you were asleep on your post."

"I had no caution about the window, master; and, at all events,

nothing, I am sure, could pass from it, except a spirit," replied the

soldier.

Immediately after the guard passed for the purpose of replacing the

sentinel; and about half an hour afterwards, there was a bustle in the

courts, the tramping of brave steeds, and the rolling of

carriage-wheels; then the braying trumpet sounded "to horse!" and soon

the noise of much and stately pageantry was lost in the distance. Robin

Hays cared not to move until the palace was more at rest; but his

meditations were continually disturbed by the passers-by. Had he been

disposed to listen or pay any attention to those who came and went, he

could have heard and seen things, from which much that was bitter and

much that was sweet might have been gathered. He might have observed

that a plain coat or a simple hood changes not the nature of those who

wear it; yet, on the other hand, he would have noted that the plain coat

and simple hood preserve from outward vice, however the inward thoughts

may triumph. But the watchful lynx-eyed ranger was changed, sorely,

sadly changed; in four brief hours he had lived more than treble the

number of years. He patiently lingered, till the shades of evening

closed, to effect an escape, that had now become more easy, inasmuch as

the inmates of the palace had nearly all retired to their apartments.

Through the agency of the yew-tree, he arrived at the highest portion of

the wall, and looking over, perceived that a roof descended from the

large coping-stones on which he stood, in a slanting manner, and that

the building communicated by an arched covering to the palace: the

Thames was not distant from the base of the building more than sixty

yards, so that once down, his escape was certain. Watching the movements

of a sentry, posted at some little distance from the gate, he slid along

the roof, stretching himself at full length, and without any further

mishap crawled to the river's brink, plunged in, and arrived at the

Surrey-side of the silver Thames in perfect safety. He resolved to cross

the country to Bromley with as little delay as possible, inasmuch as he

had friends there who would hasten his journey;--and as concealment was

no longer needed, he thought that a good steed would be most valuable;

he therefore availed himself of one who was enjoying its evening meal

quietly among the Surrey hills; for the credit of his honesty, however,

it is fair to record, he noted the place, so that one of his agents

could restore the animal in the course of the following night. By this

manoeuvre, and urging its utmost speed, together with the assistance he

received at Bromley, Robin arrived at King's-ferry before the morning

was far advanced. He did not now, as on former occasions, cross the

Swale to Elmley or Harty, with a view to avoid observation, but threw

himself into the boat of Jabez Tippet, the ferryman, to whom, as it may

be supposed, he was well known.




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