 The winter ended at last, and spring came and went. Another summer passed, and neither King nor Sheriff nor Bishop could catch the outlaws, who, meanwhile, thrived and prospered. The band increased from time to time with hand-picked men such as Arthur-a-Bland, the jolliest cobbler for miles around. And still they took the purses of the rich, and aided the poor, and feasted upon King's deer until the Sheriff of Nottingham nearly went mad with rage and frustration.
Indeed, the Sheriff would probably have lost his office entirely, had it not been for the fact of the King's death. Henry passed away, as all Kings will in common with ordinary men, and Richard of the Lion Heart was proclaimed as his successor.
Then Robin and his men, after earnest debate, resolved to throw themselves upon the mercy of the new King, swear allegiance, and ask to be organized into Royal Foresters. So Will Scarlet and Will Stutely and Little John were sent to London with this message, which they were first to entrust privately to Maid Marian. But they soon returned with bad tidings. The new King had already set forth upon a crusade to the Holy Land, and Prince John, his brother, was impossible to deal with --being crafty, cruel and treacherous. He was seizing all the property that could easily be seized; among other estates, that of the Earl of Huntingdon, Robin's old enemy and Marian's father, who had lately died.
Marian herself was in sore straits. Not only had her estates been taken away, and the maid been deprived of the former protection of the Queen, but the evil Prince John was persecuting her with his attentions. He thought that since the maid was defenseless he could carry her away to one of his castles and none could stop him.
No word of this peril reached Robin's ears, although his men brought him word of the seizure of the Huntingdon lands. Nevertheless he was worried about Maid Marian’s safety. She had been continually in his thoughts ever since the memorable tournament at London town.
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