Robin Hood Library No. 16: In Desperate Plight

# Aldine Robin Hood Library: "In Desperate Plight"

This issue features the opening chapter of a serialized Robin Hood adventure titled "In Desperate Plight," centering on Robin Hood and his band's May Day festival in Barnsley Dale. The narrative begins with a comedic altercation between Little John and Friar Tuck during the camp's morning awakening—the friar violently retaliates against being awakened by a clanging brass trencher, knocking Little John into a stewpot. The main action focuses on an archery competition at the festival where Will Scarlet accepts a challenge from a skilled crossbowman in drab fustian. The two engage in increasingly difficult competitive shots: the crossbowman splits the wand pierced by Scarlet's arrow at sixty paces; Scarlet then sets up targets at ninety paces and attempts a shot while walking, but fails to cleanly pierce the mark. The narrative emphasizes martial prowess and Saxon-versus-Norman undertones through weapon comparison.