The knight rode away from the forest on his good new horse. He said, "I shall go tomorrow to William of Linby and pay back the four hundred pounds. Then William will not have to take away my castle and my land from me. He will be glad."William of Linby was a fat man, a rich man---and bad man. Linby church was on his land, and he made the priest of Linby church help him in his work. The priest could read and write; William of Linby could not.
William of Linby was happy. He said to the priest, "You remember that knight who got four hundred pounds from me? He must come and pay back the money tomorrow. If he does not pay, I shall have his castle and all his land. That will be good! That will be very good!"
The priest was a good man. He said, "It will be very bad if the knight loses all his land."
William answered, "It will be bad for him, but good for me!"
On the next day, William of Linby was sitting at the table in his hall. He was very happy. The table was covered with good food. He said, "Ha!, ha! I shall have a big castle and a lot of land today."
A servant came into the hall and said, "There is a knight outside who wants to speak to you."
William of Linby did not look so happy. But he thought, "He has not brought the money. He has come to say "Please wait for a day---or two days---or a week---or a month." But I will not wait---not one day!" Then he said to the servant, "Send the knight in."
The kind priest said, "Do not take his castle and his land. Give him a little time."
"No!" said William of Linby. "He must pay today!"
The knight came into the hall. His face was sad. He said, "William of Linby, please give me a little time to pay---only a very little time."
"No!" said William. "I will not give you even one day more. You must pay me today before the sun goes down. If you have not paid me, your castle and all your lands are mine!"
"Oh!" said the kind priest. "Do not be so hard on him!"
The knight went to William of Linby. He stood near him and looked down at him.
"When you gave me four hundred pounds, I thought that you were a good man and a friend. But now I have seen that you are not. You are not a good man, and you are not a friend."
He opened a bag which he had brought. From thebag he took the four hundred pounds which Robin had given to him.
"There!" said the knight. "There is your money."
The priest said, "Ah! That is good! So you will keep your castle and your land. That is very good!"
The knight rode away. He came to his castle. His wife was at the door. "Have we lost everything?" she said. "Must we give the castle and all our land to William of Linby?"
"No!" cried the knight. "Robin Hood gave me the money. We can be very happy today; but William of Linby is very sad. We must thank Robin Hood for this."
He took her in his arms and they went into the castle.
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