[Footnote 80: MS. vnto me datheit,--evidently the repetition of the first word in the succeeding line.] [Footnote 81: _Qu._ Hauelok let the. MS. “haue le.”] [Headnote: THE THIEVES SHOOT AT HIM FROM A DISTANCE.] [Sidenote: They throw stones at him.] +Þo bigan gret dine to rise, 1860 For þe laddes on ilke wise Him asaylede{n} wit grete dintes, Fro fer he stoden, him with flintes And gleyues schote{n} him fro ferne, 1864 For drepen him he wolden yerne; But durste{n} he newhe{n} him no more, Þa{n}ne he bor or leu{n} wore. [Headnote: HUGH AND THE REST COME TO THE RESCUE.] [Sidenote: Hugh Raven hears the noise, and comes to help.] +Huwe raue{n} þat dine herde, 1868 And þowthe wel, þat me{n} mis-ferde With his louerd, for his wif, And grop an ore, and a long knif, And þider drof al so an hert, 1872 And cham þer on a litel stert, And saw how þe laddes wode Hauelok his louerd umbistode, And bete{n} on him so doth þe smith 1876 With þe hamer on þe stith. +“Allas!” hwat hwe, “þat y was bore{n}! Þat eu{er}e et ich bred of koren! Þat ich here þis sorwe se! 1880 [Sidenote: Hugh calls out to Robert and William.] Roberd! willam! hware ar ye? Gripeth eþer unker a god tre, And late we nouth þise doges fle, Til ure louerd wreke [we]; 1884 Cometh swiþe, and folwes me! Ich haue in honde a ful god ore: Datheit wo ne smite sore!” [Sidenote: Robert comes to the rescue, and William too, and Bernard.] “Ya! leue, ya!” quod roberd sone, 1888 “We haue{n} ful god lith of þe mone.” Roberd grop a staf, strong and gret, Þat mouthe ful wel bere a net, And willam wendut grop a tre 1892 Mikel grettere þan his þe,[82] And b{er}nard held his ax ful faste; [Sidenote: [Fol. 213b, col. 1.]] I seye, was he nouth þe laste; And lopen forth so he weren wode 1896 To þe laddes, þer he stode, And yaf hem wundes swiþe grete; [Sidenote: They fight with the thieves.] Þer mithe men wel se boyes bete, And ribbes in here sides breke, 1900 And hauelok on hem wel wreke. He broken armes, he broken knes, He broken shankes, he broke{n} thes. He dide þe blode þere re{n}ne dune 1904 To þe fet rith fro the crune, [Sidenote: No head was spared.] For was þer spared heued non: He leyden on heuedes, ful god won, And made croune[s] breke and crake, 1908 Of þe broune, and of þe blake; [Sidenote: He made their backs as soft as their bellies.] He made{n} here backes al so bloute