The Door in the Wall

Late in September, Robin receives a message from his father brought by John-go-in-the-Wynd, who delivered Robin’s letter weeks earlier. Sir John reports that the war has been hard fought, but he is well. Eagerly, Robin reads the missive, the first one he ever received. His father expresses sorrow over his son’s illness. He says he’ll keep Robin’s mother unaware of the situation, lest she worry herself and fail in her duties to the ailing queen. Instead, he hopes the monks will speed Robin’s recovery and then deliver him north to Sir Peter, where he can begin his studies as a knight’s squire.

To prepare him for the journey, the monks construct a special “chair-saddle” in which Robin can ride. Experts in town make or mend some of it and much of his clothing. The horse’s and the donkey’s saddlebags are filled with clothes and food. Early on a cool autumn morning, Robin, Brother Luke, and John-go-in-the-Wynd set out on their 100-mile journey. They start toward the west through the crowded streets, stopping periodically to pray. At noon, a cloudburst forces them to shelter under a tree. John suggests they continue without delay: “It is well to be safe housed after dark, for cutpurses and roisterers do roam the country hereabout” (48).