they did but utter a few words in some language of which robin knew nothing, and perceiving his inability to answer, bestowed a curse upon him in plain english and hastened away. finally, the lad determined to knock at the door of every mansion that might appear worthy to be occupied by his kinsman, trusting that perseverance would overcome the fatality that had hitherto thwarted him. firm in this resolve, he was passing beneath the walls of a church, which formed the corner of two streets, when, as he turned into the shade of its steeple, he encountered a bulky stranger muffled in a cloak. the man was proceeding with the speed of earnest business, but robin planted himself full before him, holding the oak cudgel with both hands across his body as a bar to further passage.