The sun was barely up when there was a knock at the gate. Brother Edwin had just returned from Lauds and was surprised to hear someone at the outer gate of the abbey at that hour. He unlatched the small window in the gate door and peered out. There, shrouded in the early morning mists, was a man of slight build, but tall. He wore a dirty red tunic and had a brown hood pulled low over his face. A brown cloak draped over him shoulders and tight leather leggings declared him a man of the wilderness. He held a bag in his hand which he set on the ground when he saw the monk look out.
“My master returns that which should not have been taken. He was told in a dream to take the bag tied with a leather cord to the abbey because it was the Lord’s. It was not our intent to steal from the Lord.”
After he said this, the man turned and ran toward the line of trees in the distance. Brother Edwin blinked his eyes at the strange event. He carefully opened the gate and slipped out to pick up the bag. It was heavier that he suspected and it sounded like coins. He tucked it into his belt before he shut and locked the gate.
Abbot Hubert was taking his breakfast when Brother Edwin entered his apartment.
“Abbot Hubert, there was a strange occurrence at the gate.”
“Come in Brother Edwin, have a seat. You seem concerned about this event, tell me about it.”
“I heard a knock at the gate when I was returning to my quarters. When I looked out, there was a woodsman holding a bag. When he saw that I looked out, he set it on the ground and said his master had a dream that he was to bring it to the abbey. He said that they did not intend to steal from the Lord. Do you know what he could have meant by this?”
The abbot set his knife down and finished chewing the bite he had taken. “Bring me the bag, brother. Let us examine it closely.”
Brother Edwin pulled the bag from his belt and took it over to the abbot. When the abbot took it, he gasped and set it on the table. He quickly untied the leather cord that held the bag shut and looked inside.
“Praise be to God,” he whispered as he poured the coins out on the table.
Brother Edwin’s eyes widened at the number of silver coins that were revealed. He sat in silence as the abbot counted them out.
“It’s all here, brother. All of it. The taxes for the bishop that were stolen, they have been returned by the murderers and thieves.”
“That is a blessing, Abbot Hubert, the Lord must have visited them in their dreams to make them return the bag undisturbed. Men like that aren’t normally devout when it comes to money.”
“Maybe brother, but they may have a personal grudge against the king that they don’t hold against our Lord. This might be a piece of information the sheriff can use in determining who leads this band of criminals. In fact, with a purse this heavy with coin, I bet it was the master of these criminals himself who brought it back. He would not trust another of his thieves. Tell me, brother, what did this man look like?”
“His face was hidden by a hood pulled low, but he moved as a young man. He was tall and strong and wore clothing suitable for the woods. He wore a red tunic and a dark brown cloak that flapped behind him like bird’s wings when he ran from the abbey.”
“A red-breasted bird that flew away, an interesting description,” laughed the abbot. “We must tell the sheriff of this hooded robin who stole and then returned a bag of silver.”
“Do you want me to send a message to Nottingham?”
The abbot placed the coins back into the bag and tied it shut again. He sat back down and resumed eating his breakfast. “Yes, send one of the initiates with the message and then prepare a horse and some traveling provisions. I don’t want to risk this money again. You will leave this afternoon and travel to London. I want this bag placed into the hand of the bishop by you, Brother Edwin.”
