They said, Lord, we beseech thee here,
That you will grant us grace;
For we have slain your fat fallow deer
In many a sundry place.
What be your names, then said our king,
Anon that you tell me?
They said, Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough,
And William of Cloudesly.
Be ye those thieves, then said our king,
That men have told of to me?
Here to God I make a vow,
Ye shall be hanged all three.
ADAM BELL AND CLYM OF THE CLOUGH.
Ye shall be dead without mercy,
As I am king of this land.
He commanded his officers everyone,
Fast on them to lay hand.
There they took these good yeomen,
And arrested them all three:
So may I thrive, said Adam Bell,
This game liketh not me.
But, good lord, we beseech you now,
That ye grant us grace,
Insomuch as freely to you we come,
As freely we may from you pass,