Robin Hood’s Charitable Mission

It was more than two months before the main harvest would be gathered and food supplies were running low in the small villages surrounding Nottingham. In such circumstances, Robin Hood regarded it his public duty to gather funds by any possible means.

Hood and Nazir entered the Weary Pilgrim, a staging post on the West side of Nottingham. They had abandoned their outlaw garb and wore the soiled clothing of typical workmen.

Hood spotted two well-dressed merchants, sitting at a table in the rear of the establishment. ‘You looking for a game?’ he enquired.

Rupert Locke surveyed the scruffy new arrivals disdainfully. ‘If you’re seeking some light entertainment at penny stakes, try the Ferret and Trouser down the road,’ he replied. ‘My colleague and I play for a crown a hundred.’

The outlaws took their seats at the table. ‘That’s no problem so far as we’re concerned,’ Hood replied. ‘As long as we win, of course!’

‘If it’s not too much trouble, we’ll see the colour of your money first,’ declared Jeb Silver, whose smart jacket and breeches would have cost any normal man six months’ wages. ‘We don’t want to waste our time.’

Robin Hood produced a deerskin purse and loosened the string to permit the two men to view its contents. Reassured by the glint of silver and gold, they nodded their acquiescence. The game began and this was the first deal:

Rupert Locke was not amused to have a slam bid against him on the first deal. These clowns presumably had no idea how to play the game. That didn’t mean they couldn’t make a small slam when they happened to be dealt twelve or thirteen tricks on top. Still, their luck wouldn’t last all evening. If they thought they could have one lucky rubber and flee into the night with their winnings, they had another think coming. He led the ♠️K and down went the dummy.

‘I was going to raise to 2❤️,’ observed Nazir. ‘When he bid spades, I added 5 points for my singleton spade.’

Robin Hood managed to keep a straight face. It was their general tactics in these money games to appear to be inexperienced players. Mind you, Nazir was overacting the role somewhat.

Hood won the first trick with the ♠️A and drew trumps with the king and queen. His spade loser could be ruffed in dummy. How could he give himself the best chance of setting up an extra club trick to discard a diamond loser from his hand? It would be child’s play if clubs broke no worse than 4-2. What if West had started with a singleton club and East held five clubs? In that case, it seemed that he might need to use his ♣️9 later.

Robin Hood led the ♣️6 from his hand and raised an eyebrow when the ♣️10 appeared from West. If that was part of ♣️K10 or ♣️J10, setting up the clubs would be straightforward. If, instead, it was a singleton, he must win with the ace to preserve the power of his ♣️9.

Robin Hood reached for dummy’s ace of clubs and returned a low club towards his nine. Jeb Silver realised that there was no future in playing the ♣️J. Whether or not declarer held the missing ♣️9, his ♣️K would be caught subsequently with a lead from dummy’s ♣️Q8 for a ruffing finesse. He chose to play low, hoping that West held the ♣️9. Hood’s ♣️9 won the trick and the slam was made. He conceded a diamond trick at the end.

Robin Hood turned towards Jeb Silver. ‘I thought that might happen!’ he exclaimed. ‘It was difficult for you when the ten appeared from your partner. It could so easily have been from the 10-9.’

The two merchants could not believe what they were hearing. The declarer was so dim-witted, he hadn’t even appreciated the position. Once he had decided not to finesse the ♣️Q, the slam was cold however East defended.

Two or three hands later, Rupert Locke advanced the rubber to Game All with a straightforward 3NT. The players then picked up their cards for this deal:

When playing high-stakes bridge, it was the custom of Hood and Nazir to prune their auctions to the minimum. Using the latest conventions, such as the Duke of Richmond’s 4NT ace-asking bid, would be a sure give-away that they were expert players. For as long as possible, they would maintain the illusion that they were inexperienced clodpoles with more money than sense.

Rupert Locke led the ❤️Q against the spade slam and down went the dummy. Hood’s eyes narrowed as he inspected the cards that Nazir had lain down. As on the previous slam hand, he would need to establish a diamond discard on dummy’s club suit. That might be possible if clubs broke 3-3 or if West held the ♣️A. Mind you, if West held four clubs to the ace, he would need to lead towards the clubs three times.

Robin Hood won the heart lead with the king and immediately led the ♣️3. West played low and the ♣️K won the trick. Hood continued with dummy’s ♠️K and then overtook the ♠️Q with the ♠️A. After drawing West’s last trump, he led a second club towards dummy. Once again Rupert Locke played low in the West seat, dummy’s queen winning the trick.

Hood returned to his hand with the ❤️A and led a third round of clubs towards dummy. With a black expression, Rupert Locke took his ♣️A and switched to a diamond. Hood won with dummy’s ♦️A and discarded the ♦️Q on the established ♣️J. The slam had been made.

‘By the Saints, partner!’ thundered Jeb Silver. ‘Can you not find a diamond lead?’

‘I think I might still make it,’ said Robin Hood.

‘Oh yeah?’ exclaimed Jeb Silver. It really was too much, losing an expensive rubber to these ill-bred dunderheads. ‘How’s that, then?’

‘Well, you see, I would play a low diamond from dummy,’ Hood explained. ‘If I’m lucky and your friend holds the ♦️K, I can win the trick in my hand with the ♦️Q. Then I would draw all the trumps and knock out the ♣️A. I think that comes to twelve tricks.’

Jeb Silver extracted the ♦️K from his hand and held it a couple of inches from Hood’s eyes. ‘Still think you’d have made it?’

At the prevailing crown-a-100 stake, the outlaws pocketed a substantial amount from the first rubber.

Robin Hood then rose to his feet. ‘A very pleasant game, gentlemen,’ he declared. ‘First time we’ve won for over a month. Quit while you’re ahead is my motto.’

‘Take your seat!’ snarled Jeb Silver. ‘No gentleman would turn tail and flee into the night without giving his opponents a chance to recoup their losses.’

‘But it’s already quite late,’ replied Robin Hood. ‘Did I not hear the nightwatchman call nine on the clock a short while ago?’

Rupert Locke beckoned for the game to resume. ‘You’ve hit a run of good fortune,’ he said. ‘It would be a shame to waste it.’

Feigning reluctance, Hood and Nazir resumed their seats. The winnings from the first rubber would feed a couple of villages up till harvest time. In a few hours, with any luck, they would have cleaned these two out. Now, what adventures would the next rubber hold?