Celtic Tales | Page 4

slowly after Lavarcam. And
Lavarcam would fain have known what Deirdre had told the swineherd,
but the girl told her nought, and was in a dream all that day and all the
morrow.
It was in the wane of the morrow that Lavarcam went forth to take
counsel of the King. And Deirdre ran with great speed to the well, but
no man was there, and she waited long, but none came.
While Deirdre waited by the well, Lavarcam came near to the King's
palace. And lo! there, on the ground before her, lay the dead body of
the swineherd. Thus was it made known to Lavarcam that in some wise
Concobar the King had heard that the swineherd had spoken with
Deirdre.
Therefore Lavarcam went not to the palace, but turned aside to the
camp of the sons of Usna. And Nathos came out to her, and she told
him of the loneliness of the fair Deirdre and of her longing to see him.
Then said Nathos, 'But it may not be yet awhile, for Concobar found
that the fair Deirdre had spoken with the swineherd, and for that cause
lies he yonder, a dead man.'
'Yet tarry not long, for if thou wouldst hunt in the forest, beyond the
well, then surely wouldst thou see Deirdre the Star-eyed, and none
should know.'
Seven days passed, and Deirdre roamed in the wood dreaming her
dream, when of a sudden there came an unknown sound. Ah, could it
be the hunting-horn of which Lavarcam had spoken in her tales of

chase? The maiden paused. The horn ceased. Nathos had left the hunt
and wandered through the glade. There, against a background of blue
haze, encircled by a network of blossoming blackthorn, shone forth the
fairest vision mortal eye had beheld.
Speech tarried as Nathos gazed spell-bound.
At length the maiden questioned, 'Nathos, son of Usna, what wouldst
thou?'
'Strange is it that thou shouldst know my name, most fair. No mortal art
thou. Fain would I enter yonder cottage, did I but dare, and speak with
the daughter of Felim the Harper. Yet it is death should the King know
of my desire.'
'I am that Deirdre whom thou seekest, and if I be fair in thine eyes, it
pleaseth me well. It is for thee I have watched long, for is not thy skin
white as snow, thy cheek crimson as blood, and thy hair black as the
raven's wing? Lonely are my days in this place, where none dwells save
my nurse, my tutor, and Lavarcam.'
Never did harp-strings yield such music as her voice, never did fairy
strains pour forth such wonder-stirring sound.
'Art thou indeed Deirdre the Star-eyed, and is it that King Concobar
keepeth thee here like some caged bird?'
[Illustration: 'Art thou indeed Deirdre?']
'I am Deirdre, and it is the King's will that I wander not forth from
yonder cottage but by the side of Lavarcam. Ill would it please him that
I should thus roam the forest alone.'
'I love thee, Deirdre, and I would serve thee ever.'
'I love thee, Nathos, and I would that I might be ever by thy side. Let
me flee with thee from this place.'
Nathos knit his brows in thought. 'Fair one, if we are seen as we leave

the forest, then is it death to us both; and if we are not seen, still is it
death, for when it is known of the King that Deirdre is fled, then will
the land be searched until she be found, and then shall we die.'
'But, Nathos, Concobar is not King in the land of Alba. Let us flee from
Erin, and there in thine own land shall we surely find safety.'
'Thou speakest well, brave Deirdre. If a host be sent from Concobar to
Alba, then shall it be met by a host of mine own land. And a fair land it
is. Scented with pine and seaweed are its shores, blue as thine eyes are
its waters, and of its setting sun the glory cannot be told.'
'Let us go forth,' said Deirdre.
'Then let it be now and without delay, or it may never be,' and as
Nathos uttered these words Deirdre saw a strange look in his eyes, and
in a moment he had flung his javelin among the bracken but a few
paces apart.
'What beast wouldst thou slay?' cried Deirdre, affrighted.
'It was no beast,' said Nathos, 'but yonder among the bracken lieth a
dead man, if my javelin missed not its mark.'
In fear and wonder Deirdre ran to the spot. No man lay there, but she
saw on the bracken the form of a crouching man. She saw, too, the
tracks that marked his escape.
Nathos followed her, and