Celtic Tales | Page 6

flame.
And Nathos' brow grew dark. 'The fire that ye see in the valley below
devours the castle of the sons of Usna. The hand that lit the fire is none
other than the hand of Concobar the King.'
Then they rode on and rested not until they reached the black galley in
the golden bay. The scent of the sea and the gleam of its blue waters
and dancing waves made them strong and glad and free.
As for Deirdre, who had never beheld the sea and its great wonders, she
laughed with joy and sang a song of the ocean which Lavarcam had
taught her long since and when its meaning was dark.
At sundown the galley came to the shores of Mull, and because the
wind fell they put into a bay, and as they gazed across the waters to the
rocky headlands of Alba, they talked long as to whither they should sail
on the morrow. Should it be to crave protection of the King, or should
it be to where their father's castle had stood before it had been
destroyed?
But that night there came a galley from the long island to the north. In
it sailed twenty men with their chief. And with the chief came a
richly-clad stranger, but so hooded that none might look upon his face.
Steadfastly did the stranger gaze upon Deirdre, as the chief urged the
sons of Usna to cross the sea to Alba, and journey inland to the palace
of the King.
'But first come, Nathos, to my high-walled castle,' said the stranger,
'and bring with thee thy wife and thy brothers.'
'It were not well to come to a man's castle and know not the man's
name,' said Nathos.
'My name is Angus,' answered the stranger.
'Then, Angus, let me behold thy face, for it were not well to come to a

man's castle, having not looked upon the man's face.'
So Angus threw back his hood, and Nathos saw that Deirdre's lips grew
white, as she said, 'Not to-morrow, Angus; but on the morn that follows,
if thou wilt come again, then shalt thou lead us to thy high-walled
castle. This day have we travelled far and would fain rest.'
But Angus turned him again to the sons of Usna and pleaded that they
should linger no longer in the isle. 'To-night may this island be
tempest-swept, to-night may the host of Concobar be upon you, and
then what shall befall this fair one? Bring her rather to my castle, and
there let her rest in safety with my wife and her maidens.'
But as Nathos glanced at Deirdre, he saw that her purpose was firm,
and he said once again the words she had spoken, 'Not tomorrow,
Angus; but on the morn that follows, if thou wilt come again, then shall
we come with thee to thy high-walled castle'
Then Angus, frowning, went with the chief and his men to their galley.
And as they set sail he asked how many men the sons of Usna had with
them. But when it was told him that they numbered one hundred and
fifty, he said no more, for there were but thirty that sailed with the chief,
and what could one man do against five?
It was not until the strangers had gone that Nathos asked Deirdre
wherefore she delayed to visit so great a lord as Angus.
'Thou shalt hear wherefore I went not this day, nor shall go on any day
to come to the castle of him who calleth himself Angus. So he calleth
himself, but in truth he is none other than the King of Alba. In a dream
was it so revealed unto me, when I saw him stand victorious over your
dead body. Nathos, that man would fain steal me from you, and deliver
you into the hands of Concobar.'
'Deirdre hath wisdom,' said Ardan. 'By the morn after to-morrow we
must be far hence, for ere the sun shall rise may not yonder chief be
upon us with thrice the number of our men?'

And Nathos, though he was sore grieved for the weariness of Deirdre,
bowed his head. So they set sail, and through the thick mist of a starless
night their galley silently breasted the unseen waves. But when they
came north of the long island, they bent to their oars, and as they rowed
yet northward Deirdre laughed again for joy, as she listened to the
music of the rowers' strokes.
When dawn glimmered they came to a sea-loch, its waters
o'ershadowed by the sleeping hills. And there they were told that the
King of Alba, who had called himself Angus, had no castle in the west,
and had already left for Dunedin. They heard, too, that