{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_50490/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_50490","id":"gutenberg_50490","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50490","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Ireland","Legends -- Ireland","Mythology, Celtic -- Ireland"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\nItalic text enclosed with _underscores_.\n\nSmall-capitals replaced by ALL CAPITALS.\n\nMore notes appear at the end of the file.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: decoration]\n\n\n                            Legendary Heroes\n                                  _of_\n                                Ireland\n\n\n\n\n                                   By\n\n                            HAROLD F. HUGHES\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: shield and arms logo]\n\n\n\n\n                                  1922\n                       HARR WAGNER PUBLISHING CO.\n\n                          San Francisco, Cal.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                               Copyright\n                                  1922\n                            Harold F. Hughes\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                               DEDICATION\n\n                              TO MY FATHER\n\n                    WHOSE TALES OF THE IRISH HEROES\n                         FIRST OPENED TO ME THE\n                             WONDERLAND OF\n                            CELTIC FOLKLORE\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                           TEACHER\u2019S PREFACE\n\n\nThese stories are offered in the hope that they may help promote the\nlove of reading in our boys and girls. After all, our duty in teaching\nreading is not in the subject matter but in the desire. If we show to\nthe child that the art of reading is the golden key which will unlock\nthe storehouse of life enjoyment, and give him the love for the secrets\nof the printed page, we may consider that our educational effort has\nbeen well spent. So the primary object in writing these stories has not\nbeen to chronicle history but to give the child something interesting\nand entertaining.\n\nThe early Celts have little literature other than these stories, which\nhave been handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.\nMost of the tales in this book have been taken from the Ossianic Saga.\nWhether Finn belongs to history or mythology detracts no jot from the\nabsorbing interest of his exploits.\n\nI have tried to make the story of Finn something of a connected\nnarrative. To do this I have taken incidents from various versions; I\nhave left out much unsuitable to children, and I have changed some\nincidents to conform to the modern standards of morals. The chronology\nof arrangement is my own, but I have tried to preserve the spirit of the\noriginals.\n\nNo collection of Irish folk stories could be brought out were it not for\nthe work of those many scholars who have spent years in collecting and\ntranslating the tales of the Celtic race. To our American linguist,\nJeremiah Curtin, and to the Irish scholars: Sir Douglas Hyde, Dr. Joyce,\nEleanor Hull, Lady Gregory, T. W. Rolleston and others, my thanks are\ndue. Their splendid research work has made possible such a volume as\nthis.\n\n                                                       HAROLD F. HUGHES.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                           TABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                 PAGE\n\n                    1. Mythology of Ireland         9\n\n                    2. The Fenians                 15\n\n                    3. The Birth of Finn           18\n\n                    4. Boyhood of Finn             23\n\n                    5. Finn Claims His             28\n                       Inheritance\n\n                    6. Finn and the Scottish       36\n                       Giant\n\n                    7. The Story of Saba           47\n\n                    8. Conan the Bald              53\n\n                    9. Dermot of the Love Spot     58\n\n                   10. Dermot Rescues Finn         64\n\n                   11. The Worthless Servant      101\n\n                   12. Dermot and Grainne         126\n\n                   13. The Battle of Ventry       134\n                       Strand\n\n                   14. The Death of Dermot        148\n\n                   15. The Battle of Gowra        155\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n[Illustration:\n  That evening Cool climbed to the window\n        From Birth of Finn]\n\n                          MYTHOLOGY OF IRELAND\n\n\nEvery race of people has its myths and hero tales. With those of the\nGreeks most of us are familiar. We have heard of Hercules, Perseus,\nAtlas and others, ever since we started to school. The early stories of\na race are always entertaining as well as instructive. For that reason\nour school libraries contain the folk stories of the Japanese, the\nNorsemen, the Russians, the English, the American Indian, the negro and\nmany others. The one people, of whose stories Americans know little, is\nthe Celtic race, the forefathers of the Scotch and Irish of today, and\nthe ancestors of many of us. This book is intended to make you\nacquainted with the ancient heroes of the Celts.\n\nJust as King Arthur is the early hero of the Anglo-Saxon people, so is\nFinn MacCool the renowned hero of the Celts. Like King Arthur he had\ngathered together a body of heroes, all of whom performed deeds of\nvalor. In Scotland we find stories of this same hero, only the Scotch\npeople call him Fingal.\n\nMost of the stories which follow are tales of the adventures of Finn and\nhis friend, Dermot. These tales are about events which are supposed to\nhave taken place nearly two thousand years ago.\n\nNo doubt you wonder how we know anything about people who lived so long\nago. The very name, folk stories, explains it. Folk stories are told by\nthe folk, or people, of the country. Sometimes we find the tales written\nin an ancient book, but most of them come down through the centuries by\none person telling the story to another.\n\nYou know that when you hear a good story, you like to tell it to little\nbrother or sister or some playmate. That is just the way the folk\nstories come to us. In some countries there were bards or poets who went\naround and sang of the old heroes. We often read of these men in Scotch\nhistory. The most common way of preserving the stories, however, was by\nthe father and mother telling their children of the ancient heroes.\nThese children grew up and repeated the tales to their own families, and\nso the story was preserved through the ages.\n\nThere is an old Irish legend that explains this method very nicely.\n\nFinn had a son named Ossian, of whom you will read a great deal as we go\non. This son was a poet and sang the deeds of his father in verse. The\nstory runs that before the great battle of Gowra, Ossian had fallen in\nlove with a fairy and had gone to Fairyland to live. He lived in this\nland of youth for four hundred years, growing no older. At the end of\nthat time he wanted to go back to earth and see if he could see any of\nhis old friends. Time went so quickly in Fairyland that he did not\nrealize how long he had been away.\n\nHis fairy wife gave him a horse to ride and warned him that he must not\ntouch a foot to the ground. Then Ossian rode away.\n\nHe came to Erin and rode through the scenes of his adventures. He was\nsurprised not to find any of his old friends. Not only that, he found\nthat the men were very much smaller than those of his time. He saw six\nof them trying to roll a stone which his father could have moved with\none hand. He grew so sorry for them that he forgot all about his wife\u2019s\norders. He got off his horse to move the stone. The instant he touched\nthe ground he became a wrinkled and bent old man.\n\nThen, the story tells us, the people took him to St. Patrick, and he\ntold this Irish saint the stories of Finn and his companions.\n\nIt is a very pretty story to explain how these legends became known. Of\ncourse, it is not true, but it shows the imagination of the Irish\npeople. They believe in fairies and witches and the powers of\nenchantment. You will find that this belief enters into all the stories.\nThat is another thing about folk tales. Each person who tells them adds\nsomething to them.\n\nNo doubt you have been to parties where a game something like this was\nplayed: The players form a long row. Then the one on the end whispers\nsomething to his neighbor, this person whispers what he heard to the\nnext player, and so on. The last player tells what has been told him. It\nis nearly always something entirely different from the story which\nstarted.\n\nFolk stories grow in just that manner. The different provinces of\nIreland have different versions of the stories. In some parts of the\ncountry Finn is the hero, and Dermot proves untrue to him. In another\nprovince, Dermot is the splendid man and Finn is a cruel tyrant. The\nstories which follow in this book are combined from those of all the\nprovinces. This book is not a history. It is a collection of interesting\nstories about heroes who, possibly, never existed.\n\n\n                                  II.\n\nYou should know something of how stories of this kind are gathered\ntogether. Many were taken down by the priests of early times, but none\nwere ever written until nearly a thousand years ago. Undoubtedly large\nnumbers of them have been lost by the death of the only person who knew\nthem.\n\nIt is only in the last few years that the Irish scholars have tried to\ngather these tales together. There are many of these collectors of Irish\nhero stories. Most of them, of course, are Irish, but America has\nfurnished one man who long will be remembered because of his work along\nthis line.\n\nJeremiah Curtin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1840. He died in\n1906. Into those sixty-six years he crowded the work of several ordinary\nmen. He had a great love for the languages and history. When he\ngraduated from Harvard, he was so well acquainted with Russian that he\nwent to St. Petersburg, now Petrograd, as Secretary of the American\nLegation. While there he became interested in Russian literature and the\nfolk stories of the people. He translated many Russian books into\nEnglish and also collected a volume of their folk tales.\n\nMany men would have been satisfied with this. Mr. Curtin was not. He\nbecame connected with the Smithsonian Institute and while there studied\nthe folk tales of the various Indian tribes. He wrote two books of these\nstories.\n\nHe next took up the study of Irish folk lore. He spent a great deal of\ntime in Ireland collecting the stories which appear in three books.\nWhenever he heard of some old man or woman who knew an old story, he\nwent to that place and got the person to tell it to him, writing it down\nas it was told. Many times it was one he had already heard, but that\ncould not discourage Mr. Curtin. As a result of this care his books are\nvery valuable to the older students of folk lore.\n\nWhat an interesting life this man must have led! Think of the work he\nmust have done to learn the many languages well enough to get the\nstories. We think we are well educated if we can read two or three\nlanguages beside our own. Mr. Curtin, when he died, was familiar with\nsixty languages!\n\nAnd now that we know something about how folk lore is collected, we are\nready to make the acquaintance of Finn and his Fenian warriors.\n\n\n\n\n                              THE FENIANS\n\n\nThe stories of the great heroes of Ireland, or Erin as it used to be\ncalled, are gathered in groups around certain men. The Fenians whom Finn\nMacCool commanded from the age of ten until his death, was a body of\nmilitary men about whom the best known stories are told.\n\nThese Fenians might be said to correspond to our standing army. There\nwere three groups of a thousand men each in peace times. In time of war\nthe number could be expanded enough to take in all who wished to fight.\nSome people claim that Finn and his Fenians never existed. Others say\nthat this body of men did exist from 400 years before the birth of\nChrist until they were destroyed in a great battle in the year 284 A. D.\nWhether they formed a real army or not does not spoil our enjoyment of\ntheir deeds of bravery.\n\nIn reading the exploits of the Fenians it is necessary to remember that\nto the Irish mind these men were either gods or giants, many times the\nsize of people of the present day. If you forget this you will not be\nable to understand how one hero can hold back a whole army of ordinary\nsoldiers, and how strokes of their swords cut off whole hilltops and\nformed new valleys.\n\nTo become a Fenian was a great honor. It was only open to men of the\nbest families and of the highest character, and many of these were not\nable to pass the tests required.\n\nIn the first place a Fenian must be well educated in poetry and must be\nable to write it himself. In other words, he must have all the education\nwhich those days gave. Again, he must pledge himself to be kind and\ngentle to the weak and oppressed, to be willing to fight when challenged\nand to keep up the battle until he won or was killed. He must promise\nnever to injure the common people, not to allow gold to make him false\nto his friends, not to accept a dowry with a wife. He must agree not to\nrun away from nine or less champions, and his parents must pledge\nthemselves not to seek revenge if he was killed in battle.\n\nThe physical tests were even harder to pass. The candidate must have his\nhair braided, take his spear in his hand and through the forest. After\nhe was given sufficient start he was pursued by other Fenians. If he was\novertaken, he was wounded and rejected. If his spear trembled, or if he\nbroke a dry branch in his flight, that also barred him out. Then, when\nthe trial was over, his braids were examined. If he had shaken them out\nof position, proving that he had had to work hard to get away, he had to\ngive up all hopes of joining.\n\nAnother test consisted of placing him in a hole up to his waist and\ngiving him a shield in one hand and a hazelwood stick in the other. Nine\nwarriors with nine spears formed in a circle and threw at him. If he was\nwounded he was not accepted. No wonder that a man who passed such tests\nwas ready to face great numbers of ordinary soldiers.\n\nA Fenian had also to be very nimble and supple. One of the tests was to\nput up a lath on the level of his eyebrows and another farther on, just\nthe height of his knees. The man had to go at full speed, leaping over\nthe first one and going under the second without slackening his pace.\nThe boys who read this have only to try this test to realize that a\nFenian would be a winner on a track team of today.\n\nIt was men who could pass such tests who made up the kind of heroes\ncommanded by Cool, Gaul of Morna and Finn. These are the three great\nleaders mentioned in the stories. Cool made them a mighty band; Gaul\nheld them together after the death of Cool; Finn was the last and\ngreatest leader.\n\n\n\n\n                           THE BIRTH OF FINN\n\n\nThe first great chief of the Fenians was Cool. He was a mighty warrior\nand splendid hero. He it was who organized these men into an army of\nstrength, which he governed wisely but sternly.\n\nOver Cool was Conn, the High King, known as Conn the Hundred Fighter,\nbecause he had been victorious in a hundred battles. It was Conn whom\nCool and his men had to swear to honor and defend. Conn\u2019s principal\ncity, the one in which he held his court, was known as Tara. These facts\nit is necessary to know before we can understand the story which\nfollows.\n\nIn one part of the kingdom, in the castle of Alma, dwelt an old chief\nand his beautiful daughter, Murna. The girl was kept within the castle\nunder heavy guard and no man was allowed to see or speak to her. There\nwas a reason for this harsh treatment. When she was born a prophet told\nher father that her son would take his land and title from him. As the\nold chief was very fond of his castle he thought he would make a\ngrandson impossible by never allowing his daughter to marry.\n\nOne day Cool rode by the castle and saw Murna at the upper window. He\nwas greatly struck by her beauty.\n\n\u201cWho is the maiden?\u201d he asked one of his advisers.\n\n\u201cIt will do you little good to know,\u201d replied the man. \u201cHer father has\nforbidden any man to wed her.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe men of this district must have little spirit to allow such a prize\nto go unwon,\u201d remarked Cool.\n\n\u201cYou would not think so if you saw the number of guards always in place\nto make such a thing impossible,\u201d was the reply.\n\nCool said no more. That evening he went back to the castle, overpowered\nthe guards and climbed to the window at which he had seen the girl. When\nshe saw this mighty hero at her window, she let him in and they talked\ntogether. Cool was already in love with her from having seen her\nbeautiful face, but after he had talked with her and found her as gentle\nand sweet as she was beautiful, he vowed that he would have no one but\nher for a wife. Any girl of Ireland would have been proud to be wooed by\nsuch a splendid hero. The maiden was sure that she could never love any\none else, so Cool took her away. They were married that very night.\n\nYou can imagine how the old chief felt about this theft of his daughter\nand her marriage. He saw now that the prophecy might come true. He\nhastened to the High King and told his story.\n\nThis put Conn in a puzzling position. As a man he sympathized with Cool,\nbut as a King he saw that the chief was justified in complaining. He\nordered Cool to appear before him.\n\n\u201cDo you deny that you stole the chief\u2019s daughter for your wife?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cI do not,\u201d said Cool stoutly.\n\n\u201cDo you think that the proper conduct for a Fenian?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cIs it not the rule of the Fenians to help the weak who are oppressed?\u201d\nasked Cool in answer.\n\n\u201cThis maiden was not oppressed,\u201d said the old chief. \u201cShe was my\ndaughter and under my protection.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny maiden is oppressed who is not allowed to love and be loved by the\nman of her choice,\u201d said Cool. \u201cIf you had permitted anyone to seek her\nin marriage she would not have been taken from you by force.\u201d\n\nKing Conn hated to decide. He did not wish to offend the leader of his\narmy, nor could he afford to make an enemy of the old chief and lose his\nfealty. He finally decided that he could replace his leader more easily,\nso he ruled that Cool must give back the maiden.\n\nNow Cool had been greatly in love with Murna when he took her from the\ncastle, but having her for his wife had made her more dear to him. He\ndecided that life would not be worth living without her. He defied Conn\nto take her from him.\n\n[Illustration:\n  The hermit killed Cool and took his head to Gaul\n        From Birth of Finn]\n\nWith his beautiful bride and those Fenians who were more loyal to him\nthan to the High King, Cool fled to the forest. There he defended\nhimself and for some time kept at bay the forces of Conn.\n\nAfter Cool fled the leadership of the Fenians was given to Gaul of\nMorna, another brave warrior. In the course of the battle Cool and the\nnew leader met in single combat. All day long they fought fiercely and\nbravely; Gaul to show himself brave enough to lead the army and Cool for\nhis wife and his happiness. In the evening Cool weakened and he received\na wound which made it impossible to fight on. Gaul thought too much of\nhis old leader to kill him while he lay wounded, so he withdrew.\n\nIt so happened that another witnessed this battle. It was an old hermit\nwho lived by himself in the forest. This man was reputed to have great\nknowledge. It proved that he had also a great desire to make himself\npopular with the High King. He did what Gaul would not do\u2014he killed the\nwounded Cool and took his head to Gaul.\n\nIn place of receiving the praise he wanted, he found Gaul greatly\ndispleased. The hermit was driven out of the camp as a coward, with\nsticks and stones hurled after him as a reward.\n\nWith the defeat of their leader the rebel Fenians surrendered, and the\nyoung widow was left without protection. She must either go back to her\nfather or hide in the forest. The latter course was the one she chose.\n\nPoor girl, she was not used to such treatment. She became very weak and\nill. At last she gave up and approached an old hut in the forest. Here\nshe was taken in by an old woman, who fed her and nursed her.\n\nIt was in this hut that the baby, who was to become such a great hero,\nwas born. Murna stayed in the hut until the baby could be left, fearful\nthat each day would bring the searchers sent out by her father, who\nwould kill her child. She finally decided that the baby would be safer\nif she went back to the castle of Alma. She pledged the old woman to\nraise the child but to tell no one who he was. The woman promised and\nMurna went back to her father.\n\n\n\n\n                             FINN\u2019S BOYHOOD\n\n\nMany stories are told of the boyhood of this hero. He grew tall and\nstraight with long fair hair and bright blue eyes. Because of his\ncomplexion he was called Finn, which means \u201cThe Fair\u201d.\n\nLiving among the wild things of the forest he grew like them. No deer\ncould run away from him, he could run at full speed without cracking a\ndry branch, he could track any animal by the prints on the forest floor,\nwhile his eyes were as keen as those of an eagle.\n\nAn early adventure of the boy reminds one of the story told of Putnam,\nour hero of Revolutionary days. I refer to the story of the killing of\nthe wolf. In the case of Finn it was a wildcat. While he was still a\nvery young child his friends of the forest were greatly annoyed by the\nvisits of a vicious wildcat. This animal made steady attacks on the\nflocks and herds of the people of the forest.\n\nThe men hunted for the animal without result. No one thought of Finn as\na hunter and he told no one of his intention. With his knowledge of\ntracking he found the trail of the wildcat and followed it to its lair\nin a deep cave. Without hesitation he went right in until he found the\nanimal.\n\nThere was no space in the cave for the use of a sword, so Finn did not\ndraw it. Instead he attacked the animal with his bare hands. He caught\nit by the throat and held it until it ceased its struggles. Then he\ncarried the dead beast back and showed it to the surprised residents of\nthe forest. Its skin afterwards became part of his costume.\n\nWhen he was old enough for books, the old woman gave him into the charge\nof the hermit of the forest. This man taught him the \u201cTwelve Books of\nPoetry\u201d, which seems to be about all the people of those days learned\nfrom books. Finn was a bright pupil and very early became skilful enough\nto write poetry himself.\n\nI am afraid that the hermit took little interest in the teaching of his\npupil. You see, the man was deeply interested in gaining wisdom for\nhimself. He had placed his hut on the bank of a little stream, not, as\nyou suppose, so that he would have water for cooking, but because this\nwas the stream mentioned in the prophecy as the one up which the Salmon\nof Knowledge would come.\n\nIn the folk stories of many races we find the salmon considered as the\nwisest of fishes. In Ireland, however, there was the story of this\nparticular salmon which would some day swim up the stream. The man who\nate the flesh of this fish would be ever afterwards the wisest man in\nthe country.\n\nThe prophecy said that the fish would come when the man who was to eat\nhim arrived. As no one knew who this was to be, the hermit had hopes\nthat the fish would come to him.\n\nFinn helped to watch for this wonderful fish. This was a task he loved,\nand it was one to which he was well suited on account of his keen eyes.\nOne afternoon, while he lay on the bank, a big, beautiful salmon swam\nslowly toward him. The sunlight glistened on his scales that shone like\nsilver.\n\nThe big fish swam right in front of him, turning back and forth in the\nsunlight and showing very plainly that it did not intend swimming away.\nAt last Finn remembered that it was a fish he was waiting for, so he\nreached into the water for it. The salmon offered no fight, but allowed\nthe boy to lift him out upon the bank.\n\nOf course the hermit was delighted to see the fish. He knew at once that\nit was the Salmon of Knowledge. He felt that he was already the wisest\nman in the country. But even with knowledge so close to him he still had\na desire to have some one else do the work. He set his pupil at the task\nof cooking the fish, cautioning him against eating a bite of it. Then he\nwent off to take a nap.\n\nFinn sat before the fire turning the fish slowly. He, too, had heard of\nthe Salmon of Knowledge, but he never guessed that this was the one.\nNeither did he have any idea that he was the person of the prophecy. He\ndid not even know who he was, nor anything about his father or mother.\nAs he turned the smoking fish he got his thumb against the meat and\nburnt it severely. To ease the pain he put it in his mouth and sucked\nthe sore thumb.\n\nThat was all that was necessary to give him knowledge. He sprang to his\nfeet, his eyes blazing with anger. Buckling on his sword he went in and\nroused the hermit from his sleep. What the man saw in his pupil\u2019s eyes\nfrightened him.\n\n\u201cDid you eat that salmon?\u201d demanded the hermit.\n\n\u201cI but burnt my finger on it and sucked the place,\u201d said Finn. \u201cThat was\nenough. I know now that I am the son of Cool and that you killed him\nwhile he lay wounded. Get up and defend yourself, for I am about to\navenge my father!\u201d\n\nFinn was but a boy, but already the strength of a champion was coming to\nhim. The hermit fought for his life, but he was no match for the son of\nthe man he had treacherously killed. He quickly paid for his foul deed,\nand Finn ate the Salmon of Knowledge, as it was intended he should.\n\nFrom that time on he had more wisdom than the wisest man in Ireland. Not\nonly that, but when in times of stress he desired to know the outcome of\na battle or an adventure, by biting the thumb which had been burned he\ncould tell the result. In other stories you will see how this knowledge\naided him. Of course, you will wonder why he ever made mistakes with\nsuch a gift. I am unable to tell you that. Many of the adventures we\nread of a wise man would never have attempted. Probably he only used\nthis thumb in times of great importance for fear that if he used it for\neverything the great gift would leave him.\n\n\n\n\n                      FINN CLAIMS HIS INHERITANCE\n\n\nA tremendous gathering of the men of Erin had come together at the city\nof Tara, the central city of the realm. The Fenians were camped in a\ncircle around the outskirts. At night the lights of their campfires made\na circle of fire as though to protect it from danger.\n\nConn, the High King, was holding court in the great banquet hall where a\nthousand of the chiefs and champions were gathered with him. This hall\nwas seven hundred sixty feet long, ninety feet wide and built of hewn\nlogs. Down each side ran a double row of benches with hewn tables in\nfront of them. In each row were two hundred fifty of the finest manhood\nof Erin. Their weapons and shields rested against the walls behind them\nwhile they ate. Down the center was a row of fires over which, on spits,\ngreat roasts of meat were cooking. An army of cooks were constantly\nbusy, tending the fires, turning the spits and carrying food to the\ntables.\n\nAt the end of the hall on a raised platform sat Conn, his son Arthur,\nand Gaul of Morna, leader of the Fenians. They were in earnest\nconsultation.\n\nOne would have thought that such a gathering of heroes at a feast would\nhave been a jolly one. It was not so. A deep silence hung over all. Men\nate in silence with gloomy faces and downcast eyes, sad because they\nfelt that it would be their last gathering in that splendid hall.\n\nSuddenly a voice rang out through the silence. Clear and firm it was, so\nthat every word was heard the length of the hall.\n\n\u201cConn, High King of Erin, a lonely and disinherited youth, without money\nand without friends, claims thy hospitality!\u201d\n\nThe men of Erin looked at the newcomer in surprise. They saw a youth\nabout ten years of age, clad in the skins of the forest animals. Hanging\nat his belt in front was a great sword, while his skin covered shield\nhung over his shoulders at the back. His fair hair fell to his\nshoulders, while his blue eyes caught the glint of light from the spears\nalong the wall and shot it back like flashes of sunlight. It was Finn,\nson of Cool, appearing for the first time before the Fenians.\n\nThe High King had matters of too much weight on his mind to take much\nheed of the boy who claimed what no king at that time would refuse\u2014a\nplace at the table and a bed. He motioned to Finn to take his place with\nthe others and went on with his discussion.\n\nFinn ate with the other men of Erin. He said no word until he had\nfinished his meal. Then he arose and once more addressed the High King.\n\n\u201cI know it is not customary for a stranger to note that there is\nanything wrong in the house of his host, but I am impressed by your look\nof sadness and the silence of the men of Erin. Is aught amiss that may\nbe told to a stranger?\u201d\n\n\u201cOur troubles are not secret, though it shames me to tell them,\u201d\nanswered the High King. \u201cTonight is the time set for the destruction of\nTara, and I am powerless to save it. Each year for nine years, at the\nmidnight hour of this night, the giant Midna appears and throws balls of\nfire at the city until it is destroyed. Each year I have rebuilt it,\nonly to know that my work is to last but for a year. The women and\nchildren have been sent away. Only the Fenians remain to witness my\nshame. Do you wonder, O Youth, that we are sick at heart?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd is there no brave champion or youth anxious to prove his bravery\nwho can go out and meet this giant?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cAlas, no,\u201d sighed the High King. \u201cIt is not that the men of Erin are\nlacking in bravery. Many have tried without result. When Midna is ready\nto destroy, he plays fairy music upon his pipes, and not a man can stay\nawake. When sleep leaves our eyes he is gone, and the city is a heap of\nashes. We watch again tonight, but we have no hopes of success.\u201d\n\nOf course Finn, having eaten the Salmon of Knowledge, knew this as well\nas anybody. His purpose in asking for information was to obtain a\npromise from Conn.\n\n\u201cWhat shall be the reward of him who slays the giant and saves the\ncity?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cIf such a feat be possible, no reward that he shall ask will be\nrefused,\u201d answered the High King.\n\n\u201cEven to the return of my inheritance?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cYes, fair youth,\u201d answered Conn. \u201cEven if your inheritance be my crown,\nand my son and I must become your vassals, it shall be returned to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that your promise, O King, made before all these men of Erin?\u201d\ninsisted Finn.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d declared the king, stepping down and putting his hand in that\nof the boy. \u201cMy hand is my pledge that I will do as I promise.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I shall attempt the trial,\u201d said Finn.\n\nHe waved back all offers of spears and shields from the men of Erin and\nwent out by himself into the darkness. He sought out a place in a dark\ngrove and waited quietly. Soon a man appeared, bearing a large cloak and\na heavy spear. The spear handle was studded with nails of gold, but the\npoint was incased in a leather covering. The man gave Finn directions\nfor the use of the articles and disappeared.\n\nSoon the lights in the banquet hall went out, as the champions went to\ntheir posts in the circle defending the city. No man spoke to his\nneighbor. That would have been useless since every man had his ears\nfilled with wax in the hopes that he might shut out the sound of the\nstrange, sweet music that put all to sleep.\n\nFinn climbed a hill overlooking the city. His knowledge told him that\nhere it was the giant would come. Soon he heard in the distance the\nsound of pipes. The music lulled his senses, his eyelids drooped, his\nhead began to nod. Not till then did he take the leather covering from\nthe spear head. It glowed like fire and little tongues of light shot out\nin all directions. From the spear came the sound of many voices crying\nout together. Finn pressed the point to his forehead. The pain of the\nburning was stronger than the spell of the music.\n\nSoon the lights of the circle began to reel and go out as one after\nanother of the Fenians came under the spell of the music. At last only\nthe lights of the stronger chiefs were burning.\n\nThe music then changed to the sweetness of strings. Once again Finn had\nto press the spear head to his forehead. The lights went out one by one\nuntil there was but one left, that of Conn, and it was reeling like that\nof a drunken man. Then it, too, went out. Tara was unprotected by her\narmy.\n\nAnd now Finn heard the sound of heavy feet. There was a splashing of\nwater as of one crossing a river. Finn looked in the direction of the\nsound and beheld a mighty mountain of man ascending the hill on which he\nstood. It was the giant Midna.\n\nMidna looked over the city lying at his mercy and laughed aloud. He blew\nfrom his mouth a red fire ball which was to begin the destruction of the\ncity. Finn reached out his cloak and caught the ball in its folds, where\nit died out harmlessly. The amazed giant shot another and another at the\ncity, but not one passed the folds of Finn\u2019s cloak.\n\nAt first, I suppose, the giant thought that he was shooting a poor grade\nof fire balls that evening. When, however, he looked to the place where\nthey disappeared and saw Finn catching them in his cloak, he let out a\nroar of fear and ran back toward his home as quickly as he could.\nProbably he had heard some prophecy that told him of the coming of this\nboy, dressed in skins; maybe he saw that Finn\u2019s powers were greater than\nhis; anyway he did not pause for battle, but ran with all the speed he\npossessed.\n\nFinn gave chase. He was, you remember, very fleet of foot, but the\ngiant\u2019s legs were many times longer and the distance grew between them.\nThe spear flamed brightly and seemed struggling to get free.\n\n\u201cGo then, if you will,\u201d cried Finn, as he hurled it after the fast\ndisappearing giant.\n\nLike a meteor in the night sky the spear sped through the darkness and\ndisappeared. Finn ran on after it. He found the giant dead at the door\nof his cave in the hillside. The spear had passed through his body and\ndisappeared.\n\nWith his sword Finn took the enchanter\u2019s head as proof that he had won\nthe battle. When he passed the place where he had dropped the cloak he\nfound nothing. Like the spear, it disappeared when its work was done.\nFinn placed the head of the giant on a pole in front of the banquet hall\nso that all might see it in the morning.\n\nAnd then, after it was all over, he became very faint and sick. The use\nof the weapons of magic had taken all the strength out of his body. He\nreeled like a drunken man toward the spring which furnished water for\nthe banquet hall. Finn had another power of which I must tell you. By\nbringing water in his cupped hands to one sick or wounded he could\nrestore him to health. He used this power now and drank from his own\nhands. At once his sickness passed. Then he lay down and slept.\n\nIn the morning he woke early and gave a mighty shout.\n\nEven though their ears were filled with wax the Fenians could not fail\nto hear his voice. They struggled from their sleep and rubbed their eyes\nin astonishment to see, not a heap of smoking ruins, but Tara,\nresplendent in the morning sun.\n\nThey came with all speed, Conn and Gaul in the lead, to the spot where\nFinn stood pointing at the head of their late enemy.\n\n\u201cWho are you, brave youth?\u201d asked Conn. \u201cYou are no common man since you\nhave done what no one else could do.\u201d\n\nThen Finn drew himself up and in a loud voice cried:\n\n\u201cI claim my inheritance\u2014the castle of Alma and the leadership of the\nFenians. I am Finn, son of Cool, and these things belong to me in my\nright.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat I have promised I will fulfill,\u201d declared Conn. \u201cI give you your\ninheritance the more willingly because your father was my friend and\nloyal subject until I decided unfairly against him.\u201d\n\nThen Gaul of Morna gave up the leadership of the Fenians and put his\nhand in that of Finn to show that he was willing to be his friend and\nfollower. The other leaders followed his example. It must have gone hard\nwith some of these mighty chiefs to swear fealty to a ten year old boy.\nThe only thing that made such a thing possible was that Finn had done\nsomething no other of them could do and had entered the class of a\nchampion by killing the giant.\n\nThus Finn MacCool became the leader of the Fenians.\n\n\n\n\n                      FINN AND THE SCOTTISH GIANT\n\n\nThis story is one told by the Irish peasants in explaining a bridge of\nrock off the northern coast of their country. It is a typical Finn\nstory, showing that leader\u2019s strength and his wisdom. The giant who had\na secret of strength is found in the folk lore of many nations. No doubt\nyou remember the Bible hero, Samson, who lost his strength with the\ncutting of his long hair. You may compare him with the Scottish giant.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhen Finn was not training his men or traveling in search of adventure,\nhe used to visit the old woman who had raised him. The stories do not\nmention his ever having seen his real mother. The foster-mother takes\nher place. Finn built a cottage for her in the northern part of the\ncountry and saw to it that she never needed anything.\n\nOne day, while visiting the woman, he stood on the rocky coast looking\nout over the ocean. Over on the coast of Scotland he saw a giant of\ntremendous proportions. This fellow seemed to be driving pillars into\nthe ocean and was working very hard. He saw Finn in the distance and\ncalled out:\n\n\u201cYou might as well settle up your business, because when I get through\nwith you there will not be much of you left to talk about!\u201d\n\nThe giant\u2019s voice was a mighty roar which carried nicely over the miles\nseparating them. Now Finn had heard of this giant and the threat did not\nfrighten him in the least. He called back in a voice nearly as strong as\nthe giant\u2019s own:\n\n\u201cCome over any time you like. You\u2019ll need more than a bridge to take you\nback after I get through with you.\u201d\n\nThe giant said no more, so Finn went back to the cottage. He knew that\nhis men had boasted to the Scottish people about the great strength of\ntheir leader. He also knew that the Scotch giant was anxious to settle\nthe question as to which was the better man. Now, Finn was afraid of no\nman. Having bested every champion in Ireland he was always anxious to\ntry his strength against any new hero who appeared.\n\nEach morning he went out and watched the giant building the bridge\nacross the channel. When the man began to get nearer, Finn got an idea\nof his size. He was at least four times the size of the Irish hero and\nthe way he handled the great stone pillars showed that his strength was\ntremendous. Finn saw that if the giant got hold of him as he did a rock\npillar, he would have little chance of escaping alive.\n\nAs I have told you, Finn was no coward. You also know that he was no\nfool. He was noted for wisdom as well as strength. He saw that a combat\nat close quarters with such a mountain of muscle would be foolish. He\nbegan to devise plans for getting the better of the giant when the\nbridge should be finished.\n\nWhen he saw that the work would last but a few days more he no longer\nwent to the shore but kept at home out of sight. He enlisted the aid of\nhis foster-mother in the preparations for the giant\u2019s arrival. He\nbrought in a large stone as big as a water bucket and placed it on a\nshelf in the cottage. Then he had the woman make, from the whey of sour\nmilk, a ball large enough to fill his two hands. This he placed near the\nrock.\n\nNext he had the woman bake several cakes of meal. A few were just the\nordinary ones such as they ate regularly, but in the middle of the\nothers he had her put plates of solid iron. These cakes were placed in\nthe cupboard close at hand. When you see how these different things were\nused you will see that Finn had a perfect plan worked out.\n\nThen Finn told his foster-mother all the things she must do and in what\norder each was to come.\n\n\u201cI fear that he will be too much for you,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cHe would be as he is,\u201d declared Finn. \u201cBy biting my thumb I learn that\nthe secret of his strength is in one of his fingers\u2014which one I cannot\ntell. It shall be your task to find out the finger.\u201d\n\nAt last the day came on which the bridge was completed. A messenger was\nsent out to give the giant directions for reaching the cottage, while\nFinn himself, dressed as a baby, got into the big cradle he had built\nfor the purpose.\n\nSoon the doorway darkened. The great giant stood there looking in. He\nwas an ugly and terrible looking fellow with two great teeth sticking\nout of his jaw like those of a walrus. The doorway was a large one, but\nthe giant filled it, shutting out the light behind him.\n\n\u201cI am looking for the fellow who calls himself Finn MacCool,\u201d roared the\ngiant in a voice that shook the walls of the house.\n\nFinn\u2019s foster-mother sat calmly rocking the cradle and working on some\nclothes she was mending. To look at her one would have thought that the\nvisit of a giant was an everyday occurrence.\n\n\u201cAnd who might you be?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s no matter,\u201d growled the giant. \u201cI\u2019ve come from Scotland to see\nhim and I\u2019m in a hurry.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you must be that foolish fellow who thinks he wants to have a trial\nwith Finn,\u201d suggested the woman.\n\n\u201cFoolish!\u201d roared the giant. \u201cShow me where he is and you will soon find\nout which one is the foolish one!\u201d\n\n\u201cCome right in,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI am very sorry, but Finn is away and\nwill not be back until tomorrow. He waited for you as long as he could.\nYou see, you were so long in coming he decided that you had become\nfrightened and had turned back, so he went off to attend to some\nbusiness. Just as he left he said to me, \u2018If that fellow from Scotland\ngets here while I am gone, treat him well and get him to stay. I would\nnot miss knocking a trial out of him at any cost.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, he won\u2019t miss me,\u201d answered the giant. \u201cI\u2019ll wait.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome right in then,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI will give you a bite to eat.\u201d\n\nThe giant thrust himself through the doorway into the room. Inside,\nwhere he could straighten himself up, he looked more terrible than\nbefore. As there was no seat in the cottage big enough for him he leaned\nagainst the wall, which bulged out with his weight. The woman busied\nherself before the fire.\n\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d asked the giant, pointing to Finn in the cradle.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s Finn\u2019s little baby,\u201d answered the woman. \u201cI wish you would be\nmore quiet while you are in here. The baby is just beginning to cut his\nteeth, and he is very cross if he awakens suddenly.\u201d\n\nThe giant really tried to soften his voice, but the result was very\nfunny. When he was speaking very softly, his voice was like that of a\nfog horn in a coast light house.\n\n\u201cDear me,\u201d sighed the woman after a while. \u201cThis fire draws so poorly!\nThe wind is in the wrong direction. If Finn were here he would turn the\nhouse around so that the fire would do better.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat Finn can do will be only a small task for me,\u201d said the giant.\n\nHe went outside, took the house by one corner and turned it so that it\nfaced in a different direction. You can believe that the woman was\nthoroughly frightened to see this exhibition of strength. She wondered\nwhat chance Finn would have against such a man. Still she believed in\nhis wisdom, so she continued to carry out her instructions. When the\ngiant came back she seemed very calm.\n\n\u201cWell, how is that?\u201d asked the giant when he came in again.\n\n\u201cThe fire draws better,\u201d she admitted, \u201cbut you did it very clumsily. I\nthought you were going to shake the house to pieces. Finn lifts it\naround so easily that he jars not a thing on the shelves. But of course\nyou are not nearly so strong as Finn.\u201d\n\nThe giant was so crestfallen that he had nothing to say for some time.\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d cried the woman a little later. \u201cI am all out of water. Finn\npromised to split open the rock of the spring before he left, but he\nforgot all about it. I wonder if you could do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course I can,\u201d said the giant. \u201cShow me the rocks.\u201d\n\nThe woman took up a bucket and led him to a place where two rocky hills\nsent up their peaks very close together.\n\n\u201cThat is the place,\u201d she said. \u201cFinn intended pulling them apart when he\nhad time so that we could have water nearby.\u201d\n\nThe giant put a foot against one peak and took the other in his hands.\nWith a mighty heave he separated the two hills and let the water stream\nout between them. The woman filled her bucket and went back to the\nhouse, the giant following her.\n\n\u201cHow did that suit you?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYou did that very well,\u201d said the woman. \u201cBut of course that is hardly\na man\u2019s job.\u201d\n\nThe giant seemed to feel keenly the fact that his strength made no\nimpression on the woman. He looked around the room to see if he could\nfind something else to talk about. He saw the big rock on the shelf.\n\n\u201cPerhaps you will tell me why you keep that rock on the shelf?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cOh, that,\u201d said the woman as if it could be of no importance, \u201cthat is\njust a little trick of Finn\u2019s. He uses it to practice on in the\nmornings.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo! Ho!\u201d laughed the giant. \u201cWhy should he practice with such a rock as\nthat?\u201d He picked it up and tossed it from hand to hand as though it were\nan orange.\n\n\u201cHe keeps up the strength of his fingers with it,\u201d answered the woman.\n\u201cEach morning he squeezes the water out of a rock. If you are the man\nFinn is you can do the same.\u201d\n\nThe giant took the stone in his two hands and squeezed with all his\nmight and main. Of course no water could come out of a solid rock. The\nfirst finger of his right hand sank into the stone with his efforts.\n\n\u201cYour one finger has a little strength,\u201d said the woman. \u201cIf the rest of\nyou had the force of that finger, you might get a few drops.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is that finger which gives me my strength,\u201d the foolish giant told\nher. Once more he took up the rock and squeezed the rock harder than\never with no result. The baby in the cradle set up a lusty cry.\n\n\u201cPoor baby,\u201d said the woman. \u201cHe is sorry for you. His father lets him\npractice on a small rock. See what he can do.\u201d\n\nShe gave Finn the ball of whey. Finn took it in his two hands and\nsqueezed it, letting the water stream on the floor. The giant was\namazed.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty strong baby,\u201d he admitted.\n\n\u201cIt would have to be to belong to Finn MacCool,\u201d said the woman.\n\nThe giant seemed to be thinking deeply. Perhaps he doubted his wisdom in\ncoming to try conclusions with the father of such a baby.\n\nSoon Finn\u2019s foster-mother took one of the cakes from the cupboard and\nhanded it to the giant.\n\n\u201cTake this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will help stay your appetite until I get you\nsomething better.\u201d\n\nThe giant thanked her and bit down into the cake. As it was one of those\nwith the iron core, all he succeeded in doing was to break off two of\nhis teeth. He took the cake out of his mouth and felt his jaw.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d asked the woman. \u201cMaybe those cakes are too hard\nfor you. Finn wouldn\u2019t eat them because they were too soft. I\u2019ll get you\nanother one.\u201d\n\nShe passed the giant one more of the iron-filled cakes. Once more he bit\ninto it and again he lost some teeth. He went to the door to spit them\nout. He did not seem to care for these cakes.\n\n\u201cYou say Finn doesn\u2019t like cakes as soft as that?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cHe won\u2019t touch them,\u201d she answered. \u201cHe leaves them for the baby.\u201d\n\nShe took one of the ordinary cakes and gave it to Finn in the cradle.\nThe giant looked on to see what happened. Finn ate the cake ravenously.\n\nThe giant was more puzzled than ever. He called for another cake and bit\ninto it with all the strength of his jaws. It would be hard to tell just\nhow many teeth he lost this time, but he could not get a bite off the\ncake. The woman gave Finn another and again it went down in a hurry.\n\n\u201cAnd you say he is just getting his teeth?\u201d asked the giant.\n\n\u201cJust a few have come,\u201d she answered.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to have a feel of such teeth,\u201d said the giant.\n\nHe put his strong finger in Finn\u2019s mouth and felt for the teeth. This\nwas just what Finn had been waiting for. As soon as the finger was in\nhis mouth he clamped down his teeth and bit it off.\n\nWith the loss of his finger the giant\u2019s extraordinary strength left him.\nFinn tore off the bed clothes and set upon him like a whirlwind. The\nwalls bulged out. Most of the house was ruined. Finn\u2019s foster-mother\nwatched from the outside of the house. Soon she had the satisfaction of\nseeing the giant come dashing out of the house with Finn hammering him\nas he ran.\n\nOnly the fact that the giant\u2019s legs were very long saved him from a\nworse beating. He got out on his bridge as fast as he could. Nor did he\nslow down until he got a good distance from the Irish shore. Then he\nthrew down the pillars as fast as he could so that Finn would be unable\nto follow him.\n\nThe giant never tried to come back. He cleared out all the pillars on\nthe Scottish side, but, you can well believe, he never went near the\nIrish shore again. To this day you can still see them standing out into\nthe water, just as he left them in his hurry. People call the remaining\npillars \u201cThe Giant\u2019s Causeway\u201d and this is the story they tell as to how\nit happens to be there.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration:\n  The Black Druid appeared in the form of Finn\n        From the Story of Saba]\n\n                           THE STORY OF SABA\n\n\nFinn always enjoyed a hunting excursion. In those days, when all the\nfighting was done with sword and spear, hunting was a different sport\nfrom what it is today. All the champions had fleet hounds, and they,\nthemselves, from their training in speed, lagged little behind the dogs\nin the chase.\n\nFinn had two beautiful hounds, Bran and Skolawn, which went with him at\nall times. He was very fond of them both. The stories tell that there\nwere only two times in his life that he shed tears, and one of these was\nat the death of Bran.\n\nOne day Finn was out on the chase when the hounds gave tongue and set\noff at a rapid pace. You may be sure that Finn was not far behind them.\nWhen he came to a little glade among the trees, he saw a peculiar sight.\nThere, on the turf beside a little stream, stood a beautiful doe. Finn\nraised his spear, but the strange behavior of the dogs stayed his hand.\nInstead of rushing at the deer, they approached her gently and licked\nthe hair of her neck and shoulders.\n\nThe other Fenians came up and would have killed the animal had not Finn\nstopped them.\n\n\u201cNo\u201d, he cried. \u201cShe shall not be killed! If the dogs do not wish to\nharm her no one else shall.\u201d\n\nWhen Finn went back to his camp, the deer followed him with his dogs.\nWhen he went into his house, she lay down on the outside.\n\nThat night he awoke suddenly to find standing at his bedside the most\nbeautiful woman he had ever seen.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d he stammered, struggling from his sleep and rubbing his\neyes.\n\n\u201cI am Saba, O Finn,\u201d answered the maiden. \u201cI am the deer you spared\ntoday.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe deer!\u201d exclaimed Finn.\n\n\u201cThat shape was put upon me by the Black Druid because I would not\nbecome his wife. I have wandered in the forest, pursued by man and\nbeast, and many times I have nearly lost my life. I should have given up\nall hope had not a kindly slave of the Druid told me that if I could\ncome safely into your camp I would be freed from the enchantment. I\nfeared both dogs and men, but I trusted myself to your two hounds, which\nseemed to realize my helplessness.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear, fair Saba,\u201d said Finn. \u201cThe Fenians fear no enchantment,\nand you will be safe while under our protection.\u201d\n\nThen Finn called his servants and had them prepare a room for the\nmaiden. The remainder of the night he spent in dreams of the beautiful\ngirl, who had come to him for protection.\n\nNext morning Finn did not go out on the chase. He stayed in camp and\ntalked to Saba. He found her even more beautiful in the daylight. The\nthought that she had to come to him for aid, added to her many charms,\ncaused him to neglect everything for her. It ended by them both falling\ndeeply in love with one another.\n\nThe feast for the wedding of Finn and Saba was an event in the life of\nthe Fenians. Never had such a celebration been held in Ireland. Conn,\nthe High King, and his son, Cormack, came. It could safely have been\nsaid that no king nor prince ever had a finer wedding or a more\nbeautiful bride.\n\nFor months Finn would not leave his young wife. Adventures had no call\nto him; hunting had no charms. The love of this couple is one of the\nmost beautiful ones in history.\n\nBut later there came a call to duty. Word came to Finn that the Danes\nhad landed on the north coast of Erin, and that the Fenians were\nbattling without their leader. This Finn could not allow. He got out his\nweapons and shield, mounted his horse and left for the scene of the\nbattle.\n\nHis farewell to Saba was very touching. That she might have perfect\nprotection while he was absent, he left behind a guard of some of his\nbravest men, with cautions that they must give their lives rather than\nlot her come under the power of the Black Druid.\n\nFor eight days and nights he fought the Danes. At the end of that time,\nwith the foe driven back into the sea, he hastened to his young bride.\nHis heart was filled with joyousness at the thought of being with her\nagain.\n\nBut when he approached his home, he saw his men standing around in\nopen-mouthed astonishment. Noting their look of fear, he called the\nchief of them to him.\n\n\u201cWhat has happened?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhy is it my men look at me in such\nsurprise. Did they not expect me to return?\u201d\n\nThe chief seemed puzzled, too. \u201cWere you not here three days ago?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cCertainly not,\u201d answered Finn. \u201cWhere is Saba? Did the Black Druid\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cI am fearful, O Finn, that it was indeed he,\u201d replied the chief. \u201cThree\ndays ago we saw you approaching with your two dogs at your side. Your\nwife went joyously forth to meet you. The man we thought was you took\nher up behind him, and then all disappeared in a mist. If it was not\nyou, it must have been the Druid appearing in your shape.\u201d\n\nFinn, with his heart sad within him, searched every place from one end\nof Erin to the other, but without success. It was too true. His wife had\ndisappeared as into a mist. It was undoubtedly the work of the Black\nDruid.\n\n[Illustration:\n  The boy stood with his back to the tree waiting for the hounds to\n    attack\n        From the Story of Saba]\n\nFinn throughout all his life never ceased to mourn for Saba, nor to\nsearch for her. Six years after her disappearance, while hunting in the\nforest, he came upon a wild boy with straggly hair and fierce eyes. His\nonly clothing was the skins of beasts. The hounds had found him, and\nwhen Finn came up, the boy was standing with his back to a tree, waiting\nto strangle the hounds if they came at him.\n\nThe sight reminded Finn of his own boyhood days. He called off the dogs\nand took the boy home with him. At first the little fellow was too timid\nand unused to language to speak. Gradually, however, his fear left him\nand he became able to tell of his life in the forest.\n\nHe could remember a woman who had dwelt with him in a cave. A dark man\nhad come and pleaded with her for several days, but always she had\nrefused to do what the man asked. At last he had become angry, had left\nthe cave and had never returned. The little boy remembered that he had\nnever seen the woman again. After that he had been tended by a beautiful\ndeer.\n\nThen Finn knew that the woman was Saba and that the wild boy was his own\nson. He understood what the boy could not. The Black Druid had enticed\nhis wife away and tried once more to get her to marry him. When she\npersistently refused him, he had turned her back into a deer.\n\nOnce more Finn searched the forest, hoping that he might again find the\ngentle deer, which had come to him before. His quest was without result.\nPossibly the Druid saw to it that she should never get near him, but it\nwas more likely that some hunter had killed her. Finn mourned her as\ndead and gave his attention to the raising of his boy.\n\nHe named the child Ossian, which means Little Faun. He taught him the\npoetry of the day and trained him in feats of arms. Ossian grew up to be\na worthy son of his father. In all the later battles we read of what a\nsplendid fighter he was. He and his son, Oscar, were always in the front\nin time of danger.\n\nBut Ossian was not only a great warrior. He inherited his father\u2019s love\nfor poetry and the ability to write it. We have great numbers of stories\nabout the deeds of Finn and the Fenians, and the greater number are\nwritten by the poet, Ossian.\n\n\n\n\n                            CONAN, THE BALD\n\n\nNot all the warriors of the Fenians were noted for their bravery. It is\nnow necessary that we become acquainted with Conan, the unheroic member\nof the band. The stories do not tell how he ever passed his entrance\ntrials, or why he was allowed to remain a member. He did many things the\nFenians considered as unworthy of them.\n\nConan was a man with an evil tongue. He never had a good word for any\none. No matter what his companions did, Conan would never have a word of\npraise for them. He would make sneering remarks about the feat. This did\nnot mean that he would have done better himself. Far from it! He was a\ngreat coward and shirked any task which had any danger attached to it.\n\nThe fact that he had lost all his hair gave him his name. But there was\nsomething else about him that gave the Fenians a great deal of\namusement. Whenever his armor was cut at the back, it showed everyone\nthat he had the back of a sheep. When you hear how he got such a back,\nyou will not wonder why the Fenians enjoyed the joke so much.\n\nOne day Finn, Conan and several other heroes were out hunting. All day\nlong they had followed the chase, and in the afternoon they arrived in a\nnew country, before a beautiful castle. Seeing no one around they went\nin. They found themselves in a large room, down the center of which ran\na big table loaded with food. Along the sides of the table were rows of\nhigh-backed chairs.\n\nAs there was no one around, and as the feast seemed to have been just\nprepared, the men decided that it had been placed there for them. They\nsat down and began to eat. It was a delicious meal.\n\nSuddenly something about the room made Finn look up from his food. When\nthey had come in, the ceiling had been high and richly decorated. Now it\nwas changing into the smoke-stained roof of a hut. Finn knew then that\nthey had walked into an enchanted house, put there just to trap them. He\ncalled out a warning to his companions and ordered them all outside\nimmediately.\n\nWhen they were free from the house, and saw the great change that had\ntaken place in it, they were, thankful for Finn\u2019s wisdom in getting them\nout before it had been too late.\n\nBut they were not all out. Conan was still in the room eating like a\npig. They called to him, urging him to hurry. He refused to leave such a\nfine array of food. At last two of the Fenians rushed in and took him by\nthe arms. When they pulled at him they found that the enchantment was\nalready beginning to work. He was growing fast to the back of the chair.\n\nConan was now thoroughly alarmed. He begged the men to pull him loose.\nThe two Fenians pulled with all their might. With a mighty wrench they\nfreed him, but his shirt and the skin of his back had grown fast to the\nchair.\n\nHe was in a very painful condition. Something had to be done to relieve\nhim. He just lay on the ground and moaned and groaned.\n\n\u201cKill a sheep and cover the wound with the skin of the animal,\u201d ordered\nFinn.\n\nThe men did his bidding. The skin of the freshly killed sheep was cut to\nfit and bound to his sore back. Then Finn gave him a drink of water from\nhis cupped hands and restored his strength to him. The sheepskin grew\nfast and could never be removed, so Conan always had to wear it.\n\nWith all Conan\u2019s cowardice, he really did come out victorious in one\nbattle. But when you hear of this particular combat, you will understand\nwhy the Fenians, instead of honoring him for it, had less respect for\nhim than ever.\n\nDuring the progress of one battle, when a hostile army had landed on the\nshores of Erin, one champion stood out in front each morning and\ndemanded single combat.\n\n\u201cIf you are not afraid of me,\u201d he would call, \u201cwhy don\u2019t you send a man\nto meet me?\u201d\n\nHe was not a great hero and the Fenians refused to be bothered with him\nalone. Finally, when they grew tired of hearing the challenge, as a joke\nthey sent Conan out to fight with him. A roar of laughter came from the\nFenians as Conan went cautiously out to meet this man. The enemy gave a\ncry of rage at the insult, and the champion called out angrily:\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by sending a clown to meet me? Is there not a man\namong you who dares to face me?\u201d\n\nConan came forward slowly, afraid for his life. When he got close to the\nchampion, the latter said sarcastically:\n\n\u201cThe Fenians seem anxious that I be left unharmed, since they send me\nsuch a dangerous foe.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are in more danger from the man behind you, than from the one in\nfront of you,\u201d said the cowardly Conan.\n\nThe champion looked around to see what he meant. At that moment Conan\nswung his sword and cut off the man\u2019s head.\n\nThis treacherous way of winning a combat angered Finn and the Fenians\nbeyond all measure. They considered that Conan had disgraced them. It is\na wonder they did not put him to death. His only punishment was\nbanishment from the band for a short time. We find him in the later\nstories, just as full of trickery, just as cowardly and just as\nuncomplimentary to his companions, but still the butt of all their\njokes.\n\n\n\n\n                        DERMOT OF THE LOVE SPOT\n\n\nOne of the most splendid heroes of the Fenians was Dermot. His name is\nsecond only to that of Finn in the stories of valiant deeds. He was\nyounger than his chief by many years, even younger than Ossian, Finn\u2019s\nson. Dermot was the fleetest man of them all, and also the one with the\nkeenest eyes. In many of the stories he is chosen for deeds of valor\nrather than Finn himself. This happens, however, when Finn is an old\nman, and his wisdom and leadership are of more value than his strength.\n\nThis young hero was the son of a god. In those days, however, gods could\nbe wounded and could die. They lived on earth and needed food to live\non, just the same as other men. The distinction between the Irish gods\nand heroes like Finn is very slight in the old stories. Dermot did have\none gift no other Fenian possessed. His foster-father, the god Angus,\nhad granted him a body that no weapon could wound. There was but one\nthing that could harm him. That was the tusks of a wild boar. His\nfoster-father warned him never to hunt the boar unless it was absolutely\nnecessary, and then to exercise every care so as not to be wounded by\nthe tusks.\n\nDermot was a handsome man, with curling fair hair and blue eyes like\nthose of his leader. He was Finn\u2019s closest companion and greatly loved\nby him. His was the soul of honor. If he got into trouble it was from\ndoing some task his honor demanded. His courage and strength were\nunquestioned. The Fenians always fought with more bravery if they knew\nDermot was with them.\n\nSuch a handsome man could not help being very popular with the maidens\nof Erin. They liked him because of his strength and his handsome face.\nBut it was the Love Spot on his forehead which made it impossible for\nany girl to look at him and not fall in love with him. You shall have to\nhear how he received this gift.\n\nOne day he was out hunting with Conan, Oscar and Gaul of Morna. As often\nhappened in those days, the chase led them far from their camp. With the\ncoming of darkness they began to look for a shelter for the night. They\nwandered around until they came upon a little house in the forest. When\nthey knocked, a gray-haired man came to the door and inquired their\nerrand.\n\n\u201cWe ask for thy hospitality,\u201d said Dermot.\n\n\u201cThat you shall have,\u201d declared the old man, throwing wide the door.\n\u201cCome right in, and thousand welcomes to you.\u201d\n\nInside they found a queer household waiting for them. At the table sat a\nbeautiful young girl; before the fire was a large gray cat; while lying\nat one side of the fireplace was a big sheep with a fleece of long,\nshaggy wool.\n\nThe old man went into the kitchen of the house and prepared a splendid\nmeal, which he placed before the heroes. All ate heartily, but, as\nusual, Conan was still eating after all the others had finished.\n\nHe was interrupted by the sheep, which climbed to the table and\ncommenced eating of the food that was left. Conan pushed the animal\u2019s\nnose out of the food time and time again and tried to go on with his\neating. It was of no use. Before he could get a bite, the old sheep\nwould thrust its nose into the plate.\n\n\u201cI call it a strange house where a sheep is allowed to eat from the\ntable,\u201d declared Conan.\n\n\u201cI did not put him there,\u201d answered the old man. \u201cIf you do not like his\ncompany, put him off.\u201d\n\nConan grasped the sheep in his two arms, intending to lift it from the\ntable. To his surprise he could not move it. He tugged and strained\nwithout avail. At last the sheep, with a quick toss of his head, threw\nConan into the center of the room.\n\nHow the other men roared with laughter! It was always amusing to see\nConan get the worst of anything. As for Conan, he picked himself up\nsulkily.\n\n\u201cYou laugh loudly,\u201d he growled. \u201cI\u2019ll wager there is not one of you who\ncan move it.\u201d\n\nThe idea was ridiculous. To think of anyone claiming to be a hero and\nunable to lift an ordinary sheep! Oscar, with a laugh, started to brush\nthe animal away with one hand. Soon he had the sheep in both arms and\nwas tugging and straining in an attempt to move it. Then he, too, found\nhimself thrown lightly away from the table.\n\nNow it ceased to be a joke. Dermot tried to remove the animal with no\nbetter success. Gaul, it is true, got the sheep off the table for a\nmoment, but the animal soon turned this hero on his back and stood upon\nhim. Then it jumped back to the table.\n\nDuring all this time the old man had been looking on in amusement. Now\nhe spoke to the cat, which was lazily basking itself before the fire.\n\n\u201cTake him away,\u201d ordered the old man.\n\nThe cat got up slowly and climbed to the table. Then, taking the sheep\nby the long hair of its throat, the cat led it down and out of the room.\n\nThe four heroes looked at one another in surprise and astonishment.\nDermot picked up his shield and his weapons. \u201cCome,\u201d he said to his\ncompanions. \u201cWe shall not stay under a roof where a host makes game of\nhis guests.\u201d\n\n\u201cSit down,\u201d said the old man. \u201cYou have been testing your strength in an\nimpossible feat. You will not feel badly over your failure when I tell\nyou that the sheep you tried to move was the World, itself. To lift it\nis a task no man can accomplish. The cat could master the animal easily,\nbecause the cat was Old Age, and even the world cannot withstand its\nforce. Come, let me show you to your beds.\u201d\n\nThe heroes were somewhat soothed by the explanations and followed the\nhost into another room, where they found their beds prepared for them.\nLater, the young girl came to the door and looked from one to the other\nof the men.\n\n\u201cI have a gift,\u201d she said. \u201cIt goes to but one of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me have it,\u201d said Conan. \u201cIf ever a man needed a gift, it is I.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to me,\u201d said Oscar. \u201cI am the strongest.\u201d\n\nGaul and Dermot said nothing. These men were wise. They knew that they\nwere in an enchanted house, and that the girl would give the gift to\nwhom she chose.\n\n\u201cNot to you, or you, or you,\u201d she said pointing in turn to Conan, Oscar\nand Gaul. \u201cMy gift cannot go to any of you. I am Youth and youth has\nleft you all.\u201d\n\nShe approached the couch of Dermot. \u201cYou can never grow old,\u201d she said,\n\u201cso I shall always be with you. To you I shall give the gift that Youth\ncan bestow.\u201d\n\nShe raised her wand and touched him lightly on the forehead.\n\n\u201cI give to you the Love Spot, Dermot,\u201d she said. \u201cWho wears it will win\nthe love of all women. No maiden will be able to look upon you without\nloving you. Treat my gift with honor and with wisdom.\u201d\n\nThen the maiden left the room, and the heroes went to sleep.\n\nThat is the way in which Dermot received the Love Spot. It made him\nbeloved by all women, but in the end, this gift caused him great sorrow.\nYou shall see in the story of \u201cDermot and Grainne\u201d that the gifts of the\nfairies do not always bring happiness.\n\n\n\n\n                          DERMOT RESCUES FINN\n\n\nFinn\u2019s dearest friend and constant companion, during his later years,\nwas Dermot. This young man was most loyal to his chief, and because he\nwas such a true friend, so strong in the fight, so swift of foot and so\nkeen of sight, Finn depended greatly upon him. Where Finn went you were\nsure to find Dermot, and if Dermot was off on an adventure, Finn was\npretty sure to be with him.\n\nOn the day of our story the two were out hunting with some friends. We\nfind these Fenians on the hunt a great deal of the time. The reason is a\nsimple one. From November to May the men of the army lived at the\nexpense of the High King and the people; from May to November they had\nto get their food and clothing by hunting. Naturally, many of the\nadventures start on a hunting trip.\n\nAs this particular morning advanced, the party decided to stop in a\nlittle sheltered spot near the shore for their meal. It was while the\nmen were getting the game cooked that Finn and Dermot strolled along the\nbeach and sat down on a ledge of rock. While they were there a ship\nsailed into the little harbor.\n\nIt was a small vessel, handsome in every line, with sails full as if in\na strong breeze. This was remarkable because no air was stirring at that\ntime. The ship neared the shore and stopped. The sails dropped loosely.\nFinn and Dermot looked in vain for the crew, but there was no one\nvisible except a lone woman, who sat on the deck.\n\n\u201cIt is a wonder to me that one woman should be able to sail a ship alone\nand come into a harbor at full speed with no wind blowing,\u201d said Finn.\n\nDermot was looking with interest toward the ship.\n\n\u201cYou shall not wonder long,\u201d said Dermot. \u201cI will go down and bring you\nword.\u201d\n\nFinn detained him with a laugh. \u201cNo, Dermot,\u201d he said. \u201cThis time we\nwill take into consideration the heart of the lady. I shall see for\nmyself.\u201d\n\nFinn went down to the shore, placed the point of his sword upon a rock\nand sprang lightly to the deck of the vessel.\n\nHe was amazed at the beauty of it all. The deck was as clean as a deck\ncould be with trimmings of silver and gold. At the end, on a seat of the\nfinest tapestry, sat a beautiful woman. She smiled engagingly and held\nout her hand toward Finn.\n\n\u201cCome here,\u201d she said. \u201cI wish you would tell me where I have landed.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are in the harbor of Erin,\u201d said Finn.\n\n\u201cAnd could you tell me where I am to find the home of a man named Finn\nMacCool?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cYou will not need to find his home, for I am Finn himself,\u201d he\nanswered.\n\n\u201cThen I am indeed lucky,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI have come to play a game\nwith Finn. I have heard that he never refuses to play for a sentence,\nand that he honorably lives up to his agreements.\u201d\n\nIt flattered Finn to be praised by a beautiful woman. Like most of the\nheroes of history his wisdom deserted him when dealing with a woman. It\nwas true that he and the other Fenians took great delight in playing a\ngame for a wager. These wagers were usually in the form of sentences.\nThat is, they would play a game and at the end the winner would set a\ntask for the loser to perform. Sometimes these tasks required years of\nlabor and much suffering, but no Fenian ever refused to carry out a\nsentence imposed upon him.\n\n\u201cI would willingly play if I had my board and chessmen,\u201d said Finn.\n\n\u201cI have them as good as your own,\u201d answered the woman. To prove it she\npulled out a beautiful board and a set of silver and gold chessmen. She\nhad Finn sit on the seat near her to play. At the end of the first game\nFinn was the winner.\n\n\u201cYou have beaten me,\u201d she said with a dazzling smile. \u201cWhat is the\nsentence you are to pronounce?\u201d\n\nNow Finn had not quite made up his mind as to what manner of woman it\nwas who was playing with him. She looked and dressed like a king\u2019s\ndaughter, but an enchantress could assume that appearance. To prove it\nhe made a sentence that would prove very difficult for anyone not able\nto use the arts of magic.\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds,\u201d he said, \u201cnot to eat twice in the same place or\nsleep twice in the same bed until you have brought me a white horse with\na saddle and bridle of red leather for myself and each of the Fenians\nwith me today.\u201d\n\nThe woman smiled again. \u201cLook behind you,\u201d she said.\n\nFinn looked toward the shore. There were the beautiful steeds he had\nordered, handsome in their saddles and bridles of red leather. In the\nlead was one much finer than the others.\n\nFinn knew then that he was playing with an enchantress. He wished he was\nwell out of his bargain, but he could not refuse to play the second game\nwithout violating the honor of a Fenian. He felt sure that the woman\nwould win the next game.\n\nThe second game was short. As Finn imagined, the woman, by the aid of\nher powers, proved an easy winner. He was anxious to know what was in\nstore for him.\n\n\u201cLet me know my sentence at once,\u201d he demanded.\n\n\u201cPerhaps you will be sorry for your impatience when you hear it,\u201d said\nthe lady.\n\n\u201cNo trouble was ever made lighter by putting it off,\u201d declared Finn.\n\u201cPronounce your sentence immediately.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d she answered. \u201cI put you under bonds to go with me and obey\nme in what I ask until some one throws upon you the amount of seven\nshovelfuls of earth. You will be under my enchantment until that\nhappens.\u201d\n\nFinn did not show his dismay when he heard this hard sentence.\n\n\u201cIt is your right to demand it,\u201d he said. \u201cWait here until I give the\nsteeds to my men and leave orders for them to follow during my absence.\u201d\n\nWhen he turned to look for the horses they had vanished. She saw his\nlook of astonishment.\n\n\u201cYou put me under bonds to bring the steeds, but I was not obliged to\nleave them there,\u201d said the enchantress.\n\n\u201cIt is true,\u201d said Finn. \u201cNow, since you have taken advantage of the\nwording of my sentence, I shall try to evade yours. You have put me\nunder bonds to go with you, but you did not mention that I was not to\ntry to escape from them.\u201d\n\nShe nodded. \u201cOf course, as a man of honor you cannot tell anyone what\nwill release you,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you free yourself otherwise, I shall be\nto blame.\u201d\n\nFinn went ashore to tell his men of his wager and sentence. He gave\norders as to the conduct of the Fenians during his absence, then took\nDermot to the top of a hill near the shore.\n\n\u201cYour eyes and ears are best in all Erin,\u201d said Finn. \u201cYou will remain\nhere to watch and listen. If you hear my horn, it will mean that I am\nnot able to release myself by my own efforts.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not leave until you are back or my body turns to dust and the\nwind carries it away,\u201d declared Dermot.\n\nThen Finn went down to the ship and sprang aboard. The watchers saw the\nsails fill and the boat move swiftly out of sight over the waves.\n\n\n                                  II.\n\nIt was not long before the vessel arrived in a small harbor, which Finn\nrecognized as the port of the White Nation. This was not very\nencouraging to him, because in a battle not long before he had defeated\nthe king of that nation. He began to suspect that he was under\nenchantment for some purpose. Still he must go with the woman because he\nhad pledged his word.\n\nWhen the ship stopped the woman got out and bade him follow her. On the\nshore she paused, and pointing to a broad road bordered with tall trees,\nsaid,\n\n\u201cAs you are a great champion in your country it is not fitting for you\nto follow me into the city as a servant. You will walk up the road to\nthe palace while I take a shorter one and prepare a welcome for you.\u201d\n\nFinn did as he was told. He was puzzled and anxious. He could not but\nfeel that there was something wrong with this plan. The woman had put\nhim under bonds to come as a servant, and now she made it appear that\nthis was not what she wished. Finn wished that he had been able to keep\nhis sword, but that the woman would not allow. Only one thought cheered\nhim. Dermot was watching and listening, ready to come to his assistance\nat any time.\n\nSoon he came to the gates of the palace. A great crowd of people rushed\nout as though to welcome him. The welcome was a deceit. The men pushed\nagainst him on all sides and shoved him from one to another until he was\nbruised and bleeding. Finn was the match for many ordinary men in\nstrength. Still, without his swords, he could not stand off a multitude.\n\nThus pushing and jostling him the crowd bore him into the courtyard into\nthe presence of the ruler of the nation. The king sat upon a raised\nplatform and by his side, in the robes of a princess, was the woman who\nhad brought Finn to the country under sentence.\n\nWhen the king saw Finn he laughed long and loudly.\n\n\u201cWhat ho, Finn MacCool!\u201d roared he. \u201cMethinks this is a fine manner for\nthe arrival of a champion of Erin.\u201d\n\nFinn hung his head in shame.\n\n\u201cMy daughter asked me to name the thing I most desired in all the\nworld,\u201d went on the king. \u201cI told her the one thing necessary to my\nhappiness was the head of Finn MacCool. She promised to bring you here\nthat I might take it myself.\u201d\n\nFinn\u2019s heart sank. He felt that the hour of his death was very near. The\nking stepped down from his platform, sword in hand, and swung the weapon\nback and forth.\n\n\u201cYou would not dare do that if you would let me have a sword,\u201d said\nFinn, looking him squarely in the eye.\n\nThe king drew back and bowed his head in thought. Probably he had hoped\nto have Finn beg for his life.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d he said at length, \u201cI will let you think over the fact that you\nare in my power. It will be pleasant for you to lie and wonder how long\nI will let you live.\u201d\n\nHe gave orders that Finn\u2019s legs and arms be firmly tied with seven knots\non each rope so that escape would be impossible. Then he had his captive\nplaced in a dark dungeon. Each day he was to receive an ounce of bread\nand a pint of water, no more under any consideration. For a big strong\nman like Finn this was very little food. But being tied and lying in a\nblack hole was even more likely to take the spirit out of him.\n\nEach day an old woman came with his food and water, but his arms and\nlegs were never loosened. On the eighth day Finn said to the woman,\n\n\u201cTell the king that I beg leave to walk in the garden for an hour. I do\nnot ask for my head, but if he does not give me a little freedom I shall\nnot be able to live. For the king to take the head of a dead man would\nbe small glory.\u201d\n\nThe king yielded to this request and ordered Finn an hour of freedom. He\ntook no chances, however. The walk was to occur in a walled garden and\nthirty armed men were to be with him every moment.\n\nFinn was happy over the privilege. It was not the fear of death that had\nmade him ask for the walk. No, he had a far better reason, as you shall\nsee. After he had walked a few minutes he said,\n\n\u201cI am very fond of music. Have you any musical instruments with you?\u201d\n\nNow the chief was very sorry to see such a mighty man a prisoner without\na chance for his life. He would gladly have had the music played, but\nwas obliged to confess that none of his men had instruments with them at\nthe time.\n\nThen Finn took from under his clothes a queerly shaped horn. He turned\nit over and over in his hands and looked at it as though it was very\ndear to him. Finally he spoke.\n\n\u201cWhen I was at home and in charge of my men I used to play for them\nquite often. I really enjoy music very much. I wonder\u2014perhaps you and\nyour men might like to hear a tune?\u201d he finished, as though the idea had\njust come to him.\n\n\u201cI should be very glad to hear you play,\u201d answered the chief.\n\nSo Finn placed the horn to his lips and played a tune of the Fenians. At\nthe end of the air he blew a blast that echoed from hill to hill and\nmade the listeners involuntarily put their hands to their ears. Then\nFinn put the horn away and was willing to be tied up again. The chief\nthought he had heard some wild Irish music. He little dreamed that the\ncall had gone out for help.\n\n\n                                  III.\n\nDermot was asleep when Finn sounded the horn but the last note of it\nwaked him. He sprang to his feet with a mighty bound that sent showers\nof rocks and dirt in every direction.\n\n\u201cGreat is the trouble of my chief!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cI have never heard\nsuch a blast from his horn.\u201d\n\nHe rushed to the shore, found a small boat lying there, hoisted the sail\nand set off in the direction from whence the sound had come. He was\nlucky enough to arrive at the same harbor in which was anchored the ship\non which Finn had been taken away. Dermot anchored his boat and started\nup the broad road.\n\nAs he went along he found men, women and children hastening in the same\ndirection with all the speed at their command. He asked several of them\nthe reason for their hurry, but all seemed too excited to answer him.\nFinally Dermot grew angry, so singling out one man who seemed to be in\ngreater haste than the rest, he picked him up and held him off the\nground while he repeated his question.\n\nThe man was greatly frightened, you may believe, for Dermot was taller\nand broader than any man of the White Nation and must have seemed quite\nlike a giant to his captive. The man suddenly became very anxious to\nexplain.\n\n\u201cYou must not belong to this country, if you do not know where we are\ngoing,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cI am not from this country,\u201d answered Dermot. \u201cI am from Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is so, you must know Finn MacCool,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cI know him well. He is my chief,\u201d replied Dermot.\n\n\u201cThen you had better tell no one that you are from Erin,\u201d said the man.\n\u201cIf you do, you are likely to share the same fate. Finn is to be hanged\nin the palace courtyard today. The gallows is ready. When he is dead,\nhis body is to be pulled to pieces by wild horses. You had better not\nacknowledge that you know him.\u201d\n\nDermot set the fellow on his feet again. The fierce look in his eyes\ncaused the man to step back.\n\n\u201cIf you were not so small,\u201d thundered Dermot, \u201cyou would never give such\nadvice to another man. Men from Erin never fail to acknowledge their\nfriends. Show me the way to the palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will go up the hill on your right, you can see it in the valley\nbelow,\u201d directed the man. He lost no time in getting a safe distance\nfrom this mighty stranger. He was so frightened that instead of going on\nto the hanging, he turned around and made for his home as fast as he\ncould. In the whole White Nation he was the only man traveling away from\nthe palace.\n\nDermot bounded up the hill with mighty strides. When on top he looked in\nthe direction of the hurrying people. Sure enough, there was the castle\nwith crowds spread out all around it. Dermot dashed down the hill at\nfull speed.\n\nPeople were crowded so closely together that no ordinary man could\npossibly have squeezed through them. Each man was elbowing his neighbor\nso that he might get close enough to see the death of this great Fenian\nchief. Dermot could have cut his way through with his sword, but it was\none of the rules of the Fenians not to harm the common people of a\nnation. He cleared his way by taking several in his right hand and\nseveral in his left and putting them behind him. Then he stepped into\nthe opening and repeated the process until he reached the courtyard. He\nwalked past the gallows and up to the pole of combat before the palace.\nThis he struck a mighty blow with his sword.\n\nThe king came to his window and looked out in alarm.\n\n\u201cWho struck that blow?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt must have been an enemy.\u201d\n\nIf the trouble had not been so serious, Dermot might have laughed at\nthis silly remark. But he was in no humor for laughter.\n\n\u201cIf that sounded like the blow of a friend,\u201d he said, \u201clisten to this.\u201d\n\nOnce more he swung his sword against the pole. This time his blow was so\nstrong that the pole broke into splinters, which showered over the heads\nof the people.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d whined the king, who was, and always had been, a\nfearful coward.\n\n\u201cI want to see my chief, Finn MacCool, or to fight for him,\u201d announced\nDermot.\n\n\u201cSee him you shall not,\u201d declared the king, keeping well in the\nprotection of his castle. \u201cYou are at liberty to fight for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered Dermot. \u201cSend out seven hundred of your best men\non my right hand, seven hundred on my left, seven hundred at my back and\nas many as you wish in front of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many?\u201d demanded the startled king, drawing still further back into\nhis palace.\n\nDermot repeated his demand. You must remember that Dermot was the son of\na god and could not be wounded. It is no wonder the king thought he had\nmisunderstood. It was too good a chance to let go by. The king sent out\nthe men requested, feeling sure that he would soon be rid of this\nfellow, who had made splinters of the combat pole.\n\nBut the king\u2019s men were no match for Dermot even when they pressed\nagainst him in such numbers. By nightfall not a man had touched him\nwhile hundreds of the warriors of the White Nation were wounded or dead.\nWith the setting of the sun, Dermot put up his sword and called out to\nthe king,\n\n\u201cDo I get shelter for the night?\u201d\n\nIt was customary in those days to stop fighting when the sun went down.\nIt was also the custom to furnish food and a bed to a hero who was\nmaking a trial at arms. The king pointed to a long, low house a short\ndistance from the courtyard.\n\n\u201cGo in there,\u201d he called. \u201cYou are welcome to what shelter you find.\u201d\n\n\n                                  IV.\n\nDermot was tired from his combat. He went to the house, opened the door\nand walked in. To his surprise he found himself surrounded by hundreds\nof little men, reaching no higher than his knee. They were wild, shaggy\nlittle fellows, kept by the king to kill people he did not like. Though\nnot strong singly, they were there in such numbers that they could cover\na man like ants and crush the life out of him.\n\nWhen Dermot had entered, the little men shut the door and barred it.\nThen they began covering the windows and filling up the chinks between\nthe logs.\n\n\u201cWhy are you going to such trouble?\u201d asked Dermot. The antics of the\nlittle fellows amused him. He never thought of treachery on the part of\nthe king.\n\n\u201cWe fear you may escape,\u201d answered one of the men. \u201cIt is our duty to\neat you.\u201d\n\nPoor foolish little fellows! They imagined a mighty hero like Dermot\ncould creep through a hole large enough to let one of them through.\n\nDermot\u2019s amusement turned to anger. By all the laws of hospitality he\nwas entitled to a place to rest quietly until time for the next day\u2019s\ncombat. The king would have lasted only a few minutes if Dermot could\nhave laid a hand on him when he discovered the foul scheme. The little\nmen rushed at him by the hundreds. There was little use of using a sword\nagainst such small enemies. Dermot caught up the nearest by the ankles\nand used him as a club to beat down the others.\n\nSoon there were no little savages left except one very small fellow in\nthe corner.\n\n\u201cSpare me, great champion,\u201d he called in a shrill, high voice. \u201cIf you\ngive me my life there is not a place to which you will go but I will be\nwith you. I will be a good servant to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo man ever asked for his life but I granted it,\u201d said Dermot.\n\nHe sat down on a bench and looked about him. \u201cHave you any food?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d said the small chief, for he was the leader of the small men.\n\u201cWe never have food except the people the king sends us to eat. If you\nwill go out and walk forty paces to your right, you will come to the\nking\u2019s bakery. There you should be able to get some loaves.\u201d\n\nDermot followed directions and found the king\u2019s baker just closing up\nfor the night.\n\n\u201cGive me two loaves of bread,\u201d demanded Dermot.\n\nThe baker let out a scream of rage. \u201cRuffian,\u201d he yelled. \u201cDo you dare\nask me for bread after the way you treated our soldiers today? Get out\nof here this minute.\u201d\n\nThe little man was dancing with rage. Dermot let out a roar of laughter.\nHe picked up the baker and held him at arms\u2019 length. \u201cYou are a nimble\ndancer,\u201d he said. \u201cI shall give you a place to dance.\u201d\n\nOpening the oven, now cool enough so that it would not injure him,\nDermot put the baker inside and shut the door. He helped himself to what\nbread he wanted while the baker kept up an excited dancing, accompanied\nby a steady pounding on the oven door.\n\nBut Dermot was not content to live on bread alone. He asked the small\nchief where he might get some meat.\n\n\u201cInstead of turning to the right, as you did when you went to the\nbakery, turn to the left and go the same distance in that direction.\nThat will bring you to the king\u2019s butcher, where you should be able to\nget plenty of meat.\u201d\n\nDermot did as he was advised and found the man in his shop. He was a\nbig, red-faced fellow, smeared from head to foot with the blood of the\nlast animal he had killed.\n\n\u201cI want some meat for my supper,\u201d said Dermot.\n\nThe butcher flew into a fine rage and brandished his knife. \u201cGet out of\nhere, you ruffian from Erin!\u201d he shouted. \u201cIt was you who wounded so\nmany of our people today. Get away before I cut out your heart.\u201d\n\nThe butcher made a dash at Dermot. The latter was merely amused by the\nrage of the man. He laughed loudly, took away the knife with one hand,\nwhile with the other he caught the butcher by the belt and lifted him\noff the floor. A meat hook on the wall was very handy. Dermot hooked the\nbelt of the butcher over that and left him hanging there, a funny sight\nas he kicked and yelled. With the meat Dermot got from the shop, and the\nbread, he and the small chief had a hearty supper.\n\nThe next day he again presented himself before the king.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want today?\u201d asked the ruler of the White Nation.\n\n\u201cI want to see my chief, Finn MacCool, or to fight for him,\u201d said\nDermot.\n\n\u201cFight you shall,\u201d declared the king. \u201cYou shall not see him.\u201d\n\nThen the king ordered sent out double the number of men that had faced\nthe champion the day before. He still had hopes that he could overpower\nDermot by numbers. But this battle was but a second like the one of the\nday before. Dermot could not be wounded, while the slaughter of the\nking\u2019s soldiers was something terrible. With the setting of the sun the\ncombat was over, and Dermot went back to the long house to eat the\nsupper the small chief had prepared for him, and to rest after his hard\nday.\n\n\n                                   V.\n\nNext morning Dermot went again to the palace and made the same demand as\non the two previous days. This time the king did not send out his forces\nto battle. Even he could see that he was wasting his soldiers without\nhope of defeating this new champion. Still he did not wish to give up\nFinn MacCool. His soldiers were not strong enough, the small men could\nnot eat this man, but the king had other schemes to try before he gave\nup. Everyone knew the fondness of the Fenians for attempting feats of\nstrength or adventure. The king decided to try that on Dermot, so that\nhe could gain time, even if he did not get rid of this nuisance.\n\nIn the land of the White Nation there lived an enormous fellow known as\nthe Red Giant. His choicest possession was a beautiful hound, which he\nkept near him at all times. When he went out walking, he had the dog\nwith him on the end of a chain of solid gold. When he was at home he\nfastened the chain to the wall and kept the dog beside him.\n\nThere was a strange thing about this Red Giant. He had only one eye and\nthat was in one side of his head, just above his ear. Because of this,\nhe could see only what happened on one side of him. He kept the hound to\nwarn him if anyone approached on the other side.\n\nThough this man was the strongest person in the White Nation, he had no\nuse for the king and would not serve him. The monarch resolved to get\nhis aid by trickery.\n\n\u201cI will not let you see Finn MacCool,\u201d he told Dermot, \u201cuntil you have\nbrought to this courtyard the hound and the golden chain.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find it?\u201d asked Dermot.\n\n\u201cThe world is wide,\u201d answered the king. \u201cFinding it is part of the\ntask.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo man can give me a task I will not try to accomplish,\u201d said Dermot.\n\u201cThere is but one thing I demand. If I go after this hound, you must\npledge yourself that Finn is to be taken out of the dungeon and given a\nbetter room, with plenty of food to eat.\u201d\n\nThis request did not please the king. He did not wish to grant Finn any\nfavors, but he was afraid Dermot would not go to the Red Giant if he did\nnot agree. He gave a grudging consent.\n\nPoor Dermot! He went to the long house in despair. How was he to bring\nback something when he did not know where to look for it, and when there\nwas no one in the country to give him directions? Yet, if he did not\ncomplete the task, he would lose his head and Finn would have to die. He\nsat down in the long house and buried his face in his hands.\n\n\u201cWhat is troubling you, master?\u201d asked the small chief.\n\nDermot sighed. \u201cNothing that you can help me with,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll wager that you have been sent to bring the hound and the golden\nchain,\u201d said the chief.\n\nDermot sat up in surprise. \u201cHow did you know that?\u201d he demanded.\n\n\u201cBecause the hound is kept by the Red Giant, and the king has rid\nhimself of many a good man by sending him after that hound,\u201d said the\nlittle fellow.\n\n\u201cDo you know where I can find him?\u201d asked Dermot.\n\n\u201cI can lead you to the place and show you how to get the hound,\u201d\ndeclared the chief.\n\nThe two set out immediately and traveled all day through a heavy forest.\nIn the evening they came to the gate of an immense stone castle. There\nthe chief stopped Dermot.\n\n\u201cIn there lives the Red Giant,\u201d he said. \u201cAt this hour he has had his\nmeal and is sleeping beside the table in the center of the castle.\u201d\n\nThen the chief went on to explain that the giant had but one eye, which\nfaced the main door to see if anyone entered. He took from his pocket a\nlittle cake and passed it to Dermot.\n\n\u201cTake this cake,\u201d he said. \u201cDo not go in at the main door but follow the\ncorridor around and come to the small opening at the other side of the\nroom. Throw this cake to the dog, and when he has eaten it pick him up\nand bring him with you. If you are quiet the giant will never know you\nhave been in there.\u201d\n\nDermot thanked his helper and went into the castle. Everything happened\njust as the small chief had promised. The task was so easy that he was\nback in five minutes with the hound under his arm. The two set off for\nthe palace with their prize.\n\nBut Dermot was not happy. He kept going slowly and more slowly, until\nfinally he stopped all together.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked the chief.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t help thinking of the dirty trick I played on the Red Giant,\u201d\nanswered Dermot.\n\n\u201cHow is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cLike a thief I took away his hound without giving him a chance to fight\nfor it,\u201d said Dermot.\n\n\u201cIt was the hound you went for, not a contest, and bringing him back\nwill give you sight of Finn MacCool,\u201d argued the chief. \u201cLet us hurry.\u201d\n\nBut Dermot would not go. \u201cI\u2019d think a man a fine champion if he sneaked\nin and took something of mine,\u201d he said. \u201cNot even for Finn will I do\nsuch a thing. I am going back and take the hound away from the giant as\na champion should.\u201d\n\nNo argument of the small chief did any good. Back they went to the\ncastle and again the small chief stayed outside.\n\n\u201cSince you are bent on being foolish, I will give you some more advice,\u201d\nsaid the little fellow. \u201cThe giant is strongest on his stone floor. Much\nof his strength leaves him when he is on soft earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you for your help,\u201d said Dermot.\n\nHe slipped in quietly and fastened the hound to the wall. Then he went\naround to the main door and stepped into the room. Instantly the giant\nsaw him and sprang to his feet.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d he roared.\n\n\u201cYour hound and your golden chain,\u201d answered Dermot.\n\n\u201cWell, you\u2019ll not get him from me,\u201d roared the giant. He made a rush at\nDermot and grappled with him.\n\nNow the Red Giant was a big man in the White Nation, but you must\nremember that Dermot was a big man, too. It turned out that they were\nabout equal in strength. At the first rush of the giant, both men went\ndown on the floor where they struggled desperately. Back and forth they\nrolled, with Dermot putting every bit of his strength into the effort to\nget them out on the ground. Finally, with a mighty heave, he succeeded\nin causing them both to roll out of the castle door.\n\nAs soon as they struck the soft earth Dermot was the stronger. He picked\nup the Red Giant and drove him into the earth like a post, until only\nhis head was above ground.\n\n\u201cSpare me, man of Erin,\u201d pleaded the Red Giant. \u201cI concede that you are\nthe better man, and that you are entitled to the hound.\u201d\n\nDermot never took advantage of a man who asked for mercy. He pulled the\ngiant out of the earth and set him upon his feet. From that moment the\nRed Giant was his friend. He invited Dermot and the small chief into the\ncastle and set out food and drink for them. In the morning he willingly\ngave up the hound and bade them a hearty farewell.\n\n\n                                  VI.\n\nDermot went before the king the next morning. You can guess that the\nmonarch was far from overjoyed at seeing him. He had felt sure that the\ntroublesome champion would never bother him again.\n\n\u201cWell, have you the hound with the golden chain?\u201d he asked, trying to\nhide his disappointment.\n\n\u201cYou see them before you,\u201d answered Dermot.\n\n\u201cHand them over to me,\u201d demanded the king.\n\nThat was just what Dermot had no intention of doing. He felt sorry for\nthe Red Giant, because the man had put up a good fight and had been his\nfriend after the struggle was over. Moreover, he felt that the king had\nno right to the hound.\n\n\u201cThat I will not do,\u201d declared Dermot.\n\nThe king\u2019s wicked little eyes lit up with pleasure. \u201cThen, by the terms\nof the trial, you forfeit your head,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cYou are wrong,\u201d said Dermot. \u201cThe words of the trial were, \u2018until you\nhave brought to the courtyard the hound with the golden chain.\u2019 I have\ncarried out the command of the trial; now I am going to take the hound\nback to the Red Giant, who has more right and more need of him than any\nof us.\u201d\n\nThe king knew he was caught by the terms of his own sentence. He pounded\nthe arms of his throne in anger, but he did not dare deny the terms he\nhad pronounced.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d demanded Dermot, \u201cdo I get to see my chief, Finn MacCool?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not,\u201d answered the king. \u201cI did not say that bringing the hound\nwas the only trial you would have to accomplish. You shall not see your\nchief until you bring me the true story of the Sorrowful Knight.\u201d\n\nDermot was willing to try another test. He believed that the king was\nhonest in saying he meant to have two trials before releasing Finn.\n\n\u201cWhere can I find this man?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThat is for you to find out,\u201d said the king.\n\nDermot left the palace and went to the long house. Once more he felt\ndiscouraged, but once more the small chief came to his aid.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll wager you have been sent to get the story of the Sorrowful\nKnight,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cHow did you guess it?\u201d asked Dermot.\n\n\u201cBecause that is the most dangerous task the king could possibly think\nof. The quest will lead you into the land of enchantment. No one has\never heard the story, and few have ever reached the castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless I must go,\u201d said Dermot. \u201cAll I need is some one to show\nme the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can do that easily,\u201d answered the little fellow.\n\nDermot looked at him in admiration. \u201cI shall never cease to be thankful\nthat I spared your life,\u201d he said. \u201cWe shall start immediately, and on\nthe way we shall leave with the Red Giant his hound and golden chain.\u201d\n\n\n                                  VII.\n\nThe Red Giant greeted them warmly. Never before had he met a man who was\nstronger than he, so that made him respect Dermot; but he respected him\nstill more for his honesty, when he found that the hound was to be\nreturned to him.\n\n\u201cAre you on another quest, or have you rescued your chief?\u201d asked the\ngiant.\n\n\u201cI am on a most difficult errand,\u201d explained Dermot. \u201cI must get the\nstory of the Sorrowful Knight before I may see Finn MacCool.\u201d\n\nThe Red Giant slapped his knee a resounding whack.\n\n\u201cYou are right,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is difficult! It would be impossible but\nfor the fact that you have been fair with me. I once did a service for\nthe Sorrowful Knight. He swore that nothing I should ever ask him would\nbe refused. Tomorrow I shall go with you, and my request shall be in\nyour interest.\u201d\n\nYou may be sure that Dermot was glad he had not taken a thief\u2019s\nadvantage of the giant when he had had the opportunity. That night, with\nthe small chief, he and the Red Giant spent the time eating, drinking\nand telling stories.\n\nThe journey to the land of the Sorrowful Knight, under the guidance of\nthe Red Giant, was a short one. They found the castle set deep in a\nthick wood. No sound came from it. The branches of the trees drooped in\nsadness. Even the cattle grazing in the field seemed to crop the grass\nmournfully.\n\nThe guard at the gate wiped the tears from his eyes before he asked them\nthe nature of their errand. When he learned that they wished to see the\nSorrowful Knight, he led them through a quiet courtyard into a dark and\ndismal chamber in the heart of the castle.\n\nAt first Dermot could see nothing. When his eyes became accustomed to\nthe darkness, he saw that the room was draped in black, and that the\nfurniture was the color of night. At the table in the center of the room\nsat a man, his head leaning on his hand, his elbow on the table. He\nappeared to be asleep, nor did he awaken when the three entered the\nroom. He must have been at the table a long time. Where his elbow rested\nupon it, a deep groove had been worn, and into it, even in his sleep,\nthe tears dropped steadily.\n\nThe Red Giant took him by the shoulder and spoke to him. The man\nstraightened up slowly.\n\n\u201cWhy do you come here to interrupt my grieving?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYou promised many years ago that you would grant any request I would\nmake,\u201d said the Red Giant. \u201cI have come to test your promise.\u201d\n\nThe Sorrowful Knight sighed heavily. \u201cWhat is your request?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYou are to tell to Dermot of the Fenians the reason for your sorrow,\u201d\nsaid the giant.\n\nOnce more the knight sighed, and the tears flowed more freely down his\ncheeks.\n\n\u201cI feared your request would be that,\u201d he said. \u201cSince I promised you on\nmy honor, I must tell the story, but no other living man has heard it.\u201d\n\nThe Sorrowful Knight had dinner served for his guests with a flickering\ncandle for light. Most people would have had a small appetite in such\ngloomy surroundings, but Dermot and his friends were hungry enough to\nforget about it. They did full justice to the meal. When each had\nsatisfied his hunger the knight began:\n\n\u201cIt was twenty-one years ago that the sorrow came to me. I lived in this\ncastle as happily as any man of the kingdom. Anyone would have been\nproud of the twelve handsome young men I called my sons. Every place I\nwent my boys were with me.\n\n\u201cOn the morning of the first of May it was our custom to hunt the deer\ntogether. Of course, we hunted on many days of the spring, but the May\nday was always our first deer hunt. On the morning of which I speak we\nstarted up a deer without horns and gave chase.\n\n\u201cIt was a fleeter animal than any we had ever followed before. All day\nlong we kept after her until toward evening we saw her disappear into a\ncave. We thought we had her trapped and followed swiftly. Imagine our\nsurprise when we found ourselves not in a cave at all, but in a new\ncountry, at the gate of a large castle.\n\n\u201cThe deer was nowhere in sight. We were too far from home to return that\nnight, so we decided to ask for shelter from the lord of the castle.\nThis was readily granted.\n\n\u201cWe were taken into a big banquet hall. Along one side of the room, over\nhuge fires, were twelve kettles of scalding water. In front of each\nkettle was the carcass of a wild boar. The master of the castle\napologized for not having supper cooked and asked if any of us could\nprepare the boars for roasting. We said we could and set to work.\n\n\u201cBut, though we dipped the animals in the scalding water, we could not\nremove a single bristle. The scalding seemed to make them stick more\ntightly. We could do nothing toward preparing the meat for supper.\n\n\u201cThen the master called in a small servant and told him to get the\nanimals ready. This man lined up the twelve boars, blew upon them\nthrough a small tube, and instantly every bristle disappeared. I knew\nthen that we were in the land of enchantment.\n\n\u201cWe had all that we could eat, and after the meal the lord of the castle\nasked me if my sons would be willing to show their strength for our\namusement. I told him they would. He ordered in twelve small men with a\nlong chain and bade my sons pull it away from them. This seemed like an\neasy task. But when my sons took hold of the chain they could not move\nthe small men an inch. Soon the small men pulled my sons toward them\nwith a quick jerk and threw the slackened part about the necks of my\nboys. The instant the chain touched my sons they became twelve stones.\u201d\n\nAt this point the tears of the Sorrowful Knight stopped his words. His\nlisteners had to wait until he had mastered his grief before he could go\non.\n\n\u201cWhen I saw my twelve noble sons thus changed before my eyes, I was\nfilled with the great grief which has never left me. The lord of the\ncastle had me thrown out into the night, and it was with difficulty that\nI found my way back to my home. Since then I never have left my castle.\n\n\u201cEach year, on May day, the deer comes to the gate and calls, \u2018Here is\nthe deer, but where are the hunters to follow it?\u2019 Tomorrow she will\ncome again, but no one here has heart for the chase.\n\n\u201cThat, then, is my story. I ask you if any man could be happy with such\na sorrow in his life?\u201d\n\nDermot had listened with rising pity that soon turned into anger. He\nrose abruptly to his feet.\n\n\u201cI have but been sent to get your story, but no true Fenian is willing\nto let wickedness go unpunished. If you will go with me, there will be\nmen to follow the deer tomorrow, and the sun shall not set before I have\ntried my strength against the enchantment of the lord of that castle.\u201d\n\nFor the first time in twenty-one years the Sorrowful Knight no longer\nwept. He announced that he would go the next morning. The small chief\nand the Red Giant also promised to take part in the chase of the deer.\n\nIn the morning the deer came to the gate and called as was her custom,\n\u201cHere is the deer, but where are the hunters to follow it?\u201d\n\nThe four men had been waiting and now they set after her at full speed.\nAll day long they followed her, and in the evening she approached a cave\nin the hillside.\n\n\u201cThat is where she will disappear!\u201d shouted the knight.\n\nDermot sped after her. Now, as you know, there was no one in Erin who\ncould equal him in a race. He rapidly caught up with the deer and seized\nher by the hind leg, just as she reached the mouth of the cave.\nInstantly the deer disappeared, and in her place was a hideous old\nwitch, with straggly gray hair and long crooked teeth. Dermot was so\nstartled that he let go his hold. The witch ran screaming into the cave.\n\nThe men followed and came out at the gate of the castle just as the\nknight had done years before. When they knocked for admission, they were\nmet by the master, who seemed greatly surprised to see the Sorrowful\nKnight.\n\n\u201cI thought you had enough of this place when you were here before,\u201d he\nsaid.\n\nDermot did the answering. \u201cHe comes with me,\u201d he said. \u201cI could not have\nenough of your castle, because this is the first time I have ever been\nhere.\u201d\n\nThe master invited them into the room where waited the twelve kettles of\nwater and the twelve boars.\n\n\u201cHave you a man among you who can prepare the supper?\u201d asked the master.\n\n\u201cWe have,\u201d said Dermot. \u201cAnd it is a long time since you had one as\ngood. We have also a man who will get the meat.\u201d\n\nDermot went out into the forest and brought in enough meat for the meal.\nHe knew better than to try to prepare the enchanted boars. The ones he\nhad killed, he dressed with his sword and soon had them cooked. The\nmaster made no comments, but ate with the others.\n\nWhen the meal was over the lord of the castle addressed the knight.\n\n\u201cHave you a man among you who can show us a little action for our\namusement?\u201d\n\nOnce more Dermot did the answering. \u201cHe has. Send in the same twelve\nsmall men you used against his sons and we will show you enough action\nto satisfy you.\u201d\n\nThe small men brought in the chain and passed one end to Dermot, who\nbraced his feet against the rocks on the floor. The small men pulled as\nhard as they could, but not a link of slack chain could they get. All at\nonce Dermot jerked them toward him, looped the chain over their necks\nand snapped off the twelve heads.\n\nHe then held out the end of the chain to the master and said, \u201cPerhaps\nyou would like to show us a little action yourself?\u201d\n\nThe lord of the castle was seized with a fit of trembling at the thought\nof pulling against this terrible Fenian. He dropped to his knees and\nbegan to beg for his life.\n\n\u201cSpare me, and I will bring back the knight\u2019s twelve sons,\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cThat is all I could ask of you,\u201d said Dermot.\n\nThe frightened enchanter took his rod and touched each of the twelve\nblocks of stone along the wall. Instantly the twelve sons of the knight\nwere with them, as strong and hearty as ever.\n\nYou can imagine how the father felt over this change. He was no longer\nthe Sorrowful Knight.\n\nThey wasted no time in leaving the enchanter\u2019s palace and in returning\nto the castle of the man who was now the Glad Knight. From there Dermot\nand his friends went on to the home of the Red Giant, and then on to the\nking of the White Nation. Dermot was happy in being able to rescue the\ntwelve young men, but he was far happier in the thought that he was now\nto see Finn MacCool.\n\n                                  IX.\n\nOn his return Dermot presented himself at the palace. Though the wicked\nold king was surprised to see him again, he endeavored not to show it.\n\n\u201cWell, have you the story of the Sorrowful Knight?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said Dermot. \u201cAre you ready to hear it?\u201d\n\nThen he told the king the story, just as it had been told to him. I\ndon\u2019t believe that he mentioned the rescue of the twelve sons, because\nthat was not in his sentence, and he was anxious to be through with the\ntask and rescue Finn. At the end of the story he said:\n\n\u201cNow I have done what you asked. Do I get to see my chief?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not,\u201d answered the king. \u201cYou shall not see him until you get me\nthe story of the Lad of True Tales.\u201d\n\nDermot\u2019s anger flamed up. For the first time he saw that the king was\nnot honest in his sentences, and that he was merely setting tasks to put\nhim off, until he could find something that would do away with him\nforever.\n\n\u201cOh, is that so?\u201d he asked. \u201cYou should have spoken about it sooner. I\nhave worn out all the leather I am going to use, tramping over the rocks\nof your country. I am going to let you find out how sharp some of those\nstones are.\u201d\n\nHe picked up the treacherous king and tossed him out of the upper window\nof the palace to the rocks below. The king of the White Nation would\nnever set another task for any man.\n\nThen Dermot searched high and low for Finn. Everyone got out of his way,\nbut still he could not find his chief. When he was almost in despair, he\nmet an old woman.\n\n\u201cI will lead you to Finn,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is I who have been caring for\nhim.\u201d\n\nShe did as she promised. Dermot was so happy on seeing Finn that he\nwanted to embrace him. Finn pushed him away.\n\nDermot\u2019s feelings were hurt. \u201cIf any man had gone through what I have to\nrescue me, I would not seem ungrateful,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cIt is not ingratitude,\u201d said Finn. \u201cMy thumb tells me that we have\nlittle time to lose. The king\u2019s daughter has gone off to enchant another\nvictim. We must get away while she is gone.\u201d\n\nThe two friends hastened to the shore, taking what food they could on\nthe way. Then they raised the sails and pointed the boat toward Erin.\nFinn placed Dermot in the stern to watch, while he managed the boat.\nEvery few minutes he would say, \u201cDo you see anything?\u201d Dermot would\nanswer, \u201cI see nothing but waves and sky.\u201d\n\nThey were nearing the shores of Erin when Finn asked the question again.\n\n\u201cI see a bird that looks like an eagle,\u201d said Dermot.\n\n\u201cThen we are lost,\u201d cried Finn. \u201cShe is following.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there no way to release you?\u201d asked Dermot.\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d answered Finn, \u201cbut I am in honor bound not to tell you of\nit.\u201d\n\nThe boat sped swiftly on, with the bird ever gaining. When near the\nland, the two champions sprang ashore, just as the bird turned the boat\nover and perched upon the hull. She saw them on the land and flew after\nthem. The instant she struck the earth she became a woman. Rushing up to\nFinn she threw her arms around his neck.\n\n\u201cCome back with me and be my husband,\u201d she begged. \u201cYou shall be the\nking of the White Nation.\u201d\n\nIt made Dermot angry to see the actions of the woman who had caused them\nboth so much trouble. He swung his sword against the hillside in anger.\nSo great was the blow that a valley appeared where the sword struck. A\ngreat shower of dirt, far more than the seven shovelfuls, fell over Finn\nand the woman.\n\nFinn put the enchantress from him. \u201cI thank you, Dermot,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\nhave released me from her bonds.\u201d\n\nThe woman gave a cry of rage, became an eagle once more and flew out\nover the ocean. Finn and Dermot hastened to join the Fenians.\n\n\n\n\n                         THE WORTHLESS SERVANT\n\n\nOne day Finn and his companions, while out hunting, had stopped to cook\nsome of the game. Dermot, Conan and several other Fenians were in the\nparty. The horses had been put into an inclosure so that they might feed\nwhile the men rested. It was during the meal that the guard, who had\nbeen put upon a nearby hill to watch for the approach of an enemy, came\nrushing up with the news that a great giant was coming toward them from\nthe south. The man had hardly time to tell the news when the giant,\nhimself, appeared.\n\nHe was tall and ungainly, with joints that bent outward at each step, as\nthough they had been fastened together with strings. He was dressed in\nthe skins of animals, with the hairy side out. Covering his face was a\ngrowth of the same colored hair, so it was difficult to tell where the\ngarments left off and the skin began.\n\nHis face seemed formed no more firmly than his body. His jaw hung\nloosely, showing a ragged set of huge teeth. One eye was higher than the\nother. His nose was as rough as a ridge of hills. In one hand he held a\nhuge club, the end of which cut deep furrows in the earth as he dragged\nit along. From the other hand was a leading thong attached to the halter\nof a horse.\n\nThis animal was no better favored than the master. Its joints seemed\njust as loosely hung together. Its coat was the color of the soot from a\nchimney. Its backbone was like a knotted clothesline with a black rug\nhung over it. When the animal walked, its legs bent outward at the\ncenter, while its scraggly tail and many cornered head swayed from side\nto side in opposite directions.\n\nWhen the giant saw the Fenians he dropped the thong and approached by\nhimself. The animal let its head drop dejectedly, and its legs bowed\noutward like the hoops of a barrel. It seemed about to fall to pieces.\n\n\u201cI am looking for Finn MacCool,\u201d growled the giant.\n\nFinn rose and came toward him. \u201cI am he whom you seek,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cI have come to take service with you,\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cIf you need work, go prop up your horse,\u201d shouted Conan. The Fenians\nlaughed loudly.\n\n\u201cI do not like the behavior of your men,\u201d said the giant, \u201cyet do I\nstill seek service. I have heard that you are a good master, and that\nyou will pay a man whatever he asks.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never refused service to any man who asked it, nor have I ever\nrefused to give a servant any reasonable wage requested,\u201d said Finn.\n\n\u201cThen I would serve you,\u201d declared the giant. \u201cI am known as the\nWorthless Servant because I never give my master what he pays for. I\nalways fail to do any task he sets me, and what I do is never done well.\nMoreover, I eat more than any two men and grumble unceasingly about the\nway I am treated.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou give yourself a bad name,\u201d said Finn with a laugh. \u201cNevertheless,\nyou have asked for service, so I shall give it to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen may I turn my horse into the pasture with the others?\u201d asked the\ngiant.\n\nFinn gave his permission and went back to his meal. The giant opened the\ngate of the inclosure, took off the halter and let the animal loose.\nThat done, he came over to the table and proceeded to eat everything\nwithin reach.\n\nThe decrepit old horse changed entirely when its master left it. No\nlonger was it mild and sleepy. It kicked its heels high in the air, let\nout a snort and proceeded to bite and kick every animal it could reach.\nThese other horses could make no stand against the newcomer, nor could\nthey seem to get away from it. At last the giant\u2019s horse had injured all\nthe animals except the one belonging to Conan. It was viciously pursuing\nthis one.\n\n\u201cLook here,\u201d roared Conan. \u201cGo tie up that ugly brute before it injures\nmy horse.\u201d\n\nThe giant kept on eating. \u201cThere\u2019s the halter,\u201d he said between bites.\n\u201cIf you do not like the way he acts, go tie him yourself.\u201d\n\nConan needed no second invitation. He ran into the pasture and put the\nhalter on the great beast. As soon as it was caught, the animal resumed\nits dejected pose. Conan pulled and pulled with all his might, but he\nexerted himself without result. The horse would not move. The other\nFenians gathered around and offered much advice and many taunts.\n\n\u201cShame on you, Conan,\u201d cried one. \u201cA Fenian and unable to lead one\nlittle horse!\u201d\n\n\u201cTake him by the tail,\u201d shouted another. \u201cPerhaps it travels the other\nway.\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter practice on a sheep until you grow up,\u201d came from a third.\n\nConan lost his temper. He began abusing the men who were joking him,\nsaying all the cutting things he could think of. His anger extended to\nthe horse. He began beating it with a heavy club. Still the animal stood\nlooking dejectedly at the ground and giving no sign that it felt the\nblows.\n\nFergus True Lips, the poet of the Fenians, now gave some advice.\n\n\u201cMany a horse will not go when pulled by the halter,\u201d he said. \u201cTry\nriding him.\u201d\n\nConan sprang to the back of the horse and again tried to get it to move.\nThis method proved no better than the other. Again Fergus made a\nsuggestion.\n\n\u201cHe is used to the weight of a heavier man than you. Let more Fenians\nget upon his back until the combined weight shall equal that of the\ngiant.\u201d\n\nThis advice the Fenians were glad to follow. One after another climbed\nup until fourteen were astride that sharp backbone. Still the animal\nwould not move.\n\nThe Fenians were enjoying the sport. Those on the back of the animal\ncalled out jibes to those on the ground, while these made jokes at the\nexpense of the mounted ones.\n\nIn the meantime the giant had finished eating all the food on the table.\nHe now approached Finn in great anger.\n\n\u201cIt seems to me that the stories I have heard of your justice were all\nfalse,\u201d he growled.\n\n\u201cWhat makes you think so?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cYou stand by and see your men abusing my horse, yet you do nothing to\nstop them,\u201d he complained.\n\n\u201cI am sure they but keep your horse from injuring their own animals,\u201d\nsaid Finn.\n\n\u201cI am through with your service,\u201d declared the giant. \u201cIf I had never\ncome at all, still would I have been here too long. Give me my wages and\nlet me go.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat wages can you expect when you have just come?\u201d asked Finn. \u201cAll\nyou have done is to eat a meal at my expense.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgain I see that the stories told of you are not true,\u201d said the giant.\n\u201cYou promised to give me what wages I asked and now you refuse.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have asked no wages,\u201d cried Finn, becoming angry at the\nunreasonable request. \u201cYou but trifle with me when you ask pay for\neating my food.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince I can get no pay, I shall leave without it. Perhaps your men will\ngive me my wages more willingly.\u201d\n\nHe strode off toward the sea, taking long but shuffling steps. The horse\nmoved after him, slowly at first, but with ever increasing speed. The\nFenians were still on his back.\n\n\u201cGet off!\u201d cried Fergus. The men tried desperately, but they were\nfastened as tight as if they had grown there.\n\n\u201cIs there no man among you who will stop this beast?\u201d shouted Conan,\nwhen he found that they were moving away from the Fenian camp.\n\nA new member of the band ran after the animal and seized it by the tail.\nInstead of stopping it, he, too, came under the enchantment and could\nnot let go.\n\nThe giant suddenly lost all his awkwardness. He began to run with the\nspeed of the wind. The horse also became full of life and fleet of foot.\n\n\u201cI charge you, Finn,\u201d called Conan, \u201cnot to take any rest until you have\nrescued us.\u201d\n\nBefore the startled Fenians could realize what had happened, the giant\nand the horse were at the edge of the sea. They entered the water at\nfull speed. As they advanced, the waves parted for them and closed again\nafter they had passed.\n\nThus disappeared the Worthless Servant and the fifteen Fenians he had\ntaken for his wages.\n\n\n                                  II.\n\nAs soon as they had gone, Finn began preparations to go to their rescue.\nHe asked Fergus for advice as to where they might find a suitable ship.\nFergus replied that there was one about five miles distant. Finn called\nDermot and a small body of the bravest of his men together and told them\nthat they were to accompany him. All were delighted to go upon such an\nadventure.\n\nThe party had gone but a short distance when they met two handsome young\nmen, dressed in green garments and without any weapons of war. One\ncarried a light wand in his hand.\n\n\u201cWe crave to enter thy service, O Finn,\u201d said the elder of the two.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d answered Finn. \u201cWe are on a difficult errand and need only\nmen of experience, but you may join the Fenians in our rear.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is to go with you that we seek service,\u201d said the stranger.\n\n\u201cHave you any special talents that would be of value to us on a\ndifficult adventure?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cI can be of great service, if your adventure takes you upon the sea,\u201d\nreplied the elder. \u201cI am called Quick-Builder. If you cover your heads\nfor the space of a minute I can cause the harbor to be filled with ships\nof every description. After you have selected the one you wish, all the\nothers will disappear.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would be a great help to us now,\u201d said Finn. \u201cAnd what can you\ndo?\u201d he asked the younger.\n\n\u201cI am called Keen-Sight,\u201d the boy replied. \u201cI can follow any track on\nland, air or water. I can trace the eagle to her nest or the fish upon\nhis journey.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuch a talent will be of great assistance,\u201d said Finn. \u201cI take you both\ninto my service. Quick-Builder, produce your ships.\u201d\n\nThe Fenians obeyed the command to cover their heads. They heard the\nsound of the young man\u2019s wand strike on wood. Then they looked when he\nbade them. They were greatly astonished to find that he had done what he\nclaimed. Finn chose the boat which suited his needs. He ordered his men\nto get on board and take the oars. No sooner were they on this ship than\nevery other one disappeared.\n\nThen the lad, Keen-Sight, took his place in the prow of the boat and\ncalled directions to the steersman. They sped on over the ocean until\nthey were stopped by a high precipice of rock, seemingly the edge of a\ngreat island.\n\n\u201cHere ends the track,\u201d announced Keen-Sight.\n\n\u201cNo horse could have climbed that cliff,\u201d declared Fergus.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered Finn. \u201cBut a horse could pass under it. Noted you not the\nway the waves parted for the giant and his horse? I greatly believe that\nwe are dealing with the subjects of King Under the Waves.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is so, it would seem to be our duty to get on shore and see\nwhere we may go,\u201d said Fergus.\n\n\u201cIf any man can climb that cliff it is Dermot,\u201d declared Finn.\n\nDermot looked at the face of the precipice and noted a rocky shelf about\nhalf way up. From that on there seemed to be footholds.\n\n\u201cI think I can scale it,\u201d he said.\n\nHe had the Fenians clear off the length of the deck. Then taking his\nsword and holding it in front of him like a pole, he ran from stern to\nprow. He used the sword as a lever and sprang lightly to the rocky\nshelf. The Fenians set up a cheer at the splendid feat. Dermot waved to\nthem and soon disappeared from view.\n\nOnce over the rocks he found himself in a pleasant country of trees and\nlittle brooks. He could see neither houses nor people. He walked on and\non without seeing a living thing. At last, tired and thirsty, he stopped\nto drink from a well of clear water beside the road. As he touched his\nlips to the water a man appeared beside him.\n\n\u201cHow dare you drink from my well?\u201d he demanded.\n\n\u201cI could see no harm in taking a drink from an open well,\u201d said Dermot.\n\n\u201cThen you are little better than a thief,\u201d declared the newcomer.\n\n\u201cYou are very uncivil to say so,\u201d answered Dermot. \u201cI shall not leave\nthis place until I have had satisfaction for that insult.\u201d\n\nHe grappled with the man and wrestled with him for a decision. When it\nseemed that he must win the victory, the man rolled into the well and\ndisappeared.\n\nThe next day the same thing happened. The same man appeared, the same\nstruggle was gone through with, and once more he disappeared in the\nwaters of the well. Dermot had no intention of leaving until he had\nbeaten this fellow. On the third day, when the time for disappearance\ncame, Dermot clung to him and went into the water with him.\n\nJudge to his surprise to find himself not in a well at all, but in a\nbeautiful country with wealth and plenty on every side. Dermot did not\nhave to guess where he was. Every Fenian had heard of this land, but no\nmortal had ever entered it before. He was in the Land Under the Waves.\nThe well had been the entrance.\n\nWhen Dermot released his hold on the man with whom he had been\nstruggling, the fellow lost no time in getting away. With the start he\ngot by his quickness he soon disappeared among the trees. Dermot had to\ngo on alone. Before long he found himself before a beautiful castle. At\nthe gate was a guard of seven warriors on either side. The Fenian had\nonly time to draw his sword before they all set upon him.\n\nBut these under-sea champions were no match for him either in strength\nor quickness. He quickly defeated the fourteen guards and many others\nwho came out of the castle to their aid. In the evening, tired from his\nstruggle with the man at the well, and his fighting at the castle gate,\nhe went into the woods and was soon sound asleep.\n\nHe was awakened by the touch of a hand on his shoulder. He quickly\nsprang to his feet, his hand on his sword, to face this newcomer. It was\na knight in armor, fully equipped with weapons, but the smile on his\nface showed that he had not come for fighting.\n\n\u201cDo not draw your sword, for I am a friend,\u201d he said. \u201cCome with me so\nthat you may have food and a better and more comfortable bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would be foolish did I refuse such an offer,\u201d replied Dermot. \u201cLead\nthe way and I will follow.\u201d\n\nThe knight led him into a small castle some distance away and took him\ninto the banquet hall, where plenty of food and drink was still on the\ntable. Thirty other knights rested on their beds in the room, and some\nrose on the entrance of the Fenian. One was the man who had wrestled\nwith Dermot.\n\n\u201cYou may be a friend, but you have brought me to an enemy,\u201d he said to\nhis guide.\n\n\u201cHe is not your enemy,\u201d replied the knight. \u201cThis man was the messenger\nI sent to bring you here.\u201d\n\nDermot thought back over the three days of wrestling and of the way the\nman had left him to face the guards of the castle.\n\n\u201cI should say that your messenger had some rather rough and\nunsatisfactory methods,\u201d said Dermot. \u201cIf he was to lead me here, why\ndid he not tell me so?\u201d\n\nThe knight smiled. \u201cI understand your surprise. It was necessary for him\nto do just as he did, for it is only possible to enter the Land Under\nthe Sea in the manner in which you came. But sit down and eat. I shall\nexplain as you satisfy your hunger.\u201d\n\nDermot needed no second invitation. The knight sat down at the table\nwith him while the others went back to their couches.\n\n\u201cI am known as the Knight of Valor,\u201d his host began. \u201cAnd I am the\nrightful ruler of this land. By a trick my brother has seized the\nkingdom and is reigning in my stead. All he has left me is this small\ncastle and the thirty knights whom you see about you. When I heard that\nDermot of the Fenians had landed on the island, I determined to enlist\nyour help. I sent one of my men to the well to wait for you. The result\nyou know.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I was to be brought here to help you, why was I left alone to face\nthat castle guard?\u201d asked Dermot.\n\n\u201cThat is a fair question,\u201d answered the knight. \u201cYou see, I had heard\ngreat tales of your strength, but I did not know if it was greater than\nthat of the men of our land. That castle is the stronghold of my\nbrother, and those were his men. Your combat with them showed me that if\nyou will help us, we can wrest the kingdom from his wicked hands. My\npeople are suffering from my brother\u2019s rule; will you help me to free\nthem?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have been fair with me,\u201d answered Dermot. \u201cI will help you. I will\nnot hold it against you that your guide deserted me before the castle,\nsince that combat leaves us fewer men to meet tomorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour willingness affords me great pleasure,\u201d said the knight. \u201cI am\nsure that tomorrow night will see me once more upon my rightful throne.\u201d\n\nDermot finished his meal and then was shown a bed where he spent the\nnight.\n\nWith the first streaks of morning light, the little castle became a\nscene of busy preparations. Each of the thirty knights buckled on his\narmor, took up his shield and announced himself willing to follow\nDermot\u2019s orders. The Knight of Valor, fully armed, took his place at\nDermot\u2019s side, and the little army went forth to battle. When they\napproached the castle of the false king, Dermot called out:\n\n\u201cCome forth, false king, and fight me for your kingdom!\u201d\n\nThis the usurper was afraid to do. He knew better than to risk his life\nagainst such a hero. For answer he sent out all his forces and only\nappeared when his warriors formed a protecting wall between him and his\nenemies. There he remained in safety. Dermot placed his men in the form\nof a wedge with himself in the lead and went into battle.\n\nNow, the army of the false king was only loyal to him because he had\npaid them to place him upon the throne. Then, too, they feared this\nterrible Fenian, who had faced them the night before. On the other hand,\nthe Knight of Valor and his men, cheered by having such a fighter on\ntheir side, fought as they had never fought before. In a short time the\nwedge went through the opposing forces, leaving the wicked brother\nunprotected.\n\nThis man did not wait any longer. He turned and ran into the palace for\nsafety, closing the gate behind him. His forces would not keep up the\nstruggle after their leader left them. They threw down their weapons in\ntoken that they were through.\n\nDermot determined to get hold of this brother. He did not stop for the\ngate, but used his sword as a lever and jumped over the wall just as he\nhad gone up the cliff. He caught the pretender before he could get\nacross the courtyard, and brought him out where his men could see him.\nThere Dermot released him and once more asked him if he was ready to\nfight for the right to retain the kingdom.\n\nThe wicked fellow\u2019s knees shook to the rapid beating of his heart. They\ntrembled so he had to get down on them to make them support him at all.\n\n\u201cSpare me! Spare me!\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cAre you willing to give up the throne to your brother, the rightful\nking?\u201d asked Dermot.\n\n\u201cI am if my men are satisfied,\u201d answered the man, still on his knees.\n\nFor an answer his men gave a cheer for the Knight of Valor. Then Dermot\npicked out thirty men for the false king.\n\n\u201cYou shall have what you gave your brother,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, get up and\nlead your men to the castle you set apart for him. That shall be your\nkingdom.\u201d\n\nThen the Knight of Valor led his new friend into the castle. They were\nserved by the happy people, happy in the return of their own kind ruler.\nA joyous celebration was held in Dermot\u2019s honor, but that hero cut it\nshort by saying:\n\n\u201cNow that I have helped you, you can show your gratitude by giving me\nsome assistance. I would find the giant with the bony horse who took\naway fifteen of the Fenians. Also, I would get back to Finn with what\ninformation you can give me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose you mean the man who calls himself the Worthless Servant?\u201d\nasked the Knight of Valor.\n\nDermot nodded his head.\n\n\u201cThen I can help you. That man was no giant, but a friend of mine, who\ntook that shape to get some of the Fenians to come over and help him. He\nis about to be attacked by Donn, High King of the World, and needs all\nthe help he can command. Tomorrow you and I shall go at the head of my\narmy to give him assistance. You will find Finn and your companions\nalready there. You see, we worked together. Keen-Sight and Quick-Builder\nare our men, whom we sent to bring you here. Tomorrow you shall see them\nall.\u201d\n\n\n                                  III.\n\nFinn and his companions had waited but a short time after Dermot had\ndisappeared over the cliff. The lad, Keen-Sight, had kept quiet until\nDermot was out of sight. Then he turned to the Fenians and said:\n\n\u201cThough the horse and men went in here, I think I can find you a harbor\nwhich will lead us to the same place.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you should have told us before Dermot left,\u201d said Finn.\n\nKeen-Sight made no reply.\n\n\u201cWell, it does not matter,\u201d said Finn. \u201cGuide us to the harbor. Dermot\nwill be safe and will find us later.\u201d\n\nAgain the men bent to their oars and rowed in the direction given by\nKeen-Sight. Some days later they came to a broad harbor in which a\nthousand ships like theirs could have anchored. The Fenians made fast\nthe boat and sprang ashore. Still guided by Keen-Sight, they journeyed a\nshort distance toward the interior of the country.\n\nSuddenly a large army appeared, coming toward them. The Fenians drew up\nin battle array, but Finn told them to have no fear.\n\n\u201cFor,\u201d he explained, \u201cdo you not see Dermot in the lead? It is easy to\nsee that he is not a prisoner.\u201d\n\nWhen Dermot saw his friends, he let out a loud shout of joy and hastened\nto meet them. The Knight of Valor came up and extended a welcome to the\nFenians.\n\n\u201cWe are in pursuit of the man who calls himself the Worthless Servant,\u201d\nsaid Finn. \u201cCan you give us directions for finding him?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can do that,\u201d said the Knight of Valor. \u201cWe are now but a short\ndistance from his palace.\u201d\n\nThen they all fell in together and walked on until they saw before them\na handsome castle.\n\n\u201cIt is here the man lives,\u201d said the Knight of Valor. \u201cHe is really the\nking of a large country, but took the shape you saw him in to enlist\nyour aid.\u201d\n\nThe Knight of Valor raised his voice and gave a loud cry. Soon the gates\nof the castle opened. Out came the ugly old giant followed by his horse.\nOn its back still rode the fourteen Fenians, while the fifteenth still\nclung to its tail.\n\n\u201cHave you been like that ever since you left us?\u201d asked Finn, when the\nhorse approached near enough for the men to hear his voice.\n\n\u201cWe have not,\u201d answered Conan. He and the others slipped off the horse\u2019s\nback and came to greet their comrades. \u201cWe have been treated like kings.\nWe merely came out in state so that you might not forget how we\narrived.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour pardon, O Finn,\u201d said a voice.\n\nFinn looked at the spot where the giant had been standing, but saw a\nstrong young champion in his stead. \u201cI am Avarta, ruler of this land. If\nI played the part of the Worthless Servant, it was to bring here enough\nFenians to give us help in the hour of need. My messengers have informed\nme that the High King of the World is about to attack us. Without your\nhelp I would be defeated; with it I shall conquer.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not request my help, if you needed it, instead of taking\naway my men and forcing me to come after them?\u201d asked Finn.\n\n\u201cHad I asked you to come to a far country to fight, you would have\nrefused. You would have told me that it was your duty to remain in Erin\nto defend it,\u201d said Avarta. \u201cBut I did know that you would not refuse to\ncome to rescue your own men, and that you would help if you were here.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is true,\u201d said Finn. \u201cI hold no hard feelings against you. My men\nand myself will do our part against the High King of the World.\u201d\n\nThen the leaders went into the banquet hall of the castle. The other\nwarriors were quartered in the spacious courtyard. Avarta caused\neverything in his power to be done for their comfort. For a day and two\nnights they feasted, rested and waited for the arrival of the enemy.\n\n\n                                  IV.\n\nOn the morning of the second day after their arrival, a great fleet\nanchored in the harbor. The men immediately began landing in great\nnumbers. At their head was the son of the High King, and with him was\nhis sister, Teasa, who wanted to see her brother capture the castle.\n\nFinn placed his men in battle array; giving to the Knight of Valor and\nhis warriors the defense of the right wing, and to Avarta and his army\nthe duty of holding the left wing. With his Fenians, Finn took the\ncenter, where the fighting would be the heaviest.\n\nThe two armies met in deadly combat. The two wings held their own with\ndifficulty, being about evenly matched with the enemy. But the Fenians,\nwith desperate valor, overwhelmed the enemy center with great slaughter.\nIt was a great surprise to the High King\u2019s son. He rallied his men\nbravely and gave them an example of valor, but it was useless. Finn was\neverywhere, now engaging and defeating a score of warriors, now helping\nwith one division of his men and now another. Dermot, the pride of the\nFenians, was always in the thick of the struggle. His flashing sword\nmade a circle of steel about him. No man could stand against him.\n\nTeasa, who had come to see the prowess of her brother, forgot all about\nhim in watching the deeds of Finn. She admired his fair hair and manly\nbearing, and his bravery appealed to her even more strongly. It was\nwhile watching him drive back her father\u2019s army that she fell deeply in\nlove with him. When her brother gave orders for his men to fall back\nfrom the unequal struggle, Teasa left her own side and went over to the\nFenians. She found Finn and said to him:\n\n\u201cI have watched you in the fight today, O Finn, and my heart called out\nto you, even against my own brother. I pray you take me to Erin and make\nme your wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I cannot do, fair maiden,\u201d said Finn. \u201cI have no need of a wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou cannot refuse me,\u201d she cried. \u201cNo true champion should refuse a\nmaiden when she offers herself to him.\u201d\n\nFinn was honest in his refusal. He still mourned for Saba. Anyhow, he\nknew that to take the daughter of the High King would cause a great deal\nof trouble.\n\n\u201cYou had better go back to your father while there is still time,\u201d he\ntold her kindly.\n\n\u201cThat I will not do,\u201d declared Teasa. \u201cAlready my father knows that I\nhave come over to his enemies. If I go back he will kill me. If I cannot\nhave your love, I can claim your protection from those who would kill\nme. I put you under bonds to take me with you to Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI beg you to release me from such bonds,\u201d said Finn. \u201cNothing but\ntrouble can come of it.\u201d\n\nBut the maiden insisted that she claimed his protection as a Fenian, and\nhe could not refuse her.\n\nWhen Donn saw the retreat of his son and his army, he called a council\nof his wise men to see what it was best to do.\n\n\u201cThis is no time to attack Avarta,\u201d said one of them. \u201cThe Fenians are\nwith him, and we have not men enough to stand against them. The best\nthing for us to do is to retire and wait a more favorable time, when the\nmen of Erin have gone home.\u201d\n\nThis advice was repeated by the others of the council. Just then the son\ncame on board and approached his father.\n\n\u201cWe are defeated,\u201d he said. \u201cI have ordered my men to retire, lest they\nall be killed and we gain nothing by it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is well,\u201d said Donn. \u201cBut tell me, why is not your sister with you?\nShe went with you to battle and I do not see her returning.\u201d\n\nThe son hung his head, afraid to tell his father the truth.\n\n\u201cSpeak, my son!\u201d cried Donn. \u201cShe cannot be killed! Surely the Fenians\ndo not make war on women!\u201d\n\n\u201cFar better had she died,\u201d said the young man. \u201cShe has left us and gone\nto the Fenians.\u201d\n\nThen the High King lifted up his voice in a long cry of grief and anger.\nTeasa was very dear to him. He could not bear to think that she had gone\nover to the enemy.\n\n\u201cI am sure she is held against her will,\u201d said Donn. \u201cSend heralds to\nthis Fenian and order him to surrender our daughter to us.\u201d\n\nBut the heralds came back with the word that Finn refused. Then Donn\nstood out upon the highest deck and raised his arms above his head in a\nvow of vengeance.\n\n\u201cHear me, O Finn!\u201d he called. \u201cYou have taken my daughter from me, and I\nvow that I will be revenged upon you. Though it take me all the rest of\nmy life to prepare, and though I must get every king in the world to\nhelp me, I vow I shall not rest until I have come to Erin and have\npunished you for this deed.\u201d\n\nThen the High King raised the sails of his fleet, his men bent to their\noars, and the battle fleet sailed out of the harbor.\n\nDermot turned to his chief. \u201cI fear that trouble is about to come upon\nErin and the Fenians,\u201d he said. \u201cChew your thumb and see if it is not\nso.\u201d\n\nFinn shook his head sadly. \u201cI have no need of my thumb to tell me that\nwhat you say is true. Yet, the maiden claimed my protection, and I could\nnot, under our rules, refuse her.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is so,\u201d agreed Dermot.\n\n\n                                   V.\n\nThere was great rejoicing in the land when the fleet sailed away. Avarta\nthanked the Fenians for their aid and gave them many rich gifts. Finn\nwas satisfied. Avarta, however, was willing to make still further\namends.\n\n\u201cSince I took away your men by an enchantment, it is only fair that you\nshould make an award for me to fulfill,\u201d he insisted.\n\n\u201cThere is no award I would require of you,\u201d said Finn, who never asked\nfavors of any man to whom he had given help.\n\n\u201cStay, O Finn,\u201d cried Conan. \u201cYou did not have to ride all day on that\nbony back, which was sharper than a sword. If there is an award to be\nmade, I am the one entitled to it.\u201d\n\nFinn would have said no, fearing that Conan would ask for gold and thus\nput shame upon the Fenians. But Avarta turned to Conan politely and told\nhim to name his award.\n\n\u201cIt is this,\u201d said Conan. \u201cYou are to bring out your bony horse and\nplace upon its back fourteen of your own nobles. You are to bring them\nto Erin, so some one else shall feel the pain of that journey.\u201d\n\nThe Fenians roared with laughter. They were glad that Conan had not\nyielded to his desire for gain, but had made a good award.\n\n\u201cAnd I wish to add the sentence, that Avarta himself shall cling to the\nanimal\u2019s tail,\u201d said the young Fenian who had made the trip in that\nmanner. \u201cOnly in that way can he appreciate the pain I bore in coming.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe award is just,\u201d declared Avarta. \u201cGet on your ship. When you arrive\nin Erin we shall be with you.\u201d\n\nSo the Fenians got on their ship and went back as rapidly as sails and\noars could take them. When they landed in Erin the ship disappeared, but\nwhere it had been, the waves parted and the great horse, with fourteen\nnobles on its back and the Worthless Servant clinging to its tail, came\nout on the shore.\n\n\u201cI have carried out the award,\u201d said Avarta.\n\n\u201cYou have,\u201d said Finn. \u201cNow, I pray you, let your men dismount that all\nof you may partake of our hospitality.\u201d\n\nThere was no answer. Where the horse and men had stood there was\nnothing. They had disappeared as a mist taken up by the sun.\n\n\n\n\n                           DERMOT AND GRAINNE\n\n\nIt was some time after the pursuit of the Worthless Servant that the\nevents of this story took place. Finn, knowing that sooner or later his\nforces would have to meet those of the High King of the World, spent\nmost of his time building up the numbers of his Fenians, so that he\nwould have a force sufficient when the time came for the great struggle.\n\nThis angered Cormack, High King of Tara, to whom Finn owed allegiance.\nCormack had been very jealous of the power of the Fenians and of the\nhold Finn had upon them. Sometimes these Fenians did make demands on the\npeople of the country, and some of these demands were unreasonable. You\nsee, Finn was getting to be quite an old man. While his courage and his\nwisdom were as great as of old, he was not with his men as constantly as\nhe had been in his earlier years. Probably they took advantage of this\nfact and did things he would not have allowed had he known of them.\n\nCormack made up his mind that the overbearing conduct of some of the\nFenians was caused by the fact that Finn had no respect for the\nauthority of the High King. Then, when Finn began to bend every effort\nto increase the fighting strength of the Fenians, Cormack got the idea\nthat his leader was about to take the kingdom away from him.\n\nThe quarrel began to grow serious. Some of the friends of both men,\nhowever, urged that a stronger alliance be formed between the two to\nmake a serious break impossible. This was to be accomplished by having\nFinn marry Grainne, the daughter of Cormack.\n\nThe two men finally agreed that this wedding should take place, in spite\nof the fact that Finn had a grandson older than the girl who was to be\nhis wife. Cormack was willing because he really feared Finn\u2019s power if\nused against him. Finn was willing because he knew of the struggle which\nwas coming, and he wanted no quarrels at home to interfere with his\npreparations.\n\nNow, Grainne had never seen this mighty leader. She knew him only from\nthe stories of his many deeds of valor. To have such a noted hero for a\nhusband seemed quite the proper thing, especially when she was told that\nthe marriage was arranged for the good of Erin. She told her father that\nshe was willing to have Finn for a husband.\n\nSo, the Fenian chief, attended by his son, Ossian, his grandson, Oscar,\nhis friend, Dermot, and a guard of honor, went to the hall at Tara for\nthe wedding celebration. A great feast for the men of both parties was\nheld in the banquet hall. During the meal Cormack and Finn discussed\ntheir differences and plans for a better understanding.\n\nNaturally the young girl was anxious to have a look at the man who was\nto be her husband. While the feast was in progress she came to the door\nof the hall with her maid, who was to point out Finn to her mistress.\nThe maid did so. Grainne was amazed.\n\n\u201cSurely not that old man!\u201d she exclaimed.\n\nThe maid told her that there could be no mistake. Then she named over\nall the rest of the party in turn. Grainne made up her mind that she\nwould not go on with the ceremony.\n\n\u201cMy father did not tell me that he was mating me with a man old enough\nto be my grandfather,\u201d she said. \u201cIf he had, I should never have\nconsented. What can that old man want with a wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe marriage is to bind the Fenians more closely to the throne,\u201d said\nthe maid.\n\n\u201cThat could be done in other ways,\u201d replied Grainne. \u201cIf Finn sought me\nfor a wife for his son, I would be willing to go on with the match.\u201d\n\nThe maid explained that Ossian already had a wife and could not take\nanother.\n\n\u201cWell, the grandson would be still better,\u201d insisted Grainne. \u201cBut I\nwill never marry that old man; never, never, never!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen it would be best for you to so inform your father immediately,\u201d\nadvised the maid. \u201cEven now your refusal will cause more bitter\nfeeling.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Grainne. \u201cMy father would insist upon the match. If I get out\nof this marriage it will have to be by my own efforts.\u201d\n\nThen the girl went to her rooms in the palace and prepared a jug of\nwine, putting in a drug which would bring a heavy sleep to all who\ntasted of it. This she gave to the maid, telling her to go to the hall\nand give a sip from the bride\u2019s cup to everyone except Oscar and Dermot.\nTo these she was to refuse it.\n\nThe maid followed her instructions. All to whom it was offered took a\nsip of the drugged liquor. When they were asleep Grainne, dressed in her\nmost beautiful robes, entered the hall and went straight to Oscar and\nDermot. She asked Oscar to marry her and take her away. Oscar\nindignantly refused to be false to the man who was both his chief and\nhis grandfather.\n\nBut now Grainne had looked upon the Love Spot. She forgot all about\nOscar in her new love for this young Fenian hero. She now pled with\nDermot to marry her and take her away.\n\nDermot threw off her arms from around his neck.\n\n\u201cThink you that I would cast aside my honor and lose my place with the\nFenians?\u201d he cried. \u201cNever shall it be said that Dermot was false to a\nfriend! Death would be better than that!\u201d\n\nBut Grainne was not to be denied. She forgot everything but her love for\nthis man. She used a trick to compel Dermot to take her, the same ruse\nthat Teasa had used to force Finn to take her to Erin.\n\n\u201cIf you will not have me for your wife, I put you under bonds to save me\nfrom this marriage, which is distasteful to me. I bind you, by your\nFenian oath, to take me away and guard me from all pursuers until I\nrelease you.\u201d\n\nPoor Dermot was sorely puzzled. Whichever course he took he must lose\nhis honor. He must either break his vow to give protection to a woman\nwhenever it was asked, or he must be disloyal to Finn.\n\n\u201cWhat can I do?\u201d he asked Oscar.\n\n\u201cTo give you advice is the thing I would gladly refuse,\u201d answered Oscar.\n\u201cSince you ask it, I must tell you that your honor binds you to do as\nshe asks.\u201d\n\nSo Dermot and Grainne went out through the little gate in the palace\nwall and fled into the forest, accompanied only by Dermot\u2019s faithful\nhound.\n\n\n                                  II.\n\nWhen the men awoke from their drugged sleep, and Oscar told Finn and\nCormack what had happened, both men were exceedingly angry. They\nimmediately ordered a pursuit of the fugitives. For days Finn and his\nmen followed the trail of the two. While they often came upon campfires\nthat still smouldered, showing where the pursued pair had stopped, they\nnever were able to catch up with them. Dermot was caring for Grainne\nwith what food he could procure in the forest. He was kind to her, but\nsteadily resisted all her efforts to get him to marry her. At each\ncamping place he left a sign that Finn would recognize as a pledge that\nhe was not fleeing of his own free will, but because the maiden had put\nhim under bonds.\n\nThis treatment, however, did not please Grainne. All her pleading for\nhis love met with no response. At last she appealed to a Druid for help.\nThese Druids had great magical power, if they could be prevailed upon to\nuse them. Grainne did not tell him who she was. She played a part\ncalculated to excite the pity of the magician.\n\n\u201cI am in deep trouble,\u201d she told him. \u201cI fear that only you can be of\nassistance to me. I can tell by the kindness of your face that you are\nalways willing to help a maiden in distress.\u201d\n\nThe Druid was flattered by this artful speech.\n\n\u201cWhat can I do for you, O maiden?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI have just been married, and my husband is falling in love with\nanother maiden,\u201d lied Grainne. \u201cI would have you do something to make me\nmore beautiful, so that my husband will love me again.\u201d\n\n\u201cI could not make you more beautiful than you are already,\u201d said the\nDruid. He was something of a flatterer himself.\n\n\u201cThen give me something to kill me,\u201d wailed Grainne. \u201cI cannot live\nwithout my husband\u2019s love.\u201d At this point she burst into a violent\nsobbing. The heart of the Druid was touched by her pretended grief.\n\n\u201cBut if I cannot make you more beautiful, there is something else I can\ndo for you,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked Grainne, drying her eyes.\n\n\u201cI can give you a liquid to pour into the drink of your husband. As long\nas the effect lasts, he will love you better than anything else in the\nworld.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to me at once,\u201d said Grainne. \u201cIf I can but win back his love,\nI will keep his heart forever.\u201d\n\nSo the Druid gave her the love charm, and Grainne administered it to\nDermot in his food. Immediately he became wildly in love with her and\nyielded to her pleadings to marry her at once.\n\nFinn\u2019s pursuit had daily become less insistent. He had never been\nstrongly in favor of marrying Grainne, and his anger against Dermot\nbecame less keen. When he heard that the two were married he abandoned\nthe pursuit entirely. He sent word to Dermot that if he kept out of his\nway he would no longer seek to punish him, but that he had been expelled\nfrom the Fenians for disloyalty to his leader.\n\nAnd so it happened that Finn lost his best friend and his companion in\nhis adventures. The Fenians, also, lost their best fighter. This is the\nreason why, in the next story, which tells of the greatest battle the\narmy ever engaged in, Dermot was not there to help.\n\n\n\n\n                      THE BATTLE OF VENTRY STRAND\n\n\nThe years sped by with no sign of the attack by the High King of the\nWorld. One less wise than Finn would have decided that Donn had given up\nhis revenge. But Finn was not fooled. He knew that the attack would\ncome, and that each year of delay meant a greater force against him. He\nused the time to build up a stronger defense.\n\nHe placed a guard on a hill overlooking every harbor of Erin. These men\nwere supposed never to leave their posts without placing some one to\nwatch in their stead. At the important harbors, the watch was strictly\nkept, year after year. But the guards of the small and unimportant ports\ngrew careless and spent much of their time asleep or in the nearby\nvillages.\n\nSo it happened that when the great fleet finally came, there was no one\nto give warning. The harbor of Ventry Strand was the one picked out by\nDonn for his landing. He chose this harbor because it was small and\nunimportant. He was guided by a traitor who had been expelled from the\nranks of the Fenians, a man who knew the placing of the forces and who\nknew that the guards of the small harbors like Ventry Strand had become\nvery careless.\n\nWhen the guard on the hill awoke he was horrified to see the water black\nwith ships, and hundreds of men landing on the shore. He could see what\na tremendous force the High King had gathered. There were the banners of\nthe Kings of France, of Spain, of Norway, of Denmark, and many others he\ndid not recognize.\n\nThe guard was terrified at the results of his neglect of duty. He was\nafraid to face Finn and admit that he had not been faithful to his\ncharge. He did the next best thing. He sent a messenger to his chief\ntelling him of the arrival of the enemy. Then he went down to meet the\nhosts alone, and died fighting bravely as was the duty of a Fenian.\n\nBut this guard was not the only one to show his bravery that day. All\nthrough history we find records of small bodies of devoted men who held\nback great armies while their comrades prepared for the fight. The\nbattle of Ventry Strand was no exception. This time, however, it was not\nmen, but boys who sacrificed themselves to hold back the enemy until the\nFenians could arrive.\n\nIn many of our stories you have read of the requirements of strength\nnecessary to become a Fenian. No doubt you have wondered if there was\nnot some training school for boys who would be eligible, if they could\npass the test. There was such a training. It was called the Boys\u2019 Corps.\nAll boys could join this group when old enough to begin their training.\nThey remained in it until they were able to join the Fenians or had\nfailed to pass the entrance test. Here they began their training about\nthe age of twelve, though some of the great heroes enrolled and became\nleaders at a much younger age. Finn, you remember, defeated the giant\nMidna at the age of ten, but he had proved himself a leader of the Boys\u2019\nCorps long before that.\n\nThese groups had teachers who instructed their pupils in the Twelve\nBooks of Poetry, and gave them training in the use of the weapons of the\nchase and of warfare. The boys did not live at home, but camped with the\nothers of the group and lived on what they could kill, just as did the\nFenians. Their training was much the same as that described in stories\nof the Spartan boys in Greece.\n\nOne of these training groups was in the hills of Ventry when the forces\nof Donn were landing. Their leader, a boy of sixteen, who had proven\nhimself the most expert in his training, saw the situation and thus\naddressed his companions:\n\n\u201cBehold, an enemy has landed upon the shores of Erin, and there is no\none to stay them. It will take Finn and his men all day to reach here.\nIn the meantime, there are two courses open to us. We can seek safety in\nthe hills and let the foreigner pillage our country, or we can go down\nand die fighting in its defense. It is for you to choose. If we hide we\nmay grow up to become Fenians. But can we look Finn in the face and tell\nhim that we proved our worth by hiding?\u201c\n\n[Illustration:\n  The messenger told Finn that the enemy had landed at Ventry Strand\n        From Battle of Ventry Strand]\n\nHe drew a line on the ground and stepped over it.\n\n\u201cI, for one, prefer to show these men what sort of boys grow up to be\nthe men of Erin. Those who will follow me to the strand to die bravely\nfighting for our country, will step across the line.\u201d\n\nWith a shout every boy jumped over the line to the side of their leader.\nThen, with shields in front and weapons ready, the Boys\u2019 Corps marched\ndown to meet the invaders.\n\n\u201cHo! Ho!\u201d laughed one of the soldiers. \u201cHave the men of Erin hidden in\ntheir holes and sent the children to greet us?\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter gain what glory you can before the men of Erin arrive to cut\nshort your boasting,\u201d cried the boy leader, dashing at the man who had\nmocked them.\n\nSoon the whole boy force was engaged in the unequal struggle against an\noverwhelming number of men hardened to battle. But though they were boys\nand knew that they must die in the end, there was no one but showed the\nfighting blood of his fathers. One after another they went down, but all\nthat day they held the forces of the High King on the shore. When the\nFenians arrived that evening the enemy was still on his ships and at the\nwater\u2019s edge. But where were the heroic boys? Not one was left. Only the\npeasants, who had watched the fight from the hillsides, could tell the\nstory of that noble stand.\n\nWhen Finn came up and saw the forces against him, he realized that the\nbattle would be long and hard. His only hope was to use small bodies of\nhis fighters against the foe, and trust to the bravery of his men to\nwear down the forces of the enemy.\n\n\u201cShall we attack in force and drive them into the sea?\u201d asked Gaul.\n\u201cEvery Fenian should be able to account for ten of the enemy.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey will have to do more than that,\u201d declared Finn. \u201cWe must send out\ntwo hundred of our men each day and let them make what headway they can.\nOnly in that way can we reduce their number enough to make possible\ntheir defeat. The Fenians need room to fight and must have strong odds\nagainst them to make them do their best. Who will lead the first two\nhundred?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will lead them,\u201d cried Gaul.\n\n\u201cI, too, will go,\u201d declared Ossian.\n\n\u201cI will be in the first two hundred,\u201d said Oscar.\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said Finn. \u201cMay you spread terror into the hearts of the\nenemy.\u201d\n\nNext morning the two hundred charged into the foe. By nightfall the\nforces of the High King were cut to pieces. But of the Fenians there was\nleft but Gaul, Ossian and Oscar. Gaul was so badly wounded that he had\nto be carried back to the camp.\n\nMore men landed from the ships and rallied around three men, swordsmiths\nof the High King, who had led the forces that day, and who had stood\nagainst the Fenian heroes until night closed the battle.\n\nThe next day Ossian and Oscar led out two hundred fresh men from the\nFenian army. They were met by the three smiths and a great force from\nthe army of the High King. All day the battle continued. Each Fenian did\ngreat deeds of valor and proved worthy of his name. Toward the close of\nthe day but three smiths and Ossian and Oscar were left to carry on the\nbattle. Oscar, the best swordsman of the Fenians, was holding two of the\nopposing champions. The third was pressing hard against his father and\nforcing him backward.\n\nFinn was greatly alarmed for the safety of his son. Of course, under\ntheir rules of warfare, no more men could come into the battle after it\nhad started. Finn did the only thing left for him to do. He sent his\npoet, Fergus, to stand behind Ossian and to sing to him of the great\ndeeds he had done in the past. This encouragement was what Ossian\nneeded. A great strength rose up within him. He forced back his opponent\nand took his head. Oscar, at the same time, conquered the two, who stood\nagainst him.\n\nThe victory that day rested with the Fenians. But it was dearly bought.\nAt the end of his combat Oscar sank to the ground, fainting from his\nmany wounds. His father had to carry him back to the camp of the\nFenians. It was many months before he was strong enough to again take\npart in the fighting.\n\n\n                                  II.\n\nNot all the brave fighters in the battle of Ventry Strand were on the\nFenian side. Other men could face great odds, too. The three smiths, who\nhad fallen that day, had a brother still on the ship of the High King.\nWhen this man saw the result of the fight, he let out a mighty shout of\ngrief and rage. He went straight to the High King.\n\n\u201cTomorrow I am going to meet the two hundred Fenians,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat is\nmore, I am going alone. If any of our men try to interfere with me, I\nshall kill them.\u201d\n\nThe High King knew that this man was the greatest champion on his side.\nHe was willing to have him go out and strike terror into the hearts of\nthe Fenians. He gave orders that he should be the only one to land next\nday.\n\nFor the next day\u2019s battle Finn had no great leader for his men. One\nyoung Fenian, anxious to gain glory for himself, offered to lead the two\nhundred. Finn let him go. All day long the two hundred Fenians faced\nthis one champion. By night the foreigner was alone on the field. A\nshout of victory went up from the ships of the High King. The Fenians\nwere far from joyous to see such valor on the side of the enemy.\n\nThe next day this champion again defeated the two hundred Fenians, and\nfor the four days following, the combats ended the same. Finn was\ngetting desperate. He could not go out and meet the man himself, because\nif he were killed or badly wounded, his men would be leaderless and the\nforces of the High King would gain the victory.\n\nHow he wished for Dermot in this hour of need! The splendid example of\nthis great hero would have done the Fenians more good than a thousand\nsoldiers. Ossian and Oscar, too badly wounded to fight, pled with Finn\nto relent and send for his one-time champion and dearest friend. But\nFinn\u2019s pride would not permit him to do this. The thought that Dermot\nhad yielded to a woman\u2019s plea to be false to his chief, cut him to the\nheart.\n\nAll great men have their moments of weakness. The one dark spot on the\nrecord of Finn is his treatment of Dermot. One point we find in his\nfavor. It is the fact that he did not send for Dermot during the battle.\nIf he could not forgive him because he felt the justice of his friend\u2019s\nposition, he would not say so because he needed his sword.\n\nIn this hour of need another hero arrived on the Fenian side. The son of\nthe King of Ulster heard of this battle and longed to take part in it.\nThough little more than a boy he went to his father and asked his\npermission. His father met this request with an angry reply.\n\n\u201cWhat nonsense!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cYou are only a boy and not fit to go\ninto battle.\u201d\n\nThe king not only forbade his going, but he set over him a guard of his\ntwelve foster-brothers to see that he did not go without permission. But\nthe boy was not to be denied. He talked so earnestly with his brothers\nthat he fired them with a desire to take part in the great battle. In\nthe end all thirteen slipped away to the camp of Finn.\n\nThe boy went before the chief of the Fenians. \u201cI am the son of the King\nof Ulster,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is my wish to meet this champion, who is\nbringing fear into the hearts of the Fenians.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo home, boy,\u201d said Conan. \u201cThis man has slain heroes who could account\nfor a thousand like you.\u201d\n\nThe boy looked at him in indignation. \u201cI do not know the Fenians,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cBut I do know that you must be Conan, who speaks good of no man.\nIf you think a boy should not face this champion, why are you here in\ncamp? If I cannot kill this man, I can at least show the foreigners that\nthe boys of Erin have not the cowardice of a Conan!\u201d\n\nConan had no more to say after that. He hated to hear the truth from the\nlips of a boy. Finn, because he remembered the fire of his own youth,\nlooked with favor upon the brave lad and consented to his meeting the\nchampion. While they talked a mighty shout came from the shore.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked the boy.\n\n\u201cThat is the champion calling for men to meet him,\u201d answered Conan. \u201cHe\nhas just finished the last of your bodyguard.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe shall not have to wait long,\u201d said the boy.\n\nA great shout of laughter from the enemy greeted the approach of the new\nfighter. The champion joined in the jeers.\n\n\u201cLet Finn acknowledge his defeat if he has no more men to send out,\u201d he\ncried. \u201cI do not fight with boys.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you do not fight, it will be your last battle,\u201d declared the son of\nthe king.\n\nHe closed in battle. Before the smith realized that it was a real\ncontest, he had received several small wounds. He began to fight in\nearnest. But he had met his match at last. They fought until their\nshields were torn to shreds, and their swords were broken off at the\nhilts. Then they threw away the weapons and struggled with their bare\nhands. Over the shore they fought, and finally out into the sea, where\nthey sank from sight.\n\nThe men of both sides waited anxiously to see which one would come up.\nBut neither appeared that night. Next morning the two bodies, still\nlocked in a tight embrace, were washed upon the sands. The body of the\nking\u2019s son was on top, his hands still clasping the throat of his\nopponent, proving that he had won the fight.\n\n\n                                  III.\n\nThe great battle went on for a year and a day. Sometimes there were\nsingle combats, sometimes many men were engaged, but neither side could\ngain a complete victory. When the year was up the High King resolved to\nchallenge Finn to single combat. He saw that he was losing more men then\nthe Fenians, and that Finn\u2019s plan of campaign would win for him in the\nend.\n\nIf he could kill Finn, all the advantage would be on his side. Also, the\ndeath of the Fenian chief would make complete his revenge for the loss\nof his daughter. Donn was not showing such wonderful bravery in offering\nto meet the Fenian chief. Finn was an old man, without the great\nstrength of his youth. Donn reasoned that he could fight him day after\nday until Finn was vanquished through weakness. He did not fear for\nhimself. He was protected by enchantment and could not be killed except\nwith one sword. That weapon was locked up in his castle at home, guarded\nby his father.\n\nFinn knew that he could not kill the High King without this sword. Yet\nhe accepted the challenge. He had lost so many of his men that he was\nsick at heart. He welcomed the idea of getting into the fight himself.\nEven if he were killed, he could still set an example of his unflinching\ncourage. Gaul, Ossian and Oscar were now almost recovered. Even were he\nkilled, he was sure Gaul would carry on the fight.\n\nOn the night before the battle between the two leaders, an enchanter\nfrom the side of the High King entered the Fenian camp and went straight\nto Finn.\n\n\u201cI have left the camp of the High King because he has been unjust to\nme,\u201d said the enchanter. \u201cI am here to help you in your fight against\nhim.\u201d\n\nFinn thanked him and asked him what he could do.\n\n\u201cPerhaps you do not know that you can only kill him with one sword,\u201d\nsaid the man.\n\n\u201cI do know it,\u201d answered Finn.\n\n\u201cStand against him tomorrow, and by night you shall have the sword. I\nshall go to Donn\u2019s father and tell him that his son has sent me for his\nsword to use in the fight against you. His father will give it to me\nwithout question.\u201d\n\n\u201cBring me the weapon and I shall reward you,\u201d said Finn.\n\nThe two leaders met the next day in combat. The High King had no fear\nand fought recklessly. Finn knew that he must continue the battle until\nthe next day, so he fought with great care and was content with\ndefending himself from the attacks of Donn. This pleased the High King\nvery much. He thought that Finn had lost his strength. He went to his\nship that night sure that the next day would bring with it the defeat of\nthe Fenian chief.\n\nBut he had a surprise in store for him. The next morning when he came\nout to the combat he found Finn coming toward him. He turned pale when\nhe recognized the weapon in the hands of his opponent. Fear gripped his\nheart and destroyed his sense of honor. He tried to win by surprise.\nBefore the signal for combat was given, he struck a mighty blow at Finn.\n\nBut for the heroism of one of the Fenians he would have succeeded. This\nyoung man rushed in and received the blow intended for his chief.\n\nWhen Finn saw the death of his man as a result of treachery, a surge of\nrage gave him all the strength of his youth. He raised the weapon the\nenchanter had brought, and with one blow finished his combat with Donn.\nThen, rallying his entire force with his old battle cry, he set upon the\nleaderless hosts.\n\nThat day\u2019s battle was the fiercest of all. When night came there was not\na man of the invading force left alive. But there were no Fenians left\nto give battle had there been any more to meet. Everyone of the brave\ndefenders, Finn included, were dead or suffering from severe wounds.\n\nSo ended the battle of Ventry Strand. Erin was saved from the invaders,\nbut at a fearful cost. The story reminds one of the Trojan War, of which\nmost of us have read. In that great contest we read of the same\ndesperate heroism. Both were started because of a woman, and both\ncontinued until all the fighters on one side were completely destroyed.\n\n\n\n\n                          THE DEATH OF DERMOT\n\n\nFor sixteen years after the flight of Grainne and Dermot, the couple\nlived in their home in the forest. Dermot was not unhappy, now that his\nremorse for proving disloyal to Finn had grown less keen. He divided his\ntime between hunting in the forest and the training of his children. He\nnever mentioned his former chief or his comrades.\n\nGrainne was not so easily satisfied. She proved to be the kind of woman\nwho is always wishing for something she cannot have. When she was about\nto be married to Finn, she wanted Dermot. Then, when she had succeeded\nin getting Dermot to marry her, she decided that she had been foolish to\nrun away from Finn. While he was pursuing them, Grainne had been\nperfectly happy. She had not wished to be caught, but it pleased her\nvanity to be running away with one great hero and having another trying\nto capture her.\n\nWhen Finn gave up the chase and she was allowed to have the man she had\nchosen, she was no longer satisfied. She decided that Finn must come and\nvisit them. The reason she gave Dermot for this wish was, that their\ndaughter could never pick a husband if she was never to see any of the\nheroes of the country. What she really desired was to have Finn come and\ntell her that he envied Dermot his good fortune in getting such a fine\nwife, or to have him show, in some way, that he was sorry he could not\nmarry her.\n\nDermot finally yielded to her arguments and sent the invitation to Finn.\nAt first the Fenian leader refused to consider such a visit. The\ninvitation reminded him of what he called the treachery of the man who\nhad been his friend. But Ossian and Oscar reasoned with him and urged\nhim to make the visit as a sign of forgiveness. They told him that it\ndid not look well for a mighty leader to hold a grudge for so long. They\ninsisted that it was just his pride which kept him away, and that he\nreally wanted to see Dermot.\n\nFinn finally consented. He took Oscar and Ossian with him and went to\nthe home in the forest.\n\nTheir reception was a cordial one. Dermot was like a boy in his pleasure\nat meeting his former chief and his old friends. As for Finn, he seemed\nto forget his injured pride in the joy of being once more on good terms\nwith Dermot. For several days it was a happy party. Through the day they\nhunted together; in the evenings they feasted and told stories of the\nhard combats of the past. Finn even went so far as to admit that the\nneed of Dermot\u2019s sword very nearly caused the defeat of the Fenians in\nthe Battle of Ventry Strand. It seemed as if the past was all forgotten,\nand that Dermot would once more become a member of the Fenian band.\n\nBut Grainne never was content. Once more she caused trouble between the\ntwo men. She soon proved that it was for neither her husband nor her\ndaughter that she desired the visit of Finn. When he had come, he had\ngreeted her cordially, and then had seemed to forget all about her. This\nhurt her pride. She began to make herself very agreeable to him and to\nseek him out at every opportunity. She tried to do little things for him\nwhich would bring her to his notice.\n\nNow, Grainne could be very charming when she tried, and she was still a\nvery beautiful woman. Finn began to take an interest in her. Then,\nGrainne, hoping to get some statement of regret from him, called up the\ncircumstances of that flight, sixteen years before.\n\nFinn\u2019s anger, which had died almost to ashes, burst into a flame again.\nHe no longer took pleasure in the company of Dermot. Even when he tried\nto look pleasantly at his host, the fire in his eyes could not be\nhidden. Ossian saw the change and urged that the visit be brought to a\nclose. Finn put him off angrily and refused to leave.\n\nGrainne was pleased with the results of her scheme. It was not that she\ndid not still love her husband. You see, she knew that Dermot could not\nbe wounded by Finn. She thought there was no danger, and it was pleasing\nto her vanity to know that once again two fine men were interested in\nher.\n\nOne night the men were awakened by the continued baying of the hounds.\nThis could only mean that some large animals were prowling around. So,\nearly next morning, they went out upon a hunt. Oscar and Ossian took one\npath and Finn and Dermot the other. The latter had not gone far when\nthey met an excited peasant, who informed them that a terrible wild boar\nwas roaming about, spreading death and destruction in its path.\n\nDermot paused. He knew that hunting the wild boar was forbidden to him.\nThe proper thing for him to do was to go back, and he knew it. Finn\nwatched him anxiously.\n\n\u201cYou had better go back, Dermot,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is hardly a safe\npastime for you.\u201d\n\nDermot flushed with anger. \u201cIt is plain that you desire my death, Finn\nMacCool,\u201d he said, \u201cor you would not say such a thing to me. You know\nfull well that I cannot turn back when you question my bravery.\u201d\n\nFinn said no more. He felt sure that Dermot would continue the hunt in\nspite of the warnings of his foster-father. They had gone but a few\nyards when a great boar burst out of the forest and made toward them.\nDermot hurled his spear. It glanced off the thick skull. He drew his\nsword, but before he could use it, the boar knocked him down and tore\nhim cruelly with his tusks. Even as he fell, Dermot crushed the skull of\nthe beast with the hilt of his sword.\n\nFinn had made no move to assist in the killing of the boar. Now he came\nover and looked at Dermot. The wounded man implored him to do something\nfor him.\n\n\u201cI am sorry to see you this way, Dermot,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I can never\nforget that you proved untrue to me sixteen years ago. There is nothing\nI can do for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d answered Dermot. \u201cYou can restore me to health by giving me\na drink from your two hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no well,\u201d said Finn, making excuses.\n\n\u201cThere is one just a few paces behind you,\u201d said Dermot.\n\nFinn made no move to go. His anger held him back.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you remember how you were bound and suffering in the dungeon of\nthe White Nation? I did not hesitate to go through every trial to rescue\nyou. Will you refuse me now? For the sake of what I have done for you,\ngive me a drink that will heal me.\u201d\n\nFinn was filled with remorse. He went to the well and started back with\nhis cupped hands full of water. But as he walked he saw before him a\npicture of that hall in Tara. Again he felt the disgrace of having his\ntrusted friend prove disloyal to him. The water trickled through his\nfingers, and he came back with nothing.\n\nBy that time Oscar and Ossian had come up and had knelt beside the\nwounded man. Dermot looked up at Finn with a pleading look in his eyes.\n\n\u201cI could not bring it,\u201d said Finn. \u201cIt is too far to carry it. The water\nall runs away.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can bring it if you wish,\u201d insisted Dermot. \u201cI know you are angry\nbecause I took Grainne away that night. But Oscar will tell you that it\nwas much against my will. She put me under bonds, and I had to go, just\nas you had to bring Teasa from the land of Avarta. Your men did not turn\nagainst you because you brought trouble to Erin by that act. For the\nsake of our old friendship, get me the drink before it is too late!\u201d\n\nOnce more a flood of pity and remorse came over Finn. He recognized the\njustice of Dermot\u2019s plea. Again he hurried to the well and filled his\nhands. But when he started back to the dying man he seemed to see\nGrainne in front of him. She seemed to be smiling at him and beckoning\nto him. Once more the water ran out through his fingers, and he came\nback with his hands empty.\n\nWhen he approached this time, Dermot was too weak to speak. Only his\neyes pled for the water. Oscar could not stand it any longer. He sprang\nto his feet and drew his sword.\n\n\u201cThough you are my chief, I will not stand by and see you do this great\nwrong!\u201d he cried. \u201cYou must get the water or one of us will never leave\nthis forest alive!\u201d\n\nOscar\u2019s just anger brought Finn to his senses. He put all thoughts of\npride and the woman from his mind. He hurriedly filled his hands and\nhastened back to Dermot\u2019s side. He was too late. The mighty hero was\ndead.\n\nThey made preparations to take away the body for burial. But their help\nwas not needed. The god, Angus, appeared and with him four shining\nheroes, bearing a golden bier. On this they placed the body of Dermot\nand walked majestically away.\n\n\u201cI cannot give him back his life,\u201d said Angus. \u201cBut I can take his body\nwith me, and I can have his soul to keep me company.\u201d\n\nThen all vanished in a blaze of light. Finn, Oscar and Ossian were left\nalone in the forest.\n\n\n\n\n                          THE BATTLE OF GOWRA\n\n\nA few years after the death of Dermot the old trouble between the High\nKing of Tara and the Fenians arose again. Cormack was dead, but his son\nwas even more bitter against the army. He made up his mind that he would\ndestroy the forces entirely.\n\nThe new ruler realized that he could never raise a sufficient force to\nmeet the Fenians in battle. He determined upon a less dangerous, though\nless honorable, method. He endeavored to promote a quarrel between two\nfactions, so that the groups would destroy themselves. The High King,\nyou see, was a man of wisdom.\n\nThis plan was an easy one to accomplish. You have not forgotten that\nGaul of Morna had held the leadership of the Fenians for the ten years\nbetween the death of Cool and the arrival of Finn. He had been loyal to\nFinn all through the later years, but beneath his loyalty ran a thin\ncurrent of envy. He was the older man of the two. It was easy to tell\nhim that, because of his age, he should be chief. Envy is a poison that\nworks silently, but it works harder when it is thought about. The High\nKing gradually convinced Gaul that it would be to his interest to\nquarrel with Finn and take part of the army with him.\n\nFinn\u2019s treatment of Dermot shows us that he became more revengeful in\nhis later years. He did not take part in so many adventures requiring\nhim to use his strength, so he had more time to think over what people\nhad done to him. He never forgot that it was Gaul who had given his\nfather his mortal wound. As long as Gaul was his faithful follower, he\ndid not hold this fact against him. But when Gaul began to grow bitter\nin his dealings with his chief, Finn made the quarreling easy by\nrecalling this fight. Both men were willing to come to blows.\n\nThe High King went with Gaul through the ranks of the Fenians and, by\npromises and bribes, won over a large number. The fact that the High\nKing was on the side of Gaul made it appear to these men that those who\nwere disloyal to Finn would probably be on the winning side. In the end,\nthe two forces were about equal. Then the High King and Gaul moved to\nattack the forces of Finn.\n\nFinn was sick at heart at the thought that his splendid army was to be\ncut to pieces by the treacherous plot of the High King. He would gladly\nhave given up his command if that act would have saved the men from\nfighting among themselves. His knowledge, however, told him that it was\nthe plan of the High King to get the two groups to so weaken themselves\nthat he could gather a force large enough to defeat those left. Finn\nknew what Gaul did not understand, that he was to be used and later put\nout of the way.\n\nThe forces of Gaul met those of Finn at Gowra, just at evening. In those\ndays no one thought of fighting at night. The two forces built their\ncamps and waited for morning light to give the signal for the combat.\n\nAll through the early hours of the night Finn paced his camp and tried\nto make a plan which would stop the struggle of the next day. If the\nHigh King had not been on the side of Gaul, he felt that the trouble\nwould never have occurred. At midnight he left his own camp and went,\nalone, to the quarters of Gaul and the High King.\n\nThese two men were greatly alarmed to wake and find Finn beside them.\nBoth sprang to their feet and seized their weapons. They thought that\nFinn meant to do away with them by treachery.\n\n\u201cHave no fear,\u201d said Finn. \u201cI have come by myself, and my purpose is to\ntalk, not fight. I have come to see if there is not some way in which we\ncan stop the slaughter of the men of Erin.\u201d\n\nBoth men were silent. Finally Gaul spoke, \u201cThere is one way,\u201d he said.\n\u201cYou may give up the leadership and tell your men to obey me.\u201d\n\nFinn turned to the High King. \u201cIf that will stop the struggle, then I\nwill accept the terms.\u201d\n\nThe crafty High King was not pleased. A peace which would leave the\nFenians as strong as ever was the last thing he wanted. He pretended to\ndoubt Finn\u2019s word.\n\n\u201cIt is but a trick,\u201d he said to Gaul. \u201cFinn would have us believe that\nhe wants peace, so that he may attack us unawares. Tomorrow\u2019s contest\nshall decide all things which are at stake.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I make one other proposition to you,\u201d said Finn, addressing the\nHigh King. \u201cI will meet you in single combat tomorrow morning. If you\nbest me, you will have a clear field to take my men as your followers.\nIf I prove the better fighter, Gaul and I will be left to decide the\nleadership.\u201d\n\nThe High King had been whispering to some of his men near him. These\nwent out into the darkness before he replied to the challenge.\n\n\u201cI refuse your challenge,\u201d he said, with an attempt to cover his fear\nwith haughtiness. \u201cIt would not be fitting that an army leader should\nmeet his king in a single combat.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I can do no more,\u201d declared Finn. \u201cI must go back and leave the\ndecision to the morrow.\u201d\n\nThe High King laughed excitedly. \u201cThat you shall not do,\u201d he said. \u201cOur\nmen have been awakened and are between you and your camp. Tonight they\nwill settle your claims for leadership; tomorrow your men will fight\nwithout you.\u201d\n\nFinn looked at the forces, now awake and surrounding him. It was the\nbasest kind of treachery. He turned to Gaul of Morna.\n\n\u201cGaul, you took the vow to be honorable in your dealings. Are you\nwilling that I shall face your army, when I came in peace as a\nmessenger? Are you a party to this treachery?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not!\u201d cried Gaul. \u201cNever shall it be said that Gaul of Morna knew\nnot how to treat a messenger of the foe. I shall conduct you through our\nforces, and woe to any man who raises a spear against you!\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you, Gaul,\u201d said Finn.\n\nWithout even glancing at the High King, Finn followed Gaul out into the\nnight. His guide escorted him to the edge of his own camp before turning\nto go back. Finn made a last appeal to him.\n\n\u201cIt grieves me, Gaul, to see this battle take place. I know that the\nHigh King but uses you to cause the destruction of the Fenians. I pray\nyou, give up the struggle and come back to us.\u201d\n\nGaul was deeply moved. \u201cI fear you are right,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, right or\nwrong, I must go on. I have driven my game out into the open. I must\ncapture it or lose the respect of my men.\u201d\n\nThen Gaul went back to his camp.\n\n\n                                  II.\n\nWith the first streaks of morning light, the great battle of Gowra\nbegan. The men fought as only Fenians could fight against one another.\nFinn threw himself into the struggle with reckless bravery, but the late\nafternoon found him still unwounded. Many a splendid hero went down,\nGaul of Morna among them. The High King, however, did not allow the\nfight to lag when his leader was killed. He took charge of the forces\nhimself.\n\nFinn tried all day to get his monarch into a combat with him, but the\nHigh King was too shrewd. He kept clear of any of the stronger fighters\nof Finn\u2019s forces. It was Oscar, wounded and tired, who finally cornered\nhim and forced him to fight or show his cowardice.\n\nLike a rat in a trap, the High King put up a desperate battle. He was\nfresh and strong, and so was almost a match for the wounded Oscar. The\nend came when both men sank to the ground at the same time. Before Finn\ncould reach the side of his grandson, both men were dead.\n\nThen Finn\u2019s mighty heart broke. He looked about the field, where small\ngroups of men still struggled desperately. He determined that the\ncontest should stop. He blew a loud blast on his horn. The men stopped\nin surprise. Finn\u2019s voice rang out over the field.\n\n\u201cMen of Erin,\u201d he called. \u201cSad am I that I have lived to see the day\nwhen brother fights against brother, friend against friend. Let the\nfighting cease. Gaul and the High King are dead, and Finn will soon be\nwith you no longer. I care not to live to think over this useless\nconflict. From now on the Fenians will live only in song and story. Go\nback to the chase and the pursuits of peace. I command you never to draw\nsword again unless it be to protect Erin from a foreign foe.\u201d\n\nThen Finn called his servant and bade him bring to him the drinking horn\nfrom his camp. This horn he had carried with him all through his later\nyears. It held the magic water which would bring sleep and forgetfulness\nto any who drank from it. When the horn was brought he drained it to the\nlast drop. Then he bade farewell to his men, took his weapons with him\nand went into a cave on the hillside to await the sleep that was already\nstealing over his limbs.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nA thousand years rolled by. A new race of people took possession of\nErin. Only from the lips of the poets and the bards could one hear of\nthe mighty heroes. Some laugh and say the tales are not true. But the\nlegend is still told among the Irish peasants that Finn still sleeps in\nhis cave on the hill, and that if Ireland ever is invaded again, he will\ncome out and gather his Fenians for battle.\n\n                                THE END.\n\n\n\n\n                          Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\n \u201cguesed\u201d changed to \u201cguessed\u201d on Page 25         but he never guessed\n \u201cagain\u201d changed to \u201cagainst\u201d on Page 26          thumb against the meat\n \u201cfreightened\u201d changed to \u201cfrightened\u201d on Page 26 eyes frightened him\n \u201cposible\u201d changed to \u201cpossible\u201d on Page 31       feat be possible,\n \u201d added on Page 31                               youth,\u201d answered Conn.\n \u201cMcCool\u201d changed to \u201cMacCool\u201d on Page 35         Thus Finn MacCool\n \u201cwarior\u201d changed to \u201cwarrior\u201d on Page 52         only a great warrior.\n \u201ctuggling\u201d changed to \u201ctugging\u201d on Page 61       tugging and straining\n \u201chim\u201d changed to \u201chis\u201d on Page 76                He cleared his way\n corrected placement of quote on Page 76          castle. \u201cYou are at\n \u201c added on Page 83                               the king. \u201cFinding\n \u201d added on Page 94                               lord of that castle.\u201d\n \u201cmade\u201d changed to \u201cmake\u201d on Page 138             make them do their\n\nAdded period to regularize headings on Pages 12, 97, 107, 116, 119, 123,\n130, 140, 144, and 160.\n\nChapter 10 has no Section VIII. Section VII. begins on Page 89, and\nSection IX. begins on Page 97.","title":"Legendary Heroes of Ireland","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":35747}