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"I am sorry I have none," she said mockingly. "So you must wait till we come to port again. Just at present we are off Slyne Head and bearing northward." "What!" Brian stared at her. "Are you in jest?" It appeared that she was not, for she was sailing north to meet those ships of her kinsmen, and to hasten them back with her.
"I am afraid that we might as well give over this attempt, Brian. Your men will be in no shape to fight. What think you?" "Right," nodded Brian slowly, for he saw that those men of his were worse than useless with their sickness. So they turned about and drove before the wind, but before ever they had got past Slyne Head the men aloft descried a sail to the south that seemed like a large galley.
Once having reached their decision, they hastened it somewhat and sent men and muskets aboard the two ships at noon. Nuala wished to sail first to Gorumna Castle and make all safe there, then reach back for Slyne Head. She proposed that Brian take one carack and she the other, but at this Brian laughed. "No, lady I am no seaman, and I am your guest on this cruise, so I go with you."
Nuala would take no chance of missing those Millhaven men, so instead of going north among the islands she turned her ships and beat off Slyne all that day, seeing no sail save fishing-craft. Those were pleasant hours for Brian, for the sea was fair and he had naught to do but sit with the Bird Daughter.
This she was glad of, and she was glad because Brian had found her work well planned; nor did either of them suspect what grief that loan of a hundred men was to bring upon Brian. They paused only to sup at Gorumna, then set forth again, and by dawn were off Slyne Head with a light breeze behind them.
"You have food in Gorumna send me some. When I am well again I shall ride with most of them, which will lessen the burden. With the spring I will take lands between here and Slyne Head, for now I am strong enough to defend what I take." "I shall also send you some of my pigeons, Brian. They are born and bred on Gorumna Isle, and if you tie a message to them they will " "I know," nodded Brian.
She took an hour to ponder it, master, then set me ashore with this message. "'Tell Yellow Brian, she ordered, 'that I claim tribute from Golam Head to Slyne. I will make no pact with him until he pay me tribute; and if I find him on my land I will set him in chains above my water-gate." Brian felt no little dismay at this, for he had counted strongly on alliance with this Bird Daughter.
Then Brian saw that she had pierced his mind, for which he was both sorry and glad. He knew well there were other castles to be had for the taking, and there was nothing to prevent his riding on past Slyne Head and winning them except for his meeting with this girl-woman. Therefore he lied, and if she knew it, she gave no sign.
"To your tower, for the night. After that, in search of more men." "Toward Galway or Slyne Head?" "Wherever there are men." After that they rode on in silence, while the men behind fraternized freely. All were of the same stamp, and indeed the two-score already were as willing to serve Brian as O'Donnell, since they had witnessed that scene in the castle hall.
"We were then, maybe, a hunder and fifty mile westsou'west o' Slyne Head, by dead reckonin'. Next day we made a hunder an' thirty ye'll note we were not racin-boats an' the day after a hunder an' sixty-one, an' that made us, we'll say, Eighteen an' a bittock west, an' maybe Fifty-one an' a bittock north, crossin' all the North Atlantic liner lanes on the long slant, always in sight o' the Grotkau, creepin' up by night and fallin' awa' by day.
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