It was not till the dawn broke that they rested on the mountain-side.
There they stayed till the pink stole through the grey, and the sky
gleamed mother-o'-pearl. Then they rose and followed the stream that
trickled to the valley below. And now Nathos was glad.
'Look, Deirdre, yonder stands the castle of the sons of Usna.' And with
that he gave a cry known by the brothers each of the other, and Ailne and
Ardan came forth gladly. But when they stood before Deirdre, so great was
their wonder at her exceeding beauty, that they stood spell-bound and
uttered no word.
Then Nathos spake: 'The fair maiden whom ye behold is none other than
Deirdre, the daughter of Felim the Harper. From this day I hold her as my
wedded wife, and to you she cometh as a sister.'
But when the brothers heard, they were filled with fear, for had not the
King Concobar vowed that this same fair maid should be his Queen? And had
not the Wise Man foretold the sorrow that the daughter of Felim should
bring upon the land?
'I ask none to share the sorrow that may come,' said Nathos. 'To-morrow
Deirdre and I set forth for the bay where our galley is harboured, and if
so be that we gain the shores of Alba, before Concobar overtake us, there,
if he come thither, shall he be met by a host of our own land. Yet, lest
the King should follow me hither, and, finding me not, seek to slay you,
were it not well that ye leave this place?'
Ardan spake: 'Not for fear of that which might come upon us, but for the
love we bear you and our fair sister Deirdre will we never leave thee.
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