Page:Shiana - Peadar Ua Laoghaire.djvu/147

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SHIANA
133

man on whom the lot fell, if it fell on the man you liked. Take me now, or say that you don't like me.' The end of the argument was that the match was made."

"Did they buy many horses for the King?" said Shiana.

"The night they came," said Dermot, "they gave me, to put in a safe place to keep, a great iron box, brim-full of yellow gold. It was as much as I could lift with both hands. This morning they filled their pockets out of it as they were going out. When they had bought some horses and paid for them, and had sent them and their grooms off on the Dublin road, they would come back and take out some more of the gold, and buy more. At last the box was empty. When they were paying for the last lot they were three hundred pounds short. I hadn't it handy, but Sive had, and she lent it to them until they should all meet again in Dublin."

"Michael," said Shiana, "call the bailiff to me. He is somewhere in the fair."

"There he is above," said Michael, "talking to John Bolg O'Daly. I will have him down to you directly."

The bailiff came.

"How many men have you?" said Shiana.

"Only twenty-one," said the bailiff.

"Draw them up at once round Grey Dermot's house," said Shiana. "There are four thieves there, and they have robbed the whole fair."

The bailiff whistled and rushed off. Dermot almost fell.

"It will be better for you not to go near the house yet awhile," said Shiana. "Those fellows are not