both day and night almost. He had a horse and cart, and there was enough of a load for the horse. There was a basket in the cart, a fine big basket made of white peeled rods, and it was full to the top of bottles of wine. There were, I think, a hundred dozen bottles of wine in it. If it was not more than that, it was not less. And there was plenty of straw packed round the bottles lest they should be broken. Not one of the bottles got broken, and the messenger did not open a single one of them. He didn't, really. He didn't need to. He had full and plenty of food and drink without them. Beside the basket and the bottles there was a large barrel of wine in the cart. There were not less than six score gallons of wine in that barrel. I promise you there was enough of a load for the horse.
The messenger had a gold ring for Sive, a ring which the King himself gave him to take to her, her wedding ring. There was a precious stone in that ring, as big AS a hare's eye, you would think, and that stone would make light for you in the dark, as phosphorus would. When Sive saw that ring and the stone in it, she was almost out of her mind with joy and delight and pride.
"Oh! Dad," said she, "look at that!"
"I see it, my dear," said Dermot. "If I were you," said he, "I would not show that ring to everybody. There are people in the world, Sive, my daughter, who would not value a human life at a pin's worth compared with getting hold of a thing of that sort. I would put it under lock and key if I were in your place."
"I think I will take your advice, Dad," said she. "I have enough of other rings." And she took his advice. She put it back again into the little box in
