Nuala O'Malley
CHAPTER XIII.
BRIAN RIDES TO VENGEANCE.
"Then you are intent on this vengeance, master?" asked Turloughthoughtfully.
"Yes," answered Brian. "I here take oath that I will never cut hair norbeard again until I have seen the Dark Master dead."
"You are not like to have a chance at your hair very soon," laughed outLame Art O'Malley. "But that is a good oath, Yellow Brian."
"Then I think this is a better plan," spoke up Turlough Wolf. "Give meten men, Brian, and I will go to Galway. I will soon get traces ofO'Donnell; and if he goes into the north to get men of his own sept"(tribe or family), "as I think most likely, I will send back word, andwe can follow him."
"Do it," said Brian, and Turlough was gone that night.
This discussion took place in the hollow, where the fight was soon overafter the flight of the Dark Master. Out of the six hundred who had leftthe castle, two hundred had been O'Donnell's men. Half of these remainedand took service with Brian at once. Of the four hundred pikemen, threehundred had gone down fighting like the stubborn south-country men theywere, and the rest took service with Nuala O'Malley. They were most ofthem Kerry men, and well disposed toward ships and piracy.
Brian had lost in all fifty men in that battle, while the Dark Masterhad given Cathbarr a goodly thrust through the shoulder, which had letout most of the giant's vanity and promised to give the huge ax sometime to rest and rust. So, then, Brian found himself heading two hundredand fifty men of his own, with Nuala's hundred O'Malleys, when they rodedown again to Bertragh Castle.
This had been left in charge of a hundred men under Red Murrough, whohad not been slain, but only wounded by Cathbarr's fist, that night inthe great hall. Having left a party to bring in the wounded in wagonsfrom the farms, they arrived before the castle shortly after noon.Cathbarr was left in charge of the camp, and Brian rode up to the gateswith Nuala and her two kinsmen, with a flag of truce.
Murrough and his men were put into consternation by the news Brian gavethem. After much stroking of his matted beard, Murrough proposed tosurrender the castle on condition that he hold his post of lieutenant.Brian laughed, for he had other views on the subject.
"You sold your master, and you will have no chance to sell me, Murrough.I will give you the ten pounds I owe you and a good horse. Refuse, and Islay you when we storm the castle."
The end of that matter was that Murrough assented. An hour later heopened the gates, his men taking service with the rest under Brian.Then, having obtained his ten English pounds and a horse, he wavedfarewell to his men and rode away; and what became of him after that isnot set forth in the chronicle, so he comes no more into this tale.
Nuala loaded her fifty men into her carack, and sent them home thatnight to Gorumna in case of need, proposing to follow later with LameArt, Shaun the Little, and her Kerry recruits. The O'Malley cousinsintended going south, since their affair had been so unexpectedlyended, and picking up a Spanish ship or two before returning home.
"And now, what of your plans?" asked Nuala, as she and Brian sattogether that night before the huge fireplace in the hall, where Brianhad been burned and where Cathbarr had fought so well. "Of course, wecan settle rents later on."
"When there are farms to gather rents from," laughed Brian, stretchingout easily. He lifted his bandaged left hand, gazing at it. "First, I amminded to rest here and wait for news from Galway. The bones in thishand of mine are not broken, from what I can make out, and it will soonknit. As soon as may be, I shall ride after the Dark Master; when I havepaid my debts, I will then be in shape to look for a castle for myself."
"Then you are determined to kill O'Donnell?" and she looked at himsidewise.
"He has my Spanish blade," said Brian. "It is good Toledo steel, and Iwant it back again."
"You have three hundred and fifty men here," she observed. "Can you feedthem?"
"You have food in Gorumna--send me some. When I am well again I shallride with most of them, which will lessen the burden. With the spring Iwill take lands between here and Slyne Head, for now I am strong enoughto defend what I take."
"I shall also send you some of my pigeons, Brian. They are born and bredon Gorumna Isle, and if you tie a message to them they will--"
"I know," nodded Brian. "I have seen them used in Spain."
With that she described how she used these pigeons, and Brian saw thatit was not by strength alone that this girl had maintained her position.She kept men in Galway, Kinvarra, and elsewhere, as far south as theShannon and as far north as Erris, with others at Limerick and Tuam andCastlebar. In this wise she got news of what was passing in Connaughtand Munster before most men had it, and more than one foreign ship hadfound her caracks waiting for it through the same means, since she helda privateer commission given her by Blake to legalize her sea-roving.Also, she had pigeons which carried return messages, chiefly to herkinsmen in Erris.
"And what is your goal, Bird Daughter?" Brian turned to her, his blueeyes clinching on her violet ones. "What will the end of all this wildlife of yours be?"
"I do not know," she answered him, and turned away from his eyes tostare down into the fire. "In the end I may be forced into marriage,though I think not, for I have some will of my own in that regard." Shelaughed out suddenly and looked up. "Two years ago Stephen Lynch sent mea fair screed in all the glory of his chevron and three shamrocks andwolf crest, saying that he was coming in one of his ships to marry me."
"And did he ever come?" smiled Brian.
"Yes; but I took his ship from him and sent him home again by road, tiedto a horse," she rippled out merrily. "Poor Stephen! The Bodkins neverlet the Lynches hear the last of it until Stephen fell fighting againstCoote, and there was an end of it and him, too. When are you going totell me your name, Brian?"
At the sudden question Brian was tempted, but forbore.
"When I have slain the Dark Master," he laughed.
"Then you are likely to be bearded worse than Cathbarr," she mocked himgaily. "Unless, indeed, you break that oath you swore this morning."
"Not I," returned Brian shortly. "I am not given to light oaths or lightpacts, Bird Daughter. I think I shall get me a ship and go cruising someday."
"Come with me," she said, rising, "and you may win food and wine withoutbegging from your overlord. Well, now for that chamber Cathbarr fixed upfor me. _Beannacht leath!_"
Somewhat to his surprise, the next morning Brian found that Nuala wasextremely businesslike and even curt. Knowing little of women, he triedto find wherein he had offended; failed utterly, and gave over theattempt on seeing that Nuala preferred the company of Cathbarr.
Then, remembering that kiss she had given the giant aboard ship, heconcluded that the Bird Daughter was drawn by the physical magnificenceof the man, which gave him a little bitterness. So he merely set his jawthe harder and said nothing of the thing that lay in his heart to anyone. For that matter, he was not quite sure himself what the thing was;but he knew that he had never seen a woman such as the Bird Daughter inall his life, and was not apt to find another.
Turlough having departed on his mission, Brian fell back on Cathbarr toact as lieutenant; with Nuala herself, the work of getting the castle inshape proceeded apace. The Bertragh hold was built on a cliff that rosefrom the plain on the one hand, and sloped down to the water on theother; had the Dark Master not fallen into Turlough's trap, he mighthave turned out the pikemen to shift for themselves and have held thecastle with his own men for as long as he wished.
Indeed, Brian found that the removal of danger and the taking of thecastle had somewhat puffed up his men, lessening their fear of him. So,on the second day, he quelled a free fight that rose among them, hangedten of the worst, and after this the others became as lambs before him.
Upon exploring the castle, Brian was delighted to find it well equippedin all things except prisoners. The Dark Master had had little use forcaptives, it seemed, and his dungeons were in sad disrepair. However,there was good store of powd
er, provisions in moderation, a well withinthe castle, and no lack of arms and munitions of war. Brian promptlytook the chamber of O'Donnell for his own use--a large tower-room wellfurnished in English style, and having the luxury of a fireplacebesides.
The construction of the building was simple--a large stone structurewith embattled walls, running down close to the sea behind and risingabove the plain in front. Save for the courtyard, the walls were notseparated from the building proper, and there was one high tower, onwhich the flagstaff had been shattered since O'Donnell had taken theplace, for he was not given to flags and display. Besides a dozen of thelarge bastards, there were five falcons, with plenty of ball.
Therefore, Brian had good reason to be satisfied with his new home. Theonly thing that rankled was that he held it not for himself, but for theBird Daughter; and he was determined that when he had settled scoreswith the Dark Master he would only remain here until he had secured ahold for himself, free of all service.
But settling with O'Donnell Dubh was the first duty he had. Brianrecalled his torture and the agony of Cathbarr every time he entered thehall. The iron rings that had been in the floor he had already torn out,while Nuala had taken for her own the lonely wolfhound, which had beenleft behind by the Dark Master. But Brian, who put all his desire forvengeance in the wish to "get back his Spanish blade," could hardly turnaround without having some phase of his sufferings brought back to him.
The men who had been thrown out along the roads had fetched in word thatthe Dark Master had ridden for Galway, so Brian had great hopes thatTurlough would bring back some definite news. If O'Donnell settled inthe city, he was determined to go in at all risks and seek out his enemyface to face; the O'Malleys were on good terms with the Bodkins, who inold Galway played _Capulet_ to the _Montague_ of the Lynch family, andhe would be able to command some help in that quarter.
* * * * *
On the fifth day after the castle had been taken, a galley came overfrom Gorumna Castle bearing news. Cromwell had failed before Duncannon,and promised to fail again at Waterford, and hope was rising high amongthe royalists, while O'Neill's Ulster army was biding its time in thenorth until a new leader was chosen by the Confederacy to make head withOrmond against the Parliament armies.
Upon this the O'Malley rovers were impatient to revictual at Gorumna andbe off to the south after plunder, so Nuala decided to leave Bertraghthe next morning. That night, after Cathbarr had drunk himself asleepand the O'Malleys had sought their ships, the Bird Daughter unexpectedlybecame very cordial toward Brian once more, and they sat up late beforethe fireplace.
Brian did not understand it, but he was quite willing to accept it, andwhen the talk turned on personal matters he was careful to ask noquestions concerning Nuala's plans for the future. Instead, he told hertales of his life at the Spanish court, which interested her vastly,until in the end she broke forth with a passionate outburst.
"Oh, I wish I were a man!" she cried softly and eagerly, looking intothe red embers. "All my life I have been among men, and yet not of them;I have had to do with guns and ships and powder, and I think I have notdone so ill, yet I have had dreams of other things--things which Ihardly know myself."
Astonished though he was at her sudden unfolding of herself, Brianlooked at her gravely, his blue eyes very soft as he pierced to herthought.
"Yes," he said gently, "you are a woman, Bird Daughter--and if you werea man I think that you might have gain, but others would have greatloss."
"Eh?" She looked straightly at him, unfearing his half-expressedthought. "I do not seek idle compliments, Yellow Brian, from those whoserve me."
Brian flushed a little.
"It is hard to receive compliments gracefully," he said, and at that shealso colored, but laughed, her eyes still on his.
"There, give grace to my rude tongue, Brian! Of course you meant it--butwhy?"
"Because there is no woman like you, Nuala--so able to weld men intounion, so vibrant with inner power, and yet so womanly withal. It is nolittle honor to have known you, to have--"
"I wish you would tell me your name, Yellow Brian!"
There was woman's cunning in the placing of that answer, and it tookBrian all aback. For a moment he was near to blurting out his wholestory; then he took shame for letting a girl's face so run away withhim. None the less, he knew well that it was her heart as well as herface, and her spirit as well as her heart, that had captured him; yet,because he had had no dealings with women since leaving Spain somemonths before, he told himself that if the Bird Daughter had other womennear by to compare herself with, less attraction might be found in her.
But he did not pause long upon that thought, sweeping his blue eyes tohers in a smile.
"If you had been a man, Nuala, you had never had fealty from me."
"So--then it _was_ pity?" and swift anger leaped into her face.
"Was it pity that drove Cathbarr to proffer his life for mine?" parriedBrian, his eyes grave. He felt a great impulse to speak out all that wasin him, but crushed it down. Her eyes met his, and held there for a longmoment. Then she spoke very calmly:
"When will you take that cruise with me, Yellow Brian?"
"When I have won my Spanish blade again," he smiled, and after that theytalked no more of intimate things, yet Brian's heart was glad withinhim.
With the next morning the Bird Daughter said farewell and went aboardLame Art's carack. Sorry was Brian to see her go, for he had come tocount much on her fine backing and inspiring courage, and knew not if hewould ever see her again. As the ships raised anchor, Cathbarr suddenlylet off the bastards with a great roar and raised on the shatteredflag-pole an ensign he had secretly obtained from Shaun the Little. Theship-cannon barked out in brave answer and hoisted ensigns likewise; butas Brian looked up at the flag overhead, his despondent mood was notheartened. The three-masted ship of the O'Malleys flew above him, wherehe had much rather flown the red hand of his own house.
"When I have slain the Dark Master," he thought, watching from thosesame sea-facing battlements where he and Cathbarr had descended, as thetwo caracks leaped off to the south, "and when I have established myselfin some hold, be it never so small, then I shall take back my name againand let the red hand hold what it has gripped. But not until thesethings have been done, for Brian O'Neill will give fealty to none--no,not even to the Bird Daughter herself."
Thus he thought in his proud bitterness, reckoning not on what thefuture was to bring forth. However, he had lost his idea that Nualamight love Cathbarr, and had great gladness of it.
Now there was work to be done, and Brian soon found himself too busy tobother his mind with thoughts of bitterness. Cathbarr had done no littledrinking, so that his wound was turning bad, and in no little alarmBrian banished all liquors from him and tended him carefully. Taking alesson from Red Murrough, he washed out the wound with vinegar, andfound that this had its effect.
Since Brian was irked at having to rely on others for his supplies, herode to all the outlying farms and sent off the families there underescort, with sufficient money to keep them and take them to their homesin the north. Many of them chose to remain, and certain of his men knewof women-folk they wished to bring hither, so that Brian saw he wouldnot lack for farmers and settlers. Enough fodder was obtained to keephis horses for a time; but as this did not satisfy him, he set forthafter four days on a cattle-raid to the northeast, riding past theManturks toward Ashford with ninety men.
He was gone on that raid five days; found to his great joy that hisstrength had returned to him, and also found a small party of Royalisthorse near Lough Corrib. These had been buying up cattle for the Galwaygarrison, and had collected fifty head; but on Brian's approach they didnot stay for dispute, but fled.
So Brian cheerfully sent the fifty head of cattle home with as many men,and with the others swept around through the mountains. With him weretwo of Cathbarr's axmen, and they led him to the hold occupied byMurrough O'Flaherty of the Kine,
where Brian stayed half a day. Heconcluded a friendship with the mountaineers, promising them powder inexchange for cattle, and they promised, in turn, that within three weeksthey would fetch a hundred kine down to Castle Bertragh.
Having thus assured himself of both food and stock for his farms, herode home again, to find great news awaiting him.
First, there had come a galley from Gorumna with wine and stores. Nualasent word that her men in Galway had informed her the Dark Master wasthere, but in no high favor with Lord Burke and the other commanders.Second, one of Turlough Wolf's men had come in with news which hadcaused Cathbarr to have the men in all readiness against Brian's return.
The Dark Master was indeed in Galway town, and had made small head withhis suit for men, having related that Vere and his pikemen were lost.However, he had been promised some help, provided he could gather anyforce of his own and would hold Bertragh for the Royalists. Cromwell hadbeen driven back at Waterford, but Cork had risen for him, and his menhad entered there.
So the Dark Master was going to the north to get him men in Sligo, asTurlough had predicted he would do, and his plan was to raise a force,bring down those Donegal pirates with whom he was in alliance, and seton Bertragh by sea and land, as Brian himself had aimed at doing.Turlough said that he was following, but would leave men at Swinefordand Tobercurry with further news of what happed.
"Good!" cried Brian joyfully. "Cathbarr, have a hundred and fifty mensaddled at dawn--what is this?"
Turlough's messenger handed him a paper. It was a safe-conduct issued bythe Confederacy and Royalist leaders in the name of one Stephen Burke,and where the wily Wolf had gotten it the messenger did not know. But itmight come in useful, since there were few parliament men in Sligo andMayo, and Brian tucked it away with a laugh.
"Then to the north at dawn--and O'Donnell shall not escape me thistime!"