noon
This was clearly the best plan , so Brian sent Teague down into the galley and followed him , as the light ship was faster than the caracks . Replacing half of Teague 's men with O'Malleys , he had the ropes cast off , waved his hand at Nuala , and they drove to the eastward and Bertragh Castle . Teague made so much moan over losing his ship that Brian promised it back to him when they had reached the castle ; the stores and wine , however , he accounted good spoils of war . This put the seaman in better mood , and by noon the fast galley had covered the twenty miles to Bertragh , and cast down her anchor in the little bay beyond the castle , that same bay where Brian had come to grief through O'Donnell 's sorcery . The men crowded down to meet him joyfully , and Brian found that Cathbarr had come home safe with his beeves and was hungry for fight . No sign had been heard of the Dark Master along the roads , however , so Brian set Turlough in charge of getting the stores and wine-casks off the galley , and fell to work putting the castle in shape for defense . Since there was no need of loosing a pigeon until word came that the Dark Master was actually on the way , he sent out men to have a beacon built on the hills at the bay 's head as soon as the enemy was sighted .