A piper walked first, playing the Gathering of
the Swords: then came Diighall Donn on a
camel, and Mclan on a horse, and the herds-
men on asses, and then there were the collies
barking for joy.
Before he had gone, Diighall took Bride out
of the hearing of the others. There was only
a little stagnant water, he said ; and as for the
ale, there was no more than a flagon left of
what was good. This flagon and the one jar
205



St Bride of the Isles

of pure water he left with her. On no ac-
count was she to give a drop to any wayfarer,
no matter how urgent he might be; for he,
Diighall, could not say when he would get
back, and he did not want to find a dead
daughter to greet him on his return, let alone
there being no maid of the inn to attend to
customers. Over and above that, he made
her take an oath that she would give no one,
no, not even a stranger, accommodation at the
inn, during his absence.
Afternoon and night came, and dawn and
night again, and yet again. It was on the af-
ternoon of the third day, when even the
crickets were dying of thirst, that Bride heard
a clanging at the door of the inn.
