t laid back its ears, and its neck arched like a rainbow over
his head, and the vast mouth gaped to devour him. Then Fergus rose
quickly to the surface and made for the land, and the beast after him,
driving before it a huge wave of foam. Barely did he escape with his
life; but with the horror of the sight his features were distorted and
his mouth was twisted around to the side of his head, so that he was
called Fergus Wry-mouth from that day forth. And the gillie that was
with him told the tale of the adventure.

Now there was a law in Ireland that no man might be king who was
disfigured by any bodily blemish. His people, therefore, loving
Fergus, kept from him all knowledge of his condition, and the Queen
let all mirrors that were in the palace be put away. But one day it
chanced that a bondmaid was negligent in preparing the bath, and
Fergus being impatient, gave her a stroke with a switch which he had
in his hand. The maid in anger turned upon him, and cried, "It would
better become thee to avenge thyself on the riverhorse that hath
twisted thy mouth, than to do brave deeds on women."

Fergus then bade a mirror be fetched, and when he saw his face in it,
he said, "The woman spake truth; the riverhorse of Loch Rury has done
this thing."

[Illustration: "Fergus goes down into the lake"]

The next day Fergus put on the shoes of Iubdan and went forth to Loch
Rury, and with him went the lords of Ulster. And when he reached the
margin of the lake he drew his sword and went down into it, and soon
the waters covered him.

After a while those that watched upon the bank saw a bubbling and a
mighty commotion in the waters, now here, now there, and waves of
bloody froth broke at their feet. At last, as they strained their eyes
upon the tossing water, they saw Fergus rise to his middle from it,
pale and bloody. In his right hand he waved aloft his sword, his left
was twisted in the coarse hair of the monster's head, and they saw
that his countenance was fair and kingly as of old. "Ulstermen, I have
conquered," he cried; and as he did so he sank down again, dead with
his dead foe, into their red grave in Loch Rury.

And the Ulster lords went back to Emania, sorrowful yet proud, for
they knew that a seed of honour had been sown that day in their land
from which should spring a breed of high-hearted fighting men for many
a generation to come.

CHAPTER V

The Carving of mac Datho's Boar

Once upon a time there dw