[Transcriber's Note: The following synopsis originally appeared at thebeginning of the third installment.]
The scene is laid in Ireland during Cromwell's time, when the wholecountry was in arms for or against the various parties. Brian Buidh, orBrian of the Yellow Hair, himself The O'Neill, comes home from Spain,where he had been brought up to fight for his country. After amysterious warning from the Black Woman, an old hag, he wins forty menfrom O'Donnell More, the Black Master, by a trick, and wins thefriendship of Turlough Wolf and Cathbarr of the Ax. His intention is togather a storm of men and hold an independent place near Galway. Heforms an alliance with Nuala O'Malley, known as the Bird Daughterbecause of her carrier pigeons, for the purpose of recovering hercastle, Bertragh, which O'Donnell had won years before from her parentsby black treachery.
By warlock arts O'Donnell More brings Brian and a handful of men througha snowstorm to Bertragh and makes him prisoner. He proceeds to torturehim fiendishly, ending by nailing him to the castle door by one hand.Just then Colonel James Vere, British officer, arrives, and demandsBrian in order to hang him comfortably in Galway. Red Murrough,O'Donnell's lieutenant, agrees, for the promise of ten English pounds,to pretend that Brian is worse off than he is so that he may take longerto recover. Cathbarr comes in, and offers to take Brian's place ifO'Donnell will release Brian; and when the Black Master makes fun ofhim, he goes berserk and cleans out the hall, escaping with Brian toNuala. Then they besiege and best O'Donnell, who escapes.
[Transcriber's Note: The following synopsis originally appeared at thebeginning of the fourth and final installment.]
The scene is laid in Ireland during Cromwell's time, when the wholecountry was in arms for or against the various parties. Brian Buidh, orBrian of the Yellow Hair, himself The O'Neill, comes home from Spain,where he had been brought up to fight for his country. After amysterious warning from the Black Woman, an old hag, he wins forty menfrom O'Donnell More, the Black Master, by a trick, and wins thefriendship of Turlough Wolf and Cathbarr of the Ax. His intention is togather a storm of men and hold an independent place near Galway. Heforms an alliance with Nuala O'Malley, known as the Bird Daughterbecause of her carrier pigeons, for the purpose of recovering hercastle, Bertragh, which O'Donnell had won years before from her parentsby black treachery.
By warlock arts O'Donnell More brings Brian and a handful of men througha snowstorm to Bertragh and makes him prisoner. He proceeds to torturehim fiendishly, ending by nailing him to the castle door by one hand.Just then Colonel James Vere, British officer, arrives, and demandsBrian in order to hang him comfortably in Galway. Red Murrough,O'Donnell's lieutenant, agrees, for the promise of ten English pounds,to pretend that Brian is worse off than he is so that he may take longerto recover. Cathbarr comes in, and offers to take Brian's place ifO'Donnell will release Brian; and when the Black Master makes fun ofhim, he goes berserk and cleans out the hall, escaping with Brian toNuala. Then they besiege and best O'Donnell, who escapes.
Brian goes after O'Donnell with a couple of hundred men, havingrecovered from his hurts, and all but catches him in a valley, just ashe is working some kind of a divination with a bowl of water. Brian getsback his Spanish sword, but O'Donnell escapes with some of his men, andBrian loses all of his in chasing him to keep him from joining with hispirate friends. Brian and Turlough get back to Bertragh exhausted. Hegoes cruising with Nuala, and they meet a small vessel laden with wineand food for some of O'Donnell's men. Brian goes back with it toBertragh, while Nuala goes on to Gorumna Castle, her own home. But thecaptured wine proves to be poisoned--it is a trick of the BlackMaster's.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
The following typographical errors present in the original magazinepublication have been corrected for this electronic edition.
In Chapter V, a missing quotation mark was added after "I am for BrianBuidh."
In Chapter VI, "Dhar mo lamb" was changed to "Dhar mo lamh".
In Chapter VII, "which were small carracks" was changed to "which weresmall caracks". (While "carrack" is the more common English spelling,the author used "carack" consistently elsewhere in the text.)
In Chapter XI, a missing quotation mark was added after "I would takeyour life for his."
In Chapter XII, a missing period was added after "shifted thither inreadiness".
In Chapter XIII, "coming ing in one of his ships to marry me" waschanged to "coming in one of his ships to marry me", and "Beannactleath!" was changed to "Beannacht leath!".
In Chapter XIV, a missing quotation mark was added after "has joinedwith those friends of his".
In Chapter XVI, "those of the Dark Maser were no better" was changed to"those of the Dark Master were no better".
In Chapter XVIII, a missing quotation mark was added after "They'll havethe gates down in a minute."
In Chapter XIX, "Mhuire as truagh, Muire as truagh" was changed to"Mhuire as truagh, Mhuire as truagh".
In Chapter XXII, a missing comma was added after "curse Turlough".
No other corrections were made to the original text.
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