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.And him alone, out of all theothers, Finn spared, because he was no more than a boy; and when thefighting was done and the victors had rested, the Fianna marchedsouthwards, taking Mioch with them.Finn gave Mioch a home in his house on the flat-topped Hill ofAlien, with servants and men of his own to wait on him; and he badeall the Fianna treat him with honour, as befitted the son of a king.Butthough Mioch grew up amongst the Fianna, hunted with them whenthey hunted, fought beside them when they fought, shared their lifeand their griefs and their pleasures, yet in his heart he ever hated themas the slayers of his father and his brothers, and he dreamt of revenge.He was always quiet and reserved and spoke little to his companions atany time, but he studied carefully the ways of the Fianna, their methodsof fighting, the habits of each warrior, their favourite hunting-groundsand the places they frequented, against a day when he might find a usefor this knowledge.87CELTIC TALESBut even as Mioch watched the Fianna and bided his time, there wasone amongst the Fianna who watched him: Conan the Bald.Conan theBald was a great boaster and a glutton, lazy and spiteful and evil-tongued; yet when shamed into fighting, he could be fierce enough anda match for most men.Always looking about him for trouble, Conanhad soon noticed Mioch's watchful silence and, in his turn, he spied onMioch when he could.One day when Finn and some of the leaders of the Fianna weretalking together in council, debating on matters which they felt to needconsideration, Conan stood up and said, 'In my opinion, lord, we wasteour time arguing about trifles, and ignore the bigger matters.It seemsto me that at this very moment the Fianna are in danger.You have inyour house, Finn, one who has no cause to love you.One who knowstoo much about the men of the Fianna and their way of life, one whowould not hesitate to use his knowledge to harm us all, had he theopportunity.Lord, you cannot have failed to see how, in the years hehas dwelt among us, young Mioch has held himself aloof, cold andhaughty and, I have no doubt though he hides it well resentful.Tohim, we are the men who killed his father and his brothers and somany of his people.He knows too much about us, and I fear that oneday he will use his knowledge to our hurt.'Finn thought this over for a while, and then he said, 'There may bewisdom in what you say, Conan.Certainly it is true that Mioch has nocause to love us.Yet what would you have me do'''Send him away, lord, to live by himself, where he can no longer watchus and learn our secrets, to use against us when he sees fit.If you willsince you are ever generous give him land on which to build himself ahouse, since he is the son of a king.But send him away from Alien.'And when Finn and the other leaders of the Fianna had discussed thematter further, they agreed with Conan the Bald and decided to do ashe advised.Finn sent for Mioch and said to him, 'In my house you have grownfrom a boy to a warrior, and the time has come when you need nomore instruction in battlecraft, for you have learnt all that it is neces-sary for a prince and a warrior of the Fianna to know.You are the sonof a king; it is fitting that you should have a home and a household ofyour own.Choose therefore, out of my lands, any two holdings thatTHE HOUSE OF THE ROWAN TREESplease you, and they shall be yours and your sons' for ever.And I will,moreover, give you cattle and goods, and help in the building of ahouse-'Mioch heard Finn in silence; then when Finn had ceased, he said,quietly, coolly and unsmilingly, 'Your proposal is fair, lord, andpleases me.I would be well content with the land of Kcnry, near themouth of the River Shannon, and that land of many islands which liesopposite, on the other side of the river, by the mouth of the RiverFergus.''They shall be yours,' said Finn; and lie thought how Mioch hadchosen well, for the lands were rich and fertile.But to Mioch the richness of the lands was unimportant [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]