ll son of Necht came forth. Cuchulain took the lath-trick in hand for
him and threw it from him the length of his cast, so that it lighted on the
flat of his shield and on the front of his forehead and carried away the
bulk of an apple of his brain out through the back of his head, so that it
made a sieve-hole thereof outside of his head, till the light of the sky
might be seen through his head. [1]He went to him then[1] and struck off
the head from the trunk. [2]Thereafter he bore away his spoils and his
head with him.[2]

[1-1] LU. and YBL. 665.

[2-2] LU. and YBL. 655.

"Then came the second son out on the green, [3]his name[3] Tuachall ('the
Cunning') son of Necht. "Aha, I see thou wouldst boast of this deed," quoth
Tuachall. "In the first place I deem it no cause to boast for slaying one
champion," said Cuchulain; "thou shalt not boast of it this time, for thou
shalt fall by my hand." "Off with thee for thine arms, then, for 'tis not
as a warrior thou art come." The man rushed after his arms. "Thou shouldst
have a care for us against yon man, lad," said Ibar. "How so?" the lad
asked. "Tuachall son of Necht is the man thou beholdest. [4]And he is
nowise miss-named, for he falls not by arms at all.[4] Unless thou worstest
him with the first blow or with the first shot or with the first touch,
[LL.fo.67a.] thou wilt not worst him [W.1283.] ever, because of his
craftiness and the skill wherewith he plays round the points of the
weapons." "That should not be said before me, O Ibar," cried the lad. [1]"I
swear by the god by whom my people swear, he shall never again ply
his skill on the men of Ulster.[1] I will put my hand on Conchobar's
well-tempered lance, on the Craisech Neme ('the Venomous Lance'). [2]It
will be an outlaw's hand to him.[2] It will light on the shield over his
belly, and it will crush through his ribs on the farther side after
piercing his heart in his breast. That would be the smiting cast of an
enemy and not the friendliness of a fellow countryman![a] From me he shall
not get sick-nursing or care till the brink of doom."

[3-3] Stowe.

[4-4] LU. and YBL. 662-663.

[1-1] LU. and YBL. 651-652.

[2-2] LU. and YBL. 653; probably a proverbial expression.

[a] The force of Cuchulain's boast lay in the fact that, according to
the Brehon Laws, if the aggressor were not a native or of the same
class as the injured party, he was exempt from the law of compensation.