till they saw a woman coming towards them
with the quickness of a swallow or a weasel or a blast of wind over bare
mountain-tops. And she asked them who was it had done that great
slaughter on them. "Who are you that is asking that?" said they. "I am
the Woman of the Black Mountain, the woman-messenger of Finn, son of
Cumhal," she said; "and it is looking for you Finn sent me." "Indeed we
do not know who it was did this slaughter," they said, "but we will tell
you his appearance. A young man he was, having dark curling hair and
ruddy cheeks. And it is worse again to us," they said, "our three
leaders to be bound this way, and we not able to loose them." "What way
did that young man go from you?" said the woman. "It was late last
night he left us," they said, "and we do not know where is he gone." "I
give you my word," she said, "it was Diarmuid himself that was in it;
and take your hounds now and lay them on his track, and I will send Finn
and the Fianna of Ireland to you."

They left a woman-Druid then attending on the three champions that were
bound, and they brought their three hounds out of the ship and laid them
on Diarmuid's track, and followed them till they came to the opening of
the cave, and they went into the far part of it and found the beds where
Diarmuid and Crania had slept. Then they went on westward till they came
to the Carrthach river, and to the bog of Finnliath, and so on to the
great Slieve Luachra.

But Diarmuid did not know they were after him till he got sight of them
with their banners of soft silk and their three wicked hounds in the
front of the troop and three strong champions holding them in chains.
And when he saw them coming like that he was filled with great hatred of
them.

There was one of them had a well-coloured green cloak on him, and he
came out far beyond the others, and Grania gave the knife back to
Diarmuid. "I think you have not much love for that young man of the
green cloak, Grania," said Diarmuid. "I have not indeed," said Grania;
"and it would be better if I had never given love to any man at all to
this day." Diarmuid put the knife in the sheath then, and went on; and
Muadhan put Grania on his back and carried her on into the mountain.

It was not long till a hound of the three hounds was loosed after
Diarmuid, and Muadhan said to him to follow Grania, and he himself would
check the hound. Then Muadhan turned back, and he took a whelp out of
his belt, and put it on the