had
gone a short distance Uct Dealv drew a hazel rod from beneath her cloak
and struck it on the queen's shoulder, and on the instant Tuiren's
figure trembled and quivered, and it began to whirl inwards and
downwards, and she changed into the appearance of a hound.

It was sad to see the beautiful, slender dog standing shivering and
astonished, and sad to see the lovely eyes that looked out pitifully
in terror and amazement. But Uct Dealv did not feel sad. She clasped
a chain about the hound's neck, and they set off westward towards the
house of Fergus Fionnliath, who was reputed to be the unfriendliest man
in the world to a dog. It was because of his reputation that Uct Dealv
was bringing the hound to him. She did not want a good home for this
dog: she wanted the worst home that could be found in the world, and she
thought that Fergus would revenge for her the rage and jealousy which
she felt towards Tuiren.

CHAPTER III

As they paced along Uct Dealv railed bitterly against the hound, and
shook and jerked her chain. Many a sharp cry the hound gave in that
journey, many a mild lament.

"Ah, supplanter! Ah, taker of another girl's sweetheart!" said Uct Dealv
fiercely. "How would your lover take it if he could see you now? How
would he look if he saw your pointy ears, your long thin snout, your
shivering, skinny legs, and your long grey tail. He would not love you
now, bad girl!"

"Have you heard of Fergus Fionnliath," she said again, "the man who does
not like dogs?"

Tuiren had indeed heard of him.

"It is to Fergus I shall bring you," cried Uct Dealv. "He will throw
stones at you. You have never had a stone thrown at you. Ah, bad girl!
You do not know how a stone sounds as it nips the ear with a whirling
buzz, nor how jagged and heavy it feels as it thumps against a skinny
leg. Robber! Mortal! Bad girl! You have never been whipped, but you will
be whipped now. You shall hear the song of a lash as it curls forward
and bites inward and drags backward. You shall dig up old bones
stealthily at night, and chew them against famine. You shall whine and
squeal at the moon, and shiver in the cold, and you will never take
another girl's sweetheart again."

And it was in those terms and in that tone that she spoke to Tuiren
as they journeyed forward, so that the hound trembled and shrank, and
whined pitifully and in despair.

They came to Fergus Fionnliath's stronghold, and Uct Dealv demanded
admittance.

"Lea