s folly," said Forgoll; "pay
you me what is mine." A man came in from the ramparts;--"What
news with you?" asks Mongan.--"There is a warrior like the men of
old time approaching from the south, and a headless spear-shaft
in his hand."--"I told you he would be coming," said Mongan.
Before the words were out from between his teeth, the warrior had
leaped the three ramparts into the middle of the dun, and in a
moment was there between Mongan and the file in the hall.--"What
is it is troubling you?" said he.

--"I and the file yonder have made a wager about the death of
Fothad Airgtech," said Mongan. "The file said he died at Dubtar
in Leinster; I said it was false."

--"Then the file has lied," said the warrior.

--"Thou wilt repent of that," cried Forgoll.

--"That is not a good speech," said the warrior. "I will prove
what I say." Then he turned to Mongan. "We were with thee, Finn
MacCool," said he,--

--"Hush!" said Mongan; _"it is wrong for thee to reveal a
secret."_

--"Well then," said the warrior, "we were with Finn coming from
Alba. We met Fothad Airgtech near here, on the banks of Larne
Water. We fought a battle with him. I cast my spear at him, so
that it went through his body, and the iron head quitted the
shaft, and went into earth beyond, and remained there. This is
the shaft of that spear," said he, holding up the headless shaft
he had with him. "The bare rock from which I hurled it will be
found, and the iron head is in the earth a little to the east of
it; and the grave of Fothad Airgtech a little to the east of
that again. A stone chest is round his body; in the chest are
his two bracelets of silver, and his two arm-rings, and his
collar of silver. Over the grave is a stone pillar, and on the
end of the pillar that is in the earth is Ogham writing, and it
says, 'Here is Fothad Airgtech. He was fighting with Finn when
Cailte slew him.'"

Cailte had been one of the most renowned of Finn's companions;
he had come now from the Great Plain to save his old master. You
will note that remark of the latter's when Cailte let the fact
escape him that he, Mongan, had been Finn: "Hush! it is wrong
for the to reveal a secret." That was the feeling of the
Christian redactors. Reincarnation was not a thing for baptized
lips to speak about.

But we are anticipating things: the coming of Patrick did not
bring about the great literary revival which sent all these
stories down to us. Patrick Chri