Dermot went before the king the next morning. You can guess that the
monarch was far from overjoyed at seeing him. He had felt sure that the
troublesome champion would never bother him again.
“Well, have you the hound with the golden chain?” he asked, trying to
hide his disappointment.
“You see them before you,” answered Dermot.
“Hand them over to me,” demanded the king.
That was just what Dermot had no intention of doing. He felt sorry for
the Red Giant, because the man had put up a good fight and had been his
friend after the struggle was over. Moreover, he felt that the king had
no right to the hound.
“That I will not do,” declared Dermot.
The king’s wicked little eyes lit up with pleasure. “Then, by the terms
of the trial, you forfeit your head,” he said.
“You are wrong,” said Dermot. “The words of the trial were, ‘until you
have brought to the courtyard the hound with the golden chain.’ I have
carried out the command of the trial; now I am going to take the hound
back to the Red Giant, who has more right and more need of him than any
of us.”
The king knew he was caught by the terms of his own sentence. He pounded
the arms of his throne in anger, but he did not dare deny the terms he
had pronounced.
“Well,” demanded Dermot, “do I get to see my chief, Finn MacCool?”
“You do not,” answered the king. “I did not say that bringing the hound
was the only trial you would have to accomplish. You shall not see your
chief until you bring me the true story of the Sorrowful Knight.”
Dermot was willing to try another test. He believed that the king was
honest in saying he meant to have two trials before releasing Finn.
“Where can I find this man?” he asked.
“That is for you to find out,” said the king.
Dermot left the palace and went to the long house. Once more he felt
discouraged, but once more the small chief came to his aid.
“I’ll wager you have been sent to get the story of the Sorrowful
Knight,” he said.
“How did you guess it?” asked Dermot.
“Because that is the most dangerous task the king could possibly think
of. The quest will lead you into the land of enchantment. No one has
ever heard the story, and few have ever reached the castle.”
“Nevertheless I must go,” said Dermot. “All I need is some one to show
me the way.”
“I can do that easily,” answered the little fellow.
Dermot looked at him in admiration. “I shall never cease to be thankful
that I spared your life,” he said. “We shall start immediately, and on
the way we shall leave with the Red Giant his hound and golden chain.”