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 At last he told his men to cut down the masts of the ship and make ladders from them and the ropes of the sails, and with the aid of the ladders they climbed the precipitous cliff. When the Fians came to the edge of the wood they knew that Diarmuid had been there, for they saw the bed of green leaves he had made for himself, but beyond that they found no trace of him.

Presently, as Fionn was looking over the plain, considering what next he should do, he heard the muffled sound of a horse's hoofs beating on the grass, and soon a horseman came into sight; when he drew near to Fionn they welcomed each other, and the man invited Fionn and his warriors to his dun, offering them hospitality for as long as they would stay.

That evening, when supper was over, Fionn said to his host:

"Tell me now what country this is, and who is its king?"

"This is the country called Sorcha, and I am its king. But, alas! a foreign ruler has cast a covetous eye upon my little kingdom,