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182 him astray, and what he did then was to face straight for the city. He knew he would reach the city before her, and he did. He was known in the city. The King's people knew him well. He sent out police at once along the roads from the south and he gave them Sive's description. It was not long until they saw her coming, bent forward and running, with the hood of her cloak on her head. They made themselves known to her, but it was no use for them until they gave her 'the sure sign.' They told her it was Cormac the bailiff that had sent them to meet her. and 'by the same token' that Deaf Poll was the one person who saw her leaving home. That satisfied her.

"When Cormac asked her what had brought her, she told him she wanted to go to speak to the King and that she must get justice from him.

"'What has the King to do for you?' said Cormac.

"'He has,' said she, 'to catch the thief who stole my money from me, and to take the money from him and give it back to me. What good is it for us to have a King, with his armed men round him, unless he is able to protect us from thieves?' said she. 'It is in the King's name my property was taken from me,' said she, 'and it shall not go unknown to him. I have only one life,' said she, 'but if I had twenty-one lives I would stake them all against that fellow sooner than I would let the scoundrelly act he did go scot free with him. The ground will swallow him or I'll come up with him, and when I do I promise you that I'll make him sore and sorry that he did not leave me alone. It was in the name of the King he took my