O’Donell stood at the mouth of the cave watching it till it vanished, and then, calling Delancy, he related the circumstance to him.
Some years after this, Alexander went out one morning in search of the fruit on which they subsisted. Noon came, and he had not returned; evening, and still no tidings of him. O’Donell began to be alarmed and set out in search of him, but could nowhere find him. One whole day he spent in wandering about the rocks and mountains, and in the evening he came back to his cave weary and faint with hunger and thirst. Days, weeks, months, passed away, and no Delancy appeared. O’Donell might now be said to be truly miserable. He would sit on a rock for hours together and cry out: ‘Alexander! Alexander!’ but receive no answer but the distant echoing of his voice among the rocks. Sometimes he fancied it was another person answering him, and he would listen earnestly till it died away. Then, sinking into utter despair again, he would sit till the dews of night began to fall, when he would retire to his cave to pass the night in anguish, broken slumbers, or in thinking of his beloved comrade, whom he could never see more. In one of these dreadful intervals he took up a small parcel. Opening it, he saw lying before him two locks of soft, curly hair, shining like burnished gold. He gazed on them for a little time, and thought of the words of those who gave them to him:
‘Take this then, that you may remember us when you dwell with only the wild beasts of the desert, or the great eagle of the mountain.’
He burst into a flood of tears. He wrung his hands in sorrow, and in the anguish of the moment he wished that he could once more see them and the mighty warrior King, their father, if it cost him his life.
Just at that instant a loud clap of thunder shook the roof of the cave. A sound like the rushing of wind was heard, and a mighty Genius stood before him.
‘I know thy wish,’ cried he with a loud and terrible voice, ‘and I will grant it. In two months’ time thou returnest to the castle, whence thou camest hither, and surrenderest thyself into my power!’
O’Donell promised that he would; and instantly he found himself at the door of the old castle, and in the land of his birth.
He pursued his journey for three days, and on the third day he arrived at the mountain which overlooked the city. It was a beautiful evening in the month of September, and the full moon was shedding her tranquil light on all the face of nature. The city was lying in its splendour and magnificence surrounded by the broad stream of the Guadima. The palace was majestically towering in the midst of it, and all its pillars and battlements seemed in the calm light of the moon as if they were transformed into silver by the touch of a fairy’s wand.
O’Donell stayed not long to contemplate this beautiful scene, but, descending the mountain, he soon crossed the fertile plain which led to the city, and, entering the gates, he quickly arrived at the palace. Without speaking to any one, he entered the inner court of the palace by a secret way with which he was acquainted, and then going up a flight of steps and crossing a long gallery he arrived at the King’s private apartments. The door was half open. He looked in and beheld two very handsome young men sitting together and reading. He instantly recognised them, and was going to step forward, when the door opened and the Great Duke entered. O’Donell could contain himself no longer, and, rushing in, he threw himself at the feet of His Grace.
‘O’Donell! is this you?’ exclaimed the Duke.