The prince laughed, and assured his friend that there was no fear, as he had seen thousands of fair girls both in East and West, but his heart had never yet been touched by one of them.
At this the chief laughed loudly, and assured Bladud that his case had now reached a critical stage: for when young men made statements of that kind, they were always on the point of being conquered.
“But leave me now, Bladud,” he continued, with a yawn so vast that the regions around the uvula were clearly visible; “I’m frightfully sleepy, and you know you have shortened my nap this afternoon.”
The prince rose at once.
“At all events,” he said, “I am to understand, before I go, that Cormac has been seen?”
“O yes! Certainly; no doubt about that!”
“And is well?”
“Quite well.”
Fain to be content with this in the meantime, Bladud hurried to the apartment of his sister.
“Hafrydda!” he exclaimed, “has Gadarn gone out of his mind?”