But in another respect it fell out luckily enough for us, and this was that we might now pursue him with some hope of overtaking him, and of stopping him from plundering the country, owing to the assistance of the Burkes. There was nothing more certain than that Sir Nicholas, as he retreated towards Galway, would drive before him all the cattle and horses of the land, and thus he would, after all, unless prevented, gather an enormous spoil, depriving us, and those who looked to us for protection, of a great part of our wealth. And already he had done us a vast amount of injury and harm.
So soon, therefore, as Richard Burke, who was sorely disappointed that he had not reached Carrickahooley sooner, had come into the castle, and had been received and entertained by my mistress, from whom he heard a narrative of what had recently occurred, Grace O’Malley proposed that he and I should set out with a large force to endeavour to recover from the English the plunder they were taking away. And to this the MacWilliam gladly assented, observing that no proposal could please him better than to take part in getting back her property for her.
“And,” continued he, “as it is impossible for Sir Nicholas to move quickly, hampered as he must be with many herds of cattle and bands of horses, we can catch him up before he has gone very far.”
“You will also have many opportunities,” said Grace O’Malley, “of which I am sure you will not fail to make the most, of coming upon detached bodies of his troops as they struggle through the thick forests and the passes of the mountains, and of cutting them off. You can harass and harry him nearly every step of his retreat, so that when he at length reaches Galway it will be with greatly lessened forces, and with so slender a spoil that he will not care to boast of it.”
“You would not offer him battle?” asked I.
“You must be the judges of that for yourselves,” said she; “but Sir Nicholas is a fine soldier, and as wary as a fox in warfare, and I think you can do him far more deadly hurt by acting as I have said. You will risk but little, and may gain much.”
Then Grace O’Malley and Richard Burke began talking of what prospect there was of a general rising of the Irish against the Queen, and of the help that might be looked for from Philip of Spain, and of other matters, some of which, I suspect, lay even nearer the heart of one of them, at least.
But of this I cannot tell, for when they commenced to speak of affairs of State I went out from the hall in which they were, to get my men in readiness to pursue the English. And welcome to me was it that our expedition, and its hard service, held out the promise of drawing off my thoughts from Eva and de Vilela.
I was eager that we should make a start at once, but the Burkes were weary and footsore with their long, toilsome journey. For that day, then, they rested, Grace O’Malley giving them and all in the castle a great feast, filling them with food and wine, while her harpers stirred their souls with songs of the mighty deeds done by the mighty dead.