“They have failed to settle it,” said the king.
“Did you try the shopman?” said she. “They say he has good learning.”
“We did not try,” said he.
“Try him to-morrow,” said she.
He went on the morning of the morrow. They sat down to the settling again. They sent word for the shopman. He came. He began to look into the books. He made it up in a moment between the king and the man from London. The king was satisfied then. He went home. His daughter asked him how he got on. The king said he got on very well, that he never saw a better scholar. The London man came to the young man the next day, to find out how much he would take for a year. The young man said he could not leave his shop. The London man said he would give him more than he would make by his shop in a year. He made advice to go with him. He went home. He went to find out if she would give him leave. She said she would give. He put his shop to auction. He sold it out. He made ready to go with the man from London. He went with him then. He was sending letters to her. She was reading them. When the year was up, he was making ready to go home. The London man said to him to stay another year. He made advice to stay. He remained another year. When the year was up he made ready to go. He filled a ship full of every kind of goods. He bade the captain go to Dublin in the name of Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht. When the captain came to Dublin there was no one at all of that name to be found. He did not know what to do. He had nothing for it but to return home. He was angry. The king was in the city. He went to tell at home that there was a ship was come from London with a cargo of goods, in the name of Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht, and that there was no one at all in the place of that name.
“Well,” said the king’s daughter, “the cargo will go to loss. Prepare a store of your own, and empty the cargo into it. Perhaps the owner will come to look for it.”
The king got men, and they unloaded the cargo into the store. The captain was rejoiced when he got the vessel unloaded. When two years were up with Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht he was coming home. He was walking round by the foot of the sea. A collegian met him, going the same road. He asked Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht where he was going. Kayleh answered he did not know well where he was going; that he made a herring-net, and the first night he put it out he had not seen it since; that he was walking round by the foot of the sea to look if he could find it rolled on to a stone.
“Where are you going yourself?”
“I am going to Dublin, to be married to the daughter of the king.”
“Well, I will be with you a bit of the way.”