The Legend of the Corrib King by Tom McCaughren

the girls. Frantically they peered into the gathering darkness and called their names as loudly as they dared. There was no reply. A short time later, the engine of the motor cruiser started up and roared away into the night.

7. NYMPHS DANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT

    When the sound of the poachers’ boat had died away in the distance, Cowlick shouted, ‘Róisín, Rachel, where are you?’
    On hearing the commotion up at the church, the girls had taken cover in the undergrowth. Then they had listened to all the shouting and running about, fearful that the others had been caught.
    â€˜Here we are,’ answered Rachel, as they made their way over.
    â€˜What happened?’ asked Cowlick. ‘I thought you were supposed to put their boat out of action?’
    â€˜We tried to,’ said Róisín, ‘but it doesn’t seem to have worked.’
    â€˜You can say that again,’ panted Tapser. ‘They’ve gone and so is our boat.’
    â€˜Oh no,’ cried Rachel, ‘that means we’re stranded.’
    â€˜We can worry about that later,’ said Jamesie. ‘Let’s see if we can find Uncle Pakie.’
    â€˜Jamesie says he saw him with the poachers in the church,’ Cowlick told them. ‘Come on.’
    As they headed back up the path, Prince joined them. The fire was still burning on the floor of the little church, but everyone had gone, including Pakie.
    Jamesie sat down on a large stone beside the fire. ‘They must have taken him with them,’ he said.
    The others sat down too and gazed into the burning embers.
    â€˜At least we know he’s still alive,’ said Cowlick.
    â€˜But where do we look for him now?’ wondered Róisín. ‘This was the last clue in the poem.’
    â€˜If only we could let the police know,’ said Tapser. ‘But we’re stuck here, and they’ve got clean away.’
    â€˜Don’t worry,’ said Jamesie, putting on more wood that the poachers had left beside the fire. ‘We’ll be snug here. In the morning we’ll try and attract somebody’s attention. Someone’s bound to spot us.’
    It was a long night. Even though they pulled their coats and jackets tightly around them, and kept the fire going as best they could, the cold always seemed to wake them. Or perhaps it was the fear that the poachers might come back. If it was, they worried needlessly, for nothing disturbed the stillness of the night except their own twisting and turning, and eventually the sun rose to clear away the darkness from the Corrib and any fears they might have had.
    During the morning they waited around the lake shore to see if they could get anyone to come to their aid. At one stage they spotted two people in an open boat stopping to fish, but they were too far away. Later, another boat went past with a party of anglers, but when they waved frantically at them, the anglers just waved back.
    â€˜It’s no use,’ said Rachel, ‘we’ll never get off this island.’
    â€˜Of course we will,’ smiled Róisín. ‘It’s not as if we’re on a desert island.’
    â€˜Let’s go back up to the church,’ Tapser suggested. ‘If we keep the fire going somebody might see the smoke and come to investigate.’
    No one could think of a better idea, so they collected what dry wood they could find and took it with them.
    Cowlick sat down with his back against the inside of the church wall. ‘I don’t know about the rest of you,’ he said, ‘but I’m hungry.’
    â€˜Here,’ laughed Tapser, ‘maybe a raw spud’ll keep you happy.’
    They had found half a dozen potatoes and two trout which the poachers had left behind.
    â€˜We’ve no way of frying the trout,’ said Róisín, ‘but we could bake the potatoes in the fire.’
    â€˜I saw Pakie cooking trout in an open fire once,’ said Jamesie.