I am come to praise you and to put courage into you, Cuchulain, as a wife should, that they may not take the championship of the men of Ireland from you. LEAGERIE’S WIFE. You lie, Emer, for it is Cuchulain and Conal who are taking the championship from my husband. CONAL’S WIFE. Cuchulain has taken it. CUCHULAIN. Townland against townland, barony against barony, kingdom against kingdom, province against province, and if there be but two door-posts to a door the one fighting against the other. [_He takes up the Helmet which LEAGERIE had laid down upon the table when he went to break out the bottom of the window._] This Helmet will bring no more wars into Ireland. [_He throws it into the sea._] LEAGERIE’S WIFE. You have done that to rob my husband. CONAL’S WIFE. You could not keep it for yourself, and so you threw it away that nobody else might have it. CONAL. You should not have done that, Cuchulain. LEAGERIE. You have done us a great wrong. EMER. Who is for Cuchulain? CUCHULAIN. Let no one stir. EMER. Who is for Cuchulain, I say? [_She draws her dagger from her belt and sings the same words as before, flourishing it about. While she has been singing, CONAL’S WIFE and LEAGERIE’S WIFE have drawn their daggers and run at her to kill her, but CUCHULAIN has forced them back. CONAL and LEAGERIE have drawn their swords to strike CUCHULAIN._ CONAL’S WIFE. [_While EMER is still singing._] Silence her voice, silence her voice, blow the horns, make a noise! [_The _Scullions_ and _Horseboys_ blow their horns or fight among themselves. There is a deafening noise and a confused fight. Suddenly three black hands holding extinguishers come through the window and extinguish the torches. It is now pitch dark but for a very faint light outside the house which merely shows that there are moving forms, but not who or what they are, and in the darkness one can hear low terrified voices._ FIRST VOICE. Did you see them putting out the torches? ANOTHER VOICE. They came up out of the sea, three black men. ANOTHER VOICE. They have heads of cats upon them. ANOTHER VOICE. They came up mewing out of the sea. ANOTHER VOICE. How dark it is! one of them has put his hand over the moon. [_A light gradually comes into the windows as if shining from the sea. The RED MAN is seen standing in the midst of the house._ RED MAN. I demand the debt that is owing. I demand that some man shall stoop down that I may cut his head off as my head was cut off. If my debt is not paid, no peace shall come to Ireland, and Ireland shall lie weak before her enemies. But if my debt is paid there shall be peace. CUCHULAIN.