could see that, and on looking around they could also see there was an assortment of bowls on the table and an untidy collection of withered plants and flowers, and various greens which they couldnât identify but which they assumed to be herbs.
âWhy is it so important to ye?â she asked them. âThe foxglove.â
âBecause we think itâll help us find our Uncle Pakie,â Rachel replied.
Jamesie told her how Pakie had disappeared, and about the poem, and how they had figured out some of it.
â Fairies and witches, foxes in ditches ?â Biddy giggled. âWell, I donât know much about poems, but I do know something about flowers. And ye could be right about the foxglove. It is poisonous. Thatâs why itâs sometimes called dead manâs bells.â
â Deadly the fingers that point to lifeâs riches ,â said Tapser.
âBut it can also give life,â she went on. âIt has a substance called digitalis that can be used to treat heart trouble.â
âHealth,â said RóisÃn. âThatâs one of lifeâs riches.â
âAnd if Tapserâs right and it has another meaning,â said Cowlick. âIt could also mean the poachers. You know, that theyâre after lifeâs riches, the salmon, and that theyâre deadly, meaning theyâll stop at nothing to get them.â
âThat settles it then,â said Rachel. âPakie must mean the foxglove.â
âAnd maybe more,â said Biddy. She got up and went over to the dresser where she had her cures. âHe could also mean deadly nightshade. Thatâs poisonous too. And that line about tall spires of gold â¦â
â Beneath tall spires of gold the Story is told ,â Jamesie reminded her.
âThat could be the great mullein. Itâs a very tall plant with lovely yellow flowers all the way up the stem.â
Suddenly they were thinking that maybe Biddy wasnât so touched after all, and they crowded around Jamesie to have another read of the poem â¦
âFaith anâ your Uncle Pakieâs a very smart man,â Biddy continued, running her finger across the bottles on the dresser. âBecause I think he means something else as well.â
They looked up and waited to hear more.
âYe see,â she said, coming back with a small blue bottle in her hand, âheâs talking about the lus mór .â
âThe lus mór ?â said Tapser. âWhatâs that?â
âIt means the great herb. The great mullein is the lus mór . Deadly nightshade is the lus mór na coille , the great herb of the wood. And the foxglove is the lus mór baineann , or lus na mban sÃdhe â the herb of the fairy women.â
They looked at each other, mesmerised by the extent of Biddyâs knowledge of plants and their Irish names.
âThatâs the real clue,â she went on. âTheyâre all known in Irish as the lus mór .â Then, when she saw that they didnât understand, she explained, âWell, for one thing these were all very special herbs in days gone by. Ye see, the old stories say that when people believed a child had been stolen by the fairies and a changeling child left in its place, it was the juice of the lus mór that was used to bring it back.â
âWhich one?â asked Jamesie. âThe foxglove?â
âIt doesnât matter which one,â said Biddy sternly. âAll ye need to remember is that theyâre all deadly poisonous, except the great mullein.â
âSo weâre right,â said RóisÃn. âPakie is trying to say where heâs being held. And heâs hoping that whoever finds the poem will try and bring him back.â
âMaybe he means some place where all these plants grow together,â suggested Rachel.
âWe thought maybe an island,â said Tapser, âwith a church.â
âWhere nymphs