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Adventure III.
The Curse of Gold.
Forth then rode Siegfried, upon the beaming Greyfell, out
into the broad mid-world. And the sun shone bright above
him, and the air was soft and pure, and the earth seemed
very lovely, and life a gladsome thing. And his heart was
big within him as he thought of the days to come, of the
deeds of love and daring, of the righting of many wrongs, of
the people's praise, and the glory of a life well lived. And
he wended his way back again toward the south and the fair
lands of the Rhine. He left the barren moorlands behind him,
and the pleasant farms and villages of the fruitful
countryside, and after many days came once more to Regin's
woodland dwelling. For he said to himself, "My old master is
very wise; and he knows of the deeds that were done when yet
the world was young, and my kin were the mightiest of men. I
will go to him, and learn what grievous evil it is that he
has so often vaguely hinted at."
Regin, when he saw the lad and the beaming Greyfell standing
like a vision of light at his door, welcomed them most
gladly, and led Siegfried into the inner room, where they
sat down together amid the gold, and the gem-stones, and the
fine-wrought treasures there.
"Truly," said the master, "the days of my long waiting are
drawing to a close, and at last the deed shall be done."
And the old look of longing came again into his eyes, and
his pinched face seemed darker and more wrinkled than
before, and his thin lips trembled with emotion as he spoke.
"What is that deed of which you speak?" asked Siegfried.
"It is the righting of a grievous wrong," answered Regin,
"and the winning of treasures untold. Lo, many years have I
waited for the coming of this day; and now my heart tells me
that the hero so long hoped for is here, and the wisdom and
the wealth of the world shall be mine."
"But what is the wrong to be righted?" asked Siegfried. "And
what is this treasure that you speak of as your own?"
"Alas!" answered Regin, "the treasure is indeed mine; and
yet wrongfully has it been withheld from me. But listen a
while to a tale of the early days, and thou shalt know what
the treasure is, and what is the wrong to be righted."
He took his harp and swept the strings, and played a soft,
low melody which told of the dim past, and of blighted
hopes, and of a nameless, never-satisfied yearning for that
which might have been. And then he told Siegfried this
story:
Regin's Story.
When the earth was still very young, and men were feeble and
few, and the Dwarfs were many and strong, the Asa-folk were
wont oft-times to leave their halls in heaven-towering
Asgard in order to visit the new-formed mid-world, and to
see what the short-lived sons of men were doing. Sometimes
they came in their own godlike splendor and might; sometimes
they came disguised as feeble men-folk, with all man's
weaknesses and all his passions. Sometimes Odin, as a
beggar, wandered from one country to another, craving
charity; sometimes, as a warrior clad in coat of mail, he
rode forth to battle for the cause of right; or as a
minstrel he sang from door to door, and played sweet music
in the halls of the great; or as a huntsman he dashed
through brakes and fens, and into dark forests, and climbed
steep mountains in search of game; or as a sailor he
embarked upon the sea, and sought new scenes in unknown
lands. And many times did men-folk entertain him unawares.
Once on a time he came to the mid-world in company with
Hoenir and Loki; and the three wandered through many lands
and in many climes, each giving gifts wherever they went.
Odin gave knowledge and strength, and taught men how to read
the mystic runes; Hoenir gave gladness and good cheer, and
lightened many hearts with the glow of his comforting
presence; but Loki had nought to give but cunning deceit and
base thoughts, and he left behind him bitter strife and many
aching breasts. At last, growing tired of the fellowship of
men, the three Asas sought the solitude of the forest, and
as huntsmen wandered long among the hills and over the
wooded heights of Hunaland. Late one afternoon they came to
a mountain-stream at a place where it poured over a ledge of
rocks, and fell in clouds of spray into a rocky gorge below.
As they stood, and with pleased eyes gazed upon the
waterfall, they saw near the bank an otter lazily making
ready to eat a salmon which he had caught. And Loki, ever
bent on doing mischief, hurled a stone at the harmless
beast, and killed it. And he boasted loudly that he had done
a worthy deed. And he took both the otter, and the fish
which it had caught, and carried them with him as trophies
of the day's success.
Just at nightfall the three huntsmen came to a lone
farmhouse in the valley, and asked for food, and for shelter
during the night.
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