Adventure XV
In Nibelungen Land Again.
When the folk of Isenland learned that their queen had been
outwitted and won by a strange chief from a far-off and
unknown land, great was their sorrow and dismay; for they
loved the fair maiden-queen, and they feared to exchange her
mild reign for that of an untried foreigner. Nor was the
queen herself at all pleased with the issue of the late
contest. She felt no wish to leave her loved people, and her
pleasant home, and the fair island which was her kingdom, to
take up her abode in a strange land, as the queen of one for
whom she could feel no respect. And every one wondered how
it was that a man like Gunther, so commonplace, and so
feeble in his every look and act, could have done such
deeds, and won the wary warrior-maiden.
"If it had only been Siegfried!" whispered the maidens among
themselves.
"If it had only been Siegfried!" murmured the knights and
the fighting-men.
"If it had only been Siegfried!" thought the queen, away
down in the most secret corner of her heart. And she shut
herself up in her room, and gave wild vent to her feelings
of grief and disappointment.
Then heralds mounted the swiftest horses, and hurried to
every village and farm, and to every high-towered castle, in
the land. And they carried word to all of Brunhild's kinsmen
and liegemen, bidding them to come without delay to
Isenstein. And every man arose as with one accord, and
hastened to obey the call of their queen. And the whole land
was filled with the notes of busy preparation for war. And
day by day to the castle the warriors came and went, and the
sound of echoing horse-hoofs, and the rattling of ready
swords, and the ringing of the war-shields, were heard on
every hand.
"What means this treason?" cried Gunther in dismay. "The coy
warrior-maiden would fain break her plighted word; and we,
here in our weakness, shall perish from her wrath."
And even old Hagen, who had never felt a fear when meeting a
host in open battle, was troubled at the thought of the
mischief which was brewing.
"'Tis true, too true," he said, and the dark frown deepened
on his face, "that we have done a foolish thing. For we four
men have come to this cheerless land upon a hopeless errand;
and, if we await the gathering of the storm, our ruin will
be wrought." And he grasped his sword-hilt with such force,
that his knuckles grew white as he paced fiercely up and
down the hall.
Dankwart, too, bewailed the fate that had driven them into
this net, from which he saw no way of escape. And both the
warriors besought King Gunther to take ship at once, and to
sail for Rhineland before it was too late. But Siegfried
said,--
"What account will you give to the folk at home, if you thus
go back beaten, outwitted, and ashamed? Brave warriors,
indeed! we should be called. Wait a few days, and trust all
to me. When Brunhild's warriors shall be outnumbered by our
own, she will no longer hesitate, and our return to
Rhineland shall be a triumphant one; for we shall carry the
glorious warrior-queen home with us."
"Yes," answered Hagen, mocking, "we will wait until her
warriors are outnumbered by our own. But how long shall that
be? Will the lightning carry the word to Burgundy? and will
the storm-clouds bring our brave men from across the sea?
Had you allowed King Gunther's plans to be followed, they
would have been here with us now, and we might have quelled
this treason at the first."
And Dankwart said, "By this time the fields of the
South-land are green with young corn, and the meadows are
full of sweet-smelling flowers, and the summer comes on
apace. Why should we stay longer in this chilly and
fog-ridden land, waiting upon the whims of a fickle
maiden,--as fickle as the winds themselves? Better face the
smiles and the jeers of the folk at home than suffer
shameful shipwreck in this cold Isenland."
But Siegfried would not be moved by the weak and wavering
words of his once valiant comrades.
"Trust me," he said, "and all will yet be well. Wait here
but a few days longer in quietness, while I go aboard ship,
and fare away. Within three days I will bring to Isenstein a
host of warriors such as you have never seen. And then the
fickle fancies of Brunhild will flee, and she will no longer
refuse to sail with us to the now sunny South-land."
Hagen frowned still more deeply; and as he strode away he
muttered, "He only wants to betray us, and leave us to die
in this trap which he himself has doubtless set for us."
But Gunther anxiously grasped the hand of Siegfried, and
said, "Go! I trust you, and believe in you. But be sure not
to linger, for no one knows what a day may bring forth in
this uncertain and variable clime."
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