as he went, Perpetua moved slowly after him,
as if compelled by the spell of the music:

[Illustration: "PERPETUA MOVED SLOWLY TOWARDS HIM"]

"By the music of the morn,
When equipped with spear and shield,
Oberon, the elfin-born,
Winding on his wizard horn,
Calls the fairies to the field--
I conjure thee, maiden, yield!

"By the magic of the moon,
When Diana from her dome
Wakes from slumber, woos from swoon
All the folk who fear the noon,
Dwarf and kobold, witch and gnome--
I conjure thee, maiden, come!

"By the beauty, by the bliss
Of the ancient gods who ride
Eros, Phoebus, Artemis,
Aphrodite, side by side,
Through the purple eventide,
On the cloudy steeds of Dis--
I conjure thee, maiden, kiss."

Lycabetta watched, astounded, the submission with which Perpetua
followed the incantation of the fool. "This is the black magic," she
said; and then asked Perpetua, "Are you content to follow this fool?"

Perpetua paused in her patient following of the singer, and, looking
Lycabetta full in the face, she answered, "Ay."

Lycabetta raised protesting hands. "And to go with him where he will?"
she persisted.

Again Perpetua answered, "Ay."

Robert interrupted the colloquy with a sweep of the strings that drifted
into a new tune with new words:

"Caper, sweeting, while I play;
Love and lover, we will stray
Over the hills and far away."

He beckoned to the girl and ambled backward towards the entrance,
obediently followed by Perpetua.

As he was about to pass luting through the entrance, Lysidice parted the
curtains and entered the room. Robert fell back to give her passage.
With a reverence to Lycabetta, she said:

"The Lord Hildebrand waits without."

The news brought very different thoughts to the three hearers.
Lycabetta, always willing to welcome the King's favorite, gave order
gladly enough to admit him. In Robert's mind the name rekindled hopes
that had died away. His heart's friend, his brother in arms, the
companion of his vices, the flatterer of his follies, he surely would
not be deceived by the fantastic transformation. Flinging aside his
lute, he shouted, joyously: "Hildebrand! Surely he will know me."

Perpetua's heart grew cold at this proof of renewed madness, and she
caught him by the arm. "Do not abandon me," she entreated.

Robert shook her off in his eage