ed the Kapellmeister, "Go to her, Velasco; go to her
quickly! Gott! I thought the Opera would have come to a standstill!
My heart was in my mouth!--Go!"

He pushed the Violinist towards the door and closed it behind him; then
he fell back against the wall and listened. The noise in the House was
like a mob let loose.

"Bruennhilde! Why doesn't she come? Bring her before the
curtain! . . . Bruennhilde!"

"I must go," he said, "I must speak to them--tell them anything--she is
ill--she is exhausted! Something--it doesn't matter! I must go and
quiet the tumult!"

The Kapellmeister leaned for a moment against the background of the
scenery; he looked at the door and listened. The House was going mad:
"Bruennhilde! Bruennhilde!"

Then, staggering a little, with his hands to his face, he went out on
the stage.

CHAPTER XXIV.

"Kaya!"

"Velasco! Ah, Velasco! Don't come--don't touch--me!"

He sprang forward.

She was still in the Bruennhilde dress with the helmet on her head and
the white robes trailing. The spear lay at her feet. He trampled on
it as he sprang, snatching her into his arms: "Kaya!"

His grip was like a band of steel and he wound his arms about her,
pressing her to him: "Kaya, my beloved! Ah, my beloved--speak to me!
Open your eyes! Look at me!" He tore the helmet from her head and
flung it to the ground. The red-blonde hair fell back, and he kissed
her cheek and her curls.

He was like a whirlwind wooing, and she like a lily blown by the gale.
She lay in his arms. Her lips quivered as he kissed them, but she lay
without motion or sign.

"Are you faint?" he cried, "Have you swooned? Kaya! It is as if the
world had gone to pieces suddenly and this were chaos, and only you and
I--only you and I."

He kissed her eyelids.

"Open them, Kaya, they are blue as the sky."

He kissed her throat.

"It swells like a bird's when it trills, and the sound of it is as a
nightingale in the twilight."

He kissed her lips.

"Ah, they are warm; they quiver and tremble!"

His arms were so strong she was pinioned, and she panted as she
breathed. He kissed her again and again as one who is starving and
thirsty, and she stirred in his arms, lifting her face:

"Velasco--my husband--my--self! To lie in your arms--it is heaven, and
to leave them is hell! Let me go--Velasco! I love you--I love you!
Let me--go!"

"So long as the world lasts and there is strength in my body--never!