arnestly.

But old Hagen said not a word in answer. He quietly withdrew from the
room, and left the maiden and her mother, the good dame Ute, alone.

"What does uncle Hagen mean by his strange words? and why does he look
so sullen and angry?" asked Kriemhild.

"Indeed, I know not," answered the queen-mother. "His ways are dark, and
he is cunning. I fear that evil will yet come to our house through him."

Meanwhile the three kings and their chiefs had gone into the courtyard
to greet their unknown guests. Very kindly did Gunther welcome the
strangers to his home; and then he courteously asked them whence they
came, and what the favors they wished.

"I have heard," answered Siegfried, "that many knights and heroes live
in this land, and that they are the bravest and the proudest in the
world. I, too, am a knight; and some time, if I am worthy, I shall be a
king. But first I would make good my right to rule over land and folk;
and for this reason I have come hither. If, indeed, you are as brave as
all the world says you are, ride now to the meadows with us, and let us
fight man to man; and he who wins shall rule over the lands of both. We
will wager our kingdom and our heads against yours."

King Gunther and his brothers were amazed at this unlooked-for speech.

"Such is not the way to try where true worth lies!" they cried. "We have
no cause of quarrel with you, neither have you any cause of quarrel with
us. Why, then, should we spill each other's blood?"

Again Siegfried urged them to fight with him; but they flatly refused.
And Gernot said,--

"The Burgundian kings have never wished to rule over folk that are not
their own. Much less would they gain new lands at the cost of their best
heroes' blood. And they have never taken part in needless quarrels. Good
men in Burgundy are worth more than the broadest lands, and we will not
hazard the one for the sake of gaining the other. No, we will not fight.
But we greet you most heartily as our friends and guests."

All the others joined in urging Siegfried and his comrades to dismount
from their steeds, and partake of the cheer with which it was their use
to entertain strangers. And at last he yielded to their kind wishes,
and alighted from Greyfell, and, grasping King Gunther's hand, he
made himself known. And there was great rejoicing in the castle and
throughout all the land; and the most sumptuous rooms were set apart for
the use of Siegfried and his Nibelungen kn