eave to
whisper it in your horse's ear, you will see him as quiet as mine
yonder in a moment."--"Try your charm, if it will do any good!" said
the impatient Knight. The driver pulled the unruly horse's head toward
him, and whispered a couple of words in his ear. At once the animal
stood still, tamed and pacified, and showed no remains of his former
fury but by panting and snorting, as if he still chafed inwardly. This
was no time for Huldbrand to inquire how it had been done. He agreed
with the wagoner that Bertalda should be taken into the wagon, which
by his account was loaded with bales of soft cotton, and conveyed to
the Castle of Ringstetten, while the Knight followed on horseback. But
his horse seemed too much spent by his former violence to be able to
carry his master so far, and the man persuaded Huldbrand to get into
the wagon with Bertalda. The horse was to be fastened behind. "We
shall go down hill," said the man, "and that is light work for my
horses." The Knight placed himself by Bertalda, his horse quietly
followed them, and the driver walked by steadily and carefully.

In the deep stillness of night, while the storm growled more and more
distant, and in the consciousness of safety and easy progress,
Huldbrand and Bertalda insensibly got into confidential discourse. He
tenderly reproached her for having so hastily fled; she excused
herself with bashful emotions, and through all she said it appeared
most clearly that her heart was all his own. Huldbrand was too much
engrossed by the expression of her words to attend to their apparent
meaning, and he only replied to the former. Upon this, the wagoner
cried out in a voice that rent the air, "Now my horses, up with you;
show us what you are made of, my fine fellows." The Knight put out his
head and saw the horses treading or rather swimming through the
foaming waters, while the wheels whirled loudly and rapidly like those
of a water-mill, and the wagoner was standing upon the top of his
wagon, overlooking the floods. "Why, what road is this? It will take
us into the middle of the stream," cried Huldbrand. "No, sir," cried
the driver laughing; "it is just the other way. The stream is coming
into the middle of the road. Look round, and see how it is all
flooded."

In fact, the whole valley was now heaving with waves, that had swollen
rapidly to a great height. "This must be Kuehleborn, the wicked sprite,
trying to drown us!" cried the Knight. "Have you no char