t the same time, it
would kill me to wed with Gunrig. I would rather die than that;
therefore--I will run away."

"And leave me?" exclaimed the princess anxiously.

"Well, I should have to leave you, at any rate, if I stay and am
compelled to marry Gunrig."

"But where will you run to?"

"That I will not tell, lest you should be tempted to tell lies to your
father. Just be content to know that I shall not be far away, and that
in good time you shall hear from me. Farewell, dear Hafrydda, I dare
not stay, for that--that monster will not be long in hatching and
carrying out some vile plot--farewell."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

PLOTS AND PLANS.

About three miles beyond the outskirts of King Hudibras' town--the name
of which has now, like many other things, been lost in the proverbial
mists of antiquity--an old man dwelt in a sequestered part of the
forest. His residence was a dry cave at the foot of a cliff, or,
rather, a rude hut which, resting against the cliff, absorbed the cave,
so to speak, into its rear premises.

The old man had a somewhat aquiline nose, a long white beard, and a
grave, but kindly, expression of countenance. He was one of the sons of
Israel--at that time _not_ a despised race. Although aged he was
neither bowed nor weak, but bore himself with the uprightness and vigour
of a man in his prime. When at home, this man seemed to occupy his time
chiefly in gathering firewood, cooking food, sleeping, and reading in a
small roll of Egyptian papyrus which he carried constantly in his bosom.

He was well known, far and near, as Beniah the merchant, who trafficked
with the Phoenician shipmen; was a sort of go-between with them and the
surrounding tribes, and carried his wares from place to place far and
wide through the land. He was possessed of a wonderful amount of
curious knowledge, and, although he spoke little, he contrived in the
little he said to make a favourable impression on men and women. Being
obliging as well as kind, and also exceedingly useful, people not only
respected Beniah, but treated him as a sort of semi-sacred being who was
not to be interfered with in any way. Even robbers--of whom there were
not a few in those days--respected the Hebrew's property; passed by his
hut with looks of solemnity, if not of awe, and allowed him to come and
go unchallenged.

Most people liked Beniah. A few feared him, and a still smaller
number--cynics, who have existed since the days of Adam--