th.

"Obey me!--or thy punishment shall be terrible. To disobey would be
treason to the Gods." He strode away.

Bruennhilde put on her armour once more.

"Why is my armour so heavy, and why does it hurt me so?" she asked of
herself. "Alas! It is because I donned it in an evil cause." Slowly
she went toward the cave where her enchanted horse, Grane, was hidden.

_Scene III_

Now that the Gods had forsaken them, the two lovers, Sieglinde and
Siegmund, were in great danger, and Sieglinde, without knowing why,
was filled anew with fright. She hurried painfully along, assisted by
Siegmund who was all the time lovingly urging her to stop and rest.

"Nay," she answered always; "I cannot rest because I hear Hunding's
hounds who would tear thee in pieces, if they caught thee." At that
very moment they heard the blast of Hunding's horn in the distance.

"There he comes with all his kinsmen at his back, and they will surely
overwhelm thee," she cried in distress; and fell fainting with fear.

As Siegmund placed her tenderly upon the ground, Bruennhilde came
toward them from the cavern, leading her horse.

_Scene IV_

She regarded Siegmund sorrowfully and said in a troubled voice:

"I have come to call thee hence, Siegmund." The youth stared at her
curiously.

"Who art thou?" he asked.

"I am Bruennhilde, the Valkyrie; and whoever I look upon must die."

"Not I," Siegmund answered, incredulously. "I fight with the enchanted
sword of Wotan. My life is charmed. I cannot die."

"Alas!" she answered, then paused. Presently she spoke again. "Whoever
looks upon me must die, Siegmund," she said earnestly.

"When I have died, where do I go?" he asked. He was not sad at the
thought of giving up a life so full of strife.

"Thou goest to Walhall to dwell with the Eternals."

"Do I find there Wotan, and the Waelsungs--my kinsmen who have gone
before me?"

"Aye," she answered--"And Wish-maidens to fill thy drinking cup and to
cheer thee. It is the home where heroes dwell, forever and forever."

Siegmund's face glowed with hope.

"And Sieglinde?" he cried.

"Ah, not she. She must stay yet a while behind thee."

Then a terrible change came upon Siegmund and he frowned at the
Valkyrie.

"Begone! Thinkest thou I go to thy Walhall without Sieglinde? Begone!
What do you of the Gods know of love such as ours. Walhall is not for
me. I carry the enchanted sword given by Wotan. This day I kill
Hunding, and live my life