and, bold and proud as her resolve had been before, she now felt
only too keenly the delight that the friend whom she so passionately
loved should rescue her from this frightful solitude, and that the
joyous life in the castle should be again open to her. She followed
almost unresisting, but so exhausted with fatigue that the knight
was glad to lead her to his horse, which he now hastily unfastened in
order to lift the fair fugitive upon it; and then, cautiously holding
the reins, he hoped to proceed through the uncertain shades of the
valley.

But the horse had become quite unmanageable from the wild apparition
of Kuehleborn. Even the knight would have had difficulty in mounting
the rearing and snorting animal, but to place the trembling Bertalda
on its back was perfectly impossible. They determined therefore to
return home on foot. Leading the horse after him by the bridle, the
knight supported the tottering girl with his other hand. Bertalda
exerted all her strength to pass quickly through the fearful valley,
but weariness weighed her down like lead and every limb trembled,
partly from the terror she had endured when Kuehleborn had pursued her,
and partly from her continued alarm at the howling of the storm and
the pealing of the thunder through the wooded mountain.

At last she slid from the supporting arm of her protector, and,
sinking down on the moss, exclaimed, "Let me lie here, my noble lord;
I suffer the punishment due to my folly, and I must now perish here
anyhow through weariness and dread."

"No, sweet friend, I will never leave you!" cried Huldbrand, vainly
endeavoring to restrain his furious steed; for, worse than before, it
now began to foam and rear with excitement, till at last the knight
was glad to keep the animal at a sufficient distance from the
exhausted maiden to save her from increasing fear. But scarcely had he
withdrawn a few paces with the wild steed than she began to call after
him in the most pitiful manner, believing that he was really going to
leave her in this horrible wilderness. He was utterly at a loss what
course to take. Gladly would he have given the excited beast its
liberty and have allowed it to rush away into the night and spend
its fury, had he not feared that in this narrow defile it might come
thundering with its iron-shod hoofs over the very spot where Bertalda
lay.

In the midst of this extreme perplexity and distress he heard with
delight the sound of a vehicle dri