d you." "On Siegfried...
you?..." She laughs, bitterly, while her unquelled pride in her
faithless lord mocks: "A single glance of his flashing eye, which
even through the lying disguise shed its radiance upon me, and
your best courage would fail you!"

"But is he not, by reason of his perjury, reserved for my spear?"

"Perjury or none, you must fortify your spear by something stronger,
if you think of attacking that strongest of all!" "Well I know," the
subtle Hagen, with an effect of humbleness, continues, "Siegfried's
victorious strength, and how difficult to overcome him in battle;
wherefore do you give me good counsel: by what device may this
giant be defeated by me?"

She breaks into complaint over the shameful requital with which
the love has met that, unknown to him, by charms woven all about
his body, made him invulnerable.

"No weapon then can hurt him?" asks Hagen.

"No weapon that is borne in battle...." But she corrects herself,
remembering suddenly that he might, in truth, be wounded in the
back. "Never, I knew, would he retreat or in flight show his back to
the foe. Upon it therefore I spared to place the spell." "And there
my spear shall strike him!" determines Hagen. Having learned from her
all that he need, he turns to Gunther: "Up, noble Gibichung! Here
stands your strong wife. Why do you hang back there in dejection?"

Gunther breaks into passionate exclamations over the indignity
he has suffered. Close indeed upon his hour of glory comes the
hour of his humiliation, when he must hear from the queenly woman
in whom his pride was placed such words as these: "Oh, ignoble,
false companion! Behind the hero you concealed yourself, that he
might gain for you the prize of courage! Low indeed has your precious
race sunk, when it produces such dastards!" Gunther utters broken
excuses, "while deceiving her he was himself deceived,--betraying
her, he was betrayed--" and appeals to Hagen to stamp him out of
life or help him to wash the stain off his honour!

Hagen has them now both where, for his purposes, he wishes them.
"No brain can help you," he replies to Gunther, "nor can any hand!
There is but one thing can help you--Siegfried's death!" The two
words fall awfully on the air, followed by a long silence. The
irresolute Gunther at the sound of the sentence writhes amid doubts
and hesitations, such as do not for a moment move his stern
fellow-sufferer. He remembers the blood-brotherhood sworn to Sieg