ilty of
death, and because you are a queen and of a noble house, you shall be
slain by my knightly sword, and I will even take the reproach of
slaying a woman, for no other hand than mine shall deal the blow."

Then she said, "0 false knight, show your warrant from God, man, or
devil."

"This warrant from God, Swanhilda," he said, holding up his sword,
"listen! Fifteen years ago, when I was just winning my spurs, you
struck me, disgracing me before all the people; you cursed me, and
mean that curse well enough. Men of the house of the Lilies, what
sentence for that?"

"Death!" they said.

"Listen! Afterwards you slew my cousin, your husband, treacherously, in
the most cursed way, stabbing him in the throat, as the stars in the
canopy above him looked down on the shut eyes of him. Men of the house
of Lily, what sentence for that?"

"Death!" they said.

"Do you hear them. Queen? There is warrant from man; for the devil, I
do not reverence him enough to take warrant from him, but, as I look
at that face of yours, I think that even he has left you."

And indeed just then all her pride seemed to leave her, she fell from
the chair, and wallowed on the ground moaning, she wept like a child,
so that the tears lay on the oak floor; she prayed for another month
of life; she came to me and kneeled, and kissed my feet, and prayed
piteously, so that water ran out of her mouth.

But I shuddered, and drew away; it was like hav ing an adder about
one; I cou'd have pitied her had she died bravely, but for one like
her to whine and whine! Pah!

Then from the dais rang Amald's voice terrible, much changed. "Let
there be an end of all this." And he took his sword and strode through
the hall towards her; she rose from the ground and stood up, stooping
a little, her head sunk between her shoulders, her black eyes turned
up and gloaming, like a tigress about to spring. When he came within
some six paces of her something in his eye daunted her, or perhaps the
flashing of his terrible sword in the torch-light; she threw her arms
up with a great shriek, and dashed screaming about the hall. Amald's
lip never once curled with any scorn, no line in his face changed: he
said, "Bring her here and bind her."

But when one came up to her to lay hold on her she first of all ran at
him, hitting with her head in the belly. Then while he stood doubled
up for want of breath, and staring with his head up, she caught his
sword from the girdle