and in
marriage. Time passed, and Atli clamoured for the fulfilment of his
promise, wherefore the Niblung brothers, with their mother Grimhild,
went to seek the long-absent princess, and by the aid of the magic
potion administered by Grimhild they succeeded in persuading Gudrun
to leave little Swanhild in Denmark and to become Atli's wife in the
land of the Huns.

Nevertheless, Gudrun secretly detested her husband, whose avaricious
tendencies were extremely repugnant to her; and even the birth of
two sons, Erp and Eitel, did not console her for the death of her
loved ones and the absence of Swanhild. Her thoughts were continually
of the past, and she often spoke of it, little suspecting that her
descriptions of the wealth of the Niblungs had excited Atli's greed,
and that he was secretly planning some pretext for seizing it.

Atli at last decided to send Knefrud or Wingi, one of his servants,
to invite the Niblung princes to visit his court, intending to slay
them when he should have them in his power; but Gudrun, fathoming this
design, sent a rune message to her brothers, together with the ring
Andvaranaut, around which she had twined a wolf's hair. On the way,
however, the messenger partly effaced the runes, thus changing their
meaning; and when he appeared before the Niblungs, Gunnar accepted
the invitation, in spite of Hoegni's and Grimhild's warnings, and an
ominous dream of Glaumvor, his second wife.

Burial of the Niblung Treasure

Before departing, however, Gunnar was prevailed upon to bury secretly
the great Niblung hoard in the Rhine, and he sank it in a deep hole
in the bed of the river, the position of which was known to the royal
brothers only, who took a solemn oath never to reveal it.

"Down then and whirling outward the ruddy Gold fell forth,
As a flame in the dim grey morning, flashed out a kingdom's worth;
Then the waters roared above it, the wan water and the foam
Flew up o'er the face of the rock-wall as the tinkling Gold
fell home,
Unheard, unseen for ever, a wonder and a tale,
Till the last of earthly singers from the sons of men shall fail."

The Treachery of Atli

In martial array the royal band then rode out of the city of the
Niblungs, which they were never again to see, and after many adventures
they entered the land of the Huns, and arrived at Atli's hall, where,
finding that they had been foully entrapped, they slew the traitor
Knefrud, and pre