“Neither do I, my friends. And now another question. Do you hate King Brondé?”
“We do!” they exclaimed.
“Do you wish his destruction?”
“We do.”
“Will you do your best to accomplish this?”
“We will! We will!” they cried.
“And so will I. You see, now, how well we are agreed, and that our interests are the same. My name is Magnus. These are my trusty followers. Shake hands, my brave fellows. Right! We are brothers now. You hate King Brondé, because it was to make room for him that your once powerful band was dispersed. Many of you mourn the loss of friends, comrades, kindred, slain by his orders.”
“True! True!” they cried, eagerly.
“Yes, true,” exclaimed Magnus. “And I hate King Brondé because he is richer and luckier than myself. There is no reason why I should not have wedded a princess and inherited a kingdom. I am as strong to protect, as brave to defend. And I seek his death; for, when he is gone, I need not then say, ‘I am the largest and strongest man living, except—’; but, ‘I am the largest and strongest man living,’—and nothing more. I have a plan, my friends, which I will now unfold to you.”
This speech was received with cheers and wild hurrahs; but Magnus, with a wave of his hand, said:—