'Does the maiden mean to wage war against us,' said Hagen grimly. 'I like not the number of her warriors.'
Then said Siegfried, 'I will leave thee for a little while and go across the sea, and soon will I return with a thousand brave warriors, so that no evil may befall us.'
So the Prince went down alone to the little ship and set sail across the sea.
CHAPTER XI
SIEGFRIED GOES TO THE CAVE
The ship in which Siegfried set sail drifted on before the wind, while those in Queen Brunhild's castle marvelled, for no one was to be seen on board. This was because the hero had again donned his Cloak of Darkness.
On and on sailed the little ship until at length it drew near to the land of the Nibelungs. Then Siegfried left his vessel and again climbed the mountain-side, where long before he had cut off the heads of the little Nibelung princes.
He reached the cave into which he had thrust the treasure, and knocked loudly at the door. The cave was the entrance to Nibelheim the dark, little town beneath the glad, green grass.