[She escapes, right, into the wood. As Egil pursues her, there steps from the thicket, into his path, Arfi. Egil pauses.]
EGIL May the dead be summoned back To curse us with forgiveness?—Spirit, be stern And not compassionate. Come in your wounds, Fell and disfigured, not benignly thus. Oh, not your love-your vengeance! Not your love! [Shields his eyes with his arms. As he does so, Arfi, with a serene gesture, is about to speak, when from the thicket Yorul springs silently out and stabs him. Arfi falls motionless; Yorul withdraws. Slowly Egil looks again.] Yea, now thou hast resumed thy murder-garment, And hast drawn on thy bridal-robe of wounds, And laid thee at my feet in vengeance. Now This is indeed thy vengeance—brother! master! [Stoops beside the body.]
VOICES OF THE VIRGINS [Sing, near.] What o’er the man the maid shall wed, Freyja, be shed? The pine’s immortal breath, ere those green boughs are dead.
[Starting up, fearful, Egil hales the body toward the left, but having reached the centre pauses, as the laughter of children rises in the way before him. Turning, he is dragging the body down scene, when the children, scampering in, left, with their aprons and baskets full of wild flowers, run towards him. Finger on lip, he motions them silence; their laughter and shouts die away, awed.]
EGIL He is asleep; the bridegroom is asleep. Scatter your wild flowers over him. Look, he smiles, He’ll laugh when he awakes and sees them.—Soft!
THE CHILDREN [Whispering, gather in a circle and, pleased as at some game of mystery, heap the flowers upon Arfi, and sing low.]
Flowers bring And fairy numbers! Sweet Spring His spirit cumbers. Still be highhole! still be thrush! Hush! hush! Now he slumbers.
[Treading softly, with covert laughter and “hushes,” the children steal away. Heaped over the body of Arfi and completely concealing it, they have left behind them a great pile of arbutus, violets, and other flowers. Some of these Egil is replacing more carefully, when the pile is shaken from within, and up through it rises the form Baldur. Dazzled, Egil kneels.]
BALDUR Hail, brother!
EGIL Art thou sunlight, or a voice?