CHAPTER XIII
Until that Guiki
With gold arrayed me
And gave me to Sigurd.
LAY OF GUDRUN.
For a while the deserted guests stood staring at one another, and there was dread in the eyes of even Liutrad and the king. Olvir alone showed no fear. If he had dared the power of the Wend witch in the depths of Fulda Wood, he would not yield awe to her now. Presently he burst into a scornful laugh.
"Thor!" he jeered. "The witch-wife flees before a child,--a fearsome witch!"
"By the rood!" muttered Karl, and he drew in a deep breath; "they say true who name Rudulf's wife a heathen alruna."
But Hildegarde gathered the two trembling boys in her arms, and looked across at Olvir with a grateful smile.
"Dear lord," she said, "our bright Dane speaks truth. Witch or no, the Wend woman has fled before our little maiden. What need have we to fear the curse of one so powerless?"