And they said in their hearts: “This journey shall we knights dearly abide!”
But Siegfried the while, the resourceful, hath hasted swiftly away,
Ere any was ware of his going, unto where the galley lay;
And he found the Hood of Darkness in its secret hiding-place there,
And with speed he did it upon him, and none thereof was ware.
With speed he returned: of her warriors found he a great array
In the place by the Queen appointed for the wooer’s perilous play:
But he passed through the midst of them stealthwise, and still was beheld of none
Of the multitude there thronging: by magic thus was it done.
For the lists a wide ring drew they where that grim sport should be