The King (to the soldiers): Seize all the keys, and guard the gates!
(To Don Ruy Gomez) My lord,
I hear that you are sheltering my foe,
The brigand Hernani.
Don Ruy Gomez: Sire, that is true.
The King: I want his head—or yours.
Don Ruy Gomez: He is my guest.
I come of men who are not used to sell
The head of any guest, even to their king.
The King: Why, man, he is your rival! You resolved
To help me hunt him down. You gave your word.
Don Ruy Gomez: But now he is my guest.
The King: He shall be found,
Though every stone in all your castle walls
Fall ere I find him.
Don Ruy Gomez: Raze my castle, then;
I cannot play the traitor.
The King: Well, two heads
Are better, some men say, than one. My lord,
I must have yours as well as Hernani's.
Arrest this man!
[As the soldiers come forward, Doña Sol throws up her veil and strides up hastily to King Charles.