Act I Scene I: Outside a Tribal Temple
The gable beams are low; only the entrance end of the
building, set at an angle, on the left, is visible. In
the distance rises a snow-capped volcano, its slopes—in
the nearer background—pied with the young leaves and
blossoms of early spring; against these, jutting from
behind the temple, a gallows-tree. On the right, at
back, a solitary pine of great age sways solemn boughs
over half the scene, the centre of which is occupied by
a vast monolith, or boulder, tapering upward to a jagged
end. The face of this stone, graved deeply with runes,
is (on its lower half) dark carmine and smooth as ivory;
from behind it blue smoke is rising; before it stands an
altar of stone, on which is set a silver bowl.
In front of this altar stands Ingimund, the temple
priest, clad in a sleeveless leathern smock to
the knees; his arms are reddened with sacrifice; from
his throat—beneath his long, grey hair—hangs an image
of Odin; on his right wrist a ring of plain gold; in
his left hand a spear. On either side of him an altar
priest holds a bunch of sprinkling twigs. From the
temple four other priests are bearing a slaughtered
bullock to the fire behind the rune-stone. Massed in
the right foreground are Egil and his men; on the
left, Arfi and his men. Egil, noble of stature, stands
moodily filing the grooves of a crossbow; Arfi, bent
and dwarfed, sits with his ear close to a harp,
which he thrums softly.
From the right background, beneath the pine, enters,
singing, a procession of the folk, escorting an ark
on wheels, drawn by oxen, whose flanks are wreathed
with flowers, and whose horns are adorned with gold.
Following the ark, which passes on into the temple,
horses and sheep are led to the sacrifice. These, as
they pass before him, Ingimund marks with the sign of a
spear, while the altar priests sprinkle them with blood
from the silver bowl.
At the entrance of the temple stand Thordis and her
Virgins, who take from the beasts their garlands
and hang them on the doors and outer walls. The
men and women of the throng, chanting to a barbaric
cadence, lift up their arms and faces to the sky.
THE FOLK
Wanderer of earth and air,
Walker on the giant flood,
Odin! Asa Odin!
Pilgrim of the storm!
Lyer in the Sybil’s lair,
Reader of the runes of blood,
Thou who hearkenest all prayer—
World-spirit and worm,
Odin! Asa Odin!
Hear us, Allfather!
[Distant thunder.]
FRIDA
Thordis, he hears.
THE VIRGINS
He hears!
THE FOLK
He hears!
YORUL
[To Rolf.]
Behold
The dwarf, where he sits shrivelled by his harp.
Ho, Arfi! hear’st thou Odin? Hast invited
The trolls, thy cousins, to the bridal?
WULDOR
Silence!
He listens to the stars behind the storm.
YORUL
The tree-frogs, Wuldor. He, thy master, is
Their father.
WULDOR
So thy master is their uncle.
YORUL
My master shall be bridegroom, never fear!
Hath Arfi slain his boar?
WULDOR
Hath Egil sung
The slaying of his boar?
YORUL
Hath Arfi leashed
The wild stag by the horns and led him home?
WULDOR
Hath Egil read the runes on Odin’s stone?
YORUL
Weaklings and women ye!
WULDOR
Thou liest, Yorul.
YORUL
[Strikes Wuldor.]
Ho, Egil, here!
WULDOR
[Retaliating.]
Ho, Arfi!
[The followers, from either side, spring forward and fight
fiercely. Ingimund strikes among them with his spear.]
INGIMUND
Fools of anger!
This ground is Odin’s; he alone may judge
Which of your masters shall betroth his priestess.
Back! and await his sign.—Come, Thordis.
FRIDA
[Parting with Thordis by the temple.]
Joy
And love be thine, dear lady.
[Leaving her maidens, Thordis comes quietly from the temple
and stands before the rune-stone and Ingimund, who, with
his spear, beckons also Egil and Arfi. As these join
Thordis, the altar priests, with a heavy chain of gold,
enclose the four in a circular space, while the folk
chant as before.]
THE FOLK
Save us, Lord, from lovers’ hate,
Shelter us from brothers’ feud!
Odin! Asa Odin!
Only thou art wise.
Choose unto this maid a mate
Hallowed by thy sanctitude,
Send thine omen while we wait,
Making sacrifice.
Odin! Asa Odin!
Save us, Allfather!
[Thunder; storm gathers and the scene grows darker, as
bigger clouds of smoke roll upward from behind the
rune-stone.]
INGIMUND
[Removing the gold circlet from his wrist.]
Here,
Your right hands here—all three—on Odin’s ring.
[To Egil, then Arfi.]
Press deeper in the sand thy foot, now thine.
[To the Priests.]
Fill up the footprints with the sacred blood.
Brother in brother’s footstep, hark your oath—
Your oath to abide by Asa Odin’s will.
[As Egil and Arfi grasp the ring, lightning begins to play
over the scene, and thunder deepens the voices of the
people.]
THE FOLK
Odin! Odin! Asa Odin!
Send upon thy folk a portent!
INGIMUND
[Lifting his face and spear toward the sky, intones.]
By thy runes forever writ
On Allwaker’s ear and Allswift’s hoof,
On Sleipni’s teeth and the sledge-bands,
On the Wolf’s claw and the eagle’s beak,
On the bloody wings and the bridge’s end!—
THE FOLK
Odin! Odin! Asa Odin!
Send upon thy folk a portent!
INGIMUND
By thy runes forever writ
On Brage’s tongue and the bear’s paw,
On the midwife’s palm and the amber god,
On Norna’s nail and the owl’s neb,
On wine and wort and the Sibyl’s seat!—
THE FOLK
Odin! Odin! Asa Odin!
Send thy portent, O Allfather!
FRIDA
Look! look! himself doth come.
THE FOLK
Fly! fly! Oh, fly!
FRIDA
Himself doth come, and with him all the gods!
[Amid supernatural darkness and thunder-peal, Ingimund,
Thordis, Egil, and Arfi are struck to the earth, and all
the people flee, except Yorul and Frida, who crouch
beside the temple.]
THE FOLK
[In the distance.]
Bow down! bow down!
[Pause; the passing of the storm; silence.]
FRIDA
[Rising.]
Yorul!—You do not speak.
Yorul!
YORUL
O Frida, hush!
FRIDA
And did you see them?
Four were they all together, and they passed
Like fire, and four returned, in robes of flame,
But paler.
YORUL
May be so; I saw them not.
FRIDA
Two others stood on Odin’s stone, and one
Laughed loud, and whirled a whip of blazing brass,
And one thrust through his beard a smoking hammer.
YORUL
May be; may be. What did you say? Speak not!
[Embracing her.]
O heart of mine, thou beatest yet. We live.
The sun—how still it is! What’s that?
FRIDA
A bird
Singing under the temple’s eaves.
YORUL
And all
Are fled. What be those four that lie so still?
[Together they approach the bodies.]
FRIDA
Alas! O lady dear!
YORUL
Dead! they are dead.
Egil, my master! Odin’s voice hath slain him.
Cursed be Odin!
FRIDA
Yorul—take them back,
Those words! Their sacrilege shall work us woe.
YORUL
What matter? He is dead.
FRIDA
Oh, do not think it!
Perhaps they sleep. Look how their brows still wear
High thoughts. I think they dream. Go! fetch a leech.
YORUL
A leech for death?
FRIDA
Go quickly, Yorul!
YORUL
Well!
[Going out.]
A leech here for the dead! A leech, ho!
[Exit.]
FRIDA
[Alone with the four bodies, stands before
the rune-stone.]
Odin!
Have pity on the dead; let them awake!
[Slowly the bodies rise and look upon her;
she crouches before them.]
Ah me! Your eyes! They burn. O turn away
Your bright eternal eyes!
[She falls unconscious. Egil, who has risen with the
gold altar chain wound about him, gnaws it.]
EGIL
Death! Freedom! freedom!
[Enter Yorul and a Leech, followed by the folk.]
THE LEECH
Who calls for leechcraft here?
YORUL
[Stands bewildered.]
A miracle!
THORDIS
[Bends over Frida.]
The child is stricken.
ARFI
Let me lift her, Thordis.
YORUL
A miracle! O Frida, speak to me!
THE LEECH
[To the folk.]
Stand off! Give air!
WULDOR
[To the folk.]
Hath Yorul then deceived us?
ROLF
Behold, they live!
FRIDA
[Rising, faintly.]
Thanks; lead me to the temple.
INGIMUND
What hath befallen?
WULDOR
Hail, Ingimund! The portent
Of Odin hath befallen.
INGIMUND
Saw ye, or what?
[Wuldor and the folk whisper among themselves.
Yorul supports Frida toward the temple.]
YORUL
But how? What chanced?
FRIDA
Their eyes! their burning eyes!
Oh, I have seen their souls: they are not theirs.
Four bright ones came, four pale ones went away.
YORUL
Clean reft of wit!
FRIDA
Oh, shut me in the dark!
[Taking Frida from Yorul, the temple virgins lead
her into the temple.]
INGIMUND
[To Wuldor.]
Saw ye, I say, or what?
WULDOR
Ask Yorul, father.
INGIMUND
Speak thou! What hath befallen?
YORUL
[Returning dazed from the temple.]
Odin is wise;
Ye that were dead are risen from the dead,
And Frida, my betrothèd, is reft of reason.—
She said it would be, for I cursed him.—Egil!
Master and lord, welcome to life!
[Egil, who, with fixed gaze, has been eyeing Thordis,
starts wildly, paces back and forth, dragging the
altar chain as he moves.]
EGIL
A verdict!
A verdict, priest and earls! Thordis is mine.
EGIL’S MEN
Thordis for Egil!
ARFI’S MEN
Thordis for Arfi!
INGIMUND
Peace!
Heaven’s omen still is dark, and Odin’s sign
Ambiguous. Not one, but four of us,
His hand hath stricken. Wherefore thus I read
His riddle: Thordis shall herself decide.
THORDIS
Father, not I!
INGIMUND
This ancient feud must end.
These two have sworn to abide by Odin’s will;
His will it is that thou make choice of them.
Hearken their pleas, and choose.
THORDIS
To one must I
Give pain?
INGIMUND
To one give joy. Speak, Arfi.
ARFI
Lady,
That those who love are blind I pray be so
That, loving, so you may behold me not—
What thing I seem, but only hear my voice—
What truth I am. Thordis, even now I dreamed
A dream more high and awful than the clouds
And breathless peaks afire of poesie:
We stood together on the morning’s brink;
Crater and frozen cliff and snowy scar
Hung, avalanche on avalanche, below,
Below them still,—the world! You spoke to me;
Sweeter than measures of imagined song
Before the harp is struck, your voice! “Listen!” you said;
And echoing from scar and crater rose
The clanging of a chain. You clung to me;
You clung to me and spoke not.
—I have done.
INGIMUND
Egil!
[Springing forward, Egil seizes Thordis’s hand,
which he raises to his lips.]
EGIL
I love—I love thee!
[He bites her hand. Screaming, she draws away from
him and clings to the dwarf.]
THORDIS
Arfi!
ARFI
[Facing Egil.]
Brother!
WULDOR
Blood! He hath bit her hand. Ho, sacrilege!
EGIL
The maid is mine.
ARFI
The maid is Odin’s.
ROLF
[Seizing Yorul’s arm, points at Egil.]
See!
His eyes grow small and blaze!
YORUL
He is possessed;
Some god afflicts him.
[With a gesture of fury, Egil rushes upon Arfi.]
EGIL
Mine!
INGIMUND
[Stays him.]
The maid is Arfi’s,
For she herself hath chosen him.
ARFI
[Quietly.]
A clout,
To stanch the blood.
WULDOR
[As Arfi binds her hand, gazes on Thordis,
whose eyes have closed.]
O fair beyond this world!
EGIL
[Clutching the air, in passion for coherence.]
A rape! a rape! Thordis for Egil!
YORUL
[Drawing.]
Thordis
For Egil, here!
ARFI’S MEN
Thordis for Arfi!
EGIL’S MEN
Egil!
INGIMUND
Beware! Put back your weapons all, on pain
Of Odin’s wrath.
THE FOLK
[Murmur.]
Remember Odin’s wrath.
EGIL
Egil recks not for Odin’s wrath nor will.
Who fights for Thordis?
INGIMUND
This is blasphemy.
EGIL
Who fights with Egil for the maiden?
YORUL
I,
And all of us.
EGIL’S MEN
Till death.
INGIMUND
Enough, mine earls!
The patience of the lord of peace hath end.
Egil, thy words and deed have violated
The sacred place of Odin. Thou art banned!
The lord hath put thee from his high place. Go!
I cast thee forth, and all who follow thee.
THE FOLK
[Falling back.]
Accurst! accurst!
EGIL
[Stands alone in a great circle.]
Behold they cast him forth!
Egil is banned! Who fights with Egil now?
YORUL
I, master!
ONE OF EGIL’S MEN
Fly! he is accurst.
[The men hesitate; then all—except twelve, including
Yorul, who step into the circle—depart fearfully.]
THE TWELVE
Hail, Egil!
[The folk cry out; some go from the scene, others
into the temple.]
EGIL
[Seizing up with both hands the silver bowl.]
Hail, liegemen! Twelve and one, we are enough
To vow ourselves to vengeance ’gainst the world.
A pledge, here! Ho, a pledge to groom and bride!
Drink pledge with me, in Odin’s altar blood.
Thordis and vengeance! Hail!
THE TWELVE
Thordis and vengeance!
[Egil drinks from the silver bowl.]
Scene II: The Interior of Egil’s Lodge in the Forest; Toward Twilight
The room is roughly built of logs, long cross-beams
overhead. From these (in the right corner, back) hang
suspended the bodies and skins of antelope, bear, and
wild game; and beneath these—piled upon a bench against
the wall—a heap of furs and hides. Centre, back, a
door. Left, in the earthen floor, a hearth with ashes;
above it, a hole in the roof. Beyond this hearth, left,
sitting at the open window, Frida, alone. She
looks out dreamily toward the forest, from which horns
echo and answer. Suddenly she starts up, gazes intently,
gives a low cry, and, dodging down as she passes the
window, springs across to the heap of hides, among which
she conceals herself. After a pause, the door opens;
Egil enters, panting—evidently pursued. His
brow is bleeding, and he limps. Turning to bar the
door, he lets fall a bloodied wolf’s skin. Immediately
he snatches it up caressingly; gazes around, listens
enraged to the horns, limps swiftly to the hearth,
hesitates; then, as a sudden horn-blast resounds close
by, falls on his knees, digs ferociously in the ashes
with his two hands like an animal, thrusts the wolf’s
skin in the cavity, and covers it over with the ashes,
carefully replacing the charred brands on top. Swiftly,
then, binding up his bleeding brow and thigh, he unbars
the door, seizes a whip from a corner, and springs
stealthily out of the window. At the same moment, horses
are heard to gallop up to the lodge; the door bursts
open; Yorul and Rolf appear on the sill.
YORUL
He came this way. Look here, Rolf, in the sand—
And here: are not these paw-prints?
ROLF
May be so.
I saw him last back yonder in the forest.
YORUL
I saw him slinking hither across the open.
Look, here again; here’s blood.
ROLF
What! was he wounded?
YORUL
Did not you see?
ROLF
You know I did not; tell me.
YORUL
Twice; once across the eye, once in the shank.
’Twas Ingimund struck both wounds.
ROLF
Ingimund!
YORUL
Yes, when we left you, Egil rode ahead,
I and the others after. We had ridden
A half-mile, when I heard our master shout:
“Here comes our brother with his bride ahunting.”
And sure, there burst into our narrow glen
Horse, hound, and horn, the whole bright cavalcade;
And Thordis rode ahead, and Arfi next,
Last, Ingimund. We reined our horses back—
ROLF
Not to pollute the lady with the sight
Of your accursed faces, eh?
YORUL
Say rather
To keep our scanty numbers hid.
ROLF
Well—well?
YORUL
Well, I had hardly reined back in the wood
And Thordis passed me by—Man, it was awful!
Under the very hoofs of the dwarf’s horse—
Out of the earth, it seemed—there sprang a wolf
And bit the stallion’s loin. The horse rolled over—
A wolf—a giant wolf!
ROLF
What then?
YORUL
I say
It stood as high as that, Rolf, yet I swear
If it were not a wolf, yet what—
ROLF
What happened?
YORUL
There rang a great shout and the riders all
Leapt to the ground where, in the midst of them,
Tangled together with the kicking steed,
Rolled the huge wolf and Arfi; him the beast
Held by the gorge between his grinning jaws,
Throttling him like a whelp. But Ingimund—
ROLF
Hel have him! Did he save the dwarf?
YORUL
He dragged
The wolf away, and struck him with his spear
Twice, as I told you. But the beast escaped.
ROLF
And Arfi lives?
YORUL
I know not. I made after
The wolf, and met you as I tracked him here.
ROLF
But what said Egil?
YORUL
I was too amazed
To look for him.
ROLF
There winds his horn in the wood,
And yonder he comes riding with the others.
Come; we’ll go meet them.
[Exit.]
[As Yorul is following Rolf, Frida steps forward.]
FRIDA
[Speaks low.]
Yorul!
YORUL
Her voice! Frida! Frida!
FRIDA
Keep me!
YORUL
Stand farther off. O girl, what brings you here?
How found you out this solitary place?
FRIDA
I left my mistress’ side at dawn, and searched
All day the forest.
YORUL
Little Frida, thou!
FRIDA
Come with me!
YORUL
Stand away! You have forgot
I am accurst. This place is Egil’s lodge,
And all who dwell here banned and castaway.
FRIDA
Where you are must I fear to be?
YORUL
Yes, Frida,
For Ingimund has cursed me with my master.
FRIDA
Leave him.
YORUL
Whom?
FRIDA
Leave him, Yorul.
YORUL
Leave whom, child?
FRIDA
Egil, your master.
YORUL
[In amazement.]
Frida!
FRIDA
Hush!
[She goes to the hearth.]
YORUL
[In scorn.]
Desert
My lord! His liegeman, I a traitor!
FRIDA
Look.
[She brushes back the ashes, revealing the beast’s head.]
YORUL
The wolf! By heaven, dead! What—you killed him?
FRIDA
No.
YORUL
And flayed, the very brute! Here are the marks
Of Ingimund, his spear. Saw you the beast
Alive?
FRIDA
Yes.
YORUL
Here?
FRIDA
I watched it limping here,
Wounded, from out the forest.
YORUL
Ha! I said so.
Here to the very door-sill?
FRIDA
Yes; it pushed
The door ajar.
YORUL
But—
FRIDA
Egil entered.
YORUL
Egil!
FRIDA
His brow was bleeding and he limped. He buried
That thing beneath the ashes, and sprang forth
Out at the window.
YORUL
Buried this?
FRIDA
As dogs
Bury their secrets, claw and nozzle.—Yorul!
YORUL
You saw?
FRIDA
I saw. O Yorul, ’tis a werewolf.
YORUL
[Drops the hide and steps back.]
Ah! do not name it!
FRIDA
Leave him. Come away!
YORUL
Bleeding—his brow, you said?
FRIDA
Yes; come away!
YORUL
So be it.
FRIDA
Gracious Odin! he will come.
YORUL
Since that wild day he bit your mistress’ hand
It hath misgiven me the gods torment him.
Once, for seven days, ceaseless he paced this hall,
Spoke not, nor ate, but ground and ground his teeth;
And in the night, once, when I watched him sleeping,
His eyelids lay rolled back and filled with fire.
FRIDA
That day the storm burst over Odin’s stone
And I beheld those mighty four in flame—
Oh, since then, Yorul, they have changed, my mistress
Even as your master, save that she has grown
Lovelier than herself, and seems to bear
About with her the loadstone of desire,
For the poor hinds and churls that wait upon her
Serve her with souls enamoured. If I thought
You would believe my vision, I could tell—
But come, Yorul. Yorul! you will not come?
YORUL
Never! Stop, Frida; do not name the thing
He is. It matters not to me; for me
He is my lord, my master; that is all.
FRIDA
But if—
YORUL
If he were that eternal beast
Whom Odin chains until the dawn of doom,
Fenris, the wolf—
FRIDA
No, say not that!
YORUL
I say
Still it should matter not; I am his liegeman,
His vassal, and his bondslave. I will serve him.
[Enter, with his followers, Egil, cracking his whip.]
EGIL
The wolf! Where is your wolf?
ROLF
We tracked him here.
EGIL
Lies! lies! He lurks yet in the forest.
ERIC
[Pointing at Yorul, who holds up the skin.]
Look!
THE MEN
The wolf!
EGIL
[Leaping upon Yorul, flings him to the ground.]
Traitor!
YORUL
Hold, master—
FRIDA
[Coming forward.]
Save him!
ROLF
Thou!
Thou, maiden, here?
FRIDA
Oh, help him!
ERIC
[With the others’ help, separates the two.]
Egil! off!
EGIL
A ferret, ho! a ferret, earls; hath scent
And sight and hearing—what, for rats? No, no,
For wolves!
ROLF
[Aside to Eric.]
The madness!
YORUL
Master, ’tis the wolf.
I killed him.
EGIL
Killed him? Thou?
[Craftily.]
What wolf?
YORUL
The beast
That bit the dwarf.
EGIL
Dead; so ’tis dead. Let see!
[Taking the pelt from Yorul, he drops it on the hearth.]
It should, methinks, be buried too. Thy kill?
YORUL
Mine, Egil.
EGIL
[With his foot, covering the pelt with the ashes.]
Killed and flayed. Huzza, mine earls,
For Yorul and his kill.
THE MEN
[Gather round Yorul.]
Huzza!
EGIL
’Tis buried.
[Aside.]
He knows, he knows; I will avenge me.
[Looks keenly at Rolf.]
Well,
What art thou gazing on?
ROLF
On nothing.
EGIL
Liest,
Liest; art gazing on my brow. What, what?
’Tis bandaged, ah! What then? What then, I say?
ERIC
Why, he is wounded.
EGIL
Traitors! traitors all!
Aha, by Loki, but you lie. I fell—
You lie! My horse was diked. I fell and gashed me,
My brow, my thigh. Why not my brow and thigh?
May not a huntsman fall from ’s saddle? Liars!
I limp, but not for that. I will limp!
[Suddenly changing.]
Hark!
[He springs to the window.]
YORUL
What dost thou hear?
EGIL
They smell the blood. They come
To dig it up. Their nozzles scour the gorse.
Yorul! Yorul!
YORUL
[To whom Egil clings.]
’Tis nothing.
EGIL
They have found
The scent. You cannot make them lose it, Yorul.
You loop and loop for miles, plunge in the lake,
Swim over, double through the thickets, spring
All-feet from rock to rock in the ravine,
Crouch in the fern and listen: still you hear them
Belling behind you, all their big chests panting,
Their red tongues lolled, the great hot breathing,—bloodhounds!
Bloodhounds!
ROLF
[At the window.]
By Odin, see, yonder the dogs
Of Ingimund; he hath them in the leash;
Behind him, on a litter, they are bringing
Arfi, the dwarf.
EGIL
Yorul! Keep back the hounds!
Mercy! Thou art no kin of theirs. They have
No feud of blood with thee. Keep back the hounds!
Mercy!
ERIC
[Aside to men.]
Still madder!
ROLF
They are twoscore men,
And we a handful; shall we fight?
EGIL
Fight, madmen?
Have ye not heard the hounds? Keep back the hounds.
Go forth and bind their leashes to the trees.
Bind them, and guard them, every slave of you!
Go! Go!
ROLF
What! fear their dogs?
ERIC
Yorul, his eyes—
They burn!
YORUL
Be patient, master!
EGIL
Treachery!
You’ve lured ’em on. They come to dig it out;
They smell the wounds. Ye have betrayed me.
YORUL
Men,
Come forth and let us bind the hounds.
EGIL
[Swinging his whip.]
Slaves! cowards!
Traitors! the lash shall teach you.
[Striking Rolf.]
Bind the hounds!
ROLF
This goes too far.
YORUL
[Imploring.]
Come!
EGIL
Mercy! Ah! their fangs!
Their fangs! Devils, go forth and bind the hounds.
[Follows the men, lashing them.]
ERIC
By Loki!
YORUL
[Aside.]
Humour him.
[The men go forth, whipped wildly by Egil,
who sinks exhausted by the closed door.]
EGIL
Keep back the hounds—
Their fangs!
YORUL
[Outside.]
Fear nothing; we will bind them.
FRIDA
[Starts for the door.]
Yorul!
[Egil, rolling in her way, gazes at her,
and rises, panting; she draws back.]
EGIL
Thou art the maid of Yorul.
FRIDA
I am his.
EGIL
Who hid the wolf—he knows.
FRIDA
He knows.
EGIL
His maiden!
Shalt make a fair revenge.
FRIDA
Ah! Save me, Yorul!
[She faints.]
EGIL
Yorul, a dear revenge!
[Lifting her in his arms, he bears her off, left.]
A lair! a lair!
[A pause; sunset glows through the window; the outer
door is partly opened by Rolf, who calls in.]
ROLF
O Egil! Ingimund demands to enter
And rest here for the night. Thy brother’s wound
Grows worse; they doubt his life. Shall we resist them,
Or welcome? They are armed.—Egil!—Not here?
[Exit, closing the door. Another pause; the room
grows dimmer; Egil slowly reënters, left.]
EGIL
Now will I sleep.—The time is strangely sweet,
Blank, and untroubled. Soon it will be starlight.
My limbs are filled with peace, mine ears with sounds
Of brooks and breezy leafage murmurous,
Mine eyes with slumber. Well, I will lie down
And sleep.
[As Egil goes to the hearth, enter Ingimund,
Thordis, Wuldor, and a number of Arfi’s
men, carrying a litter, on which lies Arfi;
these accompanied by Yorul, Rolf, Eric,
and Egil’s men.]
INGIMUND
Slow; bear him softly, Wuldor. Let
The others stay without, and place our men
Most carefully on guard. For this one night,
Yorul, thy master’s bann shall be suspended.
The need is great.
THORDIS
[By the litter.]
Father, he hath grown paler.
INGIMUND
Here set him down.
EGIL
[Gazing at Thordis.]
Dreaming!
THORDIS
Gently! his side.
WULDOR
Lady, what more to do?
ARFI’S MEN
[Some kneel, some kiss her robe; all give to her their
eyes and hearts unconsciously.]
What more?
THORDIS
Bring water.
YORUL
[Aside.]
Master, the hounds are tethered. Where is Frida?
EGIL
Dreaming! still dreaming!
YORUL
Frida?
EGIL
Wake me not.
THORDIS
Arfi! O gentle earl, look up! Let not
Your ears be as the turf to our great sorrow.
Arfi! I love you; live!
YORUL
[To Rolf.]
Hast thou seen Frida?
ROLF
No.
[Exit Yorul, left; Egil approaches Arfi’s litter.]
EGIL
Will he die?
INGIMUND
The virus of the wolf
Corrupts his blood; yet he may live.
EGIL
May live.
WULDOR
O God! I could take heart to bear this woe
But that the damnèd beast that bit my master
Still breathes.
INGIMUND
I wounded him.
WULDOR
Yet he escaped us.
ROLF
You, Wuldor, but not us. The wolf is dead;
Behold his skin!
[Reënter Yorul. He staggers forward.]
INGIMUND
Who killed him?
ERIC
Egil’s man
Yorul.
INGIMUND
Hail, Yorul! This deed shall atone
For much of thy defiance and thy master’s.
Well done!
YORUL
[Wildly.]
A lie! a lie! the wolf still lives.
ALL
Lives?
YORUL
There!
EGIL
[Crouching back.]
Ai! anarch!
YORUL
[Grappling Egil, tears off his bandages.]
Look! Look, Ingimund!
The wounds: you struck them with your hunting-spear.
INGIMUND
Forehead and thigh!
YORUL
He sprang on Arfi’s horse,
And bit his brother’s throat—his murderer.
There lies his changeling skin. He buried it
Here in the ashes.
THE MEN
[Falling away.]
Werewolf! Werewolf!
INGIMUND
Earl,
Thou art accused of sin unnameable.
Speak: art thou guilty?
EGIL
[Glares about him in fear and rage.]
Ai! Ai! anarch!
INGIMUND
Demon!
YORUL
Ah, Frida! Master—Frida!
ROLF
What of her?
Not dead?
YORUL
No, no; would God she were, and I!
Frida!
[Exit, left.]
INGIMUND
Destroy the wolf.
THORDIS
[To Wuldor, who is about to attack Egil with a spear.]
Stop, earl! Your master;
He has heard all.
ARFI
[Raises his body painfully on the litter.]
My brother—Egil—spare him.
WULDOR
But ’tis a werewolf!
INGIMUND
He has sought your life.
ARFI
The life he sought to take I give to him.
My strength is little; if you love me, spare him.
WULDOR
’Tis madness!
THORDIS
Nay, ’tis mercy, but to you
Reason is vengeance. Father, look; he sinks
Again. Will you deny the prayer of him—
[Lowering her voice.]
Perchance who dies.
ARFI
[Faintly.]
Egil!
INGIMUND
Egil shall live;
So much I grant thee, Arfi, but no more.
Henceforth thy brother shall be cast in chains,
Until the demon-beast that plagues his body
Is exorcised and tamed.
—Lay on the chains.
[As the men approach with fetters, Egil seizes a chain from
one, and, springing fearfully to Thordis’s side, there
crouches and lifts it to her.]
EGIL
Not those—but thou!
[Thordis puts the chain upon Egil.]