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Page 36
He felt the truth of his words, and that they had inspired his heart
with fresh courage. Fortune, too, appeared to favour him; for,
before reaching his fastened steed, he distinctly heard the voice of
Bertalda, weeping not far before him, amid the roar of the thunder
and the tempest, which every moment increased. He flew swiftly
towards the sound, and found the trembling maiden, just as she was
attempting to climb the steep, hoping to escape from the dreadful
darkness of this valley. He drew near her with expressions of love;
and bold and proud as her resolution had so lately been, she now felt
nothing but joy that the man whom she so passionately loved should
rescue her from this frightful solitude, and thus call her back to
the joyful life in the castle. She followed almost unresisting, but
so spent with fatigue, that the knight was glad to bring her to his
horse, which he now hastily unfastened from the elm, in order to lift
the fair wanderer upon him, and then to lead him carefully by the
reins through the uncertain shades of the valley.
But, owing to the wild apparition of Kuhleborn, the horse had become
wholly unmanageable. Rearing and wildly snorting as he was, the
knight must have used uncommon effort to mount the beast himself; to
place the trembling Bertalda upon him was impossible. They were
compelled, therefore, to return home on foot. While with one hand
the knight drew the steed after him by the bridle, he supported the
tottering Bertalda with the other. She exerted all the strengths in
her power in order to escape speedily from this vale of terrors. But
weariness weighed her down like lead; and all her limbs trembled,
partly in consequence of what she had suffered from the extreme
terror which Kuhleborn had already caused her, and partly from her
present fear at the roar of the tempest and thunder amid the mountain
forest.
At last she slid from the arm of the knight; and sinking upon the
moss, she said: "Only let me lie here, my noble lord. I suffer the
punishment due to my folly; and I must perish here through faintness
and dismay."
"Never, gentle lady, will I leave you," cried Huldbrand, vainly
trying to restrain the furious animal he was leading, for the horse
was all in a foam, and began to chafe more ungovernably than before,
till the knight was glad to keep him at such a distance from the
exhausted maiden as to save her from a new alarm. But hardly had he
withdrawn five steps with the frantic steed when she began to call
after him in the most sorrowful accents, fearful that he would
actually leave her in this horrible wilderness. He was at a loss
what course to take. He would gladly have given the enraged beast
his liberty; he would have let him rush away amid the night and
exhaust his fury, had he not feared that in this narrow defile his
iron-shod hoofs might come thundering over the very spot where
Bertalda lay.
In this extreme peril and embarrassment he heard with delight the
rumbling wheels of a waggon as it came slowly descending the stony
way behind them. He called out for help; answer was returned in the
deep voice of a man, bidding them have patience, but promising
assistance; and two grey horses soon after shone through the bushes,
and near them their driver in the white frock of a carter; and next
appeared a great sheet of white linen, with which the goods he seemed
to be conveying were covered. The greys, in obedience to a shout
from their master, stood still. He came up to the knight, and aided
him in checking the fury of the foaming charger.
"I know well enough," said he, "what is the matter with the brute.
The first time I travelled this way my horses were just as wilful and
headstrong as yours. The reason is, there is a water-spirit haunts
this valley--and a wicked wight they say he is--who takes delight in
mischief and witcheries of this sort. But I have learned a charm;
and if you will let me whisper it in your horse's ear, he will stand
just as quiet as my silver greys there."
"Try your luck, then, and help us as quickly as possible!" said the
impatient knight.
Upon this the waggoner drew down the head of the rearing courser
close to his own, and spoke some words in his ear. The animal
instantly stood still and subdued; only his quick panting and smoking
sweat showed his recent violence.
Huldbrand had little time to inquire by what means this had been
effected. He agreed with the man that he should take Bertalda in his
waggon, where, as he said, a quantity of soft cotton was stowed, and
he might in this way convey her to Castle Ringstetten. The knight
could accompany them on horseback. But the horse appeared to be too
much exhausted to carry his master so far. Seeing this, the man
advised him to mount the waggon with Bertalda. The horse could be
attached to it behind.
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