'Alas! alas!' cried the angry Queen, 'no hero have I wed, but a feeble-hearted knave.' Meanwhile, Kriemhild, already grieved that she had spoken thus foolishly, had left the angry Queen and gone down to the Minster to vespers. That evening Brunhild had no smiles, no gentle words, for her lord. 'It was Siegfried, not thou, my lord, who vanquished me in the contests at Isenland,' she said in a cold voice to the startled King. Had Siegfried then dared to boast to the Queen of the wonderful feats he had done in the land across the sea? Nay, King Gunther could not quite believe that the hero would thus boast of his great strength. But the Queen was still scolding him, so Gunther, in his dismay, stammered, 'We will summon the King to our presence, and he shall tell us why he has dared to boast of his might as though he were stronger than I.' When Siegfried stood before the angry Brunhild, the crestfallen King said as sternly as he dared, 'Hast thou boasted that it was thou who conquered the maiden Brunhild?' But even as he spoke all Gunther's suspicions fled away. Siegfried with the steadfast eyes and the happy laugh had never betrayed him. Of that he felt quite sure. It was true that he might have told his wife Kriemhild---- Ah, now King Gunther knew what had happened! Not Siegfried, but his lady sister had told Brunhild the secret. Truly it was no fault of the gallant hero that Queen Brunhild had that day learned the secret which he would fain have kept from her for ever. So King Gunther stretched out his hand to Siegfried, who had stood in silence before him, and said, 'Not thou, but my sister Kriemhild hath boasted of thy prowess in Isenland,' and the two Kings walked away together leaving Brunhild in her anger. But not long was she left to weep alone, for Hagen, the keen-eyed, coming into the hall, saw her tears. 'Gracious lady, wherefore dost thou weep?' he asked. 'I weep for anger,' said Brunhild, and she told Hagen the foolish words which Siegfried's wife had spoken. When Hagen had heard them he smiled grimly to himself. Siegfried, the hero, nor his beautiful wife, should escape his vengeance now. And he began at once to plan with the Queen how he might punish them. Well did he know that Brunhild would do all in her power to aid him in his plots. Slowly but very surely Hagen drew Gernot and one or two warriors into his schemes against the King of the Netherlands. But when Giselher heard that the cruel counsellors even wished to slay Siegfried, he was angry, and said bravely, 'Never has Siegfried deserved such hate from any knight of Burgundy.' But Hagen did not cease his evil whispers against the hero. He would even steal upon King Gunther as he sat at his council-table, and he would whisper in his ear that if Siegfried were not so strong, his Burgundian heroes would win more glory for their arms, that if Siegfried were not living, all his broad lands would belong, through Kriemhild, to Burgundy.