"Go back, go back, and do not come this way, for here lies the body of a dead warrior." But Kriemhild's heart misgave her, and she would not go back, and when she saw the body she uttered a great cry, for she knew instantly that it was Siegfried. She bade the servants carry it inside, and lay it on his bed, and her grief knew no bounds. Then she sent for Gunther, and wildly accused him of the deed, and he as wildly denied his guilt. Then she said: "If you are indeed innocent, you need not fear to stand in the presence of the dead." Gunther was not afraid, and went with her into the death chamber. While they were standing there, looking at Siegfried, Hagen suddenly entered the room, and lo! all the dead man's wounds began to bleed afresh. She knew by this sign that Hagen was guilty of her husband's death, and she swore undying vengeance. She supposed that he had killed him to gain possession of his vast riches, and she determined to spoil his plan. But Hagen was as crafty as he was clever, and so he induced Brunhilda to give him the gold ring as a reward for his services to her. She knew nothing of its great value, and she hated it now because it reminded her of the false Siegfried. So she willingly gave it to Hagen, whom she considered her greatest benefactor. No sooner had he the ring in his possession than he journeyed to Niederland, and there by its magic power he gained possession of the Rhine gold. It took him fourteen days and nights to remove the treasure from the cave on the heath. He then sunk it in the Rhine, where he intended to leave it hidden until after Kriemhild's death; but no sooner had he flung it into the river than the Rhine nymphs seized it for their own, determined to guard it so well this time that never again should their father, the God of the Rhine, have occasion to bewail its loss, and their unfaithfulness. When Kriemhild reached Niederland, and found that the gold had been stolen from Fafner's cave, she was even more determined than before that she would be revenged upon Hagen. X KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE YEARS passed by, and Kriemhild still mourned the loss of her noble husband. Often and often she recalled the dream that she had had in the days before Siegfried appeared in Worms. How truly her mother had interpreted its meaning! And now she had but one wish on earth, and that was to avenge his death. She was not so beautiful as she had once been; constant tears had washed the brightness from her eyes, and her cheeks were pale. One day there appeared in the castle a noble-looking stranger, who asked to speak with the queen. He was admitted to her presence, and she asked him his name, and also to what she owed the honor of his presence at her court. He replied: "I am Rudiger of Bechlarn, of the court of Etzelburg. I have come hither at the request of my master, Etzel the King of the Huns, to ask your hand for him in marriage."