"Down then and whirling outward the ruddy gold fell forth, As a flame in the dim grey morning flashed out a kingdom's worth; Then the waters roared above it, the wan water and the foam Flew up o'er the face of the rock-wall as the tinkling gold fell home, Unheard, unseen, forever, a wonder and a tale, Till the last of earthly singers from the sons of men shall fail." Not yet, however, had the curse of that gold-hoard been entirely fulfilled. For when the brave Niblungs reached the hall of Atli, they found no welcome awaiting them, but sharp swords and hostile looks. Fiercely they fought, but to no avail, and at length all were slain save only Gunnar and Högni. Then Atli had each brought before him in turn, fast bound as they were, and promised to give freedom to him who would first reveal to him the hiding-place of the gold-hoard. But they laughed in contempt, even when they were put to the torture in his presence. Then Högni, being weary of his life in chains, made an agreement with Gunnar, so that when next King Atli asked the latter to tell him the secret, he replied that he had made an oath not to reveal the hiding-place while Högni lived, but that when he saw his brother was dead, he would do all that Atli bade him. So they killed Högni, and the Battle Maidens carried him away to the joys of Valhalla. But when they showed proofs of his death to his brother, and bade him tell the whereabouts of the hoard, Gunnar laughed a proud laugh and declared that now the secret rested with him alone, and it should never be revealed. So, in his fury of disappointment, the king ordered him to be thrown, with chained hands, into a den full of poisonous serpents; and his harp was flung in after him. Then did Gunnar sit smiling in their midst, and played with his toes upon the instrument until all the creatures, save one, were fast asleep. But this one serpent, whom men say was the witch-mother of Atli in disguise, bit Gunnar in the side, and thus died the last of the Niblungs. Of that race Gudrun still remained, and she now planned a thing which should avenge the blood of her kinsmen and end her own unhappy life. So she took the sword of Sigurd, which Gunnar had given into her hands, and slew Atli and placed him dead upon a ship. And when she had cast it adrift, she flung herself into the sea; and so died. Thus did Andvari's hoard fulfil the curse that had been set upon all those who should be concerned with it. But the glittering treasure itself lies hidden far beneath the waves of the mighty river Rhine, and only the water-sprites know where it is hid. CHAPTER XXI The Boyhood of Frithiof the Bold _This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Frithiof the Bold asked for the hand of Ingeborg the Fair._ Once upon a time there lived in Norway a king named Bele, who had three children. Helge and Halfdan were his sons, and his daughter was called by the name of Ingeborg.