glow-worm or the fox-fire. And as Siegfried gazed upon the
scene, he saw the dim outline of some hideous monster moving
hither and thither, and seeming all the more terrible in the
uncertain light.

"It is he!" whispered Regin, and his lips were ashy pale,
and his knees trembled beneath him. "It is Fafnir, and he
wears the Helmet of Terror! Shall we not go back to the
smithy by the great forest, and to the life of ease and
safety that may be ours there? Or will you rather dare to go
forwards, and meet the Terror in its abode?"

"None but cowards give up an undertaking once begun,"
answered Siegfried. "Go back to Rhineland yourself, if you
are afraid; but you must go alone. You have brought me thus
far to meet the dragon of the heath, to win the hoard of the
swarthy elves, and to rid the world of a terrible evil.
Before the setting of another sun, the deed which you have
urged me to do will be done."

Then he dashed down the eastern slope of the mountain,
leaving Greyfell and the trembling Regin behind him. Soon he
stood on the banks of the white river, which lay between the
mountain and the heath; but the stream was deep and
sluggish, and the channel was very wide. He paused a moment,
wondering how he should cross; and the air seemed heavy with
deadly vapors, and the water was thick and cold. While he
thus stood in thought, a boat came silently out of the
mists, and drew near; and the boatman stood up and called to
him, and said,--