CHAPTER XXI.
Pan Zamoyski had not uttered pure calumny to his sister when he spokeof Michael's love for Anusia, for the young prince had fallen in lovewith her, as had all, not excepting the pages of the castle. But thatlove was not over-violent, and by no means aggressive; it was rather anagreeable intoxication of the head and mind, than an impulse of theheart, which, when it loves, impels to permanent possession of theobject beloved. For such action Michael had not the energy.
Nevertheless, Princess Griselda, dreaming of a brilliant future for herson, was greatly terrified at that feeling. In the first moment thesudden consent of her brother to Anusia's departure astonished her; nowshe ceased thinking of that, so far had the threatening danger seizedher whole soul. A conversation with her son, who grew pale andtrembled, and who before he had confessed anything shed tears,confirmed her in the supposition that the danger was terrible.
Still she did not conquer her scruples of conscience at once, and itwas only when Anusia, who wanted to see a new world, new people, andperhaps also turn the head of the handsome cavalier, fell at her feetwith a request for permission, that the princess did not find strengthsufficient to refuse.
Anusia, it is true, covered herself with tears at the thought ofparting with her mistress and mother; but for the clever girl it wasperfectly evident that by asking for the separation she had clearedherself from every suspicion of having with preconceived purpose turnedthe head of Prince Michael, or even Zamoyski himself.
Princess Griselda, from desire to know surely if there was a conspiracybetween her brother and Kmita, directed the latter to come to herpresence. Her brother's promise not to leave Zamost had calmed herconsiderably, it is true; she wished, however, to know more intimatelythe man who was to conduct the young lady.
The conversation with Kmita set her at rest thoroughly.
There looked from the blue eyes of the young noble such sincerity andtruth that it was impossible to doubt him. He confessed at once that hewas in love with another, and besides he had neither the wish nor thehead for folly. Finally he gave his word as a cavalier that he wouldguard the lady from every misfortune, even if he had to lay down hishead.
"I will take her safely to Pan Sapyeha, for Pan Zamoyski says that theenemy has left Lublin. But I can do no more; not because I hesitate inwilling service for your highness, since I am always willing to shed myblood for the widow of the greatest warrior and the glory of the wholeCommonwealth, but because I have my own grievous troubles, out of whichI know not whether I shall bring my life."
"It is a question of nothing more," answered the princess, "than thatyou give her into the hands of Pan Sapyeha, and he will not refuse myrequest to be her guardian."
Here she gave Kmita her hand, which he kissed with the greatestreverence, and she said in parting,--
"Be watchful, Cavalier, be watchful, and do not place safety in this,that the country is free of the enemy."
These last words arrested Kmita; but he had no time to think over them,for Zamoyski soon caught him.
"Gracious Knight," said he, gayly, "you are taking the greatestornament of Zamost away from me."
"But at your wish," answered Kmita.
"Take good care of her. She is a toothsome dainty. Some one may beready to take her from you."
"Let him try! Oh, ho! I have given the word of a cavalier to theprincess, and with me my word is sacred."
"Oh, I only say this as a jest. Fear not, neither take unusualcaution."
"Still I will ask of your serene great mightiness a carriage withwindows."
"I will give you two. But you are not going at once, are you?"
"I am in a hurry. As it is, I am here too long."
"Then send your Tartars in advance to Krasnystav. I will hurry off acourier to have oats ready for them there, and will give you an escortof my own to that place. No evil can happen to you here, for this is mycountry. I will give you good men of the German dragoons, bold fellowsand acquainted with the road. Besides, to Krasnystav the road is as ifcut out with a sickle."
"But why am I to stay here?"
"To remain longer with us; you are a dear guest. I should be glad todetain you a year. Meanwhile I shall send to the herds at Perespa;perhaps some horse will be found which will not fail you in need."
Kmita looked quickly into the eyes of his host; then, as if making asudden decision, said,--
"I thank you, I will remain, and will send on the Tartars."
He went straight to give them orders, and taking Akbah Ulan to one sidehe said,--
"Akbah Ulan, you are to go to Krasnystav by the road, straight as ifcut with a sickle. I stay here, and a day later will move after youwith Zamoyski's escort. Listen now to what I say! You will not go toKrasnystav, but strike into the first forest, not far from Zamost, sothat a living soul may not know of you; and when you hear a shot on thehighroad, hurry to me, for they are preparing some trick against me inthis place."
"Your will," said Akbah Ulan, placing his hand on his forehead, hismouth, and his breast.
"I have seen through you, Pan Zamoyski," said Kmita to himself. "InZamost you are afraid of your sister therefore you wish to seize theyoung lady, and secret her somewhere in the neighborhood, and make ofme the instrument of your desires, and who knows if not to take mylife. But wait! You found a man keener than yourself; you will fallinto your own trap!"
In the evening Lieutenant Shurski knocked at Kmita's door. Thisofficer, too, knew something, and had his suspicions; and because heloved Anusia he preferred that she should depart, rather than fall intothe power of Zamoyski. Still he did not dare to speak openly, andperhaps because he was not sure; but he wondered that Kmita hadconsented to send the Tartars on in advance; he declared that the roadswere not so safe as was said, that everywhere armed bands werewandering,--hands swift to deeds of violence.
Pan Andrei decided to feign that he divined nothing "What can happen tome?" asked he; "besides, Zamoyski gives me his own escort."
"Bah! Germans!"
"Are they not reliable men?"
"Is it possible to depend upon those dog-brothers ever? It has happenedthat after conspiring on the road they went over to the enemy."
"But there are no Swedes on this side of the Vistula."
"They are in Lublin, the dogs! It is not true that they have left. Iadvise you honestly not to send the Tartars in advance, for it isalways safer in a large company."
"It is a pity that you did not inform me before. I have one tongue inmy mouth, and an order given I never withdraw."
Next morning the Tartars moved on. Kmita was to follow toward evening,so as to pass the first night at Krasnystav. Two letters to Pan Sapyehawere given him,--one from the princess, the other from her brother.
Kmita had a great desire to open the second, but he dared not; helooked at it, however, before the light, and saw that inside was blankpaper. This discovery was proof to him that both the maiden and theletters were to be taken from him on the road.
Meanwhile the horses came from Perespa, and Zamoyski presented theknight with a steed beautiful beyond admiration; the steed he receivedwith thankfulness, thinking in his soul that he would ride farther onhim than Zamoyski expected. He thought also of his Tartars, who mustnow be in the forest, and wild laughter seized him. At times again hewas indignant in soul, and promised to give the master of Zamost alesson.
Finally the hour of dinner came, which passed in great gloom. Anusiahad red eyes; the officers were in deep silence. Pan Zamoyski alone wascheerful, and gave orders to fill the goblets; Kmita emptied his, oneafter another. But when the hour of parting came, not many persons tookleave of the travellers, for Zamoyski had sent the officers to theirservice. Anusia fell at the feet of the princess, and for a long timecould not be removed from her; the princess herself had evidentdisquiet in her face. Perhaps she reproached herself in secret forpermitting the departure of a faithful servant at a period when mishapmight come easily. But the loud weeping of Michael, w
ho held his fiststo his eyes, crying like a school-boy, confirmed the proud lady in herconviction that it was needful to stifle the further growth of thisboyish affection. Besides, she was quieted by the hope that in thefamily of Sapyeha the young lady would find protection, safety, andalso the great fortune which was to settle her fate for the rest of herlife.
"I commit her to your virtue, bravery, and honor," said the princessonce more to Kmita; "and remember that you have sworn to me to conducther to Pan Sapyeha without fail."
"I will take her as I would a glass, and in need will wind oakum aroundher, because I have given my word; death alone will prevent me fromkeeping it," answered the knight.
He gave his arm to Anusia, but she was angry and did not look at him;he had treated her rather slightingly, therefore she gave him her handvery haughtily, turning her face and head in another direction.
She was sorry to depart, and fear seized her; but it was too late thento draw back.
The moment came; they took their seats,--she in the carriage with herold servant, Panna Suvalski, he on his horse,--and they started. TwelveGerman horsemen surrounded the carriage and the wagon with Anusia'seffects. When at last the doors in the Warsaw gate squeaked and therattle of wheels was heard on the drop-bridge, Anusia burst into loudweeping.
Kmita bent toward the carriage. "Fear not, my lady, I will not eatyou!"
"Clown!" thought Anusia.
They rode some time along the houses outside the walls, straight towardOld Zamost; then they entered fields and a pine-wood, which in thosedays stretched along a hilly country to the Bug on one side; on theother it extended, interrupted by villages, to Zavihost.
Night had fallen, but very calm and clear; the road was marked by asilver line; only the rolling of the carriage and the tramp of thehorses broke the silence.
"My Tartars must be lurking here like wolves in a thicket," thoughtKmita.
Then he bent his ear.
"What is that?" asked he of the officer who was leading the escort.
"A tramp! Some horseman is galloping after us!" answered the officer.
He had barely finished speaking when a Cossack hurried up on a foaminghorse, crying,--
"Pan Babinich! Pan Babinich! A letter from Pan Zamoyski."
The retinue halted. The Cossack gave the letter to Kmita.
Kmita broke the seal, and by the light of a lantern read as follows:--
"Gracious and dearest Pan Babinich! Soon after the departure of PannaBorzobogati tidings came to us that the Swedes not only have not leftLublin, but that they intend to attack my Zamost. In view of this,further journeying and peregrination become inconvenient. Consideringtherefore the dangers to which a fair head might be exposed, we wish tohave Panna Borzobogati in Zamost. Those same knights will bring herback; but you, who must be in haste to continue your journey, we do notwish to trouble uselessly. Announcing which will of ours to your grace,we beg you to give orders to the horseman according to our wishes."
"Still he is honest enough not to attack my life; he only wishes tomake a fool of me," thought Kmita. "But we shall soon see if there is atrap here or not."
Now Anusia put her head out of the window. "What is the matter?" askedshe.
"Nothing! Pan Zamoyski commends you once more to my bravery. Nothingmore."
Here he turned to the driver,--
"Forward!"
The officer leading the horsemen reined in his horse. "Stop!" cried heto the driver. Then to Kmita, "Why move on?"
"But why halt longer in the forest?" asked Kmita, with the face of astupid rogue.
"For you have received some order."
"And what is that to you? I have received, and that is why I command tomove on."
"Stop!" repeated the officer.
"Move on!" repeated Kmita.
"What is this?" inquired Anusia again.
"We will not go a step farther till I see the order!" said the officer,with decision.
"You will not see the order, for it is not sent to you."
"Since you will not obey it, I will carry it out. You move on toKrasnystav, and have a care lest we give you something for the road,but we will go home with the lady."
Kmita only wished the officer to acknowledge that he knew the contentsof the order; this proved with perfect certainty that the whole affairwas a trick arranged in advance.
"Move on with God!" repeated the officer now, with a threat.
At that moment the horsemen began one after another to take out theirsabres.
"Oh, such sons! not to Zamost did you wish to take the maiden, butaside somewhere, so that Pan Zamoyski might give free reign to hiswishes; but you have met with a more cunning man!" When Babinich hadsaid this, he fired upward from a pistol.
At this sound there was such an uproar in the forest, as if the shothad roused whole legions of wolves sleeping near by. The howl was heardin front, behind, from the sides. At once the tramp of horses soundedwith the cracking of limbs breaking under their hoofs, and on the roadwere seen black groups of horsemen, who approached with unearthlyhowling.
"Jesus! Mary! Joseph!" cried the terrified women in the carriage.
Now the Tartars rushed up like a cloud; but Kmita restrained them witha triple cry, and turning to the astonished officer, began to boast,--
"Know whom you have met! Pan Zamoyski wished to make a fool of me, ablind instrument. To you he intrusted the functions of a pander, whichyou undertook, Sir Officer for the favor of a master. How down toZamoyski from Babinich, and tell him that the maiden will go safely toPan Sapyeha."
The officer looked around with frightened glance, and saw the wildfaces gazing with terrible eagerness on him and his men. It was evidentthat they were waiting only for a word to hurl themselves on the twelvehorsemen and tear them in pieces.
"Your grace, you will do what you wish, for we cannot manage superiorpower," said he, with trembling voice "but Pan Zamoyski is able toavenge himself."
Kmita laughed. "Let him avenge himself on you; for had it not come outthat you knew the contents of the order and had you not opposed theadvance, I should not have been sure of the trick, and should havegiven you the maiden straightway. Tell the starosta to appoint a keenerpander than you."
The calm tone with which Kmita said this assured the officer somewhat,at least on this point,--that death did not threaten either him or histroopers; therefore he breathed easily, and said,--
"And must we return with nothing to Zamost?"
"You will return with my letter, which will be written on the skin ofeach one of you."
"Your grace--"
"Take them!" cried Kmita; and he seized the officer himself by theshoulder.
An uproar and struggle began around the carriage. The shouts of theTartars deadened the cries for assistance and the screams of terrorcoming from the breasts of the women.
But the struggle did not last long, for a few minutes later thehorsemen were lying on the road tied, one at the side of the other.
Kmita gave command to flog them with bullock-skin whips, but not beyondmeasure, so that they might retain strength to walk back to Zamost. Thecommon soldiers received one hundred, and the officer a hundred andfifty lashes, in spite of the prayers and entreaties of Anusia, who notknowing what was passing around her, and thinking that she had falleninto terrible hands, began to implore with joined palms and tearfuleyes for her life.
"Spare my life, knight! In what am I guilty before you? Spare me, spareme!"
"Be quiet, young lady!" roared Kmita.
"In what have I offended?"
"Maybe you are in the plot yourself?"
"In what plot? O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"
"Then you did not know that Pan Zamoyski only permitted your departureapparently, so as to separate you from the princess and carry you offon the road, to make an attempt on your honor in some empty castle?"
"O Jesus of Nazareth!" screamed Anusia.
And there was so much truth and sincerity in that cry that Kmita saidmore mil
dly,--
"How is that? Then you were not in the plot? That may be!"
Anusia covered her face with her hands, but she could say nothing; shemerely repeated, time after time,--
"Jesus, Mary! Jesus, Mary!"
"Calm yourself," said Kmita, still more mildly. "You will go in safetyto Pan Sapyeha, for Pan Zamoyski did not know with whom he had to deal.See, those men whom they are flogging were to carry you off. I givethem their lives, so that they may tell Pan Zamoyski how smoothly itwent with them."
"Then have you defended me from shame?"
"I have, though I did not know whether you would be glad."
Anusia, instead of making answer or contradiction, seized Pan Andrei'shand and pressed it to her pale lips; and sparks went from his feet tohis head.
"Give peace, for God's sake!" cried he. "Sit in the carriage, for youwill wet your feet--and be not afraid! You would not be better caredfor with your mother."
"I will go now with you even to the end of the world."
"Do not say such things."
"God will reward you for defending honor."
"It is the first time that I have had the opportunity," said Kmita. Andthen he muttered in an undertone to himself: "So far I have defendedher as much as a cat sheds tears."
Meanwhile the Tartars had ceased to beat the horsemen and Pan Andreigave command to drive them naked and bloody along the road towardZamost. They went, weeping bitterly. Their horses, weapons, andclothing Kmita gave his Tartars; and then moved on quickly, for it wasunsafe to loiter.
On the road the young knight could not restrain himself from lookinginto the carriage to gaze at the flashing eyes and wonderful face ofthe maiden. He asked each time if she did not need something, if thecarriage was convenient, or the quick travelling did not tire her toomuch.
She answered, with thankfulness, that it was pleasant to her as it hadnever been. She had recovered from her terror completely. Her heartrose in gratitude to her defender, and she thought: "He is not so rudeand surly as I held at first."
"Ai, Olenka, what do I suffer for you!" said Kmita to himself; "do younot feed me with ingratitude? Had this been in old times, u-ha!"
Then he remembered his comrades and the various deeds of violence whichhe had committed in company with them; then he began to drive awaytemptation, began to repeat for their unhappy souls, "Eternal rest."
When they had reached Krasnystav, Kmita considered it better not towait for news from Zamost, and went on farther. But at parting he wroteand sent to Zamoyski the following letter:--
SERENE GREAT MIGHTY LORD STAROSTA,[5] and to me very Gracious Favorerand Benefactor! Whomsoever God has made great in the world, to him Hedeals out wit in more bountiful measure. I knew at once that you,Serene Great Mighty Lord, only wished to put me on trial, when you sentthe order to give up Panna Borzobogati. I knew this all the better whenthe horsemen betrayed that they knew the substance of the order, thoughI did not show them the letter, and though you wrote to me that theidea came to you only after my departure. As on the one hand I admireall the more your penetration, so on the other, to put the carefulguardian more completely at rest, I promise anew that nothing willsuffice to lead me away from fulfilling the function imposed on me. Butsince those soldiers, evidently misunderstanding your intention, turnedout to be great ruffians, and even threatened my life, I think that Ishould have hit upon your thought if I had commanded to hang them.Because I did not do so, I beg your forgiveness; still I gave orders toflog them properly with bullock-skin whips, which punishment, if yourGreat Mighty Lordship considers it too small, you can increaseaccording to your will. With this, hoping that I have earned theincreased confidence and gratitude of your Serene Great MightyLordship, I subscribe myself the faithful and well-wishing servant ofyour Serene Great Mighty Lordship.
BABINICH.
The dragoons, when they had dragged themselves to Zamost late at night,did not dare to appear before the eyes of their master; therefore helearned of the whole matter from this letter which the KrasnystavCossack brought next day.
After he had read Kmita's letter, Zamoyski shut himself up in his roomsfor three days, admitting no attendant save the chamber servants, whobrought him his food. They heard, also, how he swore in French, whichhe did only when he was in the greatest fury.
By degrees, however, the storm was allayed. On the fourth day and fifthZamoyski was still very silent; he was ruminating over something andpulling at his mustache; in a week, when he was very pleasant and haddrunk a little at table, he began to twirl his mustache, not to pullit, and said to Princess Griselda,--
"Lady Sister, you know that there is no lack of penetration in me; acouple of days ago I tested of purpose that noble who took Anusia, andI can assure you that he will take her faithfully to Pan Sapyeha."
About a month later, as it seems, Pan Sobiepan turned his heart inanother direction; and besides he became altogether convinced that whathad happened, happened with his will and knowledge.