CHAPTER III.
Now the terrible Arwid Wittemberg made himself heard. A famous officerbrought his stern letter to the cloister, commanding the fathers tosurrender the fortress to Miller. "In the opposite event," wroteWittemberg, "if you do not abandon resistance, and do not yield to thesaid general, you may be sure that a punishment awaits you which willserve others as an example. The blame for your suffering lay toyourselves."
The fathers after receiving this letter determined in old fashion toprocrastinate, and present new difficulties daily. Again days passedduring which the thunder of artillery interrupted negotiations, and thecontrary.
Miller declared that he wished to introduce his garrison only to insurethe cloister against bands of freebooters. The fathers answered thatsince their garrison appeared sufficient against such a powerful leaderas the general himself, all the more would it suffice against bands offreebooters. They implored Miller, therefore, by all that was sacred,by the respect which the people had for the place, by God and by Mary,to go to Vyelunie, or wherever it might please him. But the patience ofthe Swedes was exhausted. That humility of the besieged, who imploredfor mercy while they were firing more and more quickly from cannons,brought the chief and the army to desperation.
At first Miller could not get it into his head why, when the wholecountry had surrendered, that one place was defending itself; whatpower was upholding them; in the name of what hopes did these monksrefuse to yield, for what were they striving, for what were theyhoping?
But flowing time brought more clearly the answer to that question. Theresistance which had begun there was spreading like a conflagration. Inspite of a rather dull brain, the general saw at last what the questionwith Kordetski was; and besides, Sadovski had explainedincontrovertibly that it was not a question of that rocky nest, nor ofYasna Gora, nor of the treasures gathered in the cloister, nor of thesafety of the Congregation, but of the fate of the whole Commonwealth.Miller discovered that that silent priest knew what he was doing, thathe had knowledge of his mission, that he had risen as a prophet toenlighten the land by example,--to call with a mighty voice to the eastand the west, to the north and the south, _Sursum corda!_ (Raise yourhearts) in order to rouse, either by his victory or his death andsacrifice, the sleeping from their slumber, to purify the sinful, tobring light into darkness.
When he had discovered this, that old warrior was simply terrified atthat defender and at his own task. All at once that "hen-house" ofChenstohova seemed to him a giant mountain defended by a Titan, and thegeneral seemed small to himself; and on his own army he looked, for thefirst time in his life, as on a handful of wretched worms. Was it forthem to raise hands against that mysterious and heaven-touching power?Therefore Miller was terrified, and doubt began to steal into hisheart. Seeing that the fault would be placed upon him, he began himselfto seek the guilty, and his anger fell first on Count Veyhard. Disputesrose in the camp, and dissensions began to inflame hearts against oneanother; the works of the siege had to suffer therefrom.
Miller had been too long accustomed to estimate men and events by thecommon measure of a soldier, not to console himself still at times withthe thought that at last the fortress would surrender. And takingthings in human fashion, it could not be otherwise. Besides, Wittembergwas sending him six siege guns of the heaviest calibre, which had showntheir force at Cracow.
"Devil take it!" thought Miller; "such walls will not stand againstguns like these, and if that nest of terrors, of superstitions, ofenchantment, winds up in smoke, then things will take another turn, andthe whole country will be pacified."
While waiting for the heavier guns, he commanded to fire from thesmaller. The days of conflict returned. But in vain did balls of firefall on the roofs, in vain did the best gunners exert superhuman power.As often as the wind blew away the sea of smoke, the cloister appeareduntouched, imposing as ever, lofty, with towers piercing calmly theblue of the sky. At the same time things happened which spreadsuperstitious terror among the besiegers. Now balls flew over the wholemountain and struck soldiers on the other side; now a gunner, occupiedin aiming a gun, fell on a sudden; now smoke disposed itself interrible and strange forms; now powder in the boxes exploded all atonce, as if fired by some invisible hand.
Besides, soldiers were perishing continually who alone, in twos or inthrees, went out of the camp. Suspicion fell on the Polish auxiliarysquadrons, which, with the exception of Kuklinovski's regiment, refusedout and out every cooperation in the siege, and showed daily moremenacing looks. Miller threatened Colonel Zbrojek with a court-martial,but he answered in presence of all the officers: "Try it, General."
Officers from the Polish squadrons strolled purposely through theSwedish camp, exhibiting contempt and disregard for the soldiers, andraising quarrels with the officers. Thence it came to duels, in whichthe Swedes, as less trained in fencing, fell victims more frequently.Miller issued a severe order against duels, and finally forbade thePoles entrance to the camp. From this it came that at last both armieswere side by side like enemies, merely awaiting an opportunity forbattle.
But the cloister defended itself ever better. It turned out that theguns sent by Pan Myaskovski were in no wise inferior to those whichMiller had, and the gunners through constant practice arrived at suchaccuracy that each shot threw down an enemy. The Swedes attributed thisto enchantment. The gunners answered the officers that with that powerwhich defended the cloister it was no business of theirs to do battle.
A certain morning a panic began in the southwestern trench, for thesoldiers had seen distinctly a woman in a blue robe shielding thechurch and the cloister. At sight of this they threw themselves down ontheir faces. In vain did Miller ride up, in vain did he explain thatmist and smoke had disposed themselves in that form, in vain besideswas his threat of court-martial and punishment. At the first moment noone would hear him, especially as the general himself was unable tohide his amazement.
Soon after this the opinion was spread through the whole army that noone taking part in the siege would die his own death. Many officersshared this belief, and Miller was not free from fears; for he broughtin Lutheran ministers and enjoined on them to undo the enchantment.They walked through the camp whispering, and singing psalms; fear,however, had so spread that more than once they heard from the mouthsof the soldiers: "Beyond your power, beyond your strength!"
In the midst of discharges of cannon a new envoy from Miller enteredthe cloister, and stood before the face of Kordetski and the council.
This was Pan Sladkovski, chamberlain of Rava, whom Swedish parties hadseized as he was returning from Prussia. They received him coldly andharshly, though he had an honest face and his look was as mild as thesky; but the monks had grown accustomed to see honest faces ontraitors. He was not confused a whit by such a reception; combingbriskly his yellow forelock with his fingers, he began:--
"Praised be Jesus Christ!"
"For the ages of ages!" answered the Congregation, in a chorus.
And Kordetski added at once; "Blessed be those who serve him."
"I serve him," answered Sladkovski, "and that I serve him moresincerely than I do Miller will be shown soon. H'm! permit me,worthy and beloved fathers, to cough, for I must first spit outfoulness. Miller then--tfu! sent me, my good lords, to you to persuadeyou--tfu!--to surrender. But I accepted the office so as to say to you:Defend yourselves, think not of surrender, for the Swedes are spinningthin, and the Devil is taking them by the eye."
The monks and the laity were astonished at sight of such an envoy. PanZamoyski exclaimed at once: "As God is dear to me, this is an honestman!" and springing to him began to shake his hand; but Sladkovski,gathering his forelock into one bunch, said,--
"That I am no knave will be shown straightway. I have become Miller'senvoy so as to tell you news so favorable that I could wish, my goodlords, to tell it all in one breath. Give thanks to God and His MostHoly Mother who chose you as instruments for changing men's hearts. Thecountry, taught by
your example and by your defence, is beginning tothrow off the yoke of the Swedes. What's the use in talking? In GreatPoland and Mazovia the people are beating the Swedes, destroyingsmaller parties, blocking roads and passages. In some places they havegiven the enemy terrible punishment already. The nobles are mountingtheir horses, the peasants are gathering in crowds, and when they seizea Swede they tear straps out of him. Chips are flying, tow is flying!This is what it has come to. And whose work is this?--yours."
"An angel, an angel is speaking!" cried monks and nobles, raising theirhands toward heaven.
"Not an angel, but Sladkovski, at your service. This isnothing!--Listen on. The Khan, remembering the kindness of the brotherof our rightful king, Yan Kazimir, to whom may God give many years! ismarching with aid, and has already passed the boundary of theCommonwealth. The Cossacks who were opposed he has cut to pieces, andis moving on with a horde of a hundred thousand toward Lvoff, andHmelnitski _nolens volens_ is coming with him."
"For God's sake, for God's sake!" repeated people, overcome as it wereby happiness.
But Pan Sladkovski, sweating and waving his hand, with still more vigorcried,--
"That is nothing yet! Pan Stefan Charnyetski, with whom the Swedesviolated faith, for they carried captive his infantry under Wolf, feelsfree of his word and is mounting. Yan Kazimir is collecting troops, andmay return any day to the country and the hetmans. Listen further, thehetmans, Pototski and Lantskoronski, and with them all the troops, arewaiting only for the coming of the king to desert the Swedes and raisesabres against them. Meanwhile they are coming to an understanding withSapyeha and the Khan. The Swedes are in terror; there is fire in thewhole country, war in the whole country--whosoever is living is goingto the field!"
What took place in the hearts of the monks and the nobles is difficultof description. Some wept, some fell on their knees, other repeated,"It cannot be, it cannot be!" Hearing this, Sladkovski approached thegreat crucifix hanging on the wall and said,--
"I place my hands on these feet of Christ pierced with a nail, andswear that I declare the pure and clean truth. I repeat only: Defendyourselves, fail not; trust not the Swedes; think not that bysubmission and surrender you could insure any safety for yourselves.They keep no promises, no treaties. You who are closed in here know notwhat is passing in the whole country, what oppression has come, whatdeeds of violent are done,--murdering of priests, profanation ofsanctuaries, contempt of all law. They promise you everything, theyobserve nothing. The whole kingdom is given up as plunder to adissolute soldiery. Even those who still adhere to the Swedes areunable to escape injustice. Such is the punishment of God on traitors,on those who break faith with the king. Delay!--I, as you see me here,if only I survive, if I succeed in slipping away from Miller, will movestraightway to Silesia, to our king. I will fall at his feet and say:Gracious King, save Chenstohova and your most faithful servants! But,most beloved fathers, stand firm, for the salvation of the wholeCommonwealth is depending upon you."
Here Sladkovski's voice trembled, tears appeared on his eyelids, but hespoke further. "You will have grievous times yet: siege guns are comingfrom Cracow, which two hundred infantry are bringing. One is aparticularly dreadful cannon. Terrible assaults will follow. But thesewill be the last efforts. Endure yet these, for salvation is comingalready. By these red wounds of God, the king, the hetmans, the army,the whole Commonwealth will come to rescue its Patroness. This is whatI tell you: rescue, salvation, glory is right here--not distant."
The worthy noble now burst into tears, and sobbing became universal.
Ah! still better news was due to that wearied handful of defenders, tothat handful of faithful servants, and a sure consolation from thecountry.
The prior rose, approached Sladkovski, and opened wide his arms.Sladkovski rushed into them, and they embraced each other long; othersfollowing their example began to fall into one another's arms, embrace,kiss, and congratulate one another as if the Swedes had alreadyretreated. At last the prior said,--
"To the chapel, my brethren, to the chapel!"
He went in advance, and after him the others. All the candles werelighted, for it was growing dark outside; and the curtains were drawnaside from the wonder-working image, from which sweet abundant rayswere scattered at once round about. Kordetski knelt on the steps,farther away the monks, the nobles, and common people; women withchildren were present also. Pale and wearied faces and eyes which hadwept were raised toward the image; but from behind the tears wasshining on each face a smile of happiness. Silence continued for atime; at last Kordetski began,--
"Under thy protection we take refuge, Holy Mother of God--"
Further words stopped on his lips, weariness, long suffering, hiddenalarms, together with the gladsome hope of rescue, rose in him like amighty wave; therefore sobbing shook his breast, and that man, who boreon his shoulders the fate of the whole country, bent like a weak child,fell on his face, and with weeping immeasurable had strength only tocry: "O Mary, Mary, Mary!"
All wept with him, but the image from above cast brightest rays.
It was late at night when the monks and the nobles went each his ownway to the walls; but Kordetski remained all night lying in the chapelin the form of a cross. There were fears in the cloister that wearinessmight overpower him; but next morning he appeared on the bastions, wentamong the soldiers and the garrison, glad and refreshed, and here andthere he repeated,--
"Children, the Most Holy Lady will show again that she is mightier thansiege guns, and then will come the end of your sorrows and torments."
That morning Yatsek Bjuhanski, an inhabitant of Chenstohova, disguisedas a Swede, approached the walls to confirm the news that great gunswere coming from Cracow, but also that the Khan with the horde wasapproaching. He delivered a letter from Father Anton Pashkovski, of themonastery at Cracow, who, describing the terrible cruelty and robberyof the Swedes, incited and implored the fathers of Yasna Gora to put notrust in the promises of the enemy, but to defend the sacred placepatiently against the insolence of the godless.
"There is no faith in the Swedes," wrote Father Pashkovski, "noreligion. Nothing divine or human is sacred and inviolate for them. Itis not their custom to respect anything, though guarded by treaties orpublic declarations."
That was the day of the Immaculate Conception. Some tens of officersand soldiers of the allied Polish squadrons besought with most urgentrequests Miller's permission to go to the fortress for divine service.Perhaps Miller thought that they would become friendly with thegarrison, carry news of the siege guns and spread alarm; perhaps he didnot wish by refusing to cast sparks on inflammable elements, whichwithout that made relations between the Poles and the Swedes more andmore dangerous: 'tis enough that he gave the permission.
With these quarter soldiers went a certain Tartar of the PolishMohammedan Tartars. He, amid universal astonishment, encouraged themonks not to yield their holy place to vile enemies, considering withcertainty that the Swedes would soon go away with shame and defeat. Thequarter soldiers repeated the same, confirming completely the newsbrought by Sladkovski. All this taken together raised the courage ofthe besieged to such a degree that they had no fear of those giganticcannons, and the soldiers made sport of them among themselves.
After services firing began on both sides. There was a certain Swedishsoldier who had come many times to the wall, and with a trumpet-likevoice had blasphemed against the Mother of God. Many a time had thebesieged fired at him, but always without result. Kmita aimed at himonce, but his bow-string broke; the soldier became more and moreinsolent, and roused others by his daring. It was said that he hadseven devils in his service who guarded and shielded him.
He came this day again to blaspheme; but the besieged, trusting that onthe day of the Immaculate Conception enchantments would have lesseffect, determined to punish him without fail. They fired a good whilein vain; at last a cannon ball, rebounding from an ice wall, andtripping along the snow like a bird, struck him straight in the breastand tore him i
n two. The defenders comforted themselves with this andcried out: "Who will blaspheme against Her another time?" Meanwhile therevilers had rushed down to the trenches, in panic.
The Swedes fired at the walls and the roofs; but the balls brought noterror to the besieged.
The old beggarwoman, Konstantsia, who dwelt in a cranny of the cliff,used to go, as if in ridicule of the Swedes, along the whole slope,gathering bullets in her apron, and threatening from time to time thesoldiers with her staff. They, thinking her a witch, were afraid shewould injure them, especially when they saw that bullets did not touchher.
Two whole days passed in vain firing. They hurled on the roof shipropes very thickly steeped in pitch; these flew like fiery serpents;but the guards, trained in a masterly manner, met the danger in time. Anight came with such darkness that, in spite of the fires, tar barrels,and the fireworks of Father Lyassota, the besieged could see nothing.
Meanwhile some uncommon movement reigned among the Swedes. The squeakof wheels was heard, men's voices, at times the neighing of horses, andvarious other kinds of uproar. The soldiers on the walls guessed thecause easily.
"The guns have come surely," said some.
The officers were deliberating on a sortie which Charnyetski advised;but Zamoyski opposed, insisting, with reason, that at such importantworks the enemy must have secured themselves sufficiently, and mustsurely hold infantry in readiness. They resolved merely to fire towardthe north and south, whence the greatest noise came. It was impossibleto see the result in the darkness.
Day broke at last, and its first rays exposed the works of the Swedes.North and south of the fortress were intrenchments, on which somethousands of men were employed. These intrenchments stood so high thatto the besieged the summits of them seemed on a line with the walls ofthe fortress. In the openings at the top were seen great jaws of guns,and the soldiers standing behind them looked at a distance like swarmsof yellow wasps.
The morning Mass was not over in the church when unusual thunder shookthe air; the window-panes rattled; some of them dropped out of theframes from shaking alone, and were broken with a sharp shiver on thestone floor; and the whole church was filled with dust which rose fromfallen plaster.
The great siege guns had spoken.
A terrible fire began, such as the besieged had not experienced. At theend of Mass all rushed out on the walls and roofs. The preceding stormsseemed innocent play in comparison with this terrible letting loose offire and iron.
The smaller pieces thundered in support of the siege guns. Great bombs,pieces of cloth steeped in pitch, torches, and fiery ropes were flying.Balls twenty-six pounds in weight tore out battlements, struck thewalls of buildings; some settled in them, others made great holes,tearing off plaster and bricks. The walls surrounding the cloisterbegan to shake here and there and lose pieces, and struck incessantlyby new balls threatened to fall. The buildings of the cloister werecovered with fire.
The trumpeters on the tower felt it totter under them. The churchquaked from continuous pounding, and candles fell out of the sockets atsome of the altars.
Water was poured in immense quantities on the fires that had begun, onthe blazing torches, on the walls, on the fire balls; and formed,together with the smoke and the dust, rolls of steam so thick thatlight could not be seen through them. Damage was done to the walls andbuildings. The cry, "It is burning, it is burning!" was heard ofteneramid the thunder of cannon and the whistle of bullets. At the northernbastion the two wheels of a cannon were broken, and one injured cannonwas silent. A ball had fallen into a stable, killed three horses, andset fire to the building. Not only balls, but bits of grenades, werefalling as thickly as rain on the roofs, the bastions, and the walls.
In a short time the groans of the wounded were heard. By a strangechance three young men fell, all named Yan. This amazed other defendersbearing the same name; but in general the defence was worthy of thestorm. Even women, children, and old men came out on the walls.Soldiers stood there with unterrified heart, in smoke and fire, amid arain of missiles, and answered with determination to the fire of theenemy. Some seized the wheels and rolled the cannon to the most exposedplaces; others thrust into breaches in the walls stones, beams, dung,and earth.
Women with dishevelled hair and inflamed faces gave an example ofdaring, and some were seen running with buckets of water after bombswhich were still springing and ready to burst right there, that moment.Ardor rose every instant, as if that smell of powder, smoke, and steam,that thunder, those streams of fire and iron, had the property ofrousing it. All acted without command, for words died amid the awfulnoise. Only the supplications which were sung in the chapel rose abovethe voices of cannon.
About noon firing ceased. All drew breath; but before the gate a drumwas sounded, and the drummer sent by Miller, approaching the gate,inquired if the fathers had had enough, and if they wished tosurrender at once. Kordetski answered that they would deliberate overthe question till morning. The answer had barely reached Miller whenthe attack began anew, and the artillery fire was redoubled.
From time to time deep ranks of infantry pushed forward under firetoward the mountain, as if wishing to try an assault; but decimated bycannon and muskets, they returned each time quickly and in disorderunder their own batteries. As a wave of the sea covers the shore andwhen it retreats leaves on the sand weeds, mussels, and variousfragments broken in the deep, so each one of those Swedish waves whenit sank back left behind bodies thrown here and there on the slope.
Miller did not give orders to fire at the bastions, but at the wallbetween them, where resistance was least. Indeed, here and thereconsiderable rents were made, but not large enough for the infantry torush through.
Suddenly a certain event checked the storm.
It was well toward evening when a Swedish gunner about to apply alighted match to one of the largest guns was struck in the very breastby a ball from the cloister. The ball came not with the first force,but after a third bound from the ice piled up at the intrenchment; itmerely hurled the gunner a number of yards. He fell on an open boxpartly filled with powder. A terrible explosion was heard that instant,and masses of smoke covered the trench. When the smoke fell away itappeared that five gunners had lost their lives; the wheels of thecannon were injured, and terror seized the soldiers. It was necessaryto cease fire for the time from that intrenchment, since a heavy foghad filled the darkness; they also stopped firing in other places.
The next day was Sunday. Lutheran ministers held services in thetrenches, and the guns were silent. Miller again inquired if thefathers had had enough. They answered that they could endure more.
Meanwhile the damage in the cloister was examined and found to beconsiderable. People were killed and the wall was shaken here andthere. The most formidable gun was a gigantic culverin standing on thenorth. It had broken the wall to such a degree, torn out so many stonesand bricks, that the besieged could foresee that should the firecontinue two days longer a considerable part of the wall would giveaway.
A breach such as the culverin would make could not be filled with beamsor earth. The prior foresaw with an eye full of sorrow the ruin whichhe could not prevent.
Monday the attack was begun anew, and the gigantic gun widened thebreach. Various mishaps met the Swedes, however. About dusk that day aSwedish gunner killed on the spot Miller's sister's son, whom thegeneral loved as though he had been his own, and intended to leave himall that he had,--beginning with his name and military reputation andending with his fortune. But the heart of the old warrior blazed upwith hatred all the more from this loss.
The wall at the northern bastion was so broken that preparations weremade in the night for a hand-to-hand assault. That the infantry mightapproach the fortress with less danger, Miller commanded to throw up inthe darkness a whole series of small redoubts, reaching the very slope.But the night was clear, and white light from the snow betrayed themovements of the enemy. The cannons of Yasna Gora scattered the menoccupied in making those parapets formed of
fascines, fences, baskets,and timbers.
At daybreak Charnyetski saw a siege machine which they had alreadyrolled toward the walls. But the besieged broke it with cannon firewithout difficulty; so many men were killed on that occasion that theday might have been called a day of victory for the besieged, had itnot been for that great gun which shook the wall incessantly withirrestrainable power.
A thaw came on the following days, and such dense mists settled downthat the fathers attributed them to the action of evil spirits. It wasimpossible to see either the machines of war, the erection of parapets,or the work of the siege. The Swedes came near the very walls of thecloister. In the evening Charnyetski, when the prior was making hisusual round of the walls, took him by the side and said in a lowvoice,--
"Bad, revered father! Our wall will not hold out beyond a day."
"Perhaps these fogs will prevent them from firing," answered Kordetski;"and we meanwhile will repair the rents somehow."
"The fogs will not prevent the Swedes, for that gun once aimed maycontinue even in darkness the work of destruction; but here the ruinsare falling and falling."
"In God and in the Most Holy Lady is our hope."
"True! But if we make a sortie? Even were we to lose men, if they couldonly spike that dragon of hell."
Just then some form looked dark in the fog, and Babinich appeared nearthe speakers.
"I saw that some one was speaking; but faces cannot be distinguishedthree yards away," said he. "Good evening, revered father! But of whatis the conversation?"
"We are talking of that gun. Pan Charnyetski advises a sortie. Thesefogs are spread by Satan; I have commanded an exorcism."
"Dear father," said Pan Andrei, "since that gun has begun to shake thewall, I am thinking of it, and something keeps coming to my head. Asortie is of no use. But let us go to some room; there I will tell youmy plans."
"Well," said the prior, "come to my cell."
Soon after they were sitting at a pine table in Kordetski's modestcell. Charnyetski and the priest were looking carefully into theyouthful face of Babinich, who said,--
"A sortie is of no use in this case. They will see it and repulse it.Here one man must do the work."
"How is that?" asked Charnyetski.
"One man must go and burst that cannon with powder; and he can do itduring such fogs. It is best that he go in disguise. There are jacketshere like those worn by the enemy. As it will not be possible to dootherwise, he will slip in among the Swedes; but if at this side of thetrench from which the gun is projecting there are no soldiers, thatwill be better still."
"For God's sake! what will the man do?"
"It is only necessary to put a box of powder into the mouth of the gun,with a hanging fuse and a thread to be ignited. When the powderexplodes, the gun--devil I wanted to say--will burst."
"Oh, my son! what do you say? Is it little powder that they thrust intoit every day, and it does not burst?"
Kmita laughed, and kissed the priest on the sleeve of his habit."Beloved father, there is a great heart in you, heroic and holy--"
"Give peace now!" answered the prior.
"And holy," repeated Kmita; "but you do not understand cannon. It isone thing when powder bursts in the butt of the cannon, for then itcasts forth the ball and the force flies out forward, but another ifyou stop the mouth of a gun with powder and ignite it,--no cannon canstand such a trial. Ask Pan Charnyetski. The same thing will take placeif you fill the mouth of a cannon with snow and fire it; the piece willburst. Such is the villanous power of powder. What will it be when awhole box of it explodes at the mouth? Ask Pan Charnyetski."
"That is true. These are no secrets for soldiers," answeredCharnyetski.
"You see if this gun is burst," continued Kmita, "all the rest are ajoke."
"This seems impossible to me," said Kordetski; "for, first, who willundertake to do it?"
"A certain poor fellow," said Kmita; "but he is resolute, his name isBabinich."
"You!" cried the priest and Charnyetski together.
"Ai, father, benefactor! I was with you at confession, and acknowledgedall my deeds in sincerity; among them were deeds not worse than the oneI am now planning; how can you doubt that I will undertake it? Do younot know me?"
"He is a hero, a knight above knights," cried Charnyetski. And seizingKmita by the neck, he continued: "Let me kiss you for the wish alone;give me your mouth."
"Show me another remedy, and I will not go," said Kmita; "but it seemsto me that I shall manage this matter somehow. Remember that I speakGerman as if I had been dealing in staves, wainscots, and wall plank inDantzig. That means much, for if I am disguised they will not easilydiscover that I am not of their camp. But I think that no one isstanding before the mouth of the cannon; for it is not safe there, andI think that I shall do the work before they can see me."
"Pan Charnyetski, what do you think of this?" asked the prior, quickly.
"Out of one hundred men one might return from such an undertaking; but_audaces fortuna juvat_ [fortune favors the bold]."
"I have been in hotter places than this," said Kmita: "nothing willhappen to me, for such is my fortune. Ai, beloved father, and what adifference! Ere now to exhibit myself, and for vainglory, I crawledinto danger; but this undertaking is for the Most Holy Lady. Evenshould I have to lay down my head, which I do not foresee, say yourselfcould a more praiseworthy death be wished to any man than down there inthis cause?"
The priest was long silent, and then said at last,--
"I should try to restrain you with persuasion, with prayers andimploring, if you wished to go for mere glory; but you are right: thisis a question affecting the honor of the Most Holy Lady, this sacredplace, the whole country! And you, my son, whether you return safely orwin the palm of glory, you will gain the supreme happiness,--salvation.Against my heart then I say, Go; I do not detain you. Our prayers, theprotection of God, will go with you."
"In such company I shall go boldly and perish with joy."
"But return, soldier of God, return safely; for you are loved withsincerity here. May Saint Raphael attend you and bring you back,cherished son, my dear child!"
"Then I will begin preparations at once," said Pan Andrei, joyfullypressing the priest. "I will dress in Swedish fashion with a jacket andwide-legged boots. I will fill in the powder, and do you, father, stopthe exorcisms for this night; fog is needful to the Swedes, but also tome."
"And do you not wish to confess before starting?"
"Of course, without that I should not go; for the devil would haveapproach to me."
"Then begin with confession."
Charnyetski went out of the cell, and Kmita knell down near the priestand purged himself of his sins. Then, gladsome as a bird, he began tomake preparations.
An hour or two later, in the deep night, he knocked again at theprior's cell, where Pan Charnyetski also was waiting.
The two scarcely knew Pan Andrei, so good a Swede had he made himself.He had twirled his mustaches to his eyes and brushed them out at theends; he had put his hat on one side of his head, and looked preciselylike some cavalry officer of noted family.
"As God lives, one would draw a sabre at sight of him," saidCharnyetski.
"Put the light at a distance," said Kmita; "I will show you something."
When Father Kordetski had put the light aside quickly, Pan Andreiplaced on a table a roll, a foot and a half long and as thick as thearm of a sturdy man, sewn up in pitched linen and filled firmly withpowder. From one end of it was hanging a long string made of towsteeped in sulphur.
"Well," said he, "when I put this flea-bane in the mouth of the cannonand ignite the string, then its belly will burst."
"Lucifer would burst!" cried Pan Charnyetski. But he remembered that itwas better not to mention the name of the foul one, and he slapped hisown mouth.
"But how will you set fire to the string?" asked Kordetski.
"In that lies the whole danger, for I must strike fire. I have goodflint,
dry tinder, and steel of the best; but there will be a noise,and they may notice something. The string I hope will not quench, forit will hang at the beard of the gun, and it will be hard to see it,especially as it will hide itself quickly in burning; but they maypursue me, and I cannot flee straight toward the cloister."
"Why not?" asked the priest.
"For the explosion would kill me. The moment I see the spark on thestring I must jump aside with all the strength in my legs, and when Ihave run about fifty yards, must fall to the ground under theintrenchment. After the explosion I shall rush toward the cloister."
"My God, my God, how many dangers!" said the prior, raising his eyes toheaven.
"Beloved father, so sure am I of returning that even emotion does nottouch me, which on an occasion like this ought to seize me. This isnothing! Farewell, and pray the Lord God to give me luck. Only conductme to the gate."
"How is that? Do you want to go now?" asked Charnyetski.
"Am I to wait till daylight, or till the fog rises? Is not my head dearto me?"
But Pan Andrei did not go that night, for just as they came to thegate, darkness, as if out of spite, began to grow light. Some movementtoo was heard around the great siege gun.
Next morning the besieged were convinced that the gun was transferredto another place.
The Swedes had received apparently some report of a great weakness inthe wall a little beyond the bend near the southern bastion, and theydetermined to direct missiles to that spot. Maybe too the prior was nota stranger to the affair, for the day before they had seen old Kostuha(Konstantsia) going out of the cloister. She was employed chiefly whenthere was need of giving false reports to the Swedes. Be that as itmay, it was a mistake on their part; for the besieged could now repairin the old place the wall so greatly shaken, and to make a new breach anumber of days would be needed.
The nights were clear in succession, the days full of uproar. TheSwedes fired with terrible energy. The spirit of doubt began again tofly over the fortress. Among the besieged were nobles who wished tosurrender; some of the monks too had lost heart. The opposition gainedstrength and importance. The prior made head against it withunrestrained energy, but his health began to give way. Meanwhile camereinforcements to the Swedes and supplies from Cracow, especiallyterrible explosive missiles in the form of iron cylinders filled withpowder and lead. These caused more terror than damage to the besieged.
Kmita, from the time that he had conceived the plan of bursting thesiege gun, secreted himself in the fortress. He looked every day at theroll, with heart-sickness. On reflection he made it still larger, sothat it was almost an ell long and as thick as a boot-leg. In theevening he cast greedy looks toward the gun, then examined the sky likean astrologer. But the bright moon, shining on the snow continually,baffled his plan.
All at once a thaw came; clouds covered the horizon, and the night wasdark,--so dark that even strain your eyes you could see nothing. PanAndrei fell into such humor as if some one had given him the steed ofthe Sultan; and midnight had barely sounded when he stood beforeCharnyetski in his cavalry dress, the roll under his arm.
"I am going!" said he.
"Wait, I will speak to the prior."
"That is well. Kiss me. Pan Pyotr, and go for the prior."
Charnyetski kissed him with feeling, and turned away. He had hardlygone thirty steps when Kordetski stood before him in white. He hadguessed that Kmita was going, and had come there to bless him.
"Babinich is ready; he is only waiting for your reverence."
"I hurry, I hurry!" answered the priest. "O Mother of God, save him andaid him!"
After a while both were standing at the opening where Charnyetski leftKmita, but there was no trace of him.
"He has gone!" said the prior, in amazement.
"He has gone!" repeated Charnyetski.
"But, the traitor!" said the prior, with emotion, "I intended to putthis little scapular on his neck."
Both ceased to speak; there was silence around, and as the darkness wasdense there was firing from neither side. On a sudden Charnyetskiwhispered eagerly,--
"As God is dear to me, he is not even trying to go in silence! Do youhear steps crushing the snow?"
"Most Holy Lady, guard thy servant!" said the prior.
Both listened carefully for a time, till the brisk steps and the noiseon the snow had ceased.
"Do you know, your reverence, at moments I think that he will succeed,and I fear nothing for him. The strange man went as if he were going toan inn to drink a glass of liquor. What courage he has in him! Eitherhe will lay down his head untimely, or he will be hetman. H'm! if I didnot know him as a servant of Mary, I should think that he has--God givehim success, God grant it to him! for such another cavalier there isnot in the Commonwealth."
"It is so dark, so dark!" said Kordetski; "but they are on their guardsince the night of your sortie. He might come upon a whole rank beforehe could see it."
"I do not think so. The infantry are watching, that I know, and watchcarefully; but they are in the intrenchment, not before the muzzles oftheir own cannon. If they do not hear the steps, he can easily pushunder the intrenchment, and then the height of it alone will coverhim--Uf!"
Here Charnyetski puffed and ceased speaking; for his heart began tobeat like a hammer from expectation and alarm, and breath failed him.
Kordetski made the sign of the cross in the darkness.
A third person stood near the two. This was Zamoyski.
"What is the matter?" asked he.
"Babinich has gone to blow up the siege gun."
"How is that? What is that?"
"He took a roll of powder, cord, and flint, and went."
Zamoyski pressed his head between his hands.
"Jesus, Mary! Jesus, Mary! All alone?"
"All alone."
"Who let him go? That's an impossible deed!"
"I. For the might of God all things are possible, even his safereturn," said Kordetski.
Zamoyski was silent. Charnyetski began to pant from emotion.
"Let us pray," said the prior.
The three knelt down and began to pray. But anxiety raised the hair onthe heads of both knights. A quarter of an hour passed, half an hour,an hour as long as a lifetime.
"There will be nothing now!" said Charnyetski, sighing deeply.
All at once in the distance a gigantic column of flame burst forth, anda roar as if all the thunders of heaven had been hurled to the earth;it shook the walls, the church, and the cloister.
"He has burst it, he has burst it!" shouted Charnyetski.
New explosions interrupted further speech of his.
Kordetski threw himself on his knees, and raising his hands, cried toheaven, "Most Holy Mother, Guardian, Patroness, bring him back safely!"
A noise was made on the walls. The garrison, not knowing what hadhappened, seized their arms. The monks rushed from their cells. No onewas sleeping. Even women sprang forth. Questions and answers crossedone another like lightnings.
"What has happened?"
"An assault!"
"The Swedish gun has burst!" cried one of the cannoneers.
"A miracle, a miracle!"
"The largest gun is burst!"
"That great one!"
"Where is the prior?"
"On the wall. He is praying; he did this."
"Babinich burst the gun!" cried Charnyetski.
"Babinich, Babinich! Praise to the Most Holy Lady! They will harm us nolonger."
At the same time sounds of confusion rose from the Swedish camp. In allthe trenches fires began to shine. An increasing uproar was heard. Bythe light of the fires masses of soldiers were seen moving in variousdirections without order, trumpets sounded, drums rolled continually;to the walls came shouts in which alarm and amazement were heard.
Kordetski continued kneeling on the wall.
At last the night began to grow pale, but Babinich came not to thefortress.