The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER I.

  Although Glowacz was somewhat anxious to hasten to Zgorzelice, he couldnot make the progress he wished, because the road was exceedingly bad. Ageneral thaw had followed the severe winter, keen frost, and immensesnowdrifts which covered whole villages.

  Luty (February), in spite of its name,[110] by no means showed itselfformidable. First there were thick, continuous fogs, succeeded bytorrential rains, which melted the white snowdrifts before one's eyes;and in the intervals there were very high winds as is usual in the monthof March; then the tempestuous clouds were suddenly torn asunder by thewind which now drove them together, and now scattered them, whilst on theearth the wind howled in the thickets, whistled in the forests anddispersed the snow beneath which only a short time before the boughs andtrunks had slept their silent, wintry sleep.

  The woods assumed a dark color. The meadows were inundated with broadsheets of water. The rivers and streams overflowed. Only the fishermenwere glad at the abundance of the watery element, but the rest ofhumanity were confined as within a prison, sheltering themselves withintheir houses and huts. In many places communication between village andvillage could only be effected by means of boats. There was no lack ofdams, dykes and roads through the forests and swamps, constructed oftrunks, of trees and logs, but now the dykes became soft and the stumpsin the low, wet places endangered travel, or the roads were renderedaltogether impracticable. The most difficult part for the Bohemian totraverse was the lake-land region of Wielkopolska, where every spring thethaw was greater than in any other part of Poland. Consequently the roadwas specially difficult for horses.

  He was therefore obliged to wait whole weeks, sometimes in small towns,sometimes in villages and farms, where he and his men were hospitablyreceived, according to custom, by the people, who were willing listenersto the tale of the "Knights of the Cross," and paid for it with bread andsalt. For this reason spring was already far advanced, and the greaterpart of March had already passed before he found himself in theneighborhood of Zgorzelice and Bogdaniec.

  He longed to see his mistress as soon as possible, although he knew thathe could never gain her, even as he could not gain the stars of heaven;nevertheless he adored and loved her with his whole soul. Yet he resolvedfirst to go and see Macko; first, because he was sent to him; secondly,because he was bringing men with him who were to be left at Bogdanice.Zbyszko, having killed Rotgier, according to established rules, becamethe owner of his following, which consisted of ten men and as manyhorses. Two of them had been sent back with the body of Rotgier toSzczytno. Knowing how anxious his uncle was to obtain colonists, he sentthe remaining eight men by Glowacz as a present to old Macko.

  The Bohemian, on his arrival at Bogdaniec, did not find Macko at home; hewas informed that Macko had gone with his dogs and crossbow to theforest; but he returned the same day, and having heard that an importantretinue was waiting for him, he hastened to salute the guests and offerthem hospitality. He did not recognize Glowacz at first, but when he gavehis name, Macko was greatly agitated, and throwing down his hat andcrossbow he cried:

  "For God's sake! tell me, have they killed him? Tell what you know."

  "They have not killed him," replied the Bohemian. "He is enjoying goodhealth."

  On hearing this, Macko was somewhat ashamed of himself, and began topuff; at last he drew a deep breath.

  "Praised be the Lord Christ," he said. "Where is he now?"

  "He left for Malborg and sent me here with news."

  "And why did he go to Malborg?"

  "To fetch his wife."

  "Be careful, boy, in the name of God what wife did he go for?"

  "For Jurand's daughter. There is much to be told about it, enough for awhole night, but, honored sir, allow me to rest a little, for I have beenconstantly traveling since midnight."

  Macko ceased questioning for a little while, for his great surprisedeprived him of speech. When he had somewhat recovered, he shouted to theservant to throw some wood on the fire and bring food for the Bohemian;then he began to pace up and down, gesticulating and talking to himself:

  "I cannot believe mine own ears.... Jurand's daughter.... Zbyszkomarried...."

  "He is married and not married," said the Bohemian.

  Then he began slowly to relate what had happened, while Macko listenedeagerly, only interrupting with questions when what the Bohemian relatedwas not quite clear to him. For instance, Glowacz could not give theexact time when Zbyszko had got married, as there had been no publicmarriage. Nevertheless he affirmed that that marriage had surely takenplace, and that it had come to pass owing to the instigation of PrincessAnna Danuta, and had been made public only after the arrival of theKnight of the Cross, Rotgier, when Zbyszko had challenged him to thejudgment of God, in the presence of the entire Mazovian court.

  "Ah! He fought?" Macko exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with intensecuriosity. "What followed?"

  "He cut the German in two, and God also made me happy by delivering thearmor-bearer into my hands."

  Macko again began to puff, but this time with an air of satisfaction.

  "Well!" he said. "He is a fellow not to be trifled with. He is the lastof the Gradys, but so help me God, not the least. He was that already inthe fight with the Fryzjans ... when he was a mere stripling...."

  Here he glanced sharply once and again at the Bohemian, then hecontinued:

  "And so you tried to imitate him, and it seems you tell the truth. Idoubted your words, but, as you yourself say, you had little work withthe armor-bearer. But if he chopped off the arm of that dog-brother afterkilling the Aurochs, those are valiant deeds."

  Then he suddenly asked:

  "Is there rich spoil?"

  "We have taken the arms, horses and ten men, eight of whom, the younglord sends you."

  "What has he done with the other two?"

  "He sent them back with the corpse."

  "Why did not the prince send two of his own servants? Those two will notreturn."

  The Bohemian smiled at Macko's greed which often betrayed him.

  "The young lord need not consider such trifles now," he said, "Spychow isa large estate."

  "It is a large estate; what of it, it is not yet his."

  "Then whose is it?"

  Macko rose from his seat.

  "Speak! and Jurand?"

  "Jurand is a prisoner, and dying, in the hands of the Knights of theCross. God knows whether he will survive, and even if he survives andreturns, what of it? Did not Father Caleb read Jurand's testament,announcing to all that the young lord is to be their master?"

  The last words obviously made a great impression upon Macko; because hewas too much amazed to thoroughly grasp the news. That Zbyszko had gotmarried was painful to him at the first moment, for he loved Jagienkawith a fatherly love, and heartily wished to see Zbyszko united to her.But, on the other hand, he had already grown accustomed to regard theaffair as lost; moreover Jurandowna brought with her so much thatJagienka could never bring; the prince's favor, and being an onlydaughter her dower was many times greater. Macko already saw Zbyszko, asthe prince's friend, the master of Bogdaniec and of Spychow; nay, in thenear future, a castellan. That was not at all unlikely. For it was toldin those days of a certain poor nobleman who had twelve sons, six fell inbattle and the other six became castellans and were advancing towardgreatness; only a reputation could assist Zbyszko in this career, so thatMacko's ambition and greed for a pedigree might be realized according tohis wishes. The old man, however, had much cause for alarm. He, himself,had once gone to the Knights of the Cross, to save Zbyszko and broughtback with him an iron splinter between the ribs; now Zbyszko had gone toMalborg, into the very throat of the wolf. Was it to get his wife thereor death? They would not look upon him there with a favorable eye,thought Macko. He had just destroyed one of their famous knights andbefore that he had killed Lichtenstein. Those dog-blooded men lovedvengeance. That thought made the old knight very uneasy. It also occurredto him that Zbyszko, being quick tempered
, would engage in a fight withsome German; or what he most feared was that they would kidnap him asthey had old Jurand and his daughter. At Zlotorja they did not scruple tokidnap even the prince himself. Why then should they be scrupulous withZbyszko?

  Then he asked himself what would happen if the youngster should escapethe knights, but not find his wife? This thought pleased him, becauseeven if Zbyszko should not recover her, he would still be the owner ofSpychow, but that pleasure only lasted for a moment. For while the oldman was much concerned about the property, yet Zbyszko's offspringinterested him quite as much. If Danusia were to be lost, like a stone inthe water and nobody knew whether she were alive or dead, Zbyszko couldnot marry another, and then there would be no heir to the Gradys ofBogdaniec. Ah! It would be quite another thing if he were married toJagienka!... Moczydoly was not to be scorned; it was spacious and wellstocked. Such a girl, like an apple-tree in the orchard, would bringforth every year without fail. Thus Macko's regret was greater than hisjoy at the prospect of the possession of the new estate. His regret andagitation caused him to renew his questions, and he again inquired of theBohemian how and when the marriage had taken place.

  But the Bohemian replied:

  "I have told you already, honored sir, that I do not know when ithappened, and what I conjecture I cannot confirm with an oath."

  "What do you conjecture?"

  "I have never left my young master and we slept together. On one eveningonly, he ordered me to leave him when I saw them all visit him: theprincess accompanied by the lady Jurandowna, (Danusia,) Lord de Lorcheand Father Wyszoniek. I was even surprised to see the young lady with awreath on her head; but I thought they had come to administer thesacrament to my master.... It may be that the marriage took placethen.... I recollect that the master commanded me to attire myself as fora wedding ceremony, but then I also thought that that was to receive theeucharist."

  "And after that, did they remain by themselves?"

  "They did not remain alone; and even if they had remained by themselvesthe master was then so feeble that he could not even eat withoutassistance. And there were already people sent by Jurand waiting for theyoung lady, and she left the following morning...."

  "Then Zbyszko has not seen her since?"

  "No human eye has seen her."

  Then silence reigned for a while.

  "What do you think?" asked Macko, presently. "Will the Knights of theCross give her up, or not?"

  The Bohemian shook his head, then he waved his hand discouragingly.

  "I think," he said, slowly, "she is lost forever."

  "Why?" asked Macko in terror.

  "Because, when they said they had her there was yet hope, one could yetcontend with them, either to ransom her, or take her from them by force.'But,' they said, 'we had a girl retaken from robbers and we notifiedJurand; he did not recognize her, and he killed of our people, in ourvery presence, more than fall in one good fight in war.'"

  "Then they showed Jurand some other girl."

  "So it is said. God knows the truth. It may not be true, and it may bethat they showed him some other girl. But it is a fact that he killedpeople, and the Knights of the Cross are ready to swear that they neverabducted Panna Jurandowna, and that is an exceedingly difficult affair.Even should the grand master order an investigation, they would replythat she was not in their hands; especially since the courtiers ofCiechanow spoke of Jurand's letter in which he said that she was not withthe Knights of the Cross."

  "It may be she is not with them."

  "I beg your pardon, sir!... If they had recaptured her from the robbers,it would have been for no other motive than for ransom. The robbers,before that happened could neither write a letter nor imitate thesignature of the lord of Spychow, nor send an honorable messenger."

  "That is true; but what do the Knights of the Cross want her for?"

  "Revenge on Jurand's race. They prefer vengeance to mead and wine; and ifthey want a pretext, they have one. The lord of Spychow was terrible tothem, and his last deed completely finished them.... My master, I alsoheard, had lifted up his hand against Lichtenstein; he killed Rotgier....God helped me, too, to shatter that dog-brother's arm. Wait, I pray, letus consider. There were four of them to be exterminated; now hardly oneis alive, and that one is an old man, and your grace must bear in mindthat we yet have our teeth."

  There was again silence for a moment.

  "You are a discreet armor-bearer," said Macko, at last; "but what do youthink they are going to do with her?"

  "Prince Witold, they say, is a powerful prince, even the German emperorbows to him; and what did they do to his children? Have they but fewcastles? Few underground prisons? Few wells? Few ropes and halters forthe neck?"

  "For the living God's sake!" exclaimed Macko.

  "God grant that they may not also detain the young lord, although he wentthere with a letter from the prince, and accompanied by de Lorche who isa powerful lord and related to the prince. Ah, I did not want to set outfor this place. But he commanded me to go. I heard him once say to theold lord of Spychow: 'It is to be regretted that you are not cunning, forI shall get nothing by craft, and with them that is a necessary thing. OUncle Macko! he would be useful here;' and for that reason he dispatchedme. But as for Jurandowna, even you, sir, will not find her, for probablyshe is already in the other world, and where death is concerned, even thegreatest cunning cannot prevail."

  Macko was absorbed in thought for a long while, after which he said:

  "Ha! Then there is no counsel. Cunning cannot prevail against death. Butif I were to go there and only get assurance that she has been removed,then in that case Spychow as well as Zbyszko remain. He will be able toreturn here and marry another maiden."

  Here Macko breathed freely, as though a burden were removed from hisheart, and Glowacz asked in a bashful, subdued voice:

  "Do you mean the young lady of Zgorzelice?"

  "Well!" replied Macko, "especially as she is an orphan, and Cztan ofRogow and Wilk of Brzozowa continually press their court to her."

  At that the Bohemian straightened himself up.

  "Is the young lady an orphan?... The knight Zych?..."

  "Then you do not know."

  "For the love of God! What has happened?"

  "Well you are right. How could you know, since you have just arrived; andour only conversation has been about Zbyszko. She is an orphan. Unless hehad guests, Zych of Zgorzelice never remained at home; otherwise heavoided Zgorzelice. He wrote about you to his abbot that he was going tovisit Prince Przemka of Oswiecemia and ask him to give you to him. Zychdid it because he was well acquainted with the prince and they have oftenfrolicked together. Consequently Zych called upon me and said as follows:'I am going to Oswiecemia, then to Glewic; keep your eye on Zgorzelice.'I at once suspected something wrong and said: 'Don't go! I will keep goodwatch over Jagienka and the estate,' for I know that Cztan and Wilkintend to do you some wrong, and you ought to know that the abbot out ofspite against Zbyszko, preferred Cztan or Wilk for the girl. But hesubsequently learned to know them better and rejected both of them, andturned them out of Zgorzelice; but not effectually, for they obstinatelypersisted. Now they have quieted down for a while, for they have woundedeach other and are laid up, but before that occurred there was not amoment of security. Everything is upon my head, protection andguardianship. Now Zbyszko wishes me to come.... What will happen here toJagienka--I don't know, but now I will tell you about Zych; he did notfollow my advice--he went. Well, they feasted and frolicked together.From Glewic they went to see old Nosak, Prince Przemka's father, whorules in Cieszyn; till Jasko, the prince of Racibor, out of hatred forPrince Przemka, set upon them the robber band under the leadership of theBohemian Chrzan; Prince Przemka and Zych of Zgorzelice perished in theaffray. The robbers stunned the abbot with an iron flail, so that evennow his head shakes and he knows nothing of what is going on in the worldand has lost his speech, God help him, forever! Now old Prince Nosakbought Chrzan from the owner of Zampach, an
d tortured him so much thateven the oldest inhabitants never heard of such cruelty,--but the crueltydid not lessen the sorrow of the old man for his son; neither did itresuscitate Zych, nor wipe away the tears of Jagienka. This is the resultof the frolic.... Six weeks ago they brought Zych here and buried him."

  "Such a hard master!..." sorrowfully said the Bohemian. "Under Boleslaw Iwas comfortably situated when he took me into captivity. But such was thecaptivity that I would not have exchanged it for freedom.... He was agood and worthy master! May God grant him eternal glory. Ah, I am verysorry! But I must grieve for the helpless young lady."

  "Because the poor thing is a good girl, she loved her father more than aman loves his mother. Then too she is not safe in Zgorzelice. After thefuneral, scarcely had the snow covered Zych's grave, when Cztan and Wilkstepped into the mansion of Zgorzelice. My people were informed of itbeforehand. Then I, with the farm hands went to the rescue; we arrived ingood time and with God's help we gave them a good thrashing. Immediatelyafter the fight, the girl fell on her knees and begged me to save her.'If I cannot belong to Zbyszko,' she said, 'I will belong to nobody else;only save me from those torturers, I prefer death to them....' I tell youthat I made a real castle out of Zgorzelice. After that, they appearedtwice on the premises, but believe me, they could not succeed. Now therewill be peace for some time, for as I told you: they hurt each otherbadly, so much so, that neither is able to move head or foot."

  Glowacz made no observation upon this, but when he heard of the conductof Cztan and Wilk, he began to gnash his teeth so loudly, that it soundedlike the creaking caused by the opening and closing of a door, then hebegan to rub his strong hands upon his thighs as though they wereitching. Finally, he uttered with difficulty only one word:

  "Villains!"

  But at that moment, a voice was heard in the entrance-hall, the doorsuddenly opened and Jagienka rushed into the house, and with her wasJasko, her oldest brother, who was fourteen years old and looked as likeher, as though they were twins.

  She had heard from some peasants at Zgorzelice, that they had seen theBohemian Hlawa, at the head of some people, journeying to Bogdaniec, andlike Macko, she also was terrified, and when they informed her thatZbyszko was not among them she was almost sure that some misfortune hadhappened. She therefore lost no time and hastened to Bogdaniec toascertain the truth.

  "What has happened?... For God's sake tell me," she shouted, when yetupon the threshold.

  "What should happen?" replied Macko. "Zbyszko is alive and well."

  The Bohemian hastened toward the young lady, knelt upon one knee andkissed the hem of her dress, but she paid no attention to it; only whenshe heard the reply of the old knight she turned her head from thefireplace to the darker side of the room, and only after a while, as ifhaving forgotten that it was necessary to salute the Bohemian, she said:

  "The name of Jesus Christ be praised!"

  "Forever and ever," replied Macko.

  Then she observed the kneeling Bohemian at her feet and bent toward him.

  "From my soul I am glad to see you, Hlawa, but why did you leave yourmaster behind?"

  "He sent me away, most gracious lady."

  "What were his orders?"

  "He ordered me to go to Bogdaniec."

  "To Bogdaniec?... What else?"

  "He sent me to get counsel.... He also sends his compliments and goodwishes."

  "To Bogdaniec? Very well, then. But where is he himself?"

  "He left for Malborg, and is now among the Knights of the Cross."

  Jagienka's face again assumed an expression of alarm.

  "Why, is he tired of life?"

  "He is in quest, gracious lady, of that which he will not be able tofind."

  "I believe he will not find it," interrupted Macko. "Just as one cannotdrive a nail without a hammer, so are man's wishes without the will ofGod."

  "What are you talking about?" cried Jagienka. But Macko replied withanother query.

  "Did he say to you that Zbyszko went for Jurandowna? It seems to me thathe did."

  Jagienka at first did not reply, and only after awhile, catching herbreath, she replied:

  "Ay! He said! But what hindered him telling?"

  "Well, then, now I can talk freely."

  And he began to tell to her all that he had heard from the Bohemian. Hewondered at himself why his words came haltingly and with difficulty, butbeing a clever man, he tried to avoid any expression that might irritateJagienka, and he dwelt strongly upon what he himself believed, thatZbyszko was never the husband of Danusia in reality and that she wasalready lost to him forever.

  The Bohemian confirmed Macko's words now and then, sometimes by noddinghis head in approval, sometimes repeating "By God, true, as I live," or:"It is so, not otherwise!" The young lady listened, with eyelasheslowered till they touched her cheeks; she asked no more questions, andwas so quiet that her silence alarmed Macko.

  "Now, what do you say to that?" he enquired when he had ended.

  But she did not reply, only two tears glistened between her eyelids androlled down her cheeks.

  After a while she approached Macko, and kissing his hand, said:

  "The Lord be praised."

  "Forever and ever," replied Macko. "Are you so much needed at home?Better stay with us."

  But she refused to remain, giving as a reason that she had not given outthe provisions for supper. But Macko, although he knew that there was theold lady, Sieciechowa, at Zgorzelice, who could easily fulfil Jagienka'sduties, did not persuade her to remain, for he knew that sorrow does notlike the light on human tears, and that a man is like a fish, when itfeels the penetrating harpoon in its body it sinks to the depths.

  Then he only regarded her as a girl, so he led her and the Bohemian intothe courtyard.

  But the Bohemian brought the horse from the stable, harnessed him, anddeparted with the young lady.

  But Macko returned to the house, shook his head, and murmured:

  "What a fool that Zbyszko is?... Why, her presence seems to have filledthe whole house with perfume."

  The old man lamented to himself. "Had Zbyszko taken her immediately afterhe returned, by this time there might have been joy and delight! But whatof it now? If they should speak of him her eyes would immediately befilled with tears of longing, and the fellow is roaming about the worldand may break the head of some of the knights at Malborg, provided theydo not break his; and now the house is empty, only the arms on the wallglitter. There is some benefit in husbandry. Running about is nothing,Spychow and Bogdaniec are nothing. Very soon none will remain to whomthey might be left."

  Here Macko became angry.

  "Wait, you tramp," he exclaimed, "I will not go with you, you may do asyou like!"

  But at that very moment he was seized with an exceeding yearning afterZbyszko.

  "Bah! shall I not go," he thought. "Shall I remain at home? Godforbid!... I wish to see that rascal once more. It must be so. He willagain fight one of those dog-brothers--and take spoil. Others grow oldbefore they receive the belt of knighthood, but he already has receivedthe belt from the prince.... And rightly so. There are many valorousyouths among the nobility; but not another like him."

  His tender feelings entirely subdued him. First he began to look at thearms, swords and axes which had become blackened by the smoke, as thoughconsidering which to take with him, and which to leave behind; then heleft the house; first, because he could not stay there; secondly, to giveorders to prepare the carriage and give the horses double provender.

  In the courtyard where it was already beginning to grow dark, heremembered Jagienka, who only a moment ago sat here on horseback, and heagain became uneasy.

  "I must go," he said to himself, "but who is going to protect the girlagainst Cztan and Wilk. May thunder strike them."

  But Jagienka was on the road with her little brother, Jasko, crossing thewoods leading to Zgorzelice, and the Bohemian accompanied them insilence, with love and grief in his heart. A moment since he s
aw hertears, now he looked at her dark form, scarcely visible in the darknessof the forest, and he guessed her sorrow and pain. It also seemed to himthat at any moment Wilk or Cztan's rapacious hands might dart from thedark thicket and grasp her, and at that thought, he was carried away bywild anger and longed for a fight. At times the desire for fight was sointense that he wanted to grasp his axe or sword and cut down a pine treeon the road. He felt that a good fight would comfort him. Lastly he wouldbe glad, even if he could let the horse go at a gallop. But he could notdo it, they rode silently in front of him, and at a very slow gait, footby foot, and little Jasko, who was of a talkative disposition, afterseveral attempts to engage his sister in conversation, seeing that shewas unwilling to speak, desisted, and also sank into deep silence.

  But when they were approaching Zgorzelice, the sorrow in the Bohemian'sheart turned to anger against Cztan and Wilk: "I would not spare even myblood in your behalf," he said to himself, "provided it comforted you.But what can I, unfortunate, do? What can I tell you? Unless I tell youthat he ordered me to kneel before you. And, God grant that that might beof some comfort to you."

  Thinking thus, he urged his horse close to Jagienka's.

  "Gracious lady...."

  "Are you riding with us?" enquired Jagienka, as though awaking fromsleep. "What do you say?"

  "I forgot to tell you what my master commanded me to say to you. When Iwas about to depart from Spychow, he called me and said 'I bow at thefeet of the young lady of Zgorzelice, for whether in good or bad fortune,I shall never forget her; and for what she did for my uncle and myself,may God recompense her, and keep her in good health.'"

  "May God also recompense him for his good words," replied Jagienka.

  Then she added, in such a wonderful tone, that it caused the Bohemian'sheart to melt:

  "And you, Hlawa."

  The conversation ceased for a while. But the armor-bearer was glad forhimself and for her words. For he said to himself: "At least it shall notbe said that she has been fed with ingratitude." He also began to rackhis brains for something more of the same nature to tell her; and after amoment he said:

  "Lady."

  "What?"

  "This ... as it were ... I want to say, as the old _pan_ of Bogdaniecalso said: 'That the lady there is lost forever, and that he will neverfind her, even if the grand master himself assist him.'"

  "Then she is his wife...."

  The Bohemian nodded his head.

  "Yes, she is his wife."

  Jagienka made no reply to this, but at home, after supper, when Jasko andthe younger brother were put to bed, she ordered a pitcher of mead. Thenshe turned to the Bohemian and asked:

  "Perhaps you want to retire. I wish to continue our conversation."

  The Bohemian, although tired, was ready to chatter even till morning. Sothey began to talk, and he again related in general terms all that hadhappened to Zbyszko, Jurand, Danusia and himself.