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

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER IV.

  Two horsemen, in the midst of the storm and pouring rain, reached thefrontier of Spychow. They were Zygfried and Tolima. The last mentionedaccompanied the German to protect him from the waylaying peasants and theservants of Spychow, who burned with hatred and revenge toward him.Zygfried was unarmed, but he was not fettered. The rainstorm, driven bythe tempest, had already overtaken them. Now and then, when it suddenlythundered, the horses reared. They traveled in deep silence in a ravine.Owing to the narrowness of the road, they were at times so near that theystruck each other's stirrups. Tolima, who had been accustomed to guardprisoners for many years, frequently looked at Zygfried watchfully, asthough he were guarding against his escaping suddenly, and an involuntaryshudder seized him every time he looked at Zygfried, because his eyesappeared to him to be shining in the darkness like the eyes of an evilspirit, or of a vampire. It struck Tolima that it would be advisable tomake the sign of the cross over Zygfried, but he refrained from doing so,because, he thought, that under the sign of the cross, he would hearunearthly voices, and Zygfried would be transformed into a hideous being.His teeth chattered and his fear increased. The old soldier who couldfight singly against a whole band of Germans and fall fearlessly uponthem, as a hawk swoops upon a flock of partridges, was neverthelessafraid of unclean spirits, and wanted to have nothing to do with them. Hewould have preferred simply to point out to the German the road andreturn; but he was ashamed of himself, therefore he led him as far as thefrontier.

  It was then, when they had drawn near the border of the Spychow forest,that the rain ceased, and the clouds were lit up with a strange yellowishlight, that Zygfried's eyes lost that above-mentioned unnatural glare.But Tolima was seized with another temptation: "They ordered me," he saidto himself, "to lead this mad dog safely as far as the frontier. I havedone that; but must the torturer of my master and his daughter leavewithout revenge and punishment? Would it not be a proper and God-pleasingdeed to kill him? Ay! I should like to challenge him to deadly combat,but he is not armed. Very soon at _Pan_ Warcimow's farm, about a milefrom here, they will supply him with some weapon, and then I willchallenge him. With God's help I shall overthrow him, then kill him, andfitly, cut off his head and bury it in the dung!" These were the wordswhich Tolima said to himself. Then looking greedily at the German hebegan to dilate his nostrils as if he already smelt fresh blood. Hefought hard in his mind with that desire; it was hard wrestling withhimself, until he reflected that Jurand had not only granted to theprisoner his life and freedom as far as the frontier, but also beyond it,otherwise Jurand's holy deed would have no merit and the heavenly rewardfor him would thereby be lessened. He finally prevailed over himself, andreining in his horse, said;

  "Here is our border; your side is not far from here; proceed, you arefree; and if the qualms of conscience do not take you off, or God'sthunder does not strike you, then you need not fear man."

  Then Tolima returned; and Zygfried proceeded. His face looked as ifpetrified and a savage expression was depicted upon it. He did not replya single word, as though he heard nothing that was said to him. Hecontinued his journey now upon a wider road and had the appearance of onewho is fast asleep.

  The break in the storm and the brightening of the sky only lasted a shorttime. It darkened again; so much so that it looked like the darkness ofnight. The clouds traveled so low that they quite enveloped the forestand from the hills came down an ill-boding obscurity, a kind of hissingand growling of impatient vampires, who were kept back by the angel ofthe storm. Blinding lightning illuminated the threatening sky everymoment and terrified the land. Then one could see the broad highwayextending between the two black walls of forest, and upon it a lonelyhorseman. Zygfried moved on in a semi-conscious condition, consumed byfever. Despair had lacerated his heart since Rotgier's death and filledit with crimes of revenge. Remorse, awful visions, soul stirrings hadalready tortured his mind in the past to such a degree that with greateffort he had to fight madness; there were even moments when he couldfight no longer and he surrendered. But the new troubles, fatigue uponthe road under the strong hand of the Bohemian, the night he had passedin the dungeon of Spychow, the uncertainty of his fate, and above all,that unheard-of and almost superhuman deed, had quite terrified him. Allthis had brought him to a climax. There were moments when his mind becameso stupefied that he entirely lost his judgment and he did not know whathe was doing. Then the fever awoke him and, at the same time awoke withinhim a certain dull feeling of despair, destruction, and perdition,--afeeling that all hope was already gone, extinguished and ended. He feltthat about him was only night, night and darkness, a horrible abyss intowhich he must plunge.

  Suddenly a voice whispered in his ear:

  "Go! Go!"

  And he looked around him and saw the very image of death, a skeletonmounted upon a skeleton horse, pressing closely beside him, with hiswhite rattling bones.

  "Is it you?" asked Zygfried.

  "Yes it is. Go! Go!"

  But at that moment he glanced to the other side and observed that he hadanother companion there. Stirrup to stirrup rode a form, appearingsomewhat like a human being but for his face and head. It had the head ofan animal, with raised long pointed ears, covered with black shaggy hair.

  "Who are you?" asked Zygfried.

  But the being, instead of replying, showed its teeth and growled.

  Zygfried closed his eyes, but in a moment he heard a louder clattering ofbones and the voice speaking to him in the same ear:

  "Time! Time! Hurry on, go!"

  "I go!" he replied.

  But that last reply came from his breast and seemed to have been utteredby somebody else. Then, impelled as it were by an external unconquerablepower, he dismounted and took off his high knight's saddle, and then thebridle. His companions also dismounted, and did not leave him for amoment. They left the middle of the road and went toward the margin ofthe wood. There, the black being bent down a branch of a tree andassisted him in fastening to it the strap of the bridle.

  "Hurry!" whispered Death.

  "Hurry!" whistled some voices from the tops of the trees.

  Zygfried, who was like one plunged in deep sleep, drew through the bucklethe other end of the strap so as to form a noose. Then he stepped uponthe saddle which he had placed in front of the tree, and adjusted thenoose upon his neck.

  "Push back the saddle! ... Already! Ah!"

  The saddle, which he pushed with his feet, rolled away several paces andthe body of the unfortunate Knight of the Cross hung heavily. It seemedto him, only for a short moment, that he heard a kind of smothering,snorting and roaring, and that abominable vampire threw itself upon him,shook him and then began to tear his breast with its teeth to rend hisheart. Then, as the light of his eyes was about extinguished he yet sawsomething else; for lo, death dissolved into a whitish cloud, whichslowly approached him, embraced him, and finally surrounded and coveredall with a dismal and impenetrable veil.

  At that moment the storm broke with great fury. Thunder roared in themiddle of the road with such a terrible crash that it seemed as thoughthe earth was shaken to its very foundations. The whole forest bent underthe tempest. The noise of whistling, hissing, howling, creaking of thetrunks, and cracking of the broken branches, filled the depths of thewoods. The tempest-driven sheets of rain hid the world from sight. Onlyat short intervals, when lit up by blood-colored lightning, could be seenthe wild dangling body of Zygfried by the roadside.

  * * * * *

  The following morning, advancing upon the same road, a numerous trainmight be seen. In front was Jagienkna, with Sieciechowna and theBohemian. Behind them moved the wagons, surrounded by four servants,armed with bows and swords. Every driver had also a spear and an axe nearhim, not counting forged hayforks and other cutting arms suitable uponthe road. Those arms were necessary for protection against wild beasts,as well as robbers, who always swarmed upon the border of the Knights ofthe Cross. This caused Jagiello to complain
in his letters to the GrandMaster of the Order, and when they met at Racionza.

  But being provided with skilful men and good arms, the retinue traveledwithout fear.

  The stormy day was succeeded by a wonderful one; cheerful, silent and sobright that the eyes of the travelers were blinded when not in the shade.Not a single leaf stirred; from each of them hung large drops of rainwhich the sun changed into a rainbow. Among the pine-needles they had theappearance of large glistening diamonds. The rainfall produced smallstreams upon the road, which ran with glad sound toward the lower places,where they formed shallow little lakes. The whole neighborhood was wetand bedewed, but smiling in the morning brightness. On such mornings,also, the human heart is filled with gladness. Therefore the ostlers andservants began to sing; they marveled at the silence which reigned amongthose riding in front of them.

  But they were quiet because a heavy burden oppressed Jagienka's heart.There was something which had ended in her life, something broken.Although she was not experienced in meditation and could not determinedistinctly the cause and what was going on in her mind, yet she felt thatall that had lived hitherto had vanished, that all her hopes haddissipated as the morning mist upon the fields is dissipated. She feltthat she must now renounce and give up everything and forget, and beginalmost a new life. She also thought that although, with God's will, herpresent position was not of the worst, yet it could not be otherwise thansad, and in no way could the new life turn out to be as good as thatwhich had just terminated. And an immense sorrow had taken hold of herheart, so that, at the thought that every past hope was gone forever,tears came to her eyes. But not wishing to add shame to her othertroubles, she restrained herself from weeping. She wished that she hadnever left Zgorzelice; in that case she would not now have to returnthither. Then, she thought, it was not only to remove the cause forattacks upon Zgorzelice by Cztan and Wilk that Macko brought her toSpychow. That she could not believe. "No," she said, "Macko also knewthat that was not the only cause for taking me away. Perhaps Zbyszko willalso know it." At that thought, her cheeks became crimson and bitternessfilled her heart.

  "I was too daring," she said to herself, "and now I have what I deserved.Trouble and uncertainty to-morrow, suffering and deep sorrow in thefuture and with it humiliation."

  But the train of oppressing thoughts was interrupted by a man cominghastily from the opposite direction. The Bohemian, whose eyes nothingescaped, rushed toward the man, who with crossbow upon his shoulder andbadger-skin pouch at his side, and with a feather of a black woodcock inhis cap, was recognized as a forester.

  "Hey! Who are you? Stop!" exclaimed the Bohemian.

  The man approached quickly, his face was agitated, and had the expressionof those who have something extraordinary to communicate. He cried:

  "There upon the road ahead of you is a man hanging on a tree!"

  The Bohemian was alarmed, thinking that it might be a murder, and heasked the man quickly:

  "How far from here is it?"

  "A bowshot distance, and upon this road."

  "Is there nobody with him?"

  "Nobody; I frightened away a wolf that was smelling around him."

  The mention of a wolf quieted Hlawa, for it told him that there wereneither people nor farms in the neighborhood.

  Then Jagienka said:

  "Look there, what is that?"

  Hlawa rushed ahead, and soon returned hurriedly.

  "Zygfried is hanging there!" he exclaimed while reining in his horse infront of Jagienka.

  "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost! You do not mean Zygfried,the Knight of the Cross?"

  "Yes, it is he. He hung himself with the bridle."

  "Did you say by himself?"

  "It seems so, because the saddle lies alongside him, and if there wererobbers they would have killed him outright and made off with the saddle,because it is valuable."

  "Shall we proceed?"

  "Let us not go that way! No!" cried Anula Sieciechowna, afraid."Something evil might happen to us!"

  Jagienka was also somewhat afraid, because she believed that the body ofa suicide is surrounded by crowds of evil spirits. But Hlawa, who wasfearless and bold, said:

  "Bah! I was near him, and even pushed him with the lance, and do not feelany devil upon my neck."

  "Do not blaspheme!" cried Jagienka.

  "I am not blaspheming," replied the Bohemian, "I only trust in God'spower. Nevertheless, if you are afraid we will go around it."

  Sieciechowna begged him to do so; but Jagienka, having reflected for amoment, said:

  "It is not proper to leave the dead unburied. It is a Christian actcommanded by the Lord. Anyhow it is the body of a man."

  "Yes, but it is the body of a Knight of the Cross, a hangman andexecutioner! Let the crows and wolves occupy themselves with his body."

  "It was not specified. God will judge for his sins, but we must do ourduty; and if we fulfil God's commandment nothing evil will befall us."

  "Well, then, let it be done according to your wishes," replied theBohemian.

  Accordingly he gave the order to the servants, who were reluctant. Butthey feared Hlawa, to oppose whom was a dangerous thing. Not having thenecessary spades to dig a hole in the ground, they therefore gatheredpitchforks and axes for that purpose and left. The Bohemian also wentwith them and to give them an example, he crossed himself and cut withhis own hands the leather strap upon which the body was hanging.

  Zygfried's face had become blue whilst hanging; he had an awfulappearance, because his eyes were open and terror-stricken, his mouth wasalso open as though in the act of trying to catch his last breath. Theyquickly dug a pit near by and pushed therein the corpse of Zygfried withthe handles of their pitchforks; they laid him with his face downward andcovered it first with dust, then they gathered stones and placed themupon it, because it was an immemorial custom to cover the graves ofsuicides with stones; otherwise they would come out during the night andfrighten the passers-by.

  As there were many stones upon the road and under the mosses, the gravewas soon covered with a considerable mound. Then Hlawa cut a cross withhis axe upon the trunk of the pine-tree near. He did that, not forZygfried, but to prevent evil spirits from gathering at that place. Thenhe returned to the retinue.

  "His soul is in hell and his body is already in the ground," he said toJagienka. "We can travel now."

  They started; but Jagienka, whilst passing along, took a small branch ofpine-tree and pressed it upon the stones. Then everybody of the trainfollowed the example of the lady. That, too, had been an old custom.

  They traveled for a long while absorbed in thought, thinking of thatwicked monk and knight. Finally Jagienka said:

  "God's justice cannot be escaped. It does not even permit the prayer,'Everlasting rest'[118] to be offered up because there is no mercy forhim."

  "You have shown by your order to bury him that you possess acompassionate soul," replied the Bohemian.

  Then he spoke hesitatingly: "People talk. Bah! maybe they are not people,but witches and wizards--that a halter or a strap taken from the hangingbody secures to the possessor certain luck in everything. But I did nottake the strap from Zygfried, because I wish that your luck shouldproceed from the Lord Jesus and not from necromancers."

  Jagienka did not reply to that at once, but after awhile she sighedseveral times and said as it were to herself:

  "Hey! My happiness is behind, not in front of me."