The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 2 (of 2)

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER XIX.

  That same day Akbah Ulan beat with his forehead to the king, anddelivered to him letters of the Khan in which the latter repeated hispromise of moving with one hundred thousand of the horde against theSwedes, when forty thousand thalers were paid him in advance, and whenthe first grass was on the fields, without which, in a country soruined by war, it would be difficult to maintain such a great number ofhorses. As to that small chambul, the Khan had sent it to his "dearestbrother" as a proof of his favor, so that the Cossacks, who were stillthinking of disobedience, might have an evident sign that this favorendures steadily, and let but the first sound of rebellion reach theears of the Khan, his vengeful anger will fall on all Cossacks.

  The king received Akbah Ulan affably, and presenting him with abeautiful steed, said that he would send him soon to Pan Charnyetski inthe field, for he wished to convince the Swedes by facts, that the Khanwas giving aid to the Commonwealth. The eyes of the Tartar glitteredwhen he heard of service under Charnyetski; for knowing him from thetime of former wars in the Ukraine, he, in common with all the Agas,admired him.

  But he was less pleased with the part of the Khan's letter which askedthe king to attach to the chambul an officer, who knew the countrywell, who would lead the party and restrain the men, and also AkbahUlan himself from plunder and excesses. Akbah Ulan would have preferredcertainly not to have such a patron over him; but since the will of theKhan and the king were explicit, he merely beat with his forehead oncemore, hiding carefully his vexation, and perhaps promising in his soulthat not he would bow down before that patron, but the patron beforehim.

  Barely had the Tartar gone out, and the senators withdrawn, when Kmita,who had an audience at once, fell at the feet of the king, and said,--

  "Gracious Lord! I am not worthy of the favor for which I ask, but I setas much by it as by life itself. Permit me to take command over theseTartars and move to the field with them at once."

  "I do not refuse," answered the astonished Yan Kazimir, "for a betterleader it would be difficult to find. A cavalier of great daring andresolve is needed to hold them in check, or they will begin straightwayto burn and murder our people. To this only am I firmly opposed, thatyou go tomorrow, before your flesh has healed from the wounds made bySwedish rapiers."

  "I feel that as soon as the wind blows around me in the field, myweakness will pass, and strength will enter me again; as to theTartars, I will manage them and bend them into soft wax."

  "But why in such haste? Whither are you going?"

  "Against the Swedes, Gracious Lord; I have nothing to wait for here,since what I wanted I have, that is your favor and pardon for my formeroffences. I will go to Charnyetski with Volodyovski, or I will attackthe enemy separately, as I did once Hovanski, and I trust in God that Ishall have success."

  "It must be that something else is drawing you to the field."

  "I will confess as to a father, and open my whole soul. PrinceBoguslav, not content with the calumny which he cast on me, has takenthat maiden from Kyedani and confined her in Taurogi, or worse, for heis attacking her honesty, her virtue, her honor as a woman. GraciousLord! the reason is confused in my head, when I think in what hands thepoor girl is at present. By the passion of the Lord! these wounds painless. That maiden thinks to this moment that I offered that damnedsoul, that arch-cur to raise hands on your Royal Grace--and she holdsme the lowest of all the degenerate. I cannot endure, I am not able toendure, till I find her, till I free her. Give me those Tartars and Iswear that I will not do my own work alone, but I will crush so manySwedes that the court of this castle might be paved with their skulls."

  "Calm yourself," said the king.

  "If I had to leave service and the defence of majesty and theCommonwealth for my own cause, it would be a shame for me to ask, buthere one unites with the other. The time has come to beat the Swedes, Iwill do nothing else. The time has come to hunt a traitor; I will hunthim to Livland, to Courland, and even as far as the Northerners, orbeyond the sea to Sweden, should he hide there."

  "We have information that Boguslav will move very soon with Karl, fromElblang."

  "Then I will go to meet them."

  "With such a small chambul? They will cover you with a cap."

  "Hovanski, with eighty thousand, was covering me, but he did notsucceed."

  "All the loyal army is under Charnyetski. They will strike Charnyetskifirst of all."

  "I will go to Charnyetski. It is needful to give him aid the morequickly."

  "You will go to Charnyetski, but to Taurogi with such a small numberyou cannot go. Radzivill delivered all the castles in Jmud to theenemy, and Swedish garrisons are stationed everywhere; but Taurogi, itseems to me, is somewhere on the boundary of Prussia?"

  "On the very boundary of Electoral Prussia, but on our side, and twentymiles from Tyltsa. Wherever I have to go, I will go, and not only willI not lose men, but crowds of daring soldiers will gather to me on theroad. And consider this, Gracious Lord, that wherever I show myself thewhole neighborhood will mount against the Swedes. First, I will rouseJmud, if no one else does it. What place may not be reached now, whenthe whole country is boiling like water in a pot? I am accustomed to bein a boil."

  "But you do not think of this,--perhaps the Tartars will not like to goso far with you."

  "Only let them not like! only let them try not to like," said Kmita,gritting his teeth at the very thought, "as there are four hundred,or whatever number there is of them, I'll have all four hundredhanged--there will be no lack of trees! Just let them try to rebelagainst me."

  "Yandrek!" cried the king, falling into good humor and pursing hislips, "as God is dear to me, I cannot find a better shepherd for thoselambs! Take them and lead them wherever it pleases thee most."

  "I give thanks, Gracious Lord!" said the knight, pressing the knees ofthe king.

  "When do you wish to start?" asked Yan Kazimir.

  "God willing, to-morrow."

  "Maybe Akbah Ulan will not be ready, because his horses areroad-weary."

  "Then I will have him lashed to a saddle with a lariat, and he will goon foot if he spares his horse."

  "I see that you will get on with him. Still use mild measures whilepossible. But now, Yendrek, it is late; to-morrow I wish to see youagain. Meanwhile take this ring, tell your royalist lady that you haveit from the king, and tell her that the king commands her to lovefirmly his faithful servant and defender."

  "God grant me," said the young hero, with tears in his eyes, "not todie save in defence of your Royal Grace!"

  Here the king withdrew, for it was already late; and Kmita went to hisown quarters to prepare for the road, and think what to begin, andwhither he ought to go first.

  He remembered the words of Kharlamp, that should it appear thatBoguslav was not in Taurogi it would really be better to leave themaiden there, for from Taurogi being near the boundary, it was easy totake refuge in Tyltsa, under care of the elector. Moreover, though theSwedes had abandoned in his last need the voevoda of Vilna, it wasreasonable to expect that they would have regard for his widow; hence,if Olenka was under her care, no evil could meet her. If they had goneto Courland, that was still better. "And to Courland I cannot go withmy Tartars," said Kmita to himself, "for that is another State."

  He walked then, and worked with his head. Hour followed hour, but hedid not think yet of rest; and the thought of his new expedition socheered him, that though that day he was weak in the morning, he feltnow that his strength was returning, and he was ready to mount in amoment.

  The servants at last had finished tying the saddle-straps and werepreparing to sleep, when all at once some one began to scratch at thedoor of the room.

  "Who is there?" asked Kmita. Then to his attendant, "Go and see!"

  He went, and after he had spoken to some one outside the door, hereturned.

  "Some soldier wants to see your grace greatly. He says that his name isSoroka."

  "By the dear God! let h
im in," called Kmita. And without waiting forthe attendant to carry out the order, he sprang to the door. "Come in,dear Soroka! come hither!"

  The soldier entered the room, and with his first movement wished tofall at the feet of his colonel, for he was a friend and a servant asfaithful as he was attached; but soldierly subordination carried theday, therefore he stood erect and said,--

  "At the orders of your grace!"

  "Be greeted, dear comrade, be greeted!" said Kmita, with emotion. "Ithought they had cut you to pieces in Chenstohova." And he pressedSoroka's head, then began to shake him, which he could do withoutlowering himself too much, for Soroka was descended from villagenobility.

  Then the old sergeant fell to embracing Kmita's knees.

  "Whence do you come?" asked Kmita.

  "From Chenstohova."

  "And you were looking for me?"

  "Yes."

  "And from whom did you learn that I was alive?"

  "From Kuklinovski's men. The prior, Kordetski, celebrated High Massfrom delight, in thanksgiving to God. Then there was a report that PanBabinich had conducted the king through the mountains; so I knew thatthat was your grace, no one else."

  "And Father Kordetski is well?"

  "Well; only it is unknown whether the angels will not take him alive toheaven any day, for he is a saint."

  "Surely he is nothing else. Where did you discover that I came with theking to Lvoff?"

  "I thought, since you conducted the king you must be near him; but Iwas afraid that your grace might move to the field and that I should belate."

  "To-morrow I go with the Tartars."

  "Then it has happened well, for I bring your grace two full belts, onewhich I wore and the other you carried, and besides, those preciousstones which we took from the caps of boyars, and those which yourgrace took when we seized the treasury of Hovanski."

  "Those were good times when we gathered in wealth; but there cannot bemuch of it now, for I left a good bit with Father Kordetski."

  "I do not know how much, but the prior himself said that two goodvillages might be bought with it."

  Then Soroka drew near the table, and began to remove the belts from hisbody. "And the stones are in this canteen," added he, putting thecanteen near the belts.

  Kmita made no reply, but shook in his hand some gold ducats withoutcounting them, and said to the sergeant,--

  "Take these!"

  "I fall at the feet of your grace. Ei, if I had had on the road onesuch ducat!"

  "How is that?"

  "Because I am terribly weak. There are few places now where they willgive one morsel of bread to a man, for all are afraid; and at last Ibarely dragged my feet forward from hunger."

  "By the dear God! but you had all this with you!"

  "I dared not use it without leave."

  "Take this!" said Kmita, giving him another handful. Then he cried tothe servants,--

  "Now, scoundrels, give him to eat in less time than a man might say'Our Father,' or I'll take your heads!"

  They sprang one in front of another, and in little while there was anenormous dish of smoked sausage before Soroka, and a flask of vodka.The soldier fastened his eyes greedily on the food, and his lips andmustaches were quivering; but he dared not sit in presence of thecolonel.

  "Sit down, eat!" commanded Kmita.

  Kmita had barely spoken when a dry sausage was crunching between thepowerful jaws of Soroka. The two attendants looked on him withprotruding eyes.

  "Be off!" cried Kmita.

  They sprang out with all breath through the door; out the knight walkedwith hasty steps up and down the room, not wishing to interrupt hisfaithful servant. But he, as often as he poured out a glass of vodka,looked sidewise at the colonel, fearing to find a frown; then heemptied the glass and turned toward the wall.

  Kmita walked, walked; at last he began to speak to himself. "It cannotbe otherwise!" muttered he; "it is needful to send him. I will giveorders to tell her--No use, she will not believe! She will not read aletter, for she holds me a traitor and a dog. Let him not come in herway, but let him see and tell me what is taking place there."

  Then he said on a sudden; "Soroka!"

  The soldier sprang up so quickly that he came near overturning thetable, and straightened as straight as a string.

  "According to order!"

  "You are an honest man, and in need you are cunning. You will go on along road, but not on a hungry one."

  "According to order!"

  "To Tyltsa, on the Prussian border. There Panna Billevich is living inthe castle of Boguslav Radzivill. You will learn if the prince isthere, and have an eye on everything. Do not try to see PannaBillevich, but should a meeting happen of itself, tell her, and swearthat I brought the king through the mountains, and that I am near hisperson. She will surely not give you credit; for the prince has defamedme, saying that I wished to attempt the life of the king,--which is alie befitting a dog."

  "According to order!"

  "Do not try to see her, as I have said, for she will not believe you.But if you meet by chance, tell her what you know. Look at every thing,and listen! But take care of yourself, for if the prince is there andrecognizes you, or if any one from his court recognizes you, you willbe impaled on a stake. I would send old Kyemlich, but he is in theother world, slain in the pass, and his sons are too dull. They will gowith me. Have you been in Tyltsa?"

  "I have not, your grace."

  "You will go to Shchuchyn, thence along the Prussian boundary toTyltsa. Taurogi is twenty miles distant from Tyltsa and opposite, onour side. Stay in Taurogi till you have seen everything, then come tome. You will find me where I shall be. Ask for the Tartars and PanBabinich. And now go to sleep with the Kyemliches. To-morrow for theroad."

  After these words, Soroka went out. Kmita did not lie down to sleep fora long time, but at last weariness overcame him; then he threw himselfon the bed, and slept a stone sleep.

  Next morning he rose greatly refreshed and stronger than the daybefore. The whole court was already on foot, and the usual activity hadbegun. Kmita went first to the chancellery, for his commission andsafe-conduct; he visited Suba Gazi Bey, chief of the Khan's embassy inLvoff, and had a long conversation with him.

  During that conversation Pan Andrei put his hand twice in his purse; sothat when he was going out Suba Gazi Bey changed caps with him, gavehim a baton of green feathers and some yards of an equally green cordof silk.

  Armed in this fashion, Pan Andrei returned to the king, who had justcome from Mass; then the young man fell once more at the knees of thesovereign; after that he went, together with the Kyemliches and hisattendants, directly to the place where Akbah Ulan was quartered withhis chambul.

  At sight of him the old Tartar put his hand to his forehead, his mouth,and his breast; but learning who Kmita was and why he had come, he grewsevere at once; his face became gloomy, and was veiled withhaughtiness.

  "And the king has sent you to me as a guide," said he to Kmita, inbroken Russian; "you will show me the road, though I should be able togo myself wherever it is needed, and you are young and inexperienced."

  "He indicates in advance what I am to be," thought Kmita, "but I willbe polite to him as long as I can." Then he said aloud: "Akbah Ulan,the king has sent me here as a chief, not as a guide. And I tell youthis, that you will do better not to oppose the will of his grace."

  "The Khan makes appointments over the Tartars, not the king," answeredAkbah Ulan.

  "Akbah Ulan," repeated Kmita, with emphasis, "the Khan has made apresent of thee to the king, as he would a dog or a falcon; thereforeshow no disrespect to him, lest thou be tied like a dog with a rope."

  "Allah!" cried the astonished Tartar.

  "Hei! have a care that thou anger me not!" said Kmita.

  Akbah Ulan's eyes became bloodshot. For a time he could not utter aword; the veins on his neck were swollen, his hands sought his dagger.

  "I'll bite, I'll bite!" said he, with stifled voice.

 
But Pan Andrei, though he had promised to be polite, had had enough,for by nature he was very excitable. In one moment therefore somethingstruck him as if a serpent had stung; he seized the Tartar by the thinbeard with his whole hand, and pushing back his head as if he wished toshow him something on the ceiling, he began to talk through his setteeth.

  "Hear me, son of a goat! Thou wouldst like to have no one above thee,so as to burn, rob, and slaughter! Thou wouldst have me as guide! Hereis thy guide! thou hast a guide!" And thrusting him to the wall, hebegan to pound his head against a corner of it.

  He let him go at last, completely stunned, but not looking for hisknife now. Kmita, following the impulse of his hot blood, discoveredthe best method of convincing Oriental people accustomed to slavery;for in the pounded head of the Tartar, in spite of all the rage whichwas stifling him, the thought gleamed at once how powerful andcommanding must that knight be who could act in this manner with him,Akbah Ulan; and with his bloody lips he repeated three times,--

  "Bagadyr (hero), Bagadyr, Bagadyr!"

  Kmita meanwhile placed on his own head the cap of Suba Grazi, drewforth the green baton, which he had kept behind his belt of purposetill that moment, and said,--

  "Look at these, slave! and these!"

  "Allah!" exclaimed the astonished Ulan.

  "And here!" added Kmita, taking the cord from his pocket.

  But Akbah Ulan was already lying at his feet, and striking the floorwith his forehead.

  An hour later the Tartars were marching out in a long line over theroad from Lvoff to Vyelki Ochi; and Kmita, sitting on a valiantchestnut steed which the king had given him, drove along the chambul asa shepherd dog drives sheep. Akbah Ulan looked at the young hero withwonder and fear.

  The Tartars, who were judges of warriors, divined at the first glancethat under that leader there would be no lack of blood and plunder, andwent willingly with singing and music.

  And Kmita's heart swelled within him when he looked at those forms,resembling beasts of the wilderness; for they were dressed in sheepskinand camel-skin coats with the wool outside. The wave of wild headsshook with the movements of the horses; he counted them, and wasthinking how much he could undertake with that force.

  "It is a peculiar body," thought he, "and it seems to me as if I wereleading a pack of wolves; and with such men precisely would it bepossible to run through the whole Commonwealth, and trample allPrussia. Wait awhile, Prince Boguslav!"

  Here boastful thoughts began to flow into his head, for he was inclinedgreatly to boastfulness.

  "God has given man adroitness," said he to himself; "yesterday I hadonly the two Kyemliches, but to-day four hundred horses are clatteringbehind me. Only let the dance begin; I shall have a thousand or two ofsuch roisterers as my old comrades would not be ashamed of. Wait awhile, Boguslav!"

  But after a moment he added, to quiet his own conscience: "And I shallserve also the king and the country."

  He fell into excellent humor. This too pleased him greatly, thatnobles, Jews, peasants, even large crowds of general militia, could notguard themselves from fear in the first moment at sight of his Tartars.And there was a fog, for the thaw had filled the air with a vapor. Ithappened then every little while that some one rode up near, and seeingall at once whom they had before them, cried out,--

  "The word is made flesh!"

  "Jesus! Mary! Joseph!"

  "The Tartars! the horde!"

  But the Tartars passed peacefully the equipages, loaded wagons, herdsof horses and travellers. It would have been different had the leaderpermitted, but they dared not undertake anything of their own will, forthey had seen how at starting Akbah Ulan had held the stirrup of thatleader.

  Now Lvoff had vanished in the distance beyond the mist. The Tartars hadceased to sing, and the chambul moved slowly amid the clouds of steamrising from the horses. All at once the tramp of a horse was heardbehind. In a moment two horsemen appeared. One of them was Pan Michael,the other was the tenant of Vansosh; both, passing the chambul, pushedstraight to Kmita.

  "Stop! stop!" cried the little knight.

  Kmita held in his horse. "Is that you?"

  Pan Michael reined in his horse. "With the forehead!" said he, "lettersfrom the king: one to you, the other to the voevoda of Vityebsk."

  "I am going to Pan Charnyetski, not to Sapyeha."

  "But read the letter."

  Kmita broke the seal and read as follows:--

  We learn through a courier just arrived from the voevoda of Vityebskthat he cannot march hither to Little Poland, and is turning back againto Podlyasye, because Prince Boguslav, who is not with the King ofSweden, has planned to fall upon Tykotsin and Pan Sapyeha. And since hemust leave a great part of his troops in garrisons, we order you to goto his assistance with that Tartar chambul. And since your own wish isthus gratified, we need not urge you to hasten. The other letter youwill give to the voevoda; in it we commend Pan Babinich, our faithfulservant, to the good will of the voevoda, and above all to theprotection of God. YAN KAZIMIR, _King_.

  "By the dear God! by the dear God! This is happy news for me!" criedKmita. "I know not how to thank the king and you for it."

  "I offered myself to come," said the little knight, "out of compassion,for I saw your pain; I came so that the letters might reach yousurely."

  "When did the courier arrive?"

  "We were with the king at dinner,--I, Pan Yan, Pan Stanislav, Kharlamp,and Zagloba. You cannot imagine what Zagloba told there about thecarelessness of Sapyeha, and his own services. It is enough that theking cried from continual laughter, and both hetmans were holding theirsides all the time. At last the chamber servant came with a letter;when the king burst out, 'Go to the hangman, maybe evil news will spoilmy fun!' When he learned that it was from Pan Sapyeha, he began to readit. Indeed he read evil news, for that was confirmed which had longbeen discussed; the elector had broken all his oaths, and against hisown rightful sovereign had joined the King of Sweden at last."

  "Another enemy, as if there were few of them hitherto!" cried Kmita;and he folded his hands. "Great God! only let Pan Sapyeha send me for aweek to Prussia, and God the Merciful grant that ten generations willremember me and my Tartars."

  "Perhaps you will go there," said Pan Michael; "but first you mustdefeat Boguslav, for as a result of that treason of the elector is hefurnished with men and permitted to go to Podlyasye."

  "Then we shall meet, as to-day is to-day; as God is in heaven, so shallwe meet," cried Kmita, with flashing eyes. "If you had brought me theappointment of voevoda of Vilna, it would not have given me morepleasure."

  "The king too cried at once; 'There is an expedition ready for Yendrek,from which the soul will rejoice in him.' He wanted to send his servantafter you, but I said I will go myself, I will take farewell of himonce more."

  Kmita bent on his horse, and seized the little knight in his embrace.

  "A brother would not have done for me what you have done! God grant meto thank you in some way."

  "Tfu! Did not I want to shoot you?"

  "I deserved nothing better. Never mind! May I be slain in the firstbattle if in all knighthood I love a man more than I love you."

  Then they began to embrace again at parting, and Volodyovski said,--

  "Be careful with Boguslav, be careful, for it is no easy matter withhim."

  "For one of us death is written. Ei! if you who are a genius at thesabre could discover your secrets to me. But there is no time. As itis, may the angels help me; and I will see his blood, or my eyes willclose forever on the light of day."

  "God aid you! A lucky journey, and give angelica to those traitors ofPrussians!" said Volodyovski.

  "Be sure on that point. The disgusting Lutherans!"

  Here Volodyovski nodded to Jendzian, who during this time was talkingto Akbah Ulan, explaining the former successes of Kmita over Hovanski.And both rode back to Lvoff.

  Then Kmita turned his chambul on the spot, as a driver turns his wagon,and went straight
toward the north.