The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance
the chest, on which he had seated himself to be more comfortable and to
think the matter over, and exclaimed:
"Wait! I want to tell you something!"
"What?" asked Zbyszko.
"If you fought for Jagienka and injured them for her sake, then you are
really her knight, not Danusia's; and you must take Jagienka."
Having said this, he put his hands on his hips and looked at Zbyszko
triumphantly; but Zbyszko smiled and said:
"Hej! I knew very well why you wanted me to fight with them; but you have
not succeeded in your plans."
"Why? Speak!"
"Because I challenged them to deny that Danusia Jurandowna is the
prettiest and the most virtuous girl in the world; they took Jagienka's
part, and that is why there was a fight."
Having heard this, the abbot stood amazed, and only the frequent movement
of his eyes indicated that he was still alive. Finally he turned, opened
the door with his foot, and rushed into the other room; there he seized
the curved stick from the pilgrim's hands and began to strike the
_shpilmen_ with it, roaring like a wounded urus.
"To horse, you rascals! To horse, you dog-faiths! I will not put my foot
in this house again! To horse, he who believes in God, to horse!"
Then he opened the outer door and went into the court-yard, followed by
the frightened seminarists. They rushed to the stable and began to saddle
the horses. In vain Macko followed the abbot, and entreated him to
remain; swore that it was not his fault. The abbot cursed the house, the
people and the fields; when they brought him a horse, he jumped in the
saddle without touching the stirrups and galloped away looking, with his
large sleeves filled by the wind, like an enormous red bird. The
seminarists rushed after him, like a herd following its leader.
Macko stood looking after them for some time; but when they disappeared
in the forest, he returned slowly to the room and said to Zbyszko,
shaking his head sadly:
"See what you have done?"
"It would not have happened if I had gone away; and it is your fault that
I did not."
"Why?"
"Because I did not wish to leave you when you were sick."
"And what will you do now?"
"Now I shall go."
"Where?"
"To Mazowsze to see Danusia; and after that to search for peacock's tufts
among the Germans."
Macko was silent for a moment, then he said:
"He returned the 'letter,' but the mortgage is recorded in the
mortgage-book at the court. Now the abbot will not give us even a
_skojec_."
"I do not care. You have money, and I do not need anything for my
journey. I will be received everywhere and my horses will be fed; if I
only had a suit of armor on my back and a sword in my hand, I would need
nothing else."
Macko began to think about everything that had happened. All his plans
and wishes had been frustrated. He had wished with his whole heart that
Zbyszko would marry Jagienka; but he now realized that this wish would
never be fulfilled; and considering the abbot's anger, the behavior of
Zbyszko toward Jagienka and finally the fight with Cztan and Wilk, he
concluded it would be better to allow Zbyszko to go.
"Ha!" said he, finally, "if you must seek for the peacock's feathers on
the heads of the Knights of the Cross, go then. Let the Lord Jesus' will
be accomplished. But I must go immediately to Zgorzelice; perhaps I will
succeed in appeasing their wrath if I implore pardon of the abbot and of
Zych; I care especially for the friendship of Zych."
Here he looked into Zbyszko's eyes and asked:
"Do you not regret Jagienka?"
"May God give her health and the best of everything!" answered Zbyszko.
END OF PART SECOND.
PART THIRD.
CHAPTER I.
Macko waited patiently for several days, hoping to receive some news from
Zgorzelice, or to hear that the abbot's anger had been appeased; finally
he became impatient and determined to go personally to see Zych.
Everything had happened contrary to his wishes, and now he was anxious to
know whether Zych was angry with him. He was afraid that the abbot would
never be reconciled with Zbyszko and him. He wanted, however, to do
everything he could, to soften that anger; therefore while riding, he was
thinking what he would say in Zgorzelice, to palliate the offence and
preserve the old friendship with his neighbor. His thoughts, however,
were not clear, therefore he was glad to find Jagienka alone; the girl
received him as usual with a bow and kissed his hand,--in a word, she was
friendly, but a little sad.
"Is your father home?" asked he.
"He went out hunting with the abbot. They may be back at any moment."
Having said this, she conducted him into the house, where they both sat
in silence for a long time; the girl spoke first, and said:
"Are you lonely now in Bogdaniec?"
"Very lonely," answered Macko. "Then you knew that Zbyszko had gone
away?"
Jagienka sighed softly:
"Yes, I knew it the very same day; I thought he would come here to bid me
good-bye, but he did not."
"How could he come!" said Macko. "The abbot would have torn him to
pieces; neither would your father have welcomed him."
She shook her head and said:
"Ej! I would not allow anybody to injure him."
Upon this Macko hugged the girl and said:
"God be with you, girl! You are sad, but I also am sad. Let me tell you
that neither the abbot nor your own father loves you more than I do. I
wish that Zbyszko had chosen you, and not another."
There came upon Jagienka such a moment of grief and longing, that she
could not conceal her feelings, but said:
"I shall never see him again, or if I see him, it will be with
Jurandowna, and then I will cry my eyes out."
She raised her apron and covered her eyes, which were filled with tears.
Macko said:
"Stop crying! He has gone, but with God's grace, he will not come back
with Jurandowna."
"Why not?" said Jagienka, from behind her apron.
"Because Jurand does not want to give him the girl."
Then Jagienka suddenly uncovered her face, and having turned toward
Macko, said to him:
"Zbyszko told me that; but is it true?"
"As true as that God is in heaven."
"But why?"
"Who knows why. Some vow, or something like that, and there is no
remission for vows! He liked Zbyszko, because the boy promised to help
him in his vengeance; but even that was useless. Jurand would listen
neither to persuasion, nor to command, nor to prayers. He said he could
not. Well, there must be some reason why he could not do it, and he will
not change his mind, because he is stern and unyielding. Don't lose hope
but cheer up. Rightly speaking, the boy was obliged to go, because he had
sworn in the church to secure three peacocks' crests. Then, also, the
girl covered him with her veil, which was a sign that she would take him
for her husband; otherwise they would have beheaded him; for that, he
must be grateful to her--one cannot deny it. With God's help, she will
not be his; but according to the law, he is hers. Zych is angry with him;
the abbot has sent a plague upon him, so that his skin shivers; I am
angry also, but if one thinks carefully, what else could he do? Since he
belonged to the other girl, he was obliged to go. He is a nobleman. But I
tell you this; if the Germans do not kill him, then he will come back;
and he will come back not only to me an old man, not only to Bogdaniec,
but to you, because he was very fond of you."
"I don't believe he was!" said Jagienka.
But she drew near Macko, and having touched him with her elbow, she
asked:
"How do you know it? I am sure that is not true."
"How do I know?" answered Macko. "I saw how difficult it was for him to
go away. When it was decided that he must go, I asked him: 'Do you not
regret Jagienka?' and he said: 'May God give her health and the best of
everything.' Then immediately he began to sigh."
"I am sure that it is not true!" said Jagienka, softly; "but tell me
again."
"As God is dear to me, it is true! After seeing you, he will not care for
the other girl, because you know yourself that there is no girl more
beautiful than you in the whole world. He has felt God's will toward
you--do not fear--perhaps even more than you have felt it toward him."
"Not at all!" exclaimed Jagienka. Then she again covered her face, which
was as rosy as an apple, with her sleeve; Macko smiled, passed his hand
over his moustache and said:
"Hej! if I were only younger; but you must comfort yourself, because I
see how it will be. He will get his spurs at the Mazowiecki court,
because that is near the boundary and it is not difficult to kill a
Krzyzak there. I know that there are good knights among the Germans; but
I think that it will take a very good one to defeat Zbyszko. See how he
routed Cztan of Rogow and Wilk of Brzozowa, although they are said to be
dreadful boys and as strong as bears. He will bring his crests, but he
will not bring Jurandowna."
"But when will he return?"
"Bah I if you are not willing to wait, then you will not be wronged.
Repeat what I have told you to the abbot and to Zych; perhaps they will
not be so angry with Zbyszko."
"How can I tell them anything? _Tatus_ is more sorrowful than angry; but
it is dangerous even to mention Zbyszko's name to the abbot. He scolded
me because I sent Zbyszko a servant."
"What servant?"
"We had a Czech, whom _tatus_ captured at Boleslawiec, a good, faithful
boy. His name was Hlawa. _Tatus_ gave him to my service, because he was a
_wlodyka_; I gave him a worthy armor and sent him to Zbyszko, to serve
and protect him. I also gave him a bag of money for the journey. He
promised me that he would serve Zbyszko faithfully until death."
"My dear girl! may God reward you! Was Zych opposed to your doing it?"
"Yes, at first _tatus_ did not want to let me do it; but when I began to
coax him, then he consented. When the abbot heard about it from his
seminarists, he immediately rushed out of the room swearing; there was
such a disturbance, that _tatus_ escaped to the barn. Toward evening, the
abbot took pity on my tears and even made me a present of some beads."
"As God is dear to me, I do not know whether I love Zbyszko any better
than I love you; but he had a worthy retinue. I also gave him money,
although he did not want to take it. Well, the Mazurs are not beyond the
seas."
The conversation was interrupted by the barking of dogs, by shouting and
by the sounds of brass trumpets in front of the house. Having heard this,
Jagienka said:
"_Tatus_ and the abbot have returned from hunting. Let us go outside; it
will be better for the abbot to see you there, and not to meet you
unexpectedly in the house."
Having said this, she conducted Macko out-of-doors; in the courtyard, on
the snow they perceived a throng of men, horses and dogs, also elks and
wolves pierced with spears or shot with crossbows. The abbot saw Macko
before he dismounted, and hurled a spear toward him, not to strike him,
but to show in that way, his great anger against the inhabitants of
Bogdaniec. But Macko uncovered and bowed to him as if he noticed nothing
unusual; Jagienka, however, had not noticed the abbot's action, because
she was very much surprised to see her two wooers in the retinue.
"Cztan and Wilk are here!" she exclaimed; "I presume they met _tatus_ in
the forest."
Immediately the thought ran through Macko's mind, that perhaps one of
them would get Jagienka, and with her Moczydoly, the abbot's lands,
forests and money. Then grief and anger filled his heart, especially when
he perceived what occurred. Behold, Wilk of Brzozowa, although only a
short time before the abbot wanted to fight with his father, sprang to
the abbot's stirrups, and helped him to dismount; and the abbot leaned in
a friendly manner on the young nobleman's shoulder.