PART SEVENTH: CHAPTER V
They arrived very early at Niewiazy where they crossed the river, some on
horseback, some upon bundles of osier. Everything went with such dispatch
that Macko, Zbyszko, Hlawa and the Mazovian volunteers were astonished at
the skilfulness of the people; only then they understood why neither
woods, nor swamps, nor rivers could prevent Lithuanian expeditions. When
they emerged from the river none had taken off his wet clothing, not even
the sheep and wolfskin coats, but exposed themselves to the rays of the
sun until they steamed like pitch-burners, and after a short rest they
marched hastily toward the north. At nightfall they arrived at the
Niemen.
The crossing of the great river at that place, swollen in the spring, was
not an easy matter. The ford, which was known to Skuwoilla, changed in
places into deep water, so that the horses had to swim more than a
quarter of a furlong. Two men were carried away quite near Zbyszko, and
Hlawa tried to rescue them, but in vain; owing to the darkness and the
rushing water they lost sight of them. The drowning men did not dare to
shout for help, because the leader had previously ordered that the
crossing should be effected in the most quiet manner possible.
Nevertheless all the others fortunately succeeded in reaching the other
side of the river, where they remained without fires till the morning.
At dawn, the whole army was divided into two divisions. Skirwoilla at the
head of one went toward the interior to encounter the knights at the head
of the relief train for Gotteswerder. The second division was led back by
Zbyszko, toward the island, in order to attack the people coming from the
castle to meet the expedition, upon the elevated ground.
It was a mild and bright morning, but down in the woods the marshes and
bushes were covered with a thick white steam which entirely obscured the
distance. That was just a desirable condition for Zbyszko, because the
Germans coming from the castle would not be able to see them in time to
retreat. The young knight was exceedingly glad of it, and said to Macko:
"Let us get to our position instead of contemplating the mist yonder. God
grant that it is not dissipated before noon."
Then he hurried to the front to give orders to the _setniks_,[116] and
immediately returned and said:
"We shall soon meet them upon the road coming from the ferry of the
island toward the interior. There we shall hide ourselves in the thicket
and watch for them."
"How do you know about that road?" asked Macko.
"We got the information from the local peasants, of whom we have quite a
number among our people who will guide us everywhere."
"At what distance from the castle do you intend to attack?"
"About one mile from it."
"Very well; because if it were nearer, the soldiers from the castle might
hurry to the rescue, but now they will not only not be able to arrive in
time, but will be beyond hearing distance."
"You see I thought about that."
"You thought about one thing, think also about another: if they are
reliable peasants, send two or three of them in front, so as to signal
when they descry the Germans coming."
"Bah! That also has been attended to."
"Then, I have yet something else to tell you; order one or two hundred
men, as soon as the battle begins, not to take part in the fight, but
hasten to the rear and cut off their retreat to the island."
"That is the first thing," replied Zbyszko. "Those orders have been
given. The Germans will fall into a trap and be snared."
Hearing this, Macko looked approvingly at his nephew; he was pleased that
in spite of his youth, he understood much of warfare; therefore he smiled
and murmured:
"Our true blood!"
But Hlawa, the shield-bearer, was more glad than Macko, because there was
nothing he loved more than war.
"I don't know the fighting capacity of our people," he said, "but they
march quietly, they are dexterous, and they seem to be eager. And if
Skirwoilla yonder has well devised his plans, then not a single foot
shall escape."
"God grant that only a few may escape," replied Zbyszko. "But I have
given orders to capture as many prisoners as possible; and if there
should happen to be a knight or a religious brother among them, he must
absolutely not be killed."
"Why not, sir?" inquired the Bohemian.
"You also take care," Zbyszko replied, "that it be so. If there be a
knight among them, he must possess much information, owing to his
wanderings in many cities and castles, seeing, and hearing much; much
more so if he is a religious member of the Order. Therefore I owe to God
my coming to this place so that I might learn something about Danusia,
and exchange prisoners. If there be any, this is the only measure left
for me."
Then he urged his horse and galloped again to the front to give his final
orders and at the same time to get rid of his sad thoughts; there was no
time to be lost, because the spot where they were to lie in ambush was
very near.
"Why does the young lord think that his little wife is alive, and that
she is somewhere in this neighborhood?" asked the Bohemian.
"Because if Zygfried, at the first impulse, did not kill her at
Szczytno," replied Macko, "then one may rightly conclude that she is
still alive. The priest of Szczytno would not have told us what he did,
in the presence of Zbyszko, if she had been killed. It is a very
difficult matter; even the most cruel man would not lift up his hand
against a defenceless woman. Bah! Against an innocent child."
"It is a hard thing, but not with the Knights of the Cross. And the
children of Prince Witold?"
"It is quite true, they have wolfish hearts. Nevertheless, it is true
that they did not kill her at Szczytno, and Zygfried himself left for
this part of the country; it is therefore possible that he had hid her in
some castle."
"Hey! If it turns out so, then I shall take this island and the castle."
"Only look at this people," said Macko.
"Surely, surely; but I have an idea that I will communicate to the young
lord."
"Even if you have ten ideas, I do not care. You cannot overthrow the
walls with pikes."
Macko pointed toward the lines of pikes, with which most of the warriors
were provided; then he asked:
"Did you ever see such soldiers?"
As a matter of fact, the Bohemian had never seen the like. There was a
dense crowd in front of them marching irregularly. Cavalry and infantry
were mixed up and could not keep proper steps while marching through the
undergrowth in the woods. In order to keep pace with the cavalry the
infantry held on to the horses' manes, saddles and tails. The warriors'
shoulders were covered with wolf, lynx and bearskins; some had attached
to their heads boars' tusks, others antlers of deer, and others still had
shaggy ears attached, so that, were it not for the protruding weapons
above their heads, and the dingy bows and arrows at their backs, they
would have looked from the rear and specially in the mist like a moving
body of wild beasts proceeding from the depths of the forest, driven by
the desire for blood or hunger, in search of prey. There was something
terrible and at the same time extraordinary in it: it had the appearance
of that wonder called _gnomon_, when, according to popular belief, wild
beasts and even stones and bushes were moving in front of them.
It was at that sight that one of the young nobles from Lenkawice, who
accompanied the Bohemian, approached him, crossed himself, and said:
"In the name of the Father and Son! I say I am marching with a pack of
wolves, and not with men."
But Hlawa, although he had never before seen such a sight, replied like
an experienced man who knows all about it and is not surprised at
anything.
"Wolves roam in packs during the winter season, but the dog-blood of the
Knights of the Cross they also taste in the spring."
It was spring indeed, the month of May; the hazel-trees which filled the
woods were covered with a bright green. Among the moss, upon which the
soldiers stepped noiselessly, appeared white and blue anemones as well as
young berries and dentillated ferns. Softened by abundant rains, the bark
of the trees produced an agreeable odor, and from the forest under foot,
consisting of pine-needles and punk, proceeded a pungent smell. The sun
displayed a rainbow in the drops upon the leaves and branches of the
trees, and above it the birds sang joyfully.
They accelerated their pace, because Zbyszko urged them on. At times
Zbyszko rode again in the rear of the division with Macko, the Bohemian
and the Mazovian volunteers. The prospect of a good battle apparently
elated him considerably, for his customary sad expression had
disappeared, and his eyes had regained their wonted brightness.
"Cheer up!" he exclaimed. "We must now place ourselves in the front--not
behind the line."
He led them to the front of the division.
"Listen," he added. "It may be that we shall catch the Germans
unexpectedly, but should they make a stand and succeed in falling in
line, then we must be the first to attack them, because our armor is
superior, and our swords are better."
"Let it be so," said Macko.
The others settled themselves in their saddles, as if they were to attack
at once. They took a long breath, and felt for their swords to see
whether they could be unsheathed with ease.
Zbyszko repeated his orders once more, that if they found among the
infantry any knights with white mantles over the armor, they were not to
kill but capture them alive; then he galloped to the guides, and halted
the division for a while.
They arrived at the highway which from the landing opposite the island
extended to the interior. Strictly speaking, there was no proper road
yet, but in reality the edge of the wood had been recently sawed through
and leveled only at the rear so much as to enable soldiers or wagons to
pass over them. On both sides of the road rose the high trunked trees,
and the old pines cut for the widening of the road. The hazelnut growths
were so thick in some places that they overran the whole forest. Zbyszko
had therefore chosen a place at the turning, so that the advancing party
would neither be able to see far, nor retreat, nor have time enough to
form themselves in battle array. It was there that he occupied both sides
of the lane and gave commands to await the enemy.
Accustomed to forest life and war, the Zmudzians took advantage of the
logs, cuts and clumps of young hazelnut growths, and fir saplings--so
that it seemed as if the earth had swallowed them up. No one spoke,
neither did the horses snort. Now and then, big and little forest animals
passed those lying in wait and came upon them before seeing them and were
frightened and rushed wildly away. At times the wind arose and filled the
forest with a solemn, rushing sound, and then again silence fell and only
the distant notes of the cuckoo and the woodpecker were audible.
The Zmudzians were glad to hear those sounds, because the woodpecker was
a special harbinger of good fortune. There were many of those birds in
that forest, and the pecking sound was heard on all sides persistent and
rapid, like human labor. One would be inclined to say, that each of those
birds had its own blacksmith's forge where it went to active labor very
early. It appeared to Macko and the Mazovians that they heard the noise
of carpenters fixing roofs upon new houses, and it reminded them of home.
But the time passed and grew tedious; nothing was heard but the noise of
the trees and the voice of birds. The mist hovering upon the plain was
lifting. The sun was quite high and it was getting hot, but they still
lay in wait. Finally Hlawa who was impatient at the silence and delay,
bent toward Zbyszko's ear and whispered:
"Sir, if God will grant, none of the dog-brothers shall escape alive. May
we not be able to reach the castle and capture it by surprise?"
"Do you suppose that the boats there are not watching, and have no
watchwords?"
"They have watchmen," replied the Bohemian, in a whisper, "but prisoners
when threatened with the knife will give up the watchword. Bah! they will
even reply in the German language. If we reach the island, then the
castle itself...."
Here he stopped, because Zbyszko put his hand upon his mouth, because
from the roadside came the croak of a raven.
"Hush!" he said. "That is a signal."
About two "paters" later, there appeared at the border a Zmudzian, riding
upon a little shaggy pony, whose hoofs were enveloped in sheepskin to
avoid the clatter and traces of horses' hoofs in the mud. The rider
looked sharply from side to side and, suddenly hearing from the thicket
an answer to the croaking, dived into the forest, and in a moment he was
near Zbyszko.
"They are coming!" ... he said.
Content of PART SEVENTH: CHAPTER V [Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel: The Knights of the Cross]
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