The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER XX.

  In Lithuania a civil war had begun, which, with two invasions of theCommonwealth and the ever more stubborn war of the Ukraine, filled themeasure of misfortune.

  The army of the Lithuanian quota, though so small in number that aloneit could not offer effectual resistance to any of the enemies, wasdivided into two camps. Some regiments, and specially the foreign ones,remained with Radzivill; others, forming the majority, proclaimed thehetman a traitor, protested in arms against joining Sweden, but withoutunity, without a leader, without a plan. Sapyeha might be its leader,but he was too much occupied at that time with the defence of Byhovoand with the desperate struggle in the interior of the country, to beable to take his place immediately at the head of the movement againstRadzivill.

  Meanwhile the invaders, each considering a whole region as his own,began to send threatening messages to the other. From theirmisunderstandings might rise in time the salvation of the Commonwealth;but before it came to hostile steps between them there reigned the mostterrible chaos in all Lithuania. Radzivill, deceived in the army,determined to bring it to obedience through force.

  Volodyovski had barely reached Ponyevyej with his squadron, after thebattle of Klavany, when news came to him of the destruction, byRadzivill, of Mirski's squadron, and that of Stankyevich. Some of themen were placed by force among Radzivill's troops; others were cut downor scattered to the four winds; the remainder were wandering singly orin small groups through villages and forests, seeking a place to hidetheir heads from vengeance and pursuit.

  Fugitives came daily to Pan Michael's detachment, increasing his forceand bringing news the most varied.

  The most important item was news of the mutiny of Lithuanian troopsstationed in Podlyasye, near Byalystok and Tykotsin. After the armiesof Moscow had occupied Vilno the squadrons from that place had to coverthe approach to the territories of the kingdom. But hearing of thehetman's treason, they formed a confederation, at the head of whichwere two colonels, Horotkyevich and Yakub Kmita, a cousin of Andrei,the most trusty assistant of Radzivill.

  The name of the latter was repeated with horror by the soldiers. Hemainly had caused the dispersion of Stankyevich's squadron and that ofMirski; he shot without mercy the captured officers. The hetman trustedhim blindly, and just recently had sent him against Nyevyarovski'ssquadron, which, disregarding the example of its colonel, refusedobedience.

  Volodyovski heard the last account with great attention; then he turnedto the officers summoned in counsel, and asked,--

  "What would you say to this,--that we, instead of hurrying to thevoevoda of Vityebsk, go to those squadrons which have formed aconfederacy in Podlyasye?"

  "You have taken that out of my mouth!" said Zagloba "It is nearer homethere, and it is always pleasanter among one's own people."

  "Fugitives mention too a report," added Pan Yan, "that the king hasordered some squadrons to return from the Ukraine, to oppose the Swedeson the Vistula. If this should prove true, we might be among oldcomrades instead of pounding from corner to corner."

  "But who is going to command those squadrons? Does any one know?"

  "They say that Charnyetski will," answered Volodyovski; "but people saythis rather than know it, for positive intelligence could not comeyet."

  "However it may be," said Zagloba, "my advice is to hurry to Podlyasye.We can bring to our side those squadrons that have risen againstRadzivill, and take them to the king, and that certainly will not bewithout a reward."

  "Let it be so!" said Oskyerko and Stankyevich.

  "It is not easy," said the little knight, "to get to Podlyasye, for weshall have to slip through the fingers of the hetman. If fortunemeanwhile should grant us to snap up Kmita somewhere on the road, Iwould speak a couple of words in his ear, from which his skin wouldgrow green."

  "He deserves it," said Mirski. "That some old soldiers who have servedtheir whole lives under the Radzivills hold to the hetman, is less tobe wondered at; but that swaggerer serves only for his own profit, andthe pleasure which he finds in betrayal."

  "So then to Podlyasye?" asked Oskyerko.

  "To Podlyasye! to Podlyasye!" cried all in one voice.

  But still the affair was difficult, as Volodyovski had said; for to goto Podlyasye it was necessary to pass near Kyedani, as near a den inwhich a lion was lurking.

  The roads and lines of forest, the towns and villages were in the handsof Radzivill; somewhat beyond Kyedani was Kmita, with cavalry,infantry, and cannon. The hetman had heard already of the escape of thecolonels, the mutiny of Volodyovski's squadron, and the battle ofKlavany; the last brought him to such rage that there was fear for hislife, since a terrible attack of asthma had for a time almost stoppedhis breathing.

  In truth he had cause enough for anger, and even for despair, sincethat battle brought on his head a whole Swedish tempest. People beganat once after this battle to cut up here and there small Swedishdetachments. Peasants did this, and individual nobles independently;but the Swedes laid it to the account of Radzivill, especially as theofficers and men sent by Volodyovski to Birji declared before thecommandant that one of Radzivill's squadrons had fallen upon them athis command.

  In a week a letter came to the prince from the commandant at Birji, andten days later from Pontus de la Gardie himself, the commander-in-chiefof the Swedish forces.

  "Either your highness has no power and significance," wrote thelatter,--"and in such case how could you conclude a treaty in the nameof the whole country!--or it is your wish to bring about throughartifice the ruin of the king's army. If that is the case, the favor ofmy master will turn from your highness, and punishment will comequickly, unless you show obedience and efface your faults by faithfulservice."

  Radzivill sent couriers at once with an explanation of what hadhappened and how; but the dart had fastened in his haughty soul, andthe burning wound began to rankle more and more. He whose word not longbefore terrified the country more than all Sweden; he for the half ofwhose property all the Swedish lords might have been bought; he whostood against his own king, thinking himself the equal of monarchs; hewho had acquired fame in the whole world by his victories, and whowalked in his own pride as in sunshine--must now listen to the threatsof one Swedish general, must hear lectures on obedience andfaithfulness. It is true that that general was brother-in-law to theking; but the king himself,--who was he? A usurper of the thronebelonging by right and inheritance to Yan Kazimir.

  Above all, the rage of the hetman was turned against those who were thecause of that humiliation, and he swore to himself to trampleVolodyovski and those colonels who were with him and the whole squadronof Lauda. With this object he marched against them; and as hunters toclear out the wolf's nest surround a forest with shares, he surroundedthem and began to pursue without rest.

  Meanwhile tidings came that Kmita had crushed Nyevyarovski's squadron,cut down or scattered the officers, and joined the men to his own.Radzivill, to strike the more surely, commanded Pan Andrei to send himsome of these troops.

  "Those men," wrote the hetman, "for whose lives you interceded with usso persistently, and mainly Volodyovski with that other straggler,escaped on the road to Birji. We sent the stupidest officer with themon purpose, so that they might not win him over; but even he eitherbecame a traitor, or they fooled him. Now Volodyovski has the wholeLauda squadron, and fugitives are reinforcing him. They cut to piecesone hundred and twenty Swedes at Klavany, saying that they did it atour command, from which great distrust has arisen between us andPontus. The whole cause may be ruined by those traitors, whose heads,had it not been for your interference, would have been cut off at ourcommand, as God is in heaven. So we have to repent of our mildness,though we hope in God that vengeance will soon overtake them. Tidingshave come to us, too, that in Billeviche nobles assemble at the houseof the sword-bearer and conspire against us. This must be stopped! Youwill send all the cavalry to us, and the infantry to Kyedani to guardthe castle and the town, for from those traito
rs anything may beexpected. You will go yourself with some tens of horsemen toBilleviche, and bring the sword-bearer and his niece to Kyedani. Atpresent it is important, not only for you, but for us; for whoso hasthem in hand has the whole Lauda region, in which the nobles, followingthe example of Volodyovski, are beginning to rise against us. We havesent Harasimovich to Zabludovo with instructions how to begin withthose confederates. Of great importance among them is Yakub, yourcousin, to whom you will write, if you think you can act on him througha letter. Signifying to you our continual favor, we commit you to thecare of God."

  When Kmita had read this letter, he was content at heart that thecolonels had succeeded in escaping the Swedes, and in secret he wishedthem to escape Radzivill. Still he carried out all commands of theprince, sent him the cavalry, garrisoned Kyedani with infantry, andbegan to make trenches along the castle and the town, promising himselfto go immediately after this work was done to Billeviche for thesword-bearer and the young woman.

  "I will use no force, unless in the last resort," thought he, "and inno case will I urge Olenka. Finally, it is not my will, 'tis thecommand of the prince. She will not receive me pleasantly, I know; butGod grant that in time she will know my intentions, and that I serveRadzivill not against the country, but for its salvation."

  Thinking thus, he labored zealously at fortifying Kyedani, which was tobe the residence of his Olenka in the future.

  Meanwhile Volodyovski was slipping away before the hetman, but thehetman pursued him furiously. It was, however, too narrow for PanMichael; for from Birji considerable detachments of Swedish troopspushed toward the south, the east of the country was occupied by thelegions of the Tsar, and on the road to Kyedani the hetman was lying inwait.

  Zagloba was greatly depressed by such a condition of affairs, and heturned with increasing frequency to Pan Michael with questions: "PanMichael, by the love of God, shall we break through or shall we notbreak through?"

  "There is not even talk of breaking through here," answered the littleknight. "You know that I am not lined with cowardice, and that I attackwhom I will, even the devil himself. But I cannot meet the hetman, forI am not equal to him. You have said yourself that he is a pike and weperches. I shall do what is in my power to slip out, but if it comes toa battle, I tell you plainly that he will defeat us."

  "Then he will command to chop us up and throw us to the dogs. As Godlives! into any man's hands save Radzivill's! But in this case why notturn to Pan Sapyeha?"

  "It is too late now, for the hetman's troops and the Swedes have closedthe roads."

  "The devil tempted me when I persuaded Pan Yan and his cousin to go toRadzivill!" said Zagloba, in despair.

  But Pan Michael did not lose hope yet, especially since the nobles, andeven the peasants, brought him warning of the hetman's movements; forall hearts were turning from Radzivill. Pan Michael twisted outtherefore as he knew how,--and he knew how famously, for almost fromchildhood he had inured himself to war with Tartars and Cossacks. Hehad been made renowned in the army of Yeremi by descents on Tartarchambuls, by scouting expeditions, unexpected attacks, lightningescapes, in which he surpassed other officers.

  At present hemmed in between Upita and Rogova on one side and Nyevyajaon the other, he doubled around on the space of a few miles, avoidingbattle continually, worrying the Radzivill squadrons, and even pluckingthem a little as a wolf hunted by dogs slips by often near the hunters,and when the dogs press him too closely, turns and shows his whitegleaming teeth.

  But when Kmita's cavalry came up, the hetman closed the narrowest gapswith them, and went himself to see that the two ends of the snare cametogether.

  That was at Nyevyaja.

  The regiments of Myeleshko and Ganhoff with two squadrons of cavalry,under the lead of the prince himself, formed as it were a bow, thestring of which was the river. Volodyovski with his squadron was in thecentre of the bow. He had in front of him, it is true, one ford whichled through a swampy stream, but just on the other side of the fordwere two Scottish regiments and two hundred of Radzivill's Cossacks,with six fieldpieces, turned in such manner that even one man could nothave reached the other side under the fire of them.

  Now the bow began to contract. The middle of it was led by the hetmanhimself.

  Happily for Volodyovski, night and a storm with pouring rain stoppedthe advance; but for the enclosed men there remained not more than asquare half-mile of meadow, grown over with willows, in the middle ofthe half-ring of Radzivill's army, and the river guarded on the otherside by the Scots.

  Next morning when the early dawn was just whitening the tops of thewillows, the regiments moved forward to the river and were struck dumbwith amazement.

  Volodyovski had gone through the earth,--there was not a living soul inthe willows.

  The hetman himself was astounded, and then real thunders fell on theheads of the officers commanding at the ford. And again an attack ofasthma seized the prince with such force that those present trembledfor his life. But rage overcame even the asthma. Two officers,intrusted with guarding the bank, were to be shot; but Ganhoffprevailed on the prince to have inquiries made first as to how thebeast had escaped from the toils.

  It appeared in fact that Volodyovski, taking advantage of the darknessand rain, had led his whole squadron out of the willows into the river,and swimming or wading with the current had slipped along Radzivill'sright wing, which touched the bank at that point. Some horses, sunk totheir bellies in the mud, indicated the place where he had come out onthe right bank. From farther tracks it was easy to see that he hadmoved with all horse-breath in the direction of Kyedani. The hetmanguessed at once from this that he wished to make his way toHorotkyevich and Yakub Kmita in Podlyasye.

  "But in passing near Kyedani would he not burn the town or try toplunder the castle?"

  A terrible fear straitened the heart of the prince. The greater part ofhis ready money and treasures were in Kyedani. Kmita, it is true, wasbound to supply it with infantry; but if he had not done so, theundefended castle would easily become plunder for the insolent colonel.Radzivill felt sure that courage would not be wanting Volodyovski toattack the residence of Kyedani itself. It might be that time would notbe wanting, for escaping in the beginning of the night he had leftpursuit at least six hours behind.

  In every case it was imperative to hasten with all breath to therescue. The prince left the infantry, and pushed on with the cavalry.When he arrived at Kyedani he did not find Kmita, but he foundeverything quiet; and the opinion which he had of the young colonel'sability increased doubly at sight of the finished trenches andfield-cannon standing on them. That same day he reviewed them incompany with Ganhoff, to whom he remarked in the evening,--

  "He acted thus of his own mind, without my order, and finished thosetrenches so well that a protracted defence might be made here, evenagainst artillery. If that man does not break his neck too early, hemay rise high."

  There was another man, at thought of whom the hetman could not restraina certain kind of admiration, but mingled with rage, for the man wasPan Michael. "I could finish the mutiny soon," said he to Ganhoff, "ifI had two such servants. Kmita may be still more alert, but he has notthe experience, and the other was brought up in the school of Yeremi,beyond the Dnieper."

  "Does your highness give command to pursue him?" asked Ganhoff.

  The prince looked at Ganhoff, and said with emphasis, "He would beatyou and escape from me." But after a while he frowned, and added,"Everything is quiet here now; but we must move to Podlyasye at once,and finish those there."

  "Your highness," said Ganhoff, "as soon as we move a foot out of thisplace, all will seize arms against the Swedes."

  "Which all?"

  "The nobles and peasants. And not stopping with the Swedes, they willturn against the dissidents, for they put all the blame of this war onour co-religionists, saying that we sent to the enemy, and in factbrought the enemy in."

  "It is a question with me of my cousin Boguslav. I know not whether heis able
to hold out against the confederates in Podlyasye."

  "It is a question of Lithuania to keep it in obedience to us and theKing of Sweden."

  The prince began to walk through the room, saying, "If I could in anyway get Horotkyevich and Yakub Kmita into my hands! They will devour myproperty, destroy, plunder it; they will not leave a stone upon astone."

  "Unless we stipulate with General de la Gardie to send hither as manytroops as possible, while we are in Podlyasye."

  "With Pontus,--never!" answered Radzivill, to whose head a wave ofblood rushed. "If with any one, with the king himself. I do not need totreat with servants when I can treat with their master. If the kingwere to command Pontus to place two thousand cavalry at my disposal,that would be another thing. But I will not ask Pontus for them. It isneedful to send some one to the king; it is time to negotiate with himdirectly."

  The lean face of Ganhoff flushed slightly, and his eyes were lightedwith desire. "If your highness commanded--"

  "You would go; but for you to arrive there is another thing. You are aGerman, and it is dangerous for a foreigner to enter an uprisencountry. Who knows where the king is at this moment, and where he willbe in half a month or a month? It is necessary to ride through thewhole country. Besides, it cannot be! You will not go, for it isnecessary to send one of my own people, a man of high family, so as toconvince the king that not all the nobles have left me."

  "An inexperienced man might do much harm," said Ganhoff, timidly.

  "An envoy will have no work there except to deliver my letter, andbring back an answer; and any man can explain that it was not I whogave orders to beat the Swedes at Klavany."

  Ganhoff was silent.

  The prince began again to walk with unquiet steps through the room; onhis forehead was manifest a continual struggle of thought. In truth, hehad not known a moment of peace from the time of his treaty with theSwedes. Pride devoured him, his conscience gnawed him, the unexpectedresistance of the country and the army gnawed him; the uncertainty ofthe future, and the threat of ruin terrified him. He struggled, hefought, he passed sleepless nights, he was failing in health. His eyeswere sinking, he was growing thin; his face, formerly red, became blue,and almost with every hour silver threads increased in his mustachesand his forelock. In a word, he lived in torment, and bent under theburden.

  Ganhoff followed him with his eyes as he walked through the room; hehad still a little hope that the prince would bethink himself, and sendhim.

  But the prince halted suddenly, and struck his forehead with his palm."Two squadrons of cavalry, to horse at once! I will lead them myself."

  Ganhoff looked on him with wonderment. "An expedition?" inquired he,involuntarily.

  "Move on!" said the prince. "God grant that it be not too late!"