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

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  CHAPTER V.

  Zbyszko went for the bear as he proposed, because Macko became worse. Atfirst when he reached Bogdaniec, he was sustained by joy and the firstcares about the house; but on the third day, the fever returned, and thepain was so great that he was obliged to go to bed. Zbyszko went to the_barcie_ during the day, and while there he perceived that there were thefootprints of a bear in the mud. He spoke to the beehive keeper, Wawrek,who slept in a shed not far away, with his two faithful Podhalan[79]dogs; but he intended to return to the village on account of the cold.

  They destroyed the shed, and Wawrek took the dogs with him. But firstthey smeared the trees here and there with honey, so that the smell of itwould attract the animal. Zbyszko returned home and began to prepare forthe expedition. He dressed himself in a warm reindeer jacket withoutsleeves; on the top of his head, he put a bonnet made of iron wire;finally he took a strong fork and a steel axe. Before sunset he had takenhis position; and having made the sign of the cross, he sat down andwaited.

  The red beams of the setting sun were still shining between the branchesof the gigantic pines. In the tops of the trees, the crows were flying,croaking and beating the air with their wings; here and there the hareswere leaping toward the water, making a noise on the dried leaves; sometimes a swift marten passed by. In the thickets, the chirping of thebirds was at first heard--but gradually ceased.

  After sunset the noises of the forest began. Immediately a pack of boarspassed near Zbyszko with a great bustle and snorting; then elks gallopedin a long row, each holding his head on the tail of the one in front ofhim. The dried branches crackled under their feet and the forestresounded; but on they rushed toward the marshes where during the night,they were cool and safe. Finally the twilight was reflected on the sky,and the tops of the pine trees illuminated by it seemed to burn, as if onfire; then little by little everything began to be quieted. The forestwas still. Dusk was rising from earth toward the gleaming twilight, whichbegan finally to grow fainter, then gloomy, blacker and then wasquenched.

  "Now, everything will be quiet, until the wolves begin to howl," thoughtZbyszko.

  He regretted that he had not taken his crossbow, because he could easilyhave killed a boar or an elk. In the meanwhile, from the marshes camemuffled sounds similar to heavy panting and whistling. Zbyszko lookedtoward that marsh with some apprehension, because the peasant, Radzik,who used to live here in an earth-hut, disappeared with his whole family,as if devoured by the earth. Some people said they were seized byrobbers; but there were others who saw some strange footprints, neitherhuman nor of beasts, round the cabin. The people shook their heads verymuch about that, and they even spoke about bringing a priest fromKrzesnia, to bless the hut. But they did not do it because nobody waswilling to live in that hut, which from that time, had an evilreputation. It is true that the beehive keeper, Wawrek, did not pay anyattention to these reports.

  Zbyszko being armed with the fork and axe, was not afraid of the wildbeasts; but he thought with some uneasiness about the evil forces, and hewas glad when that noise stopped.

  The last reverberation ceased, and there was complete silence. The windstopped blowing and there was not even the usual whispering in the topsof the pine trees. From time to time, a pine cone fell, making quite anoise amidst the deep silence; but in general, everything was so quietthat Zbyszko heard his own respirations.

  Thus he sat quietly for a long time, thinking first about the bear, andthen about Danusia. He recollected how he seized her in his arms whenbidding the princess farewell, and how she cried; he remembered her fairhead and bright face, her wreaths of bachelor buttons, her singing, herred shoes with long tips, and finally everything that happened from themoment he first saw her. Such a longing to see her, filled his heart,that he forgot that he was in the forest waiting for the bear; instead ofthat he began to talk to himself:

  "I will go to see you, because I cannot live without you."

  He felt that he must go to Mazowsze; that if he remained in Bogdaniec, hewould become good for nothing. He recollected Jurand and his strangeopposition; then he thought that it was even more necessary he should go,and learn what that obstacle was, and if a challenge to combat could notremove it. Finally it seemed to him that Danusia stretched her bandstoward him and cried:

  "Come, Zbyszku! Come!" How could he refuse?

  He was not sleeping, but he saw her as distinctly as in a dream. Thereshe was, riding beside the princess, thrumming on her little lute,humming and thinking of him. Thinking that she would soon see him, andperhaps looking back.

  Hero Zbyszko aroused himself and listened, because he heard a rustlingbehind him. Then he grasped the fork in his hand more tightly, stretchedhis neck and listened again.

  The rustling approached and then it became very distinct. Under somecareful foot, the dried branches were crackling, the fallen leaves wererustling. Something was coming.

  From time to time the rustling ceased, as if the beast halted beneath thetrees; then there was such quietude that Zbyszko's ears began to ring;then again slow, careful steps were heard. That approach was so cautiousthat Zbyszko was surprised.

  "I am sure 'the old'[80] must be afraid of the dogs which were here inthe shed," said he to himself; "but it may be a wolf that has scentedme."

  Now the footsteps were no longer heard. Zbyszko, however, was sure thatsomething had stopped twenty or thirty feet behind him.

  He turned around once or twice; but although he could see the trunks ofthe trees quite well, he could not perceive anything else. He was obligedto wait.

  He waited so long, that he was surprised a second time.

  "A bear would not come here to stop under the _barcie_; and a wolf wouldnot wait until morning."

  Suddenly a shiver ran through his body as he thought:

  "Suppose it is something dreadful that comes from the marshes and istrying to surprise me from the rear! Suppose the slippery arms of adrowned man seize me, or the green eyes of a ghost look into my face;suppose a blue head on spider's legs comes out from behind the tree andbegins to laugh!"

  He felt his hair begin to rise under his iron bonnet.

  But after a while, a rustling sounded in front of him, more distinct thistime than formerly. Zbyszko breathed more freely; he thought that thesame "wonder" had gone around him, and now approached from the front; buthe preferred that. He seized his fork firmly, arose quietly and waited.

  Now he noticed over his head the rustling of the pine trees, and he feltthe wind blow in his face, coming from the marsh, and he smelt the bear.

  There was not the slightest doubt that a _mys_[81] was coming!

  Zbyszko was afraid no longer, and having bent his head, he strained tothe utmost his hearing and his sight. Heavy, distinct steps were coming;the smell grew stronger; soon the snore and groaning were heard.

  "I hope there are not two of them!" thought Zbyszko.

  But at that moment, he perceived in front of him the large, dark form ofthe animal, which was walking in the same direction from which the windwas blowing, and could not get the scent of him; its attention was alsoattracted by the smell of the honey on the trees.

  "Come, uncle!" exclaimed Zbyszko, coming out from beneath the pine tree.

  The bear roared shortly as if frightened by an unexpected apparition; buthe was too near to seek safety in flight; therefore, in a moment hereared and separated his forelegs as if for a hug. This was exactly whatZbyszko was waiting for; he gathered himself together, jumped likelightning and with all the strength of his powerful arms and of hisweight, he drove the fork into the animal's chest.

  The whole forest resounded now with the fearful roaring. The bear seizedthe fork with his paws, and tried to pull it out, but the incisions madeby the points were too deep; therefore, feeling the pain, he roared stillmore fearfully. Wishing to reach Zbyszko, he leaned on the fork and thusdrove it into his body still further. Zbyszko, not knowing that thepoints had entered so deeply, held on to the handle. The man and theanimal began to
struggle. The forest again resounded with the roaring inwhich wrath and despair were mingled.

  Zbyszko could not use his axe until after he could drive the sharpenedend of the fork into the ground. The bear having seized the handle, wasshaking it as well as Zbyszko, and notwithstanding the pain caused byevery movement of the points imbedded in his breast, he would not let itbe "underpropped." In this way the terrible struggle continued, andZbyszko finally felt that his strength would soon be exhausted. If hefell, then he would be lost; therefore, he gathered all his strength,strained his arms to the utmost, set his feet firmly and bent his backlike a bow, so as not to be thrown backward; and in his enthusiasm herepeated through set teeth:

  "You or I will die!"

  Such anger filled him that he really preferred at that moment to die,rather than to let the beast go. Finally his foot caught in the root of atree; he tottered and would have fallen, if at that moment a dark figurehad not appeared before him, and another fork "underpropped" the beast;and in the meanwhile, a voice shouted near his ear:

  "Use your axe!"

  Zbyszko, being excited by the fight, did not wonder even for a momentfrom whence came the unexpected help; but he seized the axe and cut withall his might. The fork cracked, broken by the weight and by the lastconvulsion of the beast, as it fell. There was a long silence broken onlyby Zbyszko's loud respirations. But after a while, he lifted his head,looked at the form standing beside him and was afraid, thinking that itmight not be a man.

  "Who are you?" asked he, with uneasiness.

  "Jagienka!" answered a thin, womanly voice.

  Zbyszko became dumb from astonishment; he could not believe his own eyes.But his doubts did not last long, because Jagienka's voice againresounded:

  "I will build a fire."

  Immediately the clatter of a fire steel against a flint sounded and thesparks began to fall; by their glittering light, Zbyszko beheld the whiteforehead, the dark eyebrows and the red lips of the girl who was blowingon the tinder which began to burn. Not until then did he realize that shehad come to the forest to help him, and that without her aid, he wouldhave perished. He felt such gratitude toward her, that he impulsivelyseized her around the waist and kissed her on both cheeks.

  The tinder and the steel fell to the ground.

  "Let me be!" she began to repeat in a muffled voice; but she allowed himto kiss her and even, as if by accident, touched Zbyszko's lips with hermouth. He released her and said:

  "May God reward you. I do not know what would have happened without yourhelp."

  Then Jagienka, while searching for the tinder and fire steel, began toexcuse herself:

  "I was worried about you, because Bezduch also went with a fork and anaxe, but the bear tore him to pieces. If you met with such a misfortune,Macko would be very desolate, and he hardly breathes now. So I took afork and came."

  "Then it was you whom I heard there behind the pines?"

  "Yes."

  "And I thought it was an evil spirit."

  "I was very much frightened, because it is dangerous to be without firehere around the Radzikowski marshes."

  "Then why did you not speak to me?"

  "Because I was afraid you would send me away."

  Having said this, she again began to strike sparks from the steel, andput on the tinder a bundle of hemp which began to burn.

  "I have two resinous pieces of wood," said she; "you bring some driedbranches quickly, and we will soon have a fire."

  In fact, after a while a bright fire was burning, and lighted theenormous, brown body of the bear which was lying in a pool of blood.

  "Hej, a dreadful beast!" said Zbyszko, boastfully.

  "You split his head entirely open! O, Jesus!"

  Then she leaned over and felt of the bear's body, to ascertain whetherthe beast was fat; then she arose with a bright face, and said:

  "There will be plenty of grease for two years."

  "But the fork is broken, look!"

  "That is too bad; what shall I tell them at home?"

  "About what?"

  "_Tatus_ would not let me come into the forest, therefore I was obligedto wait until everybody had retired."

  After a moment she added:

  "You must not tell that I was here, because they will laugh at me."

  "But I will go with you to your house, because I am afraid the wolveswill attack you, and you have no fork."

  "Very well!"

  Thus they sat talking for a while beside the bright fire, looking liketwo young forest creatures.

  Zbyszko looked at the girl's pretty face, lighted by the flames, and saidwith involuntary admiration:

  "There is not another girl in this world as brave as you are. You oughtto go to the war!"

  She looked into his face and then she answered, almost sadly:

  "I know; but you must not laugh at me."