CHAPTER V.
They arrived very early at Niewiazy where they crossed the river, some onhorseback, some upon bundles of osier. Everything went with such dispatchthat Macko, Zbyszko, Hlawa and the Mazovian volunteers were astonished atthe skilfulness of the people; only then they understood why neitherwoods, nor swamps, nor rivers could prevent Lithuanian expeditions. Whenthey emerged from the river none had taken off his wet clothing, not eventhe sheep and wolfskin coats, but exposed themselves to the rays of thesun until they steamed like pitch-burners, and after a short rest theymarched hastily toward the north. At nightfall they arrived at theNiemen.
The crossing of the great river at that place, swollen in the spring, wasnot an easy matter. The ford, which was known to Skuwoilla, changed inplaces into deep water, so that the horses had to swim more than aquarter of a furlong. Two men were carried away quite near Zbyszko, andHlawa tried to rescue them, but in vain; owing to the darkness and therushing water they lost sight of them. The drowning men did not dare toshout for help, because the leader had previously ordered that thecrossing should be effected in the most quiet manner possible.Nevertheless all the others fortunately succeeded in reaching the otherside of the river, where they remained without fires till the morning.
At dawn, the whole army was divided into two divisions. Skirwoilla at thehead of one went toward the interior to encounter the knights at the headof the relief train for Gotteswerder. The second division was led back byZbyszko, toward the island, in order to attack the people coming from thecastle to meet the expedition, upon the elevated ground.
It was a mild and bright morning, but down in the woods the marshes andbushes were covered with a thick white steam which entirely obscured thedistance. That was just a desirable condition for Zbyszko, because theGermans coming from the castle would not be able to see them in time toretreat. The young knight was exceedingly glad of it, and said to Macko:
"Let us get to our position instead of contemplating the mist yonder. Godgrant that it is not dissipated before noon."
Then he hurried to the front to give orders to the _setniks_,[116] andimmediately returned and said:
"We shall soon meet them upon the road coming from the ferry of theisland toward the interior. There we shall hide ourselves in the thicketand 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 anumber 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 mighthurry to the rescue, but now they will not only not be able to arrive intime, but will be beyond hearing distance."
"You see I thought about that."
"You thought about one thing, think also about another: if they arereliable peasants, send two or three of them in front, so as to signalwhen 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 hundredmen, as soon as the battle begins, not to take part in the fight, buthasten to the rear and cut off their retreat to the island."
"That is the first thing," replied Zbyszko. "Those orders have beengiven. The Germans will fall into a trap and be snared."
Hearing this, Macko looked approvingly at his nephew; he was pleased thatin spite of his youth, he understood much of warfare; therefore he smiledand murmured:
"Our true blood!"
But Hlawa, the shield-bearer, was more glad than Macko, because there wasnothing he loved more than war.
"I don't know the fighting capacity of our people," he said, "but theymarch quietly, they are dexterous, and they seem to be eager. And ifSkirwoilla yonder has well devised his plans, then not a single footshall escape."
"God grant that only a few may escape," replied Zbyszko. "But I havegiven orders to capture as many prisoners as possible; and if thereshould happen to be a knight or a religious brother among them, he mustabsolutely not be killed."
"Why not, sir?" inquired the Bohemian.
"You also take care," Zbyszko replied, "that it be so. If there be aknight among them, he must possess much information, owing to hiswanderings in many cities and castles, seeing, and hearing much; muchmore so if he is a religious member of the Order. Therefore I owe to Godmy coming to this place so that I might learn something about Danusia,and exchange prisoners. If there be any, this is the only measure leftfor me."
Then he urged his horse and galloped again to the front to give his finalorders and at the same time to get rid of his sad thoughts; there was notime to be lost, because the spot where they were to lie in ambush wasvery near.
"Why does the young lord think that his little wife is alive, and thatshe is somewhere in this neighborhood?" asked the Bohemian.
"Because if Zygfried, at the first impulse, did not kill her atSzczytno," replied Macko, "then one may rightly conclude that she isstill 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 verydifficult matter; even the most cruel man would not lift up his handagainst a defenceless woman. Bah! Against an innocent child."
"It is a hard thing, but not with the Knights of the Cross. And thechildren of Prince Witold?"
"It is quite true, they have wolfish hearts. Nevertheless, it is truethat they did not kill her at Szczytno, and Zygfried himself left forthis part of the country; it is therefore possible that he had hid her insome 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 younglord."
"Even if you have ten ideas, I do not care. You cannot overthrow thewalls with pikes."
Macko pointed toward the lines of pikes, with which most of the warriorswere provided; then he asked:
"Did you ever see such soldiers?"
As a matter of fact, the Bohemian had never seen the like. There was adense crowd in front of them marching irregularly. Cavalry and infantrywere mixed up and could not keep proper steps while marching through theundergrowth in the woods. In order to keep pace with the cavalry theinfantry held on to the horses' manes, saddles and tails. The warriors'shoulders were covered with wolf, lynx and bearskins; some had attachedto their heads boars' tusks, others antlers of deer, and others still hadshaggy ears attached, so that, were it not for the protruding weaponsabove their heads, and the dingy bows and arrows at their backs, theywould have looked from the rear and specially in the mist like a movingbody of wild beasts proceeding from the depths of the forest, driven bythe desire for blood or hunger, in search of prey. There was somethingterrible and at the same time extraordinary in it: it had the appearanceof that wonder called _gnomon_, when, according to popular belief, wildbeasts and even stones and bushes were moving in front of them.
It was at that sight that one of the young nobles from Lenkawice, whoaccompanied the Bohemian, approached him, crossed himself, and said:
"In the name of the Father and Son! I say I am marching with a pack ofwolves, and not with men."
But Hlawa, although he had never before seen such a sight, replied likean experienced man who knows all about it and is not surprised atanything.
"Wolves roam in packs during the winter season, but the dog-blood of theKnights of the Cross they also taste in the spring."
It was spring indeed, the month of May; the hazel-trees which filled thewoods were covered with a bright green. Among the moss, upon which thesoldiers stepped noiselessly, appeared white and blue anemones as well asyoung berries and dentillated ferns. Softened by abundant rains, the barkof the trees produced an agreeable odor, and from the forest under foot,consisting of pine-needles and punk, proceeded a pungent smell. The sundisplayed a rainbow in the drops upon the leaves and branches of thetr
ees, and above it the birds sang joyfully.
They accelerated their pace, because Zbyszko urged them on. At timesZbyszko rode again in the rear of the division with Macko, the Bohemianand the Mazovian volunteers. The prospect of a good battle apparentlyelated him considerably, for his customary sad expression haddisappeared, and his eyes had regained their wonted brightness.
"Cheer up!" he exclaimed. "We must now place ourselves in the front--notbehind the line."
He led them to the front of the division.
"Listen," he added. "It may be that we shall catch the Germansunexpectedly, but should they make a stand and succeed in falling inline, then we must be the first to attack them, because our armor issuperior, and our swords are better."
"Let it be so," said Macko.
The others settled themselves in their saddles, as if they were to attackat once. They took a long breath, and felt for their swords to seewhether they could be unsheathed with ease.
Zbyszko repeated his orders once more, that if they found among theinfantry any knights with white mantles over the armor, they were not tokill but capture them alive; then he galloped to the guides, and haltedthe division for a while.
They arrived at the highway which from the landing opposite the islandextended to the interior. Strictly speaking, there was no proper roadyet, but in reality the edge of the wood had been recently sawed throughand leveled only at the rear so much as to enable soldiers or wagons topass 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 growthswere so thick in some places that they overran the whole forest. Zbyszkohad therefore chosen a place at the turning, so that the advancing partywould neither be able to see far, nor retreat, nor have time enough toform themselves in battle array. It was there that he occupied both sidesof the lane and gave commands to await the enemy.
Accustomed to forest life and war, the Zmudzians took advantage of thelogs, cuts and clumps of young hazelnut growths, and fir saplings--sothat 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 animalspassed those lying in wait and came upon them before seeing them and werefrightened and rushed wildly away. At times the wind arose and filled theforest with a solemn, rushing sound, and then again silence fell and onlythe distant notes of the cuckoo and the woodpecker were audible.
The Zmudzians were glad to hear those sounds, because the woodpecker wasa special harbinger of good fortune. There were many of those birds inthat forest, and the pecking sound was heard on all sides persistent andrapid, like human labor. One would be inclined to say, that each of thosebirds had its own blacksmith's forge where it went to active labor veryearly. It appeared to Macko and the Mazovians that they heard the noiseof 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 ofthe trees and the voice of birds. The mist hovering upon the plain waslifting. The sun was quite high and it was getting hot, but they stilllay 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. Maywe not be able to reach the castle and capture it by surprise?"
"Do you suppose that the boats there are not watching, and have nowatchwords?"
"They have watchmen," replied the Bohemian, in a whisper, "but prisonerswhen threatened with the knife will give up the watchword. Bah! they willeven reply in the German language. If we reach the island, then thecastle itself...."
Here he stopped, because Zbyszko put his hand upon his mouth, becausefrom 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, ridingupon a little shaggy pony, whose hoofs were enveloped in sheepskin toavoid the clatter and traces of horses' hoofs in the mud. The riderlooked sharply from side to side and, suddenly hearing from the thicketan answer to the croaking, dived into the forest, and in a moment he wasnear Zbyszko.
"They are coming!" ... he said.
The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance Page 51