The Circassian Chief: A Romance of Russia
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followed to war, who possessed largeherds of cattle, flocks of sheep, fleet steeds, and rich armour.
Koros was, as we have said, a noble of a violent and revengefuldisposition; so that his brother, though he loved him, and was himselfequally brave, quailed beneath the fury of his overpowering anger; andwell he knew that a defeat in this affair, would raise it to the utmost.
On leaving the Uzden his thoughts were bent on vengeance, or onaccomplishing his object; and had it not been for the oath, which he,with many other nobles had entered into, to refrain from all broilsamongst each other, on account of the impending danger of the country,he would probably have determined to return immediately with a strongbody of his retainers, and carry off the unwilling girl by force. As itwas, the tumult of his feelings took away all his judgment, nor knew hehow to proceed; when his wily squire divining his thoughts, laid a planto which he had little doubt his master would accede. When the Khanfirst drew rein, he began cautiously to unfold a stratagem, which he hadthought of, by which the wished for object might be obtained.
"Why does my young master thus give way to anger and despair, at thefolly of a wilful pale-faced girl? Why does he think, that it isimpossible to succeed in obeying the wishes of his noble brother? Arethere not yet many ways left to attain his object?"
"What mean you, Kiru? speak!" exclaimed the Khan. "To what do thesewords you speak tend?"
"The chieftain Arslan Gherrei, and his fair daughter, with the fewretainers he has left, travel this way to-morrow, and will pass near theRussian fort at Ghelendjik," answered the crafty counsellor. "Could notthen my master instigate the Russians to sally forth, from theirentrenchments, and capture the chieftain and his daughter, as they passby? They will give the lovely maiden as a reward to my master, that hemay take her to his brother, our chief, to make his home joyful with herpresence."
"What are these words, I hear?" exclaimed the young noble in an angrytone, and frowning at the same time. "Would you have me turn traitor tomy country? Would you have me break my oath by dealings with the cursedUrus. No, Kiru, no. Are they not my deadly foes? Have I not slainthem, as the mower sweeps down the ripe corn with his sickle? No, Kiru,it cannot be."
Setting spurs to his horse, he again galloped forward, to avoid thetemptations of his attendant. He, however, pondered on the subject ashe rode; and his imagination having been once excited by the instigationof his follower, he could not drive the idea from his mind, by therapidity of his pace. Unfortunately for himself, he again stopped tohear what further arguments his squire might have to urge; who, like thearch instigator to evil, seeing the effect his proposition had alreadymade, ventured to proceed.
"Does the Khan, my master, think that I would persuade him to form afriendship with the hated Urus? No! no! I love them not. My mastermistakes my words. I would advise only that he should make use of theirassistance to gain his object, and then he may quit them without thanks.He may again bathe his sword in their blood, as if he had never spokento them. What matters it, if a few men on either side be slain? It isa trifle compared to fulfilling his brother's commands."
"That may be, Kiru; but will not men say, that I have stained the nameof our family, by holding communication with our enemies?" said theyoung Khan.
"No one need ever know what you have done," replied the tempter. "Leavethat to the care of your faithful squire. Will not also many of theUrus be slain in the combat, and thus benefit our cause? for the chiefArslan Gherrei is too brave and powerful to let many escape to tell thetale; and while all are engaged, the Khan can rush down and carry offthe fair girl, as if to rescue her from her enemies. Has not yourservant well spoken, Khan?"
"Your plan is good, Kiru," he replied, now almost determined to followthe crafty suggestions of his tempter. "Yet, how can I gain admittanceto the fort of our enemies?"
"That is easy; for they are always glad to see those whom they may hopeto gain over to their side; and we may easily deceive them. Say, butthe word, and I will go on, to prepare for your coming," urged the evilcounsellor.
"You persuade me much, Kiru; but yet are not the scouts of the Attegheiconstantly on the watch to mark the movements of the Urus; and will notthey assemble a larger force of their people, the moment they see themleave their entrenchments?"
"That, too, shall be my care," answered the squire. "I will deceive thescouts, and send them in different directions, so as to leave the roadclear. On that account there is naught to fear."
"Your persuasions are powerful, Kiru," answered the Khan, now scarcehesitating, "and in no other way do I see that I can fulfil my brother'swishes."
"We have no time to lose then, Khan," said the squire. "Let us hastento put the plot in execution, and we will shew these foolish Russians,how well we can deceive them."
The young Khan had now been fully persuaded to commit this act oftreachery and folly. Waiting, therefore, till his followers came up, hedespatched them on their way homeward; while he and his squire proceededtowards the castle of Ghelendjik, keeping as much as possible under theshelter of the rocks and trees, that they might pass unobserved by theCircassian scouts, till, at the close of evening, they arrived under itswalls.
The fort of Ghelendjik was built on the eastern side of a deep bay, thecalm waters of which were sheltered from nearly all the winds whichagitate the Black Sea. Lofty and precipitous hills rose around it, atsome distance from the shore, leaving, on the side where the fort waserected, a broad expanse of sand and low ground, reaching beyondmusket-range of the hills. Far to the north-west, extended a high rangeof chalk cliffs; above which the mountains rose in broken ridges, orsunk in deep ravines to the very edge of the cliffs forming animpassable barrier to troops; while on the other side, the landstretched far into the sea in wooded promontories or capes, forming aseries of beautiful bays or windings of the shore in the direction ofPchad.
The walls of the fort within which the Russians were cooped up by thevigilance of their foes, were built partly of stone and partly of clayembankments, forming a high parapet, surmounted with palisades; and fromthe embrasures frowned the muzzles of their guns, in a long line ofordnance of the heaviest calibre, loaded at all times to the mouth withlangridge and grape shot. On the outside a deep ditch had been dug, andredoubts thrown out. At intervals of a few yards between the rough hewntimbers forming palisades, bristled the bayonets of the numeroussentinels constantly on the watch, to prevent a surprise from theirindefatigable and dreaded enemies. The store-houses and barracks werebuilt of wood; many of them but wretched huts scarcely giving shelter tothe miserable garrison, which now consisted of upwards of four thousandmen. Even with this strong force, so vigilant and persevering were theCircassians, that the Russians could scarcely venture to shew themselvesbeyond their walls without being fired at; and their foraging parties toobtain wood and water were escorted by a troop of artillery, to guardthem against the attacks of the natives. All the trees in theneighbourhood had been felled by the invaders to build their fort, andto prevent the mountaineers from finding shelter behind them in theiradvances, in case they should attack it; so that the country for a shortdistance around, wore a desolate and barren aspect: a sad contrast tothe smiling and rich scenery a little further off.
In a hut of better pretensions than the other buildings, within thefort, sat, on his camp sofa, the commander of the Russian castle. Thedeep frown on his dark brow, showed his mortification at the ill successof the Imperial arms, and he was meditating fierce and sanguinaryrevenge against the gallant mountaineers for their determined defence oftheir native land.
He was one with whom our readers are already acquainted; the reputedfather of our hero, the Baron Galetzoff.
The governor was interrupted in his meditations by the entrance of anofficer, who came to announce that a native chief, as his dressbetokened him to be, had with a single attendant arrived at the fort,and seemed to have some communication of importance to make.
"Admit him," said the Baron. "But let a company with fixed
bayonetsform round him at the entrance of the fort, and I will go forth to meethim. I cannot trust these mountaineers; some treachery lurks beneathevery action. Call my interpreter, and I will hear what this robberchief has to say, and order the troops under arms, that he may see ourstrength, and report it to his countrymen for he comes here but to actthe spy."
As the Khan and his squire entered the fort, the moon slowly rose abovethe mountains, throwing her soft clear beams on the calm waters of thebay, and shining on the fixed bayonets of the troops, and on the swordsof the officers, who stood grouped in knots around in rich and varieduniforms gazing on the proud and warlike-looking stranger, while thebanner displaying Russia's dark eagle floated vauntingly above theirheads.
A troop of Cossacks, in their wild and picturesque garb, were mounted