“By the living God! Give the man food and drink!” That touched all to the heart; therefore they took Kharlamp by the arms and led him out of the chamber at once. Then the soldiers began to leave it one after another, making the sign of the cross with devotion. On the road to their quarters Zagloba was meditating over something. He stopped, coughed, then pulled Volodyovski by the skirt. “Pan Michael,” said he. “Well, what?” “My anger against Radzivill is passed; a dead man is a dead man! I forgive him from my heart for having made an attempt on my life.” “He is before the tribunal of heaven,” said Volodyovski. “That’s it, that’s it! H’m, if it would help him I would even give for a Mass, since it seems to me that he has an awfully small chance up there.” “God is merciful!” “As to being merciful, he is merciful; still the Lord cannot look without abhorrence on heretics. And Radzivill was not only a heretic, but a traitor. There is where the trouble is!” Here Zagloba shook his head and began to look upward. “I am afraid,” said he, after a while, “that some of those Swedes who blew themselves up will fall on my head; that they will not be received there in heaven is certain.” “They were good men,” said Pan Michael, with recognition; “they preferred death to surrender, there are few such soldiers in the world.” All at once Volodyovski halted: “Panna Billevich was not in the castle,” said he. “But how do you know?” “I asked those pages. Boguslav took her to Taurogi.” “Ei!” said Zagloba, “that was as if to confide a kid to a wolf. But it is not your affair; your predestined is that kernel!” CHAPTER XVI.