The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical RomanceSienkiewicz, Henryk
History
The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance
Sienkiewicz, Henryk
Poland -- History -- Jagellons, 1386-1572 -- Fiction; Teutonic Knights -- History -- Fiction
"I shall give you a pail full of water, but meanwhile take what I have in
my hand!" Thus saying he gathered as much snow as he could hold with both
gauntlets and threw it at Sanderus' beard, but the latter bent aside and
said:
"There is nothing for _you_ in Ciechanow, for there is already a grown-up
bear that plays with snow."
Thus they loved to tease each other. But Zbyszko did not forbid Sanderus
to ride with him because that strange man amused him, and at the same
time it seemed to him that the man was really attached to him.
They moved from the Forest Court in the bright morning. The frost was so
intense that they had to cover the horses. The whole landscape was under
snow. The roofs of the cottages were covered and hardly visible. Smoke
seemed to issue directly from white hills, shooting up skyward, red-hued
in the morning, widening out on the roof like a brush, and looking like
the plumes on helmets.
Zbyszko sat in the sleigh, first to gather strength, secondly on account
of the severe cold, against which it was easy to protect oneself; he
commanded Glowacz to sit down beside him so as to be ready with the
crossbow against an attack of wolves, meanwhile he chatted with him
merrily.
"In Przasnysz, we shall only feed the horses and warm ourselves a little
and then immediately continue our journey."
"To Ciechanow?"
"First to Ciechanow, to pay homage to the court and attend worship."
"After that?" inquired Glowacz.
Zbyszko smiled and replied,
"Afterward, who knows, may be to Bogdaniec."
The Bohemian looked at him with astonishment, the thought crossed his
mind: Maybe he has quarrelled with Jurandowna, and this seemed to him
most likely, because she had gone away. The Bohemian had also heard in
the Forest Court that the lord of Spychow was opposed to the young
knight, therefore the honest armor-bearer was glad although he loved
Jagienka, but he looked upon her as upon a star in heaven for whose
happiness he was willing even to shed his blood. He therefore loved
Zbyszko, and from his very soul he longed to serve both of them even unto
death.
"Then your grace thinks to settle down on the estate," he exultingly
said.
"How can I settle down on my estate," replied Zbyszko, "when I challenged
those Knights of the Cross, and even before that, I challenged
Lichtenstein. De Lorche said that the Master would invite the king to
visit Torun. I shall attach myself to the king's retinue, and I think
that at Torun, either _Pan_ Zawisza of Garbow or Powala of Taczew will
ask permission from our lord to allow me to fight those monks. They will
certainly come to fight accompanied by their armor-bearers; in that case
you will also have to meet them."
"If I were to kill any one, I should like him to be a monk," said the
Bohemian.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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