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
"Bah! he will pay ransom!" lazily replied Danveld.
"Even if he should return everything, in a year he will have robbed twice
as much."
"I shall not object as to the girl," repeated Zygfried; "but this wolf
will yet make the sheep of the Order weep more than once."
"And our word?" queried Danveld, laughingly.
"You spoke differently...."
Danveld shrugged his shoulders. "Did you not have enough pleasure?" he
inquired. "Do you wish more?"
Others surrounded Jurand again and commenced to brag before him, praising
the upright conduct of Danveld, and the impression it made upon the
members of the Order.
"And what bone breaker!" said the captain of the castle-archers. "Your
heathen brethren would not have treated our Christian knights so!"
"You drank our blood?"
"And we give you bread for stones."
But Jurand paid no attention either to the pride or to the contempt which
their words contained: his heart swelled and his eyelashes were moist. He
thought that he would see Danusia in a moment, and that he would see her
actually by their favor; he therefore gazed at the speakers almost with
humility, and finally said:
"True! true! I used to be hard on you but ... not treacherous."
That instant a voice at the other end of the hall suddenly cried: "They
are bringing the girl;" and immediately silence reigned throughout the
hall. The soldiers scattered to both sides, because none of them had ever
seen Jurand's daughter, and the majority of them did not even know of her
presence in the castle on account of the secrecy with which Danveld
surrounded his actions; but those who knew, whispered to one another
about her admirable grace. All eyes turned with extreme curiosity toward
the door through which she was to appear.
Meanwhile a warrior appeared in front followed by the well-known servant
of the Order, the same woman that rode to the court in the forest. After
her entered a girl dressed in white, with loose hair tied with a ribbon
on the forehead.
And suddenly one great outburst of laughter, like the roaring of thunder,
rang through the entire hall. Jurand, who at the first moment had sprung
toward his daughter, suddenly recoiled and stood as pale as linen,
looking with surprise at the ill-shaped head, the bluish lips, and the
expressionless eyes of the wench who was restored to him as Danusia.
"This is not my daughter!" he said, in a terrifying voice.
"Not your daughter?" exclaimed Danveld. "By the holy Liboryusz of
Paderborn! Then either we did not rescue your daughter from the murderers
or some wizard has changed her, because there is no other in Szczytno."
Old Zygfried, Rotgier and Godfried exchanged quick glances with each
other, full of admiration at the shrewdness of Danveld, but none of them
had time enough to speak, because Jurand began to shout with a terrible
voice:
"She is, she is in Szczytno! I heard her sing, I heard the voice of dear
Danusia!"
Upon that Danveld turned to those assembled and said quietly but
pointedly:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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