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
And both ceased speaking. Rotgier presently called some boys, and ordered
them to shut the window and light the torches, and after they had gone
away, he again inquired:
"What will you do with Jurand's daughter? Will you take her away from
here to Insburk?"
"I shall take her to Insburk and do with her what the good of the Order
demands."
"What am I to do then?"
"Have you courage in your heart?"
"What have I done to make you doubt it?"
"I doubt not because I know you and love you as my own son for your
courage. Go then to the court of the prince of Mazowsze and narrate
everything that has happened here, according to our arrangement."
"Can I expose myself to certain destruction?"
"You ought, if your destruction will bring glory to the Cross and Order.
But no! Destruction does not await you. They do no harm to a guest:
unless somebody should challenge you, as that young knight did who
challenged us all ... he, or somebody else, but that is not terrible...."
"May God grant it! they can seize me though and cast me under ground."
"They will not do that. Remember that there is Jurand's letter to the
prince, and besides that you will go to accuse Jurand. Narrate faithfully
what he did in Szczytno, and they must believe you.... We were even the
first to inform him that there was a certain girl; we were the first to
invite him to come to see her, and he came, went mad, killed the count
and slew our people. Thus you will speak, and what can they say to you?
Danveld's death will certainly resound throughout the whole Mazowsze. On
that account they will fail to bring charges. They will actually look for
Jurand's daughter, but, since Jurand himself wrote that she is not here,
no suspicion will fall upon us. It is necessary to face them boldly and
close their mouths, because they will also think that if we were guilty,
none of us would dare to go there."
"True! I will set out on the journey immediately after Danveld's
funeral."
"May God bless you, my dear son! If you do all properly, they not only
will not detain you, but they will have to disavow Jurand, so that we may
not be able to say: 'Look how they treat us!'"
"And so we must sue at all courts."
"The grand master will attend to that for the benefit of the Order,
besides being Danveld's relative."
"But if that devil of Spychow should survive and regain his liberty!..."
A dark look came into Zygfried's eyes and he replied slowly and
emphatically:
"Even if he should regain his liberty, he will never utter a word of
accusation against the Order."
He then commenced again to instruct Rotgier, what to say and demand at
the court in Mazowsze.
CHAPTER II.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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