Ogniem i mieczem. English Read online

  CHAPTER VI.

  Over the whole Ukraine and beyond the Dnieper strange sounds began tospread like the heralds of a coming tempest; certain wonderful tidingsflew from village to village, from farmhouse to farmhouse,--like thoseplants which the breezes of spring push along the steppes, and whichthe people call field-rollers. In the towns there were whispers of somegreat war, though no man knew who was going to make war, nor againstwhom. Still the tidings were told. The faces of people became unquiet.The tiller of the soil went with his plough to the field unwillingly,though the spring had come early, mild and warm, and long since thelarks had been singing over the steppes. Every evening people gatheredin crowds in the villages, and standing on the road, talked inundertones of terrible things. Blind men wandering around with lyresand songs were asked for news. Some persons thought they saw in thenight-time reflections in the sky, and that a moon redder than usualrose from behind the pine woods. Disaster or the death of the king waspredicted. And all this was the more wonderful, since fear found noeasy approach to those lands, long accustomed to disturbances,conflicts, and raids. Some exceptionally ominous currents must havebeen playing in the air, since the alarm had become universal.

  It was the more oppressive and stifling, because no one was able topoint out the danger. But among the signs of evil omen, two especiallyseemed to show that really something was impending. First, anunheard-of multitude of old minstrels appeared in all the villages andtowns, and among them were forms strange, and known to no one; these,it was whispered, were counterfeit minstrels. These men, strollingabout everywhere, told with an air of mystery that the day of God'sjudgment and anger was near. Secondly, the men of the lower countrybegan to drink with all their might.

  The second sign was the more serious. The Saitch, confined within toonarrow limits, was unable to feed all its inhabitants; expeditions werenot always successful; besides, the steppes yielded no bread to theCossacks. In time of peace, therefore, a multitude of Zaporojiansscattered themselves yearly over the inhabited districts. The Ukraine,and indeed all Russia, was full of them. Some rose to be land stewards;some sold liquor on the highways; some labored in hamlets and towns, intrade and industry. In every village there was sure to be a cottage onone side, at a distance from the rest, in which a Zaporojian dwelt.Some of them had brought their wives with them, and kept house in thesecottages. But the Zaporojian, as a man who usually had passed throughevery experience, was generally a benefactor to the village in whichhe lived. There were no better blacksmiths, wheelwrights, tanners,wax-refiners, fishermen, and hunters than they. The Cossack understoodeverything, did everything; he built a house, he sewed a saddle. Butthe Cossacks were not always such quiet inhabitants, for they lived atemporary life. Whoever wished to carry out a decision with armed hand,to make an attack on a neighbor, or to defend himself from an expectedattack, had only to raise the cry, and straightway the Cossacks hurriedto him like ravens to a ready spoil. The nobility and magnates,involved in endless disputes among themselves, employed the Cossacks.When there was a lack of such undertakings the Cossacks stayed quietlyin the villages, working with all diligence, earning their daily breadin the sweat of their brows.

  They would continue in this fashion for a year or two, till suddentidings came of some great expedition, either of an ataman against theTartars or the Poles, or of Polish noblemen against Wallachia; and thatmoment the wheelwrights, blacksmiths, tanners, and wax-refiners woulddesert their peaceful occupations, and begin to drink with all theirmight in every dram-shop of the Ukraine. After they had drunk awayeverything, they would drink on credit,--not on what they had, but onwhat they would have. Future booty must pay for the frolic.

  This phenomenon was repeated so regularly that after a while people ofexperience in the Ukraine used to say; "The dram-shops are burstingwith men from below; something is on foot in the Ukraine."

  The starostas strengthened the garrisons in the castles at once,looking carefully to everything; the magnates increased their retinues;the nobility sent their wives and children to the towns.

  That spring the Cossacks began to drink as never before, squandering atrandom all they had earned, not in one district, not in one province,but throughout all Russia,--the length and the breadth of it.

  Something was on foot, indeed, though the men from below had no idea ofwhat it was. People had begun to speak of Hmelnitski, of his flight tothe Saitch, of the men from Cherkasi, Boguslav, Korsun, and otherplaces who had followed him; but something else was talked of too. Foryears reports had been current of a great war with the Pagans,--a wardesired by the king to give booty to the Cossacks, but opposed by thePoles. This time all reports were blended, and roused in the brains ofmen uneasiness and the expectation of something uncommon.

  This uneasiness penetrated the walls of Lubni also. It was not properto shut one's eyes to such signs, and Prince Yeremi especially had notthat habit. In his domain the disturbance did not really come to anoutbreak, fear kept all within bounds; but for some time reports hadbeen coming from the Ukraine, that here and there peasants werebeginning to resist the nobles, that they were killing Jews, that theywished to force their own enrolment for war against the Pagans, andthat the number of deserters to the Saitch was increasing continually.

  The prince sent envoys in various directions,--to Pan Pototski, to PanKalinovski, to Loboda in Pereyaslav,--and collected in person the herdsfrom the steppes and the troops from the outposts. Meantime peacefulnews was brought. The Grand Hetman communicated all that he knewconcerning Hmelnitski; he did not think, however, that any storm couldrise out of the affair. The full hetman wrote that the rabble wereaccustomed "to bustle in spring like bees," Zatsvilikhovski was theonly man who sent a letter imploring the prince to underestimatenothing, for a mighty storm was coming on from the Wilderness. He wrotethat Hmelnitski had hurried to the Crimea to ask assistance of theKhan.

  "And as friends from the Saitch inform me," wrote he, "the koshevoi iscollecting the army, horse and foot, from all the meadows and streams,telling no one why he does it. I think, therefore, that this storm willcome on us. If it comes with Tartar aid, then God save all Russianlands from ruin!"

  The prince had more confidence in Zatsvilikhovski than in the hetmans,for he knew that no one in all Russia had such knowledge of theCossacks and their devices as he. He determined, therefore, toconcentrate as many troops as possible, and also to get to the bottomof the truth.

  One morning he summoned to his presence the lieutenant of theWallachian regiment, Pan Bykhovets, to whom he said,--

  "You will go for me to the Saitch on a mission to the koshevoi, andgive him this letter with the seal of my lordship. But that you mayknow what plan of action to follow, I tell you this letter is apretext, and the whole meaning of the mission lies in your own wit. Youare to see everything that is done there,--what troops they haveassembled, and whether they are assembling more. I enjoin you speciallyto win some people to your person, and find out for me carefully allabout Hmelnitski,--where he is, and if it is true that he has gone tothe Crimea to ask aid of the Tartars. Do you understand what I say?"

  "As if it had been written on the palm of my hand."

  "You will go by Chigirin. Rest but one night on the way. When youarrive, go to Zatsvilikhovski for letters, which you will deliversecretly to his friends in the Saitch. They will tell you all theyknow. From Chigirin you will go by water to Kudak. Give my respectswith this letter to Pan Grodzitski. He will issue orders to convey youover the Cataracts by proper guides. Be fearless in the Saitch, keepyour eyes and ears open, and come back if you survive, for theexpedition is no easy one."

  "Your Highness is the steward of my blood. Shall I take many men?"

  "You will take forty attendants. Start to-day; before evening come forfurther instructions. Your mission is important."

  Pan Bykhovets went out rejoicing. In the antechamber he met Skshetuskiwith some artillery officers.

  "Well, what is going on?" asked they.

 
"I take the road to-day."

  "Where, where?"

  "To Chigirin, and from there farther on."

  "Then come with me," said Pan Yan.

  And taking him to his quarters, he began to tease him to transfer hismission to him.

  "As my friend," said he, "ask what you like,--a Turkish horse, an Arabsteed,--you shall have one. I'll spare nothing if I can only go, for mysoul is rushing out in that direction. If you want money I'll give it,if you will only yield. The trip will bring you no glory; for if warbreaks out it will begin here, and you may be killed in the Saitch. Iknow, too, that Anusia is as dear to you as to others; if you go theywill get her away from you."

  This last argument went home to the mind of Pan Bykhovets more than anyother, but still he resisted. What would the prince say if he shouldwithdraw? Wouldn't he take it ill of him? An appointment like this wassuch a favor.

  Hearing this, Skshetuski rushed off to the prince and directed the pageat once to announce him.

  The page returned soon with the answer that the prince permitted him toenter.

  The lieutenant's heart beat like a hammer, from fear that he shouldhear a curt "No!" after which he would be obliged to let the matterdrop entirely.

  "Well, what have you to say?" asked the prince, looking at thelieutenant.

  Skshetuski bent down to his feet.

  "Mighty prince, I have come to implore you most humbly to intrust mewith the expedition to the Saitch. Bykhovets would give it up, perhaps,for he is my friend, and to me it is as important as life. Bykhovets'only fear is that you may be angry with him for yielding the place."

  "As God lives!" said the prince, "I should have sent no one else, but Ithought you would not like to go just after returning from a longjourney."

  "I should rejoice to be sent even every day in that direction."

  The prince looked at him very attentively with his black eyes, andafter a while inquired: "What have you got there?"

  The lieutenant grew confused, like a culprit unable to bear a searchingglance.

  "I must tell the truth, I see," said he, "since no secret can standbefore your reason. Of one thing I am not sure,--your favorablehearing."

  Thereupon he began to tell how he had become acquainted with thedaughter of Prince Vassily, had fallen in love with her and would liketo visit her, and on his return from the Saitch to Lubni to remove andsave her from Cossack turmoil and the importunities of Bogun. But hesaid nothing of the machinations of the old princess, for in this hewas bound by his word. He began then to beg the prince so earnestly togive him the mission confided to Bykhovets, that Vishnyevetski said,--

  "I should permit you to go on your own account and give you men; butsince you have planned everything so cleverly that your personalaffection agrees with your office, I must arrange this affair for you."

  Then he clapped his hands and commanded the page to call Pan Bykhovets.

  The lieutenant kissed the prince's hand with joy. Yeremi took him bythe head and commanded him to be quiet. He loved Skshetuski beyondmeasure as a splendid soldier and officer whom he could trust in allthings. Besides, there was between them that bond which is formedbetween a subordinate reverencing his chief with his whole soul and achief who feels this clearly. There were not a few courtiers andflatterers who circled around the prince for their own profit; but theeagle eye of Yeremi knew well whom to choose. He knew that Pan Yan wasa man without blemish; he valued him, and was grateful to him for hisfeelings. He rejoiced, too, that his favorite had fallen in love withthe daughter of the old servant of the Vishnyevetskis, VassilyKurtsevich, whose memory was the dearer because of its sadness.

  "It was not from ungratefulness to the prince," said he, "that I madeno inquiry concerning his daughter. Since the guardians did not visitLubni, and I received no complaint against them, I supposed they weregood people. But as you have put me in mind of the lady, I will carefor her as for my own daughter."

  Skshetuski, hearing this, could not admire sufficiently the kindness ofthe prince, who reproached himself, notwithstanding the multitude ofhis occupations, with inattention to the child of his former soldierand official.

  Bykhovets now came in.

  "Well," said the prince, "my word is given, and if you wish to go youwill go; but I ask you to do this for me: yield your mission toSkshetuski,--he has his own special and solid reasons for wantingit,--and I will think of another reward for you."

  "Oh, your Highness," said Bykhovets, "your favor is great; for whileable to command, you ask that which if I refused to give I should beunworthy of your favor."

  "Thank your friend," said the prince, turning to Pan Yan, "and preparefor the road."

  Skshetuski thanked Bykhovets heartily indeed, and in a few hours he wasready. For some time it had been irksome for him in Lubni, and thisexpedition accorded with all his wishes. First, he was to see Helena.True, he had to go from her for a long time; but just such an intervalwas needed to make the roads passable for wheels, after suchmeasureless rains. The princess and Helena could not come earlier toLubni. Skshetuski therefore must either wait in Lubni or live atRozlogi,--which would be against his covenant with the princess, and,what was more, rouse the suspicions of Bogun. Helena could be reallysafe against his attacks only in Lubni; but since she must in everycase wait some time yet in Rozlogi, it appeared best to Pan Yan todepart, and on his return take her under the protection of the armedpower of the prince. Having settled the matter thus, the lieutenanthastened his journey,--got everything ready, took letters andinstructions from the prince, money for expenses from the treasurer,and made a good start over the road before night, having with himJendzian and forty horsemen from the Cossack regiment.