"Tatulo,[71] tatus[71] dearest!"
In the twinkling of an eye, she jumped from her horse, and Zych dismounted also to welcome her; she threw her arms around his neck. Fora long time, Zbyszko heard only the sounds of kisses and these two words: "Tatulo! Jagula! Tatulo! Jagula!" repeated in a joyful outburst.
Both retinues now approached, and Macko arrived also; they continued to repeat: "Tatulo! Jagula!" and still kissed each other. Finally Jagienka asked:
"Then you decided to return from the war? Are you well?"
"From the war. Why should I not be well? And you? And the boys? Are they well also? Yes, otherwise you would not run in the forest. But, my girl, what are you doing here?"
"Don't you see that I am hunting?" answered Jagienka, laughing.
"In somebody else's woods?"
"The abbot gave me permission. He even sent me experienced huntsmen and a pack of hounds."
Here she turned to the servants:
"Chase the dogs away, they will tear the skin!"
Then to Zych:
"Oj, how glad I am to see you!" And they again kissed each other. When they were through, Jagna said:
"We are far from home; we followed the beast. I am sure it must be more than ten miles; the horses are exhausted. What a large urus! Did you notice? He must have at least three of my arrows in him; the last one killed him."
"He was killed by the last, but it was not yours; this knight killed him."
Jagienka threw her hair back and looked at Zbyszko sharply, but not very friendly.
"Do you know who he is?" asked Zych.
"I do not know."
"No wonder you do not recognize him, because he has grown. Perhaps you will recognize old Macko of Bogdaniec?"
"For God's sake! is that Macko of Bogdaniec?" exclaimed Jagienka.
Having approached the wagon, she kissed Macko's hand.
"It is you?"
"Yes, it is I; but I am obliged to ride in the wagon, because the Germans wounded me."
"What Germans? The war was with the Tartars?"
"There was a war with the Tartars, but we were not in that war; we fought in the war in Lithuania, Zbyszko and I."
"Where is Zbyszko?"
"Then you did not recognize Zbyszko?" said Macko smiling.
"Is that man Zbyszko?" exclaimed the girl, looking again at the young knight.
"Yes, it is he."
"You must give him a kiss, because he is an old acquaintance of yours," said Zych, mirthfully.
Jagienka turned gaily toward Zbyszko; but suddenly she retreated, and having covered her eyes with her hand, she said:
"I am bashful."
"But we have known each other since we were children," said Zbyszko.
"Aha! we know each other well. I remember when you made us a visit with Macko about eight years ago, and my matula[72] gave us some nuts with honey; you being the elder, struck me with your fist and then ate all the nuts yourself."
"He will not act like that now!" said Macko. "He has been with Kniaz Witold, and with the court in Krakow, and he has learned courtly manners."
But Jagienka was now thinking about something else; turning toward Zbyszko, she asked:
"Then you killed the urus?"
"Yes."
"We must see where the arrow is."
"You cannot see it; it disappeared under the shoulder bone."
"Be quiet; do not dispute," said Zych. "We all saw him shoot the urus, and we saw something still better; he bent the bow without a crank."
Jagienka looked at Zbyszko for the third time, but now with astonishment.
"You bent the crossbow without a crank?"
Zbyszko, detecting some doubt in her voice, rested the crossbow on the ground, and bent it in the twinkling of an eye; then wishing to show that he was familiar with knightly manners, he kneeled on one knee and handed the bow to Jagienka. But the girl, instead of taking it from him, suddenly blushed – she did not know why herself, and began to fasten the shirt, which, during the swift riding, had become opened on her bosom.
CHAPTER IV
The next day after their arrival at Bogdaniec, Macko and Zbyszko began to look around their old home; they soon realized that Zych of Zgorzelice was right when he told them that at first they would be uncomfortable.
With the farming they could get along quite well. There were several fields cultivated by the peasants whom the abbot had settled there. Formerly there had been much cultivated land in Bogdaniec; but after the battle at Plowce[73] where the family Grady perished, there was a scarcity of working hands; and after the invasion of the Germans from Szlonsk and after the war of Nalenczs with Grzymalits, the formerly rich fields became overgrown with trees. Macko could not help it. In vain he tried for several years to bring farmers from Krzesnia and rent the land to them; they refused to come, preferring to remain on their own strips of land rather than to cultivate some one else's. His offer however attracted some shelterless men; in the different wars, he captured several slaves whom he married and settled in the houses; and in that way he populated the village. But it was hard work for him; therefore as soon as he had an opportunity, Macko pledged the whole of Bogdaniec, thinking that it would be easier for the powerful abbot to settle the land with peasants, and that the war would bring to him and to Zbyszko some people and money. In fact, the abbot was energetic. He had increased the working force of Bogdaniec with five peasant families; he increased the stock of cattle and horses; then he built a barn, a stable and a cow house. But as he did not live in Bogdaniec, he did not repair the house. Macko, who had hoped to find the grodek surrounded with a ditch and hedge when he returned, found everything just as he had left it, with this difference only, that the walls were more crooked and seemed to be lower, because they had settled deeper in the earth.
The house contained an enormous hall, two large rooms with alcoves, and a kitchen. In the rooms there were windows made of bladders; and in the centre of each room, there was a fireplace made of lime, and the smoke escaped through a hole in the ceiling. From the ceilings now blackened from smoke, during former times used to hang the hams of boars, bears and deer, rumps of roes, sides of beef and rolls of sausages. But now the hooks were empty as well as the shelves fastened to the walls, on which they used to put the tin and earthen dishes. The walls beneath the shelves were no longer empty, however, because Zbyszko had ordered his servants to hang helmets, cuirasses, long swords and short swords on them; and further along boar-spears and forks, caparisons and saddles. The smoke blackened the weapons, and it was necessary to clean them very often. But Macko, who was careful, ordered the servants to put the costly clothes in the alcove in which his bed stood.
In the front rooms there stood near the windows, pine tables and benches of the same, on which the lords used to sit during the meals, with all their servants. People accustomed to war were easily satisfied; but in Bogdaniec there was neither bread nor flour and no dishes. The peasants brought what they could; Macko expected that the neighbors, as was then customary, would help him; and he was not mistaken, at least as far as Zych of Zgorzelice was concerned.
The second day, when the old wlodyka was sitting on a log in front of the house, delighted with the bright autumn day, Jagienka came, riding a black horse; she dismounted and approached Macko, out of breath on account of fast riding, and rosy as an apple; she said:
"May you be blessed! Tatulo sent me to inquire about your health."
"I am no worse," answered Macko; "and at least I have slept in my own house."
"But you cannot be comfortable at all, and a sick person needs some care."
"We are hardened people. It is true that at first there was no comfort; but we were not hungry. We ordered an ox and two sheep killed, so there is plenty of meat. The women brought some flour and eggs; the worst is that we have no dishes."
"Well, I ordered my servants to load two wagons. On one there are two beds and dishes, and on the other different provisions. There are some cakes and flour, some salt pork and dried mushrooms; there is a barrel of beer and one of mead; in fact a little of everything we had in the house."
Macko, who was grateful for this kindness, caressed Jagienka's head, and said:
"May God reward your father and you. When our housekeeping improves, we will return the provisions."
"How clever you are! We are not like the Germans, who take back what they give."
"Well, so much more may God reward you. Your father told us what a good housekeeper you are, and that you had taken care of Zgorzelice the whole year?"
"Yes! If you need anything else, send somebody; but send some one who will know what is needed, because a stupid servant never knows what he has been sent for."
Here Jagienka began to look round, and Macko having noticed it, smiled and asked:
"For whom are you looking?"
"I am looking for no one!"
"I will send Zbyszko to thank you and your father. Do you like Zbyszko?"
"I have not looked at him."
"Then look at him now, because he is just coming."
In fact Zbyszko was coming from the stable. He was dressed in a reindeer jacket and round felt cap like those worn under the helmets; his hair was without a net, cut evenly over his eyebrows and hung in golden curls on his shoulders; he walked swiftly, having noticed the girl; he was tall and graceful, looking like the shield-bearer of a rich nobleman.
Jagienka turned toward Macko as if to show that she came only to see him; but Zbyszko welcomed her joyfully, and having taken hold of her hand, raised it to his mouth, notwithstanding her resistance.
"Why do you kiss my hand?" asked she. "Am I a priest?"
"Such is the custom; you must not resist."
"Even if he had kissed both your hands," said Macko, "it would not be enough for all that you have brought us."
"What have you brought?" asked Zbyszko, looking around the court-yard; but he did not see anything except the black horse tied to the post.
"The wagons have not come yet; but they will soon be here," answered Jagienka.
Macko began to enumerate what she had brought; but when he mentioned the two beds, Zbyszko said:
"I am satisfied to sleep on the urus' skin; but I thank you because you thought about me also."
"It was not I; it was Tatulo," answered the girl, blushing. "If you prefer to sleep on the skin, you can do it."
"I prefer to sleep on what I can. Sometimes after a battle, I slept with a dead Krzyzak instead of a pillow under my head."
"You do not mean to tell me that you have ever killed a Krzyzak? I am sure you have not."
Zbyszko, instead of answering, began to laugh. But Macko exclaimed:
"For heaven's sake, girl, you do not know him yet! He has never done anything else, but kill the Germans. He can fight with an axe, a spear or with any weapon; and when he sees a German from afar, one must tie him with a rope, or else he will rush against him. In Krakow he wanted to kill the envoy, Lichtenstein, and for that he barely escaped execution. Such a man! I will tell you also about the two Fryzes, from whom we took their retinues and so much rich booty, that one could redeem Bogdaniec with half of it."
Here Macko began to tell about his duel with the Fryzjans; also about other adventures which had happened to them, and about the deeds they had performed. How they had fought from behind the walls and in the open fields, with the greatest knights living in foreign lands; how they had fought Germans, Frenchmen, Englishmen and Burgundians. He also told her what they had seen! They had seen German castles of red brick, Lithuanian wooden grodzce[74] and churches, more beautiful than one could see around Bogdaniec; also large cities and the dreadful wilderness in which during the nights Lithuanian gods cried, and many different, marvelous things; and everywhere, in any fight, Zbyszko was victorious, so that even the greatest knights were astonished at him.
Jagienka, who was sitting on the log beside Macko, listened with open mouth to that narrative, tossing her head and looking at the young knight with increasing admiration and amazement. Finally when Macko was through, she sighed and said:
"I am sorry I was not born a boy!"
But Zbyszko, who during the narration had been looking at her attentively, evidently was thinking about something else, because he suddenly said:
"What a beautiful girl you are now!"
Jagienka answered, half in displeasure and half in sadness:
"You have seen many more beautiful than I am."
But Zbyszko could truly answer her that he had not seen many as pretty as she, because Jagienka was beaming with health, youth and strength. The old abbot used to say that she looked like a pine tree. Everything was beautiful in her; a slender figure, a broad bosom that looked as if it were cut out of marble, a red mouth, and intelligent blue eyes. She was also dressed with more care than when in the forest with the hunting party. Around her neck she had a necklace of red beads; she wore a fur jacket opened in front and covered with green cloth, a homespun skirt and new boots. Even old Macko noticed this beautiful attire, and having looked at her for a moment, asked:
"Why are you dressed as if you were going to church?"
But instead of answering, she exclaimed:
"The wagons are coming!"
In fact the wagons now appeared and she sprang toward them, followed by Zbyszko. The unloading lasted quite a long time to the great satisfaction of Macko who looked at everything, and praised Jagienka all the time. It was dusk when the girl started home. While she was getting ready to mount her horse, Zbyszko suddenly caught her, and before she was able to say a word, lifted her into the saddle. Then she blushed like the dawn and turning her head toward him, said with emotion in her voice:
"What a strong boy you are!"
But he, not having noticed her confusion nor her blushes because it was dark, laughed and said:
"Are you not afraid of wild beasts? It is night!"
"There is a boar-spear in the wagon. Give it to me."
Zbyszko went to the wagon, took the boar-spear and handed it to Jagienka; then he said:
"Be in good health!"
"Be in good health!" she answered.
"May God reward you! To-morrow, or the day after, I will be in Zgorzelice to thank Zych and you for your kindness."
"Come! You will be welcome!"
Having touched her horse, she disappeared among the bushes growing on the sides of the road.
Zbyszko returned to his uncle.
"You must go inside."
But Macko answered, without moving from the log:
"Hej! I what a girl! I She made the court-yard brighter!"
"That is true!"
There was a moment of silence. Macko seemed to be thinking about something while looking at the stars; then he said, as if he were speaking to himself:
"She is pretty and a good housekeeper, although she is not more than fifteen years old."
"Yes!" answered Zbyszko. "Therefore old Zych loves her dearly."
"And he said that the estate of Moczydoly will be her dowry; and there on the pastures is a herd of mares with many colts."
"Are there not a great many marshes in the Moczydlowski estate?"
"Yes; but in those marshes there are plenty of beavers."
There was silence again. Macko looked intently at Zbyszko for a while, and finally he asked, "About what are you thinking?"
"Seeing Jagienka reminded me of Danusia, and something pricked me in the heart."
"Let us go into the house," answered the old wlodyka. "It is getting late."
Having risen with difficulty, he leaned on Zbyszko, who conducted him to the alcove.
The next day Zbyszko went to Zgorzelice, because Macko urged him. He also insisted that he take two servants with him for ostentation, and that he dress in his best clothes, to show respect and gratitude to Zych. Zbyszko did as he was asked and went attired as if for a wedding, in his jaka made of white satin, bordered with gold fringe and embroidered with gold griffins. Zych received him with open arms, with joy and with singing; as for Jagienka, when she entered, she stopped as if she were rooted to the ground and almost dropped the bucket of wine which she was carrying; she thought that a son of some king had arrived. She became timid and sat silently, rubbing her eyes from time to time as if she would like to awaken from a dream. The inexperienced Zbyszko thought that, for some reason unknown to him, she did not wish to talk to him; therefore he conversed only with Zych, praising his munificence and admiring the house at Zgorzelice, which in fact was quite different from that in Bogdaniec.
Everywhere comfort and wealth were evident. In the rooms there were windows with panes made of horn, cut in thin slices and polished so that it was as transparent as glass. Instead of fireplaces in the centre, there were large chimneys in the corners. The floors were made of larch tree planks, while on the walls were hung suits of armor and many polished dishes, also silver spoons. Here and there were costly rugs brought from the wars. Under the tables there were enormous urus' skins. Zych showed his riches willingly, saying that it was Jagienka's household. He conducted Zbyszko to the alcove, fragrant with rosin and peppermint, in which were hanging from the ceiling, large bunches of wolf skins, fox skins, beaver skins and marten skins. He showed to him the provisions of cheese, honey, wax, barrels of flour, pails of dried bread, hemp and dried mushrooms. Then he went with him to the granaries, barns, stables, cow houses, and to the sheds filled with plenty of hunting implements and nets. Zbyszko was so dazzled by all this wealth that during supper, he could not refrain from admiration.
"What a pleasure to live in Zgorzelice!" exclaimed he.
"In Moczydoly, there is almost the same wealth," answered Zych. "Do you remember Moczydoly? It is not far from Bogdaniec. Formerly our forefathers quarreled about the boundaries and challenged each other; but I shall not quarrel."
Here he filled Zbyszko's goblet with mead and said:
"Perhaps you would like to sing?"
"No," answered Zbyszko; "but I shall listen to you with pleasure."
"Zgorzelice will belong to the young bears."
"What do you mean by 'young bears?'"
"Why, Jagienka's brothers."
"Hej! they will not have to suck their paws during the winter."
"No; but Jagienka will also have plenty in Moczydoly."
"That is true!"
"Why don't you eat and drink? Jagienka, pour for him and for me."
"I am drinking and eating as much as I can."
"Ungird your belt; then you will be able to eat and drink more. What a beautiful girdle you have! Yon must have taken rich booty in Lithuania!"
"We cannot complain," answered Zbyszko, gladly seizing the opportunity to explain that the heirs of Bogdaniec were no longer wlodykas. "A part of our booty, we sold in Krakow and received forty silver grzywiens for it."
"You don't say so! Why, one can buy an estate for that."
"Yes. There was one Milanese armor which my uncle, expecting to die, sold for a good price."
"I know! Well, it is worth while to go to Lithuania. I wanted to go there also; but I was afraid."
"Of what? Of the Knights of the Cross?"
"Ej, who would be afraid of Germans? I was afraid of those heathenish gods or devils. It seems there are plenty of them in the woods."
"They do not have any other place for shelter, because their temples have been burned. Formerly they were well-to-do; but now they live on mushrooms and ants."
"Did you see them?"
"No, I did not see any myself; but I heard of people who had seen them. Sometimes one of them sticks out a hairy paw from behind a tree and shakes it, begging for something."
"Macko told me the same," answered Jagienka.
"Yes! He told me about it on the road," said Zych. "Well, no wonder! In our country also, although it has been a Christian country for a long time, one can hear laughter in the marshes; and although the priests scold about it in the churches, it is always good policy to put a dish filled with something to eat, for the little devils; otherwise they will scratch on the walls so much that one can hardly sleep. Jagienka, my dearest! put a dish at the threshold."
Jagienka took an earthen porringer full of noodles and cheese, and placed it at the threshold. Zych said:
"The priests scold! But the Lord Jesus will not be angry about a dish of noodles; and a god, as soon as his hunger is satisfied, will protect one from fire and from thieves."
Then he turned to Zbyszko:
"But will you not ungird yourself and sing a little?"
"You had better sing, or perhaps Panna[75] Jagienka will sing."
"We will sing by turns," exclaimed Zych. "We have a servant who will accompany us on a wooden fife. Call the boy!"
They called the servant who sat down on the bench and put the fife to his mouth, waiting to learn whom he was to accompany.
None of them wanted to be first. Finally Zych told Jagienka to begin; therefore Jagienka, although bashful because Zbyszko was present, rose from the bench and having put her hands under her apron, began:
"If I only could get
The wings like a birdie,
I would fly quickly
To my dearest Jasiek."
Zbyszko opened his eyes wide; then he jumped up and shouted:
"Where did you learn that song?"
Jagienka looked at him astonished.
"Everybody sings that. What is the matter with you?"
Zych thinking that Zbyszko was a little intoxicated, turned his jovial face toward him and said:
"Ungird! It will relieve you!"
But Zbyszko stood for a while with astonishment on his face; then, having recovered from his emotion, said to Jagienka:
"Excuse me, I suddenly remembered something. Sing further."
"Perhaps it makes you sad?"
"Ej, not at all!" he answered, with a quivering voice. "I could listen to it the whole night."
Then he sat down, covered his face with his hand, and listened.
Jagienka sang another couplet; but when she finished, she noticed a big tear rolling down Zbyszko's fingers.
Then she sat down beside him, and began to touch him with her elbow.
"What is the matter with you? I do not want to make you cry. Tell me what is the matter with you?"
"Nothing! Nothing!" answered Zbyszko, sighing. "I could tell you much.
But it is over. I feel merry now."
"Perhaps you would like to have some sweet wine?"
"Good girl!" exclaimed Zych. "Call him 'Zbyszko,' and you call her 'Jagienka.' You have known each other since you were children."
Then he turned toward his daughter:
"Do not mind because he struck you when you were children. He will not do it now."
"I will not!" answered Zbyszko, mirthfully. "If she wishes, she may beat me now for it."
Then Jagienka, wishing to cheer him up, began to play that she was striking him with her little fist.
"Give us some wine!" shouted the merry Pan of Zgorzelice.
Jagienka sprang to the closet and brought out a jug of wine, two beautiful silver goblets, engraved by a silversmith of Wroclaw[76] and a couple of cheese.
Zych, being a little intoxicated, began to hug the jug and said to it as if he were talking to his daughter:
"Oj, my dear girl! What shall I do, poor man, when they take you from Zgorzelice; what shall I do?"
"And you must give her up soon!" said Zbyszko.
Zych began to laugh.
"Chy! Chy! The girl is only fifteen; but she is already fond of boys!
When she sees one of them, she begins immediately to rub knee with knee!"
"Tatusiu[77] if you don't stop, I will leave you," said Jagienka.
"Don't go! It's better with you here." Then he continued to say to Zbyszko:
"Two of them visit us. One of them is young Wilk, the son of old Wilk of Bizozowa; the other is Cztan[78] of Rogow. If they meet you here, they will gnash their teeth, as they do at each other."
"Owa!" said Zbyszko. Then he turned to Jagienka and asked:
"Which do you prefer?"
"Neither of them."
"Wilk is a great boy," said Zych.
"Let him go in another direction!"
"And Cztan?"
Jagienka began to laugh:
"Cztan," said she, turning toward Zbyszko, "he has hair on his face like a goat; one can hardly see his eyes; and he has as much grease on him as a bear."
Zbyszko now touched his head with his hand as if he had just remembered something important, and said:
"I must ask you for one thing more; have you any bear's grease? I want to use it for medicine for my uncle; and I could not find any in Bogdaniec."
"We used to have some," answered Jagienka; "but the boys have used some to grease their bows, and the dogs have eaten the rest."
"Is there none left?"
"Not a bit!"
"Well, then, I must find some in the forest."
"Have a hunting party for bears; there are plenty of them; and if you want some hunting implements, we will lend you some."
"I cannot wait. I will go some night to a barcie."
"Take a few men with you."
"No, I shall not do that, for they will frighten the beast."
"But you will take a crossbow!"
"What can I do with a crossbow during the night? There is no moon now! I will take a fork and a strong axe, and I will go alone to-morrow."
Jagienka was silent for awhile; but great uneasiness was reflected on her face.
"Last year," said she, "the huntsman, Bezduch, was killed by a bear. It is dangerous, because as soon as the bear sees a man near the barcie, he immediately stands up on his hind feet."
"If he ran away, I could not get him," answered Zbyszko.
At that moment Zych who had been dozing, suddenly awakened and began to sing:
"Thou Kuba, of toil
I Maciek of pleasure,
Go then in the morning with the yoke in the field,
While I amuse myself with Kasia."
Then he said to Zbyszko:
"You know? There are two of them, Wilk of Brzozowa and Cztan of Rogow; and you?"
But Jagienka being afraid that Zych would say too much, swiftly approached Zbyszko, and began to inquire:
"When are you going? To-morrow?"
"To-morrow after sunset."
"And to which barcie?"
"To ours in Bogdaniec, not far from your boundaries, near the marshes of Radzikow. They tell me it is very easy to get a bear there."