Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty Seven

Zbyszko, hearing the sad news, ran to the stables to order the horses to be ready, without having time to ask the prince for instructions.The Czech, being a squire of noble birth, went into the hall without waiting for Zbyszko to return to his room, and brought him a warm fur coat, but he had no intention of keeping his young master, Gon. Because he was very sensible, knowing that it would be useless to keep him, but wasting time, he jumped on the second horse, grabbed a bunch of torches from the guard at the gate, and immediately followed the group of dukes led by the old governor. The men set off together.It was dark outside the city, but the blizzard seemed to have subsided; and they would have lost their way at once had it not been for the one who reported the misfortune to them; They moved forward, and when they reached the field, the blizzard was even bigger, and it blew on their faces like knives.This may be because their horses are running too fast.The road is full of snow.In several places the snow was so deep that the horses' bellies were covered, and they had to slow down.The duke's men marched through the smoke and flames with torches and braziers; and the wind blew so hard that it seemed to draw the flames from the torches up into the sky over fields and forests.It's a long way.They passed the villages near Cuichanov, passed Niedzbosch, and then turned to Rajanov.

After passing Niedzbosch, the blizzard really calmed down, the wind was not so strong, and the large snowflakes were no longer rolled, and the sky was clear.Although some snow still sifted down on the top of the mountain, it stopped soon.Stars peeked out of the clouds.The horse snorted, and the rider's breathing eased.There are more and more stars, and they are beginning to freeze.Soon the blizzard subsided completely. Mr. De Rausch, who was riding with Zbyszko, began to comfort him, saying that when Yubaid encountered danger on the road, he would definitely think of his daughter's safety first, even if everyone buried under the snow would freeze to death. , she must be alive, perhaps sleeping in her fur robe.But Zbyszko did not understand him.In fact, he didn't have time to listen to him.After a while, as the guide who was ahead of them turned the road, the young knight stepped forward and asked:

"Why don't we take the high road?" "Because they were buried not on the road, but over there! Didn't you see that alder grove?" He pointed to the dark jungle in the distance. At this time, the moonlight pierced through the clouds, and it became clear before his eyes. The jungle clearly appeared on a white snowfield. "They evidently lost their way, and left the road, and took a little circle along the river; and it is easy to get lost in such a storm. They went round and round, and at last the horses were too exhausted to go." "How did you find them?"

"The dog led us there." "Is there a hut near here?" "Yes, but they are on the other side of the river. Vukla is here." "Faster!" Zbyszko ordered. But it is easy to order and difficult to execute.The snow on the steppe had not yet frozen hard, and the horses' legs were sunk in the drifts; so they walked slowly.Suddenly, they heard a dog barking; directly in front of them was a rough willow stump with a bunch of dead branches shining in the moonlight. "They're still ahead," said the guide. "They're all around the alder grove, but there seems to be something here too."

"There's a thick pile of snow under the willows. Bring a torch." Several attendants dismounted from their horses and lit the place with torches.One of them immediately shouted: "There is a man under the snow with his head sticking out. Come!" "And a horse," said another. "Dig them out!" They began to pry the snow with the shovels, throwing the snow aside. In a little while they beheld a man under a tree, with his head hanging upon his breast, and his hat covering his face.One hand held the reins of the horse as it fell beside him, its nostrils buried in the snow.It was evident that the man must have left his companions, and was busy seeking help from some one, when the horse fell down, and he hid behind the willow.

"Bring the torches!" cried Zbyszko. One of the attendants shone his finger on the frozen man's face, but could not recognize his face.When the second attendant raised his head from his chest, they all shouted in unison: "It's Lord Spychoff!" Zbyszko ordered two men to take him to the nearest hut, and tried their best to revive him, while he himself, without delay for a moment, hastened with the rest of his entourage and guide to rescue the rest of the retinue.On the way it occurred to Zbyszko that he might find his wife Danuska dead.So he spurred on the horse, which, with its belly sunk in the snow, yelled with all its might.

Fortunately, the distance was not far, but only two hundred steps away, there was a loud shout in the darkness: "The path." ① They found the snowmobile and the rest of the people buried in the snow. ① means "we are on the path". Zbyszko rushed forward, jumped off his horse, and shouted: "Use a shovel!" Before they reached Jurand's rear, they dug up two sledges.The horses and men in the sledges froze to death, with no hope of reviving them.The other places with carriages were identifiable by the snowdrifts, and not all of the sledges were completely buried in the snow; some had several horses in front of them, their bellies buried in the snow, and the horses were still working. The posture of voluntary running.In front of a carriage stood a man with snow up to his waist, holding a spear, motionless, like a pillar; there were also some dead attendants standing in front of the carriage, holding the bridle in their hands .Apparently, death came at the moment when they let the horses break free from the snowdrifts.The last wagon in the line was not buried in the snow at all.The driver sat on the wasteland in front, covering his ears with his hands, and two people lay behind, completely covered by the non-stop heavy snow.The two men had been lying close together to escape the snowdrifts, which had covered them like a blanket.They seemed to be sleeping there peacefully.But some of the other dead, judging from their frozen postures, seemed to be struggling to the last moment with the snowdrift.Some of the sleds had turned over, and others had their shafts broken.The shovel dug out the horse's back from time to time, bent like a bow, with snow still in its mouth.Some of the people who died of freezing were still sitting in the sledge, and some were beside the sledge.But there were no women in any of the sleighs.Sometimes even Zbyszko dug with the shovel himself, until sweat broke out between his brows; sometimes, with a beating heart, he looked carefully into the eyes of the dead, perhaps It was to see if there was any face of his beloved in it.But all in vain.The faces the torches illuminated were those of Spyhof's bearded soldiers.Neither Danusia nor any other woman was seen.

"What's the matter?" thought the young knight in amazement. So he called to those who were digging snow in the distance, and asked them if they had dug up any women, and they said that all they dug up were men's bodies.Finally, the job is over.The servants harnessed their own horses to the sledge, put the body in it, and drove to Niedzbosch, where they tried to save some lives in the warm houses.Zbyszko, the Czech, remained there with two attendants.It occurred to him that perhaps the sleigh in which Danusia was traveling was not with the caravan, and that perhaps Jurand's sleigh, drawn by his best horses, was always ahead; In a hut somewhere on the road.Zbyszko didn't know what to do.In any case, he would take a good look at the nearby snowbanks and bushes before returning to the main road and searching along the way.

But nothing was found in the snowdrift.In the bushes, he saw only the shining eyes of a few wolves, and found no trace of people or horses.The meadow between the woods and the road shone brightly in the moonlight, and he did find some dark spots in this white, mournful snow, but they were only hungry wolves that scurried away as soon as one approached. up. "Your Excellency!" said the Czech at last. "We searched in vain. Miss Spyhoff was not in the convoy." "On the road!" replied Zbyszko. "Not on the main road. I searched in the sleigh to see if I could find some women's trunks or something, but I found nothing. The lady is probably still in Spychof. .”

Zbyszko felt that this assumption was correct, and said: "I hope it is as you say!" The Czechs continued to ponder and continue to make inferences. "The old man would not have left her if she had been in the sleigh; if he had left the caravan, he would have taken her with him on horseback, and we would have found her by his side." "Come on, let's go there again," said Zbyszko anxiously.He felt that the Czechs might be right, that perhaps they hadn't searched carefully where they found the old man's body, that Jurand had been riding with Danusia on the horse, and that she had left when the horse fell down. Her father had called for help; if so, she would have been buried in a neighboring snowdrift.

But Grodeche seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, and said: "In that case, women's clothing must be found in the sleigh, and she will never go to court in only traveling clothes." In spite of the soundness of these surmises, they returned to the willows, but found nothing, either here or within a Furlong of the surrounding area.The prince's men have already transported Jurand to Niezbaus, and the surrounding area is completely desolate.The Czech also said that the dog that ran ahead of the guide had spotted Jurand and was sure to find the lady as well.Zbyszko breathed a sigh of relief, most likely believing Danusia to stay at home.He was even able to explain her reasons for doing what she did.Danusia confessed everything to her father, but her father, dissatisfied with the marriage, deliberately left her at home, and came alone to accuse the prince, and begged him to intercede with the bishop.Thinking of this, Zbyszko could not help feeling relieved, even cheerful.Because he felt that with the death of Jurand, all obstacles disappeared. "Jurand will not, but the Lord Jesus will," said the young knight to himself, "God's will is always invincible." Now he has only to go to Spychow and make Danuska like himself. Bring it like a person, and the wedding will be completed.It was even easier to marry her on the frontier than in distant Bogdaniec. "God's will! God's will!" he repeated in his heart.But suddenly, ashamed of this premature joy, he turned to the Czech and said: "Of course I feel sorry for him, and I want to say loudly that I feel sorry for him." "They say the Germans fear him like death," answered the Czech. He immediately asked again: "Shall we go back to the castle now?" "Send Nezbosch back," replied Zbyszko.They came to Niedzbosch, and to the manor of a landowner, old Lech, the chairman of the land, received them.They did not see Jurand, but Schielech told them the good news. "They rubbed him in snow, soaked him all over, poured wine into his mouth, put him in a hot tub, and he came to life." "Is he alive?" Zbyszko asked cheerfully, forgetting what he had lost when he heard the news. "He lived, but whether he can survive, only God knows, because a soul that has gone halfway on the way to heaven is not very willing to come back." "Why are they moving him again?" "Because the duke sent for him, and they wrapped him in every feather blanket they could find in the house, and took him away." "Did he mention his daughter?" "He's just breathed out, and he can't speak yet." "What about the rest?" "They are already with God, and these poor fellows will never be able to attend the Christmas Eve dinner again, unless the Lord Jesus Himself hosts them in Heaven;" "Didn't anyone else survive?" "Not one. Come talk in the drawing-room, and if you want to see them, they lie by the servants' fire. Come in." But they were in a hurry and were unwilling to go in. Although the old man Schiehl had repeatedly invited, he was happy to drag some people to talk.There was still a long way to go from Nezbosch to Ciechanov, and Zbyszko was very anxious to see Jurand as soon as possible and to get news from him about Danusia. So they galloped as fast as they could on the snow-covered road.It was past midnight when they arrived, and the morning service in the castle church had just ended.Zbyszko heard the lowing of the cows and the bleating of the sheep, which were made according to the old religious custom in commemoration of the birth of Jesus in the bullpen.After mass the princess came to see Zbyszko.With a face full of grief and panic, she began to ask him: "And Danuska?" "Is she not here, did Jurand not mention it? I suppose she is alive." "Merciful Jesus! . . . God punishes us with suffering! Jurand has not spoken, he is lying there like a log." "Don't worry, kind lady. Danuska is still in Spykhov." "how do you know?" "Because there is no woman's clothing in the sleigh at all, and she will never set out in traveling clothes alone." "It's true, it's true!" Immediately her eyes gleamed with joy, and after a while she exclaimed: "Hi! It seems that Christ, the Savior born today, is not angry with you, but blessed us!" The only thing that surprised her was that Jurand came without his daughter.So she went on to ask him: "Why did he keep her at home?" Zbyszko explained his idea to her, and it seemed right to her, but she hadn't quite figured it out yet. "Now Jurand will thank us for saving his life," she said, "and he must repay you, because you went and dug him out. If he still refuses you, he has a heart of stone. This is also God. A warning to him not to object to the sacred marriage. I will tell him this when he regains consciousness and can speak." "He has to be brought back to his senses first. Because we don't yet know why he didn't bring Danuska with him. Maybe she suddenly fell ill?" "Don't guess! She's not here enough to disturb me. If she's sick, he won't leave her." "Excellent!" said Zbyszko. They went to Jurand.It was hot in the room, like being in a bathroom.The fire was bright, for there were great lengths of pine in the fire.Father Vishoniak watched over the sick.The patient was lying on a bed covered with a bearskin, his face pale, his hair matted with sweat, his eyes shut.His mouth was open, his chest was panting so hard, and the bearskin covering his body rose and fell with his breathing. "How is he?" asked the Duchess. "I poured him a glass of mulled wine," answered the priest, "and he perspired." "Is he asleep?" "Maybe he wasn't asleep because he was breathing heavily." "Have you tried talking to him?" "I tried, but he didn't answer, and I don't believe he'll be able to speak before daylight." "We'll wait until daylight," said the Duchess. The priest repeatedly advised her to go to rest, but she ignored it, because she always wanted to follow the late Queen Jadwiga in everything, whether in matters of Catholic virtue or in caring for the sick. Her father's soul was atoned by her merits; therefore she never missed an opportunity to make the old Catholic country seem no worse than the rest, and to make people forget that she was born in a pagan country. Besides, she was so anxious that she wanted to get news of Danusia from Jurand immediately, for she was very concerned about her whereabouts.So she sat by the patient's bed, began to pray, and then dozed off.Zbyszko, who had not yet fully recovered, and was terribly tired from the night's travel, fell asleep; and the hours passed, and they all fell asleep, and slept so soundly that if it had not been for the sound of the castle church bell. Wake up, maybe have to sleep until dawn. Jurand was also awakened by the sound of the bell, and he opened his eyes, sat up suddenly on the bed, blinked and looked around. "Praise Jesus Christ! . . . What do you think?" said the Duchess. But he was evidently not fully recovered, for he just looked at her as if he didn't know her, and after a while he cried out: "Hurry up! Dig up this snowdrift!" "In the name of God, you are already at Ciechanov!" replied the princess again. Jurand frowned, trying to regain consciousness, and then replied: "In Ciechanov? . . . the child is waiting . . . and . . . the Duke and Duchess . . . Danuska! Danuska!" Suddenly, he closed his eyes and collapsed on the pillow again.Zbyszko and the princess were afraid that he was dead, but his chest began to heave, and he breathed deeply like a sleeping man. The abbe Vishoniak put his finger to his mouth to show that he should not wake him, and said in a low voice: "He might sleep like that all day." "Well, but what did he say?" asked the Duchess. "He said the child was waiting in Tsychanov," replied Zbyszko. "This is because his sanity is still unclear," explained the priest.