Chapter 56 Chapter Twenty Two

It was an easy way to get to the field where Scovolo destroyed the Germans, because they knew the way and arrived quickly.There was a stench of unburied corpses, and they all hurried past the place, scaring away many hungry wolves and crowds of crows, cross-crows, and cave-crows along the way.Then start looking for footprints along the way.Although a whole army passed here the day before, the experienced Macko easily found the huge horseshoe prints going in the opposite direction on this crowded road.He explained to his younger and less experienced comrades: "Fortunately it hasn't rained since the battle. Just look here. Since Arnold's body is so big, his mount must be so big too, and that's easy to see: the horseshoe prints are deeper on this side of the road." Many, this is because the horses ran very fast when they were fleeing; on the contrary, the traces of the advance army on the other side are not so deep, because the horses walk slowly. Anyone with eyes can take a look. See how clear the horseshoe prints are. God willing, we'll be after the dogs as long as they haven't found some castle to hide in."

"Sandrus said," replied Zbyszko, "that there are no castles in this part of the country, and there is; for the Knights of the Crusaders have only recently taken the place and have not had time to build it. Where can they hide, then? This part of the country All the peasants of the 1930s were all attached to Skovolo, because they were Zemudians... Sandrus also said that it was these Germans who set fire to the village, so that the women and children hid in the woods. If we don't spare our horses, we will catch them." "We have to take care of our horses because even if we catch them, our future safety depends on our horses," Macko said.

Sanders put in: "Knight Arnold got a blow between his shoulder blades while he was fighting. He didn't notice it at first, he fought and killed, and then they had to bandage him up; people were beaten, Often he didn't feel it at first, but later he felt the pain. So he didn't have the strength to go too fast, and maybe he had to rest along the way." "You say no one else is with them?" Macko asked. "Except for the two stretchers, that 'Komto' and Arnold. Many people were with them, but they were all killed by the Zimud." "Let's have our guys catch those two stretcher guys," Zbyszko said. "You, uncle, go catch old man Siegfried, and I will deal with Arnold."

"Well," Macko replied, "I can handle Siegfried, because, thank God, I have some strength in my bones. As for you, I should say, don't be too confident, because that Arnold sees It's a giant." "What a surprise! Let's see," replied Zbyszko. "You are strong but very strong, I have no words for that, but there are men stronger than you. Did you see those native knights we met in Cracow? You can beat Lord Povara of Tachev Sir, Bashko Zirochiai of Bisguppitri, Chavisha Charni, Nuan? Don't be rash, and face the facts." "Rotgier is strong too," murmured Zbyszko.

"What can I do?" asked the Czech.But he got no answer, because Macko was thinking of other things. "As long as God blesses us, we will be in the Masovia Forest. There will be peace and all troubles will be over." But after a while he sighed, because he thought that even there the matter would not be quite over, and something would have to be done with that unfortunate Jagienka. "Hey!" he murmured, "God's will is wonderful. I've often thought about it. Why don't you get married quietly and let me live peacefully with you? That's the happiest thing." life. Now we are wandering in foreign lands, trekking in the wilderness, and not taking care of the house according to God's command, and this is the only few of us among the nobles in our kingdom."

"Well, it is true, but it is God's will," replied Zbyszko. They drove on in silence for a while.The old knight turned to his nephew again and said: "Do you trust that tramp? Who is he?" "He's a fickle guy, maybe a rogue, but he's been good to me and I'm not afraid of his tricks." "If so, let him ride ahead, for if he overtakes the knights of the crusaders, they will not be afraid of him. He can tell them that he has escaped from captivity, and they will surely Trust him. This is the best way, otherwise, if they see us from a distance, they will run away, hide, or have enough time to prepare to resist."

"He is too timid to walk alone at night," replied Zbyszko. "But in the daytime, I believe that's the best strategy to take. I can make him stop three times a day to wait for us. If we don't find him at the agreed place, it means he's with them, Then we followed in his footsteps and attacked them by surprise." "Won't he go and tell them?" "No. He is more friendly to me than to them. Tell Sandrus that when we attack the Germans, we will tie him up so that he will be safe from their later reprisals. Tell him to pretend not to be at all. don't know us..."

"Are you going to spare those guys' lives?" "What else is there?" replied Zbyszko, looking a little anxious. "You think... if in our own country, in Masovia, we could challenge them, as I challenged Rotgier; but here, in their own country, we cannot do that... we are in The concern here is Danuska and hastening on the road. To avoid trouble, everything must be done quietly; in the future we will do as you say, as fast as the horse can run, and get there as soon as possible. to the forests of Masovia. But to attack them unexpectedly, perhaps just when they are unarmed, not even with swords. How can we kill them then? I am afraid of being scolded. Now we are both The knights in the girdle, and they too..."

"That's right," Macko said. "But there may always be a fight," Zbyszko frowned, and his face showed the characteristic determination of a Bogdaniec, because at this moment, he was almost like Macko's own son. "All I want to do," he said in a low voice, "is to throw that bloody-handed dog Siegfried at Jurand's feet! God bless!" "Let it go, God! Let it be!" Macko repeated at once. As they talked, they walked a long way until night fell.This night, the sky is full of stars, but there is no moon.I had to let the horse stop to take a breath, and let people eat and sleep.Before Sandros rested, Zbyszko ordered him to go ahead of the procession the next morning.Sandrus readily agreed, but he reserved for himself the right to run back to Zbyszko if attacked by wild animals or natives.He also asked permission to stop four times a day instead of three, for he was always afraid of being alone, even in a Catholic country, and now in such a dreadful wilderness?

After eating, he lay down on the skins and went to sleep by a small campfire about half a Furlong from the main road.The servants took turns guarding the horses, which rolled on the ground after feeding and fell asleep neck to neck.Zbyszko got up as soon as the silvery daylight broke through the woods, woke the others, and they set off at dawn. The hoofprints of Arnold's big stallion were easy to find, for the ground was muddy, so it was difficult to It didn't rain for a while, and the hoof prints were solidified.Sandros went ahead and disappeared shortly afterwards.But they found him between sunrise and noon, where they had agreed to wait.He told them that he saw no one but a large bison, and that he was not frightened, nor did he run away, because the bison avoided him.But Sanders said that he had just seen a bee farmer, but did not stop him, fearing that there might be more farmers in the depths of the forest.He wanted to ask him, but the language barrier.

As time went on, Zbyszko became more and more uneasy. He said: "If we go to a dry area with higher terrain, the road is hard and dry, and there are no traces of fugitives, what should we do? If we just push on, we end up chasing a densely populated area where the residents have long been tortured." Accustomed to being enslaved by the Knights of the Crusader Order, they probably hid Danusia, because even if Arnold and Siegfried didn't have time to escape to the bunker, those residents would help them, so what at that time? What to do?" Happily this apprehension was unfounded, for instead of finding Sandros at the next appointed place, they found a cross apparently recently carved on a nearby pine tree.They looked at each other and their hearts beat faster.Matsko and Zbyszko dismounted at once to look for tracks in the ground; they looked carefully, and after a while they saw distinct tracks. Sanders evidently left the road and turned into the forest following the huge footprints of the horse's hoofs; although the footprints were not deep, they were still recognizable because the grass mud had dried.The giant horse trampled on the pine needles with every step, and the pine needles around the hoofprints were black. There were other signs that did not escape Zbyszko's piercing gaze.So he and Macko mounted the horse again, and together with the Czechs, they talked quietly, as if the enemy were near. The Czechs suggested that they should proceed immediately on foot, but they disagreed because they did not know how far they would be in the woods.But the servants should go ahead on foot, and signal as soon as they see something, that they may be ready. With some doubts, they walked forward in the woods, and then they saw the mark on a pine tree, which convinced them that they had not missed the trail of Sandros.After a while, they found a path, which was obviously a forest path often traveled by people; they believed that they had reached the vicinity of a forest settlement, and there they would definitely find what they were looking for. The sun was sinking gradually, and sprinkled a golden yellow on the trees.It seemed that the night must be very still; the woods were very still, and the birds and beasts had gone to rest, but here and there squirrels could be seen scurrying up and down the treetops, brightly reddened by the evening glow.Zbyszko, Macko, the Czech, and the servants all advanced one after the other, knowing that the footman was far ahead and would report when the time came; Too low a voice said to his nephew: "Let's do the math from the sun," he said. "It's been a long way from the last agreed place to the place where we found the first inscription. According to Krakow time, it took about three hours... So Sandrus should have arrived at their place by this time and have told them what happened to him, if he doesn't betray us." "He won't betray us," replied Zbyszko. "As long as they believe him," Macko went on, "if they don't, he's a mess." "Why didn't they believe him? Would they know that we were chasing him? They knew him, after all. It's not uncommon for captives to escape." "But my concern is that if he tells them that he escaped, then they will continue to flee immediately because they are afraid that we will chase him." "No, he'll prevaricate and say we'll never make such a long chase." After a moment's silence Macko suddenly felt as if Zbyszko was whispering to him, and turning round he asked: "What did you say?" But Zbyszko did not speak to Macko, but looked up into the sky and said: "May God bless Danuska with this daring act for her." Macko also made the sign of the cross, but before he had finished the first pass, a scout came out of the hazel grove and said: "Found a hut burning asphalt! There they are!" "Stop!" whispered Zbyszko, dismounting immediately.Macko, the Czech, and the servants also dismounted; the three servants were ordered to watch over the horse, to be ready at all times, and to be careful not to let the horse neigh. "I'm left with five people," Macko said. "There are two servants and Sandros over there. You must tie them up immediately. Anyone who dares to use force will have his head chopped off!" They went on at once, and Zbyszko said to his uncle as they went: "You get old Siegfried; I'll get Arnold." "Be careful, though!" Macko replied, beckoning the Czech again, reminding him that he was always ready to aid his master. The Czech nodded in agreement, then took a deep breath and touched the sword to see if he could pull it out in one go. Zbyszko noticed this and said: "No! I order you to run to the stretcher immediately, and not to leave the stretcher for a moment while the battle is going on." They hastened quietly into the hazel grove.But before I went far, I found that less than two Furlangs ahead, the jungle suddenly ended, revealing a small open space, in which there were piles of extinguished pitch fires, and two earthen houses, or "Numei" ", which was the pre-war residence of the asphalt burners.The setting sun shone brightly over the meadow, the pitch fire, and two solitary huts—two knights sat on the ground before the door of one; hair guy.The two men were absorbed in wiping their chain mail with rags.In addition, Sandros still has two swords at his heels, ready to be wiped. "Look," Macko said, squeezing Zbyszko's arm hard, trying to keep him a little longer, 'he purposely took off their mail and sword.very good!It must be the one with the white hair. "Forward!" cried Zbyszko suddenly. He rushed like a whirlwind into the clearing; the others rushed too, but only up to Sanders.Terrible Macko grabbed old Siegfried by the chest, pushed him back, and held him down in an instant.Zbyszko and Arnold carried each other like two eagles, with their arms folded, and began to fight violently.The bearded German who was with Sandrus rushed forward to take his sword, but before he could do so, Macko's servant Werther knocked him to the ground with the back of his axe, where he lay stretched out. up.Following Macko's orders they began to bind Sandrus, who, though he knew that this was a prearranged trick, howled in terror like a calf's throat being stabbed by a butcher's knife. Zbyszko, though strong enough to squeeze out the sap from a twig, now felt that he was not held by two human hands, but by a bear.He also felt that if it hadn't been prevented early.Wearing this chain mail against guns, the Germanic giant would have broken ribs and even broken spines.Although the young knight picked him up in the air, in a blink of an eye, Arnold lifted him even higher in the air, and exerted all his strength, trying to throw him on the ground so that he could never get up again. Zbyszko, too, pressed so hard that the German's eyes bled.He thrust his leg across Arnold's knees and pushed him down diagonally, hitting the crook of his knee so hard that he fell to the ground.In fact, both fell down, and Zbyszko was on the ground; but Macko saw this in time, and hastily threw the half-dead Siegfried to a servant, who rushed to the two lying on their knees. The warriors of the earth come forward.In the blink of an eye, Arnold's feet were tied with a belt, and then he jumped up and sat on Arnold as if sitting on a wild boar, and pulled out the "Micrey" from his waist. "Caudia" came and stabbed him in the back of the head. Arnold screamed in horror, and his hands involuntarily released from Zbyszko's waist.Not only did he groan from the blow, but he also felt an indescribable pain in his back from the blow he had received in the last fight with Scovolo. Macko grabbed him with both hands and dragged him away from Zbyszko.Zbyszko got up from the ground and sat down; he tried to get up, but couldn't, so sat down for a while.His face was pale, his face covered with cold sweat, his eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were blue; he stared blankly ahead, as if a little dazzled. "What's the matter with you?" Macko asked in surprise. "Nothing, just tired. Help me up." Macko thrust his hands into Zbyszko's armpits and helped him up. "Can you stand up?" "Stand." "Do you feel pain?" "It hurts, it doesn't hurt, I just can't breathe." At this time, the Czech obviously saw that the fighting on the field was completely over, so he went to the front of the hut, grabbed the maid of the Knights by the neck, and dragged her out.Seeing this, Zbyszko immediately forgot his fatigue, regained his strength, and rushed towards the hut as if he had never fought the terrible Arnold. "Danuska! Danuska!" cried Zbyszko; but there was no answer. "Danuska! Danuska!" Zbyszko called again; and he fell silent.It was so dark in the hut that at first he could see nothing.But behind the stone stove there came sudden, rapid and distinct panting sounds, like those of a small animal hiding there. "Danuska! My God. I'm Zbyszko!" Then suddenly in the darkness he saw the wide, panic-stricken eyes. Zbyszko rushed up to her and hugged her tightly, but she didn't recognize him at all, and just wrenched himself from his arms, saying repeatedly in a breathless whisper: "I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!"