The Deluge. Vol. 1

At this moment Biloüs and the gigantic Zavratynski seized both arms of the prince, and squeezed them till the bones cracked in their joints, and holding him in their iron fists, put spurs to their own horses.

The prince's horse in the middle held the line, neither pushing ahead nor holding back an inch. Astonishment, fright, the whirlwind beating in his face, deprived Prince Boguslav of speech for the first moment. He struggled once and a second time, – without result, however, for pain from his twisted arms pierced him through.

"What is this, ruffians? Know ye not who I am?" cried he at last.

Thereupon Kmita pushed him with the barrel of the pistol between the shoulders. "Resistance is useless; it will only bring a bullet in your body!" cried he.

"Traitor!" said the prince.

"But who are you?" asked Kmita.

And they galloped on farther.

CHAPTER XXVII

They ran long through the pine-forest with such speed that the trees by the roadside seemed to flee backward in panic; inns, huts of forest guards, pitch-clearings, flashed by, and at times wagons singly or a few together, going to Pilvishki. From time to time Boguslav bent forward in the saddle as if to struggle; but his arms were only wrenched the more painfully in the iron hands of the soldiers, while Pan Andrei held the pistol-barrel between the princess shoulders again, and they rushed on till the white foam was falling in flakes from the horses.

At last they were forced to slacken the speed, for breath failed both men and beasts, and Pilvishki was so far behind that all possibility of pursuit had ceased. They rode on then a certain time at a walk and in silence, surrounded by a cloud of steam, which was issuing from the horses.

For a long time the prince said nothing; he was evidently trying to calm himself and cool his blood. When he had done this he asked, -

"Whither are you taking me?"

"Your highness will know that at the end of the road," answered Kmita.

Boguslav was silent, but after a while said, "Cavalier, command these trash to let me go, for they are pulling out my arms. If you command them to do so, they will only hang; if not, they will go to the stake."

"They are nobles, not trash," answered Kmita; "and as to the punishment which your highness threatens, it is not known whom death will strike first."

"Know ye on whom ye have raised hands?" asked the prince, turning to the soldiers.

"We know," answered they.

"By a million horned devils!" cried Boguslav, with an outburst. "Will you command these people to let me go, or not?"

"Your highness, I will order them to bind your arms behind your back; then you will be quieter."

"Impossible! You will put my arms quite out of joint."

"I would give orders to let another off on his word that he would not try to escape, but you know how to break your word," said Kmita.

"I will give another word," answered the prince, – "that not only will I escape at the first opportunity, but I will have you torn apart with horses, when you fall into my hands."

"What God wants to give, he gives!" said Kmita. "But I prefer a sincere threat to a lying promise. Let go his hands, only hold his horse by the bridle; but, your highness, look here! I have but to touch the trigger to put a bullet into your body, and I shall not miss, for I never miss. Sit quietly; do not try to escape."

"I do not care, Cavalier, for you or your pistol."

When he had said this, the prince stretched his aching arms, to straighten them and shake off the numbness. The soldiers caught the horse's bridle on both sides, and led him on.

After a while Boguslav said, "Yon dare not look me in the eyes, Pan Kmita; you hide in the rear."

"Indeed!" answered Kmita; and urging forward his horse, he pushed Zavratynski away, and seizing the reins of the prince's horse, he looked Boguslav straight in the face. "And how is my horse? Have I added even one virtue?"

"A good horse!" answered the prince. "If you wish, I will buy him."

"This horse deserves a better fate than to carry a traitor till his death."

"You are a fool, Pan Kmita."

"Yes, for I believed the Radzivills."

Again came a moment of silence, which was broken by the prince.

"Tell me, Pan Kmita, are you sure that you are in your right mind, that your reason has not left you? Have you asked yourself what you have done, madman? Has it not come to your head that as things are now it would have been better for you if your mother had not given you birth, and that no one, not only in Poland, but in all Europe, would have ventured on such a dare-devil deed?"

"Then it is clear that there is no great courage in that Europe, for I have carried off your highness, hold you, and will not let you go."

"It can only be an affair with a madman," said the prince, as if to himself.

"My gracious prince," answered Pan Andrei, "you are in my hands; be reconciled to that, and waste not words in vain. Pursuit will not come up, for your men think to this moment that you have come off with me voluntarily. When my men took you by the arms no one saw it, for the dust covered us; and even if there were no dust, neither the equerries nor the guards could have seen, it was so far. They will wait for you two hours; the third hour they will be impatient, the fourth and fifth uneasy, and the sixth will send out men in search; but we meanwhile shall be beyond Maryapole."

"What of that?"

"This, that they will not pursue; and even if they should start immediately in pursuit, your horses are just from the road, while ours are fresh. Even if by some miracle they should come up, that would not save you, for, as truly as you see me here, I should open your head, – which I shall do if nothing else is possible. This is the position! Radzivill has a court, an army, cannon, dragoons; Kmita has six men, and Kmita holds Radzivill by the neck."

"What further?" asked the prince.

"Nothing further! We will go where it pleases me. Thank God, your highness, that you are alive; for were it not that I gave orders to throw many gallons of water on my head to-day, you would be in the other world already, that is, in hell, for two reasons, – as a traitor and as a Calvinist."

"And would you have dared to do that?"

"Without praising myself I say that your highness would not easily find an undertaking on which I would not venture; you have the best proof of that in yourself."

The prince looked carefully at the young man and said, "Cavalier, the devil has written on your face that you are ready for anything, and that is the reason why I have a proof in myself. I tell you, indeed, that you have been able to astonish me with your boldness, and that is no easy thing."

"That's all one to me. Give thanks to God, your highness, that you are alive yet, and quits."

"No, Cavalier. First of all, do you thank God; for if one hair had fallen from my head, then know that the Radzivills would find you even under the earth. If you think that because there is disunion between us and those of Nyesvyej and Olyta, and that they will not pursue you, you are mistaken. Radzivill blood must be avenged, an awful example must be given, otherwise there would be no life for us in this Commonwealth. You cannot hide abroad, either: the Emperor of Germany will give you up, for I am a prince of the German Empire; the Elector of Brandenburg is my uncle; the Prince of Orange is his brother-in-law; the King and Queen of France and their ministers are my friends. Where will you hide? The Turks and Tartars will sell you, though we had to give them half our fortune. You will not find on earth a corner, nor such deserts, nor such people-"

"It is a wonder to me," replied Kmita, "that your highness takes such thought in advance for my safety. A great person a Radzivill! Still I have only to touch a trigger."

"I do not deny that. More than once it has happened in the world that a great man died at the hands of a common one. A camp-follower killed Pompey; French kings perished at the hands of low people. Without going farther, the same thing happened to my great father. But I ask you what will come next?"

"What is that to me? I have never taken much thought of what will be to-morrow. If it comes to close quarters with all the Radzivills, God knows who will be warmed up best. The sword has been long hanging over my head, but the moment I close my eyes I sleep as sweetly as a suslik. And if one Radzivill is not enough for me, I will carry off a second, and a third."

"As God is dear to me, Cavalier, you please me much; for I repeat that you alone in Europe could dare a deed like this. The beast does not care, nor mind what will come to-morrow. I love daring people, and there are fewer and fewer of them in the world. Just think! he has carried off a Radzivill and holds him as his own. Where were you reared in this fashion, Cavalier? Whence do you come?"

"I am banneret of Orsha."