The Deluge. Vol. 1

The pitch-maker said nothing. The soldiers entered the house, placed the sleeping Kmita on a bed, and sat down to supper. They ate eagerly the boiled meat and cabbage, a large kettle of which was in the chimney. There was millet also, and in a room at the side of the cabin Soroka found a large decanter of spirits.

He merely strengthened himself with it slightly, and gave none to the soldiers, for he had determined to hold it in reserve for the night. This empty house with six beds for men, and a shed in which a band of horses were neighing, seemed to him strange and suspicious. He judged simply that this was a robbers' retreat, especially since in the room from which he brought the decanter he found many weapons hanging on the wall, and a keg of powder, with various furniture, evidently plundered from noble houses. In case the absent occupants of the cabin returned, it was impossible to expect from them not merely hospitality, but even mercy. Soroka therefore resolved to hold the house with armed hand, and maintain himself in it by superior force or negotiations.

This was imperative also in view of the health of Pan Kmita, for whom a journey might be fatal, and in view of the safety of all.

Soroka was a trained and seasoned soldier, to whom one feeling was foreign, – the feeling of fear. Still in that moment, at thought of Prince Boguslav, fear seized him. Having been for long years in the service of Kmita, he had blind faith, not only in the valor, but the fortune of the man; he had seen more than once deeds of his which in daring surpassed every measure, and touched almost on madness, but which still succeeded and passed without harm. With Kmita he had gone through the "raids" on Hovanski; had taken part in all the surprises, attacks, fights, and onsets, and had come to the conviction that Pan Andrei could do all things, succeed in all things, come out of every chaos, and destroy whomsoever he wished. Kmita therefore was for him the highest impersonation of power and fortune, – but this time he had met his match seemingly, nay, he had met his superior. How was this? One man carried away, without weapons, and in Kmita's hands, had freed himself from those hands; not only that, he had overthrown Kmita, conquered his soldiers, and terrified them so that they ran away in fear of his return. That was a wonder of wonders, and Soroka lost his head pondering over it. To his thinking, anything might come to pass in the world rather than this, that a man might be found who could ride over Kmita.

"Has our fortune then ended?" muttered he to himself, gazing around in wonder.

It was not long since with eyes shut he followed Pan Kmita to Hovanski's quarters surrounded by eighty thousand men; now at the thought of that long-haired prince with lady's eyes and a painted face, superstitious terror seized him, and he knew not what to do. The thought alarmed him, that to-morrow or the next day he would have to travel on highways where the terrible prince himself or his pursuers might meet him. This was the reason why he had gone from the road to the dense forest, and at present wished to stay in that cabin until pursuers were deluded and wearied.

But since even that hiding-place did not seem to him safe for other reasons, he wished to discover what course to take; therefore he ordered the soldiers to stand guard at the door and the windows, and said to the pitch-maker, -

"Here, man, take a lantern and come with me."

"I can light the great mighty lord only with a pitch-torch, for we have no lantern."

"Then light the torch; if thou burn the shed and the horses, it is all one to me."

After such words a lantern was found right away. Soroka commanded the fellow to go ahead, and followed himself with a pistol in his hand.

"Who live in this cabin?" asked he on the road.

"Men live here."

"What are their names?"

"That is not free for me to say."

"It seems to me, fellow, that thou'lt get a bullet in thy head."

"My master," answered the pitch-maker, "if I had told in a lie any kind of name, you would have to be satisfied."

"True! But are there many of those men?"

"There is an old one, two sons, and two servants."

"Are they nobles?"

"Surely nobles."

"Do they live here?"

"Sometimes here, and sometimes God knows where."

"But the horses, whence are they?"

"God knows whence they bring them."

"Tell the truth; do thy masters not rob on the highway?"

"Do I know? It seems to me they take horses, but whose, – that's not on my head."

"What do they do with the horses?"

"Sometimes they take ten or twelve of them, as many as there are, and drive them away, but whither I know not."

Thus conversing, they reached the shed, from which was heard the snorting of horses.

"Hold the light," said Soroka.

The fellow raised the lantern, and threw light on the horses standing in a row at the wall. Soroka examined them one after another with the eye of a specialist, shook his head, smacked his lips, and said, -

"The late Pan Zend would have rejoiced. There are Polish and Muscovite horses here, – there is a Wallachian, a German, – a mare. Fine horses! What dost thou give them to eat?"

"Not to lie, my master, I sowed two fields with oats in springtime."

"Then thy masters have been handling horses since spring?"

"No, but they sent a servant to me with a command."

"Then art thou theirs?"

"I was till they went to the war."

"What war?"

"Do I know? They went far away last year, and came back in the summer."

"Whose art thou now?"

"These are the king's forests."

"Who put thee here to make pitch?"

"The royal forester, a relative of these men, who also brought horses with them; but since he went away once with them, he has not come back."

"And do guests come to these men?"

"Nobody comes here, for there are swamps around, and only one road. It is a wonder to me that ye could come, my master; for whoso does not strike the road, will be drawn in by the swamp."

Soroka wanted to answer that he knew these woods and the road very well; but after a moment's thought he determined that silence was better, and inquired, -

"Are these woods very great?"

The fellow did not understand the question. "How is that?"

"Do they go far?"