CHAPTER XXII.
He loved her immensely; and she loved him in the same way. They werehappy together, but had no children, though it was the fourth year oftheir marriage. Their lands were managed with great diligence. PanMichael bought with his own and Basia's money a number of villages nearKamenyets; for these he paid a small price, since timid people interror of Turkish invasion were glad to sell land in those regions. Onhis estates he introduced order and military discipline; he took therestless population in hand, rebuilt burned villages, established"fortalices,"--that is, fortified houses,--in which he placed temporarygarrisons; in one word, as formerly he had defended the country withsuccess, so now he worked his lands with good profit, never letting thesword out of his hand.
The glory of his name was the best defence of his property. With someof the murzas he poured water on his sword and concluded brotherhood;others he subdued. Bands of disorderly Cossacks, scattered detachmentsof the horde, robbers from the steppes, highwaymen from the plains ofBessarabia, trembled at thought of the "Little Falcon;" therefore hisherds of horses and flocks of sheep, his buffaloes and camels, livedwithout danger on the steppes. The enemy even respected his neighbors.His substance increased through the aid of his active wife. He wassurrounded by the honor and affection of people. His native land hadadorned him with office; the hetman loved him; the Pasha of Hotinclicked with his tongue in wonder at him; in the distant Crimea, inBagchesarai, his name was repeated with honor. His land, war, and lovewere the three elements of his life.
The hot summer of 1671 found Pan Michael in Sokol, in Basia's paternalvillages. That Sokol was the pearl of their estates. They entertainedthere ceremoniously and merrily Pan Zagloba, who, disregarding thetoils of a journey unusual at his age, came to visit them, fulfillinghis solemn promise given at their wedding. But the noisy feasts and thejoy of the hosts at seeing a dear guest was soon interrupted by anorder from the hetman directing Pan Michael to take command atHreptyoff, to watch the Moldavian boundary, to listen to voices fromthe side of the desert, protect the place, intercept Tartar parties,and clear the region of robbers.
The little knight, as a soldier ever willing in the service of theCommonwealth, gave orders at once to his servants to drive the herdsfrom the meadows, lade the camels, and be ready themselves in arms.Still, his heart was rent at thought of parting with his wife, for heloved her with the love of a husband and a father, and was hardly ableto breathe without her; but he had no wish to take her to the wild andlonely deserts of Ushytsa and expose her to various perils. She,however, insisted on going with him.
"Think," said she, "whether it will be more dangerous for me to stayhere than to live with you under the protection of troops. I do notwish another roof than your tent, since I married you to share fatigue,toil, and danger with you. Here alarm would gnaw me to death; butthere, with such a soldier, I shall feel safer than the queen inWarsaw. Should it be needful to take the field with you, I shall takeit. If you go alone, I shall not know sleep in this place; I shall notput food to my mouth; and finally, I shall not hold out, but fly as Iam to Hreptyoff; and if you will not let me in, I will spend the nightat the gate, and beg and cry till you take pity."
Pan Michael, seeing such affection, seized his wife by the arms andbegan to cover her rosy face with kisses, and she gave like for like."I should not hesitate," said he, at last, "were it a question ofstanding on guard simply and attacking detachments of the horde.Really, there will be men enough, because one of the squadrons of thestarosta of Podolia will go with me, and one of the chamberlain'ssquadrons; besides these, Motovidlo will come with Cossacks and thedragoons of Linkhauz. There will be about six hundred soldiers, andwith camp-followers up to a thousand. But I fear this, which thebraggarts at the Diet in Warsaw will not believe, but which we on theborders expect every hour,--namely, a great war with the whole power ofTurkey. This Pan Myslishevski has confirmed, and the Pasha of Hotinrepeats it every day; the hetman believes that the Sultan will notleave Doroshenko without succor, but will declare war against theCommonwealth; and then what should I do with you, my dearest flower, myreward from God's hand?"
"What happens to you will happen to me, I wish no other fate than thefate which comes to you."
Here Zagloba broke his silence, and turning to Basia, said, "If theTurks capture you, whether you wish it or not, your fate will bedifferent from Michael's. Ha! After the Cossacks, the Swedes, theNortherners, and the Brandenburg kennel--the Turk! I said to Olshovski,the vice-chancellor, 'Do not bring Doroshenko to despair, for only fromnecessity did he turn to the Turk.' Well, and what? They would notlisten to me. They sent Hanenko against Doroshenko, and now Doroshenko,willing or unwilling, must crawl into the throat of the Turk, and,besides, lead him against us. You remember, Michael, that I forewarnedOlshovski in your presence."
"You must have forewarned him some other time, for I do not rememberthat it was in my presence," said the little knight, "But what you sayof Doroshenko is holy truth, for the hetman holds the same views; theysay even that he has letters from Doroshenko written in that senseprecisely. But as matters are, so they are; it is enough that it is toolate now to negotiate. You have quick wit, however, and I should liketo hear your opinion. Am I to take Basia to Hreptyoff, or is it betterto leave her here? I must add too that the place is a terrible desert.It was always a wretched spot, but during twenty years so many Cossackparties and so many chambuls have passed through it, that I know notwhether I shall find two beams fastened together. There is a world ofravines there, grown over with thickets, hiding-places, deep caves, andevery kind of secret den in which robbers hide themselves by hundreds,not to mention those who come from Wallachia."
"Robbers, in view of such a force, are a trifle," said Zagloba."Chambuls too are a trifle; for if strong ones march up, there will bea noise about them; and if they are small, you will rub them out."
"Well, now!" cried Basia; "is not the whole matter a trifle? Robbersare a trifle; chambuls are a trifle. With such a force Michael willdefend me from all the power of the Crimea."
"Do not interrupt me in deliberation," said Zagloba; "if you do, I'lldecide against you."
Basia put both palms on her mouth quickly, and dropped her head on hershoulder, feigning to fear Zagloba terribly, and though he knew thatthe dear woman was jesting, still her action pleased him; therefore heput his old hand on her bright head and said, "Have no fear; I willcomfort you in this matter."
Basia kissed his hand straightway, for in truth much depended on hisadvice, which was so infallible that no one was ever led astray by it;he thrust both hands behind his belt, and glancing quickly with hisseeing eye now on one, now on the other, said suddenly, "But there isno posterity here, none at all; how is that?" Here he thrust out hisunder-lip.
"The will of God, nothing more," said Pan Michael, dropping his eyes.
"The will of God, nothing more," said Basia, dropping her eyes.
"And do you wish for posterity?"
To this the little knight answered: "I will tell you sincerely, I donot know what I would give for children, but sometimes I think the wishvain. As it is, the Lord Jesus has sent happiness, giving me thiskitten,--or as you call her, this haiduk,--and besides has blessed mewith fame and with substance. I do not dare to trouble Him for greaterblessings. You see it has come to my head more than once that if allpeople had their wishes accomplished, there would be no differencebetween this earthly Commonwealth and the heavenly one, which alone cangive perfect happiness. So I think to myself that if I do not wait herefor one or two sons, they will not miss me up there, and will serve andwin glory in the old fashion under the heavenly hetman, the holyarchangel Michael, in expeditions against the foulness of hell, andwill attain to high office."
Here, moved at his own words and at that thought, the pious Christianknight raised his eyes to heaven; but Zagloba listened to him withindifference, and did not cease to mutter sternly. At last he said,--
"See that you do not blaspheme. Your boast th
at you divine theintentions of Providence so well may be a sin for which you will hoparound as peas do on a hot pan. The Lord God has a wider sleeve thanthe bishop of Cracow, but He does not like to have any one look in tosee what He has prepared there for small people, and He does what Helikes; but do you see to that which concerns you, and if you wish forposterity, keep your wife with you, instead of leaving her."
When Basia heard this, she sprang with delight to the middle of theroom, and clapping her hands, began to repeat, "Well, now! we'll keeptogether. I guessed at once that your grace would come to my side; Iguessed it at once. We'll go to Hreptyoff, Michael. Even once you'lltake me against the Tartars,--one little time, my dear, my golden!"
"There she is for you! Now she wants to go to an attack!" cried thelittle knight.
"For with you I should not fear the whole horde."
"_Silentium!_" said Zagloba, turning his delighted eyes, or rather hisdelighted eye, on Basia, whom he loved immensely. "I hope too thatHreptyoff, which, by the way, is not so far from here, is not the laststanitsa before the Wilderness."
"No; there will be commands farther on, in Mohiloff and Yampol; and thelast is to be in Rashkoff," answered Pan Michael.
"In Rashkoff? We know Rashkoff. It was from that place that we broughtHelena, Pan Yan's wife; and you remember that ravine in Valadynka,Michael. You remember how I cut down that monster, or devil, Cheremis,who was guarding her. But since the last garrison will be in Rashkoff,if the Crimea moves, or the whole Turkish power, they will know quicklyin Rashkoff, and will give timely notice to Hreptyoff; there is nogreat danger then, for the place cannot be surprised. I say thisseriously; and you know, besides, that I would rather lay down my oldhead than expose her to any risk. Take her. It will be better for youboth. But Basia must promise that in case of a great war she will letherself be taken even to Warsaw, for there would be terrible campaignsand fierce battles, besieging of camps, perhaps hunger, as at Zbaraj;in such straits it is hard for a man to save his life, but what could awoman do?"
"I should be glad to fall at Michael's side," said Basia; "but still Ihave reason, and know that when a thing is not possible, it is notpossible. Finally, it is Michael's will, and not mine. This year hewent on an expedition under Pan Sobieski. Did I insist on going withhim? No. Well, if I am not prevented now from going to Hreptyoff withMichael, in case a great war comes, send me wherever you like."
"His grace, Pan Zagloba, will take you to Podlyasye to Pan Yan's wife,"said the little knight; "there indeed the Turk will not reach you."
"Pan Zagloba! Pan Zagloba!" answered the old noble, mocking him. "Am Ia captain of home guards? Do not intrust your wives to Pan Zagloba,thinking that he is old, for he may turn out altogether different.Secondly, do you think that in case of war with the Turk, I shall gobehind the stove in Podlyasye, and watch the roast meat lest it burn? Imay be good for something else. I mount my horse from a bench, Iconfess; but when once in the saddle, I will gallop on the enemy aswell as any young man. Neither sand nor sawdust is sprinkling out of meyet, glory be to God! I shall not go on a raid against Tartars, norwatch in the Wilderness, for I am not a scout; but in a general attackkeep near me, if you can, and you will see splendid things."
"Do you wish to take the field again?"
"Do you not think that I wish to seal a famous life with a gloriousdeath, after so many years of service? And what better could happen tome? Did you know Pan Dzevyantkevich? He, it is true, did not seem morethan a hundred and forty years old, but he was a hundred and forty-two,and was still in service."
"He was not so old."
"He was. May I never move from this bench if he wasn't! I am going to agreat war, and that's the end of it! But now I am going with you toHreptyoff, for I love Basia."
Basia sprang up with radiant face and began to hug Zagloba, and heraised his head higher and higher, repeating, "Tighter, tighter!"
Pan Michael pondered over everything for a time yet and said at last:"It is impossible for us all to go together, since the place is a purewilderness, and we should not find a bit of roof over our heads. I willgo first, choose a place for a square, build a good enclosure withhouses for the soldiers, and sheds for the officers' horses, which,being of finer stock, might suffer from change of climate; I will digwells, open the roads, and clear the ravines from robber ruffians. Thatdone, I'll send you a proper escort, and you will come. You will wait,perhaps, three weeks here."
Basia wished to protest; but Zagloba, seeing the justice of PanMichael's words, said, "What is wise, is wise! Basia, we will stay heretogether and keep house, and our affair will not be a bad one. We mustalso make ready good supplies in some fashion, for, of course, you donot know that meads and wines never keep so well as in caves."