CHAPTER XXXVIII.
A detachment of Cheremis, some twenty in number, marched five miles inadvance to examine the road and notify commandants of PaniVolodyovski's journey, so that quarters might be ready for her in eachplace. After this detachment came the main force of the LithuanianTartars, the sleigh with Basia and Eva, and another sleigh withservant-women; a small detachment closed the march. The road was heavyenough because of snowdrifts. Pine woods, which in winter do not losetheir needle-like leaves, permit less snow to fall to the earth; butthat forest along the bank of the Dniester, formed for the most part ofoaks and other deciduous trees, stripped now of their natural covering,was packed halfway to the lower branches with snow. Snow had filledalso the narrowest ravines; in places it had been lifted into waveswhose curling summits seemed as if ready to tumble in an instant and belost in the general white expanse. During the passage of difficultravines and declivities the Tartars held the sleighs back with ropes;only on the lofty plains, where the wind had smoothed the snow surface,did they drive quickly in the track of the caravan, which with Naviraghand the two learned Anardrats had started earlier from Hreptyoff.
Travelling was difficult; not so difficult, however, as sometimes inthose wild regions full of chasms, rivers, streams, and gullies. Theladies were rejoiced, therefore, that before deep night came they wouldbe able to reach the precipitous ravine in the bottom of which stoodMohiloff; besides, there was promise of continued fair weather. After aruddy dawn the sun rose, and all at once the plains, the ravines, andthe forests were gleaming in its rays; the branches of the trees seemedcoated with sparks; sparks glittered on the snow till the eyes achedfrom the brightness. From high points one could see out through openspaces, as through windows in that wilderness, the gaze reaching downto Moldavia was lost on a horizon white and blue, but flooded withsunlight.
The air was dry and sharp. In such an atmosphere men as well as beastsfeel strength and health; in the ranks the horses snorted greatly,throwing rolls of steam from their nostrils; and the Tartars, thoughthe frost so pinched their legs that they drew them under their skirtscontinually, sang joyful songs.
At last the sun rose to the very summit of the pavilion of the sky, andwarmed the world somewhat. It was too hot for Basia and Eva under thefur in the sleigh. They loosened the covering on their heads, pushedback their hoods, showed their rosy faces to the light, and began tolook around,--Basia on the country, and Eva searching for Azya. He wasnot near the sleigh; he was riding in advance with that detachment ofCheremis who were examining the road, and clearing away snow whennecessary. Eva frowned because of this; but Basia, knowing militaryservice through and through, said to console her:--
"They are all that way; when there is service, it is service. MyMichael will not even look at me when military duty comes; and it wouldbe ill were it otherwise, for if you are to love a soldier, let him bea good one."
"But will he be with us at the resting-place?" asked Eva.
"See lest you have too much of him. Did you not notice how joyful hewas when we started? Light was beaming from him."
"I saw that he was very glad."
"But what will he be when he receives permission from your father?"
"Oi, what is in waiting for me? The will of God be done! though theheart dies in me when I think of father. If he shouts, if he becomeswilful and refuses permission, I shall have a fine life when I gohome."
"Do you know, Eva, what I think?"
"What is it?"
"There is no trifling with Azya. Your brother might oppose with hisforce; but your father has no command. I think that if your fatherresists, Azya will take you anyhow."
"How is that?"
"Why, carry you off simply. There is no trifling with him, peoplesay,--Tugai Bey's blood. You will be married by the first priest on theroad. In another place it would be necessary to have banns,certificates, license; but here it is a wild country, all things are alittle in Tartar fashion."
Eva's face brightened. "This is what I dread. Azya is ready foranything; this is what I dread," said she.
But Basia, turning her head, looked at her quickly, and burst outsuddenly with her resonant, child-like laugh.
"You dread that just as a mouse dreads bacon. Oh, I know you!"
Eva, flushed already from the cold air, flushed still more, and said:--
"I should fear my father's curse, and I know that Azya is ready todisregard everything."
"Be of good courage," answered Basia, "besides me, you have yourbrother to help you. True love always comes to its own. Pan Zaglobatold me that when Michael wasn't even dreaming of me."
Conversation once begun, they vied with each other in talking,--oneabout Azya, the other about Michael. Thus a couple of hours passed,till the caravan halted for the first refreshment at Yaryshoff. Of ahamlet, wretched enough at all times, there remained, after the peasantincursion, only one public house, which was restored from the time thatthe frequent passage of soldiers began to promise certain profit. Basiaand Eva found in it a passing Armenian merchant of Mohiloff origin, whowas taking morocco to Kamenyets.
Azya wished to hurl him out of doors with the Wallachians and Tartarswho were with him; but the women permitted him to remain, only hisguard had to withdraw. When the merchant learned that the travellinglady was Pani Volodyovski, he began to bow down before her and praiseher husband to the skies. Basia listened to the man with great delight.At last he went to his packs, and when he returned offered her apackage of special sweetmeats and a little box full of odorous Turkishherbs good for various ailments.
"I bring this through gratitude," said he. "Till now we have not daredto thrust our heads out of Mohiloff, because Azba Bey ravaged soterribly, and so many robbers infested on this side all the ravines andon the Moldavian bank the meadows; but now the road is safe, andtrading secure. Now we travel again. May God increase the days of thecommandant of Hreptyoff, and make each day long enough for a journeyfrom Mohiloff to Kamenyets, and let every hour be extended so as toseem a day! Our commandant, the field secretary, prefers to sit inWarsaw; but the commandant of Hreptyoff watched, and swept out therobbers, so that death is dearer to them now than the Dniester."
"Then is Pan Revuski not in Mohiloff?" asked Basia.
"He only brought the troops; I do not know if he remained three days.Permit, your great mightiness, here are raisins in this packet, and atthis edge of it fruit such as is not found even in Turkey; it comesfrom distant Asia, and grows there on palms. The secretary is not inthe town; but now there is no cavalry at all, for yesterday they wenton a sudden toward Bratslav. But here are dates; may they be to thehealth of your great mightiness! Only Pan Gorzenski has remained withinfantry."
"It is a wonder to me that all the cavalry have gone," said Basia, withan inquiring glance at Azya.
"They moved so the horses might not get out of training," answeredAzya, calmly.
"In the town, people say that Doroshenko advanced unexpectedly," saidthe merchant.
Azya laughed. "But with what will he feed his horses, with snow?" saidhe to Basia.
"Pan Gorzenski will explain best to your great mightiness," added themerchant.
"I do not believe that it is anything," said Basia, after a moment'sthought; "for if it were, my husband would be the first to know."
"Without doubt the news would be first in Hreptyoff," said Azya; "letyour grace have no fear."
Basia raised her bright face to the Tartar, and her nostrils quivered.
"I have fear! That is excellent; what is in your head? Do you hear,Eva?--I have fear!"
Eva could not answer; for being by nature fond of dainties, and lovingsweets beyond measure, she had her mouth full of dates, which did notprevent her, however, from looking eagerly at Azya; but when she hadswallowed the fruit, she said,--
"Neither have I any fear with such an officer."
Then she looked tenderly and significantly into the eyes of young TugaiBey; but from the time that she had begun to be an ob
stacle, he feltfor her only secret repulsion and anger. He stood motionless,therefore, and said with downcast eyes,--
"In Rashkoff it will be seen if I deserve confidence."
And there was in his voice something almost terrible; but as the twowomen knew so well that the young Tartar was thoroughly different inword and deed from other men, this did not rouse their attention.Besides, Azya insisted at once on continuing the journey, because themountains before Mohiloff were abrupt, difficult of passage, and shouldbe crossed during daylight.
They started without delay, and advanced very quickly till they reachedthose mountains. Basia wished then to sit on her horse; but at Azya'spersuasion she stayed with Eva in the sleigh, which was steadied withlariats, and let down from the height with the greatest precaution. Allthis time Azya walked near the sleigh; but occupied altogether withtheir safety, and in general with the command, he spoke scarcely a wordeither to Basia or Eva. The sun went down, however, before theysucceeded in passing the mountains; but the detachment of Cheremis,marching in advance, made fires of dry branches. They went down thenamong the ruddy fires and the wild figures standing near them. Beyondthose figures were, in the gloom of the night and in the half-light ofthe flames, the threatening declivities in uncertain, terribleoutlines. All this was new, curious; all had the appearance of somekind of dangerous and mysterious expedition,--wherefore Basia's soulwas in the seventh heaven, and her heart rose in gratitude to herhusband for letting her go on this journey to unknown regions, and toAzya because he had been able to manage the journey so well. Basiaunderstood now, for the first time, the meaning of those militarymarches of which she had heard so much from soldiers, and whatprecipitous and winding roads were. A mad joyousness took possession ofher. She would have mounted her pony assuredly, were it not that,sitting near Eva, she could talk with her and terrify her. Thereforewhen moving in a narrow, short turn the detachment in advance vanishedfrom the eye and began to shout with wild voices, the stifled echo ofwhich resounded among overhanging cliffs, Basia turned to Eva, andseizing her hands, cried,--
"Oh, ho! robbers from the meadows, or the horde!"
But Eva, when she remembered Azya, the son of Tugai Bey, was calm in amoment.
"The robbers in the horde respect and fear Azya," answered she. Andlater, bending to Basia's ear, she said, "Even to Belgrod, even to theCrimea, if with him!"
The moon had risen high in heaven when they were issuing from themountains. Then they beheld far down, and, as it were, at the bottom ofa precipice, a collection of lights.
"Mohiloff is under our feet," said a voice behind Basia and Eva.
They looked around; it was Azya standing behind the sleigh.
"But does the town lie like that at the bottom of the ravine?" askedBasia.
"It does. The mountains shield it completely from winter winds,"answered Azya, pushing his head between their heads. "Notice, yourgrace, that there is another climate here; it is warmer and calmer.Spring comes here ten days earlier than on the other side of themountains, and the trees put forth their leaves sooner. That gray onthe slopes is a vineyard; but the ground is under snow yet."
Snow was lying everywhere, but really the air was warmer and calmer. Inproportion as they descended slowly toward the valley, lights showedthemselves one after another, and increased in number every moment.
"A respectable place, and rather large," said Eva.
"It is because the Tartars did not burn it at the time of the peasantincursion. The Cossack troops wintered here, and Poles have scarcelyever visited the place."
"Who live here?"
"Tartars, who have their wooden mosque; for in the Commonwealth everyman is free to profess his own faith. Wallachians live here, alsoArmenians and Greeks."
"I have seen Greeks once in Kamenyets," said Basia; "for though theylive far away, they go everywhere for commerce."
"This town is composed differently from all others," said Azya; "manypeople of various nations come here to trade. That settlement which wesee at a distance on one side is called Serby."
"We are entering already," said Basia.
They were, in fact, entering. A strange odor of skins and acid mettheir nostrils at once. That was the odor of morocco, at themanufacture of which all the inhabitants of Mohiloff worked somewhat,but especially the Armenians. As Azya had said, the place was differentaltogether from others. The houses were built in Asiatic fashion; theyhad windows covered with thick wooden lattice; in many houses therewere no windows on the street, and only in the yards was seen theglitter of fires. The streets were not paved, though there was no lackof stone in the neighborhood. Here and there were buildings of strangeform with latticed, transparent walls; those were drying-houses, inwhich fresh grapes were turned into raisins. The odor of morocco filledthe whole place.
Pan Gorzenski, who commanded the infantry, had been informed by theCheremis of the arrival of the wife of the commandant of Hreptyoff, androde out on horseback to meet her. He was not young, and he stuttered;he lisped also, for his face had been pierced by a bullet from along-barrelled janissary gun; therefore when he began to speak(stuttering every moment) of the star "which had risen in the heavensof Mohiloff," Basia came near bursting into laughter. But he receivedher in the most hospitable manner known to him. In the "fortalice" asupper was waiting for her, and a supremely comfortable bed on freshand clean down, which he had taken by a forced loan from the wealthiestArmenians. Pan Gorzenski stuttered, it is true, but during the eveninghe related at the supper things so curious that it was worth while tolisten.
According to him a certain disquieting breeze had begun to blowsuddenly and unexpectedly from the steppes. Reports came that a strongchambul of the Crimean horde, stationed with Doroshenko, had moved allat once toward Haysyn and the country above that point; with thechambuls went some thousands of Cossacks. Besides, a number of otheralarming reports had come from indefinite places. Pan Gorzenski did notattach great faith to these rumors, however. "For it is winter," saidhe; "and since the Lord God has created this earthly circle the Tartarsmove only in spring; then they form no camp, carry no baggage, take nofood for their horses in any place. We all know that war with theTurkish power is held in the leash by frost alone, and that we shallhave guests at the first grass; but that there is anything at present Ishall never believe."
Basia waited patiently and long till Pan Gorzenski should finish. Hestuttered, meanwhile, and moved his lips continually, as if eating.
"What do you think yourself of the movement of the horde towardHaysyn?" asked she at last.
"I think that their horses have pawed out all the grass from under thesnow, and that they wish to make a camp in another place. Besides, itmay be that the horde; living near Doroshenko's men, are quarrellingwith them; it has always been so. Though they are allies and arefighting together, only let encampments stand side by side, and theyfall to quarrelling at once in the pastures and at the bazaars."
"That is the case surely," said Azya.
"And there is another point," continued Pan Gorzenski; "the reports didnot come directly through partisans, but peasants brought them; theTartars here began to talk without evident reason. Three days ago PanYakubovich brought in from the steppes the first informants whoconfirmed the reports, and all the cavalry marched out immediately."
"Then you are here with infantry only?" inquired Azya.
"God pity us!--forty men! There is hardly any one to guard thefortalice; and if the Tartars living here in Mohiloff were to rise, Iknow not how I could defend myself."
"But why do they not rise against you?" inquired Basia.
"They do not, because they cannot in any way. Many of them livepermanently in the Commonwealth with their wives and children, and theyare on our side. As to strangers, they are here for commerce, not forwar; they are good people."
"I will leave your grace fifty horse from my force," said Azya.
"God reward! You will oblige me greatly by this, for I shall have someone to send out to get intelligence. But can
you leave them?"
"I can. We shall have in Rashkoff the parties of those captains who intheir time went over to the Sultan, but now wish to resume obedience tothe Commonwealth. Krychinski will bring three hundred horse certainly;and perhaps Adurovich, too, will come; others will arrive later. I amto take command over all by order of the hetman, and before spring awhole division will be assembled."
Pan Gorzenski inclined before Azya. He had known him for a long time,but had had small esteem for him, as being a man of doubtful origin.But knowing now that he was the son of Tugai Bey, for an account ofthis had been brought by the recent caravan in which Naviragh wastravelling, Gorzenski honored in the young Tartar the blood of a greatthough hostile warrior; he honored in him, besides, an officer to whomthe hetman had confided such significant functions.
Azya went out to give orders, and calling the sotnik David, said,--
"David, son of Skander, thou wilt remain in Mohiloff with fifty horse.Thou wilt see with thy eyes and hear with thy ears what is happeningaround thee. If the Little Falcon in Hreptyoff sends letters to me,thou wilt stop his messenger, take the letters from him, and send themwith thy own man. Thou wilt remain here till I send an order towithdraw. If my messenger says, 'It is night,' thou wilt go out inpeace; but if he says, 'Day is near,' thou wilt burn the place, crossto the Moldavian bank, and go whither I command thee."
"Thou hast spoken," answered David; "I will see with my eyes and hearwith my ears; I will stop messengers from the Little Falcon, and when Ihave taken letters from them I will send those letters through our manto thee. I will remain till I receive an order; and if the messengersays to me, 'It is night,' I will go out quietly; if he says, 'Day isnear,' I will burn the place, cross to the Moldavian bank, and gowhither the command directs."
Next morning the caravan, less by fifty horse, continued the journey.Pan Gorzenski escorted Basia beyond the ravine of Mohiloff. There,after he had stuttered forth a farewell oration, he returned toMohiloff, and they went on toward Yampol very hurriedly. Azya wasunusually joyful, and urged his men to a degree that astonished Basia.
"Why are you in such haste?" inquired she.
"Every man hastens to happiness," answered Azya, "and mine will beginin Rashkoff."
Eva, taking these words to herself, smiled tenderly, and collectingcourage, answered, "But my father?"
"Pan Novoveski will obstruct me in nothing," answered the Tartar, andgloomy lightning flashed through his face.
In Yampol they found almost no troops. There had never been anyinfantry there, and nearly all the cavalry had gone; barely a few menremained in the castle, or rather in the ruins of it. Lodgings wereprepared, but Basia slept badly, for those rumors had begun to disturbher. She pondered over this especially,--how alarmed the little knightwould be should it turn out that one of Doroshenko's chambuls hadadvanced really; but she strengthened herself with the thought that itmight be untrue. It occurred to her whether it would not be better toreturn, taking for safety a part of Azya's soldiers; but variousobstacles presented themselves. First, Azya, having to increase thegarrison at Rashkoff, could give only a small guard, hence, in case ofreal danger, that guard might prove insufficient; secondly, two thirdsof the road was passed already; in Rashkoff there was an officer knownto her, and a strong garrison, which, increased by Azya's detachmentand by the companies of those captains, might grow to a power quiteimportant. Taking all this into consideration, Basia determined tojourney farther.
But she could not sleep. For the first time during that journey alarmseized her, as if unknown danger were hanging over her head. Perhapslodging in Yampol had its share in those alarms, for that was a bloodyand a terrible place; Basia knew it from the narratives of her husbandand Pan Zagloba. Here had been stationed in Hmelnitski's time the mainforces of the Podolian cut-throats under Burlai; hither captives hadbeen brought and sold for the markets of the East, or killed by a crueldeath; finally, in the spring of 1651, during the time of a crowdedfair, Pan Stanislav Lantskoronski, the voevoda of Bratslav, had burstin and made a dreadful slaughter, the memory of which was freshthroughout the whole borderland of the Dniester.
Hence, there hung everywhere over the whole settlement bloody memories;hence, here and there were blackened ruins, and from the walls of thehalf-destroyed castle seemed to gaze white faces of slaughtered Polesand Cossacks. Basia was daring, but she feared ghosts; it was said thatin Yampol itself, at the mouth of the Shumilovka, and on theneighboring cataracts of the Dniester, great wailing was heard atmidnight and groans, and that the water became red in the moonlight asif colored with blood. The thought of this filled Basia's heart withbitter alarm. She listened, in spite of herself, to hear in the stillnight, in the sounds of the cataract, weeping and groans. She heardonly the prolonged "watch call" of the sentries. Then she rememberedthe quiet room in Hreptyoff, her husband, Pan Zagloba, the friendlyfaces of Pan Nyenashinyets, Mushalski, Motovidlo, Snitko, and others,and for the first time she felt that she was far from them, very far,in a strange region; and such a homesickness for Hreptyoff seized herthat she wanted to weep. It was near morning when she fell asleep, butshe had wonderful dreams. Burlai, the cut-throats, the Tartars, bloodypictures of massacre, passed through her sleeping head; and in thosepictures she saw continually the face of Azya,--not the same Azya,however, but as it were a Cossack, or a wild Tartar, or Tugai Beyhimself.
She rose early, glad that night and the disagreeable visionshad ended. She had determined to make the rest of the journey onhorseback,--first, to enjoy the movement; second, to give anopportunity for free speech to Azya and Eva, who, in view of thenearness of Rashkoff, needed, of course, to settle the way of declaringeverything to old Pan Novoveski, and to receive his consent. Azya heldthe stirrup with his own hand; he did not sit, however, in the sleighwith Eva, but went without delay to the head of the detachment, andremained near Basia.
She noticed at once that again the cavalry were fewer in number thanwhen they came to Yampol; she turned therefore to the young Tartar andsaid, "I see that you have left some men in Yampol?"
"Fifty horse, the same as in Mohiloff," answered Azya.
"Why was that?"
He laughed peculiarly; his lips rose as those of a wicked dog do whenhe shows his teeth, and he answered only after a while.
"I wished to have those places in my power, and to secure the homewardroad for your grace."
"If the troops return from the steppes, there will be forces therethen."
"The troops will not come back so soon."
"Whence do you know that?"
"They cannot, because first they must learn clearly what Doroshenko isdoing; that will occupy about three or four weeks."
"If that is the case you did well to leave those men."
They rode a while in silence. Azya looked from time to time at the rosyface of Basia, half concealed by the raised collar of her mantle andher cap, and after every glance he closed his eyes, as if wishing tofix that charming picture more firmly in his mind.
"You ought to talk with Eva," said Basia, renewing the conversation."You talk altogether too little with her; she knows not what to think.You will stand before the face of Pan Novoveski soon; alarm even seizesme. You and she should take counsel together, and settle how you are tobegin."
"I should like to speak first with your grace," said Azya, with astrange voice.
"Then why not speak at once?"
"I am waiting for a messenger from Rashkoff; I thought to find him inYampol. I expect him every moment."
"But what," said Basia, "has the messenger to do with ourconversation?"
"I think that he is coming now," said the Tartar, avoiding an answer.And he galloped forward, but returned after a while. "No; that is nothe."
In his whole posture, in his speech, in his look, in his voice, therewas something so excited and feverish that unquietude was communicatedto Basia; still the least suspicion had not risen in her head yet.Azya's unrest could be explained perfectly by the nearness of Rashkoffand of Eva's terrib
le father; still, something oppressed Basia, as ifher own fate were in question. Approaching the sleigh, she rode nearEva for a number of hours, speaking with her of Rashkoff, of old PanNovoveski, of Pan Adam, of Zosia Boski, finally of the region aboutthem, which was becoming a wilder and more terrible wilderness. It was,in truth, a wilderness immediately beyond Hreptyoff; but there at leasta column of smoke rose from time to time on the horizon, indicatingsome habitation. Here there were no traces of man; and if Basia had notknown that she was going to Rashkoff, where people were living, and aPolish garrison was stationed, she might have thought that they weretaking her somewhere into an unknown desert, into strange lands at theend of the world.
Looking around at the country, she restrained her horse involuntarily,and was soon left in the rear of the sleighs and horsemen. Azya joinedher after a while; and since he knew the region well, he began to showher various places, mentioning their names.
This did not last very long, however, for the earth began to be smoky;evidently the winter had not such power in that southern region as inwoody Hreptyoff. Snow was lying somewhat, it is true, in the valleys,on the cliffs, on the edges of the rocks, and also on the hillsidesturned northward; but in general the earth was not covered, and lookeddark with groves, or gleamed with damp withered grass. From that grassrose a light whitish fog, which, extending near the earth, formed inthe distance the counterfeit of great waters, filling the valleys andspreading widely over the plains; then that fog rose higher and higher,till at last it hid the sunshine, and turned a clear day into a foggyand gloomy one.
"There will be rain to-morrow," said Azya.
"If not to-day. How far is it to Rashkoff?"
Azya looked at the nearest place, barely visibly through the fog, andsaid,--
"From that point it is nearer to Rashkoff than to Yampol." And hebreathed deeply, as if a great weight had fallen from his breast.
At that moment the tramp of a horse was heard from the direction of thecavalry, and some horseman was seen indistinctly in the fog.
"Halim! I know him," cried Azya.
Indeed, it was Halim, who, when he had rushed up to Azya and Basia,sprang from his horse and began to beat with his forehead toward thestirrup of the young Tartar.
"From Rashkoff?" inquired Azya.
"From Rashkoff, my lord," answered Halim.
"What is to be heard there?"
The old man raised toward Basia his ugly head, emaciated fromunheard-of toils, as if wishing to inquire whether he might speak inher presence; but Tugai Bey's son said at once,--
"Speak boldly. Have the troops gone out?"
"They have. A handful remained."
"Who led them?"
"Pan Novoveski."
"Have the Pyotroviches gone to the Crimea?"
"Long ago. Only two women remained, and old Pan Novoveski with them."
"Where is Krychinski?"
"On the other bank of the river; he is waiting."
"Who is with him?"
"Adurovich with his company; both beat with the forehead to thystirrup, O son of Tugai Bey, and give themselves under thy hand,--they,and all those who have not come yet."
"'Tis well!" said Azya, with fire in his eyes. "Fly to Krychinski atonce, and give the command to occupy Rashkoff."
"Thy will, lord."
Halim sprang on his horse in a moment, and vanished like a phantom inthe fog. A terrible, ominous gleam issued from the face of Azya. Thedecisive moment had come,--the moment waited for, the moment ofgreatest happiness for him; but his heart was beating as if breath werefailing him. He rode for a time in silence near Basia; and only when hefelt that his voice would not deceive him did he turn toward her hiseyes, inscrutable but bright, and say,--
"Now I will speak to your grace with sincerity."
"I listen," said Basia, scanning him carefully, as if she wished toread his changed countenance.