The man who had spoken to Charlie drew the long knife from the back
of the Jew, wiped it on the grass, and handed it to him.
"That ought to be your property," he said. "It has done you good
service."
Not sorry to have a weapon in addition to his cudgel, Charlie
placed it in his belt, and then started with the bandits. He would
not have cared to face the charcoal burner alone; but now that the
band regarded him as enrolled among their number, he felt no
uneasiness respecting him.
When they issued from the trees, the Jew was seen standing at the
door of the hut. He at once ran in on seeing them, and came out
again, accompanied by the charcoal burner, who carried his axe on
his shoulder. The Jew started, on catching sight of Charlie among
the ranks of the brigands, and said a word or two to his companion.
"Well, Master Charcoal Burner," the leader of the party said, "how
is it that honest woodmen consort with rogues of the town?"
"I don't know that they do so, willingly," the man said gruffly.
"But some of us, to our cost, have put our heads into nooses, and
the rogues of the town have got hold of the other end of the ropes,
and we must just walk as we are told to."
"Well, that is true enough," the brigand said.
"And you, Jew, what are you doing here?"
"I am like Conrad," he replied, sulkily. "It is not only countrymen
who have their necks in a noose, and I have to do what I am
ordered."
"By a bigger rogue than yourself?"
"That is so; bigger and cleverer."
"You are expecting him here now, our new comrade tells us. Well,
you need expect him no longer. He will not come. If you will go
along the path, you will come upon his body, and may bury him if
you like to take the trouble."
An exclamation of satisfaction broke from the two men.
"You have done us a service, indeed," the charcoal burner said. "We
had thought to do it for ourselves, this morning, for after the
escape of him you call your new comrade, he would have shown us no
mercy."
"You may thank our new comrade, and not us," the brigand said. "We
only arrived on the spot when it was all over."
The Jew looked at Charlie in astonishment.
"What! Did he kill Ben Soloman?"
"That did he; or rather, the Jew killed himself. There was a
grapple hand to hand, and a wrestle. The Jew fell undermost, and
was pierced with his own knife."
"But the lad is but just out of a sickbed, and has no strength for
a struggle, and Ben Soloman, though past middle life, was strong
and active."
"Neither strong enough nor active enough," the man laughed. "You
have been nicely taken in. Who would have thought that two Jews and
a Pole would have been cheated by an English lad? His face shows
that he has been ill, and doubtless he has not yet recovered his
full strength, but he was strong enough, anyhow, to overthrow Ben
Soloman.
"Now, what have you in the hut? We are in need of provisions."
The hut was ransacked; the flour, two bottles of spirits, and a
skin of wine seized, and the meat cut up and roasted over the fire.
After the meal was eaten, the captain called upon Charlie to tell
his story more fully, and this he did, with the aid of the man who
spoke Swedish; starting, however, only at the point when he was
attacked in the street, as he felt it better to remain silent as to
his connection with the Swedish army.
"But what was the cause of Ben Soloman's hostility to you?"
"There are some in Warsaw who are of opinion that Augustus of
Saxony has done much harm to Poland, in engaging without cause in
the war against Charles of Sweden, and who think that it would be
well that he should be dethroned, and some other prince made king
in his place. To this party many of the traders belong, and the Jew
had reason to think that I was acquainted with the design, and
could give the names of those concerned in it. There was really no
plot against Augustus, but it was only intended that a popular
demonstration against his rule should be made. But Soloman wanted
me to give evidence that there was a conspiracy against the king's
life, so that he might gain great credit by exposing it, and might
at the same time rid himself of many of his rivals in the trade."
"He was an artful fox," the leader of the brigands said, when this
had been translated to him. "But where is the Jew he put over you?"
Three or four of the men sprang to their feet and ran out, but the
Jew was nowhere to be seen. The captain was furious, and abused his
men right and left, while his anger was in no way mitigated when
one of them told him that, if he had wanted the Jew kept, he should
have given one of them orders to look after him. This was so
evident that the chief was silenced for a moment.
"How long is it since any of you saw him last?"
"He went round with the wineskin, and filled our cups just as we
sat down to breakfast," one of the men said. "I have not noticed
him since."
Nor had any of the others.
"Then it will be no use to pursue. He has had more than half an
hour's start, and long before this he will have mounted Ben
Soloman's horse, and have ridden off.
"Well, comrade," he said, turning to Charlie, "this settles your
movements. I was but half in earnest before as to your joining us;
but it is clear now that there's nothing else for you to do, for
the present. This fellow will, directly he gets to Warsaw, denounce
you as the murderer of his master. That he is sure to do to avert
suspicion from himself, and, if you were to return there, it would
go hard with you. So, for a time, you must throw in your lot with
us."
When this was translated to Charlie, he saw at once the force of
the argument. He could not have denied that the Jew had fallen in a
hand-to-hand struggle with himself, and, were he to appear in
Warsaw, he might be killed by the co-religionists of Ben Soloman;
or, if he escaped this, might lie in a dungeon for months awaiting
his trial, and perhaps be finally executed. There was nothing for
him now but to rejoin the Swedes, and it would be some time, yet,
before he would be sufficiently recovered to undertake such a
journey.
"I should not mind, if I could send a letter to Allan Ramsay, to
tell him what has befallen me. He will be thinking I am dead, and
will, at any rate, be in great anxiety about me."
"I have taken a liking to you, young fellow," the leader said, "and
will send in one of my men to Warsaw with a letter; that is, if you
can write one."
"Yes, I can write. Fortunately there are paper, pen, and an ink
horn on that shelf. Ben Soloman brought them the last time he came,
to write down the lies he wanted me to testify to. I am greatly
obliged to you, and will do it at once."
As he had, only the day before he was attacked, sent off a
messenger to Count Piper, telling him all he had done the previous
week, there was no occasion to repeat this, and he had only to give
an account of his capture, and the events that had since occurred.
"You see," he said, "I cannot return to Warsaw. The Jew who was
here unfortunately heard that it was in a struggle with me Ben
Soloman was killed, and he will, of course, denounce me as his
murderer, though the deed was done in fair fight. I should have all
his tribe against me, and might be imprisoned for months awaiting
trial. I am still very weak, and could not attempt the journey to
the frontier. I am, however, gaining strength, and, as soon as I am
quite recovered, I shall take the first opportunity of leaving the
men I am with, and making for the Swedish camp. Please forward this
news by a sure hand to Count Piper, and express my sorrow that my
mission has not been completed, although, indeed, I do not think
that my further stay at Warsaw would have been any great service,
for it is clear that the great majority of the traders will not
move in the matter until the Swedes advance, and, from their point
of view, it is not to their interest to do so.
"I know but little of the men I am with at present, beyond the fact
that they are bandits, nor can I say whether they are disbanded
soldiers, or criminals who have escaped from justice; but at any
rate they show me no ill will. I have no doubt I shall be able to
get on fairly with them, until I am able to make my escape. I wish
I had poor Stanislas with me. Only one of the men here speaks
Swedish, and he does not know very much of the language. I cannot
say, at present, whether the twenty men here are the whole of the
band, or whether they are only a portion of it. Nor do I know
whether the men subsist by plundering the peasants, or venture on
more serious crimes. Thanking you for your great kindness during my
stay at Warsaw, I remain, yours gratefully--
"Charlie Carstairs."
While he was occupied in writing this letter, an animated
conversation was going on between the bandits. Charlie gathered
that this related to their future operations, but more than this he
could not learn. In a postscript to the letter, he requested Allan
Ramsay to hand over to the bearer some of the clothes left in his
lodgings, and to pay him for his trouble.
"As to the money I left in your hands, I do not think it worth
while for you to send it. However much these men may consider me a
comrade, I have not sufficient faith in their honesty to believe
that money would reach me safely; but, if you send me a suit of
clothes, two or three gold pieces might be wrapped up in a piece of
cloth and shoved into the toe of a shoe. The parcel must be a small
one, or there would be little chance of the man carrying it far. I
will ask him, however, to bring me a sword, if you will buy one for
me, and my pistols."
He folded up the letter and gave it to the captain. There was no
means of fastening it, but this mattered little, because, being
written in English, there was no chance of its being read. The
captain handed it to one of the men, with instructions for its
delivery. The messenger started at once. The others, after
remaining a short time in the hut, set out through the forest.
After an hour's walking, Charlie was unable to go further. The
captain, seeing this, ordered four of the men to stop with him, and
to follow the next morning. As soon as he had gone on with the rest
of the band, the men set about collecting sticks and making a fire.
Charlie, who was utterly exhausted, threw himself on the ground,
and was not long before he fell sound asleep.
When he awoke, the shades of evening were already falling, and the
men were sitting over the fire, roasting a portion of a goat, one
of a flock they had fallen in with in the wood, where large numbers
roamed about in a semi-wild state.
The man who could speak Swedish was one of those who had remained
with him, and, from him, he learnt that the present headquarters of
the band were some six miles farther away. This distance was
performed next morning, frequent halts being made to enable him to
sit down and rest; and it was not till five hours after the start
that they arrived.
Overgrown as it now was, with trees and undergrowth, he could see
that a village once stood there. It must, however, have been
abandoned a very long time, as trees of considerable size grew
among the low walls and piles of stones that marked where cottages
had stood. The place occupied by the brigands had, in former times,
been a castellated building of some strength, standing on a knoll
in the middle of the village, which had probably been inhabited by
the retainers of its owner. Part of the wall had fallen, but a
large arched room, that had doubtless been the banqueting hall of
the castle, remained almost intact, and here the brigands had
established themselves. Several fires burned on the flagged floors,
the smoke finding its way out through holes and crevices in the
roof. Some fifty men were gathered round these, and were occupied
in cooking their midday meal.
"I am glad to see that you have arrived," the captain said, coming
across to Charlie. "I expected you two hours ago, and intended, as
soon as we had finished our meal, to send out another four men to
meet you and help to carry you in."
"Thank you," Charlie said. "It is not the men's fault we are late,
but the last part of the way we came on very slowly. I was getting
so exhausted that I had to stop every few hundred yards."
"Well, you had better eat something, and then lie down for a sleep.
Meat is plentiful with us, for there are thousands of goats in the
forest, and occasionally we get a deer or wild boar. If we had but
bread and wine we should live like nobles. Our supplies, however,
are low at present, and we shall have to make an expedition,
tomorrow or next day, to replenish them."
Charlie ate a few mouthfuls of meat, and then lay down and slept,
for some hours, on a bed of leaves. He was awoke by loud and
excited talking among the men, and learnt from Honred that one of
the men, who had been left on watch at the mouth of the path by
which he had entered the forest, had just brought in the news that
a party of a hundred infantry, led by the Jew, had arrived with a
cart. In this the body of Ben Soloman had been sent off, while the
troops had established themselves in the little clearing round the
hut.
"This comes of letting that Jew escape," the captain said. "No
doubt he told the story his own way, and the Jewish traders went to
the governor and asked that troops should be sent to root us out.
Well, they are far enough away at present, and I have sent off to
have their movements watched. It is a good nine miles, from here to
the hut, and they may look for a week before they find this place,
unless that rascally Jew has heard of it from the woodman, or they
get hold of the fellow himself, though I should think they will
hardly do that. I fancy he has some cause of quarrel with the
authorities, and will not put himself in the way of being
questioned closely, if he can help it."
The next morning when Charlie awoke, two men were standing beside
him. His eyes first fell on the one who had been to the town, and
who held a large bundle in his hand. Then he turned his eyes to the
other, and gave an exclamation of pleasure, as he saw that it was
Stanislas. He looked pale and weak, and was evidently just
recovering from a severe illness.
"Why, Stanislas!" he exclaimed. "This is a pleasure, indeed. I
never for a moment dreamt of seeing you. I heard from the Jew who
guarded me that you got away, but I was afraid that you had been
badly wounded. Why, my brave fellow, what brings you here?"
"I have come to be with your honour," the man said. "It was, of
course, my duty to be by your side. I was very ill for a week, for
I had half a dozen wounds, but I managed, after the assailants left
me, to crawl back to Mr. Ramsay's to tell him what had happened. I
don't remember much about the next few days. Since then I have been
mending rapidly. None of the wounds were very serious, and it was
more loss of blood, than anything else, that ailed me. Mr. Ramsay
searched high and low for you, and we had all given you up for
dead, till a few hours before this man arrived with your letter.
"We heard you had killed Ben Soloman. I had a long talk with your
messenger, who received a handsome present from Mr. Ramsay, and he
agreed to conduct me here, upon my solemn promise that, if the
captain would not receive me, I would not give any information, on
my return, as to the whereabouts of the band. Mr. Ramsay hired a
light cart, and that brought us yesterday far into the forest. We
camped there, and I had not more than a couple of miles to walk to
get here this morning."
"Have you seen the captain?" Charlie asked eagerly.
"Yes. I was stopped by some sentries, a quarter of a mile away, and
was kept there while my guide came on and got permission of the
captain for me to be brought in. When I met him, I had no great
difficulty in persuading him to let me stop, for Mr. Ramsay had
given me fifty rix-dollars to give him; and so, your honour, here I
am, and here is a letter from Mr. Ramsay himself."
"I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you, Stanislas. I am
getting better, but I am so weak that I took five hours, yesterday,
to get six miles. Now I have got you to talk to, I shall pick up
strength faster than I have been doing, for it has been very dull
work having no one who could understand me. There is only one man
here who understands a word of Swedish."
"We will soon get you round, sir, never fear. I have brought with
me four casks of wine. They were left at the place where the cart
stopped last night, but the captain has sent off men already to
bring them in. You will be all the better for a suit of clean
clothes."
"That I shall. It is a month now since I had a change, and my
jerkin is all stained with blood. I want a wash more than anything;
for there was no water near the hut, and the charcoal burner used
to bring in a small keg from a spring he passed on his way to his
work. That was enough for drinking, but not enough for washing--a
matter which never seemed to have entered into his head, or that of
the Jew, as being in the slightest degree necessary."
"There is a well just outside," Stanislas said. "I saw them drawing
water in buckets as we came in. I suppose it was the well of this
castle, in the old time."
"I will go and have a wash, and change my clothes the first thing,"
Charlie said. "Mr. Ramsay's letter will keep till after that."
They went out to the well together.
"So you heard the story, that I had killed Ben Soloman, before you
left?"
"Yes; before your letter arrived, Mr. Ramsay sent for me, and told
me a Jewish trader had just informed him that news had come that
Ben Soloman had been murdered, and the deed had been done by the
young Scotchman who had been with him. Mr. Ramsay did not believe
the story in the slightest. He admitted that Ben Soloman might have
been murdered, and even said frankly that, hated as he was, it was
the most natural end for him to come to; but that you should have
done so was, he said, absurd. In the first place, he did not think
that you were alive; and in the second, it was far more probable
that you had been murdered by Ben Soloman, than that he should have
been murdered by you.
"However, even before your letter came, three or four hours later,
there seemed no longer any doubt that you had killed the Jew. By
that time, there was quite an uproar among his people. He was the
leader of their community, and had dealings with so many nobles
that his influence was great; and, although he was little liked, he
was regarded as an important person, and his loss was a very heavy
one to the Jewish community. A deputation went to the governor, and
we heard that troops would be at once sent out to capture you, and
the band of brigands you had joined. Mr. Ramsay told me that it was
fortunate, indeed, that you had not returned to the city. But, no
doubt, he has told you all that in the letter."
"I feel quite another man, Stanislas," Charlie said, when he had
changed his garments. "Now I can read the letter you brought me."
After expressing the great satisfaction he felt, at the news that
Charlie was alive, Mr. Ramsay went on to say that, even were he
well, he could not return to Warsaw in the present state of public
feeling.
"Your story that you were attacked, grievously wounded, and, after
being confined here for some days, carried away and confined in the
wood, by order of Ben Soloman, and that he visited you there, would
be treated with derision. The version given by the man who brought
in the story of the Jew's death was that he himself was staying in
the cottage of a charcoal burner, an acquaintance of his, and that
a party of brigands, of whom you were one, arrived there, and that
they were boasting of having caused the death of Ben Soloman, who
had fallen by your hand. He managed to escape from the brigands,
and on the road found the dead body of his employer, who was, he
knew, that morning coming out to give him some instructions. My
opinion, and that of my friends who knew you, was that the fellow
had himself killed and robbed his master; but your letter, of
course, showed that his account was true to some extent--that Ben
Soloman had fallen in a struggle with you, and that you yourself
were a prisoner in the hands of these bandits. Still, as it would
be next to impossible for you to prove the truth of your story, and
as the Jews of the place, who are numerous and influential, are
dead against you, your life would certainly be forfeited were you
to be captured.
"I know your story to be true, but it would appear wildly
improbable, to others, that this wealthy Jew should have conspired,
in the first place, to cause an attack to be made upon an unknown
young stranger, still less that he should have had him carried off
to the forest, and should have gone to visit him there. The
explanation that you were a Swedish officer in disguise would not
benefit you in any way, while it would involve us who knew you in
your danger, and would cause the Jew to be regarded as a man who
had lost his life in endeavouring to unmask a plot against Poland.
Therefore, I think it is extremely fortunate that you are, for the
present, safe in the hands of these brigands, and should certainly
advise you to make no attempt to leave them, until you are
perfectly well and strong.
"I have, as you directed me, hidden a few pieces of gold in your
shoe, and have handed the rest of your money to your man, who is
starting to join you. He will conceal it about him. I have just
heard that a body of troops are starting at once for the forest,
and that orders have been sent to other towns, to send detachments
into it at different points, so it is evident the authorities are
determined to catch you, if possible. If you had killed half a
dozen traders in a smaller way, they would have cared little about
it; but just at present, pressed as the king is by want of money,
he is bound to do everything he can to please the Jewish traders,
as it is upon them that he must rely for loans for the payment of
his troops.
"In this matter, then, he will leave no stone unturned to gratify
them, and I should strongly advise your band to move away from the
neighbourhood, at any rate for a time. They may plunder whole
villages with impunity, but what is regarded as the murder of the
richest citizen of Warsaw, a man mixed up in business and politics
with half the principal nobles of the land, is a different matter
altogether. Do not think of trying to traverse the country until
you are perfectly strong. It will be a dangerous business at the
best, but with your man with you, to bear the brunt of replying to
questions, I have every confidence that you will succeed in making
your way through. As to this, I can give no advice, as there is no
saying as to the point from which you may start, or the directions
in which you may travel.
"Should you, at any time, find yourself in a town in which there
are any of my countrymen established in trade, and you will find
them nearly everywhere, use my name. I think it is pretty generally
known to Scotchmen in Poland. You will see I have inclosed a note
that will be useful to you."
The inclosure contained only a few words:
"I, Allan Ramsay, merchant of Warsaw, do declare the bearer of this
note to be my friend, and beg any countrymen of mine, to whom he
may present himself, to assist him in every way, and, should he
require money, to furnish him with it, I undertaking to make myself
responsible for the same, and to pay all monies and other charges
that he may incur."
"The first thing to do," Charlie said, as he placed the letters in
his doublet, "is to let the leader of our band know that other
bodies of troops, besides that at the hut, are about to enter the
forest. He may decide that it is necessary to march away at once."
As soon, indeed, as the outlaw received the tidings, he issued
orders for the band to prepare for instant departure.
"A party of five or six men together," he said to Charlie, "might
hide in this forest for years. But a band of fifty is too large to
be long concealed. To begin with, they must get food, and must
either buy it or hunt for it; and in the second, there are a
considerable number of men living in the forest, charcoal burners
and herders of goats and swine, and any of these, if questioned by
the troops, might mention that they had seen a considerable number
of men passing. As it is, we will break up into parties of seven or
eight, and appoint a rendezvous where we may meet again."
The band was speedily mustered, for, with the exception of those
who were watching the forest through which the troops at the hut
must march to reach them, the whole were close at hand. A messenger
was sent off to call in the scouts. Then the booty that had been
taken during their late excursions was brought out, and emptied on
the ground. It consisted of money and jewellery. It was divided
into equal portions, of which each member took one, the lieutenants
of the band two, and the captain three.
"You don't share this time," the latter said to Charlie; "but next
time, of course, you and your comrade will each have your portion."
When this was done, the men were told off in parties of six or
seven, and instructions given as to the point of rendezvous. Each
band chose its own leader, and, in an hour from the reception of
the news, the place was deserted, and the parties were making their
way in different directions through the forest.
Charlie and Stanislas formed part of the captain's own force, which
numbered ten in all.
"Do you think they will all turn up at the meeting place?" Charlie
asked the leader, whose name he now ascertained was Ladislas
Koffski.
"They may," he said. "But it is seldom that bands, when they once
disperse like this, ever come together again. It is impossible to
content everyone, and any man who is chosen leader of a party may,
if he is dissatisfied, persuade those with him to join some other
band. Even if they do not go in a body, many are sure to break off
and make for their homes, to enjoy the booty they have gathered.
"But, upon the other hand, as we go we shall gather up fresh
recruits. With so many disbanded soldiers and discontented men
roaming the country, there is no difficulty in getting as many men
as one cares to keep together.
"Fifty is the outside that is advisable, for with more, even if one
makes a good haul, it comes to so little, a head, that the men are
dissatisfied. Of course they work in small parties, but this does
not succeed so well as when a small band are under a single
leader."
"How long have you been at this work?"
"Since last autumn."
"And you find it pay?"
"We do not get much in money. As you saw, there were but four rix
dollars a head, and that is the result of a month's work. Still,
that is not bad for men who might otherwise starve. Sometimes we do
worse and sometimes better, but that is about the average. Still,
the life is a pleasant one, and unless we disbanded soldiers took
to it, what would there be for us to do? If government would keep
us on regular pay, there would soon be no brigands left, except the
men who have escaped from justice. But the treasury is empty, and,
even at the best of times, the troops are badly and irregularly
paid, and are forced to plunder to keep life together. They are
almost in rags, and though we Poles do not mind fighting, there is
generally a difficulty in getting sufficient infantry. As for the
cavalry, they are nobles, and draw no pay.
"How do you feel today?"
"Better. The night's rest, and a wash and change of clothes this
morning, have made me feel another man. How far do you intend to
march?"
"We shall go slowly for a day or two. The other parties have all
pushed on ahead fast, but by taking matters quietly, and by keeping
a sharp lookout, we need have no great fear of being surprised. I
know the forest well, and its thickest hiding places, so we can
afford to travel slowly, and as you become accustomed to it you
will be able to make longer journeys."
For ten days they travelled through the forest, increasing their
distance daily, as Charlie regained his strength. The last day or
two they did not make less than twenty miles a day. Their faces
were turned steadily east. Occasionally they passed large tracts of
cleared land, villages, and cultivated fields. At some of these
they stopped and replenished their stock of flour, which they took
without paying for it, but did no farther damage.
Of meat they had abundance. Two or three men started each day as
soon as they halted, and, in a short time, returned with a goat or
young pig.
"We are now close to the Bug River," Ladislas said at their last
halting place. "Tomorrow we shall meet some, at least, of our
comrades. I do not expect a great many, for we were pretty equally
divided as to the direction we should travel in. Practically, we
were safe from pursuit when we had gone fifteen miles, for the
forest there spreads out greatly, and those in search of us would
know that further pursuit would be useless. Many of my men did not
care about going farther, but all this part of the country has been
so harried, for the last two or three years, that we thought it
best to try altogether new ground. When we have crossed the Bug we
shall be beyond the forest, but there are great swamps and
morasses, and hills with patches of wood. Many streams take their
rise there, all meeting farther on, and forming the Dnieper. We
must keep north of that river, for to the south the country is
thinly populated, and we should have difficulty in maintaining
ourselves."
Charlie made no comment, but he was glad to hear that the band
intended to keep to the north of the Dnieper, for that river would
have formed a serious obstacle to his making his way to rejoin the
Swedes. The next day, they reached the bank of the Bug, and,
following the river down, came after an hour's walking upon a great
fire, round which fifteen men were stretched. These, as the
captain's party approached, rose to their feet with a shout of
welcome.
"That is better than I expected," Ladislas said, as they came up to
them. "Five and twenty is quite enough for work here. In the
forests one can do with more, but, moving steadily on, as we mean
to do, till we get pretty near the eastern frontier, five and
twenty is ample. It is enough, when together, to surprise a
village; and it is not too many, travelling in twos and threes, to
attract attention. Things always go on better, too, after a
dispersal. Many who are discontented, or who want to command a band
of their own, break off, and one starts fresh, with just the men
one likes best to keep."
"We had begun to give you up, captain," one of the men said, as he
joined the other party. "We have been here six days."
"We travelled but slowly, at first, and it is only the last two
days we have really made fair journeys; but there was no reason for
any great haste. The world is all our own, and, at any rate, as
long as we were in the forest, there was no fear of wanting food.
"So I see some of our comrades have left us."
"We can do very well without them, captain. There were thirty of us
here two days ago. Essos and Polinski quarrelled, and Essos was
killed. Then Polinski wanted us to elect him captain, and to move
away at once. Four or five, who have always been grumblers, joined
him at once, and persuaded some of the others, till we were about
equally divided. It came pretty nearly to a fight; but neither
liked to begin, and they moved away."
"There are quite enough of us left," Ladislas said. "As to Essos
and Polinski, I am heartily glad that they have gone. I know they
have both been scheming for the leadership for some time. Most of
the others can be very well spared, too. There are plenty of us
here for travel. There is no doubt, as we agreed before starting,
that there is not much more to be done in this part of the country.
What with the civil wars, and the bands of soldiers without a
leader, and others like ourselves who do not mean to starve, the
peasants have been wrought up into a state of desperation. They
have little left to lose, but what they have got they are ready to
fight to the death for, and, lately, at the first alarm they have
sounded the bells and assembled for miles round, and, equipped with
scythes and flails, routed those who meddled with them. We had more
than one hot fight, and lost many good men. Besides, many of the
nobles who have suffered have turned out, with their followers, and
struck heavy blows at some of the bands; so that the sooner we get
out of this country, which is becoming a nest of hornets, the
better, for there is little booty and plenty of hard blows to be
got.
"We will go on, as we agreed, till near the eastern frontier. The
country is well covered with forest there, and we can sally out on
which side we like, for, if there is not much gold to be had in the
Russian villages, there is plenty of vodka, and sometimes things
worth taking in their churches. The priests and headmen, too, have
generally got a little store, which can be got at with the aid of a
few hot coals, or a string twisted tight enough round a thumb. At
any rate we sha'n't starve; but we must move on pretty fast, for we
shall have to get up a warm hut in the forest, and to lay in a
stock of provisions before the winter sets in. So we must only stop
to gather a little plunder when a good opportunity offers."