Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/140

116 Besides, terrible things were related of Spyhov. It was said that through sticky swamps in the midst of deep quagmires overgrown with duck plant and water snake-weed, a road led to it which was so narrow that two horsemen could not ride abreast there; that on both sides of this road were lying German bones; that in the night-time the heads of drowned people walked along on spider legs, groaning, howling, and dragging down to the depths passers-by with their horses.

It was repeated that at the castle itself stood a picket fence adorned with human skulls. In all this the only truth was that in barred cellars, dug under the house in Spyhov, groaned always some prisoners, or some tens of them, and that the name of Yurand was more terrible than the inventions about skeletons, and ghosts of drowned people.

Zbyshko, when he learned of Yurand's coming, hastened straightway to meet him, but as he was going to Danusia's father there was in his heart a certain fear. He had chosen Danusia as the lady of his thoughts and made a vow to her; no one could forbid that, but later the princess had caused the betrothal. What would Yurand say of that act? Would he consent, or would he not? What would happen were he, as Danusia's father, to shout and say that he would never permit such a thing? These questions pierced Zbyshko's soul with dread, since he cared more for Danusia than for all else on earth. This thought alone gave him solace, that Yurand would consider his attack on Lichtenstein a service, not a drawback, for he had made it to take revenge for Danusia's mother, and had thereby lacked little of losing his own head.

Meanwhile he fell to inquiring of the courtier who had come to Amyley's for him.

"And whither are you taking me? To the castle?"

"To the castle. Yurand has stopped with the court of the princess."

"Tell me, what kind of man is he?—that I may know how to talk with him."

"What shall I tell you? He is a man entirely different from others. They say that once he was gladsome, till the blood boiled in his liver."

"Is he wise?"

"He is cunning, for he plunders others, and does not give himself up. Hei! he has one eye,—the Germans shot out the other with a crossbow,—but with that one he looks right