Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/173

Rh "The two will come here: one, young Vilk, son of old Vilk of Brozova; the other, Stan of Rogov. If they should find thee here they would grit their teeth at thee as they do at each other."

"Oh!" exclaimed Zbyshko.

Then he turned to Yagenka, and saying "thou" to her according to Zyh's command, he inquired,—

"Which one dost thou prefer?"

"Neither."

"But Vilk is strong!" remarked Zyh.

"Let him howl in some other direction!" retorted Yagenka.

"And Stan?"

Yagenka laughed.

"Stan," said she, turning to Zbyshko, "has as much hair on his face as a goat, his eyes are covered; and there is as much fat on him as on a bear."

Zbyshko struck his head as if remembering something on a sudden, and said,—

"But if ye would be so kind I should beg of you; have ye not bear's fat in the house? My uncle needs it for medicine, and in our house I have not been able to find any."

"We had some," said Yagenka, "but the men took it to rub on their bows, and the dogs ate what was left."

"Was none left?"

"They licked it up clean."

"There is no way but to look for fat in the woods."

"Call a hunt; there is no lack of bears, and shouldst thou need hunter's gear we will give it."

"How can I wait? I will go for a night to the bee nests."

"Take about five assistants. There are good fellows among them."

"I will not go with a crowd; they would frighten the beast away."

"How then? Wilt thou go with a crossbow?"

"What should I do with a crossbow in the dark in a forest. Besides, the moon does not shine at present. I will take a barbed fork, with a good axe, and go alone to-morrow."

Yagenka was silent for a while, then alarm was evident on her face.

"Last year," said she, "Bezduh, a hunter, went from here, and a bear tore him to pieces. It is always most dangerous, for when the bear sees a lone man in the night,