Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/386

362 Siegfried meditated a while.

"You, noble Count de Bergov," said he at last, "go to the Grand Master at Malborg. You have groaned as a captive in Yurand's castle, and are a guest of the Order; being a guest, hence not obliged absolutely to speak in favor of the brothers, men will believe you all the more. Tell what you have seen. Say that Danveld captured a certain maiden from bandits on the boundary, and thinking her the daughter of Yurand, informed Yurand, who came to Schytno,—and what happened later you yourself know."

"Consider, pious comtur," said De Bergov, "I have suffered sore captivity at Spyhov, and as your guest I should be glad to testify at all times in your favor; but tell me, to satisfy my conscience, was not Yurand's daughter really in Schytno, and did not Danveld's treachery bring her dreadful father to that madness?"

Siegfried halted with the answer. In his nature lay profound hatred of the Poles, and also cruelty, in which he exceeded even Danveld, and rapacity whenever the Order was in question; and in it were pride and also greed, but falsehood was not there. Hence the great bitterness of his life and its deepest sorrow was this, that in recent times all interests of the Order had arranged themselves in such fashion, through self-will, disobedience, and debauchery, that falsehood had become a common weapon, and one of the most effective in the business of the Order. Therefore De Bergov's question touched the most painful side in his soul, and only after a long period of silence did he answer,—

"Danveld is standing before God, and God is judging him. If they ask you for opinions, tell what you please; if they ask what your eyes have seen, tell them that before we entangled the raging man in a net you saw nine corpses on the floor, besides the wounded, and among them those of Danveld, Brother Gottfried, Von Bracht, an Englishman, and two noble youths—God grant eternal rest to them. Amen!"

"Amen! Amen!" said the novices.

"And say also," added Siegfried, "that, though Danveld desired to quell the enemy of the Order, no one here drew the sword first on Yurand."

"I will only tell what my eyes have seen," replied De Bergov.

"Before midnight you will be in the chapel, where we also shall be, to pray for the souls of the departed," said