Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/545

Rh Zbyshko waited till they vanished beyond the next turn; then he went to the edge of the road quietly at the head of the heavy-armored men, among whom were Matsko, Hlava, the two nobles from Lenkavitsa, three young knights from Tsehanov, and some tens of the weightiest and best-armed nobles among the Jmud men. Further concealment was not greatly needed; hence Zbyshko intended, the moment that Germans appeared, to spring into the middle of the roadway, strike on them, and break their circle. Should that succeed and the general battle be turned into a series of duels, he might be sure that the Jmud men would master the Germans.

Again followed a moment of silence, interrupted only by the usual forest whisper. But soon there came to the ear of the warriors, from the eastern part of the roadway, the voices of people. Confused and rather distant, it changed by degrees into something more expressive and nearer.

Zbyshko at that moment led his detachment to the middle of the roadway and placed it there in wedge form. He stood himself at the head of it, having immediately behind him both Matsko and Hlava. In the next rank were three men, beyond them four others. They were all armed properly; lacking, it is true, the strong "wood" or lances of the knighthood,—those lances were a great hindrance in forest fighting,—but they held in their hands the short and for the first onset the easiest weapon, the Jmud spear, and had swords and axes at their saddles for battling in a throng of warriors.

Hlava put forward his ear anxiously, listened, and then whispered to Matsko,—

"Perdition take their mother! they are singing."

"But it is a wonder to me that the pine wood is closed before us and that we cannot see them from this place," replied Matsko.

To this, Zbyshko, who considered further concealment or even quiet talking as needless, turned and said,—

"That is because the road goes along the river and turns frequently. We shall see them all on a sudden; that will be better."

"Some one is singing a pleasant song!" put in Hlava.

In fact the Germans were singing a song far from religious; this was easy to discern from its note. After listening to it one discovered also that only a few tens of men were singing; and only one phrase was