Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/635

 Rh compassion, and horror. At last, when Zbyshko had finished, he said,—

"I will tell this to our lord the king. He has in every case to make claim of the Master on behalf of little Yasko of Kretkov, and obtain the stern punishment of those who seized the boy; and they seized him to get a rich ransom. For them it is nothing to raise hands on children."

Here he was thoughtful for a while, then he spoke on as if in soliloquy,—

"An insatiable race, worse than Turks and Tartars. In their souls they dread the king and us; still they cannot hold back from robbery and murder. They attack villages, slaughter land-tillers, drown fishermen; they seize children as wolves might. What would they do did they not fear us? The Grand Master sends letters against our king to foreign courts, but fawns before his eyes like a dog, for he knows our strength better than others do. But at last he has overfilled the measure."

Again he was silent for a moment, then he laid his hand on Zbyshko' s arm.

"I will tell the king," repeated he; "this long time wrath is boiling in him, like water in a pot, and be sure of this, that dreadful punishment will not miss the authors of thy suffering."

"O lord," replied Zbyshko, "not one of them is alive now." Povala gazed at him with great well-wishing friendliness.

"God give thee aid! It is clear that thou dost not forget injustice. Lichtenstein is the only man whom thou hast not repaid, for I know that thou hast not had the chance yet. We also made a vow against him in Cracow; but to fulfil this vow there must be war—God grant us to see it!—Lichtenstein could not fight a duel without the Grand Master's permission, and the Master needs Lichtenstein's wit, therefore he sends him continually to various courts; he will not give him permission easily."

"First, I must ransom my uncle."

"Yes, true; and I have inquired about Lichtenstein. He is not here, and will not be in Ratsiondz; he has been sent to the King of England for archers. But let not thy head ache over thy uncle. If the king or the princes here say a word, the Grand Master will not permit evasion touching the ransom."

"All the more, as I have a considerable captive who is a rich man and famous among them. He would be glad surely