Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/66

42 God in His mercy had sent him such a German as he had prayed for in Tynets; that he ought to take advantage of God's favor. Hence, without hesitating an instant, before all this had flashed through his head, before he had time to recover from his astonishment, he bent in the saddle, lowered his lance half the distance to his horse's ear, and giving his family watchword "Hail! hail!" rushed against the Knight of the Cross as fast as his horse could spring.

The knight was astonished also; he reined in his steed and without lowering the lance which was standing in his stirrup, looked forward, uncertain whether the attack was on him.

"Lower your lance!" shouted Zbyshko, striking the iron points of his stirrups into the flanks of his stallion. "Hail! hail!"

The distance between them was decreasing. The Knight, seeing that the attack was really against him, reined in his steed, presented his weapon, and Zbyshko's lance was just about to strike his breast when that instant some mighty hand broke it right near the part which Zbyshko held, as if it had been a dried reed; then that same hand pulled back the reins of the young man's stallion with such force that the beast buried his forefeet in the earth and stood as if fixed there.

"Madman, what art thou doing?" called a deep, threatening voice. "Thou art attacking an envoy, insulting the king!"

Zbyshko looked and recognized that same gigantic man who, mistaken for Valger, had frightened a while before Princess Anna's court ladies.

"Let me go against the German! Who art thou?" cried he, grasping at the handle of his axe.

"Away with the axe! by the dear God! Away with the axe, I say, or I will whirl thee from the horse!" cried the unknown, still more threateningly. "Thou hast insulted the majesty of the king, thou wilt be tried."

Then he turned to the people who were following the knight and shouted,—

"Come hither!"

Meanwhile Matsko had ridden up with an alarmed and ominous face. He understood clearly that Zbyshko had acted like a madman, and that deadly results might come of the affair; still, he was ready for battle. The entire retinue of the unknown knight and of the Knight of the Cross were barely fifteen persons, armed some with darts and some with