Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/82

58 So spoke the knights, and Zbyshko wondered why the desire had not come to him earlier of going into the wild steppes with Vitold. During his stay in Vilno he had wished to see Cracow, the court, take part in knightly tournaments, but now he thought that here he might find condemnation and infamy, while there, at the worst, he would find a death full of glory. But Kazko of Yaglov, a hundred years old, whose neck was trembling from age, and who had a mind answering to his age, cast cold water on the willingness of the knighthood.

"Ye are foolish," said he. "Has no one of you heard that the image of Christ has spoken to the queen? And if the Saviour himself admits her to such confidence, why should the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Trinity, be less gracious. For this reason she sees future things, as if they were happening in her presence, and she said this—"

Here he stopped, shook his head for a moment, and then continued,—

"I have forgotten what she did say, but I will recall it directly."

And he began to think; they waited with attention, for the opinion was universal that the queen saw future events.

"Aha! I have it!" said he at last. "The queen said that if all the knighthood of this country should go with Prince Vitold against the Limper, pagan power might be crushed. But that cannot be, because of the dishonesty of Christians. It is necessary to guard our boundaries against Chehs, and Hungarians, and against the Knights of the Cross, for it is not possible to trust any one. And if only a handful of Poles go with Vitold, Timur will finish them, or his voevodas will, for they command countless legions."

"But there is peace at present," said Toporchyk, "and the Order itself will give some aid, perhaps, to Vitold. The Knights of the Cross cannot act otherwise, even for shame's sake; they must show the holy father that they are ready to fight against pagans. People say at court that Kuno Lichteustein is here not only for the christening, but also to counsel with the king."

"Ah, hero he is!" exclaimed Matsko, with astonishment.

"True! " said Povala, looking around. "As God lives, it is he! He stayed a short time with the abbot; he must have left Tynets before daybreak."

"He was in haste for some reason," said Matsko, gloomily.

Meanwhile Kuno Lichtenstein passed near them. Matsko