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diff --git a/36904.txt b/36904.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b17b106 --- /dev/null +++ b/36904.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16935 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of For the Right, by Karl Emil Franzos + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: For the Right + +Author: Karl Emil Franzos + +Commentator: George MacDonald + +Translator: Julie Sutter + +Release Date: July 30, 2011 [EBook #36904] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR THE RIGHT *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive + + + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Page scan source: + http://www.archive.org/details/forright00suttgoog + + + + + + + FOR THE RIGHT + + + + + + + FOR THE RIGHT + + + + + BY + + KARL EMIL FRANZOS + + + + GIVEN IN ENGLISH + + By JULIE SUTTER + + + + + With a Preface + + By GEORGE MACDONALD, LLD. + + + + + NEW YORK + + HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE + + 1888 + + + + + PREFACE. + + +Not having even been asked to do so, I write this preface from +admiration of the book. The translation I have not yet seen, but +knowing previous work by the same hand, have confidence in it. + +How much the story is founded on fact I cannot tell; a substratum of +fact there must be. To know that such a man once lived as is +represented in it, might well wake a new feeling of both strength and +obligation: here is one who, with absolutely no help from what is +commonly meant by _education_, lived heroically. But be the tale as +much a product of the imagination as the wildest romance, it remains a +significant fact that the generation has produced a man capable of such +an ideal. + +For the more evident tendency of art has for some time been to an +infinite degeneracy. The cry of "Art for art's sake," as a protest +against the pursuit of art for the sake of money or fame, one can +recognize in its half wisdom, knowing the right cry to be, "Art for +truth's sake!" But when certain writers tell us that the true aim of +the author of fiction is to give the people what they want, namely, a +reflection, as in a mirror, of themselves--a mirror not such as will +show them to themselves as they are, but as they seem to each other, +some of us feel that we stand on the verge of an abyss of falsehood. +The people--in whose favour they seem to live and move and have their +being--desire, they say, no admixture of further object, nothing to +indicate they ought not to be what they are, or show them what they +ought to be: they acknowledge no relations with the ideal, only with +that which is--themselves, namely, and what they think and do. Such +writers do not understand that nothing does or can exist except the +ideal; nor is their art-philosophy other than "procuress to the lords +of hell." Whoever has an ideal and is making no struggle toward it, is +sinking into the outer darkness. The ideal is the end, and must be the +object of life. Attained, or but truly conceived, we must think of it +as the indispensable. + +It is, then, a great fact of the age that, such low ends being +advocated, and men everywhere insisting on a miserable origin and +miserable prospects for humanity, there should yet appear in it a man +with artistic conception of a lofty ideal, and such artistic expression +of the same as makes it to us not conceivable only, but humanly +credible. For an ideal that is impossible is no ideal; it is a fancy, +no imagination. Our author keeps his narrative entirely consistent with +human nature--not, indeed, human nature as degraded, disjointed, and +unworthy, neither human nature as ideally perfect, but human nature as +reaching after the perfection of doing the duty that is plainly +perceived. In none of its details is the story unlikely. We may doubt +if such a man as Taras ever lived; but alas for him who has no hope +that such a man will ever be! + +The reader must not suppose I would have everything the man did +regarded as _right_. On the contrary, the man becomes bitterly aware of +his errors--errors of knowledge, however, of judgment and of belief, be +it understood--not of conduct as required by that belief, knowledge, +and judgment. His head is at a loss rather than in fault; heart and +will are pure. A good man may do the most mistaken things with such +conviction of their rectitude as to be even bound to do them. How far +he might be to blame for not knowing or judging better, God only could +tell. If he could not have known better or judged better, he may have +to bear some of the consequences of his mistakes, but he will not have +to bear any blame; while his doing of what he believed to be right will +result in his both being and knowing what is right. The rare thing is +not the man who knows what is right, but the man who actually, with all +the power in him, with his very being, sets himself to _do_ that right +thing, however unpleasant or painful, irksome or heartrending to him. +Such a man, and such only, is a hero. + +At the same time, the deepest instruction lies in the very mistakes of +the man. The purity of his motive and object confessed, not merely were +the means he took to reach his end beyond his administration, but the +end itself was imperfect. There are multitudes who imagine they hate +injustice when they but hate injury to themselves. They will boil with +rage at that, but hear of wrong even to a friend with much equanimity. +How many would not rather do a small wrong than endure a great one! Do +such men love justice? No man is a lover of justice who would not +rather endure the greatest wrong than commit the least. Here we have a +man who, to revenge no wrong done to himself, but out of pure reverence +for justice, feeling bound in his very being to do what in him lies for +justice, gives up everything, wife even and children, and openly +defying the emperor, betakes himself an outlaw to the hills, to serve +that Justice whose ministers have forsaken her. He will do with what +power he has, the thing so many fancy they would do if they had the +power they have not--put down injustice with the strong hand. There is +a place for this in the order of things; but were the judges of the +earth absolutely righteous, the world would never thus be cleansed of +injustice. The justest judge will do more for the coming of the kingdom +of righteousness by being himself a true man, than by innumerable +righteous judgments. The first and longest step a man can take toward +redress of all wrong, is _to be righteous_, not in the avenging of +wrong, but in the doing of the right thing, in the working of +righteousness. He who could have put down evil with the strong hand had +he so pleased, was he who less than any cared to do so. He saw that men +might be kept from injustice and be not a whit the more just, or the +more ready to do justice when the hand was withdrawn. What alone he +thought worth his labour was that a man should love justice as he loved +it, and be ready to die for it as he himself died. This man in his +ignorance set out to do the thing his Master had declined to do; his +end itself was inadequate. + +Nor was the man himself adequate to the end. The very means he +possessed he was unable to control; and wrong followed as terrible as +unavoidable. Vengeance must be left with the Most High; for the +administration of punishment, to be just, demands not merely an +unselfishness perfect as God's, but an insight and knowledge equal to +his. Besides all this, to administer justice a man must have power +beyond his own, and must, therefore, largely depend on others, while +yet he can with no certainty determine who are fit for his purpose and +who are not. In brief, the justest man cannot but fail in executing +justice. He may be pure, but his work will not. + +One thing I must beg of the reader--not to come to a conclusion before +he has come to the end; not to imagine that now or now he may condemn, +but to wait until the drama is played out. + +It was indeed a bold undertaking when our author chose for his hero a +man who could not read or write, who had no special inclination, no +personal aptitude for social or public affairs, and would present him +attempting the noblest impossibility, from a divine sense of wrong done +to others than himself, and duty owed by him to all men and to God--a +duty become his because he alone was left to do it. + +I have seldom, if ever, read a work of fiction that moved me with so +much admiration. + +The failures of some will be found eternities beyond the successes of +others. + + George Mac Donald. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER + + I. To the Front. + + II. The Stuff he was Made of. + + III. The Right Wronged. + + IV. Taking up the Battle. + + V. The Wrong Victorious. + + VI. Appealing unto Caesar. + + VII. Put not your Trust in Princes. + + VIII. Despair. + + IX. The Passion of Justice. + + X. To the Mountains. + + XI. Outlawed. + + XII. Flourishing like a Bay-Tree. + + XIII. The Banner Unfurled. + + XIV. Gathering Strength. + + XV. An Eye for an Eye. + + XVI. The Avenger to the Rescue. + + XVII. Signs of Failure. + + XVIII. The Approaching Doom + + XIX. For the Right--In the Wrong. + + XX. The Banner Soiled. + + XXI. "Vengeance is Mine". + + XXII. Paying the Penalty. + + + + + FOR THE RIGHT. + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + TO THE FRONT. + + +Let the reader's imagination carry him eastward. Let him suppose he +were travelling at railway speed between Lemberg and Czernowitz, in a +south-easterly direction, towards the sedgy shores of the river Pruth +and the beech forests of the Bukowina, and the scenery to his left will +appear changeless. His eye for miles will rest on a boundless plain, of +which the seasons can influence the colouring only, but never a feature +of the landscape. White and dazzling in the winter, it rises to +something of a yellow brightness in the summer, wearing a neutral tint +both in the autumn and spring. But on his right-hand each turn of the +wheel will disclose a new picture to his eyes. He is fast approaching +the towering heights of the Carpathians. Mere phantoms at first, they +assume shape and substance like gathering clouds on the horizon, the +mountain chain with deepening contours advancing through the violet and +purple vapours of distance. And if the traveller now were able to fix +his gaze a while on the monotonous plain, with its grey cottages, its +poverty-stricken fields, and dreary heathlands, his would be a grand +surprise in turning once more to the right. The heights have closed +in--giants they, proud and solemn in fir-clad majesty. The wind, +sweeping along the mountain-sides, is laden with the odours of +pinewood; the air is filled with the roar of cataracts dashing through +the gullies and foaming along the rocky channel by the side of the +railway cutting; and athwart the narrow bands of azure, which seem the +bluer for the deep-rent glens beneath, may be seen wheeling the +bloodthirsty kite of the Carpathians. The very heart of the mountain +chain, silent and beautiful, lies open to view. A moment only, and it +will have vanished. The railroad, starting off in a sharp curve to the +east, leaves nothing to the beholder but to the right and to the left +the self-same monotonous plain. A sudden bend of the lawless Pruth had +rendered it necessary for the line to cut the landscape at the very +point where mountain and plain stand facing each other--abrupt and +unblending--like hatred and love in the heart of man. + +The spot in question--half-way between Colomea, the hill-crowned +capital of the district, and Zablotow, a poor Jewish townlet of the +plain--is within the parish boundary of Zulawce, a village not, +however, visible from the railway, its cottages, a couple of miles +beyond, covering an eastern slope of the magnificent mountain range. +The thatched dwellings are as poor as anywhere in that part of Galicia, +not even the church or the manor house commanding any attention. But +all the more charming is the neighbourhood. Approaching the village +from the Pruth, you reach its first outlying cottages without the +effort of climbing, but by the time you have ascended to the +farthermost dwellings you have a splendid lowland landscape at your +feet--spreading fields of gold, verdant woods and heath-covered tracts, +skirted by the Pruth as with a broad silver ribbon, the glittering +rivulet of the Czerniawa winding between. And your eye will carry you +farther still, to the natural horizon, northward. But the eastern view +is altogether different, and incomparably bewitching, the gloriously +wooded hill-country of the Bukowina rising gradually, terrace upon +terrace, from the deep-sunk valley of the Czeremosz. Indeed, this +prospect, as seen from the village, is wondrously grand, a succession +of gigantic steps, as it were, leading from earth toward heaven, the +highest mountain-tops melting away in the ethereal blue. To the west +and south the view is bounded by the "Welyki Lys," a gigantic mountain +forest which separates Galicia from Hungary--dark and dreary, and +unutterably monotonous. Nowhere in the lower Carpathians is there a +spot to equal Zulawce for Nature's variety, looking upon the village as +a centre. + +But this is not all for which the place is noteworthy. Life there, on +the whole, is regulated after the ways of the lowlands; but the people +themselves approach the Huzul type--a peculiar race, inhabiting the +mountains, and which, on account of the common language, is generally +classed with the Ruthens, but being of a different origin and of +different conditions of life is distinct from them, as in appearance so +in habit and in character. The Huzul is a hybrid, uniting the Slavonic +blood of the Ruthen with the Mongolian blood of the Uzen, his speech +betraying the former while his name testifies to the latter; so also +does the defiant dauntlessness of his bearing, hidden beneath an +appearance of proud restraint, but apt to burst out suddenly, like a +hot spring through the covering snow. The Ruthens of the lowlands, on +the contrary, are purely Slavonic; industrious therefore, enduring and +very patient, not easily roused, but once the fire is kindled it will +go on burning with a steady glow. These virtues, however, have sad +vices for a reverse--a bluntness which is both dull and coarse, and an +abject humility, bending the neck of the conquered man even lower than +need be. An unfair load of hardships may be pleaded in their excuse. +The Ruthen for centuries bore the chains of serfdom, and these broken +he continued the subject of some Polish nobleman, no law protecting his +body, still less his goods, no mental culture reaching him whose soul +received the barest crumbs of spiritual teaching. In this respect +things, to be sure, went as ill with the Huzuls, but for the rest +theirs was a life of liberty on the mountains, acknowledging no +nobleman and no officer of the crown. Poorly enough they lived in the +forest wilds, their sheep yielding milk and cheese, the barren soil a +few oats for scarcely eatable bread, while meat was within reach of him +only who would stake his own life in killing a bear. To this day there +are glens where no money has ever been seen; for which reason it has +never been thought worth while to levy taxes, the great lords remaining +in the lowlands where the soil was fruitful and he who tilled it a +slave. "Within those mountains there are but bears to be found and a +wild people called Uzels," thus wrote a German explorer in the +seventeenth century. He might have written it yesterday, for with the +bear only does the Huzul share the sovereignty of the mountains, and +his very freedom is no better than the liberty of the bear--yet liberty +it is! Thus the difference between the Ruthens of the uplands and the +Ruthens of the plain is immense, and scarcely to be bridged over--free +huntsmen up yonder, yoke-bearing bondmen below. + +"No falcon can lived caged, no Huzul in bondage," says the proverb. The +village of Zulawce appeared to give the lie to this saying, but only at +first sight. The people there tilled the soil; they went to church, +paid tithes, and yielded forced labour; but for the rest they were +Huzuls, and cousins-german to the bear-hunters of the Welyki Lys. They +never forgot that they were _men_; they chose to govern themselves, and +did not hesitate to meet injustice with a bullet or a blow of the axe. +The lord of the manor, old Count Henryk Borecki, knew this well enough, +and though he might groan he never attempted to treat the peasants of +Zulawce as he would treat the churls on his lowland property. Not that +he was a gracious lord, but he was prudent; and being a passionate +huntsman himself, he loved to spend the season on that borderland of +the great forest, which led to many a scuffle, but open rupture there +was none while he lived. + +When he had departed, matters grew worse. His son, Count George, never +troubled the people with his presence, for he lived in Paris. He was a +famous cavalier, devoting himself to the rising generation, so far as +it was of the feminine gender, and given to dancing at Mabille. His +far-off estates he only bore in mind when his purse was low; for which +reason, indeed, he thought of them as often and as anxiously as any +pattern landlord, keeping up a lively correspondence with his stewards +in Podolia--money they must send him, or dismissed his service they +should be. These unfortunate "mandatars" had a hard time of it; but +they did their best, fleecing the peasants to the utmost, and keeping +their stewardships. Now, the mandatar of Zulawce also, Mr. Severin +Gonta, for all that can be told to the contrary, might have wished to +adopt this plan; but having lived for twenty years in the village, and +knowing the people and their knock-down propensities, he preferred +having recourse to the cutting of my lord's timber instead, sending the +proceeds to Paris. Count George, however, in the pursuit of his noble +passions, enlarged his friendships, admitting even usurers to the +benefit of his private acquaintance. + +Thus it came about that Mr. Severin one day received the youthful +landlord's ultimatum: "Send me another thousand florins a year, or go +to the devil." Mr. Severin was soon resolved. He knew he had cut the +timber till never a tree remained, and he preferred his bodily safety +to the stewardship he held. So he quitted his post, being succeeded by +the young Count's private secretary, a certain Mr. Wenceslas Hajek. + +Mr. Wenceslas at the time--it was in the year of Grace 1835--was a +young man of eight-and-twenty, with an experience far beyond his years. +A Bohemian by birth, he soon rose to the dignity of an imperial +detective, and in recognition of his peculiar talents was sent to Italy +as a spy. He had acquired a knowledge of French, and was known to have +committed a daring robbery upon a privy councillor of Milan, for which +achievement he was not, like an ordinary mortal, sent to prison as a +thief, but to Paris on a secret mission for Prince Metternich. He duly +reported to his government; but his was a sympathetic temperament, and, +pitying the refugees, he failed not to report to them as well. For a +while he flourished, receiving pay from both sides; but being found out +he was dismissed ignominiously. Thereupon he took a distaste for +politics, establishing a private agency for nondescript transactions, +the least doubtful of which were the arrangements he brought about +between spendthrift nobles and their friends who lent upon usury. In +this capacity he came to be introduced to Count George, who found him +simply invaluable, appointing him his private secretary before long. +Now, Mr. Wenceslas might thus have lived happily ever after, had his +natural disposition not again played him the fool. He loved money, and +took of his master's what he could. Count George was helpless, since +the rascal knew his every secret; it was plain he could not dismiss +him, but he promoted him to the stewardship of Zulawce. "I don't care +how much of a blackguard he is, so long as he forwards my revenues," +this distinguished nobleman thought within himself, continuing his +pursuits in Paris. + +It was in the month of May, 1835, that Wenceslas Hajek made his entry +at Zulawce. He had scarcely an eye for the vernal splendour of the +grand scenery which surrounded him; but he certainly felt impressed on +seeing the peasantry on horseback ready to receive him into their +village. It was with a queer look of surprise that he gazed upon those +giant figures with their piercing eagle eyes. They were clothed in +their best, wearing brown woollen riding-coats, dark red breeches, +black sandals, and high felt hats with waving plumes, sitting their +small spirited steeds as though they had grown together with them. +Among mountaineers the Huzuls are the only equestrian people, and none +of their Slavonic neighbours go armed, as they do, with the gun slung +behind them, the pistol in the belt, and the battle-axe to hand. Mr. +Wenceslas knew he trembled when these well-accoutred peasants +approached his vehicle. He had intended to treat them to his most +gracious smile, and smile he did, but it cost him an effort ending in a +grin. + +Only one of the peasants bared his head--an old man, white-haired and +of commanding stature, who lifted a proud face to the newcomer. He had +pulled up by the carriage door, and his clear, undaunted eyes examined +the features of the steward. That was Stephen Woronka, the village +judge. "Newly-appointed mandatar," he said, "you are sent by our lord; +therefore we greet you. You come from afar, and we are not known to +you; therefore, I say, we men of Zulawce do our duty by the Count, +expecting him to do the same by us. Neither more nor less! We greet +you." + +Mr. Hajek understood the import, for a Slavonic dialect had been the +language of his childhood, and on the long journey through Galicia he +had had opportunity to pickup some of the country's speech. But, more +than the words, it was the spirit which impressed him, and he framed +his answer accordingly. "I shall be just," he said; "neither more nor +less! I greet you." + +The old judge waved his hat, and "Urrahah!" cried the peasants, the +shrill; crisp sound rising from two hundred throats. They discharged +their pistols, and once more an exultant "Urrahah!" filled the air. It +sounded like a war cry; but peacefully they turned their horses' heads, +and, together with the travelling carriage, proceeded to the village +inn. + +There, on an open space beneath a mighty linden tree, the rest of the +people stood waiting--old folk and lads, women and children--all +wearing their Sunday best. When the carriage had stopped, and Mr. +Hajek, still smiling, had alighted, he was met by the village priest, +or pope, with a bow. The Reverend Martin Sustenkowicz was loyally +inclined, and anxious to express his feelings in a proper speech, but +somehow his intention often was beyond him; and in the present +instance, attempting his salutation with unsteady feet, he bowed lower +than he meant to, and speech there was none. Hajek took the will for +the deed, and turned to an aged woman who offered bread and salt. He +affably swallowed a mouthful, and thereupon ordered the innkeeper, +Avrumko, in a stage whisper, to tap two casks of his schnaps. + +He fully believed thereby to please the people, and was not a little +surprised at the judge's deprecating gesture. "With your leave, new +mandatar, we decline it," said the latter. "It may be all very well in +the lowlands, but not with us. We men of Zulawce do not object to +schnaps, but only when we have paid for it ourselves!" + +There was something akin to scorn in the mandatar's face, though he +smiled again, saying: "But my good people, I am here to represent Count +George, your gracious lord. Is not he your little father? and you are +the children who may well receive his bounty." + +The old judge shook his head. "It may be so in the lowlands," he +repeated, "but we are no children, with your leave, and the Count is +nowise our father. We are peasants, and he is lord of the manor; we +expect justice, and will do our duty, that is all!" + +"But my good judge, Mr. Stephen----" + +"Begging your pardon," interrupted the latter yet again. "This also is +of the lowlands, where they 'Mister' one another. I am plain Stephen[1] +up here. And how should you know that I am good? We would rather not be +beholden to you. We will drink the Count's health, paying for it +ourselves." + +He beckoned to the innkeeper; great cans full of the beverage were +brought speedily, and the people sitting or standing about were nowise +loth to fall to. Hajek felt posed, but once more he recovered himself, +and went about among the villagers, smiling right and left. But the +more he smiled, the darker he grew within. He really began to feel +afraid of these proud, gaunt creatures, with their undaunted eyes. And +he did _not_ like the look of their arms. Why, every one of these +'subjects,' as the Galician peasant in those days was styled in +official language, carried a small arsenal on his body. + +"Why do you go about with pistols?" he inquired of the judge. + +"We like it, and may require it," was the curt reply. + +"Require it!" said the mandatar, with the smile of innocence. "Why, +what for?" + +"You may find that out for yourself some day," said old Stephen, and +turned away. + +Hajek shivered, but overcame the feeling, passing a benevolent look +over the assembly. They were engaged with their schnaps now and heeded +him not. One of them only--a tall, lean fellow with shaggy red +hair--stared at him with an expression of unmitigated dislike. + +The mandatar went up to him, inquiring mildly, "Who are you, my +friend?" + +"The devil may be your friend," retorted the man grimly. "I am Schymko +Trudak--'Red Schymko;' but what is that to you?" + +"Well, am I not one of yourselves now?" returned Hajek still anxious to +conciliate. But he began to see it was no easy matter, and he cast a +disconcerted look about him. + +His eye alighted on a man who carried no arms, and otherwise appeared +of a different stamp. Tall and powerful like the rest of them, his +expression was gentle; he was fair-haired, and his eyes were blue. He +wore a white fur coat with gay-coloured broidered facings, a black fur +cap, and high boots--the holiday garb of the Podolian peasant. Hajek +went up to him. The man took off his cap and bowed. + +"What is your name?" + +"Taras Barabola." + +"Do you live in this village?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Not in service, surely?" + +"No!" and as modestly as though he were but a farm labourer, the young +peasant added: "I own the largest farm but one of the place." + +"But you are from the lowlands?" + +"Yes; I came from Ridowa." + +"Then what made you settle here?" + +"I--I--loved--I mean, I married into the farm," he said with a blush. + +"Do you approve of these people?" + +The young man reddened again, but replied: "They are different from +those we are used to in the plain, but not therefore bad." + +"I wish they were more like you!" said the mandatar fervently, and +passed on. He would, indeed, have liked them to be different; more +humble, and not carrying arms for possible requirements--more like this +Taras in short! + +And presently, looking from the window of his comfortable room in the +manor house, he examined with a queer smile the thickness of its walls. +"A stout building," he muttered; "who knows what it may be good for? +Still, this were but poor comfort if things came to the worst. As for +playing the hero, I have never done it; but the son of my mother is no +fool! I must act warily, I see; but I'll teach these blockheads what a +'subject' is, and I shall take care of myself!" + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE STUFF HE WAS MADE OF. + + +The ensuing weeks passed quietly. The people gave their turns of +work[2] for the Count as they had always done, but the mandatar did not +appear to take much notice. For days he would be absent in the district +town, or in the villages round about, amusing himself with the officers +of the Imperial service. The peasants hardly ever saw him, but they +spoke of him the more frequently. On the day of his entry they had made +up their minds that the new bailiff was a sneak, "but we shall be up to +his tricks;" yet, somehow he rose in their estimation. True, there were +those--the old judge to begin with--who continued in their distrust, +but a more generous spirit prevailed with many as the days wore on. +"Let us be just," they said; "he has done us no harm so far." And being +laughed at by the less confident they would add: "Well, Taras thinks so +too, so we cannot be far wrong!" This appeared to be a vantage ground +of defence which the opponents knew not how to assail; old Stephen only +would retort, angrily, "It is past understanding how this lamb of the +lowlands should have got the better of every bear among us up here. But +you will be the worse for it one of these days, you will see!" + +The judge spoke truth; it was a marvellous influence which the young +stranger had acquired in the village, and well-nigh incredible +considering the people he had to deal with. But if a miracle it was, it +had come about by means of the rarest of charms, by the spell emanating +from a heart, the wondrous honesty of which was equalled only by its +wondrous strength--a heart which had but grown in goodness and true +courage because its lot had been cast amid sorrows which would have +brought most men to ruin or despair. + +Taras Barabola was born at Ridowa, a village near Barnow, the son of a +poor servant girl whose lover had been carried off as a recruit and +remained in the army, preferring the gay life of a soldier to hard +labour at home. Amid the hot tears of affliction the deserted mother +brought up her child, and not only trouble, but shame, stood by his +cradle. For the Podolian peasant does not judge lightly of the erring +one, and his sense of wrong can be such that Mercy herself would plead +with him in vain. It was long before the unhappy girl found shelter for +pity's sake, and little Taras, from his earliest days, had to suffer +for no other reason but that his father was a scoundrel. It appeared to +be meritorious with the people of Ridowa to scold and buffet the +frightened child, as though that were indeed a means of proving their +own respectability and combating the growth of sin. None but themselves +would have been to blame if, by such treatment of the boy, they had +reared a criminal in him, to be the disgrace and scourge of the +village. But it was not so with Taras, because amid all his trouble a +rare good fortune had been given him. The poor servant girl that bore +him was possessed of a heroic spirit. And when the little boy followed +his mother to church, she standing humbly in the porch, whilst he, +childlike, would steal forward till the sexton flung him back as though +his very breath defiled the sacred precincts; or when attempting to +join other children in their play about the streets he was kicked away +like a rabid dog, and nothing seemed left but to take his grief to the +one heart beating for him in a cruel world;--that heart would grew +strong in the suffering woman, lending her words so generous, so wise, +that one could have believed in inspiration were not a mother's love in +itself grand enough to be the fount of things noble and true. Many a +one in her position would have bewailed her child--would have taught +him to lay the blame upon others, sowing the seeds of cowardliness and +revenge. But she--well, she did cry; no child ever was more bitterly +wept over; but this is what she said: "Taras, grow up good! Do not hate +them because of their unkindness, for it is deserved! Nay, my child, if +you suffer, it is because your father and I have wronged them; they +think ill of you for fear you should become what we were! Yet you are +but a child, knowing neither good nor evil, and all they can say +against you is that you are the child of your parents; that is why they +ill-treat you! But one day you will show them what you are yourself, +and they will then treat you accordingly, after your own deserts! And, +therefore, oh, my child, do not repay them with evil: be good and do +the right, and they will love you!" + +Thus she wept, thus she entreated him, and, young as he was, her words +were engraven on his brain and sunk deep into his soul. It was not in +vain that, in order to save her child, she had staked the one thing +left to her in life--the love of that child. Her own great love for him +was her safeguard that his hatred for others, which she strove against, +should not fall back upon her, who owned herself guilty, and for whom +she said he suffered. Taras continued to love his mother; and when he +inquired what it could have been whereby she had wronged all the +righteous people, and she told him he was too young to understand, he +was satisfied. But her words lived in his heart, laying the foundation +of a marvellous development of character, teaching him, at an age when +other children think but of eating and playing, that he must believe +the world to be just, and that his own act must be the umpire of reward +or punishment to follow. Thus he suffered ill-will without bitterness, +but also, knowing he had not himself deserved it, without humiliation; +and when, having reached his tenth year, he was chosen to be the +gooseherd of the village--not, indeed, with the goodwill of all, but +simply because no other serviceable lad had offered--he burned with a +desire to gain for himself commendation and approval. And he did gain +it, because he worked for it bravely, but also because of a fearful +experience which happened to him about a twelvemonth later, shaking his +young soul to its inmost depth. + +It was an autumnal morning; he had driven forth his geese with the grey +dawn as usual. They fed on a lonely common; a cross stood there by the +side of a pond, but not a cottage within hail, and the foot-path which +traversed it was rarely used. The boy had his favourite seat on a stone +by the water, at the foot of the cross; he was sitting there now +contentedly eating some of the bread which his mother had given him, +and whistling between whiles on a reed-pipe he had made for himself. + +He was startled by a heavy footfall, and, turning, grew pale, for he +that approached him was a spiteful, wicked old man, Waleri Kostarenko +by name, one of the worst of those who delighted in bullying him. "You +are but a cur!" he would call out when the lad passed his farm, and +more than once he had set his dogs at him. And one day, finding him at +play with his own grandchildren, he beat him so mercilessly that the +little fellow could scarcely limp home for bruises. Nor was it any +regard for morality he could plead in wretched excuse. Taras's mother +had been a servant on his farm, and had been proof against his wiles, +so he was the first to cry shame when trouble overtook her, and like a +fiend he delighted in ill-using her child. Taras got out of his way +whenever he could, and on the present occasion took to his sturdy +little legs, as though pursued by the caitiff's dogs. It was not merely +the loneliness of the place which made it advisable to seek refuge in +flight, but the fact that the old man, as the boy had seen in spite of +his terror, was in a worse condition than usual. There had been a +merry-making the day before in a neighbouring village, and his unsteady +feet showed plainly that the power of drink was upon him. + +"Is it you, little toad?" he roared, "I'll catch you!" But the boy was +too fleet for him, and he knew pursuit was vain. "Lord's sake," he +cried, suddenly, "I have sprained my foot! Taras, for pity's sake, help +me to yon stone!" + +The boy turned and looked; the old man had sunk to his knee, a picture +of suffering, and the boy did pity him, coming back accordingly. "What +is it?" he said, "what can I do for you?" At which Waleri, bursting upon +him, caught him exultingly. "Have I got you?" he shrieked, clutching +his hair and treating him mercilessly. + +"For heaven's sake," cried Taras, "spare me!" But pity there was none +with the old wretch; beside himself with hatred, he held the boy with +one arm, ill-using him with the other wherever his fist could fall. +Taras struggled vainly for awhile, but with a wrench of despair he got +free at last. He escaped. Waleri ran after him for a step or two. The +geese were wild with terror, and one of the creatures had got between +the man's feet; he fell heavily, knocking his head against the stone by +the cross. The boy heard a piercing cry; he saw that his enemy was on +the ground, but not till he had reached the further end of the common +did he turn once more to look back. The old man lay motionless by the +stone, the geese pressed about him, stretching their necks with a noisy +cackle. He felt tolerably safe now from his enemy, for even if it were +but another trick of his meanness he could scarcely overtake him at +that distance; but as he stood and gazed a wild fear fell upon the boy, +his heart beating violently. + +"He is dead!" The thought flashed through him as a shock of lightning, +and he felt dragged back to the scene helplessly. He retraced his steps +towards the cross, and stood still within ten yards or so. A cry burst +from him of pure horror--he saw the blood trickling over the upturned +face. He pressed together his lips, and went close--slowly, +tremblingly--quite close. The man was evidently unconscious, his face +corpse-like and fearful to look at; there was a deep cut on the +forehead, and the purple blood flowed copiously over the distorted +face, trickling to the ground. + +The boy stood still with labouring breath, as though spellbound. Horror +and disgust, joy, scorn, revenge, and yet again compassion, went +through him, the good rising uppermost in the great conflict that shook +his soul. He thought of his mother, and bending down to the water he +bathed the forehead of the unconscious man. The blood kept flowing. He +tore off the sleeve of his shirt, and, making a bandage, pressed it +upon the wound. Walen groaned, but did not open his eyes. "He is +dying!" thought Taras, but strove as best he could to stop the +bleeding, crying for help at the same time with all his might. + +A young peasant, the son-in-law of the village judge, riding by at some +distance, heard his calling--the wind lengthening out the sound. He +came dashing up, and what he saw might well fill him with surprise. +"And you, Taras--you trying to save him!" he cried, when the boy had +told his story simply and truthfully. It was more than he could +understand. But he turned to the sufferer, sending Taras to the village +for assistance. The boy returned with the judge himself, together with +Waleri's son and some of his servants. + +They took up the wounded man and carried him to his home, the judge +looking at the boy repeatedly with unfeigned wonder. "Taras," he said +at last, "I think if He whom they call the Christ were alive, He would +just be proud of you, I do indeed! That is to say, we are told He _is_ +alive, and I daresay He will repay you for this!" At which the boy +blushed crimson, remembering what a struggle it had cost him; he did +not deserve any praise, he thought. + +But from this hour the people thought well of him in the village; all +were anxious to show their approval, and those that had spoken kindly +of him before were quite proud of their discriminating wisdom. Waleri +recovered, continuing to hate him; but this utter ingratitude made +others the more anxious to befriend him. The judge especially, +henceforth, stood by the lad, giving him a place as under-servant on +his own farm; and, he being looked upon as the chief authority of the +village, his example told naturally. But of far more consequence than +these things was the influence of that occurrence upon the inner growth +of the boy. So far, he had simply believed his mother, that one must +deserve kindness by being good; now he knew it by his own experience. +"Yes," he said to himself, "justice is the foundation of things;" and +more than ever he tried to fulfil his every duty to the utmost. But the +golden opinions he gathered were his gain in a double sense; for there +is no greater help toward well-doing than the knowledge that one is +believed in, and all the clearer grew that fair creed within him which +his mother had taught him concerning the world and its retribution. +What at first had been only a sort of childish self-interest, grew to +be the very backbone of his character: he could not but try and be +good, just, and helpful. It could be said of him, without a shade of +flattery, that no servant-lad ever had been so well behaved as he; and +when his mother died, the fifteen-year-old youth had as many comforters +and friends as there were people in the village. The stain on his birth +even grew to be cause of praise. "Why, look you," the judge would say, +"this boy is really no proper child at all; anyhow he is quite +unfathered, and could be as rascally as he pleased, for there's none to +cast it up to him. I might give him a box on the ear at times, but that +could not make up for a father's thrashing. And, in the face of all +this, this Taras is just the best boy in the village. He will be a +great man one of these days, I tell you! My prophecies always come +true--you will find out what stuff he is made of before you have done +with him, and then please remember I said so." + +And the time came when the young man gave evidence of the stuff +within him, but that which brought it out was a sore trial to the +brave-hearted youth. He was barely eighteen, and had come to be a +ploughman on the judge's farm, when one day the Imperial constables +brought an old soldier into the village, Hritzko Stankiewicz by name, a +wretched creature with a worn-out body and a rotten soul. Begging and +stealing, he had found his way from Italy to Galicia, where the police +had picked him up, and now he was being delivered over to his own +parish of Ridowa. It wad Taras's father. The judge, in well-meant pity, +was for concealing this from the young man, but the latter had heard +the name often enough from his mother, and he went at once to the gaol +where the vagabond had been located. The wretched man quaked when his +son stood before him, and fearing he had come to take vengeance for his +mother, the miserable coward took refuge in denial, insulting the woman +he had ruined in her grave. Pale as death, and trembling, Taras went +out from him, and for several days he went about the village mute and +like one demented. + +The following Sunday after church the men of the parish gathered +beneath the linden tree in front of the village inn, after the usage of +times immemorial, the day's question being what had best be done with +the returned vagabond. "It seems plain," said the judge, "that we +cannot keep the thieving beggar in our midst. Let us send him to +Lemberg, paying for his maintenance. He won't like it; but it is a +great deal more than he has deserved. It is the best device, I +warrant." The men agreed. "It is," they cried, lifting their right hand +in token of assent. + +At this moment Taras stepped forth. His face was ghastly, as though he +had risen from a sickbed. "Ye men," he cried, with choked voice, +folding his hands, "pity me; listen to me!" But tears drowned what +further he had to say, and he sank to his knees. + +"Don't, don't!" they all cried, full of compassion, "you need not mind, +we all know what a good fellow you are." + +But Taras shook his head, and with a great effort stood upright among +them. "I have to mind," he cried, "and in my mother's behalf I am here, +speaking because she no longer can speak! He is my father though he +denies it! Only him she trusted, because he was her affianced lover, +and never another! If I were silent in this matter, it might be thought +of her that after all she was a bad woman, and her son does not know +his own father. Therefore, I say, listen to me: I do know! and as my +mother's son I take it upon me to provide for my father. Do not put him +into the workhouse, he cannot work. And if I take care of him, he will +not be a burden to the village. For God's sake, then, have pity on +me--and leave him here!" + +There was a long pause of silence, and then the judge said, addressing +the men: "We should be worse than hard-hearted if we refused him. But +we will not be gainers thereby; the parish shall pay for Hritzko what +it would cost us did we send him to Lemberg. It shall be as this good +son desires; and God's blessing be upon him!" + +For eight years after, the miserable wretch lived in the village. It +was a time of continued suffering for Taras. Every joy of youth he +renounced, striving day and night to meet the old man's exactions; and +all the reward he ever had was hatred and scorn: but he never tired of +his voluntary work of love. "My mother has borne more than that for +me," he would say, when others praised him. "One could not have +believed how good a fellow can be!" said the people of Ridowa, some +adding in coarse, if real pity, "'Twere a kindness if some one killed +the old beggar!" But the suggested "kindness" came about by his own +doing--he drank himself to death. At the age of six-and-twenty Taras +was free. + +"Now you must get yourself into a snug farm by marriage," advised the +judge. "You understand your business, you are a well-favoured fellow, +and, concerning your character, my Lord Golochowski himself might say +to you: 'Here is my daughter, Taras, and if you take her it will be an +honour to the family!' There is that buxom Marinia, for instance, the +sexton's girl; or that pretty creature, Kasia----" + +But Taras shook his head, and his blue eyes looked gloomy. "Life here +has gone too hard with me," he said, "for me to seek happiness in this +place! A thousand thanks for all your kindness; but go I must!" And +they could not get him to change his mind; he looked about for a +situation elsewhere. + +Two places offered--the one with the peasant, Iwan Woronka, at Zulawce, +the brother of Judge Stephen; the other with a parish priest on the +frontier. Pay and work in both places was the same. He would be +head-servant in both, and pretty independent; the latter for the same +sad reason--that both the peasant and the priest were given to drink. +Nor could he come to any decision in the matter by a personal +inspection of the farms, for really there was no preference either way. +So he resolved to submit his fate to that most innocent kind of +guidance which, with those people, decides many a step in life. He +would take the priest's offer if it rained on the following Sunday, and +he would go to Iwan if it were fine. But the day of his fate poured +such floods of sunshine about him that doubt there could be none, and +he went to Zulawce. + +It was no easy beginning for the stranger. The people laughed at him +freely, his garb and his ways differing so entirely from their own; +they even called him a coward because he carried no arms and spoke +respectfully of Count Borecki as the lord of the manor. The fact was +that Taras just continued to be the man he had always been, taking +their sneers quietly, and the management of the farm entrusted to him +was his only care. Iwan Woronka was old and enfeebled, his tottering +steps carrying him a little way only, to the village inn, his constant +resort. It was natural, therefore, that the farm had been doing badly. +His only son had died, and Anusia, his daughter, had striven vainly +to save the property from ruin. She blessed the day when the new +head-servant took matters in hand, if no one else did; for not many +weeks passed before the traces of his honest diligence grew apparent +everywhere. "He understands his business," even Iwan must own, though +over his tipple he kept muttering that the sneaking stranger was too +much for him. But that Taras was neither a coward nor a sneak all the +village soon had proof of, when on a bear hunt, with not a little +danger to himself, he saved the old judge's life, killing a maddened +brute by a splendid shot in close encounter. This and his evident +ability in the fulfilment of his duties gained him most hearts before +long. "You are a good fellow, Podolian," the people would say; and not +a year had passed before they swore behind his back that there was no +mistake about his being a real acquisition to the village. + +Anusia said nothing. She was a handsome girl of the true Huzul type, +tall, shapely, lissom, with dark, fiery eyes. High-spirited and +passionate in all things, her partiality for the silent stranger made +her shy and diffident. She went out of his way, addressing him only +when business required. He saw it, could not understand, and felt sad. +Now, strange to say--at least it took him by surprise--by reason of +this very sadness he discovered that Anusia was pleasant to behold. It +quite startled him, and it made him shy in his turn when he had to +speak to her. But one day, riding about the farm, he without any +palpable reason caught himself whispering her name. That was more +startling still, and he felt inclined to box his own ears, calling +himself a fool for his pains. "You idiot!" he said, "your master's +daughter, and she hating you moreover!" And having mused awhile, he +added philosophically--"Love is only a sort of feeling for folk that +have nothing to do. Some drink by way of a pastime, and some fall in +love." He really believed it; his life had been so sunless hitherto, +that no flower for him could grow. + +Well, love may be a sort of feeling, but Taras found that he could do +nothing but just give in. Then it happened, one bright spring morning, +that he was walking on a narrow footpath over the sprouting cornfields, +Anusia coming along from the other end. + +"How shall I turn aside?" they both thought; et neither quite liked to +strike off through the budding grain. + +"'Twere a pity to trample upon the growing blades," murmured he, and +proceeded slowly. + +"It is father's cornfield," whispered she, and her feet carried her +toward him. + +Presently they came to a standstill, face to face. + +"Why don't you move out of my way?" she said, angrily. + +He felt taken aback, and was silent. + +"I have been looking over the fields--the wheat by the river might be +better," continued the damsel. + +"It might," owned he, "but it is not my fault." + +"Is it mine?" cried she. + +"No, the field was flooded." + +"That is your excuse!" retorted the maiden. "I think the seed was bad. +You are growing careless!" + +"Oh!" said he, standing erect, "I can look for another place, if that +is all." He quite trembled. "I believe I hate her," he said to himself. + +"Yes, go! go!" she cried, her bosom heaving, and the hot tears starting +to her eyes. Another moment, and they had caught one another, heart to +heart and lip to lip. How it could happen so quickly they never knew. +But the occurrence is not supposed to be unprecedented in the history +of this planet. + +It was a happy hour amid the sun-flooded fields. They both believed +they had to make up for no end of past unkindness. But, being sensible, +they soon took a matter-of-fact view. + +"You will just have to marry me, now," said Anusia; "it is the one +thing to be done. I will at once tell my father." + +And so she did; but Iwan Woronka unfortunately did not consider her +marrying his head-servant the one thing to be done. She was his only +child and his heiress to boot, and he had long decided she should marry +his nephew Harasim, Judge Stephen's son--a young man who might have +been well enough but for his repellent countenance and his love for +drink. But Iwan argued, "Good looks are no merit, and drinking no harm;" +and therewith he turned Taras off his farm. + +The poor fellow went his way without venturing to say good-bye to +Anusia, or letting her know where he could be heard of. It cost him a +hard battle with himself; but he knew the girl's passionate temper, and +he wanted to act honestly by his master. But the victory was not thus +easily got. + +It was some two months later, a splendid summer night. The moon was +weaving her mellow charm about the heathlands, lighting up the old +tin-plated tower of the castle at Hankowce with a mysterious light, +till it sparkled and shone like a silver column. It was the abode of +Baron Alfred Zborowski, and Taras had found service there as coachman +and groom. He did not sleep in the stables at this time of the year, +but on the open heath, where the remains of a watchfire glowed like a +heap of gold amid the silvery sheen. A number of horses were at large +about him. + +The night was pleasantly cool, but the poor fellow had a terrible +burning at the heart as he lay wakeful by the glowing embers, thinking +of her who was far away. There was a sound of hoofs suddenly breaking +upon the night, and a figure on horseback appeared with long hair +streaming on the wind. "Good heavens!" cried the young man trembling; +"is it you, Anusia?" + +"Taras!" was the answer, and no more. + +She glided from her horse, and his arms were about her. + +"Here I am, and here I shall stay," she said at last. "I have scarcely +left the saddle since yesterday. It was Jacek, the fiddler, that told +me where I should find you. I shall not return to my father--not +without you. And if you will not go back with me you must just keep me +here. I cannot live without you, and I will not--do you hear? I will +not! I want to be happy!" + +She talked madly--laughing, crying on his neck. And then she slid to +the ground, clasping his knees. But he stood trembling. He felt as +though he were surrounded by a flood of waters, the ground being taken +from under his feet. His fingers closed convulsively, till the nails +entered the quick--he shut his eyes and set his teeth. Thus he stood +silent, but breathing heavily, and then a shiver went through him; he +opened his eyes and lifted up the girl at his feet. "Anusia," he said, +gently but firmly, "I love you more than I love myself! and therefore I +say I shall take you back to-morrow as far as the Pruth, where we can +see your father's house, and then I shall leave you. But till then"--he +drew a deep breath, and continued with sinking voice, "till then you +must stay with an old widow I know in this village. I will show you the +way now; she will see to your wants." + +The girl gazed at him helplessly, passing her hand across her forehead +once, twice; and then she groaned, "It is beyond me--do you despise +me?--turn me from you?" + +"No!" he cried; "but I will not drag you down to misery and disgrace. +If you stayed here, Anusia, you could only be a servant-girl in the +village where I work. We should suffer--but that is nothing! Marry one +another we cannot; not while your father lives, for the Church requires +his consent. You could only be my--my----. Anusia, I dare not!" + +Whereupon she drew herself tip proudly, looking him full in the face. +"I am a girl of unblemished name," she said. "If I am satisfied to be +near you----" + +"You! you!" he gasped, "what do you know about it? You are an honest +girl! But I--good God, my mother----. Go! go!" And there was a cry of +despair; then he recovered himself "God help me, Anusia, it must be. +The woman that will take care of you now lives next door to the church, +the old sexton's widow, Anna Paulicz--this way!" + +The girl probably but half understood him. As in a dream she moved +toward her horse, seized the bridle, and turned back to Taras +mechanically. + +She stood before him. Her face was white as death; she opened her +colourless lips once, twice, as though to speak, but sound there was +none. At last, with an effort, a hoarse whisper broke from her, "I hate +you!" + +"Anusia!" he cried, staggering. But answer there was none--the +thundering footfall of a horse only dying away in the night. + + +Harvest had come and the harvest-home. The Jewish fiddlers played their +merry tunes in the courtyard of the castle at Hankowce, and far into +the evening continued the dancing and jumping and huzzaing of the +reapers. The baron and his coachman were perhaps the only two of all +the village who took no pleasure in the revelry--the one because he had +to provide the schnaps and mead that were being consumed, the other +because his heart was nowise attuned to it. + +Dreary weeks had passed since that impassioned meeting on the heath, +but the girl's parting words kept ringing in poor Taras's ear. "It is +all at an end," he said, "and no use in worrying." But he kept +worrying, and that she should hate him was an undying grief to his +heart. It was little comfort that he could say to himself, "You have +done well, Taras; it is better to be unhappy than to be a villain." + +Comfort? nay, there was none! for what self-conscious approval could +lessen the wild longings, the deep grief of his love? And so he went +his way sadly, doing his duty and feeling more lonely than ever. He did +not grudge others their merry-heartedness, but the noisy expression of +it hurt him. For this reason he kept aloof on that day, busying himself +about his horses, plaiting their manes with coloured ribands, but +anxious to take no personal part in the feast. But the shouts of +delight would reach him, clashing sorely with his sorrowing heart. Then +the poor fellow shut the stables, and, going up to his favourite horse, +a fine chestnut, he pressed his forehead against the creature's neck, +sobbing like a forsaken child. + +He was yet standing in this position when a well-known voice reached +his ear--a man's voice, but it sent the blood to his face. Could he be +dreaming? but no, there it was again, and a ponderous knocking against +the door, which he had locked. He made haste to open--it was Stephen +Woronka, the judge. + +Taras was unable to speak, and the old man on his part could only nod. +He looked mournful. "Come!" he said, after a brief pause that seemed +filled with pain. + +"Where to?" faltered Taras. + +The judge appeared to consider explanation needless. "I have already +spoken with your master; he allows you to go on the spot. Your things +can come after you. My horses are ready to start." + +"I cannot," murmured Taras, turning a step aside. + +Old Stephen nodded, as though this were just the answer he expected. +"But you must," he said, "we cannot let the girl die, Iwan and me. It +is no light thing for us, to let her marry you, for you have just +nothing--a poor stranger--and," he added, with a sigh, "my Harasim +might be saved by a good wife. However, we have no choice now and +neither have you!" + +"Then she is ill?" shrieked Taras. + +"Yes--very; come at once." And such was Stephen's hurry that he barely +allowed Taras to take his leave of the baron. The judge drove, and so +little he spared his horses, that the vehicle shot along the moon-lit +roads like a thing demented. + +"Let me take the reins," said Taras, after a while. + +"No!" returned the judge sharply, adding more gently, as though in +excuse: "Anxiety would kill me if I were at leisure." + +"Then she is dying!" groaned the young man in despair. + +"The Lord knows!" replied old Stephen huskily. "We can but do our duty +in fetching you. Though she will not see you, she says, raving +continually that she will kill you or kill herself if ever you come +near her.... What is it that took place between you?" he cried, raising +his voice suddenly and turning a menacing countenance upon Taras. + +"That I must not tell," returned the latter firmly. + +The judge gazed at him angrily, but nodded again, "I am a fool to ask +you," he murmured. "You have either been a great villain to her, +or--or--just very good.... Whatever it was, it is between you two, and +you must settle it with her." + +Nothing more was spoken that night. In the early morning, when the +horses where having a most needful rest, they only exchanged some +indifferent remarks. And starting once more, they hastened towards the +purple hills, as fast as the panting creatures could carry them. But it +was evening before they crossed the Pruth and approached the village. +The air was sultry; clouds hung low in the heavens, hiding the moon. + +The judge pulled up before they reached Iwan's farm. Taras dismounted. +"I thank you!" he cried, seeking to grasp the old man's hand. + +But Stephen withdrew it, shaking his head. "I cannot be wroth with +you," he said, "but there are things that go hard with a man.... You +don't owe me any thanks, however. I have now repaid you for that shot +of yours which saved my life. We are quits." + +"But I shall thank you while I live," cried Taras, walking away quickly +in the direction of Iwan's farm. He stood by the door with bated +breath; it was opened for him before he could put his hand on the +latch, by Iwan Woronka. + +"She--she is alive?" faltered Taras. + +"Yes, but only that. Step in softly, she knows nothing of your coming." + +He did step in softly, but his heart laboured wildly. The room was lit +with a subdued light, and he could barely distinguish the figure of the +stricken girl. + +"Who is coming?" she cried, with trembling accents. "Who is it?" once +more, with awe-burdened voice. + +But answer she needed none. A terrible cry burst from her, and darting +like a wraith from her couch she flew past him, vanishing in the night. + +He followed her; but the hiding darkness without was such that he could +scarcely keep in sight the white glimmer of her figure, although she +was but a few yards ahead of him, on her way to the river. His hair +stood on end when he knew the direction she took, and his every limb +felt paralysed. It was but a few seconds, but she gained on him, and he +saw he could not reach her in time. + +"For God's sake, stop!" he cried, with the voice of horror; "you shall +never see me again." + +But it was too late. He saw the white figure sink, and rise again +mid-stream. He was in after her, and reaching her, caught her by a +tress of her floating hair. She struggled violently to free herself +from his hand, and it could only have been the maddest despair that +gave her the power. But he kept fast his hold--it was all he could do; +and thus they were carried awhile, side by side, on the bosom of the +icy mountain stream. Taras felt his grasp grow weaker in his two-fold +struggle against the river and against the girl. A fearful picture +flashed through his brain; he saw himself and his loved one two corpses +washed ashore, old Stephen bending over them in sorrow. The pangs of +death seemed upon him, but he held fast the tress of hair, and with his +arm strove to keep himself and her afloat. + +She yielded at last, her body floating as he pulled her; the power of +life seemed to have left her, and with a mighty effort he brought her +to land. + +They were fearful days that followed. A burning fever ran its course in +the girl's body, but the sickness of her soul seemed more devouring +still. "I am dying--dying for shame!" she kept crying. "I love him--I +hate him!" But as the fever spent itself, the struggle of her heart +grew weaker. And at last she lay still, weary unto death, but saved, +and her mind was clear. She wept blessed tears, and suffered him to +touch her. + +She suffered it, but did not return his caresses. "Taras!" she sobbed, +"do you despise me?" + +"Despise you? Good God!" he cried, covering her hand with kisses. + +"Ah, yes--but you might--you ought!" she wept. "No only, because----," +a burning blush overspread her pallor. "But do you know why I struggled +so desperately when your hand was upon me in the river? I knew you +would hold fast, and I wanted to drag you down with me in death. Can +you forgive it?" + +"Yes!" he cried, and his face shone. + +"As sure as you wish your mother to be at peace in her grave?" + +"Yes, Anusia!" he cried again. + +"Then I may kiss you," she said, twining her arms about him. + +That was their troth plight; and soon after they were married. + +Thus the stranger had become the owner of the largest farm but one in +the village. Yet no one grudged him his good fortune; even Harasim +appeared to have submitted to his fate. And but rarely was there an +attempt at making fun of his garb; he had acquired their mode of +address, saying "thou" to young and old, but he could not be prevailed +upon to adopt the Huzul's dress. But no one disliked him for it, the +people had ample proof apart from this how faithfully he had adopted +the interests of his new home, and even if they did not openly confess +as much to themselves it was very evident he was benefiting them +largely. Without in the least thrusting himself upon them, or pushing +his views, this blue-eyed, quiet stranger in the course of a few years +had become the most influential man, even a reformer of the parish; in +the first place because of his ever helpful goodness, in the second +place because of the rare wisdom governing his every act. + +But it was not without a struggle with himself that he came to feel at +home in his adopted village; everything here seemed strange at first, +and some things unheard of--their dress, their speech, their mode of +life, their food, the way they reared the cattle and tilled their +fields; nay, every domestic arrangement. A farmer should be able +to move his limbs freely; but these men did their ploughing and +threshing in tight-fitting breeches, in doublets that were the veriest +straight-waistcoats; and the breeches, moreover, were scarlet--perhaps +to delight the bulls they ploughed with. They wore their hair flowing, +and their beards were long; and no man of them was ever seen without +his array of arms. It quite frightened him to see them go tending the +cattle with the gun on their backs, or discourse with a next-door +neighbour axe in hand. "What on earth is this dangerous nonsense for, +with a passionate, easily-roused people?" Taras would ask himself. And +that such was their temper was shown by their very speech. In the +lowlands people, as a rule, speak measuredly, in well-ordered +sentences; but these men flung their notions at each other as though +every statement must leave a bump or cut upon the other's head. + +Nor was this all: their ways in some things appeared to him past +conception. They seemed like grown children for carelessness, sending +their sheep or cattle into the mountains miles away, with only a lad or +two to mind them--was it in consideration of the prowling wolf and +bear? These visitors, indeed, were not slow in carrying off what +pleased them, whilst others of the scared cattle strayed into hopeless +wilds or came to grief in some rocky solitude. Less startling than this +manner of cattle-keeping was their agriculture; yet even this raised +Taras's wonder. Their ploughs were peculiar, and their seasons of +sowing, harvesting, threshing, all differed from his every experience. + +A man of poorer quality would simply have shrugged his shoulders, +saying it was no concern of his. But Taras began to consider and to +compare, and it was quite a relief to his mind--nay, a joy to his +heart--to discover that, though much with them was peculiar, his new +neighbours must not just be looked down upon as fools. He understood +that the people of Zulawce had a good reason for setting about their +various field labours at other times than did the farmers of the plain. +It was because their seasons differed. And he perceived that the +Podolian plough, broad and shovel-like, was fit for the rich, soft +earth of the lowlands, but not for the stony, upland soil of Zulawce. +The people there, then, were right in substituting a strong, digging +wedge of a ploughshare, being unreasonable only in this--that they +would use this same plough for their low-lying fields by the Pruth, +where the earth was rich and yielding. It was much the same with their +manner of feeding. The Podolians have rye and beef; the Huzuls up in +their mountain haunts must be satisfied with oats and sheep. Now the +people of Zulawce just followed the Huzuls' example, although they +reared cattle, and could grow both wheat and rye. And, again, their +clothing was ill-adapted to their needs, and their carrying arms +uncalled-for and foolish, but it was neither more nor less with them +than simply preserving the habit of their upland neighbours. The Huzul +must carry his gun, for his life is a constant warfare with bears or +bandits. Now, at Zulawce things went more peaceably, but the +belligerent habit remained. This mixture of the reasonable and +unreasonable was most apparent in their ways with the cattle. It was +natural that they should keep their live stock on the hills, utilising +the land round about their village to its utmost agricultural +possibilities; but it was stupidly careless to provide neither fold nor +capable herdsmen. The Huzuls had no choice but to leave their flocks at +large for want of hands, an excuse which could not be pleaded at +Zulawce. + +Now Taras was fully aware that these things could, and must, be mended, +but he also knew it would be hopeless to attempt convincing his new +neighbours of anything by the power of speech. On the contrary, advice, +however excellent, which cast a slur on their habits would be the +surest means of rousing both their anger and their opposition. So he +strove to teach them by the force of example, letting his fields be a +sort of model farm in their midst. And his strongest ally in this +silent labour of love was their own self-interest waking a desire of +emulating his gain. They watched him in the spring, they came to borrow +his plough in the autumn, and by the next season they had provided +themselves with a ploughshare like his. It was the same with other +things. They began to perceive it might be an advantage to see to the +safety of their grazing cattle, without much inquiring into their own +reasons for adopting a plan they had neglected or despised so far. And +Taras was the very last to remind them that they owed him any thanks, +it being to this man the fairest of rewards that his silent endeavour +should bear fruit. + +But the recompense he coveted was not his in all things; he would find +himself baffled, yet he renewed his quiet conflict unwearyingly, +seeking to overcome that savage spirit of contention, that love of +avenging themselves, prevailing with the men of Zulawce. If two had +cause of quarrel it was a rare proof of moderation to allow the village +judge a voice in the matter. And whatever the object of contest might +be, a strip of land or a fowl, the stronger took possession. If the +other succeeded in ousting him, or if the judge managed to arbitrate, +it was well; if not, the stronger just kept his booty, and that, too, +was considered well. As for appealing to law, it appeared out of the +question; the far-off Emperor was welcome to his crown, but that any +appointed authority in his name should dispense justice at Colomea they +simply ignored. They would, indeed, have thought it an insult to have +to do with any magistrate--their very thieves were too good for that; +they would thrash the rascals and let them go. And as for their +relations with their count, it was a natural state of warfare, if not +with him personally, then with his steward or mandatar, old Gonta; and +shouts, of victory filled the air whenever they succeeded in wresting +from him the smallest tittle of his claims. That any mandatar ever +should attempt to worst them they had little fear, for did they not +carry axe and gun? But this state of things seemed utterly horrible to +Taras, whose course of life had taught him to look upon Justice as the +lode-star and centre of all things. He could not understand these men, +till he perceived that concerning their personal character also he must +seek explanation in the fact that they clung to the peculiarities of +the mountain tribe, be it in virtue or in vice. + +The more he grew acquainted with the upland forest, and the more he saw +of the Huzuls, the better he learned to judge of his neighbours in the +village. Neither wealth, nor extreme poverty are known in those +pine-covered haunts; envy, therefore, in these solitudes has no power +to separate the hearts of men. Life goes hard with each and all +alike--privation, the inclemency of the weather, the wild beast, being +the common foes of all. The individual man makes a mark only in so far +as he has power to overcome these foes; hence a feeling of equality and +oneness, based upon the similarity of all. And whereas the people of +the lowlands once a week only, on Sundays and in their churches, are +taught to look upon men as equals in the sight of God, these +highlanders know of no other church but their own wide forest, in which +they bow the knee to no man, if ever they bow it to Him of whom they +vaguely believe that He dwelleth above. It is natural, therefore, that +they know of no difference of rank in men, using the simple "thou" to +each and all alike. Now the men of Zulawce were not so circumstanced; +some of them were masters, and some of them were serving-men; some knew +poverty and some knew wealth; but the spirit of the tribe continued +with them. A little envy, a little respect for riches, had found a +footing with them; but, nevertheless, a strong feeling of equality +survived, and they were too proud to cringe before any man; the rich +peasant was addressed as familiarly as the beggar. Their speech was +rough; but the feeling whence such roughness sprang was not in itself +despicable. And it was the one point in which Taras yielded his habit +to theirs, adopting their ways in this, at least, that he also said +"thou" to everybody, and was satisfied that from the judge to the +meanest of his own farm labourers all should say "thou" to him. + +But it was not merely the pride of freedom, it was that inveterate +habit of avenging themselves in matters of right and wrong which had +come to them from the parent tribe. The Huzul is bound to fight for +himself. A man who any moment may meet some desperate outlaw in the +mountain wilds must be prepared to defend himself or perish. And not +merely in such cases the Huzul must be his own protector. Supposing two +men far up in the mountains, a hundred or more miles away from the +nearest magistrate, fall a-quarrelling over a strip of pasture-ground, +shall he who is wronged appeal to law? Granted he were willing to +undertake the tedious journey, it might be a year or more before some +law officer could put in an appearance up there for taking evidence on +the spot. Justice from her appointed centres cannot easily reach such +outlying regions. But supposing even a magistrate's verdict had been +obtained, what power on earth can force the loser to abide by it? The +Emperor's authority?--he barely knows his name, and the far-off majesty +is little enough to him--or coercion? But who is to take a body of +armed constables on impossible roads to the very heart of the +mountain-range, merely to make sure that a slip of pasture-ground for +the feeding of a score of sheep shall belong to Sfasko and not to +Wasko! Why, even if it could be done what were the gain? Sfasko, +indeed, might rejoice if the servants of the law had got there, for +Wasko would have the keeping of them, and Wasko must give up the +contested land. But no sooner than their backs were turned, Wasko, by +right of the stronger, would pay him out for it, turning Sfasko's +victory to defeat. Under such circumstances, then, and because no law +can be enforced there, it is natural that the children of the forest +should manage their own justice, each man for himself. But to Taras it +appeared a deplorable state of things that the more civilised peasants +of Zulawce should also require to fight for themselves. So he set about +an all but forlorn hope of reforming their minds, striving earnestly, +and making little impression save on his own suffering soul. Twice he +succeeded in persuading the quarrellers to submit their suit to Judge +Stephen's decision, and this only because the men in question had +benefited by his generous kindness and did not like to lose it. In most +cases he failed entirely; the people still anxious, perhaps, of +retaining his goodwill, would listen to him with some show of patience, +but took matters into their own hands nevertheless, calling him an +innocent lamb of the lowlands for not knowing that a bear had his paws +to use them. + +But for all that, these contentious creatures had found out that the +"innocent lamb" was nowise wanting in manliness. They liked to take his +advice on general things, and elected him to the civil eldership as +years went on, which greatly added to his influence; and with might and +main he continued to strive for love of peace in the parish. Somehow or +other, the men by degrees did not fly to arms quite so readily, +perceiving that in most cases they did better to submit to Judge +Stephen, abiding by his decision, or rather by that of Taras; for the +judge, himself prone to wrath, would pass them over to the younger man +in order to save his own temper. + +"You have introduced this nonsense here," he would say; "it is meet, +therefore, you should have the bother of it. 'Twere easier to settle if +they had come to blows first." + +But Taras was only too glad to be thus "bothered," sparing neither +time, nor trouble, nor patience; and at such cost it was given him more +and more to convince the contending parties of the justness of his +judgments. + +But so far he had succeeded only in little things. In matters of more +importance he was unable to prevent the shedding of blood--as, for +instance, when he that went by the name of Red Schymko fell out with +his brother Waleri concerning the right of pasturage on a certain +field. That was considered a great matter; and not till Schymko had +been maimed by a blow from Waleri's axe, in return for which he lodged +a bullet in his brother's thigh, did they permit the judge and elders +to have any voice in the matter. Judge Stephen and his coadjutors were +most anxious to pass righteous judgment, examining matters carefully; +but as their verdict could not otherwise than be in favour of the said +Waleri, it resulted in Schymko's marching his armed labourers to the +contested field by way of maintaining his claim. And the matter ended +in Waleri's yielding, leaving Red Schymko in possession after all. + +It was concerning this business that Taras very nearly lost his +eldership by reason of a word of sensible advice. It was just before +the yearly election, when Schymko, with his labourers, had taken +possession of the field, that Taras said to him, "If you will not abide +by the judge's verdict, you can but appeal to the magistrates of the +district." "Go to law!" roared Schymko. "Go to law!" echoed the people, +as though Taras had advised the direst folly ever heard of. But they +took it seriously, and when, a few days later, it was a question of +readmitting him to the eldership, the general opinion was to the effect +that being honest and good was a recommendation certainly, but an elder +had need to be no fool! He was chosen, nevertheless; but even his +friend Simeon, to whose strenuous exertions his re-election was partly +due, could only say, "You see, he _is_ a lowlander--how should he know +any better?" + +Such experiences made Taras more careful, but they could not discourage +him. He saw that even at best it would take the work of a lifetime to +lay a foundation of better things with these people. They must be +taught in the first place that the authority of their own judge should +be unquestioned. He took great care never again to hint at the +existence of law-courts, but to educate them up to the lesser point. He +gained ground, though very slowly. He could work for it patiently, for +had not good fortune smiled on him in all things besides, making his +own life pleasant at last and happy beyond many! His homestead seemed a +cradle of success, and the children his wife had borne him grew like +olive branches round about his table. There was not a cloud in his +heavens, and every good seed he had sown was like the grain on his own +fields, bearing fruit, some thirty, some sixty fold; surely this one +thing for which he laboured would yet come to be added to his golden +sheaf! + +Returning home in the evening he would rest by the side of his faithful +wife, his little boy Wassilj upon his knee, and there was no greater +joy to him at such times than to glance back to his own early years and +to follow with the inward eye the growth of his life's happiness--a +struggling thing at first, but a strong tree now with spreading +branches, beneath which he and his might safely dwell. "It is no puny +seedling," he would say, looking about him with happy pride, "but even +like the strong pine that strikes root the deeper for having chanced +upon the hard and rocky soil where no man's favour helped to rear it, +and the sun of God's justice only yielded the light towards which it +grew!" And his prayer in those days was something after this fashion: +"Thou righteous One in the heavens who hast given me many things, if so +be that Thou wilt let me keep them, I have just nothing left to ask for +but this one thing: that I might teach these people, whom I have come +to look upon as my brothers, that Thy will is very beautiful because it +is just. There is this foolish old priest of ours always telling them +of Thy grace and never a word of Thy justice--how should they +understand their duties aright!" ... For himself in those days Taras +had nothing to ask for. + +Such was Taras Barabola at the time when Mr. Wenceslas Hajek made his +entry at Zulawce--one of the happiest and most upright of men. + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE RIGHT WRONGED. + + +It is often asserted that on meeting any one for the first time a voice +within will warn us of the good or evil to be the outcome of such +meeting. Now Taras had no such foreboding. The new mandatar had +impressed him rather favourably; but apart from this, his sense of +justice would oppose Judge Stephen's disparagement of the new bailiff. +"Our Count," he would say, "has come into his possessions by +inheritance, just as the Emperor has got his crown: and it is God who +gave them power, for there must be rulers upon earth. It is hard that +we should have to yield forced labour, but such is our lot, and it were +wrong of us to hate the mandatar because he looks after his master's +interest in claiming that portion of our work. He is but doing his +duty; let us do ours." The peasants did not gainsay him, especially as +Hajek on the coming round of the harvest expected neither more nor less +of them than his predecessor, Gonta, had done. The judge had gone to +him misgivingly, fully determined to fight his exactions; but there was +no need, and to his own surprise matters were arranged in a moment. + +Not till the autumn, six months after Hajek's arrival, did a cause of +conflict present itself, when the tribute of the live stock fell due, +the arrangement being that on the day of St. Mary the Virgin each +peasant, according to his wealth, had to bring a foal, or a calf, or a +goose. Now the former steward had never exacted this tax to the day, +but was willing to receive it when the cattle had increase. The judge +and the elders would go to him and state when each villager might hope +to bring his due, and therewith the mandatar was satisfied. In +accordance with this, old Stephen, with Taras, and Simeon Pomenko, his +fellow elder, repaired to the manor house, the judge making his +statement. + +Mr. Hajek listened quietly and blandly, and then he said, "On St. +Mary's day the tribute is due; if there were any arrears I should be +constrained to levy them forcibly." + +"Mandatar," cried Stephen, flushing, "have a care how you interfere +with old usage!" + +"It is an ill-usage." + +"Ill-usage to go by the times of nature?" + +"You should see that you are prepared." + +"I see _you_ are prepared to give good advice," retorted the judge with +wrathful sarcasm; "perhaps you speak from experience! In your country +the cows may calve at a mandatar's pleasure, they don't do so here!" + +Hajek changed colour, but not his mind. "It behoves me to watch over +the Count's interests," he said, slipping away to the safety of his +inner chamber. + +The men went home in a state of excitement, the ill news spreading +rapidly through the village. Before long all the community had gathered +beneath the linden, angry speeches flying while old Stephen delivered +his report. "We must stand up for the time-honoured usage," he cried; +"and as to any forcible interference, let him try it! We have guns, and +bullets too, thank God!" + +"Urrahah!" cried the men, brandishing their weapons. One only remained +quiet, one of the elders--Taras. He allowed the commotion to subside, +and then he begged for the word. "It comes hard upon us I own," he +said, "for it finds us unprepared! The old usage was reasonable and +fair, no doubt; but whatever of hardship any change may involve, we +must consider which way the right inclines--the written right I mean, +and I fear in this case it will speak for the Count." + +"And who has settled that right," cried Stephen, hotly, "but the +Emperor's law-makers. What do they understand about cattle!" + +"Little enough, no doubt," owned Taras, "but these same law-makers have +also made it a matter of writ that serfdom with us is abolished, and +that we peasants have rights which the Count shall not touch. If we +would enjoy the law's benefits, we must put up with its hardships." + +"But where shall we get foals and calves all of a sudden?" + +"Well, that we must see. I can provide some, and perhaps others of the +larger farmers are willing to do the same. Or I will lend the money to +any respectable man of ours that may need it if he can buy his foal or +calf elsewhere. This can be managed. The chief point is the right, and +that must be upheld for our own sakes, even where it goes against us." + +He spoke quietly, firmly, and failed not to make an impression. The men +began to weigh the question more soberly, Taras's offer of assistance +going a long way with the less wealthy. There was none but Judge +Stephen holding out in the end. "You are sheep, all of you," he cried, +"following this great lamb, and you will be shorn, I tell you!" But +since the majority outvoted him even the judge had to yield. + +And thus the tribute was delivered on the very day, at a heavy tax to +Taras's generosity; for while many could not have made it possible +without his proffered help, there were others who improved the +opportunity gratuitously, since he was so willing to step into the +breach. It was simply his doing, then, that by St. Mary's Day not a man +was in arrears. + +Mr. Hajek was prepared to own this when Taras appeared with a foal on +his own behalf. "That was good of you, Podolian; I see it is you who +brought them to reason," said the mandatar, adding approvingly, "I +liked the look of you on our first meeting. I am glad I was not +mistaken!" Whereupon Taras bowed, but his answer was anything but a +humble acknowledgment of praise. "The right must be upheld," he said, +solemnly. + +That was in September. About a month later Hajek sent for the judge and +elders, receiving them with his blandest smile. "After All Souls', and +throughout the winter, you owe me eight labourers a day for forest +work, do you not?" he said. "Well, then, make your arrangements and let +me have a list of the men I am to expect. On the morning after All +Souls' I shall look for the first eight to make their appearance." + +"The forest labour certainly is due," replied the judge, "that is to +say, it was; but since all the timber has been cut, the obligation +dropped. Or are we expected to make new plantations now that winter is +upon us?" + +"Certainly not," said Hajek, "but if the men are due to me, I may +employ them as I think fit. I have sold their labour to the forester of +Prinkowce." + +"That is unjust!" exclaimed Stephen. "We owe forest labour to our own +count, and in his own forests only!" + +Mr. Wenceslas pretended not to hear, picking up his papers and +preparing to retire. "So I shall look for the men on the morning after +All Souls'," he said and vanished. + +"There will be bloodshed if you insist," cried Stephen after him, but +the mandatar was gone. + +The men went their way perturbed. + +"Well, Judge," said Taras, as they walked along, "this is hard. We must +try and advise the people justly, but to do so we must first examine +the documents in your keeping--I dare say his reverence will help us." + +"Podolian!" cried Stephen, angrily, "leave us alone with your +suggestions! We want no documents to be looked into. It is a glaring +wrong, and if proof be needed"--he snatched at his pistol--"here it +is!" + +Taras mused sadly. "Will you take any bloodshed upon your conscience?" +he asked quietly. + +"Will your conscience answer for the wrong?" retorted the judge. + +"Certainly not!" exclaimed Taras. "But in the first place there is but +one just means of redress if we suffer--the authority of the appointed +magistrates; and in the second place we must make sure which way the +right lies--we shall find out by examining the papers." + +Stephen resisted to his utmost, but as Simeon also agreed with Taras he +was obliged to yield; he fetched the deeds, and the men called upon +their parish priest. + +Now Father Martin was an amiable man, glad to leave things alone in +life--his favourite schnaps always excepted, with which he meddled +freely. And he was always ready to express his views, but his opinion +was apt to be that of his latest interlocutor. For both these reasons +he could after all throw no great light upon the matter, which was the +more to be regretted as the question left room for doubt, the +information contained in the documents amounting to this only: "The men +of Zulawce owe forest labour to their count." + +"There you see!" cried Stephen, triumphantly, "to their count. What +could be plainer--and not to the forester of Prinkowce!" + +"Of course not," assented his reverence, "how could the mandatar think +of selling your labour?--ridiculous!" + +"Owe forest labour to their count," said Taras, meditatively. "If there +is no clause to limit the place, the Count _may_ be within the law if +he says: 'Having no forest at Zulawce of my own now, I sell the labour +which is due to me.'" + +"Of course," cried the pope, "he has lost his forest, poor man, shall +he lose his profit besides?--ridiculous!" + +"If he has no forest, he cannot expect us to work in it," objected +Stephen, doggedly. + +"Naturally not," affirmed his reverence; "even a child can see that! +Where is the forest you are to work in?--ridiculous!" + +"There is no lack of forest at Prinkowce," said Taras. + +"No, no, plenty of it," declared the pope; "why, the place is covered +with woods, partly beech, partly pine. And, after all, I suppose it may +be pretty equal to you whether you do the work here or----" + +"All honour to your reverence," broke in the judge, angrily; "but this +is just nonsense; your judgment, I fear, is awry with your schnaps." + +And the amiable man adopted even this opinion, owning humbly "it was +Avrumko, that miserable Jew, with his tempting supply ..." + +But the men went their way none the wiser for their shepherd's +willingness to solve their difficulty. Simeon upon this attempted to +reason with the judge, suggesting their applying to the magistrates for +decision. It was not without a real struggle with himself that old +Stephen at last gave in. + +"To stand up for his right, and knock down the man who wrongs him, this +is the true Huzul way," he cried, passionately, "but if you will try +the law, like a coward, see what you get by it." + +But here Taras held out. "No man can appeal to the law," he said, "but +he who is sure of his right. I am not! I cannot tell whether the right +in this case is on our side or not. And, therefore--God forgive me if +it is wrong, but I cannot otherwise--I shall propose to the people to +yield the forest labour at Prinkowce." + +"You shall not, brother!" cried Simeon, urgently. "You shall not! +Remember that you are no longer a man of the lowlands. We men of +Zulawce love not to bend our necks." + +Taras flushed. "Your taunt is not altogether just," he said, gently, +yet firmly. "True, we of Podolia are more peace-loving, even more +humble than you. It is because we have borne the yoke. But the feeling +of right and wrong is as strong with us as with most men, perhaps all +the stronger for the wrong we have suffered. You determine between +right and wrong with your reason only, we feel it with the heart. And +the right is very sacred to us." + +"Then why not stand up for it now?" + +"I would if I saw it. But my understanding is at a loss, and the voice +of my heart is silent. Therefore I cannot appeal to a decision by law, +but must counsel a giving in." + +And so he did on the following Sunday, when the community assembled +beneath the linden. The men listened to him in silence, none dissenting +nor assenting. After him Simeon arose to propound his views; but when +the word "magistrate" had fallen from his lips their scornful shouting +interrupted him. "No lawsuit for us!" cried the men of Zulawce. At this +point the judge made up his mind to come forward with his opinion, +battling down his resentment at having been defeated before. Some +applauded, but most shook their heads. "Taras," they cried, "tell us +yet again _why_ you would have us give in." He repeated his reasons +slowly and distinctly. Again there was silence. It appeared uncertain +what decision the men would arrive at. + +The judge prepared to put the question to the vote. "Men of Zulawce," +he said, "it is your first duty to reject anything that must be to the +disadvantage of the community. Whoever of you agrees with Taras, let +him lift his hand." The majority did so. The judge did not believe his +eyes. This result was indeed surprising; not only had these men voted +against their own interest, but they denied the very character they +bore. The fact was that Taras's opinion had come to be gospel truth to +the village ever since his stepping so generously into the breach on +St. Mary's Day. + +The old judge positively shed tears of vexation when he had to pass the +resolution arrived at, and at once declared his intention to retire +from office. It was the men's united entreaty only that prevailed with +him not to do so; but as for that rascally mandatar, he would not cross +his threshold again, he swore. + +For this reason it fell to Taras to arrange with Mr. Wenceslas, and +give him a list of the men. Hajek made it an opportunity of patting +Taras on the back, saying approvingly, "Once again you have shown +yourself a capital subject." But this time Taras forbore bowing. He +retreated a step, fixing the mandatar with a look, and said, slowly, +"We are keeping our conscience clean; I hope you can say as much for +yourself, sir." + +Winter wore on, and the forest labour at Prinkowce was yielded quietly +day after day; but the good understanding between old Stephen and Taras +seemed at an end. Their relations had steadily improved in those eight +years, since Taras had lived in the village as the husband of Anusia. +The old man by degrees had conquered his offended pride and the +disappointment of his dearest wishes. He had even learned to entertain +as warm a regard for the stranger as did most of the villagers. But his +friendship yielded to a renewed feeling of coldness after that public +voting. He never spoke to him now except on matters of business, and +then in the most cutting way he could command; it seemed hopeless to +attempt a reconciliation. "Taras is a good man," he would say, "and I +myself am answerable for his being among us. But he is wrong if he +expects us, bears as we are, to be as lamb-like as he is--very wrong, +for it is against our nature." + +And the old man stuck to his opinion. Taras actually was not invited +when, about the middle of December, the men of Zulawce, headed by their +old judge, went hunting the bear in order to procure their Christmas +dinners. "Either he or I," Stephen had said, and Taras was excluded. +That hunting expedition is a regular high day and festival with the +Huzuls, in spite of, or rather on account of the danger it involves. It +generally spreads over three days, but on the present occasion the men +returned on the second day, sad and silent. They brought two giant +bears with them, it is true, but also a dying man. Judge Stephen, with +his wonted impetuosity, had pushed ahead too recklessly, his gun had +missed fire, and an infuriated brute had grappled with him. The bear +was shot, but not till the brave old man had received his death wound +in the bear's embrace, and it was a question whether he would reach the +village alive. "Make haste," he was heard moaning, as they carried him +home; "I must hot die on the road; I have yet a duty to perform in the +village." + +They knew not what he meant, but understood when he begged them to stop +before the house of Taras, who came rushing from his door, and sank to +his knees, sobbing. + +"Weep not," whispered the dying man; "but listen to me. You once saved +my life, you are the most upright man in the village, you have been the +best of husbands to my brother's child, and yet I have been wroth with +you. Not because you supplanted my hopes, I swear it; but because I +have at heart the welfare of this village. In this sacred cause I now +would speak to you. You will be made judge when I am gone--I cannot +hinder it, or indeed I would! Not because I hate you, but for love of +the village, and, ay, for your own sake, Taras! For it must end ill if +the judge, the leader of all, is of another caste than the men he +rules. It cannot be helped now. They will choose you, and you will +accept. But let me tell you one thing--be sure that among men in this +world it is exactly the same as with the beasts of the forest. The +stronger will eat up the weaker, the evil one will destroy him that is +good, the only question being that of strength. Whoever cannot fight +for himself is lost.... But you--you _will_ not understand--you cannot +believe it! I must be satisfied with that which you can understand, and +one thing you can promise. Hold fast by our rights; guard them against +the oppressor, and suffer not that the necks of free men be bowed to +the yoke. Give me your word that you will yield up peace rather than +the right, if it must be fought for." + +He lifted his hand with a great effort, and Taras clasped it in his +own. + +"It is well," said the dying man. "You will keep your word." + +With a burst of wailing they earned the dead judge into his house. On +his face rested an expression of great assurance, born of the good +faith in which he had died. For never has promise been kept more truly +than that which was pledged to him as the shadows fell. + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + TAKING UP THE BATTLE. + + +Spring had returned upon the mountains. Some of the higher summits, it +is true, still wore their crown of snow, glittering now in the sunshine +of April; but the little village gardens of Zulawce were looking bright +with early flowers, and on the slope toward Prinkowce the graveyard had +burst into bloom where they had laid Judge Stephen to his rest. The +spot was carefully tended, and marked with a well-wrought stone cross, +as Taras had ordered, who was judge in his stead; for Harasim, +Stephen's only son, had not troubled himself about it: drink was doing +its work with him, and if his farm was kept in tolerable order it was +due simply to the care of his cousins, Anusia and her husband. Taras +had taken this burden also upon himself, though life pressed heavily on +his shoulders; for it grew more evident to him, day after day, that it +was no light thing to be judge of Zulawce while Wenceslas Hajek, as +Count Borecki's land steward, had power in the village. Again and again +the dying speech of Stephen rang in his ears. + +As for the mandatar, he had rejoiced on learning that Taras had +succeeded the old judge; this gentle Podolian, who had always been on +the yielding side, seemed the very man for his plans. His fury +naturally was all the greater on discovering his mistake. The 'capital +subject' certainly never lost his temper or threatened violence, but +every unfair demand he opposed with an inflexible "No," which was all +the more effective for being given calmly, almost humbly, and fully +substantiated with good reasons. On one occasion, however, his +imperturbation was in imminent danger; Hajek had patted him on the +shoulder, saying, with a knowing wink: "Well, my good fellow, suppose +you allow me two labourers more; it shall not be your loss." Taras upon +this gave the rascal a look which took the colour out of his face, and +made him turn back a step, trembling. + +From that hour there seemed enmity between the two, and the more the +one strove to encroach, the more the other met him with refusal. But +while Taras succeeded in maintaining a stern calm, the mandatar again +and again was seen foaming with rage. It was so upon a certain occasion +early in April, and for a trivial cause. Hajek was making a plantation, +and wanted the villagers to allow him a quantity of young trees from +their forest. + +"We are not bound to yield that," said Taras, quietly. + +The mandatar paced his floor, apparently beyond himself; but a +discriminating observer might have doubted the sincerity of his rage. + +"Don't force me to take high measures," he roared. "Why should you +refuse me a few wretched saplings? I shall just take them, if you hold +out." + +"You will do no such thing," returned Taras, as quietly as before. + +"Do you think I am afraid of your guns and axes?" Hajek's words rose to +a shriek, as though he were half-suffocated with passion, but his eye +was fixed on the peasant's face with a watchful glance. + +"No," said the latter, "I am thinking that there are magistrates in the +district. We shall never have recourse to violence, even if you should +make the beginning." + +"This is palaver." + +"I mean what I say," said Taras, drawing himself up proudly. "While I +am judge here, the men of Zulawce shall not take the law into their own +hands on whatever provocation.... But why speak of such things? The +trees you cannot have, so let me take my leave, sir." + +"Go!" growled the mandatar, but a queer light transformed his features +no sooner than Taras's back was turned. "That is useful to know," he +said to himself with an approving smile. "This man is quite a jewel of +a judge.... No, there is no need to be wroth with you, my good Taras! +So, after all, my first impression of you was the right one!... Old +Stephen could never have had a better successor!" + +But Taras, the judge, went home with a heavy heart. He had no thanks +for his battling, save in his own conscience; the men of Zulawce had +scarcely a word of acknowledgment. On the contrary, they considered him +far too yielding on many points; and, as they viewed matters, there was +truth in their charge. Severin Gonta and the late Count, for the sake +of peace, had not made good every claim to the very letter; but Hajek +demanded every tittle that was his by right of institution, granting +not an hour of respite, and foregoing not a peck of wheat; and Taras as +a matter of duty never opposed him in this. It was quite correct, then, +if the people said that the new judge insisted on their yielding all +dues far more strictly than any of his predecessors ever had done. +Indeed, it was only the love and respect he had won for himself in the +village that kept under any real distrust or open accusation. For he +was all alone in his work, no one helped him by explaining things to +the people, not even that shepherd of his flock whose duty it fairly +might have been. The reverend Martin sat on his glebe as on an isle of +content, all because of that strange man, Avrumko, who kept supplying +him so freely; and any sympathy he might have given was thus drowned. + +But Taras continued bravely and hopefully, comforting his wife when her +courage failed. "The right must conquer," he would tell her; "and for +the rest, have we not an Emperor at Vienna, and God above?" + +"But Vienna is far, and God in heaven seems further," said she, +disheartened. + +"Not so far," cried he, "but that both will hear us if we must call for +redress. But things will not come to such a pass; even a mandatar will +scarcely dare to subvert the right and do violence." + +He was mistaken. Hajek dared both. It was about a month after that +conversation concerning the trees. Taras in the early morning was in +his yard, giving orders to his two servants, Sefko and Jemilian, +concerning the sowing of the wheat, when he was startled by a dull +report, which quivered through the air, a second and a third clap +succeeding. + +"Gunshots!" he gasped. + +"Some one out hunting," said Sefko. + +"No!" cried Jemilian; "it is near the river. Could it be 'Green Giorgi' +with his band?" referring to a notorious outlaw of those days, a +deserter, George Czumaka by name, who wore a green jerkin. + +"No!" cried Taras, in his turn, and making for the road. "In broad +daylight he would never dare.... What has happened?" he interrupted +himself, changing colour. A young farm labourer, Wassilj Soklewicz, +came dashing along wild with terror. + +"Help! help!" he shrieked. His clothes were torn, and he looked white +as death. + +"What is it?" repeated Taras, seizing him by the arm. + +"Help!" groaned the poor fellow. "They have just killed my brother +Dimitri!" + +"Where? Who?" + +"The mandatar ... on the parish field!" said Wassilj; continuing +brokenly: "We had gone there early this morning, my brother and I, +together with the two sons of Dubko, to work on the field as you told +us. We had taken our guns with us, intending to have a shot in the +afternoon. We had just put the oxen to the ploughs when the mandatar +arrived with a number of men, all armed. 'Get ye gone,' he cried; 'you +are trespassing on the Count's property.'" + +"'Begone yourselves!' returned my brother Dimitri, seizing hold of his +gun, which he had laid down, we doing likewise. 'This field has been +parish ground time out of mind; I shall shoot any one that says the +contrary.' + +"The mandatar at this fell back, but urged on his men from behind, and +they attacked us with guns and scythes. We sent our bullets amongst +them, and the foremost of the party, Red Hritzko, turned a somersault +and lay still on his face. One of us had hit him. But they also fired +their guns, and my brother fell, shot through the heart!... They were +too many for us, and they turned upon as with their butt ends. But we +got away!..." + +The poor youth told his tale amid gasps and sobs, and before he had +finished a crowd of villagers had gathered. From their houses, from +their fields round about, the men came running, gathering about their +judge. Most were fully armed, and all were wildly excited; for the +parish field is sacred ground with every Slavonic community; he who +dares touch it is not merely an offender against their property, but +against their very affections; it is all but sacrilege in the eyes of +these men. + +Taras also felt his soul upheave, but he conquered his wrath, knowing +the people. "If I lose self-possession," he said to himself, "blood +will flow in streams to-day!" So he faced the men, who were for +pressing on to the scene of the outrage. "Stop!" he cried, "we shall go +in a body! Call the elders and the rest of the men." + +The command was scarcely needed, for they were coming, every man of +them, and the wives and the children. Wrathful cries filled the air, +the women wailed, and children shrieked with an unknown fear. The +mother of the young man who had been shot, a widow named Xenia, came +rushing along; she had torn the kerchief from her head, and her grey +hair fell in tangled masses round her grief-filled face. "Avenge my +child!" she implored the judge, clasping his knees. + +He lifted her, speaking to her gently; and turning to Simeon and his +fellow-elder he ordered them to let the men fall in. "The heads of +families only," he said; "let the women and young men stay here!" + +"Stay here!" shrieked Xenia. + +"Yes, why?" shouted the excited people. "Let every one follow who is +able to lift a gun." + +"My orders shall be obeyed," cried Taras, drawing himself up in their +midst. "I pledge my head that I shall do my duty!" These words of his +were like magic, the people yielded, and the procession formed. + +But at this juncture Anusia pressed through the crowd, her youngest +child on her left arm, her right hand brandishing a musket. "Take it!" +she cried, offering it to her husband; "it is my father's gun and never +yet missed fire!" + +"Go home, wife," said Taras, "this is not woman's business, I go +unarmed." + +"Why? why?" yelled the people; but she caught him by the shoulder in +wildest excitement. "Taras!" she screamed, "let me not regret that I +was saved from the river! It is a man to whom I yielded, and not to a +coward!" + +"For heaven's sake, woman," cried Simeon, aghast, "you know not what +you are saying!" + +But she continued: "He who would have peace, since blood has been shed, +disgraces his manhood. Will you allow yourself to be killed without +striking a blow, lamb that you are?" + +Taras stood proudly upright, but his face was livid, his eyes were +sunk. His breast heaved with the tumult within, but not a word passed +his lips. Thus silently he held out his hand, motioning the woman +aside, and she obeyed, confounded. + +"Men of Zulawce," he said at last, slowly and distinctly, but with a +voice which, from its strange huskiness, no one would have recognised +as his, "I speak not now of the dishonour my wife has put upon me; I +shall do that by-and-by, in your presence likewise. But now I ask you, +will you obey me as your judge, or will you not? Once again, I pledge +my head that I shall do my duty!" + +"We will," they cried unanimously. + +"Then let us go." And the procession started, some sixty men, heads of +families, following Taras, who led the way with the two elders, Simeon +and Alexa Sembrow, his own successor. + +The field in question, the common property of the community, was an +irregular square, sloping towards the river, its upper boundary being a +coppice which also belonged to the parish. A large black cross rose in +the centre. + +On stepping from the coppice, through which their road lay, the +peasants could overlook the field at a glance. The mandatar with his +men had established himself by the cross; he evidently had hired +reinforcements, for they numbered some forty. At the lower end of the +field, by the river, two of his labourers were seen ploughing with a +yoke of oxen; another team stood ready for use by the cross. On the +upper part, near the coppice, lay the body of the slain youth, +evidently dragged thither by Hajek's men. But when the peasants beheld +the corpse, and the armed band below, their fury knew no bounds; a +thundering "Urrahah!" burst from them, and they pressed forward. + +But Taras was before them, snatching at Simeon's pistol and turning it +against his own forehead. "Stop!" he cried with a voice that could not +but be listened to. "Another step, and I shall kill myself before your +eyes." + +They fell back, hesitating; but they obeyed. + +The mandatar's men meanwhile prepared for fight, Mr. Wenceslas himself +hiding behind them. He let his under-steward be spokesman in his stead, +a huge fellow from Bochnia, Boleslaw Stipinski, by name. + +"What do you want?" roared this giant; "are you for fighting or for +peaceful speech?" + +"We have come to defend our right," shouted Taras. + +"Your wrong, you mean," retained Boleslaw. "But no matter, we stand on +our master's soil, and shall yield it only with our lives. Mr. Hajek is +prepared to affirm this to the judge and elders, if they will step +forward." + +Taras was ready to parley, being followed by Simeon and Alexa. They +found the mandatar crouching on a stone, some of his men lifting their +guns behind him. + +"Tell them to put away their firelocks," said Taras, quietly; "you need +not tremble like that; if it were for fight, we had been here sooner." + +"Then you are peaceably inclined?" inquired Hajek. + +"If you will own yourself in the wrong, offering some atonement for the +crime committed." + +"And if not?" + +"Then we must refer the matter to the court of the district." + +The mandatar recovered himself; he even smiled. "Perhaps that will not +be necessary," he said. "You are a sensible law-abiding man, Taras, and +I daresay you will understand my view of the case quickly enough. You +know that in the days of the Emperor Joseph a survey of the property +was taken. I have the papers, and therein it is plainly put down: 'The +boundary of the parish field is marked by the coppice on the one side, +by the black cross on the other; beyond the cross as far as the river +the soil belongs to the Count.' So you see I am entitled to claim for +my master that part of this field which beyond a doubt is his." + +"No," cried Taras; "for when the survey was taken, and until fifteen +years ago, the black cross stood close by the river, leaving a footpath +for the Count who has always had the fishing in the Pruth. When the old +cross was weatherworn the parish erected a new one in the centre of the +field. That, sir, is the plain truth." + +"May be," returned Hajek, smiling. "I suppose that would be a question +for the magistrates to look into; in the meantime, I shall act upon the +evidence of my own eyes. It was natural that I should request the men I +found ploughing here to take themselves off. They fired their guns and +killed one of my men; what could we do but fire ours? and I shall keep +the two yoke of oxen to indemnify the Count for his loss. There, I have +done." + +"But we have not," said Taras, solemnly, baring his head. "I call the +Almighty to witness that we are grievously wronged! And I protest that +we could never own you in the right! It is in obedience to our Lord the +Emperor, and in obedience to the law of God that we have refrained from +violence. But both the Emperor and the Almighty will see us righted!" + +"Well done!" said the mandatar, with a sneer. "This is a finer flourish +than ever fell from the lips of Father Martin; the pope might fairly be +jealous of you!" + +Taras felt outraged; but he repressed the reproof that rose to his +lips, and moved away in silence. + +"Well!" cried the peasants when their leaders returned to them; "does +he yield? or will you permit us now to offer him proof of our right +after our own fashion?" + +"No!" said Taras, "you shall follow me back to the village; we must +convene a public meeting. But, first, we must carry the dead man into +his mother's house, and you, Simeon, meanwhile, ask his reverence to +join us with the Host." + +"But what if I find him incapable?" objected the elder. + +"No matter, it will not affect that which is holy." + +Within an hour the community had assembled under the shade of the lime +tree, outside the village inn. Father Martin, too, had arrived in full +vestments, carrying the pix. It being yet early in the day, the elder +was fortunate in finding him in his right mind. + +But before Taras opened the meeting he had a domestic matter to settle. +His wife lay at his feet, and her repentance was as passionate as her +wrath had been. + +"Trample upon me," she wept; "cast me from you, I have fully deserved +it!" + +But Taras lifted her up--kissed her. "I forgive it," he said, "but not +again!" + +And then he went to speak to the people: "There is not a shadow of a +doubt as to our right," he said, "and therefore the district court will +be on our side. Self-avenging yields tears and bloodshed only, and is +likely to leave us in the wrong. I shall start this very day for +Colomea to demand justice against the mandatar, and you shall swear to +me now that you will keep the peace while I am gone." + +Father Martin elevated the Host, and the men, kneeling, took the oath. + +By noon Taras had set out on his way. He had taken his best horse and +borrowed another on the road, but the distance being a good fifty miles +he could not reach the town before noon the following day. A courier +from the mandatar had forestalled him. + +The district governor, therefore, Herr Ferdinand von Bauer, a +comfortable elderly gentleman, was not exactly pleased to see the +village judge, and would have none of his statements. "I know all about +it already," he said, "there is no need to repeat it." But Taras +insisted on substantiating his charge with fall particulars, which +appeared to differ from the account that had been rendered to the +governor. Anyhow this comfortable gentleman began to shake his head, +and to pace the floor of his office. At last he pulled up in front of +the peasant, examining his face. "Is this the truth you are giving me?" +he demanded gruffly. + +Taras met his glance fully. "It is the truth," he said solemnly, "so +help me God!" + +"Humph! humph!" was all the answer vouchsafed, and the governor again +fell to pacing the floor, till after a while he once more stood still +in front of Taras. "Be hanged, both of you!" he said amiably. "I mean +both lord of the manor and peasantry. Can't you ever keep the peace! A +nice thing to have to arbitrate between you by way of resting one's old +bones!" To be a district governor in Galicia, to his idea, plainly was +not a bed of roses. "Go back to your people," he continued more gently, +"I am unable to decide from a distance, but will send a commissioner to +take evidence on the spot. Meanwhile, you can bury your dead, since we +cannot bring them back to life, whatever we finally decide." + +The judge returned quieted. The peace of the village had been kept, in +spite of the towering rage of the peasants at having to stand by and +let the mandatar till the field that was not his. The part beyond the +cross, which Hajek left to the villagers, was ploughed and sown +presently by Taras's men. "A man of the law will soon be here," he +comforted himself and others, "and then we shall be righted." + +A fortnight had elapsed when the expected official made his appearance; +but this, unfortunately, did not mend matters. It was a certain +district commissioner, Mr. Ladislas Kapronski, called the "snake" by +his colleagues, which appellation fitted both his character and his +gait, for in the presence of a superior this man never did anything but +wriggle. He may have owed his advancement either to this peculiarity or +to the number of his years, since preferment went by seniority, but +never to his merits; for, whatever might be said of his cringing and +deceitful nature, it was impossible to say aught for his capability, or +even his desire of doing well. And having, moreover, a reputation for +being frightened at the shadow of a hen, not to say at the sight of an +infuriated peasantry, this commissioner plainly was the man for his +mission! + +And he did not belie his fame. The question of murder he disposed of in +an off-hand way. "Both sides have had a man killed," he said, "let us +suppose that they are quits. I may presume they killed each other, and +since they are dead we cannot punish them; so that is settled." After a +similar fashion he decided the question concerning the field. "I find +the mandatar in possession for the Count," he said, "and he can prove +his claim from the title-deeds. I must, therefore, give judgment in his +favour." + +"And if we had ejected him forcibly," cried Taras, bitterly; "if we had +not refrained from righting ourselves by means of bloodshed, _we_ +should have found that possession is law?" + +"Well, well," said Mr. Kapronski, trembling at this outburst, "I am +sure it is very praiseworthy that you did not have recourse to +violence. And I did not say that possession was law; indeed, it is not +always. The field may really be yours; in that case, you must just file +a suit and fight it out against the lord of the manor, leaving him in +possession meanwhile." + +The peasants demurred, but Taras urged silence. "Is that all you have +come to tell us?" he inquired of the commissioner. + +"Well, yes--certainly.... No, stop; there is something else. You shall +see how anxious I am to judge fairly. The two yoke of oxen which the +mandatar has seized shall be returned to you this very day. I have so +ordered it, for justice shall be done. But be sure and leave the Count +in possession; now do, or you will offend grievously." + +He had jumped back into his vehicle, in a great hurry to be gone. He +considered he had done his duty, and drove away, greatly relieved to +see the last of these people with their battle-axes and guns. + +Taras for some hours was disconsolate, but his faith in justice +restored him. He called together the people. "The right will right +itself," he cried. "I trust in God and believe in the Emperor. We must +go to law!" + +But his influence seemed gone. "It is your fault," they exclaimed, "and +you must bear the consequence! We men of Zulawce carry a cause with gun +and axe, and not pen-and-inkwise. It is just your tardiness that lost +us half the field, we will not lose the other half by a law-suit. Or, +at least, if you will try the law, do so at your own expense." + +"I am ready for that," said Taras. "A man standing up for the right +must not stop short of victory, even though he should be ruined in the +attempt." + +Again he went to Colomea and called upon the district governor. But +Herr von Bauer turned on his heel. "We have done our part," he said +curtly; "if you are not satisfied there is an attorney in the place." + +"I do not understand," replied Taras, modestly but firmly. "I want the +law to see us righted and is it not you who, in the Emperor's stead, +are here to dispense it?" + +"You great baby!" snorted the governor. But good nature supervened; he +came close to Taras, laying a hand upon his shoulder. "Let me make it +plain to you," he said. "If you go and kill the mandatar, or if he +kills you, it will be my business to come down upon you with the law, +even if no complaint has been urged, for that is a crime. But if you +and your peasants assert that a field is yours, which the steward of +the manor has possession of we can only interfere if you bring an +action, preferring your complaint through an attorney, for that is a +matter in dispute. Now do you understand? if so, go and instruct your +lawyer. Do you take it in?" + +"No," said Taras; "the right surely must be upheld, whether life or +property be touched; and to the men of Zulawce that field is as sacred +as my life is to me. Is not justice in all things the world's +foundation? and does not he who disregards it wrong the very law of +life! Can it be the Emperor's will that such wrongdoing is not your +business?" + +"Dear! dear!" groaned the magistrate; "have I not always said, it's a +precious business to be a district governor in Galicia? Why, you are +just savages here--no notion of how the law works! But you don't seem a +man to be angry with, so begone in peace." + +Taras quitted the office, standing still outside. Disappointment and a +sense of personal injury surged up within him with a pain so vivid, +that he had to wrestle with it for fear he should burst into a shriek +like some wounded animal. + +But he recovered himself and went to seek the lawyer. He soon found +him--Dr. Eugene Starkowski--a sharp-witted attorney, who at once caught +the gist of the matter. He shook his head. "It was foolish," he said, +"to move a landmark! But I will see what I can do for you." + +"How soon can we expect a decision?" + +"Some time in the autumn." + +"Not before!" exclaimed Taras. + +"No, and you will be lucky if more of your patience is not required. It +will not be my fault, but you see the gentlemen of the court like to +take it easy." + +"Take it easy!" echoed Taras, as one in a dream, staring at the lawyer +in helpless wonder. "Take it easy!" he repeated wildly. "Oh, sir, this +is not right! Justice should flow like a well which all can reach, for +it is hard to be athirst for it." + +Starkowski looked at the peasant, first with a kind of professional +interest only, but with human sympathy before long. He smiled--"I will +really do my best for you," he said, and his voice was that of a man +comforting a grieving child. + +And he did his best, using his every influence to expedite the matter. +In most lawsuits at that time in Galicia six months would slip away +before even a writ was served upon the defendant, but Mr. Hajek, in the +present case, received his within a week. To be sure, he was entitled +to a three months' delay to get up his defence, and he availed himself +of it to the day--for what purpose, the poor peasants presently had +reason to suspect. On the very last day of the term allowed to him he +sent in his reply, pleading in exculpation the reasons he had given to +Taras, and demanding in his turn that a commission should be appointed +for the examining of witnesses on the spot. + +Taras's counsel was not a little surprised. To examine the peasants +upon their oath was the one means within the reach of the law for +arriving at the truth concerning the alleged removing of the cross +which marked the boundary. It plainly was in the mandatar's interest to +prevent this if possible, and to take his stand on the ocular evidence +in his favour, as given in the title deeds. Strange that he should +propose the very means of settling the contest which of all was most +likely to go against him! Dr. Starkowski could not make it out. "He is +a fool," he thought, "unless, after all, he is sure of his claim, or, +indeed, has bribed his witnesses." And both conjectures appeared to him +equally unlikely, the former because of the solemn soul-stirring manner +with which Taras had invoked his help; the latter because of the good +opinion Mr. Wenceslas enjoyed in the district town. For his Parisian +antecedents were not known there, and society had admitted him to its +bosom as an amiable gentleman of irreproachable character. + +But since both parties were ready to be put upon their oath, there was +nothing else to be done. And the same genius of justice who in the +spring had so capably decided that there was no one to be accused of +murder, was despatched in the autumn to act for the civil law. + +"Examine matters carefully, Mr. Kapronski," said the district governor; +"take the depositions of every individual witness, impressing them with +the sanctity of the oath. Go into the case thoroughly--there is no +danger to yourself--and be sure not to hurry it over." + +The commissioner, with an obsequious wriggle, departed on his mission. +"The old fool," he said, when seated in his vehicle, "as though it did +not depend on a man's sagacity much more than on his taking time! I'll +see through the business in less than two hours, I will." + +He was expected at Zulawce, and all the community had turned out to +receive him--men, women, children, not to forget Father Martin, who, +let it be said of him, for once had eschewed his favourite solace, and +was perfectly sober. Mr. Hajek, too, had arrived, followed by the +gigantic Boleslaw and a number of labourers on the estate. The +commissioner drew up amongst them, and alighting beneath the village +linden, called for a table from the inn. + +"That is the first of my requirements," he said to the mandatar; "the +second I have brought with me," pointing at a puffing clerk, who was +seen descending from his seat by the coachman, with a huge parcel of +red-taped foolscap and an inkstand large enough to bespeak the +importance of the proceedings. "The third requisite," continued the +commissioner, "a crucifix, no doubt these good people can provide." + +They procured one from the nearest house. It was placed upon the table. + +"To add to the solemnity," whispered the clerk, "two burning candles +..." + +"No need," interrupted the commissioner. "I myself will be a light to +their understanding." But his voice, as he turned to the people, +quivered with anxiety. "I have come," he said, "to find out where the +black cross, now in the centre of the so-called parish field, may have +stood sixteen years ago. This is all the evidence I care for. So +whoever of you has no testimony to offer on this head may take himself +off--have the goodness to retire, I mean!" + +A few labourers from the lowlands only obeyed this injunction, no one +else moving. All eyes were fixed on him, such proceedings, indeed, not +being an every-day spectacle. + +"It is alleged," resumed Mr. Kapronski, "that the cross in question was +removed from its formed position fifteen years ago. Now, those only can +affirm or deny this who were not children at the time. I will listen to +no one, therefore, who has not passed his thirtieth year. I mean, all +that are younger, I will ask them kindly to retire." + +No one stirred. Kapronski looked about with an uncertain gaze. Happily, +Taras came to the rescue. + +"Have you not understood?" he cried, with far-reaching voice. "Whoever +has not reached his thirtieth year is not wanted." + +It sufficed. First the girls ran away, followed by the women and +children, the young men leaving reluctantly. Some two hundred of the +villagers were left, forming a dense crowd round the table. + +"And now, listen," continued the commissioner. "Whoever has no clear +personal recollection where the cross stood sixteen years ago, let him +lift his right hand." + +Only two hands were lifted--those of the leaders of the contending +parties. "I came to the village eighteen months ago," said the +mandatar. "And I ten years ago," said the judge. + +"Never mind!" cried Kapronski, hastily. "Please stay; these men +might----" he surveyed the stalwart assembly with evident +embarrassment, and then added, "you have a right to watch the +proceedings! Please, Mr. Mandatar, step to the right of the table; and +you, Mr. Taras, to the left." + +"Now then, listen!" he repeated, addressing himself once more to the +people. "Whoever of you remembers for a certainty that sixteen years +ago the black cross stood where it now stands, in the centre of the +field, let him step to the right, taking his place beside Mr. Hajek. +But whoever, on the contrary, is sure of recollecting that the cross +sixteen years ago stood by the river and was removed thence to its +present place a twelvemonth later, let him step to the left side, +joining your judge." + +The division took place amid ominous growls, which broke into +exclamations of unbounded wrath and indignant imprecations when the +opposing parties stood facing each other. "You curs!" cried the +peasants, brandishing their axes. For not only was the mandatar +supported by the labourers and farmers of the manorial estate, but, +contrary to all expectation, some of the villagers had gone to his +side--drunkards and others of low character. Now, whatever these might +be thought capable of, no one had given them credit for such open +treason against the community--the very worst of crimes in the eyes of +those people, to whom no bond is more sacred than that between man and +man for the common weal. And what carried their disgust to its height +was the fact that the son of their own old judge had joined the enemy. +Harasim Woronka, too, had taken his place beside the mandatar, not won +over by bribery like the rest of them, but by his own thirst for +revenge: it seemed an opportunity for crushing the hated stranger. +Harasim was fast going to ruin, and in his fuddled brain the thought +kept burning: "If it were not for Taras I might be judge this day, +besides being Anusia's husband and the richest man of the village." And +whatever benefit he had received at the hands of the noble-hearted +stranger had been like oil to the fire of his hatred. Too cowardly for +an open act of revenge, he had lent a willing ear to the tempter coming +to him in the guise of Boleslaw; but what little good was left in his +degraded soul must have pleaded with his conscience even now, for he +stood trembling visibly. + +"You miserable woman of a man!" roared the insulted peasants; "you +disgrace your father in his very grave!" Harasim grew white, his hands +clutching the air like a drowning man, for not a more terrible reproach +can be offered to a child of that race. Indeed, he would have owned his +wickedness there and then by returning to the ranks of those to whom he +belonged by kinship and destiny, had not Boleslaw interfered, seizing +the wavering object with his huge hand and holding him tight. + +"Murder!" roared the peasants, making an onslaught against the giant. +It seemed as though the fury of bloodshed were let loose. + +The three men by the table looked upon this scene with greatly +differing sensations. The commissioner had grown ashy, being ready to +swoon. Mr. Hajek, on the contrary, quivered with elation, but strove to +hide his sense of victory beneath a mask of aggrieved consternation, +saying to the representative of the law: "There, now, is it not almost +impossible to maintain one's right with such people?" The virtuous +creature would have felt doubly elated had one of the uplifted axes +silenced Harasim for ever. + +But that, to his disappointment, was prevented by the resolute and +magnanimous courage of Taras, the judge. The treachery of Harasim had +hurt him more than any of the others; but for a moment only did he +yield to his feelings, duty coming to his rescue and making him strong. +"Forbear!" he cried, with powerful voice. "Forbear," echoed the elders, +and with them he faced the enraged peasants. They fell back, leaving a +space between the two parties. + +Kapronski kept shaking and quaking; his blanched lips opened and shut, +but they framed not a sound. Luckily for him, an incident--partly +ludicrous, but in truth most sad--at this juncture diverted attention +from his own miserable self; for, when the parties once more stood +facing each other, they perceived what had escaped their infuriated +senses before, that one man had not joined either side, but was left +standing in the middle--the village pope, Martin Sustenkowicz. Nor did +the shepherd of Zulawce at this moment look like the happy peacemaker +between his belligerent parishioners, being too plainly of a divided +mind, and dolefully unsettled. + +"Why, your reverence," cried the under-steward, "what are you about! +Did you not swear to me yesterday that the mandatar was in the right?" + +"Ah--hm--yes--yesterday!" stammered the pope, with a dazed look at the +peasants, and taking an uncertain step to the other side. + +"Stop! not this way, little father!" broke in Alexa, seizing him by his +caftan; "did not you tell me this very morning: 'The field is yours +most certainly, for with my own hands I consecrated the new cross +fifteen years ago'?" + +"Hm--ah--yes--consecrated!" groaned the poor man helplessly, a +distracted figure in their midst. The mandatar took pity on him. + +"Move this way," he said, with wicked sarcasm, "there is room behind +the table right away from the contending parties. We have no candles to +solemnise the scene, let the light of your countenance make up for it, +illumining this crowd of witnesses." + +The commissioner meanwhile had partly recovered, and had found his +voice, though a husky one. "I must administer the oath," he said, "for +you have given evidence by taking your position either on this side or +on that. Let any one who cannot swear to his deposition show it by +lifting his hand." + +Not a finger moved. + +Kapronski gasped. He was anxious to get over the business, but this +state of things seemed to force from him some kind of exhortation. "My +good people," he cried, "why, perjury is no joke! There's a Judge in +heaven you know, and--hm--I mean--_we_ punish any one convicted of +swearing falsely. And--it seems plain--only one of the parties can take +their oath honestly. So do consider, I entreat you! Now then--which of +you cannot--hm--ought not, to swear?" + +But his well-meant speech fell flat. The only witness whose hand seemed +to make an upward movement, Harasim Woronka, let drop his arm when the +overpowering Boleslaw whispered in his ear: "Wretched coward, shall +Taras rejoice after all?" + +The commissioner wiped his brow--this was more than he dared report to +his superiors. "Unheard of case!" he groaned, turning to the mandatar. +"Hadn't we better get the priest to speak to the people?" + +"By all means," replied Mr. Hajek, with his most pious mien; "I have no +doubt he will vastly influence the sleeping conscience." + +But Taras shook his head. "Mr. Kapronski," he said, "it is a sad thing +for people to be shepherded as we are. You see with your own eyes what +manner of man he is. But we poor peasants have no voice in the matter, +we can only strive to reverence the holy things, if we cannot reverence +him who dispenses them. Therefore we try to avoid anything that must +lower him in our eyes, for it is not well when the people are given +cause of mockery. Nay, it is not well, God knows! Judge for yourself, +sir, would it be fit to let him speak to the people at this solemn +moment? For is not an oath an awful thing, terribly awful?" + +Kapronski breathed, relieved. Were not the peasants the accusers in +this matter? If they, then, were satisfied to have no further +exhortation, he was not accountable for any consequences. He stepped +forward. "I put you all upon your oath," he said, baring his head, and +every one present followed his example. And having once again stated +the matter to be sworn, the peasants, one after another, passed in +front of the crucifix, giving their names and lifting three fingers of +their right hand, saying: "I swear." But the mandatar's party after +them, to a man, took the oath likewise. It was done quietly and +quickly. + +The commissioner pulled out his watch. "An hour and forty minutes," he +said, triumphantly. His vehicle had stood by in readiness. He mounted +at once, and quitted the village with all possible speed. + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + THE WRONG VICTORIOUS. + + +Autumn, as a rule, is by far the most pleasant season in the Galician +highlands. The winter there is long, dreary, and trying; the spring +cool, and all too short; the summer exceedingly hot, and liable to +thunderstorms almost daily. But in the autumn Nature wears a genial +face in the uplands, with a delicious continuance of sunshine, when the +airy dome is scarcely ruffled by the breeze, and wondrously clear; day +succeeding day of this gentle splendour till late in November +sometimes. Not so, however, in the year we are speaking of. In that +season the birds had left early for their southern haunts, the earth +looking bare and cheerless all of a sudden; the sun had hidden within +heavy clouds, and the whirling snowflakes were at their chill play +before September was well out. Brighter days once more supervened, but +they were bitterly cold, ushering in a fresh fall of snow and a dismal +twilight of the heavens, which seemed determined to last. + +The people sat gloomily by their firesides, growing the more alarmed at +this early show of winter as they listened to the tales of the old folk +among them, who remembered a similar season in their youth--the winter +of 1792--which was a terrible visitation in that country, beginning as +early as the present one. In that year the cold grew so intense that +men scarcely ventured outside their cottages, because every breath they +drew went like daggers to their lungs, and their limbs were benumbed in +the space of a few minutes, so that even in trying to get from one end +of the village to the other some had been frozen to death. And the snow +drifted in such masses that the dwellers in the glens were hopelessly +shut up, some actually dying of starvation. Thus ran the terrible tale; +but the old folk at Zulawce were like old people everywhere, and the +dread experience of their youth grew in horror with the receding years. +The spectres of fear roused by these memories kept glaring at men and +women within the lowly cottages. + +Distress and suffering seemed at hand; and the poor were the poorer for +the loss of the common field, the produce of which would have yielded +them a welcome share. But more than this, the harvest had failed in +part, and the cold overtaking the land so early threatened to destroy +the winter crop. Thus the future was as clouded as the present, and +want might be looked for. Had such trouble befallen the men of the +lowlands they would have borne it sadly and meekly, bowing their heads +before the Lord of the seasons. But not so the defiant natures at +Zulawce, questioning their fate indignantly, and looking about for one +who might bear the brunt of their anger; for, with the strong, +affliction is apt to blaze forth in wrath. Their scapegoat was easily +found; for who else should be to blame for the loss of that field if +not Taras, their long-suffering judge! + +Grievous days had come to him, and he would not have known how to bear +his burden, but for the conviction upholding him that the decision of +the court could not long be delayed now. This alone gave him the +strength to continue his sorrowful duty day after day. The mandatar +pitilessly went on grasping at every pound of flesh he might claim; the +community either could or would not yield it. If Taras tried to reason +with them to submit to the forest labour, which again had been sold, +they retorted it was not their duty, and even he might know now what +came of being too docile towards a rascally land-steward! Besides they +had not the strength for it now, they said, half-starving as they were; +and but for him the produce of that field by the river might now be +safely stored in their granaries. And on his replying that, in that +case, he must discontinue his office, they said scornfully their little +father Stephen had been a judge for fair days as well as foul; it was a +pity that he was gone, since his successor evidently was not like him +in this. And Taras felt this taunt far more deeply than even the +passionate appeals of his wife. He resolved to see the matter to its +end; and, since there seemed no other means, he had the required forest +labour done by his own men, or by others willing to work for his pay. + +"We can afford it," he consoled his more prudent wife, "and if I thus +step into the breach for the parish it is not as though I took it from +the property which you have brought to me, since I have added to it +honestly by my own diligence. And I shall have a right to expect +indemnification when better days shall have come round. God surely will +see to our being righted, and He will lessen the burden we now have to +bear. Besides, a verdict must reach us before long, and there cannot be +any doubt but that the court will see that the village has been +wronged." + +The verdict, however, was still delayed. Week after week passed amid +suffering and dejection, and Christmas to the villagers brought nothing +of its own good cheer. For the grim snowstorms continued, and if at +intervals the skies would brighten, it was only to usher in still +sharper frosts. + +It was on the Epiphany of 1837 that the rigorous cold unexpectedly came +to an end. Quite early on that day the people had been waked from their +sleep by strange noises in the air, and rushing from their houses, were +met by an unwonted warmth. It was the south wind so ardently longed +for. It did not blow long enough to bring about any melting of the +snow, folding its merciful wings all too soon; but the terrible cold +nevertheless appeared to have received its death blow, the temperature +not again sinking much below freezing point. + +And in happy mood old and young that morning went to church; men even +who had been sworn enemies for years would look at each other +pleasantly at the welcome change. Taras also beheld brighter faces, and +heard kinder words than had fallen on his ear since the sorrowful +springtime. Indeed, so strong and general was the feeling of relief and +of gratitude due to the Almighty, that even the pope was seized by the +wave and carried to a shore of contrition he had not reached for many a +year. Mass had been read, and the people were about to depart, quite +accustomed to the fact that Father Martin, on account of his own sad +failing, would excuse the sermon; but they were startled by his request +to resume their seats, and he actually mounted his pulpit. Poor man, he +could not give them much of a discourse, but such as it was it lent +expression to their own feelings, and could not fail to touch their +hearts. + +The people, who were in a good frame of mind, after church gathered in +groups outside. There was the weather to be talked about, and the +sermon, and the lawsuit; concerning the latter, some of those even who +bore Taras the deepest grudge were heard to say, "Who can tell but that +it may end well after all." + +And the most cheerful was Taras himself. He moved about from group to +group, kindly words passing to and fro. "Let us trust God," he kept +saying; "He has dispelled the fearful cold; at His touch the wrong, +too, will vanish. My heart tells me so! The verdict cannot be delayed +much longer, we may even hear of it before the day is out." + +These words had scarcely fallen from his lips, when that happened +which, however frequent in fiction, is rare enough in actual life--his +expectation was realised there and then. Up the road from the river a +sledge was seen advancing, driven by a peasant and carrying, it +appeared, a large bundle of fur-rugs. No human occupant was visible +when the vehicle stopped amid the staring peasantry, but the rug-bundle +began to move, throwing off its outer covering, a bear-skin; a +good-sized sheep-skin peeling off next, revealing as its kernel a funny +little hunchbacked figure, an elderly townsman rather shabbily clad. He +rose to his feet, inquiring, with a great deal of condescension: "My +good people, is the judge of this village anywhere among you?" + +The stalwart peasants laughed at the puny creature, and even Taras, +moving up to the sledge, could not repress a smile. "And what do you +want with him?" + +The stranger pursed his mouth; his hand dived into his pocket and +produced an alarming pair of spectacles, which he put upon his +shrivelled nose, plainly desirous of adding dignity to that feature, +and then he said slowly, almost solemnly, "A man like you should say +'your worship' to me! I am Mr. Michael Stupka, head clerk of Dr. Eugene +Starkowski." + +Taras shook from head to foot, and clutching the man, he stammered, +"You have come to tell as the verdict! you have got a letter for me!" + +And all the peasants pressed round them. "Ah!" they cried, "we have got +the field back, no doubt!... Long live Taras, the judge; he was right +after all.... But do read us your letter." + +The terrified clerk all this time endeavoured to free himself from the +iron grasp that held him as in a vice. "Stand off!" he groaned. "I have +brought you the verdict--yes; but ..." He faltered. + +Taras grew white. Hardly knowing what he did, he, with his strong arm, +lifted the little man right out of the sledge, putting him down on the +ground before him. "No," he said hoarsely, "it cannot be! The verdict +surely is in our favour?" + +"Why, dear me, can _I_ help it?" wailed the dwarfish creature. "Are you +savages here, or what! Ah, you are strangling me ... it is not _my_ +fault, I am only a clerk and of no consequence whatever ... I assure +you! And Dr. Starkowski tried his best. Moreover, the matter need not +rest here; don't you know that there is such a thing as an appeal?" + +But Taras evidently did not take in this hint any more than he had +understood the preceding words. One thought only had laid hold of him, +and he reeled like a stricken man. "Lost!" he groaned hoarsely, the +ominous syllable being taken up more shrilly by the peasants, who +pressed closer still. + +The clerk, meanwhile, had produced the documents of which he was the +bearer, the one being a writ of the court, the other a letter of Dr. +Starkowski's. "There!" he cried, thrusting them under Taras's nose. + +Taras was striving to regain his composure. "We are usable to read +writing," he said, gasping. "You must tell us what the lawyers have got +to say. To whom have they adjudged the field?" + +But Mr. Stupka did not feel it prudent to answer this question right +out. He broke the official seal, putting on a look of the greatest +importance. "With pleasure, good people," he said condescendingly, +"with pleasure! I'll read it to you, and translate it presently into +plain language. The legal style, you know ..." + +But Taras interrupted him. "To _whom_?" he repeated, more emphatically. + +"Well, I should say," stammered the luckless clerk, "I should say ... +to the lord of the manor, so to speak." + +"It is a lie," shrieked Taras; "it cannot be!" But the peasantry +veering round, cried scornfully: "Did we not tell you that going to law +is a folly? You have done it now!" + +Utterly beside himself with the passion of his disappointment, the +judge clenched his fists and set his teeth in the face of the mocking +crowd, but the two elders laid their hands on him gently. "Do not give +way," begged the faithful Simeon, "try and bear the blow; let us hear +the verdict first, and then we will consider what next can be done." + +The clerk spread out the document. "In the name of the Emperor!" he +began, translating the somewhat lengthy preamble. The villagers loyally +had pulled off their caps; Taras only thought not of baring his head. +Simeon endeavoured to remind him, but the judge shook him off. The +honest man looked at him doubtfully, and receded a step. The others did +not notice it, too intent upon the verdict. + +It was a long piece of legal rhetoric, substantiating every statement +with a flourish of evidential reasoning, in the German language, which +in those days was the medium for judicial transactions throughout that +conglomerate of Babel-tongued countries going by the name of Austria. +It was no easy undertaking to translate the strangely intricate periods +of official verbosity into the simple vernacular of the listeners; but +Mr. Stupka, being as clever as he was small, contrived to make himself +understood. The verdict amounted to a dismissal of the case, because +the plaintiffs could not bring forward sufficient proof to uphold their +claim. The description of the field in the title deeds, it said, was in +favour of the party in present possession, and if a number of witnesses +upon their oath had given contrary evidence, their testimony was +invalidated by counter-evidence upon oath likewise. It was not the +court's business in civil cases to start an inquiry whether false +witness possibly had been tendered; it was rather the duty of the court +to decide which evidence weighed heavier in the scale, and the balance +had inclined in favour of manorial rights. It seemed strange, also, +that the village judge, as had been reported, should have opposed the +exhortation of the witnesses by means of the pope.... + +Up to this point Taras had listened in silence and motionless, but now +a shudder ran through his body, and he clenched his fists. "Ye adders," +he panted; "ye deceitful adders!" + +"Bear it," whispered Simeon, entreatingly, putting his arm round his +reeling friend. But Taras scarcely needed the admonition as far as +keeping silence was concerned, for his eyes closed; he seemed on the +point of swooning. + +And moreover, the clerk continued, it was a fact that among those who +had given their oath in favour of the manorial claim had been several +heads of families of the village, men, therefore, who tendered witness +against their own interest. Such evidence could not easily be set +aside. Considering all these points, therefore, the case was dismissed, +the plaintiffs to bear the costs, as was meet and just. + +"Just!" echoed the men in savage scorn, Taras alone keeping silence. +His hand went to his heart suddenly, he staggered and fell heavily, as +a man struck by lightning. + +For hours he lay in a swoon. They had carried him into his house; but +neither the lamentations of his wife, nor their united endeavours to +restore animation seemed to penetrate the dead darkness that had fallen +on his soul. And when at last he opened his eyes his words appeared to +them so utterly strange that they were more frightened still. "The very +foundations are giving," he kept crying, "the holiest is being dragged +low!" And he, in whose eyes no one ever had seen a tear, was seized +with a paroxysm of weeping. He bemoaned his terrible fate, and between +his sobs he called for his children, to take leave of them, he said. +And he repeated this request so urgently that they could but humour +him. It was a pitiful scene, and one after another the neighbours went +away shudderingly, Simeon Pomenko only watching through the night by +the sufferer's couch. But in the village the news spread that the +judge, for sorrow, had gone out of his mind. + +Not till the following morning did this piece of information come to +the ears of the mandatar, Mr. Hajek having spent the night at Zablotow, +playing at cards with the officers of the hussars. His under-steward, +Boleslaw, impatiently lay in wait against his return, never doubting +but that the news would fall on delighted ears, and he was not a little +surprised at the mandatar's evident dismay, Nor was this put on; for +the Count, still enlarging his acquaintances at Paris, had, through his +friends the usurers, got introduced to their solicitors, and Hajek knew +he must send him the wherewithal to stem the scandal of a prosecution, +whatever he might wish to keep back for himself. So money, more than +ever, was the need of the moment; and having succeeded in one +villainous trick, he might hope to develop his talents for the further +fleecing of the peasantry, and it was highly important, therefore, that +the community should be represented by a judge who, at the risk of +whatever loss to himself, was bent on keeping the people from offering +violence. + +"Gone out of his mind? Dear me, I _am_ sorry," he said, honestly too. +"But I daresay report has exaggerated the fact. He may have had a blow, +but I do not believe he is the man to go mad. Go to his wife and tell +her, with my compliments, that I shall be pleased to send for the best +doctor at Colomea at my own expense." + +The man hung back. "I am no coward," he said presently, "and I think I +could face any dozen of the peasants, if you wished it. But as for this +woman--sir, do you know she is a regular Huzul, quite a spitfire of a +temper--and a man after all has only one pair of eyes to lose!" + +The mandatar did not care what risk these optics might run; the man had +to carry his message. He was relieved, however, on entering the judge's +house. The two elders, Simeon and Alexa were with the sufferer, and he +appeared to be listening to their words. The storm had not yet subsided +which tore his soul, and threatened to change the very drift of his +being. He who his life long had stood like a rock against the surges of +trouble, who had won happiness and prosperity through steadfast +endurance, was sobbing and wailing like a child, and his friends could +not but tremble for his reason as they heard his pitiful plaints. "I +have striven to pass my life in honour," he would moan, "and now it +must end in shame! And what of my poor children, since I have no choice +but to follow the dictate of my heart?" + +He saw the under-steward enter cautiously, and his pale face grew +crimson at the sight. Simeon rose hastily to send away the unwelcome +visitor, but Taras interfered. "Glad to see you, friend Boleslaw!" he +cried, cuttingly. "What good news has brought you hither?" + +The giant delivered his errand, stammeringly. + +"Send for a doctor--indeed--at his own expense!" repeated Taras. "Well, +I did not require this proof to tell me that the mandatar is an honest +man!" And therewith he closed his eyes, lying still like a sleeping +babe. + +Boleslaw paused. "Shall I----" he began presently, addressing the +elders. But at the sound Taras opened his eyes. "Leave this house!" he +cried, with a voice of thunder, and the powerful man quaked, making +good his escape. + +Taras watched his retreat, smiling strangely. "This message is +something to be thankful for! You, my friends, could not help me, but +this insult brings me back to myself. I shall fight against my ghastly +destiny while yet I may!" + +"What destiny?" said Simeon, soothingly. "Do look at it calmly. You +have, in a just cause, done your utmost to see us righted; and you have +failed honourably. What else could there be said?" + +"What else?" reiterated Taras. "And since it is a just cause--but what +use in talking!... I daresay you thought I had lost my reason, because +I have cried and wailed like a woman--did you?" His friends endeavoured +to look unconcerned. "But, I tell you," he continued, with trembling +voice, "it will be well if you never have occasion to find out that, +though reeling, my mind was terribly clear!... I will try to spare you +the discovery. I want to see that clerk again." + +"He has left," returned Simeon; "he thrust his papers into my hand when +you had fainted, and turning his horses' heads he made the utmost speed +to leave us. The poor creature was really quite frightened; never in +his life again would he carry a verdict to savages, he said." + +Taras could not help smiling. "Then I must ask the pope to read me that +letter," he said. "Leave the room, I shall be ready to join you in a +few minutes." + +"Do not exert yourself just yet," entreated Simeon. + +But Taras looked up sternly. "Do not hinder me, man," he cried, "cannot +you see that my very fate is at stake!" + +The men left him misgivingly. + +"What do you think of it?" said Alexa, as they stood waiting in the +yard. + +"God knows!" replied Simeon, troubled. "But I cannot forget how he +refused to uncover when the verdict was being read." + +The voice of Anusia was heard, who would not let her husband go from +the house. "You will be fainting again!" she lamented. But Taras, +though white as death, stepped forth, treading firmly. + +The three men walked away to call on Father Martin; but on entering the +manse his housekeeper, Praxenia, met them with a tearful face. She was +an elderly spinster from the village who had presided over his domestic +concerns since the popadja had departed this life, leaving the pope a +widower. + +"God o' mercy," she sobbed, looking at Taras, "it's a blessing that +you, at least, have got back your wits. They said in the village that +you had lost them. But you are all right, I see--would I could say as +much for the poor little father. _He_ is quite off his head, I assure +you; regular mad if ever man was!" + +"He will come round again, no doubt," said Taras. "I daresay he has had +a glass too much." + +"Ah, no," wept the good spinster; "that were nothing since we are used +to it! He has not had a drop since yesterday, poor old man, who never +could do without his tipple; it is that which frightens me! He is lying +quite still now, staring blankly, and talking a heap of nonsense +between whiles." + +"Humph," grunted Simeon, "that certainly looks alarming. I have known +him these twenty years, he never showed such symptoms." + +"Didn't I say so--a very bad sign, surely! And all on account of that +sermon, would you believe it? But let me tell you how it happened. I +had gone to his room quite early yesterday morning--would I had bitten +my tongue off first! though my going in was quite innocent-like. +'Little Father,' I said, 'there's a thaw setting in, and the parish is +just beside itself with joy.' 'Beside itself? dear! dear!' he said, 'I +must go and see,' and off he trotted. But very soon he came back again, +his eyes positively shining. 'Naughty, naughty, little father,' I said, +'you have gone and been at Avrumko's--very naughty, so early in the +day, and before reading mass!' But he insisted that he had not been +near the inn, and that nothing but the common delight had so excited +him. 'Ah! Praxenia,' he said, 'what a day to have seen--all the village +is praising the Lord for His goodness. I must give them a sermon +to-day, I must, indeed!' 'Little Father,' I said, severely, 'you had +better not attempt it; you know it is beyond you now, and the people +will only laugh at you; don't you remember how it was five years ago?' +'I do,' he said, ruefully, 'but I shall do better to-day.' There was no +convincing him, he locked himself into his study, and through the door +I could hear him at his sermon--pacing his floor I mean--vigorously, +till the bells began ringing for service. I went to church, not a +little anxious, you will believe me, and when he mounted his pulpit, as +he had threatened, I said to myself: 'You'll stick fast, little father, +and be sorry that you ever went up.' But not he--well you were there +yourselves, and you know how beautifully he got through it, never once +blowing his nose or scratching his ears--the beautifullest sermon ever +spoken, though I say it, and moving all the parish to tears! I walked +home proudly to look after his dinner, poor man, and said to myself he +should have as many glasses now as he liked. But what was my surprise +on going to his room presently, to find him weeping there, shedding the +biggest tears. I ever saw. 'Ah, Praxenia,' he sobbed, 'to think of the +Lord's goodness in giving me this day. I have not deserved it, +miserable old tippler that I am!' What was I to answer? I got his +dinner ready, putting his bottle beside it; and he sat down at my +bidding, but never a morsel he touched, his eyes looking brighter and +queerer than ever. 'Have a drop, little father.' I said, 'I'm afraid +you are faint-like.' 'No,' he said, sharply, pushing the bottle from +him. Then I knew that something was wrong. And all the rest of the day, +till late in the evening, he kept walking about his room, muttering the +beautifullest words--preparing his sermon, he said, when I asked him. +Not till late at night could I get a spoonful of soup down his throat, +making him take to his bed--no great battle, for although he is hardly +more than sixty, he is just a child for weakness when the schnaps is +out of him. 'Now you must go to sleep,' I said, sternly. But not he! He +folded his hands, lying still, with his shining eyes, muttering at +times. He is going to die, I tell you!" + +The men were endeavouring to dissuade her from this mournful view, but +were less certain of their own opinion when they stood by the bedside. +The poor pope's appearance had changed alarmingly since yesterday. The +face was worn and white, the wrinkles had deepened, and there was a +strange light in his eyes. + +But he knew Taras. "Ah--is it you?" he murmured.... "'And he judged +Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.' ... The bells are +ringing.... I must preach to the people.... What is it you want?" + +"I came to ask you to read a letter to me, but I am afraid you are not +well, and it is rather a closely-written epistle." + +"Epistle? yes," returned the pope, catching at the word. "The first of +the Corinthians.... 'Though I speak with the tongues of angels, and +have not charity.... believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth +all things.... Charity never faileth.' ..." And on he wandered. + +The men saw it was hopeless, and left him. "It is strange," said +Simeon; "our pope never spoke such edifying words while he had his wits +about him. It does seem alarming." + +But Taras's thoughts ran on a different track. He started. "I must go +to Colomea," he said. "There could not be much in a mere letter, after +all. I must see the lawyer myself as soon as possible." + +He appeared so fully determined that his friends could but listen in +silence, and even Anusia saw he must have his way, though she demurred. +"It were far better to leave the thing alone," she said. "If you are +bent on making a sacrifice for the parish, give them the field we +bought two years ago, it will make up for their loss, and it were +better than losing everything through the lawyers." + +"You are the best of wives," he said, "but you do not understand. It is +not merely about the field which is lost: but my fate, and yours, and +the children's is at stake." + +"What is this you are saying?" she cried, alarmed; but he had touched +his horse, and the sledge was flying along the road towards the +district town. + +He entered the outer office of Starkowski's the following day, but no +sooner had Mr. Stupka caught sight of him than he flew from his chair, +disappearing in an inner chamber with the startled cry: "Heaven help +us! a ghost ... the dead judge!" + +But the attorney came forth undaunted. "I am pleased to see you," he +said, shaking hands. "I felt pretty sure my clerk had been exaggerating +in reporting you dead. I suppose it was the painful disappointment +which stunned you?" + +"More than this," said Taras, "it was the bitter consciousness that +this verdict must change all the future current of my life, unless, +indeed, it can be annulled. I have come to find out whether this is +possible. Maybe your letter said something about it--I cannot read." + +"No, the letter was only to tell you the costs," explained Dr. +Starkowski, "one hundred and twelve florins. But there is no hurry +whatever, you may pay me at your convenience. I had nothing further to +tell you, for I never advise carrying a suit into a higher court unless +there be some hope of a successful----" + +"Sir," interrupted Taras, speaking slowly, and his voice was hollow, +"think well before you tell me--you do not know how much there is at +stake." + +The man's manner, and still more his distorted face, staggered the +lawyer. "Of course, I may be mistaken," he said; "but the examination +of the witnesses, from which I hoped everything, has proved a bad +business for us, and yet it appears the commissioner tried every +conscientious means for arriving at----" + +"Conscientious means!" cried Taras; but conquering his rising anger he +described the scene which had taken place outside the village inn, +Kapronski not so much as putting up his horses; and how the peasants +had their own shrewd guesses how much had been paid by the mandatar to +every rascal who had forsworn himself. "Sir, I hope you will help me in +this trouble!" he said, in conclusion. + +These simple words, breathing their own truth and sadness, went further +with the lawyer than the most urgent entreaty. He had followed the +legal profession for many a year, but the sense of the utter sacredness +of his calling had perhaps never been so strong with him, nor his +desire to see justice done more earnest, than at this present moment +when that peasant had told him his tale. He promised to forward an +appeal to the higher court at once. "There is yet another way we could +try," he said; "you could inform against the perjurers. But if we +failed in bringing the charge home to them, you would be in danger of +imprisonment for libel yourself. I do not like to risk that, so we had +better try the appeal." + +"Do what seems best to you," said Taras. "I trust you implicitly. But +what a world is this if a man can be put into prison for making known +the truth! Is not truth the foundation of justice? Can the world +continue, if falsehood and wrong carry the day?" + +The lawyer no doubt could have given an answer to this question--a sad, +painful answer--but somehow he felt he had better be silent. He +contented himself with assuring this man, who seemed a very child in +the ways of the world, that he would not fail in his most faithful +endeavour, and set about the matter at once, moved by a feeling he +scarcely could analyse. The appeal was on its way to the upper court at +Lemberg before Taras and his servant had reached their upland home. + +They were nearing the Pruth in the evening of the following day when +the sound of bells came floating towards them, and a red glow appeared +through the dusk where the ground sloped away in the direction of +Prinkowce. "Something on fire!" cried the man, pulling up the horses. + +Taras peered through the twilight, and, bowing his head, he crossed +himself piously. "Drive on," he said; "it is the torches at the +cemetery. They are burying the pope." + +And it was so. Father Martin had died that morning, and they were +laying him to his rest already, as they are wont in the mountains. +There was no great show of mourning, poor Praxenia's sorrow, perhaps, +being the only honest sadness evoked. "Ah!" she kept sobbing, "if it +were not for that sermon, he might be here to conduct his own funeral! +It is the sermon he died of, and not old age, as the apothecary said." +But the peasants had their own idea concerning the cause of his death. +"It is the wretched schnaps Avrumko has introduced," they said. "If the +rascal gave us unwatered stuff, we might live a hundred years, like our +fathers before us." + +Slight as the feeling of mourning was, it ye sufficed to turn the +people's thoughts into a different channel, the loss of the pope thus +acting as a palliative to the loss of the law-suit; and the question +who should be Father Martin's successor was discussed with real +interest. It was not mere curiosity which stirred them, for in the +person of the pope a good deal of a parish's fate is bound up in those +parts, and the congregation has no voice in the matter. They can but +wait and see. But the men of Zulawce were soon relieved of any anxiety, +and had every reason to be satisfied. + +Not a mouth had passed when the desolate manse once more was inhabited, +and it was a young pope who had come to pitch his pastoral tent in the +upland parish, having till then been curate-in-charge of Borkowka, a +village in the plain. Leo Woronczuk was his name, and it spoke well for +him that his late parishioners accompanied him in procession as far as +the wooden bridge over the Pruth, where Taras, at the head of the +peasants, stood waiting to receive him. But what pleased his new flock +more than anything was the fact that the stalwart young shepherd did +not arrive singly, but with a blooming wife--the most good-natured of +popadjas, to all appearance--and three round-cheeked, chubby little +boys. For the Galician peasants are apt to be prejudiced against a pope +who is either a bachelor or a widower, or, worse still, a monk of the +Order of St. Basil, thinking it impossible for such a one to enter into +the every-day joys and sorrows of his people, or to understand their +more earthly needs. + +Now, Father Leo had a heart for these things, and this not only because +he himself was blessed with a wife and three jolly little boys! He was +no brilliant star in the theological heavens, no paragon of superhuman +virtues; he was a simple village priest--a man among men--with +warm-hearted sympathies; and if his intellectual horizon did not extend +immeasurably beyond that of his peasants, he at any rate had a +clear-headed perception of all ordinary points and bearings within that +sphere. It was not without diffidence that he accepted his new charge, +influenced chiefly by the peremptory need of income, his late curacy +having been sadly inadequate in this respect, considering the growing +wants of his family; and, if the truth must be told, the bad reputation +of that upland parish, which might have tempted a priestly soul of more +enthusiastic ambition, only tended to discourage him; he, poor man, not +feeling himself divinely commissioned to make up for the many years' +failings of his predecessor. He would far rather have been called to +shepherd a people of a less demoralised kind than appeared to be the +case here, where a number of men, on the very face of things, were +guilty of wilful perjury. But once having accepted the charge devolved +upon him by his superiors, he had made up his mind, like a brave man, +to do his duty as best he could, be it pleasant or otherwise. + +And he made it his first aim to look into the apparent want of +integrity among the people; to discover, if possible, who might be +trusted and who not. He set about it quietly, without thrusting himself +into people's confidence; nor did he think it necessary to frighten +them into a higher state of morality by firing their imagination with +grievous accounts of the punishment to come. His sermons were +peculiarly simple, suitable in every way to the hearers' daily life--"a +peasant almost could preach like that," said the people when he had +dismissed them without once thumping the pulpit. But they discovered by +degrees that, if his eloquence did not come down upon them +thunderously, there was that in his words which might cling to them +like good and sensible advice; while, on the other hand, he, not a +little to his joy, could see that these people, after all, were not so +black as they had been painted. Leaving the one vice out of the +question, which in that country is as common as air and water--the +wretched tendency to drunkenness--the worst these highlanders could be +accused of was their defiant spirit so apt to break out into violence. + +The pope soon found that they were not without a conscience, and that +they had a true feeling of right and wrong, though it might be somewhat +dulled by the unpruned egotistical instincts of human nature left to +its own luxuriance. Not many weeks had passed before Father Leo was +sure in his own mind which had been the perjured party on that fatal +day in September, but he avoided individual accusation. Nor was it more +than a moral certainty with him, as though he could take his oath that +the black cross had not always stood in the centre of the contested +field. But however strongly he felt in his honest mind that a vile +wrong had been committed--robbing a poor, untaught, and easily +misguided people not only of their property but, what was worse, of +their good conscience--he yet repressed his wrath, and never by word or +look showed the mandatar how entirely he abhorred him. Nor was this +reserve the outcome of mere selfish prudence, but rather of a wise +perception that he could do more for the furthering of right and +justice and the peace of his people in thus forcing the miscreant at +the manor house to observe a show of good will. + +Hajek, indeed, was deceived. He thought he had taken the measure of the +new pope in believing him to be an honest but rather blockheaded +parson, whom he treated accordingly with a certain amount of flattery, +and even of deference. The mandatar would graciously yield a point +whenever Father Leo, on behalf of the people, petitioned for a respite, +or even for the lessening of an irksome tribute, assuring him that he +was quite as anxious as himself to maintain the peace of the parish. +The fact was, that while the suit yet hung in the balance, and a +further examining of witnesses was a prospect to be dreaded, it was +important that the village priest should think of him as an honourable +man, not prone to harsh dealings, far less to open violence, or such a +thing as an instigation to perjury. + +Thus Taras by degrees found an unexpected ally in the pope, nay more, a +true-hearted friend. The saddened man would not have looked for such +happiness, and when the unsought gift had come to him he met it almost +timorously. It was a good honest friendship which sprang up between +these two equally honourable, yet entirely different natures; but a +friendship which, for all its truth, left the last word unspoken, +because neither of them, whatever their mutual sympathy, was able to +enter into, the inmost depth of the other's being. + +But the more the pope saw of the judge, the greater was his joy at +having met such a man upon earth, a man so guileless and spotless, in +whom selfishness was not, who seemed guided only by his own sense of +justice and duty, and whose strength was the outcome of his great faith +in the moral equity upholding this structure of a world. "A true, godly +man," the pope would say to himself; but somehow the heretical thought +would follow, "Why, this man does not even need the Christian's belief +in a future life in order to be what he is." This feeling could not but +breed certain doubts, but it did not lessen his hearty admiration of +his friend's purity of nature, nor his longing to help him. He did what +he could to ease the heavy burden of his dealings with the mandatar, +coming forward as a mediator whenever it was possible; and he never +lost an opportunity of proving to the villagers that their judge had +acted righteously throughout. Taras was Father Leo's senior, but there +was something of a parent's tenderness for his child in the pope's +constant readiness to stand by his friend. Indeed, Taras would often +appear to him in the light of a grown boy whom no evil thing had come +nigh to corrupt. + +"I could understand him," the pope would say, "if he were fourteen +instead of nearly forty." And greater than his delight in the man was +his surprise sometimes that he should understand so little of human +nature and the way of the world. He took this for granted, but he was +mistaken. Taras was not wanting in the power of seeing things as they +are, but only in the capability of turning such perception to any use. +He was one of those rare beings who must ever follow their own inward +prompting, who cannot be bent in this or that direction by any outward +compulsion; but who, for this very reason, are so easily broken and +bowed to the dust. There is much sadness in life, though little of real +tragedy; but what of it the world has known has ever had for its heroes +such natures. + +But neither did Taras fully understand his friend. He would have +blessed the day which brought Father Leo to the village, even if the +latter had remained a comparative stranger to him; for the late pope's +unworthy conduct had touched him far more deeply than any one else in +the village, because his instincts for everything good and holy were so +much keener. He knew well enough that many a village pope was no better +than Father Martin had been; but he had felt to the depth of his true +soul that it was a terrible perversion of what ought to be, if a +village judge out of reverence for the sanctity of the oath sees it +laid upon him to oppose an exhortation of the people by their own +priest. It was an unspeakable relief to him that things had changed in +this respect, and that the man who had come to represent the spiritual +interests in the parish was of good report and fit to be an example; +his gratitude rising to boundless devotion on perceiving that in word +and deed the honest pope was bent on sharing his burden--yet he could +not always understand his friend. + +The pope, to give an instance, might endeavour to correct some black +sheep by saying: "You are not a bad man on the whole, it's just the +drink which is ruining you; it were a great thing if you could overcome +that failing!" At which Taras would think that this was an untruth, +because the man was bad in other respects besides the drink; that the +pope was quite aware of this, and how could it be right to depart from +the full truth, even with a good object in view? Or, if Father Leo +endeavoured to arbitrate between two quarrelling parishioners, he would +tell them: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the +children of God!" endeavouring to bring about a compromise even if the +one, whether erroneously or feloniously, had been coveting the other's +property; but can it be right, thought Taras, to connive even in part +at a wrongful intention for the love of peace? And if the pope was +anxious to obtain some benefit for the people, he would not only listen +patiently to the richest self-praise of the miserable mandatar, but +might even enhance it by some word of his own; yet, shall a man fawn on +an evildoer for the sake of mercy? These questions occupied the judge +seriously, and one day, when they had been at the mandatar's together, +he could not but unburden his heart to his friend. + +The pope smiled, saying: "It is written, Be ye therefore wise as +serpents." + +"Yes," cried Taras, "and harmless as doves!" + +"Certainly," returned the pope. "It would be wrong to meet any one with +the serpent's wisdom in order to overreach him. I never do that, and to +the best of my knowledge I strive to advance the good and to fight what +is evil. But since I have to do with sinful men and not with angels, I +must be content very often to fight with human weapons." + +Taras shook his head. "How could deception ever be right in order to +further a good cause?" he exclaimed. + +"Nor is it," returned the pope. "But if I can keep back the wicked man +from further wickedness by speaking civilly to him, and not +contemptuously, I am not wronging nor deceiving him, but on the +contrary doing well by him." + +The judge walked on in silence, saying at last, gently but firmly, "I +cannot see this; deception can never be right. I do not understand +you." + +At which the pope might look up at the towering figure by his side, +saying tenderly within himself, "He is simple as a child!" But what +shadows even then were overlying Taras's soul not even Leo could know, +though a strange fear at times stole over him that this soul, so +childlike and so pure, was undergoing a conflict with the powers of +evil, and was being worsted. There were outward signs of such battling: +Taras hardly ever now smiled; he would sit for hours in moody silence, +with a stony look in his eyes, and his healthy countenance was being +marred by the furrows of anxious care. Anusia, too, would come to the +manse with her trouble, saying sorrowfully, "He hardly sleeps now, for +day and night this worry is upon him, making an old man of him before +his time." + +"But what is it?" said the pope; "I am at a loss to know." + +"Why, what should it be but this cursed lawsuit," sobbed the passionate +woman, clenching her fists. "Would I could strangle the mandatar and +all the tribe of lawyers along with him!" + +The pope rebuked her, nor did her explanation satisfy him. "It cannot +be the lawsuit that so weighs on him," he said; "for he speaks about it +calmly, hoping for a favourable verdict from the court of appeal. I do +not see what can thus oppress him, unless it be his troubled relations +both with the mandatar and with the people, which are improving daily +though, for I am doing my best to heal the breach," he added, with some +complacency. + +The honest man had not the faintest idea that, however successful he +might be, he was only lessening his friend's outward burden, that which +lay on his shoulders so to speak, and which he had strength enough to +bear, whereas there was a burden crushing his heart and leaving him +utterly helpless in his silent despair; for Taras kept his deep trouble +hidden even from the eyes of the priest, his spiritual guide, feeling, +perhaps, that the fundamental difference of their natures must keep +them apart on the soul's deepest issues. "I should only sadden him," he +said, "and make him angry; but I could never convince him, nor could he +talk me out of it. No one could, for the matter of that, not the +Almighty Himself, I fear; for if He can look on quietly when wrong is +being done here below, I do not see that even He could do away with the +consequences!" + +Matters had come to an ill pass with Taras even then. He had grown calm +outwardly, but the fearful thought which had overpowered him so utterly +on his first learning that the court's decision had gone against the +parish had not left him. If it was not added to in these months of +weary waiting, while the verdict was being reconsidered, neither did it +lessen. And as he went on with his duties day after day, waiting for an +answer from the court of appeal, he was like some traveller traversing +an endless desert beneath an angry sky. The air is heavy, and the +thunderous clouds sink lower, he hastening onward through the +friendless waste; onward, though the storm will break and the flashes +of heaven are charged with death. No shelter for him anywhere; on, on, +he hastens, though his doom await him--no hope, unless a strong wind +from the healthy east be sent to drive the dark clouds asunder ... But +how should he hope for such kindly blast while the hot air is heavy +about him, and cloud draws cloud athwart the heavens? He can but bear +up and continue, a weary traveller, utterly hopeless, and conscious of +great trouble ahead! + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + APPEALING UNTO CAESAR. + + +Autumn had come; again the season was cold and gloomy. Taras had waited +patiently, but he had not the courage to face the long, dull twilight +of winter if he must pass it nursing the one desperate thought. So he +went to the pope and begged him to indite an inquiry to the lawyer. + +Father Leo looked him in the face anxiously. The man appeared calm. +"You are thinking too much of the law-suit!" he said, nevertheless. + +"Not more than need be," replied Taras. "I have long settled in my mind +all concerning that question." + +The pope wrote the desired letter. The reply came at the end of a week. +He had done what he could, said the lawyer, to urge the case forward, +praying especially for a re-examination of the witnesses; but he had +received no answer so far. + +Taras heaved a sigh when the pope had communicated this letter to him. +"It will go hard with me in the winter," he said sadly. + +But the pope could not know the full import of these words. "You have +done your duty," he said, "and that will comfort you." + +"There is no comfort in that," said Taras, "though it may help one to +be strong. A man who has laid his hand on the plough of any duty must +go on till the work is done." + +The winter proved hard, indeed, for the waiting man, but the heavier +the burden weighed on his soul the more anxious he seemed to hide it. + +"He has ceased groaning as he used to do," Anusia said to her friend, +the warm-hearted, fat little popadja; "and he seems to take pleasure in +a pastime, rather unusual with him; he has become a hunter for +hunting's sake." + +Taras, in that winter, would be absent for weeks at a time, pursuing +the bear. But his three companions, who were devotedly attached to +him--Hritzko and Giorgi Pomenko, the two sons of his friend Simeon, and +the young man, Wassilj Soklewicz, whose brother had been shot on the +contested field--could tell little of the judge's cheer. "He is even +more silent in the forest than at home," they said; "and if he takes +any delight in the hunt it is only because he is such a good shot. He +cares nothing for the happy freedom of life up yonder, nothing for the +excitement of driving the bear; but his face will always light up when +he has well-lodged his bullet." + +The winter was not yet over, and Taras was again absent hunting, when +one day--it was in March, 1838--the pope received a large letter from +the district town. The lawyer had addressed the decision of the upper +court to him, giving as his reason that he had understood from Father +Leo's inquiry in the autumn, that he also sympathised with the judge, +Barabola. "I pray you, reverend sir," wrote the lawyer, "to make known +to him the enclosed verdict as best you can; for I am afraid the poor +man will be crushed and not easily lift up his head again. The legal +means are exhausted, the lawyer can do nothing more; let the pastor, +then, come in and heal the wound." + +The good pope was troubled, his apprehension nowise lessening on +hearing how the first verdict had overpowered his friend. "Poor man," +he said; "poor dear child! how will he take it?" + +With not a little trepidation, therefore, he went to see Taras upon his +return from the mountains, endeavouring to prepare him for the bad news +by a rather lengthy and well-considered speech. Taras however, behaved +otherwise than the pope had anticipated. He grew white, and the deep +furrow between his brows appeared more threatening, but his voice was +firm as he asked, "Then the upper court has upheld the first verdict?" + +"Yes," said Father Leo, gently. "But you must not take it too much to +heart, you have tried honestly." + +"Let me know what they say," interrupted Taras, as calm as before, but +it might have been noticed that he leant heavily on the table beside +which he was standing. + +The pope produced the writ, reading and explaining. The court dismissed +the appeal, seeing no reason why the trial should be repeated, it being +fully evident that the former examination had satisfied the demands of +justice. The lower court's verdict, therefore, must be upheld. + +Taras had listened to the end with the same rigid mien. "Thank you," he +said, when Father Leo had done. "But now leave me alone. You too, +Anusia; I must think it over." + +"What use in farther troubling?" demurred the pope. "Dr. Starkowski +says especially that the legal means are exhausted; which means that +there is nothing further to be done. You must submit to the will of +God." + +"We will come back to that presently," said Taras, with a ghastly +smile, which quite frightened the pope. "You shall not be cheated out +of your sermon, but not now ... not now!" He repeated the words almost +passionately. + +Father Leo still hesitated; but Anusia interfered. She had been sitting +in a corner, weeping; but now she rose. "Stay, pope," she entreated, +taking hold of Taras's hand. "Husband," she cried, shrilly, "fly into +whatever rage you like, thrash the rascal at the manor house till he +cannot move a limb, if it will ease you; but do not hide your wrath +within yourself. Do not look so stony; it kills me, husband. I am +maddened with fear! I know why you would have us leave you--you are +going to lay hands on yourself!" + +"No!" cried Taras, solemnly. "God knows, I have no such thought." But +again the smile played about his mouth. "Be at peace, wife," he added; +"I have never stood in more grievous need of health and life than now. +Leave me." + +They saw they must obey, but they remained standing outside the closed +door, listening anxiously. They hoped the terrible tension of his heart +might be lessened now by the pouring forth of his sorrow, but they +heard nothing save his measured step. It ceased at length, and all was +still. + +"Come!" said the poor wife, dragging the pope to a small window which +gave them a peep into the room. They saw Taras, sitting still, resting +his elbows on his knees, and his face buried in his hands. He sat +motionless. + +"We had better leave him to fight it out," said Father Leo, "his is a +strong heart, and he will get over it." + +But Anusia could not conquer her fears. "I must watch him," she moaned, +the hot tears trickling down her face. "It is more than you think! Why, +he is like a child at other times, never hiding the thoughts that move +him; and now he cannot even speak to me or you!" + +The pope endeavoured to comfort her, but it was ill trying when he was +anxious enough himself. He left her presently to visit a sick +parishioner who was waiting for him, returning in about an hour. + +Anusia had not stirred from the little window. "He only moved once," +she whispered, hoarsely, "and it was awful to behold. I watched him, +hardly daring to breathe, and saw him rise slowly and lift the fingers +of his right hand to heaven. His face was stony, never a muscle he +moved, but his eyes could not hold back the tears, and they ran heavily +down his death-like cheeks--ah, Father Leo, it must have been an awful +oath he swore to himself--and now he sits rigid as before, staring +hopelessly." + +"That won't do," murmured the pope, opening the door rather noisily and +entering. He was resolved not to leave the room again, even if Taras +should dismiss him peremptorily. But there was no fear of that. + +The judge rose, and met him quietly, almost serenely. "You are right, +Father Leo," he said, "it is no use to keep on troubling! I have +well-nigh worn out my brains, and am not a bit further than before!... +There is just one thing though I want to know: you told me the lawyer +had written that all the legal means were now exhausted--are you sure? +are these his very words?" + +"Yes; it is quite plain." + +"But I am not certain. For I remember that our own judge, at Ridowa, +when I was a boy, had a protracted law-suit with a cousin of his about +some will that was questioned. The district court decided in his +favour; but the cousin appealed, and the court at Lemberg was on his +side. The judge thereupon took the case to a supreme court at Vienna, +and there he obtained his right. So you see there must be judges at +Vienna, who are over the court at Lemberg." + +"Taras," cried Anusia, "surely you are not thinking of going to law at +Vienna? Whoever could pay the costs?" + +"Wife," he said solemnly, "if you knew what is at stake, you would ask +me on your knees to plead the cause at Vienna if we were beggars ever +after. However, I must first find out about it. Not that I doubt Dr. +Starkowski, for he is honest, and will have written nothing but the +truth; but I must have it from his own lips." + +He was not able to set out for Colomea on the spot, having to arrange +with the mandatar first concerning the spring labour due by the +peasantry. And matters were not so easily settled as in the autumn, for +Mr. Hajek was relieved of his fears as to a possible re-examination of +witnesses, and showed his true colours. He would no longer heed Father +Leo's suggestions, but set him aside as a meddling priest who had +better not poke into mundane concerns. It was, therefore, not without +much yielding to unfair demands that Taras could come to an +understanding with the rapacious steward, after which he was free to +depart on his journey, carrying with him in a leather belt all the +ready money in his possession--the silver thalers and golden ducats he +had inherited of old Iwan, or gained by his own industry. + +On his entering the lawyer's office, the enlightened Stupka no longer +took alarm; but all the more frightened was the kind-hearted attorney +himself. + +"Why, man!" he cried, aghast, "you look ten years older than when last +I saw you. Is it the lawsuit which so worries you? You must not give +way like that. Remember that you have a wife and children, and not only +a parish, to live for." + +"It was an evil year," said Taras; "but I have not come to make +complaints to you, sir, but only to settle two points. Firstly, what is +it I owe you?" + +The lawyer brought down his ledger and named the sum--close upon two +hundred and fifty florins. "We have to bear the costs, you see," he +said in excuse. + +"Never mind," said Taras, undoing his belt and counting out the money. +"Now for the second point. You have written to our Father Leo that +nothing more can be done. But are there not higher judges at Vienna?" + +"Not for this matter," returned Starkowski; "there certainly is a high +court of justice at Vienna, but cases can only be taken thither when +the district court and the provincial court of appeal have differed in +their verdicts!" + +"That is bad," said Taras. "But you spoke to me of another way last +year--a prosecution for perjury." + +"Yes, but I did not advise it, and would not advise it now," cried the +lawyer, eagerly. "Can you not see that none of these witnesses will own +to being perjured, and you will hardly succeed in bringing the crime +home to them--for where is your evidence? And even if you had evidence, +in the case of some who may have betrayed themselves by their own +foolish talk, and could get them convicted, you will hardly escape +going to prison with them. For those whom you failed to convict would +be all the more spiteful, and would have you up for libel. And for what +good in the end?--the field would remain Count Borecki's after all!" + +"It is not that I am thinking of now," replied Taras. "I do not seek +restitution, but simply the right." It was evident that he strove hard +to speak calmly. But when he opened his mouth again the words fell +stammeringly from his lips: "You tell me, then--there is--no help +left--none?" + +"None whatever," said the lawyer, "unless the Emperor----" + +"The Emperor!" interrupted the peasant, almost with a shriek. And +exultation broke from his eyes; he stood erect, transformed in every +feature as by magic. So sudden was the change, from dire despair to +uplifting hope, that he staggered and reeled as under a blow. "The +Emperor!" he repeated, exultingly. + +"Well, yes--but in fact--you see, the Emperor----" said the lawyer, +taken aback. + +But Taras paid no attention. "Oh, sir," he cried, and was not ashamed +of the tears that flowed down his face, "what a fool I have been! +People looking to me, and calling me their judge, and I never thinking +of this! And how I racked my poor brain, and suffered, and strove with +the awful future, and all for nothing! Why, of course, there is the +Emperor; but I only thought of him while there was happiness; and when +trouble came and the clouds hid the light of heaven, I forgot that the +sun is behind them. I was even angry not to see it shining, and was +wroth with the Emperor, because the men of the law, who are but his +servants, could not help me! But I know better now. I know the Emperor +will make it all right, let him but hear of it--why, it is his very +duty, laid upon him by God himself! His servants may go wrong, but he +will see the truth; they may judge ill, but he will be righteous, being +above them all.... Ah, sir, forgive my being thus beside myself and +weeping like a child! But if you knew what thoughts went through me but +a moment ago, when you told me there was no farther help!... But, thank +God, you have remembered the Emperor, while yet it was time--while yet +it was time! For even a week hence, if I had gone away in my +hopelessness, it might have been too late!" + +"Too late!" repeated the lawyer, astonished. "What do you mean?" + +"Ah! do not ask me, sir," cried Taras, brushing the tears from his +face. "I would rather forget all about it; it was a nightmare, an evil +dream. How foolish of me! The very darkest plans I could think of, but +never of this simple help, as simple as prayer itself. For who are our +helpers in this life but God and the Emperor? God paramount and hearing +our cry, but not reaching down with His own arm from heaven in every +instance, because He has appointed the crowned one in His stead, who is +to judge men and rule them in His name. But the Emperor is not +omniscient, like God. One must go to him and tell him one's trouble, +which I shall do now. And for his understanding me the better, I will +ask you, sir, to put it into writing, that he may have it all down on +paper what I have to tell him." + +Thus sobbed and talked the peasant, running on, positively beside +himself, as though heaven had opened with a great vision of help; and, +fall of gratitude, he seized the lawyer's hand, bowing low to kiss it. +But Starkowski drew back hastily, stepping to the window. He was +startled, and almost dismayed. His mentioning the Emperor had been +rather accidental, and he could never have dreamt of thus rousing the +man. He felt morally certain that it would be quite useless to petition +the Emperor, not that _he_ doubted that the peasants really had been +wronged in the suit. But how was the Emperor to see this, in the face +of two verdicts? Every groat the judge would spend on that errand, +every effort and particle of time, would be just thrown away. "It must +not be," he said to himself. "I must get him to see it." But then the +thought would rise whether it were not a wicked thing to destroy the +poor man's hope--his last hope, to which he clung so pitifully. He +remembered the words Taras had spoken a year ago, and these were +strange hints which had fallen from his lips just now. Yet the lawyer +had not an idea what awful resolve had ripened in the despairing soul +of this man; he only perceived that he would leave no means untried, no +violence even, to get back the field the parish had been robbed of--and +this was bad enough to be prevented, if possible. + +He believed he saw a way out of the difficulty. "Well, then, Taras," he +said, "we will try the Emperor. I will draw up a memorial for you, and +we can send it to Vienna. You, meanwhile, go quietly back to your +people. There is no need to leave your family and your farm and your +public duties on that account. The Emperor will see what it is all +about from the document; there is no need to plead in person." At any +rate, we shall thus gain time, the good man was hoping; he will calm +down meanwhile, and will be able to bear his disappointment when it +does come, perhaps a year hence. + +But in laying this pretty plan, he had not considered the man he had to +do with. + +"No," replied Taras, with his own inflexible firmness. "I will gladly +take your advice, but not on this point. My whole future is at stake, +and the welfare of my wife and children. How could I trust to a happy +chance? I shall go to Vienna myself, to see the Emperor and present the +petition." + +"Do stop to consider!" urged the lawyer. "And what chance is it you are +talking of? I shall forward the memorial by post safely, and shall get +it presented by a trustworthy man--a friend of mine----" + +"Why, this is a whole string of chances," interrupted Taras. "The +letter may be lost, or tampered with--one has heard of postbags being +robbed. And your friend may fall ill, or die, before he can do what you +request. But even if he were able to do it, and had the best of +intentions, how should he speak for me, as I would myself? He would say +a pleasant word, perhaps, thinking of you, his friend, or because he is +in the presence of the Emperor; but he cannot possibly be anxious about +_my_ case. I must speak for myself!" + +"But how should the Emperor understand you, not knowing a word of the +Ruthenese?" inquired the lawyer, a little exasperated. + +"Now, that can never be true!" cried Taras. "That is, I beg your +pardon, some one must have told you a tale. It stands to reason that +the Emperor can speak our language. Is he not the father of all his +subjects, and are not we of them? And you would have me believe a +father will not understand his children? No, no; that can never be! It +is settled, then, that I shall go to Vienna, and I beg you to write out +the petition for me; I will call for it this day week. I shall hardly +get away before that, for I must set things in order before I leave." + +There was no dissuading him. He returned to Zulawce, and neither his +wife's entreaties nor the pope's remonstrance made the slightest +impression on him. They both felt grateful on perceiving that a change +had taken place in him; but both were equally set against his +intention, though for different reasons. Anusia, for her part, did not +doubt the likelihood of the Emperor's effective interference; but a +journey to the far-off capital appeared to her as dangerous and +venturesome as an expedition to the moon. + +"Who can tell what might not happen on the road?" she said to the +popadja, into whose sympathetic ear she poured her fears. "He may fall +among thieves; or he may starve in some wilderness; or sorcerers may +catch him with their wicked spells, and I shall never see him again. +And even if he were likely to get through all these dangers, how is a +man to find his way on _such_ a journey and not be lost?" + +Father Leo's apprehensions were not quite so desperate, although even +he considered the journey a venture; but his chief fear was this--that +it would be useless. + +"The Emperor cannot possibly come back with you in person," he argued +with his friend; "and how is he to know, without personal inspection, +where the black cross stood these years ago? He can only inquire of the +local authorities, our friends at Colomea; and how should they tell him +anything different from what they have already decided? They must stick +to the verdict to escape censure, if for no other reason." + +But Taras had an answer to every objection. To his wife he said, "It is +not the sorcerers you fear, but the sorceresses." And to Father Leo he +said, "You know most things better than we do, no doubt; but even you +have had no experience with emperors." It was plain he was bent on +going. + +The following Sunday he called a meeting of the men. "My own farm," he +said, "I have entrusted to the care of my friend Simeon. He has offered +to act as my representative also in parish affairs. But I cannot accept +that; the parish must not be without a judge for so many weeks, perhaps +months. I therefore resign my office, but I advise you to choose him in +my place." + +His friends opposed him, none more eagerly than Simeon himself. But +Taras was not to be moved, and since his enemies failed not to second +him, the resolution was carried, Simeon being chosen by a majority of +votes. He accepted the office, declaring that he would hold it until +his friend returned. + +A few days later Taras again stood in Starkowski's chambers. The lawyer +gave him the memorial to the Emperor, and a private letter addressed to +a friend of his. "Go by this man's advice in everything," he said; "he +is a man of high standing at Vienna, and will counsel you well, being +himself of this country." + +"Very well," said Taras; "I will do as you wish me; otherwise I should +have gone straight to the Emperor's. No doubt every child at Vienna +could show me his house." + +"But you don't expect the children at Vienna to understand your +Ruthenese!" cried the lawyer; adding, with a sigh, "God knows what will +become of you!" + +"I have no fear," said Taras, solemnly. "How should a man fail to gain +his end who tries to do what is right?" + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES. + + +This had happened early in April. Taras had taken leave of his wife +with the promise of letting her hear as often as possible, and he kept +his word faithfully during the first stages of his absence. As early as +the third week a letter arrived, dated from Lemberg, and written for +Taras by a fellow-villager, a certain Constantino Turenko, who, as a +soldier, had had the rare luck, in the estimation of the Zulawce folk, +of rising to the dignity of a corporal. "Since my friend Taras is +unable to send you a letter of his own contriving," this military +genius wrote, "and since I am as clever at it as the colonel of the +regiment himself, I send you word that he hopes you are well, as this +leaves him at present. I have shown him all over the place; he never +saw such a town in his life. You had better tell my people and Kasia, +who used to be sweet on me, that they may expect me home in the summer +on furlough. I shall bring my regimentals--won't they just be proud of +me! Everybody says I am a fine soldier." Poor Anusia was thankful for +even that much of news of her husband. In May another letter arrived +from Cracow, indited by a musical hero of some church choir, also +stating that Taras was well, but adding he was running short of money, +and that he desired a remittance under his, the singer's, address. +Father Leo, however, knew better than to carry out this injunction. It +was the last news of the absent traveller which reached the village. + +They waited, but the summer came and not a word of Taras. "It is a long +day's journey to Vienna," the pope would say to Anusia, "and he might +not easily come across a man there who understands the Ruthenese, and +is not too grand to write a letter for him, so we must not be anxious." + +But when even the harvest was over without bringing a sign of life, +Father Leo himself grew uneasy, and was less confident in calming +Anusia. And the poor thing, besides her waking fears, was harassed by +nightly dreams of the most vivid apprehension, the least appalling of +her visions being those in which she beheld her Taras captivated by +some pretty Hungarian, but alive at least; but more often she would see +him dragging along the weary roads utterly starving, and sometimes her +dreams showed him dead in a ditch. With these tales of woe she came to +the manse almost daily, and Father Leo did his best to console her. The +pretty Hungarian he found it easiest to dispose of, assuring the +distracted wife that Taras's way did not lead him through Hungary at +all; and, as for the starving, he believed it unlikely, considering the +two hundred florins the traveller had taken with him, but death +certainly was a contingency against which no hapless mortal was proof. +And when this latter vision mournfully overbore the previous ones, the +poor woman lost all her youthful energy, fading away with her grief, +and Father Leo, for very pity of her, wrote to Dr. Starkowski, +imploring him to procure some news. The good-natured man readily +promised to make inquiries at Vienna, but week after week passed and +nothing was heard, nor did the lost one himself return. + +It was autumn, the first frost was felt, and it was Saint Simon and +Saint Jude's. Everywhere within sight of the stern mountains the people +look upon this day as the herald of winter; the women see to their +larders, and the men assemble to fix each household's share of firewood +from the common forest. This being done, Simeon, the new judge, had +gone to the manse to arrange with Father Leo concerning the pope's due. +That was soon settled, but the two men continued in mournful +conversation, and Father Leo scarcely had the heart to dissent from the +judge's doleful remark that the miserable field had cost the village +not only one of its stalwart youths, but another and more precious life +as well, inasmuch as it seemed beyond a doubt that poor Taras had +perished. Sympathy with his fate thus kept them talking, the dusk of +evening descending with its own stillness, broken at times by the +wailings of Anusia, who once again had come with her troubles to the +kind-hearted popadja. + +There was a knock at the outer door, and almost simultaneously they +heard the poor wife's shriek--: "Taras!" They flew from the room. + +It was a mystery how Anusia had recognised her husband without seeing +him or hearing his voice, or even his footfall; but it was himself. +"Are you quite well?" he cried, as he caught her to his heart. "I have +seen the children already!" + +The friends fell back reverently to leave the husband and wife to each +other; but then they also pressed round him to shake hands joyfully, +and the popadja hastened to light her lamp. But when Taras entered the +lighted apartment a heartrending shriek broke from Anusia, and the +friends also stood horrified. Poor Taras looked sadly worn--old and +grey, and life's hope, as it were, crashed out of him. His powerful +frame was emaciated; the sunny hair showed colourless streaks; the +furrow between the brows had grown deeper still, and the eyes looked +hollow in the haggard face. + +"You bring ill news, brother!" cried Simeon, aghast. + +"Ill news!" repeated Taras. He endeavoured to smile, but failed sadly; +and when the tears sprang to every eye about him, he, too, sat down and +let his own trouble flow unhindered. + +"My poor, dear darling!" sobbed Anusia, covering his head with her +kisses and her tears--"come back to us a grey-haired man!" + +But her grief helped Taras to recover himself, and now he did smile. He +drew down his wife beside him, stroking her own brown hair gently. "Is +not that like a woman," he said, striving to appear light-hearted, "to +make a fuss because the man she wedded must turn grey in his time! The +glory of youth is treacherous, my dear!... But tell me about yourselves +now, and about the village." + +"Tell us about _yourself_," they cried. "We have died with anxiety +these months past. Where have you been all this time?" + +"It was not possible to come back sooner," said he. "It is a long +journey to Vienna, and I had to wait many a day before I could see +him----" + +"The Emperor! Did you actually speak to him?" + +"Well--yes--after a fashion! They call it having an audience," said he, +with a strangely gloomy smile. "And I would not come away without an +answer...." + +"Have you got it then? The Emperor's own answer?" + +"No; but I know what it is going to be.... However, let us wait and +see. I want to know how you have been getting on--and what about friend +Hajek?" + +"He is not over-anxious to show himself," said Simeon, making haste to +add: "I am sure you will see that your farm meanwhile has done well. +Your live stock is in the best condition, and the harvest was most +plentiful. Your granaries are well filled, and I have eighty florins to +give you for corn sold, and thirty for oats. But do tell us; did not +the Emperor promise to see to the matter?" + +"Promise!" said Taras bitterly, "to be sure he did!... But excuse me," +he added, turning to the popadja, "I am quite faint with hunger. I was +so anxious to reach home, that I put up nowhere today." + +The little woman blushed, and ran to produce an enormous ham, with no +end of excuses for her negligence; and, trotting to and fro, she set on +the table whatever of hidden treasures her larder contained. But her +hospitable intent was ill-requited; Taras swallowed a few mouthfuls, +drank a glass of the pope's Moldavian, and then pushed from him the +plate which the kind hostess had filled for him in her zeal. + +"Why, you have not eaten enough for a sparrow," expostulated the +popadja. "Do eat, judge--" correcting herself--"Taras!" But, again +blushing, she added: "Why should I not call you 'judge,' for I daresay +you will resume office pretty soon." + +"No!" he said sharply. "I shall not, and never will" + +"Of course you will," interrupted Simeon, eagerly. "You know I only +accepted during your absence. I could never be to the village what you +have been, and no one else could!" + +"I shall _not_!" repeated Taras solemnly, lifting his right hand; "God +knows I cannot!" + +They looked at him surprised; there was something in his tone which +startled his friends. But Anusia cried joyfully: "I am glad of it, +husband. We will live for ourselves now, and be happy again. You must +make haste to get back your own bright looks. You shall go hunting this +winter as often as you like, it will do you good!" + +"Yes," he said; "it will be well," adding, after a while, "and most +necessary--most necessary!" + +"How so?" inquired the pope; "there cannot be many bears this winter, +considering how you hunted them down last season." + +Taras had opened his lips, but closed them again sharply, as though he +must keep in the word that might have escaped him. And there was one of +those sudden pauses of silence, burdened with unspoken thought. + +The popadja broke it. "Now tell us all about the journey," she said. "I +am sure we are all curious as to your adventures. Tell us about the +Emperor--does he really live in a house made of gold?" + +"I am afraid I shall have to disappoint you," replied Taras, with a +smile. "His house is of brick and stone, and he himself a poor, sickly +creature. And, indeed, I had no very wonderful adventures--I did not +even fall in with a single sorceress, Anusia, but that may have been +because I did not look for any, having eyes and ears for nothing beyond +the one aim of my journey. I had no peace or rest anywhere, and would +have liked to take post-horses, but could not afford it. So I looked +out for coaches and waggons going that way, and took to my own feet +when opportunity was wanting. It is slow travelling, either way, but I +fell in with other travellers, who told me their troubles, as I told +them mine. It is passing strange: the earth seems fair enough, but I +have not met a single being who told me he was happy. Men seem to carry +their burden everywhere, some more of it, some less, but there is none +without sorrow; one finds that out if one goes a-travelling, folks +talking to you as to a brother. And I must say, most of those I fell in +with approved of my journey, one man only endeavouring to dissuade me. +I had better go home again, he said. He was a Jewish wine trader from +Czernowitz, who gave me a lift as far as Lemberg. He was most friendly, +and would not hear of my paying him; he listened to my story, full of +sympathy, but he thought going to Vienna was quite useless. 'There +might be some hope,' he said, 'if these were the days of the good +Emperor Joseph.' I, however, was not to be frightened from my purpose. +'It is not as though I wanted to petition for a favour,' I said; 'if I +did I could understand that much depended on the kind of emperor we +have. But I am not going to plead for anything save our right, and that +he surely will grant, because it is his duty. A man must see his own +duty, be he emperor or peasant.' He was silent after that, and we +reached Lemberg." + +"There, anyhow, you fell in with a happy individual," said the pope, +interrupting him. "You met Constantino Turenko! I, at least, never knew +a man to equal him in self-satisfaction." + +Taras could not help laughing. "And yet he was not quite happy," he +said, "since I found him sorely distressed for money. I had to lend him +a florin. Is he here?" + +"To be sure!" cried Anusia; "what a braggart he is! Why, he assured me +how handsomely he stood treat for you at all the best inns of Lemberg. +Of course I did not believe him, but the villagers somehow take his +every word for gospel truth. He is quite a hero here, basking in his +own glory. You should hear him--'I, a corporal of the Imperial army! +Bassama!'"--she endeavoured to imitate the man. "He is a braggart!" + +"Yes, his tongue wagged plentifully in my hearing also," said Taras, +"especially after he had borrowed my florin! But I was glad, +nevertheless, to come across him. It was the first large town I had +seen, and I felt lost. You have no idea of such a town, and yet Lemberg +is nothing compared to Vienna! He would have liked to detain me; but +having rested a day, I proceeded towards Cracow. It was cheerless +travelling now, for I could not understand the people any longer--at +least not freely; the folk there have a queer way of talking, a kind of +lisping it seemed to me, which does not come from the heart at all. I +was silent and grew sad, feeling doubly pleased, therefore, in coming +across a fellow-countryman, a 'diak'[3] from somewhere near Czortkow, +who had run away from his wife because she boxed his ears rather too +freely. That is what he told me. He was a mite of a fellow, and +informed me he would like to seek his fortune in Russia, if only he +could get a little money; but I found presently he was telling me +stories, and would do no more than frank him as far as Cracow. That +city is not Austrian at all, the Poles there having a little free state +of their own. It was a marvel to me how a number of men could live +together owning no emperor as the head of all justice; but I have come +to see now----" He interrupted himself, again pressing together his +lips to keep in the word he would have spoken, and continuing after a +pause:--"I was going to say, it is sad to be in a strange country; and +hungering for a companion I could understand, I took the little +story-teller with me as far as Cracow where I dismissed him." + +"How clever of you to see through him," cried Anusia, proud of her +husband's penetration. And she told him of the man's letter. + +"The little rascal!" said Taras. "But, indeed, my two hundred florins +were not such a fortune as you would have believed. Things grew +enormously expensive, and there was other trouble besides. I was +thankful at seeing again the black and yellow posts by the road--the +Austrian colours. It was a poor enough country, on the Polish frontier; +but if the people there were to work their hands as they work their +talkative jaws, I have no doubt it might be better. I got to richer +districts presently; but matters did not therefore improve. I was among +the Moravians now, and to hear them speak sounded like a continuous +quarrelling, till I perceived that their language still had some words +like our own, especially such as bread, meat, and wine, things +referring to eating, and the figures also--which was well. It was when +I came among the Germans that my heart failed me. A fine people, no +doubt, with villages more flourishing than our towns, and fields and +farms to rejoice a man's soul; but what a language! Understanding was +hopeless. I was driven to signs, moving my jaws when I was hungry and +lapping with my tongue when I wanted to drink. But when I would have +liked bread they brought me salad, and when I longed for a glass of +water they offered me wine. However, I bore it all, anxious only to get +along. Towards the end of my journey I fell in with a good-natured +waggoner, who was carrying woollen cloths to Vienna, and he gave me a +seat. He was a most kindly old man, to judge from his pleasant face; +and I think he took a fancy to me, for he kept smiling and nodding as +he walked by the side of his horses, I nodding back to him from my seat +between the bales. By and by he climbed up beside me; but then we +thought it a poor business to be nodding only, and began to talk, he in +his language and I in mine, exchanging some of our tobacco between +whiles in token of mutual regard. I wished sorely I could understand +what he was saying. It seems hard that God should have made men with +different tongues, to add to their troubles, when their life on earth +is sad enough without it!" + +"Why, it is the Tower of Babel which brought it on, don't you know?" +broke in the popadja, blushing violently at her presumption. + +Taras continued: "I was taken along by this good man for two days--slow +travelling, for the waggon was heavily loaded. On the third morning he +resumed his smiling and nodding more vigorously than ever, pointing +with his whip in front of him, and saying, 'Vienna, Vienna!' I +understood, of course, and my heart leapt within me! but I could see +nothing as yet except a thick grey haze in the distance, and behind it +a ridge of clouds, with domes and peaks sharply defined. I thought +it strange, for the air was clear and cool, there having been a +thunder-storm in the night. But as we went on, hour after hour, and the +cloudy picture continued unaltered, I perceived my error. It was not +clouds, but a range of mountains on the horizon. And that haze, as I +discovered by and by, was nothing but the dust and vapour for ever +rising heavenward from a gigantic city, like the hot breath of a +monstrous dragon." + +The women gasped and crossed themselves. + +"The waggoner hurried on his horses a bit, and kept repeating 'Vienna! +Vienna!' getting me to understand by all sorts of dumb show that he had +his wife and children there--happy man! I thought of you all, and my +heart sank within me at the sight of the great city where no one would +understand me. But I repressed these feelings and began to look about. +We were crossing a splendid stone bridge, long and wide, beneath which +the river was rolling its yellow waves--that was the Danube. Beyond the +bridge rose the first houses. They were cheerful to look at, not larger +than what we can see at Colomea, with pleasant gardens round about; but +I knew we were in the suburbs only. 'I shall soon see the real town,' I +thought, 'with the market place: and on it, I daresay, the Emperor's +house.' But minutes passed, and an hour had gone, and we were still +driving along an interminable street with little gardens on either +side, one like the other, though getting fewer, I observed, as we +proceeded, while the number of human beings and of vehicles increased +steadily. It was a crowd as at Lemberg on market days, and there was a +roar in the distance which rather puzzled me, growing louder and louder +as we advanced. There were no more gardens now, and the houses were +larger, some towering three, even four storeys high, with windows +innumerable. I was utterly bewildered to think of all the human beings +that must dwell there; and the street appeared endless, men and women +jostling each other between the vehicles. And I saw that other streets +opened out of this main thoroughfare, with horses and men and +conveyances past counting. I clutched the bales between which I was +sitting, utterly overpowered with the sight...." + +"Ah," said Anusia, sympathetically. + +"That street must be miles long; but we were through it at last, and +there the city seemed at an end, and, not a little surprised, I saw +large tracts of grass all around. At some distance I beheld a rampart, +and behind it another city of houses, shining steeples, and a gigantic +cupola. The crowd about us increased astonishingly, heaving in and out +of the gates. It was a riddle to me, for had we not been driving +through the city all along? I looked at my companion and he pointed +ahead, saying 'Vienna!' 'Dear me,' I thought, 'then I have only come +through a suburb as yet; what, then, will the town be like?' By that +rampart they levy custom, and even victuals are taxed! I could not +think what those green-coats were after in diving into my wallet, but +they found only a loaf of bread and a piece of cheese, which they put +back, laughing. + +"I felt more and more bewildered, and do not know how to describe to +you my sensation on entering that city; it was like venturing into a +bee-hive. Yet this will scarcely give you an idea. Imagine how it would +be if all the needles in the fir-wood up yonder were suddenly changed +into human beings, whirling about madly like flakes in a snowstorm! +Fancy if all the trees and shrubs were towering houses, closely packed, +so that a ray of sunlight could scarcely get through! or how it would +be if a thunder-storm were fixed for ever in the heavens above us, the +booming commotion never ceasing, day and night!... But I am a fool for +trying to show you by word of mouth what Vienna is like; how should you +conceive it who have never been there! And I cannot tell you how +utterly forlorn I felt. It must have been written on my face, for the +honest waggoner took hold of my hand, asking me a question. From his +kindly look I seemed to understand that he inquired whether I felt ill, +so I shook my head and smiled. But evidently this was not the answer he +wanted; he kept repeating his question, and pointed to the houses, and +at last he rested his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes and drawing +his breath slowly. Then I perceived that he wanted to find out where I +intended to put up for the night. The thought had actually escaped me +in my great bewilderment. Before I knew what Vienna was, I had believed +the matter to be quite simple, intending to look for that Mr. Broza, +Dr. Starkowski's friend, to whom I had an introduction, and no doubt he +would take charge of me. But somehow I understood now that I could not +well be carried all over the city in a great waggon full of bales; and +as for setting out to seek the gentleman on foot by myself, I did not +think that I should ever have the courage. So I shrugged my shoulders, +making eyes of entreaty at my companion. He appeared to understand that +I was friendless, and, having recourse to a dumb show of working his +jaws, he brought home the question to me whether I desired to be taken +to an eating-house. I assented, and, turning from the main +thoroughfare, he drove up some quieter streets, stopping at last before +an unpretentious building, which had a signboard, and on it a tree with +bright green leaves. He cracked his whip, and a man appeared--a servant +by the look of him, to whom my good friend explained my need. The man +grinned, and, turning to me, inquired in Polish whether I wished for a +room. Now, as for the Poles, no one could love them or their language +either, but I could have cried for joy on hearing the man, although he +spoke but brokenly. He had been to Galicia as a soldier, being himself +a Czech." + +"A fellow-countryman of our respected mandatar!" cried Simeon. + +"Yes; but with this difference, that Frantisek proved himself to be +honest. And when I had explained to him who I was and why I had come to +Vienna, he assisted me as much as he could, his first good office +consisting in this, that he prevailed with his master to board and +lodge me for a florin daily. Why, Anusia, there is no occasion to make +such eyes, for it was cheap, considering I was in Vienna. And he +offered to show me the way to Mr. Broza's the following morning. 'It is +too late to-day,' he said, having looked at the letter, 'for the +gentleman, I see, lives in the city, and that is a long way off.' 'In +the city!' I cried, aghast; 'why, what is this?' 'This is Leopoldstadt, +one of the suburbs,' he explained, calmly; and then I learned that the +place with the interminable street we had passed before was +Floridsdorf. Would you believe it, there are six such places forming +the outer precincts of Vienna, and nine regular suburbs--that is +fifteen cities enclosing a city! And their inhabitants are almost +beyond counting--as many, they told me, as in all the Bukowina and +Pokutia together." + +"That, no doubt, was a story," interposed Simeon, who was not going to +be taken in. But the pope confirmed the remarkable tale. "I have read +it in books," he said. + +"Well, I leave you to conjecture what the real town was like to which +Frantisek took me the following morning. It is worse there at all times +than on a market day at Colomea or the most crowded fair; and what +seemed to me most horrible, men and beasts--I mean vehicles--go +jostling one another in a gloomy twilight, for the streets are so +narrow and the houses so high that you have need almost to lie flat on +the ground, face upward, before you can see a bit of sky or the dear +light of the sun; but no one could lie down, or stand still suddenly, +without being run over. Even as it was, I was knocked hither and +thither constantly, till Frantisek took me by the arm and helped me +along as though I had been a child. Through numberless streets, and +past St. Stephen's--a church about twenty times as large as our own--he +brought me to a place called the Jew's Square; for what reason I could +not make out, for not a single caftan or curl did I see. Mr. Victor +Broza lived there in a stately house; but, dear me, the stairs I had to +climb till I reached his flat! No beggar with us would thank you for +rooms so toilsome of access! Mr. Broza's servant at first treated me +superciliously; but when I had sent in my letter I was admitted at +once. The man I had come to see was a fine-looking old gentleman, with +silvery hair, and wearing gold spectacles. Very noble he looked, but he +was not at all proud. And what a comfort to me to speak in my own +tongue again without being stared at as a curiosity! But when he began, +though all he said was kind and reasonable and well-meaning, my joy was +gone. He warned me not to rest too great hopes on the Emperor. 'He is a +good man, to be sure,' he said, 'and if your object were to obtain some +money-help for your parish, either to build you a church or to +alleviate some special distress, he no doubt would listen to you +graciously. But he cannot enter into legal questions with his +infirmity, poor man. His crown is a heavy burden to him as it is!' 'I +do not understand that,' said I; 'if he can be gracious, how should he +refuse to be just?' 'Well,' said Mr. Broza, 'matters of law are seen to +by his lawyers. That is what they are for.' 'But if they pervert the +right?' 'Then it is not his fault.' 'But, surely he will interfere!' +'The Emperor?' 'Yes; who else?' 'Indeed, who else? you may well ask!' +he said. 'Your tale is a sad one, I grant, and if ever a case should be +looked into I should say it is yours! Ah, if his uncle Joseph were +reigning still, or even his father Francis ... the more you tell me, +the more I fancy yours is a case for imperial interference; but----' He +stopped embarrassed. 'Tell me,' I said; 'is he not able to do it?' I +could hardly frame the words, and the blood ran cold at my heart. But +Mr. Broza appeared to consider his answer, looking from the window, and +saying presently: 'He is troubled with headaches; he is fond of working +at his lathe, and he makes little boxes of cardboard.' I stared, +open-mouthed, Mr. Broza adding: 'Why should he not, poor man; it is an +innocent pastime, and helps him to get through his days....' After that +I could not well disbelieve it." + +"But he is the Emperor! how is it possible?" cried Simeon and the +women. + +Taras smiled bitterly. "How is it possible?" he repeated. "I also asked +this question, and many another besides, till good Mr. Broza looked +aghast at me, and spoke soothingly. 'I understand your feelings,' he +said, passing his hand over my hair as though he were trying to calm an +excited child. 'You are a fine fellow, Taras, but I daresay the world +looks different to you at Zulawce from what it really is.' 'May be, +much honoured sir,' I said; 'but I am sure of this, that human beings +should act differently to one another than the wild beasts of the +Welyki Lys, of which the stronger will always devour the weaker. Every +man must see this, be he a poor peasant of Zulawce only, or the Emperor +at Vienna.' 'He does see it, no doubt,' cried Mr. Broza, 'and he is +always kind. But he can hardly know about every case of individual +trouble, can he?' 'No, but that is the very reason why I want to tell +him my own sorrow myself.' 'But he would not understand you, you only +speak the Ruthenese!' That was a blow! I had refused to believe Dr. +Starkowski, and here was Mr. Broza telling me the same thing! 'A father +unable to understand his children,' I said; 'it does seem strange; but +I daresay he knows Polish?' 'I am sorry to say he does not; he was +weakly from a child, and his studies had to be curtailed.' 'Then, does +he understand Czechish?' 'Yes, that he knows.' 'That will do, then,' I +said joyfully, 'I managed to get along with Frantisek, so I daresay I +shall with the Emperor.' But that was not by any means the end of +difficulties. 'I must warn you,' said Mr. Broza, 'he gives audience but +rarely, the petitions mostly are received by one of his cousins or +generals.' That was another blow, but I recovered it quickly, saying: +'Well, then, I shall just keep calling at his house till I _can_ see +him.' Mr. Broza at this broke into a smile. 'Do you think you can go to +the Castle as you would to the house of your parish priest? There is a +time set apart for audience once a week, though they are not very +regular about it, and in order to be received at all you must first +apply for admission in writing!' 'And I could come every week then, +till I saw the Emperor in person?' 'Dear me, what obstinacy! What is +the use of your spending your time and money here on such a chance? +Give me your memorial, and I will take care to have it presented.' +'Sir,' I cried, 'I thank you; I see you mean well by me, but you cannot +possibly know how much there is at stake. I must see the Emperor +myself.' And this I maintained in spite of all his reasoning. But he, +good man, took no offence; on the contrary, he promised to obtain +admission for me at the very next audience. He wanted to know my +address, but I did not even know it myself, so Frantisek had to be +called to give the name of the inn. Mr. Broza wrote it in a little +book, promising I should hear. But I wanted to have some idea how soon +I might hope to see the Emperor. 'I cannot tell,' he said; 'it may be +some days, it may be weeks hence.' I left him sadly...." + +"Well, I should not have waited like that," cried Anusia, hotly; +"surely the Emperor goes for an airing once a day like any other +Christian! I should have waited outside his house till I caught sight +of him, and, going up to him, I should have asked his leave politely to +walk beside him a bit, and then I would have told him the whole story. +That would have been my plan!" + +"And a very stupid one," said Taras, smiling grimly, "though you are my +wife. Nor should I blame you, since that same stupidity was mine till I +knew better. My heart quaked at the long prospect of waiting, and I +knew from sad experience that it was no use to look for much in answer +to writing. I said to Frantisek, therefore, 'Do show me the house of +the Emperor,' and he went out with me the following afternoon. Once +more we went far into the town, past the great church, and through +endless noisy streets, till at last we stood before a large building. +'This is it,' he said. 'Nonsense!' I cried; 'why there is not a bit of +gold about it anywhere that I can see!' He, however, insisted it was +the Emperor's house. When I saw he was in earnest, I looked at the +place closely; it was large, but not otherwise imposing, and quite +blackened with smoke. 'I'd go in for some house-painting, at any rate, +if I were the Emperor; surely he can afford it,' I said to myself, +adding aloud to Frantisek, 'Well, then, show me where the Emperor +lives!' Whereupon he took me round a square surrounded with tall +buildings, and through a gateway into another square, also overlooked +by high houses, with sentries on duty at every corner. 'All this is the +Emperor's,' he said; 'here he lives with his relations and a great many +attendants.' Imagine my surprise. But then I said, 'I cannot but think +that he sleeps in one room and feeds in another--so please point out to +me where _he_ lives.' Frantisek now appeared to understand, and took me +to an open place, in the centre of which rose an equestrian statue in +cast-iron; and he showed me a row of windows. 'Very well,' I said; 'now +let us take our stand by that entrance door.' 'What for?' said he. 'To +watch for the Emperor when he goes abroad.' 'You innocent!' he cried, +laughing; 'don't you know that the Emperor never walks out? You may see +his carriage, if you are lucky, bursting from the inner court, and +dashing through the town as far as a copse on the banks of the river, +returning thence at the same quick pace.' He had hardly done speaking +when there was a deafening roar, quite startling me. It was the sentry +calling out the guard frantically. 'Look! look!' cried Frantisek, 'they +are presenting--it's the Emperor returning from his drive!' And while +he yet spoke a closed carriage with six horses swept past us and +disappeared in the inner court. But for all their fast driving I could +see who sat inside--two officers, the elder of them in a plain grey +coat, and the younger wearing a whole array of stars and ribands on his +breast. 'That will be him!' I thought, but I heard Frantisek say: 'Poor +Emperor, to think of his wrapping up in his cloak at this season like +an old man in the depth of winter--they say he is always shivering with +cold!'" + +"I could not doubt that he knew, having lived at Vienna these five +years, and I went home sadder still; for he who was wrapt in his cloak +looked weary and worn." + +"And was that really the Emperor?" inquired the popadja. + +"It was; but it was long before I could see him close. For a whole week +I waited for a message from Mr. Broza, but nothing reached me. Ah, +friends, those were grievous days! I sat for hours in the dull little +damp room they had assigned to me, staring at the wall. I had composed +such a beautiful speech on my journey, and had learnt it by heart, to +address the Emperor, but all that was useless now since he knew not the +Ruthenese; so I put together a few words which might serve my purpose. +But perhaps he could not even understand that much, and all would be +useless and things must go as they would!... Frantisek, I saw, pitied +me, for he would give me every spare moment of his time, hoping to +cheer me; but how should he have succeeded? although he did his best, +taking me all about the great city to divert my thoughts. It was but +little pleasure to me, for the noise and bustle was dreadful, and the +people stared because of my dress; there was quite a crowd sometimes +following me, full of laughter and ill-disguised wonder, as though I +were some monstrosity of a bullock. I soon grew tired of sight-seeing, +and preferred my own little room, where at least I was unmolested." + +"Did Mr. Broza forget his promise?" cried Simeon. + +"By no means; he was doing his very best. He told me so when, at the +end of a week, I ventured to call again, and I am sure he spoke the +truth. 'Your name is down,' he said, 'you will be admitted to the next +audience, but the day is not yet fixed. Next week, let us hope!' I +continued waiting, growing more heavy-hearted day after day. And then I +had even money cares to face! A hundred florins I had spent on my +journey, and there was a florin a day of present expenses; how, then, +should I return home if I must use up my little hoard waiting and +waiting? I began to blame myself for not having followed your advice, +and Dr. Starkowski's; and yet, God knows, I had not come to Vienna to +please myself. I could not have acted differently. Was it not for the +sake of all that is most sacred--my honour, and the good of my soul? +Was it not----" + +He stopped short, having caught a look from the pope's eye, searching +his face intently. + +"Well then," he continued, "I went on waiting ten weary days, when at +last Mr. Broza sent his servant, announcing that the next audience +stood fixed for the following Tuesday week; that was yet twelve days, +but I breathed more freely, knowing the day now when the uncertainty +must end. Thus humble a man becomes who is being taught by +disappointment. I counted the days and hours, and on the Sunday +previous to the longed-for audience I went to Mr. Broza, begging him to +tell me how I was to behave. 'You mean in the Emperor's presence?' said +he. 'Why, yes,' said I. 'But did I not tell you that although there be +an audience you must not count on seeing the Emperor himself? The +petitions, most likely, will be received in his name by one of the +princes.' I had to sit down, for the room went round with me, and it +was some time before I could answer. 'You did tell me, sir,' I said, +when I was able to speak; 'but I fully trusted the Emperor would be +receiving in person this once at any rate; why but for this should I +have been kept waiting so long?' But Mr. Broza shrugged his shoulders. +'Let us hope so,' he said; 'but if you do not see him, be sure and hand +your petition to the Archduke--he probably will hold the audience. +Your conscience may be at ease, for you have done your duty to the +utmost--better, I daresay, than any other village judge in Austria.' +'Thank you,' I said; 'but I can do no such thing. I shall give my +petition into no hand but the Emperor's own. And if he does not appear +this Tuesday, I must wait for another audience, and another, till I see +him.' 'But, man, will you not listen to reason? Who is to procure you a +standing admission? Such a thing was never heard of!' 'If it is really +impossible,' I replied--'and of course I believe you, for you have +acted honestly by me--if it is impossible, I shall know what to do.' +'And what may that be?' 'I shall throw myself into the way of his +carriage when he drives out. If his coachman is able to pull up in +time, I shall then present my petition; if the horses go over me, then +it will have been my fate.' He looked at me aghast. 'And you would do +that?' 'Certainly.' 'Well,' he said, 'there is no saying what one of +you peasants is capable of in fighting for his right.' Presently he +added, 'I shall have you conveyed to the Castle on Tuesday, and +fetched away again. You must come to me directly after the audience, +directly--do you hear?' I promised; but my mind was made up." + +"Taras," cried Anusia, "how could you have such thoughts!" + +His eyes burned darkly, and he shook the grief-streaked hair from off +his forehead. "I may have had worse thoughts," he murmured; but the +others hardly understood him. He paused, and went on quietly: "Well, +then, the audience. I dressed for it quite early, as a bridegroom on +his wedding day, putting on my top boots, and the long brown tunic with +the leather belt, and over it my best sheepskin--all white, the one +with the broidered facings, you know, Anusia. It was rather hot for +fur, suggested Frantisek, who had made my boots shine like a mirror, +anxious to do his part; but I knew what was due to the Emperor, and +took my fur cap of lambskin as well. The people stared worse than ever +when, thus arrayed, I walked from the house to the open carriage kind +Mr. Broza had sent for me, and as I drove along folk everywhere stood +open-mouthed. I did not much care, for I knew by this time that the +Viennese, whatever they may be besides, are the most curious people +under the sun. We reached the Castle, and stopped by the entrance +opposite the iron statue. A lackey helped me to dismount, bowing to the +ground. I knew that the rascal meant it for mockery, and took no +notice. At the top of the stair two red-coated halberdiers pretended to +start at the sight of me; but I showed my order for admittance, +whereupon they directed me to a door opposite. I opened it, and came +upon some more lackeys, who affected the same amazement. One of them +tried to take from me my stick of carved oak; but I did not part with +it. They laughed and pointed me to another door. + +"I had reached the audience chamber at last: a long, spacious hall, all +white and gold, and full of looking-glasses as tall as a man. I should +never have believed such splendour possible--it was dazzling. Some +fifty petitioners were assembled there already--old and young, men and +women, soldiers and civilians, priests and laymen--some looking anxious +and some hopeful. One thing we had in common--we all carried memorials +in our hands; but for the rest of it every age was represented, every +station of life, and, perhaps, every people of this great Austria. +There was a poor tattered gipsy, and beside him a comfortable-looking +lady in a silk dress; an old gentleman in threadbare garments, and a +young handsome officer wearing the Emperor's uniform; a Jew in his +black caftan, a sleek Catholic priest, and many others. They moved +about whispering, and behind them stood motionless some of the +red-coated halberdiers. I could not but groan at the sight of so +many seeking redress. 'Alas!' I sighed, 'it would take the Emperor +half-a-day to listen to them all; and of course he cannot do that, weak +and sickly as he is,' Yet there was some comfort, too, in there being +so many. Some of these people, no doubt, had come a long way, as I had, +spending their money for the hope that brought them; and surely, I +thought, they would not do it if the Emperor were not known to help +readily. And it comforted my weary heart that rich and poor stood there +side by side, all waiting for redress. 'We are all alike in the sight +of God,' I thought, 'and so we are in the Emperor's, who is His viceroy +upon earth--how, then, should he not uphold the right?' This cheered +me; I looked up boldly, gazing at the people as they gazed at me. + +"We were directed to stand in a half-circle, a man in a green +dress-coat assigning to each his place; and I perceived that there were +degrees of dignity. I stood at the lower end, furthest from the +entrance we were facing, together with two other peasants, by the look +of them, also wearing their national costume. The one was rather stout, +his dress consisting of light blue breeches, a tight-fitting jerkin, +and a cloth cap with a plume; the other, tall and gaunt, wore baggy red +trousers, and a long yellowish jacket, holding in his hands a felt hat +with a high pointed crown. We had to wait a long time, and I did as the +others did, endeavouring to draw my neighbours into conversation. They +answered civilly, each in his own tongue, neither of us understanding +the other. That was disappointing; but I thought I would at least find +out their nationality, and that by the only means I could think of. You +know that our soldiers, if they bring home nothing else, return to us +with a sad habit of swearing, picking up the country's oaths wherever +they go. 'Psie sobaczy!' I said; but there was no response. So my +friends could not be of the Slavonic race. 'Kreuzelement Donnerwetter!' +they never moved; so they were not German. 'Bassama teremtete!' upon +this my stout neighbour in the tight breeches gave a jump, jabbering +away at me delightedly; that settled it, he was a Hungarian! But now +for the other one in the yellow jacket. 'Merge le Dracul!' no response; +he could not be a Roumanian then. I was nearly exhausted, but luckily +remembered one more chance. 'Corpo di bacco!' I cried, at which he also +flew at me, embracing me wildly--an Italian! But I wished I had been +less curious; for they went on talking at me eagerly, to the great +amusement of all the company, and I could only nod my head, keeping on +with 'Corpo di bacco!' and 'Bassama teremtete!' But why tell you all +this nonsense?--There was a hush of silence suddenly, for the great +entrance door had opened." + +Taras paused, evidently not in order to impress his hearers, but +because he was himself overcome with the recollection of that moment. + +"The Emperor!" cried Anusia, with a gasp. + +He shook his head. "There appeared in the doorway," he continued +quietly, but with a tremor in his voice, "a man in the uniform of a +general, rather short and white-haired, and some officers of different +regiments behind him. My heart all but stood still and sight failed +me--I think I should have fallen but for the steadying arm of the +Hungarian. It was _not_ the Emperor; for although I had had but a +passing glimpse of him, I knew his features from a portrait of his at +the inn where I was lodging. That little white-haired general with the +pouting under-lip--though he looked right pleasant otherwise--was a +relation of his no doubt, being like him in feature; but it was not the +Emperor! Ah, beloved! I cannot tell you what disappointment surged up +within me, I could not put it in words if I tried for ever! I looked +on, half stunned, watching him as he received the memorials. With most +of the petitioners he could speak in their own tongue, and if there was +one he was unable to understand, one or other of the officers acted as +interpreter; but with no individual case was he occupied longer than +about a minute, passing on with a gracious word. Some looked relieved, +some rather woebegone, as they made their exit, a lackey directing them +to a side door. I watched it all through a haze as it were, and +perceived that at that rate my turn would be in about an hour's time, +counting from his beginning at the other end of the half-circle. I +tried to collect my thoughts, but think as I would nothing could alter +the resolution with which I had come--to plead with the Emperor and not +with his representative. And with a beating heart, but firm of purpose, +I watched the prince's approach." + +"Ye saints!" gasped the popadja, and Anusia crossed herself. + +"At last he stood before me! I bowed low, he nodded and put out his +hand for my petition. But I bowed lower still, saying: 'All powerful +and gracious Mr. Prince! I know who you are, and that you are here for +the Emperor; but to him only can I make my request.' He looked at me +surprised, and turned for an interpreter. One of the officers, a +captain, with ash-coloured facings, being of the Duke of Parma's +regiment, which I knew was drawn from Podolia, stepped up, translating +what I said. 'Peasant,' added the officer thereupon, turning to me with +a kindly face, 'the Emperor is not to be seen, but it will be all right +if you hand your petition to this gentleman, who is the Emperor's +uncle, His Most Serene Highness the Archduke Ludwig.' Again I bowed, +saying, 'Have the goodness to translate this to the prince. He who +stands before you is Taras Barabola, peasant and landowner, lately +judge of Zulawce, sometime a happy man, but now despairing. He may be +nobody in the eyes of the great ones, but he is a human being in the +sight of God, and therefore of His viceroy, the Emperor. He is here +praying for his right, thirsting for it as the hart panteth after the +waterbrooks. You, sir, are a fellow-countryman of ours, have pity on me +and tell him this, word for word.' And the officer turned to the +prince, interpreting my speech; whereupon the latter looked at me +searchingly, putting a question. 'What is your trouble?' translated the +officer. 'Robbery of the parish field,' I replied, adding, 'Tell him it +is not merely a question of earthly justice, but that the future +welfare of a soul is at stake. He is an old man I see, and will soon +himself stand at the judgment bar of God; beg him, as he would desire +the Almighty to be merciful to him, to obtain for me an audience with +the Emperor.' 'My good man,' replied the captain, 'I am a Podolian +myself and have grown up among peasants, being the son of a village +priest, so you may believe that I wish you well; but I am not going to +translate this speech of yours literally, or this is not the way to +address a prince!' 'But you must!' I urged. 'It were taking an awful +responsibility on your soul if you refused me; and see, the prince +appears to expect it!' So he had to translate it, and never a feature +changed in the Archduke's face, but his eyes were fixed on me +piercingly. I did not quake--why should I?--but gazed at him +fearlessly, my conscience not reproaching me any way. Turning to the +captain presently, he spoke a single word. 'Wait!' translated the +officer. And the Archduke went on, taking the rest of the petitions and +passing from the hall; whereupon the captain came up to me, saying, +'Follow me; the Archduke wishes to hear your story.'" + +"What rare good fortune!" cried Father Leo. + +"Yes; I suppose so," assented Taras. "We went along a corridor, and up +and down some stairs, till we reached the Archduke's room. It was a +simple apartment, full of books, and not in any way more princely than +Mr. Broza's. He was sitting at a table covered with papers. We were +ushered into his presence, I telling my tale and the captain +translating. The Archduke's countenance remained as immovable as +before; no matter what I was saying his eyes only showed his interest. +He put a question or two: how we lived in the village, whether we +reared cattle and such like. By and by he addressed a few words to the +officer, who then led me away. 'Well?' I said, trembling with hope and +fear, when the door had closed behind us. 'Your wish is granted,' +replied he. 'Be by the iron statue yonder at four to-morrow afternoon, +where I shall join you to act as your interpreter with the Emperor. +"Why the man is of another planet," the Archduke said to me, "his +confidence must not be shamed!" And he thinks the Emperor will like to +see you, and that your Podolian garb will amuse him. He wishes you, +therefore, to come in these same clothes to-morrow, and if you have +anything in the way of weapons belonging to your dress to add it +likewise.' 'For God's sake, captain,' I cried; 'I am coming to plead +for the right, and not to show my clothes!' 'Yes, yes,' he said; 'but +do as you are told,' adding kindly, 'you may thank your stars for this +chance; and even if to-morrow's audience will avail you nothing, you +may find it useful to have obtained the Archduke's interest.' 'I cannot +understand that!' I cried. 'Well, and I could scarcely explain it to +you,' said he, with a smile; 'but it _is_ so.' And so said Mr. Broza, +to whom I now went as I had promised; so also said the innkeeper, to +whom, with the aid of Frantisek, I had to give a minute account. They +all agreed that I was fortunate." + +"Why, a child could understand that," interposed Simeon. "The Emperor, +no doubt, values his old uncle's opinion." + +"May be," said Taras, with a painful smile; "but they did not take it +in that way, as I came to understand the following afternoon. You may +imagine that I arrived by the iron statue a good while before the +appointed time--it is a figure of the good Emperor Joseph. The officer +walked up to me by the stroke of four, conducting me through the inner +court to a splendid marble staircase, and through many passages to a +door blazing with gold and guarded by some of the redcoated +halberdiers. We passed a large ante-room, and entered a smaller one, +where we were told to wait. The chamberlain in attendance, who looked +vastly stupid, kept watching me with furtive sneers, but I did not +care; my heart felt more solemnly uplifted than if I had been in a +church. There was the sound of a little bell presently; the chamberlain +glided in, and returning, he beckoned us to enter." Taras paused and +drew a breath. "I think," he continued, slowly, "the look of that room, +and of the two gentlemen in it, will be present with me to my dying +hour: it was a large, splendid apartment, darkened with curtains, which +left a half-light only, shutting out the sun; and at the table sat +two officers--generals by their uniform. The one was that same old +Ludwig, and in the other I recognised, when he rose, the Emperor! A +feeble-bodied man of middle height, slightly stooping, with a +good-natured face and blue eyes. He motioned me to come nearer, but I +took a few steps only, and fell on my knees, holding up my petition. +Oh! I did not kneel merely because it might be the custom, but urged by +my own deepest need. For at that moment all the trouble I had battled +with for months past surged up within me, and, do what I would, the +tears rose from my heart...." + +"And he?" cried Anusia. + +"He came close to me, seemingly concerned at my emotion. Taking the +petition I held out to him, he gave it to the Archduke, and then he +addressed a few hasty words to me. 'He tells you to rise and dry your +tears,' the captain whispered to me. But I remained on my knees, not to +move his feelings, but simply because it was the natural position for +mine. 'Thou Emperor,' I cried, 'have pity on me!' He plainly did not +know what to say, and putting his hand into his pocket, drew forth a +ducat, which he offered to me. 'I want no money; I want justice,' I +cried. The Archduke stepped up now, whispering a few words to the +Emperor, and then told the captain I was to rise, and that the Emperor +would be sure to examine into my case carefully. I obeyed with an +effort, but then I begged the captain to say that I would not hold +myself assured till I had the Emperor's promise from his own lips. 'I +cannot say that,' whispered the captain, alarmed; 'it would be most +rude to the Archduke.' Whereupon I repeated the words myself, looking +intently in the Emperor's face. Now the captain was obliged to +translate, and thereupon the Emperor nodded to me, but burst out +laughing at the same time, as though it were quite a joke. I am sure he +did not mean to hurt me, for he looked kindness itself, and would not +kill a fly if it annoyed him, but his laughter cut me to the heart; I +keep hearing it still in my dreams.... No doubt the anguish of my soul +was written in my face, but he took no notice. He walked round me, +examining me curiously, and putting several questions--who had +embroidered this fur of mine? whether I had many furs like that? and +several pairs of these boots? did I polish them myself? and so forth. I +answered his inquiries, but good God! they stunned my heart.... I think +I would have given my life for his asking me a single question which +did not refer to my clothes. But not he! And I daresay my fur and my +boots would have interested him awhile yet, had not the Archduke again +whispered some words to him. He left off questioning, and smiled at me +once more with his good-natured smile, again offering me his ducat--not +as a charity, as the captain had to tell me, but in memory of having +seen him. Thereupon, I took it--this is it, bearing his likeness." + +He drew the coin from his belt. They all were anxious to see it, and +agreed that the Emperor had a pleasant, good-natured face. "And now you +were ready to start for home?" they said. + +"Oh, no," said Taras, with a sigh; "for though my object was +accomplished, my heart was no wise at ease. I wanted to wait for the +Emperor's answer. My petition prayed for a re-examination of the +witnesses, and thus much the Emperor might command on the spot, I +thought. Mr. Broza tried to dissuade me--it might be months before I +should hear, he said, and it would be a waste of time and money. But I +clung to my desire, entreating him till he pitied my distress and +promised to inquire at the Imperial Chancery whether the Emperor's +decision had been received. It was a week after the private audience. +The reply was hopeless--not even the petition itself had as yet been +filed. 'I must look up that Uncle Ludwig,' I cried in my despair, and +had some trouble in finding the captain who had acted as my +interpreter--his name is Eugene Stanczuk, and his home is at Kossow, a +few miles from Ridowa. I wanted him to take me once more to the +Emperor's uncle. 'That is quite impossible,' he said, 'and moreover the +Archduke has departed for his residence in Styria; he will not return +here for months.' When I heard this I knew that further waiting was +vain. I strapped my bundle--honest Frantisek brushing my boots for the +last time sadly, and I went to Mr. Broza to thank him for all his +kindness and--should he trust me--to borrow some money of him, for I +had only ten florins left. 'That shall not trouble you,' he said, +counting out a hundred florins to me without even a witness, as though +I were his brother. 'Let us hope for a favourable answer in time,' he +added, 'but if I have any claim on your gratitude, as you say, promise +me one thing--do not let it break your heart if it turns out a denial!' +Much as I owed him, this was more than I could promise; I had gone to +Vienna with a hopeful mind, and was coming away now broken-hearted." + +He ceased, the sadness gathering in his face. + +"I do not see that!" cried Father Leo, "there is every room for hope +since you have the Emperor's own promise!" + +"Have _you_ seen him?" said Taras, rising. "Have you been to Vienna? +You have heard my tale, but you have not been there to see!... It is +getting late--it must be near midnight. Kind thanks to you, friends. +Come, wife, let us be gone!" + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + DESPAIR. + + +The days followed one another, and winter was at hand; Taras, in +silence, had taken up the old, changeless village life. He found plenty +to do on his own farm in spite of the care bestowed upon it by Simeon +during his absence; and, labouring with his men, the most diligent of +them all, he could forget at times that one thought which kept +burrowing in his brain. But for other reasons, too, it was well he was +thoroughly occupied, for intercourse with the villagers could have +comforted him little. + +Ill-humour against him had risen to its height, since his journey to +Vienna also had proved a fruitless errand. He had but two friends left +besides the priest--his former colleagues, Simeon and Alexa. The others +either openly hated him, or treated him with unkind pity as the fallen +village king. As for his re-election to the judgeship, it was not so +much as thought of. Simeon, true to his word, had resigned his +vicarious honours at All Saints', rather expecting, however, the public +confidence would turn to him; yet not even he was elected, but a +certain Jewgeni Turenko. + +The man thus chosen was a harmless individual, rather poor, who never +could have aspired to such luck had the freaks of fortune not singled +out his younger brother, Constantine, lifting him to the giddy height +of a corporal in the Imperial army. It had never been dreamt of in the +village, that any peasant lad of theirs could be more than a private, +and now this hero of Zulawce had actually returned as a corporal, a +live corporal, sporting the two white stars on his crimson collar. All +the village felt itself honoured in this favoured soldier, entertaining +the wildest hopes for his future. He has two years of service yet to +come, they said; who knows but that he may be a sergeant before he has +done? The young hero was ready enough to avail himself of the good +opinions thus showered upon him. By his own account, he was one of the +bravest of the brave, and as he could scarcely invent a great war as a +background to his exploits, he devised some minor fancies, laying the +scene in rebellious Lombardy--"Corpo di Bacco! where the heat of the +weather is such that an ox in the fields is roasted alive in two +hours." How could the good people of Zulawce have thought little of a +man who, in such a temperature, had saved a province to the Emperor? +And more especially, how should their womankind not have admired a +soldier who, to say nothing of his splendid moustache, had by his own +showing been proof against the allurements of the very countesses in +those parts--"devilishly handsome creatures, to be sure, but with the +enemy's females I have nothing to do!" It was a fact, then, that within +a few weeks, Constantine Turenko had the upper hand in the village; and +as he could not be judge himself, being only on furlough, he managed +that his brother Jewgeni should be elected, while two other friends of +his, equally humble as regarded their wealth and wit, were chosen as +elders. Thus aristocracy was laid low, the middle class rising. + +Taras had not striven against it; he had voted for Simeon, but for the +rest he let matters take their course. "The beggars will be the ruin of +the village!" cried Anusia, in whom the pride of blood was strong. "It +is atrocious that men like my Uncle Stephen, and you, and Simeon, +should be succeeded by the rabble!" + +But Taras took it quietly. "They are making their own bed," he said, +"let them try it!" + +"I wish you would not pretend such callousness," exclaimed Anusia, +"there is no one who loves the village better than you do!" + +"Perhaps not," said he, "but I cannot alter the state of things; +besides, I have other cares now." + +"Cares? What are they?" she cried. "Is not the farm as flourishing as +ever?" To this he had no answer. + +He did his work in those days with diligence and perseverance, as +though he were not the richest peasant in the village, but a poor +labourer merely, who had to gain his next day's bread. And whereas +formerly he had always been guided by his own opinion, he would consult +his wife's now, soliciting her advice. Anusia felt proud at this mark +of confidence, till she discovered that he desired to hear her views in +order to correct them. And as the question mostly referred to matters +concerning which, capable as she was, she knew nothing, since, by the +nature of them, they rather belonged to the husband's sphere, she lost +patience at last. "What have I to do with assessments and taxes?" she +exclaimed. + +"You must get to know about them," he replied, gently. + +"But why? Is it not enough that you should know?" + +"Yes, now; but the time may come when you will have to do without me." + +These words did not frighten her, appearing too ludicrous. A strong, +healthy man, not forty years old--how should she take alarm? "You +croaker!" she said, "we'll think about that fifty years hence." + +"It is all as God may will," returned he solemnly; adding, "Do it to +please me." + +"Well, if it tends to your happiness, certainly," she said, +good-naturedly, and did her best to understand what he explained to her +concerning the taxes and imposts. + +In the presence of his friend, the village priest, Taras never let fall +such hints, meeting the good pope, on the contrary, with great reserve. +But Father Leo took no umbrage, redoubling his affection for the +saddened man, and doing all in his power to counteract the low spirits +to which evidently he was a prey. He even proposed to teach him reading +and writing. "It is useful anyhow," he said, "and you could amuse +yourself with entertaining books." + +But Taras declined. "It is no use to me now," he said, "and will be +still less presently. Besides, that which would rejoice my heart is not +written in your books. Nor have I the needful leisure; these are busy +days on the farm, and after Epiphany I mean to go hunting. I shall be +gone a good while I think." + +"Do, by all means," said good Father Leo approvingly, "it will cheer +you. And there is the general hunt before Christmas. You will not miss +that." + +"I shall not take part," replied Taras, quietly, "even if they ask me, +which I do not expect." + +"Not ask you!" said Father Leo. "You the best bear-hunter born!" + +But events proved that Taras had judged right. Constantine objected to +his presence, so the people did without him. That warrior had +contracted a real hatred of Taras for various reasons, mostly foolish, +but in part spiteful. To begin with, the dethroned judge was the +natural leader of the more wealthy of the community, which was bad; he +was an "enemy of the Emperor," and that was worse; worse still, the +community had suffered loss "through him, and him alone;" the worst of +all being that Constantine still owed a certain florin to "this bastard +who had sneaked his way into the affections of an heiress." + +Anusia felt it a personal insult, shedding passionate tears when the +hunting party passed the farm; but Taras did not move a feature, +continuing quietly to fill the sacks of corn that were to be sold. One +thing, however, he did when the last sound of the noisy party had died +away. He entered the common sitting-room, calling upon his eldest boy +Wassilj. "My child," he said, "you are eight years old, and our little +father Leo is instructing you well--do you know what an oath is?" + +"Yes," said the little boy. + +"And you understand what is being a judge?" + +"Yes, it is what you were!" + +"Well then, lift up your right hand and swear to me that never in your +life you will offer yourself for the judgeship, nor accept it if they +ask you. Will you do that, and never forget?" + +"I will, and will not forget it," cried the little boy, earnestly +lifting up his childish hand. + +And Taras kissed him and returned to his work. + +But Father Leo, on learning of the new insult offered to his friend, +expressed his hearty sympathy. + +"There is no need to trouble about it," said Taras; "you see I am +quiet." + +"And so you have every right to be!" cried the pope, warmly. "Have you +not always done your duty, ay, and a great deal more! If sorrow is your +part now, you can accept it with a strong heart, as of God Himself. He +has been gracious to you, bringing you to this village and blessing you +abundantly; and if He now chastises you, it surely is for your good in +the end. The ways of God sometimes are dark." + +Taras shook his head. "I don't believe that," he said, curtly. + +"Not believe in God?" cried the honest pope, aghast. + +"I do believe in Him," said Taras, solemnly, "and I believe that He is +all just, but that He brought me into this village, and that all this +bitter grief has come upon me by His will, I do not believe. For if He +guided every step and action of ours, if our fate were all His doing, +no wrong could be done on earth. Nor does He, and we are not mere +puppets in His hand!" + +"Puppets! what an expression!" cried the pope, rather perplexed and +therefore doubly vehement. "Nay, we are His children!" + +Taras nodded. "His children, yes," he said; "if we may use an earthly +simile to describe our relation to Him, that is the word. But what does +it mean? we owe to our natural parents life and the training they give +us; beyond this they cannot influence us; and so some of us are good, +some are bad, some are happy, and some unhappy, whereas every one +surely would be good and happy if the will of our parents could bring +it about. And it seems to me we stand in a similar relation to Him +above. He has made this world and the men that live therein, revealing +to them His will: '_Be righteous!_' He does give us a training by the +very fact that the circumstances of our birth and childhood are as He +wills them. But what we make of it, and what steps we take in life, +that plainly is our doing. I own that we cannot go to the right or to +the left in unbiassed liberty, for we choose according to our nature, +following our heart and mind, such as they have become." + +"I do not seem to understand," owned the pope, hesitatingly; "but it +would appear you believe in a blind sort of predestined fate, like any +old crone of the village." + +"No," cried Taras, sharply. "Let me try and explain. During the years +of my happiness, when blessings were about me, full and rich, like the +summer sun ripening the harvest, with no shadowing cloud overhead, I +did believe the goodness of God had thus ordered my day, and in my +heart I thanked him. But when darkness overtook me with sorrow +unspeakable, I grew sore at heart and hopeless as the lonely wanderer +in the storm-tossed wilderness, seeking for shelter in the driving +snow, and not a star to guide him in the night; before him and behind +no voice but that of howling wolves.... No, said I, _this_ is not the +will of God; it is fate! Let me go the way that is destined--happiness +and blessings were to be, and the misery is to be, and the end is not +mine to choose! Of what avail that I should strive thus wearily, +seeking the path in darkness and battling to escape the wolves, since +it is destined that either I be victorious, or fall their helpless +prey? It was foolish, nay, maddening, while I thought so, but now I see +differently: Nothing is predestined, our fate is here and here"--he +pointed to his head and heart--"our virtues and vices are our guides in +life, and besides this there is but one guidance to those that will +listen to it, that all-encompassing will of God--'Thou child of man, +act righteously!' That is it." + +"This is not a faith I can hold," said the pope, "but I am glad, at +least, that you do not believe either in a blind fate or in mere +chance. For my part," he added, solemnly, "I shall always believe in +the overruling of a Divine Providence that numbers the very hairs of +our head." + +"That faith has been taken from me," replied Taras. "His heaping sorrow +upon sorrow on me could be compensated for in the world to come; but I +see the right trampled under foot, and the wrong victorious, and this +cannot be by the dispensation of God. No; it is just the outcome of the +folly or the wickedness of man. As to chance, I certainly believe in +it--who could live on this earth for well-nigh forty years and deny it, +having eyes to see! There surely is such a thing as chance. Have you +forgotten what I told you as to my coming hither, or do you think it +was God's special providence to let that Sunday morning be fine? Did He +order His sun to shine, merely that a poor man, Taras Barabola, should +become head servant of Iwan Woronka's at Zulawce, and not of that +priest to whom I might have gone? Is it not sheer presumption to +suggest as much? I say, there is a chance, but it does not make a +plaything of us, we rather play with it, making it subservient to our +destiny. The bright sunshine that Sunday morning certainly brought me +hither; but do you think it made me the husband of Anusia, or brought +about my becoming the people's judge? Do I owe to that sunshine the +good that has come to me since, and the great load of evil? Surely not, +that was all my own doing, and nothing else. Chance, then, is nothing; +but what we make of it can be little or much." + +He drew himself up, looking proudly at the pope. "And this," he cried, +"must explain my every act hitherto, and my future actions. If I could +believe that Providence has mapped out my fate, I would follow blindly. +Could I believe in chance or destiny, I should abide quietly what +further they will make of me. But I believe no such thing--I hold that +every man must follow the voice within, ay, the voice of God speaking +to him in the highest law: 'Be righteous! Do no wrong, and permit no +wrong!' And these two commandments, equally sacred, I will obey while +life is mine!" + +He turned abruptly and went away. + +Christmas had come. It is not a day of the children in the Carpathians; +they have no presents given them, and the Christmas-tree is unknown; +the one thing marking it out from other days being a certain dish of +millet, poppy seed and honey, with mead as a beverage. In Taras's +family, too, the day hitherto had thus been kept; but now he sent one +of his men to Zablotow, ordering him to get various little presents for +his own children and those of Father Leo. "It is a way they have at +Vienna," he said to his wife; "it seems a pleasant custom. And I would +wish that the children should remember this Christmas Day." + +"Why so, what is there about it?" + +"Well, for one thing, I have been away so long this year," said he +hastily, turning to some occupation. + +Christmas over, he had two large sledges laden with corn, taking them +with his servant, Jemilian, to the New Year's market at Colomea, as was +his habit. + +But on the second of January the man returned alone. "The master has +business with the lawyer," he said; "he will be home in three days." +Anusia grew frightened, and ran to her friend, the popadja. "He is not +going to come back," she wailed. "Now I understand his strange +speeches, and why he insisted on making presents to the children that +they should remember this Christmas. It was his way of taking leave of +them!" + +But the pope reproved her. "If you do not know your husband better than +this," he said; "I, at least, know my friend. It grieves me, to be +sure, that he should re-open matters with the lawyer. But he has sent +you a truthful message, there is no doubt about that." + +Nor was he mistaken. Taras returned even sooner, on the second day. "I +guessed as much," said he, when Anusia clasped him, sobbing +passionately; "you took alarm because I had business with the lawyer; +so I made what haste I could and travelled through the night." + +"But what is it?" she asked. + +He drew a little packet from his belt, unfolding it carefully, and +producing a large sheet of paper. + +"The Emperor's decision!" she cried, exultingly; "there is an eagle +upon it!" + +At which he laughed bitterly. "No, my dear. That eagle merely shows the +Government stamp for which I paid five florins. The decision, that is, +the refusal of my petition, need not be looked for for months. What +need of hurry is there concerning a mere peasant!" But suddenly growing +serious, he said: "Listen, my wife! This paper affirms that I have made +over all I possess to the children, but to be yours while you live. I +have kept back nothing for myself, except some money and my guns." + +"Wherefore?" she cried, trembling, "what can be the meaning of it?" + +"Because--because--" he hesitated, the honest man could ill +prevaricate--"because I might be fined heavily for the lawsuit...." + +"It is an untruth!" she exclaimed. "You think of taking away your +life!" + +"No, indeed," he asserted with a solemn oath. But she could not take +comfort, despatching little Wassilj with a message to the pope. Father +Leo came at once, expressing unfeigned wonder on being shown the +document. + +"Why, it's a deed of gift, in due form and legally attested. But what +for, my friend; what for?" + +"You must not ask me." + +The pope looked at him; his gloomy face wore an expression of +unbendable resolve. And Father Leo, thereupon, was silent, knowing it +would be useless to inquire. After awhile, however, he began again: "I +will not press you, Taras; but tell me one thing: Did you inform Dr. +Starkowski of your reasons?" + +"No," replied Taras. "And that was why he refused to make out the deed. +'I require to know your intention,' he said. But fortunately there is +another solicitor at Colomea now--a young man who did not trouble about +my reasons." + +"Fortunately?" echoed the pope, with marked emphasis. + +"Yes, fortunately," returned Taras, equally pointedly. "I have fully +considered it." + +Again the pope was silent; and then he spoke of everyday subjects in +order to inquire presently with all the indifference he could command. +"And what are your plans for the present?" + +"I have told you some time ago," said Taras. "To-morrow is Epiphany; +after to-morrow I shall start for a several weeks' hunting." + +"Not by yourself?" + +"Oh, no. I shall have Wassilj Soklewicz with me, and my two men, +Jemilian and Sefko--that is, if I may take them, Anusia," he added, +with a smile, "for you are mistress now." + +"Do not jest," she said. "I am well content you should take them. There +is little to be done on the farm now, and they are faithful souls. But +I hope you will let the two boys and Simeon go with you as well, they +are just longing for it." + +"No," said Taras, "that is impossible." Nor did he alter his mind when, +the following day, Hritzko and Giorgi pleaded their own suit. "Have we +in any way offended you?" they vehemently inquired. + +"Certainly not," he assured them kindly. "You are fine fellows, both of +you, but I cannot possibly take you. Your father is a true friend to +me, and he is getting old. I--I must not let his sons risk their life." + +"Risk! Why, what risk should there be? We did so enjoy it last year." + +"All sorts of things may happen on a bear hunt; and, indeed, I will not +take the responsibility, on account of your father. It is different +with those others who will accompany me; they have no special family +ties, either of them. It is really impossible, my good fellows, much as +I would like to have you." + +He took leave of them affectionately, as he did of their father, of +Alexa, and of the pope's family. They all felt concerned at his +going, but none of them could have given any reason. Anusia alone was +brave-hearted. "You will recover your spirits," said the faithful wife, +"and, therefore, I am pleased you should go. When shall I expect you +back?" + +"In six weeks at the latest." + +And thus they parted. Anusia once again ruled the farm, and did so with +a strong hand, equal to any man's for determination. The new judge, +Jewgeni Turenko, before long found occasion to testify to her firmness. + +The mandatar, for reasons known to himself, had been keeping at a +distance lately; but whenever he was present at the village Jewgeni had +no easy time of it. For Mr. Hajek continued in the path he had begun, +and his claims were many, the new judge being nowise equal to his +predecessor in distinguishing the just ones from the unjust. And being +something of a coward besides, he made all sorts of concessions which +clashed with his duty to the village. So, hoping to conciliate his own +party, he sought to lay the burden on their opponents. And, since +Anusia for the time being was unprotected, she seemed a fit person in +his eyes to try the experiment upon. Consequently, he showed himself on +her premises one day, informing her that she must tell off two extra +hands for the forest labour about to fall due. "There is no such claim +on me," she said, curtly, "it will be no use wasting any words about +it." He ventured to remonstrate, showing his fist; but the judge of +Zulawce had the worst of it--he retired rather hastily, bearing away on +his face some visible tokens of her prowess. + +The sixth week had not elapsed when old Jemilian presented himself +before his mistress with a splendid bearskin, and delivered his +message: Taras sent his love, and prayed for further leave of absence; +he would return for Palm Sunday. + +"Is he well?" inquired she. + +"Yes, quite well." + +"And of a cheerful heart?" + +"Yes," averred the man. His eyes sought the ground, but Anusia did not +notice that; she trusted the honest servant, who for upwards of twenty +years had lived on the farm. "Then I am quite satisfied," she said; +"let him stay as long as it gives him pleasure. It is five weeks more, +to be sure; but let him have it." + +And thereupon Jemilian went over to the pope's. "My master has sent +me," he said, "he is anxious to know whether the imperial decision has +arrived, he gave directions to have it transmitted to you. + +"Nothing has come," said Leo; "but how is your master?" + +Jemilian repeated his statements, but Father Leo was not taken in, +although he had trouble of his own, and sympathy with others might +have been in abeyance--his youngest child was grievously ill of the +small-pox. But he was a true friend of Taras's, and could turn away +from his own grief. "Look me in the face," he said, sternly; "it is not +meet to offer an untruth to the priest. Tell me what you are after up +there." + +"Well, we hunt," Jemilian replied, hesitatingly. But the pope was not +thus turned off, and after a little more of prevarication the man was +obliged to confess. "Ah, your reverence," he said, "such hunting as +Taras's the Carpathians have never seen. The Almighty must have clouded +his reason; He must, indeed! On first starting we all took it for +granted he would lead us to the Red Hollow, the best hunting ground far +and wide. But he took us on--on, far away into the mountains. He never +notices the track of the bear, and if we call his attention to it +he shrugs his shoulders. On--on, we go. He seems to have but one +object--to get to know his way in the mountains. If we pass a dense +forest he takes his axe, making his mark upon the trees. If we come +across a herdsman he does not inquire what life the bears have led him, +but is anxious to learn the character of the neighbourhood and its +bearings. It is the same if we put up with any cottager. He makes +friends with the people, giving them cartridges for their guns, and +asking them for nothing but directions to find his way. On we go, +westward chiefly, but exploring right and left--from mountain to +mountain, from glen to glen. Denser grows the forest, more ragged the +clefts; we seek a path through the rimy brushwood, our hands torn with +the brambles.... Ah, your reverence, I am a bear hunter of thirty +years' standing; but what the Carpathians are I found out but lately." + +"And have you asked him what is the object of all this?" + +"Indeed I have--again and again, but to no purpose. How often have I +said to him: 'What is the good of roaming through the wintry waste like +this? Your servants would be well content if they could see you enjoyed +it; but you push on, sad unto death--what is the good?' His reply being +always the same: 'It must be, my men, and if you love me you will +follow.' Love him?--of course we do. Your reverence knows as much as +that yourself, that to know him is to be ready to go to the death for +him.... Well, we followed him like sheep their shepherd, chiefly +westward, for the space of twenty days, when we reached a cottage, and +the people there were Huzuls still, but of different ways from ours. +'We are of the Marmaros,' they said. We spent the night with them, and +it was the same as everywhere. Let Taras but begin to speak with +people, telling them of his life and inquiring into theirs, and his +charm is upon them; they look up to him and are glad to serve him. +Indeed, your reverence, he has a wonderful influence over men, if he +chooses to use it; this has been very plain in our roamings. From that +cottage he led us back again towards Pokutia. 'It was useful to have +seen something of Hungary,' he said; 'but now we will turn our steps +homeward again.' That was both sensible and pleasant, and for sheer +satisfaction I forgot to ask him why it should have been useful to seek +a weary way through brambles and riven rocks to have a look at the +Marmaros. Nor could I feel satisfied long, for he soon turned from the +rising sun, striking off northward, over mount and dale, as we had done +before. Never a shot he fired, though we met the finest deer; he only +kept noticing the country. At last we stopped far beyond Delatyn; he +gave us a day's rest, and then in quick marches he brought us back to +these parts, stopping near the Red Hollow. We arrived two days ago, +putting up for the night in the dell of old Michalko, and yesterday we +had some hunting at last. We were fortunate too, for not two hours +passed before we sighted a splendid bear, and Taras killed him, rather +carelessly, but the bullet hit clean between the eyes. It was the first +time these six weeks that I saw him smile--he was pleased with his good +shot. And when Lazarko and I had drawn the creature he sent me home +with the skin." + +"Lazarko," interrupted Father Leo, "who is he?" + +Jemilian had tripped evidently. He grew red and stammered: "Oh!... some +fellow.... who joined us...." + +"Don't attempt what you have so little talent for," returned the pope; +"your lies are transparent. Why do you depart from the truth?" + +"I cannot help it," said the man, apologetically; "Taras has enjoined +me so very sternly not to mention Lazarko, for fear of harming the poor +youth...." + +"Lazarko?" repeated the pope, rubbing his forehead, and exclaiming +suddenly: "You don't mean Lazarko Rodakowicz, of Zolince, surely!" + +"Yes I do," confessed Jemilian. + +Father Leo was dismayed: "And this man our Taras suffers near him! Is +he not aware that Lazarko is a murderer? Why the fellow shot the +mandatar of his village!" + +"He did. But only because the mandatar dishonoured the girl he loved." + +"That is true. I knew the parties, Zolince being but a couple of miles +from my late cure. The mandatar was a wretch, the girl honest, and the +youth had borne a good name. But to commit murder is an awful thing +nevertheless, and Lazarko, so far from in any way expiating his guilt, +made it worse by escaping into the mountains, where he joined the band +of Green Giorgi, thus becoming a brigand--a 'hajdamak.' I trust Taras +was not aware of that!" + +"He was," said Jemilian, "for Lazarko came to us straight from the +outlaws. And since the matter has escaped me, I may as well tell your +reverence the plain facts of it, for you are Taras's friend. We knew +well enough, on going beyond the Red Hollow into the heart of the +mountains, that we must fall in with some 'hajdamaks'; for the +Carpathians are their natural haunt, and not all the Whitecoats[4] of +the empire will be able to say a word against it. We had no fear; four +of us, and carrying arms, we were a match for the devil if need be. +Besides, it is well known that the hajdamaks hardly ever attack a +peasant or a Jew; they are the sworn enemies of the Polish nobles only, +and of the Whitecoats if driven to it. So we went ahead fearlessly, and +our first encounter with one of their kind was not calculated to +terrify us--a beardless milksop, half-starved and frozen. Our +watch-fire brought him near, and he begged humbly for leave to stay. +But Taras stepped up to him: 'Let us first see if you deserve it!' he +said sternly. 'Is your mother alive?' 'She is dead.' 'Then answer me +truly, as you would wish her to be at rest in her grave. I presume even +a fellow like you will own the sanctity of that oath! Why did you take +to the mountains?' 'Well, just because of my mother's death; my father +married again, and the step-mother turned him against me. I, the heir +to the farm, had to do the meanest labour, and was treated like a dog +besides. So I ran away!' 'This is no reason for taking to the +mountains! Why did you not try life in another village, eating your +bread honestly, as the servant of some respectable peasant?' The fellow +looked abashed. 'I had heard of the merry life up here,' he said at +last. 'Away with you!' cried Taras, 'it is mere laziness and greed of +enjoyment that made you a hajdamak! Away!' And his look was such that +the fellow made the greatest haste to escape. A few days later we had a +more serious encounter. We were deep in the heart of the mountains, not +far from the Marmaros, resting one night in a forsaken cattlefold. Our +fire was lit, when suddenly an armed band appeared, headed by a +handsome young man, with a finely-twisted moustache, carrying the white +bunda[5] carelessly on his shoulders, with the green, silver-broidered +jerkin beneath...." + +"Green Giorgi himself," cried the pope, crossing himself involuntarily. + +"Yes, himself! Your reverence will be aware of the stories concerning +him--that he has power to show himself in different places +simultaneously, and that he knows men and all about them, though he has +never set eyes on them before. How that should be I cannot tell, but he +certainly knew us. 'I make you welcome, Taras!' he said, +condescendingly. 'I intend to start a-hunting tomorrow, and rejoice to +fall in with the best bear-hunter of the country!' But Taras did not +accept the proffered hand. 'If you know me so well, Giorgi,' he said, +'then you must be aware, also, that I never shrink from saying the +truth. We are but four of us, and you about three times the number; we +have but our guns, and you, I see, carry pistols besides. If you wish +to attack us, we are lost. But nevertheless, I tell you, I shall +neither hunt with you to-morrow, nor suffer your company a moment +longer than I can help it this night. A man like you must poison the +very air I breathe,' Giorgi grew white. 'Why?' he hissed, snatching at +his girdle, where a pair of silver-mounted pistols were to be seen. 'I +am not bound further to explain my opinion,' replied Taras; 'to be a +hajdamak is a miserable trade, yet there are reasons which may force an +honest man to take to it. You have no such excuse. You are a mere +deserter from the ranks of the Whitecoats. And you carry on this sad +trade after a cruel and shameful fashion besides. When the peasants +of Roskow, last autumn, called upon you to help them against their +hard-hearted lord of the manor, you were not satisfied with plundering +this Polish tyrant's property, but you committed robbery in the village +besides; you not merely killed the tyrant, who deserved it, but you +killed the innkeeper, a poor Jew, whose only crime consisted in having +saved up a little money, which roused your cupidity. I could lay many +similar charges at your door, but I daresay this will suffice.' But, so +far from sufficing, it was more than the ruffian could brook. He drew +his pistol, foaming with rage. But we three--Sefko, Wassilj, and I--had +cocked our guns at him, his own people standing by gloomily. He would +have discharged his pistol, nevertheless, had not one of his party made +a dash at him, whispering something we did not understand. He gave a +scowling look at his followers and turned to go. 'You coward!' cried +Taras, 'an honest man's bullet is too good for you!' At daybreak +we learned the reason of his yielding, and, indeed, had guessed as +much--he could not rely on his men. They had joined him, believing him +to be an honest hajdamak, and not a murdering brigand...." + +"No hajdamak can be honest!" interrupted Father Leo, sharply. + +"Well, honest, as the saying is," continued Jemilian, a little abashed. +"I was going on to say that at daybreak two of his men, Lazarko and +Iwan, came to us, assuring us they had thus believed in him, and +entreating Taras to take them under his protection, as they were tired +of the wicked life. He listened to Lazarko but not to Iwan, although +the latter swore by his mother's grave that he also had intended to be +an honest hajdamak...." + +"Honest! honest!" broke in the pope once more. "I wish you would not +thus use the word." + +"Well, honest, as people take it," rejoined Jemilian. "I meant to say +that Iwan had become a hajdamak only because he had shot a tax-gatherer +who was unlawfully going to distrain the goods of his mother, a poor +widow." + +"And that is an honest reason?" + +"Taras admitted it as such. But he nevertheless refused the young man's +request, because he had assisted Green Giorgi in a deed of cowardly +violence. He gave this account of it himself, crestfallen enough: 'Some +weeks ago,' he said, 'while scouring the lower Bukowina, we received +information that a Jewish wine-merchant from Czernowitz was travelling +by himself along the mountain road to Transylvania. On learning this, +the captain disguised himself as a peasant, requesting me to do +likewise. We lay in waiting by the roadside. The Jew arrived presently, +driving his car, and Green Giorgi begged him to give us a lift. He +good-naturedly agreed, although his vehicle was small, and, taking our +places beside him, we drove on for about a couple of hours, engaging +him in conversation. But on entering the dark, narrow valley of the +Putna, the captain stunned him with a sudden blow, ordering me to fire, +which I did, yet with so trembling a hand that the bullet merely grazed +his arm. Thereupon Green Giorgi drew his pistol and despatched him.' +Thus Iwan, amid sobs and groans; we listened horror-struck, but no one +was more moved than Taras himself. + +"'Was not the Jew a broad-built man, with a reddish beard, and blue, +kindly eyes?' he inquired presently, with husky voice. 'Yes, yes,' +groaned Iwan; 'ah, it is those eyes I cannot get rid of....' 'Villain!' +cried Taras, 'I knew the man; he showed me a similar kindness. But even +if I had never seen him I could have nothing to do with an assassin!' +'Have pity on me,' pleaded Iwan, 'I could not gainsay the captain, and +it was but a Jew!' 'Away, villain!' repeated Taras furiously; 'is a Jew +not a man? And you need obey no one for the committing of murder!' Iwan +fell on his knees. 'If you reject me, I can but shoot myself,' he +cried. 'There will be no harm done if you do,' said Taras, 'for it is +what you have deserved!' We turned from him, going our way. And he did +as he had threatened, the lads of old Michalko telling us only +yesterday that they found him dead in the forest, the discharged pistol +in his stiffened hand. We were sorry, but Taras never altered a +look...." + +The priest paced his room excitedly while this report was being given, +and now he stood still. "These, then, are your hunting pleasures!" he +cried, wringing his hands. "Is this the pastime by which Taras hopes +to regain his spirits? And the worst of it is, it seems to delight +him--he will return for Palm Sunday only! How do we know he will return +then?" + +"He will keep his word," said the man, confidently. "I was no less +alarmed than you, and would not have come hither with his message had +he not sworn faithfully to return by Palm Sunday." + +Father Leo took comfort, asking presently: "And did he tell you what he +means to do now?" + +"Not in so many words, but I am pretty sure he will now take us through +the Bukowina...." + +Leo stared at the man, horror-struck, his whole figure trembling. His +plump, honest face was livid with the thought that had come to him. He +grew purple and white again, and big drops stood on his forehead. +"Jemilian...." he groaned. + +The man had watched him, his own appearance as it were reflecting the +pope's emotion. But now he stretched forth his hands as though +combating an unworthy suspicion. "No, no!" he cried, "do not--do not +insult the pure-hearted man!" + +The pope drew a deep breath, and fell again to pacing his room. + +Some time passed in silence; the labouring man seemed lost in gloomy +thought. When he looked up presently, Leo started as out of a dream. +"Go," he said with trembling voice, "and God be with you! Tell him our +conversation, and that I shall look for him by Palm Sunday without +fail. If we were not in trouble ourselves, I would think nothing of the +twenty miles' distance, but would go with you to urge his return even +now." + +"Do you know him so little?" said the man with a smile. "'Twere easier +to make the Pruth flow backwards than to turn him from his purpose. But +he will keep his promise." He drew a breath. "Doubt him not! And pray +for him," added the faithful soul, "he sorely needs it." + +Jemilian departed, and Father Leo returned to the bedside of his +youngest child. The little boy lay in high fever, tossing the more +wildly as his hands were tied up for fear of his scratching the painful +pustules. + +The apothecary who had seen him a couple of days ago had judged that +the illness would run its course favourably, but that it had not yet +reached its height. And it was so; twelve weary days had to pass before +the danger was over. And even then the poor parents could not lift +their heads, for when the little one recovered, both the elder boys +sickened with the same terrible disease, and all their anxiety began +afresh. No one could have blamed Father Leo if in this season of sorrow +he had thought little of the absent friend, all the more as the daily +visits of Anusia had ceased; she was obliged, for her own children's +sake, to hold aloof. But on the contrary, he thought much and pitifully +of the roving man and his strange hunting-time. It scarcely needed the +sad news which reached him on the last Sunday in Lent to rouse his +sympathy afresh. + +For on that day a messenger from the district town brought over the +long-expected imperial rescript. Leo knew what the contents would be, +and yet he hesitated to break the seal. Those thoughts that had come to +him as he listened to Jemilian's report--thoughts of a suspicion which +he had striven to combat--surged up in him afresh. And he felt as if +that red seal in his hands were dyed with the heart's blood of the most +righteous man he had known. He almost felt forbidden to break it, and +when he did so at last it was with a sigh. He was not mistaken; the +writ contained not merely a denial, but also a reproof for having +wantonly troubled the ear of His Majesty. Father Leo groaned. "Taras +must never know that," he murmured. "I shall not give him the literal +contents." + +But not four-and-twenty hours had passed before all the villagers +knew that the Emperor had written a letter to Taras, saying: "You +good-for-nothing subject, if ever you trouble me again about your law +suits, I shall have you shut up in prison!" It was the corporal who +thus paraphrased the imperial decision, having it direct from Harasim +Woronka, who was a common labourer now, thanks to his drink, working +for the mandatar. It was Mr. Hajek's doing that this version was thus +carried to the people; he had learned at Colomea that the decision had +arrived, and had instructed his under-steward accordingly. Father Leo +was greatly incensed, and saw he had no choice now but to inform Taras +of the full contents, there being no mention of prison at any rate. And +he made up his mind to get an insight into Taras's heart if possible, +hoping the confessional in Passion Week would yield the opportunity. + +Palm Sunday was at hand. Early spring had made its appearance, the snow +was fast melting, the south wind blew, and the hearts of men were +happy. Father Leo especially had reason to bless this early spring, the +vivifying influence of which made itself felt in the sick-room, helping +to conquer the dread disease. But the parents yet took turns in sitting +up at night. + +And thus the night before Palm Sunday found Father Leo awake in the +dimly-lit chamber; the boys were asleep, he, with stockinged feet, +walking up and down between them and the window. Again and again he +stood still by their little beds, looking down wistfully at the pale +faces of his children, on which the illness happily had left no +ravages, and, turning back to the window, he would gaze out into the +moonlit night. The village street was bright as day, but solemn in +silence. The trees, just breaking into tiny buds, stretched forth their +branches into the glimmering air, and there were quivering sounds as of +the whispering winds of spring. From a copsewood near, the call of the +screech owl was heard; it is counted a death omen in most places, but +Father Leo scarcely noticed the dismal notes for the kindly light +pouring down upon the world. And the pious man lifted a full heart to +the Giver of all goodness, who had brought back his little ones from +the arms of death. "If I could but tell them," he murmured, resuming +his walk, and seeking words for the holy things that moved him. The +good man was making his sermon for the morrow. + +He was startled by a sound from the window, a finger tapping the pane +gently. A dark figure stood without, and, looking close, he recognised +Taras. + +He hastened to open the sash a couple of inches. "Welcome! welcome!" he +said warmly, "I am glad you have made good your promise." + +"I returned an hour ago," replied Taras. "My wife and children are +well; but you have seen trouble?" + +At which the pope made haste to add that the Lord's goodness was being +shown to him even now. "Come in," he concluded. + +"It is late," said Taras; "I only wanted to have a look at you. Though, +let me say, I know what you are keeping for me, happening to fall in +with the two lads of Simeon by the Czeremosz yesterday, and they told +me the imperial decision had arrived." + +"But I daresay they have not told you correctly," said Father Leo, +anxiously. "We will put off everything till to-morrow, but no false +report in this respect shall grieve your heart; a minute longer than I +can help. The rescript consists of a few lines only, and I have read +them so often that I know them by heart. It is true that your petition +is refused, because the verdicts of the local courts had plainly shown +you in the wrong. And you are warned from again appealing to the +Emperor needlessly; it is condoned this once, because of your evident +zeal for the good of the parish. These are the very words: 'The subject +Taras Barabola is herewith instructed to refrain from again troubling +His Apostolic Majesty or the Imperial magistrates, and to submit to +justice.' That is all, I assure you; never a word of prison. And it is +bad enough as it is." + +"Bad enough," repeated Taras slowly. "What were the last words?" + +Father Leo looked at him, he could see his face plainly in the +moonlight; it was quite calm. So he repeated the final clause. + +"To submit to justice," said Taras after him, slowly. "Good-night." + +The pope would have wished to detain him, but the clock had struck one +some time ago, and it was the hour for giving the children their +medicine. So he shook hands with him through the window and returned +to the little patients, where the phial stood by the side of a +night-light. + +He was just taking up the bottle, when suddenly--fearfully--a cry rang +through the stillness without, half lost in the distance, but so +terrible, so death-inspired that he shook violently, sending forth a +cry in return. The children sat up in their beds sobbing, but he flew +back to the window, trembling, and listened. Deep silence had settled +without, and not again was it broken; yet he gazed out anxiously, +prepared for the very worst. + +But all seemed at peace; the little cottage gardens, and the street, +and the fields beyond, lay swathed in moonlight, but deserted and +still. Nowhere a trace of living soul, not a sound to be heard, save +the whispering of the branches bending to the night air. Was it Taras? +Did ever human breast send forth such a shriek of mortal agony? The +priest could not tell, but he remembered the screech owl. "The bird of +night may have flown past the house," he reflected, straining his ear +to catch a repetition of the sound. But all was still; only the wind +kept swaying the branches. + +He crossed himself and returned to his children, endeavouring to calm +them; and having given them their medicine, he strove to take up the +thread of his sermon. But that was well-nigh impossible. Again and +again he stood still, listening; but only the gentle voices of the +night reached his ear, no sound of alarm--the screech owl was +silent.... + +The small hours passed slowly, gloomily. With the dawn the popadja +entered to take his place. "Little father," she said, "have I been +dreaming, or did I hear it? A terrible cry broke upon my sleep, as of a +man being strangled and crying for help...." + +"I daresay you dreamt it," returned he, huskily, making haste to gain +his study; there was early service at eight o'clock, and he really must +collect his thoughts for his sermon. + +But it was impossible, for while he was yet dressing he was suddenly +seized with a burning desire to see his friend, and nothing was to be +done but follow the inward compulsion. He snatched up his cloak and +hurried from the house. + +Entering Taras's farmyard, he found his two eldest boys in their Sunday +garments, with bright plumes in their brand-new caps. They were making +a desperate noise with toy trumpets. On seeing the pope they ran up to +him and kissed his hand. + +"Father returned last night," they cried, "and see what he brought +us--a trumpet each and these beautiful caps." + +"Is he at home?" inquired the priest. + +"No. He is gone to see Jewgeni." + +"The judge?" + +"Yes--that judge," returned little Wassilj, with all the contempt he +was capable of. "He has business with him. He would never go and see +him for the pleasure of it." + +"And where is your mother?" + +"Getting ready for church." + +"Well, tell your father to come to me in the vestry directly after +service. Do you understand?" + +Wassilj promised to deliver the message. "And I know what for," he +added, with childish importance, "the Emperor's answer has arrived." + +Full of disquietude the priest retraced his steps. "What business can +he have with the judge?" he wondered. + +Explanation was at hand. He came upon the judge at his own threshold. + +"Glad to meet your reverence," said Jewgeni. "I have called for your +advice. My brother is against it, but all the people are for it." + +"For what?" + +"It is Taras's proposal. He came to me this morning saying: 'I want you +to call together the general meeting directly after service--not merely +the heads of families, you know, but all the community. You are aware +that the final decision has arrived from Vienna. I want to render an +account to the people. Now whether you are my enemy or my friend is +nothing. You are the judge, and I claim this as a matter of right,' I +need not tell your reverence that his friend I certainly am not. For, +firstly, he is against the Emperor; secondly, he is a bastard; thirdly, +he is only a lowlander who has sneaked into our village; and, fourthly, +that wife of his----" + +The man involuntarily put his hand to his face. Father Leo understood +the gesture, but his heart was too heavy for a smile. + +"I know," he said quickly, "you are not exactly his friend, good man +though he is. But what answer did you give him?" + +"None at all," replied the judge, rather bashfully. "How could I +without first consulting my brother Constantine, and he is against it. +'Do you want him to talk the people over?' he said. 'What have we to do +with his petition to the Emperor? If he has lost his case it serves him +right,' said Constantine." + +"For shame!" cried the honest pope. "But what of the people? You said +they are for hearing him. I hope they are." + +"Well," returned Jewgeni, "my brother ought to know, being a corporal! +But the elders and others of the men who heard of it think differently. +'He shall have the meeting,' they said; 'it is due to him in simple +justice.' And what may be your reverence's opinion?" + +"Call the meeting, by all means!" cried Father Leo, warmly. "Shall this +man, who has sacrificed so much of his time, his money, his powers, for +the good of the people, not be permitted to render his account, because +he has stood up for your right, even beyond his duty? Of course you +must hear him!" + +"Very well, then," said the judge, meekly, kissing the priest's hand, +"the meeting shall be called. The people can be informed after the +service, but I will send a message to Taras at once. Yet I am not sure +my brother, the corporal----" he scratched his head and went his way. + +It was high time for Father Leo to repair to church for early mass. He +hastened to his vestry, where the sacristan stood waiting to assist him +with the vestments. And Father Leo began his duties. + +The church was one of the United Greek community, in which mass was +read according to the Roman Catholic rite, but in the language of the +people, consequently the worshippers were able to follow intelligently. +It was a good congregation, and they appeared to listen prayerfully +whilst Father Leo with his choristers chanted the antiphony. But the +good father himself had trouble in centering his thoughts on his +sacred occupation. His eyes had scanned the people, and he knew that +neither Taras nor Anusia were present. But Taras's companions had +come--Jemilian, Sefko, and Wassilj Soklewicz, looking haggard and worn. + +Mass over, the priest returned to his vestry to put off the heavy +garments before mounting the pulpit. He was on the point of re-entering +the church, when the outer door leading to his sanctum was torn open, +little Wassilj bursting in, sobbing. + +"What is it?" cried the priest, white with apprehension. + +"Little father," sobbed the child, lifting his hands beseechingly, +"mother entreats you to come to us at once--at once! It is a matter of +life and death, she says." + +"Good God--what is it?" + +"Alas!" cried the boy, "I cannot tell you! I only know that mother is +in despair." + +"Is your father at home?" + +"Yes! We were just starting for church, when a messenger from Jewgeni +arrived, saying, 'The judge will comply with your desire, and the +general meeting shall be called,' Thereupon father turned to mother, +saying, 'Then we cannot go to church, for I owe it to you to tell you +before telling the others.' And to us he said, 'Run into the yard, +children.' But we remained in the hall ... and ... we never did it +before!" sobbed the child. + +"Did you listen?" + +"Yes! We heard father's voice, he spoke lowly and we could not +understand. But presently mother gave a sharp cry, as though she were +suffering some fearful pain. I could not help bursting in, Fedko and +Tereska after me. Mother was on her knees before father. 'Don't do +it--oh!' she sobbed. 'But I _must_!' he said, 'not even pity for you +and the children must prevent me!' And we began to cry, and mother +said, 'Yes, children ... come and kneel to him! Perhaps he will listen +to your tears, if he will not to mine!' Ah, little father, her face was +streaming...." + +"Go on; what else?" + +"We knelt, we lifted up our hands, and we cried, 'Don't do it, father, +for pity's sake!' But he shook his head, big tears running down his own +face. And then mother sent me to fetch you. Do come, little father!" +said the child, weeping. + +Father Leo's chest heaved. "How can I?" he said, "the people are +waiting for the sermon! It would be wrong to disappoint them." + +"It would, your reverence," remarked the sacristan. But the child had +got a hold of his gown, repeating anxiously, "Come; oh, do come!" + +"It is the lesser wrong," said Father Leo, with a sudden resolve. "Run +home, Wassilj, and say I am coming directly." + +And hastily he entered the church. "I beg your leave, good people," he +cried. "I cannot give you a sermon to-day. God will forgive me, there +is a holier duty waiting," and he vanished into his vestry. + +There was a loud murmur in the congregation, surprise being uppermost. +And then there was a flocking forth from the building. But outside +Jewgeni and his elders kept crying: "Go to the linden, all of you! We +call the general meeting for the hearing of Taras." + +The corporal stood by, smiling an evil smile. "Let us go and hear the +joke!" he said, following the stream of the people. + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE PASSION OF JUSTICE. + + +The pope, meanwhile, made what haste he could to Taras's house; it was +barely a ten minutes' walk, but it appeared to him fearfully long. + +Having reached the farm, he rushed into the house--it was silent as a +churchyard; after much looking and shouting he discovered only little +Tereska near the hen-roost. The child had a tear-stained face, but +seemed to have recovered her spirits, taking evident pleasure in +chasing a hen. "Where is your father?" inquired Leo, anxiously. + +"Gone!" said the child, and began to cry again. + +"Gone?"--Father Leo crossed himself--"where to?" + +"Don't know--he and mother----" + +"To the meeting?" + +"Don't know," repeated the little one, sobbing more violently. "Mother +was crying, and father was crying!" But the hen appeared to make its +escape, and the child was after it. + +"They can only have gone to the meeting," said the pope to himself, +retracing his steps speedily. + +The inn with the linden in front of it was a little way beyond the +church. The village seemed deserted; only a tottering old man in +front of a cottage sat basking in the sun. "I wish you would send my +grand-daughter back," he called out, querulously, "Taras will have +plenty of listeners without her." + +Father Leo, indeed, found the place crowded; the very oldest and +youngest excepted, none of the village were missing. For the "general +meeting" is an event, and duly appreciated. The faces of the people +reflected its importance as they thronged in a circle about the linden, +where a table had been placed by way of a platform for the speaker. + +Taras was just mounting it when Father Leo arrived; a murmur of +expectation ran through the people, of pity, too, with most, and of +spite with some. But surely this latter sensation was smitten with +shame at the sight of the unhappy man about to address them. His hair +had become grey, his face was worn, and his eyes burned with a piteous +fire deep in their sockets. + +"Ye men of the village," he began, with trembling, yet far-sounding +voice, "and all of you who are members of this parish, I thank you for +coming here, and I thank the judge for having called this meeting. For +although it is but a duty on your part, and on his, to hear me, yet a +man who has lived to see what I have seen, is grateful even for that +much! + +"Jewgeni will have told you why you are here: I want to render an +account--yet not concerning the past, as he seems to think, but +concerning that which is at hand. Listen, then, to what a man has to +tell you who has been happy and has become unhappy, because justice is +what he has loved and striven for most. Some of you love me, others +hate me, and I daresay I have grown indifferent to many. But I pray you +listen to me without love or hatred, as you would listen to a stranger +whom death overtakes in your village, and who is anxious to unburden +his soul before he goes hence. You would have no personal sympathy with +such a one, but you would believe him because he is a dying man. Well +then, believe me likewise, for I am a dying for your sakes!" + +A shrill cry interrupted him, and a wave of excitement passed over the +closely-pressed people. In vain the pope endeavoured to force his way; +this wall of human beings stood firm as a rock. But on the other side +of the linden, towards the inn, some of the men were seen moving. "They +are taking away his wife!" was whispered from mouth to mouth. "She has +fainted!" + +Taras had not stirred from his place. An agony of grief quivered in his +features, but he stood motionless. They saw him lift his hand, the +commotion subsided, and in silence they hung on his lips. + +"Men and women," he resumed, "you have just witnessed that which is +enough to move any heart! Give her your tenderest pity! She needs it +doubly, not understanding that what I am about to do I _must_ do. Love +to me and to the children makes it impossible for her to follow my +meaning. But you will see more clearly; you will perceive it is not +wantonness and wickedness that forces me to separate from those that +dwell in peace. The guilt of it will not fall on my head, and I need +not fear the wrath of God. When the day of His reckoning comes I shall +be able to answer. But I also shall have a question to ask of Him in +that day, and I shall look for _His_ answer. Let me hope it will not +differ from what meanwhile I have said to myself in His name! + +"Listen, then, to my confession. There is both good and bad to be said +of me, in accordance with the truth. For a man should not be unjust to +himself, any more than to others. And if in most cases it is but a +false shame that would conceal one's vices or one's virtues, it were a +crime in mine. My heart, therefore, of which I have not yet been able +entirely to root out pity for myself, shall not influence my speaking. +And what were the use of complaints? Am I not like a man whose fields +have been wasted, whose dwelling has been destroyed by the flood from +the mountains? Shall such a one sit down by his ruined home crying: +'Why should God have sent this to me? why should the flood find its way +just to my house?' Why, indeed! Surely it was not mere accident that +the pent-up waters should have broken through just in this direction; +and if he is wise he will not sit still, but will ascend the torrent +till he find the cause of his trouble. And I will not have you stand +about me lamenting, but you shall follow me up the stream to see why +the roaring waters have burst on my happiness, singling me out for +destruction. + +"You are acquainted with my past, as though I had grown up among you. +You know I am a bastard, and that I had to suffer greatly on this +account; but you also know that, thanks to my mother, the wrong I +endured became a blessing. She had been brought to see that the heart +is poisoned which ceases to believe in justice on earth; so she +regarded not herself in order to teach me that faith. And when I had +been able to overcome a terrible temptation, when I had gained for +myself the goodwill of men, this faith of hers appeared to me also the +very bulwark of life. Yes, my friends, I had learned to look upon this +earth of ours as upon a well-ordered place where each man has his own +share of labour, and is rewarded according to his work: for equity and +justice seemed to be the foundation of things. + +"He who has once admitted this belief into his heart and mind can never +be really unhappy, even if misfortune should overtake him like a +thunderstorm in summer. Trouble did come upon me. I bore it--first the +illness and death of my mother, and then the return of my father. The +first trial was the sorest, but my soul could rise from it with less +effort than from the intercourse with the vagabond, just as the body +will recover more easily from some painful gunshot wound than from a +lingering fever. You all know how I strove to do what was right by my +father, and you also praised me for it; but it was only a rendering of +justice, the paying back of the debt I owed to my mother. He denied +being my father, the memory of her that was gone was being sullied, and +that made me willing for any sacrifice, ready to bear any burden +without murmuring or sinking under the load. It made me serious, but +not sad. For did I not suffer for the sake of justice, which grew all +the dearer to my heart! + +"The old man died. I did not rejoice; I felt like those men who all +their life long carry salt in heavy loads from here to Hungary, +bringing back packages of Hungarian tobacco instead. The poor slave +wipes his forehead and is glad to have arrived at his destination with +his burden of salt, but he is not therefore jubilant, for he knows that +he will set out with his bundles of tobacco to-morrow, which are just +as heavy, though otherwise different from the salt. Yes, my friends, +young as I was, I had already learned the lesson that this life of ours +is a mere changing of burdens, and I was content it should be so. For +did not everything depend on how we carried our load! But mine hitherto +had been heavy, and I longed for a change, longed for another burden +elsewhere. I believed that at Ridowa I should never cease hearing the +unkind and evil speeches of him for whom I had borne so much; the very +air, I believed, must be full of them. You know that even the wild +beasts can be driven forth from their haunts; destroy their home and +they will repair it, but if you befoul it they go. So I looked for a +place elsewhere, and chance brought me to Zulawce. + +"Looking back on those days, how should I not be filled with the pity +of it all? You know how I came to you--a man loving diligence and +understanding his business, thoroughly capable of managing a farm, +honest in all things, and trustworthy. Of the pleasures of life I knew +nothing. I had never yielded to drink, had never conquered a man in +fight, never kissed a girl for love. But I did not regret it, enjoying +in those days what I believed to be the greatest satisfaction of +all, a real content with myself. And why should I not? Was I not doing +my duty? Was I not endeavouring to be just--yes, and had suffered +for righteousness' sake! Added to this, I had complete power of +self-control as far as that may be said of sinful man. I knew that this +Taras, a self-made man, who from a despised bastard had risen to a +position of respect among his fellows, would all his life long be noted +for integrity, for helpfulness and justice; that he would never permit +any wrong, nor ever intentionally repay evil with evil. Thus I believed +myself strong and safe, come what might; for I could never be false to +myself, and the world could not fail me, since, to the best of my +knowledge, it was so firmly grounded on justice." + +He drew a deep breath, a sad smile hovering on his lips. "Bear with me, +my friends; did I not warn you there were some good things to be said +of me? But be very sure there is cause for blame as well, nay, I must +bring an accusation against myself concerning the very days I speak of. +My self-reliance was far stronger than could be justified by any virtue +or success of mine. I not only believed myself to be a good man--which +no doubt I was--but the very best man of my age and condition. This +ugly delusion, like my virtues, was the natural outcome of my history, +of my every experience. If a man has to climb a very steep mountain, he +must believe in himself, considering himself stronger and more capable +than perchance he is, else he would never set out on his journey, at +any rate he would fail by the way. And how much more so if he is all +alone! 'The thumb thinks more of itself than all the four fingers put +together,' our much-lamented Father Martin used to say--one of the few +sensible sayings he could boast of. + +"You may wonder that I should accuse myself just of _this_ vice! If I +were to put the question to you to bring home to me any proud saying or +act of conceit, I dare say none of you could do it. Have I, then, +deceived you--shown myself different from what I am? Do I stand here a +hypocrite, self-convicted? Nay, God knows it is not so, and this will +not explain the apparent discrepance. It was no trouble to me to be +gentle and good and kind to every one, first at Ridowa and then at +Zulawce--helpful to all, and ready to serve them. I did but follow my +own inmost nature, and to be different would have cost me trouble. +Indeed, that pride of mine which possessed me was of a peculiar kind. +I, at least, never knew a man who was lorded over by a similar +taskmaster. The consciousness was ever present with me--'This Taras +Barabola is a good man, and righteous and just. I am glad I am he!' But +it were a mistake on your part to suppose that for this reason I was +happy, wrapped up in my own esteem. No, indeed--that pride of mine, +again and again, was the cause of shame to me, when I examined my deeds +and those of others. 'No man is a church-door,' says the proverb with +us. And I, too, was of flesh and blood; I, too, must fail and sin where +I would not. Little sins mostly, at which another might have laughed +without therefore being counted wicked or specially hardened. But to +me, they were grievous beyond words. And no effort, no honest will of +mine was a defence against them; for man is but human, and walking +along the dusty road of this life he can scarcely keep his skirt +entirely pure. The careless man will not be troubled by a little more +or less of dust on his garment; but he who, so to speak, has a habit of +frequently looking at himself in the glass, cannot but feel the +smallest speck a burden. And thus, just because of my pride, my little +sins have weighed on me far more than many a man can say of his +grievous ill-doings, and to atone for them seemed almost impossible. + +"But more than this, even the ill habits of others would be a burden to +me in the same way. For instance, to exemplify it by the most frequent +occurrence, it was a real pain to me to see any neighbour of mine yield +to drink, carrying not only his earthly gains but his very manhood into +the public house, there to lose them. Others would find it best to mind +their own business, but that pride of mine left me no peace. 'What is +the use of your being so good, Taras,' it would say, 'unless you strive +to help and save? What is the use of your being so sensible, so sober +and self-denying, except that you should be an example to these +besotted fools?' I was just driven to do what I could to rescue the +man; my pride would have torn me to pieces had I forborne; and if I +failed in my endeavour, as in most cases I could not but fail, it made +me sad at heart, and I believed myself bad and useless because of it. +It was the same regarding the laziness or unfitness of any in their +daily work. I would try to get hold of such men gently, teaching them +without hurting their vanity. In these things I mostly succeeded, for a +man will more readily take your advice concerning the ploughing of his +field or the management of his cattle, than he will take it in matters +of drink or ill-usage to some poor girl. Moreover, I could always fall +back on myself--I mean, if some idle or besotted neighbour would let +his farm go to ruin I could come to his assistance; for the diligent +man is never short of time, and my own farm need not suffer because of +my helping another. Indeed, I have often thus helped a neighbour, +sometimes because compassion was strong in me, but more often it was +just that same pride that made me do it." + +"You should not say so!" broke in a voice, quivering with emotion. "You +should not, indeed! How dare you call it pride--how dare you make a +vice of what is the rarest of virtues?" + +It was Father Leo. With a troubled heart, shaken to its depth with pity +and with grief, he had listened to his friend. He alone had understood +what Taras meant in saying he must "separate from those that dwell in +peace," and he knew that the terrible forebodings which had come to him +during the interview with Jemilian were about to be fulfilled. But how +to prevent it--ah, how, indeed? Every fibre of his honest soul trembled +with the apprehension of it; every faculty of his brain was bent on +finding a means of averting the great sorrow at hand. "I am unable to +hold back ruin," he murmured, pressing closer to the table, longing to +be nearer his friend when the terrible word would be spoken. And +standing there with a beating heart, the whole history of the strangest +of men once more passed before his soul--all the shaping of so dread a +fate--since first he beheld Taras, the leader of the community gathered +by the Pruth to receive him on making his entry into the parish; all he +had known of him since, until the interview by the window in the past +night, until that cry of despair still ringing in his ears but far +distant already, for God only could tell how much of the terrible +history had been woven even since that cry.... + +"It is all as it must be," sighed he, bowing his head; "there is no +help for it!" But his impassioned heart could not surrender without a +struggle. If he could do nothing else for his friend, he at least would +not allow that best of men to accuse himself unjustly before this crowd +of listeners, of whom few indeed were fit to look upon so noble a soul +thus laid bare to their gaze. It was for this reason he had interrupted +him at the risk of a sharp rebuke from the highly-wrought speaker. + +But Taras was calm, smiling even as he made answer: "Nay, your +reverence, I must distinctly contradict you--I know it was pride. But I +will own to you that the only man to whom I ever opened my heart before +this hour, speaking to him about this vice, shared your error. The man +I mean was that honest compatriot of ours at Vienna, Mr. Broza, and he +spoke words to me which I should not repeat if I were not a dying man. +'This is sheer blasphemy,' he said, 'do you not see whom you accuse of +sin, if you call that kind of disposition pride? None other, let me say +it reverently, than the Saviour Himself--Christ Jesus, the Lord! In +this sense He also was proud--ay, a thousand times prouder than +you--the very proudest man that ever lived.... But happily,' he added, +'happily we call it by another name--the beneficence of him who being a +law to himself is filled with tenderest love to his neighbours.... I do +not mean thereby to compare you with our Lord, Taras,' he concluded, +'but you are a rare man nevertheless--a Christ-like man.' Bear with me, +men and women, for let me say it over again, it is a dying man that +dares repeat such words to you. And surely I know my own heart better +than another can know it. It was pride that moved me; it was sin. + +"But having now laid bare my inmost heart to you, showing you the good +and the bad within me, you may judge for yourselves how I must have +felt when first I came among you. It was as though I had entered a +strange world, it was all so different from the lowlands--different +and, as I was ready to say, worse. But my pride did not permit me to +look down upon you on that account, or to rejoice in finding you +wanting; on the contrary, it urged me at all hazards to correct your +ill habits. It was no easy matter for me to understand you, and find a +reason for your doings; but I set about it and perceived where to make +a beginning, and to what length I could go. My task grew plain. There +was need to improve your agriculture, giving you for your low-lying +fields the ploughshare of the plain. There was need to show you how to +benefit your live stock by increasing the number of herdsmen and +providing the cattle with shelter. There was need to accustom you to a +garb more suitable to your labour, need to teach you the advantage of +adding rye-bread and beef to your staple food. There was need, above +all things, to break you from that wildest of your habits, so full of +danger to yourselves, the constant wearing of arms...." + +He stood erect, stretching forth his hand, as he scanned the people +proudly. His eyes shone, and his voice increased in fervour. + +"For twelve years I have lived in this village. As a poor serving man I +came hither, and for years I bore the scorn of many. I have never +boasted of what you owe me; no word or look of mine ever called your +attention to what I have done for you. Nor would I do so now. What, +indeed, were the gain of your thanks to a man in my position? But I +will have you know the _truth_ about me, and justly you shall judge me; +it is therefore I ask you--Have I done these things, and were they for +your good? Have I benefited you, and is it my doing--mine alone?" + +His voice swelled like thunder: "Speak the truth, men of Zulawce--yes +or no!" + +There was a breathless silence, broken after a minute or two, as the +forest silence is broken by a gust of wind when the branches whistle, +the stems bend and creak, and every creature starts up affrighted, the +many voices blending in one mighty sound; and thus to the pale, proud +man but a single answer was given, bursting simultaneously from these +hundreds of men. + +"Yes, Taras, yes--it was all your doing!" + +And then only the excited answers of individuals were heard. + +"Yes, indeed," exclaimed an old man, "just eight years ago Taras built +us the first cattle-fold, and the gain since has been double!" + +"Long live Taras!" cried Simeon, half choking with sobs. + +"Yes! yes!" broke in Wassilj, the butcher, "if we feed better, it is +because he showed us how!" + +"And it is all true concerning the plough--I ought to know!" chimed a +voice like that of a little boy. It was Marko, the smith, a giant to +look at, who owned this queer little voice. + +"Long live Taras!" repeated Simeon; one after another joining in the +cry--"Yes, Taras for ever!" + +But the unhappy man stood trembling, his bosom heaved, and tears ran +down his haggard face. He tried to speak, but the words would not rise +to his lips, nor could he have made himself heard for the people's wild +acclamation. At last he succeeded, and, holding out his folded hands to +them, he cried with a voice so rent with agony that his listeners grew +white with dread. + +"Stop! stop! for pity's sake, stop! Let not your thanks overwhelm me, +lest your reproaches presently be the harder to bear. For pure and +honest as my intention was, you will come to see I have lived to be a +curse to myself and my family; a curse, also, to you!..." + +There was a deep silence when he had thus spoken, a solemn pause, and +all the harsher sounded the spiteful voice of the corporal which broke +it: "A curse? ah, you own it! but you took care it should fall lightly +on yourself, you who fooled an heiress and sneaked into the judgeship!" + +"Hold your tongue, you villain!" burst from a hundred voices; and when +Simeon added, indignantly, "Be off, wretch that you are!" the echo went +round, "Be off!" The worthy hero grew pale, continuing, however, to +smile and to twist his moustache, that finest of moustaches in all +Pokutia. But ere long his smile forsook him, for he beheld a little +armed band that had pressed up to the speaker, endeavouring now, with +cries of resentment, to make their way to him. There were six of +them--Hritzko and Giorgi Pomenko, the sons of Simeon; Sefko and +Jemilian, Taras's men; Wassilj Soklewicz, and with him a stranger--that +same Lazarko Rodakowicz, whom Taras had admitted to his own followers, +although he had come to him from Green Giorgi, the outlaw. They were in +a towering rage, and evidently bent on punishing the corporal. + +Constantino trembled visibly, offering not the slightest resistance +when two of his comrades--like him, on furlough--took hold, one of his +right arm and one of his left, to drag him away towards the inn. The +people made room, but the words which fell from their lips were +anything but complimentary. "You cur!" cried the men, "you heartless +scoundrel, how dare you insult that man in his sorrow? ... Cannot you +see that he has resolved upon an awful thing, even his own death? ... +And besides this, are you not one of ourselves, you beggar? Do you not +know that respect is due to the general meeting?" + +The crestfallen warrior saw fit to hold his peace, making what haste he +could towards the safety of the inn. Not till he had gained the +threshold did he find courage to bethink himself of some witty remark, +but it shrank back within his own soul on his entering the parlour; he +stood still, abashed. + +They had laid down the wife of Taras on one of the broad wooden benches +of the deserted place. The heart-broken woman was a sight to move any +man; some of the women were striving to comfort her, especially the +good little popadja and a kindhearted Jewess, the innkeeper's wife. +Poor Anusia had recovered from her swoon; she lay with wide-open eyes, +moving her lips, and burying her hands wildly in the black masses of +her hair, which hung about the death-like face. But her mind seemed +wandering, she gazed absently; and no words--a moaning only fell from +her lips, rising to a smothered cry at times, and dying away. The women +who tended her felt their blood run cold with the pity of it--no +impassioned speech, no flood of tears, could have moved them like that +stifled cry, as of a wild creature in an agony of pain. Once only she +found the power of words when the corporal had just entered the +room--"Away, whitecoat!" she cried. + +But the next moment she raised herself on the bench, clasping her hands +and holding them out to him with piteous entreaty: "No--stop--hear me! +Make him a prisoner--don't let him go--for the merciful Christ's sake, +make him a prisoner!" + +She sought to gain her feet, but the women held her back gently: "She +is going out of her mind!" they whispered, awe-struck, making signs to +the corporal to be gone. He was only too glad to obey, quaking with +horror, and retreating to the open air. Silence had fallen without, and +the crowd once more prepared to listen to the haggard, grief-maddened +man, who had once been the gentlest and most peace-loving of them all, +and whose wife could but entreat his meanest enemy now to hold him back +from lawless deeds.... + +"To come to the point," Taras was saying, "the most painful part of it +all--how did I come to be a curse to you, to myself, to all in this +place? It is the consequence of an awful mistake; yet it was not my +belief itself that was at fault, nor my trust in you, but my confidence +in others! + +"To this day it is my deepest, holiest conviction, and I will maintain +it with my dying breath, that this world is founded on justice. To each +of us, I hold, God has given a duty to perform, but we have our rights +also, which others must not infringe. This indeed is the staff which +the Almighty has given us to enable us to bear up under our load. For a +burden each one has to carry. And for this reason no one shall dare to +touch his neighbour's staff, or to add unrighteously to his load. For +He that dwelleth above has ordered all things wisely, adjusting the +burden of each man, and weighing it in the scales of His equity. The +man who dares to interfere with this highest justice, sins against +God's rule upon earth, and he shall not do so with impunity. But the +Almighty does not visit every deed of wrong with His own arm; for He +will not have us look upon justice, or atonement for its violation, as +on something supernatural, but as on a thing essential to this life +of ours, like the air we breathe. For this reason He has portioned +out the earth into countries, calling a man to the rulership of each, +to be judge in His stead, to protect the well-doer and to punish the +evil-doer. This God-appointed man--it is the Emperor with us--has a +great burden laid on him by the Almighty, but also a stronger staff to +uphold him than any of ours, the Imperial power. Yet the most powerful +man is but human, and even an emperor has but two eyes to see; and, +like the poorest of his subjects, he can only be in one place at a +time. So he, again, follows the divine example, portioning out his +great empire into districts, appointing a man in each to be judge +in his stead, and investing him for that purpose with some of his +power--for since he is to bear part of the Emperor's burden, it is but +fair he should have part of the Emperor's staff to strengthen him. +These men are the magistrates; and in their turn they follow out the +example of their master, the Emperor, and the higher example of Him +above--they see that every parish is administered by its own judge, +yielding to him part of their power to guard the right. In like manner +every village judge behaves to the heads of families. I look upon it as +a glorious ladder, replete with comfort, uniting earth with heaven, and +bringing us poor sinful men nearer to Him who made us. I say it is +glorious, because the proudest intellect could not add anything to its +perfect goodness; and I say it is replete with comfort, because the +very lowest step of this ladder is under the same law as the highest. +For no matter whether I be a shepherd or a king, he who wrongs me is +committing equal sin, and it is the duty of those to whom God has +entrusted the power to protect the shepherd as though he were a king. +My duty is to do what is right, and not suffer any wrong silently, but +to report it to those whom God has appointed to protect me. All further +responsibility must rest with them! + +"Such being to this day my holiest conviction, I am unable to swerve +from my former opinion concerning you. You appeared to me like wild +beasts, your love of avenging yourselves filled me with horror until I +perceived whence it came; it was because you had not yet been taught to +wean yourselves from the ways of your ancestors, who, descending from +the mountains, settled here. They did well to look upon their firelocks +as the best argument in maintaining their rights. For God will have the +right respected, and the ladder I have spoken of is subservient to it; +but where the influence of that ladder cannot make itself felt, as in +the far-off mountain districts, the power of watching over his own +right must return to the individual man. God Himself must have so +willed it, otherwise He would not have peopled those outlying haunts. +But you, who are within reach of the law, continued to act as though +God had never made the provision I have spoken of! It filled me with +horror unspeakable; and if your lesser shortcomings had power to rouse +that pride of mine, how much more so this offence!... + +"Many of you will remember my wedding-day, and how I was laughed at for +being so serious; but I was not sad, only full of thought. I knew that +I was about to enter upon an entirely new life, a life beset with the +most difficult duties. For when I stood before the altar I not only +married the girl I loved, but, if I may so express it, I married this +village; and not only to her, but to you also, ay, and to Justice +herself, I promised with a sacred oath to be faithful unto death. No +words of mine could ever express what I felt on that day, how my +thoughts from my own newly-granted happiness would roam away to a +solemn future. For I knew that all my life in this place would be a +falsehood if I did not strive with might and main to bring you to +accept that will of God for yourselves also.... On my wedding-day! such +a terrible taskmaster was that pride of mine!... + +"I set about it. I soon perceived that I could do little unless I had +power vested in me--unless I were elected to the eldership. But I +scorned the idea of bringing about that end by despicable means. I +could only leave it with God--whose kingdom I strove to uphold--to +guide your minds. And when I had been chosen, I directed my every +effort to the furthering of the glorious end I had in view. + +"That same end was still my desire when the new mandatar arrived four +years ago. You there and then turned against him; I spoke for him. +Events have since shown that you were right in your antipathy, for he +is a wicked man; but you were wrong nevertheless, hating him only +because he was the mandatar. This dislike of yours came to be the test +of my influence with you; for those of you whom I could convince that +it was wrong to hate him because it was his business to claim the +labour we owed to his master, could learn to understand also about that +will of God. I did succeed with many of you, and the day was at hand +that should prove it; for when the mandatar came down upon as with his +demand, expecting us to render the tribute of our live stock to the +very day, you accepted my view of the question. It was the same in the +more difficult matter concerning the forest labour. I shall never +forget what I felt after those meetings. 'Thou God of Justice' +my heart kept crying, 'these people are learning to accept Thy will!' +Old Stephen turned from me--a real grief--but it could not lessen +the holy joy I felt. Indeed, that same joy would have been mine if +those meetings had cost me"--he said it slowly, and with marked +emphasis--"the love of my wife, or the welfare of my children! The +rupture between me and him was irretrievable; there could be no +agreement between the village as it had been and the village as it +should be according to my hopes, and, therefore, none between Stephen +and me. Even his dying words, greatly as they touched me, offered +abundant proof that his thoughts and mine concerning the most sacred +things in life had ever been widely apart. I did not understand him +when he said to me, 'It cannot but end ill when the judge is of another +caste than the people he is called to rule.' ... I believed, on the +contrary, that it would be an ill thing for Zulawce if the judge, like +the rest of the people, were given to violence. Now if there had been +among you a man of a like mind with myself, and better than I, I would +have thought it wrong to seek the judgeship; but as it was, my very +conscience laid it upon me to do so. I was chosen unanimously, as never +a judge before me or since. I was glad for myself, and more glad for +your sakes. There was little danger now, I thought, that you should +ever fail in your duty to the Count, or try to right yourselves by +force of arms. That the new mandatar was a miserable scoundrel I knew +soon enough; it caused me vexation and disgust--the kind of disgust one +feels in touching a toad--but I never for a moment considered it a +cause of alarm. How should the righteous come to suffer in a country +where justice prevails? So I never even threatened him; ay, more than +this----" + +He paused as though he had to brace himself up for pronouncing the +words that must follow. But presently he added, "I have to say that +which hitherto has been utterly unknown to you. Let your wrath be upon +me, for it furnished the root whence all this trouble has sprung. Yet I +could not have acted differently. It was myself who assured the rascal, +on his hypocritical inquiry, that we should never meet violence with +violence; and it was this assurance of mine that gave him the courage +to wrong us, coward that he is!" + +A cry of rage, not unmixed with surprise, burst from the assembled men, +followed once more by a deep silence, when nothing was heard but their +excited breathing; they were anxious to hear more, and he continued: +"You have a right to be angry! But I also was right in thus speaking to +him. And the proud confidence whence those words of mine had sprung did +not forsake me when he dared violence. I was more deeply roused than +any of you, because I loved the right more deeply. But we had need to +keep our hands pure, both for our own sakes and for the dear sake of +justice, for the guilt of it all must be left with him entirely; +therefore, I staked my very life to prevent your having recourse to +violence on your side. I thanked God that I succeeded; and for the rest +of it, it no longer was concern of ours, but of the imperial law court. +I waited for the verdict as never before did human soul wait and hunger +for the word of man! and when at last it was given--well, if you will +take into account my life and the man I am, you will understand that no +human tongue can describe the indignation which possessed me. I was +utterly broken, yet not with impotent rage, nor yet with my just +resentment against those miserable weaklings that should have righted +us--but only with an utter pity for myself. For at the very moment when +that hunchback creature of a clerk made known to us their decision, the +conviction darted through me: 'Poor Taras! if right and justice are not +to be trampled under foot, you will have to become a law-breaker in the +sight of men!'--I, the happy husband and father, the good, peace-loving +judge--a _law-breaker_! ... _That_ was what smote me down, making me +swoon like a woman, and for _this_ reason I cried and moaned like a +child when I returned to consciousness. Still, it was at that time only +a thought, brooking no gainsaying it is true, but there was no resolve +about it, still less any planning. My mind was overshadowed with the +thunder-cloud that hung heavy on the inward horizon. I had not yet come +to consider the ruin that lurked in its blackness, and as yet I gazed +upon it with horror and dismay as upon a thing within the range of +vision only, but outside the circle of my soul. And once again +confidence lifted her head. What though the court of the district had +failed to do right, there were other steps of the ladder beyond! I +carried our complaint to the court of appeal at Lemberg, hoping and +waiting yet again. But not with the strong hope of the former waiting! +The mind yet clung to it, but my heart had lost its assurance. And the +cloud remained. It spread more and more, forcing me to consider how it +would break. And then,"--his voice sank to a hoarse whisper--"and then +I felt an inward compulsion to go hunting in the mountains ... it was +there I came to see how it would end.... + +"On returning--it was about this season last year--I found the superior +court's verdict. The plea was declared to be groundless. I did not +burst into a rage, I did not even lament; but I saw that the cloud must +break. It was due, however, not only to me and mine, but even to +humanity, once again to consult my legal adviser. He mentioned the +Emperor; it was only by way of saying something, for the poor man, +himself helpless in the matter, pitied my distress. But that remark lit +up my night, comforting me greatly; it sent its radiance across the +dreary wild in which the straying wanderer had vainly been seeking his +home. The darkness, the terrors were forgotten, for the light of his +own hearth had shone forth to guide him. I had forgotten that there was +one on earth whom the matter concerned even more than myself, because +God had laid it upon him as a great and holy duty; and I knew now it +was my duty to go to that man--to appeal to the Emperor. I went to +Vienna, upborne by a boundless hope! it gave me courage to face the +strange country, to face every difficulty in my way to reach the ear of +Majesty.... + +"But when I had seen him--it required no word of his--I knew that my +hope was vain. Now, I will not have it said of me that I speak unjustly +of any man; let me say, therefore, I do not look upon the Emperor of +Austria as on one who loves wickedness or unrighteousness. He is a +poor, sickly creature, fond of his lathe they say, and he seemed very +anxious to know about my boots and breeches. That is all; for he is my +enemy now, whom I shall have to oppose as long as there is breath in +this body, and it behoves a man to speak more generously of his enemy +than of his dearest friend.... + +"I returned home as a man who knows what is before him, and, +recognising his duty, determines that the inevitable shall not find him +unprepared. I acted accordingly with a sadness unspeakable, abiding the +imperial decision. Not that I was foolish enough to hope it might turn +out favourably; but what I meditated grew to be right only when the +Emperor's refusal had reached me. It would have been sin before! But +the time of waiting must not be lost.... Once again I retired into the +mountains, endeavouring to make myself at home there more and more.... + +"Last night Father Leo transmitted to me the final decision. It is +unfavourable. I have it much at heart that you should understand it is +the denial in itself and nothing else in the writ that has ripened my +intention. Some foolish clerk has clothed the refusal in unkind words, +talking of prison unless I submitted. But I know better than to imagine +that he did so by order of that harmless man, the Emperor, who is too +good-natured to think of hurting a fly. It is not that which moves me. +Nay, if he had penned it with his own hand I would not care a straw +about it, any more than I should be influenced to the contrary if he +were to write: 'My dear Taras, it grieves me sorely to deny your +request; but I am anxious to reward your honest zeal by sending you the +golden cross with which I decorate great heroes.' I should send back +his cross, and would proceed with the duty which is before me." + +As these words were falling from his lips his armed companions--Sefko +and Jemilian, Wassilj Soklewicz and Lazarko Rodakowicz--had approached +him more closely, standing quite near to him now. Their faces were +white and quivering with emotion, most of all Jemilian's, who could not +restrain his tears as he turned to his master, handing him his gun. + +"Not yet," said Taras gently; but he took the weapon, leaning upon it +as he continued, distinctly, slowly, and solemnly: "Now listen to me, +ye men, and all that have come to hear me! Listen attentively, that you +may be able to repeat my words to any that should ask you. A fearful +wrong has been committed in this village--there has been robbery and +perjury. I have used every means provided by the law to undo it. It has +been of no avail. The perjured witnesses remain unpunished, and the +wrongdoer enjoys the benefit of his robbery. Nay more--not only have I +vainly appealed to the constituted authorities, the guardians of our +right, but I have done so to your hurt and mine. I have been a curse to +the village, because I strove for justice. He who loves the right must +suffer, and the evildoer flourishes! + +"It is incredible, and how should one understand it? Is that fair faith +of mine falsehood and deception? Is it not true that God has put an +Emperor over the land, giving him much power, that he should see to the +right? Is there no such ladder as I have spoken of binding earth to the +high courts of heaven? + +"Yes--yes, and yes again! It is so, it must be so everywhere where men +would dwell in safety; but it is not so with us. In this unhappy place +the arbitrariness, the unfitness, the carelessness of men has +counteracted the holy will of God, making the wrong victorious! + +"What, then, is the consequence for every right-seeking man? I have +shown that wherever the divine institution is powerless, as for +instance in distant mountain haunts, it is not incompatible with the +will of God that every man should be the guardian of his own right. And +how should it be otherwise in an unhappy place, where the wicked man's +violence is left to trample down the right with impunity? In such a +place also the power of protecting his life and goods must return to +the individual man. If there is no Emperor to help me, I must help +myself! + +"Hear, then, these three things. Let them he repeated from mouth to +mouth, that all men shall know them who dwell in this unhappy land in +which justice is not to be found! + +"Firstly! Since the Emperor is not doing his duty towards me, I am not +bound by my duty towards him. And therefore I, Taras Barabola, declare +before Almighty God and these human witnesses that I can no longer +honour and obey this Emperor Ferdinand of Austria. His will in future +is nothing to me, I disown and disregard it; and in all things in which +hitherto I have acted according to his laws I shall henceforth be +guided by my own conscience solely. Should he cause me to be summoned I +shall pay no heed; should he despatch his soldiers to catch me, I shall +defend myself. And since his magistrates abuse their power to the +furtherance of wrong, and he takes no steps to prevent it, I shall +strive to lessen that power as much as possible, waging war upon it +wherever I can! I shall do this anywhere, everywhere, while I can lift +a hand! Yes, I, Taras Barabola, in the name of Almighty God, herewith +declare war against the Emperor of Austria!--War!--War!" + +A shriek rose from the people, surprise, horror, approval and disgust +blending together in a single cry, which died away as suddenly and +completely as though it had been wrung from these hundreds of +listeners--an involuntary outburst of their mute dismay. + +"Secondly! Because justice is withheld from us, I shall take it by +force. I shall oblige the mandatar to indemnify the village. Yet this +will not be the extent of my duty, but only a beginning. If the name of +Almighty God is not to be dishonoured in this country, there is need of +a judge, of an avenger, before whom the evil-doer shall tremble and +whom all good men can trust. And since there appears to be no one else +for this holy office, I shall undertake it, looking upon it as a sacred +duty while life shall last. I will be a protector to the oppressed in +the Emperor's stead, since he is not. And because his power is with the +wrong-doer, I shall require a strong arm to oppose it. I shall unfurl +my banner up yonder in the mountains; let each and all come to me that +will serve the right. The wild forest which hitherto has been the haunt +of lawbreakers only, must now be a gathering-place for those that +honour the law, but to whom justice is dearer. There I shall dwell, +beyond the reach of any of their hirelings. I shall swoop down upon the +dwellings of men whenever the high calling I have accepted requires me +to do so, and I shall return thither having avenged the wrong." + +"A hajdamak!" cried Simeon, despairingly. "Our Taras a hajdamak!" + +"Taras a hajdamak!" echoed the people, some scornfully, some in utter +dismay, according to the hatred or pity that rose uppermost. + +"No!" cried Taras, a deep flush overspreading the pallor of his face. +"God forgive you for insulting me at this time. A hajdamak is a +brigand, but I shall be the leader of a band of avengers, and we shall +fight against every evil-doer--against those scoundrels also who go by +that name. Let me add, now, what in the third and last place I have to +say. Within a week from this, by Easter Sunday, my banner will be +unfurled up yonder. Whoever can come to me with pure hands, either to +inform me of a wrong committed, or to join my band, will be able to +learn my whereabouts from any honest herdsman or bear-hunter of the +forest. But let him consider it well before he becomes a follower of +mine. If he seek pleasure or lawlessness let him not come near me, for +our living will be of the poorest, and I shall maintain the strictest +discipline. If he hope for booty let him keep away; for no plundering +will be allowed, and with my own hand shall shoot the man who, while +following my banner, shall dare to touch any man's goods. Let none come +to me who can testify to being happy, for he that follows me must know +that there is no returning, that he has separated himself for ever from +all men dwelling in peace; he must be ready to meet death any day, +either in open combat, which is a death to be courted, or on the +gallows, as though he were an evil-doer indeed. It would not be thus if +men were different, if generosity and self-denial were not so rare in +the world; for then my banner could be that of open insurrection, +enlisting all good men against the common foe--the wrong to be put +down. But this cannot be; I must be satisfied with the possible. + +"And now I pray you to make this known, not forgetting to add that +Taras Barabola will continue this war until he has gained the great end +he strives for, until that glorious, divine institution is visibly +established in this land. If I can but succeed, let happen to me what +may, and though I should have to pay for it with my own life, I should +meet even the felon's death a victor indeed." + +He paused, his breast heaving, and then he added, with faltering +voice:-- + +"And now ... fare ye well! Accept my best wishes, individually and as a +community .... I am grateful to those who ever did me a kindness, and +forgive those who have done me any wrong ... Be good to my unhappy +wife, to my poor little children.... I leave them here--ah, forsaken +indeed.... Pity them, don't pity me.... If you will but believe I am +not wantonly becoming an outlaw that is all I look for.... It may be +the last time you see me.... May your life be happier than mine.... +Farewell!" + +These broken words fell upon so deep a silence that they were heard +plainly by all that crowd of listeners, although his voice had sunk to +a whisper, quivering with tears. And none dared break the silence when +he had finished, until, with a sudden leap from the table, and +surrounded by his companions, he strove to make a way for himself +towards the church. + +Then only the sacred awe which held them spellbound was lifted from the +souls of these men, yielding to a commotion unheard of, even among that +savage people--in their 'general assembly' at least. Every man seemed +ready to attack his neighbour; it was a tumult unspeakable, and some +time passed before one voice succeeded in making itself heard above the +rest. It was that of the corporal. "Stop him!" he roared. "He is a +rebel, I will make him a prisoner in the Emperor's name. You must help +me, all of you. Jewgeni, what is the good of your being judge?" He was +not left alone this time, some dozen of old soldiers rallying round +him. + +But the rest of the men indignantly opposed him. "We are no policemen!" +chirped the infant voice of the herculean smith. "No policemen!" echoed +the people.... "Let him go in peace!... He has addressed the general +meeting, and has a right to go free." + +"In the name of the Emperor!" reiterated the corporal, white with rage, +and, snatching a pistol from the belt of his nearest neighbour, he +pointed it at the men, "Let me do my duty, or woe to your lives!" + +"Woe to yourself!" cried Wassilj, the butcher, brandishing his axe in +the would-be hero's face; and blood would certainly have flowed had not +the judge interfered, an unwonted courage coming to him from the +urgency of the situation. + +"Do you know this sign?" he cried, thrusting his staff of office +between them. "There is power vested in it; this is the general +meeting, and I command you, desist!" And the combatants owned his +authority, Wassilj dropping his axe and the corporal his pistol. + +Taras, meanwhile, surrounded by his little band, attempted to break +through the ranks; it was not so easy, for the people pressed round +him, endeavouring to hold him, and discoursing wildly. But far harder +to the parting man was the sorrowful entreaty of his friends. Alexa +Sembrow, the late elder, had fallen on his knees before him, his white +hair framing an agonised face. "Don't Taras, for God's sake, don't do +it!" he kept repeating, while old Simeon bethought himself of another +means, haply, to stop him. He was pressing to the inn to bring hither +poor Anusia. Father Leo alone looked on with folded arms, his face +quivering, his lips unable to move. + +He was the only one for whom Taras yet had a word; turning to him with +deep emotion, he said: "Forgive me, thou best of friends, forgive my +silence, and my grieving thee now so sorely. Thou hast loved me truly, +I know!" + +That was too much for Leo; he lay weeping in the arms of his friend. + +"Alas," he sobbed, "what a man is lost in you!" + +"Not so!" replied Taras, disengaging himself gently. "He who obeys the +dictates of his own true heart cannot be lost, happen what may--at +least not in the eyes of the just ones...." He turned away, stopping +once again: "Father Leo," he said, below his breath, so that the priest +only could understand him, "Father Leo, will you promise me one thing?" + +"Surely. What is it? About your wife?" + +"Nay; I require no promise on her account, for I know your heart. It is +about--myself--when one day--my last hour shall have come--may I send +for you? Will you come to me--to any place?--no matter how terrible it +be?" + +"I shall come," faltered the pope. + +"Do you pledge me your word ... to any place?" + +"Wherever it be." + +"Thank you for all your friendship--for this last proof most of +all...." + +He turned away hastily, whispering to Jemilian, "Are the horses ready?" + +"Yes; behind the church, as you commanded. Young Halko has saddled +them, and is waiting your orders." + +"Then let us be gone." + +But one more wrench before he could be free. The sons of Simeon, +Hritzko, and Giorgi, had caught his knees. + +"Take us with you," they cried; "we cannot--we will not let you go +without us!" + +"Get up!" he cried, sharply; and there was no gainsaying his voice, +hoarse though it was with emotion. "Do you think I am villain enough to +ruin the sons of my friend?" Adding, with a quivering smile: "You are +quite incorrigible. What was the use of my resisting your importunity +before? But love me always, and remember me when I am gone. You are +dear to me. Good-bye!" + +He walked away, and none stopped him. Having mounted, he was about to +spur his horse, when once again his name was called with a shriek so +heartrending that he shuddered and paused. + +He knew who was calling him. His unhappy wife was standing outside the +inn, looking after him with despairing eyes. She would have fallen to +the ground had not old Simeon supported her trembling figure. + +"Farewell!" faltered Taras; but the sound did not reach her, falling +dead at his own feet as it were. + +He could but wave his hand, and, spurring his horse mercilessly, the +creature dashed away in a maddened gallop, his men following; and the +little band vanished in the mysterious shadows of the fir-covered +uplands. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + TO THE MOUNTAINS. + + +There is a strange legend concerning the origin of the Carpathians, +which, now towering abruptly, now rising in gentler lines, form a +mighty wall of separation between the rich lowlands where the Theiss +flows and that vast plain, of heath-country diversified with fertile +tracts, stretching away southward beyond the Pruth into Roumania. To +those blue-green domes cling the gathering clouds, and sailing away +thence they burst in storms of rain upon the Magyar or upon the Ruthen, +as the capricious winds may list; and in those forest-haunts the rivers +rise which come down from the heights, headlong at first and wondrously +clear, but flowing wearily as they reach the plain. The dwellers round +about differ in race and tongue; but they look to the mountains as to a +common centre, where the weather is born, and whence the water is given +for the lowlands; and common to all is that quaintest of legends, +whether Slav, or Magyar, or Roumanian--a legend crudely imagined, but +not without a meaning of its own, however fancifully expressed. + +There was a good old time, the people will tell you, at the beginning +of things, when the earth was a fair garden, a fertile plain, with +pleasant groves here and there, and gentle hills. There were no +mountains, no ravenous beasts, no thunder storms, no bursting waters, +and the people were of one race and tongue. Men were happy in those +far-off times--tilling the soil, and living on the fruits of this +beautiful plain. And God would visit the garden He had made, and bless +the children of men. But these foolish people were not content, and, +uniting in their pride, they clamoured for golden harvests without +previous toil; in punishment whereof the Lord God ceased to visit them, +confounding their language so that they could no longer clamour in +common, and permitting, moreover, a mighty barrier to be raised between +them--the great Carpathians--to separate them into different tribes. + +For the enemy of men was sent to raise the mountains, and to make them +terrible withal. The heaving earth burst upward, and there were peaks +and crags to frown at the discontented race. The evil one took seven +days to shape the Carpathians, beginning on a Sunday, on which he +heaped up the most towering parts, and finishing off with the lesser +Carpathians on the seventh day when his power was nearly spent; that +was Saturday, for which reason no doubt this part has always been a +dwelling-place of Jews. + +The mountain range of seven divisions, as is plainly to be seen, was of +awful aspect, since the evil had the making of them: not a tree or +green thing would grow to clothe the riven rocks and the peaks he had +raised to spread terror upon the once smiling plain. For the Lord God +had been wroth with men. + +But there was One in heaven, the good Saviour, who prayed His Father +not to be angry for ever, but to let Him add beauty to the mountains +which the evil one had made for the punishment of men. + +He went, and at His touch the whole range was changed, not losing its +dread gloominess, yet gaining a wondrous beauty over and above. For the +Saviour with His pitiful hand covered the bare mountains with the +grandest forests ever seen, surrounding the rocks with spreading +verdure, and planting flowers at their feet. He made waters to spring +in every glen, and cascades leap from the crags; and though wolves and +bears went prowling, He created sheep and the dappled deer to browse in +the sylvan haunts. And ever since, the people will tell you, the +Carpathians have had a beauty of their own, but with terror combined. + +It is hardly to be imagined how a man would feel who, by some magic, +were to find himself suddenly transplanted into the heart of these +mountains. For unmoved he could not be, were his perceptions never so +blunted; a sensation of awe would steal upon him with something of +wonder and dismay. Nay, such a feeling must come upon any wanderer +ascending step by step from the lowlands, though the gradual rise would +prepare him in a measure for the weird grandeur and stern beauty +unrolling before his eyes. + +To such a one the range at first would appear as a gigantic ridge of +clouds heaped up on the horizon, but differing in hue according to the +time of day; of a bluish black in the morning, they fade into shades of +grey, transparently pale in the full daylight, till the sinking sun +suffuses them with a crimson blush, and they continue shining through +the long twilight like a wall of fire at the far end of the dusky +plain. But the following morning those same shapes are black again, and +all the darker if the air be clear--a wall of towering density jutting +its pinnacles into the ethereal blue. + +They seem approaching, but the vast plain is delusive; they are yet +miles away. The landscape, however, has left monotony behind, growing +more changeful at every turn. The moorland has disappeared, with its +sedgy pools, instead of which there is an abundance of rivulets, +growing more limpid and more headlong as you proceed; for you are +ascending steadily, your horizon enlarging. Cornfields are few and far +between, wheat making room for the more hardy oats; while all about you +there are great tracts of brownish uplands, where juniper bushes are +plentiful and the heather will burst into sheets of bloom. Villages +are becoming scarce--mere hamlets, too poor for a manor house, +too poor almost for a church, and with cottages of the humblest, the +public-house alone retaining its undesirable dimensions. Orchards are +no longer to be seen, but beech woods increase; the forest encloses +you, and soon even the beech is crowded out by the fir. The sky, +wherever it appears through the jagged branches, is of a deeper blue, +for there are no misty vapours here as in the lowlands; but the air is +filled with a strange, crisp perfume, the resinous exhalations of pine +wood. Every sense thus is alive to the change of scenery, and if you +are a lover of your lowland home, despite its dreariness, you will be +overtaken by a haunting sensation of fear of the unknown world you have +entered. + +But emerging from the pine wood presently, and looking back from the +height you have gained, the very plain behind you has assumed another +aspect, a strange loveliness enwrapping it. The old homely expanse is +aglow with an emerald hue--a giant meadow seemingly--streaked with the +silver of its flowing waters; a shining greensward, the brighter for +its cottages; and far yonder, where the blue of the heavens seems +mingling with the green of the earth, your own dwelling perchance, a +fair jewel in a radiant setting. + +But the far-off wall, with its towering blackness? It has resolved +itself magically. To your right and to your left, and above you, there +are round-domed mountains and bolder peaks rising atop of one another +to an immeasurable height. That path up the pine wood has brought you +into the heart of the Carpathians, and their strange beauty, weird and +wild and unspeakably mysterious, is upon you suddenly. + +Yet monotony is even here; the world seems a sea of swaying pines, and +the eye has nothing to rest it from the gloomy green save the sky, vast +and blue. The heart grows lonely and wistful, but scarcely attuned to +tender thoughts as amid the voices of the plain. The spell of the +forest wilds is upon it, bracing it up to its own sterner kind. +Resistless and tossing, each torrent dashes through its rocky glen, +breaking into clouds of spray about the boulders, and mantling the +young pines in a shower of shining drops. And from the forest deeps +strange music is heard of groaning branches and whispering tree tops, +now wild and solemn, now murmuring as in dreams, never ceasing, but +going on for ever like the song of the sea. And as you listen you are +caught in a trance, and drawn deeper still into the witching region. +Nature here does not captivate by little gifts and graces; but, having +looked at you once with eyes of kindling beauty, wild, weird, and +awful, you worship at her feet. + +It is a charm both chaste and powerful, and, having known it once, you +seek to know more. But not many are admitted to that delight, which is +still reserved for the few--even as in the days when Taras Barabola +repaired up yonder to unfurl his banner. Yet occasionally some lover of +the wilder aspects of nature will quit the shores of the Theiss or the +Fruth to seek entrance into the enchanted regions of that unknown +world. The forest wilds of the Welyki Lys to this day are given over to +bears, hajdamaks, and Huzuls, and the lowland folk aver that there is +little to chose between either. But that is a libel. + +Even a bear up yonder is as good-natured as a bear can be, not having +made the closer acquaintance of man. A hunter by nature, he hates being +hunted, and grows surly in consequence; nay, it must be owned that in +the more inhabited parts he has quite lost his native _bonhomie_, +growing cunning and spiteful, robbing more than his need, and killing +for mere blood-thirstiness. Not so, however, up among the wilds. He is +lord in possession there; behaving, accordingly, with a pride of his +own, and not without generosity. Of course he will have his daily +tribute, and fetches it too--now from this fold, now from that; but the +shepherds and herdsmen quite understand this. There is no help against +the lord of the soil, they say; but the bear, on the whole, is at least +a convenient landlord, fetching himself what he wants, and not +expecting you to carry it after him. Not fiercely as a robber, +therefore, nor stealthily as a thief; but leisurely and with dignity, +Master Bruin arrives at the pen, picks out his victim--the sheep, goat, +or calf which takes his fancy--and walks away with it as quietly and +unconcernedly as he came. And he behaves most fairly, not oppressing +one unfortunate subject more than another, but visiting in succession +all the pens and folds within a certain radius of his lair; so that he +may be looked for at pretty regular intervals. The herdsmen have an +idea that he acts from a positive sense of justice; while others, less +credulous, are of opinion that the bear of the Carpathians is a great +walker, and thus naturally finds himself now in this quarter, now in +that, turning to the nearest sheep-fold when it is time for his dinner. +That the queer biped he meets occasionally might also serve him for a +meal, he generously ignores. If he falls in with a herdsman, he gives a +growl: "With your leave, brother, there is room for us both." He growls +too, though more angrily, on meeting any stranger, but rarely thinks it +worth while to attack him; and if he comes across any one asleep he +will have a sniff at him, but without a thought of hurting. + +While the wolf, that low, ugly creature, is hated and hunted down +everywhere, a strange feeling of respect prevents any native of the +upper mountains from killing a bear. "The poor little father has none +too easy a life of it," they say, "and it is not well to murder an +honest fellow." There is a tale preserved in the forest of an +Englishman who once arrived there with the notion of bear-hunting. But +although he had muskets of wrought silver, and held them out as +presents to any who would help him, not many were found wicked enough +to join in the chase. "Indeed," say the people, "all who went were +frozen to death, the bad Englishman first and foremost. It served him +right for wishing to hunt the poor little father." The very outlaw, the +homeless hajdamak, shares this feeling; and hunting for the pleasure of +it, whatever he falls in with in the lower forest regions, he acts +peaceably in the upper haunts. "We go shares with the bear up here," he +says, "and he behaves well to us." + +The Huzul also, that hybrid of Slavonic and Mongolian blood, who lives +up yonder as a herdsman, hunting the wolf and the deer, and tilling +such bits of ground as he can, is not nearly so bad as he is believed +to be by his betters in the lowlands. His one great vice is an +ingrained want of morality, his own share, handed down from his +fathers, of original sin. + +His ancestors, drifting away from the great wave of migration, unused +to a settled home and personal property, knew neither Christianity nor +the wedded estate. Their descendant has accepted all these fetters of +lawlessness, but he wears them lightly, according to his nature. He has +submitted to a settled dwelling, having a hut of his own, but he will +not live in it except when he cannot help himself. From the time the +snow begins to melt, until it lies again mountains deep for seven +months in the year, the Huzul moves about with his cattle from pasture +to pasture, from glen to glen, as though driven, not only by outward +necessity, but also by a mysterious inward need. While the world is +green--winter to him being the black time--he is never long on the soil +of his own property. He must return at times to till his field, to sow +and reap his oats--the hardest and most unwelcome of labour; he _must_ +do it, else he would die for want of food, but he never thinks of +adding to his wealth by means of agriculture. Every lamb rejoices his +heart, and he is proud of his foals; but if he enlarges his oat-field, +it is only because of the downright necessity of meeting his wants, and +nothing beyond. + +Neither is he greatly advanced in his notions of personal property. To +be sure there are certain fields, and pastures, and flocks, belonging +to certain settlements, these consisting of three or four, sometimes +even of ten or twelve families of the same kindred, and united under +one head who rules by birthright. This chief appoints the sowing of the +fields and the management of the sheep, but not a grain of oats, nor +solitary lambkin belongs to him any more than to another. It is all +common property. Indeed, there are even pastures and flocks which are +the joint property of several settlements, so that a single lamb may +happen to belong to several hundred owners. Such property is managed, +and the proceeds are allotted at the meeting of the married men, who, +though of different settlements, are yet related to one another; for +such common ownership always springs from the fact that their +forefathers formed one family, which, growing too large, had divided +for want of space. There is no personal property then, save wearing +apparel and arms; everything else belongs to the family, which means to +the clan. The student of political economy, it will be seen, could +enrich his knowledge among the Huzuls! + +They are no favourites with the clergy. They are Catholics to be sure, +of the Greek Church, but a good deal of their ancestors' heathenism has +survived, and their lowland neighbours say of them that a cat is as +good a Christian as they when she crosses her paws. They take care to +have their children christened in the name of some saint, and they know +that there is a God Almighty living up yonder with the Virgin Mary and +their Son, and that there are lots of angels and devils, and of saints +no end. This is the extent of their catechism, except, perhaps, that +some few can repeat the Lord's Prayer after a fashion. There is no +helpful pastor to feed these poor sheep, showing them the comfort they +require as much as any. For they also are part of the groaning creation +struggling with the sore riddle of existence, and their sense of +helplessness is the greater because their lot is cast amid supremest +hardships, leaving them too often the prey of the blind forces of +nature. As much, then, as any of the striving children of men they are +in need of the assurance that there is a Compassion more than human; +but who is there to tell them the good news? + +There are popes in the distant villages whose nominal parishioners they +are. "Why do they not come to church, then?" Innocent question! The +journey would take several days, even if they remembered they would be +welcome. But since there is nothing to remind them of the far-off +church and pope, how should they remember? And so Christianity to them +has resolved itself into the legendary knowledge of the heavenly +household, a poor, useless knowledge, although the Huzul does his best +to grasp the idea of the Godhead, clothing it in his own image. The +Almighty to his perception is a just Huzulean patriarch, something like +Hilarion Rosenko dwelling by the "Black Water;" the Virgin Mary a +kindly housewife; and Christ, the Saviour, a great, noble hunter, whom +the spiteful hajdamaks killed for entering their domain. They don't +quite understand why the popes should keep talking about this Saviour +as though He were alive still; for if He is, why does He not show +Himself among the mountains? But besides this "Christian" belief, they +keep up the institution of those shining divinities worshipped by their +ancestors of old--the sun, the moon, and the host of stars. These, +happily, can be seen, and their blessings felt--the light and the +warmth they shed upon the darksome wilds. But who shall save them from +the powers of evil about them; from the stormy whirlwind rushing +through the forests, uprooting the strongest trees and sweeping away +the sheltering roof of their homestead? Who shall help them against the +wicked sprites whose gambols produce snowdrifts, burying men and +cattle? or who protect them from the evil witch stealing about in the +gloaming with sickness in her train? For they are surrounded with +uncanny beings of whom they know nothing save the ill-effects they +feel, and they know but one means of pacifying them--as one pacifies an +ill-natured neighbour, by occasional bribery. + +These strangest of Christians and dwellers of the mountain wilds even +manage to die without the pope's assistance. When some aged pilgrim +lies at the point of death on the couch of bear and sheepskins they +have spread for him, neither he nor his people give a thought to the +ghostly shepherd of the nearest manse. What would be the use, indeed, +if they did think of him, since it would take him at least nine days to +come and return? so it is out of the question, and it is as well that +neither the dying man nor his weeping relatives miss the spiritual +comfort. One of them says the Lord's Prayer, adding some other mystic +charm with which these poor people strive to pacify the divinities they +believe in, the sufferer repeats the words with his dying breath and +expires without anxiety on that score. When the corpse has stiffened, +they bury it beneath some forest tree, cutting a great cross into the +bole, not forgetting some mysterious signs to its right and left "for +the other gods." + +If, then, they manage even to die without the aid of a parish priest, +it is scarcely to be wondered at if they do not need him to tie the +nuptial knot. When any man and woman among them, generally of riper +years, have agreed to spend their future days in common, this is a +matter, they think, which concerns no one beyond themselves except the +heads of their settlements, who never withhold their blessing unless +the bridal pair should happen to be of different settlements at +variance at the time about some bit of property or act of violence. If +such is not the case the wedding is fixed upon forthwith, and word is +sent over the mountains: "Come to the homestead of Marko, on such and +such a day, when long-legged Sefko will take curly Magdusia to wife." +And everybody is sure to come, bringing little gifts of kindness, and +taking their fill of the schnaps which the heads of the settlements +have procured in exchange for some sheep in honour of the guests. And +when the last drop has been consumed, Sefko and Magdusia are looked +upon as married, which does not always imply a change in the place of +abode of either of them. + +As for the pope's blessing, it is not disregarded on principle, since +even the other gods are remembered; only there is no hurry. Sefko has +no idea that Magdusia, in order to be his really, must be given to him +by the pope, and so he takes his time about it, presenting himself for +the blessing when opportunity offers, maybe the christening of their +first offspring. If the pope be at all zealous he will, of course, +lecture them on their want of morality, the pair listening +submissively, but never understanding what should have roused the good +man's ire, or displeased the Almighty, as he tells them. As for the +infant, it is considered to belong to its mother's settlement, growing +up to the same rights as any other youth. + +For the rest, the Huzul shares in all the virtues and vices of +uncivilised humanity: he is free from envy, candid, brave, and +hospitable, but also coarse in his tastes and cruel. The Emperor's +magistrates are nothing to him, he does not need their protection; and +of his free-will he is not likely to pay any tax. Let his cousins of +the lowlands do that, whom he pities and despises accordingly. + +Of a similar kind are his feelings concerning the homeless hajdamaks; +he, the native of the mountains, looking upon the outlaws much as the +bear is supposed to look upon man; and, in consequence, actual enmity +between them is rare. Not unless he were really starving with hunger or +cold would a hajdamak ever think of attacking even a single herdsman up +yonder, a last remnant of generosity preventing him from wronging those +on whose soil he dwells, and who, as he but too well knows, could take +grievous revenge any moment. Not in the memory of men, therefore--which +is the only source of authentic history within the mountains--has it +ever happened that a band of outlaws dared an attack upon any +settlement. + +But if the Huzul has little to fear from the hajdamaks, he may yet get +into trouble on account of them, that is, by means of the Whitecoats +who are after those ruffians. The Huzul considers it incumbent on him +to hate the soldiers; for are they not the servants of a power he +refuses to recognise? But that power will lay hold of him if it can. +There is no help for the Emperor--he must just put up with it--if the +Huzul refuses to consider himself a taxpayer; some Imperial exciseman, +however, may see his opportunity of paying the Huzuls a visit under +cover of the military. "Hang the hajdamaks!" groans the Huzul, "but for +them no confounded exciseman would have ventured up hither;" and, +overpowered with the thought of his loss in lambs and sheep, he is sure +to add: "Hang the Whitecoats! I wish the hajdamaks could teach them a +lesson and make them keep clear of the mountains for ever." He is so +wrathful, indeed, that he could scarcely tell which of the two he would +like to see hanged first. + +A strict neutrality, however, is the outcome. He would rather die than +betray to the Whitecoats the hiding place of "Green Giorgi"; at the +same time he has no idea of warning the outlaw of his enemy's approach, +or of rendering him any assistance whatever. He just looks on; and +nothing would please him better than that the belligerent parties, like +the fighting lions of the fable, should devour each other bodily. And +there are other considerations, besides, inviting him to neutrality. He +knows that there are ruffians among the hajdamaks whom, even with his +notions of honour and justice, he cannot possibly approve of; but they +are a mixed lot, and there are others among them who have done nothing +a Huzul would despise. And since it is not written in a man's face why +he has become an outlaw, the Huzul behaves alike to them all, neither +loving them nor hating them, but holding aloof strictly. + +The Imperial authorities, then, cannot expect the Huzuls' help against +the bandits, and need not fear their making common cause with them; but +that is all, since no one ever lifts a finger to raise the poor +dwellers of the mountains and teach them a higher standard of right and +wrong. It were quite useless to expect any better; and if regiment upon +regiment were let loose upon the Carpathians no lasting result could be +looked for; for to give chase to any outlaw in the vast forests is as +hopeless as to seek for a particular insect in a cornfield. The lawless +trade will not die out till Civilisation takes up her abode in the +mountain wilds, taming the dwellers therein; and, if unable to make +better men of them, preparing the way at least for her nobler sister, +even Justice herself, in whose fair sight men are equals, and +oppression shall not stand. + +It would be a mistake, however, to imagine that all hajdamaks are +criminals and cut-throats; a distinction must be made. There is no +exact rendering for the word itself in any of the western tongues, and, +fortunately, the thing also lies beyond the experience of happier +nations. The Bulgarians only have a similar word, denoting a similar +existence, the "hajdamak" of the Carpathians and the "hajduk" of the +Balkan being akin, both revealing in strangest blending some of the +best and some of the very worst impulses of a suffering people. It is +not easy, therefore, to judge fairly. + +There are three distinct types among these outlaws, or "free men" as +they call themselves. Firstly, there are those who have escaped from +the arm of justice, having committed some crime, and who are not only +guilty in the sight of the law, but of ill repute even among their +kind. These men never unite in great numbers, their own wickedness +rendering them distrustful of one another. Singly, or at most by twos +and threes, they will pursue their villainous trade of waylaying +travellers, or perpetrating what robbery they can. They avoid open +fight, being best protected by their cunning. + +Secondly, and far more numerous, are those who are criminals indeed in +the eye of the law, but are looked upon by the people as martyrs to +their cause. Some may have fought the tax-gatherers in bitter despair +when they were about to be sold up; they may have been good and +peaceful men, who thus suddenly took up the evil life. But, terrible as +existence may be in the forest wilds, it is better than prison, and the +unhappy man flies thither from the wrong he has committed almost in +spite of himself. "He is gone after the sun," say his neighbours, glad +to know him safe when the constables seek him--gone westward, that is, +from lowland Podolia into the Carpathians. And others there are, +martyrs to the sad relation between the Polish landlord and the Ruthen +peasant; the landlord oppressing, till at some dark moment of wrath or +drunkenness the peasant snatches up his gun or hatchet. There are +deserters, too, from the Emperor's colours, sympathised with cordially; +for what right should the Emperor have, argue these people, to levy the +life-tax among them! + +"Come join us, ye men, for life here is sweet!" are the words of a +hajdamak song. But in truth it is an awful existence, although the +miserable fellows do their best to make it bearable to one another. +They will gather in bands of a score or more, plighting their troth, +each sharing with the other the good things which are of the fewest and +the ill things that abound. The Huzul will leave them alone, and the +Whitecoats they need scarcely fear. But it is nowise easy to be an +"honest hajdamak" when hunger and cold pursue them--for they have +notions of honesty of their own, as old Jemilian suggested in his +report to Father Leo. It is "honest" in an outlaw not to commit mere +vulgar robbery, or take life save in self-defence or for revenge. He +may rob a Polish landlord or the men of the law, but he would be +disgraced by robbing a peasant or a village pope. It is quite "honest" +to stop a stage-coach, empty the postbags, and rob any Polish or +Austrian passenger; but it would be disgraceful to inquire what money a +pope might carry with him, travelling by the same coach. There was a +time when no stage-coach in those parts could be safe from an attack of +hajdamaks, unless accompanied by a strong escort of soldiers. "Great +deeds," however, grew more and more impossible, and indeed they were +never easy. It was always a miserable life in the dreary wilds, without +shelter in the rigorous winter-time, and often without food. And it +would entirely depend on what manner of man the 'hetman' (captain) was, +as to how a band would bear up through such a season of distress; +whether "dishonesty" would be had recourse to, when for the gaining of +a mere livelihood they would sink to the level of the despised +criminal, or whether their spirit would rise to some "great deed" of +despair, even if it must bring them to close quarters with the +Whitecoats. But this second alternative, as a rule, might only be +looked for if the 'hetman' was a hajdamak by deliberate choice, driven +to the life for an idea rather than as the outcome of some crime. + +Men of this kind form the third class; they have always been rare, and +the history of one adopting the awful trade of his own free will has +ever made a stir. Mere love of pillage could never be an adequate +reason; for a man of this description is aware that he can rob his +neighbours with less trouble in the plain. No, there are nobler +motives--a wild passionate manliness rising against oppression, or a +yearning indignation and pitiful sympathy with the helpless despair of +the people, will urge some few to "go after the sun." These few are the +last representatives of the true hajdamak, who is fast becoming a +legend of the past. The Ruthens, now the most peaceful and the most +oppressed of Slavonic tribes, at one time were the boldest and most +belligerent of the race, the terror of their neighbours, Poles, +Russians, and Roumanians. But to-day one could only wonder why these +people in song and story should always be designated as "falcon-faced," +if indeed such a face were not met with among them occasionally even +now--bold and clear-cut, full of energy and passion, with dark daring +eyes. And as the type is found still, so are the old dauntless courage, +and the ardent love of liberty. But he who preserves the true nature is +lonely among his kind, and the misery about him will fill his soul with +a bitter yearning for the times that are gone, the times surviving only +in their songs--wild passionate outbursts, full of bravery and +fortitude, sounding strangely enough on the lips of the humbled, +labouring peasants. And such a one by his own inward necessity is +driven forth from the plain; he takes to the mountains, and henceforth +it is his one desire to make war upon the Polish oppressors, the +murderers of his race. It is his one idea, his one resolve; and being a +man of energy and power, he will naturally rise to the leadership of a +band. He is an "honest hajdamak" at first, but does not always end so; +for it is an evil trade, hurtful to body and soul. And whether they +remain "honest," or fall away from the higher aspiration, they are sure +to end ill--they and their followers. + +Truly an evil trade, and few taking to it ever reach old age; the +pitiless cold, or hunger and hardships of grimmest kind decimating the +band, while the more hardy ones fall a prey to the wild beasts, if not +brought to the gallows instead. And whatever their end may be, their +people are anxious that their memory should be wiped out--anxious it +should be forgotten that one of theirs took to the mountains. A +hajdamak while he lives is held in some respect, inasmuch as he has +gained the liberty sighed for by others--the dead man is nowhere. + +But among the numbers living and dying thus sadly, there are three +whose names are not forgotten, whose memory lives in song and tale, +though dimmed with the haze of receding years; three who are famous, +moreover, as being the only "hetmen" who moved the Huzuls to take part +for or against them. + +The first of these was one Alexander Dobosch, called the Black, or the +Iron-framed, a Ruthen from the Bukowina who arose towards the end of +the eighteenth century, and for several years was far more powerful +throughout Pokutia than the Emperor. He had been a well-to-do peasant, +and a boundless ambition only appears to have led him to his strange +and fearful adventures. The Huzuls adored him, and he behaved like a +king of the mountains, issuing manifestos to the "fellow at Vienna," +making laws and levying taxes. But this was his ruin; the Huzuls were +not going to condone in the iron-framed hajdamak what they had never +approved of in the "fellow at Vienna." Their devotion gave way to +wrath, but the man was so powerful that they dared not oppose him +openly. He was poisoned by some of his followers at a drinking bout. + +Of a different type was "Wild Wassilj," or, as song has it, the "great +hajdamak," a Podolian peasant youth, lithe as a sapling pine, strong as +a bear, and daring as a falcon. He had been in the personal service of +a young noble, the brother-in-law of the lord of the manor, both of +whom were the terror and detestation of every father and husband in the +neighbourhood. But Wassilj suddenly set his face against the lawless +life, growing strangely silent and anxious to be good; the fact was he +loved an honest maiden of the village. But, unhappily, his master +himself had set eyes upon the girl, and, finding her proof against his +advances, he carried her off with the help of some menials. Wassilj +thereupon waylaid and shot him, forming a band there and then, and +becoming the scourge of the nobility for miles around, his thirst for +revenge being unappeasable. It was found in those days how little it +availed to send out soldiers with a hope of crushing the bandits in +their mountains. The "great hajdamak" was not vanquished by anything +the authorities could devise against him; but the innate spark of +goodness in his wild and wayward heart overcame him in the end. For he +was not a bad man by nature, and the remorse that would seize upon him +was as poignant as it was true; but he quieted his conscience with the +delusion that he was doing these terrible things for the sake of the +suffering people. One day, however, when he had overpowered some nobles +in the castle of his native village, and had called upon the judge to +assist him in bringing them to their just doom, the latter refused, +saying he was an honest man, and could not join in the evil work of a +cut-throat. That word struck Wassilj to the heart, and the same night, +with a bullet from his own gun, he stilled that misguided heart for +ever. + +But the third one, whom the Huzuls assisted--he whom in song they +called "the good judge" and "the great avenger"--was Taras Barabola. + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + OUTLAWED. + + +THE "good judge!" ... the "great avenger!" ... + +It was not only after his death, not in commemorating song only, that +Taras was first so designated. These appellations dated from the +spring-time of 1839. When Palm Sunday had come and gone they were +echoed from mouth to mouth, while the strange declaration of war that +had been uttered beneath the linden of Zulawce was fresh in the minds +of all. His mission was believed in, though as yet unaccredited by +deed. As on the wings of a mighty wind the news sped from village to +village, from district to district. Not a week passed before all the +people had heard it--in Pokutia, in the Marmaros, in Podolia, and in +the Bukowina; and gathering in groups after the morning service on +Easter Sunday, it was the one topic with them everywhere: "To-day Taras +will be unfurling his banner.... Could there be a surer proof of our +misery? He, a Christ-like man, and yet driven to turn hajdamak!... But +it is well for us--Taras has ever been a good judge, and he will prove +a mighty avenger!" + +This opinion had formed rapidly. A whole people stirred to its depth is +almost always a righteous judge, a true prophet. Every man and woman +understood that unheard-of things were passing. True, it was within the +experience of most of them that some one or other had taken to the +mountains; but such volunteers to the desperate trade had been young +fellows without home ties, or men of a turbulent character breaking +away from the restraints of the law. But how different with this +peace-loving peasant, who had everything to make his home attractive, +this man who once pointed a pistol at his own forehead to prevent +violence from being met with violence! That phrase of Mr. Broza's which +Taras himself had repeated reluctantly, and only because he was a +"dying man," had taken hold of the people's imagination--_a Christ-like +man_. And truly there was a breath of the Divine sweeping the senses of +the oppressed peasantry as they strove to understand his motives. It +could not be the love of revenge with him, for he had not been wronged +personally; it could not be that he sought to defend his own property, +for it had not been touched. He must be doing it, then, simply because +"in this unhappy country justice was not to be found," and "because the +people had sore need of one to avenge them." And if there is anything +that will move the heart of man to its inmost depth, filling it with +holy reverence, it is the unselfish deed done for love of a cause which +is sacred to all and believed in by each. + +With similar enthusiasm Taras was greeted in the mountains. The rude +men who dwell there had been gained so thoroughly during his former +sojourn, that one and all they welcomed the news of his returning to be +among them for good. Was he not a victim of the oppression they hated? +its sworn enemy, who henceforth would live to oppose it? Every glen on +either side of the Black Water was alive with sympathy, and Taras had a +staunch ally in every man far and wide in the forest. + +In his own village, too, opinion had rallied round him entirely, though +it would have been difficult to say whether this was due chiefly to the +impression he had made upon his hearers on that Sunday, or to the +selfish vanity of the people. The hearts of some had certainly been +touched, and a natural pity for his forsaken wife roused others; while +others, again, were merely glad that Taras had come to see the folly of +trusting in the law, and it flattered their pride that from among +themselves an avenger should rise who would make the country ring with +his valour. A man of Zulawce in those days was welcome wherever he +went, because he could tell of the hero of the hour. The people round +about seemed to be insatiable of news concerning this Taras, and were +ready to stand any amount of drink to him who could gratify them, for +which reason the men of Zulawce, nothing loth, invented story upon +story to glorify the pure-hearted man whose life they had embittered +all along. Yes, the outlaw once more had risen to be the great +favourite of his adopted village. + +Yet there were few, even in his own village, who felt for him truly or +mourned his loss, and the one man whose sorrow was most deeply sincere +carefully avoided the very mention of his name. The good pope had not +breathed a word concerning Taras since that saddest of partings beneath +the linden. His wife only guessed how he suffered, but even she was +mistaken in believing that his heart ached for the loss of his friend +alone. He was battling with another sorrow, a deeper trouble +overshadowing his pious mind. And the moment came when the popadja +understood it. + +It was on the evening of Good Friday. Not till nine o'clock, and weary +with the many services of the day, had the priest returned home, eating +a mouthful of supper, and retiring to his study. Thither his wife +followed him presently, establishing herself with her needlework in +silence. He was pacing the room, murmuring to himself, as was his wont +in preparing his sermon, and she refrained from speaking, but gave a +furtive glance at him now and then. She had often thus watched him +occupied in holy meditation, and the inward peace radiating from his +countenance at such times would sink into her own heart with a loving +content. Not so now, for an unspeakable grief was reflected in the face +she gazed upon, and the bitterness seemed overflowing till she trembled +and took courage to interrupt him. + +"Husband," she said, with a beating heart, "are you now busy with the +sermon for Easter Day?" + +He started, looking before him gloomily. "I am utterly unfit!" he +whispered hoarsely, as though speaking to himself ... "utterly unfit!" +He groaned aloud, covering his face with his hands. + +The good wife was by his side in a moment. "Leo," she sobbed, "what is +it? ... Ah, yes, I know; but you must not thus give way to your grief. +You could not prevent it!" + +He shook his head, and then caught her hand like a drowning man. "No, +wife," he groaned, "it is not merely grief for his loss! But since +that man has gone to ruin, I seem a hypocrite whenever I turn to my +prayers ..." + +"Good God!" she cried, aghast. + +"I seem such, indeed," he continued, hastily; "it is more than I can +bear, and I cannot help it! Have I not been teaching and preaching the +justice of God? And now to see this man gone to ruin--this man!" + +"But, husband, dear," she cried, anxiously, "have you not often tried +to make us see that the true recompense is in the life to come? Will +you doubt it yourself now?" + +"In the life to come; yes, yes," he repeated in the same husky voice; +"it is the one thing to hold by.... But why should it all go wrong in +this world? I mean, so terribly wrong? This man!... his wife gone out +of her mind, his children orphaned, and he himself making straight for +the gallows, just because, in a wicked, self-seeking world, he has +within him the heart of a child that will trust his God and believe in +justice ... oh, it is awful ... awful!" + +She clung to him, but he freed himself from her embrace, and once more +walked to and fro excitedly. The faithful wife could but retire to her +corner, sharing his trouble apart. + +Some minutes passed. + +And presently he stood still before her, lifting her tearful face, and +stroking her hair gently. "Fruzia," he said, with quivering voice, "I +promise you to try and bear it. I shall battle it out; but it is a sore +thing, and needs time.... Go to bed now and be comforted.... I shall +battle it out." + +The wife obeyed, but found little sleep, and her soul kept crying +through the darkness of that night: "Oh, God, pity my husband--he, the +priest, to lose faith in Thee!" Many a wiser prayer may rise to the ear +of the Giver of all things; yet none, perhaps, ever was more touching. + +When daylight returned she felt comforted, and drew courage from her +husband's quiet face on his bidding her good-bye for early service. +She, too, left the house, but not to go to church, for a duty no less +sacred directed her steps to Anusia's house. + +Poor Anusia, indeed! It was not without reason that her friends +sorrowed for her, for she was doubly stricken. The last articulate +sound that had crossed her lips had been her husband's name--that cry +of despair wrung from her as he departed. Her grief since then had +found vent in wild ravings only, night and day, day and night. Not a +prayer, not a complaint had she uttered, and her eyes were tearless; +but she would give a shriek and continue moaning with parched lips. +Those that watched her believed her out of her mind, and no hope seemed +left, save with Father Leo, who clung to it. "It will pass away," he +said, well-nigh despairing himself; "hers is a more passionate nature +than ours, and her grief is the wilder." Her ravings, indeed, appeared +to lessen, the feverish agony grew calmer, and she began to take food; +but to her friends the supervening apathy seemed worse than what had +gone before. There she lay in a kind of living death, uttering not a +sound, large-eyed and white-faced, wearing the expression of a helpless +agony. But when her friends or the children attempted to rouse her, she +waved them off, or cried huskily: "Leave me alone, I must think it +over." And Father Leo would say: "No one can help her, she must battle +through it; but the children must be seen to, having lost both father +and mother." And he arranged with his wife that twice a day she should +go over to the farm to see to the needs of the household; while outdoor +matters found a willing helper in Hritzko Pomenko, the eldest of +Simeon's lads. "If I work for Taras I shall perhaps bear it that he +left me behind," said the honest youth. + +That had been on the Thursday. Anusia appeared to take no notice that +things were seen to by friends and neighbours, and she continued the +whole of Good Friday in the same dull stupor. But when the popadja +entered the sick-chamber early on the Saturday a happy change, +evidently, had taken place. The bed was vacated, and a servant-girl +came running in explaining: "The mistress is looking after the dairy, +she is scolding poor Hritzko grievously because he brought over his +father's new churn." + +And, indeed, the startled popadja even now could hear the so-called +scolding. "I know you meant kindly, Hritzko," Anusia was saying, in a +voice both firm and clear; "but just take your things home with you, I +can manage my own business." And the priest's lady herself presently +received a similar greeting. "It is most kind of you"--Anusia made +haste to address her friend as soon as she beheld her--"I am pleased to +see you any time; but leave me now. And this kerchief must be yours, I +think; I found my Tereska wearing it. But my children are no poor +orphans, thank God, requiring friends to clothe them." + +The good lady was only too willing to be reproved. "Say what you like," +she cried, "I am happy to find you up again!" + +"Yes," said Anusia, with perfect composure, "I know you all thought I +had gone mad. But my mind was right enough; only, you see, I had to +satisfy my own judgment that my husband had done well. I had always +looked upon him as the most perfect man on earth, so that the need was +great to find an answer to my questioning, and everything besides had +to give way." + +"Then you arrived at the conclusion that nothing else was left for +him?" broke in Hritzko, vehemently. + +"I have," she assented. "I saw it was his heart that laid it upon him +to act as he has done, and he is a man that cannot go against the +behest of his own heart. I know that, and it must be enough for me. As +to whether he is otherwise in the right or not, I, a woman, am unable +to decide. My mind says 'Yes,' but the heart keeps crying 'No.' I can +but wait and see. If he is in the right the Almighty will own him and +let him be a helper to many. But if he is on the path of wrong, God +will turn from him, and his end will be the gallows. Be that as it may; +he is lost to us, my children are fatherless, and henceforth I must be +to them father and mother in one." + +"And we all will help you!" cried the popadja, warmly. + +"As far as I may need your help," returned Anusia, "I shall accept it +gratefully." And therewith she resumed issuing orders to the servants +about the place. + +Father Leo did not learn the good news till about noon, when he +returned from the parish, and, not waiting to eat his dinner, he +hastened to the farm to see with his own eyes that Anusia indeed had +recovered. He found her very quiet and self-possessed, and there was +nothing to make him doubt the soundness of her mind, save the +occupation he found her engaged upon. She had had the great barn +cleared and the floor was being spread with straw. "What for?" he +inquired, wonderingly. + +"To sleep the soldiers," she replied, with a bitter smile. + +"The soldiers! What soldiers?" + +"I am surprised your reverence should require me to explain," she said. +"Is it unknown to you that he who but lately was master here has +declared war against his Emperor, and that the wife and children of +that man are here unprotected? Will it not be the most natural thing to +take possession of this farm in order to make it impossible for him to +visit his family secretly? And, moreover, it might be supposed that his +wife could be so questioned that from her his whereabouts could be +learned; at any rate, it might be useful to make sure of her and her +children as hostages, in case ..." + +"No, no!" cried Leo, "this latter, most certainly not. The Emperor will +never wage war upon women and children." + +"Well, we shall see," she continued; "thus much is certain, that we +shall have the Whitecoats quartered here before long; that coward of a +mandatar will take care we shall, if no one else will. Did not Taras +inform him plainly that with him the beginning should be made? I am +only sorry for the village. It is hard that the neighbours should +suffer, and it will turn them against us. It will be but natural if +they do, and I cannot help it." + +"They shall not, if I can prevent it," cried the pope, eagerly. "Now I +know what to preach about to-morrow!" + +"Well, I shall be grateful to you, whether you succeed or not, but one +thing you must promise me"--she held out her hand, drawing herself up +proudly. "You shall not ask them to pity me or my children. We do not +need it, please God, while I have health and am able to keep house and +home together." + +He gave her his word, and kept it as far as his own compassion would +let him. But his wife, in her own heart, was proudly happy, for never +had she heard him preach with a fervour more tender and soul-stirring; +not noticing in her wifely gladness that this sermon of his differed +somewhat from his usual discourses, inasmuch as he never mentioned +either the wisdom or the justice of the Almighty, being taken up +entirely with the one message to his hearers, the one exhortation of +"loving our neighbour as ourselves!" And as he strove in his simple, +yet impressive way to make it plain that an act of true love to one's +neighbours, mistaken, even, though it might be, was none the less +worthy of grateful acknowledgment, and that at all events it could +never deserve the ill-will of those for whose sake it had been done, +even though they might have to suffer in consequence--they all knew +whom and what he meant, and felt moved accordingly. And emotion +deepened when he spoke of the common sorrow making all men as brethren, +since none was fully happy here below, and that there was no surer +salvation from our own misery than being loving and good to other +sufferers, especially to the weak and forsaken, the widows and orphans +about us. And taking up an example to hand, he spoke of the sad lot of +a poor woman, named Josephka, whose husband they had lately buried. "Do +not let us imagine," he cried, "that we are doing more than our bounden +duty if we remember her trouble, aiding her with our alms, which she +hath need of sorely. Yet, poor as Josephka is, it is not she that is +the most sorrow-stricken widow among us; there being a balm to her +grief in the blessed thought that the husband she mourns has gained +that rest to which we ourselves are journeying, that he has attained +beyond the sorrow which remains with us still. There is another one +among us, widowed, I say, and more grief-bowed than she, to whom this +consolation is denied, and our most sacred duty is to her! Our alms +then to Josephka, for she has need of them, but give ye your tenderest +love, your most helpful sympathy, to that other most sorrowful widow in +this village, whose children in their father's lifetime are as orphans +in our midst!" + +There was a great sobbing among the women, and a stirring among the +men. One only in all that congregation sat unmoved, even shaking her +head in disapproval--Anusia herself; and when the service was ended she +quitted the building composedly. They all made room, and none dared +address her, the popadja only joined her in silence and saw her home. + +And when the men had gathered in groups without, the one topic was +Taras, as, indeed, was the case all over the country that morning. Some +had heard that already more than a hundred men had joined his banner; +others had been told that his native parish of Ridowa had sent him word +how, one and all, they were ready to rise in rebellion at his command; +others again had certain information that the district governor at +Colomea had fainted right away on hearing of Taras's now famous +declaration of war ... all of which tidings were believed in as +faithfully as though the pope himself had announced them as gospel +truth from the pulpit. And not a soul present doubted but that Taras +would swoop down on the arch-villain in their midst to judge him. + +What difference of opinion there was concerned the time only when the +avenger might be expected. + +"I say he will come to-night," said Wassilj, the butcher; "for to-day +he unfurls his banner, and he told us it would be his first deed." + +But others opposed this opinion. "Taras is a God-fearing man," said the +sexton, "I'll never believe he will thus spend the blessed Easter." + +"Nor should I think he would act foolishly," added Red Schymko; "why +the mandatar is safe away at Zablotow, hiding with the military. I know +it for certain." + +"You know it for a falsehood then," retorted Giorgi Pomenko, "the +coward is hiding in the iron closet he has had built for himself at the +manor house. I rather think, therefore, we shall hear of Taras this +very night." + +"So do I," chimed in Marko the smith, the giant with the infant voice; +"what should he be waiting for? Has he not men enough with the hundred +about him, being sure also of every honest, brave one among us?" + +"Ho! ho!" rejoined Wassilj, the butcher, "am I not honest, or as brave +as any? yet, would I lend a hand to the deed? I doubt if many will +assist him!" + +"Do you?" snarled the corporal. "Can it be a matter of doubt, indeed, +when it is a question of aiding your own great hero?" + +"Hold your wicked tongue," burst in the sons of Pomenko. "The time is +gone when Taras could be insulted with impunity. Whoever would do so is +a scoundrel--and a scoundrel is every one that will not stand by him +against the mandatar!" + +At which Jewgeni, the judge, grew alarmed. "Hear me," he cried. + +"A scoundrel?" interrupted the butcher. "You had better hold your +tongues, youngsters; this axe of mine has silenced many a bullock!" + +"Hear me," pleaded Jewgeni "A hajdamak----" and there he stopped. + +"Nay, hear _me_," broke in Red Schymko; "I know what is best to do. I +make no promises either way, but shall just wait and see! If the +mandatar offers resistance, to the shedding of blood even, I were a +fool to risk life in opposing him. Is it my quarrel? Have I prevented +the parish from getting back the field by force? It was Taras's doing. +Have I lost the law suit? No, but Taras has. Have I turned outlaw, +calling myself an avenger, and having my praises sung by all the land? +No, not I; but Taras. Then, I say, let him bear the brunt. But when the +mandatar and his men are worsted, and there is a chance of repaying +ourselves, let us not be such fools as to stand by and look on. As he +robbed us, so let us rob him--that is what I think..." + +"For shame!" cried Giorgi Pomenko; and Wassilj, the butcher, added: +"Yes, for shame! Are you addressing a parcel of thieves?" + +"Well, hear me then--a hajdamak--and I your judge----" But Jewgeni +again stopped short, the butcher being bent on a further hearing. + +"Listen to me, you men, and I will show you that I am no scoundrel," he +cried, lifting up his powerful voice, "I am all for Taras, and whoever +speaks ill of him shall answer for it to me. He is a grand hero, and +far from being a hajdamak. He has undertaken the sacred duty of being +an avenger, of righting the wrong. But in this great work we may not +help him, because we have wife and child to consider. If he has risen +above any such consideration it is in virtue of his own magnanimity. +For my part, I am unable to equal it. Whoever joins Taras openly has to +choose between going to prison or taking refuge in the mountains. I +shall keep the peace, therefore, and so will every conscientious man +here, for the sake of his family." + +"Yes! yes!" cried the men, one after another, "Wassilj has said well, +Taras has our best wishes. More is the pity that we cannot openly join +him." + +"Pity!" sneered the corporal; "but you may look on, at a safe +distance!" + +"Yes, indeed, and we will," was the unanimous retort. "It is you and +Schymko that disgrace the village. No honest man will go to sleep +to-night." + +And therewith the consultation ended. + +Not long after, Halko, the servant lad of Anusia's farm, rushed into +his mistress's presence. "Is it true"--he cried, "it is being spoken of +all over the village--that Taras, with a hundred men, will attack the +manor to-night? The people mean to watch for it, but will not join him +for fear of the law. Is it true?" + +Anusia stood trembling violently, a burning glow and a death-like +pallor succeeding one another rapidly in her face. + +"How should I know?" she said presently, with a stony look. "I and my +family belong to the village, and have nothing to do with the +'avenger.' And just because he has been the master of this house there +is henceforth no communion between him and us! Let the others watch for +him; we shall retire as usual. Let no one dare to disregard my orders!" + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + FLOURISHING LIKE A BAY-TREE. + + +"While the inhabitants of Zulawce thus excitedly waited for the events +of the coming night, their busy imagination beguiling the slow hours +with various visions of the hapless mandatar, beholding him either +hanged, or shot, or burnt alive, this gentleman himself was similarly +engaged. That is to say, he also was waiting excitedly for the night, +endeavouring to shorten the agony of delay by picturing to himself the +approaching crisis. But the images he had in view were of a vastly +different nature. For he was nowise hiding in an iron closet at +Zulawce, which, even if he had desired it, would have been impossible, +for the simple reason that there was no such stronghold; but he was at +that moment comfortably established in the snug little smoking-room of +his chambers at Colomea--his refuge, both for his pleasures and, +perchance now, in trouble. He had just returned from a dinner which the +district governor at this season was in the habit of giving to the +officials of the place; and between the blue circles ascending from his +expensive cheroot he now beheld visions--imagining the impending scenes +at an evening party to which the richest man of the neighbourhood, Herr +Bogdan von Antoniewicz, an Armenian, had invited a small but select +company. These scenes presumably would be of a pleasant nature, for Mr. +Hajek kept smiling--nay, he even skipped about his room the while he +puffed his fragrant cloudlets with a sort of irrepressible delight. But +if he was expecting some happy event it appeared to be a critical one +also, to judge from the nervous action with which he kept pulling out +his watch, and there was even an occasional shadow of seriousness +gliding over his finely-cut but dissipated features. But this was like +a noonday cloud, only darkening for a moment the brilliant sky, and the +mandatar returned to his smiles. + +"Pshaw," he said, stopping before his looking-glass and twirling his +moustache, "as if I had not made sure of her virtues myself!... three +of them! And for the rest of it----" he paused, bowing profoundly to +his image in the glass; "for the rest of it, Mr. Hajek, please to bear +in mind your history and your present dilemma. Ha! ha!" He appeared +immensely tickled with this pretence at honesty; it seemed quite a joke +to ruminate over a bit of self-knowledge, and it kept him in the best +of humour till the clock struck eight, when he rang for his valet, and, +having completed his toilet, he drove to the villa of the Armenian. + +It was early for an evening party of distinction, and Mr. Hajek, who +had lived in Paris, and therefore was looked upon as an oracle of good +style by all who pretended to be fashionable at Colomea, would under +ordinary circumstances never have sinned so grievously against the laws +he himself had established. But in the present case it was incumbent on +him to be the first of the guests. For these were not ordinary +circumstances, but, on the contrary, an event which as a rule comes but +once in life; he was driving to the villa in order to celebrate his +betrothal with the widowed Countess Wanda Koninski, the Armenian's only +daughter. It was indeed an event! and the several actors in the little +comedy had even drawn up a programme for the most suitable expression +of their feelings. + +It has been maintained by people of experience that it is not so much +fiery love which ensures the happiest marriages--since the flame too +often is sadly transient--but rather an even share of mutual +understanding and a certain sympathetic perception of each other's aims +in life. If it be so, the mandatar and the young widow might fairly be +congratulated. And again, if it be true that a man's relations with his +parents-in-law, in order to be satisfactory, must preclude the +possibility of a delusion on either side concerning each other's moral +worth, not a shadow of a doubt could be entertained but that the +mandatar and the parents of his bride elect would yield a spectacle of +the most charming friendship--quite hand in glove, in fact. For, +excepting Mr. Hajek himself, Herr Bogdan von Antoniewicz certainly was +the greatest rascal of the district. + +This prosperous man did not like to be reminded of his earlier years, +nor was he ever heard to refer to his ancestors, although they had been +honest cattle-drovers in Moldavia. He himself had pursued this +occupation in his youth: but possessing a kind of prudence which +rendered his conscience easy and his money-bag close, he managed to +make a little capital, establishing cattle trading on his own account. + +Then it happened, as he would describe it, that a sore blow was +experienced by the death of the best of uncles, a merchant at +Constantinople, who had made him his heir. The chief facts were +correct, and the deceased had left his money to his nephew, only it was +not Bogdan who was that nephew, but a poor man of the name of Mikita, +who was in Bogdan's service. The latter had received a ponderous +document with seals and flourishes, announcing to him his uncle's +bequest; and, being unable to read, he had taken it to his master. +Bogdan read it--there was a legacy of ten thousand ducats--and he was +seized with a feeling of vast sympathy with the humble man. He +remembered that Mikita had nine ragged children, and that a shower of +riches coming thus suddenly could be no blessing, since, no doubt, it +would teach him to be thriftless. He said, therefore, to his labourer, +"You're a lucky dog, to be sure, there's your uncle dead and left you +ten ducats!" This, of course, was to try the man, to see if he were +worthy of a great fortune; for what would become of his poor children, +mused the philanthropic Bogdan, if he made away with his ten thousand +ducats, leading a riotous life and turning his back upon work! Let him +prove first how he will take the lesser luck. The poor man but ill +stood the test. He had never known such wealth, and simply cried with +delight, begging his master to lend him a ducat on the strength of his +inheritance. Bogdan did so, hoping the man would not waste so great a +sum, but put it out at interest discreetly. But Mikita, that +spendthrift, knew no better investment than some new clothes for his +little ones, also giving them a regular good meal for once. After +awhile he presented himself again to his master, who, sadly grieving, +handed him a second ducat; and so on till, after six months or so, +the wretched father had actually spent the ten of them. And now the +well-intentioned Bogdan went through a severe conflict with himself, +ending with the renewed conviction that it were an unpardonable want of +foresight to let those children be ruined. So having given to Mikita +ten ill-spent ducats, he got him to put his mark to a receipt that the +full amount of the legacy had been made over to him, and thereupon he +went and presented himself as the required heir. + +Thus Bogdan, acting for the best for his humble neighbour, had laid the +foundation of his fortune. But it is well known that one's noblest +actions are often cruelly misjudged, and this matter somehow leaking +out, made it impossible for the tenderhearted cattle-trader to continue +in the neighbourhood. He resolved to shake off from his feet the very +dust of his old life, departing stealthily, and making his way into +Austria, where, with his newly-acquired capital, he bought a large +property, ostensibly bent on farming his land. The property, however, +happened to be situated in the Bukowina, a very central position, where +Austria, Russia, and Moldavia join. Now the import duties in those days +were particularly heavy, and a man of resources living on the frontiers +could not but direct his faculties to studying their results. Mr. +Bogdan was too clever not to see that free commerce naturally must +spring from an overdone system of protection, and, experimenting upon +his theory, he ended in siding with free trade altogether. His property +was delightfully situated for smuggling purposes, and he flattered +himself he would best serve his generation by introducing large +quantities of tobacco from Bessarabia into Austria, to the detriment of +the Imperial monopoly, which was disgracefully selfish, he argued. He +throve for awhile, but the eyes of the customs authorities were upon +him. He escaped conviction just in time, selling his property +advantageously and acquiring a larger one in Eastern Galicia. + +He was now forty years of age, rich and prosperous, but alone in his +glory. His heart, such as it was, longed for a distinguished passion, +and his buttonhole gaped for a decoration. He would marry into the +aristocracy, and become the founder of a noble house. As for marrying a +person of title, that is almost easier in those parts than insisting on +the contrary; but on what grounds he could become ennobled, even his +fertile brain was at a loss to suggest. Fortune, however, had always +smiled on him; and it so happened that the mysterious power which rules +our hearts and destinies introduced to him a lady well qualified for +becoming the stepping-stone of his aspirations. In the present instance +that world-famed power elected to show itself in the person of a +certain Jew, who made his living by acting as go-between in the +matrimonial market. This herald appeared one day, proposing to Mr. +Bogdan a union with a certain aristocratic spinster, Antonia von +Kulczika. There was no doubt as to her good birth, but she was not +_very_ young, and not rich--possessed of influence, however, through +having enjoyed the protection, hitherto, of one of the most powerful +magnates of the land. Wicked tongues, of course, delighted in a tale, +for which reason Aaron Moses, in stating the lady's virtues, kept his +hand cautiously on the door-handle. To his agreeable surprise, however, +Mr. Bogdan listened quietly, owning even to a sort of partiality for +the lady he had never seen, and that nothing was required but certain +easily-defined conditions in order to rouse his ardent love, which +conditions being stated, Aaron Moses entered them in his notebook. + +Within a month the Jew returned with a deed of gift, whereby the +above-mentioned magnate, with brotherly generosity, settled on the lady +the landed property of Rossow. Mr. Bogdan, on making sure of this, laid +his hand upon his heart, confessing to the Jew his unmistakable +devotion to the lady, to whom he was ready now to be introduced. But +there was no talk of betrothal as yet. True love mostly is of the +shyest, and Mr. Bogdan found no words for his feelings until Aaron +Moses had brought him a letter wherein the magnate, under his own hand, +had given his word of honour that he would procure a patent of nobility +for Mr. Bogdan Antoniewicz within a year of his marriage with Miss +Antonia von Kulczika. This settled, there was nothing left to hinder +the flow of his feelings, and in due course the nuptials were +solemnised. + +They were a pattern pair; and if those only can be happy in married +life whose mutual love is equalled by their mutual respect, their +happiness was assured, for the love of this couple could not easily +have been less than the esteem they bore one another. The happy husband +in due time found himself Herr _von_ Antoniewicz, his wife presenting +him, moreover, with a fair-haired little girl. There appeared nothing +to prevent their being received into society, for the lady was +handsome, Bogdan rich and prosperous. The officers of the neighbouring +garrison were the first to get over their qualms, the rest of society +following suit. As years went on the lady, of course, could not be said +to grow in grace or beauty; but Bogdan gained riches steadily, +possessing three large estates now and plenty of money, which he +continued to put to usury advantageously. + +Such were the future parents-in-law of Mr. Hajek. Those who knew them +could not but own that all three were worthy of each other, and the +same might be said of the bridal couple itself. Bogdan von Antoniewicz +had his daughter educated after the style most approved of by the +Polish aristocracy. She had a Parisian governess, who taught her French +and the piano, the rest of the 'branches' being confided to a refugee +from Warsaw, in whose estimation there wad no science equal to Polish +patriotism, and in this he instructed her. Wanda should be a true Pole. +It was not pleasant, therefore, when her parents one day made a +sorrowful discovery, proving her Austrian predilections. She had a +lover in the Imperial army, who, on being moved with his regiment, left +it expedient for her father to find her a husband. It had better not be +a rogue, if a fool was to be had, thought the latter; and a suitable +youth was found in the person of one Count Agenor Koninski. Very +suitable he was, being, in the first place, of the bluest aristocracy; +moreover, in the second place, of such doubtful finances that Bogdan's +offer was a godsend to him; and, thirdly, he was an easy-going fellow, +whose wife might be what she pleased. "Koninski" might be correctly +rendered by "horseman"--it was just the name for him. He spent his life +with horses, and even came by his death through them, being thrown on a +racecourse. + +The widowed Wanda knew what she owed to her position; her sympathies +were no longer with the Imperial army, but no Polish nobleman therefore +cared for her hand. She and her belongings had thoroughly disgusted +even that lenient body; and, at the time when Mr. Hajek was making +friends at Colomea, the Armenian, in spite of his great wealth, was +reduced to a select circle of visitors--respectable people refused his +invitations. He and his wife had reached their threescore and ten, the +Countess Wanda was thirty, and her boy eleven years old. It was high +time to put an end to the scandal, and gain an able man who could +manage the property. This state of things explains why Bogdan, in spite +of the pride of his acquired nobility, as well as the widowed Countess +herself, had turned their thoughts to the low-born mandatar, +instructing their willing emissary, Mr. Thaddeus de Bazanski, +accordingly--he being no other than that refugee who, in her youth, +had educated Wanda in Polish patriotism, and who still awaited the day +when Russia should suffer, glad meanwhile to act as the Armenian's +hanger-on. He had to take his time in making overtures to the mandatar, +who did not seem open to his hints; but he was able at last to inform +the countess that Mr. Hajek had discovered he loved her; and it was +agreed to celebrate the betrothal forthwith, even on Easter Sunday. + +It had been no easy resolve on the part of the mandatar. To be sure, +the widowed Countess possessed three first-rate charms, nay, virtues, +in his eyes, being heiress to the broad lands of Rossow, Horkowka, and +Drinkowce, and he himself was not a man given to prejudice. Still he +had managed somehow to acquire the position of a man of honour in the +district, and was loth to part with this pleasant sensation, all the +more valued, perhaps, for its novelty. But while he yet felt divided, +the news reached him of Taras's declaration, and the cowardly wretch +was seized with a perfect frenzy of fear. Indeed, the real match-maker, +bringing together this pair of worthies, was not so much Thaddeus as +Taras Barabola. + +Mr. Hajek had not been in the village, and knew nothing of the great +meeting. He had gone to a mess breakfast at Zablotow, Captain Mihaly, +of the Palffy hussars, in garrison there, having invited him over. It +was a merry gathering, comprising, besides the officers, several young +nobles of the neighbourhood. But none so merry as Hajek himself; and he +kept up his spirits when, breakfast over, he was invited to preside at +the gaming table. He was winning largely, and was a very fountain of +fun to the dissipated party. They went on gambling for the best part of +the day. + +But there was a strange interruption, the captain's man announcing, +with a queer expression, that the under-steward, Boleslaw, had arrived, +bearing an important message to the mandatar--a certain peasant named +Barabola having that day declared war against the Emperor. + +The news produced the greatest hilarity; the officers roared with +laughter. But Wenceslas Hajek grew deadly pale, and, dropping the cards +from his hands, he jumped from his seat shaking from head to foot. +"Gentlemen," he gasped, "you would not laugh if you knew the man ... +this is a matter of life and death ... excuse me, I must have +particulars...." + +He moved to the door, but the captain was before him. "No!" he cried, +facetiously, "you shall not monopolise this declaration of war. _We_ +are His Majesty's officers, and ought to have our share--let the man +enter!" + +The under-steward appeared, his gigantic frame positively limp with +dismay, as he reported the chief contents of Taras's speech. "You know +what sort of man you have to deal with, sir," he said, in conclusion, +turning to the mandatar. "This day week he means to make his +beginning--make it upon you, sir! He has retired for the present in the +direction of the Red Hollow. Four men are with him to-day; there will +be fifty before the week is out." + +The gentlemen ceased to be amused; somehow the giant's consternation +had affected them. But when he had done, their laughter returned. +"War!" they cried, "what fun! Double pay and promotion for all of us!" +The captain adding: "But he has given us a week's grace, so let us +finish our rubber. Mr. Hajek, I think you were meditating a trump ... +but, good heavens, man!" he interrupted himself, evidently alarmed, +"what is the matter? ... He is fainting!" + +And, indeed, the mandatar's appearance was enough to startle his +companions. He had sunk down on the nearest chair, the bloodless face +distorted with terror; and as they gazed at him his head sank lower, +till it rested on the table. + +"Belshazzar!" cried a youthful lieutenant, "Mene, Tekel, Upharsin! Yes, +yes, my dear Mr. Hajek, your conscience seems ill at ease concerning +these peasants! Why, you are crying!" + +The mandatar actually had begun to sob. "Ah!" he moaned, "I must be +off to the town...." He attempted to rise, but fell back on his chair. +"No ... I must go back to the manor first ... my papers.... Captain!" +he shrieked, imploringly, "I entreat you, let your troop be mounted, +and escort me to Zulawce--I mean, stay with me till you can bring me +away again in safety. I'm a dead man, and the manor will be in ruins, +if you refuse!" + +"Nonsense!" cried the captain, in disgust. "I should not have believed +it of you! This sudden news has made a coward of you! Don't you know +that I am not at liberty to order my men about in that fashion?" + +"Then you shall answer for the consequences!" screamed Hajek, wildly. +"But I shall not go home by myself!" And again he sobbed, but recovered +himself presently. "I must take refuge at Colomea. We are but three of +us--the under-steward, myself, and the coachman, and those cut-throats +are four or five! I trust you will, at least, set us up with arms, +captain, and lend me some of your men to see us safely on our way." + +"Certainly," replied Captain Mihaly, coldly. "I am quite able to grant +you an escort." + +And within an hour Mr. Hajek was on the road to Colomea, a hussar on +either side of his vehicle, the under-steward besides having provided +himself with a perfect arsenal of weapons. Nevertheless, the mandatar +was dying with fright at every turn, crying aloud with terror as often +as a sound rose in the distance or some horseman appeared in view. In +vain Boleslaw tried to comfort him; all he could do was to remind him +that Taras had said with, his own lips another week would lapse before +he should make his beginning, "and you know he always is true to his +word!" + +The mandatar's answer to this was, perhaps, the finest praise ever +awarded to Taras. "Ah!" he groaned, "you may not have heard it +correctly"--for that Taras should ever deviate from his word, in great +things or little, even he did not doubt; but just this made all the +rest so fearful!... + +The news had come to him quite unexpectedly, although he had been fully +informed concerning Taras's doings, his prolonged visits to the +mountains, his growing despair, and lastly his cession of property. But +he had misjudged these signs, believing in his own evil soul that Taras +intended to make away with himself, and would probably do so upon the +Emperor's refusal; indeed, he had even pitied the man, after a fashion, +as a butcher may feel pity for a fine bullock whose carcase he intends +to sell well. Now that he had learned Taras's intentions, he seemed +suddenly to be aware what stuff the man was made of, and though but the +barest outline of that memorable speech could have been reported to +him, he had a clearer perception of its drift, no doubt, than most of +those who had heard it with their own ears. "Yes, yes," he groaned, +"the angel has become a fiend, and none so black as those that were all +light before!" + +At last the morning dawned. The mandatar ventured to dismiss his +escort, and towards nine o'clock he reached the town, where he parted +also from Boleslaw, sending him back to Zulawce. + +"Do you believe the manor is endangered by my absence?" + +"No," said the giant, "only by your presence, sir. What Taras wants is +to punish _you_ in life and limb; he does not care for your property, +save as far as it may serve to indemnify the people for their supposed +loss. But I should say he will not touch anything till he has got hold +of yourself." + +The mandatar shook. "I daresay you are right," he said. "Nevertheless, +I want you to bring me, without delay, the black casket you will find +in my bedroom cupboard--this is the key. I shall not leave this place +for the present, and shall do my best to have the wretch hanged, +else----" + +"He will see you hanged," concluded Boleslaw. "I am afraid you are +right, sir." + +And with this parting benediction ringing in his ears, Mr. Hajek +repaired at once to the district governor, to whom he represented the +matter as a rebellion of gigantic dimensions, endangering the lives and +property of thousands of helpless subjects, if a price were not set on +Taras's head forthwith and half a dozen regiments despatched against +him. + +Herr von Bauer took refuge in his favourite growling. "Pleasant! most +pleasant!" he muttered, and took to pacing his office like a caged +lion. "Who on earth has to face such bothers but me? Defend your enemy, +not to say your friend, from being a district governor in Galicia! I +hoped we had done with these cut-throats since 'Wild Wassilj' had the +good sense to shoot himself--now there is another of these rascals! But +who would have believed it of Taras Barabola! I would have taken my +oath that he was an honest man. To be sure, he understands nothing of +justice--came to me once expecting _we_ should prosecute for the +recovery of that field. He positively believed it was our duty--to +prosecute, you understand! A man who has such notions may as well turn +hajdamak! They are just savages here--I have always said so ... not a +notion of how the law works!... Well, I am much obliged for your news, +sir, but it is not for us to proceed on it. Things must be done in +order. Kindly send in your information in writing; it will cost you +nothing. Good morning!" + +"And may I ask how soon the matter will then be attended to?" + +"In due course--first come, first served!" + +"Sir! Why this is a most pressing case! I would propose, as a first +step, to send for the hussars from Zablotow----" + +"Hussars? Good gracious!" and the district governor grew as red as a +turkey-cock. "Who do you take me for, sir? Am I a general to order +about the military? I am governor of the district, sir--worse luck that +I am!" + +The mandatar was abashed, but made another attempt. "Sir," he said, +rather pathetically, "my life is at stake, and what is more, the +property of the Count, my master. I venture to ask how the matter will +be dealt with!" + +"In due course, to be sure! When your statement has been filed we shall +despatch a commissary to Zulawce to report to us; and if it is as you +tell me, we have quite a complicated charge of felony: the man has +insulted the Emperor, not to say the Almighty Himself; he has libelled +Government, and is guilty of seditious proceedings. It will be an +interesting case, to be sure; he'll have ten years of penal servitude +for that speech alone. And if he should lay hands on you, as he seems +fully to intend, we will have him hanged! Will that satisfy you?" + +But strange to say, the mandatar was not satisfied. "Sir," he +stammered, "delay is most dangerous. Will that commissary be starting +to-morrow?" + +"To-morrow?" gasped the governor. "Why not, rather, to-day? Perhaps we +ought to ask your pardon for not having sent him as early as +yesterday!... _To-morrow!_ Are you in your senses, sir?" And he paced +his office more violently than ever. It took him some time to get over, +this unheard-of suggestion, and then he said: "A commissioner will be +sent as soon as feasible; in about a month's time, I should say; things +must be done in due course! And now I have the honour of making my bow +to you." + +The mandatar could but take his leave, standing still a moment outside. +It was the very spot where his unhappy victim, and now his implacable +enemy, had first felt the sore pain of disappointed hope and helpless +wrath--these same sensations now having him for their prey. The fear of +death, which he had been able to hold at bay awhile with the vain +expectation that the all-powerful State would hedge him round with +safety, seized upon him afresh, tearing his cowardly heart to pieces. +With tottering knees, and almost beside himself with rage and terror, +he slunk away. + +In one of the streets his eye was caught by a shop window exhibiting +fire-arms. He entered and bought a double-barrelled pistol. "If I +should have the misfortune of falling into his hands," he murmured, "I +will at least save myself the worst of ignominy." But a voice in his +heart gave him the lie directly. "Coward!" it said; "you would never +dare it--never!" + +Retribution for this man's crimes had begun before Taras lifted a +finger against him, and his just terrors continued--nay, were added to +hourly. The mandatar, even in his least cowardly moments, felt the +situation to be most critical. While Taras lived, his returning to +Zulawce was a movement in the direction of death; and there appeared to +be every likelihood of Taras's continuing in life, while the +authorities were bent on dealing with him "in due course," as the +district governor had taken pains to point out. It seemed highly +advisable, then, for Mr. Hajek to keep at a safe distance from Zulawce, +and this was tantamount to his retiring from his stewardship, since the +peasants, he knew, would never dream of rendering the slightest of +their dues, be it tribute or labour, unless the mandatar were bodily +present to make them. And if he got into arrears with the monthly +payments to the Count, in Paris, this gentleman would not be long in +dismissing him, without the least pity for his difficulties. It was +preferable, then, to anticipate a dismissal. But how to make a living +for the future? To be sure, he had improved the stewardship he was +about to quit, putting by in that little black box of his a neat sum of +several thousand florins in good Austrian securities, although he had +never stinted himself of any personal luxury. Should he fall back upon +these savings, leaving the country altogether and seeking a berth +elsewhere? But in that case, not only this little capital would be +endangered, but another and more precious one would also be lost, even +the good name he had managed to acquire, and which he hoped to turn +into a bait with which to land a fortune one of these days. Nor was +this a mere illusion. Mr. Hajek was too sharp-witted to fool himself, +and he really had come to enjoy a certain position at Colomea; for he +was a man of the world and knew how to ingratiate himself with society, +while even his worst enemy must admit he was an adept in the management +of landed property. He knew, therefore, to what port he ought to run: +he must look out for an heiress and become a landed proprietor himself. +There were several eligible maidens, presumably willing to further his +aims, with handsome sums in their pockets, if not Polish coronets on +their brows. But all these hopes had vanished now; the successful +mandatar might have proffered his suit in such quarters, but never the +luckless culprit whose misdeeds had found him out. The one question for +him was how to gain time, in order to make the best of his miserable +fate. + +Thus, by a strange coincidence of circumstances, the mere announcement +of Taras's intentions had sufficed to ruin his enemy effectively; and +the under-steward, returning on Tuesday with the precious black casket, +found his master deeply dejected. Nor was his news calculated to rouse +better hopes. "To tell the truth," said Boleslaw, "I brought away the +worst impressions concerning the peasantry. Not an hour's further +labour will they yield, and no tribute of any kind. Taras is a hero and +a liberator in their eyes; and as for you, sir--I beg your pardon, but +it is a fact--they are all delighted at the bare idea that he is going +to hang you. I spoke with several of the villagers, and they all said +the same thing." + +"That will do," said the mandatar, faintly, and motioned him to go. +Left alone, he sank into a chair, and involuntarily put his fingers +round his throat. "There must be an end to this!" he cried. "I must +shake off this business; I will have nothing more to do with these +wretches." + +And, going to his desk, he wrote a letter to the Count--it was his +resignation. He folded the sheet, and put it into an envelope, which he +sealed. But there he stopped, dipping his pen again and again without +addressing the missive. "It might be premature after all," he murmured +at last, throwing down the quill and snatching up his hat. "I ought not +to act rashly, at least not before finding out the opinion of the +town." + +But if any one wished to know what the world thought at Colomea, he +could not do better than repair to a certain wine-cellar, where the +"daily news" of the place was almost sure to be present, gossipping +away from early morning sometimes till the closing hour at midnight. +This worthy was none other than Mr. Thaddeus de Bazanski, whose +vicissitudes in life were a prolific source of entertainment to all the +tipplers of the place. Mr. Thaddeus, by his own showing, was a man of +consequence; but the jovial company listening to his tales somehow had +agreed to call him Thaddy. Now Thaddy's history--of which he was most +liberal--was of a curious kind, and never the same for two days +running. On a Sunday he would have large possessions in Volhynia; and, +being the last of an honourable name, he had fought the Russians +gallantly, but was left for dead on the field of battle, after which he +made his escape into Galicia. On Mondays he was the son of a Polish +officer in French service, who had enjoyed the close friendship of +Napoleon, and he had been a cadet at Vincennes; but, turning his back +upon his brilliant prospects, he had entered the Polish army for love +of his country--the rest being the same as on Sunday. On a Tuesday his +name, de Bazanski, was merely an alias for prudence' sake, and he was +really the scion of a princely house of Lithuania; but, having +quarrelled with his family, who were of Russian tendencies, he had +entered the Polish army--the rest the same as on Monday. On Wednesdays +he had large possessions in the Ukraine, and in fact all the revolution +of 1831 had been carried on with his money. Having been obliged to +flee, he joined the Carbonari in Piedmont, and now lived in Galicia in +order to be at hand when the great day of revenge should have dawned. +On Thursdays, when the cellars would be specially well filled after the +weekly meeting of the local board, Thaddy's history had quite a +romantic origin. He was a natural son of Alexander I. and a Polish +countess, spending his youth at the Court of St. Petersburg, petted by +all, until he did his duty as the son of his mother, standing up boldly +before his half-brother Nicolas and demanding of him a grant of liberty +for poor Poland. He was refused, and then--the same as on Wednesday. On +Fridays, when the place was but indifferently visited, he was just a +poor brave nobleman, who had spent the best years of his life for the +good of his country, and was ready to do so again; while on the +Saturday his tale had an anti-semitic tinge. His father, on those days, +having been one of the richest landowners of Masovia, had been so +foolish as to allow his Jewish tenants to drop into arrears with their +rents, till the family was nearly beggared. It was then that Thaddeus +showed the stuff he was made of, evicting "those rascally Jews," and +making front against the Russians at the same time; and he was now at +Colomea endeavouring to work up those sad arrears. To be sure, he never +had any success to tell of, but that might be because of his constantly +changing his lawyer, who, it was observed, was mentioned by a different +name every Saturday. For the rest, if any visitor of the cellars ever +had forgotten what day of the week it might be, he had but to listen +for a moment to Thaddy's tale in order to recover the lost thread of +his time. + +These varying accounts were calculated to lend an air of distinction to +the narrator, but there were some whose shrewdness believed his fame to +be spurious, and one or two wicked tongues had even asserted that his +features bore a suspicious likeness to a loquacious barber they had +known at Warsaw. Thaddy denounced this as a libel, boldly; but it was +not so easy to accuse people of calumny when they added that his +appearance, somehow, was not of the aristocratic military type! That +was true enough, for there was nothing of the heroic about his mean +little figure, and those greenish eyes, half cunning, half cowardly, +peering away over a coppery nose for any good luck in his way. Of +course he always appeared in the national costume; but the 'kantouche' +was peculiarly long and ill-fitting, not because of any eccentric taste +of his, but simply because nature had endowed Mr. Bogdan with a figure +so utterly different from Thaddy's. His 'confederatka,' however, was +his own--one of the strangest head-gears ever worn by mortal man. It +probably had been high, stiff, and square originally, but it had +collapsed to utter flabbiness, and it could not now be said to be of +any colour, having faded to a mixture of all. Thaddy kept assuring his +listeners that he wore this article on great anniversaries for the most +patriotic of reasons, since it had covered his head at the famous +battle of Ostrolenka. It certainly looked ancient enough to have seen +even the Napoleonic wars; and if it had many holes, that no doubt was a +proof of the many bullets which had threatened the head of its gallant +wearer. As for the anniversaries, there were those who pretended to +observe that the famous confederatka was seen rather often, in fact +quite habitually, on Thaddy's head--but then, the history of Poland is +so rich in events, that the year of the piously inclined is one long +anniversary naturally. + +As for the present employment of this national martyr, it was twofold; +he ostensibly waited for the better days of Poland, gaining his +livelihood meanwhile by entertaining the customers at the cellars with +his gossip, and holding himself in readiness for any business in which +an agent might be wanted who was not over squeamish in his views. + +When Mr. Hajek, on that Tuesday afternoon, entered the cellars he found +Thaddy alone, in his usual corner, sadly occupied with counting the +flies on the various pictures adorning the room. He looked up, a gleam +of satisfaction shooting across his countenance, and held out his hand, +which cordiality, however, the new comer appeared not to observe. "Ha!" +he cried, "what a strange coincidence; here I was just thinking of you, +actually! There is a curious likeness between this excellent young +man's fate--meaning yourself--and mine, I was saying." + +"Indeed!" replied the mandatar, coldly, taking a seat and ordering a +bottle of wine. "Between you and me?" + +"Yes, unmistakably," cried Mr. de Bazanski, coming nearer and taking +his place opposite the mandatar. "A striking likeness in fact. It so +occupied my mind that I quite forgot I was thirsty, and, indeed, for +the matter of that, I am of too sociable a turn to have a glass by +myself." This was true enough, for Thaddy never had any drink except in +company. They knew better at the cellars than to give him anything that +was not ordered and paid for by his friends. + +Mr. Hajek smiled, requesting the waiter to bring a second glass. "A +striking likeness, you were saying?" + +"Most striking, sir, and unmistakable! Just look at me--what is it I +have come to? I am an old officer, to be sure, who will give proof yet +of the stuff he is made of. But what of this? I was thinking of my +happy youth, and how from the battlements of our princely castle in +Lithuania I, with a telescope, would scan our broad domain; forty-nine +villages I could count, and they all were situated on our lands. Yes, +ours was a princely family, and now, alas, I may not even confess to +the name I was born to, I----" + +"Yes, yes, I know," interrupted the mandatar; "besides, I was aware +that this is Tuesday." + +But Thaddy was not the man to be disconcerted. "Of course, this is +Tuesday," he assented, smilingly. "I was going to add--who is to blame +that I am a stranger now to my princely heritage, if not my wicked +relatives? And who is it that, at the present moment, is a sore trouble +to you, if not this wicked peasantry of Zulawce? Is it not a strange +and striking similarity?" + +"Very striking," said Hajek. "Then you have heard about affairs at +Zulawce?" + +"Of course I have," cried Bazanski; "why the town is full of it." +And the ex-officer waxed hot with excitement. "You would scarcely +believe it," he cried, "but there are those, actually, who take this +cut-throat's part against you--respectable people--nay, even Poles, I +am ashamed to say!" + +"Who, for instance?" inquired the mandatar, apparently unconcerned, but +his heart was beating in spite of him. + +"Well, there is that old demagogue, who ought to know better, being a +lawyer--Dr. Starkowski, I mean--to begin with. This very morning we +were sitting here, some twenty of us, and some one started the matter. +My stars, you should have heard him! 'Gentlemen,' he said, quite +solemnly, as though he were on his oath, 'I know this Taras; he is the +most unselfish, the noblest man I have ever met, and filled with a +passion for justice which would grace a king. And that this man, with +the views he holds, had nothing left but to turn hajdamak, must make +every honest man blush for our country. It is my opinion that this +noble-hearted fellow has been morally murdered, and his murderer is the +mandatar of Zulawce.' And the others, so far from contradicting him, +clamoured for more. 'Tell us, Doctor, tell us all about it,' they +cried. And he gave them a long rigmarole of a story about a field, and +perjury, and what not; and when he had finished--'Humph,' said the +others, 'why, if it is so, Mr. Hajek is just a blackguard.' 'He is,' +affirmed the brazen-faced lawyer. Such is the world!" + +"Such--is--- the world!" repeated Hajek, absently, and white as a +ghost. It was plain there was nothing left for him now but to make his +speedy escape. The laborious edifice of his wickedness was tottering, +and threatening to bury him in its ruins. But whither should he turn? +He gazed into his future helplessly.... + +"Such, indeed, is the world," repeated Bazanski, eagerly; "and there +were those present who said--'Dear, dear, it is a mercy to learn that +before it is too late!' Those, you understand, who hitherto would have +considered you an eligible son-in-law--conceited fools!--as if you ever +would have looked at any of their daughters--you, whose heart is +adamant even to a countess." + +Hajek turned to him with a start, his face flushing crimson. He had +racked his brain for a way out of his plight, but had forgotten all +about this possibility, in his very grasp if he chose! Three different +estates in the lowlands, beyond the reach of Taras--what a splendid +match to be sure! If he married the countess he need not give another +thought to his master in Paris, nor to that wretch of an "avenger," nor +yet to all the respectable folk at Colomea. And this grandest of +chances had almost escaped him! + +"Well," cried the wily Thaddeus, "I do like your pretending to be taken +by surprise; as if you did not know how desperately the amiable +Countess Wanda is in love with you." And he began to describe the +secret passion of that lady with such glowing colours, that any writer +of love sonnets might have envied him. "And there is her great fortune +besides," he said, in conclusion; "but that is a mere accessory. First +love, and then the practical advantages." + +Mr. Hajek had recovered himself. "Don't talk rubbish," he said, +sharply. "The countess is not likely to love me, being too--too +experienced to make a fool of herself; and, besides, I am an utter +stranger to her. If she intends to marry me it is simply because she is +in want of a husband, and if I take her it will be because it happens +to suit me. So it is a clear case of the practical advantage first and +foremost; that settled, there may be love, for all I care. What about +the property and the settlement? I daresay you have been instructed.... +I don't want any flourishes; just let me know the facts." + +Thaddeus de Bazanski was of an adaptable nature. "Just the facts! Yes, +certainly," he said. "There are three estates, as you know--Horkowka, +Drinkowce, and Rossow--quite unencumbered--will fetch in the market +half a million florins any day; the personal property, besides, +amounting to one hundred thousand florins in first-rate securities." + +"Very well; and now for the conditions." + +"The Rossow estate, on your marriage, will be settled on the countess, +of course, but you will have equal rights to the revenues for your +life; Horkowka, in reversion, on the countess alone; while Drinkowce +and the floating capital will be settled on--on---" Bazanski stammered +and blushed. + +"On the lady's child by her first marriage--I understand," said Hajek +quietly. "But now for my conditions! I am quite agreed concerning +Rossow and Horkowka; but the boy has to be provided for out of the +personal property solely, while Drinkowce must be settled on me +absolutely. It shall be mine, whether there be any offspring of the +marriage or not; and it is to remain mine even in the event of a +dissolution." + +"Humph! old Bogdan is no fool!" + +"Quite sure of that; but neither am I! When shall I look for an +answer?" + +"To-morrow at noon. Shall we have another bottle now on the strength of +the prospects?" + +"No, not now; go and make sure of the prospects. Good evening to you." + +Bazanski gazed after the retreating figure with positive awe. "Ugh!" he +said at length, with a deep breath of admiration, "they were not far +wrong this morning. What a villain! what an incomparable villain!" +And, having thus unburdened his mind, he hastened away to the Villa +Antoniewicz.... + +At noon punctually the following day he presented himself again to Mr. +Hajek. "I have come to congratulate you!" he cried on the threshold. + +"Well, has your patron accepted my conditions?" + +"Entirely--excepting only Drinkowce. He is very sorry, but his little +grandson----" + +"Very well, that settles it. Excuse me, but I am busy, intending to +start to-night." + +"Start! whereto?" + +"To--anywhere, so long as it is far enough from here." + +"Then do not be in such a hurry! Let me have another word with the +family." + +"Very well. I will give you till to-morrow, but I cannot be detained +beyond that." + +Thaddy departed on his errand sadly, there was little hope of earning +his pay. He was almost certain that Herr von Antoniewicz would prove +unyielding; but it turned out differently. The Countess, in the first +place, chose to pronounce in the intended bridegroom's favour. "He is +good-looking; tolerably young, of good manners, and sufficiently a man +of the world not to annoy me with any prejudice!" Her father arrived at +a similar conclusion. "The fellow is of suitable stuff to manage the +estates; whether Drinkowce be his or not, it will be his interest to +pull along with us. I am old now, and cannot wait till as great a booby +as your first husband may chance to turn up as a suitor for your hand. +I would prefer an honest booby, of course; but a clever villain +meanwhile must not be despised. He shall not do _me_. I'll take care of +that!" + +And the following morning, Thaddeus, with a beaming face, burst into +the mandatar's presence. "Now I may congratulate you really," he cried. +"Drinkowce is yours!" + +"Very well," responded Hajek. "I am off on the spot to pay my respects +to my future father-in-law, and to my bride-elect. One thing, though, +before I leave, you will hold your tongue for the present. I might find +it useful to be believed in as a man of honour by some of the folk here +yet awhile!" + +"What a delightful joke!" cried Thaddy, full of laughter, and +brandishing the famous confederatka as he made his bow. But when the +door had closed upon him, an expression of admiring awe once more +settled on his features. "What a villain!" he murmured, "what an +incomparable villain!" + +Mr. Hajek's visit at the villa proved highly touching; that supreme +moment especially, when, in his capacity of accepted lover, he +imprinted a delicate kiss on the fair one's brow, a proceeding at which +Herr and Frau von Antoniewicz tossed their handkerchiefs before their +tearless eyes, whimpering affectedly, "Be happy, children; as happy as +we ourselves have been!" + +When the mandatar returned to his chambers he found on his table a note +from the district governor. "Favour me with a call at my private +residence at once," it said; "I have a communication of importance to +make to you." Hajek was surprised, and slightly fluttered. The die was +cast, his future secured, and if he stayed prudently at Colomea he had +scarcely anything to fear from Taras. And yet he trembled. What if +Taras had been caught, and he had sacrificed himself in vain--allowing +a lady of the countess's antecedents to address him as her promised +husband? Well, never mind, it was impossible to go back now, +considering the manner of his courting. He had cast in his lot with +these creatures and must abide by it. + +With a sense of expectation he went his way to the governor's. Herr von +Bauer received him politely. He was one of those officials, rather +numerous at that time, who considered abruptness a sort of armour to be +worn during office hours, but not required when off duty. The district +governor was quite genial within the precincts of his own fireside, and +all the more courteous now for remembering that he had put forth some +special bristles along with that armour in his previous interview with +the mandatar. "A pleasure to see you," he assured Mr. Hajek, shaking +hands vigorously. "I have some important news which will please you," +he said, winking mysteriously--"please you particularly." + +"Has Taras been caught?" inquired the mandatar. + +"Caught? Dear me, no! Why, who should have caught him? ... This is what +I wanted to tell you: You know the court sat to-day. We had an unusual +influx of landed proprietors and mandatars, and there was much talking +concerning Taras; in fact he seems the one topic all over the country. +They all agreed that his rising was most dangerous, because the +peasantry everywhere are devoted to him. There could be no doubt, they +assured me, but that the manor house at Zulawce would be attacked on +Sunday, and if he got hold of you, your life was not worth two +straws--not two straws, they said!" + +"Well," said the mandatar, with affected composure, "this may be +important to know, but I fail to see why it should please me." + +"No, no, of course, the pleasant part is coming--for yourself I mean, +not for me. I hate having things done in an irregular way. But I +suppose this is an exception." A groan escaped him. "Well, sir, I +called a meeting of the board--a special meeting, and it was resolved +to treat the case as a matter of unusual importance, attending to it, +therefore, on the spot--an example of despatch quite unprecedented in +my experience, I assure you. A commissioner will be sent to Zulawce as +early as next Tuesday--we must, if possible, have an exact report of +that speech--and a courier went off this very afternoon to inform the +brigadier-general at Stanislaw of the state of affairs, submitting to +him the necessity of ordering a company of infantry to Zulawce. This I +am sure----" + +"Is pleasant to know! so it is," interrupted the mandatar. "But might I +suggest----" + +"Yes, certainly; suggest away, sir," said the governor, waxing +impatient. There had been a sound of teacups from the adjoining +apartment. + +"It appears to be a general conviction that the manor house at Zulawce +is to be attacked on the night of Easter Sunday. In that case the +military, in order to be of any use should arrive at the place on +Sunday afternoon. But this is scarcely possible if it be infantry. This +is Thursday. The courier, at the earliest, will reach Stanislaw at +daybreak to-morrow. Now, supposing even the general attended to the +matter at once, and made out his order to the soldiers by ten----" + +"Or a quarter past," interrupted the governor, rushing into his office +armour evidently. "What are you driving at, sir?" + +"You will see presently," retorted the mandatar, nettled in his +turn. "Supposing the general made out his order to the nearest regiment +of infantry by ten o'clock, a detachment could not be off under +four-and-twenty hours, for they are quartered at Czortkow, and it will +be a two days' march for them to reach their destination--by Monday +morning at the earliest, that is. So, you see, the village could only +be protected against Sunday by means of the Palffy hussars, who are at +Zablotow, close at hand." + +"Sir," growled the governor, "are you fooling me? Am I the +brigadier-general? I am governor of this district, and my business is +to apply for military intervention if need be, but not to ask for +cavalry or artillery when there are no means of stabling the horses. +There are no large stables at Zulawce, so it must be infantry. They +shall be there when they can; or do you expect us to introduce new +regulations into the country just to suit _your_ need? What do you mean +by directing my attention to the distance, or to the length of time a +detachment will be on the march? Am I supposed to know that? Am I in +the general's coat to give his orders?" + +"No--in your own smoking cap and slippers," replied the mandatar +quietly, the words acting like magic. The old growler suddenly +remembered that he was not in his office, but at home, where civility +was due to a caller. And he put off his armour hastily. + +"Well--a case of unusual importance, I was saying...." The poor old +gentleman felt guilty, however, and was anxious to make reparation. "It +is a trouble altogether--this Taras--but I was going to add, I have +invited some of our people to dine with us on Sunday, and if you will +do me the honour, we shall be charmed, sir." + +He held out his hand to Mr. Hajek who put his fingers into it eagerly. +An invitation to the district governor's annual dinner when all the +elite of the place was assembled would have flattered him at any time; +but to a man who had just become engaged to a lady of the Countess +Wanda's reputation this was simply invaluable.... + +"So far he has not heard of it, evidently," the bridegroom elect said +to himself as he descended the stairs. "I daresay it will be no secret +by Sunday, and it will be as well for me to be seen then at the +governor's dinner! However, I need not care now for anybody's opinion, +any more than I need for Taras himself. It was foolish of me to excite +myself at all about the military movements. What does it matter to me +whether the Count's manor house be burnt or not, so long as myself and +my cash-box are safe out of it?" + +He was still pursuing this high-minded strain of thought, when, at the +end of the street, he came into collision with a figure rushing round +the corner in the opposite direction. But he saw at a glance that +apologies were needless, for it was only Thaddy whom he had sent flying +against the wall. + +"Oh, to be sure," cried the latter, rubbing his shoulder, "what +eagerness in a lover! Romeo going to visit Juliet, I'll be bound." + +"Oh no, I am going home; but you, I daresay, are making for the +cellars?" + +"Alas! I am not in the vein. I was lost in meditation, remembering a +certain conversation I once had with my illustrious half-brother, +Nicolas I., and how my life since----" + +"Nicolas I.! You don't mean to say that this is Thursday? I really was +forgetting.... But let me tell you, if you _do_ go to the cellars and +should not find any of your friends in the mood to treat you to a glass +of Moldavian for your story about Nicolas, I'll not have you try your +luck by publishing my engagement with the countess! If you breathe a +word of it, I shall deduct fifty florins from your expected pay. Just +bear that in mind. Good morning!" + +The Czar's half-brother stood stock still, overtaken by an evident +conflict. For Bogdan had just told him, "If by this time to-morrow the +whole town is not aware of the engagement, I'll have you kicked +downstairs when next you show your face here." A sore dilemma for the +nobly-born Thaddy--to be kicked downstairs or forego fifty of his +hard-earned florins! He would have submitted to the kicking willingly, +so long as it left him at liberty to remount those stairs after the +performance.... + +In a distracted state of mind, Thaddy entered the cellars, but the +company there was in good humour, greeting him uproariously. "Good +heavens," they cried, "are we to stand treat for hearing your romances +about Nicolas--this is Thursday!" He could not, of course, submit to +this taunt, and resolved, therefore, for once to keep to realities, +giving them an account of the mandatar's latest achievement, the plain +truth of it, with some exceedingly daring interpolations. But when he +added: "This Mr. Hajek is a villain ingrained, sirs!" there was not one +to dissent from the statement. + +Towards noon the following day the mandatar set out to repeat his call +at the villa, saying to himself as he crossed his threshold: "I shall +know within ten minutes whether Thaddy has kept the matter close or +not." And he did know before he had gone the length of the street! The +secretary of the local board, Mr. Wroblewski, was the first +acquaintance he met; but this gentleman appeared to have made a sudden +discovery upon the roof of the town hall, which required his intentest +gaze in that direction, whilst the chief postmaster, Nossek, another of +his acquaintances coming along, was lost in a contemplation of the +paving-stones, quite overlooking the mandatar in consequence. This was +a cut to the heart; but Hajek recovered himself very soon, holding his +head erect and stepping out courageously. "Once settled at Drinkowce," +he consoled himself, "these things will show in a different light." + +He was met in the Armenian's ante-chamber by the chosen bride herself; +she walked slowly, not for sweet modesty's sake, but only because she +was rather fat. That was a drawback to her charms; for the rest she had +sparkling eyes and a rare wig of golden hair, slightly reddish though. +She was in her ripest prime, like a cabbage-rose in September, when the +perfume of spring has fled and the petals have expanded, the season of +sweetness being gone. + +He kissed her hands, she offered him her face. "Come," she whispered, +"my parents await you, to settle the programme for Sunday." + +They were soon agreed that since the engagement was certain not to +remain a secret even till then, it behoved them to act a little drama +of innocence before the eyes of their guests. "We shall not ask many +people; just a select few," said Frau von Antoniewicz, Mr. Hajek +agreeing to this fervently, well knowing that not a dozen visitors +would be found forthcoming, if pressed ever so hard. + +"And now the programme for the evening," resumed the lady--"a select +few; we shall talk and have some music, but no dancing. When the clock +strikes ten my daughter will take her place by the piano to give us an +air of Cherubini's, after which you move up to her, complimenting her +on her exquisite voice; and, giving her your arm, you will lead her +into the smaller drawing-room, where the illumination will be +appropriately subdued. I shall have some things up from the +conservatory--palms and things, to represent a bower; a fauteuil will +be placed conveniently, and a low stool beside it. Wanda will sink +gracefully into the fauteuil; you will be at her feet on the stool--it +will be quite a picture, and there will be a whispering among the +company. This will be the moment when you must kneel, gazing at her +adoringly; she will start up, endeavouring to escape.--It will be +pretty if you can manage a blush, my dear; it is easy, you know, if you +hold your breath.--I shall be crossing the room accidentally, and shall +give a startled cry; whereupon you will take my daughter by the hand, +leading her up to me, saying, 'Best of mothers, give us your blessing,' +or some such suitable words. I shall be greatly touched, and shall say +something appropriate. So will Bogdan. Then we shall have supper; a few +toasts will have to be managed: long life to the lovers, and you must +reply, lifting your glass to Bogdan and me." + +"And then the curtain will fall," said Hajek, at which the wrinkled +dame lifted her finger saucily. "My dear Mr. Hajek," she said, "the +whole of life is but a comedy; who thinks differently is a fool. Then +why should I not arrange this little scene before the closing act of my +own life as merrily as I please, and you just be satisfied!" + +"Certainly," he said; "but I will stipulate for a comfortable hassock +to kneel upon." + +They laughed and went to the dining-room.... + +Considering how he was being cut by every one in the streets, the +mandatar would not have been in the least surprised to receive some +excuse from the district governor cancelling the invitation to his +dinner. But no message came, for the simple reason that Herr von Bauer +had quite forgotten he had asked the mandatar, and had not even told +his wife. The governor, therefore, was disagreeably surprised when, at +the appointed hour, Mr. Hajek presented himself among his guests, while +the 'district governess'--as his wife, on account of her overbearing +ways, was often called by her jocose acquaintances--flared up crimson +with annoyance. It seemed to her as if the eyes of all present were +filled with angry reproaches. The fact was, the mandatar had arrived at +the very moment when the company was enjoying the newest bit of +scandal, having learned by this time how he and the Countess Wanda, +with the help of Thaddy, had discovered their secret flame. It was an +awkward interruption; not the least so for Hajek himself. But he was +the only one who showed any presence of mind. He made his bow to the +company, some staring back at him utterly surprised, some completely +disgusted; and having kissed the unwilling hand of the lady of the +house, he seized the paralysed fingers of her lord, shaking hands with +a fine pretence of unconcern. Herr von Bauer, of course, submitted, +greeting him with a smile even--"a smile, upon my word," said the witty +Wroblewski, "like that of a convict being tickled." The governor was +endeavouring to do his duty. "Ah," he said, "I am surprised.... ahem, +delighted to see you.... very.... ah!" + +And then he recovered himself, perceiving that he owed it to his wife +to take upon himself the onus of this man's presence, and that he could +not expect any of his guests to entertain him. "Dearest Cornelia," he +was heard to say, "I am sure it slipped my memory, but I invited Mr. +Hajek--I asked him on Thursday--on _Thursday_, you know," he added, +pointedly, "and I am afraid I am going to monopolise him on account of +important business"--the mandatar keeping up his most amiable smile. + +He drew him into a corner. "I have heard this morning from the +brigadier-general by special messenger. A detachment of infantry has +been despatched to Zulawce, and will arrive there on Monday as you +calculated. But the general, besides this, has thought well to order +the hussars to be there by this evening, just as you proposed. He +thinks it is as well to be on the safe side." + +"Very commendable prudence, no doubt, since Taras seems determined----" + +"Determined? What is that to us! Who ever heard of cavalry being +ordered to a place where they find no stabling! It is no joke to +disregard established rules--none whatever! But I wash my hands of any +consequences--I do, indeed!" + +"And may I ask who will be sent on Tuesday, as you said, as your +commissioner?" + +"Kapronski. Well! what is that grimace for? We do things in proper +order. He conducted the inquiry there on the former occasion, he +may therefore be expected to be the man for it now. But--a happy +thought!--I am sure you could give him a hint or two." + +The governor rubbed his hands; it seemed a bright idea to set the two +least welcome of his guests at each other, thus rendering them harmless +for the rest of the company. And he gave a sign to Kapronski, who +obeyed with alacrity; for if it was an honour to be invited to the +governor's official dinner, it had, so far, not yielded him any +pleasure. The company was apt to overlook him, and people would appear +to labour under deafness when he addressed them. But being called upon +to enter into conversation with Mr. Hajek was like being lifted on to a +pedestal; for certainly this man stood lower now in the public +estimation than even Kapronski himself. So he approached him +accordingly, drawing up his fawning figure and assuming an expression +of patronage ludicrous to behold. + +"You have a favour to ask of me?" he began pompously. + +The mandatar gave him a look of cutting sarcasm. "You are mistaken, +sir!" + +"I--I misunderstood--a request to make?" Kapronski could not stand +being looked at boldly, and was slipping down from his pedestal +rapidly. + +"Nor yet a request, that I am aware," returned Hajek. "The governor +asked my opinion, or any advice I could give, concerning the personal +safety of the commissioner about to be despatched to Zulawce, and I am +ready to advise you." The mandatar had some trouble in keeping serious, +for Kapronski's features, besides recovering their wonted humility at a +stroke as it were, presented a ludicrous picture of most doleful +dismay. + +"Personal safety," lie stammered, "why, is there any danger?" + +"A great deal," said Hajek, confidently. + +Kapronski's face turned white, and red, and ashy grey. "I shall have an +escort," he faltered; "but if Taras should attack us on the road, I am +a dead man! There is no help----" + +His voice positively failed him. + +"None whatever," assented the mandatar. "Stop--yes, there is," he +added, a sudden thought having flashed through him--indeed a capital +thought, so simple and so clever withal that he was surprised it should +not have presented itself before. "There is!" he said. + +"Is there?" returned Kapronski, eagerly. + +"Yes, indeed! a sure means of saving yourself and me, and all honest +folks from this cut-throat. Let me remind you that his wife and +children are still at his farm. It will be natural, then, to billet +most of the soldiers upon her. But this is not enough! You must tell +her that she will have to answer for it on the gallows if her husband +hurts a hair of the mandatar's head--be sure and say the mandatar's! +She is in communication with him, no doubt, and----" + +"But this would be illegal!" + +"Well, that is for you to judge. I only give you a hint or two, out of +kindness. It is you who have to go to Zulawce, not I!" + +"Ah!" groaned Kapronski, "if it should get known, it would cost me my +place." + +"Well, tell her without witnesses, then you can give her the lie, if +need be. For the rest do as you please--_I_ am safe enough here." + +The conversation was interrupted! the governor inviting his guests to +move to the dining-room. "I have thought," he said, addressing the +pair, "it might be most agreeable for each of you if we put you +together." + +Kapronski bowed more humbly than ever, Hajek smiling blandly. He had +made up his mind to let everybody feel mortified, but not himself--he +was not going to be annoyed, not he! And he carried out his resolution; +easier for him, no doubt, than for a man of higher mettle. + +He drove home in the best of humours, and how he whiled away the rest +of his time, attuning his mind for the events of the evening, we have +had a glimpse of already. We need not describe the solemnities at the +villa, touching as they were, for we know the programme, which was +minutely followed. There were not many to witness the scene; but the +old dame had set her heart on the play-acting, and the mandatar, to +please her, fell in with her fancy. The manner of his kneeling to Wanda +was quite classical, and supper was consumed amid charming hilarity, +not forgetting some wonderful verses with which Thaddy astonished the +company. + +But when the guests had departed, a final and real surprise was in +store for the happy bridegroom. He was cooling his brow at the open +window, when suddenly he perceived his coachman, Jasko, in conversation +with a horseman a little way up the road. He could see that the +stranger wore the Huzul garb. The night was dark, and a faint gleam +only from the lighted house fell on the road, but Hajek nevertheless +recognised the horseman. "Good heavens!" he shrieked, "stop him! Seize +him!" + +Bogdan and the countess rushed up terrified; but the stranger also had +heard the alarm, and spurring his horse, he dashed away and was lost to +sight. + +"My coachman! I entreat you send for my coachman!" cried Hajek, beside +himself. Jasko was called in. "That was Wassilj Soklewicz you were +talking with just now?" said the mandatar, quaking. + +"Yes, sir," replied the man, wonderingly. + +"Don't you know he is one of the outlaws--one of Taras's band?" + +"Mercy on us!" cried the coachman, aghast. "He assured me he had taken +service with the mandatar at Prinkowce, and I believed him, telling him +all about ourselves on Tuesday and Thursday and this evening. I told +him: 'We need not fear Taras now, for we are going to marry a rich +lady, and shall live at Drinkowce. In the meantime, we are quite safe +at Colomea.' At which he laughed, telling me there was no saying what +might happen between now and the wedding; indeed soon----" + +"Soon! soon!" groaned the mandatar, falling back on a chair. It chanced +to be the fauteuil near the palms and things. The comedy was being +changed into tragedy. + +Bogdan recovered himself first. "I do not believe," he said, "that +Taras is in the neighbourhood and likely to attack you in your chambers +or on your way back to the town; but we will hold ourselves prepared +for the worst. Stay here for the night. I'll have the gates closed, my +men can be armed, and I will send for assistance to the main +guardhouse." + +And so he did, but the protection he was able to hold out to his worthy +son-in-law proved of the poorest nevertheless. The officer on duty sent +back orders not to trouble him with idle tales; and, concerning his own +servants, Bogdan knew that they would throw down their arms at the +first sight of danger. + +"If Taras indeed were to come, _I_ cannot protect you," he confessed to +the mandatar. "We are not without neighbours, but none of them would +stir to help us." + +And with this agreeable assurance they kept watching through the night. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + THE BANNER UNFURLED. + + +The excitement of the people of Zulawce rose steadily as the Easter sun +was sinking to its rest. The cottages stood forsaken; the community had +gathered beneath the linden. The men were fully armed and many a fierce +threat was uttered against the "villain in the iron closet"; but the +peasants seemed fully resolved to take no part whatever in the coming +work of revenge. None of the inmates or dependents of the manor-house +were present. The under-steward, Boleslaw, had ordered the gates to be +closed, addressing his men in the courtyard. "Let us not act +foolishly," he said. "There is no doubt but that Taras will come, since +the report of the iron closet is so fully believed in; but he will not +harm us, if we open the doors to him to let him see that there is no +such thing as an iron closet in the place, and that the mandatar is not +with us. Our only fear is that the peasantry may grow revengeful, and +attack us when he is gone. Let us be ready to resist them, but we will +not fight Taras." + +Nor had any of Anusia's people joined the public gathering; her orders +had been sufficient. She herself was sitting in the large family-room, +holding little Tereska on her lap, while her boys pressed close to her +with an indefinable fear. The children dared not speak, for the mother +seemed sunk in that strange stupor which had kept her to the bed of +sickness but lately. + +Father Leo and the little popadja found her thus. A greeting was +exchanged, but conversation would not flow. It was impossible to talk +of indifferent matters, and they shrank from touching upon that which +filled their hearts. So they sat silent, a red light streaming in +through the windows; for the sun, like a glowing ball of fire, was +sinking behind the fir-covered uplands. + +"How red it looks," whispered little Wassilj, pointing to the parting +glory. + +"It forbodes blood," said Halko, under his breath. + +"Blood," echoed the poor mother with staring eyes, pressing her +children closer. + +Father Leo could bear it no longer. He went near to her, taking her +hand gently. "Anusia," he said, "do _you_ believe----?" + +"What do I know," she interrupted him, sharply. "Am I of the avenger's +band? I am a widow, anxious to keep the peace for my children's sake." + +Leo paced the room. "That is well," he said, presently. "I wish all the +people were like you. They say they will not join him, but I fear their +own wild disposition will be too much for them." + +Anusia made no answer, and he sat down again in silence. Thus they +continued, amid the sinking shadows, in the darkening room. + +But suddenly they started, and the children gave a cry of alarm. There +had been a tapping at the window which overlooked the garden. It was +the window to the west catching the last glimmer of light; no one +outside was visible, but as they gazed a hand was lifted cautiously +from below, once more tapping the pane. + +"It is father!" cried the children, and the pope rose. + +"Hush, children," said Anusia, in a whisper, but so impressively that +they forthwith obeyed. "Please keep quiet, Father Leo. It is not Taras, +but his messenger ... sit still ... I am his wife and must answer when +he calls." + +Another tap, and Anusia glided from the room. They heard the outer door +creak on its hinges, and knew she was in the garden. + +The children fell to sobbing, but the popadja put her arms round them, +beginning to say her prayers, good soul. Leo had risen, listening +intently; but not a sound was heard till the firm footstep of the +returning woman fell on their ear. She entered, carrying a lamp in her +hand. They could see her face; the old look of icy calm had once more +settled on it. + +"Is it good news?" questioned Leo, eagerly. + +"Yes--that is to say in some respects." She smiled bitterly. "Anyhow, +pope, you will be able to do a good service to your parishioners." + +"I am most willing--what is it?" + +"Go and tell them to go home quietly, for their own sakes." + +"I have told them, and tried my best already. Will you tell me what +Taras----?" + +"No," she said, fiercely; "I must have intercourse with him--I am his +wife; but no one else shall, if I can prevent it. Try yet again, pope; +for God's sake, do!" + +Father Leo saw his wife home, and hastened to join his expectant +parishioners. But the people insisted they must see Taras storm the +castle; he was doing it as their own avenger; how should they forbear? +The long hours of waiting, and the quantity of spirits which had been +consumed, had but added to their excitement; exhortation availed not, +and with a sigh the pope desisted. + +It was between ten and eleven in the evening. Away in the district town +the mandatar was about to undergo the graceful process of kneeling to +the Countess Wanda. The night lay deep and still on mountain and plain. + +A strange sound broke on the stillness, indistinct at first, but +gaining in force. It was as though a mighty waterfall somewhere in the +distance had suddenly begun to roar. + +"Hark!" cried a hundred voices, "what is it?" "He is coming!" exclaimed +the butcher. "No; listen!" said another. + +The noise grew perceptibly, as though volumes of water were being added +to that far-off cataract. The upland echoes awoke in response, and it +was difficult to say whence the sound proceeded. + +"A host of them coming from the mountains!" decided one, presently. +"No, from the plains--listen!" cried another. + +It was like a low rumble of thunder, in the direction of the river +unmistakably. The very ground began to vibrate, and the dull noise ever +and anon was broken by the quick, sharp sound of a trumpet. + +"Horsemen!" a voice cried suddenly. "The hussars! Save yourselves." +"No, stay," burst in another; "who should forbid our standing here +quietly? Save yourselves!" and the cry was taken up repeatedly; "these +hussars are worse than the devil!" + +But the people seemed nailed to the spot, some pushing this way, some +that; the enclosing darkness, the state of semi-drunkenness most were +in, and a knowledge that a squadron of soldiers was bursting upon them, +robbed them of all self-possession. + +"Go to your homes," the pope kept crying, despairingly. He had caught +hold of the torch which served to illumine the inn, and wildly urged +the people. But it seemed too late. Already the first of the soldiers, +four horsemen in advance of the troop, had reached the place, pulling +up their steeds at the near sight of the heaving, howling mass of +villagers. Two of the hussars lifted their pistols, firing into the +air. + +The shots hit no one, but took full effect on the excited minds, +producing a wild panic in some, rousing rage and defiance in others. +"Save yourselves," was heard again. "We are not going to be killed like +sheep; take to your guns, men!" roared others, and bloodshed appeared +unavoidable. + +The imminent danger inspired Father Leo with an unwonted power. He +forced a way through the people with his right arm, some falling back +before the blazing torch in his left, and thus he got to the head of +the crowd just as the body of soldiers galloped up the street, led by +an officer, sword in hand. It was Captain Mihaly; and at the sight of +the pale man in priestly dress, standing with a flaring torch between +the approaching horse and the overtaken crowd, he called to his men to +stop. The troop halted almost face to face with the people. +"Surrender!" exclaimed the officer. + +But Father Leo lifted his hands. "Sir captain," he cried in German, his +voice rising above the turmoil behind him, "this is not the band of +Taras, but only the people of this village; they will disperse at +once." + +"Then the bandit is not among you?" + +"No!" + +"But your people seem to be waiting for him--to assist him, I daresay." + +"No; it is their curiosity only." + +"I'll teach them better, then! Tell them I give them five minutes' +grace, after which time my men will have leave to cut down any one +about the streets at this late hour." + +The pope repeated the orders in the people's own language; shrieks and +curses were the answer. But, even though they might have been willing, +most of the people could not at once free themselves from the +struggling crowd, and some refused to stir, in sheer defiance if not +for love of fight. The pope kept urging, but in vain. A few only +escaped; the confusion was no wise diminished. + +The captain's patience appeared exhausted. The word was given, the +trumpet sounded, and, brandishing their sabres, the hussars charged the +crowd, which fell back amid a deafening tumult of shrieks and groans +and efforts of resistance. Father Leo was flung against the inn, his +head striking the door-post so violently that he staggered bleeding and +stunned with the blow. He was unable to see what happened, for the +darkness seemed denser than before, but the sounds which fell on his +ear filled him with dismay. He had suffered much of late, but trouble +seemed culminating now. + +He could not quite tell how long it lasted; the noise decreased, the +hussars making their way towards the farms; presently there was +silence, save for the groans of some who evidently had been hurt in the +fray. His own head was bleeding and his limbs felt heavy, but he shook +off the lethargy, and pushing open the door of the inn called for help. + +There was no answer. Some few had taken refuge in the parlour, and the +innkeeper's family were hiding in corners; the pope had to repeat his +calling, and then only a lad appeared with a rushlight in his trembling +hand. + +The pope made his way into the house, conjuring the frightened people +to lend him their assistance. A couple of torches were lighted and +reluctant help was given. Matters outside were not quite so bad as +Father Leo had anticipated. Five only were lying there, more or less +severely wounded: four villagers and one of the hussars. The latter +evidently was in the worst plight, a bullet, in an almost hand-to-hand +encounter, had gone through his shoulder. Father Leo saw to him first, +ordering him to be moved into the inn. An old man was attended to next, +he had a sabre-cut on his forehead. The other three were women who had +fallen beneath the hoofs of the horses, but were not badly hurt. + +Leo set himself to bind up the wounds as well as he could, aided by +Avrumko and Maxym Bobra, a soldier on furlough; and while they were +thus occupied the troop of horsemen were heard returning. A trumpet +sounded. "The signal for dismounting," whispered Maxym to the pope, and +almost immediately the door of the inn parlour was flung open. The +officer entered, followed by some half-dozen of his men. + +"Bring out torches and some faggots!" he cried to the innkeeper, +turning to give a look at the wounded. + +The pope met him. "Captain," he said modestly, "it might be well to +send a messenger to Zablotow, the doctor is badly needed." + +"Got our own surgeon," was the gruff reply; and, having given orders +for the military Esculapius to attend, the officer stood over the +wounded soldier. + +"Nice sort of 'curiosity' this on the part of your peaceful sheep," he +said, presently. But Father Leo forbore answering, busying himself +about the sufferers. + +The surgeon entered, examined the wounds, and prepared to dress them. +"The peasant will get over it," he said; "but this man of ours will +hardly do so, a bullet having pierced his lung." + +"Then the churls shall pay for it, by Jove!" returned the officer with +rising passion; "and so shall you, sir pope--you have deceived me!" + +Leo looked him in the face quietly. "I shall be ready to answer +for anything to-morrow," he said; "I will now go along the village +street--there may be other sufferers." + +The captain somehow felt disarmed. "You are bleeding yourself, your +reverence," he said more gently, almost abashed. + +But Father Leo turned away in silence, leaving the inn with Maxym Bobra +and one or two other men. + +The village, which but lately had been the scene of so wild an uproar, +lay still as death; a number of soldiers had settled round a watch fire +outside the inn, a similar guard being stationed in front of the manor +house. The lurid flames rising from these two spots were the only +lights visible. The sentries patrolling the village with cocked pistols +found no cause of alarm. Neither did good Father Leo, for no one seemed +to require his aid except a woman lying terror-stricken at her own +cottage door. + +He went home, poor Fruzia receiving him with a cry of horror at the +sight of his pale, blood-stained countenance. But she, whom lesser +troubles would readily overpower, now recovered herself, courageously. +"I will not murmur," the faithful wife was saying, with trembling lips, +hastening to dress his wound, "you have but done your duty." Nor did +she raise the slightest objection on his declaring he would sit up +through the night. "I must indeed," he added, "I sadly fear we shell +hear of farther trouble; some wounded or dying man may send for me." + +And so it proved. In the small hours of the morning a messenger arrived +begging him to take the sacrament to the smithy, since Marko had not +many minutes to live. He made all possible speed, but death was before +him; the towering giant who but a few hours before had spoken so +manfully, would never lift his chirping voice again. He had been +foremost among those who opposed the soldiers, a sabre-cut had disabled +him, and as he endeavoured to drag himself home after the fray a bullet +caught him in the back, inflicting his death-wound. He reached the +smithy, but only to die. Father Leo offered what consolation he could +to the bereaved widow, who in tearless grief held fast the dead man's +hand. "Peace!" she replied, gloomily: "there is but one comfort left; I +shall know how to use his gun, and the hour of reckoning will come." + +Such, indeed, was the frame of mind of most of the people when the good +pope in the early morning went his round of the cottages. Few of the +villagers had been wounded or hurt, but one and all were burning with +resentment. And the strange quiet, blending with their wrath, appeared +to him more alarming than the turbulent anger he was accustomed to. "We +have suffered wrong," they said, "and we shall pay it back. We cannot +do so without a leader, but we may trust Taras. If we waited for him in +vain last night, it was no doubt because the mandatar evidently is not +at the house--he would have shown his cowardly face under the +protection of the military if he were hiding in the place! But no +matter, Taras will now be coming for our sakes." + +On the afternoon of Easter Monday a body of infantry relieved the +hussars, the officer in command proving himself both judicious and +kind. On learning from the pope how matters stood, he readily promised +to spare the villagers as much as possible; and since the manor house, +the protection of which was the main object, offered plenty of room, he +would have the men quartered there--all but a few, at least, he added, +whom, according to special instructions, he would have to billet on +Taras's farm. "I am sorry," he said, "to make acquaintance of this +man's family in so unpleasant a way, for it went to one's heart to hear +him speak of them." + +"Do you know Taras?" inquired Father Leo, wonderingly. + +"Yes. I am Captain Stanczuk, and acted as interpreter when he was +admitted to the Emperor's presence at Vienna." + +The peasants looked on with a savage gloom as the "Whitecoats" made +themselves at home in the village, their anger blazing forth when they +learned that the officer actually was the son of a Podolian pope. +Anusia received her uninvited guests after a similar fashion, treating +the officer, first to a withering look, and then to her utmost +contempt. The captain had come in person, hoping to smooth matters, but +the woman seemed beyond conciliation. + +Yet she trembled visibly when Father Leo whispered to her that her +visitor was the same captain who had assisted Taras at Vienna, and a +deep flush overspread her face. + +"What is it?" inquired the pope, surprised. "He is not likely to harm +you, seeing he was kind to Taras." + +"Yes, yes," she groaned; "I am all the more sorry for him." But her +lips closed, and the old stony expression settled on her face. + +That same evening the two who on the previous day had opposed each +other so strenuously concerning the attitude to be adopted by the +village--Wassilj, the butcher, and Hritzko Pomenko--went from farm to +farm, from cottage to cottage, evidently of one mind. "On account of +the Whitecoats there can be no general meeting," they said; "but we ask +you individually, Are you satisfied that tomorrow morning we should +start for the mountains, to call hither Taras in the name of the +community, for the avenging of this wrong? And do you pledge yourselves +to help him?" Every one of the peasants assented, most of them readily, +and some for very fear of the prevailing opinion. The horizon hung +heavy with bursting clouds. + +But the pope only heard of it when the two had started on the Tuesday, +and the good man found himself in a painful plight. Should he inform +the captain, causing more stringent measures to be adopted against the +village, besides being the means of bringing two honest men to grievous +punishment? Should he keep silence and let the mischief be done? He +came to see that, of the two evils, this latter certainly was the +worst, and therefore imparted to the officer what was brewing, but +without mentioning names. + +The captain smiled. "I know all about it," he said, "and more than you +tell me. That corporal, Constantino Turenko, has been before you, +embellishing his report, no doubt, with even more than the truth. But +let me assure your reverence that my measures have been taken with the +utmost circumspection; I hardly needed such information to be prepared +for any exigency. I shall not have recourse to harsh treatment; and +though that corporal has taken it upon himself so to advise me, I shall +not prohibit the public funeral of the smith to-day." + +But this mournful occasion brought no cause of disturbance. Nearly all +the village attended, and Father Leo would fain have poured out his +heart had the widow not begged him to forego the usual discourse. "My +husband shall indeed have a funeral sermon by and by," she said, "not +in words, but in gun-shots." + +On the evening of this day, also, two men went the round of the +village, Alexa Sembrow and Wilko Sembratowicz. "It has been announced," +they said, "that to-morrow we have to expect a man of the law to take +our deposition with regard to Taras's speech. Now Taras himself has +desired us to make it known, but we consider the transactions of the +general assembly are no lawyer's business, and we propose to refuse +information. Do you agree?" which they all did, none having the +slightest compunction on this point. + +Whilst the inhabitants of Zulawce were thus preparing to circumvent the +law after their own fashion, Mr. Ladislas Kapronski, the district +commissioner, with his office-clerk behind him, was being driven +towards the contumacious parish. He was seated in an open car, an armed +constable on either side of him, but nowise at his ease; indeed, so +harassed was his appearance, that the simple country folk by the +roadside, unable to guess at his position by his looks, kept wondering +what so respectable an individual could have done to be taken to prison +for! A coward every inch of him, he certainly did not show to advantage +with an escort of constables about him. + +Nor did the rising sun of another day enhance his spirits; for was he +not approaching that desperate village? his craven imagination +conjuring up the most lively scenes of the regiment being murdered to a +man by that awful Taras. He quite gasped with relief on beholding some +of the soldiers patrolling by the Pruth, and their leader, a sergeant, +assured him, somewhat surprised, that the regiment, so far, was alive +and the people tolerably quiet. + +This account seemed cheering, and he fell to determining his mode of +action. He would try, in the first place, to bully Anusia; for if the +mandatar's advice in this respect was illegal, it was nevertheless +useful, and this was not a case to stickle for technical correctness, +when positively one's life was in danger, the amiable man said to +himself. He instructed his driver, therefore, to put him down near +Taras's farm; and, to the astonishment of the constables, he went on +his errand alone. The beating of his heart was known to himself only. +"No doubt she is a termagant of a woman," he murmured, but face her he +must. + +He was fortunate in finding her alone in the common sitting-room. She +gave a searching look at the man, who entered her presence with an +uncertain step. + +"I am the district commissioner," Kapronski stammered. + +"I am aware of the fact," said Anusia. "What may be your pleasure?" + +Her manner was not exactly calculated to rouse any latent courage; +nevertheless he gathered himself up with an effort, saying hastily: "I +am the bearer of a message from the Board of magistrates. Your husband +is a miscreant. Unfortunately we cannot just lay our hands on him; but +you and your children and this farm are within our reach. If Taras +dares hurt a hair of my head--of my head, do you hear?--or anybody +else's, your property will be confiscated, and you shall answer for him +to the law. We know you have communication with him; so just send him +word!" + +The woman had listened quietly--almost with indifference. "Yes, yes," +she muttered, when he had finished, "I understand you! All right," she +added aloud, "your message shall be delivered." + +"Soon?" + +"At once." + +With this comfortable assurance Kapronski made all possible speed to +regain his car. "So far, so good," he said, rejoicing, "a reasonable +woman after all! I wonder if I had better have the place watched to +find out how Taras is being communicated with; it might be an easy mode +of discovering his whereabouts, and a feather in my cap with the Board. +But perhaps I had better not disturb the woman in sending so sensible a +message!" And therewith he ordered his driver to take him to the +judge's next. + +But Jewgeni, unequal to the mental conflict of deciding whether his +valiant brother or the will of the parish should prevail, had settled +the question by beating his retreat to the public house at Zablotow. +Constantine, however, was at home, and readily dictated to the +commissioner's clerk a towering heap of invectives against all +authority, whether in heaven or on earth, declaring such to be a +faithful report of Taras's speech. But he was the only witness +forthcoming; what further deposition Kapronski could procure was more +amusing than valuable. Red Schymko, for instance, invited him politely +to be seated, and then harangued him for an hour concerning Taras's +personal appearance; but when desired to give his version of the speech +in question, he protested with voluble regrets that his memory had +failed him from the day he was born, and never a word could he +remember. Most of the peasants, however, spurned the idea of thus +humbugging the commissioner, flatly declaring they were no tell-tales. + +The day passed, and although Kapronski had obtained nothing beyond the +corporal's deposition, he decided, with the approach of evening, that +he had better return now to those who had sent him. There was no time +to be lost, if he meant to pass the most dangerous part of the way +before nightfall. + +The road from Zulawce to Zablotow runs at first along the Pruth, in a +northerly direction, making a sudden bend eastward and traversing the +plain. The commissioner's car had reached this bend, and daylight was +fast vanishing, when one of the constables suddenly rose from his seat, +giving a searching look across the river. + +"What is it?" cried Kapronski, clutching the man's arm; he was +short-sighted, and could not see for himself. + +"Some dozen horsemen," replied the constable, "Huzuls by the look of +them--just bursting from yonder cover and making for the ford." + +The commissioner could now distinguish the dark figures approaching. +"Let us return," he gasped. + +"Impossible," declared the constables. "They will have crossed the +river before we could out-flank them." Then to the driver: "Make what +speed you can to Zablotow." + +And the car shot on quick as lightning, passing the fields of +Debeslawce. But the sound of hoofs was carried after them; the horsemen +had crossed the ford and were coming on in a quick gallop. The distance +between them was fast lessening, and voices could be distinguished. The +commissioner had closed his eyes, well-nigh swooning. + +"Stop!" cried the men in pursuit. "Stop, or we shall fire!" + +"Drive on!" urged the constables. But the car stopped, the coachman +dropping the reins. "I have not undertaken to be killed like a dog," he +muttered. "Besides, there is no escaping this Taras!" + +Another moment and the horsemen were on the spot, surrounding the +commissioner's party with pointed pistols. A dark-complexioned fellow, +lithe and graceful, with the look of an eagle, appeared to be the +leader. "Hand over your muskets," he ordered the constables, and they +obeyed. + +"You may take yourselves off, then; it is not you we want, only this +gentleman of the quill. Be so good as to descend, Mr. Commissioner." + +"For pity's sake," whined Kapronski. + +"We are not going to kill you," said the eagle-eyed leader, with a look +of disdain. "Our orders are to take you to our captain, Taras, who +wishes to speak to you. He would have come himself had it been worth +his while. Have the goodness, then, to descend." + +Seeing a pistol pointed at him, the commissioner could not but rise, +yet his feet would not carry him, and he had to be lifted to the +ground. + +"Are you able to ride?" inquired the leader of the troop, beckoning at +the same time to one of his men, who was holding a small, shaggy horse +by the bridle. "Taras is sure to regret that he cannot place a carriage +at your disposal, but this animal won't throw you." + +The commissioner groaned. + +"Lift him into the saddle," commanded the leader, "and strap him fast. +Two of you take him between you." + +It was done. The eagle-eyed chief nodded approvingly, and, turning to +the constables and the clerk, he wished them good evening and a happy +journey. + +They drove on gladly enough, and, looking back presently, could see the +mounted Huzuls disappearing in the shadows, the wretched commissioner +in their midst. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + GATHERING STRENGTH. + + +The steep, narrow path which from Zulawce winds westward into the +uplands, is not without danger to the pedestrian, but safe enough to +the small, sure-footed mountain pony of the Huzuls. Here and there it +takes you into one of those cool, dusky clefts which separate the +terraced heights, leading for the most part straight across the +mountains, so that each sudden rise is succeeded by an equally +precipitous descent, and the traveller would hardly imagine he were +nearing the very top of the chain, if every successive ridge he gained +did not show him a wider and more glorious expanse of the plain left +behind. For the view is open from every summit where the growing copse +wood is swept away or kept low by the terrific eastern gales which +burst upon these elevated regions from the broad level between the +Dniester and the Don; tall bracken and giant trees closing in the path +elsewhere, one particular spot excepted, where it winds between bare +rocks of a brownish yellow and strangely shaped. + +This is the Red Hollow, some half-day's journey from Zulawce. +Traversing it, you would most likely follow the main path, westward +still, to the Black Water and into the Marmaros beyond; indeed, few +travellers, on reaching the centre of this rocky glen, where beneath a +stunted fir a small red cross is to be seen, would strike off at right +angles on what could scarcely be called a path. It is the poorest of +tracks, now ascending boldly, now descending abruptly amid boulders and +crumbling stones; and the traveller who loves his life, having ventured +so far, would do well to surrender himself to the safer instincts of +his pony. It is a desperate attempt at best; but whoever has dared it +will remember it with rapture. For having traversed a wilderness of +nature's _debris_, you pass a rocky entrance overlooking a valley, the +very home of beauty bright and still, wondrously fair, and its like +hardly to be found even amid the glories of the Carpathians. + +Lovely beech woods enclose a small lake of clearest blue; the sheltered +slopes around are covered with wild flowers, in a profusion which is +rare even in the lower valleys; and between bright leaves, in due +season, the luscious, deep-coloured strawberries abound. Eastward the +lake has an outlet, a tumbling brook making its way through a narrow +cleft towards the Pruth, while all around from the slopes silvery rills +come down, just ruffling the blue mirror which receives them. Above and +beyond, this gem of mountain scenery is overhung with rugged peaks and +solemn fir woods, looking down in proud protection upon this most +favoured spot. The people round about have learned to call it again by +its ancient name, "The Crystal Springs;" but in the days we write of it +came to be known as "The Waters of Taras." + +Here was his camp--hither he brought his men on that Palm Sunday of +1839. + +The place was well chosen, secluded enough for safety, except in case +of treason; a natural fastness, too, which could be held against almost +any attack, and yet not far from the lowlands, for in following that +outlet of the lake the sedgy banks of the Pruth might be reached in +three hours. Moreover, the Red Hollow and its neighbourhood is the +best-stocked hunting ground in these game-haunts; a fact not to be +overlooked by a captain of outlaws, determined to make honest provision +for his men. + +For the matter of that, however, it seemed at first as though Taras, +apart from this, need never be at a loss how to feed his men. The news +of his arrival by the Crystal Springs had scarcely had time to spread +before the dwellers in the glens round about arrived with a friendly +greeting of bread, sheep's flesh, butter, and milk for the new +neighbour. Taras knew what such hospitality cost these people, and he +had money enough and to spare; but he could not refuse their gifts, +well aware that they would look upon it as an insult to be resented. +Nor was he pleased that their young men should offer to join him, bold +and fearless as they were, huntsmen and shepherds of the mountain +wilds, accustomed to any hardship, and seasoned to any storm. Their +sympathy with the avenger was more the love of fighting than anything +else; but they were honest, and Taras knew they would not forsake him +in any plight, still less play him false in trouble. Nevertheless, to +most of them he turned a deaf ear. He knew that these half-savage +hordes were strangers to common obedience; he could never have trained +them to the discipline he intended to uphold, and though he might +perchance have taught them to respect property, he knew there was no +trusting them with defenceless women anywhere. + +Three of them, however, he admitted, because he believed himself +certain of their inmost souls. These were a couple of huntsmen who had +acted as his guides on his former visits, and the "Royal Eagle," Julko +Rosenko, youngest son of Hilarion the Just, who dwelt by the Black +Water. His handsome presence, rare strength and activity, together with +a courage so dauntless and daring that it was conspicuous even among +that reckless tribe, had gained him the proud name he bore. And of the +Huzuls who offered themselves to Taras he was the only one actuated not +solely by a spirit of defiant adventurousness, but by a deep longing to +take vengeance for violence he had suffered. When a mere youth, he had, +by order of a military captain, been dragged from a fair to the +barracks at Wiznitz, and declared fit for service, against all show of +right. His fine figure had thus brought him to grief. In vain he +remonstrated, assuring his captors he was not even near the legal age +for conscription; their answer was: "We have no wings, young eagle, to +fetch you from your eyry when you may have reached the age. You had +better submit; be reasonable, and you will enjoy the life." But the +young man refused to be "reasonable;" no punishment, no bullying, could +force him to take the military oath. For eight months he held out, when +the visit of a higher officer brought sharp censure to the captain and +liberation to the youth. He returned to the mountains thirsting for +revenge; but Julko loved his father, Hilarion the Just, too dearly to +grieve him by joining those who were looked upon as the refuse of the +plains; he did not become a hajdamak, the repressed fury eating the +deeper into his passionate heart. Now, at last, the longed-for hour of +retribution seemed to have come: to join the avenger was no shame, but +a glory. + +At first then Taras's band consisted of seven in all--the three Huzuls, +his own two men, and the youths, Lazarko and Wassilj, the latter of +whom was almost always absent reconnoitring. Old Jemilian would shake +his faithful head sadly, because the expected reinforcements were slow +in appearing; and when Wassilj, after his first day's scouting, made a +glowing description of the enthusiasm he had met with, the old man +laughed grimly, saying: "I doubt not but they will find us worthy of +song, even when we have come to the gallows." Taras was unmoved; his +heart having gone through the heaving waters, seemed to have gained the +shore of a mysterious calm. He was silent, solemn, and though a rare +smile might come to his lips, it never reached his eyes; but that +expression of brooding thought, of agonised conflict, had left him. +When the news was brought that Anusia had gone out of her mind he shook +his head. "I do not believe it," he said to Jemilian; "I know what one +can bear and not go mad. I know it from my own experience, but now the +worst is over. I have lost much, but I have recovered myself." And he +would cheer his followers: "Never fear, we shall lack neither work, nor +fit hands to do it." Whereupon he ordered the construction of a +storehouse, a shelter for horses, and barracks to lodge thirty men. + +Nor was his confidence mistaken; not a week passed before helpers +poured in, one of the very first being a man whom neither Taras nor any +one else in that country would have expected to volunteer for such +service. + +It was early in the morning, the rocky heights and the firs above them +stood forth against a background of brilliant light; but the lake below +and the meadows on the gentle slopes had just caught the first rosy +glimmer of day. Taras had relieved the "Royal Eagle," who had done +sentry duty through the night, and was sitting with his gun between his +knees on the solitary rock against which the barracks were to be +erected. He sat motionless, his eye commanding the fair valley from the +rocky entrance on the one side to the shrubby cleft on the other, +through which the lake found its outlet. The dewy stillness of early +morning hung on bush and brae. But suddenly he bent forward, listening. +There were steps approaching from the Red Hollow, distant yet, but +falling heavily on the rocky soil, as of a traveller unused to such +rough descent. The dark outline of a human figure grew visible +presently amid the yellowish rocks, and Taras scanned the new comer. + +"A Jew!" he exclaimed, with great surprise; "and he carries a firelock! +what on earth can he want?" + +Well might Taras wonder, for a Jew bearing arms had never crossed his +vision. Men of that persuasion in the East have a horror of weapons of +any kind, and any humble Israelite who may be met with occasionally in +the mountain-wilds is but a pedlar, trudging with his bundle of stuffs +from homestead to homestead with no ground of safety but the goodness +of the God of Abraham or the knowledge of his own abject poverty. But +the son of Jacob now coming hither carried his head high, and his +back was bowed by no other burden than the musket, the barrel of +which caught sparkles from the rising sun. He was young, tall, and +broad-shouldered; and if his ample caftan gave sorry proof of the +difficult path he had come by, there was no weariness in his movements. +With undaunted step he approached the hetman. + +"I greet you, Taras." he said. "I recognised you at first sight, +although I daresay you have forgotten me; you used to be kind to me +when I was a boy." + +Taras gave a searching glance at the face before him, sharp-featured, +gloomy, and furrowed as with terrible experience. "Nashko!" he cried, +"is it you? Little Nashko, the son of the innkeeper at Ridowa?" + +He held out both his hands, and the Jew caught them, his face trembling +with delight. "I could hardly be sure of such a welcome," he said. "It +is I indeed--your old friend Nashko, son of Berish!" + +"But how is it?" cried Taras, making him sit beside him. "When I left +my own village, twelve years ago, I cut you a reed-pipe to console you, +and now----" + +"Now," continued the Jew, with a dark smile, "it is a wonder I am not +grey-haired, to judge from this face of mine. I am but four-and-twenty, +Taras, but an old man through sorrow and despair." + +"Things have gone ill with you? You have suffered wrong, and come to me +to redress it?" + +Nashko shook his head, yet added quickly, with a scrutinising look in +Taras's face. "And if it were so, would you help me, though I am a +Jew?" + +"Can you doubt it?" exclaimed Taras, warmly. "Does the wrong-doer +inquire into his victim's faith? How, then, should I? As they inflict +wrong where they list, it is for me to right it wherever I find it. And +I would help you, even if I hated the Jews. But I do not hate you, +because, from a child upward, I have striven to be just. And whenever I +heard people speak ill of them, I thought of you, Nashko, and of your +father. Old Berish lived among us honestly and like one of ourselves. +He drew a modest livelihood from his tavern, and tilled his fields with +diligence. The people of Ridowa respected him, therefore, as they would +any other good man among them. And were not you as merry-hearted and +plucky a boy as any in the village? The only difference was that you +wore no cross, but the Jewish fringe.[6] And I always thought, it is +not the difference of race; but the Jews behave to us just as we behave +to them. Say on, then; what can I do for you?" + +"Thank you, heartily," said the Jew, again seizing his hand. "But I +have not come to beg for your help. It is too late for that, both as +regards myself and my sister. And if there were a chance of revenge I +would do the deed alone! I have come with another prayer, and the words +you have just spoken give me courage to ask it. Let me join your band, +Taras!" + +"You!" cried the outlaw, starting from his seat in sheer amazement. "A +Jew fighting for the right in the mountains. This has never been heard +of since the beginning of days. To be sure, you have grown up like one +of ourselves, as I have just been saying; still it is unheard-of. Poor +fellow, what grievous wrong you must have suffered!" + +"Grievous, indeed; but after all it is only what has happened to others +before and will happen again," replied the Jew, his voice quivering +with the deep trouble of his soul. "But while some can rise from their +shame and forget it, others are undone for ever.... You will scarcely +remember my sister Jutta?" + +"O! yes," returned Taras, eagerly, "a dear little golden-haired +thing--the prettiest child of the village." + +"Well, she grew but the fairer as she grew in years. My father and I +guarded her as the apple of our eye; my mother having died early, he +and I brought her up, and she was the joy and pride of our life. +Several respectable men had asked her in marriage, although we were +poor, but my father would not give her to any of them; none seemed good +enough for our sweet girl. He regretted it sorely in his dying hour, +and could only take comfort in the sacred promise I made him, +henceforth to watch over her with double care and let my own happiness +in life be subordinate to hers. I kept my promise. Our farm brought in +little, and the tavern still less, because the lord of the manor +increased the rent from year to year; nevertheless, I remained at +Ridowa, because my going forth to look for a living elsewhere would +have obliged Jutta to seek service with strangers. For her sake also I +remained unmarried, that she might remain mistress of the house and my +only care. For both these reasons the Jews of Barnow were dissatisfied +with me, for, in the judgment of my people, it is well-nigh a wrong to +remain unwedded, and nearly as bad to live apart from one's fellows in +the faith without forcible reason. But I had other trouble to think of +than the displeasure of the Jews of Barnow! A young nephew of our +Count, a certain Baron Kaminski, was visiting at the manor. He saw my +sister, and fell in love with her--after the fashion, Taras, in which a +young Polish noble will play at love with a poor Jewish maiden! He +often came riding by, annoying her with his addresses whenever he knew +I was out of the way. She kept it from me as long as she could, knowing +my passionate temper, but the poor child at last could not help telling +me. She had judged me aright--I was furious; and had I met the +youngster in that hour, with these hands of mine I would have strangled +him. But, growing calmer, I judged it best to appeal to our Count, +begging him to interfere. He promised to speak to his nephew, and we +seemed to be left at peace, the young baron never coming near the +place, and even condescending to make some sort of apology on meeting +me accidentally elsewhere." + +"I know their tricks," said Taras, darkly; "it was his cunning to throw +you off your guard." + +"Yes," cried Nashko, drawing himself up and pacing to and fro wildly; +"it was! I had business at the distillery one day, which kept me away +over night. On returning, I found that the baron had been with his +lackeys and creatures. I barely listened to the poor girl's piteous +story, but snatched up my gun and forced my way into the manor-house. +The wretch had left the place, thinking himself safer in Poland. My +unhappy sister was seized with a burning fever, and, lest she should +die without help, there being no doctor near us, I took her to Barnow. +The people there had nursed their anger against us, and perhaps not +without some reason, as they viewed matters; but pity was strong, and +they stood by us in that time of sorrow. My sister was kindly taken +care of, and when she had recovered I made over to her all I possessed, +and went my way to seek the baron. I knew what awaited me if I did the +deed my heart demanded, but go I must. Again I missed him; he had left +for Paris. Thither I could not follow. I returned to Barnow, but my +sister was gone ..." He covered his face, his bosom heaving. + +"Gone after him?" cried Taras, wondering. + +"What do you mean!" retorted poor Nashko, with a proud look of disdain. +"Was she not an honest Jewish maiden? No; but the Sereth is a deep +river and holds fast its prey. I never learned why she did it; whether +for maidenly shame only, or because of any evil scorn, repressed while +she was ill, but flung at her when she was about again--I cannot tell. +But what is now left for me I know; and therefore your call to every +wronged one has found an echo in my heart I shook off the lethargy of +grief and despair, and I have come to ask you, judge and avenger as you +claim to be, will you let me join your band?" + +Taras went up to him, laying his hand upon his shoulder. "Nashko," he +said, solemnly, "if I still hesitate, it is not because of your being a +Jew. A man who has gone through what I have gone through would not +deserve a ray of sunlight on his path if he could make any difference +between his brethren. And who is my brother but he who has suffered +wrong? My doubts, therefore, do not concern your faith, but yourself. +Let me ask you, have you really lost all hope that your heart can ever +grow still again and capable of being happy?" + +"Certainly not," replied the Jew, firmly, and the fire of his eye spoke +of terrible possibilities; "such hope, on the contrary, is ever present +with me. My heart will grow calm again, and I shall be happy on the day +when I shall cleave the head of him who ruined my sister.... Spare +yourself any further trouble, Taras; the men of my race are wont to +consider before they act. And I have considered. Will you accept me as +one of yours?" + +"Yes," said Taras, briefly, and called his men, who were not a little +taken aback on beholding their new comrade, a scornful remark hovering +on the lips of the "Royal Eagle," and shrinking back only at the +captain's look of command. + +Julko Rosenko, the first volunteer of the mountain wilds, and the Jew, +the first one from the lowlands--or as, to this day, they are known in +song, the "Royal Eagle" and "Black Nashko"--are the only two of Taras's +band who strike the imagination either by their originality or by the +motives inspiring their action. All the others, whom a lawless or +revengeful disposition brought to his standard, may have been the +victims of tyranny, indeed, but they were men of a lower type, and +their history is but the outcome of the troublous confusion of +oppressors and oppressed struggling for mastery. + +Thus there was with him a peasant from the Bukowina, one Thodika +Synkow, who to his fortieth year had lived quietly on his bit of land, +till the harshness of a tax-gatherer selling the very pillow from under +the head of his sick wife drove him to a deed of murder. There was an +under-steward from near the frontier, Stas Barilko, who after years of +faithful service had been cruelly flogged for having shot a hare +without his master's leave. There was a certain Sophron Hlinkowski, the +leader of a church choir, who in a dispute between the priest and the +parish concerning tithes had sided with the people, and, when the angry +pastor, with the approval of his superiors, suspended the church +services, had yielded to the entreaty of the peasants, reading prayers +when there was a funeral. That was his crime; the priest denounced him, +and the unfortunate precentor was sent to prison, finding himself a +beggar when his two years had expired. His only child had died, and his +wife had gone off with another man. So he joined Taras to "lift his +voice now after another fashion, and make the ears tingle of those who +used him so cruelly;" and Taras admitted him, as, indeed, he admitted +any one whom honest resentment brought to his standard, and who, +having nothing to lose, was possessed of the three requisites he looked +for--obedience, courage, and frugality. For Taras held strictly by the +words he had spoken beneath the linden: "Let none come to me who seeks +for pleasure in life, and no happy man shall join me." Many offered +themselves, setting aside this primary condition, but the hetman +subjected every one to the most rigid examination; and any one hoping +to find refuge with him from just punishment was rejected as +mercilessly as were the mere ruffians looking for booty. Yet, in spite +of such strict investigation, Taras's band on Easter morning consisted +of thirty well-armed and resolute men. + +But he had to give audience to a host of people besides, peaceful men +coming to tell him of their troubles, or delegates pleading for a +wronged community. Some of their complaints were worthless enough, but +the greater number were well founded, strengthening him in his +conviction that this "unhappy land in which justice is not to be found" +was sorely in need of an "avenger." The wisdom he had gained at the +cost of his life's happiness made him sufficiently cautious not to +believe blindly any reports that might reach him, and the only promise +any of his suppliants got out of him was to the effect that he would +make inquiry, and "woe to you if you have lied to me, but woe to your +oppressors if you speak the truth!" And if they grew urgent, protesting +their honesty, and entreating for speedy redress, he would answer: "You +may look for me soon, but the hour shall not be fixed; for how can I be +sure there are no tell-tales among you, enabling the Whitecoats to meet +me? And, moreover, I have undertaken, first of all, to settle accounts +with the mandatar of Zulawce. Not that I long for his punishment before +that of any other evil-doer in the land, but a man must be true to his +word." + +But, to judge from the intelligence brought to him by Wassilj, who on +the Saturday had returned from a reconnoitring expedition to Colomea, +it promised to be a desperate venture to get hold of the mandatar, +and Taras shrank from the risk of leading his faithful men to the +well-garrisoned district town merely to carry out to the letter an +assurance given. If, however, his spirits failed him for a moment, his +energy and confidence soon rose uppermost. Wassilj was ordered back to +Colomea to procure farther information, whilst Sefko and the Royal +Eagle were despatched to inquire into the complaints made by two +parishes on the plain, and Jemilian was sent off to announce to Anusia, +and through her to the village, the impending arrival of the +Whitecoats. + +"Master," said the faithful old servant, hesitatingly, "have you +forgotten that the mistress----" + +"Is gone out of her mind?" interrupted Taras. "She never did, and by +this time is as collected as you or I, Jemilian. She was stunned for a +moment, but she knows what is laid upon her, and will never flinch." + +"Have you had farther news?" inquired the man, wondering. + +"No, but I know my wife. My own heart tells me." + +And Taras continued making his preparations. "I have promised to be +ready by Easter Day; that much, at least, I will keep." He assigned to +each man his place in the barracks, which, a light wooden structure, +had been run up already; he gave orders concerning the daily rations +and appointed the regulation of sentries. He also divided his band into +two distinct companies, setting a sub-captain over each. The Royal +Eagle should command the one, Black Nashko the other. + +In naming the latter, Taras, with an imperious look, scanned the faces +of his followers as they were drawn up before him. A flush of anger was +plainly evident, and one of them, Stas Barilko, was about to speak. But +that look of the hetman's silenced him, Taras repeating, "Our brother +Nashko shall command these." Not a sound of dissent--and the sign for +dispersing was given. + +The Jew then came forward. "Taras," he exclaimed, "why did you not take +me into your counsel? I fear this will be neither to your advantage, +nor to mine. As for me it matters little, but you and your cause must +not suffer. You should not have braved needlessly the prejudice in +which they have grown up, and which is next to religion with them." + +"Needlessly?" exclaimed Taras. "I have appointed you, because after due +consideration I take you to be the most earnest and best qualified of +my followers. These others--well they will soon see for themselves that +you are worthy of my confidence; till then they will just obey." + +"Yes, resentfully and under protest," urged the Jew, "and you should +avoid that, unless the most sacred principle were at stake. Remember +that your influence rests upon their free will alone." + +"No!" cried Taras. "They could come to me or stay away of their own +free will. But having come, they are what I am, instruments towards the +gaining of a common and most holy end." + +... The following morning--it was Easter Sunday--rose with all the +wondrous fragrance of spring. Taras had caused a plain wooden cross to +be erected, and the wild outlaws, bareheaded, gathered beneath the +sacred sign. Nashko only held aloof. + +And, taking his place beside the cross, Taras spoke to his men. "My +brothers," he said, "we have neither priest nor altar to help us to +keep this day. But God is to be found wherever the heart of man will +turn to Him, and He will listen to the humble prayer we would offer +up--a homeless flock, having left all that men count dear for the sake +of His own holy justice." + +He crossed himself and repeated the Lord's Prayer slowly and solemnly, +the men saying it after him; and after that Sophron, of the church +choir, stood up beside him, once more to do his duty in leading the +ancient Easter Hymn; and all their voices joined in the fine old +chorale:-- + +"Christ, the Lord, is risen to-day!" + +Thus the homeless ones kept Easter in the mountains. + +They were yet singing when Jemilian returned; and, service over, he +informed his master he had found Anusia exactly as Taras had predicted. +"She has even made ready for the soldiers," the man said. "The rest of +the people seem utterly confident, firmly believing that this night you +will storm the manor-house; and they are all preparing to witness it, +for Anusia refused to give them your message." + +"What!" cried Taras, staggering. + +"Refused point-blank," repeated Jemilian. "This is her answer--I took +care to remember it: 'Tell him,' she said, 'I shall be grateful for any +news of my lord and master, but I entreat him to send me word about +himself only, not concerning his plans or the movements of those +against him; for I will not speak an untruth when the men of the law +ask me, and I will keep a clean heart. That is my prayer, let him grant +it or not, as he pleases; but one thing I will never do, however +urgently he may demand it--I refuse to be the go-between, carrying his +messages to the village. I shall not do so in the present instance, +although his news is for the good of the people entirely, and I will +not do it in any case whatever. I will not share his guilt, nor his +punishment in the end--tell him so, he will understand. He has made our +children fatherless, he shall not make them motherless as well.' This +is her message!" + +Taras grew white as death; but before he could answer another messenger +arrived, a lad whom the Royal Eagle had despatched from Zablotow, his +news being that the hussars were due at Zulawce by nightfall, to +anticipate Taras's expected attempt on the manor. + +The hetman looked anxious, Jemilian lending words to his fear. "There +will be trouble," he said "if the soldiers come upon the excited +villagers in the night." + +"There will!" cried Taras, "they must be warned at any risk. You must +go back directly, as fast as your horse will carry you. And if my wife +still refuses, you must get Father Leo to tell them." + +Jemilian promised his best, but Taras continued anxious, growing even +more so with the setting sun, "All the misery of my life, so far, has +struck me unawares," he said to his friend Nashko, "and I doubt whether +a presaging voice is given to the heart of man; yet there is something +within me making me sore afraid for my wife and children this night." + +On waking in the morning from restless slumbers, he found Jemilian by +his side. The old man looked wan, and his brow was clouded. + +"They have been killed?" cried Taras, starting up. + +"Not the mistress or the children," said Jemilian; "but blood has +flowed." He was already on his way back when the tumult arose, and, +returning cautiously, he learned what had happened, and that the smith +had received his death-wound. + +"Do not take it to heart so much, dear master," said the man, +interrupting his report, for Taras was groaning pitifully. "The blood +which has been shed lies neither at your door nor at your wife's. She +did manage to have the people warned through Father Leo." + +"At _my_ door!" cried Taras, wildly. But, checking himself, he +requested to be left alone. It was some time before he showed himself +to his men, and then, with a silent nod only to their greeting, he +departed into the lonely wood. + +The rough men were at a loss to understand him. "Why, this is excellent +news," they said. "Such butchery would rouse the most law-abiding +people in the land!" The Jew alone guessed what moved the captain's +heart, and took courage to go after him. He found him lying beneath a +fir-tree, with a gloomy face and evidently suffering. + +"Taras!" he said, taking his hand, "I understand your grief; but the +comfort remains that you did your best to avert this trouble." + +But the captain shook his head. "A man must reap what he sows," he +said. + +"Do you repent of the step you have taken?" + +"No!" he cried, vehemently. "Oh! how little you understand me! If I had +not done so already, I would this day declare war against those that +are in power. I have but done what I _must_ do. But _what_ that +means--all the fearful scope of my undertaking--has only now grown +plain to me.... And more," he added, hoarsely ... "there is another +thing! I used to think at times that possibly I might come to an evil +end through this work of mine. Now I know it; I see now that my end can +not, must not, be a good one...." + +"What has come to you, Taras?" cried the Jew, alarmed. + +"I cannot explain it," said the captain, with a wistful look; "it is a +voice within me, not of the mind, but of the heart. I know it now!" + +The following morning the deputies of the village, Wassilj, the +butcher, and Hritzko Pomenko, appeared before Taras, delivering their +message. + +"We are convinced that you will stand by us," they said, "and only wish +to know what time you fix for the revenge." + +He had listened quietly, but then made answer with a terrible +sternness: "Hearken!" he said, "if you had asked me to help you in +attacking the hussars, I would have refused, both for your sakes, since +it would harm you in the end, and for the sake of justice itself; for +these soldiers have only obeyed those they are bound to obey. I would +have reasoned with you, advising you to keep quiet, and if nevertheless +you had suffered wrong I would have made those responsible who ordered +it. But now you actually ask me to lift the arm of murder against the +Whitecoats, who have done you no injury. I have but one answer, +therefore--'Get ye gone from the camp of the avenger!' How could I have +anything to do with men capable of the thought even of assassination?" + +"Taras!" exclaimed Wassilj, staggering as though he had received a +blow; but young Hritzko stood rooted to the ground, his eyes wide open +with amazement. Taras's men, on the contrary, looked sullenly before +them in plain disapproval. + +"Yes," continued Taras; "let me repeat it. What you are thinking of is +not an act of sacred vengeance, but of revengeful murder. If I were not +sure you would never dare an attack without me, God knows I would send +word of your intention to the officer on the spot." + +"Taras," now cried Hritzko, in his turn. "How is it? Have we not heard +your solemn declaration of war against the Emperor, and now you will +not rid us of his soldiers, the instruments of tyranny?" + +"No," replied Taras, firmly, "I will not, because I am not an assassin, +but a champion of justice." + +"A champion afraid of shedding blood?" interposed the butcher, +scornfully. + +"A champion who will not shed innocent blood, unless it be the only way +of making justice victorious," returned Taras, solemnly. "If the +mandatar were at Zablotow under the protection of these soldiers, and I +had a force sufficient to risk an attack, I would do so this very +night. For he has sinned against the law of God, and must be brought to +judgment; and since Right is the most sacred thing upon earth, it is +better to shed blood than let this holy thing be dragged low. But +except for such reason, I will never consent to endanger an innocent +life, lest the deed rise against me and mine in the day of judgment." + +"But, Taras," pleaded Hritzko, "this is all very well as regards +ourselves or the soldiers, but what of yourself? Do you think they +would have the slightest compunction in slaying you, wherever they find +you?" + +"We will take care of ourselves," said Taras, quietly. + +"I trust you may," rejoined the butcher. "Come, Hritzko, let us be +gone." + +But the young man went up closer to Taras. "What answer would you have +us take back to our people?" said he, clasping Taras's hand. "They are +in the worst of moods, bitterly resenting the military interference, +but they have full confidence in your coming. All their fury will be +turned against you if we tell them how you judge of their purpose. Have +you no other message, Taras, which we might take back to them?" + +"No," replied the captain, sternly. "Thank you for your good +intentions; but I have put off the fear of man, since I serve God. Tell +them the plain truth." + +This happened about noon on the Tuesday. Towards evening Taras +assembled his men, some forty in number by this time, to hold his first +council of war, laying before them the two most important points of his +latest information. Wassilj Soklewicz had come back with the news of +the mandatar's matrimonial intentions, and that he was in the habit of +spending his evenings at the Armenian's villa. The Royal Eagle also had +returned from Kossowince, reporting that the complaints of that parish +against their avaricious and hard-hearted priest were but too well +founded; he had suspended all church functions, and was distraining for +tithes pitilessly. + +"The measure of iniquity, both of the mandatar and of the priest, is +full to overflowing," Taras said. "Let us, then, hesitate no longer to +do the work, ridding the fair earth of these scoundrels. There is +danger in both undertakings, for soldiers are quartered at the manse of +Kossowince, and the villa which harbours the mandatar of an evening is +near the well-garrisoned district town. But we will rest our courage in +the Almighty, and do the deed. To-morrow, Wednesday, afternoon we +start, reaching Kossowince by night, to bring the evil-doer there to +his doom, and before the midnight of Thursday we must be ready for +passing judgment on the mandatar. Will you follow me?" + +"Urrahah!" was the wild answer of delight, and as the men gathered +round their watch-fires the excitement of action was among them. Nashko +only had retired by himself, musing sadly. + +"Poor Taras!" he said, sighing. "These fellows understand his meaning +no better than any brute cattle could follow a Sunday's sermon. They +think him a misguided fool for trusting me, and they resented his +refusal to the people of Zulawce. But for his resolve to fall to work +he might have found himself obliged to begin his judgments upon his own +followers in the first place. Their meanness is forced back now within +their own hearts, but it will break out again sooner or later. He will +hold his own against the men of the law, but who shall keep his soul +undefiled from the breath of these lawless ones?" + +With the earliest dawn the men began getting themselves ready for the +intended raid, polishing their arms and grooming their horses, whilst +Taras held farther counsel with Nashko and the Royal Eagle, giving to +each his special orders. The morning passed in high excitement. + +But suddenly--the sun was just nearing the zenith--the alarm was given +from the direction of the Red Hollow, and all eyes turned thither; the +figure of a horseman was seen coming at full speed down the steep +declivity. "The fellow is mad," was the general outcry, "he will break +his neck in a moment." + +Taras also was straining his eyes, and grew white with apprehension, +having recognised his young servant, Halko. "There is trouble at home!" +he cried, rushing to meet the messenger. + +But in spite of the headlong career to which the bold rider forced his +helpless steed, he reached the rocky entrance of the valley safely, and +then, just at the last reckless plunge, the poor animal rolled over, +the young man, in a flying leap, coming to the ground. A cry of horror +burst from the expectant band, but the horse only lay gasping; the +youth jumping up from his fall like a wild-cat, hastened onward with +quickening steps, stopping in front of Taras. + +"The chestnut is done for," he panted, "but I have kept my promise, to +reach you by noon. This is the mistress's message!" And he reported how +the commissioner had threatened Anusia. All the band had assembled +round him, listening eagerly. "The cowards!" they cried when he had +done, "being afraid of us, they are going to wage war upon women!" + +Taras alone seemed calm. "It is well," he said to the youth; "did you +not say the commissioner intends to return in the evening? We will have +a word with him, then. Julko, I will ask you to bring him hither, not +harming him, but blindfolding his eyes.... You, Halko, go back to my +wife, and tell her to be of good cheer." + +The Royal Eagle forthwith led off his men in the direction of the +Pruth, Taras quietly setting himself to inspect the preparations of the +others, seeing to the needful ammunition, the necessary rations, and +holding everything in readiness for the night's expedition. Watching +him thus calmly engaged, one would scarcely have guessed that such a +message had just reached him, and that he was expecting a meeting that +must stir his troubled heart to its depth. At dusk all was in +readiness, the men standing by their horses, listening impatiently for +any sign of Julko's return. But the last glimmer of daylight faded, the +stars shone forth, and night spread her mantle over the mountains; not +a sound yet, save the murmuring whispers in the tall firs and, far off, +the hooting of an owl. + +"The bird of ill omen!" said the men, with bated breath; "who can tell +what may have happened to Julko?" + +But Taras heeded them not, lost in thought. The bird's dismal cry had +wakened another voice within him; or, rather, it appeared like an echo +of his own inner consciousness, which, rising from the depths of his +being, quivered through him in awful agony. And then it seemed as +though the bird kept crying: "You are about to shed the blood of +man--you! you!" + +Jemilian went up to him. "They keep us waiting here rather long!" he +said anxiously. Taras shivered and stared at him. The man had to repeat +his remark. + +"Never mind," he now made answer, his voice rising as though to silence +that other voice within; and he drew himself up. "Julko may have had to +wait before catching him, and the way up the ravine is difficult even +in daylight.... But is it that you are afraid of the dark, children +that you are! Well, then, light a fire; it will serve at the same time +to show off that coward of a commissioner when he does arrive." + +The captain's words acted like magic, freeing the souls of these men as +from a nightmare; and when, a few minutes later, a great pile of +firwood sent up shoots of ruddy flame, spreading light and warmth, +their spirits rose mightily. They formed a circle round the welcome +fire, and one of their number produced a bagpipe, to the plaintive +droning of which they fell to dancing that strangest of reels known +throughout the Carpathians, and which, executed by these men and in +such circumstances, once more assumed what was, no doubt, its original +character--that of a war-dance. + +Taras did not interfere, but looked for Nashko, who once more kept +aloof with his own saddened thoughts. + +"What is the time?" he inquired. + +The Jew was the only one of all these men who possessed a watch, and +only Taras and Sophron, besides himself, understood the art of telling +the hour by such means. + +"Eleven. Are you beginning to be anxious?" + +"No! What should have happened? But hark! listen!" + +"I hear nothing." + +"But I do.... Hark!" and Taras turned to the merrymakers with an +imperious "Silence!" They stood still like statues, and the bagpipe +ceased wailing. + +They could all hear it now--a peculiar, whirring sound, not unlike that +of an arrow cutting the air. It came from afar, through the stillness +of the night. "It is Julko signalling," the men cried, delightedly; and +Taras, taking his own whistle, signalled back. A moment's silence, and +again the sound reached them--longdrawn, and thrice repeated. + +"You understand its meaning," said Taras to his men. "They have missed +the track in the dark. Away with you, Stas and Jemilian; take torches +and go to meet them, and keep signalling as you go." The two obeyed, +while the rest of the men, at his word, took their places by their +horses. + +But the minutes passed, and nothing was heard save the signalling and +counter-signalling in the wood, till at last the sounds seemed +blending, and presently the sign was given that the seekers and the +sought had met. Ere long their voices could be distinguished, together +with the tramping of their steeds. + +First of all the Royal Eagle burst upon the waiting band. "We were +sadly detained," he reported to the captain; "two full hours we had to +lie in ambush by the Pruth, and when the night overtook us we missed +our way. But we have caught him all right." + +"Not injuring him, I hope!" + +"No--that is to say, he suffered no harm at our hands, but fear may +have killed him, for all I know." + +And, indeed, there was no saying whether it was a living man or a dead +body that was being brought before the captain. Julko, not satisfied +with lashing the commissioner to the saddle, had ordered a man to mount +behind him that he might be supported and saved from striking his head +against the low-hanging branches, blindfolded as he was. A cloak also +had been thrown round his shivering shoulders. Thus the poor wretch +clung helplessly to the neck of the horse that carried him, the men +shouting with laughter on beholding his abject figure; but a look of +Taras's silenced them. + +"Has he fainted?" inquired he of the man whose brawny arm enfolded the +commissioner. + +"No, captain," was the answer, "it is just his pretence; only a few +minutes ago he implored me to let him make his escape, promising me a +hundred florins if he got away safely. I felt sorely tempted to pitch +into him, but I remembered your injunctions." And the man looked so +disappointed, that even Taras could not but smile. "Untie him," he +said. + +It was done. When the bandage was taken from his eyes Kapronski +staggered and fell, his head striking the ground. That was no +play-acting, for the scene thus suddenly presented to his vision might +well have confounded a more courageous and less guilty man: first and +foremost the towering figure of Taras, and behind him the band of +outlaws armed to the teeth and leaning against their horses, all of +them lit up by the lurid glare of their watchfire. + +"Put him on his feet," exclaimed the captain, impatiently, two men +endeavouring to do so, but they only got him to his knees. "For pity's +sake," he whimpered, lifting his folded hands to Taras. + +The latter came a step nearer. "Ah!" he cried scornfully, "is it you, +friend Ladislas Kapronski? Get up, man; you need not shake like that." + +The commissioner now managed to stand on his legs, but his head hung on +his bosom, and his clasped hands continued in entreaty. + +"I am not going to say a word concerning the matter at issue," began +Taras, "you men of the law will just go on murdering justice--well, +continue in your ways, but...." + +At the mention of justice, Kapronski gasped, apparently recovering +himself. "Yes," he said, with an obsequious bow, "I always told them at +the Board it was no use arraigning _you_, who are as daring as you are +just; and you have got the people to back you, honoured--much honoured, +Mr. Taras." + +"Be silent," cried the latter, "I am ashamed of you, for after all you +are a man!... It is not on account of these matters, or concerning +myself, that I wanted to see you, but because of your having threatened +my wife." + +"For pity's sake! I did but as I was told!" + +"Indeed," said Taras, with so searching a look that the commissioner, +unable to meet it, shook afresh. "Indeed! Then why are you trembling +like that? Was it not rather an invention of your own cowardly brain?" + +"No!" exclaimed Kapronski, "I swear by all the saints----" + +"I will take your word for what it may be worth. I might well doubt +you; you are fully capable of a lie--but the thing in itself is +preposterous. That you, who call yourselves guardians of the law, +should think even of such a glaring wrong! And how cowardly--how +cowardly it is! You, with all the military at your command, are you not +able to protect yourselves against me save by attacking my wife and +children?" + +"Oh, indeed," pleaded Kapronski, "did I not do my best to warn them? +But my advice was not taken. I assure you----" + +"No need of farther words; but listen to what I have to say, and take +back my message to the Board.... No amount of threatening will prevent +my carrying out the sacred duty I have undertaken. And if my wife and +my poor children were indeed at your mercy, and I knew they would meet +death at your hands for any act of mine, laid upon me by that duty, I +would carry out such act unflinchingly. Do you take that in?" + +"Ah!--yes--oh!" + +"Well, then, listen again. I cannot hinder you from taking my wife and +my children to prison, or even from taking their lives. But I tell you +this: on the day you make good those threats, it will become my first +and highest and most sacred duty to rid the land of the worst of +evil-doers--of you, the so-called guardians of the law. Woe to any of +you, then, who may fall into my hands! I shall have you hanged, every +one, on these trees of ours...." + +"Oh, no, not me--for pity's sake! I was always trying----" + +"Well, hanging might be too good for you," said Taras, sternly. "I knew +you were an abject coward, but this is worse even than the name you +bear.... I regret to send you with an honest man's message. For there +is yet another matter to speak about--and you shall tell them I have +sworn to you a sacred oath that there is no deceit nor cunning in my +request, but pity for the people alone. I earnestly pray the +authorities to withdraw the soldiers from Zulawce. The hussars have +done mischief enough already, and the infantry may do worse if they +stay. There is no need of military occupation, for I give you my word +that I shall not enter the village, not even if I knew the mandatar to +be at the manor. I should bide my time to get hold of him elsewhere. +Let me repeat it. I shall never set foot within the parish of Zulawce +if my request be granted; and since the man lives not who could say +that Taras ever broke his word, perhaps even you will believe me." + +"Oh!--certainly--yes. I myself----" + +"Stop your talking! This, then, is the message you shall bear; but I +have a word for yourself also. See that you keep from lying in +delivering my message, for the truth sooner or later will come to be +known; and if ever I find that you altered one single word of what I +have told you, I shall----" + +"For pity's sake! I'll never alter a single letter!" + +"Well, we shall see. I said I would not harm you in limb or life; but +since you have shown yourself such a mean, craven coward, it is meet +you should suffer punishment--that punishment which within these +mountains is reserved for such meanness;" and, turning to his men, "Cut +off his hair!" he said. + +"Ah--pity!" groaned Kapronski, but it availed him not. He found himself +held fast with a merciless grip, while Sophron made short work of the +commissioner's well-oiled locks, leaving his head like a field of +stubble in the dreary autumn. + +"Now tie him to his horse again," said Taras, "blindfolding him as +before." + +It was done. + +"Light the torches! Mount, and let us be off! By the Pruth we will +leave him to his own devices." + +The signals sounded, the procession formed, vanishing in the deeper +shadows of the cleft which leads to the river in the direction of +Kossowince.... + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + AN EYE FOR AN EYE. + + +Starting from the little wooden bridge which spans the Pruth near +Zulawce, and following the river, about an hour's ride will bring you +to the village of Kossowince. It is a well-favoured spot, the fertile +wheat-fields of the plain spreading round about; yet the village is +near enough to the rich green slopes of the rising uplands to obtain +considerable returns from cattle-rearing as well. This flourishing +place in our own days is known again as the "rich village," its +much-envied inhabitants going by the name of the "wheat lords," but +there have been times when the poorest cottager of the heath-country +would not have exchanged his miserable cabin for the finest homestead +at Kossowince. For rivers of tears and streams of blood have flowed +here for religion's sake. In the days when Poland held sway, nearly all +the inhabitants of the district had forsaken the Byzantine orthodox +creed, turning Catholics, if not of their own free will, yet under the +combined influence of Romish Jesuits and tyrannical waywodes; very few +of the peasantry had courage enough to withstand such persuasion, but +of these few were the people of Kossowince. Trusting in their numbers +and wealth, the "wheat lords" clung to their ancient faith, although +every decade brought them a bitter experience of persecution. The +Austrian supremacy eventually put an end to these troubles, and in the +days of the good Emperor Joseph the people of Kossowince might cross +themselves from the right to the left, or from the left to the right, +as they pleased. But when that monarch had been gathered to his +fathers, this important difference once more appeared to trouble the +ruling powers, most of all his Grace of Lemberg, and the villagers soon +had proof that their heresy was being dealt with. Doubtfully they +looked into the threatening future, and their horizon grew darker still +when they learned that all of a sudden they had fallen under spiritual +sway. The lady of the manor, a widowed countess, had seen fit to +bequeath the "rich village" for purposes of Romish endowment, and their +new mandatar proved to be a secular priest, a certain Victor von +Sanecki, sent thither to collect the revenues. He was received with +unbounded hatred; yet within the space of a few months he had known how +to gain the confidence, even the goodwill, of the people. For this +ghostly steward was thoroughly conversant with agriculture; he proved a +good counsellor, and appeared not to take the slightest notice of the +heretical tendency of the village. So tolerant was he, that when the +elders one day uttered complaints against their pope, Miron Aganowicz, +describing him as a worse drunkard than need be, he did his best to +find excuses for his reverend brother, the result, of course, being +that Miron, who so far had stood in some awe of spiritual censure, +drank worse than ever, providing the means by various methods of +extortion. But the parish was possessed of some spirit, and the sheep +turned against the shepherd; whereupon the pope complained to the civil +authorities and was victorious in the contest. The aggrieved peasantry +carried their trouble to the ghostly mandatar, but he pointed out to +them that the courtesy of his sacred calling did not permit him to +interfere, making a similar statement to his brother Miron, who, on the +strength of it, oppressed the people more than ever. Matters grew to +such a pass that the parish petitioned for another pope, and, being +refused, declared themselves willing to be rid of Miron at any price, +assuring the authorities that they had come to see how foolishly +prejudiced they had been in opposing the ruling faith, and that they +were quite ready now to profess themselves Roman Catholics, provided +that the reverend Sanecki, that excellent man, might be their priest +and mandatar in one. This offer was accepted speedily, and on Easter +Sunday, in the year of grace 1837, the Greek church of Kosso wince was +solemnly dedicated to the Romish rite, Sanecki entering on his +functions as the pastor of this converted people. + +The event made a stir far and wide; it was evident that the benign +wisdom of an amiable priest, within the space of two short years, had +succeeded in overcoming the stubborn resistance which had braved the +tyranny of centuries. Not many had the clear-headed judgment, or, +indeed, sufficient acquaintance with Sanecki himself, to temper their +surprise, seeing he was as unprincipled as he was clever. Victor von +Sanecki was the scion of a decayed family of rank, a native of Posen. +As a mere youth, iron-willed and indefatigable, sharp-witted and full +of ambition, he had striven hard to reclaim his hopelessly mortgaged +inheritance. But no saving and no diligence of his could make up for +the failings of his spendthrift ancestry. He gave it up, and, entering +the Prussian civil service, turned Protestant for the sake of +advancement; nor was he without prospect of gaining his end, and he +might have risen to power had not his over-zealous chase after +prosperity overstepped the lines of rectitude marked out in that +country for a servant of the State. He was dismissed; upon which, +repairing to Cracow, he resolved to read for holy orders. He was barely +thirty when he thus entered the Church, and upon his consecration was +appointed to the somewhat anomalous charge at Kossowince. His wondrous +success there failed not to strike the Archbishop, who meditated work +for him at Lemberg itself, but Sanecki submitted his earnest request +"that he might be left to lead the converted flock in the way they +should go"; for he believed that he could gather wealth while so +engaged. His ambition sated, he was anxious now to satisfy that other +craving of his debased soul, the love of riches. + +And success appeared to attend his efforts; but the means he had +recourse to were appalling. Not many weeks passed before the people of +Kossowince discovered that the shepherd they had chosen was not nearly +so gentle as they supposed, and before the year was out they had come +to the conviction that a very fiend was addressing them from the pulpit +and lording it over them at the manor. For it is a fact that the +fate of every Galician village in those days was in the hands of two +men--viz.: the mandatar and the parish priest. And here this power was +vested in one and the same--Victor von Sanecki literally could do what +he pleased. If a peasant refused an unjust tithe he as mandatar could +send to prison; if he refused an oppressive tribute to the mandatar it +was the priest that could inflict the lash of ecclesiastical +punishment. The people naturally struggled hard against the injustice, +appealing to the law; but it was no less in the nature of things that +they found no redress, since before the civil authorities Sanecki +claimed the privileges of the clergy, while to his spiritual superiors +he pleaded his position as mandatar and steward of the revenues. +Moreover, the stubborn character borne previously by the converted +parish was remembered, and Sanecki was not slow to point out that +having adopted the Catholic faith for outward reasons merely, they +naturally were unwilling to meet the demands of the Church. So +everything went against them, for the Romish creed was in the +ascendant, and fines were imposed to teach them submission. A military +detachment was quartered upon the refractory parish to enforce payment, +and when the uttermost farthing had been wrested from them their goods +were seized; not till a man had been brought to hopeless penury was he +left alone by the priest. It seemed as though Sanecki could commit the +vilest wrongs with impunity; but he cared to inflict punishment on +those only who could offer money or money's worth to evade it, and his +direst means of extortion, the refusal of Church burial, always fell on +the wealthy. + +Such was the man against whom Taras in the first instance lifted the +avenger's arm. As it was close upon midnight when he with his followers +started from the Crystal Springs, the Pruth was not reached till after +two o'clock. And when the river had been forded, and the shivering +Kapronski left to himself, the band in headlong gallop dashed onward +through the plain. Kossowince was reached, and in spite of the +surrounding darkness Taras perceived a horseman stationed at the +entrance. He was appointed by the villagers to act as the avenger's +guide. + +Taras and his men drew up. "How many soldiers are there in the place?" +he inquired; "and how are they quartered?" + +"There is an officer with fifty men," reported the peasant; "Whitecoats +from Lombardy with green facings. Thirty of them are at the parsonage, +for the fiend himself lives at the manor, allowing the manse to be used +as a barracks, for which we must pay him a rental of five hundred +florins....." + +"And where are the others?" + +"Here and there about the cottages, one or two in each, all over the +village. The officer and his man only are lodged at the manor. There +are five or six retainers there besides, that is all. But have a care; +the parsonage is not a hundred yards distant." + +"Any sentries?" + +"Yes, one--outside the manse. But these fellows feel the cold here; +they are generally found cuddled up in their cloaks." + +"And the villagers understand that they keep quiet?" + +"Yes, much as they long to take part. But they see it is best so. It is +different with me, who have nothing to lose. I am Jacek Borodenko, and +the fiend has beggared me and mine entirely. What better can I do but +join you for good?" + +"We shall see," said Taras, and turned to his men. "The soldiery about +the village need not troublous; it is the parsonage and the manse that +require our attention. We will divide our force I shall want the Royal +Eagle, Jemilian and Sefko, Wassilj and Sophron, Stas Barilko and Karol +Wygoda, to come with me; we shall carry out the avenger's part at the +manor. You others, all of you, shall follow Nashko. And to you," he +added, turning to the Jew, "I leave it to deal with the sentry and make +sure that no Whitecoat shall leave the manse. I rely on it that I shall +not be hindered in my business while there is breath left in any of +you!... But let every man here remember my injunction: he that shads +blood for the mere thirst of it shall meet with his deserts in due +time; but if any of you lay his hand on any property whatsoever, I +shall shoot him on the spot.... Now let us be gone, keeping silence." + +And cautiously they moved toward the scene of their ghastly labour. The +night yet curtained the plain, but on the eastern horizon a faint +streak betokened the approach of day. + +By the church they separated. Taras and his seven men, led by Jacek, +proceeded towards the manor, the others halting by the church, while +some of their number slid from their horses and moved away stealthily +to seize the sentry. + +"Do you know the ins and outs of the house?" Taras inquired of the +guide. + +"Yes; as well as of my own pocket," replied the man. "I was in service +there in the days of the late countess." + +"Then I daresay you can show us some back door that will yield +readily." + +"Hardly," said the guide, "for the fiend is on his guard; he has +iron-barred every door of the place. But Michalko, the groom, has a +sweetheart in the village, and if we are lucky we may find the postern +ajar." + +Their very horses trod with noiseless footfall, carrying them to their +destination unobserved. Jacek tried the latch, the door moved on its +hinges, and the little band dismounted. Wassilj was left to guard the +entrance, while the rest of the men followed their stern captain +through a vaulted passage into the building. It was their first aim to +make sure of the half-dozen retainers who slept in a large room in the +basement. Jacek approached on tiptoe. "The key is in the lock," he +whispered, and turned it forthwith. Nothing was heard from within but +the snoring of the occupants. + +"It is as well to be prudent," said Taras; "they are sure to wake up +with the commotion, and, forcing the door, might give us trouble. This +is your place, then, Sophron and Karol," and the two men took their +position accordingly. "Now for the officer. Where shall we find him?" + +"On the first floor," reported the guide; "not far from the fiend's +lair." The man, in common with all the villagers, thus habitually +designated their shepherd, as though Victor von Sanecki had never been +known by any other name. They ascended the stairs. On reaching the +landing the report of a firelock was heard, a second, and a third in +quick succession; a din of voices rose in the distance; the garrison at +the manse evidently was showing fight. + +At this moment a door opened, the officer bursting upon the scene, his +pistol in one hand and his sword in the other. But quick as lightning +Taras had closed with him, disarming him, and with powerful grasp +holding him helpless on the ground, his servant and a lackey or two +speedily sharing the same fate at the hands of the others. + +"There is no time to be lost," said Taras. One of the bedrooms was +standing open, its window was iron-barred, and there was no other +outlet. "Push them in!" The door was locked upon the overpowered men, +Sefko being ordered to guard it while the others now made for the +priest's chamber. + +They found it secured, but Taras, with the weight of his gigantic +frame, had no trouble in making the door yield, his men, with the +butt-ends of their muskets finishing the operation. They entered a +spacious apartment, modestly furnished; a lamp expired, not at the +breath of any man, but in consequence of a sharp draught from an open +window, as the invaders perceived by the light of their torches. The +room was empty, the bed to all appearance recently forsaken, and the +casement wide open. + +Julko rushed to the window. "Look here!" he cried, pulling up a sheet +that was tied to the sash; "the wretch has escaped us!" + +"Impossible!" exclaimed Jacek; "the moat is at its deepest below; he +would have broken every limb in the attempt." + +"But the room has no other exit." + +"It has, though! I know there is a secret closet joined to this room by +an invisible door. In the countess's time it used to be connected with +the back-stairs as well; but the fiend, thinking it a good hiding-place +for his ill-gotten gains, had that communication walled up. I have not +a doubt but that he is within, caught in his own trap and no escaping." + +"Then have you an idea where to look for the invisible door?" + +"Yes, in this wall," he pointed to the side where the bed stood. The +broad surface was covered with an antique hanging which, quaintly +enough, appeared fastened to the wall at regular intervals with large +metal buttons, forming a kind of pattern. "It is one of these buttons +that opens the door," said Jacek, "if you press down the right one. I +have seen it done once; but there are many, and I cannot tell which it +is." + +"That is a pity," said Taras. He stood listening to the confused voices +of the fighting without. "Well, if it is the only way, we must just +find the button. Are you sure the other outlet is walled up?" + +"Quite certain." + +"Then let us try." + +Several minutes passed while the men were thus endeavouring to discover +the secret spring by which to move the hidden door, the din outside +continuing unabated. Julko gave an exultant cry. He was kneeling on the +bed, passing his fingers over the buttons in the centre when one of +them yielding discovered a narrow chink in the wall. The door as yet +did not open, but its outline was plainly marked; it was evidently made +fast from within. + +Taras snatched at Jemilian's axe, and, pushing aside the bed, he +belaboured the wall with all his might. The door had begun to split, +when a bolt was withdrawn inside, and before them stood the man they +were seeking. + +So sudden was his appearance that those without fell back a step. The +"fiend" in person seemed utterly different from the name he bore--a +well-grown, still youthful man, in the black robe of a priest, with a +face both grave and handsome, and singularly dignified. The pallor of +his countenance only showed his inward disturbance, his features +wearing an expression of proudest self-confidence, and his eyes flashed +imperiously. + +"What is this?" he demanded. "Who are you?" + +"I am Taras, the avenger," replied the latter, facing him. "Your time +of reckoning has come! Your stronghold could not protect you; and +neither the bold front of courage nor any cowardly whimpering will +avail you now." + +"Do I look like one given to whimpering?" said Sanecki, drawing himself +up. "I am not a coward, though I endeavoured to hide from you. What +else is there left for a peaceful priest when a horde of murderers +enter his dwelling at night and he hears the tumult of bloodshed +without? ... Your name and your purpose, Taras, are known to me, but I +should scarcely have thought that you could think it needful to visit +me. My conscience accuses me of nothing." + +"Hold your lying tongue, you blackest of fiends," cried Jacek, beside +himself, and he would have fallen upon the priest had not Taras held +him back, continuing calmly: "Then you absolutely deny the charge of +having committed the most inhuman wrongs against the villagers, robbing +them of their property, and of the peace of their souls as well?" + +"It is they who speak falsely in accusing me. I have taken from them +what belongs to the Church and to me by right--not a whit beyond. In my +case, Taras, you cannot be an avenger, but only a murderer, if your +conscience will let you. But I think better of you, and I demand that +you shall confront me with my accusers, with respectable, trustworthy +men, not with a good-for-nothing like this Jacek, and I shall know how +to answer them." + +There appeared to be a lull in the fighting without--the firing had +ceased, and the general tumult was hushed. But within the manor at that +moment bloodshed was imminent. Jacek, quite unable to master his fury, +had snatched a pistol from his belt, and was pointing it at the priest. + +"Stop, Jacek," commanded Taras, wresting the weapon from him. "And you, +priest, utter no slander!... Say on Jacek in what has this man offended +against you and yours. Say it with the fewest words, and speak the +truth." + +The peasant strove to conquer his feelings. "My father," he began, +speaking with difficulty, "was obliged last year to remain on the +upland pasture late into the spring. It was an unavoidable necessity, +for the live stock was all we possessed. When he returned, this fiend +of a man fined him a hundred florins, because he had been absent from +confession and from the sacrament at Easter. It was our ruin, and +brought us to beggary." + +A voice was heard through the open window. "Hetman! hetman!" was the +cry. + +Taras stepped to the casement. + +"It is I, Milko, the hunter. The Jew sends you word that we have done +our part. The Whitecoats have laid down their arms." + +An exultant cry broke from the men, but Sanecki grew ashy. However, he +recovered himself quickly. "It is a lie," he cried, reverting to the +charge against him, "a false accusation. I call the Almighty to witness +who is my only refuge in this hour of need, unless you deal righteous +judgment!" + +Again Jacek was making a plunge at him, and once more Taras interfered. +"I am ready to prove to you that I judge righteously," he said. "So far +everything is against you save your own statement; the character you +bear, the complaints which have reached me, and this man's solemn oath +are your accusers. But you shall not be judged without being fully +convicted. You shall choose for yourself two inhabitants of this +village to speak for you." + +Sanecki considered a moment. "Well, then," he said, "let it be Hawrilo +Bumbak and Iwon Serecki." + +"Captain," broke in Jacek, "do not be outwitted by this scoundrel. He +has named these men because they live at the furthest end of the +parish. He hopes to gain time." + +"Never mind, we are in no such hurry. You also shall name two men to be +called as witnesses against him." + +"Let it be those whom you know already," decided Jacek, without a +moment's hesitation. "Harassim, the judge, and Stephen, one of the +elders, since they carried our complaints to you." + +"Very well," said Taras. "These four witnesses shall be called. Follow +him, Julko, Stas, and Jemilian; mount your horses below, and get some +of Nashko's men, if possible, in case of any hindrance from the +soldiers about the village; I want those four witnesses with the least +delay." + +"And will you stay here by yourself?" inquired the Royal Eagle, +doubtfully. + +"Yes; he shall not escape me." And drawing his pistol he took his +position in front of the priest. + +The men went on their errand. + +"Now listen," said Taras, when left alone with the culprit. "The +slightest movement on your part, and I shall lodge this bullet in your +brain. For the rest you may spend the time as you please. It might be +as well to say your prayers, since I may not be able to allow you much +time presently. I have little hope that you will see the rising sun +yonder in his full-day glory." + +Sanecki gazed in the direction pointed at with unsteady eyes. The +window opened upon the vast plain, a ridge of cloud in the far east +burning with a crimson glow. But somehow he appeared to draw strength +from the sight, the growing light kindling his courage. "It is well I +should offer up prayer," he said; "less for myself than for you, who +are in danger of dipping your hands into innocent blood." + +Taras made no answer, continuing motionless with uplifted pistol. The +priest folded his hands, saying prayers with a loud voice. For the +space of about ten minutes they were thus left alone, after which Stas +returned with Stephen, the elder, and almost immediately after Jemilian +with Harassim, the judge. + +"Take your oath that you will speak the truth," said Taras; and the +aged witnesses lifted their right hands, swearing. + +"Speak, judge; what is your accusation against this man?" + +"I went to him at All Saints'," said the old man, trembling with the +memory of it, "to arrange with him for the rendering of the tithes we +owe him. He demanded more than his due, I refused and left him; no +unbecoming word had been spoken. But that same evening I was taken up +by his orders and cast into a miserable dungeon, where I spent a week +in complete darkness, and all the food he allowed me was mouldy bread +and rank water. My sons implored him to release me, but he said in his +capacity as mandatar he must punish me because I had offended the +priest. For a fine of two hundred florins, however, he would release +me. Now considering my age--I am more than seventy--and because I +should have perished in the damp prison, they raised the money; he took +it, charging me an extra twenty florins, to refund his expenses of +keeping me for a week." + +"And you, Stephen?" + +"My wife lay dying at the Epiphany," said the elder. "I called upon the +priest to prepare her for the great change, by administering the +blessed sacrament. He refused until I should have atoned for a grave +offence with the payment of a hundred florins. I could not find the +sum, and my poor wife had to die unaneled, and was buried like a dog +outside the churchyard ... my poor wife!" sobbed the old man, hiding +his face in his bands, "my good, pious wife!" + +"What was the offence he charged you with?" + +"I had crossed myself inadvertently after the old style, and he +happened to see it." + +The hetman flushed purple with indignation. "Is this the truth, old +man?" + +"The truth indeed, the Almighty is my witness." + +"Have you anything to say for yourself?" he now inquired of the priest. + +"Only this, that they speak falsely," returned Sanecki, with choking +voice. + +"Falsely!" cried Stephen, horrified. "Man, think of the Judge above!" + +"Yes," said Taras quietly, "it were well he did so. However, let us +hear his own witnesses." + +There was a pause of silence in the chamber, the twilight of which was +slowly but steadily yielding to the ruddy glow from the east, a broad +stream of light flowing in through the window when Julko and Jacek +returned with the other two witnesses, whom the priest had called for +himself. + +The men in question entered diffidently--they had not been told why +they were wanted--looking aghast on learning that the priest had seen +fit to appeal to them. "To us," they cried, "what could we say in his +favour?" + +Taras put them on their oath. "Now," he said, "what have you to affirm +concerning this man?" + +They were silent for a moment, but then Iwon burst out with--"Just +this, that he _is_ a fiend!" + +"Yes, a very fiend," reiterated Hawrilo. + +"Have you anything to say for yourself?" Taras once more inquired of +Sanecki. + +"No, nothing," he made answer calmly. The self-command of this +man was astounding. His face was corpse-like, but his lips, even +at this extremity, had a smile, though it was an appalling, a +ghastly smile. "I have miscalculated my chances," he said, half to +himself--"miscalculated, it is a pity!" + +Taras now addressed the men present. "It is my opinion that this man +has forfeited his life. Is there any here to say I am wrong?" + +Not a sound in the chamber--Death seemed counting the grains. But in +the fair world without the beauty of morning had conquered the shadows, +the larks meeting the sun with a jubilant song. + +There was a clock in the room, the hands pointing to six minutes before +five. "These minutes I will give you," said Taras, addressing the +doomed priest, "that you may recommend your sinful soul to its Maker." + +Even now the man quaked not, standing proud and erect. "Miscalculated!" +he repeated. With a quick movement his hand dived into his ample +garment, and withdrawing it as quickly, he carried a phial to his lips. +The men caught his arm, but it was too late, they were in time only to +support the dead man's frame. + +"What a pity," cried Jacek; "I would have given anything to see him +swing." + +"For shame!" returned Taras, sternly. "He was an evil-doer, but he had +the courage of a man! Lay him on his bed!... He has at least shown us +that a man can die, if need be." + +There was a solemn pause, after which he addressed the judge. "One +thing yet before our work is complete. The village has suffered at the +hands of this man. You shall take what money there is found here, to be +divided justly among the people.... Stas and Jemilian, search the +place." + +"May we not offer you a part for yourself?" returned the judge; "it +were but right and fair." + +"No," said Taras, curtly. + +"But you will let us give some of it to your men?" + +"No, they are no paid assassins, but serving justice." + +"But you must live!" + +"I have enough for the present to provide for our needs, and when my +own means fail, others, no doubt, will be forthcoming." + +Stas and Jemilian at this moment returned from the adjoining apartment. +"This appears to be money," said the former, placing a cash box upon +the table. + +"Force the lid," said Taras to the judge, "I would rather not touch +it." + +But the old man could not succeed with his trembling fingers, until +Jacek came to his assistance. The box burst open with a jerk, +revealing, however, only a moderate bundle of banknotes, beneath which +lay a number of securities of considerable value. "The notes only are +of use to us," said the judge, counting them. "Not much over a thousand +florins," he stated presently; "the loss we have suffered is about +twenty-fold." + +Old Jemilian was standing aside, pale and trembling, and trying to come +to a conclusion. Now he stepped up to his master, saying, with +faltering voice, "I hoped to tell you some other time, but I see now +you must know at once. There was more where we found the casket--a +purse, I saw it plainly, which Stas put into his own pocket." + +Taras grew deadly white, staggering as though he had received a blow. +"Is--is it--true?" he said, stammering with the shock of it. + +But Stas fell to the ground at his feet. "Forgive it--this once," he +faltered. "The money tempted me. Ah, mercy!" + +Taras passed his hand across his brow. "Where is the purse?" he said, +hollow-voiced. + +The man, still kneeling, produced it. + +"Take it, judge ... count it." + +"Seventeen florins," reported the old man. + +"Well, put it with the rest." He spoke hoarsely, a fearful agitation +convulsing his frame. "Stas," he said, presently, with the same choking +voice, "I grieve for you with all my heart. You have known much +trouble, it is hard to see you end so ignominiously. But I cannot save +you--say your prayers, Stas!" + +"Ah, mercy!" groaned the unhappy man, the others joining: "Yes, hetman, +forgive him this once!" + +"I cannot--dare not," said Taras, breathing hard and wiping the dews +from his forehead. "I would--ah, how gladly would I forgive him!--but +this sacred cause!... Say your prayers, man." + +"Mercy!" moaned Stas once more, and fell in a swoon. Taras stepped +back, and, pointing his pistol, lodged a bullet in the motionless head. +The man was dead on the spot. A cry of horror went round the room, and +silence settled, the larks outside continuing their song of praise. + +"He was unable to commend his soul to God, let us do so for him," said +Taras, with the same husky voice. He crossed himself, and with +quivering lips spoke a prayer for the dead, the others repeating it +after him, awe-struck. + +"Let us be gone now!" + +They left the chamber of death, calling together their men, and mounted +their horses. But the captain's face continued white and fearfully +rigid. + +"How shall we thank you!" said the judge. + +"Not at all," returned Taras, sternly. "For if I had done it for your +own sakes merely, I could but turn the pistol against myself now!" He +spurred his horse, making for the manse, where Nashko and his men stood +ready to mount. + +"Three of us have fallen," reported the Jew, "and we killed fourteen of +the soldiers. I used every precaution, but----" + +"Have we any wounded?" interrupted the captain. + +"No--that is, one man is slightly hurt; but able to mount horse." + +"Let us start, then; the people here will see to our dead." + +And away they went in a sharp gallop in the direction of Colomea. They +followed the high-road at first, but, turning off at right angles, +presently plunged into the pathless heath which they traversed at a +furious pace, reaching the village Nazurna just as the thin-voiced +church bell was tinkling out the hour of noon. + +It is but a poor place, amid all the characteristics of heath-country; +there are a few farms at great distances one from another, and not +greatly thriving, for the soil is unproductive, forming part of the +sterile table-land between the valleys of the Pruth and the Czerniawa. +A couple of miles beyond the village there is a large moor called the +Wallachian Bog, where, according to tradition, in the frontier wars +between Poland and Roumania a regiment on the march was sucked down and +suffocated in broad daylight. And nothing is more likely, for it is +treacherous ground indeed, and even the experienced eye is at a loss to +distinguish where the firm land ceases and marshy soil begins, since +not only the latter, but the safe earth as well, is covered with sedge +grass and willows far and wide. The waters nowhere rise to the surface, +and tall trees growing on little islets complete the deception; a +larger island covered with beech wood forms the centre of the moor, and +is to be reached only by a narrow strip of solid soil which connects it +with the firmer land. + +Thither Taras led his band; he was acquainted with the bog and the +island, with its overgrown and all but secret entrance, from the days +when he had been in service at Hankowce, not far distant. It was an +admirable place for his purpose, and not the most experienced military +engineer could easily have secured a better position for a troop of +horsemen in constant danger of being attacked by numerically superior +forces, and in need of a safe resting-place to which they might retire +after their raids, than this spot formed, not by the art of man, but by +a freak of nature. The extreme loneliness of the neighbourhood lessened +every chance of discovery; while even a body of men under hot pursuit +could vanish thither as though disappearing by magic, and the narrow +entrance at the worst could be held against almost any odds. It was +natural then that the "avenger" should have taken his men to this place +of refuge on many an occasion, so that to this day it goes by the +popular name of "Taras's Retreat." + +Cautiously, and not without trouble could the men in the first instance +take the horses across the shrub-grown neck of land to the island, +where they might rest and take food after that grim night and the hard +ride since. Yet sleep came to very few of them, an unusual agitation +counteracting even the inviting shade of the kindly beeches. A strange +humour, something between the madness of utter recklessness and the +dejection of inward disapproval, filled the minds of some. For there +were those among them that had never shed blood, nor stood in danger of +death themselves, and who seemed to understand all at once that the +outlaw's business was desperate work; they grew thoughtful and somewhat +penitent, endeavouring to conquer these sensations by breaking into +noisy song, or by assuring each other that no doubt the coming night +would be "jollier" still. But others, whose past experience had +fortified them against the proceedings at Kossowince, felt regretful on +a different score. It had not surprised them that Taras should have +forbidden plunder under pain of death, for that was the way of every +new hetman forming a band of hajdamaks; but that he should go to the +length of refusing an offering of gratitude for service rendered, and +that he should have found it necessary to shoot that poor devil of a +Stas for the sake of a handful of florins, was beyond their +comprehension. And thus they came to inquire what bound them to this +man, who by sheer strength of will had forced them to acknowledge a +wretched Jew as one fit to lead them; whose foolish notions had +offended the people of Zulawce, and who actually appeared to expect his +followers to risk their lives for his ideas, and for no earthly gain +beyond the barest daily bread. But the power which Taras exercised even +over these low natures was such that they hardly dared breathe these +thoughts to themselves, far less to each other. They lay, gloomy and +silent, in the tall sedge-grass, till one of them, suddenly jumping up, +started a request for Karol Wygoda's bagpipe, at the squeaks and +screams of which their darker thoughts receded. One apprehension, +however, that might or might not yield to their merriment, was common +to all--the near prospect of death. The band which had started so full +of spirits from the Crystal Springs had already lost every tenth man of +its numbers, and if the attack of a mere ill-defended country place +required such sacrifice, what might not be the result of the coming +night, when they would enter the well-garrisoned district town? It was +for this reason that more than one among them, now joining madly in the +dance, would turn aside suddenly with a strange tremor, to conquer +which they would halloo the more wildly on resuming the measured pace. + +Taras alone appeared unmoved. With the greatest composure he made his +arrangements for the night, his bearing and his voice showing as little +of emotion as if he had stood in his own farmyard giving orders for the +cutting of the wheat. It quite distressed Nashko, for he felt certain +that the carnage of the past night had left a fearful burden on the +heart of his friend. He was anxious to lessen it, and when Taras +beckoned to him to receive his instructions he did his utmost to show +that neither the orders given nor their execution could be blamed for +the sad results. + +"Seventeen lives," he said, regretfully; "it is terrible, indeed! But I +think I may say I did my very best to carry out your desire that +bloodshed if possible should be avoided. It was the watchfulness of the +sentry that frustrated our intention; the man gave the alarm at once, +rousing the others, and since I could not leave them time to arm +themselves fully, I was obliged to dash into action within the manse +itself, in order to overpower them before they had a chance of +benefiting by their numbers and superior equipment. It was the close +encounter in rooms and passages--in all but darkness, moreover--which +resulted in so many slain. There were no wounded, simply because in +this desperate fray neither they nor we could have offered or accepted +quarter. It was only when the torches were lit--and you may be sure +this was done as quickly as possible--only when the soldiers could see +that further resistance was madness, the sparing of life became +possible; and you may believe me that from that moment not a single +life----" + +"All right," interrupted Taras, preparing to move away. + +The Jew looked at him bewildered. "You are impatient of listening!" he +said. "I thought your heart was breaking because of----" + +"All right," repeated Taras, quietly. "You have done your duty. And for +the rest--what does it matter? Ten lives more or less--what can it +matter, since things are what they are?" + +But the smile playing about his lips alarmed Nashko even more than the +calm he understood not. "Taras," he cried, "this is not your own true +feeling!" + +"Do you think so?" returned the hetman coldly, the same terrible smile +distorting the solemn and yet gentle beauty of his face. "I am not so +sure." + +He turned away abruptly to appoint the order of sentries until +nightfall; when all was settled he expressed his desire to be left +undisturbed. "I am going to have a few hours' sleep now," he said, and +retiring to the other side of the island, he threw himself into the +waving grass, where he lay motionless. + +A good many eyes followed him enviously. "Humph!" said one of the men, +"one would think he is as little used to butchering as ourselves, and +he has set this business going, with his own hand even killing a man +who could not defend himself; yet look at him, sleeping like an +innocent babe, while conscience with us is a wakeful trouble!" + +Only Nashko and old Jemilian knew how it was ... + +Not till towards eight o'clock, when night was falling, did Taras once +more mingle with his men. The command was given, and cautiously as +before the horses were led through the tangled growth of the slip of +land. On reaching the other side the procession formed. Their way would +shortly bring them into more densely-peopled districts, and there was +every likelihood that the news from Kossowince by this time had reached +the district town, so that caution was doubly needful. Taras divided +his men into three separate troops, himself heading the vanguard; to +the Royal Eagle he entrusted the leadership of the second and strongest +division, while Nashko should bring up the rear. They were to keep +within earshot of each other. The signal was given, and the vanguard +set off at a quick trot, followed in due order by Julko and the Jew. + +They rode on well through the dark and silent night, due west at first +over the desolate heath, till they reached the track between Nazurna +and Kornicz, which they took. The heavens were veiled with low-hanging +clouds; the air was heavy and sultry; the darkness appeared to grow +deeper, and the path at length could hardly be distinguished. Taras +kept whistling distrustfully at short intervals; the counter-signals +from the two other leaders at first were given in return almost +immediately and in due order, but one of the whistlers behind appeared +to fall back, and presently his signal showed him in a wrong direction +altogether. + +Much as delay was undesirable, Taras had to stop, and even to turn +back. He soon came upon the main body, but not without trouble could +the straying rear guard be brought up. Nashko had missed the path on +the heath, following a northerly track, and when the captain's signals +sounded more and more faintly, he believed the divisions in front to +have quickened their pace, and ordered his men to spur on their horses, +thus, of course, falling away all the further. + +Upon this Taras resolved to keep his forces together, as the least +dangerous plan in the circumstances. Recovering their direction, they +passed several homesteads, and presently heard the roaring of the +Wilchowec, which carries the waters of the Dobrowa Forest in a +succession of cataracts to the Pruth. There a new mishap awaited them. +They had missed the only bridge spanning the turbulent stream, and were +at a loss to decide whether they ought to seek it above or below them. + +"Let some of us ride up the river and some down, and those that find +the bridge can signal for the others," proposed Julko. + +"No," said Taras, "that were losing time. The Wilchowec must be +fordable somewhere. I saw a light burning in the cottage we just +passed. I will go for a guide." + +And, followed by two or three of his men, he galloped back and halted +in front of a lighted window. In a low-ceiled room a peasant was seen +sitting beside his wife, showing her delightedly a handful of silver +coin. It was an elderly man, white-haired, and with a rubicund +countenance. "Hail, old fellow!" cried Taras, tapping at the window. + +The peasant started, extinguishing the torchlight inside the room, +while the woman screamed, and then all was still. + +"There is no cause for alarm!" cried Taras, "we beg a kindness of you, +that is all." + +"What, so late at night," said the peasant within. "Have the goodness +to let us sleep in peace." + +"You have not been asleep yet," Taras called back, growing impatient. +"You were counting your earnings. There is no fear of our robbing you; +indeed, I will add to your gains if you show us the place where the +river can be forded." + +"Why should you want to ford it, when there is a bridge not more than a +mile distant, down stream? You cannot miss it, since the hussars there +are keeping a good watch fire." + +"The hussars!" cried Taras, startled. + +"Yes, the hussars," repeated the peasant. "You don't seem to like it. +And I must say it would not be advisable for highwaymen to try to cross +the bridge to-night." + +"Listen," said Taras, who had recovered himself. "I am not a +highwayman, and I take you to be an honest peasant. So I will ask you +to guide us. I want you--I am Taras, the avenger." + +"Taras!" exclaimed the man, with a tone of the greatest surprise. +"Taras!" he repeated, leaning out from his window as far as he could. +"Is it you, indeed? Ah! it is too much almost to believe. What +happiness--what honour!... Light the torch, wife, quickly, that I may +see his face!... But no, you want me to come"--and he drew back his +head; "I am coming--coming at once." + +"No, stay. Tell me first--are you sure there is a body of hussars by +the bridge?" + +"Yes, certainly; some thirty of them. Are you in ignorance of their +resolves against you at Colomea? I know all about it, having been to +market to-day. And there is no need to hide it now, I made fifteen +florins--out of my sheep, that is. And I have not told you my name--I +am Stenko Worobka." + +"Yes, yes, Stenko; tell me quickly." + +"Ah, yes; I am an old fool! It is just this: with the early morning +to-day the car returned, and the two constables safe enough, but no +commissioner. The town was aghast; that is, the people said it was no +great loss if Taras had a fancy for keeping Mr. Kapronski; but it +seemed certain that if he meant to carry out his threats at all he +would come first to Colomea to strangle the mandatar. And so they +dispatched a courier to Zablotow to call the hussars that brought such +trouble to your own village, and I saw them arrive before night. But +the magistrates did not approve that you and the soldiers should fight +it out beneath their own eyes--dear me, that I should be able to tell +you all this; what happiness! what rare good luck! What was I going to +say?--yes, they resolved to catch you on the road, and so they ordered +the hussars and such Whitecoats as were quartered in the city to +station themselves in a half-circle between the town and the mountains, +making sure thus to cut off your approach. The soldiers are all at +their posts by this time; a body of hussars, as I told you, keeping the +bridge yonder." + +"And where are the rest of them?" + +"Well, some guard the road towards Horodenka, others keeping a look-out +in the direction of Cieniawa; others again are by St. Mary's Cross. +They think not a mouse could thus pass their vigilance, for they keep +patrolling diligently." + +"Well, we have not met a soul so far." + +"I daresay--ha! ha! what a joke!--don't you see, this is just the one +loophole in their net. They make sure that so long as they hold the +bridge no one could cross this boisterous river." + +"_Is_ it fordable?" + +"Yes, to be sure--not very comfortably, but we can manage it--close +by here.... So you are really bent on going to Colomea? There is no +reason why you should not do so; why, they did not--ha! ha! how +delightful!--they did not keep back a dozen soldiers." + +Taras was revolving the situation in his mind. "We will do it," he +said, after some cogitation; "it is a venture for life and death, but +we will risk it. But there is not a moment to be lost." + +The peasant was ready to guide them, and mounting behind one of the +men, they dashed back to the others. Taras reported to them what he had +just learned, "Let us venture," he said. "Yes, yes, let us try it," +cried Julko and Nashko, in high spirits, all the others assenting. + +Under the peasant's guidance they forthwith set about fording the +river; the current was wild and strong, the deep darkness of the night +adding to the danger; but they crossed in safety. "We have managed it, +thanks to you," said Taras to the peasant; "and here is your florin." + +But Stenko refused, quite hurt at the offer. "Do you think I should +take pay," he cried; "are you not our own avenger? Nay, I am more than +rewarded, and you must let me come with you, for this night is darker +than the inside of a cow--you would scarcely reach the town; besides, +you will want to ford the river again as you return." + +"But you have a wife and your property to think of. I must warn you," +said Taras, "it would go ill with you if they caught you thus aiding +us." + +"They won't then," decided the peasant, confidently. "And don't you +know that a man cannot escape his destiny? If it is my fate to come by +an evil end I shall have to face it whether I guide you or not." + +After which philosophical remark two of Taras's men had to be satisfied +with being mounted one behind the other, leaving a horse free for the +peasant who rode beside Taras at the head of the band. At a sharp pace +they traversed the fields and meadows of Korolowka, and presently found +themselves on the high road leading to the district town. The country +appeared desolate; but close by the town they met some peasants who so +late in the night had set out to return from their week's marketing. +Not that important business had detained them to this hour, but the +public-house had, as might be judged by their unsteady gait. Yet the +vapours of drink were at once dispelled when they found themselves +suddenly surrounded and questioned by an armed band on horseback; and +though trembling with fright they were able to confirm the news that +all the garrison of the place as well as the hussars had been sent to +waylay the Avenger, and only a handful of soldiers now were within, at +the main guard-house, for the sake of sentry duty in the prisons. + +They left the high road, Wassilj Soklewicz now acting as guide, for he +alone knew the villa where they hoped to find Hajek. It lay on the road +towards St. Mary's Cross, a German colony; it was a spacious building, +but low, situated in its own grounds, which were guarded in front by a +strong iron railing. Orchards stretched away at the back of it, and +meadows on both sides. The nearest habitation was a quarter of a mile +distant, the town fully a mile. Just as they came in sight of the +place, a clear sound cut the air, the clock in the little belfry was +announcing the first hour after midnight. And close upon it--already +they could see the lighted windows of the house--a sharp whistle was +given, followed by another.... + +The men started. "An ambush!" they cried. "Fall back!" + +"No; forward," ordered Taras, spurring his horse. "The wretch has set +spies to be warned of our approach.... He is here! There, look!..." + +He was pointing towards the house, the lighted windows of which one +after another were darkening rapidly. The gate, just as they reached +it, closed with a bang, and retreating footsteps were heard. + +"Try your axes!" cried Taras; and some of the men, jumping from their +horses, belaboured the gate with powerful blows. The strong bars were +bending, and some already giving way. + +But suddenly the door of the villa opened, and between two torchbearers +an aged man came forth, bareheaded, and carrying a key--it was Herr von +Antoniewicz. + +"My good people," he began, "why are you ruining my gate like this? Was +there no better way of asking for admittance? There is no reason why +you should not come in, if you tell me who you are and what brings you +hither at this late hour." + +"You know that well enough!" cried Taras; "the wretch is in hiding +here." + +"Yes," said the old man, continuing slowly and distinctly, "I am afraid +we know that he cannot escape you, and I am ready to let you in, on +your word of honour that you will harm no one else, and that you will +not kill him here, but take him away with you. You see I am anxious to +spare my daughter's feelings, who was going to be his wife." + +"He seems to have found a worthy father-in-law, anyhow," said Taras, +scornfully. "However, you have my word; now open on the spot." + +The Armenian did so unhesitatingly. Julko and Nashko with the main body +taking up their position by the gate, while Taras and some dozen of the +men entered the grounds. About half of them were ordered to watch the +exits of the house, the others following their captain inside. + +"Where is the mandatar?" inquired Taras of Antoniewicz. + +"Somewhere about the sitting-rooms," replied that worthy man, as +quietly as though he were directing a casual visitor to his guest. "At +least I left him there. He fell in a dead faint when I explained to him +that I had no intention, nor indeed the power, to save him from your +hands. I daresay he has recovered by this time, and is hiding in some +corner." + +Taras traversed the ante-hall, where Frau von Antoniewicz and the +Countess Wanda awaited him kneeling. They were in floods of tears, +trembling with emotion as they caught hold of his feet to stop his +progress. "Mercy!" they moaned. "For pity's sake forgive him!" Taras +endeavoured to free himself from their grasp, but they clung to him, +and he was too much of a man to use force with women. + +"Let me go," he said; "it is quite useless to waste a word about him." + +But they clung all the faster, "What, shall I have to see it with my +own eyes?" cried the amiable Wanda with dishevelled locks and rolling +her eyes--a very picture of despair. + +"You need not--you are free to leave the house. I have nothing to do +with women." + +"Alas!" whined the mother, "how should we, helpless women, venture to +face all your men?" + +"They won't harm you. Moreover, your husband is welcome to go with you. +Of course you will keep in the grounds for the present." + +He sent an order to this effect to the men keeping the front door, and +thereupon, with Jemilian, Sefko, Wassilj, and one or two others of his +most trustworthy followers, he set himself to search the rooms. Their +torches flared brightly, but the spacious apartments appeared +untenanted. They looked into every chimney, beneath every couch, and +behind the hangings with rising impatience, making such careful +examination that not a kitten could have escaped, far less a man. But +not a creature did they find. They had reached the last room on this +floor--the dining room. + +It was locked. "Ah!" said Taras, with a sigh of relief. The door soon +yielded. The table showed the remains of dessert, empty champagne +bottles and glasses half filled. There appeared to have been five +covers. + +"Who may have been the fifth at this feast?" said Jemilian, wondering. + +"Caught him!" cried Wassilj at this moment from the further corner of +the room. "Here he is!" And sure enough something like a man it seemed, +but in the strangest hiding place. The large fuel basket had been +turned upside down, and emptied of its contents of firewood, and some +one had squeezed himself in as best he might. But success was not equal +to the effort, a pair of coattails showing treacherously; on Wassilj +giving the basket a kick it capsized, but the man inside stuck fast, +yelling, however, vociferously. + +"That is not Hajek's voice!" cried Taras, Wassilj and Sefko dragging +its owner from the basket. And, indeed, it was not the mandatar, but +only the fifth at the late banquet, the ere-while champion of Poland's +honour--Mr. Thaddeus de Bazanski. But how little he that was +half-brother of Nicolas I. at this moment showed worthy of his august +descent! His head and shoulders covered with wood chips, his garments +torn, his knees trembling, and his face so white with terror that the +nose itself had only the faintest flush left of its usual redness. Thus +he stood before them, clutching the immortal confederatka to his bosom, +and so overpowered with fear that he could only shiver and quake in +speechless agony. + +"Who on earth are you?" inquired Taras, peremptorily. + +"I ... oh!... a visitor ... mercy! I could not help it!" + +"Where is the mandatar?" + +"He got away--made his escape while old Bogdan kept you talking ..." +Taras stamped furiously. "Ah, mercy, I will tell you everything!" +faltered the whilom conqueror of Ostrolenka, sinking to his knees. +"They did not think there was much fear of your coming, on account of +the soldiers, but Mr. Hajek insisted on setting spies, that he might be +warned of any possible danger. We were still at table--and a fine +banquet it was--when suddenly the signal was given; there was barely +time left to lock the outer gate and drag the mandatar from the house. +He could not stand on his own legs for fear of meeting you; but since +there was a chance of his getting away safely through the orchards, and +gaining the town, old Bogdan and his womenfolk undertook to lead you +off the scent. They expected me to take a part also, but I stoutly +refused. 'How should I deceive this Taras, this noble avenger,' I said; +'I shall do no such thing; for Taras is a brave man, an honourable man, +a generous----'" + +Which eulogy was not even heard by Taras. "Follow me!" he called out to +his men, bursting from the house. "I want to have a word with that pack +of deceivers; where are they?" + +"Made their escape, hetman," reported the men at the door. + +"Their escape? I will hold every one of you answerable!" + +The two men in charge of the grounds now came up. "Hetman," they said; +"we can hardly be blamed. These three deceitful serpents would have got +round an archangel, not to say the devil himself. We had asked them to +keep near the house, and there they stood awhile, when the old woman +suddenly gave a cry with all the antics of swooning; upon which the +young one implored us to assist in carrying her mother into the arbour +yonder. And then she fell a-shrieking, 'Water! water! for pity's sake, +get some water!' Well, as they were women after all, and the old man, +who kept wringing his hands, assured us she would die unless we +complied, what else could we do? We went for water, and returning +quickly enough, we found they had gone--disappeared in the darkness. We +searched the orchard, but they have escaped us, much to our disgust." + +Taras looked gloomy. + +"I may come back to that presently," he said, sternly; "the next thing +to be done is this--the house which has given shelter to the mandatar, +and whose owners have deceived me so shamefully, shall disappear from +the earth.... Set fire to it, in the basement, beneath the roof, +everywhere--let it flare up quickly ... but "--and he drew his +pistol--"if any of you value his life, let him beware of plundering!" + +The men gave a wild halloo, brandishing their torches, and burst into +the house. + +"And what is to be done with this man?" said Wassilj, dragging the +Polish champion behind him. + +"Who are you, then?" now asked Taras. "What is your name?" + +"Thaddeus Bazanski, and--and----" + +"I can tell you all about him," interrupted Wassilj; "one of the +mandatar's men has just told me. He is a miserable wretch, living on +his betters, and making money in all sorts of mean ways. It is he that +brought about the engagement between the mandatar and that fair, fat +creature of a countess!" + +"I don't deny it," cried the would-be nobleman, eagerly. "But I am +sure, if you knew all about her, and what bliss awaits your enemy in +wedlock, you would say 'Thank you' to me!" + +Taras could not repress a smile, the man spoke with such utter +assurance; but his brow clouded again as Wassilj continued: "He is a +Polish nobleman by his own showing. True, he is nothing but a beggar +now; but he keeps telling his listeners how _he_ got money out of his +peasants before he lost his vast possessions." + +"Indeed?" said Taras, frowningly. + +"Ah, no," whined Thaddy; "I never owned any possessions. How, indeed, +should I have come by any land?" + +"Well, captain, these are his tales whenever he can get a man to drink +with." + +"That much is true," said the imperial offspring, with woe-begone +countenance. "A man must live--I mean, one gets thirsty and is bound to +drink. And no one will stand me a glass unless I give him a fine story +in return. They don't mind the lying, so I go on inventing. But I am +not noble at all--never was, or fought any battles either. My father +was a poor cobbler, and I--I----" + +"Well, out with it!" + +"I am nothing particular, at present. How I manage to live, most +honoured avenger, I have just confessed to you--this young man in that +has spoken the truth. In my younger days I was a--a--well, something of +an artist." + +"Indeed! what sort of an artist?" + +Thaddy smiled bashfully, and since the word was not forthcoming, he +took refuge in signs, passing his hands over his jaws and under his +chin, at which he blushed and smiled afresh. + +"What, a cut-throat?" + +"Oh, dear, no; only a barber!" cried Thaddy. "As sure as I hope for +better days, you may believe me--just nothing but a barber! And I think +I could give you proof of my craft still. Might I perhaps have the +honour----" + +"No, thank you," said Taras, and turning to Wassilj, he added, "Let him +off!" + +The hero of Ostrolenka bowed to the ground in gratitude, and still +clasping the famous confederatka, he vanished into the night as quickly +as his legs would carry him. + +The men returned. "We have done it, hetman," they reported. "We have +set fire to all the rooms not facing the town, so that it may not be +perceived there too soon." + +The signal to mount was given; and the band was ready to start. "We +will yet gain our end," cried Taras. "We will seek the wretch in his +own dwelling within the town." + +But he had scarcely done speaking, when the tocsin broke upon the night +with its own lugubrious notes of warning. Taras looked at the villa, +smoke was rising, but no flame as yet. "This is not the alarm of fire," +he exclaimed, "but rather in warning of our coming! They must have +received information. Well, never mind! The townsfolk will not harm us, +and the few soldiers we shall get the better of. I suppose we must make +straight for the main guard-house, and I should not wonder if we found +our man there--he will not feel safe in his own dwelling. Are you +ready?" + +"Urrahah!" responded the men, and away they went. + +The rest of it happened more quickly than it can be told. + +The band made for the town at full gallop, every moment swelling the +tumult ahead of them. All the bells of the place by this time had +joined with the tocsin, filling the air with dismal, deafening sound. +The citizens had all awaked. "Fire!" cried some; "The avenger--save +yourselves!" shouted others. + +Meanwhile the night was lit up suddenly behind the riders, volumes of +lurid flames rising to the heavens. The villa in a moment stood lapt in +fire. + +The band of horsemen was nearing the marketplace, the streets were +heaving. Everywhere the people burst from their dwellings, some barely +clad; and from hundreds of horror-struck voices the news rang through +the air, "The avenger is upon us!" Some returned to their houses, +endeavouring to barricade the doors, others in senseless terror rushed +to the market-place. + +"Urrahah!" was the war-cry resounding ever and anon through all the +wild commotion. Like a mountain stream the cavalcade dashed onward, +over the heads and limbs of any in their way. They reached the +market-place. The main guardhouse was full of light, torches +everywhere. In front of it the handful of soldiers drawn up with their +corporal, muskets levelled. + +Taras and his men burst upon the scene. The people, shrieking, ran +hither and thither. The corporal gave the word, "Fire!" Milko fell from +his horse, shot to the heart, and Nashko reeled in his saddle. Another +moment and the soldiers were disarmed and cut down to a man. + +Some of the band were left to guard the door, the others, following +Taras, rushed into the building to seek the mandatar. The first-floor +was utterly deserted, but at the top of the stairs two venerable +figures awaited them, the burgomaster and the senior priest, falling on +their knees. "Have mercy!" they pleaded, "the mandatar is not in the +place." + +"Where is he, then?" + +"We cannot tell. If we knew, we would give him up to you, that other +lives might be spared. He fainted in the fields, and maybe is lying +there still. The groom who was to accompany him ran on alone to warn us +of your coming." + +"Can you swear it is so?" + +They affirmed it on their oath. + +"Then all the night's work has been for nothing!" cried Taras. "To seek +him in the open fields would be useless, and the hussars may be back at +any moment." + +The signal was given, the outlaws mounted and dashed away with the same +amazing rapidity with which they had come. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + THE AVENGER TO THE RESCUE. + + +The terrible night was over, the garrison had returned; but an agony of +fear was uppermost in the district town. What Taras had dared seemed +well-nigh incredible, and greater than the horror of what was past was +the direful apprehension of what the future might bring. He might +return any night; nay, in broad daylight even. + +Thoughts like these also occupied the magistrates, who held a special +meeting the following morning at the District Board office. The captain +of the hussars, and one or two other officers had been invited to +attend, but they had no comfort to offer; it seemed nothing short of a +miracle that the raid should have succeeded, and more incomprehensible +still that the band should have made good its retreat. As to its +numbers, opinions differed greatly. The commotion raised by their +flying entrance into the town, and the rapidity with which they had +overpowered the soldiers, tended naturally to an over-estimation of +their strength. There was one witness, however, who swore that Taras +had fully a thousand men under his command. "A thousand, I tell you, +for a certainty, on the honour of a nobleman!" It was Thaddeus de +Bazanski who averred this. For having got over his fright, the +experience he had undergone appeared to him rather lucky than +otherwise. And well it might, considering the bottles of fine Moldavian +the tale would be worth, not to mention the halo of importance it cast +around him! + +"A thousand men, I say, at the very least," he reiterated. "You will +believe an old officer, who for years has ridden at the head of a +regiment, and allow his fitness for estimating numbers. But concerning +this avenger, if I may judge by my own experience, I should say a manly +denunciation would suffice to cow him. If you show pluck, he knocks +under--he did so, at least, with me. 'Where is the mandatar?' he +stormed, as we met. 'Taras,' said I, undaunted, 'I am a guest under +this roof, and a nobleman born. I am not going to turn informer!' I +said this quietly, with all the sang-froid I am in the habit of +preserving in a desperate situation, and, for the matter of that, I +have known worse dangers in my time. As for him--well he bit his lip, +and, turning on his heel, said to his men, 'Comrades, it is no use to +think of intimidating an officer of such standing----'" + +But the Board never learned what further the frightened Taras had to +say concerning that officer, for a loud tumult was rising in the +market-place, coming nearer and nearer. The magistrates jumped from +their seats, crowding the windows, and an unlooked-for spectacle met +their eyes below. In the centre of a moving crowd there appeared an +open car, and upon it the lost Kapronski. He seemed unhurt, and even in +good spirits, for he kept smiling to the right and to the left in +acknowledgment of the people's salutation; but he waved his hands only, +never touching his travelling cap, which was pulled low over his ears. + +The excitement of the Board was such that it passed unnoticed when the +commissioner did not even bare his head on entering their presence. +They grew aware of it only when, having bowed low, he began with +somewhat uncertain accents: "I venture to crave permission of the +worshipful Board to keep my head covered. I am anxious to save your +feelings, for I--I got wounded--a bad cut." + +"Wounded!" cried the old town surgeon, who served on the Board, and +unable to restrain his professional eagerness, he caught at the cap. +But the sight of Kapronski, minus his head-gear, was so tragi-comical +that, with all their anxieties, the magistrates could not but smile. + +"What on earth is the meaning of this," cried the district governor. + +"It is the punishment which, among the Huzuls, is reserved for +cowards," Mr. Wroblewski, the secretary of the Board, hastened to +explain. + +Kapronski rewarded him with a vicious glance. "The secretary speaks the +truth," said he, putting on a bold front; "but it is not more than is +reserved for himself and all this worshipful Board if you have the +misfortune of falling into Taras's hands. He has inflicted this infamy +on me for no other reason but that I did my duty in carrying out your +orders." + +The smiles had vanished. "Tell us all about it," cried the magistrates, +eagerly. + +The commissioner bowed, and began with a minute description of how he +was carried to the Crystal Springs, and of what he saw there. + +"How many men should you say he has with him?" interrupted the captain +of the hussars, who naturally considered this the most important point. + +"Well, I should say about a thousand," replied the commissioner, +unblushingly. + +"Then this seems to be a fact," murmured the captain, with evident +concern; "that looks bad!" + +"I have not a doubt," Kapronski continued, "that his one reason for +waylaying me was his desire to make an example, just to show what +awaited any servant of the law who dared lift a finger against him. In +fact, he was going to hang me, and said so plainly. But, fortunately, I +had prepared an answer. 'So you may,' I said, 'if you dare, for I am +one against your thousand. But know that if you touch me your wife and +your children will rue it.'" + +"Why, that was illegal," broke in the district governor. "I wonder what +paragraph of the penal code warrants this!" + +Kapronski bowed deeply. He had expected this objection, and, indeed, +had shaped his story so far with the one intention of bringing his +dastardly falsehood, which had caused him plenty of trouble already, in +the best possible guise to the knowledge of his superiors. "Illegal," +he replied, humbly, "no doubt; but I venture to think I was justified +by the extremity of the situation." A murmur, not altogether of +disapproval, went round the Board, and even the district governor could +only shake his old head, grumbling to himself as the commissioner +continued. + +"The words I had spoken produced an immediate effect. Taras looked +concerned. 'Stuff!' he said, pretending to be careless; 'it is no use +trying to frighten me with that sort of thing; _your_ hands are bound +by the law,' However, he gave up the idea of hanging me, saying he +would use me as his messenger instead. Two things he charged me to +bring to your knowledge, most worshipful governor of this district; +firstly, that he expects you on the spot to withdraw the soldiers from +the parishes of Zablotow and Zulawce, and to forbear instituting +against him any action whatsoever. And he wishes you to understand that +you are not to dream of stopping his intentions by military +interference." + +"Well, I never!" cried the governor. + +"What impudence!" echoed the Board. + +"Secondly, that within four-and-twenty hours you are to deliver up the +mandatar to his men at that particular spot where the Pruth is fordable +between Zulawce and Debeslawce. He will let you know who else is to be +given up to him." + +The Board sat mute with indignant consternation. "And suppose I don't?" +gasped the governor. + +"In that case," returned Kapronski, with his deepest bow, "in that +case--I can hardly frame my lips to the rest of his message, but he +said: 'Tell him, if he does not comply, I shall set fire to the +district town and give it up to my men to plunder; and the magistrates, +nay, every servant of the law, shall be hanged on these trees of +ours--the governor first and foremost. I look upon them as a set of +infamous cowards, and to show them how we deal with such, I'll visit on +your head the ignominy which I consider is theirs.' And having treated +me as you see, he had me put down by the river that I might find my way +back as best I could." + +A series of groans went round the room, Captain Mihaly recovering +himself first. "Well, gentlemen, it's no use to hang our heads," he +cried. "Orders for reinforcements must be despatched at once." + +"Certainly," assented the burgomaster, "it is best to declare war +against this man on the spot. But," he added cautiously, "I suppose the +town itself is sufficiently protected by the garrison; you, captain, I +daresay, will guarantee its safety?" + +"We shall fight to the last man if need be," replied the gallant +soldier; "but I can guarantee nothing beyond. If this bandit has really +a thousand cut-throats to do his bidding, my squadron and the handful +of infantry stationed here cannot make any stand against him." + +The old man fell back in his chair white as death. "Then," he groaned, +"the mandatar must leave this town at once, even if we must get rid of +him by force; and it might be well to let it be known as widely as +possible, perhaps send a messenger to Taras." + +But the brave governor by this time had recovered himself. Rising, he +put forth his hand, as if to silence the burgomaster. "This shall not +be while I live," he said earnestly. "It is indeed a terrible matter we +have to face, but let us face it like men; let us rather die than act +meanly--let no act of ours cast a slur upon the dignity of legal +justice! This Mr. Wenceslas Hajek has done nothing, so far as I am +aware, to justify us in refusing him protection; let him stay here as +long as he pleases. If he will leave us of his own accord, all the +better; but if he chooses to stay, beware of annoying him." + +"Well, and will you undertake the fearful responsibility of it all?" +cried the burgomaster, excitedly. + +"I will," said the governor, solemnly; "I will be answerable both to +the Emperor and to God." + +"But I daresay it would need only a hint to Hajek," interposed the +captain. "I know what stuff the man is made of. If he is told that all +of us are in danger of our lives here, he'll be ready to leave us with +post-horses even." + +"Well, and where is he to be found, if that is the case?" inquired the +governor, open to this reasoning. + +"I can tell you," cried Dr. Starkowski, "in no less a place than the +town gaol. On my way hither I was told so by the chief constable. +Hajek, it appears, came to him at daybreak this morning, imploring him +to have him shut up, since prison was the only place of safety. He is +quite beside himself with terror, I hear--an object to behold." + +"Well, the mandatar may consider his movements by and by," said the +governor. "Our chief care for the present is the question of +reinforcements, as the captain has pointed out. And considering the +urgency of the case, I will forthwith despatch letters to the nearest +military stations at Stanislaw and Czernowitz. And I will also have +matters reported to the Provincial governor--I mean I will not do so by +writing only, but will despatch one of the commissioners to Lemberg, to +add every information by word of mouth." + +At which Kapronski gave a jerk, craning his neck eagerly. + +"Wait till you are asked!" cried the irritated governor. "On +consideration I have hardly any choice but to send you! It will be as +well to get rid of that cropped head of yours for a while--the people +here are frightened enough already, without keeping before their eyes +such a lively reminder of Taras's visit as you present. Besides, I +daresay you will prove an interesting sight to the gentlemen at +Lemberg. I shall expect you to be ready within half-an-hour." + +Kapronski bowed as deeply as before, hardly knowing how to hide his +satisfaction. He had succeeded in making his own confession of the +falsehood he had been guilty of; and had not only, as he believed, +revenged himself on Taras, but on his colleagues as well. He had paid +them out, he thought, for the slights with which they were apt to treat +him, and it delighted him to see them all afraid for their lives. +Moreover, his falsified report resulted in one thing his cowardly soul +approved of--the prospect of military reinforcement--for he could not +have foreseen his being sent away from the menaced city. But since the +governor's decision now promised to place him personally out of danger, +a really malicious thought presented itself to his dastardly mind--he +remembered what Taras actually _did_ say. "Your worship," he began, and +his voice quivered with the consciousness of his meanness. "I venture +to submit ... my own impression ... fully alive to the importance of +the case...." + +"Well, and what have you to say?" + +"Only just this. Would it not be well to anticipate any trouble this +bandit is likely to give; to make it impossible, and, perchance, even +force him to sue for peace? I know how easily he is cowed...." + +"It would seem so," cried the burgomaster; "at least, he has thus been +described to us already." + +"Yes, and by whom?" growled the governor, with a contemptuous glance at +the victor of Ostrolenka, who, after having given his evidence, had +retired to the wall, where he still stood, grinning and smirking. "What +is it you were going to say, Mr. Commissioner?" + +"Only this, your worship. I have stated how I was able to save my life +from the hands of this man. Now, supposing this most honourable Board +could see its way, in consideration of the imminent danger wherewith +the town is threatened, to issue an order for the arrest of the wife +and children...." + +"We might, indeed, be driven to it," said the burgomaster, half under +his breath. + +"What!" roared the governor, white and trembling with passion. "Oh, the +shameful disgrace, that an official of this district dares make such a +proposal! Coward, that you are!" + +Kapronski felt the withering contempt, and shrunk back. "I meant it for +the best," he stammered, "and I am sure I will not breathe a word of it +at Lemberg if it is disapproved of." + +"You are likely to be sent now!" muttered the governor, pacing the room +furiously. "Is this the man to be sent in the present emergency, when +so much----" The rest was lost in an angry mumbling. The man's whole +nature seemed in an uproar. At last he subsided, and, standing still +before the frightened Kapronski, he said, "You shall go; but I shall +take care that the letter you carry be sufficiently explicit. You may +come for it in an hour." + +The commissioner heaved a breath of relief, and turned to go, but not +without experiencing another shock, for the governor called after him, +"Stop a moment; if the mandatar chooses to leave you might as well +travel together. I shall allow you a couple of constables." + +Kapronski stood rooted to the ground, his eyes starting with terror. +If he had been offered old Death itself as a travelling companion he +could not have trembled more at the prospect. "And what if we are +attacked?--Taras----" he groaned. + +"In that case you would be lost either way;" with which comfort the +wretched man had to be satisfied. The governor now addressed himself to +Starkowski, begging him to visit Hajek in his voluntary confinement. "I +know I can trust you with this delicate business," he said; "you will +represent matters correctly to him, without exercising any pressure." + +The lawyer agreed readily, and went on his errand at once. But the +abject creature lying on a couch in a private apartment in the city +gaol did not strike him as likely to come to any resolve. He was +positively delirious with fear, and the warder had not a little trouble +to keep him quiet. + +So after all Mr. Kapronski started on his journey without the mandatar; +not, however, without a numerous retinue. For no sooner had it become +known that Captain Mihaly had not considered it possible to guarantee +the safety of the town, than every citizen that had a chance of horses +prepared for flight. And those who could not get away themselves were +anxious to send, at least, wife and child and the best of their +movables out of the town, which seemed doomed. The streets for some +hours presented a picture of distress and unspeakable confusion, since +the poor folk were hard driven for time if they wished to set out with +the commissioner and his escort. At noon the sorrowful procession was +ready to start, in the very centre of them all the commissioner on his +car; but instead of two constables there were twenty of the hussars, +which escort the governor had been prevailed upon to grant upon the +sore entreaties of the fugitives. + +But this was the only concession he made to the craven fear that had +possessed the populace. Herr von Bauer proved in those days that, +with all his comical weaknesses, he was a man indeed. He called +together the citizens, suggesting that they should organise themselves +into a body of special constables for the safety of the town. But that +chicken-hearted population met his well-meant proposal with positive +indignation. "We are not going to be brought to ruin," they cried. "We +shall endeavour to conciliate Taras if he returns; maybe he will be +satisfied with the heads of those who have offended him." Nay, worse +than this. "We are not going to be butchered for the sake of a +blackguard land-steward; if you do not rid the town of his presence we +shall do it ourselves, and so thoroughly, we warrant, as will please +even Taras." The district governor was by himself, facing the seething +crowd; but his reply was as plucky and curt as possible. "You idiots! +you cowards!" he cried; "I can't make men of you, of course, nor force +you to defend yourselves; but be sure of this, I'll have every man of +you shot that lifts a finger against the mandatar." In the +consternation which followed he walked away quietly. But the very next +hour showed that he was likely to be as good as his word, when, amid +the beating of drums and the pealing of bells, martial law was +proclaimed in the city and district of Colomea. The citizens were +informed that they must keep within doors, that every gathering of mobs +would be treated as open rebellion, and any attempt upon life or +property punished with the gallows. The worst was thus staved off, and +disorder within was not likely to join hands with any horrors from +without. + +At the same time couriers were despatched in all directions, not merely +to the neighbouring military stations, but even to some of the larger +villages of the plain, where the peasantry, eight years before, when +the great Polish insurrection threatened to spread into Galicia, had +volunteered their services for the safety of the town. And at sundown +Herr von Bauer, worn out with the day's anxiety, had at least the +comfort of knowing that he had done what was possible for the averting +of trouble; if the night passed peaceably the town was saved. + +And there was no disturbance, but the morning brought one batch of +ill-news after another. The messengers came flocking back from the +plain stating that the peasantry everywhere repudiated the idea of +yielding assistance. "We are not going to turn against our own flesh +and blood," they had said, "and we advise the men of the law to make +their peace with Taras, for he is just." And more, it seemed as if the +peasants round about, not satisfied with keeping neutral, were ready to +side openly with the avenger. Every hour swelled the reports coming in +from the mandatars, landlords, and parish priests of the district, all +concurring that the peasantry were at the highest pitch of excitement; +that the success which had accompanied Taras's first deed of vengeance +had roused the spirit of opposition everywhere, and that the worst +might happen unless Government carried matters with a high hand. But +the most appalling news was this, coming in about noon, that in the +past night the avenger had dealt justice elsewhere; that he had +appeared about midnight in the village of Zadubrowce, setting free a +number of peasants who were kept in gaol because of arrears of forced +labour; that he had called upon the mandatar of the place to answer for +his doings in the presence of all the people; and that after a careful +trial he had decided to let him off a disgraced man with his head +shorn, warning him at the same time that he would forfeit his life if +he continued oppressing the people. But strangely enough--so ran the +report--he gave the peasantry a similar warning, in case they should +attempt any plundering of the manor. But if this latter piece of +information contained any comfort, there was the fact to be set against +it that the village in question was far out in the plain, bordering +upon the Bukowina. It was beyond anything to be conceived that these +outlaws had dared the distance, there was not a shadow of an +explanation how they got thither, and no one knew whither they had +vanished. It seemed but poor consolation that by the evening a troop of +dragoons arrived from Stanislaw, especially as their captain brought +the information along with him that further reinforcements must not be +expected under a week. About midnight, however, the infantry returned +from Zulawce, Captain Stanczuk having led back his men on his own +responsibility, in consequence of what appeared to him certain +information of a meditated attack upon the district town. Now this +officer was a man whose judgment might be trusted, it being known that, +having grown up among them, he understood the peasantry; and when he +also reported an ominous excitement about the country, giving it as his +opinion that the danger was not to be trifled with, it was resolved to +keep together what forces so far were available--about five hundred men +in all--for the protection of the town itself, and to deal with the +disturbed state of the country only when further reinforcements could +be obtained. + +April merged into May, but there was no further attack upon the town, +although nightly expected, and the remainder of the garrison at +Kossowince arrived safely at Colomea; but there was a constant feeling +of the proximity of Taras's band, and the reports pouring in proved +that this man, for good or for evil, swayed the minds of the peasantry +throughout that part of the province. For, incredible as it seemed, it +had to be accepted as a fact that Taras, whatever might be thought of +his 'judgments,' exercised his influence in a marked degree for actual +good. The governor, with a grim smile, had entered that account of +events at Zadubrowce along with the "charges against Taras and +followers"; but almost every day since had brought fresh proof that +Taras really had forbidden the peasantry under pain of death to have +recourse to plunder, or even to seek their rights for themselves, and, +more remarkable still, that he insisted on their yielding every just +tribute. And this information did not proceed from any of his +adherents, but from the mandatars, the landlords, and the parish +priests, who hated this "avenger" as their natural enemy, and would +have been only too glad to see him taken up as a malefactor. For if the +influence of this strangest of bandits for good could not be denied, +neither was there any gainsaying that he exercised it in a terrible +degree for ill almost daily. That steward of Kossowince had found some +companions in his grief, who with the loss of their hair had been +"disgraced" and obliged to make amends to the people they had wronged; +while two landlords of the plain, not far from Horodenko, had fared +worse: Taras had ordered them to be shot, and their dwellings levelled +with the ground. But the man whom these accounts might well have +dismayed first and foremost knew nothing about them. Wenceslas Hajek, +lying in a raging fever, was mercifully saved from the shock of such +news. Taras's "judgments," indeed, were appalling, and within three +weeks no less than ten distinct cases were registered against him. And +they resembled each other closely. He arrived suddenly with his band, +cut off every retreat, took up the accused, tried him, and if he denied +the charges, called witnesses, had him convicted, and the sentence was +carried out on the spot. It was a remarkable fact that he carried out +his judgments with the bullet only, none of his victims coming by their +death by means of the rope; another feature was that any money that was +found he invariably made over to the community for whose sake the deed +was done. In short the cases were so like each other, and followed one +another so rapidly, that the district governor quite got into a routine +of filing charges against Taras. + +Not till the end of May was the pressure on the minds of the +citizens somewhat relieved. A battalion of infantry had been sent +from Stanislaw, a regiment of dragoons from the Bukowina, and a +regiment of hussars besides. With these troops there arrived also a +lieutenant-general to take the entire command, and he forthwith called +a council of war, to which, besides the military chiefs, were admitted +the district governor, the burgomaster, and Dr. Starkowski as legal +adviser. + +Now while this council was sitting round the green baize table of the +district court, a special messenger arrived with a letter from +Hankowce, addressed to the Governor. "From Hankowce," exclaimed Herr +von Bauer dismayed, "alas, poor Zborowski!... but no, he can't be +killed," he corrected himself, "for it is his own handwriting!" + +He tore open the missive, read it, and, pushing the letter from him, he +burst from his seat with a crimson countenance, striking both his fists +on the table. + +"Gentlemen," he cried, "this is beyond anything ever heard of; enough +to madden the Chief Justice himself. There, read for yourselves, and +tell me if it is not simply maddening!" + +The gentlemen made haste to comply, and what they read in that letter +certainly was startling. The lord of the manor of Hankowce, Baron +Alfred Zborowski, one of the most respected noblemen of the district, +had written to his friend, the governor, with all the haste of one +reporting a most unusual occurrence, for Starkowski had some trouble in +making out the shaky handwriting. The letter ran as follows: + + +"We have just been saved as by a miracle from almost certain death. You +know that I have never been a hard landlord; my peasants are kindly +treated, and there has never been a point of contention between us till +within these last weeks. But after the rising of Taras my people +appeared entirely changed. They no longer touched their caps to me +refused the labour they owed me, and there was a good deal of seditious +speaking and of getting drunk at the public-house. I did what I could +to prevent worse things, yielding one point and another, but to no +purpose. They grew only the more refractory, and it ended in their +sending a deputation to me, a lot of young fellows armed with scythes +and firelocks, demanding a loan of fifty florins. I refused it. They +returned in the evening, about double the number, all more or less in +drink, and not merely young men, but a great many of the older ones as +well. There seemed nothing left but to yield, for how could I oppose +them with a handful of retainers, and I dared not risk the safety of my +wife and children. So I paid them the money. They went off brawling, +spending it in drink forthwith. The day before yesterday they returned, +some of my most trusted peasants among them, grievously drunk. 'We want +one hundred florins of the money you have stolen from us, you robber, +you tyrant,' cried their spokesman, a certain labourer of the name of +Juzef Supan, 'pay it at once, or we shall call Taras.' 'Well, call +him,' I said. 'I know him, and he knows me, for he was in my service +twelve years ago; he knows I am no unjust man.' But they had only abuse +in return, concluding, 'We don't even want Taras, we can help +ourselves. Either you give us a hundred florins here on the spot or +we'll make you rue it!' What could I do? I paid the money and off they +went. + +"My poor wife and I were left to consider the horrors of the situation. +There was little doubt of how it would end--they would return with +increased demands, or, more probably, would fall to plunder. Life +itself was in jeopardy, and no help to be had. Even flight was +impossible; for how could we risk it when rebellion is up everywhere? +We could only look at one another in mute despair. Some hours passed, +when suddenly my wife started from the couch on which she had buried +her tearful face, looking at me with luminous eyes, as though she had +had an inspiration. 'Husband!' she cried, 'you call Taras!' I stared at +her, aghast, believing her demented with the agony of our fears. 'My +dear,' I said, 'you know not what you are saying! My referring to him +so confidently in the presence of these rebels was like a drowning +man's snatching at a straw--nay, not even that! True, I have not been a +hard landlord--the Almighty is my witness--but how should Taras care? +Don't you know that he is no better than a cut-throat now; up in arms +against the noble and wealthy of the land? If I called him we were +lost, if we are not so already!' 'No, we should be saved,' cried she, +warmly. 'Why, you know yourself we never had a more honest fellow in +our service. I well remember his driving me once over to Colomea. I was +struck with a peculiar sadness in his face; and on my inquiring what +ailed him, he, in the most simple, straightforward fashion, told me it +was about a girl. Now, it was just a tale of troubled love, nothing at +all particular, but a man who could thus sorrow about a girl, and speak +as he did, has a heart, I say, to pity us and our children.' I thought +she was imagining a good deal; but, as she clung to her fancy, I no +longer tried to contradict her, but set my face to the doing of a +desperate duty. I did not send for Taras--for where, indeed, could I +have looked for him?--but I gave orders to barricade the doors; and, +arming my men, I placed wife and child in the strong room of the tower, +prepared for the worst, and resolved to meet it. + +"The day passed quietly, but with the approach of night we heard them +coming--a mob of several hundred--the very women among them. They +roared for admittance. 'We'll have it all back what you have robbed us +of!" they cried, and forthwith prepared to force an entrance. The +strong portal was groaning beneath the blows of their axes--it must +yield, and we are lost! At this terrible moment a thunderous noise +filled the air, the echoing hoof-treads of a body of horse bursting +upon us. 'The hussars!' cried my steward; but no, for the mob was +shrieking, 'Urrahah, the avenger!' When I heard that I knew the hour of +death had come. There was an ominous silence, when a mighty voice fell +upon my anxious ear: 'You are lying, you wretches, I know the man!' and +presently, 'Up, comrades, make sure of this murderous lot; let none +escape!' It was Taras himself. My men gave a cry of hope, but I felt +stunned. There was a knocking at the gate presently, and a voice +saying, 'Open, sir; I have come to save you!' My men let him in. + +"Taras, indeed, stood before me, but I should not have known him again, +so old, so worn he looked. 'My poor master,' he said, taking my hand, +'what must you have suffered, and the dear lady and the children! But +fear nothing now, come with me and we will settle matters.' I followed +him speechless. 'Nay, stop,' he said, with the sweetest smile, 'had we +not better send word to the lady first, she will be anxious, and I +would not have her be troubled a minute longer than I can help!' I +called one of my men, sending him to her with a message, but then--I am +not ashamed of owning it, I have not shed a tear these thirty years, +but there was no fighting against it now.... 'Poor master,' he said, +'be comforted.' He spoke to me gently, as to a child, and drew me along +with him to face the peasantry. A strange sight indeed--they stood like +a flock of sheep when a storm is bursting, pressing against each other +for very fear, and surrounded by a number of Taras's men armed to the +teeth, every third man carrying a blazing torch besides. By the outer +gate I perceived a further number, motionless on their horses, and +drawn up like a body of cavalry, their leader a man in peasant garb +with marked Jewish features. 'Now,' cried Taras, looking sternly at the +mob, 'here is the man you have accused to me; let me hear, then, what +he has been guilty of to justify your murderous attack. But I will have +the truth--and woe to the man that dares a falsehood!' Upon which most +of them fell on their knees, crying for mercy; a few only remained +stubbornly on their feet, and there was but one who had the courage to +make answer--it was Juzef Supan who said: 'We did not think that you, +the people's avenger, would take the part of a Polish noble--a +landlord--is not that enough in your eyes? He did, however, oppress us, +like all of them!' 'You are not much of a witness,' said Taras, 'I +happen to remember you. Your heart is a swamp, and your words like its +poisonous exhalations. Is there any one here who can come forward with +proof of the baron's oppression?' Juzef scowled, but the peasants +cried: 'Forgive us, he led us on, saying, This is the time when poor +folk can enjoy themselves for once, and the rich men must pay! And so +we----' ... 'Turned rogues and all but assassins,' interrupted Taras, +and his eye shot fire; 'do you think these are the people that have any +claim on me? You have deserved death every one of you for thus dragging +low the sacred cause I have espoused; for making the holy right an +excuse for the doing of meanest wrong. Yes, you have forfeited your +lives; but, believing that you have been misled, and that you are +willing to repent, I will grant you forgiveness, unless the baron +himself would have you punished.' 'Surely, I forgive them heartily,' I +cried. 'In that case,' he continued, 'I have but three things to see +to. Firstly, you shall begin to-morrow with rendering whatever labour +you owe to the baron; and you will behave reverently, as he deserves at +your hands. If any of you, after this, dares offer him any slight, or +withholds any just tribute, be it but a sheaf of wheat or an hour of +your time, I shall have him shot, as sure as there is a God above us.' +'We will render our every due,' they cried. 'Secondly'--and he +turned to me--'do they owe any arrears?' 'No,' 'But they have refused +labour--for how long?' 'About three weeks.' 'That is eighteen working +days. And how much in money did they force you to give them?' 'One +hundred and fifty florins; but I acquit them of it.' 'Ah, but that is +not justice,' he exclaimed, with a look that brooked no contradiction; +and, addressing himself again to the peasantry, he called upon their +judge to step forth. But that good man was not of the rioters; only one +of the elders, Grigori Borsak, had joined the mob, and shamefacedly he +presented himself. 'The eighteen days' labour,' said Taras, 'shall be +doubled, and are due to the baron whenever he chooses to call on you +within six weeks from this day. But as for the money, or at least +its value, I'll see it paid back this very hour. You must raise +it on the spot; some of my men will go with you about the village, +and you had better not keep us waiting. And now for the third matter.' +His voice swelled like thunder, and at a sign from him Juzef was +dragged forth. 'Ah! forgive him!' I cried; but he shook his head. +Another sign--two shots--and Juzef fell a corpse at our feet. The +peasantry, horror-struck, rushed back to the village. 'Well, then, this +is settled,' said Taras, turning to me. 'I have but to wait now to see +them make amends for what they robbed you of.' But I stood mute, the +awfulness and the generosity of this man seemed overpowering. He, too, +was silent awhile, and then he said softly, almost humbly, 'I would +like to see the lady and the dear children, but I dare hardly ask it.' +'Certainly,' I cried; 'forgive my neglect. Besides, she will want to +thank you. It was she who insisted that you would save us if I would +but send for you.' 'No! did she, indeed?' he exclaimed, blushing for +very pleasure; yet he followed me bashfully, almost reluctantly. + +"But my wife was coming to meet us, bathed in tears and holding our +youngest child in her arms. She flung herself on her knees before him, +but he, with a gesture of dismay, lifted her gently, and, bowing +reverently, kissed the hem of her garment. 'Dear lady,' he said, 'I am +told that you still think kindly of your former servant; and be sure he +has never forgotten either the baron or yourself. I heard of your +plight two days ago, but could not come sooner--not till I saw judgment +done upon the mandatar at Rossow,' 'Bawinski!' she cried, dismayed, +'ah, his poor wife!' 'I could not help it, his life was forfeited!' +'Terrible man,' she sobbed, 'how long shall this shedding of blood +continue?' It must continue while wrong remains unpunished,' said he, +solemnly, 'and I have the power of righting it.' I thought it best to +change the subject, inquiring after his wife and children; and my wife, +recovering herself, invited him to our sitting-room. He followed her +shyly and with the utmost respect, nor could he be prevailed upon to +take a seat, but, hat in hand, remained standing, listening +deferentially to all I told him about ourselves and the things that had +occurred since his leaving. In fact, he was just the old servant +happening to pay a visit to his former master, unconsciously falling +back into the ways of service with the humble interest of grateful +attachment. But no sooner was he told that the elder had returned with +some money and a few heads of cattle, than he was the captain of his +band again, self-confident and imperious. I endeavoured once more to +have the people excused from making amends, but he would not hear of +it, turning upon me almost fiercely: 'It is right, sir, to accept it!' +and there seemed nothing else to be done. He took his leave with +evident emotion, and burst away with his band, like a whirlwind, as he +had come. I have written this in the early glimmer of morning, hardly +myself as yet, but I longed to tell you; nay, conscience urged me not +to delay my report. I am ready to swear to this statement if required, +remaining, meanwhile, + + "Ever yours, + + "Zborowski." + + +The lawyer had read the letter aloud, but with a voice growing husky +and tremulous, and having finished he sat down silent. Nor could any +one else find speech, except the governor, who once again struck his +fists on the table, exclaiming with a quaint petulance:-- + +"Perhaps you will tell me now, sirs, what I am to think of this? I say +it is maddening, it is distracting, if even the law cannot decide +whether a man is a wicked scoundrel or a noble-hearted, valorous +defender of his kind. Now without this Taras, my good friend Zborowski +were a corpse by this time, every manor in the district, but for him, +were in rains, and rebellion stalking the land! It is so, indeed. I +have little chance of upholding martial law though I proclaimed it, but +every word of his is regarded like an edict of the crown. But what do I +say?--why, without him we had never seen this confusion, and the wretch +has men shot like sparrows! Do _you_ understand him? then do help me to +see straight!" + +"He is a remarkable outlaw, that much I perceive," said the general, +drily. + +"It does not seem so baffling after all," broke in the burgomaster, "it +is just this, methinks--an honest law-abiding man, as he was +originally, has been worsted in a lawsuit--wronged, he thinks--and it +has driven him to seek for himself the right which he fancies is denied +him. He wants to destroy the man who has thus ill-used him, and he +thinks he must punish the unjust judges; that is, he seeks to kill +Hajek, and to--to--I beg your pardon, but the unjust judges in his +opinion are evidently the magistrates of this district. All his +enemies, then, are enjoying the shelter of this town, and this is why I +always urged making special provision for its safety." + +"Supposing it is so, then why does he hold his 'judgments' all over the +country? returned the general. + +"By way of practice, I should say," rejoined the burgomaster. "So far +he has not seen his way to attack us, because of the reinforcements, +which I am thankful to say are sufficiently large now; yet he must do +something to keep together his band. Besides, such men require +diversion!" + +"Diversion!" broke in the governor, wrathfully, flourishing the baron's +letter in the burgomaster's face. "Do you dare maintain that such a man +kills his neighbours by way of a pastime?" + +"Gently--gently, sirs," interrupted the general, amused at the +governor's fury; and turning to Starkowski, he said: "Now you have had +some opportunity of knowing this man, doctor; are you also of opinion +that this town is in danger of an attack?" + +"Yes, certainly, so long as Hajek is within its gates. But Colomea is +in exactly the same position to him as any manor, any place whatever +sheltering an evil-doer. Taras's doings do not proceed from any +personal sense of injury; in short, they are not dictated by revenge. +There have been such instances in the history of the law, but his +motive, so far as I know, is unprecedented. Hajek has not robbed him of +anything, not wronged him in any way; the very lawsuit, which he +carried on with a pertinacity quite unexampled, was never any fighting +for _his_ right, but for the right of others--in fact, for _the_ right +pure and simple, for the 'holiest thing on earth,' as he once +designated it to me. He failed in fighting for it with peaceful means, +so he continues his battle by force of arms. He does not hate the +mandatar--or, rather, he hates him as he would hate any wrong-doer; his +fighting is a fight for the right--for the right, as such, against +wrong. Therefore I say he would not now be satisfied if you delivered +up the mandatar into his hands--you have heard what answer he made to +the baroness! And, therefore, what I should counsel is this: Protect +this city by all means, but do what you can to withdraw the district +from his power." + +Captain Stanczuk fully concurred in this view, and a resolution was +passed to commence active operations against Taras immediately. The +town should be held, as hitherto, by its own garrison, while the rest +of the troops, as flying columns, should scour the country, the hussars +acting as scouts between them. + +The mode of action settled, and everything arranged, the council was +breaking up, when the governor requested a further hearing. "Sirs," he +said, producing a writ, to which a large seal was appended, "I am +extremely sorry to have to detain you with this--one moment, I pray +you. It is not for me to question any of the Provincial Governor's +orders--but--humph! it is a pity sometimes---- However, I can but make +it known to you that, by this writ, I am instructed, firstly, to place +a price of five hundred florins upon Taras's head. Now, leaving all +other considerations out of the question, I should say this measure is +utterly useless, and will only enrage the peasantry. And I am +instructed, secondly--but no!..." Herr von Bauer was heaving with +passion, and his face was purple. + +"Well, secondly?" inquired the general. + +"I think, perhaps, on the whole, I had better keep this point to +myself--for the present, at least, till I hear what the Provincial +Governor may think of my urgent appeal to reconsider the matter. And +I'll just see," he added, with rising anger, "if there is any coward to +be found, any mean----" The rest was lost in his own furious growl. +However, he recovered sufficiently to say, "I wish you good evening, +gentlemen! I have the honour to wish you a very good evening. As for +me, if I had never known it before, I know it now, that it is +desperately pleasant work in one's old age to reach the dignity of a +district governor in Galicia...." + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + SIGNS OF FAILURE. + + +About the very time when the authorities at Colomea were holding their +war council, a remarkable occurrence took place at Zulawce. It was +Ascension Day, and a general meeting had been called. + +The men of Zulawce were in a difficulty of their own; for, while all +the rest of the parishes within the disturbed district were at least +free to side either with the Government or with the avenger, as seemed +best to suit their temper or their interests, the people of Zulawce +could do neither. They considered they had done with Taras; for had he +not insulted them beyond forgiveness by refusing to rid them of the +soldiers? But no less implacable was their resentment against the +authorities who had inflicted the soldiers upon them; and even after +the company had withdrawn its hateful presence, they continued in a +high state of ill-humour and uncertainty of mind, which rendered them +unfit for any united action. It was this very want of decision, +however, which proved helpful to Father Leo in his strenuous efforts to +prevent any deed of violence; for though there were few among them that +would not have loved to see the manor plundered or set on fire, now +that it was left at their mercy, none quite dared to assume the +responsibility of taking the lead in such an act. Still, this, or any +similar outrage, might any day be looked for; and since the helpless +Jewgeni did nothing for the maintenance of order, Father Leo, assisted +by some of the more steady-going of his parishioners, succeeded in +bringing together a sort of committee, which was to take in hand the +settlement of affairs in the distracted village. The six men, however, +upon whom this office devolved did not at first seem more likely to +arrive at a united opinion with whom to cast in their sympathy than the +parish at large had been; but they managed by degrees to sink +differences in a sort of compromise of a peculiar kind, and quite +unprecedented even in the history of that remarkable people. The +resolution arrived at ran as follows:-- + +"This is to give notice that since Taras has left us in the lurch, and +the men of the law have wronged us, we repudiate them both now and +evermore! It is their fault if we men of Zulawce, in this time of +trouble, have come to the conclusion that we had better in future be +our own administrators, recognising no one in authority over us, save +the judge of our own choosing. We intend henceforth to pay neither tax +nor tribute to any outsider, and we shall render forced labour to no +man; but we will live justly and peaceably, wronging none either in +life or property. We insist on taking back the field which belongs to +us; but we will guard the manor as carefully as though it were left to +the parish in trust by one of ourselves absent for a time." So then the +committee of affairs at Zulawce, after this fashion, and quite ignorant +of its classical prototypes, had arrived at the idea of the republic, +proposing Simeon Pomenko as the fittest man to preside as "free judge" +over the parish interests. + +The announcement was received enthusiastically, and on the day in +question all the community once more had gathered beneath the linden, +where the new order of things was to be promulgated. The place was as +crowded as on the Palm Sunday when Taras had made his memorable speech. +Two only were absent--Father Leo, who of course could not officially +acknowledge this change of government, although he would not deny that +for the present it seemed the likeliest arrangement for arriving at +anything like order in the parish; and she whom he had termed the most +unhappy widow of the place, poor Anusia, who since that service on +Easter Sunday had left the house only when her presence was absolutely +necessary about the farm. She continued an object of interest, and was +talked about daily; but, with natural tact, the villagers forebore +troubling her with calls, and passed her in silence when they met on +the rare occasions of her being about the fields; for even the roughest +of them felt that her sorrow, and the silent dignity with which she +bore it, commanded their reverence. And it redounds not a little to the +honour of that wild community, that even on the day when their fury ran +highest, when Wassilj and Hritzko had returned with Taras's answer, +none had thought of casting it up to the widow, or of offering her any +insult whatever. + +The bearing of the assembly was grave and even solemn. "Men and +brothers," said Simeon, "it would be a disgrace if we could not rule +ourselves and re-establish order in this village of ours! The country +is full of uproar and sedition; let peace and honest labour have their +place here--so be it!" On account of the intended independence of the +community, and because of the pressure of the times, there would +naturally be an increase of parish business; and it was resolved +therefore that three elders henceforth would be required, and they were +nominated. Alexa Sembrow was to act as "home minister,"--the common +field and the fair distribution of its produce should be his especial +care; while Wassilj, the butcher, should see to the external safety of +the place; Wilko Sembratowicz, the third of the number, serving as +treasurer. + +This arranged, the assembly fell into a procession, and with bared +heads proceeded to the field of strife, amid the ringing of bells and +the solemn strains of the _Te Deum_. The "free judge" and his elders +led the march, and with their own hands, while the singing continued, +they pulled the black cross from its present place, replanting it where +it had stood formerly, at three feet distance from the river. This +done, the four white-haired men fell on their knees, and, spreading +forth their arms, thrice kissed the recovered soil, all the people +doing likewise, amid sobs and tears. + +After which Simeon stepped forth, saying: "I require every one here to +witness, as I also ask Him above, that we have only taken back that +which belongs to us by right, and which was taken from us by a wicked +fraud.... We pray Thee, Thou Ruler above, to prevent such fraud in the +future, and we will fight to the death rather than permit it again. +This is our solemn oath!" + +"Our solemn oath!" repeated the men in chorus, lifting their right +hands. And with faces beaming with satisfaction the people returned to +the village. + +Nor was their confidence at all lowered for some little time. The word +of the free judge seemed being fulfilled, peace and diligence +continuing here, while bloodshed and misery spread over the land. +Neither was the village interfered with for changing its constitution, +the authorities and the troops having more than enough on their hands +already. No illusion had prevailed at that war council at Colomea +concerning the difficulty of dealing with the bandits; but the utter +failure of all operations hitherto exceeded even the worst +anticipations. In fact, the chance had never yet offered for having +even a brush with the enemy; and although the flying columns continued +to scour the land, never a hajdamak did they set eyes upon. They +somehow always arrived just too late, or they sought for them on the +banks of the Dniester while they did their work by the Pruth; or strove +to protect the east of the province, where the avenger had just been +heard of, while Taras quietly, but surely, carried out his judgments in +the west. It seemed altogether useless that the number of soldiers out +against him was doubled, and even trebled, by the arrival of further +troops; and nothing seemed to come of spending large sums of money upon +private spies, when the mandatars and others grew shy of giving their +information, lest they should suffer for it sooner or later. Taras, +with all the machinery of Government against him, continued his awful +work, utterly undisturbed, all through May and June; nor did the +presence of soldiers throughout the troubled districts hinder him in +the least from extending his raids far and wide, and making his power +felt in every direction. And, in spite of the almost appalling +penetration he showed in singling out his victims, never mistaking the +innocent for the guilty--in spite of his repeated injunctions to the +peasantry to forbear from acts of violence themselves, and to render +every just tribute conscientiously--the terror at the jurisdiction he +had established, as it were, in the face of the law, and which one +would scarcely have conceived possible within the boundaries of a +powerful, well-ordered State, grew and spread till nothing short of a +panic filled the length and breadth of the land. The authorities had to +listen to the wildest reproaches of the excited people, although they +strained every nerve in the execution of their duty. But with all their +honest efforts they could not even suggest an explanation of the means +by which this strange bandit was holding his ground against them. With +their erroneous notions concerning his numbers, their absolute +ignorance of his hiding-places--of which the bog-island near Nazurna +was the most important--and not in the least aware to what extent the +peasantry aided and abetted him as his willing informers, the speed and +temerity of his movements could not but be a mystery. He seemed +everywhere and nowhere, and did his work with impunity. By the middle +of July four thousand soldiers were out against him, and yet it +appeared hopeless to look for an ending of this reign of terror. + +Now the men of Zulawce watched this state of affairs rather with +satisfaction than otherwise. For the more useless military intervention +appeared, the greater was their confidence in being able to maintain +their self-constituted liberty unmolested. But all of a sudden the day +dawned that should teach them it was not so easy to break away from the +leading-strings of sovereignty. + +It was a dull, grey morning in July; rain was pouring in endless +streams. The sodden roads were deserted, and so were the fields. The +two fellows whom Wassilj, the butcher, had placed by the toll-booth +near the river, did stay at their post, it is true, for the place was +dry and comfortable enough, but instead of keeping a careful look-out, +they had retired to their pallets and were snoring blissfully. These +somnolent youths started suddenly, rubbing their eyes, for heavy +footfalls on the wooden bridge had broken on their slumbers; they +stared, wondering if they could be dreaming; but no, it was flat +reality--they even recognised the face of the officer who was leading +hither his men, Captain Stanczuk. They rushed from the booth, fired off +their muskets by way of giving the alarm, and, racing towards the +village, they kept shouting at the top of their voices. The soldiers +had to slacken their pace on account of the fearful state of the roads, +so that the youths reached the village a good while before them. + +And when Captain Stanczuk brought up his men in sight of the inn, he +found the road barricaded by some overturned waggons, while bundles of +faggots were being heaped up hastily, and some fifty men stood with +muskets levelled, ready to defend the place. Now Stanczuk had special +orders to avoid bloodshed, if possible; but his kindly prudence hardly +required such instruction. He stopped the advance of his men within a +hundred yards of the villagers, and, riding on by himself fearlessly, +requested to parley with the judge. + +"My father is not here yet," replied Hritzko. "But there will be no +parleying, save by means of bullets." + +"Well," replied the captain, quietly, "if you set so little store by +your lives, I cannot help it. But not being such a foolhardy idiot +myself I think I will just wait for your father's pleasure." And +turning his horse, he rode back to his men. + +He had to wait a considerable while, but not in vain. The number of men +holding the barricade had, indeed, increased till almost every man of +the village was present, and nearly all were in a belligerent mood; but +behind them their wives were lamenting, preparing the way for the +pope's and the judge's influence. It would be no more than good sense, +these urged, to hear first what the officer might have to say; and +after some altercation it was agreed that Simeon, with his son and the +three elders, should accompany Father Leo to the soldiers. + +The captain rode forth to meet them. "Good day to your reverence, and +good day to you all!" he said, smiling pleasantly. "I have been waiting +patiently for an explanation of this nonsense! Don't you think you are +rather foolish, considering the times?" + +The half-bantering tone of his address somewhat disconcerted them, but +after a pause the judge returned: "Then what are you here for, captain? +If you have any idea of calling us to order after your fashion, we'll +just defend ourselves. And as for the field we have taken back----" + +"Your fields are no business of mine," said the officer, as blandly as +before, "and you may continue King of Zulawce yet awhile, my good +friend. My present orders concern no one but Anusia Barabola and her +children. I have to arrest them, and take them to Colomea." + +"That shall never be!" cried Hritzko furiously, and even Father Leo +flushed crimson with indignation. + +"It would be nothing short of a dastardly wrong, captain!" he +exclaimed. "I pledge my life that the poor woman has no share whatever +in her husband's doings." + +The honest officer winced. "Your reverence is aware," he said, lowering +his voice, "that the soldier's duty is to obey his orders, and not to +question them." + +"And the poor children, are they to be held accountable for their +father?" + +"I have to obey my instructions," repeated Stanczuk; "and if your +reverence will use your influence and prevent any interference with my +duty, you will but act in accordance with the sacred office you bear." + +The pope was silent; but even if he had shared the officer's views and +fallen in with his suggestion as to his influence, he would have had +little chance of exercising it. For the peasants had decided for +themselves, old Simeon stepping forth, saying as he crossed himself: +"Sir captain, while there is a man alive here to defend her, you shall +not lay hands on this unhappy woman and her children. We are fully +aware that we endanger our own wives and children in opposing you, but +we cannot help it. Why, we should deserve to be struck dead on the spot +if we suffered such wickedness against the widow and her orphans. +There, you may do your duty--we shall do ours!" + +He turned to go, but the captain touched his arm, almost pleadingly. +"Have you really considered," he cried, "what misery your refusal may +bring on this village? There is bloodshed enough in these days; do not +add to it, I pray you. Go and consult the people--I will wait." + +But Simeon shook his head and turned away without another word, +followed by the rest of them, Father Leo included. When they had +reached the barricade and informed the people of the demand made upon +them, there was but one voice of indignant refusal. Anusia's servant, +Halko, rushed off towards the farm, but all the rest of the men stood +like a wall, crying: "You have spoken well, judge, we will never permit +it!" And the women ceased wailing, but Father Leo, with speechless +agony, folded his hands, looking on. + +Hritzko took the command, and the peasants, besides holding several of +the cottages near, stationed themselves all about the raised ground on +which the church stood, where they found ample cover. They knelt with +muskets levelled, prepared to fire. + +"Let them approach within thirty paces," cried Hritzko, "and, at a sign +from my whistle, receive them with a volley. Be ready!" + +The captain waited for twenty minutes, and then, sorely against his +will, drew his sword, and heading his men, gave the word to advance. +The drums beat, the men started at the double, with bayonets fixed. + +The peasants, in accordance with the orders received, allowed them to +approach without firing. The soldiers had reached Wilko's cottage, when +Hritzko lifted the whistle to his mouth. But before he could give the +sign, a hand was laid on his arm, pressing it down with a good deal of +force. "You shall not fire!" a loud voice was heard to say +peremptorily; "I will not have it!" + +The young man started amazed. Before him, tall and commanding, stood +the wife of Taras, with little Tereska on her arm; an old woman-servant +followed with the little boys, sobbing piteously. The children, too, +were crying. But Anusia, though pale, was calm as death; she stood +erect, and her face bore that expression of stony composure which, ever +since that terrible Palm Sunday, appeared to have taken the place of +her naturally passionate disposition. "I will not have a shot fired," +she said; "I shall go with the soldiers." + +"Anusia!" exclaimed Simeon, "will you deliver up yourself and your poor +children to certain death?" + +"We are all in God's hand," she said. "For my sake no wife shall be +made a widow, no child fatherless." ... And, turning to the servant, +she added, "Come!" + +But Captain Stanczuk had understood the strange scene, and ordered his +men to halt. The peasants, too, were standing motionless with surprise. +Anusia deliberately went up to the officer. "Here I am," she said, "and +here are my children." + +But the gallant soldier, on looking into the tearless, grief-bound face +of that poor peasant woman, was filled with a sensation of awe the like +of which he had never known before. He felt as though he must bend the +knee as to a queen or empress. "Come," he said, reverently, "we brought +a carriage for you." + +She nodded, and forthwith would have moved towards the vehicle, which +followed in the rear; but the villagers had recovered themselves, and +were pressing round her. The officer nowise interfered, for he could +see in their faces that they intended no further enmity. They +surrounded her, deeply moved, some even sobbing when she lifted her +children into the carriage as it drew up, and others kissed her +garment, crying, "Farewell, Anusia! we shall never forget it!" Father +Leo breaking out passionately, "You are a brave woman; no saint ever +did a greater thing for her people--it shall not be forgotten, +indeed.... And your farm shall be cared for, we shall be proud to do +it!" + +"Thank you," she said, gently, and could no longer forbid her tears, +the big drops running down her face: but soon the rigid calm returned. +"I am quite ready," she said to the officer. + +The drums beat, and the procession started, down to the river and +across the bridge, towards the distant town. + +At dusk the following day they arrived at Colomea, and that same +evening Anusia was ushered into the presence of the governor. + +That honest, stout-hearted gentleman had looked forward to this hour as +to the bitterest trial of his life, and had indeed resisted it as long +as he could; but his remonstrances with the governor of the province +had been fruitless, though seconded by every magistrate of the +district; and even their united request to be dismissed rather than +forced to obey in this matter availed not. The Lemberg authorities had +returned word that no doubt the question of their dismissal might be +considered in due time, but for the present they must keep to their +posts, obeying their superiors. And thus the high-minded old governor +had been obliged with his own hand to draw up the order for an arrest, +which in his eyes was the worst act of violence yet committed; but +having done this, he insisted on conducting the inquiry himself, lest +the wrong he could not help should be carried out harshly. Mr. +Wenceslas Hajek by this time had recovered his sprits sufficiently to +quit his voluntary retreat in the city gaol for his own chambers, and +the apartment he had occupied--not really a cell, but a private room of +the chief warder's--had been made ready for Anusia, the governor +himself superintending the arrangements and giving various directions +for her comfort. This done, he returned to his office, awaiting her +coming with a beating heart. + +She entered, but he scarcely found courage to look up, busying himself +with a sheet of paper to hide his emotion. + +"Are you cognisant of your husband's crimes, or aiding him in any way?" + +"No, sir." + +"I am forced, nevertheless, to keep you in custody; but I will have you +well treated. I shall daily inquire after your own and your children's +well-being." + +He waved his hand, and Anusia was taken back to her place of +confinement. The old man remained by himself, pacing his office for the +best part of an hoar, deeply agitated; now gesticulating with his +hands, now talking wildly. Having calmed down a little, he returned to +his desk to make his report to the Provincial Governor, adorning it +with all the flourishes approved of by the profession of the period; +but he took care that his dutiful letter should end with these words: +"Never again may a representative of the law within this realm of +Austria feel himself thus lowered in the eyes of the accused brought to +his bar, and may his excellency, the Governor-Provincial, not find +cause to lament the consequences of this measure!" + +But even before his note of warning could reach the ears it was meant +for, the thunderbolt of vengeance had fallen--fearfully, terribly +indeed! On the second night after Anusia's arrival at the city gaol the +district governor was roused from sleep--a certain clerk, Joseph Dorn +by name, had arrived with news that brooked no delay. + +The poor governor positively shook with apprehension; for that clerk +had been ordered to accompany one of the stipendiary magistrates, who +in the morning had set out to the village of Jablonow, where a certain +matter had to be settled by local evidence. The gentleman's name was +Hohenau, he being a worthy German from the Rhine, advanced in years, +and universally respected for his integrity. Now, although, after the +attack upon Kapronski, Taras had not again laid hands on any officer of +the law, the governor decided, nevertheless, that Hohenau, whom he +loved as a friend, should not undertake the journey, short as it was, +without a special escort of forty dragoons. He was expected to return +late at night; what if the clerk had come back without him!... The +governor tried to battle with this thought as with an apparition. +"Nonsense!" he said; "what should have happened?" and he stepped boldly +into his ante-room. But one look into the man's face showed him that +his fears were only too well founded. That clerk, who had served half +his life as a sergeant of the constabulary, till pensioned off to his +present post, and who was not likely to grow faint at the sight of a +shadow, was leaning against the wall, white as death, and trembling in +every limb. + +"He has been killed?" gasped the governor. + +"He has!" groaned the clerk. + +Herr von Bauer, too, grew faint, catching at a chair-back for support. +At that moment he experienced that most painful of all bodily +sensations, which, though common enough as a figure of speech, is rare +in actual fact, and not likely to be forgotten by the luckless mortal +that ever underwent it! The poor old governor felt his scalp contract +with an icy coldness, every single root of hair pricking into it like a +red-hot needle--_his hair standing on end!_ + +For a while these two men continued facing each other, terror-struck +and unable to speak, till the governor's lady came rushing in to +inquire into the reason of this late disturbance. Her coming was +opportune, for the governor was obliged to rouse himself to bid her +retire; and turning to the clerk, he said, "Tell me." + +At which the latter drew himself up straight and saluted his superior. +And then followed his tale: "There was much to be done at Jablonow," he +said, "and it was eight o'clock before we could set out on the journey +back. Both in front and behind us the dragoons were trotting, quite +carelessly, and Herr von Hohenau was even merry-hearted, conversing +pleasantly to pass the time. And he fell talking about Taras, +saying--'Do you know, Dorn, I should rather like to see him; one would +like to have a talk with the man--he is quite a colleague of ours, a +criminal judge if ever there was one; and I will even maintain he is +possessed of all the true instincts of the profession, knowing how to +discriminate between a rascal and an honest man--between right and +wrong. I am sure of it!' 'Begging your pardon, sir,' I replied, 'but he +is just a black-dyed villain, and God Almighty keep us from falling in +with him.' 'Well,' owned he, 'I don't say I am anxious to meet him, +say, on this journey, although I should not give him credit for any +desire of harming us. You misjudge the fellow, Dorn; I have carefully +followed his so-called judgments, and I will say this for him, he is a +man still and no fiend.' The word was scarcely out of his mouth--we had +just arrived by the little bridge leading over the Krasnik--when all of +a sudden the reeds on both sides of the brook seemed alive with +highwaymen. I am an old soldier, sir, and it is a dead mystery to me +how it could happen so quickly, but in less than three minutes all our +men were clean overpowered. I should think the bandits were at least +five to one of ourselves, but I will say this for them, they did behave +decently, and whoever was willing to accept quarter, was merely +disarmed and pinioned; they killed only those who stubbornly resisted. +Herr von Hohenau remarked it also, and whispered to me: 'Never fear, +Dorn, he won't harm us,' And for a while it seemed so. For the bandits +who had surrounded the vehicle, levelling their pistols at our faces, +now drew off, and one of their number--a Jew, by the face of him--said +almost politely: 'Please to get out, sirs, and speak to the avenger.' +We stepped to the ground, they closed in a circle, and Taras himself +stood before us. Now I had often seen him--why, it is barely two years +since--when he used to call here on account of that law-suit of his, a +fair-haired, strong-built, ruddy man, with a glow of health about him; +but I certainly should not have known him again, hollow-cheeked, worn, +and grey as he is now, with deep furrows about his face, and almost +trembling as he looked at us. He kept silent rather long, I thought, +and there seemed more pity than wrath in his eyes, and he spoke gently +when he began, turning to me first. 'It is not you I require, you are +but a clerk of theirs, and are bound to write whatever they tell you. +You had better go your way at once--that is, if this man here has not +some last message he would like to entrust to you.' I shook from head +to foot at this announcement, and the gentleman, too, grew white, +catching hold of my arm as if to steady himself; yet he was able to +say--'I am Carl von Hohenau, a magistrate; every man in this +neighbourhood knows me, and can tell you that no crime lies at my door. +What is it you accuse me of, Taras?' 'Unheard-of violence and cowardly +wrong,' he said. 'My wife and my children are detained in your gaol.' +At which Herr von Hohenau drew himself up, saying solemnly: 'Taras, you +will believe my word of honour, that they have not been arrested at our +instigation, but against our every protest. The governor has been +forced to yield to the authorities at Lemberg, our superiors,' At which +Taras scanned his face attentively, saying, after a pause: 'I am +unwilling to believe you are speaking falsely; but I have had +information on solemn oath. Was it not by your orders that Kapronski, +on the Wednesday after Easter, threatened my wife with arrest?' +'No--certainly not! Did he? Oh--the rascal! Why, he came back assuring +us that only by means of his taking it upon himself thus to threaten +you had you been prevailed upon to spare his life,' 'He lied,' said +Taras. 'I charged him to tell you that I should consider your lives +forfeited if you countenanced such wrong--did he tell you that?' 'No, +on the contrary, he advised it as the only expedient; and the +Provincial Governor, in issuing his orders to us, has acted on his +suggestions without a doubt.' The poor gentleman was not a little +excited, but had sufficient power over himself to state plainly that +repeated efforts were made by the magistrates of this district to +reason with the authorities at Lemberg, and that they obeyed orders in +the end under protest only, because there was no help for it. Taras +listened quietly, and then, bending his head, he stood motionless, like +one lost in thought, a shudder ever and anon quivering through his +limbs.... And I believed there was ground for hope; but, alas, I was +mistaken. Pulling himself up suddenly, he said: 'I will accept your +account, every word as you have told it. But how is it that you yielded +in the end, knowing that which was demanded of you was an act of +violence?' 'We were driven to it,' 'I do not understand that,' said +Taras, slowly; 'a soldier has no will of his own, and must obey his +superiors, or he will be shot; but I never heard it is so with the +Emperor's magistrates!' 'It is not; and yet we should have been +punished--ignominiously dismissed in all probability, which is no light +thing for a man to face. Some of us have wives and children,' 'So it is +just this: you preferred your position, and perhaps daily bread for +yourselves and your families, to the integrity of your conscience! And +you are judges, who have sworn an oath before the Almighty, to further +the right!' The terrible man said this in the same quiet tone and very +slowly, but his passion now broke forth: 'No,' he cried, 'judges who +are capable of that, who have yielded to the wrong, have forfeited +their lives! Prepare yourself for death.... I cannot spare you!' But I +fell on my knees. 'Taras!' I cried, 'for mercy's sake, forbear killing +this man!' Herr von Hohenau, however, ordered me to rise, preserving +his composure like a hero to the end. 'I have nearly reached my three +score and ten,' he said, 'and have striven after righteousness all my +days, to the best of my knowledge. I am ready to give up my account to +Him who is Judge over all, and my days at best are numbered. And I +leave neither wife nor child behind me. It is, therefore, not the fear +of death, man, which prompts me to say that you must not kill me, +unless you would burden your conscience with a deed of common murder, +in the blind fury of revenge. So far as your deeds are known to me, +this would be the first act of yours that must be called criminal and +nothing else,' The bandits growled, but Taras, beckoning them to be +quiet, stood motionless, with bowed head, and lost in thought, as +before. Those were terrible moments, I cannot tell how long it lasted, +but it seemed an eternity. At last one of Taras's men--that Jew--went +up to him, addressing him gently. I could not understand his words, but +saw from the expression of his face that he was pleading for mercy. +That it was so grew evident from Taras's answer, who, lifting up his +hand, said hoarsely, and trembling as though it went hard with him: +'God help me and him, and if I am judging wrongfully I may suffer for +it on the gallows, but there is no help for it--he must die! He and his +fellow magistrates have set aside their sacred oath for the sake of +earthly advantage, and in the fear of man; theirs is the power to +protect the holiest of causes, to see the Right carried out, and they +have misused the power entrusted to them. That is a fearful evil; and +where shall wrong end if it begins with them? Hitherto I have tried to +believe that it was their mistake, or at worst their carelessness, at +times, which rendered them liable to judge falsely; and though +combating the wrong I have so far not declared war against the men of +the law themselves. But now I have proof that these judges, these +guardians of the Right, have actually been able, against their own +better knowledge, to concur in a wrongful deed! I can no longer, then, +be satisfied with merely stopping the course of this or that muddy +stream, as it were, but am bound to close up the spring-head itself. I +grieve, indeed, that I must make the beginning with this old man, who I +daresay is one of the best of them, but there is no help for it--may +God be merciful to him and to me!' Herr von Hohenau was going to speak +yet again, but Taras cut him short, saying: 'It is useless, you must +see I cannot help you!' and when I clasped his feet, he freed himself, +and fell back behind some of his men. But Herr von Hohenau stood erect, +saying with a loud voice, 'Get up, Dorn, it is not meet for honest men +to kneel to such a one! Get me a piece of paper and a pencil!' He wrote +a few lines, commended himself to the Almighty, and--and----" + +The old clerk was shaken with sobs, his eyes were tearless, but the +lips quivered, and his breast heaved convulsively. + +"They--shot--him?" + +The man nodded, and, fumbling in his pocket with trembling hand, +produced a scrap of paper. But the governor saw nothing; he, too, was +leaning against the wall now, unable to stand. His eyes were closed, +but two large drops hung quivering at his lashes, and fell over the +furrowed face. "Peace, peace be with thee!" he murmured, "thou best of +friends!" + +There was a long silence, but the clerk at last ventured to break it: +"This bit of writing," he said, falteringly. The governor took it and +read:-- + + +"Farewell, my Ferdinand, we have been friends this many a year; do not +grieve for me, but have a care for yourself and the others. Let +Kapronski meet with his deserts if you can! What money I leave behind +me I want your eldest boy to have; just take it, with my love. I do not +die willingly, but with an easy mind.--Yours in death, + + "Carl von Hohenau." + + +Herr von Bauer folded the letter, placing it in his note-book. "Where +is the body, Dorn?" he inquired, presently. + +"Lying by the bridge; and so are the shackled dragoons. The monster +himself cried after me, 'You had better send for them,' He had ordered +some of his men to take me within sight of the town, where they left +me." + +Before daybreak even, the brave old governor, together with the general +and a sufficient body of men, had started for the scene of death. It +was an unspeakably sad journey through the mellow summer night. About +half-way they came upon the greater number of the dragoons. None of +these had been hurt, they had only been overpowered and bound with +ropes. One of them had succeeded in slipping his fetters, and had thus +been enabled to set the others free. They confirmed the statement that +the band appeared to have no other object than to compass the +magistrate's death, vanishing almost directly after he had fallen, +pierced by their bullets. + +They reached the bridge in the grey of the morning, and found only a +few wounded soldiers and the corpse. And the men, bending over it, were +filled with a holy awe on beholding the expression of a restful, even +proud calm, that had settled on the dead man's face; never had the +majesty of death spoken louder than here. And even the old general felt +an unwonted pricking about his eyelids when the governor knelt by the +dead body of his friend. He insisted on lifting it himself, barely +allowing Dorn to lend him a helping hand. + +When the mournful procession had returned to the town, the district +governor lost no time in calling at the prison, in order to see Anusia. +But only a single question he asked of her--"Did Kapronski offer you +any threats?"--"Yes," she replied, unhesitatingly, repeating his words. + +The governor nodded, as though it were just the information he had +expected; and not wasting another word he went his way to the +district-board office. As he entered the building the secretary came +rushing down to meet him---a messenger had just arrived from Lemberg +with a writ from the Provincial Governor, and was to wait for an +answer. "Let him wait," said the district governor, bitterly. "I +daresay they have come to see the propriety of our remonstrances and +rescind their orders." + +The contents of the writ, indeed, somewhat verified these surmises, +stating that, having referred the matter to Vienna, instructions had +been received to take no measures against the family of Taras; to which +the Provincial Governor nevertheless added, as his own opinion, that, +had the arrest been effected already, he should not deem it advisable +to countermand it, lest the dangerous bandit should draw strength from +their yielding. But more than this, the Viennese Government requested +that every authentic information concerning Taras, beginning with the +records of his law-suit in behalf of the community of Zulawce, should +be forwarded without delay. And the attention of the Provincial +authorities was directed to the advisability of endeavouring to +reclaim, the rebel by peaceful means, since both his character and his +history, so far as known in Vienna, appeared to warrant this as the +best solution of the difficulty. Not that his submission should be +bargained for under promise of absolute immunity, or any other +inexpedient concession, but rather by rectifying certain unfortunate +mistakes, which no doubt might be done without lowering the dignity of +the law or that of its guardians. With regard to this, however, the +opinion of the local authorities was invited. In the meantime, and +until further notice, all action against Taras should be strictly on +the defensive, certain contingencies excepted. + +This official communication was accompanied by a private note of the +Provincial Governor's, which said: "I have certain information that His +Imperial Highness, the Archduke Ludwig, is at the bottom of these +instructions. Send me your records at once, and it is to be hoped +everything is in plain order. For you know that if the Archduke once +inquires into a cause, he will have it thoroughly sifted. It is a +positive riddle to me how this wretched cut-throat, Taras, should have +come to rouse interest in such high quarters. Concerning the 'peaceful +means,' however, about which we are to give our opinion, I desire +nowise to influence your own ideas, but it seems to me we should be +handed down to posterity as fools if we recommended them. The +commissioner, Kapronski, whom I have every reason to believe a +thoroughly honest and trustworthy man, quite shares my view, +deprecating the proposal in the strongest terms, and I should say he is +not without experience of his own. He assures me, and I daresay he is +right, that any leniency shown to Taras would rouse his insolent +opposition to the fullest. I wish to suggest this view to you, but of +course you should judge for yourself." + +Having read this, the district governor at once issued notices for a +meeting of the Board, submitting to the magistrates not only the +official document, but the private communication as well. "His +excellency, the Provincial Governor, and myself, are not in the habit +of having secrets with each other," he said, grimly. The Board, after a +short debate, was unanimous in its opinion that peaceful means were not +likely to avail in the present extremity, and the following despatch +was drawn up: "We fully agree that Taras, terrible as his crimes are, +cannot be designated as a bandit and cut-throat in the ordinary sense; +it might seem a natural hope, therefore, to lead him back to paths of +rectitude by appealing to his sense of honour and justice. Nor do we +fear that such an attempt would increase his temerity. But we feel +bound to deprecate such a plan, not only because of its utter +uselessness as regards the man himself, but even more on account of the +hurtful effect it would certainly produce on the people, who would see +in it a confession of weakness. As for Taras himself, it is evident +that he is acting under the pressure of a belief stronger than his +will, imagining that the duty has devolved on him to exterminate every +'wrong' he obtains cognisance of, to punish every deed of injustice, +nay, the very omission of doing right. And this idea has so eaten +itself into his heart, that no concession to any lawful, or for the +matter of that even to unlawful demands, or any other 'peaceful means' +will dissuade him from it. He will continue his 'judgments' till they +are rendered impossible by force." The Board, however, strongly +recommended the setting at liberty of his innocent family; "not for +fear of his revenge, but as a matter of conscience, and in the fear of +the Judge above." And in conclusion, having reported the murder of +their colleague, Hohenau, and Anusia's declaration, they requested that +the commissioner Kapronski should be sent back without delay, that he +might be brought to the bar of his immediate superiors. With which +reply, and a bulky bundle of papers, the messenger returned to Lemberg. + +Upon this the Provincial Government wrapped itself in silence save on +one point; they had been loth, these authorities stated, to set full +value on the commissioner's complaints concerning the ill-will of his +colleagues, much as they trusted his veracity on all other heads. But +now the Board of Colomea had given tangible proof of its unworthy +animosity, actually suggesting proceedings against a respectable +servant of the law upon no evidence whatever, save the declaration of a +bandit and his imprisoned wife. This appeared unjustifiable spite, and +the Provincial Government not only must refuse to give up the innocent +commissioner, but felt obliged to censure the magistracy sharply. In +answer to which the whole Board of Colomea once more, and in stronger +terms, submitted their request for dismissal, but neither on this +matter nor concerning Taras did anything farther reach them. There was +a dead silence for several weeks. + +Thus the district governor's position had come to be no bed of roses, +when suddenly it seemed as though having reached the worst, matters +would mend. It had been observed that Taras's 'judgments' grew fewer, +and during the first fortnight in August not a single act of his was +heard of at Colomea. It was as though the 'avenger' and his band had +suddenly disappeared from the earth. This silence was as mysterious as +his terrible doings had been. It could not be any fear of punishment +which bound his hands; for if the General now kept his forces together +in stockades between Kossowince and Zulawce, this centre of defence, +however formidable, could not prevent the bandits from carrying on +their work wherever they pleased, any more than the flying columns had +been able to stop it. And since no other explanation offered, the Board +lent a willing ear to the report which arose, dimly at first, though it +soon gained ground, that by far the larger number of the hajdamaks had +fallen out with their leader, and that it was inward dissension which +had stopped the activity of the band. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + THE APPROACHING DOOM. + + +The valley of the "black Czeremosz"!... When the great Emperor Joseph, +a hundred years ago, put forth his hand to lay hold of the lonely +tracts overlooked by the Carpathians, he sent thither a brave old +colonel, George Wetzler by name, a man reared on the sunny banks of the +Neckar, to take possession of the district in the monarch's name, and +to make suggestions for the improvement of the newly-acquired +territory. No easy matter! but the old colonel was a Swabian +born--stout of heart and tenacious of purpose--and, moreover, he was +honest. So his efforts prospered, and some of the good institutions of +his planting are growing still. Never at a loss to make the best of +things, he was the very man for his work; but after inspecting this +valley the old colonel's patience appears to have been fairly +exhausted, as may be gathered from his report to Vienna--a witness of +his disappointment to this day. "This valley of the black 'Tshermosh'," +he bluntly declared, "must be Old Nick's own presence chamber, and what +human creatures are to be found here, are a pack of senseless knaves. +There is nothing to be got out of them, nor into them, and this +wretched valley will always belong to him of the cloven foot, and never +to the Emperor's Majesty." + +In one point this judgment proved true, for the people or Zabie and +Reza to this day own the supremacy of the State only in a loose and +distant sort of way; but in other respects the plain-spoken colonel's +picture certainly is overdrawn. It cannot be said that the inhabitants +of the valley in question are either more senseless or more knavish +than the rest of the Huzuls, though they may be even more shy of the +world, more rude of habit--creatures of the forest, both hardy and +daring, as men will become whose life is a constant warfare with the +sterner forces of nature. But "Old Nick's presence chamber" itself, in +sooth, is one of the most glorious, if wildest regions of this mountain +chain, "raised by the devil and beautified by the Christ." It would +seem as if this valley, which forces its way eastward in a zigzag line +between the towering peaks in the southern-most part of Galicia, had +indeed been something like an apple of contention for evil or for good. +But if it was the devil who made the frowning mountains and strewed the +valley with weird-shaped rocks, the imagination may fitly dwell on the +redeeming fancy that the gracious Christ has clothed the heights with +those splendid firwoods, and called forth flowers and shrubs about the +boulders, sweeter and fairer than one would look for at such a height; +and if it was the great adversary who made of the Czeremosz a roaring +and dangerous torrent, it must have been the Friend of man who formed +its banks, so rich and lovely, to hold in the turbulent stream. It fact +the traveller, once acquainted with the fanciful legend, will remember +it at every turn; and the higher he climbs, up towards the giant-keeper +of the Hungarian frontier, the towering Black Mountain (the +Czernahora), the more it will appear to him as though a contest between +opposing forces had verily taken place; the upper valley certainly is +one of the wildest and fairest spots on earth. It narrows perceptibly +to the west, ending in a circular hollow, in the centre of which there +is a small deep lake, whose waters appear black, partly on account of +the dark-coloured strata of rock which form the sides of the basin, and +partly because of its lying within the far-stretching shadow of that +great frontier peak. At noon only is the silent mirror of the Black +Water smiled upon by a passing sunbeam. + +On the shore of this lake there is one of the largest settlements +within the mountains--cottages, sheepfolds, barns in great number, and +closed in with a thorn-hedge; it is the home of Clan Rosenko, numbering +about three hundred souls, dwelling here and ruled over by no man save +their own patriarch, feared for their valour and duly respected as the +wealthiest tribe of the Carpathians. The patriarch of this settlement, +in peace or war, is lord paramount within a territory as large as any +English county, and wields an influence the strength of which rests in +its tradition rather than upon any personal qualities. But never had +the clan possessed greater power than when ruled over by the friend and +ally of the avenger, the venerable Hilarion, surnamed the Just. There +was not a man of Pokutia or the Bukowina who did not bow to him, and +none so great nor yet so humble but he would obey his warning and +accept his will. + +In this man's close proximity Taras had arrived early in August, 1839, +encamping with his much-lessened band on an open space within the +Dembronia forest, about a mile from the Black Water. Not for fear of +the military operations had he withdrawn from the plain and broken up +his camp by the Crystal Springs; still less had he done so of his free +choice, but yielding to necessity, and hoping thereby to avert worse +things. For the report which had reached Colomea was only too well +founded. Taras no longer had absolute power over the minds of his men, +whose dissatisfaction had grown to bitterness and resentment, breaking +out into open rebellion at last. Just that had happened which Nashko, +with the clear discernment of his race, had foreseen and foretold, the +catastrophe occurring in the last days of July. + +"There are too many of them," Taras had said, sorrowfully, to the Jew. +"I cannot now, as I used to, impress every individual man with the +sacredness of the cause he is serving." But he was mistaken; the band +never numbered more than about two hundred, and Taras knew each and all +personally; the men, in their turn, being fully aware of his ideas +concerning the work they were engaged in. Nor could explanation be +sought in the suggestion that even his rigorous care could not suffice +for keeping the band pure, and that some ill-disposed fellows, no +doubt, were leavening the rest. No; the true reason was this, which +Nashko and Jemilian failed not to point out to their beloved leader, +saying, "You could never hope for anything better, unless the Almighty +had lent you his own avenging angels for the work. These men are but +human, and unwilling to stake their lives day after day for no +advantage they can see; they look for some reward, some personal gain, +for the constant danger they run. You think that the sacred cause of +justice should be as dear to them as it is to you; perhaps it should, +but for a fact it is not. And if you expect of these men to understand +your way of thinking, you should, in your turn, try to enter into their +views, less elevated though they be." + +But, in truth, neither party could comprehend the other; and with a +great number of the men the good-will even was wanting. Their wonderful +success, and the fame attending it, had intoxicated them at first; but +the novelty wore off, and they began to resent their hetman's folly +which forbade plundering and expected them to do the work merely for +the benefit of others. It was unheard-of severity, and most unjust, +they considered. Among the Huzuls, too, a spirit of discontent was +abroad. These wild, lawless men had joined the avenger because they +hated the authorities, together with the Polish landlords and the +thriving inhabitants of the plains, feeling attracted, moreover, +by the prospect of plenty of fighting. It was not reward or booty they +craved; but, unused to obedience or self-restraint of any kind, they +writhed under the consciousness of being mere instruments of another +man's will. They wished to have a voice in the matter before being +ordered to this or that work, and did not see by what right they +should be interfered with if at any time they preferred to please +themselves after their own fashion. But there was yet another and an +equally-numerous set of discontented ones, whose spokesman was the +whilom choir leader, Sophron Hlinkowski--men of honest and respectable +antecedents, who had gathered to Taras's standard either for pure love +of his cause, or had been driven to it by cruel oppression. + +But the scenes of bloodshed almost daily enacted, and in which they +must take their part, filled them with horror and disgust. They +trembled at the thought of what punishment they incurred at the hands, +even, of earthly law, and they feared the judgment of God. Hitherto, +though with a sore conscience, they had obeyed every behest of their +leader, whom at first they so fondly adored; but their helpless regret, +ending in despair, looked upon Taras now in the light of a cut-throat +who forced them on to every fresh deed of iniquity. That his own soul +suffered and bled more than theirs they never suspected; for the +iron-willed man, worn and wan though he looked, never once quailed +before his terrible purpose. They had come to look upon him as the +destroyer, not only of their earthly, but even of their eternal hopes, +and they were the first of his followers to unburden their minds. + +The band had been on a raid as far as the river Sereth, and was +returning in forced rides under cover of the night, taking their rest +during the day in their various hiding-places, and once more was +encamped now by the Crystal Springs. + +But before the first day was out Taras reassembled his men, announcing +that they must be ready to start at sundown for Ispas, and thence to +the southern Bukowina, because several Roumanian communities had sent +him their grievous complaints. + +The information was received with a growl of disapproval, and a voice +was heard, "What, already, before we are half rested?" Another +following it up with a plain "We refuse!" While yet another added, "We +sha'n't move a step, unless we see what we shall gain by it!" But these +cries were half smothered in the swelling surf of a general discontent. + +Taras's friends pressed round him--those few in number who in life or +death would be true to him--Nashko, the faithful Jemilian and his +fellow-servant Sefko, the youths Wassilj and Lazarko, and several +others. They had caught up their muskets in real alarm, prepared to +stand by him to the end; and to judge from the increasing uproar, +violence indeed seemed imminent. The mutinous band pressed closer and +closer to the captain. + +But he stood motionless, with eyes bent on the ground, and his face +wore the expression of stern, unflinching resolve, which had grown +habitual with him. "Speak to them," whispered Jemilian, hoarsely. +"Speak, or you are lost!" But he shook his head. Presently, however, he +drew himself up, fixing a penetrating glance upon the foremost of the +heaving crowd, and such was the power of his eye that they fell back +cowed and confounded. + +He lifted his hand. "Silence!" he cried, continuing, with a voice not +over loud, but wonderfully impressive, "If you have aught to say, or to +ask of me, here I am! But I will not brook disorder! Who is to be +spokesman for the rest? Let him step forth." + +There was but a low murmuring now, like rumbling thunder, ceasing +gradually as the men fell to debating more quietly among themselves. +The Huzuls gathered round the Royal Eagle, urging him evidently to +inform the hetman of their wishes. Others again, the worst of the lot, +pressed round a herculean fellow of the name of Iwon Pistak, who had +been in the service of one of the victims of Taras's judgments, and had +joined the band but recently. A third body in the background was seen +clustering round Sophron, the former choir-leader; and while the others +kept muttering with wrathful or threatening faces, these latter seemed +to cling together for mutual support, requiring no words in their +trouble. + +An expression of disappointment, deep and bitter, passed over Taras's +features. He had refused to believe what Nashko and Jemilian had told +him concerning the splitting up of the band into factions--he could see +it now distinctly for himself. Alas! how far matters must have gone +already, how often the men must have consulted among themselves, and +how fully their minds must have been made up, if at this moment of +excitement the division could take place thus easily and naturally. + +"Who is to be spokesman?" he repeated, expecting Iwon Pistak to step +forth with an insolent demand. But he was mistaken--this man of might +shrugged his shoulders, refusing the honour. Taras could hear him say +with a loud whisper, "You see, he is sure to shoot down the first that +dares tell him. Of course he will then be shot in his turn; still I +decline to be that first one!" + +Taras was on the point of yielding to his indignation, when his +attention was diverted from that miserable wretch; for suddenly there +stood before him, pale and trembling, one of those from whom he +scarcely would have expected the spirit of resistance--it was the late +choir-leader, Sophron. + +"You may kill us, hetman," he cried passionately, "but we shall not +again follow you: we will never again lift hand at your bidding. We +cannot bear it any longer, to spill the blood of men who are unable to +resist us. We fear the judgment of God!" + +Taras was not utterly unprepared for this terrible accusation, +Jemilian, more than once, having reported to him remarks he had +overheard among the men. Sophron's words, at the same time, struck to +his heart; and he who had not quailed when all the band seemed ready to +turn upon him now leant on his musket, for he trembled, and his voice +quivered as he made answer, "God is with those who love justice! This +is, and has been, my stand-by; I require none other, and it ought to +hold good for you." + +"Then how do you know that that which is just in your sight is just +also in the sight of God?" cried Sophron ... "Tell me," he continued +excitedly, taking hold of the hetman's hand, "speak, Taras, and prove +it, that God has shown you His will better and plainer than to others. +Prove it, and show us that you have a right to judge men in His +name--that the power you claim is given you by Him above!" + +An ugly peal of laughter burst from Iwon and his party, but the Royal +Eagle indignantly ordered them to hold their peace. Taras looked +fixedly before him. + +"Tell us!" Sophron repeated. + +"What I have to say, you have known from the beginning," Taras made +answer at length, but his voice was hollow. "I claim no power beyond +that which every honest man is called to in this unhappy land, where +right is not otherwise to be found." + +"This is nonsense!" cried Sophron wildly, "I have suffered greater +wrong than you. I have lost all, my property, my wife, my child, I have +myself been imprisoned, and with no earthly show of justice. Yes, I +have been wronged, cruelly, and so have you--I will admit it--and many +another, no doubt! But for all that, can you prove that there is +nothing left for honest men but to turn murderers themselves? What +would become of mankind, I ask you--what of this country, if every man +who has suffered innocently felt called upon to do as you have done?... +Taras, you have misled us--you are grievously mistaken. And as for us, +our latter ruin is likely to be worse that our former! Say, what answer +shall we make to the Judge above, when He inquires of us, saying: 'What +hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from +the ground!'" + +"Listen to him! that comes of having been a choir leader!" cried Iwon, +with a sneer. But again the Huzul chief silenced him peremptorily. + +"What is it you want?" said Taras, hoarsely. + +"We want to leave you!" cried Sophron. "Let us go--we cannot bear it +any longer.... We will try to live honestly and peacefully again; we +will go away from this country which we have defiled with so much +blood-shedding--far, far away. We will try to expiate the great wrong +we have committed. And if our deep sorrow avails not, if the Almighty +cannot again turn His face upon us, and we must fall into the hands of +earthly judges, be it so, we have deserved it." + +"You are at liberty to go," said Taras. + +And wild excitement filled the air. The men of Sophron's party seemed +beside themselves with the sudden prospect of quitting their present +mode of life. "Would that we had spoken sooner!" they, kept crying. + +"Any one is at liberty," repeated Taras; "let all those whose +conscience forbids them to continue with me, lift up their right hand." +Some forty men gave the required token; and, as Taras could see at a +glance, he was losing the most trustworthy of his followers--not +counting his own few personal adherents. + +He heaved a sigh. "Step aside to yonder fir-tree," he said, "I will +settle with you presently; you shall have your share of the common +property. But I must arrange with these others first," He drew himself +up proudly, and his eyes shot fire. "Now for you, Iwon Pistak!" he +cried. + +The giant hung back, but his fellows pushed him forward. "Why should I +bear the brunt of it," he muttered; but gathering courage, he +continued: "Well, you know our meaning, hetman, and I daresay you find +it natural; for after all, why should we go and help those fellows in +the Bukowina, utter strangers to us? and don't you think we owe +something to ourselves? Supposing now, we did your bidding, we might +find the manor garrisoned and soldiers in the cottages, some of their +bullets might hit, and we lose life or limb--that is looking at the +worst side. But at best--well, we kill the landlord or his steward, men +who never have done us any harm, we help these wretched Bukowinians to +get their money back, and then we return on our steps poor as church +mice, even as we went. Is that fair, we ask? You call yourself an +avenger, and we grant you are just, but in justice to ourselves you +ought to allow us something for our pains, now, oughtn't you? Where +would be the harm if you allowed us to go shares with the peasants in +any money found, for after all it is our doing if they get any at all! +And moreover, Taras, we do think it is ridiculous to expect of us +fighting-men to live like a parcel of monks! We want to enjoy life, +we----" + +"That will do," interrupted Taras, "and what if I deny your requests?" + +"In that case, Taras," declared the giant, with a foolish grin, "you +couldn't be offended if we gave you the slip; we might carry on a +warfare against rich wrong-doers on our own account, mightn't we?" + +"That will do!" and Taras turned to the fellows of this man. "Whoever +of you is of his way of thinking, let him signify it by lifting up his +right hand." In a moment some fifty hands went up in the air. Taras +would not have believed it possible, but he looked neither surprised +nor mortified. "Very well," he said, "take your place by this rock, you +shall have your due." + +He stepped up to Julko. "And what about you?" he said, "do you also +want to leave me?" + +"It is not for me alone to decide," replied the Royal Eagle, gloomily, +"else we should have left weeks ago. It is neither your fault nor ours! +But the Huzuls have ever been free--we are not a submissive race. Of +course we should always obey the hetman of our choosing, but I also +must say that men who are willing to be hajdamaks do not expect to live +like monks. We should, indeed, have given up long ago but for my +father, who would not hear of it. This was his message when I sent him +word of our desire: 'It is not I who commanded you to join Taras's +banner; but neither did I forbid it, for I lay down no law unless I see +absolute need of it; moreover, I consider Taras to be an honest man, +who knows what he is about, and I approve of his warfare. If you think +differently, the question is whether he has ever expected anything of +you beyond that which you knew he would expect when you joined him. If +this is the case you may break with him; but if not, you must stay!' +This is my father's opinion, Taras!" + +"And what is yours? Do you think, as he puts it, you ought to leave +me?" + +"No; else we should not be here still. But I say this, that we did not +much consider what might be your real meaning when we came to you, or +perhaps we misunderstood you entirely. So what we propose now is this: +Take us back to the Black Water and we will submit the case to my +father in person. He shall hear you and hear us, and we will leave him +time to think it over; if after that he still will have us continue as +your followers, we shall do so, whatever our own feelings may be." + +"And if I do not agree to this proposal?" + +"Then we leave you this very day," said the Royal Eagle, curtly. "I +will answer for it to my father." + +"In that case," said Taras, after a pause, "I must accept your +proposal; you will see for yourself, Julko, that I have no other +choice. If I had began this work for any advantage of my own, or merely +to satisfy private revenge, I should have no need to appeal to you for +your services any longer. For in that case I should turn the pistol +against my own head at once, if I had not done so long ago!... But I +have undertaken to fight for a holy cause, and I must not, I dare not, +give it up till all means have failed me. I could not continue the work +with the handful of faithful followers I have left; I must hope, +therefore, that your father will be on my side. But at the present +moment I have something else to ask of you, and you will do it, for it +is a duty, Julko--the duty of an honest man!" + +The Royal Eagle bent closer. "I guess your meaning," he said, under his +breath; "it concerns Iwon and his fellows. You want to pass sentence on +them." + +"No, not that; for, evil as their intentions are, they have as yet +committed no crime to be atoned for with their lives. But I must not +permit these men to use their weapons, which have served a holy cause, +for murder and robbery in the future. I will disarm them. Will you help +me?" + +"Of course we will!" + +Thereupon Taras went over to Sophron and his party, asking their +assistance also, which was readily granted. + +But Iwon and his fellows little guessed what was in store for them. +Standing or lying about, they talked noisily of the merry life they now +hoped to lead, when suddenly to the right and to the left ranks were +forming against them. They flew to arms, but it was too late; they saw +themselves surrounded, and a circle of muskets levelled at their heads. + +Taras fearlessly went up to them. "Lay down your arms," he commanded. + +"Not before I have made a last use of mine," cried Iwon, enraged, and, +snatching up his pistol, he discharged it at Taras. + +The bullet missed its mark, striking a tree close beside the captain; +but another bullet proved true to its aim. Lazarko, quick as lightning, +had fired back at the assailant of his beloved master. The giant's hand +went up to his head, he staggered, and fell heavily to the ground. + +The sudden death of their ringleader so terrified the mutinous men that +they obeyed helplessly, laying down their arms and entreating Taras to +forgive them this once, and they would do his bidding for ever. + +But he shook his head. "I know you now," he said, sternly, "men of your +sort are no fit champions of a holy cause. Go your ways, and seek a +better occupation than you intended. Green Giorgi and the rest of the +hajdamaks have disappeared, for they are afraid of me; should you +make common cause with them they might venture forth from their +hiding-places and once more be the pest of the land. Take warning, +then, for I shall hold you answerable. If any crimes are committed I +shall know that you are the scoundrels whom I shall have to deal with +next. And be very certain I shall find you, if need be." + +"We will seek an honest livelihood, indeed we will!" they asserted, +trembling. + +"So much the better," he returned, coldly. "I charge you to do as you +promise, lest I should have to make good my word." + +Thereupon Jemilian, by his orders, gave to every man who was ready to +go food for three days and his fair share of the common purse, the +disarmed number starting first, abashed and silent. And then the word +was given for a general departure. + +"Say a kind word to us before leaving," said Sophron, with honest +entreaty, and all the rest of that party pressed round the captain, +begging him to forgive them. "We are sorry, but we must do it," they +pleaded. + +"I know," said Taras: "I bear you no grudge; but you also shall believe +that it is laid upon me to act as I have done. Farewell, and God grant +that we may not meet again!" + +"Oh!" cried Sophron, "then you do bear us ill-will?" + +"No," said Taras, and his voice was low with inward emotion; "indeed I +wish you well, and that is why I said, God grant that we may not meet +again on the road--that road which is marked out for me. Fare ye well!" + +He spurred his horse, and, followed by his own friends and the Huzuls, +he led the way towards the Red Hollow. The night fell, and the stars +looked down upon the deserted camp by the Crystal Springs. Taras never +returned to it. + +They reached the Black Water, after four days of desperate riding +through the pathless forest wilds. Their coming was entirely +unexpected; but all the greater was the delight of the tribe at the +return of the clansmen. Taras, too, was received with a hearty welcome. +Those savage natures are not prone to show affection; but having made +friends, they are fast and true. They had received the unhappy man with +real sympathy on his first seeking their alliance. His dauntless +courage struck a kindred chord, not to mention an undercurrent of +_naive_ gratitude in their minds, as though they were indeed beholden +to him for being such a thorn in the flesh of the powers they hated. +And when the aged Hilarion had clasped hands with Taras, in token of +mutual friendship, the wild shouts of "Urrahah" that filled the air, if +an expression of savage delight, promised faithful adherence as +well.... + +This being the case, the returning champions were loth to disclose the +real reason of their arrival, and with tacit consent deferred matters +to the following morning, when Julko and Taras together sought the +presence of Hilarion, informing him of the state of affairs calmly and +without bitterness. + +The aged man listened quietly, the proud head uplifted, and with +thoughtful, unperturbed brow. At times only his hand, passing with a +quick movement over the silvery expanse of his mighty beard, betrayed +his deep interest in the recital. "It is the old story," he said at +last, after a long pause of silence, when they had finished. "I have +watched the course of this world for eighty years, and it is ever the +same. It is the wicked only who know how to traffic with the hearts of +men, and to do so for their own advantage; but the good man is +unsuspecting, judging others by his own honest nature, and it is sure +to bring him to grief. It is nothing new, Taras, and I am only +surprised that you have no worse tale to tell; for you are good and +honest to the core, and trustful as a child, in spite of the rivers of +blood you have set flowing; and you are as a stranger on the face of +this earth, despite the fearful experience of your life." + +"I do not understand you, my father," said Taras, with modest +deference. + +"Nor would it avail you if I tried to explain my meaning," replied the +old man, smiling sadly. "You would never understand it, and still less +could you alter your nature.... As for your rupture, I cannot take +sides with either of you; for you are both in the right, each acting +after his nature. This is not a case to be influenced by any man's +opinion." + +"Then you do think that our ways henceforth lie apart?" said Julko; "I +and every one of our men thought so." + +"It would be the simplest solution, and perhaps the most prudent," said +Hilarion, slowly, "but I do not say it would be the best and most noble +... Let me tell you, Taras, when I first heard of the work you had set +yourself to do, and of the way in which you did it, striving to carry +out justice without fail or wrong, as far as mortal man is able, I said +within myself, 'Thanks be to those up yonder, whatever their names may +be--and if the popes are right in maintaining there is but One, well, +then, thanks be to Him that I have lived to see this day; for truly it +is a shame what oppression the inhabitants of the plain have to suffer, +what wrongs untold, and no champion, no avenger, has ever stood up for +them. But now such a one is given them, in token, as it were, that they +are men still, and not mere cattle born for the yoke.' These were my +thoughts, Taras, and I think so still. But I also knew that your work +could not continue. Not that you had anything to fear from the +Whitecoats, for a man who has the mountain-haunts of the Welyki Lys to +fall back upon, and as many helpers as there are sufferers in the land, +need fear no soldiers. No, the only danger threatening you would come +from your own people, for you judged others by yourself, taking for +granted their willingness to share the burden to which you have bowed +your own shoulders. It could not end well, and to tell the truth it was +a relief to me to see you arrive yesterday, for the news would never +have taken me by surprise that you had fallen a victim to your mutinous +band. Or if they dared not shoot you they might have delivered you up +to the magistrates, gaining thereby their own safety and filthy reward +besides. Yes, these were my fears; and it was chiefly with the hope of +protecting you that I insisted on our men remaining true to your +banner!" + +"It may be so," said Taras, gloomily. "A week ago I would have taken my +oath in contradicting you, but now I have not a word to say. But the +question is, What is now to be done?" + +"What, indeed?" repeated the old man. "I have thought about it a great +deal, and especially this last night. I could not sleep for anxiety +concerning you, for I love you as though you were a son of mine ... If +prudence alone could guide you, I should invite you to remain with us +and live in peace henceforth as a shepherd and huntsman in the +mountains. I doubt not but that your wife and children would be +released on your word of honour, and you could live happily. But it is +useless talking, for you will listen--you can listen--only to that +inward voice which prompts you to continue this work! So the question +remains how to make it possible. If you raise your standard anywhere +within these mountains your name and fame will attract numbers of men, +there is no doubt about that; and they will be neither better nor worse +than those with whom you have lately parted. How, then, will you +anticipate such danger as you have just escaped?--do you think you +might permit them some enjoyment of life and a share in the booty? + +"Never!" cried Taras, passionately. The aged Huzul nodded. "I knew it," +he said. "It would be wronging your inmost nature, and I could scarcely +advise you to attempt it. For in that case the devil, not you, would be +ruling the band before a month were out. Nothing remains, therefore, +but to govern your men in the future as you did in the past. A band +will gather round you, but what will be the end? You must be prepared +for worse things than these late experiences; you may end any day as I +have hinted. Or do you think I am mistaken?" + +"No! But there is no other way." + +"There is," rejoined the old man; "I have thought it over, and it seems +to me the one plan to be adopted. You must not collect another band; at +the same time you must carry on your work, which I deem both sacred and +necessary. Do it in this way: Encamp with your faithful adherents in +our vicinity, and wait and see what complaints reach you here. If any +wrong requires you to redress it, I shall order this son of mine and as +many of our men as you may ask for, to place themselves at your +disposal. From the moment of their going forth with you, and until they +return, your word shall be their law, but at other times they shall be +free to live within the mountains as they are wont. That will suit all +parties: you will not be short of men when you require them for any +work that may be before you; the sufferers in the lowlands will not be +crying in vain for their avenger, and my own people need not forego the +pleasure of having a hand in punishing the Polish nobles, the +Whitecoats, and all those that would lord it over us by means of the +law, whom they hate cordially. This is what I offer to you: +straightforward and honest alliance; will you accept it?" + +"I am grateful to you," said Taras, "but it concerns a matter far +dearer to me than life. I pray you, therefore, let me consider it, and +hear my answer to-morrow." + +Taras gathered his friends about him, and informed them of the +proposal. Opinions differed. + +"This will be no lasting alliance, dear master," said Jemilian, +anxiously. "We know the Huzuls! We grant that they are honest and +brave, and if for the rest of it they are dissolute rascals, that is no +business of ours; but we also know that they have a devilish temper of +their own, and are ready to pick quarrels out of nothing." + +"Well, if we know that, they cannot take us unawares," suggested +Nashko. "We shall have to treat them accordingly, and if the alliance +does come to grief sooner or later, we shall be no worse off than we +are now. It seems to me there is no reason why we should not accept the +offer as matters now stand." + +Taras himself inclined to this opinion, and the result was that on the +following day the alliance between him and Hilarion was solemnly +ratified in accordance with the ancient usage of the tribe, a usage +found to this day among Mongolian races. They filled two goblets with +mare's milk, and each of the two about to pledge his friendship mixed a +drop of his blood with the cup he was holding; thereupon they exchanged +the vessels, and turning their faces sunward, they rested their left +hands upon their heads, while drinking each of the other's life blood. + +About a week passed quietly. Taras repeatedly went to commune with +Hilarion, and the old man in his turn visited him in his little camp in +the Dembronia Forest. But their people had no intercourse with each +other. No news arrived from the lowlands, and no prayer for redress. +The peasants believed the band to have dispersed, and the avenger to be +either dead or somehow silenced. + +But there was a poor mother far away in a village of the Bukowina who +refused to believe that the man was dead, or no longer to be found, of +whom alone she could hope that he would be the saviour of her unhappy +child. Her neighbours laughed at her for setting out to seek him in the +mountains; but she went and found him after a five days' anxious +search. And the story she had to tell was so heartrending, that both +Taras and Hilarion decided on the spot that her prayer must be granted, +although the undertaking was fraught with more than usual danger, and +even the bravest of the brave might well shrink back. + +The victim in this case was a Ruthen maiden of rarest beauty, Tatiana +Bodenko by name, who, in the district gaol of Czernowitz, was awaiting +the Emperor's decision concerning the sentence of death which had been +passed on her, following upon the verdict found by the local jury in +fulfilment of their duty. That fair-haired, gentle creature, with the +eyes of a fawn, had indeed committed murder; but it was one of those +pitiful cases which the law must condemn, while the heart's sympathy +will plead for the culprit. + +Tatiana, who had only just reached her eighteenth year, was the eldest +daughter of a poor gamekeeper, and had grown up amid all the hardships +of poverty. The mother often was ailing, and the father absent on duty, +so that at an early age the responsibility of rearing the younger +children upon the humblest of means devolved on her. It was indeed a +wonder that the flower of her beauty unfolded in spite of such nipping +cares; but she fought hunger bravely and kept out the cold. There is a +saying among her people that if God sees reason to punish a mother He +gives beauty to the daughter, and that lightning loves to descend on +the tallest trees. Poor Tatiana also had to learn that a girl's beauty +may be her ruin. She was modest and sweet as a violet, but she could +not help being seen; and all eyes that beheld her seemed spell-bound. +But silent worship not being a virtue much known in those parts, she +had much ado in keeping at a distance her rude admirers, and would +often sigh at the thought that, with all her other burdens, she should +have the special trouble of such beauty as well. But the day also was +given her when she found that it was not altogether amiss to be lovely; +she had made the acquaintance of a young peasant at a neighbouring +village, and came to be grateful for her sweet face, since thereby she +had gained his love. The young man was honest and fairly well off, her +parents gave their blessing gladly, and that saying need never have +come true as far as Tatiana was concerned had not an evil hour brought +Mr. Eugene de Kotinski, the owner of the forest, to her father's +cottage. + +He was not a fast man of the worst type, and his morals hitherto had +escaped the world's censure, but no sooner had he seen the girl than he +was seized with a frenzied passion for her. Day after day he returned, +like a moth to the candle, trying to win her with the most dazzling +promises, and these failing, with cruel threats. Her prayers and tears +availed not, and she withdrew into the silence of contempt. Suddenly +his visits ceased; he had left the neighbourhood, hoping to master his +folly. But the promptings of his nature, perhaps of his heart even, +were too strong for such honest intentions; he returned to ask the +keeper for the hand of his daughter. It was an unheard-of resolve for a +man of his standing, making the gossips gape with wonder for miles +around; but still more startling was the further news that Tatiana had +rejected her noble suitor. She did not care to be his wife, and neither +her mother's entreaty nor her father's abuse could move her; she +remained true to her humble lover. But passion fed on rebuff, and the +maddened nobleman now sought to gain his end by a baseness which many +another of his kind, no doubt, would have had recourse to much sooner. +He exerted his influence, and the young peasant was levied as a recruit +and carried off into a distant province. But this villainous trick +brought him not a step further, the girl repulsing him more firmly +still, whereupon he played his last card, discharging the keeper and +evicting him and his family from their humble cottage, though it was in +the depth of winter and the poor wife sick and suffering. + +But if Tatiana was the cause of all this trouble, she also was the +unconscious means of help. A forest ranger in the neighbourhood, +pitying the poor girl, took her father into his service, appointing him +even to a better post than the one he had quitted. This man was a +German of the name of Huber, of known respectability, and a widower +beyond the heyday of life. But he succumbed nevertheless, offering the +girl his honest love, and was more fortunate than the nobleman had +been. Tatiana agreed to wean her heart from the young peasant, separated +from her by cruel interference, and to secure a home and bread for her +family by marrying the kind-hearted ranger. Her father's sudden illness +only strengthened her resolve; he could die in peace, for the widow and +orphans would thus be cared for. The wedding was postponed for the +usual time of mourning, and this delay left room for evil slander. The +ranger was informed that his wife that was to be had allowed herself to +be visited secretly by Kotinski's valet. Of such baseness had that +man's revenge been capable! And he must have paid his servant +handsomely, for the wretch added oath upon oath when Huber interrogated +him concerning the truth of the report. Calumny carried the day. He +broke with the girl, and once more Tatiana, with her mother and the +little ones, were homeless. Again pity held out a helping hand, a +well-to-do widow in their own village receiving them into her house. +But even here they were not safe from Kotinski's low-minded vengeance. +That charitable widow was fined for giving shelter to a girl of bad +character. When Tatiana heard this she took hold of the one possession +they had left, her father's musket, and waylaying Kotinski as he rode +about his property, she killed him by a shot through the heart; and +going to the nearest magistrate she gave herself up on the spot. + +The case against her was so plain that sentence could be passed almost +immediately; according to the law, she had forfeited her young life and +must atone for her deed on the gallows. When asked whether she had +anything to say for herself, she made answer quietly: "You will not +deny, sirs, that he deserved to die; and since my father is dead, and +my eldest brother but nine years old, I had to do it myself." But in +spite of this open confession, the jury unanimously agreed that the +verdict should be accompanied by a strong recommendation to mercy. She +was told of it, but all she said was: "Mere life is nothing to me. I +suppose the Emperor would not let me go back to work for my mother and +the children; so I do not care whether I die now, or some years hence +in prison." And her whole bearing showed that she spoke as she felt. +She returned to her cell, awaiting the imperial decision without a +shade of disquietude. She considered she had done her duty--an evil +duty, to be sure--and must take the consequences. Her fortitude was not +the outcome of heroism, but simply that submissive yielding to the +inevitable which is so strong a characteristic of Slavonic races; but +in a case like this, and surrounded with the halo of so tragic a fate, +it reflects the lustre of the higher virtue. + +But while the girl thus awaited her fate calmly, Taras was coming to +avert it. The hill country between the rivers Czeremosz, Pruth, and +Sereth was almost bare of troops, and he knew the neighbourhood +sufficiently; nevertheless this enterprise was the most daring of his +ventures. There was the General with his concentrated forces not far to +the left of him, and he was moving towards a city of some ten thousand +inhabitants--not to mention its garrison, the strength of which he had +not been able to learn. True, he had sent on Nashko and the Royal Eagle +to procure information and to reconnoitre the situation of the prison; +but these spies of his could scarcely rejoin him before he, at the head +of his band, would have arrived in the vicinity of the town; and the +least suspicion of their approach would bring almost certain failure, +for the General could effectively cut off their retreat. No precaution, +therefore, was omitted to avert discovery. They carried food for +themselves and provender for their horses, in order to obviate +intercourse with the peasantry. They rode by night only, and in small +detachments, taking their rest and hiding in lonely places from the +early dawn till late in the evening. They avoided villages--and +solitary homesteads even--choosing the rocky woodland paths as much as +possible, where the horses' hoofs left no traces behind them. Still, a +hundred horsemen could not traverse the country as quietly as mice; +and, apart from all this, everything depended on whether the attack +could be carried out successfully within the space of an hour: if there +were anything like a fight, the band was lost. Most of Taras's feats +hitherto had been ventures for life or death; but the chances of utter +failure never seemed more certain than this time. The Huzuls hardly +realised it, or if they did, their great temerity despised the danger; +but all the deeper was Taras's sense of responsibility. + +With the first streak of dawn on the fourth day they reached that +uninhabited forest region, rent with numberless ravines, between the +village of Dracinetz and the Swabian settlement of Rosch, which forms +the western suburb of Czernowitz. In the midst of this wild waste rises +broadly and grandly the Cecina mountain, the brow of which, in times +gone by, bore the ramparts and bastions of a considerable stronghold. +In one of the hollows on the western slope, between rocks and +brushwood, the band was halting; to this spot the spies had been +ordered to return. They arrived in the course of the day, but their +news was even less hopeful than Taras had anticipated. The prison +itself was favourably situated in the outskirts of the city, but within +a stone's throw of barracks containing some five hundred soldiers. + +But Taras nevertheless resolved to venture, and the attack was not only +successful, but was achieved without the loss even of a single life. +The enterprise, which bordered on the impossible, was carried +victoriously through by a series of happy chances. + +A storm had broken at sunset, the rain descending in torrents for hours +through the night. Under cover of this tempest the band succeeded in +gaining the level between the gaol and the Catholic cemetery, without +letting the sentry in the barracks close by, or any one else, become +aware of their arrival. Taras dismounted with about half his men, +cautiously advancing to the entrance of the prison. The sentinel, most +fortunately, had retired from the pelting rain, and was comfortably +asleep, well wrapped up in his overcoat. He was gagged and pinioned +before he had half opened his drowsy eyes. + +And now Taras rang the bell, but there was no sound in response--the +wind only howled and the rain splashed wildly. After the bell had been +rung a second time, approaching footsteps were heard and keys rattled, +a sleepy voice growling, "What is it at this time of night?" +"Government inspection!" returned Taras, peremptorily. At which the +gates flew open, revealing an old turnkey with a lantern in his hand. +He staggered back horrified. + +"Lead the way to Tatiana Bodenko," said Taras, lifting his pistol. "You +are a dead man if you raise the alarm; but you have nothing to fear if +you show me to her cell. I am the avenger, and you may trust my word." + +The man grew livid, but did as he was told, tremblingly unlocking the +cell of the condemned maiden. Taras took hold of the lantern and +entered, leaving the warder to his men. Tatiana was fast asleep, her +rest being as peaceful as though she had sought it in her father's +cottage, the sweet earnings of toil. A gleam of light fell on her face, +and a tall man, grey-haired and wan, was bending over her. She woke +with a start, and gave a little scream, but he laid his hand on her +mouth, saying, "Rise; I am the avenger. I have come to take you back to +your mother; it is she who has sent me. Be quick!" + +He turned away, and she rose as in a dream; but her limbs shook and she +was scarcely able to put on her clothes. Taras knew that not a moment +was to be lost; divesting himself of his "bunda," he wrapped it about +her and lifting the quivering figure in his strong arms, he carried her +away through the night and the rain, followed by his men, to where the +others were waiting. He placed her upon a horse, tying her fast in the +saddle and joining the bridle to that of his own steed. And the band +dashed away quick as lightning through the storm-tossed night. + +But success was scarcely yet complete. Unless the authorities at +Czernowitz had utterly lost their heads they would send a courier to +inform the General of what had happened; and if the latter moved +forward to the banks of the Czeremosz, quite at his leisure, he could +cut off the band's retreat to the mountains. Taras was fully aware of +this and resolved to make a dash for it straight across country, taxing +his men and horses to their utmost. And it was well he did so, for on +the evening of the second day he fell in with the vanguard of the +approaching troops, a handful of hussars. But these, not strong enough +to venture upon an attack, turned tail after having exchanged some +shots with the bandits. Only one of their bullets hit, wounding one of +Taras's truest helpers, and his own inmost heart as well; his oldest, +most faithful companion, Jemilian, fell bleeding by his side. They +lifted him up, taking him away with them back to the mountains. The old +man's iron nature fought for life, but Taras knew that the sore parting +was at hand.... + +Words utterly fail to describe the excitement which filled the land +when that night's exploit became known. The consternation was all the +greater because men had clung to the belief that Taras's day was over +and no further attack need be feared. It had been asserted he had laid +hands on himself in despair; others declaring his band had mutinied and +that he had fled for his life to Hungary. But here he was, bold as +ever, daring unheard-of things, and heading a swarm of outlaws which +the terrified hussars who had fallen in with them estimated at five +hundred at least. + +Helplessly the authorities met at the Board, couriers flying from +Czernowitz to Colomea, and thence to Lemberg, and away to Vienna. The +poor district governor, who had begun to breathe more freely, hung his +head again in utter dismay. "Would to God," he cried bitterly, "our +superiors at Lemberg had turned their venom against this Taras, instead +of spluttering it over us. But as for those at Vienna----" he heaved a +sigh and sat mute. The poor old man was so deeply troubled that even +his favourite resort of growling began to fail him. + +But "those at Vienna," meanwhile, did not quite deserve his disgust. +Before a week was over he could once more call the Board to inform them +that a special writ had arrived from the Provincial Governor, and his +eyes shone with a curious moisture. "Gentlemen," he said, "after all it +was not in vain that we stood up for what is fair and right. Our +superiors at Lemberg have just informed me that by express orders from +Vienna Anusia Barabola and her children are to be set at liberty at +once, and that, considering the very special circumstances of the case, +she is to be indemnified for any loss she may have suffered through +having been detained here. This is fine, I say! But, on the other +hand," he added, with a queer smile, "we seem to be told that, in part +at least, our views are open to amendment. Listen to this," and he read +as follows:--"'It appears to be thought highly desirable at Vienna that +an effort should be made to bring Taras to his senses by personal +remonstrance, it being left to the district authorities to name fit +persons for this office. These, in company with the outlaw's wife if +possible, are to repair to Taras's camp, and to inform him that the +Imperial Government, having learned that he, formerly a well-behaved +and even exemplary subject, had been driven to his desperate crimes by +an alleged wrong done to his parish in the matter of a law-suit against +the lord of the manor concerning a field of theirs--that Government, as +in duty bound to rectify any miscarriage of justice, had ordered a +careful revision of the judicial records referring to that suit; and +although there seemed nothing irregular in the judgment of the local +court, yet nevertheless it appeared that certain pleas might be urged +in Taras's favour, for which reason it was deemed well to annul that +judgment by an act of imperial prerogative, and to order the case to be +tried over again; that the district governor was instructed to repeat +the process of collecting evidence, and especially to inquire into the +possibility of perjury in the former trial--these matters to be taken +in hand with all possible speed; and Taras to be given to understand +that the case was to be re-tried for the sake of justice itself, and +not with the mere idea of pacifying him. At the same time he shall be +informed of this decision, in the hope that it may enable him to see +his way all the more plainly to turn from his present evil life, and by +an unconditional surrender to make amends to the law he has so +grievously wronged. And though it would not be just to hold out +positive impunity to him and his accomplices, he is to be assured that +his and their lives shall in that case be spared. The district governor +is herewith requested to take note of these instructions, and to act +accordingly.'" + +Herr von Bauer looked up from his paper, and, allowing the excitement +of the Board to subside, he added presently, "And now, gentlemen, who +is to be sent--to Taras, I mean; for I shall myself repair to Zulawce +to re-examine the witnesses." + +"If I might be allowed to suggest," said Wroblewski, the secretary, +looking wicked, "surely we could find no better delegates than our +friend Kapronski, who sooner or later will have to show his face here, +and the amiable hero of all this business himself, Mr. Wenceslas Hajek, +who, I am told, intends this very week to enter the blessed estate of +matrimony." + +"None of your chaff," broke in the governor, "we are not gathered here +for joking; moreover, I want to be off to inform the poor woman of her +liberty. I'll see her myself! So, to come to business, suppose we +appoint Dr. Starkowski, who not only knows Taras, but always had a good +word for him. And I should say he could not have a better companion +than the parish-priest of Zulawce, Father Leo Woronczuk. Let these two +go and come to an understanding with Taras." + +The Board unanimously agreed to this proposal, and the governor was +soon free to repair to the city gaol, his heart brimming with the good +news for Anusia. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + FOR THE RIGHT--IN THE WRONG. + + +It was a lovely morning, fair and still, with the glow of autumn upon +the mountains. More golden seemed the light and bluer the heavens than +summer had known them. Though but early as yet in September, the high +peaks of the Czernahora were white with the first sparkling snow; but +the air was mellow in the valley, and there being no foliage which by +its turning colour might have told of the waning year, but only firs +and pines of sombre green, there was nothing to remind one of nature's +gentle decay, save the peculiar clearness of the atmosphere, and at +times a whirring sound high overhead--the first flights of birds going +South. A deep silence lay brooding over the wild splendour of the +valley; not a sign of life anywhere. The Czeremosz even, ever restless +and rushing as described in song, had grown calm with the hot days of +summer, and was flowing quite steadily along. + +A strange shrill call suddenly rent the air. Any one who had never +heard it would naturally have looked up to see whether a hawk or falcon +might be discerned in the shining blue; but the sound was followed by +others, falling on the ear more gently, now at intervals, now in +succession, a monotonous mournful melody, rising and sinking, and +ebbing away through the stilly landscape. And even the unaccustomed +listener would have found out by this time that it was some shepherd's +pipe sending its voice through the valley. But ere long, the sorrowful +strain was broken into by that same shrill call, only it now came from +a different direction, another pipe silencing the first one, as it +were, and carrying on its dolorous song; which again in its turn was +taken up by another, more distant, starting with that peculiar note, +and continuing the strain. Thus the plaintive melody went sobbing along +from pasture to pasture, and those that heard it crossed themselves, +murmuring a prayer, and then hastened to their homestead to put on +suitable attire, that they might assist in burying the dead. For such +is the way within the mountains: if a man dies in any of the valleys +the event is made known by a blast of the horn--the death-horn they +call it--and its voice is hollow and dismal, as befits the first +outburst of mourning; and later on the subdued dirge of the shepherd's +pipe invites the neighbours to render the last kindly tribute to him +who is gone. + +It was from the largest settlement that the call had come, and the +far-off listeners had been seized with apprehension, lest the +death-horn should announce the passing away of the patriarch of the +valley, Hilarion the Just; but by the time the pipes were heard it was +known that it was for the burial of a stranger only, who in a sheltering +homestead of Clan Rosenko had breathed his last. Old Jemilian was gone. + +For more than a week he had lain wrestling with death, fighting his +last battle bravely, with manly courage and resignation. Hilarion, not +merely the ruler and guide of his people, but their adviser in sickness +as well, had vainly endeavoured to succour the sinking life with +healing herbs, and to tend the wound with practised skill. In vain, +too, had been the almost passionate care of the maiden Tatiana, who +watched by the sick man day and night. The poor girl, feeling shy at +first, and disconsolate among strangers, had been glad of the +opportunity of showing her gratitude to the hetman by soothing the +sick-bed of his servant and friend. + +Jemilian himself was almost impatient of so much solicitude. "I know +that I am going to die," he kept repeating; "and it is well. One duty +only I have yet to perform, and the good God will give me the needful +strength before I go." + +What this one thing might be which yet bound him to life he was in no +hurry to disclose, not even to Taras, whose devotion and loving care +for the wounded man were only equalled by Tatiana's. Once only, when +the hetman had to leave him for a couple of days at the call of duty, +the well-kept secret seemed about to be told. For Taras had learned +that Green Giorgi, reinforced by several of his own late followers, had +dared to resume his predatory life, and he at once resolved to bring +those scoundrels to justice, Jemilian himself urging him not to delay. +And when the fearless band was mounted, and Taras once more returned to +the sick-bed to take leave of his friend, the wounded man suddenly grew +restless, looking doubtfully at the girl. Tatiana understood, and left +the two by themselves. "Dear master," said Jemilian; "you may be absent +for several days, and I may be gone when you return; yet I must not die +without telling you one thing!" + +"I shall find you alive, and, please God, getting better," said Taras, +cheeringly. "But if it is any comfort to you----" + +The old man shook his head. "No," he said, falteringly; "I think I will +wait till death tightens its hold; for if, after all, I should recover +by some miracle it were terrible ... terrible ... to have told you! No! +go your way, dear master, and God bless you.... I will wait!" + +And as Taras rode along at the head of his followers he kept thinking +of these strange words; but explanation there seemed none, and his +attention presently was otherwise engaged. The enterprise was +successful as usual, if not fully, for Green Giorgi himself was not +among the hajdamaks he waylaid and caught, and Taras had to be +satisfied with punishing his accomplices. The two most guilty he +ordered to be shot, while the rest were disarmed and shorn of their +hair. + +Returning to the settlement, he found his faithful old servant alive +still, but his last hour evidently at hand. But not yet did he refer to +his secret, and Taras cared not to inquire. Not till the last sands +were running through did the old man open his lips. It was near +midnight; he had been lying still with closed lids, but, suddenly +endeavouring to raise himself, he gazed anxiously at the pale, +beautiful girl who sat by his side. "Tatiana," he whispered; "for God's +sake, where is my master? Call him--I am going!" + +She hastened away, and in another minute Taras was by the side of the +dying man, taking hold of his hand tenderly. And Jemilian having +satisfied himself that they were alone, began with laboured breath:-- + +"I have to make a confession to you, and to ask a promise. Hear me--a +dying man cannot use many words. Do you know what, after all, will be +your end?" + +Taras kept silence, a stony look stealing over his face. + +"The gallows!" whispered the old man, and shuddered. "It is an evil +death, Taras--a horror to yourself and a lasting disgrace for your +children! And therefore I have been resolved fully and firmly to save +you from such a death, my poor, dear, dear master! I have sworn to +myself, if ever we should fall into their hands, and there were no hope +of escape, to shoot you myself with these hands of mine." + +"Jemilian!" + +"Do not hate me; for never man loved you more truly than I did when +binding myself with that oath. You know what it would have cost me to +do the deed! But you are the noblest soul, the best and most lovable +man that ever lived, and such a one shall not be tortured to death on +the gallows...." + +Taras, quite unable to speak, had fallen on his knees by the side of +the bed, and was hiding his face in the rough bearskin which covered +the limbs of the dying man. + +Jemilian continued: "The Almighty is calling me hence, and I am not +able to show you that love! But I cannot die in peace without +endeavouring to save you from so horrible a death, for your own sake +and for the sake of your little ones whom I have helped you to rear. +Promise me, therefore, Taras--I entreat you promise me--that you will +do yourself what I had intended." + +"I cannot," groaned the unhappy man. + +"Why not? Poor, dear master! Ah! I know how you dread the +gallows!--not the dying, but the rope! The mere thought of it fills you +with horror and loathing unspeakable. I know it, for who knows you +better than I do? For this and no other reason you have granted the +bullet to even the blackest rascal we ever brought to his doom. And to +yourself you refuse it--why should you?" + +"Because it were cowardly and a sin against God!" + +"Nay, surely the Almighty will judge your soul with the same justice +and mercy whether you appear before His judgment-seat a month sooner or +later. I cannot doubt that!... And cowardly? I do not understand +you...." + +"Yes, cowardly!" cried Taras, passionately, and rising to his feet. "It +is my appointed lot to be a guardian of the Right, and to strive to +carry out the will of God concerning it, as far as may be possible to +mortal man. I must not, I dare not renounce that sacred duty. If ever I +fall into their hands I shall hope and endeavour to make good my +escape, and continue fulfilling the duty which is laid upon me. Yes! in +the very sight of the gallows I shall cling to the hope that the Judge +above will set me free, though it be by a miracle, to carry on His +work." + +The dying man was silent; he fell back on his bed and closed his eyes. +Taras bent over him. And once again those faithful eyes opened on him +fully, and the old servant whispered, scarcely audibly: "Farewell, dear +master, and may God in His mercy be with you in death." A deep breath, +and Jemilian was gone. + +They laid him out in the morning after their way in the mountains, with +a crucifix at his head, but with a jug of water at his right hand, +bread and salt at his left, and the skin of a newly-killed kid at his +feet, "for the other gods." And after that they buried him beneath a +mighty fir-tree in the Dembronia Forest. No priest prayed over the +dead, the aged Hilarion only whispered his ancient spells handed down +from generation to generation, believed in by all, and understood by +none. They filled up the grave, discharging their muskets over it, and +finally cut a cross into the bark of the tree, not forgetting some +mysterious signs by the side of it "for the other gods." + +Then they returned to the settlement to partake of the funeral meal. +But as they entered the enclosure Taras perceived a youth standing by +the hedge, at the sight of whom he gave a stifled cry. + +It was young Halko, the farm-servant, who, with glistening eyes, now +burst upon his master and kissed his hand. "Thanks be to God," he +cried, struggling with tears, "we shall all be happy again! The +mistress and the children have been set free! They are waiting to see +you at the hamlet of Magura, at the lower end of the valley." + +"My horse!" cried Taras, turning to his men. "And why have they not +come all the way?" + +"Because of the two gentlemen. It was they who refused to come further, +lest you might think they wished to discover your encampment--our +little Father Leo, I mean, and that old lawyer of Colomea who was your +counsel in the suit." + +"And what have they come for?" + +"To bring you good news, master--really. The men of Zulawce are to have +their field back, and the wrong is to be righted." + +Taras grew white and then crimson, and again the glow yielded to a +deadly pallor. But he asked no farther question, and, mounting his +horse, he raced down the valley at a pace which left Halko fax behind +him. + +The meeting between husband and wife was deeply affecting. Taras flew +towards her without giving a glance at the men, and Anusia, with a wild +cry, buried her face on his shoulder. And they stood clasping each +other speechless, only their tears kept flowing. At length Taras freed +himself from her arms, and turned to his children, little Tereska +beginning to cry with fear when that strange-looking grey-haired man +caught her up, kissing her wildly; the little girl did not recognise +her father, nor did the younger boy. Wassilj only clung to him sobbing, +"Oh, father dear, you look so ill--so ill!" + +Taras made no answer, he took the boy on his knee, fondling him and +closing his month with kisses when he would have spoken. It was as +though he feared human words might destroy the blessedness of this +meeting. And almost anxiously he avoided the eye of either the pope or +the lawyer; still less could he have offered them greeting. He kept +lifting, now this child to his knee, now that, pressing them to his +heart closely; and drawing his wife down beside him, he passed his hand +tenderly over her grief-worn face. "Do not speak," he whispered, and +she nodded, hiding her head in his bosom, to weep her sorrows away. + +Father Leo and Dr. Starkowski had withdrawn modestly, watching that +most touching scene from a distance only. "There is every hope of his +yielding," whispered the lawyer. "God grant that it be so," returned +the priest, less confident, evidently. + +Half-an-hour might have passed, when Taras roused himself, once more +clasping his wife and kissing the children with a passionate fervour, +as though separation once more were at hand. And now he went up to the +men, expressing his pleasure at seeing them, but his voice trembled as +with apprehension, "What is it you have to tell me?" he inquired. + +"We are sent hither by order of the Government," said Starkowski, +producing a written document and explaining its contents. It was a +paper drawn up by the district governor, instructing the present +bearers, and containing, in full, the resolutions come to in Vienna. +"To-morrow," concluded the lawyer, "the governor himself will repair to +Zulawce to re-examine the witnesses in person. And, since he is fully +determined to get at the bottom of the matter, there is no doubt but +that the contested field will be adjudged to the parish, and that the +perjured witnesses, together with the scoundrel who led them on, will +meet with their fullest deserts. And this is resolved upon, as you +understand from this communication, for the sake of justice itself, and +quite irrespective of what decision you may arrive at concerning +yourself. But we ask you, whether there be any just reason left why you +should refuse submission to the Emperor, the guardian of justice in +this realm." + +Taras drew one deep breath after another, but answer there was none. + +"Husband!" cried Anusia, wildly, "tell them you are satisfied." + +"Do not press him," interposed Father Leo. "Let us consider the matter +calmly.... Taras," he continued, "I do not want to urge upon you the +claims of ordinary wisdom, which might well prevail with you, in order +to preserve your life, not only from ignominious death, but for your +children's sake and their future welfare; for I know that no such +consideration has influenced your actions hitherto and that you follow +the voice of your conscience only; but this I will ask of you--does +your conscience permit you to continue striving in your own might, and +with fearful means, to bring about a result which will be attained +peaceably by the faithful endeavour of those who are called to this +duty?" + +"This is the very point," said Taras, slowly. "I do not know that these +endeavours are faithful! Look back on all this sad experience. Grievous +crimes have been perpetrated at Zolawce--robbery and perjury. I +appealed to the law, considering no personal sacrifice too great to +obtain relief; but every effort proved vain. The robber was left to +enjoy the benefit of his deed, and the perjurers could mock honest men! +Three years nearly have passed since this happened, and the matter was +not likely ever to be taken up again. Now you tell me that the men of +the law nave suddenly remembered their duty. Why so? What is the reason +that, all of a sudden, they feel called upon to try the case over +again?--why are they willing to do so? Because these months past they +have stood in terror of me, and I have left them no peace!... I ask +you, doctor, as an honest man--would the case ever have come to be +tried over again if I had followed your advice, and lived down my +disappointment as a peaceable subject on my farm?" + +"Yes, possibly," returned the lawyer. "I mean it is just as likely that +some other chance had made it advisable----" + +"That will do!" interrupted Taras. "By your own showing, then, it was a +mere matter of chance, and you were brought to seek for the right in +the present instance only because of my forcing you on to it through +dire warfare. But for this, I repeat, you would not have lifted a +finger to right the wrong! This is an evil state of things, and must +not continue, for it opposes the beautiful will of God. The case does +but lend force, then, to my belief that a judge and avenger is +grievously needed in this country. This, however, is not the only, not +even the chief, thing I must strive to rectify. I found greater wrongs +left unpunished elsewhere; and, knowing that the men of Zulawce would +not miss their opportunity of getting back their field for themselves, +there was no need for me to see to it. I soon perceived there were +other evil-doers in the land, not greater scoundrels, perhaps, than +Hajek, but with greater scope for wrong; and therefore I judged well to +punish and remove them first, and to bring him to his doom when I can +do so without too great an effort or loss of life. But to come to those +other cases, or to take one only as an example--who, I ask you, would +ever have thought of ridding the people of Kossowince from that vilest +of oppressors if I had not done it? And how, then, can I be sure that +such things shall not happen again--not once, but in scores of cases? +Can you pledge yourselves that such wrongs shall never again be +possible? Will you yourselves be the surety that in future no man shall +be oppressed in this country, or his cry for redress die away unheard?" + +"This is more than we can promise," said the lawyer; "but----" + +"It needs no further word! I maintain that a judge and avenger +was required in this country, and will still be required; and +therefore----" + +"Taras!" cried Anusia, with a shriek of despair, and clutching his arm, +"forbear! Speak not lightly; it concerns our deepest welfare--it is a +question of life or death!" + +Once more the pope interfered. "Hear me, Taras," he said, speaking with +a forced calm; "I do not condemn your answer so far, for it is no more +than must be expected from your nature and your way of thinking, such +as I have known them these years. And as a tree could not change the +colour of its leaves at any man's bidding, you also could not have +spoken differently, for your words are the outcome of your very being. +But I should have to condemn you if you were to disregard that which I +will point out to you now, and which no doubt has escaped you hitherto. +Listen to me! You are grievously mistaken if you imagine that the law +in itself is to blame, or that the Emperor wishes his judges to close +an eye when poor peasants are ill-used by rich and powerful oppressors. +The law is all right, and those that are appointed to dispense it are +required to take a solemn oath that in all cases they will be just and +impartial. And again, you are mistaken if you think that our +magistrates sometimes pass an unjust verdict wilfully." Taras broke in +with a passionate exclamation, but the pope stopped him. "I know what +you are going to say," he cried; "you want to remind me that your wife +and your children were arrested. I shall come to that presently. Let me +urge upon you that, taking all in all, the intentions of the +magistrates are good, and the laws are good. Just call to mind your +experience as a whole, and tell me, speaking honestly, as before the +face of Almighty God, Is it the just or the unjust verdicts which are +the exception?" + +"I have considered this point often," said Taras, quietly; "it is true +that I have heard of far more just than unjust sentences. But what of +it, what _can_ it prove?" + +"Just this," rejoined Father Leo, warmly, "that an occasional +miscarriage of justice is not to be explained by imputing it to the +ill-will of magistrates. What else, then, is to blame? you inquire. I +remind you that for one thing there is that unfortunate survival of +feudal times, whereby the lord of the manor is vested with judicial +authority over the peasantry on his lands; this is fully acknowledged +to be an evil, not only by you and me, but by Government as well. But +it cannot be done away with all of a sudden, nor by violent means, for +the landlords exercise their jurisdiction in virtue of Imperial grants +acquired by purchase in times long gone by. It is this deplorable state +of things which is to blame chiefly, if oppression and injustice go +more easily unpunished in this country than elsewhere. But do not +imagine, Taras, that we are the only people who ever suffer wrong; nay, +that beautiful ladder which has appeared to you in happy vision is not +anywhere on earth so firmly planted, so utterly to be relied on, as you +dreamed. For the guardianship of Justice in this world is not given to +God's angels, but to poor sinful men like you and me. God alone is +all-knowing, all-wise, and all-just, and it is man's inheritance to +judge of things not as they are, but rather as they appear. I do not +deny that there may be unjust judges here and there; yet it is not this +fact which is to blame for the continuance of wrong upon earth, but the +imperfection of human nature. For everything human falls short of its +highest aim, and perfect justice is with God alone; if, therefore, you +are bent on continuing your warfare, it will not be against the Emperor +and his magistrates, nor against the wrong upon earth, but against +human nature and human failings." + +Taras had bent his eyes on the ground thoughtfully; but after a pause +of silence he shook his head. "I have followed you," he said, "and I +grant the truth of your points. But of one thing, the most important of +all, you cannot convince me. I will never believe that a man endowed +with good sense, provided he is honest, could pass an unjust sentence +as it were against himself. And therefore I must continue in my sacred +undertaking, for it is nothing to the point _why_ any wrong goes +unpunished--whether the human weakness, or stupidity, or the ill-will +of the magistrates be at fault. It is enough for me that the wrong is +there and requires to be rooted out." + +"This is sheer infatuation!" cried Father Leo. "And have you ever +considered which is the greater wrong, either as regards your fellows +or the will of God--whether some peasant is taxed with more labour than +he owes, or whether you fill all the land with horror and bloodshed? +Nay, has not a harvest of wrong sprung from your very work? Have we not +heard of villages rising against their lords, refusing their just +claims, and threatening their lives? Have you forgotten what happened +at Hankowce? and what at Zulawce? Does not the blood of many a +soldier--nay, of your own men--cry for vengeance unto God?" + +"I am not afraid to be answerable for this," responded Taras, "for the +Right is more to be valued than any man's life. Both my conscience and +my reason tell me that, for the world itself is founded on justice." + +"The world founded on justice!" reiterated the pope, hotly. "And how do +you know, then, that your judgment is always just? Are not you a man +like others, and liable to err?" + +"I follow conscience, and rely on the grace of God, which will be with +him who seeks what is right. You know my deeds; do you accuse me of any +injustice?" + +"What of that poor man Hohenau!" + +"He was one of those magistrates who used the power entrusted to them +for a deed of violence, for fear of earthly punishment." + +"Taras," cried the pope, with a vain attempt to speak calmly, "there is +no excuse for you, or rather your only excuse is this, that you did not +know the true state of things----" + +"I knew all about it," rejoined Taras. "I was aware that the Board of +Colomea had prayed to be dismissed the service rather than be obliged +to do this deed. But what of it? You will tell me that their request +was refused by their superiors, and that their oath required them to +stay at their post and obey the higher authority. But I tell you no +oath binds a man to iniquity--and therefore the judgment I carried out +was a just one!" + +Starkowski interposed: "It is quite useless to reason with you on these +points, or to expect you to retract anything of the past. But tell me, +what of the future? Do you really consider yourself infallible? Do you +imagine that you alone will never be in danger of passing sentence +unjustly? This is awful presumption!" + +"No," said Taras, solemnly; "it is an assurance resting on the grace of +God. He sees and probes my heart. He knows that I have undertaken this +warfare for His sake alone, and He will not let me fall so grievously. +But even apart from this, I do think that an honest, right-minded, and +judicious man will always be able to distinguish right from wrong." + +"Then you really believe that an unjust sentence on your part is +utterly impossible? Well, let this pass; but supposing the hour ever +came that would convince you that you also, in striving after justice, +had done wrong--what then?" + +"It were the most fearful hour of my life," said Taras, hoarsely; "and +I do not speak lightly!... I have never considered what in that case I +should have to do, but it is quite plain. If God ever suffers me to +commit the wrong, then I shall acknowledge that He never was with me, +that the blessed ladder joining earth to heaven is a dream, and I shall +no longer call myself an avenger, but an evildoer who has deserved +every punishment he has ever inflicted on others. If ever such terrible +conviction does come to me, be very sure I shall give myself up to you +on the spot. Till then, I have nothing to do with you. Take back this +message to those that sent you." + +Deep silence followed. + +"Is this your final decision?" These words fell on the stillness +with stifled sobs. It was Anusia--white as death, bending forward, +hollow-eyed and shaking in every limb--who now faced her husband. + +The two men were dismayed, and even Taras staggered. "Anusia," he +began, "you know----" + +"Nothing else; just this one answer!" She looked straight into his +eyes, and continued with that same ghastly voice: "But let me tell you +first what is at stake.... Hitherto I have clung to this one +conviction, that all your deeds were done in obedience to the dictates +of your conscience; and because I have known you as a man more noble +and more just than your neighbours, I would not permit myself to doubt +for one moment that you continued noble and acted justly even where I +could not see it. I took it upon myself to be both father and mother to +our children, to rule the farm in your absence--the loss to my heart I +could not make good. But in my sorest hours I strove to encourage +myself. 'Hold up thy head proudly,' a voice within me kept crying, 'for +thou art wife to one who is not like common men! Thou hast loved him +for it, and prided thyself on it, bear thou the deep sorrow which comes +because of it. He never was like other men; he cannot be now. He has +set his great heart on winning back that field for his people, for it +is theirs by right, and since he was foiled when he sought to gain his +end by lawful means he is now trying what force will do. Since justice +is on his side, he will succeed in the end, and will come back to you, +and happiness once more will return.' This was my one hope through it +all, and I believed in its fulfilment and fed upon the longed-for +blessing. When the governor came to tell me what message had been +received from Vienna, ah! then indeed, my heart beat with the rapture +of its gratitude! I learned at the same time, however, that they could +not let you go unpunished, and that you might very likely have to atone +for your deeds with a long imprisonment; but even this my love and +pride were ready to bear. 'He will not be a whit less great and noble,' +I said to myself, 'and prison cannot degrade him! And far better to +know him in prison, and making up for these months, than to think of +him continuing this fearful life.' For, Taras, no human tongue can tell +what it means to be the avenger's wife! God knows, and I do!... And +will you now crown it all--will you heap up a burden of grief and shame +beneath which I and the children must break down entirely?" + +"Anusia!" + +"Be silent, and listen! I have borne the utmost; now let me speak. I +say this, that unless you return, now that the wrong is about to be +made good, and the field given back to its rightful owners, you will +cease to be believed in as noble and good, not only by me, but by all +upright and sensible men; you will no longer be a champion of the +oppressed and an avenger for conscience' sake, but a mere common +assassin, a bloodthirsty----" + +"Anusia, wife, for God's sake----" + +"Do not call me wife! I will not acknowledge an assassin as my husband, +nor let the children call him father. Now tell me--are you willing to +follow these gentlemen or not?" + +"I cannot!" + +"Then go your ways ... but in your dying hour you shall call me in +vain ... I will not----" + +She could not finish the terrible sentence, breaking down, not in +unconsciousness, but overpowered with the boundless passion of her +resentment.... + +The unhappy man hid his face in his hands, and then slowly, with a +faltering step, but not again lifting his eye to her he was leaving, he +returned to his horse, and, mounting it with evident effort, he rode +swiftly away towards the Black Water, nor once looked behind him. + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + THE BANNER SOILED. + + +The following day the district governor arrived at Zulawce. He had been +careful to let the villagers have full assurance beforehand that he was +coming with truly peaceful intentions, but he considered it prudent, +nevertheless, to provide himself with a considerable escort of hussars, +since besides sifting the evidence concerning the field, there was that +republic to be overthrown, and a new mandatar to be introduced. For +Count George Borecki had succeeded at last in finding a man who +expressed himself willing to unravel the complication left by Wenceslas +Hajek, this man of enterprise fortunately being an old acquaintance of +the villagers, Mr. Severin Gonta; and there was some hope of his +succeeding, for he was thoroughly acquainted with local affairs and +enjoyed the good will of the peasantry besides. But Herr von Bauer was +not so certain that hostility was entirely out of the question, and +apart from the consciousness of doing his duty in a matter of justice; +he very gladly relied on the sharp sabres of his body-guard as well. + +But his apprehensions happily proved unfounded. On his reaching the +wooden bridge leading over the Pruth, the whole parish, to be sure, was +there awaiting him, but peacefully inclined, thanks to Simeon Pomenki, +who had addressed the republicans on the previous evening to this +effect: "There now, you see, we get all we ever could ask for--the +field which is ours, our own old mandatar, who is no fiend, and +exemption from punishment for what is passed. If we are not satisfied +with this, but insist on carrying on the conflict, we had better apply +for admission into the madhouse at once. But I am no fool, and prefer +the chances offered me of continuing on my farm." This harangue did not +miss its aim, and Simeon was able to receive the district governor in +the name of the community respectfully. + +Herr von Bauer was ready to be conciliated, and replied with his +customary bluntness: "It is a satisfaction to see you, rascals though +you are; but you are poor wretches after all, and have had to suffer +for the life you have led us, so we'll forget all about it and be +friends again. As for you, old Simeon, I'll not even inquire into your +private feelings as King of Zulawce. You'll hand me over that crown +now, and if ever you men here are going to play the fools again, send +us word first, and we'll say be hanged to all the parish. So that is +settled; and in the meantime we shall expect better things of you." + +After which impressive statement old Gonta addressed the peasantry on +behalf of the Count, and if he was less outspoken, his kindliness was +quite as apparent, winning over the villagers entirely when he assured +them in conclusion that he was prepared himself to plead their rights +concerning that field, and that he felt sure of Count George's +readiness to withdraw any claims that might have been urged in his +name, without waiting to see what decision the authorities might form. + +In these circumstances it was easy for the district governor to arrive +at the truth concerning the field, though he experienced some +difficulty in eliciting a confession from the perjured witnesses. The +experienced magistrate perceived well enough--and was ready to make +allowance for it--that these persons would think it hard to be excluded +from the general pardon; but he went through with his duty bravely, +assuring them that, although the instigators could expect little mercy, +those who had been led on by them might hope to be treated leniently, +if a point of the law could possibly be stretched in their favour. And +he succeeded at last in making out several cases in which the mandatar, +either personally or by means of his under-steward, Boleslaw, had +corrupted the witnesses and led them on to perjury. He had the true +charity not to inquire more closely than was absolutely necessary, and +allowed the crest-fallen sinners to return to their homes, the judge +going bail on their behalf. + +His object accomplished, he returned to Zablotow, where Dr. Starkowski +and Father Leo were to await him with the results of their mission. He +was fully prepared to hear of their failure, and not surprised, +therefore, at their tale. + +"We shall have to proceed now against the misguided man," he said, +quietly. "Let him do his worst. We can breathe more freely now than we +could before, for our own conscience is at ease! To be sure, all we can +do for the present is to protect the lowlands against him as best we +can; an expedition to the Black Water, in the hope of catching him, +would be sheer madness, for the whole of the Carpathians would rise in +an uproar. I know those Huzuls! But he will be brought to book somehow. +It is well he believes that God is with those who seek what is +right--he will find it so sooner or later!" + +September verged upon October, and though almost daily expected, no +farther violence transpired, the reason being that no complaints had +reached Taras which appeared to him worthy of redress. But before the +month was out he received information which roused him to action. A +certain nobleman, Baron Stephen Zukowski, of Borsowka, in the district +of Czortkow, was accused to him by Karol Wygoda, the piper, who had +continued with Taras, and in whom the latter rested full confidence. +"Your work is but half done, hetman," the man exclaimed, "while that +fiend is allowed to suck the very blood from the people of Borsowka!" +and he enumerated a whole string of iniquities to be brought home to +that nobleman. + +Taras was indignant. "We will put an end to his doings!" he cried. "But +how do you come to know of them?" + +"I knew the wretch long ago; for though my own home is miles away from +that village, I was in service there in my younger days, and could see +for myself--indeed, his unblushing crimes were done in the light of +day. Not a head of cattle was safe from his cupidity, and not a girl +from his wickedness--but these are old tales, it is well nigh twenty +years ago, and I believed the old sinner had gone to his account long +since. But he is alive still, and carrying on his evil doings, as I +learned yesterday, quite accidentally. You had given me leave, as you +know, to join the merrymaking at Zabie and pick up a few coppers with +my bagpipe. I met an old fiddler there who had just come from Borsowka. +Ah, hetman, the iniquity done in that place keeps crying to heaven--it +is worse than any we ever heard of elsewhere! 'Why don't the injured +people call upon Taras to help them?' I inquired of the fiddler. +'Indeed,' he said, 'it is strange they do not think of it, but the +horrors of their existence are enough to kill even hope in their +hearts.' So the fiddler said, and I can well believe it; at the same +time, I agree it is well to be careful. And I propose that you should +send me to Borsowka to make inquiry. I know some folk there whom I can +trust, and they will tell me the truth no doubt. I feel I must do this +for conscience' sake, and out of compassion for those villagers among +whom I lived." + +"This is good of you," said Taras. "Go, and the Almighty speed you. It +is a solace to my soul that some few honest men will cleave to me, +knowing the sacredness of our common duty." + +These words rose from the depth of his heart! and indeed, he needed +some comfort--something to cling to--lest he should break down and +fail. He had informed his men on returning from the hamlet of Magura +what answer he had given to the messengers of the Board; but what a +wrench it had been to his dearest affections, and the sore cost of his +final parting from wife and child, they never learned from his lips. + +As compared with this deepest sorrow, no other trouble befalling the +unhappy man might be thought to affect him, yet his burden seemed to be +added to daily; and in spite of the honest desire to avoid all +contention, in spite of the real friendship Hilarion entertained for +him, there were constant bickerings between his own followers and the +clansmen. It was Nashko especially, who, on account of his faith, +appeared to be a convenient butt for the mockery of the Huzuls. Now +Taras could not allow this to continue, if only for this reason: the +Jew had acquitted himself splendidly, fully justifying the confidence +reported in him, and would, in any future enterprise, naturally have to +retain his position of a leader; so the Huzuls must be taught to +respect him, and Taras begged Hilarion to explain to his people that a +man should not be derided for worshipping the Almighty in one way and +not in another. + +The patriarch fixed his eyes on the ground, keeping a long silence, as +was his wont before answering, and when he began to speak he appeared +to have forgotten the matter in hand. "Taras," he said, "have you ever +ridden an ox?" and receiving a rather surprised "No" in return, he +said, with a half smile, "Well, neither have I, and I don't know that +any one else ever did. But why not? Might there not be found an animal +among the species, well-grown and nimble enough to serve as a mount? In +fact, I should say it is quite possible. At the same time, neither you +nor I ever thought of trying it. And why? simply because, for a fact, +God who made the ox, did not intend it for a steed, and because every +man who used an ox for such a purpose against its nature would look a +fine fool on its back. You will allow that?" + +"I daresay, but I don't admit the simile; a Jew is as good a man as you +or I." + +"Certainly," said Hilarion. "The ox and the horse are equally useful, +only in different ways; and a Jew is as good a man as ourselves, but +differently endowed. Say what you like, but a Jew is ill-fitted for the +bearing of arms, or to lead men in warfare; they are considered to be +cowardly and servile, and no doubt are so." + +"Nashko is a brave man, and has acquitted himself like a hero." + +"I am sure he has," rejoined the old man, "but I maintain we do not +ride an ox, even though we should know of one exceptionally well fitted +to carry us. And we do not do so for the one reason that oxen as a rule +are not considered to be first-rate steeds. And if a man insists on +making the experiment, though it should turn out to his own +satisfaction, he must not quarrel with his neighbours for laughing at +him, nor scold his horses if they toss their heads at the queer +creature he is stabling along with them. No, Taras," he added more +seriously, "it is never satisfactory to fight established opinion, and +you seem determined to run that head of yours right through the +thickest walls; and not content with overthrowing injustice wherever +you see it, you would actually have the world make friends with the +Jews. Taras, have you considered that sometimes it is not the walls +which go to pieces, but----" + +"The head may dash out its brains against them, I know that," said +Taras, quietly, "and it does not deter me for one moment. I entreat you +to lay it upon your people not to sin against the laws of hospitality +with regard to Nashko. He who offends him offends me." + +"I am sorry for that," replied Hilarion, "but I cannot help it. He who +receives hospitality must consider the ways of his hosts." + +So the conversation served not to heal the jar, as Taras had hoped, but +rather widened it, and the Huzuls annoyed Nashko even more than before. +Taras was grievously disappointed, and resolved to avoid further +altercation, but something happened which forced him against his will +to appeal a second time to the patriarch's sense of justice. It +concerned Tatiana. + +The poor maiden once more had reason to bewail her bewitching beauty. +Hilarion had offered her the shelter of his house, and she had +gratefully accepted it, endeavouring to repay her benefactors by +faithful service. She could not have lived many days among the tribe to +whom her strange fate had brought her without perceiving that their +moral sense was of the bluntest; but she endeavoured to keep out of +harm's way by attending to her work, and to nothing else. The impudent +youths, moreover, soon discovered that the youngest son of the house, +the Royal Eagle, was not inclined to have her molested; and, indeed, he +interfered with any intended liberty of theirs so effectually, that +they dared not offer it, for even the boldest of them could ill stand +his ground against that young hero. The girl was glad of his +protection, her natural light-heartedness returning, till one day, when +gone a-milking to a distant pasture, she grew aware, to her intense +dismay, that Julko had defended her for no very lofty motive. She broke +away from her ungenerous admirer, and like a hunted deer fled to +Taras's camp, falling on her knees before him with the bitter cry: "If +you cannot save me from shame, it had been better for me to die on the +gallows!" + +Taras endeavoured to calm her, and was going to set out immediately for +Hilarion's dwelling. But Nashko laid hold of his arm, excitedly. The +Jew, who had kept his composure so admirably through all the petty +insults offered to himself, was shaking with rage, and his eyes flashed +fire. + +"Do not humble yourself in vain!" he cried. "You are going to ask these +men for manly generosity--_these_ men, Taras! Why, they will never even +understand your meaning; and if they did they are too savage, too low, +to grant it!" + +"You smart at the recollection of their insults," said Taras; "but this +is unjust." + +"I do not!" cried the Jew, passionately. + +"What is it, then, that moves you like this?" + +Nashko grew white, and again the crimson glow flushed his clear-cut +face. "Go," he murmured, "and judge for yourself." + +Taras went, and was hardly able to believe his ears, for Hilarion's +reply was of the shortest and driest. "There is no help for it," he +said. + +"What?" cried Taras, utterly amazed. "Do you mean to say that we have +saved the girl from her ignominious fate only to hand her over as a +plaything to that son of yours? For shame!" + +"Moderate your feelings," returned the aged man, quietly. "If the Royal +Eagle has cast his eye on a maiden, and would have her, she has every +reason to be proud of it." + +"In honourable wedlock, then?" + +"Oh dear, no! he is promised in marriage to the only granddaughter of +my cousin Stanko, on the other side of the Czernahora, and she will be +his wife as soon as she attains her sixteenth year. Stanko and myself +arranged this more than ten years ago, for she is his heiress and must +marry into the family." + +"Then I was right in concluding that he desires the girl for his +pleasure merely?" + +"Yes, certainly; and why should he not? she is fair enough to behold. +Why on earth do you look as if he meant to eat her? You cannot expect +him to consider her more unattainable than any of our own girls. I give +you leave to ask any Huzul maiden you please whether she would not feel +honoured by his attentions." + +"That is nothing to me," cried Taras. "Tatiana considers it shame, and +I call it vilest disgrace! I entreat you to hold her safe from your +son." + +"I cannot interfere; I said so before," said the old man; "and there +would be little use endeavouring. If the maiden indeed is so coy as you +tell me, I can only advise her to leave the settlement." + +Furiously indignant, Taras went back to the camp. Karol Wygoda had +returned in his absence, bringing with him two peasants from Borsowka. +But Taras waved them aside; he was going to consult with Nashko first, +who rushed out to meet him anxiously. + +"You were right," said Taras, grinding his teeth, "and I know not where +we can hope to protect her." + +"But I do," cried the Jew, eagerly. "She dare not leave the mountains, +because prison still awaits her in the lowlands; but we must place her +where Julko's power is not acknowledged. I have thought it might be +best to take her to Zabie; I have acquaintances there, an old Jewish +innkeeper and his wife, who I doubt not will give her shelter. They +have no children of their own, and I know they can be trusted. I +mentioned the girl's sad history there the other day, and the good wife +shed tears, assuring me she would love to show kindness to one in such +trouble." + +"But if Julko should follow me thither?" interposed the girl, +anxiously. + +"Even if he should, he will not dare to use violence," said the Jew. +"But I do not think him capable of that. He is not a scoundrel, but +only a lawless youth whose nature at times is too strong for him, +and who never learned to keep it under. Moreover, it is true Huzul +fashion--out of sight, out of mind. You will be safe there, I think." + +"Let us hope so," said Taras, deciding for this plan; "for, indeed, we +have no other choice. Make ready, poor girl, to ride with us!" + +And turning to Karol now, he required his report. + +"Captain, it is just fearful!" asserted this man, "If that priest at +Kossowince was a fiend, this baron is one double-dyed." And therewith +he proceeded to give instances of his atrocious cruelty and oppression. + +"Have the people appealed to the law?" inquired Taras. + +"Indeed, they have; but he is not only the greatest scoundrel, but the +vilest liar under the sun. He has given the lie to every accusation, +and the magistrates have believed the nobleman rather than the poor, +ignorant peasants. Ah! captain, you should have seen their grateful +tears when I told them I was one of your men, and that you had sent me. +They are waiting and hoping for you now, as for their only saviour; but +hear their own messengers." + +And his companions came nearer--a poorly-clad elderly man of dignified +bearing, who introduced himself as Harassim Perko, the judge of +Borsowka, and a younger peasant wearing a fine sheepskin. He called +himself Wassilj Bertulak, and his voice was husky, as with suppressed +tears, in giving his tale of woe; indeed, he could hardly speak. + +"Our people have sent me because the monster's most recent crime has +laid low the pride of my life. Ah! my poor daughter!" and he turned +away, overcome with sobs. But all the more minute was the judge's +account, and it did not require his final entreaty to confirm Taras's +resolve that he must start on the spot for Borsowka. + +The assistance of the Huzuls was not needed in the present instance, +for although Taras's men numbered less than a score now, they would +suffice for overpowering the baron, who, with a few old servants, lived +in the quiet manor house of Borsowka. Taras therefore returned to +Hilarion only to take his leave. + +"The Almighty speed you," said Hilarion. "Let us part friends. You are +a welcome guest here whenever you please to return, and the flower of +the clan is ever at your service. I have partaken of your blood and you +of mine; this is a tie which can never be severed. Remember it always." + +"I shall remember it," said Taras, bending over the old man's hand. + +He mounted with his men, and the little troop followed the Czeremosz +till they reached Zabie. There he handed over Tatiana to the old Jewish +couple, requiring their solemn assurance that they would watch over her +as though she were a child of their own, and after the fashion of their +race they gave the promise with many oaths. This settled, the band +dashed away towards the plain, the two men of Borsowka in their midst. + +Early on the fourth day, riding under cover of the night only, they +reached the chalky cliffs on the left bank of the Dniester. There they +rested for the last time, being within a few miles of the quiet manor +house they were about to enter. Late in the afternoon a pale faced +girl, looking troubled and shy, appeared in the glen where they halted. +Wassilj Bertulak going to meet her, greeted her with a father's +affection, and taking her by the hand brought her to Taras. "My poor +girl," he said, "she has come to see the scoundrel meet with his +reward." + +"Oh! no! no!" cried the girl, alarmed. + +"Yes, yes, it is necessary," urged the father, "for he might deny it +all." + +Taras looked compassionately at the troubled girl. "Stay with us," he +said, tenderly. "Poor child! I daresay it is a sore effort to you to +tell of your grievous sorrow in the presence of so many strange men. +But let the thought comfort you that you do it in order to save others +from similar harm." + +And then he made his disposition for the night. The manor house was in +a lonely place, inhabited only by the baron, his old body-servant, +Stephen, and Peter, the coachman; the steward and the rest of the men +sleeping in the farm-buildings near the village. Resistance, therefore, +need not be expected, and Taras satisfied himself with appointing +Nashko and the greater part of his men to guard the grounds, whilst he, +with the others, would bring the accused nobleman to his doom. + +About eleven they started, reaching the modest building soon after +midnight. The outer door was not even locked. "No doubt that coachman +has attractions in the village," whispered the judge, who was of +Taras's party. But when they entered the basement, in order to make +sure of Stephen, that conjecture proved to be erroneous. They found but +one man, the coachman, who started aghast and prayed for his life +pitifully. "I am no assassin," said Taras, and inquired about Stephen. +"His dying sister sent for him this morning," stammered the terrified +Peter; "and the baron gave him leave to go." + +Taras thereupon ordered Sefko to guard the man; he, with the others, +mounting the stairs. The baron seemed to have been roused, for a door +opened, a streak of light appearing, a voice weak with age calling out, +"Peter, what is the matter?" + +"We have come to tell you," the strong voice of Taras made answer. "I +am the avenger." + +There was a cry in response, and a sound as of breaking glass; sudden +darkness enveloped the scene, for the lamp had fallen from the +trembling hands. But power to attempt an escape seemed wanting. And +when Taras, torch in hand, reached the upper landing, he found the aged +nobleman leaning against his open bedroom door, simply petrified with +dismay. + +Lazarko, at a sign of the captain's, pushed him back into the room. It +was a spacious chamber, but poorly furnished, and serving evidently as +a library besides, for the walls all round were covered with +bookshelves, and a large table in the middle was littered with volumes +and papers. The whole aspect of the room seemed to deny that it was +inhabited by a man of low pursuits. And so did the baron's own +appearance. Taras looked at him surprised, for the man he had come to +judge was bowed with age, and of a venerable countenance. But for a +moment only he hesitated, his inflexible sternness returning. He knew +that appearances were deceptive: did not that monster at Kossowince +gaze at him like an angel of light? + +"I have come to judge you," said Taras, austerely. "You have wronged +your peasants with unheard-of oppression." + +"I?" groaned the poor old man, sinking into a chair. "By the blessed +Lord and His saints, some one must have lied to you!" + +"Do not call upon the holy names!" returned Taras, with lowering brow. +"I am prepared to hear you deny the charge, but witnesses are at hand. +Is it true, or not, that you have acted like a tyrant by your people, +robbing and wronging them fearfully?" + +"I call God to witness that this is false!" cried Zukowski, solemnly, +lifting his hand. "Ask the judge, he will tell you; his name his +Harassim Perko, and his is the first house this side of the village. He +can be here within an hour if you send for him." + +"He is nearer than you suppose," said Taras, turning to the door; and +the elder of his two guides entered. "Here he is," continued Taras, "do +you call upon him as a witness?" + +"This is not the judge of Borsowka," exclaimed the baron, and rose to +his feet. "Why this is Dimitri Buliga, an old good-for-nothing whom no +one respects here, and he left the village some time ago." + +These words were spoken with such a show of simple truth and honest +indignation that Taras looked at the peasant doubtfully. But the man +never winced; answering the charge with a smile almost. "I must say, +Baron, this beats all we ever knew of you as a liar! It is natural that +you should seek for a loop-hole, but I suppose I know that I am I! This +is preposterous ... After this it will seem useless, hetman, to ask +this wretch another question. Let that man of yours speak for my +identity whom you sent to us, he knows me--that is one comfort." + +And Karol Wygoda cried out: "Yes, hetman, certainly, I have known him +these twenty years; his name his Harassim Perko, and he is the judge of +this village." + +"It is false," groaned the baron, and, stepping closer, he looked into +Wygoda's face. "You also seem known to me ... Yes, I remember--your +Christian, name is Karol, and you were in my service as a farm labourer +years ago. I remember you because you are the only man I ever had to +hand over to the law." + +Karol listened with an unperturbed air, looking at the baron with an +amused sort of wonder, as one might examine a natural curiosity; and, +turning to the hetman, he said: "There now, this is as fine a proof as +we could expect of this man's capacity of wronging a poor fellow. I +daresay he may remember having seen me since I lived in the village; +but I never set foot on his property, and still less did I give him any +chance of handing me over to the law, as he says." + +"Have you no fear of God, man?" broke in the baron. "I----" + +"Stop," said Taras; "answer me one more question. Do you think that +your own servants are likely to betray you, or tell a lie in order to +have you killed?" + +"God forbid!" exclaimed the baron, eagerly. "Honest old Stephen, I +fear, cannot have returned, but my coachman sleeps in the house, and he +can tell you that this man is not Harassim, the judge." + +"Have him in," ordered Taras, and the coachman appeared; his hands had +been tied on his back, he was pale as death, and shook from head to +foot. + +"You have nothing to fear," said Taras; "we only want you to tell the +truth; but woe to you if you prevaricate. Who is this man?" + +"Harassim Perko, the judge," stammered the fellow. + +"Peter!" cried the baron, "you have lost your senses. Why, you know the +judge as well as I do." + +"This is sufficient," said Taras. "Be silent now, till I require you to +speak. Say, judge, has this man taken unlawful possession of part of +the common field?" + +"He has," replied the man, adding a minute statement. + +"What have you to say to this, Baron?" inquired Taras, of the nobleman, +when the accuser had finished. + +"It is false," reiterated Zukowski--"a whole web of falsehood. I have +told you that this man is not the judge, but that good-for-nothing +Dimitri. If you, indeed, are bent on justice, Taras, I pray you send to +the village for the real judge. Do not soil your hands with innocent +blood." + +"It is you that are bent on lying," said Taras, scornfully. "Other +scoundrels have endeavoured to deceive me, and to stay me in the +performance of my sacred duty; but a man of such brazen face I have +never yet set eyes upon. It is a pity that you seem willing to die as +you have lived.... But we have yet other witnesses--bring them in." + +The peasant Wassilj entered, followed by the reluctant girl; her father +had almost to drag her in. + +"Do you know these two?" said Taras. + +"The man is a stranger to me," replied the baron, unhesitatingly; "I +have never set eyes on him. But that girl was in my house this morning, +with a message from my poor Stephen's dying sister, entreating him to +come.... Taras!" he added, excitedly; "now I see all this wretched +plot. They have made up this tale of the dying sister to decoy my good +old Stephen away, who would rather have died than betray me, and I +suppose they have bribed my coachman. They are deceiving you, so that +you should order me to be murdered!" + +"This is cleverly put together," said Taras, coldly, "it is lamentable, +indeed, that, gifted as you seem to be, you did not make better use of +your life; it might have saved you from this hour. Answer me, Marinia, +as in the presence of God Almighty. Is it true that you were in this +house this morning for the first time in your life?" + +"No!" she faltered. + +"But you were here three weeks ago when this wretch wronged you?" + +"Yes!" + +"How dare you!" cried the baron, with flashing eyes. "Oh, God! how +should I--look at my grey hairs, man!" + +"Silence!" returned Taras. "What have you to say, Peter--does this girl +speak the truth?" + +"She does--old Stephen told me." + +"The Lord have mercy on me!" groaned the doomed man. "Taras, have pity +on my age. I have but little money in the house, but what there is, +take it all--only spare me!" + +"I am not a robber, but an instrument of God's justice," replied Taras, +solemnly. "It is very evident that you have deserved death amply. If +you would recommend your soul to the Judge above, I will give you ten +minutes." + +"Spare me, for mercy's sake! Call any of the peasants, there is not a +man in the village but would stand by me." + +"We have had sufficient witness. Say your prayers." + +"Assassin!" cried the aged baron, and with the strength of despair he +flew at Taras. But a bullet from Lazarko's pistol laid him dead at +their feet. + +The girl shrieked and fainted, her father carrying her from the room. +The others remained till they had found the cash-box. It contained, as +the baron had said, but a moderate sum. + +Taras avoided touching the money. "Take it," he said to the judge, "and +divide it justly among those that have suffered most." + +Before the day broke the manor house of Borsowka lay wrapped in silence +as before, and utterly lonely, for Peter the coachman had gone off with +the two villagers, Taras and his little band speeding back to the +mountains. + +The following day, after a sharp ride, they reached the low-lying, +water-intersected waste between Kotzman and Zastawna, where they +resolved to halt till the evening. The place being within easy distance +of Karol Wygoda's home, the latter begged to be allowed to look up his +relations. "I have no objection," said Taras, "only be careful not to +fall in with any traitors. I shall expect you back by sundown." + +Karol promised and went. + +But he did not return. Taras, growing anxious, kept waiting for him, +gazing into the deepening night, but not a sound broke on the +stillness. + +"We had better start without him," said Nashko, at last. "Either he has +been caught, and in that case it were folly for us to tarry; or else he +has made up his mind to remain with his own people, in which case we +cannot force him to come back to us." + +"I cannot believe that," said Taras; "for he has ever proved himself a +trustworthy man; he would certainly have told me if he had any idea of +leaving us. And I cannot bear to think that the faithful soul has come +to grief. Some accident may have detained him; indeed, I feel sure he +will return. Let us wait till midnight, at least." + +But midnight came and no Karol. With a troubled heart Taras at last +gave orders to mount. + +On the third day, which they spent under the shelter of the forest by +the Czeremosz, Taras consulted his men, whether they had better return +to the camp in the Dembronia Forest, trusting to the Huzuls for further +assistance in any considerable enterprise, or move northward to the +Welyki Lys and gather a new band to their banner. But they would not +decide. "We follow you whichever way you lead us," they said. + +"Well, then," said Taras; "I am for taking you back to the Dembronia +Forest. The Huzuls, certainly, are troublesome confederates, but we +must not consult our feelings, we must do what seems best for the cause +we serve. While Hilarion is inclined to back us we are strong, whereas +without him we might not always be able to fight great wrongs +effectively." + +It was late in the evening of this day that they rode into Zabie. The +village lay hushed in sleep, the cottages standing dark and silent, the +inn excepted, whence a pale light gleamed, though the place was closed +for the night. Taras rode up to one of the uncurtained windows, and +peered in. The large bar-room was empty, save for a bowed figure +sitting by the hearth, motionless. + +"It is Froim, the innkeeper," cried Nashko, who was looking in at +another window. "For God's sake--I trust nothing has happened!" And, +trembling violently, he tapped at the pane. + +The old Jew started, turning to the table as if to extinguish the +flickering lamp. But recognising Nashko's voice, he came to the window +instead, opening it, and saying with a hoarse whisper: "I suppose you +would like to have a last look at her!" + +"Tatiana!" cried Taras. "Man, say, what is it?" + +"We could not have her laid out here," continued the innkeeper, slowly +and shaking with emotion. "Poor lamb! we would have loved to show her +that last honour, but we are Jews. She is in the little chapel of the +cemetery, and to-morrow they are going to bury her." + +"She is dead!" cried Nashko, with anguished voice. + +"Did you not know? I thought you might have returned so speedily +for this sad reason," cried Froim. "We got her out of the water +yesterday--the good pope here, and myself, and some of the villagers; +but it was hard work, for the Czeremosz is a cruel river, holding fast +its prey." + +"Tell us," cried Taras, "who has dared to take her life?" + +"It was her own brave doing," cried the old Jew. "She would rather die +than be dishonoured. Ah! how fair and sweet she was, and how good; and +to come by such an end!" The honest innkeeper struggled with his tears, +continuing, amid sobs, "We have known her these few days only, my wife +and I, but we grieve for her as for a child of our own." + +"But how did it happen?" cried Taras, vehemently. + +"Cannot you see?" returned the old Jew. "Two days ago, toward midnight, +that Huzul came----" + +"The Royal Eagle?" + +"Yes; but Vulture were a truer name! He came with a hundred of his +men--or two hundred for aught I can tell--and, knocking at this very +window, insisted that I should let him in. 'What do you want?' said I. +'Open the door,' says he, 'or I shall force it open.' 'I am a poor old +Jew,' I replied, 'and there are but three women in the house besides +me--my wife, and her servant, and Tatiana. Of course we cannot resist +you, but I ask you whether it is fit for a son of Hilarion, whom they +call the Just, to turn house-breaker, and worse!' 'Open,' he retorted, +'or you shall rue it.' 'So please the God of Abraham,' said I, 'but I +shall never let you in with my own hand, for I have sworn to keep the +girl safe, and God Almighty will punish him who breaks his oath. I am +afraid of you, of course I am, for I am but a poor old Jew, but much +more do I fear God, and I will not let you in.' So he kicked open the +door and carried off the girl. On to his own horse he lifted her, +holding her in the saddle before him, and was off to the Black Water. +But she was a jewel of a maid, and her honour was dearer to her than +life. She slipped from the horse as they rode by the river and leapt +into the roaring water. They tried to save her, but in vain. I heard of +it early in the morning, and went to seek for the body with some of our +men, the good pope himself coming with us. And, as I said, they'll bury +her to-morrow morning. Go to the chapel if you like to have a last look +at her." + +The piteous tale had been interrupted with many an indignant +exclamation from the men, Nashko and Taras only listening speechless, +nor could they find words at once. + +"Come to the chapel!" said Taras, after a sorrowful pause. + +In deep silence and slowly the band rode through the village, reaching +the cemetery at the other end. There they dismounted, casting the +bridles over the railings, and one after another they entered the +chapel, baring their heads. + +It was a modest place, damp and bare, lit up with a couple of torches. +And there, at the foot of a large, crude crucifix, stood the open +coffin in which they had laid the body. No one was watching by the +dead, those to whom the pope had delegated that pious duty no doubt +preferring to spend the blustering night in more congenial quarters. + +With bowed heads and murmuring a prayer the outlaws stood by the humble +coffin and gazed at the marble features, lovely even in death. The fair +face, but for its pallor, seemed bound in sleep only, and the green +wreath, the crown of virginity, rested lovingly on the maiden's brow. +The hearts of these rough men were stirred to their depths, but one +only was unable to keep silence, and with a smothered cry the maiden's +name burst from his lips. He broke down utterly. + +That was Nashko. Taras went up to him gently and led him out into the +night, making him sit down on the steps of the chapel. And bending over +him, he passed his hand tenderly over his face. + +"I know ..." he murmured, "I have seen it for some time ... and if I +cannot avenge her, you will do it!..." + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + "VENGEANCE IS MINE." + + +It was a sad, humble funeral. The blasts of October moaned in the +valley, and the rain hissed and wept. For which reason the villagers +preferred to remain indoors when the little bell called them early in +the morning to attend the body to its resting-place, the charitable +among them murmuring a prayer for the dead. "She needs it," they said, +"having laid hands on herself!" For which reason, also, the judge and +the elders had insisted that she must be buried by the outer wall of +the cemetery, although the honest pope had tried his utmost to show +them that the girl deserved their pity, even their admiration, rather +than their contempt. But the villagers clung to their opinion, and all +the priest could do was to take care that she should be buried with +full church honours. If no one else were willing he, at least, would +consign her to her grave reverently. He appeared at the mortuary chapel +soon after eight o'clock, followed by some half-dozen mourners, and +started back dismayed on beholding a band of armed and wild-looking +men, evidently waiting for the funeral. But he proceeded with his +sacred duly bravely, and felt touched not a little on perceiving how +fervently these ill-famed outlaws joined in the prayer he offered up by +the grave. + +Having ended, Taras came forward, begging him to read three masses for +the maiden they had buried. He promised, but refused the money the +captain was offering him. + +"You may take it without fear," said Taras, smiling sadly, "it is +honestly acquired--we rob no man." + +The priest gave a searching glance in the face before him, which looked +old and anguished with the burden of sorrow this man had borne. "I +believe you," he said, "but permit me to do a good work for this poor +girl without taking reward." + +Taras made no answer, but bowing low, he kissed the priest's hand +reverently. The good man, seeing him so deeply moved, took courage to +whisper a word urged by his deepest heart. "You poor, misguided man," +he said, gently, "how long will you go on like this?" + +"As long as there is need for it," said Taras, in a tone equally low, +but none the less firm and decided. "I have been kept from wrong so +far, but I see much of it about me." + +The pope could but shake his head mournfully, and went his way. Taras +and his men remaining yet a while in the cemetery to say their prayers +by the newly-made grave. Nashko only stood aside, gazing at them +fixedly, and his eyes glowed with a terrible fire. + +But a pitiful scene awaited these men on leaving the graveyard--the old +innkeeper and his wife standing without, weeping and sobbing; forbidden +by the strictness of their faith to pass within an enclosure at the +entrance of which there was a crucifix, they had abstained from coming +nearer, but from a distance had endeavoured to do honour to the dead +after their own fashion. + +Taras went up to the old Jew. "You have done what you could," he said, +"and we thank you." + +"What is the use of making words," cried Froim, passionately. "I know I +have done what I could, but I could not save her! I'm a poor old Jew, +but you are a strong, hale Christian, and if I were you I'd make the +rascal rue it dearly." + +"This is the very thing I am going to do," returned Taras, quietly. "I +shall go straight to the Black Water to accuse him to his father. And +if Hilarion will not bring him to due punishment, I shall do so." + +And the band mounted, turning their horses' heads westwards, towards +the towering peaks of the Czernahora. They stopped for the night at the +hamlet of Magura, reaching the settlement early the following day. + +The patriarch appeared to have expected them, for his eldest son made +haste to invite Taras into his sire's presence, Hilarion receiving him +with the same dignified complacency with which he had parted from him +the week before. "You have come to call for justice against that young +son of mine; but I have anticipated it, and punished him as he +deserves." + +"And what is his punishment?" inquired Taras. + +"I have sent him to a distant pasture, where he will have to stay till +I give him leave to return, and I shall take good care not to do so +before the spring. This will furnish him with leisure to consider his +folly." + +"Folly!" exclaimed Taras, bitterly. + +"Yes, folly!" repeated the patriarch, pointedly. "Was she the only +pretty girl to be had? He ought to have seen that Tatiana had no taste +for him, but his vanity blinded him; it was sheer folly." + +"But I call it a crime," cried Taras, hotly; "a mean, dastardly crime!" + +The old man nodded. "I expected to hear you say this," he said calmly; +"but you are wronging the youth. You must bear in mind that he is a +Huzul. And, besides, how should he have foreseen that the girl would +drown herself? I suppose that even in the lowlands suicide for such a +reason is rarely heard of; but up here, I swear to you, such +desperation in a girl is utterly unknown. If you will bear this in +mind, you cannot accuse him of anything worse than folly." + +"It was a dastardly crime," repeated Taras. "A man acting thus by a +poor defenceless girl dishonours himself, and ought to be dealt with +accordingly." + +"Do you expect me to understand that I should order my son to have his +hair cut off as a sign that he is no longer fit for the society of the +brave and honourable of his kind?" + +"I do," replied Taras, fiercely; "I even demand it. And if you refuse, +I must carry out the punishment myself." + +There was a long pause of silence. Taras stood erect, fully expecting +to meet with the old man's indignant denial. But Hilarion preserved an +unperturbed calm, closing his eyes as one in deep thought. Now and then +he would nod his head like one arriving at a conclusion, and presently +he touched a small gong by his side. His eldest son entered. "Call +hither the clansmen, young and old, as many of them as are about the +settlement, and request the followers of this man also to enter my +house. Let all hear my decision." + +The spacious room presently began to fill, the Huzuls thronging in +first, Taras's men following. And when silence had settled the aged +patriarch again nodded to himself, and thereupon he rose from his seat, +holding in his hand an intertwining twig of willow--for Taras had +interrupted some quiet occupation of his--and with solemn voice he +began: + +"Listen to me, ye men of my people, for I, Hilarion, called the Just, +to whom you look for guidance, have cause to speak to you. Mark it +well, and tell others if need be ... You all were present when this man +of the lowlands, Taras, whom they call the avenger, first came to me; +and you know how I received him. You witnessed our solemn covenant; how +we swore friendship to one another, not only for to-day or to-morrow, +but partaking of each other's blood as a sign that it shall never be +broken while the red life-stream pulses through our veins. I have kept +this sacred vow; but he just now has wronged it grievously, casting +insult, nay, shame, on me by insisting that a member of my own house +shall be punished, not because I say so, but because he wills it, and +threatening that he himself will carry out such punishment if I fail to +do so. It is my own flesh and blood, even my youngest son Julko, whom +he will have dishonoured." + +A cry of indignation burst from the Huzuls, and they turned upon Taras. + +"Silence!" commanded the old man. "I have called you to hear what I +have to say, and for nothing else.... But what I say is this: a man who +can thus insult me no longer can be my friend and brother." He held up +the twig in his hand. "He and I have been as this branch of willow, +closely intertwined; but henceforth we are severed, and there is nought +to heal the disruption!" He broke the twig, casting the parts from him, +one to his right and one to his left. + +"Urrahah!" shouted the Huzuls; but again the patriarch enforced +silence, and, turning to Taras, he said: + +"You are no longer my friend, but a man who has offered me deadly +insult; yet the sacred law of our fathers lays it upon me never to +forget that we partook of one another's blood! I therefore may not, and +will not, have recourse to active enmity beyond what you yourself will +force me to by further affront. It were sufficient affront, however, if +a man who has acted as you have done should continue to insult me by +his presence! For which reason I banish you from this settlement, and +from these mountains, to the extent of my authority. You will leave the +settlement at once, withdrawing from my reach within these mountains in +three days. And let me warn you that none of you shall ever see the +lowlands again if, after this, you dare brave the presence of my +people. It is not on my son's account that I thus threaten you, for I +shall take care to inform him of your intentions, putting him on his +guard, and the Huzul lives not who fears his enemy when once he knows +him! It is not in order to protect him, therefore, that I have said +this, but simply because you have so deserved it. And now be gone!" + +"I go," replied Taras; "but I call God and all here present to witness +that you are disgracing yourself and me. I will not avenge it, for I +also will remember the friendship we had sworn. But as for your son +Julko, I shall know how to find him and visit his wrong on him, like +any other evildoer." + +The fury of the Huzuls knew no bounds, and Taras would have been lost +had the aged Hilarion himself not stepped between him and the indignant +clansmen, enabling him and his followers to leave the house and mount +their horses, the wild cries of their hitherto confederates pursuing +them as they rode away. + +It was a sad departure, and with heavy hearts the little band returned +through the dreary landscape to the hamlet of Magura. What should they +do now, and whither turn their steps? Dark and gloomy lay the future +before them, but none of the men uttered a word of complaint. + +Having reached the hamlet and seen to their horses' needs, Taras +gathered his men about him. + +"I would not for a moment delude you with fair speeches," he said; "you +know for yourselves how matters stand. Just answer me one question: +Will you stay with me, or go your way? I could not upbraid any one +whose courage failed him to continue this life of ours. It has been +full of hardships hitherto; it will be almost unendurable now that the +Huzuls also are against us." + +"Tell us about yourself, hetman," said Wassilj Soklewicz; "what are you +going to do?" + +"I must continue to the end," replied Taras; "it is not for me to fail +in my duty, even if you all forsake me. I shall endeavour to win other +followers." + +"Is it thus?" cried the faithful youth; "then we will share your fate!" +All the rest of them crying in chorus, "We will not forsake you!" + +"I dare not dissuade you," said Taras, "it is not I, but the cause +which claims your fealty!... Now the next question is, where shall we +encamp ourselves? In the lowlands the military are on the look-out for +us, and here we are in danger of the Huzuls. I propose we retire to our +island fortress in the Wallachian bog. By the Crystal Springs, or +indeed anywhere within the mountains the Huzuls would rout us out; I +know them better even than you can know them. They were true to us +while they were friends, they will be intense in their hatred now they +are our enemies. But we are safe from them on that island, where we +have the advantage, moreover, of being in the very midst of the country +we would rid from oppression, and in a hiding-place we could hold +against almost any odds. I do not deceive myself concerning the danger +even there, but I know no better place." + +They resolved, then, to venture into the lowlands the following +morning, after which these homeless outcasts lay down by their horses, +sleeping as calmly as though they had found rest by their own firesides +knowing nothing of the dread burdens of life. + +Two only were awake--Nashko, keeping watch outside the hamlet, and +Taras, tossing on the bundle of straw that formed his couch. Sleep was +far from the unhappy man, much as he longed for it; indeed it had but +rarely come to him since that terrible hour, that last meeting in this +very place, separating him for ever from wife and child. Alas! and what +nameless agony tortured him in those hours that seemed an eternity to +the sore heart within! It was then he heard those voices that would not +be silenced, of regret not only concerning the lost happiness of his +life, but of a far more terrible regret--of awful accusation, much as +he fought against it when daylight and activity returned. The night +winds moaned, sounding to him like the blending curses of a hundred +voices, the never-silent reproaches of all those whom he had brought to +their doom. And when he succeeded for a moment in turning his back upon +the irredeemable past, fixing his relentless gaze on the life before +him, the life he would have to tread, what was it but a glaring +reality, a fearful outcome of the shadows behind? + +He was glad of the first streak of daylight stealing into the barn, +and, rising from his troubled rest, he went out into the cold grey +morning, seeking the Jew, who walked to and fro at his post looking +pale and wan like a belated ghost. He nodded sadly on beholding his +friend. + +"We shall not be able to mount for a couple of hours yet," said Taras. +"Turn in now, and have a rest." + +"I could not sleep," replied Nashko, "but I am stiff with the cold, and +could scarcely ride without first stretching my limbs on the straw." +And, handing him his gun, he went away. + +Taras walked up and down, slowly at first, till the nipping cold forced +him to a quicker pace. It was as dismal a morning of late autumn as +could well be imagined. Cutting gusts of east wind kept hissing through +the narrow valley, rattling in the gloomy fir-wood, and having their +own cold play with the whirling snow-flakes. The sun must have risen by +that time, but it was nowhere to be seen; a pale, cheerless light only, +descending from the snow-capped mountains, showed the muddy road and +its windings, with a look of hopelessness about it. Not a living +creature anywhere, not a sound of animated being beyond the croaking of +a solitary raven on a fir-tree near. + +The unhappy man cast a listless glance at the dismal prophet. The raven +is looked upon as a bird of ill-omen, but what of trouble yet untasted +could its call forebode? Death? Nay, for would he not have welcomed it +gladly! And yet, though he seemed to know the very sum of human +suffering laid upon him by a terrible fate, even by his own awful will, +there was an agony approaching him that very morning, the direst +possibility of grief for his heart and soul, and that cheerless day was +to be the saddest of all his sad life.... + +An hour might have passed, but daylight seemed as far off as ever, and +the wind continued its play with the whirling snow-flakes, so that +Taras did not perceive the approach of a horseman, who was fighting his +way hither from Zabie, till he pulled up close by the hamlet. It was a +puny, elderly figure, ill-at-ease evidently on his miserable horse, and +shivering with the cold; for though his garment was bedizened +abundantly with gaudy ribands and glittering tinsel, there was not a +scrap of fur to yield comfort, his queer head-gear, a tricoloured +fool's cap, being fully in keeping with his tawdry appearance. On his +back, by a leathern strap, he carried--not a gun to betoken the +mountaineer--but a wooden case, from which protruded the neck of a +violin. Taras examined this strange horseman with not a little wonder, +concluding presently that it was some sort of a mountebank seen about +the village fairs in the lowlands, where they pick up a scanty living, +now playing the fiddle, now performing some jugglery. But what gain +might this artist be seeking in the wintry mountains? + +"What a mercy," cried the horseman, "to fall in with a living creature +at last! How long shall I have to struggle on, tell me, before reaching +the Dembronia Forest?" + +"What on earth do you want there?" asked Taras, surprised. "You would +find only wolves to make merry at your bidding, if that is it--why, the +forest is utterly uninhabited!" + +"Then I am better informed than you," retorted the fiddler; "the +avenger and his band are in the forest, if no one else is." + +"Do you want him?" + +"To be sure, and badly! The poor wretch of a girl, I believe, would +claw my eyes out if I did not fetch him as I promised." + +"What girl? But you may save yourself farther trouble--I am the +avenger." + +"You!" cried the man, crossing himself quickly. But coming a little +closer, he peered with a half-fearful curiosity into the hetman's +sorrowful face. "You might be he, certainly," he muttered; "you look +exactly as they told me, and poor Kasia said I could not possibly +mistake the terrible gloom on your face. I suppose I had better believe +you, and you must come with me, else that wretched girl will die of her +remorse." + +"What girl? what is it? Where am I wanted? Do speak plainly!" + +"At the inn at Zabie. She'd have come to you instead of asking you to +come to her--I mean Kasia, my sister's daughter--she says it is killing +her, and she must not die without telling you." + +"Telling me what? Has she any complaints to make against any +wrong-doer?" + +"No; she has done that once too often already, and is grievously sorry +for it now. It is not you, though, who are to blame--nor in fact, is +she, poor thing--but her sweetheart, Jacek, that good-for-nothing +rascal; if you can pay him out for it, 'twere well if you did. For it +was a damned lie, all that story at Borsowka----" + +"At Borsowka?'" exclaimed Taras, staggering. "At Borsowka!" he repeated +hoarsely. And clutching the fiddler with his strong hand, he dragged +him from the saddle and shook him till the poor creature gasped for +breath. "Speak the truth!... Is it that Marinia who sent you?" + +"You are strangling me! Help!" groaned the fiddler. "It is not my fault +... help!... murder!" + +At this moment Nashko, who had heard the cry, came out, followed by the +others. + +"What is it?" they inquired, and the Jew, taking in the situation, +endeavoured to free the agonised messenger from the captain's powerful +grasp. + +"Aren't you rather hard on him?" he whispered to his friend. "What has +he come for?" + +But Taras, letting go his hold, stared about him like one demented, and +a shriek burst from him--"A horse! for God's sake, a horse!" His men +moved not, utterly confounded. But he broke away, dragging a horse from +the barn, the first he could lay hold on, and mounting it without +saddle or bridle dashed away in the direction of Zabie as fast as the +frightened animal could carry him. + +Two hours later he stopped by the inn. The horse was done for. He cared +not, but rushed up to old Froim, who came to meet him. "Where is she?" +he cried, wildly. + +"Who? the sick woman?" inquired the innkeeper. "We made up a bed for +her in the little lean-to." + +Another minute and Taras stood by the couch. The girl had greatly +changed since that terrible night. She looked as though she had passed +through an illness, and her eyes were deep in their sockets. "Ah," she +moaned, "you have come, and I may tell you. It has left me no peace day +or night. I ran away from Jacek to look for my uncle Gregori, that he +might try and find you, for he was always...." + +"Be quick about it," interrupted Taras. "I want to know the truth!" + +"Ah! do not look at me with those eyes," cried the unhappy girl, hiding +her face in her hands, and indeed the man bending over her was fearful +to behold. "I want to tell you ... I wish I had never done it, but they +made me!" + +"Be quick about it!" repeated Taras, hoarsely. "You are not Marinia +Bertulak, and no peasant girl from Borsowka. Your name is Kasia, and +you keep company with jugglers?" + +"Yes, yes! I am Kasia Wywolow." + +"And you lied to me in that night, all of you?" + +"Yes, we did; the old baron only spoke the truth. The man who pretended +to be my father was Jacek, with whom I have been going about to fairs; +and the other one was a farm labourer, Dimitri Buliga, and not the +village judge...." + +"And why did you deceive me?" + +"It was all Karol's doing. We, Jacek and I, fell in with him at the +merry-making here at Zabie, and he talked us over; after which he went +to Borsowka, where he bribed the coachman and prevailed on Dimitri to +play the judge. He said he knew exactly how to set about it to make you +believe the story ... he had an old grudge against the poor baron, who +years ago brought him to punishment for theft. He stole away from you +as soon as the deed was done, dividing the spoils with Jacek and +Dimitri, who waited for him at Kotzman. But I suffered agony with +remorse, and it brought me here." + +"That will do," said Taras, faintly; "thank you." And he staggered from +the room. The old innkeeper came upon him presently where he lay in a +merciful swoon. + +It was late in the afternoon when his men came after him, and with them +the fiddler Gregori. They had not been able to gather the full truth +from the bewildered messenger, but they had understood sufficiently to +know that Karol Wygoda had deceived them shamefully, and it had filled +their honest hearts with indignant grief. But pity for their unhappy +leader was uppermost, for they felt rather than knew how fearfully the +discovery must affect him; and since he had left no orders, they waited +hour after hour, with growing anxiety, thinking he might return; and as +he did not, they now came to seek him. + +"Yes, he is here," said old Froim, sorrowfully, in answer to Nashko's +inquiry, "and I think he is seriously ill. I do not know what that +young woman may have told him," he added under his breath, "but it must +have been something very awful; for he fainted right out, and when I +had managed to bring him to again, he just said: 'I must go my way to +the gallows now,' and never another word has crossed his lips. I have +tried to rouse him, but he is like a stone, staring blankly; it could +not be worse if he had buried wife and child. I have spoken to him, I +have implored him, but not a sign is to be got from him. Will you try +it?--he may yield to your words." + +Nashko told his companions what the old Jew had said, and they all +agreed. "Try and rouse him," they said, "tell him that to us he is as +noble and just as before. How should he, how should we, in God's eyes, +be guilty of this blackguard Karol's wickedness!" + +Nashko took heart and entered the little room, where Froim had prepared +a couch for the stricken hetman, but he was unable to deliver the men's +message. For no sooner had he closed the door than Taras turned to him, +saying huskily, but firmly: "Please leave me to myself till to-morrow +morning; I must think it over; not for my own sake, for I know what I +have to do, but for yours--I would like to counsel each of you for the +best I can hardly collect my thoughts as yet, it is as though I had +been struck with lightning. Let me come to myself first. I daresay +Froim will find a night's lodging for you; and to-morrow--yes, +to-morrow morning when the day has risen, I will see you." Taras seemed +fully determined, and Nashko could but yield. + +The following day early, when the men had gathered in the great empty +bar-room, Taras came among them. They had not seen him for a space of +four-and-twenty hours, but the havoc wrought in his appearance seemed +the work of years. He was fearfully altered, looking like an old man +now, overcome with life's distress. + +"Dear friends," he said, speaking very calmly and kindly, "I pray you +listen to me, but do not try to turn me from my firm resolve. I release +you one and all from the fealty you have sworn to me. I am your leader +no longer. Please God, this will be the last time that you will see me; +I have prayed to Him earnestly to let my life and the yielding up of +its every hope be sufficient atonement. Yes, I have pleaded with Him in +mercy to let your ways be far from mine; for the path I have to tread +will now take me to Colomea, to prison, and thence to the final doom." + +A cry of horror interrupted him. "For God's sake," they cried, "what is +it that has come to you?" + +"Not thus, if you love me," he said, gently, warding them off. "I have +followed the voice of my own heart so far, let me follow it still. That +voice has deceived me hitherto, leading me to misery and crime; it is +speaking well this day for the first time! Yet, be very sure, I was not +wrong in saying that the plain will of God required Right and Justice +to be upheld in this world; not wrong in accusing those of their +shortcomings whose sacred duty it is to see that justice rules here +below, but who do not carry out this duty to its fullest, holiest +meaning. My mistake was this, that I fancied this unfulfilled duty +could by the will of God devolve upon me or any other individual man. +To be sure I who sacrificed all earthly happiness at the shrine of +justice, who became a murderer in blind love of the right, and now go +to the gallows--I most not be unjust, not even against myself, and +therefore I say it was a natural mistake. For what more natural than to +argue: Since they will not guard the right whose bounden duty it is, I +will do so, who am strong at heart and pure of purpose! But, +nevertheless, it was a grievous mistake. I see it now. I still believe +in that grand, holy ladder of His making which is intended to join +earth to heaven; but plainly it is not His will, even if some of its +steps at times be rotten, that any single man should take upon himself +to make up in his own poor strength for any failings in that glorious +institution for working out the divine will. It were proud, sinful +presumption in any man, and I have done evil in His sight, not merely +in disregarding what mischief must accrue if others followed my +example, but chiefly on account of the awful delusion that _I_ was +above erring, and that _my_ judgments must needs be just! And how +did I come to imagine this? Because I chose to believe that the +Almighty _must_ keep me from foiling--me, His servant, the righteous, +justice-loving Taras. It was just my pride! The magistrates, the +courts, might err, but I never! And yet how great is the danger if the +carrying out of justice be vested in any individual man!--the work I +have undertaken could not but end like this! I believed I was doing +right, and I have been utterly confounded. The Baron of Borsowka was a +righteous man, and I, who presumed to judge him, have been his +murderer." + +"But that was not your fault; you were deceived by Karol!" they cried. + +"I was," replied Taras; "yet the guilt rests with me for not examining +into the charge more carefully. Why did I refuse his urgent request to +send for witnesses to the village? I am his murderer. I, and no one +else; and since I have judged falsely in his case, how can I be sure +that I have not done so in others? But, be that as it may, I am an +assassin, and it behoves me to expiate my crime, submitting to those +whom God has called to judge any evildoer in the land. I am going to +Colomea to give myself up." + +Vainly they strove to turn him from his resolve. He kept repeating: "I +follow the voice within, and it has begun to speak truth." With heavy +hearts they perceived it was utterly useless to plead with him, and +listened to his last farewell. He enjoined them to separate at once and +to begin a new life each for himself in different parts of the country. +He had a word of sympathy, of advice for each. "Forty florins are still +in my possession," he added, producing the sum; "it is all I have left +of the money contributed by honest peasants towards my work. Take it +and divide it fairly. Let it be the same with the proceeds of your arms +and horses." + +And he took leave of them, of each man separately, the Jew being last. +"Nashko," he said, "I have yet a request to make of you. You love me, I +know, and I am about to die. Will you grant it?" + +"Surely," said the Jew, with tear-stifled voice. + +"I know your intentions with regard to Julko," said Taras, "and I know +the reason.... But I ask you to forbear, and to leave these mountains +without bringing him to his due." + +"The thought of revenge was sweet," said the Jew, "but I will do your +desire." + +"Whither will you betake yourself?" asked Taras. "I was able to advise +them all, but I know not what to say to you; besides, your judgment is +better than mine." + +"I shall go away--far, far away," said Nashko. "I have heard that in +following the sun through many lands you reach the wide sea at last, +and crossing the sea you reach a country where a man is a man, and no +one inquires into his creed. I shall try for that country, and if so be +that I get there----" + +"God speed you!" said Taras, deeply moved, "for your heart is honest +and you have been true to me. So have you all: the Almighty watch over +your lives!" + +He left the room and, seeking his horse, he sped away from his friends +towards the lowlands, vanishing from their gaze. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + PAYING THE PENALTY. + + +A few days later the district governor and Dr. Starkowski were having a +quiet talk in the dusk of the evening. They were sitting in Herr von +Bauer's private office, and the latter had just confided to the lawyer +that it was officially settled now--and the requisite document a +visible fact--that the contested field on the Pruth was formally +adjudged as belonging, not to the lord of the manor, but to the parish +of Zulawce. + +"I am simply thankful it _is_ settled!" the governor was saying, +rubbing his honest old hands. "I always suspected foul play, but since +I had proof of it, the former judgment has weighed on me like a +nightmare. It is more of a relief than I can tell you!" + +"And yet that judgment was legally correct," said the lawyer, somewhat +sadly; "the case had been investigated, and witnesses on both sides +were examined, the evidence appearing unquestionable!" + +"Is this intended for a covert reproach?" + +"Certainly not," returned Starkowski; "and yet I cannot think of this +tragic affair without a sad reflection on the short-sightedness of all +human justice." + +"You are right there," said the governor, sighing in his turn. "My only +comfort is, that we, the authorities of this district, have done our +human best; even that coward Kapronski, cannot be accused of wilful +injustice. The peasants had been so foolish as to move the landmark, +and the mandatar, rascal that he is, saw his opportunity for taking +possession. It was quite correct that our commissioner should have told +the peasants that their only remedy was the law; and the suit began. +Both parties were ready to swear, and, indeed, there was no other means +for eliciting the truth, except by putting them on their oath. I admit +that Kapronski set about it somewhat summarily and offhandedly, but I +doubt whether, in all conscientiousness I could have arrived at a +better result myself. If witnesses are open to bribery, perjuring +themselves, how should the most careful of judges get at the truth? +There was oath against oath, a considerable number of the peasantry +yielding evidence in favour of the manor against their own interests, +and the lord of the manor, moreover, was in possession--how then, I +ask, should even the court's judgment have been different? There is +some comfort in this, I assure you; at the same time it is better +comfort that the wrongful judgment with its sad consequences has been +reversed--as far as possible at least." + +"As far as possible," repeated the lawyer, thoughtfully. "Poor +Taras----" + +"Don't talk to me about that man," interrupted the governor, waxing +hot; "or would you have me tax the short-sightedness of human justice +with his history also?" + +"Certainly, I should say." + +"Certainly not, you mean! What, have you forgotten poor Hohenau? And +what of his latest murder at Borsowka?" + +"There I am staggered, I own," said the lawyer. + +"Of course you are, because you insist on judging the man by the rules +of your ethics," cried the governor, as though the deeper bearings of +the soul were utterly beneath the legal mind; "but I, who am no +psychologist, but a wretched district governor in this province of +Galicia---worse luck!--I who have had plenty of opportunity of getting +acquainted with any number of hajdamaks, I tell you he is no better +than the rest of them! It is all very well to start the business with a +fine pretence, a pretty cloak to cover one's rags; he has discarded it +now, you see, and shows himself as he is--a mere wretched assassin. Let +us change the subject; I have something more pleasant yet to tell you. +What should you say to those poor wretches at Zulawce, in mortal terror +of their lives on account of their perjury?--of course, they must bear +the consequences!--they are going to be duly sentenced, and then----" +the kind-hearted man could not go on for smiles. + +"They are going to have a free pardon," added Starkowski; "are you +sure?" + +"I have got it in my desk, which is more, and I am highly delighted for +once that the law should be circumvented. Of course, the line will be +drawn between the instigators of these precious plans and those who +were merely led on. There is Mr. Wenceslas Hajek, for instance, whom we +shall have the honour of lodging in safe quarters within this city for +a couple of years--I'd give him five, Willingly--and no expense to +himself. Come in!" + +There had been a knock at the door repeatedly, but the gentlemen had +not heard it in the warmth of their discussion till it struck the +governor at the tail end of his information. "Come in!" + +The door opened showing a tall visitor, who stood still. + +"A peasant by the look of him," said the governor, peering into the +dusk. "This is beyond office hours, my friend; come again to-morrow." + +There was a pause of silence, and then the man by the door came a step +forward, saying, with trembling voice, "Excuse me, sirs, for disturbing +you, but I would rather not go away again----" + +"Taras!" exclaimed the lawyer, and the governor, bursting from his +seat, stood still a moment, paralysed with the discovery; but then he +flew to the window, flinging open the sash, and sent one terrified cry +after another into the street below. + +Taras never moved. "Do not be frightened," he said, sadly. "Look here, +I am quite unarmed, and have come with peaceful intentions." + +But the sentry outside and some of the clerks yet at work had heard the +alarm; assistance already was pressing in at the door. + +"Bind him!" cried the governor. And, nothing loth, the men clutched the +prisoner. + +But Starkowski interfered. "Stop!" he said. "You are five against one, +and you see he offers no resistance." He walked up to Taras and looked +him in the face. "You have not come with any evil intention?" + +"No, sir." + +Starkowski seemed quite satisfied; turning to the governor, "Leave your +men in the room," he said, "but there is no need to bind him, I'll go +bail." + +But the poor governor was not so easily quieted, and his voice +positively shook when he addressed the man of whom all the district had +stood in mortal fear these months past. "Step closer," he said, "we are +ready to hear you." + +And Taras came nearer, looking pale and wan, a stricken figure, resting +his worn frame against the table. "I have come to give myself up," he +said, "and I pray to be dealt with according to my deserts." + +"And where are your people?" + +"I have disbanded them; there is no fear of their committing further +violence." + +"_Where_ are they?" + +"They have gone different ways; but I have not come to betray them, and +shall not do so. Concerning myself I will answer any question, and that +must suffice. But before interrogating me, please have a clerk here to +write it all down, for I should like those at Vienna to have the truth +in my own words. I would especially wish the Emperor to know it, and +his kind uncle, Ludwig." + +The governor was going to retort sharply, but he restrained himself; +the man after all had not desired anything improper. But the shock had +been too great to enable him to open proceedings on the spot. "You will +be interrogated to-morrow morning," he said, "and, whatever your +misdeeds, it shall be set over against them that you have given +yourself up of your own free will. I will not have you put in irons, +and no one shall dare to insult you; but I shall have you well +guarded." + +"Do whatever the law requires," replied Taras. "But there is no fear of +my escaping again, even if never a door were locked upon me. It is my +conscience which brought me hither, and it will keep me here. Indeed, +if any one attempted to set me free against my will, I should oppose +him as an enemy." + +The governor had nothing more to say, beyond ordering the prisoner's +removal to the city gaol. But Taras looked at him. "There is yet one +thing," and his voice quivered; "may I speak to this gentleman--it is +something I have deeply at heart." + +The governor nodded assent, and Starkowski went up to the prisoner. +"Ah, sir," said Taras, "I pray you not to believe that after all I +turned a robber and murderer! I daresay you heard that I have had +Zukowski killed, the poor old baron at Borsowka. I have; but I have +been grievously deceived by evil men, on whose honesty I relied. I was +fully persuaded I had judged righteously in this case also. I appeal to +you--you know that I never yet told a lie--will you believe me?" + +"I will--I do," said the lawyer, holding out his hand. + +But Taras did not take it, there was a strange agitation in his face, +he shook, and before the lawyer could prevent it, he had fallen on his +knees, covering Starkowski's hand with kisses and tears. "Ah, sir," he +sobbed, "this is the most merciful word you have spoken in your life!" + +He rose and followed his keepers. + +An hour later special messengers were speeding in all directions to +announce to the magistrates and military authorities that the great +trouble was at an end, that the avenger was in safe keeping of his own +free will. At Colomea itself the news was flying from house to house, +being received everywhere with exultant satisfaction. Two men only, +whose interest in Taras's fate, because a personal one, was of the +liveliest, were rather aghast at the news, calling their mortal enemy a +fool for his pains, because he had put his head into the noose. + +One of these worthies was Mr. Ladislas Kapronski, who had been obliged +after all to return from Lemberg, not of his own choice, but because of +the importunity of his immediate superiors, which left but two ways +open to him, either to accept their pressing invitation or to quit the +service. So he had arrived, hoping to escape with a sharp reproof; but +the very first meeting of the Board showed he was not likely to be +dealt with in a spirit of leniency, the district governor being +especially vicious in the virtuous Kapronski's opinion. Nevertheless, +he clang to his hope, giving the lie unblushingly to all accusations, +since the one witness to be dreaded, even Taras, could not so easily +be confronted with him; and who else should know whether he had +perverted his message or not? So he carried his head high, and his +collapse was sad to behold when, at a late hour that evening, the news +reached him, "Taras is in safe keeping!" He jumped from his seat as +though an adder had stung him; but, alas! there was no use in his +rushing abroad to inquire whether it could really be true, since the +strange rudeness--or, perhaps, deafness only--of his closer +acquaintances had appeared of late to affect most people at Colomea, +and now Kapronski in addressing any honest citizen could never be sure +of a hearing! So he did not go forth from his chamber, but fell to +chewing the bitter cud of retribution, listening intently for what +terrible affirmation might come flying in to him through his open +windows from the excited streets. The news plainly was a fact! + +But if his cogitations were misery, what then must be said of that +other one who deprecated Taras's act of surrender, Mr. Wenceslas Hajek, +the ex-mandatar of Zulawce? This gentleman quite lately, at the +invitation of two constables, had exchanged his princely residence at +the castle of Drinkowce for the more modest abode of a prison cell, and +this quite in spite of--or, in fact, rather because of--his sudden +desire for a change of air in distant parts. It had transpired that he +was quietly on to Paris. He had been admitted to bail, when proceedings +were commenced against him on account of the discovered perjury, and +the constables caught him in the very act of strapping his travelling +bag. He was naturally annoyed at being thus overreached; but the +virtuous Wanda, who had not intended to accompany him on his travels, +most heroically witnessed his discomfiture, watching his being carried +off with truly stoical calmness--she might even have been a Spartan +matron! "Good riddance," she said quietly, "if they would but keep you +in prison; it's the one place for you!" Whereupon he, gathering +together the shreds of masculine courage, retorted: "Hell itself would +be delightful if I had a chance of going thither without you!" from +which amiable passage of arms the reader may infer that this marriage, +founded on a love just about equalled by the mutual respect of the +contracting couple, had turned out as happily as might have been +foreseen, the actual result being that Herr Bogdan von Antoniewicz even +now was taking measures to bring his daughter's case into the divorce +court. But Mr. Hajek, who, it will be remembered, had prepared against +such a contingency, felt no sorrows on this head; and indeed a husband +blessed with a wife of the Countess Wanda's description might be +tolerably certain that any inquiry into her character would bring to +light ample mitigation of any blots in his. But if his domestic +concerns sat easy on him, all the greater was his anxiety concerning +that other trial, since there was no saying where a close inquiry might +not land him, especially as his under-steward, Boleslaw Stipinski, had +been so very foolish as to allow himself to be caught. Still, while +Boleslaw had a tongue left wherewith to deny all charges as +unblushingly as Hajek himself, the mandatar need not give himself up +for lost--not while the only man who could witness to most of his +crimes was far away, and not likely to be got hold of. What, then, must +have been the feelings of the brazen-faced prisoner that evening when a +call from the echoing corridor resounded in his cell, and he understood +the words: "Look sharp, boys, they are bringing the avenger!" +It was the chief warder calling upon his fellow gaolers. There was a +running to and fro and a confusion of voices, followed presently by the +usual silence of the place. And when the death-like stillness had again +settled down the wretched man tried to persuade himself that he had +been dreaming; but the early morning dispelled this delusion, his +inquiry eliciting a gruff reply from the warder going his rounds. +"Taras? Yes, he is on this very floor, more's the pity you cannot +communicate with him," said the surly attendant, never perceiving the +irony of his speech. + +Early in the forenoon the new prisoner was brought to his preliminary +examination, Herr von Bauer conducting it in person; and in accordance +with his stated intention Taras yielded the fullest information +concerning himself and his late doings, but refused persistently +whatever might tend to incriminate his followers. He readily mentioned +those who had led him into the murder at Borsowka; but not a fact, not +a name besides, was to be got out of him. Nor could he be brought to +give the slightest clue towards inculpating such of the peasants as had +assisted his work by their contributions for the maintenance of his +men. "They have aided and abetted a criminal course," he said; "but +they did it with the best of intentions for the love of their suffering +neighbours, and believing it to be the will of God." + +"It might be better for you to give their names," said the governor, +not unkindly, "for if you do not, how is it to be proved that you are +speaking the truth? These contributions might be a myth, and you be +taken for a common bandit after all, who committed murder for the sake +of gain. Are you prepared to face this?" + +"If the Almighty will thus punish me, I shall bear it," said he, sadly. +"He knows I have spoken the truth." + +The trial concluded with those questions laid as a duty upon the judge, +even with the worst of criminals, ever since the great Empress left her +womanly influence upon the Austrian law. "Do you desire spiritual +assistance?" inquired the governor. + +"Not now," said Taras; "I need no one to come between me and the +Almighty. When death is at hand I will thankfully receive the holy +sacrament, and I would ask you then to send for the parish priest of +Zulawce, Father Leo, who on Palm Sunday gave me his promise to come to +me whenever I should need him. He will do so." + +"And have you any message to be transmitted to your wife?" + +The extreme pallor of his face yielded to a flush which rose to the +very roots of his hair. "No," he said faintly. "My wife was right in +saying I had forfeited my claims on her and the children. It were sheer +goodness and mercy on her part to remember me now. But since it is so, +I must not ask for it; I can only wait." + +But waiting for the prompting of her love seemed vain. Throughout the +dreary tune of the legal proceedings, which lasted nearly four months, +neither the pope nor Anusia visited the prisoner. The only human being +who during all this sad time requested permission for occasional +intercourse with the accused was Dr. Starkowski, who could not visit +him in his capacity as legal defender till after the protracted +inquiry, but prayed to be admitted as a friend. And he was allowed to +see the prisoner occasionally in the presence of the chief warder, +finding the unhappy man, for whom he had a truehearted sympathy, +strangely quiet. "I have nothing to complain of," Taras would say; "I +could not have expected anything else. And, calling to mind the +terrible hour when that girl in her agony of remorse confessed to me +how I had been deceived, this present time seems happiness in +comparison. I am bearing the just punishment for my deeds even on this +side of the grave--it is all I must ask for at the hand of man." + +"All?" repeated the lawyer, with a peculiar stress on the word, and it +seemed to him a very duty of Christian charity to offer to the unhappy +man his willingness to plead with Anusia. "It will be no trouble," he +added, rather awkwardly; "I have business at Zulawce, and might as well +go and see her." + +"I pray you not to do so," said Taras, earnestly. "It would be a bitter +trial to her to have to speak about me to a stranger, and I have +brought on her so much suffering already that it is not for me to add +to it." + +Starkowski nevertheless endeavoured to mediate, but in vain. Father Leo +himself dissuaded him from his well-meant purpose. "Believe me, sir," +said the honest priest, sadly, "there is nothing to be done. If human +pleading availed anything, my entreaty would have done so! But no +prayer and no exhortation will bend the iron purpose of that woman. +This is the reason why I have refrained hitherto from going to Colomea: +I have not the heart to meet him with no better news than this." + +"Well, perhaps a stranger may be more successful," said Starkowski, and +went over to Taras's farm. But he was met in the yard by Halko, with a +message from his mistress. She did not desire to see him, the young man +said wistfully, unless he were sent on business of the trial. + +Towards the close of January, 1840, the inquiry was concluded; but, +after all, not much more had come to light than had been known with +more or less of exactness before. And if, on the one hand, it was +beyond a doubt that Taras was guilty of the death of a great number of +men, having brought loss and suffering to others, so also it proved a +matter of certainty that in every case he had granted to the victim a +kind of judicial inquiry, punishing them upon conviction. Also there +was a considerable amount of actual evidence in his favour, Baron +Zborowski, of Hankowce, especially doing his utmost in his behalf. On +the whole a fairly just estimate of the man's activity during those +seven months of the reign of terror in the land had been arrived at, +but not a clue had been obtained concerning his fellows and helpers, +who appeared simply to have vanished. One of his late followers only +was caught--Karol Wygoda, whose whereabouts Taras himself had +suggested. This wretch denied the charge persistently, until confronted +with his former hetman, a look of whose eye sufficed to crush the man, +whereupon he made a full confession, including the crime he had +instigated at Borsowka. + +But not only in this case was it apparent that Taras had in no wise +lost his strange power over men; none of the perjured witnesses of +Zulawce could hold out against him at the bar. But the most flagrant +proof of the awe he still inspired, perhaps, was this, that Mr. Hajek, +on the mere announcement of the governor's "I shall confront you with +Taras to-morrow," fainted outright, and upon recovering his senses +declared himself ready to confess on the spot. No doubt he acted from +the consciousness that conviction was unavoidable, and that it would be +useless to harass his feelings by so painful an interview. + +Kapronski, on the contrary, felt that all his future career depended on +the ordeal of a meeting with Taras, and, fortifying his flunkey spirit +with this consideration, he tried hard to strike terror into the soul +of the convicted bandit; but he collapsed woefully, and blow upon blow +the righteous wrath of Taras came down upon his head. It was a strange +sight these two--the one covered with the blood of his fellows, the +other legally guilty at worst of a breach of discipline--but no one +could doubt for a moment which of them was the nobler and better man. + +On the last day of the inquiry the governor put the question to Taras +who should be his advocate. + +"Ah!" said Taras, "am I permitted to choose? I would have Dr. +Starkowski in that case, for he will do his best for me." + +"Certainly," replied the governor, continuing with some surprise; "have +not you assured me again and again you had done with life? Yet you seem +to rest confidence in the success of your advocate." + +"Oh," returned Taras, "I never doubted the justice of my having to die; +that is settled, and I would not have him or any one else endeavour to +get me off. But there is another important matter in which I sorely +need counsel." + +What this might be Starkowski learned on his first professional visit +to the prisoner. "They will not believe me," said Taras sadly; "they +doubt the truth of my having maintained the band honestly, partly out +of my own means, partly with the freewill contributions of well-meaning +folks. And yet I cannot name any of those who helped me, for fear of +their having to suffer for it. Is there no help, but that the suspicion +most rest on me and mine, that I committed murder for vulgar gain's +sake?" + +The lawyer endeavoured to comfort him, saying he hoped to dispel this +charge, proving it at variance with the character of his client, which +was plainly apparent in the evidence. "But let us speak of something +else now," he added, "which is more important--your own fate." + +"Why, that is settled," replied Taras, quietly; "I have shed blood and +must atone for it with my own. Please do not try to overthrow that!" + +"Now, listen to me," said the lawyer, "there is such a thing as common +sense. You have given yourself up of your own free will to satisfy +justice; this is enough for your conscience, and it would be simply +wicked in you to clamour to be hanged. Try to judge calmly in this +respect. Looking at facts, of course I cannot doubt that the jury will +find you guilty, because the law must have its course, but I have hopes +that the Emperor may pardon you. There are strong reasons for a +recommendation to mercy. Moreover, it is plain that the old Archduke +Ludwig is interested in you, and he will not fail to plead in your +favour." + +"Will you listen to me now?" said Taras, quietly, when his counsel had +finished. "I can have no other wish in this matter than to see that +carried out which I have been striving for all my life--that is +justice; and a sentence of death alone would be just! I can not prevent +the Emperor pardoning me if he is so minded, but I will not have you +petition him in my name. There is one favour only I would ask, if it +comes to the dying ..." he paused, a shudder running through his frame. + +"I know," said the lawyer, deeply affected, "you would like to be shot +and not hung. Father Leo told me; old Jemilian come to him once +secretly for confession ... Take comfort, I think I can promise you +that much, if indeed it must come to the worst." + +Towards the end of February, Taras was sentenced to death--"to be hung +by the neck"--there could not have been any other verdict. But he was +informed at the same time that the parishes of Ridowa and Zulawce, as +well as Baron Zborowski, had petitioned the Emperor for mercy. + +That same day Starkowski addressed a letter to Father Leo, acquainting +him also with the sentence, and imploring him once again to try his +influence with Anusia. The pope was deeply grieved. "Alas," he said to +his wife, "even this news will not move the woman, and what else could +I tell her? Have I not striven with her to the utmost?" + +"You must try yet again," said the good little popadja; "it is the most +sacred duty in all this life of yours." + +"I am sure of that," he said, sorrowfully; "and my heart bleeds at the +thought that once more I must plead in vain for her poor husband! I am +truly sorry for Anusia herself, and shall never cease befriending her, +but this hard-heartedness, this horrible power of vindictiveness in a +woman fills me with loathing." + +With a heavy heart he set out on his mission, finding Anusia in her +sitting-room, her eldest boy, Wassilj, at her feet, reading to her with +a clear voice from some book of spiritual comfort. On beholding her +visitor, she gave a nod and ordered the little boy to leave them alone, +but the child hesitated, obeying her repeated command reluctantly. She +rose and went up to the pope with the icy quiet which had grown +habitual with her; but her face was fearfully worn, and she looked +quite an old woman now. There was scarcely a tremor in her voice. "I +know what you have come for," she said "He has been sentenced to +death." + +"Yes," he replied. "But if ever----" + +"Stop!" she interrupted; "would you have me and the children be present +at----" + +"Anusia!" he cried; "it is awful--fearful; do you know that your +life-long repentance will never atone for this cruelty of heart?" + +"Is that what you think?" she said, hoarsely; "and do you know how I +loved him? do you know the depth of my suffering? God knows----" + +"Do not call on Him," cried the pope, passionately; "He is holy and +pitiful, and has nothing in common with the hardness of men." + +"Priest," she said, confronting him wildly; "how dare you come between +Him and me? His understanding me is the one hope which keeps me from +madness----" and a cry burst from her; she fell at his feet, clinging +to his knees, moaning: "Ah, turn not away from me! Try and consider the +agony of my heart!" + +He lifted her gently, making her sit down on a chair. "I do consider +it," he said; "and I have borne this sorrow with you throughout. But do +not think you can lessen it by being unforgiving and hard.... Come with +me and see him," he added, folding his hands with his heart's entreaty; +"it is his dying wish, will you not grant it? I will not plead his +right to look for his wife and children." + +"No, certainly," she interrupted him, and he shuddered at the cold +denial glistening in her eyes; "he gave up his rights when he left us +with no better excuse than his mad longing to obtain justice for any +stranger. He could not have complained of me if I had told him as early +as Palm Sunday, 'I cannot prevent your going, but you cease to be my +husband,' I did not say that, I did not upbraid him, but I knelt to him +and wept at his feet. He saw the agony of my soul, and went his way. I +did not cease loving him, I only strove to save the children from his +ruin. He would not have hesitated to make me the recipient of his +plans, the go-between transmitting his messages to the village. He only +thought of his work, never of what might come to us! And when we were +taken to prison for his sake, he only said, 'And though they kill them +I must go on with this cause!' Can a husband, a father, nay, a human +being act thus? And when we were set free, and you and I went to see +him, to entreat him to forego this life of bloodshed and murder lest +his wife and children should have to bear the last fearful disgrace, +did he listen to us? 'I cannot help it, I must go on,' he said. And +neither can I help it now," she added, with a bitter moan; "he has +brought me to it, and must bear the consequences!" + +"And do you think this will help you to bear it?" said the pope. "Can +it in any way lessen your sorrow?" + +"No!" she cried; "but it is just! just! I am treating him as he treated +me!" + +"And is it justice you look for from your Saviour?" said he; "is it +your deserts you will plead when you hope for His mercy in that day?" +He paused solemnly, but once again he strove with her entreatingly, +pleading for love and for pity. She moved not, and he could not see her +face, for she had covered it with her hands; but when a sob burst from +her ice-bound heart, and the tears welled through her fingers, hope +rose within him, and, continuing to speak to her gently, he lifted his +soul to God that the words might be given him which could touch her and +carry light into the darkness of her fearful despair. + +Neither of them heard the door open, both starting when suddenly the +voice of little Wassilj was heard sobbing amid his tears. "Let me help +you, Father Leo," faltered the child, "mother will listen to us, +surely. And if she will not go with you, take me, please, for I love +father dearly!" + +At these words an agonised cry burst from the woman's heart; she caught +up the boy and covered him with tears and kisses, crying: "I will go--I +will go!" + +Two days later Starkowski, with a flush on his face, entered the +convict's cell. "Taras," he cried, "I am glad to tell you--your +wife----" + +"Is she coming?" faltered Taras. "O God, is it possible?" + +He had risen, but staggered back to his chair--it was too much for him. +Starkowski left him quietly; in his stead Anusia had entered the cell. + +And husband and wife once more stood clasped to each other's heart. + +The governor allowed Anusia to spend many hours with the prisoner. They +spoke of the past, of the children's future, of the village, and +everything they had in common--one subject only they both avoided, the +ghastly event which soon would separate them for this life. Taras took +leave of her and the children every evening as tenderly as though it +were the eve of his final doom, but he never referred to it, and Anusia +in her secret heart took it as a sign that after all he hoped for a +pardon. + +On the 15th of May, 1840, the decision arrived from Vienna. The Emperor +had confirmed the sentence; a pardon could not be granted because "the +notoriety of the case required the law to have its course." But it was +left with the district governor to make all further arrangements and +decide the mode of execution. + +It so happened that Father Leo was with the governor early in the day +when the decree arrived; he had come to beg for an interview with the +convict, and Dr. Starkowski having been sent for, the three entered the +cell together. Taras knew at once what they had come for, his face grew +white, but he could stand erect, requiring no support, while the +sentence was being imparted to him. + +"You will be shot to-morrow morning," said the district governor. +"Father Leo will go with you. Your execution shall not be a spectacle +for the curious, for which reason I have fixed an early hour, and +chosen a place at some distance--a quiet glen on the way to Zablotow, +where a deserter was shot some time ago. None but myself and another +magistrate will be present, and the fact will be kept secret to-day. +Would you desire your wife to accompany you?" + +"No," said Taras, "and I pray you not to tell her anything. We have +settled everything, and I shall take leave of her and the children this +evening just in the usual way, as though we were to meet again +to-morrow. I think this will be the best course for her." + +And he carried out this pious deception with a wondrous strength of +purpose, passing the day in quiet intercourse with her and their +children. When she had left in the evening, utterly unconscious of the +final parting, he was removed to another cell, lit up and provided with +altar and crucifix, to spend his last night in the customary way. +Father Leo took his confession, Taras's voice being low and earnest, +but he was very calm; and having received absolution and the sacrament +at the hands of his friend, he passed the rest of the night in silent +prayer. + +At daybreak the following morning, when the town yet lay buried in +sleep, three carriages drove away in the direction of Zablotow, the +governor and a brother magistrate occupying the first, the condemned +man, Father Leo, and a couple of soldiers the second, some more +soldiers in the third bringing up the rear. + +It was a perfect morning of spring. Taras drew deep breaths of the +fragrant air, and his eye rested on the blossoming fruit-trees by the +way. "God is kind to me," he said, turning to the pope, "letting His +sun rise brightly on my dying hour." + +"Yes, God is good," said the pope, "He is always kinder than men ..." +The poor priest spoke his inmost feeling, but he regretted it almost +immediately--was it for him to drop bitterness into the heart of the +dying man? + +But Taras only shook his head. "It is your grief for me which makes you +unjust, Father Leo," he said, quietly. "I have thought deeply these +last days, and I see there is much to be thankful for! I may be at +rest, too, concerning my poor wife; and as for my children, I am +certain you and Anusia will bring them up rightly, and they will live +to be good." + +"I will not fail in my duty by them; I shall look upon it as a holy +vow," said the pope solemnly. And he kept it faithfully. The children +of Taras are alive to this day, honoured and loved by their neighbours, +richly blessed, too, in outward circumstances; and Wassilj Barabola +would long ago have been made judge of his village had he not declined +the distinction, remembering the promise he gave to his father. + +"And even as regards myself!" said Taras. "All my life long I have +endeavoured to farther the Right and promote justice, and if I have +done grievous wrong myself, yet I have not failed entirely. But for +this strife of mine, oppression would be more rampant than it is now; +my own parish would not have received back the field of which we were +defrauded, and the wicked mandatar would not have been replaced by a +man who means well by the peasants. So you see, dear friend, the grace +of God has been with me after all! I have not lived in vain; as for my +evil deeds, I now pay the penalty, as is right and meet. Why should I +complain!" + +"Oh, Taras!" cried Leo, "what a heart was yours, and to come to such an +end!" + +"Nay," said Taras, "I am poor and sinful, and my pride was great; yet I +always longed for the Right, and to see it done was my heart's desire. +The Judge of men, I trust, will be merciful to me." + +"Amen!" said Leo, with stifled voice, and he began to say the prayers, +Taras repeating the words after him fervently. They reached the glen. +The sentence was read, and the priest resumed prayers. + +Taras stood up. The soldiers fired, and he was struck to the heart. He +lay still in death, and his face bore an expression of deep content. + +They buried him where he fell. There is no cross to show his grave, but +the place to this day is known to the people as "the Glen of Taras." + + + + + FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: These mountaineers, like the Tirolese, know but one +pronoun in addressing high or low, the "Thou" being used throughout the +story in the original; but their straightforward simplicity may be +sufficiently apparent, though substituting the English "You."] + +[Footnote 2: Forced labour, a reminiscence of villanage, surviving in +Slavonic countries.] + +[Footnote 3: One of a church choir.] + +[Footnote 4: Soldiers.] + +[Footnote 5: The fur mantle.] + +[Footnote 6: Orthodox Jews wear on their chest a short garment with +fringes according to the rabinical tradition; _vide_ Numbers xv. 38.] + + + + THE END. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of For the Right, by Karl Emil Franzos + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR THE RIGHT *** + +***** This file should be named 36904.txt or 36904.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/9/0/36904/ + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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