Part 50 (1/2)

”Halt! halt! Who are ye?”

”But who are ye?”

”Tsyprianovitch of Yedlinka.”

”For G.o.d's sake! these are our people!”

And two riders pushed from the ranks quickly. One inclined to Pan Serafin, seized his hand straightway, and covered it with kisses; the other rushed to the priest's shoulder.

”Stanislav!” cried Pan Serafin.

”Yatsek!” shouted the priest.

The greetings and embraces continued till speech came to Pan Serafin,--

”For G.o.d's sake, whence come ye?”

”Our regiment was marching to Cracow. Yatsek and I had permission to visit you at Yedlinka. Meanwhile we learned at Radom, while halting for food there, that thou, father, and the priest, and the Bukoyemskis had set out an hour earlier by the highroad toward Kieltse.”

”Did the prelate tell thee?”

”No! We did not see him. Radom Jews told us; we did not go then to Yedlinka, but moved on at once lest we might miss you. At midnight we heard firing, so we all rushed to give aid, thinking that bandits had fallen upon travellers. It did not occur to us that ye were the persons. G.o.d be thanked, G.o.d be thanked, that we came up in season!”

”Not bandits attacked us, but the Krepetskis. It is a question of Panna Anulka, who is with us.”

”As G.o.d lives!” exclaimed Stanislav. ”Then I think that his soul will leave Yatsek.”

”I wrote to thee about her, but it is evident that my letter did not reach thee.”

”No, for we are marching these three weeks. I have not written of late because I had to come hither.”

Shouts from the Bukoyemskis, the attendants, and the warriors stopped further converse. At that moment also attendants ran up with lighted torches. A supply had been taken by Pan Serafin that he might have wherewith to give light during darkness. It was as clear on the road as in daylight, and in those bright gleams Yatsek saw the gray horse on which Panna Anulka was sitting.

He grew dumb at sight of her.

”Yes, she is with us,” said Father Voynovski, seeing his astonishment.

Then Yatsek urged his horse forward, and halted before her. He uncovered his head, and remained there lost as he looked at her. His face was as white as chalk, his breath had almost left him, and he was speechless.

After a moment the cap fell to the earth from his fingers, his head dropped to the mane of the horse, and his eyes closed.

”But he is wounded!” cried Lukash Bukoyemski.

CHAPTER XXIV

Yatsek was really wounded. One of those robbers, who defended themselves to the utmost, cut him, with a scythe in the left shoulder, and since he and the men marched without mail, the very end of the iron had cut into his arm rather deeply from the shoulder to the elbow. The wound was not over grievous, but it bled quite profusely; because of this the young man had then fainted. The experienced Father Voynovski commanded to put him in a wagon, and, when the wound had been dressed, he left him in care of the women. Yatsek opened his eyes somewhat later, and began again to look, as at a rainbow, into the face of Panna Anulka, which was there bending over him.

Meanwhile the attendants filled the ditch and removed all obstructions.