Part 28 (2/2)

Like that farh Tatras, I was just stunned by all that had happened

Miracles are so tio They don't happen here and now to one's self

Long afterward, there were nagging doubts in my mind about what really happened I knehat an advanced technology should be capable of If so a miracle would be easy for hinacy said that perhaps it was both faked and real That God works in His oays, and soh h men of a different time and place?

Most of the people of the thirteenth century had no such doubts They knew that God was talking to the, but I just stood there on the snow, ely blank The bishops caold arrows for the Church After some little debate as to whether the four dead Crossmen should be treated as holy, for they had been the object of an Act of God, it was decided that they had been cursed by God, and were hauled off to be buried on unhallowed ground without Extreh their arms and armor were claimed by the Church

The duke went before the crowd of Crossmen and told them that their order had been cursed by God He ordered them to disband and to disperse, for they were banished forever from Poland Fully a third ripped off their uniform surcoats on the spot and rode off west, back to Germany I heard one say that he'd wanted a bath, anyway The balance, crasser and ear and returned to their headquarters in Turon, Mazovia

All told, the Crossmen lost about a quarter of their total force of men to desertion when this affair becaious of them that left, of course; the worst bastards knehen they had a good thing going, and weren't about to change

Then the duke addressed the Polish crowd, and said that from that day forth, slavery was forever banned in Poland, that Poland was now the land of the free, and that any slave need only set foot on our soil to be free The duke was a rough old SOB, but you had to love him

Before they pulled out, a Crossman, the commander in his fancier surcoat, came and talked to me

”Your witchcraft and trickery won't stop us! Duke Henryk has nothing to say about what goes on in Mazovia and the Pruthenian forests If we can't send our slaves through Silesia, we'll find another route!”

I stared at hi that route, too”

”Do that and we'll just stop taking prisoners!” Then he went away

Across the field, I saw Sir Vladi on each other's shoulders Uncle Felix was standing nearby A few hours later Baron Jan cahter for his son Of course, I gave h I asked what he thought of Sir Vladi fealty to me , Baron Jan said that if Vladimir wished it, and Count La to transfer the allegiance Just before the wedding, it was done

I checked on the wager I had one back up to fourteen to one I o hundred thirty-eight thousand pence richer It is not comfortable to be the only person in the world who believes so to be true, but it can be very profitable

As they eighing out my money, the herald of the Bishop of Wroclaw announced that the posting of bans for the e of Sir Vladimir and Annastashi+a had been shortened from six weeks to three days

The duke awarded all of the booty won fro the share norave Sir Vladimir half of it as a dowry

We stayed on at Okoitz, and the day after Christave aas radiant