Part 16 (2/2)
Sir Vladimir saw this and lowered his lance
”For God and Poland!” he shouted
Sir Conrad's sword had been out since we had left the trail
The bandit ca, and I think that they must have had such confidence in their nu yesterday's crih their prisoner had escaped
Ied into their lory I saw heads and arh theht behind, and I saounare of the clearing The brigands were slow to act, stunned by the fury of the attack I let fly at those at the edges and killed three while they stood there Then suddenly all were in ht arrows, though I wounded two besides
The surviving bandits put all their efforts at Sir Conrad and Sir Vladimir, and I think that they scarce noticed me if they saw me at all I prayed thanks to God in heaven for this favor, but when ated to sheath my bow, draw my sword, and join the others
I had no chance to bloody it, for it was suddenly over Bodies and pieces of bodies were scattered about the ht red feathers for which I had paid extra to fletchthe at theot carried away, Sir Vladimir We should have taken a few of the theood would that do? To show people that they shouldn't be brigands? They already know that!”
”We haven't even proven that these were the men who attacked Boris We have only Anna's word for it”
”Well, there's proof for you Look there That's Sir Kazier we'll find his armor e sort the booty”
”What of the sentry?” I said ”He ht still be alive”
”Sentry?” Sir Conrad said ”Piotr, what are you doing here?”
I was astounded ”Why, I am your squire and you told me to come, my lord!”
”I told you? I certainly did not!”
”Wait, Sir Conrad,” Sir Vladi just behind ht you meant him to come with us”
”Well, I didn't”
”A bit late to say that now, my lord Look about you Those arrows are his He killed at least as randfather's tiht now, for he saved e lord-you! You didn't even see the sentry he skewered fro at you when he did it”
All this was not precisely true That sentry hadn't had ti it
”Oh,” Sir Conrad said ”Piotr, I guess I owe you an apology, as well as my thanks Let's see if that sentry is still alive”
He wasn't Not only had my arrow pierced his heart, but he had broken his neck in the fall
”It looks like you wasted an arrow, Piotr!” Sir Vladihed ”The fall alone was fatal!”
It was an old joke, but we all laughed at it These noble knights were treating h the ca to Novacek, and ar to him and to Sir Kazimierz was found and identified There was also a third suit of chain mail, doubtless the property of some earlier victim It was small and made for a person of slender stature
”There's really not much here in the way of booty,” Sir Vladimir said ”Novacek's property er brother ould appreciate having his horse and ariven to hiets to the kid”
”That leaves this last set of mail It's of Piotr's size and I' as much as he does, he needs it, and he truly earned it this day”
Sir Conrad looked at reed Piotr, you are now the proud possessor of a set of arood health!”
”The rest of these tools and weapons arethat looks decent to Count Lambert as his share, throw the rest into Ilya's scrap bin, and that settles the problem of the distribution of the spoils, except for one major item”
”Boris was half delirious, but he distinctly said that he had all his wealth with hi these past few years, that was probably several hundred thousand pence Where is it?”
We spentfor the treasure, but without luck Finally, we loaded the animals for the trip back to Three Walls, and I took a few ood fit, and even the open-faced hel the city
Naturally, ere the center of attention, and everyone was looking at us I caught Krystyana's eye, but she quickly glanced away
Sir Conrad announced that the journey to the Odra River would be delayed a few days, and said that in the afternoon, right after lunch, every available person in Three Walls would go to the bandits' campsite to search for Novacek's treasure
At dinner, bold inroom I tried to make polite conversation, but she stopped and stared directly at ht, Squire Piotr!”
Then she left, her food uneaten
That afternoon and the whole of the following day, almost a thousand people searched for the treasure Sir Conrad had Anna try to smell out where they hid it, but all she found was their latrine There was shi+t there, and Novacek's left hand, but no treasure We threw the bandits' bodies on top of their own filth and piled dirt over theertip and marched them for miles from north to south and then from east to west Every square yard of land for ain We found Sir Kazimierz's body, and Novacek's other hand, but no treasure
One yeo up, for no other reason than he lived a mile from the camp Then a crew rebuilt it for him
Countless trees were climbed and no few hollow ones were chopped down, but to no avail
Novacek affirmed that he had lost just under four hundred thousand pence, and not a penny of it was ever found The reward on the treasure was never clai to do on one's day off, to head into the woods with a shovel, andin the woods as well It beca a hole with a blanket
Yet it was a game my love would not play
Interlude Three I hit the STOP button
”So what happened to the treasure?” I asked
”It was right where Anna said it was The outlaws hid it under their latrine, or rather they used the hole as a latrine after they buried the treasure, figuring that nobody would look through soht, and the effect was doubled once there were sixteen dead bodies over it”
”Oh,” I said ”Another thing, why didn't flint work in Conrad's lighter?”
”Lighter 'flints' aren't flint, kid They'reelse troubling you?”
He hit the START button