"I have been there too, though I did not go to Baktche Serai; but I think I shall be there if the favorable news we hear comes true."
"Of what news are you speaking?"
"It is said that if the king opens war against the Turks, Prince Vishnyevetski will visit the Crimea with fire and sword. This report brings great joy through the whole Ukraine and the lower country, for if under such a leader we do not frolic in Baktche Serai, then under none."
"We will frolic, as G.o.d is in heaven!" cried the young princes.
The respect with which Bogun spoke of the prince captivated the lieutenant; so he smiled and said in a more friendly voice,--
"I see that you are not satisfied yet with the expeditions which you have had with men of the lower country, which however have covered you with glory."
"Small war, small glory! Konashevich Sahaidachni did not win it on boats, but in Khotim."
At that moment a door opened, and Va.s.sily, the eldest of the Kurtsevichi, came slowly into the room, led by Helena. He was a man of ripe years, pale and emaciated, with a sad ascetic countenance, recalling the Byzantine pictures of saints. His long hair, prematurely gray from misfortune and pain, came down to his shoulders, and instead of his eyes were two red depressions. In his hand he held a bronze cross, with which he began to bless the room and all present.
"In the name of G.o.d the Father, in the name of the Saviour and of the Holy Most Pure," said he, "if you are apostles and bring good tidings, be welcome on Christian thresholds!"
"Be indulgent, gentlemen," muttered the princess; "his mind is disturbed."
But Va.s.sily continued to bless them with the cross, and added: "As it is said in the "Dialogues of the Apostles," "Whoso sheds his blood for the faith will be saved; he who dies for gain or booty will be d.a.m.ned."
Let us pray! Woe to you, brothers, woe to me, since we made war for booty! G.o.d be merciful to us, sinners! G.o.d be merciful! And you, men who have come from afar, what tidings do you bring? Are you apostles?"
He was silent, and appeared to wait for an answer; therefore the lieutenant replied,--
"We are far from such a lofty mission. We are only soldiers ready to lay down our lives for the faith."
"Then you will be saved," said the blind man; "but for us the hour of liberation has not come. Woe to you, brothers! woe to me!"
He uttered the last words almost with a groan, and such deep despair was depicted on his countenance that the guests were at a loss what to do. Helena seated him straightway on a chair, and hastening to the anteroom, returned in a moment with a lute in her hand.
Low sounds were heard in the apartment, and the princess began to sing a hymn as accompaniment,--
"By night and by day I call thee, O Lord!
Relieve thou my torment, and dry my sad tears; Be a merciful Father to me in my sins; Oh, hear thou my cry!"
The blind man threw his head back and listened to the words of the song, which appeared to act as a healing balm, for the pain and terror disappeared by degrees from his face. At last his head fell upon his bosom, and he remained as if half asleep and half benumbed.
"If the singing is continued, he will become altogether pacified. You see, gentlemen, his insanity consists in this, that he is always waiting for apostles; and if visitors appear, he comes out immediately to ask if they are apostles."
Helena continued:--
"Show me the way, Lord above Lords!
I"m like one astray in a waste without end, Or a ship in the waves of a measureless sea, Lost and alone."
Her sweet voice grew louder and louder. With the lute in her hands, and eyes raised to heaven, she was so beautiful that the lieutenant could not take his eyes from her. He looked, was lost in her, and forgot the world. He was roused from his ecstasy only by the words of the old princess,--
"That"s enough! He will not wake soon. But now I request you to supper, gentlemen."
"We beg you to our bread and salt," said the young princes after their mother.
Pan Rozvan, as a man of polished manners, gave his arm to the lady of the house. Seeing this, Skshetuski hurried to the Princess Helena. His heart grew soft within him when he felt her hand on his arm, till fire flashed in his eyes, and he said,--
"The angels in heaven do not sing more beautifully than you."
"It is a sin for you to compare my singing to that of angels," answered Helena.
"I don"t know whether I sin or not; but one thing is sure,--I would give my eyes to hear your singing till death. But what do I say? If blind, I could have no sight of you, which would be the same as torture beyond endurance."
"Don"t say that, for you will leave here to-morrow, and to-morrow forget me."
"That will not be. My love is such that to the end of life I can love no one else."
The face of the princess grew scarlet; her breast began to heave. She wished to answer, but her lips merely trembled. Then Pan Yan continued,--
"But you will forget me in the presence of that handsome Cossack, who will accompany your singing on a balalaika."
"Never, never!" whispered the maiden. "But beware of him; he is a terrible man."
"What is one Cossack to me? Even if the whole Saitch were behind him, I should dare everything for your sake. You are for me like a jewel without price,--you are my world. But tell me, have you the same feeling for me?"
A low "Yes" sounded like music of paradise in the ears of Pan Yan, and that moment it seemed to him as if ten hearts, at least, were beating in his breast; in his eyes all things grew bright, as if a ray of sunlight had come to the world; he felt an unknown power within himself, as if he had wings on his shoulders.
During supper Bogun"s face, which was greatly changed and pale, glared several times. The lieutenant, however, possessing the affection of Helena, cared not for his rival. "The devil take him!" thought he. "Let him not get in my way; if he does, I"ll rub him out."
But his mind was not on Bogun. He felt Helena sitting so near that he almost touched her shoulder with his own; he saw the blush which never left her face, from which warmth went forth; he saw her swelling bosom, and her eyes, now drooping and covered with their lids, now flashing like a pair of stars,--for Helena, though cowed by the old princess and living in orphanhood, sadness, and fear, was still of the Ukraine and hot-blooded. The moment a warm ray of love fell on her she bloomed like a flower, and was roused at once to new and unknown life. Happiness with courage gleamed in her eyes, and those impulses struggling with her maiden timidity painted her face with the beautiful colors of the rose.
Pan Yan was almost beside himself. He drank deeply, but the mead had no effect on him; he was already drunk from love. He saw no one at the table save her who sat at his side. He saw not how Bogun grew paler each moment, and, touching the hilt of his dagger, gave no ear to Pan Longin, who for the third time told of his ancestor Stoveiko, nor to Kurtsevich, who told about his expedition for "Turkish goods."
All drank except Bogun; and the best example was given by the old princess, who raised a goblet, now to the health of her guests, now to the health of Vishnyevetski, now to the health of the hospodar Lupul.
There was talk, too, of blind Va.s.sily and his former knightly deeds, of his unlucky campaign and his present insanity, which Simeon, the eldest, explained as follows:--
"Just think! the smallest bit of anything in the eye prevents sight; why should not great drops of pitch reaching the brain cause madness?"
"Oh, it is a very delicate organ," said Pan Longin.
At this moment the old princess noticed the changed face of Bogun.
"What is the matter, my falcon?"
"My soul is suffering, mother," said he, gloomily; "but a Cossack word is not smoke. I will endure."
"Hold out, my son; there will be a feast."
Supper came to an end, but mead was poured into the goblets unsparingly. Cossacks called to the dance came, therefore, with greater readiness. The balalaikas and drums, to which the drowsy attendants were to dance, began to sound. Later on, the young princes dropped into the prisyadka. The old princess, putting her hands on her sides, began to keep time with her foot and hum. Pan Yan, seeing this, took Helena to the dance. When he embraced her with his arm it seemed to him that he was drawing part of heaven toward his breast. In the whirl of the dance her long tresses swept around his neck, as if she wished to bind him to herself forever. He did not restrain himself; and when he saw that no one was looking, he bent and kissed her lips with all his might.