charlie and stanislas were, that evening, sitting apart from the rest, at a short distance from the fire, talking over the future. they agreed that it would be comparatively easy to withdraw from the band as they journeyed forward, if, as seemed likely, they travelled in very small parties. if, indeed, they found themselves with two others, they could leave openly, for these would scarcely care to enter upon a desperate struggle, merely for the sake of retaining two unwilling companions in the band.
the difficulties would only begin when they started alone. as they were talking, the captain came across to them.
"i can guess," he said, "that you are talking together as to the future. i like you, young englishman, and i like your companion, who seems an honest fellow, but i would not keep you with me by force. i understand that you are not placed as we are. we have to live. most of us would live honestly if we could, but at present it is the choice of doing as we do, or starving. we occasionally take a few crowns, if we come across a fat trader, or may ease a rich farmer of his hoard, but it is but seldom such a chance comes in our way. as a rule, we simply plunder because we must live. it is different with you. your friends may be far away, but if you can get to them you would have all that you need. therefore, this life, which is hard and rough, to say nothing of its danger, does not suit you; but for all that, you must stay with us, for it would be madness for you to attempt to escape.
"as i told you, the peasants are maddened, and would kill any passing stranger as they would a wild beast. they would regard him as a spy of some band like ours, or of a company of disbanded soldiers, sent forward to discover which houses and villages are best worth plundering. in your case, you have other dangers to fear. you may be sure that news has been sent from warsaw to all the different governors, with orders for your arrest for killing ben soloman, and these orders will be transmitted to every town and village. your hair and eyes would at once betray you as strangers, and your ignorance of the language would be fatal to you. if, therefore, you escaped being killed as a robber by the peasants, you would run the risk of arrest at the first town or village you entered.
"translate that to him, stanislas. he is learning our language fast, but he cannot understand all that."
"that is just what we were talking about," charlie said, when stanislas had repeated the captain's speech, "and the danger seems too great to be risked. think you, that when we get farther to the east, we shall be able to make our way more easily up into livonia?"
"much more easily, because the forest is more extensive there; but not until the winter is over. the cold will be terrible, and it would be death to sleep without shelter. besides, the forests are infested with wolves, who roam about in packs, and would scent and follow and devour you. but when spring comes, you can turn your faces to the north, and leave us if you think fit, and i promise you that no hindrance shall be thrown in your way. i only ask you not to risk your lives by trying now to pass through poland alone."
"i think you are right, ladislas, and i promise you that we will not attempt to leave you during our journey east. as you say, it would be impossible for us to travel after winter had once set in. it is now the end of september."
"and it will be november before we reach our destination. we shall not travel fast. we have no motive for doing so. we have to live by the way, and to gather a little money to help us through the winter. we may shoot a bear or an elk sometimes, a few deer, and hares, but we shall want two or three sacks of flour, and some spirits. for these we must either get money, or take the goods. the first is the best, for we have no means of dragging heavy weights with us, and it would not do to infuriate the peasants by plundering any of them within twenty miles of the place where we mean to winter. that would set them all against us."
"i tell you frankly, ladislas, that we shall not be willing to aid in any acts of robbery. of course, when one is with an army one has to plunder on a large scale, and it has often gone terribly against the grain, when i have had to join parties sent out to forage. but it has to be done. i would rather not join men in taking food, yet i understand that it may be necessary. but as to taking money, i will have nothing to do with it. at the same time, i understand that we cannot share your food, and be with you, without doing something. stanislas has brought me a little money from warsaw, and i shall be ready to pay into the common treasury a sum sufficient to pay for our share of the food. as to money taken, we shall not expect any share of it. if you are attacked, we shall of course fight, and shall be ready to do our full share in all work. so, at any rate, you will not be losers by taking us with you."
"that is fair enough," the captain said, when stanislas had translated what charlie said, suppressing, however, his remarks about foraging with the army, as the brigands were ignorant that charlie and he had any connection with the swedes, or that he was not, as he had given out, a young englishman come out to set up as a trader.
the band now journeyed slowly on, keeping near the north bank of the dnieper. they went by twos and threes, uniting sometimes and entering a village or surrounding a farmhouse at night, and taking what they wanted. the people were, however, terribly poor, and they were able to obtain but little beyond scanty supplies of flour, and occasionally a few gold or silver trinkets. many other bands of plunderers had passed along, in the course of the summer, and the robbers themselves were often moved to pity by the misery that they everywhere met with.
when in small parties they were obliged to avoid entering any villages, for once or twice furious attacks were made upon those who did so, the women joining the men in arming themselves with any weapon that came to hand, and in falling upon the strangers.
only once did they succeed in obtaining plunder of value. they had visited a village, but found it contained nothing worth taking. one of the women said:
"why do you trouble poor people like us? there is the count's chateau three miles away. they have every luxury there, while we are starving."
after leaving the village, the man to whom she had spoken repeated what she had said, and it was agreed to make the attempt. at the first cottage they came to they made further inquiries, and found that the lord of the soil was very unpopular; for, in spite of the badness of the times, he insisted on receiving his rents without abatement, and where money was not forthcoming, had seized cattle and horses, assessing them at a price far below what they would have fetched at the nearest market.
they therefore marched to the house. it was a very large one. the captain thoughtfully placed charlie and stanislas among the six men who were to remain without, to prevent any of the inmates leaving the chateau. with the rest, he made a sudden attack on the great door of the house, and beat it down with a heavy sledge hammer. just as it gave way, some shots were fired from the inside, but they rushed in, overpowered the servants, and were soon masters of the place.
in half an hour they came out again, laden with booty. each man carried half a dozen bottles of choice wine, from the count's cellar, slung at his belt. on their shoulders they carried bundles containing silver cups and other valuables; while six of them had bags of silver money, that had been extracted from the count by threats of setting fire to the chateau, and burning him and his family.
a halt was made two or three miles away, when the silver was divided into shares as usual, the men being well satisfied when they learned that charlie and his companion claimed no part of it. some of the provisions they had also taken were eaten. each man had a flask of wine, with which the count's health was derisively drunk.
"this has been a good night's work," the leader said, "and you have each sixty rix dollars in your pockets, which is more than you have had for months past. that will keep us in provisions and spirits all through the winter; but mind, although we took it without much trouble, we have not heard the last of the business. no doubt, by this time, the count has sent off a messenger to the nearest town where there are troops, and, for a day or two, we shall have to march fast and far. it is one thing to plunder villages, and another to meddle with a rich nobleman."
for the next forty-eight hours they marched by night instead of by day, keeping always together, and prepared to resist an attack. one morning they saw, from their hiding place among some high reeds near the river, a body of about sixty horsemen ride past at a distance. they were evidently searching for something, for parties could be seen to break off several times, and to enter woods and copses, the rest halting till they came out again.
as the band had with them enough food for another three days, they remained for thirty-six hours in their hiding place, and then, thinking the search would by that time be discontinued, went on again. the next day they killed two or three goats from a herd, the boy in charge of them making off with such speed that, though hotly pursued and fired at several times, he made his escape. they carried the carcasses to a wood, lit a fire, and feasted upon them. then, having cooked the rest of the flesh, they divided it among the band.
by this time the wine was finished. the next day they again saw horsemen in the distance, but remained in hiding till they had disappeared in the afternoon. they then went into a village, but scarcely had they proceeded up the street when the doors were opened, and from every house men rushed out armed with flails, clubs, and axes, and fell upon them furiously, shouting "death to the robbers!"
they had evidently received warning that a band of plunderers were approaching, and everything had been prepared for them. the band fought stoutly, but they were greatly outnumbered, and, as but few of them carried firearms, they had no great advantage in weapons. charlie and stanislas, finding that their lives were at stake, were forced to take part in the fray, and both were with the survivors of the band, who at last succeeded in fighting their way out of the village, leaving half their number behind them, while some twenty of the peasants had fallen.
reduced now to twelve men and the captain, they thought only of pushing forward, avoiding all villages, and only occasionally visiting detached houses for the sake of obtaining flour. the country became more thinly populated as they went on, and there was a deep feeling of satisfaction when, at length, their leader pointed to a belt of trees in the distance, and said:
"that is the beginning of the forest. a few miles farther, and we shall be well within it."
by nightfall they felt, for the first time since they had set out on their journey, that they could sleep in safety. a huge fire was lit, for the nights were now becoming very cold, and snow had fallen occasionally for the last four or five days, and in the open country was lying some inches deep. the next day they journeyed a few miles farther, and then chose a spot for the erection of a hut. it was close to a stream, and the men at once set to work, with axes, to fell trees and clear a space.
it was agreed that the captain and two of the men, of the most pacific demeanour, should go to the nearest town, some forty miles away, to lay in stores. they were away five days, and then returned with the welcome news that a cart, laden with flour and a couple of barrels of spirits, was on a country track through the forest a mile and a half away.
"how did you manage, captain?" charlie asked.
"we went to the house of a well-to-do peasant, about a mile from the borders of the wood. i told him frankly that we belonged to a band who were going to winter in the forest, that we would do him no harm if he would give us his aid, but that if he refused he would soon have his place burnt over his head. as we said we were ready to pay a fair sum for the hire of his cart, he did not hesitate a moment about making the choice. the other two remained at his cottage, so as to keep his family as hostages for his good faith, and i went with him to the town, where we bought six sacks of good flour and the two barrels of spirits. we got a few other things--cooking pots and horns, and a lot of coarse blankets, and a thick sheepskin coat for each man. they are all in the car. i see that you have got the hut pretty nearly roofed in, so, in a day or two, we shall be comfortable."
they went in a body to the place where the cart had been left, but it required two journeys before its contents were all transported to the hut. another three days and this was completed. it was roughly built of logs, the interstices being filled in with moss. there was no attempt at a door, an opening being left four feet high and eighteen inches wide for the purpose of an entry. the skin of a deer they had shot, since they arrived, was hung up outside; and a folded rug inside. there was no occasion for windows. a certain amount of light made its way in by an orifice, a foot square, that had been left in the roof for the escape of smoke. the hut itself consisted of one room only, about eighteen feet square.
when this was finished, all hands set to work to pile up a great stack of firewood, close to the door, so as to save them from the necessity of going far, until snow had ceased falling, and winter had set in in earnest.
the cart had brought six carcasses of sheep, that had been purchased from a peasant; these were hung up outside the hut to freeze hard, and the meat was eaten only once a day, as it would be impossible to obtain a fresh supply, until the weather became settled enough to admit of their hunting.
the preparations were but just finished when the snow began to fall heavily. for a week it came down without intermission, the wind howled among the trees, and even charlie, half stifled as he was by the smoke, felt no inclination to stir out, except for half an hour's work to clear away the snow from the entrance, and to carry in wood from the pile.
the time passed more cheerfully than might have been expected. he had by this time begun to talk polish with some facility, and was able to understand the stories that the men told, as they sat round the fire; sometimes tales of adventures they themselves had gone through, sometimes stories of the history of poland, its frequent internal wars, and its struggles with the turks.
making bread and cooking occupied some portion of the time, and much was spent in sleep. at the end of a week the snow ceased falling and the sun came out, and all were glad to leave the hut and enjoy the clear sky and the keen air.
while they had been confined to the hut, two of the men had made a large number of snares for hares, and they at once started into the forest, to set these in spots where they saw traces of the animals' passage over the snow. the rest went off in parties of twos and threes in search of other game.
with the exception of charlie, all were accustomed to the woods; but, as stanislas had much less experience than the others, the captain decided to go with them.
"it is easy for anyone to lose his way here," he said. "in fact, except to one accustomed to the woods, it would be dangerous to go far away from the hut. as long as it is fine, you will find your way back by following your own tracks, but if the weather changed suddenly, and it came on to snow, your case would be hopeless. one of the advantages of placing our hut on a stream is that it forms a great aid to finding one's way back. if you strike it above, you follow it down; if below, upwards, until you reach the hut. of course you might wander for days and never hit it, still it is much more easy to find than a small object like the hut, though even when found, it would be difficult to decide whether it had been struck above or below the hut.
"now, there is one rule if, at any time, you get lost. don't begin to wander wildly about, for, if you did, you would certainly walk in a circle, and might never be found again. sit down quietly and think matters over, eat if you have got any food with you; then examine the sky, and try to find out from the position of the sun, or the direction in which the clouds are going, which way the hut ought to lie. always take with you one of your pistols; if you fire it three times, at regular intervals, it will be a signal that you want help, and any of us who are within hearing will come to aid you."
with the exception of hares, of which a good many were snared, the hunting was not productive. tracks of deer were seen not unfrequently, but it was extremely difficult, even when the animals were sighted, to get across the surface of the snow to within range of the clumsy arquebuses that two or three of the men carried. they did, however, manage to shoot a few by erecting a shelter, just high enough for one man to lie down under, and leaving it until the next snowstorm so covered it that it seemed but a knoll in the ground, or a low shrub bent down and buried under the weight of the snow. these shelters were erected close to paths taken by the deer, and, by lying patiently all day in them, the men occasionally managed to get a close shot.
several bears were killed, and two elks. these afforded food for a long time, as the frozen flesh would keep until the return of spring. holes were made in the ice on the stream, and baited hooks being set every night, it was seldom that two or three fish were not found fast on them in the morning.
altogether, therefore, there was no lack of food; and as, under the teaching of the captain, charlie in time learnt to be able to keep his direction through the woods, he was often able to go out, either with stanislas or alone, thus keeping clear of the close smoky hut during the hours of daylight. upon the whole he found the life by no means an unpleasant one.
among the articles purchased by the captain were high boots, lined with sheepskin, coming up to the thigh. with these and the coats, which had hoods to pull over the head, charlie felt the cold but little during the day; while at night he found the hut often uncomfortably warm, sleeping, as they all did, in the same attire in which they went out.
in february the weather became excessively severe, more so, the peasants and charcoal burners they occasionally met with declared, than they ever remembered. the wild animals became tamer, and in the morning when they went out, they frequently found tracks of bears that had been prowling round the hut in search of offal, or bones thrown out. they were now obliged to hang their supply of meat, by ropes, from boughs at some distance from the ground, by which means they were enabled to prevent the bears getting at it.
they no longer dared to venture far from the hut, for large packs of wolves ranged through the forest, and, driven by hunger, even entered villages, where they attacked and killed many women and children, made their entrance into sheds, and tore dogs, horses, and cattle to pieces, and became at last so dangerous that the villagers were obliged to keep great fires burning in the streets at night, to frighten them away. several times the occupants of the hut were awakened by the whining and snarling of wolves outside. but the walls and roof were alike built of solid timber, and a roughly-made door of thick wood was now fastened, every night, against the opening, and so stoutly supported by beams behind it as to defy assault. beyond, therefore, a passing grumble at being awakened by the noise, the men gave themselves no trouble as to the savage animals outside.
"if these brutes grow much bolder," the captain said one day, "we shall be prisoners here altogether. they must have come down from the great forest that extends over a large part of russia. the villages are scarce there, and the peasants take good care to keep all their beasts in shelter, so no doubt they are able to pick up more at the edge of the forest here."
"how far are we from the russian frontier?"
"i do not think anyone could tell you. for aught i know, we may be in russia now. these forests are a sort of no man's land, and i don't suppose any line of frontier has ever been marked. it is russia to the east of this forest, some thirty miles away, and it is poland to the west of it. the forest is no good to anyone except the charcoal burners. i have met both russians and poles in the wood, and, as there is plenty of room for all--ay, and would be were there a thousand to every one now working in it--they are on friendly terms with each other, especially as the two nations are, at present, allied against sweden."
in spite of the wolves, charlie continued his walks in the forest, accompanied always by stanislas. both carried axes and pistols, and, although charlie had heard many tales of solitary men, and even of vehicles, being attacked by the wolves in broad daylight, he believed that most of the stories were exaggerations, and that the chances of two men being attacked in daylight were small, indeed.
he had found that the track, by which the cart had brought the stores, was a good deal used, the snow being swept away or levelled by the runners of sledges, either those of peasants who came into the forest for wood or charcoal, or of travellers journeying between russia and poland. he generally selected this road for his walk, both because it was less laborious than wading through the untrodden snow, and because there was here no fear of losing his way, and he was spared the incessant watchfulness for signs that was necessary among the trees. at first he had frequently met peasants' carts on the road, but, since the cold became more severe and the wolves more numerous and daring, he no longer encountered them. he had indeed heard, from some of the last he saw, that they should come no more, for that the charcoal burners were all abandoning their huts, and going into the villages.
one afternoon, when they had, on their return, nearly reached the spot where they left the road to strike across the forest to the hut, they heard a noise behind them.
"that is a pack of wolves, in full cry!" stanislas exclaimed. "you had better get up into a tree. they are after something."
they hastily clambered into a tree, whose lower branches were but six or seven feet from the ground. a moment later two horses, wild with fright, dashed past, while some twenty yards behind them came a pack of fifty or sixty wolves. they were almost silent now, with their red tongues hanging out.
"the brutes have been attacking a sledge," stanislas said in a low tone. "you saw the horses were harnessed, and their broken traces were hanging by their side. it is easy to read the story. the sledge was attacked; the horses, mad with fear, broke their traces and rushed off, or perhaps the driver, seeing at the last moment that escape was impossible, slashed the ropes with his knife, so as to give the horses a chance. i expect they got a start, for the wolves would be detained a little at the sledge."
"do you think the poor beasts will get safe out of the forest, stanislas?"
"i don't think so, but they may. the chase has evidently been a long one, and the wolves have tired themselves with their first efforts to come up to them. it did not seem to me that they were gaining when they passed us. it is simply a question of endurance, but i fancy the wolves will last longest.
"see, here is a party of stragglers. i suppose they stopped longer at the sledge."
"it seems to me they are on our scent, stanislas. do you see, they are coming along at the side of the road where we walked, with their heads down."
"i am afraid they are. well, we shall soon see. yes, they are leaving the road where we did."
a moment later a dozen wolves ran up to the trunk of the tree, and there gathered snuffing and whining. presently one caught sight of the two figures above them, and with an angry yelp sprang up in the air, and immediately all were growling, snarling, and leaping. charlie laughed out loud at their impotent efforts.
"it is no laughing matter, sir," stanislas said gravely.
"they cannot climb up here, stanislas."
"no, but they can keep us here. it will be dark in an hour, and likely enough they will watch us all night."
"then we had better shoot two of them, and jump down with our hatchets. keeping back to back, we ought to be able to face ten wolves."
"yes, if that were all; but see, here come three or four more, and the dozen will soon swell to a score. no, we shall have to wait here all night, and probably for some time tomorrow, for the men are not likely to find us very early, and they will hardly hear our pistols unless some of them happen to come in this direction."
"do you think, if we shoot two or three of them, the rest will go?"
"certainly not. it will be all the worse. their comrades would at once tear them to pieces and devour them, and the scent of blood would very soon bring others to the spot."
"well, if we have got to wait here all night, stanislas, we had better choose the most comfortable place we can, at once, before it gets dark. we must mind we don't go to sleep and tumble off."
"there will be no fear of our sleeping," stanislas said. "the cold will be too great for that. we shall have to keep on swinging our hands and feet, and rubbing our noses, to prevent ourselves from getting frostbitten."
"well, i have never felt the cold in these clothes," charlie said.
"no, sir, but you have never been out at night, sitting cramped on a tree."
hour after hour passed. even in the darkness they could see the wolves lying in the snow below them, occasionally changing their position, keeping close together for warmth, and often snarling or growling angrily, as one or two shifted their position, and tried to squeeze in so as to get into a warm spot.
the cold was intense and, in spite of swinging his legs and arms, charlie felt that his vital heat was decreasing.
"this is awful, stanislas. i do not think we can last on till morning."
"i begin to have doubts myself, sir. perhaps it would be better to leap down and make a fight of it."
"we might shoot some of them first," charlie said. "how many charges have you?"
"i have only two, besides one in the barrel."
"and i have only three," charlie said. "powder has run very short. the captain was saying, yesterday, that we must send to the village and try to get some more. still, six shots will help us."
"not much, sir. there must be thirty or forty of them now. i have seen some come from the other way. i suppose they were part of the pack that followed the horses."
charlie sat for some time thinking. then he exclaimed:
"i think this is a dead tree."
"it is, sir. i noticed it when we climbed up. the head has gone, and i think it must have been struck with lightning last summer."
"then i think we can manage."
"manage what, sir?" the man asked in surprise.
"manage to make a fire, stanislas. first of all, we will crawl out towards the ends of the branches as far as we can get, and break off twigs and small boughs. if we can't get enough, we can cut chips off, and we will pile them all where these three big boughs branch off from the trunk. we have both our tinderboxes with us, and i see no reason why we should not be able to light a fire up here."
"so we might," stanislas said eagerly. "but if we did, we might set the whole tree on fire."
"no bad thing, either," charlie rejoined. "you may be sure the fire will keep the wolves at a respectful distance, and we could get down and enjoy the heat without fear."
"i believe your idea will save our lives, sir. ten minutes ago i would not have given a crown for our chances."
they at once crawled out upon two of the great branches, and a renewed chorus of snarls from below showed that their foes were watchful. the snapping of the small branches excited a certain amount of uneasiness among them, and they drew off a short distance. in ten minutes charlie and his companion worked themselves back to the main trunk, each carrying an armful of twigs. they first cut off a number of small dry chips, and made a pile of these at the junction of one of the branches with the trunk. they then got out their tinderboxes and bunches of rags, shook a few grains of powder from one of the horns among the chips, and then got the tinder alight. a shred of rag, that had been rubbed with damp powder, was applied to the spark and then placed among the shavings. a flash of light sprang up, followed by a steady blaze, as the dried chips caught. one by one at first, and then, as the fire gained strength, several sticks at a time were laid over the burning splinters, and in five minutes a large fire was blazing.
charlie and his companion took their seats where the other two big branches shot out from the trunk. these were two or three feet higher than that on which the fire had been lighted, and, ere long, a sensation of genial warmth began to steal over them. fresh sticks were lighted as the first were consumed, and before long the trunk, where the flames played on it, began to glow. light tongues of flame rose higher and higher, until the trunk was alight ten or twelve feet up.
"the wolves are all gone," charlie said, looking down.
"i don't suppose they have gone very far, sir. but when the tree once gets fairly alight, you may be sure they won't venture anywhere near it."
they had already been forced to move some little distance away from the trunk, by the heat, and as the flames rose higher and higher, embracing in the course of half an hour the whole of the trunk and upper branches, they felt that it was perfectly safe to drop off into the snow beneath them.
blazing brands soon began to fall. they stood a short distance away, so as to be beyond the risk of accident, but, at charlie's suggestion, they ran in from time to time, gathered up the brands and laid them at the foot of the trunk, and in a short time a second fire was kindled here.
the tree was now a pyramid of fire, lighting up the snow for a long distance round. outside this circle the wolves could be heard whining and whimpering, occasionally uttering a long-drawn howl.
"they know that they are baulked of their prey," stanislas said. "we shall have some of the big branches falling soon, and shall be able to keep up a roaring fire, that will last until daylight. i should think by that time the wolves will be tired of it, and will make off; but if not, the captain will be sure to send men out to search for us. he will guess we have been treed by wolves, and we have only to get into another tree, and fire our pistols, to bring them in this direction."
"but they may be attacked, too," charlie remarked.
"there are ten of them, and they are sure to come armed with axes and swords. they ought to be able to fight their way through a good-sized pack. besides, the wolves will be so cowed by this great fire, that i don't think they will have the courage to meddle with so strong a party."
one by one the arms of the tree fell, burnt through at the point where they touched the trunk. they would have been far too heavy to be dragged, but three or four of them fell across the lower fire, and there lay blazing. not knowing which way the tree itself would fall, charlie and his companion were obliged to remain at some distance off, but the heat there was amply sufficient for them. at last the trunk fell with a crash, and they at once established themselves as near the fire as they could sit, without being scorched, and there chatted until morning began to break.
they felt sure that some, at least, of the wolves were around them, as they occasionally caught sight of what looked like two sparks among the undergrowth; these being, as they knew, the reflection of the fire in the eyes of a wolf. there was a tree hard by in which they could, if necessary, take refuge, and they therefore resolved to stay near the fire.
fortunately the night had been perfectly still, and, as the tree they had fired was a detached one, the flames had not spread, as charlie had at one time been afraid they would do.
half an hour after daylight had fairly broken, they discharged three shots at regular intervals with their pistols, then they waited half an hour.
"shall we fire again?"
"no. not until we hear shots from them," charlie replied. "we have but four charges left, and if the wolves made a sudden rush, we might want to use them."
after a time, both thought they heard the distant report of a musket. stanislas looked at charlie inquiringly. the latter shook his head.
"no, no! stanislas. that gun would be heard twice as far as one of these pistols. let us wait until we are pretty sure that they are near. i don't like leaving ourselves without other protection than our axes."
