after a considerable pause, a gun was again fired, this time much nearer to them. charlie drew out his pistol and was about to reply, when his companion touched his arm.
"look!" he said.
charlie turned in time to see several gray forms flit rapidly between the bushes. he stepped to the edge of the road, and saw some wolves spring out through the bushes, and go straight along the road.
"what can have scared them?" he asked, in surprise. "the gun was not near enough for that."
"no, besides they would have fled deeper into the forest, instead of taking to the road. perhaps they hear something coming."
almost at the same moment, two shots were heard in the direction towards which the wolves were making.
"that is it!" charlie excitedly exclaimed. "another body of wolves have attacked a passing traveller. heap the wood on, stanislas. if we make a great fire, and they get as far as this, possibly they could spring off and take refuge here. at any rate, the brands will be better weapons even than our axes."
the ends of such branches as they were able to move were brought together, and a few blows with their axes speedily broke off several of the outer ends of charred wood. these were thrown on, and the fire soon blazed up high again.
two more shots were heard, this time close at hand.
they ran into the road. a sledge, with several figures in it, was coming along at full speed. it was almost surrounded by wolves, and, as they looked, two of them sprang at the horses' heads; but two shots again rung out, and they dropped backwards among their companions, many of whom threw themselves at once upon their bodies, while the sledge continued on its headlong course.
"here! here!" charlie shouted at the top of his voice, waving his hands to show the direction which they were to take.
a moment later the sledge dashed past them, and swept up to the fire.
"seize the blazing brands!" charlie shouted, as those in the sledge threw themselves out.
he and stanislas rolled the two first wolves over with their pistols, and then joined the others.
the driver had run at once to the horses, and had muffled them, by throwing his coat over the head of one, and a rug over the head of the other, and, though snorting and trembling in every limb, they stood quiet until he had thrown a head rope round each of their necks, and fastened them to the heaviest of the branches. then he seized a handful of fallen leaves, which were exposed by the melting of the snow above them, and threw them into the fire, whence a dense smoke poured out.
the wolves had again stopped to devour the two animals that had been shot, and this gave time to the men, by their united efforts, to move a heavy branch and place it across two others, whose ends lay in the fire, so as to form with them a sort of triangular breastwork, the face of which, next to them, was manned by the two travellers, their servants, charlie, and stanislas, with blazing brands.
charlie and his companion hastily loaded their pistols again. the two gentlemen had each rifles and a brace of pistols, as had their servants. a lady and child had been lifted from the sledge, and these crouched down at the angle by the fire. the sledge and the two horses protected one of the faces of the position, and the driver, at his master's orders, took his position on the front seat again, so as to shoot down any wolf that might try to attack the flank of the outside horse.
the wolves looked doubtful at the appearance of the dense smoke rising up, but, after a little hesitation, they rushed to the attack. four were rolled over by bullets from the rifles, and, as they came within a few yards, the pistols cracked out in rapid succession. as soon as these were all emptied, the six men caught up the blazing brands, and struck full in the faces of the wolves, shouting loudly as they did so.
seized with a momentary panic, the animals turned and fled, and then a fierce fight took place between the injured wolves and their companions. there was but just time to recharge the rifles and pistols, when they came on again. although the fire of the defenders was as deadly as before, the wolves seemed this time determined to get at their victims. in vain were blows showered on their heads, while those who first sprang on the tree were stabbed with the knives the defenders held in their left hands.
the contest could have had but one termination, when suddenly two shots were heard, and then, with loud shouts, a party of men burst through the forest, and with pistol and axe fell on the wolves. this unexpected onslaught had a decisive effect, and, with loud howls and yelps, the wolves turned and fled.
up to this time, not a word had been exchanged by the defenders, beyond charlie's first shout of "lay this branch across those two," and the order of one of the gentlemen to the coachman to take his place in the sledge--where he had done his work well, for four wolves lay dead by the flank of the outside horse. several of those that had sprung at the heads of the horses had been shot or cut down by the master, who had placed himself close to them, and the horses' thick mufflings had saved them from any serious injury.
as soon as the wolves fled, the gentleman turned to charlie, and, flinging down his weapons, threw his arms round his neck.
"you have preserved us from death, sir. you have saved my wife and child from being torn to pieces. how can i express my thanks to you?"
"it was fortunate that we happened to be here," charlie said, "and that we had this fire handy."
a cry from the child called off the gentleman's attention, and he ran to his wife, who had sunk fainting on the ground; and charlie, not a little pleased at this diversion, turned to ladislas and his men, who were looking on with the most intense astonishment at the scene. charlie leapt over the branch, and grasped ladislas by the hand.
"you have arrived at the nick of time, ladislas. another three minutes, and it would have been all over with us."
"yes, i could see it was a close thing as soon as i caught sight of you. we have been wondering all night what became of you, and set out as soon as it was light. we fired a shot occasionally, but we listened in vain for your three shots."
"we fired them half an hour after daylight," charlie said; "but, as we had then only five charges left between us, and there were wolves all round, we dared not waste them."
"we heard firing at last," the captain went on. "first two shots faintly, then two nearer, and a minute later two others. we knew then that you must be engaged with wolves, and we were running as hard as we could in the direction of the shots, when we heard a number fired close together. of course we could make nothing of it, but on we ran. then there was another outbreak of firing, this time quite close. a moment later we caught sight of a confused mass. there was a fire, and a sledge with two horses, and a man standing up in it shooting; and we could see a desperate fight going on with the wolves in front, so alexander and hugo fired their pieces into the thick of them. we set up a yell, and went at them with our axes, yet i did not feel by any means sure that they would not be too many for us.
"but what on earth does it all mean? and how is it that you have lived through the night? we had no expectation of finding you alive. however, that fire tells its own tale, as though nothing less than burning up a big tree would content you."
"i will tell you all, presently. it is too long a story now. let us help these travellers to go their way, before the wolves rally again."
"they will not do that," the captain said confidently. "if it was night, they might hang about the neighbourhood, but they are cowardly beasts in the daytime, and easily scared. they are still going away at their best pace, i will be bound."
while charlie was speaking to ladislas, one of the travellers had been talking to stanislas, who, in answer to his question, had informed him that he was in charlie's service, and that the latter was an english gentleman, who had, from a variety of circumstances, especially the suspicion with which all strangers were regarded, been unable to travel through the country, and had therefore been passing the winter hunting, with this company of disbanded soldiers who had so opportunely arrived to their assistance.
the other traveller had, by this time, carried his wife beyond the heat of the fire, and had applied some snow to her forehead, pouring a little brandy from the flask between her lips. she had now begun to revive, and, leaving her, he approached the party. his brother met him, and in a few words told him what he had learned from stanislas.
"my friends," he said, "my brother tells me that you are a party of discharged soldiers, who are passing the winter in a hut here in the forest, supporting yourselves by shooting and fishing. i have to thank providence for the thought that sent you here. i have to thank you for your prompt assistance, to which we are indebted for our lives.
"i am count nicholas staroski, and can at least make a substantial return for the service you have done me. my estates lie some sixty miles to the north. you will have no difficulty in finding me. present yourselves there at easter. i shall certainly be at my chateau then. i will then talk over what can be done for you. those who like to settle down on land shall have land, those who would like employment in my household shall have it, those who would prefer money to go their own way and settle in their own villages shall each have a heavy purse."
then he turned to charlie.
"you, sir, as my brother has learned from your brave follower here, are an english gentleman. to you i owe far heavier obligation than to these soldiers, for you and your man incurred a terrible risk, and well-nigh sacrificed your lives for ours. i pray you come with us, and stay with us for a time. i shall then hear your plans, and your object in visiting this country, and if i can in any way further them, you may be sure i will do so to the utmost; for the present, i can promise you at least excellent hunting, and the heartiest welcome."
"i thank you very heartily, count staroski, and accept gladly your invitation; but i must first speak to the captain of these men, to whom i am much beholden for the kindness he has shown me."
he went across to ladislas, who had heard what was said.
"you will not think it ungrateful for me to quit you so suddenly, ladislas," he said in a low voice.
"assuredly not. you have done us a service, indeed, in thus enabling us to obtain favour with the count. he is one of our richest and most powerful nobles, and our fortunes are as good as made."
"i will introduce you to him personally," charlie said.
"this, count, is the leader of the party. he has shown me very great kindness, and has proved a true friend. from what i have seen of him, i have no doubt whatever that, in spite of certain acts of lawlessness to which he and his friends have been driven of late, you will find him, in any position you may be good enough to give him, an honest and thoroughly trustworthy man."
"i will bear it in mind," the count said. "now, the sooner we are off, the better. how far is it to the next village?"
"about seven miles, count."
the count gave orders for the sledge to be taken on to the road again.
"one moment," the captain said, taking charlie aside. "pray tell us, in a few words, what has happened. the burning of the tree is a mystery to us, and we shall die of curiosity if we have to remain here for another two months with the matter unexplained."
in as few words as possible, charlie related to the men the story of the preceding night, which was greeted with exclamations of surprise and admiration.
"truly, you have your wits about you," the captain said. "i should have been frozen to death, if i had been in your position, for i should certainly never have thought of lighting a fire up in a tree.
"well, goodbye, if we do not see you again, may all good fortune attend you, and may the saints protect you from all danger."
charlie shook hands with the men all round, and then hurried down to the sledge. the coachman was already in the front seat, the countess and her child had taken their places, and the two armed servants and stanislas were standing behind, in readiness to jump on to a board fastened above the runners.
"i must apologize for keeping you waiting, countess," charlie said as he ran up. "i had to explain to my friends, in a few words, how this had all come about."
"we are also longing to know," the count said. "but i have not yet introduced you to my wife, nor have i learned the name of the gentleman to whom i owe so much."
"ah, sir," the young countess said, holding out her hand after charlie had given his name, "what do we not owe you? i shall never forget it all, never."
"we will talk when we have started, feodora. let us get out of this forest as soon as we can."
he took his place beside his wife, and set the child on his knees; his brother and charlie sitting opposite to him. the servants spread a bearskin rug over their knees, and then jumped into their places, as the driver cracked his whip, and the horses started.
"you must think us almost mad to be driving through the forest, at this time of the year," the count said to charlie. "but the countess is a russian. we have been staying two months at her father's place, a hundred miles to the east. my two youngest children are at home, and two days since a message arrived, saying that one of them was dangerously ill. we had heard, of course, many tales of the numbers and fierceness of the wolves, but we hoped that, by travelling only by day and with excellent horses, there was not much to fear, especially as we were five armed men.
"we fell in with a few wolves yesterday, but beat them off easily enough. last night, we stopped at a little village in the forest. they certainly made me feel uneasy there, with their tales about the wolves, but there was no help for it. we started as soon as day broke, and had driven some fifteen miles, before we came up to you. we had not gone five when the wolves began to show themselves.
"at first, they kept well behind us, but presently we came upon a large number, who joined in near where we saw an overturned sledge, with the snow stained with blood all round it. from there we kept up a running fight, and must have killed a score; but their numbers increased, rather than diminished, and when a fresh pack came up from ahead, a quarter of a mile before we saw you, it looked as if our case was hopeless; for the horses, which had been going at the top of their speed from the time we started, were beginning to flag, while the wolves were fast closing in upon us, and were just beginning to attack the horses, when i saw you in the road.
"and now, pray tell us how you came to be there so opportunely, and how it was that you had that great fire blazing."
charlie gave the full history of the previous night's adventure.
"wonderful!" the count and his brother exclaimed; and the former went on: "i have heard many stories of escapes from wolves, but never one like yours. it was an admirable thought, indeed, that of at once obtaining heat and frightening the wolves away, by setting the tree on fire. that thought saved our lives as well as your own, for our fate would have been the same as those unfortunate travellers, whose horses you saw, and who brought the wolves upon you.
"and now, sir, would it be impertinent to ask for what purpose you have come to poland? believe me, i only put the question in order to see if i can in any way be of assistance to you."
"i do not know, count, whether my avowal will affect you unfavourably, but i know that it will make no difference in your conduct towards me. i am, as my servant told you, an englishman by birth; but i and my father were obliged, in consequence of political opinions, to leave the country, and i am now a captain in the service of charles of sweden."
exclamations of surprise broke from his hearers.
"well, sir," the count said, smiling, "as his majesty king charles, although not yet one-and-twenty, is one of the greatest generals in europe, i cannot consider it strange that you, who appear to me to be no older, should be a captain in his service. but i own that i pictured, to myself, that the officers of these wonderful soldiers were fierce-looking men, regular iron veterans."
"i am but eighteen," charlie said, "and i myself feel it absurd that i should be a captain. it is but two years since i was appointed an ensign, and the king happening to be with my company, when we had a sharp fight with the russians, he rewarded us by having us made into a regiment; so each of us got promotion. i was appointed captain last may, as a reward for a suggestion that turned out useful."
"may i ask what it was, captain carstairs, for it seems to me that you are full of happy ideas?"
"king charles, as you may have heard, speaks freely to officers and soldiers as he moves about the camp. i was standing on the edge of the river, looking across at the saxons, on the day before we made the passage, when the king came up and spoke to me. he said there was no hope of our passage being covered--as our advance against the russians at narva had been--by a snowstorm; and i said that, as the wind was at our backs, if we were to set fire to the great straw stacks the smoke would hide our movements from the saxons. the idea was a very simple one, and would no doubt have occurred to the king himself; however, he put it into execution with success, and was good enough, afterwards, to promote me to the rank of captain."
"so it was owing to you that our army--or rather the saxon army, for but few poles were engaged in the battle--was defeated," the count said, smiling. "well, sir, it will do you no harm with us, for personally we are entirely opposed to augustus of saxony. but you have not yet explained how you, an officer in the swedish service, came to be here."
"i was sent by king charles to warsaw, to ascertain the feeling of the trading classes there. i had an introduction to a scottish merchant, and i passed as a countryman of his, who had come out to enter his business. one of the objects of my mission was to endeavour to induce the foreign merchants in warsaw to do what they could to promote a feeling in favour of peace with the swedes, and the substitution of another king in place of augustus."
"it is not very clear, captain carstairs, how you can be fulfilling that object by passing your winter with a party of robbers--for i suppose your disbanded soldiers were little better--in a forest on the confines of russia."
charlie laughed.
"it is rather a long story, count. perhaps you will kindly tell me the news about public affairs, first."
"by no means," the count said. "that is a long story, too, and my wife would much rather hear yours than listen to it. she has not yet recovered from the events of this morning. but we will wait until we are at the village. we have left the forest behind us, and another half hour will take us to stromoff, where we can get pretty good accommodation."
the horses, a splendid pair of animals, had, during their passage through the forest, shown every sign of fear; starting nervously, swerving, and going in sharp, sudden rushes, and always needing a constant strain on the reins to keep them from bolting. once away from the trees, however, they settled down into a fast trot, and the seven miles to stromoff were done in less than half an hour.
no sooner did the landlord of the inn learn the name of his guest, than he, his wife, and sons bustled about in the greatest haste to make things comfortable for them. huge fires were lighted in the guest rooms, and the common room was cleared of the other customers, until the chamber should be sufficiently warmed for occupation; while in the kitchen preparations were made for a meal, to which, in half an hour from their arrival, the party in the sledge sat down. when this was over, settles were placed round the fire, and charlie then gave a full account of his adventures, from the time he was attacked in the streets of warsaw.
"so it was you, captain carstairs, after whom there was so keen a search in september. the death of ben soloman made a great stir, and i can assure you that there are a great many people who owe you a debt of gratitude. the man had no sons, and all his property passed to his widow, whom he had, it seems, treated harshly during his lifetime. she was from holland, and wished to return to her people, so, as his means were very large, she made the easiest terms with all those on whose estates her husband had held mortgages, in order to wind up her affairs as soon as possible. thus, his death was the subject of wide rejoicings. however, if you had been caught at the time, i fear it would have gone hard with you; for the jews were all very keen about it--as the man, rascal though he was, was one of the chief heads of their religion--and were you to fall into their hands in any of the towns, they would either kill you or send you to warsaw."
"and now, sir, will you tell me what has taken place since september?"
"things have moved slowly. augustus endeavoured, after his defeat on the dwina, to make peace with charles on his own account, and without the knowledge of the diet, but charles refused to give audience to any of his agents, and would not even see the beautiful countess of konigsmark, who is, you know, herself a swede, and whom augustus sent, thinking that her blandishments might win over the young king. it was useless. charles maintained the ground that he took up from the first--namely, that he would treat with the diet, but would have nothing whatever to say to augustus. so the diet sent an embassy of four senators.
"instead of receiving them with every pomp and ceremony, as they expected, the king met them on horseback. he demanded that, as a first condition, they should dethrone augustus. parties in the diet were pretty equally divided; but the proposal was rejected, for even those most hostile to augustus resented the proposal that we, a free and unconquered people, should be ordered by a foreign prince to change our king. so nothing came of it.
"the swedish army advanced a certain distance into poland, and there were a great number of skirmishes, but there has been no serious fighting, nor is there much chance of any, until the snow has gone and the country dried up in the spring. at present, augustus is quarrelling with the diet, who still set themselves against the importation of more saxon troops. but doubtless, before the campaign begins in earnest, he will have settled matters with the senators, and will have his own way in that respect. there is, however, little chance of the diet agreeing to call out the whole forces of the country, and the next battle will, like the last, be between the swedes and the saxons, who may have with them perhaps a few thousand poles, belonging to the king's party."
"you don't belong to the king's party, count?"
"no. i, like the majority of our nobles, have no interest whatever in the war, for we were never consulted before it began. it is an affair between saxony and the swedes. let them fight it out. it would be a bad day for poland, if augustus and the russians were to overcome and despoil sweden. we want no addition of territory, for that would be to strengthen our kings against us. we see the trouble caused by augustus having saxony at his command, and if he had other territory, the country would be divided into two parts, one of which would have nothing in common with the other.
"still less do we wish to see russia gain territory to the north of us. hitherto we have thought but little of the muscovites, but this war has shown that they can put great armies into the field, and the czar is making them into a nation which may some day be formidable to us.
"charles has sent every assurance that he has no ill will towards poland, and is an enemy not of the country but of its king--who had formed a coalition against him in a time of profound peace--and that his hostility will altogether cease with the overthrow and expulsion of augustus. so you see, we who live at a distance from the capital, and hold ourselves altogether aloof from the intrigues of court, look on at the fray as if it were one in which we have no part or lot. if augustus drives out the swedes, we shall probably have trouble with him afterwards. if charles drives out augustus, we shall have a fresh king, and shall no doubt choose one upon the recommendation of charles, who will then march away again, leaving us to manage our own affairs. therefore, we have no animosity whatever against you as a swedish officer, but for comfort's sake it is better that nothing should be said of this, and that i should introduce you to my friends simply as an english gentleman, who has rendered me the greatest possible service."
the countess retired to bed, a short time after they had finished their meal, and the others sat up talking until late in the evening. charlie learnt that the country was still in a greatly disturbed state. parties of disbanded soldiers and others, rendered desperate by cold and hardship, were everywhere plundering the peasantry, and many encounters had taken place between them and the nobles, who, with their retainers, had marched against them. travel would be dangerous for a long time to come.
"therefore, until the spring, you must not think of moving," the count said. "indeed, i think that your best plan, when you start, will be to work due north, and join the swedish forces near narva. it will be shorter as well as less dangerous. still, we can talk of that later on."
the next morning they started early, and arrived in the afternoon at the chateau of the count. it was not a fortified building, for the poles differed from the western nations, abstaining from fortifying their towns and residences, upon the ground that they were a free people, capable of defending their country from foreign invasion, and therefore requiring no fortified towns, and that such places added to the risks of civil war, and enabled factions to set the will of the nation at defiance.
the building was a large one, but it struck charlie as being singularly plain and barn-like in comparison with the residences of country gentlemen in england. a number of retainers ran out as they drove up into the courtyard, and exclamations of surprise and dismay rose, as the wounds on the horses' flanks and legs were visible; and when, in a few words, the count told them that they had been attacked by wolves, and had been saved principally by the english gentleman and his follower, the men crowded round charlie, kissed his hands, and in other ways tried to show their gratitude for his rescue of their master and mistress.
"come along," the count said, taking his arm and leading him into the house. "the poor fellows mean well, and you must not be vexed with them."
the countess's first question had been for her child, and with an exclamation of thankfulness, when she heard that it was better, she had at once hurried into the house. as soon as they had entered, the count left charlie in charge of his brother, and also hurried away. he was not long before he returned.
"the child is doing well," he said, "and now that it has got its mother again, it will, i think, improve rapidly. the doctor said this morning that he considered it out of danger, but that it needed its mother sorely, to cheer and pet it."
in a very short time the tables were laid. the count, his brother, and charlie sat at an upper table, and the hall was filled with the various officers and retainers. the count's arrival was expected, for a horseman had been sent forward on their arrival at the inn the evening before. the dinner had therefore been cooked in readiness, and charlie was astonished at the profusion with which it was served. fish, joints, great pies, and game of many kinds were placed on the table in unlimited quantities; the drink being a species of beer, although excellent wine was served at the high table. he could now understand how often the polish nobles impoverished themselves by their unbounded hospitality and love of display.
"i suppose, for tomorrow, you will like to remain quiet," the count said, "but after that we will try to amuse you. there is game of all sorts to be shot, or if you have had enough sport, lately, there will be a sledge and horses at your disposal, whenever you choose to ride or drive, and in a few days we will give an entertainment, in honour at once of our return, your visit, and the child's restoration to health. then you will have an opportunity of seeing our national dances."
charlie had had enough shooting, but he greatly enjoyed the drives in the sledges, behind the spirited horses. the entertainment came off a fortnight after his arrival at the chateau. the guests, for the most part, arrived early in the afternoon, many having driven in from great distances. the preparations had been on an immense scale, and the scene at night was a brilliant one.
never had charlie seen anything like the magnificence of the dresses, not of the ladies only, but also of the gentlemen; the poles having the true oriental love for rich costumes, a taste that their national dress permitted them to gratify to the utmost. next to the splendour of the dresses, charlie was surprised at the grace and spirit of the dancing, which was far more vivacious than that of western nations. the poles were long considered to be the best dancers in the world. it was their great national amusement; and all danced, from noble to peasant, entering into it with spirit and enthusiasm, and uniting the perfection of rhythmical motion with the grace and ease peculiar to them, and to their kinsmen the hungarians.
the dancing was kept up, with unflagging energy, during the whole night; and then, after a substantial breakfast, the men and women were muffled up in furs, and took their places in the sledges.
the count would gladly have had charlie remain with him until spring began, but he was anxious to rejoin the army; and, seeing that this was so, the count did everything in his power to facilitate his journey, which, after talking it over, had been decided should be direct towards the royal camp. the count's brother insisted upon accompanying him on the journey, as in this way many of the difficulties would be avoided. two sledges were prepared, the one for the use of charlie and count john, and the other for the two servants and baggage. both were horsed by the fastest animals in the count's stables.
charlie himself had been loaded with presents, which he had been obliged somewhat reluctantly to accept, as he saw that a refusal would hurt and mortify his kind hosts. he had, on his arrival, been provided with an ample wardrobe of clothes of all kinds, and to these were now added dolmans, cloaks, rugs, and most costly furs. a splendid gun, pistols, and a sword, with the hilt studded with gems, completed his outfit; while stanislas had been presented with a heavy purse of money.
the whole of the retainers of the castle were assembled to see them start, and the count and countess, at parting, made him promise to come and pay them another visit, if the fortune of war should bring him within the possibility of reaching them.
the journey was a delightful one. each night they put up at the chateau of some nobleman. to many of these count john staroski was personally known; at the others, his name secured at once a hearty welcome for himself and his companion. travelling only by day, and at the full speed of the horses, they escaped interruption by the marauding bands, and in fourteen days after starting they drove into the town where charles of sweden had his headquarters, after being twice stopped and questioned by bodies of swedish horse.
the town was crowded with troops, and they had some difficulty in finding a lodging for themselves, and stabling for the horses. as soon as this was done, charlie proceeded alone to the quarters of count piper.
