“Jesus of Nazareth! is there a fuse in it?”
“There is; and in the fuse some tow steeped in sulphur, which catches fire when the gun is discharged. Then the ball should fall with the fuse toward the ground, so as to drive it into the middle; then the fire reaches the powder and the ball bursts. But many balls do not fall on the fuse; that does not matter, however, for when the fire burns to the end, the explosion comes.”
On a sudden Kmita stretched out his hand and cried, “See, see! you have an experiment.”
“Jesus! Mary! Joseph!” cried the young brother, at sight of the coming bomb.
The bomb fell on the square that moment, and snarling and rushing along began to bound on the pavement, dragging behind a small blue smoke, turned once more, and rolling to the foot of the wall on which they were sitting, fell into a pile of wet sand, which it scattered high to the battlement, and losing its power altogether, remained without motion.
Luckily it had fallen with the fuse up; but the sulphur was not quenched, for the smoke rose at once.
“To the ground! on your faces!” frightened voices began to shout. “To the ground, to the ground!”
But Kmita at the same moment sprang to the pile of sand, with a lightning movement of his hand caught the fuse, plucked it, pulled it out, and raising his hand with the burning sulphur cried—
“Rise up! It is just as if you had pulled the teeth out of a dog! It could not kill a fly now.”
When he had said this, he kicked the bomb, those present grew numb at sight of this deed, which surpassed human daring, and for a certain time no one made bold to speak; at last Charnyetski exclaimed—
“You are a madman! If that had burst, it would have turned you into powder!”
Pan Andrei laughed so heartily that his teeth glittered.
“But do we not need powder? You could have loaded a gun with me, and after my death I could have done harm to the Swedes.”
“May the bullets strike you! Where is your fear?”
The young monk placed his hands together and looked with mute homage on Kmita. But the deed was also seen by Kordotski, who was approaching on that side. He came up, took Pan Andrei with his hands by the head, and then made the sign of the cross on him.
“Such men as you will not surrender Yasna Gora; but I forbid exposing a needful life to danger. When the firing is over and the enemy leave the field, take that bomb, pour the powder out of it, and bear it to the Most Holy Lady. That gift will be dearer to Her than those pearls and bright stones which you offered Her.”
“Father,” answered Kmita, deeply moved, “what is there great in that? For the Most Holy Lady I would—Oh! words do not rise in my mouth—I would go to torments, to death. I know not what I would not do to serve Her.”
Tears glistened in the eyes of Pan Andrei, and the prior said—
“Go to Her with those tears before they dry. Her favor will flow to thee, calm thee, comfort thee, adorn thee with glory and honor.”
When he had said this he took him by the arm and led him to the church. Pan Charnyetski looked after them for a time. At last he said—
“I have seen many daring men in my life, who counted no danger to themselves; but this Lithuanian is either the D⸺”
Here Charnyetski closed his mouth with his hand, so not to speak a foul name in the holy place.
XLII
The war with cannon was no bar to negotiations, which the fathers determined to use at every opportunity. They wished to delude the enemy and procrastinate till aid came, or at least severe winter. But Miller did not cease to believe that the monks wished merely to extort the best terms.
In the evening, therefore, after that cannonading, he sent Colonel Kuklinovski again with a summons to surrender. The prior showed Kuklinovski the safeguard of the king, which closed his mouth at once. But Miller had a later command of the king to occupy Boleslav, Vyelunie, Kjepits, and Chenstohova.
“Take this order to them,” said he to Kuklinovski; “for I think that they will lack means of evasion when it is shown them.” But he was deceived.
The prior answered: “If the command includes Chenstohova, let the general occupy the place with good fortune. He may be sure that the cloister will make no opposition; but Chenstohova is not Yasna Gora, of which no mention is made in the order.”
When Miller heard this answer he saw that he had to deal with diplomats more adroit than himself; reasons were just what he lacked—and there remained only cannon.
A truce lasted through the night. The Swedes worked with vigor at making better trenches; and on Yasna Gora they looked for the damages of the previous day, and saw with astonishment that there were none. Here and there roofs and rafters were broken, here and there plaster had dropped from the walls—that was all. Of the men, none had fallen, no one was even maimed. The prior, going around on the walls, said with a smile to the soldiers—
“But see, this enemy with his bombarding is not so terrible as reported. After a festival there is often more harm done. God’s care is guarding you; God’s hand protects you; only let us endure, and we shall see greater wonders.”
Sunday came, the festival of the offering of the Holy Lady. There was no hindrance to services, since Miller was waiting for the final answer, which the monks had promised to send after midday.
Mindful meanwhile of the words of Scripture, how Israel bore the ark of God around the camp
