d, and a
single man cautiously approached. "Come up, my good friend," said the
merchant; "sit here by me." The stranger politely took off his cap, and
swung himself up to the driving-box. He turned out to be the chief
krakuse of the day before--the man with the drooping mustache.

"Keep an eye on him," said the merchant in English to Anton; "he shall
serve us as a safe-conduct, and be paid for it too; but if he touches
me, lay hold of him from behind."

Anton took his despised pistols out of an old leathern pouch on one side
of the carriage, and, in sight of the krakuse, arranged them
ostentatiously in the pocket of his paletot. But the latter only smiled,
and soon showed himself a creature of a friendly and social nature,
nodding confidentially to both travelers, drinking some mouthfuls out of
Anton's traveling flask, trying to keep up, over his left shoulder, a
conversation with him, calling him "your grace" in broken German, and
giving him to understand that he too smoked, though he did not happen to
have any tobacco. At last he requested the honor of driving the
gentlemen.

In this manner they passed a group of fallen houses, which lay on a flat
close to a marsh, looking like giant fungi that had shot up on a
malarian soil, when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a band
of insurgents. It was a general levy, such as they had seen the day
before. There were flails in abundance, a few scythes, old muskets,
linen smock-frocks, a strong smell of spirits, and wild, staring eyes.
This troop at once seized the horses by the bridles, and quick as
lightning began to unharness them. The krakuse now sprang up lion-like
from his seat, and displayed, in his Polish tongue, a vast amount of
eloquence, aided by much gesticulation with hands and feet. He declared
that these gentlemen were great noblemen, who were traveling to the
capital that they might speak with the government, and that it would
cost the head of every man who presumed to pull a hair out of one of
their horses' tails. This speech provoked several animated replies,
during which some clenched their fists, and some took off their caps.
Upon that the driver began a still more powerful oration, setting before
the patriots a prospective quartering if they even ventured to look
askance at the heads of the horses. This had the effect of diminishing
the number of clenched fists, and increasing that of the doffed caps. At
length the merchant put an end to the who