d; in place of Manlius, Bucket attacked
the coop, strangled some of the birds, and tied others alive to the girdle
of his kontusz. In vain the geese called out hoarsely, winding their necks
about; in vain the ganders hissed and nipped their assailant. He ran;
besprinkled with the glittering down, borne forward as if on wheels by the
motion of the close-packed wings, he seemed to be Chochlik, the winged
evil spirit.159

But the most terrible slaughter, though the least uproar, was among the
hens. Young Buzzard assaulted the hencoop, and, catching them with a cord,
he pulled down from the roosts the cocks and the rough-feathered and
crested hens; one after another he strangled them and laid them in a heap;
lovely birds, fed upon pearl barley. Heedless Buzzard, what fervour
carried thee away! Never after this wilt thou win thy pardon from the
angry Zosia!

Gerwazy called to mind the days of old, and bade them give him the belts
from their kontuszes, and with them he drew from the Soplicas' cellar
casks of old brandy, mead, and beer. Some they broached at once; others
the gentry, thick as ants, seized with a will and rolled to the castle.
There the whole throng gathered for the night encampment; there were
established the Count's headquarters.

They laid a hundred fires, boiled, broiled, and roasted; the tables bent
beneath the meat, and drink flowed in a river. The gentry were minded to
eat, drink, and sing the whole night through, but slowly they began to
doze and yawn; eye after eye was extinguished, and the whole company
nodded their heads; each fell where he sat, one with a platter, one over a
tankard, one by a quarter of beef. Thus the victors were conquered at last
by Sleep, the brother of Death.

BOOK IX.--THE BATTLE

ARGUMENT

Of the dangers arising from the disorderly conduct of a
camp--Unexpected succour--The gloomy situation of the gentry--The
visit of the Bernardine, collecting alms, is an omen of
rescue--Major Plut by excessive gallantry draws down a storm upon
himself--A pistol shot, the signal for combat--The deeds of
Sprinkler; the deeds and dangers of Maciek--Bucket by an ambuscade
preserves Soplicowo--Reinforcements of cavalry; attack on the
infantry--The deeds of Thaddeus--Duel of the leaders interrupted by
treason--The Seneschal by a decisive manoeuvre inclines the scales
of combat--Bloody deed