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双语·波兰吹号手 第十四章 大火烧城

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2022年06月19日

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XIV. A GREAT FIRE RAGES

Since earliest times Krakow was divided into four sections—the Castle Quarter, the Potters' Quarter, the Butchers' Quarter, and the Slavkov. At the head of each of these districts was a quartermaster, who was responsible for everything that went on in his district, the fighting of fires being one of his chief concerns. Therefore the watchman from one of the streets that lay in the districts threatened by the fire went pounding at the gate of the quartermaster's house, shouting "Fire" at the top of his lungs in order to send the servants flying to the master. In a short time the quartermaster was up and dressed and had sent summons to the water master, who had charge of the town reservoir and aqueducts.

The bell meanwhile began to sound clamorously from the tower of the Church of Our Lady Mary, for the watchman there had caught sight of the flames. Cries of "Fire" were now being echoed from all sections of the city, and in the red glare which was beginning—to illumine all the grim Gothic buildings and churches, a very tumult of confusion was arising. The water master had already set his machinery in motion, and drummers were pounding away at their drums in all the city streets in order to awaken the merchants and their apprentices, upon whom fell the burden of fighting the flames. All the town guilds were assembling, companies of servants from the palaces were filling buckets of water and taking positions on theroofs of their own houses, and all citizens were busily getting down from the wall, hooks and axes and pails such as the law required them to keep for such emergencies.

A fire of any size in Krakow was a serious thing in those days, for there were hundreds upon hundreds of wooden and part-wooden houses clustered together in the thickly populated streets. In the section about the old university the majority of dwellings were very ancient, dry, and cobwebbed everywhere, and a single spark upon their roofs was enough to turn them in exceedingly rapid fashion into belching furnaces of flame and smoke. As the fire raced through these streets, the inhabitants poured out in panic-stricken confusion; each building was literally teeming with life, and the whole scene, viewed from above, would have resembled a huge ant hill suddenly destroyed or burned out by a careful gardener.

Women and children came out rushing and shrieking. Black-robed students dashed through the streets with manuscripts and parchments in their hands; others came carrying glass tubes or astrolabes or metal dividers; frantic domestics ran here and there with no definite refuge in view save only to escape the heat and terror of the ever-spreading flames. The streets were rapidly filling with furniture, clothing, beds, and personal possessions of every variety, hurled out of casements by desperate owners—and some of this material in the streets had already caught fire from the sparks which were descending like rain in a spring thunderstorm, making the lot of the fugitives even more unendurable. Inside some of the courts those who had preserved presence of mind were combating the fire with much vigor; tubs of water and pails were being pressed into action, and burning walls were already being hauled down.

The water master had marshaled a line of water carts which extended from the burning buildings to the aqueduct; these water carts were usually drawn by horses, and some of them were on this night, but there had been difficulty in getting enough horses quickly, and men and boys were harnessed into the shafts. At the aqueduct, men were busy filling the carts with water; as each cart was filled it moved on some little distance to the fire, and there being emptied, swung about into another street and returned to the aqueduct for another filling. The nearest section of the aqueduct was about an eighth of a mile from the point where the fire started.

Forces of men armed with hooks and axes were sent out by the water master to surround the district where the flames were reaching, for the rapid spread of the fire had made it apparent at an early stage that very little could be saved in the university area. These men were under orders to demolish any building that seemed to offer a chance for a further spread of the blaze, whether the fire had already reached it or not. One detachment formed a line in front of the Church of the Franciscans, another on St. Ann's Street, and another on Bracka. All these detachments were forced to retreat, however, as the fire ate its way out of the district where it had started. The Rynek was the scene of a turbulent mob which had struggled from the burning section in the Street of the Pigeons, and every open space was quickly filled with rescued goods. Two families had even taken possession of the plat-form where the town pillory stood, and children were being put to sleep there by mothers thankful to find a place of rest.

Amid all this uproar, an elderly woman, a boy, a girl, and a dog were fighting their way through the Street of the Pigeons amidst the debris of furniture and personal belongings that had been thrownfrom windows. They had all been sleeping when the fire broke out, and not having been roused until the flames were all about them, had been able to rescue nothing but themselves and the clothes which they wore. The boy was Joseph, the girl, Elzbietka, and the woman the wife of Pan Andrew. Wolf, cut loose by Joseph, was the most terror-stricken of the group, but he followed after them, submissive and obedient, not knowing exactly what he was expected to do.

Each of them was busy with separate thoughts as they fought their way through the disorder. Joseph was ever figuring the quickest route out of the burning district, and this was no easy task, since the fire was playing so many tricks. It was not marching ahead in a straight wall of flame, but was whirling about, leaping here and there, skipping this house and fastening upon that, advancing, retreating, spreading to the flanks, all with terrific speed and unexpected vivacity. Sometimes the roofs just above the heads of the fugitives would shoot up in flames—passing these with great peril, they would find that the fire was now behind them and rejoice at the breath of air that fell upon them; then, suddenly, without warning the roof of a building just ahead would belch forth smoke and flame as if the fire demon were working invisibly, and this new peril must be passed.

At length they reached the place where the Street of the Pigeons is cut by a cross lane, known today as Wislna Street, but this lane was already full of smoking beams and fallen timbers; escape that way was impossible. There was nothing to do but to push on through the Street of the Pigeons where it curves to meet Bracka.

Elzbietka was wondering most of all about her uncle; there had been no answer to their hurried calls when they left the doomedhouse, and besides, the loft was glowing in red and purple flames of such intensity that no person alive could have been there at that time. Joseph's mother was thinking of the father, wondering if he had left his post at the church to come to his family's aid, and wondering, too, if they could reach him at the tower before he began to suffer too much from anxiety concerning them.

The houses were a little higher in this portion of the street, and there was therefore more cool air, in the lower reaches. The fire was still whirling along here, but was not taking hold quite so fast as it had done down below, and consequently the fugitives made better progress. The only difficulty was the ever-increasing crowd that now swept in from three directions, making it hard for the three to keep together. Finally, they locked arms and literally fought their way through the crowd. All about them the scenes were heartrending, men and women fleeing with but few possessions from the only homes they had ever known, children lost in the mad scramble who set up shrill cries and tried to keep their feet as the crowd pushed ahead. Sick persons were brought into that raging torrent of humanity, carried on the shoulders of their relatives or perhaps stretched upon cots. Here was one old man who sat astride a young fellow's neck like Anchises on the back of Aeneas, fleeing from the burning city of Ilium.

At length they stood where the fire had not reached, much more fortunate in that than many other people that night. Joseph waited only until they caught their breath, though he, too, felt like throwing himself down upon the ground and resting, and then started forward again through Bracka in the direction of the Rynek. In his heart he hoped that when he had settled Elzbietka and his mother in thetower where his father was on duty, he might come back with the apprentices and help fight the fire, for there is that in a youth which draws him into such fighting. As they went along Bracka he heard the sound of horses' hoofs from the direction of the Wawel.

Wait, he said, drawing the women back on a footpath, "here come soldiers from the castle to preserve order."

He spoke truly, for the next moment a great troop of cavalry wearing mail armor and carrying spears rode into Bracka Street from below and began to deploy in lines that marked the district immediately threatened by fire. A few minutes later, foot soldiers and artisans began to appear, and joining with the watch, pulled down buildings at the edge of the fire. Siege machinery was also drawn up into Bracka, and the buildings just outside the reach of the fire began to crumble under its pounding.

This will prevent the spread of the flames, thought Joseph.

They went ahead again toward the church, but while they were still in the Rynek they saw a company of soldiers dragging forward a prisoner whom they had taken in the burning district.

A thief, said the boy.

Bless us, exclaimed the mother. "It is not possible that men could be so cruel as to steal from poor folk driven mad with terror."

As the company came near and the torches fell upon the face of the prisoner, Joseph let out a cry of amazement.

Why, Mother, that is Peter of the Button Face, the leader of the men that attacked our house. That is the man who met us on the first day we were in Krakow. He it was who tried to make us prisoners in the church tower.... See how he struggles—but they are holding him tight for all that. And Mother, it is not the city watch that has takenhim. It is the king's own guard. Do you not see the royal crown on their helmets, do you not notice the richness of their clothing? I wonder what it can be about.

Joseph spoke truly. Peter had at last fallen into the hands of guardians of the law, and this time it was the king's own men that held him. It was evident, too, from the way they held him that they thought they had a prize. They did not stop at the Town House, where offenders against municipal law were kept, but marched straight along Castle Street in the direction of the royal castle on Wawel Hill.

At the church they found Pan Andrew in a very sweat of anxiety and fear lest something of harm had befallen them. He caressed them all one after another and then said to Joseph earnestly:

I want you to remain here and sound the Heynals for the rest of the night. There is much work to be done in the quarter where the fire is, and every man's hand is needed to stay the flames.... I see that Pan Kreutz is not with you. He stayed, too, I presume, to work with the rest of the men?

Indeed, Father, I know not. We called many times, but his loft was a mass of flames like to a roaring furnace when we were driven down the stairs.

I must see, then, if I can find aught of him. He has been on a previous occasion our very great benefactor, and it would but suit us ill not to seek at least his body in the ruins. Should he not have perished, as I pray God he has not, then we can offer him shelter here until such time as he can find a roof again.

But when Joseph told him of the capture of Peter, he looked very serious and said that if such people were in the city, then he had better not leave his wife and the young people. On second thought,however, it seemed right for him to go, for the city was now lighted by flames and it would be easy to summon aid if they were attacked.

And so he, with thousands of other valiant men, fought the fire in Krakow that night. They formed in a ring about the conflagration and tore down all the buildings across which it might run. The Collegium Minus was the last building to catch on the side toward the city wall, and then the fighters tore down the houses near the old Jew Gate and stopped the fire there. The flames swept around the other buildings of the university, destroyed one or two, though not all, and were finally halted on the second street above St. Ann's. Sweeping in the other direction, the fire had early in its progress destroyed the monastery and adjoining houses of the Church of the Franciscans, and had crossed over to Castle Street, where it burned flat a whole line of buildings.

On these and the other edges of the district a wide belt of destruction was created by the fighters. This belt the tradesmen, running to and fro with water wagons filled constantly at the aqueduct, wet down and soaked until it was almost a water wall. So furiously had they worked that the main progress of the fire was checked in seven or eight hours, and although certain buildings and ruins smoked and even blazed for several days afterward, yet the great danger passed when this well-soaked belt of destruction was completed.

When Pan Andrew returned to the tower in the full blaze of the morning sun, nearly one third of the city of Krakow lay in ruins. Fortunately, it was not the better portion of the city, and many of the old wooden-built hovels had been there since before the days of Kazimir the Great; that monarch had successfully converted about one half the city of Krakow from wood to stone more than onehundred years before; had he not done so, it is probable that the fire of 1462 might have utterly consumed it.

Elzbietka and Joseph's mother were asleep on the trumpeter's bed, clasped in each other's arms. Joseph sat outside the compartment with the hourglass before him on a beam, gazing out over the smoking ruins of the university quarter.

Is the city saved? was the first question he asked his father.

It is not now in danger, answered Pan Andrew. "But there are many homeless souls in the city this day."

Did you see the alchemist?

I did not. He has disappeared as if he had flown away on the clouds of smoke that covered the city.

Poor Elzbietka, exclaimed Joseph.

The girl inside the compartment moaned slightly as her name was spoken, although she was deep in a heavy slumber.

I wonder if he was caught in the loft? mused Pan Andrew. "It was in the very center of the burned district."

The answer to his question came with sudden unexpectedness. There was a sound of footsteps on the stairs and Jan Kanty's head appeared from below. The scholar was leading another man by the arm, a man who had been in the fire—his charred clothes and blackened face showed it; around his shoulders and falling to his waist was all that remained of what had once been a black robe. He kept his hands beneath this robe.

Pan Andrew, whispered Jan Kanty softly, "I have found in the street—Pan Kreutz." And, checking the other's startled exclamation, he explained, "He is not in his right senses. Something has affected his brain. But he has here something of interest to us all."

Pan Andrew turned toward Kreutz—he never would have recognized him had not Jan Kanty identified him; Joseph felt his eyes glued with strange eagerness upon the eerie blackened figure and the mysterious folded hands beneath the robe; it had been a scholar's robe once.

Ha, ha, ha! laughed the alchemist suddenly, "up to heaven goes everything in fire, and yet no gold is found anywhere. Johann Tring!" he looked about anxiously. "Where is Johann Tring? He answers me not. He is lost in the flames, the flames that came so red and purple when niter mixed with charcoal. Oho, Johann Tring! Come, Johann Tring, and see what I have carried this whole long night for you."

Throwing back the black robe, he held up the object that he had been concealing there, and at the same moment the sun, streaming in through the little window on the east side, fell full upon that object; fell upon it and made it sparkle like the myriad of dew diamonds shining upon a morning lawn newmowed; sparkled like the thousand chandeliers in the king's great hall in the palace on the Wawel Hill; sparkled like the rubies and emeralds that gleam in the queen's crown; sparkled like the wondrous thing that it was, all touched by the red rays of the morning sun—the Great Tarnov Crystal!

Now whence has that come? shouted Pan Andrew so loudly that the sleepers in the next room awoke. "Where, by all that is good and holy in the world, have you found the gem which has been in my family for years and years, which all my ancestors and I have sworn to guard forever and to surrender to no person except to the king of Poland? How has it come into your hands after it was stolen from me, and my heart was nearly broken? Did you get it perhapsfrom that ruffian who has been captured by the king's guards? Did you find it perhaps in the ruins of the town? Did you perchance—" The truth suddenly flashed upon him and he was speechless.

It is an accursed thing, cried out the alchemist suddenly, reeling in Jan Kanty's arms as if he were gone faint. "There is blood upon it, and fire! It has lured princes and kings to their destruction! It has made men's brains mad with lust for want of it! It has caused good men to steal, and evil men to kill. I will have none of it. I will have none of it, I say." He was growing almost boisterous, yet there was something in this attack of madness that had much of reason and determination in it. "I will have no more of it," he repeated, "and no more of Johann Tring."

At that he fell fainting to the floor.

Jan Kanty raised him, and Elzbietka, who had run out from the trumpeter's room, rushed to him and kissed and fondled his blackened hands.

Pan Andrew picked up the Great Tarnov Crystal and held it at arm's length with a smile.

Now may peace come upon us all, he said, "for I may fulfill the oath that my family has taken and deliver this to the king. While the secret of its hiding place remained with me, I might keep the crystal as long as I chose, but now that the secret is out, there is but one place where it may be guarded safely, and that is in the palace of the king. Pan Kreutz is right. This jewel has already done too much harm in the world."

Then you may rid yourself of it at once, broke in Jan Kanty. "The king returned to Krakow two days ago, and we may find him at the castle this very morning."

第十四章 大火烧城

从很早的时期开始,克拉科夫就被分为四个区域——城堡区、陶工区、屠户区以及斯拉夫科夫区。每个区都有一位区长,负责各自区域内的各种事宜,灭火就是其主要职责之一。所以,当巡夜卫兵发现该区的街道受到了大火威胁时,就立刻跑到区长的住处,猛敲大门,用尽全力呼喊着“着火啦”,好让家仆飞快地去叫区长。不一会儿,区长就起来穿上了衣服,派人传唤管理城市水库和渡槽的水利官。

同时,圣玛利亚教堂塔楼上的守夜人也看到了火苗,拉响了警钟。城市的各个角落都回响着呼喊“着火了”的声音,庄严的哥特式建筑和教堂被火焰照得通红明亮,四周一片混乱。水利官已经启动了消防机制,鼓手们沿街串巷地敲打着,目的是叫醒那些肩负着灭火重任的商人和学徒。城里的商会都集合了起来,宫殿的仆人成群结队地给水桶灌满水,站到房顶上,城里的市民都急忙从墙上取下钩子、斧头和水桶准备灭火。法律规定家家必备这些工具,以备不时之需。

不过,不论火势是大是小,这对于那时的克拉科夫城来说,都是一件严肃的事情,因为城里成千上万的房屋都是木制的,它们相互簇拥,挤在人口稠密的街区。老大学周围的大部分住房都非常古老、干燥,而且到处布满了蜘蛛网,哪怕房顶上的一丝火星就足够迅速蔓延,引发熊熊大火和滚滚浓烟。随着火势蔓延,人们都惊慌地涌到了街上,每座建筑中都到处是人。俯视这一场景,简直就像是一个巨大的蚂蚁窝突然被细心的园丁毁坏或是焚烧了一般。

女人和小孩呼喊着从屋里跑出来。穿黑袍的学生手里拿着手稿和羊皮卷,冲到街上,还有人拿着玻璃管、星象盘或者金属隔板。屋里的人找不到藏身之处,手忙脚乱地跑来跑去,尽量躲避蔓延的大火所带来的热气和恐惧。绝望的人们把各种各样的东西从窗户扔出来,街上很快就布满了家具、衣服、床,还有各种各样的私人物品。火苗像春天雷雨天气时的雨点一样落下来,有的物品已经沾上火星,开始燃烧,这让大街上的人们更加无处可逃。有的人家还保持着理智,开始勇敢地灭火,水盆和木桶也被利用起来了,烧着的墙壁也已经开始被拆除。

水利官已经调集了一大队水车,它们从着火的建筑物一直排到渡槽,平时这些水车都是马拉的,这天晚上也有一些是马拉的,但这时候很难调集足够的马匹,男人甚至男孩都套上了轴杆,拉起了水车。守在渡槽的人们正忙着给水车加水,水车装满后就驶向不远处的火场,扑完火之后就转向进入另外一条街回到渡槽继续装水。最近的渡槽离起火点大约不到一英里。

水利官同时派出了一队带着钩子和斧头的队伍围住火势即将到达的区域,因为从大火蔓延的速度来看,克拉科夫大学区应该是保不住了。这些人受命拆除任何有可能加剧火势的建筑,不论大火是否已经波及那里。一队人在圣方济各教堂前面排成一排,另一队被安排到了圣安街,还有一队在布拉卡街。然而,大火已经开始吞噬原本的包围圈,灭火的队伍不得不向后撤退。市场上人声鼎沸,乱作一团,人们拼命从鸽子街着火的地方逃到了这里,空地上很快就堆满了从火场里救出的各种财物。有两户人家甚至占据了示众台,母亲在那里安顿孩子睡觉,心里感激着终于找到一块休息的地方。

在这喧嚣之中,一个中年女人、一个男孩、一个女孩,还有一只狗,正穿过鸽子街,费力地走在家具碎片和从窗户扔出的私人物品中间。起火的时候,他们正在睡觉,直到被大火包围,他们才醒过来,所以除了他们自己和身上的衣服之外,根本来不及营救任何东西。这个男孩是约瑟夫,女孩是埃尔兹别塔,女人是安德鲁太太。“狼”的狗链已经被松开,但它受了惊吓,顺从地跟在他们后面,不知所措。

他们艰难地走在混乱之中,每个人都心事重重。约瑟夫心里一直思考着走出着火区的捷径,不过这可是个难题,因为这火势一直在耍花招。它并不是像一面火墙一样径直向前,而是转着圈地蔓延,四处跳跃,跳过这座房子,又蹦到另一座上面,前进、后退、侧移,速度惊人,火势猛烈。有时候,房顶会喷出一阵火焰,危险地从躲在房顶下的人们身边燃过,当他们发现火已经在身后落下,为落在身上的是微风而感到欢喜,可过一会儿,房顶又出其不意地喷出烟雾和火焰,好像有火魔在无形中操控着这一切,但这个新的危险一定会过去的。

他们来到鸽子街与一条十字小巷交叉的位置,就是现在的威斯尔那街,但这条巷子那时已经烟雾弥漫,遍地是倒塌的木梁。看来,从这条路逃脱是不可能了,现在只能硬着头皮从鸽子街向前走,从那里转弯就可以到达布拉卡街。

埃尔兹别塔心里最关心的就是她叔叔的安危,他们从着火的房子中逃出之前,使劲地呼喊着他的名字,但他却没有回应。阁楼已经被烧得一片火红,闪耀着猛烈的紫色火焰,人根本无法活着待在那里。安德鲁太太满脑子想的是她的丈夫,琢磨着他是不是从教堂出来救他们了,心里希望他们能够赶快到达教堂的塔楼和他会合,免得他太过担心他们。

鸽子街南端这一段的房屋稍微高一些,空气也要凉一些。虽然大火也肆虐到了这里,但火势并不像房屋低矮区域那么凶猛,这样一来,人们跑起来也就更快了。唯一的问题就是越来越多的人从三个方向一齐涌到街上,让他们三个人很难保持不被冲散。他们只能紧扣着手臂,奋力在人群中冲出一条路来。周围的情景很悲惨:只顾着逃命的人们,被迫离开唯一的家,根本顾不上拿东西;在拥挤中迷路的小孩尖声哭喊着,尽力在人群的推搡中站稳身体;涌动的人流中还有羸弱的病人,有的被家人扛在肩上,有的躺在简易搭起的担架上;有一个老人骑坐在一个年轻人的脖子上,就像特洛伊城被烧毁时,安喀塞斯由艾涅阿斯背着逃跑一样。

一家人终于来到了大火未能触及的安全地带,他们比那天晚上的许多人要幸运许多。虽然约瑟夫很想瘫到地上好好休息一番,但是刚一缓过气,他就督促大家继续出发,穿过布拉卡街,朝着市场的方向继续前进。约瑟夫心里盘算着,等到把他母亲和埃尔兹别塔安顿到他父亲值班的塔楼之后,他就出来帮忙灭火,他心中那股年轻人的英勇朝气召唤着他加入这场战斗。正当他们走在布拉卡街的时候,突然从瓦维尔山的方向传来一阵马蹄声。

“等一下,”约瑟夫一边说一边拉着母亲退到路边,“城堡派出士兵出来维持秩序了。”

他说得没错,因为他话音刚落,一队穿着锁甲,手拿长矛的骑兵就出现在布拉卡街。他们排成排,包围了被大火威胁的区域。不一会儿,步兵和工匠也来了,他们和卫兵一起,开始拆除大火边缘的建筑。战争中的攻城装置也被拉到了布拉卡街,在它的重击之下,大火周围的建筑逐渐倒塌。

这样就能防止火势蔓延了,约瑟夫心想。

他们继续朝着教堂走去,经过市场的时候,一队士兵正拖着一个从着火区抓到的犯人往前走。

“那是个小偷。”约瑟夫说。

“天啊,”安德鲁太太惊讶地喊道,“没想到竟然有人从受灾的可怜人那里偷东西,真是残忍。”

这队士兵走近的时候,火把的光照到了犯人的脸上,约瑟夫惊讶地叫了出来。

“母亲,快看啊,那是纽扣脸彼得!就是他带人袭击了我们家。我们来克拉科夫第一天碰到的那个坏人也是他!他还跑到教堂塔楼,把我和父亲抓了起来……你看他正在那里挣扎呢,不过他已经被紧紧抓住了。哎呀,母亲,抓他的不是城里的普通卫兵,而是国王的亲兵。你看他们的头盔上都有王冠的标志,他们的衣着也很华丽。你看到了吗?不知道纽扣脸彼得是怎么被抓住的。”

约瑟夫说对了。彼得终于落入了法网,是被国王的亲兵所抓。而且从他们押解他的方式来看,显然他们认为这是一个要犯。他们并没有在市政大楼处停留,违反市政法的人才会被押到那里,卫兵沿着城堡街,要直接把他押送到瓦维尔山上的皇家城堡。

他们来到教堂的时候,安德鲁先生已经急得满头大汗,生怕他们遭遇了不测。看到他们安然无恙,他挨个拥抱了他们,然后语重心长地对约瑟夫说道:“我希望你可以留在这里,负责在后半夜吹奏《海那圣歌》。着火的区域有许多工作要做,需要每个人出一份力……对了,克鲁兹先生没和你们一起。我想,他应该是留在那里和其他人一起救火了吧?”

“事实上,我也不清楚,父亲。我们喊了他很多次,但我们跑下楼的时候,他的阁楼已经烧得像火炉一样。”

“那我一定得出去找找他,我们之前一直承蒙他的照顾,他是我们的恩人,哪怕他真的出了什么事,我们也要在废墟中找到他。上帝保佑他还活着,那样的话,他可以暂时和我们住在这里,直到他找到住处。”

但当他听约瑟夫说彼得已经被抓之后,脸色突然严肃起来,他说如果彼得的那些人还在城里,他最好还是别离开自己的妻子和两个孩子。但他转念一想,还是觉得自己应该去帮忙救火,因为现在城里已经遍地火光,即使他们真的遇到危险,也不愁没人帮忙。

于是,安德鲁义无反顾地加入了成千上万名市民组成的灭火队伍,英勇地与人们一同对抗那晚肆虐克拉科夫城的大火。他们将大火围住,拆除了周围可能着火的建筑物。城墙边上的大学预科学校是最后一座失火的建筑,灭火大军之后又拆掉了老犹太城门附近的房屋,大火终于止步于此。但火势又沿着大学的其他建筑蔓延,烧毁了两栋大楼,才最终在圣安街北边的第二条街处停了下来。而其他方向,大火已经一路烧毁了圣方济各教堂修道院和附近的房屋,冲过城堡街,将那里的一排房屋夷为平地。

人们在火海的周围建起一条宽阔的防火带,商人们赶着水车,往返于渡槽和防火带,防火带已经积满了水,几乎形成了一道水墙。人们忙碌了七八个小时,终于抑制住了大火的势头。有的房屋和废墟在之后的几天里依然冒着烟,甚至还有火焰,不过当积满水的防火带建成的时候,大的危险便已经过去了。

第二天,当安德鲁先生在闪耀的晨光中回到塔楼的时候,克拉科夫城的三分之一已经成为废墟。幸运的是,毁掉的大多数都是从卡济米尔大帝即位之前就已经建起的木头棚屋,而不是城里繁华的区域。一百多年前,卡济米尔大帝下令将半个城市的木建筑改造为石头建筑,要不是这一命令,估计一四六二年的这场大火将摧毁整个克拉科夫城。

埃尔兹别塔和安德鲁太太挽着手臂,在吹号手的小床上睡着了。约瑟夫把沙漏放在面前的木梁上,守在外面,注视着大学附近冒着烟的废墟。

“城市安全了吗?”这是他问父亲的第一个问题。

“已经没有危险了,”安德鲁先生回答说,“不过,城里到处都是无家可归的人。”

“您看见炼金术士了吗?”

“没有,他好像和弥漫在整个城市的烟雾一样飘走了。”

“可怜的埃尔兹别塔。”约瑟夫感叹道。

屋中睡着的女孩此刻虽然处于深度睡眠之中,但在自己的名字被提及的时候,轻声地咕哝了一声。

“不知道他是不是被困在阁楼里了?”安德鲁一边思索,一边说道,“那里是火灾的正中心位置。”

还没等安德鲁想明白,这个问题的答案意外地出现了。楼梯上传来了一阵脚步声,扬·康迪出现在了楼梯上,他扶着另一个人的胳膊,从这个人被烧焦的衣服和黑乎乎的脸上可以看出,他是从大火中出来的,曾经的黑袍破烂不堪,绕过肩膀周围,一直垂到腰间。他把手藏在这件袍子下面。

“安德鲁先生,”扬·康迪轻声说道,“我在街上发现了——克鲁兹先生。”他看到安德鲁满脸惊讶就解释道,“他的神志不太正常,大脑受到了一些东西的影响。不过,他带来了一件我们感兴趣的东西。”

安德鲁先生转过身看着克鲁兹——要不是扬·康迪的解释,他无论如何也认不出这是谁。约瑟夫好奇地盯着眼前这个怪异焦黑的身影,还有他在袍子下面交叉起来的神秘双手。

“哈哈哈!”炼金术士突然大笑起来,“大火把一切都带上天啦!你最后也没找到金子!约翰·特林!”说完,他又焦虑地看了看周围,“约翰·特林呢?他不回答我。他消失在大火中了。硝石扔进炭火,火焰赤红,发紫!噢呵!约翰·特林!来呀,约翰·特林,看看这个长夜之后我给你带来了什么!”

他把黑袍甩向身后,举起了藏在下面的东西。正在此时,阳光穿过东边的小窗户照进屋里,洒在那个东西上面,突然它就像成千上万颗钻石一样在清晨新修的草地上闪烁,那光芒就像瓦维尔山上国王宫殿里的大吊灯一样光彩夺目,像是王后冠上的红宝石和祖母绿一样璀璨,这个在晨曦的红色光焰照耀之下闪烁的奇妙之物,便是塔尔诺夫大水晶球!

“这个东西哪来的?”安德鲁惊讶地大喊了出来,惊醒了隔壁的安德鲁太太和埃尔兹别塔,“天啊,你是在哪儿找到这个多年以来一直都在我们家的宝贝的?我和我的祖先发誓要永远守护它,除了波兰国王,不会将它交给任何人。它不是被偷走了吗?为此我伤心了好久。它怎么到了你的手里?是不是从那个被国王亲兵抓走的恶棍手里抢过来的?难道是从大火的废墟里找到的?是不是——”真相突然闪现在他的脑海中,他不再说话。

“这个东西被诅咒了!”炼金术士突然喊道,他靠在扬·康迪胳膊上,身子摇摇晃晃,好像要晕倒了似的。“这上面沾满了鲜血,还有火!它引诱王公贵族走向毁灭!它让人因为欲望而疯狂!它让好人偷盗,恶人杀戮!我不要它了!我不要了!”他整个人像疯了一样,但这阵疯狂背后又显露着理智和决心。“我再也不要它了,”他重复着,“再也不理约翰·特林了!”

说完,他就晕倒在地。

扬·康迪把他扶起来,而埃尔兹别塔已经从号手房间跑了出来,她冲到他身边,亲吻着、爱抚着她叔叔那双被大火熏黑的双手。

安德鲁拾起塔尔诺夫大水晶球,微笑着将它举起一臂之远。

“现在我们所有人都将安享和平,”他说,“我终于可以履行家族的誓言,将它献给国王了。如果大水晶球的藏身之处还无人知晓,我或许还能一直这样留着它,既然现在秘密已经泄露了,它唯一安全的地方就是国王的宫殿了。克鲁兹先生说的没错,它已经给世间带来了太多的灾害。”

“既然这样,你马上就可以摆脱它了。”扬·康迪说道,“国王两天前回到了克拉科夫,我们今天上午就可以去城堡了。”

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