opposite hill the gigantic figure of a horsemen.

The princess had risen; but now she sat down, her face changed with fear.
Danusia hid her face in the folds of the princess' dress. The courtiers,
ladies and _rybalts_, who were on horseback behind the carriage, having
heard the ill-omened name, began to surround the carriage. The men tried
to laugh, but there was fear in their eyes; the young girls were pale;
only Mikolaj of Dlugolas maintained his composure and wishing to
tranquilize the princess, said:

"Don't be frightened, gracious lady. The sun has not yet set; and even if
it were night, Saint Ptolomeus will manage Walgierz."

In the meanwhile, the unknown horseman, having mounted the top of the
hill, stopped his horse and stood motionless. In the rays of the setting
sun, one could see him very distinctly; his stature seemed greater than
ordinary human dimensions. The space separating him from the princess'
retinue was not more than three hundred steps.

"Why is he stopping?" asked one of the _rybalts_.

"Because we stopped," answered Macko.

"He is looking toward us as if he would like to choose somebody," said
another _rybalt_; "if I were sure he was a man and not an evil spirit, I
would go and give him a blow on the head with the lute."

The women began to pray aloud, but Zbyszko wishing to show his courage to
the princess and Danusia, said: