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Ttiwttif iiiiinMi>HiiartWiraw*flüs.u
THE FOREIGN
CLAS;-i
^J
UNIVERSITY Oi CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO
sAN UNIVERSITY OF CAUFOfjNIA
I)
tbu
3 1822 02686 8786
.
r
The
Foreign Classical Romances
Complete
in
Twenty Crown Octavo Volumes
WITH INTRODUCTORY E8SAY8 BY
HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE,
L.H.D., LL.D.
etc.
Co-Editor N. Y. Outlook. Author of "Norse Stories," "Essays on Books and Culture,"
PROF.
MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN,
A.M., LL.D.
Novelists," e»c.
Catholic University of America. Author of "Studies in Literature," "Modern
PROF. LEO
WIENER
Harvard University. Translator of Tolstoy's Complete Works. Author of "Anthology of Russian Literature," etc.
BARON GUSTAVO TOSTI
Doctor of Laws, Naples University.
Royal Consul of
Italy at Boston.
WOLF VON SCHIERBRAND
Former Berlin Correspondent N. Y. Evening Post.
Author of "Germany,"
etc.
A.
Licentiate
SCHADE VAN WESTRUM
University.
Literary Editor
Amsterdam
N. Y. Mail and
Express.
General Editor
:
LIONEL STRACHEY
Compiler of "Little Masterpieces of Fiction." Translator of Stories by Balzac, Sudermann, Serao, etc.
FRONTISPIECES AND PIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
MAURUS JOKAÍ
Poor Plutocrats
Poor
Plutocrats
TRANSLATED FROM THE HUNGARIAN
#*
A FRONTISPIECE AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
P. F.
COLLIER
^7-
SON
NEW YORK
POOR PLUTOCRATS
(F)
— (I)— Vol.
20
y
'^
CONTENTS
PAGE
LlFE,OF JÓKAI
.
.
.
^^^.
5
I
CHAPTER
Boredom
'
-y
;.^H AFTER
.
n
2^
-H:
A New Mode
of Dueling
.*^
.'CHAPTER-
III
. . :
^
An Amiable Man
Childish Nonsense
i^
.y:
37
CHAPTER
..X'.yT
IV
4-'^
.^ /' CHAPTER V
.
She
is
Not for You.
.'.
^
.írrN..
71
CHAPTER
Brixging
VI
85
Home the 3ride
CHAPTER
fe
VII
iij
Cavern of Lucsia
Strong Juon
rTTABTRf? VTTT -^^
•
^^
^43
*
•
'CHAPTER
The Geina Maíd-Market
IX
157
CHAPTER X
The Black Jewelry
165
CHAPTER
Two
Tales, of
3
XI
is
Which Only One
True
188
1
Contents
CHAPTER
Receptions at Arad
XII
207
XIII
22
CHAPTER
Tit for Tat
CHAPTER XIV
The Mikalai
Inn
244
CHAPTER XV
Who
it
Was that
Recognized Fatia Negra.
.
.
255
CHAPTER XVI
Leander Baberossy
290
CHAPTER
Mr. Margari
XVII
303
CHAPTER
The Undiscoverable Lady
XVIII
319
CHAPTER XIX
The Shaking Hand
342
CHAPTER XX
The Fight
for the Gold
349
CHAPTER XXI
The Hunted Beast
363
CHAPTER
The Sight
of Terror
XXII
388
CHAPTER
The Accommodation
XXIII
401
CHAPTER XXIV
Conclusion
406
4
LIFE OF JÓKAI
TO
obtain an adequate idea of the "patriarch of
literature"
Magyar
as a
factor in the world of
books,
capacity for
one must
first
consider
the
tremendous
work enabling
Jókai, by the time he
had
reached his
fiftieth year, to
publish close
upon two hun-
dred volumes.
This enormous output
—suggesting com-
parison with the much-quoted
fecundity of the elder
Dumas
—included
twenty-nine long novels, numbering
together a hundred volumes, two volumes of poetry, two
of dramatic work, six of
eight
filled
humorous
tales.
writings,
and
sixty-
with miscellaneous
At
that age he
all
had
seen his best productions translated into
the principal
European languages, while as a
Magyars,
he had
political leader of the
in their protracted conflict with the Austrians,
won
a
name
for shining patriotism.
Komorn, a small town on the Danube, was the birthplace of Maurus Jókai, who died in 1904 when on the
verge of completing eight decades of
origin,
life.
By
family
and through both parents, he belonged to the
nobility.
minor order of Hungarian
English equivalent
His father was
a
lawyer of high standing, and Maurus
is
Maurice
5
—was
—
of which the
in early
youth given
Life
of Jdkai
to understand that he, too, should follow the legal profession.
Educated at home
till
his tenth year,
and having
shown
a precocious taste for literature, painting, and
sculpture, he
was
in
1836 sent to a school at Pressburg,
proceeding thence to the Calvinist College at Pápá, where
he formed lasting friendship with the two future national
celebrities,
Petfi and Kozma.
He was
then articled to
a lawyer, and though he applied himself conscientiously
to the study of jurisprudence, so that he earned his
diploma, he spent his leisure hours in composing his
first
book.
In 1845, ^^ nineteen, he betook himself to
Pesth with the manuscript of "The
Jew Boy,"
for
which
he soon found a publisher.
The
qualities of this
work
won
praise
from several men of
capital.
letters residing at the
Hungarian
Encouraged by
his
success, Jókai
indited another romance,
"Working Days," which was
its
issued serially in the "Pesti Dvietalap," and eventually
between cloth covers.
its
In spite of
obvious crudities,
melodramatic extravagancies, "Working Days" was
hailed as the effort of an original genius, leading, in fact,
to such a rapid rise in the author's prestige that,
on his
appointment to the editorship of the "Életképek," Hungary's prime literary journal, he found rallying around
him
he
the flower of
Magyar
notables of the pen.
first
Three years
married,
actress,
after
the publication of his
for
his
;
book,
choosing
partner
a
favorite
tragic
Roza Laborfalvi
another few months
bringing forth events that prompted him to volunteer
with the revolutionists in the cause of Hungarian
in-
6
Life of Jókai
dependence.
before the
Though a moderate
call
liberal,
Jókai had long
to
arms sided with the great Kossuth,
Like
acting as his literary and journalistic spokesman.
Kossuth, Jókai held the invincible belief that the Magyar
was competent
to
govern himself without interference
;
from the house of Hapsburg and
colored
affected
his
his voluntary
and
active
participation in the struggle for independence not only
whole
political
career,
but
more or
less
the remainder of his literary endeavors.
He
fought in Görgei's memorable campaign of 1848, and
was present at the battle of Arad, whose sequel was the Hungarian surrender at Világos. It is recorded how this catastrophe overwhelmed the author-patriot to the point of making him resolve upon suicide, and how
nothing
but
the
passionate
entreaties
of
his
friends
changed
his purpose.
With Hungary now reduced
ical
to the condition of an
Austrian dependency, himself a marked
suspect, Jókai
man and
a polit-
determined,
if
he could not be his
country's savior, at least to aid in preserving her traditions,
thereby keeping
to this
Magyar
patriotism aglow.
He
saw the means
end in the printed word, in the
circulation of books
nalistic enterprises
and periodicals: as one of the jour-
undertaken after Hungary's suppres-
sion
may
be cited his founding of the "Hon."
The
extreme vigor characterizing his
political opinions nat-
urally did not fail to excite Austrian apprehension, the
climax being reached with his condemnation
for publishing seditious writings, to twelve
(i860),
in
months
7
Life of Jdkai
irons, a sentence
commuted by
the
Emperor
to a month*s
solitary confinement, in the course of
which he wrote the
strongly autobiographical
tale,
"The Lady with Eyes
since.
Like the Sea," and during which, he says, he received
more
brilliant
company than ever before or
prison
episode,
After
the
Jókai
showered
forth
a
stream of novels,
among them some
destined to inter-
national popularity, such as
"A Man
of Gold,"
"The
Lion of Janina," "Black Diamonds," "The Golden Age
of Transylvania,"
"The Yellow Rose," "Sad Days,"
Plutocrats," "There
all
is
"The Hungarian Nabob," "Poor
No
Devil," "Pretty Michal."
But
his
works of
this
period were eagerly read by his compatriots;
many
of
them breathed the aspirations of the
influence in keeping hot the spirit
Magyar
race for
independence; as a whole, they exerted an undoubted
which resulted
the
in the
constitutional concessions
made
to
Hungary by
"Com-
promise" of 1867.
Enthusiastically elected to the lower
parliamentary branch, Jókai in that assembly displayed
conspicuous
gifts
of
practical
statesmanship,
supple-
mented by the resource and wit of a keen, magnetic debater.
Bringing, besides, his various journals to the
of
his
political
support
speedily
principles
and
associates,
he
grew
to the position of a
towering figure in
national affairs.
Far from acquiring any
sort of fatuity in consequence
of his triumphs, Jókai never lost his balance.
He was
always reputed modest and genial, and one of his coun-
trymen has described him as "the best beloved individual
8
Life of Jókai
in
Hungary."
A
personal friend of the Empress Eliza-
beth of Austria, he was Hkewise highly esteemed by her
imperial consort, Francis Joseph,
who gave him
a seat in
in
the
upper
first
chamber,
wife, to
the
"Magnatenhaus,"
inspiration he
1897.
to
Jókai's
whose
was wont
attribute the greater part of his renown, died in 1886;
though she was
his senior
by several years,
their union
had been
ideal.
After thirteen years of widowerhood,
he took a second wife, a young actress named Bella
Nagy.
On
his death the
Austro-Hungarian Empire may
be said to have gone into mourning.
A
public funeral
the
was accorded him by the unanimous vote of both Hungarian legislative houses.
9
POOR PLUTOCRATS
CHAPTER
BOREDOM
I
"Was
it
you who yawned
so,
Clementina?"
Nobody answered. The questioner was an
year or
so,
old gentleman in his eightieth
silk
dressed in a splendid flowered
kaftan,
with a woolen night-cap on his head,
warm
cotton stock-
ings on his feet, and diamond, turquoise, and ruby rings
on
his fingers.
He was
wooden
reclining
as a
on an
atlas
ottoman;
his face
was
as
mummy's
had a dry, thin, pointed nose, shaggy, autumnal-yellow eyebrows; his large prominent black eyes, protected by irritably sensitive eyelids, lent
of wrinkles
little
work
—he
—
a
mere patch-
charm
to his peculiar cast of countenance.
"Well!
behind
Will nobody answer?
Who
yawned
so loudly
my
snort.
back just now?" he asked again, with an
angry
"Will nobody answer?"
ber of people in the
Nobody answered, and yet there was a sufficient numroom to have found an answer among
In front of the fireplace there sat a young
them.
woman
of thirty or thirty-five, with just such a strongly-pro-
nounced pointed nose, with just such high raised eye-
brows as the old gentleman's, but her face was
II
still
red
Poor Plutocrats
(though possibly Nature's favor had not much to do witH
that) and her eyebrows were
still
black;
when
she was
not speaking, her thin
sealed as the old man's.
lips
were just as hermetically
This young
woman was
play-
ing at Patience.
In one of the windows sat a young girl of sixteen, a
delicate creature of rapid
growth, whose every limb and
fragile.
feature seemed
preternaturally thin and
sort of sewing.
She
was occupied with some
tle
sewing-table, immediately opposite to
At another lither, was a red-
cheeked damsel with a frightful
figure
it.
mop
of light hair and a
which had
all
the possibilities of stoutness before
She was a
sort of governess,
and was supposed to
it.
be English, though they had only her word for
She
was reading a book.
On
the silk ottoman behind lay the already mentioned
Clementina,
who ought
life,
to
have confessed
to the sin of
yawning.
the
She was
a spinster already far
advanced
in
afternoon of
and had cinder-colored
ringlets
around her temples and a suspicion of a beard on her
chin.
She was no blood-relation of the family,
but, as
a former companion to a former mistress of the house,
had long eaten the bread of charity under that roof. She
was now engaged upon some eye-tormenting,
very much amusement.
fine fancy
work, which could not have afforded the poor creature
The
old gentleman on the sofa used to divert himself
the whole day
by assembling as many human beings aroimd him as possible and driving them to desperation
12
—
Poor Plutocrats
by
his
unendurable nagging and chiding; they, on the
other hand, had by this time discovered that the best
defense against this domestic visitation was never to
answer so much
as a word.
"Of
near
course! of course!" continued the old gentleman
"I
I
with stinging sarcasm.
know what
a bore
it
it is
to be
me and
that I
about me.
see through
all.
Yes, I
know
am
an unendurable old fellow, on
I
whom
not
a single
word should be wasted.
sitting here beside
you are not
be here.
know well enough that me because you like to
not pre-
Who
compels you?
I certainly shall
vent anybody's petticoat from going of be
it.
away by
eh?
laying hold
to
The
gate
is
not closed.
Nothing easier than
oi¥.
Yet nobody
likes the idea,
Ah-ha!
It is
possible that
when
old
the eye of old Lapussa
no longer
sees,
the
heart of
Lapussa
tell
Besides,
die.
nobody can
may no longer remember. exactly when the old man may
Indeed they are waiting for his death every hour
is
he
beyond eighty already.
A
is
most awful bore
If
rate,
cer-
tainly.
Ah-ha!
is
The
old fool
unable to get up any
more, he
out,
not even able to strike anybody.
is
he
cries
nobody
afraid of him;
but, at
any
he has
strength enough to pull the bell-rope, send for his steward, tell
him
to
go
to the office of the prefect, there ferret
out and bring back his last will and testament
—and then
he can dictate another will to his lawyer quite cozily at
his ease."
In
order to emphasize his words more terribly, he
at the bell-rope.
gave a tug
13
Poor Plutocrats
Still
nobody turned toward him the woman kept
;
deal-
ing out the cards, the young girl continued working beads
into her sampler, the governess
went on reading, and the
delicate operation-
old spinster
was
still
intent
if
upon some
with her needle
—
just as
nobody had spoken a word.
In answer to the bell an ancient serving-man appeared
in the
little
doorway, and the old gentleman, after waiting a
to see
from the countenances of those present (he
could observe them in the mirror opposite) whether his
allusion to his will
had produced any
it
effect,
and finding
no notice caken of
voice: "Louis!"
whatever, said in a sharp, petulant
The
again.
servant approached the sofa and then stood
still
"My
The
slight
dinner!"
This was the end of the awe-inspiring threat.
old gentleman observed, or rather suspected,
some
amusement
in the
company
present.
"Miss Kleary!" he observed
serve that Henrietta
I
is
irritably,
"don't you ob-
looking out of the
window again ?
in a
am
bound. Miss, to direct your attention to the fact
that I consider such a thing decidedly
unbecoming
young lady." "Dear Grandpapa!
"Silence!
I
—
" began the accused.
did not speak to Henrietta; I spoke to
Miss Kleary.
Miss Henrietta
I
is still
a child,
who
under-
stands nothing.
neither address her nor attempt to
explain anything to her.
this house, I
But
I
keep Miss Kleary in
salary, in order
pay Miss Kleary a princely
14
"
Poor Plutocrats
that I
may have some
I
one at hand to
whom
I
can explain
are
are
my
educational ideas.
good; nay, Miss,
very good.
to stick to them.
Now, my educational ideas think I may even say that they
beg you to do
I will therefore
I
me
the favor
not to be allowed young girls; I
know what ought and what ought know that
—
The young
antly
girl's face
blushed beneath the reproachful
defi-
look of the old tyrant, while the governess rose
from her
place, and, in order that she
might wreak
her anger upon some one, industriously proceeded to pick
holes in Henrietta's sewing and effectually spoil her whole day's work.
Thus,
it
will be perceived, only
one person had the
right to speak; the only right the other people had was
not to listen to him.
But there was some one
began to hammer with his
door
at
else in the
background who
had better rights than anybody, and
fists
this
some one now
on the door, that very
which the oldest and most trusty domestics
hardly dared to tap
fists
—began,
I say, to
hammer with
his
and kick with
his heels
till
every one was downright
scared.
This was the
spoiled darling,
little
grandson,
the
old
gentleman's
little
Maksi.
let
"Why
little
don't you
in little
Maksi?"
cried the old
gentleman when he heard him.
to reach the door-handle
"Open
is
the
door for
Maksi; don't you know that he
?
not
tall
enough
Why
15
don't you
let
him come
to
me when
he wants to come?"
:
Poor Plutocrats
At
the
that
moment
the footman opened the door, and
in.
little
family prince bounded
It
was
a pale
little
moldy
sort of flower, with red eyes
like a carp,
and a cornerless
mouth
but with the authentic family nose
and the appurtenances thereof, which took up so much
room
as to imperil seriously the prospects of the rest of
the head
growing
in proportion.
The
little
favorite
was
wearing a complete Uhlan costume, even the four-cornered shako being stuck on the side of his head; he was
flourishing a zinc
sword and grumbling
little
bitterly.
"What's the matter with
been annoying him?"
Maksi?
in
Has anybody
that
Grandpapa succeeded
tutor
at
last
making out
on
running out Maksi had tripped over his sword, that his
had wanted to take
his
it,
it
away, that Maksi had therehe had
upon drawn
smart with
weapon, and made the aggressor's hand
finally fled for
and that
refuge to
grandpapa's room as the only place where he was free
from the persecutions of
Grandpapa,
his instructors.
in a terrible to-do,
began
to question
him
the
"Come
head, eh
in fact!
here!
?
Where
!
did you hit yourself?
On
Let us see
Why,
it is
swollen up
it!
—
quite red
Put some opodeldoc on
Clementina, do
you hear? some opodeldoc for Maksi!" So the family medicament had to be fetched at once but Maksi, snatch;
—
ing
it
from the worthy
spinster's hand,
threw
it
vio-
lently to the ground, so that the
whole carpet was bespat-
tered with
it.
Nobody was allowed
to scold
him
for this, however,
i6
Poor Plutocrats
as
grandpapa
was
instantly
ready
with
an excuse:
"Maksi must not be vexed," wear a sword by
his side
said he.
"Does not Maksi
Maksi
will be a
already?
!"
great soldier one of these days
"Yes," replied the lad defiantly;
"I'll
be a general!"
less
"Yes, Maksi shall be a general; nothing
general, of course.
than a
But come,
my
boy, take your finger
out of your mouth."
The English governess here thought
she saw an oppor-
tunity of insinuating a professional remark.
"He who would
a great deal."
be a general must
first
of
all
learn
"I don't want to learn.
I
mean
to
know
if
everything
lots of
without learning
it.
I say,
grandpa,
you've
money, you
ing
it,
will
know everything
at once without learn-
won't you ?"
The old man looked around him triumphantly. "Now, that I call genius, wit!" cried he.
And
head to
with that he tenderly pressed the
his breast
little
is
urchin's
and murmured: "Ah! he
flesh
my
very
grandson,
my own
and blood."
irritated all the others
He was
well aware
how
would
be at these words.
Meanwhile the footman was laying a
of a swan.
table.
This table
was of palisander wood and supported by
It
the semblance
could be placed close beside the ottoman,
and was
filled
with twelve different kinds of dishes.
All
these meats were cold, for the doctor forbade his patient
hot food.
The
old gentleman tasted each one of the
17
Poor Plutocrats
dishes with the aid of his finger-tips, and not one of
them pleased him.
This was too
salt,
that
was too
sweet,
a third was burnt, a fourth was tainted.
to discharge the cook,
He
threatened
and
bitterly
complained that as he
did not die quickly enough for them, they were conspiring to starve him.
They might have
things
replied that he
had ordered
all
these
himself
yesterday;
but
nobody took the trouble
the old
to contradict
him any
longer,
so gradually the storm died
away
of
its
own
accord, and
man, turning toward Maksi, tenderly invited him
eat with me, Maksi,
to partake of the disparaged dishes.
"Come and
"That
"Oh,
I
my
darling."
will,"
cried
the
little
horror,
grabbing at
everything simultaneously with both hands.
fie,
fie!" said
let
grandpapa gently.
the footman go with
out for a ride, and
his tutor!"
"Take Maksi him instead of
little
The
old gentleman then pushed the
signified to the
round table aside and
footman that he
was to put all the dishes carefully away, as he should want to see them again on the morrow. The footman conscientiously obeyed this command which was given
regularly every day
—and
well
—
locked up
all
the dishes, well
if
aware
that he
would get a sound jacketing
he
to
failed
to produce a single one of
them when required
do
so.
The
servant
old
in
man knew
the house
enough that there was not a
lain
who, for any reward on earth, on
in such
would think of touching any food that had ever
his table; indeea, they held
it
horror that they
In order,
used regularly to distribute
it
among
the poor.
i8
Poor Plutocrats
therefore, that the very beggars
might have nothing
till it
to
thank him
for,
he had the food kept
let
was almost
rotten before he
them have
it.
As
for his
own
family,
he had not dined at the same table with them for ten
years.
It
was
old
certainly not a sociable family.
For example,
red-cheeked
the
gentleman's
widowed
daughter,
Madame
I^ngai, did not exchange a single word with
her father for weeks at a time. her to remain in the same
At
first
he had expected
till
room with him
nine o'clock
every evening, dealing out cards for him, or boring herself to
death in some other
it
endured
last,
for a whole
way for his amusement. She month without a word but at
;
one evening,
in
at seven o'clock, she
appeared
l^efore
him
evening dress, and said that she was going to the
theatre.
Old Lapussa glared
at her
with
all
his eyes.
"To
the theatre?" cried he.
"Yes, I have ordered a box."
"Really?
Well,
I
hope you
will
enjoy yourself!"
The
lady quitted
from that
him moment she would
with a shrug.
She knew
that
inherit a million less than
her elder brother ; but nevertheless she went to the theatre
regularly every day, and never stirred
from her box so
long as there was any one on the stage
to say.
who had
a
word
The Lapussa
of
its
family was of too recent an origin for
the great world to take
much
19
notice of
it,
and the fame
fabulous wealth went hand in hand with the rumor
Poor Plutocrats
of a sordid avarice which was not a recommendable
quality in the eyes of the true gentry.
The Lapussas
but simply rich.
were, in fact, not of gentle blood at
all,
Madame
Langai's elder brother, John, was notoriously
the greatest bore in the town,
members of
father
his
own
family
who nobody, from the down to his cofifee-house
Only
at
acquaintances, could endure for a moment.
his
made much of him.
;
For
all
his great wealth, he lent
little
was very stingy and greedy he even to his best friends. Our amusing was
this
money
usury
friend, Maksi,
man's son.
The
slender, fanciful damsel,
Hen-
rietta,
who appeared
race,
in that family like
an errant angel
specially sent there to be
tormented for the sins of her
whole
was
the orphan daughter of another son of
lost father
old Lapussa,
who had
and mother
at the
same
time 'n the most tragical manner; they had both been
''
wned by
the capsizing of a small boat on the Danube.
Henrietta herself had only been saved with the utmost
difficulty.
She was only twelve years old
at the time,
and the catastrophe had had such an
of anger, and often
cause.
effect
upon her
nerves that ever afterward she collapsed at the least sign
fell
a-weeping for no appreciable
Since the death of her parents,
who had
loved
her dearly, Henrietta had been obliged to live at her
grandfather's house, where nobody loved anybody.
But no,
by name,
I am mistaken. She had a brother, Koloman who was a somewhat simple but thoroughly
good-natured youth.
He
used to appear very rarely
among
his relatives because they
always
fell
foul of him.
20
Poor Plutocrats
The poor
ful,
fellow's sole fault
was
that he
was
in the habit
of regularly selling his
after
all,
new
clothes.
Still, I
am
doubt-
whether
this
can fairly be imputed to him
it
as a fault at
all,
for although
was always being dinned
rich,
into his ears that his family
was immensely
he was
never blessed with a penny to spend in amusing himself
with his comrades, and therefore had to do the best he
could to raise the wind.
Another
failing of
in
Koloman's
was
his
that he
would not learn Latin, and
consequence
thereof he had to suffer
many
things.
Old Lapussa and
son John indeed had no notion whatever of the Latin
tongue.
The former
all,
in his youthful
days had never gone
to school at
because he was occupied in building up
latter
a business.
The
had not gone to school
in his
rich,
youth because by that time his people were already
and he considered
it
beneath him.
The
consequeno^^ -^as
t"^^>b
that neither father nor son
had a proper idea on
simplest subjects, except
travels.
Still that
what they picked up on
their
was no reason
why Koloman
full
should
not learn, but as the tutor had his hands
little
already with
to
Maksi, Koloman was
obliged to
go
the
nahis
tional school in order to
become a wiser man than
forebears.
Poor Henrietta often slaved away
helping
for hours at a time
side,
with her younger brother sitting at the table by her
him
to struggle through the genders, declensions,
conjugations, or whatever else the infernal things were
called to
;
and the end of
better
know Latin
was that, at last, she learned than Koloman, and secretly transit all
21
Poor Plutocrats
lated all his
exercises
from Cornelius Nepos and the
"Bucolics" of Virgil for him.
But we must not linger any longer over these Latin
lessons,
for a
much more important event
John
is
claims our
attention
—Mr.
coming home, and we must
hasten forward to admire him.
whole family.
Mr. John Lapussa was a composite portrait of the His extraordinarily lanky pinched figure
it
was by nature because he he peered down from that elevation upon humanity at large as if there was something the matter with his eyes which prevented him from properly raising the lids. In him the dimensions
seemed even lankier than
always carried his head so high
:
of the family nose were
made
still
more remarkable by
lips.
an inordinately tiny chin and thin compressed
His
mustache was shaved down
mouth, only a
left
little
to the very corners of his
mouse-tail sort of arrangement being
on each
side,
which was twisted upward and dyed
skill.
black with infinite
ultra-refined,
His costume was elegant and
in being
and only differed from the fashion
fitting.
extra
stiff
and tight
Moreover,
all
the buttons
of his shirt and his waistcoat were precious stones, and
he had a plenitude of rings on his fingers, which he
delighted to
show
off
by ostentatiously adjusting his
cravat in the course of conversation, or softly stroking
the surface of his superfine coat.
Mr. John entered the room without looking at a soul, and paced up and down it with his hands behind his
back.
Then he suddenly caught
22
sight of his father, kissed
Poor Plutocrats
his hand,
and resumed
his dignified saunter.
It
was
evi-
dent that he was bursting for some one to speak and ask
him what was
the matter.
first
Clementina was the
to speak.
"Your honor!"
said she.
still
"What
is
it?"
he asked, Hfting his head
higher.
"I have finished the embroidery for your shirt front
which your honor was pleased to command."
His honor with a haughty curl of the
to glance
lip
condescended
I
down upon
the profiered embroidery.
am
was a poor physiognomist; she might have noticed from his face how utterly indifferent he was
afraid Clementina
to her
and her embroidery, which he regarded with puckgood.
ered eyes and screwed-up mouth.
"No And
Those flowers are too big;
it is
the sort of
thing the Wallachian peasants stitch on to their shirts."
with that he took up Clementina's scissors from
little bits
the work-table and deliberately snipped into
the
whole of the
difficult piece
woman had
finally
been slaving
it
work which the worthy away at for a week and more,
of
sat
pitching
there and stared
away contemptuously while she at him dumfounded.
"John, John!" exclaimed the old
strance.
man
I
in mild
remon-
"To show me
I
such rubbish
I
when
am mad! When
am
wroth!
are
When
am
beside myself with fury!"
"Why
you angry, and with whom?"
if
John went on as
cause of his anger.
he
did
not
mean
to
tell
the
He
flung himself into an armchair,
23
Poor Plutocrats
crossed his legs, plunged his hands into the depths of his
pockets,
and then, starting up, began to
furious."
t.it- the
room
again.
"I
am
"Then what's the matter?" inquired
anxiously.
the
old
man
John again flung himself
into
an armchair and cocked
:
one leg over the arm of the chair
for-nothing Hátszegi!" he cried.
lain, a
"It
is all
that goodis
"The fellow
a
vil-
scoundrel, a robber!"
"What "What
again;
has he done?"
has he done?" cried John, leaping to his feet
you.
"I'll tell
Yesterday he sent word to
me by
sale.
his broker that he
would
like to
I
buy those houses of
have offered for
ours in Széchenyi Square, which
Wishing
self at
to save broker's expenses I
went
to see
him my-
twelve o'clock.
Surely that
calls.
is
the most convenient
least I
time for paying business
At
have always
supposed
so.
I
entered his antechamber and there stood
—me,
Very
wait.
a flunky.
He
told
me
I
must wait!
Told me forsooth
John Lapussa
I
—
that I
must cool
my
heels in an
antechamber, at an inn, to please that wretched Hátszegi.
well.
waited.
I
I sent I
him a message
sit
that I
would
all
Meanwhile
found
could not
down anywhere,
for the rascal had piled dirty boots the chairs.
and brushes on
Presently the rascal of a servant came back
that his master could not see
in
and told
I
me
me
then,
would
come back again
the afternoon
—
I,
John Lapussa,
forsooth!
Absolutely would not speak to me, but told
24
Poor Plutocrats
me
to
come again another time
!
!
Thou
all
dog, thou wretched
rascal
T
A
wait, I say, that's
!"
At
this the old
man
also
grew
excited.
"Why
''I'll
did
it,
you not box
and do
it
his ears?" cried he.
I'll
do
well.
It
not stand
it.
What!
I
send a Lapussa packing!
shall
can not be overlooked.
immediately go and find two seconds and challenge
to a duel."
him
"Nay, John, don't do that!
in the street,
Don't even box his ears
but give a street-porter ten shillings to
;
cudgel him well as he comes out of the theatre
be best!"
that will
"No,
insults
I
I will kill
him.
I will
shed his blood.
He who
off the
me
in a
gentlemanly manner must be shown that
like a
can revenge myself
gentleman.
I will
wipe
score with pistols
—with
pistols, I say."
The
except
old
man and
the female
this
members of the family
all
were duly impressed by
bragging, or, rather,
Madame
Langai,
who was
getting ready for the
theatre,
and took no notice of the general conversation.
Mr. John was much put out by her indiiference. "Matilda," he asked, "what do you say? Ought I not
to fight after such an insult?"
Madame Langai answered
the unavoidable question
if
with a cold smile: "I would only say that
any one
angers you another time you had better expend your
wrath upon him before dinner, for wrath
till
if
you nurse your
after dinner
you
spoil the
whole thing."
Mr. John
listened to her in silence,
and then resumed
25
(F)— (2)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
his
promenade with
his
hands behind
his back, snorting
furiously.
out.
Suddenly he snatched up his cap and rushed
"John, John, what are you going to do?" the old
called after
man
him
in a supplicating voice.
I'll
"You'll very soon see,
the door behind him.
warrant you," and he banged
The
Langai,
old
man
turned reproachfully toward
did
Madame
"Why
He
you
irritate
enough already?" he
death?
cried.
him when he was mad "What will you gain by his
you
little
has a son
who
will inherit everything,
know.
Yes, everything will belong to
Maksi."
Madame Langai
strings.
calmly went on tying her bonnet
"I
know what
fiery
is
blood he has," mumbled the old
will listen to
man.
is
"When
he
angry he
nobody, and
capable of facing a whole army.
We
must prevent
this duel
somehow.
And you
are actually preparing to
go
to the theatre
when
things have
come
to such a pass?
You
are actually going to see a comedy!"
actor Ladislaus plays just the
"The
bitterly.
same parts on
the
stage as John does off the stage," replied
Madame Langai
Don't be afraid.
"And
I
am
as
little
afraid of John's rodomon-
tade as I
He'll
am of
the result of stage duels.
come
to no harm."
to
A
footman now entered
announce that the coach
mantilla,
at least,
was ready, and Madame Langai, adjusting her went to the playhouse where the actors were,
amusing.
26
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
A
II
NEW MODE
OF DUELING
Old Lapussa
and day,
worry.
Till
always liked to have under his eye, night
some one or other
whom
he could plague and
eight o'clock every evening he
occupied in tormenting the whole family.
was fully Then Madame
drawing-
Langai went to the theatre and Henrietta and the governess had to
sit
down
at the piano in the large
room
till
it
was time
to put the child to bed.
But when
Clementina and the domestics had had supper, and there
was no longer anybody
night nurse began.
else
with him, the turn of the
The
life
duties of a night nurse are never very enviable
or diverting at the best of times, yet penal servitude for
was a
fate almost preferable to being the nocturnal
guardian
of
old
Demetrius
with
Lapussa.
this
The unhappy
at night
till
wretch
sit at
who was burdened
heavy charge had to
Mr. Lapussa's bed from nine o'clock
early the following morning,
and read aloud to him all sorts of things the whole time. Old Demetrius was a very bad sleeper. The whole night long he scarcely His eyes would only slept more than an hour at a time.
close
when
the droning voice of
some one reading aloud
27
Poor Plutocrats
made
his
head dizzy, and then he would doze off for a
short time.
But
at the slightest
pause he would instantly
left off,
awake and angrily ask the reader why he him on again.
and urge
fifty
The
living
reader in question was a student
more than
years old, who, time out of mind, had been making a
by fair-copying
all
sorts of difficult manuscripts.
He
was an honest, simple creature who, in his time, had
hard to push his way into every conceivable busitill,
tried
ness and profession without ever succeeding,
at last,
when he was
fall
well over
fifty,
he was fortunate enough to
to
in
with an editor,
who happened
know
that
Demetrius Lapussa wanted a reader, and recommended
the poor devil for the post.
He knew
Hungarian, Latin,
all
and Slovack well enough to mix them
up together;
it,
German he
read for his
could read, though he did not understand
but this was not necessary, for he was not expected to
own edification. The worthy man, then, grew prematurely
all
old in read-
ing, year out, year in, aloud to :Mr.
Demetrius, one after
another,
the
German
translations of French novels
procurable at Robert Lempel's circulating library, with-
word of them. Mr. Demetrius had, naturally, no library of his own, for reading to him in his condition was pretty much the same as medicine,
out understanding a single
and who would ever think of keeping a dispensary on
his
own
premises?
I
may add
that the reader received
florins a
free board
and lodging, and ten
month
pocket-
money
for his services.
28
Poor Plutocrats
On
that particular night,
when Mr. John
not whether
flung out of
the house in such a violent rage, Mr. Demetrius
particularly sleepless.
I
was
to be
it
know
Monte
Cristo,
the
first
volume of which honest Margari happened
this,
reading just then, was the cause of
or whether
was due
to the old
man's nervousness about the
terrible
things John
was
likely to do, but the fact this occasion
remains that
poor Margari on
labors.
relief.
got no respite from his
At other times Margari did manage to get a little Whenever he observed that Mr. Demetrius was beginning to draw longer breaths than usual he would let his head sink down on his book and fall asleep immediately till the awakened tyrant roused him out of his slumbers and made him go on again. But now he was
not suffered to have a moment's peace.
Cristo had already been sitting in his dungeon some time when Madame Langai's carriage returned from the theatre. Then Mr. Demetrius rang up the
for
Monte
porters to inquire whether Mr.
John had
also returned
home.
No, was the answer.
not returned.
At
eleven o'clock Mr. John
Cristo's neigh-
had
still
Meanwhile Monte
bor had traced the figure on the floor of the dungeon.
Mr. Demetrius here demanded a
the circumstances.
quired.
fuller explanation of
"How was
that,
Margari?" he
in-
"I
humbly beg your honor's pardon, but
I
don't un-
derstand."
"Very well, proceed !" Every time a door below was opened or
29
shut,
Mr.
Poor Plutocrats
Demetrius rang up the porter to inquire whether Mr.
John had come
ter,
in, to
the intense exasperation of the por-
who appeared
in the
door of the saloon with a surHer
expression and his hair more and
more
ruffled
on each
occasion, inwardly cursing the fool of a student
who had
not even wit enough to send an old
ing the other servants who, at
at night without interruption.
man
asleep,
and envy-
least,
were able to sleep
And still Margari went on reading. By this time Monte Cristo had had
in a sack
himself sewn up
and flung into the sea as a corpse.
to have that
"Would you have dared
"If I had a lot of
done to you,
Margari?" interrupted Mr. Demetrius.
money
I
might, begging your honor's
pardon, but a poor devil like
at
me
is
only too glad to live
any price," replied Margari, whose answer naturally
to the
text,
had no relation whatever
which he understood.
not a
word of
go
liked
"You
are
a
simple
fellow,
Margari;
but
on,
go on!" Margari gaped
his coat
violently;
he
would have
to
stretch himself too, but he bethought
him
in
time that
had already burst beneath
to
his armpits,
larger, so
and he
let it
had no wish
make
the rent
still
he
alone and proceeded with his bitter labor.
By
the time
Monte
Cristo had
swum
back to dry land,
still
Margari's eyelids were almost glued to his eyes, and
the old gentleman
showed no sign of drowsiness. Mr. John's threat had kept Mr. Demetrius awake all night,
30
Poor Plutocrats
and consequently had kept poor Margari awake
too.
Once or twice an unusually
the old man's attention,
interesting episode excited
all
and for the time he forgot
island
about John's duel
covered the
— for example, when Monte Cristo enormous treasure on the —and
Monte
dis-
he
would then arouse Margari and make him go and
find a
map and
island.
point out the exact position of
Cristo's
it,
Margari searched every corner of the sea for
it
and
ing
at last looked for
it.
on the dry land
also without find-
Tiring at length with the fruitless search, he pro-
posed, as the best
way
out of the
difficulty, that
he should
write on the afternoon of the following day to Monsieur
Alexandre
Dumas
himself, to explain to his
it still
honor where
the island used to be and whether
existed.
"What
go
on
on,
a blockhead you are," said the old man, "but
go on!"
at the clock
Margari gave a great sigh and looked
the wall, but, alas!
it
was
still
a long
way from
still
six
o'clock.
At
last,
however, while he was
reading,
in
the clock did strike six.
Margari instantly stood up
the middle of a sentence,
thumb-nail, so as to
marked the passage with his know at what word to begin again
leaf
on the following evening, turned down the
closed the book.
and
"Well
in
!
is
that the end of
it
?" inquired
Mr. Demetrius
angry amazement.
"I humbly beg your honor's pardon," said Margari
with meek intrepidity, "there's nothing about reading
after
si:*;
in
our agreement"
—and
off
he went.
Mr.
3Í
Poor Plutocrats
Demetrius thereupon flew into a violent rage, cursed and
swore,
spot,
vowed
that he
would dismiss
his reader
on the
and as the morning grew
the house had
lighter fell into a deep,
death-like,
unnatural sleep, from which he would not
if
have awakened
ears.
come tumbling about
Mr. John.
his
When
was
to
he did awake, about ten o'clock, his
first
care
make
inquiries about
Then
he
sent the porter to the police station, to inform the authorities
that his son
and Mr. Hátszegi, who were both
at all hazards.
stay-
ing at the
duel,
Queen of England
at
this
Inn, were going to fight a
which should be prevented
A police
inquiries.
constable,
announcement, flung himself into a
set off at full
hackney coach and
speed to
make
Half an hour
porter to
tell
later a
messenger was sent back to the
him
that either the whole affair
must be a
as not
hoax, as nothing was
known
of a duel, or else that the
two combatants must already be dead and buried,
a
the afternoon, Mr.
word could be heard of either of them. Luckily, toward John himself arrived in a somewhat
like
dazed condition,
night.
one
who
has been up drinking
all
The members
of the family were
all sitting to-
gether as usual in Mr. Demetrius's room, listening in
silence to his heckling,
when
the tidings of Mr. John's
arrival reached him.
him.
Demetrius immediately summoned word at first that he was lying down, to try to sleep, which was an absurd excuse for even the richest man to give in the forenoon on being summoned
He
sent back
;
a second time he threatened to box the porter's ears; only the third time,
when Clementina was
32
sent with the
Poor Plutocrats
message that
if
he did not come at once, his sick father
fetch him, did he respond to the call
in a pet.
would come and
and appear before them
"Well, thou bloodthirsty man, what has happened?
What was "What
to relate?"
the end of it?"
has
happened?"
strously dilated eyes.
John with mon"What marvel do you expect me
repeated
Henrietta,
retire,"
"Clementina, Miss Kleary,
the old
cried
man;
"retire,
go
into the next room.
These are
not the sort of things that children should hear."
When
about
they had
all
withdrawn except Madame Langai,
Demetrius again questioned his son:
this affair, this affair of
"Now
then,
what
;
honor with Hátszegi
did
you challenge him?
Did you meet him?"
Naturally.
"Eh?
out;
I
Oh
—
yes!
Of
course I sought him
have only just come from him.
a night of
it
We
have been
making
I
together at the
is
Queen of England.
qualities.
I
can honestly say that he
a splendid fellow, a gallant,
charming gentleman.
He
has really noble
this afternoon.
am
all
going to bring him here
see him.
You
shall
Even you
will like him, Matilda.
;
But now,
must really have a little sleep we were drinking champagne together all night. Oh, he is a magnificent,
adieu, I
a truly magnificent character."
Mr. Demetrius said not a word
pressed his thin lips and
in reply, but
he com-
wagged his head a good deal. Nobody made any observation. Mr. John was allowed to go to bed according to his desire. A little time after he
33
Poor Plutocrats
had withdrawn, however, the old man
"I
in
said to
Madame
Langai: "What are you doing, Matilda?"
am trying The Iris.' "
to guess a rebus
which has just appeared
rather
"Don't you think that what John has just said
is
odd?"
"I have not troubled
the other."
my
head about
it
one way or
"I can see through
it
though.
John wants to pay
off
Hátszegi
in his
own
coin.
He
has invited him here this
afternoon in order to keep him waiting in the antechamber,
and then send him word that he
can't see
him
till
to-morrow.
Oh
!
Jack
I
is
a sly lad, a very sly lad, but I
can see through him.
can see through him."
Mr. John passed the whole afternoon in his father's room he did not even go to his club. No doubt he was
;
awaiting his opportunity for revenge.
self
He amused
him-
by
sitting
down
beside his niece, stroking her hand,
skin,
admiring the whiteness of her
and, drawing the
governess into the conversation, inquired
how
Henrietta
still
was getting on with her
studies,
whether she had
much
was
to learn in English
and French, and whether she
not,
by
this time, quite a virtuoso at the piano.
He
well,
insinuated at the
same time that
it
would be just as
perhaps,
if
she
made
haste to learn
as soon as possible, because she
all that was necessary was no longer a child,
and when once a
time for study.
woman
is
married she has not very much
34
Poor Plutocrats
"By
the way, Henrietta," he added suddenly, "have
you chosen a lover yet?"
Henrietta was too
at this
much
afraid of
question; she only glanced at
him even to blush him with timid,
suspicious eyes, and said nothing.
"Don't be afraid, sisterkin," continued Mr. John encouragingly.
"I'll
bring you such a nice bridegroom that
even your grandpa, when he sees him, will snatch up
his crutches
in order to go and meet him half-way." Here the old man growled something which John smoth"Yes, and if he won't give you up, ered with a laugh. we'll carry you off by force."
Henrietta shuddered once or twice at her uncle's blandishments, like one
cine
who
has to swallow a loathsome mediit
and has caught a whiff of
beforehand.
The
porter interrupted this cheerful family chat by an-
nouncing that his lordship, Baron Hátszegi, wished to
pay his respects to Mr. Lapussa.
Mr.
Demetrius immediately raised himself on his
elbows to read from Mr. John's features what he was
going to do.
Would he
tell
the servants to turn Hátszegi
out of the house? or would he send him
word
to wait in
the antechamber, as he himself had waited at Hátszegi's,
and then put him
fellow
off
till
the
morrow ?
Oh John would
!
be sure to do something of the sort, for a very proud
was John.
But, so far from doing any of these things, Mr. John
rushed to the door to meet the arriving guest, and
greeted him aloud from afar in the most obliging, not to
35
I
Poor Plutocrats
say obsequious, terms, bidding him come in without cere-
mony, and not make a stranger of himself.
that he passed his
And
with
arm through
the
arm of
his distin-
guished guest and, radiant with joy, drew him into the
midst of the domestic sanctum sanctorum, and presenting
him
ship.
in a voice that trembled with
emotion: "His lordvery dear friend!"
Baron Leonard Hátszegi,
first
my
And
then he was guilty of the impropriety of introof
all
ducing his guest
to his father
and his
niece,
simply because they happened to be the nearest, only
afterward he bethought him of turning toward Matilda
to introduce her,
whereupon Matilda's
face
assumed a
to inquire
stony expression like that of the marble maiden in Zampa,
to the great confusion of John,
in a half
who
felt
bound
whisper:
dolt," she
"Why, what's
the matter?"
"You
whispered back, "have you not yet
learned that the lady of the house should receive her
guests not
last,
but first?"
John's
first
impulse was to be shocked, his second was
it
to be furious, but finally he thought
best to turn with
a smile to Baron Hátszegi,
who
courteously helped
is
him
out of his embarrassment by
observing: "It
my
privi-
lege to be able to greet your ladyship as an old acquaint-
ance already.
Many
a time have
I
had the opportunity
of secretly admiring you in your box at the theatre."
"Pray be
seated, sir
—
!"
36
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
III
AN AMIABLE MAN
Baron Hatszegi was
certainly a very amiable
man.
He
had a handsome
face, full
of manly
figure.
pride, sparkling
eyes,
and a powerful yet elegant
He moved and
Mr. Demetrius
spoke with graceful ease, bore himself nobly, picked his
words
—
in short,
was
a perfect gentleman.
was
quite taken with him, although Hátszegi hardly ex-
changed a word with him, naturally devoting himself
principally to the
hostess.
widowed
lady,
who
played the part of
What
the conversation
distinctly recollected
balls,
—
the
was really about nobody usual commonplaces no doubt,
Henrietta
soirees,
horse-racing.
took
no part
in the talk;
Mr. John, on the other hand, had a word to
say on every subject, and, although nobody paid any
attention to him, he enjoyed himself vastly.
When
face,
Hátszegi had departed, John, with a beaming
asked
Madame Langai what
she thought of the
young man.
Instead of replying,
Madame Langai
asked what had
induced him to bring him there.
"Well, but he's a splendid fellow,
isn't
he?"
"You
said yesterday that he
was
a vagabond."
37
"
Poor Plutocrats
"I said so, I know, but
it is
not true."
"You
that."
said, too, that
I
he was a robber."
Impossible.
I
"What!
said
that?
didn't
say
Old Demetrius here intervened as a peacemaker.
"You
means."
said
it,
John; you did indeed; but you were
angry, and at such times a
man
says
more than he
replied
"So
John,
far
from being a robber or a vagabond,"
is
"he
one of the principal landowners in the
Hátszegi
district.
How
is
could
like
I
have said such things!
He
has a castle that
a fortress.
He
is
like a
prince, a veritable prince in his
own
domains.
He
is
just like a petty sovereign.
mad
him a vagabond "Yet yesterday you would have
to call
—
I
must have been downright
called
him
out," con-
tinued
Madame Langai
I
teasingly.
"Yes,
was angry with him
then, but there are cir-
cumstances which
duelists, are there
may
not?"
if
reconcile a couple of would-be
"Oh,
all
certainly,
a
man
is
a
man
of business before
things, or has perhaps a valuable house or
two on
his hands."
"This has nothing to do with business or selling
houses.
voice, "it
If
is
you must know," he continued, lowering
his
about something entirely different, but of the
very greatest importance."
"Indeed?" returned
der the Great,
I
suppose,
Madame Langai, "a new who has gone forth to
38
Alexanconquer,
Poor Plutocrats
and who has come to look not for a house, but for a house and home perhaps?"
She thought
to herself that
it
was some adventurer
whom
her brother John would palm off upon her as a
husband, so as to get her away from the old man.
"Something of the
have guessed half
"I
sort,"
replied John.
half."
"Yes, you
—but the wrong
it."
am
glad to hear
"Ah!" put in the old man sarcastically, "Matilda will never marry again, I'm sure; she loves her old dad too much and feels far too happy at home to
do
that."
"Ho, ho,
ho!'^
I
laughed John scornfully, "I did not
mean Matilda;
the house
was not thinking of
imagines that she
is
her.
Ho,
ho, ho!
Madame Langai
the only person in
whose hand can be wooed and won."
Langai,
Dame
with
a
if
shrug,
there
looked incredulously
else
round the room to see
was anybody
who
could possibly become the object of the baron's sighs.
All at once her eyes accidentally encountered those of
Henrietta,
and immediately she knew even more than
her brother John did.
three things
:
For she now
clearly understood
the
first
was
that Henrietta
had taken
in
John's meaning more quickly that she had done; the
second was that John had brought the suitor to the house
on Henrietta's account
loathed the man.
;
and the third was that Henrietta
She
lesson
at
once bade Miss Kleary give Henrietta an extra
in the adjoining
on the piano
room, and when
39
:
Poor Plutocrats
they had taken her at her word and disappeared, she said
to
John
in her usual quiet,
mincing tone
to give Henrietta to that
"You man?"
surely do not
mean
"Why
five
not,
pray?"
is
it
"Because she
years hence
still
a
mere
child, a
will be quite time
mere schoolgirl; enough to provide
her with a husband."
"But the
girl is sixteen if sickly,
she
is
a day."
"Yes, and delicate,
and nervous."
is
"She
will
soon be well enough when once she
married."
"And who, may
father, to
I ask, is this
suitor of yours.
Is
it
not your duty, Demetrius Lapussa, as the girl's grand-
make
the fullest inquiries about any
Is
is,
it
man who
not your
may
sue for your granddaughter's hand?
duty, I say, to find out
who and what he
and everywealthy
thing relating to him?
For brother John may be very
much mistaken
in fancying his dear friend to be a
and amiable nobleman.
Whether he be amiable or not does not concern you personally, I know but you ought
;
certainly to
know how he
if
stands, for he
may have
much
castles
and mansions and yet be up
In such a case,
for
to the very ears in debt.
he
is
a nobleman, so
all
the worse
you
It
:
for he will then have
the greater claim upon
you.
the
may
cost
you dearly
to
admit a ruined baron into
bosom of your family."
talk
John grew yellow with rage: "How dare you like that of any one you do not know?" he cried.
40
Poor Plutocrats
"Then, do you know him any better?"
But here the old man intervened.
"You're a
I will
all
fool,
John," said he.
"Matilda
is
right.
send for
my
lawyer, Mr. Sipos.
He
understands
about such things, and will advise us in the matter.
We
must
find out
how
the baron stands."
41
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER IV
CHILDISH NONSENSE
Meanwhile
Henrietta
;
Hátszegi continued to
call
every day,
dividing his attention equally between the
widow and
and
at the his
end of a fortnight every one was
It
charmed with
personal qualities.
could not be
denied that he was a delightful companion, always merry,
lively,
frank, and entertaining.
He
even
made
fact,
the old
gentleman laugh aloud more than once; in
Demetrius Lapussa grew quite impatient if Hátszegi was five minutes late. Mr. John was more delighted with him than ever. They took walks together, invariably drove in the same carriage to the park, and John was to be seen every night in the baron's box at the theatre, talking at the top of his voice so that everybody might become
aware of the
tesy of his
fact.
Nay, he succeeded, through the cour-
new
friend, in
making the acquaintance of one
gratified the dearest desire of
or two magnates,
who
subsequently lifted their hats to
John
in the street,
and thus
his heart.
The
inquiries
made about Hátszegi
also proved ex-
tremely satisfactory.
financially,
He was
bill
certainly sound
and
solid
had never had a
dishonored, had no deal-
42
Poor Plutocrats
ings with
money
lenders,
always paid cash, and was
is
never even in temporary embarrassment, as
the case with most landed proprietors
fail.
so often
the crops
when
In
fact,
he seemed to have unlimited funds con-
stantly at his disposal,
and to be scarcely
less
wealthy
than old Lapussa himself.
So
far,
then,
everything was as
it
should be, and
every one was enchanted with him personally.
But what of Henrietta, the intended bride ?
Oh!
enough
she
she was not even consulted in the matter;
it
is
not usual, and besides she had neither mind nor will
to
have a voice
in so
important a matter as the
told that
disposal of her hand.
Nay, she was not even
was going
to be married.
She only got an inkling
of
it
from various phenomena that struck her from time
to time, such as the polite attentions of the baron, the
whispering of the domestics, the altered attitude toward
her of the various members of the family
addressed her in the tone you employ
a baroness that
tina's chatter!
all
who now when speaking to is to be. And then there was ClemenClementina was now forever talking of
—
the sewing and stitching that had to be done for the
lady,
young
lace
and of the frightful quantities of linen and
and
silk that
were being made up into dresses and
Six seamstresses were hard at work,
other garments.
she said, and she was helping them, and yet they had
to
make
night into day in order to get the necessary
things ready in time.
So gradually they accustomed her
43
to the idea of
it,
Poor Plutocrats
till
at last
one day
Madame Langai
took her aside and
lectured her solemnly as to the duties of
eral
women
in
gen-
and of women of rank
in particular, pointing out
at the
same time how much such women owed
to their
own
families for looking after
and providing for them,
and expressing the hope that Henrietta would be duly
grateful to the end of her days to her family
— from
all
which she was able to gather that any opposition on her
part
would not be tolerated
for a
moment.
The day was
bridal
already fixed for the exchange of the
nngs, but the night before that day Henrietta
fell
ill,
suddenly
that they
tinently.
and, what
is
more, dangerously
ill,
so
had
to
run off for the family physician inconstruck by the
The doctor was much
first
symptoms
of the illness, and the
thing he did was to
make
the
patient swallow a lot of milk
and
oil.
Then he drove
vessel
the servants headlong to the apothecary's, and, descending
into the kitchen, closely
examined every copper
there by candle light, scolded the cook and
the scullery
maids
by
till
they were in tears, and terrified Clementina
telling her she
was
the cause of
it all
to the speechless
confusion of the innocent creature.
this,
he made his
way
at
once to
Not content with Mr. Demetrius's room
and there cross-examined every one with the acerbity of
young lady been in the They must fetch what had been left over from her meals, he must see and examine everything. What had she eaten yesterday evening? Preserves? Then what sort of sugar was used, and
a police judge.
What had
the
habit of eating
and drinking?
44
Poor Plutocrats
where was the spoon?
thing.
He
insisted
on seeing every-
"But, doctor," whined old Lapussa, "you surely don't
mean
*'I
to say that the child has been poisoned ?" do, indeed,
is
and with copper oxide, too."
because some of her food, preserved, for
"How
that possible?"
"Why, simply
instance, has been allowed to stand too long in a copper or
silver-plated vessel,
and copperas has been developed."
The
plate,
old
understand
man how
did not
know enough
of chemistry to
silver-
copperas could be developed from
but he was seriously alarmed.
"I hope there''s no danger?" said he.
"It
is
a
good job you
sent for
me when you
is
did,"
replied the doctor, "for otherwise she
would have been
dead before morning.
poison,
Copperas
a very dangerous
and
if it
gets into one's food in large quantities
there
is
practically
no
antidote.
A
vigorous constitution,
good chance of throwing it off; but, taking into consideration the state of the young lady's nerves and her general debility, I should say that her case was
indeed, has a
downright dangerous; anyhow, she
will
be ailing for
some time."
"Oh, doctor, doctor! and we
she
is
all
!
love Hetty so
I
much;
the very light of our eyes
;
can not
tell
you how
I am on her account, I should be so glad, docyou could stay with her night and day, and never leave the house. I would richly recompense you." "I will do all I can, though I can't do that, and, unless
anxious
tor, if
45
Poor Plutocrats
some unforeseen accident
the result.
arise, I
I
think I can answer for
insist
But one thing
must
upon,
all
these
copper and plated vessels of yours must go to the devil.
I'll
lot
come to-morrow and examine thoroughly the whole of them by daylight. The health of the family must
not be endangered by such recklessness.
And
is
let
me
tell
your honor something
and, therefore, can
else.
Are you aware
that your
honor's business-man, Mr. Sipos,
ill
who
only a lawyer,
afiord to do so in comparison with
your honor
—are you
all
aware, I say, that he has on this
his copper vessels to the lumber-
very occasion sent
room?"
"On this occasion! what do you mean?" old man eagerly.
"I
inquired the
mean
that I have just
come from him, and a
His
assistant
similar
case has happened in his house.
young fellow; you know him, perhaps?
poisoned by copperas.
I
—has
—
a fine
also been
have only
this instant quitted
him."
"What an odd
"Very odd,
coincidence."
indeed.
Two
exactly similar cases of poiall
soning at the same
time,
and
because copper vessels
were used and not properly cleaned."
"And how
of danger?"
is
the
young man progressing?
Is
he out
"Fortunately; although at the outset his was an even
worse case than the young
lady's.
But then he
I will
is
so
much
stronger.
Well, good-by!
look in again
to-morrow."
46
Poor Plutocrats
"But
left
I
should be so
much
easier, doctor, if
you never
my
grandchild's side."
if
"I
would willingly do even that
I
had not other
patients in the
town
to attend to." to somfc
"Could you not entrust them
"Impossible.
sides, I
one
else?'*
My
reputation
would be
at stake.
Be-
do not often have the chance of studying two such
interesting parallel cases of poisoning at the
same time."
to cure our
"Very
little
well, doctor.
All
I
ask of you
is
one."
"I hope to save the pair of them.
"And now
I
I'll
go up
Mr.
and have a look
Sipos's house.
at her,
and then
must return
to
But
I
shall
be here again in an hour
or so."
With
that the old
man had
to be content.
illness
During the whole course of Henrietta's
and an old maid-servant took
bedside.
It
he sent
to inquire after his grandchild every hour.
it
Clementina
in turns to
watch by her
was
strictly
forbidden to leave Henrietta
alone for an instant, and Mr. Demetrius gave special
orders that her brother
to
Koloman was not
to be allowed
approach within six paces of her bed, because he was
sure to bring cold air into the room, or convey to her
surreptitiously something
which she ought not to have,
and behave
like a
blockhead generally.
So he was obliged
by,
to keep his distance.
At
last,
when weeks and weeks had flown
God and
blessed nature helped the doctor to triumph over the
eflfects
of the poison.
Henrietta slowly began to mend.
47
Poor Plutocrats
that she
She was still very weak, but the doctor assured them was quite out of danger and that the little caprifancies
cious
of
convalescence
might now be safely
humored.
Madame
sick girl
Langai, in the doctor's presence, asked the
in particular she
whether there was anything
would
like,
any food
she
fancied,
any pastime she
preferred.
The
grave
:
pale,
delicate-looking child languidly cast
if
down
in the
her eyes as
she would say
:
"I should like to
lie
deep, deep, down." But what she really did say was "I should like to read something. I feel so dull." 'That I can not allow," said the doctor, "it would make
I
—
your head ache; but
have no objection to some one
reading to you some nice, amusing novel
—Dickens's
will not
"Pickwick Papers," for instance, or a story of Marryat's;
something light and amusing,
excite
I
mean, which
you too much."
fell
"I should like that," said Henrietta, and the choice
on the "Pickwick Papers."
utes at a time without
But as the English governess
complained that she could never read aloud for ten mineyes were too
that
weak
for any such
growing hoarse, and Clementina's office, it was suggested
this extra sacin
Margari should be asked to submit to
and Clementina succeeded
rifice,
persuading him to do
so by promising
him
a liberal reward.
So she brought
and seated him behind a curtain, so that he could not see the invalid (that would have been
him back with
her,
scarcely proper),
and put the book into
his hand.
48
Poor Plutocrats
•But scarcely
had Margari struggled through a few
lines when Henrietta again became fidgety, and said she longed for something to eat. The good-natured Clementina jumped with joy at this sign of returning appetite, and asked her what she would like and how she would
like
it.
Henrietta thereupon directed her to have pre-
pared a soup of such a complicated character (only the
morbid imagination of an invalid could have conceived
such a monstrosity)' that Clementina
felt
obliged
its
to
descend to the kitchen herself to superintend
tion,
concoc-
for
it
was
certain that
any servant would have
before
forgotten
half
the
ingredients
she
could get
downstairs.
Scarcely had Clementina shut the door behind her
when Henrietta
interrupted Margari's elocution,
sake,
"For Heaven's
come nearer
to
me," she
said,
"I want to speak to you."
The worthy man was so frightened by this unexpected summons that he had half a mind to rush out and call
for assistance.
He
fancied that the
young lady had
be-
to
come delirious draw nearer.
—
it
was such an odd thing to ask him
she, pressing together her trembling
But
hands, looked at him so piteously that he could hesitate
no longer, but approached her bedside.
Henrietta did not scruple to seize the hand of the embarrassed gentleman.
"For God's
whispered.
"I
sake, help me,
am plagued me from closing my eyes.
my good Margari," she by an anxiety which prevents
Even here when
20
I
sleep
it
49 (F)— (3)— Vol.
Poor Plutocrats
follows
me
into
my
dreams.
In you alone have
as
I confidence.
You can free me frcMn it. You suffer in this house
cause to torment or perI
much
as I do.
You have no
secute me.
Will you do what
ask you,
my
dear,
good
Margari
It
?"
occurred to Margari that the young lady was wan;
dering in her mind
so, to
humor
her, he
promised to do
whatever she asked him without hesitation.
*'I
will be
very good to you;
I will
never forget
all
my
life
long the kindness you are about to do me."
servant,
"Your humble been good to me.
one
Miss! but you have always
As
far as I can
remember, while the
others took a delight in vexing me, you were the only
who always
!
took
my
part.
I don't forget that either.
fire
Command me
a
little
I will
go through
girl,
and water for you."
the key of
"Look, then!" said the
drawing from her bosom
is
key attached to a black cord, "this
my
toilet case.
Open
illness
it
and you
will find a
bundle of
documents
tied together with a blue ribbon; take them.
All through
my
I
trembled at the thought that
they might ransack
I
my
things and find them, and
when
came
I
to myself I
was worrying myself with
it
the idea
that
might perhaps have spoken about these papers in
my
delirium.
Oh!
I
would have been
frightful
if
my
folks
had seized them.
Take
them, quickly, before Clem-
entina returns.
her."
must conceal everything, even from
Margari accomplished the task with tolerable dexterity.
He
only broke the looking-glass while he was opening
50
Poor Plutocrats
the case, and that
was
little
enough for him.
There the
so
documents were right enough, nicely
tied together.
it
And
then Henrietta seized his hand and pressed
at
warmly and looked
ploring eyes
him with her
lovely, piteous, im-
—a very
lunatic
might have been healed by
such a look.
"I
know you
for an honorable
man," continued she;
"promise
to
me
not to look at these papers, but give them
my
brother Koloman; he will
know what
to do with
them.
You
will
do
this for
my
sake, dear Margari, will
you not? come back
It is
just as though one of the dead were to
to
you from the world beyond the grave and
its
implore you, with desperate supplications, to free
soul
from a thought which rested upon
would not
let it rest in
it
like a curse
and
the grave."
Margari shuddered
at these
words.
A
corpse that re-
turns from the world beyond the grave!
This young
gentlewoman
certainly
had a terrifying imagination.
Nevertheless he swore by his hope of salvation that he would not bestow a glance upon the papers, but would give them to young Koloman.
"Hide them, pray And indeed it was high time that he should bestow
!"
them
ber.
in the well-like pocket of his long coat, for
Clemen-
tina's steps
were already audible
in the adjoining
chambehind
When
she appeared, however, he
was
sitting
the curtain again, reading
away
as
if
nothing had hap-
pened.
When
the clock struck four, at which time
Koloman
SI
!
Poor Plutocrats
usually returned
that she
from school, Henrietta
said to
Margari
had had enough of romance-reading for that
day, but thanked
to
him
the
for his kindness,
and asked him
the highest
come again on
morrow
if
he would be so good.
it
Margari protested that he should consider
honor, the greatest joy.
He would
off
willingly read even
English to her,
if
she liked, and without any special hon-
orarium
either,
and then
he went to seek young
Koloman.
Now
home
ing for
it
so happened that
at the usual time that day,
him
in vain,
young Koloman did not come and Margari, after lookbecame very curious as to the con-
tents of the packet entrusted to him.
What
sort of
mys-
terious letters could they be
which Miss Henrietta was
afraid of falling into the hands of her family?
Hum!
pos-
how
nice
it
would be
to find out
The packet was
sible to
tied
up
—naturally!
But
it
was
undo and then
retie the
knots in just the same
nobody would be any the wiser. way To an honorable man, indeed, the mere knowledge that another's secret was concealed therein which he was bidas before, so that
den to guard would have been as invincible an impedi-
ment
as unbreakable bolts
and bars but the worthy fellow
;
reassured himself with the reflection that, after
all,
he
was not going
could be that
to tell
anybody the contents of these docu-
ments, and he so very
away, and old
much longed to know what it Miss Henrietta was so anxious to hide Lapussa would so much like to find out.
nice,
As
if
he would ever betray the secret of such a
52
!
Poor Plutocrats
kindly creature to such an old dragon!
rather have
it
Why,
it
!
he would
his
tongue torn out than betray
—but know
the third
he must and would
So he locked himself up
story,
in his little
room on
and very cautiously opened the bundle, which was
in I
wrapped up
ments.
know
not
how many
folds of paper,
and greedily devoured the contents of the various docu-
But how great was
his fury
when, instead of the ex-
pected secrets, he found nothing but dull Latin exercises,
wearisome rhetorical commonplaces on such subjects
the charms of spring and
culture, the
as
summer, the excellence of
agri-
advantages of knowledge, the danger of the
passions,
and similar interesting themes.
tie
He was
just
about to
the bundle up again,
when
it
occurred to him
to read one of these tiresome dissertations to the end,
just to see
what
sort of style the
young scholar
affected.
And now
after the
off,
a great surprise awaited him, for
first five
he found that
different,
or six lines the
theme suddenly broke
and there followed something altogether
which, although also written in the Latin tongue, had
nothing whatever to do either with the beauties of spring
or the excellencies of agriculture, but was, nevertheless,
of the most interesting and engrossing character.
indeed, he read every one of the exercises from
so,
Now,
beginning to end, and, when he had done
perceived that
if
he clearly
old Demetrius Lapussa had very par-
ticular reasons for ferreting out these things.
rietta
Miss Hen-
has
still
greater reason for concealing them.
53
—
Poor Plutocrats
After having neatly tied up the packet again, he be-
;
thought him what he had better do next.
etta
Miss Henri-
had confided the secret to
his safe-keeping, but
to
Mr.
the
Demetrius had commanded him
keep an eye upon
Koloman and
best right to
to divulge a
is
his Latin exercises
— which of them had
But was
it
command in secret? Ah!
that house? that
right
true that, as a general rule,
it
it is
was another question. It wrong to betray secrets
Moreover, was
yet
is
nevertheless true that to betray a secret that
is
ought to be known
it
at least justifiable.
let
not a Christian duty to
the grandfather
know
finally
as
soon as possible what extraordinary things his granddaughter was turning over
there
in her
noddle?
!
And
If old
was money
in
it
!
—
good
solid cash
it,
Lapussa
did not choose to pay a price for
too,
and a
liberal price
he should be told nothing at
all,
and Margari would
of character to
live,
show the
deal with.
this
its
old miser that he had a
man
For
after all poor
Margari had to
and
was worth as much as a thousand
florins to
him or
equivalent anyhow.
Surely Miss Henrietta could not
be so unreasonable as to expect poor Margari to chuck
such a piece of good fortune out of the window, especially
as she had given
At
that
him nothing herself. moment some one knocked
was
at the
door and
inquired whether Mr. Margari
there.
Margari was so frightened that he bawled out: "No,
I
am
not!"
—
so,
of course he was obliged to open the
door, but he concealed the packet of letters in his pocket
first.
54
Poor Plutocrats
It
was
the footman,
who came
to ask
whether Mr.
;
Margari was aware it was past seven come and read to the okl gentleman.
o'clock
he must
Margari could not endure
ing to him familiarly.
to hear the domestics speak-
"Seven o'clock
I
bound
to
What do you mean ?" know when it is seven o'clock ?
!
said he.
"Am
Am
I
a clock-
maker or a bell-ringer? If your master wants me to know what o'clock it is, let him send me, not a lackey, but
a gold repeater watch!"
And
the
salving his
wounded
dignity with these and simto
ilar effusions,
Margari trotted alongside the footman
room
of Mr. Demetrius, to
whom
he immediately
into
notified the
change
in the situation
by sinking down
a soft and cozy armchair instead of sitting
down on
the
edge of the hard leather chair, expressly provided for
him.
Demetrius measured him from head to foot with
terrible eagle eyes
his
stri-
and observed
:
in
an even more
dently moral voice than usual
"Well, Margari, when are
we going
to
have our novel reading?" have our reading presently, but
it
"We
will
won't be
a novel to-day."
"What do you mean,
"I
sir?"
humbly beg
to
remind your honor that you were
pleased to commission
me
to lay
hands upon a certain
I
number of Latin exercises of your grandson Koloman. humbly beg to inform you that they are now in
possession."
my
55
;
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh!"
will look
said old Lapussa, with a forced assumption of
carelessness, **you
may
give them to
me to-morrow;
in Latin."
I
them through."
I
"Crying your honor's pardon, they are
"Well,
can get some one to look them through for
me.
"I beg
to put
humbly
to represent that
it
would not be well
them
into anybody's hands, for strange things are
contained therein."
"What !"
"Yes,
I
cried the old
man
all
angrily,
"you don't mean
to
say you have looked into them?"
have read them
tell
through."
"I did not
you
to
do that."
to forbid
"No, but you were graciously pleased not
me
to
do
so.
Now,
I
know
everything.
I
cause of the young lady's
illness.
I know the know why she does
not wish to become the wife of Count Hátszegi.
I
Nay,
I
even
know what
will
happen
it is
in case she does.
know
all
that I say
—and here
know
in
my
pocket."
part to read other
"And what presumption on your
people's letters!"
"I beg your honor's pardon, but
I
it is
not presumption
only wanted to
the value of the wares I have
I
obtained for your honor.
wanted to know whether
they
were worth one
florin,
two
florins,
a hundred
florins,
a thousand florins, lest you should do
me
the
favor to say to me: 'Look ye, Margari,
are
my
!'
son, here
some coppers, go and drink
my
health
—and so get
the better of me."
56
Poor Plutocrats
"You
are becoming impertinent!
Do you want me
to
ring for the footman?"
"Pray do not give yourself the trouble! If you are determined to take the documents away from me by force,
I will fling
them
into the fire that
is
burning there on the
in,
hearth before the footman can come
and there
will be
an end
to
them."
it
money you want, eh? How much?" This question made Margari still more bumptious. "How much do I want? A good deal, a very good
"Then
is
deal, I
can
tell
you.
In
fact, I
can not
tell
at present
how
much."
But then he suddenly reassumed his obsequious cringing mien, and added "I tell you what, your honor pro:
;
cure
care
me some
what
it is,
petty office at
so long
as I
Count Hátszegi's.
I
don't
sup-
get a lifelong sinecure
—
pose
we
say his agent, or his librarian, or his secretary?
A
word from your honor would do it." Mr. Demetrius. "Very good, Margari, very good. So it shall be. I give you my word upon it you shall be Hátszegi's
single
An
idea suddenly occurred to
—
secretary."
"But
it
must be
lifelong.
I
humbly beg of you,
it
must be for the term not of
his but of
my
natural life."
"Yes, yes, tfor the term your natural
life."
"But
"I'll
if
he won't have it?"
pay you myself.
You
shall receive
your regular
from me without including whatever you may get over and above from him. Will you be satisfied with
salary
57
Poor Plutocrats
a yearly salary of three
hundred
florins
with your board
and keep?"
At
these
words Margari's breath
failed him.
It
was
not without difficulty that he put the rapacious question:
"Will your honor do
in writing?"
me
the favor to give this promise
"Certainly!
tate
it
Bring writing materials, and
spot."
I will dic-
to
you on the
And
hundred
so an agreement
was duly drawn up whereby
Mr. Margari,
in consideration of a yearly salary of three
florins, to
be punctually sent to
him
at the be-
ginning of every quarter, undertook, in his capacity of
secretary to
Baron Hátszegi,
all
to keep his honor,
Demetrius
at the
Lapussa, informed of
that he
saw and heard
residence of that gentleman, Henrietta's future husband,
and
this
obligation of maintaining Margari
was
to be
transferred on the death of Mr. Demetrius to his son
John.
And no
doubt Mr. Demetrius knew very well what
he was about. This document signed and sealed, Mr. Margari, with
the greatest alacrity,
question,
first
produced the Latin exercises
in
of
all,
however, respectfully kissing the
hand of
It
his patron.
till
took
midnight to read and translate
all
these
documents one by one.
satisfied
;
Mr. Demetrius was very well
is
with the result that
to say, so far as concerned
orig-
the fidelity of the translation
inal text
—with the tenor of the
he had not the slightest reason to be pleased.
shortly after midnight, these revelations were
When,
58
!
Poor Plutocrats
concluded, Mr. Demetrius
into his
commanded Margari
in honest
to
go up
room and have
and
to
a complete translation of
all this
Latin rigmarole written
the morning,
down
Hungarian by
encourage him in his task he gave
the butler for as
him two guldens and an order on
punch as he could drink.
much
By
the
morning
all
the punch
was drunk, but
great spirit
all
the translation also
was
finished, to the
tune of bacchanalian songs, which Margari kept up with
night long.
Next day, punctually
yer,
at the appointed hour, the lawat the
Mr. Sipos, appeared
house of the Lapussas
with the necessary documents, neatly tied up with tape,
under
yers,
his
arm
as usual
;
he was not like our modern lawif
who
carry their masterpieces in portfolios, as
they
were ashamed of them.
tion-room besides the old
The only persons
an
invalid,
in the recep-
man were Madame Langai and
had been allowed
Mr. John.
Henrietta,
still
to take a stroll to the
visit her favorite flowers once
woods near the town in order to more and possibly take
She had received no
invitation
leave of
them
forever.
card for this lecture.
Why,
indeed, should a bride
know
anything of her bridegroom's biography before marriage
The lawyer took
It
his place at the table, untied his pile of
documents, and began to read.
appeared from these documents that the founder of
the Hátszegi family, the great-grandfather of the pres-
ent baron,
was one Mustafa, who had been
a Defterdár
or Vilayet treasurer at Stamboul, and had used his un-
59
Poor Plutocrats
rivaled opportunities for
found
it
expedient to
making money so well that he fly from Jassy to Transylvania,
and naturalized. His
fine figure at
where he made haste
son,
to get baptized
now
a
Hungarian nobleman, cut a
his
court and gallantly distinguished himself in the Turkish
wars against
for
former compatriots,
his exploits
title
winning
him
the estate of Hidvár and the
first
of baron.
His
son again was a miser of the
water,
who
could be
enticed neither to court nor into the houses of his neighbors.
He was
continually scraping
money
together, and
was not
over-particular in the choice of his scraper.
By
adroit chicanery he had acquired possession of the gold
mines of Verespatak, which he exploited with immense
advantage, and by means of
money lending and mort-
gages got into his hands the vast estate of Hátszegi in
the counties of
it
in
when he died took thirty heavy wagons to convey his ready money gold and silver alone from the Vadormi caverns, where
Feher, so that
it,
Hunyad and
he had concealed
to the castle of Hidvár,
which his
only son, Leonard, chose as his residence after his father's
death.
All these details were certified by unimpeachable
in schedules B, C,
documents
and D.
Moreover, the blood of many nationalities circulated
in the veins of
Baron Leonard.
The Defterdár
himself
was
the
Turk of Rumelian origin, whose only son was child of his Hindu concubine. He again married the
a
at the court of
daughter of a Polish countess
Vienna.
The wife of Baron Leonard's father was a Wallachized Hungarian lady, whom he married for her wealth. It
60
Poor Plutocrats
was not wonderful,
therefore,
if
the noble baron possessed
the qualities of five distinct races.
Thus he had some-
thing of the voluptuousness of the Turk, the ostentation
of the Hindu, the flightiness of the Pole, the foolhardiness
of the Hungarian, and the obstinacy of the Wallach.
"For
I
speak of his faults
I
first,"
the lawyer proceeded,
"because
consider that they outweigh his good qualities.
is
That the baron
a
a rich
man
is
evident from the accounts
and inventories classed under schedule
is
E
;
that the baron
handsome man
is
evident from the photograph under
is
schedule
H;
is
that the baron
physically sound
I
is
clear
from the
of which
certificates
annexed to schedules
and K, one
supplied by his physician and the other by
his hunting comrades.
Those who require nothing from
will,
a
man
save health, wealth, strength, and beauty,
of
course, consider
him
is
fit
and proper
to
make
a
woman
( i )
happy.
Yet having regard
to the following facts
that
the aforesaid baron
not merely unstable in love affairs,
but capricious to the verge of eccentricity, and a winebibber and
gormand
to boot; (2) that
he
is
as vain as
an Indian prince
who
takes unto
him a wife
fits
for the
mere
and
pomp and show
brutal, sparing
of the thing; (3) that he
in his
is
violent
nobody
sudden
of passion, and,
as the documents testify, has frequently inflicted mortal
injuries
in
on those who have come
in his
way
while he was
an ill-humor; (4) that he has an odd liking for rowdy adventures, which do not reflect much credit upon him;
and (5)
that,
according to the whispers of those nearest
is
to him, there
a strange
mystery pervading his whole
61
Poor Plutocrats
life,
inasmuch
as
mysterious
tail of,
disappearances,
which
nobody can make head or
occupy an incalculable
number of
for,
his days
and weeks which remain unaccounted
in every year
I
and make a pretty considerable hiatus
life
of his
—taking
all
these things into consideration,
it
am
constrained to give
as
my
opinion that
I
do not
consider such a
man
a
fit
and proper husband for such a
as the Miss Henrietta in
it
tender, sympathetic
young lady
if
question; and
let
the world,
likes,
consider such a
match as the greatest piece of good fortune imaginable,
I,
for
my
part,
would
call it
a calamity, to be avoided at
any
price.
And now would you do me
I
the honor to
examine the original documents
as exhibits in corroboration of
have brought with
statements
me
I
my
—though
would
"that
mention,"
he
quickly
greedily
added,
perceiving
that
Madame Langai had
among
I
clutched hold of them,
those documents there are sundry by no
means
suited for a lady's perusal."
"When
said she.
come
across any such I will pass
them over,"
Of
course these were the very passages she pro-
ceeded to search for straightway.
Meanwhile Mr. Demetrius
handed them
to
also
had drawn a packet
of papers from underneath the cushions of his sofa and
Mr. Sipos.
"Then you do not advise me to give Henrietta to Baron Hátszegi to wife? Good! And now, perhaps, while we
run through the exhibits and schedules, perhaps you'll
be so good as to cast your eye over these papers.
think they will bore you."
I
don't
62
Poor Plutocrats
These documents^ by the way, were the "original"
Latin documents discovered by Mr. Margari,
Mr, John was marching pettishly up and down the room, and Madame Langai was reading her documents
with the greatest attention, so that neither observed the
surprise,
the confusion reflected in the countenance of
the lawyer as he looked through the fatal Latin
scripts.
manu-
He
kept shaking his head and twisting his musleft,
tache right and
fidgeted in his armchair,
and the
beads of perspiration which stood out on his forehead
gave him enough to do to wipe them away with his
pocket-handkerchief; at last he had read the papers, and
then he laid the whole bundle on the table and stared
silently before
him
like
one whose reason for the moment
had no counsel to give him.
Just about the same time
pleted the perusal of her documents,
Madame Langai had comand now she too
During
seemed
herself
to be in
an extreme
state of agitation.
the course of her reading she had been unable to restrain
from exclaiming
!"
at intervals: *'The
monster! the
scoundrel
Mr. Demetrius had been amusing himself
all this
time
by carefully observing the various mutations of expression in the faces of the readers, which certainly afforded
considerable entertainment to an onlooker with any sense
of humor.
When
every document had produced
soft, gentle
its
expression,
he remarked in a
voice
:
"Well,
my
daughter,
what do you
think of the affair ?"
63
!
Poor Plutocrats
the air of one
Madame Langai sharply closed her eyeglass, and, with who had made up his mind once for all,
:
replied instantly
"I would not allow a decent chamberlet
maid
rietta
to
become Baron Hátszegi's wife,
alone a Hen-
Lapussa."
is
*'And what
your opinion, Mr. Lawyer?" inquired
the old man, turning to Mr. Sípos.
"I?" replied the honest man, visibly perturbed, with a
voice full of emotion: "I would advise that the
young
lady
should
be married
to
the
baron as quickly as
possible."
Madame Langai
"What!
"No,
After
all
regarded him with wide-open eyes.
that
is is
all
in these
papers?"
after
that
in those other
documents."
Langai, pouncing
"What
moment,
that they
are they?" cried
Madame
upon them incontinently and extremely vexed, the next
to find
them
all
written in Latin.
exercises,
She perceived
all.
were Koloman's
and that was
She did not understand
point.
"I'll
their connection with the case in
take
those documents
back,
please,"
said
old
Demetrius, stretching out a skinny hand toward them.
"They will be of use to us, though I have a translation of them besides. Then, you think, Mr. Lawyer, it will be as well to marry Henrietta to the baron, eh ? Very well Let me add that on the day when Henrietta goes to the altar with Baron Leonard, I will make you a present of Do you Till then I shall require them. all this scribble.
understand ?"
Ö4
Poor Plutocrats
knocked him down with a feather.
Mr. Sipos was completely beaten; you might have He had never been
so badly worsted in his professional capacity.
Madame
Langai would have besieged him with questions, but he
avoided her, put on his hat and departed.
Madame Langai
is
thereupon turned to her father
:
the cause of this
wondrous change?" she
cried.
"What "What
secrets
do those miraculous papers contain?"
in question well
Mr. Demetrius tucked the documents
beneath him, and replied
:
"They contain
secrets, the dis-
covery whereof will be a great misfortune and yet a great
benefit to the parties concerned."
"Have they any connection with Henrietta's wedding?" "They have a direct bearing thereupon, and, indeed,
necessitate
!"
it
"Poor
girl !"
sighed
Madame
his
Langai.
Mr. Sipos passed by
before he
own
dwelling three times
knew
that he
had reached home, so confused
just learned.
was he by what he had
inside the house
his consulting
When
he did get
he walked for a long time up and down
if
room, as
he were trying to find a begin-
ning for a business he would very much have liked to be
at the end of.
lent pull,
At
last
he gave the bell-rope a very vio-
and
told the clerk
who answered
the bell to send
him
his assistant,
Mr.
Szilárd, at once.
Szilárd appeared on the very heels of the messenger.
His was one of those faces which women never forget. There was ardent passion in every feature, and the large,
65
:
Poor Plutocrats
flaming black eyes, which spoke of courage and high enthusiasm, harmonized so well with the
lid face.
wan hue
of the pal-
"Well,
my
dear fellow, do you
in
feel quite well
again
now?" asked Mr. Sipos
"did the doctor
a tone of friendly familiarity;
call to see
you to-day?"
"I have no need of him; there's nothing the matter
with me."
Not so reckless You have been working again, I see. You know the doctor has forbidden it." "I only work to distract my thoughts." "You should seek amusement rather. Why don't you mix in society like other young men? Why don't you
"Nay, nay
! !
frequent the coffee-houses and go to a dance occasionally
?
Why, you
"Oh,
I
slave
away
like a street-porter
!
Young
blood
needs relaxation."
am
is
all right.
My dear uncle, you are very kind,
but you worry about
"That
bed, bade
me more than I deserve." my duty, my dear nephew. Don't you know
you
to
that your poor father confided
my care on his death-
me
be a father to you? Don't you remember?"
"I do," replied the
his
young man, and catching hold of guardian's hand he pressed it, murmuring in a scarcely
audible voice:
to
"You have
indeed been a second father
me!"
But Mr. Sípos tore his hand passionately from the
young man's grasp, and said in a somewhat rougher tone "But suppose your dead father were to say, *That is not
true!
You have
not watched over
my
son as a father
66
—
Poor Plutocrats
should?
in
You
have lightly
left
him
to himself.
He was
danger and you were unaware of
the edge of the abyss and
it. He hovered on you were blind and saw nothing.
And
if
God and my dead hand had
?'
not defended him,
it
he would have become a suicide, and you knew
not
wherefore
"
at these
The young man trembled
at his chief.
words he grew even
;
paler than before, and gazed with a look of stupefaction
Then
as
the old
if
man
approached him, and took
:
him by
the
hand
he would say
I
"I
am
going to scold
you, but fear nothing.
am on
your side."
"My
dear Szilárd," said he, "don't you recollect that
a
little
when you were
child
and did anything you should
it,
not have done, and your father questioned you about
did he not always say to you:
'When you have done
it,
wrong and are ashamed
to confess
lie,
keep silence
it,
!
press
your teeth together! but don't
don't deny
never
think of taking refuge behind any false excuse, for your
name
is
Szilárd
—which means the strong, the firm—and
You
acted as he
cowardice does not become the bearer of such a name!'
You
you
that
understood him.
act.
would have had
And now
I also
v^ould remind you once
more
Don't
you were christened
Szilárd,
I
and
I
ask you, therefore,
to listen calmly to
what
am
about to say to you.
If
interrupt, don't attempt to deceive me.
you don't want
to
answer
sit
my
questions, simply shake your head!
And
now
down,
my
son
!
You
are
I
still
barely convalescent.
Your head is weak, and what very well make it reel again."
67
have to say to you might
Poor Plutocrats
Then
the old lawyer tenderly pressed the youth into a chair and, sighing deeply, thus continued:
"You
fell in
love with the daughter of a great family and she with
you.
You
got acquainted at a dance, and the intimacy
did not stop there.
between you, but love
found a way.
Every conceivable obstacle intervened is artful and inventive, and you
rich girl
The
had a neglected brother
whom
young
his relations sent to the
grammar
school,
and the
rascal frequently took refuge with
me, the family
attorney,
when he was
ill-treated at
home, and here you
came across him. You cared for him and explained to him the difficulties in his lessons, which he was unable to do for himself. The boy grew very fond of you. He
spoke to you of your beloved, and he spoke to her of you,
and he was always praising each of you
to the other.
The grandfather,
domestics,
instant,
the uncle, the aunt, the governess, the
ofif
who
never took their eyes
the girl for an
in a
had no idea that she was already involved But amazing
is
love affair.
lovers!
the ingenuity of love and
You knew
girl
that none of the older
members of
the family understood the classical language of the orators,
and the
it
loved so dearly that she did not con-
sider
too great a labor to learn a dead tongue, which
could be of no further use to her, in order to be able to
say to her beloved, 'Ego te in ceternum amabo!
love thee for
all
'
—
*I
shall
eternity
!'
One must admit
that that
was
a great and noble sacrifice.
Every day you corresponded
girl dictated his
with each other.
lessons to her
Before school time the
young
brother, beginning with the usual
68
Poor Plutocrats
scholastic flowers of rhetoric, but ending in the passionate voice of love, and, after school
was over, you
in
your
turn dictated a similar lesson for the lad to carry back
with him.
school with
Naturally, this lesson book he never took to
him you kept
;
the other here, the genuine one
which he had to show
to his masters.
And
Yet
this ingeni-
ous smuggling was carried on beneath the very eyes of
the family without their perceiving
it.
at last
it
was
discovered.
This very day, only an hour ago, the old
head of the family placed these papers in
I
my
hands, that
might read them, informing me
at the
same time that
T.errible
he had already read a translation of them.
the things
I
were
discovered in these papers.
The appearance
all
of a rich and noble suitor, who, according to the notions
of the world,
was
just
made
for the girl, frustrated
your plans of waiting patiently for better times.
family forced this union upon the
despair, racked
first
The
your
girl.
You,
in
your brain as to what you should do.
At
you resolved upon an elopement, but the redoubled vigilance with which every step of the young girl was
this impossible.
watched made
Then
a black and terrible
kill
thought occurred to you both.
selves
You
resolved to
your-
—
it
was your one remaining means of
deliverance.
Yes, you resolved to kill yourselves at once, on the selfsame day, in the selfsame manner. For many days you deliberated together as to the best
way of accomplishing your
design.
Great caution was necessary.
lest
You had
to pick
your words
the
little
brother
who wrote them down
The
from
dictation should have guessed your intentions.
69
Poor Plutocrats
girl
asked you, at
last,
it
to send her a
book on natural
it,
science.
You
sent
to her.
She, with the help of
tried to find out
what
sorts of poison could be
most
easily
procured.
For two whole days you
deliberated together
as to the best
way
of obtaining matches, the phosphorus
efficacious of poisons.
of which
is
the
most
But
in vain.
In great houses only the domestics have charge of the
matches;
hit
it
On an expedient.
was impossible to get any. At last the girl She discovered that if you put a
and verdigris
is
copper coin in a glass dish and pour strong vinegar over
it,
verdigris will be formed,
at
poison.
Your minds were
once made up.
The
girl
prepared
.
.
.
poison for herself and taught you to do the same.
Merciful Heaven! what notions children do get into their
heads, to be sure."
70
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER V
SHE
IS
NOT FOR YOU
to the lec-
moment the youth had listened ture in silence, but now he arose and said in a !" voice "What you say is right
to this
:
Up
calm, clear
"I should say
it
was
all
very wrong, very wrong
if
in-
deed!" said the lawyer vehemently, as
completing a
broken sentence.
"What!
children to meditate suicide
because things in this world don't go exactly according to
their liking!
its
Have you never regarded
the afiair from
practical side?
tions
Did you imagine that the girl's relawould support you? And would you yourself enis
dure to be their pensioner, their butt, the scorn of the
very domestics, for a poor son-in-law
of the very flunkies
Szilard's face
the standing jest
—
you ought
to
know
that!"
burned
like fire at these
words, but the
old
man
hastened to soothe him.
that, I
"No, you could never reconcile yourself to
sure.
am
But you
thought, perhaps, that the girl
might de-
scend to your level and share your poverty.
in the
There are
world many a poor lad and
lass
who endow one
make
another with nothing but their ardent love, and yet
happy couples enough.
So, no doubt, you argued, and
71
Poor Plutocrats
herein
lies
the fallacy that has deceived you.
girl, I
If
you had
It is
been enamored of a poor
should have said:
if it
rather early to think of marriage, but,
be God's
will,
take her
!
Work and
is
fight
your way through the world,
for every one.
also.
where there
is
room enough
The
lass, too,
used to deprivation, and you are
little.
She
will be con-
tent with
She can sew; she
if
will
do your cooking She
is
for you, and,
need
be,
your washing likewise!
can make one penny go
as far as two.
When
there
a lot to do, she will sing, to
make
when your supper
is
slender,
work lighter, and her good humor and her
the
make it more. But, my dear boy! how are you going to make a poor housewife out of a girl who has been rich ? How can she ever feel at home
loving embraces will
in a wretched, out-of-the-way shanty,
where she
will not
even have you always by her
side, for
you
will
have to be
looking after your daily bread?
she will
She
will say nothing,
make no
you
complaint, but you will perceive that
she misses something.
dress, but
She
will not
ask you for a
is
new
will see that the
one she wears
reflect that
shabby,
and
it
would break your heart to
you love
to
you have
fettered the girl
your stepmotherly destiny,
and your manly pride would one day blush for the recklessness
which led you to drag her down with you."
dear guardian," said Szilárd, "to prove to you
all
"My
I
that I did think of
these things, let
me
tell
you that
enough
have put by from
my
salary and commissions
to enable us to live comfortably for at least a twelve-
month.
For
a
whole year
I
have lived on ten kreutzer a
72
!
Poor Plutocrats
day
in order to save,
and during
all
that time
I
am
sure
you have not heard from me one word of complaint." Mr. Sipos was horrified. It was an even worse case
than he had imagined.
What
It
!
to live for. a
whole year
on four cents a day
in
order to scrape together a small
capital for one's beloved!
would be very
difficult to
cure a madness which took such a practical turn as this
"But,
it all ?
my
dear boy
!"
he resumed, "what
is
the good of
What
It
can you do
now
that your secrets are disif
covered?
would have served you right
the girl's
parents had proceeded against you on a charge of murder,
for
you were an accomplice
I
in this poisoning business;
but
am
pretty sure they will only threaten to do so in
case she refuses the baron.
in case they thus
And
what, pray, can you do
his
compel her to become
wife?"
"Whoever
suppose he
is
the baron
at least a
may
be,"
;
rejoined Szilárd, "I
if
gentleman and
a
woman
looks
to
him
him,
straight in the face
'I
on the wedding-day and says
I
can not love you because
I
love another, and
always will love another,'
can not think he will be so
devoid of feeling as to make her his wife."
"And
if
she does not say
in
this,
but voluntarily gives
him her hand
of her family,
order to save you from the persecutions
what then?"
"Hearken,
to write to
my dear guardian! She may be compelled me that she loves me no more and I must
it till
forget her, but I shall not believe writes
she pronounces or
down
a
word
the
meaning of which only we two
understand and nobody else in the world can discover.
(F)
— (4)—Vol.
20
;
Poor Plutocrats
So long
with
as this one
word does not get
I shall
into the possession
of a third person,
know
that she has not broken
me and no power in this world shall tear her from She may be silent, because she is not free to my speak she may speak because she is commanded to speak yet, for all that, this religiously guarded word tells me what she really feels and what no other human intelliheart.
;
—
gence can understand.
If
you
like,
my
mine
dear guardian,
to Henrietta's
you may betray
relatives,
this confession of
and they
will
torment the
girl
till
they get her
to
pronounce the mysterious word,
will burst the
which once prous.
nounced
bonds that unite
She
will be
driven to say something.
very crafty.
be the right
women who love are The word they will report to me will not one. It is possible, too, that they may take
But oh
!
her far
let
away from me.
Let them guard her well,
I
say;
if
those
who watch
know
over her never close an eye.
And
away
they give her a husband, they had best pray for his
for they
life,
not what a fated thing
it is
to give
in
marriage a
girl
who
bears about in her heart the secret
of a third person."
"My
dear young friend,
I
see that
we
shall not
come
to an understanding with each other.
You
are bent upon
plunging into ruin a poor defenseless
girl in the
name of
I
what you
call
love,
and
will not renounce,
though you
that
have not the slightest hope of winning her
understand.
of the
sidered
I,
—
do not
on the other hand,
am
the legal adviser
young
it
lady's family, and, in that capacity, I con-
my
duty to protest very energetically against
74
Poor Plutocrats
the match in question.
cious papers in
But when they placed those preI
my
hands,
said at once that they
must
man in any case. Otherwise they would was advocating your crazy hopes, that I was an interested party and simply opposed the family candidate in order to smuggle in a kinsman of my own
marry her
to this
I
have fancied
in his stead.
That idea
I
of their heads, happen what would.
was determined to knock out But that, of course,
better return
all
you do not understand.
to
And now you had
your room.
Destiny will one day explain to
of us
what we do not understand now."
At about
family.
the
was proceeding
same hour the second act of this drama in the torture chamber of the Lapussa
Henrietta had returned
with flowers, when old
he would
like to see
home from her little tour laden Demetrius sent word to her that
her in his room.
He
had taken the
shortly be-
precaution of sending
fore,
Madame Langai away
absent at the
and Mr. John was
little
Wheat Exchange.
"My
maid, Hetty, come nearer to me," said the
old gentleman, turning sideways on his couch and ferret-
ing out from beneath his pillows a concave snui¥-box.
venience.
to live.
"Pray do not be angry with me for putting you to inconBear with me for the little time I have still
But
if
you
all
find living
under the same roof with
me
the
unendurable,
opportunity
the greater reason for
you
to seize
of
releasing
yourself
as
quickly
as
possible."
75
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta was too
much used
to these choleric out-
bursts to think of replying to them.
"Pray, put your hand beneath
find a packet of papers there.
my
pillow.
You
will
Take them out and look
at them."
Henrietta did with stolid indifference what the old
man bade
tory
her,
and drew forth from
this peculiar reposipill-
—which served as a
sort of lair for snuff-boxes,
boxes, and odd bits of pastry
scripts,
—a large bundle of manuat the first glance.
which she recognized
The
intercepted papers, which during her illness had prevented
her from sleeping, which had
to get well,
made
it
impossible for her
him from whom The criminal stood face to face with the witness whose damning evidence was to condemn her. There was no escape, no
were now
in the possession of
she had been most anxious to conceal them.
defense.
"My
little
maid," said the old man, exultantly
full
stuff-
ing his eagle nose
of that infernal heating material
snuff, "don't be
which goes by the name of
for
angry with me
I
directing your attention to this scribble.
to
don't
it
want
make any
use of
it.
I
know
quite
enough of
already, but be so
me!" Henrietta absolutely could not look away from her
good
as to listen to
it
grandfather's bloodshot eyes;
seemed
to her as if those
eyes must gradually bore through to her very heart.
"You won't marry an eminent and wealthy man who
bestows an honor upon your family by asking for your
hand, and yet you would run
away with
a worthless fel-
76
Poor Plutocrats
low who does not even know why he was put into the world, and when your family steps in to prevent it, you
would
violently put yourself to death in order to die
with him, to our eternal shame and dishonor.
That was
all
not nice of you.
tremble.
I
But
fetch
sit
down.
I see
you are
if it
of a
would
you a chair myself
were not
for this infernal gout of mine."
Henrietta accepted the invitation and sat down, otherwise she must have collapsed.
"Now
look ye,
my
dear
little girl
!
if
you had
I
to deal
with an unmerciful, austere old fellow, a veritable old
tiger, in fact, as I
have no doubt you fancy
it
am, he would
make no bones about
Henrietta sighed.
but pack you straight off to a
off
nunnery and so cut you
her like a consolation.
from the world forever."
to
Such a threat as that sounded
I
"In the second place, an old tyrant, such as
agining, would
am
im-
have sent that rip of a brother of yours,
who is not ashamed to lend a hand in the seduction of his own sister, would have sent him, I say, to a reformatory. I may tell you there are several such institutions, celebrated for their rigor, whither
cious
it
is
usual to send preco-
and incorrigible young scapegraces.
And
richly he
would have deserved it, too." "Poor Koloman !" thought the
tenderly devoted to each other.
little sister.
They were
"In the third place, our old tiger would have prosecuted at law that reckless youth
fine suicide project of yours.
who had
death,
a share in this
For
my
dear,
is
no
77
;
Poor Plutocrats
plaything, and jests with poison are strictly forbidden.
He would
him."
certainly be
condemned
to
hard labor for
five
or six years, which would be a very wholesome lesson for
"Grandfather !" screamed the tortured
allusion to
fell
child.
This
last
Koloman
his
dissolved her voice in tears.
She
down on
stains
her knees before
tears
enough on
on
it.
hand
to
him and shed innocent wash out all the old specks
and
"I
am
eats
glad to see those tears,
my
dear
I
little girl
;
they
show
that
you have confidence
children
it
;
in
me.
am
not a tiger
who
but
I
little
what
don't
I
have said might happen,
I
don't say
necessarily must.
I
don't
want
to be
cruel
and
vindictive.
want
to recollect anything
of the insults showered upon
all I
me
in that scribble of
yours
ask of you
is
that
you
will not stand in
your own
will be
ill
way.
again.
Get up and don't cry any more, or you
Go up
into
your own room and ponder deeply what
In two hours' time
I shall
you ought to do! you again, and
it.
send for
in the
meantime make up your mind about
at
You have
the choice between accepting as your hus-
band an honorable gentleman of becoming rank, and
the
will
same time renouncing and forgetting a fellow who
never be able to raise himself to your
level,
or of In
taking the veil and bidding good-by to this world.
the latter case, however,
your brother
will be sent to a
reformatory and an action will be commenced against
your accomplice.
It is
for
you
to choose.
You have two
your mind.
In
whole hours
to turn the matter over in
78
Poor Plutocrats
the
to
meantime
I shall
send for
get
my
lawyer and, according
your decision,
I shall
him
to
draw up a marriage
It all desummons pends upon you. And now put back those documents beneath my head. Remember that you will only receive them back from me as a bridal gift. Go now to your own room and reflect. For two hours nobody shall disturb
contract or a
to the criminal court.
you."
The
girl
mechanically complied with his commands.
She put back the ominous documents in their receptacle and withdrew to her room. There she stood in front of
a vase of flowers
and regarded their green leaves for an
In the vase was a fine specimen
hour without moving.
never
of one of those wondrous tropical plants
fall
whose
leaves
sea-
oi¥,
one
of those
plants
which the
is
sons leave unchanged, and which, therefore,
beautiful
such a
emblem of constancy.
If
This beautiful plant has
its
a peculiar property.
one of
it
compact shining leaves
be planted in the earth
shrub,
takes root and
grows
into a
whose fragrant,
waxlike flowers diííuse
an en-
chanting perfume.
Three years before, at a
Szilárd
jurists' ball,
when Henrietta and
given her a bouquet,
met for the
first
time, he
had
she
its
among
the flowers of which
was one
of these green-gold leaves, and
when she got home
root, spread
had planted
it
in
a jar and
it
had taken
shoots abroad and
grown
its
larger and larger every year.
it
—and watched over
And
Henrietta had called
Szilárd
—the strong, the firm
it
growth and cared for
as
if it
had been a living human creature.
79
For a long time she
;
Poor Plutocrats
stood before this flowering plant, as
if
she would have
last
spoken to
it
and taken counsel of
it.
At
she turned
away, and with her hands behind her head she walked
slowly up and
down
the room, and as often as she paused
is
before the vase she behaved like one whose heart
breaking.
short
But time was hastening on; an hour
it
is
so
when one would have
in the
stay.
Alas
!
nowhere was
She
there any help, any refuge.
She was abandoned.
this
had nothing
which she
world but
one flowering plant,
called Szilárd.
And
the
moments
swiftly gal-
loping after one another called for a decision.
There
must be an end
to
it.
Once more she approached her
all
darling plant and kissed flowers one by one.
door.
the leaves of
there
its
beautiful
at the
And now
came a knock
Mr. Demetrius's messenger had come, and a cold
girl's
shudder ran through the
tender frame.
"I
am
was
coming F' she
to be seen
cried.
The next moment not
a tear
on her
face, nay, not a trace
of sorrow, or fear,
but only snow-white tranquillity.
All the
members of
all
the family were assembled together
again in grandpapa's room.
Mr. Sipos was
also present
he had been told
"Well,
about the business.
grandchild," said Mr. Demetrius,
my
dear
little
motioning Henrietta to take her place at the table with
the others, "have you
made up your mind?"
"I have."
"Veil or myrtle wreath ?"
"I will be married."
"To
the baron?"
80
Poor Plutocrats
"Yes," replied the
girl in a strangely
calm and coura-
geous tone, "but
''Let us hear
I
also
have
my
conditions to impose."
them."
place, I
"In the
first
must be sure that
I
my
brother
Koloman will not be persecuted. let him come with me?"
"But
riches
I
suppose you will not
"No, that one thing can not be allowed."
can not
let
him remain
here.
Send him
to
some
other town.
;
You
are always talking of your rank and
him an education to correspond." The child in those two hours had grown older by ten years she now spoke to the other members of the family
give
;
with the air of a matron.
"Agreed!" cried Mr. Demetrius.
"Besides,
it
will be
much
better
if
we do
not see him."
is
"My
second request
that I
may
take the furniture I
have been used to and
place where
I
my
flowers along with
me
it
to the
have to go."
"Granted, a harmless feminine caprice.
Be
so!"
"In the third place,
father
I
should like the papers grand-
knows of
to be given back to
him whom they most
concern."
"Certainly," said Mr. Demetrius; "I promised, did I
not, that
it
should form part of your marriage portion.
Mr. Sipos, would you be so good as to place these documents
in the
hands
—
of the proper person ?"
Mr. Sipos bowed and promised to carry out the mournful
commission.
girl,
"And now, my
the marriage contract
is
be-
8i
Poor Plutocrats
fore you the baron has already signed
;
decision in the adjoining room.
and awaits your Show us what a nice
it
hand you can write."
And
in
Henrietta did show
it.
She signed her name there
it
such pretty Httle dehcately rounded letters that
if
looked as
page.
some
fairy
had breathed a
spell
upon the
"And
in
just one thing more,
politely,
my
dear young lady," put
is still
Mr. Sipos
"while the pen
to write
in
your hand,
would you be so good as
word,
I
down on
the cover of
the returned document a particular word, that particular
mean, which
is
known only
to yourself
and one
other person in the world, as a proof that your renunciation
is
genuine and irrevocable."
girl fixed
The
deceive
her mysterious black eyes for a long
It
time on those of the lawyer.
was
in
it
her power to
well.
him
if
she would, and he
knew
At
last
she gently stooped over the bundle of papers and, press-
ing
down
the pen with unusual firmness, she wrote that
barbarously sounding
name
of a beautiful bright star,
laid
"Mesarthim," and then quietly
down
the pen.
There
Could
was not
it
the slightest sign of agitation in her face.
be the right
word ?
the bridegroom can
"And now
come
in,
and the neces-
sary prenuptial legal formalities can be carried out."
When
room of
Mr. Sipos got home he went straight up to the
his
young
protege.
"My
dear fellow," said he, "I have brought you some
S2
Poor Plutocrats
medicine.
bitter,
As you know, medicine
is
generally nasty and
but perhaps none the worse on that account.
As
I
said beforehand, the young lady reconsidered her position,
chose the better
with the baron.
way and consented to the marriage The betrothal is an accomplished fact,
and they signed the marriage contract before
"Doubtless," returned Szilárd coldly.
my
eyes."
"My
over
it
friend, the girl did not
as
I
you are doing.
make such a sour face She was strong-minded and
composure with which she
like the capitulating
decided.
was amazed
at the
addressed her family; she was
com-
mandant of
a fortress dictating the terms of surrender.
Not a
tear did she shed in their presence,
and yet
I be-
lieve she suffered."
"Oh, she has
"I wish
ble
;
lots
of courage."
as
you had
much.
Here
is
your absurd
scribI
its
surrender was one of the conditions imposed.
am
glad these mischievous exercises are safely in our
hands again.
Don't bother your head about them any
more
!
The
girl is
going away, you
will
remain here
;
in
a year's time
you
will
have forgotten each other."
us together or tears us
Szilárd smiled
frostily.
"And
"Yes,
that
word which binds
that, too.
asunder?" said he.
I
thought of
She looked
me
straight
it,
in the eyes for a long time
when
I asked for
and
I
told her I
wanted the
real, the
genuine word.
!"
;
She has
written
it
on the back of these papers look
Szilárd stretched forth a tremulous hand toward the
83
Poor Plutocrats
papers, seized them, turned
them round, and
and then
fell
cast one
look at the
word written
there,
at full length
on the
floor, striking his
head against the corner of the
business, and, wish-
table, so that the
blood flowed.
Mr. Sipos, cursing the whole stupid
ing the papers at the bottom of the sea, raised the young
man
tenderly and bathed his head with cold water.
He
(why should the whole world be taken into his confidence?), but when the youth came to again, he soothed and consoled him with loving words.
did not call for assistance
And
his
Szilárd, unable to contain himself
any longer, hid
lips
head in the good old man's bosom, pressed his
to his hand,
and wept long and
bitterly.
A
and
fortnight later the marriage of
Baron Hátszegi and
great
Henrietta
Lapussa was
solemnized with
pomp
befitting splendor.
The
bride bore herself bravely
tell
throughout the ceremony, and they
me
that her lace
and her diamonds were
columns of the papers.
fully described in all the society
84
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
BRINGING
VI
BRIDE
HOME THE
In those days there were no railways in Hungary. It took a whole week to travel post from Pesth to the depths
of Transylvania, with relays of horses provided before-
hand
at every station.
On
set
the very day after the wed-
ding, the
young bride
out on her journey.
She had
only stipulated that they should set off very early before
any one was up and
riages.
stirring.
They
traveled in
two
car-
In the
first sat
the bride and Clementina,
who
ac-
had begged and prayed so urgently to be allowed to
company
the
young lady
that to get rid of her they
had
at last consented.
ter her position thereby:
The poor thing fancied she would betit was not from pure love of
In the sec-
Henrietta that she had been so importunate.
ond carriage
sat the
baron and Margari.
Margari was
a scholar
just the sort of
man
the baron wanted.
He was
who
could be converted into a domestic buffoon whenever
one was required.
specimens,
all
Nowadays
it is
difficult to
catch such
our servants
have become so stuck-up.
Henrietta did not dare to ask
how
far they
were going,
so strange
or where they were to pass the night, she
felt
amid her new surroundings.
85
Her husband was very
Poor Plutocrats
obliging and polite toward her
trouble at
all.
—
in fact,
he gave her no
Toward
the evening they stopped at a village to water
the horses, and there Hátszegi got out of his carriage
and, approaching his wife's, spoke to her through the
window "We
:
shall rest in
an hour," said
he.
"We
shall
put up for the night at the castle of an old friend of mine,
Gerzson Satrakovich.
He
has been duly apprised of our
coming, and expects us,"
But the promised hour turned out
hours.
to be nearly
two
as
The roads were very bad
here,
and
it
was
much
as the carriage wheels could do to force their
way
through the marshy sand.
The monotonous Buczkak,
or sand-hills, which extended desolately, like a billowy
sandy ocean, to the very horizon, were overgrown with
dwarf
more like shrubs than trees. Not a village, not a hut was anywhere to be seen. From the roadside sedges flocks of noisy wild geese from time to
firs
that looked
time flew across the sky, which the setting sun colored
yellow.
At
last a
great clattering and rattling gave those
sitting in the carriage to
understand that they were pass-
ing into a courtyard, and the carriage door was opened.
Henrietta got out.
the
The young wife looked around with
which a robber condemned
same
might
sort of curiosity
to a long
jail
term of imprisonment and conveyed to a distant
feel
on
first
surveying his
new environment.
In the midst of a spacious courtyard, surrounded by
stone walls, stood an old-fashioned mansion with a ver-
anda
in
front of
it,
resting
on quadrangular columns,
86
—
Poor Plutocrats
;
which one ascended by a staircase whose brick parapet
served as a lounge both for the gentlemen guests and
their couriers
whenever they wanted to take
other.
their ease
it
though, of course, the gentlemen occupied one end of
and the haiduks the
A
couple of favorite dogs
there.
were also accommodated with a place
instantly quitted this
But when and
and
the carriages stopped in front of the veranda, every one
favorite sun-lit resting place
rushed
dogs.
down
first
to
meet them
—
host, guests, couriers,
The
to reach the carriage
door was a peculiarit
looking man; a more repulsively mutilated creature
was impossible
but
it
to imagine.
He
might have been
fifty,
was
difficult to
read his age from his face.
scars,
His
features
his
were seared with ancient
and a piece of
as
thick, grizzled
side,
mouth was missing
—and perhaps a tooth or two
well, if
one could have seen through his
mustache.
An
eye was missing on the same
and
was tattooed with little black points, as if from an exploded musket. His nose was bent sidewise and quite flattened at the top, doubtless owing to a heavy
half his face
fall.
He
it
had only three whole fingers on the right hand
the other
arm,
two were fearfully mutilated. As for the left was horribly distorted from its natural position,
the elbow being twisted right round and the joint im-
movable.
Add
to this that one of his legs
was
shorter
than the other.
of a
Yet, in spite of everything, this fraction
so agile that he anticipated
to courteously kiss the
all
man was
the others,
de-
and was the
first
hand of the
87
Poor Plutocrats
scending lady,
who shrank back
horror-stricken at the
contact of those crippled fingers.
''My wife
—my friend Gerzson,"
said Hátszegi, hasten-
ing to introduce them to each other.
The master
of the
house professed himself delighted at his good fortune;
pressed his friend's hand with his third remaining finger
and presented
touched
it
his arm, the stiff one, to the lady,
if
who
it.
as gingerly as
she
was afraid of hurting
The master
givings.
of the house laughed aloud at her mis-
"Lean on
break,
it is
it
hard, your ladyship!" cried he; "it won't
as strong as iron.
Down
Fecske, down,
!"
sir
(this to a
dog which had expressed
felicity to
its
joy at the sight of
"I rejoice that
I
Henrietta by jumping on her shoulder).
I
have the
welcome
in
all
)'^our
ladyship.
have
ar-
ranged a great fox hunt
to-morrow.
your ladyship's honor for
I
We
are
fox-hunters here.
hope your
ladyship will take part in it?"
"I
don't
know how
to
ride,"
replied the child-wife
simply.
"Oh
!
that's nothing,
is
we
will teach you.
I
have got
a
good nag, which
ladyship go
till
as gentle as a lamb.
We won't let your
we have taught
you."
When
they reached the parlor a number of jackbooted,
brass-buttoned gentlemen of various ages were presented
in turn to Henrietta,
who
forgot
all
their
names
left
the
mo-
ment
after they
were introduced, and was quite delighted
to her
when she was conducted
Clementina.
room and
alone with
88
Poor Plutocrats
She had scarce time
round table
forks were
of stags
spiced,
tic
to change her traveling dress
when
more
supper was announced.
in the
The meal was
;
laid
on a large
midst of a vast hall
there were
wine bottles than dishes; the handles of the knives and
made from
the horns of elks and the antlers
—the
principal meats
were cold venison, highly
and peppered stews and pickled galuska, or giganafraid this
dumplings.
"I
am
is
only hunter's food,
my
lady!"
table,
opined Mr. Gerzson, conducting Henrietta to the
at
which she and Clementina were the only
ladies pres-
ent.
''Unfortunately, this house has no mistress, and an
old bachelor like
served."
me must
serve others as he himself
is
"Then why don't you marry?" bantered Hátszegi. "I wanted to once, but it all came to nothing. The
bride
was already chosen and the day for the bridal banMy lady bride was a fine, handsome quet was fixed. lassie. On the eve of my wedding day, in order that the business might not escape my memory, I told my courier to place by my bed in the morning my nice bright dressboots instead of my old hunting jacks. Very well Early
!
next morning, while
I
was
still
on
my
back in bed,
I
heard a great barking and yelping in the garden below.
*What's the row ?'
I
shouted.
started a lynx out of the
They told me the dogs had bushes. 'What a lynx I cried,
!'
!
for a lynx,
I
let
me
tell
you,
is
a rare beast in these parts.
was out of bed
in a twinkling,
plunged into the nice
wall,
dress-boots, snatched
my gun
89
from the
and was
oflE
Poor Plutocrats
into the thicket.
I
soon found the
led
trail,
and after that
went the more
a sort of feelI felt
lynx
I
went.
The dogs
me
farther and farther into
I
the depths of the forest,
fiery
and the farther
I
grew
I
the pursuit.
Once or twice
had
ing that
had forgotten something
at
home, and
myself
pouch,
all
over, but no, powder-horn, pipe-case, tobacco-
flint, steel
—everything was
Again
I felt
there.
So on
I
went
farther and farther.
bothered, but by this
time the lynx quite carried
me away
I
with him, and kept
appearing and disappearing again in the most distracting
fashion.
Only toward evening did
hold his pelt in
my
hand, and
home with
it
I
went straightway.
And
if
now,
there
again, an oppressive feeling overcame me, just as
was something wrong going on somewhere
which
ing,
it
in the
world
was
I
in
my
power
to prevent.
Only
in the evenit
when
was
pulling off
my
dress-boots, did
flash
across
me
that I ought to have been present at
my
wed-
ding that very day.
were, for
And
so matters remained as they
my
bride
was
so angry with
me
for
my
forgetfellow.
I
fulness that she
went away and married a lawyer
No
doubt she got the right man, but since then
have
had no desire for matrimony."
The company laughed
tite,
heartily at this jest,
and then
attacked the patriarchal banquet with tremendous appe-
nor did they wait to be asked twice to
fill
their glasses.
Henrietta, naturally, did not touch anything.
ordinary times she ate very
little,
but
now
there
Even at was
nothing at
all
she fancied.
Mr. Gerzson was
in despair.
"My
dear lady," said he, "you eat so
little
that if I
90
Poor Plutocrats
were a day laborer
wages."
I
could easily support you on
my
The company laughed aloud
Then Gerzson proceeded
or less
tell
at this.
The
idea of a day
laborer with such hands and feet as that!
to relate to
them the
exploits
or misadventures in which his various limbs had more
come
to grief.
*'And now," concluded he, "I will
I
came by this scar on my forehead. A few years ago I was visiting our friend Leonard, your husband, my dear lady, at his castle at Hidvár, and
your ladyship
how
while there
we
spent two weeks
among
the glaciers."
"Night and day?" inquired the astonished Henrietta.
"Well, at night
branches of
fir
we
built ourselves
If,
huts out of the
fell,
trees.
however, no rain
we
en-
camped
up
in
in the
open round our watch-fire, snugly wrapped
Splendid fun,
I
our sheepskins.
can
tell
you
!
For
two days, when our
stores gave out,
we
lived
on nothing
but bilberries and broiled bear's flesh."
"You were badly
delicacies,
off then."
"No, on the contrary, the paws of a bear are great
only
we had no
salt to salt
them with."
"Why did you not return home?" "We could not; for four days together we had been on the track of a blood-bear. Do you know what a bloodbear is?
A
bear
is
a very mild, harmless sort of a beast
in general,
and
is
quite content with honey, berries, and
roots; but let
like a lion,
him once taste blood, and he rages about and, more than that, he has a decided prefblood before
all
erence for
human
other kinds of blood.
91
Poor Plutocrats
We
days running, as
had been pursuing one of these old malefactors four I have said; four times we got within
range of him, and four times he broke away.
a
He
carried
few
bullets
away with him beneath
his hide, indeed, but
a lot he cared about that!
He
gave one or two of our
badly aiming huntsmen a clout on the head, which sent
them
the
flying, stripped the skin
from the head of one of
in
beaters,
and then took refuge
the
wilderness.
to
Friend Leonard and the other gentlemen
now wanted
abandon the chase, for they were
our clothes from our bodies, yet
another attempt on the morrow.
they beat up the
bear.
frightfully hungry,
and
the heavy rain and rock scrambling had pretty well torn
I I
urged them to make
assured them that
if
wood once more we should
lot of
capture the
The whole
them were against me.
Friend
Leonard
insisted that
we
should not catch him, as a bear
never remains in the place where he has been wounded,
but runs on and on night and day
;
by
this
time he would
have got right across the border into Wallachia.
well!' I said, 'what
'Very
do you bet that he
is
not quite near
and we
!'
come upon him to-morrow?' Leonard reme two to one we shouldn't. 'All right said I. 'I'll pay you a hundred ducats if we don't 'And I'll pay you a thousand if find Bruin to-morrow.' we do,' said he. So the bet was clinched. Next morning
shall
plied he
would bet
in a thick mist
we
sent out the beaters while
we
ourselves
stood on our guard.
Leonard and
began
I
took up our post
near a ravine, waiting impatiently for the mist to disperse.
Toward midday
it
to clear.
No
end of
92
Poor Plutocrats
stags and foxes ambled slowly past us, but
we
did not
even aim at them
;
the bear
was our watchword.
The
were
to
beaters had pretty nearly finished their work.
We
standing only
chat together.
ducats,' said
fifty
*I
paces or so apart, so
we began
begin to be sorry for your hundred
'I
Leonard.
I.
am
in
still
sorrier for the lost
this time!'
oi¥,
bear's skin,' said
*It
is
Wallachia by
he
replied.
Behind
my
back,
;
some ten yards
was
the opening of a narrow hole
in the rocks all about.
there were hundreds such
'Come,
now
!'
I cried,
'suppose
my
bear has stowed himself
away
in this hollow!'
—and there
the
this
and then,
of
in
like
a mischievous
little
boy, I poked the barrel
my gun
into the hollow
and
fired off
a couple of shots
quick succession.
A
frightful roar
came from
all
depths of the cavern.
noise, clamor,
The wild
beast during
and beating about the bush was actually
behind
my
back holding his tongue
—and
I
a splendid big
like
beast he was,
two heads
In a
taller
than
and with tusks
I
a wild boar.
moment he was upon me, and
had
already discharged
my two barrels.
it
It is all
over with
me
now,
I
thought
I
Why,
will be nothing at all to a
mag-
nificent beast like this to tear such a
wretched creature
as myself limb
came
straight at me,
from limb! smashing
Erect on his hind legs he
my
hunting-knife at a
single blow, and, enfolding
tried to
me
in his terrible arms, he
mangle
I
my
features with his teeth.
At
the last
us,
moment
!
called to
hit
Leonard: 'Shoot between
!'
old
chap you will
killed
one of us anyhow
being torn to
I
preferred being
instant
by a
bullet to
bits.
The next
93
Poor Plutocrats
a rq)ort sounded, and I of us,
still
was only
just
aware that the pair
tightly embraced,
were rolling backward into
There, however, the thick
I
the bottom of the ravine.
undergrowth held us up, and
perceived that
my
it
bear
was
I
quite done for.
The
bullet
had gone clean through
was,
his ear.
Yes, a masterly shot on Leonard's part
must confess
—
at fifty paces at the
very
moment when
to risk a shot to be torn to
the bear's head and mine were near enough for kissing.
And
I
do think
it
was so
nice of
Leonard
for me,
when
if
he had simply allowed
me
pieces he
would have saved
you
see.
his thousand ducats, for he
lost his bet,
Not only
did he liberate me, but
he paid a thousand ducats for doing so."
"He
acted like a true gentleman!" they
all cried.
It
was the general opinion. "Your ladyship will
Hidvár;
it is
see
this
splendid
I
bearskin at
a real treasure for a hunter,
can
tell
you.
And,
in fact, if I
had had the
choice, I
would much rather
too, in
have had the bearskin than the thousand ducats, and the
exchange would have been much better for me,
the long run, for I should have the skin to this day,
whereas the thousand ducats were forcibly taken from
me
at
Déva by
that villain, Fatia Negra."
"Who is that?" inquired Henrietta curiously. "A famous robber chieftain in these mountains whom they can never lay hands upon. He is called Fatia Negra,
or Black Face, from the
mask he wears."
Henrietta cast anxious glances around her.
But here Hátszegi coolly interrupted him by striking
94
Poor Plutocrats
his plate with his fork
:
"I won't have
my
wife frightened
cried
he,
to
death by your highwayman
yarns,"
and
changed the conversation.
Shortly afterward Henrietta
went
to her
chamber, leaving her husband with Mr. Gerznight after her marriage.
son and his guests.
Such was Henrietta's
She
at least
first
was
so far fortunate as not to be obliged to
see her husband.
Toward morning
ofif
she dozed
oi¥,
and
when
she
awoke again she found
set
that the whole
company
till
had long ago
with sweat.
fox-hunting, nor did they return
late in the evening, tired out,
wet through, and dripping
an old disused hunting-
Henrietta meanwhile had discovered the
in
remains of a dilapidated library
lodge,
had ferreted out of
herself with
it
a few Latin books, and had
amused
for
tinder.
It is
them
—
at least so far as she
was
able,
many
of the leaves had been torn out and used as
notorious that tired sportsmen are about the dullfelt that
est
dogs on earth; so Henrietta
she would not
lose
much when her husband
told her she
had
better
go
to rest early, as they
must be up betimes next morning.
off so early that,
And, indeed, next morning they were
there to bid
except their old host, not one of the hunting party was
them Godspeed!
But he again conducted
his lady guest to her carriage
on
his crippled
arm, and
arranged her cushions comfortably for her with his threefingered hand.
was a very fine day for a journey, and the windows of the two carriages were let down so that Henrietta was
It
95
Poor Plutocrats
able to view the landscape stretching out before her.
She
She
had never been here before
a three days'
;
it
was
all
new
to her.
discovered from Clementina's lamentations that they had
still
journey before they reached home, and
at the castle of
that they
would spend the coming night
Count Kengyelesy.
The coachmen had
told
Margari
so,
and he passed the news on to Clementina.
It also ap-
peared that Count Kengyelesy was a very curious sort of
man, who contradicted Baron Hátszegi
for
all
in everything, yet
that they
were never angry with and always glad
The count was also said to have a to see each other. young wife who did not love him. So ran the gossip of the servants. It was all one to Henrietta what they said
about Count Kengyelesy and his consort.
Between
five
and
six in the afternoon they reached the
count's castle, which lay outside the village in the midst
of rich tobacco and rape-seed
sides
fields,
and enclosed on three
ar-
by a splendid English garden; the place was
for.
ranged with taste and evidently well cared
That the count expected the
arrival of the Hátszegis
was evident from the fact that dinner was awaiting them. Kengyelesy was a little puny bit of a man with very light, bright hair, white eyelashes, and a pointed chin, made still
more pointed by a long goatish beard. It always pleased him very much when his friends confidentially assured him that he had a perfect satyr-like countenance. His wife was a young, chubby, lively lady, with smiling
blue eyes unacquainted with sorrow,
whom
her husband
fallen in
on the occasion of a
ball at
Vienna had seen,
96
—
Poor Plutocrats
love with, and carried off, although the girl's father, a
retired field-marshal,
was
quite ready to surrender her
they preferred, however, the romance of an elopement.
The
countess received her lady guest with the most
effusive heartiness, called her
by her Christian name on
the spot, and invited her to do that
told Henrietta she
all
same with
her.
She
was
to feel quite at
home, dragged her
in rapid succession
over the
castle,
and showed her
her rare flowers, her Parisian furniture, her Japanese curiosities
;
played something for her on the piano,
made
her
parrot talk to her, and incontinently popped on her finger
a large and beautiful opal ring, which she told her she
was to keep as an eternal souvenir. Then the countess seized the hand of
and
led her into her
the child-wife
bedchamber.
On
the wall
hung
a
fine large battle-piece, a splendid oil painting
by a Vien-
nese master.
"A
magnificent picture,
is it
not?" inquired the countess
with a broad smile.
"Yes," replied Henrietta absently.
"How
"He
he
isj
do you
like the central figure ?
I
mean
the hero
on horseback, with the standard in his hand ?"
is
handsome, but
it
seems to
me
that, situated as
he smiles too much."
countess laughed loudly at this remark.
The
officer
"That," said she, "is the portrait of a young hussar
who
for a long time paid his court to me.
I
could
not, of course,
keep his portrait in
my
room, for there
every one would
know
all
about
it,
so I had a battle-piece
(F)
— (S)-VOL.
97
20
—
!
Poor Plutocrats
painted in
all
round, and nobody suspects anything.
Oh
;
my
friend, if
women were
it.''
not so inventive, they would
that,
often be very unhappy.
But
mind
!
is
a secret
not
a soul must
know about
tell
it
Henrietta grew pensive.
she would
She
also
had her
secret, but
to nobody, not even
on her deathbed.
infinite
She also has a portrait written in ineffaceable characters
in her heart, yet
between him and her stand two
star
obstacles, the
one a betrayed
whose name
is
Mesaris
thim, the other that unbetrayable thing
whose name
woman's honor!
"Dinner
is
ready!" cried the epauleted footman, and
the countess, drawing her
arm through
Henrietta's, led
her into the dining-room, where the gentlemen already
awaited them.
After dinner the humorous young countess entertained
Henrietta for a long time with her amusing chatter.
told her, at the very outset, things that
She
a rule, only confide to their
told her, for instance,
young wives, as most intimate friends. She
little
how
very jealous her
this pet
Squirrel
was (she
called her
husband by
name), and how
to interest
he would never take her to Vienna or Pesth, because he
suspected that she might find
her.
some one there
will
Anything
like
;
correspondence on her part was, of
course, impossible
a wise
woman
always have sense
enough never
else
to part with a line of writing.
;
Everything
can be disowned
but there
is
no defense against
a letter
which
has fallen into the
she
knew
a trick worth
two of
wrong hands. Oh no! that. Whenever the Squir-
98
Poor Plutocrats
rel
went to Vienna she gave him a
hats, headdresses, muffs,
list
of articles required
list
by her from a modiste in the town; on this
are set
articles.
down
finds
and other similar
over ten times at
Squirrel always
reads this list
it
least,
it
but
nothing in
to excite his suspicions.
But
regu-
larly escapes his attention
what day
is
indicated by the
tell
date at the head of the
life
list,
for he can never
for the
of
him on what day of the month such or such a day
will fall.
Now,
at the
head of
this list stands, instead of
sent, the date
the date
to
on which the goods are to be
up
which the Squirrel intends to divert himself
list
at Vienna.
This
the Squirrel in person conveys to the modiste,
who communicates
cerns,
with the person
whom
it
most con-
and the wild Kengyelesy lands
will not
seem the
end of the world to whomsoever has a magnet in his
heart to
draw him
thither.
Henrietta was amazed and confounded by this
science, the
new
her.
very alphabet of which was unknown to
Even when it was possible that certain things which break the hearts of some people are nevertheless regarded by other people as mere frolics all their lives. The next morning every one arose late. The gentlemen had been up till the small hours, and were hard to awaken. They all met together in the breakfast-room.
she lay in bed she ruminated for a long time
how
Hátszegi and his host were preparing for the journey.
The count asked
first
the
young wife what she had dreamt
is
about, "for," added he, "whatever one dreams about the
night in a strange place
sure to
come
true."
99
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta did not like to speak of her dreams; her
M^aking thoughts were too often interwoven with them.
"And
husband
of
you, you great silly," said the countess to her
in a bantering tone, "did
you dream anything
spend the coming
in
me?"
"Yes, darling,
I
dreamt that we
shall
winter in Vienna.
Don't put so much sugar
nice
my
tea
!"
really
"What! Not for such a come to pass?" "Most certainly, pussy.
is
dream
will
as that?
Will
it
We
go there together
after the bathing season
over,"
The countess possessed
her delight.
sufficient self-control to conceal
"By the bye," said Kengyelesy, turning to Henrietta, "how does your ladyship like these wild Kengyelesy
lands?"
"Very
well."
"And
"That
the castle?"
is
nice, too."
it
"Don't you think
while to-day
a good joke that yesterday your
ladyship and your honored husband
were
my
guests,
we
are your ladyship's guests, and that, too,
without our having to move out of the house?"
"How?"
inquired the astonished Henrietta.
this
"Why, we made an agreement
whereby friend I^eonard
is
very morning
going to take over the whole
it
property and everything belonging to
dear, of course," this to his wife, "I
—not
you,
my
mean
the nags and
the cows
—and henceforth
this
I
house belongs to you."
GO
Poor Plutocrats
"Don't forget to invite the countess to Hidvár for the
vintage festival/' whispered Hátszegi to his wife.
Henrietta accordingly
made
the effort,
and when they
rose from the breakfast she timidly expressed the wish that the Kengyelesys would do them the honor to return
their visit at Hidvár.
"Oh, we
ened to
shall be sure to
come !"
the fair countess hast-
reply; "Squirrel shall bring
will
me
to
you
in the
autumn, and we
remain a whole month."
invitation,
Kengyelesy also courteously accepted the
and then taking Henrietta's
palms, so that he could just
little
hand between
his
own
manage
to kiss the tips of
her fingers, he said to her in a strange and piteous sort
of voice
:
"But then you must promise
little
to love our friend
Leonard here a
better than
you have done
hitherto."
A
shudder ran through Henrietta's body at these
words.
The very
cult to breathe,
carriage again.
room was all at once diffiand she only felt better when she sat in the But even there she was haunted by some
air of the
unendurable, undefinable, torturing feeling, which struck
her
more unpleasantly when Clementina remarked: "Yes, there is nothing but good land on this estate." Why, what could it matter to the honest creature whether the land was good or not, it was surely all one
still
to her.
"Two
thousand acres
in
one
lot,
all
first-class land."
"How
nessed
it,
"Margari told
do you know that?" asked Henrietta. me he drew up the agreement and wit-
and yet no money was paid down."
lOI
Poor Plutocrats
"What do you mean by
the count
that?"
allusion
"Did not your ladyship then understand the
made
little
just
husband a
now when he asked you more than hitherto?"
to
to love your
"What has such nonsense "He meant by that that
is
do with me?"
he
who
is
unlucky in love
lucky at play; for last night
my
lord baron played
the whole
cards with
my
lord count, and
ofT."
won from him
is
Kengyelesy estate straight
Henrietta
felt like
one
who
in the
embrace of the
boa-constrictor and unable to defend himself.
She had
not expected
this.
But Clementina was only too delighted to have something to chatter about.
"And do you know, your
lady-
ship," she continued, "the
rivals for a long time,
baron and the count have been
and each has always been trying
his
hardest to ruin the other
—
in
a friendly way, of
course.
told me.
The chambermaid
'I
told Margari,
and Margari
will not be content, comrade,'
my
is
lord baron
is
used to say to
my
lord count,
'till
one of us
reduced
to his last jacket,
and as soon as one of us
gentleman
absolutely
beggared, the other will hold himself bound to maintain
him
in a
way
befitting a
till
the day of his
death.'
Strange
men
these,
madame, eh!"
to her
Perceiving, however, from Henrietta's looks that there
was something depressing
young mistress
in
her
narration, she tried to soften the effect of her
words by
intimating that the count had another property besides,
although not such a nice
castle,
and also that
it
was open
102
Poor Plutocrats
to
if
him
to
buy back the former
will do^
estate in thirty years' time
he could find the money.
"That
Clementina,
my
head aches badly!" said
Henrietta.
She wished
thoughts!
to rid herself of this chatter, in
order that she might devote herself to her
own
thoughts.
And what
She had had no idea that such
things could be.
How
was
was
it
possible that
two men who
in
called themselves friends could ruin
one another thus
cold blood
?
How
it
possible that a
man
could enter
in
the house of an affectionate host as a
welcome g^est
the evening, and by next morning leave
him not an
inch
of land on which to put his foot or a roof to cover his
head
!
"And one
has to get accustomed to such things
!"
thought she.
All the day long their journey lay through that brain-
wearying
plain,
its
whose endless
flatness oppressed soul
and
body with
monotony, and soon drove her back
to her
own
thoughts.
Toward evening
rising,
there were signs of rain.
Clouds were
and then,
at least, there
something new to point
the sky.
at in the eternal
would be monotony of
evil
Unfortunately clouds have the bad habit of
bringing tempests along with them, and tempests are
traveling companions on the Alföld, or Great Plain.
The
still
towers of the town they were trying to reach were
only dimly visible on the horizon.
it
In ordinary weather
late,
would not have mattered
if
they had arrived
for
they had reckoned upon the moonlight; but there could
be no
moon
to-night; instead of her a storm of angry
lightnings
was approaching.
103
Already from afar they
;
Poor Plutocrats
could hear
it
rumbling as
it
drove dust-clouds before
it;
could hear that peculiar, continuous roar as of some giant
hand playing uninterruptedly on the keys of some
terrible
Whoever has been caught on storm knows the meaning of that wind
organ.
the Alföld in a
it
;
means
that the
tempest
is
bringing hail with
it.
One
where.
thing was
now
still
certain
:
they must turn aside some-
All that Henrietta observed, however,
for a
was
that
her carriage stood
moment, and then Hátszegi's
carriage went on in front, the baron himself seizing the
horses' reins and shouting to the
coachman behind him,
"After
me
as hard as
you can
tear !"
With
till
that they left
the road and plunged right across country through ditches
and swamps and low, marshy ground
up
to
the water
came
the very axles
of
the
wheels, and
Clementina
shrieked that they were perishing.
to be afraid.
But there was no need
Hátszegi was a skilful coachman,
ever find his
About a four ible, and beyond
who could way even where there was no way at all. hours' journey off, a pump now became visit
a cottage inn loomed white and high
there they must seek a refuge
from the tempest
lumps of
ice,
as
it
passed over them.
the small courtyard
as nuts,
And, indeed, they had only reached
when
the
first
as big
began bombarding the windows of the
inn.
"Quick, quick, into the house!" cried Hátszegi.
The
baron himself helped his wife and Clementina to descend,
and hurried them
in
beneath the veranda, which was
made
of crooked branches and
hung over
the kitchen door like
a shade over the forehead of a weak-sighted man.
104
:
Poor Plutocrats
On
chief.
their
approach the
woman
of the house emerged
from the
kitchen, with her head tied
up
in a red handker-
She was no longer young, but ruddy,
robust,
if
bright-eyed, and bustling, and as full of sparkle as
she
had just sprung out of the
fire.
On
perceiving
her
guests
she
clapped
her
hands
together
"Lord
deliver us,
if
!
it
isn't his
lordship!
!
And
only
just married now, eh
is
—
after all these years
But which
the bride, your lordship?
!"
Surely not this one (pointis
ing to Clementina), for she
other
is
an old dear!
—and yet the
but a child
The baron hastened
burst.
to interrupt this uncalled-for out-
"Come, come,
my
good woman!
upon us
in a
No
it is
chatter now,
;
please, for the hail will be
moment
clean
but take
these ladies into a room, and see that
fortable.
and comfa-
Henrietta
!
pray get out of the rain."
The landlady
miliarity,
kissed Henrietta's
in a
hand with great
and kept on saying
little
quavering voice: "Oh,
thou tender
creature! to think of giving
she.
them
to
husbands so early!" cried
But Clementina, who was were proceed-
always nervous in strange places, called the baron's attention to the fact that loud masculine voices
ing from somewhere within the inn.
"Have you any one here now ?"
just been released
inquired the baron,
"Yes, three or four lads and Ripa.
The
old fellow has
I
from the prison
full time.
at Arad.
don't
in
!"
know
whether he served his
Pray walk
105
Poor Plutocrats
"They
are not robbers, are they?" asked Clementina
hesitating.
"No, dear heart
parts, but only
alive, there
are no robbers in these
poor vagabonds.
You
I
will not find rob-
bers nearer than the
Bakony
Forest.
These poor fellows
don't count old Ripa
hurt nobody, least of
at
if
all,
all ladies.
but only the other three.
is
It
would be another thing
gentleman, and Hkes
think, dear
I call
Blackey were here, for he
a
fine
to
amuse himself with
the ladies.
But don't
no
!
soul, that his features are black, oh, dear,
him
'Blackey' because he always wears a
lest
mask
of black velvet,
he should be recognized; only his eyes and mouth
are ever visible."
And
with such comforting assurances she escorted
Henrietta and Clementina up the narrow staircase.
They had
sitting
to pass
through the long tap-room before
they came to the inner parlor.
three hardy-looking
At
the guest-table were
young fellows and an old
rascal,
pock-marked man, a foxy-eyed
versation going.
who drank
out
of the others' glasses from time to time and kept the con-
"Come! shut
man.
lord.
up, Ripa!" said the landlady to the old
"This is no Jew madame, but the spouse of my Baron Hátszegi. Show your manners if you have
any, and thank her for the honor."
The
ity,
old rascal rose
from
his
bench with cunning humil-
and, twisting up both ends of his gray mustache,
politely kissed Henrietta's hand,
and would have paid the
same compliment
to Clementina if the landlady
had not
io6
Poor Plutocrats
prevented him by shouting, "Leave her alone, she
a sort of servant
!"
is
only
With that she led the ladies into the were two lofty bedsteads reaching to
with tulips and roses.
In the
inner room, where
the
beams above,
covered with bright bedding and prettily painted over
window screens were widespreading rosemary and musk plants. In front of one
of the great chests stood a spinning wheel.
the
From
this
landlady,
winter and summer, spun off that fine
thread from which were
woven those bright and gay
afar.
handkerchiefs which could be seen bobbing about in the
doorway of the inn from
One would never have
expected to find such ease and comfort in a country inn.
The landlady very politely traveling clothes, made a soft
cushions
in
divested Henrietta of her
resting-place for her with
feet,
an amichair, put a stool beneath her
than
it
and
in less time
took to draw a breath, totted up
ten different kinds of dishes, that she might choose from
them the one she
liked best.
It
Perhaps she would
like
some leaf-cake?
was just cooking and would be
Clementina whispered
served up immediately, and she began spreading the table
with a nice white horse-cloth,
Henrietta to beware of poison, whereupon Henrietta told
the landlady that she
would have a
really
bit
of that nice dish,
and when
not
pleased.
it
came she
it
enjoyed
it,
though she did
know what
was, at which the landlady was infinitely
Meanwhile Hátszegi came
in after seeing that the car-
riages were put into a dry place.
He
took no notice of
107
Poor Plutocrats
the poor vagabonds, but hastily
clothes, as his
demanded a change of own were soaking, and was amazed to see
;
Henrietta handling her knife and fork so well
first
it
was
the
time on the whole journey that she had eaten with
appetite.
Henrietta said that this peasant roast suited her.
will
"And now, Dame Kardos,
"Certainly,"
you put the
ladies
up
for the night?" said Hátszegi to the landlady.
returned the worthy
woman;
likes.
"I
have
feather mattresses
enough and bedsteads enough for as
This bed
this the
many
guests of quality as your lordship
will be
my
lord baron's and this
my
lady's,
and
lady attendant's!"
"Not so quick, not so quick! I shall not lie here." "Not lie here ?" cried this child of the Hungarian wilds.
"Why, pray?" "Oh I'll find some
!
place or other in the tap-room out-
side."
"It's a
way
great folks have, I suppose,"
Dame
Kardos, shrugging her shoulders,
it
murmured "but I never saw
or heard the likes of
before."
"But,
my
lord," lisped Clementina, greatly agitated,
"won't those wild vagabonds outside disturb you?"
disturb
"Me?" exclaimed Hátszegi, "how the devil can they mef" "They are such wicked men, surely?" "I don't care what sort of men they are." And with
went out with the utmost indifference; nay, as
that he
Clementina herself noticed, he drew forth his pocket
pistols
and
left
them behind him on the
io8
table.
Poor Plutocrats
"His lordship has no need
to fear such
men," the land-
lady reassured the ladies, "for he can talk to them in their
own Hngo."
Henrietta
did
not understand.
Did
?
robbers,
then,
speak a dialect peculiar to themselves
curious to hear
in their
She became quite
how
Hátszegi would speak to the robbers
own
language.
filled
it
But the landlady knew exactly what to do. She a kulacs, or wooden flask, for the baron and placed Hátszegi took a good pull the table before him.
dried the
on
it,
at
mouth of
the flask,
and passed
it
on to the old
pockmarked vagabond, who, after raising his cap, took a little drop himself, and then passed it on to the others.
"Well, old fellow,
is
the wine
good?" inquired Háts-
zegi in thieves' gargon.
"Wine is always good." "Have you had enough?" "One can never have enough." "Then God grant you plenty!
wind
still
By
the way, does the
at
blow through the crevices of the prison door
Arad?"
"It blows for
him who
it."
lists
to
it.
Let him
who
likes
it
not close his ears to
"Have many
the
jail lately?"
children been born to the governor of
[/.
e.,
"How many new
convicts?"]
too."
"Yes, lots have been born there
—and christened
[Put into convict garb.]
"Has
the daughter of the cord [the gallows] been mar-
ried lately ?"
109
Poor Plutocrats
"Only Marczi Csendes has been elevated lately. was a fool. He took the crime of two comrades on
shoulders, in order to
in the act, but
let
He
his
them go
free.
he swore he did the
see,
They were caught They were deed.
young
bloods,
it
you
and he had nobody to care for him.
was they who presented the empty pistol at the The Jew himself pointed them out, but Jew's head. Marczi steadfastly claimed that it was he who did it." "So they made him cold against the winter time?" "Yes, but he didn't very much care. The hour before
And
yet
his execution he
took an affectionate leave of his comhe bequeathed his
rades,
and to
me
warm
old sheepskin.
When
the priest asked
him whether he had anything upon
that he
his conscience, he
merely said the only thing that grieved
him was the thought
in this life to eat his
would never again be
able
fill
of well-peppered stew such as old
Ripa knew
how
to cook.
They humored him, and
it.
I
was
but
sent into the kitchen to prepare
My
old friend ate
;
with a good appetite and wanted
me
to take a bit too
my my
throat
felt
as
cramped
it
as
if
they had already taken
measure round
with the gallows rope.
He
gave
the
each of the two guards
felon's car,
who accompanied him
on
told us afterward that
in
one on his
right, the other
his left, a silver
coin apiece.
The guards
a
tall,
when he
got outside he rose up in the car and addressed the people.
He was
His
handsome
fellow, with red cheeks,
like
long black hair, and a fine sonorous voice
lain's.
any chap-
last
words were 'Well,
:
I
now
look upon this
fair
world for the
last time.'
"
no
Poor Plutocrats
"Did he
Hátszegi.
him any new songs?" inquired "He was ahvays a famous singer,"
leave behind
"Yes, one he
too, I
made
in jail,
!
and a splendid song
it
it
was
can
tell
you.
Bandi pipe
to his lordship
on your
flute as I
have taught you."
At
these
words one of the
flutes
youths drew forth from his sleeve one of those
made name
lark
of elder-wood, which in Hungarian goes by the of a tilmka, and which with
its
poor six holes
is
able to give forth as
;
many
variations as the throat of a
airs,
then, without
any virtuoso
he simply piped the
plaintive melody.
The baron was immensely
hither!"
pleased.
"Margari," cried
violin,
he, "go to the carriage, look for
my
and bring
it
At
fit
this
command poor Margari had
a veritable ague
of terror.
All this time he had remained ducking
down
them
in the carriage, firmly
persuaded that the robbers
in
this lonely place
would cut down every mother's son of
In such a case he was prepared to
at
all,
at nightfall.
swear that he had never belonged to the party
but
would pretend he was only
that way.
a poor tramp,
and so escape
little
And now
the baron had ruined his
!
plan
by ordering him to come forth
absolutely believe that he also
frightful situation
when
a
The robbers would now was a swell. Oh, it is a poor devil has managed to get
first
a one hundred gulden into his purse for the
his life
at
time in
and
is
obliged the very next evening to put up
!
an inn
full
of robbers
What
III
the devil did the baron
sort of a
want with the
fiddle at all?
And, then, what
Poor Plutocrats
thing
was
a fiddle?
When
a
man
is
terrified
he easily
first
mistakes one thing for another, and Margari's
ex-
periment was to carry in to the baron a long leaden box
containing the territorial chart of the Kengyelesy estate
—was
what his lordship wanted? "Have you lost your wits, Margari?
that
How
could you
possibly get a fiddle into that?
cast eyes
Or
has the fellow never
on a
fiddle ?
!"
Bandi, you go and look in the car-
riage for the fiddle
But
this
was not
at all to
Margari's liking.
What,
send that vagabond to the carriage to ferret about there!
His lordship must have clean taken leave of
his senses.
was Margari's own brand-new mantle, for which he had paid nine and twenty gulden. The vagabond would be sure to lay his hands upon it. No, he would rather go to look for the fiddle himself. So he found the violin case at last somehow, and handing it to the baron through the inn window (for he durst not
in
Why,
the
carriage
trust himself inside),
he retired again beneath the coach-
house, although the rain
Baron Leonard took from
was now splashing down upon it^ its morocco case his splendid
fol-
Stradivarius, that relic of the greatest master of violin
making, for which he had paid a small fortune, and,
lowing the lead of the young vagabond's
ment, and at the third
filinka,
played
the bitter-sweet melancholy air on the sonorous instrutrial
he enriched
variations as to astonish every one.
enthusiastic,
it with so many Then Ripa became
and chimed
in
with his hoarse old voice.
When
the baron once had the violin in his hands, he
112
—
Poor Plutocrats
was not content with playing
enticed
a single song;
so,
one melody
another forth, and
all
one after another, his
fiddle-bow ran through
those rhapsodies of the last
century, those compositions of the "Gipsy-Beethoven,"
Bihari,
and other
great, popular masters, with the
most
classical variations.
Princes listen not to such a concert
that wretched, desolate inn.
as
now resounded through
Even Henrietta arose from her couch
these melancholy airs.
the better to enjoy
it
If ever in her life,
was
at this
moment
subdued.
that vShe beheld her
husband
in
an aureole of
dazzling light, which irresistibly attracted, overpowered,
One thing, however, struck her as strange, incredible how could a fashionable man, brought up in the atmosphere of elegant society, find any pleasure in playing
bravura pieces in the tap-room of a miserable inn to an
audience of half-tipsy vagabonds
?
Was
this
it
an habitual
only Háts-
diversion of these wealthy magnates, or
zegi's wild
was
humor ?" However, when "the
lads" began to chime in a
little
too vigorously. Hátszegi restored the violin to
its case,
all,
took out his pocketbook, opened
it
before them
and
nonchalantly displayed as he did so the bundles of thou-
sand-gulden notes which
it
contained.
Nay, he searched
among them
taught him"
for stray ten-gulden notes,
and gave one
to
each of the four vagabonds "for the fine song they had
—
that
was
the
way he
put
it
—
at the
same
time requesting them to quit the tap-room, as the ladies in
the adjoining
chamber wanted
113
to sleep,
and must not be
Poor Plutocrats
kept awake by any further noise.
seek a couch elsewhere.
The vagabonds must
The vagabonds, without
the shghtest objection, arose,
drank up the dregs of the wine, pocketed the bank-notes
without so much as a ''thank you!" and settled
the night on the roof of the coach-house terror of Margari,
down
for
—to
all
the great
who was
concealed in one of the
sleep night, his
coaches, and did not have a
teeth chattered so.
wink of
But
Hátszegi,
when
fell
the
drinkers
had withdrawn,
spread out his hunting pelisse on the long table, lay
thereon, and quietly
asleep.
down
He
did not even shut
the door, nor did he have his pistols by him.
In the adjoining chamber, meanwhile, the landlady
had brought out her
spindle,
tell
set
all
its
many
wheels
a-working, and began to
her ladyship a lot of those
wondrous
tales that
have neither beginning nor end, ad-
ventures of the wilds of Hungary, the atrocities of vaga-
bonds and their fellows, the sad love stories of poor, deserted maidens,
and such
a
like.
And
all
the while the
wheels of the spindle whir-whir-w^hirred monotonously,
and Henrietta
side her bed
felt like
lulls
little
child
whose nurse
sits be-
and
her to sleep with fairy
tales.
For
weeks she had not enjoyed so quiet and dreamless a
slumber as she had that night beneath the roof of the
country inn in the midst of the lonely heath.
Next morning Clementina,
that
after first
making
what
quite sure
nobody had had
his or her throat cut during the
night,
was moved by
curiosity to ask
sort of con-
114
Poor Plutocrats
nection his lordship had with this inn since he seemed to
know everybody
in
it.
And
then she learned that not
only this inn, but the whole of the surrounding heath also
was the property of
his lordship, for
little
which the people
who
lived
upon
it
paid very
rent,
inasmuch as
his
lordship did not look
chiefly valued
it
upon
it
as a source of income, but
its
on account of
numerous reedy
lakes,
where he was wont every year
beavers on a grand
his
scale.
to
hunt water-fowl and
this spot to
Moreover, from
own
house, a good two days' journey by foot, every-
thing belonged to his lordship's estate.
ship, if he liked, could traverse the
Nay, his
lord-
whole kingdom, from
property the wdiole
his houses
Deva
time
to Pesth,
it
and be on
like
his
own
—
was only
moving from one of
to another.
The next day
the great plain
came
to
an end, and the
Transylvanian Alps drew nearer and nearer. In the evening they descended into a
little
mining town, whose forges
and furnaces were
guests.
all
illuminated in honor of the arriving
Henrietta then learned that this mining town
also belonged to her husband.
On
the third day, quite early in the morning, they
crossed the Transylvanian frontier.
The whole
of that
its
splendid region seemed to smile, but the faces of
inhabitants are sad and mysterious.
Henrietta had a
peculiar sense of anxiety during her stay
among
these
angry-looking people,
never heard before.
who
spoke a language she had
At
intervals of a mile all along the
road a roughly carved cross shot up, covered with clum115
Poor Plutocrats
sily
carved
letters,
which did not
to.
in the least
resemble
those
we
are accustomed
Clementina once asked the
coachman what these crosses might mean, and repented
doing so immediately afterward, for he informed her that
marked the places where unlucky travelers had come by an untimely death; the inscriptions were the records
they
of the tragic romances, through the scene of which they
were passing.
The valleys grew narrower and narrower, the road wound upward among precipices, and the loquacious
coachman attached horrible
stories to every rock
its
and
ruin.
Each
valley
seemed to have
own
particular ghost.
Here and
there by the roadside stood silent houses,
it
not one of which had an inviting appearance;
would
never have occurred to a
human
soul to knock at any of
them, even at midnight, to ask for a night's lodging.
They were,
might
single
all
of them, sooty, dilapidated shanties, which
stables, consisting of a
easily
have been taken for
room^ in which the whole family lived
—
live stock
and
all.
The church
if it
often lay far
away from
the settle-
ment, as
belonged to two villages equally.
a solitary bush
Then
cliffs,
the road rose again between bare and barren
where only here and there
seemed
to
cling to the rocky wall.
There was no trace of a garden,
to unload their hay, with a long
but here and there was a fenced-in space, in which the
Rumanians are wont
the
pole sticking up in the midst of the hay-ricks, to prevent
wind from carrying
it
away, or
else the
hay was piled
up on the branch of a living
tree, like a bird's nest.
ii6
Poor Plutocrats
Down-pouring mountain streams traversed the path
intervals, over
at
which never a bridge
is
built
;
all
cars and
coaches must cross by the fords.
From
the depths of the
wooded mountain
slopes
was
reflected the blood-red glare
of iron-works and foundries, and the droning, monot-
onous din of the machinery scares away the
it
stillness,
till
loses itself in the loud
murmuring of
felt
the mountain
torrents.
At every
fresh mile Henrietta
how
lonely she
was
in this strange world, whose giant mountains shut her
out from the very prospect of the familiar places from
which she had come, and from every
possibility of re-
turning; and whose inhabitants would not even be able
to
answer her
if
she were to ask them,
"Which
is
the
way
back to
my
native place ?"
They
traveled
onward
till
late at night
by the
hand.
light of
the moon.
Hidvár was now
close
at
As
the
prospect opened out on both sides, at the turn of a narrow
defile,
suddenly, like a picture in a black frame, between
slopes thickly covered with dark beech
two mountain
trees the castle of
Hidvár came
full
in view, standing
hill.
lonely and isolated
on the summit of a
The moun-
tain torrent shot swiftly
down beneath
a shaky bridge.
The round moon stood
castle, as if
it
straight over the tower of the
it,
had been impaled on the point of
its
and
painted everything with
bastions, the brook,
silvery light, the tower, the
and the valley
—only
one thing
it
brightened not, the heart of the young wife.
"7
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
VII
THE CAVERN OF LUCSIA
Not
ous,
so very long ago there
was
in
Transylvania a
it is
wide-spreading society of coiners, which,
now
notori-
had carried on
its
nefarious business undetected for
more than
half a century.
The
science
;
was an
inheri-
tance, descending
from father
to son
people married and
were born into
to follow
be.
it,
it.
Careful parents trained their children
it
and a very lucrative profession
proved to
That
it
should have remained undiscovered for so
long a
for
tim.e, that it
should have been plied successfully
years under the very noses of the
more than
fifty
authorities
—
all this
was capable of a very simple explanafull
tion
:
these
men
coined gold pieces.
weight, out of real three-
Yes, genuine ducats, of
and-twenty carat gold, without any admixture of baser
metal, so that they absolutely could not be distinguished
from the royal ducats of the authorized minting towns, Kormöcz and Gyulafehérvár. If they fell into the hands
of a goldsmith, and he melted them, he found that they
did not contain half a grain
ones.
more
silver
than the genuine
Indeed, the public lost nothing by their fabrication,
state treasury suffered considerably.
though the
ii8
Poor Plutocrats
The whole
spatak,
region, in fact,
from Zalathna
to Vere-
abounded
in that precious metal,
which some fool
or other has called "a mere chimera," and the gold mining
was farmed out
to private individuals, the yearly output
from the shafts being twelve hundredweights.
private diggers are
to the
These
bound
at
to deliver the gold they obtain
minting towns
i\bradbanya or Gyulafehérvár,
in exchange.
and there receive coined money
less,
Neverthe-
during some
fifty
years, only about six hundred-
weights were delivered annually at these places; the rest
disappeared, though at
state
first
nobody could suspect
it.
The
pays to the diggers 441 guldens for every pound
of gold dust, which quantity
guldens.
also
when coined
in coining
is
worth 720
But
it
occurred to the mountaineers that they
might profitably engage
so coined.
and
circulate the
money
the
skilled
So they provided themselves with all necessary implements and machinery (there were
workmen among them), and
issued false ducats
to their very great advantage.
Their existence was not
even suspected except by the parties interested in the
concern, and they had every motive in the world for pre-
serving the secret.
Traveling from Abradbanya up toward Bucsum, one
might have seen two riders
toiling
up the mountain along
the stream overshadowed by dark alders; one of them
was
a
gray-haired,
gigantic
Rumanian, the other a
proud-looking young woman.
skin mantle
;
The
old
man wore
a lamb-
on
his
head he carried a
119
tall,
pointed cap, also
Poor Plutocrats
of lamb's wool, drawn
down over
his
eyebrows his body
;
was
carelessly encircled with a golden girdle.
His rich
gray locks were plaited into two thick
reached
pigtails,
which
down
to his
broad shoulders, and his snow-white
his
mustache hung down from
mouth
like the
wings of a
his
seamew.
A
coarse sack lay in front of
him across
full of
saddle, both ends of
which appeared to be
some-
thing heavy; across the sack lay his fowling-piece.
The
fair
equestrienne
was
sitting
on a
small, wild,
shaggy horse, which constantly evinced a praiseworth)^
endeavor to overtake the rider in front of him; his mistress
with
difficulty held
him
in.
She was one of those
features, the cut of her
famous Rumanian
lips,
beauties.
Her
her
full chin,
could have stood as a model beside any
antique statue.
And
then those sparkling eyes, that vividly
red complexion, those coal-black eyebrows
ideal beauty of her.
—they made an
Rumanian
cos-
And
the picturesque
tume enhanced her charms. Her black
double
plait,
hair, twisted into a
was bound round with a flaming red scarf, and on her head she wore a round hat, trimmed with pearls and garnished in front with a row of gold pieces,
which reached down
over,
to her marble-white forehead.
shirt,
More-
her fine
cambric
embellished
with bright
flowers and gold ornaments, fitted so closely as to betray
the outlines of her harmonious figure.
Wound
ten times
round her neck she wore a necklace of gold
ing
coins, extend-
down
to ber bosom.
As
she rode along (and she sat
astride her saddle like a
man), every now and then one
could catch ghmpses beneath her variegated girdle of her
120
Poor Plutocrats
red morocco boots and of a Turkish dagger, with a massive silver handle,
gleaming forth from
its
sheath.
On
each side of her holsters peeped forth a double-barreled
pistol
with an ivory handle.
the old
When
man
stopped to water his horse at the
spring gushing forth from the black slate rock, he said
to the girl
:
''Anicza,
when
It
did you speak last with Fatia
Negra?"
"Just a
month
it
ago.
was
at the time of the full
moon,
like
is
now.
He
then said that he was going
away on a long journey." "And yet he has already been
I
at
home
these
two
days.
saw
his sign over against
my
window."
think I
"Impossible. It can not be," cried the girl passionately.
"What
lying?"
can not be?
Do you
am
dreaming or
"If he were at home, he would have come to see
ere this."
me
The old man shrugged his "And yet he did not come.
day, about midnight,
in the window."
I
shoulders.
But the day before
yester-
found the three owl-feathers there
"The wind carried them thither." "The wind did not carry them thither,
stuck fast in putty.
for they were
And
only
we
three
means.
Fatia Negra would speak with us, and
in the Lucsia cavern."
know what that we are
home and never
going to meet him
"It can not, can not be
to
come
to
me—
—
three days at
^to
me!'*
121
(F)— (6)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
"Who knows?"
for the
said the old
is
man
coolly, tightening his
saddle-girth; "a whole month
a long while, long
enough
of
the
moon
herself to change four times.
There are
many handsome wenches on
mountains."
the
other
side
"Oh
no! such a one as
I
am
he will not find there,"
said the girl proudly, glancing into the tremulous water-
mirror, which threw back a distorted likeness of her defi-
knows very well that I should to mock me." "Ah, ah!" mocked the old man; "so Fatia Negra is afraid of you, eh?" and with that he swung himself
ant face
besides, he
—"and,
murder him were such a
woman
—
back into his saddle with youth-like
fears nobody, I
tell
agility.
"Black Face
you.
He
is
not even afraid of the
of the lord-lieuten-
commandant of Gyulafehérvár, nor
rangers.
ant of Krasna, and they have no end of soldiers and
Nay, he fears not the devil himself."
with that he urged on his horse, which ambled
girl's little
And
forward meditatively, while the
in the rear.
nag whinnied
"He may
girl
not fear the great gentlemen, he
I
may
not fear
the devil, but
tell
you that he would be afraid of the
if
he made to love him,
he proved false to her."
"So you
really think he loves
you violently?"
said the
old man, casting a backward glance at her,
"He swore he did." "To whom? The priest?"
"Go along with you! No, to me!" At this the old man chuckled. "Little
122
fool!" said he.
Poor Plutocrats
"And
him.
if
he breaks his oath now, the devil shall have
I'll
murder him."
well, I
"Very
suppose you
If
know
him.
Yet you have
never seen his face.
he were to tear the black velvet
mask from
power."
his face
you would never recognize him."
do^,
"But that he can not
as to that
mask he owes
to be
!"
all
his
"Well, you are a comical wench
—
enamored of
his
a
man whose
you have never seen "I recognize him by his voice, by the beating of
face
if I
heart."
"Well,
were a
girl
and had a
lover, I
would
in
insist
on seeing anyhow."
his face.
He
should not come to
me
a mask
"He
forbids
can not put off his mask, I
tell
you.
his
His oath
him
to.
The moment he removes
is
mask from
his face his
power
gone, and neither the devil nor the
good angels will obey him any longer." "That is true/' returned the old man solemnly.
he
likes
he can
make himself
invisible.
I
"When know it. He
has always escaped pursuit even
when
the whole country
was out
fast
after him,
and when they thought they had him
air.
he always disappeared in the earth or in the
all that, if I
Yet, for
were his
love, see his face I
if I
would."
it."
it."
"He
told
I
me
I
should die of fright
die of fright
fine I
beheld
see
"Then
would
"His eyes are very
"Like coals?
devil himself.
—but would —they glow
is
like coals."
Perhaps he
the Dracu-dragon
—
the
Have you
ever tried to
make him
kiss
123
Poor Plutocrats
the amulet
on which
is
the image of St.
George and the
Dragon
?"
it,
"Yes, he has kissed
and was none the worse."
"Have you
tried to get
him
to lay his three fingers
on
a copper crucifix ?"
"He
burnt."
laid his fingers thereon,
and yet they were not
"Can he say
trembling ?"
the
prayer of condemnation without
"He
has said
it
hundreds of times."
is
"Nevertheless, I maintain he
"If he should love another
no mortal man."
I
woman,
mortal."
swear that he
will
very soon find out that he
of the valley, and
tlieir
is
Talking thus, the riders had descended into the depths
when
the mountain stream again crossed
path they quitted the usual footpath and followed the
bed of the stream.
as
And
fills
a very
good road
it
is
for such
do not wish
to leave
footmarks behind them.
The
rapid current swiftly
the traces of the horses' hoofs
with dead leaves and pebbles.
The
horses,
ravine
grew ever deeper and narrower, and
the
stream at intervals formed small cataracts, which the
which had been trained thereto, had to
sudden
declivity, the
cross.
Finally, at a
water took an unexthe riders reined up
pected leap of four yards, and
at this
when
very spot,
it
was
plain that here a mill
it
had been
built into the hillside,
whose wheel
was which drove
the swiftly-plunging water along.
If a
stranger saw this mill he would certainly say:
124
Poor Plutocrats
"What
his
a foolish
here,"
it
man
the miller
must be who has
built
mill
and that for three reasons.
one can not get at
Firstly,
because
is
so concealed beneath the thick alders that
it
it.
even
cause
if
one sees
Secondly, be-
it is
built exactly
under the waterfall, which drives
the wheel as rapidly as a spindle, so that the millstone
must needs be red hot beneath
it.
Thirdly, because the
way
to this mill
is
so peculiar, passing right
through the
mountain torrent and then winding down to the door by
way of
a footpath
hewn
in the
naked rock, and
inaccessilittle
ble to horses.
Well, such a miller will surely get but
grain to grind!
When
from
by the
saddle.
the two riders reached this spot they sprang
their horses, led
alders,
them
into a
little
dry
islet
formed
to
and
tied
them by
their halters
the
branches.
Then
the old
man
!"
lifted the
sack from the
"Give
me
a
lift
up, Anicza
said he.
One would
all
hardly have supposed that an old fellow
of such a colossal build would have required any help at
in
order to get this sack across his shoulders, nor
size of the sack that
would one have supposed from the
it
would have been so heavy to
lift,
or that
it
would have
weighed so heavily on the old man's shoulders that he
had to plant his hand firmly on his hip in order to carry
the load.
stuck
Then the girl drew both pistols forth from her holsters, them into her girdle, threw the long fowling-piece
125
across her shoulder, and, springing fearlessly across the
:
Poor Plutocrats
stream from boulder to boulder,
stooping old
to the mill.
followed behind the
man
along the narrow footpath which led
In the doorway of the mill stood a youth
clad in the usual coarse cloth blouse,
and half concealed
by the door-post.
ritle,
In one hand he held a double-barreled
miller.
still
an implement not absolutely necessary for a
old
The
man
off
addressed him in Rumanian while
a
good way
"Che timpn?" "Luna plina."
(How's
the weather?)
(Full moon.)
A
strange sort of greeting, more like an exchange of
passwords.
Then both
the
new
arrivals entered the mill,
in the
re-
midst of which a dilapidated grinding machine was
volving; the central wheel was minus a couple of teeth.
"Plenty of grinding going on, Paul?" asked the old
man.
"Quite enough."
"Help me down with
*Tt
is
this sack."
heavy, certainly," said the other, panting beneath
;
the strain
"how much does
it
hold ?"
"A hundredweight and eighty pounds." "No mere Turkish maize, eh?"
"Stop the wheel
!"
The young man at once obeyed by driving an iron beam clean through the wheel, which brought the machinery to a standstill. Then he raised the central revolving disk which was in connection with the millstone,
hung
in the
hook of the millstone an iron
120
chain,
which
Poor Plutocrats
was wound round the beam and, this done, laid the sack and its contents on the bolting-hutch. Then the old man
himself sat
the girl.
down on "Jump on,
the hutch and extended his hand to
Anicza."
x^nd the girl jumped on
without help, for she was as agile as a chamois.
"Paul," said the old
man
to the
young journeyman,
"was not Fatia Negra here before us ?"
"He
day. "I
has not been through here either to-day or yester-
It
has been
right,
my
turn to watch these last two days."
is
am
you
see; he
not here," said the
girl.
"He
is here, I tell
you."
"Come, Onucz," said the youth, "can Black Face make
himself invisible then?
He
could not pass here without
my knowing
!"
it
"What do you know
As now
about it?" answered the old man,
!"
adjusting himself on the bolting-hutch. "Let the mill go
the revolving disk or platform began to move,
still,
the machinery stood
yet the millstone, together with
the bolting-hutch, began slowly to sink
gether with those sitting upon
it,
and after
downward tosome moments
disappeared entirely into a dark gulf, the chain unwinding and rattling after
it.
Suddenly from the depths below
resounded the old man's voice: "Halt!"
Then Paul
stopped the mill, hung the chain in an iron ring, and, the
machinery once more
set in
motion, raised the millstone
it,
up; Paul fastened the revolving disk to
to rattle
it.
and
it
began
round again so furiously that sparks flew out of
to grind
Now, whoever had any meal
quite ready for them.
might come, he
was
127
Poor Plutocrats
It
was
a
huge subterranean cavern
into
which Onucz
this
and Anicza had descended.
the mill, and indeed
At the bottom of
thither
hollow
flowed a branch of the mountain stream which turned
was diverted
it
by means of
its
wooden
pipes.
Here, however,
flowed in
regular
bed, glistening here and there in the light of
two
oil
lamps which burned on both sides of a small iron bridge
that traversed the stream.
In the background of this hollow stood a peculiar, roofless
stone building,
whose two round
little
windows,
like
the eternally watchful eyes of
some underground worm,
shone with a red glare, which dazzled the eyes, while the
slate-covered chimney belched forth a thick
smoke
filled
with sparks into the subterranean midnight.
From
the interior of the building resounded heavy
thuds and the din of grinding as of machinery in perpetual motion, which
made
the very foundations of the
rocks quiver.
On
the bridge stood another
arrivals
armed man,
with
whom
the
new
exchanged watchwords, and
door of the stone buildthe girl stop.
the same thing
was done
at the
ing where the old
man made
"Now, Anicza,"
said he, "while I
go
in,
you
sit
down
on that stone bench and wait for me."
"Why
can not
I
go
into the house as well?" inquired
the girl impatiently.
''No more of that.
Once
if
a year
we come
in,
I tell
here,
and
every time you ask again
you can come
and every
time
I tell
it
you
that can not be.
And now
you once
more:
can not be
—and
there's an end on't."
128
Poor Plutocrats
"But why may others go
in
and
I
not?"
of course.
"Why
me
—why
out
!
because you are a
girl,
Leave
in peace.
Women
have no business
in there, they are
always so inquisitive, want to Icnow everything, and then
blab
it all
—
it is
their nature to."
"I'm not
like that."
"And,
ful oath
then,
whoever enters here has
over when
a
I
to
swear a frightI
that he will divulge nothing that he sees.
all
myself shudder
fit
have to repeat
it; it is
not
for the
mouth of
/
woman."
girl defi-
"As
antly.
if
were afraid of any oath!" cried the
"I would say anything that a
fool, Anicza.
man might
say."
in here,
"Don't be a
A girl can not come
because every one has to strip himself stark naked before
he goes out before the watchman, and then dress himself
again.
So, you see,
difficulty
it
won't do."
This
appeared insuperable even to the iron
It
will of Anicza.
to.
was a
test
even she could not submit
She stamped her foot with rage, and uttered again
in
and again the word Dracu, which
nothing
less
Rumanian means
heart-
than his highness the devil himself.
Old Onucz and the watchman thereupon laughed
ily,
and the same instant the iron door of the building
the
opened, and the girl exclaimed joyfully, "Fatia Negra!"
Onucz and
from
watchman immediately
It
tore their caps
their heads.
was, indeed, Fatia Negra.
all
How
could he get hither invisibly through
the
am-
bushes set for him ?
Who
could
tell ?
Who
had the cour-
age to ask him ?
Not even Anicza.
129
All she thought of at
—
Poor Plutocrats
that
moment was
mask
left
to rush forward, fall
upon the neck of
her mysterious lover, and cover his eyes and mouth, which
the
exposed, with kisses.
"Let Anicza come in!" said the black-masked man;
"I'll
answer for her, and she
shall,
like myself,
be ex-
empted from undressing."
"It
is well.
Master," said the watchman, "but
let
her
at least take the
oath which every one here must swear."
"I
am
ready," cried the girl boldly.
"No, Anicza," replied Black Mask, "you shall swear
to
me
a stronger oath even than that; you shall swear
by our eternal love."
The proud maiden, trembling with
of Fatia
joy, fell at the feet
Negra
at these
words, and, pressing one of her
hands to her heart, raised the other aloft and raising her
lovely eyes
windows
—
—which
reflected
the infernal glare of the
aloft,
toward the smoking canopy above her
betray a
head, she swore by her eternal love to her beloved that
she would never, not even on the rack
itself,
word, a syllable of what she was about to learn.
But old Onucz scratched
"Master,
it is
his poll.
let
not wise of you to
It is just as if
women swear on
It
such useless things.
a
one of us were to hold
binds nobody."
penny
"It
is
in his
hand and swear by
that.
enough for me,"
replied the
Mask, "and
my head
me
not
is
no cheaper than yours.
Let him
who
trusts
keep away from here."
And
him
holding the girl in his arms, he carried her with
into the building, while old
Onucz had
to dress him-
J30
;
Poor Plutocrats
self
from head
to foot in other clothes
and leave those he
have on his
had brought with him outside.
return to put on his
behind.
He would
own
again and leave these others
Thus smuggling was impossible. The first room was for the smelting. Here there was nothing to be seen of the blazing
fire
which illuminated the dark hollow through the windows.
In one corner of the room was a simple cylinder-shaped
iron furnace, which radiated a burning heat, on the top
of which stood a round graphite crucible covered in at
the top
and provided with a
is
lateral pipe.
it
"Here the gold
close
remélted after
has come out of the
girl,
smelting oven," said Fatia Negra to the
who
pressed
up to him.
"Heretofore
it
required a whole ap-
paratus of boilers and loads and loads of
wood
to bring
it
to smelting heat, but since I got that cylinder stove, ten
hundredweights of metal can be melted
in ten minutes."
"Where does the fire come from ?" inquired the girl. "From the earth, my beloved." The girl shrank back with horror, and yet Fatia Negra did not mean hell, but that furnace whose powerful bellows drove the melting heat into the double cylinder.
He
looked at his watch
;
the
single whistle a couple of
moment had come. At a workmen appeared, each of
them stripped
to the waist
on account of the great heat
they held in their hands large iron molds, and stood
facing each other opposite the crucible. of an iron tap, Fatia
cible,
Then, by means Negra turned the pipe of the cru-
and immediately a pale glare began to spread
131
Poor Plutocrats
through the room
—the
liquid gold ran in a thin jet out
of the crucible, and that was the cause of the light.
ally
Actu-
genuine pure gold made liquid in the
fire like
it
wine
in a glass,
and emitting on every
and the
girl
side of
a glowing
his
white radiance!
Each of the two workmen held
mold beneath
bated breath.
it,
surveyed the scene with
When
the operation
was
gold
finished,
Black Face turned
to the girl again,
see, darling, that is
and embraced
her, saying:
"So you
how
old
is
melted."
The
girl smiled
back at him; what a pity the Black
in return.
Mask
could not smile
his sack for
And now
Onucz came up with
in
the smelting furnace.
"How much
Negra,
have you
your sack?" asked Fatia
"A hundredweight and eighty pounds." "Now we'll see into how much pure gold
out."
it
will
work
"The dross mixed with
weight."
it
is
only a few pounds in
"Of what
is
quality
is
it?"
it
"Well, they purify
very incompletely, you know.
It
only two-and-twenty carat gold."
"It doesn't matter:
we
will coin
Prussian ducats out
of
it."
"But Where's the mold ?"
"I brought
it
with
me
to-day; we'll adjust that also
a
to the machine.
We shall gain
132
hundred
florins in every
thousand."
!
Poor Plutocrats
Old Onucz kissed Fatia Negra's hand. "Master," said Since you became our chief he, "you are a man indeed.
our gains have doubled, and the ducats are so good that one can not distinguish them from the Imperial ones."
Meanwhile the
them
talk
girl felt
her head going round to hear
of nothing but money, gold, gain
let
"Come, Onucz,
the Mask.
us look at the
new machinery,"
said
"When did you bring the new machinery here?" "A long time ago; we have coined a great deal
of
money since it first came. The work is all the quicker and we need fewer men to work it." They went into the next room through a low door, all three of them having to bow their heads as they entered,
and there they saw a gigantic machine
at
work, between
whose revolving cylinders depended the long gold ingots which were gradually reduced to the proper thinness for making gold coins.
"Don't you
see,
Onucz ? Hitherto we wasted too much
thick, to
time and labor in cutting the gold plates thin enough,
and the edges were always too
our great
It
lossj
Now
the machine rolls
them
all
out uniformly.
only
cost ten
thousand ducats."
cried the old
"Very cheap, indeed!"
man, who was
mill.
wearing a ragged sheepskin, and yet considered ten thousand ducats a moderate price for a rolling
The Mask took up one of the little glistening plates. "Do you know, my friend, the name of this?" said he.
"No."
133
Poor Plutocrats
"Its
it,
name
is
*Zain.'
it
In order that you
I will
wind
round your arm."
may And as
not forget
if it
were
merely hard paper, he lightly bent the gold plate round
the girl's wrist, and then pressed the ends of this im-
provised
bracelet
together
this
is
with
his
steel-like
fingers.
it
"Don't forget that
called 'Zain,'
and that you got
from me."
The
said
as
:
girl
it
looked doubtfully at him, as
lawful for you to give
if
she would have
"Is
away everything here
at this in silence.
if it
were your own?"
alas
But the old man could not look on
"Alas
! !
Master,
give
Rather squander coined gold
itself
a witness against us,
away uncoined gold. The other is of and thereby we shall furnish
not
in heaps.
a clue to our enemies."
"It
is
in a
good
place," replied Fatia
it
Negra
;
"it is
on
Anicza's arm, and there
will
keep silence."
kisses.
Anicza replied to
she calculated
this
apology with ten
And
rightly.
This bracelet weighed exactly
the kisses also were double ones.
ten double ducats
—but
Then Fatia Negra
cut
led
them
to another machine, whicli
round gold pieces out of the rolled-out "Zain."
girl
He
showed the
how
every clipper,
how
its
every screw be-
neath the impulsion of the piston did
the work, and
proper share of
set
how
the whole process
was
going by
di-
steam power from without, and could, therefore, be
rected and controlled by one man, with another
relieve
man
to
him
at intervals.
I
"Master," sighed old Onucz, "when
think that
fifty
134
Poor Plutocrats
years ago
chisels!
we
did
all
this
with only our hammers and
We
sweated two whole days over a piece of
this
work which
marvel can do
too
!"
in
an hour.
And how
many hands we employed,
Then they went
to
another machine.
This was a
small table, whose steel wheels milled the ducats before
they passed beneath the stamping machine.
Perpetually
moving
away.
elastic springs
pushed the gold pieces forward
other motive power but a large
one after the other^ turned them round and jerked them
You saw no
wheel revolving under a broad strap; the strap disappeared through the floor;
the
man who
set
it
in
was underneath there motion was posted.
it
that
Old Onucz sighed aloud.
nowadays," said
he.
"What
things they do invent
But Anicza,
to the
full
of superstitious fear, clung silently
arm
of Fatia Negra,
whom
all
these speechless
marvels served and obeyed.
steps,
Finally descending six stone
they entered the actual minting-room.
gigantic screw press stood in the midst of the low
A
vaulted chamber.
Through the head of the screw was driven a long moving bar, with leaden bullets at both ends, and two strong fellows were pushing this bar backward and forward; the weight of the machine, as it
turned, forced the screw sharply down, and in a second
it
pressed the two round gold pieces laid in the steel
dies,
on one of which was the image of the Mother of God, and on the other the Immedicuirassed likeness of the reigning monarch.
matrix into the stamping
135
Poor Plutocrats
ately after the
two matrices
recoiled again of their
own
accord, and the
two powerful men repeated the pressure.
ring shifted suddenly, flinging aside the
its place.
Then
a
little steel
coined ducat, and a fresh gold piece took
The
coined ducats already lay in a heap in front of the machine, and the workmen now and then kicked them away with their feet. There was something impressi\'e in the spectacle. Here were two poor men, working hard perhaps for their
daily bread, with
all
little
hillocks of seductive gold piled
is
up
in
around them
;
gold of which every one
enamored
the earth above them, gold for which so
many men
gladly
give up everything, even to their hope in Heaven!
Now
and again a third man comes
in,
and pitches the
gold into a linen sack with a wooden shovel.
"Let us stamp a few ducats ourselves by
venirs," said Fatia Negra.
way
of sou-
Anicza assenting, the work-
men
stepped aside, and Fatia Negra and the girl placed
themselves on either side of the leaden bullets on the
turning bar.
The Mask bade
recoil of the
his sweetheart be careful to avoid the
machine, for should the handle hit her the
fatal
;
blow might prove
whereupon the
girl,
burning to
show
off her great strength, did not wait for the
its
end of
back
the bar to recover iron rod
normal position,
half
but, seizing the
when
it
was only
way round,
tore
it
again, with the result that the steel clapper did not cast
the gold piece between the matrices in the usual way, and
it
thus received a double impression, being stamped with
136
Poor Plutocrats
a two-fold figure of the Mother of
God on one
side
and
a two-fold figure of the royal profile on the other.
Old Onucz rushed toward Anicza, and angrily tore
her away.
"You
little fool,
it is
be off!" cried he; "you will spoil the
machine;
not for the likes of you."
fallen
But Fatia Negra picked up the ducat, which had
to the ground,
and showed
it
with a smile to Anicza:
a double picture on
fingers.
it."
"Look," said
he, "there is
now
The girl turned it curiously between her "And what will happen to it now?"
"It will
go
into the smelting furnace again."
it;
"Ah, don't destroy
give
it
to
me!"
At this the old man fairly lost his temper. "Are you out of your mind to ask for such a thing? What! a ducat with a flaw in it, which if seen in your
hands would saddle us with the vengeance of the whole
government!
that ducat
!
Master, be not so
If she has
mad
you
as to let her have
no
sense,
at least be sensible.
it."
You might
ruin the whole lot of us with
it
"Well, Anicza will not wear
on her head,
I supit
pose, or even on her neckerchief, but will fasten
little
to a
bit of thread and wear
it
next her heart; there
nobody
will find
it
but myself."
Onucz would very much have liked to say: "Neither have you any right to look there, Master, for you have not yet spoken to the priest about it" but this was the
—
one thing he durst not say.
But Anicza gratefully kissed Fatia Negra's hand
137
like
Poor Plutocrats
a child
who
has received a
gift,
not indeed for the ducat,
but for the boundless confidence he had
it
shown
in giving
to her,
which was the surest token of his
little
love.
Then
she drew forth a
it
Turkish dagger, bored a hole with
it
through the ducat and fastened
to a
little
piece of
thin black cord by the side of her
little
crucifix,
which she
wore upon her bosom and hid both of them away again. "Well, Master," remarked Onucz sulkily, "since we
have placed our heads in the
of ever offending her."
girl's
—
hands,
we must beware
But now the assayer came up, bringing with him a
nice elaborate calculation
actly
on
a black slate,
showing ex-
how much
pure gold Onucz had handed in to the
coining department,
how much
it
would be worth when
for expenses,
coined, and, deducting three per cent
how
much he was to receive in cash by way of exchange. "And now go and let the cashier pay you what is due
to you,
Onucz," said Fatia Negra.
so,
And
a
little
while he remained behind for the purpose of
settling his account,
Anicza and Fatia Negra retired to
adjoining chamber.
There would be plenty of
time for two lovers to talk over their love affairs while
so
many gold coins were being counted out. "Where have you been? it's a whole month
sitting
since I
saw you?" asked Anicza,
knee.
on the mysterious one's
is
"Do you know how
new moon,
full
long a month
to
me?
First
quarter,
I
moon,
last quarter, all this
have
watched through, and never saw you once; where have
you been?"
138
Poor Plutocrats
"I have been abroad for those
is
new machines.
That
a business one can not entrust to another."
"Are there pretty
in love
girls
abroad?
Might you not
fall
with them?"
!
"Hush
Those are not the questions that men should
be asked."
"Why
not?"
in the habit of
"Because men are not
answering them."
"But suppose a
girl
wants
to
know
?"
"Then want me
it
will
go badly with you?
her.
Besides,
like to
what do you
that I'm
to tell
Would you
know
such a block, a clod, that no other eye but yours takes any
pleasure in looking at
that I
me? Or would you like to hear who has wandered in disguise through seven kingdoms and casts down his eyes whenever he encounters a petticoat? Or that I cross myself and turn away whenever a woman looks at me ? Or shall
am
a sort of hermit,
I tell
you:
in
such and such a place
I
nipped the white
cheeks of a pretty blonde, and in such and such a place
the coquetry of a pair of blue eyes
made me
forget
myself, and in such another place
I
bedded
my
intoxicated
head in the arms of a brunette?
ing through seven kingdoms
I
—and
that after wandergirl
have found no lovelier
than
my own
girl
enchanting Anicza?"
The
was
could neither reply nor scold, for her mouth
closed fast with kisses.
I
"You know
love.
I
am
very jealous," she said at
last
when
I
she was able to tear herself free.
"I do not love as others
can only think of you and your love.
am
139
Poor Plutocrats
neither
hungry nor
;
thirsty,
but only
that I
—
in
love.
I
am
never weary
I scarcely
know
all
am
I
working, for love
makes me sing and sing
I
day.
in the
dream only of you.
I
care not
I
what
is
going on
is
whole world so long
as
only
know what
happening to you.
know
that
you love
here.
I
me and that you are mine so long as you are But how often you are far away! How often
!
do not see you for weeks, for months at a time
Then
I get nearly
mad.
I
am
,
determined to find out where you
are and what
ing,
you are doing, with
I
whom you
are speak-
and then,
say
I feel quite
mad."
"Indeed!
Then
let
me
to
tell
you,
my
dear
I
girl,
that
I
it
would do you no good
know where
am, for
am
much more exposed
fire
to the fire of pointed rifles than to the
of pretty eyes."
chieftain, a
"Are you a robber
*T
mountain smuggler?"
am
a lot of things."
"Then
take
me
with you into your band"
—she spoke
it!
with heaving bosom.
But Fatia Negra stamped
I will
his foot.
"It can not be, Anicza," said he; "think
no more of
never take you with me."
"Why
not?" asked the
girl,
and her eyes flashed
like
a wild-cat's.
"Because, then,
that
I
should become jealous of you, and
both.
would be bad for us
;
Remain
in
your
father's
house
there you are safe."
girl
The
drew from her bosom the defaced ducat she
crucifix.
had just received, together with the
140
Poor Plutocrats
"Hearken, Fatia Negra
!
my
father says that this badly
life in
coined piece of gold places your
my
hand.
And
this will
I
know,
besides, Fatia Negra, that I
have sworn on
Crucified
kill
One
here that
if
ever you betray me,
you
in
my
fury without thinking twice about the
how
or where.
It is
not well that two such dangerous objects
should repose on
my
I
heart.
?"
I
give them both to you."
"Wherefore, Anicza
"Take the
things,
I
say,
and keep them, for
not
my
guard-
ian angel knows,
have told him, that with
me
they are
not in a safe place.
You do
know me
yet."
The
his
girl burst out crying,
and Fatia Negra could no
"I
longer soothe her with kisses, and then old Onucz poked
gray shaggy head through the doorway and said
;
:
have been paid already, Master have you
Fatia
?"
Negra stroked
stitches
the girl's hair and face,
so.
and whis-
pered her not to take on
The
last
of the old
Rumanian
patience
now
at
gave way altogether.
not, if I earnestly
"Master," said he, "would
so,
you
besought you to do
begin to
think of the day on which you intend to become
my
daughter's husband?"
For a moment Fatia Negra seemed thunderstruck;
then he recovered himself and replied in a calm but menacing voice
to
:
"If ever
it
occurs to you to put the question
me
The
again, your head will reach
home an hour
earlier
than yourself."
old
man made no
reply, but he seized the girl
by
the
hand and led her away with him, returning
141
to the
—
Poor Plutocrats
mill with her
by the same way that he had come.
They
It
found their horses by the alder trees and remounted.
was a
two
fine clear night,
and Onucz told
his
daughter to
ride in front.
They had now divided the coined gold into
portions.
When
they had once more reached the
ridge of the mountain, the old
man pronounced
rifle
Anicza's
name
in a
low tone.
The
girl
looked backward and per-
ceived that the old man's long-barreled
directly at the back of her head.
was pointed
In her terror she cov-
ered her face with her hands.
"What would you do?"
"Fear nothing,
Fatia
I
only want that piece of gold which
I'll
Negra gave you.
!"
not stake
my
head on your
whimsies
The
this,
girl
had anticipated something much worse than
:
so she quietly answered
"You can
it
spare yourself the
I
trouble, I
have already returned
it
to Fatia Negra.
would not carry
about with
me
any longer."
"You have
his musket.
acted wisely," said the old man, lowering
"Now you
can ride on."
as they reached home.
The
early
dawn was breaking
W^hen Anicza entered her room she found hanging up
beneath the ikon that gleamed ^and shone over her bed
both the damaged ducat and the
little
cross which she had
given to Fatia Negra two hours before.
be in league with the devil
there, invisibly, so
He
must, indeed,
—
else
how
it
could he have got
long before them?
to
Anicza said not a word about
hid both the amulets safely
anybody, but she
away
in
her bosom again
and now she was right proud of her Fatia Negra!
142
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
VIII
STRONG JUON
Henrietta's married life was not a happy one. Her husband was polite, complaisant, and conventionally corAnd rect in his behavior toward her, and that was all.
then she saw so
little
of him.
He was
frequently absent
from Hidvár for weeks
at a time,
and when he returned
he regularly brought in his train a merry company of
comrades, in whose pastimes Henrietta could take no sort
of pleasure.
herself,
During those long days when she had Hidvár all to and was left entirely to the company of her sad
till
thoughts, she would sometimes walk about
the evening in the shady alleys of the
late in
home
park, listen-
ing to the songs of the girls working in the
fields.
it
At
the
end of the park was a church, and in front of
clearing, fenced
a small
like a
around with stakes and looking
It surely
cabbage garden.
or other.
priest.
It
belonged to some poor
man
did
—and
the poor
man was
the parish
Henrietta often saw him, a
tall,
gray-bearded
little
man
;
in
a long black cassock, hastening to his
garden there
the reverend gentleman would divest himself of his long
143
;
Poor Plutocrats
habit,
produce a rake, and work
first
till
late in the evening.
was merely a dietetic di\'ersion, but afterward, when she found him there the next day and the day after that, and at every hour of the day; when she saw him wiping the sweat from his
Henrietta fancied at
that
brow
in the
burning afternoons and leaning wearily
his rake to rest a while
at
intervals
on
from
his labor, then
she was persuaded that this
a bitter
toil
work was not a
pastime, but
for daily bread.
Oftentimes she would very
much have
liked to ask
him how
this was, but she
was
a stranger in these parts
last,
and did not understand
his
language; at
however,
the priest, perceiving the lady one day, peered at her
through the palings and wished her good-day in the
purest Hungarian, thereby giving her to understand that
the language of the gentry
was well known
to him.
Henrietta begged the old
man
to leave his labor and
come
to her.
"It can not be,
your ladyship; his lordship has for-
bidden
me to appear in his courts." "Why?" "I am always a nuisance."
"How
so?"
I
"Because
am
always on some begging errand.
At
a
one time the wind carries oi¥ the roof of the church;
at another,
something
is
broken
in the belfry.
It is
year ago
now
since the
school was burned down, and
since then the walls have
become overgrown with
is
thistles
the schoolmaster, too, has gone away, and there
nobody
144
Poor Plutocrats
to teach the children, so that they
bers, to the great hurt
grow up
louts
and rob-
and harm of the gentry."
put to rights?"
"But why
his lordship
is
not
all this
"Because the poor folks are lazy and drunken, and
is
stingy."
Henrietta was astonished at the old man's words.
"Yes, stingy, that's the word," continued the
"I do not pick
priest.
my
he
words, for
is
I
am
a priest,
is
and used
to
hunger.
And
who
I
used to hunger
free
from the
and
yoke of
that
servility.
told his lordship that to his face,
castle."
was why he forbade me the
Henrietta could not continue the conversation, so upset
was she
at the idea of Hátszegi's stinginess.
What!
the
man who
lessly,
raked in hundreds of thousands at a time with
the greatest ease, and
no doubt scattered them as
reck-
could shut his door in the face of a poor priest
for the house of
who begged
the people
!
God and
the education of
She
hastily
wished the priest good-night and
returned to the castle.
just
The same evening she sought her husband, who had come home wearied from the chase. "I have a favor
Hátszegi looked astonished;
first
to ask of you," said she.
it
was the
as
favor the wife had ever asked her husband.
said he.
"Command me!"
is
"Whatever you
like to
ask
good as granted already."
"I should like to learn the language of the people in
the midst of
whom we
dwell.
I
am
like
a deaf-mute
among them
"That
at present."
will not be difficult.
The Wallachian tongue
20
is
(F)
— (7)— Vol.
145
Poor Plutocrats
easil)'^
acquired, especially by any one with a knowledge
of French or Latin."
Henrietta blushed
sion behind these
scarlet.
Was
there a covert alluthat she
words?
Did Hátszegi know
understood Latin?
**I
should
of
it.
like to
have a master
who
can put
me
in the
way
The
parish priest here would be a suitable
person."
For an
instant Hátszegi's
eyebrows contracted.
last.
"You
that he
shall
is
have your way," he said at
"It
is
true
to
the one
man
in the
world
who
insults
me
my
face with impunity
whenever he meets me, and even
presumes to chalk upon the walls of
nunciations against
my own
castle de-
me from the book of the Prophet
I
Nehemiah, so that
appear before
out of the
was obliged
yet to
to forbid
him ever
to
me
under pain of being thrown headlong
show you what an obedient servant I am of yours, madame, I will not balk you of your desire, or desire you to choose another master, but Every will send and invite him to come up here at once.
window;
one
shall see that in
my
house
my
wife
is
the master."
And
drew.
with that Leonard kissed his wife's hand and with-
Early next day the pastor arrived.
Margari informed
him of her
added that
ladyship's desire to learn the
guage, and the words almost stuck in his
his
Rumanian lanthroat when he
florins florins a
Reverence would receive a hundred
it.
every month for
Fancy
!
a
hundred
month
for teaching a lingo only spoken by peasants.
146
Poor Plutocrats
Todor Rubán
—that
was the
priest's
name
fine,
—was
at
once conducted to her ladyship.
He was
an elderly man,
long white
of an open, cheerful countenance; his
hair
fell in
thick locks
on
his simple black cossack,
which
showed considerable signs of wear.
Henrietta was not in time to prevent the old pastor
from kissing her hand.
"This
is
no slavish obsequiousness toward a great by a peculiar act of grace has sent no empty compliment, your lady-
lady," said he, "but the respect of a poor pastor for an
angel
whom Heaven
to us.
I
down
ship.
feel
This
is
am
not very lavish of such things myself, but I
I
bound to address you thus because
it is
am
well aware
that
not merely to learn our poor language that you
little
pay me so well for so
herein the
raise
trouble.
No,
I
recognize
it
good
will,
which would do what
can to
I
and help a poor, neglected population: for
exchange
cer-
tainly shall not
ter,
my
simple maize-bread for bet-
but will employ your ladyship's gift in the service
God and of our poorer brethren." From that day Henrietta believed high had summoned her to Hidvár
of
that a call
from on
to be the guardian
angel, the visible providence of a poor, forsaken people,
and her most pleasant occupation was now to go from
village to village
— often
like
in the
company of
the priest,
and
at other times
accompanied by a single groom or
visited
quite alone.
Thus she
their
one after the other
all
the
surrounding parishes
any archdeacon, inquiring after
distributing
and helping
necessities,
money
for
147
Poor Plutocrats
school building and service books, collecting
of stray orphans and bringing
all
manner
her, to
them home with
be fed and instructed; nay, she erected a regular foundling hospital at
Hidvár for the
districtj
benefit of the sprouting
liveliest
urchins of the
and had the
cost
debates
it.
with the priest as to the best method of managing
Her
benevolent
enthusiasm
Hátszegi
a
pretty
penny.
"She
etta
is
a child
;
let
her play
!"
he would only say when
to
Margari and Clementina represented
had pawned her jewels
little
him
in
that Henri-
at
Fehérvár
order to teach
to
some more
Rumanian ragamuffins how
like their betters.
go
about with gloves on
Nay, the baron
secretly instructed the tradesmen with
whom
it
Henrietta
had pawned her jewels
as they
to
advance her four times as much
were worth; he would make
good again, he
said
—and then he would buy
whom
his wife fresh jewels.
An
admirable husband, truly!
One day
Henrietta had ridden out to the neighboring
Ravacsel, in order to visit a poor Wallachian peasant
woman
before.
to
slie
had sent some medicine
naturally, never
a
few days
The woman,
drank the medi-
cine, but instead of that
got a village quack to rub her
stomach with some wonder-working salve so vigorously
that the poor patient died in consequence
;
in fact, she
was already
felt
at
the
last
gasp when
Henrietta arrived.
Henrietta was beside herself with grief and anger.
like
She
a doctor
whose
prescriptions have l>een inter-
fered with by a competitor. She could not indeed help the
148
Poor Plutocrats
woman, who expired soon
decent funeral.
that
at least the satisfaction of
had making arrangements for a In the meantime it had grown so late
after her arrival, but she
when
she turned back toward Hidvár the
moon was
already pretty high in the heavens.
hours'
She was alone on horseback, for it was only a two journey between the two places, and she had,
it
therefore, not thought
worth while
to bring
an escort
Since she
with her.
Besides,
whom
had she to fear?
had
lived in these parts all the
bad men had disappeared,
and whoever she might meet
be ready to kiss her hand.
in the roads or lanes
would
So she turned homeward again
in
and out among the
if it
valleys,
The road wound and was, therefore, much
alone.
longer than
had gone
in a straight direction across
She had, however, often heard from the peasants that there was a shorter way to Hidvár from
the mountains.
Ravacsel on which mules and ponies could go, and she
thought
it
better to look for this road lest night should
surprise her
among
the mountains.
But a road that
suit
is
good enough for mules and ponies may not
ting
an
English thoroughbred, which does not care about putits
hoofs into the tracks of other beasts
;
and, besides,
shorter than
a hundred paces
on
level
ground
is
much
twenty-five up
truth of this
for her horse
hill.
Henrietta vividly experienced the
she reached the summit of the
hill,
when
bling
was sweating from every pore and tremfrom the violent exertion. Such horses should not be used in hilly country: a shaggy, sturdy little pony
149
Poor Plutocrats
would have treated the whole thing
said a word about
it.
as a joke
and not
But the
real difficulties of the
road only began during
the descent, which was equally dangerous for horse and
rider.
The
track,
a
mere channel washed out of the
soft sandstone by the mountain torrents, descended abruptly, the stones giving
way beneath
the horse's hoofs
and plunging after
it.
Frequently they had to cross very
in
awkward
places,
and Henrietta could see from the way
his ears, snorted,
which her horse pricked up
his head, that
and shook
he was as frightened as his mistress.
At
last
they
came
to a very
bad spot indeed, where
on one side of the road there was a sheer abyss, while
the rocky mountain-side rose perpendicularly
on the
other.
The narrow path here ran
rider
so close to the rock that the
aside, so as not to
had
to
bend her head
knock
it,
and the horse could only go forward one foot
at a time^
For an
instant the horse stood
still,
as
if
weighing
his chances
on that narrow path
;
but, as there
last to
was no
chasm
like a
turning back now, he was obliged at
go
on.
Henrietta looked shudderingly
down
into
the
below her, over which she seemed to hang suspended;
and she thought
sob:
to herself, with
something very
what if we should stumble now! The thought was scarcely in her mind when one
of
the horse's hind legs tripped,
and the same instant horse
vShe
and rider were precipitated into the abyss.
Henrietta never lost her head during the
fall.
noticed everything that happened during the brief plunge;
150
Poor Plutocrats
how
the horse, struggling desperately, clattered
down
the
mountain-side,
strain,
how
the saddle girth burst beneath the
ar-
how
for a
mere second some bush or shrub
rested the descent, and
how
the next instant the weight
of the horse tore
still
it
down along
with him.
its
Finally, falling
lower and turning right round on
back, the horse
got wedged in between two rocks, from which position
he was fortunately unable to disengage himself, for had
he fallen any further he would have been dashed to
pieces.
Henrietta was quite conscious the whole time.
Hold-
ing on with both hands to the roots of a bush, with hen
left
leg
still
in the stirrup
(for saddle and stirrup also
it
remained hanging
in the bush),
still
occurred to her in this
to
painful situation that she
had time
soul to God, and then face death
help, there
more
calmly.
was no hope of
dwellings
it,
for the place
commend her As to was far away
fall
from
tion
all
human
certain.
;
night would soon
and
the bush
would presently
yield beneath her feet
—
destruc-
was
But while the lady neglected
wedged-in horse did so
all
to call for assistance, the
the
more
loudly.
Supine and
unable to free himself from his uncomfortable position,
he repeatedly uttered that
terrified
scream which one
never hears from this noble and reticent beast except in
dire extremity.
ily
admit that
it
Whoever has heard such a cry will readis far more terrible than any merely
it
human
appeal for assistance.
After a few moments
seemed to Henrietta as
if
a
151
Poor Plutocrats
halloo were resounding
from the depths below; looking
down
she perceived by the light of the
like
moon
a black
shape leaping from rock to rock
a chamois,
and
gradually approaching the dangerous point where she
hung suspended.
Any
ble.
efforts
on
this
man's part seemed to her impossivisible gap or crevice in the means of which he could scram-
There was not a single
up
to her;
face of the steep rock by
ble
and how could he help
her,
how
could he
manage to get at her? Nevertheless the man drew nearer and nearer. could by this time make out his goatskin cloak, his
liberate her, if he did
She
high,
broad cap, the clean-shaven face peculiar to the mountain
goatherds.
ical
His dexterity was as astonishing as the phys-
strength, with which he often raised himself
on the
tips of his
toes in order to reach a cleft in the rocks,
;
scarcely visible high above his head
often he could scarce
hold on by the tips of his fingers, yet the next
moment he
setting his
would swing himself up with half a hand and,
foot in the cleft, look about for a fresh foothold.
About
a
yard below Henrietta was a projecting piece
of rock just large enough for a man's foot to stand upon.
The next moment Henrietta saw the herdsman mount to this place. He himself was a good six feet in height, and
his
head reached up as far as Henrietta's
if
hips.
He
looked up at her with a friendly smile, as
he had merely
come there
Then he said to her in Rumanian: "Noroc bun Domna!" which means "Good luck to you, my lady!" So even in this
to help her
down from
her horse.
152
Poor Plutocrats
perilous situation
pleasant.
it
occurred to him to say something
"The horse took
all's
a false step,
my
lady," said he, "but
well that ends well.
Prithee,
der, this
bush
its
will
not hold fast
mount upon my shoulmuch longer; it is only
a juniper,
her.
roots are weak."
Henrietta's heart failed
This
man
surely does not imagine that he will be
able to carry her
down on
;
his shoulders.
;
"Come,
you down.
kids
my
lady
don't be afraid
I
can easily carry
Why,
I
often
roam about
like this after
my
heavier than a
when they fall into the precipice; and you young kid, I'm sure."
then, with the
are no
And
at the
hand that remained
free,
he plucked
remainder of the damaged bush.
Henrietta per-
ceived with astonishment that the roots which had not
snapped asunder beneath his weight were loosened from
the rock by the
was he going
to
mere tug of the man's hand. do with them ?
But what
The herdsman bade
stump between
it
the lady fear nothing; no further
accident could happen, he said; then, sticking the torn-out
his legs like a hobby-horse,
and pressing
against the rock with one hand, he himself turned his
back to the mountain-side, and, suddenly stretching his
legs
wide apart,
let
himself glide
;
down
the shelving rock.
Henrietta shrieked aloud
the next
she thought she
was
solid
lost,
but
moment
the
herdsman stood on
ground
you
a
and looked up
see," he cried.
at her with a smile.
"We're
all right,
"Oh,
I
have traveled
T call it."
like this
many
time
;
it is
rare fun
—sledging
153
Poor Plutocrats
Sledging indeed!
—
to plunge
down
it
a steep mountain
side five fathoms deep with the aid of a juniper bush!
From where
they
now
stood
was an easy matter
to
convey the lady
to the
bottom of the precipice, which
grass,
was overgrown with bright
her.
on which he deposited
"Don't be
fright-
"There your
ened;
I will
are,
my
lady," said he.
soon be back again."
And
ment
with that he scrambled up again toward the
Henrietta gazed after
to
wedged-in horse.
him
in
amaze-
—whatever was he going
fellow,
its
do there?
first
The
all
on reaching the wriggling horse,
of
all
caught firm hold of
front legs, and then tied
four legs tightly together with the stirrup straps.
There-
upon
he seized the beast by his fettered legs, pulled
them
over his shoulders, and with a violent jerk freed the ani-
mal from
its
uncomfortable position and carried
it
down
helped
into the valley likewise.
it
There he untied
its legs,
on
its
hoofs again, and, turning with a smile to Hen-
rietta,
said:
to
"A
fine
horse that;
it
would have been a
on your shoulders?"
shame
have
let it
come
to grief!"
it
"And you were
gasped Henrietta.
able to carry
"That
and
isn't
very much.
It
scarce weighs
more than
it
four hundredweight.
five,
The bear not long ago weighed
it
I
had to beat
to death before I could take
home.
Surely your ladyship knows that I
am
the strong
Juon
—
Juon Tare?"
And
the goatherd said this with as
if
much
self-evident prid« as
every one in the wide world
154
—
Poor Plutocrats
had heard that strong Juon dwelt among these
she at least had never heard of him.
forests.
Henrietta's look of surprise apprised him, however, that
am? Yet I have often met the Dwnnye I Barbatu, my lordship, your husband, and he knows me well. He is the only man in the world who is as strong
"You do not know, know who you are.
then,
Domna, who
I
as
I
am.
We
have often wrestled together on
this grass
plot for a wager.
Neither of us has ever been able to
throw the other.
into a tree than
I
His lordship can throw an ax deeper
can, but I can put a greater weight.
His lordship can
I
kill
an ox with a blow from his
fist,
but
can throttle a bear to death.
But we can not overcome
each other, though
we have
often stood up together
It
—only
would
in joke, only in sport, of course, your ladyship.
not be well
that
if
we encountered
terrible."
each other in our wrath
would be
All the time he spoke
Juon was
skilfully
mending
the
torn saddle-girths and the bridle; then he resaddled the
horse,
which was
still
trembling in every limb, wiped
the bloody
foam from
its
mouth, washed
its
sores,
and en-
couraged the lady to remount.
In a quarter of an hour,
he said, they would meet the road again, and in half an
hour they would be
at
Hidvár.
Then
the goatherd,
who was
well acquainted with
all
the meanderings of the valley, took the horse's rein and
conducted the lady to the mountain pass,
beaten track began again.
parted from her.
where the
There he kissed her hand and
155
—
Poor Plutocrats
"I
for
must now
o-o
back," said he, " for they are waiting
me."
goats and
"Who?"
"My
my
wife."
"Then you have a wife? Do you love her?" "Love her?" cried the herdsman proudly and then
—
he added in a lower voice: "She
ladyship
!
is
as beautiful as your
Good-night,
my lady."
by leaps and bounds.
she said not a
And
without waiting for an answer, he plunged back
into the forest, disappearing
When
the horse
Henrietta got
home
word
to any
one about what had taken place, though the condition of
and
his harness sufficed to
show
that an accident
had happened.
But she could scarce wait for the morrow
it
to come, bringing along with
Todor Rubán, from
Taria.
whom
she meant to find out everything relating to Juon Tare,
whose very name stood for strength
156
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
IX
THE GEINA MAID-MARKET
"Would
began
do by the
your ladyship believe"
his story of
fireside
Juon the
— — Strong
so
Todor Rubán
you
to every
"sitting here as
accustomed from your birth
elegant luxury, with a particular servant always ready
to fly obediently to accomplish each separate
command,
and with
different glasses
and porcelain for each several
believe, I ask, that
course at meals
— would your ladyship
there are people in this world
to
have a roof above their
who know not what it is heads when they go to sleep,
if
who would
for
all that,
not recognize a bed or a dinner service
in
they
yet,
saw them, nay, who often are
are happy
?
want of bread
—and
We
"And
see
yet such people live quite close to us.
need
not think of the savage inhabitants of Oceania
—we can
Your
enough of them and
to spare in this very place.
ladyship can hear
from your balcony the melancholy
flutes,
songs of their pastoral
especially of an evening
when the milch-goats are returning from the deep valleys. "The herdsman here never sleeps beneath a roof either summer or winter; every spring he counts the goats of
his master's herds,
and the half of every increase belongs
157
:
—
Poor Plutocrats
to
him; nobody inquires how he hves there among
his
herds in the lofty mountain passes,
self
how he
defends him-
against hurricanes and snowstorms,
yes,
and against
the wild beasts of the forest, the bears and wolves
nobody troubles
his
head about
is
all that.
''Such a goatherd
ship has learned to
that
same Juon
whom
shall
your ladyhear somelife
tell
know.
Perhaps we
thing more about him some other time, for his
has
been very romantic; now, however,
of a single episode therein
I will
only
you
"There once
together a
spatak,
lived near here, in the district of Vlas-
kucza, a wealthy but tricky speculator,
lot
who had
scraped
of gold out of a mining venture at Vere-
and, therefore, went by the
name of wealthy
Misule.
"He had an
only daughter, Mariora by
your ladyship any idea of
name and has what Rumanian beauties are?
—
A
sculptor could not devise a nobler model.
tiful
was she that
So beauher fame had spread through the Hunto see Gyenstar
garian plain as far as Arad, and whenever great folks
from foreign lands came
they would
and Brivadia,
to Vlaskucza,
make
a long circuit and
come
in order to rest at the house of old Misule,
finest
where the
prospect of
all
was
a look into the eyes of Mariora.
"This wondrously beautiful maiden loved the poor
goatherd Juon,
v.
ho possessed nothing
and
in the wrorld but
his sheepskin pelisse
his alpenstock;
him she loved
and him alone.
Wealthy old Misule would naturally have
nothing to say to such a match; he had in his eye an
158
Poor Plutocrats
influential friend of his, a
gentleman and village elder
in
the county of Fehérvár, one Gligor Tobicza
—
to
him he
meant
to give his daughter.
Reports were spread that
Juon was a wizard. It was Misule's wife who fastened this suspicion upon him, because he had succeeded in
bewitching her daughter.
She
said,
among
other things,
that he understood the language of the brute beasts, that
he had often been seen speaking with wolves and bears,
and that when he spread out
his
shaggy sheepskin, he
at the other.
sat
down
was
at
one end of
it
and a bear
tale,
There
this
much
of truth in the
that once
when he was
tending his flocks, Juon heard a painful groaning in the
hollow of a rock, and, venturing
in,
perceived lying in
in
one corner a she-bear, which, mortally injured
tant hunt, to die.
some
dis-
had contrived
to
drag
its
lacerated
little
body hither
Beside the old she-bear lay a
suckling cub.
The mother dying before
and carried
softened by
its
it
his very eyes,
it
Juon had comhis protection,
it.
passion on the desolate cub, took
to a milch-goat,
under
which suckled
The
little
wild beast thrived upon the milk of the tame animal, and,
human
I
fellowship,
grew up much attached
to
master. Bears,
may
tell
your ladyship, are not bloodto drive the goats
thirsty
by nature.
Henceforth the bear went forth with
the
herdsman and the herds, helped
together of an evening, and enlivened the long dreary
days by turning somersaults
—an
art at
which bears
itself
excel.
At night
burying
it
slept
by Juon's side and made
cozy by
its
snout in his bosom.
When
meal-time came,
the bear sat
down
beside Juon, for he
knew
that every
159
Poor Plutocrats
second
slice
of cheese
would be
in
his.
He
also fetched fire-
wood, to put under the pot
which the maize-pottage
was
boiling.
Then,
too,
he explored the woods in search
it
of wild honey, and brought back his booty, to share
with Juon.
When
after him, a pelt
was very hot he carried more or less made very little
it
his pelisse
difference
to him.
Juon had nobody
last.
to speak to but the bear,
and
if
a
man
speaks quite seriously to the beasts, they get to
understand him at
Moreover, in moments of
ill-
temper, the bear had learned to recognize that Juon's
fists
were no
less
vigorous than his
own paws,
so that he
had no temptation
to be ungrateful.
"This, then, was the
man
beloved by Mariora.
"In our part of the country,
inal,
my
lady, there
is
an orig-
popular custom, the maiden market.
"In the highlands of Bihar stands the rocky bluff of
Geina, which grows green, like every other Transylvanian
height, as soon as
it is
cleansed from snow.
There
I first
met Juon, many years ago. He stood there on the mountain summit the livelong day, blowing on his alpenstock,
while the bear was plucking strawberries in the valley
below and guarding the goats, not from running away,
but from other wild beasts.
is
The prospect from
this spot
really sublime.
In one direction you can see the
moun-
tain chain of Vulcani, in the other the environs of Klau-
senberg and the Gyalian Alps.
the great
itself
But westward stretches
loses
Hungarian
plain,
whose misty expanse
against the horizon.
a certain
"On
day of the year things are very
i6o
lively at
Poor Plutocrats
Geina.
Baptist's
In the evening of the
first
Sunday
their
after St.
John
day the gingerbread bakers come thither from
horses
Rézbánya and Topanfahi with
and pitch their tents
dragging
loads of honey-cakes, and barrels full of meal and brandy,
in the forest clearing.
full
On
that Sun-
day the highlands are market
is
of merry folks, and the maiden
held there.
far repair thither the
"From near and
mothers and
their marriageable daughters, all tricked out with their
dowries ready in the shape of strings of gold and silver
coins round their necks, with bright variegated garments
at their
horses' sides,
and
stufifed
pillows and painted
pitchers
on the saddles
an ordinary
in front of them.
All these things
they unpack and arrange in rows in front of the tents,
just as at
fair;
and then the purchasers come
along, jaunty, connubially inclined
inspect the dowries,
young
fellows,
who
engage the wenches
in conversation,
if
and chaffer and haggle and go away again
not
they can
come
to terms.
Many
of the girls are kept back,
others are given
up
to the first bidder,
and when once a
couple are mated they are escorted to the tune of lively
flutes
and bagpipes to the
first cleric,
who
sanctifies the
union according to the religion of the pair.
"Your
ble
ladyship laughs at this custom, yet
it
is
capa-
of a very natural explanation.
these Alpine regions live necessarily far
The away from one
inhabitants of
another
—how
So
the
else could
they tend their herds?
—even
the nearest neighbors being a
apart.
good
stiff
half-hour's walk
young
girls stay at
home, and the young
i6i
Poor Plutocrats
fellows only see
them once a year
—
at the
maiden market
of Geina.
"Now,
of course, such a famous beauty as Mariora
to
had no need
for her
go
all
the
way
to the Geina fair in search
of a husband, especially as one had already been chosen
who brought
the
with him
all
the pride of riches.
But her father Misule would not on any account have
neglected
opportunity of exhibiting his daughter,
girl
during the pilgrimage to Geina, as the most lovely
of the district; and his wife could not have lived unless
she had
hung out Mariora's gold-embroidered
shift in
front of the tent and haughtily sent at least ten suitors
about their business.
"Gligor Tobicza, coming
all
the
way from
Rezpatak,
appeared at the
fair at the
same time with twelve highand
col-
backed horses and six
g^ipsy musicians, ribbons
ored herchiefs fluttering from every horse and every cap.
The comrades drank
pus
also.
together, and then
had
a
little
rum-
Tobicza broke the heads of a few of the more
spirits,
uproarious
the general
and then peace was restored again, and
good humor was higher than ever
occurred to Tobicza that
—only
the
bride remained sad.
"Suddenly
to get a kiss
*I
it
it
would be
nice
from Mariora.
yet.'
But the
girl repulsed
him.
am
not your wife
if
she cried.
" 'Yet
Juon were
to ask for you, I suppose
you would
not say no?'
"The girl honestly confessed that "At this Tobicza was mad with
162
she would not.
rage.
'Let
him come
—
Poor Plutocrats
hither, then,
if
he loves you,' cried he;
if
'let
him
tear
you
away from me
dead with
this
he be the better man.
!'
I will strike
him
of
—
see
And drawing
it
a long goat-skin bag
full
out of his girdle, the bottom of which was chock
ducats,
and whirling
round
his
:
head
like a club,
he
turned forestward, and roared Juon, thou ragged dog!
'Tis
!
'Come
hither,
tattered
you want
earth with
to
buy Mariora
now maiden-market day, if Come forth, thou cowardly
I'll fell
hound, and
let
me
beat you to death!
I'll
you
to the
my
ducats.
break your head with
my
gold
money.'
And
the whole
crowd laughed
at
and loudly
applauded these witticisms.
''But just as he
was raging most
furiously, a great roar-
ing suddenly arose from the direction of the forest
whereupon the crowd rushed away from
their horses, overturning barrels
their tents to
and trunks as they went,
cursing, and
is
the
women screaming and
!'
the
men
all
with
is
one voice exclaiming: 'The bear
coming!'
'Juon
coming with his bear
"That was enough for every one. Only the most determined sportsmen care about tackling a bear
for even
in the open,
when mortally wounded
the beast
is
quite capa-
ble of taking his revenge.
In an instant every soul rushed
headlong from the summit of Geina into the roads below,
leaving behind bride, dowr}^ and drinking booth
;
so that
when
and Juon leaped out of the juniper bushes there was nobody left on Geina. Nobody, that is, but
the bear
Mariora,
who
did not fly with the fugitives, but hid her-
self in the tent.
163
Poor Plutocrats
"Tobicza had headed the race, but as his legs were
heavy with the mead he had drunk, he threw away
his
big bag of gold to lighten his limbs and prevent Juon
from overtaking him.
it
But Juon, snatching
it
it
up, whirled
round
like a sling
and threw
with
all
his
might after
his rival,
exclaiming: 'There's your money, big voice!
it.
take
it
and buy a wife with
it.
You
are nothing at
I
all
without
But
I
am
still
Juon, though
have only an
ax
in
my
hands.'
''Then he went up to Mariora, kissed and embraced
her,
and asked her
live
if
she would be his bride, and go
away
and
with him in the forest.
And when
she said 'Yes,'
he kissed her again and took her with him into the free
forest without once looking back at the
dowry
lying aban-
doned there with
all its
gold and
else.
glitter.
In his eyes only
Mariora was gold, nothing
"The bear meanwhile made some little havoc in a mild sort of way among the honey-cakes, but he did no other
damage.
"And
band
all
I
can assure your ladyship that this wife,
who
has nothing in the world but her husband, but that husher own,
is
even
now
very happy."
164
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER X
THE BLACK JEWELRY
It
was during
this time that Henrietta cherished the
it
was her vocation to cultivate the acquaintance of the honest but homely peasantry living around, in whose lowly circles a widowed Protestant passtrano-e illusion that
tor's
wife and a worn-out old miner were the principal
personages.
Her husband laughed good-humoredly
is
at
her vagaries, as he called them: "She
cried
;
only a child," he
those
"let her play
!
and cut out
she has
dolls' clothes for
who want them
When
grown
up, she will very
soon look out for other diversions.
My
dear child," he
like.
would sometimes say
these
to her,
:
"do exactly as you
I
only beg of you one thing
innocent,
whenever you are
illusions,
tired of
well-meaning
;
and return
feel
to
rough, prosaic, brutal reality
deceived or
whenever you
yourself
wounded by
pray
those
whom
!"
you may have im-
plicitly trusted,
recollect that
you have a natural pro-
tector, a real friend
—
your husband
Thus
It
it
was
that Hátszegi spoke to his child-wife on
the rare occasions
when they met
together.
was only
rarely, for they
for the greater part of the day.
saw nothing of each other During the so-called
165
!
Poor Plutocrats
honeymoon, the husband and wife had scarcely spent half
an hour a day
in
each other's company.
On
young
one occasion the pastor went to Déva, and when
lot to tell
he returned he had a
fellow.
her ladyship of a
fine
Szilárd by name,
who
held the office of
magistrate at Lippá.
His other name he had forgotten,
it.
but Henrietta easily guessed
Mr. Szilárd had been
very polite to him, the
listened to all he
parson added, and had joyfully
had to
the
mistress; but
when
him about Hidvár and its priest had pressed him to pay a
tell
its
visit to that part
of the country to see and admire
rare natural beauties, the
young man had
replied
:
"Any-
where
district
in the
world but there."
objection could
What
?
possible
he have against the
This piece of news gave Henrietta plenty to think
about for days and nights together.
So Szilárd had not
quite close to each
remained
at
Pesth
;
he had followed her to the utmost
;
confines of the realm
other,
they were
now
and yet he would not
at
see her.
time.
He
seeks her out
a romantic
and avoids her
dreamer
the
same
What
was nothing romantic in it after all. Szilárd had come to Arad County on a visit to Mr. Sipos's
yet there
relations
;
And
he had been elected a magistrate there, and he
did not approach Hidvár because he had no desire to run
after a wife.
former sweetheart, who was now another man's
As
for Henrietta, she
had long ago earned from
of the "little nun," the
her husband's friends the
name
i66
Poor Plutocrats
"little
eremite," because nothing could entice her from her
If only they
seclusion.
had known her thoughts!
One
day, however, she surprised her husband by ex-
pressing a wish to go to the Charity Ball at a neighboring
mining town;
a
it
was
for raising funds to build
up again
burned-down
village.
bowed and consented. Henrietta had made up her mind to go as simply dressed as possible. She wanted to be modest and humHátszegi, always courteous,
ble,
as
it
befitted a
woman who,
rich herself, envied every
still
one
who was
poor.
While she was
in the
midst of
(
her preparations, she received through the post
Margari
sealed
went
to the nearest post-office once a
week) a
little
packet, which, to judge
from the postmark, must have
it
been posted at Lippá.
Before breaking
open, she locked
capital
herself in her room, like
offense,
it
one about to commit a
seals
and three times examined the
it.
which guarded
bore the imbut of a
as to
before she ventured to open
The
seal
press, not of a crest or
an
initial letter as usual,
single star.
There could be no doubt whatever now
seals
who
the sender was.
Then, very cautiously, she broke the
with a beating heart the
little
and opened
lid
of the box.
Inside
was
a
morocco
casket.
With
it
a tremulous
hand she opened
and a brooch.
silver,
it,
and found
inside
a pair of earrings
Both earrings and
in color, passing
brooch were of oxidized
insensibly into black.
in the
dark blue
The pendants
167
of the earrings were
little
shape of
little fishes
hanging upon
hooks and
Poor Plutocrats
which at the slightest movement Each of them had a pair of very tiny but very brilliant diamond eyes. The brooch, on the other hand, represented a butterfly, also with two sparkling diamond eyes; one of them was blue, a rare color
with mobile
little scales,
made them seem
alive.
for a diamond.
Henrietta was indeed pleasantly surprised.
There was not a
line of
writing along with them, but
it ?
was there any
all
necessity for
How
simple,
was!
it
!
How
well he
must know her
taste
how nice it who had
selected
Her husband
could never have hit upon such
an
idea.
What
them?
should she say to her husband
if
he should notice
to
But why should she show them
till
anybody?
last
She would not even put them on
long she was as happy as a child
the
mo-
ment, just before she started on her journey.
All day
its first
who
is
going to
party; even in her husband's presence she could not control
her delight.
But Hátszegi never inquired why she was so joyous.
On
the
day before the entertainment he went with
true, but a
his
wife to the town in question, where he owned, not the
castle,
it
is
comfortable mansion of consider-
able extent,
whose
first floor
was rented by a mining
felt
en-
gineer and his family.
These worthy people
highly
honored
roof.
at receiving the
baron and his lady beneath their
They gave
their distinguished guests their best
street,
rooms, which looked out upon the
themselves to the back of the house.
and
retired
The mining
engineer
i68
Poor Plutocrats
had
ately
a pretty
young
wife, with
whom
Henrietta immedi-
of
made friends. Ladies love the close companionship their own sex best whenever something entirely difis
ferent
occupying their thoughts.
On
little
the
morning of the great day the big-wigs of
to
the
town hastened
pay
their respects to the great
lady
who had
arrived in their midst, and whose reputa-
tion for benevolence
had spread
far
and wide.
Among
ter-
them was an aged woman, whose hands and head were
continually shaking, and
who
almost collapsed with
ror every time
anybody accosted her unexpectedly.
She
was the widow of a Unitarian
said,
pastor, well to do, people
and a large mining proprietor.
tion
was due
to a painful episode in
Her nervous her life. One
affec-
night
Fatia Negra and his band had broken into her house and
played havoc there, and ever since she had been tremulous and easily terror-stricken.
lighted to see Henrietta,
The
old
woman was
till
de-
whom
she called the guardian
she
angel of the county, and she would not be content
had seized Henrietta's
little
hands
in her
lips.
own
trembling
ones and raised them painfully to her
At
last the
joyous evening arrived.
Henrietta put on
a very simple ball dress,
compared with which the dress
of the mining engineer's wife
was
really luxurious.
The
black ornaments well became her attire, but the engineer's
wife was astounded at the simplicity of the great lady's
costume.
She had now only one anxious moment to go
through, the
ornaments.
moment when her husband first saw the new But this moment sped away without any
169
(F)— C8)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
catastrophe,
although
with
much
of
heart
throbbing.
Hátszegi observed the jewels
in the ears
and round the
neck of his bride, and paid her the compliment of saying
that they contrasted admirably with the
snowy whiteness
of her alabaster neck.
So no
ill
came of
it
after
all.
When
self
the time came, the baron's carriage drove up
to the door,
and the
ladies entered
it.
The baron him-
come afterward with the mining engineer when the empty carriage returned. In the meantime the baroness was entrusted to the care of the mining engineer's wife, who was one of the notabilities of the little
was
to
town.
The
ball
was
to take place in the large
room
of the
it,
chief inn of the place,
and the baroness, on entering
was surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
felt
The young
She
wife
the
that she
was being made much
of.
felt in
midst of
lifted
all this
up
to heaven,
homage and devotion as if and her heart was full
she had been of gratitude.
If
he be here (and he must be here somewhere, hiding
crowd, no doubt, in order not to excite attention),
in the
then he will be able to see from his hiding-place
the face of his old love
is
how
yet
pale
from sorrow
—and
to her.
how
radiant because of the honor
now shown
But Szilárd did not
see
her face at that moment.
still
He was
far
away, never dreaming that anybody
thought of him.
Henrietta.
A
surprise of quite another sort awaited
After she had twice walked round the room
—
there
was
170
!
—
:
Poor Plutocrats
a pause just then between
two dances
—she perceived
so,
sit-
ting on a corner seat the old lady already alluded to,
whose head and hands were always shaking
ened up to her as to an old acquaintance.
and hast-
The
first
old pastor's wife, perceiving Henrietta, rose at
seat, in
from her
order to meet her half-way, but the
next
moment
she
fell
back horror-stricken, at the same
time stretching out both hands in front of her with widely
outspread fingers as
to explain this
if
to
ward her
off.
Henrietta, unable
odd gesture, remained rooted to the spot
continuing to stretch out her trem-
with astonishment.
The
old lady,
still
bling hands,
now advanced toward
her with tottering
footsteps indeed, yet with flaming eyes.
Every one
re-
garded the two
dead
silence,
women
with amazement.
There was a
and
in the midst of this astonishment, in
the midst of this silence, the old
woman
shrieked with a
voice full of horror that turned everybody's blood cold
those jewels—on your neck—that black — — the very same—which on that fearful night that accursed Fatia Negra — tore from my neck— those black earrings, which he tore from my ears —one eye of
"Madame
!
but-
terfly
'tis
the butterfly
is
a blue diamond
as
if
!"
Henrietta
felt
the floor were slipping
away from
beneath her
feet.
She was wearing stolen jewels on her
her.
neck, and their former
owner had recognized them She heard a hissing and a murmuring all around She gazed about her, possibly for a protector, and she
per-
ceived that she was standing alone in the midst of the
171
Poor Plutocrats
room, and that every one recoiled from her, even her companion, and
all
eyes were fixed upon her.
She had a
midst of so
feel-
ing of being branded with red-hot irons as she stood
there, dishonored
and unprotected
in the
strangers,
and over against her a
to ask her:
had the horrible right
many terrible accuser, who "Madame, where did
she had nought to
you get those
stolen jewels?"
—and
voice,
say to such a question.
At
that
moment
a
manly
which she
at
once
recognized, rang out close beside her:
"Madame, give me your arm!
for
—
I
bought those jewels
you
at Paris.
I will
be responsible for them."
It
his wife,
was her husband. And with that he strode up to seized her hand and, casting a glance at the
4;o
surrounding throng, cried in a threatening voice
closest to
those
him: "Whoever dares to cast a disrespectful
glance upon
my
wife will have to reckon with me.
Make
room
there
!"
Henrietta saw
how
one stepped aside
the shaking
at this
thing began to
widow sit grow black
crowd made way, how every word of command she saw even down somewhere but then everythe
; ;
before her eyes, and she sank
swooning
into the
had hated so much, and who
had been her
sole deliverer!
arms of the man whom, hitherto, she in this most awful moment
When
she
came
to again,
she found herself in the carriage.
Her husband had
not
stayed a single inscant longer in that town, but was con-
veying her, though
Hidvár.
it
was now night-time,
straight to
172
!
Poor Plutocrats
It is
not very advisable to travel in pitch-black dark-
ness along mountain roads.
Henrietta could gather from
the slow jolting of the coach that they were proceeding
very cautiously.
She opened the window and peeped
out.
She then saw her husband walking along by the
side of
the coach with a lantern in his hand, picking his way.
The coachman was sitting on the box and the footman was close to the carriage, in order to steady it over the more difficult places.
A
voice within her reproached her for hating this
man
so long
—how could
itself
she have done it?
her, he
He had
always
been delicacy
toward
had never demanded
anything of her, and no doubt the reason
why he had
held
back from his young wife for a time was because he
would not importune her with
his presence
—she who had
Here
the
now
learned to recognize
him
as her sole protector
After a vast amount of jolting and tumbling about,
they got at
last
on
to a regular road again.
it.
baron halted the coach and looked inside
When
he
saw
that Henrietta
anything, and whether she would allow
beside her.
was awake, he asked her if she wanted him to sit down
tell
Henrietta had resolved to
at the
her husband everything
very
first
question; everything, even to her most
;
secret enthusiasms
nay, even that which
God
alone could
read in her heart.
of doing so.
But Hátszegi gave her no opportunity
"My
moment
dear Henrietta," said he, "don't imagine for a
that I shall trouble
my
head as to
how you came
^72>
—
Poor Plutocrats
into possession of that mysterious jewelry, or
why you
all
should have chosen them out of
all
your trinkets to wear
on
this particular evening.
I
have charged myself with
I
the responsibility in the matter.
could not think of any-
thing
more appropriate to say at the moment. Only one thing I beg of you tell me no lies. Act as if you had received the jewelry from me. I will so arrange the mat:
ter that
nothing more will be heard about
to anybody.
is
it.
Such things
in such a
may happen
the business
The only awkwardness about
were recognized
that the things
public place, and that the former possessor of the orna-
ments
is
so extremely nervous.
!
Don't be afraid
I'll
!
Give
me your hand
Why
do you tremble so ?
guarantee
that there shall be
no unpleasant consequences for you.
ought,
think, to write to the
at ease
In case, however, you did not receive this jewelry from
your dear grandfather,
I
I
good old man and put
his
mind
by
know that I gave it Rumor may whisper
Could any
"Shall
you, as goodness only
in his ear."
letting him knows what
man
have asked his wife for a confession
more tenderly?
I
write to
him?"
fell
"Yes, write," said Henrietta, and with that she
upon her husband's bosom and began
and a husband's breast
ing tears.
is
to sob bitterly
no bad place for a wife's flow-
Henrietta was forced to confess to herself that her
husband, at least so far as she was concerned, was a
of noble and tender sentiments.
man
From
henceforth she
174
Poor Plutocrats
began
color
in
;
to regard
him through
the usual
a glass of quite another
she began to believe that the faults she had noticed
him were only
She began
bad habits of
his sex,
and
began
him.
to discover all sorts of hidden
to love her husband.
good
qualities in
When
:
early next
morning the carriage stood
time.
in the
courtyard of Hidvár, Henrietta awoke in her husband's
arms there she had been sleeping for a long
she looked
When
round and encountered Hátszegi's bright,
it
manly glances,
almost seemed to her as
if
the dreadful
scene of the night before
it
was
for
a
mere dream, from which
her husband kissed her
was a joy
to awake.
When
his
hand before departing
own room,
him
Henrietta
pressed his hand in return and gave
a grateful smile.
But what then was the key
to this horrible
mystery?
Who
could have hit upon the idea of sending this jewelry?
a
There was not
closed the
gleam of
light to
go
and
by.
this
An enigma
enigma was
way
to every elucidation,
— Fatia
transfer?
Negra.
How
did the jewelry get out of his
hands into Henrietta's ?
What was the motive for such a And who was the man himself ? This thought
rest.
gave Henrietta no
Why
of
all,
could they not seize this famous robber?
it,
First
she kept on asking her husband about
and he
replied that the
whole story about Fatia Negra was only
It
a Wallachian fable.
was true
that robberies
were com-
wore black masks, but it was never one and the same man who was guilty of these misdeeds. Nevertheless, the name had won a sort
mitted by
regularly
men who
»75
Poor Plutocrats
of nimbus of notoriety
among
the
common
people
;
many
mask attaching to it, and though it was an undeniable fact that Fatia Negra had been caught and hanged more than once, yet he still continued to live and go about. The popular mythology
it
had made use of
as well as of the
had immortalized him.
The parson, however, had
the matter; he seemed to be
quite a different opinion of
more particularly informed. Although he opined Fatia Negra wandered through every corner of the kingdom, his abiding nest was in this district;
he had a sweetheart here to
whom
he appeared
periodically.
"Why
don't they seize
him then?" asked Henrietta.
"Because a part of the
the devil."
common
folks
is
holds
with
him, and the other part thinks he
in
league with
'T would set a high price on his head, and give
it
to
whomsoever caught him."
"Oh,
my
lady, the various counties
have done that
scores of times,
and now and then a young fellow braver
;
than the rest has tried to catch him
but they have
all
of
them ended by losing
his."
their
own
heads instead of getting
"Never mind,
I will
not be satisfied
till
that
man
is
in
my
power.
Ah, the robber chieftain
little
imagines what
put
an enemy he has raised up against him in
this terrible riddle into
me when he
it
my
heart.
And
is
a riddle I
mean to solve, too." The priest shook
his
head as
176
if
he would have said:
Poor Plutocrats
"Strong men have given up the task; what can a weak
woman do?"
Henrietta told her husband not a word of
all this,
and
the chatter about the black jewelry gradually died a natural death.
Hátszegi sent back her property to the widow
and
told her
where she could
find the
vender
—
in Paris.
We can
Paris to
readily imagine that she did not
go
all
the
way
to
make
inquiries, being quite content
with getting
back her stolen property.
This incident made such an impression on Henrietta
that she avoided
all
those circles in which she had been
so ruthlessly exposed to insult.
A
blush of shame and
it.
anger suffused her face whenever she thought of
also
She
the
abandoned
all
her
work
of benevolence
among
people.
after all
She began
to think that her
husband was right
when he
said, as
he did continually, *'Let the
gentry stick to the gentry, and the poor to the poor!"
In
fact,
she
was now
inclined to think
him
right in every-
thing; the easiest thing a wife can do, she said to herself,
is
to trust her
husband
implicitly.
life;
Henceforth Henrietta
adopted another
ever
mode
of
her motto
at
now
is
was, "What-
my
husband chooses, for
home he
my
lord
!"
So
and
the halls of
Hidvár overflowed with guests
again,
in
balls, receptions,
and picnics followed each other
learned to
quick succession.
The young wife
if
know
the
it
gentry and magnates of Transylvania face to face, and
was no wonder
her
fate.
she quickly accommodated
herself to
new surroundings and began
She
felt like
to be reconciled to her
one who, after seeing a landscape by
177
Poor Plutocrats
moonlight and thinking
it
highly crude, sees
it
it
again by
the light of day, and finds
quite different.
And now
peditions.
the
autumn came,
the season
when men
pre-
pare and congregate together for dangerous hunting ex-
Bears and boars are
now
the only topics. For
a
the gentlemen, they herd together in the
week beforehand the women can not get a word out of armory and talk
of nothing but guns and dogs, firing each other by re-
counting the past exploits, making bets, and playing at
cards.
The
ladies at such times are shelved altogether.
During the
actual hunting season the
men
are not to
be seen for whole weeks at a time, but off they go to the
woods, and stalk or lurk for their prey in the midst of
water and
dinary
if
ice,
and the
ladies think
it
nothing extraor-
their
husbands or lovers, as the case
may
be,
come back, or are carried back, drenched with rain, invisible for mud, with their garments torn to shreds and their limbs mangled; for after all it is the only manly
diversion
—the only diversion
really
fit
for a gentleman.
When
the bear hunting began,
that heroic cripple,
Squire Gerzson, also appeared with Count Kengyelesy
and numerous other familiar faces from distant counties,
who had
all
met together on the day after Henrietta's
wedding, and
trysting-place.
who
regularly
made Hidvár
their
autumn
him: the
Count Kengyelesy did not bring
little
his wife with
rogue, on her husband's departure, declared that she
ill,
was
and remained behind.
Henrietta was very
much
178
occupied by the duties of
Poor Plutocrats
hospitality.
all
She took a pride
in anticipating the
wants of
her guests, and at the evening receptions she played
the part of hostess with
becoming
gone
distinction.
One day
the gentlemen, with their beaters, rangers,
all
dogs, and carts, had
off to the forest as usual,
and Henrietta was
tina,
left
alone in the castle with Clemen-
Margari, and the domestics.
As
for Margari, he
would not have gone to the woods for
world.
all
the bears in the
Clementina, solemnly cackling gossip as usual, imparted
to Henrietta that the night before,
when
the gentlemen
:
played at cards, the luck had run dead against Hátszegi
Count Kengyelesy had won back from him the whole of
the Kengyelesy estate.
at this glad intelligence.
"Thank God!" sighed Henrietta This was one of the things that
like
had weighed down her heart
partition walls, so to speak,
a nightmare, one of the
which had hitherto separated
her from her husband.
appeared.
This, at any rate,
had now
dis-
Clementina went on to say that
cared a straw for this loss
that
it
;
my
lord baron had not
nay, he had laughed and said
only showed
how
lucky he
was
in love.
Henri-
etta applied the saying to herself,
and began to be quite
proud of
it.
The
Fatia
count,
however, pursued Clementina, had said
that he durst not rejoice in his winnings, or that accursed
Negra might rob him of them again on the highhad done once before.
cold shudder ran through Henrietta's limbs at that
road, as he
A
179
Poor Plutocrats
accursed name.
That Fatia Negra!
She had already
begun
revive,
to forget him.
And
thus old memories began to
and
at last
vv^as
her excited imagination began to fancy
sort of connecting link between
that
there
some
Szilárd and Fatia Negra, between the dearest and the
most
terrible of beings!
What
if
her rejected lover had
It
avenged himself by publicly shaming her!
such anxieties as these that
in
was with the young wife went to sleep
visit
her lonely chamber.
Early next day she received a
All the time the
army
of guests
from the priest. was going in and out
place, but
of the castle gates, he never
came near the
now
he hastened to exchange a few words with the lady of the
house.
And
Henrietta was very glad that he had come.
"I bring you
also," said
lady.
news of Fatia Negra and of other things the priest, as soon as he was alone with the
all
Henrietta was instantly
attention.
at
"Yesterday the
famous butter-woman who dwells
to open her soul to
Dupe
cult
Piatre
came
me
in a very
diffi-
matter.
is
This woman,
as the whole courtry-side
specifics
knows,
as
it
a
famous quack and a preparer of such
is
unlawful for one
man
to give to another.
For-
merly she was visited by multitudes of people suffering
from every
sort of
ill
—
especially girls.
More than once
and clapped
she has paid dearly for her quackery, for the county
authorities apprehended her for poisoning,
her into
jail
for
some
years.
Since then she has
grown
more
cautious, and does not care about seeing every one in
i8o
Poor Plutocrats
her loneiy
little
forest hut, especially since I impressed
upon
her severely what a heavy load she was burdening her conscience with by turning the secret healing forces
which Nature had implanted
in the herbs of the field to
the destruction of ignorant humanity.
this
Yesterday, then,
woman came
to
me
(and
it
is
a very rare thing to
see her
among men), and informed me
all
that last night
Fatia Negra had visited her."
Henrietta shuddered
that!
over.
So he was
as near as
"The medicine woman said that the mask requested her to prepare poison for him that would be sure to kill. She
said she
would
not, as she
had no wish to
fall
again into
the hands of the county authorities.
He
promised her
money; he showed her a lot of ducats. She told him it wouldn't do. Then he drew forth a pistol, pressed the
barrel to her temples,
and threatened instantly to blow
her brains out
if
she did not comply with his request.
'Very
well,' said she, *fire
away:
I
would rather be shot
than hanged.'
Perceiving he could do nothing with her
fell
by
threats,
he
to entreating,
and said
it
was not a
man he wanted
to poison, but a wild beast.
kill
?'
'What
sort
is
of a beast do you want to
she asked him.
'That
no business of yours,' said
will eat, a bear will not
he.
'But
it is
my
business,'
she replied, 'for the poison that a wolf or a savage dog
even
sniif at,
and what makes one
'Then you
beast
ill,
on that
will another beast thrive.'
it
must know that
is
a bear.'
'Swear that you do not
Fatia Negra swore
want the venom
for a
human
being.'
i8i
Poor Plutocrats
with
all
sorts of subterranean oaths that
it
was
really for
a bear that he wanted the poison.
The medicine woman
in the
thereupon prepared for him a mortal concoction capable
of killing the
most vigorous beast
world
;
then she
kneaded honey cakes, a delicacy to which bears are very
partial, as
every one knows, and mixed
it
well into them.
Fatia
old
Negra gave her
ten ducats for the poison, but the
to rest,
woman's conscience would not allow her
and
the next day she brought the ducats to
needs, as she put
it
me
for the church's
—and would
I
help her to relieve her
it ?
soul of the heavy burden which oppressed
And what
make
appre-
now
if
Fatia Negra, contrary to his oath, were to
use of this poison against his fellow
man?"
Henrietta
"That
hensively.
would
be
horrible,"
said
"I don't think he will," said the priest; "the poison
really
is
meant for a
beast."
kill
"I suppose he wants to
some animal which
is
a do-
mestic guardian, in order that he
may
rob a rich man's
house."
"No.
he
He
wants to
kill
a faithful animal, in order that
may
steal a
poor man's only treasure
—
his wife."
"How
so?"
"Listen,
my
lady,
and
I will tell
you.
After this had
happened, Juon Tare's wife, Mariora. came to
unusual hour.
prayers.
fession
me
at
an
Generally she only comes on a Sunday for
she said to
a
What
made
I
me was
not so
much
a con-
to
priest as
a confidence reposed in a
re-
friend;
am, therefore, not committing sacrilege by
182
Poor Plutocrats
lating
it
to another person.
That young woman
is
ex-
posed to temptation."
"What!
in the
midst of the forest?"
"Yes, in the midst of the forest, where, for weeks at
a stretch, the herdsman hears no other
his
own thrown back
is
to
him by the
human voice than echoes. The seducer
in this case
Fatia Negra."
"Then he must dwell hard by." "None knows his abiding dwelling, but
resting places
his
temporary
among
For
this
the high Alps are these herdsmen's
lonely huts.
reason he lives in good fellowship
with the mountain goatherds, does them no harm, brings
presents for
them and
their wives, pays
it
handsomely for
every bit of bread, and thus makes
will never betray him.
pretty sure that they
The
place
where Juon Tare's wife
call it
dwells
is
is
called the ice valley.
first ice
They
is
so because
it
here that the
of the winter appears; as early
as mid-September the stream
fringed with
little
it.
There,
hut, one
it.
by the side of the stream, stands a
wooden
of whose walls reposes on the ascending rock behind
Here dwells the fair Mariora wrong to say alone, for three
there
bear.
all
alone.
And
yet I
am
—
herself,
a
little
them dwell together one-year-old child, and a tame
of
Her husband
she sometimes does not see for a
autumn and winter, when the freshly fallen snow has obliterated the pastures. At such times the goatherd encamps on the summit of the
week
at a time, especially in the
mountains, and nourishes his kids by felling with his ax
a growing beach tree, on which the
little
creatures
fall
and
183
Poor Plutocrats
gnaw
lest
of¥ the juicy buds.
Whenever
all
a
snowstorm overinto a glen,
takes him, the
the
herdsman drives the goats
and
snow should bury them
by the morning while
they sleep, he drives them continually up and down, thus
making them trample down
Mariora
sits at
the falling flakes.
Meanwhile
pounds
home and
spins the wool,
from which she
makes her own and her husband's
maize into meal
in a stone
clothes, or she
mortar for household needs,
their simple joys!"
playing at intervals with her child."
"And an
It is
evil
hand would destroy
"Hitherto the goatherd and his wife feared nothing.
good
to be in those solitudes.
God
dwells very near
is
to
them
there.
Then,
too,
Juon Tare
a strong
man;
in a
no
evil beast
bers.
Nor has he any fear What can they deprive him of? Mariora
can harm him.
of robis
good
place, out of the reach of
snowstorms.
If a
savage
is
beast or a
vagabond were
to try to
harm
her, there
Ursu, the bear, with the terrible jaws
—he
who
Fatia
would
tear
them
to pieces.
is
So your ladyship
and wild beasts
will perceive that
Juon
Tare's castle
against
provided with a very strong guardian
thieves
—but
He
can guard
against the wily and the insinuating?
Negra
is
a
guest of long standing at the hut in the ice valley, and
never goes thither empty handed.
pearls
brought the
woman
trinkets
in
and
coral,
which she innocently hung about her
to
person.
How
was she
know whether such
?
Were worth thousands or whether they could be bought
a pedler's booth for a few pence
She fancied
it
was but
the thank-offering of a grateful guest.
But now her eyes
184
Poor Plutocrats
have been opened to the
very costly
fact that these gifts are costly,
— for
all
the Black
Mask demanded
a price for
them which
the treasures in the world could not out-
weigh, a price the bare mention of which caused her to
shut the door in his face.
his desire
And when
he, unable to obtain
by
fair
words, attempted to gain his object by
force, a single cry for help
from the woman caused Fatia
his shoulders,
Negra
to feel Ursu's
paws on
and so he
knows that this lonely woman is right well defended. Only at Mariora's command did the bear release Black Mask, who, attacked from behind, was unable to defend
himself.
Burning with rage, he quitted the hut, and
shall be
full
said,
meaningly to the woman, 'You
less
!'
mine nevertheof despair,
tell-
Mariora came to
her husband.
me
next day,
ing
to
me
the whole story, and asking
I
me
whether she ought
tell
advised her to keep the secret in
to
her
own bosom and Negra. Oh, I know
it
close her
door against Fatia
It is
the fellow!
good
to
guard
against him, but
is
is
not advisable to scratch him.
He
no ordinary man.
And now
putting together
all this
with the confession of the
Dupe
Piatra milk-woman, I
have a strong suspicion that Fatia Negra wants to poison
the herdsman's bear."
"I will not allow
ically.
it,"
interrupted the baroness emphat-
"We
their
shall scarcely be able to
prevent
it,
my
lady, for
how can we warn
danger ?
It is
the dwellers in
the mountain hut of
letter, for
no use sending a
they can
not read.
We
can not entrust the secret to
185
any one, for
Poor Plutocrats
no living soul
Negra.
him.
I
I
in these parts
would dare
too,
to
convey any
message to the disadvantage of the mysterious Fatia
myself dare not do
it.
I,
am
afraid of
is
do
so,
am sure that if he found it out, my days would be numbered."
I
and he
sure to
"Yet
know some one who
will take this
message
to
Juon Tare." "Not your ladyship, I hope?" "No. Even if I knew my way among tains, I would not venture to expose myself
the hut of
of such a journe)'' after
these
mounI
to the perils
my
last
experience; since then
have grown timid and nervous.
will hasten to take
will
it,
But
I
know
of one
who
will not be afraid,
who and who
show no mercy
to
him before
whom
every one else
trembles."
The
priest did not guess to
whom
Henrietta alluded,
yet he himself had once told her ladyship that Black
Mask
had a sweetheart, to
whom
he had been married, not
before a priest indeed, but in the sight of Heaven, and
this
woman was
"to leave
very jealous and very brave.
priest
"But
I
beg of your ladyship," the
sion,
had said on that occaif
my name
out of the transaction
you
repeat this secret, for otherwise people will hear one fine
morning
in his
that the
worthy pastor of Hidvár has been found
a split skull."
room with
Scarcely had the priest quitted the castle than Henrietta
had the horses put to the carriage, took Clementina with
her, in order to avoid all suspicion,
and drove to Tökefalu.
There, in front of the house of rich old Onucz, she
1
86
Poor Plutocrats
stopped
and descended.
The Wallachian nabob was
much
loaded
entina,
pleased to have the honor of entertaining so dis-
tinguished a guest, and immediately spread his table, and
it
with preserves, honey and fresh cheese.
a
Clem-
who had
good
appetite,
remained with their host
in-
and made ready to talk scandal of her mistress and
sinuate that the baroness wanted to get
some money with-
out her husband's knowledge, while Henrietta locked herself
up with Anicza
in the latter's
bedroom, and talked
with her concerning things which had no relationship
whatever with money.
187
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
TWO
TALES, OF
XI
IS
WHICH ONLY ONE
TRUE
After a
couple of days the whole hunting party
returned from the mountains.
This was
much sooner
They
than they had determined, and the cause was a very seri-
ous accident which had befallen Baron Hátszegi.
brought him home in
great consternation.
side,
an ambulance
car, to Henrietta's
The
baroness, sitting by the bed-
heard from the doctor that her husband's wounds
serious, but that his life
was not in danger, and that he might even be allowed to smoke a cigar if he liked. Then Mr. Gerzson related how it had happened: "Only
were
imagine, your ladyship!
This irrepressible friend of
ours, not content with pursuing
game
all
day through the
thickets, learns, late in the evening, that a gigantic old
bear was trotting toward the ice valley, and, without saying a
word
to anybody,
must needs leave the company on the
track, with only a
and
set off alone, late at night,
double-barreled musket and not so
him company.
farther.
much as a dog to keep The bear enticed Leonard farther and At last down he squats before him in the bright
and disappears.
i88
moonlight and begins licking his paws; then suddenly
quits the path
Leonard thought
at first
—
Poor Plutocrats
that the bear
for
had returned within the deadly
beaters,
till all
circle
drawn
him by our
at once,
on reaching a steep
slope covered with reeds, he again heard a growling, and
perceived the savage beast trying to scale the slope.
place
The
was too
steep for a
man
to climb, but a bear, with
it
the help of his long, strong paws, can scale
like a fly
climbing up a wall.
Leonard soon saw that he would be
he resolved to
at
unable to get a close shot at the bear, so
fire
down from where he was
random.
But the expewithin
rienced old brute, guessing this good idea, instantly exe-
cuted one of those surprising feats which only
the observation of veteran hunters.
fall
While Leonard was
taking aim, the bear rolled rapidly
down
the steep incline
by means of a
series of clever somersaults,
and rushed
upon Leonard with
cursed bad maneuvre
beast,
a
sort of swift shamble.
I
And
a
it is,
can
tell
you.
The
acrobatic
whether a
man
hits
it
or not, inevitably bears
down
the hunter by his sheer weight, and as a man's bones are
more
brittle
than a beast's, and he has no tough pelt to
cover him withal, he will be infallibly crushed to pulp
while the bear takes the whole thing as a mere joke and
ambles on farther.
as long as
I
But the whole
tell it.
affair did not last half
take to
Leonard had
just time
enough
to fling himself
Then he
felt
a heavy body
roll
on the ground before the first rush came. fall prone upon him, and then
over and over in company
till
they began to
sorts of stones
among
all
and bushes,
lay
a benevolent rock inter-
rupted their rapid descent.
Fortunately the bear was
full
underneath and
stunned at
length upon
the
189
Poor Plutocrats
ground.
Our
and
it
friend
Leonard naturally did not wait for
his traveling his rifle,
companions to pick him up.
He
had
lost
was a good job
hilt
that his hunting knife
had
snapped off close at the
instead of running into his
body then,
;
too, his knees
and elbows were badly crushed,
yet he had sufficient strength and presence of
mind
you.
to
drag himself back to our hunting-lodge, and his story
was
first,
a very pleasant surprise for us, I can
tell
At
can
be
indeed,
we were much
alarmed, and fancied that
every bone in his body was out of joint, but
look on
up,
it
now we
merely as soldiers' luck.
after
To-morrow
he'll
no doubt, and the day
to-morrow we
shall all be
dancing."
Henrietta had never removed her eyes from her husband's face during this narration, and
his looks that he
it
was
plain
from
was not proud of
his adventure
and did
not want
it
talked about.
"Why
"It
is
do you frighten
my
me
to-
wife to death?" he said.
a
mere
trifle.
Let
remain for a whole night
in cold,
wet wraps, and
morrow
after
I
I
shall be all right.
And now, enough
of the
stupid business.
And
will you, please,
lie
Henrietta, look
?
my
is
guests while I
here in swaddling bands
All
want
a couple of days of rest, and then I shall be on
my
legs again,"
Toward midnight
Henrietta disappeared from
;
among
but she
her guests and went to inquire after Leonard
found his chamber door locked, and received no answer
to her gentle inquiries,
from which she gathered
that
Leonard was
still
dozing.
She did not want
190
to disturb
!
Poor Plutocrats
him, and as her husband's guests, judging by the noise
they made, had evidently begun to amuse themselves in
real earnest after her departure, she did not return to
them, but hastened to her
own chamber.
How amazed was
Clementina
she to find Anicza there closeted with
The Rumanian
some
time,
girl
had been awaiting Henrietta for
it
and Clementina thought
quite natural to
conduct her into her mistress's sleeping-room, imagining
that there
was some monetary transaction between them,
of which the baron and the domestics need
know
nothing.
In order that she might not be bored by waiting, Clementina entertained her for a whole hour with a hairraising account of the hunting accident, with which the
whole
out so
castle
was
full.
Anicza
let
the other talk on withstill
much
as a hint that she had a
more
hair-raising
and
terrific tale to tell
of the night just past than ever
Miss Clementina had.
As soon
as Henrietta perceived Anicza, she politely
requested Clementina to be so good as to leave them to
themselves, a request which Clementina very naturally
regarded as unnecessary; and, of course, the instant
she had crossed the threshold, she diligently took up her
position before the keyhole.
She was, however, furious
to discover that Henrietta proceeded
more prudently than
speakers on the stage,
who
regularly allow themselves to
be overheard by eavesdroppers, for she drew together the
heavy damask curtains of the alcove and retired behind
them with Anicza, so that neither prying eyes nor
191
listen-
Poor Plutocrats
ing ears could find anything there to satisfy their
quisitiveness.
in-
"It ahiiost succeeded!" said the
patiently, beginning her story at the
Rumanian
girl
im-
end instead of
at the
beginning.
"Only almost?" repeated the
dissatisfied Henrietta.
"So
^
far the
game
is
neither over nor lost."
at the
"Did Fatia Negra appear
"Pardon,
hut in the
ice
valley?"
my
lady, but please never
it
mention that name
to tremble.
before me, for on hearing
red,
see,
everything I look upon grows
and every limb of
my
body begins
You
he
my
hands are trembling now.
;
Let us speak of him
in future as the
shall henceforth be the
Unknown so far as I am concerned Unknown for evermore."
lady, to rally
"Then you met him there?"
"Suffer me,
my
my
scattered wits a
bit.
Oh! what
back upon
me.
a horrible night this has been!
it,
When
I
look
I
feel giddy.
I
But anger and despair sustain
have been betrayed
Oh! what have
!
not sacrificed for that man, for
I
!
that devil,
and oh how
But why
Listen
should
to
I
worry your ladyship with
my
my
is
misery!
left
what happened.
I
When
The way
your ladyship
me
the
ofif
other night,
immediately saddled
thither
horse and set
for the ice valley.
very bad, dangerhigh and bright,
ous in
fact,
but fortunately the
it
moon was
I
and made
star
easier for
me
to find the path.
The Pole
was already sinking when
I
still
reached the bottom of
the valley, and
light
could see from afar that there was a
in the goatherd's little hut.
burning
The night
192
Poor Plutocrats
owls soon drove
dwell so
it
out of
my
eyes, for in that valley
many
owls, and they are so bold that the tips
of their wings brush against people's faces as they sweep
past.
I
had known Mariora for a long time, while she
still lived at home with her father, but since she became Juon Tare's wife we have only seen each other occasionally and at long intervals, and then, too, only when I
visited her,
for she, the poorly married
woman, never
little
came
I
to visit us
—
the rich people.
On
as,
reaching the hut,
tied
up
my
horse and tapped at the
window,
through which one can not peep,
instead of glass, the
window frames
nized
are
filled
with opaque mica, which Juon
hills.
Tare himself discovered among the
Mariora recog-
my
voice and hastened to unbar the door.
She was
at that
tears.
much
hour.
surprised and
much
delighted to see
me
I
She embraced me, kissed me, and burst into
thought
it
At
first I
was from pure joy
—then
I
thought
she pitied me.
Ts there anything wrong?'
asked.
Then
*I
she pulled herself together, dried her tears, and said:
have an invalid on
Ursu.'
It
my
if
hands.'
'Your child?'
him.
'No,
was
just as
a viper had stung me.
*Ursu
Since
sick?' I cried.
'Yes,
I
don't
know what
ails
yesterday he has been lying down, shaking and trembling, while the
day before he was skipping about and
Fatia Negra (Lord God, forgive
turning somersaults.
my
lips for
uttering that
name) was playing with him
'Yes, he said he
it
for a long time.'
'Did he come hither?'
to you.'
was on
his
way
'He
lied.
Then
was he who
poisoned the bear.'
(F)
— (9)— Vol.
193
20
Poor Plutocrats
"Mariora trembled
ever.
at these
words, and grew paler than
"I seized her by the hand and
the hut.
I
drew her with me
I
into
whispered in her ear that
knew
all.
'The
accursed wretch has been faithless to
pretty eyes.
to
me
because of your
He
swore to
me by
sunlight and he swore
listen to
relies
you by moonlight, but you would not
love your husband, and Black
him.
his
You
Mask
failed.
on
strength
now
that fair
words have
The coward
wretched
Mariora's
is.'
has poisoned your faithful guardian
thief, the
like the
miserable house-breaker, that he
hut was lighted by the flame that flickered on the hearth.
A
bedstead of linden
wood covered with
goatskins, a
all
table of slate
and a few three-legged chairs were
which lay the
little child,
the
furniture.
There was also a nicely carved and painted
sleeping, with his
like
Httle cradle, in
plump
angel.
little
hands drawn up behind his head,
of a heap on a lair of soft
an
In the extreme corner of the room
all
the faithful
beast lay
moss
—almost
at
the last gasp.
He
groaned and shivered continually,
like
one
in a fever,
and raised
his failing eyes with such an
if
eloquent appeal to his mistress, as
to her.
he would have spoken
if
Sometimes he pricked
and snuffed joyously.
his ears as
he were
lis-
tening,
Perchance he expected his
master, perhaps he wanted to lick his hands for the last
time.
Poor
beast,
how
I pitied
I
him!
'He
it
will die,' I
whispered to Mariora.
durst not say
aloud, for I
imagined the beast understood everything which men say
to
one another.
'And then
will
come
the tempter,
who
194
Poor Plutocrats
knows
that
you are alone and
an aspen-leaf,
is
defenseless.'
I told
her
everything which your ladyship told me, and the
woman
I
trembled
"
like
'Where
Juon Tare encamping now ?'
asked
Mariora.
" 'Only a mile from here, in the Vale Capra.' " '.Hem! It is impossible to get there on horseback, but
I
can reach him by going on foot.
in,
Meanwhile, you lock
yourself
put out the
fire,
and whatever noise you hear,
back.'
If
us.
do not open the door
" 'Nay,' said
till
we come
there
Mariora, 'you must not go away.
Juon ought
I
to
come home,
and has told
I
is
a sign between
have here an Alpine horn; he has taught
it,
me how
I
to
blow upon
in great
me
it,
that
if
ever
should be
danger
must blow
it
and however distant he
may
be,
he will hear
it is
and hasten home.'
;
" 'But
night
now
perhaps he
;
is asleep.''
" 'Juon never sleeps at night
protect his herds.'
he must be awake and he leaves
" 'And what, then, will become of his goats
if
them?'
" 'Are not
I
and
my
child dearer to
him than
all
his
property
?'
"Then
I told
Mariora that no time must be
It is
lost,
and
that she should blow the horn at once.
a long tube
made
out of the bark of trees, with the end tilted upward,
it
and any one who knows how to blow
heard for miles.
can
make
its
it.
voice
Mariora was too feeble with
Perit,
haps at another time she would have been more up to
195
Poor Plutocrats
but
now
she was upset;
there
was something which
weighed down her bosom and hampered her breathing:
the horn gave forth but a feeble and uncertain sound.
We
hear
Hstened for the echoes, and they scarce resounded
sides of the adjacent hills.
from the
that.
'Give
it.'
it
to me,' I said.
after I
*I
Juon would never shall throw more
if
force into
A
moment
had blown the horn,
there
afar,
the
woody
heights repeated the sound just as
there.
was another hornblower
right
as
if
Presently,
from
away among
there
the
hills,
another horn replied, just
there.
;
was another echo
That was Juon's
rest
answer.
content.
He
had heard the summons we could now
In half an hour he would have bounded across
the mountains and through the glens, and would be here.
In the meantime
the hut.
if
we would
last
barricade ourselves inside
Mariora anxiously asked
Acting on
me what we
we
should do
her husband were the
to arrive, for the robber
had firearms.
with a heavy
to cry, but
to sleep.
my
it
advice,
closed the door
beam and put out
the
fire.
The
child
began
it
Mariora took
in her
arms and soothed
A
We
heavy groan sounded from a corner of the
faithful beast breathing forth his last
in order not
room:
breath.
it
was the
exchanged not another word,
to betray the fact that
Mariora was not alone.
Half an
in the
hour had nearly elapsed when we heard footsteps
distance approaching.
We
listened.
Who
was coming?
I did.
Which
It
of us would recognize those footsteps first?
!
was he he
for
whose sake
I
had brought down a curse
upon
my head.
19Ö
Poor Plutocrats
"For about
the door.
I
as long a time as
it
would take one
to
repeat a paternoster, he remained standing there before
Then he rapped Hghtly with his fingers, and heard the voice I knew so well 'Mariora, are you
:
asleep ?'
"
**
*I
'Let
am awake. What me in, Mariora
do you want?' she
;
replied.
open the door
!'
**I
whispered to her what she should say.
can not, mxy husband
!'
"
'I
is
not at home.
" 'For that very reason open, so that
it all
am alone.' we two may have
I
to ourselves
" 'There will be three of us; don't forget Ursu.'
"
'*
'It is all
up with Ursu,' laughed the robber
killed
outside.
'You have
I
him, you villain
!'
cried Mariora,
though
never whispered this to her.
I,
" 'Not
but the honey cake.'
'"Why
"
did you do so?'
" 'Because he
was
in
my
way.'
'Who
*I
will
defend
me now ?'
I will
"
will
defend you.
take you
away with me.
I will
I will take
you
to a beautiful city, full of palaces.
estate,
buy you a house and an
lady.'
and you
shall
be a great
"
'It
can not
too,
be.
I
already have
wife.'
my
lawful husband
and you,
have your lawful
" 'Your lawful husband shall die
when
I choose,
and
you
will then be a
widow.
As
for Anicza, she only mar-
ried a mask.
I will tear it off
and she
will
no longer
know who
I
was.'
197
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh,
at these
my
lady, can
!
you not fancy how
I
my
heart broke
words
Yet
did not weep.
"
'You will deceive
me
as
you deceived
her,'
replied
Mariora.
"Then
him
first.
the robber began to swear that
I
had deceived
He
lied
concerning me, oh! the accursed
wretch!
Yet the game had to go on.
Mariora was no
longer the mistress of her
less creature.
own
thoughts.
in
She
is
a help-
If I
had not whispered
her ear what
she was to say, she would have had no answer ready for
him. " 'I fear you,' she said at
robber;
did
it it
my
prompting, 'for you are a
that
is
not love but
money
you want.
Why
have
not occur to you to court
me
before?
You
only come
now
because you have found out that
my
father has been here and offered
me
a hundred ducats,
that we may buy a little estate with it. You have only come here to rob me of that.' "The tempter grew furious at so much gainsaying. " 'Stupid wench he cried, 'what are your hundred ducats to me ? I will give you ten times as much. Here
!'
I
take them!'
And
our
with that he pitched through the
a
little
window
fell
it
—opening above the door—
feet.
heavy purse, which
of ducats.
I
rattling at
It
was
full
kicked
aside with loathing.
"
'It is
easy to
talk,' replied
Mariora.
in,
'Now you
give
and
"
give, but if I
were
to let
you
you would take them
back again to-morrow with
'I
my
own.'
swear
I will not.'
198
Poor Plutocrats
" *No,
I will
not believe the oaths of a robber.
I
You
and
have firearms, and
you.
am, therefore, defenseless against
musket, your
tree,
pistols,
is
Go and hang up your
your hunting knife on that beech
dred paces distant from the house;
without your firearms,
to kill
I will
which
a hun-
when you come back
you do not want
to say.'
bid.
believe that
me, and
I will listen to
what you have
"The robber fell Then he returned.
he.
into the snare
and did as he was
'Here
I
am
without weapons,' said
'Let
me
in!'
"We
had
to gain as
much time
as possible, so
first stir
I
whisfire
pered Mariora to say that she must
into a blaze, for she could not let
up the
him
in in the dark.
still
"These words inflamed the passion of the tempter
more.
"
'You
will
have time for that afterward,' said
he.
*I
can see your beautiful eyes even in the dark, for then
they shine " 'Then
all
the
more
brightly.'
I
I
suppose
have eyes
like
a cat?'
I
made
Hun-
Mariora
say.
!'
" 'Silly fool
growled the tempter to himself
in
garian, which Mariora did not understand.
'No,' he then
added
'*
in
Rumanian, 'you have eyes
like stars.'
'But confess now, do you really love
evil
me ? Or do you
only come hither with
designs?
Don't you want,
now, to cut
off the
hands of
my
httle child ? for robbers
covet the hacked-off hands of babies
invisible.'
— they
make them
"At
this the
man's temper
fairly
gave away.
He
per-
199
Poor Plutocrats
ceived that he
was being trifled with, and exclaimed roughly: 'Woman, open the door, or I'll bring it down
about your ears!'
with his clenched
'I
And
fist
he gave the door such a blow
it
that
cracked from end to end.
tell
you for the
If
last time,' cried he, 'let
I will I will
me
in peace-
ably.
you
will
come with me,
take you, and your
child also, to a pleasant place.
make a gentleman
of
him and a lady of you. But if you gainsay me another moment, I'll batter in the door, dash the brains of your
you
off
brat out against the wall and carry
by force
to
wherever
I please.'
"Thereupon Mariora paid no more attention
began wringing her hands, and
I
me, but
snatched up the child,
who had been awakened by
I
the noise, and begun to cry.
drew
my
pistol
from
my bosom
and planted myself
else,
beside the door.
If there's
it.
nobody
I
thought, I
must bear the brunt of
"The robber planted
pressed
it
his shoulder against the force.
door and
inward with tremendous
The boards
cracked, and as the middle of the door
was barricaded
by a stout beam, there was soon a regular gap between
the
two
folds of the door,
and the door inclined more
the opening thus made, I
and more inward.
Through
held the pistol, pointed straight at his temples and only
an inch away from him.
He
is
a very strong man, I
thought, but another effort of strength and he will be
lying dead at
my
feet."
The
scene.
girl
was
quite
overcome by the narration of
a
this
She paused for
moment
200
to recover herself, dur-
:
Poor Plutocrats
ing which Henrietta, as pale as a statue, gazed at her in
silence.
Presently she resumed
"At
into
I
that critical
moment
a cry like the
howl of a wild
fell
beast resounded in front of the hut.
its
The door
little
back
proper place, and, rushing to the
window,
saw
that tzuo
men now
stood in front of the hut.
"Juon Tare had arrived at last! "It was neither speech nor language that he addressed
to his antagonist in the first instant of their encounter;
it
was
the roar of a wild beast rushing
is
upon
its
prey.
is
"Juon Tare
sionate as he
a very strong man.
Fortunately, he
also a peaceful, retiring creature, for if he
is
were as pasAll
strong and frequented the wine-shops,
every carouse would end with the death of a man.
the
more
horrible
like a
was
it,
therefore, to behold
him
at that
moment *The
ravening beast of prey.
detected seducer at once
made a rush
If Fatia
for his
arms, but Juon Tare overtook him with an enormous
bound and seized one of
writhing the next
his hands.
Negra had
been one of God's ordinary creatures, he must have been
moment with crushed
limbs on the
ground beneath Juon's knee; but at the very instant in which Juon caught hold of one hand, the robber faced
about, and seizing the
to wrestle with him.
herdsman round the body, began
"The moon flooded the valley with its light the whole course of the struggle was plainly visible.
;
**As soon as
Juon Tare perceived
201
that his antagonist
Poor Plutocrats
was foolhardy enough
placently allowed his
:
!
to try a fall with him,
he com-
body
to be encircled,
and calmly
murmured 'Ho, ho then you would wrestle with me, eh, Fatia Negra Very well, be it so "Then he also quietly encircled the trunk of his opponent with those terrible arms of his, which had shown
!'
!
themselves capable on one occasion of throttling a bear,
and prepared to crush
his adversary.
"And
thus began an awful struggle, the
is
mere remem-
brance of which
a horror.
"There
is
nothing more terrible than when two
life
men
struggle for
or death with their bare hands.
"Juon Tare's tremendous strength was unable to crush' Fatia Negra. The herdsman might perhaps have been a
little
exhausted by his swift run, but the robber was
steel-like elasticity to the
skil-
ful
and opposed a
the one,
herdsman's
massive weight.
"Now
now
bound
their
the other
was forced down upon
his knee, only to
instantly back again.
feet.
The
grass
was rooted up by
stamping
Tightly embraced,
fists
with straining shoulders, with their
other's bodies, their faces
tearing at each
to-
were pressed so closely
gether that the two heads seemed but one.
"Now
breath,
and then they would pause for an instant to take
short, fierce
and at such times would gasp out
words. " 'Who are you ?* growled Jwon.
'Who
are you that
you can
resist the
arm of Juon Tare ?
to silence?'
Who are you that
Juon Tare can not put
202
:
Poor Plutocrats
" *What
back.
is it
you want, you
fool
?'
the robber gasped
set
'Has that two hundred ducats, the price
Is that
on
my
me?
"
head, tempted you?
why you want
to catch
Let
*I
me
go, and
I will
give you five hundred.'
I
will not let
you go.
want neither your money
nor yet the money of the magistrates.
is all
Your
destruction
that I want.
if
You
should not escape from these
hands
"
you were
thrice a devil.'
'We will see.' "And again the
put forth
all
tussle began.
Each of the two men
Fatia
his strength against his adversary.
split into rags, the
Negra's garments
his shoulders
blood spouted from
his sharp
where Juon had worried him with
teeth like a wild beast.
Not another word did they now
speak, only their panting sobs were to be heard like the
snorting of two wild boars as they dragged and dashed
each other up and
"I
down on
to
the sward.
was obliged
restrain
Mariora violently from
rushing to her husband's assistance.
She would only
I
have distracted his attention.
And
it
besides
would not
have
it
so.
Let the
men
fight
out, I thought.
They
are a well-matched pair."
"Then you
rietta sadly.
still
love Fatia
Negra?" inquired Hen-
The
girl
blushed.
*T love him, yes, and, therefore,
he must die."
She went on "At that moment he was like a magician battling with a giant. The other was half a head taller than he, and
203
—
Poor Plutocrats
the muscles of his arms stood out like the rugged bark
of an oak's trunk.
Black
in his
Mask was much
the slimmer.
steel.
But every muscle
frame seemed made of
His gigantic adversary might pitch and toss him wherever
he pleased, he always
fell
on
his feet;
nor was the other
ever able, squeeze as he might, to disjoint his arms or
free his
own head from
Fatia Negra's embrace, though
again and again he ducked
down
like
to
do
it
;
and then they
would struggle more
quivering mass of
"
'If I
fiercely
than ever on their knees,
with their limbs interlaced
flesh.
one
single, inseparable,
could only see your hidden face
all
!'
roared Juon,
throwing himself with
his
might on Black Mask.
off for you!'
'You
devil, you, I'll tear
your
mummery
and he gnashed
ing to snap his
at his opponent's face with his teeth, try-
mask
off.
"This attempt seemed to redouble Fatia Negra's fury.
He, too,
now began
roaring like a wounded bear strugIt
gling with a huntsman.
between men, but a ravening of two
batants had
was no longer a struggle beasts. The comthe hut.
pastures.
now
rolled far
away from
still
Their
savage yells resounded through the
We,
watching them from the hut, could see that they were
drawing near the edge of a steep abyss with a sheer
descent of
many
fathoms, at the bottom of which are the
sources of the
little
mountain streams.
!'
" 'Take care,
Juon
cried
Mariora despairingly.
But
her voice was unheard.
blind.
Both of them were deaf and
his
The next moment Juon gave
204
adversary a
Poor Plutocrats
fierce shake,
and instantly the pair of them plunged head
over heels into the gulf below.
"We
among
fully
both rushed after them, and on reaching the
edge of the abyss perceived one shape lying motionless
the rocks of the stream, and another limping pain-
toward the further shore.
This second figure was
Fatia Negra."
"Surely
horrified.
Juon
was
'
not
dead ?"
cried
Henrietta,
"No; only
severely.
injured by the
fall.
He
fell
undermost,
the other on top.
Yet the other must have suffered
We
could see from his heavy movements that
he had more than one limb damaged.
Only with the
utmost exertion did he manage to scale the opposite
clii¥.
"While
insensible
he
was
clambering
up
the
mountainside,
Mariora, sobbing and screaming, rushed
down
to her
husband and, taking
his
head into her bosom,
dragged
while
I
his limp
body out of the cold water of the brook,
the beech tree Fatia Negra's
it
took
down from
double-barreled musket and raised
to
my
cheek. Before
me on
the white rock, in the full light of the
moon, a
good mark for a marksman was that panting black object struggling
upward.
I
pointed the barrel straight at
I
him.
I
took a long and careful aim.
am
certain I
should have hit him.
And
then
I
bethought
me how
much
I
had loved him once upon a time, and the weapon
I
sank down.
flung
it
from me."
and covered her face with
The
girl ceased to speak,
205
Poor Plutocrats
both her hands.
It
was
a long time before she took
them
away At
face
again.
last
she sprang up quickly, and, turning her pale
in a hard,
I
toward Henrietta, said
dry voice: "It
because
will be the last time,
I
your ladyship.
am weak
am
a
woman,
is
folks
would
say.
But they
shall
know
that that
I
not true.
Don't be afraid,
will I do.
my
lady; what
have promised, that
to
You have
been very
good
lady.
me
in telling
me
it.
that I
was being
deceived, and
bless you,
I will requite
you for
!"
And now, God
my
Farewell
"But surely you are not thinking of going home so
late at
night?"
"What care I about the night? No spectre can meet me anywhere that is worse than the horrible thing that dwells at the bottom of my heart. God bless your ladyship. You shall hear from me soon. Farewell!"
Then
the girl gently kissed Henrietta's
hand and
left
the room, throwing into her gait
and bearing an energy
feeling.
and a self-confidence which she was far from
206
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XII
RECEPTIONS AT ARAD
Despite
his misgivings,
Count Kengyelesy succeeded
in reaching his
home
at
Arad without being robbed by
his visit at
lost
Fatia Negra.
During the evenings of
Hidvár he had won
his
back everything which he had
on the occasion of
friend Hátszegi's visit at Kengyelesy, and in the joy of
his heart
he gave his countess a free hand in the matter
of entertaining her friends, and opened his halls freely
to the elegant world of Arad.
For
the society of
is
Arad
is
distinctly elegant.
Except-
ing Pesth, there
no other place in Hungary where the
aristocratic element is so strongly represented.
Nay,
it
has this advantage over Pesth that
scatter as the seasons change.
its
society does not
as
Such pleasure resorts
all
is
Csákó, Ménes, Magyarát, and Világos, and the castles of
the magnates residing on the circumjacent plain are
a heap, so to speak, around Arad; so that there
of
no
or
occasion
;
for
acquaintances
to all
to
separate
in
spring
autumn wherefore
Eldorado.
those who would devote them-
selves uninterruptedly to social joys,
Arad
is
a veritable
207
Poor Plutocrats
There was no need
of visiting began.
to offer the Countess
Kengyelesy
such an opportunity twice
—the very next day the round
whom nobody knew, Among
were
those
All the notabiHties of the higher circles
got themselves introduced to her ladyship by mutual
friends,
and the
lesser
fry,
introduced to her by the count himself.
who came from
had an
official
afar
was
a
young man from Pesth, who
for his culture
post in the county, a rare distinction in
who was much praised who had spoken once or twice very
those days,
Sessions
and
sensibly at Quarter
—
a certain Szilárd
ested the ladies in the
cial
Vámhidy. But what interyoung man far more than his offihis
orations
was
the
rumor connecting
name with a The young
to kill
at the
romantic attachment he was said to have had with the
daughter of a wealthy merchant of Pesth.
man, being disappointed
himself,
in his love,
had resolved
do likewise
and had persuaded the
girl to
same
time.
Only with
difficulty
had they been snatched
from the threshold of death.
wife of the wealthy Hátszegi.
Subsequently, on account
of this very thing, the girl had been forced to become the
The countess quickly made up her mind that such a young man as this was an indispensable acquaintance. What! Henrietta's idea, with whom she had been in
love and
who would have
gladly embraced death with
her
!
Here, indeed, was a rare species, especially in these
days, which deserved to be exhibited; and she
rest
till
modern
gave her husband no
duce the young
he had promised to introthis
man
to her.
To
end
it
was necessary
208
Poor Plutocrats
make the young man's acquaintance himself, but this was an easy matter. The deputy lord-lieutenant of the county knew them both, and at his And Count house they learned to know each other. Kengyelesy was one of those men whom it is impossible It to avoid when once you have made his acquaintance. was not very long, therefore, before he took his new
that he should
first
of
all
friend absolutely under his protection, and hauled
off to his wife.
him
The usual
stiffness of a first introduction
was
speedily
broken down by the quaint conceits of the count.
The
dress
countess had
donned a flowing antique moire
hair
in
and
wore her
long
English
curls
to
match.
"Come now,
you say ?
This
friend Szilárd
!"
cried the count,
"what do
gown and
that head-dress hardly suit the
countess's style of face
—eh?"
ruffled
Many
eternally
instant.
a
worthy young man would have been plunged
for an
into confusion by such a silly question, but our Szilard's
composed countenance was not
"Everything becomes the countess," he replied
;
"but
I
know
of something which
fair
is
still
more charming and
the
would make any
"Really!
countess.
woman still more beautiful." You make me quite curious," said
you are a connoisseur!
"Why,
Szilárd,
—you
surprise
me !"
"I
cried the count.
mean
those blue stuff
gowns with white
209
spots,
which
Poor Plutocrats
lend quite a peculiar
charm
to our
women,
especially
if
you
set
it
off
with an old-fashioned lace capote."
At the very next reception the Countess Kengyelesy was attired in one of these blue stuff gowns with white spots, of home manufacture, and with a black lace headdress
—exactly
as Szilárd
had described
it
to her.
"My
dear friend, be so good as to look there!" said
the count, appropriating Szilárd while he
half through the doorway.
was
still
only
"There she
is,
costumed from
!
head to foot exactly as you advised.
Ah
I
pity you.
You
are already in the toils."
Szilárd hastened at once to greet the countess,
treated the
tion
all
who
handsome young fellow with marked
Indeed,
distinc-
through the evening.
it.
she
made no
to
secret of
Three days
a
later Szilárd
visit
was bound by custom
pay
complimentary
to the countess.
He
purposely
chose an hour
when he knew
It
she would not be at home,
and
left his card,
but the same evening he encountered
her at the theatre.
was
in the entrance hall,
till it
where
she was waiting for her carriage, and
Szilárd could not very well leave her.
drove up
"Ah, ah!
my
honored
friend,"
cried
I
the
countess
archly, "this won't do.
You
mean
wait
till
and then you go and leave your card
of respect.
am not at home, upon me as a token
off so easily.
I
But
lot to
I
don't
to let
you
I
have got a
say to you, which
am
determined you
shall listen to.
You
must, therefore, promise to come to
I
my
house at twelve o'clock to-morrow, or else
shall
210
Poor Plutocrats
astonish the world by inviting you to
come along with
me
this instant in
my
carriage."
A man
in another
mood
could scarcely have resisted
the temptation of replying that he
would be delighted
if
the countess put her threat into execution then and there,
even at the risk of astonishing the world.
Szilárd merely
looked grave, and said that he would be happy to pay his
respects to the countess at twelve
on the morrow.
He went
accordingly.
His pulses beat no more quickly
in a
else,
than usual as he entered the countess's private apartment,
although she gave the footman to understand
voice that she
invited the
to face.
low
and
would be
at
young man
to sit
home down
to
nobody
close beside her, face
The
countess was a beautiful
the art of dressing beautifully likewise.
woman, and she possessed The countess
pretty mouth,
for she
had beautiful
them, too.
eyes,
and she could smile beautifully with
The countess had an extremely
it
and when she spoke
witty
was
prettier
still,
had ^
way with
dear,
her.
The danger
of the situation was
very appreciable.
"My
light,
good
Szilárd," began the countess with that
natural
diffidence
which so easily disarms the
it ill
strongest of us, "do not take
confidentially.
of
me
if I
speak to you
The world
will very
I
soon be saying that
I
you are
in love with
me and
it
with you.
shall not
believe the former
and you
will not believe the latter.
I
Let the world say what
of a husband,
likes.
have a
real blessing
whom
it
would be a shame
2It
to offend,
and
Poor Plutocrats
you have
to fetch
quite other ideas.
!
I
know what
they are. Don't
I
be angry, don't frown
I
am
not exacting.
don't
want
ask"
you away from other people.
treasures.
I will
I will
not
where you have buried your
to
merely say
they are
of me."
you
that I
Is
it
buried.
know you have treasures and that not so? You need not be afraid
a
little
it
Szilárd
turn.
was
taken aback by this unexpected
Could
be sheer curiosity? he thought.
"I have nothing to be afraid of, countess," remarked
Szilárd smiling; "I
have no buried
is all.
secrets.
I
was a
illu-
young man
once, that
I
have had
my
foolish
sions like other people, and, like other people, I have
cured myself of them."
"Nay, nay,
truth
;
sir,
now you
you that
I
are not quite sticking to the
you are not cured of them.
But before
to trust
I
I
go any
I
farther, let
me
tell
all this is
not mere feminine
curiosity
trust
to
on
my
part.
want you
me, and
will
you
equally.
Believe
me when
it
say that
I
if I
love
re-
make fun of empty-headed
good
heart, because
to speak to
noodles,
is
can always
spect a
a rarity.
The lady
I
is
want
you about
is
my
dear friend, and she
very, very unhappy."
Szilárd
was bound
fault ?"
to believe that this
was
true, for
(
teardrops sparkled in the countess's eyes.
"Is
"It
fact.
it
my
he asked
bitterly.
I
is
neither your fault nor hers.
know
that as a
The cause of it all is money, the thirst for money. There is not a more miserable creature in the wide world
than the daughter of a rich man.
But that
is
the least of
212
Poor Plutocrats
her misfortunes.
not love her,
They married her
to a
man who
did
who
only took her because her grandfather
was
the
a millionaire.
Her grandfather
frightened her into
his curse,
match by threatening her with
friendship for her,
and now,
does not
when
even
she has become the wife of this
feel
I
man who
hear that this same old
will,
grandfather has made another
everything."
depriving her or
Szilard's lips trembled at these words.
"You
can imagine what will be the
loves not
result.
This young
woman
and
is
not loved.
They gave her away
to an Oriental nabob, who, imagining his wife to be
wealthy, scatters his
money
like a prince.
And now
this
man
has suddenly been startled by the report that his wife
has absolutely nothing!
—do
you know the meaning of
itself
the expression: 'Bread of charity'?"
"I have heard the expression, but the bread
I
have never tasted."
"Then you can have no
is like
idea
what that
sort of bread
finds to be
which a
man
gives to the wife
whom he
poor,
when he
is
!
fancied her to be rich
—oh!
that sort of
bread
very, very bitter!"
Ah
thought Szilárd, the bread that / offered her was
only dry
—not
tell
bitter.
you on very good authority," resumed the countess, "that the baron's conduct toward his wife has
"I can
completely changed since he discovered that she has been
disinherited.
first
He
had
lost heavily at cards
when
the
news
ill-
reached him, and he took no pains to conceal his
213
Poor Plutocrats
humor from
district
his wife in consequence.
The poor
of the
had got
to regard Henrietta as their ministering
angel because of her labors of love
she can play the part of
among them,
but
now
She
Lady Bountiful no
longer.
has to shut her
door in the faces of her poor petitioners,
for her husband will not allow
any unnecessary expense.
Nay, more, they say that Hátszegi
now
keeps his wife's
private jewels under lock and key, to prevent her
from
pawning them and
the proceeds, as she
relieving the needs of the poor with
was wont
to do,
and only brings them
to
pile
out on state
occasions,
when he compels her
them
"If
all
on her person.
Isn't that a humiliation for a
woman ?"
only
you had become mine," Szilárd mentally
apostrophized poor Henrietta, "you would
a cozy
little
now have had
room
all
chimney corner, and a nice
I
little
to
yourself; and though
could not have bought you jewels,
the best of every morsel of food
we shared
together would
always have been yours."
"And," pursued the countess, "most degrading experience of
all,
Hátszegi no longer attempts to conceal from
his wife his outrageous affairs with pretty peasant
women. The thing has long been a byword, though his wife knew nothing of it but she knows it now. Nor is this all, my
—
dear Vámhidy.
Poor Henrietta's heart
all
is
suffering from
be-
another sorrow, which she feels
cause
it
the
more keenly
left
smarts unceasingly.
Her young
all
brother, Kolo-
man, has suddenly disappeared from Pesth and
trace behind him.
no
They say
sorts of things about him,
214
Poor Plutocrats
which
I
do not care about telHng you, but most of them
are bad enough.
On
the
news reaching Henrietta, she
Hátszegi wrote to his agent,
will not
asked her husband to make inquiries as to the cause of
Koloman's disappearance.
and received an answer which he
rietta
show
to
Hen-
on any consideration; nay, more, he commanded
mention Koloman's name before him
is
his wife never to
again.
The poor woman
naturally in despair.
She
can not conceive
why
the cause of her brother's disap-
pearance should be hidden from her.
And now
rigmarole.
it,
I
am
if
coming
to the end
and aim of
I
all this
Henthat
rietta believes,
and
am
likewise convinced of
is
her brother be alive, there
only one person in the world
is
whom
he will try and seek out, and that
lad
!
yourself."
"Poor
you?
rietta's
If
he loved
me much,"
find out the
sighed Szilárd.
I
"And now you understand what
anybody can
brother and the real reason
am
driving
at,
don't
whereabouts of Hen-
why he
fled
from
his
relations at Pesth,
and took refuge neither with
I
his aunt,
all
Madame
This
it
Langai, who,
hear, has taken his part
sister, it is
through, nor yet with his
is
most certainly you.
set
no lawyer's business, for a lawyer would
about
too gingerly.
Here sympathy and chivalry are before
if
all
other things necessary, and
the husband declines this
noble task,
we have nobody
to turn to except
—
the
man
who
has been sacrificed."
Szilárd bit his lips to prevent the tears
from coming.
Who
could ever have thought that so frivolous a
feeling for her friend
?
woman
Then he
would have had so much
215
Poor Plutocrats
rose,
bowed, and curtly informed the countess that he
countess pressed his hand affectionately:
she, "for
would undertake the commission.
The
keep
the
me informed of everything," said common post between you two."
till
"And I am
pon-
Szlard thanked the countess and withdrew.
He
dered the matter carefully
time he had a plan
all
the evening, and by that
ready in his head.
this
For
of
a
whole week after
nothing was to be seen
Vámhidy.
Count Kengyelesy sought him everywhere
and could
find
him nowhere.
Every day he asked
his
countess what she had done with the young man.
Ten days
had been
after the first reception the date for another
fixed.
Szilárd did not appear even at
pillar to post,
this.
Kengyelesy hunted for him from
heard anything of him.
but could
not discover what had become of him.
Nobody had
last to
"He
has poisoned himself," said Kengyelesy at
'Tt
is
a group of his sporting friends.
quite plain to me.
When
a fellow has got that sort of thing into his head
it
once, he will try
again and again.
all
I
wash
my
hands
of the business
;
it is
the fault of the countess.
Why
does she play her tricks with such people?
No
I
doubt he
has swallowed poison and then crawled away into some
nook or corner of a
forest.
In a
month or two,
suppose,
we
come upon him unexpectedly." "Whom shall we come upon unexpectedly?" cried a voice behind his back. He looked around, and there was
shall
the long-lost Szilárd.
2l6
—
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh, there you
with yourself
all
are,
this
!
eh?
What have you time? Come along
I will
been doing
with
wife.
and Heaven help you
—
me
Poor
take you to
my
young chap!
it
I
thought you had already had enough of
in consequence."
and made away with yourself
Then he drew
his
arm through
Szilard's
cried.
and tripped
OÍÍ to the countess.
"Here he is!" he found him; do not abandon yourself
"We
!
have
his
to despair
on
account.
a chair
!
Be
I'll
so
good
as to
sit
down
beside
him
!"
—
here's
take care nobody disturbs you
Szilard's
to
The countess pressed him to remain.
"I have just arrived
hand and made a sign
Szilárd.
from Pesth," said
"Really!
Well?"
"I have found out everything; or rather, I should say,
a
good
deal."
tell
"Do, pray,
me
at once.
All the people are dancing;
they will take no notice of us."
"Ever
since old Lapussa's death,"
began Szilárd, "for
will, all
he died soon after he had altered his
the
members
of his family have been at bitter variance.
Madame
Langai, the old man's widowed daughter, disputes the
validity
of the last will
—whereby
Mr. John Lapussa
else
becomes
heir, to the exclusion of
everybody
it.
—and has
mind
and
instituted legal proceedings to upset
Madame Langai
in his right
seeks to prove that old Lapussa
was not
when he
disinherited the other
members of
his family,
she also maintains that the old fellow had no reason whatever for hating his grandchildren and reducing them to
217 (F)— (10)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
beggary, as he has done.
On
the other hand, Mr.
John
maintains that his dear father had excellent reasons for
detesting his grandchildren, because the Baroness Hátszegi has never written a letter to her grandfather since
her marriage, and both she and her husband have expressed
themselves at
home
in
the
most disrespectful
terms imaginable concerning the old gentleman, even
giving
if
it
to be understood that they
would be very glad
fall
they had not to wait too long for the curtain to
on
the fifth act of his hfe's drama.
He
calls as his
witness
one Margari,
who was
formerly old Lapussa's reader
before the girl was married, and since then has been compelled to act as secretary to Hátszegi, or rather as a spy
upon him.
John,
is
This fellow,
who
is
now
all
the
mere
tool of
Mr.
quite prepared to retail
sorts of horrors about
the Hátszegis.
As
to the other grandchild, the
boy Kolo-
man
I
mean,
his uncle
has saddled him wnth a terrible
bill
charge.
He
has produced a
for forty thousand florins,
in the
which he accuses the lad of forging
sister, the
name of
his
Baroness Hátszegi."
"Ah!" exclaimed the countess in an incredulous voice. "The thing is ridiculously incredible, I know, yet there
the
bill is;
I
have seen
it,
for
it
has been sequestered by
the court.
also
is
It is
obviously in the youth's handwriting, as
the very bad imitation of his sister's signature.
is
In connection therewith
the fact of the youth's sudden
disappearance
(and every attempt to trace his where-
abouts has failed), for, on the very day
of the
bill
when
the subject
col-
was
first
broached he vanished from his
218
Poor Plutocrats
lege,
and apparently he had been preparing for
flight
some time before."
"But what could have induced a mere
a thing; he
is
child to
do such
scarcely thirteen years old?"
"He was
always somewhat flighty by nature, though
that, of course, is not sufficient to explain
how he came
to forge his sister's
florins."
name on
a draft for forty thousand
"But why will not the baron tell his wife all about it?'" "Does not your ladyship see? It is quite plain to me.
Hátszegi understands his wife thoroughly.
tain that as soon as the baroness hears of
is
He
to
feels cer-
what her brother
acknowl-
accused, she will not hesitate a
moment
edge the forged signature as really her own."
"True, true.
be saved."
And
then
I
suppose her brother could
"Completely."
"And
money
?"
then,
I
suppose,
she would have to pay the
"Either pay
it
or be sued for
I
it."
"Poor woman!
know
she has no money.
A
most
awkward
ter
;
position,
most awkward.
But
it
does not mat-
if
her jewels are under lock and key, nobody guards
mine."
At
these words, which
came
straight
from the
best of
hearts, Szilárd could not restrain himself
from impress-
ing a burning kiss on the countess's hand, so affected was
he by
this outburst of generosity.
"Ah, ha!" cackled the count behind
his back, "so
we
219
Poor Plutocrats
have got as far as that already, eh!
Capital, capital,
friend, don't be
upon
my word
!
Nay, nay,
my young
!"
afraid of me.
Do
not put yourself out in the least on
my
account!
God bless you, my boy "To-morrow we'll plan it all out;
at
I
I'll
be waiting for
;
you
one o'clock," whispered the countess to Szilárd
"now
must go, the
cotillion is beginning."
"Don't you dance then?" inquired the count of Szilárd.
"Nonsense!
they'll
say you
are
mourning somebody.
Thank God
Hátszegi's.
old Lapussa
It is
for
was not your father-in-law, but him to pull a long face, but you go
and dance
!"
220
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XIII
TIT FOR TAT
It
may seem
strange to us that the rumor of Fatia
in
Negra's nocturnal adventure was not spread abroad
these parts, but as a matter of fact
it.
nobody did speak of
about
It
seemed as
if
everybody
who knew anything
it
died out of the world before he could pass the news on
to his neighbor.
The dwellers
in the
hut in the
ice valley
had vanished
without leaving a trace behind them.
The
herd, untended
by a shepherd, was scattered to the winds by wolves. Nobody could say what had become of Juon Tare and
Mariora.
she
The person who should least of all tell that knew anything about this midnight adventure was
herself.
Anicza
She had sobbed out the whole story
before Henrietta, but after that she kept her
own
counsel
and kept a good countenance also when folks looked at her. But there was venom at the bottom of her heart,
and she nourished
it
there.
In a fortnight's time Fatia Negra visited her again.
There was now nothing the matter with him
of the
life
;
all
traces
and death struggle had disappeared.
affectionate
Anicza
was more
toward him than
221
ever.
She did
Poor Plutocrats
not even ask
him where he had been
his neck,
all this
time, nor
did she notice the scar on
there before.
which had not been
always did.
Fatia
Negra came
to her at night, as he
The famous adventurer was very cautious. Anicza knew for certain that whenever he came to visit her in a populous place like this, before him and behind him went
faithful
henchmen, who stood on guard
at the corners of
the streets and gave a signal at the approach of any danger.
go
alone.
Only among the snowy mountains was he wont to He was also very wary in other ways. Thus,
:
he never drank wine
there
was
really
no getting
at him.
And
if
once he had his weapons handy, then he could
if
always cut his way through his enemies, even
completely surrounded.
he were
"Fatia
Negra,"
neck,
said
the
girl,
I
throwing
evil
her
arms
I
round
his
"last
night
had an
dream.
dreamt that the smallpox had ruined
my
face.
Would
adven-
you love
"Yes,
turer.
me
I
if
T
were pockmarked?'*
still
would
love
you,"
replied
the
"Well, as
it
happens,
I
I
am
not.
Kiss me!
all
Then
I
dreamt another dream.
dreamt that
our property
was destroyed.
I
was
a ragged
wandering beggar, with
my
head
tied up.
Would you
love
me
if I
were a ragged
beggar?"
"Little fool, of course I should love you."
"Then embrace me nicely. some one had shut me up
222
After that
in
I
dreamt that
prison
for
some great
Poor Plutocrats
offense
;
they had condemned
me
to
many
years' impris-
onment, condemned
again when
me
to spend all
my
youth behind
let
iron-barred windows, and they would only
I
had become a wrinkled old hag.
were
in prison?
me free Would
you love me
then?"
if I
stand outside
my
iron bars and speak to
Would you come and me now and
is
"Stop
this
foolish chatter!
Who
able to
answer
such questions?" and in order that she should obey the
more
readily he closed her
mouth with
kisses.
But as soon as the
prattle again:
kisses
were over, she began
to
"But
after
that
I
went on dreaming again, and
I I
dreamt what made
dreamt that
I
me
me
very angry
else,
with
myself.
married some one
love
if I
and forgot you.
Would you
"Yes,
love
for
I
still
were
to deceive
you and
\ved another?"
would love you even
then, Anicza
—and
my
you would make
me
shoot you through the
heart."
How
the girl laughed
when he
said this!
"Wait a bit," said she, "and you will see that it will I shall I shall grow sick and ugly. all come to pass. become a poor beggar. They will send me to prison and make a slave of me. I shall deceive you and wed another. Then we shall see whether you will love me then we shall
;
see
whether you
will kill
all
me."
Anicza thought
aloud.
this so
The
noise brought old
amusing that she laughed Onucz into the room. His
223
Poor Plutocrats
daughter turned toward him smilingly.
"Isn't
it
true,
father, that three suitors are courting me?'^ she asked.
"I
was asking Fatia Negra which of the three
Old Onucz scratched
his nose pretty
I
should
take."
hard at
this ques-
tion.
He would
long as
have liked to have
the right one
!"
said,
".Whichever you
like as
it is
but he was afraid of
offending Fatia Negra.
''Well, Master," said
all.
he at
last,
"truth
is
truth after
I'm getting an old
man now, and
I
what's the good
these ducats
if
of
my
scraping together and piling up
it all ?
all
nothing comes of
a pretty girl
have indeed an only daughter,
but what's the use of
and
a
good
girl, too,
that?
You
are not her husband.
If I only
knew
out,
of
I
some
settle
corner of the world quite out of your reach,
would
gather together
all
it
my
belongings, seek
avail,
it
and
down
find
there
;
but
would be of no
you would always
have to stay
me
I
out and befool
my
girl again; so I
where
am."
is
"Don't grumble, old chap, there
a time for
all
things.
This black mask shall not always cover
my
face;
when
I
come
to see you,
my name
will
shall
not always be Fatia
Negra.
The day
come when a carriage and four
shall drive into
will then leap
your courtyard, a sabretached footman from the box and open the silver-plated
coach, and a cavalier in cloth of gold will step out
who
his
comes
finger
to
you
will
as a suitor.
If
you
see this ring
will
on
you
know
that
it is I,
and there
no longer
be a Fatia Negra in the wide world.
We will go together
224
Poor Plutocrats
to Bucharest, a true
Rumanian
city,
where
folks will re-
spect us,
and then our happy days
long time."
will begin."
tell-
"If only that could be soon!
But you have been
ing
me
this for a long,
is
"That
yet.
because
we can
not put an end to our work
still
There are very many people who
us.
expect
much
from
wear
it
If I
do not
satisfy them, they will
remain a
perpetual danger to us.
this
That
longer.
it
is
why
I
am
compelled to
I
mask
a
little
When
is
once
have taken
off,
he
more in "Then you
one day?"
"Yes,
it is
who used to wear common with me."
really
dead, and has nothing
mean
to break
away from everything
finger whispers that
high time.
My
own
little
some one wants
to betray me.
But say that to nobody.
people.
We must
The Government is getting suspicious at the disappearance of so much gold. It is sniffing about, but at present it is on a wrong The Jews of Hungary are suspected, and they track. happen to know nothing at all about it. But it is quite enough that suspicion has been aroused. So far they
not frighten our
fancy that only about
are unlawfully
that
it
fifty to sixty
pounds of gold a year
made away
with.
They
don't
know
yet
is
amounts
to five or six hundredweight,
which
coined into ready
money underneath
the ground.
This
business must be put a stop to.
yielded a rich profit.
This year the mines
will
Next Saturday there
be a
last
delivery of gold in the Lucsia cavern.
coins are struck
As soon
as the
we
shall divide the profits,
wish one
225
Poor Plutocrats
another good-night, and depart our respective ways.
shall destroy the
We
machinery, blow up the smelting fur-
naces with gunpowder, break
close
down
the aqueducts, and
up
the
mouth
of the cavern.
After that every one
I shall
can do as he likes with his gold.
of
it."
wash
as I
my
hands
"Well said!" cried old Onucz; "that
it
is
would have
also.
The whole
lot
of us
who
are partners in the con-
more in the Lucsia cavern. There we will listen to what you say, and swear to each other that we will not say a word of what has gone on down below there. Then every one will do as you bid, for you are
cern will meet once
the
most prudent of us
I shall
all."
"Then
only have to wait another week?" in-
quired Anicza, winding the locks of Fatia
Negra round
her fingers.
"For what?" asked the adventurer.
"Nay, but surely you know?" "Aha! of course!" said he smiling. "You mean you will only have to wait another week for me to cease to be your husband under a mask and become your real, true
husband, eh ?
That
is
the end of
girl,
all
your thoughts, eh ?"
to give
!"
"Yes, yes I" said the
self
:
but she thought within her-
"I shall only have to wait a
into the
week
up your up and
masked head
hands of the hangman
So Fatia Negra unsuspiciously rocked the
girl
down on his knee, and reflected complacently: "Girls are made in order that they may believe the lies which men choose to tell them."
226
Poor Plutocrats
But Anicza was a Wallachian
girls are jealous, revengeful,
girl,
and Wallachian
and
artful.
That Saturday had
arrived.
lit
Seven hundred torches
lights burst forth
up the Lucsia Grotto.
to time, flooding for a
In
between, from out of the corners of the cavern, Bengal
from time
of that
few
moments the whole
blue, white,
gloomy palace with green,
and rose-colored flames, to which the red
flame of the pitch-torches with their black smoke formed
a spectral contrast.
The great company
last
of coiners had arranged for the
evening before their separation a sumptuous feast in
this subterranean hall.
The
floor
was strewn with white
sand, and
roast
all
round about tents were erected, in which
piled
and baked meats were
up into veritable hillocks
on broad beech-wood
at their
fire,
dishes. In order to show the wealth command, an ox was roasting whole on a flaming revolving as it roasted, while two men, one on each
it
side, basted
well with bacon fat held on iron forks.
Close behind
it
was
a gigantic vat of wine; everybody
it
was
free to drink out of
as
much
as he chose.
Right
in front of the smithy, too,
was another gigantic vat
to the
holding about
finest eatf
fifty
firkins,
filled
brim with the
lolled in
de
vie.
;
A
;
couple of
young fellows
it
front of the vat
they were already too lazy to dip their
they sucked
in
glasses into the fluid
from the brim of
the vat
itself.
The
glare of the smelting oven no longer shone from
227
Poor Plutocrats
windows of the stone building in the midst of the smoke intermingled with sparks no longer welled out of the flue, the subterranean hubbub no longer accompanied the stroke of the hammers; the machinery was silent, its work was done.
the
cavern, the
Two
hundred and
fifty
thousand coined ducats await thousand belong to Fatia
to old Onucz.
distribution;
of these,
fifty
Negra and twenty thousand
The smithy to-day
bright ribbons, and on
sites
it is
is
adorned with green twigs and
massive chimneys
all
its
the requi-
for a pyrotechnical display
have been heaped up;
it is
from these that the rockets
will ascend,
here the
vaulted
blue and red catharine-wheels will revolve.
ceiling of the cavern
is
The
so high that the rockets in their
it.
highest flight will not graze
An
orchestral-like balus-
trade has been provided for the musicians.
The
share-
holders themselves will do their best to enliven the festivities
with
fiddles, flutes,
and bagpipes.
already appearing, singly and in
the machinery of the mill.
The guests are groups, down through
are
all
The men
accompanied
by
their
womenkind
full
in gala costumes.
Before the appearance of Fatia Negra, mirth and uproar have
jollity
till
swing.
Every one gives
free course to his
is sufficient
the chief comes,
whose black mask
it
to quiet every one's
good humor.
its
And
to-day brings with
own
the
peculiar festivity.
After the great distribution of money, Fatia Negra will
take the daughter of
Onucz by
228
hand and
on
plight his
troth to her in front of a crucifix placed
a high pedes-
!
Poor Plutocrats
tal.
The oath Negra himself,
ises.
of betrothal will be an invention of Fatia
filled
with well-assorted curses and prom-
And
from
he will swear to regard Anicza as his lawful
this
bride
day forth
until such time as
he can, with-
mask or disguise, conduct her before a priest and solemnize his wedding in another place and before other For a long time this ceremony has been the people. pet idea of old Onucz, and now Fatia Negra has agreed
out any
to
it.
Gradually
ern.
all
the partners have assembled in the cav-
Among
the last to arrive are old
Onucz and
is
his
daughter with the bridesmaids.
usual with
Anicza
dressed as
her girdle and embroidered bodice and a
round hat on her head.
she sparkles
tail is
all
The only
difference
is
that
now
over with gold and jewels, and her pig-
interwoven with real pearls.
Among
all
the picked
is still
beauties
who have
gathered together here, she
the
most
ing.
beautiful.
still
Only the bridegroom
keeps the good folks wait-
He
it
is
a long time coming, as becomes a great man.
quite possible he
Nay,
is
may
be there already withis
out any one seeing him.
Perchance he
walking along
there behind the bride in an invisible mantle, and only
when he throws
people see him.
it off,
then only and not
till
then will the
Anicza screams aloud
is
—perhaps with joy
!
Every one
thunderstruck; they imagine their leader must be in
league with the devil himself, for he comes up from out
of the earth
229
—
Poor Plutocrats
And
with what splendor does he ascend
is
!
The purple
robe that he wears
scarce discernible for gold lace; a
long embroidered mantle, like the mantle of a prince,
floats
down from
his shoulders,
and on
his
head he wears
a golden helmet,
from which the mask depends.
is set all
The
top of this helmet
round about with dia-
monds, and one of his comrades makes the remark that
the spike of this helmet
is
somewhat muddy.
He
is
wears
no weapon by his
side,
not even a dagger.
Naturally
one generally lays aside one's arms when one
about to
swear solemnly before an
altar.
Onucz approached him
obsequiously and kissed the hand of his mysterious leader
with profound respect, while Anicza approached him
with roguish archness, adroitly feigning a superstitious
fear of her magician of a sweetheart.
"I
am
not afraid of you, Fatia Negra
I
!
though you
in
come and go unseen.
name."
fear
you come not
God's
"That
is
true.
We
!"
are nearer methinks to the king-
dom
of the devil."
!
"Hush
say not so
"Why
not?
If these
men had imagined
that I
came
down from heaven they would have betrayed me long ago. They would have carried me bound to Fehérvár;
but because they fancy
I
quainted with the devil, they fear
It is
came from below and am acme and are faithful.
fear
the
same with you: you love me because you
ho, ho!
me."
"Ho,
We
shall see.
I fear
nobody, not even
230
Poor Plutocrats
you.
It
was a joke when
that."
I'll
I said just
now
:
I
am
afraid.
You did not see "Come now,
see that crucifix
put you to the test at once.
altar?
You
swear
will
on the
On
that
we
will
fidelity to each other,
and every one here present
As, however,
to witness, for
also
swear to preserve eternal secrecy.
coiners can not call
God
by our trade
we we
have rejected Him, our oaths can not ascend to heaven,
but must descend elsewhere. oath
In order, then, that our
may
be effectual, go,
it
if
the crucifix and return
to
you have the courage, turn only upside down." its place
—
For an
instant the girl
grew pale and trembled; then
it
she advanced boldly up to the altar, seized the crucifix
and, lifting
it
up, turned
round and thrust
it
upside
down
its
into a hole that
happened to be on the
in the air.
altar, so that
pedestal stood
up
All
who were
present looked
on with wonder and
it
horror.
As
the girl raised the cross and put
down
again
reverse ways, a mechanical involuntary jolting motion
of her arms nothing.
was
discernible,
though her face betrayed
altar
An
electrical
machine hidden beneath the
was the cause of this shock. "Well?" inquired Fatia Negra
place.
as she returned to her
"The
crucifix struck
I
me when
I seized
it,
and struck
girl;
me
again when
put
it
down," whispered the
pale.
and
as she said these
words she was very
I
"And
yet
you did what
told you," said Fatia Negra,
231
Poor Plutocrats
placing his hand on Anicza's shoulder.
girl,
"You
are a brave
and worthy of me."
"Comrades!" the leader of the adventurers now cried
with a thunderous voice, "come and listen to me!"
Every one thereupon abandoned
his diversion,
his booth, his table or
and stood
in a circle
round Black Mask.
of that place which
"Ye know," he
is
began, "the
!
name
is
under the earth
at this
Its
name
the grave.
Ye
are
all
of
you
dead men.
sunlight
ing,
moment in the grave with me and, if I wish it, Whoever would see once more the bright of the upper world, where dawn is now breaktell
he must swear that he will never at any time, drunk
to
or sober,
any man what has happened, what he has
it
seen or heard in this underground tomb, but will regard
all
as a dream,
this
which he has forgotten on awakening.
Swear
all
with
me
in this
hour!
I
myself will
first
of
repeat the oath, and ye must say whether ye are con-
tent therewith or not."
Thereupon he approached the
ever seen an electrical machine
tric
altar,
whose base formed
of us
so well.
jars,
the glass isolating "island," which
all
know
who have The elec-
machine
itself,
a battery of
Leyden
was hidden
under the altar and connected by a piece of clockwork
with that opening covered with metal, in which the crucifix
had been planted.
Black
Mask
stood silently for a
moment on
from
the base of
the altar after
removing
his helmet
his head,
and
those who stood nearest were horrified
single hairs of his long flowing
to observe that
mane
of hair rose slowly
232
—
Poor Plutocrats
and remained
deep
stiffly
suspended
in the air.
There was a
silence, the silence that prevails
under the earth
among
the dead.
And now
Fatia Negra began to recite the words of the
oath in a solemn, ghostly voice: "I, the bearer of the
Black Mask, Fatia Negra, as they
call
me, swear in the
which,
;
subterranean midnight by the living
like rain,
fire
falling-
reduced
Sodom and Gomorrah
to ashes
by the
flood
which
killed all the dwellers
upon earth; by the
gaping gulf which swallowed up the traitorous bands of
Dathan and Abiram
;
;
by the
spirit
which announced the
the Angel
death of King Saul by the Angel Lucifer, who, by reason of his rebellion, was cast
down from heaven by
;
Malach Hamovesh, who
which Moses
things,
carries in his
hands the sword
of violent death; by the twelve plagues of Egypt, with
visited the land of the
star
Pharaohs by
;
all
these
I
and by the
under which
I
I
was born, do
swear secrecy
I
—and may
perish in
fire
and water, may
be buried alive in the bowels of the earth,
may
I
become
salt, may the wild beast of the forest tear me may my own weapon turn against me in the evil hour, may I be terrified by midnight spectres and hag-ridden, may my body be smitten with leprosy, my
a pillar of
to pieces,
eyes with blindness,
my
tongue with dumbness,
syllable to
my
bones
by rottenness,
it
if
ever I speak one
anybody, be
priest,
or child, or father, or condemning judge, or
I
threatening headsman, of anything
learned in this place, or write
it
!
have seen, heard, or
or
down with my hand
put anybody on the track of
it
May
every drop of
my
233
Poor Plutocrats
blood become curse-laden;
may my
in
I
remotest posterity
anathematize
me may
;
I
awake
all
my grave
who
and go about
to
again as a spectre,
if
ever
act in
any way contrary
what
I
now swear!
May
those
are under the
earth and above the earth be the witnesses of this
my
oath!"
This drastic formula
parts the people
satisfied
everybody.
In those
self-objur-
much
prefer such
unmeaning
gation to our legal oaths as taken in the presence of the
judges, and they are considered a hundred times
binding.
more
Meanwhile numerous
single hairs
had seemed
spectral
to detach themselves
from Black Mask's long locks and
around his head
like
now
stood upright
all
some
crown.
horror.
Those who stood around regarded him with deep
Many
all.
believed that a supernatural marvelous
power was
in his
words only the
;
girl did
not believe in
him
at
In order to increase
still
further this terrified respect,
the adventurer beckoned toward
him
the old
men
of the
assembly.
"Come
hither, that ye
may
see for yourselves
how
in
well acquainted with the
that other place
words of the oath are those
;
where knowledge needs must be stretch
out your hands toward me, touch
me
with the tips of
your
fingers,
and ye
will discover there is
something
else
present here besides yourselves."
Old Onucz tremblingly stretched out
direction of Fatia Negra, and the next
his
hand
in the
moment
collapsed
with fear
when he
perceived sparks crackle forth from
234
Poor Plutocrats
his leader's garments,
which burned his finger
first to
tips.
More
till
than one elder was afraid at
curiosity
put out his hand
made him venture
everything.
Several wanted
to convince themselves personally of this miracle,
which
they could not credit from the hearsay of others, and the
juggler himself encouraged those standing near him to
touch him wherever they chose, and
fire
would spring
from
his body.
Sparks sometimes leaped forth from his
tips
neck and sometimes from the
of his ears, and every
its
one was persuaded that the curse had already made
way
into every
drop of
his blood.
Anicza alone did not draw near him.
"Are you afraid of me, then?" inquired the impostor. "No."
"Come and
kiss
me
then
!"
Anicza approached and allowed herself to be kissed.
Immediately afterward a shudder ran through her.
"Well?
What
did you feel?"
"Your mouth burned my mouth," replied the girl, and Fatia Negra happening to look aside just then, she furtively crossed herself.
Negra was completely satisfied with the success of this comedy. Their awe of the mysterious and the unintelligible had made his comrades his slaves; he need have no more scruples concerning them.
Fatia
"Give
me
your right hand, Anicza," said
he,
"and
let
give your other hand to your next neighbor, and
every one take the hand of the person next to him."
Thus he made them form a long
235
chain, the extreme
Poor Plutocrats
end of which was brought up by old Onucz, in whose
hand he placed a slender conducting rod, which hung
down from
syllable of
the altar.
all
Then he
recited the fantastic oath
before them
it
once more, while they repeated every
after him.
The comedy was concluded by
which instantly sent a spasm of
a violent electric shock,
pain through the muscles and sinews of every
of the living chain.
member
all
The poor untaught
creatures
imagined that the devil himself was flying through their
limbs,
and with tears and groans they begged Black
Mask not to put them to any further test. "And now, Fatia Negra," said old Onucz respectfully, "the moment has come in which you also must keep your
word.
Will you really take
my
daughter to wife?"
I
"I will not see the light of day again until
have
done so."
"Will you swear to be her husband in the
way you
promised to swear?"
"You
shall hear
me."
there, as
"Then have I something else to say to you. Over you see, stands the great weighing machine;
one of the scales
I will place
in
Anicza and
in the other
as
many
piles of ducats as will
make her
kick the beam.
I will
give
my
girl as
many gold
on
it,
ducats as she weighs."
Thereupon
and carried
the
two bridesmen produced a large wooden
raised
it
platter, placed the bride
it
high in the air
to the
huge weighing machine.
Onucz
bade them place both bride and platter in the
it
scale, that
might weigh the heavier.
Then
they piled up into the
236
Poor Plutocrats
other scale as
seal of
many
as
of the sacks of ducats sealed with the
Onucz
were necessary to establish an absolute
equipose between the two scales, and then while both the
girl
and the gold, balancing each other, were floating in
air,
the
old Onucz, his face
beaming with triumph, poked
:
Fatia Negra in the side with his elbows, and said
"And
now
all
that
is
yours."
to the
The adventurer rushed
weighing machine, not
indeed to the scale on which the gold was, but to where
the girl stood, and lifted her
down on
his
arm
as
if
she
were a
child.
The
right.
other scale, losing
filled
its
balance, rushed
earthward, and the sacks
ofi
it
with gold ducats toppled
left
and
the
At
this
company was
delighted.
Fatia Negra's
manly tenderness was appreciated by every one, and old
Onucz, radiant with joy, turned toward his cronies:
"You
is
see
it
is
not
my
money, but
my
daughter, that he
after!"
And yet if Fatia Negra had only been able to foresee what was about to happen the next instant, if only he had been able to guess what would happen during the first
few moments of the
first
approaching quarter of an hour,
could he but have heard one step, one
bump which might
girl,
have told him what was going on just then above his
head, instead of extending his hands toward the
he
would have done much more wisely if he had grasped in each hand one of the sacks lying on the other scale and
made
off
with
it
somewhere through
that dark corridor
special
which nobody knew of but he himself, under the
237
:
Poor Plutocrats
protection of the devil.
Just now, however, the devil
was
evidently not looking after
him
as carefully as usual, for
girl in his
he returned to the altar with the
deposited his load on the altar steps.
arms and
down.
The
girl knelt
"Strew over her corn moistened with honey!" whispered old Onucz to the bridesmaids
—he considered
her.
this
it
old custom as of the highest importance.
Possibly
was
a symbol of fruitfulness.
to
Anicza wanted Fatia Negra
bend down to
She
and
had something
as she desired,
to
whisper in his ear.
He
leaned over her
drew her pretty
face close
up to
his,
the girl timidly whispered
"Are you going to take me away under the earth?" "Are you afraid I shall do so?" "With you I will go wherever you choose and will fear
nothing."
"I take
you
at
your word."
"I don't care.
to the left?"
Whither
lies
the way, to the right or
"To
the
left.
Everything which brings luck must be
done lefthandedly."
"Is the door underneath the coining shop?" asked the
girl carelessly.
"Yes,
"I
if
you must know." Say the oath that
I
am
ready.
may
hear
it!"
Fatia Neg'-a repeated his hocus-pocus, kneeling
down
beside Anicza on the steps of the altar, and raising his
eyes toward the black vault of the cavern as he recited the
words of a new
oath, which kept
all
the listeners spell-
238
Poor Plutocrats
bound, so
full it
was of
grisly images
and
hellish fancies.
So deep indeed was the general attention that nobody
observed in the meantime that, in the dark background
formed by the distant walls of the cavern a multitude of
two men descended through the machinery of the mill and then two others, until gradually a hundred of them had assembled. They were all armed and dressed in uniform, but their arms
strange faces were popping up.
First
were concealed beneath
their mantles, that they
might
not glimmer through the darkness.
And
is
then they quietly
formed into ranks
like
supernumeraries on the stage of
a theatre while the chief
comedian
ending his mono-
logue in front of the footlights.
served them.
Only Anicza had oblips,
During the whole course of the oath she
at Fatia
had not once looked
at the
Negra's cursing
but
groups forming in the darkness above
over, Fatia
electric
his head.
The oath
fix,
Negra
seized the reversed cruci-
and an
shock again jolted the hand of the
fast in his
girl
which he held
it
own
was
full
right hand.
"Now
you swear
also !" cried he.
The only
reply the girl gave
to passionately tear
her hand out of the adventurer's.
Rising from her knees,
of rage, scorn and
knelt at her
:
and with her handsome face
hatred,
she
turned upon him
who
feet,
gnashing her pearly teeth as she spoke
actor!
"Wretched play-
You have deceived everybody, but nobody so much as me. Do you remember that night in the ice valley, and how shamefully you betrayed me
masked impostor!
there
?
Know,
then, that I
was present
in that hut, that
239
Poor Plutocrats
it
was
I
who blew
I
the horn and brought back the jealous
forest.
I
husband from the
lowed, and
ruin.
saw
if
the struggle that folI
swore there and then that
that
would be your
Just
now you swore
ever you betrayed me,
thus might you yourself be betrayed by
trusted most.
whomsoever you
;
You
said
:
'Let water pursue
let fire seize
me,
let
the
ax of the headsman descend upon me, and the
dogs drink up
in front of
my
blood!'
Be
it
so,
then
—here
is fire
you and water behind you, and the headsman's
!
sword above your head
The dogs
it.
that are to lick
I
your
blood are already barking for
have betrayed you.
Look behind you!" The armed band
like a piece of
of soldiers,
moving forward
in line
machinery, suddenly disclosed a row of
bayonets glittering in the light of the torches.
lost!"
"We
are
howled the mob, while the voice of the
(it
officer in
command
din:
had a strong foreign accent) rose above the
with your arms! no resistance!"
his sacks of ducats, the
"Down
Onucz rushed roaring toward
women
scattered screaming
among
the tents.
For an
instant Fatia
Negra stood
petrified before Anicza, like
a devil caught in a trap, and gazed vacantly at the girl's
flaming face.
Anicza
now
turned quickly toward the armed soldiers,
a piercing voice:
and cried with
escape us
!"
"Hasten, Juon Tare!
still
Seize the smelting-oven entrance, else this devil will
That was why she wanted
to
know from
Fatia Negra
which way they would go underground.
240
!
Poor Plutocrats
At
these words^ however, the adventurer recovered
himself.
He saw
a
pitiless
enemy and a troop of armed
closed.
men
that
hastening to the door of the smelting furnace, and
way
of refuge
was consequently
The same
instant
an infernal idea occurred
to him.
Hastily snatching up a burning torch from the altar,
with a couple of vigorous bounds he approached the
smelting furnace.
the hands of
Twenty bayonets and
a long ax in
Juon Tare were raised against him he was unarmed.
—
^and
But
it
was not
to the
door he wished
to get.
filled
With
with
and,
it,
a spring sidewise he reached the
huge vat
brandy, threw the burning torch
down
in front of
placing his muscular shoulders against the vat, with a
desperate exertion of strength scattered
to the floor of the cavern
its
contents on
from end
to end.
In an instant the whole cavern was in flames
The
floor
was of
stone, so that
it
it
could not absorb the
spirit as it
leaked out, and
flashed
It
up as
it
caught the
flame of the torch close at hand.
spread rapidly, like
a lake of fire that has burst its dams.
The
itself
blue spirit-flame
filled
the whole of the
;
empty
cavern with a pale, ghastly glare the
air,
the
empty space
torches,
seemed to burst into flame.
of
Hundreds of
burned down to their very
midst of this blue
fire
roots, flickered luridly in the
hell,
and the heaped-up
fire-
works
ers
— flamed,
—the Bengali pyramids and the rockets and crackfizzled,
and banged about
in the midst of the
terrible heat.
And
in the thick of this infernal blaze
(F)
— (11)— Vol.
241
20
Poor Plutocrats
black figures, like the souls of the accursed, were run-
nirg frantically about, howling, shrieking, and toppling
over one another, and seeking a refuge on the higher
rocks,
whither the flames, spreading through the
air,
leaped after them.
flames.
Juon Tare
lost his eyesight in the
The
others tried to find a refuge in the aqueduct
running through the cavern, but the pursuing alcohol
rushed after them like a living cataract of
fire.
Every
feast.
one seemed bound to perish at
this hellish
marriage
Only two people did not
only two
lose their presence of
mind;
knew what ought
to be done,
and one of these
soldiers scattered
was Fatia Negra.
boldly
When
the
armed
from before the door of the smelting furnace, he had
waded through
it
the burning spirit; he
fire
knew very
well that
could not set
to clothing immediately,
in front of his eyes,
and he took care to hold
to save himself
his
hands
from being
blinded.
it.
He
she
tore the door
open and hastily vanished through
The
other was Anicza, who,
when
saw
lost
that in the
his
hundredfold
confusion
every one
had
head
and was running desperately to certain death, quickly
snatched up an ax, rushed to the gigantic beer vats and
staved in their bottoms.
The
neutral
fluid
streamed
down upon
farther,
till
the floor like a waterfall, and, gradually gain-
ing ground, forced the flaming brandy back farther and
at last the infernal blue light
was gradually was
a sight
extinguished.
By
that time, however, the beautiful bride
all
of horror, her face was burned out of
recognition.
242
Poor Plutocrats
Every member of the party had received
the
fire.
injuries
from
Some
of them, already blinded, writhed in
their faces in the cool
agony on the ground and dipped
a hair of his head
puddles formed by the flowing beer.
left,
Old Onucz had not
but for
all
that he
was
still
sitting
on a heap of ducats, which were
rolling in every direction
out of the half-charred sacks. His scorched hands he dug
down deep among
his ducats,
and thought, perhaps, that
they would assuage his pangs.
Both of Juon Tare's eyes had been burned out by an
explosion of gunpowder, and two of the soldiers had also
received serious injuries.
Only
it
after the general terror
had subsided a
that the fire
little,
did
occur to some one that
now
had been
This
brought under, Fatia Negra might be pursued.
some one was the bride. It was she who seized a new torch, it was she who cried to the soldiers: "After me!" and was the first to tear open the door of the smelting furnace. Within was
darkness.
that
By
torchlight they explored every corner of
underground world
—but Fatia Negra was nowhere
to be found.
243
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XIV
THE MIKALAI INN
From Hidvár
to Gyulafehérvár
is
a
good day's jourweather;
ney, even with the best horses
in the rainy season the
and
in the best
mountain streams make the jourlies
ney
still
longer.
Fortunately, exactly half-way
the
Mikalai Inn, in which dwells a good, honest Wallachian
gentleman,
who
also follows the profession of innkeeper.
all
In these mining regions there are no Jews,
the inns
and taverns are
in the
hands of the Armenians and Wal-
lachs: the people are content with them,
and the Hun-
garian gentry like them.
Young Makkabesku had
among
built
up his den in a most
picturesque situation beside a stream gushing
down from
the mountains, and forming a waterfall close to
the very house.
This stream possessed the peculiar propfell
it
erty of turning to stone every leaf and twig which
into
it,
even the branches of the trees hanging over
were turned into pretty white petrifactions so far as the
water was able to reach them.
Domnule Makkabesku
able to
did not carry on the business of
innkeeper for the sake of gain (he would not have been
make a
living out of
it
if
he had tried), but
244
Poor Plutocrats
from sheer good-heartedness and good-fellowship. His charges, therefore, were extremely moderate. A traveler
on foot who asked
for a night's lodging
had to pay twoif
pence, a traveler on horseback a shilling;
he required
wine and brandy for supper as
charged a
shilling.
well,
still
he was only
tot-
Who
would go to the trouble of
trifles
ting up extra figures for
of that sort ? those
A
carriage
it
and four was not taxed
at
all,
who came
on
his
in
paid
what they
chose.
If
anybody did not ask what he had to
way, mine
a
pay, but simply shook hands and went
host simply wished
him
happy journey, and never said a
proud
word about his account. For Makkabesku was
addressed
as
a
man
in his
way, and
thought a great deal of his
"Domnule"
chamber
—"Sir" —and
its
gentility.
He
expected to be
when
up
his guests took notice of his coat of
was delighted arms hanging
with three
in the guest
its
—
to wit, a black bear
darts in
heel
— and
inquired as to
meaning; when
he would explain that that black bear with the three
darts,
which was also painted on a sheet of lead and
swung backward and forward in front of the house between two iron rods, was not a sign-board, but his family crest.
Late one afternoon Baron Leonard Hátszegi might
have been seen on foot crossing the bridge which led to
the Mikalai Inn, and entering
its
courtyard.
He came
on
foot,
with a small box under his arm and his double-
gun across his shoulder. Makkabesku greeted him from the veranda while he was still a long way off.
barreled
245
Poor Plutocrats
"God be with your
lordship!
Is
anything amiss that
your lordship comes on foot?"
"Yes, at that cursed Wolf corner the axle of
my
coach
road
gave way.
I
have always said that that bad
is
bit of
ought
to be seen to; this
at least the sixth
time that this
accident has befallen me."
"God
"That
is
the cause thereof, your lordship.
it
Whenever
the stream overflows,
is
damages the road."
no consolation for me.
My
It is
fellows are strugit
gling with the coach yonder, and can not set
again, so badly
upright
I
damaged
it
is,
it
is.
a good job
was
driving
my own
horses, for otherwise
my neck might have
been broken.
his hand.
As
one of
my
footmen has sprained
Send help
all
to
them
at once, or they are likely
to
remain there
through the night.
Where's your
little girl ?"
"Ah,
your
my
lord! your lordship will always be having
little
joke.
little
Flora,
come
hither
!"
A pretty
maid came out of the inn
at these words,
and smiled upon the nobleman with a face toasted red
by the kitchen
fire.
"Take
"Well,
his lordship's
gun and
little
box, and carry them
into the guest-room!"
my
little girl!
how
are
you?
Not married
yet,
eh ?" said the baron, pinching her round red cheeks while
the
wench took
his box.
"Heh, but
'tis
heavy!" she gasped, as
if
she were quite
the
frightened at the weight of the box.
"Won't
gun
go off?"
246
—
Poor Plutocrats
"Don't turn your
eh,
fiery eyes
upon
it,
or else
it
might
always
to
grandpapa, what do you say?"
in,
"Come, Flora, go
in
go
in!
His lordship
his carriage
is
such capital
spirits.
Even when
was
comes
grief he will have his joke all the same."
The
point of the joke
that
Makkabesku was a
flecks of
man
not
much beyond
forty,
though there were
gray on the back of his head here and there.
on the other hand, was scarcely sixteen
ian gentleman took her to wife.
The girl, when the Rumaninnkeeper by
Leonard, therefore,
the
always made a
point
of
plaguing
pretending to believe that his wife was his daughter
and by regularly asking him, as
father,
if
he were her grandhis
when he intended
to
get
granddaughter
married."
"You need
not send help to
my
carnage after
all,"
I'll
said Hátszegi after due reflection; "for by and by
see to that myself.
I
am
It
going back that way.
little
But
I
should like you to place that
for the time being.
box
in
some
safe place
contains four thousand ducats,
and that
is
no
trifle."
"Huh! my
lord!" cried the innkeeper, clapping the
if
back of his head with both hands as
already about to
to carry so
lessly
fall off
he feared
it
was
backward.
"Your
lordship dares
stroll so care-
much gold about with you and
about in these parts!"
"Carelessly!
—what
me
do you mean?
I
can not wheel
I
them them
in front of
on a barrow, can
I ?
want to pay
into
my
account at Fehérvár the day after to-mor-
247
Poor Plutocrats
row
;
I
have payments to make.
That
is
why
I
carry them
about with me."
"I only
meant
to say that
it
is
dangerous to go about
alone with so
"I
much money."
am
not in the habit of going about with an escort."
''The more's the pity, Domnule. These parts are panicstricken since
Anicza betrayed the coiners
in the
Lucsia
Cavern; we have been saddled with a whole heap of
calamities.
A
lot
of poor fools and a heap of treasure
were captured, but the head of the band, Fatia Negra,
was suffered
treasure,
to escape.
And now,
furious at his loss of
he blackmails the whole region.
Nobody
is
safe here
now
—
If
only the day before yesterday he stopped
and robbed the royal mails on the King's highroad."
"Ho, ho!
be bound."
he takes to those games,
he'll
soon get
though,
his teeth broken.
I'll
He
won't venture to touch
me
'T don't
know about
that,
Domnule.
He
wears a mask,
and, therefore, has no need to blush or blanch at anything."
"Does he ever look
with you?"
in here,
or has he ever lodged
"No,
here,
my lord, I to my great
can safely say that he has never been
astonishment
call
I
must
confess.
For
a
great
many gentlemen
here,
and many paths lead
hitherward."
"Don't you keep arms
in
your house?"
"Why
it
should I?
I
have not enough money to make
Besides,
it is
worth Fatia Negra's while to rob me.
248
Poor Plutocrats
a great mistake to resist him.
him
in his
Juon Tare actually had hands, yet what was the result? He goes
a blind beggar.
about
now
it ?
Anicza betrayed him and
brought down the soldiers upon him, yet what did she
get by
He
vanished under the earth, but she reduced
is
her old father to poverty, and
now
sitting
with
all
her
old friends in the dungeons of Gyulafehérvár!"
"Fear nothing!
while
I
go
to
At any rate no ill can befall you my coachman and come back again. Lock
your wall cupboard
in the
this casket in
meantime, and
keep the key yourself."
"Nay,
let
your lordship keep
it
rather.
I
don't
•
want
it
to be said that I
knew anything about it." Makkabesku locked up the casket in So
and
in
the
huge wall
closet,
which greatly resembled a large standing clock which were
his
case,
diploma of nobility and
all
his domestic treasures.
returned to his guest.
The key of the locked closet he Then, by way of extra precaution,
he locked the room as well, and forced that key also upon
the baron.
"Domnule," he added, when he saw that Hátszegi was
determined to return to his wrecked coach, "I can only
say that
go.
I
should be very glad
if
your lordship would not
The
servants will be quite able to bring the carriage
along."
"That they can not; the whole
boors,
axle."
lot
of them are mere
who have
never seen a carriage with an iron
"Let
me
go, then,
and your lordship remain here."
249
Poor Plutocrats
"I suppose
you want me,
then, to
show your daughter
how
to
cook?"
innkeeper's eyebrows contracted at these words;
The
his desire to
go
visibly subsided.
I
"But suppose
am
afraid of being left alone in the
house with so much money?"
"Come, come, wretched man!"
losing
all
cried Hátszegi, at last
patience; "you don't suppose that your blockis
head of a bandit
lying in wait for me, do
you?
in
Look
you now
chair, if
!
I'll
leave
you
my
gun.
Take
it.
it
your hand
and plant yourself there before the door.
Bring out a
you
like,
and
sit
down on
Pull
down
the
hammers *of both
filled
barrels
and hold your thumb on them
and your index finger on the trigger.
The
left barrel is
with ten buckshot, and you can be quite sure that
this pas-
whoever approaches you from the lower end of
sage will inevitably get
is
five in his
body
—and
we
five of
them
one
enough for anybody.
mean,
is
The second
barrel, the right
I
loaded with a bullet, which
generally keep
at six
in reserve for a wild beast, at the last
moment,
a giant.
paces
;
at that distance
if
any child could
kill
Don't
be afraid,
it,
he wore a coat of mail,
it
would go through
leaden door.
would perforate a Come, you are not afraid now, surely?" Makkabesku certainly felt a great stream of courage
for that bullet has a steel point and
flow into his heart at the knowledge that he held in his
hand a weapon which could
twice over.
kill
the
most
terrible of
men
"But what about your lordship?" he inquired.
250
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh,
I've got
two revolvers
in
my
pocket."
And
out, to
with that, gaily whistling, Hátszegi strode
down
young
the long passage
and peeped into the kitchen on his way
fair
exchange a word or two with the
cook.
"Look
turn,
ye,
my
daughter, have supper ready by
to over-salt the soup!"
my
re-
and take care not
and then
with the nonchalance becoming his station he sauntered
across the bridge again into the highroad, followed
the
all
way by
the eyes of Makkabesku.
the Rumanian.
"What
a gallant
fellow
it is !" reflected
The innkeeper
tues.
did not count courage
among
his vir-
He was
a peace-loving soul,
who
detested the very
Even when he sat down to drink, it was always inside a room with a locked door, for on one occasion, when he had got drunk in public, the wine had instilled within him such unwonted audacity that he had got his skull broken in two places in conseidea of a brawl.
quence.
After that he avoided
all
such occasions of
heroism.
For such
a loaded
folks as have nothing to
is
do with firearms
suddenly holding
as a rule, there
a peculiar
charm
in
weapon
in their hands.
Valor and a sudden
in
access of pugnacity
combine to put them
a condition
of perpetual
fever.
A
strange longing arises within
them
of a
to
make use
of their weapon.
kabesku raised his gun to his
Once or twice Makcheek and made a target
fly on the wall. At the end of the vestibule facing him was an old Roman image, the head and bust of an
251
!
!
!
Poor Plutocrats
emperor, which had been unearthed in the neighborhood
of the house
when
the foundations had been
relic.
laid,
and
had been adopted forthwith as a family
famous robber of the
district,
If this old
imperial figurehead had been an enemy,
let
us say the
felt that
our marksman
he
could easily have shattered his skull for him.
The sun was now slowly descending from
the lower
it
the sky, and
sank the
less
golden and the more purple
ment
it threw upon the ancient monushadow of an adjacent column fell softly across it and hid it half from view. Suddenly it seemed to Makkabesku as if he saw the shadow of a human head moving beside the shadow of
grew
the light which
till
opposite,
the
the column.
The breath
ing there
died
away on
his lips
—some one was
him
lurk-
"Who
terror.
is
there?" he cried in a voice half choked with
instant there stood before
at the
The same
opposite end of the corridor
—Fatia Negra
it
Yes, there the figure was just as
had been described
to him, enfolded in a black atlas mantle, with a black
mask
across
its face.
"Stay where you
are,
don't
come here!"
terror, "or
cried the
I'll
armed Makkabesku
you through," and,
hurriedly fired
in
an agony of
shoot
as the
mask continued
to advance,
he
o^ the left barrel of the gun. The smoke of the powder cleared away, Fatia Negra
there
stood
unwounded; he was coming nearer and
nearer
252
—
Poor Plutocrats
Ah, those
but
little
shots could not hurt him, of course
now he shall have the bullet with the steel point. As the first shot was fired, Makkabesku's wife came
running out of the kitchen, and came face to face with
the robber.
He
immediately seized her arm with his
muscular hand and flung her back into the kitchen, the
door of which he locked upon her.
Mr. Makkabesku permitted all this to go on before his very eyes, but he had raised the gun and held it firmly pressed against nis cheek he wanted the robber to draw
;
nearer
still,
that he
might make quite sure of him.
middle of the intruder, pressed the
When
there were only three yards between them, he
at the
aimed right
trigger of the gun, and the right barrel also exploded.
Yet the report was followed by no death cry
Fatia
—and
it
Negra
still
stood in front of
Paralyzed with terror,
the discharged
to
him unscathed. Makkabesku continued to hold
him, as
;
gun
its
in front of
if
he expected
go
off
again of
own
accord but Fatia Negra, catch-
ing hold of the end of the gun with one hand, wrenched
it
out of the innkeeper's grasp and brought
it
down
the butt
of
so violently on the top of his head that he collapsed
in a senseless condition.
After that nobody knew what happened.
When
Hátszegi and his servants arrived with the
still
patched-up carriage, Makkabesku was
lying on the
ground unconscious,
and the cupboard
in
his
wife was thundering at the
locked door, the door of the guest
chamber was smashed, the wall had been broken into and
253
Poor Plutocrats
pillaged.
Curiously enough, while not one of the inn-
keeper's relics
was missing, Hátszegi's box with
the four
it
thousand ducats had disappeared.
found in the bed of the stream
—
A
little later
was
empty, of course.
Makkabesku was
contrived at
last, in
a very long time
coming
to,
tell
;
but he
a very tremulous voice, to
Háts-
zegi the somnambulistic case of the double shots
called
nay, he
Heaven
to witness that Fatia
if
Negra had caught the
flies.
bullets in his
hands as
they were
"You're a fool," cried Hátszegi angrily.
"I suppose
you
fired
above his head on both occasions."
to see the
"But then you ought
the opposite wall."
marks of the
bullets
on
And
it
was
a fact that, look as they might, they found
bullet
no trace of a
on the walls or anywhere
else.
254
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XV
WHO
The
IT
WAS THAT RECOGNIZED FATIA NEGRA
the Mikalai inn considerably upset
sullcy,
events at
Hátszegi.
He
returned
home very
and was unwhich
her
usually ungracious toward Henrietta.
eral violent scenes
There were sev-
between them,
in the course of
the baron twitted his wife with having betrayed him, and
hinted that
it
was
all in
consequence of her
own and
knew
brother's bad
conduct that she
had been disinherited by
every-
her grandfather.
thing.
He
revealed to her that he
He was
well aware, he said, that in her girlhood
she had had a rascally
young attorney
as a lover,
and had
thereby incurred her grandfather's anger.
Henrietta, poor thing, had not the spirit to answer
him back: "If you knew
this,
why
did you
marry me?
Why
with
him.
did you not leave
me
then to him with
whom
I
should have been happy
tears.
She could only reply if poor?" She trembled before him while she loathed
dependent she was on him.
And
yet
how
accused, and never doubted for a
to do.
She was well aware now of what her brother was moment what she ought
She ought
to atone for his fault
by an act of
self-
255
Poor Plutocrats
sacrifice.
She must recognize the forgery
But what then?
as her real
signature.
The
recognition of the sig-
nature must needs have consequences.
the result of her action
?
What would
be
She could see she had no help
husband.
to expect
from her
At every
step she perceived that he eagerly
sought occasion to quarrel with her, and seized every
pretext for avoiding her.
And now
to
add to her emtime so far as
barrassment, there was this unlucky Mikalai accident.
It
seemed just
to
have come
if
in the nick of
he was concerned, just as
Fatia
he had actually agreed with
Negra
that the latter should rob
him on
the high-
road in the most artful manner, so that she might not
have the slightest hope
left
of being relieved from her
anxieties by the assistance of her husband.
The baron
now
all
could always end every conversation by remark-
ing that that rogue Fatia Negra had relieved him of
his
money, and he knew not how to make good
day, while
his loss.
One
away from home hunting
at
Csákó,
Baron Leonard learned
latest ideal
that the Countess Kengyelesy's
was Szilárd Vámhidy, and when chance soon
afterward brought him also to Arad, he could see for
himself that the countess really did load the young
man
with distinction in society.
The
circums^^ance began to irritate him.
This pale-faced youth with the big burning eyes had
turned the head of his
own
consort once upon a time, and
now he was making
other enviable conquests.
The
idea
256
Poor Plutocrats
occurred to Hátszegi to knock this "student chap" out of
his saddle a second time.
Heretofore he had never
re-
garded the countess as a particularly pretty woman, but
now he
very readily persuaded himself that he was over
in love with her.
head and ears
He began to pay his court to her and he was lucky. At least everybody believed it himself included. The countess always seemed pleased to see him, and the oftener he paid his visits, the less frequent grew the
—
—
visits of Szilárd.
Occasionally they met at the countess's
aside, as
and then Szilárd would hastily step
rivals are
last
vanquished
wont to do when Leonard was a daily
their conquerors appear.
At
institution at the countess's,
while Szilárd only appeared there occasionally.
Yet one day, while Hátszegi was
hidy entered unannounced
ily
in the
drawing-room,
paying his court to the countess most assiduously,
;
Vámhast-
whereupon the countess
springing up from her lounge, asked leave of the baron
to
withdraw for a moment, and there and then conducted
into her boudoir
Vámhidy
him
for a
and remained closeted with
good quarter of an hour, while Hátszegi, yellow
left
with jealousy, was
alone with the countess's French
companion,
who
could answer nothing but "yes" and
"no"
to all his remarks.
When
all
the countess
emerged from her room she seemed
She accompanied Szilárd
his hand,
to be in a very
good humor.
the
and,
way to the drawing-room door, pressed when they parted at the door, exchanged
257
a signifi-
cant look with him, at the same time touching her lips
Poor Plutocrats
with her index finger
—a very
confidential piece of pan-
tomime, as any connoisseur
will tell you.
And
all this
Hátszegi saw reflected in the mirror, opsat.
posite to
which he
As soon
if
as the countess sat
down, her companion, as
left
at a
given signal, arose and
the room. the baron petulantly
Scarcely were they alone
when
remarked: "It appears as
if
your ladyship and our young
a most worthy,
friend rejoiced in very intimate, mutual relations."
"Oh, very intimate.
honorable man."
I
assure you he
is
"So
"I
I
observe."
quite in earnest.
I find
am
is
him
quite a treasure,
and he
extraordinarily attached to me."
"Very nice of him, I'm sure." "Oh, you gentlemen, what mockers you
are men, I can
tell
are.
There
you,
who
for
all
that they are poor are
more capable of self-sacrifice than the haughtiest nabobs, who make such a fuss over us till we are in trouble, and then snatch up their hats and fly from the house. You
also belong to that class,
my
I
lord
!"
"I don't understand you."
"Suppose, for instance,
friend, I
were
to say to
you
:
My
dear
have
fallen into quite
an awkward predicament,
proceed against
and to-day or to-morrow they
forty thousand florins."
will
me
for
The baron
burst out laughing.
it
"Don't laugh, for so
really
is.
That need cause you
tell
no anxiety, however
;
I
only ask you to
nobody, espc-
258
Poor Plutocrats
cially
my
me
husband.
if
He would
it."
be capable of making an
end of
he knew
"But
seriously, countess,
florins ?"
I
who
could ever have lent you
forty thousand
"Nobody, and yet
am
indebted to that amount.
You
must know that once upon a time, many years ago, when
we
lived at Vienna, I
was given
to card playing.
We
not
played for high stakes in those days.
One evening
I.
only did
I
lose all
my
cash, but
had
to give
O. U.'s for
one thousand
florins besides.
Debts contracted at play
can not, as you know, remain unpaid for more than
twenty-four hours.
I
It
was absolutely indispensable
that
I
should procure these thousand florins somehow.
would not ask
foolish of me.
my
I
husband for them, and that was very
last
got the amount at
from a wretched
the
usurer at an enormous rate of interest.
plus interest became due again
tell
When
still
amount
with
I
was
more
afraid to
my
husband, and so kept on giving fresh
bills,
the result that the
amount of
my
till
indebtedness grew and
it
grew
the
as the years rolled on,
resembled the egg of
widow
in the nursery tale
—out of which
my
came
and
first
two cocks, then a
a carriage
bristling boar, then a camel,
at last
finally
little
and four, for
original poor
debt of one thousand florins swelled into forty thousand,
and the usurers became importunate and would allow me no more credit. Once, when I was in a very bad humor,
I let
out
my
secret before Szilárd,
and the worthy young
burden.
I
man undertook
to relieve
me
of
my
don't
know
whether he detected a technical flaw in
my
bonds or
259
Poor Plutocrats
whether he found out some other means of frightening
my
creditor
;
anyway, he assured
interest
me
I
only need pay the
original
sum with
upon
it
at the legal rate.
More-
over, he undertook to procure
me an
honorable loan on
easy conditions, which to
me was
a veritable godsend.
And
so
so
now you know, my
at
dear friend,
why Vámhidy
even you
is
welcome a guest
my
house that
I leave
all
alone with
my
companion when he
conies.
But you can
is
see for yourself
how
owe
dear and necessary he
to him."
in a
to
me,
and how much
I
Hátszegi remained
ments, and began biting his
at the piano with the
brown study for several molips. The countess sat down
if
most amiable nonchalance, as
she
gave not another thought to what she had been speaking
about.
"If only
I
had not had the misfortune to be robbed!"
what,
cried Hátszegi at last.
"Do you know
ess, at
my
dear friend," said the count-
the
same time
letting her fingers glide lightly over
the ivory keys of the piano, "I consider the whole of that
afiair as
simply incredible.
result!
Two
it
shots so close to a
little
man and no
fabulous
!"
I
—why
borders a
upon the
"Then
self
suppose you think
it
was
the innkeeper him-
who
robbed me?"
The
countess shrugged her round shoulders slightly
and went on playing.
"That
his
is
not possible," resumed the baron, answering
I
own
query, "for
myself saw the blow which Mak-
260
:
Poor Plutocrats
kabesku received on the head from the butt of the musket,
and
I
can
tell
your ladyship that there are no four
I
thousand ducats in the world for the sake of which
could lend
my
head to such a blow."
The countess interrupted her chords for a moment "You saw it, eh? And did anybody else see it?" Hátszegi was strangely surprised by this question, "What is in your mind, countess ?" he asked.
"I
am
thinking,
my
dear friend, that you have some
particular reason for playing the injured
man, and
I
have
read the whole tale of the Maccabees in some history or
other of the Jews, which you would
the world as something new."
now palm
;
off
upon
"Your
jests are
most unmerciful, countess
little rest,
but
may
I
it
beg of you to give that piano a
especially as
wants tuning,
a
I
should like to speak seriously to you for
moment
or two,"
the countess,
"About the Maccabees, eh?" inquired
laughing.
About myself. I am quite serious when I say have had losses. Your ladyship need not know how. But for all that I know what a gentleman ought to do
"No.
I
after such a revelation as that with
which the countess
flat-
has just honored
tering
me and which
I
accept as a most
mark of
I
confidence."
"Impossible."
"What
say
is
never impossible but what that student
;
fellow has chosen to palm off on your ladyship, that
impossible.
is
He
will not be able to help
your ladyship
261
Poor Plutocrats
without a great scandal.
Naturally a mere attorney looks
upon
that as a matter of course.
He
does not understand
that there are cases in which a person
would rather spring
into a well than risk her reputation in the eyes of the
world by appealing to the courts for redress.
ladyship another proposal
:
I
make your
I will
exchange a bond of
my
own
against the bond of the countess to an equal amount.
I feel confident that the usurers will lend readily
on
my
I
paper and will jump at the exchange."'
"Oh, many thanks, many thanks!
should
like to
But,
first
of
all,
know what
interest
you mean
to
charge
me;
for I
am
not going to pay anything usurious again."
"Legal and Christian interest, I assure you. But I must impose one condition: your ladyship's doors must
henceforth be closed against this lawyer fellow."
"Are you
serious,
baron?"
take you at your
"Perfectly so."
"Are you not afraid
I shall
word?"
Look,
"By doing
countess! I
so
you
will
satisfy
my
desires.
consider myself as one of your most sincere
it
admirers, and
wounds me
which
to hear all this tittle-tattle
links
circulating in our set
your ladyship's name
with that of young Vámhidy."
"But
will
it
not injure the respect you entertain for
in the gos-
me
sip
if
your name takes the place of Vámhidy's
of ?"
is
you comphin
T
"All that
desire
that a certain
if
man
shall
be excluded
will then
from
this house,
and
the countess desires
it I
keep away likewise."
262
Poor Plutocrats
The
countess hastened to press Hátszegi's hand as a
sign that she did not desire that.
"Very
with
all
well, then, to
prove to you that
my
relations
Vámhidy were
we'll
I
purely professional, I will break off
further intercourse with him."
"Then
once.
clinch
your ladyship's determination
?
at
May
make
use of your writing table
this rose-colored ink,
Have you
letters,
any other ink than
with which, to
but
be sure, your ladyship generally writes your
which
is
a
little
unusual
in official
documents?"
"Everything you
desire, sealing
"That
thing that
is
not necessary for
bills.
wax included." What a fortunate
I
have a blank form with me."
in his pocket a blank form, withfilled it
The baron discovered
in the usual
out which no gentleman ever goes about, and
up
way.
The
countess, with her elbows
on the
back of the armchair, looked over the baron's shoulder
while he signed the precious document, and thought to
herself
tial
:
what an odd thing
it is
when
a rich and influen-
man
refuses, with a heart of iron, to give his wife a
little
assistance which
would make her happy and save her
brother from dishonor, and yet lightly pitches the very
sum
him!
required out of the
window
for the sake of a pretty
is
speech from another
woman who
almost a stranger to
After signing the document, Leonard did not linger
another instant, but snatched up his hat and hastened
off,
so as to avoid the suspicion that he was expecting some
little
gratification
on account.
263
Poor Plutocrats
The
pressure of the hand which the countess exchanged
with him at parting assured him that this conquering
maneuvre on
his sofa,
his part
was a complete
first
success.
full
Subsequently, however, as, stretched at
length on
he was smoking his
pipe of tobacco, he
grew
suspicious,
and speedily
felt
convinced that the
countess's tale of the usurers
to end,
lent
and that
was a fable from beginning Vámhidy was some broker or other who
and he began
to be not quite so
money
at
privately;
proud
having ousted the fellow from her ladyship's
greater surprise awaited him.
drawing-room.
But a
still
He had
a
shrewd
suspicion
that
the
Countess
Kengyelesy did not require the
discharge any debt to usurers
;
bill
he had signed to
but not even in his dreams
to
would
it
ever
have occurred
him
that
Madame
Kengyelesy, at
into the street,
the very moment when he had gone out
had
sat
down on
the very same chair
from which the baron had
the very
arisen, taken into her
hand
same pen on which the ink he had used was not
of her long pointed pot-hooks to her friend,
:
yet dry, and selecting a sheet of letter paper, written a
few
lines
the Baroness Hátszegi
informing her in a most friendly
in
manner
that she
had succeeded
bill
persuading Hátszegi
suspected of
to exchange
the
that
Koloman was
forging for one of his own, in order to give his wife
the opportunity of acknowledging the signature as her
own and
All this
putting a stop to
all
further legal proceedings.
was
set forth
with far greater elaboration than
264
!
Poor Plutocrats
it is
here^ but
bill
original
was
posted.
was nevertheless perfectly intelligible. The was appended to the letter, and the letter Henrietta was bound to receive it next day.
Imagine, then, the surprise of Hátszegi,
last three
who
for the
days had been pacing impatiently up and
down
the
his room, naturally expecting every
moment
that
countess would surrender at discretion and send for
him
out of sheer gratitude,
when
the door
opened with considerable impetuosity and
rietta.
Before he could
to ask her
sufficiently
was suddenly came Henrecover from his
in
—
amazement
his wife fell
what she was looking for
there,
out with
on his neck, and, sobbing with emotion, came some long rigmarole about delicacy gratitude
—
a delightful surprise
of heart
—and
— —and only half suspected kindness
unintelligible nonsense,
if
a lot
more of
wind-
ing up by begging his pardon
ever she had unwittingly
offended him, and promising him that after this she would
ever be his faithful slave
After this!
It
—
after zuhatf
his wife told
was only when
bill
him
that she
was
al-
luding to that
for forty thousand florins
to send her
which he
had been so kind as
that
through the countess,
some inkling of
!
the truth burst
upon him.
and
is
"Oh, that eh
It quite
escaped
cried,
my memory
not
worth mentioning," he
even to remember such
hiding his astonishment
beneath the affectation of a magnanimity which scorned
trifles.
Oh,
if
the countess had been able to see
him
at that
moment, how she would have laughed!
265
(F)— (12)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
Every drop of Leonard's blood seemed
to turn to gall.
How
ridiculous he
had been made
to appear
by a woman's
still
nobility,
and the consciousness thereof was
further
embittered by the artless and innocent gratitude of that
other
woman
them
—
his
own
wife.
He
could have torn the
pair of
to pieces.
What
a pretty fool he
had made
the
of himself.
He had
purchased the love of his wife for
forty thousand florins.
bill
He
could not
demand back
from
her, nor could he explain to her the
compro^
mising origin of that document.
And
in addition to that
he must play the part of dignified paterfamilias, which*
his wife
had assigned
first
to
him
in this domestic
drama,
instead of that of
his liking."
lover,
which was so much more to
"All right, Henrietta," said he, assuming a calmness
he was far from
I'll
feeling.
is
"If
you
like to give
me
the
bill,
see that
it
posted to your lawyer at Pesth, Mr.
Sipos."
Henrietta thanked him sincerely, but said she would
rather take
it
to Pesth herself, in order that she
might
have a long confidential talk with Mr. Sipos personally
about her poor brother.
"Then wait, Henrietta, till the Arad races are over» You know I am greatly interested in them. If I am not
there myself they are quite capable of striking
out."
my
horses
"My
dear Leonard,
I
don't
want you
to interrupt any
I
of your business or pleasure on
my
account.
can easily
go by myself.
But
I
don't
want
to
postpone the matter
266
Poor Plutocrats
a single day.
You know how
anxious
I
am
about
my
poor brother."
"Well, but you
ous just
know that the roads are very dangernow. You know what happened to myself a little
have
while ago."
"Oh,
up
I
my
plan
all
cut
and
dried.
I
am
I
prepared
will give
for the very worst.
to
If robbers attack
me,
them, at the
first
challenge,
all
the cash I have about
bill,
me.
What
I
am most
afraid of
find
it.'"'
is
the
but
I will
hide
that so that
nobody can
"My
dear, these
men
find
are very artful."
it,
"Oh, they won't
I
can
tell
you.
The
insert
insides of
close
my my
upper sleeves consist of
steel rings,
which fasten
it
to the arms,
sleeve,
and
I will roll
up
my
bill,
it.
within
and draw a
steel
ring over
They
will never
guess that, will they?"
"A good
idea, certainly."
it.
Yet, good idea as he thought
Hátszegi nevertheless
complained to his friend Gerzson,
club the
wife,
whom
he met at the
his
same evening, how anxious he was about
all
who was going
if
the
way
to Pesth next day,
and
how
glad he would be, since he was unable to accom-
pany her himself,
to go.
some one would persuade her not
Naturally Mr. Gerzson at once offered to dissuade the
baroness, as Hátszegi had anticipated, and
tea
was
invited to
but,
by him the same day with that express purpose,
his arguments, she pleaded for her
talk as
he might, he could not prevail with Henrietta.
all
In reply to
poor
267
Poor Plutocrats
brother,
whose
fate,
she added, with tears, depended upon
her instant action.
Now
him.
Mr. Gerzson was
a
gentleman
—every
inch of
He was
also kind-hearted to a fault,
and when he
beheld the poor
difficulty
woman
in despair,
well,
he put an end to the
by saying: "Very
to Pesth myself."
my
lady, then I will
escort
you
this
At
Hátszegi fairly
lost all patience.
"Why, what
can you be thinking of?" cried he.
"Your pardon, Leonard, but
I
suppose you
to
may
regard
me
as old
enough and honorable enough
fill
the place
It
of a father to your wife on an occasion like this!
appears to
me
that
it
will
never enter anybody's head to
speak slightingly of a lady because she traveled alone
with me."
Good, worthy old man, he was quite proud that no
woman
shudder.
could look at his face without an involuntary
"And
then
I
fancy that there's
still
quite
enough of
me
it
left to
defend a
woman
to
against anybody, even though
were the devil himself.
And
show
I
should advise that
worthy Fatia Negra not
stunted hand does not
is
his
mug
to me, for
my
like
fire
guns as our friend Makkabesku
in the habit of doing, nor will
my
bullets be
caught
flies, I
warrant."
will be
"You
"Oh,
about
done out of the horse-racing
sadly.
all
through
me," remarked Henrietta
it
does not interest
me much.
I
don't care
much
it."
268
Poor Plutocrats
This was not true, but
it
was
all
the nicer of the old
man
to say so.
really
"Then you
said Hátszegi
mean
to escort
my
wife to Pesth?"
at last.
"With
"Very
stages.
the greatest of pleasure."
well.
At any
rate, I will see to all the travel-
ing arrangements, that there
may
be no delay of the
Which way do you
of Csongrád.^'
prefer to go, by
way
of
Csongrád or Szeged ?"
"By way
"Well,
'tis
the shorter of the
is
two
certainly, but at this
It will
season of the year the road
well to provide
"It
will
is
as hard as steel.
be
my
horses with fresh shoes."
now
if
ten o'clock.
have managed to do
she had a
little
all that.
By midnight your coachman The baroness would
now.
do well
sleep
Meanwhile
;
I will
go home for
in the
my
luggage and
I shall
my
weapons
at
two
o'clock
morning
be here again, and at three
we
can
start."
"I will be
awake and watching
for you,
and
I
thank
you with
all
my
heart."
his tea
Mr. Gerzson drank up
really
and hastened home.
sleep
Leonard advised Henrietta
to
go and
was very
sleepy
—while he went
—and
she
to the stables to see
to the horses.
was about midnight when he returned. He looked very tired, like one who has had a great deal of bustling
It
about.
He was
fire, lit
alone in the drawing-room, so he stirred
up the
a cigar, and waited in silence.
269
Poor Plutocrats
At
half past
two
j\Ir.
Gerzson rang the gate
bell
;
he
entered the drawing-room very boisterously, like one resolved to
wake up
the whole house.
in the other
A
little
coffer
hung
upon
his stunted arm,
hand he carried a
double-barreled gun,
and from a pouch, fastened by
peeped forth two four-barreled
straps to his shoulder,
pistols.
"Why, plague
armed
take it!" laughed Hátszegi, "you are
for a whole guerrilla warfare."
"No more
Gerzson with
dressed ?"
than Fatia Negra deserves," replied Mr.
a
sombre grimace.
"Is your wife up and
"I fancy she lay
down ready
It'll
dressed."
if
"All the better.
be as well
we
start early."
"I hear the opening and closing of doors in her apart-
ments; no doubt your ringing disturbed her.
be here in an instant, for she
is
She
will
very impatient."
"That
is
only natural."
the
"And
in
meantime
let
us
have something
to
strengthen the heart," said Hátszegi, producing a flask
of cherry brandy, and
glass.
filling
his
own and
his guest's
"If you have a chance of shooting Fatia Negra,
set
you must give me one-half of the thousand ducats
upon
his head, because I
have abandoned
this fine
oppor-
tunity to you."
At
this
Mr. Gerzson coughed.
"I have also provided you with a good of our
wooden
from the
flask
own Tokay,"
said Leonard, taking
side-
board a handsome
flask
bound
in foalskin.
270
Poor Plutocrats
"Therein you acted wisely,"
"All this side of the Theiss you will get no drinkable
water, and Henrietta always gets ague at once
if
the
water
is
bad.
Although but a
child, she will
never take
any wine unless you force her
of
to
do
I
so.
I
earnestly beg
you
to take great care of her.
bit.
don't like this jourtlws business just
ney a
A
letter
would have done
it
as well; but I
make
a rule never to thwart her
when
:
she gets these ideas into her head.
care of her."
"I'll
All
I
say
is
take
watch over her as
if
she were
my own
child."
full trav-
In a quarter of an hour Henrietta appeared in
eling costume.
The
lackey brought in breakfast.
it,
The
gentlemen also sat down to
fast alone.
lest
the lady should break-
"We
sky
shall
have splendid weather, baroness," observed
his cake into his black coffee.
Mr. Gerzson, dipping
is full
"The
of stars
;
we
could not wish for better traveling
weather."
"The sky
particular
is
nice enough, but the
ground
is
a
little
stumbly," put in Hátszegi.
the
"Around Dombhegyhaza
spill
in
roads will
you
if
you don't look
out."
"I don't care a
bit,
for I
mean
to drive the horses
myself."
"Oh, that
roads."
I will
not allow," said Henrietta.
"It
is
no
joke to hold the reins for hours at a stretch on bad
"I do
it
because
I like
it,
your ladyship.
You know
271
Poor Plutocrats
I
love
my
pipe,
and how can
I
smoke
it
in
a covered
carriage?"
Shortly afterward Mr. Gerzson asked leave to go out
and inspect the coach and the coachman, and
investigating everything and wrangling a
after closely
little
with the
coachman, purely from traditional habit, just to show the
fellow that he understood
all
about
it,
he ascended to the
drawing-room again and announced that the horses had
been put
in.
Hátszegi helped his wife to adjust her mantle over
her shoulders, and impressed a cold kiss upon her forehead.
Henrietta once more thanked him warmly for
being so good to her, and allowed Mr. Gerzson to escort
her
down
the steps.
The
old gentleman, however,
would
not allow himself to be persuaded to take his place in the
carriage by her side.
His hands itched
he
sat inside.
to hold the reins,
and he would, he
himself a nuisance
said,
if
be sure to go to sleep and
make
So he had his way,
and indeed
in all the
Hungarian
plain a
more
adroit and
careful driver could not have been found.
Gradually the night began to die away, and the sky
began to grow lighter behind the mountains of Bihar, which they had now
left
behind them.
The
smaller stars
;
vanished in groups before the brightening twilight
the larger constellations
still
only
sparkled through the dawn.
lit
Presently a hue of burning pink
straight strips of cloud
up the sky and long, up
swam,
like
golden ribbons, before
lit
the rising sun,
whose increasing radiance already
the broad cupolas of the dark mountains.
Before the
272
Poor Plutocrats
travelers extended the endless plain, over
which the rising
sun was casting a warm On Mr. Gerzson, however, the romantic spectacle of
glow.
sunrise on the heath produced no romantic impression
whatsoever.
He
neither observed the golden clouds in
the sky, nor the dappled
fields,
shadows
flitting across the
nor the lilac-colored nebulous horizon.
I
dewy He saw
else
none of these things,
say; but he
at
all.
saw something
which did not please him
"Yes,
"I say, Joska, the right leader
it
is
limping."
certainly is," rephed the coachman,
"Get down and see what's the matter." The coachman got down, lifted the horse's leg, brushed away the dust from around the hoof, and said with
the air of a connoisseur: "This horse's hoof has been pricked."
"What
when
the devil
it
—
is
!"
rang out Mr. Gerzson, but there
she
he stopped, for
a lady
is
not becoming to curse and swear
if
in the carriage behind you, even
does not hear.
Meanwhile the coachman mounted up beside him, and
they drove on again.
"Well,
we can
not drive that horse
much
further,"
pull the
its
grumbled Mr. Gerzson; "the other three must
carriage.
place,
At Csongrád we must get another
it
to take
and leave
behind there."
A
the
long discussion thereupon ensued between him and
as to the clumsiness of smiths in general,
coachman
who when
they pare
away
a horse's hoofs, in order to
273
Poor Plutocrats
shoe
it,
so often cut into the Hving flesh, which
is
very
is technically known as "pricking." They had scarce proceeded for more than another halfhour when Mr. Gerzson again began to cast suspicious glances down from the box-seat.
dangerous, and
"I say, Joska," he cried at
left leader,
last,
"it
seems to
me
the
the whip horse,
is
also limping."
Down
leaped the coachman, examined the horse's foot,
left leader
and pronounced that the hoof of the
been pricked.
"Devil take
had
also
—
!"
cried
Mr. Gerzson, but once more he
did not enlighten the devil as to the particular individual
he was desirous of drawing his attention
"Well,
I
to.
suppose
we must go on
first
as best
we
can with
two horses now, for the
two are good
for nothing."
And
in the spirit of a true driver, he stuck his
whip
beneath him, as being a thing for which there was
now
no further use, and resumed
his
argument with the coachfresh
man
about the inefficiency of smiths in general.
as we reach Orosháza we'll get two we ought to be getting there now."
steeple of
"As soon
horses
;
Yet the
ible,
Orosháza was, as
yet, scarcely vis-
and midday was already approaching.
There was
his clay pipe
no intermediate station where they could change horses.
Half an hour
be
later
Mr. Gerzson dashed
against the wheel of the coach, and swore that he would
damned if ever such a silly-fool thing had ever befallen him before, for now the hill horse also began to limp. Naturally, that also was found to have been pricked.
274
Poor Plutocrats
"May
now.
into
the devil take
all
those scamp of smiths
!
who
look after the poor beasts so badly
A pretty fix we are in
we
are able to crawl
pretty amble
We may
I'll
thank our stars
nightfall.
if
Orosháza before
A
we
shall
have now,
be bound."
all
And, indeed, ambling was about
for the
it
they could do.
As
Orosháza
steeple, so far
from drawing any nearer,
It
seemed
to be traveling
away from them, and with very
seemed to get
much
better horses than they had.
further off every moment.
"Well,
to
all
we want now
is
for the saddle horse also
shall be complete."
throw up the sponge, and we
If that
were Mr. Gerzson's one remaining wish, Fate
it
very speedily granted
to him, for they
had not gone
another quarter of an hour
when
all
four horses began
to limp together, one with the right foot, another with
the
left,
the third with the fore, and the fourth with the
hind
leg, till it was positively frightful to look at them. Mr. Gerzson leaped from the box, and in his rage and
fury dashed his pipe-stem into a thousand pieces.
"What can
a look at
the smith have been about!"
!"
whined the
coachman, shaking his head; "and yet his lordship had
them too
that.
"Devil take your smith, and his lordship also for the matter of
The whole
lot
of you deserves hanging."
that he hap-
And
it
was
a
good thing for the coachman
pened to be standing on the other side of the horses, as
otherwise he would certainly have had a taste of Squire Gerzson's riding whip.
275
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta,
who had
hitherto been sleeping quietly in
the carriage, aroused by the loud voices, put her head out
of the window, and timidly inquired what was the matter.
At
the
first
sound of her voice Squire Gerzson grew
"I have only been trying
;
as mild as a lamb.
''Nothing much," said he.
to put together again
wheel has gone over
my broken pipe-stem my pipe, that is all."
the carriage
"But where are we now?" asked Henrietta, peeping
curiously out of the carriage.
to
tell
Then, of course, they had
her the truth.
are three leagues from the station in front of us,
us,
"We
and about four from the one behind
are lame; they have been
and there
is
no
prospect of our getting on any further.
All four horses the shoeing."
damaged during
"What
I
steeple
I
is
that in front of us?"
"Orosháza,
fancy; but with these four lame horses
don't believe
we
shall get there before
midnight."
Henrietta perceived the confusion of the old gentle-
man, who for sheer rage and worry could not keep
his hat
on
his
burning head, so she tried to comfort him.
far
"Never mind, dear papa Gerzson, not
must
lie
from here
Leonard's inn.
You and
I,
papa Gerzson, might
go on
there with the horses while the
coachman makes
where he can
at the
the best of his
way on
foot to Orosháza,
get fresh horses, and join us early in the
inn.
morning
Squire Gerzson jerked his head significantly.
"I don't want to alarm you,
my
dear baroness." said
2^6
Poor Plutocrats
he, "but that hostelry lies in the beat of the ^poor vaga-
bonds'
—you may have heard of them."
I
"Oh,
once spent a night there.
keeper's wife.
told us tales
at
all
She
is
a very
good
sort
know the innof a woman, who
I
night long while she worked her distaff
I
my
bedside.
I
should very
much
I
like to see
her again.
Besides,
kissed
know
hand
by
the 'poor vagabonds' also.
in turn
All of them
If,
my
when
was
there.
however,
anybody should be rude
to me, have I not
papa Gerzson? your ladyship
—when he
is
I
fear nothing."
well, be
it
"Noble heart!
—very
so!
If
fears nothing, I think I
may
very well say the same."
Whereupon Squire Gerzson gave the coachman two florins to speed him on to Orosháza, where he was to get fresh horses and come on the same night to the inn, so that they might be able to set oi¥ again before dawn
on the morrow.
He
himself then quitted the highroad
in the direction of the notorious inn,
which with sound
horses he might have reached in about an hour, but which
with lame ones he only got up to toward evening, having
repeatedly to rest on the way.
Squire Gerzson kept on
asking Henrietta whether she was hungry or thirsty, and
offered her his flask again and again; but she always
gently declined
it,
the old
man
feeling in
honor bound to
follow her example.
He
comforted her, however, with
the assurance that the landlady
was
a
dab hand at turndishes.
ing out
all
sorts of
good old savory Hungarian
At
last,
after
a weary journey,
when evening was
already closing upon them, Henrietta perceived the inn
^77
Poor Plutocrats
gleaming white behind the acacia
trees.
When
they
stumbled into the courtyard they found nobody, and
nobody came out of the door
to
meet them.
"All the better, nobody will see these game-legged
nags," growled Squire Gerzson as he helped Henrietta
out of the carriage.
"It
is
odd that the woman of the inn does not come
out to meet me," said Henrietta. "She liked
pleased she will be to see me."
me
so.
How
Nevertheless no one came.
patient.
Squire Gerzson grew imall
He
could not leave the coach and horses
by
themselves.
"Hie! somebody! Who's at home ? Landlady, wenches,
or whoever you are, can't you creep out of your hole ?" In reply to his hallooing, a hoarse voice resounded
from the tap-room:
"Who
!
is it?
Can't you come inside
instead of standing and bawling there?"
"What, you scoundrel Come out hear, do want me do you or you
you?"
this instant, sirrah,
to
come and
fetch
At
his
this categorical
command,
the speaker inside
made
once,
time.
appearance.
Henrietta
recognized
him
at
first
though Squire Gerzson saw him now for the
It
was old Ripa.
"I
am
a guest here myself," said he.
"Thou blockhead! by
thee
the soul of thy father I charge
?'^
—where
is
is
is
the hostess
"She
outside in the cool air."
"What
she doing there?"
278
Poor Plutocrats
"She
is
guarding the moles" which means in the flowis
ery language of the Plain, "She
dead."
"Surely she
is
not dead?"
herself."
"Yes
— she did away with
"When?"
"The day before yesterday." "What was the matter with her?" "She drank too much water." "Where?"
"In the hurdle well."
"Why?"
"Because her feet did not reach the bottom."
"She leaped in then?" "It looks something like
"But why did she do
it."
so ?"
lover."
"She was much upset about her
"Did he leave her?"
"The
rope-girl (the gallows) took him."
Henrietta listened with a sort of stupefaction to the
cynical answers of the old scoundrel,
and her heart grew
heavy within
her lover.
her.
To
think that that merry, rosy-cheeked
killed herself out of grief for
young woman should have
"Then who
Gerzson.
is
carrying on the house ?" inquired Squire
"Nobody.
All the servants bolted after the funeral, in
order that they might not appear as witnesses."
"Then why do you remain here
"Because
if I
all
alone?"
went on
my way every
279
one would be sure
Poor Plutocrats
to say that
I
had murdered the hostess
;
I
mean
to
remain
here
till
they come for me."
"Yes, you old swine, and drink up every drop of wine
that remains in the meantime."
"Your pardon,
sir,
but
it
all
turned to vinegar
is
when
the
landlady killed herself.
That
always the case."
"None of your
are a guest here.
stable, give
nonsense, sirrah, but listen to me.
There's a crown for you; forget for the time that you
Take out
steal
the horses, put
them
in
into the
them hay
Don't
at once
and water them
about an
hour's time.
them, for they are lame, and
you would be caught
at once.
We
shall
remain here
till
our coachman returns with four fresh horses. Should any
troublesome person look
sort of
in,
is
you may
tell
him
that the con-
Baron Hátszegi
is
here and that Gerzson of Satra-
kovics
mounting guard before her door."
but he quietly
Old Ripa kissed her ladyship's hand without so much
as thanking Squire Gerzson for his
tip,
unyoked the horses and brought
the things he found in the coach.
into the house
some of
And
Henrietta stood once more in the landlady's room
and gazed pensively out of the window.
Her meditations
were presently disturbed by Squire Gerzson.
"My
sworn
dear good lady," he began, "fate has certainly
to be our
enemy
First of
in every possible
it
way
to-day.
I
would not have believed
experienced
it.
myself
if
I
had not actually
fall
all, all
our four horses
lame
on the road.
to take
Then,
at the
very place where
we
decide
up
our quarters,
we
280
find that the landlady has
Poor Plutocrats
jumped down
vengeance.
is
the well.
Truly fate pursues us with a
it,
But
we'll defy
if it
won't we,
it
my
it
lady?
Fate
very
much mistaken
It
fancies
will get the better
of us, eh?
I'll
does not
know with whom
has to deal,
be bound.
For our hearts are
in the right place,
and
we'll pretty
soon show that
is
we have
not lost our heads.
Our
ised
greatest misfortune
that the fine supper
we promin
ourselves has vanished to dust beneath our very
noses.
Never mind.
We
have brought with us
our
knapsack, after the custom of our ancestors, some good
ham, some hung
beef,
and some white loaves, to say
nothing of a flask of prime Tokay;
starve ourselves, do we,
we
don't
mean
to
my
lady?"
The
all
good old gentleman then took out of his knapsack
good things, and
politely
these
piled
them up on the
up the
table;
then he fetched the carriage lamp, to light
room
a
bitj
and
invited Henrietta to partake of his
simple banquet.
The young lady
smilingly took her place on the bencK.
"We
ance,
really can not drink the
water here, your ladyhis flask; "to all appear-
ship," said Gerzson,
handing her
nobody
will ever drink the
water out of the well of
this shanty again.
Such wells are generally walled up."
man, Henrietta raised the
it,
Merely
to oblige the old
flask to her lips
and pretended to drink out of
so as
not to spoil her companion's good humor, but really she
drank not a drop. wiped
ofif
She never used
to drink wine,
lips
and
the drops that remained
on her
with her
pocket-handkerchief.
Nor
did she eat anything, except
281
Poor Plutocrats
an apple, which was just
sufficient to
keep the pangs of
hunger
off.
fell
Mr. Gerzson, however,
to like a
man.
He
had
driv-
generally a good appetite, and the lack of a dinner, the
worry and trouble of
ing had
the journey,
and the labor of
ever.
made him hungrier than
slices off the loaf
He
;
cut such
whacking
beside
and
to
him
that
it
was a joy
good red ham watch him after he had
off the
lips, his
raised the cluck-clucker (wine-flask) to his
con-
versation became so entertaining that Henrietta listened
to
him with
"But now
delight.
I
am
not going to drink any more," said
it is
Mr. Gerzson
at last, "for
apt to
make me
sleepy,
and
I don't want to sleep to-night. About midnight the coachman will arrive with the fresh relay of horses.
Won't your ladyship
"Well,
I
rest a little in the adjoining
room?"
Henrietta shook her head.
suppose you are right.
all
How
indeed could
you
rem.ain
alone in the
tell
room
I'll
of a suicide?
Let us
stay together, then, and
each other tales."
begin by telling papa
"Yes, that will be
nice,
and
Gerzson something."
"I could
go on
listening to
you
till
morning
;
it
will
be
like the angels
singing in
my
ears."
So Henrietta began
ess
to tell
him
all
about the dead host-
and about her
love,
and also the story of the robber
head supported by his hand,
who
was hanged for his companion.
his
Mr. Gerzson, with
listened religiously and struck himself violently on the
282
Poor Plutocrats
mouth when he was
gaping.
"I can not understand
seized
by an involuntary
fit
of
why
a pipe
I
am
so sleepy
—my
light
eyes
seem
to be closing in spite of
me."
then?
"Why
You
don't you have
light
Come,
up!"
"What,
are sure
Your ladyship will really allow me? you don't mind tobacco smoke? You are,
up?
But are you sure
it
indeed, a blessed creature.
won't
make your head ache?"
"On
the contrary
;
I like
tobacco smoke."
Squire Gerzson half drew out his cigar case, but he
immediately shoved
it
back again.
"No,
one's
I
won't smoke a cigar.
I shall
One ought
not to abuse
good fortune.
get on well enough."
tell
Then Henrietta began
ture
to
him of Fatia Negra's
Transylvanian exploits, of the Lucsia Cavern, of the capof the coiners
—and
then she observed that Mr.
Gerzson's eyelids were sinking lower and lower, and he
was nodding his head violently. "Now you really must light
cried,
up,
papa Gerzson," she
"or you'll never be able to keep awake."
being thus accosted, Mr. Gerzson bobbed up his
air
On
who
"I
head with a frightened
not what
and rubbed
his eyes, like
one
has been suddenly aroused from slumber and knows
is
going on under his very nose.
am
not asleep, 'pon
little."
my word
I'm not.
I
was only
nodding a
"Light a cigar."
"No,
I
won't.
I prefer to
go out and have
a turn in
283
Poor Plutocrats
the open air and get the cobwebs out of
my
head.
I'll
have a look round outside a
bit."
And
laid his
with that he planted both his arms on the
table,
head upon them, and
fell fast
asleep.
Henrietta could not help smiling.
Poor old gentleman,
he had had a good deal of exertion, and no doubt that
wine was uncommonly strong.
Let him rest a
It
bit.
He
had had no sleep the night before.
sufficient if
would be quite
one of them kept awake.
Then
she took up the lamp and went out into the hall,
observing to her great satisfaction that the door thereof
was provided with a good lock. So she locked and fastened it. With timid curiosity she then explored every
corner with the lamp, and came upon nothing suspicious.
Finally she returned to the guest room, locked the door
of that also and placed the carriage lamp on the table,
turning
its
shade toward the sleeping old man, so that
;
he might not be awakened by the glare of the lamp
there she remained
all
and
alone, watching in the inn of the
desolate plain, patiently waiting for the night to pass
over her homeless head.
was she that only once did she take her watch from her bosom to see what the time was.
patient
So
was now past midnight. She began to calculate how long it would take the coachman to get to Orosháza and how much time he would require to reach this place. If he had got horses
It
at
once he ought to be near now.
284
:
Poor Plutocrats
A
short time afterward she heard the tread of horses'
feet in the courtyard.
Those must be our horses, thought
she; and, hastening to the
window looking out upon
little
the
courtyard, she pulled the blind a
to
one side and
looked out.
The night was
served that a
so light outside that she could see the
four horses quite plainly in the courtyard
—but
she ob-
man was
sitting
on each of them.
"This
is
very curious," thought she; "tzvo
suííicient to bring
men would
have been quite
along the relay."
and a
Three of the four men dismounted from their horses, fifth came out of the stable and had a short conthem; then the three approached the door
it.
sultation with
of the inn and tried to open
This struck Henrietta as suspicious, and she thought
it
was now high time
to
awake Mr. Gerzson.
"Pardon, papa Gerzson, but four
here."
Still
men have
arrived
Mr. Gerzson did not awake.
approached,
bent
Henrietta
insisted
over
him,
and gently
"My
dear papa Gerzson, just wake up for a moment;
to
somebody wants
come
in."
Even then Mr. Gerzson did not awake.
Henrietta listened.
Outside the hall door was begin-
ning to groan and rock.
They were
forcing
it.
Full of terror now, she seized Mr. Gerzson's arm.
"Sir, sir
is
!
robbers are upon us.
Awake, awake.
This
no time for slumber." 285
;
Poor Plutocrats
But Mr. Gerzson
been dead.
he
fell
still
slumbered on
—he might have
In vain she tore him away from the table
all
back again
of a heap and went on slumbering.
The
strangers were
now
in the hall,
and a heavy hand
was trying the
latch of the guest chamber.
"My
God,
my God !" moaned
now
Henrietta, wringing her
hands and rushing up and down the room, terror-stricken,
not knowing where to look
for refuge.
A
violent thud
resounded against the door.
it.
Some
one had placed his shoulder against
to the table, to save herself
Henrietta clung
from falling. At last the lock burst, the door flew open, and Fatia Negra with two masked companions stood before the lady. The same instant Henrietta recovered her presence of mind. At a pace's distance from danger she ceased to tremble, and calmly addressed them "What
:
do you want?"
"Why
One
are you not asleep
now
like
your companion?"
inquired Fatia
Negra
in a
low
voice.
of his comrades approached the sleeper and held
the barrel of his pistol to his temples.
In Fatia Negra's
hand there was only a dagger.
"Don't wake him," he whispered to Henrietta, "for
if
he should but raise his head, his brains will be blown
out."
"Do him no harm!"
are
implored the lady.
"I will give
you everything you want.
Here
is
my
jewels,
off
and you
shall
have
my my
pocketbook, here
watch
too.
See,
I will
draw
my
rings, only don't touch
.
me.
But
if
286
Poor Plutocrats
possible let
me
is
keep this round ring, for
it is
my
wed-
ding ring."
"All that
nothing," whispered Fatia Negra, "nor do
things.
we want these
Your ladyship has
will not say
received a
bill
for forty thousand florins
that and swear that you
to
from your husband; give up
anything about
it
any one for three days, so that we may have time to
it
turn
into cash."
At the mention of
reel,
the
still
bill
Henrietta
felt
her head
the blood stood
feet.
in her veins, she could scarce
keep her
ber,
Her
voice trembled as she lied to the rob-
denying that she had any such thing.
will search you,
"We
my
lady,
if
you do not give
it
up voluntarily."
Henrietta persisted in her falsehood
:
"I have nothing
upon me.
destination
I
posted
it
in order that
it
might get
to
its
more
safely."
"My
hand
it
lady,
you are only wasting our
time.
Turn round,
take that steel netting out of your puffed sleeves, and
over to us."
At
It
these
words
It
all
the blood flew to Henrietta's head.
was no longer
fear but the fury of despair that pos-
sessed her.
suddenly occurred to her that here was the
man whom nobody had ever recognized; the man who had made so many people unhappy who had robbed her
;
husband, and would
now
be?
stifle
her last hope of saving
could this terrible man,
her brother from disgrace.
this accursed wretch,
Who
And
287
so, as
Black
Mask drew
near to her, flashing his dagger before her eyes, she, the
Poor Plutocrats
weakest, the most timid of women,
at the
made a sudden snatch mask and tore it off. She saw his face and recognized him. For an instant her eyes gazed upon him, and then
she collapsed on the ground in a swoon.
It
raised his
was pretty late next morning when Mr. Gerzson muddled head from the table. The sun was
looked around him.
looked for Henrietta
to be seen.
;
shining brightly through the blinds.
He He
He was
quite alone.
he called her by name.
She
was nowhere
peared.
carriage.
Their luggage had also disap-
He
went
into the courtyard
and looked for the
That
also
was nowhere
to be seen.
Only the
four horses were in the stable, and they were neighing
for water;
nobody had watered them.
After that Mr. Gerzson's head grew more muddled
than ever.
What had become
during the night ?
ing about
the
it,
of the lady?
it
What had happened
remembered noth-
How was
that he
he
who
generally used to sleep so lightly that
was sufficient to awake him? Gradually he bethought him that the evening before he had drunk some wine with an unusual flavor. Even
of a midge
humming
now he was
Yet no wine
harm.
of his
seen.
conscious of a peculiar taste in his mouth.
in the
world had ever been able
to
do him
He
returned to the room, to examine the contents
flask.
But even the
flask
was now nowhere
to be
There was not a
single forgotten object, not a
288
Poor Plutocrats
single indication to give
fusion.
him a
clue in this obscure con-
What
could have happened here?
—he had not
He
gazed out
in every
the faintest idea.
He went
direction.
tracks,
and stood
in front of the inn.
upon the desolate plain stretching around him
From
old,
every point of the compass
still
wagon
which
some
some
fresh,
zigzagged to and from
his .mind
the building, and he could not
make up
of them to take in order to reach the world beyond.
289 (F)— (13)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XVI
LEANDER BABEROSSY
Whenever
one carts away a heap of stones which
have been lying undisturbed for years, or whenever one
removes the shingle roof of an ancient tenement, or
drains off the water from a
marshy
place,
one generally
stumbles upon
all
sorts of hitherto undiscovered, curi-
ous beetles, odd looking moths, and spiral shaped, creeping
things
in
these
routed-out
lurking
places which
nobody ever saw before or read of
books
derful
;
in the natural history
and
it is
at such times a
man
bethinks
him how won-
of Mother Nature to provide even such holes
and corners as these with living inhabitants which never
see the light of
day at
all.
Once, while on
circuit,
Vámhidy was
obliged to
lie
one night at a village within his jurisdiction whose
in-
habitants were a strong mixture of Hungarian, Servian,
and Wallachian ingredients.
long time before he could go
Arriving
to sleep,
late,
it
was
a
and he was awak-
ened rather late next morning by an unusual hubbub.
His bedchamber was only separated
drinking
from the large
this
room by
a door,
and through
door broke
every
now and
then very peculiar sounds, the
meaning
290
Poor Plutocrats
of which, on a
explain.
It
first
hearing,
it
was very
difficult
to
sounded as
if
a couple of
women and
a couple of
men were roundly abusing one
low tone and sometimes
another, sometimes in a
in a loud,
and the most peculiar
thing about the whole business was that two of them
never spoke at once, but each one of them allowed each
of the others to have his say out to the end.
the noise All at once
grew more alarming, and broken outbursts plainly suggested that some one in the adjoining room wanted to murder somebody else. Vámhidy leaped from his bedj and was about to intervene when in came the
landlord with his coffee.
"What
"Oh,
I
is
that
row going on next door?" inquired
Szilárd irritably.
cry your honor's pardon," replied the innkeeper
"it is
with a proud smile,
rehearsing a
evening,
see
it
only our actors.
They
are
this
new
piece
which they are going to act
will
I
hope your honor
condescend to go and
—
it
will be real fine."
"What,
ment.
actors in this village?" cried Szilárd in amaze-
"Why, where do they come from?" "Nobody knows where they came from or whither they mean to go, your honor." "How many of them are there then, and who is their
manager?"
"Well,
it
seems that there
is
is
only one
them, and he
half a child;
all
the others are
man among women
and
girls,
even to the ticket taker and the prompter."
291
Poor Plutocrats
"And what
"Oh,
sort of pieces
do they act?"
all sorts,
your honor.
Those of the women who
stick
have the deepest voices dress up as men,
on beards
and mustaches, and
act
much
make
better than
men would,
?
because they don't get drunk."
"And
they are able to
a living here
Who
is
goes
to the theatre then?"
"Well, the rustics about here come
to grin at.
if
there
anything
They
;
don't give money, because they have
none themselves
they can.
but they bring corn, potatoes, sausages,
live
and hams, and the actors
upon the proceeds
as best
When
else."
they have
made any
debts they can
not pay, they simply bolt on the
first fine
night and go
somewhere
"But don't they leave
their decorations or their
ward-
robe in pledge behind them?"
At
ital
this the landlord
laughed aloud, as
if it
were a cap-
joke.
!
"Decorations, wardrobes, indeed
Why,
their stage
curtain consists of a large piece of threadbare sackcloth
pasted over with tricolored paper, on which they have
painted the national coat of arms.
is
Their wardrobe,
too,
of the very simplest description.
When
they play a
piece in which kings
and queens appear, they borrow the
gold bespangled dresses of the rich Servian
the district, to
require besides
serve them
is
women
of
as royal mantles.
All they
a
little tinsel,
!
some spangles, and some
pasteboard
—
and there you are
The manager,
ingenious
is
as
I
have
said, is still but a child, but so
he that he
292
Poor Plutocrats
can make moonshine out of a yellow gourd, and produce
thunder and lightning
It is
—but
that
is
a professional secret.
all,
true they have only six pieces in
and when they
all
have played these through they begin them
over again.
The
public, naturally, does not like to see the
same piece
title,
twice,
so
the
manager gives
of
all
the piece
another
changes the
titles
the characters,
and represents
said
the piece over again as a brand
new
one."
"I
should like
to
see
to-day's representation,"
Szilárd,
whose
curiosity
had been excited by
this peculiar
description.
"I'll
fetch
your honor a play
bill
immediately," said the
innkeeper.
Off went mine host, returning in a few moments with
a
MS.
play
bill,
on which was written
in large red let-
ters:
"Hernáni or Castilian Honor," followed by the
names of the personages. Hernáni was naturally the manager himself. Leander Babérossy (literally, laurel
bearer)
;
Elvira
was
are
to be played
by Miss Palmira; the
other gentlemen were simply indicated by N. N., X. X.,
or *
*.
"They
all
innkeeper,
"who
don't
The charge
for the
women, you know," explained the want to advertise their names. front seats is two and one-half
where they
please, I
kreutzer, for the second-class places one kreutzer.
"The gentry can
that on the play
sit
presume?"
"I suggested to the
bill,
manager
that he
should write
but he replied that that would be
an impertinence.
bill
I also
advised him to take the play
to
your honor himself, and was almost kicked out of
293
—
Poor Plutocrats
the
room
for
my
pains.
Did
I
take
him
for a bill-poster?
he said."
"This manager of yours seems to have a pretty good
opinion of himself."
"Oh, he
is
frightfully proud, your honor.
He
will
play no other pieces but sword pieces, because, says he,
they are classical.
The poor
he grows a
fellow
little
is
so very young,
you know.
starve a
bit,
When
older and learns to
he will soon lower his crest."
for holding up his head.
"I like
I
will
him none the less come to the play."
"But you must be there
or not."
at exactly seven o'clock.
is
He
always begins punctually, whether there
any audience
"The
lad has character, I see; pray give
him
this"
and he handed the innkeeper half a sovereign.
quickly returned with the reply that the
He
manager could
it
not for the
moment
give change.
to keep the
"But
I
meant him
whole of
as an admit-
tance fee."
"Ah, yes."
A
short time afterward the innkeeper reappeared with
a whole bundle of admission tickets for Szilárd, saying
that the
manager thanked him
assumed that
his
for his sympathy, but as
he was not in the habit of accepting presents from any
one, he
honor meant
to
engage the
for
his
whole house for himself that evening, and he, the manager,
would therefore give
a
representation
honor's sole benefit.
294
Poor Plutocrats
Szilárd laughed heartily at this comical conscientiousness, and, after dressing,
he went about his
oi¥icial busi-
ness with as
much
despatch as possible, in order to arrive
at the play at seven o'clock sharp, for he
was now
the
whole
public,
When
ance,
and the public ought always to be punctual. he got to the room set apart for the perform-
he found that, despite the provisional "non-sub-
scription" arrangement, the place
was not
quite empty,
for the gratis public, the lenders of the theatrical requisites
and
their families, the letters of lodgings to the actors,
and other peaceful creditors, occupied a couple of benches,
so that Szilárd
had the opportunity of effacing himself
his solitary
and thus avoiding confusing the company by
personality.
No
sooner had the innkeeper's cuckoo clock struck
bell
seven than the ring of the prompter's
resounded
like a glass
behind the curtain
(it
sounded suspiciously
struck smartly with the back of a knife), and by
means
of a highly ingenious piece of machinery the drop-curtain,
stuck over with the tricolored cardboard representflag,
was hoisted up to the ceiling beam, and the open stage was revealed. The background was formed by a collapsible screen, which was painted to represent a room in the foreground on one side was a paper window, painted black and white, and on the other side the cellar door, metamorphosed into
ing the national
;
the portal of a Gothic palace. actors
Through
was
this entry all the
came and went,
for
it
the only one.
The
piece acted was, naturally, not
"Hernáni or Cas-
295
Poor Plutocrats
tilian
Honor," but
it
Schiller's
first
"Robbers."
Szilárd recog-
nized
at the
very
three words.
He
also noticed
that the characters of
Karl and Franz
Moor were
acted
by one and the same
person (the
manager
himself, as he
was informed), with a simple change of voice and mask,
and, despite the different disguises employed,
it
constantly
seemed to Szilárd as
face
if
he had seen that caricature of a
voice, parodied as
it
somewhere
else,
and the
now
was, nevertheless seemed familiar to him.
iar
No
less famil-
appeared the violent gestures of the young actor,
scenes.
which frequently endangered the side
Now
as early as scene
two the noble
public began to be
it
;
aware of the unheard-of fraud practised upon
a
mur-
muring, an agitation, a whispering and a wagging of
heads, and finally an impatient thumping of sticks began
to
mingle with the bustle of the drama,
lent the
till
at last a
worthy cobbler, who had
company
three
wooden
benches, and received in return a free pass every day,
suddenly bawled out: ''Hallo there, Mr. Manager!
we
it."
have seen
this piece
once before.
There's politics in
Franz Moor, disturbed
this
in his artistic interpretation
by
sudden onslaught, suddenly forgot himself,
lost his
cue,
and answering the
interpellator
in
his
natural,
every-day voice (he knew he had only a free
to deal with) exclaimed:
list
public
"Whoever
it
has seen this piece
before and does not wish to see
again, will have his
money refunded on applying
at the
box
office."
These words were no sooner uttered than Vámhidy
leaped from his seat, rushed upon the stage, caught Franz
296
Poor Plutocrats
Moor
in his arms,
and kissed
his painted face, crying with
a voice
trembhng with joy: "Koloman!"
instant, then tore oi¥ his
Franz Moor hesitated for an
Spanish beard, dropped his red wig, wiped the painted
wrinkles from his forehead, and Szilárd
a pale, melancholy, childish countenance.
saw before him
Leander Babérossy was young Koloman, Henrietta's
brother.
The
representation naturally ceased at once.
Szilárd
hustled the rediscovered "prodigal son" oi¥ the boards
and never
let
him
stop for an instant
till
he had got him
safe and sound into his
own
lad
private room.
at arms' length,
There he
and had
embraced him again, held him
a good look at him.
The
seemed
to be
twenty years
old at the very least, yet really he
acting,
was but fifteen. Play want and premature shaving soon make a youth
Moreover, in
his
look old.
whole bearing,
in all
his
movements, there was something precocious, a
bold expression, which
resolute,
made one
forget that he was a
mere
child
—
a sort of cynicism not pleasant to behold.
Szilárd soon had a good supper ready for him, which
the youth
fell
to
"My
over,
that he
dear Leander," said
it is
work upon without ceremony. Vámhidy when the meal was
a very fine thing
is it
"no doubt
is
when one can
is
say
his
own
master, nor
all.
so difficult to attain to
is
such a position after
All that
itself.
wanted
easily
a strength
of character always true to
But you,
my
friend,
have committed
follies
which might
make of you
something very different."
297
!
Poor Plutocrats
Koloman shrugged
"I have committed
his shoulders.
many
I
folHes
no doubt, but
his
I
do
not
call to
mind any which
began
to
should be afraid to confess."
that
Szilárd
fancy
suspicions
were
groundless,
"People are talking of a certain
given in your
bill
which you have
his eyes
red.
At
his
these
name?" words Koloman
sister's
cast
down
upon
In a
plate,
and
his
whole face grew blood
scarcely audible voice he inquired:
"And
was
has Henrietta
refused to honor that bill?"
Vámhidy
sighed deeply.
Then
it
really true that
this thoughtless child
had committed the crime
martyr of her
"My
dear Koloman," said he, dropping the Leander
sister is the
now, "your
own
devotion.
bill
She
she
was most
will
certainly ready to
acknowledge the
as her
own, but you ought to have thought what
have to make
sacrifices
now
that her grandfather has cut her
oi¥ with a shilling,
and her husband refuses to place such
at her disposal."
a considerable
amount
his
"Good gracious!" cried the itinerant hands deep down into his empty
do these big-wigs
I
call
actor, thrusting
pockets,
"what,
then,
considerable amounts.
Very
be
well, sir.
had no idea that the Baroness Hátszegi was
I will
so very poor.
the
first
try to recover the
bill,
and
it
shall
thing
T will
pay off with
my
benefit
money."
Szilárd could
not help being struck by the terrible
comicahty of the idea,
"But,
my
dear young friend," said he, "if you had
298
—
Poor Plutocrats
two
benefits every year,
it
and got a
clear forty florins at
at least a
every one of them,
would take you
hundred
years from to-day to discharge the amount."
"What?"' cried Koloman with wide open eyes, and
his
in
amazement
seizing the candlestick instead of his fork.
"Why,
don't you
know
the
that the
bill is
for forty thou-
sand florins?"
"What?" thundered
side
young vagabond.
And
kick-
ing aside his chair, he snatched up a knife lying by the
of his plate and, bareheaded as he was, rushed
Szilárd had need of
all his
toward the door.
to catch
dexterity
rushing into the street
him before he reached it and prevent him from like a madman. "Let me murder him, let me murder that villain," he
Szilárd
cried.
was a strong man,
so he easily disarmed the
youth.
Then Koloman began
ground.
Szilárd seized
to weep and fling himself on the him by the arm and hoisted him
on to a chair again.
"Be
a
man!" he
villain
it
cried.
"Of whom do you speak?
whom
do you want to
kill?"
"That
Margari."
to take
this
"Then
step?"
"I will
was he who persuaded you
you
left
all
tell
about
it,
sir,
and you
shall
judge
me.
When
me
I
I
my
grandfather's house, that satan
sought
out, afifected
sympathy for me, and asked me
what
meant
to do.
I told
him
I
intended to go on the
299
Poor Plutocrats
stage,
and he said
florin,
I
did well not to remain there.
I
I
had
only a
which
borrowed from one of the
promised to get them for
I
lackeys,
and
I
told this devil that I should require twenty florins
at the very least.
He
me from
bill
a usurer, but told
forty.
me
I
should have to give a
I
for
Do you
think
cared what
signed then?
Not
long afterward he came back again and said the usurer
would give nothing on the strength of
because
I
my
signature,
was
bill
a minor, but that
if
my
sister's
name
stood
upon the
he would advance upon
that, because she
was
the
a married
bill
woman.
name.
Margari persuaded
me
to sign
in her
What was
trifle.
forty florins to Henri-
etta? he said, a
mere
If I
were to ask
her, she
would give
proclaim me,
me twice as much. whom she loved so
Surely she would not
much, a forger for the
florins,
sake of a paltry forty florins ?
forty thousand!
I
But forty thousand
—
that
is
a frightful, a horrible villainy.
only
made
it
forty."
And
with that he began to dash his head against the
wall like a
madman.
just told
"My
Szilárd
;
dear Koloman, do pull yourself together," said
"what you have
me
is
of the very
greatest importance.
Be
quiet
and don't tear out your
hair
!
Are you aware
that your infinitely
good
sister
has
honored the forty thousand
save you?"
florin bill also in
order to
The poor youth was thunderstruck at these words. "And now you can imagine the embarrassment of the
baroness,
who
has been disinherited and
is,
nevertheless,
300
Poor Plutocrats
responsible for this very considerable
at all sure that her
sum without being
it
husband
will
pay
for her."
"I will hang myself."
"That would be the most gigantic piece of
could commit.
folly
you
You must make good your
we
cease to be friends, and
fault.
I
And
simply
pris-
now
oner,
for a time
am
an examining magistrate, and you are an accused
who
Pray
is
about to make a voluntary confession before
right opposite to
me.
sit
questions clearly and accurately
—
me and answer in fact, tell me
all
my
exactly
what happened."
And Vámhidy
lit
produced paper and writing
requisites,
a pair of candles, which he placed by his side, and
sitting in front of
began the examination of the youth
him.
By midnight the confession was duly written down. When, however, Vámhidy proposed that Koloman should now come back to Pesth and be reconciled to his
relations, the
youth hesitated:
"We
shall see," said he.
"At any
Szilárd.
rate
remain here with
me
then," continued
till
"Sleep in
over.
I
my room
and take
to-morrow
to
think
it
won't lock the door, but you must give
me your word
door without
"I give you
of honor that you will not
go out of
that
my knowledge." my word upon it."
made the youth lie down, and only went when he was sure that Koloman was
Then
asleep.
Szilárd
to rest himself
Nevertheless on awaking next morning and looking
301
Poor Plutocrats
round the room he could see no trace of Koloman, but
there
was
a letter
friend,
I
from him on the
I
table, as
follows:
"Dear old
not because
thank you for your extreme kind-
ness to me, but
I
don't want to see
my
relations
I
any more,
fear to
meet them, but because
have a holy
horror of the very atmosphere they breathe.
sion will
sufiiice
My
confes-
to
rectify
my
fault.
is
I
am
going on
the tramp again.
The
linen tent
my
home.
And
then
—there
I
I
are obligations in respect to the discharge
whereof
nothing with
liberty
am not my sister's brother. I me but four cigar ends from
will
I
have taken
the table, a
hope you
that
pardon me.
As
I
have given
.door with-
you
exit
ful
my word
would not go out of the
I
out your knowledge,
have been obliged to make
my
through the window.
Adieu!
Till
death thy faith-
admirer.
Koloman."
Vámhidy
learned from the
A
couple of hours later
innkeeper that the manager, without any previous leavetaking,
tions
had decamped, leaving behind him
theatrical
his decora-
and
wardrobe
as
some compensation
for
his trifling debts.
All he had taken
away with him was
Miss Palmira.
what he
actually
had on
his person
—and
And now
whereof
I
Szilárd understood the
meaning of the pas-
sage, "there are obligations in respect to the discharge
am
not
my
sister's
brother."
This vagabond comedian had an equally vagabond,
childish ideal,
flung his
and when he had to make his choice, he arm around her and fled away with her into
—
the wide, wide world.
302
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XVII
MR. MARGARI
Mr. Margari had got on
a real gentleman,
in the
world.
He was now
who had
a four-roomed domicile, paid
house rent, and had even gone the length of marrying.
And
can you guess the lady of his choice ?
—why,
it
was
little
no other than Miss Clementina.
bit of
That worthy virgin was
of just the proper age for him; moreover, a cozy
cash might safely be assumed to go with her, which
exercised a strong attraction upon Mr.
Margari
—and
goes to prove that iron
is
not the only metal susceptible
of the influence of the magnet.
The worthy maiden had
persuaded her respected swain to abduct her from Hidvár,
an enterprise which he had nobly performed while the
lady of the house
It is true
ment, for
was traveling with her husband to Arad. there was no necessity whatever for an elopethe baroness was very far from being one of
those dragons in feminine shape
who
love to tear asunIf
der hearts that are burning for each other.
gari
Mr. Mar-
had respectfully
is
solicited the
hand of her lady com-
panion, there
no reason to suppose he would have sued
in vain; but Clementina
was
far too romantic for any-
thing so
humdrum
as that.
She
insisted that he should
303
Poor Plutocrats
abduct her, at night, too, and through a window, although
she had the key of every door close at hand.
So Margari had managed
and become
his
to set
up as a gentleman
own
master.
Clementina's
money bought
to himself, in
the furniture,
and they even sported
a musical clock.
all
Mr. Margari had a smoking-room
which he did nothing
more work
for
all day but smoke his pipe. No him now, no more copying of MSS.
There the happy husband, dressed
in a flowered dressing
gown, stretched himself out
and blew clouds of smoke
all
at full length
on the sofa
his long
around him out of
china, stuffed full with the best Turkish tobacco.
Clementina was always scolding him for putting his
legs
upon the
sofa.
It
was
a nasty habit, she said,
it
and
not only unbecoming but expensive, because
the furniture.
ruined
all
Clementina, in
fact,
was scolding him
any
day and
;
this
was very
silently
natural, for
woman who
has
been condemned to obsequious servility for thirty whole
years,
all
and has
endured the caprices of her betters
that time,
when
she sets up as a lady on her
own
But
account will do her best to compensate herself for this
interminable suppression of her natural instincts.
Mr. Margari used only
nagging
at him.
to laugh
when
his wife
began
**Other tempests, other storms have I
in Latin.
seen," he
to
would quote
He was
only too glad
have a home of his "Don't worry,
own at all. woman !" he would
"when
that's
say with reference
out,
I'll
to the furniture;
worn
buy some
I
more.
John Lapussa,
Esq., will give
me
whatever
want."
304
;
Poor Plutocrats
"He may
entina,
be fool enough to do so now," replied Clemtill
"but just you wait
he has
won
his action
against
Madame
Langai, and has no further need of you,
I
he won't care twopence for you then.
Lapussa."
know Mr. John
"So do
I/' retorted
Margari.
"He
shall
has paid
me
hith-
erto to say
for holding
what he
tells
me; he
pay
me
hereafter
John Lapussa, Esq., will have to take care that Margari has plenty to eat and decent clothes to put on, for, if Margari grows hungry, Margari
tongue,
will bite."
my
Mr. Margari spoke with an
air of such impertinent
assurance and blew about such clouds of smoke that
Clementina began to respect him, and sat
down on
the
sofa by his side, no doubt to protect her property,
"If
you hold his honor so completely in the palm of your
hand," said she,
self
"why
don't
you provide better for yourgoes and more
will
out
is
and me? It is all now when you press him, but money wanted. One of these days something
very well for his honor to fork
happen to
him and he will die and you can't follow him to the moon." This was indeed a hard nut for Margari to crack. One can not squeeze much out of dead men. Such an impression did the remark make upon him that he took
his feet off the sofa
—
and
sat bolt upright.
I
"Then what do you think
his wife.
ought to do?" he asked
"Well,
it is
of no use his doling you out mere driblets
305
Poor Plutocrats
for the great services
to give
you have rendered him he ought
in proportion to
you something more
your merits
—a
Httle estate in the country, for instance.
There we
could settle
down
comfortably."
lots of
"True, and he has
are of no use to
stance, to
such
little
properties which
say, for in;
him
at all.
What do you
But
flea-bite or
an estate of one hundred acres or so
it
would
give
be a mere flea-bite to him.
that's all
it
no
flea-bite,
one to me.
I zvish
him
to give
it
me and
he must.
I mean to pick and "And suppose he says no?"
choose."
"He'll never say that, or,
if
he does,
it
I shall
say somewill be
thing to somebody, and then
sorry and not
I.
will be he
who
Oh,
he'll
take jolly
good care not
to
make Margari angry.
His honor has much more need of
soon see under what auspices Marlittle
Margari's friendship than Margari has of his honor's."
And we
shall very
gari hoped to get the
country estate from Mr. John
services.
Lapussa as a reward for his faithful
against Mr. John Lapussa
Meanwhile the action brought by Madame Langai
was
it
still
in its initial stage.
Both parties were inexhaustible
and raising points of law, but
that
in
producing documents
seemed highly probable
he called his dear
Mr. John would win.
the magistrate,
Mr. John appeared almost
daily before
whom
friend
and
whcm
he frequently invited to dine, an invita-
tion which, naturally,
Monori, for that
was never accepted. One day Mr. was the worthy magistrate's name,
asked Mr. John whether he knew anything of a certain
306
!
Poor Plutocrats
Margari,
who was
soliciting the post of a clerk in the
district court
ily,
and gave as
service he
his reference the
Lapussa fam-
in
whose
had been for some years.
Mr.
John, with his innate niggardliness, at once seized this
opportunity for disembarrassing himself of an importunate beggar by saddling the county with him.
exalted "the worthy, excellent
especially praised
his
rectitude,
He
and
man"
to the skies,
his sobriety,
his great
diligence
"But
is
he
trustworthy?"
inquired
the
magistrate.
"You
see there are various
little
cash payments he will
have to see to
—
is
he clean-handed?"
I
"As good
thousands.
as gold,
assure you.
I
could trust him
are in his keep-
ing
—" and with
palm
Why, some
if
of
my own
bills
that he proceeded to say as
many
pretty
things of Margari as
to
off a blind
he were a horse-dealer, trying
at
nag on some ignorant bumpkin
a
fair.
In his delight at having so successfully rid himself
of such an incubus, he
to
tell
made
his
man
slip
over to Margari,
the
worthy man to wait upon him on the morrow
he had a very pleasant piece
at eleven o'clock precisely, as
of
news
to impart to
it
him
;
for he
meant
to
make Margari
believe that
cial influence that
ment, and so
was through his, Mr. John Lapussa's, spehe had obtained the coveted appointget him to renounce all further claims upon
same day Mr. John
w^as
his old patron.
On
the very
surprised to
receive a visit
from the magistrate, Mr. Monori, and
307
Poor Plutocrats
certainly
was
I
a wonder, for the magistrate never
.nade any but
official visits.
"To what do
on a couch.
"I have
owe
this
extraordinary pleasure?" asked
to sit
Mr. John, familiarly inviting the magistrate
down
come
in the matter of this Margari," said
stiffly
Monori, holding himself very
sharply on Mr. John.
and fixing his eyes
"Since our conversation of this
morning, the circumstance has come to
that one of
my
knowledge
my
colleagues in the county of
succeeded in finding the long-lost
Arad has Koloman Lapussa."
to
At
these
words Mr. John began
smooth out the
ends of his mustache and chew them attentively.
"The young man confesses to having forged the bill, it was Margari who led him to do so, and that the bill signed by him was originally for forty florins only, so that undoubtedly somebody else must
but asserts that
have turned
it
into forty thousand."
Mr. John coughed very much at these words no doubt the bit of mustache which he had bit off stuck in
his throat.
—
"This
is
a very ticklish circumstance, I
must confess,"
continued Monori, "for although the young man's offense has thereby been considerably lightened, yet the burden
of the charge has
hitherto quite free
a minor,
now been
from
shifted to other shoulders
suspicion.
No
doubt, he being
a
under
strict control, did
what he did as
mere
schoolboy
frolic,
but this Margari and an
it
unknown some-
body
else will find
not quite such a laughing matter."
308
Poor Plutocrats
Mr. John's mustache was by this time not enough for him he began nibbhng his nails as well. "But what are you driving at?" he said. ''How does
;
all this
concern
me?"
sir,
"It concerns you,
in this
way
:
you
told
me
that
Margari was your confidential agent, and, therefore, he
must have destroyed the
"I only said that to
I
bill at
your bidding."
help him
to get a small official post.
am
responsible for nobody.
What have
I
to
do with
passed
the characters of
my
servants,
my
footmen."
bills
"But you assured me that your
through his hands."
often
Mr. John fancied that the best way out of pleasant hole was by adopting a little energetic
this
un-
bluffing.
"What do you mean by cross-examining me
sofa.
in
my own
house?" he cried with affected pride, springing from the
The magistrate
official
rose at the same time.
I
"Pardon me, but
capacity
am
here not as a visitor, but in
my
—
as your judge."
official
And
with that he coolly unbuttoned his great
fur coat and
sealed letter.
drew
forth
from the
inside pocket a large
"You must swear
"I?
a
to every
one of the interrogatories
administered to you by me."
rU swear
to nothing," cried
Mr. John.
"I
am
Quaker and,
therefore, can not take an oath."
sir, is
"This document,
refuses to obey
it
a royal mandate,
to penalties."
and whoever
is liable
309
Poor Plutocrats
"What
penalties?"
"A
cried
fine of eighty florins."
"Eighty florins?
There you are then, take them!"
Mr. John, flinging down the amount eagerly and
thinking to himself that this mandate was indeed a juridical
masterpiece, not being binding on a rich
all,
man
—
for
what, after
is
eighty florins?
said
"Very good,"
Mr. Monori, giving him a
receipt
for the amount, "I'll
come again to-morrow."
upon you
to
"What
tories
for?"
call
"I shall again
answer
my
interroga-
upon oath."
"And if I won't swear?" "Why, then, you'll have to pay the fine for contempt every day. The clerk of court will call regularly and exact the fine from you until such time as you make up
your mind to take the oaths.
reached
Good-day."
he poured forth his wrath
After the magistrate had withdrawn, Mr. John's fury
its
climax.
First of
all
upon the poor inkstand, with the ink from which Monori had written out the receipt. This he dashed to the
ground.
The footman who rushed
in
at the
commoThen he
tion, to inquire if his
honor had rung, he seized by the
for daring to
nape of the neck and flung out of the room.
rushed after the
man and pommeled him
told to go.
go out before he had been
Finally he dashed
out and, for the lowest silver coin he could
mind
to part with, hired a coach to take
make up his him to his villa
fly.
near the park, for thither he had resolved to
310
Poor Plutocrats
On
arriving there he recovered himself somewhat.
So Koloman had been
about his
discovered and had confessed
own
doings and Margari's.
that's
all.
it ?
Well, he must
simply disavow Margari,
But suppose Margari
Well, he could repu-
were
royal
fine
to
make
a clean breast of
diate the whole thing, of course.
But then that wretched
swear or pay the court
fly,
mandate?
He must
It
either
every day.
would be
best perhaps to
to leave
Pesth behind him, and
then, they
set out
all
on
his travels.
Perhaps,
would forget
about
it
it.
But then there was
It
the lawsuit!
And
suppose
should be decided in the
meantime and decided against him!
!
was an absurd dilemma To remain here was dangerous and to go away was also dangerous. What a good job it would be if that cursed forged-bill business could disappear from the
face of the earth.
that
The
bill
ought to be withdrawn.
it
But
was
impossible, because
was already
in the
magis-
trate's hands,
and therefore could not be ignored.
interested in the matter,
And
then the oath required of him.
that he
Either he must confess
was personally
and then
he would not be required to swear, but would at the same
time
make himself an
object of suspicion, or else he
must
go on paying
this infernal toll
money,
in
order to be able
It
to cross the non- juratory bridge, so to speak.
;
was an
exasperating syllogism and after tossing about sleeplessly
all
night in the midst of this vicious
circle,
Mr. John
resolved in the morning
to set off at once for the neightell
boring village of Promontor,
his servants that he
meant
to
remain
there,
and enjoy himself, and immedi-
3"
!
Poor Plutocrats
ately afterward get into a post-chaise
and drive to
his
his
real
Sarfeneki
property.
Nobody should know
address but his lawyer, and there he would await devel-
opments,
necessity.
only emerging in case of the most urgent
So he
hastily
swallowed his chocolate, wrapped himself
fly;
in his mantle,
and fancied that now he might safely
but he reckoned without his host, for, on the very doorstep,
he came face to face with Margari
of the humble
"What do you want here, eh?" he inquired fiercely man he feared so much. "You were so good as to make an appointment with
"Yes, yes,
I
me, your honor," said Margari cringingly.
know,
I
know" (he was
afraid to
warn
him of
"but
I I
his
danger with
all
the servants listening to them),
can not spare the time now, come some other day.
can not give you anything here."
"But your honor was good enough
to say that
you had
some glad
now."
tidings to communicate."
I
"Another time, another time!
am
very busy just
Mr. John would have shaken ofif Margari altogether, but Margari was not so easily got rid of. He had already
ascertained from the
coachman
that
Mr. John was
of¥ to
Promontor and did not mean
to return again in a hurry,
so he resolved to take his measures accordingly.
He
rushed forward to open the carriage door, helped Mr.
John
to get into the coach,
wished him a most pleasant
journey, no end of enjoyment, and other meaningless
312
;
Poor Plutocrats
things, all of
which made much the same agreeable imif
pression upon Mr. John as
an ant had crept into his
boot and he could not
kill it
because he was in company.
to
Only when the carriage door was shut
again.
and he saw
Margari's face no more did he begin to breathe freely
Margari, however, attributed this reception,
non-reception,
to
or, rather,
the capricious
liable
humors
to
which his
reason
honor was constantly
(it is
without
rime or
a peculiarity of self-made plutocrats, as
;
everybody
knows)
place.
but he was not a bit oííended
see
—he
knew
his
His honor doesn't want to
Margari just now
his
very well, he shall not see him, so he jumped up behind
the carriage, alongside the lackey.
But how surprised
to see
honor
will be
when he
gets to
Promontor
Margari
open the carriage door for him?
How
he will bid him
go
to the devil
and immediately after burst out laughing
and give him a present!
And what
And
all
will the present
be?
Has
it
anything to do with the good news with which
the while Mr. John, the idea
he meant to surprise him?
inside the carriage,
was hugging himself with
that he
had
rid himself of
Margari for a time, and de-
voutly wishing that the cholera or some other equally
rapid and effectual disease might remove the old rascal
off the face of the earth altogether.
When
the carriage stopped at the picturesque vineyards
of Promontor, Mr. John almost had a stroke when, on
looking through the glass window, the
the
first
feature of
panorama
that
presented
itself
was
the figure of
313
(F)
— (14)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
Margari hastening to open the door with obsequious
famiharity.
"You
here, sirrah," he roared (he
if
would have choked
with rage on the spot
he had not said sirrah).
"How
on earth did you get here?"
Margari instantly imagined that
eyes, convulsive
his honor's flashing
mouth and
distorted face
were the out-
ward
signs of a jocose frame of mind, for there
was
it
always a sort of travesty of humor in Mr. John's features
whenever he was angry.
occurred to him to
life.
So, to his
own
confusion,
make
a joke for the first time in his
"Crying your honor's pardon,
I
ew" said he.
till
And,
in fact, the
very next instant he was sent flying
so impetuously that he did not stop
he plumped right
into the trellis-work surrounding a bed of vines.
in all
buffet.
Never
his
life
before had Mr. John dispensed such a
fairly
Margari
disappeared
among
the leaves
of the friendly vine arbors.
It
he had done.
the
was now Mr. John's turn to be frightened at what He was frightened because every box on ears he gave used regularly to cost him two hundred
very costly passion to indulge
in.
florins, a
And
besides
he was particularly anxious just then to keep Margari in
a
good humor.
A man may
on
its tail if
loathe a viper, but he
its
had
better not tread
he can not tread on
head.
Horrified at his
own
outburst of rage, the
moment he
saw Margari disappear in the vine arbors, he rushed after him, freed him with his own hands, picked him up,
314
Poor Plutocrats
set
him on
his legs again,
brushed his clothes, and began
to comfort him.
"Come, come,
did not
I
my
dear friend! compose yourself.
I
mean
to hurt you.
hope you are not hurt ?
You are not angry, are you. Where did you hit yourself ?"
like a
Margari; however, began whimpering
school-
boy; the more the other tried to quiet him, the more
loudly he bellowed.
the veranda and wipe the blood
"Come, come! don't make such a noise! Come under from your face!"
I
"But
am
not a dog!" roared Margari.
;
"I won't go
I'll
under the veranda
the top of
bleed."
I'll
go
into the street.
howl
see
at
my
voice.
The whole town
I didn't
shall
me
"Margari, don't be a fool
I
!
mean
!
to hurt you.
was too violent, I admit it. Look here I'll give you money. How much do you want? Will two hundred floriias be enough?" At the words "two hundred florins," Margari stopped
roaring a
bit,
but he wanted to see the color of the
to himself that if he quieted
all.
money, for he thought
first
down
he would get nothing at
first
So he kept on whining
from the one
his
and limped
on one leg and then on the other, and
got.
plastered his whole face over with blood
little
scratch he
had
Mr. John hastened to wipe Margari's face with
own
not
pocket-handkerchief.
"Come, come,
my
it.
dear Margari.
I
have told you
I
did
mean
to
do
Here
are the
two hundred
florins I
315
Poor Plutocrats
promised you.
But now leave
me
alone.
I will
Go away
give you
with the money and enjoy yourself, and
some more
"I most
later on."
humbly thank you,"
lisped the buffeted
wretch
with a conciliatory voice, and he kissed Mr. John's two
hundred florined hand repeatedly, while the other did
in his
all
power
to hustle
him out of
the door; and so en-
grossed was he in the effort that he never noticed that
some one had been observing the scene
the whole time.
voice,
He, therefore, regularly collapsed when a
sir!"
which
he instantly recognized, addressed him: "Good morning,
The Lernean Hydra was not more petrified at the Medusa than was Mr. John by the sight of the person who had just addressed him. It was the magistrate, Mr. Monori. At first he feared he had come after liim for his diurnal eighty florins, but something very much worse than that was in store for him.
sight of the head of
"Pardon me,"
said the magistrate,
I
drawing nearer,
here to arrest
"but by order of the High Court,
with you,
am
Margari, and ascertaining that you had taken him away
I
was obliged
to follow, to prevent
him from
escaping altogether."
Two
tional
stout policemen behind the magistrate gave addi-
emphasis to his words.
;
"Arrest me?" cried Margari
est as the day.
I
"why me?
I
I
am
as hon-
am
neither a murderer nor yet a robber.
Mr. John Lapussa can answer for me.
am
his confi-
316
Poor Plutocrats
dential agent!"
tail
—and
he clung convulsively to the coat-
of his principal.
had he been
accuse him
bolt of
it.
Mr. John plainly perceived that never in his life before They could in such an awkward situation.
now of having instigated Margari to make a Had not the magistrate seen him give the wretched man money to run away with? His first care
was
to disengage Margari's
hands from his
coat-tail
and
next to hold him at arm's length, so that he should not
Then with pompous impertinence he know him. "What does this man want? Who is he? How did he come hither?" he exclaimed. "I know nothing about
clutch his collar.
pretended not to
him.
I
boxed
his ears for molesting
florins,
me, and then
I
gave
him two hundred
which
is
the usual legal fine
for an assault of that kind, to prevent
an action against me.
We
all
have nothing
means.
mon.
Take him away by
seizing
him bringing else in comPut him in irons.
Yes/*
Give him whatever punishment he has deserved.
he continued,
cravat,
the astounded
Margari by the
"you are a refined scoundrel.
You
persuaded
my
dear nephew
Koloman
to take that false step,
and
then you yourself changed the forty florins into forty
thousand.
You wanted
slur
to ruin the
young man's future
I
and bring a and that
upon the family.
know
everything.
me all about it yesterday, why I hand you over to the law for punishment." And with that he shook him so violently that he
His honor the magistrate told
is
fell
on his back again,
this
time into a bed of tomatoes,
3T7
Poor Plutocrats
whereby
his white
Hnen pantaloons very speedily assumed
the hues of the national colors
—
red, white,
and green.
The dialogue
that thereupon
ensued no shorthand
reporter could have reproduced, for the pair of
them
began forthwith to rave and storm at one another with
all their
might, stamping, swearing, shaking their
fists,
and loading each other with abuse.
magistrate thought
When
they had got
as far as calling each other robber and scoundrel, the
it
high time to interfere, and at his
torn forcibly out of the tomato
;
command Margari was
bed, led to a hackney coach and thrust inside
yet even
that
then he put his head out of the
window and shouted
he did not mean to
sit
in prison alone, but
would very
soon have Mr. John Lapussa there also as his companion.
All the efforts of the two policemen were powerless to
silence him.
As
"Sir,
for
it is
Mr. John, the magistrate simply said
not good for a
to
him:
man
to
make
use of nasty tools,
for by so doing he only dirties his
own
hands."
Then he got into a second hackney coach and drove
away after the first one. Even Mr. John could see that it was now quite ble for him under the circumstances to think of
Pesth.
impossiquitting
318
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XVIII
THE UNDISCOVERABLE LADY
Squire Gerzson Satrakovics thought it best after that night at the inn to go back to Arad. This wondrous event, the clue to which he could not hit upon anyhow, must needs interest Hátszegi most of all. It would be
a terrible thing to appear before
that the lady
him with
was the
the tidings
who was
entrusted to his care had been lost
first
on the way
;
yet, nevertheless, this
thing he
must
and after that they would consult together as to what was to be done to find her and where they were
say,
to look for her.
Never had Mr. Gerzson approached
such beating of heart as he
a bear's den with
now approached
failed
Hátszegi's
chambers.
His breath almost
order that
him
as he seized the
it
handle of the street door, and wished
locked,
in
it
might prove
might take a longer time to
he had to
he must
open
ring.
it.
And
locked, indeed, the door proved to be
;
Thus he had,
at
any
rate, a respite, for
await the result of the ringing.
And
a long time he had
to wait, too; so long, indeed, that
ring again.
Even then
there
was necessary to was no response. Then
it
319
Poor Plutocrats
he rang a third time, and after that he went on ringring-ringing for a good haJf hour.
At
last the bellrope
remained
it
in his hand,
and he put
it
into his pocket, that
might
testify to the fact that
first
he had been there.
Then,
all
for the
time, he noticed that the shutters
were
up
—
the surest sign that
nobody was
at
home.
Gerzson explained the matter to his
own
satisfaction
races.
by supposing that the whole household was at the
It
was the
last
day of the
races,
and he reached the
its
course just as the betting was at
height and every-
body's attention was concentrated on the event of the
moment.
every one
therefore,
At such time
is
the
crowd has no eyes for men;
Mr. Gerzson,
to scrutinize all
occupied with the horses.
had plenty of time
who were
Leonard
present, but look as he
would he could not
see
anywhere.
At
last
he could stand the suspense no longer, and
during
-the interval
between two races he descended from
the grand-stand, in a corner of which he
had ensconced
field,
himself, in order to get a better view of the
and
mingled
in the ring
with his brother sportsmen, await-
ing resignedly for the expression of amazed and horrified
inquiry which he expected to see in
all
faces the
moment
they perceived him.
But how taken aback was he when the
cast eyes on him gave vent
to a loud
first
man who
also
"Ha! ha! ha!"
and
whereupon everybody
pointing
his
else
began
laughing
fingers
at
him and exclaiming:
"Why
here's Gerzson!
Gerzson has come back again!"
320
Poor Plutocrats
"Have you
by
all
gone mad?" cried Gerzson, confused
hubbub.
this inexplicable
Pie really fancied that he
lunatics,
till
had
fallen
among
a lot of
his
at last
Count Kengyelesy forced
way
through the crowd toward him, put both his hands on his
hips,
and began
to quiz
him: "Well, you are a pretty
squire
fellow!
—you
are
a
pretty
of
dames,
I
must
say!"
"But what's the matter ?
do you laugh?"
What
has happened
?
Why
"Listen to him!" cried the count, turning to the bystanders.
"He
laugh!
actually has the impertinence to ask us
why we
Come,
sir!
where did you leave the
to laugh at at such a ques-
Baroness Hátszegi?"
"I don't see what there
is
tion?" replied Gerzson, in whose
mind
all sorts
of dark
forebodings began to arise.
"What have you done with
sisted the count.
the baroness?
What have
you done with our friend Leonard's
"That
is
wife, I say?" per-
a perfect riddle to me," growled Gerzson in
a low voice.
"Ha
!
ha ha
!
!"
laughed the count,
"it is a riddle to
him
what has become of his traveling companion."
"But can any of you
Is she alive?"
tell
me what
has happened to her?
The count clapped
his
hands together and flung
too strong!
his
round hat upon the ground.
"Now,
that
is
what
I call a trifle
He
asks
321
Poor Plutocrats
is
she alive?
all
Why, comrade, where have you been
time?"
**Tell
in
hiding
this
"A
all
truce to jesting," cried Gerzson fiercely.
it,
me
you laiow about
for
it is
no joking matter for me,
angry,
I
can assure you."
On
perceiving
that
Gerzson was seriously
Kengyelesy drew nearer to him and enlightened him
without any more beating about the bush: "Well, then,
my
dear friend,
let
me
all
tell
you
that
all
you have behaved
four of Hátszegi's
very badly.
horses lame
;
First of
in the
you made
second place, you compelled his poor
wife to spend a night in a lonely inn, and in the third
place
her,
girl.
you got so drunk that you began
at last did not
little
to quarrel with
and
The poor
know whether you were boy or woman has grown almost gray with
fallen to the
terror,
and after you had
ground
in liquor
she sent the coachman to town for fresh horses and, leaving you under the tabkj tried to
make her way back
to
Arad."
"That
is
not true," interrupted Gerzson, his whole face
purple with rage,
"What is not true?" "Where is the baroness?"
"Stop,
stop,
my
friend!
Don't run away!
You'll
never catch her up, for early this morning she drove back
to
Hidvár
"I
in a post-chaise
true.
with her husband."
"That can not be
her
Did you
see her?"
saw her through
my own
322
field glass.
But we
all
saw
— did
we
not,
gentlemen?"
Poor Plutocrats
Many
''But,
of those present admitted that they had indeed
seen the baroness.
my
is
dear fellow," said the perturbed Gerzson,
"this
is
no joke.
On
the contrary,
tragical,
my
adventure with the
I'll
baroness
somewhat
and
trouble
you
to
expend no more of your
Kengyelesy shrugged
feeble witticisms
his shoulders.
it
on me."
"I did not
is."
know
you would take
it
so seriously, but so
all this,
"From whom did you hear "No from Hátszegi."
from the baroness ?"
—
An
idea suddenly flashed through Gerzson's brain.
to the baroness herself?"
"Did you speak
"No.
I
only saw her through the carriage
window
when
they drove away."
she veiled?"
"Was
"No,
my
friend.
It
was her very
if
self, I
assure you."
"Thank
you.
And now,
at
you
like,
you can go on
amusing yourself
my
expense.
Adieu!"
Only when he had got home and flung himself on the
sofa in a state of stupor did he begin to reflect a
little
calmly on what he had heard.
the affair that
There was so much about
was
startling
and incomprehensible, true
shameful,
and untrue, probable,
perating, that he could
incredible,
and exas-
make neither head nor tail of it. That the baroness had returned must be true, for they
maintained that she had come back while he was lying
It is
all
drunk.
true that he had got drunk, but he had no
recollection of
having been quarrelsome and misbehaving
himself.
Strain his
memory
as he might,
all
he could
call
323
Poor Plutocrats
to
mind was Henrietta, with her angelically gentle face, sitting before him at the table and telling him the legends
of the Transylvanian Alps
—
all
the rest
was a
blank.
Up
made
he jumped at
last,
and began pacing up and down
the room.
up, he
At
off.
last,
after
much
reflection, his
mind was
straight
had formed a plan.
I'll
"I'll
be
I
be off immediately.
I'll
go
to her.
am
determined to learn from her
to me,
I will
exactly
what happened
and how
I
came
own lips to make
such a fool of myself.
speak to her myself."
And
immediately he ordered his coachman to put the
;
horses to
but he told not a living soul whither he
was
first
going, even to the coachman he only mentioned the
stage.
At
a
little
booth at the end of the town he bought four
rolls
and twenty double
and a new wooden
field
flask.
When
filled
they came to the River Maros, he descended to the
water's edge, rinsed out his flask at least twice, and then
it
with water, finally thrusting both the
rolls
and
the flask into his traveling knapsack.
After that he drew
on
his mantle,
clambered up into the back part of the
coach, stuck his pipe in his
mouth and
morning.
his pistol in his
fist,
and never closed an eye
till
And
it
must he admitted that Mr. Gerzson's mode of
traveling
on
this occasion
was decidedly
tell
eccentric.
On
to
reaching a village he would
his
coachman where
him more than one stage in advance. Every morning he would consume one of his rolls and wash it down with the lukewarm brackish
go
next, but he never told
324
Poor Plutocrats
water of the Maros
taste of
it
—and
bitter
enough he found the
too.
He
never quitted the carriage for more
than two or three minutes at a time, and he presented his
pistols
pointblank at every one
who approached him
with inquisitive questions.
Only twice during the night did he allow the horses
an hour or two of
stone again.
rest
—and then away over stock and
to such queer
The coachman, who was unaccustomed
orders to go on farther, and by
ways, presently shook his head every time he received
dawn
of day he had had
about enough of the job.
"Your honor,"
It
said he, "are
we going
if
to stop at all?
little
would do the horses no harm
"What's that
to you,
they had a
rest."
you
rascal,
eh?" roared Mr.
Gerzson: "I suppose you're sleepy, you lazy good-fornothing?
Off the box then, you hound, you!
I'll
drive
the horses myself,
you gallows-bird
!"
The
old fellow,
who had
thrown
been in the service of the
family for twenty years and had never had so
insulting epithets
at his
many
head before, explained
that he did not speak for himself, but for the horses.
"If they perished on the spot, sirrah,
is it
what business
of yours?
When
one pursues the enemy in time of
war, does one think of food or fodder?"
—whence
whom
the
coachman concluded
squire
It
that there
was some one
the
meant
to cut to pieces.
was only when they came to the road leading to Hidvár that the coachman began to suspect that they
325
Poor Plutocrats
were about
tired
to
go
in that direction.
ing of the second day, and both
to death.
It
It was now the evenman and beast were
stay the night here, for
was indispensable that they should if they passed Hidvár they would
to grief
have to go on the whole night before they reached the
next stage
—or
come
on the road, which was
much more probable. "You will stop in front of the castle !" commanded Mr. Gerzson when they were crossing the castle bridge. The coachman looked back and shook his head. He
did not like
it
at
all.
"Shan't
we
turn into the castle yard?" inquired he.
the
"No!" bellowed Squire Gerzson so venomously that "why not?" he was about to say stuck in the poor
like a fishbone.
coachman's throat
"Now
try
listen to
me," said Gerzson when they had
fairly
got across to the other side: "Keep your eyes open and
and take
time.
in
what
I
know how long
some
am going may remain
I
to say to you.
I
don't
inside
there
loiter
—possibly
in his
At any
rate,
you must not
about here
with the horses, but go on to the priest and beg him,
civilly,
mind, to kindly accommodate
my
nags
stable,
and give them two bushels of maize.
I'll
As soon
Kiss his
as
I
return
settle
with him, but don't say anything
about payment, or
hand, for he
bond.
If
is
else
you
will offend him.
a priest
and you are only a lazy vaga-
you hear no news of me by to-morrow morning,
will tell
put the horses into the carriage again and return to Arad,
where Count Kengyelesy
you what
to
do next."
326
Poor Plutocrats
Then he turned upon
castle.
It
his heel
and
set off
toward the
was already evening.
In the upper story seven of
windows were lit up and the moon shone into the That was Henrietta's bedroom. Squire Gerzson knew it. He was quite at home in the castle. At the hall entrance he encountered Leonard's huntsman, an impertinent, bony, jowly loafer, whom he had never been able to endure. The fellow barred the way.
the
eighth.
"Good-evening, your honor."
"Why
jackass
!
should yon wish
me
I
good-evening, you stupid
five
Do you
home?"
suppose
have traveled
and twenty
leagues for the pleasure of wishing yott good-evening?
Who's
at
"Nobody."
"Go along with you, you sodden-headed son of a dog. Nobody at home and seven windows in the upper story
all
alight!"
"It
is
true the
rooms are
lit
up, but that
is
on account
of her ladyship
—they are
sitting
up with her."
"Then where's your master?"
"He
doctor."
has trotted into Klausenburg for the learned
"What
"You
"I
is
the matter with her ladyship?"
"I don't know.
are
They say she
yourself,
is
mad."
beast.
mad
I
you stupid
Who
told
you that?"
saw
it,
heard
it
myself, and others also have seen
that she
is
mad."
327
Poor Plutocrats
"Can not
I
speak to her?"
That's just the mischief of
it,
"How
"You
sure of
can you?
that
she can not be spoken to."
rascal, I tell
you your master
is at
home.
I
am
it."
Long-legs shrugged his shoulders and began to whistle.
"Look ye
is
here,
my
son," said Gerzson, scarcely able to
fist
contain himself, "the
that
you
see in
I
my
pocket here
pulling the trigger of a pistol, and
to send a bullet
have a jolly good
teeth,
mind
so
I
between your onion-chewing
should advise you not to try any of your tomfoolery
on me.
master a
sirrah!
On
Is
this occasion I
have not come to pay your
visit,
but for other reasons.
at
Speak the
he not?"
not a soul at
truth,
your master
home
is
or
is is
"I have just told you that there
home
except her ladyship, and she
mad."
At
that
same moment Gerzson thought he heard a
upper story.
cried.
fiddle in the
"What, music here!" he The fellow laughed.
ing to her."
"Yes, they are trying to cure the sick baroness by play-
"But
I
hear the sound of men's voices also, as
if
there
were guests here."
"Where ?
I
hear nothing.
It is
only the dogs barking
in the enclosure."
"You
"Very
did not hear
it,
sirrah?"
"I heard nothing."
well,
my
son,
I
see
you have orders
to
make a
328
!
Poor Plutocrats
fool of
me; but
it
strikes
me
that both
you and your
that.
I shall
master will have to get up pretty early to do
need not be so anxious to guard the door;
try to force
will
You
not
my way
see
up to your master.
first.
I'll
wager he
come and
me
Wait
a bit."
And
with that Gerzson sat
down on
it
the step, tore a
his knee,
I
leaf out his
pocketbook and, placing
on
wrote
with his pencil the following words: "Sir,
to be a miserable coward.
If
declare you
you want
to
know why,
you
will find
me
at the parson's; there I will tell you,
little
and after that we can arrange our
ourselves.
business between
Gerzson Satrakovics."
Mr. Gerzson had even taken the trouble to provide
himself with sealing-wax and matches, so he could seal
his letter without
any
difficulty,
and the step served him
as a table.
But suppose even
this letter did not
make Hátszegi
come
forth
?
Struck with this idea, he tore open the note
:
again and added this postscript
"If you do not give
me
proper satisfaction, I will wait for you at the gate of
your own
castle
and shoot you down
like a
dog!"
Surely that would be enough
letter and was about to hand it huntsman when it suddenly occurred to him that Hátszegi might chuck the note unopened into the fire.
Again he sealed the
to the
Now,
therefore, he wrote
on the outside of
it,
just
below
have
the address: "If you don't open this letter,
I will
an exact copy of
club at Arad."
it
posted upon the notice board of the
329
"
Poor Plutocrats
"And now, you
this
door-keeping Cerberus," said he, "take
and give
it
to
your master, wherever he may be."
He
ing
wasted no more words upon the fellow, but went
straight to the dwelling of the old priest,
who was
await-
him
in his porch.
"I must beg your reverence for a night's lodging, I
am
afraid," said Squire Gerzson, cordially pressing the
old clergyman's hand.
"There
is
serious illness at the
baron's house, so
I
don't
I
want
is
to
my
company.
All
want
a place
incommode them with whereon to lay my
of old."
little I
head.
My
wants are few.
I
You know me
"Gladly will
share with your honor the
have.
at the castle.
God hath brought you hither. I am glad you did not stay The company there is not fit for your honor." "Then there is company there, eh? What sort of
folks are they?"
"Folks
I
should not care about meeting.
Drahhowecz
and Muntya, and Harastory, and Brinkó, and Bandán,
and Kerakoricz, and
—
"That
so
will do," interrupted
Mr. Gerzson, aghast
suppose?"
at
many
"I
odd, strange names, not one of which he had
ever heard of before.
"Newcomers,
I
was sure
their
names would be
quite unfamiliar to
your honor," remarked the priest smiling, and he led his
guest into his narrow dwelling, looking cautiously round
first
of
all
to
make
sure nobody
was
listening.
Once
inside he carefully barred the door, seated his guest at
wooden table, which was covered with a pretty covering made from foalskin, and filled a dish with fresh
the carved
330
Poor Plutocrats
maize pottage, adding thereto a mead.
Mr. Gerzson
;
fell
to like a
ham bone and a jug of man on the very first
till
invitation
and each armed with a wooden spoon, attacked
the maize pottage
from
different points
their assidu-
ously tunneling spoons met together in the centre of the
large platter.
"A
capital dish,
your reverence, really capital."
poor
folks
like us,
I
"Very good
for
admit.
I
know you
don't have fare like this in Hungary."
"I suppose
said Gerzson.
we
don't
know how
to prepare
it
properly,"
And
be
then the priest explained
how
hot the water must
to be
when maize meal or sweet-broom meal has
it,
mixed
and plum
with
how
the whole mess
must be
up
stirred with a spoon,
it,
how how
a
it
little finely
grated cheese has to be added to
all
has then
to be tied
in a cloth like a
it.
pudding and have milk poured over
Gerzson
all
And
if
Squire
listened to
him
as attentively as to
he had come
to learn
the
way from Arad
Hidvár on purpose
the art of cooking maize pottage.
x\nd after that they
pledged each other's health in long drafts from the
jug-
mead
"And now," said the priest when they had well supped, "I know that your honor spent all last night upon the road. You must be tired, and instead of boring yourself
by listening to
ter,
my
if
uninteresting gossip,
it
would be
I
bet-
methinks,
we
both went to bed."
at
all,
"I shouldn't
mind lying down
but alas!
have
an appointment here with some one."
331
—
Poor Plutocrats
"May "He
I
ask with
whom ?"
he
is
"I have written the baron a letter, and I await a reply."
will not send one:
too
much taken up with
his pleasures just
now."
"My
ignore."
letter
contains things which a
man
durst not
"Was your
letter
an insulting one?"
its
"I don't wish to advertise
contents."
you may as well lie "Very good. But for all down. The ways of the baron are incalculable. Even when he is angry he knows what he is about." "Then we'll wait for him till morning." "Meanwhile repose in peace. My humble dwelling is
that
not very luxurious, but
is
let
your honor imagine that
it
a hunting hut in the forest."
"But where, then,
"I'll
will
your reverence sleep?"
I
go out
to the bee-house.
can sleep there excel-
lently well; I
have a couch of Hnden leaves."
I also love to sleep
I'll
"Nay, but
with
on linden
lie
leaves, covered
I
my
sheepskin cloak.
there to-night.
air at night,
am
accustomed to sleeping
are an old
in the
open
and you
man"
—he
forgot that he
was one himself
your comfort for
"I could never permit
you
to sacrifice
my
sake."
The clergyman paused for an instant like one who is suddenly struck by a new and odd idea. "You said just now that you had insulted Hátszegi,
did you not?" he asked.
"Well
—yes —
!
if
you must know." 332
Poor Plutocrats
"Grossly?"
"Yes, and most deliberately."
"Very good
ity.
;
I
only asked the question out of curios-
You
shall
have the choice of your resting-place;
like to sleep?"
where would you
"Good.
for me.
I I
"I choose the bee-house."
It is
true that the night air
sleep, then, in
is
not very good
will
my
usual resting-place."
"And
will sleep
among
the bees.
Their
humming
close beside a
man's ears generally brings him dreams
that a king
would envy." "Then good-night, sir."
at the little porch.
"Good-night."
They parted
Gerzson wrapped his
cloak round his shoulders and went toward the bee-house,
but the priest returned to his chamber, blew out the light,
lay
fell
down
fully dressed
like
on
his bed, took
up
his rosary
and
a-praying
one
who
does not expect to see the
dawn
of another day.
his
He knew
man
;
he knew what was coming.
Squire Gerzson. on the other hand, troubled himself
not a jot about possible consequences.
chalance of a true sportsman, he
lit
With
his
the non-
his pipe and, lest
he
to
should set anything on
sleep a
fire,
he made up
mind not
wink
till
he had smoked his pipe right out.
In order that slumber might not come upon him unawares, he resolved to
fix his
eyes on the castle
windows
off.
—
as
the
best
preservative against
dropping
He
could see them quite plainly from the bee-house.
333
Poor Plutocrats
windows were darkened one by one. It seemed as if, contrary to the words of the clergyman, the revelers within there did not mean to await the rosy dawn glass in hand, but had lain down early. For, indeed^ it was still early. The village cocks had
illuminated
The
only just crowed for the
first
time.
It
could not be
much
beyond
eleven.
After the lamps had been extinguished, the castle
stood there in the semi-obscurity of night like a black,
old world ruin.
It
stood right in front of the moon,
its
which was now climbing up behind
bastions,
and
where its light met together in
fell
a corner room,
upon two opposite windows which it shone through them
This room
both and lighted up the whole apartment.
was the baroness's dormitory. While Mr. Gerzson was luxuriating
in the
contempla-
tion of the moonlight, he suddenly observed that the
moonlight falling upon the windows was obscured for an
somebody were passing up and down the room. In a few moments this obscuration was repeated, and the same thing happened a third time, and a fourth,
instant, as if
and many times more, just as
if
some one were passing
in the
up and down
in that particular
room
middle of the
night restlessly, incessantly.
Mr. Gerzson counted on
sequently the froing
it
his pulses the seconds
which
thus elapsed between obscurations
— sixteen seconds, conperson was to-and-
room
in
which
this
so late at night like a spectre
paces from one end to the other.
must be sixteen So long as the other
334
Poor Plutocrats
windows had been
lit
up, this person
had not begun to
its
walk, but as soon as the whole castle was slumbering
restless course began.
Gerzson
felt
that
if
he looked
much
longer he would
become moonstruck himself.
Slowly divesting himself of his cloak, and after knocking the burning ashes out of his pipe, he noiselessly
quitted the bee-house^ traversed the garden, and sprang
over the fence at a single bound.
in the
Then he
stole
along
shadow of
till
the poplar avenue leading up to the
castle
he stood beneath the moon-lit window, climbed
like a veritable lunatic
on to the projecting stones of the
old bastion, and gazed from thence, at closer quarters, at the regularly recurring shadow.
But not even now was he content, but began to break
off little portions of the
moldering mortar and cautiously
throw them
at the
window.
When
one of these
little
fragments of mortar rattled against the glass the whole
window was
Gerzson
felt
quickly obscured by a shadow, as
it
if
the
night wanderer had rushed to
in order to look out.
absolutely certain that he
must be observed,
for there he stood clinging fast on to the molding.
A
few moments afterward the shadow disappeared suddenly from the window, and again the moonlight shone
uninterruptedly through
it.
Gerzson determined to remain where he was,
to see
what would come of
moonlight, the
it.
In a short time the shadow reappeared in front of the
window was
335
silently
and very
slightly
—
Poor Plutocrats
raised,
—
!
and through the sHt
fluttered a rolled
up piece of
paper.
This missive
fell
from the molding of the bastion
Mr. Gerzson scrambled down after
dark and, sticking
it
down
it,
into the moat.
at
it
grabbed
in the
into his
pocket, returned to the dwelling of the priest.
Not wishing
carriage,
to arouse the clergyman, he
in the stable,
went
to his
which stood
and
lit
the lamp, in
order to read the mysterious missive.
The
letter
was written on
a piece of paper torn out
of an album.
He
recognized Henrietta's handwriting,
as follows
:
and the contents of the note were
Gerzson
!
"Good kind
is
I
implore you, in the
name
of
all
that
sacred,
to depart this instant.
Depart on foot by by-paths
If
the priest will guide you.
you do not wish me
I
to lose
my
reason altogether, tarry here no longer.
still
am
very
unhappy, but
to remain here.
affectionate
more unhappy I should be if you were Avoid us and forget me forever your
—
respectful
you
in her prayers
—and
"
— —
—
friend,
who
will ever
mention
whom
you have treated as a
this letter
daughter
Henrietta.
first
Gerzson's
of relief
feeling
on reading
was one
— evidently
Henrietta was not angry with him
or she would not have alluded to herself as his daughter
There must, therefore, have been some other reason for
her turning back other than the squabble between them
which Hátszegi had so industriously
he would
settle
circulated.
Well,
accounts with Hátszegi presently.
What
he found especially hard to understand, how-
336
Poor Plutocrats
ever,
letter.
was
the
mysterious
warning contained
in
the
"Well,
my
dear parson," he said to himself, "I very
much
regret having to arouse you
from your slumbers,
but there's nothing else to be done," and, unscrewing
the coach lamp, he took
it
with him and went toward the
house.
The hall door was closed; he had to shake it. The parson was evidently still awake; his voice
sounded from within the house
the Lord!"
:
re-
"All good spirits praise
"Amen.
'Tis I
who am
at the door.
Let
me
in,
rev-
erend father."
The
priest
immediately opened the door and,
!"
full
of
amazement, asked Mr. Gerzson what had happened.
"Read
lighting
that
said Gerzson,
handing him the
letter
and
him with
is
the lamp.
"This
the baroness's writing," said the priest,
script.
who
immediately recognized the
"What do you
ately.
I
say to
its
contents?"
place immedi-
"I say that you must get
quite
away from this comprehend the meaning of
a
the baroness's
directions."
"What!
fly
from
man whom
I
have just called out?"
called."
"No, you must
fly
from the man you have not
"I don't understand."
"You
now.
will
one day, but there
all,
is
no time for parleying
I
First of
put on
my
garments, while
dress
up
in peasant's clothes."
337 (F)— (15)—Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
"Why?" "Why!
mountains.
Because
I
I
must be your guide through the
you."
can not trust another to do you that service.
I tell
Do
quickly
what
The
priest
gave
his orders to
Mr. Gerzson with im-
perious brevity, but that gentleman, even in his present
situation, could not divest himself of his
homely humor,
and, as he
was donning
the parson's long cassock and
pressed the broad-brimmed clerical hat
head, he
fell
down upon
cut.
his
a-Iaughing at the odd figure he
it!"
"Deuce take
But the
he cried; "I never imagined that
I
should ever be turned into a parson."
priest
was angry
at the untimely jest, and,
:
turning savagely upon Squire Gerzson, said
is
"Sir, this
no time for jesting; we
are,
both of us, standing on
the very threshold of death."
Gerzson was no coward, nor did he trouble himself
very
much about death
at least
;
but the emphatic tone of the
last,
parson
induced him, at
to take the matter
seriously.
"Then, according to
that,
you
also are in
danger on
my
I
account?"
!
"Ask no questions
I
knew what would happen when
gave you a night's lodging."
Then he took
the coat he
out of a drawer a packet of letters, and
in the
bade Gerzson put them
pocket of his cassock, as
pockets.
was wearing had no
I
"Why
do you take these with you?"
fear to leave
"Because
them
here,
and also because
338
Poor Plutocrats
I
I
believe
I
shall
never return to
this
house any more.
is
have one request to make of you. and that
that
you
will read these letters
and keep the contents to yourself."
so.
Gerzson promised to do
It
was
just as the descending
moon seemed
house by
to be rest-
ing on the summits of the mountains that the priest and
his guest
quitted the quiet
little
way
of the
garden.
fugitives,
The was
outs,
night,
which covered the
retreat of the
pitch dark.
accustomed to that
ins
Nobody but one who had been district for years, and knew all its
and
could have found a path through these
wooded gorges. By the morning
light the fugitives perceived the little
posting station on the highroad.
There the
priest exhis clerical
changed clothes with Gerzson and resumed
attire.
"Nothing can detain us now,"
in
said the priest;
"you
I
can procure post-horses here and return home, but
go
an opposite direction."
"Whither?"
"The world
me.
is
wide.
In a month's time
Do not trouble yourself we shall meet again."
about
"Where?" "At this very place." The priest hastily quitted
toward the
tow^n,
Gerzson
and
returned
forest, while the latter
went on
to the little
where he speedily got post-horses.
he found himself
it
When now
sitting all safe
and sound
in the carriage,
suddenly struck him
how remarkably
339
Poor Plutocrats
was that he and the parson should have actuallyHow they would fled away from a non-existing danger. laugh at him from one end of the kingdom to the other! Suppose Henrietta had been playing a practical joke upon him But then, on the other hand, Henrietta was not
odd
it
!
of that sort
— so he consoled himself.
But there was another thing which bothered him a
good
The coachman had been left behind with the four horses, and would not know what to make of the disappearance of his master and the priest. When, howdeal.
ever,
the post-chaise stopped
in
front of his house at
Arad,
whom
should he see coming to meet him through
the gate but this very coachman,
the meeting
whose astonishment at was even greater than his master's. And then, to the amazement of the postilion, master and servant fell upon each other's neck, and embraced each
other again and again.
"Come me what
into the house," said
befell you.
all
I
Gerzson
at last,
"and
it
tell
don't
want you
sir,
to bellow
out
here before
"I hardly
the world."
to put
it,
know how
but
I
will tell
it
you as best I can. After watering the horses, I lay down and went to sleep. A loud neighing suddenly awoke me, and, looking around, I saw a great light. The parson's house
was
all
in flames.
Up
I
I
was
I
in a jiffy
and
ran to the door to
call
your honor, but
found the door
was locked from the
inside.
then ran to the windows
and found that the shutters were nailed down over them. What horrified me most of all, however, was that nobody
340
—
Poor Plutocrats
came from the
castle to put the fire out.
to roar for help,
and while
I
Then I began was roaring and running
heard two shots, and the
left
up and down looking for an ax, with which to batter
in the
door
'banim! bantmí
I
bullets whistled to the right
and
to
about
;
my
ears.
At
that
all
my
pluck went
down
to
my
heels
I
rushed under
the shelter of the barn, cut the tether ropes of the horses,
swung myself up on
the saddle-horse,
driving the
others before me, and galloped into
Arad without once
stopping to water them."
So he had reached home more quickly than Squire
Gerzson himself.
"Well,
my
son," said Gerzson, "all that you have told
me
of
is
it
gospel truth I have no doubt, but say not a word'
to anybody, or else
—
" (and here he muttered the
folk fear
threat which the ordinary
most of
courts,
all)
—"or
Hungarian common
else the affair will
come before the
silence.
and you
will
have to give testimony on oath."
After that he was sure of the fellow's
341
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XIX
THE SHAKING HAND
Whoever
had
Ever
utmost
in
an
evil
hour encountered Fatia Negra
a shaking
hand
for the rest of his Hie.
since that meeting at the inn, Henrietta's
hand
the
also trembled to such
an extent that
it
was only with
difficulty that she
could sign her
own name.
What happened
home?
to her after that
meeting?
Whom
The
did she recognize in Fatia Negra?
How
did she get
—
all
these things remained eternal secrets.
tell
it
lady was never able to
to anybody.
Perchance
she herself regarded
it
as a dream.
The poor
lady used
now
to
pray
all
day.
For hours
and
at a time she
would kneel before the
kneeling
altar of the castle
chapel, returning thence to her perpetual walking to
fro, to
and
fro,
down
to
pray again when she
was
tired out.
;
And
till
till
so she went on from morning to
evening
night,
nay,
late into the night,
sometimes
till
mid-
sometimes
the
dawn
of the next day, up and
walls,
down, up and down, between four
knees again a-praying.
and then on her
She never appeared
were sent
to
in the
dining-room; her meals
her room.
She scarcely touched them;
342
Poor Plutocrats
it
was
difficult
to
understand
how
to
she kept body and
soul together.
She only quitted her chamber
such
times
she
go
to chapel.
At
would
frequently
meet domestics or
strangers in the castle corridors, but she looked at nobody
and said not a word.
there, that they
She did not
notice that they
were
were amazed
at her, that they greeted
her.
No
one had heard her speak for a long time.
And, therefore, they thought her mad.
the domestics whispered this
villagers
At
first
only
among
it
themselves, then the
—and
in a
month's time
was notorious through
Transylvania that the youthful Baroness Hátszegi was
out of her mind.
Early one morning, as Henrietta was returning from
chapel,
there
suddenly appeared before her a ragged
in
woman, who must have been hidden
some
niche, as
the servants had not seen her or driven her out.
"Stop one moment, m}^ lady," whispered the woman,
and Henrietta seemed
the face.
to hear in that whisper the voice
of an old acquaintance, though she did not recognize
It
was
it
half
masked
in a cloth,
and the
little
she could see of
like the face of
was
disfigured by
wounds and
scars,
fire.
one
who
had been badly injured by
Henrietta was horrified at the sight of her; she looked
so dreadful.
"Don't be frightened,
ing
my
lady,'*'
said the
woman,
fall-
down
on her knees before her and seizing Henrietta's
dress to prevent her
from escaping, "I
Henrietta fixed her eyes upon the
am Anicza." woman full
of
343
—
Poor Plutocrats
stupid amazement, and vainly sought in her face for
trace of the ideal loveliness
some
to
which only the other day,
so
it
seemed, had made her so charming.
She began
fancy that the
if
woman was
under some
evil spell,
and that
any one could but repeat the talismanic word, her
former loveliness would be restored to her.
"You can not
recognize
in
me,
your
ladyship,
for
if
my
it
face
was burned
the
Lucsia Cavern.
it
Oh,
had only always been what
is
now.
I
am much
I let
better as I
am
I
now.
God has punished me
because
I
my
vain
soul be lost for the sake of
my
fair face.
am
not
of
now
as
used to be.
Yes,
God has
smitten
all
us on account of our sins, as your ladyship already
knows; but none has
nounced
to be
all
He
smitten so hard as me.
I
de-
my
kinsfolk and acquaintances to the tribunal
avenged on one man who had deceived
a beggar, an accursed creature,
them were taken except him, and he escaped.
I
me all of And now
every one never feel
—
am
whom
drives from his door, but what care I?
—
I
hungry.
They took away all my father's property Heaven only knows how much there was; more than
I think, I
twenty thousand ducats,
mine, for
I
and
it
would have been
denounc-
am
;
his only child.
was summoned before
thousand
the court; they said they would reward
ing the society
ducats.
they said they
me for would give me a
ducats
for
Ha,
ha,
ha! a thousand
I
making
humbly
myself the wretched creature
am!
I
But
I
did not come
to
here to frighten your ladyship;
came here
beg a favor.
Gracious lady, the magistrates told
me
344
Poor Plutocrats
that a
mixed commission
and that
his
will be
appointed to try the
forgers,
lordship,
the baron, will be the
president of this commission; on
him depends
the
life
and death of every one concerned.
Henrietta
felt
obliged to lean against the wall.
"My
is
lady, I
do not expect
impossibilities; I can not
wish that the guilty should remain unpunished
justice
;
!
—
justice
But the leader of the whole gang was Fatia
Negra
he planned everything, the others only carried
out his orders.
And now
there
father
is
a lot of false witnesses
ready to swear that
my
throw
all
the blame upon
else,
him
;
but
was the ringleader, and it was Fatia Negra,
mentioned
Fatia
and nobody
as
God knows."
peasant
Every
time
the
woman
Negra's name a spasmodic twitch convulsed Henrietta's
pale features.
"Gracious
lady,'^'
continued Anicza, "I implore you,
by the tender mercies of God, not to abandon me.
Grant
me my
petition!
Either
I
let
them
kill
me
or lock
me up
with the others.
implore you,
my
lady, to speak or
write to your husband (if these things must be in writing)
on
my
behalf.
Do
not
let
me
perish.
God
will not be
angry with you for protecting me."
Henrietta was
now even
less able to
speak than before.
in
But though she could not express herself
tremulous hand to Heaven, as one
oath before God.
Anicza,
words, she
placed one hand on the girl's head and raised the other
who
takes a solemn
Then
she tore herself
away from
of her gar-
who had
stooped to kiss the
hem
345
:
Poor Plutocrats
ment, and hastened back to her
own room.
and
On
reaching
the threshold of the house, she looked back and the girl had sunk
saw
that
down
in the dust
\vas gratefully
kissing the very traces of the footsteps of the departing
lady.
On
it
reaching her room, Henrietta paced up and
down
and
for a long time, wringing her hands as she went,
moaning loudly:
herself
"My God! my God!" Then
she flung
down on
her couch, writhing like one in mortal
agony.
But soon she strengthened her heart and
at the writing table.
sat
down
What had become
now
issued
of that beautiful
handwriting of hers, which had resembled copperplate?
Scarcely legible letters
from her trembling
hand,
dumb
witnesses of the terror of her heart, and yet
it
write she must, for
was her
petition to her husband.
Ah
!
that she should be forced to write to him.
Her letter was as follows "Dread Sir Tremulously and submissively I apIn the name of an unhappy creature, I proach you.
—
appeal to your compassion.
You
will be the
judge of
a
lot
of wretched men.
I
Be
merciful to them.
By
the
grace of Heaven
the
implore you condemn them not!
I
In
name
of God,
implore you not to sign their death
I
warrants.
By
the terrors of eternity,
implore you do
not ruin these men, for they are most innocent.
N. N."
And now
She durst not subscribe her own name. she waited she watched for the moment
;
when Leonard
quitted his room, and, slipping in, laid
346
Poor Plutocrats
the petition on the couch, where he would be sure to
find
it. Nobody observed her. The same day she encountered him;
she had, in fact,
in
sought
for such
an encounter.
It
was
the great
armory,
Leonard, as soon as he perceived his wife,
began humming some hght operatic tune, and bawled
through
hounds.
the
door to the dog-keeper
to
unleash
the
The
pale lady nevertheless approached
him with
tot-
tering but determined footsteps, and, folding both her
trembling hands as
if in
prayer, stood mutely in front
of the door through which Leonard would have to pass,
like
some dumb
spirit
from another world.
But Leonard
merely shrugged his shoulders and passed her by, whistling all the time.
Again, on the following day, the timid petition lay on
Leonard's
table^ written in the
it
same tremulous
characters.
Henrietta had written
his
again,
and again had crept into
chamber, and in whatever part of the house the mag-
nate might
this
now
be found he everywhere encountered
pale,
tremulous figure, who, pressing her hands
together,
and
without
uttering
a
word,
they
gazed
at
him
why.
beseechingly,
imploringly
—only
two knew
On
the third day Leonard again found the petition,
and again encountered Henrietta.
This time he spoke to her.
"My
dear Henrietta, have you read
The
Mysteries of
Paris'?"
347
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta, as usual, only stared at the speaker with
frightened eyes and said nothing.
"How
did you like the description of Bicetre?
A horfact,
rible place,
eh?
I
have noticed that you have been belately.
it
having in rather a peculiar way
In
the
whole
district
has been talking about
crazy.
it,
and saying that
all
you are a
little
I
have been asked
Hitherto
I
if
sorts of
questions about
too.
have always told
once
I
everybody that
that
in a
it
it
is
not true.
But
should say
is true,
then you will be most certainly shut up
madhouse.
Regulate your conduct accordingly."
34«
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XX
THE FIGHT FOR THE GOLD
Of
He
late
Mr. Gerzson Satrakovics had invented for
all
himself a peculiar sort of pastime.
had renounced bearhounds and greyhounds and
;
other kinds of dogs
he did not care a jot
when
partridge-
shooting began, but he hung up his gun on a nail and
began regularly visiting one after another the session
courts of the counties of Arad, Biehar, and
Temes
of which he was a justice of the peace
resolutions.
—
to
—
in all
and moving
induce the
The
object of
these
resolutions
was
three counties to endeavor with their united strength, and
in conjunction with the
Transylvanian counties of Hun-
yad, Fehér, and Zarand to extirpate the robber bands
that
had so long been terrorizing the whole
lists
district.
He
compiled
localities,
of the atrocities perpetrated in the various
all
and connected them
robber,
with the name of one
particular
the
notorious "Fatia Negra."
He
to
produced convincing proofs of the existence of a combination extending
from the depths of the dungeons
this
the summits of the mountains, which
by the
magic influence of
one man, and he
was held together left no
stone unturned to bring
him
349
to book.
Poor Plutocrats
He, naturally, became quite a laughing-stock for
pains,
his
and
his acquaintances could
not for the
life
of
them understand what had come
to the
man.
to
"Why,
philippic
old
fellow!"
said
Count Kengyelesy
in
him
fiery
one day after he had been indulging
at
an unusually
Quarter Sessions, "why, old fellow, what
that
sort
of
venom have you swallowed
makes you
perorate so savagely against this worthy Fatia Negra?
If
anybody has cause
to complain against
him
it
is
I,
for he relieved
me
of one thousand ducats on the high-
road, and so cleverly did the rascal
manage
it
that
I
can
not find
it
in
my
to
heart to bear
him any
I
ill-will.
But what
have you got
do with him,
should like to
know?
six)ut-
What
is all
this cock-and-bull story
you keep on
ing out concerning organized robber bands and mysteri-
ous chieftains?
Is
it
3^our ambition,
my
I
friend, to be-
come
want
all
public prosecutor?''
it
"Yes,
is,
and public prosecutor and
they do,
will be, too. at
I
six counties to place their
call,
if
armed constabulary
wager
that
I'll
my
beck and
I'll
so purify
these Alpine regions that the robbers will not have a
single lurking hole left."
"Rubbish!
Don't make a fool of yourself.
Besides,
they say that Fatia Negra has flown to America."
"Newspaper
lies.
He
is,
is
here
;
I
know he
is."
"And suppose he
has been cut off to the very
what harm can he do ? This band They have all last man.
been sentenced heavily, the older
penal servitude, the younger men
men
to
twenty years'
to penal servitude for
350
Poor Plutocrats
life.
I
had
it
from Hátszegi himself, who was the
presi-
dent of the mixed commission that tried them and signed
the judgment himself.
The whole
fraternity
is
now
sit-
ting in chains in the trenches of Gyulafehérvár, and
we
have seen the
last of it."
''What guarantee have you of that ?"
region ever since.
"What guarantee? Why, the security of the whole Why, every one there can now sleep
if
with open doors, and
you yourself were
to lie
dead
drunk
in the public
thoroughfare you would not have
your money stolen from your pocket any more."
Squire Gerzson protested vehemently against the as-
sumption that he was*
in the habit of
sprawling
tipsily
on the king's highroad.
'Til
just
tell
you," said he,
"why everything
is
so secure
is
still
now.
The
confiscated gold of Fatia
Negra
at Gyulafehérvár, as a forfeit to the
crown, and sooner
is
or later must be sent to Vienna.
Fatia Negra
not
dead, his robber band has not been captured, and does
not
sit
in irons at Gyulafehérvár,
and the present trantheir plans
nicely.
quillity
and imagined security
to
suit
The band now pretends
wait
till
have vanished, but just you
the gold
is
sent
under convoy from Gyulawill see
fehérvár to Vienna
—and you
because
I
is
some fun."
man,
this
"How
"I
do you know that?"
it,
know
sir,
know
that this
brazen-faced, iron-fisted
man
not such a chicken-hearted
creature as to allow a half-million or so to be snatched
from him without
stirring every nerve
and muscle
to
351
!
Poor Plutocrats
try
and win
it
back again.
For
I
know
that
hith-
erto
he has always triumphed over the power of the
law and has always escaped from the most dangerous
ambushes."
"Well,
all I
can say
is
that
I
do not understand what
you have
to
do with
this
worthy man."
The
falsely
coined gold pieces deposited at Gyulatrial
fehérvár had, after the
was
over, to be sent to
filled
Hungary
to be recoined.
The
precious consignment
two post-wagons, and was of the estimated value of a
million and a half.
to escort
it.
Four and twenty Uhlans were told off This was a more than sufficient protection
costly treasure at ordinary times.
for the
most
More-
over, in
Hungary, cavalry has always inspired the mob
with terror.
During the disturbances
at the time of the
cholera outbreak, two squadrons of Hussars were easily
able to quell the whole riot.
late
It
was impossible
to calcu-
how many
robbers and peasants the four and twenty
So, at least, the
Uhlans were capable of coping with.
county magistrates believed.
The
soldiers
were accompanied by a lieutenant
official
;
the
post-wagons were under the charge of an
ant and a controller.
account-
All the postilions were provided
strictly
with
pistols,
and
it
was
ordered that the wagons
six o'clock.
were not
to travel
on the highroad after
There was no lack of precaution, anyhow
Now, when
the post-wagons had reached the celebrated
in
Bridge of Piski, where
1849 ^ small Hungarian band
352
Poor Plutocrats
held an Austrian
face,
army
at bay, lo, there
and then, face to
and the
four and twenty horsemen came, riding toward
side of the bridge,
five
them from the opposite
All the four
and twentieth was Fatia Negra.
and twenty had black crape wound round had the lining turned outward,
their faces, their clothes
and they were well provided with swords, poleaxes, and
rifles.
Fatia Negra himself rode a vigorous black stalin his
lion,
and held
hand
a broad,
naked sword.
The horse
of the
Uhlan
lieutenant took fright at the
to rear it was as much him from springing over
;
sight of the black faces,
and began
as his rider could do to prevent
the parapet of the bridge.
Fatia Negra and his band halted in the centre of the
bridge and did not budge from the spot.
The
lieutenant
was a brave
soldier,
who
never
lost his
presence of mind; he tightened the reins of his plunging
horse and, turning toward Black Mask, exclaimed
are you, what do you want, and
:
"Who
why do you
block up the
bridge?"
A
afar
:
deep, thunderous
manly voice
replied to
him from
you have
I
"I
am
is
Fatia Negra.
The
I
treasure which
with you
mine
it
—
it
has been stolen from me.
want
to
have
back again.
;
have brought hither a
I
now man
meet
gold
to every
man
of yours
we
are as strong as you.
you openly
in the light of day.
Give
iron."
me
back
my
or you shall have a taste of
my
The
lieutenant,
who was one
353
of the best
swordsmen
and one of the bravest heroes in the regiment, did not
Poor Plutocrats
think twice about accepting the challenge, but put spurs
to his steed
in the
and
fell
upon the adventurer who awaited him
Fatia
middle of the bridge.
encountered a terrible antagonist.
He
Negra
warded every blow and countered instantly; the young officer was thrown into confusion by the superior dexterity of his
opponent, and
it
was only a
soldier's sense of
honor that induced him
to continue
:
an attack which was
bound
to end fatally for himself
at once
practised fencers always
know
whether they can vanquish their antagonist
or not.
At the same time it was really surprising that Fatia Negra did not immediately take advantage of his
skill.
strength and
He
seemed to be sparing
his
enemy;
nay, he even retreated before
him
step
by
step.
Meanwhile the
fight
on the bridge had become general.
The
lancers hastened to the assistance of their leader, the
black masks slashed
away
at
them with
their axes,
and
soon there were very few
among
the combatants
who
ad-
had not received
of the bridge,
a lance thrust or an ax blow.
The
venturers were forced by the lancers to the opposite end
when
the miller,
who
lived
in the mill
beside the bridge, thrust his head out of the
window and
shouted: "Take care, soldiers!
the beams of the bridge
have been sawn through
!"
it
Was
break
this the fact
?
Was
their
the plan of the adventurers
it
to entice the horses
on
to the bridge in order that
might
down beneath
weight?
—or
this
was
the miller
also an accomplice
and only shouted
because the sol-
diers
were gaining the upper hand?
In either case the
354
Poor Plutocrats
warning cry had a magical
reach their
effect
upon the pursuers, for
they immediately turned back in alarm and strove to
own end of the bridge again. And now they perceived what a twofold
set for
trap the cun-
ning adventurers had
them, for while the lancers
had been fighting with the mounted robbers, a large armed
band had surrounded the post-wagons
in their rear, disin attempt-
armed
the postilions,
and were now engaged
into the ditch
ing to overturn the
wagons
by the roadside.
freed them The lancers dashed toward the in a moment from the hands of the mob, which, on their appearance, dispersed among the brushwood by the roadside,
wagons and
from whence they began
far
firing.
Not
from the bridge was an
inn,
and there the
cavalry and the post-wagons sought a refuge.
deed, they needed
it.
And,
in-
The number
more than
the
tall
of the footpads
;
armed
to per-
with guns was about a couple of hundred
the whole road, and,
ceive that
that,
it
they enfiladed
was easy
some of
roadside poplars had been
sawn through beforehand, so that they might be made down, and thus make it impossible for the postwagons across the road, behind the backs of the soldiers,
to fall
to force their
way
through.
The
soldiers had, indeed,
no reason
to fear that the
rabble, nine-tenths of
which had no professional knowlinn, for
edge of the art of war, would boldly storm the
in
such a case the soldiers would
know how
to
defend
themselves vigorously, well provided as they were with
carbines; but they were well aware of one thing, to wit,
355
Poor Plutocrats
that
fall
if
they allowed themselves to be surprised after nightlost,
they were
for the robbers could then set fire to
the house over their heads and burn
them
alive.
is
For
their lives they cared
nothing;
it
a soldier's
business to die; but
how
that
to save the enormous treasure
entrusted to them
—
twenty horsemen
effort, stacle,
in a
was the problem. solid mass might, with
a
Four and
a desperate
cut their
way through
mob, despite every ob-
but to take the heavy wagons along with them
was
impossible, for the road in front
was barred by the
read the his-
mob; the bridge and
the road behind by the felled poplars.
Fortunately, the officer in
command had
tory of Napoleon's Russian campaign, and he recollected
how
chest
the
guard on one occasion had saved the military
to be left behind.
from the Cossacks when the wagon, from want of
had
horses,
He now
applied his knowl-
edge practically.
The ducats were taken out of the post-wagons and distributed among the soldiers; knapsacks, cartridge
boxes, belts, and shakos were
filled
with the treasure;
not a cent was
left in
the wagons, yet they nailed
carefully, that
it
down
all
the chests inside
them
might take
the longer to break
postilions
them open.
on
Then they mounted
the
and the
civilians
the spare horses, hastily
threw open the gates, and the whole band rushed into
the courtyard.
A
sharp volley poured
in
upon them from every
side;
some of them were wounded, but none mortally, for their And assailants either fired from afar or aimed badly.
356
Poor Plutocrats
this
was
well, for every
dead
man among them would
have been worth 100,000 guldens,
Fatia Negra and his horsemen stood close at hand with
their loaded
muskets pointed
in their hands, but they did
not
fire.
"Let the lancers run
if
they like
!"
cried Fatia Negra.
"Give
all
your attention to the wagons!"
the
The cavalry soon escaped from
shooters, leaped over the barriers
mob
of sharp-
and began galloping
rapidly back to Széb safe and sound.
to haste, for
it
And
they had need
was easy
to foresee that as soon as the
cry of victory behind their backs had changed into a cry
of fury,
it
would be a sign
that Fatia Negra's
band was
rushing after them.
And, indeed, scarce a quarter of an hour had elapsed when they could perceive clouds of dust whirling up
behind them, which proved that the audacious adventurers,
after
discovering
the fraud,
were actually
in
pursuit.
What
unheard-of audacity
!
In broad daylight, on the
civilized,
King's highway, within the borders of a highly
well-organized state, a troop of adventurers dares to
attack an equal
number of
trained soldiers.
Gold must
the audacity
have turned the heads of the
to
men who had
it.
do such a thing
!
Yet they did
saw the cloud of dust behind their backs gradually draw nearer, the neutral ground between gradually diminished; the fellows were capitally mounted,
The
soldiers
there could be no doubt of that.
357
Poor Plutocrats
The
lieutenant ordered his
men
to halt
and face the
foolhardy bandits.
He
arranged them two deep and
spread them out so that they extended right across the
road.
He
himself stood in the centre, a
;
little
in
advance
of the rest
the civilians
were
in the rear.
Presently single shapes were discernible through the
approaching cloud of dust.
The
robbers were galloping
along in no regular order, with intervals of from ten to
twenty yards between each one of them.
More than
bred, as
if it
a thousand yards in front of his comrades
galloped Fatia Negra.
His splendid English thoroughblast
would outstrip the
which whirled the
to share the
dust aloft, flew along with
blind fury of his master,
him and seemed
who waved
his flashing
sword
above his horse's head and bellowed at his opponents from
afar like a wild beast.
"We'll seize the fellow before his companions come
up," said the lieutenant to his men.
his horse
"Cut him down from
and capture him
alive."
"Hurrah!" roared the lonely horseman, now only a yard off. "Hurrah!" the next moment he was in the
—
midst of them.
And now began
a contest which,
had
it
been recorded
re-
in the chronicles of the Crusades,
would have been
garded as an act of heroism that only awaited immortality
from a poet great enough
His
to sing
it.
Fatia Negra,
alone and surrounded, fought single-handed in the midst
of the hostile band.
light sword, flashing in his
hand
like lightning,
never stayed to parry, but attacked
358
Poor Plutocrats
incessantly.
Hiltless
in the air,
swords and headless shakos flew
around him
its
and withersoever
his horse turned
head an empty space gaped before him, every antag-
onist retreating before him.
So
close
was the combat
that the soldiers stood in each other's way, and could
not use their firearms for fear of shooting their comrades.
The
lieutenant
was the only man who did not
soldier,
avoid him.
Like a true
who
considers
wounds
skill,
an honor, he did not trouble himself to
recollect that his
adversary was superior to him both in strength and
but strove incessantly to urge his horse toward him.
Twice he struck the
the blow.
but the
body.
seem to feel Once he dealt him a skilful thrust in the side, sword bent nearly double without entering his "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Fatia Negra he must
fellow, but he did not
have put on a coat of mail beneath his jacket
— —and the
it.
same
instant he countered so savagely that
if
the lieu-
tenant had not dodged his head, he must have lost
As
it
was, the sword pierced through his shako, and
the
out poured
gold pieces by thousands on to
the
highroad.
At
the sight of the shower of gold pieces, Fatia
Negra
roared like a demon.
What
battle
mere joke
— now the
he had done hitherto was a
in
began
grim
earnest.
"Down
on
with your heads,
down with your
headpieces
!"
he thundered, and with the fury of a lion he flung himself
his opponents, every
one of
whom wore on
irresistibly
his
head
the dangerous magnet,
flashing sword.
which
attracted his
359
Poor Plutocrats
He
his
himself was
invulnerable.
Neither
sword nor
another
lance could penetrate his shirt of mail.
And meanwhile
companions were rapidly galloping up.
air
Now
shako flew into the
and the horse's hoofs trampled
the falling ducats in the mud.
"Shoot down
office
his horse!" cried the voice of the post-
functionary from the rear, and the same instant
three pistol shots resounded.
At the
third,
which struck
air.
him
full in
the chest, the animal reared high in the
Fatia Negra, perceiving the danger, and before the horse
had time to fall and crush him, leaped from the saddle on to the ground.
enemy on foot. He was blind now. He saw nothing before him but blood and ducats he was drunk with both. All at once he observed that he was alone, and fighting
attacked the
And now he
—
the air
skulls,
—he
or
no longer
felt
the contact of swords, or
human
it
bodies.
After the
officer
had been
wounded, the
and concluded
post-office functionary
took the
command
money.
advisable not to await the arrival of the
It
whole robber band.
was
his duty to save the
He
ordered the soldiers to turn back and
of their
already
way
spilt
to
Szászvár; the
for
was given up
make the best money that had been It was of no use for lost.
mere men
to attempt to grapple with such a devil incar-
nate as Fatia Negra.
"After them, after them!
Fatia
Give
me
a horse!" roared
Negra
to his
all
comrades as they came galloping up,
leaped from their nags, not so
whereupon they
much
360
Poor Plutocrats
indeed for the sake of giving him a mount as for the
sake of grabbing the scattered heaps of ducats.
*'Let that alone;
it
won't run away!" cried the Mask.
"The bulk of
it is
galloping in front of us
— follow me!"
The
left
And
at that,
without waiting their decision, he seized
one of the horses, swung himself into the saddle and
dashed after the lancers.
Nobody followed him.
if
robbers were wise enough to perceive that
they
lying here these thousands of ducats, actually won, in
order to run after ten times as
to catch (not to
many which
they had
still
mention the broken heads which they
into the bargain), the loafing
were sure to get
foot
of the confraternity
members who were following behind them on
nicely at their ease, so they
would pocket the booty
stayed where they were, with the comfortable persuasion
Negra would be sure perceived he was alone.
that Fatia
to turn back
when he
He, however, never gave them a thought,
spurs to his horse, pursued the soldiers.
but, putting
In vain.
He
did
had no longer a blood horse beneath him and was unable
to overtake the bearers of the lost treasure.
Nor
they halt again to give
him anything
to do.
Looking
back from time to time, they saw
how a
single
horseman
was galloping
after them, with his
sword blade firmly
gripped between his teeth, and a shuddering recollection
of the old nursery tales of nether-world monsters
came
over them.
horseman pursued them right up to the toll-house of Szászvár, and even when he gave up the
The
solitary
361
(F)— (16)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
pursuit the toll-man
saw him
for a long time trotting
his
fist
round about the outskirts of the town, shaking
and shouting imprecations.
Once or twice he drew near
was
the spell of terror sur-
enough
to fire his pistols
through the doors and windows
of the toll-house, and so great
rounding the person of the
terrible
monster that nobody-
ventured outside the city wall to try to capture him;
nay, the burgesses even remained under arms in the
streets all night,
guarding the principal entrances, for
his
fear lest Fatia
Negra and
band might take
;
it
into
it
their heads formally to besiege the place
and, had
only depended upon his will to do
so,
he would assuredly
have made the attempt.
But
it
never came to that.
On
his
returning to the place
of combat, Fatia
Negra found
horsemen
still
search-
ing in the
mud and
darkness for the
lost ducats,
and made
do
the
an attempt to reorganize his band, which
a
little
did, indeed,
maurauding on
infantry
its
own
a
account; but
when
news reached him, through one of
four
his paid spies, that
hundred
with
cannon
had
reached
Szászvár from Szeb, the very word "cannon" had such
an
effect
direction,
upon the robbers that they scattered in every Next as if a tempest had dispersed them.
a trace of
morning there was not
them anywhere.
362
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XXI
THE HUNTED BEAST
Such
That
a piece of audacity could not be overlooked.
a robber
horseman should
in the
middle of the
civili-zed
nineteenth century and within the confines of a
state take
it
into his head to attack, in broad daylight,
sol-
post-wagons defended by a strong escort of regular
diers,
was a thing unheard of. The news spread like lightning through the six confederated counties, and every one seized his sword and
musket.
had laughed
So old Gerzson Satrakovics, whom everybody It was universally at, was right after all. agreed that a stop must be put to this sort of thing once for all. There was no waiting now for the meetings of
Quarter Sessions.
The
prefects of the counties
pro-
claimed martial law, called out the militia and gathered
together the county police, in order, by their combined
efforts, to extirpate the evil
without having recourse to
the assistance of the military
—
a
measure always repug-
nant to the freedom-loving Magyars.
Squire Gerzson was elected the leader of this vast hunt, whose area extended over hundreds of square miles, by it was generally felt that all the six counties concerned
—
363
—
Poor Plutocrats
this
was but due
to
him
for the neglect of his warnings
this occasion that if
and Mr. Gerzson proved on
up of game.
he was
not a great strategist, at any rate he was a great beater
His plan was to occupy
all
the mountain
roads and passes leading out of the six counties with
armed bands of
militia,
while at the same time he himself
his
advanced slowly along the highroads with
gentlemen
volunteers joining hands together from place to place.
Between various groups of the volunteers were regular
lines of police,
they came to. army of beaters grew narrower and narrower day by day, and was to converge toward a fixed point which Squire Gerzson said he would more definitely indicate later on. Moreover, there was a flying column admitted to the full confidence of its leader, whose duty it was to appear
who had to thoroughly scour all the forests The encircling network of this gigantic
suddenly and unexpectedly in
all
parts of the closely
like a
environed region, in order to head off anything
definite plan of defense
on the part of the adventurers
easily.
and track them down more
special corps
The
leadership of this
was entrusted to young Szilárd Vámhidy, upon whose ingenuity, determination, and ability Squire
Gerzson professed to place the utmost
reliance.
As soon
as
he had received this important charge,
Szilárd took horse and set off at the head of his four and
twenty policemen.
First of
all
he went in the direction
of the Alps of Bihar and along a narrow mountain path,
and through a melancholy, uncanny region with not a living plant by the wayside and not a morsel of moss on
364
Poor Plutocrats
the naked rock.
No
sound
is
to be heard there but the
eternal sighing of the wind, and in the dizzy depths
below the traveler sees nothing but dense, dreary forests
crowding one upon another with the Alpine eagles
and screaming above them.
It
circling
was
just the place for a hunted
life
band of robbers to and death struggle
turn upon their pursuers for a last
— here
where even the bodies of the
be found.
For not once
chance to come this
slain would never two years does a wanderer way, and long before that time the
in
wolves and the vultures will have dispersed the bones
of the fallen.
Yet
this
time the robber bands did not
fall
in with
their pursuers, a sufficient proof that Szilard's plan
skilfully laid
was
and unanticipated.
his design,
it is
For had Fatia Negra
absolutely inconceivable
had any idea of
that he
would not have
lain
in wait for
him on
this
spectre haunted path,
where ten resolute men could have
held a whole
army
at bay.
For hours
their
Szilard's long troop of
horsemen pursued
Late in the
way along without meeting
first
a soul.
afternoon they came upon the
shepherd's hut.
The
herdsman himself was out
there
at
in the forest
with his flocks;
was no sign of
life
but a lame dog, which barked
them.
In the evening they met a mounted countryman car-
rying maize to be ground at the mill; him they took
along with them as guide. After
that
they
traveled
all
night
long,
passing
365
Poor Plutocrats
through Skeritora and Nyigsa,
till
they came to the
cataract of Vidra, which they reached at the rising of
the sun.
The houses
ings, as there
of these Alpine villages are so far apart
that next neighbors can not even see each other's dwellis
at
least half a
league between them.
This circumstance and the night season favored Szilard's
plans.
They could surround each house, one by
first
one,
without the inhabitants of the other houses being aware
of what had happened in the
ones
—a
fruitless labor,
for they found nothing of a suspicious nature.
Tired out, the band, early
in the
morning, reached the
need of
house beneath the
halting.
w^aterfall; here they felt the
then
some questions to the guide and dismissed him, commanding him to return to
Szilárd put
the
Skeritora.
When
guide had mounted, the police sergeant
:
observed to Szilárd
cal does not
"I fancy, your honor, that that ras-
mean
all
to return to Skeritora, but as
soon as
he
is
out of sight will turn back and give the alarm
the districts on our line of march."
beforehand in
*T fancy so too."
"But then every suspected person
whole
affair
is
will get
wind of the
at present
and have time to bolt."
just \vhat T want.
"Tliat
that they
The
trouble
is
lie
so
still."
lie
And
relieve
with that he ordered half of his police to
to
down
and sleep and the other half
each
other
remain awake, and so
every three hours.
So
the police
366
Poor Plutocrats
rested
till
midday, and then the sergeant began to urge
Szilárd to set off again, or else they
late.
would arrive too
and he spent a
"Tt
is
too early
yet,''
replied Szilárd,
good
half of the afternoon there doing nothing.
Only
then did he take horse again, complaining to every one
how much
yesterday's ride had taken
it
out of him, and
asking everybody he met on the road, coming or going,
where the next
village lay?
—how
to get to it?
—and
in
what
direction the highroad lay?
The
old
police
naturally
began murmuring among
themselves.
"Oh!"
said they, "if he keeps
this,
on blurting
only have
out his whole line of route like
we
shall
the empty nests of the robbers to thresh out for our
trouble."
"And
Fatia
this
chap thinks, forsooth, that he will capture
!"
Negra
growled the veteran sergeant.
fields
But no sooner did they get beyond the fenced
ing the
cut his
than Szilárd suddenly turned his horse's head and, lead-
way to the way through
at,
other side of the mountain stream,
the forest, ordering his comrades to
hurry after him as speedily as possible.
What
he was
aiming
his
nobody had the
least idea.
If
he meant to lose
way
do
it.
in the forest
he was setting about the best
way
to
Suddenly he ordered his followers to dismount and
lead their horses by their bridles up to the top of the
mountain.
The
old sergeant
now
guessed what he was
after, but did not
approve of
it.
367
Poor Plutocrats
"There
said he.
is
no path for
a
horse up this mountain,"
"Silence, sir!
I
know what
I
am
about.
Follow me!"
And
him up
so, for a
good half-hour, cursing
their leader bit-
terly beneath their breaths, they painfully struggled after
the dangerous path,
and then, suddenly, a mar-
velous sight met their gaze.
An immense
cavern gaped
open before them, through which, as through a tunnel,
they could reach the valley on the other side.
the so-called
This was
the
"Roman
this
Gate."
Many
believe that
Romans dug
passage through the mountain, but this
marvelous piece of workmanship has been carried out on
too vast a scale for anybody else but Nature to be
architect;
it
its
is
possible,
however, that the Romans
may
have used
this
passage for their campaigns.
And now
leader,
fire
the police understood the plan of their
young
and were ready to follow him blindly through
and water.
the valley beyond, and by
lit
In another half-hour they had passed through the
"Roman Gate" and reached next morning Vámhidy had
down
like a
thunderbolt
from the sky where nobody expected him.
By
the evening he had run
down
eight persons
who
were under very strong
suspicion.
letter to
After dusk the same
day he sent the following
Gerzson by one of his
men
:
"I feel certain
I
hold the thread of the whole con-
spiracy in
my
hands.
We are
on their track."
At
nightfall he
encamped
in a lonely mill,
it
which he
chose because, in case of necessity,
could easily be
368
Poor Plutocrats
defended.
He
was
had reasons for thinking that he might
built
be attacked in the night.
The
mill
over a rushing mountain stream,
so that the stream shot through and under the building,
over the wheels.
In front, three sluices confined within
the basin the collected flood of water, which
was here
very deep.
piles
A
broad, thick board laid across three stout
formed the bridge which connected the footpath
sloping
down from
the forest with the footpath
on the
opposite side.
Toward evening
that a blind beggar
his pickets
wanted
to
came and told Vámhidy speak to him and in secret,
to be led in.
so that nobody could hear.
Szilárd ordered the blind
man
He
seemed
to be a muscular, athletic fellow, with
broad shoulders
and a huge body
"Master, are
—what a
pity he
was
blind.
we
quite alone?" inquired the blind
man
when he stood before Vámhidy.
"We
are quite by ourselves;
what
is
it
you want,
my
good fellow?"
"Thank was good
so again.
you,
sir,
for calling
me
a
good
time,
fellow, for I
for something once
I
upon a
and
will be
Juon Tare, whose eyes were burned out in the Lucsia Cavern when they wanted to catch Fatia Negra, and the monster set the whole cavern
the famous
am
on
fire.
I
want the head of Fatia Negra.
I
am
after
that head now, and
when
I get
it
all
my woe
can
tell
will cease.
Do you want
it is."
that head,
Master?
I
you where
369
;
Poor Plutocrats
"Well?"
"Have you pluck enough not
Master ?"
"1
to be afraid of him,
am
afraid of nothing."
"And
yet
many brave men
fall
back at the sight of that
is
black face, which never changes, which
just like steel
and which they fancy neither sword nor
but
bullet
I
can hurt
my
nails
have torn
his body,
and
have seen his
blood flow."
"Say where he
is!"
"Close at hand."
"In what direction?"
that, I
"Ah, Master!" sighed Juon Tare, **how can who can see neither heaven nor earth?"
I
answer
"Then how do you know
"Ah, Master,
if I
that he
is
hard by?"
I
can recognize him by his voice, and
I
do not hear him speak,
can recognize the sound
of his footsteps
else
when
I
hear him draw nigh.
Nobody
has his trick of walking.
Sometimes he goes as
softly as a spectre, so that only the ears of a blind
man
it
can detect his
if
footfall,
and
at other times
he tramps as
re-
the whole earth beneath
step.
him were hollow and
I
sounds at every
Oh,
still
have often heard him
approaching when he was
far, far
away."
at the
"But do you know anything certain about him?"
"I will
tell
you everything, Master, beginning
see that
I
beginning.
You
am
blind, a blind beggar, for
begging
is
my
trade.
So long
as
my
wife was
alive, I
had no need
to turn to begging, for she
worked
for
me
370
;
Poor Plutocrats
and kept me. But she
died.
After that
left
I
would gladly
son, a child
have died of hunger, but she
but two years old, and
I
me
a
little
go a-begging for him.
Above
little
the brook here on the King's
built
is
highway
is
a stone bridge
by the county.
to lead
Early in the morning
my
son
wont
me
is,
hither and then returns to the village the wife of the scrivener looks after
little
mite as he
him, and in the evening he comes and fetches
again.
me home
Whatever
is
given
share with
gar.
my
poor hostess,
me by charitable wayfarers I who is poorer than any begIt
Yesterday something happened.
was
this.
I
was
I
sitting outside there at the
end of the bridge, and as
had not heard a human voice about me for
and
me. me.
it
a long time,
was extremely
I
hot, slumber
it,
weighed heavily upon
it
I
struggled hard against
but
was too much
for
was afraid
I
that
if
I
fell
across the road a cart
might go over me.
of the bridge.
sheltered there
So I knew
laid
myself
down under
the arch
the place well, for I
had often
from the storm.
head.
I will
Suddenly
ened by those familiar footsteps.
bridge over
my
take
I was awakThey passed across the my oath that it was he.
He
stood
still
in the
middle of the bridge.
Shortly after-
ward I heard the sound of many more footsteps coming, some from the left and some from the right. Men were coming in all directions toward the bridge, and there in there were the middle of it they stood I counted them
;
—
four and twenty of them."
Szilárd
now began
spoke.
to listen attentively.
"Then he
Oh, even
371
if I
had had the
light of
Poor Plutocrats
both
my
I
eyes, I could not
have seen him so plainly before
I
me
It
as
saw him
in
my blindness when
heard him speak.
was indeed he; at the very first word I recognized him; when I tell you what he said, then you also will recognize him. Master. Those four and twenty men are a sworn confederacy. It was a secret plot they were hatchbut
ing at that place, where nobody could surprise them, as
woods on every side. He called his companions here to tell them of the measures that were being taken against them. He told them they had no need to fear all that the six counties were doing, but that the little band which was zigzagging through the whole It was the cause of all district was greatly to be feared. the mischief and must be put out of the way. But his comrades made no reply. They grumbled and muttered among themselves, and at last they said that this would be a difficult thing to do. They all said they would not
it is
girt about with
tackle the police because they
were better shots than any
all its wiles.
robber, and were used to hunting and
In
vain were
all
the assurances of Fatia Negra; they said
they meant to hide
away
as best they could.
'Then hide
and be d
—d
to you,' said their leader;
I'll
T
will tackle
them
single-handed.
seek them out and
show you
his last
that they
too are but mortal men.'
Those were
words to
and
I
them; they scattered again,
me,
Fatia
to the right
and
left,
heard their departing footsteps over
lieve
sir,
my
head.
But besaid."
Negra
will try to
do what he
alone,
"What! many?"
come
and
attack
us?
—
against
so
372
'
;
Poor Plutocrats
"You do
"Nay,
did not not believe what
I say, sir,
but so
it
will be."
my
good
it
fellow, but are
you quite
certain
you
dream
I
all?"
first
"Master, in the
is
moment
what
fancied myself.
is
my amazement that How can a blind man know
of
I
whether he
forth
awake or dreaming?
therefore
of
it I
drew
cut a
cross in
my pocket-knife and with the point my left arm. Look, sir, there it is
!
Juon tucked up the wide
and
crosslike scar
sir,"
shirt-sleeve
from
his herculean
arm, and Szilárd was astonished to see the half-healed
—
it
had been a deep gash.
I
"So now,
pursued Juon, "you can see that
well, for Fatia
am
not dreaming.
Watch
Negra
will come.
Not
to-night, for he awaits
you came.
you on the road by which But to-morrow he will know that you have
Gate,'
dodged him by going through the 'Roman
Szilárd charged
and
to-morrow night you can safely reckon upon him."
word to anybody about what he had told him, and promised him a reward if what he had said really came to pass.
Juon not
to say a
That night nothing happened, and
till
the afternoon of
the next day he lingered idly at the mill.
Toward midday
;
they heard in the forest a loud barking of dogs
said
it
the miller
bears.
was no doubt the
lord of the
manor hunting
"He
hidy
;
chooses a very inopportune time," growled
away.'"'
Vám-
"he will scare my game The hunters were not long
in issuing
from the
forest
they seemed to have lost the track of the bear.
Vámhidy
sent
word
to the
gentlemen that he would
373
Poor Plutocrats
be
much
obliged to them
to
if
they would postpone their
season, as business
amusement
some more convenient was going on
here.
of a graver sort
Word was
at once
brought back that the company was quite ready to do
as he said.
The dogs were
signals,
quickly leashed again, the
beaters
recalled by
and the whole hunt came
few moments
later
straight toward the mill.
A
Vámhidy
Háts-
recognized in the leader of the hunt Leonard Hátszegi.
It w-as
an unwelcome surprise on both
the
first
sides, but
zegi
was
to recover himself,
if
and he greeted him
with as radiant a countenance as
cause of quarrel with him.
he had never had any
"We
both of us seem to be on a hunting expedition,
your honor!" said he.
"Mine
is
an
official
pursuit."
"And mine pure
have taken
in such
pastime.
Had
I
known you would
But
it is
this road, I
should certainly not have engaged
an inappropriate diversion.
all
over now;
we
are
going back.
My
bear
may run
—how
about
yours?"
"No
sign of
I
him
yet."
"Well,
could regale you with no end of interesting
I
anecdotes concerning the hunted adventurer, for
have
If
had more than one famous meeting with him myself.
it
were only worth your while
part, but also
to
pay us a
visit at
Hidvár,
I
could promise you the heartiest reception
— not only on
Vámhidy
I
my own
"I
coolly,
on the part of
my
wife."
am much
"but
I
obliged to your lordship," replied
am bound by
374
instructions
from which
;
Poor Plutocrats
can not depart.
Besides,
I
It is
not pleasure that brings
at last,
it
me
I
hither.
fol-
have got a sure clue
I
which
must
low
up,
and
know
it is
not whither
may
lead me."
"Bravo!
care,
So you are on
his track at last, eh!
Take
my
is
friend,
not a false clue.
These
rascals are
very crafty."
"It
a real clue that
I
have discovered.
You must
it
know
that before the confiscated gold captured in the
Lucsia Cavern was sent to Vienna, every coin of
was
have
marked with
tion, but
it
a
little
cross, a very simple official precau-
has proved very useful to us.
Now
I
come upon these marked ducats among the people here. They themselves, I believe, are innocent, and can give the name of the persons from whom they received them
and
so,
by tracing the various intermediaries, we
shall
come
I
at last
upon the
original dispensers of these ducats.
can imagine
how
Fatia Negra will laugh
when he
hears
in
that the soldiers of six counties are hunting for
him
the depths of the forests and tapping every rotten tree-
stump
in search of
him while he
is
sitting
ballet
comfortably in
some large theatre and eying the
his opera-glass
;
dancers through
surprised
but he will be very
much
:
when
one
fine day,
without any preliminary siege operations,
we
at
shall tap at his
own door and
inquire
*Is
Fatia
Negra
home?'"
Hátszegi laughed heartily.
"Not
found
a bad idea,
upon
my honor
!
I
myself
will
I
am inclined
be sooner
to think that the
worthy highwayman
in a cofiee-house than in a forest.
only regret
375
Poor Plutocrats
that I did not nize
mark my own
coins, so that I
might recog-
them again."
so,
And
party,
laughing and whisthng, he returned to his
to consist of
which appeared
mere dependents, and
gave them his orders.
"Unpack the horses and get lunch ready," said he; "we will not go any farther." Then he turned again to Vámhidy. "Since we are obliged to capitulate to superior force, would you be so good as to pick out with me a nice, round, shadowy spot in the forest, where we may encamp
and share with each other our provisions, which have
thus become the spoils of
war ?"
"Thank you, my
I
lord," replied
Vámhidy
coldly, "but
have already had
my
lunch."
His lunch, by the way, had consisted of a maize cake
baked
in the ashes,
"Then won't you allow your men
in-
to drink
my
health
a
glass
of
wine,
since
they are actually on
my
domains?"
"My
my
police are not allowed to drink; they
have to
remain sober.
leave,
They must not
is
leave the mill without
and your lordship must not camp out here,
your property.
although the mill
'verbiro'
For
of
just
now
I
I
am
(a magistrate with
power
life
and death),
here with the right to open and close every door as
think
fit."
I
may
"Then
shall
I
know how
376
to respect
your authority.
All the same,
do not withdraw
my
offer.
My
castle
;
Poor Plutocrats
and every house and shanty on my estate are at your disposal, and if you should not find me at home at Hidvár,
as
I
have to be
off early
to-morrow morning
to Széb,
my wife will be delighted to see you." And with that he threw his gun across
tripped
his shoulder
and
away with
well-bred nonchalance across the
field
and, calling to his party to follow him, disappeared in the
depths of the forest, from which he had just emerged.
And now
it
was evening, and the heavens were
all
full
of stars, and Szilárd began to gaze at the stars; and as
he did so he forgot
about the
official
burdens that
about Fatia
weighed so heavily upon
his shoulders, all
Negra and
countered
the robbers.
He
fancied that his eyes en-
among
the stars the eyes of "another,"
whom
slumber and happiness had deserted just as they had
deserted him.
How
more
!
close to each other chance
had brought them once
He had
only to accept her husband's invitation in
face.
order to meet her face to
What would
they not
have to say to one another ?
The night was
sluices.
quite
still,
the whole region
was dumb
room, for
save for the gurgling of the water rushing through the
The
police
were snoring
to sleep
till
in the living
they were allowed
two
o'clock.
Only Vámguard-
hidy kept watch with a single policeman,
ing the prisoners in the
cellar.
who was
'The Lord God
resounded from
bless thee!'^ a
hushed voice suddenly
bushes, and Szilárd
among
the
brown
377
—
Poor Plutocrats
distinguished by
tlie
light of the rising
It
moon
a
tall,
dark
shape approaching the mill-path.
"How
was blind Juon. did you know any one was here?" inquired
sir, once or twice, and warned you beforehand be upon you."
Szilárd suspiciously.
"I heard you sigh,
I
knew you
watch
were awake, for
to-night he will
I
to
"Who?" "Who? Why,
Fatia Negra."
will
"So you think he
be bold enough?'*
"I know that he is already on the way." "And where were you just now ?"
"I was working in the mill-ditch," "At night! What were you doing there?"
"I have
removed the supporting beam underneath the
It
it."
bridge leading across the reservoir!
of work, but
I
was
a hard bit
had the strength to do
"Why
did you do that?"
will
"Because he
come from
the opposite side, and im-
mediately he steps on the middle of the bridge the plank
will give
like a
way beneath him, and he
in a trap."
is
will fall into the
water
mouse
"What
again."
the
good of
that,
he will only swim out
"Yes, but his pistols will then be
will be unable to use
full
of water, and he
Szilárd began to
them against you." perceive that he had a most
sorts of ideas in his
deter-
mined
ally
with
all
head that had
never occurred to himself.
3/8
—
Poor Plutocrats
"But
alone."
surely,
will be
my
poor fellow, you do not imagine that
to face so
anybody
mad enough
sir,
many armed men
"I don't know,
but
I
also
do not know whether
you yourself may not be alone among so many armed
men, for
ofif
I
hear snoring
cellar."
among
the very guard
you
told
to
watch the
Szilárd
was
startled.
He
immediately hastened to the
place indicated,
and
there, sure
enough, he saw the sentry
stretched at full length across the cellar door.
He
angrily
;
hastened to arouse him, and seized the sleeper by the arm
but
all
his efforts
were powerless to awake the fellow
others, sir," said Juon.
he might just as well have been dead,
**Try to
awake the
The policemen
lay in long
rows stretched out upon the
gently, then loudly,
straw in the meal bin.
Szilárd spoke to them,
last angrily, calling
first
and
at
them by name, one
after the other;
but not one of them awoke.
He
tore the sleepers
it
;
away
from
their places, but they
were not aware of
as soon
as he let
them go, they
rolled back again into their
former
positions.
"What
has happened?" cried the confounded Szilárd.
traitor
"There must be a
of Fatia Negra
ests,
;
among
them,
sir,
a hireling
he has his hirelings everywhere, in forin
in palaces,
dungeons, in barracks, everywhere.
in
And
this
traitor
has mingled thorn-apple juice
the
drink of his comrades, and they will
night and a day.
now
is
sleep
on for a
The
traitor himself
pretending to
379
Poor Plutocrats
sleep along with his fellows, but he
is
only awaiting the
will get
arrival of Fatia Negra,
and then up he
artful dodge,
and release
the captives.
It
was an
your honor!"
all
Szilárd felt a tremor running through
his limbs.
"You
see, sir,
you are here
far
alone, but Fatia
Negra
is
never alone.
But so
no great harm has been done.
We
just
will
make him now which of
to be alone also.
We
can not find out
a traitor.
the four and twenty
is
But
foot,
we
will bind the
whole four and twenty hand and
and then the traitor also will be helpless." Szilárd began to perceive that this blind man was right
in everything.
His words must be listened
at
to,
for the
danger was close
tion.
hand
—
there was no time for hesitaall
So he quickly routed up
set to
the halters in the mill
and they
work.
The
blind giant laid the
men one by one
across his
knee and, placing their hands behind their backs crosswise, held
them toward Szilárd, who bound them fast. Three and twenty of them felt nothing of all this, and
the four and twentieth
well to
that he
who
did feel
it
thought
it
it
just as
go on
feigning slumber, for
had
been discovered
was awake, one grip of those enormous fists would have made of him a sleeper indeed for evermore. "Is your sword sharp, sir?" inquired the blind man when this piece of work was done.
—
"Yes, and
I
have
sir,
pistols likewise."
"Test them,
with."
for I suspect they have been tampered
"What?"
380
Poor Plutocrats
"If ever,
sir,
you have pursued some wild
beast, a bear
:
or a buffalo, for instance, you
rely
know
the rule surely
never
upon any weapon which has not been
freshly loaded
by your
pistols.
own
It
hand.
Let us take the loading out of your
to fire
won't do
them
off,
for
we
are lying in
wait for big game, and at such times one must keep very
quiet."
Szilárd hearkened to the warning and
drew
It is
the load-
ing out of both his well-charged pistols.
the
usual
when
powder
is
taken out to blow
that
down
the barrel, and as
he did so
now he remarked
Juon smelt
it
something was wrong.
The ramrod encountered some
drew
forth.
soft substance,
it
which he
to be the
and pronounced
wax of wild bees. "You see, sir, you
you some hours
will not be able to discharge this
pistol, for the nipples are so
plugged up that
it
will take
to thoroughly clean them."
"At any rate, I have still the firearms of !" "Let us examine them also, sir
my
police."
They
did so forthwith and found that they too had
been utterly ruined.
And
all this
must have been done
while Szilárd had been sitting outside and his
men had
been sleeping!
"Then your sword
blind
is
sharp,
sir,
eh?" inquired the
"scented," so to
still
man, "for
I
hear the footsteps of Fatia Negra."
The
sensitive ears of the blind
man
speak, the well-known footfalls while they were
ap-
proaching on the distant forest paths.
The young man
felt
an
381
involuntary
shudder run
Poor Plutocrats
through his body as the moment drew near when he
would have
to face the
hunted
foe.
The magical mysall
teriousness which enveloped his pursuer; the marvelous
audacity which ensured the success of
his gigantic bodily strength
cient to
his projects;
suffi-
—
all
these things were
make any man's
heart beat
more quickly
in a life
at the
prospect of encountering Black
struggle at a lonely place.
Mask
and death
But Szilárd was resolved to
see the business through.
The
strong will peculiar to
men
of his nature broke
it
down
per-
his fear.
He
had no business
to tremble,
was not
mitted to him to fear.
is
He who
is
has a sword in his hand
never alone
—
a
sword
also a
man.
The
him.
blind
blind
man
trembled in his stead.
He
feared for
When
man
Szilárd returned with his naked sword, the
its
passed his finger along
its
edge from end to
end, to test
sharpness.
"A good
sword, a very good sword. Master.
Fear
him not, but when upon him and strike
weapon can
he scrambles out of the water, rush
at his neck.
Do not
aim
at his body,
for this accursed one wears
pierce him.
If
a coat of mail, so that
no
he comes to close quarters,
at
do not defend yourself, but slash away
perhaps be wounded, but
if
him you may
;
you stand on the
too much
defensive,
he will
kill
you.
If
he gets
for you, call out
and
I
will rush in
and strangle him with
I
my
naked hands.
Oh, what would
eyes."
not give
now
to
for the sight of
my two
And
the blind
man began
weep
bitterly.
382
Poor Plutocrats
"That man
killed
my
wife and blinded me, and
now
when
in
I
hear him approach,
when
I
hear him coming
I
toward
me
all
alone, I can not see him.
can not rush
and close with him.
Be
valiant, Master,
and God be
edge
not
with you.
May
the soul of
my
Mariora
direct the
of your sword and darken his eyes.
that he approaching!"
Hearken!
—
is
And
it
was
actually he.
The
rocks
tall
elegant figure
a
light,
was
descending
the
moonlit
with
elastic
tread, dressed
from head
to foot in a black atlas mantle.
Szilárd
to the mill behind a pillar of
saw him drawing nearer and nearer, step by step, whose veranda he himself
this figure, his
was concealed expectant. At the very moment when he perceived
which now
filled
former terror gave way before a strange, resolute fury,
his heart; a
is
feeling familiar only to
those whose blood
set boiling
whenever they are sud-
denly confronted by a pressing danger.
He
feared the
man no
longer; he burned to encounter him.
Blind Juon stood beside him and pressed his hand.
They, both of them, began to
listen intently
;
nature
itself
was
as
still
as
if
the
wind
also
would
listen.
Nothing
was audible but
ing footsteps.
the dull measured tramp of the approach-
The
black shape
now
footed the bridge; with a confiit
;
dent gait he approached the middle of
the bridge gave
another step and
way beneath
in black
him, and with an involun-
tary cry the
man
plunged into the water.
"Now,
sir,
rush in!" whispered Juon to Szilárd.
But
383
!
Poor Plutocrats
the latter could not help thinking at that
was an
act of cowardice to attack a
not defend himself, even
moment that it man when he could though that man was a robber,
so he allowed him to scramble out on to the other side.
The
black mantle had fallen from the shoulders of
Fatia Negra into the water, and there he
now
stood
before Szilárd with his wet clothes clinging closely to his
body
like a statue of
Antinous, a shape of athletic beauty.
pistols, in all probability
In his girdle were a couple of
rendered useless by the water, and a long Arab yataghan,
almost as long as an ordinary sword, but without the
usual cruciform
hilt.
Szilárd barred the way.
For an
next
instant Fatia
Negra was taken aback by
his
antagonist's unexpected wariness and courage, but the
drawn yataghan flashed in his hand, and the second flash was the clash of the contending weapons. And now happened what happens hundreds and thousands of times in actual life. At the very first onset Fatia
his
moment
Negra, the notorious, the practised, the invincible swords-
man was
disanned by a young
civilian,
who had
never,
perhaps, held a naked sword in his hand before and possessed no advantage over his opponent save the courage
of an honest
factor
man
as opposed to the effrontery of a male-
—
a marvel indeed
at the
Both of them had lunged
same
time, neither of
them had parried
sary's wrist,
;
Szilard's sword cut through his adver-
and
at the
same
instant Fatia Negra's yata-
ghan
fell
from
his hand.
384
Poor Plutocrats
The wounded robber
set
up a howl Hke a wild
beast,
and Juon, lurking beneath the veranda of the
echo.
mill, relike
sponded with another howl of joy, that sounded
an
The
blind
man had
recognized that Fatia Negra
was
in
danger, and at once rushed out upon him.
lost
The disarmed adventurer
along with his sword.
helpless to his side
sort of paralysis.
his presence of
mind
His right hand suddenly sank
his stout heart
and
was
seized with a
He
perceived that this was the
his last
man
sent by fate to
at hand.
announce to him that
fled
hour was
He
turned and
toward the
forest.
Szilárd rushed after him.
"Take
him.
care," screamed blind Juon.
But none heeded
enemy.
Fatia Negra flew
away before
his
At
first
he
left
him
far behind, but gradually the continuous loss
of blood began to
weaken him; and
it
also occurred to
him
that even
still
if
he succeeded in distancing his adversary,
he would
leave a trail of blood behind him.
plete his confusion, the
light as day.
To commoon made the whole region as He was forced to sit down on a tree stump,
to tie
up
flow of
wounded hand; at least he would stop the blood and make the trail more difficult to follow.
his
While with the help of his left hand and his teeth he was binding up his useless right hand, his pursuer overtook him. "Fatia Negra
— surrender!"
was
to try to fire
The only
reply the adventurer gave
his pistols, and, finding that only the caps snapped,
he
hurled them one after the other at his enemy's head.
385
(F)
— (17)—Vol.
20
—
Poor Plutocrats
Szilárd then had practical experience of the
rumor
that
Fatia
Negra could throw very
well even with his left
hand
—had he not leaped
would have dashed
aside at the nick of time the pistols
his brains out.
Then up away still
Fatia
Negra
started to his feet again
and
fled
farther.
The pursuer and
the pursued
now
sped along with pretty equal energy, though the loss of
blood continued to weaken the robber.
Yet he made one
desperate effort to scale the steep side of the mountain.
An
ordinary
it.
man
could rarely breast such an ascent, yet
he tried
But he soon found that even thus he could
not shake off his enemy.
He remained
indeed some hun-
dreds of paces behind, but he could not dodge out of his
sight in the
now open
glade.
hill
On
ing
the
brow of the
the adventurer stopped to pant,
hills stretch-
and surveyed the undulating thickly wooded
away on every side of him. He drew a silver whistle his bosom and gave with it three penetrating signals, which reechoed from among the distant mountains.
from
But
it
was only an
;
echo, only the note of the whistle that
else.
he heard
he waited in vain for anything
All his
accomplices had evidently hidden away.
And
again the pursuer overtook him.
He
it
waited
till
he was only two paces off and then he seized a stone
weighing half a hundredweight and hurled
beneath the blow.
the valley.
It
at
him
the tree trunk behind which Szilárd had taken refuge bent
Then
Fatia
Negra
fled
down toward
was
a desperate
way
for
him
to take, for down-hill
386
Poor Plutocrats
ground as quickly as he could the distance between them was never more than ten
his adversary could cover the
;
paces
;
the
wound
the robber
had received began to ener-
vate his whole body, and he
that the hurling of missiles
was not long
is
in finding out
a very profitless
mode
of
warfare when you have only one hand at your disposal.
Panting hard, he
fled
on farther seeking refuge.
And
now
fox
he took to zigzagging through the wood, in the hope
if
of dodging his pursuer,
is
only for an instant, as a Hying
is
wont
to
do when he
already nearing his hole,
to betray to his pursuer.
whose entrance he does not wish
A
way.
little
further
on
a stout, quickset
hedge barred
their
fol-
Fatia Negra burst through
in the
it,
and Szilárd
lowed
antlers
gap that he had made.
in
Suddenly a hunting lodge came
suggested that that was what
view
—
at least the
on the top of the porch and above the windows
it
was intended
for.
One
open.
his
fist
windows looking out upon the forest stood Negra suddenly stopped short, waited till adversary was close up to him, and then, shaking his
of the
Fatia
at him,
sprang through the open window.
did not hesitate a
Vámhidy
the
the adventurer into the house.
He
moment about following forced his way through
dark corridor, at the
window and found himself
still
in a
extreme end of which the footsteps of the hunted
man
were
resounding.
And
after
him he ran straightway.
387
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XXII
THE SIGHT OF TERROR
"My
clothes,
dear Henrietta," Leonard had said to his wife
the day before, as he shook the dust of the chase off his
"very shortly some guests will arrive at Hidvár,
and possibly they
may
be numerous.
May
I
ask you to
make ready
understood.
"It
is
for their reception ?"
Henrietta signified by a motion of her head that she
possible
you may have
to
perform the duties of
have to be
off at
hostess without
my
assistance, for I
once to Szeb and don't expect to be back for a couple of
days.
It is possible that
the gentlemen in question
may
much
arrive
regret.
during
my
absence,
which
I
should very
Nevertheless, you
as quickly as
I
may depend upon my
hasten-
ing
home
can to meet them here."
All this did not seem to interest Henrietta very much.
Leonard noticed
it.
"Let the gentry,
my
dear, occupy the
room overlook-
ing the park; the servants had better have the six rooms
generally given to hunting parties on the ground floor,
with the four and twenty
beds."^
At
these directions the lady looked at her lord with"
an expression of surprised inquiry.
388
!
—
—
Poor Plutocrats
"I see/' resumed her husband, "you are asking yourself
what
you.
sort of
suffices
It
is
company
the
that can be for
whose master
six.
I will
is
one room
tell
while the servants require
armed corps from Arad, which
by
this
charged with the capture of Fatia Negra and his associates.
As they
will pass
way,
In
I
don't see
how
they can avoid calling at Hidvár.
the magistrate,
fact, I
have invited
who commands
invitation.
the corps, to
if
make Hidvár
the centre of his operations,
will accept
and
he
is
a sensible
man
I
he
my
The name
of
my
guest
have
not yet mentioned," continued Leonard with easy levity;
"it
is
Szilárd
Vámhidy, a
justice of the peace of the
county of Arad
—
really a very nice
young man."
if
Henrietta became as white as a statue.
"You
will
in
will greatly oblige
me,
my
dear Henrietta,
you
do your best
to
make our
guest feel quite at
home
I
our house.
But you are a
sensible
woman,
kiss
so
have
no need to press the point.
good-by."
Let
me
your hand
Henrietta watched him go out, get into his carriage
and bowl
oi¥,
and then began to weep and hide her head
among the cushions, that nobody might see her tears. They are pursuing Fatia Negra Szilárd Vámhidy
!
is
pursuing Fatia Negra!
He
will
come
hither; he will enter this very castle.
Leonard himself has invited him
He
more.
will certainly
come
to see his former love once
The thought was
it
terrible!
But
must
not,
it
should not happen.
389
—
Poor Plutocrats
Leonard himself had invited Vámhidy
This
!
to his castle.
man relied too much on the terror of a poor timid woman; he built too much on that nimbus of terror which made him so horribly unassailable in her eyes. What!
first to invite
the former lover of his wife to be his guest
his indifference
and then show
by choosing that very time
to absent himself from the house for some days
But on one thing she was resolved Vámhidy should not find her at Hidvár. She would fly. She would leave
her husband's house.
receive her?
Where should she go? Who would What would become of her? She did not
w^as
know, she gave the matter no thought, but one thing
certain
:
Szilárd
and she might meet together
in
the
grave, but they should never encounter each other be-
neath the shadow of the halls of Hidvár.
There was nobody she could confide
in.
All
the
jail-
servants were her husband's paid spies and her
ers.
own
The
priest
had disappeared altogether from Hid-
vár.
In her despair an old
called to
memory
rose
up before
her.
She
at
mind
that during the earlier days of her stay
Hidvár, when she had explored the whole region under
the delusion that she could
make
the wretched happy, she
had often passed a
her attention.
It
little
house which had always riveted
little
was
a
hunting hut
in the
midst of
the forest, built entirely of
wood and
planed smoothly
it
outside like a
little
polished cabinet.
trees,
In front of
stood
in
broad-spreading
spring,
fruit
crowded with flowers
in
crowded with
all
fruit
autumn; wild vines and
moss grew
over
its
roofs.
390
Poor Plutocrats
In the midst of the listening
woods
this Httle
first
house
had such an inviting exterior that the very
time she
saw
it,
Henrietta could not resist the temptation of enit.
tering
The door
nobody
of the
little
house stood open before her,
being only on the latch.
inside.
She had stepped
in: there
was
In the
first
room
there
was furniture of
on a table was a
some hard wood;
close to the wall stood a carved sideit;
board with painted earthenware on
pitcher of a similar ware, full of fresh, pure water.
The
in
door of another room to the right was also open, and
that
room
also she
found nobody.
;
There stood a bed,
and, on the walls
with a bearskin for a coverlet
other bearskins spread
on the
floor served instead of carpets,
were bright lynx and wildcat
skins.
From
this
room
there
was
a door leading into a third
room, and here also she found nobody.
The
walls of this
room were covered with weapons
curiously
crossed,
—
guns, pistols, and
in
shaped
swords and daggers,
nails
rows and
walls.
hanging on
and leaning against the
;
On
the oaken table stood stuffed beasts and birds
under
the table
was a
stuffed fox fastened to a chair
;
a pair of
wild boars' heads, with powerful tusks, were over the
door, but there
was no sign of any
off,
living beast.
little
Henrietta fancied that the master of this
house
must be away, but not far
to wait
till
and she made up her mind
obliged to go on
he returned home. Yet one hour after another
last
passed away, and Henrietta was at
farther lest she should have to pass the night there, and
391
;
Poor Plutocrats
only
when
she was already some distance
away was she
all
struck by the peculiar circumstance that
around the
hut grass was growing thickly and that no path led up
to
it.
In a few weeks' time curiosity drew her again in the
same
fence,
direction.
Alone, without any escort, she stood,
fastened her horse to the
before the forest dwelling,
and passed through the door.
it
Everything was just as she had seen
occasion.
on the
first
was the earthenfirst room ware pitcher full of water; in the second room was the bed covered with a bearskin, and in the third room were all the guns and other weapons just as she had seen them
In the
on the table
before.
Again she waited
dwellers of this
little
for a long time for
some of the
being had
house to draw near, and again she
waited in vain
;
even by eventide not a
human
approached the hut.
These hut-dwellers must be curious
they
leave
folks, she
thought
people
everything
unlocked;
evil-disposed
might
steal everything.
On
the
way back
she met some charcoal burners, and
little
asked them about the lonely
the forest.
house
in the
midst of
Three of the four pretended not to under-
stand
:
they did not remember ever seeing such a house,
they said.
The
fourth, however, told the lady in reply
that in that house dwelt
"Dracu"
—the
Devil.
This only made Henrietta more than ever curious.
She asked the
priest about
it,
and even he was inclined
392
Poor Plutocrats
to be evasive.
it
He
At
evidently either
or was casting about in his
last
explanation.
he said
knew nothing about mind for some plausible that rumor had it that a
huntsman's family had either been murdered or had committed suicide there, and ever since nobody dw^elling in
the district could be persuaded to cross
its
threshold, let
alone steal anything out of
it;
they would not even take
shelter there during a storm, for they believed that
evil spirit
an
dwelt there.
Henrietta, however, did not believe in these invisible
evil spirits.
The
evil spirits
she was acquainted with
all
w^ent about in dress clothes
phere of
The atmosmystery and enchantment, which made the little
and surtouts.
house uninhabitable, only stimulated her fancy.
termined to discover whether
or not.
it
She de-
was
really uninhabited
Accordingly,
when
she entered the house for the third
time, she plucked a wild rose
into the pitcher of water
and threw one of
table, a
its
buds
on the
second on the
fifth
bearskin coverlet of the bed, and a third, fourth, and
she stuck into the barrels of the muskets hanging up in
the armor-room.
When now
of
she visited the lonely house for the fourth
time, she looked for the rosebuds,
and could not
find
one
them
in the places
where she had put them.
Conse-
quently there must needs be some one
bed,
who
slept in the
drank the fresh water from the
thirst for
pitcher,
and used
to inquire
the firearms.
Her
knowledge now induced her
393
Poor Plutocrats
of her husband concerning this Httle dwelling, and he, then and there, elucidated the mystery.
It
was
quite true that a lonely inhabitant of this house
there, that the
had once been murdered
believed
it
common
people
to be haunted,
its
and that consequently not one
of
them would cross
threshold at any price either by
old landed proprietor
day or by night.
those parts, and
An
was
from the
mining town of X., who owned a small
at the
strip of forest in
same time an
this
enthusiastic
huntsman, had taken advantage of
tion to
popular supersti-
buy
this little
house for a mere song.
He
used
it
as a hunting lodge.
He
could not afford to keep a huntsit,
man
and
of his
it
own
to look after
and knowing that
if
he
it
locked
up thieves would most probably break into
he
left
it
steal everything,
the doors wide open,
as uncanny.
and
every one instantly avoided
The reason
most of
night
his
Henrietta never met him was that this old gentleman
was
a
government
official,
who had
to live
time in the town of Klausenburg, but whenever he was
not hunting here, he was out in the forests
all
till
dawn, when he turned into the
little
house for a nap, and
was
off
again before the afternoon; and so Henrietta,
who
regularly visited the hut in the afternoon, naturally
never encountered him.
Leonard even named the old gentleman's name, and
then Henrietta remembered meeting him at the evening
receptions at Klausenburg.
his wife never to
Leonard, however, warned
in the presence of
mention the matter
if
the old gentleman in question
she should ever meet
394
Poor Plutocrats
him, for he had sundry relations with poachers and other
people of that sort.
The
fact
was
his
own
strip of forest tres-
was not
ver}^ large,
and therefore he very frequently
passed on Leonard's property in pursuit of game.
The
old gentleman was, therefore, very desirous to keep his
passion for the chase a secret, especially as his relations
with Leonard were none of the best.
After that Henrietta had visited the
little
forest house
it
no more.
eyes of
all
This prosaic explanation had robbed
its
in her
it
mysterious interest, nor did she think
becoming
to enter a
house whose owner was not on very
good terms with her husband.
Only now did the
recol-
lection of the little forest dwelling recur to her,
and
in
the terror of her soul she began to regard the
little
moss-
covered hut, whose doors stood open night and day, as a
possible asylum.
It
was the only
place
where she could
her,
take refuge, the only place where she had no need to
fear spies, where
nobody would look for
hiding, and
where she
might remain
either return
in
from whence she might
home
there
or wander farther out into the world
according as fate was kind or unkind to her.
At night
forest.
It
would be nobody
in the little house,
for the enthusiastic old hunter
would be stalking the
might
But even
she were
was keep him away
to
also possible that his official duties
for days together.
if
meet him, why should she be afraid of the eccentric
old
man?
protector,
to
Would she not rather who would conduct her
find in
him
a natural
out of the mountains
Klausenburg or Banfi-Hunyad, from whence she would
395
Poor Plutocrats
make her way
aunt's house?
to Pesth,
and there seek a refuge
in
her
She did not think twice about
follow.
to take a
it,
but accepted the idea
it
as a Heaven-sent inspiration, which
was her duty
to
She put on a shawl, as
walk
in the moonlight,
if
she were only going
and descended into the
park, accompanied by the gardener's daughter,
whom
she
had bribed
to help her to escape.
The
girl
succeeded in
in
hoodwinking the men-servants by dressing herself up
a mantle of her mistress's, pretending she
would have
supper out in the park, as the night was so fine and warm,
so that by the time the fraud was discovered and the
alarm given Henrietta had had a
start of several hours;
and although the men, fearful of the anger of
their
master when he should return and find his wife flown,
searched in every direction with lighted torches, they were
unable to discover a trace of the missing lady.
Terror lends strength to the most
Henrietta was so
feeble.
Ordinarily
as she could
after a
weak
that
it
was
as
much
do
to
promenade through the park.
But to-day,
two hours' run over stones and through
bushes at midnight, she
the top of a
hill
still
briers
and
did not feel weary.
From
see the
she looked back.
She could
still
it
tower of the castle of
blue
Hidvár
in the valley, but
looked
through the mist in the distance, and then she
hastened
down
into the valley,
whose
steep overhanging
sides hid her even
from the moonlight.
noiseless, the forest dark.
The night was
again a
Now
and
humming
night-beetle circled round
and round
396
;
Poor Plutocrats
her,
and obstinately pursued
her,
as
if
he also was
a spy sent after her.
violently.
The poor
thing's heart throbbed
What
if
she had lost her
way?
What
Yet
if
she
fell
into the
hands of the robbers,
whom
they were
still
now
actually pursuing through the
woods?
greater was her terror of Hidvár, and a hundred times more homelike was the dreadful forest, with its giant
trees speaking in their sleep, than the tapestried walls of
the castle of Hidvár.
Suddenly a glade opened up before her, which seemed
to greet her as
an old acquaintance.
Yes, indeed, there were the wild roses which she had
so often plucked to adorn her hat.
The hunting lodge
could not be far off now.
It
conceals itself to the right
of the rose bushes beneath a lofty birch.
A
few moments
later she
found herself outside
its
door.
As
she laid her hand on the latch, a thought of terror
transfixed her.
What
if
the door should be locked?
But she had only
her fears to
fastened.
flight.
to press the latch in order to put all
The door
this
time also was not
Standing on the threshold, she inquired with a trembling voice: 'Ts anybody in?"
No
answer.
closed the door behind her, and opened the
Then she
door of the second room.
to her inquiry.
There also nobody responded
room was also open as usual nay, even one of its windows was opened toward the orchard. Moreover, everything was in its proper place
third
The
397
!
Poor Plutocrats
just as she
had always found
it
—
the weapons, the bear-
skin coverlet, and the water pitcher.
It
occurred to Henrietta to close the door from the
so that
slept.
inside,
nobody might come upon her unawares
But then the thought also struck her
right to lock the old gentleman out of his
while she
that
it
was not
own
house, especially as he might turn up in the early
morning, tired out and half frozen.
decided to stay up for him, in
as he arrived that she
So she ultimately order to tell him as soon
from
But
meant
try
to obtain a separation
her husband, whose conduct she could no longer endure.
Till then she
would
hard not to go to
sleep.
she
was
tired to death
from her long run through the
at last to
;
forest,
and was obliged
throw herself on the
bearskin coverlet to rest
all
and gradually sleep overcame
her anguish,
all
her terror.
She might have slept for about a half-hour, a restless, phantom-haunted sleep at best, when she suddenly awoke.
It
seemed to her as
if
she had heard a distant cry.
it
Perhaps she had only imagined she had heard
awful, and what she fancied she had heard
rible, that
it
in
her
slumbers, and perhaps what she had dreamed was so
was so
ter-
had awakened
her.
She began
light
to listen attentively.
After midnight every
sound seems so loud.
in the great stillness that she
She fancied
could hear
rapidly approaching footsteps.
Again
cry of a
a cry
!
like the cry of a
hunted beast,
like the
wounded wolf
398
—
Poor Plutocrats
She was not dreaming now, she could hear it plainly. She saw where she was. The moonlight was streaming
through the window
rooms.
Suddenly,
;
she could see to the end of
all
three
whence the
window overlooking the garden, moonbeams streamed in, a black shape apat
the
peared, which obscured the moonlight for an instant.
This shape leaped through the window, and, panting
hard, rushed through the
two rooms
into the third,
where
the arms stood.
Henrietta saw
sobs,
It
it fly
past her bed, she heard
it.
its
panting
and
— recognized
was Fatia Negra! This was Fatia Negra's house! this was not all. Close upon the traces of Fatia Negra rushed another phantom with a drawn sword in its hand, but its face was toward her, and she recognized in it Szilárd Vámhidy.
And
And
yet she did not lose her consciousness at this
it
double sight of terror, though
better for her
if
would have been much
she had.
into
Fatia
Negra plunged
from the
the
armory and plucked
down
a pistol
wall.
Szilárd paused on the threshold.
"Halt!" cried Fatia Negra with a voice
"this
is
like
a scream;
my
house and your tomb.'*
Szilárd did not reply, but
"Sir, but
drew
a step nearer.
in a fainter
one word more," said Fatia Negra
voice and so hoarsely as to be scarcely audible;
"you have
life is
wounded me, you have run me down; but your
399
Poor Plutocrats
now
had
in
a
my
hands, and
to.
I
could
kill
you
:
this instant if I
mind
Let us bargain a
bit
I
won't
kill
you
if
you
will not
pursue
me any
I
farther.
You
you
return and say
you could not catch me.
I will
swear
to
that
to-morrow
send you twenty thousand ducats."
coldness Szilárd replied: "Surren-
With contemptuous
der;
I will
not bargain."
*'You won't bargain, you crushed
worm
you!
The
I
muzzle of
my
pistol is
on
a level with
your forehead.
out with
have only
shattered
to press
my
finger
and your head would be
it
—and yet you dare to have
to save
me? Do
you want
"I
your head?"
mean
to
have yours," said Szilárd, and he drew a
step nearer to the adventurer.
"My
At
figure
head, eh?
Ha,
it
ha,
!
ha!
You would
it,
have
it,
would you, and have
that
here
Take
then
!"
moment
a piercing shriek startled the
two
deadly antagonists, and in the adjoining room a white
fell
prone upon the
floor.
The next moment
there
was
a loud report,
and Fatia
Negra fell At the very moment when he had laughed aloud and cried "Take it, then!" he had suddenly put the mouth of the pistol into his own mouth and fired it off. The heavy
charge blew his^head to
bits
;
back lifeless on the bearskin carpet.
Szilárd
felt
a
warm
red rain
showering down upon him.
So Fatia Negra after all did not give up his head, the pistol shot had annihilated it. And nobody ever knew who Fatia Negra really was.
400
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XXIII
THE ACCOMMODATION
John Lapussa had informed Mr. Sipos that he wanted to see him, and
for the seventh time
It was
now
the seventh time that Mr.
word was
sent back that the lawyer
could not come.
not say.
that the
Why
could he not come?
They could
was delivered to the effect lawyer could not come either that day, or the
Finally a message
next, or indeed
on any other day
in the
whole year.
In
a word, Mr. Sipos declined to have anything
more
to
do
with the Lapussa family or
its affairs.
Their transactions
were not
at all to his taste.
So, as Mr, Sipos would not appear at the
summons
of
Mr. John Lapussa, Mr. John Lapussa must needs upon Mr. Sipos.
call
He was
wearing mourning in
his hat
and
tried
hard to
lend his face a funereal appearance also.
"Have you heard
the
news?" he asked.
Mr. Sipos had heard nothing.
"Don't you see the mourning in
poor
niece,
my
hat?
Alas!
my
unhappy Henrietta!"
"Well, what has happened ?"
"Hátszegi has been drowned in the Maros."
"Impossible, he
was
a first-rate
swimmer."
401
Poor Plutocrats
"His horse ran away with him he had
;
lost all control
over
it.
When
he saw that the horse was determined to
plunge into the river from the high bank, he tried to
spring out of the saddle, but his spur unfortunately caught
in the stirrups,
and the horse dragged him down with
There
in the full stream,
it
into the water.
with his head
with him to
it,
downward and
his legs in the air,
he vainly attempted to
extricate himself.
The
frantic horse
swam
the opposite shore, dragging the poor wretch after
and before the opposite bank was reached,
so shattered that
tures.
It is
it
his
head was
was impossible
to recognize his fea-
now
!
a
ily vault at Hidvár.
left
week since they buried him in the famPoor Henrietta So young to be
!
a
widow
And
to have lost so
handsome, so beloved
Really lamentable!"
a husband through so sad a death!
'M
wonder what
the rascal
is
after
now," thought Mr.
If
Sipos.
"My
am
heart really
is
breaking for her!
only there
us.
I
were not these unhappy money differences between
not a tiger.
My
heart
is
not
made
tell
of stone.
I
Perhaps
have half
you don't believe me!
Let
me
you that
resolved, despite the old gentleman's will, to transfer to
my
niece, Henrietta, the
its
Kerekedar property."
its
"Because
expenses are greater than
revenue, I
presume?"
"None of your poor witticisms, sir. I am ready to make any sacrifices to oblige my relatives. The world misjudges me. They call me greedy and avaricious if
;
only they could look into
my
heart
!"
402
Poor Plutocrats
"What you have done
to
at the case of
hitherto,
sir,
does not testify
instance, look
for
any great regard for your
relatives.
For
my
client,
young Koloman
—
you know
that
Vámhidy
what
has instructed
tricks
me
to act for him. to fasten
What
intrigues,
were employed
!
upon him
the suspicion of forgery
Nobody knows
you
that,
I
that better than
you,
sir.
And
let
me
tell
although
my young
no
client is
nothing but a strolling player,
shall spare
pains to thoroughly vindicate his
good name, and you,
will be
with
all
your wealth and property,
unable to affect
the issue one jot."
Mr. John pondered for a moment.
"Look
to
here," said he at
suit
I
last,
fire.
"let us pitch the
I
whole
of
confounded
propose.
into
the
have a compromise
I
candidly
bill
confess
is
am
will
in
a
bit
a hole.
That
it
business
now
it
before the courts,
and when
rible
comes on for
wish
I
trial
cause a hor-
scandal,
I
and people have condemned had
never
me
before-
hand.
in it."
only
mixed myself up
!"
"Suppose
and
I
help
you out of the
difficulty
"In that case you
I will
may
way
dictate
your
own
conditions,
consent to them beforehand."
is
"There
only one
bill is
to save you.
is
Henrietta must
say that the
not forged, but
really signed
by
her,
and she must then pay and cancel
tion of a charge against
it,
then every founda-
you vanishes."
hear your conditions."
"A
seat.
sublime idea," cried Mr. John, springing from his
"And now
let
me
403
Poor Plutocrats
"My
only condition
is
complete satisfaction to be
made
to the children of your second sister."
"What! surrender
a whole third of the property to
them without any deduction?"
"We
will accept nothing less."
I
"What must
"First,
florins."
do
first,
then ?"
you must pay the baroness forty thousand
florins!
"Forty thousand
"In order that she
Why?" may meet the bill
as soon as she has
acknowledged her signature."
"Well, and what next?"
"You must
sign deeds whereby you undertake to sur-
render to the children of your late sister the estates of
Zoldhalom and Orökvar bequeathed to them by your
father."
"Why,
they are the best paying properties of
all."
"Then pay them the value of the estates in cash." "That would seriously inconvenience me." "Then make over your houses in Vienna and Pesth."
"I can not find
it
in
my
heart to part with them."
"Then propose some other expedient." "Very well, I will. Give me till to-morrow
over."
to think
it
And
leave.
with that Mr. John put on his hat and took his
The following day the lawyer awaited him in vain; then he waited for him a whole fortnight, but Mr. John never came near him. Then he went to the courts to find
404
Poor Plutocrats
out what was being done, and there he learned, to his
astonishment,
that
the
declaration
of
the
Baroness
Hátszegi, acknowledging the genuineness of her signature to the
bill,
had already arrived.
this
:
What had happened was
had got Sipos's opinion
to
As soon
as
Mr. John
gratis,
he quickly traveled post
his niece over the busi-
Hidvár and had a chat with
ness.
The poor lady was
so utterly crushed by her mis-
mind steadily on anything, and was a mere tool in his hands. She accepted what did it the properties offered to her by her uncle
fortunes that she could scarce fix her
—
matter to her
in!
now how much
bill
or
how
little
they brought
—and
gave an acknowledgment
in
writing that the
signature to the
was her own.
not very
Mr.
vSipos
was, therefore,
much
surprised
when one day he
ess's
received a commission from the baron-
agent to pay over the forty thousand florins in ques-
tion to a financial agent at Pesth.
rattling
good
profit out of the transaction,
in return for her generosity,
had
to
So Mr. John made a and Henrietta, pay up in cash, as Mr.
all
Sipos had shrewdly anticipated she would have to do
along.
But
it
was
all
one to Henrietta.
405
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XXIV
CONCLUSION
Meanwhile
the long-drawn-out process between Mr.
John and his sister, Madame Langai, continued its course. There was no thought of a compromise between the parties.
Madame Langai expended
so
much
of her private
means
left
in the action that nearly the
whole of the proi^erty
her by her husband went in costs.
She could now
neither keep her coach nor live in a large house.
She
cooped herself up
in a couple of small
rooms, visited
nobody, and wore dresses that had been out of fashion
for at least four years
—and
all
to be able to carry
on
the action.
It
was ten years before the suit came to an end. Mr. John lost it, and a fearful blow it was to him,
sister
It is
for
he had to pay out a million to his
further delay.
true he
without any
left
had as
much again
for
himself, but to be the possessor of only a single million
is,
nevertheless, a fearful thought to
any one who has
disturbed
hitherto been the possessor of
two
millions.
it
The poor
plutocrat
!
How
deeply
him to
be obliged to pay his only
sister
her due portion!
How
the constant thought that he
was now
only half as rich
406
!
Poor Plutocrats
as he had been before
plutocrat
gnawed
his Hfe
away
!
Poor, poor
Szilárd had a brilliant career
—a career extending
He
far
beyond the horizon of
ried.
this simple story.
never mar-
Count Kengyelesy quizzed him often enough, and was continually asking him why he did not try his luck again with his former ideal now that she had become a widow. All such questions, however, he used to evade
in a
corresponding tone of jocularity.
But once when
Kengyelesy inquired seriously why he never approached
Baroness Hátszegi, and at the same time reproached him
for his
want of
feeling in so obstinately keeping out of
:
the poor lady's way, Szilárd replied
"I
am
not one of
those
who
can be thrown away to-day and picked up
again to-morrow."
After
that
the
count
never
mentioned
Henrietta's
name
in
Szilard's
presence
again
—and
who knows
whether there was not some impediment between these
two, from which no sacrament could absolve them.
Who
knows whether it might not after all have been as well for Vámhidy to avoid any meeting whatever with the widow of the late Baron Hátszegi? Yet it was she who was, in any case, the most wretched of them all. Although only six and twenty, she could already be called an old woman. She was the victim of her shattered nerves night and day. The least noise made her tremble. The opening of a door was sufficient to make her start up. When she was only four and twenty
—
she had already given up plucking out her gray hairs,
407
!
Poor Plutocrats
there were so
many
of them.
She found no relaxation
at
in the society of her fellows, and, therefore, avoided all
social gatherings.
Most of her time she spent
home,
sitting all
by herself in the remotest chamber of the house,
half of
asclepias
it
whose wall was by this time overgrown by the which Szilárd had given her ages ago or so
—
seemed to
her.
This was the only one of her acquaintit
ances which had not forsaken her, and luckily for her
was tenacious of
life,
for
if
that too
had perished, with
in the
still
whom
So
could poor Henrietta have held converse ?
there
was
at least
one confidant
world to
whom
this possessor of millions could
impart her
reminiscences and her sorrows.
Poor
!
rich lady, all the
poorer because of her great wealth
Poor plutocrat
408
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:
LIONEL STRACHEY
Compiler of "Little Masterpieces of Fiction." Translator of Stories by Balzac, Sudermann, Serao, etc.
FRONTISPIECES AND PIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
MAURUS JOKAÍ
Poor Plutocrats
Poor
Plutocrats
TRANSLATED FROM THE HUNGARIAN
#*
A FRONTISPIECE AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
P. F.
COLLIER
^7-
SON
NEW YORK
POOR PLUTOCRATS
(F)
— (I)— Vol.
20
y
'^
CONTENTS
PAGE
LlFE,OF JÓKAI
.
.
.
^^^.
5
I
CHAPTER
Boredom
'
-y
;.^H AFTER
.
n
2^
-H:
A New Mode
of Dueling
.*^
.'CHAPTER-
III
. . :
^
An Amiable Man
Childish Nonsense
i^
.y:
37
CHAPTER
..X'.yT
IV
4-'^
.^ /' CHAPTER V
.
She
is
Not for You.
.'.
^
.írrN..
71
CHAPTER
Brixging
VI
85
Home the 3ride
CHAPTER
fe
VII
iij
Cavern of Lucsia
Strong Juon
rTTABTRf? VTTT -^^
•
^^
^43
*
•
'CHAPTER
The Geina Maíd-Market
IX
157
CHAPTER X
The Black Jewelry
165
CHAPTER
Two
Tales, of
3
XI
is
Which Only One
True
188
1
Contents
CHAPTER
Receptions at Arad
XII
207
XIII
22
CHAPTER
Tit for Tat
CHAPTER XIV
The Mikalai
Inn
244
CHAPTER XV
Who
it
Was that
Recognized Fatia Negra.
.
.
255
CHAPTER XVI
Leander Baberossy
290
CHAPTER
Mr. Margari
XVII
303
CHAPTER
The Undiscoverable Lady
XVIII
319
CHAPTER XIX
The Shaking Hand
342
CHAPTER XX
The Fight
for the Gold
349
CHAPTER XXI
The Hunted Beast
363
CHAPTER
The Sight
of Terror
XXII
388
CHAPTER
The Accommodation
XXIII
401
CHAPTER XXIV
Conclusion
406
4
LIFE OF JÓKAI
TO
obtain an adequate idea of the "patriarch of
literature"
Magyar
as a
factor in the world of
books,
capacity for
one must
first
consider
the
tremendous
work enabling
Jókai, by the time he
had
reached his
fiftieth year, to
publish close
upon two hun-
dred volumes.
This enormous output
—suggesting com-
parison with the much-quoted
fecundity of the elder
Dumas
—included
twenty-nine long novels, numbering
together a hundred volumes, two volumes of poetry, two
of dramatic work, six of
eight
filled
humorous
tales.
writings,
and
sixty-
with miscellaneous
At
that age he
all
had
seen his best productions translated into
the principal
European languages, while as a
Magyars,
he had
political leader of the
in their protracted conflict with the Austrians,
won
a
name
for shining patriotism.
Komorn, a small town on the Danube, was the birthplace of Maurus Jókai, who died in 1904 when on the
verge of completing eight decades of
origin,
life.
By
family
and through both parents, he belonged to the
nobility.
minor order of Hungarian
English equivalent
His father was
a
lawyer of high standing, and Maurus
is
Maurice
5
—was
—
of which the
in early
youth given
Life
of Jdkai
to understand that he, too, should follow the legal profession.
Educated at home
till
his tenth year,
and having
shown
a precocious taste for literature, painting, and
sculpture, he
was
in
1836 sent to a school at Pressburg,
proceeding thence to the Calvinist College at Pápá, where
he formed lasting friendship with the two future national
celebrities,
Petfi and Kozma.
He was
then articled to
a lawyer, and though he applied himself conscientiously
to the study of jurisprudence, so that he earned his
diploma, he spent his leisure hours in composing his
first
book.
In 1845, ^^ nineteen, he betook himself to
Pesth with the manuscript of "The
Jew Boy,"
for
which
he soon found a publisher.
The
qualities of this
work
won
praise
from several men of
capital.
letters residing at the
Hungarian
Encouraged by
his
success, Jókai
indited another romance,
"Working Days," which was
its
issued serially in the "Pesti Dvietalap," and eventually
between cloth covers.
its
In spite of
obvious crudities,
melodramatic extravagancies, "Working Days" was
hailed as the effort of an original genius, leading, in fact,
to such a rapid rise in the author's prestige that,
on his
appointment to the editorship of the "Életképek," Hungary's prime literary journal, he found rallying around
him
he
the flower of
Magyar
notables of the pen.
first
Three years
married,
actress,
after
the publication of his
for
his
;
book,
choosing
partner
a
favorite
tragic
Roza Laborfalvi
another few months
bringing forth events that prompted him to volunteer
with the revolutionists in the cause of Hungarian
in-
6
Life of Jókai
dependence.
before the
Though a moderate
call
liberal,
Jókai had long
to
arms sided with the great Kossuth,
Like
acting as his literary and journalistic spokesman.
Kossuth, Jókai held the invincible belief that the Magyar
was competent
to
govern himself without interference
;
from the house of Hapsburg and
colored
affected
his
his voluntary
and
active
participation in the struggle for independence not only
whole
political
career,
but
more or
less
the remainder of his literary endeavors.
He
fought in Görgei's memorable campaign of 1848, and
was present at the battle of Arad, whose sequel was the Hungarian surrender at Világos. It is recorded how this catastrophe overwhelmed the author-patriot to the point of making him resolve upon suicide, and how
nothing
but
the
passionate
entreaties
of
his
friends
changed
his purpose.
With Hungary now reduced
ical
to the condition of an
Austrian dependency, himself a marked
suspect, Jókai
man and
a polit-
determined,
if
he could not be his
country's savior, at least to aid in preserving her traditions,
thereby keeping
to this
Magyar
patriotism aglow.
He
saw the means
end in the printed word, in the
circulation of books
nalistic enterprises
and periodicals: as one of the jour-
undertaken after Hungary's suppres-
sion
may
be cited his founding of the "Hon."
The
extreme vigor characterizing his
political opinions nat-
urally did not fail to excite Austrian apprehension, the
climax being reached with his condemnation
for publishing seditious writings, to twelve
(i860),
in
months
7
Life of Jdkai
irons, a sentence
commuted by
the
Emperor
to a month*s
solitary confinement, in the course of
which he wrote the
strongly autobiographical
tale,
"The Lady with Eyes
since.
Like the Sea," and during which, he says, he received
more
brilliant
company than ever before or
prison
episode,
After
the
Jókai
showered
forth
a
stream of novels,
among them some
destined to inter-
national popularity, such as
"A Man
of Gold,"
"The
Lion of Janina," "Black Diamonds," "The Golden Age
of Transylvania,"
"The Yellow Rose," "Sad Days,"
Plutocrats," "There
all
is
"The Hungarian Nabob," "Poor
No
Devil," "Pretty Michal."
But
his
works of
this
period were eagerly read by his compatriots;
many
of
them breathed the aspirations of the
influence in keeping hot the spirit
Magyar
race for
independence; as a whole, they exerted an undoubted
which resulted
the
in the
constitutional concessions
made
to
Hungary by
"Com-
promise" of 1867.
Enthusiastically elected to the lower
parliamentary branch, Jókai in that assembly displayed
conspicuous
gifts
of
practical
statesmanship,
supple-
mented by the resource and wit of a keen, magnetic debater.
Bringing, besides, his various journals to the
of
his
political
support
speedily
principles
and
associates,
he
grew
to the position of a
towering figure in
national affairs.
Far from acquiring any
sort of fatuity in consequence
of his triumphs, Jókai never lost his balance.
He was
always reputed modest and genial, and one of his coun-
trymen has described him as "the best beloved individual
8
Life of Jókai
in
Hungary."
A
personal friend of the Empress Eliza-
beth of Austria, he was Hkewise highly esteemed by her
imperial consort, Francis Joseph,
who gave him
a seat in
in
the
upper
first
chamber,
wife, to
the
"Magnatenhaus,"
inspiration he
1897.
to
Jókai's
whose
was wont
attribute the greater part of his renown, died in 1886;
though she was
his senior
by several years,
their union
had been
ideal.
After thirteen years of widowerhood,
he took a second wife, a young actress named Bella
Nagy.
On
his death the
Austro-Hungarian Empire may
be said to have gone into mourning.
A
public funeral
the
was accorded him by the unanimous vote of both Hungarian legislative houses.
9
POOR PLUTOCRATS
CHAPTER
BOREDOM
I
"Was
it
you who yawned
so,
Clementina?"
Nobody answered. The questioner was an
year or
so,
old gentleman in his eightieth
silk
dressed in a splendid flowered
kaftan,
with a woolen night-cap on his head,
warm
cotton stock-
ings on his feet, and diamond, turquoise, and ruby rings
on
his fingers.
He was
wooden
reclining
as a
on an
atlas
ottoman;
his face
was
as
mummy's
had a dry, thin, pointed nose, shaggy, autumnal-yellow eyebrows; his large prominent black eyes, protected by irritably sensitive eyelids, lent
of wrinkles
little
work
—he
—
a
mere patch-
charm
to his peculiar cast of countenance.
"Well!
behind
Will nobody answer?
Who
yawned
so loudly
my
snort.
back just now?" he asked again, with an
angry
"Will nobody answer?"
ber of people in the
Nobody answered, and yet there was a sufficient numroom to have found an answer among
In front of the fireplace there sat a young
them.
woman
of thirty or thirty-five, with just such a strongly-pro-
nounced pointed nose, with just such high raised eye-
brows as the old gentleman's, but her face was
II
still
red
Poor Plutocrats
(though possibly Nature's favor had not much to do witH
that) and her eyebrows were
still
black;
when
she was
not speaking, her thin
sealed as the old man's.
lips
were just as hermetically
This young
woman was
play-
ing at Patience.
In one of the windows sat a young girl of sixteen, a
delicate creature of rapid
growth, whose every limb and
fragile.
feature seemed
preternaturally thin and
sort of sewing.
She
was occupied with some
tle
sewing-table, immediately opposite to
At another lither, was a red-
cheeked damsel with a frightful
figure
it.
mop
of light hair and a
which had
all
the possibilities of stoutness before
She was a
sort of governess,
and was supposed to
it.
be English, though they had only her word for
She
was reading a book.
On
the silk ottoman behind lay the already mentioned
Clementina,
who ought
life,
to
have confessed
to the sin of
yawning.
the
She was
a spinster already far
advanced
in
afternoon of
and had cinder-colored
ringlets
around her temples and a suspicion of a beard on her
chin.
She was no blood-relation of the family,
but, as
a former companion to a former mistress of the house,
had long eaten the bread of charity under that roof. She
was now engaged upon some eye-tormenting,
very much amusement.
fine fancy
work, which could not have afforded the poor creature
The
old gentleman on the sofa used to divert himself
the whole day
by assembling as many human beings aroimd him as possible and driving them to desperation
12
—
Poor Plutocrats
by
his
unendurable nagging and chiding; they, on the
other hand, had by this time discovered that the best
defense against this domestic visitation was never to
answer so much
as a word.
"Of
near
course! of course!" continued the old gentleman
"I
I
with stinging sarcasm.
know what
a bore
it
it is
to be
me and
that I
about me.
see through
all.
Yes, I
know
am
an unendurable old fellow, on
I
whom
not
a single
word should be wasted.
sitting here beside
you are not
be here.
know well enough that me because you like to
not pre-
Who
compels you?
I certainly shall
vent anybody's petticoat from going of be
it.
away by
eh?
laying hold
to
The
gate
is
not closed.
Nothing easier than
oi¥.
Yet nobody
likes the idea,
Ah-ha!
It is
possible that
when
old
the eye of old Lapussa
no longer
sees,
the
heart of
Lapussa
tell
Besides,
die.
nobody can
may no longer remember. exactly when the old man may
Indeed they are waiting for his death every hour
is
he
beyond eighty already.
A
is
most awful bore
If
rate,
cer-
tainly.
Ah-ha!
is
The
old fool
unable to get up any
more, he
out,
not even able to strike anybody.
is
he
cries
nobody
afraid of him;
but, at
any
he has
strength enough to pull the bell-rope, send for his steward, tell
him
to
go
to the office of the prefect, there ferret
out and bring back his last will and testament
—and then
he can dictate another will to his lawyer quite cozily at
his ease."
In
order to emphasize his words more terribly, he
at the bell-rope.
gave a tug
13
Poor Plutocrats
Still
nobody turned toward him the woman kept
;
deal-
ing out the cards, the young girl continued working beads
into her sampler, the governess
went on reading, and the
delicate operation-
old spinster
was
still
intent
if
upon some
with her needle
—
just as
nobody had spoken a word.
In answer to the bell an ancient serving-man appeared
in the
little
doorway, and the old gentleman, after waiting a
to see
from the countenances of those present (he
could observe them in the mirror opposite) whether his
allusion to his will
had produced any
it
effect,
and finding
no notice caken of
voice: "Louis!"
whatever, said in a sharp, petulant
The
again.
servant approached the sofa and then stood
still
"My
The
slight
dinner!"
This was the end of the awe-inspiring threat.
old gentleman observed, or rather suspected,
some
amusement
in the
company
present.
"Miss Kleary!" he observed
serve that Henrietta
I
is
irritably,
"don't you ob-
looking out of the
window again ?
in a
am
bound. Miss, to direct your attention to the fact
that I consider such a thing decidedly
unbecoming
young lady." "Dear Grandpapa!
"Silence!
I
—
" began the accused.
did not speak to Henrietta; I spoke to
Miss Kleary.
Miss Henrietta
I
is still
a child,
who
under-
stands nothing.
neither address her nor attempt to
explain anything to her.
this house, I
But
I
keep Miss Kleary in
salary, in order
pay Miss Kleary a princely
14
"
Poor Plutocrats
that I
may have some
I
one at hand to
whom
I
can explain
are
are
my
educational ideas.
good; nay, Miss,
very good.
to stick to them.
Now, my educational ideas think I may even say that they
beg you to do
I will therefore
I
me
the favor
not to be allowed young girls; I
know what ought and what ought know that
—
The young
antly
girl's face
blushed beneath the reproachful
defi-
look of the old tyrant, while the governess rose
from her
place, and, in order that she
might wreak
her anger upon some one, industriously proceeded to pick
holes in Henrietta's sewing and effectually spoil her whole day's work.
Thus,
it
will be perceived, only
one person had the
right to speak; the only right the other people had was
not to listen to him.
But there was some one
began to hammer with his
door
at
else in the
background who
had better rights than anybody, and
fists
this
some one now
on the door, that very
which the oldest and most trusty domestics
hardly dared to tap
fists
—began,
I say, to
hammer with
his
and kick with
his heels
till
every one was downright
scared.
This was the
spoiled darling,
little
grandson,
the
old
gentleman's
little
Maksi.
let
"Why
little
don't you
in little
Maksi?"
cried the old
gentleman when he heard him.
to reach the door-handle
"Open
is
the
door for
Maksi; don't you know that he
?
not
tall
enough
Why
15
don't you
let
him come
to
me when
he wants to come?"
:
Poor Plutocrats
At
the
that
moment
the footman opened the door, and
in.
little
family prince bounded
It
was
a pale
little
moldy
sort of flower, with red eyes
like a carp,
and a cornerless
mouth
but with the authentic family nose
and the appurtenances thereof, which took up so much
room
as to imperil seriously the prospects of the rest of
the head
growing
in proportion.
The
little
favorite
was
wearing a complete Uhlan costume, even the four-cornered shako being stuck on the side of his head; he was
flourishing a zinc
sword and grumbling
little
bitterly.
"What's the matter with
been annoying him?"
Maksi?
in
Has anybody
that
Grandpapa succeeded
tutor
at
last
making out
on
running out Maksi had tripped over his sword, that his
had wanted to take
his
it,
it
away, that Maksi had therehe had
upon drawn
smart with
weapon, and made the aggressor's hand
finally fled for
and that
refuge to
grandpapa's room as the only place where he was free
from the persecutions of
Grandpapa,
his instructors.
in a terrible to-do,
began
to question
him
the
"Come
head, eh
in fact!
here!
?
Where
!
did you hit yourself?
On
Let us see
Why,
it is
swollen up
it!
—
quite red
Put some opodeldoc on
Clementina, do
you hear? some opodeldoc for Maksi!" So the family medicament had to be fetched at once but Maksi, snatch;
—
ing
it
from the worthy
spinster's hand,
threw
it
vio-
lently to the ground, so that the
whole carpet was bespat-
tered with
it.
Nobody was allowed
to scold
him
for this, however,
i6
Poor Plutocrats
as
grandpapa
was
instantly
ready
with
an excuse:
"Maksi must not be vexed," wear a sword by
his side
said he.
"Does not Maksi
Maksi
will be a
already?
!"
great soldier one of these days
"Yes," replied the lad defiantly;
"I'll
be a general!"
less
"Yes, Maksi shall be a general; nothing
general, of course.
than a
But come,
my
boy, take your finger
out of your mouth."
The English governess here thought
she saw an oppor-
tunity of insinuating a professional remark.
"He who would
a great deal."
be a general must
first
of
all
learn
"I don't want to learn.
I
mean
to
know
if
everything
lots of
without learning
it.
I say,
grandpa,
you've
money, you
ing
it,
will
know everything
at once without learn-
won't you ?"
The old man looked around him triumphantly. "Now, that I call genius, wit!" cried he.
And
head to
with that he tenderly pressed the
his breast
little
is
urchin's
and murmured: "Ah! he
flesh
my
very
grandson,
my own
and blood."
irritated all the others
He was
well aware
how
would
be at these words.
Meanwhile the footman was laying a
of a swan.
table.
This table
was of palisander wood and supported by
It
the semblance
could be placed close beside the ottoman,
and was
filled
with twelve different kinds of dishes.
All
these meats were cold, for the doctor forbade his patient
hot food.
The
old gentleman tasted each one of the
17
Poor Plutocrats
dishes with the aid of his finger-tips, and not one of
them pleased him.
This was too
salt,
that
was too
sweet,
a third was burnt, a fourth was tainted.
to discharge the cook,
He
threatened
and
bitterly
complained that as he
did not die quickly enough for them, they were conspiring to starve him.
They might have
things
replied that he
had ordered
all
these
himself
yesterday;
but
nobody took the trouble
the old
to contradict
him any
longer,
so gradually the storm died
away
of
its
own
accord, and
man, turning toward Maksi, tenderly invited him
eat with me, Maksi,
to partake of the disparaged dishes.
"Come and
"That
"Oh,
I
my
darling."
will,"
cried
the
little
horror,
grabbing at
everything simultaneously with both hands.
fie,
fie!" said
let
grandpapa gently.
the footman go with
out for a ride, and
his tutor!"
"Take Maksi him instead of
little
The
old gentleman then pushed the
signified to the
round table aside and
footman that he
was to put all the dishes carefully away, as he should want to see them again on the morrow. The footman conscientiously obeyed this command which was given
regularly every day
—and
well
—
locked up
all
the dishes, well
if
aware
that he
would get a sound jacketing
he
to
failed
to produce a single one of
them when required
do
so.
The
servant
old
in
man knew
the house
enough that there was not a
lain
who, for any reward on earth, on
in such
would think of touching any food that had ever
his table; indeea, they held
it
horror that they
In order,
used regularly to distribute
it
among
the poor.
i8
Poor Plutocrats
therefore, that the very beggars
might have nothing
till it
to
thank him
for,
he had the food kept
let
was almost
rotten before he
them have
it.
As
for his
own
family,
he had not dined at the same table with them for ten
years.
It
was
old
certainly not a sociable family.
For example,
red-cheeked
the
gentleman's
widowed
daughter,
Madame
I^ngai, did not exchange a single word with
her father for weeks at a time. her to remain in the same
At
first
he had expected
till
room with him
nine o'clock
every evening, dealing out cards for him, or boring herself to
death in some other
it
endured
last,
for a whole
way for his amusement. She month without a word but at
;
one evening,
in
at seven o'clock, she
appeared
l^efore
him
evening dress, and said that she was going to the
theatre.
Old Lapussa glared
at her
with
all
his eyes.
"To
the theatre?" cried he.
"Yes, I have ordered a box."
"Really?
Well,
I
hope you
will
enjoy yourself!"
The
lady quitted
from that
him moment she would
with a shrug.
She knew
that
inherit a million less than
her elder brother ; but nevertheless she went to the theatre
regularly every day, and never stirred
from her box so
long as there was any one on the stage
to say.
who had
a
word
The Lapussa
of
its
family was of too recent an origin for
the great world to take
much
19
notice of
it,
and the fame
fabulous wealth went hand in hand with the rumor
Poor Plutocrats
of a sordid avarice which was not a recommendable
quality in the eyes of the true gentry.
The Lapussas
but simply rich.
were, in fact, not of gentle blood at
all,
Madame
Langai's elder brother, John, was notoriously
the greatest bore in the town,
members of
father
his
own
family
who nobody, from the down to his cofifee-house
Only
at
acquaintances, could endure for a moment.
his
made much of him.
;
For
all
his great wealth, he lent
little
was very stingy and greedy he even to his best friends. Our amusing was
this
money
usury
friend, Maksi,
man's son.
The
slender, fanciful damsel,
Hen-
rietta,
who appeared
race,
in that family like
an errant angel
specially sent there to be
tormented for the sins of her
whole
was
the orphan daughter of another son of
lost father
old Lapussa,
who had
and mother
at the
same
time 'n the most tragical manner; they had both been
''
wned by
the capsizing of a small boat on the Danube.
Henrietta herself had only been saved with the utmost
difficulty.
She was only twelve years old
at the time,
and the catastrophe had had such an
of anger, and often
cause.
effect
upon her
nerves that ever afterward she collapsed at the least sign
fell
a-weeping for no appreciable
Since the death of her parents,
who had
loved
her dearly, Henrietta had been obliged to live at her
grandfather's house, where nobody loved anybody.
But no,
by name,
I am mistaken. She had a brother, Koloman who was a somewhat simple but thoroughly
good-natured youth.
He
used to appear very rarely
among
his relatives because they
always
fell
foul of him.
20
Poor Plutocrats
The poor
ful,
fellow's sole fault
was
that he
was
in the habit
of regularly selling his
after
all,
new
clothes.
Still, I
am
doubt-
whether
this
can fairly be imputed to him
it
as a fault at
all,
for although
was always being dinned
rich,
into his ears that his family
was immensely
he was
never blessed with a penny to spend in amusing himself
with his comrades, and therefore had to do the best he
could to raise the wind.
Another
failing of
in
Koloman's
was
his
that he
would not learn Latin, and
consequence
thereof he had to suffer
many
things.
Old Lapussa and
son John indeed had no notion whatever of the Latin
tongue.
The former
all,
in his youthful
days had never gone
to school at
because he was occupied in building up
latter
a business.
The
had not gone to school
in his
rich,
youth because by that time his people were already
and he considered
it
beneath him.
The
consequeno^^ -^as
t"^^>b
that neither father nor son
had a proper idea on
simplest subjects, except
travels.
Still that
what they picked up on
their
was no reason
why Koloman
full
should
not learn, but as the tutor had his hands
little
already with
to
Maksi, Koloman was
obliged to
go
the
nahis
tional school in order to
become a wiser man than
forebears.
Poor Henrietta often slaved away
helping
for hours at a time
side,
with her younger brother sitting at the table by her
him
to struggle through the genders, declensions,
conjugations, or whatever else the infernal things were
called to
;
and the end of
better
know Latin
was that, at last, she learned than Koloman, and secretly transit all
21
Poor Plutocrats
lated all his
exercises
from Cornelius Nepos and the
"Bucolics" of Virgil for him.
But we must not linger any longer over these Latin
lessons,
for a
much more important event
John
is
claims our
attention
—Mr.
coming home, and we must
hasten forward to admire him.
whole family.
Mr. John Lapussa was a composite portrait of the His extraordinarily lanky pinched figure
it
was by nature because he he peered down from that elevation upon humanity at large as if there was something the matter with his eyes which prevented him from properly raising the lids. In him the dimensions
seemed even lankier than
always carried his head so high
:
of the family nose were
made
still
more remarkable by
lips.
an inordinately tiny chin and thin compressed
His
mustache was shaved down
mouth, only a
left
little
to the very corners of his
mouse-tail sort of arrangement being
on each
side,
which was twisted upward and dyed
skill.
black with infinite
ultra-refined,
His costume was elegant and
in being
and only differed from the fashion
fitting.
extra
stiff
and tight
Moreover,
all
the buttons
of his shirt and his waistcoat were precious stones, and
he had a plenitude of rings on his fingers, which he
delighted to
show
off
by ostentatiously adjusting his
cravat in the course of conversation, or softly stroking
the surface of his superfine coat.
Mr. John entered the room without looking at a soul, and paced up and down it with his hands behind his
back.
Then he suddenly caught
22
sight of his father, kissed
Poor Plutocrats
his hand,
and resumed
his dignified saunter.
It
was
evi-
dent that he was bursting for some one to speak and ask
him what was
the matter.
first
Clementina was the
to speak.
"Your honor!"
said she.
still
"What
is
it?"
he asked, Hfting his head
higher.
"I have finished the embroidery for your shirt front
which your honor was pleased to command."
His honor with a haughty curl of the
to glance
lip
condescended
I
down upon
the profiered embroidery.
am
was a poor physiognomist; she might have noticed from his face how utterly indifferent he was
afraid Clementina
to her
and her embroidery, which he regarded with puckgood.
ered eyes and screwed-up mouth.
"No And
Those flowers are too big;
it is
the sort of
thing the Wallachian peasants stitch on to their shirts."
with that he took up Clementina's scissors from
little bits
the work-table and deliberately snipped into
the
whole of the
difficult piece
woman had
finally
been slaving
it
work which the worthy away at for a week and more,
of
sat
pitching
there and stared
away contemptuously while she at him dumfounded.
"John, John!" exclaimed the old
strance.
man
I
in mild
remon-
"To show me
I
such rubbish
I
when
am mad! When
am
wroth!
are
When
am
beside myself with fury!"
"Why
you angry, and with whom?"
if
John went on as
cause of his anger.
he
did
not
mean
to
tell
the
He
flung himself into an armchair,
23
Poor Plutocrats
crossed his legs, plunged his hands into the depths of his
pockets,
and then, starting up, began to
furious."
t.it- the
room
again.
"I
am
"Then what's the matter?" inquired
anxiously.
the
old
man
John again flung himself
into
an armchair and cocked
:
one leg over the arm of the chair
for-nothing Hátszegi!" he cried.
lain, a
"It
is all
that goodis
"The fellow
a
vil-
scoundrel, a robber!"
"What "What
again;
has he done?"
has he done?" cried John, leaping to his feet
you.
"I'll tell
Yesterday he sent word to
me by
sale.
his broker that he
would
like to
I
buy those houses of
have offered for
ours in Széchenyi Square, which
Wishing
self at
to save broker's expenses I
went
to see
him my-
twelve o'clock.
Surely that
calls.
is
the most convenient
least I
time for paying business
At
have always
supposed
so.
I
entered his antechamber and there stood
—me,
Very
wait.
a flunky.
He
told
me
I
must wait!
Told me forsooth
John Lapussa
I
—
that I
must cool
my
heels in an
antechamber, at an inn, to please that wretched Hátszegi.
well.
waited.
I
I sent I
him a message
sit
that I
would
all
Meanwhile
found
could not
down anywhere,
for the rascal had piled dirty boots the chairs.
and brushes on
Presently the rascal of a servant came back
that his master could not see
in
and told
I
me
me
then,
would
come back again
the afternoon
—
I,
John Lapussa,
forsooth!
Absolutely would not speak to me, but told
24
Poor Plutocrats
me
to
come again another time
!
!
Thou
all
dog, thou wretched
rascal
T
A
wait, I say, that's
!"
At
this the old
man
also
grew
excited.
"Why
''I'll
did
it,
you not box
and do
it
his ears?" cried he.
I'll
do
well.
It
not stand
it.
What!
I
send a Lapussa packing!
shall
can not be overlooked.
immediately go and find two seconds and challenge
to a duel."
him
"Nay, John, don't do that!
in the street,
Don't even box his ears
but give a street-porter ten shillings to
;
cudgel him well as he comes out of the theatre
be best!"
that will
"No,
insults
I
I will kill
him.
I will
shed his blood.
He who
off the
me
in a
gentlemanly manner must be shown that
like a
can revenge myself
gentleman.
I will
wipe
score with pistols
—with
pistols, I say."
The
except
old
man and
the female
this
members of the family
all
were duly impressed by
bragging, or, rather,
Madame
Langai,
who was
getting ready for the
theatre,
and took no notice of the general conversation.
Mr. John was much put out by her indiiference. "Matilda," he asked, "what do you say? Ought I not
to fight after such an insult?"
Madame Langai answered
the unavoidable question
if
with a cold smile: "I would only say that
any one
angers you another time you had better expend your
wrath upon him before dinner, for wrath
till
if
you nurse your
after dinner
you
spoil the
whole thing."
Mr. John
listened to her in silence,
and then resumed
25
(F)— (2)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
his
promenade with
his
hands behind
his back, snorting
furiously.
out.
Suddenly he snatched up his cap and rushed
"John, John, what are you going to do?" the old
called after
man
him
in a supplicating voice.
I'll
"You'll very soon see,
the door behind him.
warrant you," and he banged
The
Langai,
old
man
turned reproachfully toward
did
Madame
"Why
He
you
irritate
enough already?" he
death?
cried.
him when he was mad "What will you gain by his
you
little
has a son
who
will inherit everything,
know.
Yes, everything will belong to
Maksi."
Madame Langai
strings.
calmly went on tying her bonnet
"I
know what
fiery
is
blood he has," mumbled the old
will listen to
man.
is
"When
he
angry he
nobody, and
capable of facing a whole army.
We
must prevent
this duel
somehow.
And you
are actually preparing to
go
to the theatre
when
things have
come
to such a pass?
You
are actually going to see a comedy!"
actor Ladislaus plays just the
"The
bitterly.
same parts on
the
stage as John does off the stage," replied
Madame Langai
Don't be afraid.
"And
I
am
as
little
afraid of John's rodomon-
tade as I
He'll
am of
the result of stage duels.
come
to no harm."
to
A
footman now entered
announce that the coach
mantilla,
at least,
was ready, and Madame Langai, adjusting her went to the playhouse where the actors were,
amusing.
26
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
A
II
NEW MODE
OF DUELING
Old Lapussa
and day,
worry.
Till
always liked to have under his eye, night
some one or other
whom
he could plague and
eight o'clock every evening he
occupied in tormenting the whole family.
was fully Then Madame
drawing-
Langai went to the theatre and Henrietta and the governess had to
sit
down
at the piano in the large
room
till
it
was time
to put the child to bed.
But when
Clementina and the domestics had had supper, and there
was no longer anybody
night nurse began.
else
with him, the turn of the
The
life
duties of a night nurse are never very enviable
or diverting at the best of times, yet penal servitude for
was a
fate almost preferable to being the nocturnal
guardian
of
old
Demetrius
with
Lapussa.
this
The unhappy
at night
till
wretch
sit at
who was burdened
heavy charge had to
Mr. Lapussa's bed from nine o'clock
early the following morning,
and read aloud to him all sorts of things the whole time. Old Demetrius was a very bad sleeper. The whole night long he scarcely His eyes would only slept more than an hour at a time.
close
when
the droning voice of
some one reading aloud
27
Poor Plutocrats
made
his
head dizzy, and then he would doze off for a
short time.
But
at the slightest
pause he would instantly
left off,
awake and angrily ask the reader why he him on again.
and urge
fifty
The
living
reader in question was a student
more than
years old, who, time out of mind, had been making a
by fair-copying
all
sorts of difficult manuscripts.
He
was an honest, simple creature who, in his time, had
hard to push his way into every conceivable busitill,
tried
ness and profession without ever succeeding,
at last,
when he was
fall
well over
fifty,
he was fortunate enough to
to
in
with an editor,
who happened
know
that
Demetrius Lapussa wanted a reader, and recommended
the poor devil for the post.
He knew
Hungarian, Latin,
all
and Slovack well enough to mix them
up together;
it,
German he
read for his
could read, though he did not understand
but this was not necessary, for he was not expected to
own edification. The worthy man, then, grew prematurely
all
old in read-
ing, year out, year in, aloud to :Mr.
Demetrius, one after
another,
the
German
translations of French novels
procurable at Robert Lempel's circulating library, with-
word of them. Mr. Demetrius had, naturally, no library of his own, for reading to him in his condition was pretty much the same as medicine,
out understanding a single
and who would ever think of keeping a dispensary on
his
own
premises?
I
may add
that the reader received
florins a
free board
and lodging, and ten
month
pocket-
money
for his services.
28
Poor Plutocrats
On
that particular night,
when Mr. John
not whether
flung out of
the house in such a violent rage, Mr. Demetrius
particularly sleepless.
I
was
to be
it
know
Monte
Cristo,
the
first
volume of which honest Margari happened
this,
reading just then, was the cause of
or whether
was due
to the old
man's nervousness about the
terrible
things John
was
likely to do, but the fact this occasion
remains that
poor Margari on
labors.
relief.
got no respite from his
At other times Margari did manage to get a little Whenever he observed that Mr. Demetrius was beginning to draw longer breaths than usual he would let his head sink down on his book and fall asleep immediately till the awakened tyrant roused him out of his slumbers and made him go on again. But now he was
not suffered to have a moment's peace.
Cristo had already been sitting in his dungeon some time when Madame Langai's carriage returned from the theatre. Then Mr. Demetrius rang up the
for
Monte
porters to inquire whether Mr.
John had
also returned
home.
No, was the answer.
not returned.
At
eleven o'clock Mr. John
Cristo's neigh-
had
still
Meanwhile Monte
bor had traced the figure on the floor of the dungeon.
Mr. Demetrius here demanded a
the circumstances.
quired.
fuller explanation of
"How was
that,
Margari?" he
in-
"I
humbly beg your honor's pardon, but
I
don't un-
derstand."
"Very well, proceed !" Every time a door below was opened or
29
shut,
Mr.
Poor Plutocrats
Demetrius rang up the porter to inquire whether Mr.
John had come
ter,
in, to
the intense exasperation of the por-
who appeared
in the
door of the saloon with a surHer
expression and his hair more and
more
ruffled
on each
occasion, inwardly cursing the fool of a student
who had
not even wit enough to send an old
ing the other servants who, at
at night without interruption.
man
asleep,
and envy-
least,
were able to sleep
And still Margari went on reading. By this time Monte Cristo had had
in a sack
himself sewn up
and flung into the sea as a corpse.
to have that
"Would you have dared
"If I had a lot of
done to you,
Margari?" interrupted Mr. Demetrius.
money
I
might, begging your honor's
pardon, but a poor devil like
at
me
is
only too glad to live
any price," replied Margari, whose answer naturally
to the
text,
had no relation whatever
which he understood.
not a
word of
go
liked
"You
are
a
simple
fellow,
Margari;
but
on,
go on!" Margari gaped
his coat
violently;
he
would have
to
stretch himself too, but he bethought
him
in
time that
had already burst beneath
to
his armpits,
larger, so
and he
let it
had no wish
make
the rent
still
he
alone and proceeded with his bitter labor.
By
the time
Monte
Cristo had
swum
back to dry land,
still
Margari's eyelids were almost glued to his eyes, and
the old gentleman
showed no sign of drowsiness. Mr. John's threat had kept Mr. Demetrius awake all night,
30
Poor Plutocrats
and consequently had kept poor Margari awake
too.
Once or twice an unusually
the old man's attention,
interesting episode excited
all
and for the time he forgot
island
about John's duel
covered the
— for example, when Monte Cristo enormous treasure on the —and
Monte
dis-
he
would then arouse Margari and make him go and
find a
map and
island.
point out the exact position of
Cristo's
it,
Margari searched every corner of the sea for
it
and
ing
at last looked for
it.
on the dry land
also without find-
Tiring at length with the fruitless search, he pro-
posed, as the best
way
out of the
difficulty, that
he should
write on the afternoon of the following day to Monsieur
Alexandre
Dumas
himself, to explain to his
it still
honor where
the island used to be and whether
existed.
"What
go
on
on,
a blockhead you are," said the old man, "but
go on!"
at the clock
Margari gave a great sigh and looked
the wall, but, alas!
it
was
still
a long
way from
still
six
o'clock.
At
last,
however, while he was
reading,
in
the clock did strike six.
Margari instantly stood up
the middle of a sentence,
thumb-nail, so as to
marked the passage with his know at what word to begin again
leaf
on the following evening, turned down the
closed the book.
and
"Well
in
!
is
that the end of
it
?" inquired
Mr. Demetrius
angry amazement.
"I humbly beg your honor's pardon," said Margari
with meek intrepidity, "there's nothing about reading
after
si:*;
in
our agreement"
—and
off
he went.
Mr.
3Í
Poor Plutocrats
Demetrius thereupon flew into a violent rage, cursed and
swore,
spot,
vowed
that he
would dismiss
his reader
on the
and as the morning grew
the house had
lighter fell into a deep,
death-like,
unnatural sleep, from which he would not
if
have awakened
ears.
come tumbling about
Mr. John.
his
When
was
to
he did awake, about ten o'clock, his
first
care
make
inquiries about
Then
he
sent the porter to the police station, to inform the authorities
that his son
and Mr. Hátszegi, who were both
at all hazards.
stay-
ing at the
duel,
Queen of England
at
this
Inn, were going to fight a
which should be prevented
A police
inquiries.
constable,
announcement, flung himself into a
set off at full
hackney coach and
speed to
make
Half an hour
porter to
tell
later a
messenger was sent back to the
him
that either the whole affair
must be a
as not
hoax, as nothing was
known
of a duel, or else that the
two combatants must already be dead and buried,
a
the afternoon, Mr.
word could be heard of either of them. Luckily, toward John himself arrived in a somewhat
like
dazed condition,
night.
one
who
has been up drinking
all
The members
of the family were
all sitting to-
gether as usual in Mr. Demetrius's room, listening in
silence to his heckling,
when
the tidings of Mr. John's
arrival reached him.
him.
Demetrius immediately summoned word at first that he was lying down, to try to sleep, which was an absurd excuse for even the richest man to give in the forenoon on being summoned
He
sent back
;
a second time he threatened to box the porter's ears; only the third time,
when Clementina was
32
sent with the
Poor Plutocrats
message that
if
he did not come at once, his sick father
fetch him, did he respond to the call
in a pet.
would come and
and appear before them
"Well, thou bloodthirsty man, what has happened?
What was "What
to relate?"
the end of it?"
has
happened?"
strously dilated eyes.
John with mon"What marvel do you expect me
repeated
Henrietta,
retire,"
"Clementina, Miss Kleary,
the old
cried
man;
"retire,
go
into the next room.
These are
not the sort of things that children should hear."
When
about
they had
all
withdrawn except Madame Langai,
Demetrius again questioned his son:
this affair, this affair of
"Now
then,
what
;
honor with Hátszegi
did
you challenge him?
Did you meet him?"
Naturally.
"Eh?
out;
I
Oh
—
yes!
Of
course I sought him
have only just come from him.
a night of
it
We
have been
making
I
together at the
is
Queen of England.
qualities.
I
can honestly say that he
a splendid fellow, a gallant,
charming gentleman.
He
has really noble
this afternoon.
am
all
going to bring him here
see him.
You
shall
Even you
will like him, Matilda.
;
But now,
must really have a little sleep we were drinking champagne together all night. Oh, he is a magnificent,
adieu, I
a truly magnificent character."
Mr. Demetrius said not a word
pressed his thin lips and
in reply, but
he com-
wagged his head a good deal. Nobody made any observation. Mr. John was allowed to go to bed according to his desire. A little time after he
33
Poor Plutocrats
had withdrawn, however, the old man
"I
in
said to
Madame
Langai: "What are you doing, Matilda?"
am trying The Iris.' "
to guess a rebus
which has just appeared
rather
"Don't you think that what John has just said
is
odd?"
"I have not troubled
the other."
my
head about
it
one way or
"I can see through
it
though.
John wants to pay
off
Hátszegi
in his
own
coin.
He
has invited him here this
afternoon in order to keep him waiting in the antechamber,
and then send him word that he
can't see
him
till
to-morrow.
Oh
!
Jack
I
is
a sly lad, a very sly lad, but I
can see through him.
can see through him."
Mr. John passed the whole afternoon in his father's room he did not even go to his club. No doubt he was
;
awaiting his opportunity for revenge.
self
He amused
him-
by
sitting
down
beside his niece, stroking her hand,
skin,
admiring the whiteness of her
and, drawing the
governess into the conversation, inquired
how
Henrietta
still
was getting on with her
studies,
whether she had
much
was
to learn in English
and French, and whether she
not,
by
this time, quite a virtuoso at the piano.
He
well,
insinuated at the
same time that
it
would be just as
perhaps,
if
she
made
haste to learn
as soon as possible, because she
all that was necessary was no longer a child,
and when once a
time for study.
woman
is
married she has not very much
34
Poor Plutocrats
"By
the way, Henrietta," he added suddenly, "have
you chosen a lover yet?"
Henrietta was too
at this
much
afraid of
question; she only glanced at
him even to blush him with timid,
suspicious eyes, and said nothing.
"Don't be afraid, sisterkin," continued Mr. John encouragingly.
"I'll
bring you such a nice bridegroom that
even your grandpa, when he sees him, will snatch up
his crutches
in order to go and meet him half-way." Here the old man growled something which John smoth"Yes, and if he won't give you up, ered with a laugh. we'll carry you off by force."
Henrietta shuddered once or twice at her uncle's blandishments, like one
cine
who
has to swallow a loathsome mediit
and has caught a whiff of
beforehand.
The
porter interrupted this cheerful family chat by an-
nouncing that his lordship, Baron Hátszegi, wished to
pay his respects to Mr. Lapussa.
Mr.
Demetrius immediately raised himself on his
elbows to read from Mr. John's features what he was
going to do.
Would he
tell
the servants to turn Hátszegi
out of the house? or would he send him
word
to wait in
the antechamber, as he himself had waited at Hátszegi's,
and then put him
fellow
off
till
the
morrow ?
Oh John would
!
be sure to do something of the sort, for a very proud
was John.
But, so far from doing any of these things, Mr. John
rushed to the door to meet the arriving guest, and
greeted him aloud from afar in the most obliging, not to
35
I
Poor Plutocrats
say obsequious, terms, bidding him come in without cere-
mony, and not make a stranger of himself.
that he passed his
And
with
arm through
the
arm of
his distin-
guished guest and, radiant with joy, drew him into the
midst of the domestic sanctum sanctorum, and presenting
him
ship.
in a voice that trembled with
emotion: "His lordvery dear friend!"
Baron Leonard Hátszegi,
first
my
And
then he was guilty of the impropriety of introof
all
ducing his guest
to his father
and his
niece,
simply because they happened to be the nearest, only
afterward he bethought him of turning toward Matilda
to introduce her,
whereupon Matilda's
face
assumed a
to inquire
stony expression like that of the marble maiden in Zampa,
to the great confusion of John,
in a half
who
felt
bound
whisper:
dolt," she
"Why, what's
the matter?"
"You
whispered back, "have you not yet
learned that the lady of the house should receive her
guests not
last,
but first?"
John's
first
impulse was to be shocked, his second was
it
to be furious, but finally he thought
best to turn with
a smile to Baron Hátszegi,
who
courteously helped
is
him
out of his embarrassment by
observing: "It
my
privi-
lege to be able to greet your ladyship as an old acquaint-
ance already.
Many
a time have
I
had the opportunity
of secretly admiring you in your box at the theatre."
"Pray be
seated, sir
—
!"
36
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
III
AN AMIABLE MAN
Baron Hatszegi was
certainly a very amiable
man.
He
had a handsome
face, full
of manly
figure.
pride, sparkling
eyes,
and a powerful yet elegant
He moved and
Mr. Demetrius
spoke with graceful ease, bore himself nobly, picked his
words
—
in short,
was
a perfect gentleman.
was
quite taken with him, although Hátszegi hardly ex-
changed a word with him, naturally devoting himself
principally to the
hostess.
widowed
lady,
who
played the part of
What
the conversation
distinctly recollected
balls,
—
the
was really about nobody usual commonplaces no doubt,
Henrietta
soirees,
horse-racing.
took
no part
in the talk;
Mr. John, on the other hand, had a word to
say on every subject, and, although nobody paid any
attention to him, he enjoyed himself vastly.
When
face,
Hátszegi had departed, John, with a beaming
asked
Madame Langai what
she thought of the
young man.
Instead of replying,
Madame Langai
asked what had
induced him to bring him there.
"Well, but he's a splendid fellow,
isn't
he?"
"You
said yesterday that he
was
a vagabond."
37
"
Poor Plutocrats
"I said so, I know, but
it is
not true."
"You
that."
said, too, that
I
he was a robber."
Impossible.
I
"What!
said
that?
didn't
say
Old Demetrius here intervened as a peacemaker.
"You
means."
said
it,
John; you did indeed; but you were
angry, and at such times a
man
says
more than he
replied
"So
John,
far
from being a robber or a vagabond,"
is
"he
one of the principal landowners in the
Hátszegi
district.
How
is
could
like
I
have said such things!
He
has a castle that
a fortress.
He
is
like a
prince, a veritable prince in his
own
domains.
He
is
just like a petty sovereign.
mad
him a vagabond "Yet yesterday you would have
to call
—
I
must have been downright
called
him
out," con-
tinued
Madame Langai
I
teasingly.
"Yes,
was angry with him
then, but there are cir-
cumstances which
duelists, are there
may
not?"
if
reconcile a couple of would-be
"Oh,
all
certainly,
a
man
is
a
man
of business before
things, or has perhaps a valuable house or
two on
his hands."
"This has nothing to do with business or selling
houses.
voice, "it
If
is
you must know," he continued, lowering
his
about something entirely different, but of the
very greatest importance."
"Indeed?" returned
der the Great,
I
suppose,
Madame Langai, "a new who has gone forth to
38
Alexanconquer,
Poor Plutocrats
and who has come to look not for a house, but for a house and home perhaps?"
She thought
to herself that
it
was some adventurer
whom
her brother John would palm off upon her as a
husband, so as to get her away from the old man.
"Something of the
have guessed half
"I
sort,"
replied John.
half."
"Yes, you
—but the wrong
it."
am
glad to hear
"Ah!" put in the old man sarcastically, "Matilda will never marry again, I'm sure; she loves her old dad too much and feels far too happy at home to
do
that."
"Ho, ho,
ho!'^
I
laughed John scornfully, "I did not
mean Matilda;
the house
was not thinking of
imagines that she
is
her.
Ho,
ho, ho!
Madame Langai
the only person in
whose hand can be wooed and won."
Langai,
Dame
with
a
if
shrug,
there
looked incredulously
else
round the room to see
was anybody
who
could possibly become the object of the baron's sighs.
All at once her eyes accidentally encountered those of
Henrietta,
and immediately she knew even more than
her brother John did.
three things
:
For she now
clearly understood
the
first
was
that Henrietta
had taken
in
John's meaning more quickly that she had done; the
second was that John had brought the suitor to the house
on Henrietta's account
loathed the man.
;
and the third was that Henrietta
She
lesson
at
once bade Miss Kleary give Henrietta an extra
in the adjoining
on the piano
room, and when
39
:
Poor Plutocrats
they had taken her at her word and disappeared, she said
to
John
in her usual quiet,
mincing tone
to give Henrietta to that
"You man?"
surely do not
mean
"Why
five
not,
pray?"
is
it
"Because she
years hence
still
a
mere
child, a
will be quite time
mere schoolgirl; enough to provide
her with a husband."
"But the
girl is sixteen if sickly,
she
is
a day."
"Yes, and delicate,
and nervous."
is
"She
will
soon be well enough when once she
married."
"And who, may
father, to
I ask, is this
suitor of yours.
Is
it
not your duty, Demetrius Lapussa, as the girl's grand-
make
the fullest inquiries about any
Is
is,
it
man who
not your
may
sue for your granddaughter's hand?
duty, I say, to find out
who and what he
and everywealthy
thing relating to him?
For brother John may be very
much mistaken
in fancying his dear friend to be a
and amiable nobleman.
Whether he be amiable or not does not concern you personally, I know but you ought
;
certainly to
know how he
if
stands, for he
may have
much
castles
and mansions and yet be up
In such a case,
for
to the very ears in debt.
he
is
a nobleman, so
all
the worse
you
It
:
for he will then have
the greater claim upon
you.
the
may
cost
you dearly
to
admit a ruined baron into
bosom of your family."
talk
John grew yellow with rage: "How dare you like that of any one you do not know?" he cried.
40
Poor Plutocrats
"Then, do you know him any better?"
But here the old man intervened.
"You're a
I will
all
fool,
John," said he.
"Matilda
is
right.
send for
my
lawyer, Mr. Sipos.
He
understands
about such things, and will advise us in the matter.
We
must
find out
how
the baron stands."
41
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER IV
CHILDISH NONSENSE
Meanwhile
Henrietta
;
Hátszegi continued to
call
every day,
dividing his attention equally between the
widow and
and
at the his
end of a fortnight every one was
It
charmed with
personal qualities.
could not be
denied that he was a delightful companion, always merry,
lively,
frank, and entertaining.
He
even
made
fact,
the old
gentleman laugh aloud more than once; in
Demetrius Lapussa grew quite impatient if Hátszegi was five minutes late. Mr. John was more delighted with him than ever. They took walks together, invariably drove in the same carriage to the park, and John was to be seen every night in the baron's box at the theatre, talking at the top of his voice so that everybody might become
aware of the
tesy of his
fact.
Nay, he succeeded, through the cour-
new
friend, in
making the acquaintance of one
gratified the dearest desire of
or two magnates,
who
subsequently lifted their hats to
John
in the street,
and thus
his heart.
The
inquiries
made about Hátszegi
also proved ex-
tremely satisfactory.
financially,
He was
bill
certainly sound
and
solid
had never had a
dishonored, had no deal-
42
Poor Plutocrats
ings with
money
lenders,
always paid cash, and was
is
never even in temporary embarrassment, as
the case with most landed proprietors
fail.
so often
the crops
when
In
fact,
he seemed to have unlimited funds con-
stantly at his disposal,
and to be scarcely
less
wealthy
than old Lapussa himself.
So
far,
then,
everything was as
it
should be, and
every one was enchanted with him personally.
But what of Henrietta, the intended bride ?
Oh!
enough
she
she was not even consulted in the matter;
it
is
not usual, and besides she had neither mind nor will
to
have a voice
in so
important a matter as the
told that
disposal of her hand.
Nay, she was not even
was going
to be married.
She only got an inkling
of
it
from various phenomena that struck her from time
to time, such as the polite attentions of the baron, the
whispering of the domestics, the altered attitude toward
her of the various members of the family
addressed her in the tone you employ
a baroness that
tina's chatter!
all
who now when speaking to is to be. And then there was ClemenClementina was now forever talking of
—
the sewing and stitching that had to be done for the
lady,
young
lace
and of the frightful quantities of linen and
and
silk that
were being made up into dresses and
Six seamstresses were hard at work,
other garments.
she said, and she was helping them, and yet they had
to
make
night into day in order to get the necessary
things ready in time.
So gradually they accustomed her
43
to the idea of
it,
Poor Plutocrats
till
at last
one day
Madame Langai
took her aside and
lectured her solemnly as to the duties of
eral
women
in
gen-
and of women of rank
in particular, pointing out
at the
same time how much such women owed
to their
own
families for looking after
and providing for them,
and expressing the hope that Henrietta would be duly
grateful to the end of her days to her family
— from
all
which she was able to gather that any opposition on her
part
would not be tolerated
for a
moment.
The day was
bridal
already fixed for the exchange of the
nngs, but the night before that day Henrietta
fell
ill,
suddenly
that they
tinently.
and, what
is
more, dangerously
ill,
so
had
to
run off for the family physician inconstruck by the
The doctor was much
first
symptoms
of the illness, and the
thing he did was to
make
the
patient swallow a lot of milk
and
oil.
Then he drove
vessel
the servants headlong to the apothecary's, and, descending
into the kitchen, closely
examined every copper
there by candle light, scolded the cook and
the scullery
maids
by
till
they were in tears, and terrified Clementina
telling her she
was
the cause of
it all
to the speechless
confusion of the innocent creature.
this,
he made his
way
at
once to
Not content with Mr. Demetrius's room
and there cross-examined every one with the acerbity of
young lady been in the They must fetch what had been left over from her meals, he must see and examine everything. What had she eaten yesterday evening? Preserves? Then what sort of sugar was used, and
a police judge.
What had
the
habit of eating
and drinking?
44
Poor Plutocrats
where was the spoon?
thing.
He
insisted
on seeing every-
"But, doctor," whined old Lapussa, "you surely don't
mean
*'I
to say that the child has been poisoned ?" do, indeed,
is
and with copper oxide, too."
because some of her food, preserved, for
"How
that possible?"
"Why, simply
instance, has been allowed to stand too long in a copper or
silver-plated vessel,
and copperas has been developed."
The
plate,
old
understand
man how
did not
know enough
of chemistry to
silver-
copperas could be developed from
but he was seriously alarmed.
"I hope there''s no danger?" said he.
"It
is
a
good job you
sent for
me when you
is
did,"
replied the doctor, "for otherwise she
would have been
dead before morning.
poison,
Copperas
a very dangerous
and
if it
gets into one's food in large quantities
there
is
practically
no
antidote.
A
vigorous constitution,
good chance of throwing it off; but, taking into consideration the state of the young lady's nerves and her general debility, I should say that her case was
indeed, has a
downright dangerous; anyhow, she
will
be ailing for
some time."
"Oh, doctor, doctor! and we
she
is
all
!
love Hetty so
I
much;
the very light of our eyes
;
can not
tell
you how
I am on her account, I should be so glad, docyou could stay with her night and day, and never leave the house. I would richly recompense you." "I will do all I can, though I can't do that, and, unless
anxious
tor, if
45
Poor Plutocrats
some unforeseen accident
the result.
arise, I
I
think I can answer for
insist
But one thing
must
upon,
all
these
copper and plated vessels of yours must go to the devil.
I'll
lot
come to-morrow and examine thoroughly the whole of them by daylight. The health of the family must
not be endangered by such recklessness.
And
is
let
me
tell
your honor something
and, therefore, can
else.
Are you aware
that your
honor's business-man, Mr. Sipos,
ill
who
only a lawyer,
afiord to do so in comparison with
your honor
—are you
all
aware, I say, that he has on this
his copper vessels to the lumber-
very occasion sent
room?"
"On this occasion! what do you mean?" old man eagerly.
"I
inquired the
mean
that I have just
come from him, and a
His
assistant
similar
case has happened in his house.
young fellow; you know him, perhaps?
poisoned by copperas.
I
—has
—
a fine
also been
have only
this instant quitted
him."
"What an odd
"Very odd,
coincidence."
indeed.
Two
exactly similar cases of poiall
soning at the same
time,
and
because copper vessels
were used and not properly cleaned."
"And how
of danger?"
is
the
young man progressing?
Is
he out
"Fortunately; although at the outset his was an even
worse case than the young
lady's.
But then he
I will
is
so
much
stronger.
Well, good-by!
look in again
to-morrow."
46
Poor Plutocrats
"But
left
I
should be so
much
easier, doctor, if
you never
my
grandchild's side."
if
"I
would willingly do even that
I
had not other
patients in the
town
to attend to." to somfc
"Could you not entrust them
"Impossible.
sides, I
one
else?'*
My
reputation
would be
at stake.
Be-
do not often have the chance of studying two such
interesting parallel cases of poisoning at the
same time."
to cure our
"Very
little
well, doctor.
All
I
ask of you
is
one."
"I hope to save the pair of them.
"And now
I
I'll
go up
Mr.
and have a look
Sipos's house.
at her,
and then
must return
to
But
I
shall
be here again in an hour
or so."
With
that the old
man had
to be content.
illness
During the whole course of Henrietta's
and an old maid-servant took
bedside.
It
he sent
to inquire after his grandchild every hour.
it
Clementina
in turns to
watch by her
was
strictly
forbidden to leave Henrietta
alone for an instant, and Mr. Demetrius gave special
orders that her brother
to
Koloman was not
to be allowed
approach within six paces of her bed, because he was
sure to bring cold air into the room, or convey to her
surreptitiously something
which she ought not to have,
and behave
like a
blockhead generally.
So he was obliged
by,
to keep his distance.
At
last,
when weeks and weeks had flown
God and
blessed nature helped the doctor to triumph over the
eflfects
of the poison.
Henrietta slowly began to mend.
47
Poor Plutocrats
that she
She was still very weak, but the doctor assured them was quite out of danger and that the little caprifancies
cious
of
convalescence
might now be safely
humored.
Madame
sick girl
Langai, in the doctor's presence, asked the
in particular she
whether there was anything
would
like,
any food
she
fancied,
any pastime she
preferred.
The
grave
:
pale,
delicate-looking child languidly cast
if
down
in the
her eyes as
she would say
:
"I should like to
lie
deep, deep, down." But what she really did say was "I should like to read something. I feel so dull." 'That I can not allow," said the doctor, "it would make
I
—
your head ache; but
have no objection to some one
reading to you some nice, amusing novel
—Dickens's
will not
"Pickwick Papers," for instance, or a story of Marryat's;
something light and amusing,
excite
I
mean, which
you too much."
fell
"I should like that," said Henrietta, and the choice
on the "Pickwick Papers."
utes at a time without
But as the English governess
complained that she could never read aloud for ten mineyes were too
that
weak
for any such
growing hoarse, and Clementina's office, it was suggested
this extra sacin
Margari should be asked to submit to
and Clementina succeeded
rifice,
persuading him to do
so by promising
him
a liberal reward.
So she brought
and seated him behind a curtain, so that he could not see the invalid (that would have been
him back with
her,
scarcely proper),
and put the book into
his hand.
48
Poor Plutocrats
•But scarcely
had Margari struggled through a few
lines when Henrietta again became fidgety, and said she longed for something to eat. The good-natured Clementina jumped with joy at this sign of returning appetite, and asked her what she would like and how she would
like
it.
Henrietta thereupon directed her to have pre-
pared a soup of such a complicated character (only the
morbid imagination of an invalid could have conceived
such a monstrosity)' that Clementina
felt
obliged
its
to
descend to the kitchen herself to superintend
tion,
concoc-
for
it
was
certain that
any servant would have
before
forgotten
half
the
ingredients
she
could get
downstairs.
Scarcely had Clementina shut the door behind her
when Henrietta
interrupted Margari's elocution,
sake,
"For Heaven's
come nearer
to
me," she
said,
"I want to speak to you."
The worthy man was so frightened by this unexpected summons that he had half a mind to rush out and call
for assistance.
He
fancied that the
young lady had
be-
to
come delirious draw nearer.
—
it
was such an odd thing to ask him
she, pressing together her trembling
But
hands, looked at him so piteously that he could hesitate
no longer, but approached her bedside.
Henrietta did not scruple to seize the hand of the embarrassed gentleman.
"For God's
whispered.
"I
sake, help me,
am plagued me from closing my eyes.
my good Margari," she by an anxiety which prevents
Even here when
20
I
sleep
it
49 (F)— (3)— Vol.
Poor Plutocrats
follows
me
into
my
dreams.
In you alone have
as
I confidence.
You can free me frcMn it. You suffer in this house
cause to torment or perI
much
as I do.
You have no
secute me.
Will you do what
ask you,
my
dear,
good
Margari
It
?"
occurred to Margari that the young lady was wan;
dering in her mind
so, to
humor
her, he
promised to do
whatever she asked him without hesitation.
*'I
will be
very good to you;
I will
never forget
all
my
life
long the kindness you are about to do me."
servant,
"Your humble been good to me.
one
Miss! but you have always
As
far as I can
remember, while the
others took a delight in vexing me, you were the only
who always
!
took
my
part.
I don't forget that either.
fire
Command me
a
little
I will
go through
girl,
and water for you."
the key of
"Look, then!" said the
drawing from her bosom
is
key attached to a black cord, "this
my
toilet case.
Open
illness
it
and you
will find a
bundle of
documents
tied together with a blue ribbon; take them.
All through
my
I
trembled at the thought that
they might ransack
I
my
things and find them, and
when
came
I
to myself I
was worrying myself with
it
the idea
that
might perhaps have spoken about these papers in
my
delirium.
Oh!
I
would have been
frightful
if
my
folks
had seized them.
Take
them, quickly, before Clem-
entina returns.
her."
must conceal everything, even from
Margari accomplished the task with tolerable dexterity.
He
only broke the looking-glass while he was opening
50
Poor Plutocrats
the case, and that
was
little
enough for him.
There the
so
documents were right enough, nicely
tied together.
it
And
then Henrietta seized his hand and pressed
at
warmly and looked
ploring eyes
him with her
lovely, piteous, im-
—a very
lunatic
might have been healed by
such a look.
"I
know you
for an honorable
man," continued she;
"promise
to
me
not to look at these papers, but give them
my
brother Koloman; he will
know what
to do with
them.
You
will
do
this for
my
sake, dear Margari, will
you not? come back
It is
just as though one of the dead were to
to
you from the world beyond the grave and
its
implore you, with desperate supplications, to free
soul
from a thought which rested upon
would not
let it rest in
it
like a curse
and
the grave."
Margari shuddered
at these
words.
A
corpse that re-
turns from the world beyond the grave!
This young
gentlewoman
certainly
had a terrifying imagination.
Nevertheless he swore by his hope of salvation that he would not bestow a glance upon the papers, but would give them to young Koloman.
"Hide them, pray And indeed it was high time that he should bestow
!"
them
ber.
in the well-like pocket of his long coat, for
Clemen-
tina's steps
were already audible
in the adjoining
chambehind
When
she appeared, however, he
was
sitting
the curtain again, reading
away
as
if
nothing had hap-
pened.
When
the clock struck four, at which time
Koloman
SI
!
Poor Plutocrats
usually returned
that she
from school, Henrietta
said to
Margari
had had enough of romance-reading for that
day, but thanked
to
him
the
for his kindness,
and asked him
the highest
come again on
morrow
if
he would be so good.
it
Margari protested that he should consider
honor, the greatest joy.
He would
off
willingly read even
English to her,
if
she liked, and without any special hon-
orarium
either,
and then
he went to seek young
Koloman.
Now
home
ing for
it
so happened that
at the usual time that day,
him
in vain,
young Koloman did not come and Margari, after lookbecame very curious as to the con-
tents of the packet entrusted to him.
What
sort of
mys-
terious letters could they be
which Miss Henrietta was
afraid of falling into the hands of her family?
Hum!
pos-
how
nice
it
would be
to find out
The packet was
sible to
tied
up
—naturally!
But
it
was
undo and then
retie the
knots in just the same
nobody would be any the wiser. way To an honorable man, indeed, the mere knowledge that another's secret was concealed therein which he was bidas before, so that
den to guard would have been as invincible an impedi-
ment
as unbreakable bolts
and bars but the worthy fellow
;
reassured himself with the reflection that, after
all,
he
was not going
could be that
to tell
anybody the contents of these docu-
ments, and he so very
away, and old
much longed to know what it Miss Henrietta was so anxious to hide Lapussa would so much like to find out.
nice,
As
if
he would ever betray the secret of such a
52
!
Poor Plutocrats
kindly creature to such an old dragon!
rather have
it
Why,
it
!
he would
his
tongue torn out than betray
—but know
the third
he must and would
So he locked himself up
story,
in his little
room on
and very cautiously opened the bundle, which was
in I
wrapped up
ments.
know
not
how many
folds of paper,
and greedily devoured the contents of the various docu-
But how great was
his fury
when, instead of the ex-
pected secrets, he found nothing but dull Latin exercises,
wearisome rhetorical commonplaces on such subjects
the charms of spring and
culture, the
as
summer, the excellence of
agri-
advantages of knowledge, the danger of the
passions,
and similar interesting themes.
tie
He was
just
about to
the bundle up again,
when
it
occurred to him
to read one of these tiresome dissertations to the end,
just to see
what
sort of style the
young scholar
affected.
And now
after the
off,
a great surprise awaited him, for
first five
he found that
different,
or six lines the
theme suddenly broke
and there followed something altogether
which, although also written in the Latin tongue, had
nothing whatever to do either with the beauties of spring
or the excellencies of agriculture, but was, nevertheless,
of the most interesting and engrossing character.
indeed, he read every one of the exercises from
so,
Now,
beginning to end, and, when he had done
perceived that
if
he clearly
old Demetrius Lapussa had very par-
ticular reasons for ferreting out these things.
rietta
Miss Hen-
has
still
greater reason for concealing them.
53
—
Poor Plutocrats
After having neatly tied up the packet again, he be-
;
thought him what he had better do next.
etta
Miss Henri-
had confided the secret to
his safe-keeping, but
to
Mr.
the
Demetrius had commanded him
keep an eye upon
Koloman and
best right to
to divulge a
is
his Latin exercises
— which of them had
But was
it
command in secret? Ah!
that house? that
right
true that, as a general rule,
it
it is
was another question. It wrong to betray secrets
Moreover, was
yet
is
nevertheless true that to betray a secret that
is
ought to be known
it
at least justifiable.
let
not a Christian duty to
the grandfather
know
finally
as
soon as possible what extraordinary things his granddaughter was turning over
there
in her
noddle?
!
And
If old
was money
in
it
!
—
good
solid cash
it,
Lapussa
did not choose to pay a price for
too,
and a
liberal price
he should be told nothing at
all,
and Margari would
of character to
live,
show the
deal with.
this
its
old miser that he had a
man
For
after all poor
Margari had to
and
was worth as much as a thousand
florins to
him or
equivalent anyhow.
Surely Miss Henrietta could not
be so unreasonable as to expect poor Margari to chuck
such a piece of good fortune out of the window, especially
as she had given
At
that
him nothing herself. moment some one knocked
was
at the
door and
inquired whether Mr. Margari
there.
Margari was so frightened that he bawled out: "No,
I
am
not!"
—
so,
of course he was obliged to open the
door, but he concealed the packet of letters in his pocket
first.
54
Poor Plutocrats
It
was
the footman,
who came
to ask
whether Mr.
;
Margari was aware it was past seven come and read to the okl gentleman.
o'clock
he must
Margari could not endure
ing to him familiarly.
to hear the domestics speak-
"Seven o'clock
I
bound
to
What do you mean ?" know when it is seven o'clock ?
!
said he.
"Am
Am
I
a clock-
maker or a bell-ringer? If your master wants me to know what o'clock it is, let him send me, not a lackey, but
a gold repeater watch!"
And
the
salving his
wounded
dignity with these and simto
ilar effusions,
Margari trotted alongside the footman
room
of Mr. Demetrius, to
whom
he immediately
into
notified the
change
in the situation
by sinking down
a soft and cozy armchair instead of sitting
down on
the
edge of the hard leather chair, expressly provided for
him.
Demetrius measured him from head to foot with
terrible eagle eyes
his
stri-
and observed
:
in
an even more
dently moral voice than usual
"Well, Margari, when are
we going
to
have our novel reading?" have our reading presently, but
it
"We
will
won't be
a novel to-day."
"What do you mean,
"I
sir?"
humbly beg
to
remind your honor that you were
pleased to commission
me
to lay
hands upon a certain
I
number of Latin exercises of your grandson Koloman. humbly beg to inform you that they are now in
possession."
my
55
;
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh!"
will look
said old Lapussa, with a forced assumption of
carelessness, **you
may
give them to
me to-morrow;
in Latin."
I
them through."
I
"Crying your honor's pardon, they are
"Well,
can get some one to look them through for
me.
"I beg
to put
humbly
to represent that
it
would not be well
them
into anybody's hands, for strange things are
contained therein."
"What !"
"Yes,
I
cried the old
man
all
angrily,
"you don't mean
to
say you have looked into them?"
have read them
tell
through."
"I did not
you
to
do that."
to forbid
"No, but you were graciously pleased not
me
to
do
so.
Now,
I
know
everything.
I
cause of the young lady's
illness.
I know the know why she does
not wish to become the wife of Count Hátszegi.
I
Nay,
I
even
know what
will
happen
it is
in case she does.
know
all
that I say
—and here
know
in
my
pocket."
part to read other
"And what presumption on your
people's letters!"
"I beg your honor's pardon, but
I
it is
not presumption
only wanted to
the value of the wares I have
I
obtained for your honor.
wanted to know whether
they
were worth one
florin,
two
florins,
a hundred
florins,
a thousand florins, lest you should do
me
the
favor to say to me: 'Look ye, Margari,
are
my
!'
son, here
some coppers, go and drink
my
health
—and so get
the better of me."
56
Poor Plutocrats
"You
are becoming impertinent!
Do you want me
to
ring for the footman?"
"Pray do not give yourself the trouble! If you are determined to take the documents away from me by force,
I will fling
them
into the fire that
is
burning there on the
in,
hearth before the footman can come
and there
will be
an end
to
them."
it
money you want, eh? How much?" This question made Margari still more bumptious. "How much do I want? A good deal, a very good
"Then
is
deal, I
can
tell
you.
In
fact, I
can not
tell
at present
how
much."
But then he suddenly reassumed his obsequious cringing mien, and added "I tell you what, your honor pro:
;
cure
care
me some
what
it is,
petty office at
so long
as I
Count Hátszegi's.
I
don't
sup-
get a lifelong sinecure
—
pose
we
say his agent, or his librarian, or his secretary?
A
word from your honor would do it." Mr. Demetrius. "Very good, Margari, very good. So it shall be. I give you my word upon it you shall be Hátszegi's
single
An
idea suddenly occurred to
—
secretary."
"But
it
must be
lifelong.
I
humbly beg of you,
it
must be for the term not of
his but of
my
natural life."
"Yes, yes, tfor the term your natural
life."
"But
"I'll
if
he won't have it?"
pay you myself.
You
shall receive
your regular
from me without including whatever you may get over and above from him. Will you be satisfied with
salary
57
Poor Plutocrats
a yearly salary of three
hundred
florins
with your board
and keep?"
At
these
words Margari's breath
failed him.
It
was
not without difficulty that he put the rapacious question:
"Will your honor do
in writing?"
me
the favor to give this promise
"Certainly!
tate
it
Bring writing materials, and
spot."
I will dic-
to
you on the
And
hundred
so an agreement
was duly drawn up whereby
Mr. Margari,
in consideration of a yearly salary of three
florins, to
be punctually sent to
him
at the be-
ginning of every quarter, undertook, in his capacity of
secretary to
Baron Hátszegi,
all
to keep his honor,
Demetrius
at the
Lapussa, informed of
that he
saw and heard
residence of that gentleman, Henrietta's future husband,
and
this
obligation of maintaining Margari
was
to be
transferred on the death of Mr. Demetrius to his son
John.
And no
doubt Mr. Demetrius knew very well what
he was about. This document signed and sealed, Mr. Margari, with
the greatest alacrity,
question,
first
produced the Latin exercises
in
of
all,
however, respectfully kissing the
hand of
It
his patron.
till
took
midnight to read and translate
all
these
documents one by one.
satisfied
;
Mr. Demetrius was very well
is
with the result that
to say, so far as concerned
orig-
the fidelity of the translation
inal text
—with the tenor of the
he had not the slightest reason to be pleased.
shortly after midnight, these revelations were
When,
58
!
Poor Plutocrats
concluded, Mr. Demetrius
into his
commanded Margari
in honest
to
go up
room and have
and
to
a complete translation of
all this
Latin rigmarole written
the morning,
down
Hungarian by
encourage him in his task he gave
the butler for as
him two guldens and an order on
punch as he could drink.
much
By
the
morning
all
the punch
was drunk, but
great spirit
all
the translation also
was
finished, to the
tune of bacchanalian songs, which Margari kept up with
night long.
Next day, punctually
yer,
at the appointed hour, the lawat the
Mr. Sipos, appeared
house of the Lapussas
with the necessary documents, neatly tied up with tape,
under
yers,
his
arm
as usual
;
he was not like our modern lawif
who
carry their masterpieces in portfolios, as
they
were ashamed of them.
tion-room besides the old
The only persons
an
invalid,
in the recep-
man were Madame Langai and
had been allowed
Mr. John.
Henrietta,
still
to take a stroll to the
visit her favorite flowers once
woods near the town in order to more and possibly take
She had received no
invitation
leave of
them
forever.
card for this lecture.
Why,
indeed, should a bride
know
anything of her bridegroom's biography before marriage
The lawyer took
It
his place at the table, untied his pile of
documents, and began to read.
appeared from these documents that the founder of
the Hátszegi family, the great-grandfather of the pres-
ent baron,
was one Mustafa, who had been
a Defterdár
or Vilayet treasurer at Stamboul, and had used his un-
59
Poor Plutocrats
rivaled opportunities for
found
it
expedient to
making money so well that he fly from Jassy to Transylvania,
and naturalized. His
fine figure at
where he made haste
son,
to get baptized
now
a
Hungarian nobleman, cut a
his
court and gallantly distinguished himself in the Turkish
wars against
for
former compatriots,
his exploits
title
winning
him
the estate of Hidvár and the
first
of baron.
His
son again was a miser of the
water,
who
could be
enticed neither to court nor into the houses of his neighbors.
He was
continually scraping
money
together, and
was not
over-particular in the choice of his scraper.
By
adroit chicanery he had acquired possession of the gold
mines of Verespatak, which he exploited with immense
advantage, and by means of
money lending and mort-
gages got into his hands the vast estate of Hátszegi in
the counties of
it
in
when he died took thirty heavy wagons to convey his ready money gold and silver alone from the Vadormi caverns, where
Feher, so that
it,
Hunyad and
he had concealed
to the castle of Hidvár,
which his
only son, Leonard, chose as his residence after his father's
death.
All these details were certified by unimpeachable
in schedules B, C,
documents
and D.
Moreover, the blood of many nationalities circulated
in the veins of
Baron Leonard.
The Defterdár
himself
was
the
Turk of Rumelian origin, whose only son was child of his Hindu concubine. He again married the
a
at the court of
daughter of a Polish countess
Vienna.
The wife of Baron Leonard's father was a Wallachized Hungarian lady, whom he married for her wealth. It
60
Poor Plutocrats
was not wonderful,
therefore,
if
the noble baron possessed
the qualities of five distinct races.
Thus he had some-
thing of the voluptuousness of the Turk, the ostentation
of the Hindu, the flightiness of the Pole, the foolhardiness
of the Hungarian, and the obstinacy of the Wallach.
"For
I
speak of his faults
I
first,"
the lawyer proceeded,
"because
consider that they outweigh his good qualities.
is
That the baron
a
a rich
man
is
evident from the accounts
and inventories classed under schedule
is
E
;
that the baron
handsome man
is
evident from the photograph under
is
schedule
H;
is
that the baron
physically sound
I
is
clear
from the
of which
certificates
annexed to schedules
and K, one
supplied by his physician and the other by
his hunting comrades.
Those who require nothing from
will,
a
man
save health, wealth, strength, and beauty,
of
course, consider
him
is
fit
and proper
to
make
a
woman
( i )
happy.
Yet having regard
to the following facts
that
the aforesaid baron
not merely unstable in love affairs,
but capricious to the verge of eccentricity, and a winebibber and
gormand
to boot; (2) that
he
is
as vain as
an Indian prince
who
takes unto
him a wife
fits
for the
mere
and
pomp and show
brutal, sparing
of the thing; (3) that he
in his
is
violent
nobody
sudden
of passion, and,
as the documents testify, has frequently inflicted mortal
injuries
in
on those who have come
in his
way
while he was
an ill-humor; (4) that he has an odd liking for rowdy adventures, which do not reflect much credit upon him;
and (5)
that,
according to the whispers of those nearest
is
to him, there
a strange
mystery pervading his whole
61
Poor Plutocrats
life,
inasmuch
as
mysterious
tail of,
disappearances,
which
nobody can make head or
occupy an incalculable
number of
for,
his days
and weeks which remain unaccounted
in every year
I
and make a pretty considerable hiatus
life
of his
—taking
all
these things into consideration,
it
am
constrained to give
as
my
opinion that
I
do not
consider such a
man
a
fit
and proper husband for such a
as the Miss Henrietta in
it
tender, sympathetic
young lady
if
question; and
let
the world,
likes,
consider such a
match as the greatest piece of good fortune imaginable,
I,
for
my
part,
would
call it
a calamity, to be avoided at
any
price.
And now would you do me
I
the honor to
examine the original documents
as exhibits in corroboration of
have brought with
statements
me
I
my
—though
would
"that
mention,"
he
quickly
greedily
added,
perceiving
that
Madame Langai had
among
I
clutched hold of them,
those documents there are sundry by no
means
suited for a lady's perusal."
"When
said she.
come
across any such I will pass
them over,"
Of
course these were the very passages she pro-
ceeded to search for straightway.
Meanwhile Mr. Demetrius
handed them
to
also
had drawn a packet
of papers from underneath the cushions of his sofa and
Mr. Sipos.
"Then you do not advise me to give Henrietta to Baron Hátszegi to wife? Good! And now, perhaps, while we
run through the exhibits and schedules, perhaps you'll
be so good as to cast your eye over these papers.
think they will bore you."
I
don't
62
Poor Plutocrats
These documents^ by the way, were the "original"
Latin documents discovered by Mr. Margari,
Mr, John was marching pettishly up and down the room, and Madame Langai was reading her documents
with the greatest attention, so that neither observed the
surprise,
the confusion reflected in the countenance of
the lawyer as he looked through the fatal Latin
scripts.
manu-
He
kept shaking his head and twisting his musleft,
tache right and
fidgeted in his armchair,
and the
beads of perspiration which stood out on his forehead
gave him enough to do to wipe them away with his
pocket-handkerchief; at last he had read the papers, and
then he laid the whole bundle on the table and stared
silently before
him
like
one whose reason for the moment
had no counsel to give him.
Just about the same time
pleted the perusal of her documents,
Madame Langai had comand now she too
During
seemed
herself
to be in
an extreme
state of agitation.
the course of her reading she had been unable to restrain
from exclaiming
!"
at intervals: *'The
monster! the
scoundrel
Mr. Demetrius had been amusing himself
all this
time
by carefully observing the various mutations of expression in the faces of the readers, which certainly afforded
considerable entertainment to an onlooker with any sense
of humor.
When
every document had produced
soft, gentle
its
expression,
he remarked in a
voice
:
"Well,
my
daughter,
what do you
think of the affair ?"
63
!
Poor Plutocrats
the air of one
Madame Langai sharply closed her eyeglass, and, with who had made up his mind once for all,
:
replied instantly
"I would not allow a decent chamberlet
maid
rietta
to
become Baron Hátszegi's wife,
alone a Hen-
Lapussa."
is
*'And what
your opinion, Mr. Lawyer?" inquired
the old man, turning to Mr. Sípos.
"I?" replied the honest man, visibly perturbed, with a
voice full of emotion: "I would advise that the
young
lady
should
be married
to
the
baron as quickly as
possible."
Madame Langai
"What!
"No,
After
all
regarded him with wide-open eyes.
that
is is
all
in these
papers?"
after
that
in those other
documents."
Langai, pouncing
"What
moment,
that they
are they?" cried
Madame
upon them incontinently and extremely vexed, the next
to find
them
all
written in Latin.
exercises,
She perceived
all.
were Koloman's
and that was
She did not understand
point.
"I'll
their connection with the case in
take
those documents
back,
please,"
said
old
Demetrius, stretching out a skinny hand toward them.
"They will be of use to us, though I have a translation of them besides. Then, you think, Mr. Lawyer, it will be as well to marry Henrietta to the baron, eh ? Very well Let me add that on the day when Henrietta goes to the altar with Baron Leonard, I will make you a present of Do you Till then I shall require them. all this scribble.
understand ?"
Ö4
Poor Plutocrats
knocked him down with a feather.
Mr. Sipos was completely beaten; you might have He had never been
so badly worsted in his professional capacity.
Madame
Langai would have besieged him with questions, but he
avoided her, put on his hat and departed.
Madame Langai
is
thereupon turned to her father
:
the cause of this
wondrous change?" she
cried.
"What "What
secrets
do those miraculous papers contain?"
in question well
Mr. Demetrius tucked the documents
beneath him, and replied
:
"They contain
secrets, the dis-
covery whereof will be a great misfortune and yet a great
benefit to the parties concerned."
"Have they any connection with Henrietta's wedding?" "They have a direct bearing thereupon, and, indeed,
necessitate
!"
it
"Poor
girl !"
sighed
Madame
his
Langai.
Mr. Sipos passed by
before he
own
dwelling three times
knew
that he
had reached home, so confused
just learned.
was he by what he had
inside the house
his consulting
When
he did get
he walked for a long time up and down
if
room, as
he were trying to find a begin-
ning for a business he would very much have liked to be
at the end of.
lent pull,
At
last
he gave the bell-rope a very vio-
and
told the clerk
who answered
the bell to send
him
his assistant,
Mr.
Szilárd, at once.
Szilárd appeared on the very heels of the messenger.
His was one of those faces which women never forget. There was ardent passion in every feature, and the large,
65
:
Poor Plutocrats
flaming black eyes, which spoke of courage and high enthusiasm, harmonized so well with the
lid face.
wan hue
of the pal-
"Well,
my
dear fellow, do you
in
feel quite well
again
now?" asked Mr. Sipos
"did the doctor
a tone of friendly familiarity;
call to see
you to-day?"
"I have no need of him; there's nothing the matter
with me."
Not so reckless You have been working again, I see. You know the doctor has forbidden it." "I only work to distract my thoughts." "You should seek amusement rather. Why don't you mix in society like other young men? Why don't you
"Nay, nay
! !
frequent the coffee-houses and go to a dance occasionally
?
Why, you
"Oh,
I
slave
away
like a street-porter
!
Young
blood
needs relaxation."
am
is
all right.
My dear uncle, you are very kind,
but you worry about
"That
bed, bade
me more than I deserve." my duty, my dear nephew. Don't you know
you
to
that your poor father confided
my care on his death-
me
be a father to you? Don't you remember?"
"I do," replied the
his
young man, and catching hold of guardian's hand he pressed it, murmuring in a scarcely
audible voice:
to
"You have
indeed been a second father
me!"
But Mr. Sípos tore his hand passionately from the
young man's grasp, and said in a somewhat rougher tone "But suppose your dead father were to say, *That is not
true!
You have
not watched over
my
son as a father
66
—
Poor Plutocrats
should?
in
You
have lightly
left
him
to himself.
He was
danger and you were unaware of
the edge of the abyss and
it. He hovered on you were blind and saw nothing.
And
if
God and my dead hand had
?'
not defended him,
it
he would have become a suicide, and you knew
not
wherefore
"
at these
The young man trembled
at his chief.
words he grew even
;
paler than before, and gazed with a look of stupefaction
Then
as
the old
if
man
approached him, and took
:
him by
the
hand
he would say
I
"I
am
going to scold
you, but fear nothing.
am on
your side."
"My
dear Szilárd," said he, "don't you recollect that
a
little
when you were
child
and did anything you should
it,
not have done, and your father questioned you about
did he not always say to you:
'When you have done
it,
wrong and are ashamed
to confess
lie,
keep silence
it,
!
press
your teeth together! but don't
don't deny
never
think of taking refuge behind any false excuse, for your
name
is
Szilárd
—which means the strong, the firm—and
You
acted as he
cowardice does not become the bearer of such a name!'
You
you
that
understood him.
act.
would have had
And now
I also
v^ould remind you once
more
Don't
you were christened
Szilárd,
I
and
I
ask you, therefore,
to listen calmly to
what
am
about to say to you.
If
interrupt, don't attempt to deceive me.
you don't want
to
answer
sit
my
questions, simply shake your head!
And
now
down,
my
son
!
You
are
I
still
barely convalescent.
Your head is weak, and what very well make it reel again."
67
have to say to you might
Poor Plutocrats
Then
the old lawyer tenderly pressed the youth into a chair and, sighing deeply, thus continued:
"You
fell in
love with the daughter of a great family and she with
you.
You
got acquainted at a dance, and the intimacy
did not stop there.
between you, but love
found a way.
Every conceivable obstacle intervened is artful and inventive, and you
rich girl
The
had a neglected brother
whom
young
his relations sent to the
grammar
school,
and the
rascal frequently took refuge with
me, the family
attorney,
when he was
ill-treated at
home, and here you
came across him. You cared for him and explained to him the difficulties in his lessons, which he was unable to do for himself. The boy grew very fond of you. He
spoke to you of your beloved, and he spoke to her of you,
and he was always praising each of you
to the other.
The grandfather,
domestics,
instant,
the uncle, the aunt, the governess, the
ofif
who
never took their eyes
the girl for an
in a
had no idea that she was already involved But amazing
is
love affair.
lovers!
the ingenuity of love and
You knew
girl
that none of the older
members of
the family understood the classical language of the orators,
and the
it
loved so dearly that she did not con-
sider
too great a labor to learn a dead tongue, which
could be of no further use to her, in order to be able to
say to her beloved, 'Ego te in ceternum amabo!
love thee for
all
'
—
*I
shall
eternity
!'
One must admit
that that
was
a great and noble sacrifice.
Every day you corresponded
girl dictated his
with each other.
lessons to her
Before school time the
young
brother, beginning with the usual
68
Poor Plutocrats
scholastic flowers of rhetoric, but ending in the passionate voice of love, and, after school
was over, you
in
your
turn dictated a similar lesson for the lad to carry back
with him.
school with
Naturally, this lesson book he never took to
him you kept
;
the other here, the genuine one
which he had to show
to his masters.
And
Yet
this ingeni-
ous smuggling was carried on beneath the very eyes of
the family without their perceiving
it.
at last
it
was
discovered.
This very day, only an hour ago, the old
head of the family placed these papers in
I
my
hands, that
might read them, informing me
at the
same time that
T.errible
he had already read a translation of them.
the things
I
were
discovered in these papers.
The appearance
all
of a rich and noble suitor, who, according to the notions
of the world,
was
just
made
for the girl, frustrated
your plans of waiting patiently for better times.
family forced this union upon the
despair, racked
first
The
your
girl.
You,
in
your brain as to what you should do.
At
you resolved upon an elopement, but the redoubled vigilance with which every step of the young girl was
this impossible.
watched made
Then
a black and terrible
kill
thought occurred to you both.
selves
You
resolved to
your-
—
it
was your one remaining means of
deliverance.
Yes, you resolved to kill yourselves at once, on the selfsame day, in the selfsame manner. For many days you deliberated together as to the best
way of accomplishing your
design.
Great caution was necessary.
lest
You had
to pick
your words
the
little
brother
who wrote them down
The
from
dictation should have guessed your intentions.
69
Poor Plutocrats
girl
asked you, at
last,
it
to send her a
book on natural
it,
science.
You
sent
to her.
She, with the help of
tried to find out
what
sorts of poison could be
most
easily
procured.
For two whole days you
deliberated together
as to the best
way
of obtaining matches, the phosphorus
efficacious of poisons.
of which
is
the
most
But
in vain.
In great houses only the domestics have charge of the
matches;
hit
it
On an expedient.
was impossible to get any. At last the girl She discovered that if you put a
and verdigris
is
copper coin in a glass dish and pour strong vinegar over
it,
verdigris will be formed,
at
poison.
Your minds were
once made up.
The
girl
prepared
.
.
.
poison for herself and taught you to do the same.
Merciful Heaven! what notions children do get into their
heads, to be sure."
70
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER V
SHE
IS
NOT FOR YOU
to the lec-
moment the youth had listened ture in silence, but now he arose and said in a !" voice "What you say is right
to this
:
Up
calm, clear
"I should say
it
was
all
very wrong, very wrong
if
in-
deed!" said the lawyer vehemently, as
completing a
broken sentence.
"What!
children to meditate suicide
because things in this world don't go exactly according to
their liking!
its
Have you never regarded
the afiair from
practical side?
tions
Did you imagine that the girl's relawould support you? And would you yourself enis
dure to be their pensioner, their butt, the scorn of the
very domestics, for a poor son-in-law
of the very flunkies
Szilard's face
the standing jest
—
you ought
to
know
that!"
burned
like fire at these
words, but the
old
man
hastened to soothe him.
that, I
"No, you could never reconcile yourself to
sure.
am
But you
thought, perhaps, that the girl
might de-
scend to your level and share your poverty.
in the
There are
world many a poor lad and
lass
who endow one
make
another with nothing but their ardent love, and yet
happy couples enough.
So, no doubt, you argued, and
71
Poor Plutocrats
herein
lies
the fallacy that has deceived you.
girl, I
If
you had
It is
been enamored of a poor
should have said:
if it
rather early to think of marriage, but,
be God's
will,
take her
!
Work and
is
fight
your way through the world,
for every one.
also.
where there
is
room enough
The
lass, too,
used to deprivation, and you are
little.
She
will be con-
tent with
She can sew; she
if
will
do your cooking She
is
for you, and,
need
be,
your washing likewise!
can make one penny go
as far as two.
When
there
a lot to do, she will sing, to
make
when your supper
is
slender,
work lighter, and her good humor and her
the
make it more. But, my dear boy! how are you going to make a poor housewife out of a girl who has been rich ? How can she ever feel at home
loving embraces will
in a wretched, out-of-the-way shanty,
where she
will not
even have you always by her
side, for
you
will
have to be
looking after your daily bread?
she will
She
will say nothing,
make no
you
complaint, but you will perceive that
she misses something.
dress, but
She
will not
ask you for a
is
new
will see that the
one she wears
reflect that
shabby,
and
it
would break your heart to
you love
to
you have
fettered the girl
your stepmotherly destiny,
and your manly pride would one day blush for the recklessness
which led you to drag her down with you."
dear guardian," said Szilárd, "to prove to you
all
"My
I
that I did think of
these things, let
me
tell
you that
enough
have put by from
my
salary and commissions
to enable us to live comfortably for at least a twelve-
month.
For
a
whole year
I
have lived on ten kreutzer a
72
!
Poor Plutocrats
day
in order to save,
and during
all
that time
I
am
sure
you have not heard from me one word of complaint." Mr. Sipos was horrified. It was an even worse case
than he had imagined.
What
It
!
to live for. a
whole year
on four cents a day
in
order to scrape together a small
capital for one's beloved!
would be very
difficult to
cure a madness which took such a practical turn as this
"But,
it all ?
my
dear boy
!"
he resumed, "what
is
the good of
What
It
can you do
now
that your secrets are disif
covered?
would have served you right
the girl's
parents had proceeded against you on a charge of murder,
for
you were an accomplice
I
in this poisoning business;
but
am
pretty sure they will only threaten to do so in
case she refuses the baron.
in case they thus
And
what, pray, can you do
his
compel her to become
wife?"
"Whoever
suppose he
is
the baron
at least a
may
be,"
;
rejoined Szilárd, "I
if
gentleman and
a
woman
looks
to
him
him,
straight in the face
'I
on the wedding-day and says
I
can not love you because
I
love another, and
always will love another,'
can not think he will be so
devoid of feeling as to make her his wife."
"And
if
she does not say
in
this,
but voluntarily gives
him her hand
of her family,
order to save you from the persecutions
what then?"
"Hearken,
to write to
my dear guardian! She may be compelled me that she loves me no more and I must
it till
forget her, but I shall not believe writes
she pronounces or
down
a
word
the
meaning of which only we two
understand and nobody else in the world can discover.
(F)
— (4)—Vol.
20
;
Poor Plutocrats
So long
with
as this one
word does not get
I shall
into the possession
of a third person,
know
that she has not broken
me and no power in this world shall tear her from She may be silent, because she is not free to my speak she may speak because she is commanded to speak yet, for all that, this religiously guarded word tells me what she really feels and what no other human intelliheart.
;
—
gence can understand.
If
you
like,
my
mine
dear guardian,
to Henrietta's
you may betray
relatives,
this confession of
and they
will
torment the
girl
till
they get her
to
pronounce the mysterious word,
will burst the
which once prous.
nounced
bonds that unite
She
will be
driven to say something.
very crafty.
be the right
women who love are The word they will report to me will not one. It is possible, too, that they may take
But oh
!
her far
let
away from me.
Let them guard her well,
I
say;
if
those
who watch
know
over her never close an eye.
And
away
they give her a husband, they had best pray for his
for they
life,
not what a fated thing
it is
to give
in
marriage a
girl
who
bears about in her heart the secret
of a third person."
"My
dear young friend,
I
see that
we
shall not
come
to an understanding with each other.
You
are bent upon
plunging into ruin a poor defenseless
girl in the
name of
I
what you
call
love,
and
will not renounce,
though you
that
have not the slightest hope of winning her
understand.
of the
sidered
I,
—
do not
on the other hand,
am
the legal adviser
young
it
lady's family, and, in that capacity, I con-
my
duty to protest very energetically against
74
Poor Plutocrats
the match in question.
cious papers in
But when they placed those preI
my
hands,
said at once that they
must
man in any case. Otherwise they would was advocating your crazy hopes, that I was an interested party and simply opposed the family candidate in order to smuggle in a kinsman of my own
marry her
to this
I
have fancied
in his stead.
That idea
I
of their heads, happen what would.
was determined to knock out But that, of course,
better return
all
you do not understand.
to
And now you had
your room.
Destiny will one day explain to
of us
what we do not understand now."
At about
family.
the
was proceeding
same hour the second act of this drama in the torture chamber of the Lapussa
Henrietta had returned
with flowers, when old
he would
like to see
home from her little tour laden Demetrius sent word to her that
her in his room.
He
had taken the
shortly be-
precaution of sending
fore,
Madame Langai away
absent at the
and Mr. John was
little
Wheat Exchange.
"My
maid, Hetty, come nearer to me," said the
old gentleman, turning sideways on his couch and ferret-
ing out from beneath his pillows a concave snui¥-box.
venience.
to live.
"Pray do not be angry with me for putting you to inconBear with me for the little time I have still
But
if
you
all
find living
under the same roof with
me
the
unendurable,
opportunity
the greater reason for
you
to seize
of
releasing
yourself
as
quickly
as
possible."
75
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta was too
much used
to these choleric out-
bursts to think of replying to them.
"Pray, put your hand beneath
find a packet of papers there.
my
pillow.
You
will
Take them out and look
at them."
Henrietta did with stolid indifference what the old
man bade
tory
her,
and drew forth from
this peculiar reposipill-
—which served as a
sort of lair for snuff-boxes,
boxes, and odd bits of pastry
scripts,
—a large bundle of manuat the first glance.
which she recognized
The
intercepted papers, which during her illness had prevented
her from sleeping, which had
to get well,
made
it
impossible for her
him from whom The criminal stood face to face with the witness whose damning evidence was to condemn her. There was no escape, no
were now
in the possession of
she had been most anxious to conceal them.
defense.
"My
little
maid," said the old man, exultantly
full
stuff-
ing his eagle nose
of that infernal heating material
snuff, "don't be
which goes by the name of
for
angry with me
I
directing your attention to this scribble.
to
don't
it
want
make any
use of
it.
I
know
quite
enough of
already, but be so
me!" Henrietta absolutely could not look away from her
good
as to listen to
it
grandfather's bloodshot eyes;
seemed
to her as if those
eyes must gradually bore through to her very heart.
"You won't marry an eminent and wealthy man who
bestows an honor upon your family by asking for your
hand, and yet you would run
away with
a worthless fel-
76
Poor Plutocrats
low who does not even know why he was put into the world, and when your family steps in to prevent it, you
would
violently put yourself to death in order to die
with him, to our eternal shame and dishonor.
That was
all
not nice of you.
tremble.
I
But
fetch
sit
down.
I see
you are
if it
of a
would
you a chair myself
were not
for this infernal gout of mine."
Henrietta accepted the invitation and sat down, otherwise she must have collapsed.
"Now
look ye,
my
dear
little girl
!
if
you had
I
to deal
with an unmerciful, austere old fellow, a veritable old
tiger, in fact, as I
have no doubt you fancy
it
am, he would
make no bones about
Henrietta sighed.
but pack you straight off to a
off
nunnery and so cut you
her like a consolation.
from the world forever."
to
Such a threat as that sounded
I
"In the second place, an old tyrant, such as
agining, would
am
im-
have sent that rip of a brother of yours,
who is not ashamed to lend a hand in the seduction of his own sister, would have sent him, I say, to a reformatory. I may tell you there are several such institutions, celebrated for their rigor, whither
cious
it
is
usual to send preco-
and incorrigible young scapegraces.
And
richly he
would have deserved it, too." "Poor Koloman !" thought the
tenderly devoted to each other.
little sister.
They were
"In the third place, our old tiger would have prosecuted at law that reckless youth
fine suicide project of yours.
who had
death,
a share in this
For
my
dear,
is
no
77
;
Poor Plutocrats
plaything, and jests with poison are strictly forbidden.
He would
him."
certainly be
condemned
to
hard labor for
five
or six years, which would be a very wholesome lesson for
"Grandfather !" screamed the tortured
allusion to
fell
child.
This
last
Koloman
his
dissolved her voice in tears.
She
down on
stains
her knees before
tears
enough on
on
it.
hand
to
him and shed innocent wash out all the old specks
and
"I
am
eats
glad to see those tears,
my
dear
I
little girl
;
they
show
that
you have confidence
children
it
;
in
me.
am
not a tiger
who
but
I
little
what
don't
I
have said might happen,
I
don't say
necessarily must.
I
don't
want
to be
cruel
and
vindictive.
want
to recollect anything
of the insults showered upon
all I
me
in that scribble of
yours
ask of you
is
that
you
will not stand in
your own
will be
ill
way.
again.
Get up and don't cry any more, or you
Go up
into
your own room and ponder deeply what
In two hours' time
I shall
you ought to do! you again, and
it.
send for
in the
meantime make up your mind about
at
You have
the choice between accepting as your hus-
band an honorable gentleman of becoming rank, and
the
will
same time renouncing and forgetting a fellow who
never be able to raise himself to your
level,
or of In
taking the veil and bidding good-by to this world.
the latter case, however,
your brother
will be sent to a
reformatory and an action will be commenced against
your accomplice.
It is
for
you
to choose.
You have two
your mind.
In
whole hours
to turn the matter over in
78
Poor Plutocrats
the
to
meantime
I shall
send for
get
my
lawyer and, according
your decision,
I shall
him
to
draw up a marriage
It all desummons pends upon you. And now put back those documents beneath my head. Remember that you will only receive them back from me as a bridal gift. Go now to your own room and reflect. For two hours nobody shall disturb
contract or a
to the criminal court.
you."
The
girl
mechanically complied with his commands.
She put back the ominous documents in their receptacle and withdrew to her room. There she stood in front of
a vase of flowers
and regarded their green leaves for an
In the vase was a fine specimen
hour without moving.
never
of one of those wondrous tropical plants
fall
whose
leaves
sea-
oi¥,
one
of those
plants
which the
is
sons leave unchanged, and which, therefore,
beautiful
such a
emblem of constancy.
If
This beautiful plant has
its
a peculiar property.
one of
it
compact shining leaves
be planted in the earth
shrub,
takes root and
grows
into a
whose fragrant,
waxlike flowers diííuse
an en-
chanting perfume.
Three years before, at a
Szilárd
jurists' ball,
when Henrietta and
given her a bouquet,
met for the
first
time, he
had
she
its
among
the flowers of which
was one
of these green-gold leaves, and
when she got home
root, spread
had planted
it
in
a jar and
it
had taken
shoots abroad and
grown
its
larger and larger every year.
it
—and watched over
And
Henrietta had called
Szilárd
—the strong, the firm
it
growth and cared for
as
if it
had been a living human creature.
79
For a long time she
;
Poor Plutocrats
stood before this flowering plant, as
if
she would have
last
spoken to
it
and taken counsel of
it.
At
she turned
away, and with her hands behind her head she walked
slowly up and
down
the room, and as often as she paused
is
before the vase she behaved like one whose heart
breaking.
short
But time was hastening on; an hour
it
is
so
when one would have
in the
stay.
Alas
!
nowhere was
She
there any help, any refuge.
She was abandoned.
this
had nothing
which she
world but
one flowering plant,
called Szilárd.
And
the
moments
swiftly gal-
loping after one another called for a decision.
There
must be an end
to
it.
Once more she approached her
all
darling plant and kissed flowers one by one.
door.
the leaves of
there
its
beautiful
at the
And now
came a knock
Mr. Demetrius's messenger had come, and a cold
girl's
shudder ran through the
tender frame.
"I
am
was
coming F' she
to be seen
cried.
The next moment not
a tear
on her
face, nay, not a trace
of sorrow, or fear,
but only snow-white tranquillity.
All the
members of
all
the family were assembled together
again in grandpapa's room.
Mr. Sipos was
also present
he had been told
"Well,
about the business.
grandchild," said Mr. Demetrius,
my
dear
little
motioning Henrietta to take her place at the table with
the others, "have you
made up your mind?"
"I have."
"Veil or myrtle wreath ?"
"I will be married."
"To
the baron?"
80
Poor Plutocrats
"Yes," replied the
girl in a strangely
calm and coura-
geous tone, "but
''Let us hear
I
also
have
my
conditions to impose."
them."
place, I
"In the
first
must be sure that
I
my
brother
Koloman will not be persecuted. let him come with me?"
"But
riches
I
suppose you will not
"No, that one thing can not be allowed."
can not
let
him remain
here.
Send him
to
some
other town.
;
You
are always talking of your rank and
him an education to correspond." The child in those two hours had grown older by ten years she now spoke to the other members of the family
give
;
with the air of a matron.
"Agreed!" cried Mr. Demetrius.
"Besides,
it
will be
much
better
if
we do
not see him."
is
"My
second request
that I
may
take the furniture I
have been used to and
place where
I
my
flowers along with
me
it
to the
have to go."
"Granted, a harmless feminine caprice.
Be
so!"
"In the third place,
father
I
should like the papers grand-
knows of
to be given back to
him whom they most
concern."
"Certainly," said Mr. Demetrius; "I promised, did I
not, that
it
should form part of your marriage portion.
Mr. Sipos, would you be so good as to place these documents
in the
hands
—
of the proper person ?"
Mr. Sipos bowed and promised to carry out the mournful
commission.
girl,
"And now, my
the marriage contract
is
be-
8i
Poor Plutocrats
fore you the baron has already signed
;
decision in the adjoining room.
and awaits your Show us what a nice
it
hand you can write."
And
in
Henrietta did show
it.
She signed her name there
it
such pretty Httle dehcately rounded letters that
if
looked as
page.
some
fairy
had breathed a
spell
upon the
"And
in
just one thing more,
politely,
my
dear young lady," put
is still
Mr. Sipos
"while the pen
to write
in
your hand,
would you be so good as
word,
I
down on
the cover of
the returned document a particular word, that particular
mean, which
is
known only
to yourself
and one
other person in the world, as a proof that your renunciation
is
genuine and irrevocable."
girl fixed
The
deceive
her mysterious black eyes for a long
It
time on those of the lawyer.
was
in
it
her power to
well.
him
if
she would, and he
knew
At
last
she gently stooped over the bundle of papers and, press-
ing
down
the pen with unusual firmness, she wrote that
barbarously sounding
name
of a beautiful bright star,
laid
"Mesarthim," and then quietly
down
the pen.
There
Could
was not
it
the slightest sign of agitation in her face.
be the right
word ?
the bridegroom can
"And now
come
in,
and the neces-
sary prenuptial legal formalities can be carried out."
When
room of
Mr. Sipos got home he went straight up to the
his
young
protege.
"My
dear fellow," said he, "I have brought you some
S2
Poor Plutocrats
medicine.
bitter,
As you know, medicine
is
generally nasty and
but perhaps none the worse on that account.
As
I
said beforehand, the young lady reconsidered her position,
chose the better
with the baron.
way and consented to the marriage The betrothal is an accomplished fact,
and they signed the marriage contract before
"Doubtless," returned Szilárd coldly.
my
eyes."
"My
over
it
friend, the girl did not
as
I
you are doing.
make such a sour face She was strong-minded and
composure with which she
like the capitulating
decided.
was amazed
at the
addressed her family; she was
com-
mandant of
a fortress dictating the terms of surrender.
Not a
tear did she shed in their presence,
and yet
I be-
lieve she suffered."
"Oh, she has
"I wish
ble
;
lots
of courage."
as
you had
much.
Here
is
your absurd
scribI
its
surrender was one of the conditions imposed.
am
glad these mischievous exercises are safely in our
hands again.
Don't bother your head about them any
more
!
The
girl is
going away, you
will
remain here
;
in
a year's time
you
will
have forgotten each other."
us together or tears us
Szilárd smiled
frostily.
"And
"Yes,
that
word which binds
that, too.
asunder?" said he.
I
thought of
She looked
me
straight
it,
in the eyes for a long time
when
I asked for
and
I
told her I
wanted the
real, the
genuine word.
!"
;
She has
written
it
on the back of these papers look
Szilárd stretched forth a tremulous hand toward the
83
Poor Plutocrats
papers, seized them, turned
them round, and
and then
fell
cast one
look at the
word written
there,
at full length
on the
floor, striking his
head against the corner of the
business, and, wish-
table, so that the
blood flowed.
Mr. Sipos, cursing the whole stupid
ing the papers at the bottom of the sea, raised the young
man
tenderly and bathed his head with cold water.
He
(why should the whole world be taken into his confidence?), but when the youth came to again, he soothed and consoled him with loving words.
did not call for assistance
And
his
Szilárd, unable to contain himself
any longer, hid
lips
head in the good old man's bosom, pressed his
to his hand,
and wept long and
bitterly.
A
and
fortnight later the marriage of
Baron Hátszegi and
great
Henrietta
Lapussa was
solemnized with
pomp
befitting splendor.
The
bride bore herself bravely
tell
throughout the ceremony, and they
me
that her lace
and her diamonds were
columns of the papers.
fully described in all the society
84
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
BRINGING
VI
BRIDE
HOME THE
In those days there were no railways in Hungary. It took a whole week to travel post from Pesth to the depths
of Transylvania, with relays of horses provided before-
hand
at every station.
On
set
the very day after the wed-
ding, the
young bride
out on her journey.
She had
only stipulated that they should set off very early before
any one was up and
riages.
stirring.
They
traveled in
two
car-
In the
first sat
the bride and Clementina,
who
ac-
had begged and prayed so urgently to be allowed to
company
the
young lady
that to get rid of her they
had
at last consented.
ter her position thereby:
The poor thing fancied she would betit was not from pure love of
In the sec-
Henrietta that she had been so importunate.
ond carriage
sat the
baron and Margari.
Margari was
a scholar
just the sort of
man
the baron wanted.
He was
who
could be converted into a domestic buffoon whenever
one was required.
specimens,
all
Nowadays
it is
difficult to
catch such
our servants
have become so stuck-up.
Henrietta did not dare to ask
how
far they
were going,
so strange
or where they were to pass the night, she
felt
amid her new surroundings.
85
Her husband was very
Poor Plutocrats
obliging and polite toward her
trouble at
all.
—
in fact,
he gave her no
Toward
the evening they stopped at a village to water
the horses, and there Hátszegi got out of his carriage
and, approaching his wife's, spoke to her through the
window "We
:
shall rest in
an hour," said
he.
"We
shall
put up for the night at the castle of an old friend of mine,
Gerzson Satrakovich.
He
has been duly apprised of our
coming, and expects us,"
But the promised hour turned out
hours.
to be nearly
two
as
The roads were very bad
here,
and
it
was
much
as the carriage wheels could do to force their
way
through the marshy sand.
The monotonous Buczkak,
or sand-hills, which extended desolately, like a billowy
sandy ocean, to the very horizon, were overgrown with
dwarf
more like shrubs than trees. Not a village, not a hut was anywhere to be seen. From the roadside sedges flocks of noisy wild geese from time to
firs
that looked
time flew across the sky, which the setting sun colored
yellow.
At
last a
great clattering and rattling gave those
sitting in the carriage to
understand that they were pass-
ing into a courtyard, and the carriage door was opened.
Henrietta got out.
the
The young wife looked around with
which a robber condemned
same
might
sort of curiosity
to a long
jail
term of imprisonment and conveyed to a distant
feel
on
first
surveying his
new environment.
In the midst of a spacious courtyard, surrounded by
stone walls, stood an old-fashioned mansion with a ver-
anda
in
front of
it,
resting
on quadrangular columns,
86
—
Poor Plutocrats
;
which one ascended by a staircase whose brick parapet
served as a lounge both for the gentlemen guests and
their couriers
whenever they wanted to take
other.
their ease
it
though, of course, the gentlemen occupied one end of
and the haiduks the
A
couple of favorite dogs
there.
were also accommodated with a place
instantly quitted this
But when and
and
the carriages stopped in front of the veranda, every one
favorite sun-lit resting place
rushed
dogs.
down
first
to
meet them
—
host, guests, couriers,
The
to reach the carriage
door was a peculiarit
looking man; a more repulsively mutilated creature
was impossible
but
it
to imagine.
He
might have been
fifty,
was
difficult to
read his age from his face.
scars,
His
features
his
were seared with ancient
and a piece of
as
thick, grizzled
side,
mouth was missing
—and perhaps a tooth or two
well, if
one could have seen through his
mustache.
An
eye was missing on the same
and
was tattooed with little black points, as if from an exploded musket. His nose was bent sidewise and quite flattened at the top, doubtless owing to a heavy
half his face
fall.
He
it
had only three whole fingers on the right hand
the other
arm,
two were fearfully mutilated. As for the left was horribly distorted from its natural position,
the elbow being twisted right round and the joint im-
movable.
Add
to this that one of his legs
was
shorter
than the other.
of a
Yet, in spite of everything, this fraction
so agile that he anticipated
to courteously kiss the
all
man was
the others,
de-
and was the
first
hand of the
87
Poor Plutocrats
scending lady,
who shrank back
horror-stricken at the
contact of those crippled fingers.
''My wife
—my friend Gerzson,"
said Hátszegi, hasten-
ing to introduce them to each other.
The master
of the
house professed himself delighted at his good fortune;
pressed his friend's hand with his third remaining finger
and presented
touched
it
his arm, the stiff one, to the lady,
if
who
it.
as gingerly as
she
was afraid of hurting
The master
givings.
of the house laughed aloud at her mis-
"Lean on
break,
it is
it
hard, your ladyship!" cried he; "it won't
as strong as iron.
Down
Fecske, down,
!"
sir
(this to a
dog which had expressed
felicity to
its
joy at the sight of
"I rejoice that
I
Henrietta by jumping on her shoulder).
I
have the
welcome
in
all
)'^our
ladyship.
have
ar-
ranged a great fox hunt
to-morrow.
your ladyship's honor for
I
We
are
fox-hunters here.
hope your
ladyship will take part in it?"
"I
don't
know how
to
ride,"
replied the child-wife
simply.
"Oh
!
that's nothing,
is
we
will teach you.
I
have got
a
good nag, which
ladyship go
till
as gentle as a lamb.
We won't let your
we have taught
you."
When
they reached the parlor a number of jackbooted,
brass-buttoned gentlemen of various ages were presented
in turn to Henrietta,
who
forgot
all
their
names
left
the
mo-
ment
after they
were introduced, and was quite delighted
to her
when she was conducted
Clementina.
room and
alone with
88
Poor Plutocrats
She had scarce time
round table
forks were
of stags
spiced,
tic
to change her traveling dress
when
more
supper was announced.
in the
The meal was
;
laid
on a large
midst of a vast hall
there were
wine bottles than dishes; the handles of the knives and
made from
the horns of elks and the antlers
—the
principal meats
were cold venison, highly
and peppered stews and pickled galuska, or giganafraid this
dumplings.
"I
am
is
only hunter's food,
my
lady!"
table,
opined Mr. Gerzson, conducting Henrietta to the
at
which she and Clementina were the only
ladies pres-
ent.
''Unfortunately, this house has no mistress, and an
old bachelor like
served."
me must
serve others as he himself
is
"Then why don't you marry?" bantered Hátszegi. "I wanted to once, but it all came to nothing. The
bride
was already chosen and the day for the bridal banMy lady bride was a fine, handsome quet was fixed. lassie. On the eve of my wedding day, in order that the business might not escape my memory, I told my courier to place by my bed in the morning my nice bright dressboots instead of my old hunting jacks. Very well Early
!
next morning, while
I
was
still
on
my
back in bed,
I
heard a great barking and yelping in the garden below.
*What's the row ?'
I
shouted.
started a lynx out of the
They told me the dogs had bushes. 'What a lynx I cried,
!'
!
for a lynx,
I
let
me
tell
you,
is
a rare beast in these parts.
was out of bed
in a twinkling,
plunged into the nice
wall,
dress-boots, snatched
my gun
89
from the
and was
oflE
Poor Plutocrats
into the thicket.
I
soon found the
led
trail,
and after that
went the more
a sort of feelI felt
lynx
I
went.
The dogs
me
farther and farther into
I
the depths of the forest,
fiery
and the farther
I
grew
I
the pursuit.
Once or twice
had
ing that
had forgotten something
at
home, and
myself
pouch,
all
over, but no, powder-horn, pipe-case, tobacco-
flint, steel
—everything was
Again
I felt
there.
So on
I
went
farther and farther.
bothered, but by this
time the lynx quite carried
me away
I
with him, and kept
appearing and disappearing again in the most distracting
fashion.
Only toward evening did
hold his pelt in
my
hand, and
home with
it
I
went straightway.
And
if
now,
there
again, an oppressive feeling overcame me, just as
was something wrong going on somewhere
which
ing,
it
in the
world
was
I
in
my
power
to prevent.
Only
in the evenit
when
was
pulling off
my
dress-boots, did
flash
across
me
that I ought to have been present at
my
wed-
ding that very day.
were, for
And
so matters remained as they
my
bride
was
so angry with
me
for
my
forgetfellow.
I
fulness that she
went away and married a lawyer
No
doubt she got the right man, but since then
have
had no desire for matrimony."
The company laughed
tite,
heartily at this jest,
and then
attacked the patriarchal banquet with tremendous appe-
nor did they wait to be asked twice to
fill
their glasses.
Henrietta, naturally, did not touch anything.
ordinary times she ate very
little,
but
now
there
Even at was
nothing at
all
she fancied.
Mr. Gerzson was
in despair.
"My
dear lady," said he, "you eat so
little
that if I
90
Poor Plutocrats
were a day laborer
wages."
I
could easily support you on
my
The company laughed aloud
Then Gerzson proceeded
or less
tell
at this.
The
idea of a day
laborer with such hands and feet as that!
to relate to
them the
exploits
or misadventures in which his various limbs had more
come
to grief.
*'And now," concluded he, "I will
I
came by this scar on my forehead. A few years ago I was visiting our friend Leonard, your husband, my dear lady, at his castle at Hidvár, and
your ladyship
how
while there
we
spent two weeks
among
the glaciers."
"Night and day?" inquired the astonished Henrietta.
"Well, at night
branches of
fir
we
built ourselves
If,
huts out of the
fell,
trees.
however, no rain
we
en-
camped
up
in
in the
open round our watch-fire, snugly wrapped
Splendid fun,
I
our sheepskins.
can
tell
you
!
For
two days, when our
stores gave out,
we
lived
on nothing
but bilberries and broiled bear's flesh."
"You were badly
delicacies,
off then."
"No, on the contrary, the paws of a bear are great
only
we had no
salt to salt
them with."
"Why did you not return home?" "We could not; for four days together we had been on the track of a blood-bear. Do you know what a bloodbear is?
A
bear
is
a very mild, harmless sort of a beast
in general,
and
is
quite content with honey, berries, and
roots; but let
like a lion,
him once taste blood, and he rages about and, more than that, he has a decided prefblood before
all
erence for
human
other kinds of blood.
91
Poor Plutocrats
We
days running, as
had been pursuing one of these old malefactors four I have said; four times we got within
range of him, and four times he broke away.
a
He
carried
few
bullets
away with him beneath
his hide, indeed, but
a lot he cared about that!
He
gave one or two of our
badly aiming huntsmen a clout on the head, which sent
them
the
flying, stripped the skin
from the head of one of
in
beaters,
and then took refuge
the
wilderness.
to
Friend Leonard and the other gentlemen
now wanted
abandon the chase, for they were
our clothes from our bodies, yet
another attempt on the morrow.
they beat up the
bear.
frightfully hungry,
and
the heavy rain and rock scrambling had pretty well torn
I I
urged them to make
assured them that
if
wood once more we should
lot of
capture the
The whole
them were against me.
Friend
Leonard
insisted that
we
should not catch him, as a bear
never remains in the place where he has been wounded,
but runs on and on night and day
;
by
this
time he would
have got right across the border into Wallachia.
well!' I said, 'what
'Very
do you bet that he
is
not quite near
and we
!'
come upon him to-morrow?' Leonard reme two to one we shouldn't. 'All right said I. 'I'll pay you a hundred ducats if we don't 'And I'll pay you a thousand if find Bruin to-morrow.' we do,' said he. So the bet was clinched. Next morning
shall
plied he
would bet
in a thick mist
we
sent out the beaters while
we
ourselves
stood on our guard.
Leonard and
began
I
took up our post
near a ravine, waiting impatiently for the mist to disperse.
Toward midday
it
to clear.
No
end of
92
Poor Plutocrats
stags and foxes ambled slowly past us, but
we
did not
even aim at them
;
the bear
was our watchword.
The
were
to
beaters had pretty nearly finished their work.
We
standing only
chat together.
ducats,' said
fifty
*I
paces or so apart, so
we began
begin to be sorry for your hundred
'I
Leonard.
I.
am
in
still
sorrier for the lost
this time!'
oi¥,
bear's skin,' said
*It
is
Wallachia by
he
replied.
Behind
my
back,
;
some ten yards
was
the opening of a narrow hole
in the rocks all about.
there were hundreds such
'Come,
now
!'
I cried,
'suppose
my
bear has stowed himself
away
in this hollow!'
—and there
the
this
and then,
of
in
like
a mischievous
little
boy, I poked the barrel
my gun
into the hollow
and
fired off
a couple of shots
quick succession.
A
frightful roar
came from
all
depths of the cavern.
noise, clamor,
The wild
beast during
and beating about the bush was actually
behind
my
back holding his tongue
—and
I
a splendid big
like
beast he was,
two heads
In a
taller
than
and with tusks
I
a wild boar.
moment he was upon me, and
had
already discharged
my two barrels.
it
It is all
over with
me
now,
I
thought
I
Why,
will be nothing at all to a
mag-
nificent beast like this to tear such a
wretched creature
as myself limb
came
straight at me,
from limb! smashing
Erect on his hind legs he
my
hunting-knife at a
single blow, and, enfolding
tried to
me
in his terrible arms, he
mangle
I
my
features with his teeth.
At
the last
us,
moment
!
called to
hit
Leonard: 'Shoot between
!'
old
chap you will
killed
one of us anyhow
being torn to
I
preferred being
instant
by a
bullet to
bits.
The next
93
Poor Plutocrats
a rq)ort sounded, and I of us,
still
was only
just
aware that the pair
tightly embraced,
were rolling backward into
There, however, the thick
I
the bottom of the ravine.
undergrowth held us up, and
perceived that
my
it
bear
was
I
quite done for.
The
bullet
had gone clean through
was,
his ear.
Yes, a masterly shot on Leonard's part
must confess
—
at fifty paces at the
very
moment when
to risk a shot to be torn to
the bear's head and mine were near enough for kissing.
And
I
do think
it
was so
nice of
Leonard
for me,
when
if
he had simply allowed
me
pieces he
would have saved
you
see.
his thousand ducats, for he
lost his bet,
Not only
did he liberate me, but
he paid a thousand ducats for doing so."
"He
acted like a true gentleman!" they
all cried.
It
was the general opinion. "Your ladyship will
Hidvár;
it is
see
this
splendid
I
bearskin at
a real treasure for a hunter,
can
tell
you.
And,
in fact, if I
had had the
choice, I
would much rather
too, in
have had the bearskin than the thousand ducats, and the
exchange would have been much better for me,
the long run, for I should have the skin to this day,
whereas the thousand ducats were forcibly taken from
me
at
Déva by
that villain, Fatia Negra."
"Who is that?" inquired Henrietta curiously. "A famous robber chieftain in these mountains whom they can never lay hands upon. He is called Fatia Negra,
or Black Face, from the
mask he wears."
Henrietta cast anxious glances around her.
But here Hátszegi coolly interrupted him by striking
94
Poor Plutocrats
his plate with his fork
:
"I won't have
my
wife frightened
cried
he,
to
death by your highwayman
yarns,"
and
changed the conversation.
Shortly afterward Henrietta
went
to her
chamber, leaving her husband with Mr. Gerznight after her marriage.
son and his guests.
Such was Henrietta's
She
at least
first
was
so far fortunate as not to be obliged to
see her husband.
Toward morning
ofif
she dozed
oi¥,
and
when
she
awoke again she found
set
that the whole
company
till
had long ago
with sweat.
fox-hunting, nor did they return
late in the evening, tired out,
wet through, and dripping
an old disused hunting-
Henrietta meanwhile had discovered the
in
remains of a dilapidated library
lodge,
had ferreted out of
herself with
it
a few Latin books, and had
amused
for
tinder.
It is
them
—
at least so far as she
was
able,
many
of the leaves had been torn out and used as
notorious that tired sportsmen are about the dullfelt that
est
dogs on earth; so Henrietta
she would not
lose
much when her husband
told her she
had
better
go
to rest early, as they
must be up betimes next morning.
off so early that,
And, indeed, next morning they were
there to bid
except their old host, not one of the hunting party was
them Godspeed!
But he again conducted
his lady guest to her carriage
on
his crippled
arm, and
arranged her cushions comfortably for her with his threefingered hand.
was a very fine day for a journey, and the windows of the two carriages were let down so that Henrietta was
It
95
Poor Plutocrats
able to view the landscape stretching out before her.
She
She
had never been here before
a three days'
;
it
was
all
new
to her.
discovered from Clementina's lamentations that they had
still
journey before they reached home, and
at the castle of
that they
would spend the coming night
Count Kengyelesy.
The coachmen had
told
Margari
so,
and he passed the news on to Clementina.
It also ap-
peared that Count Kengyelesy was a very curious sort of
man, who contradicted Baron Hátszegi
for
all
in everything, yet
that they
were never angry with and always glad
The count was also said to have a to see each other. young wife who did not love him. So ran the gossip of the servants. It was all one to Henrietta what they said
about Count Kengyelesy and his consort.
Between
five
and
six in the afternoon they reached the
count's castle, which lay outside the village in the midst
of rich tobacco and rape-seed
sides
fields,
and enclosed on three
ar-
by a splendid English garden; the place was
for.
ranged with taste and evidently well cared
That the count expected the
arrival of the Hátszegis
was evident from the fact that dinner was awaiting them. Kengyelesy was a little puny bit of a man with very light, bright hair, white eyelashes, and a pointed chin, made still
more pointed by a long goatish beard. It always pleased him very much when his friends confidentially assured him that he had a perfect satyr-like countenance. His wife was a young, chubby, lively lady, with smiling
blue eyes unacquainted with sorrow,
whom
her husband
fallen in
on the occasion of a
ball at
Vienna had seen,
96
—
Poor Plutocrats
love with, and carried off, although the girl's father, a
retired field-marshal,
was
quite ready to surrender her
they preferred, however, the romance of an elopement.
The
countess received her lady guest with the most
effusive heartiness, called her
by her Christian name on
the spot, and invited her to do that
told Henrietta she
all
same with
her.
She
was
to feel quite at
home, dragged her
in rapid succession
over the
castle,
and showed her
her rare flowers, her Parisian furniture, her Japanese curiosities
;
played something for her on the piano,
made
her
parrot talk to her, and incontinently popped on her finger
a large and beautiful opal ring, which she told her she
was to keep as an eternal souvenir. Then the countess seized the hand of
and
led her into her
the child-wife
bedchamber.
On
the wall
hung
a
fine large battle-piece, a splendid oil painting
by a Vien-
nese master.
"A
magnificent picture,
is it
not?" inquired the countess
with a broad smile.
"Yes," replied Henrietta absently.
"How
"He
he
isj
do you
like the central figure ?
I
mean
the hero
on horseback, with the standard in his hand ?"
is
handsome, but
it
seems to
me
that, situated as
he smiles too much."
countess laughed loudly at this remark.
The
officer
"That," said she, "is the portrait of a young hussar
who
for a long time paid his court to me.
I
could
not, of course,
keep his portrait in
my
room, for there
every one would
know
all
about
it,
so I had a battle-piece
(F)
— (S)-VOL.
97
20
—
!
Poor Plutocrats
painted in
all
round, and nobody suspects anything.
Oh
;
my
friend, if
women were
it.''
not so inventive, they would
that,
often be very unhappy.
But
mind
!
is
a secret
not
a soul must
know about
tell
it
Henrietta grew pensive.
she would
She
also
had her
secret, but
to nobody, not even
on her deathbed.
infinite
She also has a portrait written in ineffaceable characters
in her heart, yet
between him and her stand two
star
obstacles, the
one a betrayed
whose name
is
Mesaris
thim, the other that unbetrayable thing
whose name
woman's honor!
"Dinner
is
ready!" cried the epauleted footman, and
the countess, drawing her
arm through
Henrietta's, led
her into the dining-room, where the gentlemen already
awaited them.
After dinner the humorous young countess entertained
Henrietta for a long time with her amusing chatter.
told her, at the very outset, things that
She
a rule, only confide to their
told her, for instance,
young wives, as most intimate friends. She
little
how
very jealous her
this pet
Squirrel
was (she
called her
husband by
name), and how
to interest
he would never take her to Vienna or Pesth, because he
suspected that she might find
her.
some one there
will
Anything
like
;
correspondence on her part was, of
course, impossible
a wise
woman
always have sense
enough never
else
to part with a line of writing.
;
Everything
can be disowned
but there
is
no defense against
a letter
which
has fallen into the
she
knew
a trick worth
two of
wrong hands. Oh no! that. Whenever the Squir-
98
Poor Plutocrats
rel
went to Vienna she gave him a
hats, headdresses, muffs,
list
of articles required
list
by her from a modiste in the town; on this
are set
articles.
down
finds
and other similar
over ten times at
Squirrel always
reads this list
it
least,
it
but
nothing in
to excite his suspicions.
But
regu-
larly escapes his attention
what day
is
indicated by the
tell
date at the head of the
life
list,
for he can never
for the
of
him on what day of the month such or such a day
will fall.
Now,
at the
head of
this list stands, instead of
sent, the date
the date
to
on which the goods are to be
up
which the Squirrel intends to divert himself
list
at Vienna.
This
the Squirrel in person conveys to the modiste,
who communicates
cerns,
with the person
whom
it
most con-
and the wild Kengyelesy lands
will not
seem the
end of the world to whomsoever has a magnet in his
heart to
draw him
thither.
Henrietta was amazed and confounded by this
science, the
new
her.
very alphabet of which was unknown to
Even when it was possible that certain things which break the hearts of some people are nevertheless regarded by other people as mere frolics all their lives. The next morning every one arose late. The gentlemen had been up till the small hours, and were hard to awaken. They all met together in the breakfast-room.
she lay in bed she ruminated for a long time
how
Hátszegi and his host were preparing for the journey.
The count asked
first
the
young wife what she had dreamt
is
about, "for," added he, "whatever one dreams about the
night in a strange place
sure to
come
true."
99
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta did not like to speak of her dreams; her
M^aking thoughts were too often interwoven with them.
"And
husband
of
you, you great silly," said the countess to her
in a bantering tone, "did
you dream anything
spend the coming
in
me?"
"Yes, darling,
I
dreamt that we
shall
winter in Vienna.
Don't put so much sugar
nice
my
tea
!"
really
"What! Not for such a come to pass?" "Most certainly, pussy.
is
dream
will
as that?
Will
it
We
go there together
after the bathing season
over,"
The countess possessed
her delight.
sufficient self-control to conceal
"By the bye," said Kengyelesy, turning to Henrietta, "how does your ladyship like these wild Kengyelesy
lands?"
"Very
well."
"And
"That
the castle?"
is
nice, too."
it
"Don't you think
while to-day
a good joke that yesterday your
ladyship and your honored husband
were
my
guests,
we
are your ladyship's guests, and that, too,
without our having to move out of the house?"
"How?"
inquired the astonished Henrietta.
this
"Why, we made an agreement
whereby friend I^eonard
is
very morning
going to take over the whole
it
property and everything belonging to
dear, of course," this to his wife, "I
—not
you,
my
mean
the nags and
the cows
—and henceforth
this
I
house belongs to you."
GO
Poor Plutocrats
"Don't forget to invite the countess to Hidvár for the
vintage festival/' whispered Hátszegi to his wife.
Henrietta accordingly
made
the effort,
and when they
rose from the breakfast she timidly expressed the wish that the Kengyelesys would do them the honor to return
their visit at Hidvár.
"Oh, we
ened to
shall be sure to
come !"
the fair countess hast-
reply; "Squirrel shall bring
will
me
to
you
in the
autumn, and we
remain a whole month."
invitation,
Kengyelesy also courteously accepted the
and then taking Henrietta's
palms, so that he could just
little
hand between
his
own
manage
to kiss the tips of
her fingers, he said to her in a strange and piteous sort
of voice
:
"But then you must promise
little
to love our friend
Leonard here a
better than
you have done
hitherto."
A
shudder ran through Henrietta's body at these
words.
The very
cult to breathe,
carriage again.
room was all at once diffiand she only felt better when she sat in the But even there she was haunted by some
air of the
unendurable, undefinable, torturing feeling, which struck
her
more unpleasantly when Clementina remarked: "Yes, there is nothing but good land on this estate." Why, what could it matter to the honest creature whether the land was good or not, it was surely all one
still
to her.
"Two
thousand acres
in
one
lot,
all
first-class land."
"How
nessed
it,
"Margari told
do you know that?" asked Henrietta. me he drew up the agreement and wit-
and yet no money was paid down."
lOI
Poor Plutocrats
"What do you mean by
the count
that?"
allusion
"Did not your ladyship then understand the
made
little
just
husband a
now when he asked you more than hitherto?"
to
to love your
"What has such nonsense "He meant by that that
is
do with me?"
he
who
is
unlucky in love
lucky at play; for last night
my
lord baron played
the whole
cards with
my
lord count, and
ofT."
won from him
is
Kengyelesy estate straight
Henrietta
felt like
one
who
in the
embrace of the
boa-constrictor and unable to defend himself.
She had
not expected
this.
But Clementina was only too delighted to have something to chatter about.
"And do you know, your
lady-
ship," she continued, "the
rivals for a long time,
baron and the count have been
and each has always been trying
his
hardest to ruin the other
—
in
a friendly way, of
course.
told me.
The chambermaid
'I
told Margari,
and Margari
will not be content, comrade,'
my
is
lord baron
is
used to say to
my
lord count,
'till
one of us
reduced
to his last jacket,
and as soon as one of us
gentleman
absolutely
beggared, the other will hold himself bound to maintain
him
in a
way
befitting a
till
the day of his
death.'
Strange
men
these,
madame, eh!"
to her
Perceiving, however, from Henrietta's looks that there
was something depressing
young mistress
in
her
narration, she tried to soften the effect of her
words by
intimating that the count had another property besides,
although not such a nice
castle,
and also that
it
was open
102
Poor Plutocrats
to
if
him
to
buy back the former
will do^
estate in thirty years' time
he could find the money.
"That
Clementina,
my
head aches badly!" said
Henrietta.
She wished
thoughts!
to rid herself of this chatter, in
order that she might devote herself to her
own
thoughts.
And what
She had had no idea that such
things could be.
How
was
was
it
possible that
two men who
in
called themselves friends could ruin
one another thus
cold blood
?
How
it
possible that a
man
could enter
in
the house of an affectionate host as a
welcome g^est
the evening, and by next morning leave
him not an
inch
of land on which to put his foot or a roof to cover his
head
!
"And one
has to get accustomed to such things
!"
thought she.
All the day long their journey lay through that brain-
wearying
plain,
its
whose endless
flatness oppressed soul
and
body with
monotony, and soon drove her back
to her
own
thoughts.
Toward evening
rising,
there were signs of rain.
Clouds were
and then,
at least, there
something new to point
the sky.
at in the eternal
would be monotony of
evil
Unfortunately clouds have the bad habit of
bringing tempests along with them, and tempests are
traveling companions on the Alföld, or Great Plain.
The
still
towers of the town they were trying to reach were
only dimly visible on the horizon.
it
In ordinary weather
late,
would not have mattered
if
they had arrived
for
they had reckoned upon the moonlight; but there could
be no
moon
to-night; instead of her a storm of angry
lightnings
was approaching.
103
Already from afar they
;
Poor Plutocrats
could hear
it
rumbling as
it
drove dust-clouds before
it;
could hear that peculiar, continuous roar as of some giant
hand playing uninterruptedly on the keys of some
terrible
Whoever has been caught on storm knows the meaning of that wind
organ.
the Alföld in a
it
;
means
that the
tempest
is
bringing hail with
it.
One
where.
thing was
now
still
certain
:
they must turn aside some-
All that Henrietta observed, however,
for a
was
that
her carriage stood
moment, and then Hátszegi's
carriage went on in front, the baron himself seizing the
horses' reins and shouting to the
coachman behind him,
"After
me
as hard as
you can
tear !"
With
till
that they left
the road and plunged right across country through ditches
and swamps and low, marshy ground
up
to
the water
came
the very axles
of
the
wheels, and
Clementina
shrieked that they were perishing.
to be afraid.
But there was no need
Hátszegi was a skilful coachman,
ever find his
About a four ible, and beyond
who could way even where there was no way at all. hours' journey off, a pump now became visit
a cottage inn loomed white and high
there they must seek a refuge
from the tempest
lumps of
ice,
as
it
passed over them.
the small courtyard
as nuts,
And, indeed, they had only reached
when
the
first
as big
began bombarding the windows of the
inn.
"Quick, quick, into the house!" cried Hátszegi.
The
baron himself helped his wife and Clementina to descend,
and hurried them
in
beneath the veranda, which was
made
of crooked branches and
hung over
the kitchen door like
a shade over the forehead of a weak-sighted man.
104
:
Poor Plutocrats
On
chief.
their
approach the
woman
of the house emerged
from the
kitchen, with her head tied
up
in a red handker-
She was no longer young, but ruddy,
robust,
if
bright-eyed, and bustling, and as full of sparkle as
she
had just sprung out of the
fire.
On
perceiving
her
guests
she
clapped
her
hands
together
"Lord
deliver us,
if
!
it
isn't his
lordship!
!
And
only
just married now, eh
is
—
after all these years
But which
the bride, your lordship?
!"
Surely not this one (pointis
ing to Clementina), for she
other
is
an old dear!
—and yet the
but a child
The baron hastened
burst.
to interrupt this uncalled-for out-
"Come, come,
my
good woman!
upon us
in a
No
it is
chatter now,
;
please, for the hail will be
moment
clean
but take
these ladies into a room, and see that
fortable.
and comfa-
Henrietta
!
pray get out of the rain."
The landlady
miliarity,
kissed Henrietta's
in a
hand with great
and kept on saying
little
quavering voice: "Oh,
thou tender
creature! to think of giving
she.
them
to
husbands so early!" cried
But Clementina, who was were proceed-
always nervous in strange places, called the baron's attention to the fact that loud masculine voices
ing from somewhere within the inn.
"Have you any one here now ?"
just been released
inquired the baron,
"Yes, three or four lads and Ripa.
The
old fellow has
I
from the prison
full time.
at Arad.
don't
in
!"
know
whether he served his
Pray walk
105
Poor Plutocrats
"They
are not robbers, are they?" asked Clementina
hesitating.
"No, dear heart
parts, but only
alive, there
are no robbers in these
poor vagabonds.
You
I
will not find rob-
bers nearer than the
Bakony
Forest.
These poor fellows
don't count old Ripa
hurt nobody, least of
at
if
all,
all ladies.
but only the other three.
is
It
would be another thing
gentleman, and Hkes
think, dear
I call
Blackey were here, for he
a
fine
to
amuse himself with
the ladies.
But don't
no
!
soul, that his features are black, oh, dear,
him
'Blackey' because he always wears a
lest
mask
of black velvet,
he should be recognized; only his eyes and mouth
are ever visible."
And
with such comforting assurances she escorted
Henrietta and Clementina up the narrow staircase.
They had
sitting
to pass
through the long tap-room before
they came to the inner parlor.
three hardy-looking
At
the guest-table were
young fellows and an old
rascal,
pock-marked man, a foxy-eyed
versation going.
who drank
out
of the others' glasses from time to time and kept the con-
"Come! shut
man.
lord.
up, Ripa!" said the landlady to the old
"This is no Jew madame, but the spouse of my Baron Hátszegi. Show your manners if you have
any, and thank her for the honor."
The
ity,
old rascal rose
from
his
bench with cunning humil-
and, twisting up both ends of his gray mustache,
politely kissed Henrietta's hand,
and would have paid the
same compliment
to Clementina if the landlady
had not
io6
Poor Plutocrats
prevented him by shouting, "Leave her alone, she
a sort of servant
!"
is
only
With that she led the ladies into the were two lofty bedsteads reaching to
with tulips and roses.
In the
inner room, where
the
beams above,
covered with bright bedding and prettily painted over
window screens were widespreading rosemary and musk plants. In front of one
of the great chests stood a spinning wheel.
the
From
this
landlady,
winter and summer, spun off that fine
thread from which were
woven those bright and gay
afar.
handkerchiefs which could be seen bobbing about in the
doorway of the inn from
One would never have
expected to find such ease and comfort in a country inn.
The landlady very politely traveling clothes, made a soft
cushions
in
divested Henrietta of her
resting-place for her with
feet,
an amichair, put a stool beneath her
than
it
and
in less time
took to draw a breath, totted up
ten different kinds of dishes, that she might choose from
them the one she
liked best.
It
Perhaps she would
like
some leaf-cake?
was just cooking and would be
Clementina whispered
served up immediately, and she began spreading the table
with a nice white horse-cloth,
Henrietta to beware of poison, whereupon Henrietta told
the landlady that she
would have a
really
bit
of that nice dish,
and when
not
pleased.
it
came she
it
enjoyed
it,
though she did
know what
was, at which the landlady was infinitely
Meanwhile Hátszegi came
in after seeing that the car-
riages were put into a dry place.
He
took no notice of
107
Poor Plutocrats
the poor vagabonds, but hastily
clothes, as his
demanded a change of own were soaking, and was amazed to see
;
Henrietta handling her knife and fork so well
first
it
was
the
time on the whole journey that she had eaten with
appetite.
Henrietta said that this peasant roast suited her.
will
"And now, Dame Kardos,
"Certainly,"
you put the
ladies
up
for the night?" said Hátszegi to the landlady.
returned the worthy
woman;
likes.
"I
have
feather mattresses
enough and bedsteads enough for as
This bed
this the
many
guests of quality as your lordship
will be
my
lord baron's and this
my
lady's,
and
lady attendant's!"
"Not so quick, not so quick! I shall not lie here." "Not lie here ?" cried this child of the Hungarian wilds.
"Why, pray?" "Oh I'll find some
!
place or other in the tap-room out-
side."
"It's a
way
great folks have, I suppose,"
Dame
Kardos, shrugging her shoulders,
it
murmured "but I never saw
or heard the likes of
before."
"But,
my
lord," lisped Clementina, greatly agitated,
"won't those wild vagabonds outside disturb you?"
disturb
"Me?" exclaimed Hátszegi, "how the devil can they mef" "They are such wicked men, surely?" "I don't care what sort of men they are." And with
went out with the utmost indifference; nay, as
that he
Clementina herself noticed, he drew forth his pocket
pistols
and
left
them behind him on the
io8
table.
Poor Plutocrats
"His lordship has no need
to fear such
men," the land-
lady reassured the ladies, "for he can talk to them in their
own Hngo."
Henrietta
did
not understand.
Did
?
robbers,
then,
speak a dialect peculiar to themselves
curious to hear
in their
She became quite
how
Hátszegi would speak to the robbers
own
language.
filled
it
But the landlady knew exactly what to do. She a kulacs, or wooden flask, for the baron and placed Hátszegi took a good pull the table before him.
dried the
on
it,
at
mouth of
the flask,
and passed
it
on to the old
pockmarked vagabond, who, after raising his cap, took a little drop himself, and then passed it on to the others.
"Well, old fellow,
is
the wine
good?" inquired Háts-
zegi in thieves' gargon.
"Wine is always good." "Have you had enough?" "One can never have enough." "Then God grant you plenty!
wind
still
By
the way, does the
at
blow through the crevices of the prison door
Arad?"
"It blows for
him who
it."
lists
to
it.
Let him
who
likes
it
not close his ears to
"Have many
the
jail lately?"
children been born to the governor of
[/.
e.,
"How many new
convicts?"]
too."
"Yes, lots have been born there
—and christened
[Put into convict garb.]
"Has
the daughter of the cord [the gallows] been mar-
ried lately ?"
109
Poor Plutocrats
"Only Marczi Csendes has been elevated lately. was a fool. He took the crime of two comrades on
shoulders, in order to
in the act, but
let
He
his
them go
free.
he swore he did the
see,
They were caught They were deed.
young
bloods,
it
you
and he had nobody to care for him.
was they who presented the empty pistol at the The Jew himself pointed them out, but Jew's head. Marczi steadfastly claimed that it was he who did it." "So they made him cold against the winter time?" "Yes, but he didn't very much care. The hour before
And
yet
his execution he
took an affectionate leave of his comhe bequeathed his
rades,
and to
me
warm
old sheepskin.
When
the priest asked
him whether he had anything upon
that he
his conscience, he
merely said the only thing that grieved
him was the thought
in this life to eat his
would never again be
able
fill
of well-peppered stew such as old
Ripa knew
how
to cook.
They humored him, and
it.
I
was
but
sent into the kitchen to prepare
My
old friend ate
;
with a good appetite and wanted
me
to take a bit too
my my
throat
felt
as
cramped
it
as
if
they had already taken
measure round
with the gallows rope.
He
gave
the
each of the two guards
felon's car,
who accompanied him
on
told us afterward that
in
one on his
right, the other
his left, a silver
coin apiece.
The guards
a
tall,
when he
got outside he rose up in the car and addressed the people.
He was
His
handsome
fellow, with red cheeks,
like
long black hair, and a fine sonorous voice
lain's.
any chap-
last
words were 'Well,
:
I
now
look upon this
fair
world for the
last time.'
"
no
Poor Plutocrats
"Did he
Hátszegi.
him any new songs?" inquired "He was ahvays a famous singer,"
leave behind
"Yes, one he
too, I
made
in jail,
!
and a splendid song
it
it
was
can
tell
you.
Bandi pipe
to his lordship
on your
flute as I
have taught you."
At
these
words one of the
flutes
youths drew forth from his sleeve one of those
made name
lark
of elder-wood, which in Hungarian goes by the of a tilmka, and which with
its
poor six holes
is
able to give forth as
;
many
variations as the throat of a
airs,
then, without
any virtuoso
he simply piped the
plaintive melody.
The baron was immensely
hither!"
pleased.
"Margari," cried
violin,
he, "go to the carriage, look for
my
and bring
it
At
fit
this
command poor Margari had
a veritable ague
of terror.
All this time he had remained ducking
down
them
in the carriage, firmly
persuaded that the robbers
in
this lonely place
would cut down every mother's son of
In such a case he was prepared to
at
all,
at nightfall.
swear that he had never belonged to the party
but
would pretend he was only
that way.
a poor tramp,
and so escape
little
And now
the baron had ruined his
!
plan
by ordering him to come forth
absolutely believe that he also
frightful situation
when
a
The robbers would now was a swell. Oh, it is a poor devil has managed to get
first
a one hundred gulden into his purse for the
his life
at
time in
and
is
obliged the very next evening to put up
!
an inn
full
of robbers
What
III
the devil did the baron
sort of a
want with the
fiddle at all?
And, then, what
Poor Plutocrats
thing
was
a fiddle?
When
a
man
is
terrified
he easily
first
mistakes one thing for another, and Margari's
ex-
periment was to carry in to the baron a long leaden box
containing the territorial chart of the Kengyelesy estate
—was
what his lordship wanted? "Have you lost your wits, Margari?
that
How
could you
possibly get a fiddle into that?
cast eyes
Or
has the fellow never
on a
fiddle ?
!"
Bandi, you go and look in the car-
riage for the fiddle
But
this
was not
at all to
Margari's liking.
What,
send that vagabond to the carriage to ferret about there!
His lordship must have clean taken leave of
his senses.
was Margari's own brand-new mantle, for which he had paid nine and twenty gulden. The vagabond would be sure to lay his hands upon it. No, he would rather go to look for the fiddle himself. So he found the violin case at last somehow, and handing it to the baron through the inn window (for he durst not
in
Why,
the
carriage
trust himself inside),
he retired again beneath the coach-
house, although the rain
Baron Leonard took from
was now splashing down upon it^ its morocco case his splendid
fol-
Stradivarius, that relic of the greatest master of violin
making, for which he had paid a small fortune, and,
lowing the lead of the young vagabond's
ment, and at the third
filinka,
played
the bitter-sweet melancholy air on the sonorous instrutrial
he enriched
variations as to astonish every one.
enthusiastic,
it with so many Then Ripa became
and chimed
in
with his hoarse old voice.
When
the baron once had the violin in his hands, he
112
—
Poor Plutocrats
was not content with playing
enticed
a single song;
so,
one melody
another forth, and
all
one after another, his
fiddle-bow ran through
those rhapsodies of the last
century, those compositions of the "Gipsy-Beethoven,"
Bihari,
and other
great, popular masters, with the
most
classical variations.
Princes listen not to such a concert
that wretched, desolate inn.
as
now resounded through
Even Henrietta arose from her couch
these melancholy airs.
the better to enjoy
it
If ever in her life,
was
at this
moment
subdued.
that vShe beheld her
husband
in
an aureole of
dazzling light, which irresistibly attracted, overpowered,
One thing, however, struck her as strange, incredible how could a fashionable man, brought up in the atmosphere of elegant society, find any pleasure in playing
bravura pieces in the tap-room of a miserable inn to an
audience of half-tipsy vagabonds
?
Was
this
it
an habitual
only Háts-
diversion of these wealthy magnates, or
zegi's wild
was
humor ?" However, when "the
lads" began to chime in a
little
too vigorously. Hátszegi restored the violin to
its case,
all,
took out his pocketbook, opened
it
before them
and
nonchalantly displayed as he did so the bundles of thou-
sand-gulden notes which
it
contained.
Nay, he searched
among them
taught him"
for stray ten-gulden notes,
and gave one
to
each of the four vagabonds "for the fine song they had
—
that
was
the
way he
put
it
—
at the
same
time requesting them to quit the tap-room, as the ladies in
the adjoining
chamber wanted
113
to sleep,
and must not be
Poor Plutocrats
kept awake by any further noise.
seek a couch elsewhere.
The vagabonds must
The vagabonds, without
the shghtest objection, arose,
drank up the dregs of the wine, pocketed the bank-notes
without so much as a ''thank you!" and settled
the night on the roof of the coach-house terror of Margari,
down
for
—to
all
the great
who was
concealed in one of the
sleep night, his
coaches, and did not have a
teeth chattered so.
wink of
But
Hátszegi,
when
fell
the
drinkers
had withdrawn,
spread out his hunting pelisse on the long table, lay
thereon, and quietly
asleep.
down
He
did not even shut
the door, nor did he have his pistols by him.
In the adjoining chamber, meanwhile, the landlady
had brought out her
spindle,
tell
set
all
its
many
wheels
a-working, and began to
her ladyship a lot of those
wondrous
tales that
have neither beginning nor end, ad-
ventures of the wilds of Hungary, the atrocities of vaga-
bonds and their fellows, the sad love stories of poor, deserted maidens,
and such
a
like.
And
all
the while the
wheels of the spindle whir-whir-w^hirred monotonously,
and Henrietta
side her bed
felt like
lulls
little
child
whose nurse
sits be-
and
her to sleep with fairy
tales.
For
weeks she had not enjoyed so quiet and dreamless a
slumber as she had that night beneath the roof of the
country inn in the midst of the lonely heath.
Next morning Clementina,
that
after first
making
what
quite sure
nobody had had
his or her throat cut during the
night,
was moved by
curiosity to ask
sort of con-
114
Poor Plutocrats
nection his lordship had with this inn since he seemed to
know everybody
in
it.
And
then she learned that not
only this inn, but the whole of the surrounding heath also
was the property of
his lordship, for
little
which the people
who
lived
upon
it
paid very
rent,
inasmuch as
his
lordship did not look
chiefly valued
it
upon
it
as a source of income, but
its
on account of
numerous reedy
lakes,
where he was wont every year
beavers on a grand
his
scale.
to
hunt water-fowl and
this spot to
Moreover, from
own
house, a good two days' journey by foot, every-
thing belonged to his lordship's estate.
ship, if he liked, could traverse the
Nay, his
lord-
whole kingdom, from
property the wdiole
his houses
Deva
time
to Pesth,
it
and be on
like
his
own
—
was only
moving from one of
to another.
The next day
the great plain
came
to
an end, and the
Transylvanian Alps drew nearer and nearer. In the evening they descended into a
little
mining town, whose forges
and furnaces were
guests.
all
illuminated in honor of the arriving
Henrietta then learned that this mining town
also belonged to her husband.
On
the third day, quite early in the morning, they
crossed the Transylvanian frontier.
The whole
of that
its
splendid region seemed to smile, but the faces of
inhabitants are sad and mysterious.
Henrietta had a
peculiar sense of anxiety during her stay
among
these
angry-looking people,
never heard before.
who
spoke a language she had
At
intervals of a mile all along the
road a roughly carved cross shot up, covered with clum115
Poor Plutocrats
sily
carved
letters,
which did not
to.
in the least
resemble
those
we
are accustomed
Clementina once asked the
coachman what these crosses might mean, and repented
doing so immediately afterward, for he informed her that
marked the places where unlucky travelers had come by an untimely death; the inscriptions were the records
they
of the tragic romances, through the scene of which they
were passing.
The valleys grew narrower and narrower, the road wound upward among precipices, and the loquacious
coachman attached horrible
stories to every rock
its
and
ruin.
Each
valley
seemed to have
own
particular ghost.
Here and
there by the roadside stood silent houses,
it
not one of which had an inviting appearance;
would
never have occurred to a
human
soul to knock at any of
them, even at midnight, to ask for a night's lodging.
They were,
might
single
all
of them, sooty, dilapidated shanties, which
stables, consisting of a
easily
have been taken for
room^ in which the whole family lived
—
live stock
and
all.
The church
if it
often lay far
away from
the settle-
ment, as
belonged to two villages equally.
a solitary bush
Then
cliffs,
the road rose again between bare and barren
where only here and there
seemed
to
cling to the rocky wall.
There was no trace of a garden,
to unload their hay, with a long
but here and there was a fenced-in space, in which the
Rumanians are wont
the
pole sticking up in the midst of the hay-ricks, to prevent
wind from carrying
it
away, or
else the
hay was piled
up on the branch of a living
tree, like a bird's nest.
ii6
Poor Plutocrats
Down-pouring mountain streams traversed the path
intervals, over
at
which never a bridge
is
built
;
all
cars and
coaches must cross by the fords.
From
the depths of the
wooded mountain
slopes
was
reflected the blood-red glare
of iron-works and foundries, and the droning, monot-
onous din of the machinery scares away the
it
stillness,
till
loses itself in the loud
murmuring of
felt
the mountain
torrents.
At every
fresh mile Henrietta
how
lonely she
was
in this strange world, whose giant mountains shut her
out from the very prospect of the familiar places from
which she had come, and from every
possibility of re-
turning; and whose inhabitants would not even be able
to
answer her
if
she were to ask them,
"Which
is
the
way
back to
my
native place ?"
They
traveled
onward
till
late at night
by the
hand.
light of
the moon.
Hidvár was now
close
at
As
the
prospect opened out on both sides, at the turn of a narrow
defile,
suddenly, like a picture in a black frame, between
slopes thickly covered with dark beech
two mountain
trees the castle of
Hidvár came
full
in view, standing
hill.
lonely and isolated
on the summit of a
The moun-
tain torrent shot swiftly
down beneath
a shaky bridge.
The round moon stood
castle, as if
it
straight over the tower of the
it,
had been impaled on the point of
its
and
painted everything with
bastions, the brook,
silvery light, the tower, the
and the valley
—only
one thing
it
brightened not, the heart of the young wife.
"7
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
VII
THE CAVERN OF LUCSIA
Not
ous,
so very long ago there
was
in
Transylvania a
it is
wide-spreading society of coiners, which,
now
notori-
had carried on
its
nefarious business undetected for
more than
half a century.
The
science
;
was an
inheri-
tance, descending
from father
to son
people married and
were born into
to follow
be.
it,
it.
Careful parents trained their children
it
and a very lucrative profession
proved to
That
it
should have remained undiscovered for so
long a
for
tim.e, that it
should have been plied successfully
years under the very noses of the
more than
fifty
authorities
—
all this
was capable of a very simple explanafull
tion
:
these
men
coined gold pieces.
weight, out of real three-
Yes, genuine ducats, of
and-twenty carat gold, without any admixture of baser
metal, so that they absolutely could not be distinguished
from the royal ducats of the authorized minting towns, Kormöcz and Gyulafehérvár. If they fell into the hands
of a goldsmith, and he melted them, he found that they
did not contain half a grain
ones.
more
silver
than the genuine
Indeed, the public lost nothing by their fabrication,
state treasury suffered considerably.
though the
ii8
Poor Plutocrats
The whole
spatak,
region, in fact,
from Zalathna
to Vere-
abounded
in that precious metal,
which some fool
or other has called "a mere chimera," and the gold mining
was farmed out
to private individuals, the yearly output
from the shafts being twelve hundredweights.
private diggers are
to the
These
bound
at
to deliver the gold they obtain
minting towns
i\bradbanya or Gyulafehérvár,
in exchange.
and there receive coined money
less,
Neverthe-
during some
fifty
years, only about six hundred-
weights were delivered annually at these places; the rest
disappeared, though at
state
first
nobody could suspect
it.
The
pays to the diggers 441 guldens for every pound
of gold dust, which quantity
guldens.
also
when coined
in coining
is
worth 720
But
it
occurred to the mountaineers that they
might profitably engage
so coined.
and
circulate the
money
the
skilled
So they provided themselves with all necessary implements and machinery (there were
workmen among them), and
issued false ducats
to their very great advantage.
Their existence was not
even suspected except by the parties interested in the
concern, and they had every motive in the world for pre-
serving the secret.
Traveling from Abradbanya up toward Bucsum, one
might have seen two riders
toiling
up the mountain along
the stream overshadowed by dark alders; one of them
was
a
gray-haired,
gigantic
Rumanian, the other a
proud-looking young woman.
skin mantle
;
The
old
man wore
a lamb-
on
his
head he carried a
119
tall,
pointed cap, also
Poor Plutocrats
of lamb's wool, drawn
down over
his
eyebrows his body
;
was
carelessly encircled with a golden girdle.
His rich
gray locks were plaited into two thick
reached
pigtails,
which
down
to his
broad shoulders, and his snow-white
his
mustache hung down from
mouth
like the
wings of a
his
seamew.
A
coarse sack lay in front of
him across
full of
saddle, both ends of
which appeared to be
some-
thing heavy; across the sack lay his fowling-piece.
The
fair
equestrienne
was
sitting
on a
small, wild,
shaggy horse, which constantly evinced a praiseworth)^
endeavor to overtake the rider in front of him; his mistress
with
difficulty held
him
in.
She was one of those
features, the cut of her
famous Rumanian
lips,
beauties.
Her
her
full chin,
could have stood as a model beside any
antique statue.
And
then those sparkling eyes, that vividly
red complexion, those coal-black eyebrows
ideal beauty of her.
—they made an
Rumanian
cos-
And
the picturesque
tume enhanced her charms. Her black
double
plait,
hair, twisted into a
was bound round with a flaming red scarf, and on her head she wore a round hat, trimmed with pearls and garnished in front with a row of gold pieces,
which reached down
over,
to her marble-white forehead.
shirt,
More-
her fine
cambric
embellished
with bright
flowers and gold ornaments, fitted so closely as to betray
the outlines of her harmonious figure.
Wound
ten times
round her neck she wore a necklace of gold
ing
coins, extend-
down
to ber bosom.
As
she rode along (and she sat
astride her saddle like a
man), every now and then one
could catch ghmpses beneath her variegated girdle of her
120
Poor Plutocrats
red morocco boots and of a Turkish dagger, with a massive silver handle,
gleaming forth from
its
sheath.
On
each side of her holsters peeped forth a double-barreled
pistol
with an ivory handle.
the old
When
man
stopped to water his horse at the
spring gushing forth from the black slate rock, he said
to the girl
:
''Anicza,
when
It
did you speak last with Fatia
Negra?"
"Just a
month
it
ago.
was
at the time of the full
moon,
like
is
now.
He
then said that he was going
away on a long journey." "And yet he has already been
I
at
home
these
two
days.
saw
his sign over against
my
window."
think I
"Impossible. It can not be," cried the girl passionately.
"What
lying?"
can not be?
Do you
am
dreaming or
"If he were at home, he would have come to see
ere this."
me
The old man shrugged his "And yet he did not come.
day, about midnight,
in the window."
I
shoulders.
But the day before
yester-
found the three owl-feathers there
"The wind carried them thither." "The wind did not carry them thither,
stuck fast in putty.
for they were
And
only
we
three
means.
Fatia Negra would speak with us, and
in the Lucsia cavern."
know what that we are
home and never
going to meet him
"It can not, can not be
to
come
to
me—
—
three days at
^to
me!'*
121
(F)— (6)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
"Who knows?"
for the
said the old
is
man
coolly, tightening his
saddle-girth; "a whole month
a long while, long
enough
of
the
moon
herself to change four times.
There are
many handsome wenches on
mountains."
the
other
side
"Oh
no! such a one as
I
am
he will not find there,"
said the girl proudly, glancing into the tremulous water-
mirror, which threw back a distorted likeness of her defi-
knows very well that I should to mock me." "Ah, ah!" mocked the old man; "so Fatia Negra is afraid of you, eh?" and with that he swung himself
ant face
besides, he
—"and,
murder him were such a
woman
—
back into his saddle with youth-like
fears nobody, I
tell
agility.
"Black Face
you.
He
is
not even afraid of the
of the lord-lieuten-
commandant of Gyulafehérvár, nor
rangers.
ant of Krasna, and they have no end of soldiers and
Nay, he fears not the devil himself."
with that he urged on his horse, which ambled
girl's little
And
forward meditatively, while the
in the rear.
nag whinnied
"He may
girl
not fear the great gentlemen, he
I
may
not fear
the devil, but
tell
you that he would be afraid of the
if
he made to love him,
he proved false to her."
"So you
really think he loves
you violently?"
said the
old man, casting a backward glance at her,
"He swore he did." "To whom? The priest?"
"Go along with you! No, to me!" At this the old man chuckled. "Little
122
fool!" said he.
Poor Plutocrats
"And
him.
if
he breaks his oath now, the devil shall have
I'll
murder him."
well, I
"Very
suppose you
If
know
him.
Yet you have
never seen his face.
he were to tear the black velvet
mask from
power."
his face
you would never recognize him."
do^,
"But that he can not
as to that
mask he owes
to be
!"
all
his
"Well, you are a comical wench
—
enamored of
his
a
man whose
you have never seen "I recognize him by his voice, by the beating of
face
if I
heart."
"Well,
were a
girl
and had a
lover, I
would
in
insist
on seeing anyhow."
his face.
He
should not come to
me
a mask
"He
forbids
can not put off his mask, I
tell
you.
his
His oath
him
to.
The moment he removes
is
mask from
his face his
power
gone, and neither the devil nor the
good angels will obey him any longer." "That is true/' returned the old man solemnly.
he
likes
he can
make himself
invisible.
I
"When know it. He
has always escaped pursuit even
when
the whole country
was out
fast
after him,
and when they thought they had him
air.
he always disappeared in the earth or in the
all that, if I
Yet, for
were his
love, see his face I
if I
would."
it."
it."
"He
told
I
me
I
should die of fright
die of fright
fine I
beheld
see
"Then
would
"His eyes are very
"Like coals?
devil himself.
—but would —they glow
is
like coals."
Perhaps he
the Dracu-dragon
—
the
Have you
ever tried to
make him
kiss
123
Poor Plutocrats
the amulet
on which
is
the image of St.
George and the
Dragon
?"
it,
"Yes, he has kissed
and was none the worse."
"Have you
tried to get
him
to lay his three fingers
on
a copper crucifix ?"
"He
burnt."
laid his fingers thereon,
and yet they were not
"Can he say
trembling ?"
the
prayer of condemnation without
"He
has said
it
hundreds of times."
is
"Nevertheless, I maintain he
"If he should love another
no mortal man."
I
woman,
mortal."
swear that he
will
very soon find out that he
of the valley, and
tlieir
is
Talking thus, the riders had descended into the depths
when
the mountain stream again crossed
path they quitted the usual footpath and followed the
bed of the stream.
as
And
fills
a very
good road
it
is
for such
do not wish
to leave
footmarks behind them.
The
rapid current swiftly
the traces of the horses' hoofs
with dead leaves and pebbles.
The
horses,
ravine
grew ever deeper and narrower, and
the
stream at intervals formed small cataracts, which the
which had been trained thereto, had to
sudden
declivity, the
cross.
Finally, at a
water took an unexthe riders reined up
pected leap of four yards, and
at this
when
very spot,
it
was
plain that here a mill
it
had been
built into the hillside,
whose wheel
was which drove
the swiftly-plunging water along.
If a
stranger saw this mill he would certainly say:
124
Poor Plutocrats
"What
his
a foolish
here,"
it
man
the miller
must be who has
built
mill
and that for three reasons.
one can not get at
Firstly,
because
is
so concealed beneath the thick alders that
it
it.
even
cause
if
one sees
Secondly, be-
it is
built exactly
under the waterfall, which drives
the wheel as rapidly as a spindle, so that the millstone
must needs be red hot beneath
it.
Thirdly, because the
way
to this mill
is
so peculiar, passing right
through the
mountain torrent and then winding down to the door by
way of
a footpath
hewn
in the
naked rock, and
inaccessilittle
ble to horses.
Well, such a miller will surely get but
grain to grind!
When
from
by the
saddle.
the two riders reached this spot they sprang
their horses, led
alders,
them
into a
little
dry
islet
formed
to
and
tied
them by
their halters
the
branches.
Then
the old
man
!"
lifted the
sack from the
"Give
me
a
lift
up, Anicza
said he.
One would
all
hardly have supposed that an old fellow
of such a colossal build would have required any help at
in
order to get this sack across his shoulders, nor
size of the sack that
would one have supposed from the
it
would have been so heavy to
lift,
or that
it
would have
weighed so heavily on the old man's shoulders that he
had to plant his hand firmly on his hip in order to carry
the load.
stuck
Then the girl drew both pistols forth from her holsters, them into her girdle, threw the long fowling-piece
125
across her shoulder, and, springing fearlessly across the
:
Poor Plutocrats
stream from boulder to boulder,
stooping old
to the mill.
followed behind the
man
along the narrow footpath which led
In the doorway of the mill stood a youth
clad in the usual coarse cloth blouse,
and half concealed
by the door-post.
ritle,
In one hand he held a double-barreled
miller.
still
an implement not absolutely necessary for a
old
The
man
off
addressed him in Rumanian while
a
good way
"Che timpn?" "Luna plina."
(How's
the weather?)
(Full moon.)
A
strange sort of greeting, more like an exchange of
passwords.
Then both
the
new
arrivals entered the mill,
in the
re-
midst of which a dilapidated grinding machine was
volving; the central wheel was minus a couple of teeth.
"Plenty of grinding going on, Paul?" asked the old
man.
"Quite enough."
"Help me down with
*Tt
is
this sack."
heavy, certainly," said the other, panting beneath
;
the strain
"how much does
it
hold ?"
"A hundredweight and eighty pounds." "No mere Turkish maize, eh?"
"Stop the wheel
!"
The young man at once obeyed by driving an iron beam clean through the wheel, which brought the machinery to a standstill. Then he raised the central revolving disk which was in connection with the millstone,
hung
in the
hook of the millstone an iron
120
chain,
which
Poor Plutocrats
was wound round the beam and, this done, laid the sack and its contents on the bolting-hutch. Then the old man
himself sat
the girl.
down on "Jump on,
the hutch and extended his hand to
Anicza."
x^nd the girl jumped on
without help, for she was as agile as a chamois.
"Paul," said the old
man
to the
young journeyman,
"was not Fatia Negra here before us ?"
"He
day. "I
has not been through here either to-day or yester-
It
has been
right,
my
turn to watch these last two days."
is
am
you
see; he
not here," said the
girl.
"He
is here, I tell
you."
"Come, Onucz," said the youth, "can Black Face make
himself invisible then?
He
could not pass here without
my knowing
!"
it
"What do you know
As now
about it?" answered the old man,
!"
adjusting himself on the bolting-hutch. "Let the mill go
the revolving disk or platform began to move,
still,
the machinery stood
yet the millstone, together with
the bolting-hutch, began slowly to sink
gether with those sitting upon
it,
and after
downward tosome moments
disappeared entirely into a dark gulf, the chain unwinding and rattling after
it.
Suddenly from the depths below
resounded the old man's voice: "Halt!"
Then Paul
stopped the mill, hung the chain in an iron ring, and, the
machinery once more
set in
motion, raised the millstone
it,
up; Paul fastened the revolving disk to
to rattle
it.
and
it
began
round again so furiously that sparks flew out of
to grind
Now, whoever had any meal
quite ready for them.
might come, he
was
127
Poor Plutocrats
It
was
a
huge subterranean cavern
into
which Onucz
this
and Anicza had descended.
the mill, and indeed
At the bottom of
thither
hollow
flowed a branch of the mountain stream which turned
was diverted
it
by means of
its
wooden
pipes.
Here, however,
flowed in
regular
bed, glistening here and there in the light of
two
oil
lamps which burned on both sides of a small iron bridge
that traversed the stream.
In the background of this hollow stood a peculiar, roofless
stone building,
whose two round
little
windows,
like
the eternally watchful eyes of
some underground worm,
shone with a red glare, which dazzled the eyes, while the
slate-covered chimney belched forth a thick
smoke
filled
with sparks into the subterranean midnight.
From
the interior of the building resounded heavy
thuds and the din of grinding as of machinery in perpetual motion, which
made
the very foundations of the
rocks quiver.
On
the bridge stood another
arrivals
armed man,
with
whom
the
new
exchanged watchwords, and
door of the stone buildthe girl stop.
the same thing
was done
at the
ing where the old
man made
"Now, Anicza,"
said he, "while I
go
in,
you
sit
down
on that stone bench and wait for me."
"Why
can not
I
go
into the house as well?" inquired
the girl impatiently.
''No more of that.
Once
if
a year
we come
in,
I tell
here,
and
every time you ask again
you can come
and every
time
I tell
it
you
that can not be.
And now
you once
more:
can not be
—and
there's an end on't."
128
Poor Plutocrats
"But why may others go
in
and
I
not?"
of course.
"Why
me
—why
out
!
because you are a
girl,
Leave
in peace.
Women
have no business
in there, they are
always so inquisitive, want to Icnow everything, and then
blab
it all
—
it is
their nature to."
"I'm not
like that."
"And,
ful oath
then,
whoever enters here has
over when
a
I
to
swear a frightI
that he will divulge nothing that he sees.
all
myself shudder
fit
have to repeat
it; it is
not
for the
mouth of
/
woman."
girl defi-
"As
antly.
if
were afraid of any oath!" cried the
"I would say anything that a
fool, Anicza.
man might
say."
in here,
"Don't be a
A girl can not come
because every one has to strip himself stark naked before
he goes out before the watchman, and then dress himself
again.
So, you see,
difficulty
it
won't do."
This
appeared insuperable even to the iron
It
will of Anicza.
to.
was a
test
even she could not submit
She stamped her foot with rage, and uttered again
in
and again the word Dracu, which
nothing
less
Rumanian means
heart-
than his highness the devil himself.
Old Onucz and the watchman thereupon laughed
ily,
and the same instant the iron door of the building
the
opened, and the girl exclaimed joyfully, "Fatia Negra!"
Onucz and
from
watchman immediately
It
tore their caps
their heads.
was, indeed, Fatia Negra.
all
How
could he get hither invisibly through
the
am-
bushes set for him ?
Who
could
tell ?
Who
had the cour-
age to ask him ?
Not even Anicza.
129
All she thought of at
—
Poor Plutocrats
that
moment was
mask
left
to rush forward, fall
upon the neck of
her mysterious lover, and cover his eyes and mouth, which
the
exposed, with kisses.
"Let Anicza come in!" said the black-masked man;
"I'll
answer for her, and she
shall,
like myself,
be ex-
empted from undressing."
"It
is well.
Master," said the watchman, "but
let
her
at least take the
oath which every one here must swear."
"I
am
ready," cried the girl boldly.
"No, Anicza," replied Black Mask, "you shall swear
to
me
a stronger oath even than that; you shall swear
by our eternal love."
The proud maiden, trembling with
of Fatia
joy, fell at the feet
Negra
at these
words, and, pressing one of her
hands to her heart, raised the other aloft and raising her
lovely eyes
windows
—
—which
reflected
the infernal glare of the
aloft,
toward the smoking canopy above her
betray a
head, she swore by her eternal love to her beloved that
she would never, not even on the rack
itself,
word, a syllable of what she was about to learn.
But old Onucz scratched
"Master,
it is
his poll.
let
not wise of you to
It is just as if
women swear on
It
such useless things.
a
one of us were to hold
binds nobody."
penny
"It
is
in his
hand and swear by
that.
enough for me,"
replied the
Mask, "and
my head
me
not
is
no cheaper than yours.
Let him
who
trusts
keep away from here."
And
him
holding the girl in his arms, he carried her with
into the building, while old
Onucz had
to dress him-
J30
;
Poor Plutocrats
self
from head
to foot in other clothes
and leave those he
have on his
had brought with him outside.
return to put on his
behind.
He would
own
again and leave these others
Thus smuggling was impossible. The first room was for the smelting. Here there was nothing to be seen of the blazing
fire
which illuminated the dark hollow through the windows.
In one corner of the room was a simple cylinder-shaped
iron furnace, which radiated a burning heat, on the top
of which stood a round graphite crucible covered in at
the top
and provided with a
is
lateral pipe.
it
"Here the gold
close
remélted after
has come out of the
girl,
smelting oven," said Fatia Negra to the
who
pressed
up to him.
"Heretofore
it
required a whole ap-
paratus of boilers and loads and loads of
wood
to bring
it
to smelting heat, but since I got that cylinder stove, ten
hundredweights of metal can be melted
in ten minutes."
"Where does the fire come from ?" inquired the girl. "From the earth, my beloved." The girl shrank back with horror, and yet Fatia Negra did not mean hell, but that furnace whose powerful bellows drove the melting heat into the double cylinder.
He
looked at his watch
;
the
single whistle a couple of
moment had come. At a workmen appeared, each of
them stripped
to the waist
on account of the great heat
they held in their hands large iron molds, and stood
facing each other opposite the crucible. of an iron tap, Fatia
cible,
Then, by means Negra turned the pipe of the cru-
and immediately a pale glare began to spread
131
Poor Plutocrats
through the room
—the
liquid gold ran in a thin jet out
of the crucible, and that was the cause of the light.
ally
Actu-
genuine pure gold made liquid in the
fire like
it
wine
in a glass,
and emitting on every
and the
girl
side of
a glowing
his
white radiance!
Each of the two workmen held
mold beneath
bated breath.
it,
surveyed the scene with
When
the operation
was
gold
finished,
Black Face turned
to the girl again,
see, darling, that is
and embraced
her, saying:
"So you
how
old
is
melted."
The
girl smiled
back at him; what a pity the Black
in return.
Mask
could not smile
his sack for
And now
Onucz came up with
in
the smelting furnace.
"How much
Negra,
have you
your sack?" asked Fatia
"A hundredweight and eighty pounds." "Now we'll see into how much pure gold
out."
it
will
work
"The dross mixed with
weight."
it
is
only a few pounds in
"Of what
is
quality
is
it?"
it
"Well, they purify
very incompletely, you know.
It
only two-and-twenty carat gold."
"It doesn't matter:
we
will coin
Prussian ducats out
of
it."
"But Where's the mold ?"
"I brought
it
with
me
to-day; we'll adjust that also
a
to the machine.
We shall gain
132
hundred
florins in every
thousand."
!
Poor Plutocrats
Old Onucz kissed Fatia Negra's hand. "Master," said Since you became our chief he, "you are a man indeed.
our gains have doubled, and the ducats are so good that one can not distinguish them from the Imperial ones."
Meanwhile the
them
talk
girl felt
her head going round to hear
of nothing but money, gold, gain
let
"Come, Onucz,
the Mask.
us look at the
new machinery,"
said
"When did you bring the new machinery here?" "A long time ago; we have coined a great deal
of
money since it first came. The work is all the quicker and we need fewer men to work it." They went into the next room through a low door, all three of them having to bow their heads as they entered,
and there they saw a gigantic machine
at
work, between
whose revolving cylinders depended the long gold ingots which were gradually reduced to the proper thinness for making gold coins.
"Don't you
see,
Onucz ? Hitherto we wasted too much
thick, to
time and labor in cutting the gold plates thin enough,
and the edges were always too
our great
It
lossj
Now
the machine rolls
them
all
out uniformly.
only
cost ten
thousand ducats."
cried the old
"Very cheap, indeed!"
man, who was
mill.
wearing a ragged sheepskin, and yet considered ten thousand ducats a moderate price for a rolling
The Mask took up one of the little glistening plates. "Do you know, my friend, the name of this?" said he.
"No."
133
Poor Plutocrats
"Its
it,
name
is
*Zain.'
it
In order that you
I will
wind
round your arm."
may And as
not forget
if it
were
merely hard paper, he lightly bent the gold plate round
the girl's wrist, and then pressed the ends of this im-
provised
bracelet
together
this
is
with
his
steel-like
fingers.
it
"Don't forget that
called 'Zain,'
and that you got
from me."
The
said
as
:
girl
it
looked doubtfully at him, as
lawful for you to give
if
she would have
"Is
away everything here
at this in silence.
if it
were your own?"
alas
But the old man could not look on
"Alas
! !
Master,
give
Rather squander coined gold
itself
a witness against us,
away uncoined gold. The other is of and thereby we shall furnish
not
in heaps.
a clue to our enemies."
"It
is
in a
good
place," replied Fatia
it
Negra
;
"it is
on
Anicza's arm, and there
will
keep silence."
kisses.
Anicza replied to
she calculated
this
apology with ten
And
rightly.
This bracelet weighed exactly
the kisses also were double ones.
ten double ducats
—but
Then Fatia Negra
cut
led
them
to another machine, whicli
round gold pieces out of the rolled-out "Zain."
girl
He
showed the
how
every clipper,
how
its
every screw be-
neath the impulsion of the piston did
the work, and
proper share of
set
how
the whole process
was
going by
di-
steam power from without, and could, therefore, be
rected and controlled by one man, with another
relieve
man
to
him
at intervals.
I
"Master," sighed old Onucz, "when
think that
fifty
134
Poor Plutocrats
years ago
chisels!
we
did
all
this
with only our hammers and
We
sweated two whole days over a piece of
this
work which
marvel can do
too
!"
in
an hour.
And how
many hands we employed,
Then they went
to
another machine.
This was a
small table, whose steel wheels milled the ducats before
they passed beneath the stamping machine.
Perpetually
moving
away.
elastic springs
pushed the gold pieces forward
other motive power but a large
one after the other^ turned them round and jerked them
You saw no
wheel revolving under a broad strap; the strap disappeared through the floor;
the
man who
set
it
in
was underneath there motion was posted.
it
that
Old Onucz sighed aloud.
nowadays," said
he.
"What
things they do invent
But Anicza,
to the
full
of superstitious fear, clung silently
arm
of Fatia Negra,
whom
all
these speechless
marvels served and obeyed.
steps,
Finally descending six stone
they entered the actual minting-room.
gigantic screw press stood in the midst of the low
A
vaulted chamber.
Through the head of the screw was driven a long moving bar, with leaden bullets at both ends, and two strong fellows were pushing this bar backward and forward; the weight of the machine, as it
turned, forced the screw sharply down, and in a second
it
pressed the two round gold pieces laid in the steel
dies,
on one of which was the image of the Mother of God, and on the other the Immedicuirassed likeness of the reigning monarch.
matrix into the stamping
135
Poor Plutocrats
ately after the
two matrices
recoiled again of their
own
accord, and the
two powerful men repeated the pressure.
ring shifted suddenly, flinging aside the
its place.
Then
a
little steel
coined ducat, and a fresh gold piece took
The
coined ducats already lay in a heap in front of the machine, and the workmen now and then kicked them away with their feet. There was something impressi\'e in the spectacle. Here were two poor men, working hard perhaps for their
daily bread, with
all
little
hillocks of seductive gold piled
is
up
in
around them
;
gold of which every one
enamored
the earth above them, gold for which so
many men
gladly
give up everything, even to their hope in Heaven!
Now
and again a third man comes
in,
and pitches the
gold into a linen sack with a wooden shovel.
"Let us stamp a few ducats ourselves by
venirs," said Fatia Negra.
way
of sou-
Anicza assenting, the work-
men
stepped aside, and Fatia Negra and the girl placed
themselves on either side of the leaden bullets on the
turning bar.
The Mask bade
recoil of the
his sweetheart be careful to avoid the
machine, for should the handle hit her the
fatal
;
blow might prove
whereupon the
girl,
burning to
show
off her great strength, did not wait for the
its
end of
back
the bar to recover iron rod
normal position,
half
but, seizing the
when
it
was only
way round,
tore
it
again, with the result that the steel clapper did not cast
the gold piece between the matrices in the usual way, and
it
thus received a double impression, being stamped with
136
Poor Plutocrats
a two-fold figure of the Mother of
God on one
side
and
a two-fold figure of the royal profile on the other.
Old Onucz rushed toward Anicza, and angrily tore
her away.
"You
little fool,
it is
be off!" cried he; "you will spoil the
machine;
not for the likes of you."
fallen
But Fatia Negra picked up the ducat, which had
to the ground,
and showed
it
with a smile to Anicza:
a double picture on
fingers.
it."
"Look," said
he, "there is
now
The girl turned it curiously between her "And what will happen to it now?"
"It will
go
into the smelting furnace again."
it;
"Ah, don't destroy
give
it
to
me!"
At this the old man fairly lost his temper. "Are you out of your mind to ask for such a thing? What! a ducat with a flaw in it, which if seen in your
hands would saddle us with the vengeance of the whole
government!
that ducat
!
Master, be not so
If she has
mad
you
as to let her have
no
sense,
at least be sensible.
it."
You might
ruin the whole lot of us with
it
"Well, Anicza will not wear
on her head,
I supit
pose, or even on her neckerchief, but will fasten
little
to a
bit of thread and wear
it
next her heart; there
nobody
will find
it
but myself."
Onucz would very much have liked to say: "Neither have you any right to look there, Master, for you have not yet spoken to the priest about it" but this was the
—
one thing he durst not say.
But Anicza gratefully kissed Fatia Negra's hand
137
like
Poor Plutocrats
a child
who
has received a
gift,
not indeed for the ducat,
but for the boundless confidence he had
it
shown
in giving
to her,
which was the surest token of his
little
love.
Then
she drew forth a
it
Turkish dagger, bored a hole with
it
through the ducat and fastened
to a
little
piece of
thin black cord by the side of her
little
crucifix,
which she
wore upon her bosom and hid both of them away again. "Well, Master," remarked Onucz sulkily, "since we
have placed our heads in the
of ever offending her."
girl's
—
hands,
we must beware
But now the assayer came up, bringing with him a
nice elaborate calculation
actly
on
a black slate,
showing ex-
how much
pure gold Onucz had handed in to the
coining department,
how much
it
would be worth when
for expenses,
coined, and, deducting three per cent
how
much he was to receive in cash by way of exchange. "And now go and let the cashier pay you what is due
to you,
Onucz," said Fatia Negra.
so,
And
a
little
while he remained behind for the purpose of
settling his account,
Anicza and Fatia Negra retired to
adjoining chamber.
There would be plenty of
time for two lovers to talk over their love affairs while
so
many gold coins were being counted out. "Where have you been? it's a whole month
sitting
since I
saw you?" asked Anicza,
knee.
on the mysterious one's
is
"Do you know how
new moon,
full
long a month
to
me?
First
quarter,
I
moon,
last quarter, all this
have
watched through, and never saw you once; where have
you been?"
138
Poor Plutocrats
"I have been abroad for those
is
new machines.
That
a business one can not entrust to another."
"Are there pretty
in love
girls
abroad?
Might you not
fall
with them?"
!
"Hush
Those are not the questions that men should
be asked."
"Why
not?"
in the habit of
"Because men are not
answering them."
"But suppose a
girl
wants
to
know
?"
"Then want me
it
will
go badly with you?
her.
Besides,
like to
what do you
that I'm
to tell
Would you
know
such a block, a clod, that no other eye but yours takes any
pleasure in looking at
that I
me? Or would you like to hear who has wandered in disguise through seven kingdoms and casts down his eyes whenever he encounters a petticoat? Or that I cross myself and turn away whenever a woman looks at me ? Or shall
am
a sort of hermit,
I tell
you:
in
such and such a place
I
nipped the white
cheeks of a pretty blonde, and in such and such a place
the coquetry of a pair of blue eyes
made me
forget
myself, and in such another place
I
bedded
my
intoxicated
head in the arms of a brunette?
ing through seven kingdoms
I
—and
that after wandergirl
have found no lovelier
than
my own
girl
enchanting Anicza?"
The
was
could neither reply nor scold, for her mouth
closed fast with kisses.
I
"You know
love.
I
am
very jealous," she said at
last
when
I
she was able to tear herself free.
"I do not love as others
can only think of you and your love.
am
139
Poor Plutocrats
neither
hungry nor
;
thirsty,
but only
that I
—
in
love.
I
am
never weary
I scarcely
know
all
am
I
working, for love
makes me sing and sing
I
day.
in the
dream only of you.
I
care not
I
what
is
going on
is
whole world so long
as
only
know what
happening to you.
know
that
you love
here.
I
me and that you are mine so long as you are But how often you are far away! How often
!
do not see you for weeks, for months at a time
Then
I get nearly
mad.
I
am
,
determined to find out where you
are and what
ing,
you are doing, with
I
whom you
are speak-
and then,
say
I feel quite
mad."
"Indeed!
Then
let
me
to
tell
you,
my
dear
I
girl,
that
I
it
would do you no good
know where
am, for
am
much more exposed
fire
to the fire of pointed rifles than to the
of pretty eyes."
chieftain, a
"Are you a robber
*T
mountain smuggler?"
am
a lot of things."
"Then
take
me
with you into your band"
—she spoke
it!
with heaving bosom.
But Fatia Negra stamped
I will
his foot.
"It can not be, Anicza," said he; "think
no more of
never take you with me."
"Why
not?" asked the
girl,
and her eyes flashed
like
a wild-cat's.
"Because, then,
that
I
should become jealous of you, and
both.
would be bad for us
;
Remain
in
your
father's
house
there you are safe."
girl
The
drew from her bosom the defaced ducat she
crucifix.
had just received, together with the
140
Poor Plutocrats
"Hearken, Fatia Negra
!
my
father says that this badly
life in
coined piece of gold places your
my
hand.
And
this will
I
know,
besides, Fatia Negra, that I
have sworn on
Crucified
kill
One
here that
if
ever you betray me,
you
in
my
fury without thinking twice about the
how
or where.
It is
not well that two such dangerous objects
should repose on
my
I
heart.
?"
I
give them both to you."
"Wherefore, Anicza
"Take the
things,
I
say,
and keep them, for
not
my
guard-
ian angel knows,
have told him, that with
me
they are
not in a safe place.
You do
know me
yet."
The
his
girl burst out crying,
and Fatia Negra could no
"I
longer soothe her with kisses, and then old Onucz poked
gray shaggy head through the doorway and said
;
:
have been paid already, Master have you
Fatia
?"
Negra stroked
stitches
the girl's hair and face,
so.
and whis-
pered her not to take on
The
last
of the old
Rumanian
patience
now
at
gave way altogether.
not, if I earnestly
"Master," said he, "would
so,
you
besought you to do
begin to
think of the day on which you intend to become
my
daughter's husband?"
For a moment Fatia Negra seemed thunderstruck;
then he recovered himself and replied in a calm but menacing voice
to
:
"If ever
it
occurs to you to put the question
me
The
again, your head will reach
home an hour
earlier
than yourself."
old
man made no
reply, but he seized the girl
by
the
hand and led her away with him, returning
141
to the
—
Poor Plutocrats
mill with her
by the same way that he had come.
They
It
found their horses by the alder trees and remounted.
was a
two
fine clear night,
and Onucz told
his
daughter to
ride in front.
They had now divided the coined gold into
portions.
When
they had once more reached the
ridge of the mountain, the old
man pronounced
rifle
Anicza's
name
in a
low tone.
The
girl
looked backward and per-
ceived that the old man's long-barreled
directly at the back of her head.
was pointed
In her terror she cov-
ered her face with her hands.
"What would you do?"
"Fear nothing,
Fatia
I
only want that piece of gold which
I'll
Negra gave you.
!"
not stake
my
head on your
whimsies
The
this,
girl
had anticipated something much worse than
:
so she quietly answered
"You can
it
spare yourself the
I
trouble, I
have already returned
it
to Fatia Negra.
would not carry
about with
me
any longer."
"You have
his musket.
acted wisely," said the old man, lowering
"Now you
can ride on."
as they reached home.
The
early
dawn was breaking
W^hen Anicza entered her room she found hanging up
beneath the ikon that gleamed ^and shone over her bed
both the damaged ducat and the
little
cross which she had
given to Fatia Negra two hours before.
be in league with the devil
there, invisibly, so
He
must, indeed,
—
else
how
it
could he have got
long before them?
to
Anicza said not a word about
hid both the amulets safely
anybody, but she
away
in
her bosom again
and now she was right proud of her Fatia Negra!
142
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
VIII
STRONG JUON
Henrietta's married life was not a happy one. Her husband was polite, complaisant, and conventionally corAnd rect in his behavior toward her, and that was all.
then she saw so
little
of him.
He was
frequently absent
from Hidvár for weeks
at a time,
and when he returned
he regularly brought in his train a merry company of
comrades, in whose pastimes Henrietta could take no sort
of pleasure.
herself,
During those long days when she had Hidvár all to and was left entirely to the company of her sad
till
thoughts, she would sometimes walk about
the evening in the shady alleys of the
late in
home
park, listen-
ing to the songs of the girls working in the
fields.
it
At
the
end of the park was a church, and in front of
clearing, fenced
a small
like a
around with stakes and looking
It surely
cabbage garden.
or other.
priest.
It
belonged to some poor
man
did
—and
the poor
man was
the parish
Henrietta often saw him, a
tall,
gray-bearded
little
man
;
in
a long black cassock, hastening to his
garden there
the reverend gentleman would divest himself of his long
143
;
Poor Plutocrats
habit,
produce a rake, and work
first
till
late in the evening.
was merely a dietetic di\'ersion, but afterward, when she found him there the next day and the day after that, and at every hour of the day; when she saw him wiping the sweat from his
Henrietta fancied at
that
brow
in the
burning afternoons and leaning wearily
his rake to rest a while
at
intervals
on
from
his labor, then
she was persuaded that this
a bitter
toil
work was not a
pastime, but
for daily bread.
Oftentimes she would very
much have
liked to ask
him how
this was, but she
was
a stranger in these parts
last,
and did not understand
his
language; at
however,
the priest, perceiving the lady one day, peered at her
through the palings and wished her good-day in the
purest Hungarian, thereby giving her to understand that
the language of the gentry
was well known
to him.
Henrietta begged the old
man
to leave his labor and
come
to her.
"It can not be,
your ladyship; his lordship has for-
bidden
me to appear in his courts." "Why?" "I am always a nuisance."
"How
so?"
I
"Because
am
always on some begging errand.
At
a
one time the wind carries oi¥ the roof of the church;
at another,
something
is
broken
in the belfry.
It is
year ago
now
since the
school was burned down, and
since then the walls have
become overgrown with
is
thistles
the schoolmaster, too, has gone away, and there
nobody
144
Poor Plutocrats
to teach the children, so that they
bers, to the great hurt
grow up
louts
and rob-
and harm of the gentry."
put to rights?"
"But why
his lordship
is
not
all this
"Because the poor folks are lazy and drunken, and
is
stingy."
Henrietta was astonished at the old man's words.
"Yes, stingy, that's the word," continued the
"I do not pick
priest.
my
he
words, for
is
I
am
a priest,
is
and used
to
hunger.
And
who
I
used to hunger
free
from the
and
yoke of
that
servility.
told his lordship that to his face,
castle."
was why he forbade me the
Henrietta could not continue the conversation, so upset
was she
at the idea of Hátszegi's stinginess.
What!
the
man who
lessly,
raked in hundreds of thousands at a time with
the greatest ease, and
no doubt scattered them as
reck-
could shut his door in the face of a poor priest
for the house of
who begged
the people
!
God and
the education of
She
hastily
wished the priest good-night and
returned to the castle.
just
The same evening she sought her husband, who had come home wearied from the chase. "I have a favor
Hátszegi looked astonished;
first
to ask of you," said she.
it
was the
as
favor the wife had ever asked her husband.
said he.
"Command me!"
is
"Whatever you
like to
ask
good as granted already."
"I should like to learn the language of the people in
the midst of
whom we
dwell.
I
am
like
a deaf-mute
among them
"That
at present."
will not be difficult.
The Wallachian tongue
20
is
(F)
— (7)— Vol.
145
Poor Plutocrats
easil)'^
acquired, especially by any one with a knowledge
of French or Latin."
Henrietta blushed
sion behind these
scarlet.
Was
there a covert alluthat she
words?
Did Hátszegi know
understood Latin?
**I
should
of
it.
like to
have a master
who
can put
me
in the
way
The
parish priest here would be a suitable
person."
For an
instant Hátszegi's
eyebrows contracted.
last.
"You
that he
shall
is
have your way," he said at
"It
is
true
to
the one
man
in the
world
who
insults
me
my
face with impunity
whenever he meets me, and even
presumes to chalk upon the walls of
nunciations against
my own
castle de-
me from the book of the Prophet
I
Nehemiah, so that
appear before
out of the
was obliged
yet to
to forbid
him ever
to
me
under pain of being thrown headlong
show you what an obedient servant I am of yours, madame, I will not balk you of your desire, or desire you to choose another master, but Every will send and invite him to come up here at once.
window;
one
shall see that in
my
house
my
wife
is
the master."
And
drew.
with that Leonard kissed his wife's hand and with-
Early next day the pastor arrived.
Margari informed
him of her
added that
ladyship's desire to learn the
guage, and the words almost stuck in his
his
Rumanian lanthroat when he
florins florins a
Reverence would receive a hundred
it.
every month for
Fancy
!
a
hundred
month
for teaching a lingo only spoken by peasants.
146
Poor Plutocrats
Todor Rubán
—that
was the
priest's
name
fine,
—was
at
once conducted to her ladyship.
He was
an elderly man,
long white
of an open, cheerful countenance; his
hair
fell in
thick locks
on
his simple black cossack,
which
showed considerable signs of wear.
Henrietta was not in time to prevent the old pastor
from kissing her hand.
"This
is
no slavish obsequiousness toward a great by a peculiar act of grace has sent no empty compliment, your lady-
lady," said he, "but the respect of a poor pastor for an
angel
whom Heaven
to us.
I
down
ship.
feel
This
is
am
not very lavish of such things myself, but I
I
bound to address you thus because
it is
am
well aware
that
not merely to learn our poor language that you
little
pay me so well for so
herein the
raise
trouble.
No,
I
recognize
it
good
will,
which would do what
can to
I
and help a poor, neglected population: for
exchange
cer-
tainly shall not
ter,
my
simple maize-bread for bet-
but will employ your ladyship's gift in the service
God and of our poorer brethren." From that day Henrietta believed high had summoned her to Hidvár
of
that a call
from on
to be the guardian
angel, the visible providence of a poor, forsaken people,
and her most pleasant occupation was now to go from
village to village
— often
like
in the
company of
the priest,
and
at other times
accompanied by a single groom or
visited
quite alone.
Thus she
their
one after the other
all
the
surrounding parishes
any archdeacon, inquiring after
distributing
and helping
necessities,
money
for
147
Poor Plutocrats
school building and service books, collecting
of stray orphans and bringing
all
manner
her, to
them home with
be fed and instructed; nay, she erected a regular foundling hospital at
Hidvár for the
districtj
benefit of the sprouting
liveliest
urchins of the
and had the
cost
debates
it.
with the priest as to the best method of managing
Her
benevolent
enthusiasm
Hátszegi
a
pretty
penny.
"She
etta
is
a child
;
let
her play
!"
he would only say when
to
Margari and Clementina represented
had pawned her jewels
little
him
in
that Henri-
at
Fehérvár
order to teach
to
some more
Rumanian ragamuffins how
like their betters.
go
about with gloves on
Nay, the baron
secretly instructed the tradesmen with
whom
it
Henrietta
had pawned her jewels
as they
to
advance her four times as much
were worth; he would make
good again, he
said
—and then he would buy
whom
his wife fresh jewels.
An
admirable husband, truly!
One day
Henrietta had ridden out to the neighboring
Ravacsel, in order to visit a poor Wallachian peasant
woman
before.
to
slie
had sent some medicine
naturally, never
a
few days
The woman,
drank the medi-
cine, but instead of that
got a village quack to rub her
stomach with some wonder-working salve so vigorously
that the poor patient died in consequence
;
in fact, she
was already
felt
at
the
last
gasp when
Henrietta arrived.
Henrietta was beside herself with grief and anger.
like
She
a doctor
whose
prescriptions have l>een inter-
fered with by a competitor. She could not indeed help the
148
Poor Plutocrats
woman, who expired soon
decent funeral.
that
at least the satisfaction of
had making arrangements for a In the meantime it had grown so late
after her arrival, but she
when
she turned back toward Hidvár the
moon was
already pretty high in the heavens.
hours'
She was alone on horseback, for it was only a two journey between the two places, and she had,
it
therefore, not thought
worth while
to bring
an escort
Since she
with her.
Besides,
whom
had she to fear?
had
lived in these parts all the
bad men had disappeared,
and whoever she might meet
be ready to kiss her hand.
in the roads or lanes
would
So she turned homeward again
in
and out among the
if it
valleys,
The road wound and was, therefore, much
alone.
longer than
had gone
in a straight direction across
She had, however, often heard from the peasants that there was a shorter way to Hidvár from
the mountains.
Ravacsel on which mules and ponies could go, and she
thought
it
better to look for this road lest night should
surprise her
among
the mountains.
But a road that
suit
is
good enough for mules and ponies may not
ting
an
English thoroughbred, which does not care about putits
hoofs into the tracks of other beasts
;
and, besides,
shorter than
a hundred paces
on
level
ground
is
much
twenty-five up
truth of this
for her horse
hill.
Henrietta vividly experienced the
she reached the summit of the
hill,
when
bling
was sweating from every pore and tremfrom the violent exertion. Such horses should not be used in hilly country: a shaggy, sturdy little pony
149
Poor Plutocrats
would have treated the whole thing
said a word about
it.
as a joke
and not
But the
real difficulties of the
road only began during
the descent, which was equally dangerous for horse and
rider.
The
track,
a
mere channel washed out of the
soft sandstone by the mountain torrents, descended abruptly, the stones giving
way beneath
the horse's hoofs
and plunging after
it.
Frequently they had to cross very
in
awkward
places,
and Henrietta could see from the way
his ears, snorted,
which her horse pricked up
his head, that
and shook
he was as frightened as his mistress.
At
last
they
came
to a very
bad spot indeed, where
on one side of the road there was a sheer abyss, while
the rocky mountain-side rose perpendicularly
on the
other.
The narrow path here ran
rider
so close to the rock that the
aside, so as not to
had
to
bend her head
knock
it,
and the horse could only go forward one foot
at a time^
For an
instant the horse stood
still,
as
if
weighing
his chances
on that narrow path
;
but, as there
last to
was no
chasm
like a
turning back now, he was obliged at
go
on.
Henrietta looked shudderingly
down
into
the
below her, over which she seemed to hang suspended;
and she thought
sob:
to herself, with
something very
what if we should stumble now! The thought was scarcely in her mind when one
of
the horse's hind legs tripped,
and the same instant horse
vShe
and rider were precipitated into the abyss.
Henrietta never lost her head during the
fall.
noticed everything that happened during the brief plunge;
150
Poor Plutocrats
how
the horse, struggling desperately, clattered
down
the
mountain-side,
strain,
how
the saddle girth burst beneath the
ar-
how
for a
mere second some bush or shrub
rested the descent, and
how
the next instant the weight
of the horse tore
still
it
down along
with him.
its
Finally, falling
lower and turning right round on
back, the horse
got wedged in between two rocks, from which position
he was fortunately unable to disengage himself, for had
he fallen any further he would have been dashed to
pieces.
Henrietta was quite conscious the whole time.
Hold-
ing on with both hands to the roots of a bush, with hen
left
leg
still
in the stirrup
(for saddle and stirrup also
it
remained hanging
in the bush),
still
occurred to her in this
to
painful situation that she
had time
soul to God, and then face death
help, there
more
calmly.
was no hope of
dwellings
it,
for the place
commend her As to was far away
fall
from
tion
all
human
certain.
;
night would soon
and
the bush
would presently
yield beneath her feet
—
destruc-
was
But while the lady neglected
wedged-in horse did so
all
to call for assistance, the
the
more
loudly.
Supine and
unable to free himself from his uncomfortable position,
he repeatedly uttered that
terrified
scream which one
never hears from this noble and reticent beast except in
dire extremity.
ily
admit that
it
Whoever has heard such a cry will readis far more terrible than any merely
it
human
appeal for assistance.
After a few moments
seemed to Henrietta as
if
a
151
Poor Plutocrats
halloo were resounding
from the depths below; looking
down
she perceived by the light of the
like
moon
a black
shape leaping from rock to rock
a chamois,
and
gradually approaching the dangerous point where she
hung suspended.
Any
ble.
efforts
on
this
man's part seemed to her impossivisible gap or crevice in the means of which he could scram-
There was not a single
up
to her;
face of the steep rock by
ble
and how could he help
her,
how
could he
manage to get at her? Nevertheless the man drew nearer and nearer. could by this time make out his goatskin cloak, his
liberate her, if he did
She
high,
broad cap, the clean-shaven face peculiar to the mountain
goatherds.
ical
His dexterity was as astonishing as the phys-
strength, with which he often raised himself
on the
tips of his
toes in order to reach a cleft in the rocks,
;
scarcely visible high above his head
often he could scarce
hold on by the tips of his fingers, yet the next
moment he
setting his
would swing himself up with half a hand and,
foot in the cleft, look about for a fresh foothold.
About
a
yard below Henrietta was a projecting piece
of rock just large enough for a man's foot to stand upon.
The next moment Henrietta saw the herdsman mount to this place. He himself was a good six feet in height, and
his
head reached up as far as Henrietta's
if
hips.
He
looked up at her with a friendly smile, as
he had merely
come there
Then he said to her in Rumanian: "Noroc bun Domna!" which means "Good luck to you, my lady!" So even in this
to help her
down from
her horse.
152
Poor Plutocrats
perilous situation
pleasant.
it
occurred to him to say something
"The horse took
all's
a false step,
my
lady," said he, "but
well that ends well.
Prithee,
der, this
bush
its
will
not hold fast
mount upon my shoulmuch longer; it is only
a juniper,
her.
roots are weak."
Henrietta's heart failed
This
man
surely does not imagine that he will be
able to carry her
down on
;
his shoulders.
;
"Come,
you down.
kids
my
lady
don't be afraid
I
can easily carry
Why,
I
often
roam about
like this after
my
heavier than a
when they fall into the precipice; and you young kid, I'm sure."
then, with the
are no
And
at the
hand that remained
free,
he plucked
remainder of the damaged bush.
Henrietta per-
ceived with astonishment that the roots which had not
snapped asunder beneath his weight were loosened from
the rock by the
was he going
to
mere tug of the man's hand. do with them ?
But what
The herdsman bade
stump between
it
the lady fear nothing; no further
accident could happen, he said; then, sticking the torn-out
his legs like a hobby-horse,
and pressing
against the rock with one hand, he himself turned his
back to the mountain-side, and, suddenly stretching his
legs
wide apart,
let
himself glide
;
down
the shelving rock.
Henrietta shrieked aloud
the next
she thought she
was
solid
lost,
but
moment
the
herdsman stood on
ground
you
a
and looked up
see," he cried.
at her with a smile.
"We're
all right,
"Oh,
I
have traveled
T call it."
like this
many
time
;
it is
rare fun
—sledging
153
Poor Plutocrats
Sledging indeed!
—
to plunge
down
it
a steep mountain
side five fathoms deep with the aid of a juniper bush!
From where
they
now
stood
was an easy matter
to
convey the lady
to the
bottom of the precipice, which
grass,
was overgrown with bright
her.
on which he deposited
"Don't be
fright-
"There your
ened;
I will
are,
my
lady," said he.
soon be back again."
And
ment
with that he scrambled up again toward the
Henrietta gazed after
to
wedged-in horse.
him
in
amaze-
—whatever was he going
fellow,
its
do there?
first
The
all
on reaching the wriggling horse,
of
all
caught firm hold of
front legs, and then tied
four legs tightly together with the stirrup straps.
There-
upon
he seized the beast by his fettered legs, pulled
them
over his shoulders, and with a violent jerk freed the ani-
mal from
its
uncomfortable position and carried
it
down
helped
into the valley likewise.
it
There he untied
its legs,
on
its
hoofs again, and, turning with a smile to Hen-
rietta,
said:
to
"A
fine
horse that;
it
would have been a
on your shoulders?"
shame
have
let it
come
to grief!"
it
"And you were
gasped Henrietta.
able to carry
"That
and
isn't
very much.
It
scarce weighs
more than
it
four hundredweight.
five,
The bear not long ago weighed
it
I
had to beat
to death before I could take
home.
Surely your ladyship knows that I
am
the strong
Juon
—
Juon Tare?"
And
the goatherd said this with as
if
much
self-evident prid« as
every one in the wide world
154
—
Poor Plutocrats
had heard that strong Juon dwelt among these
she at least had never heard of him.
forests.
Henrietta's look of surprise apprised him, however, that
am? Yet I have often met the Dwnnye I Barbatu, my lordship, your husband, and he knows me well. He is the only man in the world who is as strong
"You do not know, know who you are.
then,
Domna, who
I
as
I
am.
We
have often wrestled together on
this grass
plot for a wager.
Neither of us has ever been able to
throw the other.
into a tree than
I
His lordship can throw an ax deeper
can, but I can put a greater weight.
His lordship can
I
kill
an ox with a blow from his
fist,
but
can throttle a bear to death.
But we can not overcome
each other, though
we have
often stood up together
It
—only
would
in joke, only in sport, of course, your ladyship.
not be well
that
if
we encountered
terrible."
each other in our wrath
would be
All the time he spoke
Juon was
skilfully
mending
the
torn saddle-girths and the bridle; then he resaddled the
horse,
which was
still
trembling in every limb, wiped
the bloody
foam from
its
mouth, washed
its
sores,
and en-
couraged the lady to remount.
In a quarter of an hour,
he said, they would meet the road again, and in half an
hour they would be
at
Hidvár.
Then
the goatherd,
who was
well acquainted with
all
the meanderings of the valley, took the horse's rein and
conducted the lady to the mountain pass,
beaten track began again.
parted from her.
where the
There he kissed her hand and
155
—
Poor Plutocrats
"I
for
must now
o-o
back," said he, " for they are waiting
me."
goats and
"Who?"
"My
my
wife."
"Then you have a wife? Do you love her?" "Love her?" cried the herdsman proudly and then
—
he added in a lower voice: "She
ladyship
!
is
as beautiful as your
Good-night,
my lady."
by leaps and bounds.
she said not a
And
without waiting for an answer, he plunged back
into the forest, disappearing
When
the horse
Henrietta got
home
word
to any
one about what had taken place, though the condition of
and
his harness sufficed to
show
that an accident
had happened.
But she could scarce wait for the morrow
it
to come, bringing along with
Todor Rubán, from
Taria.
whom
she meant to find out everything relating to Juon Tare,
whose very name stood for strength
156
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
IX
THE GEINA MAID-MARKET
"Would
began
do by the
your ladyship believe"
his story of
fireside
Juon the
— — Strong
so
Todor Rubán
you
to every
"sitting here as
accustomed from your birth
elegant luxury, with a particular servant always ready
to fly obediently to accomplish each separate
command,
and with
different glasses
and porcelain for each several
believe, I ask, that
course at meals
— would your ladyship
there are people in this world
to
have a roof above their
who know not what it is heads when they go to sleep,
if
who would
for
all that,
not recognize a bed or a dinner service
in
they
yet,
saw them, nay, who often are
are happy
?
want of bread
—and
We
"And
see
yet such people live quite close to us.
need
not think of the savage inhabitants of Oceania
—we can
Your
enough of them and
to spare in this very place.
ladyship can hear
from your balcony the melancholy
flutes,
songs of their pastoral
especially of an evening
when the milch-goats are returning from the deep valleys. "The herdsman here never sleeps beneath a roof either summer or winter; every spring he counts the goats of
his master's herds,
and the half of every increase belongs
157
:
—
Poor Plutocrats
to
him; nobody inquires how he hves there among
his
herds in the lofty mountain passes,
self
how he
defends him-
against hurricanes and snowstorms,
yes,
and against
the wild beasts of the forest, the bears and wolves
nobody troubles
his
head about
is
all that.
''Such a goatherd
ship has learned to
that
same Juon
whom
shall
your ladyhear somelife
tell
know.
Perhaps we
thing more about him some other time, for his
has
been very romantic; now, however,
of a single episode therein
I will
only
you
"There once
together a
spatak,
lived near here, in the district of Vlas-
kucza, a wealthy but tricky speculator,
lot
who had
scraped
of gold out of a mining venture at Vere-
and, therefore, went by the
name of wealthy
Misule.
"He had an
only daughter, Mariora by
your ladyship any idea of
name and has what Rumanian beauties are?
—
A
sculptor could not devise a nobler model.
tiful
was she that
So beauher fame had spread through the Hunto see Gyenstar
garian plain as far as Arad, and whenever great folks
from foreign lands came
they would
and Brivadia,
to Vlaskucza,
make
a long circuit and
come
in order to rest at the house of old Misule,
finest
where the
prospect of
all
was
a look into the eyes of Mariora.
"This wondrously beautiful maiden loved the poor
goatherd Juon,
v.
ho possessed nothing
and
in the wrorld but
his sheepskin pelisse
his alpenstock;
him she loved
and him alone.
Wealthy old Misule would naturally have
nothing to say to such a match; he had in his eye an
158
Poor Plutocrats
influential friend of his, a
gentleman and village elder
in
the county of Fehérvár, one Gligor Tobicza
—
to
him he
meant
to give his daughter.
Reports were spread that
Juon was a wizard. It was Misule's wife who fastened this suspicion upon him, because he had succeeded in
bewitching her daughter.
She
said,
among
other things,
that he understood the language of the brute beasts, that
he had often been seen speaking with wolves and bears,
and that when he spread out
his
shaggy sheepskin, he
at the other.
sat
down
was
at
one end of
it
and a bear
tale,
There
this
much
of truth in the
that once
when he was
tending his flocks, Juon heard a painful groaning in the
hollow of a rock, and, venturing
in,
perceived lying in
in
one corner a she-bear, which, mortally injured
tant hunt, to die.
some
dis-
had contrived
to
drag
its
lacerated
little
body hither
Beside the old she-bear lay a
suckling cub.
The mother dying before
and carried
softened by
its
it
his very eyes,
it
Juon had comhis protection,
it.
passion on the desolate cub, took
to a milch-goat,
under
which suckled
The
little
wild beast thrived upon the milk of the tame animal, and,
human
I
fellowship,
grew up much attached
to
master. Bears,
may
tell
your ladyship, are not bloodto drive the goats
thirsty
by nature.
Henceforth the bear went forth with
the
herdsman and the herds, helped
together of an evening, and enlivened the long dreary
days by turning somersaults
—an
art at
which bears
itself
excel.
At night
burying
it
slept
by Juon's side and made
cozy by
its
snout in his bosom.
When
meal-time came,
the bear sat
down
beside Juon, for he
knew
that every
159
Poor Plutocrats
second
slice
of cheese
would be
in
his.
He
also fetched fire-
wood, to put under the pot
which the maize-pottage
was
boiling.
Then,
too,
he explored the woods in search
it
of wild honey, and brought back his booty, to share
with Juon.
When
after him, a pelt
was very hot he carried more or less made very little
it
his pelisse
difference
to him.
Juon had nobody
last.
to speak to but the bear,
and
if
a
man
speaks quite seriously to the beasts, they get to
understand him at
Moreover, in moments of
ill-
temper, the bear had learned to recognize that Juon's
fists
were no
less
vigorous than his
own paws,
so that he
had no temptation
to be ungrateful.
"This, then, was the
man
beloved by Mariora.
"In our part of the country,
inal,
my
lady, there
is
an orig-
popular custom, the maiden market.
"In the highlands of Bihar stands the rocky bluff of
Geina, which grows green, like every other Transylvanian
height, as soon as
it is
cleansed from snow.
There
I first
met Juon, many years ago. He stood there on the mountain summit the livelong day, blowing on his alpenstock,
while the bear was plucking strawberries in the valley
below and guarding the goats, not from running away,
but from other wild beasts.
is
The prospect from
this spot
really sublime.
In one direction you can see the
moun-
tain chain of Vulcani, in the other the environs of Klau-
senberg and the Gyalian Alps.
the great
itself
But westward stretches
loses
Hungarian
plain,
whose misty expanse
against the horizon.
a certain
"On
day of the year things are very
i6o
lively at
Poor Plutocrats
Geina.
Baptist's
In the evening of the
first
Sunday
their
after St.
John
day the gingerbread bakers come thither from
horses
Rézbánya and Topanfahi with
and pitch their tents
dragging
loads of honey-cakes, and barrels full of meal and brandy,
in the forest clearing.
full
On
that Sun-
day the highlands are market
is
of merry folks, and the maiden
held there.
far repair thither the
"From near and
mothers and
their marriageable daughters, all tricked out with their
dowries ready in the shape of strings of gold and silver
coins round their necks, with bright variegated garments
at their
horses' sides,
and
stufifed
pillows and painted
pitchers
on the saddles
an ordinary
in front of them.
All these things
they unpack and arrange in rows in front of the tents,
just as at
fair;
and then the purchasers come
along, jaunty, connubially inclined
inspect the dowries,
young
fellows,
who
engage the wenches
in conversation,
if
and chaffer and haggle and go away again
not
they can
come
to terms.
Many
of the girls are kept back,
others are given
up
to the first bidder,
and when once a
couple are mated they are escorted to the tune of lively
flutes
and bagpipes to the
first cleric,
who
sanctifies the
union according to the religion of the pair.
"Your
ble
ladyship laughs at this custom, yet
it
is
capa-
of a very natural explanation.
these Alpine regions live necessarily far
The away from one
inhabitants of
another
—how
So
the
else could
they tend their herds?
—even
the nearest neighbors being a
apart.
good
stiff
half-hour's walk
young
girls stay at
home, and the young
i6i
Poor Plutocrats
fellows only see
them once a year
—
at the
maiden market
of Geina.
"Now,
of course, such a famous beauty as Mariora
to
had no need
for her
go
all
the
way
to the Geina fair in search
of a husband, especially as one had already been chosen
who brought
the
with him
all
the pride of riches.
But her father Misule would not on any account have
neglected
opportunity of exhibiting his daughter,
girl
during the pilgrimage to Geina, as the most lovely
of the district; and his wife could not have lived unless
she had
hung out Mariora's gold-embroidered
shift in
front of the tent and haughtily sent at least ten suitors
about their business.
"Gligor Tobicza, coming
all
the
way from
Rezpatak,
appeared at the
fair at the
same time with twelve highand
col-
backed horses and six
g^ipsy musicians, ribbons
ored herchiefs fluttering from every horse and every cap.
The comrades drank
pus
also.
together, and then
had
a
little
rum-
Tobicza broke the heads of a few of the more
spirits,
uproarious
the general
and then peace was restored again, and
good humor was higher than ever
occurred to Tobicza that
—only
the
bride remained sad.
"Suddenly
to get a kiss
*I
it
it
would be
nice
from Mariora.
yet.'
But the
girl repulsed
him.
am
not your wife
if
she cried.
" 'Yet
Juon were
to ask for you, I suppose
you would
not say no?'
"The girl honestly confessed that "At this Tobicza was mad with
162
she would not.
rage.
'Let
him come
—
Poor Plutocrats
hither, then,
if
he loves you,' cried he;
if
'let
him
tear
you
away from me
dead with
this
he be the better man.
!'
I will strike
him
of
—
see
And drawing
it
a long goat-skin bag
full
out of his girdle, the bottom of which was chock
ducats,
and whirling
round
his
:
head
like a club,
he
turned forestward, and roared Juon, thou ragged dog!
'Tis
!
'Come
hither,
tattered
you want
earth with
to
buy Mariora
now maiden-market day, if Come forth, thou cowardly
I'll fell
hound, and
let
me
beat you to death!
I'll
you
to the
my
ducats.
break your head with
my
gold
money.'
And
the whole
crowd laughed
at
and loudly
applauded these witticisms.
''But just as he
was raging most
furiously, a great roar-
ing suddenly arose from the direction of the forest
whereupon the crowd rushed away from
their horses, overturning barrels
their tents to
and trunks as they went,
cursing, and
is
the
women screaming and
!'
the
men
all
with
is
one voice exclaiming: 'The bear
coming!'
'Juon
coming with his bear
"That was enough for every one. Only the most determined sportsmen care about tackling a bear
for even
in the open,
when mortally wounded
the beast
is
quite capa-
ble of taking his revenge.
In an instant every soul rushed
headlong from the summit of Geina into the roads below,
leaving behind bride, dowr}^ and drinking booth
;
so that
when
and Juon leaped out of the juniper bushes there was nobody left on Geina. Nobody, that is, but
the bear
Mariora,
who
did not fly with the fugitives, but hid her-
self in the tent.
163
Poor Plutocrats
"Tobicza had headed the race, but as his legs were
heavy with the mead he had drunk, he threw away
his
big bag of gold to lighten his limbs and prevent Juon
from overtaking him.
it
But Juon, snatching
it
it
up, whirled
round
like a sling
and threw
with
all
his
might after
his rival,
exclaiming: 'There's your money, big voice!
it.
take
it
and buy a wife with
it.
You
are nothing at
I
all
without
But
I
am
still
Juon, though
have only an
ax
in
my
hands.'
''Then he went up to Mariora, kissed and embraced
her,
and asked her
live
if
she would be his bride, and go
away
and
with him in the forest.
And when
she said 'Yes,'
he kissed her again and took her with him into the free
forest without once looking back at the
dowry
lying aban-
doned there with
all its
gold and
else.
glitter.
In his eyes only
Mariora was gold, nothing
"The bear meanwhile made some little havoc in a mild sort of way among the honey-cakes, but he did no other
damage.
"And
band
all
I
can assure your ladyship that this wife,
who
has nothing in the world but her husband, but that husher own,
is
even
now
very happy."
164
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER X
THE BLACK JEWELRY
It
was during
this time that Henrietta cherished the
it
was her vocation to cultivate the acquaintance of the honest but homely peasantry living around, in whose lowly circles a widowed Protestant passtrano-e illusion that
tor's
wife and a worn-out old miner were the principal
personages.
Her husband laughed good-humoredly
is
at
her vagaries, as he called them: "She
cried
;
only a child," he
those
"let her play
!
and cut out
she has
dolls' clothes for
who want them
When
grown
up, she will very
soon look out for other diversions.
My
dear child," he
like.
would sometimes say
these
to her,
:
"do exactly as you
I
only beg of you one thing
innocent,
whenever you are
illusions,
tired of
well-meaning
;
and return
feel
to
rough, prosaic, brutal reality
deceived or
whenever you
yourself
wounded by
pray
those
whom
!"
you may have im-
plicitly trusted,
recollect that
you have a natural pro-
tector, a real friend
—
your husband
Thus
It
it
was
that Hátszegi spoke to his child-wife on
the rare occasions
when they met
together.
was only
rarely, for they
for the greater part of the day.
saw nothing of each other During the so-called
165
!
Poor Plutocrats
honeymoon, the husband and wife had scarcely spent half
an hour a day
in
each other's company.
On
young
one occasion the pastor went to Déva, and when
lot to tell
he returned he had a
fellow.
her ladyship of a
fine
Szilárd by name,
who
held the office of
magistrate at Lippá.
His other name he had forgotten,
it.
but Henrietta easily guessed
Mr. Szilárd had been
very polite to him, the
listened to all he
parson added, and had joyfully
had to
the
mistress; but
when
him about Hidvár and its priest had pressed him to pay a
tell
its
visit to that part
of the country to see and admire
rare natural beauties, the
young man had
replied
:
"Any-
where
district
in the
world but there."
objection could
What
?
possible
he have against the
This piece of news gave Henrietta plenty to think
about for days and nights together.
So Szilárd had not
quite close to each
remained
at
Pesth
;
he had followed her to the utmost
;
confines of the realm
other,
they were
now
and yet he would not
at
see her.
time.
He
seeks her out
a romantic
and avoids her
dreamer
the
same
What
was nothing romantic in it after all. Szilárd had come to Arad County on a visit to Mr. Sipos's
yet there
relations
;
And
he had been elected a magistrate there, and he
did not approach Hidvár because he had no desire to run
after a wife.
former sweetheart, who was now another man's
As
for Henrietta, she
had long ago earned from
of the "little nun," the
her husband's friends the
name
i66
Poor Plutocrats
"little
eremite," because nothing could entice her from her
If only they
seclusion.
had known her thoughts!
One
day, however, she surprised her husband by ex-
pressing a wish to go to the Charity Ball at a neighboring
mining town;
a
it
was
for raising funds to build
up again
burned-down
village.
bowed and consented. Henrietta had made up her mind to go as simply dressed as possible. She wanted to be modest and humHátszegi, always courteous,
ble,
as
it
befitted a
woman who,
rich herself, envied every
still
one
who was
poor.
While she was
in the
midst of
(
her preparations, she received through the post
Margari
sealed
went
to the nearest post-office once a
week) a
little
packet, which, to judge
from the postmark, must have
it
been posted at Lippá.
Before breaking
open, she locked
capital
herself in her room, like
offense,
it
one about to commit a
seals
and three times examined the
it.
which guarded
bore the imbut of a
as to
before she ventured to open
The
seal
press, not of a crest or
an
initial letter as usual,
single star.
There could be no doubt whatever now
seals
who
the sender was.
Then, very cautiously, she broke the
with a beating heart the
little
and opened
lid
of the box.
Inside
was
a
morocco
casket.
With
it
a tremulous
hand she opened
and a brooch.
silver,
it,
and found
inside
a pair of earrings
Both earrings and
in color, passing
brooch were of oxidized
insensibly into black.
in the
dark blue
The pendants
167
of the earrings were
little
shape of
little fishes
hanging upon
hooks and
Poor Plutocrats
which at the slightest movement Each of them had a pair of very tiny but very brilliant diamond eyes. The brooch, on the other hand, represented a butterfly, also with two sparkling diamond eyes; one of them was blue, a rare color
with mobile
little scales,
made them seem
alive.
for a diamond.
Henrietta was indeed pleasantly surprised.
There was not a
line of
writing along with them, but
it ?
was there any
all
necessity for
How
simple,
was!
it
!
How
well he
must know her
taste
how nice it who had
selected
Her husband
could never have hit upon such
an
idea.
What
them?
should she say to her husband
if
he should notice
to
But why should she show them
till
anybody?
last
She would not even put them on
long she was as happy as a child
the
mo-
ment, just before she started on her journey.
All day
its first
who
is
going to
party; even in her husband's presence she could not control
her delight.
But Hátszegi never inquired why she was so joyous.
On
the
day before the entertainment he went with
true, but a
his
wife to the town in question, where he owned, not the
castle,
it
is
comfortable mansion of consider-
able extent,
whose
first floor
was rented by a mining
felt
en-
gineer and his family.
These worthy people
highly
honored
roof.
at receiving the
baron and his lady beneath their
They gave
their distinguished guests their best
street,
rooms, which looked out upon the
themselves to the back of the house.
and
retired
The mining
engineer
i68
Poor Plutocrats
had
ately
a pretty
young
wife, with
whom
Henrietta immedi-
of
made friends. Ladies love the close companionship their own sex best whenever something entirely difis
ferent
occupying their thoughts.
On
little
the
morning of the great day the big-wigs of
to
the
town hastened
pay
their respects to the great
lady
who had
arrived in their midst, and whose reputa-
tion for benevolence
had spread
far
and wide.
Among
ter-
them was an aged woman, whose hands and head were
continually shaking, and
who
almost collapsed with
ror every time
anybody accosted her unexpectedly.
She
was the widow of a Unitarian
said,
pastor, well to do, people
and a large mining proprietor.
tion
was due
to a painful episode in
Her nervous her life. One
affec-
night
Fatia Negra and his band had broken into her house and
played havoc there, and ever since she had been tremulous and easily terror-stricken.
lighted to see Henrietta,
The
old
woman was
till
de-
whom
she called the guardian
she
angel of the county, and she would not be content
had seized Henrietta's
little
hands
in her
lips.
own
trembling
ones and raised them painfully to her
At
last the
joyous evening arrived.
Henrietta put on
a very simple ball dress,
compared with which the dress
of the mining engineer's wife
was
really luxurious.
The
black ornaments well became her attire, but the engineer's
wife was astounded at the simplicity of the great lady's
costume.
She had now only one anxious moment to go
through, the
ornaments.
moment when her husband first saw the new But this moment sped away without any
169
(F)— C8)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
catastrophe,
although
with
much
of
heart
throbbing.
Hátszegi observed the jewels
in the ears
and round the
neck of his bride, and paid her the compliment of saying
that they contrasted admirably with the
snowy whiteness
of her alabaster neck.
So no
ill
came of
it
after
all.
When
self
the time came, the baron's carriage drove up
to the door,
and the
ladies entered
it.
The baron him-
come afterward with the mining engineer when the empty carriage returned. In the meantime the baroness was entrusted to the care of the mining engineer's wife, who was one of the notabilities of the little
was
to
town.
The
ball
was
to take place in the large
room
of the
it,
chief inn of the place,
and the baroness, on entering
was surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
felt
The young
She
wife
the
that she
was being made much
of.
felt in
midst of
lifted
all this
up
to heaven,
homage and devotion as if and her heart was full
she had been of gratitude.
If
he be here (and he must be here somewhere, hiding
crowd, no doubt, in order not to excite attention),
in the
then he will be able to see from his hiding-place
the face of his old love
is
how
yet
pale
from sorrow
—and
to her.
how
radiant because of the honor
now shown
But Szilárd did not
see
her face at that moment.
still
He was
far
away, never dreaming that anybody
thought of him.
Henrietta.
A
surprise of quite another sort awaited
After she had twice walked round the room
—
there
was
170
!
—
:
Poor Plutocrats
a pause just then between
two dances
—she perceived
so,
sit-
ting on a corner seat the old lady already alluded to,
whose head and hands were always shaking
ened up to her as to an old acquaintance.
and hast-
The
first
old pastor's wife, perceiving Henrietta, rose at
seat, in
from her
order to meet her half-way, but the
next
moment
she
fell
back horror-stricken, at the same
time stretching out both hands in front of her with widely
outspread fingers as
to explain this
if
to
ward her
off.
Henrietta, unable
odd gesture, remained rooted to the spot
continuing to stretch out her trem-
with astonishment.
The
old lady,
still
bling hands,
now advanced toward
her with tottering
footsteps indeed, yet with flaming eyes.
Every one
re-
garded the two
dead
silence,
women
with amazement.
There was a
and
in the midst of this astonishment, in
the midst of this silence, the old
woman
shrieked with a
voice full of horror that turned everybody's blood cold
those jewels—on your neck—that black — — the very same—which on that fearful night that accursed Fatia Negra — tore from my neck— those black earrings, which he tore from my ears —one eye of
"Madame
!
but-
terfly
'tis
the butterfly
is
a blue diamond
as
if
!"
Henrietta
felt
the floor were slipping
away from
beneath her
feet.
She was wearing stolen jewels on her
her.
neck, and their former
owner had recognized them She heard a hissing and a murmuring all around She gazed about her, possibly for a protector, and she
per-
ceived that she was standing alone in the midst of the
171
Poor Plutocrats
room, and that every one recoiled from her, even her companion, and
all
eyes were fixed upon her.
She had a
midst of so
feel-
ing of being branded with red-hot irons as she stood
there, dishonored
and unprotected
in the
strangers,
and over against her a
to ask her:
had the horrible right
many terrible accuser, who "Madame, where did
she had nought to
you get those
stolen jewels?"
—and
voice,
say to such a question.
At
that
moment
a
manly
which she
at
once
recognized, rang out close beside her:
"Madame, give me your arm!
for
—
I
bought those jewels
you
at Paris.
I will
be responsible for them."
It
his wife,
was her husband. And with that he strode up to seized her hand and, casting a glance at the
4;o
surrounding throng, cried in a threatening voice
closest to
those
him: "Whoever dares to cast a disrespectful
glance upon
my
wife will have to reckon with me.
Make
room
there
!"
Henrietta saw
how
one stepped aside
the shaking
at this
thing began to
widow sit grow black
crowd made way, how every word of command she saw even down somewhere but then everythe
; ;
before her eyes, and she sank
swooning
into the
had hated so much, and who
had been her
sole deliverer!
arms of the man whom, hitherto, she in this most awful moment
When
she
came
to again,
she found herself in the carriage.
Her husband had
not
stayed a single inscant longer in that town, but was con-
veying her, though
Hidvár.
it
was now night-time,
straight to
172
!
Poor Plutocrats
It is
not very advisable to travel in pitch-black dark-
ness along mountain roads.
Henrietta could gather from
the slow jolting of the coach that they were proceeding
very cautiously.
She opened the window and peeped
out.
She then saw her husband walking along by the
side of
the coach with a lantern in his hand, picking his way.
The coachman was sitting on the box and the footman was close to the carriage, in order to steady it over the more difficult places.
A
voice within her reproached her for hating this
man
so long
—how could
itself
she have done it?
her, he
He had
always
been delicacy
toward
had never demanded
anything of her, and no doubt the reason
why he had
held
back from his young wife for a time was because he
would not importune her with
his presence
—she who had
Here
the
now
learned to recognize
him
as her sole protector
After a vast amount of jolting and tumbling about,
they got at
last
on
to a regular road again.
it.
baron halted the coach and looked inside
When
he
saw
that Henrietta
anything, and whether she would allow
beside her.
was awake, he asked her if she wanted him to sit down
tell
Henrietta had resolved to
at the
her husband everything
very
first
question; everything, even to her most
;
secret enthusiasms
nay, even that which
God
alone could
read in her heart.
of doing so.
But Hátszegi gave her no opportunity
"My
moment
dear Henrietta," said he, "don't imagine for a
that I shall trouble
my
head as to
how you came
^72>
—
Poor Plutocrats
into possession of that mysterious jewelry, or
why you
all
should have chosen them out of
all
your trinkets to wear
on
this particular evening.
I
have charged myself with
I
the responsibility in the matter.
could not think of any-
thing
more appropriate to say at the moment. Only one thing I beg of you tell me no lies. Act as if you had received the jewelry from me. I will so arrange the mat:
ter that
nothing more will be heard about
to anybody.
is
it.
Such things
in such a
may happen
the business
The only awkwardness about
were recognized
that the things
public place, and that the former possessor of the orna-
ments
is
so extremely nervous.
!
Don't be afraid
I'll
!
Give
me your hand
Why
do you tremble so ?
guarantee
that there shall be
no unpleasant consequences for you.
ought,
think, to write to the
at ease
In case, however, you did not receive this jewelry from
your dear grandfather,
I
I
good old man and put
his
mind
by
know that I gave it Rumor may whisper
Could any
"Shall
you, as goodness only
in his ear."
letting him knows what
man
have asked his wife for a confession
more tenderly?
I
write to
him?"
fell
"Yes, write," said Henrietta, and with that she
upon her husband's bosom and began
and a husband's breast
ing tears.
is
to sob bitterly
no bad place for a wife's flow-
Henrietta was forced to confess to herself that her
husband, at least so far as she was concerned, was a
of noble and tender sentiments.
man
From
henceforth she
174
Poor Plutocrats
began
color
in
;
to regard
him through
the usual
a glass of quite another
she began to believe that the faults she had noticed
him were only
She began
bad habits of
his sex,
and
began
him.
to discover all sorts of hidden
to love her husband.
good
qualities in
When
:
early next
morning the carriage stood
time.
in the
courtyard of Hidvár, Henrietta awoke in her husband's
arms there she had been sleeping for a long
she looked
When
round and encountered Hátszegi's bright,
it
manly glances,
almost seemed to her as
if
the dreadful
scene of the night before
it
was
for
a
mere dream, from which
her husband kissed her
was a joy
to awake.
When
his
hand before departing
own room,
him
Henrietta
pressed his hand in return and gave
a grateful smile.
But what then was the key
to this horrible
mystery?
Who
could have hit upon the idea of sending this jewelry?
a
There was not
closed the
gleam of
light to
go
and
by.
this
An enigma
enigma was
way
to every elucidation,
— Fatia
transfer?
Negra.
How
did the jewelry get out of his
hands into Henrietta's ?
What was the motive for such a And who was the man himself ? This thought
rest.
gave Henrietta no
Why
of
all,
could they not seize this famous robber?
it,
First
she kept on asking her husband about
and he
replied that the
whole story about Fatia Negra was only
It
a Wallachian fable.
was true
that robberies
were com-
wore black masks, but it was never one and the same man who was guilty of these misdeeds. Nevertheless, the name had won a sort
mitted by
regularly
men who
»75
Poor Plutocrats
of nimbus of notoriety
among
the
common
people
;
many
mask attaching to it, and though it was an undeniable fact that Fatia Negra had been caught and hanged more than once, yet he still continued to live and go about. The popular mythology
it
had made use of
as well as of the
had immortalized him.
The parson, however, had
the matter; he seemed to be
quite a different opinion of
more particularly informed. Although he opined Fatia Negra wandered through every corner of the kingdom, his abiding nest was in this district;
he had a sweetheart here to
whom
he appeared
periodically.
"Why
don't they seize
him then?" asked Henrietta.
"Because a part of the
the devil."
common
folks
is
holds
with
him, and the other part thinks he
in
league with
'T would set a high price on his head, and give
it
to
whomsoever caught him."
"Oh,
my
lady, the various counties
have done that
scores of times,
and now and then a young fellow braver
;
than the rest has tried to catch him
but they have
all
of
them ended by losing
his."
their
own
heads instead of getting
"Never mind,
I will
not be satisfied
till
that
man
is
in
my
power.
Ah, the robber chieftain
little
imagines what
put
an enemy he has raised up against him in
this terrible riddle into
me when he
it
my
heart.
And
is
a riddle I
mean to solve, too." The priest shook
his
head as
176
if
he would have said:
Poor Plutocrats
"Strong men have given up the task; what can a weak
woman do?"
Henrietta told her husband not a word of
all this,
and
the chatter about the black jewelry gradually died a natural death.
Hátszegi sent back her property to the widow
and
told her
where she could
find the
vender
—
in Paris.
We can
Paris to
readily imagine that she did not
go
all
the
way
to
make
inquiries, being quite content
with getting
back her stolen property.
This incident made such an impression on Henrietta
that she avoided
all
those circles in which she had been
so ruthlessly exposed to insult.
A
blush of shame and
it.
anger suffused her face whenever she thought of
also
She
the
abandoned
all
her
work
of benevolence
among
people.
after all
She began
to think that her
husband was right
when he
said, as
he did continually, *'Let the
gentry stick to the gentry, and the poor to the poor!"
In
fact,
she
was now
inclined to think
him
right in every-
thing; the easiest thing a wife can do, she said to herself,
is
to trust her
husband
implicitly.
life;
Henceforth Henrietta
adopted another
ever
mode
of
her motto
at
now
is
was, "What-
my
husband chooses, for
home he
my
lord
!"
So
and
the halls of
Hidvár overflowed with guests
again,
in
balls, receptions,
and picnics followed each other
learned to
quick succession.
The young wife
if
know
the
it
gentry and magnates of Transylvania face to face, and
was no wonder
her
fate.
she quickly accommodated
herself to
new surroundings and began
She
felt like
to be reconciled to her
one who, after seeing a landscape by
177
Poor Plutocrats
moonlight and thinking
it
highly crude, sees
it
it
again by
the light of day, and finds
quite different.
And now
peditions.
the
autumn came,
the season
when men
pre-
pare and congregate together for dangerous hunting ex-
Bears and boars are
now
the only topics. For
a
the gentlemen, they herd together in the
week beforehand the women can not get a word out of armory and talk
of nothing but guns and dogs, firing each other by re-
counting the past exploits, making bets, and playing at
cards.
The
ladies at such times are shelved altogether.
During the
actual hunting season the
men
are not to
be seen for whole weeks at a time, but off they go to the
woods, and stalk or lurk for their prey in the midst of
water and
dinary
if
ice,
and the
ladies think
it
nothing extraor-
their
husbands or lovers, as the case
may
be,
come back, or are carried back, drenched with rain, invisible for mud, with their garments torn to shreds and their limbs mangled; for after all it is the only manly
diversion
—the only diversion
really
fit
for a gentleman.
When
the bear hunting began,
that heroic cripple,
Squire Gerzson, also appeared with Count Kengyelesy
and numerous other familiar faces from distant counties,
who had
all
met together on the day after Henrietta's
wedding, and
trysting-place.
who
regularly
made Hidvár
their
autumn
him: the
Count Kengyelesy did not bring
little
his wife with
rogue, on her husband's departure, declared that she
ill,
was
and remained behind.
Henrietta was very
much
178
occupied by the duties of
Poor Plutocrats
hospitality.
all
She took a pride
in anticipating the
wants of
her guests, and at the evening receptions she played
the part of hostess with
becoming
gone
distinction.
One day
the gentlemen, with their beaters, rangers,
all
dogs, and carts, had
off to the forest as usual,
and Henrietta was
tina,
left
alone in the castle with Clemen-
Margari, and the domestics.
As
for Margari, he
would not have gone to the woods for
world.
all
the bears in the
Clementina, solemnly cackling gossip as usual, imparted
to Henrietta that the night before,
when
the gentlemen
:
played at cards, the luck had run dead against Hátszegi
Count Kengyelesy had won back from him the whole of
the Kengyelesy estate.
at this glad intelligence.
"Thank God!" sighed Henrietta This was one of the things that
like
had weighed down her heart
partition walls, so to speak,
a nightmare, one of the
which had hitherto separated
her from her husband.
appeared.
This, at any rate,
had now
dis-
Clementina went on to say that
cared a straw for this loss
that
it
;
my
lord baron had not
nay, he had laughed and said
only showed
how
lucky he
was
in love.
Henri-
etta applied the saying to herself,
and began to be quite
proud of
it.
The
Fatia
count,
however, pursued Clementina, had said
that he durst not rejoice in his winnings, or that accursed
Negra might rob him of them again on the highhad done once before.
cold shudder ran through Henrietta's limbs at that
road, as he
A
179
Poor Plutocrats
accursed name.
That Fatia Negra!
She had already
begun
revive,
to forget him.
And
thus old memories began to
and
at last
vv^as
her excited imagination began to fancy
sort of connecting link between
that
there
some
Szilárd and Fatia Negra, between the dearest and the
most
terrible of beings!
What
if
her rejected lover had
It
avenged himself by publicly shaming her!
such anxieties as these that
in
was with the young wife went to sleep
visit
her lonely chamber.
Early next day she received a
All the time the
army
of guests
from the priest. was going in and out
place, but
of the castle gates, he never
came near the
now
he hastened to exchange a few words with the lady of the
house.
And
Henrietta was very glad that he had come.
"I bring you
also," said
lady.
news of Fatia Negra and of other things the priest, as soon as he was alone with the
all
Henrietta was instantly
attention.
at
"Yesterday the
famous butter-woman who dwells
to open her soul to
Dupe
cult
Piatre
came
me
in a very
diffi-
matter.
is
This woman,
as the whole courtry-side
specifics
knows,
as
it
a
famous quack and a preparer of such
is
unlawful for one
man
to give to another.
For-
merly she was visited by multitudes of people suffering
from every
sort of
ill
—
especially girls.
More than once
and clapped
she has paid dearly for her quackery, for the county
authorities apprehended her for poisoning,
her into
jail
for
some
years.
Since then she has
grown
more
cautious, and does not care about seeing every one in
i8o
Poor Plutocrats
her loneiy
little
forest hut, especially since I impressed
upon
her severely what a heavy load she was burdening her conscience with by turning the secret healing forces
which Nature had implanted
in the herbs of the field to
the destruction of ignorant humanity.
this
Yesterday, then,
woman came
to
me
(and
it
is
a very rare thing to
see her
among men), and informed me
all
that last night
Fatia Negra had visited her."
Henrietta shuddered
that!
over.
So he was
as near as
"The medicine woman said that the mask requested her to prepare poison for him that would be sure to kill. She
said she
would
not, as she
had no wish to
fall
again into
the hands of the county authorities.
He
promised her
money; he showed her a lot of ducats. She told him it wouldn't do. Then he drew forth a pistol, pressed the
barrel to her temples,
and threatened instantly to blow
her brains out
if
she did not comply with his request.
'Very
well,' said she, *fire
away:
I
would rather be shot
than hanged.'
Perceiving he could do nothing with her
fell
by
threats,
he
to entreating,
and said
it
was not a
man he wanted
to poison, but a wild beast.
kill
?'
'What
sort
is
of a beast do you want to
she asked him.
'That
no business of yours,' said
will eat, a bear will not
he.
'But
it is
my
business,'
she replied, 'for the poison that a wolf or a savage dog
even
sniif at,
and what makes one
'Then you
beast
ill,
on that
will another beast thrive.'
it
must know that
is
a bear.'
'Swear that you do not
Fatia Negra swore
want the venom
for a
human
being.'
i8i
Poor Plutocrats
with
all
sorts of subterranean oaths that
it
was
really for
a bear that he wanted the poison.
The medicine woman
in the
thereupon prepared for him a mortal concoction capable
of killing the
most vigorous beast
world
;
then she
kneaded honey cakes, a delicacy to which bears are very
partial, as
every one knows, and mixed
it
well into them.
Fatia
old
Negra gave her
ten ducats for the poison, but the
to rest,
woman's conscience would not allow her
and
the next day she brought the ducats to
needs, as she put
it
me
for the church's
—and would
I
help her to relieve her
it ?
soul of the heavy burden which oppressed
And what
make
appre-
now
if
Fatia Negra, contrary to his oath, were to
use of this poison against his fellow
man?"
Henrietta
"That
hensively.
would
be
horrible,"
said
"I don't think he will," said the priest; "the poison
really
is
meant for a
beast."
kill
"I suppose he wants to
some animal which
is
a do-
mestic guardian, in order that he
may
rob a rich man's
house."
"No.
he
He
wants to
kill
a faithful animal, in order that
may
steal a
poor man's only treasure
—
his wife."
"How
so?"
"Listen,
my
lady,
and
I will tell
you.
After this had
happened, Juon Tare's wife, Mariora. came to
unusual hour.
prayers.
fession
me
at
an
Generally she only comes on a Sunday for
she said to
a
What
made
I
me was
not so
much
a con-
to
priest as
a confidence reposed in a
re-
friend;
am, therefore, not committing sacrilege by
182
Poor Plutocrats
lating
it
to another person.
That young woman
is
ex-
posed to temptation."
"What!
in the
midst of the forest?"
"Yes, in the midst of the forest, where, for weeks at
a stretch, the herdsman hears no other
his
own thrown back
is
to
him by the
human voice than echoes. The seducer
in this case
Fatia Negra."
"Then he must dwell hard by." "None knows his abiding dwelling, but
resting places
his
temporary
among
For
this
the high Alps are these herdsmen's
lonely huts.
reason he lives in good fellowship
with the mountain goatherds, does them no harm, brings
presents for
them and
their wives, pays
it
handsomely for
every bit of bread, and thus makes
will never betray him.
pretty sure that they
The
place
where Juon Tare's wife
call it
dwells
is
is
called the ice valley.
first ice
They
is
so because
it
here that the
of the winter appears; as early
as mid-September the stream
fringed with
little
it.
There,
hut, one
it.
by the side of the stream, stands a
wooden
of whose walls reposes on the ascending rock behind
Here dwells the fair Mariora wrong to say alone, for three
there
bear.
all
alone.
And
yet I
am
—
herself,
a
little
them dwell together one-year-old child, and a tame
of
Her husband
she sometimes does not see for a
autumn and winter, when the freshly fallen snow has obliterated the pastures. At such times the goatherd encamps on the summit of the
week
at a time, especially in the
mountains, and nourishes his kids by felling with his ax
a growing beach tree, on which the
little
creatures
fall
and
183
Poor Plutocrats
gnaw
lest
of¥ the juicy buds.
Whenever
all
a
snowstorm overinto a glen,
takes him, the
the
herdsman drives the goats
and
snow should bury them
by the morning while
they sleep, he drives them continually up and down, thus
making them trample down
Mariora
sits at
the falling flakes.
Meanwhile
pounds
home and
spins the wool,
from which she
makes her own and her husband's
maize into meal
in a stone
clothes, or she
mortar for household needs,
their simple joys!"
playing at intervals with her child."
"And an
It is
evil
hand would destroy
"Hitherto the goatherd and his wife feared nothing.
good
to be in those solitudes.
God
dwells very near
is
to
them
there.
Then,
too,
Juon Tare
a strong
man;
in a
no
evil beast
bers.
Nor has he any fear What can they deprive him of? Mariora
can harm him.
of robis
good
place, out of the reach of
snowstorms.
If a
savage
is
beast or a
vagabond were
to try to
harm
her, there
Ursu, the bear, with the terrible jaws
—he
who
Fatia
would
tear
them
to pieces.
is
So your ladyship
and wild beasts
will perceive that
Juon
Tare's castle
against
provided with a very strong guardian
thieves
—but
He
can guard
against the wily and the insinuating?
Negra
is
a
guest of long standing at the hut in the ice valley, and
never goes thither empty handed.
pearls
brought the
woman
trinkets
in
and
coral,
which she innocently hung about her
to
person.
How
was she
know whether such
?
Were worth thousands or whether they could be bought
a pedler's booth for a few pence
She fancied
it
was but
the thank-offering of a grateful guest.
But now her eyes
184
Poor Plutocrats
have been opened to the
very costly
fact that these gifts are costly,
— for
all
the Black
Mask demanded
a price for
them which
the treasures in the world could not out-
weigh, a price the bare mention of which caused her to
shut the door in his face.
his desire
And when
he, unable to obtain
by
fair
words, attempted to gain his object by
force, a single cry for help
from the woman caused Fatia
his shoulders,
Negra
to feel Ursu's
paws on
and so he
knows that this lonely woman is right well defended. Only at Mariora's command did the bear release Black Mask, who, attacked from behind, was unable to defend
himself.
Burning with rage, he quitted the hut, and
shall be
full
said,
meaningly to the woman, 'You
less
!'
mine nevertheof despair,
tell-
Mariora came to
her husband.
me
next day,
ing
to
me
the whole story, and asking
I
me
whether she ought
tell
advised her to keep the secret in
to
her
own bosom and Negra. Oh, I know
it
close her
door against Fatia
It is
the fellow!
good
to
guard
against him, but
is
is
not advisable to scratch him.
He
no ordinary man.
And now
putting together
all this
with the confession of the
Dupe
Piatra milk-woman, I
have a strong suspicion that Fatia Negra wants to poison
the herdsman's bear."
"I will not allow
ically.
it,"
interrupted the baroness emphat-
"We
their
shall scarcely be able to
prevent
it,
my
lady, for
how can we warn
danger ?
It is
the dwellers in
the mountain hut of
letter, for
no use sending a
they can
not read.
We
can not entrust the secret to
185
any one, for
Poor Plutocrats
no living soul
Negra.
him.
I
I
in these parts
would dare
too,
to
convey any
message to the disadvantage of the mysterious Fatia
myself dare not do
it.
I,
am
afraid of
is
do
so,
am sure that if he found it out, my days would be numbered."
I
and he
sure to
"Yet
know some one who
will take this
message
to
Juon Tare." "Not your ladyship, I hope?" "No. Even if I knew my way among tains, I would not venture to expose myself
the hut of
of such a journe)'' after
these
mounI
to the perils
my
last
experience; since then
have grown timid and nervous.
will hasten to take
will
it,
But
I
know
of one
who
will not be afraid,
who and who
show no mercy
to
him before
whom
every one else
trembles."
The
priest did not guess to
whom
Henrietta alluded,
yet he himself had once told her ladyship that Black
Mask
had a sweetheart, to
whom
he had been married, not
before a priest indeed, but in the sight of Heaven, and
this
woman was
"to leave
very jealous and very brave.
priest
"But
I
beg of your ladyship," the
sion,
had said on that occaif
my name
out of the transaction
you
repeat this secret, for otherwise people will hear one fine
morning
in his
that the
worthy pastor of Hidvár has been found
a split skull."
room with
Scarcely had the priest quitted the castle than Henrietta
had the horses put to the carriage, took Clementina with
her, in order to avoid all suspicion,
and drove to Tökefalu.
There, in front of the house of rich old Onucz, she
1
86
Poor Plutocrats
stopped
and descended.
The Wallachian nabob was
much
loaded
entina,
pleased to have the honor of entertaining so dis-
tinguished a guest, and immediately spread his table, and
it
with preserves, honey and fresh cheese.
a
Clem-
who had
good
appetite,
remained with their host
in-
and made ready to talk scandal of her mistress and
sinuate that the baroness wanted to get
some money with-
out her husband's knowledge, while Henrietta locked herself
up with Anicza
in the latter's
bedroom, and talked
with her concerning things which had no relationship
whatever with money.
187
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
TWO
TALES, OF
XI
IS
WHICH ONLY ONE
TRUE
After a
couple of days the whole hunting party
returned from the mountains.
This was
much sooner
They
than they had determined, and the cause was a very seri-
ous accident which had befallen Baron Hátszegi.
brought him home in
great consternation.
side,
an ambulance
car, to Henrietta's
The
baroness, sitting by the bed-
heard from the doctor that her husband's wounds
serious, but that his life
was not in danger, and that he might even be allowed to smoke a cigar if he liked. Then Mr. Gerzson related how it had happened: "Only
were
imagine, your ladyship!
This irrepressible friend of
ours, not content with pursuing
game
all
day through the
thickets, learns, late in the evening, that a gigantic old
bear was trotting toward the ice valley, and, without saying a
word
to anybody,
must needs leave the company on the
track, with only a
and
set off alone, late at night,
double-barreled musket and not so
him company.
farther.
much as a dog to keep The bear enticed Leonard farther and At last down he squats before him in the bright
and disappears.
i88
moonlight and begins licking his paws; then suddenly
quits the path
Leonard thought
at first
—
Poor Plutocrats
that the bear
for
had returned within the deadly
beaters,
till all
circle
drawn
him by our
at once,
on reaching a steep
slope covered with reeds, he again heard a growling, and
perceived the savage beast trying to scale the slope.
place
The
was too
steep for a
man
to climb, but a bear, with
it
the help of his long, strong paws, can scale
like a fly
climbing up a wall.
Leonard soon saw that he would be
he resolved to
at
unable to get a close shot at the bear, so
fire
down from where he was
random.
But the expewithin
rienced old brute, guessing this good idea, instantly exe-
cuted one of those surprising feats which only
the observation of veteran hunters.
fall
While Leonard was
taking aim, the bear rolled rapidly
down
the steep incline
by means of a
series of clever somersaults,
and rushed
upon Leonard with
cursed bad maneuvre
beast,
a
sort of swift shamble.
I
And
a
it is,
can
tell
you.
The
acrobatic
whether a
man
hits
it
or not, inevitably bears
down
the hunter by his sheer weight, and as a man's bones are
more
brittle
than a beast's, and he has no tough pelt to
cover him withal, he will be infallibly crushed to pulp
while the bear takes the whole thing as a mere joke and
ambles on farther.
as long as
I
But the whole
tell it.
affair did not last half
take to
Leonard had
just time
enough
to fling himself
Then he
felt
a heavy body
roll
on the ground before the first rush came. fall prone upon him, and then
over and over in company
till
they began to
sorts of stones
among
all
and bushes,
lay
a benevolent rock inter-
rupted their rapid descent.
Fortunately the bear was
full
underneath and
stunned at
length upon
the
189
Poor Plutocrats
ground.
Our
and
it
friend
Leonard naturally did not wait for
his traveling his rifle,
companions to pick him up.
He
had
lost
was a good job
hilt
that his hunting knife
had
snapped off close at the
instead of running into his
body then,
;
too, his knees
and elbows were badly crushed,
yet he had sufficient strength and presence of
mind
you.
to
drag himself back to our hunting-lodge, and his story
was
first,
a very pleasant surprise for us, I can
tell
At
can
be
indeed,
we were much
alarmed, and fancied that
every bone in his body was out of joint, but
look on
up,
it
now we
merely as soldiers' luck.
after
To-morrow
he'll
no doubt, and the day
to-morrow we
shall all be
dancing."
Henrietta had never removed her eyes from her husband's face during this narration, and
his looks that he
it
was
plain
from
was not proud of
his adventure
and did
not want
it
talked about.
"Why
"It
is
do you frighten
my
me
to-
wife to death?" he said.
a
mere
trifle.
Let
remain for a whole night
in cold,
wet wraps, and
morrow
after
I
I
shall be all right.
And now, enough
of the
stupid business.
And
will you, please,
lie
Henrietta, look
?
my
is
guests while I
here in swaddling bands
All
want
a couple of days of rest, and then I shall be on
my
legs again,"
Toward midnight
Henrietta disappeared from
;
among
but she
her guests and went to inquire after Leonard
found his chamber door locked, and received no answer
to her gentle inquiries,
from which she gathered
that
Leonard was
still
dozing.
She did not want
190
to disturb
!
Poor Plutocrats
him, and as her husband's guests, judging by the noise
they made, had evidently begun to amuse themselves in
real earnest after her departure, she did not return to
them, but hastened to her
own chamber.
How amazed was
Clementina
she to find Anicza there closeted with
The Rumanian
some
time,
girl
had been awaiting Henrietta for
it
and Clementina thought
quite natural to
conduct her into her mistress's sleeping-room, imagining
that there
was some monetary transaction between them,
of which the baron and the domestics need
know
nothing.
In order that she might not be bored by waiting, Clementina entertained her for a whole hour with a hairraising account of the hunting accident, with which the
whole
out so
castle
was
full.
Anicza
let
the other talk on withstill
much
as a hint that she had a
more
hair-raising
and
terrific tale to tell
of the night just past than ever
Miss Clementina had.
As soon
as Henrietta perceived Anicza, she politely
requested Clementina to be so good as to leave them to
themselves, a request which Clementina very naturally
regarded as unnecessary; and, of course, the instant
she had crossed the threshold, she diligently took up her
position before the keyhole.
She was, however, furious
to discover that Henrietta proceeded
more prudently than
speakers on the stage,
who
regularly allow themselves to
be overheard by eavesdroppers, for she drew together the
heavy damask curtains of the alcove and retired behind
them with Anicza, so that neither prying eyes nor
191
listen-
Poor Plutocrats
ing ears could find anything there to satisfy their
quisitiveness.
in-
"It ahiiost succeeded!" said the
patiently, beginning her story at the
Rumanian
girl
im-
end instead of
at the
beginning.
"Only almost?" repeated the
dissatisfied Henrietta.
"So
^
far the
game
is
neither over nor lost."
at the
"Did Fatia Negra appear
"Pardon,
hut in the
ice
valley?"
my
lady, but please never
it
mention that name
to tremble.
before me, for on hearing
red,
see,
everything I look upon grows
and every limb of
my
body begins
You
he
my
hands are trembling now.
;
Let us speak of him
in future as the
shall henceforth be the
Unknown so far as I am concerned Unknown for evermore."
lady, to rally
"Then you met him there?"
"Suffer me,
my
my
scattered wits a
bit.
Oh! what
back upon
me.
a horrible night this has been!
it,
When
I
look
I
feel giddy.
I
But anger and despair sustain
have been betrayed
Oh! what have
!
not sacrificed for that man, for
I
!
that devil,
and oh how
But why
Listen
should
to
I
worry your ladyship with
my
my
is
misery!
left
what happened.
I
When
The way
your ladyship
me
the
ofif
other night,
immediately saddled
thither
horse and set
for the ice valley.
very bad, dangerhigh and bright,
ous in
fact,
but fortunately the
it
moon was
I
and made
star
easier for
me
to find the path.
The Pole
was already sinking when
I
still
reached the bottom of
the valley, and
light
could see from afar that there was a
in the goatherd's little hut.
burning
The night
192
Poor Plutocrats
owls soon drove
dwell so
it
out of
my
eyes, for in that valley
many
owls, and they are so bold that the tips
of their wings brush against people's faces as they sweep
past.
I
had known Mariora for a long time, while she
still lived at home with her father, but since she became Juon Tare's wife we have only seen each other occasionally and at long intervals, and then, too, only when I
visited her,
for she, the poorly married
woman, never
little
came
I
to visit us
—
the rich people.
On
as,
reaching the hut,
tied
up
my
horse and tapped at the
window,
through which one can not peep,
instead of glass, the
window frames
nized
are
filled
with opaque mica, which Juon
hills.
Tare himself discovered among the
Mariora recog-
my
voice and hastened to unbar the door.
She was
at that
tears.
much
hour.
surprised and
much
delighted to see
me
I
She embraced me, kissed me, and burst into
thought
it
At
first I
was from pure joy
—then
I
thought
she pitied me.
Ts there anything wrong?'
asked.
Then
*I
she pulled herself together, dried her tears, and said:
have an invalid on
Ursu.'
It
my
if
hands.'
'Your child?'
him.
'No,
was
just as
a viper had stung me.
*Ursu
Since
sick?' I cried.
'Yes,
I
don't
know what
ails
yesterday he has been lying down, shaking and trembling, while the
day before he was skipping about and
Fatia Negra (Lord God, forgive
turning somersaults.
my
lips for
uttering that
name) was playing with him
'Yes, he said he
it
for a long time.'
'Did he come hither?'
to you.'
was on
his
way
'He
lied.
Then
was he who
poisoned the bear.'
(F)
— (9)— Vol.
193
20
Poor Plutocrats
"Mariora trembled
ever.
at these
words, and grew paler than
"I seized her by the hand and
the hut.
I
drew her with me
I
into
whispered in her ear that
knew
all.
'The
accursed wretch has been faithless to
pretty eyes.
to
me
because of your
He
swore to
me by
sunlight and he swore
listen to
relies
you by moonlight, but you would not
love your husband, and Black
him.
his
You
Mask
failed.
on
strength
now
that fair
words have
The coward
wretched
Mariora's
is.'
has poisoned your faithful guardian
thief, the
like the
miserable house-breaker, that he
hut was lighted by the flame that flickered on the hearth.
A
bedstead of linden
wood covered with
goatskins, a
all
table of slate
and a few three-legged chairs were
which lay the
little child,
the
furniture.
There was also a nicely carved and painted
sleeping, with his
like
Httle cradle, in
plump
angel.
little
hands drawn up behind his head,
of a heap on a lair of soft
an
In the extreme corner of the room
all
the faithful
beast lay
moss
—almost
at
the last gasp.
He
groaned and shivered continually,
like
one
in a fever,
and raised
his failing eyes with such an
if
eloquent appeal to his mistress, as
to her.
he would have spoken
if
Sometimes he pricked
and snuffed joyously.
his ears as
he were
lis-
tening,
Perchance he expected his
master, perhaps he wanted to lick his hands for the last
time.
Poor
beast,
how
I pitied
I
him!
'He
it
will die,' I
whispered to Mariora.
durst not say
aloud, for I
imagined the beast understood everything which men say
to
one another.
'And then
will
come
the tempter,
who
194
Poor Plutocrats
knows
that
you are alone and
an aspen-leaf,
is
defenseless.'
I told
her
everything which your ladyship told me, and the
woman
I
trembled
"
like
'Where
Juon Tare encamping now ?'
asked
Mariora.
" 'Only a mile from here, in the Vale Capra.' " '.Hem! It is impossible to get there on horseback, but
I
can reach him by going on foot.
in,
Meanwhile, you lock
yourself
put out the
fire,
and whatever noise you hear,
back.'
If
us.
do not open the door
" 'Nay,' said
till
we come
there
Mariora, 'you must not go away.
Juon ought
I
to
come home,
and has told
I
is
a sign between
have here an Alpine horn; he has taught
it,
me how
I
to
blow upon
in great
me
it,
that
if
ever
should be
danger
must blow
it
and however distant he
may
be,
he will hear
it is
and hasten home.'
;
" 'But
night
now
perhaps he
;
is asleep.''
" 'Juon never sleeps at night
protect his herds.'
he must be awake and he leaves
" 'And what, then, will become of his goats
if
them?'
" 'Are not
I
and
my
child dearer to
him than
all
his
property
?'
"Then
I told
Mariora that no time must be
It is
lost,
and
that she should blow the horn at once.
a long tube
made
out of the bark of trees, with the end tilted upward,
it
and any one who knows how to blow
heard for miles.
can
make
its
it.
voice
Mariora was too feeble with
Perit,
haps at another time she would have been more up to
195
Poor Plutocrats
but
now
she was upset;
there
was something which
weighed down her bosom and hampered her breathing:
the horn gave forth but a feeble and uncertain sound.
We
hear
Hstened for the echoes, and they scarce resounded
sides of the adjacent hills.
from the
that.
'Give
it.'
it
to me,' I said.
after I
*I
Juon would never shall throw more
if
force into
A
moment
had blown the horn,
there
afar,
the
woody
heights repeated the sound just as
there.
was another hornblower
right
as
if
Presently,
from
away among
there
the
hills,
another horn replied, just
there.
;
was another echo
That was Juon's
rest
answer.
content.
He
had heard the summons we could now
In half an hour he would have bounded across
the mountains and through the glens, and would be here.
In the meantime
the hut.
if
we would
last
barricade ourselves inside
Mariora anxiously asked
Acting on
me what we
we
should do
her husband were the
to arrive, for the robber
had firearms.
with a heavy
to cry, but
to sleep.
my
it
advice,
closed the door
beam and put out
the
fire.
The
child
began
it
Mariora took
in her
arms and soothed
A
We
heavy groan sounded from a corner of the
faithful beast breathing forth his last
in order not
room:
breath.
it
was the
exchanged not another word,
to betray the fact that
Mariora was not alone.
Half an
in the
hour had nearly elapsed when we heard footsteps
distance approaching.
We
listened.
Who
was coming?
I did.
Which
It
of us would recognize those footsteps first?
!
was he he
for
whose sake
I
had brought down a curse
upon
my head.
19Ö
Poor Plutocrats
"For about
the door.
I
as long a time as
it
would take one
to
repeat a paternoster, he remained standing there before
Then he rapped Hghtly with his fingers, and heard the voice I knew so well 'Mariora, are you
:
asleep ?'
"
**
*I
'Let
am awake. What me in, Mariora
do you want?' she
;
replied.
open the door
!'
**I
whispered to her what she should say.
can not, mxy husband
!'
"
'I
is
not at home.
" 'For that very reason open, so that
it all
am alone.' we two may have
I
to ourselves
" 'There will be three of us; don't forget Ursu.'
"
'*
'It is all
up with Ursu,' laughed the robber
killed
outside.
'You have
I
him, you villain
!'
cried Mariora,
though
never whispered this to her.
I,
" 'Not
but the honey cake.'
'"Why
"
did you do so?'
" 'Because he
was
in
my
way.'
'Who
*I
will
defend
me now ?'
I will
"
will
defend you.
take you
away with me.
I will
I will take
you
to a beautiful city, full of palaces.
estate,
buy you a house and an
lady.'
and you
shall
be a great
"
'It
can not
too,
be.
I
already have
wife.'
my
lawful husband
and you,
have your lawful
" 'Your lawful husband shall die
when
I choose,
and
you
will then be a
widow.
As
for Anicza, she only mar-
ried a mask.
I will tear it off
and she
will
no longer
know who
I
was.'
197
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh,
at these
my
lady, can
!
you not fancy how
I
my
heart broke
words
Yet
did not weep.
"
'You will deceive
me
as
you deceived
her,'
replied
Mariora.
"Then
him
first.
the robber began to swear that
I
had deceived
He
lied
concerning me, oh! the accursed
wretch!
Yet the game had to go on.
Mariora was no
longer the mistress of her
less creature.
own
thoughts.
in
She
is
a help-
If I
had not whispered
her ear what
she was to say, she would have had no answer ready for
him. " 'I fear you,' she said at
robber;
did
it it
my
prompting, 'for you are a
that
is
not love but
money
you want.
Why
have
not occur to you to court
me
before?
You
only come
now
because you have found out that
my
father has been here and offered
me
a hundred ducats,
that we may buy a little estate with it. You have only come here to rob me of that.' "The tempter grew furious at so much gainsaying. " 'Stupid wench he cried, 'what are your hundred ducats to me ? I will give you ten times as much. Here
!'
I
take them!'
And
our
with that he pitched through the
a
little
window
fell
it
—opening above the door—
feet.
heavy purse, which
of ducats.
I
rattling at
It
was
full
kicked
aside with loathing.
"
'It is
easy to
talk,' replied
Mariora.
in,
'Now you
give
and
"
give, but if I
were
to let
you
you would take them
back again to-morrow with
'I
my
own.'
swear
I will not.'
198
Poor Plutocrats
" *No,
I will
not believe the oaths of a robber.
I
You
and
have firearms, and
you.
am, therefore, defenseless against
musket, your
tree,
pistols,
is
Go and hang up your
your hunting knife on that beech
dred paces distant from the house;
without your firearms,
to kill
I will
which
a hun-
when you come back
you do not want
to say.'
bid.
believe that
me, and
I will listen to
what you have
"The robber fell Then he returned.
he.
into the snare
and did as he was
'Here
I
am
without weapons,' said
'Let
me
in!'
"We
had
to gain as
much time
as possible, so
first stir
I
whisfire
pered Mariora to say that she must
into a blaze, for she could not let
up the
him
in in the dark.
still
"These words inflamed the passion of the tempter
more.
"
'You
will
have time for that afterward,' said
he.
*I
can see your beautiful eyes even in the dark, for then
they shine " 'Then
all
the
more
brightly.'
I
I
suppose
have eyes
like
a cat?'
I
made
Hun-
Mariora
say.
!'
" 'Silly fool
growled the tempter to himself
in
garian, which Mariora did not understand.
'No,' he then
added
'*
in
Rumanian, 'you have eyes
like stars.'
'But confess now, do you really love
evil
me ? Or do you
only come hither with
designs?
Don't you want,
now, to cut
off the
hands of
my
httle child ? for robbers
covet the hacked-off hands of babies
invisible.'
— they
make them
"At
this the
man's temper
fairly
gave away.
He
per-
199
Poor Plutocrats
ceived that he
was being trifled with, and exclaimed roughly: 'Woman, open the door, or I'll bring it down
about your ears!'
with his clenched
'I
And
fist
he gave the door such a blow
it
that
cracked from end to end.
tell
you for the
If
last time,' cried he, 'let
I will I will
me
in peace-
ably.
you
will
come with me,
take you, and your
child also, to a pleasant place.
make a gentleman
of
him and a lady of you. But if you gainsay me another moment, I'll batter in the door, dash the brains of your
you
off
brat out against the wall and carry
by force
to
wherever
I please.'
"Thereupon Mariora paid no more attention
began wringing her hands, and
I
me, but
snatched up the child,
who had been awakened by
I
the noise, and begun to cry.
drew
my
pistol
from
my bosom
and planted myself
else,
beside the door.
If there's
it.
nobody
I
thought, I
must bear the brunt of
"The robber planted
pressed
it
his shoulder against the force.
door and
inward with tremendous
The boards
cracked, and as the middle of the door
was barricaded
by a stout beam, there was soon a regular gap between
the
two
folds of the door,
and the door inclined more
the opening thus made, I
and more inward.
Through
held the pistol, pointed straight at his temples and only
an inch away from him.
He
is
a very strong man, I
thought, but another effort of strength and he will be
lying dead at
my
feet."
The
scene.
girl
was
quite
overcome by the narration of
a
this
She paused for
moment
200
to recover herself, dur-
:
Poor Plutocrats
ing which Henrietta, as pale as a statue, gazed at her in
silence.
Presently she resumed
"At
into
I
that critical
moment
a cry like the
howl of a wild
fell
beast resounded in front of the hut.
its
The door
little
back
proper place, and, rushing to the
window,
saw
that tzuo
men now
stood in front of the hut.
"Juon Tare had arrived at last! "It was neither speech nor language that he addressed
to his antagonist in the first instant of their encounter;
it
was
the roar of a wild beast rushing
is
upon
its
prey.
is
"Juon Tare
sionate as he
a very strong man.
Fortunately, he
also a peaceful, retiring creature, for if he
is
were as pasAll
strong and frequented the wine-shops,
every carouse would end with the death of a man.
the
more
horrible
like a
was
it,
therefore, to behold
him
at that
moment *The
ravening beast of prey.
detected seducer at once
made a rush
If Fatia
for his
arms, but Juon Tare overtook him with an enormous
bound and seized one of
writhing the next
his hands.
Negra had
been one of God's ordinary creatures, he must have been
moment with crushed
limbs on the
ground beneath Juon's knee; but at the very instant in which Juon caught hold of one hand, the robber faced
about, and seizing the
to wrestle with him.
herdsman round the body, began
"The moon flooded the valley with its light the whole course of the struggle was plainly visible.
;
**As soon as
Juon Tare perceived
201
that his antagonist
Poor Plutocrats
was foolhardy enough
placently allowed his
:
!
to try a fall with him,
he com-
body
to be encircled,
and calmly
murmured 'Ho, ho then you would wrestle with me, eh, Fatia Negra Very well, be it so "Then he also quietly encircled the trunk of his opponent with those terrible arms of his, which had shown
!'
!
themselves capable on one occasion of throttling a bear,
and prepared to crush
his adversary.
"And
thus began an awful struggle, the
is
mere remem-
brance of which
a horror.
"There
is
nothing more terrible than when two
life
men
struggle for
or death with their bare hands.
"Juon Tare's tremendous strength was unable to crush' Fatia Negra. The herdsman might perhaps have been a
little
exhausted by his swift run, but the robber was
steel-like elasticity to the
skil-
ful
and opposed a
the one,
herdsman's
massive weight.
"Now
now
bound
their
the other
was forced down upon
his knee, only to
instantly back again.
feet.
The
grass
was rooted up by
stamping
Tightly embraced,
fists
with straining shoulders, with their
other's bodies, their faces
tearing at each
to-
were pressed so closely
gether that the two heads seemed but one.
"Now
breath,
and then they would pause for an instant to take
short, fierce
and at such times would gasp out
words. " 'Who are you ?* growled Jwon.
'Who
are you that
you can
resist the
arm of Juon Tare ?
to silence?'
Who are you that
Juon Tare can not put
202
:
Poor Plutocrats
" *What
back.
is it
you want, you
fool
?'
the robber gasped
set
'Has that two hundred ducats, the price
Is that
on
my
me?
"
head, tempted you?
why you want
to catch
Let
*I
me
go, and
I will
give you five hundred.'
I
will not let
you go.
want neither your money
nor yet the money of the magistrates.
is all
Your
destruction
that I want.
if
You
should not escape from these
hands
"
you were
thrice a devil.'
'We will see.' "And again the
put forth
all
tussle began.
Each of the two men
Fatia
his strength against his adversary.
split into rags, the
Negra's garments
his shoulders
blood spouted from
his sharp
where Juon had worried him with
teeth like a wild beast.
Not another word did they now
speak, only their panting sobs were to be heard like the
snorting of two wild boars as they dragged and dashed
each other up and
"I
down on
to
the sward.
was obliged
restrain
Mariora violently from
rushing to her husband's assistance.
She would only
I
have distracted his attention.
And
it
besides
would not
have
it
so.
Let the
men
fight
out, I thought.
They
are a well-matched pair."
"Then you
rietta sadly.
still
love Fatia
Negra?" inquired Hen-
The
girl
blushed.
*T love him, yes, and, therefore,
he must die."
She went on "At that moment he was like a magician battling with a giant. The other was half a head taller than he, and
203
—
Poor Plutocrats
the muscles of his arms stood out like the rugged bark
of an oak's trunk.
Black
in his
Mask was much
the slimmer.
steel.
But every muscle
frame seemed made of
His gigantic adversary might pitch and toss him wherever
he pleased, he always
fell
on
his feet;
nor was the other
ever able, squeeze as he might, to disjoint his arms or
free his
own head from
Fatia Negra's embrace, though
again and again he ducked
down
like
to
do
it
;
and then they
would struggle more
quivering mass of
"
'If I
fiercely
than ever on their knees,
with their limbs interlaced
flesh.
one
single, inseparable,
could only see your hidden face
all
!'
roared Juon,
throwing himself with
his
might on Black Mask.
off for you!'
'You
devil, you, I'll tear
your
mummery
and he gnashed
ing to snap his
at his opponent's face with his teeth, try-
mask
off.
"This attempt seemed to redouble Fatia Negra's fury.
He, too,
now began
roaring like a wounded bear strugIt
gling with a huntsman.
between men, but a ravening of two
batants had
was no longer a struggle beasts. The comthe hut.
pastures.
now
rolled far
away from
still
Their
savage yells resounded through the
We,
watching them from the hut, could see that they were
drawing near the edge of a steep abyss with a sheer
descent of
many
fathoms, at the bottom of which are the
sources of the
little
mountain streams.
!'
" 'Take care,
Juon
cried
Mariora despairingly.
But
her voice was unheard.
blind.
Both of them were deaf and
his
The next moment Juon gave
204
adversary a
Poor Plutocrats
fierce shake,
and instantly the pair of them plunged head
over heels into the gulf below.
"We
among
fully
both rushed after them, and on reaching the
edge of the abyss perceived one shape lying motionless
the rocks of the stream, and another limping pain-
toward the further shore.
This second figure was
Fatia Negra."
"Surely
horrified.
Juon
was
'
not
dead ?"
cried
Henrietta,
"No; only
severely.
injured by the
fall.
He
fell
undermost,
the other on top.
Yet the other must have suffered
We
could see from his heavy movements that
he had more than one limb damaged.
Only with the
utmost exertion did he manage to scale the opposite
clii¥.
"While
insensible
he
was
clambering
up
the
mountainside,
Mariora, sobbing and screaming, rushed
down
to her
husband and, taking
his
head into her bosom,
dragged
while
I
his limp
body out of the cold water of the brook,
the beech tree Fatia Negra's
it
took
down from
double-barreled musket and raised
to
my
cheek. Before
me on
the white rock, in the full light of the
moon, a
good mark for a marksman was that panting black object struggling
upward.
I
pointed the barrel straight at
I
him.
I
took a long and careful aim.
am
certain I
should have hit him.
And
then
I
bethought
me how
much
I
had loved him once upon a time, and the weapon
I
sank down.
flung
it
from me."
and covered her face with
The
girl ceased to speak,
205
Poor Plutocrats
both her hands.
It
was
a long time before she took
them
away At
face
again.
last
she sprang up quickly, and, turning her pale
in a hard,
I
toward Henrietta, said
dry voice: "It
because
will be the last time,
I
your ladyship.
am weak
am
a
woman,
is
folks
would
say.
But they
shall
know
that that
I
not true.
Don't be afraid,
will I do.
my
lady; what
have promised, that
to
You have
been very
good
lady.
me
in telling
me
it.
that I
was being
deceived, and
bless you,
I will requite
you for
!"
And now, God
my
Farewell
"But surely you are not thinking of going home so
late at
night?"
"What care I about the night? No spectre can meet me anywhere that is worse than the horrible thing that dwells at the bottom of my heart. God bless your ladyship. You shall hear from me soon. Farewell!"
Then
the girl gently kissed Henrietta's
hand and
left
the room, throwing into her gait
and bearing an energy
feeling.
and a self-confidence which she was far from
206
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XII
RECEPTIONS AT ARAD
Despite
his misgivings,
Count Kengyelesy succeeded
in reaching his
home
at
Arad without being robbed by
his visit at
lost
Fatia Negra.
During the evenings of
Hidvár he had won
his
back everything which he had
on the occasion of
friend Hátszegi's visit at Kengyelesy, and in the joy of
his heart
he gave his countess a free hand in the matter
of entertaining her friends, and opened his halls freely
to the elegant world of Arad.
For
the society of
is
Arad
is
distinctly elegant.
Except-
ing Pesth, there
no other place in Hungary where the
aristocratic element is so strongly represented.
Nay,
it
has this advantage over Pesth that
scatter as the seasons change.
its
society does not
as
Such pleasure resorts
all
is
Csákó, Ménes, Magyarát, and Világos, and the castles of
the magnates residing on the circumjacent plain are
a heap, so to speak, around Arad; so that there
of
no
or
occasion
;
for
acquaintances
to all
to
separate
in
spring
autumn wherefore
Eldorado.
those who would devote them-
selves uninterruptedly to social joys,
Arad
is
a veritable
207
Poor Plutocrats
There was no need
of visiting began.
to offer the Countess
Kengyelesy
such an opportunity twice
—the very next day the round
whom nobody knew, Among
were
those
All the notabiHties of the higher circles
got themselves introduced to her ladyship by mutual
friends,
and the
lesser
fry,
introduced to her by the count himself.
who came from
had an
official
afar
was
a
young man from Pesth, who
for his culture
post in the county, a rare distinction in
who was much praised who had spoken once or twice very
those days,
Sessions
and
sensibly at Quarter
—
a certain Szilárd
ested the ladies in the
cial
Vámhidy. But what interyoung man far more than his offihis
orations
was
the
rumor connecting
name with a The young
to kill
at the
romantic attachment he was said to have had with the
daughter of a wealthy merchant of Pesth.
man, being disappointed
himself,
in his love,
had resolved
do likewise
and had persuaded the
girl to
same
time.
Only with
difficulty
had they been snatched
from the threshold of death.
wife of the wealthy Hátszegi.
Subsequently, on account
of this very thing, the girl had been forced to become the
The countess quickly made up her mind that such a young man as this was an indispensable acquaintance. What! Henrietta's idea, with whom she had been in
love and
who would have
gladly embraced death with
her
!
Here, indeed, was a rare species, especially in these
days, which deserved to be exhibited; and she
rest
till
modern
gave her husband no
duce the young
he had promised to introthis
man
to her.
To
end
it
was necessary
208
Poor Plutocrats
make the young man's acquaintance himself, but this was an easy matter. The deputy lord-lieutenant of the county knew them both, and at his And Count house they learned to know each other. Kengyelesy was one of those men whom it is impossible It to avoid when once you have made his acquaintance. was not very long, therefore, before he took his new
that he should
first
of
all
friend absolutely under his protection, and hauled
off to his wife.
him
The usual
stiffness of a first introduction
was
speedily
broken down by the quaint conceits of the count.
The
dress
countess had
donned a flowing antique moire
hair
in
and
wore her
long
English
curls
to
match.
"Come now,
you say ?
This
friend Szilárd
!"
cried the count,
"what do
gown and
that head-dress hardly suit the
countess's style of face
—eh?"
ruffled
Many
eternally
instant.
a
worthy young man would have been plunged
for an
into confusion by such a silly question, but our Szilard's
composed countenance was not
"Everything becomes the countess," he replied
;
"but
I
know
of something which
fair
is
still
more charming and
the
would make any
"Really!
countess.
woman still more beautiful." You make me quite curious," said
you are a connoisseur!
"Why,
Szilárd,
—you
surprise
me !"
"I
cried the count.
mean
those blue stuff
gowns with white
209
spots,
which
Poor Plutocrats
lend quite a peculiar
charm
to our
women,
especially
if
you
set
it
off
with an old-fashioned lace capote."
At the very next reception the Countess Kengyelesy was attired in one of these blue stuff gowns with white spots, of home manufacture, and with a black lace headdress
—exactly
as Szilárd
had described
it
to her.
"My
dear friend, be so good as to look there!" said
the count, appropriating Szilárd while he
half through the doorway.
was
still
only
"There she
is,
costumed from
!
head to foot exactly as you advised.
Ah
I
pity you.
You
are already in the toils."
Szilárd hastened at once to greet the countess,
treated the
tion
all
who
handsome young fellow with marked
Indeed,
distinc-
through the evening.
it.
she
made no
to
secret of
Three days
a
later Szilárd
visit
was bound by custom
pay
complimentary
to the countess.
He
purposely
chose an hour
when he knew
It
she would not be at home,
and
left his card,
but the same evening he encountered
her at the theatre.
was
in the entrance hall,
till it
where
she was waiting for her carriage, and
Szilárd could not very well leave her.
drove up
"Ah, ah!
my
honored
friend,"
cried
I
the
countess
archly, "this won't do.
You
mean
wait
till
and then you go and leave your card
of respect.
am not at home, upon me as a token
off so easily.
I
But
lot to
I
don't
to let
you
I
have got a
say to you, which
am
determined you
shall listen to.
You
must, therefore, promise to come to
I
my
house at twelve o'clock to-morrow, or else
shall
210
Poor Plutocrats
astonish the world by inviting you to
come along with
me
this instant in
my
carriage."
A man
in another
mood
could scarcely have resisted
the temptation of replying that he
would be delighted
if
the countess put her threat into execution then and there,
even at the risk of astonishing the world.
Szilárd merely
looked grave, and said that he would be happy to pay his
respects to the countess at twelve
on the morrow.
He went
accordingly.
His pulses beat no more quickly
in a
else,
than usual as he entered the countess's private apartment,
although she gave the footman to understand
voice that she
invited the
to face.
low
and
would be
at
young man
to sit
home down
to
nobody
close beside her, face
The
countess was a beautiful
the art of dressing beautifully likewise.
woman, and she possessed The countess
pretty mouth,
for she
had beautiful
them, too.
eyes,
and she could smile beautifully with
The countess had an extremely
it
and when she spoke
witty
was
prettier
still,
had ^
way with
dear,
her.
The danger
of the situation was
very appreciable.
"My
light,
good
Szilárd," began the countess with that
natural
diffidence
which so easily disarms the
it ill
strongest of us, "do not take
confidentially.
of
me
if I
speak to you
The world
will very
I
soon be saying that
I
you are
in love with
me and
it
with you.
shall not
believe the former
and you
will not believe the latter.
I
Let the world say what
of a husband,
likes.
have a
real blessing
whom
it
would be a shame
2It
to offend,
and
Poor Plutocrats
you have
to fetch
quite other ideas.
!
I
know what
they are. Don't
I
be angry, don't frown
I
am
not exacting.
don't
want
ask"
you away from other people.
treasures.
I will
I will
not
where you have buried your
to
merely say
they are
of me."
you
that I
Is
it
buried.
know you have treasures and that not so? You need not be afraid
a
little
it
Szilárd
turn.
was
taken aback by this unexpected
Could
be sheer curiosity? he thought.
"I have nothing to be afraid of, countess," remarked
Szilárd smiling; "I
have no buried
is all.
secrets.
I
was a
illu-
young man
once, that
I
have had
my
foolish
sions like other people, and, like other people, I have
cured myself of them."
"Nay, nay,
truth
;
sir,
now you
you that
I
are not quite sticking to the
you are not cured of them.
But before
to trust
I
I
go any
I
farther, let
me
tell
all this is
not mere feminine
curiosity
trust
to
on
my
part.
want you
me, and
will
you
equally.
Believe
me when
it
say that
I
if I
love
re-
make fun of empty-headed
good
heart, because
to speak to
noodles,
is
can always
spect a
a rarity.
The lady
I
is
want
you about
is
my
dear friend, and she
very, very unhappy."
Szilárd
was bound
fault ?"
to believe that this
was
true, for
(
teardrops sparkled in the countess's eyes.
"Is
"It
fact.
it
my
he asked
bitterly.
I
is
neither your fault nor hers.
know
that as a
The cause of it all is money, the thirst for money. There is not a more miserable creature in the wide world
than the daughter of a rich man.
But that
is
the least of
212
Poor Plutocrats
her misfortunes.
not love her,
They married her
to a
man who
did
who
only took her because her grandfather
was
the
a millionaire.
Her grandfather
frightened her into
his curse,
match by threatening her with
friendship for her,
and now,
does not
when
even
she has become the wife of this
feel
I
man who
hear that this same old
will,
grandfather has made another
everything."
depriving her or
Szilard's lips trembled at these words.
"You
can imagine what will be the
loves not
result.
This young
woman
and
is
not loved.
They gave her away
to an Oriental nabob, who, imagining his wife to be
wealthy, scatters his
money
like a prince.
And now
this
man
has suddenly been startled by the report that his wife
has absolutely nothing!
—do
you know the meaning of
itself
the expression: 'Bread of charity'?"
"I have heard the expression, but the bread
I
have never tasted."
"Then you can have no
is like
idea
what that
sort of bread
finds to be
which a
man
gives to the wife
whom he
poor,
when he
is
!
fancied her to be rich
—oh!
that sort of
bread
very, very bitter!"
Ah
thought Szilárd, the bread that / offered her was
only dry
—not
tell
bitter.
you on very good authority," resumed the countess, "that the baron's conduct toward his wife has
"I can
completely changed since he discovered that she has been
disinherited.
first
He
had
lost heavily at cards
when
the
news
ill-
reached him, and he took no pains to conceal his
213
Poor Plutocrats
humor from
district
his wife in consequence.
The poor
of the
had got
to regard Henrietta as their ministering
angel because of her labors of love
she can play the part of
among them,
but
now
She
Lady Bountiful no
longer.
has to shut her
door in the faces of her poor petitioners,
for her husband will not allow
any unnecessary expense.
Nay, more, they say that Hátszegi
now
keeps his wife's
private jewels under lock and key, to prevent her
from
pawning them and
the proceeds, as she
relieving the needs of the poor with
was wont
to do,
and only brings them
to
pile
out on state
occasions,
when he compels her
them
"If
all
on her person.
Isn't that a humiliation for a
woman ?"
only
you had become mine," Szilárd mentally
apostrophized poor Henrietta, "you would
a cozy
little
now have had
room
all
chimney corner, and a nice
I
little
to
yourself; and though
could not have bought you jewels,
the best of every morsel of food
we shared
together would
always have been yours."
"And," pursued the countess, "most degrading experience of
all,
Hátszegi no longer attempts to conceal from
his wife his outrageous affairs with pretty peasant
women. The thing has long been a byword, though his wife knew nothing of it but she knows it now. Nor is this all, my
—
dear Vámhidy.
Poor Henrietta's heart
all
is
suffering from
be-
another sorrow, which she feels
cause
it
the
more keenly
left
smarts unceasingly.
Her young
all
brother, Kolo-
man, has suddenly disappeared from Pesth and
trace behind him.
no
They say
sorts of things about him,
214
Poor Plutocrats
which
I
do not care about telHng you, but most of them
are bad enough.
On
the
news reaching Henrietta, she
Hátszegi wrote to his agent,
will not
asked her husband to make inquiries as to the cause of
Koloman's disappearance.
and received an answer which he
rietta
show
to
Hen-
on any consideration; nay, more, he commanded
mention Koloman's name before him
is
his wife never to
again.
The poor woman
naturally in despair.
She
can not conceive
why
the cause of her brother's disap-
pearance should be hidden from her.
And now
rigmarole.
it,
I
am
if
coming
to the end
and aim of
I
all this
Henthat
rietta believes,
and
am
likewise convinced of
is
her brother be alive, there
only one person in the world
is
whom
he will try and seek out, and that
lad
!
yourself."
"Poor
you?
rietta's
If
he loved
me much,"
find out the
sighed Szilárd.
I
"And now you understand what
anybody can
brother and the real reason
am
driving
at,
don't
whereabouts of Hen-
why he
fled
from
his
relations at Pesth,
and took refuge neither with
I
his aunt,
all
Madame
This
it
Langai, who,
hear, has taken his part
sister, it is
through, nor yet with his
is
most certainly you.
set
no lawyer's business, for a lawyer would
about
too gingerly.
Here sympathy and chivalry are before
if
all
other things necessary, and
the husband declines this
noble task,
we have nobody
to turn to except
—
the
man
who
has been sacrificed."
Szilárd bit his lips to prevent the tears
from coming.
Who
could ever have thought that so frivolous a
feeling for her friend
?
woman
Then he
would have had so much
215
Poor Plutocrats
rose,
bowed, and curtly informed the countess that he
countess pressed his hand affectionately:
she, "for
would undertake the commission.
The
keep
the
me informed of everything," said common post between you two."
till
"And I am
pon-
Szlard thanked the countess and withdrew.
He
dered the matter carefully
time he had a plan
all
the evening, and by that
ready in his head.
this
For
of
a
whole week after
nothing was to be seen
Vámhidy.
Count Kengyelesy sought him everywhere
and could
find
him nowhere.
Every day he asked
his
countess what she had done with the young man.
Ten days
had been
after the first reception the date for another
fixed.
Szilárd did not appear even at
pillar to post,
this.
Kengyelesy hunted for him from
heard anything of him.
but could
not discover what had become of him.
Nobody had
last to
"He
has poisoned himself," said Kengyelesy at
'Tt
is
a group of his sporting friends.
quite plain to me.
When
a fellow has got that sort of thing into his head
it
once, he will try
again and again.
all
I
wash
my
hands
of the business
;
it is
the fault of the countess.
Why
does she play her tricks with such people?
No
I
doubt he
has swallowed poison and then crawled away into some
nook or corner of a
forest.
In a
month or two,
suppose,
we
come upon him unexpectedly." "Whom shall we come upon unexpectedly?" cried a voice behind his back. He looked around, and there was
shall
the long-lost Szilárd.
2l6
—
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh, there you
with yourself
all
are,
this
!
eh?
What have you time? Come along
I will
been doing
with
wife.
and Heaven help you
—
me
Poor
take you to
my
young chap!
it
I
thought you had already had enough of
in consequence."
and made away with yourself
Then he drew
his
arm through
Szilard's
cried.
and tripped
OÍÍ to the countess.
"Here he is!" he found him; do not abandon yourself
"We
!
have
his
to despair
on
account.
a chair
!
Be
I'll
so
good
as to
sit
down
beside
him
!"
—
here's
take care nobody disturbs you
Szilard's
to
The countess pressed him to remain.
"I have just arrived
hand and made a sign
Szilárd.
from Pesth," said
"Really!
Well?"
"I have found out everything; or rather, I should say,
a
good
deal."
tell
"Do, pray,
me
at once.
All the people are dancing;
they will take no notice of us."
"Ever
since old Lapussa's death,"
began Szilárd, "for
will, all
he died soon after he had altered his
the
members
of his family have been at bitter variance.
Madame
Langai, the old man's widowed daughter, disputes the
validity
of the last will
—whereby
Mr. John Lapussa
else
becomes
heir, to the exclusion of
everybody
it.
—and has
mind
and
instituted legal proceedings to upset
Madame Langai
in his right
seeks to prove that old Lapussa
was not
when he
disinherited the other
members of
his family,
she also maintains that the old fellow had no reason whatever for hating his grandchildren and reducing them to
217 (F)— (10)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
beggary, as he has done.
On
the other hand, Mr.
John
maintains that his dear father had excellent reasons for
detesting his grandchildren, because the Baroness Hátszegi has never written a letter to her grandfather since
her marriage, and both she and her husband have expressed
themselves at
home
in
the
most disrespectful
terms imaginable concerning the old gentleman, even
giving
if
it
to be understood that they
would be very glad
fall
they had not to wait too long for the curtain to
on
the fifth act of his hfe's drama.
He
calls as his
witness
one Margari,
who was
formerly old Lapussa's reader
before the girl was married, and since then has been compelled to act as secretary to Hátszegi, or rather as a spy
upon him.
John,
is
This fellow,
who
is
now
all
the
mere
tool of
Mr.
quite prepared to retail
sorts of horrors about
the Hátszegis.
As
to the other grandchild, the
boy Kolo-
man
I
mean,
his uncle
has saddled him wnth a terrible
bill
charge.
He
has produced a
for forty thousand florins,
in the
which he accuses the lad of forging
sister, the
name of
his
Baroness Hátszegi."
"Ah!" exclaimed the countess in an incredulous voice. "The thing is ridiculously incredible, I know, yet there
the
bill is;
I
have seen
it,
for
it
has been sequestered by
the court.
also
is
It is
obviously in the youth's handwriting, as
the very bad imitation of his sister's signature.
is
In connection therewith
the fact of the youth's sudden
disappearance
(and every attempt to trace his where-
abouts has failed), for, on the very day
of the
bill
when
the subject
col-
was
first
broached he vanished from his
218
Poor Plutocrats
lege,
and apparently he had been preparing for
flight
some time before."
"But what could have induced a mere
a thing; he
is
child to
do such
scarcely thirteen years old?"
"He was
always somewhat flighty by nature, though
that, of course, is not sufficient to explain
how he came
to forge his sister's
florins."
name on
a draft for forty thousand
"But why will not the baron tell his wife all about it?'" "Does not your ladyship see? It is quite plain to me.
Hátszegi understands his wife thoroughly.
tain that as soon as the baroness hears of
is
He
to
feels cer-
what her brother
acknowl-
accused, she will not hesitate a
moment
edge the forged signature as really her own."
"True, true.
be saved."
And
then
I
suppose her brother could
"Completely."
"And
money
?"
then,
I
suppose,
she would have to pay the
"Either pay
it
or be sued for
I
it."
"Poor woman!
know
she has no money.
A
most
awkward
ter
;
position,
most awkward.
But
it
does not mat-
if
her jewels are under lock and key, nobody guards
mine."
At
these words, which
came
straight
from the
best of
hearts, Szilárd could not restrain himself
from impress-
ing a burning kiss on the countess's hand, so affected was
he by
this outburst of generosity.
"Ah, ha!" cackled the count behind
his back, "so
we
219
Poor Plutocrats
have got as far as that already, eh!
Capital, capital,
friend, don't be
upon
my word
!
Nay, nay,
my young
!"
afraid of me.
Do
not put yourself out in the least on
my
account!
God bless you, my boy "To-morrow we'll plan it all out;
at
I
I'll
be waiting for
;
you
one o'clock," whispered the countess to Szilárd
"now
must go, the
cotillion is beginning."
"Don't you dance then?" inquired the count of Szilárd.
"Nonsense!
they'll
say you
are
mourning somebody.
Thank God
Hátszegi's.
old Lapussa
It is
for
was not your father-in-law, but him to pull a long face, but you go
and dance
!"
220
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XIII
TIT FOR TAT
It
may seem
strange to us that the rumor of Fatia
in
Negra's nocturnal adventure was not spread abroad
these parts, but as a matter of fact
it.
nobody did speak of
about
It
seemed as
if
everybody
who knew anything
it
died out of the world before he could pass the news on
to his neighbor.
The dwellers
in the
hut in the
ice valley
had vanished
without leaving a trace behind them.
The
herd, untended
by a shepherd, was scattered to the winds by wolves. Nobody could say what had become of Juon Tare and
Mariora.
she
The person who should least of all tell that knew anything about this midnight adventure was
herself.
Anicza
She had sobbed out the whole story
before Henrietta, but after that she kept her
own
counsel
and kept a good countenance also when folks looked at her. But there was venom at the bottom of her heart,
and she nourished
it
there.
In a fortnight's time Fatia Negra visited her again.
There was now nothing the matter with him
of the
life
;
all
traces
and death struggle had disappeared.
affectionate
Anicza
was more
toward him than
221
ever.
She did
Poor Plutocrats
not even ask
him where he had been
his neck,
all this
time, nor
did she notice the scar on
there before.
which had not been
always did.
Fatia
Negra came
to her at night, as he
The famous adventurer was very cautious. Anicza knew for certain that whenever he came to visit her in a populous place like this, before him and behind him went
faithful
henchmen, who stood on guard
at the corners of
the streets and gave a signal at the approach of any danger.
go
alone.
Only among the snowy mountains was he wont to He was also very wary in other ways. Thus,
:
he never drank wine
there
was
really
no getting
at him.
And
if
once he had his weapons handy, then he could
if
always cut his way through his enemies, even
completely surrounded.
he were
"Fatia
Negra,"
neck,
said
the
girl,
I
throwing
evil
her
arms
I
round
his
"last
night
had an
dream.
dreamt that the smallpox had ruined
my
face.
Would
adven-
you love
"Yes,
turer.
me
I
if
T
were pockmarked?'*
still
would
love
you,"
replied
the
"Well, as
it
happens,
I
I
am
not.
Kiss me!
all
Then
I
dreamt another dream.
dreamt that
our property
was destroyed.
I
was
a ragged
wandering beggar, with
my
head
tied up.
Would you
love
me
if I
were a ragged
beggar?"
"Little fool, of course I should love you."
"Then embrace me nicely. some one had shut me up
222
After that
in
I
dreamt that
prison
for
some great
Poor Plutocrats
offense
;
they had condemned
me
to
many
years' impris-
onment, condemned
again when
me
to spend all
my
youth behind
let
iron-barred windows, and they would only
I
had become a wrinkled old hag.
were
in prison?
me free Would
you love me
then?"
if I
stand outside
my
iron bars and speak to
Would you come and me now and
is
"Stop
this
foolish chatter!
Who
able to
answer
such questions?" and in order that she should obey the
more
readily he closed her
mouth with
kisses.
But as soon as the
prattle again:
kisses
were over, she began
to
"But
after
that
I
went on dreaming again, and
I I
dreamt what made
dreamt that
I
me
me
very angry
else,
with
myself.
married some one
love
if I
and forgot you.
Would you
"Yes,
love
for
I
still
were
to deceive
you and
\ved another?"
would love you even
then, Anicza
—and
my
you would make
me
shoot you through the
heart."
How
the girl laughed
when he
said this!
"Wait a bit," said she, "and you will see that it will I shall I shall grow sick and ugly. all come to pass. become a poor beggar. They will send me to prison and make a slave of me. I shall deceive you and wed another. Then we shall see whether you will love me then we shall
;
see
whether you
will kill
all
me."
Anicza thought
aloud.
this so
The
noise brought old
amusing that she laughed Onucz into the room. His
223
Poor Plutocrats
daughter turned toward him smilingly.
"Isn't
it
true,
father, that three suitors are courting me?'^ she asked.
"I
was asking Fatia Negra which of the three
Old Onucz scratched
his nose pretty
I
should
take."
hard at
this ques-
tion.
He would
long as
have liked to have
the right one
!"
said,
".Whichever you
like as
it is
but he was afraid of
offending Fatia Negra.
''Well, Master," said
all.
he at
last,
"truth
is
truth after
I'm getting an old
man now, and
I
what's the good
these ducats
if
of
my
scraping together and piling up
it all ?
all
nothing comes of
a pretty girl
have indeed an only daughter,
but what's the use of
and
a
good
girl, too,
that?
You
are not her husband.
If I only
knew
out,
of
I
some
settle
corner of the world quite out of your reach,
would
gather together
all
it
my
belongings, seek
avail,
it
and
down
find
there
;
but
would be of no
you would always
have to stay
me
I
out and befool
my
girl again; so I
where
am."
is
"Don't grumble, old chap, there
a time for
all
things.
This black mask shall not always cover
my
face;
when
I
come
to see you,
my name
will
shall
not always be Fatia
Negra.
The day
come when a carriage and four
shall drive into
will then leap
your courtyard, a sabretached footman from the box and open the silver-plated
coach, and a cavalier in cloth of gold will step out
who
his
comes
finger
to
you
will
as a suitor.
If
you
see this ring
will
on
you
know
that
it is I,
and there
no longer
be a Fatia Negra in the wide world.
We will go together
224
Poor Plutocrats
to Bucharest, a true
Rumanian
city,
where
folks will re-
spect us,
and then our happy days
long time."
will begin."
tell-
"If only that could be soon!
But you have been
ing
me
this for a long,
is
"That
yet.
because
we can
not put an end to our work
still
There are very many people who
us.
expect
much
from
wear
it
If I
do not
satisfy them, they will
remain a
perpetual danger to us.
this
That
longer.
it
is
why
I
am
compelled to
I
mask
a
little
When
is
once
have taken
off,
he
more in "Then you
one day?"
"Yes,
it is
who used to wear common with me."
really
dead, and has nothing
mean
to break
away from everything
finger whispers that
high time.
My
own
little
some one wants
to betray me.
But say that to nobody.
people.
We must
The Government is getting suspicious at the disappearance of so much gold. It is sniffing about, but at present it is on a wrong The Jews of Hungary are suspected, and they track. happen to know nothing at all about it. But it is quite enough that suspicion has been aroused. So far they
not frighten our
fancy that only about
are unlawfully
that
it
fifty to sixty
pounds of gold a year
made away
with.
They
don't
know
yet
is
amounts
to five or six hundredweight,
which
coined into ready
money underneath
the ground.
This
business must be put a stop to.
yielded a rich profit.
This year the mines
will
Next Saturday there
be a
last
delivery of gold in the Lucsia cavern.
coins are struck
As soon
as the
we
shall divide the profits,
wish one
225
Poor Plutocrats
another good-night, and depart our respective ways.
shall destroy the
We
machinery, blow up the smelting fur-
naces with gunpowder, break
close
down
the aqueducts, and
up
the
mouth
of the cavern.
After that every one
I shall
can do as he likes with his gold.
of
it."
wash
as I
my
hands
"Well said!" cried old Onucz; "that
it
is
would have
also.
The whole
lot
of us
who
are partners in the con-
more in the Lucsia cavern. There we will listen to what you say, and swear to each other that we will not say a word of what has gone on down below there. Then every one will do as you bid, for you are
cern will meet once
the
most prudent of us
I shall
all."
"Then
only have to wait another week?" in-
quired Anicza, winding the locks of Fatia
Negra round
her fingers.
"For what?" asked the adventurer.
"Nay, but surely you know?" "Aha! of course!" said he smiling. "You mean you will only have to wait another week for me to cease to be your husband under a mask and become your real, true
husband, eh ?
That
is
the end of
girl,
all
your thoughts, eh ?"
to give
!"
"Yes, yes I" said the
self
:
but she thought within her-
"I shall only have to wait a
into the
week
up your up and
masked head
hands of the hangman
So Fatia Negra unsuspiciously rocked the
girl
down on his knee, and reflected complacently: "Girls are made in order that they may believe the lies which men choose to tell them."
226
Poor Plutocrats
But Anicza was a Wallachian
girls are jealous, revengeful,
girl,
and Wallachian
and
artful.
That Saturday had
arrived.
lit
Seven hundred torches
lights burst forth
up the Lucsia Grotto.
to time, flooding for a
In
between, from out of the corners of the cavern, Bengal
from time
of that
few
moments the whole
blue, white,
gloomy palace with green,
and rose-colored flames, to which the red
flame of the pitch-torches with their black smoke formed
a spectral contrast.
The great company
last
of coiners had arranged for the
evening before their separation a sumptuous feast in
this subterranean hall.
The
floor
was strewn with white
sand, and
roast
all
round about tents were erected, in which
piled
and baked meats were
up into veritable hillocks
on broad beech-wood
at their
fire,
dishes. In order to show the wealth command, an ox was roasting whole on a flaming revolving as it roasted, while two men, one on each
it
side, basted
well with bacon fat held on iron forks.
Close behind
it
was
a gigantic vat of wine; everybody
it
was
free to drink out of
as
much
as he chose.
Right
in front of the smithy, too,
was another gigantic vat
to the
holding about
finest eatf
fifty
firkins,
filled
brim with the
lolled in
de
vie.
;
A
;
couple of
young fellows
it
front of the vat
they were already too lazy to dip their
they sucked
in
glasses into the fluid
from the brim of
the vat
itself.
The
glare of the smelting oven no longer shone from
227
Poor Plutocrats
windows of the stone building in the midst of the smoke intermingled with sparks no longer welled out of the flue, the subterranean hubbub no longer accompanied the stroke of the hammers; the machinery was silent, its work was done.
the
cavern, the
Two
hundred and
fifty
thousand coined ducats await thousand belong to Fatia
to old Onucz.
distribution;
of these,
fifty
Negra and twenty thousand
The smithy to-day
bright ribbons, and on
sites
it is
is
adorned with green twigs and
massive chimneys
all
its
the requi-
for a pyrotechnical display
have been heaped up;
it is
from these that the rockets
will ascend,
here the
vaulted
blue and red catharine-wheels will revolve.
ceiling of the cavern
is
The
so high that the rockets in their
it.
highest flight will not graze
An
orchestral-like balus-
trade has been provided for the musicians.
The
share-
holders themselves will do their best to enliven the festivities
with
fiddles, flutes,
and bagpipes.
already appearing, singly and in
the machinery of the mill.
The guests are groups, down through
are
all
The men
accompanied
by
their
womenkind
full
in gala costumes.
Before the appearance of Fatia Negra, mirth and uproar have
jollity
till
swing.
Every one gives
free course to his
is sufficient
the chief comes,
whose black mask
it
to quiet every one's
good humor.
its
And
to-day brings with
own
the
peculiar festivity.
After the great distribution of money, Fatia Negra will
take the daughter of
Onucz by
228
hand and
on
plight his
troth to her in front of a crucifix placed
a high pedes-
!
Poor Plutocrats
tal.
The oath Negra himself,
ises.
of betrothal will be an invention of Fatia
filled
with well-assorted curses and prom-
And
from
he will swear to regard Anicza as his lawful
this
bride
day forth
until such time as
he can, with-
mask or disguise, conduct her before a priest and solemnize his wedding in another place and before other For a long time this ceremony has been the people. pet idea of old Onucz, and now Fatia Negra has agreed
out any
to
it.
Gradually
ern.
all
the partners have assembled in the cav-
Among
the last to arrive are old
Onucz and
is
his
daughter with the bridesmaids.
usual with
Anicza
dressed as
her girdle and embroidered bodice and a
round hat on her head.
she sparkles
tail is
all
The only
difference
is
that
now
over with gold and jewels, and her pig-
interwoven with real pearls.
Among
all
the picked
is still
beauties
who have
gathered together here, she
the
most
ing.
beautiful.
still
Only the bridegroom
keeps the good folks wait-
He
it
is
a long time coming, as becomes a great man.
quite possible he
Nay,
is
may
be there already withis
out any one seeing him.
Perchance he
walking along
there behind the bride in an invisible mantle, and only
when he throws
people see him.
it off,
then only and not
till
then will the
Anicza screams aloud
is
—perhaps with joy
!
Every one
thunderstruck; they imagine their leader must be in
league with the devil himself, for he comes up from out
of the earth
229
—
Poor Plutocrats
And
with what splendor does he ascend
is
!
The purple
robe that he wears
scarce discernible for gold lace; a
long embroidered mantle, like the mantle of a prince,
floats
down from
his shoulders,
and on
his
head he wears
a golden helmet,
from which the mask depends.
is set all
The
top of this helmet
round about with dia-
monds, and one of his comrades makes the remark that
the spike of this helmet
is
somewhat muddy.
He
is
wears
no weapon by his
side,
not even a dagger.
Naturally
one generally lays aside one's arms when one
about to
swear solemnly before an
altar.
Onucz approached him
obsequiously and kissed the hand of his mysterious leader
with profound respect, while Anicza approached him
with roguish archness, adroitly feigning a superstitious
fear of her magician of a sweetheart.
"I
am
not afraid of you, Fatia Negra
I
!
though you
in
come and go unseen.
name."
fear
you come not
God's
"That
is
true.
We
!"
are nearer methinks to the king-
dom
of the devil."
!
"Hush
say not so
"Why
not?
If these
men had imagined
that I
came
down from heaven they would have betrayed me long ago. They would have carried me bound to Fehérvár;
but because they fancy
I
quainted with the devil, they fear
It is
came from below and am acme and are faithful.
fear
the
same with you: you love me because you
ho, ho!
me."
"Ho,
We
shall see.
I fear
nobody, not even
230
Poor Plutocrats
you.
It
was a joke when
that."
I'll
I said just
now
:
I
am
afraid.
You did not see "Come now,
see that crucifix
put you to the test at once.
altar?
You
swear
will
on the
On
that
we
will
fidelity to each other,
and every one here present
As, however,
to witness, for
also
swear to preserve eternal secrecy.
coiners can not call
God
by our trade
we we
have rejected Him, our oaths can not ascend to heaven,
but must descend elsewhere. oath
In order, then, that our
may
be effectual, go,
it
if
the crucifix and return
to
you have the courage, turn only upside down." its place
—
For an
instant the girl
grew pale and trembled; then
it
she advanced boldly up to the altar, seized the crucifix
and, lifting
it
up, turned
round and thrust
it
upside
down
its
into a hole that
happened to be on the
in the air.
altar, so that
pedestal stood
up
All
who were
present looked
on with wonder and
it
horror.
As
the girl raised the cross and put
down
again
reverse ways, a mechanical involuntary jolting motion
of her arms nothing.
was
discernible,
though her face betrayed
altar
An
electrical
machine hidden beneath the
was the cause of this shock. "Well?" inquired Fatia Negra
place.
as she returned to her
"The
crucifix struck
I
me when
I seized
it,
and struck
girl;
me
again when
put
it
down," whispered the
pale.
and
as she said these
words she was very
I
"And
yet
you did what
told you," said Fatia Negra,
231
Poor Plutocrats
placing his hand on Anicza's shoulder.
girl,
"You
are a brave
and worthy of me."
"Comrades!" the leader of the adventurers now cried
with a thunderous voice, "come and listen to me!"
Every one thereupon abandoned
his diversion,
his booth, his table or
and stood
in a circle
round Black Mask.
of that place which
"Ye know," he
is
began, "the
!
name
is
under the earth
at this
Its
name
the grave.
Ye
are
all
of
you
dead men.
sunlight
ing,
moment in the grave with me and, if I wish it, Whoever would see once more the bright of the upper world, where dawn is now breaktell
he must swear that he will never at any time, drunk
to
or sober,
any man what has happened, what he has
it
seen or heard in this underground tomb, but will regard
all
as a dream,
this
which he has forgotten on awakening.
Swear
all
with
me
in this
hour!
I
myself will
first
of
repeat the oath, and ye must say whether ye are con-
tent therewith or not."
Thereupon he approached the
ever seen an electrical machine
tric
altar,
whose base formed
of us
so well.
jars,
the glass isolating "island," which
all
know
who have The elec-
machine
itself,
a battery of
Leyden
was hidden
under the altar and connected by a piece of clockwork
with that opening covered with metal, in which the crucifix
had been planted.
Black
Mask
stood silently for a
moment on
from
the base of
the altar after
removing
his helmet
his head,
and
those who stood nearest were horrified
single hairs of his long flowing
to observe that
mane
of hair rose slowly
232
—
Poor Plutocrats
and remained
deep
stiffly
suspended
in the air.
There was a
silence, the silence that prevails
under the earth
among
the dead.
And now
Fatia Negra began to recite the words of the
oath in a solemn, ghostly voice: "I, the bearer of the
Black Mask, Fatia Negra, as they
call
me, swear in the
which,
;
subterranean midnight by the living
like rain,
fire
falling-
reduced
Sodom and Gomorrah
to ashes
by the
flood
which
killed all the dwellers
upon earth; by the
gaping gulf which swallowed up the traitorous bands of
Dathan and Abiram
;
;
by the
spirit
which announced the
the Angel
death of King Saul by the Angel Lucifer, who, by reason of his rebellion, was cast
down from heaven by
;
Malach Hamovesh, who
which Moses
things,
carries in his
hands the sword
of violent death; by the twelve plagues of Egypt, with
visited the land of the
star
Pharaohs by
;
all
these
I
and by the
under which
I
I
was born, do
swear secrecy
I
—and may
perish in
fire
and water, may
be buried alive in the bowels of the earth,
may
I
become
salt, may the wild beast of the forest tear me may my own weapon turn against me in the evil hour, may I be terrified by midnight spectres and hag-ridden, may my body be smitten with leprosy, my
a pillar of
to pieces,
eyes with blindness,
my
tongue with dumbness,
syllable to
my
bones
by rottenness,
it
if
ever I speak one
anybody, be
priest,
or child, or father, or condemning judge, or
I
threatening headsman, of anything
learned in this place, or write
it
!
have seen, heard, or
or
down with my hand
put anybody on the track of
it
May
every drop of
my
233
Poor Plutocrats
blood become curse-laden;
may my
in
I
remotest posterity
anathematize
me may
;
I
awake
all
my grave
who
and go about
to
again as a spectre,
if
ever
act in
any way contrary
what
I
now swear!
May
those
are under the
earth and above the earth be the witnesses of this
my
oath!"
This drastic formula
parts the people
satisfied
everybody.
In those
self-objur-
much
prefer such
unmeaning
gation to our legal oaths as taken in the presence of the
judges, and they are considered a hundred times
binding.
more
Meanwhile numerous
single hairs
had seemed
spectral
to detach themselves
from Black Mask's long locks and
around his head
like
now
stood upright
all
some
crown.
horror.
Those who stood around regarded him with deep
Many
all.
believed that a supernatural marvelous
power was
in his
words only the
;
girl did
not believe in
him
at
In order to increase
still
further this terrified respect,
the adventurer beckoned toward
him
the old
men
of the
assembly.
"Come
hither, that ye
may
see for yourselves
how
in
well acquainted with the
that other place
words of the oath are those
;
where knowledge needs must be stretch
out your hands toward me, touch
me
with the tips of
your
fingers,
and ye
will discover there is
something
else
present here besides yourselves."
Old Onucz tremblingly stretched out
direction of Fatia Negra, and the next
his
hand
in the
moment
collapsed
with fear
when he
perceived sparks crackle forth from
234
Poor Plutocrats
his leader's garments,
which burned his finger
first to
tips.
More
till
than one elder was afraid at
curiosity
put out his hand
made him venture
everything.
Several wanted
to convince themselves personally of this miracle,
which
they could not credit from the hearsay of others, and the
juggler himself encouraged those standing near him to
touch him wherever they chose, and
fire
would spring
from
his body.
Sparks sometimes leaped forth from his
tips
neck and sometimes from the
of his ears, and every
its
one was persuaded that the curse had already made
way
into every
drop of
his blood.
Anicza alone did not draw near him.
"Are you afraid of me, then?" inquired the impostor. "No."
"Come and
kiss
me
then
!"
Anicza approached and allowed herself to be kissed.
Immediately afterward a shudder ran through her.
"Well?
What
did you feel?"
"Your mouth burned my mouth," replied the girl, and Fatia Negra happening to look aside just then, she furtively crossed herself.
Negra was completely satisfied with the success of this comedy. Their awe of the mysterious and the unintelligible had made his comrades his slaves; he need have no more scruples concerning them.
Fatia
"Give
me
your right hand, Anicza," said
he,
"and
let
give your other hand to your next neighbor, and
every one take the hand of the person next to him."
Thus he made them form a long
235
chain, the extreme
Poor Plutocrats
end of which was brought up by old Onucz, in whose
hand he placed a slender conducting rod, which hung
down from
syllable of
the altar.
all
Then he
recited the fantastic oath
before them
it
once more, while they repeated every
after him.
The comedy was concluded by
which instantly sent a spasm of
a violent electric shock,
pain through the muscles and sinews of every
of the living chain.
member
all
The poor untaught
creatures
imagined that the devil himself was flying through their
limbs,
and with tears and groans they begged Black
Mask not to put them to any further test. "And now, Fatia Negra," said old Onucz respectfully, "the moment has come in which you also must keep your
word.
Will you really take
my
daughter to wife?"
I
"I will not see the light of day again until
have
done so."
"Will you swear to be her husband in the
way you
promised to swear?"
"You
shall hear
me."
there, as
"Then have I something else to say to you. Over you see, stands the great weighing machine;
one of the scales
I will place
in
Anicza and
in the other
as
many
piles of ducats as will
make her
kick the beam.
I will
give
my
girl as
many gold
on
it,
ducats as she weighs."
Thereupon
and carried
the
two bridesmen produced a large wooden
raised
it
platter, placed the bride
it
high in the air
to the
huge weighing machine.
Onucz
bade them place both bride and platter in the
it
scale, that
might weigh the heavier.
Then
they piled up into the
236
Poor Plutocrats
other scale as
seal of
many
as
of the sacks of ducats sealed with the
Onucz
were necessary to establish an absolute
equipose between the two scales, and then while both the
girl
and the gold, balancing each other, were floating in
air,
the
old Onucz, his face
beaming with triumph, poked
:
Fatia Negra in the side with his elbows, and said
"And
now
all
that
is
yours."
to the
The adventurer rushed
weighing machine, not
indeed to the scale on which the gold was, but to where
the girl stood, and lifted her
down on
his
arm
as
if
she
were a
child.
The
right.
other scale, losing
filled
its
balance, rushed
earthward, and the sacks
ofi
it
with gold ducats toppled
left
and
the
At
this
company was
delighted.
Fatia Negra's
manly tenderness was appreciated by every one, and old
Onucz, radiant with joy, turned toward his cronies:
"You
is
see
it
is
not
my
money, but
my
daughter, that he
after!"
And yet if Fatia Negra had only been able to foresee what was about to happen the next instant, if only he had been able to guess what would happen during the first
few moments of the
first
approaching quarter of an hour,
could he but have heard one step, one
bump which might
girl,
have told him what was going on just then above his
head, instead of extending his hands toward the
he
would have done much more wisely if he had grasped in each hand one of the sacks lying on the other scale and
made
off
with
it
somewhere through
that dark corridor
special
which nobody knew of but he himself, under the
237
:
Poor Plutocrats
protection of the devil.
Just now, however, the devil
was
evidently not looking after
him
as carefully as usual, for
girl in his
he returned to the altar with the
deposited his load on the altar steps.
arms and
down.
The
girl knelt
"Strew over her corn moistened with honey!" whispered old Onucz to the bridesmaids
—he considered
her.
this
it
old custom as of the highest importance.
Possibly
was
a symbol of fruitfulness.
to
Anicza wanted Fatia Negra
bend down to
She
and
had something
as she desired,
to
whisper in his ear.
He
leaned over her
drew her pretty
face close
up to
his,
the girl timidly whispered
"Are you going to take me away under the earth?" "Are you afraid I shall do so?" "With you I will go wherever you choose and will fear
nothing."
"I take
you
at
your word."
"I don't care.
to the left?"
Whither
lies
the way, to the right or
"To
the
left.
Everything which brings luck must be
done lefthandedly."
"Is the door underneath the coining shop?" asked the
girl carelessly.
"Yes,
"I
if
you must know." Say the oath that
I
am
ready.
may
hear
it!"
Fatia Neg'-a repeated his hocus-pocus, kneeling
down
beside Anicza on the steps of the altar, and raising his
eyes toward the black vault of the cavern as he recited the
words of a new
oath, which kept
all
the listeners spell-
238
Poor Plutocrats
bound, so
full it
was of
grisly images
and
hellish fancies.
So deep indeed was the general attention that nobody
observed in the meantime that, in the dark background
formed by the distant walls of the cavern a multitude of
two men descended through the machinery of the mill and then two others, until gradually a hundred of them had assembled. They were all armed and dressed in uniform, but their arms
strange faces were popping up.
First
were concealed beneath
their mantles, that they
might
not glimmer through the darkness.
And
is
then they quietly
formed into ranks
like
supernumeraries on the stage of
a theatre while the chief
comedian
ending his mono-
logue in front of the footlights.
served them.
Only Anicza had oblips,
During the whole course of the oath she
at Fatia
had not once looked
at the
Negra's cursing
but
groups forming in the darkness above
over, Fatia
electric
his head.
The oath
fix,
Negra
seized the reversed cruci-
and an
shock again jolted the hand of the
fast in his
girl
which he held
it
own
was
full
right hand.
"Now
you swear
also !" cried he.
The only
reply the girl gave
to passionately tear
her hand out of the adventurer's.
Rising from her knees,
of rage, scorn and
knelt at her
:
and with her handsome face
hatred,
she
turned upon him
who
feet,
gnashing her pearly teeth as she spoke
actor!
"Wretched play-
You have deceived everybody, but nobody so much as me. Do you remember that night in the ice valley, and how shamefully you betrayed me
masked impostor!
there
?
Know,
then, that I
was present
in that hut, that
239
Poor Plutocrats
it
was
I
who blew
I
the horn and brought back the jealous
forest.
I
husband from the
lowed, and
ruin.
saw
if
the struggle that folI
swore there and then that
that
would be your
Just
now you swore
ever you betrayed me,
thus might you yourself be betrayed by
trusted most.
whomsoever you
;
You
said
:
'Let water pursue
let fire seize
me,
let
the
ax of the headsman descend upon me, and the
dogs drink up
in front of
my
blood!'
Be
it
so,
then
—here
is fire
you and water behind you, and the headsman's
!
sword above your head
The dogs
it.
that are to lick
I
your
blood are already barking for
have betrayed you.
Look behind you!" The armed band
like a piece of
of soldiers,
moving forward
in line
machinery, suddenly disclosed a row of
bayonets glittering in the light of the torches.
lost!"
"We
are
howled the mob, while the voice of the
(it
officer in
command
din:
had a strong foreign accent) rose above the
with your arms! no resistance!"
his sacks of ducats, the
"Down
Onucz rushed roaring toward
women
scattered screaming
among
the tents.
For an
instant Fatia
Negra stood
petrified before Anicza, like
a devil caught in a trap, and gazed vacantly at the girl's
flaming face.
Anicza
now
turned quickly toward the armed soldiers,
a piercing voice:
and cried with
escape us
!"
"Hasten, Juon Tare!
still
Seize the smelting-oven entrance, else this devil will
That was why she wanted
to
know from
Fatia Negra
which way they would go underground.
240
!
Poor Plutocrats
At
these words^ however, the adventurer recovered
himself.
He saw
a
pitiless
enemy and a troop of armed
closed.
men
that
hastening to the door of the smelting furnace, and
way
of refuge
was consequently
The same
instant
an infernal idea occurred
to him.
Hastily snatching up a burning torch from the altar,
with a couple of vigorous bounds he approached the
smelting furnace.
the hands of
Twenty bayonets and
a long ax in
Juon Tare were raised against him he was unarmed.
—
^and
But
it
was not
to the
door he wished
to get.
filled
With
with
and,
it,
a spring sidewise he reached the
huge vat
brandy, threw the burning torch
down
in front of
placing his muscular shoulders against the vat, with a
desperate exertion of strength scattered
to the floor of the cavern
its
contents on
from end
to end.
In an instant the whole cavern was in flames
The
floor
was of
stone, so that
it
it
could not absorb the
spirit as it
leaked out, and
flashed
It
up as
it
caught the
flame of the torch close at hand.
spread rapidly, like
a lake of fire that has burst its dams.
The
itself
blue spirit-flame
filled
the whole of the
;
empty
cavern with a pale, ghastly glare the
air,
the
empty space
torches,
seemed to burst into flame.
of
Hundreds of
burned down to their very
midst of this blue
fire
roots, flickered luridly in the
hell,
and the heaped-up
fire-
works
ers
— flamed,
—the Bengali pyramids and the rockets and crackfizzled,
and banged about
in the midst of the
terrible heat.
And
in the thick of this infernal blaze
(F)
— (11)— Vol.
241
20
Poor Plutocrats
black figures, like the souls of the accursed, were run-
nirg frantically about, howling, shrieking, and toppling
over one another, and seeking a refuge on the higher
rocks,
whither the flames, spreading through the
air,
leaped after them.
flames.
Juon Tare
lost his eyesight in the
The
others tried to find a refuge in the aqueduct
running through the cavern, but the pursuing alcohol
rushed after them like a living cataract of
fire.
Every
feast.
one seemed bound to perish at
this hellish
marriage
Only two people did not
only two
lose their presence of
mind;
knew what ought
to be done,
and one of these
soldiers scattered
was Fatia Negra.
boldly
When
the
armed
from before the door of the smelting furnace, he had
waded through
it
the burning spirit; he
fire
knew very
well that
could not set
to clothing immediately,
in front of his eyes,
and he took care to hold
to save himself
his
hands
from being
blinded.
it.
He
she
tore the door
open and hastily vanished through
The
other was Anicza, who,
when
saw
lost
that in the
his
hundredfold
confusion
every one
had
head
and was running desperately to certain death, quickly
snatched up an ax, rushed to the gigantic beer vats and
staved in their bottoms.
The
neutral
fluid
streamed
down upon
farther,
till
the floor like a waterfall, and, gradually gain-
ing ground, forced the flaming brandy back farther and
at last the infernal blue light
was gradually was
a sight
extinguished.
By
that time, however, the beautiful bride
all
of horror, her face was burned out of
recognition.
242
Poor Plutocrats
Every member of the party had received
the
fire.
injuries
from
Some
of them, already blinded, writhed in
their faces in the cool
agony on the ground and dipped
a hair of his head
puddles formed by the flowing beer.
left,
Old Onucz had not
but for
all
that he
was
still
sitting
on a heap of ducats, which were
rolling in every direction
out of the half-charred sacks. His scorched hands he dug
down deep among
his ducats,
and thought, perhaps, that
they would assuage his pangs.
Both of Juon Tare's eyes had been burned out by an
explosion of gunpowder, and two of the soldiers had also
received serious injuries.
Only
it
after the general terror
had subsided a
that the fire
little,
did
occur to some one that
now
had been
This
brought under, Fatia Negra might be pursued.
some one was the bride. It was she who seized a new torch, it was she who cried to the soldiers: "After me!" and was the first to tear open the door of the smelting furnace. Within was
darkness.
that
By
torchlight they explored every corner of
underground world
—but Fatia Negra was nowhere
to be found.
243
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XIV
THE MIKALAI INN
From Hidvár
to Gyulafehérvár
is
a
good day's jourweather;
ney, even with the best horses
in the rainy season the
and
in the best
mountain streams make the jourlies
ney
still
longer.
Fortunately, exactly half-way
the
Mikalai Inn, in which dwells a good, honest Wallachian
gentleman,
who
also follows the profession of innkeeper.
all
In these mining regions there are no Jews,
the inns
and taverns are
in the
hands of the Armenians and Wal-
lachs: the people are content with them,
and the Hun-
garian gentry like them.
Young Makkabesku had
among
built
up his den in a most
picturesque situation beside a stream gushing
down from
the mountains, and forming a waterfall close to
the very house.
This stream possessed the peculiar propfell
it
erty of turning to stone every leaf and twig which
into
it,
even the branches of the trees hanging over
were turned into pretty white petrifactions so far as the
water was able to reach them.
Domnule Makkabesku
able to
did not carry on the business of
innkeeper for the sake of gain (he would not have been
make a
living out of
it
if
he had tried), but
244
Poor Plutocrats
from sheer good-heartedness and good-fellowship. His charges, therefore, were extremely moderate. A traveler
on foot who asked
for a night's lodging
had to pay twoif
pence, a traveler on horseback a shilling;
he required
wine and brandy for supper as
charged a
shilling.
well,
still
he was only
tot-
Who
would go to the trouble of
trifles
ting up extra figures for
of that sort ? those
A
carriage
it
and four was not taxed
at
all,
who came
on
his
in
paid
what they
chose.
If
anybody did not ask what he had to
way, mine
a
pay, but simply shook hands and went
host simply wished
him
happy journey, and never said a
proud
word about his account. For Makkabesku was
addressed
as
a
man
in his
way, and
thought a great deal of his
"Domnule"
chamber
—"Sir" —and
its
gentility.
He
expected to be
when
up
his guests took notice of his coat of
was delighted arms hanging
with three
in the guest
its
—
to wit, a black bear
darts in
heel
— and
inquired as to
meaning; when
he would explain that that black bear with the three
darts,
which was also painted on a sheet of lead and
swung backward and forward in front of the house between two iron rods, was not a sign-board, but his family crest.
Late one afternoon Baron Leonard Hátszegi might
have been seen on foot crossing the bridge which led to
the Mikalai Inn, and entering
its
courtyard.
He came
on
foot,
with a small box under his arm and his double-
gun across his shoulder. Makkabesku greeted him from the veranda while he was still a long way off.
barreled
245
Poor Plutocrats
"God be with your
lordship!
Is
anything amiss that
your lordship comes on foot?"
"Yes, at that cursed Wolf corner the axle of
my
coach
road
gave way.
I
have always said that that bad
is
bit of
ought
to be seen to; this
at least the sixth
time that this
accident has befallen me."
"God
"That
is
the cause thereof, your lordship.
it
Whenever
the stream overflows,
is
damages the road."
no consolation for me.
My
It is
fellows are strugit
gling with the coach yonder, and can not set
again, so badly
upright
I
damaged
it
is,
it
is.
a good job
was
driving
my own
horses, for otherwise
my neck might have
been broken.
his hand.
As
one of
my
footmen has sprained
Send help
all
to
them
at once, or they are likely
to
remain there
through the night.
Where's your
little girl ?"
"Ah,
your
my
lord! your lordship will always be having
little
joke.
little
Flora,
come
hither
!"
A pretty
maid came out of the inn
at these words,
and smiled upon the nobleman with a face toasted red
by the kitchen
fire.
"Take
"Well,
his lordship's
gun and
little
box, and carry them
into the guest-room!"
my
little girl!
how
are
you?
Not married
yet,
eh ?" said the baron, pinching her round red cheeks while
the
wench took
his box.
"Heh, but
'tis
heavy!" she gasped, as
if
she were quite
the
frightened at the weight of the box.
"Won't
gun
go off?"
246
—
Poor Plutocrats
"Don't turn your
eh,
fiery eyes
upon
it,
or else
it
might
always
to
grandpapa, what do you say?"
in,
"Come, Flora, go
in
go
in!
His lordship
his carriage
is
such capital
spirits.
Even when
was
comes
grief he will have his joke all the same."
The
point of the joke
that
Makkabesku was a
flecks of
man
not
much beyond
forty,
though there were
gray on the back of his head here and there.
on the other hand, was scarcely sixteen
ian gentleman took her to wife.
The girl, when the Rumaninnkeeper by
Leonard, therefore,
the
always made a
point
of
plaguing
pretending to believe that his wife was his daughter
and by regularly asking him, as
father,
if
he were her grandhis
when he intended
to
get
granddaughter
married."
"You need
not send help to
my
carnage after
all,"
I'll
said Hátszegi after due reflection; "for by and by
see to that myself.
I
am
It
going back that way.
little
But
I
should like you to place that
for the time being.
box
in
some
safe place
contains four thousand ducats,
and that
is
no
trifle."
"Huh! my
lord!" cried the innkeeper, clapping the
if
back of his head with both hands as
already about to
to carry so
lessly
fall off
he feared
it
was
backward.
"Your
lordship dares
stroll so care-
much gold about with you and
about in these parts!"
"Carelessly!
—what
me
do you mean?
I
can not wheel
I
them them
in front of
on a barrow, can
I ?
want to pay
into
my
account at Fehérvár the day after to-mor-
247
Poor Plutocrats
row
;
I
have payments to make.
That
is
why
I
carry them
about with me."
"I only
meant
to say that
it
is
dangerous to go about
alone with so
"I
much money."
am
not in the habit of going about with an escort."
''The more's the pity, Domnule. These parts are panicstricken since
Anicza betrayed the coiners
in the
Lucsia
Cavern; we have been saddled with a whole heap of
calamities.
A
lot
of poor fools and a heap of treasure
were captured, but the head of the band, Fatia Negra,
was suffered
treasure,
to escape.
And now,
furious at his loss of
he blackmails the whole region.
Nobody
is
safe here
now
—
If
only the day before yesterday he stopped
and robbed the royal mails on the King's highroad."
"Ho, ho!
be bound."
he takes to those games,
he'll
soon get
though,
his teeth broken.
I'll
He
won't venture to touch
me
'T don't
know about
that,
Domnule.
He
wears a mask,
and, therefore, has no need to blush or blanch at anything."
"Does he ever look
with you?"
in here,
or has he ever lodged
"No,
here,
my lord, I to my great
can safely say that he has never been
astonishment
call
I
must
confess.
For
a
great
many gentlemen
here,
and many paths lead
hitherward."
"Don't you keep arms
in
your house?"
"Why
it
should I?
I
have not enough money to make
Besides,
it is
worth Fatia Negra's while to rob me.
248
Poor Plutocrats
a great mistake to resist him.
him
in his
Juon Tare actually had hands, yet what was the result? He goes
a blind beggar.
about
now
it ?
Anicza betrayed him and
brought down the soldiers upon him, yet what did she
get by
He
vanished under the earth, but she reduced
is
her old father to poverty, and
now
sitting
with
all
her
old friends in the dungeons of Gyulafehérvár!"
"Fear nothing!
while
I
go
to
At any rate no ill can befall you my coachman and come back again. Lock
your wall cupboard
in the
this casket in
meantime, and
keep the key yourself."
"Nay,
let
your lordship keep
it
rather.
I
don't
•
want
it
to be said that I
knew anything about it." Makkabesku locked up the casket in So
and
in
the
huge wall
closet,
which greatly resembled a large standing clock which were
his
case,
diploma of nobility and
all
his domestic treasures.
returned to his guest.
The key of the locked closet he Then, by way of extra precaution,
he locked the room as well, and forced that key also upon
the baron.
"Domnule," he added, when he saw that Hátszegi was
determined to return to his wrecked coach, "I can only
say that
go.
I
should be very glad
if
your lordship would not
The
servants will be quite able to bring the carriage
along."
"That they can not; the whole
boors,
axle."
lot
of them are mere
who have
never seen a carriage with an iron
"Let
me
go, then,
and your lordship remain here."
249
Poor Plutocrats
"I suppose
you want me,
then, to
show your daughter
how
to
cook?"
innkeeper's eyebrows contracted at these words;
The
his desire to
go
visibly subsided.
I
"But suppose
am
afraid of being left alone in the
house with so much money?"
"Come, come, wretched man!"
losing
all
cried Hátszegi, at last
patience; "you don't suppose that your blockis
head of a bandit
lying in wait for me, do
you?
in
Look
you now
chair, if
!
I'll
leave
you
my
gun.
Take
it.
it
your hand
and plant yourself there before the door.
Bring out a
you
like,
and
sit
down on
Pull
down
the
hammers *of both
filled
barrels
and hold your thumb on them
and your index finger on the trigger.
The
left barrel is
with ten buckshot, and you can be quite sure that
this pas-
whoever approaches you from the lower end of
sage will inevitably get
is
five in his
body
—and
we
five of
them
one
enough for anybody.
mean,
is
The second
barrel, the right
I
loaded with a bullet, which
generally keep
at six
in reserve for a wild beast, at the last
moment,
a giant.
paces
;
at that distance
if
any child could
kill
Don't
be afraid,
it,
he wore a coat of mail,
it
would go through
leaden door.
would perforate a Come, you are not afraid now, surely?" Makkabesku certainly felt a great stream of courage
for that bullet has a steel point and
flow into his heart at the knowledge that he held in his
hand a weapon which could
twice over.
kill
the
most
terrible of
men
"But what about your lordship?" he inquired.
250
Poor Plutocrats
"Oh,
I've got
two revolvers
in
my
pocket."
And
out, to
with that, gaily whistling, Hátszegi strode
down
young
the long passage
and peeped into the kitchen on his way
fair
exchange a word or two with the
cook.
"Look
turn,
ye,
my
daughter, have supper ready by
to over-salt the soup!"
my
re-
and take care not
and then
with the nonchalance becoming his station he sauntered
across the bridge again into the highroad, followed
the
all
way by
the eyes of Makkabesku.
the Rumanian.
"What
a gallant
fellow
it is !" reflected
The innkeeper
tues.
did not count courage
among
his vir-
He was
a peace-loving soul,
who
detested the very
Even when he sat down to drink, it was always inside a room with a locked door, for on one occasion, when he had got drunk in public, the wine had instilled within him such unwonted audacity that he had got his skull broken in two places in conseidea of a brawl.
quence.
After that he avoided
all
such occasions of
heroism.
For such
a loaded
folks as have nothing to
is
do with firearms
suddenly holding
as a rule, there
a peculiar
charm
in
weapon
in their hands.
Valor and a sudden
in
access of pugnacity
combine to put them
a condition
of perpetual
fever.
A
strange longing arises within
them
of a
to
make use
of their weapon.
kabesku raised his gun to his
Once or twice Makcheek and made a target
fly on the wall. At the end of the vestibule facing him was an old Roman image, the head and bust of an
251
!
!
!
Poor Plutocrats
emperor, which had been unearthed in the neighborhood
of the house
when
the foundations had been
relic.
laid,
and
had been adopted forthwith as a family
famous robber of the
district,
If this old
imperial figurehead had been an enemy,
let
us say the
felt that
our marksman
he
could easily have shattered his skull for him.
The sun was now slowly descending from
the lower
it
the sky, and
sank the
less
golden and the more purple
ment
it threw upon the ancient monushadow of an adjacent column fell softly across it and hid it half from view. Suddenly it seemed to Makkabesku as if he saw the shadow of a human head moving beside the shadow of
grew
the light which
till
opposite,
the
the column.
The breath
ing there
died
away on
his lips
—some one was
him
lurk-
"Who
terror.
is
there?" he cried in a voice half choked with
instant there stood before
at the
The same
opposite end of the corridor
—Fatia Negra
it
Yes, there the figure was just as
had been described
to him, enfolded in a black atlas mantle, with a black
mask
across
its face.
"Stay where you
are,
don't
come here!"
terror, "or
cried the
I'll
armed Makkabesku
you through," and,
hurriedly fired
in
an agony of
shoot
as the
mask continued
to advance,
he
o^ the left barrel of the gun. The smoke of the powder cleared away, Fatia Negra
there
stood
unwounded; he was coming nearer and
nearer
252
—
Poor Plutocrats
Ah, those
but
little
shots could not hurt him, of course
now he shall have the bullet with the steel point. As the first shot was fired, Makkabesku's wife came
running out of the kitchen, and came face to face with
the robber.
He
immediately seized her arm with his
muscular hand and flung her back into the kitchen, the
door of which he locked upon her.
Mr. Makkabesku permitted all this to go on before his very eyes, but he had raised the gun and held it firmly pressed against nis cheek he wanted the robber to draw
;
nearer
still,
that he
might make quite sure of him.
middle of the intruder, pressed the
When
there were only three yards between them, he
at the
aimed right
trigger of the gun, and the right barrel also exploded.
Yet the report was followed by no death cry
Fatia
—and
it
Negra
still
stood in front of
Paralyzed with terror,
the discharged
to
him unscathed. Makkabesku continued to hold
him, as
;
gun
its
in front of
if
he expected
go
off
again of
own
accord but Fatia Negra, catch-
ing hold of the end of the gun with one hand, wrenched
it
out of the innkeeper's grasp and brought
it
down
the butt
of
so violently on the top of his head that he collapsed
in a senseless condition.
After that nobody knew what happened.
When
Hátszegi and his servants arrived with the
still
patched-up carriage, Makkabesku was
lying on the
ground unconscious,
and the cupboard
in
his
wife was thundering at the
locked door, the door of the guest
chamber was smashed, the wall had been broken into and
253
Poor Plutocrats
pillaged.
Curiously enough, while not one of the inn-
keeper's relics
was missing, Hátszegi's box with
the four
it
thousand ducats had disappeared.
found in the bed of the stream
—
A
little later
was
empty, of course.
Makkabesku was
contrived at
last, in
a very long time
coming
to,
tell
;
but he
a very tremulous voice, to
Háts-
zegi the somnambulistic case of the double shots
called
nay, he
Heaven
to witness that Fatia
if
Negra had caught the
flies.
bullets in his
hands as
they were
"You're a fool," cried Hátszegi angrily.
"I suppose
you
fired
above his head on both occasions."
to see the
"But then you ought
the opposite wall."
marks of the
bullets
on
And
it
was
a fact that, look as they might, they found
bullet
no trace of a
on the walls or anywhere
else.
254
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XV
WHO
The
IT
WAS THAT RECOGNIZED FATIA NEGRA
the Mikalai inn considerably upset
sullcy,
events at
Hátszegi.
He
returned
home very
and was unwhich
her
usually ungracious toward Henrietta.
eral violent scenes
There were sev-
between them,
in the course of
the baron twitted his wife with having betrayed him, and
hinted that
it
was
all in
consequence of her
own and
knew
brother's bad
conduct that she
had been disinherited by
every-
her grandfather.
thing.
He
revealed to her that he
He was
well aware, he said, that in her girlhood
she had had a rascally
young attorney
as a lover,
and had
thereby incurred her grandfather's anger.
Henrietta, poor thing, had not the spirit to answer
him back: "If you knew
this,
why
did you
marry me?
Why
with
him.
did you not leave
me
then to him with
whom
I
should have been happy
tears.
She could only reply if poor?" She trembled before him while she loathed
dependent she was on him.
And
yet
how
accused, and never doubted for a
to do.
She was well aware now of what her brother was moment what she ought
She ought
to atone for his fault
by an act of
self-
255
Poor Plutocrats
sacrifice.
She must recognize the forgery
But what then?
as her real
signature.
The
recognition of the sig-
nature must needs have consequences.
the result of her action
?
What would
be
She could see she had no help
husband.
to expect
from her
At every
step she perceived that he eagerly
sought occasion to quarrel with her, and seized every
pretext for avoiding her.
And now
to
add to her emtime so far as
barrassment, there was this unlucky Mikalai accident.
It
seemed just
to
have come
if
in the nick of
he was concerned, just as
Fatia
he had actually agreed with
Negra
that the latter should rob
him on
the high-
road in the most artful manner, so that she might not
have the slightest hope
left
of being relieved from her
anxieties by the assistance of her husband.
The baron
now
all
could always end every conversation by remark-
ing that that rogue Fatia Negra had relieved him of
his
money, and he knew not how to make good
day, while
his loss.
One
away from home hunting
at
Csákó,
Baron Leonard learned
latest ideal
that the Countess Kengyelesy's
was Szilárd Vámhidy, and when chance soon
afterward brought him also to Arad, he could see for
himself that the countess really did load the young
man
with distinction in society.
The
circums^^ance began to irritate him.
This pale-faced youth with the big burning eyes had
turned the head of his
own
consort once upon a time, and
now he was making
other enviable conquests.
The
idea
256
Poor Plutocrats
occurred to Hátszegi to knock this "student chap" out of
his saddle a second time.
Heretofore he had never
re-
garded the countess as a particularly pretty woman, but
now he
very readily persuaded himself that he was over
in love with her.
head and ears
He began to pay his court to her and he was lucky. At least everybody believed it himself included. The countess always seemed pleased to see him, and the oftener he paid his visits, the less frequent grew the
—
—
visits of Szilárd.
Occasionally they met at the countess's
aside, as
and then Szilárd would hastily step
rivals are
last
vanquished
wont to do when Leonard was a daily
their conquerors appear.
At
institution at the countess's,
while Szilárd only appeared there occasionally.
Yet one day, while Hátszegi was
hidy entered unannounced
ily
in the
drawing-room,
paying his court to the countess most assiduously,
;
Vámhast-
whereupon the countess
springing up from her lounge, asked leave of the baron
to
withdraw for a moment, and there and then conducted
into her boudoir
Vámhidy
him
for a
and remained closeted with
good quarter of an hour, while Hátszegi, yellow
left
with jealousy, was
alone with the countess's French
companion,
who
could answer nothing but "yes" and
"no"
to all his remarks.
When
all
the countess
emerged from her room she seemed
She accompanied Szilárd
his hand,
to be in a very
good humor.
the
and,
way to the drawing-room door, pressed when they parted at the door, exchanged
257
a signifi-
cant look with him, at the same time touching her lips
Poor Plutocrats
with her index finger
—a very
confidential piece of pan-
tomime, as any connoisseur
will tell you.
And
all this
Hátszegi saw reflected in the mirror, opsat.
posite to
which he
As soon
if
as the countess sat
down, her companion, as
left
at a
given signal, arose and
the room. the baron petulantly
Scarcely were they alone
when
remarked: "It appears as
if
your ladyship and our young
a most worthy,
friend rejoiced in very intimate, mutual relations."
"Oh, very intimate.
honorable man."
I
assure you he
is
"So
"I
I
observe."
quite in earnest.
I find
am
is
him
quite a treasure,
and he
extraordinarily attached to me."
"Very nice of him, I'm sure." "Oh, you gentlemen, what mockers you
are men, I can
tell
are.
There
you,
who
for
all
that they are poor are
more capable of self-sacrifice than the haughtiest nabobs, who make such a fuss over us till we are in trouble, and then snatch up their hats and fly from the house. You
also belong to that class,
my
I
lord
!"
"I don't understand you."
"Suppose, for instance,
friend, I
were
to say to
you
:
My
dear
have
fallen into quite
an awkward predicament,
proceed against
and to-day or to-morrow they
forty thousand florins."
will
me
for
The baron
burst out laughing.
it
"Don't laugh, for so
really
is.
That need cause you
tell
no anxiety, however
;
I
only ask you to
nobody, espc-
258
Poor Plutocrats
cially
my
me
husband.
if
He would
it."
be capable of making an
end of
he knew
"But
seriously, countess,
florins ?"
I
who
could ever have lent you
forty thousand
"Nobody, and yet
am
indebted to that amount.
You
must know that once upon a time, many years ago, when
we
lived at Vienna, I
was given
to card playing.
We
not
played for high stakes in those days.
One evening
I.
only did
I
lose all
my
cash, but
had
to give
O. U.'s for
one thousand
florins besides.
Debts contracted at play
can not, as you know, remain unpaid for more than
twenty-four hours.
I
It
was absolutely indispensable
that
I
should procure these thousand florins somehow.
would not ask
foolish of me.
my
I
husband for them, and that was very
last
got the amount at
from a wretched
the
usurer at an enormous rate of interest.
plus interest became due again
tell
When
still
amount
with
I
was
more
afraid to
my
husband, and so kept on giving fresh
bills,
the result that the
amount of
my
till
indebtedness grew and
it
grew
the
as the years rolled on,
resembled the egg of
widow
in the nursery tale
—out of which
my
came
and
first
two cocks, then a
a carriage
bristling boar, then a camel,
at last
finally
little
and four, for
original poor
debt of one thousand florins swelled into forty thousand,
and the usurers became importunate and would allow me no more credit. Once, when I was in a very bad humor,
I let
out
my
secret before Szilárd,
and the worthy young
burden.
I
man undertook
to relieve
me
of
my
don't
know
whether he detected a technical flaw in
my
bonds or
259
Poor Plutocrats
whether he found out some other means of frightening
my
creditor
;
anyway, he assured
interest
me
I
only need pay the
original
sum with
upon
it
at the legal rate.
More-
over, he undertook to procure
me an
honorable loan on
easy conditions, which to
me was
a veritable godsend.
And
so
so
now you know, my
at
dear friend,
why Vámhidy
even you
is
welcome a guest
my
house that
I leave
all
alone with
my
companion when he
conies.
But you can
is
see for yourself
how
owe
dear and necessary he
to him."
in a
to
me,
and how much
I
Hátszegi remained
ments, and began biting his
at the piano with the
brown study for several molips. The countess sat down
if
most amiable nonchalance, as
she
gave not another thought to what she had been speaking
about.
"If only
I
had not had the misfortune to be robbed!"
what,
cried Hátszegi at last.
"Do you know
ess, at
my
dear friend," said the count-
the
same time
letting her fingers glide lightly over
the ivory keys of the piano, "I consider the whole of that
afiair as
simply incredible.
result!
Two
it
shots so close to a
little
man and no
fabulous
!"
I
—why
borders a
upon the
"Then
self
suppose you think
it
was
the innkeeper him-
who
robbed me?"
The
countess shrugged her round shoulders slightly
and went on playing.
"That
his
is
not possible," resumed the baron, answering
I
own
query, "for
myself saw the blow which Mak-
260
:
Poor Plutocrats
kabesku received on the head from the butt of the musket,
and
I
can
tell
your ladyship that there are no four
I
thousand ducats in the world for the sake of which
could lend
my
head to such a blow."
The countess interrupted her chords for a moment "You saw it, eh? And did anybody else see it?" Hátszegi was strangely surprised by this question, "What is in your mind, countess ?" he asked.
"I
am
thinking,
my
dear friend, that you have some
particular reason for playing the injured
man, and
I
have
read the whole tale of the Maccabees in some history or
other of the Jews, which you would
the world as something new."
now palm
;
off
upon
"Your
jests are
most unmerciful, countess
little rest,
but
may
I
it
beg of you to give that piano a
especially as
wants tuning,
a
I
should like to speak seriously to you for
moment
or two,"
the countess,
"About the Maccabees, eh?" inquired
laughing.
About myself. I am quite serious when I say have had losses. Your ladyship need not know how. But for all that I know what a gentleman ought to do
"No.
I
after such a revelation as that with
which the countess
flat-
has just honored
tering
me and which
I
accept as a most
mark of
I
confidence."
"Impossible."
"What
say
is
never impossible but what that student
;
fellow has chosen to palm off on your ladyship, that
impossible.
is
He
will not be able to help
your ladyship
261
Poor Plutocrats
without a great scandal.
Naturally a mere attorney looks
upon
that as a matter of course.
He
does not understand
that there are cases in which a person
would rather spring
into a well than risk her reputation in the eyes of the
world by appealing to the courts for redress.
ladyship another proposal
:
I
make your
I will
exchange a bond of
my
own
against the bond of the countess to an equal amount.
I feel confident that the usurers will lend readily
on
my
I
paper and will jump at the exchange."'
"Oh, many thanks, many thanks!
should
like to
But,
first
of
all,
know what
interest
you mean
to
charge
me;
for I
am
not going to pay anything usurious again."
"Legal and Christian interest, I assure you. But I must impose one condition: your ladyship's doors must
henceforth be closed against this lawyer fellow."
"Are you
serious,
baron?"
take you at your
"Perfectly so."
"Are you not afraid
I shall
word?"
Look,
"By doing
countess! I
so
you
will
satisfy
my
desires.
consider myself as one of your most sincere
it
admirers, and
wounds me
which
to hear all this tittle-tattle
links
circulating in our set
your ladyship's name
with that of young Vámhidy."
"But
will
it
not injure the respect you entertain for
in the gos-
me
sip
if
your name takes the place of Vámhidy's
of ?"
is
you comphin
T
"All that
desire
that a certain
if
man
shall
be excluded
will then
from
this house,
and
the countess desires
it I
keep away likewise."
262
Poor Plutocrats
The
countess hastened to press Hátszegi's hand as a
sign that she did not desire that.
"Very
with
all
well, then, to
prove to you that
my
relations
Vámhidy were
we'll
I
purely professional, I will break off
further intercourse with him."
"Then
once.
clinch
your ladyship's determination
?
at
May
make
use of your writing table
this rose-colored ink,
Have you
letters,
any other ink than
with which, to
but
be sure, your ladyship generally writes your
which
is
a
little
unusual
in official
documents?"
"Everything you
desire, sealing
"That
thing that
is
not necessary for
bills.
wax included." What a fortunate
I
have a blank form with me."
in his pocket a blank form, withfilled it
The baron discovered
in the usual
out which no gentleman ever goes about, and
up
way.
The
countess, with her elbows
on the
back of the armchair, looked over the baron's shoulder
while he signed the precious document, and thought to
herself
tial
:
what an odd thing
it is
when
a rich and influen-
man
refuses, with a heart of iron, to give his wife a
little
assistance which
would make her happy and save her
brother from dishonor, and yet lightly pitches the very
sum
him!
required out of the
window
for the sake of a pretty
is
speech from another
woman who
almost a stranger to
After signing the document, Leonard did not linger
another instant, but snatched up his hat and hastened
off,
so as to avoid the suspicion that he was expecting some
little
gratification
on account.
263
Poor Plutocrats
The
pressure of the hand which the countess exchanged
with him at parting assured him that this conquering
maneuvre on
his sofa,
his part
was a complete
first
success.
full
Subsequently, however, as, stretched at
length on
he was smoking his
pipe of tobacco, he
grew
suspicious,
and speedily
felt
convinced that the
countess's tale of the usurers
to end,
lent
and that
was a fable from beginning Vámhidy was some broker or other who
and he began
to be not quite so
money
at
privately;
proud
having ousted the fellow from her ladyship's
greater surprise awaited him.
drawing-room.
But a
still
He had
a
shrewd
suspicion
that
the
Countess
Kengyelesy did not require the
discharge any debt to usurers
;
bill
he had signed to
but not even in his dreams
to
would
it
ever
have occurred
him
that
Madame
Kengyelesy, at
into the street,
the very moment when he had gone out
had
sat
down on
the very same chair
from which the baron had
the very
arisen, taken into her
hand
same pen on which the ink he had used was not
of her long pointed pot-hooks to her friend,
:
yet dry, and selecting a sheet of letter paper, written a
few
lines
the Baroness Hátszegi
informing her in a most friendly
in
manner
that she
had succeeded
bill
persuading Hátszegi
suspected of
to exchange
the
that
Koloman was
forging for one of his own, in order to give his wife
the opportunity of acknowledging the signature as her
own and
All this
putting a stop to
all
further legal proceedings.
was
set forth
with far greater elaboration than
264
!
Poor Plutocrats
it is
here^ but
bill
original
was
posted.
was nevertheless perfectly intelligible. The was appended to the letter, and the letter Henrietta was bound to receive it next day.
Imagine, then, the surprise of Hátszegi,
last three
who
for the
days had been pacing impatiently up and
down
the
his room, naturally expecting every
moment
that
countess would surrender at discretion and send for
him
out of sheer gratitude,
when
the door
opened with considerable impetuosity and
rietta.
Before he could
to ask her
sufficiently
was suddenly came Henrecover from his
in
—
amazement
his wife fell
what she was looking for
there,
out with
on his neck, and, sobbing with emotion, came some long rigmarole about delicacy gratitude
—
a delightful surprise
of heart
—and
— —and only half suspected kindness
unintelligible nonsense,
if
a lot
more of
wind-
ing up by begging his pardon
ever she had unwittingly
offended him, and promising him that after this she would
ever be his faithful slave
After this!
It
—
after zuhatf
his wife told
was only when
bill
him
that she
was
al-
luding to that
for forty thousand florins
to send her
which he
had been so kind as
that
through the countess,
some inkling of
!
the truth burst
upon him.
and
is
"Oh, that eh
It quite
escaped
cried,
my memory
not
worth mentioning," he
even to remember such
hiding his astonishment
beneath the affectation of a magnanimity which scorned
trifles.
Oh,
if
the countess had been able to see
him
at that
moment, how she would have laughed!
265
(F)— (12)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
Every drop of Leonard's blood seemed
to turn to gall.
How
ridiculous he
had been made
to appear
by a woman's
still
nobility,
and the consciousness thereof was
further
embittered by the artless and innocent gratitude of that
other
woman
them
—
his
own
wife.
He
could have torn the
pair of
to pieces.
What
a pretty fool he
had made
the
of himself.
He had
purchased the love of his wife for
forty thousand florins.
bill
He
could not
demand back
from
her, nor could he explain to her the
compro^
mising origin of that document.
And
in addition to that
he must play the part of dignified paterfamilias, which*
his wife
had assigned
first
to
him
in this domestic
drama,
instead of that of
his liking."
lover,
which was so much more to
"All right, Henrietta," said he, assuming a calmness
he was far from
I'll
feeling.
is
"If
you
like to give
me
the
bill,
see that
it
posted to your lawyer at Pesth, Mr.
Sipos."
Henrietta thanked him sincerely, but said she would
rather take
it
to Pesth herself, in order that she
might
have a long confidential talk with Mr. Sipos personally
about her poor brother.
"Then wait, Henrietta, till the Arad races are over» You know I am greatly interested in them. If I am not
there myself they are quite capable of striking
out."
my
horses
"My
dear Leonard,
I
don't
want you
to interrupt any
I
of your business or pleasure on
my
account.
can easily
go by myself.
But
I
don't
want
to
postpone the matter
266
Poor Plutocrats
a single day.
You know how
anxious
I
am
about
my
poor brother."
"Well, but you
ous just
know that the roads are very dangernow. You know what happened to myself a little
have
while ago."
"Oh,
up
I
my
plan
all
cut
and
dried.
I
am
I
prepared
will give
for the very worst.
to
If robbers attack
me,
them, at the
first
challenge,
all
the cash I have about
bill,
me.
What
I
am most
afraid of
find
it.'"'
is
the
but
I will
hide
that so that
nobody can
"My
dear, these
men
find
are very artful."
it,
"Oh, they won't
I
can
tell
you.
The
insert
insides of
close
my my
upper sleeves consist of
steel rings,
which fasten
it
to the arms,
sleeve,
and
I will roll
up
my
bill,
it.
within
and draw a
steel
ring over
They
will never
guess that, will they?"
"A good
idea, certainly."
it.
Yet, good idea as he thought
Hátszegi nevertheless
complained to his friend Gerzson,
club the
wife,
whom
he met at the
his
same evening, how anxious he was about
all
who was going
if
the
way
to Pesth next day,
and
how
glad he would be, since he was unable to accom-
pany her himself,
to go.
some one would persuade her not
Naturally Mr. Gerzson at once offered to dissuade the
baroness, as Hátszegi had anticipated, and
tea
was
invited to
but,
by him the same day with that express purpose,
his arguments, she pleaded for her
talk as
he might, he could not prevail with Henrietta.
all
In reply to
poor
267
Poor Plutocrats
brother,
whose
fate,
she added, with tears, depended upon
her instant action.
Now
him.
Mr. Gerzson was
a
gentleman
—every
inch of
He was
also kind-hearted to a fault,
and when he
beheld the poor
difficulty
woman
in despair,
well,
he put an end to the
by saying: "Very
to Pesth myself."
my
lady, then I will
escort
you
this
At
Hátszegi fairly
lost all patience.
"Why, what
can you be thinking of?" cried he.
"Your pardon, Leonard, but
I
suppose you
to
may
regard
me
as old
enough and honorable enough
fill
the place
It
of a father to your wife on an occasion like this!
appears to
me
that
it
will
never enter anybody's head to
speak slightingly of a lady because she traveled alone
with me."
Good, worthy old man, he was quite proud that no
woman
shudder.
could look at his face without an involuntary
"And
then
I
fancy that there's
still
quite
enough of
me
it
left to
defend a
woman
to
against anybody, even though
were the devil himself.
And
show
I
should advise that
worthy Fatia Negra not
stunted hand does not
is
his
mug
to me, for
my
like
fire
guns as our friend Makkabesku
in the habit of doing, nor will
my
bullets be
caught
flies, I
warrant."
will be
"You
"Oh,
about
done out of the horse-racing
sadly.
all
through
me," remarked Henrietta
it
does not interest
me much.
I
don't care
much
it."
268
Poor Plutocrats
This was not true, but
it
was
all
the nicer of the old
man
to say so.
really
"Then you
said Hátszegi
mean
to escort
my
wife to Pesth?"
at last.
"With
"Very
stages.
the greatest of pleasure."
well.
At any
rate, I will see to all the travel-
ing arrangements, that there
may
be no delay of the
Which way do you
of Csongrád.^'
prefer to go, by
way
of
Csongrád or Szeged ?"
"By way
"Well,
'tis
the shorter of the
is
two
certainly, but at this
It will
season of the year the road
well to provide
"It
will
is
as hard as steel.
be
my
horses with fresh shoes."
now
if
ten o'clock.
have managed to do
she had a
little
all that.
By midnight your coachman The baroness would
now.
do well
sleep
Meanwhile
;
I will
go home for
in the
my
luggage and
I shall
my
weapons
at
two
o'clock
morning
be here again, and at three
we
can
start."
"I will be
awake and watching
for you,
and
I
thank
you with
all
my
heart."
his tea
Mr. Gerzson drank up
really
and hastened home.
sleep
Leonard advised Henrietta
to
go and
was very
sleepy
—while he went
—and
she
to the stables to see
to the horses.
was about midnight when he returned. He looked very tired, like one who has had a great deal of bustling
It
about.
He was
fire, lit
alone in the drawing-room, so he stirred
up the
a cigar, and waited in silence.
269
Poor Plutocrats
At
half past
two
j\Ir.
Gerzson rang the gate
bell
;
he
entered the drawing-room very boisterously, like one resolved to
wake up
the whole house.
in the other
A
little
coffer
hung
upon
his stunted arm,
hand he carried a
double-barreled gun,
and from a pouch, fastened by
peeped forth two four-barreled
straps to his shoulder,
pistols.
"Why, plague
armed
take it!" laughed Hátszegi, "you are
for a whole guerrilla warfare."
"No more
Gerzson with
dressed ?"
than Fatia Negra deserves," replied Mr.
a
sombre grimace.
"Is your wife up and
"I fancy she lay
down ready
It'll
dressed."
if
"All the better.
be as well
we
start early."
"I hear the opening and closing of doors in her apart-
ments; no doubt your ringing disturbed her.
be here in an instant, for she
is
She
will
very impatient."
"That
is
only natural."
the
"And
in
meantime
let
us
have something
to
strengthen the heart," said Hátszegi, producing a flask
of cherry brandy, and
glass.
filling
his
own and
his guest's
"If you have a chance of shooting Fatia Negra,
set
you must give me one-half of the thousand ducats
upon
his head, because I
have abandoned
this fine
oppor-
tunity to you."
At
this
Mr. Gerzson coughed.
"I have also provided you with a good of our
wooden
from the
flask
own Tokay,"
said Leonard, taking
side-
board a handsome
flask
bound
in foalskin.
270
Poor Plutocrats
"Therein you acted wisely,"
"All this side of the Theiss you will get no drinkable
water, and Henrietta always gets ague at once
if
the
water
is
bad.
Although but a
child, she will
never take
any wine unless you force her
of
to
do
I
so.
I
earnestly beg
you
to take great care of her.
bit.
don't like this jourtlws business just
ney a
A
letter
would have done
it
as well; but I
make
a rule never to thwart her
when
:
she gets these ideas into her head.
care of her."
"I'll
All
I
say
is
take
watch over her as
if
she were
my own
child."
full trav-
In a quarter of an hour Henrietta appeared in
eling costume.
The
lackey brought in breakfast.
it,
The
gentlemen also sat down to
fast alone.
lest
the lady should break-
"We
sky
shall
have splendid weather, baroness," observed
his cake into his black coffee.
Mr. Gerzson, dipping
is full
"The
of stars
;
we
could not wish for better traveling
weather."
"The sky
particular
is
nice enough, but the
ground
is
a
little
stumbly," put in Hátszegi.
the
"Around Dombhegyhaza
spill
in
roads will
you
if
you don't look
out."
"I don't care a
bit,
for I
mean
to drive the horses
myself."
"Oh, that
roads."
I will
not allow," said Henrietta.
"It
is
no
joke to hold the reins for hours at a stretch on bad
"I do
it
because
I like
it,
your ladyship.
You know
271
Poor Plutocrats
I
love
my
pipe,
and how can
I
smoke
it
in
a covered
carriage?"
Shortly afterward Mr. Gerzson asked leave to go out
and inspect the coach and the coachman, and
investigating everything and wrangling a
after closely
little
with the
coachman, purely from traditional habit, just to show the
fellow that he understood
all
about
it,
he ascended to the
drawing-room again and announced that the horses had
been put
in.
Hátszegi helped his wife to adjust her mantle over
her shoulders, and impressed a cold kiss upon her forehead.
Henrietta once more thanked him warmly for
being so good to her, and allowed Mr. Gerzson to escort
her
down
the steps.
The
old gentleman, however,
would
not allow himself to be persuaded to take his place in the
carriage by her side.
His hands itched
he
sat inside.
to hold the reins,
and he would, he
himself a nuisance
said,
if
be sure to go to sleep and
make
So he had his way,
and indeed
in all the
Hungarian
plain a
more
adroit and
careful driver could not have been found.
Gradually the night began to die away, and the sky
began to grow lighter behind the mountains of Bihar, which they had now
left
behind them.
The
smaller stars
;
vanished in groups before the brightening twilight
the larger constellations
still
only
sparkled through the dawn.
lit
Presently a hue of burning pink
straight strips of cloud
up the sky and long, up
swam,
like
golden ribbons, before
lit
the rising sun,
whose increasing radiance already
the broad cupolas of the dark mountains.
Before the
272
Poor Plutocrats
travelers extended the endless plain, over
which the rising
sun was casting a warm On Mr. Gerzson, however, the romantic spectacle of
glow.
sunrise on the heath produced no romantic impression
whatsoever.
He
neither observed the golden clouds in
the sky, nor the dappled
fields,
shadows
flitting across the
nor the lilac-colored nebulous horizon.
I
dewy He saw
else
none of these things,
say; but he
at
all.
saw something
which did not please him
"Yes,
"I say, Joska, the right leader
it
is
limping."
certainly is," rephed the coachman,
"Get down and see what's the matter." The coachman got down, lifted the horse's leg, brushed away the dust from around the hoof, and said with
the air of a connoisseur: "This horse's hoof has been pricked."
"What
when
the devil
it
—
is
!"
rang out Mr. Gerzson, but there
she
he stopped, for
a lady
is
not becoming to curse and swear
if
in the carriage behind you, even
does not hear.
Meanwhile the coachman mounted up beside him, and
they drove on again.
"Well,
we can
not drive that horse
much
further,"
pull the
its
grumbled Mr. Gerzson; "the other three must
carriage.
place,
At Csongrád we must get another
it
to take
and leave
behind there."
A
the
long discussion thereupon ensued between him and
as to the clumsiness of smiths in general,
coachman
who when
they pare
away
a horse's hoofs, in order to
273
Poor Plutocrats
shoe
it,
so often cut into the Hving flesh, which
is
very
is technically known as "pricking." They had scarce proceeded for more than another halfhour when Mr. Gerzson again began to cast suspicious glances down from the box-seat.
dangerous, and
"I say, Joska," he cried at
left leader,
last,
"it
seems to
me
the
the whip horse,
is
also limping."
Down
leaped the coachman, examined the horse's foot,
left leader
and pronounced that the hoof of the
been pricked.
"Devil take
had
also
—
!"
cried
Mr. Gerzson, but once more he
did not enlighten the devil as to the particular individual
he was desirous of drawing his attention
"Well,
I
to.
suppose
we must go on
first
as best
we
can with
two horses now, for the
two are good
for nothing."
And
in the spirit of a true driver, he stuck his
whip
beneath him, as being a thing for which there was
now
no further use, and resumed
his
argument with the coachfresh
man
about the inefficiency of smiths in general.
as we reach Orosháza we'll get two we ought to be getting there now."
steeple of
"As soon
horses
;
Yet the
ible,
Orosháza was, as
yet, scarcely vis-
and midday was already approaching.
There was
his clay pipe
no intermediate station where they could change horses.
Half an hour
be
later
Mr. Gerzson dashed
against the wheel of the coach, and swore that he would
damned if ever such a silly-fool thing had ever befallen him before, for now the hill horse also began to limp. Naturally, that also was found to have been pricked.
274
Poor Plutocrats
"May
now.
into
the devil take
all
those scamp of smiths
!
who
look after the poor beasts so badly
A pretty fix we are in
we
are able to crawl
pretty amble
We may
I'll
thank our stars
nightfall.
if
Orosháza before
A
we
shall
have now,
be bound."
all
And, indeed, ambling was about
for the
it
they could do.
As
Orosháza
steeple, so far
from drawing any nearer,
It
seemed
to be traveling
away from them, and with very
seemed to get
much
better horses than they had.
further off every moment.
"Well,
to
all
we want now
is
for the saddle horse also
shall be complete."
throw up the sponge, and we
If that
were Mr. Gerzson's one remaining wish, Fate
it
very speedily granted
to him, for they
had not gone
another quarter of an hour
when
all
four horses began
to limp together, one with the right foot, another with
the
left,
the third with the fore, and the fourth with the
hind
leg, till it was positively frightful to look at them. Mr. Gerzson leaped from the box, and in his rage and
fury dashed his pipe-stem into a thousand pieces.
"What can
a look at
the smith have been about!"
!"
whined the
coachman, shaking his head; "and yet his lordship had
them too
that.
"Devil take your smith, and his lordship also for the matter of
The whole
lot
of you deserves hanging."
that he hap-
And
it
was
a
good thing for the coachman
pened to be standing on the other side of the horses, as
otherwise he would certainly have had a taste of Squire Gerzson's riding whip.
275
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta,
who had
hitherto been sleeping quietly in
the carriage, aroused by the loud voices, put her head out
of the window, and timidly inquired what was the matter.
At
the
first
sound of her voice Squire Gerzson grew
"I have only been trying
;
as mild as a lamb.
''Nothing much," said he.
to put together again
wheel has gone over
my broken pipe-stem my pipe, that is all."
the carriage
"But where are we now?" asked Henrietta, peeping
curiously out of the carriage.
to
tell
Then, of course, they had
her the truth.
are three leagues from the station in front of us,
us,
"We
and about four from the one behind
are lame; they have been
and there
is
no
prospect of our getting on any further.
All four horses the shoeing."
damaged during
"What
I
steeple
I
is
that in front of us?"
"Orosháza,
fancy; but with these four lame horses
don't believe
we
shall get there before
midnight."
Henrietta perceived the confusion of the old gentle-
man, who for sheer rage and worry could not keep
his hat
on
his
burning head, so she tried to comfort him.
far
"Never mind, dear papa Gerzson, not
must
lie
from here
Leonard's inn.
You and
I,
papa Gerzson, might
go on
there with the horses while the
coachman makes
where he can
at the
the best of his
way on
foot to Orosháza,
get fresh horses, and join us early in the
inn.
morning
Squire Gerzson jerked his head significantly.
"I don't want to alarm you,
my
dear baroness." said
2^6
Poor Plutocrats
he, "but that hostelry lies in the beat of the ^poor vaga-
bonds'
—you may have heard of them."
I
"Oh,
once spent a night there.
keeper's wife.
told us tales
at
all
She
is
a very
good
sort
know the innof a woman, who
I
night long while she worked her distaff
I
my
bedside.
I
should very
much
I
like to see
her again.
Besides,
kissed
know
hand
by
the 'poor vagabonds' also.
in turn
All of them
If,
my
when
was
there.
however,
anybody should be rude
to me, have I not
papa Gerzson? your ladyship
—when he
is
I
fear nothing."
well, be
it
"Noble heart!
—very
so!
If
fears nothing, I think I
may
very well say the same."
Whereupon Squire Gerzson gave the coachman two florins to speed him on to Orosháza, where he was to get fresh horses and come on the same night to the inn, so that they might be able to set oi¥ again before dawn
on the morrow.
He
himself then quitted the highroad
in the direction of the notorious inn,
which with sound
horses he might have reached in about an hour, but which
with lame ones he only got up to toward evening, having
repeatedly to rest on the way.
Squire Gerzson kept on
asking Henrietta whether she was hungry or thirsty, and
offered her his flask again and again; but she always
gently declined
it,
the old
man
feeling in
honor bound to
follow her example.
He
comforted her, however, with
the assurance that the landlady
was
a
dab hand at turndishes.
ing out
all
sorts of
good old savory Hungarian
At
last,
after
a weary journey,
when evening was
already closing upon them, Henrietta perceived the inn
^77
Poor Plutocrats
gleaming white behind the acacia
trees.
When
they
stumbled into the courtyard they found nobody, and
nobody came out of the door
to
meet them.
"All the better, nobody will see these game-legged
nags," growled Squire Gerzson as he helped Henrietta
out of the carriage.
"It
is
odd that the woman of the inn does not come
out to meet me," said Henrietta. "She liked
pleased she will be to see me."
me
so.
How
Nevertheless no one came.
patient.
Squire Gerzson grew imall
He
could not leave the coach and horses
by
themselves.
"Hie! somebody! Who's at home ? Landlady, wenches,
or whoever you are, can't you creep out of your hole ?" In reply to his hallooing, a hoarse voice resounded
from the tap-room:
"Who
!
is it?
Can't you come inside
instead of standing and bawling there?"
"What, you scoundrel Come out hear, do want me do you or you
you?"
this instant, sirrah,
to
come and
fetch
At
his
this categorical
command,
the speaker inside
made
once,
time.
appearance.
Henrietta
recognized
him
at
first
though Squire Gerzson saw him now for the
It
was old Ripa.
"I
am
a guest here myself," said he.
"Thou blockhead! by
thee
the soul of thy father I charge
?'^
—where
is
is
is
the hostess
"She
outside in the cool air."
"What
she doing there?"
278
Poor Plutocrats
"She
is
guarding the moles" which means in the flowis
ery language of the Plain, "She
dead."
"Surely she
is
not dead?"
herself."
"Yes
— she did away with
"When?"
"The day before yesterday." "What was the matter with her?" "She drank too much water." "Where?"
"In the hurdle well."
"Why?"
"Because her feet did not reach the bottom."
"She leaped in then?" "It looks something like
"But why did she do
it."
so ?"
lover."
"She was much upset about her
"Did he leave her?"
"The
rope-girl (the gallows) took him."
Henrietta listened with a sort of stupefaction to the
cynical answers of the old scoundrel,
and her heart grew
heavy within
her lover.
her.
To
think that that merry, rosy-cheeked
killed herself out of grief for
young woman should have
"Then who
Gerzson.
is
carrying on the house ?" inquired Squire
"Nobody.
All the servants bolted after the funeral, in
order that they might not appear as witnesses."
"Then why do you remain here
"Because
if I
all
alone?"
went on
my way every
279
one would be sure
Poor Plutocrats
to say that
I
had murdered the hostess
;
I
mean
to
remain
here
till
they come for me."
"Yes, you old swine, and drink up every drop of wine
that remains in the meantime."
"Your pardon,
sir,
but
it
all
turned to vinegar
is
when
the
landlady killed herself.
That
always the case."
"None of your
are a guest here.
stable, give
nonsense, sirrah, but listen to me.
There's a crown for you; forget for the time that you
Take out
steal
the horses, put
them
in
into the
them hay
Don't
at once
and water them
about an
hour's time.
them, for they are lame, and
you would be caught
at once.
We
shall
remain here
till
our coachman returns with four fresh horses. Should any
troublesome person look
sort of
in,
is
you may
tell
him
that the con-
Baron Hátszegi
is
here and that Gerzson of Satra-
kovics
mounting guard before her door."
but he quietly
Old Ripa kissed her ladyship's hand without so much
as thanking Squire Gerzson for his
tip,
unyoked the horses and brought
the things he found in the coach.
into the house
some of
And
Henrietta stood once more in the landlady's room
and gazed pensively out of the window.
Her meditations
were presently disturbed by Squire Gerzson.
"My
sworn
dear good lady," he began, "fate has certainly
to be our
enemy
First of
in every possible
it
way
to-day.
I
would not have believed
experienced
it.
myself
if
I
had not actually
fall
all, all
our four horses
lame
on the road.
to take
Then,
at the
very place where
we
decide
up
our quarters,
we
280
find that the landlady has
Poor Plutocrats
jumped down
vengeance.
is
the well.
Truly fate pursues us with a
it,
But
we'll defy
if it
won't we,
it
my
it
lady?
Fate
very
much mistaken
It
fancies
will get the better
of us, eh?
I'll
does not
know with whom
has to deal,
be bound.
For our hearts are
in the right place,
and
we'll pretty
soon show that
is
we have
not lost our heads.
Our
ised
greatest misfortune
that the fine supper
we promin
ourselves has vanished to dust beneath our very
noses.
Never mind.
We
have brought with us
our
knapsack, after the custom of our ancestors, some good
ham, some hung
beef,
and some white loaves, to say
nothing of a flask of prime Tokay;
starve ourselves, do we,
we
don't
mean
to
my
lady?"
The
all
good old gentleman then took out of his knapsack
good things, and
politely
these
piled
them up on the
up the
table;
then he fetched the carriage lamp, to light
room
a
bitj
and
invited Henrietta to partake of his
simple banquet.
The young lady
smilingly took her place on the bencK.
"We
ance,
really can not drink the
water here, your ladyhis flask; "to all appear-
ship," said Gerzson,
handing her
nobody
will ever drink the
water out of the well of
this shanty again.
Such wells are generally walled up."
man, Henrietta raised the
it,
Merely
to oblige the old
flask to her lips
and pretended to drink out of
so as
not to spoil her companion's good humor, but really she
drank not a drop. wiped
ofif
She never used
to drink wine,
lips
and
the drops that remained
on her
with her
pocket-handkerchief.
Nor
did she eat anything, except
281
Poor Plutocrats
an apple, which was just
sufficient to
keep the pangs of
hunger
off.
fell
Mr. Gerzson, however,
to like a
man.
He
had
driv-
generally a good appetite, and the lack of a dinner, the
worry and trouble of
ing had
the journey,
and the labor of
ever.
made him hungrier than
slices off the loaf
He
;
cut such
whacking
beside
and
to
him
that
it
was a joy
good red ham watch him after he had
off the
lips, his
raised the cluck-clucker (wine-flask) to his
con-
versation became so entertaining that Henrietta listened
to
him with
"But now
delight.
I
am
not going to drink any more," said
it is
Mr. Gerzson
at last, "for
apt to
make me
sleepy,
and
I don't want to sleep to-night. About midnight the coachman will arrive with the fresh relay of horses.
Won't your ladyship
"Well,
I
rest a little in the adjoining
room?"
Henrietta shook her head.
suppose you are right.
all
How
indeed could
you
rem.ain
alone in the
tell
room
I'll
of a suicide?
Let us
stay together, then, and
each other tales."
begin by telling papa
"Yes, that will be
nice,
and
Gerzson something."
"I could
go on
listening to
you
till
morning
;
it
will
be
like the angels
singing in
my
ears."
So Henrietta began
ess
to tell
him
all
about the dead host-
and about her
love,
and also the story of the robber
head supported by his hand,
who
was hanged for his companion.
his
Mr. Gerzson, with
listened religiously and struck himself violently on the
282
Poor Plutocrats
mouth when he was
gaping.
"I can not understand
seized
by an involuntary
fit
of
why
a pipe
I
am
so sleepy
—my
light
eyes
seem
to be closing in spite of
me."
then?
"Why
You
don't you have
light
Come,
up!"
"What,
are sure
Your ladyship will really allow me? you don't mind tobacco smoke? You are,
up?
But are you sure
it
indeed, a blessed creature.
won't
make your head ache?"
"On
the contrary
;
I like
tobacco smoke."
Squire Gerzson half drew out his cigar case, but he
immediately shoved
it
back again.
"No,
one's
I
won't smoke a cigar.
I shall
One ought
not to abuse
good fortune.
get on well enough."
tell
Then Henrietta began
ture
to
him of Fatia Negra's
Transylvanian exploits, of the Lucsia Cavern, of the capof the coiners
—and
then she observed that Mr.
Gerzson's eyelids were sinking lower and lower, and he
was nodding his head violently. "Now you really must light
cried,
up,
papa Gerzson," she
"or you'll never be able to keep awake."
being thus accosted, Mr. Gerzson bobbed up his
air
On
who
"I
head with a frightened
not what
and rubbed
his eyes, like
one
has been suddenly aroused from slumber and knows
is
going on under his very nose.
am
not asleep, 'pon
little."
my word
I'm not.
I
was only
nodding a
"Light a cigar."
"No,
I
won't.
I prefer to
go out and have
a turn in
283
Poor Plutocrats
the open air and get the cobwebs out of
my
head.
I'll
have a look round outside a
bit."
And
laid his
with that he planted both his arms on the
table,
head upon them, and
fell fast
asleep.
Henrietta could not help smiling.
Poor old gentleman,
he had had a good deal of exertion, and no doubt that
wine was uncommonly strong.
Let him rest a
It
bit.
He
had had no sleep the night before.
sufficient if
would be quite
one of them kept awake.
Then
she took up the lamp and went out into the hall,
observing to her great satisfaction that the door thereof
was provided with a good lock. So she locked and fastened it. With timid curiosity she then explored every
corner with the lamp, and came upon nothing suspicious.
Finally she returned to the guest room, locked the door
of that also and placed the carriage lamp on the table,
turning
its
shade toward the sleeping old man, so that
;
he might not be awakened by the glare of the lamp
there she remained
all
and
alone, watching in the inn of the
desolate plain, patiently waiting for the night to pass
over her homeless head.
was she that only once did she take her watch from her bosom to see what the time was.
patient
So
was now past midnight. She began to calculate how long it would take the coachman to get to Orosháza and how much time he would require to reach this place. If he had got horses
It
at
once he ought to be near now.
284
:
Poor Plutocrats
A
short time afterward she heard the tread of horses'
feet in the courtyard.
Those must be our horses, thought
she; and, hastening to the
window looking out upon
little
the
courtyard, she pulled the blind a
to
one side and
looked out.
The night was
served that a
so light outside that she could see the
four horses quite plainly in the courtyard
—but
she ob-
man was
sitting
on each of them.
"This
is
very curious," thought she; "tzvo
suííicient to bring
men would
have been quite
along the relay."
and a
Three of the four men dismounted from their horses, fifth came out of the stable and had a short conthem; then the three approached the door
it.
sultation with
of the inn and tried to open
This struck Henrietta as suspicious, and she thought
it
was now high time
to
awake Mr. Gerzson.
"Pardon, papa Gerzson, but four
here."
Still
men have
arrived
Mr. Gerzson did not awake.
approached,
bent
Henrietta
insisted
over
him,
and gently
"My
dear papa Gerzson, just wake up for a moment;
to
somebody wants
come
in."
Even then Mr. Gerzson did not awake.
Henrietta listened.
Outside the hall door was begin-
ning to groan and rock.
They were
forcing
it.
Full of terror now, she seized Mr. Gerzson's arm.
"Sir, sir
is
!
robbers are upon us.
Awake, awake.
This
no time for slumber." 285
;
Poor Plutocrats
But Mr. Gerzson
been dead.
he
fell
still
slumbered on
—he might have
In vain she tore him away from the table
all
back again
of a heap and went on slumbering.
The
strangers were
now
in the hall,
and a heavy hand
was trying the
latch of the guest chamber.
"My
God,
my God !" moaned
now
Henrietta, wringing her
hands and rushing up and down the room, terror-stricken,
not knowing where to look
for refuge.
A
violent thud
resounded against the door.
it.
Some
one had placed his shoulder against
to the table, to save herself
Henrietta clung
from falling. At last the lock burst, the door flew open, and Fatia Negra with two masked companions stood before the lady. The same instant Henrietta recovered her presence of mind. At a pace's distance from danger she ceased to tremble, and calmly addressed them "What
:
do you want?"
"Why
One
are you not asleep
now
like
your companion?"
inquired Fatia
Negra
in a
low
voice.
of his comrades approached the sleeper and held
the barrel of his pistol to his temples.
In Fatia Negra's
hand there was only a dagger.
"Don't wake him," he whispered to Henrietta, "for
if
he should but raise his head, his brains will be blown
out."
"Do him no harm!"
are
implored the lady.
"I will give
you everything you want.
Here
is
my
jewels,
off
and you
shall
have
my my
pocketbook, here
watch
too.
See,
I will
draw
my
rings, only don't touch
.
me.
But
if
286
Poor Plutocrats
possible let
me
is
keep this round ring, for
it is
my
wed-
ding ring."
"All that
nothing," whispered Fatia Negra, "nor do
things.
we want these
Your ladyship has
will not say
received a
bill
for forty thousand florins
that and swear that you
to
from your husband; give up
anything about
it
any one for three days, so that we may have time to
it
turn
into cash."
At the mention of
reel,
the
still
bill
Henrietta
felt
her head
the blood stood
feet.
in her veins, she could scarce
keep her
ber,
Her
voice trembled as she lied to the rob-
denying that she had any such thing.
will search you,
"We
my
lady,
if
you do not give
it
up voluntarily."
Henrietta persisted in her falsehood
:
"I have nothing
upon me.
destination
I
posted
it
in order that
it
might get
to
its
more
safely."
"My
hand
it
lady,
you are only wasting our
time.
Turn round,
take that steel netting out of your puffed sleeves, and
over to us."
At
It
these
words
It
all
the blood flew to Henrietta's head.
was no longer
fear but the fury of despair that pos-
sessed her.
suddenly occurred to her that here was the
man whom nobody had ever recognized; the man who had made so many people unhappy who had robbed her
;
husband, and would
now
be?
stifle
her last hope of saving
could this terrible man,
her brother from disgrace.
this accursed wretch,
Who
And
287
so, as
Black
Mask drew
near to her, flashing his dagger before her eyes, she, the
Poor Plutocrats
weakest, the most timid of women,
at the
made a sudden snatch mask and tore it off. She saw his face and recognized him. For an instant her eyes gazed upon him, and then
she collapsed on the ground in a swoon.
It
raised his
was pretty late next morning when Mr. Gerzson muddled head from the table. The sun was
looked around him.
looked for Henrietta
to be seen.
;
shining brightly through the blinds.
He He
He was
quite alone.
he called her by name.
She
was nowhere
peared.
carriage.
Their luggage had also disap-
He
went
into the courtyard
and looked for the
That
also
was nowhere
to be seen.
Only the
four horses were in the stable, and they were neighing
for water;
nobody had watered them.
After that Mr. Gerzson's head grew more muddled
than ever.
What had become
during the night ?
ing about
the
it,
of the lady?
it
What had happened
remembered noth-
How was
that he
he
who
generally used to sleep so lightly that
was sufficient to awake him? Gradually he bethought him that the evening before he had drunk some wine with an unusual flavor. Even
of a midge
humming
now he was
Yet no wine
harm.
of his
seen.
conscious of a peculiar taste in his mouth.
in the
world had ever been able
to
do him
He
returned to the room, to examine the contents
flask.
But even the
flask
was now nowhere
to be
There was not a
single forgotten object, not a
288
Poor Plutocrats
single indication to give
fusion.
him a
clue in this obscure con-
What
could have happened here?
—he had not
He
gazed out
in every
the faintest idea.
He went
direction.
tracks,
and stood
in front of the inn.
upon the desolate plain stretching around him
From
old,
every point of the compass
still
wagon
which
some
some
fresh,
zigzagged to and from
his .mind
the building, and he could not
make up
of them to take in order to reach the world beyond.
289 (F)— (13)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XVI
LEANDER BABEROSSY
Whenever
one carts away a heap of stones which
have been lying undisturbed for years, or whenever one
removes the shingle roof of an ancient tenement, or
drains off the water from a
marshy
place,
one generally
stumbles upon
all
sorts of hitherto undiscovered, curi-
ous beetles, odd looking moths, and spiral shaped, creeping
things
in
these
routed-out
lurking
places which
nobody ever saw before or read of
books
derful
;
in the natural history
and
it is
at such times a
man
bethinks
him how won-
of Mother Nature to provide even such holes
and corners as these with living inhabitants which never
see the light of
day at
all.
Once, while on
circuit,
Vámhidy was
obliged to
lie
one night at a village within his jurisdiction whose
in-
habitants were a strong mixture of Hungarian, Servian,
and Wallachian ingredients.
long time before he could go
Arriving
to sleep,
late,
it
was
a
and he was awak-
ened rather late next morning by an unusual hubbub.
His bedchamber was only separated
drinking
from the large
this
room by
a door,
and through
door broke
every
now and
then very peculiar sounds, the
meaning
290
Poor Plutocrats
of which, on a
explain.
It
first
hearing,
it
was very
difficult
to
sounded as
if
a couple of
women and
a couple of
men were roundly abusing one
low tone and sometimes
another, sometimes in a
in a loud,
and the most peculiar
thing about the whole business was that two of them
never spoke at once, but each one of them allowed each
of the others to have his say out to the end.
the noise All at once
grew more alarming, and broken outbursts plainly suggested that some one in the adjoining room wanted to murder somebody else. Vámhidy leaped from his bedj and was about to intervene when in came the
landlord with his coffee.
"What
"Oh,
I
is
that
row going on next door?" inquired
Szilárd irritably.
cry your honor's pardon," replied the innkeeper
"it is
with a proud smile,
rehearsing a
evening,
see
it
only our actors.
They
are
this
new
piece
which they are going to act
will
I
hope your honor
condescend to go and
—
it
will be real fine."
"What,
ment.
actors in this village?" cried Szilárd in amaze-
"Why, where do they come from?" "Nobody knows where they came from or whither they mean to go, your honor." "How many of them are there then, and who is their
manager?"
"Well,
it
seems that there
is
is
only one
them, and he
half a child;
all
the others are
man among women
and
girls,
even to the ticket taker and the prompter."
291
Poor Plutocrats
"And what
"Oh,
sort of pieces
do they act?"
all sorts,
your honor.
Those of the women who
stick
have the deepest voices dress up as men,
on beards
and mustaches, and
act
much
make
better than
men would,
?
because they don't get drunk."
"And
they are able to
a living here
Who
is
goes
to the theatre then?"
"Well, the rustics about here come
to grin at.
if
there
anything
They
;
don't give money, because they have
none themselves
they can.
but they bring corn, potatoes, sausages,
live
and hams, and the actors
upon the proceeds
as best
When
else."
they have
made any
debts they can
not pay, they simply bolt on the
first fine
night and go
somewhere
"But don't they leave
their decorations or their
ward-
robe in pledge behind them?"
At
ital
this the landlord
laughed aloud, as
if it
were a cap-
joke.
!
"Decorations, wardrobes, indeed
Why,
their stage
curtain consists of a large piece of threadbare sackcloth
pasted over with tricolored paper, on which they have
painted the national coat of arms.
is
Their wardrobe,
too,
of the very simplest description.
When
they play a
piece in which kings
and queens appear, they borrow the
gold bespangled dresses of the rich Servian
the district, to
require besides
serve them
is
women
of
as royal mantles.
All they
a
little tinsel,
!
some spangles, and some
pasteboard
—
and there you are
The manager,
ingenious
is
as
I
have
said, is still but a child, but so
he that he
292
Poor Plutocrats
can make moonshine out of a yellow gourd, and produce
thunder and lightning
It is
—but
that
is
a professional secret.
all,
true they have only six pieces in
and when they
all
have played these through they begin them
over again.
The
public, naturally, does not like to see the
same piece
title,
twice,
so
the
manager gives
of
all
the piece
another
changes the
titles
the characters,
and represents
said
the piece over again as a brand
new
one."
"I
should like
to
see
to-day's representation,"
Szilárd,
whose
curiosity
had been excited by
this peculiar
description.
"I'll
fetch
your honor a play
bill
immediately," said the
innkeeper.
Off went mine host, returning in a few moments with
a
MS.
play
bill,
on which was written
in large red let-
ters:
"Hernáni or Castilian Honor," followed by the
names of the personages. Hernáni was naturally the manager himself. Leander Babérossy (literally, laurel
bearer)
;
Elvira
was
are
to be played
by Miss Palmira; the
other gentlemen were simply indicated by N. N., X. X.,
or *
*.
"They
all
innkeeper,
"who
don't
The charge
for the
women, you know," explained the want to advertise their names. front seats is two and one-half
where they
please, I
kreutzer, for the second-class places one kreutzer.
"The gentry can
that on the play
sit
presume?"
"I suggested to the
bill,
manager
that he
should write
but he replied that that would be
an impertinence.
bill
I also
advised him to take the play
to
your honor himself, and was almost kicked out of
293
—
Poor Plutocrats
the
room
for
my
pains.
Did
I
take
him
for a bill-poster?
he said."
"This manager of yours seems to have a pretty good
opinion of himself."
"Oh, he
is
frightfully proud, your honor.
He
will
play no other pieces but sword pieces, because, says he,
they are classical.
The poor
he grows a
fellow
little
is
so very young,
you know.
starve a
bit,
When
older and learns to
he will soon lower his crest."
for holding up his head.
"I like
I
will
him none the less come to the play."
"But you must be there
or not."
at exactly seven o'clock.
is
He
always begins punctually, whether there
any audience
"The
lad has character, I see; pray give
him
this"
and he handed the innkeeper half a sovereign.
quickly returned with the reply that the
He
manager could
it
not for the
moment
give change.
to keep the
"But
I
meant him
whole of
as an admit-
tance fee."
"Ah, yes."
A
short time afterward the innkeeper reappeared with
a whole bundle of admission tickets for Szilárd, saying
that the
manager thanked him
assumed that
his
for his sympathy, but as
he was not in the habit of accepting presents from any
one, he
honor meant
to
engage the
for
his
whole house for himself that evening, and he, the manager,
would therefore give
a
representation
honor's sole benefit.
294
Poor Plutocrats
Szilárd laughed heartily at this comical conscientiousness, and, after dressing,
he went about his
oi¥icial busi-
ness with as
much
despatch as possible, in order to arrive
at the play at seven o'clock sharp, for he
was now
the
whole
public,
When
ance,
and the public ought always to be punctual. he got to the room set apart for the perform-
he found that, despite the provisional "non-sub-
scription" arrangement, the place
was not
quite empty,
for the gratis public, the lenders of the theatrical requisites
and
their families, the letters of lodgings to the actors,
and other peaceful creditors, occupied a couple of benches,
so that Szilárd
had the opportunity of effacing himself
his solitary
and thus avoiding confusing the company by
personality.
No
sooner had the innkeeper's cuckoo clock struck
bell
seven than the ring of the prompter's
resounded
like a glass
behind the curtain
(it
sounded suspiciously
struck smartly with the back of a knife), and by
means
of a highly ingenious piece of machinery the drop-curtain,
stuck over with the tricolored cardboard representflag,
was hoisted up to the ceiling beam, and the open stage was revealed. The background was formed by a collapsible screen, which was painted to represent a room in the foreground on one side was a paper window, painted black and white, and on the other side the cellar door, metamorphosed into
ing the national
;
the portal of a Gothic palace. actors
Through
was
this entry all the
came and went,
for
it
the only one.
The
piece acted was, naturally, not
"Hernáni or Cas-
295
Poor Plutocrats
tilian
Honor," but
it
Schiller's
first
"Robbers."
Szilárd recog-
nized
at the
very
three words.
He
also noticed
that the characters of
Karl and Franz
Moor were
acted
by one and the same
person (the
manager
himself, as he
was informed), with a simple change of voice and mask,
and, despite the different disguises employed,
it
constantly
seemed to Szilárd as
face
if
he had seen that caricature of a
voice, parodied as
it
somewhere
else,
and the
now
was, nevertheless seemed familiar to him.
iar
No
less famil-
appeared the violent gestures of the young actor,
scenes.
which frequently endangered the side
Now
as early as scene
two the noble
public began to be
it
;
aware of the unheard-of fraud practised upon
a
mur-
muring, an agitation, a whispering and a wagging of
heads, and finally an impatient thumping of sticks began
to
mingle with the bustle of the drama,
lent the
till
at last a
worthy cobbler, who had
company
three
wooden
benches, and received in return a free pass every day,
suddenly bawled out: ''Hallo there, Mr. Manager!
we
it."
have seen
this piece
once before.
There's politics in
Franz Moor, disturbed
this
in his artistic interpretation
by
sudden onslaught, suddenly forgot himself,
lost his
cue,
and answering the
interpellator
in
his
natural,
every-day voice (he knew he had only a free
to deal with) exclaimed:
list
public
"Whoever
it
has seen this piece
before and does not wish to see
again, will have his
money refunded on applying
at the
box
office."
These words were no sooner uttered than Vámhidy
leaped from his seat, rushed upon the stage, caught Franz
296
Poor Plutocrats
Moor
in his arms,
and kissed
his painted face, crying with
a voice
trembhng with joy: "Koloman!"
instant, then tore oi¥ his
Franz Moor hesitated for an
Spanish beard, dropped his red wig, wiped the painted
wrinkles from his forehead, and Szilárd
a pale, melancholy, childish countenance.
saw before him
Leander Babérossy was young Koloman, Henrietta's
brother.
The
representation naturally ceased at once.
Szilárd
hustled the rediscovered "prodigal son" oi¥ the boards
and never
let
him
stop for an instant
till
he had got him
safe and sound into his
own
lad
private room.
at arms' length,
There he
and had
embraced him again, held him
a good look at him.
The
seemed
to be
twenty years
old at the very least, yet really he
acting,
was but fifteen. Play want and premature shaving soon make a youth
Moreover, in
his
look old.
whole bearing,
in all
his
movements, there was something precocious, a
bold expression, which
resolute,
made one
forget that he was a
mere
child
—
a sort of cynicism not pleasant to behold.
Szilárd soon had a good supper ready for him, which
the youth
fell
to
"My
over,
that he
dear Leander," said
it is
work upon without ceremony. Vámhidy when the meal was
a very fine thing
is it
"no doubt
is
when one can
is
say
his
own
master, nor
all.
so difficult to attain to
is
such a position after
All that
itself.
wanted
easily
a strength
of character always true to
But you,
my
friend,
have committed
follies
which might
make of you
something very different."
297
!
Poor Plutocrats
Koloman shrugged
"I have committed
his shoulders.
many
I
folHes
no doubt, but
his
I
do
not
call to
mind any which
began
to
should be afraid to confess."
that
Szilárd
fancy
suspicions
were
groundless,
"People are talking of a certain
given in your
bill
which you have
his eyes
red.
At
his
these
name?" words Koloman
sister's
cast
down
upon
In a
plate,
and
his
whole face grew blood
scarcely audible voice he inquired:
"And
was
has Henrietta
refused to honor that bill?"
Vámhidy
sighed deeply.
Then
it
really true that
this thoughtless child
had committed the crime
martyr of her
"My
dear Koloman," said he, dropping the Leander
sister is the
now, "your
own
devotion.
bill
She
she
was most
will
certainly ready to
acknowledge the
as her
own, but you ought to have thought what
have to make
sacrifices
now
that her grandfather has cut her
oi¥ with a shilling,
and her husband refuses to place such
at her disposal."
a considerable
amount
his
"Good gracious!" cried the itinerant hands deep down into his empty
do these big-wigs
I
call
actor, thrusting
pockets,
"what,
then,
considerable amounts.
Very
be
well, sir.
had no idea that the Baroness Hátszegi was
I will
so very poor.
the
first
try to recover the
bill,
and
it
shall
thing
T will
pay off with
my
benefit
money."
Szilárd could
not help being struck by the terrible
comicahty of the idea,
"But,
my
dear young friend," said he, "if you had
298
—
Poor Plutocrats
two
benefits every year,
it
and got a
clear forty florins at
at least a
every one of them,
would take you
hundred
years from to-day to discharge the amount."
"What?"' cried Koloman with wide open eyes, and
his
in
amazement
seizing the candlestick instead of his fork.
"Why,
don't you
know
the
that the
bill is
for forty thou-
sand florins?"
"What?" thundered
side
young vagabond.
And
kick-
ing aside his chair, he snatched up a knife lying by the
of his plate and, bareheaded as he was, rushed
Szilárd had need of
all his
toward the door.
to catch
dexterity
rushing into the street
him before he reached it and prevent him from like a madman. "Let me murder him, let me murder that villain," he
Szilárd
cried.
was a strong man,
so he easily disarmed the
youth.
Then Koloman began
ground.
Szilárd seized
to weep and fling himself on the him by the arm and hoisted him
on to a chair again.
"Be
a
man!" he
villain
it
cried.
"Of whom do you speak?
whom
do you want to
kill?"
"That
Margari."
to take
this
"Then
step?"
"I will
was he who persuaded you
you
left
all
tell
about
it,
sir,
and you
shall
judge
me.
When
me
I
I
my
grandfather's house, that satan
sought
out, afifected
sympathy for me, and asked me
what
meant
to do.
I told
him
I
intended to go on the
299
Poor Plutocrats
stage,
and he said
florin,
I
did well not to remain there.
I
I
had
only a
which
borrowed from one of the
promised to get them for
I
lackeys,
and
I
told this devil that I should require twenty florins
at the very least.
He
me from
bill
a usurer, but told
forty.
me
I
should have to give a
I
for
Do you
think
cared what
signed then?
Not
long afterward he came back again and said the usurer
would give nothing on the strength of
because
I
my
signature,
was
bill
a minor, but that
if
my
sister's
name
stood
upon the
he would advance upon
that, because she
was
the
a married
bill
woman.
name.
Margari persuaded
me
to sign
in her
What was
trifle.
forty florins to Henri-
etta? he said, a
mere
If I
were to ask
her, she
would give
proclaim me,
me twice as much. whom she loved so
Surely she would not
much, a forger for the
florins,
sake of a paltry forty florins ?
forty thousand!
I
But forty thousand
—
that
is
a frightful, a horrible villainy.
only
made
it
forty."
And
with that he began to dash his head against the
wall like a
madman.
just told
"My
Szilárd
;
dear Koloman, do pull yourself together," said
"what you have
me
is
of the very
greatest importance.
Be
quiet
and don't tear out your
hair
!
Are you aware
that your infinitely
good
sister
has
honored the forty thousand
save you?"
florin bill also in
order to
The poor youth was thunderstruck at these words. "And now you can imagine the embarrassment of the
baroness,
who
has been disinherited and
is,
nevertheless,
300
Poor Plutocrats
responsible for this very considerable
at all sure that her
sum without being
it
husband
will
pay
for her."
"I will hang myself."
"That would be the most gigantic piece of
could commit.
folly
you
You must make good your
we
cease to be friends, and
fault.
I
And
simply
pris-
now
oner,
for a time
am
an examining magistrate, and you are an accused
who
Pray
is
about to make a voluntary confession before
right opposite to
me.
sit
questions clearly and accurately
—
me and answer in fact, tell me
all
my
exactly
what happened."
And Vámhidy
lit
produced paper and writing
requisites,
a pair of candles, which he placed by his side, and
sitting in front of
began the examination of the youth
him.
By midnight the confession was duly written down. When, however, Vámhidy proposed that Koloman should now come back to Pesth and be reconciled to his
relations, the
youth hesitated:
"We
shall see," said he.
"At any
Szilárd.
rate
remain here with
me
then," continued
till
"Sleep in
over.
I
my room
and take
to-morrow
to
think
it
won't lock the door, but you must give
me your word
door without
"I give you
of honor that you will not
go out of
that
my knowledge." my word upon it."
made the youth lie down, and only went when he was sure that Koloman was
Then
asleep.
Szilárd
to rest himself
Nevertheless on awaking next morning and looking
301
Poor Plutocrats
round the room he could see no trace of Koloman, but
there
was
a letter
friend,
I
from him on the
I
table, as
follows:
"Dear old
not because
thank you for your extreme kind-
ness to me, but
I
don't want to see
my
relations
I
any more,
fear to
meet them, but because
have a holy
horror of the very atmosphere they breathe.
sion will
sufiiice
My
confes-
to
rectify
my
fault.
is
I
am
going on
the tramp again.
The
linen tent
my
home.
And
then
—there
I
I
are obligations in respect to the discharge
whereof
nothing with
liberty
am not my sister's brother. I me but four cigar ends from
will
I
have taken
the table, a
hope you
that
pardon me.
As
I
have given
.door with-
you
exit
ful
my word
would not go out of the
I
out your knowledge,
have been obliged to make
my
through the window.
Adieu!
Till
death thy faith-
admirer.
Koloman."
Vámhidy
learned from the
A
couple of hours later
innkeeper that the manager, without any previous leavetaking,
tions
had decamped, leaving behind him
theatrical
his decora-
and
wardrobe
as
some compensation
for
his trifling debts.
All he had taken
away with him was
Miss Palmira.
what he
actually
had on
his person
—and
And now
whereof
I
Szilárd understood the
meaning of the pas-
sage, "there are obligations in respect to the discharge
am
not
my
sister's
brother."
This vagabond comedian had an equally vagabond,
childish ideal,
flung his
and when he had to make his choice, he arm around her and fled away with her into
—
the wide, wide world.
302
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XVII
MR. MARGARI
Mr. Margari had got on
a real gentleman,
in the
world.
He was now
who had
a four-roomed domicile, paid
house rent, and had even gone the length of marrying.
And
can you guess the lady of his choice ?
—why,
it
was
little
no other than Miss Clementina.
bit of
That worthy virgin was
of just the proper age for him; moreover, a cozy
cash might safely be assumed to go with her, which
exercised a strong attraction upon Mr.
Margari
—and
goes to prove that iron
is
not the only metal susceptible
of the influence of the magnet.
The worthy maiden had
persuaded her respected swain to abduct her from Hidvár,
an enterprise which he had nobly performed while the
lady of the house
It is true
ment, for
was traveling with her husband to Arad. there was no necessity whatever for an elopethe baroness was very far from being one of
those dragons in feminine shape
who
love to tear asunIf
der hearts that are burning for each other.
gari
Mr. Mar-
had respectfully
is
solicited the
hand of her lady com-
panion, there
no reason to suppose he would have sued
in vain; but Clementina
was
far too romantic for any-
thing so
humdrum
as that.
She
insisted that he should
303
Poor Plutocrats
abduct her, at night, too, and through a window, although
she had the key of every door close at hand.
So Margari had managed
and become
his
to set
up as a gentleman
own
master.
Clementina's
money bought
to himself, in
the furniture,
and they even sported
a musical clock.
all
Mr. Margari had a smoking-room
which he did nothing
more work
for
all day but smoke his pipe. No him now, no more copying of MSS.
There the happy husband, dressed
in a flowered dressing
gown, stretched himself out
and blew clouds of smoke
all
at full length
on the sofa
his long
around him out of
china, stuffed full with the best Turkish tobacco.
Clementina was always scolding him for putting his
legs
upon the
sofa.
It
was
a nasty habit, she said,
it
and
not only unbecoming but expensive, because
the furniture.
ruined
all
Clementina, in
fact,
was scolding him
any
day and
;
this
was very
silently
natural, for
woman who
has
been condemned to obsequious servility for thirty whole
years,
all
and has
endured the caprices of her betters
that time,
when
she sets up as a lady on her
own
But
account will do her best to compensate herself for this
interminable suppression of her natural instincts.
Mr. Margari used only
nagging
at him.
to laugh
when
his wife
began
**Other tempests, other storms have I
in Latin.
seen," he
to
would quote
He was
only too glad
have a home of his "Don't worry,
own at all. woman !" he would
"when
that's
say with reference
out,
I'll
to the furniture;
worn
buy some
I
more.
John Lapussa,
Esq., will give
me
whatever
want."
304
;
Poor Plutocrats
"He may
entina,
be fool enough to do so now," replied Clemtill
"but just you wait
he has
won
his action
against
Madame
Langai, and has no further need of you,
I
he won't care twopence for you then.
Lapussa."
know Mr. John
"So do
I/' retorted
Margari.
"He
shall
has paid
me
hith-
erto to say
for holding
what he
tells
me; he
pay
me
hereafter
John Lapussa, Esq., will have to take care that Margari has plenty to eat and decent clothes to put on, for, if Margari grows hungry, Margari
tongue,
will bite."
my
Mr. Margari spoke with an
air of such impertinent
assurance and blew about such clouds of smoke that
Clementina began to respect him, and sat
down on
the
sofa by his side, no doubt to protect her property,
"If
you hold his honor so completely in the palm of your
hand," said she,
self
"why
don't
you provide better for yourgoes and more
will
out
is
and me? It is all now when you press him, but money wanted. One of these days something
very well for his honor to fork
happen to
him and he will die and you can't follow him to the moon." This was indeed a hard nut for Margari to crack. One can not squeeze much out of dead men. Such an impression did the remark make upon him that he took
his feet off the sofa
—
and
sat bolt upright.
I
"Then what do you think
his wife.
ought to do?" he asked
"Well,
it is
of no use his doling you out mere driblets
305
Poor Plutocrats
for the great services
to give
you have rendered him he ought
in proportion to
you something more
your merits
—a
Httle estate in the country, for instance.
There we
could settle
down
comfortably."
lots of
"True, and he has
are of no use to
stance, to
such
little
properties which
say, for in;
him
at all.
What do you
But
flea-bite or
an estate of one hundred acres or so
it
would
give
be a mere flea-bite to him.
that's all
it
no
flea-bite,
one to me.
I zvish
him
to give
it
me and
he must.
I mean to pick and "And suppose he says no?"
choose."
"He'll never say that, or,
if
he does,
it
I shall
say somewill be
thing to somebody, and then
sorry and not
I.
will be he
who
Oh,
he'll
take jolly
good care not
to
make Margari angry.
His honor has much more need of
soon see under what auspices Marlittle
Margari's friendship than Margari has of his honor's."
And we
shall very
gari hoped to get the
country estate from Mr. John
services.
Lapussa as a reward for his faithful
against Mr. John Lapussa
Meanwhile the action brought by Madame Langai
was
it
still
in its initial stage.
Both parties were inexhaustible
and raising points of law, but
that
in
producing documents
seemed highly probable
he called his dear
Mr. John would win.
the magistrate,
Mr. John appeared almost
daily before
whom
friend
and
whcm
he frequently invited to dine, an invita-
tion which, naturally,
Monori, for that
was never accepted. One day Mr. was the worthy magistrate's name,
asked Mr. John whether he knew anything of a certain
306
!
Poor Plutocrats
Margari,
who was
soliciting the post of a clerk in the
district court
ily,
and gave as
service he
his reference the
Lapussa fam-
in
whose
had been for some years.
Mr.
John, with his innate niggardliness, at once seized this
opportunity for disembarrassing himself of an importunate beggar by saddling the county with him.
exalted "the worthy, excellent
especially praised
his
rectitude,
He
and
man"
to the skies,
his sobriety,
his great
diligence
"But
is
he
trustworthy?"
inquired
the
magistrate.
"You
see there are various
little
cash payments he will
have to see to
—
is
he clean-handed?"
I
"As good
thousands.
as gold,
assure you.
I
could trust him
are in his keep-
ing
—" and with
palm
Why, some
if
of
my own
bills
that he proceeded to say as
many
pretty
things of Margari as
to
off a blind
he were a horse-dealer, trying
at
nag on some ignorant bumpkin
a
fair.
In his delight at having so successfully rid himself
of such an incubus, he
to
tell
made
his
man
slip
over to Margari,
the
worthy man to wait upon him on the morrow
he had a very pleasant piece
at eleven o'clock precisely, as
of
news
to impart to
it
him
;
for he
meant
to
make Margari
believe that
cial influence that
ment, and so
was through his, Mr. John Lapussa's, spehe had obtained the coveted appointget him to renounce all further claims upon
same day Mr. John
w^as
his old patron.
On
the very
surprised to
receive a visit
from the magistrate, Mr. Monori, and
307
Poor Plutocrats
certainly
was
I
a wonder, for the magistrate never
.nade any but
official visits.
"To what do
on a couch.
"I have
owe
this
extraordinary pleasure?" asked
to sit
Mr. John, familiarly inviting the magistrate
down
come
in the matter of this Margari," said
stiffly
Monori, holding himself very
sharply on Mr. John.
and fixing his eyes
"Since our conversation of this
morning, the circumstance has come to
that one of
my
knowledge
my
colleagues in the county of
succeeded in finding the long-lost
Arad has Koloman Lapussa."
to
At
these
words Mr. John began
smooth out the
ends of his mustache and chew them attentively.
"The young man confesses to having forged the bill, it was Margari who led him to do so, and that the bill signed by him was originally for forty florins only, so that undoubtedly somebody else must
but asserts that
have turned
it
into forty thousand."
Mr. John coughed very much at these words no doubt the bit of mustache which he had bit off stuck in
his throat.
—
"This
is
a very ticklish circumstance, I
must confess,"
continued Monori, "for although the young man's offense has thereby been considerably lightened, yet the burden
of the charge has
hitherto quite free
a minor,
now been
from
shifted to other shoulders
suspicion.
No
doubt, he being
a
under
strict control, did
what he did as
mere
schoolboy
frolic,
but this Margari and an
it
unknown some-
body
else will find
not quite such a laughing matter."
308
Poor Plutocrats
Mr. John's mustache was by this time not enough for him he began nibbhng his nails as well. "But what are you driving at?" he said. ''How does
;
all this
concern
me?"
sir,
"It concerns you,
in this
way
:
you
told
me
that
Margari was your confidential agent, and, therefore, he
must have destroyed the
"I only said that to
I
bill at
your bidding."
help him
to get a small official post.
am
responsible for nobody.
What have
I
to
do with
passed
the characters of
my
servants,
my
footmen."
bills
"But you assured me that your
through his hands."
often
Mr. John fancied that the best way out of pleasant hole was by adopting a little energetic
this
un-
bluffing.
"What do you mean by cross-examining me
sofa.
in
my own
house?" he cried with affected pride, springing from the
The magistrate
official
rose at the same time.
I
"Pardon me, but
capacity
am
here not as a visitor, but in
my
—
as your judge."
official
And
with that he coolly unbuttoned his great
fur coat and
sealed letter.
drew
forth
from the
inside pocket a large
"You must swear
"I?
a
to every
one of the interrogatories
administered to you by me."
rU swear
to nothing," cried
Mr. John.
"I
am
Quaker and,
therefore, can not take an oath."
sir, is
"This document,
refuses to obey
it
a royal mandate,
to penalties."
and whoever
is liable
309
Poor Plutocrats
"What
penalties?"
"A
cried
fine of eighty florins."
"Eighty florins?
There you are then, take them!"
Mr. John, flinging down the amount eagerly and
thinking to himself that this mandate was indeed a juridical
masterpiece, not being binding on a rich
all,
man
—
for
what, after
is
eighty florins?
said
"Very good,"
Mr. Monori, giving him a
receipt
for the amount, "I'll
come again to-morrow."
upon you
to
"What
tories
for?"
call
"I shall again
answer
my
interroga-
upon oath."
"And if I won't swear?" "Why, then, you'll have to pay the fine for contempt every day. The clerk of court will call regularly and exact the fine from you until such time as you make up
your mind to take the oaths.
reached
Good-day."
he poured forth his wrath
After the magistrate had withdrawn, Mr. John's fury
its
climax.
First of
all
upon the poor inkstand, with the ink from which Monori had written out the receipt. This he dashed to the
ground.
The footman who rushed
in
at the
commoThen he
tion, to inquire if his
honor had rung, he seized by the
for daring to
nape of the neck and flung out of the room.
rushed after the
man and pommeled him
told to go.
go out before he had been
Finally he dashed
out and, for the lowest silver coin he could
mind
to part with, hired a coach to take
make up his him to his villa
fly.
near the park, for thither he had resolved to
310
Poor Plutocrats
On
arriving there he recovered himself somewhat.
So Koloman had been
about his
discovered and had confessed
own
doings and Margari's.
that's
all.
it ?
Well, he must
simply disavow Margari,
But suppose Margari
Well, he could repu-
were
royal
fine
to
make
a clean breast of
diate the whole thing, of course.
But then that wretched
swear or pay the court
fly,
mandate?
He must
It
either
every day.
would be
best perhaps to
to leave
Pesth behind him, and
then, they
set out
all
on
his travels.
Perhaps,
would forget
about
it
it.
But then there was
It
the lawsuit!
And
suppose
should be decided in the
meantime and decided against him!
!
was an absurd dilemma To remain here was dangerous and to go away was also dangerous. What a good job it would be if that cursed forged-bill business could disappear from the
face of the earth.
that
The
bill
ought to be withdrawn.
it
But
was
impossible, because
was already
in the
magis-
trate's hands,
and therefore could not be ignored.
interested in the matter,
And
then the oath required of him.
that he
Either he must confess
was personally
and then
he would not be required to swear, but would at the same
time
make himself an
object of suspicion, or else he
must
go on paying
this infernal toll
money,
in
order to be able
It
to cross the non- juratory bridge, so to speak.
;
was an
exasperating syllogism and after tossing about sleeplessly
all
night in the midst of this vicious
circle,
Mr. John
resolved in the morning
to set off at once for the neightell
boring village of Promontor,
his servants that he
meant
to
remain
there,
and enjoy himself, and immedi-
3"
!
Poor Plutocrats
ately afterward get into a post-chaise
and drive to
his
his
real
Sarfeneki
property.
Nobody should know
address but his lawyer, and there he would await devel-
opments,
necessity.
only emerging in case of the most urgent
So he
hastily
swallowed his chocolate, wrapped himself
fly;
in his mantle,
and fancied that now he might safely
but he reckoned without his host, for, on the very doorstep,
he came face to face with Margari
of the humble
"What do you want here, eh?" he inquired fiercely man he feared so much. "You were so good as to make an appointment with
"Yes, yes,
I
me, your honor," said Margari cringingly.
know,
I
know" (he was
afraid to
warn
him of
"but
I I
his
danger with
all
the servants listening to them),
can not spare the time now, come some other day.
can not give you anything here."
"But your honor was good enough
to say that
you had
some glad
now."
tidings to communicate."
I
"Another time, another time!
am
very busy just
Mr. John would have shaken ofif Margari altogether, but Margari was not so easily got rid of. He had already
ascertained from the
coachman
that
Mr. John was
of¥ to
Promontor and did not mean
to return again in a hurry,
so he resolved to take his measures accordingly.
He
rushed forward to open the carriage door, helped Mr.
John
to get into the coach,
wished him a most pleasant
journey, no end of enjoyment, and other meaningless
312
;
Poor Plutocrats
things, all of
which made much the same agreeable imif
pression upon Mr. John as
an ant had crept into his
boot and he could not
kill it
because he was in company.
to
Only when the carriage door was shut
again.
and he saw
Margari's face no more did he begin to breathe freely
Margari, however, attributed this reception,
non-reception,
to
or, rather,
the capricious
liable
humors
to
which his
reason
honor was constantly
(it is
without
rime or
a peculiarity of self-made plutocrats, as
;
everybody
knows)
place.
but he was not a bit oííended
see
—he
knew
his
His honor doesn't want to
Margari just now
his
very well, he shall not see him, so he jumped up behind
the carriage, alongside the lackey.
But how surprised
to see
honor
will be
when he
gets to
Promontor
Margari
open the carriage door for him?
How
he will bid him
go
to the devil
and immediately after burst out laughing
and give him a present!
And what
And
all
will the present
be?
Has
it
anything to do with the good news with which
the while Mr. John, the idea
he meant to surprise him?
inside the carriage,
was hugging himself with
that he
had
rid himself of
Margari for a time, and de-
voutly wishing that the cholera or some other equally
rapid and effectual disease might remove the old rascal
off the face of the earth altogether.
When
the carriage stopped at the picturesque vineyards
of Promontor, Mr. John almost had a stroke when, on
looking through the glass window, the
the
first
feature of
panorama
that
presented
itself
was
the figure of
313
(F)
— (14)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
Margari hastening to open the door with obsequious
famiharity.
"You
here, sirrah," he roared (he
if
would have choked
with rage on the spot
he had not said sirrah).
"How
on earth did you get here?"
Margari instantly imagined that
eyes, convulsive
his honor's flashing
mouth and
distorted face
were the out-
ward
signs of a jocose frame of mind, for there
was
it
always a sort of travesty of humor in Mr. John's features
whenever he was angry.
occurred to him to
life.
So, to his
own
confusion,
make
a joke for the first time in his
"Crying your honor's pardon,
I
ew" said he.
till
And,
in fact, the
very next instant he was sent flying
so impetuously that he did not stop
he plumped right
into the trellis-work surrounding a bed of vines.
in all
buffet.
Never
his
life
before had Mr. John dispensed such a
fairly
Margari
disappeared
among
the leaves
of the friendly vine arbors.
It
he had done.
the
was now Mr. John's turn to be frightened at what He was frightened because every box on ears he gave used regularly to cost him two hundred
very costly passion to indulge
in.
florins, a
And
besides
he was particularly anxious just then to keep Margari in
a
good humor.
A man may
on
its tail if
loathe a viper, but he
its
had
better not tread
he can not tread on
head.
Horrified at his
own
outburst of rage, the
moment he
saw Margari disappear in the vine arbors, he rushed after him, freed him with his own hands, picked him up,
314
Poor Plutocrats
set
him on
his legs again,
brushed his clothes, and began
to comfort him.
"Come, come,
did not
I
my
dear friend! compose yourself.
I
mean
to hurt you.
hope you are not hurt ?
You are not angry, are you. Where did you hit yourself ?"
like a
Margari; however, began whimpering
school-
boy; the more the other tried to quiet him, the more
loudly he bellowed.
the veranda and wipe the blood
"Come, come! don't make such a noise! Come under from your face!"
I
"But
am
not a dog!" roared Margari.
;
"I won't go
I'll
under the veranda
the top of
bleed."
I'll
go
into the street.
howl
see
at
my
voice.
The whole town
I didn't
shall
me
"Margari, don't be a fool
I
!
mean
!
to hurt you.
was too violent, I admit it. Look here I'll give you money. How much do you want? Will two hundred floriias be enough?" At the words "two hundred florins," Margari stopped
roaring a
bit,
but he wanted to see the color of the
to himself that if he quieted
all.
money, for he thought
first
down
he would get nothing at
first
So he kept on whining
from the one
his
and limped
on one leg and then on the other, and
got.
plastered his whole face over with blood
little
scratch he
had
Mr. John hastened to wipe Margari's face with
own
not
pocket-handkerchief.
"Come, come,
my
it.
dear Margari.
I
have told you
I
did
mean
to
do
Here
are the
two hundred
florins I
315
Poor Plutocrats
promised you.
But now leave
me
alone.
I will
Go away
give you
with the money and enjoy yourself, and
some more
"I most
later on."
humbly thank you,"
lisped the buffeted
wretch
with a conciliatory voice, and he kissed Mr. John's two
hundred florined hand repeatedly, while the other did
in his
all
power
to hustle
him out of
the door; and so en-
grossed was he in the effort that he never noticed that
some one had been observing the scene
the whole time.
voice,
He, therefore, regularly collapsed when a
sir!"
which
he instantly recognized, addressed him: "Good morning,
The Lernean Hydra was not more petrified at the Medusa than was Mr. John by the sight of the person who had just addressed him. It was the magistrate, Mr. Monori. At first he feared he had come after liim for his diurnal eighty florins, but something very much worse than that was in store for him.
sight of the head of
"Pardon me,"
said the magistrate,
I
drawing nearer,
here to arrest
"but by order of the High Court,
with you,
am
Margari, and ascertaining that you had taken him away
I
was obliged
to follow, to prevent
him from
escaping altogether."
Two
tional
stout policemen behind the magistrate gave addi-
emphasis to his words.
;
"Arrest me?" cried Margari
est as the day.
I
"why me?
I
I
am
as hon-
am
neither a murderer nor yet a robber.
Mr. John Lapussa can answer for me.
am
his confi-
316
Poor Plutocrats
dential agent!"
tail
—and
he clung convulsively to the coat-
of his principal.
had he been
accuse him
bolt of
it.
Mr. John plainly perceived that never in his life before They could in such an awkward situation.
now of having instigated Margari to make a Had not the magistrate seen him give the wretched man money to run away with? His first care
was
to disengage Margari's
hands from his
coat-tail
and
next to hold him at arm's length, so that he should not
Then with pompous impertinence he know him. "What does this man want? Who is he? How did he come hither?" he exclaimed. "I know nothing about
clutch his collar.
pretended not to
him.
I
boxed
his ears for molesting
florins,
me, and then
I
gave
him two hundred
which
is
the usual legal fine
for an assault of that kind, to prevent
an action against me.
We
all
have nothing
means.
mon.
Take him away by
seizing
him bringing else in comPut him in irons.
Yes/*
Give him whatever punishment he has deserved.
he continued,
cravat,
the astounded
Margari by the
"you are a refined scoundrel.
You
persuaded
my
dear nephew
Koloman
to take that false step,
and
then you yourself changed the forty florins into forty
thousand.
You wanted
slur
to ruin the
young man's future
I
and bring a and that
upon the family.
know
everything.
me all about it yesterday, why I hand you over to the law for punishment." And with that he shook him so violently that he
His honor the magistrate told
is
fell
on his back again,
this
time into a bed of tomatoes,
3T7
Poor Plutocrats
whereby
his white
Hnen pantaloons very speedily assumed
the hues of the national colors
—
red, white,
and green.
The dialogue
that thereupon
ensued no shorthand
reporter could have reproduced, for the pair of
them
began forthwith to rave and storm at one another with
all their
might, stamping, swearing, shaking their
fists,
and loading each other with abuse.
magistrate thought
When
they had got
as far as calling each other robber and scoundrel, the
it
high time to interfere, and at his
torn forcibly out of the tomato
;
command Margari was
bed, led to a hackney coach and thrust inside
yet even
that
then he put his head out of the
window and shouted
he did not mean to
sit
in prison alone, but
would very
soon have Mr. John Lapussa there also as his companion.
All the efforts of the two policemen were powerless to
silence him.
As
"Sir,
for
it is
Mr. John, the magistrate simply said
not good for a
to
him:
man
to
make
use of nasty tools,
for by so doing he only dirties his
own
hands."
Then he got into a second hackney coach and drove
away after the first one. Even Mr. John could see that it was now quite ble for him under the circumstances to think of
Pesth.
impossiquitting
318
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XVIII
THE UNDISCOVERABLE LADY
Squire Gerzson Satrakovics thought it best after that night at the inn to go back to Arad. This wondrous event, the clue to which he could not hit upon anyhow, must needs interest Hátszegi most of all. It would be
a terrible thing to appear before
that the lady
him with
was the
the tidings
who was
entrusted to his care had been lost
first
on the way
;
yet, nevertheless, this
thing he
must
and after that they would consult together as to what was to be done to find her and where they were
say,
to look for her.
Never had Mr. Gerzson approached
such beating of heart as he
a bear's den with
now approached
failed
Hátszegi's
chambers.
His breath almost
order that
him
as he seized the
it
handle of the street door, and wished
locked,
in
it
might prove
might take a longer time to
he had to
he must
open
ring.
it.
And
locked, indeed, the door proved to be
;
Thus he had,
at
any
rate, a respite, for
await the result of the ringing.
And
a long time he had
to wait, too; so long, indeed, that
ring again.
Even then
there
was necessary to was no response. Then
it
319
Poor Plutocrats
he rang a third time, and after that he went on ringring-ringing for a good haJf hour.
At
last the bellrope
remained
it
in his hand,
and he put
it
into his pocket, that
might
testify to the fact that
first
he had been there.
Then,
all
for the
time, he noticed that the shutters
were
up
—
the surest sign that
nobody was
at
home.
Gerzson explained the matter to his
own
satisfaction
races.
by supposing that the whole household was at the
It
was the
last
day of the
races,
and he reached the
its
course just as the betting was at
height and every-
body's attention was concentrated on the event of the
moment.
every one
therefore,
At such time
is
the
crowd has no eyes for men;
Mr. Gerzson,
to scrutinize all
occupied with the horses.
had plenty of time
who were
Leonard
present, but look as he
would he could not
see
anywhere.
At
last
he could stand the suspense no longer, and
during
-the interval
between two races he descended from
the grand-stand, in a corner of which he
had ensconced
field,
himself, in order to get a better view of the
and
mingled
in the ring
with his brother sportsmen, await-
ing resignedly for the expression of amazed and horrified
inquiry which he expected to see in
all
faces the
moment
they perceived him.
But how taken aback was he when the
cast eyes on him gave vent
to a loud
first
man who
also
"Ha! ha! ha!"
and
whereupon everybody
pointing
his
else
began
laughing
fingers
at
him and exclaiming:
"Why
here's Gerzson!
Gerzson has come back again!"
320
Poor Plutocrats
"Have you
by
all
gone mad?" cried Gerzson, confused
hubbub.
this inexplicable
Pie really fancied that he
lunatics,
till
had
fallen
among
a lot of
his
at last
Count Kengyelesy forced
way
through the crowd toward him, put both his hands on his
hips,
and began
to quiz
him: "Well, you are a pretty
squire
fellow!
—you
are
a
pretty
of
dames,
I
must
say!"
"But what's the matter ?
do you laugh?"
What
has happened
?
Why
"Listen to him!" cried the count, turning to the bystanders.
"He
laugh!
actually has the impertinence to ask us
why we
Come,
sir!
where did you leave the
to laugh at at such a ques-
Baroness Hátszegi?"
"I don't see what there
is
tion?" replied Gerzson, in whose
mind
all sorts
of dark
forebodings began to arise.
"What have you done with
sisted the count.
the baroness?
What have
you done with our friend Leonard's
"That
is
wife, I say?" per-
a perfect riddle to me," growled Gerzson in
a low voice.
"Ha
!
ha ha
!
!"
laughed the count,
"it is a riddle to
him
what has become of his traveling companion."
"But can any of you
Is she alive?"
tell
me what
has happened to her?
The count clapped
his
hands together and flung
too strong!
his
round hat upon the ground.
"Now,
that
is
what
I call a trifle
He
asks
321
Poor Plutocrats
is
she alive?
all
Why, comrade, where have you been
time?"
**Tell
in
hiding
this
"A
all
truce to jesting," cried Gerzson fiercely.
it,
me
you laiow about
for
it is
no joking matter for me,
angry,
I
can assure you."
On
perceiving
that
Gerzson was seriously
Kengyelesy drew nearer to him and enlightened him
without any more beating about the bush: "Well, then,
my
dear friend,
let
me
all
tell
you
that
all
you have behaved
four of Hátszegi's
very badly.
horses lame
;
First of
in the
you made
second place, you compelled his poor
wife to spend a night in a lonely inn, and in the third
place
her,
girl.
you got so drunk that you began
at last did not
little
to quarrel with
and
The poor
know whether you were boy or woman has grown almost gray with
fallen to the
terror,
and after you had
ground
in liquor
she sent the coachman to town for fresh horses and, leaving you under the tabkj tried to
make her way back
to
Arad."
"That
is
not true," interrupted Gerzson, his whole face
purple with rage,
"What is not true?" "Where is the baroness?"
"Stop,
stop,
my
friend!
Don't run away!
You'll
never catch her up, for early this morning she drove back
to
Hidvár
"I
in a post-chaise
true.
with her husband."
"That can not be
her
Did you
see her?"
saw her through
my own
322
field glass.
But we
all
saw
— did
we
not,
gentlemen?"
Poor Plutocrats
Many
''But,
of those present admitted that they had indeed
seen the baroness.
my
is
dear fellow," said the perturbed Gerzson,
"this
is
no joke.
On
the contrary,
tragical,
my
adventure with the
I'll
baroness
somewhat
and
trouble
you
to
expend no more of your
Kengyelesy shrugged
feeble witticisms
his shoulders.
it
on me."
"I did not
is."
know
you would take
it
so seriously, but so
all this,
"From whom did you hear "No from Hátszegi."
from the baroness ?"
—
An
idea suddenly flashed through Gerzson's brain.
to the baroness herself?"
"Did you speak
"No.
I
only saw her through the carriage
window
when
they drove away."
she veiled?"
"Was
"No,
my
friend.
It
was her very
if
self, I
assure you."
"Thank
you.
And now,
at
you
like,
you can go on
amusing yourself
my
expense.
Adieu!"
Only when he had got home and flung himself on the
sofa in a state of stupor did he begin to reflect a
little
calmly on what he had heard.
the affair that
There was so much about
was
startling
and incomprehensible, true
shameful,
and untrue, probable,
perating, that he could
incredible,
and exas-
make neither head nor tail of it. That the baroness had returned must be true, for they
maintained that she had come back while he was lying
It is
all
drunk.
true that he had got drunk, but he had no
recollection of
having been quarrelsome and misbehaving
himself.
Strain his
memory
as he might,
all
he could
call
323
Poor Plutocrats
to
mind was Henrietta, with her angelically gentle face, sitting before him at the table and telling him the legends
of the Transylvanian Alps
—
all
the rest
was a
blank.
Up
made
he jumped at
last,
and began pacing up and down
the room.
up, he
At
off.
last,
after
much
reflection, his
mind was
straight
had formed a plan.
I'll
"I'll
be
I
be off immediately.
I'll
go
to her.
am
determined to learn from her
to me,
I will
exactly
what happened
and how
I
came
own lips to make
such a fool of myself.
speak to her myself."
And
immediately he ordered his coachman to put the
;
horses to
but he told not a living soul whither he
was
first
going, even to the coachman he only mentioned the
stage.
At
a
little
booth at the end of the town he bought four
rolls
and twenty double
and a new wooden
field
flask.
When
filled
they came to the River Maros, he descended to the
water's edge, rinsed out his flask at least twice, and then
it
with water, finally thrusting both the
rolls
and
the flask into his traveling knapsack.
After that he drew
on
his mantle,
clambered up into the back part of the
coach, stuck his pipe in his
mouth and
morning.
his pistol in his
fist,
and never closed an eye
till
And
it
must he admitted that Mr. Gerzson's mode of
traveling
on
this occasion
was decidedly
tell
eccentric.
On
to
reaching a village he would
his
coachman where
him more than one stage in advance. Every morning he would consume one of his rolls and wash it down with the lukewarm brackish
go
next, but he never told
324
Poor Plutocrats
water of the Maros
taste of
it
—and
bitter
enough he found the
too.
He
never quitted the carriage for more
than two or three minutes at a time, and he presented his
pistols
pointblank at every one
who approached him
with inquisitive questions.
Only twice during the night did he allow the horses
an hour or two of
stone again.
rest
—and then away over stock and
to such queer
The coachman, who was unaccustomed
orders to go on farther, and by
ways, presently shook his head every time he received
dawn
of day he had had
about enough of the job.
"Your honor,"
It
said he, "are
we going
if
to stop at all?
little
would do the horses no harm
"What's that
to you,
they had a
rest."
you
rascal,
eh?" roared Mr.
Gerzson: "I suppose you're sleepy, you lazy good-fornothing?
Off the box then, you hound, you!
I'll
drive
the horses myself,
you gallows-bird
!"
The
old fellow,
who had
thrown
been in the service of the
family for twenty years and had never had so
insulting epithets
at his
many
head before, explained
that he did not speak for himself, but for the horses.
"If they perished on the spot, sirrah,
is it
what business
of yours?
When
one pursues the enemy in time of
war, does one think of food or fodder?"
—whence
whom
the
coachman concluded
squire
It
that there
was some one
the
meant
to cut to pieces.
was only when they came to the road leading to Hidvár that the coachman began to suspect that they
325
Poor Plutocrats
were about
tired
to
go
in that direction.
ing of the second day, and both
to death.
It
It was now the evenman and beast were
stay the night here, for
was indispensable that they should if they passed Hidvár they would
to grief
have to go on the whole night before they reached the
next stage
—or
come
on the road, which was
much more probable. "You will stop in front of the castle !" commanded Mr. Gerzson when they were crossing the castle bridge. The coachman looked back and shook his head. He
did not like
it
at
all.
"Shan't
we
turn into the castle yard?" inquired he.
the
"No!" bellowed Squire Gerzson so venomously that "why not?" he was about to say stuck in the poor
like a fishbone.
coachman's throat
"Now
try
listen to
me," said Gerzson when they had
fairly
got across to the other side: "Keep your eyes open and
and take
time.
in
what
I
know how long
some
am going may remain
I
to say to you.
I
don't
inside
there
loiter
—possibly
in his
At any
rate,
you must not
about here
with the horses, but go on to the priest and beg him,
civilly,
mind, to kindly accommodate
my
nags
stable,
and give them two bushels of maize.
I'll
As soon
Kiss his
as
I
return
settle
with him, but don't say anything
about payment, or
hand, for he
bond.
If
is
else
you
will offend him.
a priest
and you are only a lazy vaga-
you hear no news of me by to-morrow morning,
will tell
put the horses into the carriage again and return to Arad,
where Count Kengyelesy
you what
to
do next."
326
Poor Plutocrats
Then he turned upon
castle.
It
his heel
and
set off
toward the
was already evening.
In the upper story seven of
windows were lit up and the moon shone into the That was Henrietta's bedroom. Squire Gerzson knew it. He was quite at home in the castle. At the hall entrance he encountered Leonard's huntsman, an impertinent, bony, jowly loafer, whom he had never been able to endure. The fellow barred the way.
the
eighth.
"Good-evening, your honor."
"Why
jackass
!
should yon wish
me
I
good-evening, you stupid
five
Do you
home?"
suppose
have traveled
and twenty
leagues for the pleasure of wishing yott good-evening?
Who's
at
"Nobody."
"Go along with you, you sodden-headed son of a dog. Nobody at home and seven windows in the upper story
all
alight!"
"It
is
true the
rooms are
lit
up, but that
is
on account
of her ladyship
—they are
sitting
up with her."
"Then where's your master?"
"He
doctor."
has trotted into Klausenburg for the learned
"What
"You
"I
is
the matter with her ladyship?"
"I don't know.
are
They say she
yourself,
is
mad."
beast.
mad
I
you stupid
Who
told
you that?"
saw
it,
heard
it
myself, and others also have seen
that she
is
mad."
327
Poor Plutocrats
"Can not
I
speak to her?"
That's just the mischief of
it,
"How
"You
sure of
can you?
that
she can not be spoken to."
rascal, I tell
you your master
is at
home.
I
am
it."
Long-legs shrugged his shoulders and began to whistle.
"Look ye
is
here,
my
son," said Gerzson, scarcely able to
fist
contain himself, "the
that
you
see in
I
my
pocket here
pulling the trigger of a pistol, and
to send a bullet
have a jolly good
teeth,
mind
so
I
between your onion-chewing
should advise you not to try any of your tomfoolery
on me.
master a
sirrah!
On
Is
this occasion I
have not come to pay your
visit,
but for other reasons.
at
Speak the
he not?"
not a soul at
truth,
your master
home
is
or
is is
"I have just told you that there
home
except her ladyship, and she
mad."
At
that
same moment Gerzson thought he heard a
upper story.
cried.
fiddle in the
"What, music here!" he The fellow laughed.
ing to her."
"Yes, they are trying to cure the sick baroness by play-
"But
I
hear the sound of men's voices also, as
if
there
were guests here."
"Where ?
I
hear nothing.
It is
only the dogs barking
in the enclosure."
"You
"Very
did not hear
it,
sirrah?"
"I heard nothing."
well,
my
son,
I
see
you have orders
to
make a
328
!
Poor Plutocrats
fool of
me; but
it
strikes
me
that both
you and your
that.
I shall
master will have to get up pretty early to do
need not be so anxious to guard the door;
try to force
will
You
not
my way
see
up to your master.
first.
I'll
wager he
come and
me
Wait
a bit."
And
with that Gerzson sat
down on
it
the step, tore a
his knee,
I
leaf out his
pocketbook and, placing
on
wrote
with his pencil the following words: "Sir,
to be a miserable coward.
If
declare you
you want
to
know why,
you
will find
me
at the parson's; there I will tell you,
little
and after that we can arrange our
ourselves.
business between
Gerzson Satrakovics."
Mr. Gerzson had even taken the trouble to provide
himself with sealing-wax and matches, so he could seal
his letter without
any
difficulty,
and the step served him
as a table.
But suppose even
this letter did not
make Hátszegi
come
forth
?
Struck with this idea, he tore open the note
:
again and added this postscript
"If you do not give
me
proper satisfaction, I will wait for you at the gate of
your own
castle
and shoot you down
like a
dog!"
Surely that would be enough
letter and was about to hand it huntsman when it suddenly occurred to him that Hátszegi might chuck the note unopened into the fire.
Again he sealed the
to the
Now,
therefore, he wrote
on the outside of
it,
just
below
have
the address: "If you don't open this letter,
I will
an exact copy of
club at Arad."
it
posted upon the notice board of the
329
"
Poor Plutocrats
"And now, you
this
door-keeping Cerberus," said he, "take
and give
it
to
your master, wherever he may be."
He
ing
wasted no more words upon the fellow, but went
straight to the dwelling of the old priest,
who was
await-
him
in his porch.
"I must beg your reverence for a night's lodging, I
am
afraid," said Squire Gerzson, cordially pressing the
old clergyman's hand.
"There
is
serious illness at the
baron's house, so
I
don't
I
want
is
to
my
company.
All
want
a place
incommode them with whereon to lay my
of old."
little I
head.
My
wants are few.
I
You know me
"Gladly will
share with your honor the
have.
at the castle.
God hath brought you hither. I am glad you did not stay The company there is not fit for your honor." "Then there is company there, eh? What sort of
folks are they?"
"Folks
I
should not care about meeting.
Drahhowecz
and Muntya, and Harastory, and Brinkó, and Bandán,
and Kerakoricz, and
—
"That
so
will do," interrupted
Mr. Gerzson, aghast
suppose?"
at
many
"I
odd, strange names, not one of which he had
ever heard of before.
"Newcomers,
I
was sure
their
names would be
quite unfamiliar to
your honor," remarked the priest smiling, and he led his
guest into his narrow dwelling, looking cautiously round
first
of
all
to
make
sure nobody
was
listening.
Once
inside he carefully barred the door, seated his guest at
wooden table, which was covered with a pretty covering made from foalskin, and filled a dish with fresh
the carved
330
Poor Plutocrats
maize pottage, adding thereto a mead.
Mr. Gerzson
;
fell
to like a
ham bone and a jug of man on the very first
till
invitation
and each armed with a wooden spoon, attacked
the maize pottage
from
different points
their assidu-
ously tunneling spoons met together in the centre of the
large platter.
"A
capital dish,
your reverence, really capital."
poor
folks
like us,
I
"Very good
for
admit.
I
know you
don't have fare like this in Hungary."
"I suppose
said Gerzson.
we
don't
know how
to prepare
it
properly,"
And
be
then the priest explained
how
hot the water must
to be
when maize meal or sweet-broom meal has
it,
mixed
and plum
with
how
the whole mess
must be
up
stirred with a spoon,
it,
how how
a
it
little finely
grated cheese has to be added to
all
has then
to be tied
in a cloth like a
it.
pudding and have milk poured over
Gerzson
all
And
if
Squire
listened to
him
as attentively as to
he had come
to learn
the
way from Arad
Hidvár on purpose
the art of cooking maize pottage.
x\nd after that they
pledged each other's health in long drafts from the
jug-
mead
"And now," said the priest when they had well supped, "I know that your honor spent all last night upon the road. You must be tired, and instead of boring yourself
by listening to
ter,
my
if
uninteresting gossip,
it
would be
I
bet-
methinks,
we
both went to bed."
at
all,
"I shouldn't
mind lying down
but alas!
have
an appointment here with some one."
331
—
Poor Plutocrats
"May "He
I
ask with
whom ?"
he
is
"I have written the baron a letter, and I await a reply."
will not send one:
too
much taken up with
his pleasures just
now."
"My
ignore."
letter
contains things which a
man
durst not
"Was your
letter
an insulting one?"
its
"I don't wish to advertise
contents."
you may as well lie "Very good. But for all down. The ways of the baron are incalculable. Even when he is angry he knows what he is about." "Then we'll wait for him till morning." "Meanwhile repose in peace. My humble dwelling is
that
not very luxurious, but
is
let
your honor imagine that
it
a hunting hut in the forest."
"But where, then,
"I'll
will
your reverence sleep?"
I
go out
to the bee-house.
can sleep there excel-
lently well; I
have a couch of Hnden leaves."
I also love to sleep
I'll
"Nay, but
with
on linden
lie
leaves, covered
I
my
sheepskin cloak.
there to-night.
air at night,
am
accustomed to sleeping
are an old
in the
open
and you
man"
—he
forgot that he
was one himself
your comfort for
"I could never permit
you
to sacrifice
my
sake."
The clergyman paused for an instant like one who is suddenly struck by a new and odd idea. "You said just now that you had insulted Hátszegi,
did you not?" he asked.
"Well
—yes —
!
if
you must know." 332
Poor Plutocrats
"Grossly?"
"Yes, and most deliberately."
"Very good
ity.
;
I
only asked the question out of curios-
You
shall
have the choice of your resting-place;
like to sleep?"
where would you
"Good.
for me.
I I
"I choose the bee-house."
It is
true that the night air
sleep, then, in
is
not very good
will
my
usual resting-place."
"And
will sleep
among
the bees.
Their
humming
close beside a
man's ears generally brings him dreams
that a king
would envy." "Then good-night, sir."
at the little porch.
"Good-night."
They parted
Gerzson wrapped his
cloak round his shoulders and went toward the bee-house,
but the priest returned to his chamber, blew out the light,
lay
fell
down
fully dressed
like
on
his bed, took
up
his rosary
and
a-praying
one
who
does not expect to see the
dawn
of another day.
his
He knew
man
;
he knew what was coming.
Squire Gerzson. on the other hand, troubled himself
not a jot about possible consequences.
chalance of a true sportsman, he
lit
With
his
the non-
his pipe and, lest
he
to
should set anything on
sleep a
fire,
he made up
mind not
wink
till
he had smoked his pipe right out.
In order that slumber might not come upon him unawares, he resolved to
fix his
eyes on the castle
windows
off.
—
as
the
best
preservative against
dropping
He
could see them quite plainly from the bee-house.
333
Poor Plutocrats
windows were darkened one by one. It seemed as if, contrary to the words of the clergyman, the revelers within there did not mean to await the rosy dawn glass in hand, but had lain down early. For, indeed^ it was still early. The village cocks had
illuminated
The
only just crowed for the
first
time.
It
could not be
much
beyond
eleven.
After the lamps had been extinguished, the castle
stood there in the semi-obscurity of night like a black,
old world ruin.
It
stood right in front of the moon,
its
which was now climbing up behind
bastions,
and
where its light met together in
fell
a corner room,
upon two opposite windows which it shone through them
This room
both and lighted up the whole apartment.
was the baroness's dormitory. While Mr. Gerzson was luxuriating
in the
contempla-
tion of the moonlight, he suddenly observed that the
moonlight falling upon the windows was obscured for an
somebody were passing up and down the room. In a few moments this obscuration was repeated, and the same thing happened a third time, and a fourth,
instant, as if
and many times more, just as
if
some one were passing
in the
up and down
in that particular
room
middle of the
night restlessly, incessantly.
Mr. Gerzson counted on
sequently the froing
it
his pulses the seconds
which
thus elapsed between obscurations
— sixteen seconds, conperson was to-and-
room
in
which
this
so late at night like a spectre
paces from one end to the other.
must be sixteen So long as the other
334
Poor Plutocrats
windows had been
lit
up, this person
had not begun to
its
walk, but as soon as the whole castle was slumbering
restless course began.
Gerzson
felt
that
if
he looked
much
longer he would
become moonstruck himself.
Slowly divesting himself of his cloak, and after knocking the burning ashes out of his pipe, he noiselessly
quitted the bee-house^ traversed the garden, and sprang
over the fence at a single bound.
in the
Then he
stole
along
shadow of
till
the poplar avenue leading up to the
castle
he stood beneath the moon-lit window, climbed
like a veritable lunatic
on to the projecting stones of the
old bastion, and gazed from thence, at closer quarters, at the regularly recurring shadow.
But not even now was he content, but began to break
off little portions of the
moldering mortar and cautiously
throw them
at the
window.
When
one of these
little
fragments of mortar rattled against the glass the whole
window was
Gerzson
felt
quickly obscured by a shadow, as
it
if
the
night wanderer had rushed to
in order to look out.
absolutely certain that he
must be observed,
for there he stood clinging fast on to the molding.
A
few moments afterward the shadow disappeared suddenly from the window, and again the moonlight shone
uninterruptedly through
it.
Gerzson determined to remain where he was,
to see
what would come of
moonlight, the
it.
In a short time the shadow reappeared in front of the
window was
335
silently
and very
slightly
—
Poor Plutocrats
raised,
—
!
and through the sHt
fluttered a rolled
up piece of
paper.
This missive
fell
from the molding of the bastion
Mr. Gerzson scrambled down after
dark and, sticking
it
down
it,
into the moat.
at
it
grabbed
in the
into his
pocket, returned to the dwelling of the priest.
Not wishing
carriage,
to arouse the clergyman, he
in the stable,
went
to his
which stood
and
lit
the lamp, in
order to read the mysterious missive.
The
letter
was written on
a piece of paper torn out
of an album.
He
recognized Henrietta's handwriting,
as follows
:
and the contents of the note were
Gerzson
!
"Good kind
is
I
implore you, in the
name
of
all
that
sacred,
to depart this instant.
Depart on foot by by-paths
If
the priest will guide you.
you do not wish me
I
to lose
my
reason altogether, tarry here no longer.
still
am
very
unhappy, but
to remain here.
affectionate
more unhappy I should be if you were Avoid us and forget me forever your
—
respectful
you
in her prayers
—and
"
— —
—
friend,
who
will ever
mention
whom
you have treated as a
this letter
daughter
Henrietta.
first
Gerzson's
of relief
feeling
on reading
was one
— evidently
Henrietta was not angry with him
or she would not have alluded to herself as his daughter
There must, therefore, have been some other reason for
her turning back other than the squabble between them
which Hátszegi had so industriously
he would
settle
circulated.
Well,
accounts with Hátszegi presently.
What
he found especially hard to understand, how-
336
Poor Plutocrats
ever,
letter.
was
the
mysterious
warning contained
in
the
"Well,
my
dear parson," he said to himself, "I very
much
regret having to arouse you
from your slumbers,
but there's nothing else to be done," and, unscrewing
the coach lamp, he took
it
with him and went toward the
house.
The hall door was closed; he had to shake it. The parson was evidently still awake; his voice
sounded from within the house
the Lord!"
:
re-
"All good spirits praise
"Amen.
'Tis I
who am
at the door.
Let
me
in,
rev-
erend father."
The
priest
immediately opened the door and,
!"
full
of
amazement, asked Mr. Gerzson what had happened.
"Read
lighting
that
said Gerzson,
handing him the
letter
and
him with
is
the lamp.
"This
the baroness's writing," said the priest,
script.
who
immediately recognized the
"What do you
ately.
I
say to
its
contents?"
place immedi-
"I say that you must get
quite
away from this comprehend the meaning of
a
the baroness's
directions."
"What!
fly
from
man whom
I
have just called out?"
called."
"No, you must
fly
from the man you have not
"I don't understand."
"You
now.
will
one day, but there
all,
is
no time for parleying
I
First of
put on
my
garments, while
dress
up
in peasant's clothes."
337 (F)— (15)—Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
"Why?" "Why!
mountains.
Because
I
I
must be your guide through the
you."
can not trust another to do you that service.
I tell
Do
quickly
what
The
priest
gave
his orders to
Mr. Gerzson with im-
perious brevity, but that gentleman, even in his present
situation, could not divest himself of his
homely humor,
and, as he
was donning
the parson's long cassock and
pressed the broad-brimmed clerical hat
head, he
fell
down upon
cut.
his
a-Iaughing at the odd figure he
it!"
"Deuce take
But the
he cried; "I never imagined that
I
should ever be turned into a parson."
priest
was angry
at the untimely jest, and,
:
turning savagely upon Squire Gerzson, said
is
"Sir, this
no time for jesting; we
are,
both of us, standing on
the very threshold of death."
Gerzson was no coward, nor did he trouble himself
very
much about death
at least
;
but the emphatic tone of the
last,
parson
induced him, at
to take the matter
seriously.
"Then, according to
that,
you
also are in
danger on
my
I
account?"
!
"Ask no questions
I
knew what would happen when
gave you a night's lodging."
Then he took
the coat he
out of a drawer a packet of letters, and
in the
bade Gerzson put them
pocket of his cassock, as
pockets.
was wearing had no
I
"Why
do you take these with you?"
fear to leave
"Because
them
here,
and also because
338
Poor Plutocrats
I
I
believe
I
shall
never return to
this
house any more.
is
have one request to make of you. and that
that
you
will read these letters
and keep the contents to yourself."
so.
Gerzson promised to do
It
was
just as the descending
moon seemed
house by
to be rest-
ing on the summits of the mountains that the priest and
his guest
quitted the quiet
little
way
of the
garden.
fugitives,
The was
outs,
night,
which covered the
retreat of the
pitch dark.
accustomed to that
ins
Nobody but one who had been district for years, and knew all its
and
could have found a path through these
wooded gorges. By the morning
light the fugitives perceived the little
posting station on the highroad.
There the
priest exhis clerical
changed clothes with Gerzson and resumed
attire.
"Nothing can detain us now,"
in
said the priest;
"you
I
can procure post-horses here and return home, but
go
an opposite direction."
"Whither?"
"The world
me.
is
wide.
In a month's time
Do not trouble yourself we shall meet again."
about
"Where?" "At this very place." The priest hastily quitted
toward the
tow^n,
Gerzson
and
returned
forest, while the latter
went on
to the little
where he speedily got post-horses.
he found himself
it
When now
sitting all safe
and sound
in the carriage,
suddenly struck him
how remarkably
339
Poor Plutocrats
was that he and the parson should have actuallyHow they would fled away from a non-existing danger. laugh at him from one end of the kingdom to the other! Suppose Henrietta had been playing a practical joke upon him But then, on the other hand, Henrietta was not
odd
it
!
of that sort
— so he consoled himself.
But there was another thing which bothered him a
good
The coachman had been left behind with the four horses, and would not know what to make of the disappearance of his master and the priest. When, howdeal.
ever,
the post-chaise stopped
in
front of his house at
Arad,
whom
should he see coming to meet him through
the gate but this very coachman,
the meeting
whose astonishment at was even greater than his master's. And then, to the amazement of the postilion, master and servant fell upon each other's neck, and embraced each
other again and again.
"Come me what
into the house," said
befell you.
all
I
Gerzson
at last,
"and
it
tell
don't
want you
sir,
to bellow
out
here before
"I hardly
the world."
to put
it,
know how
but
I
will tell
it
you as best I can. After watering the horses, I lay down and went to sleep. A loud neighing suddenly awoke me, and, looking around, I saw a great light. The parson's house
was
all
in flames.
Up
I
I
was
I
in a jiffy
and
ran to the door to
call
your honor, but
found the door
was locked from the
inside.
then ran to the windows
and found that the shutters were nailed down over them. What horrified me most of all, however, was that nobody
340
—
Poor Plutocrats
came from the
castle to put the fire out.
to roar for help,
and while
I
Then I began was roaring and running
heard two shots, and the
left
up and down looking for an ax, with which to batter
in the
door
'banim! bantmí
I
bullets whistled to the right
and
to
about
;
my
ears.
At
that
all
my
pluck went
down
to
my
heels
I
rushed under
the shelter of the barn, cut the tether ropes of the horses,
swung myself up on
the saddle-horse,
driving the
others before me, and galloped into
Arad without once
stopping to water them."
So he had reached home more quickly than Squire
Gerzson himself.
"Well,
my
son," said Gerzson, "all that you have told
me
of
is
it
gospel truth I have no doubt, but say not a word'
to anybody, or else
—
" (and here he muttered the
folk fear
threat which the ordinary
most of
courts,
all)
—"or
Hungarian common
else the affair will
come before the
silence.
and you
will
have to give testimony on oath."
After that he was sure of the fellow's
341
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XIX
THE SHAKING HAND
Whoever
had
Ever
utmost
in
an
evil
hour encountered Fatia Negra
a shaking
hand
for the rest of his Hie.
since that meeting at the inn, Henrietta's
hand
the
also trembled to such
an extent that
it
was only with
difficulty that she
could sign her
own name.
What happened
home?
to her after that
meeting?
Whom
The
did she recognize in Fatia Negra?
How
did she get
—
all
these things remained eternal secrets.
tell
it
lady was never able to
to anybody.
Perchance
she herself regarded
it
as a dream.
The poor
lady used
now
to
pray
all
day.
For hours
and
at a time she
would kneel before the
kneeling
altar of the castle
chapel, returning thence to her perpetual walking to
fro, to
and
fro,
down
to
pray again when she
was
tired out.
;
And
till
till
so she went on from morning to
evening
night,
nay,
late into the night,
sometimes
till
mid-
sometimes
the
dawn
of the next day, up and
walls,
down, up and down, between four
knees again a-praying.
and then on her
She never appeared
were sent
to
in the
dining-room; her meals
her room.
She scarcely touched them;
342
Poor Plutocrats
it
was
difficult
to
understand
how
to
she kept body and
soul together.
She only quitted her chamber
such
times
she
go
to chapel.
At
would
frequently
meet domestics or
strangers in the castle corridors, but she looked at nobody
and said not a word.
there, that they
She did not
notice that they
were
were amazed
at her, that they greeted
her.
No
one had heard her speak for a long time.
And, therefore, they thought her mad.
the domestics whispered this
villagers
At
first
only
among
it
themselves, then the
—and
in a
month's time
was notorious through
Transylvania that the youthful Baroness Hátszegi was
out of her mind.
Early one morning, as Henrietta was returning from
chapel,
there
suddenly appeared before her a ragged
in
woman, who must have been hidden
some
niche, as
the servants had not seen her or driven her out.
"Stop one moment, m}^ lady," whispered the woman,
and Henrietta seemed
the face.
to hear in that whisper the voice
of an old acquaintance, though she did not recognize
It
was
it
half
masked
in a cloth,
and the
little
she could see of
like the face of
was
disfigured by
wounds and
scars,
fire.
one
who
had been badly injured by
Henrietta was horrified at the sight of her; she looked
so dreadful.
"Don't be frightened,
ing
my
lady,'*'
said the
woman,
fall-
down
on her knees before her and seizing Henrietta's
dress to prevent her
from escaping, "I
Henrietta fixed her eyes upon the
am Anicza." woman full
of
343
—
Poor Plutocrats
stupid amazement, and vainly sought in her face for
trace of the ideal loveliness
some
to
which only the other day,
so
it
seemed, had made her so charming.
She began
fancy that the
if
woman was
under some
evil spell,
and that
any one could but repeat the talismanic word, her
former loveliness would be restored to her.
"You can not
recognize
in
me,
your
ladyship,
for
if
my
it
face
was burned
the
Lucsia Cavern.
it
Oh,
had only always been what
is
now.
I
am much
I let
better as I
am
I
now.
God has punished me
because
I
my
vain
soul be lost for the sake of
my
fair face.
am
not
of
now
as
used to be.
Yes,
God has
smitten
all
us on account of our sins, as your ladyship already
knows; but none has
nounced
to be
all
He
smitten so hard as me.
I
de-
my
kinsfolk and acquaintances to the tribunal
avenged on one man who had deceived
a beggar, an accursed creature,
them were taken except him, and he escaped.
I
me all of And now
every one never feel
—
am
whom
drives from his door, but what care I?
—
I
hungry.
They took away all my father's property Heaven only knows how much there was; more than
I think, I
twenty thousand ducats,
mine, for
I
and
it
would have been
denounc-
am
;
his only child.
was summoned before
thousand
the court; they said they would reward
ing the society
ducats.
they said they
me for would give me a
ducats
for
Ha,
ha,
ha! a thousand
I
making
humbly
myself the wretched creature
am!
I
But
I
did not come
to
here to frighten your ladyship;
came here
beg a favor.
Gracious lady, the magistrates told
me
344
Poor Plutocrats
that a
mixed commission
and that
his
will be
appointed to try the
forgers,
lordship,
the baron, will be the
president of this commission; on
him depends
the
life
and death of every one concerned.
Henrietta
felt
obliged to lean against the wall.
"My
is
lady, I
do not expect
impossibilities; I can not
wish that the guilty should remain unpunished
justice
;
!
—
justice
But the leader of the whole gang was Fatia
Negra
he planned everything, the others only carried
out his orders.
And now
there
father
is
a lot of false witnesses
ready to swear that
my
throw
all
the blame upon
else,
him
;
but
was the ringleader, and it was Fatia Negra,
mentioned
Fatia
and nobody
as
God knows."
peasant
Every
time
the
woman
Negra's name a spasmodic twitch convulsed Henrietta's
pale features.
"Gracious
lady,'^'
continued Anicza, "I implore you,
by the tender mercies of God, not to abandon me.
Grant
me my
petition!
Either
I
let
them
kill
me
or lock
me up
with the others.
implore you,
my
lady, to speak or
write to your husband (if these things must be in writing)
on
my
behalf.
Do
not
let
me
perish.
God
will not be
angry with you for protecting me."
Henrietta was
now even
less able to
speak than before.
in
But though she could not express herself
tremulous hand to Heaven, as one
oath before God.
Anicza,
words, she
placed one hand on the girl's head and raised the other
who
takes a solemn
Then
she tore herself
away from
of her gar-
who had
stooped to kiss the
hem
345
:
Poor Plutocrats
ment, and hastened back to her
own room.
and
On
reaching
the threshold of the house, she looked back and the girl had sunk
saw
that
down
in the dust
\vas gratefully
kissing the very traces of the footsteps of the departing
lady.
On
it
reaching her room, Henrietta paced up and
down
and
for a long time, wringing her hands as she went,
moaning loudly:
herself
"My God! my God!" Then
she flung
down on
her couch, writhing like one in mortal
agony.
But soon she strengthened her heart and
at the writing table.
sat
down
What had become
now
issued
of that beautiful
handwriting of hers, which had resembled copperplate?
Scarcely legible letters
from her trembling
hand,
dumb
witnesses of the terror of her heart, and yet
it
write she must, for
was her
petition to her husband.
Ah
!
that she should be forced to write to him.
Her letter was as follows "Dread Sir Tremulously and submissively I apIn the name of an unhappy creature, I proach you.
—
appeal to your compassion.
You
will be the
judge of
a
lot
of wretched men.
I
Be
merciful to them.
By
the
grace of Heaven
the
implore you condemn them not!
I
In
name
of God,
implore you not to sign their death
I
warrants.
By
the terrors of eternity,
implore you do
not ruin these men, for they are most innocent.
N. N."
And now
She durst not subscribe her own name. she waited she watched for the moment
;
when Leonard
quitted his room, and, slipping in, laid
346
Poor Plutocrats
the petition on the couch, where he would be sure to
find
it. Nobody observed her. The same day she encountered him;
she had, in fact,
in
sought
for such
an encounter.
It
was
the great
armory,
Leonard, as soon as he perceived his wife,
began humming some hght operatic tune, and bawled
through
hounds.
the
door to the dog-keeper
to
unleash
the
The
pale lady nevertheless approached
him with
tot-
tering but determined footsteps, and, folding both her
trembling hands as
if in
prayer, stood mutely in front
of the door through which Leonard would have to pass,
like
some dumb
spirit
from another world.
But Leonard
merely shrugged his shoulders and passed her by, whistling all the time.
Again, on the following day, the timid petition lay on
Leonard's
table^ written in the
it
same tremulous
characters.
Henrietta had written
his
again,
and again had crept into
chamber, and in whatever part of the house the mag-
nate might
this
now
be found he everywhere encountered
pale,
tremulous figure, who, pressing her hands
together,
and
without
uttering
a
word,
they
gazed
at
him
why.
beseechingly,
imploringly
—only
two knew
On
the third day Leonard again found the petition,
and again encountered Henrietta.
This time he spoke to her.
"My
dear Henrietta, have you read
The
Mysteries of
Paris'?"
347
Poor Plutocrats
Henrietta, as usual, only stared at the speaker with
frightened eyes and said nothing.
"How
did you like the description of Bicetre?
A horfact,
rible place,
eh?
I
have noticed that you have been belately.
it
having in rather a peculiar way
In
the
whole
district
has been talking about
crazy.
it,
and saying that
all
you are a
little
I
have been asked
Hitherto
I
if
sorts of
questions about
too.
have always told
once
I
everybody that
that
in a
it
it
is
not true.
But
should say
is true,
then you will be most certainly shut up
madhouse.
Regulate your conduct accordingly."
34«
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XX
THE FIGHT FOR THE GOLD
Of
He
late
Mr. Gerzson Satrakovics had invented for
all
himself a peculiar sort of pastime.
had renounced bearhounds and greyhounds and
;
other kinds of dogs
he did not care a jot
when
partridge-
shooting began, but he hung up his gun on a nail and
began regularly visiting one after another the session
courts of the counties of Arad, Biehar, and
Temes
of which he was a justice of the peace
resolutions.
—
to
—
in all
and moving
induce the
The
object of
these
resolutions
was
three counties to endeavor with their united strength, and
in conjunction with the
Transylvanian counties of Hun-
yad, Fehér, and Zarand to extirpate the robber bands
that
had so long been terrorizing the whole
lists
district.
He
compiled
localities,
of the atrocities perpetrated in the various
all
and connected them
robber,
with the name of one
particular
the
notorious "Fatia Negra."
He
to
produced convincing proofs of the existence of a combination extending
from the depths of the dungeons
this
the summits of the mountains, which
by the
magic influence of
one man, and he
was held together left no
stone unturned to bring
him
349
to book.
Poor Plutocrats
He, naturally, became quite a laughing-stock for
pains,
his
and
his acquaintances could
not for the
life
of
them understand what had come
to the
man.
to
"Why,
philippic
old
fellow!"
said
Count Kengyelesy
in
him
fiery
one day after he had been indulging
at
an unusually
Quarter Sessions, "why, old fellow, what
that
sort
of
venom have you swallowed
makes you
perorate so savagely against this worthy Fatia Negra?
If
anybody has cause
to complain against
him
it
is
I,
for he relieved
me
of one thousand ducats on the high-
road, and so cleverly did the rascal
manage
it
that
I
can
not find
it
in
my
to
heart to bear
him any
I
ill-will.
But what
have you got
do with him,
should like to
know?
six)ut-
What
is all
this cock-and-bull story
you keep on
ing out concerning organized robber bands and mysteri-
ous chieftains?
Is
it
3^our ambition,
my
I
friend, to be-
come
want
all
public prosecutor?''
it
"Yes,
is,
and public prosecutor and
they do,
will be, too. at
I
six counties to place their
call,
if
armed constabulary
wager
that
I'll
my
beck and
I'll
so purify
these Alpine regions that the robbers will not have a
single lurking hole left."
"Rubbish!
Don't make a fool of yourself.
Besides,
they say that Fatia Negra has flown to America."
"Newspaper
lies.
He
is,
is
here
;
I
know he
is."
"And suppose he
has been cut off to the very
what harm can he do ? This band They have all last man.
been sentenced heavily, the older
penal servitude, the younger men
men
to
twenty years'
to penal servitude for
350
Poor Plutocrats
life.
I
had
it
from Hátszegi himself, who was the
presi-
dent of the mixed commission that tried them and signed
the judgment himself.
The whole
fraternity
is
now
sit-
ting in chains in the trenches of Gyulafehérvár, and
we
have seen the
last of it."
''What guarantee have you of that ?"
region ever since.
"What guarantee? Why, the security of the whole Why, every one there can now sleep
if
with open doors, and
you yourself were
to lie
dead
drunk
in the public
thoroughfare you would not have
your money stolen from your pocket any more."
Squire Gerzson protested vehemently against the as-
sumption that he was*
in the habit of
sprawling
tipsily
on the king's highroad.
'Til
just
tell
you," said he,
"why everything
is
so secure
is
still
now.
The
confiscated gold of Fatia
Negra
at Gyulafehérvár, as a forfeit to the
crown, and sooner
is
or later must be sent to Vienna.
Fatia Negra
not
dead, his robber band has not been captured, and does
not
sit
in irons at Gyulafehérvár,
and the present trantheir plans
nicely.
quillity
and imagined security
to
suit
The band now pretends
wait
till
have vanished, but just you
the gold
is
sent
under convoy from Gyulawill see
fehérvár to Vienna
—and you
because
I
is
some fun."
man,
this
"How
"I
do you know that?"
it,
know
sir,
know
that this
brazen-faced, iron-fisted
man
not such a chicken-hearted
creature as to allow a half-million or so to be snatched
from him without
stirring every nerve
and muscle
to
351
!
Poor Plutocrats
try
and win
it
back again.
For
I
know
that
hith-
erto
he has always triumphed over the power of the
law and has always escaped from the most dangerous
ambushes."
"Well,
all I
can say
is
that
I
do not understand what
you have
to
do with
this
worthy man."
The
falsely
coined gold pieces deposited at Gyulatrial
fehérvár had, after the
was
over, to be sent to
filled
Hungary
to be recoined.
The
precious consignment
two post-wagons, and was of the estimated value of a
million and a half.
to escort
it.
Four and twenty Uhlans were told off This was a more than sufficient protection
costly treasure at ordinary times.
for the
most
More-
over, in
Hungary, cavalry has always inspired the mob
with terror.
During the disturbances
at the time of the
cholera outbreak, two squadrons of Hussars were easily
able to quell the whole riot.
late
It
was impossible
to calcu-
how many
robbers and peasants the four and twenty
So, at least, the
Uhlans were capable of coping with.
county magistrates believed.
The
soldiers
were accompanied by a lieutenant
official
;
the
post-wagons were under the charge of an
ant and a controller.
account-
All the postilions were provided
strictly
with
pistols,
and
it
was
ordered that the wagons
six o'clock.
were not
to travel
on the highroad after
There was no lack of precaution, anyhow
Now, when
the post-wagons had reached the celebrated
in
Bridge of Piski, where
1849 ^ small Hungarian band
352
Poor Plutocrats
held an Austrian
face,
army
at bay, lo, there
and then, face to
and the
four and twenty horsemen came, riding toward
side of the bridge,
five
them from the opposite
All the four
and twentieth was Fatia Negra.
and twenty had black crape wound round had the lining turned outward,
their faces, their clothes
and they were well provided with swords, poleaxes, and
rifles.
Fatia Negra himself rode a vigorous black stalin his
lion,
and held
hand
a broad,
naked sword.
The horse
of the
Uhlan
lieutenant took fright at the
to rear it was as much him from springing over
;
sight of the black faces,
and began
as his rider could do to prevent
the parapet of the bridge.
Fatia Negra and his band halted in the centre of the
bridge and did not budge from the spot.
The
lieutenant
was a brave
soldier,
who
never
lost his
presence of mind; he tightened the reins of his plunging
horse and, turning toward Black Mask, exclaimed
are you, what do you want, and
:
"Who
why do you
block up the
bridge?"
A
afar
:
deep, thunderous
manly voice
replied to
him from
you have
I
"I
am
is
Fatia Negra.
The
I
treasure which
with you
mine
it
—
it
has been stolen from me.
want
to
have
back again.
;
have brought hither a
I
now man
meet
gold
to every
man
of yours
we
are as strong as you.
you openly
in the light of day.
Give
iron."
me
back
my
or you shall have a taste of
my
The
lieutenant,
who was one
353
of the best
swordsmen
and one of the bravest heroes in the regiment, did not
Poor Plutocrats
think twice about accepting the challenge, but put spurs
to his steed
in the
and
fell
upon the adventurer who awaited him
Fatia
middle of the bridge.
encountered a terrible antagonist.
He
Negra
warded every blow and countered instantly; the young officer was thrown into confusion by the superior dexterity of his
opponent, and
it
was only a
soldier's sense of
honor that induced him
to continue
:
an attack which was
bound
to end fatally for himself
at once
practised fencers always
know
whether they can vanquish their antagonist
or not.
At the same time it was really surprising that Fatia Negra did not immediately take advantage of his
skill.
strength and
He
seemed to be sparing
his
enemy;
nay, he even retreated before
him
step
by
step.
Meanwhile the
fight
on the bridge had become general.
The
lancers hastened to the assistance of their leader, the
black masks slashed
away
at
them with
their axes,
and
soon there were very few
among
the combatants
who
ad-
had not received
of the bridge,
a lance thrust or an ax blow.
The
venturers were forced by the lancers to the opposite end
when
the miller,
who
lived
in the mill
beside the bridge, thrust his head out of the
window and
shouted: "Take care, soldiers!
the beams of the bridge
have been sawn through
!"
it
Was
break
this the fact
?
Was
their
the plan of the adventurers
it
to entice the horses
on
to the bridge in order that
might
down beneath
weight?
—or
this
was
the miller
also an accomplice
and only shouted
because the sol-
diers
were gaining the upper hand?
In either case the
354
Poor Plutocrats
warning cry had a magical
reach their
effect
upon the pursuers, for
they immediately turned back in alarm and strove to
own end of the bridge again. And now they perceived what a twofold
set for
trap the cun-
ning adventurers had
them, for while the lancers
had been fighting with the mounted robbers, a large armed
band had surrounded the post-wagons
in their rear, disin attempt-
armed
the postilions,
and were now engaged
into the ditch
ing to overturn the
wagons
by the roadside.
freed them The lancers dashed toward the in a moment from the hands of the mob, which, on their appearance, dispersed among the brushwood by the roadside,
wagons and
from whence they began
far
firing.
Not
from the bridge was an
inn,
and there the
cavalry and the post-wagons sought a refuge.
deed, they needed
it.
And,
in-
The number
more than
the
tall
of the footpads
;
armed
to per-
with guns was about a couple of hundred
the whole road, and,
ceive that
that,
it
they enfiladed
was easy
some of
roadside poplars had been
sawn through beforehand, so that they might be made down, and thus make it impossible for the postwagons across the road, behind the backs of the soldiers,
to fall
to force their
way
through.
The
soldiers had, indeed,
no reason
to fear that the
rabble, nine-tenths of
which had no professional knowlinn, for
edge of the art of war, would boldly storm the
in
such a case the soldiers would
know how
to
defend
themselves vigorously, well provided as they were with
carbines; but they were well aware of one thing, to wit,
355
Poor Plutocrats
that
fall
if
they allowed themselves to be surprised after nightlost,
they were
for the robbers could then set fire to
the house over their heads and burn
them
alive.
is
For
their lives they cared
nothing;
it
a soldier's
business to die; but
how
that
to save the enormous treasure
entrusted to them
—
twenty horsemen
effort, stacle,
in a
was the problem. solid mass might, with
a
Four and
a desperate
cut their
way through
mob, despite every ob-
but to take the heavy wagons along with them
was
impossible, for the road in front
was barred by the
read the his-
mob; the bridge and
the road behind by the felled poplars.
Fortunately, the officer in
command had
tory of Napoleon's Russian campaign, and he recollected
how
chest
the
guard on one occasion had saved the military
to be left behind.
from the Cossacks when the wagon, from want of
had
horses,
He now
applied his knowl-
edge practically.
The ducats were taken out of the post-wagons and distributed among the soldiers; knapsacks, cartridge
boxes, belts, and shakos were
filled
with the treasure;
not a cent was
left in
the wagons, yet they nailed
carefully, that
it
down
all
the chests inside
them
might take
the longer to break
postilions
them open.
on
Then they mounted
the
and the
civilians
the spare horses, hastily
threw open the gates, and the whole band rushed into
the courtyard.
A
sharp volley poured
in
upon them from every
side;
some of them were wounded, but none mortally, for their And assailants either fired from afar or aimed badly.
356
Poor Plutocrats
this
was
well, for every
dead
man among them would
have been worth 100,000 guldens,
Fatia Negra and his horsemen stood close at hand with
their loaded
muskets pointed
in their hands, but they did
not
fire.
"Let the lancers run
if
they like
!"
cried Fatia Negra.
"Give
all
your attention to the wagons!"
the
The cavalry soon escaped from
shooters, leaped over the barriers
mob
of sharp-
and began galloping
rapidly back to Széb safe and sound.
to haste, for
it
And
they had need
was easy
to foresee that as soon as the
cry of victory behind their backs had changed into a cry
of fury,
it
would be a sign
that Fatia Negra's
band was
rushing after them.
And, indeed, scarce a quarter of an hour had elapsed when they could perceive clouds of dust whirling up
behind them, which proved that the audacious adventurers,
after
discovering
the fraud,
were actually
in
pursuit.
What
unheard-of audacity
!
In broad daylight, on the
civilized,
King's highway, within the borders of a highly
well-organized state, a troop of adventurers dares to
attack an equal
number of
trained soldiers.
Gold must
the audacity
have turned the heads of the
to
men who had
it.
do such a thing
!
Yet they did
saw the cloud of dust behind their backs gradually draw nearer, the neutral ground between gradually diminished; the fellows were capitally mounted,
The
soldiers
there could be no doubt of that.
357
Poor Plutocrats
The
lieutenant ordered his
men
to halt
and face the
foolhardy bandits.
He
arranged them two deep and
spread them out so that they extended right across the
road.
He
himself stood in the centre, a
;
little
in
advance
of the rest
the civilians
were
in the rear.
Presently single shapes were discernible through the
approaching cloud of dust.
The
robbers were galloping
along in no regular order, with intervals of from ten to
twenty yards between each one of them.
More than
bred, as
if it
a thousand yards in front of his comrades
galloped Fatia Negra.
His splendid English thoroughblast
would outstrip the
which whirled the
to share the
dust aloft, flew along with
blind fury of his master,
him and seemed
who waved
his flashing
sword
above his horse's head and bellowed at his opponents from
afar like a wild beast.
"We'll seize the fellow before his companions come
up," said the lieutenant to his men.
his horse
"Cut him down from
and capture him
alive."
"Hurrah!" roared the lonely horseman, now only a yard off. "Hurrah!" the next moment he was in the
—
midst of them.
And now began
a contest which,
had
it
been recorded
re-
in the chronicles of the Crusades,
would have been
garded as an act of heroism that only awaited immortality
from a poet great enough
His
to sing
it.
Fatia Negra,
alone and surrounded, fought single-handed in the midst
of the hostile band.
light sword, flashing in his
hand
like lightning,
never stayed to parry, but attacked
358
Poor Plutocrats
incessantly.
Hiltless
in the air,
swords and headless shakos flew
around him
its
and withersoever
his horse turned
head an empty space gaped before him, every antag-
onist retreating before him.
So
close
was the combat
that the soldiers stood in each other's way, and could
not use their firearms for fear of shooting their comrades.
The
lieutenant
was the only man who did not
soldier,
avoid him.
Like a true
who
considers
wounds
skill,
an honor, he did not trouble himself to
recollect that his
adversary was superior to him both in strength and
but strove incessantly to urge his horse toward him.
Twice he struck the
the blow.
but the
body.
seem to feel Once he dealt him a skilful thrust in the side, sword bent nearly double without entering his "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Fatia Negra he must
fellow, but he did not
have put on a coat of mail beneath his jacket
— —and the
it.
same
instant he countered so savagely that
if
the lieu-
tenant had not dodged his head, he must have lost
As
it
was, the sword pierced through his shako, and
the
out poured
gold pieces by thousands on to
the
highroad.
At
the sight of the shower of gold pieces, Fatia
Negra
roared like a demon.
What
battle
mere joke
— now the
he had done hitherto was a
in
began
grim
earnest.
"Down
on
with your heads,
down with your
headpieces
!"
he thundered, and with the fury of a lion he flung himself
his opponents, every
one of
whom wore on
irresistibly
his
head
the dangerous magnet,
flashing sword.
which
attracted his
359
Poor Plutocrats
He
his
himself was
invulnerable.
Neither
sword nor
another
lance could penetrate his shirt of mail.
And meanwhile
companions were rapidly galloping up.
air
Now
shako flew into the
and the horse's hoofs trampled
the falling ducats in the mud.
"Shoot down
office
his horse!" cried the voice of the post-
functionary from the rear, and the same instant
three pistol shots resounded.
At the
third,
which struck
air.
him
full in
the chest, the animal reared high in the
Fatia Negra, perceiving the danger, and before the horse
had time to fall and crush him, leaped from the saddle on to the ground.
enemy on foot. He was blind now. He saw nothing before him but blood and ducats he was drunk with both. All at once he observed that he was alone, and fighting
attacked the
And now he
—
the air
skulls,
—he
or
no longer
felt
the contact of swords, or
human
it
bodies.
After the
officer
had been
wounded, the
and concluded
post-office functionary
took the
command
money.
advisable not to await the arrival of the
It
whole robber band.
was
his duty to save the
He
ordered the soldiers to turn back and
of their
already
way
spilt
to
Szászvár; the
for
was given up
make the best money that had been It was of no use for lost.
mere men
to attempt to grapple with such a devil incar-
nate as Fatia Negra.
"After them, after them!
Fatia
Give
me
a horse!" roared
Negra
to his
all
comrades as they came galloping up,
leaped from their nags, not so
whereupon they
much
360
Poor Plutocrats
indeed for the sake of giving him a mount as for the
sake of grabbing the scattered heaps of ducats.
*'Let that alone;
it
won't run away!" cried the Mask.
"The bulk of
it is
galloping in front of us
— follow me!"
The
left
And
at that,
without waiting their decision, he seized
one of the horses, swung himself into the saddle and
dashed after the lancers.
Nobody followed him.
if
robbers were wise enough to perceive that
they
lying here these thousands of ducats, actually won, in
order to run after ten times as
to catch (not to
many which
they had
still
mention the broken heads which they
into the bargain), the loafing
were sure to get
foot
of the confraternity
members who were following behind them on
nicely at their ease, so they
would pocket the booty
stayed where they were, with the comfortable persuasion
Negra would be sure perceived he was alone.
that Fatia
to turn back
when he
He, however, never gave them a thought,
spurs to his horse, pursued the soldiers.
but, putting
In vain.
He
did
had no longer a blood horse beneath him and was unable
to overtake the bearers of the lost treasure.
Nor
they halt again to give
him anything
to do.
Looking
back from time to time, they saw
how a
single
horseman
was galloping
after them, with his
sword blade firmly
gripped between his teeth, and a shuddering recollection
of the old nursery tales of nether-world monsters
came
over them.
horseman pursued them right up to the toll-house of Szászvár, and even when he gave up the
The
solitary
361
(F)— (16)— Vol.
20
Poor Plutocrats
pursuit the toll-man
saw him
for a long time trotting
his
fist
round about the outskirts of the town, shaking
and shouting imprecations.
Once or twice he drew near
was
the spell of terror sur-
enough
to fire his pistols
through the doors and windows
of the toll-house, and so great
rounding the person of the
terrible
monster that nobody-
ventured outside the city wall to try to capture him;
nay, the burgesses even remained under arms in the
streets all night,
guarding the principal entrances, for
his
fear lest Fatia
Negra and
band might take
;
it
into
it
their heads formally to besiege the place
and, had
only depended upon his will to do
so,
he would assuredly
have made the attempt.
But
it
never came to that.
On
his
returning to the place
of combat, Fatia
Negra found
horsemen
still
search-
ing in the
mud and
darkness for the
lost ducats,
and made
do
the
an attempt to reorganize his band, which
a
little
did, indeed,
maurauding on
infantry
its
own
a
account; but
when
news reached him, through one of
four
his paid spies, that
hundred
with
cannon
had
reached
Szászvár from Szeb, the very word "cannon" had such
an
effect
direction,
upon the robbers that they scattered in every Next as if a tempest had dispersed them.
a trace of
morning there was not
them anywhere.
362
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XXI
THE HUNTED BEAST
Such
That
a piece of audacity could not be overlooked.
a robber
horseman should
in the
middle of the
civili-zed
nineteenth century and within the confines of a
state take
it
into his head to attack, in broad daylight,
sol-
post-wagons defended by a strong escort of regular
diers,
was a thing unheard of. The news spread like lightning through the six confederated counties, and every one seized his sword and
musket.
had laughed
So old Gerzson Satrakovics, whom everybody It was universally at, was right after all. agreed that a stop must be put to this sort of thing once for all. There was no waiting now for the meetings of
Quarter Sessions.
The
prefects of the counties
pro-
claimed martial law, called out the militia and gathered
together the county police, in order, by their combined
efforts, to extirpate the evil
without having recourse to
the assistance of the military
—
a
measure always repug-
nant to the freedom-loving Magyars.
Squire Gerzson was elected the leader of this vast hunt, whose area extended over hundreds of square miles, by it was generally felt that all the six counties concerned
—
363
—
Poor Plutocrats
this
was but due
to
him
for the neglect of his warnings
this occasion that if
and Mr. Gerzson proved on
up of game.
he was
not a great strategist, at any rate he was a great beater
His plan was to occupy
all
the mountain
roads and passes leading out of the six counties with
armed bands of
militia,
while at the same time he himself
his
advanced slowly along the highroads with
gentlemen
volunteers joining hands together from place to place.
Between various groups of the volunteers were regular
lines of police,
they came to. army of beaters grew narrower and narrower day by day, and was to converge toward a fixed point which Squire Gerzson said he would more definitely indicate later on. Moreover, there was a flying column admitted to the full confidence of its leader, whose duty it was to appear
who had to thoroughly scour all the forests The encircling network of this gigantic
suddenly and unexpectedly in
all
parts of the closely
like a
environed region, in order to head off anything
definite plan of defense
on the part of the adventurers
easily.
and track them down more
special corps
The
leadership of this
was entrusted to young Szilárd Vámhidy, upon whose ingenuity, determination, and ability Squire
Gerzson professed to place the utmost
reliance.
As soon
as
he had received this important charge,
Szilárd took horse and set off at the head of his four and
twenty policemen.
First of
all
he went in the direction
of the Alps of Bihar and along a narrow mountain path,
and through a melancholy, uncanny region with not a living plant by the wayside and not a morsel of moss on
364
Poor Plutocrats
the naked rock.
No
sound
is
to be heard there but the
eternal sighing of the wind, and in the dizzy depths
below the traveler sees nothing but dense, dreary forests
crowding one upon another with the Alpine eagles
and screaming above them.
It
circling
was
just the place for a hunted
life
band of robbers to and death struggle
turn upon their pursuers for a last
— here
where even the bodies of the
be found.
For not once
chance to come this
slain would never two years does a wanderer way, and long before that time the
in
wolves and the vultures will have dispersed the bones
of the fallen.
Yet
this
time the robber bands did not
fall
in with
their pursuers, a sufficient proof that Szilard's plan
skilfully laid
was
and unanticipated.
his design,
it is
For had Fatia Negra
absolutely inconceivable
had any idea of
that he
would not have
lain
in wait for
him on
this
spectre haunted path,
where ten resolute men could have
held a whole
army
at bay.
For hours
their
Szilard's long troop of
horsemen pursued
Late in the
way along without meeting
first
a soul.
afternoon they came upon the
shepherd's hut.
The
herdsman himself was out
there
at
in the forest
with his flocks;
was no sign of
life
but a lame dog, which barked
them.
In the evening they met a mounted countryman car-
rying maize to be ground at the mill; him they took
along with them as guide. After
that
they
traveled
all
night
long,
passing
365
Poor Plutocrats
through Skeritora and Nyigsa,
till
they came to the
cataract of Vidra, which they reached at the rising of
the sun.
The houses
ings, as there
of these Alpine villages are so far apart
that next neighbors can not even see each other's dwellis
at
least half a
league between them.
This circumstance and the night season favored Szilard's
plans.
They could surround each house, one by
first
one,
without the inhabitants of the other houses being aware
of what had happened in the
ones
—a
fruitless labor,
for they found nothing of a suspicious nature.
Tired out, the band, early
in the
morning, reached the
need of
house beneath the
halting.
w^aterfall; here they felt the
then
some questions to the guide and dismissed him, commanding him to return to
Szilárd put
the
Skeritora.
When
guide had mounted, the police sergeant
:
observed to Szilárd
cal does not
"I fancy, your honor, that that ras-
mean
all
to return to Skeritora, but as
soon as
he
is
out of sight will turn back and give the alarm
the districts on our line of march."
beforehand in
*T fancy so too."
"But then every suspected person
whole
affair
is
will get
wind of the
at present
and have time to bolt."
just \vhat T want.
"Tliat
that they
The
trouble
is
lie
so
still."
lie
And
relieve
with that he ordered half of his police to
to
down
and sleep and the other half
each
other
remain awake, and so
every three hours.
So
the police
366
Poor Plutocrats
rested
till
midday, and then the sergeant began to urge
Szilárd to set off again, or else they
late.
would arrive too
and he spent a
"Tt
is
too early
yet,''
replied Szilárd,
good
half of the afternoon there doing nothing.
Only
then did he take horse again, complaining to every one
how much
yesterday's ride had taken
it
out of him, and
asking everybody he met on the road, coming or going,
where the next
village lay?
—how
to get to it?
—and
in
what
direction the highroad lay?
The
old
police
naturally
began murmuring among
themselves.
"Oh!"
said they, "if he keeps
this,
on blurting
only have
out his whole line of route like
we
shall
the empty nests of the robbers to thresh out for our
trouble."
"And
Fatia
this
chap thinks, forsooth, that he will capture
!"
Negra
growled the veteran sergeant.
fields
But no sooner did they get beyond the fenced
ing the
cut his
than Szilárd suddenly turned his horse's head and, lead-
way to the way through
at,
other side of the mountain stream,
the forest, ordering his comrades to
hurry after him as speedily as possible.
What
he was
aiming
his
nobody had the
least idea.
If
he meant to lose
way
do
it.
in the forest
he was setting about the best
way
to
Suddenly he ordered his followers to dismount and
lead their horses by their bridles up to the top of the
mountain.
The
old sergeant
now
guessed what he was
after, but did not
approve of
it.
367
Poor Plutocrats
"There
said he.
is
no path for
a
horse up this mountain,"
"Silence, sir!
I
know what
I
am
about.
Follow me!"
And
him up
so, for a
good half-hour, cursing
their leader bit-
terly beneath their breaths, they painfully struggled after
the dangerous path,
and then, suddenly, a mar-
velous sight met their gaze.
An immense
cavern gaped
open before them, through which, as through a tunnel,
they could reach the valley on the other side.
the so-called
This was
the
"Roman
this
Gate."
Many
believe that
Romans dug
passage through the mountain, but this
marvelous piece of workmanship has been carried out on
too vast a scale for anybody else but Nature to be
architect;
it
its
is
possible,
however, that the Romans
may
have used
this
passage for their campaigns.
And now
leader,
fire
the police understood the plan of their
young
and were ready to follow him blindly through
and water.
the valley beyond, and by
lit
In another half-hour they had passed through the
"Roman Gate" and reached next morning Vámhidy had
down
like a
thunderbolt
from the sky where nobody expected him.
By
the evening he had run
down
eight persons
who
were under very strong
suspicion.
letter to
After dusk the same
day he sent the following
Gerzson by one of his
men
:
"I feel certain
I
hold the thread of the whole con-
spiracy in
my
hands.
We are
on their track."
At
nightfall he
encamped
in a lonely mill,
it
which he
chose because, in case of necessity,
could easily be
368
Poor Plutocrats
defended.
He
was
had reasons for thinking that he might
built
be attacked in the night.
The
mill
over a rushing mountain stream,
so that the stream shot through and under the building,
over the wheels.
In front, three sluices confined within
the basin the collected flood of water, which
was here
very deep.
piles
A
broad, thick board laid across three stout
formed the bridge which connected the footpath
sloping
down from
the forest with the footpath
on the
opposite side.
Toward evening
that a blind beggar
his pickets
wanted
to
came and told Vámhidy speak to him and in secret,
to be led in.
so that nobody could hear.
Szilárd ordered the blind
man
He
seemed
to be a muscular, athletic fellow, with
broad shoulders
and a huge body
"Master, are
—what a
pity he
was
blind.
we
quite alone?" inquired the blind
man
when he stood before Vámhidy.
"We
are quite by ourselves;
what
is
it
you want,
my
good fellow?"
"Thank was good
so again.
you,
sir,
for calling
me
a
good
time,
fellow, for I
for something once
I
upon a
and
will be
Juon Tare, whose eyes were burned out in the Lucsia Cavern when they wanted to catch Fatia Negra, and the monster set the whole cavern
the famous
am
on
fire.
I
want the head of Fatia Negra.
I
am
after
that head now, and
when
I get
it
all
my woe
can
tell
will cease.
Do you want
it is."
that head,
Master?
I
you where
369
;
Poor Plutocrats
"Well?"
"Have you pluck enough not
Master ?"
"1
to be afraid of him,
am
afraid of nothing."
"And
yet
many brave men
fall
back at the sight of that
is
black face, which never changes, which
just like steel
and which they fancy neither sword nor
but
bullet
I
can hurt
my
nails
have torn
his body,
and
have seen his
blood flow."
"Say where he
is!"
"Close at hand."
"In what direction?"
that, I
"Ah, Master!" sighed Juon Tare, **how can who can see neither heaven nor earth?"
I
answer
"Then how do you know
"Ah, Master,
if I
that he
is
hard by?"
I
can recognize him by his voice, and
I
do not hear him speak,
can recognize the sound
of his footsteps
else
when
I
hear him draw nigh.
Nobody
has his trick of walking.
Sometimes he goes as
softly as a spectre, so that only the ears of a blind
man
it
can detect his
if
footfall,
and
at other times
he tramps as
re-
the whole earth beneath
step.
him were hollow and
I
sounds at every
Oh,
still
have often heard him
approaching when he was
far, far
away."
at the
"But do you know anything certain about him?"
"I will
tell
you everything, Master, beginning
see that
I
beginning.
You
am
blind, a blind beggar, for
begging
is
my
trade.
So long
as
my
wife was
alive, I
had no need
to turn to begging, for she
worked
for
me
370
;
Poor Plutocrats
and kept me. But she
died.
After that
left
I
would gladly
son, a child
have died of hunger, but she
but two years old, and
I
me
a
little
go a-begging for him.
Above
little
the brook here on the King's
built
is
highway
is
a stone bridge
by the county.
to lead
Early in the morning
my
son
wont
me
is,
hither and then returns to the village the wife of the scrivener looks after
little
mite as he
him, and in the evening he comes and fetches
again.
me home
Whatever
is
given
share with
gar.
my
poor hostess,
me by charitable wayfarers I who is poorer than any begIt
Yesterday something happened.
was
this.
I
was
I
sitting outside there at the
end of the bridge, and as
had not heard a human voice about me for
and
me. me.
it
a long time,
was extremely
I
hot, slumber
it,
weighed heavily upon
it
I
struggled hard against
but
was too much
for
was afraid
I
that
if
I
fell
across the road a cart
might go over me.
of the bridge.
sheltered there
So I knew
laid
myself
down under
the arch
the place well, for I
had often
from the storm.
head.
I will
Suddenly
ened by those familiar footsteps.
bridge over
my
take
I was awakThey passed across the my oath that it was he.
He
stood
still
in the
middle of the bridge.
Shortly after-
ward I heard the sound of many more footsteps coming, some from the left and some from the right. Men were coming in all directions toward the bridge, and there in there were the middle of it they stood I counted them
;
—
four and twenty of them."
Szilárd
now began
spoke.
to listen attentively.
"Then he
Oh, even
371
if I
had had the
light of
Poor Plutocrats
both
my
I
eyes, I could not
have seen him so plainly before
I
me
It
as
saw him
in
my blindness when
heard him speak.
was indeed he; at the very first word I recognized him; when I tell you what he said, then you also will recognize him. Master. Those four and twenty men are a sworn confederacy. It was a secret plot they were hatchbut
ing at that place, where nobody could surprise them, as
woods on every side. He called his companions here to tell them of the measures that were being taken against them. He told them they had no need to fear all that the six counties were doing, but that the little band which was zigzagging through the whole It was the cause of all district was greatly to be feared. the mischief and must be put out of the way. But his comrades made no reply. They grumbled and muttered among themselves, and at last they said that this would be a difficult thing to do. They all said they would not
it is
girt about with
tackle the police because they
were better shots than any
all its wiles.
robber, and were used to hunting and
In
vain were
all
the assurances of Fatia Negra; they said
they meant to hide
away
as best they could.
'Then hide
and be d
—d
to you,' said their leader;
I'll
T
will tackle
them
single-handed.
seek them out and
show you
his last
that they
too are but mortal men.'
Those were
words to
and
I
them; they scattered again,
me,
Fatia
to the right
and
left,
heard their departing footsteps over
lieve
sir,
my
head.
But besaid."
Negra
will try to
do what he
alone,
"What! many?"
come
and
attack
us?
—
against
so
372
'
;
Poor Plutocrats
"You do
"Nay,
did not not believe what
I say, sir,
but so
it
will be."
my
good
it
fellow, but are
you quite
certain
you
dream
I
all?"
first
"Master, in the
is
moment
what
fancied myself.
is
my amazement that How can a blind man know
of
I
whether he
forth
awake or dreaming?
therefore
of
it I
drew
cut a
cross in
my pocket-knife and with the point my left arm. Look, sir, there it is
!
Juon tucked up the wide
and
crosslike scar
sir,"
shirt-sleeve
from
his herculean
arm, and Szilárd was astonished to see the half-healed
—
it
had been a deep gash.
I
"So now,
pursued Juon, "you can see that
well, for Fatia
am
not dreaming.
Watch
Negra
will come.
Not
to-night, for he awaits
you came.
you on the road by which But to-morrow he will know that you have
Gate,'
dodged him by going through the 'Roman
Szilárd charged
and
to-morrow night you can safely reckon upon him."
word to anybody about what he had told him, and promised him a reward if what he had said really came to pass.
Juon not
to say a
That night nothing happened, and
till
the afternoon of
the next day he lingered idly at the mill.
Toward midday
;
they heard in the forest a loud barking of dogs
said
it
the miller
bears.
was no doubt the
lord of the
manor hunting
"He
hidy
;
chooses a very inopportune time," growled
away.'"'
Vám-
"he will scare my game The hunters were not long
in issuing
from the
forest
they seemed to have lost the track of the bear.
Vámhidy
sent
word
to the
gentlemen that he would
373
Poor Plutocrats
be
much
obliged to them
to
if
they would postpone their
season, as business
amusement
some more convenient was going on
here.
of a graver sort
Word was
at once
brought back that the company was quite ready to do
as he said.
The dogs were
signals,
quickly leashed again, the
beaters
recalled by
and the whole hunt came
few moments
later
straight toward the mill.
A
Vámhidy
Háts-
recognized in the leader of the hunt Leonard Hátszegi.
It w-as
an unwelcome surprise on both
the
first
sides, but
zegi
was
to recover himself,
if
and he greeted him
with as radiant a countenance as
cause of quarrel with him.
he had never had any
"We
both of us seem to be on a hunting expedition,
your honor!" said he.
"Mine
is
an
official
pursuit."
"And mine pure
have taken
in such
pastime.
Had
I
known you would
But
it is
this road, I
should certainly not have engaged
an inappropriate diversion.
all
over now;
we
are
going back.
My
bear
may run
—how
about
yours?"
"No
sign of
I
him
yet."
"Well,
could regale you with no end of interesting
I
anecdotes concerning the hunted adventurer, for
have
If
had more than one famous meeting with him myself.
it
were only worth your while
part, but also
to
pay us a
visit at
Hidvár,
I
could promise you the heartiest reception
— not only on
Vámhidy
I
my own
"I
coolly,
on the part of
my
wife."
am much
"but
I
obliged to your lordship," replied
am bound by
374
instructions
from which
;
Poor Plutocrats
can not depart.
Besides,
I
It is
not pleasure that brings
at last,
it
me
I
hither.
fol-
have got a sure clue
I
which
must
low
up,
and
know
it is
not whither
may
lead me."
"Bravo!
care,
So you are on
his track at last, eh!
Take
my
is
friend,
not a false clue.
These
rascals are
very crafty."
"It
a real clue that
I
have discovered.
You must
it
know
that before the confiscated gold captured in the
Lucsia Cavern was sent to Vienna, every coin of
was
have
marked with
tion, but
it
a
little
cross, a very simple official precau-
has proved very useful to us.
Now
I
come upon these marked ducats among the people here. They themselves, I believe, are innocent, and can give the name of the persons from whom they received them
and
so,
by tracing the various intermediaries, we
shall
come
I
at last
upon the
original dispensers of these ducats.
can imagine
how
Fatia Negra will laugh
when he
hears
in
that the soldiers of six counties are hunting for
him
the depths of the forests and tapping every rotten tree-
stump
in search of
him while he
is
sitting
ballet
comfortably in
some large theatre and eying the
his opera-glass
;
dancers through
surprised
but he will be very
much
:
when
one
fine day,
without any preliminary siege operations,
we
at
shall tap at his
own door and
inquire
*Is
Fatia
Negra
home?'"
Hátszegi laughed heartily.
"Not
found
a bad idea,
upon
my honor
!
I
myself
will
I
am inclined
be sooner
to think that the
worthy highwayman
in a cofiee-house than in a forest.
only regret
375
Poor Plutocrats
that I did not nize
mark my own
coins, so that I
might recog-
them again."
so,
And
party,
laughing and whisthng, he returned to his
to consist of
which appeared
mere dependents, and
gave them his orders.
"Unpack the horses and get lunch ready," said he; "we will not go any farther." Then he turned again to Vámhidy. "Since we are obliged to capitulate to superior force, would you be so good as to pick out with me a nice, round, shadowy spot in the forest, where we may encamp
and share with each other our provisions, which have
thus become the spoils of
war ?"
"Thank you, my
I
lord," replied
Vámhidy
coldly, "but
have already had
my
lunch."
His lunch, by the way, had consisted of a maize cake
baked
in the ashes,
"Then won't you allow your men
in-
to drink
my
health
a
glass
of
wine,
since
they are actually on
my
domains?"
"My
my
police are not allowed to drink; they
have to
remain sober.
leave,
They must not
is
leave the mill without
and your lordship must not camp out here,
your property.
although the mill
'verbiro'
For
of
just
now
I
I
am
(a magistrate with
power
life
and death),
here with the right to open and close every door as
think
fit."
I
may
"Then
shall
I
know how
376
to respect
your authority.
All the same,
do not withdraw
my
offer.
My
castle
;
Poor Plutocrats
and every house and shanty on my estate are at your disposal, and if you should not find me at home at Hidvár,
as
I
have to be
off early
to-morrow morning
to Széb,
my wife will be delighted to see you." And with that he threw his gun across
tripped
his shoulder
and
away with
well-bred nonchalance across the
field
and, calling to his party to follow him, disappeared in the
depths of the forest, from which he had just emerged.
And now
it
was evening, and the heavens were
all
full
of stars, and Szilárd began to gaze at the stars; and as
he did so he forgot
about the
official
burdens that
about Fatia
weighed so heavily upon
his shoulders, all
Negra and
countered
the robbers.
He
fancied that his eyes en-
among
the stars the eyes of "another,"
whom
slumber and happiness had deserted just as they had
deserted him.
How
more
!
close to each other chance
had brought them once
He had
only to accept her husband's invitation in
face.
order to meet her face to
What would
they not
have to say to one another ?
The night was
sluices.
quite
still,
the whole region
was dumb
room, for
save for the gurgling of the water rushing through the
The
police
were snoring
to sleep
till
in the living
they were allowed
two
o'clock.
Only Vámguard-
hidy kept watch with a single policeman,
ing the prisoners in the
cellar.
who was
'The Lord God
resounded from
bless thee!'^ a
hushed voice suddenly
bushes, and Szilárd
among
the
brown
377
—
Poor Plutocrats
distinguished by
tlie
light of the rising
It
moon
a
tall,
dark
shape approaching the mill-path.
"How
was blind Juon. did you know any one was here?" inquired
sir, once or twice, and warned you beforehand be upon you."
Szilárd suspiciously.
"I heard you sigh,
I
knew you
watch
were awake, for
to-night he will
I
to
"Who?" "Who? Why,
Fatia Negra."
will
"So you think he
be bold enough?'*
"I know that he is already on the way." "And where were you just now ?"
"I was working in the mill-ditch," "At night! What were you doing there?"
"I have
removed the supporting beam underneath the
It
it."
bridge leading across the reservoir!
of work, but
I
was
a hard bit
had the strength to do
"Why
did you do that?"
will
"Because he
come from
the opposite side, and im-
mediately he steps on the middle of the bridge the plank
will give
like a
way beneath him, and he
in a trap."
is
will fall into the
water
mouse
"What
again."
the
good of
that,
he will only swim out
"Yes, but his pistols will then be
will be unable to use
full
of water, and he
Szilárd began to
them against you." perceive that he had a most
sorts of ideas in his
deter-
mined
ally
with
all
head that had
never occurred to himself.
3/8
—
Poor Plutocrats
"But
alone."
surely,
will be
my
poor fellow, you do not imagine that
to face so
anybody
mad enough
sir,
many armed men
"I don't know,
but
I
also
do not know whether
you yourself may not be alone among so many armed
men, for
ofif
I
hear snoring
cellar."
among
the very guard
you
told
to
watch the
Szilárd
was
startled.
He
immediately hastened to the
place indicated,
and
there, sure
enough, he saw the sentry
stretched at full length across the cellar door.
He
angrily
;
hastened to arouse him, and seized the sleeper by the arm
but
all
his efforts
were powerless to awake the fellow
others, sir," said Juon.
he might just as well have been dead,
**Try to
awake the
The policemen
lay in long
rows stretched out upon the
gently, then loudly,
straw in the meal bin.
Szilárd spoke to them,
last angrily, calling
first
and
at
them by name, one
after the other;
but not one of them awoke.
He
tore the sleepers
it
;
away
from
their places, but they
were not aware of
as soon
as he let
them go, they
rolled back again into their
former
positions.
"What
has happened?" cried the confounded Szilárd.
traitor
"There must be a
of Fatia Negra
ests,
;
among
them,
sir,
a hireling
he has his hirelings everywhere, in forin
in palaces,
dungeons, in barracks, everywhere.
in
And
this
traitor
has mingled thorn-apple juice
the
drink of his comrades, and they will
night and a day.
now
is
sleep
on for a
The
traitor himself
pretending to
379
Poor Plutocrats
sleep along with his fellows, but he
is
only awaiting the
will get
arrival of Fatia Negra,
and then up he
artful dodge,
and release
the captives.
It
was an
your honor!"
all
Szilárd felt a tremor running through
his limbs.
"You
see, sir,
you are here
far
alone, but Fatia
Negra
is
never alone.
But so
no great harm has been done.
We
just
will
make him now which of
to be alone also.
We
can not find out
a traitor.
the four and twenty
is
But
foot,
we
will bind the
whole four and twenty hand and
and then the traitor also will be helpless." Szilárd began to perceive that this blind man was right
in everything.
His words must be listened
at
to,
for the
danger was close
tion.
hand
—
there was no time for hesitaall
So he quickly routed up
set to
the halters in the mill
and they
work.
The
blind giant laid the
men one by one
across his
knee and, placing their hands behind their backs crosswise, held
them toward Szilárd, who bound them fast. Three and twenty of them felt nothing of all this, and
the four and twentieth
well to
that he
who
did feel
it
thought
it
it
just as
go on
feigning slumber, for
had
been discovered
was awake, one grip of those enormous fists would have made of him a sleeper indeed for evermore. "Is your sword sharp, sir?" inquired the blind man when this piece of work was done.
—
"Yes, and
I
have
sir,
pistols likewise."
"Test them,
with."
for I suspect they have been tampered
"What?"
380
Poor Plutocrats
"If ever,
sir,
you have pursued some wild
beast, a bear
:
or a buffalo, for instance, you
rely
know
the rule surely
never
upon any weapon which has not been
freshly loaded
by your
pistols.
own
It
hand.
Let us take the loading out of your
to fire
won't do
them
off,
for
we
are lying in
wait for big game, and at such times one must keep very
quiet."
Szilárd hearkened to the warning and
drew
It is
the load-
ing out of both his well-charged pistols.
the
usual
when
powder
is
taken out to blow
that
down
the barrel, and as
he did so
now he remarked
Juon smelt
it
something was wrong.
The ramrod encountered some
drew
forth.
soft substance,
it
which he
to be the
and pronounced
wax of wild bees. "You see, sir, you
you some hours
will not be able to discharge this
pistol, for the nipples are so
plugged up that
it
will take
to thoroughly clean them."
"At any rate, I have still the firearms of !" "Let us examine them also, sir
my
police."
They
did so forthwith and found that they too had
been utterly ruined.
And
all this
must have been done
while Szilárd had been sitting outside and his
men had
been sleeping!
"Then your sword
blind
is
sharp,
sir,
eh?" inquired the
"scented," so to
still
man, "for
I
hear the footsteps of Fatia Negra."
The
sensitive ears of the blind
man
speak, the well-known footfalls while they were
ap-
proaching on the distant forest paths.
The young man
felt
an
381
involuntary
shudder run
Poor Plutocrats
through his body as the moment drew near when he
would have
to face the
hunted
foe.
The magical mysall
teriousness which enveloped his pursuer; the marvelous
audacity which ensured the success of
his gigantic bodily strength
cient to
his projects;
suffi-
—
all
these things were
make any man's
heart beat
more quickly
in a life
at the
prospect of encountering Black
struggle at a lonely place.
Mask
and death
But Szilárd was resolved to
see the business through.
The
strong will peculiar to
men
of his nature broke
it
down
per-
his fear.
He
had no business
to tremble,
was not
mitted to him to fear.
is
He who
is
has a sword in his hand
never alone
—
a
sword
also a
man.
The
him.
blind
blind
man
trembled in his stead.
He
feared for
When
man
Szilárd returned with his naked sword, the
its
passed his finger along
its
edge from end to
end, to test
sharpness.
"A good
sword, a very good sword. Master.
Fear
him not, but when upon him and strike
weapon can
he scrambles out of the water, rush
at his neck.
Do not
aim
at his body,
for this accursed one wears
pierce him.
If
a coat of mail, so that
no
he comes to close quarters,
at
do not defend yourself, but slash away
perhaps be wounded, but
if
him you may
;
you stand on the
too much
defensive,
he will
kill
you.
If
he gets
for you, call out
and
I
will rush in
and strangle him with
I
my
naked hands.
Oh, what would
eyes."
not give
now
to
for the sight of
my two
And
the blind
man began
weep
bitterly.
382
Poor Plutocrats
"That man
killed
my
wife and blinded me, and
now
when
in
I
hear him approach,
when
I
hear him coming
I
toward
me
all
alone, I can not see him.
can not rush
and close with him.
Be
valiant, Master,
and God be
edge
not
with you.
May
the soul of
my
Mariora
direct the
of your sword and darken his eyes.
that he approaching!"
Hearken!
—
is
And
it
was
actually he.
The
rocks
tall
elegant figure
a
light,
was
descending
the
moonlit
with
elastic
tread, dressed
from head
to foot in a black atlas mantle.
Szilárd
to the mill behind a pillar of
saw him drawing nearer and nearer, step by step, whose veranda he himself
this figure, his
was concealed expectant. At the very moment when he perceived
which now
filled
former terror gave way before a strange, resolute fury,
his heart; a
is
feeling familiar only to
those whose blood
set boiling
whenever they are sud-
denly confronted by a pressing danger.
He
feared the
man no
longer; he burned to encounter him.
Blind Juon stood beside him and pressed his hand.
They, both of them, began to
listen intently
;
nature
itself
was
as
still
as
if
the
wind
also
would
listen.
Nothing
was audible but
ing footsteps.
the dull measured tramp of the approach-
The
black shape
now
footed the bridge; with a confiit
;
dent gait he approached the middle of
the bridge gave
another step and
way beneath
in black
him, and with an involun-
tary cry the
man
plunged into the water.
"Now,
sir,
rush in!" whispered Juon to Szilárd.
But
383
!
Poor Plutocrats
the latter could not help thinking at that
was an
act of cowardice to attack a
not defend himself, even
moment that it man when he could though that man was a robber,
so he allowed him to scramble out on to the other side.
The
black mantle had fallen from the shoulders of
Fatia Negra into the water, and there he
now
stood
before Szilárd with his wet clothes clinging closely to his
body
like a statue of
Antinous, a shape of athletic beauty.
pistols, in all probability
In his girdle were a couple of
rendered useless by the water, and a long Arab yataghan,
almost as long as an ordinary sword, but without the
usual cruciform
hilt.
Szilárd barred the way.
For an
next
instant Fatia
Negra was taken aback by
his
antagonist's unexpected wariness and courage, but the
drawn yataghan flashed in his hand, and the second flash was the clash of the contending weapons. And now happened what happens hundreds and thousands of times in actual life. At the very first onset Fatia
his
moment
Negra, the notorious, the practised, the invincible swords-
man was
disanned by a young
civilian,
who had
never,
perhaps, held a naked sword in his hand before and possessed no advantage over his opponent save the courage
of an honest
factor
man
as opposed to the effrontery of a male-
—
a marvel indeed
at the
Both of them had lunged
same
time, neither of
them had parried
sary's wrist,
;
Szilard's sword cut through his adver-
and
at the
same
instant Fatia Negra's yata-
ghan
fell
from
his hand.
384
Poor Plutocrats
The wounded robber
set
up a howl Hke a wild
beast,
and Juon, lurking beneath the veranda of the
echo.
mill, relike
sponded with another howl of joy, that sounded
an
The
blind
man had
recognized that Fatia Negra
was
in
danger, and at once rushed out upon him.
lost
The disarmed adventurer
along with his sword.
helpless to his side
sort of paralysis.
his presence of
mind
His right hand suddenly sank
his stout heart
and
was
seized with a
He
perceived that this was the
his last
man
sent by fate to
at hand.
announce to him that
fled
hour was
He
turned and
toward the
forest.
Szilárd rushed after him.
"Take
him.
care," screamed blind Juon.
But none heeded
enemy.
Fatia Negra flew
away before
his
At
first
he
left
him
far behind, but gradually the continuous loss
of blood began to
weaken him; and
it
also occurred to
him
that even
still
if
he succeeded in distancing his adversary,
he would
leave a trail of blood behind him.
plete his confusion, the
light as day.
To commoon made the whole region as He was forced to sit down on a tree stump,
to tie
up
flow of
wounded hand; at least he would stop the blood and make the trail more difficult to follow.
his
While with the help of his left hand and his teeth he was binding up his useless right hand, his pursuer overtook him. "Fatia Negra
— surrender!"
was
to try to fire
The only
reply the adventurer gave
his pistols, and, finding that only the caps snapped,
he
hurled them one after the other at his enemy's head.
385
(F)
— (17)—Vol.
20
—
Poor Plutocrats
Szilárd then had practical experience of the
rumor
that
Fatia
Negra could throw very
well even with his left
hand
—had he not leaped
would have dashed
aside at the nick of time the pistols
his brains out.
Then up away still
Fatia
Negra
started to his feet again
and
fled
farther.
The pursuer and
the pursued
now
sped along with pretty equal energy, though the loss of
blood continued to weaken the robber.
Yet he made one
desperate effort to scale the steep side of the mountain.
An
ordinary
it.
man
could rarely breast such an ascent, yet
he tried
But he soon found that even thus he could
not shake off his enemy.
He remained
indeed some hun-
dreds of paces behind, but he could not dodge out of his
sight in the
now open
glade.
hill
On
ing
the
brow of the
the adventurer stopped to pant,
hills stretch-
and surveyed the undulating thickly wooded
away on every side of him. He drew a silver whistle his bosom and gave with it three penetrating signals, which reechoed from among the distant mountains.
from
But
it
was only an
;
echo, only the note of the whistle that
else.
he heard
he waited in vain for anything
All his
accomplices had evidently hidden away.
And
again the pursuer overtook him.
He
it
waited
till
he was only two paces off and then he seized a stone
weighing half a hundredweight and hurled
beneath the blow.
the valley.
It
at
him
the tree trunk behind which Szilárd had taken refuge bent
Then
Fatia
Negra
fled
down toward
was
a desperate
way
for
him
to take, for down-hill
386
Poor Plutocrats
ground as quickly as he could the distance between them was never more than ten
his adversary could cover the
;
paces
;
the
wound
the robber
had received began to ener-
vate his whole body, and he
that the hurling of missiles
was not long
is
in finding out
a very profitless
mode
of
warfare when you have only one hand at your disposal.
Panting hard, he
fled
on farther seeking refuge.
And
now
fox
he took to zigzagging through the wood, in the hope
if
of dodging his pursuer,
is
only for an instant, as a Hying
is
wont
to
do when he
already nearing his hole,
to betray to his pursuer.
whose entrance he does not wish
A
way.
little
further
on
a stout, quickset
hedge barred
their
fol-
Fatia Negra burst through
in the
it,
and Szilárd
lowed
antlers
gap that he had made.
in
Suddenly a hunting lodge came
suggested that that was what
view
—
at least the
on the top of the porch and above the windows
it
was intended
for.
One
open.
his
fist
windows looking out upon the forest stood Negra suddenly stopped short, waited till adversary was close up to him, and then, shaking his
of the
Fatia
at him,
sprang through the open window.
did not hesitate a
Vámhidy
the
the adventurer into the house.
He
moment about following forced his way through
dark corridor, at the
window and found himself
still
in a
extreme end of which the footsteps of the hunted
man
were
resounding.
And
after
him he ran straightway.
387
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XXII
THE SIGHT OF TERROR
"My
clothes,
dear Henrietta," Leonard had said to his wife
the day before, as he shook the dust of the chase off his
"very shortly some guests will arrive at Hidvár,
and possibly they
may
be numerous.
May
I
ask you to
make ready
understood.
"It
is
for their reception ?"
Henrietta signified by a motion of her head that she
possible
you may have
to
perform the duties of
have to be
off at
hostess without
my
assistance, for I
once to Szeb and don't expect to be back for a couple of
days.
It is possible that
the gentlemen in question
may
much
arrive
regret.
during
my
absence,
which
I
should very
Nevertheless, you
as quickly as
I
may depend upon my
hasten-
ing
home
can to meet them here."
All this did not seem to interest Henrietta very much.
Leonard noticed
it.
"Let the gentry,
my
dear, occupy the
room overlook-
ing the park; the servants had better have the six rooms
generally given to hunting parties on the ground floor,
with the four and twenty
beds."^
At
these directions the lady looked at her lord with"
an expression of surprised inquiry.
388
!
—
—
Poor Plutocrats
"I see/' resumed her husband, "you are asking yourself
what
you.
sort of
suffices
It
is
company
the
that can be for
whose master
six.
I will
is
one room
tell
while the servants require
armed corps from Arad, which
by
this
charged with the capture of Fatia Negra and his associates.
As they
will pass
way,
In
I
don't see
how
they can avoid calling at Hidvár.
the magistrate,
fact, I
have invited
who commands
invitation.
the corps, to
if
make Hidvár
the centre of his operations,
will accept
and
he
is
a sensible
man
I
he
my
The name
of
my
guest
have
not yet mentioned," continued Leonard with easy levity;
"it
is
Szilárd
Vámhidy, a
justice of the peace of the
county of Arad
—
really a very nice
young man."
if
Henrietta became as white as a statue.
"You
will
in
will greatly oblige
me,
my
dear Henrietta,
you
do your best
to
make our
guest feel quite at
home
I
our house.
But you are a
sensible
woman,
kiss
so
have
no need to press the point.
good-by."
Let
me
your hand
Henrietta watched him go out, get into his carriage
and bowl
oi¥,
and then began to weep and hide her head
among the cushions, that nobody might see her tears. They are pursuing Fatia Negra Szilárd Vámhidy
!
is
pursuing Fatia Negra!
He
will
come
hither; he will enter this very castle.
Leonard himself has invited him
He
more.
will certainly
come
to see his former love once
The thought was
it
terrible!
But
must
not,
it
should not happen.
389
—
Poor Plutocrats
Leonard himself had invited Vámhidy
This
!
to his castle.
man relied too much on the terror of a poor timid woman; he built too much on that nimbus of terror which made him so horribly unassailable in her eyes. What!
first to invite
the former lover of his wife to be his guest
his indifference
and then show
by choosing that very time
to absent himself from the house for some days
But on one thing she was resolved Vámhidy should not find her at Hidvár. She would fly. She would leave
her husband's house.
receive her?
Where should she go? Who would What would become of her? She did not
w^as
know, she gave the matter no thought, but one thing
certain
:
Szilárd
and she might meet together
in
the
grave, but they should never encounter each other be-
neath the shadow of the halls of Hidvár.
There was nobody she could confide
in.
All
the
jail-
servants were her husband's paid spies and her
ers.
own
The
priest
had disappeared altogether from Hid-
vár.
In her despair an old
called to
memory
rose
up before
her.
She
at
mind
that during the earlier days of her stay
Hidvár, when she had explored the whole region under
the delusion that she could
make
the wretched happy, she
had often passed a
her attention.
It
little
house which had always riveted
little
was
a
hunting hut
in the
midst of
the forest, built entirely of
wood and
planed smoothly
it
outside like a
little
polished cabinet.
trees,
In front of
stood
in
broad-spreading
spring,
fruit
crowded with flowers
in
crowded with
all
fruit
autumn; wild vines and
moss grew
over
its
roofs.
390
Poor Plutocrats
In the midst of the listening
woods
this Httle
first
house
had such an inviting exterior that the very
time she
saw
it,
Henrietta could not resist the temptation of enit.
tering
The door
nobody
of the
little
house stood open before her,
being only on the latch.
inside.
She had stepped
in: there
was
In the
first
room
there
was furniture of
on a table was a
some hard wood;
close to the wall stood a carved sideit;
board with painted earthenware on
pitcher of a similar ware, full of fresh, pure water.
The
in
door of another room to the right was also open, and
that
room
also she
found nobody.
;
There stood a bed,
and, on the walls
with a bearskin for a coverlet
other bearskins spread
on the
floor served instead of carpets,
were bright lynx and wildcat
skins.
From
this
room
there
was
a door leading into a third
room, and here also she found nobody.
The
walls of this
room were covered with weapons
curiously
crossed,
—
guns, pistols, and
in
shaped
swords and daggers,
nails
rows and
walls.
hanging on
and leaning against the
;
On
the oaken table stood stuffed beasts and birds
under
the table
was a
stuffed fox fastened to a chair
;
a pair of
wild boars' heads, with powerful tusks, were over the
door, but there
was no sign of any
off,
living beast.
little
Henrietta fancied that the master of this
house
must be away, but not far
to wait
till
and she made up her mind
obliged to go on
he returned home. Yet one hour after another
last
passed away, and Henrietta was at
farther lest she should have to pass the night there, and
391
;
Poor Plutocrats
only
when
she was already some distance
away was she
all
struck by the peculiar circumstance that
around the
hut grass was growing thickly and that no path led up
to
it.
In a few weeks' time curiosity drew her again in the
same
fence,
direction.
Alone, without any escort, she stood,
fastened her horse to the
before the forest dwelling,
and passed through the door.
it
Everything was just as she had seen
occasion.
on the
first
was the earthenfirst room ware pitcher full of water; in the second room was the bed covered with a bearskin, and in the third room were all the guns and other weapons just as she had seen them
In the
on the table
before.
Again she waited
dwellers of this
little
for a long time for
some of the
being had
house to draw near, and again she
waited in vain
;
even by eventide not a
human
approached the hut.
These hut-dwellers must be curious
they
leave
folks, she
thought
people
everything
unlocked;
evil-disposed
might
steal everything.
On
the
way back
she met some charcoal burners, and
little
asked them about the lonely
the forest.
house
in the
midst of
Three of the four pretended not to under-
stand
:
they did not remember ever seeing such a house,
they said.
The
fourth, however, told the lady in reply
that in that house dwelt
"Dracu"
—the
Devil.
This only made Henrietta more than ever curious.
She asked the
priest about
it,
and even he was inclined
392
Poor Plutocrats
to be evasive.
it
He
At
evidently either
or was casting about in his
last
explanation.
he said
knew nothing about mind for some plausible that rumor had it that a
huntsman's family had either been murdered or had committed suicide there, and ever since nobody dw^elling in
the district could be persuaded to cross
its
threshold, let
alone steal anything out of
it;
they would not even take
shelter there during a storm, for they believed that
evil spirit
an
dwelt there.
Henrietta, however, did not believe in these invisible
evil spirits.
The
evil spirits
she was acquainted with
all
w^ent about in dress clothes
phere of
The atmosmystery and enchantment, which made the little
and surtouts.
house uninhabitable, only stimulated her fancy.
termined to discover whether
or not.
it
She de-
was
really uninhabited
Accordingly,
when
she entered the house for the third
time, she plucked a wild rose
into the pitcher of water
and threw one of
table, a
its
buds
on the
second on the
fifth
bearskin coverlet of the bed, and a third, fourth, and
she stuck into the barrels of the muskets hanging up in
the armor-room.
When now
of
she visited the lonely house for the fourth
time, she looked for the rosebuds,
and could not
find
one
them
in the places
where she had put them.
Conse-
quently there must needs be some one
bed,
who
slept in the
drank the fresh water from the
thirst for
pitcher,
and used
to inquire
the firearms.
Her
knowledge now induced her
393
Poor Plutocrats
of her husband concerning this Httle dwelling, and he, then and there, elucidated the mystery.
It
was
quite true that a lonely inhabitant of this house
there, that the
had once been murdered
believed
it
common
people
to be haunted,
its
and that consequently not one
of
them would cross
threshold at any price either by
old landed proprietor
day or by night.
those parts, and
An
was
from the
mining town of X., who owned a small
at the
strip of forest in
same time an
this
enthusiastic
huntsman, had taken advantage of
tion to
popular supersti-
buy
this little
house for a mere song.
He
used
it
as a hunting lodge.
He
could not afford to keep a huntsit,
man
and
of his
it
own
to look after
and knowing that
if
he
it
locked
up thieves would most probably break into
he
left
it
steal everything,
the doors wide open,
as uncanny.
and
every one instantly avoided
The reason
most of
night
his
Henrietta never met him was that this old gentleman
was
a
government
official,
who had
to live
time in the town of Klausenburg, but whenever he was
not hunting here, he was out in the forests
all
till
dawn, when he turned into the
little
house for a nap, and
was
off
again before the afternoon; and so Henrietta,
who
regularly visited the hut in the afternoon, naturally
never encountered him.
Leonard even named the old gentleman's name, and
then Henrietta remembered meeting him at the evening
receptions at Klausenburg.
his wife never to
Leonard, however, warned
in the presence of
mention the matter
if
the old gentleman in question
she should ever meet
394
Poor Plutocrats
him, for he had sundry relations with poachers and other
people of that sort.
The
fact
was
his
own
strip of forest tres-
was not
ver}^ large,
and therefore he very frequently
passed on Leonard's property in pursuit of game.
The
old gentleman was, therefore, very desirous to keep his
passion for the chase a secret, especially as his relations
with Leonard were none of the best.
After that Henrietta had visited the
little
forest house
it
no more.
eyes of
all
This prosaic explanation had robbed
its
in her
it
mysterious interest, nor did she think
becoming
to enter a
house whose owner was not on very
good terms with her husband.
Only now did the
recol-
lection of the little forest dwelling recur to her,
and
in
the terror of her soul she began to regard the
little
moss-
covered hut, whose doors stood open night and day, as a
possible asylum.
It
was the only
place
where she could
her,
take refuge, the only place where she had no need to
fear spies, where
nobody would look for
hiding, and
where she
might remain
either return
in
from whence she might
home
there
or wander farther out into the world
according as fate was kind or unkind to her.
At night
forest.
It
would be nobody
in the little house,
for the enthusiastic old hunter
would be stalking the
might
But even
she were
was keep him away
to
also possible that his official duties
for days together.
if
meet him, why should she be afraid of the eccentric
old
man?
protector,
to
Would she not rather who would conduct her
find in
him
a natural
out of the mountains
Klausenburg or Banfi-Hunyad, from whence she would
395
Poor Plutocrats
make her way
aunt's house?
to Pesth,
and there seek a refuge
in
her
She did not think twice about
follow.
to take a
it,
but accepted the idea
it
as a Heaven-sent inspiration, which
was her duty
to
She put on a shawl, as
walk
in the moonlight,
if
she were only going
and descended into the
park, accompanied by the gardener's daughter,
whom
she
had bribed
to help her to escape.
The
girl
succeeded in
in
hoodwinking the men-servants by dressing herself up
a mantle of her mistress's, pretending she
would have
supper out in the park, as the night was so fine and warm,
so that by the time the fraud was discovered and the
alarm given Henrietta had had a
start of several hours;
and although the men, fearful of the anger of
their
master when he should return and find his wife flown,
searched in every direction with lighted torches, they were
unable to discover a trace of the missing lady.
Terror lends strength to the most
Henrietta was so
feeble.
Ordinarily
as she could
after a
weak
that
it
was
as
much
do
to
promenade through the park.
But to-day,
two hours' run over stones and through
bushes at midnight, she
the top of a
hill
still
briers
and
did not feel weary.
From
see the
she looked back.
She could
still
it
tower of the castle of
blue
Hidvár
in the valley, but
looked
through the mist in the distance, and then she
hastened
down
into the valley,
whose
steep overhanging
sides hid her even
from the moonlight.
noiseless, the forest dark.
The night was
again a
Now
and
humming
night-beetle circled round
and round
396
;
Poor Plutocrats
her,
and obstinately pursued
her,
as
if
he also was
a spy sent after her.
violently.
The poor
thing's heart throbbed
What
if
she had lost her
way?
What
Yet
if
she
fell
into the
hands of the robbers,
whom
they were
still
now
actually pursuing through the
woods?
greater was her terror of Hidvár, and a hundred times more homelike was the dreadful forest, with its giant
trees speaking in their sleep, than the tapestried walls of
the castle of Hidvár.
Suddenly a glade opened up before her, which seemed
to greet her as
an old acquaintance.
Yes, indeed, there were the wild roses which she had
so often plucked to adorn her hat.
The hunting lodge
could not be far off now.
It
conceals itself to the right
of the rose bushes beneath a lofty birch.
A
few moments
later she
found herself outside
its
door.
As
she laid her hand on the latch, a thought of terror
transfixed her.
What
if
the door should be locked?
But she had only
her fears to
fastened.
flight.
to press the latch in order to put all
The door
this
time also was not
Standing on the threshold, she inquired with a trembling voice: 'Ts anybody in?"
No
answer.
closed the door behind her, and opened the
Then she
door of the second room.
to her inquiry.
There also nobody responded
room was also open as usual nay, even one of its windows was opened toward the orchard. Moreover, everything was in its proper place
third
The
397
!
Poor Plutocrats
just as she
had always found
it
—
the weapons, the bear-
skin coverlet, and the water pitcher.
It
occurred to Henrietta to close the door from the
so that
slept.
inside,
nobody might come upon her unawares
But then the thought also struck her
right to lock the old gentleman out of his
while she
that
it
was not
own
house, especially as he might turn up in the early
morning, tired out and half frozen.
decided to stay up for him, in
as he arrived that she
So she ultimately order to tell him as soon
from
But
meant
try
to obtain a separation
her husband, whose conduct she could no longer endure.
Till then she
would
hard not to go to
sleep.
she
was
tired to death
from her long run through the
at last to
;
forest,
and was obliged
throw herself on the
bearskin coverlet to rest
all
and gradually sleep overcame
her anguish,
all
her terror.
She might have slept for about a half-hour, a restless, phantom-haunted sleep at best, when she suddenly awoke.
It
seemed to her as
if
she had heard a distant cry.
it
Perhaps she had only imagined she had heard
awful, and what she fancied she had heard
rible, that
it
in
her
slumbers, and perhaps what she had dreamed was so
was so
ter-
had awakened
her.
She began
light
to listen attentively.
After midnight every
sound seems so loud.
in the great stillness that she
She fancied
could hear
rapidly approaching footsteps.
Again
cry of a
a cry
!
like the cry of a
hunted beast,
like the
wounded wolf
398
—
Poor Plutocrats
She was not dreaming now, she could hear it plainly. She saw where she was. The moonlight was streaming
through the window
rooms.
Suddenly,
;
she could see to the end of
all
three
whence the
window overlooking the garden, moonbeams streamed in, a black shape apat
the
peared, which obscured the moonlight for an instant.
This shape leaped through the window, and, panting
hard, rushed through the
two rooms
into the third,
where
the arms stood.
Henrietta saw
sobs,
It
it fly
past her bed, she heard
it.
its
panting
and
— recognized
was Fatia Negra! This was Fatia Negra's house! this was not all. Close upon the traces of Fatia Negra rushed another phantom with a drawn sword in its hand, but its face was toward her, and she recognized in it Szilárd Vámhidy.
And
And
yet she did not lose her consciousness at this
it
double sight of terror, though
better for her
if
would have been much
she had.
into
Fatia
Negra plunged
from the
the
armory and plucked
down
a pistol
wall.
Szilárd paused on the threshold.
"Halt!" cried Fatia Negra with a voice
"this
is
like
a scream;
my
house and your tomb.'*
Szilárd did not reply, but
"Sir, but
drew
a step nearer.
in a fainter
one word more," said Fatia Negra
voice and so hoarsely as to be scarcely audible;
"you have
life is
wounded me, you have run me down; but your
399
Poor Plutocrats
now
had
in
a
my
hands, and
to.
I
could
kill
you
:
this instant if I
mind
Let us bargain a
bit
I
won't
kill
you
if
you
will not
pursue
me any
I
farther.
You
you
return and say
you could not catch me.
I will
swear
to
that
to-morrow
send you twenty thousand ducats."
coldness Szilárd replied: "Surren-
With contemptuous
der;
I will
not bargain."
*'You won't bargain, you crushed
worm
you!
The
I
muzzle of
my
pistol is
on
a level with
your forehead.
out with
have only
shattered
to press
my
finger
and your head would be
it
—and yet you dare to have
to save
me? Do
you want
"I
your head?"
mean
to
have yours," said Szilárd, and he drew a
step nearer to the adventurer.
"My
At
figure
head, eh?
Ha,
it
ha,
!
ha!
You would
it,
have
it,
would you, and have
that
here
Take
then
!"
moment
a piercing shriek startled the
two
deadly antagonists, and in the adjoining room a white
fell
prone upon the
floor.
The next moment
there
was
a loud report,
and Fatia
Negra fell At the very moment when he had laughed aloud and cried "Take it, then!" he had suddenly put the mouth of the pistol into his own mouth and fired it off. The heavy
charge blew his^head to
bits
;
back lifeless on the bearskin carpet.
Szilárd
felt
a
warm
red rain
showering down upon him.
So Fatia Negra after all did not give up his head, the pistol shot had annihilated it. And nobody ever knew who Fatia Negra really was.
400
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER
XXIII
THE ACCOMMODATION
John Lapussa had informed Mr. Sipos that he wanted to see him, and
for the seventh time
It was
now
the seventh time that Mr.
word was
sent back that the lawyer
could not come.
not say.
that the
Why
could he not come?
They could
was delivered to the effect lawyer could not come either that day, or the
Finally a message
next, or indeed
on any other day
in the
whole year.
In
a word, Mr. Sipos declined to have anything
more
to
do
with the Lapussa family or
its affairs.
Their transactions
were not
at all to his taste.
So, as Mr, Sipos would not appear at the
summons
of
Mr. John Lapussa, Mr. John Lapussa must needs upon Mr. Sipos.
call
He was
wearing mourning in
his hat
and
tried
hard to
lend his face a funereal appearance also.
"Have you heard
the
news?" he asked.
Mr. Sipos had heard nothing.
"Don't you see the mourning in
poor
niece,
my
hat?
Alas!
my
unhappy Henrietta!"
"Well, what has happened ?"
"Hátszegi has been drowned in the Maros."
"Impossible, he
was
a first-rate
swimmer."
401
Poor Plutocrats
"His horse ran away with him he had
;
lost all control
over
it.
When
he saw that the horse was determined to
plunge into the river from the high bank, he tried to
spring out of the saddle, but his spur unfortunately caught
in the stirrups,
and the horse dragged him down with
There
in the full stream,
it
into the water.
with his head
with him to
it,
downward and
his legs in the air,
he vainly attempted to
extricate himself.
The
frantic horse
swam
the opposite shore, dragging the poor wretch after
and before the opposite bank was reached,
so shattered that
tures.
It is
it
his
head was
was impossible
to recognize his fea-
now
!
a
ily vault at Hidvár.
left
week since they buried him in the famPoor Henrietta So young to be
!
a
widow
And
to have lost so
handsome, so beloved
Really lamentable!"
a husband through so sad a death!
'M
wonder what
the rascal
is
after
now," thought Mr.
If
Sipos.
"My
am
heart really
is
breaking for her!
only there
us.
I
were not these unhappy money differences between
not a tiger.
My
heart
is
not
made
tell
of stone.
I
Perhaps
have half
you don't believe me!
Let
me
you that
resolved, despite the old gentleman's will, to transfer to
my
niece, Henrietta, the
its
Kerekedar property."
its
"Because
expenses are greater than
revenue, I
presume?"
"None of your poor witticisms, sir. I am ready to make any sacrifices to oblige my relatives. The world misjudges me. They call me greedy and avaricious if
;
only they could look into
my
heart
!"
402
Poor Plutocrats
"What you have done
to
at the case of
hitherto,
sir,
does not testify
instance, look
for
any great regard for your
relatives.
For
my
client,
young Koloman
—
you know
that
Vámhidy
what
has instructed
tricks
me
to act for him. to fasten
What
intrigues,
were employed
!
upon him
the suspicion of forgery
Nobody knows
you
that,
I
that better than
you,
sir.
And
let
me
tell
although
my young
no
client is
nothing but a strolling player,
shall spare
pains to thoroughly vindicate his
good name, and you,
will be
with
all
your wealth and property,
unable to affect
the issue one jot."
Mr. John pondered for a moment.
"Look
to
here," said he at
suit
I
last,
fire.
"let us pitch the
I
whole
of
confounded
propose.
into
the
have a compromise
I
candidly
bill
confess
is
am
will
in
a
bit
a hole.
That
it
business
now
it
before the courts,
and when
rible
comes on for
wish
I
trial
cause a hor-
scandal,
I
and people have condemned had
never
me
before-
hand.
in it."
only
mixed myself up
!"
"Suppose
and
I
help
you out of the
difficulty
"In that case you
I will
may
way
dictate
your
own
conditions,
consent to them beforehand."
is
"There
only one
bill is
to save you.
is
Henrietta must
say that the
not forged, but
really signed
by
her,
and she must then pay and cancel
tion of a charge against
it,
then every founda-
you vanishes."
hear your conditions."
"A
seat.
sublime idea," cried Mr. John, springing from his
"And now
let
me
403
Poor Plutocrats
"My
only condition
is
complete satisfaction to be
made
to the children of your second sister."
"What! surrender
a whole third of the property to
them without any deduction?"
"We
will accept nothing less."
I
"What must
"First,
florins."
do
first,
then ?"
you must pay the baroness forty thousand
florins!
"Forty thousand
"In order that she
Why?" may meet the bill
as soon as she has
acknowledged her signature."
"Well, and what next?"
"You must
sign deeds whereby you undertake to sur-
render to the children of your late sister the estates of
Zoldhalom and Orökvar bequeathed to them by your
father."
"Why,
they are the best paying properties of
all."
"Then pay them the value of the estates in cash." "That would seriously inconvenience me." "Then make over your houses in Vienna and Pesth."
"I can not find
it
in
my
heart to part with them."
"Then propose some other expedient." "Very well, I will. Give me till to-morrow
over."
to think
it
And
leave.
with that Mr. John put on his hat and took his
The following day the lawyer awaited him in vain; then he waited for him a whole fortnight, but Mr. John never came near him. Then he went to the courts to find
404
Poor Plutocrats
out what was being done, and there he learned, to his
astonishment,
that
the
declaration
of
the
Baroness
Hátszegi, acknowledging the genuineness of her signature to the
bill,
had already arrived.
this
:
What had happened was
had got Sipos's opinion
to
As soon
as
Mr. John
gratis,
he quickly traveled post
his niece over the busi-
Hidvár and had a chat with
ness.
The poor lady was
so utterly crushed by her mis-
mind steadily on anything, and was a mere tool in his hands. She accepted what did it the properties offered to her by her uncle
fortunes that she could scarce fix her
—
matter to her
in!
now how much
bill
or
how
little
they brought
—and
gave an acknowledgment
in
writing that the
signature to the
was her own.
not very
Mr.
vSipos
was, therefore,
much
surprised
when one day he
ess's
received a commission from the baron-
agent to pay over the forty thousand florins in ques-
tion to a financial agent at Pesth.
rattling
good
profit out of the transaction,
in return for her generosity,
had
to
So Mr. John made a and Henrietta, pay up in cash, as Mr.
all
Sipos had shrewdly anticipated she would have to do
along.
But
it
was
all
one to Henrietta.
405
Poor Plutocrats
CHAPTER XXIV
CONCLUSION
Meanwhile
the long-drawn-out process between Mr.
John and his sister, Madame Langai, continued its course. There was no thought of a compromise between the parties.
Madame Langai expended
so
much
of her private
means
left
in the action that nearly the
whole of the proi^erty
her by her husband went in costs.
She could now
neither keep her coach nor live in a large house.
She
cooped herself up
in a couple of small
rooms, visited
nobody, and wore dresses that had been out of fashion
for at least four years
—and
all
to be able to carry
on
the action.
It
was ten years before the suit came to an end. Mr. John lost it, and a fearful blow it was to him,
sister
It is
for
he had to pay out a million to his
further delay.
true he
without any
left
had as
much again
for
himself, but to be the possessor of only a single million
is,
nevertheless, a fearful thought to
any one who has
disturbed
hitherto been the possessor of
two
millions.
it
The poor
plutocrat
!
How
deeply
him to
be obliged to pay his only
sister
her due portion!
How
the constant thought that he
was now
only half as rich
406
!
Poor Plutocrats
as he had been before
plutocrat
gnawed
his Hfe
away
!
Poor, poor
Szilárd had a brilliant career
—a career extending
He
far
beyond the horizon of
ried.
this simple story.
never mar-
Count Kengyelesy quizzed him often enough, and was continually asking him why he did not try his luck again with his former ideal now that she had become a widow. All such questions, however, he used to evade
in a
corresponding tone of jocularity.
But once when
Kengyelesy inquired seriously why he never approached
Baroness Hátszegi, and at the same time reproached him
for his
want of
feeling in so obstinately keeping out of
:
the poor lady's way, Szilárd replied
"I
am
not one of
those
who
can be thrown away to-day and picked up
again to-morrow."
After
that
the
count
never
mentioned
Henrietta's
name
in
Szilard's
presence
again
—and
who knows
whether there was not some impediment between these
two, from which no sacrament could absolve them.
Who
knows whether it might not after all have been as well for Vámhidy to avoid any meeting whatever with the widow of the late Baron Hátszegi? Yet it was she who was, in any case, the most wretched of them all. Although only six and twenty, she could already be called an old woman. She was the victim of her shattered nerves night and day. The least noise made her tremble. The opening of a door was sufficient to make her start up. When she was only four and twenty
—
she had already given up plucking out her gray hairs,
407
!
Poor Plutocrats
there were so
many
of them.
She found no relaxation
at
in the society of her fellows, and, therefore, avoided all
social gatherings.
Most of her time she spent
home,
sitting all
by herself in the remotest chamber of the house,
half of
asclepias
it
whose wall was by this time overgrown by the which Szilárd had given her ages ago or so
—
seemed to
her.
This was the only one of her acquaintit
ances which had not forsaken her, and luckily for her
was tenacious of
life,
for
if
that too
had perished, with
in the
still
whom
So
could poor Henrietta have held converse ?
there
was
at least
one confidant
world to
whom
this possessor of millions could
impart her
reminiscences and her sorrows.
Poor
!
rich lady, all the
poorer because of her great wealth
Poor plutocrat
408
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