_IMPRISONED AT ARAD._
Von Theyer met me at the inn door, but he was busy giving orders that a
detachment of troops should mount and scour the district.
Candles and flaring torches burned in the kitchen, and by their light I
saw three men, all badly wounded, lying side by side.
At the farther end of the apartment lay Ober, and the hussars pulled and
hustled me towards his body.
Poor fellow! He was quite dead, and close by I saw the keen blade, now
stained with blood, that had slain him.
His comrades uttered loud threats of vengeance, and one man, pressing
the muzzle of his pistol against my forehead, swore he would shoot me.
Another pulled him back, saying he might safely leave me to the colonel,
who would not fail to avenge the dead hussar.
For myself, I was in a state of utter bewilderment, and looked at the
brawny, rough-voiced men like a dazed child.
The long-continued excitement and the dramatic close of the incident had
for the time clouded my brain, and, beyond the fact that Ober was dead,
I grasped nothing clearly.
Then above the babel of sounds I heard a voice ordering in tones of
command that my arms should be bound afresh.
This the men did very willingly, and in their anger they tied the knots
so tightly that the pain almost caused me to faint.
Then two of them led me into the next room, where Von Theyer sat, with a
pair of pistols on the table beside him.
"That will do," he exclaimed harshly. "Leave him there. Now go outside
and wait. Don't be frightened if you hear the report of a pistol. I'm
in no danger."
The men saluted and withdrew, leaving me facing their colonel.
At the sight of that face with the hideous scar my senses and my manhood
returned to me. I remembered that I came of a race of Magyar nobles,
and resolved to show myself worthy to bear their name.
"George Botskay, once a so-called captain in the rebel army, but now an
associate of thieves and murderers, I demand to know the name of the
villain by whose aid you have stabbed an unoffending man to death."
At this implied accusation of a cowardly crime my face flushed, and I
cried hotly,--
"I throw the lie in your teeth, Colonel von Theyer. My hands are free
from innocent blood, as you well know, though it may suit your purpose
to declare otherwise."
Von Theyer laughed, and his lips assumed a cruel curve that was not
pleasant to see.
"You are right," said he coldly. "It does suit my purpose. Can you
guess why I did not hang you by the side of your friend Count Beula? I
had another plan, and this night's work has made its success certain.
Look at me, George Botskay, and see for what I have to thank you. In
Vienna you worked me harm enough, but this, this--" And he half choked
as he laid his hand on his scarred cheek.
"I am truly sorry for your disfigurement," I replied, "but it happened
in the heat of battle and with no malice on my part."
"Perhaps when I have made you suffer I shall be sorry too," he said
flippantly. "We shall see. I could hang you now--your life is forfeit
to the laws; but that is not my wish. I am going to brand your name, so
that it shall be carried to Vienna as the name of a common thief and
assassin. I will make the Austrian government your judge and your
executioner. When you have been publicly disgraced and hung, Fraeulein
Theresa may not be quite so proud of her Hungarian friend."
"You are a coward and a scoundrel," I cried contemptuously, "and may do
as you please;" but for all my brave words the barbed shaft had struck
home.
Von Theyer saw this, and was beginning to laugh, when he caught sight of
the locket, which showed through my disordered apparel.
Apparently he recognized it, as he sprang forward to remove it; and then
he saw the baron's ring.
"Oh, oh!" he cried; "this is famous! So you have been robbing the dead!
I think this will add an extra spice to my revenge."
Dragging the ring from my finger, he called his men to take me away and
guard me closely.
By this time day was breaking; and the soldiers, unable to sleep, got
ready their morning meal.
As no one offered me any, I went without, which was not an agreeable
method of beginning the day.
However, they gave me plenty of rope instead, and I was firmly fastened
on Ober's horse, while two men with levelled pistols rode one on either
side of me.
The detachment sent out during the night met us a few miles from the
village, and the officer reported they had been unable to find any trace
of the mysterious stranger.
Talking amongst themselves, the hussars declared that the daring
intruder must have been Batori Gabor, and I held that opinion too.
Rakoczy was a prisoner, and Mecsey Sandor far away, so that unless one
of the disbanded soldiers had performed the deed, the robber-captain was
the only person left to suspect.
However, the scheme had failed, and I was more strongly guarded than
before.
Von Theyer gave the strictest orders to the two troopers, one of whom
was Franz, the comrade of the dead Ober.
This man eyed me most maliciously, and I felt sure he would be a
splendid tool in furthering the colonel's scheme.
From boyhood, riding had been one of my chief pleasures; but this new
style, tied hand and foot and bound to a horse's back, was a novelty I
did not appreciate.
Towards noon we halted beside a pleasant stream, a tributary of the
Maros; and having attended to the animals, the men sat down to their
frugal dinner.
Now, since there is no satisfaction to be obtained in hanging a dead
man, Von Theyer was compelled to give me some food; and this, with the
temporary freedom of my arms, was a great relief.
Having finished their black bread and cheese, most of the men began to
smoke. Some rolled out their greatcoats and went to sleep, while others
played strange games with packs of well-thumbed cards.
The halt lasted perhaps two hours, when the bugles sounded, and we were
again in motion.
By this time Von Theyer had evidently abandoned all hope of catching the
robbers, as we rode at a sober pace, and finished the day's march long
before sunset.
Our new quarters were in a fair-sized village, and I was rather amused
by the precautions taken to ensure my safety.
Six men were placed in the same room, and a sentry was posted outside
the door.
If any accident occurred during the night, the colonel promised to hang
them all without exception; and as Von Theyer was a man of his word, the
troopers regarded his threat with respect.
Poor fellows! In spite of my own risky position I pitied them; they
were like men suffering from a bad form of nightmare.
After a meagre supper, quickly dispatched, my arms were rebound, and I
was bundled into a corner, the sergeant in charge of the guard warning
me not to move, which was rather unnecessary advice.
Two of the hussars stood over me with drawn swords, the others sat on a
bench waiting for their spell of duty. I don't think any of them went to
sleep.
About midnight Von Theyer himself paid us a visit; and the guard,
springing to their feet, presented arms.
He glanced round the room with an approving smile, and said,--
"Well, sergeant, I think your prisoner will have small chance of
stabbing any one to-night."
The sergeant smiled at the compliment to his vigilance, and the colonel
came over to my corner.
Not caring to bandy words with him before his men, I closed my eyes,
pretending to be asleep, and after a minute or two he went away.
The night passed wearily enough, for although I managed to sleep, my
rest was broken by feverish dreams, and I gladly welcomed the coming of
another day.
For some reason unknown to me we did not set out till ten o'clock; and
when, after an uneventful journey, we rode into the town of Arad, the
autumn afternoon was fast blending into evening.
The inhabitants of the old market-town swarmed out to see the Austrian
cavalry, and many glances of compassion and pity were directed on the
bound and helpless prisoner in their midst.
A few expressed their sympathy audibly, but for the most part men,
women, and children stood mournful indeed but silent.
Alas! the glory of the Magyar had departed. Henceforth my unhappy
countrymen must bend beneath the whips of their Austrian masters.
Once we were startled by a mocking laugh from some one in the crowd, and
Von Theyer frowned angrily as a clear voice sang out, "Let the colonel
look to his guards. 'Twill be his turn next."
The Austrian dashed towards the spot whence the words came, but he met
only the innocent faces of terrified people, and for very shame's sake
he dared not punish them.
The voice roused me, for it was that of the man who had slain Ober in
the kitchen of the inn; and now I knew the daring intruder had been
Batori, the robber-captain.
Others also guessed the secret, and Franz riding up to the colonel
whispered something in his ear.
Immediately the troopers were ordered to disperse, and in small parties
to search every nook and cranny in both the old and the new town.
Meanwhile Von Theyer, with half a dozen men who acted as my escort, rode
to the bridge which spans one arm of the Maros, and connects Arad with
the spit of land on which the fortress is built.
The last time I had passed that way the red, white, and green stripes
waved proudly from the ramparts. Now the black and yellow flag hung
from the walls--an outward and visible sign of our defeat.
A group of citizens stood on the river-bank to watch us go past, and my
heart gave a great leap as I recognized amongst them the faithful Mecsey
Sandor.
He had discarded his uniform, and was dressed in civilian costume,
though he could not altogether disguise his military carriage.
His eyes looked straight into mine, and by a kind of dumb show he made
me understand that Rakoczy was confined in Gros-Wardein.
Then our little cavalcade swept by, the gates were thrown open, and we
passed behind the frowning walls of the fortress.
Here Von Theyer left us, and I soon received ample proof of how
effectually he had blackened my character to the governor.
Instead of being treated as an honourable though beaten enemy, I was
roughly thrust into a small, dark cell, bare of furniture, and left to
my own reflections till the morning, when a jailer, attended by several
soldiers, brought me some food and untied my bonds.
For this last attention I was extremely grateful, and ate my lump of dry
black bread in an almost cheerful spirit.
But as day followed day without change, the gloom and monotony oppressed
me like a heavy weight. I grew moody and depressed, and in spite of a
hard struggle was gradually driven to look upon the dark side of things.
No news of any kind came to me in my narrow prison. The jailer refused
to answer a question, saying the only matter I need trouble about was
the date of my execution.
At first I dreamed of making my escape, but this idea was soon
abandoned, as I saw how hopeless any attempt must be.
The cell door was of iron, the walls were strong and massive, and I had
not so much as a nail to work with.
Almost my sole dependence lay in Mecsey Sandor, yet what he could do I
could not imagine.
However, I tried hard not to despair, and resolved, if need be, to meet
my fate bravely.
In this manner more than a fortnight passed, when one morning, about two
hours after my breakfast of black bread and water, I was surprised to
hear the tramp of marching feet, which stopped opposite my cell.
The key turned in the massive lock, the door opened, and I was harshly
ordered to step outside.
A number of soldiers with bayonets fixed waited. I was placed in the
midst of them and hurried away.
These men belonged to an infantry regiment, and were strangers to me,
but it was plain they had formed a very unfavourable opinion of my
character.
Crossing the square, they halted in front of a low door, and the officer
in command of the party signed to me to follow him.
An antechamber was filled with soldiers, fully armed and standing at
attention, while their faces were about as human as chiselled stone.
Passing through, we entered a second apartment, where a dozen officers
were seated round a baize-covered table littered with writing material.
Recognizing that these men held my life in their hands, I looked at them
eagerly.
The president's chair was occupied by a tall old man with
slightly-stooping shoulders, scanty white hair, and long, drooping,
white moustaches.
His face was bronzed, and his breast covered with numerous ribbons and
medals, but his blue eyes were rather dreamy, and I thought he had much
ado to keep himself awake.
The officers who flanked him on either side of the table were of various
ages, and belonged to different branches of the service, but they all
sat as immovable as statues.
The silence was so weird and oppressive that I welcomed the sound of the
president's voice when he began the proceedings by asking my name.
"George Botskay," I proudly answered.
"Captain in the rebel army?" he went on, reading from a slip of paper.
"Captain on the staff of General Goergei, commander-in-chief of the
Hungarian national forces," I replied.
One of the stone griffins started into life at this, but the president
petrified him again by a wave of the hand.
"Why did you not surrender with your leader?"
"Because I was absent on special duty."
"It is stated here," said he, tapping the paper, "that you were at
Vilagos on the thirteenth of August."
"I was, but not with the army."
The other stone men showed signs of life now, and the old warrior
continued his examination.
"Was it not your duty, as a soldier of honour, to obey your chief's
orders, and to give yourself up to the proper authorities?"
"That view of the question did not strike me," I answered, and quite
honestly too. "I was not with the army, and therefore did not consider
myself included in the surrender."
"You preferred instead to join the band of a notorious robber?"
"That is false," I cried--"utterly false!"
The president, though he did not look like a merciful man, was
exceedingly polite.
"I am afraid," he said, "that the facts are against you. Colonel von
Theyer, one of our best officers--"
"A rebel turncoat," I interrupted angrily.
"I do not think, Herr Botskay, that abuse of a trusted officer will do
your case any good. His report expressly states that you were
discovered with this band of robbers. Do you deny the truth of the
charge?"
"I cannot; but my being there was the result of blind chance."
The griffins actually smiled, which convinced me I was getting deeper
into the mire, and that feeling was not lessened when the president said
softly, "An unlucky chance for you, Herr Botskay, I fear."
"It is the truth for all that," I said stoutly.
"Did Count Beula meet the robbers by accident also?"
"I cannot say. I know nothing of him."
"Here again my information differs from your statement. The count was
well known as an abettor of the massacres in Vienna, and it is laid down
here that you were in personal communication with him at the beginning
of the insurrection. Is that so?"
The ground seemed to be slipping from under me.
"Count Beula was never a friend of mine," I said.
"One does not always make a friend of an accomplice," replied the
president suavely. "But here is another question. Is it true that on
any single occasion you attended a meeting of the Hungarian Committee?"
"That is easily explained," I began. "When--"
"Pardon me, general," interrupted one of my judges, "but I should like
the prisoner to give a direct answer--yes or no--to the question. It is
a simple matter. Did he or did he not, in October of 1848, attend a
meeting of the Hungarian Committee?"
"If you will not allow me to explain, I shall refuse to answer at all,"
I exclaimed.
"Then," said the man who had spoken, "we shall be forced to draw our own
conclusions;" and he sat down very red, but triumphant, amid a hum of
approval.
"There is one other matter on which you might like to say a word,"
remarked the president blandly, "and that is the doing to death of the
trooper Ober."
To this I replied that the unfortunate man had not met his death at my
hands, nor was I in any way responsible for the striking of the fatal
blow.
Here again I was confronted by further proof of how finely my enemy had
woven the meshes of my net.
According to the sworn evidence of the man Franz, he had seen the knife
in my hand, and he had also seen me stab the hapless trooper to the
heart.
On the evidence supplied to them my judges could so easily find me
guilty of almost any crime that I took little interest in the rest of
the proceedings.
Von Theyer had made such a skilful blend of fact and fiction that his
story had all the appearance of unadulterated truth. On one point alone
he had not fulfilled his threat; there was no allusion to the ring and
miniature of the dead baron.
I believe the president did mention vaguely some other charges, but as I
could not be shot or hung twice over, these did not much matter.
When he had finished his speech I bowed courteously, saluted the
officers in military fashion, and followed the leader of the escort from
the room.
Once again I was placed in the midst of the soldiers, and marched back
to my cell, where they left me without a word. I sat down on the wooden
bench which was my sole article of furniture, and tried to think over my
position.
It seemed gloomy and hopeless enough, and turn which way I would, the
only outlook was towards the scaffold.
As far as I could understand, the Austrians claimed the right to hang me
on either of two grounds--the refusal to surrender with Goergei at
Vilagos, and the fact that I was caught in the company of a notorious
band of robbers.
The other points, such as my acquaintance with Count Beula and the
slaying of the hussar, were mere garnishings, added by the wily Von
Theyer to prejudice my judges, and prevent them tempering justice by
mercy.
In this there could be no doubt he succeeded perfectly, and I felt
certain that whatever I might put forward in my defence would prove of
no avail.
Indeed it was likely enough my sentence had already been pronounced, and
that at any moment I might be led out to execution. Every sound which
reached my ears startled me, and a dozen times I stood up trying to calm
the beatings of my heart.
But the day passed, and at night the jailer brought my black bread and
water, and went away again as usual without saying a word. I ate and
drank feverishly, and then lay down on the narrow bench wondering what
would happen before the next setting of the sun. Very slowly and
wearily the dark hours crawled along, until, utterly worn out, I fell
asleep, to be awakened, it seemed almost immediately, by the rattling of
keys and the creaking of the iron door. In an instant I sprang to my
feet, and waited with taut-strung nerves for the final ordeal.
My visitor was the jailer, and as he placed my breakfast on the ground,
I burst into a peal of hysterical laughter.