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"Who told you to call her a princess?" demanded Count Vavel, his face darkening. "I will come to that all in good time," composedly replied Matyas, who was not to be hurried. "Colonel Pechy," he went on, "bravely defended the fortress for ten days against the Frenchmen; but he had to yield at last " "Where are Katharina and Marie?" impatiently interrupted Vavel.
The father paced hastily up and down the apartment, now and then stopping short to address his son, who stood in the embrasure of one of the windows. The latter wore the dress of the Matyas Hussars* a gray dolmany, with crimson cord; he held a crimson esako, with a tricolored cockade, in his hand. * Part of the free corps raised in 1848.
Then came the bloody days of Karako, Papa, Raab, and Acs. The militia troops took active part in all these battles, and proved themselves valiant warriors. Vavel with his Volons had been assigned to Mesko's brigade, and had shared its adventurous march from Abda, around Lake Balaton to Veszprim. Here he found his spy and scout, Master Matyas, awaiting him.
He laughed heartily, slapped Master Matyas on the shoulder, and exclaimed: "You are truly a wonderful fellow!" Then he took a roll of bank-notes from his pocket, and pressed it into Matyas's hand. "Here take these, and buy what is necessary. We will make the attempt at once." Master Matyas thrust the money into his own pocket, and darted from the room as if he had stolen it.
The father paced hastily up and down the apartment, now and then stopping short to address his son, who stood in the embrasure of one of the windows. The latter wore the dress of the Matyas Hussars a gray dolmany, with crimson cord; he held a crimson csako, with a tricolored cockade, in his hand. "Go," said the father, speaking in broken accents; "the sooner the better; let me not see you!
Vavel, therefore, would not be allowed to enter the city until the next morning; but Master Matyas, who did not stop to inquire which was the proper way when he wanted to go anywhere, knew of a little garden that belonged to a certain tanner, and very soon found an entrance along a rather circuitous route among the tan-vats.
The stranger said he had invented a cannon that would at one shot destroy fifteen hundred men. He would take no denial, but insisted that Henry should tell the Herr Count that Master Matyas had arrived. "Yes; I sent for him to come here," answered the count. "Show him up." The appearance of the man whom Henry conducted to his master's presence was certainly original.
"The vice-palatine," nonchalantly continued Matyas, "protested that a mistake had been made; but the French general replied that he knew very well who the ladies were, and that he had received instructions how to treat them. From that day, two French grenadiers began to guard the baroness's door, day and night, just exactly as if they were standing guard over a potentate."
But when the villagers questioned Master Matyas about his work at the castle, they could learn nothing from him but schemes to capture the ever-victorious Corsican. "Herr Count," one day observed Henry, toward the close of the second week, "if I hear much more of Master Matyas's wonderful battles, I shall become as crazy as he is!"
"The general's adjutant visits the house twice every day to inquire after the ladies; then he reports to his superior." "If only Cambray had not died!" ejaculated the count. "Yes, but I helped to bury him, too," added Matyas, shaking his head. "Yes, so I was told. How did you manage to get the body from behind the metal screen?" "Oh, that was easy enough.
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