Just as a hard stone emits sparks when it is struck, so Beldi turned suddenly upon the Vizier and said, shaking his chains, "Thine hour will also strike!"

Then he suffered them to lead him away to prison.

Immediately afterwards, the Grand Vizier sent for the envoys of the Prince, and commending them and those who sent them, gave each of them a new caftan, and with the most gracious a.s.surances sent them back to their native land, where nevertheless Master Farkas Bethlen had never been accounted a very great orator.

In the gates of the Seraglio the dismissed envoys encountered Master Ladislaus Csaky. The worthy gentleman at once perceived from their self-satisfied smiles and the new caftans they were wearing that they had been sent away with a favourable reply; whereupon, notwithstanding that he had already agreed with Paul Beldi to render homage to the French and German Ministers, he did not consider it superfluous to pay his court to Master Farkas Bethlen also, and offer to surrender himself body and soul if the Prince would agree to pardon him and restore his estates.

Farkas Bethlen accepted the proposal and not only promised Csaky an amnesty, but high office to boot if he would separate from Beldi; nay, he rewarded on the spot that gentleman who had thus very wisely fastened the threads of his fate to four several places at the same time, so that if one of them broke he could still hold on to the other three.

"Beldi has ruined his affairs utterly," said Kucsuk Pasha to his son, as they retired from the Divan; "I give up every idea of saving him."

"I don't," sighed Feriz. "I'll either save or perish with him."

"Let us go to Maurocordato, he may perhaps advise us."

After an hour's interview with Maurocordato, Feriz Beg, with fifty armed Albanian hors.e.m.e.n, took the road towards Grosswardein.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE TURKISH DEATH.

In the gate of the Pasha of Grosswardein, amidst the gaping throng of armed retainers there, could be seen a pale wizened Moslem idly sprawling on the threshold, apparently regardless of everything, but sometimes looking up, cat-like, with half-shut, dreamy eyes, and at such times he would smile craftily to himself.

Suddenly a handsome, chivalrous youth galloped out of the gate before whom the soldiers bowed down to the earth; this was the Pasha's favourite horseman, Feriz Beg, who had just arrived from Stambul.

The Beg, as if he had only by accident caught sight of the sprawling Moslem, turned towards him, tapped him on the shoulder with his lance, and while the latter, feigning ignorance and astonishment, gazed up at him, he drew nearer to him and said:

"What Zulfikar! dost thou not recognise me?"

The person so addressed bowed himself to the earth.

"Allah is gracious! By the soul of the Prophet, is it thou, gracious sir?" and with that he got up and began walking by the side of the horse of the Beg, who beckoned him to follow.

"I have lost a good deal of money and a good many horses over the dice-box at Stambul, Zulfikar," said Feriz Beg, "so I have come into these parts to rehabilitate my purse a little. Where dost thou go a-robbing now, Zulfikar?"

"La illah, il Allah! G.o.d is gracious and Mohammed is His holy Prophet,"

said Zulfikar, rolling his eyes heavenwards.

"A truce to this piety, Zulfikar; ye renegades, with unendurable shamelessness, are always glorifying the Prophet, born Turks don't mention him half as much. What I ask thee is, where dost thou go a-plundering now of nights?"

"I thank thee, gracious sir," answered Zulfikar, making a wooden picture of his face, "my wife is quite well, and there is nothing amiss with me either."

"Zulfikar, I value in thee that peculiarity of thine which enables thee to become deaf whenever thou desirest it, but I possess a very good remedy for that evil, and if thou wilt I will cure thee of it."

Zulfikar dodged the lance which was turned in his direction, and said with a Pharisaical air:

"What does your honour deign to inquire of me?"

"Didst thou hear what I said to thee just now?"

"Dost thou mean: where I went robbing? I swear by the beard of the Prophet that I go nowhither for such a purpose."

"I know very well, thou cat, that thou goest nowhither where there is trouble, but thou dost ferret out where a fat booty lies hidden, and thou leadest our Spahis on the track of it, wherefore they give thee also a portion of it; so answer me at once whom thou art wont to visit at night, as otherwise I shall open a hole in thy head."

"But, sir, betray me not; for the Spahis would tie me to a horse's tail and the Pasha would impale me. Thou knowest that he does not allow robbery, but if it happens he looks through his fingers."

"So far from betraying thee I would go with thee, I only know one mode of getting hold of booty. While the others storm a village, I stand a little distance off at the farther end of the village; whoever has anything to save always makes for the farther end of the village, and so falls into my hands."

The renegade began to feel in his element.

"My good sir, at night the Spahis will go to elesd. There dwell rich Wallachians away from the high road. They have never had blackmail levied on them and there's lots of gold and silver there; if we get a good haul, do not betray me."

"But may we not fall in with the soldiers of Ladislaus Szekely?"

"Nay, sir," said Zulfikar, winking his eyes, "they are far from here. Do not betray thy faithful servant."

Feriz Beg put spurs to his horse and galloped off. Zulfikar sat down in the gate again, very sleepily blinking his eyes, and smiling mysteriously.

Towards evening four-and-twenty Spahis crept out of the fortress and made off in the direction of elesd. Feriz Beg kept an eye upon them, and when they had disappeared in the woods he aroused his Albanian hors.e.m.e.n and quietly went after them.

It was past midnight when Feriz Beg and his company reached the hillside covering elesd. The Spahis had already plundered the place as was evident from the distant uproar, the loud shrieks, the pealing of bells, and a couple of flaming haystacks which the mauraders had set on fire to a.s.sist their operations.

Feriz Beg posted his Albanian hors.e.m.e.n at the mouth of a narrow pa.s.s, divided them into four bands and ordered them all to remain as quiet as possible and wait patiently till the Spahis returned.

After some hours of plundering the distant tumult died away, and instead of it could be heard approaching a sound of loud wrangling. Presently, in the deep valley below, the Spahis became visible, staggering under the stolen goods, dispersed into twos and threes and quarrelling together over their booty.

Feriz Beg let them come into the narrow pa.s.s and when they were quite unsuspiciously at the height of their dispute, he suddenly blew his horn and then suddenly fell upon them from all sides with his Albanian hors.e.m.e.n, surrounded and attacked the marauders, and before they had had time to use their weapons began to cut them down. The tussle was a short one. Not one of the Albanians fell, not one of the Spahis escaped.

Feriz dried his sword and leaving the dead Spahis on the road, galloped back with his band to Grosswardein.

In the Pasha's gate he again encountered Zulfikar and, shaking his fist at him, dismounted from his horse.

"Thou dog! thou hast betrayed us to Ladislaus Szekely; the Spahis have all been cut down."

Zulfikar turned yellow with fear. It is true that he usually did something like this: when the Spahis would only promise him a small portion of the booty, he would for a few ducats extra let the Hungarian generals know of their coming, when one or two of them would bite the dust and the rest return without the booty. Last night also he had told the captain of Klausenberg of this particular adventure, but the commandant had been unable to make any use of it, for it had been the Prince's birthday, and he had been obliged to treat the soldiers.

Zulfikar felt a lump in his throat when he heard that all twenty-four of the Spahis had perished, and he immediately quitted the fortress and made his way to Klausenberg through the woods as hard as he could pelt.

Feriz Beg, however, in great wrath, paid a visit upon the Pasha.