The Golden Age in Transylvania Part 25

"I must be quick, my lord, I have come out of the midst of the fight.

A troop of Kurdish raiders came to Banfy-Hunyad yesterday. Your Grace's captain, Gregory Sotar, suspecting that they had come to plunder, marched against them with the hussars of the castle, engaged in conflict with them and after a short struggle drove them from the walls. Not content with that, however, he gave the signal for an attack and pursued the retreating troops in the direction of Zeutelke.

While the Kurds were fleeing before us we saw ourselves suddenly attacked on the flank. In a trice the entire open s.p.a.ce was covered with Turkish riders, who crowded upon us like a heap of ants. I cannot give their number definitely but this much I know;--three horse tails were visible in their midst, and that means that there is a Pasha in the army. Sotar could no longer make his retreat to Hunyad."

"The Devil!" interrupted Banfy.

"Every one of us had to encounter two or three. Sotar himself took his spiked club in one hand and his sword in the other and shouted to me as I came near: 'My son, leave the battlefield, force your way through, hurry to Bonczida and tell the news.' What more he said I did not hear, for the struggling ma.s.ses separated us. With that I threw my shield over my back, laid my head on my horse's neck, used my spurs and galloped off the battlefield. A hundred hors.e.m.e.n hurried after to catch me; the arrows fell like hailstones on my shield; but my clever horse took in the danger, doubled his speed and so the pursuers lost me."

"You come straight from Bonczida?"

"I could not resist, gracious lord, making a detour to Banfy-Hunyad to inform the people there of their peril so they might flee to the mountains in time."

"That was wise on your part. So the inhabitants have taken to flight."

"Far from it. Directly in front of Madame Vizaknai's gate I told the people the frightful news. Their faces turned pale, then suddenly the lady of the house came out with drawn sword and stood in the midst of the people with flashing eyes, as if she had the spirit of a hundred men, and she said to them: 'Are you men! If you are, seize your weapons. Go upon the walls and know how to defend the place where your children live and your fathers are buried. But if you are cowards, then take to flight. The women will stay behind with me and show the furious foe that when it is a matter of fighting for hearth and home n.o.body is too weak.'"

Banfy called out to his squire in a hoa.r.s.e voice to bring him his shield, lance and helmet, and motioned to the panting messenger to go on with his story.

"At these words, there was a cry of rage among the people. The women ran for arms like so many furies and by the side of their husbands who were changed into heroes by the decision of their wives, they mounted the walls. Everybody took what he could find, scythes, shovels or flails. Madame Vizaknai was everywhere at once; gave orders, encouraged the fighters, had the church barricaded, oil and brimstone boiled and the bridges torn down, so that when I rode out of the town it was already in a state of defence. I swam the Koros, to avoid that long way, and came through the forests and bypaths."

By the end of this story, Banfy seemed to be beside himself. He did not wait for armor or helmet, shouted for a horse and as he mounted, called back to Veer;--"Follow me to Banfy-Hunyad. Let the foot soldiers ascend Mount Gyalu by a detour; the hors.e.m.e.n may follow me to Klausenburg. When you are near, light fires on the mountains that I may make an attack on the enemy at once with the van of the cavalry."

"Would it not be better for your Excellency to stay with the main army?" said Veer, anxiously.

"Do as I bid you," said Banfy, and giving spur to his horse he bounded off. Ten to twenty hors.e.m.e.n joined him.

"What does he mean," said Veer, "that he neither waits for us, nor tells his wife nor the Princess, who is a guest here?"

"When I informed him that Madame Vizaknai was defending Banfy-Hunyad he was dismayed," said Burko, by way of explanation. "She is a youthful love of his whom he forgot in later life, but now that he hears of her bravery the old love seems to have sprung up again."

George Veer was quite content with this explanation, ordered his troops to mount at once and rode off, first giving orders to inform Madame Banfy of a trifling engagement with the troops at Klausenburg.

The command of the infantry he intrusted to Captain Michael Angyal, who did not set out until evening, for the way to the snow mountains was a shorter one.

When George Veer reached Klausenburg he did not find Banfy there; the general had gone on an hour before with two hundred horse. Veer ordered his troops not to halt long and followed after Banfy, but could not overtake him. He kept ahead all the way, sometimes several hours' march. It was already late at night when Banfy with his two hundred riders reached the point where the Koros cuts its way through the wooded valley. At the bridge the Turks had encamped. The Bedouins lay there with their long weapons, on the watch. It was not possible to take them by surprise. In the direction of Banfy-Hunyad there was a glow on the heavens, sometimes sinking, sometimes mounting high again.

Banfy left his men in concealment on the further bank, while he himself, attended by only four men went down to the river to find a ford. The Koros is here so furious that it sweeps the horseman from his horse; but fortunately, on account of the drought of the hot summer, it had so fallen that Banfy soon found a place where it flowed quietly, and waded through with his comrades. Then he sent one of them back to bring the rest, but he himself remained gazing fixedly in the direction where the fire was in sight.

Meantime, one of the six Bedouin hors.e.m.e.n on guard noticed the three riders, and the leader called out to them to stand. Banfy tried to retreat, but three Bedouins sprang on him from behind and three more rushed toward him, lances in rest.

"Bend down on your horses' necks and seize your spear in your left hand," Banfy shouted to his men, and drew his sword against the a.s.sailants; so in the darkness of the night they fell upon one another silently. Banfy was in the middle. The lances of the three Bedouins whizzed through the air at the same time. Banfy's comrades fell on both sides from their horses, while he with his left hand skilfully wrested the lance from one of the guards and with the right hand dealt him a blow that cleft his skull. When Banfy saw that he was alone he turned at once on his two foes and struck one down with his lance and the other with his sword. Three more hors.e.m.e.n came furiously toward him from the bank. "Come on," growled Banfy, with that grim humor so characteristic of certain warriors in the moment of danger. "I'll teach you how to handle the spear," he added, with a smile; shielded on the rear by a group of trees, he thrust his sword into its sheath, grasped his spear with both hands and within two minutes all three lay stretched on the ground. Then he looked round and saw with joy that the enemy at the bridge were too far away to notice the fight, and his two hundred hors.e.m.e.n were already at the bank and now crossed noiselessly. Some of the Bedouins on the ground still groaned and sighed.

"Knock their skulls in, so they will not betray us by their noise."

"Shall we not wait for Veer's troops?" asked the standard-bearer.

"We cannot, we have no time," said Banfy, directing his glance toward the reddened horizon, and the little band moved quietly across fields and thickets. Soon there was the sound of a distant roar and when they had reached the top of a height before them Banfy-Hunyad came in sight. The leader breathed more easily. It was not the town that was on fire but only some hay-ricks. The roofs of the houses had been taken off by the inhabitants in advance, so that the enemy could not set fire to them. Church and bell-tower too were stripped of their roofs, and one could see by the glare of the fire that they were surrounded by the Turkish army, while from the top of the tower brimstone and pitch with heavy beams fell like a rain of fire on the a.s.sailants and crowded them from the walls.

Ali Pasha had not waited for his artillery which had been detained by the bad roads, because he thought he could take by storm in a single attack a place defended only by peasants and women; but it is well known that despair makes soldiers of everybody and axes and scythes are good weapons in the hands of the resolute.

At this spectacle Banfy's face suddenly glowed; he thought he saw a woman's figure on the battlement of the tower. At once he put spurs to his horse and rushed forward like a whirlwind, calling back to his men:

"Do not count the foe now; time enough for that when he is down."

And within a quarter of an hour the small band reached the camp before the town. There everybody was asleep. While one part of the army made the attack there was time for the other to rest. Even the guards had let their heads droop in sleep; there they lay by their staked horses, and were only roused from their dreams when Banfy had already ridden wildly through their ranks in every direction. The Baron, who intended to hasten on alone to the relief of the besieged, in a trice ran down the confused troops who, startled from their sleep, seized horse and lance and mistaking one another the enemy crowded together and cut down their own troops. In vain did the Turkish leaders strive to control the frantic men.

Meanwhile, Banfy appeared boldly and unexpectedly in the midst of the Turkish army storming the church. The front ranks gave way in terror at his unexpected onset but at once an advancing brigade made up of Ali Pasha's chosen Mamelukes, brought the fugitives to a stand. A giant Moor stood at the head of the troops. His horse too was an unusually tall one, sixteen hands high. He himself was seven feet tall; his great swollen muscles shone like steel in the fiendish light of the burning hay-ricks; his broad mouth bled from the blow of a stone and the whites of his eyes shone in a ghastly fashion from his black face.

"Halt, Giaour!" roared the Moor, with a voice that sounded above the thunder of battle, and made his way toward Banfy. In his clenched fist shone a broad scimitar that seemed too heavy even for him.

Two hussars riding before Banfy fell at one blow from the monster; one to the right, the other to the left of his horse. As he raised his arm for the third blow the Moor rose in his saddle and shouted: "I am Karia.s.sar, the Invincible! Thank G.o.d that you fall by my hand." And with that he threw his sword backward and dealt a frightful blow in the direction of Banfy's head. The Baron drew his sword coolly in front of his face and when Karia.s.sar struck, made a very skilful movement at the hand of the Moor and struck off four fingers at once from Karia.s.sar's hand, so that they fell noiselessly to the ground. An expression of terror and rage overspread the dark features. He threw himself quickly with a frightful roar at Banfy, and paying no heed to the wounds received on face and shoulders, with his left hand grasped the Hungarian's right and gave him such a push that, had not Banfy been firm in his saddle, he must have fallen from his horse. It seemed as if the Moor were still able with one hand to crush him. As Banfy was a good rider he used his spurs, and while the giant struggled with the master, pulling at his lacerated arm with lion strength, the battle-horse turned himself suddenly against the Moor, dealt him a blow in the thigh with his hoof, bit his breast with his foaming mouth and pushed against him with his teeth. Karia.s.sar cried out with the maddening pain and letting go the Baron suddenly, reached for his dagger with his left hand and drew it from its sheath. Just at this moment Banfy struck at the giant's neck and the monstrous head rolled to the ground. While the blood gushed out in a threefold stream, the headless figure remained seated upon his unguided horse,--a terrible spectacle! At sight of him the frightened Mamelukes scattered, dashing over hedges and fences on their horses, riding one another down.

At the same time the people who were defending the church broke down the barricades and made a sally on the a.s.sailants. At their head was Madame Vizaknai with drawn sword--behind the clergy as standard-bearers, with the church banners.

The great army of besiegers, now fallen between two fires, parted and opened a free course for the scythes of the peasants, and for the tschakany. This last is a mighty weapon; in the hands of the expert its blow is almost unfailing. The long pointed blade strikes with such weight as it falls that there is neither helmet nor shield it cannot go through, and the sword offers no defence against its crooked steel.

Soon the two armies met. The janissaries who, though half dead still struck with their hangers at the feet of the horses riding over them, scattered like chaff.

Madame Vizaknai sprang toward Dionysius Banfy and seized his horse by the bridle.

"The danger is great, gracious lord. The Turks are twenty times our number. Come behind the church wall."

"I'll not go a step further," replied Banfy, coldly. "Save yourself behind the barricades."

"Neither will I," replied Madame Vizaknai.

"I can defend myself," said Banfy, fiercely.

"So can I," replied the woman, proudly.

New forces streamed out from every direction as if they had come down from the clouds or up from the ground. Foot soldiers and horse, with long weapons, bows and lances arose from every side with a shout that reached the heavens:--"Ali, Ali, Allah Akbar!"

The Hungarian force, with backs to the church drew themselves up in line of battle and waited the attack. From the end of the street a gleaming troop of hors.e.m.e.n appeared to be advancing. It was a picked company of spahis on stately Arab horses; the housings gleaming with emeralds in the firelight. In the middle rode Ali on a slender snow-white barb; in his hand a crooked sword with diamond-set hilt and on his head a turbaned helmet. His long beard fell over his silver armor. When he was within range of Banfy he called a halt and drew up his men. Until then Banfy had not touched his pistols, the wonderfully carved ivory handles of which were just in sight above the saddlebags.

Now he drew them and handed them both to Madame Vizaknai.

"Take them," he said, "you ought to have something for self-defence."

Just then Ali Pasha sent a herald who brought this message to the Hungarians:

"My lord, Ali Pasha, commands you unbelieving giaours to surrender.

Every way of escape is closed; spare yourself further useless efforts, lay down your weapons at his feet and surrender yourselves to his mercy."

The herald had hardly uttered the last words when two shots were heard and he fell dead from his horse. Madame Vizaknai, instead of any reply had fired off both pistols at him.

Ali Pasha, infuriated, gave a signal to the troops around him and there was a shower of darts and b.a.l.l.s from every side upon the little Hungarian band.

Madame Vizaknai stepped up to Banfy's stirrups and resting against him one hand and swinging her sword with the other, said:

"Fear nothing, my friend."