by Mór Jókai
CHAPTER XXIII.
A DUEL BETWEEN BROTHERS.
A whole nation's gaze was turned toward the fortress of Buda. There itstood, weak when it came to self-defence, yet capable of workingfearful destruction in case of attack. From the summits of thesurrounding mountains one could overlook Buda and examine its interioras if it had been an open book. Old brick walls formed its solefortifications, with no outworks of any sort.
Wherein, then, lay its mysterious strength? In the fact that Pest layoutstretched at its feet, and for every cannon-ball directed againstthe fortress it could retaliate with a deadly shower of fire and iron.The enemy on the hill said to his foe across the river: "If you drawyour sword against me I will slay your wife and daughters and theinfant in its cradle." Nevertheless the sword was drawn.
For the fiery and impetuous, nothing tries the patience more than theforced inactivity of a siege,--the sitting down before a blank wallfrom behind which the enemy sticks out his tongue and laughs inderision. Before three days had passed, nine-tenths of the besiegingarmy had become fretful with impatience. The men were eager to stormthe enemy's stronghold on all sides. Even in the council of war thespirit of impatience was rife and the commanding general was urged toorder an assault. Violent scenes were enacted, in which the bestfriends fell to quarrelling. All were divided between two parties, thehot-headed and the cool-headed. Thus it came about that the twoBaradlay brothers, A-dA?n and Richard, found themselves opposed to eachother in the council, and on the fourth day of the siege they went sofar as to exchange hot and angry words.
"We must bring the siege to an end," declared the younger brother,vehemently.
"And I say," rejoined the elder, "that we have but just begun it andmust wait for our heavier guns before we can think of making anassault. Otherwise we shall provoke a deadly fire on Pest, and all tono purpose."
"What is Pest to us in this crisis?" cried Richard. "Ten years ago thegreat flood destroyed the city, and we rebuilt it. Let the enemy burnit down; in ten years it will have risen from its ashes, morebeautiful than ever."
"Yet even at that fearful sacrifice are we at all sure that we cantake the fortress? Can we scale its heights in the face of the enemy'sfire?"
"Yes. A subterranean channel, constructed by the Turks, runs from Budadown to the river. Through this a company of infantry could make itsway into the fort while a hot attack was maintained from without."
"I have studied the situation, too," returned A-dA?n, "and I havelearned positively that the upper end of the subterranean passage isin ruins; but even if it were not, and a company of our men succeededin effecting an entrance, would they not, in all probability, be cutdown before they could open the gates to us or we could join them?"
"Do you, then, place no confidence whatever in the courage anddetermination of our soldiers?" asked the other.
"On the contrary," was the reply; "but even courage and determinationcannot prevail against such overwhelming odds."
Richard's eyes flashed fire. He was in that tense and irritatedcondition in which a man feels that he must utter a sharp retort orburst with passion. "You say that," he exclaimed hotly, "because, likeall civilians, you are a coward at heart."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he regretted them. A-dA?nturned pale. "No man ever before applied that term to me," said he, ina low but firm tone, regarding his brother steadily, "nor shall you doso with impunity."
This scene was suddenly interrupted by a twelve-pound cannon-ballwhich burst through the west wall of the room and went out through theopposite side. A second shot struck the roof, and then a bomb landedin the courtyard and exploded.
"There is treason abroad!" cried the members of the council, springingto their feet. "Some one has betrayed our headquarters to the enemy,and we are being fired upon."
"We can't stay here a moment longer, that's certain," said thecommanding officer, and he prepared to leave the room.
Richard looked at his brother, who alone kept his seat at the table, apen in his hand, and gave no sign of leaving his chair, despite thecrashing of the enemy's shots. The younger brother was irritated atwhat seemed to him ostentatious recklessness; and he was, besides,touched with another feeling toward his elder brother.
"Come, old man," said he, "I know well enough you have nerve foranything; but don't stay here now that all the rest of us areleaving."
"I am sitting here," replied the other calmly, "because I am secretaryof the council, and I am waiting to record the motion to adjourn,whenever it shall be made."
"He is right," exclaimed the others; "we must adjourn the meeting indue form."
Accordingly all resumed their places around the table, whilecannon-balls continued to strike the building, and a formal vote wastaken on the motion to adjourn. It was carried unanimously, and allhurried out of the room except A-dA?n, who lingered behind to completehis minutes. Richard, too, remained at the door until his brother wasready to go.
"Come, hurry up!" he urged; "every one knows you are a man of courage.Coward is the last word to apply to you."
A-dA?n, however, folded his papers deliberately. "On that point I shallhave something to say to you later," said he calmly, freeing his armfrom his brother's touch as he walked out.
"Surely you are not going to challenge me to a duel?" exclaimedRichard.
"You will soon see," replied the other, turning proudly away.
* * * * *
The order for a general assault had been given. At midnight of the21st of May, a sham attack was to be made against the bastions, afterwhich the troops were to retire and remain quiet until three o'clockin the morning. Then, while the enemy were counting confidently onbeing left undisturbed for another day, a vigorous assault was to beundertaken in earnest, with scaling-ladders and bayonets.
The hardest part would fall to those who should charge over thecrumbling masonry where breaches had been effected, or mount the tallscaling-ladders under a deadly fire from above. For these mostdangerous tasks the bravest and most experienced battalions wereselected, while volunteers were called for from the whole army to jointhem. The honour of being among the first to scale the hostileramparts was eagerly sought by hundreds of brave men.
On the evening preceding the assault, A-dA?n Baradlay sought hisbrother. Since their recent encounter in the council-chamber they hadnot met, and their relations were felt to be somewhat strained.Richard was delighted to see his brother; he acknowledged in his heartthat the other showed great generosity in thus making the firstadvances, and he gave him a very cordial reception. A-dA?n's bearing,however, was as calm and undemonstrative as usual. He was dressed inthe uniform of the national guard.
"So to-morrow is the decisive day," he remarked as he entered.
"Yes," answered the other; "a sham attack to-night at twelve, and ageneral assault just before dawn."
"Is your watch right?" asked A-dA?n.
"Oh, I don't pay much attention to the time," was the answer, in acareless tone; "when the artillery gives the signal I know the danceis about to begin."
"You are not well-informed," rejoined A-dA?n. "Half an hour before thefirst cannon-shot, the volunteers from the third army-corps who are toattack the great bastion must be ready to start, and also those fromthe second army-corps who are to scale the wall of the castle garden.So it will be well for you to set your watch by mine, which agreeswith the general's."
"Very well, I'll do it." Richard still maintained a certaincondescending superiority in his manner toward his brother, as iscustomary in the bearing of seasoned soldiers toward civilians,however greatly they may esteem the latter.
"And now please listen to what I have to say," continued A-dA?n, withhis usual calm. "You have allowed yourself to use certain words inaddressing me which I cannot repeat even between ourselves."
"What do you mean?" interposed the other. "You surely don't think ofcalling me out?"
"That is my intention," replied the elder brother composedly. "Ichall
enge you to the most desperate duel ever fought between two men,to the only duel that brothers can engage in who love each other, andyet cannot be reconciled by peaceful means. You have joined thevolunteers who are to storm the castle garden at the point of thebayonet; I am enrolled among those whose task it will be to carry themain bastion by scaling-ladders. When the first cannon-shot is firedour duel will begin, and he who first mounts the enemy'sfortifications will have obtained satisfaction from the other."
Richard seized his brother's hand with a look of alarm. "Brother," heexclaimed, "you are joking; you are trying to frighten me. That you,who have more sense in your little finger than a great bully like mein his whole head, should rush to almost certain destruction, wheresome blockhead of an Austrian may easily brain you with the butt endof his rifle; that you should go scrambling up the ladders with themilitia, where the first to mount are well-nigh sure to meet theirdeath, and where no one can rush in to save you; that you, the prideof our family, the apple of our eye, our mother's support, ourcountry's hope, should throw yourself against the enemy'sbayonets,--oh, that is a cruel punishment you have planned for me! Noone demands such a proof of your courage. War is not your profession;that is for us rough men who are good for nothing else. You are thesoul of our army; don't try to be its hand or its foot at the sametime. We honour superior intelligence, however much we may boast ofour physical prowess. Don't think of taking such a revenge on thosewho love you, just because of a hasty word, long since repented of andretracted. Do what you will with me if you still feel offended; bid meram my head into the mouth of one of the enemy's cannon and I will doit. Tell me you only meant to frighten me--that you are not inearnest."
"I am in earnest, and shall do as I have said," answered the otherfirmly; "you may do as you think best." With that he prepared to takehis leave.
Richard tried to stop him. "A-dA?n, brother," he cried, "I pray youforgive me! Think of our mother, think of your wife and children!"
A-dA?n regarded him, unmoved. "I am thinking of my mother here," saidhe, stamping with his foot on the ground, "and I shall defend my wifeand children yonder," pointing toward the fortress.
Richard stood out of his brother's way; further opposition would havebeen worse than useless. But his eyes filled with tears, and hereached out both his hands toward A-dA?n. At such a moment the brothersmight well have embraced each other, yet A-dA?n never offered his hand.Before a duel the adversaries are not wont to shake hands.
"When we meet up yonder," said he significantly, "don't forget to lookat your watch and note the minute when you first plant your foot onthe fortifications." With that he left the room.
* * * * *
Three o'clock was at hand. The cannoneers stood at their guns, watchesin hand. A deep and peaceful quiet reigned, broken only by the note ofthe nightingale. At the first stroke of three, fifty-nine cannonburst forth in one thundering volley which was caught up by the loudhuzzas of thousands of voices on every side. The sun was still farbelow the horizon, but the scene was soon illumined by the destructivefire of hostile artillery. In the glare of bombs and rockets thevolunteers of the thirty-fourth militia battalion could be seen, likea hill of ants, swarming up toward the breach in the enemy's wall.They were driven back, and again they advanced, fighting with theirbayonets in a hand-to-hand struggle. A second time they were repulsed,and their officers were left, dead and dying, before the breach.
Two other battalions, the nineteenth and thirty-seventh, with thevolunteers who had joined them, pressed forward with theirscaling-ladders. A hot fire was opened upon them, but in vain; theyplanted their ladders against the wall and ran up the rounds. To turnthem back was impossible; the only thing remaining was to shoot themdown as fast as they climbed the ladders.
Leading the way on one of the ladders was A-dA?n Baradlay, his drawnsword in his hand. A detachment of the Italian regiment was defendingthat part of the wall, and the defence was well maintained. It was agrim task climbing the ladders in the face of a deadly fire ofsharpshooters, and the air was filled with the groans of those thatfell. Theirs was a twofold death, shot down as they were by theenemy, and then falling, only to be caught on the bayonets of theirown comrades behind them.
A-dA?n mounted his ladder as coolly as if he had been climbing anEgyptian pyramid on a wager to show himself proof against giddiness.Looking up, he could see a soldier standing at the head of the ladder,half concealed by the breastworks and holding his rifle ready toshoot. That soldier was his opponent in this fearful duel. Reachingthe middle of the ladder, he suddenly heard himself hailed from below.The voice was a familiar one.
"Aha, patron, I'm here too!"
A-dA?n recognised Mausmann's call. The daring gymnast was climbing upthe under side of the ladder and making every effort to overtake hisleader, eager to gain the top before him. With the agility of amonkey, he passed A-dA?n and swung himself around on the front of theladder over the other's head, shouting down to him triumphantly:
"Don't think you are going to get ahead of me, patron. I am captainhere, and you are only a private."
A-dA?n was eager to recover his lead, but the gallant youth only pressedhim back with one hand, saying, as he did so:
"Let me go first, patron; I have no one in the whole world to care ifI am killed."
With that he sprang upward, two rounds at a time. The soldier abovebrought his rifle to his shoulder and aimed downward. Mausmann sawhim, and shouted tauntingly:
"Take good aim, macaroni, or you might hit me."
The next moment the Italian pulled the trigger. Mausmann's handsrelaxed their hold of the ladder. "Look out!" he called down to A-dA?n.
"What's the matter?" returned the other.
"Something that never happened to me before; I am killed." Therewithhe fell backward over A-dA?n's head.
A-dA?n now climbed higher, anxious to reach the top of the ladder beforethe Italian should have reloaded his piece. But the soldier was tooquick for him, and he found himself looking into the very muzzle ofhis rifle. Still he mounted. He could see the rifleman's finger pressthe trigger; the piece missed fire, and the next instant A-dA?n sprangover the breastworks.
* * * * *
Meanwhile the sixty-first battalion had effected an entrance into thecastle garden. Three step-like terraces remained to be surmounted, andthe men climbed one another's shoulders or stuck their bayonetsbetween the stones of the scarp, and so worked their way upward. Thedefenders of the garden had retreated to the third terrace. As theHungarians were about to scale this also, they were suddenly broughtto bay by the arrival of a fresh force of the enemy. It included someof the bravest soldiers of the army, being composed of four platoonsof the William regiment.
On the second terrace of the castle garden the two hostile bands metin desperate conflict.
"Surrender!" called the militia major.
"Fire! Charge bayonets!" was the Austrian captain's response, as hegave the commands to his men.
A volley was discharged on each side. The Austrian captain and hislieutenant fell, while the Hungarian major and one of his officerswere wounded. Neither party heeded its loss. Richard snatched up therifle of a wounded soldier and dashed forward to meet the enemy. Hewas a master of bayonet fighting, and he resolved that, if he had tosuccumb at last to superior numbers, he would at least sell his lifedearly.
An inner voice seemed to whisper to him that he was fighting his lastbattle. What if he slew ten opponents in succession? The eleventhwould surely get the better of him and he must fall. At this thought,and in the thousandth part of a second, he took leave of all that wasdear to him,--of the faithful girl awaiting him in Vienna, of the dearmother praying for him at home, of the slain foe to whom he had givena promise that he could not now fulfil. He saw only too well thefearful odds against him, and prepared to die.
His first adversary he sent headlong down the embankment; the secondhe drove back wounded into his comrades' arms; the third stoppedsuddenly a
s he was rushing to the encounter and pointed with hisbayonet to the terrace above them. A dense array of flashing bayonetswas seen advancing, and it was at once evident that the side whichthey should join would win the day. To which side, then, did theybelong?
The rising sun answered the question. Shooting its beams from behind acloud at that moment, it lighted up a banner fluttering in theadvancing bayonet-hedge. The flag bore the national colours ofHungary.
"_A%ljen a haza!_" resounded from the third terrace, and the reliefparty plunged down the scarp like an avalanche. The Austrians, thusoverwhelmed by their opponents, were forced to surrender.
Yonder blue-coated figure which had come with this succour like arescuing angel, just at the moment when aid was most sorely needed,was A-dA?n Baradlay. The two brothers fell into each other's arms.
"I am very angry with you," cried Richard, as he folded his brother ina warm embrace.
* * * * *
It was six o'clock in the morning. From every turret and pinnacle inBuda the tricolour waved in the breeze, and all the streets of Pestrang with loud huzzas. Turning his back, however, on these scenes ofrejoicing, Richard Baradlay, refreshed by a cold bath and a soldier'sbreakfast, made his way to a neighbouring village, to fulfil thepromise so solemnly pledged to poor Otto Palvicz.