The Nagyvradi Brothers

by Laszlo Endrody

  The driver told the doctor, “The bishop told me that he needed the money for more important things and that you should take yourself and those brats back to Austria.”

  Uncle John motioned to Magda and handed her a few gold pieces. He told Magda, “Go straighten that idiot out.”

  Magda went up to the driver and asked him to see the bill for the items.

  He told her, “I didn’t make up a bill since I will be taking everything back.”

  Magda looked him square in the eyes and with her hands on her hips said, “You aren’t taking anything back.”

  The sergeant and corporal came out with the three boys. The corporal and the boys started to unload a few of the items when the man started to raise his voice.

  “Calm down, already,” the sergeant stated.

  “I want my money!” demanded the driver.

  Magda told him, “I have your money. All I need is a bill to make sure that you’ve brought everything that the doctor ordered.”

  “I didn’t bring everything. After talking to the bishop, I wasn’t expecting to drop the items.”

  “Well, as soon as this load is unloaded, you can go back and get everything she ordered, make out a bill, and then I will pay you,” Magda assured him.

  The driver didn’t like being told what to do by a female and told Magda, “Look here, girl, you don’t give me orders.”

  The sergeant then jerked him out of the wagon seat and grabbed him by the front of shirt. He told the man, “You had better pay attention to what Her Ladyship tells you or you’ll wish you had.”

  As soon as the wagon was empty, the grocer took off to load the rest of the doctor’s order.

  When Magda went back inside, she overheard the doctor telling Lydia that she had two maids but she was unable to pay them so they didn’t come to work.

  The doctor said, “I need to fix something for the children to eat.”

  Magda spoke up and said excitedly, “We can help you. What do you think we should fix?”

  “Fried potatoes with bacon would be the easiest,” the doctor replied.

  Ilonka started peeling the potatoes and Teresa found some aprons and handed one to Magda. Lydia went to help too. The doctor got a big frying pan and some bacon grease and put the sliced potatoes in the pan. A little while later they called the children to come in and eat. Young Luke got the job of serving the kids. They kids were all smiles and so was the doctor.

  She and Lydia were now on a first name basis. They were talking about how she had only received the money promised to her by the bishop one time and she had been using her own personal money to keep the orphanage afloat. Big John promised her that he would handle the bishop.

  Big John then told the corporal, “Take the carriage and pick up the big package of kolbasz from the castle. We brought it in for the bishop, but will give it to the children instead. On your way back, pick up some fresh bread at the bakery too.” He handed the corporal a gold piece.

  Little Tilda got in line with the other little girls and had some fried potatoes. She then went over to Paul and reached up for him to pick her up and he did. The doctor asked who the little girl was.

  Lydia told her, “She is an orphan.”

  “Who bought her nice clothes?” the doctor asked.

  “The Nagyváradi’s,” replied Lydia.

  Lydia then asked the doctor where she went to medical school at.

  The doctor told her, “I went to school in Saltsburg. It was a very good school.”

  Lydia said, “Magda here wants to be a doctor. Is it very hard to get into the school?”

  “It’s not for children of nobility,” the doctor stated.

  Magda said, “I am not a child of nobility, I am an orphan too.”

  Paul asked Lydia what Magda was talking about and she told him. He then said, “She is noble. I just adopted her.” Magda looked at him and smiled.

  Big Luke then spoke up and said, “I think that Lydia and I will do the adopting, Paul.” Lydia hugged Luke and gave him a big kiss.

  Teresa told Magda, “When the grocer comes back tell him that you are Nagyváradi Magda.”

  When the grocer arrived the boys unloaded the rest of the items. He had a list of everything that he had delivered that day.

  Big John came out and signed the list. He told the grocer, “From now on the doctor will be signing for everything she orders, and the bishop will have to pay for everything he gets at the store himself.”

  Magda was trying to hand back the gold back to Big John, but he told her to donate it to the orphanage.

  Lydia and the doctor had been talking nonstop about the medical school. Paul told her that young John would have to go too because Magda would need protection.

  When they were ready to go, Magda gave the gold piece to the doctor and the doctor kissed her on the cheek and thanked her. Magda reminded her that she could get anything she needed at the store on the Nagyváradi’s and that she wouldn’t have to ask the bishop for anything again. Big John also told her that she could get whatever medications and medical supplies she needed from the hospital. He told her that he would look in on her more often and that the orphanage would be relocated to the castle soon. They all said goodbye and headed home.

  On the way home, big Luke sat with Paul on the wagon. He told him that they were going back to Kansas so that his brother, young Paul’s father, would have a chance to come to Hungary to spend a little time with his father. Paul told him that he wasn’t going back until he and Ilonka were married. Big Luke told him that was fine with him. He told Paul that Lydia was taking Teresa, so young Luke would be going too.

  They all had dinner at the big house. After dinner grandpa took Magda aside and gave her a gold cross necklace. It looked very nice on her.

  That Sunday they all went to church. The girls were all dressed up in their modern dresses. Lydia asked Magda to come up and sit with her. After the services, they all went to have lunch at Uncle John’s. He asked Magda if she would take inventory at the store and she told him that she would be happy to. Big John told her that Janoska would help her and if she wanted to, she could also hire Ilonka to help.

  That Monday big Luke, Uncle John, and the boys went to Nagyvárad. Uncle John explained to the boys that big Luke and young Luke would be taking two big bars of gold to America but they had to melt them down into smaller bars so that it could be handled easier. In America they could take the gold to the mint and trade it for gold coins. Big Luke was going to try it out in Philadelphia. If it worked, they could trade some more at the mint in Chicago and send some coins back with big Paul.

  One of the villagers, Sarvas Laci was out feeding his two horses and cow as the sun was setting, when he heard the howl of a wolf. He remembered seeing young John and Magda walk past his house just minutes before. So he went inside his house and grabbed his sword. As he stepped back outside he heard the wolf again, but this time the howl seemed much closer, and his dogs started barking.

  Young John heard the howl too and turned to see where it was coming from. Just then a rock crashed down on his head. Béla’s two boys had been lying in wait for him and Magda. One of the boys told Magda that he was going to teach her lesson since she thought she was so high and mighty. Young John was passed out cold on the ground bleeding from his head. Just as Béla’s son was going to hit John with the rock again, Sarvas Laci swung his sword deep into the boy’s arm. Sarvas Laci then plunged the tip of his sword into the other boy’s arm. Both boys were screaming at the top of their lungs.

  The sergeant had heard the wolf howl too and was outside with his pistol. He rushed towards the screaming and saw the wolf and shot it.

  Now the whole town was up. Paul and Ilonka came running to see what was going on. Uncle John and the sergeant arrived and Magda ran to them and told them what had happened.

  The sergeant then asked P
rivate Sarvas, “What the hell is wrong with you. Why didn’t you cut their throats?”

  The doctor came out and examined young John and then went to check on the other two boys. They were both bleeding pretty badly and he needed to stop the bleeding. Uncle John asked Private Sarvas and Paul to carry young John inside Magda’s house to lay him on her bed.

  After the doctor got the other two boys’ bleeding under control, he went to doctor up young John. Magda helped him the best she could.

  Big John went out to look at the wolf and told the sergeant not let any dogs get near it. Big John said, “We will have to burn it right where it is.” Paul came out too and called for Private Sarvas. This meant that he was being promoted to corporal. Uncle John told Corporal Sarvas to keep the dogs away from the wolf.

  The sergeant went inside to check on young John. Ilonka was with Magda. The doctor told them that they would have to wait and see if young John would come out of this. He had a pretty significant head injury. Young John’s father then spoke up and said, “We should have run that tribe out of this town a long time ago.”

  Uncle John said, “If that boy doesn’t come out of this by morning, we will have a hanging and Béla can dig his boys’ graves.”

  The doctor said, “I will need to put a few stiches in the arms of those boys to stop the bleeding completely or they won’t make it for a hanging.”

  Paul went and got a big armful of wood from Magda’s back porch to burn the wolf. Gizike Nény went over and made some tea for everybody and they all sat around Magda’s table.

  Around midnight young John moaned. The doctor went to him and told Magda to bring him a cup of water so that he could mix up some powder for him.

  Uncle John told Corporal Sarvas that he wanted him to take the two boys into Nagyvárad that next morning to turn them over to the constable.

  ***The constable put the boys in a jail cell and told them that a hearing with the judge would be scheduled sometime that week.

  18

  Luke had been corresponding with his brother Paul about when Luke should return back to the US so that Paul and his wife could visit Hungary. After much thought and consideration, Paul decided that Luke should stay in Hungary and take over operations there. He and the other fellows they had working for them had the ranch under control. It was very successful and they were prospering well. Paul felt that Luke’s help and expertise were needed more in Hungary than in the US, and Luke agreed. Paul was still coming for a visit, but Luke would stay in Hungary for good.

  Big Luke explained to young Paul that he was going to enroll Magda in medical school in Saltsburg. He said that he was also going to buy a home for the kids where they could have a carriage and everything else they needed. Young John would be going with her, along with a couple of servants. They would need six horses, some stables, and a pasture. Young Paul, of course, agreed to all of these things. He liked the idea of big Luke and Lydia going to Saltsburg and lining everything up for Magda.

  Big Luke told young Paul, “All you and Uncle John have to do is put the kids on the train and Lydia will be waiting for them in Vienna. The horses and servants will have to come by train too.”

  Big Luke and his party left for Debrecen five days later. Uncle John was able to spend some time with young Paul. The two of them went on long rides and Uncle John showed Paul the whole operation. In the evenings, they went walking with the girls.

  When big Paul arrived in Hungary with his wife, they were met in Debrecen with the carriage. Young Paul met them there and let his father know that he was planning on marrying his old sergeant’s daughter. He also briefed him on young John and Magda. He continued to update him telling him, “Big Luke adopted Magda. John and Magda are in medical school in Saltsburg. They are going to be doctors. Magda is now a Nagyváradi. She is a very smart and capable girl. Big John is planning to build them a house in Nagyvárad where he wants young John to take over everything and he wants Magda close to the hospital. They have a French bishop, a Father Francis, who is a very good priest. He is loved by all, including grandpa, John, Luke, and Lydia. You will like him too. Before becoming a priest he was a captain in the French palace guards.”

  When they arrived in Nagyvárad, young Paul introduced his father to everyone. They had dinner at the orphanage and stayed the night in a hotel. After breakfast the next morning they headed for Kisvárda. Big Paul’s father was very happy to see him and his wife. He talked to her in French. Big Paul spent the whole day with his father and Uncle John.

  The next day was Sunday and they all went to church. All of big Paul’s former soldiers were there to greet him. His former sergeant introduced him to his wife. Big Paul, like Luke, also acknowledged that he had gone to school with Gizike Nény. Young Paul introduced them to Ilonka. Big Paul and his wife both kissed Ilonka on the cheek. Father Tony hugged him and welcomed him home. Everyone was very friendly and happy to see him.

  The next day, Big Paul went to the village and visited his old sergeant, and some of his former troops stopped by and welcomed him home. He went to see Father Tony and spent about an hour with him. When he got home, his father wanted to talk with him about him inheriting the estate. Big Paul told him that he had always thought that Peter would inherit everything, and that’s why he and Luke moved to America in the first place. He told his father, “We have a farm with 40,000 acres of fine land that I have been running myself ever since the war started and Luke went into the Army. We are a big operation and we are very rich. I need to stay there, so I would like to recommend that Luke be the one to take over the estate here in Hungary. We are very close and I will help him in any way possible. He fought for Hungary and became a Vitéz and he also fought for America and became a general. He has our name and will always be respected throughout Hungary and Europe, and will be recognized in the highest places.”

  Big Paul’s father heard what he had to say and told him that he would have to think things over and talk to John about everything.

  When Big Luke, Lydia, Teresa, and young Luke left they went to Vienna first and left Teresa and young Luke with Lydia’s parents.

  The two of them then went on to Saltsburg to set things up for Magda and young John to be able to go to school. In order to get young John into school, they had to pay double tuition. Then they went and bought an estate home that was for sale. It had corrals and pastures and a nice barn. Big Luke had already contracted for a new carriage and a covered buggy for the kids. The home had eight rooms downstairs, including a kitchen and servants quarters, and six rooms upstairs, including a library. Big Luke then wrote to Uncle John and asked him to send six geldings, two servants, a cook, and a caretaker for the animals. They also enrolled young John with a master swordsman so he could learn some swordsmanship from the best teachers in Europe.

  When the kids finally arrived in Saltsburg, they all stayed in the newly purchased estate. The kids started school shortly thereafter and everything started to fall into place.

  Big Luke then came up with an idea. He wanted to pay the church some money and ask the archbishop if he would accept Lady Magda and her escort John, making sure that their catholic upbringing would be assured. Lydia wrote the letter and before they left he put together $2,500 in a small wooden case and instructed the kids to take the case and the letter to the archbishop.

  The kids went to the cathedral and asked to see the archbishop. They talked to two priests and were told that the archbishop would not see anyone. On their way out, they ran into a Father Luis. He did not speak German, just French and Latin, so both Magda and John spoke to him in Latin. Father Luis asked them what he could help them with. Magda told him that they had some gold and a letter for the archbishop. Father Luis then took them to the private quarters of the archbishop and encouraged him to talk to the youngsters. They were invited in and Magda introduced the two of them and then handed Luke’s letter to him. He was very polite. When he opened the case with
the gold, he was very impressed. He invited them to sit down and have some tea with him; the kids accepted. Father Luis started to leave but the bishop asked him to stay. Since they knew that Father Luis didn’t speak German, Magda continued the conversation in Latin. The archbishop was very impressed.

  Magda explained that she and John were going to medical school and told him where they lived. The bishop then asked the two a score of questions. He wanted to know everything. An idea was forming in his mind. The more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it.

  Father Luis had been sent to the archbishop from Rome and he had yet to find a job for him since he only spoke Latin and French. He was originally from France where he had been a captain in the palace guard. He was a very good swordsman and had fought several duels that had been forced upon him. He killed eight men out of self-defense, but the thought of taking human lives still sickened him. He ended up resigning from the position and went to Italy where he became a priest. From Italy he went to Romania to run an orphanage for the church. After being there for four years the Orthodox Catholics ran him out. He then went back to the Vatican and asked for a new assignment. To get rid of him they sent him to Saltsburg. Here, he was supposed to be assigned by the archbishop to a parish or any other job he needed him for, but he had nothing for him because he did not speak German.

  The archbishop told Father Luis that an idea had come to him while he was talking with the two young people. He told him, “I can assign you as The Ladyship’s priest. Noble ladies in the past used to have priests assigned to them. The Nagyváradis were very generous in their gift of gold to our church and I want to show my appreciation by assigning you to Her Ladyship. So what do you think of this idea, Luis?”

  Luis smiled and told the archbishop that he liked the idea. Father Luis got very sick that night and had a very high fever. He started to feel a little better the next morning, so he packed a bag and got the directions to the Nagyváradi’s estate. He walked to the place and found that the gate was locked. He started to get very dizzy and sat down. The kids found him sitting in front of the gate three hours later when they returned back from school. John and Corporal Fehér helped Father Luis inside the house and laid him down on a bed in a room next to John’s. Magda had some powders to give him and told the maid to make some chicken soup. Magda fed the Father the chicken soup twice, that afternoon and evening.