questions," replied Manasseh, with a courteous bow.

"Well, let us see how you are going to work to bring this about. Your
brother David, like the simple rustic he is, thought to talk me over
with Bible quotations. He preached me a sermon on the love of one's
neighbour, Christ's commandments, the almighty power of Jehovah, and a
lot more of the same sort, until at last I grew tired of it and had him
locked up to keep him quiet. Your brother Simon is a shrewder man; he
has been to school at Kolozsvar. He came to me with threats in his
mouth, delivered a long harangue on the constitution, the powers of the
government, our past history, and kept up such a din in my ears that
finally I had to shut him up, too. But you are the cleverest of the
three; you have been trained as a diplomat, and have taken lessons in
Vienna from Metternich himself. Let us hear what you have to say."

"Set my brothers free," returned Manasseh, boldly, "and promise me not
to attack Toroczko; then I will give you sixteen fat oxen and twenty
casks of plum brandy."

The Wallachian sprang to his feet and clapped his hand to his sword. "If
you were only armed," he exclaimed wrathfully, "you should pay for your
insolence by fighting me. Do you take me for an Armenian peddler to be
chaffered with in that fashion?"

Manasseh kept his seat on the edge of the table, swinging one foot
carelessly to and fro. "If you were an Armenian peddler," was his cool
retort, "you would be far more sensibly employed than at present. But
why so angry? I offer you what you most need, food and drink; and I ask
in return what we most desire, peace."

"But what you offer us we can come and take in spite of you. You three
brothers are now in our hands, and we have only to send word to the
people of Toroczko that, unless they lay down their arms and surrender
the town, we shall hang you from the turret of St. George Castle."

"There are five more of us brothers at home, and, furthermore, in order
to reach St. George Castle you must push through the Gap or make your
way over the Szekler Stone, and you know well enough that the men of
Toroczko have held this valley in times past against the whole invading
army of the Tartars."

"You forget that there is still another way to reach Toroczko."

"No, I do not forget it. You mean the bridge over the Aranyos. But our
iron cannon guard that bridge, and your bushrangers are hardly the
troops to take it."

"Well, then, look out of