, your husband
with proud recklessness set himself against a mighty party which
joined with kings against kings. It may be said that your husband
intends to thwart fate. He is proud enough not to take into
consideration the peril which he has raised up against himself in this
way. Or perhaps he thinks that those who are whetting their weapons
against a ruling king would defer an instant if one of your people
should show his face against them. Banfy has insulted, mocked and
threatened the men, and tangled the threads in their fine-spun plans;
in fact he has insulted both them and the Prince face to face, and
that too in the presence of each other."

Madame Banfy folded her hands timidly.

"I see the storm that is gathering over Banfy's head."

"In his drunkenness Apafi has let fall allusions in my presence that
have filled my soul with terror, and for the sake of others I am not
willing that Apafi's hand should be the one to strike him. On all
sides they are going to seek occasions of quarrel with him. I will
exert myself to keep off the blow, but if it must fall you shall ward
it from him. We two must keep the love of our husbands to the
uttermost that we may be able in this spiritual power to throw
ourselves between them if they should attack each other. Think how
terrible it would be if one should fall by the hand of the other, and
one of us should have caused the other's mourning!"

"What shall I do? Oh my God, what can I do, where does my strength
lie?"

"Your strength? In love, watchfulness and self-sacrifice," replied
Madame Apafi, striving by her own strong soul to fill her weak
sister's with courage.

The fate of two men was in that moment given over into the hands of
two angels: and the fate of these two men was one with the destiny of
Transylvania.

CHAPTER XIII

THE NIGHT

When Dionysius Banfy left his wife's room and went down the back
stairway to the hall of the ground floor, he saw a young rider bound
into the courtyard. The rider was covered with dust and foam; when he
sprang from his horse, the tired beast lay down. The rider asked
hastily for Banfy, who recognized in him Gabriel Burkoe, and went to
him with the question:

"What's the matter?"

"My lord," began the exhausted rider, recovering his breath, "Ali
Pasha has attacked Banfy-Hunyad."

"Very good," said Banfy, who appeared to take pleasure in the fact
that fate offered his agitated soul something to crush. "Call George