When all this was done there still remained the digging of a broad, deep ditch or moat, in which the master himself and all his servants took part, assisted by some of the neighbouring peasants; and in about three months' time all was finished, and the curious assemblage of irregular buildings was more or less fortified, and capable of being defended if attacked by any wandering band of brigands.
It merely remains to add that Master Peter's castle stood in a contracted highland valley, and was surrounded by pine-woods and mountains. Behind it was the village, of which some few straggling cottages, or rather huts, had wandered away beyond it into the woods. The inhabitants were not Hungarians, except in so far as that they lived in Hungary; they were not Magyars, that is, but Slovacks, remnants of the great Moravian kingdom, who had retired, or been driven, into the mountains, when the Magyars occupied the land. The Magyars loved the green plains, the lakes—full of fish, and frequented by innumerable wild fowl—to which they had been accustomed in Asia; the Slovacks, whether from choice or necessity, loved the mountains.
These latter were an industrious, honest people, no trouble to anyone, and able to make a living in spite of the hard climate. They had suffered in more ways than one by the absence of the family; for the gentry at the great house had as a rule been good to them; and when they were away, or coming but seldom, and then only for sport with the bears, boars, and wolves which abounded, the poor people were treated with contempt and tyranny by those in charge of the property. They no doubt were glad when Master Peter came to live among them, and as for their landlord, time had passed pleasantly enough with him in spite of his being so far out of the world.
What with looking after the estate, in his own fashion, hunting, riding, sometimes going on a visit or having friends to stay, he had found enough to occupy him; but being a hospitable soul, he was always delighted to welcome the rare guests whom chance brought into the neighbourhood, and considered that he had a right to keep them three days—if they could be induced to stay longer, so much the better for him!
As for companionship, besides Dora, who could ride and shoot too, as well as any of her contemporaries, he had Talabor the page, who had come to him a pale, delicate-looking youth, but had gained so much in health and strength since he had been in service that his master often pitied him for not having parents better able to advance his prospects in life. They were gentry, originally "noble," as every free-born Magyar was, but they were poor gentry, and had been glad to place their son with Master Peter to complete his education, as was the custom of the time. The great nobles sent their sons to the King's court to be instructed in all manly and courtly accomplishments; the lower nobility and poor gentlefolk sent theirs to the great nobles, who often had in their households several pages. These occupied a position as much above that of the servants as beneath that of the "family," though they themselves were addressed as "servant," until they were thought worthy the title of "deák," which, though meaning literally "Latinist," answered pretty much to "clerk" or "scholar," and implied the possession of some little education.
Master Peter was so well satisfied with Talabor that he now always addressed him as "clerk" in the presence of strangers. He was growing indeed quite fond of him, and was pleased to see how much he had gained in strength and good looks, and how well able he was to take part in all the various forms of exercise, the long hunting excursions, the feats of arms, to which he was himself devoted.
CHAPTER II.
GOOD NEWS OR BAD?
Father Roger had been shown all over the house, had seen all the additions and improvements, inside and out, and now felt as much at home in Master Peter's castle as he had done in Master Stephen's.
It had been finally settled that he should start for Pest the next morning, and Master Peter insisted on supplying him with a horse and an armed escort.