"Ah, sir! who can say?" answered the lad, hotly. "He was Knéz before they took me! I found him among them, and hardly knew him. It was he who had my ears cut off, the brute! and only just saved my nose!"
"Well, that is something anyhow," said Master Peter.
"And then," continued Matykó, "I heard that Mr. Governor had been having dealings with the Tartars, like those rascally Kunok, and what's more, if it is true—and true it must be, for Tartars don't give anything for nothing—they say he has shown them the way to two or three castles, where they have got a lot of plunder!"
"Shown them! the scoundrel!" exclaimed Peter and Héderváry together.
"It's so," said Matykó emphatically. "He did ought to have his own long ears and snout cut off, he ought!"
Young Héderváry did not perhaps believe all that had been said about his favourite, but still his anger waxed hot within him.
He had to leave Matykó now, however, and follow the King, who rode through the whole camp, and finally gave orders to the Duke to anticipate the Tartars by advancing at once to the Sajó with a considerable force.
"Ugrin!" cried the Duke, well pleased with the command, "you will come with me! Quick! Mount your men, and we will be on the way to the Sajó in half an hour and stop the Tartars from crossing."
By the time the Duke and Ugrin reached the river, they found that a number of Mongols had already got across. These, after some hard fighting they successfully beat back, and that with considerable loss; and as the survivors disappeared into the woods on the opposite side of the river, the Duke and Ugrin led their victorious troops back to the camp, where they were received with acclamations and triumph. They had lost hardly any of their men and were highly elated by their victory.