“Tisza retired a few steps and put the revolver down.
“‘Now what do you want?’ said he.
“‘You are the cause of the war.’
“‘I know what the war has done to us, and I know how much blood has flowed; but I am not the cause of it.’
“‘I have been a soldier for four years. Innumerable families have perished because of your wickedness. Now you must pay for it.’
“‘I am not the cause of it.’
“‘Let the women stand aside!’ No answer. ‘It is you who have brought this awful catastrophe about, and now the day of reckoning has come.’
“Three shots were fired. Tisza fell forward on the carpet. He was hit by two bullets: one in the shoulder, the other in the abdomen. The third grazed the cheek of Denise Almássy.
“‘They have killed me,’ said Tisza; ‘God’s will be done.’
“While the victim was writhing in agony the soldiers hurried away. It is not known to what regiment they belonged.”