It was too terrible. The United States addressed the aboriginal Székler inhabitants concerning the rights of immigrant Roumanian shepherds. The United States: a young nation which, so far as civilization is concerned, did not exist at a time when Transylvania had already been united to Hungary for half a thousand years!
“Not an inch of ground could be taken from us even now if only the army made a stand on the frontier.”
“If Tisza were alive!”
“If he were alive they would kill him again.”
We became silent, and for a long time the only sound was the crackling of the embers in the stove.
“All conspired against him,” at last said Countess Mikes. She was a close relation of Tisza and had been a faithful friend to him in the height of his power as well as in his downfall. “When I went there his blood was still on the floor of the hall. There was also the mark of a bullet.... He lost very much blood. He bled to death, that is why his face became so frightfully white.”
“And his wife?”
“She sat motionless near him and held his hand.... Poor Stephen, his body was not yet cold when an officer presented himself at the house. He produced a paper which showed that he was aide-de-camp to Linder and said that he had orders to ascertain with his own eyes if Tisza was really dead. He wouldn’t go until he had accomplished his task. A soldier was with him: he had been sent by the Soldiers’ Council. The officer looked in at the door of the death chamber. When he saw that Tisza was dead, he had the cynical impudence to express the condolences of the whole government with the family. Béla Radvánsky told him that we did not require them. Later on somebody came from the police with a police surgeon. It was done for appearance’s sake. Of course they couldn’t trace the criminals.... A telegram arrived from Károlyi, and a wreath—both were thrown away.”
“But why hadn’t Tisza gone away?”
“He said he would not go into hiding.” Then my guest told me further details of the murder.