“But I see men of your nation the very highest in military rank,—the very nearest to the Sovereign?”
“Their's be the shame, then,” said Ravitzky. “There are false hearts in every land.”
“This is a puzzle to me I cannot comprehend.”
“I 'll tell you how to understand it all, and easily, too, Herr Lieutenant. Take this letter and forward it to the Council of War; declare that Cadet Ravitzky acknowledged to yourself that he was a Hungarian, heart and soul, and, save the eagle on his chako, had nothing of Austria about him. Add, that a hundred thousand of his countrymen are ready to assert the same; and see if they will not make you an Ober-lieutenant, and send me to Moncacs for life.” He held out the letter, as he spoke, for Frank to take, and looked as proudly defiant as if daring him to the act.
“You cannot suppose I would do this?”
“And yet it is exactly your duty, and what you took a solemn oath to perform not a week back.”
“And if there be such disaffection in the troops, how will they behave before an enemy?” asked Frank, eagerly.
“As they have always done; ay, even in this very campaign that now threatens us, where men are about to strike a blow for liberty, you 'll see our fellows as foremost in the charge as though the cause at stake was not their own.”
“Ravitzky, I wish you had told me nothing of all this.”
“And yet you forced the confession from me. I told Walstein, over and over, that you were not suited for our plans. You rich men have too much to lose to venture on so bold a game; he thought otherwise, and all because you were an Irishman!”